Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 2.djvu/190

 To the translation of Sanskrit poetry Griffith devoted himself for nearly half a century. He began at Marlborough College with his ‘Specimens of Old Indian Poetry’ (1852), containing selections tastefully translated in various rhyming metres from the two great epics, the ‘Mahābhārata’ and the ‘Rāmāyana,’ and from the works of India's greatest poet, Kālidāsa. An extract from the drama ‘Śakuntalā’ is in blank verse. At Marlborough also he made a translation in heroic couplets of Kālidāsa's court epic, the ‘Kumāra-sambhava,’ under the title of ‘The Birth of the War-god’ (1853; 2nd edit. 1879). There followed ‘Idylls from the Sanskrit’ (1866), selections similar to those in his first book, and ‘Scenes from the Rámáyan’ (1868). His translation of the whole epic, the ‘Rámáyan of Válmíki,’ in rhyming octosyllabic couplets, occasionally varied by other metres was completed in five volumes (1870–5). Having paid some attention to the study of Persian, he published in 1882 a version of ‘Yuzuf and Zuleika,’ which was his only excursion in translation outside Sanskrit.

After his retirement to the Nīlgiri Hills, Griffith turned from classical Sanskrit to the sacred scriptures of the Hindus, the Vedas. The ‘Rigveda’ or Veda of hymns, which represent the higher religion of the ancient Indo-Aryans, appeared in a verse translation entitled ‘Hymns of the Rigveda, with a Popular Commentary,’ in four volumes (Benares, 1889–92; 2nd edit. 2 vols. 1896–7). There followed the ‘Hymns of the Sāmaveda,’ or Veda of chants concerned with the Soma ritual (Benares, 1893); the ‘Hymns of the Atharvaveda,’ or Veda mainly consisting of magical spells (2 vols. Benares, 1895–6), and finally ‘The Texts of the White Yajurveda,’ or sacrificial Veda (Benares, 1899). In these translations Griffith abandoned rhyme and rendered each verse by one syllabically harmonising with the original and generally divided into corresponding hemistichs. Griffith's command of poetical diction enabled him to reproduce the form and spirit of the ancient hymns better than by means of prose or of rhyming verse. His method of interpretation is eclectic; it follows partly the mediæval commentators, partly the researches of Western scholars, supplemented by investigations of his own. His renderings cannot be reckoned authoritative, but they are the only versions that present the general spirit of the ancient hymns to the English reader in an attractive form. Thus Griffith was not only the most voluminous, but also the best translator of ancient Indian poetry that Great Britain has yet produced.

 GRIFFITHS, ARTHUR GEORGE FREDERICK (1838–1908), inspector of prisons and author, born on 9 Dec. 1838, at Poona, India, was second son of Lieut.-colonel John Griffiths of the 6th Royal Warwickshire regiment. After education at King Wilham's College, Isle of Man, he entered the army as ensign in the 63rd (now Manchester) regiment on 13 Feb. 1855. He was present at the siege and fall of Sevastopol, and took part in the expedition to Kinburn, for which he received the Crimean medal. He was promoted lieutenant on 27 July 1855. In 1856 his regiment was stationed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, but on being nominated aide-de-camp to Sir [q. v.], commanding the troops in British North America, Griffiths was transferred to Toronto. The appointment, however, was not confirmed by the war office, and he returned home on leave. He pursued his military studies at the Hythe school of musketry, and in 1860 he passed fifth into the Staff College. In Nov. 1861, owing to the threatened war with the United States over the 'Trent' affair, Griffiths was ordered to rejoin his regiment at Halifax. He was promoted captain on 12 Feb. 1862.

From 1864 to 1870 he was brigade major at Gibraltar. His administrative capacity was recognised by his appointment to the temporary charge of the convict establishment at Gibraltar; and his success in enforcing discipline led him to enter the prisons service at home. Griffiths was deputy-governor of Chatham (1870-2), of Millbank (1872-4), and of Wormwood Scrubbs prisons (1874-81). From 1878 to 1896 he was inspector of prisons, and undertook the task of unifying the methods of administration throughout the country. He became an acknowledged authority on European prison systems and on the history of London gaols. His 'Memorials of Millbank' (1875; 2nd edit. 1884) and 'Chronicles of Newgate' (1884) were serious works of research; and he added to his reputation in 1890 by winning the Tsar's gold medal for a monograph on John