Sir William Jones

( Rare copy , Published in 1784) Sir William Jones, A Discourse on the Institution of a Society for Enquiring into the History, Civil and Natural, the Antiquities, Arts, Sciences, and Literature of Asia, Delivered at Calcutta, January 15th, 1784 Published by London: Printed for T. Payne and Son, Description: First edition of the uncommon address by William Jones which led to the founding of the Asiatick Society, one of the first European orientalist societies and "a vast sphere of intellectual and imaginative space exceeding that available in London" (ODNB). The first volume of the society's journal was not published until 1788, making this the first appearance of Jones's famous founding address in print. WorldCat shows 11 copies in institutional collections. In his address, Jones extolled "laying the foundation of a Society for enquiring into the history and antiquities, the natural productions, arts, sciences, and literature of Asia" (p. 5).

In his view, "an institutional so likely to afford entertainment and convey knowledge to mankind, will advance to maturity. as the Royal Society, which at first was only a meeting of a few literary friends at Oxford, rose gradually to that splendid zenith, at which a Halley was their Secretary, and a Newton their President" (ibid.) Among those present at the founding meeting was Charles Wilkins, the first translator of the Bhagavad Gita into English, while the pioneering Sanskrit scholar Alexander Hamilton was an early member. During Jones' (1746-1794) presidential tenure and after his death, the society's journal published many foundational texts of oriental studies. The crowning moment of his leadership was his 1786 address positing that the European Romance languages shared a common source with the languages of India and the Near East - "an imaginative leap which effectively marked the beginning of Indo-European comparative grammar and modern comparative-historical linguistics" (ibid.)Jones numbers among British history's most distinguished philologists. As a child at private school, he showed a remarkable aptitude for languages, learning Arabic and Hebrew and becoming more proficient in classical Greek than the school headmaster. By the 1770s, he was immersed in Britain's academic milieux; Dr Johnson admitted him to the prestigious Turk's Head Club in 1773, where he socialised with the likes of Edmund Burke, Edward Gibbon, and David Garrick. With his aptitude for oriental languages, he was appointed a judge in Calcutta in 1783, where he stayed until his death. Printed with Jones's Discourse are two additional short texts: a speech he made as judge in late 1783, and his translation of the Hindu "Hymn to Camdeo" which was completed shortly before the Asiatick Society's founding. ESTC, T31990. Michael J. Franklin, 'Orientalist Jones': Sir William Jones, Poet, Lawyer, and Linguist, 1746-1794.