Tamil Proverbs/Preface to the First Edition
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
ADVERTISEMENT.
It is hoped that the following collection of Tamil Proverbs may be useful to those who are in any way connected with the interesting people who speak that language. Examples of concise and forcible expression are thereby furnished, which may tend to aid in the study of the language, and occasional allusions to national, social, and religious usages may suggest heads of valuble enquiry, while the modes of thinking, and the natural shrewdness of the Hindu mind may be seen through this medium. It is presumed that the translation generally conveys the sense of the original, although not always with its force, nor with the elegance that might be desired. Should it be called for, a future edition may remedy some of the existing faults, and also supply deficiencies, both as to the character of the translation, and the number of the examples.
Jaffna, Christmas, 1842.