Читать книгу The Codex Mendoza: new insights онлайн

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Naturall things are the more proper Object [of this work], namely the ordinary Workes of God in the Creatures, preserving and disposing by Providence that which his Goodnesse and Power had created, and dispersed in the divers parts of the World, as so many members of this great Bodie.

In this context, the narrative of discovery need not be restricted by what is factual, but it instead strives towards the visualization of transcendence. From the perspective of Protestantism, this narrative becomes a metaphor for personal growth rather than a travel-guide for a physical journey. Purchas’s editorial comments (often used to instigate an emotional response on the part of the reader) were not necessarily grounded in real events. The presentation of the Codex Mendoza in Purchas’s work, then, calls for a certain degree of skepticism when it comes to dating the manuscript and establishing its itinerary. However, this in no way diminishes the text’s usefulness to understand Purchas’s priorities as an author.