The highest of all virtues is disinterested goodness, performed from the love of God, and based on the knowledge of the Veda. A religious action, performed from hope of reward in this world or the next, will give one a place in the lowest heaven. But he who performs good actions without hope of reward, "perceiving the supreme soul in all beings, and all beings in the supreme soul, fixing his mind on God, approaches the divine nature." "Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature as existing in the Divine Spirit; all worlds as seated in him; he alone as the whole assemblage of gods; and he the author of all human actions." "Let him consider the supreme omnipresent intelligence as the sovereign lord of the universe, by whom alone it exists, an incomprehensible spirit; pervading all beings in five elemental forms, and causing them to pass through birth, growth, and decay, and so to revolve like the wheels of a car." "Thus the man who perceives in his own soul the supreme soul present in all creatures, acquires equanimity toward them all, and shall be absolved at last in the highest essence, even that of the Almighty himself." We have given these copious extracts from the Brahmanic law, because this code is so ancient and authentic, and contains the bright consummate flower of the system, before decay began to come. § 6. The Three Hindoo Systems of Philosophy,--Sánkhya, Vedanta, and Nyasa. Duncker says[53] that the Indian systems of philosophy were produced in the sixth or seventh century before Christ. As the system of Buddha implies the existence of the Sánkhya philosophy, the latter must have preceded Buddhism.[54] Moreover, Kapila and his two principles are distinctly mentioned in the Laws of Manu,[55] and in the later Upanishads.[56] This brings it to the Brahmana period of Max Müller, B.C. 600 to B.C. 800, and probably still earlier. Dr. Weber at one time was of the opinion that Kapila and Buddha were the same person, but afterward retracted this opinion.[57] Colebrooke says that Kapila is mentioned in the Veda itself, but intimates that this is probably another sage of the same name.[58] The sage was even considered to be an incarnation of Vischnu, or of Agni. The Vedanta philosophy is also said by Lassen to be mentioned in the Laws of Manu.[59] This system is founded on the Upanishads, and would seem to be later than that of Kapila, since it criticises his system, and devotes much space to its confutation.[60] But Duncker regards it as the oldest, and already beginning in the Upanishads of the Vedas.[61] As the oldest works now extant in both systems are later than their origin, this question of date can only be determined from their contents. That which logically precedes the other must be chronologically the oldest.