THE WORLD HAILS TAMIL

THE WORLD HAILS TAMIL COMPILED FROM THE BOOK THE WORLD HAILS TAMIL BY MU.TIRUVENGADAM

HIGHLY CULTIVATED LANGUAGE Tamil is the most highly cultivated language and possesses the richest store of indigenous literature. MAX MULLER

OLDEST LANGUAGE Being Dravidians, the inhabitants of North India naturally spoke a Dravidian language in which the earliest proportion of the words used are found in Tamil. This confirms the common belief that Tamil is the oldest of the present languages. REV.HERAS

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NO LANGUAGE THAN TAMIL No language combines greater force with equal brevity than Tamil and it may be asserted that no human speech is more close and philosophic in its expression as an exponent of the mind than Tamil. REV.PERCIVAL

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DISPENSE WTH SANSKRIT Tamil can readily dispense with the greater part or whole of Sanskrit and by dispensing with it rises to a pure and more refined style whereas English cannot abandon its Latin without abandoning perspercuity. DR. CALD WELL

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GREAT CULTURAL LANGUAGE Tamil is one of the great cultural languages of the World. It is the classical language in the true sense of the term and it is at the same time a living language. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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PRODUCTS OF ELABORATE CIVILISATION The Tamil language and civilisation are the products of a very long period of a somewhat elaborate civilisation. DR. GILBERT SLATER

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MORE POLISHED, EXACT, MORE COPIOUS It is not perhaps extravagant to say that in its poetic form the Tamil is more polished and exact than Greek, and, in both dialects with its borrowed~treasures, more copious than Latin. In its fullness and power, it more resembles English and German more than any other language. DR. WINSLOW.

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TAMIL ALONE STAND APART The Tamil cultural tradition is independent, not derived, not imitative; it is pre-Sanskrit, and from this point of view Tamil alone stands apart when compared with all other major languages and literatures of India. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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INSTRUMENT OF EXACT THOUGHT Tarnil is the one best fitted to be the instrument of exact thought. DR.GILBERT SLATER

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GENIUS OF TAMIL The refinement of the poetical language as adaped to the genius of Tamil, has been carried to greater excess than in Sanskrit. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

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CHARACTER OF THE TAMIL LANGUAGE The very character of the Tamil language, the perfection with which it has been developed into an organ for precise and subtle thought combined with the fact that it, represents a much earlier stage in the evolution of inflexional language than any lndo-Germanic tongue, suggests though of course it does not prove, the priority of the Dravidians in attaining settled order and regular government. DR GILBERT SLATER

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GREAT CLASSICAL LITERATURE Let me state unequivocally that, by any criteria one may choose, Tamil is one of the great classical literatures and traditions of the world. GEORGE L. HART

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WEALTH OF WORDS Tamil has a wealth of words which English lacks; thus in its first stage, new form is the blossom. The apple is a (pinju), developed but still immature is (kaai ) , when fully ripe it is (kani). DR. GEORGE UGLOW POPE

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GREAT CLASSICAL LANGUAGE The status of Tamil as one of the great classical languages of the world is something that is patently obvious to anyone who knows the subject.  To deny that Tamil is a classical language is to deny a vital and central part of the greatness and richness of Indian culture. GEORGE L. HART

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OLDEST Tamil is the oldest and principal Dravidian tongue, Dravida and Tamil are two forms of the same word. HG. RAWILINSON

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GREAT CLASSICAL LANGUAGE To qualify as a classical tradition, a language must fit several criteria: it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich body of ancient literature.  Unlike the other modern languages of India, Tamil meets each of these requirements.  It is extremely old (as old as Latin and older than Arabic); it arose as an entirely independent tradition, with almost no influence from Sanskrit or other languages; and its ancient literature is indescribably vast and rich. GEORGE L. HART

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WONDERFUL MONOSYLLABLES Tamil with its wonderful monosyllables, is one of the most concise of languages. The Tirukuural is an example of the condensation of thought that is possible in Tamil. DR. WINSLOW

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GREAT CULTURAL LANGUAGE Tamil is one of the great cultural languages of the World. It is the classical language in the true sense of the term and it is at the same time a living language. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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OFFSHOOTS OF TAMIL MOTHER Even such languages as Telugu, Canarese and Malayalam are merely offshoots of their Tamil mothen Some scholars have fancied Telugu and other so-called Dravidian languages are quite independent of Tamil. This is the old song of growing up child in turning proud and disowning all relationship to their ancestry. If all Sanskrit words and derivatives are eliminated from these languages the residue of words left will be found to be ancient Tamil words now considered obsolete or found in poetry of by gone days. RJ LAZARUS

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STRUCTURE AND NATURE OF TAMIL. The sequence of things, of thought and action and its results, is always maintained inviolate, in the structure and nature of the Tamil language. REV PERCIVAL

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GENUINE LANGUAGE The Tamil poets use the genuine language of poetry. CONSTANTINE JOSEPH BESCHI

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FLOURISH WITHOUT SANSCRIT Tamil, the most highly cultivated as intra of all Dravidian idioms, can dispense with its Sanskrit altogether, if need be, and not only stand alone, but flourish without its aid DR.ROBERT CALDWELL

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ANCIENT CONNECTION  There are hundreds of Indo-European words which ate to be traced to old Dravidian forms, forcing us to draw the conclusion that there is an ancient connection between the Dravidians and Indo-European Languages. HERR SCHOENER

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CENTAMIL The ancient classical Tamil Language, called CENTAMIL in which nearly all the literature has been written, contains exceedingly little Sanskrit. DR.ROBERT CALDWELL

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THE UNBROKEN LITERARY TRADITIONS Tamil can be claimed to be one of the longest unbroken literary traditions of any of the world's living languages. A.L.BASHAM BA,PHD,FRAS

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Finest Monument of Human Intelligence The Tolkappiyam represents much more than just the most ancient Tamil grammar extend. It is not only one of the finest monu ments of human intelligence and intellect preserved in the Indian tradition; it is also the first literary expression of the indigenous, pre-Aryan Indian civilization it represents the essence and the summary of classical Tamil culture. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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A GREAT MASTERPIECE OF POETRY Apart from the fact that Silappatigaram is a great masterpiece of narrative and lyrical poetry,it contains the essence of old Tamil culture and, like other epics, it portrays whole civilization. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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GENIUS OF TAMIL The refinement of the poetical language as adaped to the genius of Tamil, has been carried to greater excess than in Sanskrit. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

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CONSERVATIVE Tamil has its own works that are considered to be as sacred as the Vedas and that are recited alongside Vedic mantras in the great Vaisnava temples of South India (such as Tirupati).  And just as Sanskrit is the source of the modern Indo-Aryan languages, classical Tamil is the source language of modern Tamil and Malayalam.  As Sanskrit is the most conservative and least changed of the Indo-Aryan languages, Tamil is the most conservative of the Dravidian languages, the touchstone that linguists must consult to understand the nature and development of Dravidian. GEORGE L. HART

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PURANANURU: CLASSICAL The poet Maturai Tamilkkuttanar, has succeeded, using three simple adjectives and three simple nouns, to convey the picture of hare in terms of the animal's most typical features; it is simple an( perfect, in one word, classical. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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QUALITY OF CLASSICAL TAMIL The quality of classical Tamil literature is such that it is fit to stand beside the great literatures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Chinese, Persian and Arabic.  The subtlety and profundity of its works, their varied scope (Tamil is the only premodern Indian literature to treat the subaltern extensively), and their universality qualify Tamil to stand as one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world.  GEORGE L. HART

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FORMAL, STEREOTYPED STYLE Paripadal, is more formal stereotypoed style for it includes both religious poetry, abounding in the usual allusions and more fine descriptive poetry. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICAL

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TIRUKKURAL Everyone knows the Tirukkural, one of the world's greatest works on ethics; but this is merely one of a myriad of major and extremely varied works that comprise the Tamil classical tradition.  There is not a facet of human existence that is not explored and illuminated by this great literature. GEORGE L. HART

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GOLDEN ALPHABET OF THE TAMILS Auvvaiyar's two books of aphorisms entitled Attichudi and Konrai-Venthan, written in the order of the Tamil Alphabet withTamil Alphabet which the learned Joseph Beschi considered as "~worthy of Seneca himself' have been most appropriately called"Golden Alphabet of the Tamils. ASIATIC RESEARCHES, LONDON EDITIONL

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EXTREMELY RICH Tamil constitutes the only literary tradition indigenous to India that is not derived from Sanskrit.  Indeed, its literature arose before the influence of Sanskrit in the South became strong and so is qualitatively different from anything we have in Sanskrit or other Indian languages.  It has its own poetic theory, its own grammatical tradition, its own esthetics, and, above all, a large body of literature that is quite unique.  It shows a sort of Indian sensibility that is quite different from anything in Sanskrit or other Indian languages, and it contains its own extremely rich and vast intellectual tradition GEORGE L. HART

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NO MATCH Kapilar's interest and genius was concentrated on nature of the hills. His descriptions of nature and his comparisons and metaphors, apt and daring, have probably no match in the whole bardic corpus. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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PERIYAPURANAM: PURELY INDIGENOUS Periapuranam is purely indigenous, purely Tamil. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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PREDATES INDIAN LITERATURE It predates the literatures of other modern Indian languages by more than a thousand years.  Its oldest work, the Tolkappiyam,, contains parts that, judging from the earliest Tamil inscriptions, date back to about 200 BCE.  The greatest works of ancient Tamil, the Sangam anthologies and thePattuppattu, date to the first two centuries of the current era.  They are the first great secular body of poetry written in India, predating Kalidasa's works by two hundred years. GEORGE L. HART

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MELODIOUS LANGUAGE ·Tamil is one of the most melodious languages of the world. The Tamil literature shared antiquity with other ancient and classical lit eratures of the world but at the same time continued to flourish as a vigorous medium of speech and writing. This is something that cannot be said of some of the ancient languages. DATUK SERI DR.MAHATHIR MOHAMAD

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TAMIL THOUGHT Classical Tamil texts revealed even to the casual thinker that Tamil thought projects only universal human, spiritual and moral values which are acceptable to all mankind.Tamil thought is against any form of chauvinism or violence. These and many other values contained in Tamil works should be made known to the rest of the world in as many languages as possible. A greater degree of world understanding could be achieved by propa gating the universal messages of the ancient Tamil literature. DATO 'SRI S.SAMY VELLU

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EXCELLENT WORKS There are excellent works in Tamil poetry on the subject of the divine attributes and nature of virtue. CONSTANTINE JOSEPH BESCHI

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TAMIL LITERATURE MOVED ME The intrinsic interest of its subject matter, and the atmosphere of its literature, especially the earliest Sangam (ancient Tamil) literature, moved me. DR JOHN R MARR

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INDEPENDENT OF ARYAN The Tanil literature is the only Indian literature which is, atleast in its beginnings and in its first and most vigorous bloom, almost entirely independent of Aryan and specifically Sanskrit influences. DR. KAMIL ZVELEBIL

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MOST ELABORATE The Saiva Siddhanta system is the most elaborate, influential and most intrinsically valuable and undoubtedly valuable of all religions of India. It is peculiarly the South Indian and Tamil religion; and must be studied by everyone who hopes to understand the influence of the great South Indian People. DR. GEORGE UGLOW POPE