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Show s !!CT. IV. The god of air. li I S T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. They told a fit mt'1 ar Ir.a bl e of the origin of the moonr. 11 '!'e.z coczh'z tecal, another of t h OJr.C men wh o affembled in 'l'eoti·h uacan, 10 owmhg t f1e ex-ample of Nana hu atzm· , threw himfelf into the .f irhe : budt t e ame[s bem. g fco mew h at l e1r.s fierce , he turned out lefs btlg t, an wasd trahn r.- formed m· to t1 1 e moon. To thefe two deities t.h ey confecrate t OJe 1 · two f:a mous temp 1e s er e .n.ed in the plain of 'l'eotzhuacan, of w 11c1 1 we l..\. {hall give an account in another place. . ff<.!Jetza/coat/. (Feathered ferpent.) This was amon~ the Mex1can.s, and all the other nations of Anahuac, the god of the . at~·. He ~as fa1d to h ave once be en h1'g h - pr'1e!l: of 'Iu/a • They figured hun tall, b1g, and of a fair complexion, with an. open forehead, large eyes, :long black 11 c·n r, an d.a tht'ck beard. From a love of decency, he wotde <tlwa·y s a long robe; he was fo rich that he had palaces of .filver an prect~us il.ones . he was thought to poflefs the greatefi: induftry, and to have md vented' the art of melting metals and cutting gems. H~ was fuJ~pofe to have had the mofi: profound wifdom, which he d1fplayed 111 the Jaws which he left to mankind ; and above all to have had the moil: rigid and exemplary manners. Whenever he intended to promulga~e a 1t aw 1• 0 h'I S k'm g do m , he 01;dered a crier to the top of the mounta.m 'f zatzt'tepec (the hill of ihouting) near the cit~ of Tula, .w h?fe VOlC: was heard at the difi:ance of three hundred mtles. In h1s tune, th corn grew fo flrong that a fingle ear was a load for a man : gour~s were as long as a man's body: it was unneceffary to dye cotton, for .1t grew naturally of all colours : and all other fruits and feeds were 111 the fame abundance and of extraordinary fize. Then too there w~s an incredible number of beautiful and fweet finging birds. All his fubj e~ts were rich, and to fum up all in one word, the Mexicans imagined as much happinefs under the priefthood o f "G<)!.j etz.at1L 'Otlt 1, .a s t I~ e Grccr1·. s did under the reign of Saturn, whom this Mexican god hkew1fe refc.mbled in the exile which he fuffered. An1idfl: all this profperity, 7ezcatlipoca, I know not for what reafon, wilhing to drive him from tl~at country, appeared to him in the form of an old man, and told .hun that it was the will of the gods that he lhould be taken to the kJt~ g Hom of Tlapalla. At the fame time he oftered him a beverage, whl:·h ~(tzalcoatl readily accepted, in hopes of obtaining that im:i.lort~~hty after which he afpired. He had no fooner drank it than he felt lnm~ fdf • H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M· E X I C 0. felf fo frrongly inclined to go to T!apalla, that he fet out immediately, accompanied by many of his fubjccts, who, on the way, entertained him with mufic. Near the city of ~auhtitlan he felled a tree with frones, which remained fixed in the trunk ; and near T!alnepantla he laid his hand upon a fione and left an impreLii0n, which the Mexicans · {hewed the Spaniards after the conqueft. Upon his arrival at Cbolu/a, th e citizens detained him, and made him take upon him the government of their city. Befidcs the decency and fweetnefs of his manners, the averfion he 01ewed to all kinds of cruelty, infomuch that he could not bear to hear the very mention of war, added much to the affeCtion entertained for him by the inhabitants of Cholula. To hih1, they faid they owed their knowledge of melting metals, their laws by which they were ever afterwards governed, the rites and ceremonies of their religion, and even, as fome aflirmed, the arrangement of their feafon s and calendar. After being twenty years in Cholula. he refolved to puffue his journey to the imaginary kingdom of Tlapalla, C;1rrying along with him four noble and virtuous youths. In the maritime province of Coatz at: oa!co, he eli lln ified them, and de fired them to affure the Cho!ulam that he wonld return to comfort and direct them. The C/Jolulans out of rcfjJeCl: to their beloved ff<.3tet za/coatl, put the reins of govern ment into th<:: hands of thofe yonng men. Some people f:.1id that he fudd en ly dif.'lppeared, others that he died upon that coafi; but, however it might be, f<.yetzalcoatl was confecrated as a god by the Toltecas of Lho/ulan, and made chief ·guardian of their city, in the center of which, iJl honour of him, they rai!td a grear eminence and built1• · •a funtl:nary upon it. Another eminence with a tcmpJc, was afte rwards ereCted to him in Tula. From Cholula his worfhip wa pro pagated over all th:lt country, where he was adored as the god of the :11r. 1 Ie h,Hl temples in MexiC'o, and elfewherc; and iomc nations; v ri en em i s of the Cholu.lans, had, in the city of Cholula, temples,· and pricft · ded icated to his wor{]lip; and people C;lme from all countries thither, to pay their devotions and to fulfil their vows. The holulans pre ferved with the higheft veneration fomc iinall green !lqnes, very well cnt, which they faid had bd onged to him. The people of Yucatan boafted that their nobles were dcll:cndcd ftom .hi111. , V t) L . I. K k Ban .. ·n BOOK V l. ~ • |