Lucien Biart

The Aztecs: Their History, Manners, and Customs Lucien Biart

An early account of the Aztecs and their culture, based in part on the Codex de Mendoza. Biart's purpose for this work was to educate readers unfamiliar with the history of the Aztecs, yet he anticipated some criticism from academic circles: "..as Acosta has been accused (and not without reason, it is true) of having tranquilly copied Duran and Tezozomoc, who in turn had copied the anonymous author of the manuscript known as the "Codex Ramirez".., I am anxious to forestall all accusation of this sort. I therefore confess to my readers that I was compelled - a necessity which historians cannot escape - to imitate, amplify, reduce, commentate, translate, and remold such passages in the writings of the fathers in the history of New Spain as might aid me in my undertaking.. I could have invented.. but I have not done so, recalling that one of the kings of the Colhuas decreed that inaccurate historians should be punished with death."