English
Again, there were other brahmas who became addicted to hunting ; whence they were called ludda, or sadda, and from them came the sudras. Thus arose the four great castes ; but all the brahmas were originally of one race, and were all equally illustrious. From each of the four castes, certain individuals repaired to the wilderness, and became recluses, on which account they were called sumano, or sramanas, ascetics. No single institution, unless that of slavery is to be ex- cepted, has exercised a greater influence upon the interests * A. J. Pott suppoaes that Xerxes is a oompouad of the Zend ksathra, king (with the loss of the Q. and ksahya, also meaning king, the original form <3. shall. III. PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH. 69 of our species than that of caste. It is found in the earliest ages ; it was then ahnost universal ; and more than one hun- dred and fifty millions of people are at the present moment subject to its power. Whenever we thus meet with the an- cient and the universal, we are led to seek its origin in the oldest record we possess ; and it is seldom that we are dis- appointed in our search. Upon the important subject now under review we meet with less information than the mere historian would wish ; but if I mistake not, it will be found that the Bible is not entirely silent respecting it. We have evidence that before the flood there were hereditary distinc- tions among mankind, founded upon the same causes whence caste is represented by the Budhists to have had its origin. There was, first, a distinction moral and religious ; " the sons of God," on the one side ; and " the daughters of men," the children of an evil generation, on the other. There was, secondly, a professional distinction. It is said that Abel was "a keeper of sheep," and that Cain was a "tiller of the ground," so that in the first human family there was a divi- sion of labour ; but we have no reason to conclude that this distinction was hereditary in the respective households of the children of Adam and Eve, nor do we know that at the be- ginning each branch of the family confined itseK to its own productions and possessions, as the product of their labour may have been brought into one common stock. It would appear that after " Cain went out from the presence ,of the Lord," his former occupation was continued, as God said unto him, " When thou tiUest the ground, it shall not hence- forth jrield unto thee her strength." — Gen, iv. 12. This may have been the reason why Cain, when he saw that the ground he attempted to cultivate was accursed, abandoned the labour of tillage, and " builded a city." It is said of Jabal, who was of the race of Cain, that he was " the father of such as dwell in tents, and such as have cattle," which would seem to intimate that there was a return, on the part of certain families, to the occupations that were abandoned by the rest of their race. Another individual, of the same race, Jubal, 70 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. is said to be '' the father of all such as handle the harp and organ." The word father is here suppDsed to mean pro- genitor, which would lead us to suppose that the profession was continued in the same family ; but it is possible that it may mean only originator, teacher, or exemplar. It is to be remarked that all these inventions are attributed to the de- scendants of Gain. The restless spirit of these sons of men sought out new sources of pleasure and amusement, whilst the sons of God rested content with the peaceful occupations of their ancestors. The antediluvian record is brief, especi- ally in that which relates to social existence ; but we learn from it that in the primitive ages there were among the families of men : — 1. Agriculturists, Gen. iv. 2. 2. Shep- herds, Gen. iv. 2. 3. Citizens, Gen. iv. 17. 4. Nomads, Gen. iv. 20. 5. Herdsmen, Gen. iv. 20. 6. Musicians, Gen. iv. 21. 7. Artificers, Gen. iv. 22. We might draw a great number of inferences from these premises, if such a course were here admissible. There must necessarily have been other occupations in addition to those that are here enumerated, and some kind of commerce ; as the artificers could not clothe themselves with their metals, nor could the musicians subsist upon the mere melody of their instruments ; and we may conclude that there was also a servile class, working for hire, or Noah would not have been able to build a vessel of so large a capacity as the ark. We have thus the certainty that Noah was familiar with social distinctions of an important character ; and it is probable that some of them were hereditary. The most ancient documents that speak decisively of caste are to be found among the Hindus. " That the human race might be multiplied, the supreme ruler caused the Brahman, the Kshatriya, the Yaisya, and the Sudra, (so named from the scripture, protection, wealth, and labour), to proceed from his mouth, his arm, his thigh, and his foot." In the Jati- m&li, or Garland of Glasses, the subject is entered into more at length. "In the first creation, by Brahma, Br&hmanas proceeded, with the VAia, from the mouth of Brahma. From III. PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH. 71 his anns, Kshatriyas sprung; so &om his thigh, Yaiisyas; from his foot Sudras were produced : all with their females. The lord of creation^ viewing them, said, 'What shaU be your occupations?' They replied, *We are not our own masters, oh God I command us what to undertake.' Viewing and comparing their labours, he made the first tribe superior to the rest. As the first had inclination for the divine sciences (br&hma v^da) therefore he was Br&hmana. The protector from ill (kshayate) was Kshatriya. He whose profession (v^sa) consists in commerce ; which promotes the success of wars, for the protection of himself and of mankind ; and in husbandry and attendance upon cattle, he called Vaisya. The other should voluntarily serve the three tribes, and therefore he became a Sudra ; he should humble himself at their feet"* There was caste also among the Egyptians, ColchianSy Iberians, Modes, Persians, and Etrureans ; and in the new world it was found among the Peruvians and Mexicans.f " Whatever tribes are mentioned," says Nieb- nhr, "in ancient history, before an irresistible change of circumstances led to democratical institutions, there, so far as anything can be discovered of their nature, a difference either of caste or of national descent, is clearly apparent. The former existed indisputably among the earliest Attic tribes, which must be conceived to have been anterior to the Ionian emigration, the nobles, peasants, and craftsmen : it is less clear in the four Ionic tribes." Among the Spartans this system is most frequently to be noticed. Almost all their trades and occupations were hereditary, as those of cooking, baking, mixing wine, flute-playing, ftcj The kings were supposed to derive their lineage from a divine paternity, and nothing but a divine revelation could induce them to step out of the genuine lineage of Eurysthenes and Prokles. The denominations of the four Attic or Ionian tribes are supposed lo have referred originally to the occupation of those who bore * Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, ii. 178. t Mill's History of British India ; Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians. 1 Muller's Dorians. 72 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. them.* Throughout the Hellenic world there were hereditary customs, tending to isolate those who observe them, especi- ally in reference to religion, some of which were confined to single families, and others to some particular gens or tribe.t The number of the Egyptian castes is variously estimated, but in every enumeration the priests are named first, and next to them the military. Yet if it be true that when a king was elected who was not of the sacerdotal tribe, he was for- mally adopted into it, the caste of Egypt must have been essentially diflFerent to that of India; where, among the Hindus, a chemge of caste is as impossible as for the quad- ruped to become a fish, or the crawling serpent to take unto itself wings and soar towards the sun as an eagle. That the Egyptians had the power to change their caste is further confirmed by the statement of Herodotus, that the other castes despised the swineherds so much as never to intermarry with them; whence we may conclude that alliances were possible among the other castes.