Current Literature [pp. 97-104]

CURRENT LITERA TURE.
CURRENT LITERATURE.
ORIENTAL AND LINGUISTIC STUDIES. THE
VEDA; THE AVESTA; THE SCIENCE OF
LANGUAGE. By William Dwight Whit ney. New York: Scribner, Armstrong &
Co.
The various papers comprised in this vol ume were originally published in different
reviews-principally the North Ameriican or were contributed to the American Philo logical Association, by Mr. Whitney, Profes sor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology in
Yale College. In this valuable work, the
author reveals not only his intimate familiarity, but his fervent fellowship, with Oriental
study. The first chapters are devoted to the
Vedas-in contradistinction to the Vedaand to the Vedic doctrine of a Future Life.
After a summary view of the single Vedas,
he considers the general questions relative to
their composition and history; questions too
obscure, for the most part, to admit of satisfactory solution. From this he passes on to
a comprehensive statement of the main results
which the Vedas have contributed to the history of ancient and modern India, in the geographical and social relations exhibited by
these books. He describes, in detail, the
main features of the Vedic religion, graphically picturing the more prominent and important deities, divinities, and personifications. The Vedic doctrine of a Future Life
-transmigration-is clearly and summarily
set forth. It is, in substance, the present
popular doctrine of Evolution, inasmuch as
it teaches that the present life is but one of
an infinite series of existences through which
each individual soul is destined to pass; that
death is but the termination of one, and the
entrance upon another; that all life is one
essence; that there is no fundamental difference between the vital principle of a human
being and that of any other living creature;
and that the soul, in its progress toward the
final consummation of its existence, is liable
to experience all forms of life.
Several chapters are devoted to a review
and criticism of Muller's History of Alnzcient
Sanskrit Literature, his Rig- Veda-Szanhit a,
and his Lectures on the Scieznce of Language,
in which that accomplished scholar is rather
severely handled. While the author indulges
in no running-fire of abuse against this noted
philologist, there is an occasional spasmodic
5ronzunzcianziento, or splenetic jeu d'eslrit
like the following, where, in a summary disposal of Muller's Rig-Veda translation, he
says: "On the whole, we hardly know a vol ume of which the make- up is more unfortu nate and ill-judged, more calculated to baffle
the reasonable hopes of him who resorts to it,
than the first volume of Muller's so-called
'translation' of the Rig-Veda. If the obligation of its title be at all insisted on, at least
three -quarters of its contents are to be condemned as'padding.'" Mr. Muller having
survived the "nitro - glycerine mine" which
Kavanagh essayed to spring at the very
foundation of his theorizing, in his Oriin of
Langz,age and3j',ths, it will not be surprising
to know that he still lives after this fresh
bombardment. Professor Whitney speaks
with much warmth of the amount of harm
done by Muller in inculcating false views
and obstructing better light; while, at the
same time, he admits the admirable service
rendered by him to the cause of linguistics,
by the spread of information, and the awakening of a spirit of appreciation an(l love in
a very large class of readers. The former
influence, however, he believes tends more
and more to preponderate over the latter.
An authoritative record of the religion of
the Persians may be gathered from a singularly interesting article on "The Avesta."
The subject is handled with great thoroughness, as well as conciseness; and the review
is a valuable repertory of carefully-collated
facts in regard to the history and present condition of Zoroastrian scriptures, together with
a critical tracing of the course of European
studies upon them. The first task of Zoroastrian study-namely, the selection of proper traditional material-the author deems to
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