Page:Ancient India as described by Ptolemy - John Watson McCrindle.djvu/23

8 raries, or from records of voyages and travels. This supposition is however untenable, for we find that while the statements as to the length of the longest days at the selected places are always correct for the latitudes assigned them, they are often glaringly wrong for their real positions. Ptolemy, it is evident, first mapped out in the best way he could the places, and then calculated for the more impoi-tant of these places the astronomical phenomena incident to them as so situated. I conclude by presenting the reader with a translation of some chapters of the Introductory Book,* where Ptolemy in reviewing the estimate made by Marinos of the length of the known world from west to east, has frequent occasion to mention India and the Provinces beyond the Ganges, which together constitute what is now called Indo- China.

Book L, Cap. 11.

§ 1 . What has now been stated will suffice to show us what extent in breadth it would be fair to assign to the inhabited world. Its length is given by Marinos at 15 hours, this being the distance comprised between his two extreme meridians — but in our opinion ho has unduly extended the distance towards the east. In fact, if the estimate be properly reduced in this direction the entire length must be fixed at less than 12 hours, the Islands of the Blest being taken as the limit towards * The edition used is that of C. F. A. Noble, Leipsic, 1843.