rior to any that could be produced from
mere human compofitions ; and he was fond
of retracing and mentioning the rapture
which he felt, when he firft read it. In his



25
fixth year, by the afliftance of a friend, he
was initiated in the rudiments of the Latin
grammar, and he committed fome paflages
of it to memory ; but the dull elements of a
new language having nothing to captivate
his childifh attention, he made little progrefs
in it; nor was he encouraged to perfeverance
by his mother, who, intending him for a pub-
lic education, was unwilling to perplex his
mind with the ftudy of a dead language, be-
fore he had acquired a competent knowledge
of his native tongue.

At Michaelmas 1753, in the clofe of his
feventh year, he was placed at Harrow School,
of which the worthy and amiable Dr. Thack-
eray was then head matter, The amufe-
ments and occupations of a fchool-boy are of
little importance to the public ; yet it cannot
be uninterefting, or uninftruclive, to trace
the progrefs of a youth of genius and abilities,
from his earlieft efforts to that proficiency in
univerfal literature which he afterwards at-
tained. During the two firft years of his refi-
dence at Harrow, he was rather remarked



26

for diligence and application;, than for the fli-
periority of his talents, or the extent of his
acquifitions ; and his attention was almoft
equally divided between his books and a lit-
tle garden, the cultivation and embellishment
of which occupied all his leifure hours. His
faculties however neceffarily gained ftrength
by exercile ; and during his fchool vacations,
the fedulity of a fond parent was without in-
termifhon exerted to improve his knowledge
of his own language. She alfo taught him
the rudiments of drawing, in which fhe ex-
celled.

In his ninth year, he had the misfortune
to break his thigh-bone in a fcramble with
his fchool-fellows, and this accident detained
him from fchool twelve months. After his
relief from pain, however, the period of his
confinement was not fuffered to pafs in in-
dolence ; his mother was his conftant com-
panion, and amufed him daily with the pe-
rufal of fuch Englifh books, as fhe deemed
adapted to his tafte and capacity. The ju-
venile poems of Pope, and Dryden's Tranf-



27

lation of the iEneid, afforded him inceflant
delight, and excited his poetical talents, which
difplayed themfelves in the compofition of
verfes in imitation of his favourite authors.
But his progrcfs in clafiical learning, during
this interval, was altogether fufpended ; for
although he might have availed himfelf of
the proffered inftrucHon of a friend, in whofe
houfe he refided, to acquire the rudiments of
Latin, he was then fo unable to comprehend
its utility, and had fo little relifh for it, that
he was left unreftrained to purfue his juve-
nile occupations and amufements, and the
little which he had gained in his two firft
years, was nearly loft in the third.

On his return to fchool, he was however
placed in the fame clafs which he would have
attained, if the progrefs of his ftudies had
not been interrupted. He was of courfe far
behind his fellow-labourers of the fame {land-
ing, who erroneoufly afcribed his infuffici-
ency to lazinefs or dulnefs, while the matter
who had raifed him to a fituation above his
powers, required exertions of which he was



28

incapable, and corporal punishment and de-
gradation were applied, for the non-perform-
ance of tafks, which he had never been in-
llntcted to furnifh. But in truth he far ex-
celled his fchool-fellows in general, both in
diligence and quicknefs of apprehenfion; nor
was he of a temper to fubmit to imputations,
which he knew to be unmerited. Punifh-
ment failed to produce the intended effect ;
but his emulation was roufed. He devoted
himfelf inceffantly to the perufal of various
elementary treatifes, which had never been ex-
plained nor even recommended to him; and
having thus acquired principles, he applied
them with fuch fkill and fuccefs, that in a
few months he not only recovered the ftation
from which he had been degraded, but was
at the head of his clafs: his compofitions
were correct, his analyfis accurate, and he
uniformly gained every prize offered for the
bed exercife. He voluntarily extended his
ftudies beyond the prefcribed limits, and, by
folitary labour, having acquired a competent
knowledge of the rules of profody, he com-



29
pofed verfes in imitation of Ovid; a tafk,
which had never been required from any of
the ftudents in the lower fchool at Harrow.

The behaviour of the matter to Jones,
made an impreffion on his mind, which he
ever remembered with abhorrence. Little
doubt can be entertained, that he might have
been itimulated to equal exertions, if encou-
ragement had been fubftituted for feverity,
and inftru&ion for difgrace. The accumu-
lation of punifhment for his inability to foar,
before he had been taught to fly, (I ufe his
own expreffion) might have rendered the feel-
ings callous; and a fenfe of the injuitice at-
tending the infliction of it, was calculated to
deftroy the refpec! due to magifterial au-
thority, and its influence over the fchoiar.
It is a material and perhaps unavoidable de-
fect in the fyftem of education at public
fchools, that the neceffity of regulating in-
ftruction by general rules, mult often pre-
clude that attention to the tempers and capa-
cities of individuals, by which their attain-
ments might be eflentially promoted.



so

In his twelth year, Jones was moved into
the upper fchool. Of the retentive powers of
his memory at this period, the following
anecdote is a remarkable inftance. His
fchool -fellows propofed to amufe themfelves
with the reprefentation of a play; and at his
recommendation they fixed upon the Tem-
peft: as it was not readily to be procured, he
wrote it for them fo correctly from memory,
that they acted it with great fatisfaction to
themfelves, and with confiderable entertain-
ment to the fpectators. He performed the
character of Profpero.

His diligence increafed with his advance-
ment in the fchool: he now entered upon the
ftudy of the Greek tongue, the characters of
which he had already learned for his amufe-
ment. His genius and affiduity were alfo dif-
played in various compofitions, not required
by the difcipline of the fchool. He tranflated
into Englifh verfe feveral of the epiftles of
Ovid, all the paftorals of Virgil, and compos-
ed a dramatic piece on the ftory of Meleager,
which he denominated a tragedy ; and it was



51

acted during the vacation, by fome of his
fchool-fellows with whom he was mod in-
timate. In his own play, he performed the
part of the hero.

A copy of this little compofition, inaccu-
rately tranfcribed by a relation, has been
preferred ; and to gratify that curiofity which
the mention of it may have excited, I fele&
from it the following lines:

At ala nt a (speaks).
Still Discord raves, Beilona fiercely storms,
Mars calls, and Caledonians exclaim.
Althaea, fraught with ire, forgets her son,
And meditates fierce vengeance in her heart*
At Dian's sacred shrine a billet lies,
On which depends the life of Meleager.
This, stern Althaea spied, — then fury fir'd
Her furious mind, — she knew the fate's de ree :
Thrice did she rave, and thrice repress'd uer hand -,
At length she threw the billet on the fire,
Which gently gather'd round its impious prgy;
And now in absent flames the hero burns.
Wildly be stares ; his glaring eye-balls sink
Beneath their sockets, and omit their light.
His shiver 'd hair han^s dangling o'er his face*,
He rends his silken vest, and wrings his hands,
And groans, possess'd with agonizing pain.

Thefe juvenile efforts contributed to cfla-



bli£h the influence and reputation of Jones in
the fchool; and the fuccefs with which his
ftudies had latterly been purfued, left him no
reafon to regret the difadvantages under
which he had at firft laboured. His im-
provement in the knowledge of profody was
truly extraordinary; he foon acquired a pro-
ficiency in all the varieties of Roman metre,
fo that he was able to fcan the trochaic and
iambic verfes of Terence, before his compa-
nions even fufpecled that they were any thing
but mere profe. He alfo learned to tafte the
elegance of that writer, and was frequently
heard to repeat with particular fatisfaction the
rule in the Andria :

Facile omnes perferre et patl,
Nunquam pneponens se aliis.

Such was the extent of his attainments, and
fuch his facility of compofition, that for two
years he wrote the exercifes of many boys in
the two fuperior clafTes, who often obtained
credit for performances to which they had no
title, whilft the ftudents in the fame clafs
with himfelf were happy to become his pu-



S3



pils. During the holidays, his {ladies were
varied, but not relaxed; in these intervals, he
learned the rndiments of French and arith-
metic, and was particularly gratified with an
invitation to attend the meetings of learned
and ingenious men, at the houfe of that
amiable philofopher, Mr. Baker, and his
friend, Mr. Pond. As an introduction to the
knowledge of the fubjects difcufTed in this
literary fociety, by the particular recommend-
ation of his mother, he read the Speffacle de
la Nature: he acknowledged, however, that
he was more entertained with the Arabian
Tales, and Shakefpeare, whofe poems and
plays he repeatedly perufed with increafed
delight.

In the ufual recreations of his fchool-fel-
lows at Harrow, Jones was rarely a partaker;
and the hours which they allotted to amufe-
ment, he generally devoted to improvement.
The following anecdote ftrongly indicates the
turn of his mind, and the impreflion made
by his ftudies. He invented a political play,

Life—V. I. D



34

in which Dr. William Bennet*, Bifhop of
Cloyne, and the celebrated Dr. Parr, were his
principal aflbciates. They divided the fields
in the neighbourhood of Harrow, according
to a map of Greece, into ftates and king-
doms; each fixed upon one as his dominion,
and aflumed an ancient name. Some of their
fchool-fellows confented to be ftyled barbari-
ans, who were to invade their territories and

* The Bishop of Cloyne, in a letter to the Dean of St.
Asaph, dated November 1795, mentions Sir William
Jones in terms of respect and affection: — " I knew him
" (he writes) from the early age of eight or nine, and he
" was always an uncommon boy. Great abilities, great
H particularity of thinking, fondness for writing verses
<c and plays of various kinds, and a degree of integrity
'* and manly courage, of which I remember many in-
* { stances, distinguished him even at that period. I
" loved him and revered him, and, though one or two
H years older than he was, was always instructed by him
tc from my earliest age.

" In a word, I can only say of this amiable and won-
" derful man, that he had more virtues, and less faults,
" than I ever yet saw in any human being; and that the
*' goodness of his head, admirable as it was, was ex-
" ceeded by that of his heart. I have never ceased to
" admire him from the moment I first saw him •, and my
c< esteem for his great qualities, and regret for his loss,
*' will only end with my life."



35
attack their hillocks, which were denominat-
ed fortrefles. The chiefs vigoroufiy defended
their refpective domains againft the incurfions
of the enemy; and in thefe imitative w r ars,
the young ftatefmen held councils, made
vehement harangues, and compofed memo-
rials, all doubtlefs very boyifh, but calculated
to fill their minds w T ith ideas of legiflation and
civil government. In thefe unufual amufe-
ments, Jones was ever the leader; and he
might juftly have appropriated to himfelf the
words of Catullus ;

Ego gymnasii flos, ego decus olei.

Dr. Thackeray retired from the fuperin-
tendance of the fchool at Harrow, when his
pupil had attained his fifteenth year. It was
a lingular trait in the character of this good
man and relpeftable tutor, that he never ap-
plauded the beft compofitions of his fcholars,
from a notion which he had adopted, that
praife only tended to make them vain or idle.
But the opinion which he gave of Jones in
private was, that he was a boy of fo active a

D 2



36

mind, that if he were left naked and friend-
lefs on Salifbury Plain, he would neverthelefs
find the road to fame and riches.

Dr. Thackeray was fucceeded by Dr. Sum-
ner; and for his information of the courfe of
itudy purfued at Harrow, a plan of the lec-
tures and exercifes in the upper fchool was
accurately delineated by Jones, at the fug-
geflion of the principal affiftant, who pre-
fented it to the new matter, with many en-
comiums on the talents of his favourite fcho-
lar. He annexed to it a collection of his
compofitions, including his tranflation of the
paftorals of Virgil. Dr. Sumner quickly dif-
tinguifhed him; and of the two complete
years which he paffed under that excellent
inftruSor, it is fufficient to fay, that he em-
ployed them in reading and imitating the
beft ancient authors; nor did he confine him-
felf merely to the compofitions of Greece and
Rome; he learned the Arabic chara&ers, and
ftudied the Hebrew language fufficiently to
enable him to read fome of the Pfalms in the
original. His ardour for knowledge was fo



37

unlimited, that he frequently devoted whole
nights to ftudy, taking coffee or tea as an an-
tidote to drowfinefs; and his improvement
by thefe extraordinary exertions was fo rapid,
that he foon became the prime favourite of
his mafter, who with an excufable partiality
was heard to declare, that Jones knew more
Greek than himfelf, and was a greater pro-
ficient in the idiom of that language. Nor
was he lefs a favourite with his fellow-ftu-
dents than with his mafter. He acquired
popularity with them, by the frequent holi-
days that rewarded the excellence of his com-
politions. His reputation at the fame time
was fo extenfive, that he was often flattered
by the enquiries of flrangers, under the title
of the Great Scholar.

Of his juvenile compofitions in profe and
verfe, the early fruits of rare talents and un-
bounded induftry, fome have been printed in
the fragment of a work which he began at
fchool and entitled Limon *, in imitation of
Cicero. During the laft months of his refi-

* Works of Sir William Jones, vol. vi. p. 3S5.



58

dcnee at Harrow, Dr. Sumner not only di£-
penfed with his attendance at fchool, but was
obliged to interdict his application, in con-
fequence of a weaknefs of fight contracted by
It. His compofitions were not however dif-
continued; and he obtained the affiftance of
the youger ftudents to write them from his
dictation. He employed the intervals of
fufpended duty, which he was reluctantly
compelled to admit, in learning chefs, by
practifing the games of Philidor.

During the vacations, his application was
directed to improve his knowledge of French
and arithmetic, to which he alfo added the
ftudy of the Italian. Books he had always at
command ; for his mother, who contem-
plated with delight the progrefs of her fon,
with a wife liberality allowed him unlimited
credit on her purfe. But of this indulgence,
as he knew that her finances were reftricted,
he availed hirafelf no further than to pur-
chafe fuch books as were effential to his im-
provement.

I fhall here tranferibe, without alteration or



59

omlflion, a letter which the young ftudent,
at the age of fourteen, wrote to his filler, to
confole her for the death of a friend.

Dear Sister,

When I received your letter, 1 was
very concerned to hear the death of your
friend Mr. Reynolds, which I confider as a
piece of affliction common to us both. For
although my knowledge of his name or cha-
racter is of no long date, and though I never
had any perfonal acquaintance with him, yet
(as you obferve) we ought to regret the lofs
of every honourable man ; and if I had the
pleafure of your converfation, I would cer-
tainly give you any confolatory advice that
lay in my power, and make It my builncfs to
convince you what a real fhare I take in your
chagrin. And yet to reafon philofophically,
I cannot help thinking any grief upon a per-
ibn's death very fuperfluous, and inconfiftent
with fenfe; for what is the caufe of our for-
row ? Is it becaufe we hate the perfon deceafed ?
that were to imply ftrange contradiction, to



40
exprefs our joy by the common figns of far-
row, If, on the other hand, we grieve for
one who was dear to us, I fhould reply that
we fhould, on the contrary, rejoice at his
having left a ftate fo perilous and uncertain as
life is. The common ftrain is; " 'Tis pity fo
virtuous a man fhould die:" — but I afTert the
contrary; and when I hear the death of a
perfon of merit, I cannot help reflecting, how
happy he muft be who now takes the reward
of his excellencies, without the pofftbility of
falling away from them and lofing the virtue
which he profeffed, on whofe character death
has fixed a kind of feal, and placed him out
of the reach of vice and infamy ! for death
only clofes a man's reputation, and determines
it as either good or bad. On the contrary,
in life nothing is certain; whilft any one is
liable to alteration, we may poflibly be forced
to retract our efteem for him, and fome time
or other he may appear to us, as under a dif-
ferent light than what he does at prefent; for
the life of no man can be pronounced either
happy or miferable, virtuous or abandoned.



41

before the conclufion of it. It was upon thib
reflexion, that Solon, being afked by Crcefus,
a monarch of immenfe riches, who was the
happieft man? anfwered, After your death I
ihall be able to determine. Befides, though a
man mould purfue a conftant and determin-
ate courfe of virtue, though he were to keep
a regular fymmetry and uniformity in his
actions, and preferve the beauty of his repu-
tation to the laft, yet (while he lives) his very
virtue may incur fome evil imputation, and
provoke a thoufand murmurs of detraction;
for, believe me, my dear filter, there is no in-
stance of any virtue, or focial excellence,
which has not excited the envy of innumer-
able afTailants, whofe acrimony is raifed
barely by feeing others pleafed, and by hear-
ing commendation which another enjoys.
It is not eafy in this life for any man to
efcape cenfure; and infamy requires very little
labour to aflift its circulation. But there is a
kind of fanclion in the characters of the dead,
which gives due force and reward to their
merits, and defends them from the futrref-



ou



tions of calumny. But to return to the point j
what reafon is there to difturb yourfelf on
this melancholy occafion ? do but reflect that
thoufands die every moment of time, that
even while we fpeak, fome unhappy wretch
or other is either pining with hunger, or
pinched with poverty, fometimes giving up
his life to the point of the fword, torn with
convulfive agonies, and undergoing many
miferies which it were fuperfluous to mention.
We mould therefore compare our afflictions
with thofe who are more miferable, and not
with thofe who are more happy. I am
afhamed to add more, left I mould feem to
miftruft your prudence; but next week, when
I underfiand your mind is more compofed, I
ihall write you word how all things go here.
I defigned to write you this letter in French,
but I thought I could exprefs my thoughts
with more energy, in my own language.

I ccme now, after a long interval, to men-
tion fome more private circumftances. Pray
give my duty to my Mamma, and thank her
for my mirts. They fit, in my opinion, very



43

Well ; though Biddy fays they are too little iij
the arms. You may expect a letter from me
every day in the week till I come home; for
Mrs. Bifcoe has defired it, and has given me
fome franks. When you fee her, you may
tell her that her -little boy fends his duty to
her, and Mr. Bifcoe his love to his fiiter, and
defires to be remembered to Mifs Cleeve: he
alfo fends his compliments to my Mamma
and you. Upon my word I never thought
our bleak air would have fo good an efFecl
upon him. His complexion is now ruddy,
which before was fallow and pale, and he is
indeed much grown: but I now fpeak of tri-
fles, I mean in comparifon of his learning;
and indeed he takes that with wonderful
acutenefs; befides, his exceffive high fpirits
increafe mine, and give me comfort, fince,
after Parnell's departure, he is almoft the only
company I keep. As for news; the only
article I know is, that Mrs. Par is dead and
buried. Mr. and Mrs. Sumner are well:
the latter thanks you for bringing the letter



44

from your old acquaintance, and the former
has made me an elegant prefer) t. I am now-
very much taken up with ftudy; am to fpeak
Antony's fpeech in Shakefpeare's Julius Csefar
( which play I will read to you when I come
to town), and am this week to make a de-
clamation. I add no more than the fincere
well-wifhes of your faithful friend,

And affectionate brother,

William Jones.

If I am not deceived by my partiality for
the memory of Sir William Jones, this letter
will be perufed with intereft by the public.
The topics feleeted for the confolation of his
fifter, are not indeed of the moft novel na-
ture, nor the beft adapted to afford it; and
we may fmile at the gravity of the young
moralift, contrafted with the familiarity of the
circumftances detailed in the latter part of the
epiftle, which I found no difpofition to reject:
but the letter, as it ftands, will furnifh no
contemptible proof of his talents and frater-



45

nal affection, and may ferve as a fiandaru of
companion to parents, for eftimating the abi-
lities of their own children.

The period of tuition under Dr. Sumner
paffed rapidly, to the mutual fatisfaction of
the mafler and fcholar, until Jones had reach-
ed his feventeenth year ; when it was deter-
mined to remove him to one of the Univcr-
fities. This determination was not adopted
without much hefitation ; for it had been
ftrongly recommended to his mother, by
Sergeant Prime, and other Lawyers, to place
him, at the age of fixteen, in the office of
fome eminent fpecial pleader : and they fup-
ported their recommendation by an obferva-
tion, equally flattering to him and tempting
to his mother, that his talents, united with
fuch indefatigable induftry, mull enfure the
moft brilliant fuccefs, and confequently the
acquifition of wealth and reputation. It is a
fingular proof of his curiofity to explore un-
ufual tracks of learning, that, at this early
age, he had perufed the Abridgement of
Coke's Inftitutes, by Ireland, with fo much



40

attention, that he frequently amufed the legal
friends of his mother, by reafoning with
them on old cafes, which were fuppofed to
be confined to the learned in the profeflion.
The law, however, at that time, had little
attraction for him ; and he felt no inclina-
tion to renounce his Demofthenes and Cicero
for the pleadings in Weftminfler-Hall. His
cHfgufl to the ftudy of the law had alfo been
particularly excited, by the perufal of fome
old and inaccurate abridgement of law-cafes
in barbarous Latin. This difinclination on
his part, the folicitude of Dr. Sumner, that
he mould devote fome years to the comple-
tion of his ftudies at the Univerfity, and the
objections of his mother, founded on reafons
of economy, to a profeflion which could
not be purfued without confiderable expenfe,
fixed her decifion againft the advice of her
legal friends. The choice of an Univerfity
was alfo the occafion of fome difcuflion.
Cambridge was recommended by Dr. Sum-
ner, who had received his education there :
but Dr. GlafTe^ who had private pupils at



47
Harrow, and had always diitinguiihed Jones
by the kindeft attention, recommended Ox-
ford. His choice was adopted by Mrs. Jones,
who, in compliance with the wiihes of her
ion, had determined to refide at the Univcr-
fity with him, and greatly preferred the fitua-
tion of Oxford.

In the Spring of 1764, he went to the
Univerfity for the purpofe of being matricu-
lated and entered at College * : but he re-
turned to Harrow for a few months, that he
might finilh a courfe of lectures, which he
had juft begun, and in which he had been
highly interefted by the learning, eloquence,
tafte, and fagacity of his excellent inftructor.
They feparated foon after with mutual regret,
and in the following term he fixed himfeif
at Oxford.

The name of Jones was long remembered
at Harrow, with the reipeft due to his fupe-

* The following is the form of his admission into