1886.] bOl- [Brlnton. 



and from the same worthy source they selected that adjective 

 which they applied to the greatest and most benevolent divinity.* 



II. The Nahuatl. 



The Nahuatl, Mexican or Aztec language was spoken exten- 

 sively throughout Mexico and Central America, and every tribe 

 who used it could boast of a degree of culture considerably 

 above that of any of the Algonkin communities. Such being 

 the case, it is rather surprising to note how extremely poor in 

 comparison is the Nahuatl in independent radicals denoting love 

 or affection. In fact, there is only one word in the language 

 which positively has this signification, and it, with its deriva- 

 tives, is called upon to express every variety of love, human and 

 divine, carnal and chaste, between men and between the sexes. 



This word is tlazotla, he loves. It is no easj^matter to trace 

 its history. By well known laws of Nahuatl etymology we 

 know that the root is zo. We have from this same root several 

 other words of curiously diverse meanings. Thus, izo, to bleed, 

 to draw blood, either for health, or, as was the custom of those 

 nations, as a sacrifice before the idols; izoliui, to grow old, to 

 wear out, applied to garments ; tlazofi, to offer for sale at a high 

 price ; and zozo, to string together, as the natives did flowers, 

 peppers, beads, etc. Now, what idea served as the common 

 starting-point of all these expressions ? The answer is, that we 

 find it in the word zo as applied to a sharp-pointed instrument, 

 a thorn, or a bone or stone awl, used in the earliest times for 

 puncturing or transfixing objects. From this came zozo, to 

 transfix with such an instrument and string on a cord ; izoliui, 

 to be full of holes as if repeatedly punctured and thus worn out; 

 and tzo : to bleed, because that was done by puncturing the flesh 

 with the thorns of the maguey or sharp obsidian points. f 



*Chipeway: nin kijewadis, I am amicable, benevojent ; Tcijfwadisiwin, charity, 

 benevolence, benignity, compassion ; kije manitowin, Godhead, divine nature. 



Cree: kimtew, he is devoted to (him, her); Knew, she loves (hpr children); 

 kisewatisiwin, charity, the highest virtue; kise manilo, "l'esprit charitable, Dieu," 

 and numerous others. 



•fThe following words and meanings are from Carochi's Grammar and Mo- 

 lina's Dictionary of this tongue : 



co, punzar, sangrar. 



50?o, ensartar, como flores, cuentas, etc. 



po ica, estar ensartada la cuenta, etc. 



tlafvtl, cosa ensartada. 



The original meaning of zo, a pointed tool or awl, is not given by Molina, but 

 Is repeatedly expressed in the phonetic picture writing of the Aztecs. 



