ON ETHNOLOGY. 
.‘J25 
If then it is true that the grammatical system constitutes the character of 
a language, and assigns to every idiom its proper place in relation to other 
languages, we must admit that for the modern Indian dialects little has yet 
been done to prove their Indo-Gcrmanic origin. The consequence of this has 
been, that the hosrilo spirit of a party, which has been working for the last 
years, particularly in India and in this country, to attack all llie theories of 
.Sanscrit antiquarians, has chosen the modern languages of India as a weak 
point, in order to prove that, as they have no connexion hy their grammatical 
system with the pretended old language of India, the Sanscrit, this sacred 
language itself has never exercised any real influence upon Uie people, just 
as they have tried to prove that tbc literature, die rtjUgion, nrorals and philo¬ 
sophy of the Brahmins have never historically existed but in the hands of 
some foreign immigrating jiriests. 
Tliis has been a natural reaction against another system, which in its 
enthusiasm for Brahminlsm was as unscientific as the other, mid which saw 
Brahmins, Brahmioical wisdom, mysteries and religion, not only in every part 
of India from the remotest time, hut wliich found Brahmins as the founders 
of civilization over the whole world, connected not only with the religious 
systems of Egypt and Greece, but even at the bottom of the C’liristian doc¬ 
trine. Instead of this ubiqnitj’, which was formerly ascribed to tlie Brahmins, 
wo find it difficult at present, if adojiting the views of this aiiti-BraInninical 
school, to assign even the smallest place in India to them ; so that at I.'ist, if 
they do not submit to become antediluvian Buddliists they will be exiled in to 
the plains of I'artaiy, from where wo are taugiit now that the grammatical 
system of the spokun Indian tlialcols took iu origin. 
But, as I have said before, I consider this negative tendency as a natural 
reaction against many too pnaltivo assertions, which have been current with¬ 
out sufficient proof. I tliink even that, as iti every other branch of science, 
this sceptic and neg.ativo spirit, which has called Into doubt the most im¬ 
portant and fundamental points of Indian antiquities, has caused a great deal 
of good, by calling forward new inquiries and deeper researches. Nor do I 
deny that the jmnciple upon which the intentions of this negative school are 
professedly based may be a wise nnd philanthropic one, in so far as they be¬ 
lieve that, by proving Brahminism to be neither unfathomable in its antiqutiy 
nor unchangeable in its character, it may be allowed to infer tlmt by proper 
means, applied in a cautious, kindly and forbearing spirit, such farther changes 
may be effected as will raise the intellectual standard of the Hindus, improve 
tlieir moral and social condition, and assist to promote their eternal welfare. 
But, after all, an indupeiidcnt, historical and pliilostmliical inquiry into the 
origin, antiquity, and the development of Indian i!lviuzation has nothing to 
do with political and moral considerations; and if English Christian mission¬ 
aries want to find precedents for the changoahleiipsii of the Brahminical reli¬ 
gion, they will have a much hotter case by proving historically the influence 
which the Buddhist belief has produced on the anterior system of Brah- 
minism, than by asserting that Brahminism has never existed as the religion 
of the people before the rise of Buddhism. 
In the f-carcity of historical documenis for deciding such questions, it has 
always apjmared to niethat tlie language of India itself, in the different forms 
under which it appears to us during its historical development, would be the 
best, and sometimes the only means of giving to such questions a definite 
answer. If after a lapse of two thousand year? any one should attempt to 
prove that the Christian religion has always existed from the earliest time in 
Europe, that docuraenU wriltch in Italian were to be considered as the real 
documents of the Christian doctrine, and that other documents, if written in 
