My Autobiography: A Fragment

This is an account of the early part of the life and career of his father Friedrich Max Muller edited by his son. His father’s object in writing his Autobiography was twofoldfirstly, to show what he considered to have been his mission in life, to lay bare the thread that connected all his labours; and secondly, to encourage young struggling scholars by letting them see how it had been possible for one of themselves, without fortune, a stranger in a strange land, to arrive at the position to which he attained, without ever sacrificing his independence, or abandoning the unprofitable and not very popular subjects to which he had determined to devote his life. Max Muller was a Germanborn philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion. He wrote both scholarly and popular works on the subject of Indology. The work ends with an account of Max Muller early days at Oxford. The chapters describe 1) His childhood at Dessam, 2) School days at Leipzig, 3) University, 4) Paris, 5) Arrival in England, 6) Early days at Oxford, 7) Early friends at Oxford. This book is an indispensable one for common readers. This book is a reprint of the 1901 edition.