William Jones

“ But if he desires to distinguish himself as an eminent translator, and to understand not only the general purport of a composition, but even the graces and ornaments of it, he must necessarily learn the Arabick tongue, which is blended with the Persian in so singular a manner, that one period often contains both languages wholly distinct from each other in expression and idiom, but perfectly united in sense and construction. ”

“ It is an indisputable truth, that learning will always flourish most where the amplest rewards are proposed to the industry of the learned ; and that the most shining periods in the annals of literature are the reigns of wise and liberal princes, who know that fine writers are the oracles of the world, from whose testimony every king, statesman, and hero, must expect the censure or approbation of posterity. In the old states of Greece the highest honours were given to poets, philosophers and orators ”

“ Before I conclude this preface, it will be proper to add a few remarks upon the method of learning the Persian language, and upon the advantages which the learner may expect from it. When the student can read the characters with fluency, and has learned the true pronunciation of every letter from the mouth of a native, let him peruse the grammar with attention, and commit to memory the regular inflexions of the nouns and verbs ; he need not burden his mind with those that deviate from the common forms, as they will be insensibly learned in a short course of reading. ”

“ If learning in general has met with so little encouragement, still less can be expected for that branch of it, which lies so far removed from the common path, and which the greater part of mankind have hitherto considered as incapable of yielding either entertainment or instruction : if pains and want be the lot of a scholar, the life of an Orientalist must certainly be attended with peculiar hardships. Gentius, who published a beautiful Persian work called the Bed of Roses, with an useful but inelegant translation, lived obscurely in Holland, and died in misery. ”

“ Some men never heard of the Asiatic writings, and others will not be convinced that there is any thing valuable in them ; some pretend to be busy, and others are really idle ; some detest the Persians, because they believe in Mahomed, and others despise their language because they do not understand it : we all love to excuse, or to conceal, our ignorance and are seldom willing to allow any excellence beyond the limits of our own attainments ”

“ This is the exercise so often recommended by the old rhetoricians, by which a student will gradually acquire the style and manner of any author, whom he desires to imitate, and by which almost any language may be learned in six months with ease and pleasure, When he can express his sentiments in Persian with tolerable facility, I would advise him to read some elegant history or poem with an intelligent native, who will explain to him in common words the refined expressions that occur in reading, and will point out the beauties of learned allusions and local images. ”

“ By one of those revolutions, which no human prudence could have foreseen, the Persian language found its way into India ; that rich and celebrated empire, which, by the flourishing state of our commerce, has been the source of incredible wealth to the merchants of Europe. A variety of causes, which need not be mentioned here, gave the English nation a most extensive power in that kingdom : our India Company began to take under their protection the princes of the country, by whose co-operation they gained their first settlement ”

“ The nobles of our days consider learning as a subordinate acquisition, which would not be consistent with the dignity of their fortunes and should be left to those who toil in a lower sphere of life ; but they do not reflect on the many advantages which the study of polite letters would give peculiarly to persons of eminent rank and high employments : who, instead of relieving their fatigues by a series of unmanly pleasures, or useless diversions, might spend their leisure in improving their knowledge, and in conversing with the great statesmen, orators, and philosophers of antiquity. ”

“ Thus, while the excellent writings of Greece and Rome are studied by every man of a liberal education, and diffuse a general refinement through our part of the world, the works of the Persians, a nation equally distinguished in ancient history, are either wholly unknown to us, or considered as entirely destitute of taste and invention. ”

“ It is a circumstance equally unfortunate that men of the most refined taste and the brightest parts, are apt to look upon a close application to the study of languages as inconsistent with their spirit and genius : so that the state of letters seems to be divided into two classes, men of learning who have no taste, and men of taste who have no learning. ”

“ Another obvious reason for the neglect of the Persian language, is the great scarcity of books, which are necessary to be read before it can be perfectly learned, the greater part of them are preserved in the different museums and libraries of Europe, where they are shewn more as objects of curiosity than as sources of information ”

“ The languages of Asia will now, perhaps, be studied with uncommon ardour ; they are known to be useful, and will soon be found instructive and entertaining : the valuable manuscripts that enrich our public libraries will be in a few years elegantly printed; the manners and sentiments of the Eastern nations will be perfectly known ; and the limits of our knowledge will be no less extended than the bounds of our empire. ”

“ The liberality of the Ptolemies in Egypt drew a number of learned men and poets to their court, whose works remain to the present age the models of taste and elegance ; and the writers, whom Augustus protected, brought their compositions to a degree of perfection, which the language of mortals cannot surpass. Whilst all the nations of Europe were covered with the deepest shade of ignorance, the Califs in Asia encouraged the Mahomedans to improve their talents, and cultivate the fine arts ”

“ I have made a large collection of materials for a general history of Asia, and for an account of the geography, philosophy, and literature of the Eastern nations, all which I propose to arrange in order, if my more solid and more important studies will allow me any intervals of leisure. ”

“ But it has been my chief care to avoid all the harsh and affected terms of art which render most didactic works so tedious and unpleasant, and which only perplex the learner, without giving him any real knowledge. ”

“ There is still another trifling mistake made by us both in the word عطر‎ (p. 203) which he writes at-rĭ, instead of it-rĭ, (عِطْر‎) as given by Golius and the Author of the Kamoos, and which I have corrected in this edition. We differ in one instance more. It is the second example given at p. 197 of the Grammar. The measure proposed by M. de Sacy is مَفْغُولُ فاعِلَاتُنْ مَفَاعِیلُ فَاعِلَاتْ‎, which, I am sorry to say, is like that proposed by myself, to be found in no treatise on the Persian Prosody, although the verses in question may be scanned by either of them. ”

“ The works consulted in preparing this Edition have been: 1. The elaborate and valuable Persian Grammar by Mr. Lumsden, [1] a work of which the Student ought at some period to make himself perfect master; for, although I differ in opinion in some respects from its estimable and learned Author, I have no hesitation in affirming, that it is the best work on this subject, that has hitherto appeared in Europe, and perhaps in the East itself.—2. The Persian Grammar attached to the King of Oude's Persian Dictionary, entitled the Seven Seas (هفت فلزم‎ [2] ) . ”

“ Arabick words indeed are often made feminine by receiving a silent (خفی Art. 29) final ه‎, added to it, as معْشُوق‎ maعshūḳ, a friend; amicus, معْشُوقه‎ maعshūḳah, a mistress; amica, as in this verse:
گُل در برَ ومَيْ بر کّفُ و معْشُوقه بکامسْت‎
The rose in my bosom, the wine on my palm, and the beloved is to my desire. ”

“ The learner, therefore, will be at liberty to adopt them or not; just as he may think proper, or as his teacher may advise.
Another alteration is a new and more literal translation of all the examples; another the application of numbers to all the paragraphs, which has been done in order to facilitate reference: and another, the removal of the Abstract of the Arabick Grammar to an Appendix, by which the Student will be enabled to study either that or the Persian Grammar without any interruption. In the last Edition I followed the example of Mr. ”

“ Augmentations, too, will be found in almost every page of the work; but those illustrative of the forms of the Arabick nouns, triliteral and pluriliteral, may be pointed out here as the most considerable. ”

“ Every letter may be connected with that which follows it, except these seven; ا‎ alif, د‎ dāl, ذ‎ zāl, ر‎ rē, ز‎ zē, ژ‎ jē, and و‎ wāw, which are never joined to the following letter, as will appear from the words برگ‎ barg, a leaf; داوري‎ dāvarī, a dominion. ”

“ Lumsden: but, from my own conviction, as well as the advice of some friends, on whose judgment I could rely, the present arrangement has been adopted: and, for the sake of uniformity, the Prosody, Praxis, and Vocabulary, form the three Appendixes following. ”