Sir William Jones, a ReaderThis Reader contains selected representative works of Sir William Jones (1746-94), the prominent British philologist, poet, translator, orientalist, jurist, and father of comparative studies. His works have not been published since a six-volume edition of 1799 and a thirteen-volume edition of 1807. Also, they have never been critically edited and annotated: this is the first volume of its kind. The Reader is organized in three major sections, each with its own introduction: Literature; Language and Linguistics; and Religion, Mythology, and Metaphysics. Each selection also has its own introductory headnote, suggesting a context for that work's composition and its value to current scholarship. At the end of the anthology, the editor provides a selected bibliography as well as a comprehensive index consisting of titles, places, subjects, and themes. As Jones's major writings were in literature, that section is the longest and is subdivided into poetry, drama, and criticism. The section on poetry is a blend of the Classical, the European, the Indian, and the Persian. Several of these influenced the English Romantic poets in their hymns and odes. This section also includes Jones's translation of the entire Gita-Govinda of Jayadeva, the epic telling of the love story of Radha and Krishna. This is followed by a sub-section on drama which features the complete text of Kalidasa's Shakuntala, which intrigued Europe, particularly Goethe, and led to other translations of the play. The section on language and linguistics has five epoch-making essays or extracts from long essays, covering grammar, orthography, and comparative linguistics. The last section shows Jones's transcendence of Christianimperialism and appreciation of Eastern theologies and mythical beliefs. Extracts from essays on 'The Gods of Greece, Italy, and India' and on the Hindu zodiac show his knowledge of astrology, astronomy, and the divinities in three ancient civilizations, with references to their Egyptian and the Chinese counterparts. A friend and correspondent of Edmund Burke, Benjamin Franklin, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Samuel Johnson, Sir William Jones's work needs to be seen more clearly than it has been. This Reader fulfills that need. |
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Contents
Invocation of Ganesa | 11 |
The Muse Recalled | 31 |
Lines from the Arabic | 39 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Alcaeus ancient Arabian Arabick Arabs arms Asiatick attend beams beautiful beloved BHRIGU blossoms bosom bower BRAHMA Brahmen bright Caissa called Canna celestial Cham charms clouds damsels daughter deities delight Discourse divine Dushm Dushmanta earth essay eyes fatal ring flowers forest fruit gale gems give goddess grace Greeks grove hand heart hermits Hindus holy Hymn imitation India Indian Indra Jones Jones's Kālidāsa king language learned letters lips literature Looking lord lotos Madh Madhavya Mahabharata maid mansion Marichi Māt MENU mind Misr moon musick nature night Nyāya nymph o'er passion Persian Persian language pious pleasure poem poetry poets prince Priyamvadā Purānas religion Sacontalā sacred sage Sanscrit Sir William Jones smile soft soul sound spirit stars stream supreme sweet thee thou tion translation tree Vēda Vedas verse VISHNU whilst word youth