Thomas William Rhys Davids (12 May 1843 – 27 December 1922) was an English scholar of the

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

language and founder of the Pāli Text Society. He took an active part in founding the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

and London School for Oriental Studies.

Early life and education

Thomas William Rhys Davids was born at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, England, the eldest son of a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

clergyman from Wales, who was affectionately referred to as the Bishop of

. His mother, who died at the age of 37 following childbirth, had run the Sunday school at his father's church. Deciding on a Civil Service career, Rhys Davids studied

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

under A.F. Stenzler, a distinguished scholar at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He earned money in Breslau by teaching

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Civil service in Sri Lanka

In 1863 Rhys Davids returned to Britain, and on passing his civil service exams was posted to Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). When he was Magistrate of

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

and a case was brought before him involving questions of ecclesiastical law, he first learned of the Pāli language when a document in that language was brought in as evidence. In 1871 he was posted as Assistant Government Agent of Nuwarakalaviya, where

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

was the administrative centre. The governor was Sir

Hercules Robinson Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gove ...

, who had founded the Archaeological Commission in 1868. Rhys Davids became involved with the excavation of the ancient Sinhalese city of Anuradhapura, which had been abandoned after an invasion in 993 CE. He began to collect inscriptions and manuscripts, and from 1870-1872 wrote a series of articles for the Ceylon branch of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

Journal about them. He learned the local language and spent time with the people. Rhys Davids' civil service career and his residence in Sri Lanka came to an abrupt end. Personal differences with his superior, C. W. Twynham, caused a formal investigation, resulting in a tribunal and Rhys Davids' dismissal for misconduct. A number of minor offenses had been discovered, as well as grievances concerning fines improperly exacted both from Rhys Davids' subjects and his employees.

Academic career

He then studied for the bar and briefly practised law, though he continued to publish articles about Sri Lankan inscriptions and translations, notably in

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...

's monumental

Sacred Books of the East The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ...

. From 1882 to 1904 Rhys Davids was Professor of Pāli at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, a post which carried no fixed salary other than lecture fees. In 1905 he took up the Chair of Comparative Religion at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. Rhys Davids attempted to promote

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

and Pāli scholarship in Britain. He actively lobbied the government (in co-operation with the Asiatic Society of Great Britain) to expand funding for the study of Indian languages and literature, using numerous arguments over how this might strengthen the British hold on India.

Personal life

In 1894 Rhys Davids married Caroline Augusta Foley, a noted Pāli scholar. Unlike his wife, however, Rhys Davids was a critic and opponent of

Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

. They had three children. The eldest, Vivien, was involved in the

Girl Guide Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

movement and was a friend of

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

. Their only son,

Arthur Rhys Davids Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids, (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was a British flying ace of the First World War. Rhys-Davids was born in 1897 to a distinguished family. His father was a professional academic and his mother a prolifi ...

, was a Royal Flying Corps 25-victory fighter ace who was killed in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Rhys Davids died on 27 December 1922 in

Chipstead, Surrey Chipstead is a predominantly commuter village in north-east Surrey, England, that has been a small ecclesiastical parish since the Domesday Survey of 1086. Its rolling landscape meant that Chipstead's development was late and restricted compar ...

Works

* Rhys Davids, T. W. (1880)
''Buddhist Birth Stories (Jataka Tales)''
London * Rhys Davids, T. W., trans. (1890–94). ''Questions of King Milinda'', ''Sacred Books of the East'', volumes XXXV & XXXVI, Clarendon/Oxford, reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delh
Vol. 1Vol. 2
* * Rhys Davids, T. W., Stede, William (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pāli Text Society's Pāli–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pāli Text Society
Search inside the Pāli–English Dictionary
University of Chicago * Rhys Davids, T. W. (1907)
Buddhism Its History And Literature
G. P. Putnam's Sons . New York, Second Edition. * Rhys Davids, T. W. & C. A., trans. (1899–1921). ''Dialogues of the Buddha'', 3 volumes, Pāli Text Society
Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3
* Rhys Davids, T. W.; Oldenberg, Hermann, trans. (1881–85). ''Vinaya Texts'', ''Sacred Books of the East'', volumes XIII, XVII & XX, Clarendon/Oxford; reprint: Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (Dover, New York
Vol. XIII, Mahavagga I-IVVol. XVII, Mahavagga V-X, Kullavagga I-IIIVol. XX, Kullavagga IV-XII
* Rhys Davids, T. W. (1891)

By T. W. Rhys Davids. ''The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', pp. 409–422 * Rhys Davids, T. W. (1901)

By T. W. Rhys Davids. ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', pp. 397–410

References

Sources

* Anonymous (1920-1923)
The passing of the Founder
Journal of the Pāli Text Society 7, 1-21 * Wickremeratne, Ananda (1984). The genesis of an Orientalist: Thomas William Rhys Davids and Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

External links

* Lorna S. Dewaraja

Daily News, Sri Lanka, 15–17 July 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys Davids, Thomas William 1843 births 1922 deaths 20th-century Buddhists Academics of University College London British scholars of Buddhism British Buddhists British expatriates in Germany British Indologists British orientalists British people of Welsh descent British Theravada Buddhists Converts to Buddhism from Protestantism Converts to Buddhism Critics of Theosophy Fellows of the British Academy Pali scholars Pali People of British Ceylon Theravada Buddhism writers