Purchase Dr. William Cureton's Book Ancient Syriac Documents

William Cureton was born at Westbury in Shropshire, Great Britain, in the year 1808; received his early education at the Free Grammer School of Newport in the same country; and proceeded to Oxford with a Careswell exhibition at the age of eighteen. For private reasons, which reflected the highest credit on him, he entered Christ Church as a servitor, and graduated in 1830. In the following year he took holy orders, and was appointed Under-Librarian of the Bodleian Library in 1834. He continued in that post until 11837, when he was called to the British Museum as Assistant-Keeper of the Manuscripts, having been selected for this office principally on account of his oriental scholarship.

The first duty assigned to him here was the preparation of a catalogue of the Arabic portion of the collection; and of this the first part, comprising the Christian writings and the divisions of Mohammedan theology, law and history, was published in 1846.

As early, however, as 1841 his Arabic studies had been interrupted by the acquisition by the Trustees of the famous Nitrian Collection of Syriac manuscripts. This event furnished him with materials for researches, at once varied and profound, in a new field. On the arrival of the manuscripts.....the first portion in 1841, the second in 1843....he threw himself heart and soul into the study of the Syriac language and literature. Initially, he took on the task of classifying the volumes, of gathering together, collating, and arranging the numberless fragments and loose leaves of which the Nitrian collection consisted, and of drawing up a brief summary of their contents for the catalogue of the museum.

Dr. Cureton was an active promoter, if not the founder, of the Society for the publication of Oriental Texts, of which he was the honorary secretary until about the year 1850. In this capacity, he edited Esh-Shahrastani's Book of Religious and Philosophical Sects, published in two parts in 1842 and 1846, and En-Nesefi's Pillar of the Creed of the Sunnites, published in 1843; having previously brought out in the same year Rabbi Tanchum's Commentary on the Book of Lamentations. He was also an active member of the Oriental Translation Fund, of which he became deputy-chairman in 1848, and chairman in 1863, on the death of Mr. Botfield. In 1859 he was appointed by the Queen Crown Trustee of the British Museum, a post at which he discharged his duties most efficiently and zealously. On the continent he was Doctor of Divinity of the University of Halle, corresponding member of the German Oriental Society, and foreign associate of the Institute of France, besides being connected with many other learned bodies throughout Europe.

The eminence attained by Dr. Cureton was mainly founded on his Syriac publications, distinguished as they are by the intrinsic value of the works selected, by the accuracy of his texts, and the scholarship and honesty displayed in his translations and notes. In these qualities of judicious selection, accuracy, scholarship and freedom from prejudice, Cureton stands pre-eminent among all the Englishmen and foreigners who have followed him in the work of editing Syriac writings. I may add, too, that he was most liberal in communicating his knowledge of the contents of the Nitrian collection to all students who sought his assistance; and that not a few, nor the least important, of the publications from the manuscripts by other editors were undertaken at his suggestion and with his aid.

Verily Cureton's life was one of unremitting and well directed labour, and the bread which he has cast upon the waters will doubtless be found after many days. W. Wright - London - November - 1864

Purchase Dr. William Cureton's Book Ancient Syriac Documents