Parental Guidance of the Aztecs
“My son,” said the father; “thou hast come from the womb of thy mother as a chicken comes from the egg, and growing like it, thou art preparing to fly..."
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From The Aztecs: Their History, Manners, and Customs by Lucien Biart, 1900.
“The education of its youth,” wrote Clavigero, “is indisputably the chief foundation of a State,” and it is also that which makes us best acquainted with a nation’s character. Among the Aztecs this education was such as to confound the proud contempt which for so many years caused their conquerors to consider them as hardly rational beings. In fact, it would be difficult to name a people who paid more attention to this point, so important for the strength and happiness of States. It is not to be denied that deplorable superstitions, especially from a humanitarian point of view, often gave a wrong direction to the mind of the Aztec youth; but the zeal of their parents to make them moral was boundless. It is so still.
In Anahuac, all mothers, even the queens, suckled their own children. If a disease rendered this impossible, the child was not intrusted to a foster-mother until her habits and her health had been carefully inquired into. From his earliest years the child was accustomed to hunger, cold, and heat. At the age of five, whether the son of a noble or of the king, he was placed at school. If he was to be educated in the paternal mansion, his father began by teaching him the worship of the gods, and the prayers he had to repeat when he specially desired their aid; he also took him frequently to the temples to arouse in him a fondness for religion.
Every care was taken to inspire children with a horror of vice, with modesty of action, respect for their elders, and love of work. They were made to sleep on a mat, and were furnished with only enough food to support life. When they reached the age of puberty they were taught the use of arms. If they were sons of soldiers they accompanied their fathers to battle, in order that they might learn the military art and lose all fear of danger. If the father was an artisan he taught the young boy his own trade. The mothers taught their daughters to spin and weave at an early age. Children of both sexes were kept constantly occupied, — a good and healthy rule.
Truth was a virtue specially recommended by parents to their children. If they were detected in a lie their tongues were pricked with agave-thorns. The feet of young girls who were too fond of running around were bound, and a disobedient or quarrelsome child was whipped with nettles, or chastised in a manner proportionate to the fault.
A young Aztec was brought up with such a profound respect for his parents that even a long time after his marriage — and this is still true — he scarcely dared speak in their presence. However, to give an idea of the education which he received, we can do no better than reproduce two documents, frequently quoted, and which cannot be quoted too often; they are the exhortations of a father to his son, and those of a mother to her daughter, — a code of morals which we cannot help admiring: —
“My son,” said the father; “thou hast come from the womb of thy mother as a chicken comes from the egg, and growing like it, thou art preparing to fly in the world, without its being given to us to know how long heaven will grant us the enjoyment of the precious stone we possess in thee. But happen what may, endeavor to live an upright life, ceaselessly praying God to help thee. He created thee, and to him thou belongest. He is thy father, he loves thee even more than I love thee. Let thy thoughts be of him, and address thy sighs to him night and day.
“Revere and salute thy elders, and never show them any sign of contempt. Be not silent to the poor and the unfortunate; but make haste to console them with kind words. Honor every one, but especially thy father and thy mother, to whom thou owest obedience, fear, and service. Take care not to imitate the example of those bad sons who, like brutes devoid of reason, do not respect those who have given them life; who do not listen to their advice, and do not wish to submit to the punishments their elders judge necessary. He who follows the path of these evil-doers will come to a bad end; he will die in despair, thrown into an abyss, or by the claws of wild beasts.
“Never mock at old men, my son, nor at deformed people. Do not mock him whom thou seest commit a fault, and do not throw it in his face. Enter into thyself, and fear lest that which offends thee in others may happen to thyself. Go not whither no one calls thee, and mix not thyself with what does not concern thee. By thy words, as well as by thy deeds endeavor to prove thy good education. When thou talkest with any one do not take hold of his garments. Do not talk too much, and never interrupt others with thy discourse. If thou hearest any one speak foolishly, if thou art not charged with his conduct, hold thy tongue. If thou shouldst not be silent weigh thy words, and do not expose the fault with arrogance, lest thy lesson be not well received.
“When some one speaks to thee, hear him with attention and respect, without moving thy feet, without biting thy cloak, without spitting, and without getting up every minute if thou art seated; for these actions are signs of levity and of a bad education.
“When thou art at table, eat not too fast, and show no dislike if a dish displeases thee. If a person arrives at thy meal-time, divide thy meal with him and do not watch him as he eats.
“When thou walkest, look whither thou goest, that thou mayst knock against no one. If thou meetest any one in thy way, make room for him. Never pass before thy elders, unless forced by necessity, or unless they order thee to do so. When thou takest thy meal in their company, drink not before they do, and offer them what they need in order to gain their good-will.
“If thou art made a present, accept it with gratitude. If the gift is of much value, be not proud of it, and if it be of small value do not despise it nor mock at it; fear to wound him who wished to oblige thee. If thou growest rich, become not insolent to the poor, and humble them not; for the gods who have refused them wealth, to give it to thee, might grow angry and take it from thee to favor another therewith. Live by thy work, for thou shalt be only the more happy therefor. I, my son, have fed thee up to this day by my labor; I have not failed in my paternal obligations; I have given thee what was necessary without taking it from any one: do thou in like manner.
“Never lie, for it is a great sin. When thou tellest any one what has been told thee, tell the simple truth, and add nothing thereto. Slander no one, and be silent in regard to the faults thou seest in others, if it is not thy duty to correct them. When thou takest a message, if the one who receives it flies into a passion and speaks ill of the person who sent it, in repeating his words modify their severity, in order that thou mayst not be the cause of a quarrel, nor of a scandal for which thou wouldst have to reproach thyself.
“Lose not thy time in the market, for that is a place in which occasions for excesses are many.
“If thou art offered an office, think that it is to test thee and do not accept immediately; even shouldst thou think thyself better fitted than any one else to fill it, refuse it until thou art forced to accept; so wilt thou be the more highly esteemed.
“Be not dissolute; the gods would be angry with thee, and would cover thee with shame. My son, repress thy sensual appetites, for thou art still young. Wait until the young girl whom the gods have destined for thy wife reaches the right age to marry thee. When that hour has come do not act without the consent of thy parents; thy union would be unhappy.
“Take from no one what is his; thou wouldst become the shame of thy people when thou shouldst be their honor, as a reward for the education they have given thee. If thou art good thy example will confound the wicked. By these counsels I wish to fortify thy heart. Neither despise them nor forget them; thy life and happiness depend on them.”
Such were the excellent precepts the Aztec nobles sought to engrave on the mind of their sons. Laborers and artisans added special advice in regard to the exercise of their profession. The counsels which mothers gave their daughters are too wise to be omitted.
“My daughter,” said the mother, “child born of my flesh, brought into the world by my pains, fed with my milk, I have done my best to bring thee up well, and thy father has cared for thee and polished thee as if thou wert an emerald, that thou mightst appear as a jewel of virtue in the eyes of men. Strive always to be good; for if thou art not thou wilt be despised, and no one will desire thee for a wife. Life is laborious, and all our strength is necessary to obtain the goods which the gods send us; thou must, therefore, be neither idle nor negligent, but active in all things. Be cleanly; keep thy house in good order. Give thy husband water that he may wash his hands; and knead the bread of thine own. Wherever thou goest be modest; walk not hastily, and never mock at people whom thou meetest; stare not at them, neither look to the right nor the left, if thou dost not wish thy reputation to suffer. Answer with politeness those who speak to thee or salute thee.
“Employ thy hours in spinning, in weaving, in sewing or embroidering; then thou wilt be esteemed, and thou wilt have wherewith to clothe and feed thyself. Do not sleep far into the day, rest not in the shade, do not take the air, abandon not thyself to idleness; inaction gives birth to slothfulness and other vices.
“When thou workest, think only of the service of the gods and the welfare of thy kinsfolk. If thy father or I call thee, quickly run to see what we want of thee, in order that by delay thou mayst not displease us. Never answer arrogantly, and never show repugnance to doing what thou art commanded. If thou canst not accomplish the task imposed on thee, excuse thyself with humility. If any one else is called and he does not respond, answer in his place; do what thou art commanded, and do it well. Nevertheless, do not offer thyself to perform a task above thy strength.
Deceive no one; the gods see thee. Live in peace with every one. Love every one with reserve, not forgetting what is proper, that every one may love thee.
“Be not miserly with the good things the gods have given thee. If thou seest good things given to others, suspect no evil; for the gods, masters of all things, bestow them on whom they please. If thou wishest others not to injure thee, injure not others.
“Avoid indecent familiarity with men; aban- don not thyself to the perverse appetites of thy body, for thou wouldst then be the shame of thy people, and evil would pollute thy soul as mud pollutes water. Do not associate with dissolute, lying, or lazy women; their example would poison thy heart. Take care of thine own; remain at home; wander not about the streets nor in the market-place, for this would be to seek thy ruin. Reflect that vice, like a poisonous plant, is death to him who tastes it, and that when it has taken possession of our souls it is difficult to uproot it. If on the street thou shouldst meet a bold young man who insults thee, pass on, answer him not, heed him not. If he follows thee look not at him; he will depart and leave thee in peace. Enter not another’s house except for urgent reason, in order that nothing against thy honor may be thought. If thou goest into the house of thy relatives, salute them respectfully, and then busy thyself; take a spindle or employ thyself in necessary work.
“When thou art married respect thy husband, and eagerly obey him. Do not provoke him, and be neither proud nor whimsical towards him. If he frets thee for any reason do not show thy grief when he commands thee. Later explain to him thy trouble gently, to the end that thou mayst disarm him, and prevent him from grieving thee anew. Quarrel not with him before thine own; the shame would be on thee. If any one comes to visit him be amiable, and receive him the best thou canst. If thy husband be angry be thou calm. If he takes bad care of thy affairs advise him well. But if he cannot take care of them, take care of them thyself, and pay thy workmen promptly. Lose nothing for want of care.
“My daughter, follow the advice I give thee. I am old, I have the experience which life gives. I am thy mother and wish thee well. Engrave my advice on thy heart and thou wilt be happy. If by reason of not having listened to me, or by contemning my teachings some misfortune should happen to thee, it would be thy fault, and thou wouldst suffer therefrom. May the gods help thee!”
Biart, Lucien. The Aztecs: Their History, Manners, and Customs. Translated by John Leslie Garner, A.C. McClurg & Co, 1900.
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