Xll INTRODUCTION&quot;. 



ing the native languages, and gives advice on the 

 various details of a well organised parochial system. 



Acosta then translated the two books of the De 

 natura from Latin into Spanish, and added five others, 

 which completed the Historia natural y moral de las 

 Indicts. The first four books are devoted to the 

 natural history, the last three to the moral history, of 

 the Indies. In the former, the learned Jesuit touches 

 upon all points of interest relating to physical geo 

 graphy as it was then understood, comparing the 

 knowledge of his time with the opinions and beliefs of 

 ancient philosophers and Fathers of the Church. In 

 this spirit he discusses the form of the earth and of 

 the heavens, the distribution of land and sea, the 

 habitability of the tropics, and the way in which 

 America may have been peopled. In the first two 

 books the discussion is more general, while the next 

 two treat especially of the JNew World and its produc 

 tions. Chapters are devoted to the winds and tides, 

 and to the fisheries, others to the lakes and rivers, to 

 the varied aspects of the lands, to volcanoes and earth 

 quakes, to the mineral resources, and to the vegetable 

 and animal kingdoms. The last three books, including 

 the &quot; Moral History of the Indies&quot;, give an interesting 

 account of the religion and government of the people 

 of Peru and Mexico, and form a valuable body of in 

 formation respecting those ancient American civilisa 

 tions. Acosta was a man of great learning ; he was 

 an intelligent and indefatigable observer, as well as a 

 very diligent collector of information, and he had ex 

 ceptionally good opportunities ; so that his work will 



