Origin and Growth of Religion
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 edition. ... religion of the aborigines is Fetichism and Animalism. The former adore the heaven and the earth, the sun, the fire, the wind, the storm, the dawn, the mountains and the rivers. These deities comprise matter and spirit, the elements and the invisible powers behind them.* The latter worship stones, trees, serpents, monkeys, vultures, fish and other animals. Now, it is well known that Sanskrit, the language of the ancient Aryans, deteriorated under the operation of the general laws to which all languages are subject, and by contact with the languages of the aboriginal tribes, resulting in the formation of the prakrits, the vernaculars now spoken in north and west India. In like manner Vedism, the ancient religion of the Aryans, deteriorated, partly in consequence of the invariable tendency of human nature to corrupt religion, and partly in consequence of contact with the religions of the aborigines, culminating in the disintegration of the ancient creed and making the Evolution of Hinduism possible. 3.--The Cultivation of Philosophy. The Hindus have not been inaptly called a "nation of philosophers." It is in philosophy and in grammar that they have attained their highest distinction. In the former they are equal, and in the latter they are superior, to the Greek masters. The study of philosophy began in India at a very early period. There are a few hymns both in the Atharva and the Rig Vedas of a deeply speculative character, which indicate a long period of profound reflection on the origin and nature of things. The Upanishads, the last portions of the Vedas, are little more than curious metaphysical dis '* Phillips' Teaching of the Vedas, pp. 29-112. quisitions on God, Man, and the Universe. Between them and the formulated systems of...