The desire of obtaining public distinction, and of ac quiring an honourable independence by the exertion or his own talents, now induced Mr. Jones to yield to the advice of his friends, and devote himself to the study of the law. With this view, he resigned his charge in Lord Spencer's family, and was admitted a student in the Temple on the 19th of September 1770. He did not, however, abruptly abandon his oriental pursuits and literary amusements, but continued to prosecute them, for some time, in conjunction with his legal studies. During the year 1771, he had been occupied in preparing for the press Poems, consisting of Translations from the Asiatic Languages, with two Essays ; and it appears from his cor respondence in the beginning of 1772, that he was on the eve of publishing an Essay on the History of the Turkt. This last work, however, although apparently so forward, was never published ; and the Prefatory Discourse, which points out the best depositaries of Turkish history, is the only part which has reached us. On the 30th of April 1772, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society ; but he does not appear to have contributed any papers to the Phi losophical Transactions. From the period of his entrance into the university, until Michaelmas 1768, when he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts, he kept his terms regu larly; from thence to 1773, only occasionally. During Easter term in the latter year, he took his Master's degree; upon which occasion he composed an oration, with an in tention, which he did not execute, of deliveDing it in the theatre. The speech, however, was published ten years after. It breathes an ardent love of liberty, and contains a warm and discriminate eulogium on those learned men, who devoted their talents and their labours to the cause of religion, science, and freedom. Early in 1774, he publish ed his Commentaries on Asiatic Poetry ; a work which he had undertaken in 1766, and finished in 1769, and which, on its publication, was received with applause by the orien tal scholars of Europe. The learned Dr. Parr expressed his admiration of it, in a letter to the author, in the follow ing terms : " On the whole, there is a purity, an ease, an elegance in the style, which spew an accurate and most perfect knowledge of the Latin tongue. Your Latin trans lations in verse gave me great satisfaction. I am uncom monly charmed with the idyllium, called Chrysis. The flow of the verses, the poetic style of the words, and the elegant turn of the whole poem, are admirable. On the whole, I have received infinite entertainment from this en vious and learned performance, and I look forward with pleasure, to the great honour such a publication will do our country." In the preface to this work, the author pays an affectionate tribute of regard to the memory of his friend and instructor, Dr. Sumner, who died in September 1771. As a proof of gratitude to his alma mater, he dedicated his Commentaries to the university of Oxford.
In the month or January 1774, he waz called to the bar ; ar.d from tt.ts per:od he begat to spend a considerable por tion of his time in courts, and to prosecute his legal stu dies, for a series of years, to the exclusion of Asiatic litera ture. At this time, his reputation was so extensive, that his correspondence was eagerly courted by many of the most eminent scholars in Europe ; and he received many flattering testimonies of the regard in which his talents and character were generally held. The Infant, Don Gabriel, transmitted to him, through Dr. Perez Bayer, a splendid copy of his translation of Sallust into Spanish ; and he re ceived many valuable literary curiosities from persons to whom he was only known by fame. Jones acknowledges
these honourable communications with modesty and grace : " I am conscious," says he, in a letter to Mr. Howard, " how little I have deserved the many honours I have late ly received from the learned in Europe and Asia ; I can ascribe their politeness to nothing but their candour and benevolence." In 1775, Mr. Jones attended the spring circuit and ses sions at Oxford ; and in December 1776, he began to prac tise at the bar, and to give opinions on cases, having pre viously been appointed one of the sixty commissioners on bankrupts. During the latter end of the year 1777, and the beginning of the following year, he resided at Bath. In 1778, he published a translation of the speeches of Isxus, in causes concerning the law of succession to property at Athens, with a commentary, a prefatory discourse, and cri tical and historical notes. During the years 1778 and 1779, his time was principally consumed in forensic duties and studies. He had long been invited to direct his expec tation to the situation of a Judge in India, for which his oriental acquirements peculiarly qualified him ; but the prospect of such an appointment seemed yet rather remote. In the mean time, however, his professional practice great ly increased ; and, by the kindness of Lord North, he was authorised to expect the vacant seat on the bench of Fort William in Bengal.
In the month of May 1780, Sir Roger Newdigate hav ing declared his purpose of resigning his seat in parliament, Mr. Jones was induced, by the encouragement of many respectable friends, to announce his intention of presenting himself as a candidate for the representation of the univer sity of Oxford. The unexpected dissolution of the parlia ment in August, however, obliged him to make a precipi tate estimate of the promises and ability of his friends, and lo decide whether he would stand a poll, or decline the contest. He had received many unsolicited offers of sup port from persons of the first respectability, and the can vass by his friends among the non-resident electors had been very successful ; but, upon the whole, the members of the university did not es ince any lively interest in his fa vour ; and es en in his own college, his pretensions did not receive any very flattering countenance. An Ode to Li berty, which he printed about this time, is said to have lost him near twenty votes ; and there undoubtedly existed a radical difference between the political principles of the candidate, and those of the majority of the electors. These circumstances induced him to withdraw ; and he according ly declined standing a poll. In the mean time, his profes sional success equalled his highest expectations; and the ge neral election, which occasioned a great influx of business, obliged him to delay the completion of two short literary works;--the one a treatise On the Maritime Jurisprudence of the Athenians, illustrated by five speeches of Demos thenes in commercial causes ; and the other a dissertation On the manners of the Arabians before the time of itIaho inct,illustrated by a translation of the Seven Arabian Poets. Notwithstanding the various occupations of this period, he found time to publish An Inquiry into the legal mode of suppressing Riots, with a constitutional plan of future de fence, a pamphlet of which the subject was suggested by the riotous occurrences in the capital. The principles proposed by Mr. Jones have been since adopted with suc cess.