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.

444 Royal · Commentaries. BooKL there pre[ent, nor who[oever he was, did he put any to death; for if their retire- ªment was onely to give way·or place to the Horfe in his cariere, as was probable, it was. fo far from being a fault; or to deferve punifhment, that it was a piece of civility and reípeét, which t!hey defired to fhew unto t~ofe w}Jom they eíteerned to be Children of che Sun; and to have done otherw1fe, or to have obíl:ruél:ed the way and paífage of thefe íl:rangers, would have feemed a piece of irnpiety and prophanation towards chofe whom they confeífed to be of Divine Race, and def~ended from th€ Heavens. Nor was Atahualpa fo íl:upid in bis underíl:anding, as to ílay bis own Jndians in the prefence of the Ambaífadours whom he had ern- ployed to pay Honour and Worfhip to them , and to aífure them of ali fecuricy and- prot~éti0n. Nor is it probable that Hernando de Soto would have been fo rude and difi:ourteous as to ride up to che very Nofe of the King, with whom he carn!! to treat in behalf of ene Ernperour and the Pope : By ali which, it is greatly to be ·lamented, when we coníid€r with how little care Men give Relations of paífages wnich. occur ir.i thofe· remote parts,? without regard to the reputation of diat peo.- ple. The Inca Atah11alfftt (as we mal! declare more partiailarly hereafter) fhewed himfetfvery generous and .reaf cowardStthe Spaniards ; and therefore is-may be law- fulf for us to render a charaél:er of bis abilities, difoetion and under1tanding with which Nature had eQdued him : for in regard we have made mention ar large of ali the Tyrannies and Cruelties which he cornmitted, the rule of Hiíl:ory doth oblige us not to conceal che tni~tures ofVertue which appeared in him, urrlelSwe wou!d approve our íélves falfe by writing a Romance in the place of true Hiíl:or}'· That wfüch I repotr, proceeds from d1e relacion of many Spani11rds who were pr~ fent at all che afüon, being fuch as 1 received from cheir owA mouths, at cnofe· times of converfation whicb they paífed in my Facher's farnily, wfien a greac part of their entertainment was to recount rhe many pailiiges and accidents which <X:· curred in chis Conqueít ; the fame I have heard confirrned from feveral Indi11M, who at che viíics which they made to rny Mother, did frequencly difcourfe ofchofe Aétions, and particularly of what happened in the Reign of Atahualpa to che time of his Death, amibuting ali the misfortunes which befell him to the J udgment of God, for t_he Tyrannies and Cruelties he committed upon his own family. And farcher 1 am able to confirm che truch of thefe particulars from che reporcs fent me by my School-fellows, who took che trouble to extraél: them out of che Hiíl:orical Annals of .tTueir refpeél:ive Counrries where their Mothers were born , as I faid in che firíl: Pare of chis Hiíl:ory. To thefe Relations 1 have che Autho- ricy far~her to add of chat curions and accurate Facher BIM Palera, who was che Son of one of thofe who was a fellow Prifoner with Atah11alpa, and was born and ~red on che Confines of Caf{amarca, and fo might have advamages to extraél: che Records from their Originals, as he himíelf dmh atteíl: ; and indeed he hath been . very large in defcribing che fucceffes and paffiges which occurred in chat Kingclom and which by c-omparing them wich ocher Relations, I have found agreeable t~ the trueíl: reporrs. And farther I do aver, rhat I íball trace the fame way chat rhe Spanifh Hiíl:orians direél: me, making ufe of their Commencarles in fuch rnatters wherein they may_be u[ef~ll to me, a_nd íhall add :ind enlarge il'l what chey come íhort, orare defic1ent, as m many thmgs they may be, for want of reading an<iÍ knowledge of Hiftorians. CH A P. •