Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot
Encyclopedia
Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot (21 May 1833 – 25 May 1901) was a notable British
Orientalist
and translator
. His early career was spent as a civil servant in India
; his last post was as Collector
for the Bombay government. He was named after his grandfather, Field Marshal Sir John FitzGerald. His first name is sometimes spelled "Foster".
Arbuthnot was well versed in the ancient literature of India. He collaborated with his close friend Sir Richard Burton in the translations of two Sanskrit
erotic texts, the Kama Sutra
of Vatsayana (1883) and The Ananga Ranga
(1885), both privately printed by the Kama Shastra Society (a fictitious organisation consisting of himself and Burton, a legal device to avoid obscenity laws). He also wrote the books Arabic Authors, The Mysteries of Chronology, Early Ideas (1881, under the pseudonym Anaryan) and Sex Mythology, Including an Account of the Masculine Cross (1898, privately printed), which attempts to trace the phallic origins of religious symbols. He edited the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ
(روضة الصفا, ‘garden of purity’) by Mīr-Khvānd, translated by the Orientalist Edward Rehatsek
from 1891 to 1894 (Pt I, Vol. I; Pt I, Vol. II; Pt II, Vol. III; etc..).
It is largely due to his work that several of the masterpieces of Arabic, Persian and Indian literature first became available in English translation.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
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...
and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
. His early career was spent as a civil servant in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; his last post was as Collector
District collector
The District Collector is the district head of administration of the bureaucracy in a state of India. Though he/she is appointed and is under general supervision of the state government, he/she has to be a member of the elite IAS recruited by the Central Government...
for the Bombay government. He was named after his grandfather, Field Marshal Sir John FitzGerald. His first name is sometimes spelled "Foster".
Arbuthnot was well versed in the ancient literature of India. He collaborated with his close friend Sir Richard Burton in the translations of two 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...
erotic texts, the Kama Sutra
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...
of Vatsayana (1883) and The Ananga Ranga
Ananga Ranga
The Ananga Ranga or Kamaledhiplava is an Indian sex manual written by Kalyana malla in the 15th or 16th century. The poet wrote the work in honor of Lad Khan, son of Ahmed Khan Lodi. He was related to the Lodi dynasty, which from 1451 to 1526 ruled from Delhi...
(1885), both privately printed by the Kama Shastra Society (a fictitious organisation consisting of himself and Burton, a legal device to avoid obscenity laws). He also wrote the books Arabic Authors, The Mysteries of Chronology, Early Ideas (1881, under the pseudonym Anaryan) and Sex Mythology, Including an Account of the Masculine Cross (1898, privately printed), which attempts to trace the phallic origins of religious symbols. He edited the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ
Rauza-tus-Safa
Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ fī sīrat al-anbiyāʾ w-al-mulūk w-al-khulafāʾ is a Persian history of the origins of Islam, early Islamic civilisation, and Persian history by Mīr-Khvānd, a Fifteenth-Century historian...
(روضة الصفا, ‘garden of purity’) by Mīr-Khvānd, translated by the Orientalist Edward Rehatsek
Edward Rehatsek
Edward Rehatsek was an Orientalist and translator of several works of Islamic literature including the Gulistan or Rose Garden of Saadi, Ibn Ishaq’s Sirah Rasul Allah or The Life of Muhammad: Apostle of Allah, and the Rauza-tus-Safa or The Gardens of Purity...
from 1891 to 1894 (Pt I, Vol. I; Pt I, Vol. II; Pt II, Vol. III; etc..).
It is largely due to his work that several of the masterpieces of Arabic, Persian and Indian literature first became available in English translation.
External links
-
- Arbuthnot, F.F. Arabic Authors: A Manual of Arabian History and Literature (Full text)
- Arbuthnot Family tree