279 
with comfort a statement of Professor Muller, which is not 
based upon any particular passage or passages, but upon a 
wide and careful investigation of the subject, a statement 
which has my warmest assent, “ Like an old precious metal, 
the ancient religion, after the rust of ages has been removed, 
will come out in all its purity and brightness, and the image 
which it discloses will be the image of the Father, the Father 
of all the nations upon earth.”* * * § 
19. The Vedic Divinities. 
The principle of explaining the concept of a mythologico- 
religious being from the signification of his name, is one which 
has of late been employed with the most distinguished success; 
and therefore a first step towards determining archaic Yedic 
faith is to tabulate the Yedic divinities and to notice the 
meaning of their names. The following are the principal per- 
sonifications or divine personages of the Rig-Veda : — 
Aditi. “ The Boundless.” “ The Infinite.”! “ The Infinite 
personified” (Midler). Mother of the seven or eight 
Adityas : namely, Yaruna, Mitra, Aryaman, Amsah, 
Bhaga, Daksha, Agni, and Martanda. The passages 
do not absolutely agree respecting the names of the 
Adityas. 
Agni. The Slavonic Ogni. Lat. ignis. The igneous prin- 
ciple, which shows itself alike in the terrestrial, aerial, 
and heavenly flame, visible and invisible. “The Ag-ile.” 
Amsah. “The Sympathizer” (Roth). ‘’‘'The Sharer” 
(Tiele). “Portion” (Whitney). A^ery rarely men- 
tioned. 
Aryaman. “ The Favourer ” (Roth). “Protector” (Whit- 
ney). Closely connected with Mitra, and sometimes 
incori’ectly identified with the Iranian Ahriman. 
Asura. “ The Living.”! We often find one Asura particu- 
larly mentioned, who is called “ Asura of heaven. ”§ 
Asvins. “The Horsemen.” “The Pervaders” (Goldstiicker.) 
Sons of Asva, the Sun in his aspect of a racer. || “ The 
two powers which seemed incorporated in the coming 
and going of each day and each night” (Midler). In 
the West the Dioskouroi, Castor and Pollux. 
Bhaga. “ The Distributer.” “ Fortune ” (Whitney). The 
* Introduction to the Science of Religion , 67. 
j" Vide Prof. Muller’s course of lectures On the Origin and Growth of 
Religion. t Vide sup. sec. 1 1. 
§ Haug, Essays, 269. || Cf. Psalm xix. 5. 
