SACY, ANTOINE ISAAC SILVESTRE DE

SACY, ANTOINE ISAAC SILVESTRE DE, a celebrated orientalist, was born at Paris on the 21st September 1758. Although a delicate boy, he soon became a precocious linguist. His ready mind, under the direction of a private tutor, speedily mastered Latin and Greek. He then applied himself to other languages. Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, Samaritan, Arabic, and Ethiopic were acquired in succession; Italian, Spanish, English, and German were added; and at the age of twenty-three he appeared before the public as a prodigy in philology. It was not long before Sacy directed his attention to the history and antiquities of the East. As his studies advanced he continued to lay their results before the learned world. Two memoirs, one on the bursting of the dike of Irem in Arabia Felix, and another on the origin of Arabian literature, were published in the Recueil de l'Académie des Inscriptions. Numerous papers on ancient Persian and Arabic history were contributed to the collection entitled Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits. He also read before the academy several memoirs on the antiquities of Persia, and especially on the inscriptions found among the ruins of Persepolis. Nor did the turmoil of the Revolution interrupt his engrossing pursuits. He retired to a small country house in the neighbourhood of Paris, and divided his time between the cultivation of his garden and the investigation of the religious system of the Druses. After the revolutionary period the efforts of Sacy for the promotion of oriental learning took a most practical turn. Much of his earnest attention was given to the duties of professor of Arabic and Persian, to which he had been appointed. No less than fifteen years were engrossed in the composition of an Arabic Grammar. He exerted himself to found the Asiatic Society of Paris, a service which was acknowledged by his being made its first president. At the same time, his pen was not slow in advancing the great work of his life. He was a powerful supporter of the Magasin Encyclopédique and of the Mines de l'Orient; and among other works he published a collection of Arabic extracts entitled Chrestomathie Arabe, 1806; the Arabic text of the fables of Pilpay, under the name of Calila et Dimna, 1816; the Pend-Nameh (Book of Counsels) in Persian and French, 1819; and the Sessions of Hariri, in Arabic, 1822. Towards the close of his life Sacy held a very high position. In the class-room no professor could be more eminent. His information was profound, well-arranged, and ready at command. He explained with precision, clearness, and force. So astonishing, indeed, were his qualifications for teaching that old men, who had themselves written and spoken on the subject, came from all parts to sit at his feet. Nor was it only in his lecture-room that he was esteemed. After the death of Cuvier the French held him up as their great champion in learning. He was universally acknowledged

to be the greatest living authority in his own particular branch of study. The influence of his commanding intellect was felt throughout the learned world. Chairs of Chinese, Sanscrit, and Hindustanee were established in Paris by his advice. Russian and Prussian institutions for oriental studies were founded under his direction. His pupils filled the principal professorships in Europe; and he had his readers and correspondents in every country. Sacy fell down dead in the street, in a fit of apoplexy, on the 19th of February 1838. At his death he was a peer of France, keeper of the oriental manuscripts in the king's library, and perpetual secretary to the Academy of Inscriptions. His friend Reinard pronounced his eulogy, which was afterwards published under the title of Notice Historique et Littéraire sur M. le Baron de Sacy.