Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

Professor H. Jacobi, Bonn University, Germany . — The work you have undertaken will interest Sanskritists as well as medical men who care for the history of their science. I shall not fail to draw the attention of some eminent physicians whom I know personally, to the ancient work of Charaka.

Herr. R. Garbe, Prinzenstram IConigsbursh, Germany : — English translation of Charaka Samhita is, perhaps, at least from an historical point of view, the most important work of the medical literature of your country.

Sir Alfred Croft, M. A., C. I. E., Director of Public Instruction, Bengal: — I have been greatly entertained as well as edified by the examination, in part IV, of all the things which a man shall not do. A layman can understand the precepts and such a guide to life cannot be other than valuable.

James W. Reese, Esq., Westminister, Maryland, U S. A. : — You have undertaken a great and difficult work, and one which, it seems to me, deserves the approbation and encouragement of all who care to know what wise men of the past ages thought and taught on a topic so important as the preservation of health and cure of disease.

William Emmette Coleman, Esq., San Francisco, California: — . As each successive part is issued, the greater intrinsic value of the work is apparent .

There is much in it both of interest and value to the Western mind, occidental medical science, therapeutic. American and European medical science has much to learn .

Chas. E. Sajons, Esq., Philadelphia, U. S. A. .-—You are entitled to the greatest praise. Next May or June the Satellite — a journal under my editorial management — will begin to review books, &c., and one of the first to be taken up will be yours.

Chas. O. Curtman, Esq., St. Louis', Ohio, U. S, A. : — The work interests me very highly, and I have already, on last night taken it to the meeting of one of our medical societies, and read extracts from it which excited a lively curiosity and expressions of interest. I will send selections from it to a medical journal and also to a pharmaceutical monthly.

Professor E. B. Cowel, Cambridge : — A careful translation of this ancient work will be very interesting and valuable. I can only hope that you may succeed in translat¬ ing the entire work. It will be a great achievement when finished.

R. G. Eccless, Esq., Dean St. Brooklyn, New York: — Matter is certainly of great interest to me.

E. P. Davis, Esq., Editor of the American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Phila¬ delphia : — Thank you for this erudite and interesting contribution to the Medical literature.

ABSTRACT OF CONTENTS

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PART XXIX.

The contents of this part are, perhaps, most interesting. It begins with the concluding portion of Lesson V. which is mainly taken up with such dreams as are near precursors of death. In Lesson VI. occurs certain indications of the near approach of death, at the sight of which a physician should not take up the treatment. Lesson VII. also treats of certain features which prog¬ nosticate the near approach of death. The subject matter of Les¬ son VIII. is of the same kind. In Lesson IX., X and XI. also the Rishi speaks of symptoms which should lead a physician to avoid a patient inasmuch as those are precursors of death. Lesson XII. treats of messengers despatched for fetching the physician and omens good and bad connected with them.

To Western readers many portions of these Lessons may appear fanciful. But it should be borne in mind that the facts stated are all based upon observation. The Rishis were acute ob¬ servers. To convict them of superstition and prejudice would argue an unscientific mind. Every practitioner of Hindu medicine daily meets with'cases in which the truth of one or other of these obser¬ vations is abundantly established. The fact is, these should not be condemned as groundless or fanciful or a priori reasoning. As regards the indications connected with the body of the patient, there is nothing that is opposed to medical science. If European treatises on medicine do not mention them, it is because medical ■men do not accurately observe them. If, again, the truth of some ■of those statements becomes manifest to every practitioner, the inference is not unscientific that careful observation will estab¬ lish the * truth of the other statements occuring in these Lessons. At any rate the subject is most interesting. It should be studied before dismissed as baseless superstition. It seems to be a fashion to dismiss dreams as indicating nothing. Yet in the experience of many men, dreams have been found to foreshadow the truth in at least some instances. Fashionable wisdom seeks to satisfy itself by calling these cases as strange coincidences. But is not this