494 7 /ft Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce Book 1 , 
For this is a certain and a juft Obfervation, that in times of 
Ignorance, what is moft wonderful is the beft received, and 
that on the contrary in the learned Ages plain and una- 
dorned Relations are the moft efteemed. The Defign of 
Ptolemy was to improve, as far as he was able, that Branch 
of Knowledge, to the Study of which he had addicfted him- 
felf, and not to report the Notions of other Men, who wrote 
for the fake of feeming wifer than the reft of Mankind ; 
and therefore confidently fet down as things certain what 
Fables foever they met with relating to theft diftant Parts 
of the World. But in Ptolemy’s Account, as we before 
noted, the true Method of treating the Subject is purfued, 
the Sea-coaft diftindtly defcribed ; and if the Names only 
of a few Cities are mentioned, thofe few feem to be all 
that from good Memoirs he was able to mention,, fo that 
the known and the unknown are not confounded *, but the 
Reader is clearly informed, that beyond fuch a Tract thefe 
Eaftern Countries were abfolutely undifcovered, and there- 
fore they were properly the Objects of future Inquiries. 
This was the way, and indeed the only way of coming 
at real, certain, and ufeful Knowledge*, neither is it to be 
doubted, that the full Difcovery of theft Eaftern Countries 
would have been purfued, if the Troubles and Difturbances 
which overwhelmed the Roman Empire had not equally 
deftroyed the Paffion for exploring unknown Countries, 
and the Means of gratifying it. But befides the Countries 
fituated on the Continent, the Ancients had fome Know- 
ledge alfo of the Elands of India, partly from their own 
Commerce, and partly from the Reports of the Indians , 
with whom they traded on the Main ; and therefore of 
thefe we are next to give fome Account from the fame Au- 
thorities. 
3, 'Ptolemy places the Elands of the exterior India be- 
twixt the Mouths of the Indus and Ganges . Thus, in the 
Bay of Centhus lies Barace , and from thence to the Bay of 
Colchis , Milizigeris , Heptanejia , Peperina , Priaadira, Pri- 
necia , Leuce , Panigeris and in the Bay of Argaris the 
Eland Cory. Paprobana , which is the nobleft and largeft 
of all the Elands in this Sea, is placed by Ptolemy between 
the Bay of Colchis and Argaris, The Ancients differed 
much about its Situation, fome placing it near the Conti- 
nent, others twenty Days Sail from it and fome queftioned 
whether it was an Eland, or the Beginning of another Con- 
tinent, particularly Mela h •, though before him it was gene- 
rally reckoned an Ifiand, as appears by Dionyfius in his Pe- 
riegeta i , which the Learned agree to have been writ in the 
Time of Augufius. 
Strabo k compared it to Britain for Dimenfions : Pliny ! , 
in his Account of the Embaffy which the Inhabitants fent 
to Claudius Ceefar (fuppofing the Ifiand he fpeaks of Papro- 
bana) fays, it contained five hundred Towns, and that 
Palafimundum their Capital, and the Seat of their King, had 
two hundred thoufand Inhabitants, that they had a Lake 
called Megijba of 375 Miles in Circuit, which contained 
feveral fruitful Elands, and fent out two Rivers, one of 
which fell with three Mouths into the Harbour of Palafi- 
mundum , that in fome Places was five Stadia in Breadth, 
and in others fifteen s this Harbour lay in the South Side of 
the Ifiand, and they had another on the North called 
Cidara , four Days fail from India, the Ifiand of the Sun 
being in the Middle betwixt them. Ptolemy places it nearer 
the Continent, and though he makes it very long, and ex- 
tends it beyond the Equator, reckons but thirty Towns in 
it •, nor does he fay any thing of the great Lake, nor of the 
Town and River P alafimundum, all which occafioned the 
Learned to doubt whether his and Pliny *s Paprobana was 
the fame ; and though moft agree now, that Paprobana 
was Ceylon , yet others will have it to be Sumatra : But 
Salmafius , Bo charts and Vojfius , think it is Ceylon, it be- 
ing incredible that the Romans or Alexandrians ever failed 
fo far as Sumatra . 
Cellarius thinks alfo that Ptolemy* s Taprobant was Cey- 
lon , though he placed it too far South, and extended it 
beyond the Equator. It was anciently, as many Authors 
affirm, called Infula Palafimundi , and Salia , and the In- 
habitants Sales. Yet fome, as is Laid before, will have 
Pa'Uftmundum to be different from Paprobana. The 
Towns and Capes mentioned by Ptolemy in this Ifiand, 
were, 1. In the North Cape Boreum , over-againft Corny, or 
Conigicum in India. 2., In the Weft lay Margana and 
Jogana , with Cape Anarifmundum ; next to them the 
River Soana, the Portus Priapeus , Cape Jovis, and the 
Bay of Prafodes. On the South Shore lay the Mouths of 
By f anus, the Towns Odoea, Dana , or Dagana , facred to the 
Moon. The Promontory of the Birds of Dionyfius , with 
a Town of the fame Name, and Cetaum . On the Eaft- 
fide lay the Harbours of Mordus , of the Sun , Rhizola and 
Spat ana, with the Town Pro cur us, and a River called 
Ganges ; and towards the North lay the great Marts of 
Moduli and Palacori. In the inland Parts northward 
were the royal Seat Anurogrammum , and the Metropolis 
Magrammum. 
Pliny’s Ifiand of the Sun is different from that which 
others place near- Gedrofia and Carmania , and fome think 
it to be Cory. Ptolemy reckons in the Bay of Ganges the 
Ifiand Bazacata *, and far from hence fouthward, under the 
Equator, the Ifiand of good Fortune * ; and near the great 
Bay, againft the Country of the Sin*, he places the three 
IJlands of the Satyrs ; and from hence fouthward, the 
Ifiand of Jobadium , which produced Gold, and whofe 
Capital was named Argentea , Cellarius corrects Stephanas 
for making this the Metropolis of Paprobana. Ancient 
Authors mention feveral other Elands in thefe Parts ; but 
Cellarius looks upon many of them to be fabulous, and 
takes their Chryfe to be the fame with the Aurea Cherfone- 
fus, or Peninfula of Malacca. 
4. In the Examination of theft Points, I have hitherto 
followed other Writers, and reported their Sentiments on 
the Subjedt, for the Reader’s Information ; but as I am 
afraid that what has been hitherto faid, will appear a little 
dark and perplexed, I think it may not be amifs to en- 
deavour, by a due Comparifon of Facfts, to find out the 
Truth ; and, without an unneceffary Difplay of Learning, 
fet this feemingly confufed Matter in the cleareft Light to 
the Enghjh Reader. 
In the firft Place, then, I lay it down as a Thing certain, 
that .the Name of Paprobana was long known to the An- 
cients before they had any Opportunity of being acquainted 
with the Country itfelf ; and as they were told in general, 
that this Ifiand was very large, thoroughly inhabited, 
abounding not only with all the Neceffaries and Conveni- 
encies of Life, but alfo with Spices, precious Stones, 
Gold, and other rich Commodities, they were very de~ 
firous of knowing it more perfectly ; and therefore, when- 
ever they met with any Accounts of an Ifiand in the In- 
dian Sea that was fertile, pleafant, and abounding with 
rich Commodities, they immediately pronounced it Papro- 
bana, of which they had heard fo much. 
Thus that Ifiand, which was vifited by Iambulus, of : 
which we have before given a large Account, was, without 
Hefitation, taken for Paprobana ; though the Author of 
that Voyage does not either call it fo, or deferibe it in fuch 
a Manner as to juftify their Suppofition, when thoroughly 
confidered. In like manner, Pliny makes no Scruple of ; 
afferting that the Ifiand which Annius Plocamus difeovered, , 
and from whence Embaffadors were fent to the Emperor 1 
Claudius , was Paprobana ; which, however, we have dif- • 
proved, as the Reader has already feen. Hence it was : 
that fuch different Accounts were given of this Place ; , 
one Author affirming it near the Continent, another at a 1 
great Diftance from it, according as they affixed the Name : 
of Paprobana to this or that Ifiand which had been difoo- 
vered in their Times. 
I muft confefs, it feems very probable, that fome of the : 
more ancient Writers, fuch as Dionyfius , Strabo , and ! 
Pliny , when they fpeak as Geographers of the Ifiand of l 
Paprobana , mean the true Ifiand fo called, that is, the : 
Ifiand defcribed by Ptolemy ; but as for the Ifiand difeo- ■ 
vered under the Reign of Claudius, which was firft called i 
Pahefimundus, and afterwards Salica , it was not Papro- ■ 
bana, but an Ifiand at the Mouth of the River Indus , s 
which had been long before known to, and examined by f 
h De Situ Orbis, lib dm. cap, vn. where, however, he mentions this as the Sentiment of Hipparchus. 1 Perieget. Verf 952. which is thus 3 
ftanflated by A<vienus Fejlus. Infula Taprobana? gignit tatros Eiephantos . k Gsograph. lib. xi. 1 Hijl. Nat. lib. vi. . 
zz. As I have before given this Account at large, I only mention fo much of it here as is neceffary to conned the Difcourfe. * Ptol. ubifupra. 
2 M f- ■ 
