262 



INDIAN AND OTHER 



coca plant, blended with saliva, on the palm of the hand, 

 and allowing it to glide by the thumb and fore-finger. All 

 their skill consisted in observing the manner in which this li- 

 quor flowed ; and the issue was decided by the form it as- 

 sumed. They regarded themselves as the sovereign disposers 

 of the awards of Nature, and presumed that they were able 

 to distribute good and evil, pains and disasters, health and 

 fortune. 



To such absurd extravagancies the idea of the Divinity, 

 when disfigured and corrupted, is sure to lead. Man, proud 

 of his own intelligence, seeks the truth, but finds it not. He 

 pursues the idle flights of his fancy, embraces shadows, and 

 is the slave of his caprices. God alone comprehends His 

 works, and derides the vain efforts of men. From the emi- 

 nence on which His august throne is established, he contem- 

 plates their idle imaginations ; and knows both the false ideas 

 which mortals form of their Creator, and the futile opinions 

 they ere6t into dogmas by which they are involved in endless 

 disputes. He alone can kindle that celestial light, in a man- 

 ner extinguished, by the aid of which man presumes that he 

 can acquire the genuine and true notion of the Supreme Being. 

 He alone can display Himself, and bestow on His creatures the 

 intelligence they need, immersed as they are in darkness and 

 error. 



To accomphsh this aim, His immense wisdom prepared the 

 fittest means. It discovered to Europe this valuable part of 

 the globe, and transferred its dominion, by the right of con- 

 quest, to Spain. Instantly the sonorous voice of her apostolic 

 ministers was heard on every side, and the law of Christianity 

 was promulgated. The clash of arms counteracted the first im- 

 pressions : 



