ABSTRACT
The edition of the 50 massive volumes of the Sacred Books of the East (1879–1910) was one of the most ambitious and daring translation and editorial projects of late Victorian scholarship. Here the ‘religious’ East was systematically presented to a Western readership in English translations. The German-born philologist, orientalist, and religious scholar Friedrich Max Müller (1823–1900) persuaded Oxford University Press to embark on this venture, which was also financially supported by the India Office of the British Empire. This chapter discusses the scope and significance of the series, while foregrounding translation issues. Scrutinizing Müller’s views of translation, the chapter examines the role of the SBE in framing and establishing the concept of ‘world religions’. The chapter highlights the effects of the comparative method and implied textualization of religion, through a discussion of Müller’s approach to the incongruity between ancient and modern languages, and briefly, the reception of the series.
