LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 259 



SrsosTRis, king o^ Egypt, " Who by conquefl fpread 

 '• a new fyftcm of religion and philofophy^ from the 

 " Nile to the Ganges, about 1,000 years before 

 " Christ*/' The affinity of the- religion o^ Egypt 

 with the prefent fuperflition of Hinduflan, and the 

 fatal refemblance of the words Sesac and Sakya, one 

 of the names of Godama, feem to have given rife to 

 this fuppofition. In my opinion, however, no two 

 religions can be well more different, than that of the 

 Egyptian polytheift, and that of the Biirma unitarian* 

 Sesac or Szsostris is indeed placed by antiquarians 

 at the time to which the learned judge alludes : but 

 I fliall hereafter have occafion to fhow, that, according 

 to the moft probable accounts, the origin of the reli- 

 gion of GoDAMA ought to be referred to a much later 

 periodt. That the religion of the Bralunens was 

 introduced from Egypt, I have already mentioned as 

 an opinion highly probable J: but I fufpetl that this 

 happened by no means fo early as the time of Sesos- 

 TRis, whofe obje6l in his military expeditions appears 

 rather to have been plunder, and the capture of flaves, 

 than the propagation of religion or philofophy. The 

 perfecution of the Egyptian priefts by Cambyses is a 

 more likely period for any very extenfive emigration 

 into India ; at the fame time it is not improbable, that 

 the Egyptians, who before this traded to India, had 

 previoufly communicated fome knowledge of their 

 fcience to the Hindus. 



It muft be obferved that the god, of whofe doftrine 

 we arc now going to give an explanation, has a great 

 variety of names, which are apt to produce much 

 .confulion. Godama or Kodama is the moft common 

 appellation among his worfhippers in India beyond 

 the Ganges. It feems alfo to be common among the 

 Hindus, and by Sir William Jones copying 1 iup 

 pofe from the Sanjcrit, is written Gotamas.|J This 



S 2 name 



*" Afiatick Refearches, 11, 380. 



+ See note + in page 265 of this volume. 



i Seepage 148 of this voluine. 



ll Afiatick Refearches, IV, I'jo. 



