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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[OCTOBER, 1882.
verses are fluent and well-turned, giving a life and charm to the translation that could not be preserved in any prose rendering however spirited: "A garden where the murmuring rill was heard; While from the trees sang each melodious bird; That, with the many-coloured tulip bright, These, with their various fruits the eye delight. The whispering breeze beneath the branches' shade, Of bending flowers a motley carpet made."
the Fatihah (p. 288); he seems to use indifferently . Wahhabís' and Wahábis," Muttalib' and
Mutallib,' &c. There is a want of accuracy in this and in some of the author's own notes.
While showing clearly the inconsistencies in the Quran the author endeavours to bring out distinctly its actual teachings, or what the doctrines of the book really are.
If completed with care in the style in which the work has been begun, this book will supersede other English editions, and will be a model work on the Quran, and a repertory of information on Islâm such as no student will care to be without.
A COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTARY ON THE QURAN : comprising Sale's Translation and Preliminary Discourse, with additional notes and emendations. Together with complete Index to the Text, Preliminary Discourse, and Notes. By the Rev. E. M. Wherry, M.A. Vol. I. London: Trübner, 1882.
Of the many valuable works already included in Trübner's Oriental Series for the study of the Religions of the East this promises to be a most important one, both from its matter and form. The author is a scholar, living among Muslims, and personally deeply interested in their religion and literature, and his aim in this work is to gather up what is valuable in the results of the labours of various writers on Islam and to arrange them in a form suitable for reference. With the usual European divisions into chapter and verse he has conjoined the divisions of the Arabic original indicating the sipara, sárat, ruqu of the sipdra, rugú of the strat, &c., with the numbers of the verses, as used in India, which differ occasionally from those usually employed.
In the notes and comments he has collected a most valuable body of information extracted from the best Muslim commentators in addition to Sale's notes drawn from Baidh&wi, JalAlu'd-din, and Al Zamakhshari. He has also made full use of the best English writers on Islåm.
Sale's Preliminary Discourse is a most masterly composition-a storehouse of valuable informa. tion, embracing all the learning on the subject available in his day (1680-1736), and presenting, on the whole, a reliable account of the peculiar doctrines, rites, and customs, and institutions of Islâm ; but modern research has brought to light much to add to, or modify some of its statements, and Mr. Wherry, whilst wisely retaining the discourse in its original form, has added numerous notes to the text in which he corrects or amplifies it on the authorities of M. Caussin de Perceval, Muir, Lane, Sprenger, Burckhardt, &c., and from personal research.
The system of transliteration adopted is by no means a good one-using accents to mark the long vowels; but a worse fault is that Mr. Wherry is not consistent with himself in employing his system, as may be seen by his transliteration of
EASTERN PROVERBS and EMBLEMS illustrating old
Truths. By the Rev. J. Long. London: Trubner & Co.
This volume of the Oriental Series stands by itself and is not easily described. The author tells us it was began in India a quarter of a century ago for the instruction of peasants, and the materials it has finally been condensed from, have been collected in India, Russia, and the libraries of the Continent and England. "The Proverbs selected in this book," he tells us, "though limited to those serving to illustrate moral and religious subjects, show how widely scattered nations under similar circumstances have come to similar conclusions; many of these resemblances arise from the identity of human nature, or are a portion of the spiritual heritage which men brought away with them from the cradle of the human race, and improved on by subsequent communication; by showing the acute observation and sharp moral sensibility of the masses, they prove God Las not left himself without witness in the human breast: they, therefore, form a basis for those who are labouring to bridge over the gulf between Eastern and Western thought."
A book of Proverbs alone, however carefully arranged, is rather tiresome reading; but Mr. Long. by arranging them in small groups as illustrations of short moral, religious and other reflections, has not only written a valuable book, full of interesting matter of very varied sorts,-but for the thoughtful reader it is quite a feast of good things' which can be thoroughly enjoyed.
We need only add that the proverbs are from many sources, ancient and modern-Sanskrit, Urdu, Bengali, Canarese, Telugu, Tamil, Malabar, Badaga, Simhalese, Maratha, Gujarati, Panjab, Afghan, Persian, Kurd, Syrian, Hebrew, Arab, Turkish, Greek, Russian, Esthonian, Finnish, Polish, Servian, German, Italian, Spanish, Basque, Breton, Galic ( pp. 27-28), Welsh, English, African, Japanese, Chinese and Malay -though by far the larger number are Eustern.
