Page:A view of the history, literature, and mythology of the Hindoos (Vol. I).djvu/684

596 profound of the Hindoo writings be compared with the writings of any nation flourishing at the same period, and the decision, the author is inclined to think, will be in favour of the Hindoos.

At present, almost every person who engages in the pursuit of knowledge, does so for the sake of a subsistence, or for the increase of his wealth. India contains few if any individuals who, satisfied with their present possessions, devote their time to the pursuit of science. The whole is a trade; hence knowledge is only so far pursued as it will be productive of money, and no art or science is carried to perfection; each person furnishes himself with what he thinks will carry him through life; he has no ambition to enlarge the bounds of knowledge; he makes no experiments; it never enters into his mind that he can exceed his forefathers; to gain the smallest moiety of what they acquired, is almost more than he hopes to realize.

It is laid down as a rule in the shastrŭs, that a gift to a bramhŭn is meritorious in proportion to his learning: hence those who are esteemed the most learned carry away the most costly presents at the close offcasts and great ceremonies: diiferent offices under government require a knowledge of some of the lawbooks; this excites many to apply themselves to this sort of learning. To be a family priest, it is necessary that a person be acquainted with many of the forms of the Hindoo religion; and these forms are not to be obtained without reading. It is owing to these, and the like circumstances, that the little knowledge the present race of Hindoos possess of their own shastrŭs is preserved. A considerable number of the bramhŭns and voidyŭs learn the Sŭngskritŭ grammar, but the old Sŭngskritŭ, the dialect of the védŭ, is known by very few.

Amongst one hundred thousand Brahmans, there may be one thousand who learn the grammar of the Sŭngskritŭ; of whom four or five hundred may read some parts of the kavyŭ, and fifty some parts of the ŭlŭnkarŭ shastrŭs. Four hundred of this thousand may read some of the smritees; but not more than ten, any parts of the tŭntrŭs. Three hundred may study the nayŭ, but only five or six the mēēmangsŭ, the sankhyŭ, the védantŭ, the patŭnjŭlŭ, the voishéshikŭ shastrŭs, or the védŭ. Ten persons in this number of bramhŭusbramhŭns [sic] may become learned in the astronomical shastrŭs, while ten more