No. 11.— 1858-9.] SINHALESE RHETORIC. 



311 



frequently to be met with in our books ; and they conduce 

 much to elevate the subject. We take an example from 

 the Kusa Jdtaka. 



"His renown was like that of stars, jasmine, pearls, and mount 

 Kailasa.''* 



Here the poet has selected white objects to convey the 

 purity of that renown which it was his wish to exalt. If 

 he had chosen other objects, as £5©d the red lotus, the 

 entire beauty of the comparison would have been lost. 



There is frequently to be met with in our books a species 

 of metaphor called pratiivctstu, which is the expression of 

 two sentiments, without stating the resemblance between 

 them. This is a trope very pleasing to the mind, "as men 

 are more gratified at catching the resemblance for themselves, 

 than at having it pointed to them."* SuMsita abounds in 

 metaphors of this kind, and we shall select the following 

 as an example : — 



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" Better one son wise and good ; there is no benefit even by a 

 undred of fools. One moon dispels the thick darkness of this world ; 

 it is not dispersed even by hosts of stars." 



Analogical metaphors and comparisons are to be found 

 in the Sinhalese, by the comparates being compounded as 

 in the English word, " table-land." In the language of 

 Dr. Whately 



" They are both the more frequent and the more striking. They 

 are the more frequent, because almost every object has such a mul- 

 titude of relations, of different kinds to many other objects ; and they 

 are the more striking, because (as Dr. A. Smith has well remarked,) 



* Dr. Whately on Rhetoric, p, 267. 



