Chapter XX: (pp. 264-284)

Although the Persian historians maintain silence, the evidence of other authorities in support of this episode is not wanting. For instance, when referring to Buddha, Oriental writers agree that he was born in _Maghada_; also that he was the son of _Suad-de-dana_--_Suad_ being convertible with _Tuath_, and both resolvable into _Budh_. Without professing to map out the exact route by which the _Tuath-de-danaans_ made their way to Ireland, the author maintains that the fact of their having occupied that country for a considerable time is incontrovertible. As for their rivals, the _Pish-de-danaans_, it has already been stated that they, in their turn, had to leave Persia when _Kaimours_ was called to the throne; and the presumption is that they were identical with those _Uksi_, or Shepherd Kings, who overran Egypt, and to whom the erection of pyramids emblematical of the female nature is ascribed. Their distinctive views may, it is pointed out, have prevailed among them from the time when they formed a portion of the Noachidæ; for the “Ark” was typical of the dominant idea in their belief, and the same idea was typified under another form in the pyramids. A variant symbol of this idea is the _crescent_ (or _lunar boat_), of which certain Irish ornaments are representative. It is further possible that the _Pish-de-danaan_ tradition of the deluge may have been communicated to Moses during his stay in Egypt, and that the narrative is more figurative than historical.