Translated by Various Oriental Scholars by F. Max Müller SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST, general title of a set of 50 volumes published between 1879 and 1910, all translated into English by some of the leading scholars of the time under the supervision of Friederich Max Müller (1823-1900), a prominent Indologist and scholar of comparative religions. The set, as finally realized, is a collection of holy books belonging to the religion of the Brahmans, as well as to those of the followers of Buddha, Zarathustra, Confucius, Lao-Tze, Moḥammad, and Mahavira. The series was conceived by Müller and originally was projected to be published in twenty-four volumes in eight years (“Preface,” SBE I, 1879, p. xliv), although already at that time he expressed uncertainty regarding the time frame (ibid.) and recognized his dependence on the scholar translators (ibid., p. xlv).