The sinhalese, unlike the Hindus, had no native propensity to speculation.
"Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. (of 3) An Historical Sketch"
Charles Eliot
Even so severe a critic of sinhalese tradition as Vincent Smith admits that the evidence for the council is too strong to be set aside, but it must be confessed that it would be reassuring to find some allusion to it in Asoka's inscriptions.
"Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. (of 3) An Historical Sketch"
Charles Eliot
The date of the Pali Abhidhamma is very doubtful and I do not reject the hypothesis that it was composed in Ceylon, for the sinhalese seem to have a special taste for such literature.
"Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. (of 3) An Historical Sketch"
Charles Eliot