The History of Indian Literature c4.1

c4.1

The work of my youth, which here appears in a new edition, had been several years out of print. To have republished it without alteration would scarcely have done; and, owing to the pressure of other labours, it was impossible for me, from lack of time, to subject it to a complete and systematic remodelling. So the matter rested. At last, to meet the urgent wish of the publisher, I resolved upon the present edition, which indeed leaves the original text unchanged, but at the same time seeks, by means of the newly added notes, to accommodate itself to the actual position of knowledge. In thus finally deciding, I was influenced by the belief that in no other way could the great advances made in this field of learning since the first appearance of this work be more clearly exhibited than precisely in this way, and that, consequently, this edition might at the same time serve in some measure to present, *in nuce*, a history of Sanskṛit studies during the last four-and-twenty years. Another consideration was, that only by so doing could I furnish a critically secured basis for the English translation contemplated by Messrs. Trübner & Co., which could not possibly now give the original text alone, as was done in the French translation,∗ which appeared at Paris in 1859. It was, indeed, while going over the work with the view of preparing it for this English translation, that the hope, nay, the conviction, grew upon me, that, although a complete reconstruction of it was out of the question, still an edition like the present might advantageously appear in a German dress also. I rejoiced to see that this labour of my youth was standing well the test of time. I found in it little that was absolutely erroneous, although much even now remains as uncertain and unsettled as formerly; while, on the other hand, many things already stand clear and sure which I then only doubtfully conjectured, or which were at that time still completely enveloped in obscurity.