Page:An introduction to Dravidian philology.djvu/70

Rh vast records of which they are still in possession In this connection, it may be suggested that a more profuse supply of the facsimiles of the original inscriptions would be of immense help in verifying readings and that no record need be held back on the ground that it is not historically important or that it is insignificant, for in the philologist's view even the least scrap of information may come in bandy in the solution of intricate linguistic problems

One other general feature that we notice in the work of the early South Indian philologists is the regard which they had not only for the ancient classics in each of the languages, but also for the ordinary everyday speech of the people with whom they came into contact. It was a practical necessity for them, and they early perceived that unless they could converse freely with the people, their immediate object of carrying the