460 A VOYAGE TO Book VI. 



veral ancient monuments of antiquity, that nothing 

 may be wanting towards the complete knowledge of 

 this province, from which Spain derives such great 



advantages. 



CHAP. XI. 



Monuments of the ancient I?idia}is, in the Juris' 

 diction of Quito. Account of the several Gems 

 and Quarries found near that City, 



THE ancient inhabitants of Peru were far enough 

 from carrying the sciences to any perfection, 

 before the conquest of the country by the Spaniards. 

 They were not destitute of all knowledge of them ; 

 but it was so faint and languid, that it was far from 

 being sufficient for cultivating their minds. They 

 had also some glimmerings of the mechanic arts; 

 but their simplicity, or want of taste, was so remark- 

 able, that, unless forced by absolute necessity, they 

 never departed from the models before them. The 

 progress and improvements they made were owing 

 to industry, the common directress of mankind. A 

 close application supplied the want of science. Hence, 

 after a long series of time, and excessive labour, they 

 raised M^orks, not so totally void of art and beauty, 

 but that some particulars raise the admiration of an 

 attentive spectator. Such, for instance, were some 

 of those structures of which we have still superb ruins, 

 in which, considering the magnitude of the works, 

 and the few tools they were masters of, their con- 

 trivance and ingenuity are really admirable. And 

 the Mork itself, though destitute of European sym- 

 metry, elegance, and disposition, is «urprrzing, even 

 in the very performance of it. 



These 



