73 
Rhazes, Haly Abbas, and Avicenna, were educated in 
the more eastern parts of Asia. 
From this historical review, it is evident that continued 
communication was maintained between the Greeks and 
Persians from the time of Ctesias, or the fourth century 
before, to the sixth century after our Saviour. But this 
brings the connexion even beyond the time of Oribasius 
and M this, who are noted for having preserved whatever 
was valuable in what has been called the Egyptian, but 
which to me looks very like Indian Polypharmacy. These 
authors having lived in the fourth and fifth centuries, are 
not much, if at all, anterior to the time of Nooshirwan, 
when Barzouyeh was sent from Persia into India for 
medicaments. Previous even to this (A.D. 330), we hear 
of the Persian king Bahrain visiting, in disguise, the 
Court of Basdeo, sovereign of Canouge, to study the 
laws, religion, and manners of the Hindoos. To this inter- 
communication has usually been ascribed the coincidences 
which have been observed between the science of the 
Greeks and that of the Hindoos ; and it has, therefore, been 
inferred, that the latter must have borrowed from the 
former ; though the facts, I conceive, are as well calcu- 
lated to prove the reverse. 
As Plants, from their fixedness to the soil, and subjection 
to the atmosphere, indicate to geologists the climates in 
which they lived in former ages of the world, even better 
than animals, which from changes of covering frequently 
adapt themselves to new situations ; so shall we find plants, 
or such of their products as are applied to medical purposes, 
well suited to indicate the antiquity of the cultivation of 
medicine, in the countries where alone we know they can 
grow. Taking, therefore, the articles of Materia Medica 
as they were handed to us by the Arabs, we shall find in 
their names and the countries whence they must ever have 
