ce and holy ceremonies, so likewise the devil
hath his Sacrifices, Priests, his kinds of Sacraments, his
Ministers appointed, his secluded and feigned holiness, with a
thousand sorts of false prophets."[403:10]

"We find among all the nations of the world, men especially
dedicated to the service of the true God, or to the false,
which serve in sacrifices, and declare unto the people what
their gods command them. There was in Mexico a strange
curiosity upon this point. And the devil, counterfeiting the
use of the church of God, hath placed in the order of his
Priests, some greater or superiors, and some less, the one as
Acolites, the other as Levites, and that which hath made most
to wonder, was, that the devil would usurp to himself the
service of God; yea, and use the same name: for the Mexicans
in their ancient tongue call their high priests _Papes_, as
they should say sovereign bishops, as it appears now by their
histories."[404:1]

In Mexico, within the circuit of the great temple, there were two
monasteries, one for virgins, the other for men, which they called
religious. These men lived poorly and chastely, and did the office of
Levites.[404:2]

"These priests and religious men used great fastings, of five
or ten days together, before any of their great feasts, and
they were unto them as our four ember week; they were so
strict in continence that some of them (not to fall into any
sensuality) slit their members in the midst, and did a
thousand things to make themselves unable, lest they should
offend their gods."[404:3]

"There were in Peru many monasteries of virgins (for there are
no other admitted), at the least one in every province. In
these monasteries there were two sorts of women, one ancient,
which they called Mamacomas (mothers), for the instruction of
the young, and the other was of young maidens placed there for
a certain time, and after they were drawn forth, either for
their gods or for the Inca." "If any of the Mamacomas or
Acllas were found to have trespassed against their honor, it
was an inevitable chastisement to bury them alive or to put
them to death by some other kind of cruel torment."[404:4]

The Rev. Father concludes by saying:

"In truth it is very strange to see that this false opinion of
religion hath so g