the life of william carey-第49章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


hardships　and　dangers　a　soldier　meets　in　the　wicked　trade　of　war。　　They　are　forced　to　leave　home　and　expose　themselves　to　a　thousand　dangers；　yet　they　never　think　of　objecting；　and　in　this　the　officers　are　in　the　same　situation　as　the　men。　　I　will　engage　to　say　that　no　military　officer　would　ever　refuse　to　go　any　whither　on　service　because　his　family　must　be　exposed　to　danger　in　his　absence；　and　yet　I　doubt　not　but　many　of　them　are　men　who　have　great　tenderness　for　their　wives　and　families。　　However；　they　must　be　men　and　their　wives　must　be　women。　Your　undertaking　is　infinitely　superior　to　theirs　in　importance。　They　go　to　kill　men；　you　to　save　them。　　If　they　leave　their　families　to　chance　for　the　sake　of　war；　surely　you　can　leave　yours　to　the　God　of　providence　while　you　go　about　His　work。　　I　speak　thus　because　I　am　much　distressed　to　see　you　thus　waste　away　the　flower　of　your　life　in　inactivity；　and　only　plead　for　it　what　would　not　excuse　a　child。　　Were　you　in　any　secular　employment　you　must　go　out　quite　as　much　as　we　expect　you　to　do　in　the　Mission。　　I　did　so　when　at　Mudnabati；　which　was　as　lonesome　a　place　as　could　have　been　thought　of；　and　when　I　well　knew　that　many　of　our　own　ryots　were　dakoits　（robbers）。〃

William　finally　settled　at　Cutwa；　higher　up　the　Hoogli　than　Serampore；　and　did　good　service　there。

〃1st　December　1813。I　have　now　an　assistant　at　College；　notwithstanding　which　my　duties　are　quite　as　heavy　as　they　ever　were；　for　we　are　to　receive　a　number　of　military　studentsI　suppose　thirty　at　least。　　The　translation；　and　printing　also；　is　now　so　much　enlarged　that　I　am　scarcely　able　to　get　through　the　necessary　labour　of　correcting　proofs　and　learning　the　necessary　languages。　　All　these　things　are　causes　of　rejoicing　more　than　of　regret；　for　they　are　the　very　things　for　which　I　came　into　the　country；　and　to　which　I　wish　to　devote　my　latest　breath。。。Jabez　has　offered　himself　to　the　Mission；　a　circumstance　which　gives　me　more　pleasure　than　if　he　had　been　appointed　Chief　Judge　of　the　Supreme　Court。。。Your　mother　has　long　been　confined　to　her　couch；　I　believe　about　six　months。〃

The　following　was　written　evidently　in　reply　to　loving　letters　on　the　death　of　his　wife；　Charlotte　Emilia：

〃4th　June　1821。MY　DEAR　JONATHANI　feel　your　affectionate　care　for　me　very　tenderly。　　I　have　just　received　very　affectionate　letters　from　William　and　Brother　Sutton　（Orissa）。　　Lord　and　Lady　Hastings　wrote　to　Brother　Marshman；　thinking　it　would　oppress　my　feelings　to　write　to　me　directly；　to　offer　their　kind　condolence　to　me　through　him。　　Will　you　have　the　goodness　to　send　five　rupees　to　William　for　the　Cutwa　school；　which　your　dear　mother　supported。　　I　will　repay　you　soon；　but　am　now　very　short　of　money。I　am　your　very　affectionate　father；　W。　CAREY。〃

Of　the　many　descendants　of　Dr。　Carey；　one　great　grandson　is　now　an　ordained　missionary　in　Bengal；　another　a　medical　missionary　in　Delhi；　and　a　third　is　a　member　of　the　Civil　Service；　who　has　distinguished　himself　by　travels　in　Northern　Tibet　and　Chinese　Turkestan；　which　promise　to　unveil　much　of　the　unexplored　regions　of　Asia　to　the　scholar　and　the　missionary。

Thus　far　we　have　confined　our　study　of　William　Carey　to　his　purely　missionary　career；　and　that　in　its　earlier　half。　　We　have　now　to　see　him　as　the　scholar；　the　Bible　translator；　the　philanthropist；　the　agriculturist；　and　the　founder　of　a　University。





CHAPTER　IX

PROFESSOR　OF　SANSKRIT；　BENGALI；　AND　MARATHI

1801…1830

Carey　the　only　Sanskrit　scholar　in　India　besides　ColebrookeThe　motive　of　the　missionary　scholarPlans　translation　of　the　sacred　books　of　the　EastComparative　philology　from　Leibniz　to　CareyHindoo　and　Mohammedan　codes　and　colleges　of　Warren　HastingsThe　Marquis　WellesleyThe　College　of　Fort　William　foundedCharacter　of　the　Company's　civil　and　military　servantsCurriculum　of　study；　professors　and　teachersThe　vernacular　languagesCarey's　account　of　the　college　and　his　appointmentHow　he　studied　SanskritCollege　Disputation　Day　in　the　new　Government　HouseCarey's　Sanskrit　speechLord　Wellesley's　eulogySir　James　MackintoshCarey's　punditsHe　projects　the　Bibliotheca　AsiaticaOn　the　Committee　of　the　Bengal　Asiatic　SocietyEdition　and　translation　of　the　Ramayana　epicThe　HitopadesaHis　Universal　DictionaryInfluence　of　Carey　on　the　civil　and　military　servicesW。　B。　Bayley；　B。　H。　Hodgson；　R。　Jenkins；　R。　M。　and　W。　Bird；　John　Lawrence。

When；　in　the　opening　days　of　the　nineteenth　century；　William　Carey　was　driven　to　settle　in　Danish　Serampore；　he　was　the　only　member　of　the　governing　race　in　North　India　who　knew　the　language　of　the　people　so　as　to　teach　it；　the　only　scholar；　with　the　exception　of　Colebrooke；　who　could　speak　Sanskrit　as　fluently　as　the　Brahmans。　The　Bengali　language　he　had　made　the　vehicle　of　the　teaching　of　Christ；　of　the　thought　of　Paul；　of　the　revelation　of　John。　Of　the　Sanskrit；　hitherto　concealed　from　alien　eyes　or　diluted　only　through　the　Persian；　he　had　prepared　a　grammar　and　begun　a　dictionary；　while　he　had　continually　used　its　great　epics　in　preaching　to　the　Brahmans；　as　Paul　had　quoted　the　Greek　poets　on　the　Areopagus。　　And　all　this　he　had　done　as　the　missionary　of　Christ　and　the　scholar　afterwards。　　Reporting　to　Ryland；　in　August　1800；　the　publication　of　the　Gospels　and　of　〃several　small　pieces〃　in　Bengali；　he　excused　his　irregularity　in　keeping　a　journal；　〃for　in　the　printing　I　have　to　look　over　the　copy　and　correct　the　press；　which　is　much　more　laborious　than　it　would　be　in　England；　because　spelling；　writing；　printing；　etc。；　in　Bengali　is　almost　a　new　thing；　and　we　have　in　a　manner　to　fix　the　orthography。〃　　A　little　later；　in　a　letter　to　Sutcliff；　he　used　language　regarding　the　sacred　books　of　the　Hindoos　which　finds　a　parallel　more　than　eighty　years　after　in　Professor　Max　M黮ler's　preface　to　his　series　of　the　sacred　books　of　the　East；　the　translation　of　which　Carey　was　the　first　to　plan　and　to　begin　from　the　highest　of　all　motives。　　Mr。　Max　M黮ler　calls　attention　to　the　〃real　mischief　that　has　been　and　is　still　being　done　by　the　enthusiasm　of　those　pioneers　who　have　opened　the　first　avenues　through　the　bewildering　forests　of　the　sacred　literature　of　the　East。〃　He　declares　that　〃Eastern　nations　themselves　would　not　tolerate；　in　any　of　their　classical　literary　compositions；　such　violations　of　the　simplest　rules　of　taste　as　they　have　accustomed　themselves　to　tolerate；　if　not　to　admire；　in　their　sacred　books。〃　And　he　is　compelled　to　leave　untranslated；　while　he　apologises　for　them；　the　frequent　allusions　to　the　sexual　aspects　of　nature；　〃particularly　in　religious　books。〃　　The　revelations　of　the　Maharaj　trial　in　Bombay　are　the　practical　fruit　of　all　this。

〃CALCUTTA；　17th　March　1802。I　have　been　much　astonished　lately　at　the　malignity　of　some　of　the　infidel　opposers　of　the　Gospel；　to　see　how　ready　they　are　to　pick　every　flaw　they　can　in　the　inspired　writings；　and　even　to　distort　the　meaning；　that　they　may　make　it　appear　inconsistent；　while　these　very　persons　will　labour　to　reconcile　the　grossest　contradictions　in　the　writings　accounted　sacred　by　the　Hindoos；　and　will　stoop　to　the　meanest　artifices　in　order　to　apologise　for　the　numerous　glaring　falsehoods　and　horrid　violations　of　all　decency　and　decorum；　which　abound　in　almost　every　page。　　Any　thing；　it　seems；　will　do　with　these　men　but　the　word　of　God。　They　ridicule　the　figurative　language　of　Scripture；　but　will　run　allegory…mad　in　support　of　the　most　worthless　productions　that　ever　were　published。　　I　should　think　it　time　lost　to　translate　any　of　them；　and　only　a　sense　of　duty　excites　me　to　read　them。　　An　idea；　however；　of　the　advantage　which　the　friends　of　Christianity　may　obtain　by　having　these　mysterious　sacred　nothings　（which　have　maintained　their　celebrity　so　long　merely　by　being　kept　from　the　inspection　of　any　but　interested　Brahmans）　exposed　to　view；　has　induced　me；　among　other　things；　to　write　the　Sanskrit　grammar；　and　to　begin　a　dictionary　of　that　language。　　I　sincerely　pity　the　poor　people；　who　are　held　by　the　chains　of　an　implicit　faith　in　the　grossest　of　lies；　and　can　scarcely　help　despising　the　wretched　infidel　who　pleads　in　their　favour　and　tries　to　vindicate　them。　　I　have　long　wished　to　obtain　a　copy　of　the　Veda；　and　am　now　in　hopes　I　shall　be　ab