Chips from a German Workshop, Volume 1 Essays on the Science of Religion

The work opens with a heartfelt tribute to a long‑standing patron, whose encouragement set the author on a quest to bring the Rig‑veda to an English audience. Inspired by that early conversation in a London library, the writer embarks on a wide‑ranging investigation of humanity’s first ideas—religious, mythic, and linguistic. Rather than relying on abstract philosophy, he follows the tangible traces left in ancient languages, treating each fragment as a clue to the earliest human search for light and truth.

What emerges is a sweeping survey of how speech and belief have grown together, suggesting that the roots of all religions are older than any single tradition. By juxtaposing the newly recovered scriptures of the Brahmans, Zoroastrians, and Buddhists—the Veda, the Zend‑Avesta, and the Tripitaka—the author shows how recurring motifs such as a sense of the divine, moral dualities, and hope for a better existence recur across cultures. The tone remains scholarly yet accessible, inviting listeners to contemplate the shared heritage that still shapes our modern world.