LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 257^ 



numerous fed of Bouddha, who all fuppofe him. to. 

 have really lived, and to have been an Indian prince, 

 the learned Carmelite from fome coincident attributes 

 believes BouoDHAand Hermes to have been the fame. 

 He fuppofes them, as well as all the other gods of the. 

 Greeks and Brahmens, not to have been real beings,, 

 but perfonifications of the elements and heavenly- 

 bodies. In applying this fuppofition to Bouddha, 

 as vvorfhipped by the Rahans^ he quite overlooks the 

 eflcntial difference of their making Godama an only 

 God, and that the doftrine of perfonification neceffa- 

 rily implies polytheifm, a fyftem of belief held in ab- 

 horrence by thefe priefts. I think it a more probable 

 opinion, when the Brahmens introduced their doctrine 

 into Hindu/ian, that they could not venture to deny 

 the divinity of the god of the country; but on com- 

 paring his attributes with thofe of their different gods, 

 that they alleged him to be the fame with their Toth; 

 and by adopting him and his titles into the lift of their 

 deities, and many of the prejudices of his followers 

 into their capacious fyftem, they greatly facilitated 

 the progrefs of their doftrine. It is true, that the 

 various accounts of Godama, faid to be given in the 

 legends of the different nations following his religion, 

 agree fo little together, that they can hardly be made 

 matter of hiftprical evidence. But many of thefe dif- 

 ferences may have ari fen from the miftakes of travel- 

 lers ; and it is only by procuring faithful tranflations of 

 the different legends, that we can be enabled to deter- 

 mine what credit is due to their contents. In the mean 

 time I muft fay, that 1 know of no plaufible reafon 

 for believing that Godama did not exift, and was not 

 an Indian prince, as his followers univerfally allege. 

 The father, although a catholick, feems to found his 

 objeftion on the fuppofition, that mankind could ne- 

 ver be fo abfurd as for any length of time to worlhip 

 a man.* But the whole difficulty of Paulinus is 

 VOL. VI. S removed 



♦ Mus, Borg. pagp 37< 



