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.

BooK 11. Royal Commentaríes. exaél: the feverity of it, for being ordaíned by the Witedom of the.Í;c;s, apd thé concurrence of Wife men , ir ought neither to be rnntrollecf, ar rendred m~i:e t:lquitable by the fenfe and praétice of particular Judges, who are capable ofbe~ ing corrupted, oriovercome by favour or affeélion to a párty. . ' _l\nd though it may [eem very barbarous 'and unreaíonable thai: every offence fhould be punifhed with Dearh, and that there fhould be no difference berween rhe crimes of a higher, and rhe faulrs of a leífer narure; yet c~míiderin~ the be,. nefit which rhe Publick received thereby, and that tbe Evils, rather than the Per- fons, were taken a\vay; fuch a rnníl:iturion oughr nor ro be eíl:eemed 4niuíl: or irracional : For in regard rhat men narurally love li·~e, and :feai.: ~nd abl~or, de.:¡th; ~bey ,f!:udioufly. fled fro!n the appea_rance o~ any thmg "Yh1ch rr~1ght brrng therrt wirhm tlie danger of it; fo rhat m ali. tlus great Empll'e, which reaches L300 Leagues in lengiq, c.;onfütipg of divers Nacions and Langqag_es, we fcar¿e,_ ha,ve heard in the fpace of a whole year, fo ·much as of the pum¡hment of a íingl(f perfon: and to, nhis obedience and fubmiffion to La-w, rbe 'opinion 0f rhe Sanélit>: of it dicd much ava_il ; and rbe belief, tbat it was delivered D}: roe Sun, iv"ho was their God, and by revelation infpired into tbt; minds of rpé Incas bis ch)ld~eij ; fo encreafed the veneration and horJour they had for it, t!ia'.1: (i0ne.'¡;¡¡m1d bf;..\lefreemed a breaker of the Law, bue who alfo tberewitlí was gµilty¡ 9f 'facriJege ,or viblatior) of the holy and divine San~iori. Heilc<i it ~as~ that 1 many f}iiding a i;emorfe o( 'confcience wi~hin tben;ifelyes,, in fenfe .of foqÍ€ .ecrc;tfaults tpe.;: ha.d,wm,mitteq, h¡ive ofcen, withoun accufati9n, prefef!te8 them- felves before the Tribunals of Juíl:ice, confeffing publickJy liherr offences ; ~Y rea- fürJ pf yv,hicb ,¡Mea[es,:. de~tqs . and diLl:reífes l:iad befalfen tqeir People and; )..fa- rio~' ; :atld th~r.ef9v~ deÍtred tl¿at their lives !.!light be offered to tbe¡~ G(!)d, ,as an ~~p1at10B 1 1 an:a an attqJi~m~nt fqr. rh.~ili fin; . 'fLus fort ofconfeffion was che grouoq gf th~, mi~ake -qf c~tqin Spani_ffe,Hifrorians, who repo~t. tbat Auricular conf~/Iioq wa~ ípraéhfed · an:;i911~ th~ Jndians; whereas I am certa1.¡1, th,at ftmong!l: thofe of Í'fr'f, Cfor I ) trea.li 9!(QO ~ther) it was never a<;cu!lomary tp ina~~ other Confellioqs. t~1il~ rfu.ch <J.? n¡er(kpJI~hclf., N0 Appea,ls (a~ we have fa,1d) were allowab1e ·1 any cafe- 1 whatfoev~~-, for,ey~ry,pepple háving its ptpper-Judge, no Procefs was to con,- ~~e !0nger ¡lí.*~Jlv~. days before ir was finally deterrni~1ed : onely in obTcure áóél d1fficult cafes, .~!1~Jp~gc~r was brnught pe_forn. the Supep9ur~G,overnour, who ·1'.eft- ded in tbe capital City, rather tban before the common Tudge of the Province. The Inferiour Judges rendred every month an account to their Superiours of all the Law-fuits which were brought before them, and of the Sentences they gave in- toe deterfuiñati6n thei·eof; to·ene end, that they might f~e and judge·whecher true Sentence were giver:i, and the Laws rigbtly adminiíl:red. Tbis information from one to another carne at lengtb to tbe Inca ; and in regard they were not as yet arrived to the knowledge pf Letters, thl:~y g4ve thefe Informations to che In- cas and bis fupreme Council by way ·or Knots of divers colours tied in a íilkea twiíl:, che colours being as fo many cyphers, denoting the crimes they had puni- fhed, and tbe P,ignefs of them, and .manner of mak~ng tbem qp fignifi~d thac Láw whicb wa.s- e~ecuted (as we fhall hereafrer ~nore particularlf declare ' and in this manner by way of Knots, they kept all their accounts fo exaétly, 4nd fuin- med them up with fuch readinefs, that to thé great admiration of the Sp11niards.; their beft Arithrneticians could not exceed them. le is an opinion, and held for a certain truth amongíl: tbem, tha~ there never y;~~r/nC,1 of the R~y<;il Bloud ~hat was pur¡i~ed, or that any .of them did ever · C,:J?\WPit- a €rime; wh¡cfi. incurred1the penalt.y .of the Law : For that t~e pr+nciRieS t[iey .i:ec~ived from tht* Parepts, the exarnple of their Anc1ft5mrs, and th,e f 0'.11- . m9µ,J?J~lief of t~e vy'._.odd, that ~bey v.:ei:e the Progeny of l~e Sun, borq. to !9· Q'i'.uét¡, orh~Es, ;to qofr:&9ºd, and to. refram the people from VJCe, were co~Qqera~ t1ons that made fuch impreffions m tbem, that they were rather che dr,i;iament tl~an the fcandaj._ o f.G~vermnent,, difdaining to íl:oop to fucb bafe and mean ~fü­ on~, 1 ap were traljllgrdlions of tlJ,eir Law: The trudi is, they wanted rhe ~empqi­ tions which others had to offend ~ for neither che deíire of women, or rjchneIS; ór , t~vcnge could be mor¡ves to them : For in cafe any one of them enterrairiecl a paaion for th~ -Beauty of a Wornan, it was but to fend fo¡; her; and íhe cm¡ld not be denied, nay ratber her Parepts would receive the propofal wirh h4!11ble admo_wledgmeots, -that the lnr;a w,ould vorn~:hfafe to cajl: bis eye Qn luis haqdm~ia that was bis Slave. The like inay be faid as ,to che defue of Wealth, they !)¡id 90 . F. i. · neceftiues