Arte de la lengua mexicana, breves platicas de los mysterios de n. santa fee catholica, y otras para exortacion de su obligacion a los indios. by Avila, Francisco de - 1717

Mexico: Por los herederos de la Viuda de Miguel de Ribera Calderon, 1717. 12mo. [13], 36, [1] ff.

Mexico saw a major rebirth of scholarly interest in Nahuatl during the first half of the 18th century, and Fr. Avila was a contributor to it. In his introduction here ("Al pio lector"), he explains why, despite the existence of the works of Molina, Carochi, Ribera, and Manuel Perez (whose enthusiastic endorsement ["Sentir"] is part of the preliminaries), he has decided to write and publish this grammar: "solo quitar algunas dificultades, que he reconosido [sic] en los que aprenden por el discurso de veinte anos." The work achieves this aim well. Moreover, Fr. Avila's extremely notable introduction has much to say about the physical and spiritual condition of the Indians at the beginning of 18th century and about the economic and social debt of the Spanish population to them. Sra. Leon-Portilla points out that among the "chats" (i.e, "platicas") that form the appendix, "las destinadas a lograr una buena confesion" are of => "gran importancia."
    This copy => escaped the Inquisition censors who after its publication insisted that the section on folio 34r-v, "Instruccion para ensenar lo que se resive [sic] en la Hostia" be lined through.
    Evidence of Readership? Or, frugal management of paper? Or, something else entirely?? A singular quality of this among all the copies that we have ever seen is the presence of => two additional leaves (four pages) at the end containing => 18th-century manuscript notes in Nahuatl for a sermon on the theme of "they who acquired divine happiness" and on conducting a confession.
    Provenance: Sold by the Linga Library of Hamburg as a duplicate. Pencil notes of a Spanish bookseller.
    
    Medina, Mexico, 2478; Garcia Icazbalceta, Lenguas, 9; Vinaza 271; Newberry Library, Ayer Indians, Nahuatl 18 (incomplete, lacking title-leaf); H. de León-Portilla, Tepuztlahcuilolli, 240. Recased in modern vellum with button and loop ties, some few leaves strengthened at inner margins. Last leaf of text torn in lower margin and expertly repaired, costing small portion of two letters; a bit of staining at some edges, particularly in early part of volume. Small round old stamp "BS" to front free endpaper, leaves filled with manuscript annotation at end as above. => Very good, and very interesting.