HENRY, Victor. Colmar, Alsace 17.8.1850 — Paris 6.2.1907. French Indologist. Professor in Paris. Son of Édouard H. (d. 1856), teacher at Colmar collège, and Joséphine Grante, educated by his uncle Victor H. (d. 1864), also a teacher. Studied law at Strasbourg (licencié 1869) and Dijon (dr. 1872). Planning a career in civil service he worked as teacher in Lille in 1872-80 and at Lille municipal library in 1880-83. As a scholar he was self-taught, but his dissertation at Paris in 1883 brought him the first academic post as chargé d’un cours de grammaire comparative et de philologie classique (maître des conferences et professeur adjoint) at Faculté des letters, Lille. In 1883-89 there, then in the same position (chargé du cours) at Sorbonne in Paris, where he taught comparative grammar and Veda (Sanskrit was Lévi’s charge). When Lévi moved to Collège de France in 1894 Henry became Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Grammar at Sorbonne. Died suddenly at home in angina pectoris. Married 1875 Augusta Heilmann, three daughters.
As a linguist Henry debuted with American studies, but soon moved to comparative IE studies. He was a many-sided linguist, interested in Sanskrit, MIA, IE, classical and Germanic languages, Celtic, general linguistics and dialectology. In 1882 he gave proof of the IE character of Pashto. He was one of the first specialists of the Atharvaveda (translation of AV 7–13 and Magie) and of Vedic ritual (Agniṣṭoma). In Celtology he compiled an etymological dictionary of modern Breton (1900), in dialectology a study of the Alsace German of his childhood. In MIA he wrote studies on Pāli and on Apabhraṁśa declension (MSL 14, 1904). He was many-sided, rather superficial, trying to find grand lines. “Il n’était pas l’homme des recherches de détail”, but still not too careless even with these details. He did not strive for new finds (like unedited texts), but rather systematized and developed further material procured by others.
Publications: Note sur les possessions anglaises et françaises de la Sénégambie. Lille 1876; “Esquisse d’une grammaire raisonnée de la langue aléoute”, RL 11, 1878, 424-457 & 12, 1879, 1-40; Précis de grammaire comparée du grec et du latin. 356 p. P. 1888; Précis de grammaire comparée de l’anglais et l’allemand. 24+419 p. P. 1893; and many further works.
– “Les trois racines du verbe être dand les langues indo-européennes”, Mém. de la Soc. des Sc. de Lille. 1878, 30 p.; La distribution géographique des languages. Lille 1882; Esquisses morphologiques. 1-5. Lille 1882-90.
– “Études afghanes”, RL 14, 1881, 327-372 & 15, 1882, 113-161.
– Edited & translated: Trente stances du Bhâminî-Vilâsa accompagné des fragments du commentaire de Maṇirâma. 73 p. P. 1885 (from Mém. Soc. Lille); translated: Le Sceau de Râkchasa. 16+237 p. P. 1888 (Mudrārākṣasa); Agnimitra et Mâlavikâ. 12+110 p. P. 1889.
– Edited A. Bergaigne’s Manuel pour étudier le sanscrit védique. Précis de grammaire, chrestomathie, lexique. 17+336 p. P. 1890.
– Translated: Les hymnes Rohitas — livre XIII de l’Atharva-Veda. 12+56 p. P. 1891; Le livre VII de l’Atharva-Veda. 15+132 p. P. 1892; Les livres VIII et IX de l’Atharva-Veda. 12+164 p. P. 1894; Les livres X–XII de l’Atharva-Veda. P. 1896.
– Edited: Quarante hymnes du Rig-Veda, traduits et commentés par A. Bergaigne. 8+117 p. P. 1895 (also MSL 8, 1894, 1-44, 264-276, 348-368, 393-424, 479-485).
– “Cruelle énigme”, Actes du 10e OC Genève 1894, 2:1, 1895, 43-50; “Mudgala ou l’hymne du marteau (suite d’énigmes védiques)”, JA 9:6, 1895, 516-548; “R.V. 3, 49, 1 en tant que contribution à l’éclaircissement de l’hymne du marteau (10, 102)”, JA 9:11, 1898, 329-331; “Le triangle et le carreau (R.V. 1, 152, 2)”, 12e OC Rome 1899, 1, 1901, 5-17; “Dadhika-Dadhikravan et l’évhémerisme en exègese védique”, Album Kern 1903, 5-12; “Physique védique”, JA 10:6, 1905, 385-409; “Soma et Haoma, le breuvage d’immortalité”, Conférénces au Musée Guimet 20, 1906, 51-80.
– Précis de grammaire pâlie. P. 1894, 2nd ed. 23+190 p. 1904; Eléments de sanscrit classique. 16+284 p. P.É.F.E.O. 1. P. 1902.
– “Vedica”, MSL 9, 1896, 97-109, 233-252, continued in later vols.
– “L’antithèse Védique et les ressources qu’elle offre à l’exegèse moderne pour l’interprétation du Véda”, RL 31, 1898, 81-107.
– “Bouddhisme et positivisme”, RHR 43, 1901, 314-324; Les littératures de l’Inde. 12+355 p. P. 1904; La magie dans l’Inde antique. 31+286 p. P. 1904, 2nd ed. 1909; Le Parsisme. 17+303 p. P. 1905/07.
– With W. Caland: L’Agniṣṭoma. 1-2. P. 1906-07.
– A great number of articles and reviews, in JA, MSL, RL, Le Muséon, JS, Revue crit., etc. Also wrote much on classical philology, comparative IE studies and American Indian languages.
Sources: *E. Babelon, Revue des ét. gr. 20, 1907, viii-x; *Charle, Les professeurs de la Faculté des lettres. 1. 197?; A. Meillet, BSL 14:2, 1907, ccxxiv-ccxxxi and *IF Anz. 22, 1908, 74-78; *P. E. Pavolini, GSAI 19, 1906, 409f.; *C. Puech, Lex. gramm. 1996; 406f.; La Grande Encyclopédie 19, 189?; *J. Vinson, RL 40, 1907, 195; briefly in RHR 55, 1907, 138f.; Wikipedia (French version with photo).
M. Décimo, “V.H. (1850-1907) ou l’itinéraire d’un linguiste autodidacte, d’après les fragments de sa correspondance”, Archives et documents de la Société d’histoire et d’épistémologie des sciences du langage 2 sér. 12, 1995, 5-94 (with bibliography).
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