the life of william carey-第49节

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ce　proved。　　The　young　civilians　turned　out　after　the　first　three　years'　course　introduced　that　new　era　in　the　administration　of　India　which　has　converted　traders　into　statesmen　and　filibusters　into　soldier…politicals；　so　that　the　East　Indian　services　stand　alone　in　the　history　of　the　administration　of　imperial　dependencies　for　spotless　integrity　and　high　average　ability。　　Contrast　with　the　work　of　these　men；　from　the　days　of　Wellesley；　the　first　Minto；　and　Dalhousie；　from　the　time　of　Canning　to　Lawrence　and　the　second　Minto；　the　provincial　administration　of　imperial　Rome；　of　Spain　and　Portugal　at　their　best；　of　even　the　Netherlands　and　France。　　For　a　whole　generation　of　thirty　years　the　civilians　who　studied　Sanskrit；　Bengali；　and　Marathi　came　daily　under　the　gentle　spell　of　Carey；　who；　though　he　had　failed　to　keep　the　village　school　of　Moulton　in　order；　manifested　the　learning　and　the　modesty；　the　efficiency　and　the　geniality；　which　won　the　affectionate　admiration　of　his　students　in　Calcutta。

A　glance　at　the　register　of　the　college　for　its　first　five　years　reveals　such　men　as　these　among　his　best　students。　　The　first　Bengali　prizeman　of　Carey　was　W。　Butterworth　Bayley；　whose　long　career　of　blameless　uprightness　and　marked　ability　culminated　in　the　temporary　seat　of　Governor…General；　and　who　was　followed　in　the　service　by　a　son　worthy　of　him。　　The　second　was　that　Brian　H。　Hodgson　who；　when　Resident　of　Nepal；　of　all　his　contemporaries　won　for　himself　the　greatest　reputation　as　a　scholar；　who　fought　side　by　side　with　the　Serampore　brotherhood　the　battle　of　the　vernaculars　of　the　people。　　Charles；　afterwards　Lord　Metcalfe；　had　been　the　first　student　to　enter　the　college。　　He　was　on　its　Persian　side；　and　he　learned　while　still　under　its　discipline　that　〃humility；　patience；　and　obedience　to　the　divine　will〃　which　unostentatiously　marked　his　brilliant　life　and　soothed　his　spirit　in　the　agonies　of　a　fatal　disease。　　He　and　Bayley　were　inseparable。　　Of　the　first　set；　too；　were　Richard　Jenkins；　who　was　to　leave　his　mark　on　history　as　Nagpoor　Resident　and　author　of　the　Report　of　1826；　and　Romer；　who　rose　to　be　Governor　of　Bombay　for　a　time。　　In　those　early　years　the　two　Birds　passed　through　the　classesRobert　Mertins　Bird；　who　was　to　found　the　great　land　revenue　school　of　Hindostan；　and　Wilberforce　Bird；　who　governed　India　while　Lord　Ellenborough　played　at　soldiers；　and　to　whom　the　legal　suppression　of　slavery　in　Southern　Asia　is　due。　　Names　of　men　second　to　those；　such　as　Elliot　and　Thackeray；　Hamilton　and　Martin；　the　Shakespeares　and　Plowdens；　the　Moneys；　the　Rosses　and　Keenes；　crowd　the　honour　lists。　　One　of　the　last　to　enjoy　the　advantages　of　the　college　before　its　abolition　was　John　Lawrence；　who　used　to　confess　that　he　was　never　good　at　languages；　but　whose　vigorous　Hindostani　made　many　an　ill…doing　Raja　tremble；　while　his　homely　conversation；　interspersed　with　jokes；　encouraged　the　toiling　ryot。

These；　and　men　like　these；　sat　at　the　feet　of　Carey；　where　they　learned　not　only　to　be　scholars　but　to　treat　the　natives　kindly；　andsome　of　themeven　as　brethren　in　Christ。　　Then　from　teaching　the　future　rulers　of　the　East；　the　missionary…professor　turned　to　his　Bengali　preaching　and　his　Benevolent　Institution；　to　his　visits　to　the　prisoners　and　his　intercourse　with　the　British　soldiers　in　Fort　William。　　And　when　the　four　days'　work　in　Calcutta　was　over；　the　early　tide　bore　him　swiftly　up　the　Hoogli　to　the　study　where；　for　the　rest　of　the　week；　he　gave　himself　to　the　translation　of　the　Bible　into　the　languages　of　the　people　and　of　their　leaders。





CHAPTER　X

THE　WYCLIF　OF　THE　EASTBIBLE　TRANSLATION

1801…1832

The　Bible　Carey's　missionary　weaponOther　vernacular　translatorsCarey's　modest　but　just　description　of　his　laboursHis　philological　keyType…cutting　and　type…casting　by　a　Hindoo　blacksmithThe　first　manufacture　of　paper　and　steam…engines　in　the　EastCarey　takes　stock　of　the　translation　work　at　the　opening　of　1808In　his　workshopA　seminary　of　Bible　translatorsWilliam　Yates；　shoemaker；　the　Coverdale　of　the　Bengali　BibleWengerA　Bengali　Luther　wantedCarey's　Bengali　BibleHow　the　New　Testament　was　printedThe　first　copy　offered　to　GodReception　of　the　volume　by　Lord　Spencer　and　George　III。Self…evidencing　power　of　the　first　editionThe　Bible　in　OoriyaIn　Maghadi；　Assamese；　Khasi；　and　ManipooriMarathi；　Konkani；　and　Goojarati　versionsThe　translation　into　Hindi　and　its　many　dialectsThe　Dravidian　translationsTale　of　the　Pushtoo　BibleThe　Sikhs　and　the　BibleThe　first　Burman　version　and　pressThe　British　and　Foreign　Bible　SocietyDeaths；　earthquake；　and　fire　in　1812Destruction　of　the　pressThomason's　description　of　the　smoking　ruinsCarey's　heroism　as　to　his　manuscriptsEnthusiastic　sympathy　of　India　and　ChristendomThe　ph渘ix　and　its　feathers。

Every　great　reform　in　the　world　has　been；　in　the　first　instance；　the　work　of　one　man；　who；　however　much　he　may　have　been　the　product　of　his　time；　has　conceived　and　begun　to　execute　the　movement　which　transforms　society。　　This　is　true　alike　of　the　moral　and　the　physical　forces　of　history；　of　contemporaries　so　apparently　opposite　in　character　and　aims　as　Carey　and　Clarkson　on　the　one　side　and　Napoleon　and　Wellington　on　the　other。　　Carey　stood　alone　in　his　persistent　determination　that　the　Church　should　evangelise　the　world。　　He　was　no　less　singular　in　the　means　which　he　insisted　on　as　the　first　essential　condition　of　its　evangelisationthe　vernacular　translation　of　the　Bible。　　From　the　Scriptures　alone；　while　yet　a　journeyman　shoemaker　of　eighteen；　〃he　had　formed　his　own　system；〃　and　had　been　filled　with　the　divine　missionary　idea。　　That　was　a　year　before　the　first　Bible　Society　was　formed　in　1780　to　circulate　the　English　Bible　among　soldiers　and　sailors；　and；　a　quarter　of　a　century　before　his　own　success　led　to　the　formation　in　1804　of　the　British　and　Foreign　Bible　Society。　　From　the　time　of　his　youth；　when　he　realised　the　self…evidencing　power　of　the　Bible；　Carey's　unbroken　habit　was　to　begin　every　morning　by　reading　one　chapter　of　the　Bible；　first　in　English；　and　then　in　each　of　the　languages；　soon；　numbering　six；　which　he　had　himself　learned。

Hence　the　translation　of　the　Bible　into　all　the　languages　and　principal　dialects　of　India　and　Eastern　Asia　was　the　work　above　all　others　to　which　Carey　set　himself　from　the　time；　in　1793；　when　he　acquired　the　Bengali。　　He　preached；　he　taught；　he　〃discipled〃　in　every　form　then　reasonable　and　possible；　and　in　the　fullest　sense　of　his　Master's　missionary　charge。　　But　the　one　form　of　most　pressing　and　abiding　importance；　the　condition　without　which　neither　true　faith；　nor　true　science；　nor　true　civilisation　could　exist　or　be　propagated　outside　of　the　narrow　circle　to　be　reached　by　the　one　herald's　voice；　was　the　publishing　of　the　divine　message　in　the　mother　tongues　of　the　millions　of　Asiatic　men　and　women；　boys　and　girls；　and　in　the　learned　tongues　also　of　their　leaders　and　priests。　Wyclif　had　first　done　this　for　the　English…reading　races　of　all　time；　translating　from　the　Latin；　and　so　had　begun　the　Reformation；　religious　and　political；　not　only　in　Britain　but　in　Western　Christendom。　　Erasmus　and　Luther　had　followed　himthe　former　in　his　Greek　and　Latin　New　Testament　and　in　his　Paraphrase　of　the　Word　for　〃women　and　cobblers；　clowns；　mechanics；　and　even　the　Turks〃；　the　latter　in　his　great　vernacular　translation　of　the　edition　of　Erasmus；　who　had　never　ceased　to　urge　his　contemporaries　to　translate　the　Scriptures　〃into　all　tongues。〃　　Tyndale　had　first　given　England　the　Bible　from　the　Hebrew　and　the　Greek。　　And　now　one　of　these　cobblers　was　prompted　and　enabled　by　the　Spirit　who　is　the　author　of　the　truth　in　the　Scriptures；　to　give　to　South　and　Eastern　Asia　the　sacred　books　which　its　Syrian　sons；　from　Moses　and　Ezra　to　Paul　and　John；　had　been　inspired　to　write　for　all　races　and　all　ages。　　Emphatically；　Carey　and　his　later　coadjutors　deserve　the　language　of　the　British　and　Foreign　Bible　Society；　when；　in　1827；　it　made　to　Serampore　a　last　grant　of　money　for　translation〃Future　generations　will　apply　to　them　the　words　of　the　translators　of　the　English　Bible'Therefore　blessed　be　they　and　most　honoured　their　names　that　break　the　ice　and　give　the　onset　in　that　which　helped　them　forward　to　the　saving　of　souls。　　Now　what　can　be　more　available　thereto　than　to　deliver　God's　book　unto　God's　people　in　a　tongue　which　they　understand？'〃　　Carey　might　tolerate　interruption　when　engaged　in　other　work；　but　for　forty　years　he　never　allowed　anything　to　shorten　the　time　allotted　to　the　Bible　work。　〃You；　madam；〃　he　wrote　in　1797　to　a　lady　as　to　many　a　correspondent；　〃will　excuse　my　brevity　when　I　inform　you　that　all　my　time　for　writting　letters　is　stolen　from　the　work　of　transcribing　the　Scriptures　into　the　Bengali　language。〃

》From　no　mere　humility；　but　with　an　accurate　judgment　in　the　state　of　scholarship　and　criticism　at　the　opening　of　last　century；　Carey　always　insisted　that　he　was　a　forerunner；　breaking　up　the　way　for　successors　like　Yates；　Wenger；　and　Rouse；　who；　in　their　turn；　must　be　superseded　by　purely　native　Tyndales　and　Luthers　in　the　Church　of　India。　　He　more　than　once　deprecated　the　talk　of　his　having　translated　the　Bible　into　forty　languages　and　dialects。16　As　we　proceed　that　will　be