Stact MORCHEN THE MIRROR OF COMPOSITION. SALUTATION TO GANES‘A! Cuarrgn I.—The Declaration of the Nature of Poetry. Ar the beginning of his book, desiriig the unobstructed completion of what he wishes to begin, he [i. e., the author—commenting on his own metrical treatise—] makes his address to the Goddess of Speech, because in the province of Eloquence it is she who is the constituted authority. Text. Tavoeation. 1,—May that Goddess of Language, whose radiance is fair as the autumnal moon, having removed the overspreading dark- ‘ness, render all things clear in my mind! ComMENTARY. a. As this book is ancillary to Poetry, by the fruits of Poetry only can it be fruitful :—therefore he states what are the fruits of Poetry :—~ Text. The eubject de- 2.—Since the attainment of the fruits consisting of elared by impli- the class of four (i. e., the four great objects of human desire—viz., Merit, Wealth, Enjoyment, and Libera tion]—by means of Poetry simply, is possible even in the case of those of slender capacity, therefore its nature shall be now set forth. CommMENTARY. a. (The allegation in the text is borne out by facta]—for it is notorious that the fruits of the “class of four” Aave been attained by ‘means of the counsels, as to doing and forbearing to do [respectively] what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, deduced from Poetry—{to the effect] that “‘one ought to do as Réma and the like, B2 The Mirror of Composition. not as Révana and the like.” And it has been ssid— Addiction to good Poetry produces sagacity in regard to Merit, Wealth, Enjoyment, and Liberation, and [it produces also] fame and favour.” Further— [to explain these assertions severally]—the attainment of Merit through Poetry [may take place] by means of the laudation of the lotus-feet of the divine Néréyana, That this is the case is notorious, from such statements of the Vedas as this one, vis. ;—*‘A single word, properly employed, and perfectly understood, is, in heaven and on earth, the Kémadhuk—[the cow from which you may ‘milk out whatever you desire.’” And [as for] the attainment of Wealth—[that this may take place by means of Poetry] is established by the evidence of the senses [for we see men make money by it] :—and the attainment of Enjoyment (is possible] just by means of Wealth. And [finally—by means of Poetry] the attainment of Liberation (may take place) through the scrutinizing of the fruits [—at best but transitory—] of ‘Merit arising from it (—i. e., arising from Poetry, as above explained— and to be relinquished on being found to fall short of Liberation—) or [Liberation may be attained] through the possession of conversancy with statements conducive to Liberation [—such as are to be met with in sacred poems like the Bhagavad Gité]. ‘The praise of 8. [And justly may this pursuit be commended Poetry. above others,) for, from the Scriptures and the Insti- tates of Science, by reason of their insipidity [or dryness,] the attain- ment of the “class of four” (§. 2.) takes place painfully, even in the case of men of ripe understanding ; whilst, simply from Poetry, again, by reason of its producing a fund of the highest delight, the attainment takes place pleasantly, even in the oase of the very tender-minded. ‘An objection ¢. “Bat then—[some one may here object}—since ensmered. there are the Scriptures and the Institutes of Science, why should men of mature minds take any pains about poems!” —this too is not proper to be said [in the way of objection—for, truly,] when a disease, curable by bitter drugs, happens to be curable by candied sogar,—in the case of what man, having that disease, would the employment of candied sugar not be most proper? d. Parther—the excellence of Poetry is declared also in the Agneya Puréxa—thus—‘In this world to attain to be a man is hard, and there very hard to attain is knowledge; to attain to be a post there isThe Mirror of Composition. 3 bard, and very hard to attain there is (poetic) power.” And again— “Poetry is the instrument {in the attainment] of the ‘ class of three’ [—vis., Merit, Wealth, and Evjoyment,—see §. 2]”. And in the Vishew Puréna (it is declared|—“ And the utterances of Poetry, one and all, and all songs,—these are portions of Vishpu, the great-sonled, ‘who wears a form [composed] of sound.” ¢. [By the word] “therefore” [in the text—see §. 2—is meant} “for that reason”—[and by the word] “its”’—“ of Poetry.” The nature thereof—[or what it is that Poetry consists of ]—is to be set forth:—and by this [i. e., by the statement, in the text, that the matare of Poetry is about to be set forth,] has the subject [of the treatise—viz., Poetry—] been (by implication, and hence all the more ingeniously,] propounded. apie dcinion fn regard, then, to the question—* of what— Hboet7p 19, he leaving everything else apart—does Poetry consist ?”— sbjected to. a certain person (viz. the author of the Kévya Pra- ds'a}—saye—“ This [—i. e., Poetry—] consists of words and mean- ings faultless, with Style [see Chapter 8th]—and, farther, [even though] undecorated.” This requires some consideration—as thus :—if the ‘agreement be this that the nature of Poetry belongs to that only which is faultless, then [look’at the following speech of Révana, in Bhavab- héti’s drama of the Véra-charitra.J— “For this indeed is an utter contempt of me that there are foes [of mine at all}, and amongst these this anchoret, too |. He, too, even bere fin my own island of Ceylon] slanghters the demon-race! Ha! Doth Révapa tive? Fie, fie, (my son—thou) conqueror of Indra! what [avail is there] from Kumbhakarpa awakened [untimeously from his six months’ slamber—gigantic ally though he be]—or what from these [my own score of brawny] arms that in oain swelled with [the pride of carrying off} the spoils of the poor villages of Heaven ?”— Fast objection [If fauitleseness, I say, wore essential to Poetry, tw the definition. then] the nature of Poetry would not belong to these verses, by reason of their being tainted with the fault termed “ non- discrimination of the predicate’—[see Chapter 7th:—for the ex- pression “‘in vain” is fanltily mixed up in a descriptive epithet ap- plied to the subject—the “ arms”—whilst the speaker really intended to my “‘how vain are now these arms that then did swell”). On Be