■^ 
 
 
 
 M^M' 
 
 Y 
 
 if^. 
 
 
 ;<P'&
 
 
 L I E) R.ARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N I VER5ITY 
 
 or ILLl NOIS
 
 \faah in Jniia, 
 
 A LETTEE 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE 
 
 EEGIUS PEOFESSOE OF PASTOEAL 
 THEOLOGY IN OXEOED, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 EEV. E. F. WILLIS, M.A. 
 
 YICE-PEINCIPAL 01" CUDDESDON THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE. 
 
 JAMES PAEKER AND CO. 
 
 1879.
 
 ^ha fox a ^issicitarj |BrotIj^rlj00it 
 
 in Intrta^ 
 
 My Dear Regius Professor of Pastoral Theology, 
 I ask leave to address these lines to you, because it is to 
 your teaching, under God, that I owe the practical convic- 
 tion, that the Catholic Church of Christ knows no bounds of 
 time or space, that in the Church's warfare there can be no 
 real distinction between home and foreign service, and that 
 it matters little in what part of the vineyard the task of any 
 worker for God may be set, so long as the work of God is 
 being done. 
 
 Let me pass at once to the main subject of my letter, — 
 
 The Appeal of Bishop Douglas still Unansw^ered. 
 
 It is now seven years since Bishop Douglas' stirring appeal 
 was addressed to the Church of England, on behalf of India ^ 
 That appeal has, I know, had a wide influence, and moved 
 many hearts. But it is true to say that his main demand 
 has met, up to this time, with no response ; he asked for 
 a Missionary Brotherhood for India, and such a thing is still 
 in the future. Bishop Douglas wrote : " The work of Mis- 
 sions, in India pre-eminently, is a work of war, and a mis- 
 sionary should be in the condition of a soldier, and be ready, 
 like a certain great and famous general, when he came to 
 take the chief command of our armies in India, — to start at 
 short notice, and go anywhere without impediments, and do 
 what war requires. We need soldiers who have no ties but 
 those which bind them to the work of the Church, and who 
 are steeped in that spirit of ready obedience, which, when it 
 hears ' go,' ' goeth,' and when it hears ' come,' ' cometh ^.' " 
 
 "I am forced to the conclusion, that a new and more sac- 
 rificial element*^ must be incorporated into our missionary 
 
 ■ "Indian Missions. A Letter addressed to His Grace the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, by Henry Alexander Douglas, D.D., Bishop of Bombay." (Eiving- 
 tons, 1872.) 
 
 ^ " Indian Missions," p. 46. 
 
 •= "I assure you, brethren, nothing short of self-sacrifice, of which Christ 
 has furnished so bright an example, will regenerate India." — " Jesus Christ ; 
 Europe and Asia. Lecture by Keshub Chunder Sen, delivered at Calcutta, 
 May 6, 1866."
 
 Flea for a Missionary Brotherhood in India, 3 
 
 system, not necessarily as exclusive of that which exists, but 
 as an addition to it. And I look to some form of missionary 
 brotherhood as the element which we need, and as the chief 
 remedy for our acknowledged shortcomings ^/^ 
 
 " I ask for a brotherhood of men who will turn their backs 
 once and for ever upon the world, and who, seeking only 
 Christ and His cause, will go wherever the Church sends 
 them, and do whatever the Church bids them, as soldiers 
 obey their king; counting not even life dear, if they may 
 run a course, noble while it lasts, and leading them in the 
 footsteps of that Lamb, Whom they will follow whithersoever 
 He goeth e." 
 
 These extracts shew plainly enough what it was that Bishop 
 Douglas asked for. His suggestions as to ways and means 
 I shall allude to further on. Let me speak next of India as 
 a sphere of missionary enterprise. 
 
 India, an Unrivalled Field of Labour. 
 
 If we consider only the extent of the field, more than one 
 hundred millions waiting to be brought under the yoke of 
 Christ, it will be thought no exaggeration, when one who 
 had experienced the hardships and difficulties, as well as the 
 grandeur, of mission-work in India, a companion'of the Scotch 
 missionary Dr. Duff, declared, " that even at the risk of 
 chronic sickness, there was no career like that of an Indian 
 missionary ^" 
 
 Of India, Dr. Duff himself wrote : " If poetry, and romance, 
 and chivalry, be an object of pursuit, are there not ample 
 stores of poetic effusion and romantic legend, that might not 
 be disclaimed as unworthy by any of the older nations of 
 Europe ? And are the records of any state more crowded with 
 the recital of daring adventures than the annals of Rajasthan ? 
 If philology, where can we find the match of the Sanscrit, 
 perhaps the most copious, and certainly the most elaborately 
 refined, of all languages, living or dead? If antiquities, are 
 there not monumental remains and cavern temples, scarcely 
 less stupendous than those of Egypt? and ancient sculptures, 
 which, if inferior in majesty and expression, in richness and 
 variety of ornamental tracery almost rival those of Greece? 
 
 d " Indian Missions," p. 47. ^ lb., p- 48. 
 
 f " Life of Alexander Duff, D.D., by George Smith, C.I.E., LL.D.," vol. i. 
 p. 450. (Hodder and Stouglaton, 1879.)
 
 4 Plea for a Missionary Brotherhood 
 
 If natural history, where is the mineral kingdom more exu- 
 berantly rich, the vegetable or animal more variegated, gor- 
 geous, or gigantic ? If the intellectual and moral history of 
 man, are there not masses of subtile speculation, and fantastic 
 philosophies, and infinitely varied and unparalleled develop- 
 ments of every principle of action that has characterized 
 fallen, degraded humanity ? If an outlet for the exercise of 
 philanthropy, what field on the surface of the globe can be 
 compared to Hindostan, stretching from the Indus to the 
 Ganges, and from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin, in point 
 of magnitude and accessibility combined, and peculiarity of 
 claims on British Christians, the claims of not less than a 
 hundred and thirty millions of fellow-subjects, sunk beneath 
 a load of the most debasing superstitions, and the crudest 
 idolatries that ever polluted the surface of the earth, or bru- 
 talized the nature of man ^ ?" 
 
 The Present, a Crisis in the Religious 
 History of India. 
 
 It was, I believe, no exaggerated statement, when an Indian 
 missionary wrote a short time ago : " Oxford can hardly do 
 better, at such a critical time as this is, to all appearance, in the 
 history of India, than off'er of her best to the capital of this 
 country." The following words, addressed by a Hindoo to 
 a large assembly of natives in the Town Hall of Calcutta, at 
 the beginning of this year, will serve to illustrate the truth 
 of the above statement. In his lecture, entitled "India asks, 
 Who is Christ?'^ Keshub Chunder Sen said: "I would in- 
 vite your attention to India's earnest and impassioned solici- 
 tations. Most eagerly and most earnestly she asks. Who is 
 Christ ? On all sides there are indications and signs, which 
 clearly and unmistakably prove that this question emanates 
 from the very heart of the nation. It is no wonder that 
 India should ask this question ; for is not a new and aggres- 
 sive civilization winning its way, day after day and year after 
 year, into the very heart and soul of the people ? Are not Chris- 
 tian ideas and institutions taking their root in the soil of this 
 vast country ? Has not a Christian government taken posses- 
 sion of its cities, its provinces, its villages, its hills and plains, 
 its rivers and seas, its homes and hearths, its teeming millions 
 of men and women and children? Yes; the advancing surge^'^'*^ 
 
 , UIUC 
 e " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 197. % 
 
 "•w,.>\-
 
 in India, 5 
 
 of a mighty revolution are encompassing the land, and in the 
 name of Christ strange innovations and reforms are penetrat- 
 ing the very core of India's heart. Well may our fatherland 
 ask, Who is this Christ ? Not like Pontius Pilate, but in the 
 earnest and serious spirit of a true and candid enquirer does 
 India ask who this Christ is, Who is coming every day nearer 
 and nearer to her heart ? In Christian literature, laws, and 
 institutions, we see Christ's living influence as a reality. This 
 living influence, which is advancing in all directions, has 
 touched India, and hence the question she asks. Who is Christ? 
 The genius of the nation has asked this question, and you are 
 bound to answer it. In the interests of the country, in the 
 interests of truth, the question must be answered in one way 
 or another, now or hereafter. To India's solemn and thrill- 
 ing cry you must some day return a response^." 
 
 This extract from Chunder Sen's lecture of April last shews 
 at least what thoughts are stirring among some of the ablest 
 and most intelligent of the natives of India at the present 
 time. It agrees with what the Bishop of Calcutta wrote in 
 July last : " The mind of young India is assuredly stirred, 
 and move it must; at present it is moving towards a philo- 
 sophical, mystical theism, and if it so settle down, it will be 
 more difficult to deal with than it is when now 'in a state of 
 suspense." These words shew that the crisis is urgent, and 
 that it calls loudly for some more than ordinary means for 
 grappling with the state of things now existing. 
 
 Cause of this Crisis. 
 
 This state of things, no doubt, is the consequence of that 
 system of English education, so ably and successfully inaugu- 
 rated by Dr. Duff" in 1830. The eff'ect of such education is 
 thus described by Dr. Duff himself: "At the single town of 
 Hooghly, fourteen hundred boys are learning English. The 
 effect of this education on the Hindoos is prodigious; no 
 Hindoo who has received an English education ever remains 
 sincerely attached to his religion. Some continue to confess 
 it as matter of policy; but many profess themselves pure 
 deists, and some embrace Christianity. It is my firm belief, 
 that if our plans of education are followed up, there will not 
 
 ^ "India asks, Who is Christ? A Lecture delivered at the Town Hall, 
 Calcutta, on Wednesday, April 9, 1879; by Babu Keshub Chunder Sen." 
 (Calcutta, "Indian Mii-ior" Press, 1879.)
 
 6 Plea for a Mmionary Brotherhood 
 
 be a single idolater among the respectable classes in Bengal 
 thirty years hence ^" 
 
 Again, in an oration delivered before the Scotch General 
 Assembly in 1835, Dr. Duff said: "Do, then, let me again 
 crave the attention of this venerable court to the grand ^;<?cif- 
 liarity^ that if in India you only impart ordinary useful know- 
 ledgey you thereby demolish whaty by its people, is regarded as 
 sacred. A course of instruction that professes to convey truth 
 of any kind, thus becomes a species of religious education in 
 such a land, all education being there regarded as religious 
 or theological. Every branch of sound, general knowledge 
 which you inculcate, becomes the destroyer of some corre- 
 sponding part in the Hindoo system. It is this that gives 
 to the dissemination of mere human knowledge, in the pre- 
 sent state of India, such awful importance^.'' 
 
 Another Indian missionary writes : *' "Without doubt, Eng- 
 lish education is destroying Hinduism ; by which we mean, it 
 is destroying faith in the old system of religion. Hinduism 
 survives in its externals ; multitudes of educated men still 
 yield a respectful homage to the decaying system, but they 
 believe it not \*' 
 
 " We are sweeping away," writes Mr. Tucker, " as rapidly 
 as English education can travel, with the vast wave of Western 
 civilization, the many ancient beliefs and inveterate prejudices 
 with which India has long been held in bondage. The ques- 
 tion now is, not whether idolatry can last, for it is already doomed, 
 
 but WHETHER THE KiNGDOM OF ChRIST SHALL OR SHALL NOT 
 BE ERECTED ON ITS RUINS ™." 
 
 I have emphasized these last words, because they appear to 
 me exactly to describe the situation. It is the question now 
 hanging in the balance. Its answer, humanly speaking, de- 
 pends upon the action of the Church of England during the 
 next few years. Never, since Christianity was first preached, 
 had any Church such an opportunity as now lies before the 
 Church of this country: to her it belongs to decide whether 
 India, and through India, whether Asia itself shall be won 
 
 » " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 193. ^ lb., p. 292. 
 
 ' •' The Trident, the Crescent, and the Cross. A View of the Eeligions 
 History of India during the Hindu, Buddhist, Mohammedan, and Christian 
 periods, by the Kev. James Vaughan, Nineteen years a Missionary of C.M.S. 
 in Calcutta," p. 233. (Longmans, Green and Co., 1876.) 
 
 "* " Under His Banner. Papers on the Missionary- work of Modern Times. 
 By the Kev. H. W. Tucker, M.A., Secretary of y.P.Ci.,'' p. 62.
 
 in India* ' 7 
 
 or lost to the Kingdom of Christ upon earth. Day by day 
 we English are weaning India from its ancient belief: what 
 are we doing to build up the true faith on the ruins of 
 fallen creeds sapped by our hands ? 
 
 "What India needs at this Crisis. 
 
 India, as we have learnt from one of her own sons, is at 
 this moment eagerly asking, Who is Christ ? 
 
 India needs to have this question answered. Let Bishop 
 Douglas tell us how this may best be done. '' A missionary,'^ 
 he writes, ''should go forth as the messenger of the great 
 King, Who reigns from the Cross glorified in Heaven. That 
 King, ever since His Ascension-Day, has, as our own Andre wes 
 paints Him, rained dow-n the gifts and largesses of His coro- 
 nation, making the streets of His city run with rivers of 
 oil and wine, copious enough to satisfy the spiritual needs 
 of total humanity. He is a human King, and He works, 
 as such a king must work, by the human instruments and 
 ordinances of His kingdom, conveying, through men of flesh 
 and blood like His own, gifts without stint, and mercies 
 without measure. A preacher, therefore, of * the Gospel of 
 the kingdom,' is one who should go out into the highways 
 and hedges to invite man to a social feast, announcing every- 
 thing as ready. He should not scruple to put himself forward 
 as one sent from Heaven. He should say, *I come to you 
 full of gifts, which may be had for asking, because He for 
 whom I come is no Moses with a law written on hard stone 
 tables, but a giver, ''full of grace and truth.'' If you will believe 
 on my Master, I, by His power, will give you, through water, 
 union with His human nature, and thus for j?" ourselves a new 
 nature, involving fellowship with all saints, and, after that, 
 as you become more perfect Christians, I will give you Him- 
 self — His Flesh and Blood — as divine food. At the same 
 time, I will give you truth for the enlightenment of your 
 intellect, having from my King all that truth which He 
 Himself is, and gives to man.' Such, as I conceive, is the 
 message which an ambassador from Christ should convey to 
 man, and such the actual grace which by his office is im- 
 parted. If, too, he cannot speak thus, and thus impart bles- 
 sings, what is he but one of the philosophers? What but 
 a teacher in the schools of more or less truth, not a repre-
 
 8 Flea for a Mmionary Brotherhood 
 
 sentative of Him "Who is the Mediator between God and 
 man, not one sent by Christ as Christ by the Father^/' 
 
 "And besides, only in proportion as we appeal to the 
 heathen on the ground of Catholicity, can we expect that 
 blessing of God which will make our message supernaturally 
 persuasive to them. No one can deeply meditate upon that 
 seventeenth chapter of St. John's gospel, which throws such 
 light upon the subject of Missions, without seeing there, clearly 
 revealed, these three linked propositions : (1.) That the Father 
 sent the Son into the world to be man. (2.) That the Church, 
 sent by the Son, as His second self, and filled with His 
 Divinity, is designed to be fully one, within and without. 
 (3.) That the sight of this oneness is the one argument 
 which shall persuade the world to accept belief in Christ 
 as the Son of God. That is (1.) God in the Son became 
 flesh. (2.) God in a secondary sense became manifest in 
 the Church, which is the united mystical body of the Son. 
 (3.) This union, seen by the world, would have a voice which 
 would convince the world, saying, * If men through Christ 
 are united, who and what can Christ the uniting man be 
 but God?' If this be so, it follows, first, that a true faith 
 in God as come in the flesh has visible union as its necessary 
 product : and next, that except by this faith, and the union 
 which is its consequence, the world's conversion cannot be 
 achieved. Only by an united body can conversion be efiected, 
 because disunion is death, and out of death life cannot 
 come. Only the Catholic Church, and therefore not a mere 
 abstract and divided Christianity, can bring India to the faith 
 of Him Whose Flesh is as real as His Divinity ""J* 
 
 Missionary Brotherhoods a Means of supplying 
 
 THE Need. 
 
 So long as the end is gained, viz., the planting of the 
 Catholic Church in India, as the one power capable of re- 
 generating Indian humanity and bringing it to God through 
 sacramental union with the Incarnate Son, it matters little 
 what means may be employed. But one means, without for 
 a moment disparaging others, is that suggested by Bishop 
 Douglas, viz.. Missionary Brotherhoods. He has himself 
 sketched out the general aim and method of their working. 
 
 " " Indian Missions," p. 40. ° lb., p. 42.
 
 in India. 9 
 
 '* It seems to me," he wrote, " that it should be our aim to 
 occupy centres of influence with bodies of missionaries, each 
 
 ^ody under a bishop The work of each such body, 
 
 thus located amid a large population, should be carried on, 
 I believe, under a distinct perception of the fact that Euro- 
 peans can work here only as leaven which is inserted in 
 an immense lump ; and that, as only Indians can go out 
 over the land to convert the masses of India, Europeans 
 can but expect to fashion a select few, into whom they can 
 pour the light of God, that through them it may be diffused 
 generally. The actual form and pattern of their work can 
 hardly be cut out beforehand upon any theory ; and each 
 locality, having its own differences of circumstance, will also 
 have its own peculiarities of work. I believe, however, that 
 such bodies, settled here and there over the country, would 
 gradually find everywhere an increasing number of persons 
 ready to be infolded, and, when once brought to Christ, 
 worthy to be moulded by loving hands for such work as 
 they are capable : while by literary labours, when the lan- 
 guage is mastered, original and translational, they would sow 
 broadcast seeds of true thought, which intelligence would 
 mentally absorb, and which in due time would bear fruit 
 manyfold. A central power of this kind, so vastly superior 
 in every way to all other influence, could not but take a 
 lead in proportion as it became firmly established. . . . Blessed 
 as it would be by the reviving Spirit, it can be nothing 
 else than the power, sooner or later to reveal itself, of an 
 endless life p." 
 
 Such was the idea cherished by Bishop Douglas : he wished, 
 as I understand, for a body, or bodies, of men free from all 
 family ties, ready to go wherever sent, and to take up any 
 work that might come in their way, living together in a 
 plain and simple manner, bound indeed by no vow but that 
 of their baptism or of their priesthood, yet, in that service 
 of Christ which is perfect freedom, living at least in the 
 spirit and with the power ^ of the threefold vow of poverty, 
 chastity, and obedience. By such a body of men the life 
 
 p " Indian Missions," p. 56. 
 
 1 "No one outside of the pale of our society can form any notion of the 
 admiration in which the missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church are 
 held in the popular mind by their simple and rigorous habits of personal 
 
 life The vows of purity, poverty, and obedience, are essentially Hindoo 
 
 in conception." — Extract from the " Theistic Annual" of 1877; an organ 
 of the Brahmo Somaj. Quoted in the Brahmo Year-Book for 1877, p. 42.
 
 '10 Plea for a Missionary Brotherhood 
 
 of the Churcli will be exhibited in action in such a way as 
 it can hardly be by isolated missionaries : here will be exerted 
 the force of frequent united intercession; here will be ob- 
 served the daily hours of prayer; and above all, here will 
 be the constant drawing in of fresh stores of strength through 
 sacramental communion, and the daily pleading of the great 
 Christian Sacrifice in union with the unceasing intercession 
 of the High Priest Himself at the right hand of the Father. 
 The motto of such a body will be, ^' not by might, nor by 
 power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts ^" Without 
 neglecting any means in their power to bring to bear upon 
 the mass of heathenism opposed to them, they will yet trust 
 chiefly to the unseen influences of the Holy Spirit working 
 secretly upon the heart, influences set in motion by prayer, 
 in accordance with the laws of the spiritual world. Who can 
 tell how soon, before Him of whom Zerubbabel was a type, 
 the great mountain of Caste ^ may become a plain? Already 
 there is a shaking; who can tell how soon, in answer to 
 united persevering prayer, the Spirit may breathe upon the 
 myriads of India slain by a desolating superstition, that they 
 may live, and stand up upon their feet, an exceeding great 
 army * of the living God ? 
 
 Advantages of the proposed Method of Working. 
 
 Some of these advantages have already been alluded to, 
 such as the opportunities enjoyed by a community for united 
 intercession. We know that no faithful prayer is ever in 
 vain, but, as certainly, special promises are attached in the 
 Bible to united prayer. Add to this the benefits of mutual 
 counsel and sympathy. Isolation and want of sympathy are 
 by no means the least burdens of a missionary life. I have 
 observed this in the case of some of the greatest men. Swartz 
 writes, " O that I had a dear brother with me, then could 
 many be better instructed^.'' Dr. Dufi* in a similar strain wrote : 
 " Many, many are exceedingly kind and friendly, but there 
 is not one who can feel and co-operate with me as a brother^ J' 
 And our own Bishop Wilson, of Calcutta, wrote: "Such is 
 India ; sorrow, separation, grief, exhausted spirits and strength, 
 
 ' Zech. iv. 6, 7. * See Bishop Douglas, "ludian Missions," p. 28. 
 
 * Ezekiel xxxvii. 1 — 10. 
 
 « " Memoirs of C. F. Swartz, by H. Pearson, D.D.," vol. i. p. 195. 
 
 ^ " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 24G. The italics are his own.
 
 in India. 11 
 
 n^iaided solitary effort, witli the trying climate and anomalous 
 position y/' This burden of isolation men. living in a com- 
 munity may hope to avoid. 
 
 Another obvious advantage of a community-life is the pos- 
 sibility of working on a principle of division of labour, by 
 means of which each one's special gifts and abilities may be 
 utilized to the best advantage, instead of, as in the case of 
 a single missionary, one man being forced, from the neces- 
 sities of his situation, to undertake many things for which 
 he may have no taste or aptitude. The advantages of this 
 will be more clearly seen on considering the kind of work 
 to be done. 
 
 Kinds of Work. 
 
 The kind of work to be undertaken by such a body of 
 workers as I have had in view has already been alluded to 
 in the sketch quoted above from Bishop Douglas. It will, 
 as he remarked, depend very much upon circumstances, and 
 upon the opportunities that may be presented. But one 
 object of the missionary community will undoubtedly be, to 
 furnish a settled centre of Church-life, where earnest- minded 
 enquirers after truth, of whom there are many now in India, 
 may be sure of finding sympathy, and help towards the solu- 
 tion of their doubts and difficulties. Besides such personal 
 intercourse, which is probably one of the most effectual means 
 of influence, there will be opportunities for preaching, giving 
 lectures on religious, literary, or even scientific subjects, trans- 
 lating and engaging in other kinds of literary work, such 
 as writing articles in established reviews or other periodicals, 
 and drawing up, under proper ecclesiastical authority, cate- 
 chisms and books of instruction in Christian doctrine. 
 
 The following extracts from the " Life of Dr. Duff " will serve 
 to illustrate what may be done in this way : — " The remainder 
 of our time is daily devoted to conversations, discussions, 
 preaching, translation, preparation of tracts, or any other 
 miscellaneous objects of a missionary character which may 
 present themselves in the course of providence, or which may 
 best comport with the ability or predilection of the individual 
 labourers ^'' 
 
 "The public offices being now shut on the Sabbath-day, 
 Dr. Duff opened a class for the systematic study of the Bible 
 
 y " Life of Bishop Wilson," vol. ii. p. 78. 
 ^ " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 452.
 
 12 Flea for a Missionary Brotherhood 
 
 by thoughtful and religiously-disposed Bengalees, who had 
 never studied in a Christian college, and were occupied as 
 clerks all the week. Many of that large class were in the 
 habit of visiting him and the other missionaries, as inquirers, 
 in the evening. Every Sunday morning, at seven o'clock, 
 saw a goodly number of young and middle-aged Hindoos^ 
 of the higher class, gathered in the Mission-house*." 
 
 Among the works to be undertaken there will also be the 
 study of Sanskrit ; but this is a matter of such great im- 
 portance that it must have a section to itself. 
 
 Importance of the Study of Sanskrit. 
 
 Sanskrit, so far as I have been able to discover, has been 
 but little cultivated by missionaries. This is the more to be 
 regretted when we remember that it is the only means for 
 obtaining, at first hand, a thorough knowledge of Indian 
 religious, theological, and philosophical systems ^. 
 
 **To understand the past and present state of Indian society, 
 to unravel the complex texture of the Hindu mind, to explain 
 inconsistencies otherwise inexplicable, we must trust to San- 
 skrit literature alone. Sanskrit is the only language of poetry, 
 drama, law, philosophy, the only key to a vast and apparently- 
 confused religious system, and a sure medium of approach to 
 the hearts of the Hindus % however unlearned, or however dis- 
 united. It is, in truth, even more to India than classical and 
 patristic literature was to Europe at the time of the Refor- 
 mation. It gives a deeper impress to the Hindu mind, so 
 that every Hindu, however unlettered, is unconsciously afiected 
 by it; and every Englishman, however strange to the East, 
 if only he be at home in Sanskrit literature, will rapidly 
 become at home in every corner of our Indian territories*^." 
 
 • " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 257. 
 
 ^ " Mr. Swartz deeming it necessary, in order to converse with advantage 
 witli these people, to be well-acquainted with their system of theology, whatever 
 it was, spent Jive years, after he had attained some proficiency in their lan- 
 guage (Tamul), in reading their mythological books only. Hard and irksome 
 as this task must have been to a devout mind, he has reaped this benefit from 
 it, that he can at any time command the attention of the Malabars by allusions 
 to their favourite books and histories, which he never fails to make subservient 
 to the truth."—" Life of Swartz," vol. i. p. 164. Swartz, however, never learned 
 Sanskrit, and in consequence, was, on one very important occasion, completely 
 taken in and misled by the Hindoo pundits. See " Life of Swartz," vol. i. p. 315. 
 
 _*= " Dr. Mill still accompanied the party, and his knowledge of Sanscrit served 
 him well. The dehght of the native priests on hearing him converse in it was 
 indescribable."—" Life of Bishop Wilson," vol. i. p. 415. 
 
 ■* " Indian Wisdom," Introduction, p. xxxi., by Monier WilHams, M.A., D.C.L., 
 &c., Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford.
 
 . in India. 13 
 
 So writes Professor Monier Williams; and in answer to the 
 question, How is it possible for us Englishmen, in the face of 
 such differences as meet us in India, to gain any really satis- 
 factory knowledge of the people committed to our rule? he 
 replies : " only one key to this difficulty exists. Happilj^ 
 India, though it has at least twenty spoken languages, has 
 but one sacred and learned language, and one literature ac- 
 cepted and revered by all adherents of Hinduism alike, how- 
 ever diverse in race, dialect, rank, and creed. That language 
 is Sanskrit, and that literature is Sanskrit literature, the re- 
 pository of vedttf or * knowledge ' in its widest sense, the vehicle 
 of Hindu theology, philosophy, law, and mythology, the one 
 guide to the intricacies and contradictions of Hinduism, the 
 one bond of sympathy, which, like an electric chain, connects 
 Hindus of opposite characters in every district of India ^." 
 '* There can be little doubt," writes Professor "Williams again, 
 " that a more correct knowledge of the religious opinions and 
 practices of the Sanskritic Sindus, or, as we may call them, 
 the Hindus proper, is essential to extensive progress in our 
 Indian Missions ^." 
 
 The following passage from the life of Bishop Wilson may 
 be added, as illustrating the value of Sanskrit as a Missionary 
 agency: — "Passing on to Kurnaul, the camp was- pitched for 
 one night at Thanesir, a very celebrated place in Eastern 
 story, abounding with magnificent temples, immense tanks, 
 and very holy Brahmins. The latter found out the Bishop's 
 pundit, and taking him from the camp at night, inquired 
 about his master's * faith and duty.' — What were his plans ? 
 What his religion? What his habits ? What his reasons for 
 travelling ? What his teaching ? The pundit was a Chris- 
 tian, a son of Anund Musseeh, going down to Calcutta to 
 complete his education at Bishop's College; and as the best 
 answer to some of these questions, he went and fetched from 
 the tent Dr. Mill's Sanscrit work called the Christa Sangita. 
 It is scarcely necessary to say that this is an epic poem in 
 Sanscrit verse, containing the history of Christianity, and the 
 evidences on which it rests. It is a wonderful proof of genius 
 and learning, and a most valuable gift and legacy to India. 
 So much were these learned Brahmins struck with the poem, 
 
 * "Indian Wisdom," p. xxvii. 
 
 ^ " The Study of Sanskrit in relation to Missionary-work in India. An 
 inaugural lecture delivered before the University of Oxford, on April 19, 1861," 
 p. 38. (Williams and Norgate.)
 
 14 Plea for a Missionary Brotherhood 
 
 as the pundit read it, that they continually asked for more 
 and more ; and it was not till day dawned, and the camp 
 began to move, that they released him, saying, that ' the 
 Bishop himself must be an angel;' and that 'no mere mortal 
 man could have written such a book &/' 
 
 Enough has been said to shew the extreme importance of 
 a knowledge of Sanskrit and Sanskrit literature to the Chris- 
 tian missionary in India. I can only account for its almost 
 total neglect by English missionaries, by the fact that it 
 necessarily requires more time and labour than any single 
 missionary could possibly afford to bestow upon it. The re- 
 quired leisure and opportunity can be obtained, as far as I can 
 see, only in such a community as I have had in view. 
 
 Importance of Calcutta as a Sphere of 
 Missionary-work ^, 
 
 I believe I am correct in saying that Calcutta has been all 
 but deserted by the English Church. Only a few months ago 
 an English missionary wrote from India : — " Calcutta has been 
 
 really deserted by the English Church It is a great 
 
 natural centre in ruins." And this is the more to be deplored, 
 when it is remembered how unrivalled a centre Calcutta is for 
 missionary operations of all kinds. Calcutta has been called, 
 and, I should think, truly, the brain of Indian Dr. Duff, the 
 pioneer of English education in India, determined after careful 
 and laborious investigation, and in the teeth of home injunc- 
 tions to the contrary, " that Calcutta itself must be the scene 
 of his earliest and principal efforts, from which he could best 
 operate on the interior^." He afterwards wrote: — "Of all 
 stations in India, Calcutta is by far the most important. Its 
 population is a vast motley assemblage or congregation of 
 persons from all parts of Eastern Asia. A revolution of opinion 
 here would be felt more or less throughout the Eastern world. 
 But we require a score more labourers^'; and if we had two 
 
 & " Life of Bishop Wilson," vol. ii. p. 121. 
 
 ^ I am led to speak of Calcutta in particular, as being the site of the Mission 
 from Oxford, shortly to be established there, m answer to the Bishop of Cal- 
 cutta's earnest invitation, on the lines indicated above. I ought to add, how- 
 ever, that neither the Bishop of Calcutta, nor the Committee of the Oxford 
 Mission to Calcutta, are in the least degree committed to the contents of this 
 letter. It is written on my own sole responsibility. — E. F. W. 
 
 ' " The young Scot had vowed to kill Hindooism, and this he could best do 
 by striking at its brain. Benares, Pooree, Bombay more lately, might have been 
 its heart ; but Calcutta was its brain." — " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 87. 
 
 k " Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 105.
 
 in India. 15 
 
 score, Calcutta alone and its neighbourhood would afford abun- 
 dant scope for their best efforts for at least several years to 
 come. It has hitherto been a radical error in the organization 
 of Missions, to scatter the pioneers, and so dilute and fritter 
 away their strength, instead of concentrating their strength on 
 some well-chosen field \" 
 
 It is impossible not to be struck with the truth and wisdom 
 of this last observation. To concentrate efforts on well-chosen 
 centres, this is undoubtedly one of the secrets of successful 
 evangelization. This is how the Gospel was propagated at the 
 first. Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus ™, Corinth, Home, are 
 all instances of the application of this principle. It is just 
 this frittering away of strength, of which Dr. Duff speaks, 
 that the working by means of brotherhoods would avoid. 
 
 Appeal for "Workers. 
 
 But men are wanted, able, earnest, devoted. May I quote, 
 my dear Canon, your own words, and say : " What we want is, 
 men who are brave enough to face the enemies of man in 
 God's way, and in His strength ; men who will have courage 
 enough to deal with man as God has told us to deal with him ; 
 men whose physical, moral, and intellectual powers have been 
 cultivated to their highest perfection ; men of patient, calm 
 endurance, unchanged by any suffering, however refined, or 
 however brutal, standing in the whole armour of God, ready 
 for service as faithful soldiers and servants of Jesus Christ °." 
 Are there any whose ambition first -classes and fellowships 
 have failed to quench ; what nobler object for the expenditure 
 of a life's energy, capable, one would think, of satisfying the 
 most soaring ambition, than the engaging in a hand-to-hand 
 struggle with an enemy so worthy to be grappled with, as the 
 ancient religion of India, — a religion possessed of so amazing 
 a power of vitality, that, after lying crushed for well-nigh ten 
 centuries under a rival system (Buddhism), it arose, as it were, 
 from the very grave, and expelled the intruder from its bound- 
 aries : a religion that up to the present time has successfully 
 
 1 "Life of Dr. Duff," vol. i. p. 174. 
 
 >" By means of St. Paul's three years' stay at Ephesus, we read that " all 
 they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus." — Actsxix. 10; 
 cf. XX. 31. 
 
 " " The Call of Samuel. A Sermon preached before the University of Oxford, 
 on Sunday, Oct. 19, 1879, by the Kev. Edward King, D.D. , Eegius Professor of 
 Pastoral Theology, and Canon of Christ Church," p. 16. (James Parker 
 and Co., 1879.)
 
 16 Plea for a Missionary Brotherhood in India, 
 
 resisted every assault ? "Where can the Christian soldier find 
 a foeman more worthy of his steel ? 
 
 Are there anj'-, priests or laj'-men, bound as yet by no in- 
 dissoluble ties to home and country, who, it may be, are look- 
 ing round, before settling to their life's work, for some worthy 
 object on which to expend their God -given powers of heart 
 and intellect ; how better could such powers be spent than in 
 striking, if it were but one blow, towards the winning of India 
 for Jesus Christ ? Would not " life be worth living " to have 
 done but this ? England has lavished freely of her best in 
 blood, and treasure, and manhood, and intelligence, to subdue 
 India to the British Crown. In spite of climate and exile, 
 volunteers are never wanting for the Indian military or civil 
 service. But what has England's Church done hitherto, com- 
 pared with her opportunities and responsibilities, to bring 
 India to acknowledge the dominion of the King of kings? 
 Where are the volunteers for the far more glorious service of 
 the Cross? Though there may be many adversaries, a great 
 door and effectual is now standing open. It is impossible to 
 exaggerate the magnificence of the opportunities even now 
 lying ready to be seized. Who will help to win for Jesus 
 "this bright, this precious diadem, India °;" to add, if it 
 may be, a new lustre even to His glory on Whose " Head 
 were many crowns"? 
 
 You, my dear Professor, will, I know, join with me in the 
 prayer that God's Holy Spirit would stir up in many and 
 many a heart a devoted zeal and a self-sacrificing enthusiasm, 
 proportioned to the greatness of the work which has yet to be 
 done by the Church of God in India. 
 
 Believe me to be, 
 
 Ever yours very affectionately, 
 
 E. F. WILLIS. 
 
 CuDDESDON College, 
 Nov. 24, 1879. 
 
 ° " None but Jesus, none but Jesus, none but Jesus, ever deserved this bright, 
 this precious diadem, India ; and Jesus shall have it." — Chunder Sen, " India 
 asks, Who is Christ? " p. 2. 
 
 ^rinteb bg lames l^mVtx Rnb Co., Crofon f arb, #^forb.
 
 •«'i«% 
 
 ':^ 
 
 Mm 
 
 «:■» 
 
 ^tk' ^ 
 
 /: 
 
 "V 
 
 % . 
 
 ^SHF-c -V. 
 
 r-^ 
 
 Ibl 7. 
 
 V \1\>^