LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 25I 



the vicinity of Bombay* ; and by degrees cnojrafted 

 their fuperdition on the ignorance of the Hindus, 

 adapting the African deities and millical philofophy 

 to the AjiaHck fables and heroes, and carefully intro- 

 ducing the Egyptian caft and ceremonies with all 

 their dreadful confequences. 



*•' The Burma dottors," continues the miffionary, 

 " admit of fourchdfes of men : the firft, defcendedfrom 

 " Mahasamata, are princes; the fecond, defccnded 

 " from the Manujfa Biamma^ who married, arc the 

 " Brahmens ; the third, defcended from fuch men as 

 " married before the Manu//a Biaynma^ are the Sathe 

 "or rich: in the fourth clals, called ^'/^rAzt;^, are in- 

 " eluded ail other men, merchants, artificers, labour- 

 " ers, and the like." 



This opinion might be fuppofed to imply, that the 

 feft of BouDDHA admitted of caft, in a limilar man- 

 ner with that o[ xht Brahmens ; but as far as relates 

 to its followers in the Burma empire, and in Siam, I 

 can affure the reader, that fo cruel and fo abominable 

 a dilHn6tion is utterly unknown, except by report, 

 and from the example of the Hindus fettled in thofe 

 countries. At what time then was the doctrine of caft 

 e^TihVi^hed in HciiduJIanF Pliny is the only antient 

 author to whom on this fubjecl I can at prcfent refer. 

 He mentions a divifion of ranks among various Indian 

 nations, which he calls t'i/^, multipartita: but from what 

 he fays, it v/ould not appear to have been univerfal 

 at the time he received his intelligence : neither is it 

 by any means clear, that his vitamultipartita means caft. 

 It is to be obicrved, that all Roman citizens followed 

 nearly the fame manner of life : they were foldiers 

 and ftatefmen ; and when not employed in cither of 



thefe 



* The imajjcs in the cave at Elephanta appear to me, now that I sttj 

 acquainted with the iubject, evidently to be thofe of the gods of the Brah- 

 mens. I weil remember, when 1 viewed them, (although then quite im- 

 acqiiamted wuh the controverfies concerning their origin), that I was 

 flnick With the African appearance of their hair and features; and con- 

 ceived them to have been the work of Sksostris, as I had imbibed the 

 V ulgar idea, that thev were not the idols of the Brahmens. 



