elves. Even a resume of one comparatively short ceremony would be
so long and tedious that the explication of the intricate formalities
would scarcely be a sufficient reward. With Hillebrandt's patient
analysis of the New-and Full-Moon sacrifice,[67] of which a sketch is
given by von Schroeder in his _Literatur und Cultur_, the curious
reader will be able to satisfy himself that a minute description of
these ceremonies would do little to further his knowledge of the
religion, when once he grasps the fact that the sacrifice is but show.
Symbolism without folk-lore, only with the imbecile imaginings of a
daft mysticism, is the soul of it; and its outer form is a certain
number of formulae, mechanical movements, oblations, and
slaughterings.

But we ought not to close the account of the era without giving
counter-illustrations of the legendary aspect of this religion; for
which purpose we select two of the best-known tales, one from the end
of the Br[=a]hmana that is called the [=A]itareya; the other from the
beginning of the Catapatha; the former in abstract, the latter in
full.

THE SACRIFICE OF DOGSTAIL (_[=A]it. Br._ vii. 13).

Hariccandra, a king born in the great race of Ikshv[=a]ku, had no son.
A sage told him what blessings are his who has a son: 'He that has no
son has no place in the world; in the person of a son a man is reborn,
a second self is begotten.' Then the king desired a son, and the sage
instructed him to pray to Varuna for one, and to offer to sacrifice
him to the god. This he did, and a son, Rohita, at last was born to
him. God Varuna demanded the sacrifice. But the king said: 'He is not
fit to be sacrificed, so young as he is; wait till he is ten days
old.' The god waited ten days, and demanded the sacrifice. But the
king said: 'Wait till his teeth come.' The god waited, and then
demanded the sacrifice. But the king said: 'Wait till his teeth fall
out'; and when the god had waited, and again demanded the sacrifice,
the father said: 'Wait till his new teeth come.' But, when his teeth
were come and he was demanded, the father said: 'A warrior is not fit
to be sacrificed till he has received his armor' (_i.e._, until he is
knighted). So the god waited till the boy had received his armor, and
then he demanded the sacrifice. Thereupon, the king called his son,
and said unto him: 'I will sacrifice thee to the god who gave thee to
me.' But the son said, 'No, no,' and took his bow and fled into the
de