ect to
find on the summit of the great pyramid-temple of Mexico. With our present
knowledge and comprehension of native symbolism, moreover, we see that two
statues, each of which figured twin-serpents, would best express the
native idea of the dual and quadruple principles and elements. What is
more, two dual statues, each surmounted by a square, diagonally crossed,
like a pyramid, would correspond, in symbolism, to the two great pyramids
of Teotihuacan and carry out, on a small scale, the idea of a dual
government.

Valuable and reliable evidence, showing to what an extent the Mexicans
regarded their government as dual and quadruple, can be gleaned from the
records of the presents sent by Montezuma to Cortes, under the impression
that the bearded Spaniards were the descendants of the ancient founders of
their civilization. The native ruler sent the complete ceremonial dress of
the four lords of the four regions denoting by that act of homage that he
acknowledged Cortes as his equal, _i. e._ the supreme central lord who
united the four-fold power in his person. "He likewise sent him a large
wheel of pure gold, covered with designs and with the image of a monster
in its centre." Its weight was estimated at 3,800 "pesas" and it was
considered "the finest and best of all the presents." It was accompanied
by "a large wheel of silver," weighing forty-eight marcos. By the light of
our present knowledge it may be that both "wheels" were images of the
Great Plan and that whilst the gold one set forth the constitution and
organization of the Upper division of the State and possibly conveyed the
statistics of its members, the silver wheel was a record of the Lower
division. The gift of these tablets must have been intended as an act of
subservience and an acknowledgment of Cortes as the lord of the Above and
Below, as well as of the Four Quarters. The utter lack of understanding
for the symbolism of these gifts on the part of the recipient, can
scarcely have escaped the notice of Montezuma's messengers and must have
sorely puzzled their unfortunate master.

The existence in Mexico at the time of the Conquest, of a dual state,
suggests the possibility that, in some way, the pyramids of Teotihuacan
continued to be connected with the opposite and rival cults of the Sun and
the Nocturnal Heaven, although their origin was shrouded in the past. It
is known that their site was venerated: besides, the name Teotihuacan,
which Orozco y B