76 The Religion of the Veda

pessimistic View of tlmir entire activity. A gmat diplomatist, upon whom depends the deathly of his country, may be shrewd, unocml’mlcms, Machiavol- lion, velvot or; to glove, iron as to hand, and yot in: a real patriot. Even so a. primtly religion of worloz, trivial £15.: thus-to works may appear to our (gym, glow; not 311111: out spiritual olovzttion. Nor does: proctiuol poetry shut out entirely the mom Slit:an “forking; of literary taste and poetic inspirzttiom il‘ho Votlio poets thornssolvos insist upon it, thoir poems; om “ wolllhewn,” “ wolLfasl‘lionod ins a wnrucrlttztrimt from the hands of a. skilled ortissan.’ And so thoy are in many cases: if we cut out the foolish sacrifice, and pore down :1 pretty thich crust of convoutionallsm, there is left in the Vedic hymns enough of beauty and character to secure them a place: in the world's literature. Forgot but the string that ties; the: thought of tho Vedlc Rishis to the: sacrificial]; post, and you shall see: that thought flit for away to great heights, where birds do not fly.’ I" or the: firm: being, 1 at least, it becomes what we call inspired, and, any... '1: how, it broods the germs that shall flower out to i great things in futhro days}, when Hindu thought finally emancipatcs itself from sacrifice along with many other trivialities of life;

I The religion oi the Rig-Veda, much like the later

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1Rig~Vcda, I. 155. 5.