Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/110

 The Religion of the Veda has taken place, they point the way when the light becomes hazy. Again, it is still as true as ever that a large number of the gods, whether carly or late, are nature-gods whose origin, we regret to say, has been somewhat obscured by later processes. They again make up for the student of the Veda a class, the most impor- tant as well as the most difficult theme of investiga- tion. Every nation's mythology must contain gods of this class. They bring with them problems that will never be dismissed until they are finally answered -and that, paradoxically, may never be, I have in mind gods like Varuna, Indra, and the Açvins. To some Vedic scholars it seems without doubt begging the question to speak of nature-gods in cases when we do not know for certain what was the natural object that was personified. No one can say at this time that the origin of either Varuna, Indra, or the Açvins has been definitely settled. Yet, for my part I confess to that faith, because I remember that such uncertainty represents in truth the normal result of mythologic development. As a rule, a nature-god does not remain transparent for ever: the opposite happens far more frequently, as may be seen, again and again, in Hellenic or Teutonic mythology. Really durable myths are, as a rule, mixed myths, and, therefore, more or less obscure myths. A cer- 94