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LECTURE IV.
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10. He, the upholder of order, Varuna, sits down among his people; he, the wise, sits there to govern.
II. From thence perceiving all wondrous things, he sees what has been and what will be done.
12. May he, the wise Aditya, make our paths straight all our days; may he prolong our lives!
13. Varuna, wearing golden mail, has put on his shining cloak; the spies sat down around him.
14. The god whom the scoffers do not provoke, nor the tormentors of men, nor the plotters of mischief;
15. He, who gives to men glory, and not half glory, who gives it even to our own selves;
16. Yearning for him, the far-seeing, my thoughts move onwards, as kine move to their pastures.
17. Let us speak together again, because my honey has been brought: that thou mayest eat what thou likest, like a friend 1.
18. Did I see the god who is to be seen by all, did I see the chariot above the earth? He must have accepted my prayers.
19. O hear this my calling, Varuna, be gracious now! longing for help, I have called upon thee.
20. Thou, O wise god, art lord of all, of heaven and earth: listen on thy way!
21. That I may live, take from me the upper rope, loose the middle, and remove the lowest !
In most of the lymns of the Rig-veda, however, the gods assume a far more mythological character than in these songs addressed to Varuna, though the spiri
See Bollensen, in Orient und Occident, ii. p. 147. One might read hotra-iva, because honey has been brought by me, as by a priest, sweet to taste,
