Further Pali Grammatica

I'm first going to list our most recent "discoveries", then reply to
some points raised in reply to my former posting.

Yesterday, Nyanatusita and I ventured out to the University of
Peradeniya Library --sadly, this may be the last time either one of us
has direct access to the collections.  The University's supreme
council has declared that the library is for students only, and,
henceforth, neither foreign scholars nor monks will be allowed entry
(unless, of course, they speak to someone sufficiently high up in the
bureaucracy to have an exception made in their case ... a time
consuming venture that will deter many like myself, who have limited
time on the island).

The library itself is reasonably charming in the cool season; I assume
(and Bhadanta N. affirms) that it would be rather difficult to endure
in the heat of summer.  It is the only library I have ever visited
where Pali is the first part of the collection that you see after
walking through the main entrance; sadly, the Pali resources are
(illogically) spread out into several confusing sections and
sub-collections around the building --it would take some considerable
time and patience to really "use" the collection, as the card
catalogues seemed abysmal (and I doubt that the entire collection has
ever been properly catalogued).

However, in sifting through the near-random assortment of old editions
on the wall, one has the strange pleasure of encountering hand-written
notes by Trenckner, Woodward, and Rhys-Davids, etc. --as many editions
are "ex libris", and were personally bound (from miscellaneous
sources) to begin with.

So... what did we find?

In a single binding they had the first three volumes of the important
four-volume explanation of Kaccaya by Tha Do Oung --however, they
lacked the fourth volume, and the edition was badly rotting.  At any
rate, I may now provide a full citation, and again plead that
list-members check their libraries to see if a complete (and intact)
edition can be found, possibly to be Xerox copied or scanned, as this
would be very useful for my own work:
   _A Grammar of the Pali Language (after Kaccaayana)_, Tha Do Oung,
1899 (i.e., Vol. 1 = 1899), Akyab Orphan Press (!)

I note that Akyab is indeed in the Arakan/Chittagong region of Burma
--so those who are interested may want to investigate any other
editions that were produced in this period by the "Akyab Orphan
Press".

I discovered a Sinhalese edition of the (Burmese) Vaccavaacaka, a
grammatical work in the Kacc. tradition (Nyanatusita informs me), that
I had not previously encountered.  Nyanatusita's list stipulates two
Tikas and a Diipanii for this short work --so I conclude that it is
either a very dense or a very important grammatical treatise.  Note
the erroneous Romanization in the title of this Sinhalese edition
(i.e., likely library catalogues will repeat the error):
   _Wacchawachakaya_ (sic.), Dhammadasi Maha Sami, 1899, (with a
Sinhalese Paraphrase by V.A. Nanatilaka)

   Another edition of Kacc. was produced in Sri Lanka in 1913 ... seems
to be derivative of the 1904 edition, etc., but varies in the stated
title, among other details:
   _Kaccaayana, the oldest and most complete grammar of the Paali
Language_, Kaccaayana, 1913, "Revised by Venerable M. Gunaratana"
   A few days ago, Nyanatusita and I scanned in the earlier (1894)
edition of Kacc. in Sinhalese script with marginalia --and this will
become available anon.

   A very small, seemingly useful instruction & exercise book produced
at Poona (with English instruction/vocabulary, but Devanagari-script
Pali) is the following,
   _A Manual of Paali_, C.V. Joshi, 1964, Poona
I may have recourse to this one day myself if/when I want to practice
Pali in devanagari.

   I finally saw/encountered a copy of D'Alwis's 1863 work on Pali
Grammar --it seems as if it would still be a very engaging read today,
as it is more a series of misc. articles on grammatical subjects than
a coherent edition or treatise.  A "pioneering" work to be sure, and
one that is filled with errors --including mistakes as to which source
text is which.

   Two obscure works by C. Duroiselle & co., _Pali Unseens_, 1907, is a
set of texts for in-class instruction and testing (not very useful),
and from the same press with no stated author is _Pali Poetry_,
seeming more useful.

   In reply to the points raised:
   1. Indeed, the book on syntax is limited to nouns, and thus is
inadequate in treating verbs, word-order, and particles, among other
things.  However, it remains the best book of its kind that I have
seen --certainly more useful than Warder, for a student at my
transitional level of (in-)competence.
   2. The quality of the Hewaviratine re-prints is indeed (as I
described) both "poor" and "inconsistent" --if Rett is happy with his
particular volume, than I am happy for him.  However, even the best
volumes (within the inconsistent range that I described) stand in
un-flattering contrast to the first edition.  Most of the re-printed
volumes that I handled had inconsistent page-colour (e.g., one hundred
pages in grimy white, followed by two hundred of grimy yellow, then
switching back, showing a printer who didn't care about alternating
between different paper stock --all of it rather poor quality) and, as
I say, the actual quality of the text, etc., would be a disappointment
to a westerner --especially if their expectations were formed on the
basis of the first edition.
   While it is true that these Sinhalese editions are cheap, having
them shipped is certainly not; further, howeverso cheap they may be,
they are not cheaper than Burmese, Indian, or Taiwanese editions --and
the Burmese, Indian and Taiwanese re-prints and editions I have seen
are more legible, and less depressing to look at.  Thus, I suggested
that one consider acquiring or reproducing the first editions for
oneself --I could here add the suggestion of Burmese editions as an
alternative (although, of course, they are not a substitute, esp. for
comparative reading, etc.).

E.M.