Page:Barlaam and Josaphat. English lives of Buddha.djvu/71

Rh choice is, however, only one of modesty, and has nothing to do with judgment by appearances, which is of the essence of the Caskets Story of Barlaam and Shakspere.

Dr. Braunholtz suggests that the idea of the choice may be derived from a widespread folktale, found throughout the Indo-European world, in which two girls go successively into Fairyland, and have there offered them a choice of caskets. The good girl chooses the least costly, and finds, on arriving home, that it is full of jewels. The other girl greedily selects the most expensive, and finds herself disappointed. This story has, indeed, the choice of caskets, but its moral is rather "Be modest" than "Do not judge by appearances," and thus resembles rather the choice of the Clay Bowl in the Legend of the Buddha than the selection of the Leaden Casket by Bassanio. It is, however, found in countries where Buddhism has had sway, as in Burmah and Japan, and is thus, possibly, of Buddhistic origin. But it can be only used on the present occasion to show that