The numerous prayers to the heathen gods, preserved by Sahagun, are,
doubtless, faithfully recorded, and are accurate examples of the
elevated literary style of the ancient Aztecs. They should, by all
means, be printed, so that they could be accessible to those who would
acquaint themselves with the genius of the language and the psychology
of the people.

In the Qquichua of Peru, a few similar prayers to Viracocha have been
saved from oblivion, in the pages of Cristobal de Molina. One or more
copies of his _Relacion_ are in the United States, but it has only
appeared in print through a translation by Mr. Markham, in the Hackluyt
Society's publications.[66] Some modern prayers of the Mayas are to be
found in the collection of Brasseur,[67] and, doubtless, several of the
so-called ancient "prophecies," preserved in the _Books of Chilan
Balam_, are, in fact, specimens of the impassioned and mystic
rhapsodies with which the priests of their heathendom entertained their
hearers, as Cortes and his followers heard, one day, on the island of
Cozumel.[68]




Section 6. _Poetical Literature._


Man, remarks Wilhelm von Humboldt, belongs to the singing species of
animals. True it is, that wherever found, he has some notion of music,
cultivates the accord of sounds by some sort of instrument, and gives
expression to his most acute emotions in modulations of vocal tone.