Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/36

The Religion of the Veda
"cosmic or universal order," is found in cut and dried
Iranian names in Western Asia as early as 1600 B.C.
Lam, for my part, and I think I voice many scholars,
now much more inclined to listen to an early date,
say 2000 B.C., for the beginnings of Vedic literary
production, and to a much earlier date for the
beginnings of the institutions and religious concepts
which the Veda has derived from those prehistoric
times which cast their shadows forward into the
records that are in our hands, Anyhow, we must
not be beguiled by that kind of conservatism which
merely salves the conscience into thinking that
there is better proof for any later date, such as
1500, 1200, or 1000 B.C., rather than the earlier
date of 2000 B.C. Once more, frankly, we do not
know.
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Vedic tradition is in some respects the most re-
markable in recorded history. From the entire
Vedic period we have not one single piece of anti-
quarian or archeological material, not one bit of real
property; not a building, nor a monument; not a
coin, jewel, or utensil;-nothing but winged words.
Even the manuscripts of these precious texts,
splendid as we know their authority to be on inner
evidence are of comparatively recent date. We do
not know when the Vedas were first committed to
writing. Even if they were written down during the