Indian Antiquary Vol 32

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 24

18
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JANUARY, 1903.
illustrations of the ten Aratûras of Vishņu (nine of which have titles in both Roman and Nagari characters), and five plates, four of which describe the Nagari alphabet (Elementa Linguae Hanscret), while the fifth gives the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria in Latin, but written incorrectly enough) in the Nagari character. The Pater Noster begins as follows, -are (sic) TETESTET afere
In 1678 John Ogilby, Cosmographer, published in London - Asia, the first Part. Being an Accurate Description of Persia, and the Several Provinces thereof. The Vust Empire of the Great Mogol, and other parts of India, and their several Kingdoms and Regions: With the Denominations: and Descriptions of the Cities, Towns, and Places of Remark therein contained. The various Customs, Habits, Religion, and Languages of the Inhabitants. Their Political Governments, and way of Commerce. Also the Plants and Animals peculiar to each Country. Collected and translated from the most authentick Authors, and augmented with later Observations, illustrated with notes and adorned with peculiar Maps, and proper Soulptures. On pp. 59, 60, be deals with the Persian language and its three dialects, Xirazy, Rostazy, and Harmazy. On p. 129 be takes up the subject of the Malay language. He says, 'as to what concerns the Language of the Indians, it onely differs in general from the Moors and the Mahumetane, but they have also several different Dialects amongst themselves. Amongst all their Languages, there is none which spreads it self more than the Malayan.' He then proceeds to give a vocabulary of Malayan. He next rather wavers on this point, for (p. 134) he first quotes Pietro Della Valle to show that the same speech is used everywhere, bat the written characters differ. Next, he explains on Kircher's (not Pietro Della Valle's) authority that the word • Nagher' is used as the name both of a language and of a character. He then goes on, . According to Mr. Edward Terry (see above] the Vulgar Tongue of Indosten hath great Affinity with the Persian and Arabic Tongues :. but is pleasanter and easier to pronounce. It is a very fluent Language, expressing many things in few Words. They write and read like Us, viz., from the Left to the Right Hand.' (This last remark shows that some alphabet akin to Nagart, and not the Persian one, is referred to.) The language of the Nobility and Courts, and of all pablic businesses and writings is Persian, but Vulgar Mahumetans speak Turkish, but not so eloquently as the natural born Tarke. Learned Persons, and Mahumetan Priests, speak the Arabic. But no Language extends further, and is of greater Use than the Malayan.... The Netherlands East India Company have lately printed a Dictionary of the Common Discourse in that Tongue, as also the New Testament and other Books in the same Language. Moreover, the Holland Ministers in their several Factories in India, teach the Malayan Tongue, not only in their Churches, but Schouls also.'10
In the same year we have Fryer's much more accurate statement about Indian languages already quoted.
In 1678 there appeared at Amsterdam the first volume of Henricus van Rheede tot Drakestein'g!! Hortus Indicus Malabarious adornatus per H. v. R. t. D. The introduction contains eleven lines of Sanskrit, dated, in the Nagari character. The date corresponds to 1675 A. D.
In Berlin in the year 1680, Andreas Müller, under the pseudonym of Thomas Ludeken, produced collection of versions of the Lord's Prayer under the title of Oratio Orationum. 8. s. Orationis
•
• All this is taken from Professor Zachariae's article above referred to. The representation of coolis by se (talis) i. interesting. The Italian pronunciation of the word is represented by se (chthia) in Beligatti's work mentioned below.
So , Dapper'. Aria (published in Dutch in 1672; German Translation, Naraborg, 1681) in a passage which Ogilby has evidently translated in the above quotation. Professor Zachariae, however, states (V.O.J., XVI.) that 60 far as he has been able to discover, Kirohor does not mention Nagber at all. I have not seen Dapper's work, but Ogilby certainly borrowed largely from it.
16 I am sorry that I can give no olue as to the Dutch works mentioned. Perbape some of my readers cad. Ogilby appear to have confused India Proper with the Dutch Settlements in Further India, where, of course, Malay toas the Lingua Franca.
"I See Profesor Maodonell, in J. X. 1. 8., 1900, p. 850. The work appeared from 1878 to 1703 in twelte volumes