282 



ON THE RELIGION AND 



Prieft. " Have not you the fcrophula, or fome kind 

 " of herpes ? 



My lord I have not any fuch difeafe. 



Rave you not the fchirrhus, cancer, or itch? 



My lord I have not. 



Are you affli6led with the aflhma, or cough? 



My lord I am not. 



Are you not maniacal, or do you not labour 



under thofe difeafes which proceed from a cor- 



" rupted blood, or from the influence of giants, 



*' Lamia, or evil fpirits, or of the Nat of the woods 



" and mountains ? 



Gand. ' 

 Prieft. ' 

 Cand. ' 

 Prieft. ' 

 Cand. ' 

 Prieft. * 



6( 



Cand. 



Prieft. 



Cand, 



Prieft. 



Cand. 



Prieft. 



Cand. 



Prieft. 



Cand. 



Prieft. 



Cand. 



I do not my lord. 



candidate, are you a human being ? 



1 am a human being my lord. 

 Are you a male ? 



I am a male. 



Are you a lawfully begotten fon ? 



I am a lawful fon. 



Are you not in debt ? 



I am not my lord. 



Are you not the dependant of fome officer ?* 



I am not my lord. 



Prieft. 



* From tKcfc qneflions it will appear, how anxious the Rfihans are 

 rot to render the order of priefthood difreputable, by admitting into th«ir 

 fraternity low people, or fuch as have loathfome dileafes. But there are 

 alfo other reafons for the rellriftlons here impofed. Celibacy would have 

 no merit in a perfon deprived of his virility : befides impotence, although 

 an involuntary misfortune, is almtflfl always viewed with contempt. It 

 would be injullice to admit perfons in debt, or dependants on great men ; 

 for the creditors could not afterwards recover their debt by felling the 

 Rahan : and all the dependants on the Burma nobles are in their debt. 

 But the great object of thus confining the priefthood to the higher ranks 

 probably is, that at the confecration, the parents may be enabled to give 

 handfome prefents to the convent. In fatt, the ordination of a fon to tlie 

 prieilhood generally coils the family more than his marriage, and fetting 

 up in the world, would do: fifty or fixty Pdththa of filver (from 210 

 to 260 lb. weight) is faid not to be uncommon for a wealthy man in a 

 provincial town to expend on fuch occafions. 



