"Act!" from "Aztec Thought and Culture"

Act!  Cut wood, work the land,

Plant cactus, sow maguey,

You shall have drink, food, clothing

With this you shall stand straight

With this you shall live.

For this you shall be spoken of, praised.

In this manner you will show yourself to your parents and relatives.

Someday you shall tie yourself to a skirt and blouse *

Is she going to live off the air?

You are the support, the remedy.

You are the eagle, the tiger.

Andrés de Olmos 

translated by Garibay and quoted in "Aztec Thought and Culture," 

University of Oklahoma Press 1963

* refers to the Aztec marriage ceremony in which the woman's blouse and the man's cape were knotted together