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Show DISSERT. Vl. .." --v--J • H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. The exceffive abundance of words of this nature has been t]1e ·rCQ. ... fon that the deepeft myfteries of religion have been explai,ned in the Mexican language without great, difficulty, and that fome books of the Holy Writings have been tranflated into it; among which are thofe of tl1e Proverbs 9f Solomon, and .the rA.p9lllcs; ~hich like thoCe of Thomas Kempis, and otH.e~:s,, tranflated mto Mex1can, could not have 'been done into tho[c languages which are wanting in terms of metaphyfical and moral ideas: 'the book's publilhed iQ. Mexico on reli~ion 'are {o numerous, that of them alo~e might be formed ~ l.arge li~rary. To this Diifert~tion we fha11 add a lhort ca~alogue. of JlJ,e principal Mexic;an authors, .in gratitude to their laboitrs, as ~ell as to illufirate ,what we have adv~ncet d. j J ' . What ,we have .'{aid of the Mexic~n~, we, m~y,, in, great part, affirm ,alfo of .th~ other langua.ges fpoken in the doFinio!1s . of Mexico; as ,there are Dictionaries and Grammars of them, as well as of the Mexican, ~nd treatiics in religion have been publ.ilhed in th~m all. Cetil~ztli Omctiliztli Jcitiliztli Tcocl Unity Binity Trinity, &c. God · 'hcojqtl 'Di.v.inity Tloquc l ·He .who 'hns cYet·y thing NahuoC'jue f withih himfclf. ' ' ' Ip11l nernoaui liim by wlwm we )ivb , Amnc::icacaconi Incomprehcnfiblc Gcmict1c;eni Etern~tl ~enmancanjclitzli ~ternity Cah.uitl Time ,Cenjocojn~ti Ct·entor of aU 1 eenhpelititti J 'Omnipotent Ccnhucli, iliztli OnwjPotcn~e 'T lncntl l'ea·fon Tlaca~o~ l ~ .Pufonnlity T.ajotl Fatherpood Nnnjotl Mothc~hoqd TlalricpnCtlncnjo~l Hllnlnnity 'T ciolia $ouJ Tcixtlamntia Mind Tlatllatilit.tli Wifdom btl<lmH hiliztli R.eafon lxaxil iztli Cornprehenlion Tlnixim:u ili:tti .Knowledge Tlunem(li1.tli 'f.hou~~t Thdcahunlitzli T.lnzotlaliztli Tlacocoli1.tli · T lnrnauhtiliztli Nctoin~chiliz.tli Nccocoliztli N cjoltequi p11chollztli Ellehutlizdi ~nltihuani l Jcltihunni ! Aq unllotl Tolchicah ualiz'tli Tlaixjcjccoliztli Jollomnchiliztli t • Tlqn clnhuacachicahualiztli )o III UCI' I1' 7.! I II , I Tla pnc'cai hij oh u i liztli TJancmaCli li1.tli :Pn.cennt'tl'\i liz~ li Tl:ttlucajotl N,ccnomati li.?.tli 'rlazocnmntiliz tl i Ncpohualiztli Teojchuncatiliztli K·exicolitli Tlat~i.hwliztli Fo.rgotfulncfa Lov.e • Hatred Fear Holle Pain ltepentance DeGrc Virtue Malice Strength Temperance Prudence ) ufiice Magnanimity Patience • Liberality Gc:nclcnefs Benign:ty Humility Gratitude Pride Avnrice Envy Sloth Thofe • 1{ I S T 0 'R Y 0 F M E X I C ·O. , .199 ~hofe: Eutopea 1s·who have le~r'Ned 'tHe •Mexican '~ongub1 give it the · DIS~~.'R1·: higheft'Praifess and equal it to the Latin; fame to tHe Greek, as· we · ~ have already obferved. Boturin~ affirms~ that in urbanity, politenefs, and- fubiiinity of expreffions-, 1tJO 1 nguage 'can be compared with the Mexican.. 'PHis author was 1dt 'b·Spaniard, . but Milanefe; learned and I ctiticah · He knew at leah the Latin, .Italian, Fre'ccH;. and Spanifrt,·, and of the Mexican fo much as· to he able to make the comparative : judgment. Let M·. de Paw, therefore, obferve his error, and· learnr · not to decide 1 on matters· of which· he is ignorant• ' ' Among the proofs on-which count de ButTon w6uld refl:'· his: fyfiem • of the recent organi~ation · of the matter o~ the new world,.l~efays, .that: the organs· of the· Americans were rude, and· their language bat·bar()us:·· " Obferv~~'' ' he adds" the lifl:·of their. animals; their names are fa difficult· '" to be pronounced, it is wonderful that any European ever took the · " trouble of wr.iting them.;:' but we do not [o. much wonder. at their~ · taking the trouble' of wtiting them·as at their neglige~1ce 'in, copying . them. Among all the European authors · who ~ have. wntten th~ naturall and· civil hiftory of Mexico, in Europe, we meet with no one who has · not fo much altered the names of perlons,.animals;.and cities, thatit-'is impoffible to gue[s at wha~ they. mean. The hiftory of the anin:ais of Mexico paired. from. tho · hands of Hernandez to N. A Reccht, . who · knew nothing.of the Mex.ican; from Recchi,. to the Lincean ·academicians at Rome, who have publiilied. it with notes and ·d.ilfertations; . a~1d count de Buifon mad~ ufe of this edition.. Among .the. hands of. fe many E~ropeans ignorant• of the Mexic~n language, . the· names of. the an·imals could .not at leafi efcape alterat10n. To lhew the altera.- · tions which they have fuifered in the hands of count de Buffon~ it ·will oe · fufficient- to· compare the M.:xican names· in · the hill:ory of that , philofopher, with thofe of. the Roman edition of Hernandez. It is certain that the difficulty which. we .find · to prorwunc:e>a language to · ·which 'we are not accufl:omed, .ana. particubrly. if the• articulation ·of it~ i$ different- from that. of 0\.tr own, . is no proof that it· is barbarou~·· The fame difficultY. which ~ount de Butfon fii1cJs to · pronoui)ce the . M x1can names, . would be felt by a M xican who would, pr~nounce : the French names. Thofe. who ar~ accu!tomed to the Spamlh l~n- · guage, . find great' difficulty to pronoum:e. the German and Poh01;. and.~ |
