Book Review of
"The Conquest of Mexico"
by William Prescott
Review by
Bill Schaeffer
copyright (c) 2013, 2018
William Schaeffer
p.49
"A far more interesting personage in their mythology was Quetzalcoatl, god of the air, a divinity who, during his residence on earth, instructed the natives in the use of metals, in agriculture, and in the arts of government. He was one of those benefactors of the species, doubtless who have been deified by the gratitude of posterity. Under him, the earth teemed with fruits and flowers, without the pains of culture...
From some cause, not explained, Quetzalcoatl incurred the wrath of one of the principal gods and was compelled to abandon the country. On his way he stopped at the city of Cholula, where a temple was dedicated to his worship, the grassy ruins of which still form one of the most interesting relics of antiquity in Mexico. When he reached the shores of the Mexican Gulf, he took leave of his followers, promising that he and his descendants would revisit them hereafter, and then, entering his wizard skiff, made of serpent skins, embarked on the great ocean for the fabled land of Tlapallan. He was said to have been tall in stature, with a white skin, long dark hair, and a flowing beard. The Mexicans looked confidently to the return of their benevolent deity; and this remarkable tradition, deeply cherished in their hearts, prepared the way, as we shall see, for the future success of the Spaniards."
p. 81
"We know little further of the astronomical attainments of the Aztecs. That they were acquainted with the cause of eclipses is evident from the representation, on their maps, of the disk of the moon projected on that of the sun. Whether they had arranged a system of constellations is uncertain; though, they recognized some of the most obvious, as the Pleiades, for example, is evident by the fact that they regulated their festivals by them."
p. 136
"Hernando Cortez was born at Medellin, a town in the south east corner of Estremadura, in 1485. He came of an ancient and respectable family; and historians have gratified the national vanity by tracing it up to the Lombard Kings, whose descendants crossed the Pyrenees, and established themselves in Aragon under the gothic Monarchy...
In his infancy Cortez is said to have had a feeble constitution which strengthened as he grew older. At fourteen, he was sent to Salamanca, as his father, who conceived great hopes from his quick and showy parts, proposed to educate him for the law, a profession which held out better inducements to the young aspirant than any other. The son, however, did not conform to those views. He showed little fondness for books..."
p. 137
"...And when at the age of seventeen, he proposed to enroll himself under the banners of the Great Captain, his parents, probably thinking a life of hardship and hazard abroad preferable to one of idleness at home, made no objections...
...An unlucky accident defeated the purpose of Cortes.
As he was scaling a high wall, one night, which gave him access to the apartment of a lady with whom he was engaged in an intrigue, the stones gave way, and he was thrown down with much violence and buried under the ruins. A severe contusion, though attended with no other serious consequences, confined to his bed till after the departure of the fleet.
Two years longer he remained at home..."
p. 138
"Immediately on landing (in Cuba), Cortes repaired to the house of the governor, to whom he had been personally known in Spain. Ovando was absent on an expedition into the interior, but the young man was kindly received by the secretary, who assured him that there would be no doubt of his obtaining a liberal grant of land to settle on. "But I came to get gold," replied Cortez, "not to till the soil like a peasant."
p. 605
"Thus, after a siege of nearly three months duration, unmatched in history for the constancy and courage of the besieged, seldom surpassed for the severity of its sufferings, fell the renowned capital of the Aztecs. Unmatched, it may truly be said, for constancy and courage, when we recollect that the door of capitulation on the most honorable terms was left open to them throughout the whole blockade, and that, sternly rejecting every proposal of their enemy, they, to a man, preferred to die rather than surrender."
