Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c11: IV. On the Sixth Satellite of Saturn

Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c11

Language: English

IV. On the Sixth Satellite of Saturn

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(*From Col. T.D. Pearse to Secretary, Royal Society, London (dated, Madras 22 September 1783).*)

The small book, that accompanies this letter, written in the Persian language, is a copy of part of a very large one in the same language, entitled ‘The Wonders of the Creation’, and it is in fact a kind of general natural history, extracted by the compiler from books of science, and of voyages and travels, performed by the Arabians, who it is well known had, not only a great foreign trade, but extensive settlements in the islands of the East Indies, where yet their manners and religion do still prevail. I beg you to present it to the society in my name.

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The book opens with an account of the wonders of the heavens, and the celestial spheres; the system is the Ptolemaic. To each except Mars and Jupiter, figures are annexed and blank spaces were left in the book I used, for the figures of those planets. You will see that, the sun and moon are drawn as amongst us, Mercury is represented as in the act of writing, with paper and pen in his hands, and the inkpot before him; Venus is a woman sitting down, and playing upon a stringed instrument, resembling an Irish harp. And that, which occasions this letter, is the figure of Saturn. By enquiry amongst the learned of these parts, Mars ought to be represented as a warrior, and Jupiter as an old man sitting down, with four girls dancing round him: the book says something contrary to this. I never saw the figure, therefore simply relate what was told me.

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The book was written in fifth or sixth century of the Hijera, and that which I borrowed, and from which my copy was taken, is in the possession of Mr Palk, in which the figures are all paintings, but the age of that copy I can not tell, being at a great distance.

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It is now time to tell you, why I trouble you with the book: tho I must first inform you that, I had it copied, solely for the sake of the figures of Saturn, and had begun to translate the part that treated of the celestial bodies to send home, with a copy of the original, to the illustrious society, about four years ago: but the difficulty of getting the figure drawn prevented the carrying my design into execution. However in the year 1780, having got what I wanted, I sat down to do my part, but the war with Hyder Allee carried me from home, into the Carnatic; and tho I have had the part that was intended for the society, with me, the whole time, yet I really had not time to translate it, except the small part that ascertain the age of the book, and the account of Saturn; in which there is not, however, any mention of the satellites, or ring or anything else; and the account of his periodic time is erroneous, and plainly relates to the seventh planet, the period of which is about sixty years and which is very seldom seen, and when seen is deemed ominous to the world in general, so says the learned Bramin with whom I talked. The instant I saw the figure it struck me as emblematical of Saturn, and as representing him possessed of what till very lately we were ignorant, I mean his satellites and ring. Hitherto only five satellites have been seen by Europeans; he is here represented as having six, and their names I presume are expressed by the figures held in the hands: the arms show that these bodies are moveable, but can not separate from the planet, and are capable of various motions within certain distances. The seventh holds the crown which is divided into four parts and this I suppose to mean the four concentric parts of the ring. The darkness, under the arm which holds the ring, denotes that the ring does not everywhere touch the body, and that there is a passage between it, and the body of the planet. The legs folded beneath the body I imagine to relate also to the ring and to intimate that, the ring supports the body of the planet, or at least, that the body appears to rest upon, or within it: I conceive that the long beard, and emaciated body denote age, and represent the flowing of his motions.

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If it be urged that this explanation can not be put, for that the ancients had not instruments capable of showing them, I answer it is more than we can prove, and if ever a sixth satellite be discovered, it will be a strong argument in favour of the contrary opinion. I am much inclined to believe they had better instruments than we have. I must in this letter aim at brevity, therefore shall only say, that Alhazan wrote on colours, and [catoptricks], and the problem for finding the figures of objects, reflected from convex specula, is called Alhazan to this day. I have not seen Alhazan; if I could get it, I could with the assistance this country would afford me, come at the knowledge of its contents, and perhaps might find telescopes. But if not, it does not seem any argument against there having been such instruments. For we know how early manuscripts are lost and of such books, as those which treat of subjects, in which only the learned, in particular sciences, are concerned, the number of copies will have been few. Even now (when such) number of copies of such books are published, do we not find that many are lost, or only to be found in very extensive libraries? Much more easily then might the same thing disappear, before, when only manuscripts were in use. And when we reflect how few men in any country make use of telescopes, and quadrants and such like instruments, we may easily conceive, that the copies of books treating of such matters would be very few, compared with astronomical tables, which were in greater use, on account of their utility in astrology: and those are scarce, and it is difficult for Europeans to get them.

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I shall now address some thing approaching to a proof of there having been telescopes, tho perhaps not like ours. First then, I asked a learned mussulman with whom I had frequent conversations on these subjects, whether they had any mention of such instruments as we use; he said he did not recollect that there were any, except Alhazan, amongst the Arabs, who (ever) that he knew had written on such subjects. Nor do I know added he, that he did describe such instruments, but he treats of the principles on which they depend.

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I must now observe, that since Alhazan wrote on colours, and reflection; if not on refractions through prisms and lenses, the not finding any mention of the uses, to which the specular were applied, will certainly not prove that there were no telescopes.

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Let us suppose a treatise, on reflection and refraction and the places of figures formed by either, to be written purely scientifically, without any mention of telescopes, or any application of the uses of the theorems. That by some accident, (possibly from the revolutions of time) all other treatises on the subject, or books in which telescopes, and their uses are described, and all telescopes had perished. If such treatise were then to be found, in some very remote period, the finder would not easily discover the use of the theorems, and still less the instruments formed on the principles, therein delivered. Alhazan delivered principles. Artists might possess the application, perhaps not even committed to writing, but learned, as trades are now learnt, by working and practice.

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A Bramin with whom, I discoursed, and asked how they made their tables, said that they were formed a long while ago, by means of great pits, dug into the earth, in which the celestial bodies were made visible. But what means they used to see them he did not know. He said he could only use these tables, not form them; that the sun had formerly delivered the tables to a learned Bramin, who had continued above sixty years constantly adoring him, as a reward for his labours. The Bramin agreed, that what he said was allegorical, and simply meant that they were formed by a series of observations, diligently made. So little could I make from these discourses, that instead of gaining lights I seemed rather to lose them; and tho the mussulman thought of Alhazan as I do, (and moreover told me that the observation of the transit of venus, made by our horrox, which I reduced to the Hijera, was not the first; for that mention is made of one a long period before that, in an Arabic book; he quoted the name, which I have forgotten but have in Bengal, amongst my papers) yet the want of actual knowledge of the use of telescopes threw all into doubt. However one day as I was reading an English translation of the Arabian Nights, I met with mention of them as things of very common use, and compared with things as common as apples, and carpets. Three princes went to seek for curiosities, and the fairee Purree Baunoo furnished each, under different shapes, with what he wanted; to one she sold a small carpet for an immense price, not from its curious texture, but its property of transporting him, that sat on it, to the place to which he wished to go; to the second an apple, that would cure disorders by being laid on a sick person; and for the same price, she sold to the third a telescope, that was endowed with the property of showing to him that looked through it, what he wished to see, if he looked through one end; and objects as usual if he looked through the other: and it is described as a small tube of ivory, having a glass at each end.

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If then that book were written before telescopes were in use in Europe, and that is ascertainable, then telescopes were things in common use, before we had any ideas of them; and tho they are not described as being such as Dollond has since made, they were telescopes, and amongst those who even now mention telescopes occasionally, how few will describe those exquisite ones, that are applied to astronomical purposes. That useful inventions perish, in time, have we not instances enough. The mummies suffice; tho even in our own days have we not seen Dollond perfect telescopes, by the addition of three object glasses, and are we not in danger of losing them again, from the want of the materials to make one of the kinds of glass used by him? Gun powder is also thought to be, as I may call it, compared with great antiquity, a modern invention; and yet in Gray’s Gunnery, there is a quotation from a Greek author, that gives reason enough to suppose, it was applied to guns, even in the time of Alexander.

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Much more I could add on this subject, and had written in Bengal, to send you, but in my present situation I can only add, that the loss of any science is not a proof that it never was known, and all I propose, is to present the figure of Saturn as I found it, and to give you my reason for explaining the emblem as I have done: which yet remains to be made out, by some future discovery, of the sixth satellite, the existence of which is not thought to be totally chimerical.

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I shall not scruple to inform you of things that may seem wonderful, which come within my own knowledge. I have the prediction of three comets and an earthquake, which I received long before the events. The earthquake did actually happen, and desolated the extensive regions, round Lahore. Unfortunately that paper is in Bengal. Mr Hastings has a copy of it signed by me, with the day marked on the paper, to show when I received it, which was June and I think the earthquake happened in September, or the latter end of August 1779 or 1780. But I send you the copies of the other two predictions, one of which was fully verified at Bath, tho I, being on my march, had not time to look for it, as I certainly should have done, had I been settled.

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The Bramin has promised to me a copy of the tables of one hundred and eight comets; and when I return to Bengal, if he is living, I will endeavour to get them. He says they are of different kinds, some have straight tails, some crooked tails, some fan tails some are encircled with a burr, and some are without any. Again some are retrograde, some [direct] and others cross the heavens; I hardly dare to tell you, that the book was, as he says, written in the jugg preceding this, and that this began, with what we call the creation.

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When we are arrived at some knowledge of the Sanscrit, we may make discoveries of much importance, and either verify the assertions or contradict them. I relate simply what was told to me, I do not take upon me to vouch any thing, but that the man had not any interest in deceiving me; I asked for information, after the manner of a disciple; proposed questions arising from the discourse, and making comparison of what he said, with our system, for further information. He replied, you and the mussulmans differ, from each other and from us; the mussulmans suppose the sun to go round the earth, daily, and annually; but the earth turns round its axis daily, according to your system, and to ours; mussulmans follow Ptolemy, we the ancient books, and you a system of your own, if not derived from ours.

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Here I must put an end to a letter, which I fear, will prove tedious, more especially as it concerns matters, which militates with systems, that men do not wish to (spake); and which I relate merely to show some part of the belief, of some of the men of science of the Hindoo tribe, who are not very communicative.