148 SINGALESE INTELLIGENCE book iii
Princes
and priests of the country established another King in his stead. He
did what he could to induce all his people to imitate him, and for this
purpose assigned to the Jesuit Father twelve of the largest villages
which were around Columbo, so that from the revenue of these places
they might support the children of the country in colleges, where,
being well instructed, they would afterwards be able to teach others.
For the King represented to these Fathers that it was impossible for
them to learn the language of the country well enough to preach to the
people, and in effect they found that the youth of Ceylon were so quick
and intelligent that they learnt, in six months, more Latin, philosophy
and other sciences, than Europeans acquire in a year, and they
questioned the Fathers with such subtlety, and so deeply, that they
were amazed.
Some years after the King had become a Christian, a very accomplished man and good native philosopher, named Alegamma Motiar,1
as one might say master of the philosophers, after having conversed
some time with the Jesuit Fathers and other priests at Columbo, was
inspired to become a Christian. With this object he went to see the
Jesuit Fathers, and told them that he desired to be instructed in the
Christian faith, but he inquired what Jesus Christ had done and left in
writing. He set himself then to read the New Testament with so much
attention and ardour that in less than six months there was not a
passage which he could not recite, for he had acquired Latin very
thoroughly. After having been well instructed, he told the Fathers that
he wished to receive holy baptism, that he saw that their religion was
the only good and true one, and such as Jesus Christ had taught, but
what astonished him was, that they did not follow Christ's example,
because, according to the Gospel, he never took money from anyone,
while they on the contrary took it from everyone, and neither baptized
nor buried anyone without it. This did not prevent him
Book of Duarte Barbosa, ed. 1921, vol. ii, p. 114 ; see Tennent, Ceylon, ii. 14 f.).
1 Mudaliyar, a Cingalese title, meaning a headman. Alegamma has not been identified (Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 569 f.).
