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.

Royal Commen taries. Bom~ I. CH A P. XXIII. Of the DEffzcu!ty there was to interpret the fenfe aml mea- ning of thi-s Speech of Friar Vicente de Valverde. U Pon thís 'Speech Bit.u Valera makes fome Reflexions, in .order to the better anderfiandiog of his Hiflory ; faying, that t he Hü l:orians \\1hich m~at of-· thefe' ma'liters make rnenti©n of this $pee<Sh of th~ fri.ar, bue howfoever witb fo·me vari'e:ty, for fome leave out the mrfl: párt, and others the fecond; afild forne have <lbbreX'k1mi itin their Reiations. iBut howfoever B!M Va/era faidl, that {ohn deOliva , and Ch1·ijlopher de Medina , who were Prieíl:s, and slµ.lfüll in the 1ndian Lsnguage, and feveral other- Wríters, h'av.e' (pecitied this Speech at large in' borh pans, as fp0ken by Frfar.P.incent; an© tluey a11 agree, that it was a m0fi tart ·atlél rode Speecfo.; wichout ·alily mixtwre of·{weemefs or aiUUJiell}'ilel!ilt whatfoever, ancd that tJ;¡e Imer-p>retation th~f was rn:mch wode, as we íhaill fee hereafter; and rhefe A<atholilrs do mMcro more appFove rhe Spe~ch ·wlaicfu Hernando de Soto aod Pir¡arro rnacle ro Atahlfalpa, lheir.1g rn@re geode, and inoalehl:, than rhe íllarp, and i1I ·namred Speech of Friar Vincent. . And now as to the lmeitpretatiori which was made ·to King Atahs111lpa o[ thefe W-ords, '~e may believe it was very imperfeél: and cot1íupt; for chis Phi/ip ~he In- didn, who was ali tbe Imer¡iirerer cbey 'hacl, was a Native of tbe Hland of P11na, and b0m of commen and bl©ólciíh Paroems, and was .fcarce mived co the age of rweffty tW0'ye< irS, a!ild Wl lS 1JlQt @nely Hl leatneCI in che upanifh, but .alfo ÍO fhe ge- neral 'f0ngue, .fpoken.by the Jncll4 at C'ow, wl~ich is different from that ufed in Tmnp'i'4' for «lS we have f a¡d at the ooginning, the Lartguage ofCo~co . is more réfi- mid, in refp€tt of aiU·other IJndianJ, whofe Daflguage is barbarnus an8.corrupc. And m0reover rh-is ImerpFeter bad leamed. his Spanífh of hirnfdf, without Rule, and fome W0rds '0nely wMeh ,he had go~ten up arn~mgíl: the Souldiers, and lewd Peo- }'lle, .füc:h as e.ounds, aml dammee, and the like; and befides he was but a Servant ro the ceani~rl/.r, and learned onely t0 fpeak Iike the Negroes, and though he had heen ba¡')clforl, 'Yet he was ignmant of ali the Principies 0f Religion, having nei- ther knowle-dge af Chrifi our Lord; nor ·of the ApoR!es Creed. 'fhls -was -ali che Education and Learning which our firíl: lnterpreter had in Pe• m, and "atrnttllngly the Tmnflations he made out of 'Spanifh were ali imperfeet, :rna ófa contrary fenfe; nonhat he rnaéle his miílakes volumarily frorn rnalice, bue fr0m ;i_gnorance, fpeaking, like a Pan-or, things that he did nor underíl:and ; as for ~~ample, when h'e wti.s to ~dare, and explain thé 111,amre of rhe Trinity, as .rhar Oed was three and yeNmej he woull:lfay,God wasWitee, andone, rhat is four,the whMhr ap-pe1lr6~y their ~iptu, which is ÜHür Knots•ufed in .theCou mrey o'f Ca./fa- rni:rroa, where th~[e Affilir-s'lYclffi:d; and iodeed íle- w'asm1Kh ro blame, if.we confi- der, that in rhe Peruvian Language they have no words to exprel~ahe Jriniry , the Holy Ghofi, Faith, Grace, the Church, the Sacrarnencs, and orher Vv ords of rhe like Myíl:eries; for which reafon the Spaniards, who ll:udy rhat Language in our times, and endeavour to exprefs their rnyfücal Notions, are forced to coin new words moíl: accomrnodated to the reafon of chis people, and to- che manner of Ex- preffions of the rnoíl: inrelligent Ind1'.ans, who having underíl:ood fomething of che Spa14ijh Language and Learningi have of themfelves framed new Words ro fuppl}' the defeél:s of rheir Speech, whereby che Preachers are now able to expreís any thing in conforrniry to the underfianding of their Audicory. We have upon di- vers occafions given feveral lnílances of rhe Barrennefs and Defeél:s of rhe Peruvia11 fanguage; and therefore we ought •not to lay the fole blame on our firft Inter- preter; for even in thefe our Days, which are twemy nine Years, fince that time, there are almoíl: as rnany grofs rnifiakes rnade by our prefent Incerpreters, as were by Philippillio, who never converfed wich the Spaniards in other Language rhan his own. In fhort, 1 fay, that 1 never knew an Jndian who fpake good Spanijh, bue