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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[JULY, 1916
tions. For De Nobilis, not contented with the deceptive adherence to the outward formalities of Brahmanical life, took to the study of their literature, and soon became a master of it. He had the penetration to see that the superior social status of the Brahman, his influence his power, could be traced to the superiority of his mental culture, and that by knowledge and intellect alone he could conquer him. An intellectual giant himself, it was not long before he became as well versed as the most orthodox Brahman in the Vedas, the Sastras, and the philosophy of the Brahman. To proficiency in Sanskrit literature he combined proficiency in Telugu and Tamil literatures. Thus equipped, he was able to engage the most scholarly of his adversaries in debates and discussions without the fear of defeat, and thus equipped he could so present the doctrines of the Christian religion as not to clash with their cherished views and habits of thought. De Nobilis never believed in a frontal attack on the Hindu religion. Such an attack only roused the dormant spirit of even the heterodox, and tended to make their attachment to their ancestral creed stronger. His method, therefore, was to so interpret the Vedas, etc., that the people unconsciously imbibed the Christian doctrines. He depended for his success more on the skilful interpretation, or rather misinterpretation, of the Brahmanical lore, than on the excellence of his sermon. He wished, in other words, to first create a public opinion unconsciously favourable to Christianity and therefore willing to embrace Christianity itself in the long run; but in doing this, he forgot, to use the language of Rev. Mr. Hough, that he was fatally "compromisng the truth of the Gospel and the liberty of the poor believer."
To the reputation of a scholar De Nobilis added the name of a sage and recluse. Well aware that solitude was a source of attraction, he rarely gave a ready audience to visitors. Men received the monotonous answer that the teacher was engaged in prayer, in studies and in contomplation. When persistence procured an interview, the charming and persuasive eloquence, the deep wisdom, and the erudite scholarship of the Sanyasin, dazzled and puzzled the stranger, and he would return, as a result of his discussions, with a vague unrest, a sort of scepticism, an undefined but new line of thought, which he could not explain himself, but which he knew was a subtle departure from acknowledged interpretation of his sacred lore. De Nobilis, it is true, never used the name Christ; for if he had done so, he would have been the next day expelled from the Brahman street and would have been murdered as a disguised enemy of the gods. Nor did he stand in the way of the caste, the festivals and the minor observances of the people. “Pongul," for instance, i. e. "the cooking of new rice and milk, and eating it solemnly," he allowed ; only, he wanted it to bo practised at the foot of the cross after he blessed the new rice.
His religious compromise. They were likewise allowed to rub sandal-paste, provided it was blessed by the priest. Ayain he subscribed freely to the popular belief that magic was capable of exorcising devils out of people, of giving children to the childless. Gold leaves, rosaries, ashes and all other mysterious weapons used by the Hindu Yogis and magicians were therefore used by D: Nobilis, on as large a scale as they, and the number of conversions which he effected by these means was perhaps larger than by his sermons or teachings. His innovations are seen even in regard to names. He gave his converts Hindu baptismal names, i. e., names other than those of the Roman martyrology.50 He did not insist on Latin and traditional terms in regard to holy things. He allowed his "converts" to celebrate their marriages in the old fashions and made no opposition to either early marriage or the tying of the tali. He did not
5* He himself assumed, as Hough says, the name of Tattvabodha Svůmi.
