48 THE EARLY MALAYS AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS 



Here then we have a concrete and striking example of an 

 external influence which has profoundly affected Malayan 

 culture in two vital features — religion and law — just as it had 

 been previously affected by Indian influence as regards 

 language and Chinese influence respecting commerce and 

 social customs. Thus we discover that the external in- 

 fluences which affected successively the Malayan Filipino 

 were the three most potential civilizations of Asia — the 

 Indian, the Chinese and the Arabic. And operating con- 

 comitantly with these was an internal influence which, if 

 less obtrusive, was even more effective and real — the local 

 contact and amalgamation with the Negrito. 



These profoundly interesting generalizations we owe 

 largely to the members of the Philippine Academy, an 

 organization whose achievements deserve a wider recognition 

 than has yet been accorded them. And surely a society like 

 this which bears the name of "Asiatic" should be interested 

 in a group of colaborers which has contributed so much to 

 scientific knowledge of a nearby, yet hitherto little known, 

 corner of Asia. I plead for a closer acquaintance between 

 these two bodies — a more intimate knowledge of each other's 

 work — a plan of co-operation as to future undertakings. For 

 if there is one outstanding lesson to be drawn from a study 

 of the Malay race it is the unity and continuity of history in 

 the Far East and the solidarity of its culture. For it shows 

 that the native races of this region are not isolated units, 

 having no relation to each other, but sharers in a common 

 civilization whose influence has been age long and far reach- 

 ing. Surely, therefore, none of the laborers in such a 

 common, though extensive, field can afford to be ignorant of, 

 or isolated from, their fellows. 



