160 
Peacock, in the Encyclopedia Metropolitans, the history 
of this science has been treated in a manner to leave us 
nothing to wish for. There, the claims of the Hindoos to 
the discovery of the decimal numeration, are fully treated 
of; though some circumstances in the construction of the 
numerical language of Tibet, have induced him to suspect 
that it may have originated in that country. But knowing 
since the investigations of Csoma de Koros, how much the 
Tibetans have copied from Sanscrit literature in the seventh 
century, we require further evidence before we can ascribe 
to them the invention of so perfect and commodious a system 
of numeration. It is considered by the Hindoos to be of 
divine origin, " the invention of nine figures, with device 
of place being ascribed to the beneficent Creator of the 
Universe.' 1 (Colebrooke, ex Bhascara, &c.) " If the inven- 
tion is to be determined by the known antiquity of posses- 
sion, we must certainly refer it to Hindostan, as from the 
internal evidence of their numerical language, the Hindoos 
must have possessed a very perfect system of arithmetic 
from great antiquity.'" The Sanscrit names, moreover, of 
the ten numerals have been adopted with slight variations, 
not merely in all languages of the same class and origin, 
but likewise in many others, which are radically different 
from them. It is hardly necessary to notice the opinion of 
the Arabian origin of the notation by nine digits and zero, 
as their own testimony is decisive of the source whence they 
derived it. " The first Arabian who wrote upon algebra, 
and the Indian mode of computation, is stated, with the 
common consent of Arabic authors, to have been Mahommed 
ben Musa, the Khuwarezmite, who flourished about the 
end of the ninth century ; an author who is celebrated as 
having made known to his countrymen other parts of 
Hindoo science." (Peacock. I.e. p. 413.) 
The systems of astronomy referred to, contain treatises 
