Quiché people

“ And they attained to that degree of civilisation by very slow and gradual advances. Many things, and especially the character of the people, lead to the belief that cycles of ages must have elapsed before these Quichuas were in a position to establish a superiority over their neighbours, and assume the position of an imperial people. ”

“ The surly taxpayers from whom Cervantes had to wring contributions, the clergy who excommunicated and imprisoned him, the alcaldes and jacks-in-office who made his life a 148 burden, the cheating landlords and strumpets whom he met in miserable inns—these people were not the crown and flower of the human race, but they were not intangible abstractions, nor even persistent bores; they were plain men and women, creatures of flesh and blood, subject to all the passions of humanity, and using vigorous, natural speech instead of euphemisms and preciosities. ”

“ When their victory was complete, Don Quixote called all the slaves together, and they gathered round to hear what he commanded, when he spoke to them as follows: 'It is the duty of well-bred people to be grateful for benefits received, and ingratitude is one of the worst of sins. ”

“ In Genesis (chap. iii., 22) , "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:" therefore God drove him out of the garden. In the Quiche legends we are told, "The gods feared that they had made men too perfect, and they breathed a cloud of mist over their vision."
When the ancestors of the Quiches migrated to America the Divinity parted the sea for their passage, as the Red Sea was parted for the Israelites. ”

“ The intellectual advancement of the Quichua people had kept pace with the increase in their material comforts; and their religious belief, their literary culture, their discoveries in the sciences of astronomy and mechanics, and their administrative talent, if not of a very high order, at least prove very clearly that they were not incapable of attaining a respectable rank amongst civilised nations. During the last two centuries of their existence as an independent people, their progress was very rapid. ”

“ Death and sleep make us all alike, rich and poor, high and low. Do but call to mind what first put this whim of government into my noddle, you will find it was your own self; for, as for me, I know no more what belongs to islands and governors than a blind buzzard. So if you fancy the devil will have me for being a governor, let me be plain Sancho still, and go to heaven, rather than my lord governor, and go to hell."
"These last words of thine, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "in my opinion, prove thee worthy to govern a thousand islands. ”

“ The various traditions agree that this elevated being, the father of American civilization, inculcated first of all a belief in a Supreme Creator, Lord of Heaven and Earth. It is a singular fact, that the ancient Quiche tradition represents the Deity as a Triad, or Trinity, with the deified heroes arranged in orders below,--a representation not improbably connected with the Hindoo conception. The belief in a Supreme Being seems to have been generally diffused among the Central American and Mexican tribes, even as late as the arrival of the Spaniards. ”

“ I say no more, though I could." "Be not angry or annoyed at what thou hearest, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "or there will never be an end of it; keep a safe conscience and let them say what they like; for trying to stop slanderers' tongues is like trying to put gates to the open plain. If a governor comes out of his government rich, they say he has been a thief; and if he comes out poor, that he has been a noodle and a blockhead." ”

“ Bachelor, it is not the fame of being thought valiant that I aim at, but that of being deemed the very best and trustiest squire that ever followed the heels of a knight-errant. And if, after all my services, my master Don Quixote will be so kind as to give me one of those many islands which his worship says he shall light on, I shall be much beholden to him; but if he does not, why then I am born, do you see, and one man must not live to rely on another. Mayhaps the bread I shall eat without government will go down more savourily than if I were a governor ”

“ The next day they journeyed along towards the Pass of Lapice, a romantic spot, at which they arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon.
'Here,' said Don Quixote to his Squire, 'we may hope to dip our hands up to the elbows in what are called adventures. But take note of this, that although thou seest me in the greatest dangers of the world, thou art not to set hand to thy sword in my defence, unless those who assault me be base or vulgar people. ”

“ The horsemen had firelocks, and those on foot javelins and swords.
As soon as Sancho saw them he said: 'This is a [99] chain of galley slaves, people forced by the King to go to the galleys.'
'How! People forced?' asked Don Quixote. 'Is it possible that the King will force anybody?'
'I say not so,' answered Sancho, 'but they are people condemned for their offences to serve the King in the galleys.'
'In fact,' replied Don Quixote, 'however you put it, these folk are being taken where they go by force and not of their own free will.'
'That is so,' said Sancho. ”

“ The cosmogony and mythical lore of the Quichés seem to have their root in the beliefs and facts of a time far more ancient than the national beginning of this people. In assuming the form in which we find them, they must have passed through several phases of growth, which [194] changed their appearance and obscured their meaning. Manifestly the history of the country did not begin with the Quichés. The account of the creation, with every thing else in this cosmogony and mythology, is original, like the civilization to which they belong. ”

“ There are evidences also of foreign, chiefly Nahua, influences in the molding of Quiché institutions, exerted before or after the Toltec era in Anáhuac, probably at both periods. The traditional history of the Quiché empire for three or four centuries before the Conquest, rests almost entirely on manuscripts written in the native languages with the Roman alphabet, which have only been consulted by one modern writer. ”

“ The Quichés are reserved in their intercourse with strangers. Whatever may be their comparative condition of wealth or poverty they all live in the same manner, and seem to be satisfied with the barest necessaries. Near Jacaltenango, when amongst the Mams, I met one of the richest and most influential of the Indians of that tribe. He was living like the meanest of the people, although he was the owner of a prosperous estate. This apparent equality in the habits of life is universal amongst the Indians. ”

“ It is of importance to note that the account given by Fuentes of Socoleo, establishes to a great extent, the accuracy of certain portions of the manuscripts composed by the young Quiché caciques which relate to the traditions of the migrations of the Quichés from Mexico, and the manner in which they divided into separate governments the countries which they had conquered, under the names of Quiché, Kachiquel, Mam and Zutugil. ”

“ He must have been re-living the emotions he experienced on his return to his native land, when he made Don Quixote declare to his faithful squire: “Liberty ... is one of the most valuable blessings that heaven has bestowed upon mankind. Not all the treasures concealed in the bowels of the earth, nor those in the bosom of the sea can be compared with it. ”

“ Upon Don Quixote's approach a peasant called out, "One of these two gentlemen who come here, and who don't know the parties, will tell us what we ought to do about our wager." "That I will, certainly," said Don Quixote, "and according to the rights of the case, if I can manage to understand it." "Well, here it is, worthy sir," said the peasant; "a man of this village who is so fat that he weighs twenty stone challenged another, a neighbour of his, who does not weigh more than nine, to run a race. ”

“ While Sancho was thus employed, Don Quixote saw twelve young farmers' sons, all dressed very gay, enter upon stately mares, as richly and gaudily equipped as the country could afford, with little bells fastened to their furniture. These in a close body made several careers up and down the meadow, merrily shouting and crying out "Long live Camacho and Quiteria! he is rich and she is fair, and she the fairest in the world!" Poor ignorants (thought Don Quixote, overhearing them) , you speak as you know; but had you ever seen my Dulcinea del Toboso, you would not be so lavish of your praises. ”

“ And as he rode towards his village, he recited to himself in a low voice these words: 'Well mayest thou call thyself happy above all other women of the earth, O! above all beauties, beautiful Dulcinea of Toboso; since it has fallen to thy lot to hold submissive to thy will a Knight so renowned and valorous as is and ever shall be, Don Quixote of the Mancha, who, as all the world knows, but yesterday received the order of Knighthood, and to-day hath destroyed the greatest outrage and wrong that injustice and cruelty could commit. ”

“ The canon, replying to Don Quixote, said, “In truth, brother, I know more about books of chivalry than I do about Villalpando’s elements of logic; so if that be all, you may safely tell me what you please.”
“In God’s name, then, señor,” replied Don Quixote; “if that be so, I would have you know that I am held enchanted in this cage by the envy and fraud of wicked enchanters; for virtue is more persecuted by the wicked than loved by the good. ”

“ The four Quiché ancestors however were too perfect to please the gods, being omniscient, so the latter dimmed their intellects, but, as some sort of compensation, provided them with wives. The sun as yet was not created, all the world was dark, and mankind had no knowledge of ritual. So they set out for Tulan Zuiva, where each tribe received its god under whose leadership it commenced its migration. Before the general separation however the need of fire was felt, and the Quiché god, Tohil, who was a thunder-god, provided his votaries with a constant supply, by striking it from his sandal. ”

“ The history of the Quiché exhibits some connection with that of the Kakchiquel, and further displays certain points of resemblance with the early legends of the Mexicans. Though both the Quiché and Kakchiquel accounts give lists of kings who ruled over their respective tribes, yet they furnish no dates, and the lengths of the various reigns can only be conjectured. Quiché history, like the Mexican, begins in myth, with the final or historical creation. The creating-gods fashioned four men out of maize, Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah and Iqi-Balam. ”

“ To this the peasant answered, "Señor—sinner that I am!—can not your worship see that I am not Don Rodrigo de Narvaez nor the Marquis of Mantua, but Pedro Alonso your neighbor, and that your worship is neither Baldwin nor Abindarraez, but the worthy gentleman Señor Quixada?"
"I know who I am," replied Don Quixote, "and I know that I may be not only those I have named, but all the Twelve Peers of France and even all the Nine Worthies, since my achievements surpass all that they have done all together and each of them on his own account." ”

“ There are in the whole parish but two peelers, the minister and his wife, and the tithe proctor, or collector of tithes; in all, five Protestants."
"You are a lad, I see," said the official, as he dismounted from the sleigh and ordered the children to enter their new home.
"O, woe, woe, woe!" cried they, as they found themselves admitted as paupers, and enclosed within the precincts of the terrible poorhouse. "O Lord, what will we do?" cried they. "O sir, don't keep us here, or send word to the priest first. I will go to his house, myself," said Paul. ”

“ The ladies of Quito are generally handsome and well educated, and the men a good looking race. The instruction given to young people of rank consists chiefly in the polite arts, and in philosophy and divinity. The language of the whites and most of their descendants is Spanish, but the Quichua and other dialects of Indian origin are no less common. ”

“ Fragments, more or less complete, of these traditions have been preserved. The most notable of them is the National Legend of the Quiches of Guatemala, the so-called Popol Vuh. It was written at an unknown date in the Quiche dialect, by a native who was familiar with the ancient records. A Spanish translation of it was made early in the last century by a Spanish priest, Father Francisco Ximenez, and was first published at Vienna, 1857. [127] In 1861 the original text was printed in Paris, with a French translation by the Abbé Brasseur (de Bourbourg) . ”

“ Moreover, sirs of the guard,” added Don Quixote, “these poor fellows have done nothing to you; let each answer for his own sins yonder; there is a God in Heaven who will not forget to punish the wicked or reward the good; and it is not fitting that honest men should be the instruments of punishment to others, they being therein no way concerned. This request I make thus gently and quietly, that, if you comply with it, I may have reason for thanking you; and, if you will not voluntarily, this lance and sword together with the might of my arm shall compel you to comply with it by force.” ”