Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron was a French Indologist.
Background
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil was born in Paris on 7 December 1731 as the fourth of seven children of Pierre Anquetil, a spice importer. As was the custom of the time, the name of one of his father's estates, 'Duperron', was added to his name to distinguish him from his brothers.
Education
Anquetil-Duperron initially distinguished himself in the study of theology at Paris and Utrecht with the intention of becoming a priest like his elder brother Louis-Pierre Anquetil. In the course of his studies, however, he acquired such an interest in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek that he chose to devote himself entirely to philology and classical studies and discontinued his clerical training. He travelled to Amersfoort near Utrecht to study oriental languages, especially Arabic, with the Jansenites who were exiled there. His diligent attendance at the Royal Library attracted the attention of the keeper of the manuscripts, the Abbe Sallier, whose influence procured for him a small salary as student of the oriental languages.
Career
He had lighted on some fragments of the Vendidad Sade, and formed the project of a voyage to India to discover the works of Zoroaster. With this end in view he enlisted as a private soldier, on the 2nd of November 1754, in the Indian expedition which was about to start from the port of L'Orient. His friends procured his discharge, and he was granted a free passage, a seat at the captain's table, and a salary, the amount of which was to be fixed by the governor of the French settlement in India.
After a passage of six months, Anquetil landed, on the ioth of August 1755 at Pondicherry. Here he remained a short time to master modern Persian, and then hastened to Chandernagore to acquire Sanskrit. Just then war was declared between France and England; Chandernagore was taken, and Anquetil returned to Pondicherry by land. He found one of his brothers at Pondicherry, and embarked with him for Surat; but, with a view of exploring the country, he landed at Mahe and proceeded on foot.
At Surat he succeeded, by perseverance and address in his intercourse with the native priests, in acquiring a sufficient knowledge of the Zend and Pahlavi languages to translate the liturgy called the Vendidad Sade and some other works.
Thence he proposed going to Benares, to study the language, antiquities, and sacred laws of the Hindus; but the capture of Pondicherry obliged him to quit India.
Returning to Europe in an English vessel, he spent some time in London and Oxford, and then set out for France.
He arrived in Paris on the 14th of March 1762 in possession of one hundred and eighty oriental manuscripts, besides other curiosities.
The Abbe Barthelemy procured for him a pension, with the appointment of interpreter of oriental languages at the Royal Library.
In 1763 he was elected an associate of the Academy of Inscriptions, and began to arrange for the publication of the materials he had collected during his eastern travels.
In 1771 he published his Zend-Avesta (3 vols. ) , containing collections from the sacred writings of the fire-worshippers, a life of Zoroaster, and fragments of works ascribed to him.
In 1778 'he published at Amsterdam his Legislation orientate, in which he endeavoured to prove that the nature of oriental despotism had been greatly misrepresented.
His Recherches hisloriques et geographiques sur I'lnde appeared in 1786, and formed part of ThieffCnthaler's Geography of India.
The Revolution seems to have greatly affected him. During that period he abandoned society, and lived in voluntary poverty on a few pence a day.
In 1798 he published L'Inde en rapport avec VEurope (Hamburg, 2 vols. ) , which contained much invective against the English, and numerous misrepresentations.
In 1802-1804 he published a Latin translation (2 vols. ) from the Persian of the Oupnek'hat or Upanishada. It is a curious mixture of Latin, Greek, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit.
He died in Paris on the 17th of January 1805.