Fwd: [INDOLOGY] Edward Conze's Memoirs

[Asko Parpola]

I have kept the following email communication by Paul Williams, Centre  
for Buddhist Studies, University of Bristol, on the 20th of Oct. 1995.
With best regards, AP

The bulk of Edward Conze's books and papers are held in the University  
of Bristol Library. However, when they were bought from Mrs. Conze  
soon after her husband's death, she did not let the library have the  
manuscript of Vol. 3 of the Memoirs, saying that EC did not wish it to  
be published until all those mentioned in the book were dead. Around  
1992 Mrs Conze told that she had destroyed the manuscript, thinking  
that its publication would not be good for the reputation of EC. But  
there may be another copy. Shenpen Hookham (the author of "The Buddha  
Within") may have access to some of Conze's papers not in Bristol --  
perhaps she knows where it is.


Quoting "L.S. Cousins" <selwyn at NTLWORLD.COM>:

> As far as I can recall from reading it long ago, it contained  
> strongly worded negative views about various people. And various  
> stereotypes, as people say now. But I don't recall him as being  
> especially anti-Semitic. His first wife was of course Jewish.
>
> mkapstei at UCHICAGO.EDU wrote:
>> If I recall corrrectly, Conze specified that vol. 3 was
>> not be made public until 50 years after his decease. But
>> I do not know if this was formally written into his will.
>> It seems to be well known that, among other things, it
>> contains his anti-Semitic rants, particularly directed
>> against Arthur Waley, against whom, despite their
>> several collaborations (as in _Buddhist Texts Through
>> the Ages_) Conze could never pardon the fact of having
>> been born a Polish Jew (apparently a double deficiency!).
>>
>> Matthew T. Kapstein
>> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies
>> The University of Chicago Divinity School
>> Directeur d'�tudes
>> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris
>
> L.S. Cousins,
> Wolfson College, Oxford
>