perfection all things. Then this Vishnu Yesu, conversing with the race of man, shall purge the earth of sinners (which would be impossible to any other than him), and shall cause truth and justice to reign upon it; and shall offer the sacrifice of the horse, and shall subject the universe to Buddha. Nevertheless, when he shall have attained old age, he shall withdraw into the Desert to do penance; and this is the order that the Vishnu Yesu shall establish aniong men. He shall establish virtue and truth in the midst of the Brahmins, and restore the four Castes within the limits of their law. Then the first age will be restored. The Supreme King will render the sacrifice so common to all nations, that even the wildernesses shall not be deprived of it. The Brahmins, established in virtue, shall employ themselves only in the ceremonies of religion and sacrifice; they shall cause penitence, and other virtues, which follow in the train of truth, to flourish; and they shall spread abroad the splendour of the Holy Scriptures. The seasons shall succeed each other in an invariable order; the rain in due time shall inundate the fields, the harvest in due time shall pour forth abundance. Milk shall flow at the pleasure of those who desire it; the earth, as in the first age, shall be intoxicated with joy and prosperity, and all nations shall taste of ineffable delights." {Kaly-Younga and Krita-Younga of the Hindoos.)
Whilst the Indian poet Maricandeya sung thus on the banks of the Ganges, Virgil was making the shores of Tiber resound with nearly the same strain.
B 3
