Chap. 24.] ACCOUNT OF COUNTRIES, ETC. 55 
acquaintance they had also made in the pursuits of commerce ; 
that the father of Eachias had frequently visited their country, 
and that the SeraB always came to meet them on their arrival. 
These people, they said, exceeded the ordinary human height, 
liad flaxen hair, and blue eyes, and made an uncouth sort of noise 
by way of talking, having no language of their own for the pur- 
pose of communicating their thoughts. The rest of their infor- 
mation^ was of a similar nature to that communicated by our 
merchants. It was to the effect that the merchandize on sale 
was left by them upon the opposite bank of a river on their 
coast, and it was then removed by the natives, if they thought 
proper to deal on terms of exchange. On no grounds ought 
luxury with greater reason to be detested by us, than if we only 
transport our thoughts to these scenes, and then reflect, what 
are its demands, to what distant spots it sends in order to 
satisfy them, and for how mean and how unworthy an end ! 
But yet Taprobane even, isolated as it is by nature from the 
rest of the world, is not exempt from our vices. Gold and 
silver are held in esteem even there. They have a marble 
which resembles tortoise-shell in appearance ; this, as w^ell 
as their pearls and precious stones, is highly valued ; all our 
luxuries in fact, those even of the most exquisite nature, are 
there carried to the very highest pitch. They asserted that their 
wealth is much greater than ours, but admitted that we know 
better than they how to obtain real enjoj'ment from opulence. 
In this island no slavery exists ; they do not prolong their 
sleep to day-break, nor indeed during any part of the day ; 
their buildings are only of a moderate height from the ground ; 
the price of corn is always the same ; they have no courts of 
law and no litigation. Hercules is the deity whom they worship ; 
supposed Chinese. Gosselin remarks that under this name the people of 
a district called Sera are probahly referred to, and that in fact such is the 
name of a city and a whole province at the present day, situate on the 
opposite coast, beyond the mountains which terminate the plains of the 
Carnatic. It is equally impossible that under the name of " Emodi" 
Pliny can allude to the Himalaya chain, distant more than 2000 miles. 
The mountains, on the verge of the plains of the Carnatic, are not im- 
probably those here referred to, and it is not impossible that they may be 
discerned from the shores of Ceylon. Gosselin is of opinion that the 
name of the ancient Serae may still be traced in that of Seringapatarii, 
and of the city of Seringham, situate on the river Godavery. 
^ Rektive to the Serse, or inhabitants of the opposite shores. 
