[INDOLOGY] "On the Literature of the Hindus" ?

[Herman Tull]

I've not read the French versions since the English versions are readily
accessible through google books and archive. org.  However, generally (and
I am not sure where I read this) but when a section from the Jones edited
volumes has "commentary" at the head, the author is Jones (who as president
of the organization and presumably editor-in-chief is sometimes uncredited).


On Mon, Aug 12, 2013 at 5:12 PM, Walser, Joseph <Joseph.Walser at tufts.edu>wrote:

> Herman,
>
> Hmmm.... There is a review/summary of Caul's essay in L'Esprit des
> Journaux (1791) p. 117, in which the author describes Caul's work as a
> "translation and running commentary." He makes no mention of Jones. The
> 1805 French version in Recherches Asiatiques vol. 1, 368ff. merely opens
> with "Memoire traduit du sanskrit, communique par Goverdhan Kal, avec un
> court Commentaire." Again, no mention of Jones anywhere, even though he is
> given credit for a number of the other essays in the same volume.
>
> Thanks for the information on Caul, though. This really helps!
>
>
>
> Andrew, thank you so much for locating this passage so quickly. Now I just
> need to figure out where he got the terms "speculative" and "practical" in
> the Sanskrit.
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> -j
>
>
>
>
>
> Joseph Walser
>
> Associate Professor
>
> Department of Religion
>
> Tufts University
>
> ________________________________
> From: Herman Tull [hermantull at gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 4:52 PM
> To: Walser, Joseph; Indology
> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] "On the Literature of the Hindus" ?
>
> Joseph:
>
> I too recently was looking for information on Caul. The article, according
> to Rosane Rocher, is written by Caul, with a commentary by JOnes:I found
> just one reference: "Though he [Jones] obtained from Govardhana Caul, the
> Kashmiri Brahman newly appointed pandit to the Supreme Court, the brief
> account "On the Literature of the Hindus," which he presented to the
> Society on the 4 May 1787, in the longer commentary he [Jones] appended..."
> (Rocher, ("Weaving Knowledge: Sir William Jones and the Indian Pandits"
> 1995: 59)
>
> The commentary (Jones's section) begins "The first chapter of a rare
> Sanscrit Book, entitled VidyAdersa, or a View of Learnings is written in so
> close and concise a style, that some parts of it are very obscure..."
>
> I presume, then that the title of the book being cited is "Vidyadersa"
> (perhaps, "Vidya-darsha" but with Jones's odd orthography, which at the
> time was often based on Bengali pronunciation).  He also then quotes the
> beginning of the text:
> [Inline image 1]
> (p. 104 of Volume 2, Asiatick Researches, London, 1792 edition)
>
> I have no idea what text this might be, but perhaps others will recognize
> it.
>
> Some help, I hope...
>
> Herman
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 12, 2013 at 3:55 PM, Walser, Joseph <Joseph.Walser at tufts.edu
> <mailto:Joseph.Walser at tufts.edu>> wrote:
> I have been reading the 1791 essay "On the Literature of the Hindus"
> (sometimes attributed to Wiliam Jones, but seems to be by Govardhan Caul).
> The first part of it seems to be a translation of a Sanskrit text that, at
> least in the French version of the same essay, the translator renders
> "Science universelle pratique & speculative." Does anyone know what text he
> is translating?
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
> -j
>
>
>
>
>
> Joseph Walser
>
> Associate Professor
>
> Department of Religion
>
> Tufts University
>
>
>
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>
>
> --
> Herman Tull
> Princeton, NJ
>



-- 
*Herman Tull
Princeton, NJ *


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