The royal commentaries of Peru : in two parts / written originally in spanish by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega; rendred into english by sir Paul Rycaut.

The Tranílator to the Reader. ever, being, CJJ our Authour fays, delivered by 1radition, and commonly be- lieved_amongfl their People of the /Jetter degree , it may contain divers Íniths mixed with abundance of Fillions andfoolifh ln·ventions. But this is no more than what hath happeneá to Nations of more refinecl underflan- ding; far what account can we our fe/ves give of Great Britain 6ejore the Romans entred into it? Nay, What can France or Spain fay of the An- cient lnha6itants of their own Countries, or of the manner, how they came frfl to /Je Chrijlians? ?Jnlefs it be that which ignoran! men have devifed, and ivhat the Learnerl men are now afoamed to believe or fay after them ? Ancl then, what wonder is it that fach poor Salvages, 6orn in a part of _the World u ndifcovered to Uf, until/ the year r484 ; .and of whofe Original we have.no certain knowledge; nor have any light hjides fancy and conjeélure, from whence the Continent of Amel'ica hath 6een peopled: How then , I fay, can it be expeéied that thefe il/iterate Creatures Jhould be able to give an account of their Extrallion, or of Matters which pa[fed in thofe Ages; of which the Learned parts of the World acknowledge their ig,norance, · and confefs themfelves to /;e in tbe dark even as to thofe . Matters which concern their own Hiflories? But becaufe it iJ in the nature of Mankind to u(e refleél AEls on their own /;eing, and retreat with their Thoughts back to fome /Jeginning: fo thefe poor Sou/s derive the Origillal of their frft being from divers Crea- tures, vf which thej had the greatefl opinion and admiration : fome living 11ea1· a g,reat Lake whichJupplied them with flore of Fijh, ca!led that their Parent, from whe-nce they emerged: and others ejleemed the Mig,hty Moúntains of Amis to •have hen their Parent , and to have iffeed out of thofe Caverns, tlf frorn the Womb of a Mother; others fanfied them- felves to he .defcended )'rOm that great Fowl calied Cuntur, which fpreads a very large Wing,, which pleafed fome Nations of the Indians, that they wouid /ook no fatther for a Paf'ent than to that Fowl, -a>td in token thereof, upon days of /ol.emnity and fe/iival, carried the Wings ¡hereof faflned 'to their Armes. But then, as to their Inca's or King,s, whofe O- riginal W(Lf to be d-erived from {omething hig,/Jer than jub/unary Cre.atures, hing, of 6etter compoji't't'on than their poor and mean Vaf{als, the Sun w& efleemed a /it Parent for thofe who were come from Divine race: fo that when they aWóred t'he Sun, ·whom they acknowledged j or their Gocl, they g,ave honour to theil· King,s roho 1vere defcendecl jrom him. Variow hav.e been the opinions amongjf Hijlorians concerning the Original of this Peo- ple ; of whích the mofl pro/Jable, aJ I conceive, is, that they proceeded from the Race of the Northern fartar, whom they rt'femble in the jhape and air of their features , and in their barbarous way of living,; /Jut then we mufl fanjie, at fome Geog,raphers do, that the Wefl ficle of A- .merica is Continent with Tartary , or at /eafl disjoyned from thence /;y - fome narrow flrait; of which I am well perfunded we have no certain Knowledge. · But to ·let thefe Matters paft, and conjider the Condition in which the Spaniárds foun~ the lnha6itants of Peru, when theyfirfl came amongft them, they were, ,¡ Jay, a naked Peop!e; jimple and creduloUJ, belie·ving e-very thing that the Spaniards told andpromifed them: To wbich they ivere in- ducecl out of an opinion that ~he Spaniards were Viracocha's or the Off. jpring of the Sun, whom they adored far God, aud in whom they /;e/ievet!, according to the Light of Nature , that there could be no faljity or fhadoiv of untruth. Wherefore they were flrangely farpriz.ed , whilfl in a peace- ~Ue