Eugène Burnouf
Encyclopedia
Eugène Burnouf was an eminent French
scholar and orientalist
who made significant contributions to the deciphering of Old Persian cuneiform
.
He was born in Paris. His father, Professor Jean-Louis Burnouf (1775-1844), was a classical scholar of high reputation, and the author, among other works, of an excellent translation of Tacitus (6 vols., 1827-1833). Eugène Burnouf published in 1826 an Essai sur le Pali
..., written in collaboration with Christian Lassen
; and in the following year Observations grammaticales sur quelques passages de l'essai sur le Pali.
The next great work he undertook was the deciphering of the Avesta
manuscripts brought to France by Anquetil-Duperron
. By his research a knowledge of the Avestan language
was first brought into the scientific world of Europe. He caused the Vendidad Sade, to be lithographed with the utmost care from the manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and published it in folio parts, 1829-1843.
From 1833 to 1835 he published his Commentaire sur le Yaçna, l'un des livres liturgiques des Parses.
At about the same time in his life, Eugène Burnouf made significant contributions to the decyphering of Old Persian
cuneiform
. Copies of cuneiform inscriptions from Persepolis
had been published by Carsten Niebuhr
many years earlier in 1778 and some preliminary inferences had already been made by other scholars about these Persian inscriptions. In 1836, Eugène Burnouf discovered that the first of the inscriptions contained a list of the satrapies of Darius. With this clue in his hand, he was able to identify and publish an alphabet of thirty letters, most of which he had correctly deciphered.
A month earlier, Burnouf's friend Professor Christian Lassen
of Bonn, had also published a work on "The Old Persian Cuneiform Inscriptions of Persepolis". He and Burnouf had been in frequent correspondence, and his claim to have independently detected the names of the satrapies, and thereby to have fixed the values of the Persian characters, was in consequence fiercely attacked. However, whatever his obligations to Burnouf may have been, according to Sayce, Lassen's "contributions to the decipherment of the inscriptions were numerous and important."
A year later in 1837, Henry Rawlinson had made a copy of the much longer Behistun inscription
s in Persia
. Carved in the reign of King Darius of Persia
(522 BC–486 BC), the inscriptions consisted of identical texts in the three official languages of the empire: Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite. Rawlinson sent a translation of the opening paragraphs to the Royal Asiatic Society. Before, however, his Paper could be published, the works of Lassen and Burnouf reached him, necessitating a revision of his Paper and the postponement of its publication. Then came other causes of delay. In 1847 the first part of the Rawlinson's Memoir was published, the second part did not appear till 1849. The task of deciphering the Persian cuneiform texts was virtually accomplished.
Eugène Burnouf published the Sanskrit
text and French
translation of the Bhagavata Purana ou histoire poétique de Krichna
in three folio volumes (1840-1847). His last works were Introduction à l'histoire du Bouddhisme
indien (1844), and a translation of Le lotus de la bonne loi (The Lotus Sutra
, 1852). He had been for twenty years a member of the Academie des Inscriptions and professor of Sanskrit in the Collège de France
.
See a notice of Burnouf's works by Barthélemy Saint-Hilaire
, prefixed to the second edition (1876) of the Introduction à l'histoire du Bouddhisme indien; also Naudet
, Notice historique sur MM. Burnouf, père et fils, in Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions, xx. A list of his valuable contributions to the Journal asiatique and of his manuscript writings, is given in the appendix to the Choix de lettres d'Eugène Burnouf (1891).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
scholar and orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
who made significant contributions to the deciphering of Old Persian cuneiform
Cuneiform script
Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...
.
He was born in Paris. His father, Professor Jean-Louis Burnouf (1775-1844), was a classical scholar of high reputation, and the author, among other works, of an excellent translation of Tacitus (6 vols., 1827-1833). Eugène Burnouf published in 1826 an Essai sur le Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
..., written in collaboration with Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen was a Norwegian-German orientalist.-Life:He was born at Bergen, Norway. Having received a university education at Oslo, he went to Germany and continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Bonn. In Bonn, Lassen acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit...
; and in the following year Observations grammaticales sur quelques passages de l'essai sur le Pali.
The next great work he undertook was the deciphering of the Avesta
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
manuscripts brought to France by Anquetil-Duperron
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron was the first professional French scholar of Indian culture. He conceived the institutional framework for the new profession. He inspired the founding of the Ecole francaise d'extreme orient a century after his death and, later still, the founding of the...
. By his research a knowledge of the Avestan language
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
was first brought into the scientific world of Europe. He caused the Vendidad Sade, to be lithographed with the utmost care from the manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and published it in folio parts, 1829-1843.
From 1833 to 1835 he published his Commentaire sur le Yaçna, l'un des livres liturgiques des Parses.
At about the same time in his life, Eugène Burnouf made significant contributions to the decyphering of Old Persian
cuneiform
Cuneiform script
Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...
. Copies of cuneiform inscriptions from Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
had been published by Carsten Niebuhr
Carsten Niebuhr
Carsten Niebuhr or Karsten Niebuhr , a German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark, is renowned for his travels on the Arabian peninsula.-Biography:...
many years earlier in 1778 and some preliminary inferences had already been made by other scholars about these Persian inscriptions. In 1836, Eugène Burnouf discovered that the first of the inscriptions contained a list of the satrapies of Darius. With this clue in his hand, he was able to identify and publish an alphabet of thirty letters, most of which he had correctly deciphered.
A month earlier, Burnouf's friend Professor Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen was a Norwegian-German orientalist.-Life:He was born at Bergen, Norway. Having received a university education at Oslo, he went to Germany and continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Bonn. In Bonn, Lassen acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit...
of Bonn, had also published a work on "The Old Persian Cuneiform Inscriptions of Persepolis". He and Burnouf had been in frequent correspondence, and his claim to have independently detected the names of the satrapies, and thereby to have fixed the values of the Persian characters, was in consequence fiercely attacked. However, whatever his obligations to Burnouf may have been, according to Sayce, Lassen's "contributions to the decipherment of the inscriptions were numerous and important."
A year later in 1837, Henry Rawlinson had made a copy of the much longer Behistun inscription
Behistun Inscription
The Behistun Inscription The Behistun Inscription The Behistun Inscription (also Bistun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون The Behistun Inscription (also Bistun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون...
s in Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Carved in the reign of King Darius of Persia
Darius I of Persia
Darius I , also known as Darius the Great, was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire...
(522 BC–486 BC), the inscriptions consisted of identical texts in the three official languages of the empire: Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite. Rawlinson sent a translation of the opening paragraphs to the Royal Asiatic Society. Before, however, his Paper could be published, the works of Lassen and Burnouf reached him, necessitating a revision of his Paper and the postponement of its publication. Then came other causes of delay. In 1847 the first part of the Rawlinson's Memoir was published, the second part did not appear till 1849. The task of deciphering the Persian cuneiform texts was virtually accomplished.
Eugène Burnouf published the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
text and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translation of the Bhagavata Purana ou histoire poétique de Krichna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
in three folio volumes (1840-1847). His last works were Introduction à l'histoire du Bouddhisme
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
indien (1844), and a translation of Le lotus de la bonne loi (The Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
, 1852). He had been for twenty years a member of the Academie des Inscriptions and professor of Sanskrit in the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
.
See a notice of Burnouf's works by Barthélemy Saint-Hilaire
Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire
Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire was a French philosopher, journalist, statesman, and possible illegitimate son of Napoleon I of France.- Biography :...
, prefixed to the second edition (1876) of the Introduction à l'histoire du Bouddhisme indien; also Naudet
Joseph Naudet
Joseph Naudet was a French historian who was a native of Paris.He initially worked at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, and was later a teacher of Latin poetry at the Collège de France...
, Notice historique sur MM. Burnouf, père et fils, in Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions, xx. A list of his valuable contributions to the Journal asiatique and of his manuscript writings, is given in the appendix to the Choix de lettres d'Eugène Burnouf (1891).
Works
- Essai sur le Pali (1826)
- Vendidad Sade, l'un des livres de Zoroastre (1829-1843)
- Commentaire sur le Yaçna, l'un des livres liturgiques des Parses (1833-1835)
- Mémoire sur les inscriptions cunéiformes (1838)
- Bhâgavata PurânaBhagavata puranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
ou histoire poétique de Krichna (3 volumes, 1840-1847) - Introduction à l'histoire du Bouddhisme indien (1844 ; 1876)
- Le Lotus de la bonne loi, traduit du sanscrit, accompagné d'un commentaire et de vingt et un mémoires relatifs au buddhisme (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1852). Reprint: Librairie d'Amérique et d'Orient A. Maisonneuve, Paris, 1973.
- Eugène Burnouf on French Wikisource