38 FANCIED RESEMBLANCES OF NAMES. 



LlB - likely that Solomon would leave tlie East Indies, most rich 

 and plentiful!, to send his fleetes to this farther land, whether 

 if they had come so often, as it is written, we had surely 

 found more signes and testimonies thereof. Moreover the 

 Etimologie of the name of Ophir, and the change or reduc 

 tion thereof to Peru, seemes to me of small consideration, 

 being most certaine that the name of Peru is not very 

 auncient, nor common to all that couiitrie. 1 It hath beene 

 vsuall in the discoverie of the new world, to give names to 

 lands and portes of the sea according to the occasions pre 

 sented at their ariuall ; and I beleeve that the name of Peru 

 hath bene so found out and put in practice ; for we find heere 

 that the name hath bene given to all the countrie of Peru, 

 by reason of a river so called by the inhabitants of the 

 eountrie, where the Spaniards arrived vpon their first dis 

 coverie. Whereby we maintaine that the Indians them 

 selves bee ignorant, and do not vse this name and appella 

 tion to signifie their land. It seemeth moreover, the same 

 Authors will say, that Sefer spoken of in the scripture, is- 

 that which we now call Andes, which are most high moun- 

 taines in Peru. But this resemblance of names and appel 

 lations is no sufficient proofe. If that were of force, we 

 ifebel- clou* mi g^^ as we ^ Sa 7 that Yucatan is lectan mentioned in the 

 LJcsan holy scripture. Neither may we say that the names of 

 Abraheex Titus and Paul, which the Kings Inguas 2 of Peru do vse, 

 Gen. x xv. come from the Romans or Christians, seeing it is too weake 

 an argument to draw a conclusion of great matters. We 

 see plainely that it is contrarie to the intention of the holy 

 scriptures, which some have written, that Tharsis and Ophir 

 were one Province or were reached in the same voyage, con 

 ferring the 22 chapter of the 4 booke of the Kings, with the 



1 See my translation of the Royal Commentaries of Garcilasso de la 

 Vega, i, p. 27, for the derivation of the word Peru. 



2 Titu and Paullu are names of several Yncas. Titu means &quot;august&quot; 

 or &quot;magnanimous&quot;. Royal Comm., i, p. 145. 



