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ment, upon this primitive idea, of a humanised, philosophical, 
metaphysical religion (quite in accordance with what we know 
of human nature elsewhere), overpowering the earlier and 
truer religion of worship. ‘The names of more ancient custom 
were dropped, because they were of no more use for philo- 
sophical speculation; they had been the offspring and aid of 
devotion, and when the spirit of devotion died, and so-called 
philosophy took its place, they died also. 
There is no development in Hinduism, such as would be 
expected on Mr. Herbert Spencer’s theory. ‘There is, on the 
contrary, the degradation of religious ideas by a growing 
exclusiveness of attention to that which was once but the | 
picture of the Deity; by mistaking the symbol for the thing 
symbolised; by human philosophy ; and by the introduction, 
as the ages rolled on, of the deified hero and the fetich. This 
is human nature. Hxact parallels to all these downward steps 
can be traced in the modern history of the Christian Church. 
But bright in the earliest days of the religion of the Hindus 
are the eternity, the infinity, the omnipresence, the omnipo- 
tence, the holiness of God, who is One. Primitive man, 
then, so far as illustrated by the Hindu, seems to have started 
his religion with as high a conception of the Deity as that 
which marks the present thought of Christendom ; the tradi- 
tions of which still remain in the fig-Veda, though already 
shrouded by human inventions. 
Nor is this only true of the Hindus. There are indications, 
more or less evident, in the histories of other religions to the 
same fact. Thus, for instance, to go to the religion of the 
Hgyptians, who are well known to have made almost every 
living thing an object of worship, and thus might be taken 
at first sight as contributing evidence to Mr. Spencer’s side of 
the question, we find that there are distinct traces of a funda- 
mental belief, clearer the further we go back, and therefore 
we may conclude their earliest belief, in the unity of the 
Godhead. ‘Thus in the hymn to Amen-Ra, which is supposed 
on good evidence to have been written in about the four- 
teenth century B.C. he is addressed as,— 
“The good God beloved, 
Giving life to all animated beings : 
* % ¥ 
The Ancient of heaven : the Oldest of the earth : 
Lord of all existences : 
* % * 
The one in his works, single among the gods : 
* * * 
