ANCIENT HISTORY OF MEXICO. Xvii 



up. He was the firft who publiflied the feftivals, rites, 

 laws, and the method by which the Mexicans computed 

 time : but there arc^ many inaccuracies in it on account 

 of thefe firft informations which he obtained not having 

 been altogether exa6l. The tranflation of this work in 

 the Tufcan language, printed at Venice in 1599, is fo 

 full of errors it cannot be read without difguft. 



Toribio de Benavente. A moft celebrated Spaniard 

 of the order of St. Francis, and one of the twelve firft 

 preachers who announced the gofpel to the Mexicans, 

 known commonly from his evangelical poverty, by the 

 Mexican name of MotGlinia wrote., among his apoftolical 

 works, Ihe History of the Indtatzs of New Spain^ divided 

 into three parts. In the firft, he explains the rites of 

 their ancient religion ; in the fecond, their converfion to 

 the Chriftian faith, and their life when Chriftians ; and 

 in the third, he difccurfss of their genius^, their arts and 

 their cuftoms. Of this hiftory , which is completed in one 

 volume, folio, there ::'.re feme copies to be found ia Spain. 

 He wrocc alfo a worS: on the Mexican Calendar (the ori- 

 ginal of which is preierved in Mexico), and others not 

 lefs ufeful to the Spaniards than the Indians. 



Andrea d'Olraos. A Francifcan Spaniard, of holy 

 memory. This indefatigable preacher acquired the 

 Mexican, Totonacan, and Huaxtecan languages, and 

 compofed a Gr::mmar and Di6i:ionaiy of all three. Be- 

 fides other works written by him for the ufe of the 

 Spaniards and the Indians, he wrote in Spanifli a Treatife 

 on Mexican Antiquities ; and in the Mexican language, 

 the exhortations which the ancient Mexicans ufed to their 

 children, of which there is a fpecimen in the feventh 

 book of this hiftory. 



Vol. I. c Bernardo 



