24 On the Hindoo Formula;, Is'c. 



We shall not enter into any discussion respecting the anti- 

 quity of the Souria Siddanta* : by only considering the form 

 of I heir tables, their ideas of the precession of the equinoxes, 

 their obliquity of 24°, and their theory of eclipses, we be- 

 lieve the authors of the Hindoo astronomical books more 

 anlient than the astronomers of Alexandria. On the other 

 hand, when we find things known to them that were un- 

 known to the Greeks, we should be inclined to consider 

 them of a more recent date. The system of epicycles for 

 the planets is common to them both, but less perfect than 

 that of the Greeks ; whence we may conjecture ihat this doc- 

 trine of the Indians pas3£d from them to Greece, where it 

 was extended and improved. It appears less natural to sup- 

 pose that the Hindoos received them from the Greeks through 

 the intermedium of the Arabs, on account of the imper- 

 fect and disfigured theories which are found among them. 

 We can, however, aftirm that this memoir, although nothing 

 is to be obtained from it that can improve our present know- 

 ledge or the progress of astronomy, is nevertheless extremely 

 curious, and worthy the attention of astronomers. What 

 renders the reading of it more difficult is, the great number 

 of Indian technical words contained in the translation. 

 Tbey ought to have given a second versiort, in which there 

 should have been no other than their t)wn language : I had 

 that idea, but to execute it completely some notions were 

 necessary which I could not obtain, and some researches 

 to wlfich I had not time to attend. 



In the same memoir we observe that the great period of 

 the Indians, which is 4,3-20,000 years, is only an astrono- 

 mical period, at the beginning of which the mean longi- 

 tudes, the aphelia, and the nodes of all the planets were no- 

 thing. At the -^nd of this memoir we find another tending 

 to prove that the Indian zodiac has not be&n borrowed either 

 from the Greeks or the Arabs. We find also two memoirs 

 on Indian chronology by sir William Jones. 



In the appendix, p.fiB, is given, a memoir by Reuben Bur- 



• An ingenious F.ng;lishr,'..in made this book 3fi40 years old ; Iiut since that, 

 in 1799, he has reduced this number to 731, or about thevear 1-58 of our .era. 



