Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 18, 1907.djvu/44

 1 6 Presidential Address.

Buddhism, and exists also in a Tibetan translation. The Buddhist books were translated into Tibetan about the eighth century : these translations are so literal that it is often possible to reconstruct the original Sanskrit text. But the Tibetan Divydvaddna has never been compared with the Sanskrit as we have it, and neither has been as yet translated into English. So far, therefore, they are not yet available for English students ; but another collection, of great importance, the Malidvastu} is accom- panied by introductions in French which summarise the contents of the book. Allusion is made in this book to the " Jatakas recounted by the Buddha," ^ and a certain number of parallels may be found in it to the tales of the Pali canon. Many of the stories of the Pali also find parallels in the Sanskrit non-religious literature, as the Hitopadeqa, the Paficatantra, the Rdmdyana, the KatJid-sarit-sdgara,

For the history of folk-tales and their transmission the importance of our book has been recognised ever since its character was made known to students. Like others of its class, it embodies and uses for pointing a moral, numbers of animal-stories and fairy-tales which were familiar to the hearers from their childhood. And although the preacher has warped the tales mercilessly for his own ends, they still have power to charm. To this day, when the full moon floods the sky with a soft radiance which we never see in our clime, and when the cool of the evening has called out men, women, and children to enjoy their rest, these ancient stories may still be heard in the villages of Ceylon or Burma, and never fail to hold their hearers' attention. The animal stories have suffered least, because they moralize naturally. These embody in themselves the proverbial wisdom and

^ Le Mahavastu : texte Sanscrit, accompagne d'introductions et d'un com- mentaire par E, Senart. Paris, 3 vols. 1882- 1897. -\. 105^