Fair Acolhuacan thou hast chosen
As thy dwelling-place and thy palace;
Thou hast set up thy royal throne there,
With thy own hand hast thou enriched it;
Wherefore it seems to be certain
That thy kingdom shall prosper and flourish.
And thou, O wise Prince Oyoyotzin,
Mighty monarch and king without equal,
Rejoice in the beauty of spring-time,
Be happy while spring abides with thee,
For the day creepeth nearer and nearer
When thou shalt seek joy and not find it.
A day when dark Fate, the destroyer.
Shall tear from thy hand the proud sceptre,
When the moon of thy glory shall lessen,
Thy pride and thy strength be diminished.
The spoil from thy servants be taken,
Thy kingdom and honor go from thee.
*****
In Mexico, proudest of cities,
Reigned the mighty and brave Montezuma;
Nezahualcoyotl, the just one,
Of blest Culhuacan was the monarch;
To strong Totoquil fell the portion
Of Acatlapan, the third kingdom.
*****
I would that those living in friendship.
Whom the thread of strong love doth encircle,
Could see the sharp sword of the Death-god.
For, verily, pleasure is fleeting.
All sweetness must change in the future.
The good things of life are inconstant."
This song, with others of the Tezcocan King's productions, were preserved in the memory of the "old ones," and "written in Aztec, after the Spanish conquest, when they were translated into Spanish by Ixtlilxochitl, a direct descendant of the royal poet."
To this learned writer, Ixtlilxochitl, we owe these valu-
