R A M 



RAM 



A curious parallel mig-ht be drawn between the manners and 

 ciilloms defcribed in thel'c two works, the Dioiiyfiaca and 

 Ramayana. The proceffions and rites detailed in the for- 

 mer leem dofcriptive, with a little licence for poetical em- 

 belliiTirnent, of thofe in ufajre to this day in India. Some of 

 tliefe Bacchic orgia arc noticed under our articles Dionvma 

 and No.\s-us ; which fee. A keen etymologid would lind in- 

 numerable lingual coincidencies ; and, in truth, many of the 

 names of perluns, Bacchus and Dionyfos, and of places, 

 as well as oriinnal perfons, fecm foberly traceable to the 

 lacrcd languiige and rites of the Brahmans. 



So highly is the Ramayana venerated, that the fourth 

 clafs of Hindoos, the Sudra, is not permitted to read it. 

 At the end of the firft book, a promife is made of great 

 benefit to any individual of the three fr.ft clalfes or tribes 

 who ihall duly read it. " A Brahman, reading it, acquires 

 learning and eloquence ; a Klhetriya will become a monarch ; 

 a Vailya will obtain vail commercial profits ; and a Sudra, 

 hearing it, will become great." Of tliefe diftiiidlions of 

 tribes or claffes, the reader will find due notice under Sects 

 of Hindoos. Under Rama we have dated that his name rei- 

 terated is ufed by feveral fcfts as a fort of falutation, or be- 

 neditlion. Tiie author of the Ramayana, in the vanity of 

 playful egotifm, which, from its frequency with oriental 

 poets, has ceafed to feem afluming, calls on his readers to 

 " falute Valmiky, the kukila (cuckoo), who, mounted on the 

 branch of poely, founds the delightful note of Ram- 

 Ram." 



It has been fnrmifed that the Ramayana, hke the Ma.haba- 

 rat, is allegorical, fo far as relates to perfonal adventures ; 

 which, in both cafes, are mere machinery for tlie introduc- 

 tion of a concealed fyftem of philofophy and ethics : in the 

 firfl inftance the allegory \% phyfical, in the latter moral. Un- 

 der the article Mahabarat the allegorical nature of that 

 extraordinary poem is fufficiently (hewn. The Kurus and 

 Pandus, the heroes of that poem (fee KuRU and Pandu), 

 are perfonifications of virtues and vices. The Ramayana 

 and the Dionyfiaca relate how their rcfpeftive Indian con- 

 querors led armies of fatyrs. ( See hereon under Maruty 

 and Rama.) Thefe fatyrs, or monkies, we apprehend 

 to be perfonifications of winds, or gazeous metaphors. In 

 the Ramayana we find the machinery to confift of the fun 

 and planets, fire, the firmament, wind, water, &c. per- 

 fonihed in the gods or regents of thofe bodies, elements, 

 &c. It has been farther furmifed, that whenever thefe two 

 extraordinary poems, the Mahabarat and Ramavana, fhall ap- 

 pear in Englifh, and their allegories be more fuHy examined, 

 it may poffibly be found, tliat not only the three Ramas will 

 melt into one, but that all will amalgamate with Krifhna. 

 Some objeftions to the identity of the Ramas have been 

 offered of a chronological nature. Parafu Rama, it is con- 

 tended, reigned or flourifhed eight generations before Rama 

 Chandra. Their poetical identity, however, is fufficiently 

 eftablifhed ; and one can fcarcely bring fuch a tiffueof alle- 

 gory, incarnations, and whimfical adventures, to the ted of 

 fober hillorical and chronological accuracy. Perfons of thefe 

 names may have reigned or flourifhed at any given period, for 

 they have always been very common, and are fo dill. 



The Ramayana is fo replete with incident, that it is 

 carcely pofGble to give any analyfis of its fubjedl with fuf- 

 ficient brevity for this work. Unity of aftion is, however, 

 its charafteridic, namely, the recovery of Sita from the 

 hands of her ravidier Ravena, the gigantic tyrant of Cey- 

 lon. It may be noticed in paffing, that the Ramayana, like 

 the Iliad, is founded on a rape, and that Sita is the Helen 

 of the Hindoo epic. ( See Sita. ) So infeparably inter- 

 mixed are the varied fubjefts of the Hindoo mythological 



hiftory, that the difcuflion of one neceffarily brings another 

 under notice. This is the caufe of fuch frequent references 

 to and from the articles under wliich we have endeavoured to 

 give a fuccintt account of fuch a number of fubjc-ds of that 

 defcription, didinCt apparently, but in reality connefted, 

 and often confounded with each other. On the fubjcft of 

 this article, the Ramayana, or for quotations from it, wc 

 may therefore refer to the following, among others : Ceylon, 

 Laksiimi, Lanka, Mantra, Pauasu Raka, Menaka, 

 Rave.va, Rhemba, ill addition to thofe pointed to in earlier 

 padages of this article, and in thofe articles jud named. 



What precedes, referring to the poem bearing the title 

 of this article, is ofiered refpcfting the Ramayana of Val- 

 miki. There are many other pocnis of the fame name in 

 Sanfcrit, Prakrit, Hindvi, and many other Hindoo dialcfts ; 

 as well as in Arabic, Perfian, Malayan, and others derived 

 from the like fource. Thefe are of courfe of unequal cele- 

 brity and merit ; and acknowledged to be greatly didant 

 from Valmiki's divine poem. Even of this it may be faid, 

 that the dyle is frequently flat and diffufe, deficient in orna- 

 ment, and abundant in repetitions. As well as Valmiki's 

 work, feveral others, under the fame title, are ufually con- 

 fidered with more refpecl than mere profane poems. One 

 is afcribed to Vyafa, the reputed author or compiler of the 

 Vedas and Puranas. ( See thofe articles. ) A conliderable 

 portion of feveral of the latter mythological romances is 

 occupied by the fame fubjcA, to wit, the adventures of 

 Rama ; but in the Vedas no mention is made of this perfon, 

 except, indeed, in fome detached parts, reafonably fufpecled 

 to have been interpolated by zealous fe£laries. The titles 

 even of the philofopliical and profane poems, commentaries, 

 &c. that in divers languages owe their origin to the Rama- 

 yana, would require a catalogue of no inconfiderable extent 

 to contain them. Among thefe are included many dramatic 

 works. The quotations from, and allufions to its mytholo- 

 gical perfonages and fables, in the works of the minor poets, 

 are ir.cefiant ; and upon the whole, there is no fubjecl, per- 

 haps, in the whole range of Hindoo mythology, or hidory, 

 fo often in the minds and mouths of that race of all ranks 

 and fefts, as the dory of the Ramayana in fome of its bear- 

 ings. That of Krifhna rivals it in popularity. Both are 

 chanted by itinerant bards, who iliudrate their fubjecls by 

 exhibiting aferies of pi<ft ures f rom the Ramayana and Maha- 

 barat. Women fingers frequently accompany thefe eaitern 

 troubadours,who are commonly met with in every city, camp, 

 and town of India. 



RAMAZZINI, Bernardin, in Biography, an ItaUan 

 phyfician of dillinftion, was born at Carpi, near Modena, 

 in 1633, where his father was a refpeftable citizen. Having 

 received a clafTical education from the Jefuits at his native 

 town, he went to Parma for the dudy of philofophy at the 

 age of 19, undecided what profeffion to adopt : at the end 

 of three years he feledled that of phyfic, and received the 

 degree of doftor at Parma in the beginning of 1659. He 

 then repaired to Rome for the completion of his dudies, and 

 fettled in praftice in the duchy of Cadro. He was foon 

 obliged by ill health, however, to return to his native air ; 

 and, on his recovery, he married, and purfued his profeffion 

 at Carpi. Finding his reputation increafing, he removed to 

 Modena, at the felicitation of fome friends, in 1 67 1, where 

 he met with merited fuccefs, and excited the jealoufies of 

 his brethren. In 1682 he was appointed profedor of the 

 theory of medicine in the univerfty, which had been recentlf 

 edablifhed at Modena, by duke Francis II. ; and he conti- 

 nued to fill this office for eighteen years, attending at the 

 fame time to praftice, and not neglefting the cultivation of 

 polite literature, to which he was particularly partial. The 

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