It was left to Rhys Davids, virtually the first European scholar to devote himself exclusively to Pali and Buddhism, to unlock the key to Pali and point out to his contemporaries the rich vistas that lay beyond. In doing so he made it possible to begin the systematic study of Buddhism which had been undertaken sans consistency and method. Rhys David's relationship to Sri Lankan Buddhism and Pali was broadly analogous to that of Max Muller to India and Sanskrit. ...
