("New American Cyclopaedia," art. American Antiquities.) The gold and
silver of Peru largely contributed to form the metallic currency upon
which Europe has carried on her commerce during the last three hundred
years.
Gold and silver were not valued in Peru for any intrinsic usefulness;
they were regarded as sacred because reserved for the two great gods of
the nation. As we find gold and silver mined and worked on both sides of
the Atlantic at the earliest periods of recorded history, we may fairly
conclude that they were known to the Atlanteans; and this view is
confirmed by the statements of Plato, who represents a condition of
things in Atlantis exactly like that which Pizarro found in Peru.
Doubtless the vast accumulations of gold and silver in both countries
were due to the fact that these metals were not permitted to be used by
the people. In Peru the annual taxes of the people were paid to the Inca
in part in gold and silver from the mines, and they were used to
ornament the temples; and thus the work of accumulating the sacred
metals went on from generation to generation. The same process doubtless
led to the vast accumulations in the temples of Atlantis, as described
by Plato.
Pages:
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499