518 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Then first came love upon it, the new Spring 



Of mind — yea, poets in their hearts discerned, 



Pondering, this bond between created things 



And uncreated. Comes this spark from earth 



Piercing and all-pervading, or from heaven ? 



Then seeds were sown, and mighty powers arose — 



Nature below, and power and will above — 



Who knows the secret ? Who i^roclaimed it here — 



Whence, whence this manifold creation sprang ? 



The gods themselves came later into being — 



Who knows from whence this great creation sprang ? 



He from whom all this great creation came, 



Whether his will created or was mute, 



The Most High Seer that is in highest heaven, 



He knows it — or perchance even he knows not." 



The points of contact will become plain on a slight study ; but 

 not only is the matter generally of the subjects similar, but 

 even the manner of the hymns has been retained, in some of 

 h fmore ancient compositions of the Maoris. In some of these 

 older poems a refrain is persisted in, which recalls forcibly the 

 same feature in some Vedic hymns — something like the re- 

 sponses of a litany. Mr. Colenso gives us an invocation of 

 Pani, which it will be well to compare with a hymn or so from 

 the Veda, as translated by Max Miiller. This invocation of 

 Pani'-'' was used at the planting of the humara crop : — 



" Oh, Pani ! Oh 1 come hither now ; welcome hither ! 

 Fill up my basket, (with seedkumara roots) placed carefully in, one 



by one ; 

 Pile up loosely my seed-basket to overflowing : 

 Give hither, and that abundantly ! 



Open and expanded awaiting (is) my seed basket ; 

 Give hither, and that abundantly ! 



By the prepared little hillocks in the cultivation is my seed-basket 

 placed ; 

 Give hither, and that abundantly ! 



According to the spell of Space (is) my seed-basket awaiting ; 

 Give hither, and that abundantly ! 



By the sides of the borders of the plots (in the) cultivation is my 

 seed-basket placed ; 

 Give hither, and that abundantly I 



By {or according to) the proper form of power and influence {or 

 potential power) is my seed-basket placed ; 

 Give hither, and that abundantly !" 



The following extract (Kig Veda, x. 121) is from the trans- 

 lation by Max Miiller : — 



" 1. In the beginning there arose the golden child — He was the one born 

 Lord of all that is. He established the earth, and this sky. 



Who is the God to whom we shall offer the sacrifice? 



" 2. He who gives life, He who gives strength : whose command all the 

 bright gods revere ; whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death : 

 Who is the God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice ? 



•"Trans. N.Z. Inst.," vol. xiv., p. 44. 



