Mannhardt's last work published in his life days was Antike Wald- und
Feldkulte (1877). In the preface, dated November 1, 1876 (_after_ the
famous letter of May 1876), he explains the growth of his views and
criticises his predecessors. After doing justice to Kuhn and his
comparisons of European with Indian myths, he says that, in his opinion,
comparative Indo-Germanic mythology has not yet borne the expected
fruits. 'The _assured_ gains shrink into very few divine names, such as
Dyaus--Zeus--Tius, Parjany--Perkunas, Bhaga--Bug, Varuna--Uranus, &c.' I
wish he had completed the list included in &c. Other equations, as
Sarameya=Hermeias, Saranyu=Demeter Erinnys, he fears will not stand close
criticism. He dreads that jeux d'esprit (geistvolle Spiele des Witzes)
may once more encroach on science. Then, after a lucid statement of Mr.
Max Muller's position, he says, 'Ich vermag dem von M. Muller
aufgestellten Principe, wenn uberhaupt eine, so doch nur eine sehr
beschrankte Geltung zuzugestehen.'
'To the principle of Max Muller I can only assign a very limited
value, if any value at all.' {56}
'Taken all in all, I consider the greater part of the results hitherto
obtained in the field of Indo-Germanic comparative mythology to be, as
yet, a failure, premature or incomplete, my own efforts in German
Myths (1858) included. That I do not, however, "throw out the babe
with the bath," as the proverb goes, my essay on Lettish sun myths in
Bastian-Hartmann's Ethnological Journal will bear witness.'
Such is Mannhardt's conclusion. Taken in connection with his still later
essay on Demeter, it really leaves no room for doubt. There, I think, he
does 'throw out the child with the bath,' throw the knife after the
handle. I do not suppose that Mr. Max Muller ever did quote Mannhardt as
one of his supporters, but such a claim, if really made, would obviously
give room for criticism.