Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/368

 VEDAS

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VEDAS

The Risen Christ Vecchictta. S. Maria della Scala, Siena

children ascending to heaven, which records the tradition of a local foundation and gives its name to the institution. Over the high altar is the striking bronze figure of the Risen Christ keyed to Donatello's harsher manner, also two angels bearing candles. The fine bronze tabernacle was re- moved by Pan- delfo Petrucci and is upon the high altar of the cathe- dral. A series of frescoes in the Baptistery of S. Giovanni were ex- ecuted with the assistance of pu- pils, but much is identified as Vec- chietta's own : the Evangelists, the Four Articles of the Creed, the As- sumption, contain- ing some lovely angels' heads, and synibolical figures of Virtues. In the Galleria di belle Arti are a Ma- donna and some minor works; a St. Martin in the Pa- lazzo Saracini ; two panels in the Palazzo Pubblico, a sermon and miracle of St. Bernardino (sometime attributed to di Giorgio), and a beautiful Our Lady of Pity. The ascetic and rather formal figures of Sts. Peter and Paul in the old Mercanzia, Loggia de' Nobili, date about 1458 to 1460. A silver bust or statue of St. Catherine of Siena, known to have been made by Vecchietta at the time of the saint's canonization, disappeared after the siege of Siena (1555). Outside Siena the artist's chief painting, an Assumption, of (1451), is in the church at Pienza; in Florence a Madonna panel and the bronze tomb statue of Marianus Soccinus the Elder (re- moved from S. Domenico, Siena), a noted Sienese jurisconsult, are in the Uflfizi. Vecchietta was the master of Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio.

Perkins, Tuscan Sculptors (London, 1864) ; Lubke. History of Sculpture, tr. Bdn-nett (London. 1S72); Douglas, History of Siena (London, 1902); Heywood and Olcott, Guide to .Sieno (Siena, 1904); Seymour, Siena and her Artists (Philadelphia, 1907)

M. L. Hand LET.

Vedas, the sacred books of ancient India. The Sanskrit word veda means "knowledge", more partic- ularly "sacred book". In its widest sense the term designates not only the sacred texts, but also the voluminous theological and philosophical Uterature attached thereto, the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, and Sutras (see Brahminism). But usually the term veda applies only to the four collec- tions (Samhitds) of hymns and prayers composed for different ritualistic purposes: the Rig-Veda, Sama- Veda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda. Of these only the first three were originally regarded as canonical ; the fourth attained to this position after a long struggle. The language of the Vedas is an artificial literary language fully perfected, and is not a mere popiilar dialect. In this respect it resembles the later chissical Sanskrit, from which it difTcrs c(insid<'rably in phonol- ogy and inflections. Though differences exist in the languag(? of the four Vedas, still there is such agree- ment on cardinal points as against later Sanskrit that the term Vedic, which is in common use for the oldest form of the language of India, is amply justified.

I. The Rig-Veda ("veda of verses"; from ric, or before sonants rig, "laudatory stanza") is the oldest and most important of these collections. In its present form it contains 1028 hymns (including eleven supplementary ones in the eighth book), arranged in ten maiidalas (cycles), or books, which vary in extent, only the first and tenth being approximately equal. The poems themselves are of different authorship and date from widely different periods. According to the generally accepted view the oldest of them dates back to 1500 b. c, when the Aryan conquerors spread over the Punjab in Northern India and occupied the land on both sides of the Indus. The texts themselves show that the collection is the result of the work of generations of poets, extending over many centuries. Books II to VII inclusive are each the work of a single poet, or risJii (seer), and his descendants; hence they are aptly called "family books". Book III is attrib- uted to the family of Vishvamitra, IV to that of Vamadeva, V to that of Vasishtha. The hymns in books I and X are all composed by different families. The ninth consists exclusively of hymns addressed to Soma, the deified plant, the juice of which was used for the Soma sacrifice. Books II to VII are the oldest, and book X the most recent, in point of origin.

The monotony of the Rig- Veda is due not only to the nature of its mythological content, but also to the fact that hymns to the same deity are usually grouped together. Thus, approximately, 500 hymns are ad- dressed to two gods alone: Indra, the god of light- ning and storms, and Agni, the god of fire. The element of nature-worship is a marked feature in most of the hymns, which are invocations of different deities. The value of the great collection as present- ing the earliest record of the mythologj' of an Indo- European people is apparent. Several of the gods go back to the time of Indo-Iranian unity, e. g. Yama (the Avestan Yima), Soma (Haoma), Mitra (the later Persian Mithra). Some of the divinities, especially the higher ones, still exhibit the attributes which enable us to trace their origin to the personifica- tion of natural phenomena. Thus Indra personified thunder, Agni fire, Yaruna the sea, Surya the sun, Ushas the dawn, the Maruts the storm, and others were of a somewhat similar character. Indra was the favourite god of the Vedic Aryans; almost one fourth of aU the hymns in the Rig-Veda are addressed to him and they are among the best in the collection. Next to Indra stands Agni. The hymns in his praise are often obscure in thought and turgid in phraseology and abound in allusions to a complicated ritual. Many hymns are in honour of Soma. Other gods invoked are the two Ashins, somewhat resembhng the Dioscuri of ancient Greece, the terrilile Rudra, Par- janya the rain-god, Vayu the wind-god, Surya the sun-god, Pushan the protector of roads and stray kine. Prayers are also addressed to groups of divini- ties like the Adityas and the Vishve Devas (all the gods). Only a few hymns sing the praise of Vishnu and of Shiva in his earlier form as Rutira, though these two deities became later the chief gods of the Hindu pantheon. Goddesses play a small part, only Ushas, the goddess of dawn, has some twenty hymns in her honour; these poems are of exceptional literary merit.

The number of secular hymns is small, but many of them are of particular interest. They are of various content. In one (book X, 34) a gambler laments his ill luck at dice and deplores the evil pa.^sion that holds him in its grasp. In the same book (X, IS) there occurs a funeral hymn, from whi<'h important informa- tion may be gained concerning the funeral rites of tlie Vedic age. Evidently cremation was most in vogue, though burial was also resorted to. There are also some riddles and incantations or prayers exactly like those in the .\tharva-^'eda. Historical references are occasionally found in the so-called ddnaslutis (praises of gifts), which in most cases