LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 181 



knowledge. Hence however several oi^ the Burma 

 doctors conclude, that these worlds never had a 

 beginning, and never will have an end : that is 

 to sav, that the successive destructions and re- 

 prodifctions of the world, resemble a great wheel, 

 in which we can point out neither Ueginning nor 

 end." 



*' VIII. Before we treat of the duration of 

 life attributed to the above-mentioned beings, it 

 will be necessary to give some idea of the wonder- 

 ful duration which the Burma Avritings assign to 

 one \vorld. They say that the age of the men 

 inhabiting this southern island has not always 

 been the same Avith what it is at present, and that 

 it will not continue to be the same : but that it 

 is lengthened or shortened according to the gene- 

 ral merit or demerit of mens' actions. The Hfe of 

 the first man, or of the first inhabitants oi' Zabu- 

 (liba, extended to one Assenchii. Now the Assen- 

 chii is an infinite number of years, of which to 

 give an idea, the Burma doctors say, that if for 

 three years it should rain incessantly over the 

 whole surface of this earth, which is 1,203,400 

 juzana in diameter, the number of drops of rain 

 failing in such a space and time, although far ex- 

 ceeding human conception, would only equal the 

 number of years contained in one Asseiichii. Af- 

 ter these first inhabitants, their children and grand- 

 children had gradually and successively shorter 

 lives, in proportion as they became less virtuous : 

 and this gradual decrease continued till men came 

 to live ten vears onlv, the duration of the life of men 

 in their greatest state of wickedness. The children 

 of these, considering the cause of their parents 

 short life, and dedicating themselves more to the 

 practice of virtue, became w^orthy of living twenty 

 years. Afterwards their children and grand- 

 children, increasing gradually in the performance 

 of good works, had their lives protracted to 30, 

 40, 80, 100, 1,000, 10,000 years, and finally 

 <:ame to live one Assenchii. Now this successive 



M 3 ** decrement 



