reader, and because the north is the peculiar home of this kind of myth. In the other great Aryan myth-system, the Greek, they till a less conspicuous place, and require less attention. An article on wind myths would, however, be incomplete without some consideration of the character of Hermes. Hermes has often been called an earth god; but I do not know any good reason for this supposition. The etymological signification of his name is similar to that of Odinn's,[1] and I think a great part of his nature may be explained on the theory that he is a wind god. His stealing the cattle of Apollo, which are of course the clouds, and his invention of the lyre, are the strongest instances, and have already received their proper explanation at the hands of mythologists. His title of Argeiphontes, a word which, as Welcker[2] reminds us, means not only the slayer of Argos (the night), but also "the bright shining one," of course points him out as the bringer-on of day. But this is quite consistent with his being a wind or air god, as the close connection between ηώς and ύημα and between aurora and aura, abundantly testifies. He is, in fact, the breeze which ushers in the day, and, by an extension of ideas, he may also be the breeze which accompanies the sunset.[3] This gives him his first relationship with the under or outer world, the abode of spirits, a relationship which is strengthened by the connection which our ancestors fancied between the soul and the breath, and to which all languages bear witness.[4]
These considerations may help us to understand his three possessions, which have their exact counterparts with Odinn. For Odinn and his representatives in the folk-tales often travel with a staff having magic powers, such as are possessed by the staff of Hermes; the hat or petasos belongs, as has been said, to the same class as the mantle of Odinn; while the ankle-wings or sandals of the Greek god correspond to the horse Sleipnir, but of course more closely to the seven-leagued boots of the folk-tales. All are the proper attributes of a god who is the wind not only in its concrete sense, that is, not only as some particular wind, but also in something of an abstract sense as of air in motion, and thus shows some of the characteristics of a pantheist's god.
THE DILEMMA.
CHAPTER XVI.
For poor Yorke, returning to Mustaphabad from his pilgrimage in camp, on learning that Olivia was actually married, the outward circumstances of the time were eminently calculated to foster the desire which possessed him to be miserable. He could not, indeed, but admit feeling a pleasurable sensation on finding a well-thatched roof over his head again, and doors to keep out the dust; but life at Mustaphabad was very dismal, and the prospect of living through the monotony of the long hot season seemed, in his temper of mind, utterly dreary. There was nothing to work for, nor work of any sort to be done. Drills were over, and everybody who could get away on any excuse had gone to the hills; some to remain there till October, others, including Spragge, on sixty days' leave — at the end of which time it might be hoped the first fall of rain would have restored parched nature and somewhat bated the heat. A few minutes passed in the sepoys' lines at daybreak sufficed to dispose of all regimental business, when such of the officers as were present with the regiment assembled to drink tea on the shady side of the mess bungalow, and discuss the extremely small points of interest offered by the local papers being chiefly tantalizing accounts of picnics and cricket-matches at the hill-stations, till the advancing sun came over the roof and drove them to the shelter of their respective houses. By this time it would be about seven o'clock. Then the doors are closed to keep out the rising, dust-laden wind, and the solitary occupant of his bungalow has to get through the long day as best he can, trying to read books
- ↑ Hermes from όρμάο, "to move" (violently); Odinn from vadha (pret. vodh or odh), "to go" (rapidly).
- ↑ Griechische Götterlehre, vol. i. p. 336.
- ↑ The winds which blow over the Ægean are remarkable able for their regularity. Every morning a breeze arises from the coasts of Thrace, and blows all day southward. At evening it goes down, and for a while the sea is calm; then almost imperceptibly a gentle wind springs up from the south. Vide Curtius "Griech. Geschichte," ad init.
- ↑ Mr. Herbert Spencer sees in this connection of ideas one origin of the belief in a soul. This is a metaphysical question which would require a very full discussion. I would suggest, however, that language never keeps pace with thought, but always attaches itself to the thought's material side. For instance, we need not suppose that our ancestors were entirely devoid of ideas, because they very likely called them — as we still do — "things seen."
