RBSI - Intercourse between India and the western world from the earliest times to the fall of Rome. By Rawlinson, H. G. Cambridge : University Press, 1916. PREFACE : I HAVE attempted, in this monograp

Posted on: 26 May 2010

Intercourse between India and the western world from the earliest times to the fall of Rome.
By Rawlinson, H. G.
Cambridge : University Press, 1916.

PREFACE :
I HAVE attempted, in this monograph, to furnish a succinct account of the intercourse
between India and the Greco-Roman world from the earliest times to the fall of Rome. This subject has never, so far as I am aware, been dealt with as a whole in any English work. Yet it is replete with interest to the student of Hellenism in its wider and more neglected aspects, and to Orientalists, who depend largely upon references in Greek and Roman authors for information about many obscure points of Indian History.

I have, so far as possible, consulted every passage bearing upon India in Roman and Greek Literature. Many, but not quite all, of these passages have been collected, annotated, and translated by the late Dr J. W. McCrindle, in his six valuable volumes of translations of such references. On these the present monograph is very largely based, though I have, in nearly every case, referred to the original text rather than to the translation.

The difficulties of a work of this kind are considerable in India, where up-to-date libraries are few and far between, and the verification of references is proportionately tedious and laborious. I owe, therefore, a special debt of gratitude to Professor E. J. Rapson, who has read through my proofs, made numerous suggestions and corrections, and assisted me in many ways; to Dr P. Giles, Master of Emmanuel College, for criticisms and
references; and lastly, to the authorities of the University Press, for their unfailing courtesy and promptitude. The map is reproduced by kind permission of Messrs Longmans, Green and Co.; the coin plate was prepared at the British Museum, under Professor Rapson's directions. The photographs are produced with the permission of the
Director General of Archaeology, with the exception of the Javanese plate, which I owe to Mr.H. J. Lewis, of the Atelier at Soerabaia.

H. G. RAWLINSON
Poona, 1916.https://dailydigesthub.com">CLICK NOW!

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Read Book Online : http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5949061_000/pages/ldpd_5949061_000_00000011.html

Download pdf Book : http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5949061_000/ldpd_5949061_000.pdf

MBugi : Thanks....but lets refrain from England / Muslim / Tipu bashing please. We have done that in the earlier posts and it served no purpose, other than offending many people, we had no intention to offend. Each of the foreign powers have played a role our history and have made India what it is today. We retain their influences till date in some way or the other. What has happened in history is a consequence of many a myriad reasons...out of which we know only a few and seem to form our opinions based on that. Thats the reason RBSI posts books of all persuasions here to enable each of its readers form and build their own theories on Indian history. : )

agreed...studying history is a road filled with mines and potholes: one of them is the wish to engage with it and change the course if possible...when one is reading holocaust, for example...the urge is so strong, I wonder how to remain aloof and if academic distance is not a kind of insensitivity sometimes

I know....the journey is definitely not easy !! But let's give it a try...

Objectivity is never insensitivity. Nor does it condone evil or injustice. But it is necessary for a complete and clear understanding of a situation. Historians need that objectivity - perhaps more than any other group of people.

Excellent Rohini....Couldnt have said that better.

@Rohini C: agreed...and does not objectivity also mean being "politically correct"?

this is something I liked immensely...where can I find a better argument? http://books.google.co.in/books?id=du2V6XWp_KUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=deconstructing+history+alun+munslow&source=bl&ots=Gr1xolTfwI&sig=riTVT_DxTuL_mG1CGD2_W6YGMKU&hl=en&ei=Wiz9S7X-AdS_rAe1zJTuAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAQ

Anindya - no. Objectivity has nothing to do with political correctness. Objectivity is objectivity - without hidden layers of meaning or interpretation.

Which is why I like Will Durant's writing.. crystal clear but leaves a lot open to the reader's imagination and thought.

Thx Rohini C :) Kindly link the theoretical support for such a stance nowadays ... post-Derrida, can I say that the processes of selection and interpretation are absent from my historiography? Are there some recent thinkers who restored objectivity to its early status? plz let me know. "In Deconstructing History I am attempting to highlight the essentially literary nature of historical knowledge and the significance of its narrative form in the constitution of such knowledge. In our contemporary or postmodern world, history conceived of as an empirical research method based upon the belief in some reasonably accurate correspondence between the past, its interpretation and its narrative representation is no longer a tenable conception of the task of the historian." Alan Munslow

As the generation that lived in India before 1947 fades away, it will be increasingly possible to be objective, and to look at the period of British conquest and rule in its totality. Like every very big, very long, encounter between two peoples, it was a mixture of good and evil, destruction and creativity. Most of the evil has faded away with time. Much of the good has remained and grown. We are having this conversation in English, spanning the globe -- India was brought into the English-speaking world, while still being Indian. That was a painful process, but it has been a positive benefit. Bismarck said that the most important political fact of the 20th century was that the United States spoke English. He was right: The Anglo-American alliance won two world wars and the Cold War. I will say that the most important political (and possibly economic and cultural) fact of the 21st century is that India, a civilization in size, not merely a country in size, also speaks English. These are exciting times.

Anindya : Thanks for the Alun Munslow's book ......an interesting find. Will try to read that.

Anindya - words of one syllable please? I have trouble with big words, especially if Derrida is mentioned anywhere at all the sentence. :) Jokes apart, thanks for the Alan Munslow quote. It makes perfect sense and ties in very neatly with the need for objectivity.