102 The Religion of the Veda

virtuous; and abstemious; does not the true Spirit of research call a halt at the point where rigid mathematic certainty in at an and?

The difficulties which have boaet Cmnparntivo Mythology are of various sorts: 1i inst, the nnqnoa tionable delicacy, clear to the point of fragility, of prehistoric materials. Next, the imagination of scholars who incline to such studies; ia prone, by the very terms of its existence, to be a little oaooaaivo. The first results; of the science were so striking and fascinating that its development wont on too fast, its conclusions became too hasty. May the shades

of Theodor Benfoy, Adalbert Bimini:I and Max Mflller pardon me if I say that their almost poetic

genius did at times take flight from the firm earth into sheer cloudland-—-—“whorc birds can no longer fly.” Unquestionably they did compare some myth» ological names because of the fainteet and shakiost phonetic resemblances... Intuitive fanciful explanau tions of the most complicated myths do to eome extent masquerade as scientific results in their writ» ings, and in the wtitings of the school that grew up mushroomulike about them. A science based upon vague and general resemblances of both things and words could not be otherwise than faulty both as to its details and its philosoPhic generalizationai In brief, Comparative Mythology suffered from the