Todos los escriptores trabaxan de autorizar sus escripturas lo mejor que pueden, unos con testigos fidedignos, otros con otros escriptores que ante dellos han escripto, los testimonios de los cuales son habidos por ciertos; otros con testimonio de la Sagrada Escriptura. A mí me han faltado todos estos fundamentos para autorizar lo que en estos doce libros tengo escripto, y no hallo otro fundamento para autorizarlo sino poner aquí la relatión de la diligentia que hice para saber la verdad de todo lo que en estos libros he escripto. Como en otros prólogos désta obra he dicho, a mí me fue mandado por sancta obediencia de mi prelado mayor que escribiese en lengua mexicana lo que me pareciese ser útil para la doctrina, cultura y manutenencia de la cristiandad destos naturales desta Nueva España, y para ayuda de los obreros y ministros que los doctrinan. Recibido este mandamiento, hice en lengua castellana una minuta o memoria de todas las materias de que había de tratar, que fue lo que está escripto en los doce libros, y la postilla y cánticos. Lo cual se puso de prima tijera en el pueblo de Tepepulco, que es de la provincia de Aculhuacan o Tezcucu. Hízose desta manera: en el dicho pueblo hice juntar todos los principales con el señor del pueblo, que se llamaba don Diego de Mendoza, hombre anciano, de gran marco y habilidad, muy esperimentado en todas las cosas curiales, bélicas y políticas, y aun idolátricas. Habiéndolos juntado, propúseles lo que pretendía hacer, y pedíles me diesen personas hábiles y esperimentadas con quien pudiese platicar y me supiesen dar razón de lo que los preguntase. Ellos me respondieron que se hablarían cerca de lo propuesto, y que otro día me responderían, y ansí se despidieron de mí. Otro día vinieron el señor con los principales, y hecho un muy solenne parlamento, como ellos entonces le usaban hacer, señaláronme hasta diez o doce principales ancianos, y dixéronme que con aquellos podía comunicar y que ellos me darían razón de todo lo que les preguntase. Estaban también allí hasta cuatro latinos, a los cuales yo pocos años antes había enseñado la gramática en el Colegio de Santa Cruz en el Tlatilulco. Con estos principales y gramáticos, también principales, platiqué muchos días, cerca de dos años, siguiendo la orden de la minuta que yo tenía hecha. Todas las cosas que conferimos me las dieron por pinturas, que aquélla era la escriptura que ellos antiguamente usaban, y los gramáticos las declararon en su lengua, escribiendo la declaratión al pie de la pintura. Tengo aún agora estos originales. También en este tiempo dicté la postilla y los cantares. Escribiéronlos los latinos en el mismo pueblo de Tepepulco.
\nCuando al capítulo donde cumplió su hebdómada el padre fray Francisco Toral, el cual me impuso esta carga, me mudaron de Tepepulco; llevando todas mis escrituras, fui a morar a Sanctiago del Tlatelulco, donde juntando los principales los propuse el negotio de mis escrituras y los demandé me señalasen algunos principales hábiles con quien examinase y platicase las escripturas que de Tepepulco traía escriptas. El gobernador con los alcaldes me señalaron hasta ocho o diez principales escogidos entre todos, muy hábiles en su lengua y en las cosas de sus antiguallas, con los cuales y con cuatro o cinco colegiales, todos trilingües, por espacio de un año y algo más, encerrados en el Colegio, se emendó, declaró y añadió todo lo que de Tepepulco truxe escripto, y todo se tornó a escribir de nuevo, de ruin letra, porque se escribió con mucha priesa. En este escrutinio o examen el que más trabaxó de todos los colegiales fue Martín Jacobita, que entonce era rector del Colegio, vecino del Tlatilulco, del barrio de Sancta Ana.
\nHabiendo hecho lo dicho en el Tlatilulco, vine a morar a Sanct Francisco de México, con todas mis escripturas, donde por espacio de tres años pasé y repasé a mis solas todas mis escripturas, y las torné a emendar y dividílas por libros, en doce libros, y cada libro por capítulos, y algunos libros por capítulos y párrafos. Después desto, siendo provincial el padre fray Miguel Navarro y guardián del Convento de México el padre fray Diego de Mendoza, con su favor se sacaron en blanco, de buena letra, todos los doce libros, y se emendó y sacó en blanco la postilla y los cantares, y se hizo un arte de la lengua mexicana con un vocabulario apéndiz, y los mexicanos emendaron y añadieron muchas cosas a los doce libros cuando se iba sacando en blanco, de manera que el primer cedazo por donde mis obras se cernieron
\n","citation_key":"citation_lopez_spanish_transcription","citation":{"en":["Spanish by López Austin & García Quintana 2000"],"es":["Español por López Austin & García Quintana 2000"]}},{"id":"a2cee9a7-c3aa-4d60-9021-0565fc5bcf0f","choice":{"en":["Spanish-to-English by García Garagarza 2023"],"es":["Español-al-inglés por García Garagarza 2023"]},"type":"translation","type_label":{"en":["spanish translation"],"es":["traducción al español"]},"column":"spanish","language":{"en":["English"],"es":["Inglés"]},"language_code":"eng","subtitle":"(García Garagarza 2023)","markdown":"## Prologue\n\nAll writers endeavor to grant authority to their writings to the best of their ability: some with credible witnesses; some with other writers who wrote before them, whose testimonies are taken to be true; others by the testimony of the Holy Scripture. I have lacked all of these foundations to give authority to what I have written in these twelve books, and I cannot find another source by which to give it authority but to present here the account of the inquiry that I made in order to learn the truth about all that I have written in these books. As I have stated in other prologues of this work, I was ordered by holy obedience to my highest prelate to write down in the Mexican language what seemed useful to me for the teaching, culture, and sustainment of the Christianity of these natives from this New Spain, as well as for an aid to the workers and ministers who indoctrinate them. Having received this commandment, I wrote in the Castilian language an outline or summary of all the matters that I was to treat, which resulted in what is written in the twelve books, as well as the commentary and the canticles,[^1] which were first drafted in the town of Tepepolco, belonging to the province of Acolhoacan or Tetzcoco. It was done in the following manner: in this town, I gathered all the nobles with the lord of the town, whose name was don Diego de Mendoza, an older man of great character and ability, very experienced in all courtly, military, political, and even idolatrous matters. Having gathered them, I proposed to them what I intended to do, and I asked them to grant me some experienced and skillful people with whom I could converse and who would know how to answer whatever I might ask them. They responded that they would confer about what had been proposed and would give me an answer the next day; and so they took their leave from me. The next day, the lord came with the nobles, and after giving a very solemn speech, as was their custom to do at that time, they indicated up to ten or twelve noble elders for me, telling me that I could communicate with them and that they would answer whatever I asked them. There were also up to four Latinos there,[^2] whom I had taught [Latin] grammar a few years before in the College of Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco. For many days—almost two years—I conversed with these nobles and grammarians, who were also nobles, following the order of the outline that I had composed. They provided me with all the things that we discussed in pictures, for that was the writing that they used in ancient times; and the grammarians explained these [pictures] in their own language, writing the explanation below the picture.[^3] I still have those originals today. I also dictated at that time the commentary and the canticles. The Latinos wrote [these texts out] in the same town of Tepepolco.\n\nDuring the meeting of the [monastic] chapter in which Father fray Francisco del Toral—who assigned me this task—completed his term, they moved me from Tepepolco. Bringing with me all my writings, I went to live in Santiago de Tlatelolco, where I gathered the nobles, proposed to them the business of my writings, and asked them to appoint some skillful nobles for me, with whom I could examine and discuss the writings that I had written in Tepepolco. The governor, together with the _alcaldes_, indicated up to eight to ten nobles chosen from among all of them, who were very skillful in their language and in the matters related to their ancient customs. Once I was cloistered in the college with them and with four or five college students, all of whom were trilingual,[^4] all the writings that I had brought from Tepepolco were corrected, explained, and expanded. Everything was copied again, in poor handwriting, because it was written in great haste. In this [textual] scrutiny or examination, the one who worked the most out of all the college students was Martín Jacobita, who at the time was rector of the college and a resident of Tlatelolco, from the barrio of Santa Ana.\n\nHaving done the aforementioned things in Tlatelolco, I came to live, with all my writings, in [the convent of] San Francisco of Mexico, where, for a period of three years, I reviewed and reexamined all of my writings by myself; and I corrected them once again and divided them into books—twelve books—and each book into chapters, and some books into chapters and paragraphs. After this, with the support of Father fray Miguel Navarro, who was the provincial, and of Father fray Diego de Mendoza, who was the guardian of the convent of Mexico, all twelve books were copied anew, in good handwriting, and the commentary and the canticles were corrected and copied anew. And an art of the Mexican language was composed with a glossary as an appendix, and the Mexicans corrected and added many things to the twelve books as they were being copied anew, in such a way that the first sieve through which my works were strained \n\n\n[^1]: “Commentary and the canticles”: Here Sahagún refers to the manuscript known as Primeros Memoriales, which formed the first draft of the _Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva España_.\n\n[^2]: That is, Indigenous students who had mastered the Latin language.\n\n[^3]: That is, the painted codex (_códice_).\n\n[^4]: That is, in Spanish, Nahuatl, and Latin.","html":"All writers endeavor to grant authority to their writings to the best of their ability: some with credible witnesses; some with other writers who wrote before them, whose testimonies are taken to be true; others by the testimony of the Holy Scripture. I have lacked all of these foundations to give authority to what I have written in these twelve books, and I cannot find another source by which to give it authority but to present here the account of the inquiry that I made in order to learn the truth about all that I have written in these books. As I have stated in other prologues of this work, I was ordered by holy obedience to my highest prelate to write down in the Mexican language what seemed useful to me for the teaching, culture, and sustainment of the Christianity of these natives from this New Spain, as well as for an aid to the workers and ministers who indoctrinate them. Having received this commandment, I wrote in the Castilian language an outline or summary of all the matters that I was to treat, which resulted in what is written in the twelve books, as well as the commentary and the canticles,1 which were first drafted in the town of Tepepolco, belonging to the province of Acolhoacan or Tetzcoco. It was done in the following manner: in this town, I gathered all the nobles with the lord of the town, whose name was don Diego de Mendoza, an older man of great character and ability, very experienced in all courtly, military, political, and even idolatrous matters. Having gathered them, I proposed to them what I intended to do, and I asked them to grant me some experienced and skillful people with whom I could converse and who would know how to answer whatever I might ask them. They responded that they would confer about what had been proposed and would give me an answer the next day; and so they took their leave from me. The next day, the lord came with the nobles, and after giving a very solemn speech, as was their custom to do at that time, they indicated up to ten or twelve noble elders for me, telling me that I could communicate with them and that they would answer whatever I asked them. There were also up to four Latinos there,2 whom I had taught [Latin] grammar a few years before in the College of Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco. For many days—almost two years—I conversed with these nobles and grammarians, who were also nobles, following the order of the outline that I had composed. They provided me with all the things that we discussed in pictures, for that was the writing that they used in ancient times; and the grammarians explained these [pictures] in their own language, writing the explanation below the picture.3 I still have those originals today. I also dictated at that time the commentary and the canticles. The Latinos wrote [these texts out] in the same town of Tepepolco.
\nDuring the meeting of the [monastic] chapter in which Father fray Francisco del Toral—who assigned me this task—completed his term, they moved me from Tepepolco. Bringing with me all my writings, I went to live in Santiago de Tlatelolco, where I gathered the nobles, proposed to them the business of my writings, and asked them to appoint some skillful nobles for me, with whom I could examine and discuss the writings that I had written in Tepepolco. The governor, together with the alcaldes, indicated up to eight to ten nobles chosen from among all of them, who were very skillful in their language and in the matters related to their ancient customs. Once I was cloistered in the college with them and with four or five college students, all of whom were trilingual,4 all the writings that I had brought from Tepepolco were corrected, explained, and expanded. Everything was copied again, in poor handwriting, because it was written in great haste. In this [textual] scrutiny or examination, the one who worked the most out of all the college students was Martín Jacobita, who at the time was rector of the college and a resident of Tlatelolco, from the barrio of Santa Ana.
\nHaving done the aforementioned things in Tlatelolco, I came to live, with all my writings, in [the convent of] San Francisco of Mexico, where, for a period of three years, I reviewed and reexamined all of my writings by myself; and I corrected them once again and divided them into books—twelve books—and each book into chapters, and some books into chapters and paragraphs. After this, with the support of Father fray Miguel Navarro, who was the provincial, and of Father fray Diego de Mendoza, who was the guardian of the convent of Mexico, all twelve books were copied anew, in good handwriting, and the commentary and the canticles were corrected and copied anew. And an art of the Mexican language was composed with a glossary as an appendix, and the Mexicans corrected and added many things to the twelve books as they were being copied anew, in such a way that the first sieve through which my works were strained
\n“Commentary and the canticles”: Here Sahagún refers to the manuscript known as Primeros Memoriales, which formed the first draft of the Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva España.↩
That is, Indigenous students who had mastered the Latin language.↩
That is, the painted codex (códice).↩
That is, in Spanish, Nahuatl, and Latin.↩
As best they can, all writers endeavor to authenticate their writings, some with credible witnesses, others by other writers who have written before them, whose testimonies are taken as true; others by witness of the Holy Bible. I have lacked all these proofs to authenticate that which I have written in these twelve Books. And I find no other proof to authenticate it except to place here the account of efforts I made to know the truth of all that I have written in these Books.
\nAs I have said in other Prologues in this work, I was ordered, by the holy command of my highest prelate, to write in the Mexican language that which seemed to me useful for the indoctrination, the propagation and perpetuation of the Christianization of these natives of this New Spain, and as a help to the workers and ministers who indoctrinate them. Having received this command I made an outline or summary in Spanish of all the topics to be considered. This is that which is written in the twelve Books and the Apostilla and Canticles that were drafted in the village of Tepepulco, which is in the province of Acolhuacan or Texcoco. It was done in this way.
\nIn the aforementioned village I assembled all the leaders with the lord of the village, named Don Diego de Mendoza, an old man of great distinction and talent, very expert in all things courtly, military, governmental, and even idolatrous. Having assembled them, I presented that which I intended to do and requested that they afford me capable and experienced persons with whom I could confer and who would know how to give me the information regarding that which I should ask of them. They replied that they would consult one another regard- ing the proposition and that they would answer me the next day. And thus they took their leave of me. The next day the lord came with the leaders. And, having made a very solemn speech, as they were wont to do at that time, they assigned me as many as ten or twelve leading elders. They told me I could communicate with them, and they would give me answers to all that I should ask them. As many as four Latinists, whom I had taught grammar a few years earlier in the College of Santa Cruz in Tlatilulco, were also there.
\nWith these leaders and grammarians, who were also leaders, I conferred many days, close to two years, following the sequence of the outline which I had prepared. They gave me all the matters we discussed in pictures, for that was the writing they employed in ancient times. And the grammarians explained them in their language, writing the explanation at the bottom of the painting. I still have these originals. Also at this time I dictated the Apostilla and the Cantares. The Latinists wrote them in the same village of Tepepulco.
\nAt the time of the Chapter meeting in which Father Fray Francisco Toral, who assigned me this task, completed his term, they transferred me from Tepepulco. Taking all my writings I went to dwell in Santiago del Tlatilulco, where, gathering the leaders, I presented the matter of my writings to them, and requested that they assign me some capable leaders with whom to examine and discuss the writings which I brought recorded from Tepepulco. The governor with his councilmen assigned me as many as eight or ten leaders, selected from among all, very capable in their language and in their ancient customs. Cloistered in the College with them and with four or five students of the College, all trilingual, for a year or more, all I brought written from Tepepulco was amended, explained and expanded. And all was re-written in a poor hand, because it was written in great haste. Of all the students of the College it was Martin Jacobita, then rector of the College, a native of the district of Santa Ana in Tlatilulco, who worked most in this scrutiny or examination.
\nHaving acted as mentioned in Tlatilulco, I came to dwell, with all my writings, in San Francisco de Mexico, where for three years, alone, I examined and re-examined all my writings. And I again amended them and divided them into Books, into twelve Books, and each Book by chapters, and some Books by chapters and paragraphs. After this, Father Fray Miguel Navarro being Provincial and Father Fray Diego de Mendoza being guardian of the convent, with their support, all twelve Books were put in final form in a clear hand. And the Apostilla and the Cantares were amended and a clear copy made. A grammar of the Mexican language, with a vocabulary as appendix, was also prepared. The Mexicans amended and added many things to the twelve Books when they made a clear copy. Thus the first sieve through which my works were sifted
\nThe prologues from Books II, IX, XI, and XII of the Florentine Codex have been published by Howard F. Cline. He provides the palaeographic texts and an English translation. See Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, vol. 9 (Mexico, 1971), pp. 237–52.↩
Todos los escriptores trabaxan de autorizar, sus escripturas, lo mejor que pueden: vnos con testigos fidedignos: otros con otros escriptores, que ante dellos an escripto, los testimonjos de los quales son aujdos por ciertos: otros con testimonjo de la sagrada escriptura: a mj me an faltado, todos estos fundamentos, para autorizar, lo que en estos doze libros, tengo escripto: y no hallo otro fundamento, para autorizarlo: sino poner aqui, la relation, de la diligentia que hize: para saber la verdad, de todo lo que en estos libros, he escripto.
\nComo en otros prologos, desta obra he dicho: a mj me fue mandado, por sancta obediencia, de mi prelado mayor: que escriujese en lengua mexicana, lo que me pareciese, ser vtil: para la doctrina, cultura, y manutenencia, de la cristiandad, destos naturales, desta nueua españa: y para ayuda, de los obreros, y minjstros, que los doctrinan: rescebido este mandamjento, hize en lengua castellana, vna mjnuta, o memoria, de todas las materias, de que auja de tratar: que fue lo que esta escripto, en los doze libros: y la postilla, y canticos: lo qual se puso de prima tigera, en el pueblo de tepepulco, que es de la proujncia, de aculhuacã, o tezcucu: hizose desta manera.
\nEn el dicho pueblo, hize juntar, todos los principales, con el señor del pueblo, que se llamaua don diego de mendoça, hombre anciano, de gran marco, y habilidad, muy esperimentado, en todas las cosas curiales, belicas, y politicas, y aun ydolatricas. Aujendolos juntado, propuseles, lo que pretendia hazer: y pediles, me diesen personas habiles, y esperimentadas con qujen pudiese platicar: y me supiesen dar razon, de lo que los preguntase: ellos me respondieron, que se hablarian, cerca de lo propuesto, y que otro dia, me responderian: y ansi se despidieron de mj. Otro dia vinieron, el señor, con los principales: y hecho vn muy solenne parlamento, como ellos entonce le vsauan hazer: señalaronme, hasta diez, o doze principales ancianos: y dixeronme, que con aquellos, podia comunjcar, y que ellos me darian razon, de todo lo que les preguntase. Estauan tanbien alli, hasta quatro latinos: a los quales, yo pocos años, antes auja enseñado, la gramatica, en el colegio de santa cruz, en el tlatilulco.
\nCon estos principales, y gramaticos, tambien principales, platique muchos dias, cerca de dos años, sigujendo la orden, de la mjnuta, que yo tenja hecha:
\ntodas las cosas que conferimos, me las dieron por pinturas, que aquella, era la escriptura, que ellos antiguamente vsauan: y los gramaticos las declararon en su lengua, escrjujendo la declaration, al pie de la pintura: tengo aun agora estos originales. Tambien en este tiempo, dicte la postilla, y los cantares: escrjujeronlos, los latinos, en el mjsmo pueblo, de tepepulco.
\nQuando al capitulo donde cumplio, su hebdomada, el padre fray francisco toral, el qual me inpuso esta carga: me mudaron de tepepulco, lleuando todas mjs escrituras, fuy a morar a santiago, del tlatelulco: donde juntando los principales, los propuse el negotio, de mjs escrituras, y los demande, me señalasen algunos principales, habiles, con qujen examjnase, y platicase las escripturas, que de tepepulco traya escriptas. El gouernador con los alcaldes, me señalaron, hasta ocho, o diez principales, escogidos entre todos, muy habiles en su lengua, y en las cosas de sus antiguallas: con los quales, y con quatro, o cinco colegiales, todos trilingues: por espacio de vn año, y algo mas encerrados, en el colegio: se emendo, declaro, y añadio, todo lo que de tepepulco truxe escripto: y todo se torno, a escriujr de nueuo, de ruyn letra, porque se escrjuio, cõ mucha priesa: en este escrutinjo, o examen el q̃ mas tabaxo, de todos los colegiales, fue martin Jacobita, que entonce era rector, del colegio, vezino del tlatilulco, del barrio de sanctana.
\nAujendo hecho lo dicho, en el tlatilulco: vine a morar, a sanct francisco, de mexico, con todas mjs escripturas: donde por espacio, de tres años, pase, y repase, a mjs solas todas mjs escripturas: y las torne a emendar: y diujdilas por libros, en doze libros, y cada libro, por capitulos: y algunos libros, por capitulos, y parraphos. Despues desto, siendo proujncial, el padre fray miguel nauarro: y guardian del conuento de mexico, el padre fray diego de mendoça, con su fabor, se sacaron en blanco, de buena letra, todos los doze libros: y se emendo, y saco en blanco la postilla, y los cantares: y se hizo vn arte, de la lengua mexicana, con vn vocabulario apendiz: y los mexicanos emendaron, y añadieron muchas cosas, a los doze libros, quando se yua sacando en blanco. De manera que el primer cedaço, por donde mjs obras se cernjeron,
\n","citation_key":"citation_anderson_spanish_transcription","citation":{"en":["Spanish by Anderson & Dibble 1953–1982"],"es":["Español por Anderson & Dibble 1953–1982"]}}]},"folio":"1v"}