402 MEXICAN WRITING. 



LIB. vi. morall things, and of good examples, intermingled with 

 pleasant devices. This is the summe of that which our 

 men report of the letters and exercises of them of China, 

 wherein wee must confesse to be much wit and Industrie. 

 But all this is of small substance, for in effect all the 

 knowledge of the Chinois tendes onely to read and write, 

 and no farther, for they attaine to no high knowledge. 

 And their writing and reading is not properly reading and 

 writing, seeing their letters are no letters that can represent 

 wordes, but figures of innumerable things, the which cannot 

 be learned but in a long time, and with infinite labour. 

 , But in the end, with all their knowledge, an Indian of Peru 

 or Mexico that hath learned to read and write knowes more 

 than the wisest Mandarin that is amongst them : for that 

 the Indian with foure and twentie letters which he hath 

 learned will write all the wordes in the world, and a 

 Mandarin with his hundred thousand letters will be troubled 

 to write some proper name, as of Martin, or Alonso, and 

 with greater reason he shall be lesse able to write the 

 names of things he knowes not. So as the writing in 

 China is no other thing but a maner of painting or 

 ciphring. 



CHAP. vii. Of tlie fashion of letters and writings which the 

 Mexicaines used. 



We finde amongest the Nations of New Spaine a great 

 knowledge and memorie of antiquitie, and therefore, 

 searching by what meanes the Indians had preserved their 

 Histories and so many particularities, I learned that although 

 they were not so subtill and curious as the Chinois and 

 those of lappon, yet had they some kinde of letters and 

 bookes amongest them whereby they preserved (after their 

 manner) the deeds of their predecessors. In the province 

 of Yu-catan, where the Bishopricke is, which they call of 



