been attempted bespeaks a powerful central force. Such tyranny rarely exists save as the outgrowth of a theocratic tendency. This may take the form of a concession of earthly power to a religious teacher, as in the case of the Pope or the Dalai Lama ; or, by reversal, the ascription of religious character to the earthly ruler, as in the case of the Roman tyrants, the Russian Czar, and the Turkish Sultan ; or, lastly, the yielding to an organised priesthood of that general power which superior intelligence can gain, and can easily gain, when playing upon the superstitions of the ignorant. It may well be surmised that the lamas, corresponding to the priests and monks of our Dark Ages, were then, as now, almost the only writers in the land ; and when a people, not given to industry as in the modern world, cease for a time to fight, then the " clerks," the clericals, the "learned," will soon control the king and the people, who yield much to the combination of crown and book. The impractical levelling effort of Munibtsan-po may be taken as an indication of clerical influence at its best, when it is still aiming at high moral ideals, and has not yet grasped the sceptre, or even begun systematically to struggle for it. That follows.
Meanwhile, another encounter with China took place, noticeable because the peace-treaty ending the bloodshed (821 A.D.) is still in existence, on bilingual tablets preserved at Lhasa. They are, perhaps, the earliest indubitable historic monuments of the country, significant of its greatness, important also to the philologist. It is recorded that shortly after this event the reigning king instituted a
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