204 ON THE GOVEHXMENT 



The titles and designations of public officers are capriciously bestowed 

 — LouBERE not unaptly calls tliem eiilogiums — but his description of them is 

 unmetliodised. The great stumbling block to those who travelled in his 

 day was the necessity they fancied themselves to labor under of appreciat- 

 ing the nature and merits of Asiatic institutions by the standard of those 

 appertaining to European countries. 



The influence of the C) PJieeWioo or priesthood, opposed, it might be 

 thought in some measure to the power of the king, is entirely dependent on 

 public opinion. This expression may perhaps sound strange after the arbi- 

 trary nature of the government has been so frequently insisted on — but it 

 may be observed in explanation that here, where the pivot is religion, 

 popular feeling may prove destructive as in several other despotisms of the 

 individual ruler, without materially deranging the coercive system by which 

 he governs or the condition of the governed. 



The king, whether he be a hypocrite or a conscientious supporter of the 

 hierarchy must, to save appearances, bow to it. Were it not that we must 

 be aware how large a share ambition had when creating such distinctions, 

 we might be startled to find virtue, or at least its undetected semblance^ 

 taking amidst a half polished people its proud stand above earthly dignities. 

 The PJieekJioo claim superiority over the rest of mankind because 

 they are the vicegerents of Booddjia, and observe (if we are to believe 

 them) two hundred and twenty-seven moral precepts (or (^) Seenla.) The 

 king's inferiority consists in his only observing five on ordinary, and eight 

 on extraordinary occasions. These last are facts, whether voluntary, or 

 enjoined by the calendar. The body of the laity are nearly on a level with 

 the king in these respects. 



Third Class. 



The third class in the state comprehends the civil and military officers. 

 Immediately below them is the body of the people ; there being no distinct 



Q ) Bhlkkhu. C) Sila. 



