A Tamil Poetical Anthology, With Grammatical Notes And A Vocabulary

To those who have studied the Tamil HandBook, this work is recommended as a fitting introduction to the higher dialect of Tamil. Nothing like the moral verses of the Tamil poets are to be found in the cognate languages of South India. They are the result of Budhistic influences. In regard to Tiruvalluvar when it is remembered that, according to credible tradition, the author lived in St. Thome, about the time when the first Armenian merchants settled there; that the author was unfettered by caste; and that his chief friend was Elelasingan, a seacaptain, it will not seem improbable that he was indebted to intercourse with the strangers for the ideas of many of his verses. He is strongly opposed to the ordinary method of studying Tamil poetry, with the aid of verbal commentaries; and this compilation is an attempt to introduce a better system. This rare book is a collection of 612 passages from the corpus of Tamil poetry, along with grammatical notes and a vocabulary, and are arranged under various heads likeLearning; Ignorance; Friendship; Business; Prosperity; Hearing; Effort; Forgiving Injuries, etc. This book is in the Tamil language, and was first published in 1859.