222 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



paid attention to make a faithful reprefentation of things, 

 they neglected making their images perfect, and on that 

 account frequently contented themfelves with mere 

 /ketches or outlines. However, we have feen among 

 the ancient paintings, many portraits of the kings of 

 Mexico, in which befides the fingular beauty of the co- 

 lours, the proporcions were mod accurately obferved ; 

 but we will, notwithstanding, confefs, that the Mexican 

 painters were by no means arrived at much perfection of 

 defign, or in mixing made and light. 



The Mexicans ufed in painting not only to reprefent 

 the fimple images of objects, as fome writers have report- 

 ed, but alfo employed hieroglyphics and characters (o). 

 They reprefented material things by their proper figures, 

 but in order to abridge and fave labour, paper, and co- 

 lours, they contented themfelves with reprefenting a part 

 of an object which was fufficient to make it be under- 

 ftood by the intelligent - 7 and as we cannot underftand 

 the writings of others, until we have learnt to read 

 them, in like manner thofe American authors required 

 to have been firft inflructed in the Mexican manner of 

 reprefenting objects, in order to have been able to un- 

 derftand the paintings which ferved them in place of 

 writings. For things which are even by nature totally 

 devoid of figure, or were difficult of reprefentation, they 

 fubftituted certain characters ; but thefe were not ver- 

 bal, or deftined to form words like our letters, but real 

 characters immediately fignificative of the things, fuch 

 as the characters of aftronomers and algebraifts. That 

 our readers may form fome idea of them, we have fub- 

 joined the Numeral characters of the Mexicans, alfo 



thofe 



(o) Such authors are effectually refuted by Dr. Eguiara, in the learned pre* 

 face to his Bibliotheca Mefficana, and by us in our DhTertations. 



