181 
as I have understood of Italy and the south of France, 
surpassed in any great degree by the people of those 
countries." 
Before concluding this view of the progress made by the 
ancient Hindoos in science and the arts, it would be 
extremely interesting to compare, what is contained in 
Sanscrit books on these several subjects, with what was known 
to the Greeks at the earliest period of their philosophical 
and scientific history. By this means we might in some 
measure ascertain the times, at which the communication 
chiefly occurred between the sages of the West, and those 
of the East ; as undoubtedly the numerous coincidences 
which exist between the two cannot be accidental. Since the 
progress of scientific discoveries in those ages, must neces- 
sarily have been even more gradual than it has been since; 
we might consider them a series of epochs ; which, correctly 
registered as they are among the Greeks, would give us dates 
for ascertaining when the Hindoos borrowed from them, 
by the absence in Sanscrit works of the later advances of 
science in the West. But if the preponderance of evidence 
should induce us to determine that the course of discovery, 
like the transit of tropical products, was from south to 
north, and from east to west: we might, in like manner, 
ascertain the times when the Hindoo discoveries (as, that 
of decimal notation) were made. Since these when less 
ancient would be unknown to the earlier Greeks, who 
appear to have been acquainted, with whatever constituted 
the early stock of Oriental knowledge, whencesoever derived. 
I regret that this task has not been undertaken by some 
one competent to the task, though it may be difficult to 
find many such ; for it requires not only a knowledge of the 
lancuao-e in which much of the information is still clothed ; 
but also of the classical works in which alone the scientific 
discoveries of the ancients are detailed. To this must be 
