About the Publisher of R.A. Nicholson's Translation and Commentary on the Masnavi
The publisher of Nicholson's monumental translation and commentary of Rumi's Masnavi is the Gibb Memorial Trust, in Cambridge, Great Britain. The E. J. W. Gibb (a scholar who died in 1901) Memorial Trust is a registered charity, and any decrease in sales of Nicholson's works would reduce the annual amount of funds available to fund the purpose of the charity (to further research and study of the history, literature, philosophy and religion of the Turks, Persians and Arabs). This is a major reason why the Trustees do not want the whole, or large parts, of Dr. Nicholson's works to be published in an unauthorized, or "pirated," form in other countries or on the Internet.
Authorization to quote extracts from Nicholson's works entails paying a fee (royalties) to the Gibb Memorial Trust (email: PRBligh@btinternet.com), unless the proposed publication is for educational use only (with no profitable income involved).
In the case of the material published on this website, although there are extensive quotes from Nicholson's Commentary (and many quotes from his translation, usually in cases of translation differences), the extracts are embedded in the footnotes and thus not easily copied for pirate book production. The Gibb Memorial Trust therefore considers that potential loss to the Trust would probably be insignificant and that the added publicity for Nicholson's translation and (his little known) Commentary could be helpful. In addition, this website is strictly for non-profit educational purposes, appreciation for the labors of Dr. Nicholson is included in every translation from the Masnavi, and the excerpts from his works are incorporated at a level of scholarships which is well-suited to them.
The Masnavi can be bought directly from the distributors of the Trust (the three volumes of English translation for $87; the two volumes of Commentary for $144; the three volumes of Persian text for $237; or each of the eight volumes may be bought separately) at the following website (which includes secure online forms for ordering within North America and for ordering outside North America) through the Aris & Phillips website.
Other books published by the Gibb Memorial Trust (including Nicholson's translation of Hujwiri's "Kashf Al-Mahjûb: The Oldest Persian Treatise on Sufism" an early Persian treatise on Sufism) are listed on related webpages.
