[174] If space permitted, we might trace to their source the developments which the primeval goddess of fecundity underwent. To the ideas embodied in her may be referred nearly all the feminine deities of antiquity. [175] Faber, _op. cit._, vol. ii., p. 246. [176] Kenrick’s “Phœnicia,” p. 307. [177] See Faber, _op. cit._; also Note at the end of this chapter. [178] On this question, see the “Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London,” vol. ii., p. 265; also “Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus,” in the “Asiatic Researches,” vol. xvii. (1832), p. 216, _et seq._ [179] This question is fully considered by Dr. Muir in his Sanscrit Texts, part iv., p. 54, _et seq._ [180] Ditto, pp. 161, 343. [181] “Rural Bengal,” p. 187, _et seq._, 152. This association of the mountain and the river is found also in the Persian Khordah-Avesta. See (5) Abun-yasht, v. 1-3. [182] See “Tree and Serpent Worship,” p. 70; also Sherring’s “Benares,” pp. 75-89. Here the serpent is evidently symbolical of _life_. In the Mahabharata, Mahadeva is described as having “a girdle of serpents, ear-rings of serpents, a sacrificial cord of serpents, and an outer garment of serpent’s skin.” Dr. Muir, _op. cit._, part iv., p. 160. [183] _Op. cit._, p. 70. [184] Ditto, p. 62. [185] Mr. Sellon, in the “Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London,” vol. ii., p. 273. [186] It should not be forgotten that the Vedic religion was not that of all the Aryan tribes of India (see Muir, _op. cit._, part ii., pp. 377, 368, 383), and it is by no means improbable that some of them retained a more primitive faith—“Buddhism” or “Rudraism”—_i.e._, _Siva-ism_. [187] _Op. cit._, p. 62. To come to a proper conclusion on this important point, it is necessary to consider the real position occupied by Gautama in relation to Brahmanism. Burnoux says that he differed from his adversaries only in the definition he gives of salvation (_du salut_). “Introduction à l’Histoire du Buddhisme Indien,” p. 155. [188] Fergusson, _op. cit._, pp. 67, 222, 223. [189] See Guigniaut, _op. cit._, vol. i., pp. 293, 160 _n._ [190] Schlagenweit, “Buddhism in Tibet,” p. 120. [191] Higgins’ “Anacalypsis,” vol. i., p. 332, _et seq._ See also p. 342, _et seq._ [192] _Op. cit._, vol. i., p. 1, _et seq._, 25. [193] Dr. Hunter points out a connection between Siva-ism and Buddhism. _Op. cit._, p. 194. [194] Mr. Fergusson, _op. cit._, p. 70. The serpent is connected with Vishnuism as a symbol of _wisdom_ rather than of life. [195] _Op. cit._, p. 71. [196] Hence Siva, as _Sambhu_, is the patron deity of the Brahman order, and the most intellectual Hindus of the present day are to be found among his followers. See Wilson, _op. cit._, p. 171. Sherring’s “Sacred City of the Hindus,” p. 146, _et seq._