620 



CASTS. 



Casts, 

 Indian. 



the waxen coating is melted from within the mould, 

 and runs oft" by conduits, but, at the same time, leaves 

 the interior surface corresponding with the outline 

 which it occupied. For a statue larger than life, 

 two days and nights are required for the operation, 

 during which time it is necessary that the heat be 

 moderate, otherwise the wax might boil up against 

 the mould and injure it, though the varnish contri- 

 buted to render it smooth and equal. It is likewise 

 necessary that the pit be somewhat deeper than the 

 height of the figure, in order that the metal may 

 rise above it, and avoid the imperfections which would 

 otherwise arise. 



All the previous preparations being completed, a 

 brisk fire is kept up in the furnace, and the metal 

 reduced to a state of perfect fusion, the channel of 

 communication is opened, and it begins to flow. The 

 numerous conduits introduce it to the interior of the 

 mould, and the space before occupied by the wax is 

 speedily filled. After the cast has stood a day or 

 two to cool, the mould is taken off, and it is elevated 

 from the pit by a crane, when it appears altogether 

 covered by spines. These are the metal which filled 

 the channels of communication ; and by their remov- 

 al, and the subsequent polish, the work is brought 

 to perfection. 



It has been maintained, that the ancients were such 

 masters of this branch of casting, that they could 

 take figures from the mould free of spines, and so 

 clean and perfect, as not to require finishing by the 

 chisel or the file. But this has been denied by the 

 most intelligent among the moderns, and certainly 

 it would be granting the artist a wonderful degree of 

 skill to suppose it the case. 



Casts of all different shapes and sizes may be ob- 

 tained by practising this method in detail. Some 

 statues weigh one or two thousand pounds or more, 

 according to the size and thickness of the metal. 

 One of Louis XIV. at Paris, weighing above 60,000 

 pounds, was obtained from a single mass of fused 

 metal, which flowed fifty feet between the furnace 

 and the mould. See Dossie's Handmaid to the Arts ; 

 and Benvenuto Cellini Due Trattati dove veggono 

 infiniti segreti ncl Gettare le Figure di Bronzo. " (c) 



CASTS, INDIAN, denote the four grand tribes, 

 or orders, into which the population has been divided 

 from the remotest antiquity. The Hindoo records 

 afford no authentic documents to ascertain the origin 

 of this singular arrangement; and the earliest Greek 

 authors who treat of the history of India, content 

 themselves with mentioning the fact without attempt- 

 ing an explanation of its origin. The information of 

 the Greeks does not seem to have been very cor- 

 rect on this subject ; for Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, 

 and Adrian, affirm, that the Hindoos were divided in- 

 to seven caste, or classes : their mistake has probably 

 arisen from confounding with the casts, the various 

 employments allotted to different classes in the com- 

 munity, and from which they are strictly forbidden 

 by the Hindoo laws to depart. No fact is more 

 clearly ascertained, than that there never have existed 

 but four casts in India. The first, or that of the 

 Bramins, (see BRACHMANS, ) was deemed the most sa- 

 cred ; and the members of it, had it for their pro- 

 vince to study the principles of religion, to perform 

 its functions, and to cultivate tht sciences. They 

 were the priests, instructors, and philosophers of the 



nation. The members of the second order, (the 

 KeirifJ were intrusted with the government and de- 

 fence of the state. In peace they were its rulers and 

 magistrates ; in war they were the generals who com- 

 manded its armies, and the soldiers who fought its 

 battles. The third, (theByse,) was compjsed of hus- 

 bandmen and merchants, and the fourth, (or Soodra), 

 of artisans, labourers, and servants. 



When any person has been guilty of egregious 

 misconduct, such as neglecting or violating the pre- 

 cepts of his religion, he then becomes an outcast 

 from his tribe, and is subjected to a species of excom- 

 munication, which brings along with it the most ter- 

 rible consequences. The persons thus excommuni- 

 cated are denominated Pariars, and sometimes Chan- 

 dalas, and their condition is inconceivably wretched., 

 " No person of any cast will have the least com- 

 munication with them. If a pariar approach a 

 nayr, i. e. a warrior of high cast, pn the Malabar 

 coast, he may put him to death with impunity. 

 Water or milk are considered as defiled even by their 

 shadow passing over them, and cannot be used until 

 they are purified. It is almost impossible for words 

 to express the sensation of vileness that the name of 

 pariar or chandala conveys to the mind of a Hindoo." 

 Robertson's Disquisition concerning India : Appendix. 



Though it is impossible to fix the period when 

 this division into casts took place, yet it is easy to con- 

 ceive the circumstances under which it has originated. 

 It must have been established at a time when the 

 regal and sacerdotal offices were united in the same 

 individual ; for nothing but the sacredness attached, 

 in early ages, to the priestly character, combined 

 with absolute authority on the part of the person 

 who was thus revered, could have given birth to such 

 a monstrous institution, so contrary to reason, and 

 so subversive of the natural rights of man. This 

 evidently carries back the origin of the institution,, 

 into the remotest antiquity ; for it was only in the 

 primitive ages of the world that this formidable union 

 of regal and sacerdotal power existed in the person 

 of the same individual. When once the division into 

 casts was established, we need not be surprised at its 

 continuance. The human mind needs a stimulus to 

 excite it to any efforts of excellence ; and when this 

 stimulus is not only withheld, but positive discou- 

 ragements applied, we can only expect the mind to 

 remain in a state of torpor and lasting immaturity. 

 This effect has been produced to a very great extent 

 on the immense population of India. The mind be- 

 ing chained down to some grovelling employment, 

 above which it is forbidden to aspire, must seek 

 comfort from dismissing even the consciousness of 

 exertion, and the desire of improvement : and the fa- 

 voured few, who are permitted to explore the sources 

 of knowledge, being secure of respect altogether in- 

 dependent of their abilities, or attainments, have but 

 little inducement to pursue the rugged paths of 

 science. 



By the numerous subdivisions into what may be 

 called professional classes (for every individual is 

 bound by the law to follow the profession of his an- 

 cestors,) a considerable degree of perfection in the 

 mere mechanical operations of art may be expected. 

 In this respect the Hindoos have made some ap- 

 proach, to that minute division of labour which has 

 had so much influence in promoting the success of 



Indian. 



