it was in the tonituah, or great sun age, that the wise men and the golden hearted built the memento for generations, on the plains of puebla. it is not so high, but is twice as long as any other pyramid in the world, and is truncated, that is to say, it has four terraces which are reached by long circular staircases. on top there is an acre of ground on which once stood a wonderful teocalli or temple, built by the wise men, and dedicated to the golden hearted. each generation added something to the beauties of the sacred city, cholula, which sprang up near the pyramid, and for all time it will be one of the most wonderful things ever done by primitive men, who did not have our kind of implements to work with.
the golden hearted lived in cholula twenty years, and during that time he taught so many men how to make fine filigree work in gold and silver that there were whole streets filled with them, and the ornaments they made were famous for delicacy of design and finish.
there was also a mountain of outcry, where the laws enacted by him were proclaimed by runners, but it is difficult to say whether this was orizaba, with her conical snow-capped head far to the east, or whether it was huge popocatepetl, or his twin sister who stood like colossal sentinels to guard the enchanted regions. 118
"it is necessary to construct a calendar stone, so that the people will know when to hold festivals, and what ceremonies to perform," said the son of guatamo to the golden hearted, one day while the long line of men were passing bricks by hand from the lower to the upper terrace of the pyramid which they were trying to finish.
"i have been thinking about it," he replied, "and have decided to ask a certain old woman, and her husband, to help select the signs."
"be sure to make them plain to the people and appropriate to the subject," said the son of guatamo, who had now become the chief adviser of the golden hearted. all of the wise men were still called nahuas, or wizards, and the golden hearted was their plumed serpent, or wise king.
in the evening of that day, the golden hearted approached the hut of a famous soothsayer and story-teller—the old woman he wished to consult about the calendar. standing in front of the door of the hut he said:
"a humble applicant claims thy assistance in a matter of great import to thy fellows now and for all time. wilt thou kindly hear me?"
"since it is always for thy brothers and never for thyself thou art constrained to invoke aid, i am honored by thy confidence," she said. "i have long been expecting thee."
"then thou knowest that i wish to invent a calendar which can be cut in enduring stone?" he asked, considerably surprised that she should already know his thoughts. 119
"yes," she said, "and so well do i understand thy wishes and needs that i have the first sign ready for thee." motioning him to follow her into an inner room, she showed him a water-snake she had painted on a piece of parchment, and continued:
"make it the sign of the serpent, the symbol of wisdom, since thou art come to teach brotherhood to all our tribes."
a queer hunchbacked old man sat huddled up in a corner looking over a set of parchment leaves lying on a table before him, and muttering to himself in a low tone.
"my husband must make the next selection," said the old crone, going up to him and taking a paper out of his hands. "he makes it two cones," she continued, examining the design closely.
"now it is my turn to choose," said the golden hearted, "and i will select the three houses from this pile, and make that the third sign."
they took turns about until twelve signs were chosen, then the golden hearted said:
"i will make the last design myself, but not until my time of departure is at hand."
"before going, do not forget to inscribe the face of the pyramid, and also to explain its import fully," said the story-teller as the golden hearted was leaving her hut.
"thou art better able than i am to tell the hidden significance of that wonderful pile," he answered. 120
"but it is thy duty; shirk it not," she said with decision.
not long afterward he called all the workmen and their families together and said:
"there has now come a time in my life when i must live in seclusion away from the thoughts and occupations of my associates. but before going up on top of the pyramid to live alone until the altars in its temples are ready to receive the sacred fire, i will tell you why we have tarried so long and made such a wonderful structure. it is really a pillar of the cosmos, or world, and is a center of fire which is the essence of all life."
the name pyramid means a place of fire or a volcano, and the goddess pele, of the native hawaiians, is the spirit of the volcano.
"a pyramid," continued the golden hearted, "is the ideal form of the principle of stability because it cannot be destroyed. an earthquake will not shake it down, nor can it be set on fire. being so big at the bottom and so heavy it is secure from floods of water, nor can the wind possibly blow it over. neither time nor the elements will have any influence on this cunningly constructed pile, and for this reason it is like a noble character, which no adverse circumstance ever changes."
approaching the front of the pyramid, he pulled down a cloth hanging over the inscription cut in symbols on the face of a huge piece of granite.
before the light was obscured this memento for generations was 121 built by serpent kings. they were scattered over the earth to carry truth and wisdom. they will come again to receive the treasures hidden in my bowels. then all men will speak and hear the great imperishable truth.
the next morning the golden hearted called his little band of wise men around him and said:
"in the bundle of wonderful things given me by guatamo, i find my father's final command. it imposes seclusion upon me in this spot. the temple requires a central spire and i shall build and cover it with pure gold. go thou to the valley and make thy life apart from me. i love thee well, and shall miss thee sadly, but i have need to be alone."
"what wilt thou have us do?" asked the son of guatamo.
"go thou amongst thy fellows and teach them the arts of peace. show them how to coax fertility anew out of the soil, and strengthen civil power until i call thee."
it was several months before the spire was finished, and then it required several days to make a llama of beaten silver as an emblem of suffering innocence to put on the altar. the llama seated upon the back of an eagle was rescuing a rabbit from the fangs of a rattlesnake.
"this quaint symbol shall represent the unequal conflict between the good and bad things in life, but the llama compelling the serpent to give up its prey means that good shall finally triumph," 122 said the golden hearted, to himself, as he put the offering in place on the altar.
"i have only a few days more in this beautiful spot, then must i return to good king cocomos, my life-long friend and follower. well indeed has he kept his promise to me, and not only are his subjects blessed with all the arts of civilization, but they are a shining example to other less favored races. i must offer a fitting sacrifice," he continued, "on this newly erected altar before i go."
there were eight altars in the temple on top of the pyramid, and at sunset on the last day of his stay, the golden hearted placed the llama on the one facing the east. at the same time the son of guatamo headed a procession of wise men at the base of the pyramid, who slowly climbed to the top. they performed sacrifice on each terrace as they ascended, and did not reach the temple until midnight.
the golden hearted was alone in the great dark structure intently watching the constellation of the pleiades directly overhead. as alcyone, the dim star in the center of the group, approached the zenith, he sprang forward with a glad cry and vigorously swinging a copper hammer made the sparks fly from a piece of flint. the son of venerable guatamo held the bit of cotton over it and carefully nursed the fire into a blaze. as the light streamed up toward the heavens shouts of joy and triumph burst forth:
"once more the children of men receive a 123 direct ray from the spiritual sun! awake! awake! and hear the glad tidings!"
runners with torches lighted at the blazing beacon sped in every direction carrying the cheering element to all parts of the country. long before sunrise it was brightening the altars and hearthstones in every house. the golden hearted prayed before the eastern altar, and then took an affectionate farewell of the young priest of the order of quetzalcoatl left in charge, but before descending, he gazed long at the matchless scenery below. soft spring verdure lay on all sides, and he drew courage and inspiration from that fact. at the foot of the pyramid he said:
"be of good cheer. a long era of peace and prosperity is for thee and thine. let this knowledge be thy secret refuge lest thou be tempted to depart from the way. grieve not for me, in the fullness of time i will come again."
then he set out for the kingdom of tlapalla, accompanied by four youths of noble birth. at the water's edge he took leave of them saying:
"guard well the temple and the sacred fires, for when i come again, i will bring disciples with me who shall possess and rule the land."
when the four youths returned to cholula and told all their master had said to them, the people divided their province into four principalities and gave the government to the four young nobles. ever after, four of the descendants of these youths continued to rule as priests of the order of quetzalcoatl in the sacred city until the spaniards came, 124 which we will know all about when we read the story of "el dorado, the golden."
one of the first things done by the noble youths when they became rulers was to make a statue of the golden hearted in a reclining position, because they said that he had gone to sleep in the bosom of the sun. when the wind blew they said he was sweeping the roads, and that he was the god of fertility. not any place else in the new world was there so much reverence and respect paid to a statue as to this one of the golden hearted which was for ages kept in the temple he built on the top of the pyramid. for hundreds of miles around people came to do reverence to it, and even if it did have a black face, the ancient aztecs always called him their "fair god." and to this day the calendar stone and many other wonderful things in mexico are said to have been made by him.
