106 



An Essay on Early Relations 



[No. 37, 



assert, with any positiveness, only that an early interchange 

 of intercourse between Java and India, or between India and 

 Java, must have existed. Subsequent [investigations have 

 given a more definite view of the subject ; not however adapt- 

 ed for this letter. The inhabitants of Java may have been 

 savage antecedent to the emigrations from continental India 

 (of which several took place;) but as, since that time, their 

 progress, at least in the arts of building, sculpture, and poetry, 

 was very considerable ; the position maintained in the notes, 

 it is submitted, is not at all affected by any indefinite suppo- 

 sitions, or conjectures, as to the identity of Yavanas and 

 Greeks in earlier ages. 



u And then as to the Batiak supposed by Dr. Ley den to be 

 the cannibal Padaisi described by Herodotus, let us give the 

 supposition all the weight due to a conjecture by such a man 

 of learning and genius as Dr. Leyden ; even to the extent of 

 admitting it for the sake of argument ; still the question of 

 the origin of the people is in no wise affected thereby. Take 

 from the word the Greek plural termination and we have 

 Padai, differing in nothing essential from the word Battai, 

 for in loose orthography P. and B., D. and T. are interchange- 

 able, and a final a in one language (Sanscrit) is changed 

 dialectically into ai in another (Tamil) . We English take 

 the liberty of adding our plural termination in writing Bat- 

 tas, and the Greek writers were accustomed, as is well known, 

 to take greater liberties with foreign words. Besides the 

 Hindus are a very ancient people; probably more ancient 

 than the Greeks : there are reasons for believing that they 

 held very early intercourse with countries to the eastward, 

 and the fact of Sanscrit words being found among the Battas, 

 and letters corresponding with those of ancient and undeci- 

 phered* inscriptions in India, remain as curious facts, not yet 

 explained ; but which led to an attentive glance, and to a 

 conjecture at least as to their possible Hindu origin which it 



* This letter was written before the lat'h characters were deciphered by the late 

 J. Prinsop, Esq. ' 



