m^ . ESSAY on THft[a5" ■ \,: ■ 



i?4/^fd ■{■:Sil'yer)i$ the s^itie, as, acknowledged b-yi&very.body, with-J^i?j''^ro'-^ 

 moJimi-Attngiriy in which passage, the, /F/izYe Isl^m^A icd^^cla^^^cl'to fee th§, 

 gr.eat or famous /iiioiii^tam^ 4^(^A-^^T?"^( .lehind whiehjthje- sigifdisagparf.r;;:- 



The White Island, ^^wf^rA-dxm'fi^'6r'-%w'-ETAM 

 form of the neuter gender, is called' also ^Siicia, whicii' i^''S3^noRymoiis' 

 with 'Sweta. C^liira-dwipa of Khira-rdwipa, in the" spoken dialis<ftsV:?ig- 

 niiies the 71^/^ Mi^Wif ,' from its whiteness^ All names signifying Whits'. 

 are applicable, and occasionally, applied, to the White Island.. \Swcta-' 

 s'aila, or the White clijfs^is often used, g.nd is literally the; LeucaSTpetra of 

 Homer, and Al-Fionu in Galic, 



It is called the Silver Island, because it is supposed to abound witlxx 

 that metal, and more probably^.frpm a supposed affinity between the moon 

 and silver. Gold, says PRocLUSy is a solar,, and silver a lunar, form.. 

 Rupa and Raj at a A^e Sa?iscrit names of tha,t metal: hence, the White 

 Island is, called Rajata-dzvipa, or the Silver Island;. Raj atarcut a the 

 Silver-peak-land. Raupya is used in the Bhdgavata in a derivative. form;. 

 and Raupya-bhumi or Silver land, Arajata or Arjata in Sanscrit implies, 

 full of silver, abounding v/ith silver. This word is pronounced, in tlia 

 west of 7w£^z^, ^rya^^z; and in this manner the word argentum is pro- 

 nounced aryentum in Germany ;^ arjata, argoid, and arget m Irish. Aryata.. 

 becomes arjateya and arya.teyain a regular derivative form ; which I^s^, 

 is probably the famous Erithya and Eritheia of the Greeks, who placed it 

 near the columns of Hercules, which was the ne plus ultra of their gea-.. 

 graphical knowledge. Besides, .Aryatey a w^s not far from the northern 

 columns, and straits of Hercules, or the entrance into the Baitick^ 

 which were always confounded by the careless Gr ^^^5 with the straits of 

 Gibraltar, -- {• 



