328 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



otheca Mexicana. " There were," he fays, "among 

 H the Mexican pictures thofe of the lunar courfe, called 

 " by them Tonalamatl, in which they publifhed their 

 " prognoses refpecting the changes of the moon. One 

 " of thofe pictures is introduced by Siguenza, in his 

 " Ciclographia Mexicana, as he himfelf acknowledges 

 " in his work entitled, Libra Astronomica. Others 

 " contained the horofcopes of children, in which they 

 " reprefented their names, the day and fign of their 

 " birth, and their fortune. Of this fort of painting, 

 " mention is made by Jerom Roman, in his Republic of 

 tc the World, Part II. Tom. ii. Others were dogmati- 

 " cal, containing the fyftem of their religion ; others 

 " hiftorical, others geographical, &c." " It is true," 

 adds the fame author, " that thofe paintings which 

 " were made for familiar and common ufe, were clear 

 " and intelligible to every one : but thofe which con- 

 " tained the fecrets of religion were full of hierogly- 

 " phics, the meaning of which could not be compre- 

 " hended by the vulgar. There was great difference 

 " in their paintings, both with refpect to their authors, 

 " and the method of doing them, and the defign and 

 " ufe of them. Thofe which were made for the orna- 

 66 ments of the palaces were perfect ; but in others 

 " containing fome fecret meaning, particular characters, 

 " and fome monftrous and horrible figures were em- 

 " ployed. The painters were numerous; but the 

 " writing of characters, the compofing of annals, and 

 " the treating of matters concerning religion and poli- 

 " tics, were employments peculiar to the priefts." So 

 far Eguiara. 



M. de Paw will pleafe to know therefore, that among 

 the Mexican paintings fome were mere images of ob- 

 jects \ 



