OF TAMIL PRINTED BOOKS, WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. COMPILED BY JOHN MURDOCH, MADRAS : The Christian Vernacular Education Soeiety, 23, RUNDALL'S ROAD, VEPERY. 1865. PREFACE. Honest John Bunyan made the confession, "the Latin I borrowed." The compiler has to make a far more extensive acknowledgment. The idea of publishing such a Catalogue was borrowed from the Rev. J. Long; the plan has been copied from the Report of the International Statistical Congress; the Introductory Notices have been chiefly selected from the works enumerated below. The compiler's knowledge of Tamil is so very slight, that he is incapable of forming an independent judgment of books in that language. He has, therefore, been obliged throughout to avail himself of the aid of competent Native Scholars, with occasional assistance from European friends. His work has been that of abridging materials already available, and of entering, under appropriateheads, books which he collected. As a rule, references are given to the works from which extracts have been made. The following have been chiefly consulted, and the compiler would take this opportunity of recommending them to the attention of all who wish fuller details on many points: Dr. Caldwell's Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages. Article, by the Rev. H. Bower, on the Tamil Language and Literature in the Calcutta Review. Vol. XXV. Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts* and other works by the Rev. W. Taylor. The Tamil Plutarch. Beschi's Grammar of the High Dialect of Tamil. The above refer specially to Tamil. A free use has also been made of the writings of Wilson, Max Miller, Muir, and others. * This work in three volumes, may be obtained at Rs. 23 each at the Government Book Depot. The Tamil books are, noticed chiefly in the Third Volume, The compiler's principal assistant in the preparation of the Catalogue was the Rev. S. Winfred, an excellent scholar, and himself the author of some useful Tamil works. He also derived valuable help from C. Rajagopal Pillai, Head Pundit in the Madras Government Normal School, and T. S. Condaswami Iyer, in charge of the Mackenzie Manuscripts. The Pundits of Presidency College were consulted on some difficult points. The compiler is deeply indebted to several friends for valuable aid, given with great cheerfulness. They were, indeed, "eyes to the blind." Dr. Caldwell kindly suggested a course of Tamil reading for Missionaries, and answered several queries with respect to treatises on Philosophical Hinduism. In addition to the "borrowing" already acknowledged, the compiler obtained the loan of about a hundred volumes of Tamil works, some of them now scarce, from the library of the Rev. H. Bower, who also was a willing referee when Native Scholars differed in opinion. One of the worthiest sons of the bibliomaniac, Dr. Dibdin, the compiler has met with in India, is the Rev. C. E. Kennet. In search of a rare book, he shows the keenness of scent and tenacity of a bloodhound. Several of the most useful portions of this work were obtained from sources which he indicated. The Rev. P. Percival, and the Rev. J. P. Ashton, also kindly aided in different ways. The primary object of the compiler in preparing this Catalogue was to aid in his immediate work. The Christian Vernacular Education Society for India, with which he is connected, issues annually nearly half a million of publications in the languages of India and Ceylon. It is evident that an acquaintance with native literature is of great importance in forming a judgment as to which books should be published. It is hoped, that the Catalogue will also be of some use to Missionaries and others in various ways. The following summary shows the number of works |