38 



numents can be discussed only in the narrative of 

 my journey; since, as the nations to whom these 

 edifices and sculptures are attributed still exist, 

 their character, and the knowledge of their man- 

 ners, will throw light on the history of their 

 migrations. 



Investigations of monuments erected by half- 

 civilized nations have another kind of interest, 

 which we may call psychological ; presenting to 

 us a picture of the uniform progress of the human 

 mind. The works of the first inhabitants of 

 Mexico hold an intermediary place between 

 those of the Scythian tribes, and the ancient mo- 

 numents of Hindostan. What a striking spec- 

 tacle does human genius present, when we sur- 

 vey the immense disparity, that separates the 

 tombs of Tinian and the statues of Easter Island 

 from the monuments of the Mexican temple of 

 Mitla ; and compare the shapeless idols of this 

 temple with the masterpieces of the chisel of 

 Praxiteles or Lysippus ! 



But we shall cease to wonder at the rude 

 style or incorrect expression of the monuments 

 of the nations of America, when we reflect, that, 

 cut off from the rest of mankind, wanderers in a 

 country where man must have long struggled 

 against Nature in her most savage and disordered 

 aspect, these tribes, with no resources but in 

 their own energy, could only emerge with tardy 



