Page:Growth of Asamiya Language.pdf/4

APOLOGIA AGAIN the same plea for pardon of my kind readers. This work, like its predecessor, may be found limited not only by the author's inconsiderable range of studies, but also by the deficiency of the all- absorbing attention that It demanded. Perhaps most people aspare after more peace of mind as his age advances, and no few of them are probably disappointed to find that worries like weeds have luxuriant growth instead in their gardens. The most pity of it is the morbid realisation that whatever we may be able to klek of with our legs, we cannot kiek our legs off to be sure. Combined with the is still another fact that very likely, every true student of research finds himself with age more and more a leamer still, but not less and loss prone to mistakes yet. This pleasantly pen- sive consciousness mars any possibility of indulgence in self-compla- cence, and keeps me ever alert. But, alas! few house holders, how- ever awake, can actually know when the most elever theft takes place in the house. Then there are handicaps almost self-imposed. I "enter in at the strait gate leaving the wide", and follow the "narrow way" avoiding the broad". For I consider orthodoxy to be the knell of scholarship and freedom its very life-breath. I feel that the pointman should more care to see that his lemp is still burning than that he is shaking it while the train is shunting, I own I owe the idea of making a separate treatise on the language to the wisdom of Jules Bloch and of dwelling at length on the inscrip tions of ancient kings of Asam to find therein the first characteristles of the Kamarupa Prakt long looked for to that of Beni Madhav Baru.. The death of the former at the ripe old age of an octogenerian and that of the latter before he was sixty have indieted heavy lowes on Indological studies in general and on linguisties in particular, besides depriving me pronally of two greatest friends, philosopher and guides I think that the Beld of research on Asamiya language is still follow and virgin and consider myself fully responsible for the originality in the production of this work. Not that I am detracting a whit from the tribute of admiration due to the industry of earlier workers. I have rather quite freely quoted them where sense prevails, eliminating all that were sheer patronising or patriotic, whimsical or mechanical Every particle of detail of study of the language we thought out in my own mind and published in the journals and magazines since