his passions subdued, his mantle white, and
his body pure, let him diligently occupy himself
in reading the Veda and in performing
such acts as may be salutary to him. Let
him reverence the deities and his departed
ancestors; show honour to the priests, and
justice to all men. " For even here below,"
it is written, "an unjust man attains no
felicity; nor he whose wealth proceeds from
giving false evidence; nor he who constantly
takes delight in mischief. Though oppressed
with penury in consequence of his righteous
dealings, let him never give his mind to
unrighteousness: for he may observe the speedy
overthrow of iniquitous and sinful men.
Iniquity, committed in this world, produces
not fruit immediately, but, like the earth, in
due season; and, advancing by little and
little, it eradicates the man who committed
it. Yes: iniquity, once committed, fails not
of producing fruit to him who wrought it.
He grows rich for a while through
unrighteousness; he beholds good things;
he vanquishes his foes; but he perishes at
length, from his whole root upwards. Let
a man rather continually take pleasure in
truth, in justice, in laudable practices, and
in purity; let him keep in subjection his
speech, his arm, and his appetite; let him
walk in the path of good men, the path in
which his parents and forefathers walked.
While he moves in that path he can give no
offence."

When he has fulfilled his triple duty
to the sages, to the manes, and to the
deities, by studying the Scripture, by
being blessed with handsome and healthy
offspring, and by sacrifice, he may resign all to his
son, and give himself up to repose and meditation
in the forest or some secluded spot.
This is the third order. He must always
live rigorously and abstemiously. Sometimes
he is required to fast for long intervals,
or to subsist on flowers and roots alone;
at others he must stand a whole day on tiptoe,
or, in the hot season, expose himself to
five fires: the sun overhead and, great
furnaces before, behind, and on each side of
him; or, in cold weather, he must wear thin
and damp clothing, or otherwise mortify his
flesh.

In this way he prepares himself for the
fourth and final order, that of complete
devotion. It then behoves him to go forth, a
wanderer, alone; with neither companion nor
domicile; having nothing but his water-pot
and staff. Let him not wish for death; let
him not wish for life; let him expect the
appointed time as a servant expects his wages.
Once only, and late in the day, must he ask
for food, and then he must eat very moderately.
He must be careful to kill no
animals, however small, and therefore he
must always walk, looking on the ground
at every step: moreover, he must make
frequent expiation for any kind of life
he has inadvertently destroyed. He must
ever meditate on the Supreme Spirit,
on the manifestations of it here, on the
more complete manifestations hereafter.
"A mansion with bones for its rafters
and beams; with nerves and tendons for
cords; with muscles and blood for mortar;
with skin for its outward covering; filled
with no sweet perfume, but loaded with impurity:
a mansion infected by age and by
sorrow, harassed with pains, haunted with
the quality of darkness, and incapable of enduring
long: such a mansion of the vital soul,
let its occupier cheerfully quit."

The position and duties of women are
briefly defined. Never must they follow
their own pleasure merely. In childhood, a
female must be dependent on her father; in
youth, on her husband: her lord being dead,
on her sons. She must never seek independence.
She must always revere her husband
during his life, and after his death " let her
continue a widow, forgiving all injuries,
performing harsh duties, avoiding every sensual
pleasure, and cheerfully practising the
incomparable rules of virtue." This text, it may
be remarked, is in direct opposition to the
more modern custom of widow-burning. The
practice is evidently of late date, and is no
more a part of Hindooism than the persecuting
spirit of the middle ages was part of the
gospel of love.

The duties of government devolve on the
Cshatriyas, or military class. A king should
always be selected from it. He must never
be treated lightly; for he is a divinity in
human shape. His chief work is to prepare
a just compensation for the good and a just
punishment for the bad. "Punishment
governs all mankind; punishment alone
preserves them; punishment wakes while their
guards are asleep. When rightly and
considerately inflicted, it makes all the people
happy; but, inflicted without full consideration,
it wholly destroys them all." By the
help of the sacred books, the king must
dispense it carefully and honestly: if he do not,
punishment shall destroy himself. He must
strive day and night to conquer his own passions,
rising early in the morning and attending
to learned Brahmans; by whom he is to be
instructed in modesty " and composure." He
must appoint prudent ministers who shall act
as counsellors in questions of peace and war;
for the management of his forces; for the
collection of his revenues; for the protection of
the people: and for the best use of his wealth.
He must reside, if possible, in an open
country, fruitful, healthy, and beautiful,
surrounded by a fortress of mountains. It
behoves him to maintain a powerful and efficient
army; acting without guile, but ever on his
guard. "Like a tortoise, let him draw in his
members under the shell of concealment, and
diligently repair any breach; like a heron,
let him muse on gaining advantages; like a
lion, let him put forth his strength; like a
wolf, let him creep towards his prey; like a