35 
India, or theTropical Islands, are those for which Araby the 
Happy so long received the credit, as well as the affix to its 
name. These tropical productions could therefore he known 
to northern nations by the means of commerce only, or by 
the medium of travellers to or from those distant regions. 
Since it was not the custom in those days, as now, to 
explore unknown or uninhabited countries, for the purpose 
of investigating their products, their becoming articles of 
commerce, or the subjects of communication to distant 
countries, presupposes an investigation of their properties 
by a resident people, willing and able to originate such 
inquiries. That India was peopled at a very early period, 
we have the concurring testimony of every ancient history : 
that its inhabitants were refined and intellectual, we have 
proofs in the sublimity of some of their early hymns, 
the truth and beauty of much of their poetry, the subtlety 
of their philosophers, and their advances in. science; all 
evincing the conjunction of powers of observation with 
those of generalisation. We cannot, therefore, suppose 
that among so observant a people, medicine was unstudied, 
or the means of alleviating disease undiscovered. Accor- 
dingly, we find that these subjects were far from being 
neglected, and that works were written, which are still 
in existence, on such subjects; though it is difficult, 
if not impossible, to assign the age at which they were 
composed. From the statement of Professor Wilson, to 
which I shall immediately have occasion more particularly 
to refer, we learn that, the work ascribed to Charak is 
the most ancient, but the Siisruta, which ranks the 
second in antiquity, is decidedly the first in merit. 
That the Arabs were familiar with many of the products 
of India, is sufficiently well known, but that they were ever 
acquainted with any of its authors on medicine, I have never 
seen stated ; though I hope to be able to prove the fact. I 
