s a sort of military asceticism, still the idea
that the religious life consists in suppressing the passions,
which plays such a large part in Christian monasticism, can be traced
not to any Jewish or European institution but to Egypt. Although
monasticism spread quickly thence to Syria, it is admitted that the
first Christian hermits and monasteries were Egyptian and there is
some evidence for the existence there of pagan hermits.[1102] Egypt
was a most religious country, but it does not appear that asceticism,
celibacy or meditation formed part of its older religious life, and
their appearance in Hellenistic times may be due to a wave of Asiatic
influence starting originally from India.

Looking westwards from India and considering what were the
circumstances favouring the diffusion of Indian ideas, we must note
first that Hindus have not only been in all ages preoccupied by
religious questions but have also had a larger portion of the
missionary spirit than is generally supposed. It is true that in wide
tracts and long periods this spirit has been suppressed by Brahmanic
exclusiveness, but phenomena like the spread of Buddhism and the
establishment of Hinduism in Indo-China and Java speak for themselves.
The spiritual tide flowed eastwards rather than westwards; still it is
probable that its movement was felt, though on a smaller scale, in the
accessible parts of the west. By land, our record tells us mainly of
what came into India from Persia and Bactria, but something must have
gone out. By water we know that at least after about 700 B.C. there
was communication with the Persian Gulf, Arabia and probably the Red
Sea. Semitic alphabets were borrowed: in the Jatakas we hear of
merchants going to Baveru or Babylon: Solomon's commercial ventures
brought him Indian products. But the strongest testimony to the
dissemination of religious ideas is found in Asoka's celebrated edict
(probably 256 B.C.) in which he claims to have spread the Dhamma as
far as the dominions of Antiochus "and beyond that Antiochus to where
dwell the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander."
The kings mentioned are identified as the rulers of Syria, Egypt,
Macedonia, Cyrene and Epirus. Asoka compares his missionary triumphs
to the military conquests of other monarchs. It may be that the
comparison is only too just and that like them he claimed to have
extended his law to regions where his name was unknown. No record of
the arriva