death of a human victim by fire was regarded as a religious ceremony,
and that, just as in India the man to be sacrificed was allowed almost
all his desires for a year, so the victim of the Indian was first
greeted as brother and presented with gifts, even with a wife.[43]

But this, the terrible barbaric side of religious worship, is now
distinctly yielding to a more humane religion. The 'barley ewe'[44] is
taking the place of a bloodier offering. It has been urged that the
humanity[45] and the accompanying silliness of the Brahmanic period as
compared with the more robust character of the earlier age are due to
the weakening and softening effects of the climate. But we doubt
whether the climate of the Punj[=a]b differs as much from that of
Delhi and Patna as does the character of the Rig Veda from that of the
Br[=a]hmanas. We shall protest again when we come to the subject of
Buddhism against the too great influence which has been claimed for
climate. Politics and society, in our opinion, had more to do with
altering the religions of India than had a higher temperature and
miasma. As a result of ease and sloth--for the Brahmans are now the
divine pampered servants of established kings, not the energetic peers
of a changing population of warriors--the priests had lost the
inspiration that came from action; they now made no new hymns; they
only formulated new rules of sacrifice. They became intellectually
debauched and altogether weakened in character. Synchronous with this
universal degradation and lack of fibre, is found the occasional
substitution of barley and rice sacrifices for those of blood; and it
may be that a sort of selfish charity was at work here, and the priest
saved the beast to spare himself. But there is no very early evidence
of a humane view of sacrifice influencing the priests.

The Brahman is no Jain. One must read far to hear a note of the