PEACTICAL PIETY 163 ing censors, officers who " had never been appointed in all the long ages past," the new departure was in ac- cordance with Hindu notions, and was consequently readily imitated in later times by rulers of various religions. The practical piety of Asoka was exhibited in many works of benevolence, on which he dwells with evident pleasure and satisfaction. His theory of true charity did not hinder him from bestowing liberal alms. The distribution of the charitable grants made by the sov- ereign and members of the royal family was carefully supervised both by the censors and other officials, who seem to have been organized in a royal almoner's department. Special attention was devoted to the needs of trav- ellers, which have at all times evoked the sympathy of pious Indians. The provision made for wayfarers, including the dumb animals, who were never forgotten by Asoka, is best described in the monarch's own words: " On the roads," he says, " I have had ban- yan-trees planted to give shade to man and beast; I have had groves of mango-trees planted, and at every half kos I have had wells dug; rest-houses have been erected, and numerous watering-places have been pre- pared here and there for the enjoyment of man and beast." Distances were carefully marked by pillars erected at convenient intervals, ever since Chandra- gupta's time. The lively sympathy of Asoka with his suffering fellow creatures, human an'd animal, also found expres-
