to say dishonesty, and generally leaves the world at large worse
confounded than it was before. It has been said that no clever lawyer
would shrink from taking a brief to prove that the earth forms the
centre of the world, and, with all respect for English juries, it is
not impossible that even in our days he might gain a verdict against
Galileo. Nor do I deny that there is a power and vitality in truth
which in the end overcomes and survives all opposition, as shown by
the very doctrine of Galileo which at present is held by hundreds and
thousands who would find it extremely difficult to advance one single
argument in its support. I am ready to admit also that those who have
done the best work, and have contributed most largely toward the
advancement of knowledge and the progress of truth, have seldom wasted
their time in controversy, but have marched on straight, little
concerned either about applause on the right or abuse on the left. All
this is true, perfectly true, and yet I feel that I cannot escape from
devoting the whole of a lecture to the answering of certain objections
which have been raised against the views which I have put forward with
regard to the character and the historical importance of Vedic
literature. We must not forget that the whole subject is new, the
number of competent judges small, and mistakes not only possible, but
almost inevitable. Besides, there are mistakes and mistakes, and the
errors of able men are often instructive, nay one might say sometimes
almost indispensable for the discovery of truth. There are criticisms
which may be safely ignored, criticisms for the sake of criticism, if
not inspired by meaner motives. But there are doubts and difficulties
which suggest themselves naturally, objections which have a right to
be heard, and the very removal of which forms the best approach to the
stronghold of truth. Nowhere has this principle been so fully
recognized and been acted on as in Indian literature. Whatever subject
is started, the rule is that the argument should begin with the
purvapaksha, with all that can be said against a certain opinion.
Every possible objection is welcome, if only it is not altogether
frivolous and absurd, and then only follows the uttarapaksha, with all
that can be said against these objections and in support of the
original opinion. Only when this process has been fully gone through
is it allowed to represent an opinion as siddhanta, or established.

The