A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s7.48

v1.c8.s7.48

Thus, at last, the conclusion is arrived at, that the Brahman is no longer a “human god” *by the side* of the heavenly gods, but that he raises himself *above* the gods. Already in the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa² it is said: “The Brahman descended from a Ṛṣi indeed *is* all deities,” *i.e.* in him all deities are incorporated. This presumption on the part of the priests, the beginnings of which we meet with in the Brāhmaṇas, is not only of the greatest interest for the history of culture as an example of priestly arrogance, but it is also the precursor of a phenomenon which we can trace through the whole of Indian antiquity, and which, I think, is deeply rooted in the life of the Indo-European mind. While, for instance, the Hebrew poet says: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him?” and adds “Man is like unto nothingness,” a *Greek* poet uttered the great saying: “There is much that is powerful, but the most powerful is man.” And a *German* poet—the same who created the super-man³ Faust, who knocks violently