To these learned and important works, fo far out of the road of amusement, nothing could have engaged his application, but that defire which he ever professed, of rendering his knowledge useful to his nation, and beneficial to the inhabitants of these provinces.

Without attending to the chronological order of their publication, I shall briefly recapitulate his other performances in Afiatick Literature, as far as my knowledge and recollection of them extend.

The vanity and petulance of ANQUETIL DU PERRON, with his illiberal reflections on fome of the learned members of the University of Oxford, extorted from him a letter, in the French language, which has been admired for accurate criticism, juft fatire, and elegant compofition. A regard for the literary reputation of his country, induced him to translate, from a Perfian original into French, the life of NADIR SHAH, that it might not be carried out of England, with a reflection, that no perfon had been found in the British dominions capable of translating it. The students of Perfian literature must ever be grateful to him, for a grammar of that language, in which he has shown the poffibility of combining taste, and elegance, with the precision of a grammarian; and every admirer of Arabick poetry, must acknowledge his obligations to him, for an English verfion of the feven celebrated poems, fo well known by the name of Moallakat, from the distinction to which their excellence had entitled them, of being fufpended in the temple of Mecca: I fhould fcarcely think it of importance to mention, that he did not disdain the office of Editor of a Sanferit and Perfian work, if it did not afford me an opportunity of adding, that the latter was published at his own expence, and was fold for the benefit of infolvent debtors. A fimilar application was made of the produce of the SIRAJIYAH.

Of

Of his lighter productions, the elegant amufements of his leifure hours, comprehending hymns on the Hindu mythology, poems consisting chiefly of translations from the Afiatick languages, and the verfion of SACONTALA, an ancient Indian drama, it would be unbecoming to speak in a style of importance which he did not himself annex to them. They fhow the activity of a vigorous mind, its fertility, its genius, and its taste. Nor fhall I particularly dwell on the discourses addressed to this Society, which we have all perufed or heard, or on the other learned and interefting differtations, which form fo large, and valuable a portion of the records of our Researches ; let us lament, that the fpirit which dictated them is to us extinct, and that the voice to which we listened with improvement, and rapture, will be heard by us

no more.

But I cannot pafs over a paper, which has fallen into my poffeffion fince his demise, in the hand-writing of Sir William Jones himself, entitled DESIDERATA, as more explanatory than any thing I can say, of the comprehenfive views of his enlightened mind. It contains, as a perufal of it will show, whatever is moft curious, important, and attainable in the sciences and hiftories of India, Arabia, China, and Tartary; fubjects, which he had already most amply difcuffed in the difquifitions which he laid before the Society.

DESIDERATA.

INDIA.

1.-The Ancient Geography of India, &c. from the Puranas. 2.-A Botanical Description of Indian Plants, from the Cofhas, &c. 3.-A Grammar of the Sanscrit Language, from Panini, &c. 4.-A Dictionary of the Sanscrit Language, from thirty-two original Vocabularies and Niructi.

5.—On

6. On the Medical Substances of India, and the Indian Art of

Medicine.

7.-On the Philosophy of the Ancient Indians.

8.-A Translation of the Veda.

9.-On Ancient Indian Geometry, Aftronomy, and Algebra.

10.-A Translation of the Puranas.

11.-A Translation of the Mahabbarat and Ramayan.

12. On the Indian Theatre, &c. &c. &c.

13.-On the Indian Constellations, with their Mythology, from the Puranas.

14.-The Hiftory of India before the Mahommedan conqueft, from the Sanfcrit-Cafhmir Hiftories.

ARABIA.

15.-The History of Arabia before Mahommed.

16.-A Translation of the Hamasa.

17.-A Translation of Hariri.

18.-A Tranflation of the Facahatul Khulafa.

Of the Cafiah.

PERSIA.

19.-The History of Perfia from Authorities in Sanscrit, Arabick, Greek, Turkish, Perfian, ancient and modern.

Firdaufi's Khofrau nama.

20.-The five Poems of Nizami, translated in profe. A Dictionary of pure Perfian. Jehangire.

CHINA.

21.-A Translation of the Shi-king.

22.—The text of Can-fu-tsu verbally translated.

VOL. I.

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TARTARY.

TARTARY.

23.-A History of the Tartar Nations, chiefly of the Moguls and Othmans, from the Turkish and Perfian.

WE are not authorised to conclude, that he had himself formed a determination to complete the works which his genius and knowledge had thus sketched; the task feems to require a period, beyond the probable duration of any human life; but we, who had the happiness to know Sir William Jones, who were witneffes of his indefatigable perfeverance in the purfuit of knowledge, and of his ardour to accomplish whatever he deemed important; who faw the extent of his intellectual powers, his wonderful attainments in literature and fcience, and the facility with which all his compofitions were made, cannot doubt, if it had pleased Providence to protract the date of his existence, that he would have ably executed much, of what he had so extensively planned.

I have hitherto principally confined my discourse to the pursuits of our late President in Oriental literature, which, from their extent, might appear to have occupied all his time; but they neither precluded his attention to profeffional studies, nor to science in general: amongst his publications in Europe, in polite literature, exclufive of various compofitions in profe and verse, I find a translation of the speeches of IsÆUS, with a learned comment; and, in law, an Effay on the Law of Bailments: upon the subject of this last work, I cannot deny myself the gratification of quoting the fentiments of a celebrated hiftorian: "Sir "William Jones has given an ingenious and rational effay on the law "of Bailments. He is perhaps the only lawyer equally converfant with

"the

"the year books of Westminster, the commentaries of ULPIAN, the "Attic pleadings of Isus, and the fentences of Arabian and Perfian "Cadbis."

His profeffional studies did not commence before his twenty-fecond year, and I have his own authority for afferting, that the first book of English jurifprudence which he ever ftudied, was FORTESCUE's effay in praise of the laws of England.

Of the ability and confcientious integrity, with which he discharged the functions of a Magistrate, and the duties of a Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature in this fettlement, the public voice and public regret bear ample and merited testimony. The fame penetration which marked his scientific researches, distinguished his legal investigations and decifions; and he deemed no inquiries burthenfome, which had for their object substantial justice under the rules of law.

His addresses to the jurors, are not less distinguished for philanthropy, and liberality of fentiment, than for juft expofitions of the law, perfpicuity, and elegance of diction; and his oratory was as captivating as his arguments were convincing.

In an epilogue to his commentaries on Afiatick poetry, he bids farewell to polite literature, without relinquishing his affection for it; and concludes with an intimation of his intention to study law, expressed in a wish, which we now know to have been prophetic.

Mihi fit, oro, non inutilis toga,

Nec indiferta lingua, nec turpis manus!

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