28 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



purpofes of religion, where the people affembled to wor- 

 ship their gods, and implore their protection. They 

 called the temple Teocalli, that is, the houfe of god, and 

 Teopan^ the place of God ; which names they applied 

 with greater propriety to the temples erecled in honour 

 of the true God, after they embraced Chriflianity. 



The city and kingdom of Mexico began with the build- 

 ing of the fan&uary of Huitzilopochtli or Mexitli, 

 whence it has derived its name. That edifice was then 

 a miferable hut. Itzcoatl, the firfl king and conqueror 

 of that nation, after the taking of Azcapozalco, enlarged 

 it. Montezuma T. his fuccefToi 1 , built a new temple, 

 which had fome fhew of magnificence ; and, at length 

 Ahuitzotl raifed and dedicated that immenfe temple 

 which his predecefibr Tizoc had planned. This was the 

 temple which the Spaniards celebrated fo highly after 

 they had deftroyed it. It were to be wifhed that their 

 accuracy in defcribing its dimenfions had been but equal 

 to their zeal in deflroying that fuperb monument of fu- 

 perftition : but fuch is the variety of their accounts, that, 

 after having laboured to reconcile them, I have found it 

 impoffible to afcertain its proportions ; nor Ihould 1 ever 

 have been able to form an idea of the architecture of 

 that temple without the figure prefented to us by the 

 Anonymous Conqueror ; a copy of which I have here 

 fubjoined, although I have paid lefs regard in it to his 

 delineation than his defcription. I fhall mention there- 

 fore all that I think may be depended upon, after a very 

 tedious comparifon of the defcriptions given by four eye- 

 witneffes, and neglect what I have been unable to extri- 

 cate from the confufion of different authors (x). 



This 



(x) The four eye-witnelTes whofe defcriptions v/e have connected together 

 are the conqueror Cortes, Bernal Diaz, the Anonymous Conqueror, and Saha- 



gUH. 



