The Ilielory of Indian Literature. By Albrecht Weber. Translated from
the second German edition by John Mann, M.A., and Theodor 2achariae, Ph.D. (Triibner and Co.)—The reappearance of Pro. fewer Weber's valuable work, revised and with supplementary notes, will be welcomed by the students of Oriental literature everywhere. It gives evidence of the most painstaking researeh over a wide field. A brief indication of its Scope is all that can be attempted here. The Professor treats of the two great epochs into which Indian literature divides itself, namely, the Vedic and the Sanskrit. Four Vedas, comprised in the first period, have to be distinguished, namely, Rig Veda, Skala Veda, the Yahus Veda, and the Atharva Veda; those,
again, having three subdivisions, Sainhitti, 13rtihmana, and Stitra. The Samhitg, (or collection) of "songs of the Rik is a lyrical collection, traceable to the remote period preceding the emigration southward of the Hindus; those they brought with them from the banks of the tufts, their ancient holm). These songs breathe the spirit of a froo people, a childlike love of nature, and a robust faith and simplicity. They had their origin among a race of nomads, in a time in which there was no priestly caste,—no caste at all, in fact. The father of each family among this patriarchal community was himself the priest in his own house, kindling the sacred fire, &c. Women held a position very different from the enslaved condition of later ages. The wife had her slotre in the government of tho household. But this strength and independence of character became gradually less and lose marked, partly, no doubt, from the enervating influence of climate on these hardy tribes, as also owing to the development. of the priestly power. In the time of the Atharva Veda, remarks Professor Weber, wo
see a people dreading the evil powers, and a prey to superstition. The Buddhist cult obtained, it seems, a strong hold over some kindred tribes who refused subwiission to Brahmanioal tyranny, and this re- sistance to priestly pretensions on their part accounts for the fact that toleration was then a matter of necessity. In the period of the Brtillmanas, we find evidence of the state of culture then existing, by the inclition of the transmigration of souls, in the "Vr,ihad-Aranyaka." This was in Mann's time. The second, or Sanskrit, period marks the epoch when the language of the educated disconnected itself from the vernacular or ancient Indo-Aryan language ; it was a refined lan- guage, distinct from the Prgkitic dialects spoken by the people. The advance in the study of grammar, the greater precision of the rules laid down, had the effect of alienating the language of the educated class from that spoken by the mass of the people. It is inter- esting to note that in time, thew popular dialects also produced literatures of their own, mainly under the influence of the Bud- dhist religion, its scriptures and records being compiled in the popular idiom. Important evidence of this exists in certain rock inscriptions, found in the Gujorat peninsula, &o. The most competent authorities refer the date of these to abeut the
third century B.C. l.t is noteworthy that architecture received a very remarkable development at the hands of the Buddhists. In some very ancient Hindoo temples, Greek influence is obvious. In Professor Weber's comprehensive work, the rise of the epic, the drama, are treated of, as are also the growth of medical science, of astronomy, philosophy, &c. The book is furnished with a Sanskrit index, as well as a general one.
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