________________
84
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA.
11, 3, 5.
Just so, great king, there is no Confection which has sprung into being without a gradual becoming. It is by a process of evolution that Confections come to be!'
Give me a further illustration.' •They are like all kinds of trees and plants which, when set in the ground, grow, develope, and mature, and then yield their fruits and flowers. The trees do not spring into being without a becoming. It is by a process of evolution that they become what they are. Just so, great king, there is no Confection which has sprung into being without a gradual becoming. It is by a process of evolution that Confections come to be!'
Give me a further illustration. *They are like the pots of various kinds which a potter might form when he has dug up the clay out of the earth. The pots do not spring into being without a becoming. It is by a process of evolution that they become what they are. Just so, great king, there is no Confection which has sprung into being without a gradual becoming. It is by a process of evolution that Confections come to be!'
Give me a further illustration.' ‘Suppose, O king, there were no bridge of metal on a mandolin', no leather, no hollow space, no frame, no neck, no strings, no bow, and no human effort or exertion, would there be music?'
Certainly not, Sir.'
But if all these things were there, would not there be a sound ?'
1 Vinaya pattam. I don't know what this is. The Simhalese merely repeats the words.
Digitized by
Dialized by Google
