(    378   )
 

CHAPTEE  XLIII,

A DESCEIPTION OF THE FOUE YUGAS, AND OF ALL THAT
IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE AT THE END OF THE
FOUETH   YUGA,

The ancient Greeks held regarding the earth various
opinions, of which we shall relate one for the sake of
an example.
On natural       The disastors which from time to time befal the earth,

cataclysms.

both from above and from below, differ in quality and
Page 190. quantity. Frequently it has experienced one so in¬
commensurable in quality or in quantity, or in both
together, that there was no remedy against it, and that
no flight or caution was of any avail. The catastrophe
comes on like a deluge or an earthquake, bringing
destruction either by the breaking in of the surface,
or by drowning with water which breaks forth, or by
burning with hot stones and ashes that are thrown
out, by thunderstorms, by landslips, and typhoons ; fur¬
ther, by contagious and other diseases, by pestilence,
and more of the like. Thereby a large region is stripped
of its inhabitants; but when after a while, after the
disaster and its consequences have passed away, the
country begins to recover and to show new signs of life,
then different people flock there together like wild
animals, who formerly were dwelling in hiding-holes
and on the tops of the mountains. They become
civilised by assisting each other against common foes,
wild beasts or men, and furthering each other in the
hope for a life in safety and joy.    Thus they increase