BURNOUF, Eug⅛ne (1801-1852), an Oriental scholar, was born at Paris in 1801. He was educated for the legal profession, but soon after taking his degree began to devote himself entirely to the study of Oriental languages. In 1826 he published an Essai sur le Pali, and in the following year Observations Grammaticales sur quelques Passages de Γ Essai sur le Pali. The next great work he undertook was the deciphering of the Zend mauuscripts brought to France by Anquetil du Perron. By his labours a knowledge of the Persian language and religion was first brought into the scientific world of Europe. He caused the Vendidad Sa.de to be lithographed with the utmost care, and published it in folio, 1829-43. The contributions he made to Oriental literature in the Journal Asiatique were numerous and important. From 1833 to 1835 he published his Commentaries sur le Yaçna, l'un des livres liturgiques des Perses; in 1840 he began the publication of the Sanskrit text and French translation of the Elιagavata Purana, which was completed in three folio volumes. His last works were Introduction à l’Histoire du Bouddhisme Indien, and a translation of Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi. The latter work was passing through the press when the author died on the 28th May 1852 He was a member of the Académie des Inscriptions, and from 1832 had held the post of professor of Sanskrit in the Collège de France....
BURNOUF, Jean Louts (1775-1844), the father of Eugène Burnouf, was born in 1775. During the intervals of leisure left him by his commercial employment he prosecuted his studies in classical literature, and in 1808 was appointed assistant-professor at the Lycée Charlemagne. He soon afterwards obtained the chair of rhetoric at the Lycée Imperial, which he held till 1826, when he was made the inspector of the Academy. In 1817 he had been appointed professor of Latin eloquence at the Collège de France, and from 1811 to 1822 he acted as president of the École Normale. In 1830 Burnouf was named inspectorgeneral of studies, and on his resignation of this post in 1836 was made librarian of the university. He died in 1844. His most important work was the Méthode pour étudier la Langue Grecque, 1814, which marks an epoch in the study of Greek in France. He also published a valuable edition of Sallust and some excellent translations of Tacitus, and of parts of Sallust and Cicero.
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