The sacred language of the Jainas and the Bauddhas is the Pracrit or Pali. The Sacyas (Bauddhas) and other heretics', says Cumarila, their chief antagonist and the instigator of an exterminating persecution against them (p. 441), do not use Sanscrit. But Brahmanas should not speak as barbarians.' That is to say, they should not use the unpolished and more ancient Pracrit. The same writer specifies as barbaric tongues, the Parasica (Persic?) Yavana (Greek?) Raumaca (Roman?), and Barbara (Berber?)*, but confesses his imperfect acquaintance with these. He cites also from the Andhra and Dravida dialects, i. e. the Telinga and Tamul (p. 453).

The articles on the Jains would naturally fall next under our notice, in connexion with the general subject of the Hindoo philosophy; but we shall have occasion to advert to this subject hereafter, and therefore pass them over with the remark, that Major Delamaine strenuously contends for the sectarian and modern origin of the Srawacs. There is, however, clear evidence, that the last Buddha (Gautama), as well as the last Jina (Mahariva), flourished as far back as the fifth century before the Christian era; and Parswanatha, whom Mr. Colebrooke supposes to have been the founder of the sect of Jainas (p. 521), must of course be referred to an earlier era.

It deserves remark, that the Bauddhas and the Jainas agree in placing within the limits of the same province (South Bihar), and its immediate vicinity, the locality of the death and apotheosis of the last Buddha, as of the last Jina, and of his predecessor and his eldest and favourite disciple. Both religions have preserved for their sacred language, the same dialect, the Pali or Pracrit, closely resembling the Magadhi or vernacular tongue of Magadha (South Bihar). Between those dialects (Pali and Pracrit), there is but a shade of difference, and they are often confounded under a single name.' p. 521.

Of the Essay on the Bhills, by Sir John Malcolm, (Art. VI.) we have already availed ourselves, by anticipation, in our review of Bishop Heber's Narrative; and we now hasten to notice Art. XX., which is, in some respects, one of the most interesting communications in the volume. During a residence of twelve years among Mahrattas and Rajpoots, Major (now Lieut. Colonel) Tod succeeded in collecting no fewer than about 20,000 coins of all denominations; among which he considers about 100 as interesting, and about a third of that number may

* Under this term, it is possible that the Arabic or Syriac may be referred to. The word Berber, which appears as an exotic term both in the Greek and the Sanscrit, signifies shepherd, and is of indefinite application.

be esteemed of historical importance. Among the more valuable with which his rescarches were rewarded, he obtained an Apollodotus and a Menander, bearing, on the reverse, inscriptions in the ancient Zend or Pehlavi character, as found on the Sassanian medals of Sapor.

'The Zend characters common to both these medals,' he remarks,

'afford a proof, which may be considered as decisive, that both these princes held Bactria as the seat of empire; for, though the discovery of these coins gives validity to the reported extent of their conquests, yet, had they held the seat of government within the Indus, they would have adopted the ancient Nagari character on the reverse, not that of Parthia.'

It is scarcely feasible to assign precise limits to the Bactrian kingdom, for Bactria was soon overstepped; and what might be termed the Bactrian kingdom at the period of the revolt, comprehended Sogdia as well as the province of Bactria, which had the Oxus or Jihoon as its northern boundary. The kingdom of Theodotus, therefore, included all Transoxiana, or the Do-ab of the Oxus and the Jaxartes, (the Mawer ul Nehr of the Persians,) and to the south, the Paropamisan range. To the west, it was kept in check by its alternate rival and ally, the Arsacide of Parthia; but, to the east, its frontier cannot be fixed, for we are left in doubt whether Pithon declared himself independent, or whether the provinces he held, gradually merged into Bactria. . . . . .

The first Arsaces was a Bactrian by birth, and, with his brother Tiridates, had opposed the ambitious designs of Theodotus; but, being unsuccessful, fled to the governor of Parthia, by whom being treated with indignity, he raised troops, expelled him, and following the example of Theodotus, declared himself independent. Three years after, he was succeeded by his brother Tiridates, who bears on his medals the title of "Arsaces the Great, king of kings." That he was much indebted to the Greeks of Bactria, we may judge from the epithet his medals and those of his successors bear, of Philhellenos. His friendship for the Greeks can only be understood towards the Bactrian Greeks; for he had scarcely been two years on the throne, when Seleucus Callinicus, having made peace with the Egyptian monarch, left Syria with a large army to recover Parthia; and the "Great King was obliged to fly to his Scythic brethren, the Getic Saca of the Jaxartes; till a rupture between the brothers, Seleucus and Antiochus, gave him an opportunity to re-enter Parthia. Seleucus, having prevailed over his rival, resumed his Parthian expedition; but the second Theodotus, who had succeeded to the

Saca-dwipa, the country of the Sacæ, is properly placed by D'Anville about the fountains of the Oxus. The Parthians were the Sace of Asia. Hence the titular appellation of its princes, Arsaces.

Bactrian throne, formed a close alliance with Tiridates, and sent him a large body of Bactrian troops, by whose aid Tiridates defeated and made captive the Assyrian monarch. The day on which this battle was fought, became the anniversary of the foundation of Parthian liberty. This alliance sealed the independence of both states; and to this opportune succour afforded by Theodotus, we may ascribe the epithet we have mentioned as freely retained by the successive Arsacidæ from a grateful recollection.' pp. 317-20.

There appear to have been, in fact, co-existing at this time, no fewer than three Greek kingdoms, the Parthian, the Bactrian, and that of Apollodotus, who had Sangala in the Punjaub for his capital. On the fall of the Bactrian kingdom, Mithridates, king of Parthia, succeeded in establishing himself in all the power which the Greeks ever had in India. He is said, indeed, to have extended his power as far eastward as the Ganges. It is to Mithridates and his successors, or to a minor Greek dynasty in India, that the learned Writer assigns the numerous coins found in the neighbourhood of Mathura, Agra, Ujjayan, and Ajmeer. The characters have the appearance of a rude provincial Greek; and that they belonged to Parthian and Indo-Scythic kings who had sovereignties within the In'dus, there cannot,' he says, be a doubt.' All the coins of the Parthian kings that have been preserved, have Greek legends. The coins of the Bactrian sovereigns were still current at Baroach in the second century. The communication abounds with curious and interesting matter illustrative both of the history and the geography of ancient India; but we must not suffer ourselves to be any longer detained by the fascinations of the subject.

The account of the Pancha Tantra (Five Sections), a collection of Stories, is a very entertaining article, but we cannot make room for any extracts. Among the remaining papers, there are two on subjects of Natural History, viz., Art. IV. On the Purik sheep of Ladakh, and some other animals. By William Moorcroft, Esq. VIII. Account of the Banyan Tree, as found in the ancient Greek and Roman Authors. By G. H. Noehden, LL.D. Sec. R.A.S. Five of the communications come under the class of Geography. Art. V. Memoir on Sirmor. By the late Captain Blane. XVII. Memoir on Bundelkhund. By Captain James Franklin. XXI. On the Valley of the Setlej River: from the Journal of Capt. A. Gerard. XXV. Account of the Population, &c. of Bareilly in Rohilkhund. By R. T. J. Glyn, Esq. XXVI. Report of a Journey into the Batak country. By Messrs. Burton and Ward, Baptist Missionaries. This last article appeared in No. XII. of the Friend of India, and the substance of it has already been given VOL. XXX. N.S.

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to our readers.* We have still to transcribe the titles of three other communications. XVIII. Observations on the Lepra Arabum as it appears in India. By Whitelaw Ainslie, M.D. &c. XXVII. Extract from the Akhlak è Naseri, a work of the thirteenth century. Communicated by Col. Mark Wilks. XXXIV. On the Dialects of the Arabic Language. By the late Professor Carlyle. Upon the whole, the volume must be pronounced to be a valuable accession to English literature.

The next volume on our list is the first Part of the Transactions of an infant Society established at Madras, which has not hitherto distinguished itself as a highly literary capital, The contents of this volume are as follow. I. On the Law. Books of the Hindoos. By the late F. W. Ellis, Esq. II. Account of some ancient Graves in the Vicinity of Oopulgutt. By Captain Robert Young. III. Geological Features of a Route from Madras to Bellary. By Captain W. Cullen. IV. On the Alphabetical Notation of the Hindoos. By C. M. Whish, Esq. V. On the Origin and Antiquity of the Hindoo Zodiack. By the Same. VI. Fragment of an inscribed Stone in the Persepolitan Character, found near Hillah. VII. Observations on the Geology of the Hyderabad Country. VIII. Meteorological Journal kept on the Malabar Coast. By Murdoch Brown, Esq. IX. Observations on the Saline Lake of Loonar in Berar. By Cornet J. E. Alexander. X. Meteorological Register kept at Arakan. XI. Account of the Ordeals prevailing among the Hindoos. By the Abbé Dubois. XII. Translation of an ancient Grant in the Carnataca Language.

Few of these papers are of any remarkable interest; and it is evident that, owing to the circumstances referred to in the preliminary notice, some difficulty has been found in making up this first part. The eleventh paper has already been given to the public, having been incorporated by the Abbé in his work entitled, " Mœurs et Institutions des Peuples d'Inde." The reason assigned for its appearing in the form in which it was originally presented to the Society, is, that the Abbé's work, it is believed, has not been translated into English.' The fact is, that it first appeared in an English dresst.

The first article is important, chiefly as pointing out some errors into which Mr. Mill has been led by his authorities on the subject of Hindoo law. The materials upon which he founded his opinions, appear to have been, Sir W. Jones's

Eclec. Rev. Vol. xxvi. p. 421. (Nov. 1826.)

The work was purchased in MS. by the East India Company, and a translation was given to the public under their auspices, in 1817. See Eclectic Review, vol. xiii. p. 562.

Institutes of Menu, Mr. Halhed's Code of Gentoo Laws, and Mr. Colebrooke's Translation of Jagannatha Tercapanchanana's Digest. These, it is remarked, were utterly insufficient for his purpose. Three instances of erroneous statement are pointed out. In the first place, Mr. Mill says, that the power of 'legislation and of interpreting the laws among the Hindoos, "exclusively belongs to the priesthood.' This mistaken assertion arises from the common error of ascribing to the whole body of Brahmans a sacerdotal character. Into this error, 'Europeans seem generally to have been led by the fact, that none but Brahmans are priests; whence they have concluded that none but priests are Brahmans. Sir W. Jones has countenanced this mistake, by translating, in the Institutes of Menu, the words used to designate an individual of the first caste, viz. Brahmanah and Viprah, Priest; and the feminine of them, Brahmani and Viprà, Priestess. The latter mistake is particularly remarkable, as the wives of Brahmans, though they assist in the private devotions of their family, not only never officiate as priestesses, but have no part in the public ceremonies of religion, except as spectators. The truth is, the first caste of Hindus, though from their birth eligible to the priesthood, are not necessarily priests. The conduct of religious ceremonies, though the highest, is only one of the many duties appropriated to the caste; they are also, professionally, the savans, or men of letters, to whom the interests of science or literature are committed in all their branches, the hereditary teachers of the other classes, both in sacred and profane learning, and especially the lawyers. To these different occupations and their subordinate divisions, they applied themselves as to so many distinct professions, the respective members of which never interfered with each other, any more than our divines do with our physicians, or either of these with our jurists; and hence have proceeded the several distinctions now actually obtaining among the Brahmans in Southern India: These are, first, Vaidica Brahmana, subdivided into Sastris, men of science; Acharya, teachers; and Pujaris, priests: the former two of these may perform the higher offices of religion in the solemn sacrifices; &c., or act as Purohita, domestic chaplains; but the last only conduct the public worship in the temples, and are considered an inferior class. Secondly, Lougica or Niyogi Brahmana, secular Brahmans, who gain their livelihood by the several worldly occupations permitted to the caste. These distinctions are now become hereditary; but, as this is founded solely on custom, and not on law, the restriction is more nominal than real, as any Niyogi family may come Vaidica, if the head of it qualifies himself by the study of the sciences; and, vice versa, any Vaidica may betake himself to worldly pursuits, sinking thereby, perhaps, in the estimation of his fellows, but not forfeiting his privileges and distinctions as a Brahman.'

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p. 10. The distinction of Brahmans into Vaidika and Lokika (seculars), is repeatedly referred to by Dr. F. Hamilton (Bucha