1837.] 



Buddhists into Europe. 



231 



had come amongst them from a far country, what is more natural than 

 that the Roman took it for granted that the Germans alluded to Odys- 

 seus, changing this name i&to Odin, which is certainly not so great a 

 corruption of the Greek word, as the word Ulysses. The meaning of 

 Ascipurgium is clear from the Icelandic tradition ; burg (a fortress) in 

 German is the same as burgh or borough in English ; and puri and 



puram and 4/^) m tne Sanscrit dialects of India, and is identic 



with garth in the word, Asegarth, since garth is the same as guard in 

 English, and garde, garder in French, viz. an enclosure, a fortress, a 

 city, as well as a garden ; — and " Asburg in the county of Meurs" may 

 as well have been built by the Asiatic followers of Odin, as Asegarth 

 in Sweden, and Odensee in Denmark. But I abstain from further ety- 

 mologies. 



Thus much seems to be evident, that Tacitus mistook Odysseus for 

 Odin or Wodan. The same author says in his second chapter, " The 

 Germans, in their ancient songs, which are their only records or annals, 

 celebrate the god Tuisto (or Tuiscon), sprung from the earth, and his 

 son Mannus, as the father and founders of their race. To Mannus they 

 ascribe three sons" — whose names are supposed to have been Ingaff, 

 Islaf and Hermin. We must infer from these passages, that in Taci- 

 tus' time, Wodan had not yet attained to divine honours (at least not in 

 the western parts of Germany where Tacitus had gathered his informa- 

 tion), and that consequently the tradition of the Icelandic historians is 

 correct, that owe of the last immigrations of Asiatics into Germany took 

 place at the time of the Mithridatic war. I say, one of the last, for the 

 Huns came from the mountains of middle Asia, possibly by the very 

 same road as Odin ; and the Greek and Latin languages are evidences 

 that, long before Odin, various other tribes who spoke Sanscrit, settled 

 on the continent of Europe. 



In conclusion I cannot but advert to the judiciousness and truly phi- 

 losophical spirit, which Tacitus displayed in not rejecting at once as 

 nonsense and passing over in silence, a national tradition, although he 

 individually was not prepared to credit it. Posterity, after nearly 2,000 

 years, understand the hint thus given by him, and thank him for it. 

 And I feel persuaded that many, apparently absurd, legends scattered 

 in the Puranams or preserved in the mouth or songs of quite illiterate 

 tribes, if critically examined and cautiously compared with collateral 

 historical facts, will lead to discoveries still more curious and im- 

 portant. 



