OP THE MUSICAL SCALES OP THE HINDUS. 455 



tiful nor more deformed than the paintings or carvings 

 of the present day, but are fashioned by just the same 

 art." 



When Clinias observes, that he spoke of a won- 

 derful circumstance, he repHe^, " It is, however, a 

 circumstance pertaining to law and poHtics in a tran- 

 scendent degree, you will likewise find other things 

 there of a trifling nature, but this respecting 7nusic is true 

 and deserves attention, because the legislator could 

 finily give laws about things of this kind and with con- 

 fidence introduce such melodies as possessed a natural 

 rectitude : but this must be the work of a God, or of 

 some divine person ; just as they say there^ that their 

 melodies, which have been preserved for such a length 

 of time, are the Poems of Lis.'' 



PLAto considers this restriction as proper and ne- 

 cessary to prevent the introduction of sensual licentious- 

 ness and effeminacy. There appears to have been some 

 such idea of restriction, amongst the antient Hifidus, 

 by the confinement of their music to tliirty-six melo- 

 dies : viz. the six Ragas and thirty Raginis : the forty- 

 eight Putras are melodies, which seem to have beeni 

 introduced in after times, when the discipline^ alluded 

 to by Plato, had begun to be relaxed; 



But the Indian Ragas and Raginis are fixed re- 

 spectively to particular seasons of the year and times of 

 the night or day. This is a circumstance particularly 

 deserving remark, as it is probably peculiar to the Hindu 

 mubic. 



It is likely, that these melodies were in former times 

 appropriated to the service of different deities. In such 

 case, the Ragas or Raginis wpuid derive their appro- 

 priation to particular times and seasons, from the times 



2 G 4 



