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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[OCTOBER, 1882.
origin the discoveries recently made in Indian In two plates the early Indian numerals are comepigraphy on coins published or in the author's pared with the Egyptian, Phænician, Baktrian, possession, and in inscriptions published by Gene. Hindu Kabul, and Arabic forms, and a careful ral Cunningham in his Reports of the Archæolog. statement added of the source from which each Survey, in the Indian Antiquary facsimiles, and form is derived. The rest of this part of the elsewhere. In the course of the article he gives Journal is occupied by a portion of a long paper on Dr. Bühler's views on the origin of the alphabet " The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Van," decipheralso, which we reprinted in September (see p. 268). led and translated by Prof. A. H. Sayce.
BOOK NOTICES. LROTURRA on the ORIQIN and Growth of RELIGION, As according to Tiele, is not itself a religion, but a illustrated by some points in the History of Indian Buddhism (the Hibbert Lectures, 1881), by T. W. Rhys
sort of primitive philosophy, which not only Davids. Williams and Norgate. 1881
controls religion, but rules the whole life of the It is difficult to conceive, at first sight, how the natural man. It is in fact the belief in an study of the facts revealed to us by the history outside world of "spiritism." This belief was of Buddhism can illustrate the development of greatly qualified at the time the Vedas were religious thought, unless Buddhism be allowed written; afterwards arose the theory of the to be a particular link in the connected chain of previous existence of souls," and finally in religious beliefs. This, as we understand it,
Buddhism the denial of all soul. This denial Mr. Davids does not allow, but rather aims to se. of soul, as we take it, is a denial of an individual clude and isolate Buddhism as a system of belief "self," and, regarded from a moral standpoint, indigenous to India, or rather to the Valley of the this denial of "self" is a distinct advance in the Ganges." If it originated there, and was purely growth of religious idea in man. Again, Mr. Rhys the result of local inspirations, we cannot
Davids tells us that it was a feeling of worldfairly regard it as influencing, or as being in. weariness that led to the actual construction of fluenced by, the growth of the religious idea the Buddhist system, and he seems to confine the in man. But perhaps this is not Mr. Davids' excess, at least of this sentiment, to climatic view of the case, and we have been mieled by influence peculiar to the Valley of the Gangessome of the detached statements in the volume
and hence the isolation of Buddhism. But as a matbefore us. We may state our own opinion, how. ter of fact the founder of Buddhism was a native ever, (to prevent misunderstanding.) that Bud. of the Mountain region of Kapilavastu. He was dhism must take its place in the world's history brought up among a vigorous, athletio race, who as a distinct advance in connection with previous were evidently not of purely Indian extraction, stages of man's religious development which -and there is no sign in his early history of began with the beginning and will go on to "world-weariness" as the result of bodily lassitude the end of human history. Perhaps Mr. Davids or caste oppression. It seems to us that the" raison holds the same opinion, for on p. 12 of his book d'être" of Buddhism is to be found not so we find the statement that "abaok all these much in any individual characteristic of its (documents) there stretches the long vista of founders, as in some race tradition respecting the unknown centuries, which must form the back. vanity of earthly things compared with higher ground of the picture in which Buddhism should and spiritual ones. And this tradition, like a be presented to our minds"; if, during the un small seed, took root and grew up in the heart and known centuries referred to, the growth of the life of one prepared to receive it. What happened religious element in man's history had been pro- afterwards, when the Buddha laboured among the gressing, and was taken up and advanced by | less vigorous people of Magadha, is of a different Buddhism, and, thus advanced, handed down for kind, and no doubt the Buddhism of Central further development to succeeding generations, 80 India may have taken much of its character from that the whole history of religion is a connected the condition of the people amongst whom it was one in this case we can understand the import- matured. But when it spread Northward we find ance of the task undertaken by Mr. Davids in that the" pessimism" of Buddha's doctrine is only tracing the exact measure of increase contributed the expression of the old longing of the human by Buddhism to the growth of this " universal mind for higher and better things hereafter. phenomenon;" but not otherwise.
Certainly the Indo-Scyths and the Parthians Mr. Davids takes the starting point of the and the free races of Mongolia never felt Buddhist belief to be that curious attitude of the enervating influences of "climate" or the mind which is now designated Animism. Animism, oppression of "caste"- and they adopted Bud.
