uthor of the _Periplus
of the Erythraean Sea_, who appears to be the first extant writer to
employ the name in this form (_i.e._ assuming Max Mueller's view that he
belongs to the 1st century); hence also the _Sinae_ and _Thinae_ of
Ptolemy.

It has often indeed been denied that the Sinae of Ptolemy really
represented the Chinese. But if we compare the statement of Marcianus
of Heraclea (a mere condenser of Ptolemy), when he tells us that the
"nations of the Sinae lie at the extremity of the habitable world, and
adjoin the eastern Terra Incognita," with that of Cosmas, who says, in
speaking of _Tzinista_, a name of which no one can question the
application to China, that "beyond this there is neither habitation
nor navigation"--we cannot doubt the same region to be meant by both.
The fundamental error of Ptolemy's conception of the Indian Sea as a
closed basin rendered it _impossible_ but that he should misplace the
Chinese coast. But considering that the name of _Sin_ has come down
among the Arabs from time immemorial as applied to the Chinese,
considering that in the work of Ptolemy this name certainly
represented the farthest known East, and considering how inaccurate
are Ptolemy's configurations and longitudes much nearer home, it seems
almost as reasonable to deny the identity of his India with ours as to
deny that his Sinae were Chinese.

If we now turn to the _Seres_ we find this name mentioned by classic
authors much more frequently and at an earlier date, for the passages
of Eratosthenes (in Strabo), formerly supposed to speak of a parallel
passing through _Thinae_--[Greek: dia Thinon]--are now known to read
correctly [Greek: di'Athenon]. The name _Seres_ indeed is familiar to
the Latin poets of the Augustan age, but always in a vague way, and
usually with a general reference to Central Asia and the farther East.
We find, however, that the first endeavours to assign more accurately
the position of this people, which are those of Mela and Pliny,
gravitate distinctly towards China in its northern aspect as the true
ideal involved. Thus Mela describes the remotest east of Asia as
occupied by the three races (proceeding from south to north), Indians,
Seres and Scyths; just as in a general way we might still say that
eastern Asia is occupied by the Indies, China and Tartary.

Ptolemy first uses the names of _Sera_ and _Serice_, the former for
the c