at the end of each chapter, do not endow Mahānāma with the characteristics of a true historian. They merely show most excellent intentions; but he does not succeed in making his history a teaching, whatever pains he may have taken to do so. It is a recapitulation of absurd legends which he never criticizes, and an injudicious compendium of real events which are neither sufficiently understood nor sufficiently explained.

The extensive chronology contained in the Mahāvansa imparts to it its special value. Chronology is valuable everywhere, but infinitely more in India than elsewhere, as it is most scarce in that country. Mahānāma's system was very simple. He begins from the death of the Buddha, just as we begin from the birth of Christ. Nothing could be clearer than this mode of reckoning; and as the Mahāvansa, through subsequent writings, is continued and carried on till the middle of the last century, it is easy, with all the indications that are to be found in it, to trace back the course of time, and to attain, for the history of Ceylon, a preciseness that the history of India had never had. In this manner Turnour was able to re-establish, from the date of the Nirvana and the landing of Vijaya at Tambapanni, the whole chronology of the Sinhalese kings down to the year 1798, when the last native king, Sri Vikrama Rajasingh, was dethroned by the English and died in captivity. Turnour was able to write this most useful work by referring entirely to reliable documents, without admitting conjectures; he had only consulted the native annals, and had found all the necessary materials in abundance.

CHAPTER II.

Actual condition of the Buddhist clergy in Ceylon, as described by the Rev. Spence Hardy, Wesleyan missionary. The novitiate; the ordination; letter from the Burmese high priest. Wealth of the Sinhalese clergy. Individual poverty of the priests; their austerity. The canonical sacred writings in Ceylon. Public reading of the Bana (the Word). Festival at Pantura in 1839. The Upasakas; the Pirit or ceremony of exorcism. The Bhāvanā or meditation; supernatural powers conferred by it. Meritorious acts (Sachakiriyas) and their miraculous influence. Nirvana according to Sinhalese priests; their ardent faith; their spirit of tolerance; care bestowed on the education of children. Medical knowledge of the clergy; subordination of the clergy to the ruling powers. Division of Sinhalese clergy into sects. Relations of Sinhalese Buddhism with Christianity. Progress of Catholicism and education under the English rule. Statistics of Ceylon.

We will now leave the past in order to study the actual condition of Buddhism in Ceylon, and we shall take our information more particularly from the writings of the Rev. Spence Hardy, aided by a few details gathered from other sources. Spence Hardy resided twenty years in Ceylon as a Wesleyan missionary (1825-1845). In the exercise of his sacred ministry he was thrown into constant intercourse with the natives, whom he strove to instruct and console. Full of zeal for his calling, he fulfilled his duties with a fervour that is testified by the two works he has published on Buddhism. As soon as he reached Ceylon he began the study of the language, in order to acquaint himself thoroughly with a religion which it was his ambition to supplant by a better one, and he never ceased the pursuing of the studies he had so energetically begun. He wished more particularly to be of use to the missionaries who should succeed him, and

it was with this practical object in view that he wrote his two books, Eastern Monachism and The Manual of Buddhism.

The English missionaries must decide if Spence Hardy succeeded in carrying out his purpose, and if these two works have really assisted them in their struggle against the deplorable superstitions which they are striving to replace by the Christian faith. But it would perhaps have been preferable had Spence Hardy confined his labours to the present condition of Buddhism in Ceylon, and not undertaken such a very extensive work.

The history of Eastern Monachism is an extensive subject, and we have not at present sufficient materials to treat it properly. Spence Hardy only saw the monks, or rather Buddhist priests, in Ceylon. Buddhism, however, has spread to many other countries; it extends from Kashmir to the eastern frontiers of China, and from Ceylon to the north of Tibet. What a variety of countries, races, climates, languages and beliefs! And who can pertinently say, in the present state of information, what Buddhism really consists in for each of these people? It is not granted to every one to reside twenty years in Ceylon, and Spence Hardy might have seized the opportunity of giving a monography, every detail of which would have been valuable, because each one would have been unimpeachably exact. A study limited to Sinhalese Buddhism in its present condition would have been of the greatest value and utility; for southern Buddhism has been concentrated in Ceylon, just as northern Buddhism was concentrated in Nepaul.

It is all the more to be regretted that Spence Hardy did not adopt this method, inasmuch that he seems to have thought of it himself, and to have been aware of the great value such a work would have possessed; for he says in his preface that in the present state of our knowledge on Buddhism, the authentic translations drawn from contemporary dialects

may be very useful, as they reveal the sentiments and habits of the priests of the present time. He adds that the writings of the Sinhalese authors abound in Pali quotations, of which language they possessed a thorough knowledge; and as in their eyes the books they translated or paraphrased are sacred writings, it may be supposed that their works give an exact idea of the original ones.

It appears that in Ceylon the novitiate of the priests is more strict than in other Buddhist countries. The novices who in Sinhalese are called Ganinnanses or associates, are compelled to reside in the convent in which they receive their instruction. In other countries the rules is less exacting, and the novice may remain with his family, provided he goes as often as possible to receive the lessons of his spiritual teacher. In Ceylon, on the contrary, residence in the convent is an imperative condition, for the novice is considered a priest, and as such is subject to the same rules. Nevertheless the novice is free to choose the monastery or vihara he desires to be attached to, and Sinhalese books have been expressly written to guide the young priest in his choice.

When he has decided, after long and minute self-examination, he states his intentions to a priest, taking with him a robe, which he must receive back from his hands, in order to begin his novitiate under this new garb. He then humbly asks his superior to pronounce over him the threefold Buddhist formulas (tunsarana), that is the threefold Refuges: 'I go for refuge to the Buddha, I go for refuge to the Law, I go for refuge to the Order,' the novice repeating the sacred formula after the priest; he then recites the Dasa-sil or Ten Precepts, which may be called the Novice's Decalogue:

'I take the vow not to destroy life; I take the vow not to steal; I take the vow to abstain from impurity; I take the vow not to lie; I take the vow to abstain from intoxicating drinks, which hinder progress and virtue; I take the vow

not to eat at forbidden times; I take the vow to abstain from dancing, singing, music, and stage plays; I take the vow not to use garlands, scents, unguents or ornaments; I take the vow not to use a high or broad bed; I take the vow not to receive gold or silver.'

After pronouncing these vows, the novice enters the convent and daily fulfils his humble and laborious tasks. A manual, called the Dina chariyawa, Daily Occupations of the Priest, minutely establishes the rules, from which he must not deviate. He must rise before daylight and wash (his first duty is to wash his teeth); then sweep the yard of the vihara and round the Bo-tree; fetch the drinking water for the day, filter it, and place it ready for use. These first duties fulfilled, he is to retire to a solitary place and meditate for an hour on the rules he has obeyed and those that are to follow.

When the vihara bell rings to announce the moment of the sacrifice, he must approach the stupa in which the relics are enshrined, or the Bo-tree, and offer whatever flowers he has been able to procure, as though the Buddha were present in person. He must especially meditate on the great virtues of the Tathāgata, and beg the holy relics to absolve him of all the negligences and faults he may have committed. He must remain some moments prostrate worshipping, with his forehead, knees, and elbows touching the ground. He will consult his Lita or calendar, in order to know by the length of the shadows what hour it is, the age of the moon, and the number of years elapsed since the death of the Buddha. He must again meditate for a short time on the beneficial results of obedience to the regulations, and the unappreciable advantages of wearing the yellow robe. Soon after, taking the begging-bowl he must follow his superior in his daily round for food, taking care to remain at a proper distance from him, and hand him the bowl when they approach a village. On reaching it, the novice must cast down his eyes with the