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JOUKNAL, K.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. II., PaKT II. 



feet ;* and without attending to any particular classifica- 

 tion, I shall here enumerate them with their corresponding 

 classical terms : — 



Quantity. 



Greek. 



Sinhalese. 



Meaning. 



Sanskrit. 



1 w w w 



Tibrach 





godly 





2 w w _ 



Anapoest 





windy 







Bacchic 





water 







Amphibrach 





sun 







Molossus 





earth 







Antibachic 





air 



33 





Dactyl 





moon 





8 — w _ 



Cretic 





fire 





As in all matters emanating from Buddhists, poetry is 

 with them attended with its good and bad effects upon the 

 poets. But, unlike the Sanskrit, Sinhalese poetry need 

 be free from bad feet only at the beginning of a stanza. 

 The Sinhalese poets have, however, little attended to such 

 a slavish fear, and it seems have freely given vent to their 

 muse wherever they could elegantly express themselves. 



1. Three short souuds, as in dominits, compose the Deva- 

 gane y and it is esteemed a good foot. 



* The diagram, by means whereof the quantity of poetry is ascertained, 

 is indeed a clever expedient or device, called ejc^gaodsss d-^eto, " spread- 

 ing the rythmical feet." It is borrowed from the Sanskrit and adapted 

 to the exigencies of the Sinhalese. I shall merely content myself at 

 present with the following, which is the correct mode in which the 

 eight rythmical feet are place !, and which is just sufficient to ascertain 

 the quantity of any piece of poetry composed of three letters : — 



Sinhalese. Greeh. 



1 ^ ^ < 



2 — /-s - 



3 /-^ — /- 



4 ' s 



5 : >~S y-N - 



8 j 



To enter into a detail of this subject will necessarily occupy several 

 pages, which I can hardly afford at present. 



