The difference of their religion from ours, I have taken from the story itself; and that which you find of it in the first and fifth acts, touching the sufferings and constancy of Montezuma in his opinions, I have only illustrated, not altered, from those who have written of it.

PROLOGUE

Almighty critics! whom our Indians here
Worship, just as they do the devil—­for fear;
In reverence to your power, I come this day,
To give you timely warning of our play. 
The scenes are old, the habits are the same
We wore last year, before the Spaniards came[A]. 
Now, if you stay, the blood, that shall be shed
From this poor play, be all upon your head. 
We neither promise you one dance, or show;
Then plot, and language, they are wanting too: 
But you, kind wits, will those light faults excuse,
Those are the common frailties of the muse;
Which, who observes, he buys his place too dear;
For ’tis your business to be cozened here. 
These wretched spies of wit must then confess,
They take more pains to please themselves the less. 
Grant us such judges, Phoebus, we request,
As still mistake themselves into a jest;
Such easy judges, that our poet may
Himself admire the fortune of his play;
And, arrogantly, as his fellows do,
Think he writes well, because he pleases you. 
This he conceives not hard to bring about,
If all of you would join to help him out: 
Would each man take but what he understands,
And leave the rest upon the poet’s hands.

[Footnote A:  Alluding to the Indian Queen, in which the scene is laid before the arrival of the Spaniards in America, and which was acted in 1664, as this was in 1665.]

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

INDIAN MEN.

MONTEZUMA, Emperor of Mexico. 
ODMAR, his eldest son. 
GUYOMAR, his younger son. 
ORBELLAN, son of the late Indian Queen by TRAXALLA.
High Priest of the Sun.

WOMEN.

CYDARIA, MONTEZUMA’S daughter. 
ALMERIA, } Sisters; and daughters to the late
ALIBECH, } Indian Queen.

SPANIARDS.

CORTEZ, the Spanish General. 
VASQUEZ, } Commanders under him. 
PIZARRO, }

SCENE—­Mexico, and two leagues about it.

THE INDIAN EMPEROR.

ACT I.

SCENE I.—­A pleasant Indian country.

Enter CORTEZ, VASQUEZ, PIZARRO, with Spaniards and Indians of their party.

Cort.  On what new happy climate are we thrown,
So long kept secret, and so lately known;
As if our old world modestly withdrew,
And here in private had brought forth a new?

Vasq. Corn, oil, and wine, are wanting to this ground,
In which our countries fruitfully abound;
As if this infant world, yet unarrayed,
Naked and bare in Nature’s lap were laid. 
No useful arts have yet found footing here,
But all untaught and savage does appear.