014 ON THE DIONYSIACS OF NONNUS 



The two next books are chiefly occupied with an Episodical war 

 between Bacchus and Lycurgus, worshipped as a deity by the Arabs. 

 On the submission of the latter, the story of the Indian war is resumed in 

 the twenty-first book. 



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In reply to the ambassador of Bacchus, Deriades declares that he 

 does not offer worship to Jove or Saturn, or the celestial Gods, or the Sun 

 or Planets, and that the Earth and Water are his only Deities. 



This is not quite, perhaps, an exact representation of ancient Hindu 

 notions ; but we find the elements appealed to in preference to the chief 

 persons of the Pantheon in poems of an early date. Thus in the Uttara 

 Rama Cheritra, the Ganges is declared to be the peculiarly tutelary divi- 

 nity of the house of Raghu — and Rama, on deserting his wife, invokes the 

 Earth to protect her. The formulae of the Vedas are constantly addressed 

 to the elements, and especially to Fire. 



The Indians awaited the approach of Bacchus on both banks of the 

 Hydaspes. Thureis commanded on the west, and Deriades on the east 

 bank: the river was also guarded by a fleet of boats. Thureis is des- 

 cribed as being alarmed, and blaming the conduct of Morrheus and the 

 foolish Deriades : he however attacks the enemy, but is defeated and 

 driven across the river, in which numbers of the Indians are drowned. 



Mor-rheus is possibly, as conjectured by Wilford, (R. A. ix. 72,) a 

 corruption of Maharaja, or Ma-raj — Moireis, according to Hesychius, 

 being the Indian term for king, and Mai implying great. 



In the twenty-third and twenty-fourth books, the followers of Bacchus 

 cross the Hydaspes by various means, amongst which is that of inflated 



