A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s4.17

v2.c19.s4.17

In form and contents, Book IV, called Puggalapaññatti,² "Description of Human Individuals," is the book which is most closely allied to the texts of the Suttapiṭaka. In form it differs but little from the Saṅgīti-Sutta of the Dīghanikāya, and Sections 3-5 are for the most part to be found in the Aṅguttaranikāya too. Some chapters here read exactly like Suttas in one of the Nikāyas, and stand out favourably from their environment. We occasionally come across pretty similes. For instance (V, 3), five kinds of monks, in their relationship to woman, are compared with five kinds of warriors, and the simile, as is so often the case in the Majjhimanikāya, is carried on to the minutest detail. But it is only rarely that we come upon passages of undeniable literary value. Generally speaking, even the parables are as barren and tedious as the remaining parts of the book, the object of which is to classify individuals according to their ethical qualities. A few examples will suffice to give an idea of the spirit and style of the work, and of the type of definitions and classifications to be found in those portions which genuinely partake of the nature of the Abhidhamma.