Re: Eng translation of Kacc 1:1

Hi Jim,

   I'm just about to get on the long bus to Cambodia (followed by a
long boat trip down the Mekong ... possibly to the bottom of the
Mekong, so to speak).

   Re: "Budha", in the introductory verses ("proem"), various footnotes
indicate that this is an un-natural contraction of Buddha forced to
fit the metrical requirements of the line (I am recalling this from
memory; I believe you will find it noted in the PDF to my Pali text of
the passage).  If this is untrue, the entire passage should be
re-interpreted as an homage to the planet Mercury (NB: yes, I am
joking).

   You are correct that I read seyya (etc.) as comparative, and in a
reflexive sense.

   However, I stop short of using terms such as "self-improvement".

   In the context of an introduction to a grammatical work, I am
hesitatnt to assign such soteriological implications to "Naya"
--another use of the word we've discussed at length is in verse 11.

   A derivative of the word (Naya) is still used (I believe) for the
neighborhood paramilitaries here in Laos (mutatis mutandis) --one of
their local offices is only a few doors down the block from me in
Vientiane.  Their evenign guard tends to consist of teenagers with
machine guns, who sit around and chat, and, effectively, reduce the
crime rate to zero in a 15 metre radius around their office, having
little effect beyond that range.

E.M.