Chapter XIII: Section III: The Ruins of Palenque

Palenque is situated in the Province of Tzendales, Mexican America. At the distance of about eight miles from the modern village of Palenque, the now celebrated Ruins are located. They are called the Ruins of _Palenque_ from the name of the nearest village, and not from any history of their own:--like the field of Waterloo--it has given renown to an humble village adjacent. The name, therefore, of "Palenque," can be of no assistance in unfolding the history of these Ruins,--for the original name of the now desolate Temples and Palaces, has been for centuries lost and buried with its fate. Mr. Stephens writes--

"At half-past seven we left the village. For a short distance the road was open, but very soon we entered a forest, which continued unbroken to the Ruins, and probably many miles beyond. All the wreck of Empires,--nothing ever spoke so forcibly the world's mutations, as this immense forest shrouding what was once a great city. Once it had been a great highway, thronging with people who were stimulated by the same passions that give impulse to human action now; and they are all gone, their habitation buried, and no traces of them left. Fording this (river Otula) very soon we saw masses of stones, and then a _round sculptured_ stone. We spurred up a sharp ascent of _fragments_, so steep that the mules could barely climb it, to a terrace, so covered, like the whole road, with trees, that it was impossible to make out the form. Continuing on this terrace, we stopped at the foot of the second, and through openings in the trees we saw the front of _a large building_, richly ornamented with _stuccoed_ figures on the _pilasters_, _curious_ and _elegant_; trees growing close against them, and their branches entering the doors; in style and effect unique, extraordinary and mournfully beautiful. We tied our mules to the trees, and ascended _a flight of stone steps_, forced apart, and thrown down by trees, and entered the Palace, ranged for a few moments along the _corridor_, and into the _courtyard_; and after the first gaze of eager curiosity was over, went back to the entrance, and standing in the doorway, fired a _feu de joie_ of four rounds each, being the last charge of our fire-arms. But for this way of giving vent to our satisfaction, we should have made the roof of the old Palace ring with a hurrah! We had reached the end of our long and toilsome journey, and the first glance indemnified us for our toil. For the time, we were in a building erected by the _Aboriginal_ inhabitants; _standing before_ the Europeans knew of the existence of this Continent; and we prepared to take up our abode under its roof--the sole tenants of the Palace of unknown Kings."

The reader will excuse the preceding introduction--its graphic style will find its own apology; and though not _descriptive_ of the Ruins, _yet the approach to them_ seems to form a part of this historical Romance of the Wilderness.

"As at Copan, it was my business to prepare the different objects for Mr. Catherwood to draw. Many of the stones had to be scrubbed and cleansed; and as it was our object to have the _utmost possible accuracy in the drawings_, in many places scaffolds were to be erected, on which to set up the _camera-lucida_. That the reader may know the character of the objects we had to interest us, I proceed to give a description of the building in which we lived, called the _Palace_. It stands on an _artificial_ elevation of an oblong form _forty feet high, three hundred and ten in front and rear, and two hundred and sixty feet on each side_."

Here, then, is distinctly stated--a pyramidal elevation having _four sides_, and detached from any other structure. Its measurement around the base is 1140 feet!

"_This elevation was formerly faced with stone_, which has been thrown down by the growth of trees, and its form is hardly distinguishable. The building [we say _Temple_--not Palace,] stands (on this pyramidal elevation) with its face to the _East_, and measures _two hundred feet front, by one hundred and eighty feet deep_. Its height is not more than twenty-five feet, and all around it had _a broad projecting cornice of stone_. The front contained _fourteen doorways_, about _nine feet wide_ each, and the intervening piers [_i. e._ square columns] are between _six and seven feet wide_. On the left (in approaching the palace) eight piers have fallen down, and as also the corner on the right, and the terrace underneath is cumbered with ruins. But six piers remain entire, and the rest of the front is open. The building was _constructed of stone_, with a mortar of lime and sand, and _the whole front was covered with stucco and painted_."

We believe this last manner (stuccoing) to have been ages _after_ the original structure was erected, and for the purpose of promulgating a new Religion. This important point will be investigated in a subsequent volume. It is only remarked here, that the reader may not be perplexed at _stone_ being covered with _stucco_, since in building, ancient or modern, it was only usual to cover _bricks_ with plaister or stucco.

"The piers were ornamented with _spirited figures_ [in stucco] in bas-relief. On the top of one are _three_ hieroglyphics _sunk in the stucco_. It is enclosed by a richly ornamented border, about ten feet high and six wide, of which only a part remains. The stucco is of admirable consistency, _and hard as stone_. It was _painted_, [stained?] and in different places about, we discovered the remains of _red_, _blue_, _yellow_, _black_, _and white_."

We have already called this edifice the _Temple_, believing it not to have been originally a palace. This distinction is nearly defined from the fact that _hieroglyphics_ are found upon the edifice: for hieroglyphics (_i. e._, sacred and symbolical writing) constitute the Religious language of nearly all the ancient nations,--but of Egypt especially. The language of Religion and the Hieratic (that of the priests) were placed upon the _sacred_ edifices, and being so placed, proved them to be Temples. Those languages were, also, painted upon mummy-cloths and coffins, or sculptured upon the outward granite Sarcophagii,--the Egyptians holding the rights of Sepulture in the most sacred estimation; for those rights were only granted upon a public investigation of the character of the deceased, and a general verdict in his favour. This _post-mortem_ examination of character even the king was not exempt from, and the poorest subject of Egypt could bring his accusation against the deceased monarch; with the privilege of sustaining his charges by facts and argument,--for by the laws of Egypt every Egyptian was considered equal and noble with his countrymen,--Character and Talent being the only distinctions to entitle the deceased to sepulture, and the hieroglyphical inscriptions to perpetuate a name. The King of Egypt might (and it was a custom) build his own monument and Sarcophagus, inscribe them with his victories and virtues; but his body (after death) would not be placed within, unless at the public ordeal upon his life and character the _People_ should grant permission.

If such a custom obtained at the present day, how many lying tomb-stones and monumental effigies would escape the charge of falsehood; and how many unrecorded possessors of talent and character, would breathe in marble for the imitation of their posterity!

The Enchorial language (_i. e._ the common or spoken) was not placed (alone) on sacred edifices: therefore its absence on a building almost demonstrates that building to have been erected and adorned for sacred purposes. Upon this consideration we shall view the great edifice of Palenque,--as the Temple, and not the Palace. And, it might naturally be asked if this is a Palace, where is the Temple?--for in all ancient nations the Temple of worship was always the grandest edifice of a metropolis: the same custom is still continued in more modern times,--Rome has its St. Peter's, and London its St. Paul's.

The hieroglyphics on the Altar and Idols of Copan (_vide_ last Section) in a similar manner demonstrate those sculptures to be of a Religious character, but that fact does not preclude the association of Historical events,--they were so introduced and incorporated by the Egyptians and the ancients, in order to _deify_ those events;--and by thus rendering a sacristy of character to the hero, or the glory, to give them both (in their belief) an earthly, or rather a celestial immortality!

Herodotus states (ii. § 36) that the hieratic (priests) and the demotic (common) were the two written languages of Egypt,--these two were apart from the hieroglyphical or _symbolical_ language. Diodorus Siculus (iii., § 3) supports his predecessor, and says that the former (hieratic) was used _only by the priests_,--while the latter (_i. e._ the Enchorial or demotic) was used in common by all the Egyptians,--_i. e._, that it was the _spoken_ language of the country, and, as already shewn, not used upon _sacred_ edifices. From these facts, derived from ancient custom, may be gathered why the ciphers of the common language of the Mexican Aborigines are not found upon _their_ Temples; and as a consequence, the absence of the spoken language upon those Temples proves them (from the ancient custom) to have been erected at a period when that peculiar custom was practised; and therefore, (apart from other considerations) the time of their erection must be viewed at a remote antiquity.

"It (the stucco) was painted, and in different places about we discovered the remains of _red_, _blue_, _yellow_, black, and white."

In the language of the Fine Arts "black and white" are not received as colours--they are merely accessories. Red, Blue, and Yellow, are the three; and the only primitive earth-colours, and by their amalgamation in certain proportions (aided by the subordinates, black and white) all secondary colours--or _tints_ strictly speaking--are produced. The Rainbow possesses but _three_ primitive colours; but by their juxtaposition and refractions, the purple, orange, green, and violet are produced.

Titian painted a picture in which he used only the three primitives; but taking the Rainbow for his mistress in colouring, he so arranged the juxtapositions of the original and "divine three," that the cloud-created Iris might well be jealous of the triple tints of Titian!

No greater proof could be given of antiquity, than the discovery that the Mexican Aborigines were ignorant of the art of mixing colours--for the three primitives only, and not the secondary colours--are found upon the Temples. The "Tyrian dye" or purple, was not extracted from the earth, but from the Sea, from a shell-fish, since called the _purple murex_.

For ages it was believed that the Rainbow possessed _seven_ colours. Science has proved that it contains but _three_. Nature has no more: and without even alluding to other religious opinions--the Trinity is even figured in the Rainbow: and the Divine Arch viewed in this figurative manner, has indeed the Eye of the Almighty upon it--_the Three in One_--it is not only the "Covenant," but the Type of Salvation from the Father to his children!

The reader will pardon this slight digression, and the writer makes the following assertion for the investigation of the curious, without any fear of a negative being produced. The conclusion is from many years of observation; viz., _That every thing in Nature of the Animal or the Vegetable kingdom; the Rainbow and the Elements; that all the works of Art embraced in the comprehensive term_, Architecture (Edificial or Naval): _in the Arch itself, and even in Mechanics; that in all these productions of Nature or Art there are_ ONLY THREE GRAND PARTS! And many of those parts contain within themselves _three_ subdivisions. Those subdivisions are only accessories, holding the same relation to the whole, that the secondary colours do to the primitives of the Rainbow. We will give a few illustrations from Nature and Art. For instance,--the Fruit-tree,--the three primitive parts are the roots, trunk, and branches, these are composed of fibrum, sap, and bark; the accessories are the leaves and fruit; the leaf consists of the stalk, fibres, and the web; the fruit, of the rind, the apple, and the core. The Human form will bear the same test; viz., head, trunk, and limbs--nay, the very principles of life, brain--lungs, and heart; and also the great combinations in Chemistry! The sublime science of Astronomy also supports the conclusion. For the illustration from Art--a Temple. The three grand divisions are the foundation, body, and roof; the front of the edifice is in three parts--viz., columns, entablature, and pediment; these being subdivided, and three parts again appear: 1st, a Column,--the shaft, capital, and abacus; 2d, the Entablature,--the architrave, frieze, and cornice; 3d, the Pediment,--the apex, and the two corners, forming a triangle. The triangle is, also, the facial characteristic of a square Pyramid, and its square base contains two triangles; but the true Pyramid contains only three sides, each, with the base, present triangles. If man's efforts in Art have produced by accident the

TRIA JUNCTA IN UNO,--

we must feel that nothing in _Nature_ can be accidental, and investigation will prove that the Divine "three" pervade all! We are not aware that the above assertion has ever been made by any author, but we are convinced from years of observation, that although original and startling, it is no less the truth--for being founded in Nature it could not be otherwise. In the third volume this subject will be enlarged upon; for the present we claim the discovery of this great philosophical principle--the true active one of Nature and of Art, with the possession of which a man has the key to the _arcana_ of both.

The Mexican Aborigines then had, apparently, no knowledge of the art of mixing colours, from which fact a strong proof is gained of their great antiquity.

"The piers (_i. e._ the square columns of the Temple) which are still standing, contained other figures of the same general character, but which unfortunately are more mutilated, and from the declivity of the terrace it was difficult to set up the _camera lucida_ in such a position as to draw them. The piers which are fallen were no doubt enriched with the same ornaments. _Each one_ had a specific meaning, _and the whole probably presented some allegory or history_, and when entire and painted, the effect in ascending the terrace must have been imposing and beautiful."

This "allegory or history" we have endeavoured to decipher in the Analogies. The sculpture of this Temple, like the metopes of the Parthenon, should not be viewed in separate parts, but as a whole; for the parts, like single letters, are useless in themselves, but when placed together in proper and consecutive localities, they instantly express a word, or sentences, and thence convey to the mind the full intelligence of the subject.

"The tops of the doorways are all broken. They had evidently been square, and over one were large niches in the wall on each side, in which the lintels had been laid. The lintels had been all fallen, and the stones above formed broken natural arches [angles?]. Underneath were heaps of rubbish, but there were no remains of lintels. If they had been single slabs of stone, some of them must have been visible and prominent, and we made up our minds _that the lintels had been of wood_, and perhaps we should not have ventured the conclusion, but for the _wooden lintel_ which we had seen over the doorway at Ocosingo, and by what we saw afterwards in Yucatan (Uxmal), we were confirmed beyond _all doubt_ in our opinion. I do not conceive, however, that _this gives any conclusive data_ in regard to the age of the buildings. The wood (lintels) if such as we saw in the other places (_i. e._ Ocosingo and Uxmal) would be very lasting, its decay must have been extremely slow, and _centuries_ may have elapsed since it perished altogether."

The decaying of the lintels at Ocosingo and Palenque, and their existence and _preservation_ at Uxmal enables a data to be formed in reference to the order of their erection; for the _non-appearance_ of any wooden lintels at Copan authorizes the placing of that city first in chronological order, followed by the cities of Ocosingo and Palenque, and from the argument, and the preservation of the wood, Uxmal was built _after_ the foregone.

"The building has two parallel corridors running lengthwise _on all four of its sides_. In front these corridors are about nine feet wide, and extend the whole length of the building, upwards of two hundred feet. In the long wall that divides them there is but one door, which is opposite the principal door of entrance, and has a corresponding one on the other side, leading to a courtyard in the rear.

"_The floors are of cement_, as hard as the best seen in the remains of Roman baths and cisterns. The walls are about ten feet high,--_plastered_,--and on each side of the principal entrance ornamented with _medallions_, of which the borders only remain,--these perhaps contained the busts of the Royal family. The separating-wall had apertures of about a foot, probably intended for purposes of ventilation. _The builders were evidently ignorant of the principle of the_ ARCH, and the support (ceiling) was made by stones (blocks) lapping over as they rose, as at Ocosingo, and as among the Cyclopean remains in Greece and Italy." * * * * "From the centre door of this corridor a range of stone steps, thirty feet long, leads to a rectangular courtyard, eighty feet long by seventy broad. On each side of the steps are grim and gigantic figures _carved on stone_ in _basso relievo_, nine or ten feet high, and in a position slightly inclined backward, from the end of the steps to the floor of the corridor. They are adorned with head-dresses and necklaces, _but their attitude is that of pain and trouble_. The design and anatomical proportion of the figures are faulty, but there is a force of expression about them which shews _the skill and conceptive power of the artist_. On each side of the courtyard of the Palace (Temple) are divided apartments, probably for sleeping. (?) On the right, the piers have all fallen down. On the left they are still standing and ornamented with _stucco figures_. In the centre apartment, in one of the holes, are the remains of a _wooden pole_, about a foot long, which once stretched across, but the rest had decayed. It was the only piece of wood (worked) we found at Palenque, and we did not discover this until some time after we had made up our minds in regard to the wooden lintels over the doors. It was much worm-eaten, and probably in a few years not a vestige will be left. At the farther side of the courtyard was another flight of stone steps, corresponding with those in front, on each side of which are carved figures, and on the flat surface between are single _cartouches of hieroglyphics_." * * * * * * "In the further corridor the wall was in some places broken, and _had_ SEVERAL _separate coats of plaister and paint_. [Proofs of different periods] In _one place we counted six layers, each of which had the remains of colours_. This corridor opened to a second courtyard, eighty feet long, and but thirty across. The floor of the corridor was ten feet above that of the courtyard, and on the wall underneath were _square stones_ with _hieroglyphics sculptured_ upon them. On the piers were _stuccoed figures_, but in a ruined condition. On the other side of the courtyard were two ranges of corridors, which terminated the building in this direction. The first of them is divided into three apartments, with doors opening from the extremities upon the western corridor. All the piers are standing excepting that on the north-west corner. All are covered with _stucco ornaments_, and one with _hieroglyphics_. The rest contain _figures_ in _bas relief_." * * * "There are several distinct and independent buildings. [Within the confines of the Temple] The principal of these is the TOWER, on the south side of the second court. This Tower is conspicuous by its height and proportions: the base is thirty feet square, and it has _three stories_. Entering over a heap of rubbish at the base, we _found within another Tower, distinct from the outer one_, and a stone staircase, so narrow that a large man could not ascend it. The staircase terminates against a dead stone ceiling, closing all further passage. _The whole Tower was a substantial stone structure_, and in its arrangements and purposes about as incomprehensible as the sculptured tablets. East of the Tower is another building, with two corridors, one richly decorated with _pictures in stucco, and having in the centre an elliptical tablet_. It is four feet long and three wide, _of hard stone, set in the wall_, and the SCULPTURE is in _bas relief_. Around it are the remains of a rich _stucco border_. The principal figure sits cross-legged (_i. e._ orientally) on a couch, ornamented with two leopards' heads: the attitude is easy, the physiognomy the same as that of the other personages, and the _expression calm and benevolent_. The figure wears around its neck a necklace of pearls [beads of gold?] to which is suspended a small medallion containing a face, perhaps for an image of the Sun."

From the positive radii around the medallion (as presented by the artist) there can be no hesitation in distinctly stating that it was intended for an "image of the Sun." This is essential in identifying the analogy of Religious worship: it also gives further authority for the belief that this edifice was a Temple, and not a Palace. The _Tower_ of Palenque also aids this belief, for from its locality it would seem to have been used as a modern oriental minaret, from which the priests summoned the people to prayer.

"Like every subject of sculpture we had seen in this country, the personage had earrings, bracelets on the wrists, and a girdle round the loins. The head-dress differs from most of the others at Palenque in that it wants the plume of feathers. Near the head are _three hieroglyphics_. The other figure, which seems that of a woman is sitting cross-legged [kneeling?] on the ground, richly dressed, and apparently in the act of _making an offering_. In this supposed offering is seen a plume of feathers, in which the head-dress of the principal personage is deficient. Over the head of the sitting personage are _four hieroglyphics_. _This is the only piece of Sculptured Stone about the the Palace_ (Temple) except those in the courtyard. Under it formerly stood a table [altar?] of which the impression against the wall is still visible."

It will be observed that the above _Sculpture is the only one in Stone_ in the interior of the Temple; and from the image of the Sun suspended from the neck of the principal figure, whose countenance is "calm and benevolent," and the richly-attired kneeling figure making an offering, the Sculpture seems to represent the Apollo of the Aborigines receiving a tributary gift. The "Table" underneath and in front, is in the very position of an Altar-table, upon which may have been placed the votive offerings of the living, in imitation of the Sculpture above the Altar. In a similar manner the more modern altar of the Christians is placed, for it is stationed beneath the artistical object of worship or the tables of the Decalogue. A painting over a Christian altar, of the Magii adoring the Infant SAVIOUR, and thereby calling for similar worship from the living, will completely illustrate the sculptured altar-piece of Palenque. We think that this will be admitted, and being so it establishes that this great edifice was one of the chief Temples of the Aborigines, erected by them for the worship of their God of light and heat--viz., the Sun.

This may then have been the Mecca-shrine of the Kingdom, to which all the nation made their annual pilgrimage; and especially do we believe this to have been the case, from the fact of the _stucco_ being placed upon the _stone_, and the former illustrating a later Religion than that proved by the stone-sculpture; and the Religion being partially changed (as will be shewn hereafter), still it was the chief Temple for the assemblage of the people, and from which, perhaps, from the Tower of the Temple, was promulgated not only any change in the form of Religious worship, but also in the Laws of the country. Every thing indicates that this edifice was the Aboriginal Temple of the Sun: if it was the Palace, again would we ask, where is the Temple? for in all ancient nations, the edifice in which was performed the Religion of the country, was of more importance than any earthly residence. Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome, possessed the Temple, the Parthenon, the Capitol, and the Pantheon; Tyrus, Carthage, and Palmyra, their gorgeous Temple to Apollo (_i. e._ the Sun); Italy, England, and France, justly boast of their Churches sacred to St. Peter, St. Paul, and the Mother of the Saviour!--and the great Mahommedan family point with religious joy to the Shrine at Mecca; and why then should the Aborigines of the Western Hemisphere be an exception?

The jewelled Temples of the Sun (_i. e._ of Apollo), that in Mexico and Peru tempted the blood-stained feet of Cortez and Pizarro, were but the types of the original at Palenque; for the latter was in ruins when the Spanish pirates landed, and none of their historians even allude to the desolation of past ages, so engrossed were they with that of their own!

Another description of a piece of Sculpture (in stucco) upon a building near the Temple of Palenque, will be reserved for illustrating a powerful similitude to a Tyrian branch of worship. This will receive a full investigation in the chapter devoted to the national Analogies.

On the map of the Ruins of Palenque, and in the descriptions (as furnished in Mr. Stephens's work), the Temple, and _five other_ edifices, all rise from a pyramidal base, having _four sides_; this fact will again be brought forward in refutation of one of his architectural conclusions.