Also I learned something of the history and customs, and of the picture
writing of the land, and how to read it, and moreover I obtained great
repute among the Tobascans by my skill in medicine, so that in time they
grew to believe that I was indeed a child of Quetzal, the good god. And
the more I studied this people the less I could understand of them. In
most ways they were equal to any nation of our own world of which I had
knowledge. None are more skilled in the arts, few are better architects
or boast purer laws. Moreover, they were brave and had patience. But
their faith was the canker at the root of the tree. In precept it was
noble and had much in common with our own, such as the rite of baptism,
but I have told what it was in practice. And yet, when all is said, is
it more cruel to offer up victims to the gods than to torture them
in the vaults of the Holy Office or to immure them in the walls of
nunneries?
When I had lived a month in Tobasco I had learned enough of the language
to talk with Marina, with whom I grew friendly, though no more, and it
was from her that I gathered the most of my knowledge, and also many
hints as to the conduct necessary to my safety. In return I taught her
something of my own faith, and of the customs of the Europeans, and it
was the knowledge that she gained from me which afterwards made her
so useful to the Spaniards, and prepared her to accept their religion,
giving her insight into the ways of white people.
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