principle which had given rise to these convents—as in the case of the Buddhist and Christian institutions, for example—but rather the desire to do honour to the Sun, the supreme god, by consecrating seraglios to him, in which his numerous consorts, protected by a severe rule, could be kept from all except himself and those to whom he might give them; accomplishing, meanwhile, those menial tasks which, especially under the rule of polygamy, woman is required to perform in the abode of her lord and master.[1]
All this shows us once more, Gentlemen, how the same fundamental logic of the human mind asserts itself across a thousand diversities, and reappears under every conceivable form in every climate and every race. Only let us look close enough and with the requisite information, and we shall find in every case that all is explained, that all holds together, that all is justified, by some underlying principle, and that "that idiot of a word,"
- ↑ Cf. Acosta, Lib. v. cap. xv.; Montesinos, p. 56; Velasco, Lib. ii. § 3, sec. 12, § 9, sec. 10; Prescott, Bk. i. chap. iii. and elsewhere.
