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152
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[Mar, 1884.
104. The slave of pleasure is viler than a man 106. The eye of love is blind towards the faults reduced to slavery.
of the one loved, and its ears are deaf when they 105. To a sordid man it is easier to forgive hear anything disgraceful about him. many faults than to confer a few benefits.
(To be continued.)
BOOK NOTICE. 1. THE BUDDHIST ORIGINAL OY CHAUCER'S PARDONER'S Chaucer writes :
TALE, by C. H. TAWNEY, M.A. (Journal of Philology, vol. XII.)
"My theme is alway oon and ever was 2. THE VEDABBEA JATAKA, translated with notes, by Radix malorum est Cupiditas." H. T. FRANCIS, M.A., Under-Librarian of the Uni
Almost the same words occur in the Latin versity Library, Cambridge. [Privately printed), Cambridge, 1884.
version, and it would seem as if the devil could Pending the somewhat slow progress of the full quote Scripture in Pali as well as in other lantranslation of the Jataka-book, several interesting guages, for in the Buddhist story the robber who additions to the English literature of folk-lore remains behind to guard the treasure says to himhave recently appeared as the result of the publi. self, "Verily covetousness is the root of destruccation of Professor Fausböll's admirable text. tion," and immediately after the utterance of this Thus, Mr. Tawney had already given us a speci. moral sentiment, he conceives the project of mur. men of his skill in translating Pali, as well as dering his fellow! Truly a veritable Oriental Sansksit, stories in his version of the Gamani. Pecksniff!" chanda-játaka, which appeared in the Journal of In a note on the translation of the passage, Philology, vol. XI. It is also a matter of no small Mr. Francis notices the possibility of taking the congratulation to find the too small band of words as the sentiments of the author, and thus writers who give us real information about origi- rendering, "It is said that covetousness." But I nal texts, and not mere generalities on Buddhist believe the translator's relish of the humour of thought, now joined by a scholar like Mr. Francis, his original has led him right here; for not only whose position gives him facilities for research in (as he observes) would kira' have been expected collections of Indian Buddhist literature hardly in that case, but the particles cha ndma gain to be paralleled elsewhere.
greater point and emphasis. The occurrence of Both publications are primarily designed to call esa likewise favours the construction, so that we attention to the resemblance between this Jataka might paraphrase the sentence: "So this covet. and Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale, a resemblance ousness that these miserable fellows feel turns which, it seems, had also been noticed by Dr. out nothing but (eva) the source of their rain." Morris; both, also, cite at some length the Italian With regard to other remarks on the text in parallel to Chaucer noticed by Prof. Skeat.
Mr. Francis'e notes, passing over note 6, which is of With regard to the style of the translations, course not to be taken au sérieus as an emenda. both are in eminently readable English, though tion; the correction of sannahitva or sannayhitud, perhaps one may be excused for saying that, here (Fausböll, p. 255, 1. 5), seems unnecessary. For and there, some of the peculiarities of Pali idiom the robber could perfectly well have girt on his peep out. As in translating Greek, one of the sword and then have sat down, especially in the great difficulties is to represent and duly co- characteristic Oriental way expressed by the Pali ordinate all the varied shades of meaning expressed phrase ukkuţikan nisidati; moreover, loose belts by participles, especially aorist participles, so in Pali seem to be no more uncommon in early sculptures the excessive and sometimes rather monotonous than now. use of the gerund in tod and yd is at once In the last sentence, it seems neater and more characteristio, and often apt to carry the translator symmetrical to take, with Mr. Tawney, the gerund away from the usual form of English speech, and unnddetud as referring to the nominative Bodhi. perhaps occasionally from the author's meaning. satto like the remainder of the string of gerunds.
Mr. Francis has added notes and illustrations In most other points, save a curious little differ. which show a very careful consideration of the ence of opinion as to where the moon rose on difficulties of language in the tale. Several sugges. this memorable occasion, the translators agree, tions are as ingenious as they are appropriate, by and, it may be added, agree in presenting a high reason of their freshness and humour, to these standard of English translation from the Indian freshest productions of the literature of India. languages, which have so often suffered from Thus we read in Mr. Francis's Introduction- bald representations, to all who would seek to
"The moral is prominently brought forward in reproduce something of the freshness and vivacity all the versions."
of Eastern story-telling. CECIL BENDALL. 1 The Pali runs: "Lobho cha nam'era vindsamllam evd"ti... nisino chinteri " Tammir agate ... yam nandhar tat... ghatessan" ti..
