science of language, of Glottology, was reserved for the nineteenth century. To the student of the science of language, Professor Max Müller holds that languages which may be called jargons, such as are spoken by Mongol hordes and Polynesian savages, are equally, and even more useful than concentrated and perfected languages like Sanskrit and Greek, Latin and Hebrew. The comparisons made between Sanskrit and Greek are most interesting; the veriest schoolboy must feel that Sanskrit is not altogether a stranger when he conjugates the Sanskrit optative "syâm, syâs, syât, syâma, syâta, syus," or the future of the word "to be"-" syâmi, syasi, syati, syâmas, syâtha, syanti." The hundred thousand words of English, and indeed furthermore, the many hundred thousand words in all the dictionaries of other Aryan languages, have been reduced to about five hundred roots. What an interesting lexicon might be made of these noble old paternal words, which unconsciously to ourselves form the strength of the speech we daily utter! In time, perhaps, we shall drop off some of our slang corruptions, and be taught in the schools to employ such words by preference as show a clear pedigree up to an Aryan fountain head. Max Müller's letters in the Times, in defence of Germany, during the Danish and Franco-German wars, should not be forgotten; some of them have since been published with others by Mommsen, Strauss, and Carlyle. Though Max Müller has carefully abstained from any political partisanship, his sympathies are naturally with the Liberal party of Oxford. He would have the vast resources of the University employed for high uses rather than in the support of sinecures. The following is from the Inaugural Lecture delivered immediately after his assumption of the Professorial chair, which he now occupies: "Noblesse oblige' is an old saying that is sometimes addressed to those who have inherited an illus trious name, and who are proud of their ancestors. But what are the ancestors of the oldest and proudest of families compared with the ancestors of this University! Noblesse oblige' applies to Oxford at the present moment more than ever, when knowledge, for its own sake, and a chivalrous devotion to studies which command no price in the fair of the world, and lead to no places of emolument in Church or State, are looked down upon and ridiculed by almost everybody. "There is no career in England at the present time for scholars and students. No father could honestly advise his son, whatever talent he might display, to devote himself exclusively to classical, historical, or physical studies. The few men who still keep up the fair name of England by independent research and new discoveries in the fields of political and natural history, do not always come from our Universities; and, unless they possess independent means, they cannot devote more than their leisure hours, left by their official duties in Church or State, to the prosecution of their favourite studies. This ought not to be; nor need it be so. . . . If only twenty men in Oxford and Cambridge had the will, everything is ready for a reform-that is, for a restoration of the ancient glory of Oxford. The funds which are scattered away in socalled prize-fellowships would enable the Universities to-morrow to invite the best talent of England back to its legitimate home. Why should not a Fellowship be made into a career for life, beginning with little, but rising like the incomes of the other professions? Why should the grotesque condition of celibacy be imposed on a Fellowship, instead of the really salutary condition of no work no pay? Why should not some special literary and scientific work be assigned to each Fellow, whether resident in Oxford or sent abroad on scientific missions? Why, instead of having fifty young men scattered about in England, should we not have ten of the best workers in every branch of human knowledge resident at Oxford, whether as teachers, or as guides, or as examples?" The reason that meets these pertinent queries is the shameful one that Oxford is of the world, and that in the world's ways the ideally best must hide its shamefaced beauty before the power of position, the scorn of vested interests, the laziness of the luxurious, the intrigues of selfseekers, the worshippers of material prestige. Professor Müller's works are especially wholesome in that they show a real religious feeling in their author, a modest and not an arrogant faith. In his lecture on Missions, to which we have already referred, he said: "There is one kind of faith that revels in words, there is another that can hardly find utterance; the former is like riches that come to us by inheritance, the latter is like the daily bread which each of us has to win in the sweat of his brow. We cannot expect the former from new converts; we ought not to expect it or to exact it, for fear it might lead to hypocrisy or superstition. The mere believing of miracles, the mere repeating of formulas, requires no efforts in converts brought up to believe in the Purânas of the Brahmans or the Buddhist Gâtakas. They find it much easier to accept a legend than to love God, to repeat a creed than to forgive their enemies. In this respect they are exactly like ourselves. Let missionaries remember that the Christian faith at home is no longer what it was, and that it is impossible to have one creed to preach abroad, another to preach at home. Much that was formerly considered as essential is now neglected; much that was formerly neglected is now considered essential. I think of the laity more than the clergy, but what would the clergy be without the laity? There are many of our best men, men of the greatest power and influence in literature, science, art, politics, ay, even in the Church itself, who are no longer Christians in the old sense of the word. Some imagine they have ceased to be Christians altogether, because they feel that they cannot believe as much as others profess to believe. We cannot afford to lose these men, nor shall we lose them if we learn to be satisfied with what satisfies Christ and the Apostles, with what satisfies many a hard-working missionary. If Christianity is to retain its hold on Europe and America, if it is to conquer in the Holy War of the future, it must throw off its heavy armour, the helmet of brass and the coat of mail, and face the world like David, with his staff, his stone, and his sling. We want less of creeds, but more of trust; less of ceremony, but more of work; less of solemnity, but more of genial honesty; less of doctrine, but more of love. There is a faith, as small as a grain of mustard-seed, but that grain alone can move mountains, and more than that, it can move hearts. Whatever the world may say of us, of us of little faith, let us remember that there was one who accepted the offering of the poor widow. She threw in but two mites, but that was all she had, even all her living." Max Müller is not a believer in the general origin of language being found in the rude imitation of sounds. There are a few names in every language formed in this way, but the theory will account for but very few of the most ordinary roots. The same question arises with regard to religion. The question of the origin of religious conceptions is very exhaustively discussed in Professor Max Müller's latest and considerable contribution to literature and philology, the Hibbert Lectures, delivered in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey during the spring months of the present year. These discourses manifest the ripe scholar drawing his conclusions, and are deeply interesting and suggestive. The subject of the seven lectures was "The Origin and Growth of Religion, as illustrated by the Religions of India," and amongst the audience were eminent men of widely differing schools of thought. Max Müller's question, "Whence comes that something else which neither sense nor reason can supply?" is one that has not been fairly met by the sensualistic, or agnostic, or negative schools of the day. Religion is an aspiration, fetichism is a corruption; this is an assertion for the truth of which we have at least the support of instinct. We append a list of the works of Professor Max Müller, which may be convenient for reference. The publication of these, it will be observed, extends over the space of more than a third of a century. A good working life this in length, to say nothing of the very large amount of work done in the time; but nevertheless, we may reasonably believe, as well as hope, that Max Müller has yet much more to do for us. 1. HITOPADESA, eine alte indische Fabelsammung, aus dem Sanskrit zum ersten Mal in das Deutsche übersetzt. Leipzig (Brockhaus), 1844. 2. Meghadûta, oder der Wolkenbote, eine altindische elegie, dem Kalidâsa nachgedichtet und mit Anmerkungen begleitet. Königsberg (Samter), 1847. 3. ON THE RELATION OF THE BENGALI TO THE ARIAN AND ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES OF INDIA. (Three Linguistic Dissertations, read at the meeting of the British Association in Oxford, by Chevalier Bunsen, Charles Meyer, and Max Müller.) London, 1847. (Out of print.) 4. THE LANGUAGES OF THE SEAT OF WAR IN THE EAST, with a Survey of the Three Families of Languages, Semitic, Arian, and Turanian. Second edition. London, 1855. (Out of print.) 5. PROPOSALS FOR A MISSIONARY ALPHABET, submitted to the Alphabetical Conference held at the residence of Chevalier Bunsen, Jan., 1854. London. 6. LETTER ON THE TURANIAN LANGUAGES to Chevalier Bunsen, 1853. (In Bunsen's "Christianity and Mankind," vol. iii., pp. 263-521. London. 7. RIG-VEDA-SANHITA, the Sacred Hymns of the Brahmans, together with the Commentary of Sayanacharya, vol. i., 1849, pp. 1022, 4to.; vol. ii., 1854, pp. 1068; vol. iii., 1856, pp. 1044; vol. iv., 1862, pp. 1058; vol. v., 1872, pp. 1074; vol. vi., 1874, pp. 1246. 8. THE GERMAN CLASSICS, from the Fourth to the Nineteenth Century: containing extracts arranged chronologically, with Biographical Notices, Translations, and Notes. London: 1858. (Out of print.) 9. A HISTORY OF ANCIENT SANSKRIT LITERATURE, so far as illustrates the primitive religion of the Brahmas. 2nd edition, 1860. (Out of print.) 10. LECTURES ON THE SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE. 2 vols., 9th edition. London : 1877. 11. ON THE STRATIFICATION OF LANGUAGE. Rede Lecture, delivered at Cambridge. London 1868. (Translated by M. Havet into French in 1869.) :: 12. CHIPS FROM A GERMAN WORKSHOP, 4 vols. London : 1868-75. 13. HANDBOOKS FOR THE STUDY OF SANSKRIT. Edited by Max Müller, M.A. The Second, Third, and Fourth Books of the Hitopadesa: containing the The Sanskrit Text of the Second, Third, and Fourth Books. Sanskrit-English Dictionary, in Devanâgarî and Roman Letters throughout. A Sanskrit Grammar for Beginners, in Devanagari and Roman Letters 14. RIG-VEDA-PRÂTISÂKHYA, Das älteste Lehrbuch der Vedischen Phonetik. Sanskrit Text mit Übersetzung and Anmerkungen. Leipzig: 1869. 15. RIG-VEDA-SANHITA, The Sacred Hymns of the Brahmans. Translated and Explained. Vol. i., Hymns to the Maruts, or the Storm Gods. London: 1869. 16. THE HYMNS OF THE RIG-VEDA IN THE SAMHITA TEXT. Princeps. London : 1873. Reprinted from the Editio 17. THE HYMNS OF THE RIG-VEDA IN THE PADA TEXT. Reprinted from the Editio Princeps. London : 1873. (A Second Edition of these two, on parallel pages, appeared in 1877.) 18. LECTURES ON THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION, with Two Essays on False Analogies and the Philosophy of Mythology. London: 1873. 19. ON MISSIONS. A Lecture Delivered in Westminster Abbey. an Introductory Sermon by A. P. Stanley, D.D., Dean of Westminster. 20. LETTERS ON THE WAR BETWEEN GERMANY AND FRANCE. Strauss, Max Müller, and Carlyle. London : 1871. Dec. 3, 1873, with London: 1873. By Mommsen, 21. SCHILLER'S BRIEFWECHSEL MIT DEM HERZOG FRIEDRICH CHRISTIAN VON SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-AUGUSTENBURG. Berlin: 1875. 22. DIE RESULTATE DER SPRACHWISSENSCHAFT. Strasburg: 3rd edit. 1875. 23. LECTURES ON MR. DARWIN'S PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. In Fraser's Magazine, 1873. 24. BUDDHAGHOSHA'S PARABLES, with an Introduction containing Buddha's DHAMMAPADA. Translated from Pali by Max Müller. 1870. (Out of print.) 25. THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF RELIGION, as illustrated by the Religions of India. (In the Press.) EPIGRAM.-A DILEMMA. ""Tis weary living here on earth below; Heaven's stars we shine, who on earth's darksome wold Good friend, I would not seek to spoil your hymn, But if, at radiance dimmed, faint tendrils failed In this world's nursery-ground whence heaven is veiled, How shall they bear Light's central flash? You blinked your Eyes at my question harsh! From out the cincture That holds the child as yet untaught to walk Dare you emerge, on heights unknown to stalk? |