Note 57 — Chapter III

Rig-Veda, 1. 4. 2. Most of these extracts from the Rig-Veda have been translated for this work from the original Sanskrit by Dr. Myriantheus, an able Sanskrit scholar, and compared by the author where it was possible with Wilson’s and Langlois’ translations of the Rig-Veda. With respect to the foregoing quotation, Dr. Max Müller translates it (in a letter to the author): “The intoxication of a wealthy man bestows wealth;” that is, a wealthy man when intoxicated is generous. Nothing can be more convincing than this rendering that the Aryan conception of the gods was but a reflection of the character of the people themselves.