166 Ox THE RELIGIQN A^'D 



plisbed, proved equally destructive to the prince, and 

 to the people. HovvTver idle and ridiculous the le- 

 gends and notions of the worshippers of Bouddha 

 maybe, they have been in a great measure adopted 

 by the Bra/iwej/.s, but with all their defects mon- 

 struously aggravated : rajahs and heroes are con- 

 verted into gods, and impossibilities are heaped on 

 improbabilities. No useful science have the Brah- 

 mena diifuscd among tbcir followers ; history they 

 have totally abolished ; morality they have depressed 

 to the utmost ; and the dignity and power of the 

 altar they liave erected on the rnins of the state, and 

 the rights of the subject. Even the laws attributed to 

 IMexu, which, under the form in use among* the 

 Burmas, ai-c not ill suited for the purpose of an abso- 

 lute monarchy, under the hands of the Brahmcns 

 have become the most abominable, .and degrading 

 system of oppression, ever invented by the craft of 

 desio'iiintv men. 



DuRl XG my short stay in the Burma empire, aware 

 of the interesting nature of the encpiiry, I neglected 

 no opportunity of making myself acquainted with 

 tlie religious tenets of the Baltdns : but trom a want 

 ot"knov,'ledL>e in the lan<>ua<>:e 1 should have obtain- 

 ed a very superhcjal view, had not Captain Symes 

 given me the use of t];ree treatises, which he procured 

 from Vincent I us Savgermano, an Italian \mQst 

 residing at Rangoufi. Tb.e first was a Cosmography- 

 extracted by Sangermanp from various Burma 

 writings, 'i he second was a translation pf a small 

 treatise, ■\rritten by a late Zarado or king's confes- 

 ^OY, witii an intention of ponverting the Christians, 

 'Hie third v/a? a translation of the hookof orchnatioti. 

 I'hcse three I have united into one con nectecl account, 

 trans-latingthcm from the original Latin, and inter- 

 mixing them throughout wiili such observations as 

 my personal acquaintance with tiic subject;, and my 

 reading, haye enabled me to cpllcci". I vegret ex- 

 ceedingly, that in my present situation I am not 

 e-nabieti to make the hi:^t more numerous, as I have 



hardly 



