Handbook of Universal Literature, From the Best and Latest Authorities Part 3

At a later period other epic poems were written, either as abridgments of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, or founded on episodes contained in them. These, however, belong to a lower order of composition, and cannot be compared with the great works of Valmiki and Vyasa.

In the development of lyric poetry the Hindu bards, particularly those of the third period, have been eminently successful; their power is great in the sublime and the pathetic, and manifests itself more particularly in awakening the tender sympathies of our nature. Here we find many poems full of grace and delicacy, and splendid for their charming descriptions of nature. Such are the "Meghaduta" and the "Ritusanhara" of Kalidasa, the "Madhava and Radha" of Jayadeva, and especially the "Gita-Govinda" of the same poet, or the adventures of Krishna as a shepherd, a poem in which the soft languors of love are depicted in enchanting colors, and which is adorned with all the magnificence of language and sentiment.

Hindu poetry has a particular tendency to the didactic style and to embody religious and historical knowledge; every subject is treated in the form of verse, such as inscriptions, deeds, and dictionaries. Splendid examples of didactic poetry may be found in the episodes of the epic poems, and more particularly in the collections of fables and apologues in which the Sanskrit literature abounds. Among these the Hitopadesa is the most celebrated, in which Vishnu-saima instructs the sons of a king committed to his care. Perhaps there is no book, except the Bible, which has been translated into so many languages as these fables. They have spread in two branches over nearly the whole civilized world. The one, under the original name of the Hitopadesa, remains almost confined to India, while the other, under the t.i.tle of "Calila and Dimna," has become famous over all western Asia and in all the countries of Europe, and has served as the model of the fables of all languages. To this department belong also the "Adventures of the Ten Princes," by Dandin, which, in an artistic point of view, is far superior to any other didactic writings of Hindu literature.

The drama is the most interesting branch of Hindu literature. No other ancient people, except the Greeks, has brought forth anything so admirable in this department. It had its most flouris.h.i.+ng period probably in the third or fourth century B.C. Its origin is attributed to Brahm, and its subjects are selected from the mythology. Whether the drama represents the legends of the G.o.ds, or the simple circ.u.mstances of ordinary life; whether it describes allegorical or historical subjects, it bears always the same character of its origin and of its tendency. Simplicity of plot, unity of episodes, and purity of language, unite in the formation of the Hindu dramas. Prose and verse, the serious and the comic, pantomime and music are intermingled in their representations. Only the princ.i.p.al characters, the G.o.ds, the Brahmins, and the kings, speak Sanskrit; women and the less important characters speak Prakrit, more or less refined according to their rank. Whatever may offend propriety, whatever may produce an unwholesome excitement, is excluded; for the hilarity of the audience, there is an occasional introduction on the stage of a parasite or a buffoon. The representation is usually opened by an apologue and always concluded with a prayer.

Kalidasa, the Hindu Shakespeare, has been called by his countrymen the Bridegroom of Poetry. His language is harmonious and elevated, and in his compositions he unites grace and tenderness with grandeur and sublimity.

Many of his dramas contain episodes selected from the epic poems, and are founded on the principles of Brahmanism. The "Messenger Cloud" of this author, a monologue rather than a drama, is unsurpa.s.sed in beauty of sentiment by any European poet. "Sakuntala," or the Fatal Ring, is considered one of the best dramas of Kalidasa. It has been translated into English by Sir W. Jones.

Bhavabhuti, a Brahmin by birth, was called by his contemporaries the Sweet Speaking. He was the author of many dramas of distinguished merit, which rank next to those of Kalidasa.

6. HISTORY AND SCIENCE.--History, considered as the development of mankind in relation to its ideal, is unknown to Sanskrit literature. Indeed, the only historical work thus far discovered is the "History of Cashmere," a series of poetical compositions, written by different authors at different periods, the last of which brings down the annals to the sixteenth century A.D., when Cashmere became a province of the Mogul empire.

In the scientific department, the works on Sanskrit grammar and lexicography are models of logical and a.n.a.lytical research. There are also valuable works on jurisprudence, on rhetoric, poetry, music, and other arts. The Hindu system of decimal notation made its way through the Arabs to modern nations, our usual figures being, in their origin, letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. Their medical and surgical knowledge is deserving of study.

7. PHILOSOPHY.--The object of Hindu philosophy consists in obtaining emanc.i.p.ation from metempsychosis, through the absorption of the soul into Brahm, or the universal being. According to the different principles which philosophers adopt in attaining this supreme object, their doctrines are divided into the four following systems: 1st, Sensualism; 2d, Idealism; 3d, Mysticism; 4th, Eclecticism.

Sensualism is represented in the school of Kapila, according to whose doctrine the purification of the soul must be effected through knowledge, the only source of which lies in sensual perception. In this system, nature, eternal and universal, is considered as the first cause, which produces intelligence and all the other principles of knowledge and existence. This philosophy of nature leads some of its followers to seek their purification in the sensual pleasures of this life, and in the loss of their own individuality in nature itself, in which they strive to be absorbed. Materialism, fatalism, and atheism are the natural consequences of the system of Kapila.

Idealism is the foundation of three philosophical schools: the Dialectic, the Atomic, and the Vedanta. The Dialectic school considers the principles of knowledge as entirely distinct from nature; it admits the existence of universal ideas in the human mind; it establishes the syllogistic form as the complete method of reasoning, and finally, it holds as fundamental the duality of intelligence and nature. In this theory, the soul is considered as distinct from Brahm and also from the body. Man can approach Brahm, can unite himself to the universal soul, but can never lose his own individuality.

The Atomic doctrine explains the origin of the world through the combination of eternal, simple atoms. It belongs to Idealism, for the predominance which it gives to ideas over sensation, and for the individuality and consciousness which it recognizes in man.

The Vedanta is the true ideal pantheistic philosophy of India. It considers Brahm in two different states: first, as a pure, simple, abstract, and inert essence; secondly, as an active individuality. Nature in this system is only a special quality or quant.i.ty of Brahm, having no actual reality, and he who turns away from ail that is unreal and changeable and contemplates Brahm unceasingly, becomes one with it, and attains liberation.

Mysticism comprehends all doctrines which deny authority to reason, and admit no other principles of knowledge or rule of life than supernatural or direct revelation. To this system belong the doctrines of Patanjali, which teach that man must emanc.i.p.ate himself from metempsychosis through contemplation and ecstasy to be attained by the calm of the senses, by corporeal penance, suspension of breath, and immobility of position. The followers of this school pa.s.s their lives in solitude, absorbed in this mystic contemplation. The forests, the deserts, and the environs of the temples are filled with these mystics, who, thus separated from external life, believe themselves the subjects of supernatural illumination and power. The Bhagavad-Gita, already spoken of, is the best exposition of this doctrine.

The Eclectic school comprises all theories which deny the authority of the Vedas, and admit rational principles borrowed both from sensualism and idealism. Among these doctrines Buddhism is the princ.i.p.al.

8. BUDDHISM.--Buddhism is so called from Buddha, a name meaning deified teacher, which was given to Sakyamuni, or Saint Sakya, a reformer of Brahmanism, who introduced into the Hindu religion a more simple creed, and a milder and more humane code of morality. The date of the origin of this reform is uncertain. It is probably not earlier than the sixth century B.C. Buddhism, essentially a proselyting religion, spread over Central Asia and through the island of Ceylon. Its followers in India being persecuted and expelled from the country, penetrated into Thibet, and pus.h.i.+ng forward into the wilderness of the Kalmucks and Mongols, entered China and j.a.pan, where they introduced their wars.h.i.+p under the name of the religion of Fo. Buddhism is more extensively diffused than any other form of religion in the world. Though it has never extended beyond the limits of Asia, its followers number over four hundred millions.

As a philosophical school, Buddhism partakes both of sensualism and idealism; it admits sensual perception as the source of knowledge, but it grants to nature only an apparent existence. On this universal illusion, Buddhism founded a gigantic system of cosmogony, establis.h.i.+ng an infinity of degrees in the scale of existences from that of pure being without form or quality to the lowest emanations. According to Buddha, the object of philosophy, as well as of religion, is the deliverance of the soul from metempsychosis, and therefore from all pain and illusion. He teaches that to break the endless rotation of transmigration the soul must be prevented from being born again, by purifying it even from the desire of existence.

He denied the authority of the Vedas, and abolished or ignored the division of the people into castes, admitting whoever desired it to the priesthood. Notwithstanding the doctrine of metempsychosis, and the belief that life is only an endless round of birth and death, sin and suffering, the most sacred Buddhistic books teach a pure and elevated morality, and that the highest happiness is only to be reached through self-abnegation, universal benevolence, humility, patience, courage, self-knowledge, and contemplation. Much has been added to the original doctrines of Buddha in the way of mythology, sacrifices, penances, mysticism, and hierarchy.

Buddhism possesses a literature of its own; its language and style are simple and intelligible to the common people, to whom it is particularly addressed. For this reason the priests of this religion prefer to write in the dialects used by the people, and indeed some of their princ.i.p.al works are written in Prakrit or in Pali. Among these are many legends, and chronicles, and books on theology and jurisprudence. The literary men of Buddhism are generally the priests, who receive different names in different countries. A complete collection of the sacred books of Buddhism forms a theological body of one hundred and eight volumes.

9. MORAL PHILOSOPHY.--The moral philosophy of India is contained in the Sacred Book of Manavadharmasastra, or Code of Manu. This embraces a poetical account of Brahma and other G.o.ds, of the origin of the world and man, and of the duties arising from the relation of man towards Brahma and towards his fellow-men. Whether regarded for its great antiquity and cla.s.sic beauty, or for its importance as being considered of divine revelation by the Hindu people, this Code must ever claim the attention of those who devote themselves to the study of the Sanskrit literature.

Though inferior to the Vedas in antiquity, it is held to be equally sacred; and being more closely connected with the business of life, it has done so much towards moulding the opinions of the Hindus that it would be impossible to comprehend the literature or local usages of India without being master of its contents.

It is believed by the Hindus that Brahma taught his laws to Manu in one hundred thousand verses, and that they were afterwards abridged for the use of mankind to four thousand. It is most probable that the work attributed to Manu is a collection made from various sources and at different periods.

Among the duties prescribed by the laws of Manu man is enjoined to exert a full dominion over his senses, to study sacred science, to keep his heart pure, without which sacrifices are useless, to speak only when necessity requires, and to despise worldly honors. His princ.i.p.al duties toward his neighbor are to honor old age, to respect parents, the mother more than a thousand fathers, and the Brahmins more than father or mother, to injure no one, even in wish. Woman is taught that she cannot aspire to freedom, a girl is to depend on her father, a wife on her husband, and a widow on her son. The law forbids her to marry a second time.

The Code of Manu is divided into twelve books or chapters, in which are treated separately the subjects of creation, education, marriage, domestic economy, the art of living, penal and civil laws, of punishments and atonements, of transmigration, and of the final blessed state. These ordinances or inst.i.tutes contain much to be admired and much to be condemned. They form a system of despotism and priestcraft, both limited by law, but artfully conspiring to give mutual support, though with mutual checks. A spirit of sublime elevation and amiable benevolence pervades the whole work, sufficient to prove the author to have adored not the visible sun, but the incomparably greater light, according to the Vedas, which illuminates all, delights all, from which all proceed, to which all must return, and which alone can irradiate our souls.

10. MODERN LITERATURES OF INDIA.--The literature of the modern tongues of the Hindus consists chiefly of imitations and translations from the Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and from European languages. There is, however, an original epic poem, written in Hindui by Tshand, under the t.i.tle of the "Adventures of Prithivi Raja," which is second only to the great Sanskrit poems. This work, which relates to the twelfth century A.D., describes the struggle of the Hindus against their Mohammedan conquerors. The poem of "Ramayana," by Tulsi-Das, and that of the "Ocean of Love," are extremely popular in India. The modern dialects contain many religious and national songs of exquisite beauty and delicacy. Among the poets of India, who have written in these dialects, Sauday, Mir-Mohammed Taqui, Wali, and Azad are the princ.i.p.al.

The Hindi, which dates from the eleventh century A.D., is one of the languages of Aryan stock still spoken in Northern India. One of its princ.i.p.al dialects is the Hindustani, which is employed in the literature of the northern country. Its two divisions are the Hindi and Urdu, which represent the popular side of the national culture, and are almost exclusively used at the present day; the first chiefly by writers not belonging to the Brahminical order, while those of the Urdu dialect follow Persian models. The writings in each, though numerous, and not without pretension, have little interest for the European reader.

11. EDUCATION IN INDIA.--For the education of the Brahmins and of the higher cla.s.ses, there was founded, in 1792, a Sanskrit College at Benares, the Hindu capital. The course of instruction embraces Persian, English, and Hindu law, and general literature. In 1854 universities were established at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. Of late public instruction has become a department of the government, and schools and colleges for higher instruction have been established in various parts of the country, and books and newspapers in English and in the vernacular are everywhere increasing. As far back as 1824 the American and English missionaries were the pioneers of female education. The recent report of the Indian Commission of Education deals particularly with this question, and attributes the wide difference between the extent of male and female acquirements to no inferiority in the mental capacities of women; on the contrary, they find their intellectual activity very keen, and often outlasting the mental energies of men. According to the traditions of pre-historic times, women occupied a high place in the early civilization of India, and their capacity to govern is shown by the fact, that at the present day one of the best administered States has been ruled by native ladies during two generations, and that the most ably managed of the great landed properties are entirely in the hands of women. The chief causes which r.e.t.a.r.d their education are to be found in the social customs of the country, the seclusion in which women live, the appropriation of the educational fund to the schools for boys, and the need of trained teachers.

Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, the first Asiatic writer in the languages of the West who has made a literary fame in Europe is a young Hindu girl, Tora Dutt (1856-1877), whose writings in prose and verse in English, as well as in French, have called forth admiration and astonishment from the critics, and a sincere lament for her early death.

12. THE BRAMO-SOMAJ.--In 1830, under this name (Wors.h.i.+ping a.s.sembly), Rammohun Roy founded a religious society in India, of which, after him, Keshub Chunder Sen (died 1884) was the most eminent member. Their aim is to establish a new religion for India and the world, founded on a belief in one G.o.d, which shall be freed from all the errors and corruptions of the past. They propose many important reforms, such as the abolition of caste, the remodeling of marriage customs, the emanc.i.p.ation and education of women, the abolition of infanticide and the wors.h.i.+p of ancestors, and a general moral regeneration. Their chief aid to spiritual growth may be summed up in four words, self-culture, meditation, personal purity, and universal beneficence. Their influence has been already felt in the legislative affairs of India.

BABYLONIAN AND a.s.sYRIAN LITERATURE

1. The Accadians and Babylonians.--2. The Cuneiform Letters.--3.

Babylonian and a.s.syrian Remains.

1. ACCADIANS AND BABYLONIANS.--Geographically, as well as historically and ethnographically, the district lying between the Tigris and Euphrates forms but one country, though the rival kingdoms of a.s.syria and Babylonia became, each in turn, superior to the other. The primitive inhabitants of this district were called Accadians, or Chaldeans, but little or nothing was known of them until within the last fifteen or twenty years. Their language was agglutinative, and they were the inventors of the cuneiform system of writing. The Babylonians conquered this people, borrowed their signs, and incorporated their literature. Soon after their conquest by the Babylonians, they established priestly caste in the state and a.s.sumed the wors.h.i.+p, laws, and manners of their conquerors. They were devoted to the science of the stars, and determined the equinoctial and solst.i.tial points, divided the ecliptic into twelve parts and the day into hours. The signs, names, and figures of the Zodiac, and the invention of the dial are some of the improvements in astronomy attributed to this people. With the decline of Babylon their influence declined, and they were afterwards known to the Greeks and Romans only as astrologers, magicians, and soothsayers.

2. THE CUNEIFORM LETTERS.--These characters, borrowed by the Semitic conquerors of the Accadians, the Babylonians, and a.s.syrians, were originally hieroglyphics, each denoting an object or an idea, but they were gradually corrupted into the forms we see on a.s.syrian monuments. They underwent many changes, and the various periods are distinguished as Archaic, hieratic, a.s.syrian, and later Babylonian.

3. BABYLONIAN AND a.s.sYRIAN REMAINS.--The origin and history of this civilization have only been made known to us by the very recent decipherment of native monuments. Before these discoveries the princ.i.p.al source of information was found in the writings of Borosus, a priest of Babylon, who lived about 300 B.C., and who translated the records of astronomy into Greek. Though his works have perished, we have quotations from them in Eusebius and other writers, which have been strikingly verified by the inscriptions. The chief work on astronomy, compiled for Sargon, one of the earliest Babylonian monarchs, is inscribed on seventy tablets, a copy of which is in the British Museum. The Babylonians understood the movements of the heavenly bodies, and Calisthenes, who accompanied Alexander on his eastern expedition, brought with him on his return the observations of 1903 years. The main purpose of all Babylonian astronomical observation, however, was astrological, to cast horoscopes, or to predict the weather. Babylon retained for a long time its ancient splendor after the conquest by Cyrus and the final fall of the empire, and in the first period of the Macedonian sway. But soon after that time its fame was extinguished, and its monuments, arts, and sciences perished.

a.s.syria was a land of soldiers and possessed little native literature. The more peaceful pursuits had their home in Babylonia, where the universities of Erech and Borsippa were renowned down to cla.s.sical times. The larger part of this literature was stamped in clay tablets and baked, and these were numbered and arranged in order. Papyrus was also used, but none of this fragile material has been preserved.

In the reign of Sardanapalus (660-647 B.C.) a.s.syrian art and literature reached their highest point. In the ruins of his palace have been found three chambers the floors of which were covered a foot deep with tablets of all sizes, from an inch to nine inches long, bearing inscriptions many of them so minute as to be read only by the aid of a magnifying gla.s.s.

Though broken they have been partially restored and are among the most precious cuneiform inscriptions. They have only been deciphered within the present century, and thousands of inscriptions are yet buried among the ruins of a.s.syria. The most interesting of these remains yet discovered are the hymns to the G.o.ds, some of which strikingly resemble the Hebrew Psalms. Of older date is the collection of formulas which consists of omens and hymns and tablets relating to astronomy. Later than the hymns are the mythological poems, two of which are preserved intact. They are "The Deluge" and "The Descent of Istar into Hades." They form part of a very remarkable epic which centred round the adventures of a solar hero, and into which older and independent lays were woven as episodes. Copies are preserved in the British Museum. The literature on the subject of these remains is very extensive and rapidly increasing.

PHOENICIAN LITERATURE.

The Language.--The Remains.

The Phoenician language bore a strong affinity to the Hebrew, through which alone the inscriptions on coins and monuments can be interpreted, and these const.i.tute the entire literary remains, though the Phoenicians had doubtless their archives and written laws. The inscriptions engraved on stone or metal are found chiefly in places once colonies, remote from Phoenicia itself. The Phoenician alphabet forms the basis of the Semitic and Indo-European graphic systems, and was itself doubtless based on the Egyptian hieratic writing. Sanchuniathon is the name given as that of the author of a history of Phoenicia which was translated into Greek and published by Philo, a grammarian of the second century A.D. A considerable fragment of this work is preserved in Eusebius, but after much learned controversy it is now believed that it was the work of Philo himself.

SYRIAC LITERATURE.

The Language.--Influence of the Literature In the Eighth and Ninth Century.

THE LANGUAGE.--The Aramaic language, early spoken in Syria and Mesopotamia, is a branch of the Semitic, and of this tongue the Chaldaic and Syriac were dialects. Chaldaic is supposed to be the language of Babylonia at the time of the captivity, and the earliest remains are a part of the Books of Daniel and Ezra, and the paraphrases or free translations of the Old Testament. The Hebrews having learned this language during the Babylonian exile, it continued in use for some time after their return, though the Hebrew remained the written and sacred tongue. Gradually, however, it lost this prerogative, and in the second century A.D. the Chaldaic was the only spoken language of Palestine. It is still used by the Nestorians and Maronites in their religious services and in their literary works. The spoken language of Syria has undergone many changes corresponding to the political changes of the country.

The most prominent Syriac author is St. Ephraem, or Ephraem Syrus (350 A.D.), with whom begins the best period of Syriac literature, which continued until the ninth century. A great part of this literature has been lost, and what remains is only partially accessible. Its princ.i.p.al work was in the eighth and ninth centuries in introducing cla.s.sical learning to the knowledge of the Arabs. In the seventh century, Jacob of Edessa gave the cla.s.sical and sacred dialect its final form, and from this time the series of native grammarians and lexicographers continued unbroken to the time of its decline. The study of Syriac was introduced into Europe in the fifteenth century. Valuable collections of MSS., in this language, are to be found in the British Museum, and grammars and dictionaries have been published in Germany and in New York.