been among them. This Strabo delivers from the account left
by Onejicritus, a follower of Alexander the Great, who fent him
on a voyage to India, where he informed himfelf of many
things, among which is no fmall ihare o f fable, or mifrepre-
fented accounts.
M e l a ’ s. Mela fpeaks o f this ifland as the part o f another world, and
that it never was circumnavigated.
PiiNv’i. Pliny, lib. vi. c. 22, gives us a large chapter on the fubjeCt of
this ifland : he not only gives the authority of Megajihenes, who
had written a hiftory of India, and of Eratojlhenes, a famous
geometrician, who pretended to give the circumference of
Ceylon, but has drawn many lights from the four embafiadors
actually fent from this ifland to Rome, in the time o f Claudius.
By accident, a freed Have of a farmer of the Roman cuftoms in
the Red Sea, was driven to the coaft of Ceylon by a ftorm; fuch
an impreflxon did he make on the king o f the ifland by his
favorable report of the Romans, that determined him to fend
thefe envoys. From them many particulars were learned; they
were not fparing o f any thing which tended to exalt the glory
o f their country: they faid that it contained five hunded cities;
the chief was Palejimundum, that had two hundred thoufand
citizens. For other particulars I refer to the old hiftorian;
mdre is beyond my plan.
P t o l e m y 's. Ptolemy comes next, who is particular as to the productions
o f this great ifland. He mentions rice, honey, ginger, beryls,
hyacinths; and gold, filver, and other metals; and he agrees
with Pliny about its producing elephants and tigers. He alfo
fays, the antient name of Ceylon was Symondi, but in his days it
was
was called Salice, ftill in fome meafure retained in its Indian
appellative Seien-Dive. The principal places named by the
geographer, are Anurogrammum, of which the Cingalefe fay
there are great remains in the veftiges o f the antient city Ana-
rodgurro.
Maragrammon, the capital town, which anfwers to the
modern Candy, Palacoris emporium, and Nagadiba, Prafodis
Jinus, and numbers o f other places*, which ihew how well
known this ifland was to the Romans, either by their fleet from
the Red fea, of their coafting traders from the weftern fide of
India. I will only mention Malea Mans, or the modern Tale,
famous for the Pafcua Elepbantum + Bumafani, the great haunt
of elephants, and which were driven, and probably (hipped, at
a port ftill called by the Dutch, Geyeweys of Elephants van plaets,
and tranfported in vaft ihips to Calinga J , probably the fame
with the modern Calingapatam, a city and port on the coaft o f
the northern Circars.
El. Edrift, p. 31, fpeaks of this ifland under the name of
Serandib, and Marco Polo under that of Seilam. It is celebrated
by each for its rich gems. By miftake the Nubian Geographer
places the diamond among them; but all the reft it produces in
high perfection, and feveral kinds of aromatics or fpices. Silk
was alfo exported from hence in his days. He fpeaks highly of
the ruling monarch, who had fixteen privy counfellors, four
of his own people, four Cprijlians, four Mahometans, and four
* Ptolem. Geograph. + Ptolem. Geograph. .¿Elian, Nat. Amur. lib, xvi. c. 18.
| The fame.
V o l . I . B b ’ j em -,
A n u r o g r a m m
u m .
P a s c u a E l b -
PHANTUM.
E l . E drtsij