1864.] 



Application of the Roman Alphabet. 



317 



characters, because books printed in them could be sold cheaper, and 

 to this school belong, I believe, all German orientalists who are in 

 favour of the change, except perhaps Dr. Sprenger himself. The Ger- 

 mans, it is an admitted fact, are the best Oriental scholars in the 

 world. Indeed, it is almost impossible to find a Sanscrit scholar now, 

 who is not a German; and it is a grave disgrace to England and to 

 India that such should be the case. They buy a very great number of 

 Oriental books, and they would naturally like that the price of these 

 books should suit their purses. I would not, however, be understood 

 to allude to the learned Lepsius. His papers deal chiefly with 

 unlettered languages. Nowhere would cheap books be of greater 

 advantage than in India, but admitting the fact, we must admit also 

 that that is not the whole, nor yet the main part of the question we 

 have to decide. Every one will readily grant that it wo aid be an 

 immense convenience, and an immense advantage, to have a universal 

 alphabet — if to the difficulty of learning a new language, we had not 

 to add the difficulty of learning a new and perhaps complicated sys- 

 tem of letters, bristling with hooks and points. In short, since the 

 general introduction of steam navigation and rail-roads, &c, the idea 

 of a universal alphabet seems quite natural. Nay, since almost all 

 civilized nations, though thousands of miles apart, can now communi- 

 cate with each other, by means of electricity, it seems strange that 

 we should not ere this have had,— not a universal alphabet ; but a 

 universal language,— so strange that were Julius Caesar to rise from his 

 ashes, and to ask why all the world were not speaking and writing 

 Latin, we should be somewhat puzzled for a ready reply. In regard to 

 language, the curse of Babel would be a convenient if not a sufficient 

 answer ; bub in the matter of the alphabets we could not unfortunate- 

 ly excuse ourselves so easily. It will not be a waste of time then to 

 inquire why such has not taken place ; and first I will state that I 

 propose to look at the question, not as a theological, a philosophical, 

 or an educational question— nor a question of expediency, nor of 

 policy, nor yet one of price; but one simply of sounds and symbols : 

 and viewing it as such, it does not appear difficult to assign reasons 

 why the Roman alphabet could not take the place of all the alphabets 

 which are now usad in India with advantage to the languages them- 

 selves or the people who read and write them. 



Dr. Sprenger, in his article, has given us illustrations from the 



2x2 



