This, in the favorite phrase of our day, was the "mission" of the
Inca. It was also the mission of the Christian conqueror who
invaded the empire of this same Indian potentate. Which of the
two executed his mission most faithfully, history must decide.
Yet the Peruvian monarchs did not show a childish impatience in
the acquisition of empire. They paused after a campaign, and
allowed time for the settlement of one conquest before they
undertook another; and, in this interval, occupied themselves
with the quiet administration of their kingdom, and with the long
progresses, which brought them into nearer intercourse with their
people. During this interval, also, their new vassals had begun
to accommodate themselves to the strange institutions of their
masters. They learned to appreciate the value of a government
which raised them above the physical evils of a state of
barbarism, secured them protection of person, and a full
participation in all the privileges enjoyed by their conquerors;
and, as they became more familiar with the peculiar institutions
of the country, habit, that second nature, attached them the more
strongly to these institutions, from their very peculiarity.
Thus, by degrees, and without violence, arose the great fabric of
the Peruvian empire, composed of numerous independent and even
hostile tribes, yet, under the influence of a common religion,
common language, and common government, knit together as one
nation, animated by a spirit of love for its institutions and
devoted loyalty to its sovereign.
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