1856.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 243 



access. In this country they are numerous, at the British Museum, 

 in the Libraries of Oxford and Cambridge, and there is scarcely a 

 university on the continent without them, whilst Sanskrit MSS. are 

 to be found only in London, Oxford, Paris and Berlin. There is by 

 no means therefore the same reason for perpetuating Arabic MSS, 

 by the Indian Press, and there is no urgent necessity for the inter- 

 vention of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 



It may also be doubted if, in respect of the Arabic works hitherto 



committed to the press by the Society, due attention has been paid 



either to the interests of general literature or the tastes and wants 



of European Arabic scholars. The Itqan Sayuty extending through 



ten fascicules, the exegesis of the Koran, is no doubt important to 



Mohammadan Theologians, but few Europeans, it is to be expected, 



would be inclined to look upon the exegetic sciences of the Koran 



as a very improving or attractive study. With regard also to the 



biography of those who knew Mohammed, many of the individuals 



are of extreme insignificance, and none of them could have exercised 



any influence on events in India, where the name of Mohammed 



himself was scarcely known before the tenth or eleventh century. 



Although also the history of his campaigns and that of the conquest 



of Syria come within the scope of general literature and may have 



an interest to the students of Mohammadan history, yet they are 



open to the same objection that applies to the other works ; they 



have no relation near or remote to India, and do not serve in any 



way to illustrate its past or present condition. Again, reasonable 



exception may be taken to such publications as the Dictionary of 



the Technical Terms used in the sciences of the Mohammadaus, on 



the grounds of incompatibility and expence. The Bibliotheca Indica 



has been hitherto confined to works of moderate size and cost, and 



has been wisely so restricted, being thus brought within the reach 



of European purchasers. Dictionaries must always be of greater 



or less extent and cannot be printed except at a proportionate charge, 



which will bear heavily upon the funds at the Society's disposal. 



"When printed also they can be sold only at a price which few 



students in Europe can afford, for the Society must not think that 



charges which appear moderate in India, will be thought so by 



oriental scholars in Europe. The sale will therefore be restricted 



