A literary history of Persia

A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRINCIPALWORKS BY EUROPEAN SCHOLARS WHICHDEAL WITH THE VARIOUS MATTERS TREATEDOF IN THIS VOLUMEOnly such Oriental works as have been translated into some Europeanlanguage are, as a rule, mentioned in this place; but the names of allthose mentioned in the text are entered in the Index in italics, thoseactually cited being further marked by an asterisk. Many of them existonly in manuscript and ; the extent to which these manuscripts can beconsulted depends on the rules governing the various Libraries wherethey are preserved. Nearly all the great Continental Libraries areextremely generous in this matter, and freely lend their treasures toother Libraries, or even to individual scholars. Of English publicLibraries, those of the India Office and the Royal Asiatic Society arethe most liberal ; next comes the University Library of Cambridge, thenthe Bodleian. The British Museum absolutely refuses, to the greatdetriment of scholarship, to lend manuscripts under any conditionswhatever; and one or two English libraries possessing valuable collectionsof Oriental manuscripts even put difficulties in the way ofscholars who wish to consult the manuscripts on the spot. Of privatecollectors it would be unjust not to mention especially the extraordinaryliberality of Lord Crawford, to whom the author of this book is undergreat obligations. Most unfortunately his fine collection of Orientalmanuscripts has now passed into other and less generous hands. Thebooks enumerated below are arranged according to subjects and periods,and only a selection of those deemed most important are mentioned,those adjudged most valuable being marked with an asterisk.* The terms" Ancient " and " Modern " signify pre-Muhammadan andpost-Muhammadanrespectively. As a further guide I would also refer the readerto two excellent bibliographies, the first chiefly of works of Geographyand Travel, given by Lord Curzon in vol. i of his great book on"Persia" (pp. 16-18) ; the second of works on Literature, History, andPhilology in Salemann and Zhukovskfs " Persische Grammatik"\(Pp. 105-118). Very complete bibliographies of the subjects dealt with*32