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LONDON:
WILLIAM HEINEMANN.
1890.
The following pages contain nothing new and nothing original, but theydo contain a good deal of information gathered from various sources,and brought together under one cover. The book itself may be useful,not, perhaps, to the Professor or to the Orientalist, but to thegeneral reader, and to the student commencing the study of Arabic. Tothe latter it will give some idea of the vast field of Arabianliterature that lies before him, and prepare him, perhaps, for workingout a really interesting work upon the subject. Such still remains tobe written in the English language, and it is to be hoped that it willbe done some day thoroughly and well.
It is gratifying to think that the study of Oriental languages andliterature is progressing in Europe generally, if not in Englandparticularly. The last Oriental Congress, held at Stockholm andChristiania the beginning of September, 1889, brought together agoodly number of Oriental scholars. There were twenty-eightnationalities represented altogether, and the many papers prepared andread, or taken as read preparatory to their being printed, showed thatmatters connected with Oriental studies in all their branches exciteconsiderable interest.
England, too, has been lately making some efforts which will be, it issincerely hoped, crowned with success. The lectures on modern Orientallanguages lately established by the Imperial Institute of the UnitedKingdom, the Colonies, and India, in union with University College andKing's College, London, is full of promise of bringing forth goodfruit hereafter. So much is to be learnt from Oriental literature invarious ways that it is to be hoped the day may yet come when thestudy of one or more Oriental languages will be taken up as a pastimeto fill the leisure hours of a future generation thirsting afterknowledge.
In addition to the above, a movement is also being made to attempt torevive the old Oriental Translation Fund. It was originally started inA.D. 1828, and did good work for fifty years, publishing translations(see Appendix) from fifteen different Oriental languages, and thencollapsing from apathy, neglect, and want of funds. Unless wellsupported, both by donations and annual subscriptions, it is useless toattempt a fresh start. To succeed thoroughly it must be regarded as anational institution, and sufficiently well-off to be able to afford tobring out Texts and Indexes of
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-cially An-Nadim's 'Fihrist,' a most valuable book of reference, oughtto be done into English without further delay. Private individuals canhardly undertake the business, but a well-organized and permanentOriental Translation Fund, assisted by the English and IndianGovernments,