the life of william carey-第56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！


ey　and　most　honoured　their　names　that　break　the　ice　and　give　the　onset　in　that　which　helped　them　forward　to　the　saving　of　souls。　　Now　what　can　be　more　available　thereto　than　to　deliver　God's　book　unto　God's　people　in　a　tongue　which　they　understand？'〃　　Carey　might　tolerate　interruption　when　engaged　in　other　work；　but　for　forty　years　he　never　allowed　anything　to　shorten　the　time　allotted　to　the　Bible　work。　〃You；　madam；〃　he　wrote　in　1797　to　a　lady　as　to　many　a　correspondent；　〃will　excuse　my　brevity　when　I　inform　you　that　all　my　time　for　writting　letters　is　stolen　from　the　work　of　transcribing　the　Scriptures　into　the　Bengali　language。〃

》From　no　mere　humility；　but　with　an　accurate　judgment　in　the　state　of　scholarship　and　criticism　at　the　opening　of　last　century；　Carey　always　insisted　that　he　was　a　forerunner；　breaking　up　the　way　for　successors　like　Yates；　Wenger；　and　Rouse；　who；　in　their　turn；　must　be　superseded　by　purely　native　Tyndales　and　Luthers　in　the　Church　of　India。　　He　more　than　once　deprecated　the　talk　of　his　having　translated　the　Bible　into　forty　languages　and　dialects。16　As　we　proceed　that　will　be　a　apparent　which　he　did　with　his　own　hand；　that　which　his　colleagues　accomplished；　that　which　he　revised　and　edited　both　of　their　work　and　of　the　pundits'；　and　that　which　he　corrected　and　printed　for　others　at　the　Serampore　press　under　the　care　of　Ward。　It　is　to　these　four　lines　of　work；　which　centred　in　him；　as　most　of　them　originally　proceeded　from　his　conception　and　advocacy；　that　the　assertion　as　to　the　forty　translations　is　strictly　applicable。　　The　Bengali；　Hindi；　Marathi；　and　Sanskrit　translations　were　his　own。　　The　Chinese　was　similarly　the　work　of　Marshman。　　The　Hindi　versions；　in　their　many　dialects；　and　the　Ooriya；　were　blocked　out　by　his　colleagues　and　the　pundits。　　He　saw　through　the　press　the　Hindostani；　Persian；　Malay；　Tamil；　and　other　versions　of　the　whole　or　portions　of　the　Scriptures。　　He　ceased　not；　night　and　day；　if　by　any　means；　with　a　loving　catholicity；　the　Word　of　God　might　be　given　to　the　millions。

Writing　in　1904　on　the　centenary　of　the　British　and　Foreign　Bible　Society；　Mr。　George　A。　Grierson；　C。I。E。；　Ph。D。；　D。Litt。；　the　head　of　the　Linguistic　Survey　of　India；　sums　up　authoritatively　the　work　of　Carey　and　his　assistants。　〃The　great…hearted　band　of　Serampore　missionaries　issued　translations　of　the　Bible　or　of　the　New　Testament　in　more　than　forty　languages。　　Before　them　the　number　of　Protestant　versions　of　the　Bible　in　the　speeches　of　India　could　be　counted　on　the　fingers　of　one　hand。　　The　Dutch　of　Ceylon　undertook　a　Tamil　New　Testament　in　1688；　which　was　followed　in　1715　by　another　version　from　the　pen　of　Ziegenbalg。　　The　famous　missionary；　Schultze；　between　1727　and　1732　made　a　Telugu　version　which　was　never　printed；　and　later；　between　1745　and　1758；　he　published　at　Halle　a　Hindostani　translation　of　the　New　Testament　and　of　a　portion　of　Genesis。　　A　manuscript　version　of　portions　of　the　Bible　in　Bengali　was　made　by　Thomas　in　1791；　and　then　the　great　Serampore　series　began　with　Carey's　Bengali　New　Testament　published　in　1801。　Most　of　these　Serampore　versions　were；　it　is　true；　first　attempts　and　have　been　superseded　by　more　accurate　versions；　but　the　first　step　is　always　the　most　important　one；　and　this　was　taken　by　Carey　and　his　brethren。〃

Carey's　correspondent　in　this　and　purely　scholarly　subjects　was　Dr。　Ryland；　an　accomplished　Hebraist　and　Biblical　critic　for　that　day；　at　the　head　of　the　Bristol　College。　　Carey's　letters；　plentifully　sprinkled　with　Hebrew　and　Greek；　show　the　jealousy　with　which　he　sought　to　convey　the　divine　message　accurately；　and　the　unwearied　sense　of　responsibility　under　which　he　worked。　　Biblical　criticism；　alike　as　to　the　original　text　and　to　the　exegesis　of　the　sacred　writings；　is　so　very　modern　a　science；　that　these　letters　have　now　only　a　historical　interest。　　But　this　communication　to　Ryland　shows　how　he　worked　from　the　first：

〃CALCUTTA；　14th　Dec。　1803。We　some　time　ago　engaged　in　an　undertaking；　of　which　we　intended　to　say　nothing　until　it　was　accomplished；　but　an　unforeseen　providence　made　it　necessary　for　us　to　disclose　it。　　It　is　as　follows：　About　a　year　and　a　half　ago；　some　attempts　were　made　to　engage　Mr。　Gilchrist　in　the　translation　of　the　Scriptures　into　the　Hindostani　language。　　By　something　or　other　it　was　put　by。　　The　Persian　was　also　at　the　same　time　much　talked　of；　but　given　up；　or　rather　not　engaged　in。　　At　this　time　several　considerations　prevailed　on　us　to　set　ourselves　silently　upon　a　translation　into　these　languages。　　We　accordingly　hired　two　moonshees　to　assist　us　in　it；　and　each　of　us　took　our　share；　Brother　Marshman　took　Matthew　and　Luke；　Brother　Ward；　Mark　and　John；　and　myself　the　remaining　part　of　the　New　Testament　into　Hindostani。　　I　undertook　no　part　of　the　Persian；　but；　instead　thereof；　engaged　in　translating　it　into　Maharastra；　commonly　called　the　Mahratta　language；　the　person　who　assists　me　in　the　Hindostani　being　a　Mahratta。　　Brother　Marshman　has　finished　Matthew；　and；　instead　of　Luke；　has　begun　the　Acts。　Brother　Ward　has　done　part　of　John；　and　I　have　done　the　Epistles；　and　about　six　chapters　of　the　Revelation；　and　have　proceeded　as　far　as　the　second　epistle　of　the　Corinthians　in　the　revisal：　they　have　done　a　few　chapters　into　Persian；　and　I　a　few　into　Mahratta。　　Thus　the　matter　stood；　till　a　few　days　ago　Mr。　Buchanan　informed　me　that　a　military　gentleman　had　translated　the　Gospels　into　Hindostani　and　Persian；　and　had　made　a　present　of　them　to　the　College；　and　that　the　College　Council　had　voted　the　printing　of　them。　　This　made　it　necessary　for　me　to　say　what　we　had　been　about；　and　had　it　not　been　for　this　circumstance　we　should　not　have　said　anything　till　we　had　got　the　New　Testament　at　least　pretty　forward　in　printing。　　I　am　very　glad　that　Major　Colebrooke　has　done　it。　　We　will　gladly　do　what　others　do　not　do；　and　wish　all　speed　to　those　who　do　anything　in　this　way。　　We　have　it　in　our　power；　if　our　means　would　do　for　it；　in　the　space　of　about　fifteen　years　to　have　the　word　of　God　translated　and　printed　in　all　the　languages　of　the　East。　Our　situation　is　such　as　to　furnish　us　with　the　best　assistance　from　natives　of　the　different　countries。　　We　can　have　types　of　all　the　different　characters　cast　here；　and　about　700　rupees　per　month；　part　of　which　I　hope　we　shall　be　able　to　furnish；　would　complete　the　work。　　The　languages　are　the　Hindostani　（Hindi）；　Maharastra；　Ooriya；　Telinga；　Bhotan；　Burman；　Chinese；　Cochin　Chinese；　Tongkinese；　and　Malay。　　On　this　great　work　we　have　fixed　our　eyes。　　Whether　God　will　enable　us　to　accomplish　it；　or　any　considerable　part　of　it；　is　uncertain。〃

But　all　these　advantages；　his　own　genius　for　languages；　his　unconquerable　plodding　directed　by　a　divine　motive；　his　colleagues'　co…operation；　the　encouragement　of　learned　societies　and　the　public；　and　the　number　of　pundits　and　moonshees　increased　by　the　College　of　Fort　William；　would　have　failed　to　open　the　door　of　the　East　to　the　sacred　Scriptures　had　the　philological　key　of　the　Sanskrit　been　wanting　or　undiscovered。　　In　the　preface　to　his　Sanskrit　grammar；　quoted　by　the　Quarterly　Review　with　high　approbation；　Carey　wrote　that　it　gave　him　the　meaning　of　four　out　of　every　five　words　of　the　principal　languages　of　the　whole　people　of　India：〃The　peculiar　grammar　of　any　one　of　these　may　be　acquired　in　a　couple　of　months；　and　then　the　language　lies　open　to　the　student。　　The　knowledge　of　four　words　in　five　enables　him　to　read　with　pleasure；　and　renders　the　acquisition　of　the　few　new　words；　as　well　as　the　idiomatic　expressions；　a　matter　of　delight　rather　than　of　labour。　　Thus　the　Ooriya；　though　possessing　a　separate　grammar　and　character；　is　so　much　like　the　Bengali　in　the　very　expression　that　a　Bengali　pundit　is　almost　equal　to　the　correction　of　an　Orissa　proof　sheet；　and　the　first　time　that　I　read　a　page　of　Goojarati　the　meaning　appeared　so　obvious　as　to　render　it　unnecessary　to　ask　the　pundit　questions。〃

The　mechanical　apparatus　of　types；　paper；　and　printing　seem　to　have　been　provided　by　the　same　providential　foresight　as　the　intellectual　and　the　spiritual。　　We　have　seen　how；　when　he　was　far　enough　advanced　in　his　translation；　Carey　amid　the　swamps　of　Dinapoor　looked　to　E