Another author worthy of particular note is Pedro Cieza de Leon.
His Cronica del Peru should more properly be styled an Itinerary,
or rather Geography, of Peru. It gives a minute topographical
view of the country at the time of the Conquest; of its provinces
and towns, both Indian and Spanish; its flourishing sea-coast;
its forests, valleys, and interminable ranges of mountains in the
interior; with many interesting particulars of the existing
population, - their dress, manners, architectural remains, and
public works, while, scattered here and there, may be found
notices of their early history and social polity. It is, in
short, a lively picture of the country in its physical and moral
relations, as it met the eye at the time of the Conquest, and in
that transition period when it was first subjected to European
influences. The conception of a work, at so early a period, on
this philosophical plan, reminding us of that of Malte-Brun in
our own time, - parva componere magnis, - was, of itself,
indicative of great comprehensiveness of mind in its author. It
was a task of no little difficulty, where there was yet no
pathway opened by the labors of the antiquarian; no hints from
the sketch-book of the traveller, or the measurements of the
scientific explorer. Yet the distances from place to place are
all carefully jotted down by the industrious compiler, and the
bearings of the different places and their peculiar features are
exhibited with sufficient precision, considering the nature of
the obstacles he had to encounter.
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