496 The Booh of the Balance of Wisdom . {October, 
of Science. The work named at the beginning of this 
article forms a remarkable contribution to the early history 
of the determination of specific gravities. This “ Book of 
the Balance of Wisdom ” is an Arabic treatise on the water- 
balance, written in the twelfth century, for an account of 
which the historian of science is indebted to the Chevalier 
N. Khanikoff, some time Russian Consul-General at Tabriz, 
an important city of Northern Persia. M. Khanikoff having 
obtained access, in some manner not explained, to a manu- 
script copy of the Arabic work, translated into the French 
language copious extracts, and prepared an analysis of its 
contents : these data, together with a transcript of the 
original Arabic version, he communicated to the American 
Oriental Society. The Society’s Committee of Publication, 
in preparing the Russian Consul’s work for their Journal, 
translated his notes into English, re-translated the Arabic 
extracts, and added their own valuable comments. The 
completed article is found in the sixth volume of the 
<£ Journal of the American Oriental Society,” pp. 1 to 128, 
published in 1859. 
The “ Book of the Balance of Wisdom ” treats exclusively 
of the balance, and of the results obtainable by this instru- 
ment, which has given to modern science so many beautiful 
discoveries. Its exposition of the principles of the centres 
of gravity, of researches into the specific gravity of metals, 
precious stones, and liquids, shows these Orientals to have 
attained to experimentation, a step in the progressive know- 
ledge of physical truths entirely unknown to the ancients. 
Before offering such citations from this work as may seem 
necessary to establish this proposition, we will endeavour to 
answer two questions which naturally suggest themselves to 
our readers. What is the date of the original manuscript, 
and who was its author ? Most happily both queries admit 
of satisfactory replies, based on internal evidence. 
The dedication of the work proves it to have been com- 
posed at the Court of the Saljuke Sultan Sanjar, who 
reigned over a large part of the ancient Caliphate of Bagdad 
from a . d . 1117 to 1157. In this introduction the author 
appeals to this potentate in the following fulsome expressions 
of homage characteristic of the Orientals : — 
“ Most magnificent Sultan, the exalted Shah of Shahs, 
the king of subject nations, the chief of the Sultans of the 
world, the Sultan of God’s earth . . . the shelter of Islamism 
and of Muslims, the arm of victorious power . . . Prince of 
Believers — may God perpetuate his reign and double his 
power ! For his felicity is the illuminating sun of the world, 
and his justice its vivifying breath.” 
