595 / 1070
·.
BooK
U.
Royal
Comme,ntaries~
-'
:
e
H
A·P.
XXX.
What a certain Authour reports of the
lntán
·King's and,
their Subjeéis.
.
'
'
.
,
'
B
~,u
Palera
difcoudióg of the Wl_fedom' Abilities; Prowets ,and Valour
of
.
the
Indians
of.
Pm1,
he gives this Charaékr of them,. as follows; which I
the rather mention, becaú'fe it conduces much to the matter in band, and
will
ferve to ~onfirm what we have already faid, and what we íiiaH hereafrer re_porr.
'\ T,he Peop!e ofPeru.exceed,moíl: Nation¿ oí the.Wotld in quicknefs ofWíc,
" and fu~ngth of Judgq1ent, the which appears in that they have been able .
'~wjthout th~ help of.Lette(s, to attain unto the knowledge of many rhings, ,
''. ~hich the learnihg_ of the
Egyptians, Caldeans
and
Greekf
could 1'ever reach ; fo
·~ Jhat. if jn place of th.eir Knots, they ha~Lmacje ufe 9f_Leqers, they had fur-
" paffed the
Rornans,
an9
Gafls,
and othe¡.: ,Nat-jons, if}, all points of Leaming
· " whatfoever.
lhat r1,1denefs of M~nners whicl~appear5.;.in chem at prefent, is
·~ •not for want of Natural Pares, or Endowments of Mindx
puc
fov
want-of prac–
·~ cice in the Faíh~ons and Cuíl:oms
oí
Europe,
and of lnfüutt:oursiin Li~eral Sci•
''. ~nces, being taught n9thing but what relates to lntereft and Gai_»; ,for fuch oÍ'
_" chem as have Maíl:ers, or Teachers; and leifure time, and lri;bércy to learn ;· nay,
·~ ifchey do bue .tee a thing, rhey will imitare it fo exaétlyj .Vyjthoqc being caughr;
'~ that chey beqorne better Artiíls and Mechanicks fhan the
.fpaniards
themfelves;·
' '' and would b~come better Scholars in.reading aricl,Wr_iting, and -pe more expert ·
" in ali forts of .rnuÍtcal Infüuments chao the
Spaniards
,-.
had chey.onely ,che ad•
" vamage ofbeingtaught; nor wo~!d tbey prove
ill
Scholar~ in
1
che Latin Tongue:
" And moreover chey are nót mQ,re ignoranc_in our 13qoks, chan'. we a,re in che
" knowledge ot- cheirs; for chough we have now lived arr¡oQgfü chein; and have
'' had Converfation with thern for fevency Years, yec have no( accained to the
, :;~~nowledge qf; their Ki;iots,
1
n9r -che nature"of nheir Acc_eunts; r_when th_ey in a
¡
íhorc ~ime have atca_ined to tpe knowfedge of o~r Lyg~r.s)µ~d ~iph~rs.; which
' are ev1dences of cheir Ingenu1ty; and good 1::apac1cy
!
And as to ~heir Memory,
" rhey generally e.xceed ché
Spaniards,
having by thelr Knocs, and Joints of their
" Fingers, figured feveral Common places, out of which chey do extraét par–
n
ticulars in cheir due Order for che help and bene~t of che Memory: And
'·' w}iac is more íl:range, che fame Knocs ferve for divers Paffages, ánd Argumencs
." of
Hiíl:ory; and giving chem onely the Subje&, chey will t'un on wich a Hiíl:o-
" ry
as currently
as
a Reader can his Book; whiéh is an Are unto which no
s¡a–
''
niard
as yec ~ch been able to accain, nor know in what ,maoner, ic is perfor- '
:: m€d ; and_ ar~ ali good Arguments of che acut-€
J
udgm@at and great Memory
of the
Ind,ans.
·
" As to cheir Are in Milicary Affairs, cake ali things
in
their due Circumfiances,
" the People of
Peru
are more experc chao chofe of
Europe;
for íhew me che moft
" brave and f'arnous Capcains of
Spain
or
Ftance¡
on Fooc wichouc Horfes, wich–
"
out
Armour, without Lance, Sword, Pifio!; or other Fire-arms
~
lec them ap–
" pear in cheir Shirts without Clorhs, wich a S.ling inftead of a Girdle, and their
" Heads coveted wich a
Cáp
of Feachers, ót Gatland of Flowers, iníl~ad of a
" Head-p!.ece, or Sceel Bergandioe; lec chem march with chelr bare Feet over
",Briers, or Thorns; let rhejr Diet be Herbs, and Roocs of che Fielq, carryiog
'' ·a
piece of
-a
Mi¡.t in rheir Left hands infiead of aBuckler ~. an_d in this manner ·
"· l'et them entei"the Field to blunt the Edges
of
Swords; and Halbards, and Pikes
" with chree Forks; and kc them ftand che Scondlibgs, che poifoned Arrowsj
" and che skilfull Archer, which
will
hit the Eye, or the Hearc, or ,anyching; ifin
" chis naked and limpie condition they become Conquerours, I will cheo fay, that
~'-
rhey deferve che fame and Repucation of-valianc Captains above che
Jndi11ns;
e~
e '
but