36 
numents can be discussed only in the narrative of 
my journey ; since, as the nations to whom these 
edifices and sculptures are attributed still exist, 
their character, and the knowledge of their man- 
ners, will throw light on the history of their 
migrations. 
Investigations of monuments erected by half- 
civilized nations have another kind of interest, 
which we may call psychological ; presenting to 
us a picture of the uniform progress of the human 
mind. The works of the first inhabitants of 
Mexico hold an intermediary place between 
those of the Scythian tribes, and the ancient mo- 
numents of Hindustan. What a striking spec- 
tacle does human genius present, when we sur- 
vey the immense disparity, that separates the 
tombs of Tinian and the statues of Easter Island 
from the monuments of the Mexican temple of 
Mitla ; and compare the shapeless idols of this 
temple with the masterpieces of the chisel of 
Praxiteles or Lysippus ! 
But we shall cease to wonder at the rude 
style or incorrect expression of the monuments 
of the nations of America, when we reflect, that, 
cut off* from the rest of mankind, wanderers in a 
country where man must have long struggled 
against Nature in her most savage and disordered 
aspect, these tribes, with no resources but in 
their own energy, could only emerge with tardy 
