ADVERTISEMENT.
THE following small collection was made in the year 1818, and sent home to the Library of the East India House, whence, at the recommendation of Dr. Wilkins, it was transferred back to China, and ordered by the Honorable Court of Directors to be printed at the Company's Press, the want of types in England (a want that has already been supplied in France) rendering such a step necessary towards the printing of any work which contained a large proportion of the Chinese Character. The first object of the Compilation (as set forth in the title page) was to afford some assistance to Students of the Language; but there are perhaps other Persons to whom it may not be altogether devoid of interest.
As among the sayings contained in the present volume it is observed, that a man's conversation is the mirror of his thoughts, so the maxims of a people may be considered as a medium which reflects with tolerable accuracy the existing state of their manners and ways of thinking. At the same time, I would, in its application to the Chinese, qualify the observa-
