LANGUAGES REDUCED TO WRITING.-BOOKS TRANSLATED. 403 tongan, and the Samoan. Another is the Made- | bar coast, chiefly for printing works in the Malaygasse, the language of Madagascar; and the remaining two are the Namacqua and Sitchuana languages; the latter being the language of the Bechuanas, the acquirement of which, by Mr. Moffat, has been before alluded to. Into each of these languages portions of the Bible have been translated for the use of the natives. alim language; at Cotta, near Colombo, in Ceylon, principally for the Cingalese language; and in New Zealand. The last-named establishment is considered a very important one; and it has recently issued a complete edition of the New Testament, in the vernacular tongue, which is a really beautiful specimen of typography. The Wesleyan Missionary Society also has printing establishments in Ceylon, in the Albany and Bechuana districts in Africa, in the Feejee, or Fiji Islands, and in New Zealand; and their missionaries have made many valuable translations of the Scriptures and other books. Similar facts might be stated respecting the labours of missionaries connected with other societies; but the absence of precise information induces us to turn at once to the next head. Of books translated and printed by missionaries, without including tracts and school-books, of which immense numbers have been issued, a very long list might be given. In the principal object aimed at-the translation of the Scriptures-very much has been done. According to a paper kindly furnished from the office of the London Missionary Society, it appears that the agents of that society have either completed, or are now executing, trans-building represented in the cut at the commencelations of the Bible into the following thirteen languages: In addition to these, the missionaries have executed at the mission presses a great number of religious and educational books, original and translated. They have also established at the Samoas a monthly periodical of general literature. In furtherance of these operations, they have formed printing establishments at no less than seventeen stations, distributed as follows: South Seas.-Tahiti, Huahine, Rarotonga, and the Navigators' Islands. Ultra Ganges.-Malacca, Penang, and Batavia. India.-Surat, Vizagapatam, Bellary, Nagercoil, Neyoor, and Quilon. Mediterranean.-Corfu. South Africa.-Kat River, and Lattakoo. Respecting the operations of the agents of the Church Missionary Society our information is less detailed. Many presses have been set up for a time, and their use discontinued in consequence of the establishment of others, at which the work might be done cheaper or better; it being the aim of the Society to employ printing-offices of their own, only in situations where the work cannot be executed otherwise. This Society has an extensive and very useful establishment at Malta, where books are printed for the use of their missions in the vicinity of the Mediterranean. They have also presses at Cottayam, in Travancore, on the Mala In the important work of translation and printing, especially of the Sacred Volume, no class or missionaries have effected so much as those connected with the Baptist Mission formerly at Serampore, but now removed to Calcutta; where its operations are carried on in the handsome ment of this paper. This establishment owes its origin to the late Dr. Carey, of whose history a brief abstract has been already given in our Journal; and for many years it was conducted principally by him. He commenced the translation of the Scriptures into Bengalee, the vernacular tongue of by far the greater part of the inhabitants of Bengal, in 1794; part of the New Testament having been previously translated by Mr. Thomas. The printing of the New Testament was completed in 1801; and subsequently the whole of the Bible was rendered into this language, and the whole or part into at least thirty-nine other Oriental languages or dialects! From statements published in the Appendix to the "Tenth Memoir respecting the Translation of the Sacred Scriptures into the Oriental Languages, by the Serampore Brethren," which was published in London in 1834, the tabular view of their operations down to July, 1832, which is given on the next page, has been compiled; and, although incomplete, it presents sufficient proof of the ardent desire of usefulness displayed by these missionaries, and of the surprising extent of their labours. It should be remarked that, in addition to the editions mentioned in this table, several others were printed at Serampore during the period embraced by it, for the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society, &c. In a few instances the number of copies printed is not given, and our authority states that there may be two or three additional languages, in which single Gospels have been translated and printed. The work is still proceeding with activity; and the report for the last year states that 85,000 volumes had been completed within the year, and that about 50,000 more were in progress. *Pages 282-284, and 309-311. TABULAR VIEW OF THE VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE, OR OF INDIVIDUAL BOOKS OF SCRIPTURE, Issued from the Baptist Mission Press at Serampore, from 1801 to 1832. Note.-It should be remarked that in the account from which the above table is compiled, no complete copies of the whole Bible in one book are mentioned, although in several languages the whole has been printed, in different volumes. The fourth column comprises only complete copies of the New Testament; all single Gospels, &c. being enumerated in the fifth column, which also contains all copies of the Old Testament books. In the names of the various dialects, the orthography of the work upon which the table is founded has been always followed, although, in a few instances, it does not agree with that of other documents made use of in this article. THE MISSIONARY. Of the eighteen Bengalee works the principal are several large volumes of Government Regulations; a History of India, in two octavo volumes; a translation of Goldsmith's History of England; a Treatise on Anatomy, forming the first volume of an Encyclopædia of the Sciences; a Sungskrit and Bengalee Grammar; a Treatise on Geography; a translation of the Pilgrim's Progress; and an edition of the Youth's Magazine mentioned above, in Bengalee only. The Sungskrit works comprise two Grammars; two Dictionaries; a Treatise on Geography; and an edition of the Ramayuna of Valmeeki, with a prose translation, and explanatory notes, by Drs. Carey and Marshman, in four quarto volumes. Among the publications in other languages may be mentioned the Works of Confucius, in Chinese, with a translation, &c., by Dr. Marshman; Grammars of the Bengalee, Mahratta, Telinga, Kurnata, Punjabee, Burman, and Chinese languages; a Bootan Dictionary; a Comparative Vocabulary in Burman, Malayu, and Thaf; and Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, in Malay. The English publications comprise several works for the use of the Serampore seminary; a History, &c., of the Hindoos, by the Rev. W. Ward, in two quarto volumes; Dr. Roxburgh's Flora Indica, two editions, the last, edited by Dr. Carey, in three octavo volumes; and a periodical called the Quar- | terly Friend of India. The Indian Youth's Magazine is also published in English alone, as well as in Bengalee, and Bengalee and English. 405 Need farther proof be adduced of the civilizing effect of this branch of the widely ramified operatians of Christian Missions? Were it necessary, it would be easy to refer at length to the labours of such men as Morrison, and Ellis, and Williams, and Moffat, and numerous other labourers in the same great field; but we conceive that the few facts here collected, may be left to produce their own impression. Where shall a parallel be found to such statements? Assuredly nowhere but in the annals of Christianity. The results may indeed call forth the admiration of the mere human philanthropist; but the self-denial, the undaunted perseverance, by which they have been attained has not been, and cannot be, called into exercise by anything short of the exalted benevolence inspired by the gospel. Such being the case, Missionary Societies may fearlessly court the investigation of all with whom the civilization of savage nations is an object of desire, and may justly claim their support; for while experience shows that no other agency has proved sufficient for the work; that of Christian Missions has been effectual, in very many instances, in breaking down the strong-holds of ignorance and barbarity, and paving the way for the reception of the inestimable blessings of education. May it continue the good work with increasing success until there shall not be a nation or a tribe left without its language, its literature, and its power of using them to advantage by the agency of the printing-press. Y. INSTRUMENTS OF CIVILIZATION.: NO. III.-THE MISSIONARY. EVEN were we to conceal from our view the more important ends to which divine revelation is subservient, there would be no single gift to which men are so deeply indebted, as the grant of inspired truth. This is the spring of all moral elevation. And hence, were we to visit a tribe of the human family, prostrate in the lowest depths of barbarism, with the benevolent desire of raising them to their proper height in the scale of being, we should look in vain for the accomplishment of this object, to any instruments, apart from Christianity. Excluding truth, we forego the great engine of civilization, as effectually as the mariner would the only means of progress, were he to furl his sails and refuse the wind that would waft him on his way. The only power for future progress is that in which it originated in days that are past. A series of interesting facts will confirm and illustrate the remarks just made. In the year 1812, the Rev. John Campbell, of Kingsland, left Cape Town, on a long journey into the interior of Africa, to visit the various missionary stations, and to promote some other objects; and in his journal we find the following statement : "About two hundred and fifty miles from Cape | thinking principle; and this can only be done by Town, my waggons encamped in the vicinity of George, a town just then commencing. Soon after my arrival there, I was visited by Dikkop, or 'Thickhead,' the Hottentot chief of Hooge Kraal, situated about three miles distant, together with about sixty of his people, who expressed an earnest desire that a missionary might be stationed at his residence. On asking a reason for desiring a missionary, he answered, that he and his people might be taught the same things that were taught to the white people; but he could not tell what things these were. I then requested him to stay with us till sunset, when he would hear some of those things related by Cupido, who was a countryman of his, and my waggon-driver. Dikkop and all his people readily agreed to stay till evening. To Cupido they listened also with much attention the following morning. I inquired whether they were all desirous of having a missionary to settle among them, which was answered unanimously in the affirmative; but, like their chief, they could not assign any reason, except to be taught the same things which were taught to the white people. A very aged, miserable-looking man coming into the hut during the conference, with scarcely a rag to cover him, excited my attention; he came and took a seat by my side, kissed my hands and legs, and by most significant gestures, expressed his extreme joy in the prospect of a missionary coming among them. His conduct having deeply interested me, I asked him whether he knew anything about Jesus Christ? His answer was truly affecting; I know no more about anything than a beast.' "Every eye and ear was directed toward me, to learn whether a missionary would be sent to the Kraal; and when I told them that an excellent missionary, I had no doubt, would soon be with them, they expressed, by signs, a degree of joy and delight, which I cannot possibly describe." The Rev. Charles Pacalt, an agent of the London Missionary Society, was at this time preaching among the farmers, in the district of Swellendam, and not being positively engaged, he consented, at Mr. Campbell's invitation, to settle among this people soon after his visit. Their state on his arrival should be particularly noticed. They had neither inclosures nor cultivated land, and their only dwellings were a few small huts, made of reeds, in the form of bee-hives. Their whole clothing consisted of the filthy sheep-skin caross, which served them for a garment by day, and for bed and bed-clothes at night. Sunk into abject indolence, they seldom awoke but at the calls of appetite; and as soon as it was soothed, they returned to their slumbers. A missionary thus circumstanced should be fully aware of the real condition of the people, and of the most appropriate and efficient means for its amelioration. His first effort must be to rouse the proposing to the mind of the savage considerations of sufficient force to overcome his native indolence; considerations, in fact, suited to a limited capacity, and addressed to passions which need to be restrained. Valuable as are the speculations of science, and the pursuits of literature, they are above the comprehension of an untutored mind; and even arguments derived from the advantages of an improved condition are overborne by a natural and strong partiality for the habits and practices of the common mode of life. Tell the savage of the benefits resulting from provision for the future, and he is unmoved; for his desire of hoarding is too weak to excite industry, or to stimulate enterprise. Men in this state, though sensible of the value of a rug at night when they wished to sleep, have been ready to sell it for a trifle in the morning, when the necessity has passed. Tell the savage of the advantage of the products of the earth for food, and of the improved garments which the sheep may be made to yield; and though a passing wish may be excited, this is all,-for here labour is demanded, and he would rather wear his rough and dirty garment of skin, and depend on the precarious subsistence which can be obtained by his bow, than submit to the toil of cultivating the ground, or looking after the flock. Let him even be brought into deep extremity, let his means of support be exhausted, and let him then be urged to provide by his labour against so grievous a return of scarcity, and still the appeal will fail. When the agents of the United Brethren had passed twenty years among the snows and ice of Greenland, a season of great necessity arrived, and many of the people who had received no Christian instruction, asked and obtained relief of them. Their visit, too, produced some impression on their minds; for while they had nothing, and saw their countrymen in the missionary institution possessing abundance, they acknowledged the superiority of such a condition, and wished themselves in possession of its comforts; but no sooner was the famine over, and they had a prospect of obtaining food in the usual way, than they eagerly resumed it, and sunk into their former wretchedness. The fact is, that though these and other means are adopted, with the hope of improving the circumstances of barbarous tribes, the mind is not roused from the torpor which has paralysed its energies. They strike, but it is only to rebound like the point of a staff from the scales of the leviathan. A weapon is required of a higher and nobler order, and that weapon is divine truth. The diversity apparent in different minds, is not merely to be traced to varieties in their constitution, but to a diversity in the objects with which they are familiar. Low and degraded as is the intellect of the savage, and acquainted as it is only with objects which are mean, it is not a higher THE MISSIONARY. yet still similar class of objects, which will cause their mind to expand, as the flower does to the morning sun. To accomplish this end, we must take the highest objects on which the intellect can be occupied. God,—the soul,-the mediator,-and eternity, must open before it ; and as they do so, the mind rises into activity, and he who feels the powers of the world to come, will behold, in a new and penetrating light, the engagements of this. No one ever allowed these principles to operate on him more powerfully than Mr. Pacalt. He appeared to those familiar with him as constantly realising the eternity to which he was hastening. He stands, therefore, in the foremost rank of the illustrious in missionary enterprise. Like Enoch when he "walked with God,” amidst the abounding depravity of the antediluvians, so did he, who thus came to savages in the depth of their degradation, hold unceasing fellowship with Heaven. Let no one, however, liken him for a moment to those enthusiasts, who, with pretensions to superior devotion, justify their neglect of ordinary means. He was unfeignedly humble; too humble to refuse the employment of any instrument of good; and at the same time he had learned the happy art of giving to an ordinary act the impress of a better world. So completely was this the case, that while itinerating over the district of Swellendam, he commanded the respect and affection of many of the farmers who knew him; and so exactly did he regulate his zeal by prudence, and sustain his ministerial character amidst the intercourse of life, that the family who received him as a stranger, felt, it is said, as if they had entertained an angel unawares. As soon as Mr. Pacalt arrived at Hooge Kraal, he began to build himself a temporary dwelling. But though active, energetic, and always employed, he felt that it was desirable to engage the Hottentots in his service; and so he asked their assistance, obliging them to take payment for all they did. His happy talent in conversation, his command over his own temper, his disinterestedness and his generosity endeared him to the people, gave him great authority over them, and enabled him, by their means, to accomplish his purposes. Accustomed to labour for themselves, they did not object, as formerly, to work for the farmers; and finding that by exertion they could obtain articles of clothing, they gradually gave up the sheep-skin caross, and clothed themselves in garments of British manufacture. Nor throughout the labours that were thus so successful, do we discover any cessation of that instrumentality, which we hold to be absolutely necessary in the promotion of true civilization. While the missionary taught the people to build their houses, and culture their grounds, he enlivened the hours of toil by instructing them, in the most easy and familiar manner, in the principles and duties of true religion. In 407 this way he secured a double advantage; for if, on the one hand, he imparted knowledge, on the other, he became intimately acquainted with the minds of the people, and was consequently better fitted for its communication. His style of preaching was well adapted to the end he had in view; it was strictly conversational, and he kept the attention of his auditory constantly alive, by addressing them by name from the pulpit, and abruptly asking them questions, to ascertain if they had understood what he said. On Mr. Campbell's second voyage to South Africa, he again visited Hooge Kraal, in June, 1819. In his account of his visit he thus describes the striking change which had been effected, by the blessing of God, on the labours of the missionary, who had been a few months before removed to his heavenly rest :— "As we advanced toward Hooge Kraal, the boors, or Dutch farmers, who had known me on my former journey in that part of Africa, would frequently assure me, that such a change had been produced on the place and people since I had left it, that I should not know it again. The nearer we approached the settlement, the reports concerning its rapid improvement increased, till at length we arrived on the spot, on the evening of June the second. "Next morning, when the sun arose, I viewed, from my waggon, the surrounding scene with great interest. Instead of bare unproductive ground, I saw two long streets, with square built houses on each side, placed at equal distances from one another, so as to allow sufficient extent of ground to each house for a good garden; a wellbuilt wall, six feet high, was in front of each row of houses, with a gate to each house. On approaching one of them, I found a Hottentot, dressed like a European, standing at the door to receive me with a cheerful smile. This house is mine,' said he, and all that garden;' in which I observed there were peach and apricot trees, decked with their delightful blossoms; fig-trees, cabbages, potatoes, pumpkins, water-melons, &c. I then went across the street to the house of a person known by the name of Old Simeon, the very man who sat in such a wretched plight by my side, in the hut, when I first visited the place, and who then said he knew no more about anything than a brute. I was informed that he had become a Christian, had been baptized, and named Simeon; and because of his great age, they called him Old Simeon. I found him sitting alone in the house, deaf and blind with age. When I told him who I was, he instantly embraced me with both hands, with streams of tears running down his sable cheeks. 'I have done,' said he, 'with the world now! I have done with the world now! I am waiting till Jesus Christ says to me, Come; I am just waiting till Jesus Christ says to me, Come.' |