physician, is almost entirely loft, unfortunately perhaps for the curious European, but happily for the patient Hindu; fince a revealed science precludes improvement from experience, to which that of medicine ought, above all others, to be left perpetually open; but I have myself met with curious fragments of that primeval work, and, in the Véda itself, I found with astonishment an entire Upanishad on the internal parts of the human body; with an enumeration. of nerves, veins, and arteries, a description of the heart, spleen, and liver, and various difquifitions on the formation and growth of the fetus: from the laws, indeed, of MENU, which have lately appeared in our own language, we may perceive, that the ancient Hindus were fond of reasoning in their way on the mysteries of animal generation, and on the comparative influence of the fexes in the production of perfect offfpring; and we may collect from the authorities adduced in the learned Effay on Egypt and the Nile, that their physiological disputes led to violent fchifms in religion, and even to bloody wars. On the whole, we cannot expect to acquire many valuable truths from an examination of eastern books on the science of medicine; but examine them we muft, if we wish to complete the history of universal philosophy, and to fup

ply the scholars of Europe with authentick materials for an account of the opinions anciently formed on this head by the philofophers of Afia: to know, indeed, with certainty, that so much and no more can be known on any branch of fcience, would in itself be very important and ufeful knowledge, if it had no other effect than to check the boundlefs curiofity of mankind, and to fix them in the ftraight path of attainable fcience, especially of fuch as relates to their duties and may conduce to their happiness.

II. We have an ample field in the next divifion, and a field almoft wholly new; fince the mytaphyficks and logick of the Bráhmens, comprised in their six philosophical Sástras, and explained by numerous gloffes or comments, have never yet been acceffible to Europeans; and, by the help of the Sanferit language, we now may read the works of the Saugatas, Bauddhas, Arbatas, Jainas, and other heterodox philofophers, whence we may gather the metaphyfical tenets prevalent in China and Japan, in the eastern peninsula of India, and in many confiderable nations of Tartary: there are also some valuable tracts on these branches of science in Perfian and Arabick, partly copied from the Greeks, and partly comprising the doctrines of the Sufis which anciently prevailed, and still

prevail in great measure over this oriental world, and which the Greeks themselves condefcended to borrow from eastern fages.

The little treatife in four chapters, afcribed to yafa, is the only philofophical Sátra, the original text of which I have had leifure to perufe with a Bráhmen of the Védánti school: it is extremely obfcure, and, though compofed in fentences elegantly modulated, has more refemblance to a table of contents, or an accurate fummary, than to a regular systematical tract; but all its obfcurity has been cleared by the labour of the very judicious and most learned SANCARA, whofe commentary on the Védánta, which I read also with great attention, not only elucidates every word of the text, but exhibits a perfpicuous account of all other Indian fchools, from that of CAPILA to thofe of the more modern hereticks. It is not poffible, indeed, to fpeak with too much applaufe of fo excellent a work; and I am confident in afferting, that, until an accurate tranflation of it fhall appear in fome European language, the general history of philofophy muft remain incomplete; for I perfectly agree with thofe, who are of opinion, that one correct verfion of any celebrated Hindu book would be of greater value than all the differtations or effays, that could be compofed on the fame fubject; you will not, however, ex

pect, that, in fuch a discourse as I am now delivering, I fhould expatiate on the diversity of Indian philofophical fchools, on the several founders of them, on the doctrines, which they respectively taught, or on their many disciples, who diffented from their inftructors in fome particular points. On the present occafion, it will be fufficient to fay, that the oldest head of a fect, whofe entire work is preserved, was (according to fome authors) CAPILA; not the divine perfonage, a reputed grandson of BRAHMA', to whom CRISHNA compares himself in the Gita, but a fage of his name, who invented the Sánc' bya, or Numeral, philofophy, which CRISHNA himself appears to impugn in his converfation with ARJUNA, and which, as far as I can recollect it from a few original texts, resembled in part the metaphyficks of PYTHAGORAS, and in part the theology of ZENO: his doctrines were enforced and illuftrated, with fome additions, by the venerable PATANJALI, who has alfo left us a fine comment on the grammatical rules of PA'NINI, which are more obfcure, without a gloss, than the darkest oracle: and here by the way let me add, that I refer to metaphyficks the curious and important science of univerfal grammar, on which many fubtil difquifitions may be found interfperfed in the particular grammars of the ancient Hindus, and in

thofe of the more modern Arabs. The next founder, I believe, of a philofophical school was GOTAMA, if, indeed, he was not the most ancient of all; for his wife AHALY'A was, according to Indian legends, restored to a human shape by the great RA'MA; and a fage of his name, whom we have no reason to suppose a different perfonage, is frequently mentioned in the Veda itfelf; to his rational doctrines thofe of CANA'DA were in general conformable; and the philosophy of them both is usually called Nyaya, or logical, a title aptly beftowed; for it seems to be a system of metaphyficks and logick better accommodated than any other anciently known. in India, to the natural reafon and common sense of mankind; admitting the actual existence of material fubftance in the popular acceptation of the word matter, and comprifing not only a body of fublime dialecticks, but an artificial method of reasoning, with distinct names for the three parts of a propofition, and even for those of a regular fyllogifm. Here I cannot refrain from introducing a fingular tradition, which prevailed, according to the well-informed author of the Dabiftán, in the Panjab and in feveral Perfian provinces, that, "among other In"dian curiofities, which CALLISTHENES tranf"mitted to his uncle, was a technical System of logick, which the Brahmens had communicated