Note 3 — Chapter II
Reading edition
“The word Phra, which so frequently occurs in this work, here appears for the first time; I have to remark that it is probably derived from, or of common origin with, the Pharaoh of antiquity. It is given in the Siamese dictionaries as synonymous with God, ruler, priest, and teacher. It is in fact the word by which sovereignty and sanctity are associated in the popular mind. As the title Divus was appropriated by the Roman Emperor, as in most monarchies a sort of sacredness is attached to the royal person, the orientals have made gods of their kings, their heroes, and their sages, without any scruple. Image-worship is in fact only the materialising or incarnating of the idea of Deity.”—The Kingdom and People of Siam, Sir John Bowring.