258 DB, THOMAS A. WISE ON THE 



and in certain of their observances ; which will be better understood by adding a 

 few remarks on the Asiatic people who are believed to have erected these monu- 

 ments, and on their religious opinions, in explanation of some of the symbols or 

 hieroglyphics which are found upon the ancient obelisks of Scotland * 



A reformer of the Sabaism, and Brahminical fire-worship of the ancient 

 Asiatic races, gave rise to the present form of the Buddhist religion, in the north 

 of India, in the sixth century before the Christian era. This religion inculcated 

 a belief in a trinity, in the perfectibility of our nature, in the transmigration of 

 souls, in the veneration for serpents, for certain trees, &c. ; and such was the sanc- 

 tity and zeal of the priests, and the benevolence of the doctrines they inculcated, 

 that it rapidly spread over Hindostan. Some time after the invasion of India by 

 Alexander the Great (b.c. 247), Asoka was the great Buddhist monarch of that coun- 

 try, who probably propagated the new doctrines by recording edicts upon rocks, and 

 pillars (lats), in different parts of Hindostan. f As the language was the vernacular 

 dialect of the period, it varied according to the part of the country it was intended 

 for ; and it was only by the genius of the late James Prinsep that it was deci- 

 phered.:}: These most interesting monuments of antiquity are found in distant 

 parts of India, and were most probably transcribed from copies obtained from the 

 king, and such changes were made as were required for the better understanding 

 of the people for whom they were intended. They inculcate the following bene- 

 volent precepts : honour to parents and kindred ; never-tiring charity ; respect 

 and liberality for good men, and spiritual guides ; temperance and moderation in 

 every word and action ; and the utmost humanity to man and the inferior animals. 

 These precepts were not only to be inculcated in their own country, but ministers 

 of religion, or missionaries, were appointed " to spread them, and to intermingle 

 themselves among all unbelievers, to overwhelm them with the inundation of re- 

 ligion, and with the abundance of the sacred doctrine." — (5th Table.) They were 

 directed to effect conversions in the dominions of Alexander (satrap of Persia), 

 Antigonus (sovereign of Phrygia and Lycia), Magas (the son-in-law of Ptolemy 

 Philadelphus), Ptolemy (either the first or all of the four first princes of Egypt), and 

 Antiochus (the Great). These names were probably given, as Professor Wilson 

 supposes, from their notoriety in India, as they were not contemporaries.§ The 

 missionaries were to find their way into the uttermost limits of barbarous countries, 

 for the benefit and pleasure of all, and for reducing the passions of the faithful, 

 and for the regeneration of those bound in the fetters of sin ; " intermingling 



* See the beautiful drawings of the ancient sculptured stones of Angus by J. Chalmers, Esq., 

 and the more recent volume on those of Scotland by the Spalding Club. 



j" On the Kapur di Giri, the Girnar rock Gujerat, and on the Dhale rock of Cuttack ; on the 

 Pillars (lats) of Delhi, Allahabad, &c. See Journal of Asiatic Society, Calcutta, vol. vii., pp. 156 

 and 219. 



J See Asiatic Journal, Bengal, vol. vii., pp. 150 and 219. 



§ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol- xii., p. 246. 



I 



