Charles-Joseph de Harlez de Deulin ( Liège, 21 August 1832 – Leuven, 14 July 1899) was a Belgian Orientalist, domestic

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

, canon of the cathedral of Liège, and member of the ''Academie Royale'' of Belgium, who studied and translated the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

holy texts. The family of de Harlez was an old and noble family of Liège. On completing his ordinary college course de Harlez devoted himself to the study of law in the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. His success in legal studies was considerable, and a strong doctorate examination brought his career at the law school to a close. His family connections and his own ability gave promise of a bright future, but, growing dissatisfied with the law, de Harlez soon abandoned the legal profession altogether. He then took up the study of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and in 1858 was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. After his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

he was appointed director of the college of Saint-Quirin in

Huy Huy ( or ; nl, Hoei, ; wa, Hu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the ''sillon industriel'', the former industrial ...

. In 1867 he was put in charge of a new arts school which had been established for young ecclesiastics in connection with the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. This position he held for four years. An old predilection for Oriental studies began then to make itself felt again in him. He was appointed to a professorship in the Oriental department of the Louvain Catholic University in 1871 and devoted himself with energy to the study of the Zoroastrian Sacred book - the

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...

- of which he published a translation (1875–77). Spiegel had already translated the Avesta into German and Anqueil-Duperron had attempted a translation into French. The translation of de Harlez was an addition to Avesta

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

, and the second edition of the work appeared in 1881. The relationship between the Rig Veda and the Avesta were not yet fully understood, de Harlez set himself to determine it. He emphasized the differences, in spite of many apparent agreements, between the two texts. His view met with much opposition, but some of his opponents - for instance

James Darmesteter James Darmesteter (28 March 184919 October 1894) was a French author, orientalist, and antiquarian. Biography He was born of Jewish parents at Château-Salins, in Lorraine. The family name had originated in their earlier home of Darmstadt. He was ...

- reportedly came round to his point of view. In 1883 Mgr de Harlez turned to a new department-the language and literature of China. In this department he was chiefly attracted by the problems of the ancient Chinese religion. He shows everywhere in his works this same taste for the study of religious developments, and founded and became first chief editor of a journal, ''Muséon'', which was intended to be devoted to the objective study of history generally and of religious history in particular. It was founded in 1881, and many of the most important of its early articles were contributed by de Harlez. Though he was editor of the "Muséon" and still a keen student of Iranian and Chinese, de Harlez had time for other work. He was all the time professor of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

in the university and produced a Sanskrit manual for the use of his students. He also made himself familiar with Manchu literature, and in 1884 he published in Louvain a handbook of the Manchu language. Under him the school of Louvain Oriental studies flourished. The ''Mélanges Charles de Harlez'' (Leyden. 1896), a collection of more than fifty scientific articles written by scholars of all countries and creeds, was presented to him on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Louvain professorship.

Other publications

*''Manuel de la langue de l'Avesta'' (Paris, 1879; 2nd ed., 1888) *''Manuel du Pehlevi'' (Paris, 1880) *''Etudes éraniennes'' (Paris, 1880) *''La Bible dans l' Inde'' (The Bible in India; Paris, 1882) *''Le texte originaire du Yih-King'' (Original text of the I Ching) *''Védisme, brahmanisme et christianisme'' (Brussels, 1881) *''La Siao Hio ou Morale de la jeunesse avec le commentaire de Tchen-Siuen'' (1889) *''Textes Tâoïstes, traduit des originaux chinois et commentés.'' aozi, DaodejingAnnales du Musée Giumet XX. (Paris, 1891) Erstmals mit Kommentar des Wang Bi!

References

* cites: **''Annuaire de l'université catholique de Louvain'' (1900) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harlez, C 1832 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests Iranologists Clergy from Liège