352 
the Quiche language, called the “Popol-Vuh/ and m it a tra- 
dition of the Creation, as corroborative to my mind ot its 
descent from the original history of the world, which we 
read of in our Bible, as corroborative, I repeat, in short, as the 
Assyrian account of the Deluge is of there being a current 
international tradition of that event, and not simply a Hebrew 
one. Mr. Baldwin gives the particulars of the Creation from 
the “ Popol-Vuh,” as follows: — ,,, , , . 
“According to the ‘ Popol-Vuh/ the world had a beginning. 
There was a time when it did not exist. Only ‘ Heaven 
existed, below which all space was empty, silent, unchanging 
solitude Nothing existed there, neither man, nor animal, nor 
earth, nor tree. Then appeared a vast expanse of water on 
which divine beings moved in brightness. They said barth, 
and instantly mountains rose above the waters like (hard* 
fish), and were made. Thus was the earth created by the 
Heart of Heaven” Next came the creation of animals; but 
the gods were disappointed, because the animals could neither 
tell their names, nor worship the Heart of Heaven. 
45 Therefore it was resolved that man should be created. 
First man was made of earth; but his flesh had no cohesion; he 
was inert, could not turn his head, and had no mind, although he 
could speak; therefore he was consumed in the water. Next 
men were made of wood, and these multiplied; but they had 
neither heart nor intellect, and could not worship, and so they 
withered up and disappeared in the waters. A third attempt 
followed: man was made of a tree called tzite, and woman ot 
the pith of a reed; but these failed to think, speak, or worship, 
and were destroyed, all save a remnant, which still exists as a 
race of small monkeys in forests.t 
46 A fourth attempt to create the human race was successtul, 
but the circumstances attending this creation are veiled m 
mystery . It took place before the beginning of dawn, when 
neither sun nor moon had risen, and was a wonder-work of the 
Heart of Heaven . Four men were created ; and they could 
reason, speak, and see in such a manner, as to know all things 
at once They worshipped the Creator with thanks for exist- 
ence ; but the gods, dismayed and scared, breathed clouds on 
thei/eyes to limit their vision, and cause them to be men, and 
* I have used the expression “ hard fish ” here, as that which is nearest to 
the meaning ; the simile is clearly an invention. In the original they are 
described as “ like lobsters ” ; but just as Kr,rog means large fish as well as 
whale, and as the Romans used “ Bos ” for any large undescribed animal, it is 
plain the lobster is in this case merely selected from its hard crust. 
t Here becomes evident the invention of the restorer ; it 1S °P e 2J to im ' 
mediate detection, being as childish as that which distinguishes the Puranas. 
