68 
TRANSACTIONS OF THE TEXAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
classified and used by them in the treatment of diseases, have come down 
to us and are yet employed as valuable drugs. 
The monarch slept but little, and usually rose at an early hour. Meals 
were served to him twice a day only, at midday and at night. He spoke 
but little also, following the example of the priests, and did not allow 
himself to be seen except on great occasions, and especially when these 
bore a national character. Dead, he was buried with all royal magnifi¬ 
cence in the corresponding teocalli or temple. 
The king was the representative of the Supreme Being. Here we 
have, singularly enough, put into practice the principle of divine rights, 
a principle in existence among the most ancient theocracies the world 
over. According to the Toltecs, the kings were immortal, and when 
these died, they were transformed into gods or changed into the heavenly 
planets. 
Agriculture .—Although the tilling of the land may have been prac¬ 
ticed by previous races, the Toltecs seemed to have attained a high de¬ 
gree of perfection in agricultural procedures. They introduced the 
cultivation of maize and cotton especially, but they also raised many 
other useful plants, such as the different kinds of pepper, beans, toma¬ 
toes, and other vegetables. Certainly, agriculture constituted among 
the Toltecs one of the principal sources of the nation’s wealth. 
Arts and Manufactures. —In the practical arts and manufactures the 
Toltecs were quite proficient, especially m the preparation, through 
spinning and weaving, of cotton textures, in the dyeing of which they 
employed the most brilliant colors. The fabrics varied in kind, from 
the coarse linen to the finest cloths resembling damask, velvet, and even 
satin. 
The different artisans, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, architects, and 
so forth, excelled in their respective trades, particularly the mozaic and 
feather manufacturers, whose exquisitely delicate workmanship remains 
unrivaled to the present time. 
The Toltecs were familiar with the working of the metals and the cut¬ 
ting of gems and precious stones, and were well acquainted with the 
qualities and virtues of those products. This extensive knowledge is 
exhibited in the stone, silver, and gold ornaments used in their dresses 
and in the interior of their houses, palaces, and temples. 
The Toltecs were great lovers of the fine arts, and although of a primi¬ 
tive nature, their architectural designs, exhibited in the constructed 
roads, cities, and monuments, evince a high order of taste and a high 
degree of civilization. 
In Teotihuacan, which may be considered as the Jerusalem, the holy 
city of the Toltecs, were built by order of King Totepeuh the great tem¬ 
ples of Tonatiuli Itzacual and Meztli Itzacual , already referred to, whose 
