179 
of the Upavedas, with Medicine, Warfare, and Mechanics. 
The Hindoos relate many marvellous stories respecting the 
effects of their ancient music, while they confess its decline in 
modern times. Sir Wm. Jones believed " that the Hindoo 
system of music has been formed on truer principles than 
our own ; all the skill of the native composers is directed to 
the great object of their art, the natural expression of strong 
passions, to which indeed melody is often sacrificed ; though 
some of their tunes are pleasing even to a European ear. 
Nearly the same may be truly asserted of the Arabian or 
Persian system ; and by a correct explanation of the best 
books on that subject, much of the old Greek theory may 
probably be recovered." (Jones. 2d Disc.) 
From this slight view of the Fine, the transition is easy 
to the Useful Arts of India ; but this is a subject, which 
even more than the other has been neglected by Orientalists, 
though the results of inquiry might not only be practically 
useful, but would be extremely interesting. As many 
probably remain unchanged, we might be enabled to explain 
various processes of ancient times, by comparing old descrip- 
tions with modern practice ; and also obtain some ideas 
respecting their attainments in science, from the applications 
made of it to practice. In previous pages (p. 98, 130, and 
137), the success of the Hindoos in many mechanical and 
chemical arts has been mentioned. That commerce early 
attracted their attention, we have the assurance in the first 
of their sacred law tracts, (supposed to have been revealed 
by Menu, it is thought about 800 or 900 years before the 
Christian era), containing " a curious passage on the legal 
interest of money, and the limited rate of it in different 
cases, with an exception in regard to adventures at sea; 
an exception which the sense of mankind approves, and 
which commerce absolutely requires ; though it was not 
