An Outline of the Religious Literature of India c3.10

c3.10

In preparing the book I have tried to make the narrative readable, if possible, despite the great compression which is necessary, if the subject is to be set forth within the compass of a single volume. I have, therefore, mentioned in the text only volumes of outstanding importance, and have relegated all the rest of the detail involved to the Bibliography. Thus the advanced student had better use the two parts of the book together. The narrative is meant to give an outline of the history and to exhibit the position and influence of the chief masses of the literature and of the leading thinkers and writers, while the Bibliography is meant to supply lists of all the more important religious works, of the best critical books and articles written on these in modern times and of all available translations. For two reasons I decided not to give particulars about editions in the original tongues: these are so numerous that it would take much space to catalogue them, and it is clear that, from the point of view of the average student of religions, books in the original languages are almost useless.