the life of william carey-第60章

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The　Ooriya　version　was　almost　the　first　to　be　undertaken　after　the　Bengali；　to　which　language　it　bears　the　same　relation　as　rural　Scotch　to　English；　though　it　has　a　written　character　of　its　own。　What　is　now　the　Orissa　division　of　Bengal；　separating　it　from　Madras　to　the　south…west；　was　added　to　the　empire　in　1803。　　This　circumstance；　and　the　fact　that　its　Pooree　district；　after　centuries　of　sun…worship　and　then　shiva…worship；　had　become　the　high…place　of　the　vaishnava　cult　of　Jaganath　and　his　car；　which　attracted　and　often　slew　hundreds　of　thousands　of　pilgrims　every　year；　led　Carey　to　prepare　at　once　for　the　press　the　Ooriya　Bible。　　The　chief　pundit；　Mritunjaya；　skilled　in　both　dialects；　first　adapted　the　Bengali　version　to　the　language　of　the　Ooriyas；　which　was　his　own。　Carey　then　took　the　manuscript；　compared　it　with　the　original　Greek；　and　corrected　it　verse　by　verse。　　The　New　Testament　was　ready　in　1809；　and　the　Old　Testament　in　1815；　the　whole　in　four　volumes。　Large　editions　were　quickly　bought　up　and　circulated。　　These　led　to　the　establishment　of　the　General　Baptist　Society's　missionaries　at　Cuttak；　the　capital。

In　1814　the　Serampore　Bible　translation　college；　as　we　may　call　it；　began　the　preparation　of　the　New　Testament　in　Maghadi；　another　of　the　languages　allied　to　the　Bengali；　and　derived　from　the　Sanskrit　through　the　Pali；　because　that　was　the　vernacular　of　Buddhism　in　its　original　seat；　an　edition　of　1000　copies　appeared　in　1824。　　It　was　intended　to　publish　a　version　in　the　Maithili　language　of　Bihar；　which　has　a　literature　stretching　back　to　the　fourteenth　century；　that　every　class　might　have　the　Word　of　God　in　their　own　dialect。　But　Carey's　literary　enthusiasm　and　scholarship　had　by　this　time　done　so　much　to　develop　and　extend　the　power　of　Bengali　proper；　that　it　had　begun　to　supersede　all　such　dialects；　except　Ooriya　and　the　northern　vernaculars　of　the　valley　of　the　Brahmapootra。　　In　1810　the　Serampore　press　added　the　Assamese　New　Testament　to　its　achievements。　　In　1819　the　first　edition　appeared；　in　1826　the　province　became　British；　and　in　1832　Carey　had　the　satisfaction　of　issuing　the　Old　Testament；　and　setting　apart　Mr。　Rae；　a　Scottish　soldier；　who　had　settled　there；　as　the　first　missionary　at　Gowhatti。　To　these　must　be　added；　as　in　the　Bengali　character　though　non…Aryan　languages；　versions　in　Khasi　and　Manipoori；　the　former　for　the　democratic　tribes　of　the　Khasia　hills　among　whom　the　Welsh　Calvinists　have　since　worked；　and　the　latter　for　the　curious　Hindoo　snake…people　on　the　border　of　Burma；　who　have　taught　Europe　the　game　of　polo。

Another　immediate　successor　of　the　Bengali　translation　was　the　Marathi；　of　which　also　Carey　was　professor　in　the　College　of　Fort　William。　　By　1804　he　was　himself　hard　at　work　on　this　version；　by　1811　the　first　edition　of　the　New　Testament　appeared；　and　by　1820　the　Old　Testament　left　the　press。　　It　was　in　a　dialect　peculiar　to　Nagpoor；　and　was　at　first　largely　circulated　by　Lieutenant　Moxon　in　the　army　there。　　In　1812　Carey　sent　the　missionary　Aratoon　to　Bombay　and　Surat　just　after　Henry　Martyn　had　written　that　the　only　Christian　in　the　city　who　understood　his　evangelical　sermon　was　a　ropemaker　just　arrived　from　England。　　At　the　same　time　he　was　busy　with　a　version　in　the　dialect　of　the　Konkan；　the　densely…peopled　coast　district　to　the　south　of　Bombay　city；　inhabited　chiefly　by　the　ablest　Brahmanical　race　in　India。　　In　1819　the　New　Testament　appeared　in　this　translation；　having　been　under　preparation　at　Serampore　for　eleven　years。　　Thus　Carey　sought　to　turn　to　Christ　the　twelve　millions　of　Hindoos　who；　from　Western　India　above　and　below　the　great　coast…range　known　as　the　Sahyadri　or　〃delectable〃　mountains；　had　nearly　wrested　the　whole　peninsula　from　the　Mohammedans；　and　had　almost　anticipated　the　life…giving　rule　of　the　British；　first　at　Panipat　and　then　as　Assye。　　Meanwhile　new　missionaries　had　been　taking　possession　of　those　western　districts　where　the　men　of　Serampore　had　sowed　the　first　seed　and　reaped　the　first　fruits。　　The　charter　of　1813　made　it　possible　for　the　American　Missionaries　to　land　there；　and　for　the　local　Bible　Society　to　spring　into　existence。　　Dr。　John　Wilson　and　his　Scottish　colleagues　followed　them。　　Carey　and　his　brethren　welcomed　these　and　retired　from　that　field；　confining　themselves　to　providing；　during　the　next　seven　years；　a　Goojarati　version　for　the　millions　of　Northern　Bombay；　including　the　hopeful　Parsees；　and　resigning　that；　too；　to　the　London　Missionary　Society　after　issuing　the　New　Testament　in　1820。

Mr。　Christopher　Anderson　justly　remarks；　in　his　Annals　of　the　English　Bible；　published　half　a　century　ago：〃Time　will　show；　and　in　a　very　singular　manner；　that　every　version；　without　exception；　which　came　from　Carey's　hands；　has　a　value　affixed　to　it　which　the　present　generation；　living　as　it　were　too　near　an　object；　is　not　yet　able　to　estimate　or　descry。　　Fifty　years　hence　the　character　of　this　extraordinary　and　humble　man　will　be　more　correctly　appreciated。〃

In　none　of　the　classes　of　languages　derived　from　the　Sanskrit　was　the　zeal　of　Carey　and　his　associates　so　remarkable　as　in　the　Hindi。　So　early　as　1796　he　wrote　of　this　the　most　widely　extended　offspring　of　the　Sanskrit：〃I　have　acquired　so　much　of　the　Hindi　as　to　converse　in　it　and　preach　for　some　time　intelligibly。。。It　is　the　current　language　of　all　the　west　from　Rajmahal　to　Delhi；　and　perhaps　farther。　　With　this　I　can　be　understood　nearly　all　over　Hindostan。〃　By　the　time　that　he　issued　the　sixth　memoir　of　the　translations　Chamberlain's　experiences　in　North…Western　India　led　Carey　to　write　that　he　had　ascertained　the　existence　of　twenty　dialects　of　Hindi；　with　the　same　vocabulary　but　different　sets　of　terminations。　　The　Bruj　or　Brijbhasa　Gospels　were　finished　in　1813；　two　years　after　Chamberlain　had　settled　in　Agra；　and　the　New　Testament　was　completed　nine　years　after。　　This　version　of　the　Gospels　led　the　Brahman　priest；　Anand　Masih；　to　Christ。　　In　their　eagerness　for　a　copy　of　the　Old　Testament；　which　appeared　in　1818；　many　Sepoys　brought　testimonials　from　their　commanding　officers；　and　in　one　year　it　led　eighteen　converts　to　Christ。　　The　other　Hindi　dialects；　in　which　the　whole　New　Testament　or　the　Gospels　appeared；　will　be　found　at　page　177　｛see　footnote　number　16｝。　　The　parent　Hindi　translation　was　made　by　Carey　with　his　own　hand　from　the　original　languages　between　1802　and　1807；　and　ran　through　many　large　editions　till　Mr。　Chamberlain's　was　preferred　by　Carey　himself　in　1819。

We　may　pass　over　the　story　of　the　Dravidian　versions；　the　Telugoo20　New　Testament　and　Pentateuch；　and　the　Kanarese。　　Nor　need　we　do　more　than　refer　to　the　Singhalese；　〃derived　from　the　previous　labours　of　Dr。　Carey〃　by　Tolfrey；　the　Persian；　Malayalam；　and　other　versions　made　by　others；　but　edited　or　carefully　carried　through　the　press　by　Carey。　　The　wonderful　tale　of　his　Bible　work　is　well　illustrated　by　a　man　who；　next　to　the　Lawrences；　was　the　greatest　Englishman　who　has　governed　the　Punjab　frontier；　the　hero　of　Mr。　Ruskin's　book；　A　Knight's　Faith。　　In　that　portion　of　his　career　which　Sir　Herbert　Edwardes　gave　to　the　world　under　the　title　of　A　Year　on　the　Punjab　Frontier　in　1848…49；　and　in　which　he　describes　his　bloodless　conquest　of　the　wild　valley　of　Bunnoo；　we　find　this　gem　embedded。　The　writer　was　at　the　time　in　the　Gundapoor　country；　of　which　Kulachi　is　the　trade…centre　between　the　Afghan　pass　of　Ghwalari　and　Dera　Ismail　Kan；　where　the　dust　of　Sir　Henry　Durand　now　lies：

〃A　highly　interesting　circumstance　connected　with　the　Indian　trade　came　under　my　notice。　　Ali　Khan；　Gundapoor；　the　uncle　of　the　present　chief；　Goold鈊　Khan；　told　me　he　could　remember　well；　as　a　youth；　being　sent　by　his　father　and　elder　brother　with　a　string　of　Cabul　horses　to　the　fair　of　Hurdw鈘；　on　the　Ganges。　　He　also　showed　me　a　Pushtoo　version　of　the　Bible；　printed　at　Serampore　in　1818；　which　he　said　had　been　given　him　thirty　years　before　at　Hurdw鈘　by　an　English　gentleman；　who　told　him　to　'take　care　of　it；　and　neither　fling　it　into　the　fire　nor　the　river；　but　hoard　it　up　against　the　day　when　the　British　should　be　rulers　of　his　country！'　　Ali　Khan　said　little　to　anybody　of　his　possessing　this　book；　but　put　it　carefully　by　in　a　line