DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12673#0160
ORIENTAL STUDIES.
141
one is wasted upon moral philosophy, dialectics and
metaphysics, and the remainder is deemed sufficient
for theology. On certain occasions, students at the
different seminaries are taught the ceremonies of
the church, and lectured in the Holy Scriptures.
There are two kinds of pupils, the resident, who
wear the clerical garb, and are limited in number,
and the non-resident, who dress like the laity,
unless they intend to take orders. In this course of
education much stress is laid upon, and pride taken
in, a knowledge of Latin, whose similarity to Por-
tuguese enables the student to read and speak it
with peculiar facility. Many authors are perused,
but the niceties of scholarship are unknown, good
editions of the poets and orators being unprocurable
here. Few Goanese write the classical language
well; and though all can master the words, they
seldom read deeply enough to acquire the idiom.
And lastly, the strange pronunciation of the conso-
nants in Portuguese is transferred to Latin, impart-
ing to it an almost unrecognisable sound. The
clergy belonging to the country, of course under-
stand and speak the Concanee Maharattas. Ser-
mons are sometimes preached, and services per-
formed in this dialect: it boasts of a printed
volume of oragoens (prayers) dated 1660, for
141
one is wasted upon moral philosophy, dialectics and
metaphysics, and the remainder is deemed sufficient
for theology. On certain occasions, students at the
different seminaries are taught the ceremonies of
the church, and lectured in the Holy Scriptures.
There are two kinds of pupils, the resident, who
wear the clerical garb, and are limited in number,
and the non-resident, who dress like the laity,
unless they intend to take orders. In this course of
education much stress is laid upon, and pride taken
in, a knowledge of Latin, whose similarity to Por-
tuguese enables the student to read and speak it
with peculiar facility. Many authors are perused,
but the niceties of scholarship are unknown, good
editions of the poets and orators being unprocurable
here. Few Goanese write the classical language
well; and though all can master the words, they
seldom read deeply enough to acquire the idiom.
And lastly, the strange pronunciation of the conso-
nants in Portuguese is transferred to Latin, impart-
ing to it an almost unrecognisable sound. The
clergy belonging to the country, of course under-
stand and speak the Concanee Maharattas. Ser-
mons are sometimes preached, and services per-
formed in this dialect: it boasts of a printed
volume of oragoens (prayers) dated 1660, for