Commentaria Intres Grammaticae Libos Primaam et Secundam Classem tum Discipulis turn Magistro, Complectentes Hispano Idomate cum Appendicibus ei Itindice Copioso Illustrata

[vi]+450+[1 blank]+[19 index] pages. Duodecimo (6" x 4 1/4") bound in period vellum with hand written title to spine. Dedicated to Beato Luis Gonzaga. Original manuscript.

The work is attributed to Francisco de Avila. He was curate or vicar in the province of Huarochiri of Peru, later curate at Huánaco, finally Canon of the Church of La Plata (now Sucre), in Bolivia. Born in Peru as a foundling (quorum parentes ignorantur he says himself); date of demise unknown. He was one of the most active investigators of Indian rites and customs of his time. In 1608 he wrote a treatise of the "Errors, False Gods, and Other Superstitions of the Indians of the Provinces of Huarochiri, Mama, and Chaclla", of which unfortunately only the first six chapters are known to exist and have been translated into English. It is, even in its incomplete form, an invaluable contribution to the knowledge of the Peruvian Indians and their primitive lore. In 1611 Avila wrote an equally important report on the Indians of Huánaco in eastern Peru, of which the unpublished manuscript. is extant. Such writings greatly mitigate the charges which the destruction of fetishes and other objects of primitive worship of the Indians have called forth against the Church.

The manuscript was probably written to teach Quechua speaking children the use of Spanish. It is divided into three chapters: I. Declination and conjugations. II. Latin and Greek declination. III. Romance. Genres and past. The teaching is rudimentary for the treatment of the way to teach to children, and very easy for the instructor and profitable for the disciples. Treatment 1: In the way it must be for children to learn to decline. Treatment 2: The style that the teacher has to keep for children to learn to conjugate. Treatment 3: Declensions and names and supplement to them. Includes Orthographic Rules and index of the most important things contained in this book.

Condition:

Old institution stamp to title and occasional other pages in margin, page 203 and 204 with tear at margin slightly affecting text, lacks ties else a very nice copy.