16th century European contacts with Hinduism

[Valerie J Roebuck]

Steve Farmer writes:

>This one comes from a well-known French scholar.

>> I would
>> recommend your colleagues to try and look for some evidence about the
>> "gymnosophistes" so often referred to by Voltaire as typical of
>>Brahmanism. I
>> assume they were the yogis, but I can't tell much more. There may be some
>> earlier references to this term in geographies, chorographies or
>>dictionaries
>> somewhere. It may be one of the possible terms through which evidence can be
>> reached.
>>     Sorry to be so vague, but the right term to look for is difficult to
>> imagine at a distance of 3 or 4 centuries.

Yes, what term *would* a 16th century European have used for a contemporary
Hindu? Giordano Bruno, 'De Magia', c. 1589 (para 1), gives examples of
Magi: "Trimegisti apud Aegyptios, Druidae apud Gallos, Gymnosophistae apud
Indos, Cabalistae apud Hebraeos, Magi apud Persas (qui a Zoroastre), Sophi
apud Graecos, Sapientes apud Latinos".

Was the reference to Gymnosophistae derived from Classical sources, or does
it imply some more recent contact (e.g. the 1494 visitor to Pico della
Mirandola's circle in Florence)?

Thanks to List Members for all the extremely interesting material!

Valerie J Roebuck



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