De gentibus Indiae et Bragmanibus

Of Palladius on the Nations of India and the Brahmans 1.1 Your great love of labor and love of learning and love of hearing and love of God, the adornment of the best of men, has urged us to relate another matter full of surpassing philosophy. Moved, therefore, by your love of hearing, in addition to what has been said, we will explain to you also the life of the Brahmans, whose country I have neither visited nor have I met the men. For they are settled far away from both India and Serica, living beside the Ganges river; but I reached only the extremities of India a few years ago with the blessed Moses, the bishop of the Adulitae. And being seized by a fierce heat—it being such that water, gushing forth from the spring exceedingly cold and taken in vessels, would immediately boil—seeing this, therefore, I turned back again, unable to endure the burning heat. This river Ganges is, according to us, the one called Pishon, which is mentioned in the scriptures, being one of the four rivers said to go out of paradise. 1.2 A narrative is reported from Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, who described their way of life to some extent; and perhaps his account was from hearsay, for he himself, I think, did not cross the Ganges, but having reached as far as Serica, where the Seres produce silk, he set up a stone pillar there and inscribed it: 'Alexander the Macedonian reached this place.' 1.3 But I have been able to learn something about the Brahmans from a certain lawyer from Thebes, who made the journey willingly but unwillingly fell into captivity. This man, as he said, had been unskilled in law and, seized by listlessness, thus developed a craving to visit the land of the Indians. 1.4 And sailing with an elder, he first reached Adulis, then after that Auxumis, where there was also a petty king of the Indians sitting there. And having spent time there and acquired much familiarity, he wished to enter the island of Taprobane, where the so-called Macrobii are; for on that island the old men live up to one hundred and fifty years because of the exceeding temperateness of the climate and the unsearchable judgment of God. And on this island also resides the great king of the Indians, to whom all the petty kings of the country are subject as satraps, as the lawyer himself related to us, having himself also learned it from others; for he himself was not able to enter the island either. 1.5 For near this island lie (unless what is said is false) about a thousand other islands, into which the Red Sea flows. Since, therefore, the magnetic stone which attracts iron is found in those islands called the Maniolae, any ship that approaches having iron nails is held fast by the nature of the stone, unable to pass by; and the ships that cross over to that great island are specially constructed without iron, with wooden pegs. 1.6 This island, he says, also has five very large rivers, in which ships travel. And as those from there related to him, fruit never fails in that place of the island; for at the same time, he says, one branch is in bloom, another is bearing unripe fruit, and another is being harvested {neither does a vine bear unripe fruit nor is it harvested}. It has both palm trees and the very large Indian nut and the fine aromatic one. The inhabitants of that place live on milk and rice and fruit, since wool is not produced among them, nor linen, but they put well-worked sheepskins around their loins only. There are also hairy sheep without wool, very productive of milk, having broad tails. And they also use

De gentibus Indiae et Bragmanibus

Παλλαδίου περὶ τῶν τῆς Ἰνδίας ἐθνῶν καὶ τῶν Βραγμάνων 1.1 Ἡ πολλὴ φιλοπονία σου καὶ φιλομαθία καὶ φιληκοΐα καὶ φιλοθεΐα, ἀνδρῶν ἀρίστων ἐγκαλλώπισμα, καὶ ἕτερον ἡμᾶς προε τρένατο προσδιηγήσασθαι πρᾶγμα ὑπερβολῇ φιλοσοφίας γέμον. κινούμενοι τοίνυν ἡμεῖς τῇ σῇ φιληκοΐᾳ πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις προσεξηγησόμεθά σοι καὶ τὸν τῶν Βραγμάνων βίον, ὧν μὲν ἐγὼ οὔτε τὴν πατρίδα ἱστόρησα οὔτε τοῖς ἀνδράσι συντετύχηκα. πόρ ρω γάρ εἰσιν ἀπῳκισμένοι καὶ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς καὶ τῆς Σηρικῆς τῷ Γάγγῃ παροικοῦντες ποταμῷ, ἐγὼ δὲ εἰς τὰ ἀκρωτήρια μόνον ἔφ θασα τῆς Ἰνδικῆς πρὸ ἐτῶν ὀλίγων μετὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Μωϋσέως τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τῶν Ἀδουληνῶν· καὶ ἀγρίῳ καύματι ληφθείς-τοι ούτου ὄντος ὡς τοῦ ὕδατος ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς ἀναβλύζοντος ψυχροτάτου εἰς ὑπερβολὴν καὶ ληφθέντος ἐν ἀγγείοις παραχρῆμα βράσσειν- τοῦτο τοίνυν θεασάμενος αὖθις ὑπέστρενα μὴ στέξας τὸν καύσωνα. ὁ δὲ Γάγγης οὗτος ποταμὸς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐστιν ὁ καλούμενος Φεισών, ὁ ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς κείμενος, εἷς ὢν τῶν τεσσάρων ποταμῶν τῶν λεγομένων ἐξιέναι ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου. 1.2 ∆ιήγημα δὲ φέρεται Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ τῶν Μακεδόνων βασι λέως ἐξηγησαμένου ποσῶς τὸν βίον αὐτῶν· κἀκείνῳ δὲ τάχα ὑπῆρ χεν ὡς ἐκ παρακούσματος· οὔτε γὰρ αὐτός, ὡς οἶμαι, τὸν Γάγγην ἐπεραιώθη, ἀλλ' ἄχρι τῆς Σηρικῆς φθάσας, ἔνθα τὸν μέταξον οἱ σῆρες τίκτουσιν, κἀκεῖ λιθίνην στήλην στήσας ἐπέγρανεν· Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδὼν ἔφθασε μέχρι τοῦ τόπου τούτου. 1.3 ἐγὼ δὲ ποσῶς τὰ περὶ τῶν Βραγμάνων δεδύνημαι μαθεῖν παρά τινος Θηβαίου σχολαστικοῦ, ἑκουσίως μὲν τὴν ἀποδημίαν ποιησαμένου, ἀκουσίως δὲ τῇ αἰχμαλωσίᾳ περιπεσόντος. οὗτος, ὡς ἔλεγεν, ἀφυὴς ἐγεγόνει ἐν τῇ δικανικῇ καὶ ἀκηδίᾳ ληφ θεὶς ἐκίσσησεν οὕτως τὴν τῶν Ἰνδῶν ἱστορῆσαι χώραν. 1.4 καὶ διαπλεύσας μετὰ πρεσβυτέρου ταύτην κατέλαβε πρῶ τον τὴν Ἀδούλην, εἶτα μετ' ἐκείνην τὴν Αὐξούμην, ἐν ᾗ ἦν καὶ βασιλίσκος μικρὸς τῶν Ἰνδῶν ἐκεῖ καθεζόμενος. ἐκεῖ δὲ χρονί σας καὶ πολλὴν συνήθειαν κτησάμενος ἠθέλησε καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν Τα προβάνην εἰσελθεῖν νῆσον, ἔνθα εἰσὶν οἱ λεγόμενοι Μακρόβιοι· ζῶσι γὰρ εἰς τὴν νῆσον ἐκείνην ἕως ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα ἐτῶν οἱ γέροντες δι' ὑπερβολὴν τῆς τῶν ἀέρων εὐκρασίας καὶ ἀνεξερευ νήτου κρίματος θεοῦ. ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς κατοικεῖ τῶν Ἰνδῶν, ᾧ πάντες οἱ βασιλίσκοι τῆς χώρας ὑπόκειν ται ὡς σατράπαι, καθὼς αὐτὸς ὁ σχολαστικὸς ἡμῖν διηγήσατο μα θὼν καὶ αὐτὸς παρ' ἑτέρων· οὐ γὰρ δεδύνηται οὐδ' αὐτὸς εἰς τὴν νῆσον εἰσελθεῖν. 1.5 παράκεινται γὰρ ταύτῃ τῇ νήσῳ (εἰ μὴ ψευδές ἐστι τὸ λεχθέν) ὡς χίλιαι ἄλλαι νῆσοι τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης ἐμβαλλού σης εἰς αὐτάς. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ὁ μαγνῆτις λίθος ὁ τὸν σίδηρον ἐπι σπώμενος ἐν ἐκείναις γίνεται ταῖς νήσοις ταῖς λεγομέναις Μα νιόλοις, ὃ ἂν ἀπέλθῃ πλοῖον σιδηροῦς ἔχον ἥλους κατέχεται ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ λίθου φύσεως μὴ δυνάμενον παρελθεῖν· ἔστι δὲ ἰδικῶς τὰ διαπερῶντα πλοῖα εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν μεγάλην νῆσον ἄνευ σιδή ρου ἐπιούροις ξυλίνοις κατεσκευασμένα. 1.6 ἔχει δέ, φησι, καὶ πέντε ποταμοὺς μεγίστους ἡ νῆσος αὕτη, ἐν οἷς νῆες διαπορεύονται. ὡς δὲ διηγοῦντο αὐτῷ οἱ ἐκεῖ θεν, οὐδέποτε ὀπώρα λείπει ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἐκείνῳ τῆς νήσου· ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ γάρ, φησι, ὃς μὲν ἀνθεῖ κλάδων, ὃς δὲ ὀμφακίζει, ὃς δὲ καὶ τρυγᾶται {οὔτε ἄμπελος ὀμφακίζει οὔτε τρυγᾶται}. ἔχει δὲ καὶ φοίνικας καὶ τὸ κάρυον τὸ μέγιστον τὸ Ἰνδικὸν καὶ τὸ λε πτὸν τὸ ἀρωματίζον. ζῶσι δὲ οἱ οἰκήτορες τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου γάλακτι καὶ ὀρύζῃ καὶ ὀπώρᾳ, ἐρίου οὐ τικτομένου παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ λίνου, προβάτων δὲ δέρματα καλῶς εἰργασμένα πε ρὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν περιτίθενται μόνον. ἔστι δὲ καὶ πρόβατα τετριχω μένα ἄνευ ἐρίου γαλακτιφόρα λίαν πλατείας ἔχοντα οὐράς. κέ χρηνται δὲ καὶ