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of the Indians are in our hands, and, with evidence almost 
as irresistible as that which attends the principles of the 
science, we can trace the remoteness of their origin, and 
survey the advancement of the human mind in the earliest 
ages of the world." He then mentions the three sets 
of tables, those of Siam, of Narsapour, of Chrishna- 
bouram, as well as the fourth set brought by M. Gentil 
from Tirvalore, after being instructed by the Brahmans 
in their methods of calculation. The celebrated Bailly, 
in his " Traite de l'Astronomie Indienne et Orientale," 
found that the epoch of the Tirvalore tables coincides with 
the year 3102 B.C. " These high pretensions to antiquity, 
have been defended by Professor Playfair with an acute- 
ness of reasoning, and a clearness of illustration, peculiar 
to that eloquent writer." " La Place has endeavoured to 
prove, though not with his usual success, that the epoch of 
3102 was invented for the purpose of giving a common 
origin in the zodiac to all the motions of the heavenly 
bodies, and that the tables have either been constructed or 
corrected in modern times ; but he at the same time allows, 
that the remarkable accuracy of the mean motions assumed 
in their construction could have arisen only from very 
ancient observations." (Brewster. I.e.) Without supposing 
that there could have been any great attention paid to 
astronomy at this early period, it is singular " that we 
learn from Persian works, that there were formerly four 
bright stars, which pointed out the four cardinal points 
of the heavens ; and it is a very remarkable coincidence, in 
which chance could have no share, that, about 3000 years 
before the Christian era, Aldebaran and Antares were 
situated exactly in the two equinoctial points, while Begulus 
and the Southern Fish were placed in the two solstices." 
(Brewster. I.e. p. 584.) 
As a trigonometry was necessary for the settlement of 
