Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

RULE 2nd. පුනරුත්.

"This

99

Is the repetition of the same word in a different sense. Example 1st. වනනට මේ දලදා: දලදෙනු යෙදලදා. cloud (literally water-giver) gives fire to amorous † women.' Example 2nd. විසොවීනොබලතුනු තුනුවහසිඟු කෙලෙනග ,“Cupid having despised the weak limbs of divorced women's enfeebled bodies made them lean."

RULE 3rd. අරුන්දොස්.

If there be any contrariety in the relations of the words in the figure or in the sense, this faulty expression is called අරුන්දොස් (wrong signification.) Example: දිව්රඟ විසකුනන්

තොපකි ලියනටනට සොමි ගුණන්නී සබමවහිමි දස දෙසත කොඳ wow. "Oh! well disposed Sir, your fame a young woman having a dancing place to dance on the Poet's tongues, will continually revolve, on all sides like a wreath of flowers." RULE 4th. පිලිවෙලදොස්.

When one mode of expression is adopted in the beginning of a verse, and another is used in the same verse for the same subject, this is called පිලිවෙලදොස්. Example: සියහපියතම වූ ගිරි දුසිරි විසිනට කසුන කල දොමෙවන් දෙවියොසෙත් ලබත්වා. "The own husbands to Giri, Siri, and Visi, the golden, silver, and azure Gods, continually bestow blessings."

Here the gods Iswara, Vishnu, and Maha Brahma, are first invoked as the husbands of Giri, Siri, and Visi; and then by their colours: but the principal fault of the construction appears to be that the gods when described by the colours, are not placed in the same order as when described by their wives. Iswara is the husband of Giridu (the daughter of marble), his colour is silver;-Vishnu is the husband of

From again, and ❤ signification. This word is an example of සඳ.

+ The coolness of the cloud is considered a provocative to desires.

This sign of the dative case which applies to all the three nouns is only placed after the last.

220

Siri (gladness), his colour azure;—and Maha Brahma of Visi (the goddess of speech), his colour gold.

RULE 5th. මෙණෙදොස්.

Means misconception: the example given is an instance of obscurity in the expression. It alludes to one of the incarnations of Vishnu as a pig, in which form having wounded

, the great snake which supports the earth, the sea of blood which flowed from the wound, the Poet in the example says, buoyed up the earth. It is observed by the Grammarian, that he ought to have mentioned that the blood proceeded from the wound of the snake. Example: @gnosi ලෙවන් සමුදුරෙන් උලැඟියෙදෙරණතවරාහා. " The pig by a sea of blood buoyed up the earth."

[blocks in formation]

Is an example of improper composition. The sun and the planet are supposed to be enemies; and when there is an eclipse of the sun this luminary is said to be followed by Raha, which planet has the form of a snake.

The Poet in the following line alludes to the precious stone that is said to be in the throat of the Cobra Capella, and compares the sun when swallowed by the planet Raha to the stone. Example: ඒතට දිය දේවාරි චිරා උරාකැට මැණ. "May the sun (who is) the precious stone in the throat of Raha (the snake) give you this advantage.”

RULE 7th. ගුළුඅරුත්ෙස්.

Is the irregularity of abstruse and quaint expression, where the expression is buried, ny from any buried and meaning in the examples the quarter of twelve, is an obscure way of expressing three; and five times twenty of expressing one hundred. 1st Example: qanas.

"The god with the quarter of twelve eyes;" meaning Isura. 2d Example: ikkɔnóma 6☎ɔ. “I will protect you five twenty years."

RULE 8th. බුලිඟු දොස්.

Is the irregularity of a discordant (literally, broken.) It is applied to a comparison when the subject compared is of a different Gender from what it is compared to. In the example the Moon, which is masculine, is compared to the female bird, s, which according to the Singhalese rules of Poetry is a solecism. Example* 886.Asmodi. "The Moon white like the female bird Hansa."

RULE 9th. බුබස් දොස්

This is an instance of the Bathos, in which the object compared is debased by the comparison; විමලඹර සතලාමෙන්. "The sky clear as a tank (pond)."

[merged small][ocr errors]

Is that species of bad composition called Hyperbole, where the object is extravagantly magnified, as in the following example. රිවිව්ක දො සොබනෙ, හොබනවා. "The fire fly illuminous like the sun."

RULE 11th. නිස උවන්දොස්

This is the reverse of the last fault in composition, and consists in diminishing, or debasing the object of the comparison. Example නහළව් බෙලෙහි මිහිරෙණ. "A strong man from respect to his master (became) like a dog." The four last faults are classed together under the general name of very irregular. Poets having investigated these මහදොස් matters will enjoy prosperity among learned men. Having done with these barbarians, know what learned teachers have said as to the formation of verses. A line cannot end with, a detached vowel. The four consonants,, ,, which collectively are called c, cannot end a line, unless there be a penultimate consonant sounded with

The Moon is called from its coolness, as the Sun is called from its heat.

them; and unless the other three lines of the stanza have the same ending; i. e. if the first line ends in siya es, the three following must be siya; if in wan the three following

must be wan.

Note-p. cclxxxiii.

A FEW HINTS TO EUROPEANS STUDYING SINGHALESE. In the course of my Singhalese studies, and in my intercourse with Europeans on the subject of them, the question has frequently been proposed to me,-"What course of study would you recommend to a European, desirous of acquiring a knowledge of the Singhalese?"— to which I could not return a ready reply.

The vital importance of the subject to the European settler, has, however, induced me to give it due consideration, and to collect information from others who were likely to assist me in the inquiry. The result of my investigations I beg to lay before the public in connection with the Singhalese Grammar, which I now publish. Before entering into the subject directly, it may not be useless to consider the method of learning the Singhalese pursued by the natives.

1. The Singhalese are taught in the first place the vowels and consonants, including those of a Sanscrit and Pali origin; vide Introduction. When the learner has committed these to memory, he is taught the second part of the Alphabet which is a sort of spelling, confined to the combination of vowel sounds with consonants. This acquired by rote, the pupil is made to distinguish the characters by repeating each letter with its proper sign or signs. In the same manner he goes through the second part of the Alphabet, repeating the sound together with the name of the sign. This is called pillan or spelling, from "signs." Thus; q quis. is called ayanna ; ආයනු කි ආයන්නේ ඇලපිල්ල ලියාළුවෙන් ආයන්නේ; ආ called àyanna is written with a sign called elapilla;

කොය

යනුකී කොයන්නේ කොම්බුවත් ඇලපිල්ලත් ලිය එවෙන් H; called koyanna, is written with a combuwa and ɔ elapilla; &c. &c. After the pupil has thus acquired the Alphabet by heart, (by which time he must have pretty well learned the sounds, and has also been able to some extent to retain in his mind the symbols of those sounds), he is taught to write the alphabet. The teacher writes letter after letter on a plank covered with a thin layer of white sand, over which the pupil traces his finger nearly in the same way in which European children write copies set to them in pencil. While going through this process, the pupil repeats the sounds of the letters and the names of their signs, as before. This continued for some length of time, the pupil reaps from his labours the three-fold advantage resulting from "reading," "conversation," and "writing," to which reference is made by Lord Bacon. The pupil's acquaintance with the alphabet having been thus perfected-and his knowledge of the various symbols of sounds being full and completeready and quick in pointing out the letters-and exact, and accurate in the conception he has formed of their different shapes and powers;

II. He is taught to read a little work called Nampotha, which contains a number of names of different cities, villages, temples, &c. e. g. o, odn@, quxiçó, &c. &c.*

2. The pupil next commits to memory Ganadewihèlla— a story regarding Ganisa. This is an easy book; but the pupil is scarcely taught to understand it-the object of his tuition being at this period to enable him to read the Singhalese characters.

* I have observed that many children in the Southern Province were at this stage required to commit to memory Nàmàwalia (See Introduction); a book rather difficult to be mastered, considering the length of the rhymes. And I am informed that in the Kandian Province, Magullakuna forms the second of a course of reading. It is a small work which enumerates the signs and beauties of Budha.

« AnteriorContinua »