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tlie thunder and felt the tempest ; and in these physical 
objects and conditions they beheld a splendour, a magnitude, 
and a power, in the presence of which they became conscious 
of their own insignificance, and were consequently impressed 
by their grandeur with feelings of fear and awe. But, as they 
continued to observe and think, they learned that this which 
impressed them was only varying phenomena, which must 
have some real and permanent basis. Thus they attained to 
the persuasion that, beyond the tangible, semi-tangible, and 
intangible objects of sense, there was a superior being from 
whom all their excellence sprang. But they did not carry 
their generalisation so far as to conceive of one all -pervading 
substance or essence, manifested in the varied phenomena ; 
nor were they able to construct a graduated hierarchy of gods, 
as did the Greeks, but for the time being gave to each one 
supreme honour and worship. Thus their religion became 
Henotheism, which, “ after trying in vain to grow into Poly- 
theism on the one side, or Monotheism on the other, ended 
by necessity in Atheism, or the denial of all the Gods.”* 
The work which Mr. Muller undertook was to trace the 
first signs of religious thought, and to mark its progress up 
to the consummation just expressed. And the importance of 
this work he thus declares : — 
“ To my mind the great epochs in the world’s history a re marked, not by 
the foundation or destruction of empires, by the migrations of races, or by 
French revolutions. All this is outward history, made up of events that 
seem gigantic and overpowering to those only who cannot see beyond, or 
beneath. The real history of man is the history of religion : the wonderful 
ways by which the different families of the human race advanced towards a 
truer knowledge and a deeper love of God. This is the foundation that 
underlies all profane history : it is the light, the soul, and the life of history, 
and without it all history would indeed be profane.” t 
This we most fully believe, because the capacity for religion 
is the distinguishing peculiarity of man. But we are unable 
to follow Mr. Miiller in his history for several reasons. First, 
we have no evidence from the Vedas of any commencement 
of religion — no proof that in the earliest times the writers of 
these hymns were without a god. He says : — 
Ci When man has once arrived at a stage of thought where he ean call 
anything, be it one or many, God, he has achieved half his journey. He 
has found the predicate God, and he has henceforth to look for the subjects 
only to which that predicate is truly applicable.” J 
But not only do we find the predicate, but numerous appli- 
* Hibbert Lecture , p. 302. f Chips, pp. 20-1. J Hibbert Lecture , p. 258. 
