4.82 M. Langlison Wilson's Sanscrit- English Dictionary. [Jan. 1^ 



♦•ricnial and classital cru«l)1ion to a pro- 

 i'uifridknowleda;*^: of tlieSiiiiscri), the Ben- 

 galee, the PeiKiaii, the Arabic, and tlic 

 iirincipal dead and livin"- hniRiiages of 

 j''urope. AltliotrijhnolliinK could bcmoie 

 foreign to the natnrc of his undertaking 

 Ihan poetic lalciU, I cannot here refrain 

 from expressing my exalted idea of the 

 poetic talent of IMr. Wilson, from h>s 

 excellent nnd tlcgant translation in 

 >ersc of the >Sanserit poem of Calidasa, 

 Megha Dicta, or the Cloud Messenger.* 

 ^')ie vai'iety of cpiotations spread through 

 the numerous notes, display the scholar 

 of rcGned taste and profound erudition. 

 If such a rare union of talent be not 

 necessary for the compilation of a dic- 

 tionary, they will at least contribute to 

 its perfection. In fact, although the 

 ■>vork of M\. Wilson is the first of its 

 Jcind, wc easily discover in it the hand 

 «f the master; and I liesitate not to 

 j)ronouncc his first essay a real chrf- 

 ^'mtvre, for I have every reason to bc- 

 Jieve that the dic-tionary is extremely 

 rorrcctj every word is presented tuider 

 all the nindificatfons and all the varia- 

 lions of which it is susceptible, its diffe- 

 rent significations nrc carefully cmimc- 

 raled. In trutl), I should have wished 

 examples to have accompanied the pre- 

 cept, nnd these could not fail to present 

 Iheniselves, in an immense -variety, to so 

 Jearned an orientalist as ^Ir. Wilson, 

 •who is so familiar with the best works 

 in the Sanscrit, as I perceive by Uie 

 abridgment of the title.* ohly, of works 

 •inotcd in almost every article. These 

 jr;fercntH'.'; may supply the want of ex- 



iias chosen to adopt it, and ako to ex- 

 cuse himself from giving the proniiticia- 

 tion of the Sanscrit words, which would 

 have been very agreeable to many per- 

 sons not familiar with that language, 

 but who are fond of the philosophical 

 study of languages in general, or wh-* 

 prosecute researches on the religion, th« 

 geography, and tire history of India. 

 Indeed this addition would not have 

 been without its value, even for those 

 who can read the Devanagary character, 

 which is ])rincipally made use of in wri- 

 ting Sanscrit. 'J'hc types employed in 

 printing this dictionary are, if I maj 

 be allowed the expression, microscopic^ 

 especially in the explanations ; an<t, 

 whether it arises from the imperfection 

 in the engiaving of them, or careless 

 press-work, certain phala, or groui)es, do 

 mand the greater attention of tl»c readei:, 

 as they only present isolated words, ans^ 

 sometimes only parts of words. Thes* 

 slight inconveniences are doubtless at- 

 tributable to the autlior's wish to com* 

 priso his work within the sniallest 

 bounds, and nevertheless- it will com- 

 pose 1000 pages of closely printed large 

 quarto, in double, if we may judge frona 

 the first 300 pages, which I alreadj 

 possess, and which I owe to the kind- 

 ness of my learned friend, Capt. Lacket, 

 professor of Arabic at the College of 

 Tort William, and author of an cxccU 

 lent Arabic Grammiir printed at Cal- 

 cutta,* 'I'ho 300 pages I possess 

 conipriso tlio 16 yowcls, and the first 

 four of the 34 consonants of the Deva- 

 nagary alphabet ; these 50 letters ai'^ 

 amnles, for those who have the means of susccptiblo of from 700 to 800 combina- 



«ousnlliiig the original text. This plan 

 adopted by the most laborious and the 

 most c<-ii"br;»tcd of oriental lexicogra- 

 f hers, Mduunid Castello, in his admira- 

 ble Heplaglol, Dictionary, has the great 

 advxiitagc of considerably reducing the 

 fci'/c of tlie work ; and it was uiiduubt- 

 cdiy on this account that Air. Wilson 



♦ Tlie Mciilia Dicta, or Cloud Messen- 

 ger, a pociii in the .S;inscrlt laiiRiiage, by 

 t'alida^a, triinslated info English verse, 

 Willi notPs and ilUisliatioiis, by Horace 

 liavuian Wilson, &;c. Jtu. Calcutta, 1813. 

 <:aridasa, cue of the most celebrated In. 

 <ii:ui poets, was coteiaporary with Amara 

 4iiul>a:\ie was one of the nine poets who 

 formed the ornaiiieni of tl'C court of Vicra- 

 i)i:nlitya, who must not be confounded, 

 with whose death forms the Indian era, 

 siiniamed Siuubat, who died IJ.C. 5«i ; and 

 ve pert-eive by the piccedin!: note, that 

 ihe Vicriiuiadity* liouiiiheU al moit 1000 

 ycais iiiice. 



lions, which form as many ligatures or 

 groupcs, more or less complicated, call- 

 ed Pliala. 



* The Mint Amil and Shnrtioo Mint 

 Amil, two elementary treatises on Arabic 

 Evntav, Sec. Tho examples and select 

 anecdotes which Capt. Lacket has added 

 to his translation of this Arabic treatise oh 

 grammar, renders his work far superior !» 

 any other Arabic Grammar hitherto ptiU- 

 lishcd. His grave predecessors drown a 

 few rare, and absolutely insiguificant, 

 examples, in an ocean of misplaced erudi- 

 tion and nietapliysical granmiar. Mr. 

 Lacket has put his grammar in action, the 

 short examples are well selected, and the 

 anecdotes highly amus-ing, and his notes 

 add to the stock of hteralure; and it ia 

 very agreeable to us to be able to add, 

 that he is as amiable a man as he is am 

 erudite scholar, and renders ft just and 

 iiratefnl homaje to the Indian and Eng« 

 Uih authurs whom ke hus coiiiuUed. 



As 



