The Primer, originally published in 1885 by Ginn and Com pany, Boston, is based upon an excellent little work by Professor: Georg Bühler of Vienna Leitfaden für den Elementarcursus des. Sanskrit, Wien, 1883. I became acquainted with this book while in Germany, and after using it with a class in Columbia College was convinced of its great practical value. On the other hand it seemed likely to be less useful to classes in America as keeping throughout to the native system of grammar, whereas the admirable Sanskrit Grammar of William Dwight Whitney presented the language in a much more logical and scientific form. It seemed therefore advisable to attempt a combination of Bühler's practical exercises and Whitney's presentation of the actual structure of the language. To this end the book was entirely rewritten for the use of English-speaking students, nothing being retained that did not seem likely to meet the real needs of those for whom it was designed. Occasionally, however, as the book would probably be used by per- sons who would not have the guidance of a competent teacher, explanations were added which normally would be given by the instructor. In many cases not only the substance but also the actual wording of Whitney's rules was incorporated into the text of the Primer of course with his consent.
The experiment tried with many misgivings in 1885 may be said to have proved successful, since the book has been in steady, though naturally in limited, demand for fifty years. Two years ago Messrs. Ginn and Company found it no longer practicable for them to continue its publication, and the Columbia University Press agreed to take it over.
In the original preface my deep obligations to Professors Bühler, Whitney and Lanman, and to the first of my former pupils in Sanskrit, Professor A. V. Williams Jackson, likewise to the printers in Berlin, Gebrüder Unger (Theodor Grimm), were ex- pressed. Since then Professors H. F. Burton of the University of Rochester, Louis H. Gray of Columbia University, and A. W. Ryder of the University of California, with Dr. Charles J. Ogden of Columbia University, have given me similar and most welcome assistance. My further thanks are due, and most gladly expressed, to the two publishing houses mentioned above, who negotiated the transfer of rights with the greatest courtesy and skill.
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