পাতা:দর্শন দীপিকা.djvu/১৪১

[ ケ8 」 that the natives of India are in a state of regula. degeneracy, and that honor and morality are scarce, if not unknown to them. Nothing is more common than for foreigners to speak in terms of the utmost contempt of the native character, and not only those whose judgments are biased by partial and imperfect representations, but men of distinguished talents, and who have ample opportunities of judging for themselves, join in the swéeping censure. “What the horn is to the buffalo,” says an eminent contributor of the Bdinburgh Review, “what the sting is to the bee, what all things noxious and hurtful are to beasts and reptiles, so is deceit to the native of India.” Other opinions equally ungenerous and discouraging may also be cited. The error is become general; it is strengthened by the fiat of authority; and being calculated not only to throw a dispiriting gloom over our prospects, but to retärd our exertions in moral and religious pursuits, I trust the last circumstance alone will be deemed a sufficient apology for deviating a moment from the immediate subject of this essay to the consideration of it. . A. Reason and experience tell us that the essential characterstics of human nature will always