JONES. 



found." On the foUowmg day the funeral ceremony was oriental fubjefts difplay a tadc, which we feldom And in the 

 performed, «' with the honours due to his pubhc ilation ; writings of thofe who had preceded him m thefe tracts of 

 and the numerous attendance of the moll refpeftable Britilh hterature. 1 he language of Conllant.nople was alfo famihar 

 inhabitants of Calcutta evinced their forrovv for his lofs, and to hm ; and of the Clunefe charafters and tongue, he had 

 their refpeft for his memory." 



The following epitapli, evidently intended for himfelf, was 

 written by fir William Jones, not long before his demife. 

 It difplays fome ftriking features of his charafter, refigna- 

 tion to the will of his Creator, love and good-will to man- 

 kind ; but it is modeftly filent upon his intclledual attain- 



Here was depofited 



the mortal part of a man, 



who feared God, but not Death ; 



and maintained independence, 



but fought not riches ; 



who tliought 



none below him, but the bafe and unjuft, 



none above him, but the wife and virtuous ; 



who loved 



his parents, kindred, friends, and country, 



with an ardour 



which was the chief fource of 



all his pleafurcs and all his pains ; 



and who, having devoted 



his life to their fervice, 



and to 



the improvement of his mind, 



refigned it calmly, 



giving glory to his Creator, 



wifhing peace on earth, 



and v. ith 



pood will to all creatures, 



on the [Twenty-feveiilh ' day of [yipril'] 



in the year of our bklTed Redeemer 



Onethoufand feven hundred [_and ninety -four 



learned enough to enable him to tranilate an ode ofConfucius. 

 In the modern dialefts of Europe, French, Itahan, Spanifh, 

 Portuguefe, and German, he was thoroughly converfant, 

 and had perufed the moil admired writers in thole languages." 

 Tlie following tranfcript of a paper written by himfelf, will 

 inform us, how far his knowledge of languages extended ; 



Languages-; 

 Eight languages ftudied critically ; 



Englifti, Latin, French, Italian, 



Greek, Arabic, Perfian, Sanfcrit. 



Eight ftudied lefs pcrfeftly, but all intelligible with a die-* 

 tionary ; 



Spanifh, Portuguefe, German, Runick, 

 Hebrew, Bengali, Hindi, Turkilh. 



Twelve ftudied lefs perfeftly, but all attainable ; 



Tibetian, 

 Ruffian, 

 Welih, 



Pali, 



Svriac, 



Swedifh, 



Phalavi, 



Ethiopic, 



Dutch, 



Deri, 



Coptic, 

 Chinefe. 



Twenty-eight languages 



In anotl'.er memorandum, he mentions having read a gram- 

 mar of the Ruffian and Welfli. The knowledge of lan- 

 g-iages, however, was, in fir W. Jones's eftimation, inferior 

 and fubordinate to other objefts. They were, in his pof- 

 feffion, the keys of univerlal literature and fcience, and 

 ferved, according to the ufe which he made of them, to un- 

 lock ftorehoufes of ancient and modern treafures, for the 

 amufement, inftru6lion, and general benefit of mankind. The 

 eleven difcourfes which he addrefied to the Afiatic fociety, 

 and to which we (hall have occafion to refer under future 



By an unanimous vote of the Court of Direftcrs of the articles, are fpecimcns of the ufes to which he applied 



Eaft India Company, it was refolved, that a monument to them. 



his memory ftiould be ordered, for the purpofe of being " A mere catalogue of the writings of fir William Jones," 



ercftcd in St. Paul's cathedral, with a fuitable infcription ; fays his biographer, " would Ihew the extent and variety of 



and that a ftatue of fir Wilham Jones fliould be prepared at his erudition ; a perufal of them will prove, that it was no 



the expence of the company, and fent to Bengal, with lefs deep than mifcellaneous. Whatever topic he difcufles, 



direftions for its being placed in a proper fituation there, iiis ideas flow with eafe and perfpicuity, his ftyle is always 



A fociety of gentlemen in Bengal, who had received their clear and poliftied ; animated and forcible, when his fubjeft 



education at Oxford, fubfcribed a fum to be given, as a requires it. His philological, botanical, philofophical, and 



prize, for the beft dilTertation on hischarafter and merits, by chronological difquifitions, hishiftorical refearches, and even 



any of the ftudents of that univerfity ; and the premium his Perfian grammar, whilft they fix the curiofity and atten- 



was adjudged to Mr. Henry Philpotts, A. M. Fellow of tion of the reader, by the novelty, depth, or importance of 



Magdalen college. Lady Jones teftified her affedlion for the knowledge difplayed in them, always delight by ele- 



fir William, and her defire to perpetuate his fame, by an 

 elegant monument erefted, at her expence, in the anti-cham- 

 ber of Univerfity college, Oxford, and by the publication 

 of liis works in an elegant edition of fix 4to. volumes ; thus 

 ftri£lly conforming to his opinion, that « the beft monument 

 that can be eredled to a man of literary talents, is a good 

 edition of his works." 



" In the fliort fpace of 47 years," fays his biographer, 

 " by the exertion of rare intelleftual talents, he acquired a 

 knowledge of arts, fciences, and languages, which has 

 feldom been equalled, and fcarcely, if ever, furpafied." 

 Without confidering him as a competitor in Grecian litera- 

 ture with a Porfon or a Parr, he deferves to be ranked high 

 among claflical fcholars ; and " as a philologift, he could 

 boaft an univerfality in which he had no rival. His fi<ill in 

 the idioms of India, Perfia, and Arabia, has perhaps never 

 been equalled by any European ; and his compofitions on 



gance of diclion. His compofitions are never dry, tedious, 

 nor difgufting ; and literature and fcience come from his 

 hands, adorned with all their grace and beauty. No writer, 

 perhaps, ever difplayed fo much learning, with fo little af- 

 feftation of it." With regard to his law publications, it is 

 faid, that his "EITayon Bailements" was fanftioned by 

 the approbation of lord Mansfield ; and all his writings in 

 this department fliew, that he had thoroughly ftudied the 

 principles of law as a fcience. As to his opinion of the 

 Britifii conftltution, it appears from repeated declarations 

 that occur in his letters, and particularly in his icth dif. 

 courfe, delivered to the Afiatic fociety in 1793, that he 

 confidered it as the nobleft and moft perfeft that ever wa* 

 formed. With regard to his political principles, he was an 

 enlightened and decided friend to civil and religious liberty. 

 Like many otiiers of the fame principles, he entertained a fa< 

 vourable opinion of the French revolution at its commence- 

 ment. 



