In ic màtlāctli omēyi capitulo, oncān mìtoa in quēnin Motēuczōma quimihua occēquintin tētlachīhuiānimê inic quintlachīhuīzquiâ Españoles; īhuān in tlein òtlica īmpan mochīuh.
Chapter 13, in which it is said how Montezuma sent additional wizards to bewitch the Spanish; and what happened to them on the road.
Auh ye nō centlamantiquê tītlantin; yèhuān in tlaciuhquê, in nānāhualtin, īhuān tlētlenāmacaquê nō ic yàcâ, nō ic yàquê in tēnāmiquizquê.
And another group of messengers — diviners, shamans, and fire-priests — also had gone; they also went for an encounter.
Auh aoccān huel mochīuhquê, aoccān huel tēittaquê, aocmo tlaīpantilìquê, aocmo tēīpantilìquê, aocmo onyehuatquê.
But they were not able to accomplish anything; they were not able to see anyone; they did not find anything, they did not find anyone, they were inadequate.
Zan ye cē tlahuānqui òtlica īca ommotzotzonatô, quimonāmictītô, īca ommīxtilquetzatô.
They only ran across, they only encountered a drunk man along the way, and they were disconcerted at the sight.
Inic quittaquê iuhquin chālcatl ic ōmochīuh, in ōchālcachìchīuh, mochālcanènecqui; iuhquin tlahuānqui, mihuincānènecqui.
They saw that he had made himself like a Chalcan, he was dressed as a Chalcan, he was feigning to be a Chalcan; he was as if drunk, he was feigning drunkenness.
Chicuēyi zacamecatl ic mēlilpî, quimmīxnāmictihuītz, īnyacac ìcatihuītz in Españoles.
His chest was bound with eight grass cords, and he came challenging them, he came standing before the front lines of the Spanish.
Auh zan īnca yehuac, quimilhuî: “Tlê nō mâ amāxtihuītzê in nicān? Tlein oc anquinequî?
And he rose up against them, saying: “What are you still doing here? What more do you want?
“Tlê nō mâ quichīhuaznequi in Motēuczōma? Cuix quin ōmīzcalî? Cuix quin āxcān ye momāuhtìcāpōl?
“What more does Montezuma want to do? Has he just now come to his senses? Has he just now become a great coward?
“Ca ōtlàtlacô, ca ōconcāhuilî in mācēhualli, ca ōtlācaīxpolô, tēca ōmocuāhuītec,* ca tēca ōmoquimilô, ca tēca ōmāhuiltî, ca tēca ōmocàcayāuh.”
“For he has sinned, he has abandoned the common folk, he has confounded people, he has not been coöperative with people, he has not been helpful to people, he has been wanton to people, he has been deceitful to people.”
* tēca mocuāhuītequi, tēca moquimiloa— lit, “he hits himself on the head with respect to people, he is shrouded with respect to people”: the first half of this phrase is given in dictionaries as an idiom for a lack of coöperation; the second half is obscure, but I take it as a parallelism “to be unhelpful”
Auh in ō iuh quittaquê īn, in ō iuh quicacquê ītlàtōl, oc nēn ītlān aquî,* in quimocnōtlātlauhtīliâ, quitlālīlìtihuetzquê īchiyal, ītlālmomoz, īzacapèpech.
And when they saw how it was, when they heard how his words were, they apply themselves in vain: they humbly implore him, they at once set up for him a shrine, an earthen mound, a litter of grass.
* From this line onwards, variation of tense becomes very common — the narrative leaps into the present to convey a more vivid image. I’ve translated this literally even at the risk of bad English style.
Zan niman aocmo ōmpa quihuālittac; tēl zan nēmpanca in ommotlālìca, in oncān oc nēn quitlālmomoztìcâ.
But he did not even look at them; in vain had the earthen mound they had erected been put there.
Zan ye iuhquin īcamac ommaquiquê.
It was as if they entered his mouth.*
* Idiom of obscure meaning — it presumably refers to him berating them.
Ye oncān quimàhua, quintequiāya, iuhquin motitītza* tlàtoa, quimilhuî: “Tlê zan nēn in nicān amìcatihuītzê?
He scolds them there, he was cutting at them, he speaks as if he is straining, and he said: “Why have you come here for nothing?
* In the dictionaries this word specifically refers to straining at stool.
“Aoquīc yez in Mēxìco, ye ic cemmaniyān. Nēpa xihuiyān, aocmo oncān.
“Mexico will never be again — nevermore. Go down; it is no longer there.
Tlā xommocuepacān, tlā xontlachiyacān in Mēxìco, tlein ye mochīhua, in iuh ye mochīhua.”
“Turn around, and behold Mexico: what is coming to pass there, how it is coming to pass.”
Niman ic ōhuāllachixquê, ōhuāllachixtihuetzquê, in quihuālittâ ye tlatla in īxquich teōcalli, in calpōlli, in calmecatl, īhuān in īxquich Mēxìco calli.
Then they looked back, they glanced back, and they see all the temples, the wards, the schools, and all the houses of Mexico burning.
Īhuān iuhquin mâ ye cuēl nècalīhua.
And it is as if there is suddenly a battle.
Auh in ō iuh quittaquê in tlaciuhquê, iuhquin cānin yâ īnyōllo,* aocmo onnāhuatquê, iuhquin acâ itlâ quintolōltî.
And when the diviners saw how it was, their hearts sank, and they no longer spoke, as if someone had forced something into their throats.
* lit. “it was as if their hearts had gone somewhere”
Quìtòquê: “Inīn ca àmo totech monequiya in tiquittazquê; ca ye ītech monequiya quittaz in Motēuczōma in ōtiquittaquê.
And they said: “It was not necessary for us to see this; it was necessary that Montezuma see what we have seen.
“Ca àmo zan acâ, ca yèhuātl in Tēlpōchtli Tezcatlipōca.”
“For this is not just anyone; it is the Youth, Tezcatlipoca.”
Niman ic poliuh, aocmo quittaquê.
Then he disappeared and they saw him no more.
Auh in tītlantin aocmo tēnāmiquitô, aocmo tēhuīc quīzatô; zā oncān huālilōtquê in tlaciuhquê, in tlētlenāmacaquê, quinònōtzacô in Motēuczōma.
And the messengers no more sought an encounter, they did not move toward the enemy; the diviners and the fire priests went back and consulted with Montezuma.
Huālnepaniuhtiyàquê* in achto yàquê in [īhuān**] Tzihuacpopōcatzin.
And those who had first gone with Tzihuacpopocatzin joined them.
* Transcribing oalnepanjxtiaque.
** I feel that this phrase must be missing a “preposition,” since I don’t see how the singular personal name Tzihuacpopōcatzin can otherwise be construed with the plural verb yàquê “they went.” Tzihuacpopocatzin was a nobleman who was sent to the Spanish by Montezuma, to impersonate the emperor, who had no desire to meet the Spanish in person. Informed by their native allies, the Spanish called Montezuma’s bluff and dismissed the “emperor” brusquely, increasing Montezuma’s fear of their knowledge and power.
Auh in ōàcicô yèhuāntin tītlantin, iuh quipōhuilìquê in Motēuczōma in iuh mochīuh, in iuh quittaquê.
And when those messengers arrived, they described for Montezuma what had happened, what they had seen.
In Motēuczōma, in ō iuh quittac, zā huāltolô, zā huāltolòtimotlālî, huālquechpilô, huālquechpilòtimotlālî, aocmo huālnāhuat, zan ontlanauhtimotlālî; huècāuhtica in iuhqui ontlapolô.
When Montezuma saw how it was, he bowed his head, he let his head bow, he lowered his head, he let his head fall, he no longer spoke, he sat like one on the brink of death; for a long time it was as if he had fainted.
Zā īxquich inic quinhuālnānquilî, quinhuālilhuî:
And this was all he replied to them, all he said to them:
“Quēn nel, mocēloquichtlé*? Ca ye ic toncatê, ca ye ōtictomacaquê.**
“What can be done, o men of valor! We are resigned to the situation in which we find ourselves.
* Correction for mocechtle
** This expression is obscure. The Spanish gloss reads “ya estamos para perdernos, ya tenemos tragada la muerte.” But the Nāhuatl does not say this; literally it’s something like “it is thus that we exist; we have given it to ourselves.” Ōtictomacaquê, lit. “we have given it to ourselves,” is defined in some ancient dictionaries to mean “we have taken medicine,” but I follow Lockhart here in taking it as an expression of resignation, with the first clause serving as the object one has “given to oneself”: “This is the way we exist; we are resigned to it.” I’m confident in this reading since the verb nicnomaca takes an explicit object in the last line of Montezuma’s speech here.
“Cuix càcâ* tepētl tictotlècahuīzquê? Auh cuix ticholōzquê?
“Are there mountains that we should climb? And shall we flee?
* Reduplication of câ. There is some confusion about the meaning and pronunciation of this rare word. Bierhorst and Wimmer both have it as cacâ (without the saltillo on the first syllable); Carochi has it as càcâ, with two saltillos, which I accept since this seems to be the more normal form of reduplication. Bierhorst describes this verb simply as “the frequentative of câ,” whereas Wimmer says specificially that it is used “en parlant d’une pluralité des végétaux” — I take this use, referring to “plants all around,” as a special case of the normal frequentative sense. In the context of this speech, I take the phrase as referring to the existence of numerous mountains, or a mountain range, whether one takes it as a simple frequentative or as a metaphor comparing the mountains to lush, close-standing vegetation.
“Ca tiMēxìcâ; cuix nel àontīmalihuiz* in Mēxìcāyōtl?**
“We are Mexicans: shall the Mexican culture not go on being glorified?”
* Transcribing nella ontimaliviz. I interpret nella as nel â, “indeed not.” One could also take it as a misspelling of nellê “verily.” Regardless of how we read it, it represents Montezuma’s despair over the continuation of his empire. Tīmalihui is “to swell, to suppurate,” often used to refer to contagion or to the spreading of disease through society, but Bierhorst records that it can also mean “to be swelled up with praise.”
** Mēxìcāyōtl, lit. “Mexicanness” — the Aztecs’ name for their own civilization. Since it refers to the traditions and language more than to any government or territory, I’ve rendered it as “Mexican culture” at the risk of anachronism.
“Motolīnia in icnōhuēhuê, in icnōilamâ; auh in piltzintli, in aya quimati, cāmpa nehuīquilīlōzquê?
“The poor old men, the poor old women are suffering: and the children, who do not yet know anything — where will they be taken?
“Quēn nel, quēn zan nel nēn? Quēn nozo nel? Cāmpa nel?
“What can be done, whatever can be done? Or what can be done? Where shall we go?
“Ca ye tictomacaticatê in zāzo tlein, in zāzo quēnamî in ticmahuizōzquê.”
“We are resigned to what we will behold, whatever it is, whatever it is like.”
Nāhuatl Texts 