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Show .BOOK VIr. .....--y--..1 S P. C To V, J)ublic {i hooh ~nd feminnrics, II I S T 0 R Y 0 F 'M E X I .C 0. " rcfpcCt and do not remain idle, but immediately take qp a fpindlc to " fpin, or do any other thing that occurs. . " when thou art married, rcfp Cl: thy h.uiliand, obey h1m, and dili" ently do what he commc.mds thee. Avoid incurring his difi leafurc, " ~or (hew thyfelf paffionate or ill-natured ; but receive him fondly " to tl~y arm , cvet1 if he is poor and li~cs at thy expc11ce.. If thy " hufuand occations thee any di1gufl., kt hm1 not know thy dtfpleafure " when he commands thee to do any thing; but diflemble it at that " time, and afterwards tell him wi th gt:ntlcne(s what vexed thee, " that he may be won by thy mildm:fs and o~end thee no farther. " Difhonour him not before others ; for thou al!o wouldft be dtflto" noured. If any one comes to viii t thy hufuand, ac ept the vif[t " kindly, and (hew all the civility thou canfr. If thy huiliand is " fooliih, be thou difcreet. If he fails in the management of wealth, " admoni(h him of his failings ; but if he is totally incapable of tak" ing care of his e!bte, take that charge lJ pan thyfelf, attend carefully " to his pofleiiions, and never omit to pay the workmen punCtually. " Take care not to lofe any thing through negligence. a Embrace, my daughtyr, the counfel which I give thee; I am al~ " ready advanced in life, and have had fufficient dealings with the " world. I am thy mother, I wi(h that thou mayeil:. live well. I• ix " my precepts in thy heart and bowels, for then thou wilt live hap~)'· ·" If, by not liftening to me, or by neglett:ing my infl:rutt:ions any mlf" fortunes befall thee, the fault will be thine, and the evil alfo. Enough, " my child. May the gods profpcr thee." Not contented with fuch infiruCl:ions :tnd domefl:ic educ:1.tion, the Mexicans fent their children to public fchools, which were clofe to the temples, where they were infiruCt:ed for three years in religion and good cuftoms. Befides this, almofl: all the inhabitants, particubrly ·the nobles, took care to have their children brought up in the fcmi. naries belonging to the temples, of which there were many in the cities . of the· Mexican empire, for boys, youths, and young women. Thofe ·of the boys and young men were governed by priefl:s, who were folely ,devoted to their euucation ; thofe for young women were under the direCtion .of matrons equally refpeetable for their age and for their manners. No communication between the youth of both fexes was 9 per- II I S T 0 R Y 0 'P M E X l C 0. pet·mitted; on the contrary, any tranfgreflion of that nature was feverely puni(hed. There were difiinCl: feminaries fo'r the noblos and plebeians. The young nobles were employed in offices which· were ~·ather internal, and more immediately nbout the fanduary, as in f weepIng the upper area of the temple, and in fl:irring up and attending to the fires of the ftoves which were before the fnntt:uary. The others were employed in carrying the wood which was required for the ftoves, and the fl:one and lime ufed in repairing of facred edifices, and in other iimilar taOcs : both were under the direction of fuperiors. and mafters, who inftructed them in religion, hifiory, painting, mufic, and other arts agreeable to their rank and circumfiances. The girls fwept the lower aren of the temple, ro[e three times in the night to burn copal in the fl:ovcs, prepared the me:lts which were daily offered to the idols, and wove difterent kinds of cloth. They were taught every female duty; oy which, befides banifhing idlenefs fL'Om them which is fo dangerous to the age of youth, they were habituated to domeil:ic labours. They ilept in large halls in the fight of the matrons, who governed them, and who attended to nothing more zealouOy than the modcfl:y and decency of their actions. When any male or female pupil went to pay their refpeCl:s to their parents, and which cafe happened very feldom, they were not allowed to go by themfelvcs, but were always accompanied by other pupils and their fuperior. After lifiening for a few moments with filence and attention to the infbruetions and advices which their p~rents gave them, they returned back to the fcminary. There they w,ere detained until the time of marriage, whidt, as we have already mentioned, was with young men from the age of twenty to twenty-two, and with girls at ei~hteen or fixtcen y ars. When this period arrived, either the young man him(elf reque.O:ed leave of the fuperior to go and get himfelf a wife, or, what was more commou, his p:-~rcnts demanded him for the .G.me purpofe, returning thanks firfl: to the fuperior for the care he had taken of his inil:rudion . The, fuperior, upon the difmiffion which he gave at the grand ld l:ival ~f Tezcatlipoca, to all the young men and w men who were arrive~! at that age, made them a difcourfc, exhoi·ting them to a per(~verancc in virtue, and the difcharge of all the duti s of the new il:ate. The. virgins educated in thefc feminaries were particnlarly fought nfter ·for wives, not only on account of their principles, but likewife of the VoL . I. X x fki ll 3J7 BOOK VIJ., ~ . • |