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which has been brought forward does not carry with it convic- 
tion, nothing else will. Some persons will probably repel the 
analogies just named, by urging that they have arisen out of 
the organic unity of the human mind in different races, 
without the least reference to a unity of origin in those races. 
This objection might possibly apply to some points. In 
ancient Mexico, for example, there has been discovered a 
piece of pottery with a border pattern painted on it as per- 
fectly Etruscan in its character as if it had been dug up in 
Etruria itself. The analogy is most striking. Yet the possi- 
bility of an independent origin of this sort, in different ages, 
races, and countries, is so plausible that, taken by itself, it 
would prove little or nothing. That, and many other ana- 
logies, only obtain force by their aggregation with a number 
of others, too singular and exceptioual in the history of 
mankind to be disregarded — such as those brought forward 
in the main part of this paper. I now conclude, therefore, 
with one or two other extraordinary coincidences of the same 
kind in connection with ancient Mexico — coincidences which 
have the strongest possible tendency either to prove that 
America had been visited by Christian missionaries long 
before the voyages of Columbus, or else that the wave of an 
Old World migration had taken over thither certain tribes 
who had previously known something of Christianity. Thus 
we read, in Prescott's Conquest of Mexico , that the Aztecs 
had a religious ceremony of naming their children, almost 
exactly corresponding with our sacrament of baptism. The 
lips and bosom of the infant were sprinkled with water ; when 
God was implored in the following extraordinary language, 
viz., “ that He would permit the holy drops to wash away the 
sin which had been given to the infant before the foundation 
of the world, in order that it might be born anew." I merely 
give you the form of words adduced by Mr. Prescott. 
Again, that these Aztecs, with their bloody ritual, should 
have had such set forms of prayer as the following, is no 
less extraordinary : “ Wilt Thou blot us out, 0 Lord, for 
ever ?" And, “Impart to us, out of Thy great mercy. Thy gifts, 
which we are not worthy to receive through our own merits." 
Once more, what can be more parallel with the New Testa- 
ment teaching than the following moral maxim : “ Keep 
peace with all ; bear injuries with humility; God, who sees, 
will avenge you." Still more remarkable is the following : 
“ He who looks too curiously on a woman commits adul- 
tery with his eyes." In the midst of this strange medley of 
truly Christian morals with idolatrous abominations, there 
cropped up also certain vivid evidences of the Roman Catholic 
y 2 
