The distinguished scholar and administrator, Howard F. Cline, who, at the time of his death was Director of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. gave, in 1969, this positive assessment of Torquemada's skill as an historian :-Historians generally see their tasks broken into three main stages: as comprehensive as possible collection of relevant documentation, followed by critical and evaluative appraisal of it, and finally, a synthesis based on verified data. Contrary to a considerable body of hostile secondary discussion, critical examination of Juan de Torquemada's "Monarquía Indiana" indicates a surprisingly high level of workmanship in at least the first two phases. Although what he strove for in synthesis – an accurate record that would place native Mexican cultures on a par with ancient, classical, and for him modern societies – is an early and interesting example of a comparative approach, the classical and Biblical citations he employed for such comparisons are now largely of curiosity value, except as clues to his own ambience and personal outlook.