The Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce Ecok I. 
4S 8 
Hymn to God, the immortal Giver of all good Things, 
thanking him for the manifold Gifts he had beftowed. Which 
things when Alexander had Been and heard, he went away 
aftonifhed, caufmg all his Gifts, except the Oil, to be car- 
ried back. At' the fame time, Dmdamis gave him many 
’’other Pieces of found Advice, defiring him to remember, 
that the Brachmans were fuch as himfelf, and not fuch as 
Calanus , whom they efteemed the world of Men, for hav- 
ing deferted their Society, to embrace the Manners of the 
‘Greeks. 
There is great Reafon to believe, that thefe Fadts are 
reported but confufedly, and with many Variations, by the 
Authors I have cited j but as there appears to be a great 
Certainty of their coming originally from the Brachmans 
themfelves, they deferve to be attentively confidered, be- 
caufe they very plainly prove, that the Correfpondence 
between Alexander and Dandamis was very famous amongft 
thofe People, and had made a great Impreffion upon them. 
As to the modern Brarnins , it is certain, that they fall very 
fhort of their Predeceffors in Learning, and have very 
much corrupted their religious Principles, by the Liber- 
ties they have taken ; which we need not wonder at, 
fmce the fame thing has happened to almoft every kind 
of Philofophy ; and, we may likewife add, every kind of 
Religion. 
It is not evident, from any of the Accounts given us by 
the Antients, that the Brachmans had any Book or Write- 
ings, which contained the Principles of their Science : And 
the contrary feems probable from the Nature of their Edu- 
cation. The modern Brarnins, however, tell us, that the 
firft Being created by God, was Brahma , the Author of 
their Sebt ; of whom they have many Images, which have 
commonly four Pleads, becaufe he is faid to have been the 
Author of a Book, containing four Chapters, or Sedtions * 
wherein are contained the Principles of the Religion and 
Philofophy which he taught. This Book is ftill extant 
amongft them, and is what we may call their Bible a ; 
neither is it abfolutely unknown to other Eaftern Nations, 
having been mandated out of the Eaftern Tongue, by one 
Anbahoumath a Gioghi , who embraced the Mohammedan Re- 
ligion, into Arabic , under the Title of Morat al mddni ; 
that is, the Mirror of Science : But they fay, that the true 
Senfe of it cannot ftill be underftood, without the Afiiftance 
of fome learned Bramin. 
All thefe, however, are Inventions far later than the 
Times of which we are now fpeaking •, and, as we have 
hinted before, the old Brachmans , tho 5 they took their 
Name from the Word Brahma , yet they did not confider 
that as the Name of any particular Perfon, but as expreffive 
of that Charadter which they affebted ; the natural Signifi- 
cation of that Word, in their old Language, being no more 
than a Man enlightened , or one filled with divine Science. 
As they had no Books, much lefs had they Images-, nei- 
ther is it clear, that they made Ufe of any fabulous Theo- 
logy, in order to amufe the People ^ but, on the contrary, 
told them in plain and pathetic Terms, what they conceived 
fit for them to know and prabtife. 
All the reft came in by degrees : And this is the true 
Reafon, why it is fo difficult for the modern Brarnins to 
give any rational Account of that Doblrine which they 
preach to the People, becaufe it is all invented, and has. 
not the leaft Relation to that fecret and folid Science, 
which the moft Learned of them ftill retain by Tradition 
from their Anceftors. We may from hence eafily appre- 
hend, why the Ledlures of fome learned Brarnins are ne~ 
ceftary, to render the Book before-mentioned intelligible : 
The Purpofe of thofe Ledlures, no doubt, mull be to ex- 
plain away the beft Part of that celebrated Treatife, by 
fhewing, that whatever is delivered therein, relating to 
Idols, Saints, and Demigods, are, in Fadl, but Parables 
relating to the Attributes of the true God, and his Provi- 
dence ; concerning which, their Anceftors difcourfed clear- 
ly, plainly, and without making ufe of any of thefe Fi- 
gures or Fables. 
Having thus ufed my utmoft Endeavours, to fet this 
Subjedt in a clear Light, and to reduce the fcattered Paf- 
fages of antient Authors, relating thereto, into fuch a Me- 
thod, as that they might contribute to illuftrate each other, 
and leave nothing obfcure, I fhall proceed next to the Ani- 
mals in the Indies , as they are defcribed to us by antient 
Anthors •, and fhall fairly fhew wherein they deviated from 
Truth ; wherein their Accounts have been miftakenby the 
Moderns and in what Cafes their Defcriptions, tho* 
heretofore rejected with Contempt, have of late Years, and 
upon a ftridler Examination, been again admitted as clearer, 
arid more fuitable to Truth, than thofe which had been 
haftily received in their ftead, upon the Credit of thofe 
who were not proper Judges of what they faw. 
a The Name of this Book, in the Indian Language, is Anlertkend ; which is as much as to fay, the Cittern of living Waters. It is compofed of 
fifty diftinft Treatifes, each fubdivided into ten Chapters ; and in this Book their Theology, Philofophy, and Policy, are contained, but chiefly ia 
Parablesand Enigmas ; fo that ordinary Readers can make little or no Ufe of it. 
SECTION XIII. 
Of the Land- Animals in the Haft-Indies, as defcribed by antient Authors , compared with 
modern (Vriters * And fome Remarks upon both . 
i. A Defcription of the Elephant ; with a particular Account of the different Methods of hunting that Ani- 
mal, as defcribed by the Antients. 2. The modern Method of hunting Elephants , defcribed by the EmbaJJd- 
dorsfrom Louis XIV. to the King of Siam. 3. The great Sagacity , wonderful Docility , and remarkable 
Fidelity of this Creature . 4. Some other fmgular Properties of the Elephant, from antient Authors ; with 
Remarks. 5. The Mode fly of Elephants, and their An erf on to Indecencies in the human Species. 6. The 
'Notions of the Indians, and other Oriental Nations, with refpeti to thefe Creatures ; and more efpecially 
the white Elephant, y. Some mifcellaneous Obfervations as to the Size, V Aue^ and medicinal Ufes of Ele- 
phants, their Skin, Bones , Fat, See. 8. An exalt Defcription of the Rhinoceros , from various Authors . 
5). An Account of his Size, Food, Manner of living in the Woods ; and of the Ufes of his Horn , Flejh , 
Fat, See. 10. Some extraordinary Faff ages in modern Travels, relating to this Animal 11. Of the 
Lion and the Lionefs. 12. Of the Tyger, as defcribed both by the Antients and Moderns ; with fome re- 
markable Infiances of the Strength and Agility of thefe Creatures . 13. A particular Account of tee Leo- 
pard and Panther ; both from old Authors and new. 14. Of the Camel its Size, Strength, Shape, and 
other Properties 5 and the Ufes for which it ferves in the Indies, iy. Of the Dromedary, and of its pro- 
digious Swiftnefs. 16. An exalt Defcription of the draff, or Camelopard ; and fuff cient Proofs , that 
there is fuch an Animal. 17. Of the wild Aff reputed the moft beautiful Creature in toe "World. 1 £4 O' 
the Manticore , and other Beafts mentioned by the Antients , and unknown to us from their Defcriptions . . 
An Account of Apes, Monkeys , See. with fome Conjectures as to the Miftakes of the Antients, about 
wild Men, Satyrs, &c. 20. Of the Musk-Cat, and the various Qualities of that Animal. 21. Of the ? 
Dragons in the Indies ; the ftrange Reports of the Antients concerning them , how far confirmed, how far ' 
exploded by the Di (cover ics, of the Moderns . 22, Of the Gryphon of the Antients, and the Faoles related 1 
f ' concerning \ 
