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MESOAMERlCA AND FRANCISCAN MISSION 265 of infidelity and idolatry,' he allows that the certainties of religion - which envi– sion, indeed proclaim, the triumph of faith - can also occasion blindness. The tension between the expectant ideals of theology and the more sober reality of missionary work is recurrent in the final years of Sahagun's life, coloring the prologues of his Ca!endario, Arte Adivinatoria and the revised Book XII of the Historia general de !as cosas de Nueva Espana" (100). Louise M. Burkhart dedicates her paper to recounting the stratagems and machinations surrounding Sahagun's Psa!modia christiana, a Nahuatl chant book. While the trained Nahuas used to join in chanting Latin pieces during the litur– gical functions, the others would sing their own traditional songs. "Character– ized by arcane metaphors and cryptic language that Sahagun, despite his con– siderable knowledge of Nahuatl, could not understand, these songs struck him as intolerable intrusions of idolatry into Catholic settings" (103). Hence with the help of some of his former students he had the Psa!modia christiana com– posed in order to enable all the Nahuas to celebrate in their own tongue 54 li– turgical feasts. The composition took place at Tepepulco between 1558 and 1560 and the manuscript received the approval of the viceroy. It was as well given a trial run to gauge the reactions of the different categories of people. And then in 1564 it was submitted for publication, but the permission for it ar– rived only in 1578. This was the only Nahuatl songbook published in Colonial Mexico and as far as Sahagun was concerned, it was the unique work that he had the good fortune to see in print. In the 18 th century it was denounced be– fore the Mexican Inquisition for its contents. The study identifies the various sources used for the composition of the Psa!modia and refers to the camouflage techniques employed by Sahagun in order to make it find favour in the eyes of the authorities. "It was fortunate for the Nahua Church that it was this work that got published, even if, in the eyes of many Spaniards, it could exist only on the margins of legitimacy" (116). The essay by Ellen T. Baird breaks fresh ground when proposing the idea that Sahagun intentionally took recourse to elements of European culture in the illustration of his Historia universal de !as cosas de Nueva Espana, currently held in the Biblioteca Laurenziana in Florence, and commonly referred to as Floren– tine Codex. "The introduction of nonindigenous elements may be cursorily as– cribed to artistic convention or the result of European influence or the accul– turation of the artists; however, the choice to depict history in a certain manner is indeed a choice and, as such, is potentially meaningful" (117). In doing his research, Sahagun was assisted by four young grammarians, who knew well Spanish and Latin, besides their Nahuatl. He interviewed the elderly members