j I
xxtv
centuries more than seven, saw the decline and downfall of such lofty poetic ideas. Modern representatives of thestf romances, the Champus of the last century, lay no claijn to any elegance at all. Their authors hardly deserve the f | credit of an aesthetic taste. The earlier Champus we^e an
\ \ amusing composition and the tempering of prose with
: 1 verse was happily accomplished. The reformation has long
* l since set in. A struggle has commenced in the l^id to go
? | beyond the dead forms of literary composition and to
. ; recover what is pure, nourishing and life-g^ing. The
* / : translation of some of the tales of Shakespere into elegant
| , Sanskrit prose and the epitomical redaction of Bana's
I invaluable romance are a concrete manifestation of the
| imperceptible progress of literary ideas.
ST .
;" '*„ ; In this brief description of the poetry, the prose and
the drama of Sanskrit, we have been speaking of a gradual deterioration in the simplicity of language and lucidity of \ Composition. For a clear understanding of the causes of
\ / such a decline in the merit ofliterary writings, the history
{: of styles had better be traced since the Vedic beginnings.
The earliest literature presents a fluent and simple style of composition* The sentences are short and verbal forms are abundant. Attributive and nominal expressions do not * j find a place therein. This construction is facilitated by a
I ! ! succession of concise ideas, which gives it a sort of simple
* grace and fine-cut structure. This then is the form of the
Brahmana language. It lacks not striking thoughts, bold ^^pression and impressive reasoning. Leaving out of Account the unnatural appearance of the sutra style—which