THE CRITICAL REVIEW. For the Month of August, 1768. ARTICLE I. The Hiftory of Hindoftan; from the earliest Account of Time, to the Death of Akbar; tranflated from the Perfian of Mahummud Cafim Ferifhta of Delhi. Together with a Dissertation concerning the Religion and Philofophy of the Brahmins; with an Appendix, containing the Hiftory of the Mogul Empire, from its Decline in the Reign of Mahummud Shaw, to the present Times. By Alexander Dow. Trvo Vols. 4to. Pr. il. 10s. Becket and De Hondt. W manner. * E have already given our opinion of a work fomewhat fimilar to this, but executed in a very different Mr. Dow is a very fober admirer of the authorities from which he writes, and talks of them like a fenfible, rational man, even while he is recounting their abfurdities. Though he held a military post in Bengal, he applied himself to the study of the Perfian tongue, which is the most polite and univerfal of any in Afia; and made fuch a progress in it, that he translated this Hiftory from the original of Mahummud Cafim Ferifhta of Delhi, who flourished about the beginning of the feventeenth century. He had also formed a defign to compile, from various authors, that very effential part of the hiftory of the Mogul empire, which is not comprehended in the tranflation before us. For this province he was the better qualified, by enjoying the patronage of the prefent Mogul; but from various caufes he was obliged to discontinue his undertaking, and to return to Europe. * See vol. xx. p. 145. VOL. XXVI. August, 1768. The The Hiftory before us is rather part of that of the Mahometan empire in India, than a general account of the affairs of the Hindoos; and Mr. Dow very candidly tells us, that what his original fays concerning India prior to the first invafion of the Afghan Muffulmen, which we apprehend happened about the 970th year of the Christian æra, is far from being fatisfactory. Ferifhta's accounts were collected from Perfian authors; and he was unacquainted with the Shanfcrita, or learned language of the brahmins, in which the internal hif tory of India is compofed. Our tranflator feems to think pretty highly of the authority of the brahmins, who, according to his narrative, form a kind of college of free-mafons; for their rites, learning, difcipline, and doctrine, have remained from the most remote antiquity infcrutable to all but themfelves. We are far from infinuating the leaft diftruft of what Mr. Dow advances on the fubject of the brahmins; and we think that great credit is due to his researches, by his declaring that he found himself obliged to differ almoft in every particular concerning the religion of the Hindoos, from Mr. Holwell. We muft, after all, be of opinion, that an accurate European author, with the very beft information that can be obtained, is liable to be imposed on in thofe Eleufinian rites and ceremonies. The Eaft Indians are of all people the most mysterious ; nor does it much fignify to the learned world, whether Pythagoras borrowed his philofophy from the brahmins, or the brahmins from him. By the beft accounts we have, many reveries, fome truth, and a great deal of morality are in common to both; but who can speak with precision upon a subject in which the moft enlightened is forced to acknowledge his ignorance and were it otherwife, who can answer that the play would be worth the candle, or that the discovery could anfwer the trouble? We fhall therefore take the liberty to omit many of the religious and philofophical contents of the differtation concerning the Hindoos, which Mr. Dow has prefixed to his Hiftory, though it may afford great entertainment to fome readers. The following quotation, however, from a dialogue between Brimha, the Wisdom of the Divinity, and Narud, or Reason, who is reprefented as the son of Brimha, is a very uncommon fpecimen of the Hindoo philofophy. Narud. O father! thou firft of God, thou art faid to have created the world, and thy fon Narud, aftonished at what he beholds, is defirous to be inftructed how all these things were made. Brimba. Be not deceived, my fon! do not imagine that I was the creator of the world, independent of the divine mover, 2 mover, who is the great original effence, and creator of all things. Look, therefore, only upon me as the inftrument of the great Will, and a part of his being, whom he called forth to execute his eternal designs. Narud. What fhall we think of God? • Brimba. Being immaterial, he is above all conception; being invifible, he can have no form; but, from what we behold in his works, we may conclude that he is eternal, omnipotent, knowing all things, and prefent every where.' After fome metaphyfical and other jargon, Narud proceeds as follows: • Narud. What is the nature of that abforbed ftate which the fouls of good men enjoy after death? • Brimha. It is a participation of the divine nature, where' all paffions are utterly unknown, and where confcioufnefs is loft in blifs. Narud. Thou fayft, O father! that unless the foul is perfectly pure, it cannot be abforbed into God: now, as the actions of the generality of men are partly good, and partly bad, whither are their spirits fent immediately after death? Brimba. They must atone for their crimes in hell, where' they must remain for a space proportioned to the degree of their iniquities; then they rife to heaven to be rewarded for a time for their virtues; and from thence they will return to the world, to reanimate other bodies. Narud. What is time? • Brimba. Time exifted from all eternity with God: but it can only be estimated fince motion was produced, and only be conceived by the mind from its own conftant progrefs.' We have exhibited these quotations as being much more confonant to the received opinions of true philofophy, than thofe to be met with in other publications of this kind, but we cannot give them credit for their very high antiquity; and perhaps fome readers may agree with us, that they contain indigefted morfels of Pythagorifin, debased Christianity, and true philofophy. The following extract, however, bids fair to prove that, through all its allegorical veils, the religion of the true brahmins is neither more nor less than materialifm. In India, as well as in many other countries, there are two religious fects; the one look up to the divinity through the medium of reafon and philofophy; while the others receive, as an article of their belief, every holy legend and allegory which have been tranfinitted down from antiquity. From a fundamental article in the Hindoo faith, that God is the foul of the world, and is confequently diffufed through all na ture, ture, the vulgar revere all the elements, and consequently every great natural object, as containing a portion of God; nor is the infinity of the Supreme Being eafily comprehended by weak minds, without falling into this error. This veneration for different objects has, no doubt, given rife among the common Indians, to an idea of fubaltern intelligences; but the learned brahmins, with one voice, deny the exiftence of inferior divinities; and, indeed, all their religious books, of any antiquity, confirm that affertion.' The fair inference from this quotation, we will venture to fay, is, that the learned brahmins exclude from the fyftem of their religion the belief of a particular Providence. We fhall, for the reasons already hinted at, omit our author's account of the ancient hiftory of Hindoftan, before it was invaded by the Moflems or Muffulmen, from which time we perceive that its great lines coincide with those of the Moflem hiftorians of the califate. We think, however, that the latter poffefs a fancy and genius fuperior to Ferishta, and that their narratives of the same facts are more amusing, though perhaps they may be lefs genuine. We wish that Mr. Dow had compared the narratives of Abulfeda al Makin and other Mollem hiftorians with Ferifhta, where they treat of the fame facts. If our reader has any inclination to gratify his curiosity in that refpect, he may confult the third volume of the Modern Univerfal Hiftory. Sultan Mamood, or, as he is called by the above authors, Mahmud of Gazna (Ferifhta calls it Ghizni) makes the greatest figure in the first volume of this Hiftory. He flourished in the year of the Hegira 387, which answers to the 997th of the Christian æra. He was a fon of the valiant Subutagi, one of the foldiers of fortune who had formed an empire from the ruins of the califate. He was abfent from court at the death of his father, who appointed Ifmaiel, Mamood's younger brother, to fucceed him. Mamood foon afferted his birth right, and defeated his brother, who died in prison, The following particulars are extracted from Mr. Dow's work, and ferve to give the reader fome idea of that great conqueror's character, as well as of Ferifhta's manner of writing. We are told by hiftorians, that fultan Mamood was a king who conferred happinefs upon the world, and reflected glory upon the faith of Mahomed: that the day of his acceffion illuminated the earth with the bright torch of juftice, and cherifhed it with the beams of beneficence. Others inform us, that in his difpofition, the fordid vice of avarice found place, which however could not darken the other bright qualities of A ; Hav his mind. A certain poet says, that his wealth was like a pearl in the fhell; but but as poets hunt after wit rather than truth, therefore we muft judge of Mamood by his actions, from which it appears that he was indeed a prince of great œconomy, but that never witheld his generofity upon a just and proper occafion. We have the teftimony of the Fatti Bilad, wrote by Abu Nifir Mufcati, and of the famous Abul Fazil, that no king had ever more learned men at his court, kept a finer army, or difplayed more magnificence than fultan Mamood. All these things could not be done without expenc fo that the stigma of avarice must have been owing to two particular circumstances of his life, which ought by no means to have stamped his general character with that fordid vice. The two circumftances in a few words were thefe. ing a great propenfity to poetry, in which he made fome tolerable progrefs himself, he promised Sheck Phirdoci a golden mher for every verfe of an heroic poem which he was defirous to patronize. Under the protection of this promife, that divine poet wrote the unparalleled poem called the Shaw Namma, which confifted of fixty thoufand couplets. When he prefented it to the king, he repented of his promife, telling the poet, that he thought fixty thousand rupees might fatisfy him for a work which he feemed to have performed with fo much eafe and expedition. Phirdoci, juftly offended at this indig nity, could never be brought to accept of any reward, though fultan Mamood would after reflection have gladly paid him the fum originally ftipulated; the poet, however, took ample revenge in a fatire of feven hundred couplets which he wrote upon that occafion. 66 * Sultan Mamood, who it is reported was defective in external appearance, faid one day, obferving himself in a glafs, The fight of a king fhould brighten the eyes of the be holders, but nature has been fo capricious to me, that my afpect feems the picture of misfortune." The vizier replied, It is not one of ten thousand who are bleffed with a fight of your majefty's countenance, but your virtues are diffused over all. But to proceed with our hiftory. LhWe have already obferved, that the father of fultan Mamood was Subuctagi. His mother was a princess of the house of Zabulstan, for which reafon fhe is known by the name of Zabuli. He was born in the year 357 of the Higerah, and, as the aftrologers fay, with many happy omens expreffed in the * Amber is about fourteen rupees; this coin was called mher from having a fun ftampt upon it. Mher fignifies the Jun, in the Perfian. G 3 ho |