HISTORY OF MEXICO. 87 



vifcous humours ; they are infenfible to the defires of 

 love, or any other paflion ; their floth holds them funk 

 in a favage ftate ; their cowardice was made manifeft at 

 the conqueft ; their moral vices are correfpondent to 

 their phyfical defects ; drunkennefs, lying, and pederaf- 

 ty, were common in the iflands, in Mexico, Peru, and 

 over all the new continent ; they lived without laws ; the 

 few arts they knew were very rude ; agriculture was to- 

 tally neglected by them, their architecture pitiful, and 

 their utenfils ftill more imperfect: in the whole new 

 world were only two cities, Cuzco in South, and Mex- 

 ico in North America, and even thefe conftituted but 

 miferable hamlets, &c. 



This is a flight fketch of the monflrous picture which 

 M. de P. draws of America : we do not give it at length, 

 nor fay how other authors, as ill informed or ftrongly 

 prejudiced as he is, have reprefented it : it would wafte 

 too much time to copy their abfurdities and errors ; nei- 

 ther do we intend to make the apology of America or 

 the Americans ; that would require a very voluminous 

 work : to write an error, two lines are fufficient ; two 

 pages, or two flieets may not be fufficient to refute it : 

 we (hall therefore, reply to thofe only which affect the 

 truth of our hiftory : we have chofen the work of M. de 

 P. becaufe in it the errors of moft others are collected. 



Although M. de P. is the principal author to whom 

 we direct our animadverfions, we fliall have occafion to 

 remark upon others, and, among thofe, on Count de 

 Buffon. We have the utmoft efteem for this celebrated 

 author, and confider him the moft diligent, the moft ac- 

 curate, and moft eloquent naturalifl of the age ; perhaps 

 there never was in the world one who made fuch pro- 

 grefs in the knowledge of animals as he has done \ but 



as 



