Public-domain ebook
by Tivadar Duka
Language: en1,361 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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In: Biographies·History - Other
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #74056.
The work is a scholarly biography of Alexander Csoma de Körös, compiled by Tivadar Duka from a mixture of published and previously unpublished sources. It opens with a publisher’s note that recounts Nicholas Trübner’s early enthusiasm for the manuscript and his suggestion to assemble a complete edition of Csoma’s scattered writings. The editor explains the editorial choices concerning the spelling of Indian and Tibetan terms, cites the assistance of Frederic Pincott in checking the Sanskrit and Hindi vocabulary, and then launches into a detailed contents list that maps the life of the Hungarian philologist from his Transylvanian childhood through his multiple journeys across Central Asia, his tenure at the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and his final years in Darjeeling. The introductory narrative follows, situating Csoma’s birth in the Székler village of Körös, describing his modest upbringing, education at Nagy Enyed and Göttingen, and the early promise that set him on his extraordinary scholarly odyssey.
Written in a formal, nineteenth‑century academic style, the book reflects the meticulous research practices of its era, with extensive footnotes, quotations from contemporary letters, and careful attention to linguistic detail. Its tone is reverent yet restrained, offering a blend of biographical narrative and documentary evidence that will appeal to historians of Oriental studies, linguists interested in early Tibetan scholarship, and readers fascinated by the lives of adventurous scholars who traversed remote regions on foot. Those who enjoy detailed archival biographies and the intellectual climate of early European sinology will find Duka’s compilation both informative and evocative.
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When the late Mr. Nicholas Trübner first saw the manuscript of this book, he at once kindly expressed his readiness to undertake its publication, and even suggested the desirability of editing a complete collection of all the works and essays of Csoma de Körös, which, at the present time, are only to be found scattered over many volumes of publications, extending over a period of more than thirty years. Perhaps Mr. Trübner’s successors may see their way to carry out the project he had in view, and to rescue, for the benefit of European students, the important work in manuscript which is noticed in the Appendix xvi. at page 207 of this volume.
The reader will observe that a certain latitude has been permitted in the spelling of Indian names and Tibetan words occurring in this work. In the text Dr. Hunter’s system has been generally followed, but in the quotations, both from print and manuscripts, the ancient forms of spelling have in most cases been retained. As to the Tibetan words Csoma’s authority was decisive; moreover, instead of adhering invariably to the strict rules of Tibetan orthography, with its frequent use of mute letters, the abbreviated forms have been preferred. The strict rendering of accents and diacritical marks seemed hardly requisite in a work like this.
The author desires to express his acknowledgments to Mr. Frederic Pincott, M.R.A.S., for important assistance rendered by him in reviewing and passing through the press the Sanskrit and Hindi part of the vocabulary at the end of the volume.
London, 55 Nevern Square, South Kensington, February 1885.
CONTENTS.
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