“Some of the most learned of the people were chosen to make known the lives of those lords in songs, and the events of their reigns, with the object I have already described. And it is also to be noted that besides this, it was the custom among them, and a law much kept and observed, for each king, during his reign, to select three or four old men, known for their intelligence and ability, who were instructed to retain in their memory all the events that happened in the provinces, whether they were prosperous or whether they were the reverse, and to compose songs to be handed down, so that the history of the reign might be had in remembrance in after times. But these songs could not be recited or made public, except in the presence of the lord, and those who were charged with this duty, during the reign of the king, were not allowed to say anything which referred to him. But after his death they spoke to his successor in the empire, almost in these very words: ‘Oh, great and powerful Inca, the Sun, the Moon, the earth, the hills and the trees, the stones, and thine ancestors, may they all preserve thee from misfortune and make thee prosperous, happy, and successful over all that are born. Know that the events which occurred in the days of thy fathers are these.’ Then in the narration, they stood in great humility, with eyes cast on the ground and hands lowered. They could very well do this for there were among them some men with very good memories, sound judgments, and subtle genius, and full of reasoning power, as we bear witness, who have heard them even in these our days. “As soon as the king understood what was related to him, he caused other aged men to be called, and charged them with the duty of learning the songs which were handed down from memory, and to prepare others touching the events which might occur in his own reign.” [Sidenote: _Guerra de Quito_] Besides these works dealing with his travels and the history and institutions of the Inca kingdom, Cieza de León wrote a history of the conquest and the civil wars of Peru. Only a part of this work has been published, the first part of the _Guerra de Quito_, edited by Jiménez de la Espada. This was printed in Madrid in 1877. The fate of the rest of the manuscript is unknown. The part here published is the third book of the Civil Wars of Peru, and gives an account of the conflict between Gonzalo Pizarro and Blasco Núñez Vela near the city of Quito. It opens with the departure of Blasco Núñez Vela from San Lucar in Spain to assume his duties as the first viceroy of Peru. It describes the journey of the viceroy and his arrival in Peru, the effect of the introduction of the New Laws, the appeal to Gonzalo Pizarro to become the leader of the revolt against the viceroy, the reception of Núñez Vela at Lima, and the course of the rebellion until a short time before the triumph of Gonzalo Pizarro and the death of the viceroy near Quito.[27] [Sidenote: Cieza de León’s plan]