HISTORY OF MEXICO* 



201 



and eafy ; nor do we know any language that is more 

 regular and methodical. 



The Mexicans, like the Greeks and other nations, 

 have the advantage of making compounds of two, three, 

 or four fimple words ; but they do it with more ceco- 

 nomy than the Greeks did ; for the Greeks made ufe of 

 the entire words in compofition, whereas the Mexicans 

 cut off fyllables, or at leafl fome letters from them. 

 Tlazotli, fignifies valued or loved ; Mahuitztic, honoured 

 or revered / Tefpixqui, priest ; a word itfelf too com- 

 pofed of Teotl, god ; and the verb Pia, which fignifies 

 to hold, guard, or keep ; Tat It is father, as we have al- 

 ready faid. To unite thofe five words in one, they take 

 away eight confonants and four vowels, and fay for in- 

 ftance Notlazomabuitzteopixcatalzin, that is, my very wor- 

 thy father, or revered priest; prefixing the no, which 

 correfponds to the pronoun my, and adding tzin, which 

 is a particle expreflive of reverence. A word of this 

 kind is extremely common with the Indians when they 

 addrefs, and particularly when they confefs themfelves, 

 which although it is complex, is not, however, one of 

 the longefi ; for there are fome compounded of fo many 

 terms as to have fifteen or fixteen fyllables. 



Such compounds were made ufe of in order to give 

 the definition, or defcription, of a thing, whatever it was, 

 in one word. This may be difcovered in the names of 

 animals and plants, which are to be found in the Na- 

 tural Hiftory of Hernandez, and in the names of places 

 which occur frequently in this hiftory. Almoft all the 

 names which they gave to places of the Mexican em- 

 pire are compounds, and fignify the fituation or pro- 

 perties of the places, and that fome memorable action 

 happened there. Many of their expreffions are fo 



Vol, II. C c ftrong, 



