CHAP.
Of these Satyrs the oldest are named the Seilenoi, or children of
Seilenos. But although there are between these beings many points
of likeness, both in form and character, there is this marked distinc-
tion, that while the Satyrs dwell among woods and hills,- the Seilenoi
haunt streams, fountains, or marshy grounds. They are thus, like the
Naiads, spirits of the waters, with attributes borrowed from, or shared
with, the clouds that float above them. The grotesque form which
Seilenos is made to assume may be an exaggeration of the western
Greeks, who saw in the ass which bore him a mere sign of his folly
and absurdity, while it points rather to the high value set on the ass
by Eastern nations. It was, in fact, the symbol of his wisdom and
his prophetical powers, and not the mere beast of burden which, in
western myths, staggered along under the weight of an unwieldy
drunkard. The same idea doubtless lay at the root of the story of
Midas, to whom the ass's ears were at first not his shame but his
glory. This Phrygian king is, in short, only Tantalos under another
name, and with Tantalos, as with Sisyphos, the idea of wealth is
inseparable from that of wisdom or craft. If, again, Tantalos and
Sisyphos have palaces rich in all conceivable treasures, Midas has his
beautiful rose-gardens, in which the country folk catch Seilenos, who
is brought bound before the king. By him Midas is instructed in the
knowledge of all events, whether past or future, as well as in the
origin and nature of all things. In return for the kindness with
which he is treated, Dionysos promises to grant to Midas any wish
which he may express. Midas asks that everything which he touches
may be turned into gold, and finds to his dismay that it is as
impossible to swallow his food as the dishes on which it is laid. To
his prayer for deliverance the answer is that he must go and wash in
the stream of Paktolos, which has ever since retained a golden hue.
This myth is nothing more than a story framed on a saying, like the
German proverb, " Morgenstunde hat Gold im Munde/' " Morning
hour has gold in her mouth," ^ and simply expressed the fact that the
newly risen sun sheds a glory over all the earth, in other words, turns
everything into gold. The sequel, which speaks of the misery of
Midas, would be suggested by the literal interpretation of the words,
while the command to bathe in the river finds a meaning in the fact
that the flaming splendours of the sun are quenched when, like En-
' Max Miiller, Lectures, second series, 378. This proverb has acquired the didactic meaning of the English distich, " Early to bed and early to rise Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," which keeps up the same connexion between wealth and wisdom.
