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THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. By WALTER BAGEHOT. Eighth Thousand. VOL. IV. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. By WALTER BAGEHOT. The following Books will, among others, be also included in this Library : THE MARTYRDOM OF MAN. By WINWOOD READE. THEORY OF LEGISLATION. By JEREMY BENTHAM. Trans- lated from the French of ETIENNE DUMONT by R. HILDRETH. LONDON : PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD. OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGION TO THE SPREAD OF THE UNIVERSAL RELIGIONS. BY C. P. TIELE, CU. THEOL., PROFESSOR OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIDF.N &tanslatt& from tfjc utrfj BY J. ESTLIN CARPENTER, M.A. SIXTH EDITION. LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L TI > PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD. 1896. The riyhts of translation and of reproduction fire reserved. TO P. H. W. WITHOUT WHOSE AID &fu's ^Translation COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. WHAT I give in this little book are outlines, pencil- sketches, I might say, nothing more. In the present state of our knowledge about the ancient religions, this only can be reasonably expected from the students of this branch of science, this only can be attempted with some hope of success. The time for writing an elaborate His- tory of Keligion, even of Eeligions, has not yet come. Not a few special investigations must be instituted, not a few difficult questions elucidated, before anything like this can be done. But it is useful, even necessary, from time to time to sum up the amount of certain knowledge, gathered by the researches of several years, and to sketch, be it here and there with an uncertain hand, the draught of what may at some time become a living picture. This is what I propose to do. The interest of what is called by the unhappy name of Science of Eeligions, let us say of Hiero- logy, is increasing every day. Now, I think there is great danger that so young a science may lose itself in abstract speculations, based on a few facts and a great many dubi- ous or erroneous statements, or not based on any facts at all For the philosopher who wishes to avoid this danger, for the theologian who desires to compare Mosaism and Christianity with the other religions of the world, for the specialist who devotes all his labours and all his time to one single department of this vast science, for him who studies the history of civilisation none of whom have leisure to go to the sources themselves, even for him who intends to do so, but to whom the way is as yet unknown, a general survey of the whole subject is needed, to serve as a kind of guide or travelling-book on their journey through the immense fairyland of human faith and hope. My book is an attempt to supply what they want. In a sh'ort paragraph-style I have written down my conclusions, derived partly from the sources themselves, partly (for no man can be at home everywhere) from the study of what seemed to me the best authorities : and I have added some explanatory remarks and bibliographical notices on the literature of the subject very short where such notices could easily be found elsewhere, more extensive and as complete as possible where nothing of the kind, so far as I knew, yet existed. I am the more anxious to state this character of my work as one of my critics (my friend and colleague Dr. H. Oort, in his interesting notice of my work in the Dutch Review de Tydspiegel) seems to have wholly forgotten it PREFACE. ix He sets up an ideal of a History of Eeligion, and then tries my simple and modest outlines by that elevated standard. Of course they are not able to fulfil such great expectations, and they were not intended to do so. I know that even this slight sketch is incomplete, and it is so on purpose. I have limited myself to the ancient religions, those which embrace a tribe, a people, or a race, or have grown into separate sects, and I have left out the history of the universal religions, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Only the origin of these religions is men- tioned, as they form a part of the history of the religions out of which they sprang, and which culminate in them. A thorough study of this more modern religious history would have occupied me for several years, and would have deferred the publication of my little book for a long time. So I have narrated the History of Religion " till the spread of the universal religions," of Buddhism in Eastern, Islam in Western Asia, and of Christianity in the Eoman Empire. As Buddhism only reigned supreme in Hindostan and Dekhan now and then for a while, and was finally driven out from both parts of the Indian peninsula, with the sole exception of Ceylon, I could not break off the history of Brahmanism at the foundation of the great rival church, but had to relate what became of it in the centuries after that event. I confess that this part of my sketch leaves much to be desired, the sources being still very defective, and the conclusions of Lassen, whom I have followed in the main, being still very uncertain. Perhaps I may find x PREFACE. occasion some time to give a better and more trustworthy account of this period. Not only the universal religions, but even some ancient religions are passed over altogether. I have not said a word on the old Keltic and the national Japanese reli- gions. This, too, is an intentional omission. What is commonly regarded as the history of those two religions seems to me so very dubious and vague that I preferred to leave them out entirely rather than to be led astray myself, or to propagate mere conjectures, which might prove errors after all. But though mere outlines, my history is one of reli- gion, not of religions. The difference between the two methods is explained in the Introduction. It is the same history, but considered from a different point of view. The first lies hidden in the last, but its object is to show how that one great psychological phenomenon which we call religion has developed and manifested itself in such various shapes among the different races and peoples of the world. By it we see that all religions, even those of highly civilised nations, have grown up from the same simple germs, and by it, again, we learn the causes why these germs have in some cases attained such a rich and admirable development, and in others scarcely grew at all. Still I did not think it safe to found my history on an a priori philosophical basis. Dr. Oort is of opinion that I ought to have started from a philosophical definition of re- ligion. In this I do not agree with him. Such a definition, quite different from that which I ffive in my first para- PREFACE. xi graph, ought not to be the point of issue, but must be one of the results of a history of religion. It forms one of the principal elements of a philosophy of religion ; in a history it would be out of place. Lastly, I may add a few words on this English edition. It is thoroughly revised and corrected. Some of these corrections I owe to my friend and colleague Dr. H. Kern, who knows all, or nearly all, about ancient India, and who has made such a profound study of German mythology (see his kind notice of my work in the Dutch Eeview de Gids). My own continued study of the religions of Western Asia and Northern Africa has led to other correc- tions and additions. C. P. TIELE. LKIDEN, September 1877. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION . 1. Object of the History of Religion 2. Fundamental Hypothesis of Development 3. Order of the abstract Development of the Religious Idea 4. Genealogical connection and Historic Relations of Religions. ..... 5. Divisions of this History . 6. Religion a universal Phenomenon . CHAPTER I. RELIGION UNDER THE CONTROL OF ANIMISM . I. Animism, in its Influence on Religion in General 7. Religion of Savages the Remains of Earlier Religion 8. Animism ...... 9. Characteristics of Religions controlled by Animism 10. Place of Morality and Doctrine of Immortality II. Peculiar Developments of Animistic Religion among different Races ..... 11. Causes of Different Forms of Development 7 8 9 10 ii 12 xiv CONTENTS. 7AGS 12. Influence of National Character . . .16 1 3. And of Locality and Occupation . . .17 14. Effects of the Mingling of Nations . . .17 15. Original Keligions of America . . .18 1 6. The Peruvians and Mexicans . . 20 17. The Finns ...... 23 CHAPTER II. RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE . . . -25 1 8. Religion of the Old Chinese Empire '. . 27 19. Doctrine of Continued Existence after Death . 28 20. Absence of a Priestly Caste . . .29 21. Reforms of Kong-fu-tse . . . ,30 22. His Religious Doctrine . . . 31 23. Religious Literature . . . 32 24. Meng~tse ...... 33 25. The Tao-sse . . . 35 26. Lao-tse ...... 36 27. Later Writings of the Tao-sae . 37 28. The Chinese and Egyptian Religione 33 CHAPTER III. RELIGION AMONG THE HAMITES AND SEMITBS . . 39 I. Religion among the Egyptians . . . .39 29. Sources of our Knowledge . 44 30. Ancient Animistic Usages . . . .45 31-. Polytheistic and Monotheistic Tendencies . . 46 32. Triumph of Light over Darkness . . .47 33. Doctrine of Creation ... 49 34. Religion under the First Six Dynasties . . 50 CONTENTS. xv BAM 35. Under the Middle Empire . . . .52 36. Conception of Amun-Ra . . . .54 37. Modifications under Influence of Greece . . 55 38. African, Aryan, and Mesopotamian Elements . 57 II. Religion among the Semites . . , .60 a. The Two Streams of Development . . 60 39. Southern and Northern Semites . . .61 40. Primitive Arabian Religion . . .63 41. Contact of Northern Semites with the Akkadians 65 42. Religion of the Akkadians . . . .67 fe. Religion among the Babylonians and Assyrians . 69 43. Relation of Babylonians and Assyrians . .71 44. Their Religion ..... 73 45. Akkadian Origin of Astrology and Magic . . 75 46. Different Developments of Religion . . 76 47. The Mesopotamian Semites reach a higher Stage . 78 48. The Sabeans . . . . .79 c. Religion among the West Semites . . .79 49. Its Mesopotamian Origin . . . .81 50. Sources of Cosmogony and Myths . . .83 51. Special Character of Phenician Religion . . 84 52. The Religion of Israel . . . .84 53. Growth of Yahvism . . . .86 54. Adoption of Native Elements . . 87 55. The Prophets ..... 88 56- National Character of their Monotheism . . 88 57. Influence of Persia, Greece, and Rome . . 90 d. Islam ..... .91 58. Religion in Arabia before Mohammed . . 92 59. His early Career . . . . .94 xvi CONTENTS. PAQR 60. His Conquests and Death . . - -95 61. The Five Pillars of Isla^m the Unity of God . 97 62. Gloomy Conceptions of the World . 99 63. The Divine Mission of Mohammed . 100 64. Theocratic Character of Isla"mism . 101 65. Its Position among other Religions . . 102 CHAPTER IV. RELIGION AMONG THE INDO-GERMANS, EXCLUDING THE GREEKS AND ROMANS . . . . . .105 I. The Ancient Indo-German Religion and the Aryan Re- ligion proper . . . . . .105 66. Religion of the Ancient Indo-Germans . .106 67. Formation of Separate Nations . . 108 68. The Aryan Religion . .109 II. Religion among the Hindus . . .no a. The Vedic Religion . . - tn 69. The Religion of the Rig veda . . .112 70. Indra and Agni . . . . .113 71. Different Forms of the Sun-God , . 114 72. Rise of the Br&hmans . . . 1 1 5 73. Ethical Character of the Vedic Religion . - 116 6. Pre-Budhhistic Brahmanism . . . 117 74. Stages in the History of Br&hmanism , . 117 75. The Four Castes .... 119 76. Increasing Influence of the Braiimang . .120 77. Religious Literature . . . .122 78. Need of a Supreme God . . . .124 79. Sacrifices . . . . .126 CONTENTS. xvii PAGE 80. Moral Ideal of the Bra"hman8 . . .127 81. Their Social Ideal . . . . .129 c. The Conflict of Brahmanism with Buddhism . .130 82. Origin of Buddhism . . . .131 83. Historical Foundation of the Legend of the Buddha 134 84. Relation of Buddhism to Br&hmanism . 1 35 85. Spread of Buddhism . . . .137 86. Its Decline ... 139 87. The Jainas ... .140 d. The Changes in Brdhmanism under the Influence of its Conflict with Buddhism . . . .142 88. Necessity of Modifications in Br&hmanism . 143 89. Rise of Vishnu Worship . . 143 90. Doctrine of the Avatftras . .145 91. Krishna Worship . . . . .147 92. Vishnu as Rudra and Siva . . . 149 93. Ganesa, Hari-harau, and the Trimurti . .152 94. The Puranas and the Two Great Epics . . 153 95. Doctrine of the Authority of the Veda . .154 96. The Six Philosophical Systems . .155 97. The Vaishnava and Saiva Sects . .157 98. The S&kta Sects . . . . .158 II. Religion among the Eranian Nations Jtfazdeim. . 160 99. The Religion of Zarathustra . . .163 100. The Zend-Avesta and the Bundehesh . . 165 101. Doctrine of Ahura Mazd&o . . .166 1 02. The Amesha Spenta .... 168 103. Mithra and Anahita . .170 104. The Yazatas . . . . 171 105. The Fravashis . . . . .172 xviii CONTENTS. PAGE 1 06. Dualism of Parsism . . .173 107. Its Influence on Worship and Life . . 175 108. Its Eschatology . . 176 109. Foreign Elements in later Zarathustrianism . 177 IV. Religion among the Wends or Letto-Slavs . 179 no. Position among the Indo- Germanic Religions . 179 in. Doctrine of the Soul . . . .181 1 12. Doctrine of Spirits among the Old Russians . 182 113. Deities worshipped by Letts and Slavs . .184 114. Relation between Man and the Higher Powers . 186 Y. Religion among the Germans . . .188 115. Superiority over that of the Wends . .188 116. Its Cycle of Gods ..... 190 117. Odhinn, Thdrr, and Loki .... 192 1 18. Ethical Character of Germanic Religion . .194 119. The Drama of the World . . . 195 120. Doctrine of the Soul, and Coitus . . ,198 CHAPTER V. RELIGION AMONG THE INDO-GERMANS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEMITES AND HAMITES . . . .201 I. Religion among the Greeks . . ,201 121. The Religion of the Pelasgi . . . 202 122. Causes of Development of Greek Religion . 205 123. National and Foreign Elements . . . 207 124. Poetic Treatment of Nature-Myths , . 210 125. Civilisation of Asia Minor and Crete . . 212 126^ The Homeric Theology . . . .213 127. Approach to Monotheism . . . .214 128. Growing Connection of Morality and Religion . 215 CONTENTS. PAGE 129. Influence of Delphi . . .216 130. Position of the Delphic Priests . . . 219 131. Decline of their Power . . . .221 132. Cultus of Dionysos and Athena . . . 222 133. Effect of Poetry and Sculpture . . . 224 134. Sokrates and the Decline of Hellenic Religion . 225 II. Religion among the Romans 135. Personification of Abstract Ideas . 136. Continued Development of this Character 137. Transition from Polydsemonism to Polyth 138. Fusion of Different Elements 139. Importance of the Cultus . 140. Jupiter Optimus Maximus 141. Introduction of Foreign Deities , 142. Decline of the State Religion 143. The Deification of the Emperors . 144. Rise of Christianity INTRODUCTION. Literature. Of the older works on the general history of religion, the following may still be named : MEINERS, Allgemeine kritische Geschichte der Religionen, 2 vols., Hanover, 1806-7 (neither general nor critical): BENJ. CONSTANT, De la Religion consider^ dans sa source, ses formes et ses developpements, 5 vols., Paris, 1824-31. The doctrines of ancient religion are treated by F. CREUZER, Symbolik und Mythologie der alien Folker, 4 vols., with Atlas, Leipzig and Darmstadt, 1819-21, and F. C. BAUR, Symbolik und Mythologie, od. die Naturrel. des Alterthums, 2 vols., 3 parts, Stuttgart, 1824-25. (Both works are now antiquated. Their speculations are for the most part founded on very imperfect or incorrect data.) L. NOACK, Mythol. und Offenbarung. Die Religion in ihrem Wesen, ihrer geschichtl. Entwickel., &c., 2 vols., Darm- stadt, 1845, more systematic than historic. A. VON COLLN, Lehrb. der vorchristl. Religionsgeschichte, Lemgo & Detmold, 1853, still useful in some parts. J. H. SCHOLTEN, Geschiedenis der Godsd. en Wijsbegeerte, Leiden, 1863. 0. PFLEIDERER, Die Religion, ihr Wesen und Hire Geschichte, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1869. Comp. also F. MAX MULLER, Chips from a German Workshop, vols. i. and ii, London, 1867. 1. The history of religion is not content with describing special religions (liierogmphy), or with relating their vicis- A 2 HISTORY OF RELIGION. situdes and metamorphoses (the history of religions) ; its aim is to show how religion, considered generally as the relation between man and the superhuman powers in which he believes, has developed in the course of ages among different nations and races, and, through these, in humanity at large. The definition of religion as the relation between man and the superhuman powers in which he believes is by no means philosophical, and leaves unanswered the ques- tion of the essence of religion. The powers are designedly not described as supersensual, as visible deities would thus be excluded. They are superhuman, not always in reality, but in the estimation of their worshippers. 2. The hypothesis of development, from which the his- tory of religion sets out, does not determine whether all religions were derived from one single prehistoric religion, or whether different families of religions sprang from as many separate forms, related in ideas, but independent in origin a process which is not improbable. But its fundamental principle is that all changes and transforma- tions in religions, whether they appear from a subjective point of view to indicate decay or progress, are the results of natural growth, and find in it their best explanation. The history of religion unfolds the method in which this development is determined by the character of nations and races, as well as by the influence of the circumstances surrounding them, and of special individuals, and it exhibits the established laws by which this development is controlled. Thus conceived, it is really history, and not a morphologic arrangement of religions, based on an arbitrary standard. INTRODUCTION. 3 Compare J. I. DOEDES, De Toepassing van de Out- iuikkelingstheorie niet aantebevelen voor de Geschiedenis der Godsdiensten, Utrecht, 1874. On the opposite side, 0. P. TIELE, " De Ontwikkelingsgeschiedenis van den Gods- dienst en de hypotheze waarvan zij uitgaat," Gids, 1874, No. 6. In reply, J. I. DOEDES, " Over de Ontwikkelings- hypotheze in verband met de Geschiedenis der Godsdien- sten;" Stemmenvoor Waarheiden Vrede, 1874. Further, 0. PFLEIDERER, "ZurFrage nach Anfang und Entwickelung der Eeligion," Jahrbiicher fur Protest. Theologie, 1875, Heft i. In reply, C. P. TIELE, " Over den Aanvang en de Ontwikkeling van den Godsdienst. Een verweer- schrift," Theol. Tijdschrift, 1875, P- I 7j S 9S.> On the laws which control the development of religion, see C. P. TIELE, " Over de Wetten der Ontwikkeling van den Godsdienst," Theol. Tijdschrift, 1874, p. 225, sqq. 3. It is on various grounds probable that the earliest religion, which has left but faint traces behind it, was followed by a period in which Animism generally pre- vailed. This stage, which is still represented by the so- called Nature-religions, or rather by the polydsernonistic magic tribal religions, early developed among civilised nations into polytheistic national religions resting upon a traditional doctrine. Not until a later period did poly- theism give place here and there to nomistic religions, or religious communities founded on a law or holy scripture, and subduing polytheism more or less com- pletely beneath pantheism or monotheism. These last, again, contain the roots of the universal or world- religions, which start from principles and maxims. Were we to confine ourselves to a sketch of the abstract development of the religious idea in humanity, we should have to follow this order. 4 HISTORY OF RELIGION. The polytheistic religions include most of the Indo Germanic and Semitic religions, the Egyptian, and some others. The nomistic religions comprise Confucianism, Taoism, the Mosaism of the eighth century B.C., and the Judaism which sprang from it, Brahmanism, and Mazdeism. The universal religions are Buddhism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism. The pre-Islamic religion of the Arabs was certainly not a nomistic religion, but without Judaism, to say nothing of Chris- tianity, Islam would never have been founded. 4. But in actually describing the general history of religion, we are compelled to take into account, also, the genealogical connection and historical relation of religions, which gave rise to different streams of development, in- dependent of each other, whose courses in many instances afterwards met and joined. It is inexpedient, for the sake of a systematic arrangement, to divide these historic groups. By genealogical connection we mean the filiation of religions, one of which has obviously proceeded from the other, or both together from a third, whether this be known to us historically or must be referred to prehistoric times. Thus the Yedic and old Erftnian religions sprang from the Aryan, Confucianism and Taoism from the ancient Chinese religion, Buddhism from Brahmanism, &c. In the course of history, moreover, religions which are not allied by descent come into contact with each other, and if their mutual influence leads to the adoption by one of them of customs, ideas, and deities belonging to the other, they are said to be historically related. This is the case, for example, with the north Semitic religions in reference to the Akkadian, with the Greek in reference to the north Semitic, and with the Roman in reference to the Greek. INTRODUCTION. 5 5. For these reasons we divide our history in the fol- lowing manner : (i.) From the polydsemonistic magic tribal religions of the present day we shall endeavour to become ac- quainted with Animism, this being the form of religion which must have preceded the religions known to us by history, and served as their foundation. The example of the more civilised American nations (Mexicans and Peru- vians) and of the Finns will show us what an advanced development may be attained under favourable circum- stances by an animistic religion, even where it is left to itself. This forms the transition to the proper history of religion, which will be treated in the ensuing order : (2.) Eeligion among the Chinese : (3.) Among the Egyptians, the Semites proper, and the northern Semites or Mesopotamians, in connection with whom the Akkadian religion, which dominates all the north Semitic religions, will be discussed : (4.) Among the Indo-Germans who came little, or not at all, into contact with the Semites, the Aryans, Hindus, Eranians, Letto-Slavs, and Germans : (5.) Among the Indo-Germans in whose religion the national elements were supplemented and blended with others of north Semitic or Hamitic origin, viz., the Greeks and Eomans. The history of the internal development of the univer- sal religions and their mutual comparison lie beyond our plan ; they require separate study, and are too vast to be included here. The third division, however, will trace the development of Islam out of the Semitic religion ; the fourth, that of Buddhism from Brahmanism ; and the 6 HISTORY OF RELIGION. fifth will indicate how European Christianity arose out of the fusion of Semitic and Indo-Germanic religions. A description of the so-called nature-religions, which belongs to ethnology, is excluded from our design for obvious reasons. They have no history ; and in the historic chain they only serve to enable us to form an idea of the ancient prehistoric animistic religions of which they are the remains, or, it may be said, the ruins. It must suffice, therefore, to recount here a few of their chief features. Of the Japanese no men- tion is made, because the history of the present form of their religion belongs to that of Buddhism, and the investigation of the old national religion (designated by a Chinese name, Shinto, the way or doctrine of spirits, and perhaps itself derived from China) has not yet led to any sufficiently satisfactory results. The latter remark also holds good of the religion of the Kelts, which we have also left out of consideration for the same reason. 6. The question whether religion is as old as the human race, or whether it is the growth of a later stage, is as little open to solution by historical research as that of its origin and essence ; it can only be answered by psychology, and is a purely philosophical inquiry. The statement that there are nations or tribes which possess no religion, rests either on inaccurate observation, or on a confusion of ideas. No tribe or nation has yet been met with destitute of belief in any higher beings ; and travellers who asserted their existence have been afterwards refuted by the facts. It is legitimate, there- fore, to call religion in its most general sense a universal phenomenon of humanity. ( 7 ) CHAPTER I. RELIGION UNDER THE CONTROL OF ANIMISM. I. ANIMISM IN ITS INFLUENCE ON RELIGION IN GENERAL. Literature. TYLOR, Primitive Culture, 2 vols., London, 1871, and Researches into the Early History of Mankind, London, 1865 ; Sir JOHN LUBBOCK, Origin of Civilisation, London, 1874; FRITZ SCHULTZE, Der Fetischismus, ein Beitrag zur Anthropologie und Religionsgeschichte ; THEOD. WAITZ, Anthropologie der Naturvolker, vol. i., " Ueber die Einheit des Menschengeschlecbtes und den Naturzustand des Menschen," Leipzig, 2d ed., 1877; OSCAR PESCHEL, The Races of Man, translated from the German, London, 1876, a book of the highest importance, and written in attractive style. Much useful material may be found in CASPARI, Die Urgeschichte der Menschheit mil Rucksicht auf die naturliche Entwickelung des fruhesten Geisteslebens, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1873, 2d ed. ibid., 1877, and in (RABENHAUSEN) Isis. Der Mensch und die Welt, 4 vols., Hamburg, 1863. The notions of GEORG GERLAND, in his " Betrachtungen liber die Entwickelungs- und Urgeschichte der Menschheit," in Anthropologische Beitrage, i., Halle, 1875, are altogether peculiar, often hypothetical, but not always to be re- jected. ADOLF BASTIAN, of whose numerous works we only name under this head Der Mensch in der Geschichte, 3 vols., Leipzig, 1860, and Beitrage zur vergleichenden S ANIMISTIC RELIGION Psychologie (" Die Seele und ihre Erscheinungsweisen in der Ethnographic"), Berlin, 1868, and whose ideas deserve consideration, heaps up an ill-arranged mass of examples, from all periods and nations, and nowhere names a single authority, which almost prevents his writings from being used. To this, however, his Besuch an San Salvador makes a favourable exception. Compare further M. CARRIERE, Die Anfange der Cultur und das Oriental. Alterthum, 2d ed., 1872 ; L. F. A. MAURY, La Magie et I'Astrologie dans VAntiquite et au Moyen Age, Paris. 1860, and C. P. TIELE, De Plaats van de Godsdiensten der Natuurvolken in de Godsdienstgeschiedenis, Amsterdam, 1873. 7. The belief that the religions of savages, known to us from the past or still existing, are the remains of the religion which prevailed among mankind before the earliest civilisation flourished, and are thus best fitted to give us an idea of it, rests on the following grounds : (i.) The most recent investigations indicate that the general civilisation had then reached no higher stage than that of the present savages, nay, it had not even advanced so far ; and in such a civilisation no purer religious beliefs, ideas, and usages are possible, than those which we find among existing communities. (2.) The civilised religions whose history ascends to the remotest ages, such as the Egyptian, the Akkadian, the Chinese, still show more clearly than later religions the influence of animistic conceptions. (3.) Almost the whole of the mythology and theology of civilised nations may be traced, without arrangement or co-ordination, and in forms that are undeveloped and original rather than degenerate, in the traditions and ideas of savages. ITS ANTIQUITY. 9 (4.) Lastly, the numerous traces of animistic spirit- worship in higher religions are best explained as the survival and revival of older elements. We must not, however, forget that the present polydsemonistic religions only imperfectly reproduce those of prehistoric times; ^ since even they have not stood still, but have to some extent outgrown their earlier form, which has conse- quently not been preserved unimpaired. 8. Animism if* not itself a religion, but a sort of primitive philosophy, which not only controls religion, : but rules the whole life of the natural man. It is the belief in the existence of souls or spirits, of which only the powerful those on which man feels himself depen- dent, and before which he stands in awe acquire the rank of divine beings, and become objects of worship. These spirits are conceived as moving freely through earth and air, and, either of their own accord, or because con- jured by some spell, and thus under compulsion, appearing to men (Spiritism). But they may also take up their abode, either temporarily or permanently, in some object, whether living or lifeless it matters not ; and this object, as endowed with higher power, is then worshipped, or em- ployed to protect individuals and communities (Fetishism). Spiritism, essentially the same as what is now called Spiritualism, must be carefully distinguished from Fetishism, but can only rarely be separated from it. It is difficult to determine which of the two appears first : in history they are equally old. Fetishism comes from feitiqo, agreeing not with fatum, chose fde (De Brosses), but with factitius, " endowed with magic power," from which come the Old French faitis, and the Old English io ANIMISTIC RELIGION. i.e., well-made, neat (Tylor). Both are only different aspects of the same thing, and to express their unity I have chosen the word Animism, which is elsewhere generally employed to indicate what I call Spiritism. The derivation of the two last terms is sufficiently plain. 9 The religions controlled by Animism are character- ised, first of all, by a varied, confused, and indeterminate doctrine, an unorganised polydaemonism, which does not, however, exclude the belief in a supreme spirit, though in practice this commonly bears but little fruit ; and in the next place, by magic, which but rarely rises to real worship. Yet, or rather precisely from this cause, the power possessed by the magicians and fetish priests is by no means small, and in some cases they are even organised into hierarchies. Moreover, among races the most widely separated, the Negroes, Polynesians, and Americans, there exist certain secret associations, types of the later mysteries and sacred orders, which exercise a most formidable influence. Magic may be said to prevail where it is the aim of a cultus not to worship the spirits, although homage may also be offered to appease them, but to acquire power over them by spells, and thus cripple their dreaded influence. As higher conceptions are formed of the divine beings, these enchantments give way to efforts to propitiate them, or to calm their wrath. Among the Brahmanic Hindus, however, the old conception may still be traced in the well-known doctrine that it is possible for man by violent and continuous penances to force the devas into obedience to his will, and to strip them of their supremacy. The tapas (literally, " fire," " heat," and thence the glow of self-renunciation and self- ITS CONNEXION WITH MAGIC. u chastisement) has here taken the place of magic, with which it was at first confounded. It is a striking example of the way in which a very primitive conception has survived in an otherwise highly-developed religion. Secret associations both of men and women exist in great numbers among the Negroes. Among the North American Indians the three secret societies Jossa- kied, Meda, and Wabeno, seem, like the Greek mys- teries, to transmit a certain doctrine of immortality ; their members, at any rate, are regarded as born again. See WAITZ, Anthropologie der Naturvolker, iii. p. 215, sqq. The Areoi of Tahiti are of a peculiar constitution a body of distinguished men who preserve and propa- gate the old traditions ; they are regarded already as j gods upon earth, and are supposed to be elevated above all the laws of morality. See Gerland in Waitz, op. cit., vi. pp. 363-369. 10. In the animistic religions fear is more powerful than any other feeling, such as gratitude or trust. The spirits and their worshippers are alike selfish. The evil spirits receive, as a rule, more homage than the good, the lower more than the higher, the local more than the remote, the special more than the general. The allot- ment of their rewards or punishments depends not on men's good or bad actions, but on the sacrifices and gifts which are offered to them or withheld. With morality this religion has little or no connection, and the doctrine of immortality consists almost entirely in the representa- tion that the earthly life is continued elsewhere (theory of continuance), while of the doctrine that men will receive hereafter according to their works (theory of recompense), only the first beginnings are to be traced. 12 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. II. PECULIAR DEVELOPMENTS OF ANIMISTIC RELIGION AMONG DIFFERENT RACES. Literature. General sources : TH. WAITZ, Anthro- pologie der Naturwlker, vol. i., 2d ed., Leipzig, 1877 ; vols. ii.-v. part i., Leipzig, 1860-65; vols. v. (part ii.) -vi., continued by G. Gerland, 1870-72, an indispensable work, evincing great industry and clear-sightedness. The data, including those relating to religion, are always to be trusted ; not so constantly, the theories founded on them by the writer. In this respect Waitz is far surpassed by Gerland, especially in vol. vi. FRIED. MULLER, Allgemeine Ethnographic, Vienna, 1873, very brief, but generally to be trusted in everything con- cerning religion. PESCHEL, Races of Man, London, 1876, p. 245, sqq. Separate races : The Australians. GERLAND- WAITZ, vi. pp. 706-829. GEORGE GREY, Journals of Two Expe- ditions of Discovery in North-Western and Western Australia, 2 vols., London, 1841 ; cf. TYLOR, Primitive Culture, i. p. 320, sqq. Papuans and Melanesians. GERLAND-WAITZ, vi. pp. 516-705 ; see the literature, ibid., p. xix., sqq. A. GOUDZWAARD, De Papoewa's van de Geelvinksbaai, Schie- dam, 1863. VAN BOUDIJCK BASTIAANSE, Voyages Faits dans les Moluques, a la Nouv. Guinee, &c., Paris, 1845. Malays. Malays proper, WAITZ, v. part i. ; Micro- nesians and North- West Polynesians, ibid., v. part ii. ; Polynesians, ibid., vi. pp. 1-514. Literature, ibid., v. pp. xxvi-xxxiv ; and vi. pp. xix-xxii. OBERLANDER, Die Inseln der Sudsee, Leipzig, 1871, gives a good sum- ITS DIFFERENT DE VELOPMENTS. 1 3 mary. C. SCHIRREN, Die Wander sagen der Neuswlander und der Mauimythos, Riga, 1856; and Sir GEORGE GREY (see above under Australians), Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race, London, 1855 ; both works much to be recommended. See also W. W. GILL, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, with preface by MAX MULLER, London, 1876. Negro Races and allied peoples. WAITZ, vol. n. ; literature, ibid., pp. xvii-xxiv. A. KAUFMANN, Schil- derungen aus Central Afrika, Brixen, 1862. An excellent summary will be found in ED. SCHAUENBURG, Eeisen in Central Afrika von Mungo Park bis auf Dr. Earth und Dr. Vogel, 2 vols., 1859-65 ; while Vogel's travels are described by H. WAGNER, Schilderung der Eeisen und Entdeckungen des Dr. Ed. Fogel, Leipzig, 1860. W. BOS- MAN, Nauwkeurige Eeschrijmng van de Guinese Goud- tand- en slavekust, 2d ed., 1709; very instructive and charac- teristic. J. LEIGHTON WILSON, History and Condition of Western Africa, Philadelphia, 1859, excellent. Much useful material in BRODIE CRUICKSHANK, Eighteen Years on the Gold Coast, London, 1853. Important for the knowledge of the priestly hierarchy, T. E. BowDiTCH, Mission to Ashantee, London, 1819. J. B. DOUVILLE, Voyage au Congo et dans I'Interieur de I'Afrique EguinoxiaU, 3 vols., Paris, 1832, not to be trusted in the least. The travels of Barth, Speke and Grant, and Sir Samuel Baker, contain very few notices of religion. Comp. also CAMERON, Across Africa, 2 vols., London, 1877. On the Kaffirs, Hottentots, and Bosjesmans, the first authority is the admirable work of G. FRITSCH, Die Eingeborenen Sud- Afrika' s, ethnograph. und anatom. beschrie- ben, Breslau, 1872. E. CASALIS, Les Eassoutos, Paris, 1860, attractive. American Races. WAITZ, vols. iii. and iv. ; literature, I 4 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. ibid., iii. pp. xix-xxxii ; and iv. pp. vii, viii. The much- used work of J. G. MULLER, Geschichte der Amerikanischen Urreligionen, Basel, 1855, contains abundance of material, and ideas and explanations which are sometimes very just; but the writer's abortive attempt to distinguish everywhere a northern belief in ghosts or spirits from a southern sun worship, leads him occasionally to place the facts in a false light. D. G. BRINTON, The Myths of tlie New World, New York, 1868, original, but one-sided. The works of BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG, CATLIN, and SCHOOLCRAFT (see the literature in WAITZ, to which may be added CATLIN, A Religious Ceremony of the Mandans) still deserve to be consulted. H. H. BANCROFT, The Native Maces of the Western States of America, 5 vols., London, 1873-75. For Ethnology, see further, H. E. LUDEWIG, The Literature of American Aboriginal Lan- guages, with additions by TURNER, edited by N. TRUE* NER, London, 1857. On the religion of the FINNS, see M. ALEX. CASTREX, Vorlesungen uber die Finnisclie Mythologie, aus dem Schwed. mit Anmerkk. von A. SCHIEFNER, St. Petersburg, 1853. Id., Kleinere Schriften, herausgegeben wn SCHIEFNER, St. Petersburg, 1862 (containing an essay " Ueber die Zauberkunst der Finnen," and also " Allgemeine Ueber- sicht der Gotterlehre und der Magie der Finnen wahrend des Heidenthums ";. Compare further, A. SCHIEFNER, Heldensagen der Minussinschen Tataren, rythm. bearbeitet, St. Petersburg, 1859. The most complete edition of the Kalevala is by EL. LONROTT in 1849 (under the sanc- tion of the University of Helsingfors. The second edition contains 50 Runes, as against 32 in the first edition of 1835); translated by A. SCHIEFNER, Kalewala, das National-Epos der Finnen, nach der 2ten Ausg. im Deutsche ubertr., Helsingfors, 1852. ITS DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTS. 15 11. The question of the relation in which the religions of savages stand to the great historic families of religions, has only just been opened ; and not till it has been solved with some degree of certainty, will it be possible for the separate nature-religions to take their proper places in the history of religion. At present they only serve to give some idea of the religions which preceded those of civilised nations, and their description does not belong to this place. But while animistic religion is, in its nature, and even in its ideas and usages, with slight modification everywhere the same, it is necessary to point out the special causes which have led to its development among different races in such different forms and degrees. Of these the principal are (i) the different characters of these races, (2) the nature of their home and occupations, and (3) the historic relations in which some of them stood to their neighbours. The question of the relation of the religions of savages to those of the great historic families of religions, amounts briefly to this : Are the former entirely independent, or is there reason for regarding them as the backward and imperfectly-developed members of larger groups, to which the recognised families of religion (such as the Semitic or Indo-Germanic) belong ? There is real agreement between the civilisation and religion of the Negroes, and those of the Egyptians. Similar correspondences exist between the Eed Indians and Turanians. The Polynesians and Indo- Germans, also, exhibit so many points of contact, that Bopp even endeavoured, however fruitlessly, to prove the original unity of their languages. Gerland (Anthropolog. Beitrage, i. p. 396) has lately combined all the African nations, Negroes. Ban+u tribes (Kaffirs), Hottentots, 16 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. Berbers, Gallas, &c., together with Egyptians and Semites into one great race, which he names the Arabic- African. Were this conjecture to be established, we should have to incorporate all the African religious with those of the Egyptians and Semites. Without going so far as this, E. Von Hartmann, Die Nigritier, vol. i., 1877, endeavours to prove the unity of all the African races, but he marks off the Semites from them very decidedly. His demonstration rests at present chiefly on physical grounds, but in the second volume, which has not yet appeared, he promises to establish the unity of these races in language and religion as well. But the inquiry is still in its first stage, and it must be carried to much more assured results before we may venture to make use of it in the history of religion. 12. The joyous careless disposition of the sensual Negro is reflected in his religion as clearly as the sombre melancholy character of the American Indian in his. If the latter is endowed with much more poetic feeling than the former, whose mythology is of the poorest order, and in this resembles that of the Semites, he is surpassed by the poetic genius of the Polynesian, which displays itself in his rich mythology. The great influence of national character on religion is specially apparent among peoples, which, though living in the same climate and engaged in the same occupations like the Papuans, the Melanesians, and Polynesians stand at such different stages of development : while the religion of the Americans, on the other hand, though they are spread over a whole quarter of the globe, and diverge so widely in civilisation, exhibits everywhere the same character, and is every- where accompanied by the same usages. DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTS. 17 13. The influence of the locality and the occupation of the different peoples must also be taken into account. Lowest in the scale stands the religion of the root- digging Australians, who do, indeed, engage in hunting, but show little skill in it, and that of the Bosjesmans, who live largely by plunder. The religion of the Koikoin or Hottentots, and of the Kaffirs, who are both for the most part pastoral tribes, is mild, that of some of the war-loving Negro tribes sanguinary and cruel ; while among those Negroes who are engaged chiefly in industry and commerce, without neglecting cattle-breeding and agriculture, a much more humane and civilised worship prevails, in which however the spirit of trade shows itself in a certain cunning towards the spirits. The myths of the Polynesians at once betray that they have sprung up among a people of husbandmen and fishermen, and their religious customs correspond entirely to the beneficent nature which surrounds them. 14. Even at this point of development, the mingling, or even simply the mutual intercourse of nations, brings about a transfer of religious ideas and institutions from the one to the other. The mixed race of the Melanesians may still be distinguished in many respects from the Polynesians, but they adopted the religion of.ithe latter, though in a very degraded form. The Abantu or Kaffirs, who are very near to t]ie Negroes, but are only distantly related to the Koikoin or Hottentots, borrowed from the latter various religious conceptions. That the Melanesians derived their religion from the Polynesians is c^nied by Gerland in Waitz, vi. p. 675. The statement is not strictly accurate, but the Melanesians r8 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. are a mixed race of Polynesians and Papuans, among whom the religion of the former maintained the ascendant and was independently developed. Their supreme god Ndengei is only a degenerate form of Tangaloa, the god universally worshipped by the Polynesians, though the Melanesiaris apply to him their own peculiar myths, which are unknown to the Polynesians. From these they are distinguished by their greater rudeness, and want of poetic capacity, while on the other hand they are less luxurious and unchaste. Their customs correspond much more with those of the Papuans. The religion of the Kaffirs bears a greater resem- blance in character and conceptions to that of the Hottentots than to that of the Negroes. The myth of Unkulunkulu, "the great-grandfather," the Creator, does not in fact differ from that related by the Hottentots of their chief deity, the Moon-god Heitsi-eibib. The word Utixo, moreover, the Kaffir designation of the highest god, has been adopted from the Hottentots. 15. The original religions of America exhibit religious Animism at every stage of development. In one and the same race, whose religions possess everywhere the same distinctive character, and have certain peculiar usages in common, the richest variety of religious development may be found. Among some tribes, such as the Shoshonee and Comanches in North America, the Botokuds and Oto- maks, the Pampas Indians, some of the Brazilian savages, and the Terra-del-Fuegians of South America, hardly any- thing more than the first germs of a cultus is to be traced. A higher stage has been reached by the tribes of the north-west of North America, by the Caribbees of Central America, and, among the closely-allied Hyper- boreans, by the Esquimaux. But they are far surpassed AMONG THE AMERICANS. 19 by the savages of Korth America, on the east of the Missouri, and the south of Canada. In mythology, religion, and usages, these have attained about the same point of development as the Polynesians ; their worship is directed for the most part towards spirits of a lower rank, especially towards those which they fear, yet they all acknowledge a great Spirit, Creator of everything which exists. The Natchez, a small tribe at the con- fluence of the Mississippi and Red Eiver, had even founded a theocracy, based on sun-worship, and appear to have exerted great influence by their religion on the neighbouring tribes. The character of the American with his sombre ear- nestness, his sagacity and silence, his passionateness combined with a self-mastery which expresses itself out- wardly in gravity and at least apparent indifference, and enables him to endure the most terrible torments with a smile, is reflected in his religion. This is characterised by severe self-tortures and bloody ceremonies, which do not give way -even before a higher civilisation. The myth of the hero who is worshipped as the founder of this civilisation (originally a sun-god) appears alike among savage tribes and among peoples already settled, and the national heroes everywhere resemble one another. The following usages may be regarded as universal: the use of the steam-bath for producing ecstasy, the sacred game at ball, and enchantment with a rattle. The most widely -separated peoples retain the practice of drawing blood out of certain parts of the body, which are regarded as the seat of the soul, a custom Avhich probably served as a substitute for human sacrifices, and among the Cherokees, Aztecs, Mayas, and Peruvians, baptism ac- companies the naming of children. This large agreement 20 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. renders the differences in development more remarkable, especially when it is remembered that the nearest connec- tions of the highly-civilised Aztecs in Mexico are the Shoshonee and Comanches, tribes which stand "nearer to the brutes than probably any other portion of the human race" (Report of the Comm. of Indian Affairs, 1854, p. 209). The great Spirit, who is primus inter pares, is unques- tionably of native origin. The religion of the Natchez is raised by its organisa- tion alone above that of their neighbours, but it is no- thing more than an organised Animism. The absolute sovereign was the brother of the sun and high priest, and to all fire, even to that which served for house- hold purposes, but especially to that which was always kept burning in the temple, a special sanctity was at- tached. In this case also religious progress seems to be connected with the introduction of agriculture. 16. The mingling of various races by migration and conquest, the transition from the wandering life of hunters and fishermen to the settled tasks of agriculture, and the establishment of regular states, resulted among the Muyscas or Chibchas (of New Granada) and the Mayas (of Central America, particularly Yucatan), but above all among the Peruvians and Mexicans, in a great advance, which did not leave religion behind; an ad- vance which cannot be ascribed, as some writers have endeavoured to prove, to the influence of foreign colonists. The beings whom these nations worship, are as yet no gods in the strict sense, i.e., supernatural beings, they are hardly more than spirits : they are, liowever, the representatives of the higher powers and phenomena AMONG THE AMERICANS. 21 of nature. Their usages, also, their cultus and their doctrine of immortality, are, in reality, animistic. Yet in their conception of the higher powers, and in the relation in which they imagined themselves to stand to them, it is impossible not to recognise the begin- nings of a purer and more rational view. There were even princes, both in Peru and Mexico, who ventured to introduce important reforms, a sign of great activity of thought. However imperfect their success may have been at first, they would probably have become after a time the bases of a new order of things, if the course of the independent development of these nations had not been checked by the Spanish conquest. The religions of Mexico and Peru certainly reached, if they did not pass beyond, the extreme Hmits of Animism. That the Mexican and Peruvian civilisation owed its origin to foreign colonists, has been asserted by many writers. The foolish suppositions that the Ten Tribes of Israel, or Welsh princes, or Phoenician merchants, may have wandered off to America, deserve no refuta- tion. More likelihood attaches to the conjecture that East Asiatics may have landed in Mexico. This was suggested by Humboldt. Ansichten der Natur, i. p. 214. From the Chinese work Nan-ssu, i.e., " History of the South," De Guignes, Paravey, and Neumann inferred that the Chinese were acquainted with America about 458 A.D. ; but this conclusion is disputed by Klaproth, Now- velles Annales des Voyages, 1831. All the material for the discussion of the question is given by Ch. G. Leland, Fusang ; or, The Discovery of America ly Chinese Buddhist Priests in the Fifth Century, London, 1875. The state- ments about this land Fusang, however, are for the 22 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. most part not applicable to America, while they are altogether appropriate to Japan. The proofs adduced by G. d'Eichthal, fifade sur les Origines Bouddiques de la Civilisation Ame'ricaine, i e partie, 1865, are also ex- tremely feeble. The names by which these nations designate the gods in general, teotl among the Mexicans, guacas among the Peruvians, signify nothing more than spirits. These feed on human flesh, and are drunken with blood, the human sacrifices in Mexico being counted by thousands. The mild deity of the Toltecs, Quetzalcoatl, to whom no human sacrifices were offered, forms an exception. Some expressions have been supposed to indicate the beginnings of monotheism, but they are extremely uncertain. But it is remarkable that the sun-spirit was called simply teotl, " the spirit " par excellence. It is also said that all the spirits die when he appears. The splendid ad- dresses made, according to some writers, on solemn occa- sions by official speakers, and which teach a fairly pure morality, inspire no great confidence, especially when it is reflected that the Mexican hieroglyphics are of a very indefinite kind, and give scope for arbitrary ex- planations. Attempts at reform, however, were not wanting. Various noble princes, the Toltecs in Mexico, Netzalcuatl in Tezcuco, and the Incas in Peru, attempted to set limits at all events to the grossest licentiousness, and to human sacrifices. In 1440 A.D. the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, at the consecration of a temple of the sun at Cuzco, proclaimed a new deity, Illatici-Viracocha- Pachacamac, to whom the sun-god was subordinated, and he founded a temple to him at Callao containing no images, in which no human sacrifices might be offered. A similar advance was made by Netzalcuatl, prince of Tezcuco ; he built a temple nine stories in height, which contained no AMONG THE FINNS. 23 image and might be polluted by no blood, in honour of the deity who, as cause of causes, was enthroned above the nine heavens. But neither this deity, nor that of the Inca, whose triple name is a combination of the terms for the three vital principles thunder-cloud (ie., the hidden receptacle of the thunder), sea-foam (i.e., the fire hidden in the waters), and the earth-soul, ever became national gods, and the temple of the latter soon had its images and horrible paintings. 17. Over a large extent of Asia and Europe the Aryans, and perhaps also the Semites, were preceded by Turanian peoples, and the oldest civilisation which we can trace was derived if not from them, at any rate from a race very closely connected with them, of which the Akkadians in Mesopotamia are the chief representa- tives. Most of their religions have been supplanted by Buddhism, Islam, or Christianity; but the remarkable religion of the Finns, compared with that of the kindred Siberian tribes and of the Tatars, proves how high a development they were capable of attaining. Their mythology and cultus were, it is true, completely under the influence of the belief in magic, and they are thus purely animistic. All the spirits which they worship, even the highest, are nature-beings of more or less might, but chiefly eminent for their magical power, and rarely endowed with moral qualities a sort of inde- pendent patriarchs, differing in power, not in rank. High above all the other spirits, however, stands Ukko (the old man, father, grandfather, the venerable), the Creator (luoya) and deity (yumdla) par excellence, the ancient one in heaven, mightier than the mightiest enchanter, whose 24 ANIMISTIC RELIGION. aid is invoked by all heroes and spirits. Only one step remained for the Finns to take in order to rise from polydsemonism to polytheism. Their epic poems, col- lected under the name of Kalevala, the subject of which is not a moral or national conflict, but simply the contest of the powers of nature personified, affords proof of their great poetic gifts. The ethical element is almost entirely deficient. Even in the representation of Ukko I have not succeeded in discovering it. Evil spirits and good cry to him for help, and he grants it, alike when the powers of darkness are being resisted, and when the nine spirits which plague mankind are born. He is the highest and mightiest of the spirits, but not even the lesser are dependent on him. Yumdla, which signifies, according to Castre"n, " the place of thunder," i.e., the sky (?), was originally, in his opinion, the name of a distinct god of the sky. It is, however, an appellative of the divine beings in general, used parallel with luoya, but often employed to designate the highest god, and subsequently applied to the god of the Christians. The worship of spirits (the chief of whom are called Haltia) and the doctrine of immortality are not developed any further among the Finns than among the Nature- peoples. The three great heroes of the Kalevala, Wainambinen, Ilmarinen, and Lemminkainen, are certainly ancient spirits of heaven, fire, and earth, and correspond to Odhinn, Loki, and Hunir, the German triad of gods, although the working out of their character and the description of their deeds have a character entirely their own. CHAPTEE II. RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. Literature,. General ; J. E. R. KAUFFER, Gesc/iichte von Ost - Asien, 3 vols., Leipzig, 1858-60; id., Das Chinesische Volk, Dresden, 1850. GUTZLAFF, Geschichte des Chines. Reichs, herausgegeben von K. F. Neumann, Stuttgart, 1847. A number of essays by J. H. PLATH, in the Sitzungsberichte der Baierischen Akademie, of which the following deserve to be named here : " Chronol. Grundlage der alten Chines. Geschichte," 1867, ii. i ; "Ueber die Quellen der alten Chines. Geschichte," 1870, i. i ; " China vor 4000 Jahren," 1869, i. 2, 3, ii. i ; " Ueber Schule und Unterricht bei den alten Chinesen," 1868, ii. i. G. PAUTHIER, Chine, ou Description historique, geographique, et litteraire, &c. ; id., Chine moderne, ou Description, &c., Paris, 1853. In The Origin of the Chinese, London, 1868, J. CHALMERS loses himself in very hazardous conjectures. Religion of the Old Empire. J. H. PLATH, Die Reli- gion und der Cultus der alten Chinesen, Miinchen, 1862, in two parts, (i) Die Religion; (2) Der Cultus. ED. BIOT, Le Tcheou-li, ou Rites des Tcheou, 2 vols., Paris, 1851. Confucianism. J. H. PLATH, Confucius und seiner Schuler Leben und Lehren, (i.) Histor. Eirileitung, Miinchen, 1867 ; (ii.) Leben des Confucius, i., ibid., 1870; (iii.) Die Schuler des Confucius, ibid., 1873 ; (iv.) Sdmmtliche Aus- spruche des Confucius und semen Schillern, systematisch geordnet, i., ibid., 1874. Absolutely indispensable, J, UNIVERSITY ric *' 26 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. LEGGE, The Chinese Classics, with a Translation, Critical and Exegetical Notes, Prolegomena, and copious Indexes, Hongkong and London, 1861, and following years ; in 7 vols., of which there have appeared vol. i., Life of Confucius, and the first three classical books ; vol. ii., the works of Mencius ; vol. iii., i. and ii., the Shu- king ', vol. iv., i. and ii., the Shi-king, and other poetical pieces. Vols. i. and ii. have been published without the text in a small edition, The Life and Teachings of Confucius, third ed., London, 1872, and the Life and Works of Mencius, ibid., 1875. The Liin-yu has been translated into German by W. SCHOTT, vol. i., Halle, 1829; vol. ii., Berlin, 1832. PAUTHIER. Les Limes Sacres de I' Orient, Paris, 1840, contains a trans- lation of the Shu-king and of the classical books. Other translations are enumerated in the Notices Bibliogra- phiques, Pauthier, op. cit., p. xxviii, and in the history of KaufFer named above, i. p. 83, sqq., and ii. p. 17. As samples of the profane literature of the Confuciariists we may specify, D'HERVEY DE ST. DENYS, Le Li-sao, poeme du $ me siecle avant noire ere, Paris, 1870. STANISL. JULIEN, Conies et Apologues Indiens suivis de Fables et de Poesies Chinoises, 2 vols., Paris, 1860. Taoism. Lao tseu Tao te King, Le Livre de la Voie et de la Vertu, trad. &c., par STANISL. JULIEN, Paris, 1842. Lad- tsVs Tad te King, ulersetzt u. s. w. von V. VON STRAUSS, Leipzig, 1870, follows Julien closely. Only an arbitrary paraphrase will be found in Lao-tse Tdo-te-king, tibers. und erldart von E. VON PLANCKNER, Leipzig, 1870. Le Livre des Recompenses et des Peines, trad, par A. EEMUSAT, Paris, 1816. A. PFIZMAIER, Die Lbsung der Leichname und Schiverter, ein Bcitr. zur Kenntniss des Taoglaubens, Vienna, 1870 ; id., Die Taolehre von den icahren Menschen und den UnsterUichen, ibid., 1870. W. EOTERMUND, Die Eihik IN THE OLD EMPIRE. 27 Lao-tse's mit besonderer Bezugnalime auf der Buddhistischen Moral, Gotha, 1874. 18. The religion of the old Chinese Empire, as it existed certainly from the twelfth century B.C., and pro- bably at a much earlier period, is best described as a purified and organised worship of spirits, with a pre- dominant fetishist tendency, combined into a system before it was possible for a regular mythology to de- velop out of it. The sole objects of worship are the spirits (shin), which are divided into heavenly, earthly, and human, and, as a rule, are still closely connected with the objects of nature. Heaven (Thiari), who, when conceived as a personal being, is called the supreme emperor (Shang- ti) t stands at the head, and in co-operation with the earth has produced everything. His will is fate, and he rewards and punishes. He is one ; but he has five emperors beside him, and an innumerable multitude of spirits beneath him, among which those of the sun, moon, stars, and constellations are pre-eminent. The spirit of the earth (Heu-fhu), though not sharply per- sonified, is for the most part conceived as of female nature. The spirits of the mountains, streams, &c., belong to her realm. Besides these, the spirits are with- out number. They are perceived, but are neither heard nor seen, though they reside in visible objects, and foi the most part assume the forms of animals. It may be regarded as a great advance that there is no mention of essentially evil spirits, that all spirits are exalted servants of Shang-ti, and in their intercourse with men esteem moral qualities above everything elsa. 28 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. The twelfth century B.C. is the era of the establish- ment of the Tshow dynasty, whose cultus we know from the book Tshow-li. Plath objects to the conception of the joint working of heaven and earth as a marriage, and describes the earth as a male feudal prince. But the great power which they exert is called " generation " (seng), and in the Yi-Jcing they are frequently repre- sented as husband and wife, as father and mother. The same idea occurs also in the Shu-king. See the passages cited by Plath himself, Eel. der alien Chinesen, pp. 36-38 and 73. To treat this as a type of parental care is inappropriate. The two original principles Yang and Yin, which Plath regards as the fruit of later philosophical reflection, make their appearance as early i as i TOO B.C. in the Tshow-li, op. cit., vii. 3, and ix. 10, n ; and in the same work it is not the chief vassal of the empire, but the principal wife of the emperor who is named after the earth. The old and generally diffused myth of the marriage between heaven and earth certainly lies at the foundation of Chinese mythology also, though the philosophers afterwards disguised it past recognition. 19. The doctrine of continued existence after death among the Chinese entirely accords with that of the Nature-peoples. Man has two souls, one of which ascends after death to heaven, while the other descends into the earth, after vain attempts have been made to recall them both. Of the doctrine of retribution no certain traces are to be found, but we do find the idea that it is possible by sacrificing life to save a sick person. The souls of ancestors were worshipped with great pomp and earnestness, and were, it was supposed, present at the sacrifices. IN THE OLD EMPIRE. 29 Though no distinct traces of the doctrine of retribu- tion after death can be discovered among the ancient Chinese, it must be remembered in this connection that all the books which are the sources of our knowledge of their religion before Kong-tse, have passed through the hands either of himself or his followers, and he always refused to express an opinion on souls and their destiny. The doctrine of retribution was held by the sect of the Tao-sse, and reached among them a very elaborate form, so that it may be regarded as probable that it was not unknown to the religion of the old empire. 20. The Chinese are remarkable for the complete 1 absence of a priestly caste. Their worship, which was I regulated down to its minute details, was entirely a civil function. It was placed under the control of one of the six ministers who directed all the officials connected with religion, including the musicians and dancers. To Thian, the spirit of heaven, only the emperor might sacrifice ; to the spirits of the earth and the fruits of the land, only the emperor and the feudal princes ; to the five house spirits, only the high officials, and so on in strict order. Of the sacrifices, which originally included also human victims, that part was presented which was regarded as the seat of the soul or of life. The greater number of the temples were consecrated to the dead, while the emperor himself performed his sacrifices under the open sky. Prayer, even when addressed to Thian, was permitted to all, but at the court, regular officials were appointed for the purpose. Even the magicians, soothsayers, and spirit-charmers, though numbered among the state func- tionaries, formed no priestly order. Great value, how- 30 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. ever, was attached to the oracles procured by their in- strumentality, especially to those obtained by means of the plant Shi, and by the burning of furrows on a tortoise- shell (pit). The most important source of our knowledge of the early worship of the Chinese is the book Tshow-li, written in the twelfth century B.C. by TsJww-kung, brother of the founder of the Tshow dynasty. From his family, six centuries later, came Kong-tse. 21. A reform of this religion was carried out in the sixth century B.C. by Jong-fu-tse (Master Kong, Con- fucius), though he himself did not wish to be regarded as doing anything more than transmit and preserve the doctrine of the Ancients. Born in 550 (or 551) B.C. in the principality of Lu, of a distinguished family, he began at the age of two-and-twenty years to give instruction as a teacher or sage. Labouring sometimes as an official, and once appointed to a high civil post, but for the most part living without office, and often compelled by the disturbances in his native country to go into exile, he saw himself always surrounded by a large number of disciples, consulted by the most eminent personages, and highly honoured even during his life. He died in the year 478. Kong-tse had a high sense of his calling, and attached great value to purity of morals, though he detested the life of the hermit. Accused without cause of insincerity, he hated all false show, but he was inordinately puncti- lious about all forms, and perhaps not wholly free from superstition. If he thus appears somewhat narrow- minded, whoever judges him by the age in which he lived and the nation to which he belonged, notes the powerful CONFUCIANISM. ?I impression which he made upon friends and foes, and observes, above all, his intercourse with his disciples, will recognise in him a man of rare qualities, endowed with a noble heart and a penetrating spirit. 22. The religious doctrine of Kong-tse is ethical natu- ralism, founded on the state religion of the Tshow. He engaged in supernatural questions with as much reluctance as in practical affairs, and expressed himself very cautiously and doubtfully on religious points. Even of heaven he preferred not to speak as a personal being, but he quoted its example as the preserver of order, and he would allude to its commands, ordinances, and purposes. But the actions of men also help to determine their destiny. The doctrine that good and evil are rewarded on earth by prosperity and adversity was firmly maintained by him. To prayer he ascribed no great value. He did not believe in direct revelations, and he regarded forebodings and presentiments simply as warnings. Eather than express an opinion on the nature of spirits and souls, he insisted that they should be worshipped faithfully and the old usages maintained ; but he laid the greatest stress on reverence, and urged that the spirits should not be served in barbarous fashion, and that, in times of scarcity, for instance, honour should not be paid to the dead at the expense of the living. I speak of the state-religion of the Tshow, having iu view the book named Tshow-li already quoted, which appears to have established a new order of things, and with the prescriptions of which Kong-tse always perfectly accords. That this book does not reproduce the old popular religion, and that Kong-tse only retained a portion of the earlier doctrines of his nation, will become apparent 32 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. by and by, on the consideration of Taoism. In ancient times he was always worshipped next to Tshow, which proves that the connection between their reforms con- tinued to be felt. 23. Kong-tse devoted much attention to religious literature. He studied zealously the Yi-king, an ob- scure book of magic. The Shu-king, an historical work, was perhaps recast by himself, it is certainly written in his spirit. The Shi-king is a collection of songs chosen by him out of a large number, from which all mytho- logical expressions have probably been eliminated. The Li-Id, a ritual work, was enlarged by him. These books, with the addition of a chronicle written entirely by him, entitled Tshun tsiew, and not of a religious nature, con- stitute the five Kings, regarded by the followers of Kong- fu-tse as the canonical books. In the Liln- Yu (" Arranged Conversations ; " Legge, " Analects ") the remarkable utter- ances of the Master addressed to his followers were collected by his disciples' disciples. Others attempted in the Ta-hio ("the Great Instruction;" Legge, "the Great Learning ") and the Tshung-yung (" the Doctrine of the Mean") to supply a philosophical basis for his doctrine. These works form three of the four Shu, or classical books. The fourth, comprising the works of the sage Meng-tse ( 24), was added to the collection at a much later period. Yi-king signifies " Book of Changes." Shu means writings, and the Shu-king is regarded as the Book of books. It is commonly assumed that this work was put into its present form by Kong-tse, or at any rate modified by him in accordance \yith his views, but this is questioned MENCIUS. 33 by Legge. It is certain that it has been revised by some one belonging to his school. This is plain from a com- parison of it with the so-called Bamboo-books found in the grave of King Seang of Wei, who died in 295 B.C. ; these books contain a dry chronicle, with numerous fabulous additions, giving a totally different representa- tion of the history. The object of the Shu-king is not so much to narrate a history, as to impart moral and poli- tical instruction, based on historical facts. Shi are poems, of which the Shi-ldng contains about three hundred, chosen out of several thousand. The source of the Li-ki (" rituum commemoratio ") is the Tshow-li. Tshun-tsiew, signifying " Spring- Autumn," is a chronicle of the principality of Lu from the year 723 to 479 B.C. The Ta-hio is ascribed to the sage Tsang-sin, or his disciples, or also, like the Tshung-yung, to Kong-tse's grandson Tsze-sse. From the word Shu, " writings," is derived the term ShM-kiao, the name of the doctrine or sect of Kong-tse. 24. Immediately after Kong-tse's death, a temple was erected to him by the Prince of Lu, and his worship, though not yet recognised on the part of the Govern- ment, at first increased. Towards the commencement of the fourth century B.C., during the serious disturbances which led to the fall of the Tshow dynasty, new doctrines of all kinds arose. These threatened to undermine the authority of the Master. This tendency was resisted with great emphasis by the learned Meng-tse (Mencius, 371-288 B.C.) In his teaching, which was principally political and moral, or, more accurately, perhaps, anthro- pological, the religious element retires still further into the background than in that of Kong-tse. Less modest alid disinterested, he was more independent in character,. 34 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. and a more powerful reasoner. By his instruction and writings he acquired great influence, triumphing over all the opponents of Kong-tse, who was in his eyes the most eminent of men. It is probably owing to his labours that even the great persecution under the Ts'in dynasty (212 B.C.), and the favour displayed by some emperors of the Han dynasty (after 201 B.C.) towards the followers of Lao-tse ( 26), did not succeed in eradicating Confu- cianism. From the year 57 of our era the worship of Kong-tse by the side of Tshow was practised by the emperors themselves as well as in all the schools ; and since the seventh century Kong-tse has been worshipped alone. For the great majority of the Chinese he is the ideal of humanity, which even the adherents of other systems may not despise. The persecution, begun in 212 B.C., lasted only a si time; but it seems to have been very severe. Oruo were issued for the burning of all the canonical books with the exception of the Yi-king, and on one occasion, even, four hundred and sixty literati were buried alive in pits. The persecutor was the founder of the Ts'in dynasty himself, called Hoang-ti, like the great Emperor so much revered by the Taoists. It was he who replaced the feudal system by a more centralising government he was the first proper Emperor of China, and he was checked in his reforms by the opposition of the Confucian sages, who stood up for the old institutions. The occasion of the persecution was political rather than religious, although between these two spheres no sharp distinc- tion can be made in China. The stern emperor, how- ever, died within three years, and his dynasty also was soon replaced by that of the Han. Confucianism was ex- THE TAO-SSE. 35 posed to more danger through the many new doctrines, alike those of the pessimist Fang-tshu, and those of Mih- teih, the preacher of universal love, and others, which found acceptance with many. They were obstinately resisted by Meng-tse. 25. The humane but prosaic Confucianism might satisfy the majority of cultivated Chinese, but it did not meet all wants. This not only becomes apparent at a later date through the introduction of Buddhism, but it as also clearly proved by the permanence of the ancient sect of the Tao-sse, which constantly endeavoured to vie with the ml ing religion. This religious community represents rather the spiritist side of Animism. As a religious tendency it existed from the earliest times, and even tried to derive its origin from the ancient Emperor Hoang-ti, whose name is erased from the canonical books of the Confucians. It owed its rise as an association, however, to the necessity of offering vigorous resistance to the teaching of Kong-tse, and to the influence of the teach- ing of his great rival Lao-tse, whom it reveres as its saint. It enjoyed the temporary favour of some emperors, and it is even now very widely diffused. But it did not succeed in gaining the ascendency in the empire, or in making its way among the ranks of learn- ing and distinction. The cultivated Chinese now regard it with unmixed contempt. Although the history of Hoang-ti, the Yellow Emperor, is obscured by all kinds of myths, so that we might be disposed to consider him as a mythical being, , the majority of Sinologues regard him as an historical personage. In fact, similar myths are related of per- 36 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. sons indisputably historic, such as Lao-tse himself. Tho Bamboo-books supply many details about him ; in the Shu-king his name is designedly omitted. He was connected with Lao in the same way as Tshow with Kong. Taoism is even called " the doctrine " or " the service of Hoang-Lao." 26. Lao-tse, born in the principality of Thsu, 604 B.C., was highly renowned even in his lifetime as a pro- found philosopher. Kong-tse visited him in order to consult him as an older and celebrated sage, and esteemed him highly, but the tendency of Lao was entirely different from his own, leading to mystic reflection and the con- templative life. Not much is known of his history, but the story of his journey to India must be rejected as unworthy of belief. He wrote the famous Tao-te-King, which became the most sacred book of the sect, although its adherents, at any rate at the present day, certainly do not understand it. Tao, a term in use with Kong-tse's followers also, and employed by the Chinese Buddhists in the sense of wisdom or higher enlightenment (bodhi\ possesses among the Tao-sse, who derive their name from it, a mystic significance, and is even worshipped by them as a divine being. Lao-tse distinguishes in his book between the nameless, supreme Tao, which is the ultimate source, and the Tao which can be named, and is the mother of everything. To this, and to the power or virtue pro- ceeding from it (temrtus), the highest worship, according to him, is due, and in this does the sage find his ideal. To withdraw entirely into himself and free himself from the constraints of sense, in order, thus, without action or speech, to exercise a blessed power, must be his aim. THE TAO-SSE. 37 This is the best philosophy of life and the best policy. The often obscure system developed in the Tao-te-King is purely Chinese, and is incorrectly derived from the influence of Indian philosophy, with which it agrees rather in form than in spirit. From the Buddhist doctrine it is essentially different. It is marked by a morbid asceticism, and takes up an attitude of hostility towards civilisation and pro- gress, but it is distinguished by a pure and sometimes very elevated morality. It is altogether erroneous to regard Tao, with Kemusat, as the primeval Keason, the \6yos, and worse still to call the Tao-sse the Chinese rationalists. This character fits them least of all, and they do their utmost to be as unreason- able as possible. The name would be much more appro- priate to their opponents. The ordinary meaning of the word is " way," in the literal and the metaphorical sense, but always " the chief way." In the mysticism of Lao the term is applied to the supreme cause, the way or passage through which everything enters into life, and at the same time to the way of the highest perfection. 27. The later writings of the Tao-sse, among which the Book of Rewards and Punishments occupies a pro- minent place, show that they did not maintain this morality at the same elevation, but gradually lost them- selves in confused mysticism and an unreasoning belief in miracles. To gain long life and immortality by means of self-chastisement, prayer, and watching, as well as by the use of certain charms, was their highest endeavour. But many remains of the ancient Chinese mythology, banisbfed by Kong-tse, and transformed by Lao-tse into 38 RELIGION AMONG THE CHINESE. philosophical reflections, were preserved nearly unaltered in their dogmas. 28. The ancient Chinese religion, which, with vast differences in character, stands at the same point of development as the Egyptian, in some respects took a higher flight than the latter. By Tshow and Kong-tse it was purified from many superstitions, which in Egypt lasted till the fall of the Empire. The feudal system, as it prevailed in China, amid all its faults possessed one virtue, in that it permitted a much more independent develop- ment of personality and a freer influence on the part of the sages, than the theocratic absolutism which in Egypt crippled all intellectual movement. When the feudal system in China was obliged to give way before another form of government, the two sects were too firmly rooted to be involved in the ruin of the old polity, yet they proved too purely national for either of them to become a universal religion. It was only when Chinese civilisation made its way complete, as in Corea and Japan, that the Chinese religion, especially the doctrine and worship of Kong-tse, was adopted with it, ( 39 ) CHAPTER III RELIGION AMONG THE HAMITES AND SEMITES. Compare F. LENORMANT, Les Premieres Civilisations, torn, i., " Archseol. prehistorique," Egypte ; torn, ii., " Chaldee et Assyrie, Phenicie," Paris, 1874. G. EAWLINSON, The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, 3 vols. (3d edition), London, 1873. OPPERT, Memoir -e sur les Eapports de I' Egypte et de V Assyrie dans VAntiguite, Paris, 1869, " Progres des Etudes relatives a 1'figypte et a TOrient." Etudes Egypt., par E. DE ROUGE; Dechiffr. des Ecrit. cuneif., par DE SAULCY ; Etudes Semitigues, par MUNK ; Langue et Lilt. Arab., par REYNAUD, &c., 1867. Transactt. of the Soc. of Bibl. Archaeology, London, 1872, 5^. P. PIERRET, Melanges d'Archceol. Egypt, et Assyr. (in con- tinuation of DE ROUGE'S Eecueil de Travaux, &c., of which one part appeared in 1870), Paris. 1872, sqq. LEPSIUS' Zeitschrift (see below) also contains Assyrian studies. RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. Literature. A. General Works. The great collections of plates after the monuments, inscriptions, and ancient texts, such as those of Champollion, Rosellini, Leemans, Lepsius, Sharpe, Dumichen, Mariette, Pleyte, are only accessible to those who are familiar with the writing and language of the Egyptians. An accurate general survey of the history of the decipherment of hieroglyphics and of ^Egyptian literature is given by J. P. MAHAFFY, Pro- 40 RELIGION AMONG HAMITES AND SEMITES. legomena to Ancient History, London, 1871. Compare CHAMPOLLION LE JEUNE, Precis du Systeme hieroglyphique des Anciens Bgyptiens, 2d ed., with a vol. of plates, Paris, 1828, systematised in his Gframmaire figyptienne. Horapol- linis Niloi Hieroglyphica, ed. C. Leemans, Amsterdam, 1835. Strongly to be recommended, H. BRUGSCH, Hiero- glyph. Grammatik zum Nutzen der studirenden Jugend, Leipzig, 1872. A useful Egyptian Grammar has been published by P. LE PAGE RENOUF, London, 1875. Un- finished, E. DE ROUGE, Chrestomathie Jttgyptienne, Alrege grammatical, fasc. i, Paris, 1867; fasc. 2, 1868. H. BRUGSCH, Hieroglyph - demotisches Worterluch, 4 Bde., Leipzig, 1867-68. C. C. J. BUNSEN, Aegyptens Sidle in der Weltgeschichte, 6 vols. : i.-iii., Hamburg, 1844-45; iv.-vi., Gotha, 1856-57. Of the English translation, Egypt's Place in Universal History, vols. i.-v., London, 1848-67, the fifth volume, translated by C. H. COTTREL, is indispensable; it contains numerous additions by S. BIRCH, among them being a Translation of the Book of the Dead, a Dictionary of Hieroglyphics, and a Grammar. Sir G. WILKINSON, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, ist series, 3 vols., London, 1837 (2d ed. of vol. i., 1842) ; 2d series, 2 vols., with one vol. of plates, London, 1841. Valuable contributions will be found in the Revue Archio- logique, and in the Zeitschrift fur Aegypt. Sprache und Alter - thumskunde, edited by LEPSIUS and BRUGSCH, Leipzig, 1863, sqq. The following catalogues may be consulted with profit : C. LEEMANS, Description Eaisonnee des Monu- mens figyptiens du Musee d'Antiquites des Pays-lasd Leide, Leiden, 1840. E. DE ROUGE, Notice des Monuments Egyptiens du Musee du Louvre (i re e*d., 1849), 5 me e*d., Paris, 1869. H. BRUGSCH, Uebersetz. und ErJcldr. Aegypt. Denk- maler des Mus. zu Berlin, Berlin, 1850. TH. DEVERIA, Notice des Antiquites JZgypt. du Muste deLyon, Lyons, 1857. AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. 41 A. MARIETTE-BEY, Notice des Principaux Monuments du Musee a Boulaq, Paris, 1869. TH. DEVERIA, Catal. des Manuscr. figypt. au Musee figypi. du Louvre, Paris, 1874. B. Travels. CHAMPOLLION, Lettres flcrites d'figypte et de Nubie en 1828 et 1829, Paris, 1833. Compare the same author's Notices Descriptives conformes aux Manuscr. Autogr., Paris, 1844. E. LEPSIUS, Brief e aus Aegypten, Berlin, 1852. W. GENTZ, Brief e aus Aegypt. und Nub., Berlin, 1853. H. BRUGSCH, Reiseberichte aus Aegypten, Leipzig, 1855. G. A. HOSKINS, A Winter in Upper and Lower Egypt, London, 1863. J. J. AMPERE, Voyage en Egypte et Nubie, Paris, 1867. A. MARIETTE-BEY, Itineraire de la Haute-figypte, Alexandrie, 1872. H. BRUGSCH, Wanderung nach den TurUs-Minen und der Sinai- Halbinsel, 2d ed., Leipzig, 1868. C. History. E. LEPSIUS, Konigsbuch, Berlin, 1858. H. BRUGSCH, Eistoire d'figypte des les Premiers temps de son existence jusqu'ct, nos jours, i re partie (to Nectanebos), Leipzig, 1859; 2 de eU, i re partie (to the end of the seven- teenth dynasty), Leipzig, 1875. A complete German edi- tion by the author has appeared, 1877. It contains some additions and corrections, but the proper names are given in transcription only. E. DE EOUGE, Recherches sur les Monuments qu'on peut attribuer aux six premieres Dynasties, Paris, 1 866. LEPSIUS, " Ueber die zwolfte Aegypt. Konigsdynastie " (Akad. der Wiss., Berl, Jan. 5, 1852). F. CHABAS, Les Pasteurs en figypte, Amsterdam, 1868. Id., Recherches pour servir a THistoire de la XIX e Dyn., Chalons et Paris, 1873. M. BUDINGER, Zur Aegyptische Forsclmng Herodots, Vienna, 1873. S. SHARPE, History of Egypt, 2 vols., 6th ed., London, 1876, must be used with caution in regard to Egyptian religion. Compare M. DUNCKER, Geschichte des Alterthums, vol. i. F. LENOR- MANT, Manual of the Ancient History of the East, London, 42 RELIGION AMONG HA MITES AND SEMITES. 1869, vol. i. PHILIP SMITH, The Ancient History of the East, London, 1871, vol. i. G. MASPERO, Histoire An- cienne des Peuples de I' Orient, 2 de 4d., Paris, 1876. On Chronology. R. LEPSIUS, Einleit. zur Chronol. der Aegypt., Berlin, 1848. J. LIEBLEIN, Aegypt. Chronol, Christiania, 1863. F. J. C. MAYER, Aegyptens Vorzeit und Chronol., Bonn, 1862. J. DUMICHEN, Die erste sichere Angale uber die Eegierungszeit eines Aegypt. Konigs aus dem alien Reich, Leipzig, 1874. Unsatisfactory, C. PIAZZI SMITH, On the Antiquity of Intellect. Man, Edinburgh, 1868. D. Texts with translation, and translated texts. K. LEPSIUS, Das Todtenbuch der Aegypter, nach dem hierogl. Pap. in Turin, Leipzig, 1842 ; translated by BIRCH in Bunsen's Egypt's Place, &c., see above ; by BRUGSCH in the Zeitschr. fur Aegypt. Sprache, 1872, sqq. (not yet finished) ; and quite erroneously by G. SEYFFARTH in Theol. Schriften der alten Aegypter, Gotha, 1855. Compare PLEYTE, Etudes Bgyptologiques, Leiden, 1866, sqq. EUG. LEFEBURE, Traduction comparee des Hymnes au Soleil compos, le xtf chapitre du Eit. fun. Egypt., Paris, 1868. LEPSIUS, Aelteste Texte des Todtenbuchs nach Sarkofagen des altaegypt. Eeichs, Berlin, 1867. F. CHABAS, Le Papy- rus magigue Harris, publ. et trad., Chalons, 1860. Id., Melanges figyptologiques, i e -3 e serie, Chalons et Paris. 1862, sqq. Id., Le Calendrier des Jours fastes et nefastes (Pap. Sallier IF.}, trad, comply ibid., no date. G. MASPERO, Essai sur I'inscript. dedic. du temple d'Abydos, Paris, 1867. Id., Hymne au Nil, publ. et trad., Paris, 1868. Eecords of the Pasty vols. ii. and iv., containing Egyptian texts, London, 1874-75. C. W. GOODWIN, The Story of Saneha, an Egypt. Tale, transl. from the hieratic Text. London, 1866. W. PLEYTE, " Een lofzang aan Ptah " (Evangelie- spiegel, and "De Veldslag van Eamses den Groote tegen de Cheta," Theol. Tijdschr., 1869, p. 221, sqq. AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. 43 Louis MENARD, Hermes Trismegiste, trad, compl., Paris, 1866. E. Religion. C. P. TIELE, Sergei. Geschiedenis der Egypt, en Mesopot. Godsdd., Amsterdam, 1869-72 ; first book, Egypte. CHAMPOLLION'S Pantheon figyptien remains unfinished. Plutarch, Ueber Isis und Osiris, edited by G. PARTHEY, Berlin. LEPSIUS, Ueber den ersten Aegypt. Gotterkreis und seine geschichtlich-mythologische Entstehung, Berlin, 1851. Id., Ueber die Goiter der vier Elemente bei den Aegypt., Berlin, 1856. PLEYTE, Lettre sur quelques monuments relatifs au dieu Set, Leiden, 1863. Id., Set dans la barque du Soleil, ibid., 1865. Ei>. MEYER, Set-Typhon, eine relig.-geschichtl. Studie, Leipzig, 1875. BRUGSCH, Die Sage von der gefliigelten Sonnenscheibe, Gb'ttingen, 1870. (Comp. E. NAVILLE, Textes relatifs au Mythe d'Horos dans le temple d'Edfou, Geneva and Basle, 1870.) Sir CH. NICHOLSON, " On the Disk- Worshippers of Memphis," in the Transactt. of the Eoy. Soc. of Literature, 2d ser. vol. ix. pt. ii. p. 197, sqq. M. UHLEMANN, Das Todtengericht lei den alien Aegyptern, Berlin, 1854. P. PIERRET, Le Dogme de la Resurrection chez les anciens figyptiens, Paris, no date. G. PARTHEY, Das OraJcel und die Oase des Ammon, Berlin, 1862. EUG. PLEW, De Sarapide, Koningsberg, 1868. BRUGSCH, Die Adonisklage und das Linoslied, Berlin, 1852. DUMICHEN, Ueber die Tempel und Grdber im alien Aegypt., Strassburg, 1872. Id., Bauurkunde der Tempel-anlagen von Dendera, Leipzig, 1865. Id., Der Aegypt. Fehentempel von Abu-Simbel, Berlin, 1869. BRUGSCH, Die Aegypt. Grdberwelt, Leipzig, 1868. The treatise of 0. BEAURE- GARD, Les Divinites Bgyptiennes, Paris, 1866, must be regarded as a complete failure. F. Egyptian Eeligion in relation to other religions. PLEYTE, La Religion des Pre-Israelites, Recherches sur le Dteu Seth, Utrecht, 1862. W. G. BRILL, Israel enfigypte, 44 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. CJtrecht, 1857. UHLEMANN, IsraeUten und Hyksos in Aegypt., Leipzig, 1856. F. J. LAUTH, Moses der Ebraer, nach Aegypt. Papyrus-UrJcunden, Munich, 1868. A. EISEN- LOHR, Der grosse Papyrus Harris, ein Zeugniss fur die Mosaische Religionsstiflung enthaltend, Leipzig, 1872. (The results in all these treatises are still very uncertain.) G. EBERS, Aegypten und die Bilcher Mose's, vol. i. (publica- tion not continued), Leipzig, 1868, thoroughly scientific. SHARPE, Egyptian Mythology and Egypt. Christianity, Lon- don, 1863, deficient in its treatment of the ancient Egyptian religion, yet not without value for the rela- tion of its later forms to Christianity. E. EOTH, Die Aegypt. und Zoroastr. Glaubenslehre als die dltesten Quellen unserer speculativen Ideen (the first part of the Geschichle unser. Abendl. Philosophic), Mannheim, 1862, rendered use- less, in spite of its learning, by wrong method. It has been imitated and outdone by J. BRAUN, Naturgeschichte der Sage, Ruckfuhrung aller relig. Ideen u.s.w. auf ihren gemeinsamen Stammbaum, two vols., Munich, 1864. 29. Among the sources of our knowledge of the ancient Egyptian religion, the first and principal place belongs to the so - called Book of the Dead, or " Book of the going forth on the Day," a collection of texts partly ancient, and partly of later date, intended by their magic power to secure the victory for the soul on its journey to the abodes of eternity. To the same class belong certain magic papyri, except that these were to serve in the contest against evil spirits upon earth. All these books, on which fresh light is being constantly thrown, are inexhaustible mines for Egyptian mythology. Further, both these and others include religious hymns of the highest importance. The historical and literary works, ANIMISTIC USAGES. 45 also, the numerous inscriptions on temples, tombs, and other monuments, contain not a little bearing on re- ligion. Though much yet remains to be investigated and explained, all this material, when compared with the statements of the Greeks, enables us to form a very fair conception of the belief and the worship of the ancient Egyptians. The history of this religion, however, can only be sketched in its main outlines. 30. In Egypt the old elements were not replaced by those of later growth, but always remained standing by their side. Thus through every period of Egyptian history we find different usages of animistic origin retained, though perhaps with changed significance, along with very elevated religious ideas, which are by no means in accord with them. Among these may be ranked the cultus of the dead, the deification of the kings, and the worship of animals, which reached the same height among no other people. The dead were worshipped in sepul- chral chapels and temples ; the kings, even in their life- time, were regarded as the deity upon earth ; and certain animals, among which the sacred bulls occupied the most prominent place, originally no doubt worshipped as fetishes, received homage as the incarnations of a higher being. Fetishism also was the root of the custom by which the innermost sanctuary of the temple contained no image, but only a symbol of the chief god. That the Egyptian religion, like the Chinese, was originally nothing but an organised animism, is proved by the institutions of worship. Here, too, existed no exclusive priestly caste. Descendants sacrificed to their ancestors, the officers of state" to the special local divinities, the king to the doitiea 46 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. of the whole country. Not till later did an order of ! scribes and a regular priesthood arise, and even these as a rule were not hereditary. The worship of animals is said to have been introduced by Kaiechos (Kakau, of the second dynasty) ; but if this statement deserves any credit, and is not founded on his name, which may signify " the bulls," it can only be re- ferred to an official recognition of the animal- worship as a state institution. Such usages cannot be imposed by authority : they grow up among the people. The bull- gods chiefly honoured were the black Apis (Hapi, to be distinguished from the Nile-god Hdpi) of Memphis, and the white or yellow Mnevis (Mena) of Heliopolis. Of the first, Chamus, son of Kamses II., the builder of the Serapeum, was an ardent worshipper. Even centuries later the people were so deeply attached to this cultus that the gift of a new Apis by Darius Hystaspes reconciled them for a time to the hated Persian rule. The absence of an image in the inmost sanctuary of the temple, sometimes regarded as an evidence of a certain spirituality, is only a proof of the devotion of the Egyptians to ancient customs. There were images every- where, but in the naos only the ancient fetish, dead or living, now perhaps, though this cannot be affirmed with certainty, regarded as a symbol. 31. It is altogether erroneous to regard the Egyptian religion as the polytheistic degeneration of a prehistoric monotheism. It was polytheistic from the beginning, but it developed in two entirely opposite directions. On the one hand, the world of gods, through the addition of the local religions and the adoption of foreign deities, grew richer and richer. On the other hand, a gradual TRIUMPH OF LIGHT AND LIFE. 47 and tentative approach was made to monotheism, without attaining clear and unequivocal expression of it. The scribes harmonised the two, by representing the plurality of deities as the manifestations of the one uncreated hidden god as his members, created by himself. 32. The Egyptian mythology reproduces in varying forms two leading ideas. The first is the belief in the triumph of light over darkness, and of life over death. This is exhibited by the sun-myths. The victory of light, conceived for the most part physi- cally, is represented in the conflict of Ka, the god of Heliopolis (An) and the chief god of Egypt, with the serpent Apap. The triumph of life over death is rather the subject of the myth of Osiris, the other chief god of the empire, specially worshipped in Thinis-Abydos, Osiris, slain by his brother Set lamented by his wife and sister Isis and ISTephthys endowed by Thut, the god of science and literature, with the power of the word is avenged by his son Horos, and, while himself reigning in the kingdom of the Dead, lives again in him on earth. This mythic representation of the death and reawakening of the life of nature which was observed in the succession of day and night and of the seasons, was very early, and more closely than the myth of Ba, brought into connec- tion with the doctrine of the resurrection. Each man, at his death, became identified with Osiris. As with the body of the god, his also was mourned, embalmed, and buried. As the soul of the god shines in Orion in the sky, so that of the departed lives likewise among the stars. As the shade of the one conquers in the world of the 48 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. Dead, so that of the other sustains there a series of trials in order at last to pass in and out freely with the god of light, and be united with him for ever. The belief in the victory of light and life was ex- pressed in the very name, nuteru, " those who renew them- selves," which is the general designation of the gods, and in the constantly recurring triads of father, mother, and son. That the son is no other than the father himself alive once more, appears from the formula, " husband of his mother (Tea mut-f)" which is applied to several Egyptian deities. Though certainly regarded originally as independent gods, the other chief gods of Heliopolis must be viewed as forms of Ka\ Such were the visible Harmachis (Rd Harmachuti, Ka-Horos on the two horizons), the hidden Turn (A turn, the nightly sun-god), Chepra, the creator, u he who continually renews himself," symbolised by a beetle. Less closely connected with him was his ally Shu, of whom two varying representations exist, founded on two different meanings of his name. As the " out- spread " or " out-stretching," he is the god of the sky ; as the " consuming," he is the god of the scorching heat of the sun. The meaning of the names of Osiris (Asar, Asm), Set (Set or Suti), and Thut (Thuti) is uncertain. The two first are the two hostile sun-gods, whom we find among the Semites. The last was once a moon-god, and then became the god of numbers, of weights and measures, and subsequently of literature and science. Isis (As) is the "ancient," the "venerable," or better, the "exalted;" Nephthys (Nebt-ha) the " mistress of the house," goddess of the underworld. Horos (Her, the "uppermost," "he who is above ") is the god of the sun by day, and has a UNIVERSITY DOCTRINE OF CREATION. 49 number of forms. It would seem that it was not till the myth of Osiris was so closely united with the belief in the resurrection, that Anubis (Anup or Anpu), the con- ductor of souls, was taken into it. In the oldest tombs it is with his image that we generally meet, and not with that of Osiris, as at a later date. 33. The other leading idea is that of creation by the supreme uncreated god with his assistant spirits, of which the eight personified cosmic powers are the chief The work of creation is ascribed, indeed, to all the principal deities, but especially to the gods of fire and the element of moisture. At the head of the first stands Ptah, the god of Memphis, who himself personi- fies the cosmic fire, as the soul of the universe ; just as his " great beloved " Sechet represents its destroying and purifying power, and Neith of Sais often united with him its mysterious hidden operation, while his form Bes with his consort Bast symbolise its beneficent warmth and cheering glow. That Chnum the architect, god of the waters originally the wind which moves and fertilises them and consequently the soul of the universe, and Hapi the Nile-god, should also be regarded as creative deities, needs no further explanation. The eight cosmic powers (Sesmenu or Sesennu, from whom the city of Thut, Hermopolis, derived its Egyptian name), always united with Thut, but nevertheless to be distinguished from his seven assistants, constitute four pairs : Nun and Hunt, the celestial ocean, the abyss ; Heh and HcM, time (without end) ; Kek and Kekt, dark- ness ; Neni and Nenit, breath, spirit, or wind. These are the four personifications of the ideas embodied in the well- D 50 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. known doctrines of creation, " In endless duration " (or " in the beginning ") " was darkness on the abyss, and the waters of the primeval ocean were moved by the wind, the breath of the deity," cf. Gen. i. The myth, if not adopted from Semites, is clearly another form of the later Semitic representation. Ptah (from patahu) signifies " former," " sculptor," an appropriate name for the god of fire. Sechet, a name generally transcribed Pacht (Pechet), denotes " kindling fire" (causative of diet, "flame"); Pechet is "the de- vourer," especially the lion. Neith (Net or Nit) is the Egyptian virgin mother, yet in a purely cosmogonic- theological sense. Bes is the ascending flame ; he has a twofold nature as god of joy, music, and dancing, and as warrior. His consort Bast, the beneficent, is the gentle counterpart of the violent Sechet. Chnum is the deity who was formerly, under the name of Kneph, regarded by some scholars as the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon. He is one of the oldest gods, and his worship remained very sensual. By his side stand Sati, the generative power, and Anuka, "the em- bracing." These three personify the wind, flowing water, and the earth. 34. It is not surprising that in the earliest history of Egyptian religion much still remains obscure. When, however, we note that the Egyptians themselves called the prehistoric period the age of the Horus-followers, and that there was no place of importance which had not its Horus and its Hathor, we are justified in concluding that the chief gods adored above all others in the earliest period were these two gods of the light of heaven. Under the first six dynasties, besides Osiris and Ea Ptah of Memphis was chiefly worshipped, as the deity ITS EARLY PHASES. 51 who effected the union of the two divisions of the king- dom under one sceptre. It was probably in this period that the cultus of animals was raised to a state institution. The deification of the kings was carried, in the days of the builders of the pyramids, to the greatest extreme ; and the three worships, of Osiris, Ea, and Ptah, were blended, perhaps imperceptibly, together. Such are the gradual stages of ascent from the visible gods to the higher and invisible. The simplicity of the tombs in this period is worthy of note. Earely are the gods represented in them ; and though the deceased already bear religious titles, the walls of the sepulchral chapels exhibit only the scantiest allusions to theological subjects. Religious feeling appears to have been vivid and deep, but the power of priests and scribes was certainly still small. " Horus-followers " or " Horus-worshippers " seems the best translation of the often-recurring Har-shesu. The name Horus has been already explained. In later times this name also was employed as a general designation for the deity : was it so originally 1 It is not improbable. Hathor (Hathar) would signify literally "the house of Horus ; " but she is without doubt the same as the Assyrian Istar, the Phenician Ashtoreth (cf. the South Arabian Atfhtar), and the only question is on which side lies the priority. Is the Egyptian Hathar a corrup- tion of Istar, or the reverse 1 This point deserves further investigation. The great antiquity, however, to which the cultus of Hathor may be traced in Egypt, long before the time when there was any possibility of Semitic influence, renders only two interpretations tenable either that Istar is the Egyptian Hathor in Semitic guise, or that both are forms, modified in accordance with varying 52 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. national genius, of a goddess originally invoked under a similar name by the common forefathers of the Hamites and Semites. 35. The gods worshipped under the Middle Empire (the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Dynasties) correspond altogether to the character of the period, which was dis- tinguished both by conquests and by the flourishing con- dition of agriculture and the arts of peace. Now that the centre of gravity of the kingdom was transferred from Memphis in Lower Egypt to the Thebais in Upper Egypt, the gods of this latter region, as so often happened in antiquity, were elevated to the highest rank. The principal deities are Munt, the god of war ; Chem or Min, the god of fertility and agriculture, with whom must also be named, even at this early period, Amun, the god of the city of Thebes, as yet but slightly different from Chem, and far from being the great king of the gods, which he was only destined to become in later years. These three are in fact only different forms of the same divine being. It is not surprising that in an age so rich as this in the products of industry, Ptah, the former, and Chnum, the architect, were the objects of special veneration ; and it is equally natural that a prince of the Thirteenth Dynasty, to whom Egypt owed a new canal system, and who by this means added a whole province to his dominions, should be zealously devoted to the Nile-god Sebak, god of the water which at once served for drinking and fertilised the land. Thus do the forms of religion undergo modification with the progress of civilisation. The kings of this period promote external religion, but as uncontrolled masters and not as yielding obedience to priests. Their inscriptions exhibit an UNDER THE MIDDLE EMPIRE. 53 ethical tone. Literature is mostly secular, but the scribes are already beginning to apply themselves to the ex- planation of ancient texts. The tombs of this period indicate as yet no great development of the belief in immortality. It is brought, indeed, into closer connec- tion with religion than under the Old Empire, but the future life is still regarded only as the continuation of the present, without reference to the doctrine of retribution. If the history of Egypt is divided into two parts, the Middle Empire must be classed along with the Old. It forms the transition between the Old and the New. That Min (also named Chem, " the ruler "), whose chief temple was at Koptos, Munt of Hermonthis. and Amun of Thebes, are essentially the same, appears (among other reasons) from their names, which are all derived from the same root, and originally indicated their cha- racter as gods of fertility. Chem is often named simply Amun-Rl Subsequently, the meaning of the name Amun was modified. Sebak, who was probably derived from Ethiopia, was no god of evil. This character was not ascribed to him till later, through a confusion with Set, to whom likewise the crocodile belonged. Sebak is the god of the inunda- tion, and is sometimes interchanged with Hapi. The crocodile was his body, since it was asserted to deposit its eggs every year just at the limit to which the inun- dation would that year extend. 36. Of the religious condition of the Egyptians under the sway of the Arab Shepherd-Princes (the Hyksos) we know nothing. The conquerors had combined the reli- gion of Lower Egypt with their own, and worshipped Set whom they named Sutech, together perhaps with Ptah. 54 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. One of them even proposed to the contemporary Theban king, to elevate Sutech and Amun-Ea to be the sole gods of Egypt. After their fall Amun-Ea of Thebes became the chief god, to whom all the others were subordinated, and after whose type the rest of the chief gods were transformed. An attempt made by Amun-hotep IV. (Chunaten) to substitute the exclusive worship of Aten- Ea, the sun-disc, for that of Amun-Ea, had no permanent success. After his death the whole pantheon, with Amun-Ea at its head, was speedily restored. Amun-Ea, the hidden creator, has now become the king of the gods, and the lord of the thrones of the world. In him the Egyptians expressed the most compre- hensive and consequently the highest and most elevated religious conception which they were in a position to form. He unites in himself the nature of Min or Chem, the god of fruitfulness, and of the war-god Munt, but he possesses, besides, the characteristic qualities of all the principal deities. Sun-god and Nile-god, lord of the visible and the invisible worlds, he was the mysterious soul of the universe which reveals itself in light. His consort, Mat, " the mother," and Chonsu, his son, had the same composite character. Among the many shapes peopling this world of deities, which was enriched just at this time with a number of strange forms, an endeavour was now made to introduce a certain order, whilst a monotheistic tendency was clearly gaining strength. The doctrine of immortality, now under the control of the dogma of retribution, becomes the centre of religion. Magic rises rapidly in importance, the influence and power of the priests increasing along ITS DECLINE. 53 with it ; ana the priests make themselves more and more independent, and finally occupy the place of the king. The high priest of Thebes seizes the sovereign power, and himself founds a dynasty. The name Sutech, applied to Set, seems to me an attempt to reproduce in Egyptian form the Semitic divine name, edeq, " the righteous." At any rate, if the form Sutech is older, the reason why the Arabians made choice of this particular Egyptian god as their own, must be sought in the resemblance of this name to Sedeq. Amun is, properly speaking, not the name of the Theban chief god, but the abbreviation of the formula, "He whose name is hidden" (Brugsch, Worterb., p. 71). R& signifies " creator." As well as with the gods already named, he is chiefly identified with Chnum, and qualities of Ptah, Shu, Turn, Osiris, and others, are transferred to him. Mat, " the mother/' is really a sort of abstraction of all Egyptian mother-goddesses, that is, the chief god- desses of the country. For this reason her worship was less actively pursued. Chonsu, whose name has not yet been explained, received so much the more homage. He seems to have been originally a moon-god. 37. The last period of Egyptian religion bears marks of profound decline. Lower Egypt throws off the yoke of the priest-kings of Thebes, who retreat to Ethiopia (Meroe). To tins region, and also to the oasis of Ammon, they carry Egyptian civilisation and the worship of Amun ; but they continually attempt, and occasionally for a time with success, to re-establish their authority, and with it the orthodox faith, over Egypt. The reign of the Saitic princes is a period of restoration. But the country is for the most part the prey of foreign conquerors 56 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. Assyrians, Persians, and Greeks, whom the people only resist when they pay no reverence to the national religion. This religion lives on for centuries, but it sub- sists only upon the past. It undergoes, however, some modifications, which must be ascribed in part to the in- fluence of the Greek spirit, and in part, perhaps at an earlier date, to that of the Persian. Thus it may have been the Persian type which imparted its ethical signifi- cance to the contest between Osiris and Set, until the latter, as a deity morally evil, was driven out of the pantheon. The Hathar of this period, whose splendid temple at Dendera was restored under the care of the Ptolemies, has not a few features in common with the Greek Aphrodite. One of these princes brought the Semitic god Serapis, already worshipped by many Greeks, to Egypt, where his worship was fused with that of Osiris- Apis. One circumstance in particular is a certain sign of decline, viz., that the goddesses now occupy a much higher position than the gods. At last, the equili- brium between the local worships is entirely broken ; and of the remarkable Egyptian civilisation there remains nothing but monuments which are only destined once more to yield up their meaning when fifteen centuries have passed away. The conflict of the Ethiopian priest-princes, such as Pianchi Meriamun, Sabako, Tahraka, with the North Egyptian dynasties which had subjugated Upper Egypt, was in part national, that of Ham with Shem, but in part, and indeed chiefly, religious. Thebes was always ready to receive them ; nay, the prophets of this city invited Tahraka to advance as their liberator (De Rouge, ITS DECLINE. 57 Mel. d'Archeol, i. p. n, sqq.) t while he declared that he fought against the blasphemers of Amun-Ra" (Prisse, Monum., pi. xxxi. a.) to deliver the god (ibid., pi. xxxii. d.) They were, however, driven out; and in Ethiopia itself Egyptian civilisation sank lower and lower, till beneath native additions the worship of Amun was no longer to be recognised. Under the Saitic kings (Necho, Psamtik, Amasis) art | flourished, and the chief objects of worship were Ptah and Neith. Homage was still paid to the Theban triad at Silsilis ; but Thebes itself had fallen into such deep decline that one of its principal temples was already employed as a burial-place. Darius Hystaspis was the only king who adopted a policy of reconciliation. Kambyses attempted the same course before his defeats. For their want of respect for the mysteries, Xerxes and his son were driven out of the palace at Sais (Brugsch, Zeitschr., 1871, i, sqq.) This intolerance resulted in the fall of the Persian supremacy in Egypt. The Ptolemies acted with much more pru- dence. It is uncertain whether it was the first or the second Ptolemy who introduced the god Serapis from Sinope in Asia Minor. Plew (op. cit.) regards the deity as of Baby- lonian origin. The name signifies " serpent," and is the same as that of the Hebrew Seraphim. As the name can only be explained from the Indo-Germanic (serpens), the god was probably derived by the Semites from the Aryans. By the edict of Theodosius, 381 A.D., the Egyptian religion was abolished. 38. It is not yet possible to enumerate with certainty all the elements which co-operated to lift the Egyptian 58 RELIGION AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. religion out of Animism and place it on so lofty an emi- nence. African usages, such as circumcision, may be observed in it ; the myth of the sun-god Ea has an Aryan character; and even the language contains not a few Aryan roots. The myths of Osiris, Amun, and Hathor, the cosmogony, and a number of customs, exhibit a large accordance with conceptions and practices like those which grew up in Mesopotamia out of the blending of the Semitic religion with that of the original inhabit- ants of the country, the Akkadians. The influence of the Semites in Egypt increases century by century, and the Semitic pushes the national element more and more into the background. Conversely, however, the Egyptian religion exerts a preponderating influence on the Canaan- ite races, though less upon the Hebrews than on the Phenicians. First by their means, and then directly, it reached the Greeks, made its way finally through the whole Eoman Empire, and even furnished to Eoman Catholic Christendom the germs of the worship of the Virgin, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and the type of its theocracy. The Semitic gods of light and fire contend with con- suming and destroying sun-gods, as Osiris does with Set. E&, like the Aryan gods of light, fights with the powers of darkness. Parallelisms between Egyptian and Mesopotamian myths may be seen in (i) the abyss, from which every- thing proceeds, Egyptian tdau, Assyr. tihavti; (2) Osiris, Egypt. Asar, and Assyr. Asar, the under- world ; (3) Isis, Egypt. As, Ast, and Assyr. Asa, Asat, also As, a surname of Istar, Accad. Isi, the earth ; (4) Hatliar nehe- ITS VARIOUS ELEMENTS. 59 = Seniit. Ashtoreth ndamah; (5) the doctrines of the god who is husband of his mother, and the god who is self-created, appear both in Egypt and in Babylonia, &c. The names of Thut and Nabu possess no resemblance, but their myths and their attributes are in remarkable agreement. Astarte, Qadesh, Qen, Eeshpu, Anith, and Tanith were introduced into Egypt at a later period. 60 II. RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. A. The Two Streams of Development. Literature. E. KENAN, Histoire generate et systeme com- pare des langues Semitiques, ist part, 2<1 ed., Paris, 1858. Id., Nouvelles considerations sur le caractere general despeuples Semitiques et en particulier sur leur tendance au monotheisme, Paris, 1859. (Criticised by C. P. TIELE, "De Oorsprong van het Monothei'sme bij de Israelieten," Grids, Feb. 1862. From the supernatural standpoint, E. F. GRAU, Semiten und Indogermanen in Hirer Beziehung zu Religion und Wissenschaft, Stuttgart, 1864. Totally different, J. G. MULLER, Die Semiten in ihrem VerMltniss zu Chamiten und Japhetiten, Basel, 1872.) EENAN, De la part des peuples Semitiques dans I'histoire de la civilisation, 5th ed., Paris, 1 867. A sharp distinction is made between Indo-Germans and Semites by FRIED. MULLER, Indogermanisch und Semitisch, Vienna, 1870, although in his Allgem. Ethno- graphie, p. 437, sqq., he places them, together with the Basques and Caucasians, in the family occupying the " Mediterranean Lands." D. CHWOLSON, Die Semit. Vol- Jeer ; Versucheiner Charakteristik, Berlin, 1872. See above all, E. SCHRADER, " Die Abstammung der Chaldaer und die Ursitze der Semiten," in Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Morgen- land. Gesellsch., xxvii., 1873, Hft. iii. p. 397, sqq. On the ancient Arabian' religion, CAUSSIN DE PERCEVAL, Essai sur VHistoire des Arales avant I'Islamisme, 3 parts, Paris, 1847. L- KREHL, Ueber die Religion der Vorislami- schen Araber, Leipzig, 1863. OSIANDER, " Studien iiber RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. 61 die Vorisl. Kelig. der Araber," Zeitschr. der D. M. G., 1853- On the Akkadian civilisation and religion see the works on Assyriology named further on. The following deal exclusively with the Akkadian language : F. LENORMANT, fitudes AccadienneSj vol. i. ist part, " Introduction gram- maticale;" 2 d part, "Kestitution des Paradigmes;" 3d part, "Repertoire des caracteres:" vol. ii., " Choix de textes avec traductions interim." (Lettres Assyriologiques, 2d series), Paris, 1873-74. Id., La Magie chez les Chaldeens et les origines Accadiennes, Paris, 1874, and Jfitudes sur quel- ques Parties des Syllabaires cuneif., Paris, 1876. The exist- ence of the Akkadian language is denied by J. HALEVY, " Observations critiques sur les pretendus Touraniens de la Babylonie," in Journ. Asiat., Juin 1874. Completely refuted (except on the point of the Turanian origin of the Akkadians') by F. LENORMANT, La Langue primitive de la ChoMee et les idiomes Touraniens, and by E. SCHRADER, "Ist das Akkad. der Keilinschriften eine Sprache oder eine Schrift 1" in the Zeitschr. der D. M. G., xxix. i. 1875. On cuneiform writing in general, L. DE ROSNY, Les Ventures Figuratives et Hieroglyphiques, Paris, 1860. J. MENANT, Les Noms propres Assyriens, Paris, 1861. Id., Les Ventures Cuneif ormes, Paris, 1864. P. GLAIZE, Les Inscriptions Cuneif. et les Travaux de M. Oppert, Metz, Paris, 1867. J. MENANT, Le Sylldbaire Assyrien, ist part, 1869, 2d part, 1873. GEORGE SMITH, The Phonetic Values of the Cuneiform Characters, London, 1871. Of the highest value, E. SCHRADER, " Die Basis der EntzifFerung der Assyrisch-Babylonischen Keilinschriften," in Zeitschr. der D. M. G., xxiii. iii. 1869. 39. Among the Semites, who are closely connected with the Hamites, but are also, in the opinion of many scholars, 62 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. more or less closely connected with the Indo-Germanic races, two streams of development may be clearly distin- guished, alike in language and in religion, which may be designated as the Southern and the Northern. The common though not the most ancient home of the whole race was probably in the northern and central regions of Arabia. It must, however, have been abandoned at an early period by all the Semitic peoples, with the excep- tion of the Arabs, who spread over the whole peninsula, and the Ethiopians, who subsequently crossed over to Africa. These form the group of the Southern Semites. With the exception of the Sabeans or Himyarites (see 46), the Arabs, through the position of their country, remained the longest excluded from intercourse with civilised nations. From this cause they preserved the gen- uine Semitic family character and the national religion in their purest forms. It is from the little that we know of the latter that we must gather what was the nature of Semitic religion in its original simplicity. To the Northern Semites belong the Babylonians and Assyrians, the Arameans, Canaanites, Phenicians, and Israelites. Their amalgamation with the oldest civilised inhabitants of Mesopotamia produced important modifications in their religion, which developed with greater speed and richness. The study of religion among the Semites is of the highest consequence, because two of the three universal religions, Christianity and Islam, proceeded from them. That all the Semites once dwelt together in Northern Arabia, and that the Arabs preserved the Semitic charac- ter in the purest form, appears to me to have been convincingly proved by Schrader in the essay already PRIMITIVE ARABIAN RELIGION. 63 cited. Against his main thesis, at any rate, there is little objection to he raised, however we may differ from him in detail. The vast difference in civilisation and religion existing between Northern and Southern Semites can be explained in no other way. Whether their original home is to be sought, as most scholars suppose, in the neigh- bourhood of that of the Indo-Germans, or as Gerland (Anthropol. Beitr.,. p. 396, sqq.) maintains, in Africa, is a question which requires further investigation, but the answer to it is of only secondary importance for our present purpose. 40. The ancient religion of the Arabs rises little higher than animistic polydaemonism. It is a collection j of tribal religions standing side by side, only loosely united, though there are traces of a once closer con- nection. The names Ilah and Shamsh, the sun-god, occur among all the Semitic peoples ; Allat, or Alilat and ATUzza, as well as the triad of moon-goddesses to which these last belong, are common to several, and the deities which bear them are reckoned among the chief. The names of the remaining Arab gods do not reappear among the other Semites. Sun-worship was practised by all the tribes, and the stars also, particularly the Pleiades (Turayyd), were the objects of special homage, but there was no cultus of the planets as such, a fact which indi- cates that astronomy was but little developed. This cul- tus was in truth scarcely much more than Fetishism ; and their worship of trees, and especially of stones and moun- tains, which were regarded as occupied by souls, belongs to precisely the same order, just as spiritism expressed i itself also among them in the worship of ancestors. The 64 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. image-worship which prevailed among them at the time of Mohammed, was introduced, according to the Arabic writers, at a later period from Syria or Mesopotamia. It may very easily, however, have sprung out of the worship of stones. The few human sacrifices which they offered appear to have been of another kind from those which the Northern Semites borrowed from the Akkadians. The sanctuaries of the various spirits and fetishes had their I own hereditary ministers, who, however, formed no priestly caste ; but the Seers were generally regarded with great reverence, and were much consulted. But among the Arabs these last never became priests, as was the case among other Semites. In that which constitutes the distinctive characteristic of a religion, the relation conceived to exist between man and the deity, they agreed entirely with their kindred. They, likewise, stood towards God as the servant ('abcfy towards his master. Ildh, Assyr. Ilu, Hebr. and Canaanite, l. The later Allah is a contraction of al-ildh. Sprenger, Leben und Lehre des Mohammad, i. p. 286, sqq., regards Allah as made up of Idh, " mirage," " shining," with the article al, and thus as different from Ilah. The three moon-goddesses Allat, the light moon ; Manat, the dark moon ; and Al'Uzza, the union of the two re- appear among the Babylonians and Assyrians with partially- altered names. Some of the planets, such as Jupiter and Venus, the greater and the lesser fortune, were worshipped by the Arabs as by all Semites, but their movements were not distinguished from those of the fixed stars. The sacred number soven, applied among the Northern Semites to the five planets with the sun and moon, was derived PRIMITIVE ARABIAN RELIGION. 65 among the Southern Semites from the Pleiades, to which, together with the Hyades (Aldabaran) and Sirius, they paid special veneration. Very noteworthy is the absence of the chief myth of the Northern Semites, the so-called Adonis myth, among the Arabs. Krehl (op. cit.) and F. Lenormant (Lettres Assyriol., ii. p. 241) have supposed that traces of it are, nevertheless, to be found among them also, but upon very insufficient grounds. The only human sacrifices which are known with certainty to have existed among them, accord with those of savages. This was the offering of little girls at Mekka, against which Hanyf Zai'd vigorously con- tended. See Sprenger, Leben und Lehre des Mohammad, i. p. 120. The service of the idols was limited to particu- lar families. The seers of the highest rank were called Kahtn, the same word as the Hebrew Kohen, priest. This last meaning, which the word never acquired among the Arabs, is regarded by Sprenger, i. p. 255, as the derivative; but other scholars (Fleischer, Von Kremer, Cheyne) declare this to be incorrect. 41. The Northern Semites advanced far beyond this standpoint. For this they were indebted without doubt to a longer or shorter sojourn in Mesopotamia, to which their own traditions point, and from which the majority of them again migrated to the north-west. In Mesopo- tamia they found an ancient non-Semitic civilisation, which had a decisive influence on their development. This civilisation belonged to a people classed by some with the Turanians, certainly related to the Elamites and non- Aryan Medes, and generally called Akkadians. They were the fathers of astronomy, the first beginnings of which de- 7 E 66 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. veloped themselves among them out of astrology, and the inventors of cuneiform writing, which was adopted from them by various other nations, and was employed by them not only for royal inscriptions, but also for daily use, and for the record of a rich, scientific, historic, poetic, and religious literature, which has been recovered partly in the original texts and partly in Assyrian translations. For the Phenician tradition, see Herod., vii. 89 ; Strabo, vii. 98, &c. According to the Hebrew, Abram came from Ur-Kasdim, the present Mugheir in Southern Chaldea. Cf. the author's Fergelijk. Geschied. der Egypt, en Mesopot. Godsdd., p. 426, sqq. See, however, 52, further on. The name Turanian is here used to designate the so- called Ural-Altaic race, of which the Mongols, Turks, Magyars, Finns, and Samoyedes are the chief branches. Many scholars, among whom is Schrader, have expressed doubts whether the Akkadians are rightly classed with these, as Lenormant proposes. That they are closely related, however, with these peoples, and must cer- tainly be placed among the " Mongoloid races " of Peschel, appears both from their language and their religion. They assuredly belong to the same race with the Elamites and non-Aryan Medes. They are generally called Akkadians on the supposition that in the constantly- occurring formula " king " or " land " '' of the Sumirs and Akkadians," the Semitic population is designated by the first name, the non- Semi tic by the second ; J. Op- pert (Journ. Asiat., 1875, v. 2 > P- 2 7 2 > S( tt-) maintains that the reverse is the truth. F. Delitzsch, also, in Smith's Chald. Genesis, ubersetzt von H. Delitzsch, p. 291, sq., proves on other grounds that the name Sumirs denotes the pre-Semitic population of Babylonia. The question is of subordinate importance. THE RELIGION OF THE AKKADIANS. 67 Specimens of their astronomical knowledge may be found in the tablets published by A. H. Sayce in the Transactions of the Soc. of Bibl. Archceol., iii. i. 1874, pp. 145-339. (Translation alone in Records of the Past, vol. i. p. 151,5^.) The cuneiform character is, like the Chinese, the modi- fication of a hieratic character, of which a few characters still remain, and which in its turn must have arisen out of hieroglyphics. The two facts, that these have entirely disappeared, and that even on the oldest monuments the hieratic character only occurs here and there, prove the high antiquity of the Akkadian civilisation. The cunei- form character is also found among the Elamites, the non- Aryan Medes, and Armenians (Alarodians), and among the Persians, among whom, however, it was altogether modified. It is certain that both the last-named nations, and probable that the two first also, derived it from the Akkadians. 42. The religion of the Akkadians was the type of the richest and most complete development of the exclusive worship of the spirits and elements of nature. The host of spirits was innumerable. They were ranged in classes, and even the highest deities were classed with them. The ranks of these last included Ana, the highest heaven regarded as a divine being; Mulge and Ninge, the lord and lady of the hidden heaven beneath the earth, the abyss; and Ea or Hea, the god of the atmosphere and of moisture, with his consort Dav-Kina, the lady of the earth. To this supreme triad corresponded a lower group, consisting of the moon-god Uru-ki, the sun-god Ud, and the wind-god Im. Nindar or Ninib, the lord of generation, the son of Mulge, was the god of the nightly 68 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. or hidden sun, the Mesopotamia!! Herakles, a war-god like Nilgai, who finds a nearer representative in Mars. Mediating between Hea and mankind, in which capacity he was regarded as the benefactor of the latter, stood Amar-utuki, the brightness of the sun, the great god of the city of Babylon. The system further included a goddess who corresponds to the Semitic Istar, and bears the hitherto-unexplained name Sukus. Fire played an important part among the Akkadians, and their worship consisted, though not exclusively, of magic. For it was chiefly concerned with combating the evil spirits, which were set in sharp dualistic contrast with the good. This conflict had, however, a very subordinate ethical signifi- cance ; and the underworld, also, it would seem, was not yet, in the theology of the Akkadians, a place of recom- \ pense ; but all encountered there the same destiny. The war of the gods of light with the powers of darkness had already furnished material for a rich epic literature, from which some important productions have been brought to light in Assyrian translations. The great importance of the investigation of this religion lies chiefly in the fact that it exercised so powerful an influence on the Semitic religion, and indirectly on that of the nations of the West. The name of the highest class of spirits (Anab, abbre- viated to Ana. An), almost equivalent to gods, seems to be derived from that of the heaven-god ; at any rate it entirely accords with it. Ea or Hea signifies "the house," " the abode." The triad of deities corresponds with the three worlds into which the Akkadians divided the universe. AMONG THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS. 69 The moon-god also bears various other names, such as Aku (perhaps from aka, to "lift up," to " exalt") ; Enu- zuna, " lord of growth " (the crescent moon), &c. ; Um-ki signifies " overlooker or protector of the earth ; " Ud means "light;" and Im or Iv, "wind," "storm." Nir-gal (although the name as it is spelled could only signify "great-foot") signifies "great prince," and the full form of the name Nir-unu-gal, certainly means "prince of the great abode," by which the underworld is probably denoted. See West. Asian Inscrr., ii. 59 rev., 1. 37, d and e. The ingenious conjectures of Delitzsch, Chald. Genesis, p. 274, are therefore unnecessary. Amar- utuki, literally, " brightness with the sun," " light which accompanies the sun " (ud), is exactly the fitting medi- ator between God and men. As such, he is called Silik- mulu-chi, " He who ordains good (chi) for men (mulu) " ; in the Akkadian texts he is designated almost exclusively by this epithet. B. Religion among the Babylonians and Assyrians. Literature. Language. Grammars by MENANT, 1868, and SAYCE, 1875 ; Comparative Grammar by SAYCE, 1872. Assyrian Dictionary by E. NORRIS, parts i.-iii. 1868-72, the best refutation of HITZIG'S doubts in his Sprache und Sprachen Assyriens, Leipzig, 1871. See in reply E. SCHRADER " Die Assyr.-Babyl. Keilinschriften," in the Zeitsclir. der Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch., xxiv. i. and ii. 1872. Texts : without translation, RAAVLINSON, NORRIS, and SMITH, West. Asian Inscrr., and LENORMANT, Choix, &c. ; with translation, OPPERT et MENANT, Les Pastes de Sargon (" Grande Inscr. des Salles du Palais de Khorsa- bad "), Paris, 1863. MENANT, Inscrr. des JRevers de Plaques du Palais de Khor salad, Paris, 1865. Id., Inscriptions de Ilammourabi, Eoi de Babylone (defective), Paris, 1863 70 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. GEORGE SMITH, History of Assurlanipal, London, 1871. E. SCHRADER, Die Hollenfahrt der Istar, nebst Prolen Assyr. Lyrik, Giessen, 1874; also in his treatise Die Keilin- scliriften und das Alte Testament, Giessen, 1872. Trans- lated texts in Records of the Past, vols. i. and iii. Essays on the inscriptions (including the Himyaritic) by LENOR- MANT, Lettres Assyriologigues et fipigraphiques, vols. i. and ii., Paris, 1871-72. Archeology. Besides the larger collections of plates after the monuments by BOTTA, LAYARD, &c., and OPPERT'S Expedition en Mesopotamie, 2 parts, the following are of most importance for consultation : LAYARD, Nineveh and its Remains, London, 1848, and Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, London, 1853. Compare L. F. JANSSEN, Over de ontdekkingen van Nineveh, Utrecht, 1850. F. FINZI, Eicer che per lo studio deW Antichita assira, Turin, 1872. GEORGE SMITH, Assyrian Discoveries; an Account of Explorations in 1873-74, London, 1875. History. J. KRUGER, Geschichte der Assyrier und Iranier, vom i$ ten bis zum $ ten Jahrh. v. C., Frankfort, 1856 (wholly untrustworthy). EAWLINSON, Outlines of Assyrian History, from the Inscriptions of Nineveh, London, 1852. J. OPPERT, Histoire des Empires de Chaldee et d? Assyria d'apres les Monuments, Versailles, 1865. W. WATTENBACH, Nineveh und Babylon, Heidelberg, 1868. F. LENORMANT, Manual of the Ancient History of the East, vol. i., London, 1869. J. MENANT, Annales des Rois dAssyrie, Paris, 1874. Id., Annales des Rois de Babylone, ibid., 1875. Gk SMITH, Assyria from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Nineveh, London (1875). Compare F. JUSTI, Ausland, ISTo. 30. Religion. F. MLJNTER, Religion der Babylonier, Copen- hagen, 1827. E. HINCKS, On the Assyrian Mythology, Dublin, 1855 (Transactions of the Roy. Irish A cad., Nov. THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS. 71 1854, vol. xxiii.) TIELE, Vergdijk. Geschiedenis van de Egypt, en Mesopot. Godsdiensten, 2* stuk., Amsterdam, 1870. F. LENORMANT, Essai de Commentaire des Fragm. Cosmogon. de Berose, Paris, 1872. Id., La Legendede tSemiramis,il>id.., 1873 (Acad. de Belgique, 8 me Janv. 1872). Id., Le Deluge et Vfipopee Babylonienne (Extr. du Correspondent), Paris, 1873. (Compare G. SMITH, Chaldean Account of the Deluge, two photographs, with translation and text, London, 1872.) Id., La Divination et la Science des Presages chez les Chaldeens, Paris, 1875. OPPERT. L'Immortalite de 1'J.me chez les Chaldeens (Annalesde Philosophie Chretienne, 1874), Paris, 1875. G. SMITH, The Chaldean Account of Genesis, London, 1875. (In accordance with the writer's own warning, his results, which are only provisional, must be used with caution. Compare A. H. SAYCE, Academy, ist Jan. 1876.) German translation by H. Delitzsch, with annotations and additions by Fried. Delitzsch, Leipzig, 1867. On the Sabeans, see the works cited in my Fergelijk. Geschied., p. 400, sqq. HALEVY has since discovered and published several more texts. See LENORMANT'S Lettres Assyriol., ii., and the journals already referred to, passim. 43. Out of the amalgamation of Akkadians and Semites arose the Chaldean people, generally called Babylonians, after their most famous city and its province. The Assyrians, who derived their name from their ancient capital and their god Asur, were a Chaldean colony, which had established itself at an early period in the north of the land of the Two Eivers, and there gradu- ally grew to a powerful monarchy. The two nations differed but slightly in language and religion ; the differ- ence was greater in civilisation and character. In arts 72 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. and sciences the Babylonians were the predecessors and masters of the Assyrians, but their empire appears to have been rather a feudal theocracy than a compact monarchy, in which two states, Babylonia proper (Kardunyas ?) and Chaldea (Kaldu) on the Persian Gulf, took the lead. Involved in endless wars with Assyria, which had in the meantime become independent, it grew weaker and weaker, and was at last completely conquered. But the humiliated Babylon avenged itself. Nabupalusur (ISTabo- polassar), allied with the Medes, laid Nineveh in ruins, and founded the new-Babylonian empire, which derived its greatest glory from his son Nabu-kudur-usur (Nebu- kadresar), and through him ruled for a time the civilised world. Maruduk and Nabu, the local deities of Babylon, whose worship, however, had also spread long before into Assyria, now occupied the place at the head of the world of gods, which had been so long held by the chief god of the Assyrians, whose name now disappears entirely a change exactly analogous to that which took place in Egypt. The Babylonians were the teachers of the Assyrians, as the Akkadians had before taught them. The library of Sargina I. (placed conjecturally about 2000 B.C.) con- sisted, according to what we know of it through Asur- banipal, of a collection of texts, partly in Akkadian and partly translated from Akkadian. Extensive ruins bear witness to the great power of the oldest kings, and choicely-cut seals indicate the advance of art in early times. As artists, however, the Assyrians stood higher. Nabupalusur was an Assyrian general, who, after having put down u rising in Chaldea, was appointed viceroy of Babylon. THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS. 73 44. The religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians, hitherto known only imperfectly from the statements of the ancients and the fragments of Berosus, has received new light through the decipherment of the cuneiform character. This has rendered the actual sources them- selves accessible, and the monuments prove conclusively that the Mesopotamian Semites adopted the religion of the original occupants of the country almost entirely, and fused it with their own. All the principal gods of the Akkadians reappear in the Babylonio-Assyrian pantheon, the original names being sometimes preserved, sometimes partially modified in accordance with Semitic idiom, and sometimes trans- lated. Old-Semitic deities to which counterparts were found among the Akkadians, were amalgamated with the latter. Among these may be named Samas, the sun-god, among the Semites originally a goddess ; Sin, the moon- god ; and Nabu, the prophet, the god of revelation, of let- ters and arts. Others were simply placed by the side of the corresponding Akkadian deities, the three Semitic moon-goddesses, for example, unknown to the Akkadians, being set beside Sin, perhaps also Dagan, the god of fertility, beside Bel of the underworld. The origin of Istar lies in obscurity, but she likewise, though under another name, existed already as an Akkadian goddess, who played an important part in the old mythology. For the Akkadian generic names of the gods a Semitic parallel was found in Ilu (El), who at a later date, like the supreme Bel, was sometimes placed at the head of all. The Assyrians assigned this elevated position to their national god Asur. 74 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. Hea and Nirgal passed almost without any change from the Akkadian system into the Semitic. Nisruk is prob- ably, and Salmanu is certainly, a Semitic surname of Ha. Ana, the heaven-god, becomes Ann, " the hidden/'Amar- utuki is contracted into Marduk. The transformation of Nindar, the god of the solar fire and of generation, into Adar, "the shining," "the exalted," would exhibit a greater change if this reading, which is almost universally adopted, were at all certain. The Semites named him Samdan. The Semitic pronunciation of Yam or Yiv is uncertain ; it is possibly Yav, according to others, Bin ; the name which he bore among the Semites was Eamanu. Mul-ge and Nin-ge were translated into Bel and Belli tihavit, but the old characters were left unchanged. Sin and Nabu occur, apparently, in Sinai and Nebo, in North Arabia, and seem accordingly to be Semitic deities : their names have neither the sound nor the meaning of the corresponding Akkadian gods; they perhaps arose under Egyptian influence (Aah and Thut). This is also true of Istar, whose worship, but little practised in Baby- lonia, was much more developed in Assyria, and who is certainly the same as Hathor. The agreement with the Bactrian $tare, "star" (dialectic iftar), on which I still laid stress in my VergelijL Geschied., p. 348, seems to be accidental. For the sign AN the Assyrians read Ilu, alike when it was employed for the Akkadian generic name of the gods, Ana or Anab, or for the name of the supreme god Dingir (in the full form Dingira and Dingiri). The correctness of the latter reading is doubted by Oppert without adequate grounds. See Syllabary, p. 1 4, Transactions Soc. Bill. ArchceoL, iii. 2, p. 508, and Norris, Assyrian Dictionary, 6. v. AN. THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS. 75 45. Star- worship was not unknown to the Semites, but the highly-developed astrology and magic which we find among the Babylonians and Assyrians were derived from the Akkadians, and the more easily because their own religion was not wanting in points of connection. Of Akkadian origin also was the regularly-organised priest- hood, to whose learning and moral influence the triumph of the religion of the conquered nation over that of the con- querors must certainly be in the first place ascribed. The Babylonians, moreover, built their temples on the model furnished by their instructors, namely, in the form of ter- raced pyramids such as were erected also in Elam and among the oldest inhabitants of Media and India, to which class belonged the famous tower of Babel. In Assyria temples were also built on another plan. The majority of the Assyrian priestly titles are pure Akkadian, Sdkan and SakannakJcu, the " high priest ; " Patesi, the u vicar " or " lieutenant of the gods ; " Emga (literally, "the illustrious," "the glorious"), "the Magi an," &c. The principal sanctuaries everywhere were terraced tem- ples of this kind, representations of the mountain of the gods in the north, i.e., of the heavenly spheres. The number of terraces varied, being either three, as at Ur, after the second triad of gods or the three worlds : or five, as at Kalach, after the five planets ; or seven, as at Barzipa (near Babylon), at Chorsabad (Dur-Saryukin), and elsewhere, after the five planets with the sun and moon. The terraces, like those also at Ecbatana in Media, were of different colours. At the top stood a square chapel, containing an image. The opinion of Lenorraant, that the Assyrian Zikurats, as these structures were called, served not as 76 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. temples, but for the observation of the stars, is contra- dicted by an inscription of the Assyrian king Raman-nirari, in which he says of the god Nabu that he dwells in the temple of Bit-Zida in the midst of Kalach, and this was a terraced temple. See West. As. Inscrr., i. pi. 35, No. 2. 46. Our sources do not yet enable us to trace the internal development of the Babylonio-Assyrian religion, although it is possible to point out which were the domi- nant gods in each of the three great periods of its his- tory. Even while it was subject to Assyria, Babylon remained the religious centre, the holy city par excellence ; and whatever hostility might exist between the monarchs of the two provinces, the gods of the city, so far as they were still unknown to the Assyrians, were readily ac- cepted by them, and received equal honour with their own highest deities. Outwardly, there was no more difference between their religion and the Babylonian than might be expected to result from their early migra- tion to the north. Inwardly, however, there were varie- ties of development in the two kindred nations, because the Assyrians, with their rougher climate and on their barren soil, grew into a race quite unlike the highly- civilised but somewhat effeminate Babylonians who were bathed in abundance. It is not surprising, therefore, that of the two chief sacrifices which their religion prescribed, and which were probably both practised among the Akkadians, the sacri- ' fice of chastity was more in vogut- in Babylon, and human sacrifices prevailed among the Assyrians. By the latter people the gods of war. by the former those of knowledge and civilisation, were the most zealously THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS. 77 served. The same deity who was feared at Nineveh and Kalach especially on account of the destructive violence of his storms, Eamanu (Yav), the god of wind and spirit, was chiefly worshipped at Babylon as the god of under- standing. In short, the Babylonian religion, being that of a people principally devoted to agriculture, industry, and learning, was distinguished by its luxurious character and influential hierarchy ; the Assyrian, on the other hand, as that of a war-loving, conquering nation, by rude conceptions and cruel usages. In the oldest times Ur, Uruch, Agane, and other cities were the principal royal residences of Chaldea. The greatness of Babylon, at any rate, as a Semitic city, does not begin till the reign of the famous ' Hammuragas, who established his residence there, probably in the eighteenth century B.C., and erected the great temple to Marduk. Neither this god nor Nabu appears on older Babylonian monuments, and for centuries after they are not found among the chief Assyrian gods, not even in the list of them given by Tuklat-palasar, 11303.0. It is not till 882 and 857 B.C. that they are named among the twelve or thirteen chief gods of Asurnazirpal and Salmanasar, and from that time onwards they were worshipped by the Assyrians with quite as much enthusiasm as by the Baby- lonians, especially after the marriage, about 800 B.C., of an Assyrian sovereign with a Babylonian princess. The kings of Assyria often offered sacrifices in the temples of Babylon, Barzippa, and other Chaldean cities. The difference which we have noted in religious de- velopment between the two nations, must not, therefore, be conceived too sharply. It is only a matter of degree. Assur was constantly endeavouring to tread in the foot- ?8 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. steps of Babylon. The luxurious worship of the Chal- deans proved full of attraction for the Assyrians, and Nineveh became a centre of it as early as the thirteenth century B.C., alternating after the tenth century with Kalach. The last but one of the Assyrian kings, Asur- banipal, was a protector of civilisation, science, and letters. 47. Largely, however, as the Mesopotamian Semites borrowed from their predecessors, their religion reached a really higher stage. What they adopted, they developed ; and on all foreign elements they impressed the stamp of their own spirit. The nature-beings whom they invoked in imitation of the Akkadians, became among them real gods, raised above nature and ruling it, as they had never done before. Above the highest triads they placed a' god whose commands all the others reverenced, as the head of an unlimited theocracy. If magic and augury re- mained prominent constituents of their ceremonial reli- gion, they practised besides a real worship, and gave utterance to a vivid sense of sin, a deep feeling of man's dependence, even of his nothingness before God, in prayers and hymns hardly less fervent than those of the pious souls of Israel. Such a supreme god was Bilu-Bili, " the Lord of Lords," at Babylon, and Asur in Assyria, both being sometimes called briefly Ilu, " god." The Akkadian Dingira, with whom he was identified, appears in general not to have occupied so high a position. The prefect of Kalach, under King Kaman-nirari, even says in an inscription, "Put your trust in Nabu, and trust in no other god ! " Examples of Assyrian prayers and hymns may be THE SABEANS. 70 found in my Vergdijk. Geschied., p. 391, sqgr., and in Schrader, Die Hollenfalirt der Istar, Nos. 2-9. 48. In the religion of the Sabeans of South Arabia, made known to us by the decipherment of the Himyaritic inscriptions, by the side of the national gods of a genuinely Arabic character such as the principal god Al-makah (" the god who hearkens "), the female sun-deity Shamsh, and others we meet with a number of purely Babylonio- Assyrian gods, but always under their Semitic names or surnames. Among these are included the supreme Bel, the moon-god Sin, the goddess Istar in two forms, the male AtfAtar and the female A^taret, and Simdan, which can only be the Assyrian name of Mndar. These instances of agreement, to which must be added others in the territory of art, may not be invoked as proof that the religion of the Sabeans is a branch of the Assyrian, but receive their best explanation from commercial rela- tions between Chaldea and South Arabia, which were already at an early period, as is well known, exceedingly active. It must not be forgotten that the Himyaritic inscrip- tions with which we are acquainted are all of a relatively late date, from the first centuries of our era. Whether the South Arabic god Nasr, the " eagle," is a modification of Nisruk, as Hea was surnamed, is uncertain, and appears to me doubtful. C. Religion among the West Semites. Literature. On the Phenicians, see the Inscrijptiom edited and translated by HAMAKER (antiquated), GESENIUD So RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. (Monumenta Ph&n.), KENAN (Mission en Phenic.), DE VOGUE (Inscrr. Semit.), MEIER (ErEdrung Phoeniz. SpracJi- denkmale, 1860, and Ueber die Nabat. Inschrr., 1863, neither of them deserving of much confidence), and others. M. A. LEVY, Phonizische Studien, 4 parts, Breslau, 1856- 70 (the first part containing a translation of the great Sidonian inscription), indispensable. Id., Siegd und Gem- men mit Aram. Phoniz., <&c. 9 Inschriften, ibid., 1869. On the great Sidonian inscription, K. SCHLOTTMANN, Die Inschrift Eslimunazars Kon. der Sidonier, Halle, 1868, and the literature on the subject, ibid., p. 9, sqq. The essay by H. EWALD, in the Abhandl. der Konigl. Gesellsch. der Wissenschaflen in Getting., 1856. leaves much to be desired. See further DE VOGUE, Melanges d'Archceol. Orient., Paris, 1868. On Sanchoniathon, BUNSEN, Egypt's Place, &c., v. p. 793, sqq. EWALD, Abhandl. uber die Phon. Ansicht von der Wdtschopfiwg und der geschichtl. Werili Sanchon., Gottingen, 1851. KENAN, " Memoire sur 1'Origine et le Caract. Ve"rit. de 1' Hist. Phen. de Sanch.," Mem. Acad. Inscr. et Belles Lettres, xxiii. 1858, p. 241, sqq. W. W. GRAF BAUDISSIN, " Ueber die Kelig. Geschichtl. Werth der Phonic. Geschichte Sanchoniathon's " in the Studien, cited below, pp. 1-46. Sanclioniathoris Urgeschichte der Phonic., by WAGENFELD, Hanover, 1836, is a literary fraud. The treatise of F. C. MOVERS, Die Phdnizier, vol. i., Untersuchungen uler die Religion, und die Gottheiten der Phon., Bonn, 1841, voL ii., Das Phoniz. Alterth., 3 parts, Berlin, 1849-56, and his article "Phcenizien" in Ersch and Gruber's Allg. Encyclopaedic, xxiv. pp. 319-443, must still be consulted, in spite of his adventurous hypotheses. On the Phenician religion, see further MUNTER'S Religion der Karthager, and Der Tempel der Himmlischen Gottin zu Paphos, Copenhagen, 1824. C. P. THE WEST SEMITES. 81 TIELE, Fergelijk. Gesch., p. 415, sqq. AL. MULLER, "Astarte" (Sitzungs Bericlite der Wiener Akad., April 10, 1861), and " Esmun " (ibid., February 24, 1864). It is unnecessary to give a list here of the extensive literature on the ancient history and religion of Israel, which may easily be found elsewhere. Of the recent works on Hebrew mythology and polytheism, I name only H. OORT, De Dienst der Baalim onder Israel, Haar- lem, 1864. Id., Het Menschenoffer in Israel, ibid., 1865. A. BERNSTEIN, The Origin of the Legends of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, transl. from the German, London (no date). W. G. COM. DE BAUDISSIN, Jahve et Moloch, sive de ratione inter Deum Israelitarum et Molochum intercedente, Leipzig, 1874. Id., Studien zur Semit. Religionsgesch., part i., Leip- zig, 1876. I. GOLDZIHER, Mythology among the Hebrews, transl. by Eussell Martineau, M.A., London, 1877. M. SCHULTZE, Handbuch der Elrdischen Mijthologie, Nord- hausen, 1876, full of the most hazardous conjectures and the wildest combinations. 49. The religion of the Western branch of the Northern Semites, the Arameans, Canaanites, and Phe- nicians, bore quite a different relation to the Babylonio- Assyrian from that of the Sabeans. They did indeed occasionally adopt, even in historical eras, the worship of one or another deity from the Assyrians, but the resemblances between their mythology and the Meso- potamian date from prehistoric times, and confirm the tradition that they themselves also once dwelt in the land of the Two Eivers. They must have quitted it before the fusion of the religious system of the Akkadians with the Semitic was so complete, as we already find it among the early Babylonians. At any rate, neither the two 7 F OF THK UNIVERSITY J ^ CALiFORN\*^X^ 82 RELIGION AMONG THE 'SEMITES. triads nor the Akkadian deities belonging to them, neither Samdan nor Marduk, occur among them. Only of the worship of Sin and N"abu do any clear traces present themselves around and in Canaan ; but these deities appear to have been already the property of the Semites before their entry into Mesopotamia. The names Ba'al and Ba'alith, however, applied to their principal gods, Ashtoreth, perhaps also Asher and Ashera and 'Anath, can only have been brought by Canaanites and Phenicians from Chaldea. That Ba'al and Ba'alith were generic names of the prin- cipal deities, or rather simple epithets, only occasionally applied in later times for brevity to a particular god, has been proved, in my judgment, in my Vergelijh Geschied., pp. 452458. I have, indeed, seen it denied (for ex- ample, by Graf Baudissin in his Jalive et Moloch, p. 35), but not refuted. I observe with satisfaction that Dr. Matthes, in his article " My then in het O.T." in the Theol. Tijdschr., 1877, No. ii., accords with my views. Further investigation has confirmed me in this belief. Schrader's correct observation that the Babylonian Bel and the Phenician Ba'al are not identical, I would rather express by saying that the principal deities of the Babylonians and Phenicians do not correspond, except in the circumstance that they both of them bore the title of Bel-Ba'al, " Lord." 'Ashtoreth is no other than Istar with a feminine termination, in accordance with the Phenician idiom. Asher and Ashera correspond tolerably well with the Assyrian Asir and Asirat, the first being probably the original form of the name of the god Asur (the "pro- pitious," the "giver of prosperity"), and the second a THE CANAANITES AND PHEN1CIANS. 83 surname of Istar. But I do not offer this as more than a conjecture. 50. The same remarks hold good in still higher mea- sure of their cosmogony, and of many of their myths. Myths such as those of the fighting and dying sun-god (Melqarth, Samson), of the spring-god who likewise dies (Adonis, Tammuz), their legends of Paradise and the Flood, and several other of their ideas and usages, were all Ak- kadian in origin, and could only have attained their Semitic form in Mesopotamia. From the Akkadians, in like manner, were probably derived the cruel and unchaste forms of worship which distinguished them from the other Semites, as well as the consecration of the seventh day as a Sabbath or day of rest, the institution of which cannot therefore be ascribed to Moses. On the myth of Samson, which was applied in Phenicia both to Melqarth and to Eshmun, see Kuenen, The, Reli- gion of Israel, i. p. 307. Schwartz, Swine, Mond und Sterne, pp. 130, sqq., 221, sqq. Steiuthal, in the Zeitschr. fur Volkerpsych. und Sprachwissensch., ii., p. 129, sqq., translated in the appendix to Goldziher's Mythology among the Hebrews, p. 392, sqq. Meyboom, Eaadselachtige Verhalen, and Godsd. der Noormannen, p. 270. The god is no other than the Assyro-Akkadian Herakles, Nindar, or Samdan, the dead sun-god, represented as a giant who strangles a lion. The Adonis myth, also, in which the youthful god of the spring, the beloved of Istar, dies, and is mourned by her, has now been discovered in the Akkado-Babylonian epos. See Lenormant, Le Deluge, pp. 25, 29. G. Smith, Daily Telegraph, Sept. 20, 1873. Schrader, in the Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Mor- genland. Gesellsch., xxvii. p. 424, is of opinion that even 84 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. the name Tammuz was not unknown in Mesopotamia. This view is also shared by Lenormant. That the Sabbath, the rest-day, on the seventh day of the week, passed to the Semites from the Akkadians, was conjectured by Oppert and Schrader, and has now been proved from the texts by Sayce, Academy, Nov. 27, 1875, p. 554, cf. Trans. Soc. BiU. ArchceoL, 1874, p. 207. In the West. Asian Inscrr., ii. 32, 16, the very word sa- batuv occurs in a vocabulary, with the explanation, "a day of rest for the heart." 51. The development of this religion among the Phe- nicians possessed a special character of its own. An industrial, seafaring, and commercial people, they gave a national form to the Mesopotamian myths, and moulded the god Eslimun with the Kabiri, and Ba'al 'Hamman, the god of the solar fire, with his consort Tanith, into the representatives and propagators of Phenician civilisation. In many respects their theology agrees with that of the Israelites. In later times they seem to have been com- pletely dominated by Egyptian influence, and, in their eagerness to imitate the Hamitic civilisation, to have brought even their religion, at any rate externally, into concord with it. Perhaps even Eshmun and the Kabiri were derived from Egypt. These last I formerly regarded erroneously as the gods of the seven planets. They rather corre- spond with the seven helpers of the creative deities Ptah and Chnum, with whose functions we have become better acquainted through monuments recently deciphered. Asmunu, however, occurs in the Babylonian inscriptions. 52. The culminating - point of the religion of the THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL. 85 Northern Semites was reached in that of Israel. During the thirteenth century before Christ a considerable por- tion of Canaan was gradually conquered by this small nation. They entered the country on different sides, possessing a religion of extreme simplicity, though not monotheistic. It did not differ in character from the Arabian, and approached most nearly, it would seem, to that of the Qenites. Their ancient national god bore the name of El-Shaddai, but it is not without reason that their great leader Moses is supposed to have established in its place before this period the worship of Yahveh. To him also was ascribed the composition of a funda- mental religious and moral law, the so-called Ten Words. Undoubtedly this deity, by whatever name they may have designated him, was the dreadful and stem god of the thunder, whose character corresponded to the nature which surrounded them and the life which they led. The history of the development of the Israelite religion requires to be studied independently. I state here only what is necessary to bring out clearly the relation in which it stands to kindred forms of worship. Moreover, the brief summary here presented needs no detailed explanation, since ample expositions of the subject will be found in Kuenen's Religion of Israel, my own Vergelijkende Geschiedenis, and other recent works. The latest discoveries in the field of ancient Babylonian literature give rise to the question whether the traditions of the Israelites about their origin really belonged to them, or whether they appropriated them from the Canaanites. Does the tradition of Abraham's migration from Ur of the Chaldees, and of the sojourn of the patriarchs in Canaan and Egypt, really furnish us with 86 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. a preliminary history of the Israelites wrapped up in legends, or did they find it in existence in Canaan and adopt it? In other words, were the tribes of Israel originally a branch of the Northern Semites, or were they a branch of the Southern Semites related to the Ishmaelites, who only mingled with the Northern Semites when settled in their new abode, and there became acquainted with the civilisation brought by their kinsmen from Mesopotamia? Before these questions are solved by further inquiry, all that we can say with certainty of* the origin of the Israelites is that they belong to the Semitic race, and I have therefore been purposely silent on the subject in the text. 53. This religion they did not abandon in their new fatherland, although it was really sometimes in danger of being supplanted. At first the Israelites, or those of them, at least, who had settled on the west of the Jordan, placed their national god Yahveh by the side of the Canaanite deity of the country, whom they called briefly " the Baal," and whom most of them, after they had renounced their wandering shepherd -life and begun to devote themselves to agriculture, worshipped together with Ashera, the goddess of fertility, and other native deities. As the god of the conquerors, however, Yahveh was still commonly placed above the others. Even his ardent worshippers, such as some of the judges, and especially Samuel, only maintained his supremacy; and such zealous champions of Yahvism as Saul and David named their children after the Baal. Solomon, who erected a splendid temple for Yahveh in his capital, saw no harm in building sanctuaries for other gods as well, which was regarded as a sin, indeed, bv the later historians, but cer- THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL. 87 tainly not by his contemporaries. The Baal against which the stern Elijah contended so vigorously in the kingdom of Israel, was not the deity of the country; it was the Phenician Baal, introduced by the wife of Ahab, the Sidonian princess Jezebel. Elijah's disciple Elisha, and his follower Jehu, rooted out this foreign cultus with violence, but did not interfere with that of the native Ashera. 54. In the meantime, largely through the instrumen- tality, it would seem, of the prophetic schools, the stricter Yahvism had quietly, and even imperceptibly to itself, adopted a number of elements from the native religion, and brought them into harmony with its spirit and require- ments. This appears especially in the cosmogony, the narratives of Paradise, of the Deluge, and others, the myth of Samson, the legend of the patriarch Jacob-Israel particularly in that of his quarrel with his brother Esau, who plays a similar part in Phenician mythology, and is also named in the Assyrian inscriptions and more of the same kind. To the conception of Yahveh, also, as the dreadful god of the desert, there were slowly added various traits borrowed from that of the beneficent Baal, the god of blessing and abundance. By this process the represen- tation of Yahveh was gradually softened, without, how- ever, losing its original character. There was now no longer any reason for supplementing his worship with that of the Canaanite god of agriculture ; Yahveh was now sufficiently like the latter to be able, even alone, to satisfy the wants of the nation when it was civilised and settled. 88 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. 55. This gradual modification of the conception of deity paved the way for the reforming work of the great prophets, who began in the eighth century before Christ to insist on the exclusive worship of Yahveh. To attain this end, they contended not only against the cruel worship of the god of fire, called by the Israelites briefly " the Molek," to whom in the Assyrian period, following probably the example of their neighbours, they sacrificed children and men, but also against the cultus of the native Baal, and even against the purely national worship dedicated to the sun, moon, and stars, to which not a few of the Israelites had always remained faithful. Some kings, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, devoted them- selves to carrying out their doctrine ; other princes, how- ever, supported by the majority of the people, maintained the old and the new nature-gods. It was not till the establishment of a priestly state by the small section of the nation who returned to the fatherland after the cap- tivity, that Yahveh was recognised as the only god, and there was no further mention of any Baal or Molek. Molek is the old Akkadian fire-god, who was blended in Assyria partly with Anu, partly with Adar, and was worshipped in the same fashion by Phenicians, Moa- bites, Ammonites, and other kindred tribes. It is uncer- tain whether the prominence which his worship acquired in Israel after the ninth century, must be ascribed to Assyrian influence or to local causes. 56. The prophets, however, were not only the teachers of their people, but also the interpreters of whatever passed in the inmost heart of the nation. The monotheism which THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL. 89 was the last and ripest fruit of the preaching of the pro- phets before the captivity, grew slowly, and remained, besides, purely national. Out of the conception of Yah- veh's supremacy over the other gods of the country sprang the idea of his sole lordship over Israel. Beyond this idea the first prophets of the reformed Mosaism made no great advance. Even the Book of Deuteronomy, which is written entirely in their spirit, still assigns to each people a deity of its own, while the Most High retains Israel for himself. It is not till Jeremiah that utterance is given to the thought that Yahveh is the eternal God, besides whom there exists no other, and in contrast with whom the other gods are nothing but emptiness, and the Babylonian Isaiah, with more emphasis and genius, develops the same conception. The pan- theistic monotheism of the Aryans, which regards all deities simply as names of the One, the All-embracing and Infinite, remained unknown to them; and to the universalist monotheism of the Gospel, which has entirely broken down the bounds of nationality, not even the noblest of them was able to rise. The great value of the preaching of the prophets lies in its ethical character, and in the pure and elevated representation which it gave of their Yahveh. But even this conception of deity is still one-sided, and their universalism continues par- ticularist. What they opposed to the religions of other nations was not a universal religion, but simply their own national religion, and they expected that every one would be converted to it, and would recognise the sole supremacy of their national god. This expectation is the highest expression of the theocratic belief which rules the 90 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. whole Semitic life, the conclusion to which the reflective mind was necessarily impelled by progressive develop- ment, when it had once adopted as its point of departure the idea of the unlimited sovereignty of a God in contrast with whom man is nothing more than a slave. 57. This prophetic movement gave rise to a religious sect, or nomistic religion, the foundations of which were firmly laid before the captivity by the code prepared under Josiah, and during the captivity and after it by Ezekiel and the priestly legislation, and which was organ- ised, chiefly by Ezra, as a priestly community. Out of the Mosaism of the prophets grew Judaism. Superficially considered, the period of Israelite religious history which now ensued, appears an era not of progress but of ex- clusion and petrifaction. In reality this is not the case. The Jewish mind took into itself new elements, which worked and fermented in silence till they produced a nobler thought. Before the gaze of Israel opened a world hitherto unknown. It came into contact with the Indo- Germans, first with the Persians, then with the Greeks,* and lastly with the Eomans. Parsism at- tracted them by its ethical tendency, though they could make no terms with the dualism on which it rested, the doctrine of two Creators, one good and one evil ; it even seems that the great prophet of the captivity denounced it (Isa. xlv. 7). But the prominence and the large de- velopment attained among them after the captivity by the doctrine of good and evil angels, can only be ascribed to Persian influence, and Persian representations may be recognised no less clearly in their eschatology. THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL. 91 The Greek polytheism, which it was sought to force upon them with violence, they resisted obstinately and successfully, and the Eomans they hated. But Greek humanism and Greek philosophy made their way unobserved even among them, and the struggle with the universal sovereignty of Eome caused their ancient ideal, the kingdom of God, the universal sovereignty of the only true God, to awake with new power. Out of the mutual co-operation of these factors, the union of Israelite piety with Persian morality, Greek humanism, and a universal- ism vying with that of Eome in other words, out of the alliance of the Semitic with the Indo-Germanic mind arose the mighty universal religion which reconciles them both, and has nowhere found so many adherents and reached so high a development as among the Indo-Ger- inanic nations of Europe. On the debts of Judaism to Parsism, see Kuenen's Religion of Israel, vol. iii. pp. 1-44. A. Kohut, " Ueber die jiidische Angelologie und Damonologie in ihrer Ab- hangigkeit vom Parsismus," in Alhandl. fur die Kunde des Morgenl.j iv. 3. Id., "Was hat die Talmud. Eschatologie aus dem Parsismus aufgenommen 1 " in the Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch., xxi. vi. pp. 552-591. D. Isldm. Literature. Translations of the Qordn, by WAHL, Halle, 1848; SALE, London, 1836; KASIMIRSKI, with introduction by PAUTHIER, Paris, 1840 ; ULLMANN, Cre- feld, 1840; EODWELL, London, 2d ed. (chronologically arranged, but very hypothetical). Some of these transla- tions reproduced in Dutch by S. KEYZER, Haarlem, 1860. 92 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. Cf. TH. NOLDEKE, Geschichte des Qordns, Gottingen, 1860. G. K. NIEMANN, De Kordn, Rotterdam, 1864. G. WEIL, Muhamed der Prophet, sein Leben und seine Lehre, 1843, an( l Gesch. der Islam. Volker von Mohammed bis zur Zeit des Sul- tans Selim, Stuttgart, 1866. Sir W. Mum, The Life of Mahomet and History of Islam, 4 vols., London, 1858- 6 1. A. SPRENGER, Das Leben und die Lehre des Moham- mad, 3 vols., Berlin, 1861-65. R. DOZY, Eet Islamisme, Haarlem, 1863, and De Israeliten te MeJcka van Davids tijd tot in de 5 eeuw onzer tijdrekening, ibid., 1864. G. K. NIEMANN, Inleiding tot de kennis van den Islam, Rotterdam, 1861. A. VON KREMER, Geschichte der herrsch- enden Ideen des Islams, Leipzig, 1868 ; Culturgeschicht- liche Streifziige auf dem Gebiete des Islams, ibid., 1873; and Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen, 2 vols. Vienna, 1875-77. On Islam in India, GARCIN DE TASSY, L Islamisme d'apres le Coran, &c., Paris, 1874. 58. The purely Semitic universal religion is Islamism, which first arose in Arabia six hundred years after Christ. Some tribes had already abandoned their ancestral re- ligion for Christianity in its Jewish or Ebionitish form, and the Jews also had made a number of converts. But neither the one nor the other religion had any great attraction for the Arabs ; the one was too exclusively national, the other too dogmatic. Yet they imperceptibly brought about a modification of the religious conceptions, at least of the more advanced. There were poets before Mohammed who already displayed a deep conviction of the unity of God, and of man's responsibility towards him. A definite sect, even, had been formed, the Hanyf- ites, who rejected both Judaism and Christianity, and preached a very simple practical monotheistic doc- THE RISE OF ISLAM. 93 trine, which they probably already designated Islam. The ancient Fetishism was still kept up simply by habit, and by the personal interest of tribes or families, but few retained any belief in their idols. Even for those who still remained faithful to the national gods, Allah was the Sheikh of the spirits (Jinn), and these were his daughters; nay, the worship of the fetishes was even justified by the assertion that they were invoked only as mediators with Allah. Meanwhile the chief god possessed neither tem- ples nor priests ; of the sacrifices he received the worst part, and only in extraordinary circumstances did men pass by the gods who stood nearer to man, in order to seek a refuge with him. The seers ('Arrdf) and the soothsaying priests (Kdhiri) had lost a great deal of their credit, religion was in deep decline, and a number of phenomena indicated that the need of a better was awakened. Judaism and Christianity had given currency to the doctrines of one God, and of retribution, as well as to the ideas of a revelation and the moral government of the world. The Hanyfites are commonly regarded as a sect which arose under the influence of the above-named religions. The name hanyf, " heretic," "unbeliever," may in that case have been given to them by Christians and Jews, because their belief was freer and also mingled with heathen errors. This is the view of Sprenger, i. 67. Dozy, in the Israeliten te Mekka, has defended the opinion that the Hanyfites were a remnant of the Israelites, who first made their way to Arabia in the time of David, and subsequently after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebukadresar. Their doctrine, which they called Din 94 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. Ibrahim, would in that case be, not "the belief of Abraham," but " the belief of the Hebrews," and the so- called heathen traditions and usages at Mekka which Mohammed adopted, would be originally derived from the Israelites. Islam (nom. verb.) signifies "submission," "surrender" to God. The professors of the doctrine took the name of Moslim (partic.), " the believer," " one who is blindly obedient to all God's commands " (Sprenger, i. 69 ; Dozy, Islamisme, 26). Jinn, derived by Sprenger, i. 221, from a root meaning "to cover," "to veil," is erroneously explained by him as the " darkening of the mind." If the derivation is cor- rect, the word must have been applied to the spirits, as the hidden and invisible, or to the fetishes, as the out- ward abodes of the spirits. 59. To constitute Hanyfism into a religion, a fixed doctrine, an organised worship, and a divine sanction were needed. These were provided by Mohammed. Born at Mekka in the year 5 7 1 A.D., of a family of distinction though of no great power, he was left an orphan at an early age, and was adopted by relatives. For a long time he was obliged to seek his maintenance in a lowly calling, till he became the third husband of a rich widow, Khadijah, to whom he continued most closely attached till her death. It was not till he had reached the age of forty years that visions and ecstasies, the result of a sickly system and protracted religious meditations in gloomy solitude, brought him to the conviction that he was either insane or a messenger of God. The latter thought gained the victory. He felt himself called by God himself to be the prophet of the strictest monotheism, and he hesitated MOHAMMED. 95 not to obey the call. At first he found little belief out- side the circle of his own family. Yet he had a power- ful support in his wife, and in some friends of position. Among these last the foremost place is due to the intel- ligent and discerning Abu-bekr, and the courageous and elastic Omar, two men without whom Islam could never have triumphed. At Mekka, the preaching of Mohammed, whatever were the temporal or the eternal penalties with which he threatened the unbelievers, produced little other effect than ridicule and insult against himself and the persecution of his unprotected adherents. Twice were his followers obliged to retreat to Abyssinia, and when he recalled an utterance in favour of the ancient idolatry which had been extorted from him, the exasperation against him reached its height. He did not therefore hesitate long to comply with the invitation of the most vehement enemies of the people of Mekka, the inhabitants of Medina, who swore fidelity to him, and he fled thither with a number of his friends. This flight (the Hijra, 622623 A.D.), is regarded by the Moslims as the first triumph of their faith, and is the starting-point of their chronology. 60. The favourable circumstances which surrounded Mohammed at Medina operated unfavourably upon his character. Beneath opposition and persecution he had displayed the courage of his conviction, but when he had once gained the mastery, the Prophet became an arbitrary tyrant, who gave the rein freely to all his passions. His vengefulness was felt by the Jews, who would not enrol themselves among his followers, and by those who had 96 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. the misfortune to injure him. After the death of Khadijah he began to keep a harem, to which he went on adding new wives, among them even the lawful wife of his adopted son. The scandal which such acts caused even among the faithful, was allayed by revela- tions received just as they were required, which can hardly be ascribed simply to self-deception, and must have been produced with intentional deceit. At Medina Mohammed instituted public worship, but he appears never to have lost sight of his great object, to make Mekka, already the centre of the national religion, the centre of his own religion. He preached the holy war, which was, however, inspired quite as much by desire of revenge and plunder, as by policy and fanaticism. After fighting against the Mekkans with varying success, he demanded permission to take part with his followers in the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, and his request was granted under certain conditions. Not satisfied, however, with this, he violates the armistice, advances in the year 630 with a very considerable army against his native city, obtains possession of it by treachery, destroys the idols in the Ka'ba, forces the worship there practised into conformity with his own doctrine, and thus transforms the city which had rejected him into the chief seat, and its ancient temple into the principal sanctuary, of the true faith. All the Arab tribes now submitted, at any rate outwardly and simply out of fear, to Islam, although the general rising after the death of the Prophet proves how superficial was their conversion. The idea of even uni- versal dominion began to be entertained. Shortly after the pilgrimage to Mekka, Mohammed had already sent MOHAMMED. 97 letters to different princes, even to the Eoman emperor and the Persian king, demanding their submission ; soon he despatched small armies beyond the boundaries, sometimes with considerable success,' and he planned more and more distant expeditions. But the end approached with swift strides, and he felt that his task was finished. After a few days' illness, he collected all his strength to address the faithful in the Mosque once more, returned home exhausted, and died the same day, June 8th, 632, on the breast of his favourite wife, Ayesha, daughter of Abu- bekr, amid pious aspirations and in the firm hope of im- mortality. 61. The five pillars of Islam, of which the founda- tions were laid in the teaching of Mohammed himself, are as follows: (i) the acceptance of the two great dogmas ; (2) prayer, regarded rather as an outward religious action than as an impulse of the heart, all its forms therefore being regulated with precision ; (3) alms- giving ; (4) fasting, kept strictly in the month of Eama- dhan from sunrise to sunset; (5) the pilgrimage to Mekka, which every free adult was bound to perform once in his life. The first of the two great dogmas is the doctrine of the unity of God, of whose existence the Prophet continually adduced proofs, but of whose nature he never attempted, or was not in a position, to form a pure conception. The Qoran is marked by a strong anthropomorphism, and well-attested traditions ascribe to Mohammed the assertion that he had seen the deity in human form. God is almighty and all-knowing, but terrible in his wrath: he rewards and punishes arbitra- * G 98 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. rily ; he hardens the hearts of those whom he destines to destruction ; and every one, therefore, must tremble before the fires of his hell. He requires men to sur- render themselves to him with servile submission, yet not even then are they always sure of his grace. Such a representation of the deity naturally leads to the doctrine of unconditional predestination, and this was, accordingly, also taught by Mohammed ; but he was too Impulsive, and too little of a thinker, not to be untrue to it sometimes. Moreover, the strictness of his mono- theism did not prevent him from admitting the jinns 01 spirits into his system ; but he transformed them, in imi- tation of the Jews, into good and evil spirits, angels and devils, the latter of whom, however, were, in his view, capable of conversion. Mohammed was very zealous in prayer and fasting, and spent whole nights in prayer with his disciples. Great value was ascribed to the invocation of the name of God (dzikr), not only mentally but aloud. All the ceremonies to be observed in connection with prayer, the lustrations, gestures, and genuflections, were arranged by the Prophet himself. Much value attached to their public performance. This duty was observed by 'Omar even in the days of the persecution. Sprenger, i. pp. 318, sqq., 324, sqq.; comp. ii. p. 132. The god of Mohammed stands no higher than the common Semitic ideal of morality. He is an arbitrary, vengeful, bloodthirsty tyrant, whose sombre traits are only rarely relieved by one of the brighter touches by which the Jewish prophets succeeded in throwing a kindly glow over the image of their Yahveh. Mohammed did not shrink from speaking even of Allah's cunning. In ISLAM. 99 the Qoran, sur. 8, 30, he is called the craftiest of the forgers of devices, who, by his own wiles, puts to shame those of unbelievers. For the chief of the evil spirits, Mohammed even pre- served the Hebrew name Satan, as well as the Christian name Iblis (Diabolos). 62. With this gloomy conception of deity corresponds the view taken by Islam of the world. The Qoran gives very frequent utterance to the idea that our earthly life has little value, and is but a passing game, while old traditions ascribe to Mohammed sayings in which the world is compared with all kinds of worthless objects. The door was thus opened for the severe asceticism in which the Moslims were soon to rival Christians and Buddhists. The misery of this world was only surpassed by the unspeakable pains of hell, which were depicted with the blackest colours. But with joyous expectation men might look to heaven, where in beautiful gardens, clothed with splendid garments, and surrounded by black- eyed girls, the blessed would drink the precious unintoxi- cating wine of paradise. The union of gloomy contempt for the world with luxurious sensuality is a characteristic of all Semitic religions, to which only Mosaic prophetism offers a favourable exception. According to tradition, Mohammed compared the world to a sheep cast away by its owner, nay, even to a dung- heap with rotting bones. For unbelievers only is it a paradise. While his doctrine looked for joy to the future only, the Prophet, with questionable consistency, contrived to secure here on earth a foretaste of the sensual bliss of ioo RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. heaven, a proceeding in which many believers have zealously imitated him. 63. Besides his faith in the unity of God, the Moslim must believe in the divine mission of Mohammed. This is the second main dogma. God has made known his will by thousands of prophets, one after another, of whom Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus are the most eminent, while Mohammed is the last and greatest. God revealed himself in different ways ; to Mohammed, how- ever, for the most part through the angel Gabriel. The violent attacks of his chronic disease were regarded by him as divine inspirations, but not till his return to con- sciousness did he give utterance to any words. At first he undoubtedly believed with complete sincerity in the reality of these relations ; afterwards, however, in the days of his power, they often came just at the right moment to justify him, to remove some scandal, or enable him to attain some definite end. Frequently they con- flicted with each other, and the later were employed to modify or revoke the earlier. The conception was entirely mechanical. But they were always blindly believed and obeyed by his followers. Recorded in part during his life, and in part preserved by memory, they were not collected until after his death. This collection, fixed once for all, bears the name of Qoran, and is regarded by the orthodox as the uncreated word of God, though they also attach great authority to tradition (Sonna). The modes of revelation also included dreams, such as that of Mohammed's journey to Jerusalem by night, and of his ascension to heaven. The symptoms of his disease ISLAM. 101 have led many to regard it as epilepsy, but Sprenger con- siders it to have been hysteria muscularis. The angel Gabriel is a product of his imagination, not an unknown impostor, as Weil supposes. The form in which the Prophet himself cast his revelations was a rhymed prose, without any poetic value, but not free from rhetorical bombast. When his numerous harem and his marriage with the wife of his adopted son gave general offence, he imme- diately provided divine revelations to justify himself. When severe vigils, enjoined by God, exhausted him too seriously, came a new command, kept secret all that while by God, to mitigate the old order; and when Mohammed, after having refrained from contending against the idols, began to oppose them with great energy, it was said that God had not desired him to do so until then. The revelations were called Qordn (to " read," to " explain "), or Silra (" line of a book," " chapter "). After they were collected, the first name became the title of the whole, while the second was used to designate particular revelations. Both words are of Hebrew origin. The first collection was made by Mohammed's secretary, Zaid ibn Thabit, by order of Abu-bekr and 'Omar, and for their use. The second proceeded afterwards from the same hand, in conjunction with some others. All the texts not inserted in it were then destroyed. 64. The religion founded by Mohammed is exclusively Semitic, for in doctrine and organisation it is purely theocratic. God is the sole, absolute, and arbitrary sovereign, standing in an attitude of hostility against the world, revealing himself mechanically by his prophets, and especially by the last of them, to whose words and com- 502 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. mands all must blindly submit. Mohammed himself, also, was both in his virtues and his vices a genuine Semite. His teaching contained nothing original ; the whole of his preaching had been already put forth before him, and was adopted by him from Judaism, from Eastern Christianity, and from Hanyfism, and at first he even designated himself a Hanyf. Even the idea of his prophetic calling he borrowed from the Jews. His visions were the result of his sickly condition. His preaching was not, however, merely an imitation of others, but the result of the over- powering impression which the religion of the Jews and their spiritual kindred made upon his mind, and which impelled him to oppose the worship of idols, and proclaim monotheism. He believed in his calling, accepted it from conviction, and on account of it for a long time courageously bore ridicule and abuse. Before Mohammed, his older contemporary Zaid ibn 'Amr, a Hanyf, had vigorously opposed the idolatry of the Mekkans. Mohammed was acquainted with him, and was certainly much indebted to him. See Dozy, IsL, p. 14; Sprenger, i. p. 119, sqq. Another view is taken by Noldeke, Gesch. des Qor., p. 14. The influence also of the Christians upon the Prophet must have been considerable (Sprenger, ii. p. 180, sqq.) Waraka, the nephew of Khadijah, was a Christian, and was even canonised by Mohammed (Sprenger, i. p. 124, sqq.) 65. The history of the subsequent development of Islamism lies beyond our compass. It must, however, be observed that the death of the Prophet was followed immediately by a great defection through the whole of Arabia, which was only suppressed by violence, and that ISLAM. 103 the mastery soon came into the hands of the party which had the most vehemently opposed Mohammed during his lifetime. In its doctrines, especially in its conception of God, and above all in its moral value, Islam is far inferior not only to Christianity, but also to Mosaism and to Judaism. But over the degraded forms of these religions, which prevailed in Arabia and other Eastern countries, it deserves the preference. The elements which qualified it, in distinction from Judaism, to become a universal religion, lay, first of all, in its freedom from the bonds of a particular nationality, and next, in the ease with which it could be summed up in two simple doctrines. What Buddhism possessed in the doctrine of Nirvana, and Christianity in the preaching of love, Islam found in the formula " There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet." Its triumph in Arabia was due to political considerations, and to the absence of any- thing better to occupy the field. The way for its diffusion beyond was paved by arms, and the pecuniary and civil privileges conferred on believers among vanquished peoples, secured for it a multitude of adherents. True and zealous followers it found only among nations of imperfect development, such as the superficial Christians of Egypt, North Africa, and Spain, among the Berbers, Negroes, Malays, and Turks. In Persia and India it only conquered by force. The Persians were always regarded as heretics, and the Mohammedan are, for the most part, distinguished from the Brahmanical Hindus only by a few forms. Founded among a people which developed late, it is the youngest and also the lowest of the universal religions. Only for a short time, under the stimulus of 104 RELIGION AMONG THE SEMITES. favouring circumstances, and in conflict with its own principles, did it call forth a higher civilisation. When carried out with due strictness it brings all civilisation to nothing. Monotheism in itself, when the one God does not combine everything that is divine, and the conception of deity is one-sided and limited, by no means possesses the great value commonly ascribed to it. As a universal religion, Islam did not grow out of the Arabian polydsemonism, but, like Christianity and Bud- dhism, out of a nomistic religion. 10 CHAPTER IV. RELIGION AMONG THE INDO-GERMANS, EXCLUD- ING THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. THE ANCIENT INDO-GERMAN RELIGION AND THE ARYAN RELIGION PROPER. Literature. Lieut.-Col. VANS KENNEDY, Researches into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient Hindu Mythology, London, 1831. R. ROTH, "Die hochsten Gotter der Arischen Volker," in Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Morgenland. Gesellsch., vi., 1852, p. 67, sqq. A. PICTET, Les Origines Indo-Europ6ennes, ou les Aryas Primitifs, 2 vols., Paris, 1859-63, now antiquated in some parts. M. M T LLER, Lectures on the Science of Language, 2 vols., especially lects. viii.-xii. of the second vol., London, 6th ed., 1873. G. W. Cox, The Mythology of the Aryan Nations, 2 vols., London, 1870. A. DE GUBERNATIS, Zoological Mythology, or the Legends of Animals, 2 vols., London, 1872. A. KUHN, Die Herdbkunft des Feuers und des Gotter-tranks, Berlin, 1859. L. MYRIANTHEUS, Die A$vins oder die Arischen Dioskuren, Munich, 1876. G. SCHOEBEL, Re- cherches sur la Religion premiere de la Race Indo-Iranienne, Paris, 1872; and K. M. BANERJEA, The Aryan Witness, or the Testimony of Aryan Scriptures in corroboration of . . . Christian Doctrine, Calcutta, 1875, both written under the influence of a theological system, and largely hypothetical. 106 RELIGION AMONG THE INDO-GERMANS. P. ASMUS, Die Indo-Germanische Religion in den Eaupt- purikten ihrer Entwickelung, vol. L Halle, 1875, vol. ii. (part ist), 1877. 66. Comparative mythology has proved that all Indo-Germans, or Aryans in the broadest sense, including the Indians, Persians, Wends or Letto-Slavs, Germans, Greeks, Eomans, and Kelts, once possessed not only the same language, but also the same religion. This religion cannot have differed much in character from the Indo- Germanic religions known to us from historic times. It is certain that they named their gods " the heavenly," or the " shining ones," (deva, deus, tivar), a name which was preserved among the Indians, Eomans, Scandinavians, and Letto-Slavs, and probably also among the Greeks (#609), being replaced among the remaining races by other desig- nations, and employed by the Persians in an unfavourable sense. Their principal god, or, at any rate, the object of their highest worship, was the heaven-father (Dyaus-pitar, Zevs irar-rip, Jupiter). Among the Greeks and Eomans he was maintained in his supremacy ; among the Indians he was, to some extent, supplanted by other deities, though even among them he always remained the father of the highest gods ; but among the Germans (Zio, Tyr) he was entirely changed in character. By his side was then worshipped another heaven god ( Varuna, Ouranos), perhaps a deity of the nightly sky, and probably of higher rank, of whom the Greeks retained only a faint recollection, though the Indians continued at first to stand in great awe of him. In the tempests and thunderstorms they saw, as the correspondence of myths proves, the contest of the gods of light against the powers of darkness, and they already ITS EARLY FORM. 107 recognised and worshipped a fire-god, the friend of men, who stole fire from heaven. A female deity was regarded as the mediator or messenger between men and gods (Ila, Ida, Ira), or between gods and men (Iris). The sun-god (Surya, Hvare, "JEDuo?, Sol) likewise, and the dawn-goddess (Ushas, "Ho??, Aurora), were probably objects of adoration. "We are not at liberty, therefore, to ascribe to them a kind of monotheism or henotheism at so early a period. It is even very doubtful whether their religion may be rightly called polytheism, or whether it was really more than a very advanced polydaemonism. The stage of development which they had reached, can in any case only be matter for conjec- ture, and does not admit of exact determination. I keep the ugly but established designation " Indo- Germans," to distinguish the race from the Aryans proper, who were the ancestors of the Indians and Persians. The name Indo-European s is to be rejected on every account. The name Aryans may also be applied to the whole race, and the Indo-Persians may then be called East- Aryans. The name Indo-Germans indicates the two peoples between whom all the others belonging to the race are scattered. The connection of the Greek 6e6e, also, with deva, is disputed by G. Buhler in Orient und Occident, i. p. 508, sqq., by G. Curtius, and others. Varuna signifies " the coverer," or the " surrounder." As he becomes later on the god of the ocean, he may originally have been the special ruler of the heaven-ocean, like Hea in Mesopotamia. On the theft of fire and the agreement of Pramdtha and Prometheus, of the Blirgu's with the Phlegians (light- to8 RELIGION AMONG THE INDO-GERMANS. nings), and of Bhuranyu with Phoroneus, see the work of Kuhn cited above. The opinion that the Indo-Germanic races began with monotheism or henotheism, is defended by Max Muller, Introduction to the Science of Religion, London, 1873, p. 170, sqq. See on the other side my essay in De Gids, 1871, No. i, translated into German, Max Mutter und Fr. Schultze iiber ein Problem der Religions - Wissmschaft, Leipzig, 1871. 67. At a very early date the Lido-Germans fell apart into a number of nations, which, one after another, quitted their common home, and settled, some in Asia, and some in Europe. They were not at first separated into the nations which afterwards became independent, but formed groups like the Indians and Persians (to whom the Slavs or Wends remained attached the longest), the Teutons and Scandinavians, or the Greeks, Eomans, and Kelts. Of this the agreement of their religions affords evidence, besides the indications of language and history. The Indians and Persians must have remained the longest united as one people, under the name of the Aryans. From the Aryan religion proceeded, on the one hand, the Yedic religion, the parent of Brahmanism and Buddhism, and on the other, though certainly not by immediate descent, the Mazdeism of the Bactrians and Persians. Arya (from ari, " devoted," " faithfully attached ") is explained by some scholars (Bohthlingk-Roth, Worterb. sub voc., Grassmann, Worterb. zum Rig Veda, sub voc.) as "faithful," "attached," " devoted," les fideles ; by others (Benfey, Diet. sub. voc., Bopp, Gloss.) as "honourable," " noble." It is a general national name of the same kind THE ARYAN RELIGION. 109 as Teutons and Slavs, including within it the idea of the entire body of free men, and employed by a conquering nation to distinguish themselves from their neighbours. 68. The Aryan religion is known to us from mutual comparison of the Indian and Persian religions. The elements they possess in common must once have been the joint property of both. The Aryans, like the Indo- Germans, were polytheists. This is proved by a great number of names of deities and semi-deities, which re- mained in use among both Indians and Persians. Among them Varuna, Mitra, and Aryaman, occupied the highest rank, though in Mazdeism the first of these was replaced by Ahura Mazda. Varuna, the heaven-god, and Mitra, the light-god, were very severe, and were especially dreaded by liars and cheats. Aryaman, the companion and bosom friend, who presided over the contracting of marriage, probably a fertilising sun-god, was a more kindly being. With him was connected Bhaga (Bagha), the assigner of destinies, whose name became at an early date a general designation of the gods among the Persians and Slavs. Next to the Devas, who were afterwards degraded in Eran by the Zarathustrian reformation to the rank of evil spirits, the dsuras (dhuras), " the living ones," or " spirits," were worshipped as chief gods. The most striking characteristics of this period, however, seem to have been the great development of the worship of fire, combined with magic, and the introduction of the drink of immortality (soma, haoma) at sacrifices as well as into mythology. There is reason to believe that both usages were adopted from a non- Aryan race, since they were I io RELIGION AMONG THE INDO-GERMANS. familiar to the original inhabitants of Mesopotamia and Media, and do not occur in this form among the other Indo-Germanic races, though they also found points of attachment to similar genuinely Indo-Germanic myths. The worship of fire and the ideas and customs con- nected with the drink of immortality, prevalent among Indians and Persians, differ entirely from the usages of kindred races, and exhibit much more agreement with those of the oldest inhabitants of Mesopotamia, and pro- bably also of Media. Soma (Haoma) is a word belonging to the Aryan period, as it does not occur among the other Indo-Germans. I am only able to explain this pheno- menon by the influence upon the Aryans of the peoples already named. IL RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. General Works. J. GILDEMEISTEK, Bibliothecce Sanscritce Specimen, Bonn, 1847. TH. BENFEY, " Indien" in Ersch and Gruber's Allg. Encyklopadie, sect. ii. part xvii., Leipzig, 1840. On the Literature of India, A. WEBER, Acade- mische Vorlesungen iiber Indische Literaturgeschichte, Berlin, 1852; Id., Indische Skizzen, Berlin, 1857; Id., Indische Streifen, voL i. " Zerstreute kleinere Abhandlungen," vol. ii. " Kritisch-bibliographische Streifen," Berlin, 1868-69, Cf. his Indische Studien, Zeitschr. fur die Kunde des Indisch. Alterthums, since 1849. M. MULLER, A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature so far as it Illustrates the Primitive Reli- gion of the Brahmans, London, 1859. MONIER WILLIAMS, Indian Wisdom, or Examples of the Religious, Philosophical, and Ethical Doctrines of the Hindus, London, 1875. On the History of India. CH. LASSEJST, Indische Alter- RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. in thumsJcunde, 4 vols., Bonn, 1847-61, 2ded. of vol. i. 1866, and of vol. ii. 1874. J. TALBOYS WHEELER, The History of India, vols. i.-iii., London, 1867, &c. J. MUIR, Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, their Religion and Institutions, vol. i., " Origin of Caste," 2d ed., London, 1868 ; vol. ii., " Origin of the Hindus," 2d ed., 1871; vol. iii., "The Vedas, Opinions on their Origin," c., 2d ed., 1868 ; vol. iv. " Comparison of Vedic with later Eepresentations of the principal Indian Deities," 2d ed., 1873 ; vol. v. "Cosmo- gony, Mythology, "Religious Ideas, &c., in the Vedic Age/ 7 1870. Popular. MRS. MANNING, Ancient and Mediaeval India, 2 vols., London, 1869. On Religion. H. T. COLEBROOKE, Miscellaneous Essays, 3 vols., London, 1837, 2d ed., with Life of the Author by his son, T. E. C., 3 vols., ibid., 1873. H. H. WILSON, Essays on the Religion of the Hindus, 2 vols., edited by R. Eost, London, 1862. P. WURM, Gesch. der Indisch. Reli- gion, in Umriss, Basel, 1874. S. JOHNSON, Oriental Reli* gions and their Relation to Universal Religion, i. " India," London and Boston, 1873. J. ROBSON, Hinduism and its Relations to Christianity, Edinburgh, 1874. Cf. also the journals, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of London and of that of Calcutta, Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Morgenland. Gesellsch., Benfey's Orient und Occident, the Rivista Orientate of A. de Gubernatis, &c., and MAX DUNCKER'S Geschichte des Alterthums, vol. ii. A. The Vedic Religion. Literature. Editions of the oldest Veda: F. ROSEN, Rigveda-Sanhita, lib. prim. Sanscr. et Lat., London, 1838. M. MULLER, Rigveda Sanhitd, with the commentary of Sayana, London, 1849, and foil., smaller edition in Pada and Sanhita text, 2 vols., London, 1873. TH. AUFRECHT, 112 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. Die Hymnen des Rigveda, in Roman character, 2 vols., Berlin, 1861, 2d ed., 1877. A. DE GUBERNATIS, I primi Venti Inni del Rigveda, ripulll., trad, e annot., Firenze, 1865. Translations. M. MULLER, Rigveda Sanhita, translated and explained, vol i., " Hymns to the Maruts," London, 1869 (no further volumes have appeared, but a complete translation is promised). K. GELDNER, A. KAGI, and R. ROTH, Sielenzig Lieder des RV. ubersetzt, Tubingen, 1875. A. LUDWIG, Der Rigveda, zum ersten male vollstandig ins Deutsche ubersetzt mit Comment, und Einleitung, vol. i., Prague, 1876. H. GRASSMANN (author of the Worter- luch zum Rigveda,) Rigveda ubersetzt mit Jcrit. und erlaut. Anmerkk., vol. i., parts i.-iv., Leipzig, 1876-77. The translation of LANGLOIS cannot be trusted. That of WILSON only reproduces the commentary of Sayana. H. T. COLEBROOKE, " On the Vedas or Sacred Writings of the Hindus," in Asiatic Researches, vol. viii., Calcutta, 1805, pp. 369-476, and in Miscellaneous Essays (see above). R. ROTH, Zur Litteratur mid Gesch. des Weda, Stuttgart, 1846. E. BURNOUF, Essai sur le Veda, Paris, 1863. N. L. WESTERGAARD, Ueber den altesten Zeitraum der Ind. Gesch., mit Rucksicht auf der Litteratur, Breslau, 1862. F. NEVE, Essai sur le Mythe des Rilhavas, Paris, 1857. A. DE GUBERNATIS, La Vita ed i Mirac. del Dio Indra nel RV., Firenza, 1866. A. LUDWIG, Die Philosoph. und Religios. Anschauungen des Veda in ihrer Entwicklung, Prague, 1875- 69. After the separation of the Eranian and Indian peoples, the Hindus established themselves in the land of the seven rivers, at the mouths of the Indus, whence their western neighbours called them Hapta Hindu, Sapta Sindhdvas (now the Panjdb, Panchanada, the five rivers). THE VEDIC RELIGION. n 3 There the old Aryan religion gave way before the in- dependent development of the Vedic religion, so called because it is only known to us through the Yeda par excellence, the Rigveda. It corresponds with the toler- ably advanced civilisation which the Hindus had already attained. If in its doctrine of spirits and worship of ancestors, as well as in the childlike nature of some of its ideas, it still exhibits the survivals of an earlier animistic conception, it has on the whole outgrown its influence. The Devas, originally nothing more than the phenomena and powers of the shining heaven, conceived as persons, children of Dyaus, the heaven-god, and Prithivi, the earth-goddess, are no longer simple powers of nature, but to some extent, at least, beings endowed with mora] qualities, raised above nature, creators and governors of the world. An idea of deity, which evinces great pro- gress in thought, is applied to the chief gods, so that each in turn is honoured by his worshippers as the highest. 70. Among all these gods, however, Indra and Agni were the principal objects of praise. Indra vritrahan, the slayer of the foe, is the god who in the thunderstorm defeats the cloud-serpent Ahi, and thus makes the fer- tilising rain pour down upon the earth. In this conflict he- is ' surrounded by the Maruts or storm-gods, led by Rudra ; or Vayu, the wind-god, stands by his side. He is also frequently united with Vishnu, the god of the solar disc. At a later period his two comrades, Rudra and Vishnu, were destined entirely to overshadow him. Agni, as god of fire (ignis, Slav, ogni), is the soul and origin of the universe, the mediator between men and 7 11 II 4 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. gods, lord of spells and of prayer. If India was rather the god of princes and soldiers, Agni was the special god of the priests. The worship paid to Soma, the god of the drink of immortality, to whom even a whole book of the Rigveda is consecrated, was little inferior. There are passages in theTeda which justify the con- jecture that Indra and the Maruts were at first rivals, and were not united until later. See KV. i. 165. Brahmanaspati is the lord of spells, . and Brihaspati the lord of prayer. Both are surnames or forms of Agni. Another very ancient fire-god is the heavenly carpenter Tvashtri. Almost all the 114 hymns of the ninth Mandala of the KV. are addressed to Soma. 71. That the sun-god should occupy a prominent place among the Devas or light-gods, was natural He may still be traced in a number of gods and demigods. But the proper sun-god of the Vedic period appears in three forms, Surya, " the shining one," PusTian, " he who makes all things grow," and Savitri, " the vivifying." He was also named briefly Aditya, as son of Aditi, originally, we may suppose, the goddess of the twilight. Aditi, raised to the rank of universal mother, is also regarded, however, as the mother of various other gods, and even of the highest. The chief of these Adityas is the old Aryan Varuna, who maintains during this period likewise his significance as the Asura par excellence, and whose dreadful anger the sinner endeavours to appease by fervid prayers and by sacrifices. Mitra also is still wor- shipped, but he seldom occurs alone, and he is generally THE VEDIC RELIGION. united with Varuna. Besides these two, and Savitri, whom we have already named, the old Aryan deities Aryaman and Bagha, and the Yedic gods Daksha, " the power," and Amsa, " the sharer," were also reckoned among the Adityas, to whom Surya was sometimes added as the eighth. At a later period their .number rose to twelve. Some gods, like the Asvins, the heavenly physicians, are so completely raised to the rank of rational beings, with human passions and emotions, that it is hard to say what were the natural phenomena with which they were once connected. The goddesses are still kept in the background, which is a proof of youthful and vigorous religious life. The dawn-goddess Ushas, to whom hymns of extreme beauty are dedicated, the river-goddess Sarasvati, who was afterwards fused with Vetch, the goddess of language, and Sraddhd, the personi- ficacion of faith, deserve to be specially named. The more abstract divine, figures, and the beginnings of a monotheistic or pantheistic creed, which are found in some of the hymns of the Rigveda, probably belong to a later period. Sarasvatt, " the rich in water," by whom there some- times stands a male Sarasvat, is probably an old Aryan water-goddess, a conjecture supported by the Baktrian Haraqaiti and the Persian Harauvati (Arachotos, Arachosia), and not the deified river-nymph, whether of the Indus, to which her name was perhaps first applied, or of the small river which also subsequently bore it. In the Eig- veda she is also the goddess of the piety which utters itself in prayers and hymns, 72. It cannot be doubted that the ancient Aryan ii6 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. people at this early date also had their own priests, who were very likely called, as was afterwards the case in Bak- tria, atharvans, or priests of fire. In the Rigveda they bear other names, especially that of brahman, which appears to have originally meant nothing more than a " singer of sacred songs," but soon came to designate a religious functionary. Sometimes, though rarely, the word is used to designate a regular priestly order. The office even seems to have become hereditary ; at any rate, the older hymns contain occasional references to a brdJimana or Brahman's son, and in the later hymns these are moro numerous. The Brahmans were regarded, though not universally, with high honour, and the poets especially might count on rich rewards. Their claims and preten- sions rose higher and higher, but they did not yet form an exclusive caste, for kings and kings' sons are also designated as sacred singers, and performed priestly functions, though, like many of the nobles also, they generally had their house-priests (purohita). Brahman, from the neuter brahma, a prayer or hymn, seems to have been in early times a synonym for kavi, rishi, and other similar words. On the derivation and original meaning of the word see M. Hang, Ueber die Urspriingl. Bedeutung des Wortes Brahma, Munch., 1868, and Brahma und die Brahmanen, ibid., 1871, the con- clusions of which, however, cannot all be accepted with- out further inquiry. 73. Morality and religion were already closely con- nected. The gods ruled over the moral as well as over the natural order. Some of the hymns, especially those THE VED1C RELIGION. 117 addressed to Yaruna, are marked by a deep sense of guilt, and the mighty Indra must be approached in faith (sraf). The doctrine of immortality also indicates the ethical character of the Vedic religion. The ideas of the Vedic Hindus about ancestors and their worship were exactly the same as those of savages, and their representations of future bliss were still very sensuous, but they looked for requital of their actions after death. The oldest songs, however, say but little of immortality. Of the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul, the entire Rigveda ex- hibits not a single trace. B. Pre-Buddhistic Brdhmamsm. Literature. Editions of the later Vedas. TH. BENFEY, Die Hymnen des Sdma-Veda (with translation), Leipzig, 1848. A. WEBER, The White Yajur-Veda, Berlin, 1849, &c. R EOTH and W. D. WHITNEY, Atharva-Feda San- hitd, 2 vols., Berlin, 1855. The Aitareya Brdhmana (of the Rigveda), edited by M. HAUG, 2 vols. (with translation), Bombay, 1863. Translations from the Satapatha Brdh- mana in MUIR'S Sanskrit Texts, passim, and WEBER'S Indische Streifen, vol. i. Grhyasdtrdni, Indische Hausregeln, Sanskr. und Deutsch, von A. F. STENZLER, I. Asvalayana, 2 vols. , Leipzig, 1865. Manava-dharmasastra ; Lois de Manou, trad, par A. LOISELEUR DESLONGCHAMPS, Paris, 1833. Cf. Ydjnavalkyadharmasdstram, Ydjn.'s Gesetzbuch, Sanskr. und Deutsch von A. F. STENZLER, Berlin and London, 1849. C. SCHOEBEL, fitude sur le Rituel du Respect Social dans I'fitat Brahman, Paris, 1870. H. KERN, Indische Theorieen over de Standenverdeeling, Amsterdam, 1871. 74. With the diffusion of the Hindu- Aryans over the region south-east of the Seven Eivers, and their settle- ii8 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. ment on the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna, their religion enters npon a new era. The Vedic religion gives birth to Brahmanism or the hierarchy of the Brahmans. The fresh originality of the Vedic age, though not at first entirely extinct, for the most part disappears. A number of hymns, occurring chiefly in the later books of the Rigveda, were certainly not composed till the first portion of this period, and tolerably far down in it too ; but they no longer breathe the same spirit as the earlier, and the chief concern was the collection, arrangement, and interpretation of the hymns handed down by tradi- tion, of which the true meaning was but rarely grasped. It is not possible to determine with certainty in what century Brahmanism arose. If, however, as is most probable, Buddhism was founded in the fourth and third centuries before our era, the growth of Brahmanism cannot have begun much later than the eighth century B.C., and perhaps we ought, with some scholars, to carry it considerably further back. The history of Brahmanism falls properly into three periods the pre-Buddhistic ; that of its conflict with Buddhism ; and tha,t which follows its victory over Buddhism ; but the last two are too closely connected to admit of sharp distinction from each other. We have, therefore, to trace, first of all, the origin, esta- blishment, and internal development of Brahmanism, as a national and purely Aryan sect, in contrast with the non- Aryan religion and morals of the older occupants of the country; and next, its contest with Buddhism and other heresies, over which it triumphed, though not till after it had enlarged its own boundaries, adopted much that was not Aryan, and entirely transformed itself into a PRE-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 119 religious communion, the character of which was no longer exclusively national. On the date of the foundation of Buddhism, see below, 85- 75- The Erahmanic religion is entirely under the con- trol of what Europeans call the caste system. Between ranks and castes there is an essential difference. Caste is rank with sharp impassable boundaries, which admit no one who is not born within them. The four Indian castes appear as ranks, with different though corresponding names, in Baktria also, as well as in Europe in the middle ages, and wherever society stands at the same stage of development. Castes, at any rate with the same rigid separation, are found nowhere but in India. There they were originally four in number, three being Aryan, viz., that of the Brahmans, i.e., the learned ; that of the Rajanyas or Kshattriyas, i.e., the princes and warriors; and that of the Vaisyas, i.e., the commonalty, the people (vis), and one being non- Aryan, viz., the Sudras, i.e., the natives, who served the Aryans, and especially the Brahmans, as slaves. The general name which they bore enables us to conjecture how they arose. They were called Varna, which denotes both " kind " and " colour." This term at first simply indicated the difference between the whiter Aryans and the dark- coloured natives whom they subjugated, and with whom, as though belonging to a different kind, they would hold no intercourse. When settled ways and agriculture had replaced their wandering shepherd-life, the warriors began to keep themselves strictly apart from the working-class, and the learned in 120 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. the same way separated themselves from both warriors and workers ; and although they were all counted mem- bers of the religious community, the idea of varna colour, or kind, was also transferred to them. Thus arose the doctrine, already expressed in a later hymn of the Rig- veda, that not only the two races, but also the four ranks, were of different origin, and had been separately created. Differences of opinion exist about the antiquity of 'the castes. See the essays already referred to : Kern, Ind. Theo- rieen over de Standenverdeeling, and Haug, Brahma und die Brahmanen, and, t on the other side, Muir's Sanskrit Texts, ii. p. 454, sqq. I adopt the view of those who regard the four ranks as ancient, at any rate as a natural division of society at a definite stage of its development, while they consider the castes proper as purely Indian. The members of the three highest castes are all of them dvijd's or twice-born, but not so the Sudras. The hymn of the Elk, in which the four castes proceed out of four parts of Purusha's body, is the well-known Purusha-sdJcta, x. 90. 76. The same causes, combined with the circumstance that writing was unknown, or at any rate was not gene- rally employed for literary purposes, contributed to give increasing influence to the Brahmans. Subject at first to the princes and nobles, and dependent on them, they began by insinuating themselves into their favour, and representing it as a religious duty to show protection and liberality towards them. Meanwhile they endeavoured to make themselves indispensable to them, gradually acquired the sole right to conduct public worship, made themselves masters of instruction and of the most influ- PRE-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 121 ential civil offices, and set themselves up as the exclusive guardians and interpreters of revelation (sruti) and tra- dition (smriti\ in virtue of possessing a higher knowledge, which the mass of the people did not comprehend. They had frequently, however, to encounter grave resistance from the princes. Sometimes they were compelled to acknowledge the spiritual superiority of a rajanya ; on some occasions they were unable even to withhold from him the dignity of Brahman ; generally, however, they contrived, either by assumption and arrogance, or by cunning, to attain their end. On the introduction of the art of writing, see M. Miiller, Sanskrit Literature, p. 500, sqq., Westergaard, Aeltest. Zeitraum, &c., p. 30, sqq. Nearchus (325 B.c.) and Mcgasthenes (300 B.C.) both state that the Indians did not write their laws, but the latter speaks of inscriptions upon mile-stones, and the former mentions letters written on cotton. From this it is evident that writing, probably of Phoenician origin, was known in India before the third century B.C., but was applied only rarely, if at all, to literature. The oldest known inscriptions, those of Asoka, may be placed about 250 B.C. Among the princes whose intellectual superiority is recognised by the Br&hmans, Janaka, the Prince of Videha, occupies the foremost place. As early as the SatapatUa Brdlimana (xi. 6, 2, i), it is related how he reduced a party of four Brahmans, among whom was the famous Yajnavalkya, ad tmninos non loqui. Another king, Ajatasatru of Kasi, did something similar, and men shouted after him, as he himself complained, " Janaka ! Janaka ! " See these and other examples in Muir's Sanskrit Texts, i. p. 427, aqq., and Westergaard, op. cit., pp. 13-16. 12* RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. 77. The character of the religion of this period is revealed by what we may call its religious literature. By far the greater number of the works belonging to it were composed with a view to the sacrificial service. Together they constitute the Yeda, the sacred knowledge, or the four Yedas. Of these, it was necessary that the Hymn- Yeda (Rig- Veda) should be known by the reciting priest (hotri), the Chant- Yeda (Sdma-Veda) by the sing- ing priest (udgdtri), and the sacrificial-formula- Yeda (Yajur-Veda) by the officiating priest (adJwaryu). The Atharva-Veda was not recognised until later, and was assigned to the presiding and supervising priest, who was, however, required to know much more than this. The Yajur-Yeda was divided, after two rival schools, into the " White " and the " Black." Each of these Yedas had its Sahhitd or collection of hymns, of which only two, those of the Rik and of the Atharvan, deserve this name. That of the Sama-Yeda contains, with two exceptions, only Rik verses, arranged in the order in which they were sung at the sacrifice. Those of the two Yajur- Yedas (Taittmya- and Vdjasaneyi- Sanhita) are simply a portion of, and selection from, the Brahmanas of the Adhvaryu priests, drawn up for the purpose of giving them a Sanhita of their own, though they had no need of one. The two first collections con- tain some very ancient and remarkable remains from a previous period, but poems of the Brahmanic age were not excluded from the Rig- Yeda, and in the Atharva-Yeda are very numerous. Further, to each Yeda belong different Brahmanas, treatises of ritual and theology, afterwards supplanted PRE-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 123 by tlie Aranyakas (" forest treatises "), and the connected Upanishads (" confidential communications "), theological- philosophical treatises, prepared more especially for the use of the hermits. The Brahmanas contain here and there occasional elevated thoughts, and not a few antique traditions of the highest importance, but they are in other respects marked by narrow formalism, childish mysticism, and superstitious talk about all kinds of trifles, such as nay be expected where a pedantic and power- loving priesthood is invested with unlimited spiritual authority. Finally, each Veda had its sutras (" threads "), short compact guides for public and domestic sacrifices, and the knowledge of the laws. All these books were handed down orally, and each school (char ana) had its own text (sdJchd), both of Sanhitas and of Br&hmanas. Even when the art of writing was already known, it was regarded as a grave sin to write them down. The preceding section deals only with the religious writings of this period. That it was not deficient (also) in other literary productions, such as epic narratives, poems, &c., is certain; but these have perished, or have been in part interwoven arid remodelled in later works of this kind. The Eig-Veda also contains hymns of a non- religious character. The schism in the school of the Yajur-Veda, among the Adhvaryus, is attributed, not without reason, to Yajnavalkya, to whom, therefore, the white Yajush owes its origin. He or his school extracted the poetical quota- tions which occurred in the Brahmana, and collected them into a Sarihita, whence some scholars (e.g., Max Miiller) 124 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. explain the name " White Yajush " (sukla). This would then mean "the cleared," "the purified." Thereupon, the representatives of the old school, in order that they also might have a Sanhita, simply affixed this by no means appropriate title to the first portion of their Brah m ana. Of the existing Upanishads only a few belong to this period ; the rest are of later date. Following these three kinds of works (Vedas, Brah- manas, and Sutras), Max Miiller has incorrectly divided this age into three sharply defined periods, and on this division has founded his history of ancient Sanskrit literature. Westergaard falls into another extreme, in actually placing the Sutras before the Brahmanas. It is certain that the composition of Sutras and Upanishads continued when the Vedic Sanhitas were already closed, and no new Brahmanas were composed. Brahmanas only satisfied the requirements of the time when a trifling theology was in the ascendant. The dread of the reduction of the sacred Scripture to writing may have had its ground in the fear of seeing it fall into unqualified hands, and at the same time in deep reverence for the divine word, which would be thereby polluted. 78. In the doctrine of the gods Brahmanism made but little change. This was the natural result of the recognition of the Yedas as a book of revelation, and of the prominence of sacrifice, in which the Vedic gods always occupied the highest place. The Brahmans simply at- tempted to arrange the Vedic gods, whether by the three worlds, earth, air, and sky, or by the nature of the deities, so that, for instance, Indra was the king, Agni the priest, PRE-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 125 or by some other standard. The Asuras, however, who had been in earlier times the chief of the gods, and in the beginning of this period were still placed along with the Devas, were lowered, perhaps in consequence of their resemblance to the gods of the old hostile occupants of the country, to the rank of evil spirits. The reverence for the Devas also perceptibly diminished as the Brahmans placed themselves on their level, and the hermits espe- cially, who did penance, regarded themselves as superior to them in power and dignity. The only exception was in favour of Rudra, the violent storm-god, whose worship increased considerably in this period, and served as one of the foundations of the later Siva- worship ; he had not yet, however, become the chief god. Men felt, however, the need of such a supreme god as the maker and ruler of the universe, and this need could only be imperfectly satisfied by the creations of the Vedic Rishis. Another plan, therefore, was adopted. At first, and this appears even in the later Vedic hymns, some of the surnames of the ancient gods, in particular of the fire-god Agni, were endowed with a separate existence, or such a god under one of these surnames ( Visvakarman, " the maker of all things," JSrahmanaspati, " the lord of spells, or of prayer," Prajdpati, " the lord of creatures ") was regarded as the creator and lord of the world. From these speculation ascended to the Bralima, the magic power hidden in the sacred word and in prayer (and as such the special in- heritance of the priests), and regarded this as the imper- sonal, self -existent (svayamlliu), supreme cause of the universe. This brahma, though always neuter in the Brahmanas, soon became, in a certain sense, personified ; 126 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. and finally, as the male Brahma, was exalted to be the all-ruling personal deity, without ever becoming a true national god. To the three worlds, earth, air, and sky, correspond the three chief gods Agni, Indra united with V&yu or Yishnu, and Surya. Besides the name Visvakarman, &c., the name Hiranyagarbha, "the golden world-egg," was also used to designate the sun fire-god as creator. Kasyapa, also, in the later tradition a famous sage, must be regarded as a universal creator and sun-god of the same kind. 79. In spite of the supreme power of the Brahmans, the right of the head of the family to offer the family sacrifices remained unimpaired. But at the public sacri- fices, with the arrangements and symbolism of which we are still but imperfectly acquainted, the usages and cere- monies became more and more elaborate and involved, requiring a constant increase in the number of minis- trants, all of whom were of necessity Brahmans. The sacrificial ceremonial at the consecration of a king (rctja- suya), the very common horse-sacrifice (asvamedha), the proper human sacrifice (purushamedha), and the general sacrifice (sarvamedha), were the most important. At these four sacrifices, human victims were really offered in ancient times, but as manners grew more gentle, this practice began to decline, and at an early date, though not with universal approval, fell into disuse. The idea was even expressed that all sacrifices of blood were unnecessary, though they still prevailed for a long while after this period. At length men grew weary of pondering on the mean- PRE-B UDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 1 2 7 ing of sacrificial actions and quarrelling over points of theology ; and while some, with more practical aims, and contented, therefore, with short Sutras, neglected the study of the Brahmanas, others sought in the Aranyakas and the oldest Upanishads satisfaction for their craving for mystic contemplation and philosophical reflection, and occupied themselves by preference with the ques- tions of the origin of the universe, the nature of the deity and of the soul, the relation of spirit and matter, and other problems of the same kind. These were the beginnings from which Hindu philosophy was afterwards developed. The commutation of the old human sacrifice by a sub- stitute is certainly alluded to in the legend of Sunahsepa, quoted from the Aitareya Brdhmana by M. Miiller, SansJcr. Literature, Append., p. 573, sqq., cf. pp. 408-416. It has some correspondence with that of Abraham and Isaac. The superfluous nature of all sacrifices of blood is taught in the Aitar. Brdhm., vi. 8, see M. Miiller, op. cit., p. 420, and in the Satap. Brdhm. i, 2, 3, 6, cf. Weber, Ind.Streifen, i. p. 55, in an important essay which deserves to be con- sulted on the subject. 80. The moral and social ideal of the Brahmans is known to us from the so-called lawbook of Manu, the main features of which are pre-Buddhistic. Their moral teaching stands relatively very high, though it has not risen above eudaemonism. With much that is genuinely humane, it contains much that is arbitrary and unnatural, and resembles all the laws of antiquity in placing moral purity on a line with the prescriptions of sacerdotalism and magic. 128 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. Purified by various ceremonies from the stains of birth, the Arya, invested with the consecrated cord and girdle, enters as a disciple of the Brahmans on the first stage of his training, and after completing his course, he cele- brates, by the offering of his first sacrifice, the feast of his new birth. He then becomes a householder (grikcu- pati), and after having discharged his duties in this capa- city, he hands over to his son, who has in the meantime himself attained the same position, the care of all belong- ing to him, and retires into the forest to pass his days undisturbed in religious works and silent meditations. The highest ideal that a man can reach on earth is to become a yati (self-conqueror) or sannydsi (self-renouncer). The latter offers no more sacrifices, he is raised above the things of the world and of sense, and devotes himself exclusively to the contemplative life. Such is the way to final deliverance (moksha) from the bonds of sensual existence. The majority of men, however, do not as yet attain this goal. The wicked and the impious are condemned to hell, and there suffer dreadful torments. Those who have faithfully discharged their religious duties are re- warded with heaven, and become Devas. Every one, how- ever, who has not yet obtained deliverance must be born again on earth, in the shape of a plant, an animal, or a man of lower or higher rank, in proportion to the number of his sins. This process continues until he has reached the highest stage of self-abandonment and contemplation (tapas), when, freed from everything material, he sinks away into the soul of the universe and is united with it. This dogma, improperly called that of the transmigration PRE-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 129 of the soul, is unknown to the oldest Vedic books, but it was current before Buddhism, as it is the foundation of the Buddhist doctrine of deliverance. On the age of the Manavadharmasdstra there is great difference of opinion. Max Miiller, Sanskrit Literature, p. 62, sqq., combats the view of Sir W. Jones, who thought that the law-book could not have been drawn up later than 800 B.C. A. Barth, Rev. Critique, 1875, No. 48, considers even 500 B.C., as proposed by Monier Williams and others, too early. That those passages which refer to a much later time are interpolations, is conceded by all. The main contents of the work may be safely brought down towards the close of the pre-Buddhist period. For our purpose it is to a certain extent unimportant whether it was ever actually applied in its entirety as a law. It is sufficient that it exhibits to us the ideal of the Brahmans. 81. The social ideal of the Brahmans is the unlimited power of the hierarchy and the strict separation of castes. At the end of this period, owing to mixed marriages and other causes, the old castes were increased by a number of half-pure and impure castes. Various useful callings were thus branded as sinful, and men were prevented from withdrawing even from shameful occupations to which birth condemned them. The highest claims were made by the law-book on the Brahmans, but they also received from it the most extravagant privileges, and it provided that the unlimited authority of the kings should be placed at their service. Woman was kept in complete dependence, the Sudra was despised, and those who stood outside the community (Chdnddlas, Svapdkas) were doomed 130 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. to a life of the greatest misery, and were esteemed no higher than sacrificial animals. Such a position could not be long endured, and this serves to explain not only the rise of Buddhism, but also its rapid diffusion, and the radical revolution which it brought about. C. The Conflict of Brdhmanism with Buddhism. Literature. Among editions of Pali texts, the following are the most important : the Mahawansa, edited by Hon. G. TURNOUR, Colombo, 1837. Dhamma-pada, ed. by Y. FAUSBOLL, Copenhagen, 1855. The Upasampadd-Kamma- vdcha and Pdtimokkha, by J. F. DICKSON in the Journ. Roy. As. Soc., 1873 an d 1875. KhuddaJca-Pdtha, ibid., 1869, by R. C. CHILDERS. The JdtaJca Commentary, by FAUS- BOLL, vol. i., pt. i. 5 London, 1875. & e pt Suttas Palis, ed. by GRIMBLOT, with translations by BURNOUF and GOGERLY, Paris, 1876. Mahd Parinibldna Sutta, by CHILDERS, Journ. Roy. As. Soc., 1874 arid 1876. E. BURNOUF, Introduction a VHistoire du Buddhisme Indien (1844), 2d ed., Paris, 1876. Id., Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi (trad, du Saddharma Pundarika), Paris, 1852. C. F. KO'PPEN, Die Religion des Buddha und ihreEntstehung, Berlin, 1 85 7. Id., Die Lamaische Hierarchic und Kirche, ibid., 1859. BARTHELEMY SAINT HILAIRE, Le Bouddha et sa Religion, 2d ed., Paris, 1862. W. WASSILJEW, Der Buddhismus, Seine Logmen, Gesch. und Literatur, 1860 (translated into French by La Comme, Paris, 1865). A. SCHIEFNER, Tdrandtha's Geschichte des Buddhismus in Indien, aus dem Tibet., St. Petersburg, 1869. R. SPENCE HARDY, A Manual of Buddhism in its Modern Development, translated from Singhalese MSS., London, 1860. Id., Eastern Mona- chism, compiled from Singhalese MSS., London, 1860. Id., The Legends and Theories of the Buddhists compared with History and Science, London, iS66. Histoire du BUDDHISM. 131 Eouddha Sakya Mourn, trad, du Tibetain par PH. ED. FOUCAUX, Paris, 1868. Lalita Vistara, Erzalung von dem Leben und der Lere des Cdkya Simha, ubersetzt von S. LEF- MANN, part i., Berlin, 1874. Foe koue ki, ou Relation des Royaumes Bouddhiques par Chy Fa Hian, trad, par A. REMUSAT, Paris, 1836. STANISL. JULIEN, Voyages des Pelerins Bouddhistes, vol. i. ; " Vie de Hiouen Thsang," vols. ii. and iii. ; " Memoires sur les Gentries Occi- dentales, par Hiouen Thsang," Paris, 1853-58. L. FEER, fitudes Bouddhiques, ire Se"rie, Paris, 1870. Id., Etudes Bouddh. L'Ami de la Vertu et I'Amitie de la Vertu, Paris, 1873. H. KERN, Over de jaartelling der zuidelijke Buddhisten en de Gedenkstukken van A$oka den Buddhist, Amsterdam, 1873. & SENART, Essai sur la Legende du Buddha, son Caractere et ses Origwes, Paris, 1875. Popu^ lar, 0. D. B. MILLS, The Indian Saint, or Buddha and Buddhism, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1876. T. W. RHYS DAVIDS, Buddhism, a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of Gautama Buddha, London, 1877. On the question of Nirvana see J. F. OBRY, Du Nirvdna Bouddhique, Paris, 1863 ; R C. CHILDERS, Dictionary of the Pali Language, s. voc. Nibbdnam, and the authorities cited by these writers ; and T. W. RHYS DAVIDS, Contem- porary Review, January 1877, on "The Buddhist Doctrine of Nirvana," &c. On the Jainas : J. STEVENSON, The Kalpa Sutra and Nana Tatva, translated from the Mdgadhi, London, 1848. A. WEBER, "Ein Fragment des Bhagavati," Akad. der Wissensch., Berlin, 26th October 1865, and i2th July and 25th October 1866. S. J. WARREN, Over de Godsdienstigc en Wijsgeerige Begrippen der Jaina's, Zwolle, 1875. 82. Buddhism, which was to prove so dangerous an enemy to Brahmanism, seems not to be much older than 132 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. the fourth century before our era. Its founder, who was called Siddharta, according to tradition, though commonly named the Buddha or " enlightened," the " sage " or the "lion" "of the tribe of Sakya" (Sakya-muni, Sakya Simha), and also designated by many other titles of honour, lived and worked probably in the second half of the fifth century B.C., but the legends which have sur- rounded his career have completely hidden it from our view. The chief features of this legendary history are as follows : In order to deliver the world from the misery beneath which it sighs, the sage descends from heaven, where he occupies the highest rank among the gods, to earth. Here he was miraculously conceived in the womb of Maya (" illusion "), the wife of the Sakya king Suddhodhana of Kapilavastu, in Ayodhya (Oude), and there he was born in an equally extraordinary manner. Educated as a prince, and excelling in know- ledge and ability of every kind, he early betrays an inclination to a contemplative life, which is strenuously resisted by his father, who supposes that he has over- come it by inducing his son to marry. He contrives, however, to flee from the luxurious court, and to reach llajagriha, the capital of Magadha. There he becomes a disciple of the most famous Brahmans, devotes himself to the severest mortifications, triumphs over the repeated temptations of the god of love and death, Mara, but remains inwardly dissatisfied. He then abandons asceti- cism, and endeavours by means of calm and intent con- templation to penetrate to the deepest insight (bodhi), and thus to gain deliverance from the miseries of exist- ence. At Gaya, a little village in Magadha, under the BUDDHISM. 133 shadow of the sacred fig-tree (bodhi-tree), seated on the throne of knowledge (bodhi-manda), he actually attains the dignity of Buddha. Upon this he begins to preach, first at Benares (Vdrandsi) and subsequently all through India ; multitudes without number, including not a few princes and Brahmans, and the Buddha's own family, are converted, and even women are admitted to discipleship After triumphing over every obstacle, he is doomed to witness, by the desolation of his native city, the ruin of his whole race, and at last, at the age of eighty years, he dies, or rather enters into Nirv&na. No fire can burn his corpse, but it is consumed at last by the glow of his own piety, and his bones are collected out of the ashes by his disciples as precious relics, and deposited in eight Stupas. The dates assigned to Buddha's death vary widely. That of the Southern church has been most generally accepted, according to which the attainment of Nirvana falls in 543 B.C. Westergaard, Buddha's Todesjahr, p. 95, sqq., places it 368-370, with which result A. Weber, Indiscke Streifen, ii. 216, agrees. Kern, Jaartelling der Zuid. Buddh., p. i. sqq., assigns Buddha's entrance into Nirvana to 388 B.C., and T. W. Bhys Davids, Academy, 25th April 1874, fixes it about 410. Se"nart, Essai sur la Legende du Buddha, endeavours to prove that the whole story of the Buddha is a legend, composed of the ordinary elements of a solar myth, and that we are no longer in a position to extract from it the kernel of historic truth. He is, no doubt, right to a cer- tain extent ; further investigation must determine whether his conclusion is not too decidedly negative. He does not, however, like Wilson, deny the existence of the Buddha. The narratives of birth and childhood, inde- 134 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. pendently of their supernatural character, are doubtful in the highest degree. May is a purely mythical being, and Kapilavastu an altogether unknown city, while its name suggests that of Kapila, the reputed founder of the Sankhya philosophy, which has so many points of agree- ment with the later Buddhist teaching. The other places named in the legend are familiar enough, Rajagriha, at that time a resort of sages and hermits, Varanasi (Benares), which continues the holy city to this day, and G&ya (Buddhagaya), where the bodhi-tree beneath which Buddha sat is still pointed out. This is, however, no guarantee for the historical character of the stories con- nected with these places. 83. Whether the Buddha was really the son of a king or not, it may be regarded as certain that he did not belong to the caste of the Brahmans. There is equally little reason for doubting that he sought for peace first of all among the Br&hmans, then in solitary penance, yet in both instances in vain, and attained it only by that con- templation absorbing the soul, which became the charac- teristic of his followers. His wandering life in the garb of a mendicant, his preaching that all who followed him in this might be delivered from sickness, pain, old age, and death, and should strive after Nirvana as the highest goal, the great impression which this doctrine made on men of all classes, if not through the whole of India, yet according to the oldest tradition, in particular districts, the opposition which he encountered from many, the loyal devotion of his disciple Ananda, the few details related of his death all this cannot belong to the realm of fiction. And this suffices to show us in the Buddha a BUDDHISM. 135 man, who, whatever may have been the value of his philosophy of life, out of genuine conviction and pity for his fellowmen, chose a life of self-denial and renuncia- tion to realise a great idea and promote the universal salvation. Even though we should be obliged to concede that the whole course of Buddha's life is borrowed from the well- known myth of the sun-god, and that the majority of the details of his legend find their explanation in this myth, it will still be impossible to derive the traits we have enumerated from this source. 84. Buddhism, though it is a reaction against the Brahmanic hierarchy, is, in fact, an outgrowth of Brah- manism. It rests upon the so-called dogma of the trans- migration of the soul, and the Buddhist, like the Brahman, seeks for deliverance from the endless succes- sion of re-births. But it pronounces the Brahmanic penances and abstinence inadequate to accomplish this, and aims at attaining, not union with the universal spirit, but Nirvana, non-existence. Without denying the existence of the devas, at any rate at first, it places each Buddha, as the Brahmans ranked every ascetic, above them, but it goes a step further, and makes even the supreme Brahma subordinate to a perfect saint. It differed from Brahmanism, as primitive Christianity differed from the Jewish hierarchy, by rejecting outward works or theological knowledge as marks of holiness, and seeking it in gentleness, in purity of heart and life, in mercy and self-denying love for a neighbour. Above all, it is distinguished by its relation to castes. The Buddha 136 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. comes neither to oppose them, nor to level everything. On the other hand, he adopts the doctrine that men are born in lower or higher castes, determined by their sins or good works in a former existence, but he teaches, at the same time that, by a life of purity and love, by becoming a spiritual man, every one may attain at once the highest salvation. Caste makes no difference to him ; he looks for the man, even in the Chandala ; the miseries of existence beset all alike, and his law is a law of grace for all. The Buddhist teaching is, therefore, quite popular in its character, its instrument is preaching rather than instruction, it is not esoteric like the Brahmanic, or in- tended only for individuals. And while the piety of the Brahman aimed at selfishly securing his own redemp- tion, the Buddhist cannot attain salvation without regard to the wjell-being of all his fellow creatures. The ideal of the first is a hermit striving to save himself, the ideal of the second a monk, enrolled in a brotherhood, striving to save others. Buddhism, in fact, rejected the authority of the Veda, the whole dogmatic system of the Brahmans, their worship, penance, and hierarchy, and simply substituted for them a higher moral teaching. It was a purely ethical revolution ; but it would certainly have succumbed beneath this one-sided tendency, had it not in the course of time taken up into itself, under another shape, much of what it he.d first opposed. There are two degrees of Nirvana, one consisting of the complete sanctification by which a man became an Arhat, or "venerable person," and the other being the annihilation of all existence, for which the Arhat strives, and which he cannot attain until death. The first of BUDDHISM. 137 these is called in Pali savi^adisesanibbdnam, i.e., "the annihilation of everything except the five Jchandhas (skandhas) or qualities of being ; " sometimes also Jcile- sanibbdnam, the " extinction of passion." The second is described as anupddisesanibbdnam or khandanibbdnam, " extinction of being." Thus Ohilders correctly, loco cit. The sketch which we have presented of the relation of the Buddha to the caste-system, is, of course, founded on the picture of him drawn by his followers. It is possible that this conception belonged to him originally, but it may also have been an inference from his teaching. Primitive Buddhism ignored religion. It was only when in opposition to its first principles, it had made its founder its god, and had thus really become a religion, that the way was open for its general acceptance. 85. The real history of Buddhism does not begin till the middle of the third century before our era. Of the first century of its existence we know nothing with certainty. It appears to have developed silently but steadily. Monasteries were founded, and sects were formed. If it had been the original idea of the Master to turn all men into clergy, that is, into mendicant monks, practical reasons, of course, soon rendered it necessary to admit lay brothers and sisters by their side, who were bound only to fulfil- the moral law. The foundations of the discipline (vina.ya) and of the law or belief (dharma) were laid ; even metaphysical problems (abhidharma) were already to some extent discussed. But in the middle of the third century B.C., a great change took place. The expedition of Alexander the Great had brought the Hindus into contact with the Greeks. His rival Chandragupta, following his example, founded a I 3 8 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. mightier empire than India had ever known before, and, perhaps, favoured Buddhism. Further advance was made by his grandson Asoka, who even became a convert to the new faith, and raised it to the position of the state religion. His numerous inscriptions show us that the Buddhism of this period was still exceedingly simple, and they prove that it had not yet assumed an attitude of hostility towards the Brahmans. The royal protection naturally brought a multitude of converts, especially Brahmans and hermits, who were admitted into the monasteries without instruc- tion in the law and without ordination. The heresy, the laxity of discipline, and the neglect of ordinances, which resulted from these circumstances, rended a tribunal for the trial of heretics indispensable, and a council desirable. A council was therefore held under the presidency of Maudgaliputra (Moggaliputto), which, after fixing the canon, resolved on a vigorous effort to spread the true doctrine. Missionaries were now despatched to all parts of the peninsula, and even to Kashmir and Gandhara, west of the Indus. Mahendra, the king's own son, went to Ceylon, and there founded the Southern Buddhist church, which was destined to remain so much purer than the Northern, and was at a later date to carry Buddhism to Burma and Siam. While the dynasty of Chandragupta was on the throne (till 178 B.C.), Buddhism enjoyed golden days in India. But under King Push- pamitra, the founder of a new dynasty, a violent persecu- tion was commenced, at the instigation of the Brahmans, against the followers of Sakya-muni, so that it became necessary to hold the next council which followed within two hundred years, and at which the hierarchic BUDDHISM. 7^ and contemplative school of the Great Passage (Mahd- yana) was recognised as orthodox in Kashmir, under the protection of the non-Hindu king Kanishka. The period of conflict now began. According to the Buddhist reckoning the council which met under Asoka was the third. The second, said to have been held a hundred years earlier under a certain king Kalasoka, is as little historic as that prince himself. The convocation of the first council, also, by Ajatasatru near Rajagriha, is open to serious doubts. Vinaya, Dharma, and Abhidharma, together constitute the Tripitaka (Tipitakam), " the three Baskets," the com- plete Holy Scriptures. The rise of metaphysical discus- sion before the time of Asoka is proved by the fact that in one of his inscriptions he cites an Abhidharma of Chari- putta. The dynasty of Chandragupta was called the Maurya, and that of Pushpamitra, the Sunga. 86. The struggle lasted long, and the Brahmans and the Buddhists gained by turns the upper hand. Till the fourth century A.D., the latter seem to have been in the majority. But in the two following centuries, they rapidly declined. In many places still occupied, at the time of the Chinese traveller Fa Hian (400 A.D.) by Bud- dhist temples, towers, and monasteries, his fellow-country- man Hiouen Thsang, in the first half of the seventh cen- tury, found nothing but ruins, or Brahmanic sanctuaries. Under the protection of the powerful King Silditya, about this period, Buddhism revived once more for a time, and a great council, even, was held at which the Chinese pilgrim played a distinguished part. Not long after- 140 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. wards it encountered a violent opponent in the celebrated teacher of the Mimansa school, Kumarila-Bhatta, and later still in the great enemy of all heresies, the orthodox Sankaracharya, who was born in 788 A.D. It is com- monly supposed that the Buddhists were the victims in India of bloody persecutions and were exterminated with violence, but of this supposed fact no satisfactory proofs are forthcoming. On the contrary, Buddhism appears to have pined away slowly. It continued to exist for some centuries in some of the remoter districts. In Kashmir it held its ground at all events till 1102, and in the modern Bengal certainly down to 1036, while it has continued in Nepal till the present day. The majority of believers who remained faithful fled to foreign lands, amongst others to Java, and spread their faith there. Others passed into the sect of the Jainas which was not exposed to persecution. 87. The sect of ths Jainas derived its name from its veneration of Jinas or eminent ascetics, who had con- quered all the desires of sense, and thus raised themselves above the gods, Mahavira being the most celebrated among them. It is very closely related to Buddhism, and in Sanskrit literature is hardly to be distinguished from it. While some scholars regard it as a Buddhist sect, others believe it to have been founded before Buddhism ; it is at any rate certain that it existed in the sixth century of our era. Its sacred books, the most important of which, called the Kalpa-Sutra, was written in the same century, are composed in a dialect belonging to the district in which Buddhism took its rise (the THE JAINAS. 141 Ardhamdgadlii). Its origin lies hidden in obscurity, but it is not improbable that it proceeded from a compromise between Buddhism and Brahmanism in the first centuries after Christ. The Jainas are divided into two bodies, those dressed in white robes (Svetdmbara) and the naked (Digamlara, literally "persons robed in air"), the latter of whom, however, only lay aside their dress at meals. Like the Buddhists, they look to Mrvana as their goal, they treat the devas as inferior beings liable to rebirth, they divide themselves into clergy and laymen, they reduce their law to a few leading commands, they impose confession on the believer as the preliminary to obtaining priestly abso- lution, and every year they keep a solemn fast (paryu- skana). They have, however, a great aversion to the Buddhist worship of relics. In their worship of the greater number of the Hindu gods, especially of the three principal deities of this era and of Ganesa, in their main- tenance of a certain division of castes, and even in their application of the name Brahmans to their priests in Western India, they were not essentially different from the Buddhists, for much the same usages prevailed among them also. The doctrines set forth in their holy Scrip- tures differ in many respects from both the Brahmanic and the Buddhist systems. The toleration extended to them by the Brahmans even though they were regarded as heretics, led large numbers of Buddhists to take refuge in their community in the days of the persecution. Jina, " the conquering," is also one of the commonest surnames of the Buddha. According to the Jainas, Gautama (Buddha) was a disciple of their great saint, T 4 2 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. Mahavira. They are mentioned in 587 A.D. by Vara- hamihira. The clergy or monks are called Sddlius or Yatis, the laymen Srdvakas, " hearers." The five (or ten) chief com- mandments of the Jainas and those of the Buddhists exhibit very close agreement. Their great fast, or period of silent meditation, in the rainy season, Paryushana or Pajjusan, does not differ much from the Buddhist vassa (varsha) or rainy season, in which the followers of Buddha also were accustomed to abstain from travelling, and to stay in some remote spot absorbed in contemplation. D. The Changes in Brdhmanism under the Influence of its Conflict with Buddhism. Literature. For a list of editions and translations of the Edmdyana and Mahdbhdrata up to 1847, see GILDE- MEISTER'S Bibliothec. Sanscr. Specimen, pp. 29-53. Since that date, the edition by GORRESIO has been finished, and a complete translation of both epics by HIPP. FAUCHE has appeared. The Ramayana has also been translated by GRIFFITHS. Portions of the poems have been translated by THEOD. PAVIE, and subsequently by PH. ED. FOUCAUX, Le Mahd- bhdrata, onze episodes, Paris, 1862. Of the Bhagavad-Gitd, the most recent translations are those by EM. BURNOUF (Nancy and Paris, 1861), and F. LORINSER, Die Bhag.-Gita, ubersetzt und erldutert, Breslau, 1869. The latter work has been severely criticised by K. T. TELANG, Bhagavad-Gitd, translated, with Notes and an Introductory Essay, Bombay, 1875. Cf. A. DE GUBERNATIS, Studie sulV Epopea Indiana, Firenze (no date). For the Puranas, see GILDEMEISTER, op. cit., pp. 54-60. The most important translations are those of the Bhdg- avata-Purdna, by EUG. BURNOUF, Paris, 1840, and follow POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 143 ing years, and of the Fishnit-Purdna, by H. H. WILSON, London, 1840, re-edited in the complete collection of Wilson's works by Dr. Fitzedward Hall, 4 vols., London, Trubner & Co., 1865 and foil. 88. The Brahmans perceived that it was not enough simply to exterminate their dangerous rival, they must also endeavour to provide for the wants which Buddhism had satisfied. To give up their doctrinal system and their hierarchy, to make their esoteric teaching the common property of all, to let go the authority of the Veda this was impossible for them, without destroying their order. But it was possible for them to modify that system, to supply a new basis for their hierarchy, to com- bine their own doctrine with the prevailing popular belief, and by setting the claims of orthodoxy very low, to gain allies out of various sects. These methods were applied by them in the days of the ascendency of Buddhism with such success that its power declined more and more, and persecution and violence seem to have been superfluous, if they were practised at all. 89. The first thing needed for this purpose was a popular conception of deity. Neither the somewhat abstract gods of the latest Rik-hymns, nor their own Brahma (masc.), and least of all the impersonal or at any rate neuter Brahma, could fulfil this requisite, for not one of them had become a god of the people. Such a deity they found in Vishnu, the worship of whom seems to have increased considerably in the last four centuries B.C. In the old-Vedic time Vishnu was a god of subordinate importance, generally connected with Indra, 144 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. and seldom celebrated by himself. He was a sun-god, who traversed the whole world in three steps, but he was thrown almost entirely into the shade by Surya and Savitri. He did not rise much higher in the Brahmana period, at least among the Brahmans and Kshattriyas. Now, however, he is ranked among the twelve Adityas, and is soon elevated to be the supreme god. In this capacity the names and forms of Prajapati, Brahma, and other creative deities, are transferred to him. By the infinite world-serpent (sesha or ananta) he is drawn over the waves of the primeval ocean, or by the sun-bird Garuda through the sky, or he appears in human form with four hands, three of which carry a shell, a dart, and a club. In his heaven, Vaikuntha, his consort Lakshmi or Sri, the goddess of love and beauty, of fruitfulness and marriage, dwells by his side ; to her the cow was dedicated, and her symbol was the lotus flower. The slight estimation in which Vishnu was held by the Brahmans, even as late as the end of the Brahmanic period, may be inferred from the fact that in the laws of Manu he stands no higher than in the Veda, and that Y&ska, 400 B.C., still places him in the second rank. It has even been conjectured (Muir, Sanskrit Texts, iv. p. 165, sqq.j andpassim; Lassen, Ind. Alterih., i. p. 488, sqq., 2ded., i. p. 586, sqq.), that in the oldest versions of the epics, which were certainly especially current among the Kshattriyas and reflected their belief, he had not as yet attained the eminent place assigned to him in the later redactions of the poems. Garuda or Garutmat, who appears already in the Eig- veda as a divine sun-bird, and is also enumerated in the oldest Buddhist Sutras among the lesser gods, was for- POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 145 merly connected with Indra. How he was transferred from the cultus of this deity to that of Vishnu, is related in the Mahdbhdr. 5, 104, vs. 3674, sqq. 90. Of the Vishnu worship the doctrine of the avatar as or incarnations ' (literally, " descents"), is charac- teristic. Just as the Buddha becomes man whenever the world needs to be redeemed from misery, Vishnu also, if danger threatens the devas or their worshippers, assumes one form or another to bring them deliverance. The number of these avataras was not at first strictly defined, and kept mounting higher and higher. Among the oldest of them is the " dwarf-incarnation " (vdmandvatdra) borrowed from Vishnu's own sun-myth : then he appears as the fish who saves Manu at the deluge (matsydvatdra), as the tortoise who, at the churning of the heavenly ocean (i.e., at the creation), supports the earth (Jcurmd- vatdra), and as the boar which restores it to equilibrium when it has sunk into the under world (vardhdvatdra), three sun-myths which were first applied to Brahma as creator, and were transferred from him to Vishnu. With the last of these myths is connected that of the " man- lion " (nrsimhdvatdra), under which shape Vishnu freeo, the world from the sway of a demon-king. Besides this the doctrine of the avataras afforded an opportunity of identifying him with favourite heroes of tradition, who were probably once deities. Such were Bamachandra, who, like Buddhism, extended his conquests to Ceylon ; Para- surama, the " axe-Kama," an ancient deity of fire and lightning, whom the Brahmans raised to be their hero as the slayer of all the Kshattriyas ; and Krishna the hidden sun-god of the night, always connected in the 146 'RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. Epos with the light Arjuna, the visible sun-god, and whose myth forms a counterpart of the legend of Buddha, though they are as far apart as the poles in character. In later times Yishnu was also connected with several other divine beings. The myth of Vishnu as a dwarf is to be found as early as the Satapatlia Brdhmana (see Muir, Sanskrit Texts, iv. p. 122, sqq.) It is noteworthy that in this version Vishnu does not assume the form of a dwarf, but actually is a dwarf. The only use there made of the myth by the BrUhmans is to attach to it their theory of sacrifice. It is highly instructive to compare their representation with the much more original story in the Rdmdyana (i. 32, 2, sqq.), and with the form in the Bhdgav. Purdna (viii. 15, i, sqq.), which has been in many respects modified, where Vishnu only needs two steps to traverse earth and heaven, and the Asura prince Bali, whom he dethrones, is placed in a very favourable light. Some of the avataras appear to have been borrowed from the mythology of non-Hindu inhabitants of India. Lassen, Ind. Alterth., iv. p. 583, conjectured that this was the case with the dwarf. The man-lion also appears to me to belong to a system different from the Hindu. The boar is also a form of the sun-god in the Zend-Avesta. K4ma-chandra, like Krishna, is a god of night ; his name connects him both with the night (rdma, " night," " rest,' 7 " dark,") and with the moon (chandra). His spouse is Sita, " the furrow," the ploughed earth, which, according to a representation common in antiquity, was fertilised by the moon and by the dew descending from it, or the night wind sent by it (in the Zend-Avesta, Kaman is the genius of the air [Vayu, the Sanskr. Vayu], who gives taste to food). That Parasu-Rdma is a god of the solar fire admits POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 147 of no doubt. He springs from the Brahman race of the Bhrigus (lightning), his father's name is Jamadagni, " the burning fire." Like all gods of solar fire he is the nightly or hidden one, and accordingly he slays Arjuna, the bright god of day. Out of this the myth of the Kshattriya-slayer developed itself spontaneously. In the myth of Krishna, on the other hand, the two sun- gods are friendly, the old pair of deities Vishnu and Indra in a new shape. 91. In the cultus of Krishna the worship of Vishnu reaches its climax. Traces of Krishna-worship indeed make their appearance at an early date ; but not till he was regarded as an avatara of Vishnu, especially in the form of Narayana, who had previously been identified with Brahma, did it spread through the whole land. In the Epos he is represented as a demi-god, who distin- guished himself by his heroic deeds, his higher know- ledge, and his miraculous power, while later on he took the rank of the highest god. The Brahmanic theosophists make him a disciple of the Brahmans, who devotes him- self to mystic meditations, and thus in the Bhagavad- Gita he appears as the preacher of an ethical-pantheistic doctrine, and proclaims himself as the Supreme Being and the Eedeemer. At a later date, viz., in the Gita- govinda, special prominence was given to the legends of his miraculous birth, his intercourse with the shepherds, and his luxurious life with the shepherdesses, the remem- brance of which was celebrated by special religious festivals. When Buddhism had ceased to be dangerous to the Brahmans, the Buddha himself was included among the atavaras of Vishnu, and the sect of the Bauddha- UNIVERSITY 148 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. Vaishnavas arose, which attempted to fuse the two sys- tems together. At the end of this age (Kaliyuga) Vishnu is to appear as Kalkin, to root out all wickedness. In all his incarnations Vishnu is a god of salvation and beneficence, and as a human being he is in no way inferior to the Buddha in gentleness, humanity, and self- denial, of which the Brahmans had many striking ex- amples to present. To this Parasurama forms the only exception, but it is probable that the Brahmans did not connect this form with him till they felt themselves strong enough to re-establish their authority again, if need be, by force. If the Indian Ileraldes, of whom Megasthenes speaks, is really Krishna, as Lassen affirms (Ind. Alterth., i. p. 647), the worship of Krishna must have become tolerably general by 300 B.C. But the identification leaves much to be desired. The name occurs in an inscription dating probably from the beginning of our era (Bayley, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 1854, cf. Weber, Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch., ix. p. 631). The figure and the myth of Krishna are certainly of great antiquity, though it was not till later times that his cultus spread over the whole of India. Nara and Narayana also are ancient gods. Their names signify " man " and " son of man " (Bohtlingk and Koth, Wort&rb. Bopp explains Narayana otherwise, " he who goes through the waters "), and are doubtless con- nected with Nereus and the Nereids. They correspond with Arjuna and Krishna, Indra and Vishnu. In the Brahmanic period, even as late as in the laws of Manu, "Narayana is a surname of Brahma. POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 149 The legends of the Gita-govinda are not of more recent growth than the stories about Krishna in the epics, though they were not adopted into the Brahmanic system until later. They belong, on the contrary, to the oldest myths of the Aryan race. The representation of the god as a disciple of the Brahmans, which we meet with in the Chandogya-Upanishad, is, however, much more modern. In the teachings of the Bhagavat-Gita, Lorinser be- lieves he can detect citations from the New Testament, and the stories of Krishna's birth and childhood appear to Weber to exhibit traces of Christian influence. They are, in my judgment, very doubtful. The works of Lorinser and Telang have been cited above. Comp. A. Weber, "Ueber die Krishnajaum&shtami" (Krishna's Ge- burtsfest) in Abhandll. der Konigl. Akademie der Wissensch. in Berlin, 1867. The views of Lorinser and Weber are shared by F. Neve, Des Elements Strangers du My the et du Culte de Krichna, Paris, 1876. On the whole question see C. P. Tiele, "Christus en Krishna," in the Theolog. Tijdschr., 1877, No. i. p. 63, sqq. Senart is of opinion that the Krishna-myth served as the type for the legend of Buddha. Even if that is correct, it still remains true that the Brahmans took up the old popular representa- tions which had been first adopted by the Buddhists, modified their form, and then employed them again as weapons against their opponents. The significance of the future Buddha, Kalkin, whose name if translated would mean " contagion," " falsehood," is still very enigmatical. 92. At the same time with Vishnu, perhaps even before him, Eudra also, whose worship had made such advances in the previous period (see 78), was raised, under his euphemistic name of Siva, to the position of 150 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. supreme deity (Mahddeva). His character is not to be reproduced in a single word. As Kudra his nature is violent and dreadful ; he lives in the wilderness en the loftiest mountains ; in asceticism, and, therefore, in power, he surpasses all other beings. But at the same time he is a god of fruitfulness, and thence the creator ; and he is from this time, therefore, generally worshipped under the symbol of the power of propagation, the lingam. It is not without reason that it has been supposed that this symbol is not of Aryan origin, and that the Siva of this period has arisen out of the fusion of Agni-Eudra with a native deity. Certainly both the representation of his person and the character of his cultus are thoroughly unbrahmanic, various foreign elements, such as the worship of serpents and spirits (bhutas) being connected with his worship. He was particularly popular in the mountain districts of the north and in the Dekhan, and the Brahmans saw in Sivaism a welcome ally against Buddhism. The consort of Siva, who combines in her person the same conflicting characteristics, who is marked out by her self-renouncing piety (tapas) as an ancient fire-goddess, and by her relation to Sarasvati, the goddess of the waters and of knowledge, as a goddess of mountains and streams, was invoked alike under the ancient names Ambika and Uma, the " mother " and the " protectress," as well as by the titles Kali, the " black one," and Durga, the " terrible." As Kali-Durg& she is the goddess of death, horrible in shape, and worshipped with bloody sacrifices. In the pantheon and in the cultus she takes a much more pro- minent place than all the other goddesses, whose quali- ties and names were transferred to her; and she was POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. ii even connected with Krishna and as DevimaMtmya (" the majesty of the goddess ") with Vishnu. Siva means " the gracious," one of the euphemisms hy which it was endeavoured to appease dreaded deities, in sound somewhat resemhling his characteristic name, Sarva, the " destroyer," the " wrathful." The epics relate how the supreme gods, Vishnu and Krishna on the one side, and Mahadeva on the other, vied with each other in their compliments. All these passages in which they recipro- cally glorify each other are, of course, interpolations. But the worship of Mahadeva as the supreme god must be the oldest. Passages, however, are not wanting which show that his cultus was not introduced till after the first period of Br&hmanism, and then not without resistance. The Lingam is certainly not a symbol of ancient Brah- manism, and Sisnadevas (phallus-gods) are opposed in the Vedas and excluded from pure sacrifices. He was regarded both as destroyer and creator, inasmuch as he was both storm-god and fire-god, and his union with Agni may have served as the point of attachment for the Brahmans. I conjecture that Siva or Sarva was not original, but was derived from his consort Durga, whose attributes were transferred to Agni-Rudra, when she was united with him. It is in this sense that we designate him a native deity, which cannot be absolutely proved, and is still doubted by many scholars, but is sufficiently clear from the non- Aryan character of his cultus. In the case of his spouse we must distinguish with the same care between the mountain goddess Parvati or Haimavatt, the ancient mother- goddess Uma or Ambikft, and Kali, Karali or Durg&, who is certainly not of Aryan origin. In the last who, properly speaking, has no con- sort, we may recognise the goddess of death and of the i (2 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. under-world, who is found both among the oldest inha* bitants of Central Asia and among the Malays. As the spouse of Mahadeva she is, however, the goddess par ex- cellence (Deot), and all the goddesses, therefore, and not only Sarasvati (who was connected with Parvati) and Nirriti (the goddess of evil, resembling Durga in character), but even Maya, Sri (spouse of Vishnu), Savitri, and others, might be identified with her. 93. Among the gods adopted during this period into the Brahmanic system, Ganesa, the god of arts and wis- dom, occupies the principal place. The greatest difficulty was to find room in the same system for all the three chief gods whose worshippers were for the most part hostile to each other. The endeavours to fill up the gulf between the rivals may be speedily traced in dif- ferent mythic narratives of their reconciliation. The first expedient was simply to place the three side by side, and ascribe the same rights to each of them. Generally, how- ever, two of them had to submit to be subordinated to the third. Or Vishnu and Siva were united into one person, Hari-harau^howsiS then united with Brahma and regarded as the chief god. Last of all arose the doctrine of the Trimurti, according to which the three gods were repre- sented as so many forms or revelations of one supreme deity in his threefold activity as creator, sustainer, and destroyer. Among the people, however, this doctrine made little way. Moreover, it appears not only to have arisen in the South of India, but to have been confined exclusively to that portion of the Peninsula. Besides the worship of Ganesa, practised by his parti- cular sect, the Gdnapatyas, we meet in this period with POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 153 that of Skanda Kdrtikeya, the god of war, and of Kdma, the god of love. The union of Hari (i.e., Vishnu) and Kara (Siva) had its counterpart in the fusion of the male and female deity also into one under the name Ardhanart. All this indi- cates a strong tendency to monotheism. The first appearance of the Trimurtt is in the i4th century A.D., but the idea that the supreme being exer- cises by turns one of the three functions already specified, is of great antiquity. The application of this conception to BrahmS,, Vishnu, and Siva, is entirely arbitrary, the two latter, for example, being creators no less than the first. 94. It is characteristic of this period that it gave rise to a new sacred literature, totally different in character from the Brahrnanic. But the Brahmans perceived very clearly that the rich literature of the Buddhists, if its influence was to be rendered harmless, needed something to counterbalance it. With this view, the eighteen Puranas which still exist, and a similar number of Upapuranas, were composed : by the members of the sects they were placed on the same footing as the Vedas, and regarded as of great antiquity ; none of them, how- ever, were written till after the eighth century A.D., and the majority even are much later. Their object is nothing less than to give a history of the universe since its origin, and they are concerned not only with theology, but with all departments of knowledge. At the same time, the two great epics, the Maha- bharata and the Eamayana, in which the ancient gods, already completely transformed into heroes, lived and moved as human beings on the earth, or rather, in which the old myths were blended with some great historic 154 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. events into an epic narrative, were modified and inter- polated by the worshippers of Vishnu and Siva, to make them the vehicles of their particular theology. Purana signifies " ancient tradition;" the Upapurdnas are the By-Puranas, and are of less importance. Both perhaps contain some elements of older Puranas now lost, but they differ totally in spirit and contents from the character of these works, as we infer it by descrip- tion. Following the number of the great gods, they are divided into three groups of six ; but the six, which are devoted to the glorification of Brahma, while they con- tain a number of legends about him, chiefly insist on the worship of Siva, and especially of Vishnu. In the older parts of the epic poems, the principal heroes and heroines are only compared with the chief gods and goddesses. In passages subsequently inserted they are elevated into their avatdras. Ever and anon the opportunity is seized to thrust in a panegyric on Vishnu or Siva, or to furnish a proof of their supreme power. It is often very easy to separate these additions from the original text, which must have been in existence before the year 300 B.C. It was a master-stroke of the Brdhmans to make these epics, which seem to have been originally the peculiar literature of the Kshattriyas, available for their purpose. 95. Meanwhile, the Brahmans surrendered nothing of their claims and privileges. To prevent the people from escaping from their control, they lowered themselves to them, but they were always careful to make it appear what deep reverence was ever paid, even by the highest gods, to a member of their caste. They likewise remained faithful to their over-estimate of knowledge POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 155 (Jndna) as a means of deliverance. They therefore opposed the doctrine of Sandilya, which substituted piety (bhdkt%) and love to God for knowledge, and vigorously maintained the authority and infallibility of the Veda, which they now even declared to "be eternal and un- created. Practically, however, they made concessions upon this point, and regarded as orthodox every school or sect which acknowledged the authority of the Yeda, even though it denied its eternity. The dispute about the eternity of the Yeda is highly instructive, especially when the Brahmanic doctrine of revelation is compared with the teachings of Christian and Mohammedan theologians on the inspiration of the Bible and the Qoran. In subtlety and absurdity it far transcends anything which either of the latter have ever devised. It was simply the recognition of the authority of the Veda that secured even for the Nyaya and the atheistic Sankhya philosophy the credit of orthodoxy by the side of the orthodox Vedanta. 96. Of the six so-called philosophical systems, only three properly answer to this description. The Veddnta, the " end of the Veda," is purely pantheistic and monistic, and is connected (as Uttara-mimdmsd, "later considera- tion") with the proper or older Mimainsa (Purva- mimdmsd), a more ritualistic system. The Nydya (" rule," " maxim ") is occupied with the method of philosophical inquiry, and the Vaiseshika (from visesha, " difference," " attribute ") which is connected with it, applies the method to nature. Analytical in their principles, they are diametrically opposed to the synthetic Sdnkhya 156 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. (" reasoning," " synthesis ") a dualistic and atheistic sys- tem, which exercised very great influence not only upon thought but also on religion. The practical side of this system is represented by the Yoga philosophy, which is distinguished from the Sankhya by its decided theism, and undertakes to show how, by concentrating the mind in profound reflection, it is possible to attain union with the divine principle, while its professors surpass in self- torture all the ascetics of the world. The so-called founders of these schools are for the most part mythical persons. Beneath the systems which bear their name, we may discern clearly the animistic view of the universe. In the doctrine of the independent existence of the soul, and the inferences to be drawn from it, they all agree. The Vedanta, the Sankhya, and the Nyaya, are the only schools that possess any of the characteristics of philo- sophical systems, and even they only deserve this desig- nation in a limited sense, as the object of them all is not the search for truth, but the redemption of men. The Purva-mimamsa is founded on the Brahmanas, but the Vedanta, on the other hand, on the Upanishads, which suffices to indicate their respective characters. On this system, and on ankara, the famous champion of orthodoxy, see A. Braining, Bijdrage tot de Kennis van den Feddnta, Leiden, 1871. The animistic character of these systems appears in the fundamental conceptions which they all possess in common. As the union of body and soul (which, like the substance of the universe, is eternal) is the cause of all misery, deliverance consists in the complete separation of the soul from the body, and it is to this goal that the different systems are intended to lead. POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 157 The reputed founders of the Vaiseshikas, Sankhya, and Vedanta schools are certainly mythic beings, Kanada (the "atom-eater"), Kapila (the "yellow"), and Vyasa (" extension/' " separation ; ') ; probably also Gotama, the supposed founder of the Nyaya, is of the same order. Jaimini, the founder of the Purva-mlmamsa, may very well be regarded as a historical personage, and Patanjali, the father of the Yoga, is certainly so. 97. As soon as Buddhism was overcome and driven out, the sects which had only been united by the pre- sence of danger, burst through this artificial union, and were again separated. Vishnu was once more worshipped by the Vaishnavas, Siva by the Saivas, as the supreme deity, and each body split into a number of smaller communities, to which new ones were perpetually being added. The most famous of the later Vaishnava sects are those founded in the twelfth century by Eainanuja in Southern India, and sometime afterwards by Eama- nanda. The first of these is distinguished by great strict- ness, and the avoidance of all profane persons ; while to this the second is in many respects diametrically opposed, though its founder Eamananda was originally one of the followers of Eamanuja. Expelled because he had eaten with unconsecrated persons, he abstained from imposing on the disciples whom he gathered round him, any com- mands of ceremonial purity, and even taught that the clergy ought to reject all forms of worship. From a disciple of Eamananda came, further, the sect of the Kabirpanthi, from whose writings the famous Nanak Shah, the founder of the religious community of the Sikhs (Sishya), derived a large portion of his doctrine. 158 RELIGION AMONG THE HINDUS. The Kabirpanthi hardly belong to Vishnuism any longer, though they are counted among its adherents, but they have adopted many elements of Mohammedanism, and are zealous Monotheists. Like the followers of Kama- nanda, they employ the vernacular. The repugnance to animal sacrifices is shared by all these communities, and they are all alike open to members of every caste. The Saiva sects are composed chiefly of clergy or monks, living in solitude, or united in fraternities. Siva is their god, as the protector and the example of self- denying penitents. They have now, however, for the most part degenerated into mere jugglers, and no longer enjoy much respect. The doctrine of the followers of Ramanuja accords, in many respects, with the Vedanta. Vishnu is in their view the same as Brahma". The adherents of Ram&nanda worship Vishnu as R&ma or SM-R&ma. Kabir is cer- tainly a fictitious name for the unknown founder of the community of the Kabirpanthi. Much as the author of their sacred books may have derived from the teachings of the Mohammedans, he was certainly far better ac- quainted with the Hindu writings than with the Islamitic, and he must, therefore, have been a Hindu. A complete translation of the Adi Granth, the sacred book of the Sikhs, has been recently published by Dr. E. Trumpp, London, 1877. Comp. also his Festrede, Ndnak, der Stifter der Sikli- Religion, Munich, 1876. 98. The deep decay of Brahrnanism is evinced by the rise and spread of the Sakta-sects, who worship the per- sonified power of the three great gods as female beings. POST-BUDDHISTIC BRAHMANISM. 159 Though these bodies have some points of affinity with the other sects, they constitute really a return to representa- tions and usages belonging to a lower stage of religious development. They are divided into two groups, those of the right hand (Dakshindclidri\ and those of the left hand (Vdmdchdri), of whom the first follow a stricter ritual, while the second are characterised by magic cere- monies and disgusting licentiousness. Sometimes, how- ever, they merge in each other. The rise and spread of these sects affords an example of the revival of ancient elements as soon as the bonds of the hierarchy are weakened, and the chain of purified tradition is broken. Meanwhile, under the influence of Islam and Chris- tianity, a number of mixed sects have arisen, such as that of Nanak Shah already named, and the later Brahmo- samaj, which is perhaps destined to give a new direction to Brahmanism. To the wives of the three great gods, Durg&, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati or Savitri, Radha, che spouse of Krishna, must also be added, who is indeed regarded by some sects as the chief goddess. It is impossible to mistake the striking correspondence between the worship of the Saktis and the primeval nature-worship of the pre-Aryans and pre-Semites, in which the great mother-goddess is the supreme object of worship, and which has left so many traces behind it through the whole of Asia. The Dakshinachari and Vamachari flow into each other, among other places, at Calcutta. At any rate, the sect of the Right-hand estab- lished there follows to some extent the ritual of the Left- hand. On this subject compare Pratdpachandra Gosha, 160 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. Durgd pujd, with notes and illustrations, announced in the Theol Tijdschr. 1872, p. 344, sqq. The sect of the Brahmo-samaj founded in 1830 by Earn Mohun Roy, and reformed in a liberal spirit in our own time by Keshab Chander Sen, recognises the moral grandeur of Jesus, and the truth of the fundamental Christian principles, but does not absolutely abandon the Hindu tradition. It aims at a religion consisting in the worship of God as the loving Father of all men, and re- sulting in brotherly love to all. Whether it is destined to exercise any great influence in the future, cannot as yet be determined. Ill RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIAN (PERSIAN) NATIONS. MAZDEISM. Literature. General and historical works : F. SPIEGEL, Erdnische Alterthumskunde, i. Geogr., Ethnogr., und alt. Geschichte, Leipzig, 1871, ii. Religion, Geschichte bis zum Tode Alexanders des Grossen, ibid., 1873. The third and last vol. is in the press. Id., Arische Studien, i. Leipzig, 1874. F. MULLER, Zend Studien, i. and ii., Vienna, 1863. FLATHE, Art. " Perser, Geschichte " in Ersch and Gruber's Allg. Encydopddie, sect. iii. vol. xvii. pp. 370-434. LASSEN, Aeltere Geographic, ibid., pp. 435-443. SPIEGEL, Erdn. Beitr. zur Kenntniss des Landes und seiner Geschichte, Berlin, 1863. F. JUSTI. Beitrage zur alien Geogr. Per- siens, i. Marburg. 1869, ii. ibid., 1870 (Universitats Fest- schrift). Sacred Literature. Editions of the Zend-Avesta by SPIEGEL (with Huzvaresh-translation), Leipzig and MAZ DEISM. 1 61 Vienna, 1851, and following years, and by WESTERGAARD, Copenhagen, 1852-54. Of the Pendiddd Sdde, by H. BROCKHAUS, Leipzig, 1850. Of the Bundehesh, with transcription, translation, and glossary, by F. JUSTI, Leipzig, 1868. Latest editions of the Persian cuneiform inscriptions, SPIEGEL, Die Altpers. Keilinschriften, im Grundtext mit Uebersete., Gramm., und Glossar, Leipzig, 1862 : C. Kossowicz, Inscriptiones Palaeo - Persicae Achaemenidarum, ed. et expl., PetropoL, 1872. The Ardd- Firdf Ndmak, with translation, &c., by M. HAUG and E. W. WEST, Bombay and London, 1872. Further, M. HAUG, Die fiinf Gdthd's . . . Zarathustra's, herausgeg., ubersetzt und erkldrt, i., Leipzig, 1858, ii., ibid., 1860, to be used with very great caution. The following chiefly depend on Spiegel : Decem Sendavestae Excerpta, recensuit et Mine vertit 0. Kossowicz, Paris, 1865, and by the same writer, Gdtha ahunavaiti, Petersburg, 1867; Gdtha ustavaiti, ibid., 1869 ; Saratustricae Gdthae poster, ires, ibid., 1871. Neriosengtis Sanskrit translation of the Yasna, edited by SPIEGEL, Leipzig, 1861. F. SPIEGEL, Avesta, aus dem Grundtext ubersetzt, 3 vols., Leipzig, 1852-1863, with which must necessarily be compared his Commentar uber d. Avesta, 2 vols., ibid., 1865-1869, as it contains a number of emendations and modifications of the translation. Detached pieces : M. HAUG, Das achtzehnte Kapitel des Wen- diddd ubersetzt und erkldrt, Miinchen, 1869. HuBSCHMANN, Ein zoroastrisches Lied (Yagna, 30), ibid., 1872. Comp. further, E. BOTH, " Beitrage zur Erklarung des Avesta," i.-iii., and F. SPIEGEL, "Zur Erklarung des Avesta/' both in the Zeitschr. der Deutschen Morgenl. Gesellsch., xxv., pp. i sqq., 215 sqq., 297 sqg. M. BREAL, "Fragments de Grit. Zende," Jout-n. Asiat., 1862 (includes an essay on the first Farg. of the VendidM). W. D. WHITNEY, " On the Avesta," Journ. Amer. Orient. Soc., v. 1856, and 7 L 1 62 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. Oriental and Linguistic Studies, New York, 1875, and MAX MULLER, Chips from a German Workshop, artt. v.-viii. (A number of purely philological works cannot be enume- rated here.) Religion. TH. HYDE, Historia Religionis vet. Persarum eorumque Magorum, Oxford, 1700, still note- worthy. I. G. RHODE, Die heilige Sage und der gesammte Religionssystem des Zendvolkes, Frankfort, 1820, founded entirely on the translation of the Zend Avesta by Anquetil Duperron, which is no longer of any use. The confusion of elements belonging to different periods, and the vrant of a good translation, render K. SCHWENCK'S Mythologie der Perser, Frankfort, 1855, useless. C. P. TIELE, De godsdienst van Zarathustra van haar ontstaan in Baktrie tot den val van het Oud-Perzische Rijk y Haarlem, 1864, requires revision, especially for the history of the origin of Mazdeism. M. HAUG, Essays on the Sacred Lan- guage, Writings, and Religion of the Par sees, Bombay, 1862 (to be used with caution). F. WINDISCHMANN, Zoroastr. Studien, herausgegeben von SPIEGEL, Berlin, 1863 (contains among other things a complete translation of the Bunde- hesh and the Farvardin-Yasht). Id., Die Persische Ana- hita oder Anditis, Munich, 1856. Id., "Mithra," in Abhandll. fur die Kunde des Morgenl, i., No. i, Leipzig, 1857. I. G. STICKEL, De Diance Persicce Monum. Grcechwyliano, Jena, 1856. J. H. VULLERS, Fragmente uber die Religion des Zoroaster, Bonn, 1831. J. OPPERT, " L'Honover, le verb cre"ateur de Zoroastre" (Ann. dePhilos Chretienne, Janv., 1862). A. HOVELACQUE, Morale de V Avesta, Paris, 1874. JAMES DARMESTETER, Haurvetdt etAmeretdt, Essai sur la Mythologie de V Avesta, Paris, 1875. On the Parsism of the present day, DADHABAI NAOROJI, The Parsee Religion, and The Manners and Customs of the Parsees, London, 1862. JSee farther, " Contributions towards a Bibliography of Zoroastrian Literature," in UNIVERSITY ORIGIN OF MAZ DEISM 163 Triibner's American and Oriental Literary Record, July 20, 1865. 99. After the division of the Aryans into Hindus and Eranians, the latter probably remained for a consider- able time faithful to the ancient Aryan religion, though not without adopting Turanian elements into it. Maz- deism or Parsism is a reformation of this religion, ascribed by its confessors to Zarathustra (Zoroaster). Of the his- tory of this reformer, whose very existence even has been called in question, nothing is known with certainty, though a number of legends have been transmitted of his birth, temptation, and miraculous deeds. It is equally uncer- tain at what time the religion of Zarathustra was founded. It appears from the oldest sources that the religious re- formation accompanied the introduction of agriculture and of settled life. The language in which these documents are composed is an East-Eranian, and Bactria, therefore, must have been the fatherland of Mazdeism, though it was certainly raised to the rank of state religion in the Persian empire from the time of Darius Hystaspis, and perhaps even before him. Taking its rise in East-Eran probably before or during the eighth century before our era, it made its way after that date with the Aryan tribes over Media and Persia, and there, it would seem, in the hands of the non- Aryan priestly tribe of the Magi, un- known in Bactria, it underwent not unimportant modifi- cations. The close relationship of Parsism to the old-Aryan religion is placed beyond all doubt by comparing it with the Vedic and Brahmanic religions. Haug and others 1 64 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. (including the present writer in an earlier work) have defended the opinion that Mazdeism arose at the same time with the old-Vedic religion, and that both were the result of a schism among the followers of the old- Aryan religion. The grounds on which this opinion is based, appear, however, on further inquiry to be insufficient. On the question whether Zarathustra must be regarded as a mythical personage, there is as yet no agreement. Kern, " Over het woord Zarathustra en den mythischen persoon van dien naam " (Mededeelingen van de Koninkl. Akad. van Wetenschappen, 1867), answered it in the affir- mative. On the other side, Spiegel, JErdn. Alterth., i. p. 708, and Heidelb. Jahrbb., 1867, No. 43. Justi, Gott. Gel. Anzeigen, 1867, No. 51. Of. Spiegel, " Ueber das Leben Zarathustra's," in Sitzungs-Benchte der Konigl. Baier. Akad. Philos.-Philol. Classe, January 5, 1867. Even the name Zarathustra has received various explanations. From the inscriptions of Darius I. it appears that Mazdeism was in his time the official religion of Persia. With the exception of the short sepulchral inscription of Cyrus, no such inscriptions remain from his predecessors. It is not improbable that they also were already Mazda- worshippers. The selection of the eighth century is not arbitrary. In the narratives given by the Assyrian kings of their military expeditions into Media, it is not till the eighth century and onwards that Aryan names begin to appear, and in the first Fargard of the Yendidad only East-Eranian countries are named, while with the exception of the Median city Kagha, neither Media nor Persia is mentioned. This tradition describes the countries created by Ahura- Mazda, which can have no other meaning than the countries where Mazdeism prevailed. If its origin can- MAZ DEISM. 165 not be brought down later than the eighth century B.C., Mazdeism must by that time have been in existence. The Magians were certainly a pre- Semitic and pre- Aryan priestly tribe in West Asia, whose head, Rab-mag, belonged to the court of the Babylonian kings. See Jer. xxix. 3. It is held by some scholars (Lenormant) that, in the form emga, " glorious," " exalted," the name is already found in Akkadian as a title of honour borne by the learned and the priests, which seems rather doubt- ful to me. The Akkadian word mah, " great, high, principal," has more likeness to the Semitic Mdg, the Persian Magus, the Bactrian Mdghu. Of course the Eranians must have derived it from their own Maz, "great," or Maga, "greatness." 100. Our knowledge of the Zarathustrian religion is chiefly derived from the Avesta (or Zend-avesta), a collec- tion of writings or fragments composed at different dates, the remains of a much richer literature, and from the Bundehesh, a cosmogonic-theological work, written in Pehlevi not earlier than the third century of our era, but preserving many older traditions. The Avesta is divided into Izeshne (yasna), " sacrifices," " sacrificial prayers," Vis- pered (vispe rataw, " all lords ") praises to the supreme powers, and Vendiddd (vi-daevaddta), the law "given against evil spirits," a book which contains, together with ancient traditions, the moral and ceremonial laws, and the prescriptions relating to purity. These three books together, arranged in a peculiar way, constitute the pure Vendidad (Vendiddd-sdde), the Parsee prayer-book. The Yashts, sacrificial songs, resembling some which occur in the books just named, form, with some shorter texts, the 1 66 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. small Avesta (Khordah- Avesta), and are certainly by far the most poetical portion of the Holy Scripture. The greater part of these books are written in the same East- Eranian or Bactrian dialect, but a portion of the Yasna, chaps. 28-53, like some ancient prayers, is composed in another dialect, and contains the five Gathas or religious odes and a prose- work, the Yasna of the seven chapters, certainly the oldest documents of Parsism. The Bundehesh was composed under the reign of the S^s^nidse, the restorers of Parsism, whose sovereignty began at the commencement of the third century A.D. By that time Bactrian had already become a dead lan- guage. But it is clear that the learned men who wrote this book employed ancient documents in its composition. The Avesta, the Yashts not excluded, must be older, but it is not possible to determine with any certainty the dates of the origin of the different books. Their relative antiquity is all that is settled. Their chronological suc- cession is as follows : the second part of the Yasna, the Vendidad, the first part of the Yasna, the Yispered, the Yashts, &c. 101. Far above all divine beings stands Ahum mazddo, the all-wise Lord or Spirit. In the oldest hymns and texts, including, for instance, the confession of faith, he is glorified as the Creator and the God of light, of purity and truth ; the giver of all good gifts, and in the first place of life, his praise and worship transcending every- thing. He is invested with the same rank in the inscrip- tions of the old-Persian kings of the race of Hakhamanis, who profess themselves indebted for their sovereignty to him ; and the restorers of the empire and its religion, the AHURA MAZDAO. 167 Sfisanidae, vie with them in his worship. With the extension of the world of divine beings as objects of wor- ship, the homage dedicated to him increased rather than declined. The finest names were devised for him, and the latest representation is perhaps the most exalted. The preaching of this god as the supreme, and, indeed, almost as the only deity, is certainly the new and charac- teristic element of the Zarathustrian reformation, the adherents of which even called themselves distinctively Mazdayasnan, worshippers of Mazda. It was an obvious step to identify him with the good spirit (spento malnyus), one of the two who, according to the Parsee doctrine, existed from the beginning, and this identification took place at an early period ; but it was not till a very late modification of the system that he was placed on the same footing with the evil one of the two spirits (anro- mamyus), and boundless time (zrvan alcarana) was set above both. A large number of Ahura mazda's titles of honour may be found collected in the Ormazd yasht. The description given of him by the Bundehesh is more elevated than that in the Avesta. In the combination Ahura-mithra (dual) he takes the place of the old- Aryan Varuna ; but it would be erro- neous on this account to place him on a level with the latter ; he stands infinitely higher. The system which represents Zrvan akarana as the supreme deity, and Ahura mazda and Ailr6-mainyus as his sons, is most probably no earlier than the time of the Sa- sanidse, and is an attempt to restore monotheism, which was endangered by the application of dualism to the conception of deity also. 1 68 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. 102. Next to Ahura mazda follow six lofty spirits, and these seven make up the number of the sacred immortals (ameska spenta). The representation of seven supreme spirits is old- Aryan, but the new system raised one of them above the rest, and inserted fresh figures in the ancient frame. For five of these Amesha spenta (AmsTias- pands) were originally abstract ideas, their personification being only slightly advanced in the oldest hymns. The first three, Vohu mano, " the good mind," Asha vahista, " the best purity," and Kshatlira va'irya, " the desired kingdom," are scarcely more than attributes of Ahura mazda ; the last two, Haurvatdt and Ameretdt, " welfare " or " health," and " immortality," are eternal powers con- A ferred by Mazda. Armaiti alone, an old- Aryan deity, has a more definite personality, and denotes at once the wisdom which protects and fosters the earth and the earth itself. Vohu mano became at a later date the genius who protects mankind and receives them into his abode in heaven, as the agent by whom Ormazd's creation is extended ; long afterwards, under the degenerate name of Bahman, he appears as the lord of the animal world. As the genius of purity, Asha vahista is, of course, the spirit of fire, the enemy of sickness and death, the adversary of all evil spirits, and he is always, therefore, closely connected with Atar, " fire," the son of Ahura mazda. Kshathra va'irya soon becomes the genius, not only of the kingdom but also of riches, lord of the precious metals, who teaches their pro- per employment, and punishes their misuse. Haurva- tat and Ameretat are already in the Gathas gods at once of health and long life, and of the waters and plants, and, in general, of plenty, and they are, therefore, most closely THE A MESH A SPENT A. i6g connected with Armaiti. They gradually came to be regarded more definitely as the spirits who provided food and drink, the conquerors of hunger and thirst. The Amesha spenta have a general resemblance to the Vedic Aditya's, which were originally six or seven in number, and various epithets are applied to them in com- mon. See Spiegel, Erdn. Altherth., ii. p. 31. But in personality they were quite different. It is remarkable that the names of the Amesha spenta are half neuter and half feminine. Armaiti, in the form Aramati, also occurs in the Veda, and acts among the Hindus as well as among the Eranians as the genius of wisdom or piety, and also of the earth. Accordingly the founder of Mazdeism has adopted this entire figure from the old- Aryan system. The relation between Asha and Atar is completely analogous to that between the Babylonio-Assyrian Anu and amdan, though the two pairs of deities are at the same time separated by great diversities. J. Darmesteter has endeavoured to prove that the abstract significance of the Amesha spenta preceded the material, and, in particular, that Haurvatat and Ameretat originally personified health and long life. Not till a later period, so he supposes, were they set over the waters and plants ; and it was from their older attributes that their significance as spirits of plenty was derived. Though the essay contains much that is admirable, and the author has accurately expounded the necessary connection between the various functions of these deities, he has failed, in my judgment, to furnish the proof that the material significance is the derivative. The question is part of the larger subject of the origin of Mazdeism and its connection with the Vedic religion, an inquiry which is still far from being completed. i;o RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. 103. The general name Yazata, " worshipful," served for addressing a number of spirits, partly derived from the Aryan mythology, partly peculiar to the Zara- thustrian system. The first named deities, which were probably too deeply rooted in the popular faith to be altogether supplanted by new and more abstract repre- sentations, were not, however, adopted among the Yazatas without having undergone some modification, and being made subordinate to Ahura mazda. The chief of them are Mithra, the god of light, Nairyo sanha, the fire-god, Apam napdt, the god of the fire dwelling in the waters, Haoma, the god of the drink of immortality, and Tistrya, the genius of the dog-star. The goddess of the heavenly waters and of fruitfulness, Andhita (old Pers. Andhata), is of foreign Chaldee origin. When, under the govern- ment of Artaxerxes Mnemon, the cultus of Mithra, com- bined with foreign usages, increased in importance, this goddess, also, was worshipped with special zeal, and in entirely unorthodox fashion. The cultus of both deities spread over Western Asia to Europe, and was on the whole more widely diffused than that of any other deity of antiquity. It was natural that prominence should be given in Mazdeism to that side of the character of the old- Aryan deities which most harmonised with the spirit of the new doctrine. Thus Mithra became more especially what Varuna had been in the Yedic religion, the god of truth and right, the guardian of leagues ; Nairy6 sanha, in the Veda Nara safisa, a surname of Agni and other deities, the messenger between the dwellers in heaven and men; Haoma (the Indian Soma), the genius of life and health, THE YAZATAS. 171 the protector against evil spirits and wicked men the revengeful and licentious ; and Apam napat was at any rate brought into connection with the genuinely Maz- dayasnian representation of the heavenly glory. Tistrya alone retained his physical significance pure and simple, like the other star-spirits with Hvare kshaeta, the sun-god, and M&o, the moon-god, at their head, who, however, retire into the background among the Eranians. Moreover, the traditions of the Aryan heroes supplied not a few ele- ments for the Eranian, some of which were even attached to the person of Zarathustra. The goddess Anahita bears the genuine Aryan surname Ardhvt &ra, and her common name signifies the "un- spotted." She is, however, a foreign deity. See my Godsd. van Zarathuslra, p. 181, where it is shown that she was adopted from the Semites. It was not then known, and has only come to light since, that the Semites must in their turn have derived her from the Akkadians. 104. The genuine Zaratliustrian Yazatas are all, like the majority of the Amesha spentas, personifications of ideas, as is plain from their very names, such as EasJinu razista, " the most perfect justice," Dacna, " the true faith," or " the law," and others. Even the ancient prayers were elevated into personal spirits of this kind, and the most eminent of these, the Ahuna valrya prayer, was even turned into a sort of Logos, a divine creative word. But the highest in rank of all the Yazatas is Sraosha, who was placed nearly on a level with the holy immortals. He is, as his name proves, a fine bold personi- fication of " hearing," both of invocation and of listening to the sacred prayers, maxims and sacrificial songs, and he thus naturally becomes the founder of sacrifice, the genius 172 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. of obedience and watchfulness, who contends against evil spirits with spiritual weapons. Besides Rashnu razista and Daena, there also deserve to be mentioned among this order of Yazatas Mathra spenta, the sacred sacrificial rubric or magic formula, and Damdis upamand, the " oath " or " curse," and the Zara- thustrian Question. The entire divine revelation, namely, is clothed in the form of answers given by Ahura mazda to the questions of Zarathustra, and these last are then ascribed to the inspiration of a special genius. The well- known Honover is simply the later form of Ahuna vairya, and was originally the oldest of the Parsee prayers. Sraosha appears already in the Gath^s as a personal being ; the tendency to anthropomorphism fastened more strongly on him than on any of the other Yazatas of the same order, and at a later date he was for the most part connected with Mithra. 105. From the Yazatas we must distinguish the Fra- vashis, the divine or heavenly types of all living beings, including the Yazatas and even the Arnesha spentas. They are at once the souls of the deceased and the pro- tecting spirits of the living, created before their birth, and surviving after their death, and they are sometimes identified with the stars. This doctrine, arising out of animistic representation of the independence of souls or spirits, and of their immortality, and recurring in one shape or another among all nations of antiquity, received among the Eranians probably under the influence of a native religion a special development, and, in a higher form, was adopted into the Zarathustrian system from the very beginning. ITS DUALISM. 173 The Fravashis reappear afterwards in Judaism as guardian angels, and from these they passed into Chris- tianity (cf. Matt, xviii. 10). The meaning of the word Fravashi is uncertain. It probably signifies " the earlier " (fra) " grown " (vaksh). 106. Parsism is decidedly dualistic, not in the sense of accepting two hostile deities, for it recognises no wor- ship of evil beings, and teaches the adoration only of Ahura mazda and the spirits subject to him ; but in the sense of placing in hostility to each other two sharply- divided kingdoms, that of light, of truth, and of purity, and that of darkness, of falsehood, and of impurity. This division is carried through the whole creation, organic and inorganic, material and spiritual. Above, in the highest sphere, is the domain of the undisputed sove- reignty of the all- wise Lord, beneath, in the lowest abyss, the kingdom of his mighty adversary ; midway between the two lies this world, the theatre of the contest. At the head of the evil or dark spirits stands Anro mainyus, the " attacking " or " striking " spirit, the creator of everything physically or morally unclean, and, as such, the opponent of Ahura mazda. Beneath him stand the daevas (the devas of the Aryan and pre- Aryan period), degraded from the rank of good to that of evil spirits. These include some Vedic gods, as well as purely Eranian creations, of which last-named Aeslima, " anger," is the chief, or, at anyrate, the best known. To the kingdom of Anro mainyus there belong, further, the Drujas (Nom. sing, drukhs), the " liars " or " deceivers/' an order of female spirits or monsters, who were already counted as evil spirits before the daevas had become so, and the 174 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. Pairikas, another order of female beings, who seduced the pious by their beauty. It was not till later that some amount of arrangement was introduced among these beings, and each of the principal spirits, for example, each of the Amesha spentas, obtained his distinct coun- terpart. The character of Anro mainyus is opposition, he simply follows the creative activity of Ahura mazda, producing whatever may injure his good creations. Anro mainyus becomes in Parsi Aharman, in modern Persian Ahriman, among the Greeks 'Aoe/pduog. His name signifies the " striking " or " attacking spirit." He is also called the "wicked" (aJcem), or the "most wicked" (acistem) "spirit" (mand). In the Gatha^s he is still a more or less abstract conception, but he very soon comes to be personified. The Vedic gods enumerated among the Daevas are Indra (Indra or Andra), Sarva (Saurva, originally a fire- god, afterwards an epithet of Agni, later still identified with Siva), and N&satya (NdoiikdUhya), the prototype of the Vedic Asvins. Aeshma daeva was adopted in the form of Ashmodeus by the Jews and the Christians. Of the other genuinely Er&nian Daevas we must also men- tion Asto-vidhdt'us, the " bone divider," a genius of dissolu- tion, and Apaosha. the " drought." Druj, nom. drukhs, denotes literally the " deceiver," the "liar," and is really the same word as the old High German gitroc, modern Dutch gedrocht, both signifying "a monster," "a monstrous conception of the imagina- tion, by which man is deceived." This order of beings includes old-Aryan spirits of darkness, such as Azhi dahdka, the "biting snake," the Ahi or cloud snake oi the Veda, and Nasus (v&xvc), the "corpse-demon;" and purely Eranian spirits, like Bdshyansta, a genius of sleep. ITS DUALISM. 175 Pa'irika is derived from a root (par) which, among other meanings, signifies to fight, to contend, and also to go away, to run off. Even pure nature-beings, such as Duzhydim (old Pers. Dusiydra), the "bad year," "failure of crops," are referred to this group. The classification of the evil spirits places Akd mand (" evil disposition "), for example, opposite to Vohu mano, and liidra, the king of the Daevas, opposite to Khshathra va'irya, the " desired kingdom." Tdric and Zdric, the demons of hunger and thirst, or, more correctly, of sickness or death, are the adversaries of Haurvatat and Ameretat 107- This dualism further dominates the cosmogony, the cultus, and the entire view of the moral order of the world held by the Mazda- worshippers. Not only does Anro mamyus spoil by his counter-creations all the good creations of Ahura mazda, but by slaying the protoplasts of man and beast, he brings death into the world, seduces the first pair to sin, and also brings forth noxious ani- mals and plants. Man finds himself, in consequence, surrounded on all sides by the works of the spirit of darkness and by his hosts. It is the object of worship to secure the pious against their influence. This is of the utmost simplicity, without images or temples : pure fire plays the principal part, and has the power, when com- bined with the sacred spells and sacrificial songs, to break the might of the evil spirits, and purify men from their pollution. The whole life of the believer is a constant conflict with evil, in which, as is universal in antiquity, little difference is made between physical and moral evil. Agriculture, likewise, and the care of clean animals and 176 RELIGION AMONG THE ERANIANS. plants are powerful means of weakening the kingdom of impurity. But the love of truth, also, vigilance and activity, are weapons which win the victory in this contest. The protoplasts of men and animals are the well-known Gaydmart (modern Pers. Kaydmars), i.e., Gay 6 maretan, " human " or " mortal life," and Gdshurdm, i.e., Geus urvan, the " bull " or " ox-soul," both of whom were slain by Ahriman. The first men, Gay6mart's offspring, are seduced by him to sin. The correspondence between the legends of the fall among the Persians and the Israelites is well known. 108. With this fundamental thought the disposal of the dead, and the representations of the destiny of the deceased and the future of the world, are in accord. Purity inheres especially in fire, earth, and water : the bodies of the dead, therefore, must not be burned, nor buried, nor cast into a river; they are exposed on artificial mounds or towers reserved for the purpose (daJchmas), to be devoured by birds of prey. After death the souls of the departed are obliged to cross the bridge Chinvat. For the wicked this bridge is too narrow, so that they fall off, and sink down into the under world (DuzakJi), there to be tor- mented by the spirits of evil. The good, however, are welcomed by Sraosha or Vohu mano into the Abode of Song (garo demdna), the dwelling-place of Ahura mazda and the saints. But the joys of heaven and the pains of hell do not last for ever. Hereafter the sovereignty of Ahro mainyus shall come to nought. Three thousand years after Zarathustra, the conquering saviour (Saosliyas Verctliragna), preceded by two personages to prepare the ITS ESCHATOLOGY. 177 way, shall be born by supernatural means. The contest reaches its climax. Everything is in flames, but only the wicked suffer ; the pious feel nothing more than an agree- able warmth. By this discipline all creatures are refined ; the evil spirits are destroyed ; the earth is renovated, and the sole sovereignty of Ahura mazda begins, to be continued without end. The bridge Chinvat, commonly interpreted as the " bridge of the gatherer," an explanation which now ap- pears to me very doubtful, is borrowed from the old Aryan mythology, and was probably originally the rain- bow which unites heaven and earth. The P&rsee eschato- logy represents the judgment of souls as conducted there not only by Sraosha, but also by Mithra, the genius of truth, and Eashnu, the genius of justice. Saoshyas (Pehlv. Socidsh, Parsi Saosyds), the Saviour, is the son of the virgin mother JEredatfedhri (" she who possesses a mighty father "), who conceives him in a miraculous fashion from Zarathustra. He renews the world and resuscitates the dead, after having first destroyed everything. Here, also, in spite of the differences, the correspondence with Jewish and Judseo-Christian ideas is striking. The doctrine of the purification of the wicked is peculiar to Parsism. 109. The old- Aryan theology and cultus are only in part the source of many of the distinctive features of Parsism. The doctrine of the Fravashis, and the whole system of spirits with the dualism so strictly carried through it, the cosmogony, the special homage offered to fire, some of the sacrificial customs, and other representa- tions, also remind us of the religion of the Akkadians, who were so closely connected with the ancient inhabi- 7 M 17 S RELIGION AMONG THE ER^NIANS. tants of Media and Elam. It is probable, therefore, that the Zarathustrian religion, especially in its later develop* ment, owed its form to the influence of the native reli- gion of the Medians. The Chaldee religion may also have contributed one element or another to the Median and Persian Aryans, for before their settlement in Media and Persia, the Assyrians had reduced a good deal of Eran under their sway. Some other peculiarities again must be derived from other sources. But to all these foreign elements the Aryan mind has given an independent shape, resulting in a religious communion, whose simple creed and pure practical morality preserved it from the extravagances of its sister communion in India, and stimulated its adherents to an active life and valiant deeds. The less luxuriant climate of Eran and the national character may have co-operated in this direction ; but this high development, and especially their almost monotheistic conception of deity, must be to a large extent ascribed to the preaching of a reformer, or at any rate to a little circle of thinkers. After the Greek conquest Mazdeism fell into decline. It was brilliantly restored in the third century A.D. by the Sasanidae, but it finally succumbed before the fana- tical violence of Islam. In a few districts of Persia it still drags on a miserable existence, but it continues to flourish with some vigour among the Parsis who emi- grated to India, and there it even appears to be not incapable of reforms. Amid many rash conjectures, F. Lenormant, La Magie chez Us Chaldeens, pp. 178 sqq., and 191 sqq., has many just remarks on the influence of the old-Median religion on AFFINITIES WITH THE AKKADIANS. 179 Mazdeism, and the correspondence between the former and the Akkadian. His idea that the Proto-Medes worshipped a serpent-deity, and that this was Azhi dahaka, and identical with King Astyages, is altogether erroneous. Azhi dahaka is a purely Aryan demon, and Astyages has nothing to do with him. The strange treatment of the dead, and the great value set on the dog, which distinguish the Eranians from kin- dred races and from their western neighbours, have been found among Tibetan tribes ; and these practices, there- fore, they must have adopted from the earlier inhabitants of southern Eran. See among others, Koppen, Religion des Buddha, ii. p. 322 sqq. IV. RELIGION AMONG THE WENDS OR LETTO-SLAVS. Literature. See I. J. HANUSCH, Die Wissenschafi des Slavischen Mytlms, Lemberg, 1842, pp. 49-62. The Rus- sian sources are enumerated by W. R. S. RALSTON, The Songs of the Russian People, London, 1872, pp. x-xii. See further, RALSTON, Russian Folk-Tales; Id., Khilof and his Fables ; Id., Early Russian History, London, 1874, and Gottesidee und Cultus bei den Alien Preussen, Berlin, 1870. The work of Hanusch, though rich in material, is ren- dered useless by its want of a critical and historical method of comparison. Ralston is a well-informed and careful guide, who may be safely trusted. Comp. also F. J. MONE, Geschichte des Heidenthums im Nordl Europa, 2 vols., Leipzig and Darmstadt, 1822-23. 110. Down to the introduction of Christianity, reli- gion, among the Wends or Letto-Slavs, remained at a i8o RELIGION AMONG THE WENDS. point of development far behind even that of the Vedic and old German religions. It is very probably older, and it is certainly lower, than any of the Indo-Germanic religions with which we are acquainted. It contains the germs both of the polytheism of the Hindus and of the dualism of the Persians, but without the philosophical colouring which distinguishes the one, or the ethical character of the other. Its cosmogony is still purely mythical, the conflict between the divine beings is simply that between the powers of nature, and with this stage of development its cultus and its doctrine of immortality are in accord. The Letts, who form one of the two great divisions of this race, include the Letts proper, the Lithuanians, and the old-Prussians. The Slavs are divided into East and West-Slavs. Of the first of these groups the principal members are the Russians, of the second, the Poles and Czechs (Bohemians and Moravians). The Slavs of Southern Austria and European Turkey (Ser- vians, Bulgarians, Croats, &c.) form a separate group of Southern Slavs, different from, yet most closely allied with, the Eastern. The name Wends, now limited to the Slavs of the Lausitz, seems to have been originally the most general. It is probable that the Letto-Slavs, like the Germans, remained united with the Aryans longer than the Kelts, Greeks, and Romans, and they have preserved the reli- gion of this period in its purest form, while it reached a higher and independent development among the Germans. The proofs of the other statements in the text will be found in the following sections. fTS ANIMISTIC BASIS. 181 111. Like all mythological religions, that of the Wends, also, rests on the doctrine of souls or spirits, which scarcely reaches among them a higher stage than among savages. The soul, of which the ancient Wends formed very different conceptions, though they were such as are found among all other peoples, moves about in freedom, remains for a while after death in the neighbourhood of the body, but then sets off on its journey to the shadow-land, which is sought either in the underworld, or on a happy island in the East, the abode of the sun, or in the sky. The journey is thus either a sea-voyage over the world-ocean, or a journey on foot over the rainbow or the milky-way, or the ascent of a steep and slippery mountain ; and the survivors were careful to provide the dead with what they would require on one of these ex- peditions. The idea of retribution has not yet arisen ; the life after death is simply a continuation of the life on earth. The dead, therefore, were furnished with every- thing appropriate to their condition, even with wives and slaves ; for the unmarried a consort was provided at the grave ; and second marriages were rare. To the three representations of the kingdom of the dead correspond three modes of disposing of the corpse, (i), burial, which carried the soul to the underworld ; (2), burning, which bore it in the smoke to heaven ; and (3), burial or burn- ing in a boat, which transported it to the island of the sun. But the souls of the deceased always continued in relation with the living, and as their return was dreaded, feasts and sacrifices were zealously celebrated to appease them, or all kinds of devices were employed to keep them away. 1 82 RELIGION AMONG THE WENDS. The soul was represented as a spark kindled by the god of thunder, as a star (as among the Persians), a vapour, a breath of air, a shadow ; or, again, as a winged creature, whether an insect or a bird, especially a dove, a crow, or a cuckoo. The butterfly was even called a " little soul " (dushichka). It appears also as a mouse, as among other nations ; the milky- way is called the " mouse-path." The sky is named Rai (Lithuan. rojus, comp. Sanskr. raj. = " to be bright or white "), and the underworld Peklo, which is a regular deity among the old-Prussians. It was only under Christian influence that this afterwards be- came hell. The stories of the island Buydn ("the burning ") agree in many respects with one of the chief dogmas of Parsism. The white stone Alatuir (electron 1) found there, is the sun. The world of the dead is also called Nava, a name which has not as yet received an adequate explanation, but which some writers have connected with the conception of the voyage of the ship (navis, vavc,). Burning and burial were both practised by the Slavs as by all the Indo-Germans ; with these correspond the different representations of the realm of the dead. The same usages are found among the old-Prussians and the Lithuanians. 112. A peculiar richness characterises the doctrine of spirits among the Letto- Slavs, of which that of the old- Russians may serve as an example. They divided the demons into spirits of the house, the water, the forest, and the air. The house-spirits are, properly speaking, fire- spirits, and are the objects, in their two-fold character, of great veneration. The house-spirit watches over and protects the house and its inhabitants, not excluding the DEMONOLOGY. l3 animals, shares all their fortunes, is, as a rule, friendly; or, when he is angry, is easy to be appeased : but, if he is altogether neglected, shows that he is a spirit of might, who rules not only over the beneficent fire on the hearth, but over the lightning as well. All the qualities of water, its fertilising and destructive power, its treacherous beauty and mystic depth, its magic power which sets the mill- wheel in motion, are personified in the beautiful Rusdlkas, and their male companions ; all the terrors of the forest and the dangers which threaten travellers through it, are embodied in the wood-demons, which are naturally at the same time the spirits of the storm. Koshchei, the genius of winter, is a very evil being, and so are the con- tagious sicknesses which wander about in the shape of old women or hideous men, as well as that multitude of wizards and witches, who, during their lifetime, often become were-wolves, and, after death, bloodsucking vam- pires. All this is purely animistic; but the Slavic demonology is favourably distinguished from that of savages by the poetical guise in which it is arrayed. That it is not mere poetry, but really religious belief, is proved by the awe with which the spirits are regarded, and the often costly sacrifices offered to them. Domovoy (doma = " house"), the house-spirit, stood in the closest connection with the domestic hearth, and, in case of removal, had accordingly to be transferred with great cere- mony to the new dwelling. Frequently he assumed the the form of the master of the house. He is found, how- ever, wherever there is fire, even in the lightning. The crowing of the cock, his sacred animal, puts to flight all other spirits, but not him. Only the Domovoy of the same 1 84 RELIGION AMONG THE WENDS. house is friendly : those from elsewhere are jealous and dangerous. To the Fodyanuie, water-spirits, belong the Rusdlkas (rus, old-Slav. = "stream," rosd, " dew," Lat. ros), much dreaded for their deceitful qualities, and in the summer time solemnly chased away. Tsar MorsJcoi, the water-king, with his fair swan daughters, stands at the head of this realm. The wood-spirits, Lyeshie, bear most resemblance in conception and character to Pan and the Satyrs, and have nothing in common with the clouds, with which a certain school of mythologists attempts to connect them. That they are also wind-gods appears from the represen- tation of the storm as their marriage-procession, and the whirlwind as their bridal dance. The Domovoy is content with small domestic sacrifices, but the spirit of the mill-stream requires the first swarm of bees, the other water-spirits demand a horse, the wood- spirits a cow, and all exact a portion of the harvest. In ancient times, also, human sacrifices were certainly offered. 113. Eeligion did not, however, remain stationary at this point among the Wends any more than among other nations. Besides these spirits they also recognised and worshipped real deities, raised above nature, who were called by the Letts Dewas and by the Slavs Bogu. At their head there once stood among all the peoples of this race the thunder-god Perun or Perkuns, the god who smites the demons with his glowing flashes so that the blood pours forth from their wounds in streams upon the earth. In honour of him a perpetual fire of oak-wood was kept up. Among the Lithuanians and old- Prussians, two other gods were placed as his equals by his side, of whom the one, Patrimpo, must have been a joyous and NATURE OF ITS DEITIES. 185 beneficent sun-god, and the other, Pecollos, the god of the hidden solar fire in the underworld, both being indis- putably of native origin, and not adopted from any other source. Sun-gods were worshipped by the Slavs in great numbers ; some being male, such as DazTibog, the god of day, son of Svarog, the god of the sky (SvarozMcTi), and Lado, always united with Lada, counterparts of Freyr and Freya, and corresponding in character with these German deities ; one being female, the spouse of the unfaithful Moon-god, and mother of the stars, who be- longs to another mythological formation. Fire-gods also, of whom one, Ogon, bears the same name as the Yedic Agni, and another Kuznets, is a sort of Vulcan, a cunning smith, but at the same time a hero who destroys demons and a multitude of other divine beings, were objects of worship. Among these we may further name the Spirit of Life (Polish, t Zywie, Eussian, Jiva), embodied in the cuckoo, the White and the Black god (Byel bog and Czerno log}, gods of light and darkness, of whom the first is also named Svantovich, representations and names agreeing with some of the Parsi, but destitute of the ethical significance which they received in the Zara- thustrian system, and which none of the Wend deities possesses. Dewas in Lithuanian signifies " god," but the unfavour- able meaning which the word acquired among the Persians attached itself even amongst the Letts to deiwys, " idol," " ghost." Bogu is the Sanskr. Wiagha (Bactr. bagha), old- Pers. baga, from bhaj (Bactr. baz), to " divide," to " distri- bute." In the use of this word again the Slavs agree more close] v with the Persians than with the Hindus. Some ?X OF THK A UNIVERSITY \ 1 86 RELIGION AMONG THE WENDS. writers regard Perun as a deity adopted from the Scan- dinavians. Among them he appears under the name of Fiorgyn, in a very subordinate position. If there was any borrowing at all, the originalty is not in this instance on the side of the Germans. This is true also of the Lettic triad, which has been- supposed to be derived from the Goths. From what source, in that case, came the purely Lettic names of these deities ? Comp. Gottesidee und Cultus der alt. Preuss. p. 39 sqq. Patrimpo, the joyous harvest-god, and Pjecollo, the ripen er of the grain, are both sun-gods, but the latter dwells in the underworld, and is the god of the dead, a part which he also plays in the beautiful Lithuanian myth of Nijola (the Letto- Slavic Kora-Proserpina). His name, which is applied among the Russians to the underworld itself, comes from pjec, to " bake," to " warm," the Sanskr. pack, to " burn," to " cause to ripen." Patrimpo I am inclined to connect with the Sanskr. trimp (from trip), to " enjoy to satiety." Svarog comp. with Sanskr. svarga, the sky. Lado or Did-Lado, "the great Lado"and his consort, " the great goddess," are, like Freyr and Freya, gods of love, marriage, and fertility. Jiva, 'Zywie, comp. Sanskr. and Bactr. jiv, " life," old- Pers. ziv, personified by the P&rsis as Jfati, father of the double unity AsMhura. By el and Czerno bog are parallel with the two Zarathustrian spirits Spent6-mamyus and Anro-mainyus. Svanto or Sveto in Svantovid = Spent6, being identical in form and meaning (i.e., " holy "). 114. The relation between man and the higher powers, also, so far as we know, still stood, at any rate among the Slavs, at a very low stage of development. The spells in which they believed, the amulets which they wore to secure or avert the presence of spirits, the peculiar oracles ITS IMPERFECT DEVELOPMENT. 187 by which they sought to discover the future, all belong to the animistic view of life. This is also true to a cer- tain extent of their feasts, in which the magic purport was not wholly obscured, and the life of nature was as yet scarcely elevated by any ethical conception, though poetic and dramatic elements were not wanting. The East-Slavs appear to have had neither temples nor priests, nothing but sacred places and wise men and women, a kind of enchanters and enchantresses, who had power over the elements, and were at the same time gifted with prophetic utterance. The Lettic branch was somewhat more advanced. At least the Lithuanians had a priestly order, and the old- Prussians even a sort of high-priest, who lived apart in a sacred place, surrounded by the veiled images of the gods, and from this retreat issued his commands through his subordinate priests. The amulets, composed of all kinds of charms, have always the form of a button, a lock, or a net, nduzui, which is connected with uzui, "bands," and uzit, to " fasten : " these are clearly fetishes, serving to secure the presence of the guardian spirit by binding him, and to keep off hostile spirits. The oracles, both those by which it was sought to learn the coming weather, and the result of the harvest, as well as those concerning the issue of a war or of personal destiny, are marked by the accidental and magical character of the lot, which is genuinely animistic. The feasts also were supposed to possess a magical efficacy on the elements, as in the case of the ceremony of pouring water on a girl decked with leaves at the summer festival of the Servians, " that the heavenly women (the cloud-spirits) may give rain," as they said. 1 88 RELIGION AMONG THE GERMANS. Among the East-Slavs this feast still retained a bac- chanalian and even phallic character. It was customary among them for the head of the family or the tribe to offer sacrifices on behalf of all beneath a sacred tree (an oak was preferred), or on the bank of a running stream. But the Fyedun, the "enchanter," literally, the "knowing one" (vyedaV, to " know "), and especially the Fyeshchaya Zhena, the " wise woman," were held in high honour among them, at any rate in times of prosperity. The old-Prussian high-priest was called Kriwe or Griwe (from krych, to " hide " ?), and dwelt at a place named Romowe (rozmowa, " conversation " ?), which the dead also were obliged to pass upon their journey. V. RELIGION AMONG THE GERMANS. See the literature in K. SIMROCK, Handbuch der Deut- schen Mythologie mit Einscliluss der Nordischen, 3rd ed., Bonn, 1869, p. 7 sqq., and L. S. P. MEYBOOM, De Gods- dienst der oude Noormannen, Haarlem, 1868, p. 19 sqq. Indispensable, JACOB GRIMM, Deutsche Mythokgie, 3rd ed., 2 vols., Gottingen, 1854, and J. W. WOLF, Beitrdge zur Deutsch. Mythologie, Gottingen, vol i., 1852, vol. ii., 1857. Comparative, W. MANNHARDT, Germanische Mythen- Forschungen, Berlin, 1858. For Dutch mythology, L. Ph. C. VAN DEN BERGH, Proeve van een Kritisch IFoordenboek der Nederland. MythoL, Utrecht, 1846. 115. Among the Germans religion reached a much higher development than among the Wends, which must be ascribed rather to the richer endowments of their race RELATION TO OTHER RELIGIONS. 189 than to the influence of a more advanced civilisation. With this circumstance is connected the fact that, with the exception perhaps of the Keltic, there is not one of the Lido-Germanic religions which has departed so far, in respect of the names of the chief deities, from its kindred as the Germanic. In doctrine it most resembles the Persian, and, like the Persian, it is inferior in philosophi- cal contemplation to the Vedic religion, though it equally surpasses it in its moral standard. Our fullest knowledge of it is derived from the two Eddas, of which the older contains a collection of very ancient and chiefly mytho- logical songs, while the younger is composed of prose traditions, together with fragments of older poems. They are the sources for the religion of the Scandinavians or Normans, from which, however, that of the Germans proper does not essentially differ. German mythology must be studied chiefly through the medium of oral traditions. The superiority of the German religion over that of the Slavs is evinced by the fact that it made so much more out of the same materials. The fundamental con- ception in all the Indo-Germanic religions is the conflict between the higher deities who control nature, and the rude forces of nature, especially between light and dark- ness. No nations of this race have realised this dualism with such clearness as the Letto-Slavs, the Germans, and the Persians, but while with the first it remained purely physical, the two latter alone, and certainly independently of each other, gave to it an ethical character, and wrought it, as it were, into a sublime drama. The older Edda (" grandmother," here, however, in a 1 9 o RELIGION AMONG THE GERMANS. special sense, as the guardian of the ancient poesy) is ascribed to Saemundr, the wise, and is therefore called Edda Saemundar kins froda : the latter was collected and written by Snorri, the son of Sturla, and bears in con- sequence the name Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Among the best translations is that of Simrock (3rd ed., Stuttgart and Tubingen, 1863). How much still remains to be done for the criticism and correct interpretation of the Edda- sagas is proved, for instance, by the important disserta- tion of Barend Symons, Untersuchungen tiler die sogenannte Volsunga Saga, Halle, 1876. In the Story of the Volsungs and, Nillungs, London, 1870, Morris & Magniisson have repro- duced some portions of the elder Edda for English readers. 116. The cycle of the Germanic gods is not entirely deficient in names derived from Indo-Germanic antiquity, but they are not numerous, and the deities which bear them only occupy in the system a subordinate place. The ancient Dyaus still survives in Tyr, who is still among some tribes a god of the sky ; but in the system of the Edda he is not a little degraded, for he has become the god of the sword and of fraternal strife. The Letto- Slavic Peruns or Perkunos may be recognised in Fiorgyn (Goth. Fairguni) who has furnished a name to several mountain-forests, but he has seen his sovereignty pass to his son Odhinn and his grandson Thorr, who are purely Germanic gods. The very ancient and general name for deity, Deva, is not quite forgotten, but it has been obliged to give way to the more usual designations Aesir and Vanir, which are found exclusively among the Germans. The deities belonging to these orders, derived probably from different tribes and only afterwards united, opposed ITS CYCLE OF GODS. 191 the wild powers of nature which were represented as giants. These, under the names of the " eaters " (jotunri) or the " thirsty " (thurs), were worshipped as powers of violence and terror, and human sacrifices even were offered to them. They were at first neither good nor bad, but they came gradually, and with increasing definite- ness, to be regarded as evil beings, foes of the good deities. Between them and the Aesir and Yanir stand the Elves, divided into three classes, two of which consist largely of dwarfs. They are the lower, less dreaded demons of an earlier period, and therefore, though they are at peace with the gods, they often play a very mischievous part. They also, like gods and giants, were the objects of sacrifice. Tyr, genit. Tys, Goth. Tins, old high Germ. Zio, is the Vedic Dyaus, the Greek Zeus. In compounds it often occurs with the general meaning of " god." Among the Semnones or Suabians Tyr is still the god of the sky, among the Scandinavians the god of the sword and of unnatural war, but the sword was originally the lightning, and the war the strife of the heavenly powers. Fiorgyn is the Perkunos of the Letto- Slavs, and was probably adopted from them. The elves it has further been proposed to identify with the Vedic Bibhavas, and the Maren with the Vedic Maruts, but, like Tyr and Fiorgyn, they have no prominent place in the German system. The plural tivar, " gods," which occurs now and then, corresponds to the Vedic deva. The Aesir (As, pi. Aesir, Goth, and old high Germ, ans) are commonly explained to mean the " beams," the supports of the universe, which seems to me very doubtful. It is far more probable, in accordance with the opinion kindly communicated to me 192 RELIGION AMONG THE GERMANS. by my friend Prof. Kern, that the word, of which the original form is ansu, is connected with the Eranian anliu (and thus also with the Ahuras and Asuras), and means, therefore, the "beings," the "spirits." The Vanir are originally the " waters," and hence also the " beautiful," the "lovely;" comp. Yenus. The three classes of elves are the Lids-(" light"), Svart- (" black"), and Doc&-(" dark ") Alfar; the two last kinds dwell in the ground, and to them belong the dwarfs. That they were not mere productions of poetic imagina- tion, but beings in whose existence and power men really believed, is proved by the sacrifices dedicated to them. 117. By the union of Aesir and Yanir, the elevation of single attributes of the gods to independent beings, and other causes, the German polytheism grew richer and richer, but it is a mistake to suppose that it issued from monotheism. It was not till afterwards that an approach was made to this in the representation of the highest god as the All-Father. Far above the other Aesir stand Odhinn, Thorr, and at first also Loki. Odhinn or Wodan was originally a nature-god, the personification of the violent movements of the air, of the breath which blows through the universe. Then, as a deity controlling- nature, lie was the warlike patron of princes and heroes, whom lie gathers after their death into his Walhalla; and finally he rose to be the king of the gods, lord of the world, and god of the soul. Thorr or Donar, the Asa par excellence, with his wonderful hammer Miolnir, was, as his German name implies, the thundering god of the sky. As such he was the summer-god, who contends with and overcomes the dreaded powers of winter ; and, THE AES1R AND VANIR. 193 as protector of agriculture, the god of the people and of servants, he was especially a god of civilisation. Loki, probably also a god of the air, was very closely connected in the old myths with these two chief-gods, so that he forms a triad with them, and fights by their side against the winter-giants, whom he generally outwits. In later times he was to acquire a totally different significance. The chief of the Yanir was Freyr or Fro, the Lord, god of the bright sky, source of life and fertility, and there- fore, in the system to which he properly belonged, the creator. After his union with the Aesir, he became the god of peace and love. Of the goddesses, who differ little from each other, the Asynia Frigg, wife of Odhinn, and the Vana Freya, " the Lady," sister of Freyr and spouse of Njorclr, the god of the sea, occupy the highest rank Subsequently Freya entirely supplants Frigg, and even takes her place as Odhinn's consort. Originally a per- sonification of the earth, then of the moon, she becomes the goddess of beauty, fertility, and love. The doctrine of the three Norns or goddesses of destiny covers a deeper thought, which the Greeks embodied in their Moirae, and the Eomans in their Parcae, each in their own way. All-Father, originally (as early as Hrafnag. i) an epithet of Odhinn. Odhinn, O.H. Germ. Wuotan, New Germ. JFodan, Fris. Weda, from watan = to " wade," m-eare, con- nected with the German wuth ("wrath") and muth (" courage "). Thdrr (for Thonar, Thonr ?), O.H. Germ. Donar, is the Asabrdgr, the Asa-prince. The representa- tion of him contains non-German (Turanian) elements, such as the epithets Aiti or Etzel (Attila), i.e., "grand- father." Loki, whose name is connected by Simrock with 7 N 194 RELIGION AMONG THE GERMANS. lux, Xsuxoj, Sanskr. lily, and by Grimm with luJcan, to " shut," to " close," seems rather, as his name Loftr implies, to have been a god of the air (lufi). In the myth in which he outwits the winter-giant with his horse Svadilfari (the cold wind), he is the cool spring-breeze. The triad of the three highest gods corresponds curi- ously with the three chief heroes of the Finnic epos, and so with the three principal deities of the ancient Finns. The meaning of the name Norns is uncertain. They are three, Urdhr, the " past," Verdhandi, the " present," and Skuld, the "future." The Greek Moirae and the Koman Parcae are both of another character, the domi- nant idea being, in the one group, that of death (