Congrès international des orientalistes

“ There can be no science of one religion, but there can be a science of many. We have learnt already one lesson, that behind the helpless expressions which language has devised, whether in the East or in the West, for uttering the unutterable, be it Dyaushpitd or Ahuramazda, be it Jehovah or Allah, be it the All or the Nothing, be it the First Cause or Our Father in heaven, there is the same intention, the same striving, the same stammering, the same faith. ”

“ If a chemist discovers a new element, is he pitied because it is not gold ? If a botanist writes on germs, has he to defend himself, because he does not write on flowers ? Why, it is simply because the Veda is so different from what it was expected to be, because it is not like the Psalms, not like Pindar, not like the Bhagavadgita, it is because it stands by itself, and reveals to us the earliest germs of religious thought, such as they really were ; it is because it places before us a language, more primitive than any we knew before ”

“ It is a sea of sand, with an infinite number of islets covered with reeds and thorn bushes, separated one from another by lagoons, the banks of which, edged with a sort of white crust, reveal the presence of salt water. Notwithstanding the blue sky, the angel of death has extended his wings over this sad wilderness, where the least sign of life appears to be an event. It is only now and then that you meet with two or three miserable tents of some poor Bedouins, who have wandered to seek food for their lean cattle in this desert. ”

“ We say no longer vaguely and poetically Ex Oriente Lux, but we know that all the most vital elements of our knowledge and civilisation,—our languages, our alphabets, our figures, our weights and measures, our art, our religion, our traditions, our very nursery stories, came to us from the East; and we must confess that but for the rays of Eastern light, whether Aryan, or Semitic, or Hamitic, that called forth the hidden germs of the dark and dreary West, Europe, now the very light of the world, might have remained for ever a barren and forgotten promontory of the primeval Asiatic continent. ”

“ Then followed a sudden reaction; and the natives themselves, on becoming more and more acquainted with European history and literature, began to feel the childishness of their claims, and to be almost ashamed of their own classics. This was a national misfortune. A people that cannot feel some pride in the past, in its history and literature, loses the mainstay of its national character. When Germany was in the very depth of its political degradation, it turned to its ancient literature, and drew hope for the future from the study of the past. ”

“ When, however, the same strange stories, the same hallucinations, turned up in the most ancient mythology of India, when not only the character and achievements, but the very names of some of the gods and heroes were found to be the same, then every thoughtful observer saw that there must be a system in that ancient madness, that there must be some order in that strange mob of gods and heroes, and that it must be the task of comparative mythology to find out, what reason there is in all that mass of unreason. ”

“ Sir William Jones, whose name is the only one among Oriental scholars that has ever obtained a real popularity in England, represents most worthily that phase of Oriental studies. Read only the two volumes of his Life, and they will certainly leave on your mind the distinct impression that Sir William Jones was not only a man of extensive learning and refined taste, but undoubtedly a very great man—one in a million. He was a good classical scholar of the old school, a well-read historian, a thoughtful lawyer, a clearheaded politician, and a true gentleman, in the old sense of the word. ”

“ The East is ours, we are its heirs, and claim by right our share in its inheritance.
We know what it was for the Northern nations, the old barbarians of Europe, to be brought into spiritual contact with Rome and Greece, and to learn that beyond the small, poor world in which they had moved, there was an older, richer, brighter world, the ancient world of Rome and Athens, with its arts and laws, its poetry and philosophy, all of which they might call their own and make their own by claiming the heritage of the past. ”

“ But let us look at what has been achieved by these men, and many others who followed their banners ! The East, formerly a land of dreams, of fables, and fairies, has become to us a land of unmistakeable reality; the curtain between the West and the East has been lifted, and our old forgotten home stands before us again in bright colours and definite outlines. Two worlds, separated for thousands of years, have been reunited as by a magical spell, and we feel rich in a past that may well be the pride of our noble Aryan family. ”

“ It would be interesting to contemplate what would have been our position if the science of philology had not been discovered. It was only when.
the labours of scholars brought to light the treasures of our antiquity that they perceived how near we were to their races in almost all things that they held dear in their life. It was then that our claims on their affection and regard were first estab lished. As Hindus we ought never to forget the labours of scholars. We owe them our life as a nation, our freedom as a recognized society, and our position in the scale of races. ”

“ The advance of civilization is marked by the increased attention paid to the pursuits in which we are engaged. The spread of knowledge has not only rendered that popular which was at one time reserved for a narrow circle, but has elevated these studies in public estimation. In this country the bond which holds us to our Asiatic Empire, the links that connect our commerce with all the nations of the East, have rendered the intimate acquaintance with the languages, thoughts, history, and monuments of these nations not a luxury, but a necessity. ”

“ Nothing shows the change from the purely aesthetic to the purely scientific interest in the language and literature of India more clearly than the fact that for the last twenty-five years the work of nearly all Sanskrit scholars has been concentrated on the Veda. When some thirty years ago I received my first lessons in Sanskrit from Professor Brockhaus, whom I am happy and proud to see to-day among us, there were but few students who ventured to dive into the depths of Vedic literature. ”

“ The ethnology of the so-called Semitic races of mankind seems not yet to have attained that liberty. She still, I fear, hugs her chains, or a remnant of them. I appeal, therefore, to my fellow Orientalists, to cast away prepossessions as to time, place, affinity, race, for which there may not be rightly-observed, well-determined
data, and to bring to bear on the dark vistas of the past, in human history, the pure dry light of science. ”

“ A Congress therefore, and particularly an International Congress, would certainly seem to answer some worthy purpose, were it only by bringing together fellow-workers of all countries and ages, by changing what were to us merely great names into pleasant companions, and by satisfying that very right and rational curiosity which we all feel, after having read a really good book, of seeing what the man looks like who could achieve such triumphs. ”

“ Last of all, we turn to India, the very cradle of Oriental scholarship, and here, instead of being importunate and urging new claims for assistance, I think I am expressing the feelings of all Oriental scholars in publicly acknowledging the readiness with which the Indian Government, whether at home or in India, whether during the days of the old East India Company, or now under the auspices of the Secretary of State, has always assisted every enterprise tending to throw light on the literature, the religion, the laws and customs, the arts and manufactures of that ancient Oriental Empire. ”

“ What evidence, not merely faith-exciting but knowledge-giving, have we of the earliest manifestation of Assyrian or Semitic civilization—that is to say, of literature, architectural and sculptural art, established ritualistic religion, priest and warrior castes, administrative officials-parallel in time with the evidence of such which Egypt has yielded? The Hycksos kings, in the course of their 500 years' usurpation of the delta, accepted the civilization, the arts, and, in part, the religion, of the higher race which they had partially subdued. ”

“ Then the birds of the forest flew round, coming from the four quarters, screaming with fear, whilst the mountains shook, and the King trembled with fear. Then Sama said, 'Your Majesty is not to blame ; it is I who in some former life have committed wrong, which now brings its just punishment. I regret not my death on my own account, but I am moved with pity for my blind parents. Alas! they are very old, and their sight is gone ! When I am gone, what can they do ? Alas! they will have no one to befriend them on earth! May the spirits and heavenly guardians protect them! ”

“ The Hindus, in their first intercourse with English scholars, placed before them the treasures of their native literature with all the natural pride of a nation that considered itself the oldest, the wisest, the most enlightened nation in the world. For a time, but for a short time only, the claims of their literature to a fabulous antiquity were admitted, and dazzled by the unexpected discovery of a new classical literature, people raved about the beauty of Sanskrit poetry in truly Orintal strains. ”

“ But if the facts by themselves are sufficient, let us gather them together as rarities, put them in our museum, and, without theorizing, wait for further information.
There cannot exist any language without history, or the people speaking it must be the most degraded of human beings. Perhaps the existence of such a people is possible; but, if so, what a great mistake it would be to take such a people and such a language for a basis of any general theory. ”

“ The spread of education and the influx of European ideas are sweeping away many of the recollections of the past. Local dialects are gradually disappearing, and words and proverbs, which might throw invaluable light on the dark recesses of the history of the language and people they are connected with, are flitting away with them. Old traditions are dying out, and it is remarkable in Bengal how inferior the new class of Pandits is in their knowledge of traditional folklore and Pauranic interpretation to the men of the last generation. ”

“ And yet, I make bold to say, that during the last hundred, and still more during the last fifty years, Oriental studies have contributed more than any other branch of scientific research to change, to purify, to clear, and intensify the intellectual atmosphere of Europe, and to widen our horizon in all that pertains to the Science of Man, in history, philology, theology, and philosophy. ”

“ You will, however, find in the collection-so as to settle the matter beyond all doubt-Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Barbaric, Hindu, and other sculptures, all placed there for the purpose of showing that we are dealing with a great new fact and no mere theory. The Hindu, to whom this world was nothing, sought to express omniscience by innumerable eyes, and omnipotence by many arms, but he never rose, as did the Buddhist, when taught by the Greeks, to the conception of the beauty and due proportion of the human form. ”

“ These are the Rules of Discipline, the observance of which is the true source of emancipation, and hence they are ,called' The Rules of the Pratimoksha.' Keep then these precepts in their purity, oh Bhikshus!
Let there be no careless negligence in this matter; the man who carefully observes them shall have power to fulfil all the duties of Religion; the man who disregards them shall experience none of the rewards which a virtuous life is able to afford. ”

“ In fact, a knowledge of ethnology is essential to the study of archaeology, just as in the natural sciences the intimate acquaintance with living species, fauna, and flora is essential to the due comprehension of extinct races of animals. Many obscure points in archaeology are cleared up by ethnological studies, which teach what is going on at the present day among peoples not more highly advanced in civilization than the predecessors of the most highly civilized races at the most distant period to which archaeology can point as the most remote historical age. ”

“ Now we should bear in mind that at the present moment some of the tribes living in or near the English colonies in Australia, Polynesia, Africa, and America, are actually dying out, their languages are disappearing, their customs, traditions, and religions will soon be completely swept away. To the student of language, the dialect of a savage tribe is as valuable as Sanskrit or Hebrew, nay, for the solution of certain problems, more so; every one of these languages is the growth of thousands and thousands of years, the workmanship of millions and millions of human beings. ”