“Φησί δ' Αριστόξενος ὁ μουσικὸς Ἰνδῶν εἶναι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον. ̓Αθήνησι γὰρ ἐντυχεῖν Σωκράτει τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων ἕνα τινὰ, κἄπειτα αὐτοῦ πυνθάνεσθαι, τί ποιῶν φιλοσοφοίη. Τοῦ δὲ εἰπόντος, ὅτι ζητῶν περὶ τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου βίου, καταγελάσαι τὸν Ἰνδὸν, λέγοντα μὴ δύνασθαι τινα τὰ ἀνθρώπο ινα καταλαβεῖν, ἀγνοοῦντά γε τὰ θεῖα. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν εἰ ἀληθές ἐστιν οὐκ ἂν δύναιτό τις διατεινόμενος εἰπεῖν.”—Aristokles in Eusebius Preparatio Evangelii, xi. 3. "But Aristoxenus the musician says that this doctrine [of Plato, that human things could not be perceived, unless divine things had first been seen] comes from the Indians; for that one of those men fell in with Sokrates in Athens, and asked him what was the substance of his philosophy; and that when Sokrates answered that it consisted of an enquiry regarding human life, the Indian laughed, and said that no one who was ignorant of divine things could comprehend things relating to man. No one, however, could very strongly affirm that this statement is true.” J. MUIR, C.I.E., D.C.L., LL.D., PH.D. LONDON: TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. All Rights reserved. PREFACE. The present Volume embraces the contents of the little work entitled "Religious and Moral Sentiments, metrically rendered from Sanskrit Writers," &c., published by Messrs Williams & Norgate in 1875, together with three collections of versified translations subsequently printed, but not published, and a reprint of the metrical pieces contained in Volumes II. and V. of my "Original Sanskrit Texts," &c. In the notice prefixed to the former publication I have acknowledged my obligations to Dr O. Böhtlingk's large collection of maxims. All the quotations from works of a more recent date than the Mahabhārata, and many from that great epic poem itself, are drawn from his book. The sources to which I am indebted for the parallel passages from classical writers, are mostly indicated at the head of each quotation. In the previous published collection I stated that almost all those then given from Latin writers had been taken from Wuestemann's "Promptuarium Sententiarum," &c. I am indebted to Dr E. L. Lushington for revising the greater portion of the supplement to the Appendix, and suggesting emendations; and to Professor E. B. Cowell for correcting the translation in page 249 f. |