SECTION III. INDIA. 30. THE same obscurity which hangs over the primitive history of China, veils also that of the peninsula of Hindostan. But from whatever quarter the inhabitants of these oriental climes (now rendered so interesting by their political relation to ourselves) may have derived the elements of their civilization and knowledge, it is certain that there existed among them, from the earliest period of their traditional history, men highly reputed for their wisdom and erudition; and that discoveries were made by them in moral and physical science, which, though they may not bear a comparison with the developments of modern times, are yet, when viewed in connexion with the existing state of society, truly astonishing. So high was the literary reputation of this people, long before the arts and philosophy flourished in Greece, that all who made any pretensions to learning in that country deemed it necessary to visit India, that they might make themselves acquainted with the philosophical systems, and scientific discoveries, for which the eastern sages were renowned. An ancient Greek historian affirms, that "the Indians were the wisest of nations, especially in moral science; and notwithstanding the national vanity of the Greeks, which led them to pour contempt on all other nations as barbarous, the confession is frequently extorted from them, that the most celebrated of their philosophers were greatly indebted to their travels among oriental nations for their high attainments in knowledge. "The six philosophical schools," says Sir W. Jones, "whose principles are explained in the Dersana Sastra, comprise all the metaphysics of the Old Academy, the Stoa, the Lyceum; nor is it possible to read the Vedanta, (another of the ancient Indian Sastras,) or the many fine compositions in illustration of it, without believing that Pythagoras and Plato derived their sublime theories from the same fountain with the sages of India." 31. Of the philosophy of India it would be impossible to give even a faint outline in this summary of ancient literature; nor is it easy to form a decided opinion of its general character, amidst the jarring opinions entertained on the subject by writers possessed of ample means of information. By some it has been described as a compound of fanatical metaphysics, and extravagant superstitions, without the smallest seasoning of rational physics; while others have represented it as a refined allegorical system of metaphysical theology, characterized by ingenuity and pre-eminent genius. Without acceding fully to either of these contrary opinions, it may be safely affirmed, that the mystical philosophy of India approaches much nearer to reason and truth than the bold and impious speculations of the modern European philosophers. The latter have strenuously laboured to exclude mind from the universe; but the ancient Hindoo philosophers, proceeding to the opposite extreme of pantheism, allow no powers whatever to material substances, but introduce the Deity as the immediate cause of every effect, however trivial; as the agent and author alike of good and evil. "From all the properties of man and nature-from all the various branches of sciencefrom all the deductions of human reason, the corollary drawn by all the philosophers of the East is, the supremacy and direct agency of an all-creating, all-preserving spirit, infinitely wise and powerful, but infinitely removed, also, from the comprehension of his most exalted creatures. In common with all other eastern nations, they considered the human soul as a particle or an emanation of that intellectual fire by which the universe is animated. Το the same source may also be referred their belief in transmigration, re-absorption in the Divinity, and the periodical renovation of the material universe."* 32. No early traces of moral science, considered The statement of Sir W. Jones, respecting the branch of Hindoo philosophy referred to in the text, exhibits it in a more favourable light. "The fundamental tenet of the Vedanti School consisted, not in denying the existence of matter, that is, of solidity, impenetrability, and extended figure, (to deny which would be lunacy,) but in correcting the popular notion of it, and in contending that it has no essence independently of mental perception that existence and perceptibility are convertible termsthat external appearances and sensations are illusory, and would vanish into nothing, if the divine energy, which alone sustains them, were suspended but for a moment; an opinion which Epicharmus and Plato seem to have adopted, and which has been maintained in the present day (alluding to the well-known Berkleyan system,) with great elegance, but with little public applause."-Sir W. Jones's Works, Vol. I. Prelim. Diss. as a system, can be found among the ancient writings of the Hindoo philosophers; but their Sastras, or sacred books, abound with ethical maxims and preceptive rules of conduct. The moralists of the East have in general chosen to deliver their precepts in short sententious aphorisms, to illustrate them by allegorical comparisons, or to inculcate them in the ancient form of ароlogues or fables. The Niti Sastra, or System of Ethics, still held in high veneration by the inhabitants of India, contains, amidst many absurdities, a great mass of moral instruction; and the fables of Vishnu-serman (better known by the name of Pilpay) are said to be the most beautiful, if not the most ancient, collection of apologues in the world. These fables were originally written in the Sanscrit dialect, under a title which signifies "amicable instruction;" from which they were first translated into the popular language of India, in the sixth century. They are now extant in more than twenty of the oriental dialects, and greatly admired for the moral wisdom they contain. It is conjectured by Sir W. Jones, that, " as the very existence of Esop is doubtful, the first moral fables known to the Europeans, were of Indian or Ethiopic origin."-Sir W. Jones's Works, Vol. I. p. 32. 33. Physical science seems to have been chiefly applied by the ancient Hindoos, either to the conveniences of social life, or to the more disgraceful purpose of magical and astrological imposture. If full reliance could be placed on their own traditional history, or the testimony of some distinguished modern writers, it would appear that the most remarkable discoveries were made by them, even in the infancy of society, in the kindred sciences of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and astronomy. That they were early famed for their skill in navigation and their astronomical knowledge, is evident from the writings of the ancient geographer, Dionysius, who describes them as a people, And wafted merchandize to coasts unknown; Their motions mark'd, and call'd them by their names." Yet more decisive evidence is adduced of their attainments in astronomy by a scientific modern writer (Bailly), who examined attentively the astronomical tables of the Indian philosophers of antiquity, and asserts, that they are far superior in accuracy to the best calculations of the Grecian astronomers. The fundamental epoch of the Indian astronomy is a conjunction of the sun and moon, which, according to their chronology, is said to have taken place at a period nearly corresponding with the year 3102 before the Christian Era; and the most accurate calculations of modern astronomers have shewn, that such a conjunction must have actually taken place at that time. Still more remarkable is the statement of Sir W. Jones, who refers to the works of an ancient philosopher of India, which are said to include a system of the universe, founded on the principle of attraction, and the central position of the sun; whence he infers, that this Indian philo |