Page:Ranjit Singh (Griffin).djvu/46

40 the scriptures) were marvellously ignorant of the principles of their own religion; that they had no knowledge of the old Gúrmukhi forms or idioms. Their explanations of doubtful passages were only traditional, and conflicted with other parts of the sacred volume, and it was only after procuring some scarce commentaries, very imperfect and almost as obscure as the original text, that Dr. Trumpp managed to accomplish the work. Before he could do so he had to compile a dictionary and a grammar of the Granth, containing all Gúrmukhi forms and obsolete words. The difficulties in the way of the completion of his task seemed almost insuperable, and at last the learned Professor, in spite of my urgent remonstrances, fled from Lahore to Germany, where, after seven years' labour, he produced a translation which, although it will never attract the general reader, is still a monument of industry and learning. Previous accounts of the religion of the Sikhs, such as those contained in the works of Captain Joseph Cunningham and Mr. H. H. Wilson in his sketch of the religious sects of the Hindus, are slight and defective, for the reason that the writers were not acquainted with the Sikh scriptures or the commentaries upon them; nor is it easy even now to follow the thin thread of doctrine running through the involved, incoherent and shallow pages of the Ádi Granth. These are filled with inconsistent trivialities and vain repetitions, although there are some portions, especially the Slóks of the Bhagats Kabír and Faríd, which are