A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

>DR. PAUL""DEUSSEN.* .ORE than a decade ,has passed since a young Germanstudent, one of eight children of a not ve^y wellrtodoclergyman, heard on a certain day Professor Lassenlecturing on a language and literature new very ne #even at that timeto European scholars, namely, Sanskrit.The lectures were of course free ;for even now ic is in*possible for any one in any European University to makea living by teaching Sanskrit, unless indeed the Universitybacks him.Lnssen was almost the last of that heroic band ofGerman scholars (for, heroic certainly they were, whatinterest except their pure and unselfish love of knowledgecould German scholars have had at that time in Indianliterature ?),the pioneers of Sanskrit scholarship in Germany. The veteran Professor was expounding a chapterof Saknntala and on that ; day there was no one theremore eagerly and attentively listening to Lassen s exposition than our young student. The subject matter of theexposition was of course interesting and wonderful, butmore wonderful was that strange language, the strangesounds of which, although uttered with all those difficultpeculiarities that Sanscrit consonants are subjected to inthe months of unaccustomed Europeans, had a strangefascination for him. He came home to his lodgings, butthat night sleep could not make him oblivious of what hehad heard. A glimpse of a hitherto unknown laad hadbeen given to him, a land i^r more gorgeous in* Reprinted from tb^Brahmavadin,1896its colours