The Works of Sir William Jones: With the Life of the Author by Lord Teignmouth (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781108055703)

A renowned Enlightenment polymath, Sir William Jones (1746-94) was a lawyer, translator and poet who wrote authoritatively on politics, comparative linguistics and oriental literature. Known initially for his Persian translations and political radicalism, Jones became further celebrated for his study and translation of ancient Sanskrit texts following his appointment to the supreme court in Calcutta in 1783. He spent the next eleven years introducing Europe to the mysticism and rationality of Hinduism through works such as his nine 'Hymns' to Hindu deities and his translation of the Sanskrit classic Sacontal , influencing Romantic writers from William Blake to August Wilhelm Schlegel. Volume 3 of his thirteen-volume works, published in 1807, contains Jones' 'Anniversary Discourses' (1784-94) addressed to the Asiatick Society as its president - including 'On the Hindus' (1786), a seminal work of comparative linguistics. It also contains his landmark essay of cultural comparison, 'On the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India' (1784).

Author: William Jones
ISBN-10: 1108055702
ISBN-13: 9781108055703
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 03/28/2013
Pages: 466
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.29lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 1.04d