A. N. MARLOW Hinduismand inGreek Philosopkhy

THE PARALLELSbetween Greek and Indianliterature, my- thology,and philosophy have been stressed often since the days of Sir William Jones,who drewan elaborateand forcedcomparison between the Hindu philosophicalsystems and theirsupposed counterparts in theGreek schools,1 and the daysof Colebrooke,who also had some conciseremarks to make on thesubject.2 Recentscholars have restatedsome of theevidence, notably S. Radhakrishnan,3and attentionis beingincreasingly directed to the chan- nelsby which Indian influence reached Greece. The purposeof thispaper is merelyto citea fewof theparallels between the two literatures, and particu- larlybetween and muchof the thoughtof Plato,so as to indicate theiraffinity of typemore than theiridentity of origin.Radhakrishnan, as his subjectdemands, is naturallymore concerned with the religiousaspects of the question. Thereseems to have beenan earlyand commonstock of primitivebeliefs aboutthe heavenlybodies and the face of Naturegenerally. For example, in theAitareya there is a passagedescribing the nocturnal journey of the Sun backto itsstarting point,' which may contain in primitiveform thelegend which appears in Stesichorus5and Mimnermusof the Sun's travel- ing over the ocean in a cup. Mimnermussays: "For a delightfulhollow couchbears him over the wave,a couchforged by the handof Hephaistus, made of preciousgold, winged, which bears him sleepingover the water's surface,hurrying him back fromthe land of the Hesperidesto the land of theEthiopians."' Here Athenaeussays that by "couch"Mimnermus meant cup.-

'Sir WilliamJones, Works, VoL I (London: for JohnStockdale, 1807), pp. 360-361. Jonescom- paresGautama with Aristotle, Kanida with Thales, with Socrates,Vyisa withPlato, with Pythagoras,and Patafijaliwith Zeno. 'H. T. Colebrook,Miscellaneous Essays, VoL I (London: Williamsand Norgate,1837), pp. 436 ff. ' EasternReligions and WesternThought (Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1939), especiallyChaps. V-VII. 'IIL 44. sSee C. M. Bowra,Greek Lyric Poetry (Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1936), pp. 86-88. 'Fr. 10 Diehl, AntbologiaLyrica Graeca (3d ed.; Leipzig: 1949). See also StesichorusFr. 6 Diehl. 'II. 470a. 35 36 A. N. MARLow

The Hindu pantheon,of course,shows great affinities with thatof the earlyGreeks, since both are derivedfrom a commonsource, and the containthe earliestexpression of thatworship of theheavenly bodies which persistsright down to the time of the Stoics."The legend of Earthand Heaven as the parentsof the gods,the earliestGreek form of whichis in Hesiod,9is commonin the Rg Veda. In Rg Veda X.190 and X.168 water is theprimary principle, which develops into the world through time, saiz- vatsara(year), (desire),purusa (intelligence), and (warmth); and in X.190 wateris picturedor assumedas the firstprinciple. Similar confusedattempts to picturethe firstprinciple are foundin Iliad XIV.201 and 246, whereOceanus is the "originof the gods" and the "originof all thegods"; and in theOrphic poems, where night is themost ancient goddess, a birdwith black wings.'0 Hesiod inclinesmore to the Orphicview," but thereis a similarconfusion in the Greekand Vedic accountsof the begin- nings,and the confusionlies betweenthe same claimants to the titleof first god. Manyof thegods are thesame: Dyausis Zeus, becomes Ouranos, Usas becomesEos, and Agniis theprimitive god offire, who does notemerge in Greekbut has a shadowypersonification as the LatinIgnis. The Asvins, "horsemen,"inseparable twins, bright lords of brillianceand lustre,pro- tectorsof mankind,who are referredto in manyhymns, are the Dioscuri, whose principallater functionwas thatof protectinggods, theoi soteres, mightyhelpers of man,delighters in steeds,princes, Anakes or Anaktes.'2 The Hindu conceptionof Rta, thelaw ofNature, or "courseof things,"has the same scope as the Greekdike,'3 and a sayingof Heraclitus,"The sun shall not transgressits bounds,""'might have been writtenwith RZg Veda 1.24.8 and I.160.1 in mind. The have theirPrometheus in Matarisvan,'"who stole firefrom thesky and entrustedit to thekeeping of theBhrigus, a warlikeclan. Their god,Soma, upon whom Whittier wrote a poem ("The Brewingof Soma"), partof which has becomea popularhymn ("Dear Lord and Fatherof man-

'Cf. Chrysippus,Fr. 1076 (Arnim): "He thinksthe sun and moonand otherstars to be gods." STheogony126 ff. f'Otto Kern, OrphicorumFragmenta, 2470 (Berlin: Weidmann,1922). 116 ff. 'STheogony Plutarch,Theseus 33; Strabo V. 232; Aelian,V.H. I. 30; IV. 5; Aristophanes,Lysistrata 1301; PausaniasI. 31. 1, VIII. 21 fin. LIRadhakrishnan, ,Vol. I (London: GeorgeAllen and Unwin, Ltd., 1923), pp. 78-80; F. .. Earp, The Way of the Greeks (London: OxfordUniversity Press, 1930), passim. 1'B94 Diels-Kranz,Die Fragmenteder Vorsokratiker(Berlin: WeidmannscheVerlagbuchhandlung, 1951). Rg Veda I. 60. HINDUISM ANDBUDDHISM IN GREEKPHILOSOPHY 37 kind,Forgive our foolish ways ..."), has thesame characteristics as Dionysus. In bothGreek and Hindu poetryrivers are constantlypersonified as gods, and the formof sacrificeprescribed in the Rg Veda is verysimilar to the simpleritual of Homer-prayer,sprinkling of nrain,burnt offering, tasting of flesh,and dedicationto thegods. "Theseagreements," writes Radhakrish- nan,"indicate that the two peoplesmust have been in contactat someearly period,but neitherpossessed any recollectionof thosetimes and theymet as strangerswithin the PersianEmpire."' 1 In dealingwith pre-Socraticthought, we constantlyfind ourselves in an atmospheremore akin to thatof the Orientthan to thatof the West. As the late ProfessorF. H. Smithpointed out," the apeironof Anaximander is almostexactly the Hindu nirvikalpa,the namelessand formless,called Aditi,the unlimited,in theRg Veda. Moreover,this Aditi, which is nirvi- ,is orderedby the immanentRta or ,"sjust as in Anaximander an immanentdike ensures that all thingsshall eventually return to theapeiron whencethey came: "Fromwhich all thingstake their rise, and by necessity theyare destroyedinto these; for all thingsrender just atonementto one anotherfor their injustice according to the due orderingof time."'' In themore imaginative view of the Upanisads, we findthat a personalgod, PrajJpati("lord of creatures"),draws forth from himself all existingthings, or,in anotherpassage,2e divides himself into male and femaleand produces all creaturesby this self-division. One mightadduce here the similar Chinese doctrineof yang and yin,the principlesof expansionand contractionby whichthe worldis formedfrom chaos. Empedoclesseems to be expressing a similaridea, or, rather,combining it withthe equallyancient doctrine of primordialstrife, also foundin the Upanisads: "I will tell you a twofoldtruth: at one timeit increasedso as to be one out of manyand at anotherit partedso as to producemany from one. For twofoldis the creationof mortalsand twofoldtheir decline. The unionof all thingscauses the birthand destructionof the one, and theother is nur- turedand fliesasunder as the elementsgrow apart. And theseelements nevercease to be continuallyexchanged, coming together at timesunder theinfluence of love so as to becomeone, and beingseparated at othertimes throughthe forceof strife."2' Heraclitusshares two fundamentaldoctrines with the earlyschools of Buddhism-thatfire is theprimary element and thatall thingsare momen- " "Indian Philosophy,VoL I, p. 118. Religion,Sept. 1950, p. 81. I Rg Veda IV.23.9. "Diels, B 1. 2*Brbaddranyaka Upanisad I. ii. 4; I. iv. 3-4. nDiels,B 17. 38 A. N. MARLOW taryand pass away. It seemsalmost too greata coincidenceto imaginethat two such strikingand radical doctrinesshould have arisenindependently in two placesat aboutthe same time.Here theconfusion of Indianchronol- ogy and theobscurity surrounding the life of Heraclitusare greatobstacles, butit is quitecertain that the floruitof theBuddha was in the latterpart of thesixth century, and thathe adoptedmany ideas from earlier schools. Traces ofthe belief in fireas theprimordial element occur as earlyas theRg Veda,22 and are treatedphilosophically in theUpanisads. The Buddha,like Heracli- tus,chooses fire as the mostmutable of theelements to representhis meta- physicalprinciple of becoming,and has a long discoursein whichhe com- pares the existenceof beings to the candle flamethat is renewedevery instant.' Here one thinksof Empedocles,Fr. B62 (Diels) : "Hear nowhow firewhen separated sent up thenight-produced shoots of menand lamenting women,"and of Heraclirus,Fr. B30 (Diels): "No god norman evercreated thisworld which is thesame forall, butit was and is and everwill be ever- lastingfire." Again, the Buddha uses in the same discourse2"the analogy of the riverwhich is neverthe same fortwo momentsbut is sustainedby ever-newwaters, a sentimentechoed in Heraclitus,Fr. B91 (Diels): "Ever differentis the waterfor those who stepinto the same rivers,"and by the famoussaying quoted by Aristotle,"It is notpossible to step intothe same rivertwice."25 Probably Fr. B6 (Diels) refersto the same beliefin the momentarinessof existence,"The sun ... is new everyday." For theBuddha, the fundamental principle of existence was theimmutable dharma (law) whichdecreed that every smallest action and word earned its reward,not an ounce more or less. This principleobviously dates back to the Upanisadsor earlier,but theBuddha was the firstto enthroneit as theruling power in theuniverse, a universecompletely free from the tyranny of gods. Heraclitusmay be thinkingof dharmain Fr. B2 (Diels): "So we mustfollow the common principle, for that is sharedby all," forobviously thiscommon principle must be a universallaw. We meetit againin Fr.B41 (Diels): "For wisdomconsists in one thing,to know the principleby whichall thingsare steeredthrough all things"(or "on all occasions"). These opinionsof Heraclitusare expressedin short,pithy, and difficultsay- ingswhich remind us verymuch of satras. The epistemologyof Empedoclespresents several features which resemble thoseto be foundin the Upanisadsor in the variousHindu systems.For instance,according to the doctrine,the world as the objectof per- Sirikhya " SSee e.g., i67. Mahavagg i. 121. "*Ibid., i. 123. "Dies, B91. HINDUISMAND BUDDHISM IN GREEKPHILOSOPHY 39 ceptionhas the fivetanmatras (roughly, "subtle elements"), and each of theseis perceivedby somethingcorresponding to it in ourselves,26which is Empedocles'own doctrine,he beingin factthe firstGreek to propounda thoroughtheory of senseperception: "For by earthwe perceiveearth, by waterwater, by air divineair and by firedestructive fire." 2 Anyonewho studiesthe Hindu theoriesof perceptionand cognitionas set forthin the Nyiya,VaiSesika, and Siixkhyasystems and thenturns to thefragments of Empedoclescannot but be struckby thesimilarity of their theories. Empedoclesis keenlyconscious of a sortof "fall of man" and affectsto rememberpast births as plantand animal,boy and girl.28The wayby which the originalbliss maybe gained,from which he is now an exile,29is by asceticism,the Hindu method.He advisesmeditation, for by thismeans all truthshall be revealedand even supernormalpowers attained.30 In the end, the soul of the righteousascetic regains its divinity--acounterpart of the Hindu beliefin reincarnationand mnoksa.See, in particular,Empedocles, B.146 (Diels): "At the end theybecame seersand bardsand chiefsand physiciansamong mortal men, and finallythey blossom forth as godshighest in honor." Theremay even be an echoof the monism of the Upanisads in Empedocles, which,like many other features of his philosophy,seems to havebeen medi- atedthrough Orphism. In the Aaznd;akyaUpanisad 1.7 we finda listof the qualitiesof the One, whichhas resemblancesto Fr. B17 (Diels) of Empe- doclesas quotedabove. A distincttradition of mysticismruns through Orphism, Pythagoras, and Plato whichis as unlikeanything in Greekthought as it is like the Hindu mysticismof the Upanisads. There is a distinctbreak with rationalist human- ism and withthe healthyunreflecting extraversion of the seventhand sixth centuries.Instead of Homer's"Themselves he made a preyto dogs,"3 we havea completeshifting of emphasisfrom the physical to thespiritual, from the temporalto the eternal.Reality is not now what is perceivedby the sensesbut what lies beyondthem. The soul lives an independentlife and is in itselfthe onlytrue reality. Orphismand Hinduismhave muchin common.Just as theBrahmins kept the beliefof the shamansor medicinemen of the Vedas thatman could becomea god,but attempted to achievethis union not by drinking the intoxi-

SA doctrinebased on Praina Upanisuad, 2TDiels,B109. 2 IV.8. Diels, B117. SIbid., B119. 'Mlbid.,B110, B111. IL.L4. 40 A. N. MARLOW catingsoma butby abstinenceand asceticpractices, so Orpheuspurified the old Dionysiacreligion and substitutedasceticism for drunkenness.32The aim of Orphismseems to be the liberationof the soul fromthe chainsof thebody, and thisis to be achievedby asceticism, but man must pass through manylives beforehe achievesfinal freedom. This is veryfar, indeed, from genuineGreek religion of anyperiod,33 but almost exactly the predominant view of the Upanisads. Even the metaphorsin whichthis conceptionis clothedare the stockHindu and Buddhistmetaphors--the wheel of lifein theUpanisads appears as the "sorrowfulweary wheel" of Orpheus.34It has beenremarked that the aim of Orphism, the realization by man of his identity withGod, would have appearedblasphemous insolence to a sixth-century Athenian. In the detailsof Orphicabstinence we againcome across familiar practice. The avoidanceof fleshand fishis due to thedoctrine of transmigration,and in the Orphicabstinence from animal sacrificethere seem to be tracesof the primitivetaboo which,according to the latestevidence,35 gave rise to thecaste system and to the doctrineof ahimisa-(non-injury or reverencefor life). Indeed,it is a strikingfeature of Orphismthat it inculcatesfriendli- ness to all creaturesand not man alone. Again, the Orphiccosmogony is differentfrom that of Homerand Hesiod. Insteadof havingOcean as the originof all things,we have a world-egg,an idea commonin the Vedas;36 we also have the soul's journeyafter death toward final purification. The evidencehere is verytentative, since chronology often fails as a guide,but once again the parallelsare highlysuggestive. In Pythagoras,too, there are manyparallels to Hinduism,but the evidence has been differentlyinterpreted by differentscholars. All I can attemptis a briefrecapitulation of the evidence.A fundamentaldoctrine was that "we are strangersin thisworld and the bodyis the tombof the soul, and yetthat we are notto escapeby self-murder;for we are thechattels of God who is our herdsman,and withouthis commandwe have no rightto make our escape.""' The belief in transmigrationis mistakenlyattributed by Herodotusto the Egyptians,and was apparentlytaken over by Pythagoras froman Orientalsource; along with this came the prohibition of theslaughter

and its CharlesE. B. trans. (Lon- SAlbertSchweitzer, Indian Thought Development,Mrs. Russell, don: Hodder and Stoughton,1936), pp. 21-23. J. E. Harrison,Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion(Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1903), p. 477. 236-237. "See on thisW. KLC. Guthrie,Orpheus and GreekReligion (London: Methuen,1935), pp. " Kern,op. cit., Fr. 36 (c) line 6. J. H. Hutton,Caste in India (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1946), pp. 62-79. *wSSee E.g., Rg Veda X. 82. 5-6. "J. Burnet,Early GreekPhilosophy (4th ed., London: A. & C. Black, 1930), p. 98. HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY 41 of animalsand the vegetariandiet. The doctrineof purificationby ascetic practicesand by theoria(contemplation) seems familiar. Even the secrecy of the doctrineand the refusalto commitit to writingreminds us of the verymeaning of the word "Upanisad,"a "confidentialcommunication." And the separationof the disciplesinto two grades,the mathematikoi (innercircle) and theakousmatikoi (outer ring of listeners),3 remindsus of the two stagesof instructiongiven by the Vedas and the Upanisads,in the latterof whichwas foundthe esotericdoctrine of becomingone with the Supra-sensuousBeing impartedby the Brahminteacher to his pupil- not a sentenceof thissecret doctrine must be utteredbefore members of lowercastes. Incidentally,bearing in mindthese similarities between the teach- ing,Orphism, and Pythagoreanism, onecan hardly resist the speculation that in theUpanisads and in thedoctrines and practices based on themwe may havea clueto theGreek mysteries. Did theyoriginally inculcate simply theattainment of immortalitybyecstasy in contemplation? It is interestingto find attributed to Pythagoras39the distinction of the threelives, the apolaustic, the practical, and the theoretic, used by Aristotle in hisEthics, and theattempt to basethese three on thepredominance of one or otherelement in humannature. This is thevery core of Hindu speculationon thecaste system, which bases the pleas for its efficacy on the correspondenceof the three castes to thethree constituents of the human soul, (that which gives the highest bliss), (thatwhich impels to activity),and (the earthly, represented by the appetites). No onecan read any of Plato's dialogues without being struck by his fre- quentstress on thecomplete independence ofsoul and body and his equally significantinsistence on thefact that the soul doesnot come into its own untilthe body is quiescent.His viewof realityis notthe ordinary Greek view;the philosopher has supersensual vision and recalls the beatific vision of formerinnocence when it was itselfpure and notenshrined in theempsychos taphos(living tomb) of thebody, like an oysterin itsshell.40 The soul becomestruly itself only when it is troubledby no painor pleasurebut is in so faras possiblealone and takesleave of thebody; for when it avoids contactwith the body it can reach out towardreality and attaintruth."1 Havingattained this transcendent calm, it dwellsimmortal and changeless, ' Aristotleseems to treatthese as opposingsects, and it may be that I have read too much into the Greekterms. 'By Heraclitus;see Burnet,op. cit.,p. 98 (thoughserious doubts are thrownby Jaegeron thisrefer- ence to Pythagoras). 0 Phaedrus250. Phaedo65-67, Cratylus400C. 1 Phaedo65A. 42 A. N. MARLOW havingceased from its long cycleof wanderings;thus, the truthis always in our soul,which is immortaland has been rebornmany times.42 So, con- creteexistence is a phantomof reality,and the ordinaryman is not truly awakebut is likea somnambulistin pursuitof phantoms.43Or, we have the tremendoussimile of the cave in theRepublic, which is a pictorialform of the Hindu doctrineof marya(illusion), thoughin a dualisticsystem such as Plato's the idea of miya is replacedby thatof mereappearance. As in theUpanisads, we findin Platothe Absolute Principle, which appears as theIdea of theGood in theRepublic, and as theDemiurgus, the personal God and creatoror soul of theuniverse, in theTimaeus, and thesetwo ideas existside by side. Again,in theRepublic we findthe principles of logistikon, thymos,epithymia, reason, spirit, and appetite,as the basis of the whole structure,and theseare bodied forth in the classes of society which are worked outwith a rigiditythat cannot fail to remindone of theIndian caste system. There the ,or priests,were supreme, by virtue,curiously enough, of theirpossessing magic formulaewhich enabled them to achieveunion withthe Absolute, but originally they had strict duties to otherclasses. Being enlightened,more was askedof them and they were expected to giveguidance in all branchesof life. Then came theksatriyas (warriors), then the vailyas (businessmen),and finallythe fidras(artisans). Of course,Plato had no room foroutcastes, but he keeps the orderof precedenceof philosopher, warrior,and artisan.In the Republic,as in Hindu society,caste and class are rigid--itwas difficultfor the Greekand impossiblefor the Hindu to changefrom one to another. In the Republicthe guardiansperch uneasily on theirpinnacles, fenced roundby diverseprohibitions, and it wouldexplain a good deal of the - ficialityof thefourth book if Plato weretrying to introducea formof caste systemabout which he had heardor read. Probablythe Hindu castesystem originallycame into being forthe reasonswhich Plato professes,namely, stabilityand eugenics. Thus,it was naturalthat for Plato as forthe Brahminsphilosophy should be a meditationon death,and thetrial of Socratesis, of course,ideal forthe communicationof thisconviction. It is strongestin the Phaedo,as forex- amplein 64A: "It seemsto be thatthey who are thetrue votaries of knowl- edge have escapedthe noticeof the rest,namely, that they practice nothing else buthow to die or meetdeath." Again,in 66E, pureknowledge is held to be theexclusive right of thosewho havepassed beyond this life: "If pure S Ibid., 79D. ' Meno 80E HINDUISMAND BUDDHISM IN GREEKPHILOSOPHY 43 knowledgeis not possible in the body, then one of two things follows, either knowledgeis not to be obtainedat all,or, if at all, afterdeath." The completeman for Plato must leave behind him children's children to perpetuatethe race, e.g., Laws 773E, where the striving for eternal life is mostilluminatingly andnaturally mentioned with the leaving of descendants. Thesetwo actions are corollaries, as in theUpanisads. There is no sugges- tionof scholastic or monasticcelibacy in either.The resemblanceofPlato's idealto that of the Upanisads is bestbrought out by contrasting both with theBuddhist ideal of the arhant, the truly enlightened man who, like Ibsen, seesthe world as a colossalshipwreck and conceives his first duty to be the savingof his own soul. Immortalityin the Upanisads seems to havethe same connotation as atha- nasiain theSymposium, 207D-208A, where physical birth and death are shownas inseparablyconnected, and themortal puts on immortalityjust inso faras hedwells in the spiritual world and sees the value of true knowl- edge. Comparewith this teaching Satapatha Brahmana II.ii.2, 14 and Bhagavad-gitaII.27. The idealevery wise man puts before himself is a quiettranquillity of soul,"a phrasewhich aptly sums up theideal of theyogi. So, he mustbe abovethe infatuation which results from the "power of appearance"(like theHindu rjzpa, form), for it is thispower which leads men astray.45 To be overcomeby pleasure is ignorancein thehighest degree,"' and self-control is truewisdom. So, we findthe metaphor of the charioteer in thePhaedrus, whichverbally and in detailresembles a metaphor in theKatha Upanisad (Valli 3), whichmay be translatedthus: "Knowthe self or Atman as the Lordwho sits in thechariot called the body; (intelligence) is the charioteer;mind the reins, the senses are the horses, and the objects are the roads.The self is thecontroller and enjoyer. But he whohas no understand- ing,but is weakin mind,his sensesrun riot like the vicious horses of a charioteer.He whohas understanding and is strong-minded,hissenses are wellcontrolled like the good horses of a charioteer." Wholetracts of Indian thought are given to theoriesof knowledge. Their thinkersspeculate endlessly on perceptionand cognition,on whathappens whenwe seea ropeand imagine it to be a snake,or a shelland imagine it to be silver.Is it somethingin theshell? Is ourcognition of it erroneous? How can one cognitiondestroy another without infinite regress? Are all qualitiesof things imaginary? In short,what is errorand what truth? Unlike

" " Ibid.,471D. " Protagoras 3 58C. Ibid.,357E. 44 A. N. MARLow jestingPilate, the Hindu panditsnever depart, even though they wait a life- timeand are notanswered. The Theaetetusis fullof suchspeculations, cut shortand purgedof hair-splitting, but unmistakably reminiscent. The doctrine of relativity,for instance, to whichall Hindu thinkingtended, is therein 152D: "I will tell you a doctrineof no commonplacekind. Nothingexists singlyand by itself,and you cannotcall anythingof itselfby anyname; but if you speakof it as great,it will seemunder other conditions to be small; ifheavy also light;and so witheverything else, on theground of therebeing no singleexistence either as a thingor as a quality."Again, 153E: "With respectto sight,that which you call whitedoes notexist per se as something externalto youreyes, nor is it in youreyes. Do not,therefore, assign any place to it at all." It is thinkingof thiskind which leads, on the one hand, to the nihilismof the Buddhistsand, on the other,to thetheory of relative statesof reality,which Plato shareswith the loftiestHindu thought.In commonwith Indian philosophers, he is unableto giveany consistent account of how the universalis embodiedin the particular.This verydeficiency is one of the moststriking resemblances between Plato and Hinduism. Hindu philosophyis absorbedin the relativereality of variousstates of consciousness.First comes dreamlesssleep which approachesnearest to ,then sleep itself, and thenthe waking state, but the Upanisads refuse to ascribemore than a relativereality even to wakingconsciousness, for who knowswhen it maybe sublatedinto something which bears the same relation to it as itdoes to dreams?Hence, their important doctrine of vnjya (illusion). We findthis in theTheaetetus:47 "Nay, I go further,and saythat if we are halfof our lives asleep,and the otherhalf awake, in each of theseperiods our mindsare convincedthat whatever opinions present themselves to us, theseare reallyand certainlytrue; so we insiston the truthof bothalike." In theCratylus the theory of the origin of language presents many similari- tiesto thatof theNyiya systemof logic. Briefly,Plato's theory is thatthe trueetymology of a word goes back to the individualletters of whichit is composed"8and thatwe musttake a word"syllable by syllable, nay letter by letter"(this is Ruskin,who followsPlato in Sesameand Lilies). Primary namesare constructedout of rudimentarysounds, which, by the actionsof the organproducing them, are naturallysuitable for reproducing processes and states. Dionysiusof Halicarnassusrationalizes this process,"'but, as Plato ex- poundsit, it is strange.The Hinduslikewise reduce the meaning of a word

, " 15 8D. 424 C-E. "De CompositionwVerborum, W. R Roberts,ed. (London: Macmillan,1910), Chap. 14. HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY 45 to the significanceof its letters,which are pronouncedand perishone after the other: c, o, w. They have a termcalled sphota,which is roughlythe essentialsound of a wordas revealedin the soundof its letterspronounced one afterthe other. AlthoughPlato has no word for this,he certainly employsthe idea. Thesecoincidences of thoughtand language,each small in itself,amount to quitea formidabletotal. As to theproblem of theway by whichIndian influencereached Greece I have no new solutionto offerand fallback with otherson Persiaas the intermediary.Of course,after the time of Alexander theway lay so opento Orientalinfluence that parallels become more frequent and less remarkable.50

' I have drawnmy exampleslargely from those Upanisads which Hindu scholarsagree in considering the earliestand whichmust have beenin existencebefore the fifthcentury, as theyare quoted in writ- ings demonstrablyof that date or earlier.