Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.48

c7.48

Such an organization of society seems strange already, even in the East, so rapid has been the ‘progress’ of the nineteenth century. There was no trade in land, nor did agricultural labourers work for hire. Craftsmen made no goods for sale and kept no shops.[†] “Riches were little valued nor made any the more honourable.” Yet there flourished a prosperous agricultural community, a pure and intellectual religion, and a highly skilled and intelligent race of craftsmen. It is probable that in respect of most real advantages, the Kandyan villager was better off in the eighteenth century than he is now.