Montezuma Was Much Displeased With These
Expressions, Saying That He Would Not Have Admitted Us To The Temple If He
Had Known We Were To Insult His Gods, Who Dispensed Health, Good Harvests,
Seasonable Weather, And Victory, And Whom They Were Bound In Duty And
Gratitude To Adore.
Cortes dropped the subject and proposed to withdraw,
to which Montezuma assented, observing that he must remain, and atone by
an expiatory sacrifice for having admitted us into the temple.
Cortes then
took leave of the king, and we descended the steps, to the great
inconvenience of our invalids. If I am not quite so correct as I wish and
ought to be in many of the things which I relate and describe, I must beg
my readers to consider the situation in which I then served, being under
the necessity of giving more attention to the orders of my officers than
to the surrounding objects of curiosity. The temple which we had just
visited covered a prodigious extent of ground, and diminished gradually
from the base to the platform on the top, having five concavities like
barbicans between the middle and the top, but without parapets. On the
broad platform of the summit there was a tower in which the images were
placed. But as there are many paintings of temples in the possession of
the conquerors, one of which I have, it will be easy to form an idea of
the structure of this temple from these representations[2]. It was said by
the Mexicans, that numerous offerings of gold, silver, jewels, productions
of the earth, and human victims were deposited under the foundations of
this great temple at the time of its erection; and it is certain, when the
ground on which it stood was afterwards dug up for the church of St Jago,
that we found great quantities of gold, silver, and other valuables on
sinking the new foundations. A Mexican also, who obtained a grant of part
of this ground, discovered a considerable treasure, about which there was
a law-suit for the royal interest. This account was confirmed by King
Guatimotzin, who assured us that the circumstances were recorded in
ancient historical paintings. At a small distance from the great temple,
there stood a tower, having a gate or entrance always open, like the mouth
of an enormous monster, ready to devour those who entered this hell or
habitation of the demons. At this horrible door there stood many frightful
idols, beside which there was a place for sacrifice, and within there were
pots full of water ready to boil the flesh of the victims, which formed
the horrible repasts of the priests. The idols were like serpents and
devils, and the place, all smeared over with human blood, was furnished
with knives for sacrifice like the slaughter-house of a butcher. In
another part of the buildings there were great piles of wood, and a
reservoir of water supplied by a pipe from the great aqueduct of
Chapoltepec. In one of the courts there was a temple, all besmeared with
blood and soot, surrounded by the tombs of the Mexican nobility. In
another court there were immense piles of human bones, all regularly
arranged. Every temple had its peculiar idols, and each its regular
establishment of priests, who were dressed in long black vestments,
something between the dress of our canons and the Dominican friars. They
all wore their hair long and clotted with blood, and their ears were all
lacerated in honour of their abominable idols. At some distance from the
temple of the tombs, there was another of which the idols were said to
preside over marriages; and all the courts were surrounded by low houses
for the priests and their numerous assistants. Hard by these was a large
building in which great numbers of the Mexican young women resided, as in
a nunnery, till they were married. They were devoted to the worship of two
female deities, who presided over marriages, to whom they sacrificed in
order to obtain good husbands. I have thus been diffuse in describing this
great temple, as it was by far the largest and most splendid in Mexico;
yet the temple of Cholula was still higher, having 120 steps. This was
built on a different plan from that of Mexico, and was held in high
veneration by the natives. The temple of Tezcuco also was very large,
being ascended by 117 steps, and all these differed in their structure,
though they all agreed in having a number of outer courts, and a double
inclosure. Every province of this country had its own peculiar gods, who
were supposed to have no concern with those of other provinces, so that
its gods and idols were quite innumerable. Having effectually fatigued
ourselves in examining the objects I have just described, we retired to
our quarters.
As Montezuma was entirely adverse to the proposal of Cortes for converting
the great temple of Mexico into a Christian church, he was exceedingly
desirous to have a chapel and altar in our quarters, and made application
to Montezuma through one of his principal nobles to have materials for
this purpose. This request was immediately complied with, and as abundance
of timber and native workmen were sent immediately, it was completed in
three days. In this new chapel mass was celebrated every day, though we
lamented the want of wine for the holy eucharist, as it had been all
expended during the illness of Cortes, Olmedo, and others, while we were
in the dominions of Tlascala. We were extremely regular in our devotions,
both because it was our duty, and that we might impress a favourable
opinion of our holy religion on Montezuma and his subjects. While our
carpenters were looking out for a proper place in which to fix the holy
cross of our chapel, they observed the appearance of a door in one of the
walls of our quarters which had been closed up.
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