Music and poetry, being capable of being transmitted by ear and mouth, have lived longest. It is in his poems that this king shows his elevation of thought, and comes down to us as the exemplar of the progress of his nation on the road from savagery to civilization.
Would you like to read one of these poems, composed five hundred years ago, before the so-called discovery of America? The whole poem is too long for repetition here; let a verse or two suffice. It is said that he composed sixty hymns in honor of the Creator of Heaven. In one of his poems he lamented the fall of the tyrant Tezozomoc, whom he compared to a "large and stately tree, which had extended its roots through many countries and spread the shade of its branches over all the empire; but which at last, worm-eaten and wasted, fell to the earth, never to resume its youthful verdure."
This poem commences in this way,—
"O king, unstable and restless, when thou art dead then shall thy people be overthrown and confounded; thy place shall be no more; the Creator, the All Powerful, shall reign."
And it ends with this delightful verse,—
"Let the joyous birds sing on and rejoice in the beauty of spring, and the butterflies enjoy the honey and perfume of the flowers, for life is as a tender plant that is plucked and withers away."
SONG OF THE KING OF TEZCOCO.
ON THE MUTABILITY OF LIFE.
"Now will I sing for a moment,
Since time and occasion offer,
And I trust to be heard with favor,
If my effort proveth deserving;
Wherefore thus I begin my singing,
Or rather my lamentation.
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