Page:Alexander and Dindimus (Skeat 1878).djvu/25

 deadly fire. He next comes to the Ganges, a river impassable except in July and August. He sees men on the other side of the river, and sends a message by boat to their king, who is called Dindimus. The rest of the poem concerns the five letters which pass betweeen him and Alexander.


 * First letter; Alexander to Dindimus (p. 8–10). Tell me some of your customs; it is good to impart knowledge; for a torch whence another is lighted loses none of its own brilliance thereby.
 * Second letter; from Dindimus (p. 10–30). I comply with your request.  We live a simple life; we neither plough, fish, nor hunt.  We live frugally, and die at a fixed age.  We use no fire, avoid lusts, eat fruit, drink milk or water, speak truth, and never covet nor make war.  Our wives neither paint their faces nor use gay apparel.  We dwell in caves; we dislike mirth.  We admire the sun, stars, and sea, feed on the scent of flowers, and love the woods.  But ye are evil; ye sacrifice your children and make war.  Your gods likewise are evil; Jupiter was lecherous; ye have as many false gods as the body of man has members.  Each one presides over some member; thus Mercury is the god of the tongue, Bacchus of the throat, and so the rest.  Your idols lead you into sins, for which ye shall suffer hereafter endless torment.  Ye are like Cerberus or Hydra, and are born to sorrow.
 * Third letter; from Alexander (pp. 31–36). Why do you blame us?  Your account of yourselves is a miserable one, neither to be envied nor imitated.  Ye are as beasts, but we as men.  We intersperse hard work with well-earned pleasure.  Ye lose many joys, and dishonour the Creator.  Your deeds are but folly.
 * Fourth letter; from Dindimus. We are but pilgrims upon earth.  Your boastful deeds only make you proud.  The gold which you prize cannot satisfy thirst, and we are wiser in treading it under foot.  Ye know not how much ye err, and it is a kindness to tell you.  The man who lives as if there were no death deserves to be struck down, as was Salmoneus.
 * Fifth letter; from Alexander. Ye are so set in an island that no strangers can come to you; ye are like wretched prisoneres.  God