"I wish to know": Neoplatonic scenes in the General History of Peru

Abstract

This essay analyzes one of the echoes of the philosophy of Leone Ebreo in the second part of the Comentarios reales. In several key scenes, the speeches of historical actors show evidence of a dialectic of processes of knowledge that involve love and desire, which reflect the neoplatonism of the Dialoghi d’amore. A study of this register reveals a notable pattern in the characterization of the Historia general del Perú, and highlights one more facet of the author’s rhetorical strategy and complex historical vision, which encompasses diverse traditions so as to convey the events that marked the conquest of the vast Inca empire.