298 Rev. Mr. Gursiarr’s Remarks on the Siamese Language. 
A general rule for the acquirement of a good Siamese style, is to avoid 
as much as possible the use of pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions ; 
to join synonyms which correspond in sound to each other, and to introduce 
in the same sentence many words commencing with the same letters. 
Almost the whole, therefore, consists in the study of euphony, with a total 
neglect of the sense. There is no work enjoying the favour of the public 
which is devoid of these ornaments: the style is exceedingly diffuse, fre- 
quently copious, but never nervous. Ingenuity, satire, and antithesis, are 
as strange to the style of diction of the Siamese language as to the character 
of the nation. Their descriptions of natural scenery have all the simplicity 
and sublimity which we admire in Homer. It would be difficult to trans- 
late ArIsToTLE into Siamese, but Paradise Lost and the Jlad could be 
translated with all their natural beauties. Whilst the imagination is highly 
interested, the understanding slumbers for want of entertainment. 
The Siamese literature is very rich. ‘The present generation has not in 
the least added to the stock of their ancestors, but is anxious to enjoy the 
treasures bequeathed to them, without any desire to improve them. Most 
of the books are dated before the Burman invasion: there are very few 
books of high antiquity, if we except those in the Pali language, and trans- 
lations from them. Many works have been lost, as the invaluable art of 
printing has never been introduced into Siam, and the Siamese themselves 
are too indolent to transcribe them ; besides, most of their works consist of 
fifty or sixty volumes, which renders a complete set a great rarity. The 
royal library alone preserves the works complete. 
Most of the Siamese works are romances. Giants, dwarfs, fiends, angels, 
and a hero possessed of supernatural powers, are in their fictions indispen- 
sable. They begin generally with a prayer, like that addressed by western 
poets to the Muses. A kingdom is then introduced, which, on account of 
its extent and excellence, was the wonder of antiquity. There usually 
reigns a king, having two sons, who, being eminent for bodily and mental 
accomplishments, desire to try their fortunes, either in a voyage to Ceylon, 
to perfect themselves in the sacred language, or on some perilous expedition ; 
they then commonly enter a forest, meet with the strangest occurrences, 
ascend to heaven, conquer ghosts, kill tigers, fight with giants; and, 
finally, find partners, with whom they set out in search of new adventures. 
These are the leading features of all the Siamese romances. The authors 
are less anxious to relate than to describe ; therefore they take every oppor- 
