The place of Hinduism-which is professed by about a hundred and ninety millions in India-among the religions of the world, and its great antiquity, are pointed out. The comparative simplicity of the system contained in the Vedas, the oldest sacred books of the Hindus, its almost entire freedom from the use of images, its gradual deterioration in the later hymns, its gradual multiplication of gods, the advance of sacerdotalism, and the increasing complexity of its religious rites are set forth.