Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/181

IV.] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 131 had succumbed during the last days of Buddhism, In written language, metrical forms, aiming at ryth- mical perfection gradually found favour, and Sans- kritic expressions were preferred to the loose Prakrita which in the Buddhistic age had been the current dialect of this country. Everywhere a reactionary movement—a tendency to correct and embellish the current forms—was observed. Both social and literary movements were imbued with this spirit. But the chief point in the revival of Hinduism ০5 was the promulgation of the creed of devotion and devotion. trust in God, which tended to balance the scepti- cism of the later forms of Buddhism. Buddhism had, in its flourishing days, observed a strict moral code. The metaphysical side of religion was rejec- ted by Buddha as vain speculation. In the Ambatta Sutta, he declares theological discussion to be utterly fruitless, and advises his followers to stick to the practical matters of high moral principles and works of philanthropy and charity. When, however, Buddhism with its noble laws of character declined, the masses felt that the moral code was unavailing without faith. From one ex- treme, the human mind always runs to the other. In the natural evolution of spiritual thought, the negative aspect changes till it takes a positive character. The Hindu reaction put faith in place of laws. Thus moral principles, self-dicipline, and introspection, the watch-words of Buddhism, were thrown into the back-ground, and faith in God became the motto and the catch-word of the Pouranik Ranaissance. The Hindu revivalists, in running to such an extreme, perhaps overdid their