,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,theology3 ,,an 
,,anthropological ,,study  ,,essay #h   
,,from ,,science ,,and ,,hebrew         
,,tradition   ,by ,thomas ,henry ,huxley
    ,i conceive that the origin1 the    
growth1 the decline1 and the fall of    
those speculations respecting the       
existence1 the powers1 and the          
dispositions of beings analogous to men1
 but more or less devoid of corporeal   
qualities1 which may be broadly included
 under the head of theology1 are        
phenomena the study of which            
legitimately falls within the province  
of the anthropologist4 ,and it is purely
 as a question of anthropology 7a       
department of biology to which1 at      
various times1 ,i have given a good deal
 of attention7 that ,i propose to treat 
of the evolution of theology in the     
following pages4  ,with theology as a   
code of dogmas which are to be believed1
 or at any rate repeated1 under penalty 
of present or future punishment1 or as a
 storehouse of anaesthetics for those   

who find the pains of life too hard to  
bear1 ,i have nothing to do2 and1 so far
 as it may be possible1 ,i shall avoid  
the expression of any opinion as to the 
objective truth or falsehood of the     
systems of theological speculation of   
which ,i may find occasion to speak4    
,from my present point of view1 theology
 is regarded as a natural product of the
 operations of the human mind1 under the
 conditions of its existence1 just as   
any other branch of science1 or the arts
 of architecture1 or music1 or painting 
are such products4 ,like them1 theology 
has a history4 ,like them also1 it is to
 be met with in certain simple and      
rudimentary forms2 and these can be     
connected by a multitude of gradations1 
which exist or have existed1 among      
people of various ages and races1 with  
the most highly developed theologies of 
past and present times4 ,it is not my   
object to interfere1 even in the        
slightest degree1 with beliefs which    
anybody holds sacred2 or to alter the   

conviction of any one who is of opinion 
that1 in dealing with theology1 we ought
 to be guided by considerations         
different from those which would be     
thought appropriate if the problem lay  
in the province of chemistry or of      
mineralogy4 ,and if people of these ways
 of thinking choose to read beyond the  
present paragraph1 the responsibility   
for meeting with anything they may      
dislike rests with them and not with me4
  ,we are all likely to be more familiar
 with the theological history of the    
,israelites than with that of any other 
nation4 ,we may therefore fitly make it 
the first object of our studies2 and it 
will be convenient to commence with that
 period which lies between the invasion 
of ,canaan and the early days of the    
monarchy1 and answers to the eleventh   
and twelfth centuries ,b4,c4 or         
thereabouts4 ,the evidence on which any 
conclusion as to the nature of          
,israelitic theology in those days must 
be based is wholly contained in the     

,hebrew ,scriptures--an agglomeration of
 documents which certainly belong to    
very different ages1 but of the exact   
dates and authorship of any one of which
 7except perhaps a few of the           
prophetical writings7 there is no       
evidence1 either internal or external1  
so far as ,i can discover1 of such a    
nature as to justify more than a        
confession of ignorance1 or1 at most1 an
 approximate conclusion4 ,in this       
venerable record of ancient life1       
miscalled a book1 when it is really a   
library comparable to a selection of    
works from ,english literature between  
the times of ,beda and those of ,milton1
 we have the stratified deposits 7often 
confused and even with their natural    
order inverted7 left by the stream of   
the intellectual and moral life of      
,israel during many centuries4 ,and1    
embedded in these strata1 there are     
numerous remains of forms of thought    
which once lived1 and which1 though     
often unfortunately mere fragments1 are 

of priceless value to the               
anthropologist4 ,our task is to rescue  
these from their relatively unimportant 
surroundings1 and by careful comparison 
with existing forms of theology to make 
the dead world which they record live   
again4 ,in other words1 our problem is  
palaeontological1 and the method pursued
 must be the same as that employed in   
dealing with other fossil remains4      
,among the richest of the fossiliferous 
strata to which ,i have alluded are the 
books of ,judges and ,samuel4 #a ,it has
 often been observed that these writings
 stand out1 in marked relief from those 
which precede and follow them1 in virtue
 of a certain archaic freshness and of a
 greater freedom from traces of late    
interpolation and editorial trimming4   
,jephthah1 ,gideon and ,samson are men  
of old heroic stamp1 who would look as  
much in place in a ,norse ,saga as where
 they are2 and if the varnish-brush of  
later respectability has passed over    
these memoirs of the mighty men of a    

wild age1 here and there1 it has not    
succeeded in effacing1 or even in       
seriously obscuring1 the essential      
characteristics of the theology         
traditionally ascribed to their epoch4  
,there is nothing that ,i have met with 
in the results of ,biblical criticism   
inconsistent with the conviction that   
these books give us a fairly trustworthy
 account of ,israelitic life and thought
 in the times which they cover2 and1 as 
such1 apart from the great literary     
merit of many of their episodes1 they   
possess the interest of being1 perhaps1 
the oldest genuine history1 as apart    
from mere chronicles on the one hand and
 mere legends on the other1 at present  
accessible to us4  ,but it is often said
 with exultation by writers of one      
party1 and often admitted1 more or less 
unwillingly1 by their opponents1 that   
these books are untrustworthy1 by reason
 of being full of obviously unhistoric  
tales4 ,and1 as a notable example1 the  
narrative of ,saul's visit to the       

so-called witch of ,endor is often      
cited4 ,as ,i have already intimated1 ,i
 have nothing to do with theological    
partisanship1 either heterodox or       
orthodox1 nor1 for my present purpose1  
does it matter very much whether the    
story is historically true1 or whether  
it merely shows what the writer         
believed2 but1 looking at the matter    
solely from the point of view of an     
anthropologist1 ,i beg leave to express 
the opinion that the account of ,saul's 
necromantic expedition is quite         
consistent with probability4 ,that is to
 say1 ,i see no reason whatever to      
doubt1 firstly1 that ,saul made such a  
visit2 and1 secondly1 that he and all   
who were present1 including the wise    
woman of ,endor herself1 would have     
given1 with entire sincerity1 very much 
the same account of the business as that
 which we now read in the twenty-eighth 
chapter of the first book of ,samuel2   
and ,i am further of opinion that this  
story is one of the most important of   

those fossils1 to which ,i have         
referred1 in the material which it      
offers for the reconstruction of the    
theology of the time4 ,let us therefore 
study it attentively--not merely as a   
narrative which1 in the dramatic force  
of its gruesome simplicity1 is not      
surpassed1 if it is equalled1 by the    
witch scenes in ,macbeth--but as a piece
 of evidence bearing on an important    
anthropological problem4  ,we are told  
7#a ,sam4 xxviii47 that ,saul1 encamped 
at ,gilboa1 became alarmed by the       
strength of the ,philistine army        
gathered at ,shunem4 ,he therefore      
inquired of ,jahveh1 but ,jahveh        
answered him not1 neither by dreams1 nor
 by ,urim1 nor by prophets4 #b ,thus    
deserted by ,jahveh1 ,saul1 in his      
extremity1 bethought him of those that  
had familiar spirits1 and the wizards1  
whom he is said1 at some previous time1 
to have put out of the land2 but who    
seem1 nevertheless1 to have been very   
imperfectly banished1 since ,saul's     

servants1 in answer to his command to   
seek him a woman that hath a familiar   
spirit1 reply without a sign of         
hesitation or of fear1 ,behold1 there is
 a woman that hath a familiar spirit at 
,endor2 just as1 in some parts of       
,england1 a countryman might tell any   
one who did not look like a magistrate  
or a policeman1 where a wise woman was  
to be met with4 ,saul goes to this      
woman1 who1 after being assured of      
immunity1 asks1 ,whom shall ,i bring up 
to thee8 whereupon ,saul says1 ,bring me
 up ,samuel4 ,the woman immediately sees
 an apparition4 ,but to ,saul nothing is
 visible1 for he asks1 ,what seest thou8
 ,and the woman replies1 ,i see ,elohim 
coming up out of the earth4 ,still the  
spectre remains invisible to ,saul1 for 
he asks1 ,what form is he of8 ,and she  
replies1 ,an old man cometh up1 and he  
is covered with a robe4 ,so far1        
therefore1 the wise woman unquestionably
 plays the part of a medium1 and ,saul  
is dependent upon her version of what   

happens4  ,the account continues3--     
,and ,saul perceived that it was        
,samuel1 and he bowed with    his face  
to the ground and did obeisance4 ,and   
,samuel said to    ,saul1 ,why hast thou
 disquieted me to bring me up8 ,and     
,saul    answered1 ,i am sore           
distressed3 for the ,philistines make   
war    against me1 and ,elohim is       
departed from me and answereth me no    
more1 neither by prophets nor by dreams2
 therefore ,i have called    thee that  
thou mayest make known unto me what ,i  
shall do4    ,and ,samuel said1         
,wherefore then dost thou ask of me1    
seeing that    ,jahveh is departed from 
thee and is become thine adversary8     
,and ,jahveh hath wrought for himself1  
as he spake by me1 and    ,jahveh hath  
rent the kingdom out of thine hand and  
given it to    thy neighbour1 even to   
,david4 ,because thou obeyedst not the  
voice of ,jahveh and didst not execute  
his fierce wrath upon    ,amalek1       
therefore hath ,jahveh done this thing  

unto thee this    day4 ,moreover1       
,jahveh will deliver ,israel also with  
thee into    the hands of the           
,philistines2 and to-morrow shalt thou  
and thy    sons be with me3 ,jahveh     
shall deliver the host of ,israel also  
into the hand of the ,philistines4 ,then
 ,saul fell straightway his    full     
length upon the earth and was sore      
afraid because of the    words of       
,samuel444 7v4 #ad-bj74  ,the statement 
that ,saul perceived that it was ,samuel
 is not to be taken to imply that1 even 
now1 ,saul actually saw the shade of the
 prophet1 but only that the woman's     
allusion to the prophetic mantle and to 
the aged appearance of the spectre      
convinced him that it was ,samuel4      
,reuss #c in fact translates the passage
 ,alors ,saul reconnut que c'etait      
,samuel4 ,nor does the dialogue between 
,saul and ,samuel necessarily1 or       
probably1 signify that ,samuel spoke    
otherwise than by the voice of the wise 
woman4 ,the ,septuagint does not        

hesitate to call her ,greek1 that is to 
say1 a ventriloquist1 implying that it  
was she who spoke--and this view of the 
matter is in harmony with the fact that 
the exact sense of the ,hebrew words    
which are translated as a woman that    
hath a familiar spirit is a woman       
mistress of ,ob4 ,ob means primitively a
 leather bottle1 such as a wine skin1   
and is applied alike to the necromancer 
and to the spirit evoked4 ,its use1 in  
these senses1 appears to have been      
suggested by the likeness of the hollow 
sound emitted by a half-empty skin when 
struck1 to the sepulchral tones in which
 the oracles of the evoked spirits were 
uttered by the medium4 ,it is most      
probable that1 in accordance with the   
general theory of spiritual influences  
which obtained among the old            
,israelites1 the spirit of ,samuel was  
conceived to pass into the body of the  
wise woman1 and to use her vocal organs 
to speak in his own name--for ,i cannot 
discover that they drew any clear       

distinction between possession and      
inspiration4 #d  ,if the story of       
,saul's consultation of the occult      
powers is to be regarded as an authentic
 narrative1 or1 at any rate1 as a       
statement which is perfectly veracious  
so far as the intention of the narrator 
goes--and1 as ,i have said1 ,i see no   
reason for refusing it this             
character--it will be found1 on further 
consideration1 to throw a flood of      
light1 both directly and indirectly1 on 
the theology of ,saul's countrymen--that
 is to say1 upon their beliefs          
respecting the nature and ways of       
spiritual beings4  ,even without the    
confirmation of other abundant evidences
 to the same effect1 it leaves no doubt 
as to the existence1 among them1 of the 
fundamental doctrine that man consists  
of a body and of a spirit1 which last1  
after the death of the body1 continues  
to exist as a ghost4 ,at the time of    
,saul's visit to ,endor1 ,samuel was    
dead and buried2 but that his spirit    

would be believed to continue to exist  
in ,sheol may be concluded from the     
well-known passage in the song          
attributed to ,hannah1 his mother3--    
,jahveh killeth and maketh alive2       
,he bringeth down to ,sheol and bringeth
 up4                                    
7#a ,sam4 ii4 #f47  ,and it is obvious  
that this ,sheol was thought to be a    
place underground in which ,samuel's    
spirit had been disturbed by the        
necromancer's summons1 and in which1    
after his return thither1 he would be   
joined by the spirits of ,saul and his  
sons when they had met with their bodily
 death on the hill of ,gilboa4 ,it is   
further to be observed that the spirit1 
or ghost1 of the dead man presents      
itself as the image of the man          
himself--it is the man1 not merely in   
his ordinary corporeal presentment 7even
 down to the prophet's mantle7 but in   
his moral and intellectual              
characteristics4 ,samuel1 who had begun 
as ,saul's friend and ended as his      

bitter enemy1 gives it to be understood 
that he is annoyed at ,saul's           
presumption in disturbing him2 and that1
 in ,sheol1 he is as much the devoted   
servant of ,jahveh and as much empowered
 to speak in ,jahveh's name as he was   
during his sojourn in the upper air4    
,it appears now to be universally       
admitted that1 before the exile1 the    
,israelites had no belief in rewards and
 punishments after death1 nor in        
anything similar to the ,christian      
heaven and hell2 but our story proves   
that it would be an error to suppose    
that they did not believe in the        
continuance of individual existence     
after death by a ghostly simulacrum of  
life4 ,nay1 ,i think it would be very   
hard to produce conclusive evidence that
 they disbelieved in immortality2 for ,i
 am not aware that there is anything to 
show that they thought the existence of 
the souls of the dead in ,sheol ever    
came to an end4 ,but they do not seem to
 have conceived that the condition of   

the souls in ,sheol was in any way      
affected by their conduct in life4 ,if  
there was immortality1 there was no     
state of retribution in their theology4 
,samuel expects ,saul and his sons to   
come to him in ,sheol4  ,the next       
circumstance to be remarked is that the 
name of ,elohim is applied to the spirit
 which the woman sees coming up out of  
the earth1 that is to say1 from ,sheol4 
,the ,authorised ,version translates    
this in its literal sense gods4 ,the    
,revised ,version gives god with gods in
 the margin4 ,reuss renders the word by 
spectre1 remarking in a note that it is 
not quite exact2 but that the word      
,elohim expresses something divine1 that
 is to say1 superhuman1 commanding      
respect and terror 7,histoire des       
,israelites1 p4 #cba74 ,tuch1 in his    
commentary on ,genesis1 and ,thenius1 in
 his commentary on ,samuel1 express     
substantially the same opinion4 ,dr4    
,alexander 7in ,kitto's ,cyclopaedia s4 
v4 ,god7 has the following instructive  

remarks3--     ,elohim is sometimes used
 vaguely to describe unseen    powers or
 superhuman beings that are not properly
 thought of as    divine4 ,thus the     
witch of ,endor saw ,elohim ascending   
out of the    earth 7#a ,sam4 xxviii4   
#ac71 meaning thereby some beings of an 
unearthly1 superhuman character4 ,so    
also in ,zechariah xii4 #h1 it    is    
said the house of ,david shall be as    
,elohim1 as the angel of    the ,lord1  
where1 as the transition from ,elohim to
 the angel of    the ,lord is a minori  
ad majus1 we must regard the former as a
    vague designation of supernatural   
powers4  ,dr4 ,alexander speaks here of 
beings2 but there is no reason to       
suppose that the wise woman of ,endor   
referred to anything but a solitary     
spectre2 and it is quite clear that     
,saul understood her in this sense1 for 
he asks ,what form is ,,he of8  ,this   
fact1 that the name of ,elohim is       
applied to a ghost1 or disembodied soul1
 conceived as the image of the body in  

which it once dwelt1 is of no little    
importance4 ,for it is well known that  
the same term was employed to denote the
 gods of the heathen1 who were thought  
to have definite quasi-corporeal forms  
and to be as much real entities as any  
other ,elohim4 #e ,the difference which 
was supposed to exist between the       
different ,elohim was one of degree1 not
 one of kind4 ,elohim was1 in logical   
terminology1 the genus of which ghosts1 
,chemosh1 ,dagon1 ,baal1 and ,jahveh    
were species4 ,the ,israelite believed  
,jahveh to be immeasurably superior to  
all other kinds of ,elohim4 ,the        
inscription on the ,moabite stone shows 
that ,king ,mesa held ,chemosh to be1 as
 unquestionably1 the superior of        
,jahveh4 ,but if ,jahveh was thus       
supposed to differ only in degree from  
the undoubtedly zoomorphic or           
anthropomorphic gods of the nations1 why
 is it to be assumed that he also was   
not thought of as having a human shape8 
,it is possible for those who forget    

that the time of the great prophetic    
writers is at least as remote from that 
of ,saul as our day is from that of     
,queen ,elizabeth1 to insist upon       
interpreting the gross notions current  
in the earlier age and among the mass of
 the people by the refined conceptions  
promulgated by a few select spirits     
centuries later4 ,but if we take the    
language constantly used concerning the 
,deity in the books of ,genesis1        
,exodus1 ,joshua1 ,judges1 ,samuel1 or  
,kings1 in its natural sense 7and ,i am 
aware of no valid reason which can be   
given for taking it in any other sense71
 there cannot1 to my mind1 be a doubt   
that ,jahveh was conceived by those from
 whom the substance of these books is   
mainly derived1 to possess the          
appearance and the intellectual and     
moral attributes of a man2 and1 indeed1 
of a man of just that type with which   
the ,israelites were familiar in their  
stronger and intellectually abler rulers
 and leaders4 ,in a well-known passage  

in ,genesis 7i4 #bg7 ,elohim is said to 
have created man in his own image1 in   
the image of ,elohim created he him4 ,it
 is man who is here said to be the image
 of ,elohim--not man's soul alone1 still
 less his reason1 but the whole man4 ,it
 is obvious that for those who call a   
manlike ghost ,elohim1 there could be no
 difficulty in conceiving any other     
,elohim under the same aspect4 ,and if  
there could be any doubt on this        
subject1 surely it cannot stand in the  
face of what we find in the fifth       
chapter1 where1 immediately after a     
repetition of the statement that ,elohim
 created man1 in the likeness of ,elohim
 made he him1 it is said that ,adam     
begat ,seth in his own likeness1 after  
his image4 ,does this mean that ,seth   
resembled ,adam only in a spiritual and 
figurative sense8 ,and if that          
interpretation of the third verse of the
 fifth chapter of ,genesis is absurd1   
why does it become reasonable in the    
first verse of the same chapter8  ,but  

let us go further4 ,is not the ,jahveh  
who walks in the garden in the cool of  
the day2 from whom one may hope to hide 
oneself among the trees2 of whom it is  
expressly said that ,moses and ,aaron1  
,nadab and ,abihu1 and seventy of the   
elders of ,israel1 saw the ,elohim of   
,israel 7,exod4 xxiv4 #i-aa72 and that1 
although the seeing ,jahveh was         
understood to be a high crime and       
misdemeanour1 worthy of death1 under    
ordinary circumstances1 yet1 for this   
once1 he laid not his hand on the nobles
 of ,israel2 that they beheld ,elohim   
and did eat and drink2 and that         
afterwards ,moses saw his back 7,exod4  
xxxiii4 #bc7--;is not this ,deity       
conceived as manlike in form8 ,again1 is
 not the ,jahveh who eats with ,abraham 
under the oaks at ,mamre1 who is pleased
 with the sweet savour of ,noah's       
sacrifice1 to whom sacrifices are said  
to be food #f--;is not this ,deity      
depicted as possessed of human          
appetites8 ,if this were not the current

 ,israelitish idea of ,jahveh even in   
the eighth century ,b4,c41 where is the 
point of ,isaiah's scathing admonitions 
to his countrymen3 ,to what purpose is  
the multitude of your sacrifices unto   
me8 saith ,jahveh3 ,i am full of the    
burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of  
fed beasts2 and ,i delight not in the   
blood of bullocks1 or of lambs1 or of   
he-goats 7,isa4 i4 #aa74 ,or of ,micah's
 inquiry1 ,will ,jahveh be pleased with 
thousands of rams or with ten thousands 
of rivers of oil8 7vi4 #g47 ,and in the 
innumerable passages in which ,jahveh is
 said to be jealous of other gods1 to be
 angry1 to be appeased1 and to repent2  
in which he is represented as casting   
off ,saul because the king does not     
quite literally execute a command of the
 most ruthless severity2 or as smiting  
,uzzah to death because the unfortunate 
man thoughtlessly1 but naturally enough1
 put out his hand to stay the ark from  
falling--can any one deny that the old  
,israelites conceived ,jahveh not only  

in the image of a man1 but in that of a 
changeable1 irritable1 and1             
occasionally1 violent man8 ,there       
appears to me1 then1 to be no reason to 
doubt that the notion of likeness to    
man1 which was indubitably held of the  
ghost ,elohim1 was carried out          
consistently throughout the whole series
 of ,elohim1 and that ,jahveh-,elohim   
was thought of as a being of the same   
substantially human nature as the rest1 
only immeasurably more powerful for good
 and for evil4  ,the absence of any real
 distinction between the ,elohim of     
different ranks is further clearly      
illustrated by the corresponding absence
 of any sharp delimitation between the  
various kinds of people who serve as the
 media of communication between them and
 men4 ,the agents through whom the lower
 ,elohim are consulted are called       
necromancers1 wizards1 and diviners1 and
 are looked down upon by the prophets   
and priests of the higher ,elohim2 but  
the seer #g connects the two1 and they  

are all alike in their essential        
characters of media4 ,the wise woman of 
,endor was believed by others1 and1 ,i  
have little doubt1 believed herself1 to 
be able to bring up whom she would from 
,sheol1 and to be inspired1 whether in  
virtue of actual possession by the      
evoked ,elohim1 or otherwise1 with a    
knowledge of hidden things1 ,i am unable
 to see that ,saul's servant took any   
really different view of ,samuel's      
powers1 though he may have believed that
 he obtained them by the grace of the   
higher ,elohim4 ,for when ,saul fails to
 find his father's asses1 his servant   
says to him--     ,behold1 there is in  
this city a man of ,elohim1 and he is a 
man    that is held in honour2 all that 
he saith cometh surely to pass2    now  
let us go thither2 peradventure1 he can 
tell us concerning    our journey       
whereon we go4 ,then said ,saul to his  
servant1 ,but    behold if we go1 what  
shall we bring the man8 for the bread is
    spent in our vessels and there is   

not a present to bring to the    man of 
,elohim4 ,what have we8 ,and the servant
 answered ,saul again    and said1      
,behold ,i have in my hand the fourth   
part of a shekel    of silver3 that will
 ,i give to the man of ,elohim to tell  
us our    way4 7,beforetime in ,israel  
when a man went to inquire of ,elohim1  
then he said1 ,come and let us go to the
 ,seer3 for he that is now    called a  
,prophet was beforetime called a ,seer  
#h7    7#a ,sam4 ix4 #f-aj74  ,in fact1 
when1 shortly afterwards1 ,saul         
accidentally meets ,samuel1 he says1    
,tell me1 ,i pray thee1 where the       
,seer's house is4 ,samuel answers1 ,i am
 the ,seer4 ,immediately afterwards     
,samuel informs ,saul that the asses are
 found1 though how he obtained his      
knowledge of the fact is not stated4 ,it
 will be observed that ,samuel is not   
spoken of here as1 in any special sense1
 a seer or prophet of ,jahveh1 but as a 
man of ,elohim--that is to say1 a seer  
having access to the spiritual powers1  

just as the wise woman of ,endor might  
have been said to be a woman of         
,elohim--and the narrator's or editor's 
explanatory note seems to indicate that 
,prophet is merely a name1 introduced   
later than the time of ,samuel1 for a   
superior kind of ,seer1 or man of       
,elohim4 #i  ,another very instructive  
passage shows that ,samuel was not only 
considered to be diviner1 seer1 and     
prophet in one1 but that he was also1 to
 all intents and purposes1 priest of    
,jahveh--though1 according to his       
biographer1 he was not a member of the  
tribe of ,levi4 ,at the outset of their 
acquaintance1 ,samuel says to ,saul1 ,go
 up before me into the high place1      
where1 as the young maidens of the city 
had just before told ,saul1 the ,seer   
was going1 for the people will not eat  
till he come1 because he doth bless the 
sacrifice 7#a ,sam4 x4 #ab74 ,the use of
 the word bless here--as if ,samuel were
 not going to sacrifice1 but only to    
offer a blessing or thanksgiving--is    

curious4 ,but that ,samuel really acted 
as priest seems plain from what follows4
 ,for he not only asks ,saul to share in
 the customary sacrificial feast1 but he
 disposes in ,saul's favour of that     
portion of the victim which the         
,levitical legislation1 doubtless       
embodying old customs1 recognises as the
 priest's special property4 #aj         
,although particular persons adopted the
 profession of media between men and    
,elohim1 there was no limitation of the 
power1 in the view of ancient ,israel1  
to any special class of the population4 
,saul inquires of ,jahveh and builds him
 altars on his own account2 and in the  
very remarkable story told in the       
fourteenth chapter of the first book of 
,samuel 7v4 #cg-df71 ,saul appears to   
conduct the whole process of divination1
 although he has a priest at his elbow4 
,david seems to do the same4  ,moreover1
 ,elohim constantly appear in           
dreams--which in old ,israel did not    
mean that1 as we should say1 the subject

 of the appearance dreamed he saw the   
spirit2 but that he veritably saw the   
,elohim which1 as a soul1 visited his   
soul while his body was asleep4 ,and1 in
 the course of the history of ,israel   
,jahveh himself thus appears to all     
sorts of persons1 non-,israelites as    
well as ,israelites4 ,again1 the ,elohim
 possess1 or inspire1 people against    
their will1 as in the case of ,saul and 
,saul's messengers1 and then these      
people prophesy--that is to say1        
rave--and exhibit the ungoverned        
gestures attributed by a later age to   
possession by malignant spirits4 ,apart 
from other evidence to be adduced by and
 by1 the history of ancient demonology  
and of modern revivalism does not permit
 me to doubt that the accounts of these 
phenomena given in the history of ,saul 
may be perfectly historical4  ,in the   
ritual practices1 of which evidence is  
to be found in the books of ,judges and 
,samuel1 the chief part is played by    
sacrifices1 usually burnt offerings4    

,whenever the aid of the ,elohim of     
,israel is sought1 or thanks are        
considered due to him1 an altar is      
built1 and oxen1 sheep1 and goats are   
slaughtered and offered up4 ,sometimes  
the entire victim is burnt as a         
holocaust2 more frequently only certain 
parts1 notably the fat about the        
kidneys1 are burnt on the altar4 ,the   
rest is properly cooked2 and1 after the 
reservation of a part for the priest1 is
 made the foundation of a joyous        
banquet1 in which the sacrificer1 his   
family1 and such guests as he thinks fit
 to invite1 participate4 #aa ,elohim was
 supposed to share in the feast1 and it 
has been already shown that that which  
was set apart on the altar1 or consumed 
by fire1 was spoken of as the food of   
,elohim1 who was thought to be          
influenced by the costliness1 or by the 
pleasant smell1 of the sacrifice in     
favour of the sacrificer4  ,all this    
bears out the view that1 in the mind of 
the old ,israelite1 there was no        

difference1 save one of degree1 between 
one ,elohim and another4 ,it is true    
that there is but little direct evidence
 to show that the old ,israelites shared
 the widespread belief of their own1 and
 indeed of all times1 that the spirits  
of the dead not only continue to exist1 
but are capable of a ghostly kind of    
feeding and are grateful for such       
aliment as can be assimilated by their  
attenuated substance1 and even for      
clothes1 ornaments1 and weapons4 #ab    
,that they were familiar with this      
doctrine in the time of the captivity is
 suggested by the well-known reference  
of ,ezekiel 7xxxii4 #bg7 to the mighty  
that are fallen of the uncircumcised1   
which are gone down to ,sheol hell with 
their weapons of war1 and have laid     
their swords under their heads4 ,perhaps
 there is a still earlier allusion in   
the giving of food for the dead spoken  
of in ,deuteronomy 7xxvi4 #ad74 #ac  ,it
 must be remembered that the literature 
of the old ,israelites1 as it lies      

before us1 has been subjected to the    
revisal of strictly monotheistic        
editors1 violently opposed to all kinds 
of idolatry1 who are not likely to have 
selected from the materials at their    
disposal any obvious evidence1 either of
 the practice under discussion1 or of   
that ancestor-worship which is so       
closely related to it1 for preservation 
in the permanent records of their       
people4  ,the mysterious objects known  
as ,teraphim1 which are occasionally    
mentioned in ,judges1 ,samuel1 and      
elsewhere1 however1 can hardly be       
interpreted otherwise than as           
indications of the existence both of    
ancestor-worship and of image-worship in
 old ,israel4 ,the teraphim were        
certainly images of family gods1 and1 as
 such1 in all probability represented   
deceased ancestors4 ,laban indignantly  
demands of his son-in-law1 ,wherefore   
hast thou stolen my ,elohim8 which      
,rachel1 who must be assumed to have    
worshipped ,jacob's ,god1 ,jahveh1 had  

carried off1 obviously because she1 like
 her father1 believed in their divinity4
 ,it is not suggested that ,jacob was in
 any way scandalised by the idolatrous  
practices of his favourite wife1        
whatever he may have thought of her     
honesty when the truth came to light2   
for the teraphim seem to have remained  
in his camp1 at least until he hid his  
strange gods under the oak that was by  
,shechem 7,gen4 xxxv4 #d74 ,and indeed  
it is open to question if he got rid of 
them then1 for the subsequent history of
 ,israel renders it more than doubtful  
whether the teraphim were regarded as   
strange gods even as late as the eighth 
century ,b4,c4  ,the writer of the books
 of ,samuel takes it quite as a matter  
of course that ,michal1 daughter of one 
royal ,jahveh worshipper and wife of the
 servant of ,jahveh par excellence1 the 
pious ,david1 should have her teraphim  
handy1 in her and ,david's chamber1 when
 she dresses them up in their bed into a
 simulation of her husband1 for the     

purpose of deceiving her father's       
messengers4 ,even one of the early      
prophets1 ,hosea1 when he threatens that
 the children of ,israel shall abide    
many days without ephod or teraphim     
7iii4 #d71 appears to regard both as    
equally proper appurtenances of the     
suspended worship of ,jahveh1 and       
equally certain to be restored when that
 is resumed4 ,when we further take into 
consideration that only in the reign of 
,hezekiah was the brazen serpent1       
preserved in the temple and believed to 
be the work of ,moses1 destroyed1 and   
the practice of offering incense to it1 
that is1 worshipping it1 abolished--that
 ,jeroboam could set up calves of gold  
for ,israel to worship1 with apparently 
none but a political object1 and        
certainly with no notion of creating a  
schism among the worshippers of ,jahveh1
 or of repelling the men of ,judah from 
his standard--it seems obvious1 either  
that the ,israelites of the tenth and   
eleventh centuries ,b4,c4 knew not the  

second commandment1 or that they        
construed it merely as part of the      
prohibition to worship any supreme god  
other than ,jahveh1 which precedes it4  
,in seeking for information about the   
teraphim1 ,i lighted upon the following 
passage in the valuable article on that 
subject by ,archdeacon ,farrar1 in      
,ritto's ,cyclopaedia of ,biblical      
,literature1 which is so much to the    
purpose of my argument1 that ,i venture 
to quote it in full3--     ,the main and
 certain results of this review are that
 the    teraphim were rude human images2
 that the use of them was an    antique 
,aramaic custom2 that there is reason to
 suppose them to    have been images of 
deceased ancestors2 that they were      
consulted    oracularly2 that they were 
not confined to ,jews2 that their use   
continued down to the latest period of  
,jewish history2    and lastly1 that    
although the enlightened prophets and   
strictest    later kings regarded them  
as idolatrous1 the priests were much    

less averse to such images1 and their   
cult was not considered in    any way   
repugnant to the pious worship of       
,elohim1 nay1 even to    the worship of 
him under the awful title of ,jehovah4  
,in fact1    they involved a            
monotheistic idolatry very different    
indeed    from polytheism2 and the      
tolerance of them by priests1 as        
compared with the denunciation of them  
by the prophets1 offers a    close      
analogy to the views of the ,roman      
,catholics respecting    pictures and   
images as compared with the views of    
,protestants4    ,it was against this   
use of idolatrous symbols and emblems in
 a    monotheistic worship that the     
second commandment was    directed1     
whereas the first is aimed against the  
graver sin of    direct polytheism4 ,but
 the whole history of ,israel shows how 
utterly and how early the law must have 
fallen into desuetude4    ,the worship  
of the golden calf and of the calves at 
,dan and    ,bethel1 against which1 so  

far as we know1 neither ,elijah nor     
,elisha said a single word2 the         
tolerance of high places1    teraphim   
and betylia2 the offering of incense for
 centuries to    the brazen serpent     
destroyed by ,hezekiah2 the occasional  
glimpses of the most startling          
irregularities sanctioned    apparently 
even in the temple worship itself1 prove
 most    decisively that a pure         
monotheism and an independence of       
symbols    was the result of a slow and 
painful course of ,god's disciplinal    
dealings among the noblest thinkers of a
 single nation1 and not1    as is so    
constantly and erroneously urged1 the   
instinct of the    whole ,semitic race2 
in other words1 one single branch of the
    ,semites was under ,god's providence
 educated into pure    monotheism only  
by centuries of misfortune and series of
    inspired men 7vol4 iii4 p4 #ihf74   
,it appears to me that the researches of
 the anthropologist lead him to         
conclusions identical in substance1 if  

not in terms1 with those here enunciated
 as the result of a careful study of the
 same subject from a totally different  
point of view4  ,there is abundant      
evidence in the books of ,samuel and    
elsewhere that an article of dress      
termed an ephod was supposed to have a  
peculiar efficacy in enabling the wearer
 to exercise divination by means of     
,jahveh-,elohim4 ,great and long        
continued have been the disputes as to  
the exact nature of the ephod--whether  
it always means something to wear1 or   
whether it sometimes means an image4    
,but the probabilities are that it      
usually signifies a kind of waistcoat or
 broad zone1 with shoulder-straps1 which
 the person who inquired of ,jahveh put 
on4 ,in #a ,samuel xxiii4 #b ,david     
appears to have inquired without an     
ephod1 for ,abiathar the priest is said 
to have come down with an ephod in his  
hand only subsequently4 ,and then ,david
 asks for it before inquiring of ,jahveh
 whether the men of ,keilah would betray

 him or not4 ,david's action is         
obviously divination pure and simple2   
and it is curious that he seems to have 
worn the ephod himself and not to have  
employed ,abiathar as a medium4 ,how the
 answer was given is not clear though   
the probability is that it was obtained 
by casting lots4 ,the ,urim and ,thummim
 seem to have been two such lots of a   
peculiarly sacred character1 which were 
carried in the pocket of the high       
priest's breastplate4 ,this last was    
worn along with the ephod4  ,with the   
exception of one passage 7#a ,sam4 xiv4 
#ah7 the ark is ignored in the history  
of ,saul4 ,but in this place the        
,septuagint reads ephod for ark1 while  
in #a ,chronicles xiii4 #c ,david says  
that we sought not unto it the ark in   
the days of ,saul4 ,nor does ,samuel    
seem to have paid any regard to the ark 
after its return from ,philistia2       
though1 in his childhood1 he is said to 
have slept in the temple of ,jahveh1    
where the ark of ,elohim was 7#a ,sam4  

iii4 #c71 at ,shiloh and there to have  
been the seer of the earliest           
apparitions vouchsafed to him by        
,jahveh4 ,the space between the cherubim
 or winged images on the canopy or cover
 7,kapporeth7 of this holy chest was    
held to be the special seat of          
,jahveh--the place selected for a       
temporary residence of the ,supreme     
,elohim who had1 after ,aaron and       
,phineas1 ,eli and his sons for priests 
and seers4 ,and1 when the ark was       
carried to the camp at ,eben-ezer1 there
 can be no doubt that the ,israelites1  
no less than the ,philistines1 held that
 ,elohim is come into the camp 7iv4 #g71
 and that the one1 as much as the other1
 conceived that the ,israelites had     
summoned to their aid a powerful ally in
 these 7or this7 mighty                 
,elohim--elsewhere called               
,jahve-,sabaoth1 the ,jahveh of ,hosts4 
,if the temple at ,shiloh was the       
pentateuchal tabernacle1 as is suggested
 by the name of tent of meeting given to

 it in #a ,samuel ii4 #bb1 it was       
essentially a large tent1 though        
constituted of very expensive and ornate
 materials2 if1 on the other hand1 it   
was a different edifice1 there can be   
little doubt that this house of ,jahveh 
was built on the model of an ordinary   
house of the time4 ,but there is not the
 slightest evidence that1 during the    
reign of ,saul1 any greater importance  
attached to this seat of the cult of    
,jahveh than to others4 ,sanctuaries1   
and high places for sacrifice1 were     
scattered all over the country from ,dan
 to ,beersheba4 ,and1 as ,samuel is said
 to have gone up to one of these high   
places to bless the sacrifice1 it may be
 taken for tolerably certain that he    
knew nothing of the ,levitical laws     
which severely condemn the high places  
and those who sacrifice away from the   
sanctuary hallowed by the presence of   
the ark4  ,there is no evidence that1   
during the time of the ,judges and of   
,samuel1 any one occupied the position  

of the high priest of later days4 ,and  
persons who were neither priests nor    
,levites sacrificed and divined or      
inquired of ,jahveh1 when they pleased  
and where they pleased1 without the     
least indication that they1 or any one  
else in ,israel at that time1 knew they 
were doing wrong4 ,there is no allusion 
to any special observance of the        
,sabbath2 and the references to         
circumcision are indirect4  ,such are   
the chief articles of the theological   
creed of the old ,israelites1 which are 
made known to us by the direct evidence 
of the ancient record to which we have  
had recourse1 and they are as remarkable
 for that which they contain as for that
 which is absent from them4 ,they reveal
 a firm conviction that1 when death     
takes place1 a something termed a soul  
or spirit leaves the body and continues 
to exist in ,sheol for a period of      
indefinite duration1 even though there  
is no proof of any belief in absolute   
immortality2 that such spirits can      

return to earth to possess and inspire  
the living2 that they are1 in appearance
 and in disposition1 likenesses of the  
men to whom they belonged1 but that1 as 
spirits1 they have larger powers and are
 freer from physical limitations2 that  
they thus form a group among a number of
 kinds of spiritual existences known as 
,elohim1 of whom ,jahveh1 the national  
,god of ,israel1 is one2 that1          
consistently with this view1 ,jahveh was
 conceived as a sort of spirit1 human in
 aspect and in senses1 and with many    
human passions1 but with immensely      
greater intelligence and power than any 
other ,elohim1 whether human or divine4 
,further1 the evidence proves that this 
belief was the basis of the             
,jahveh-worship to which ,samuel and his
 followers were devoted2 that there is  
strong reason for believing1 and none   
for doubting1 that idolatry1 in the     
shape of the worship of the family gods 
or teraphim1 was practised by sincere   
and devout ,jahveh-worshippers2 that the

 ark1 with its protective tent or       
tabernacle1 was regarded as a specially1
 but by no means exclusively1 favoured  
sanctuary of ,jahveh2 that the ephod    
appears to have had a particular value  
for those who desired to divine by the  
help of ,jahveh2 and that divination by 
lots was practised before ,jahveh4 ,on  
the other hand1 there is not the        
slightest evidence of any belief in     
retribution after death1 but the        
contrary2 ritual obligations have at    
least as strong sanction as moral2 there
 are clear indications that some of the 
most stringent of the ,levitical laws   
were unknown even to ,samuel2 priests   
often appear to be superseded by laymen1
 even in the performance of sacrifices  
and divination2 and no line of          
demarcation can be drawn between        
necromancer1 wizard1 seer1 prophet1 and 
priest1 each of whom is regarded1 like  
all the rest1 as a medium of            
communication between the world of      
,elohim and that of living men4  ,the   

theological system thus defined offers  
to the anthropologist no feature which  
is devoid of a parallel in the known    
theologies of other races of mankind1   
even of those who inhabit parts of the  
world most remote from ,palestine4 ,and 
the foundation of the whole1 the ghost  
theory1 is exactly that theological     
speculation which is the most widely    
spread of all1 and the most deeply      
rooted among uncivilised men4 ,i am able
 to base this statement1 to some extent1
 on facts within my own knowledge4 ,in  
,december #ahdh1 ,h4,m4,s4 ,rattlesnake1
 the ship to which ,i then belonged1 was
 anchored off ,mount ,ernest1 an island 
in ,torres ,straits4 ,the people were   
few and well disposed2 and1 when a      
friend of mine 7whom ,i will call ,b47  
and ,i went ashore1 we made acquaintance
 with an old native1 ,paouda by name4   
,in course of time we became quite      
intimate with the old gentleman1 partly 
by the rendering of mutual good offices1
 but chiefly because ,paouda believed he

 had discovered that ,b4 was his        
father-in-law4 ,and his grounds for this
 singular conviction were very          
remarkable4 ,we had made a long stay at 
,cape ,york hard by2 and1 in accordance 
with a theory which is widely spread    
among the ,australians1 that white men  
are the reincarnated spirits of black   
men1 ,b4 was held to be the ghost1 or   
narki1 of a certain ,mount ,ernest      
native1 one ,antarki1 who had lately    
died1 on the ground of some real or     
fancied resemblance to the latter4 ,now 
,paouda had taken to wife a daughter of 
,antarki's1 named ,domani1 and as soon  
as ,b4 informed him that he was the     
ghost of ,antarki1 ,paouda at once      
admitted the relationship and acted upon
 it4 ,for1 as all the women on the      
island had hidden away in fear of the   
ship1 and we were anxious to see what   
they were like1 ,b4 pleaded pathetically
 with ,paouda that it would be very     
unkind not to let him see his daughter  
and grandchildren4 ,after a good deal of

 hesitation and the exaction of pledges 
of deep secrecy1 ,paouda consented to   
take ,b41 and myself as ,b4's friend1 to
 see ,domani and the three daughters1 by
 whom ,b4 was received quite as one of  
the family1 while ,i was courteously    
welcomed on his account4  ,this scene   
made an impression upon me which is not 
yet effaced4 ,it left no question on my 
mind of the sincerity of the strange    
ghost theory of these savages1 and of   
the influence which their belief has on 
their practical life4 ,i had it in my   
mind1 as well as many a like result of  
subsequent anthropological studies1     
when1 in #ahfi1 #ad ,i wrote as         
follows3--     ,there are savages       
without ,god in any proper sense of the 
word1    but none without ghosts4 ,and  
the ,fetishism1 ,ancestor-worship1      
,hero-worship1 and ,demonology of       
primitive savages are all1 ,i           
believe1 different manners of expression
 of their belief in    ghosts1 and of   
the anthropomorphic interpretation of   

out-of-the-    way events which is its  
concomitant4 ,witchcraft and sorcery are
    the practical expressions of these  
beliefs2 and they stand in    the same  
relation to religious worship as the    
simple    anthropomorphism of children  
or savages does to theology4  ,i do not 
quote myself with any intention of      
making a claim to originality in putting
 forth this view2 for ,i have since     
discovered that the same conception is  
virtually contained in the great        
,discours sur l',histoire ,universelle  
of ,bossuet1 now more than two centuries
 old3 #ae--     ,le culte des hommes    
morta faisoit presque tout le fond de   
l'idolatrie2 presque tous les hommes    
sacrificient aux manes1    c'est-a-dire 
aux ames des morts4 ,de si anciennes    
erreurs nous    font voir a la verite   
combien etoit ancienne la croyance de   
l'immortalite de l'ame1 et nous montrent
 qu'elle doit etre    rangee parmi les  
premieres traditions du genre humain4   
,mais l'homme1 qui gatoit tout1 en avoit

 etrangement abuse1    puisqu'elle le   
portoit a sacrificer aux morts4 ,on     
alloit meme    jusqu'a cet exces1 de    
leur sacrifier des hommes vivans2 ou    
tuoit    leurs esclaves1 et meme leurs  
femmes1 pour les aller servir dans      
l'autre monde4  ,among more modern      
writers ,j4 ,g4 ,muller1 in his         
excellent ,geschichte der amerikanischen
 ,urreligionen 7#ahee71 clearly         
recognises gespensterhafter             
,geisterglaube as the foundation of all 
savage and semi-civilised theology1 and 
,i need do no more than mention the     
important developments of the same view 
which are to be found in ,mr4 ,tylor's  
,primitive ,culture1 and in the writings
 of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 especially  
his recently-published ,ecclesiastical  
,institutions4 #af  ,it is a matter of  
fact that1 whether we direct our        
attention to the older conditions of    
civilised societies1 in ,japan1 in      
,china1 in ,hindostan1 in ,greece1 or in
 ,rome1 #ag we find1 underlying all     

other theological notions1 the belief in
 ghosts1 with its inevitable concomitant
 sorcery2 and a primitive cult1 in the  
shape of a worship of ancestors1 which  
is essentially an attempt to please1 or 
appease their ghosts4 ,the same thing is
 true of old ,mexico and ,peru1 and of  
all the semi-civilised or savage peoples
 who have developed a definite cult2 and
 in those who1 like the natives of      
,australia1 have not even a cult1 the   
belief in1 and fear of1 ghosts is as    
strong as anywhere else4 ,the most      
clearly demonstrable article of the     
theology of the ,israelites in the      
eleventh and twelfth centuries ,b4,c4 is
 therefore simply the article which is  
to be found in all primitive theologies1
 namely1 the belief that a man has a    
soul which continues to exist after     
death for a longer or shorter time1 and 
may return1 as a ghost1 with a divine1  
or at least demonic1 character1 to      
influence for good or evil 7and usually 
for evil7 the affairs of the living4    

,but the correspondence between the old 
,israelitic and other archaic forms of  
theology extends to details4 ,if1 in    
order to avoid all chance of direct     
communication1 we direct our attention  
to the theology of semi-civilised       
people1 such as the ,polynesian         
,islanders1 separated by the greatest   
possible distance1 and by every         
conceivable physical barrier1 from the  
inhabitants of ,palestine1 we shall find
 not merely that all the features of old
 ,israelitic theology1 which are        
revealed in the records cited1 are found
 among them2 but that extant information
 as to the inner mind of these people   
tends to remove many of the difficulties
 which those who have not studied       
anthropology find in the ,hebrew        
narrative4  ,one of the best sources1 if
 not the best source1 of information on 
these topics is ,mariner's ,tonga       
,islands1 which tells us of the         
condition of ,cook's ,friendly          
,islanders eighty years ago1 before     

,european influence was sensibly felt   
among them4 ,mariner1 a youth of fair   
education and of no inconsiderable      
natural ability 7as the work which was  
drawn up from the materials he furnished
 shows71 was about fifteen years of age 
when his ship was attacked and plundered
 by the ,tongans3 he remained four years
 in the islands1 familiarised himself   
with the language1 lived the life of the
 people1 became intimate with many of   
them1 and had every opportunity of      
acquainting himself with their opinions1
 as well as with their habits and       
customs4 ,he seems to have been devoid  
of prejudices1 theological or other1 and
 the impression of strict accuracy which
 his statements convey has been         
justified by all the knowledge of       
,polynesian life which has been         
subsequently acquired4  ,it is          
desirable1 therefore1 to pay close      
attention to that which ,mariner tells  
us about the theological views of these 
people3 #ah--     ,the human soul1 after

 its separation from the body1 is       
termed a hotooa 7a god or spirit71 and  
is believed to    exist in the shape of 
the body2 to have the same propensities 
as    during life1 but to be corrected  
by a more enlightened    understanding1 
by which it readily distinguishes good  
from evil1    truth from falsehood1     
right from wrong2 having the same       
attributes as the original gods1 but in 
a minor degree1 and    having its       
dwelling for ever in the happy regions  
of ,bolotoo1    holding the same rank in
 regard to other souls as during this   
life2 it has1 however1 the power of     
returning to ,tonga to    inspire       
priests1 relations1 or others1 or to    
appear in dreams to    those it wishes  
to admonish2 and sometimes to the       
external eye    in the form of a ghost  
or apparition2 but this power of        
reappearance at ,tonga particularly     
belongs to the souls of    chiefs rather
 than of matabooles4 7vol4 ii4 p4 #acj74
  ,the word hotooa is the same as that  

which is usually spelt atua by          
,polynesian philologues1 and it will be 
convenient to adopt this spelling4 ,now 
under this head of ,atuas or            
supernatural intelligent beings the     
,tongans include3--  #a4 ,the original  
gods4 #b4 ,the souls of nobles that have
 all attributes in common with the first
 but inferior in degree4 #c4 ,the souls 
of matabooles #ai that are still        
inferior1 and have not the power as the 
two first have of coming back to ,tonga 
to inspire the priest1 though they are  
supposed to have the power of appearing 
to their relatives4 #d4 ,the original   
attendants or servants1 as it were1 of  
the gods1 who1 although they had their  
origin and have ever since existed in   
,bolotoo1 are still inferior to the     
third class4 #e4 ,the ,atua pow or      
mischievous gods4 #f4 ,mooi1 or the god 
that supports the earth and does not    
belong to ,bolotoo 7vol4 ii4 pp4 #ajc1  
#ajd74  ,from this it appears that the  
,atuas of the ,polynesian are exactly   

equivalent to the ,elohim of the old    
,israelite4 #bj ,they comprise          
everything spiritual1 from a ghost to a 
god1 and from the merely tutelar gods to
 particular private families 7vol1 ii4  
p4 #ajd71 to ,ta-li-y-,tooboo1 who was  
the national god of ,tonga4 ,the        
,tongans had no doubt that these ,atuas 
daily and hourly influenced their       
destinies and could1 conversely1 be     
influenced by them4 ,hence their piety1 
the incessant acts of sacrificial       
worship which occupied their lives1 and 
their belief in omens and charms4       
,moreover1 the ,atuas were believed to  
visit particular persons1--their own    
priests in the case of the higher gods1 
but apparently anybody in that of the   
lower1--and to inspire them by a process
 which was conceived to involve the     
actual residence of the god1 for the    
time being1 in the person inspired1 who 
was thus rendered capable of prophesying
 7vol4 ii4 p4 #ajj74 ,for the ,tongan1  
therefore1 inspiration indubitably was  

possession4  ,when one of the higher    
gods was invoked1 through his priest1 by
 a chief who wished to consult the      
oracle1 or1 in old ,israelitic          
phraseology1 to inquire of1 the god1 a  
hog was killed and cooked over night1   
and1 together with plantains1 yams1 and 
the materials for making the peculiar   
drink kava 7of which the ,tongans were  
very fond71 was carried next day to the 
priest4 ,a circle1 as for an ordinary   
kava-drinking entertainment1 was then   
formed2 but the priest1 as the          
representative of the god1 took the     
highest place1 while the chiefs sat     
outside the circle1 as an expression of 
humility calculated to please the god4  
,as soon as they are all seated the     
priest is considered as    inspired1 the
 god being supposed to exist within him 
from that    moment4 ,he remains for a  
considerable time in silence with his   
hands clasped before him1 his eyes are  
cast down and he rests    perfectly     
still4 ,during the time the victuals are

 being shared    out and the kava       
preparing1 the matabooles sometimes     
begin to    consult him2 sometimes he   
answers1 and at other times not2    in  
either case he remains with his eyes    
cast down4 ,frequently he    will not   
utter a word till the repast is finished
 and the kava    too4 ,when he speaks he
 generally begins in a low and very     
altered tone of voice1 which gradually  
rises to nearly its    natural pitch1   
though sometimes a little above it4 ,all
 that he    says is supposed to be the  
declaration of the god1 and he          
accordingly speaks in the first person1 
as if he were the god4    ,all this is  
done generally without any apparent     
inward emotion    or outward agitation2 
but1 on some occasions1 his countenance 
becomes fierce1 and as it were inflamed1
 and his whole frame    agitated with   
inward feeling2 he is seized with an    
universal    trembling1 the perspiration
 breaks out on his forehead1 and his    
lips turning black are convulsed2 at    

length tears start in    floods from his
 eyes1 his breast heaves with great     
emotion1 and    his utterance is choked4
 ,these symptoms gradually subside4     
,before this paroxysm comes on1 and     
after it is over1 he often    eats as   
much as four hungry men under other     
circumstances could    devour4 ,the fit 
being now gone off1 he remains for some 
time    calm and then takes up a club   
that is placed by him for the           
purpose1 turns it over and regards it   
attentively2 he then looks    up        
earnestly1 now to the right1 now to the 
left1 and now again    at the club2     
afterwards he looks up again and about  
him in like    manner1 and then again   
fixes his eyes on the club1 and so on   
for    several times4 ,at length he     
suddenly raises the club1 and1 after    
a moment's pause1 strikes the ground or 
the adjacent part of the    house with  
considerable force1 immediately the god 
leaves him1    and he rises up and      
retires to the back of the ring among   

the    people 7vol4 i4 pp4 #ajj1 #aja74 
,the phenomena thus described1 in       
language which1 to any one who is       
familiar with the manifestations of     
abnormal mental states among ourselves1 
bears the stamp of fidelity1 furnish a  
most instructive commentary upon the    
story of the wise woman of ,endor4 ,as  
in the latter1 we have the possession by
 the spirit or soul 7,atua1 ,elohim71   
the strange voice1 the speaking in the  
first person4 ,unfortunately nothing    
7beyond the loud cry7 is mentioned as to
 the state of the wise woman of ,endor4 
,but what we learn from other sources   
7e4g4 #a ,sam4 x4 #bj-bd7 respecting the
 physical concomitants of inspiration   
among the old ,israelites has its exact 
equivalent in this and other accounts of
 ,polynesian prophetism4 ,an excellent  
authority1 ,moerenhout1 who lived among 
the people of the ,society ,islands many
 years and knew them well1 says that1 in
 ,tahiti1 the role of the prophet had   
very generally passed out of the hands  

of the priests into that of private     
persons who professed to represent the  
god1 often assumed his name1 and in this
 capacity prophesied4 ,i will not run   
the risk of weakening the force of      
,moerenhout's description of the        
prophetic state by translating it3--    
,un individu1 dans cet etat1 avait le   
bras gauche enveloppe d'un morceau      
d'etoffe1 signe de la presence de la    
,divinite4 ,il ne parlait que d'un ton  
imperieux et vehement4 ,ses attaques1   
quand il allait prophetiser1 etaient    
aussi effroyables qu'imposantes4 ,il    
tremblait d'abord de tous ses membres1  
la figure enflee1 les yeux hagards1     
rouges et etincelants d'une expression  
sauvage4 ,il gesticulait1 articulait des
 mots vides de sens1 poussait des cris  
horribles qui faisaient tressaillir tous
 les assistants1 et s'exaltait parfois  
au point qu'on n'osait par l'approcher4 
,autour de lui1 le silence de la terreur
 et du respect4444 ,c'est alors qu'il   
repondait aux questions1 annoncait      

l'avenir1 le destin des batailles1 la   
volonte des dieux2 et1 chose etonnante6 
au sein de ce delire1 de cet            
enthousiasme religieux1 son langage     
etait grave1 imposant1 son eloquence    
noble et persuasive4 #ba  ,just so ,saul
 strips off his clothes1 prophesies     
before ,samuel1 and lies down naked all 
that day and night4  ,both ,mariner and 
,moerenhout refuse to have recourse to  
the hypothesis of imposture in order to 
account for the inspired state of the   
,polynesian prophets4 ,on the contrary1 
they fully believe in their sincerity4  
,mariner tells the story of a young     
chief1 an acquaintance of his1 who      
thought himself possessed by the ,atua  
of a dead woman who had fallen in love  
with him1 and who wished him to die that
 he might be near her in ,bolotoo4 ,and 
he died accordingly4 ,but the most      
valuable evidence on this head is       
contained in what the same authority    
says about ,king ,finow's son4 ,the     
previous king1 ,toogoo ,ahoo1 had been  

assassinated by ,finow1 and his soul1   
become an ,atua of divine rank in       
,bolotoo1 had been pleased to visit and 
inspire ,finow's son--with what         
particular object does not appear4      
,when this young chief returned to      
,hapai1 ,mr4 ,mariner1 who was    upon a
 footing of great friendship with him1  
one day asked him    how he felt himself
 when the spirit of ,toogoo ,ahoo       
visited him2    he replied that he could
 not well describe his feelings1 but the
    best he could say of it was1 that he
 felt himself all over in a    glow of  
heat and quite restless and             
uncomfortable1 and did not    feel his  
own personal identity1 as it were1 but  
seemed to have a    mind different from 
his own natural mind1 his thoughts      
wandering    upon strange and unusual   
subjects1 though perfectly sensible of  
surrounding objects4 ,he next asked him 
how he knew it was the    spirit of     
,toogoo ,ahoo8 ,his answer was1         
',there's a fool6 ,how can    ,i tell   

you how ,i knew it6 ,i felt and knew it 
was so by a    kind of consciousness2 my
 mind told me that it was ,toogoo       
,ahoo 7vol4 i4 pp4 #ajd1 #aje74         
,finow's son was evidently made for a   
theological disputant1 and fell back at 
once on the inexpugnable stronghold of  
faith when other evidence was lacking4  
,there's a fool6 ,i know it is true1    
because ,i know it1 is the exemplar and 
epitome of the sceptic-crushing process 
in other places than the ,tonga         
,islands4  ,the island of ,bolotoo1 to  
which all the souls 7of the upper       
classes at any rate7 repair after the   
death of the body1 and from which they  
return at will to interfere1 for good or
 evil1 with the lives of those whom they
 have left behind1 obviously answers to 
,sheol4 ,in ,tongan tradition1 this     
place of souls is a sort of elysium     
above ground and pleasant enough to live
 in4 ,but1 in other parts of ,polynesia1
 the corresponding locality1 which is   
called ,po1 has to be reached by        

descending into the earth1 and is       
represented dark and gloomy like ,sheol4
 ,but it was not looked upon as a place 
of rewards and punishments in any sense4
 ,whether in ,bolotoo or in ,po1 the    
soul took the rank it had in the flesh2 
and1 a shadow1 lived among the shadows  
of the friends and houses and food of   
its previous life4  ,the ,tongan        
theologians recognised several hundred  
gods2 but there was one1 already        
mentioned as their national god1 whom   
they regarded as far greater than any of
 the others1 as a great chief from the  
top of the sky down to the bottom of the
 earth 7,mariner1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ajf74 ,he
 was also god of war1 and the tutelar   
deity of the royal family1 whoever      
happened to be the incumbent of the     
royal office for the time being4 ,he had
 no priest except the king himself1 and 
his visits1 even to royalty1 were few   
and far between4 ,the name of this      
supreme deity was ,ta-li-y-,tooboo1 the 
literal meaning of which is said to be  

,wait there1 ,tooboo1 from which it     
would appear that the peculiar          
characteristic of ,ta-li-y-,tooboo1 in  
the eyes of his worshippers1 was        
persistence of duration4 ,and it is     
curious to notice1 in relation to this  
circumstance1 that many ,hebrew         
philologers have thought the meaning of 
,jahveh to be best expressed by the word
 ,eternal4 ,it would probably be        
difficult to express the notion of an   
eternal being1 in a dialect so little   
fitted to convey abstract conceptions as
 ,tongan1 better than by that of one who
 always waits there4  ,the              
characteristics of the gods in ,tongan  
theology are exactly those of men whose 
shape they are supposed to possess1 only
 they have more intelligence and greater
 power4 ,the ,tongan belief that1 after 
death1 the human ,atua more readily     
distinguishes good from evil1 runs      
parallel with the old ,israelitic       
conception of ,elohim expressed in      
,genesis1 ,ye shall be as ,elohim1      

knowing good from evil4 ,they further   
agreed with the old ,israelites1 that   
all rewards for virtue and punishments  
for vice happen to men in this world    
only1 and come immediately from the gods
 7vol4 ii4 p4 #ajj74 ,moreover1 they    
were of opinion that though the gods    
approve of some kinds of virtue1 are    
displeased with some kinds of vice1 and1
 to a certain extent1 protect or forsake
 their worshippers according to their   
moral conduct1 yet neglect to pay due   
respect to the deities1 and             
forgetfulness to keep them in good      
humour1 might be visited with even worse
 consequences than moral delinquency4   
,and those who will carefully study the 
so-called ,mosaic code contained in the 
books of ,exodus1 ,leviticus1 and       
,numbers1 will see that1 though         
,jahveh's prohibitions of certain forms 
of immorality are strict and sweeping1  
his wrath is quite as strongly kindled  
against infractions of ritual           
ordinances4 ,accidental homicide may go 

unpunished1 and reparation may be made  
for wilful theft4 ,on the other hand1   
,nadab and ,abihu1 who offered strange  
fire before ,jahveh1 which he had not   
commanded them1 were swiftly devoured by
 ,jahveh's fire2 he who sacrificed      
anywhere except at the allotted place   
was to be cut off from his people2 so   
was he who ate blood2 and the details of
 the upholstery of the ,tabernacle1 of  
the millinery of the priests' vestments1
 and of the cabinet work of the ark1 can
 plead direct authority from ,jahveh1 no
 less than moral commands4  ,amongst the
 ,tongans1 the sacrifices were regarded 
as gifts of food and drink offered to   
the divine ,atuas1 just as the articles 
deposited by the graves of the recently 
dead were meant as food for ,atuas of   
lower rank4 ,a kava root was a constant 
form of offering all over ,polynesia4   
,in the excellent work of the ,rev4     
,george ,turner1 entitled ,nineteen     
,years in ,polynesia 7p4 #bda71 ,i find 
it said of the ,samoans 7near neighbours

 of the ,tongans73--     ,the offerings 
were principally cooked food4 ,as in    
ancient    ,greece so in ,samoa1 the    
first cup was in honour of the god4     
,it was either poured out on the ground 
or waved towards    the heavens1        
reminding us again of the ,mosaic       
ceremonies4    ,the chiefs all drank a  
portion out of the same cup1 according  
to    rank2 and after that1 the food    
brought as an offering was    divided   
and eaten 'there before the ,lord4'  ,in
 ,tonga1 when they consulted a god who  
had a priest1 the latter1 as            
representative of the god1 had the first
 cup2 but if the god1 like              
,ta-li-y-,tooboo1 had no priest1 then   
the chief place was left vacant1 and was
 supposed to be occupied by the god     
himself4 ,when the first cup of kava was
 filled1 the mataboole who acted as     
master of the ceremonies said1 ,give it 
to your god1 and it was offered1 though 
only as a matter of form4 ,in ,tonga and
 ,samoa there were many sacred places or

 morais1 with houses of the ordinary    
construction1 but which served as       
temples in consequence of being         
dedicated to various gods2 and there    
were altars on which the sacrifices were
 offered2 nevertheless there were few or
 no images4 ,mariner mentions none in   
,tonga1 and the ,samoans seem to have   
been regarded as no better than atheists
 by other ,polynesians because they had 
none4 ,it does not appear that either of
 these peoples had images even of their 
family or ancestral gods4  ,in ,tahiti  
and the adjacent islands1 ,moerenhout   
7t4 i4 p4 #dga7 makes the very          
interesting observation1 not only that  
idols were often absent1 but that1 where
 they existed1 the images of the gods   
served merely as depositories for the   
proper representatives of the divinity4 
,each of these was called a maro aurou1 
and was a kind of girdle artistically   
adorned with red1 yellow1 blue1 and     
black feathers--the red feathers being  
especially important--which were        

consecrated and kept as sacred objects  
within the idols4 ,they were worn by    
great personages on solemn occasions1   
and conferred upon their wearers a      
sacred and almost divine character4     
,there is no distinct evidence that the 
maro aurou was supposed to have any     
special efficacy in divination1 but one 
cannot fail to see a certain parallelism
 between this holy girdle1 which endowed
 its wearer with a particular sanctity1 
and the ephod4  ,according to the ,rev4 
,r4 ,taylor1 the ,new ,zealanders       
formerly used the word karakia 7now     
employed for prayer7 to signify a spell1
 charm1 or incantation1 and the         
utterance of these karakias constituted 
the chief part of their cult4 ,in the   
south1 the officiating priest had a     
small image1 about eighteen inches long1
 resembling a peg with a carved head1   
which reminds one of the form commonly  
attributed to the teraphim4  ,the priest
 first bandaged a fillet of red parrot  
feathers under the god's chin1 which was

 called his pahau or beard2 this bandage
 was made of a certain kind of sennet1  
which was tied on in a peculiar way4    
,when this was done it was taken        
possession of by the ,atua1 whose spirit
 entered it4 ,the priest then either    
held it in the hand and vibrated it in  
the air whilst the powerful karakia was 
repeated1 or he tied a piece of string  
7formed of the centre of a flax leaf7   
round the neck of the image and stuck it
 in the ground4 ,he sat at a little     
distance from it1 leaning against a     
tuahu1 a short stone pillar stuck in the
 ground in a slanting position and1     
holding the string in his hand1 he gave 
the god a jerk to arrest his attention1 
lest he should be otherwise engaged1    
like ,baal of old1 either hunting1      
fishing1 or sleeping1 and therefore must
 be awaked4444 ,the god is supposed to  
make use of the priest's tongue in      
giving a reply4 ,image-worship appears  
to have been confined to one part of the
 island4 ,the ,atua was supposed only to

 enter the image for the occasion4 ,the 
natives declare they did not worship the
 image itself1 but only the ,atua it    
represented1 and that the image was     
merely used as a way of approaching him4
 #bb  ,this is the excuse for           
image-worship which the more intelligent
 idolaters make all the world over2 but 
it is more interesting to observe that1 
in the present case1 we seem to have the
 equivalents of divination by teraphim1 
with the aid of something like an ephod 
7which1 however1 is used to sanctify the
 image and not the priest7 mixed up     
together4 ,many ,hebrew archaeologists  
have supposed that the term ephod is    
sometimes used for an image             
7particularly in the case of ,gideon's  
ephod71 and the story of ,micah1 in the 
book of ,judges1 shows that images were1
 at any rate1 employed in close         
association with the ephod4 ,if the     
pulling of the string to call the       
attention of the god seems as absurd to 
us as it appears to have done to the    

worthy missionary1 who tells us of the  
practice1 it should be recollected that 
the high priest of ,jahveh was ordered  
to wear a garment fringed with golden   
bells4      ,and it shall be upon ,aaron
 to minister2 and the sound thereof     
shall be heard when he goeth in unto the
 holy place before    ,jahveh1 and when 
he cometh out1 that he die not 7,exod4  
xxviii4 #ce74  ,an escape from the      
obvious conclusion suggested by this    
passage has been sought in the          
supposition that these bells rang for   
the sake of the worshippers1 as at the  
elevation of the host in the ,roman     
,catholic ritual2 but then why should   
the priest be threatened with the       
well-known penalty for inadvisedly      
beholding the divinity8  ,in truth1 the 
intermediate step between the ,maori    
practice and that of the old ,israelites
 is furnished by the ,kami temples in   
,japan4 ,these are provided with bells  
which the worshippers who present       
themselves ring1 in order to call the   

attention of the ancestor-god to their  
presence4 ,grant the fundamental        
assumption of the essentially human     
character of the spirit1 whether ,atua1 
,kami1 or ,elohim1 and all these        
practices are equally rational4  ,the   
sacrifices to the gods in ,tonga1 and   
elsewhere in ,polynesia1 were ordinarily
 social gatherings1 in which the god1   
either in his own person or in that of  
his priestly representative1 was        
supposed to take part4 ,these sacrifices
 were offered on every occasion of      
importance1 and even the daily meals    
were prefaced by oblations and libations
 of food and drink1 exactly answering to
 those offered by the old ,romans to    
their manes1 penates1 and lares4 ,the   
sacrifices had no moral significance1   
but were the necessary result of the    
theory that the god was either a deified
 ghost of an ancestor or chief1 or1 at  
any rate1 a being of like nature to     
these4 ,if one wanted to get anything   
out of him1 therefore1 the first step   

was to put him in good humour by gifts2 
and if one desired to escape his wrath1 
which might be excited by the most      
trifling neglect or unintentional       
disrespect1 the great thing was to      
pacify him by costly presents4 ,king    
,finow appears to have been somewhat of 
a freethinker 7to the great horror of   
his subjects71 and it was only his      
untimely death which prevented him from 
dealing with the priest of a god1 who   
had not returned a favourable answer to 
his supplications1 as ,saul dealt with  
the priests of the sanctuary of ,jahveh 
at ,nob4 ,nevertheless1 ,finow showed   
his practical belief in the gods during 
the sickness of a daughter1 to whom he  
was fondly attached1 in a fashion which 
has a close parallel in the history of  
,israel4     ,if the gods have any      
resentment against us1 let the whole    
weight of vengeance fall on my head4 ,i 
fear not their vengeance    --but spare 
my child2 and ,i earnestly entreat you1 
,toobo ,totai    the god whom he had    

evoked1 to exert all your influence with
    the other gods that ,i alone may    
suffer all the punishment they    desire
 to inflict 7vol4 i4 p4 #ced74  ,so when
 the king of ,israel has sinned by      
numbering the people1 and they are      
punished for his fault by a pestilence  
which slays seventy thousand innocent   
men1 ,david cries to ,jahveh3--     ,lo1
 ,i have sinned1 and ,i have done       
perversely2 but these sheep1    what    
have they done8 let thine hand1 ,i pray 
thee1 be against me1    and against my  
father's house4 7#b ,sam4 xxiv4 #ag74   
,human sacrifices were extremely common 
in ,polynesia2 and1 in ,tonga1 the      
devotion of a child by strangling was a 
favourite method of averting the wrath  
of the gods4 ,the well-known instances  
of ,jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter
 and of ,david's giving up the seven    
sons of ,saul to be sacrificed by the   
,gibeonites before ,jahveh1 appear to me
 to leave no doubt that the old         
,israelites1 even when devout           

worshippers of ,jahveh1 considered human
 sacrifices1 under certain              
circumstances1 to be not only           
permissible but laudable4 ,samuel's     
hewing to pieces of the miserable       
captive1 sole survivor of his nation1   
,agag1 before ,jahveh1 can hardly be    
viewed in any other light4 ,the life of 
,moses is redeemed from ,jahveh1 who    
sought to slay him1 by ,zipporah's      
symbolical sacrifice of her child1 by   
the bloody operation of circumcision4   
,jahveh expressly affirms that the      
first-born males of men and beasts are  
devoted to him2 in accordance with that 
claim1 the first-born males of the      
beasts are duly sacrificed2 and it is   
only by special permission that the     
claim to the first-born of men is       
waived1 and it is enacted that they may 
be redeemed 7,exod4 xiii4 #ab-ae74 ,is  
it possible to avoid the conclusion that
 immolation of their first-born sons    
would have been incumbent on the        
worshippers of ,jahveh1 had they not    

been thus specially excused8 ,can any   
other conclusion be drawn from the      
history of ,abraham and ,isaac8 ,does   
,abraham exhibit any indication of      
surprise when he receives the astounding
 order to sacrifice his son8 ,is there  
the slightest evidence that there was   
anything in his intimate and personal   
acquaintance with the character of the  
,deity1 who had eaten the meat and drunk
 the milk which ,abraham set before him 
under the oaks of ,mamre1 to lead him to
 hesitate--even to wait twelve or       
fourteen hours for a repetition of the  
command8 ,not a whit4 ,we are told that 
,abraham rose early in the morning and  
led his only child to the slaughter1 as 
if it were the most ordinary business   
imaginable4 ,whether the story has any  
historical foundation or not1 it is     
valuable as showing that the writer of  
it conceived ,jahveh as a deity whose   
requirement of such a sacrifice need    
excite neither astonishment nor         
suspicion of mistake on the part of his 

devotee4 ,hence1 when the incessant     
human sacrifices in ,israel1 during the 
age of the kings1 are put down to the   
influence of foreign idolatries1 we may 
fairly inquire whether editorial        
,bowdlerising has not prevailed over    
historical truth4  ,an attempt to       
compare the ethical standards of two    
nations1 one of which has a written     
code1 while the other has not1 is beset 
with difficulties4 ,with all that is    
strange and1 in many cases1 repulsive to
 us in the social arrangements and      
opinions respecting moral obligation    
among the ,tongans1 as they are placed  
before us1 with perfect candour1 in     
,mariner's account1 there is much that  
indicates a strong ethical sense4 ,they 
showed great kindliness to one another1 
and faithfulness in standing by their   
comrades in war4 ,no people could have  
better observed either the third or the 
fifth commandment2 for they had a       
particular horror of blasphemy1 and     
their respectful tenderness towards     

their parents and1 indeed1 towards old  
people in general1 was remarkable4  ,it 
cannot be said that the eighth          
commandment was generally observed1     
especially where ,europeans were        
concerned2 nevertheless a well-bred     
,tongan looked upon theft as a meanness 
to which he would not condescend4 ,as to
 the seventh commandment1 any breach of 
it was considered scandalous in women   
and as something to be avoided in       
self-respecting men2 but1 among         
unmarried and widowed people1 chastity  
was held very cheap4 ,nevertheless the  
women were extremely well treated1 and  
often showed themselves capable of great
 devotion and entire faithfulness4 ,in  
the matter of cruelty1 treachery1 and   
bloodthirstiness1 these islanders were  
neither better nor worse than most      
peoples of antiquity4 ,it is to the     
credit of the ,tongans that they        
particularly objected to slander2 nor   
can covetousness be regarded as their   
characteristic2 for ,mariner says3--    

,when any one is about to eat1 he always
 shares out what he has    to those     
about him1 without any hesitation1 and a
 contrary    conduct would be considered
 exceedingly vile and selfish 7vol4     
ii p4 #ade74  ,in fact1 they thought    
very badly of the ,english when ,mariner
 told them that his countrymen did not  
act exactly on that principle4 ,it      
further appears that they decidedly     
belonged to the school of intuitive     
moral philosophers1 and believed that   
virtue is its own reward2 for     ,many 
of the chiefs1 on being asked by ,mr4   
,mariner what motives    they had for   
conducting themselves with propriety1   
besides the    fear of misfortunes in   
this life1 replied1 the agreeable and   
happy feeling which a man experiences   
within himself when he    does any good 
action or conducts himself nobly and    
generously as    a man ought to do2 and 
this question they answered as if they  
wondered such a question should be      
asked4 7vol4 ii4 p4 #afa74  ,one may    

read from the beginning of the book of  
,judges to the end of the books of      
,samuel without discovering that the old
 ,israelites had a moral standard which 
differs1 in any essential respect       
7except perhaps in regard to the        
chastity of unmarried women71 from that 
of the ,tongans4 ,gideon1 ,jephthah1    
,samson1 and ,david are strong-handed   
men1 some of whom are not outdone by any
 ,polynesian chieftain in the matter of 
murder and treachery2 while ,deborah's  
jubilation over ,jael's violation of the
 primary duty of hospitality1 proffered 
and accepted under circumstances which  
give a peculiarly atrocious character to
 the murder of the guest2 and her       
witch-like gloating over the picture of 
the disappointment of the mother of the 
victim--     ,the mother of ,sisera     
cried through the lattice1    ,why is   
his chariot so long in coming8 7,jud4 v4
 #bh47 --would not have been out of     
place in the choral service of the most 
sanguinary god in the ,polynesian       

pantheon4  ,with respect to the         
cannibalism which the ,tongans          
occasionally practised1 ,mariner says3--
     ,although a few young ferocious    
warriors chose to imitate what    they  
considered a mark of courageous         
fierceness in a    neighbouring nation1 
it was held in disgust by everybody else
    7vol4 ii4 p4 #aga74  ,that the moral
 standard of ,tongan life was less      
elevated than that indicated in the     
,book of the ,covenant 7,exod4          
xxi4-xxiii47 may be freely admitted4    
,but then the evidence that this ,book  
of the ,covenant1 and even the ten      
commandments as given in ,exodus1 were  
known to the ,israelites of the time of 
,samuel and ,saul1 is 7to say the least7
 by no means conclusive4 ,the           
,deuteronomic version of the fourth     
commandment is hopelessly discrepant    
from that which stands in ,exodus4      
,would any later writer have ventured to
 alter the commandments as given from   
,sinai1 if he had had before him that   

which professed to be an accurate       
statement of the ten words in ,exodus8  
,and if the writer of ,deuteronomy had  
not ,exodus before him1 what is the     
value of the claim of the version of the
 ten commandments therein contained to  
authenticity8 ,from one end to the other
 of the books of ,judges and ,samuel1   
the only commandments of ,jahveh which  
are specially adduced refer to the      
prohibition of the worship of other     
gods1 or are orders given ad hoc1 and   
have nothing to do with questions of    
morality4  ,in ,polynesia1 the belief in
 witchcraft1 in the appearance of       
spiritual beings in dreams1 in          
possession as the cause of diseases1 and
 in omens1 prevailed universally4       
,mariner tells a story of a woman of    
rank who was greatly attached to ,king  
,finow1 and who1 for the space of six   
months after his death1 scarcely ever   
slept elsewhere than on his grave1 which
 she kept carefully decorated with      
flowers3--  ,one day she went1 with the 

deepest affliction1 to the house of     
,mo-oonga ,toobo1 the widow of the      
deceased chief1 to communicate what had 
happened to her at the fytoca grave     
during several nights1 and which caused 
her the greatest anxiety4 ,she related  
that she had dreamed that the late ,how 
,king appeared to her and1 with a       
countenance full of disappointment1     
asked why there yet remained at ,vavaoo 
so many evil-designing persons2 for he  
declared that1 since he had been at     
,bolotoo1 his spirit had been disturbed 
#bb by the evil machinations of wicked  
men conspiring against his son2 but he  
declared that 'the youth' should not be 
molested nor his power shaken by the    
spirit of rebellion2 that he therefore  
came to her with a warning voice to     
prevent such disastrous consequences    
7vol4 i4 p4 #dbd74  ,on inquiry it      
turned out that the charm of tattao had 
been performed on ,finow's grave1 with  
the view of injuring his son1 the       
reigning king1 and it is to be presumed 

that it was this sorcerer's work which  
had disturbed ,finow's spirit4 ,the     
,rev4 ,richard ,taylor says in the work 
already cited3 ,the account given of the
 witch of ,endor agrees most remarkably 
with the witches of ,new ,zealand 7p4   
#de74  ,the ,tongans also believed in a 
mode of divination 7essentially similar 
to the casting of lots7 the twirling of 
a cocoanut4     ,the object of          
inquiry444 is chiefly whether a sick    
person will    recover2 for this purpose
 the nut being placed on the ground1 a  
relation of the sick person determines  
that1 if the nut1 when    again at rest1
 points to such a quarter1 the east for 
example1    that the sick man will      
recover2 he then prays aloud to the     
patron god of the family that he will be
 pleased to direct the    nut so that it
 may indicate the truth2 the nut being  
next spun1    the result is attended to 
with confidence1 at least with a full   
conviction that it will truly declare   
the intentions of the gods    at the    

time 7vol4 ii4 p4 #bbg74  ,does not the 
action of ,saul1 on a famous occasion1  
involve exactly the same theological    
presuppositions8     ,therefore ,saul   
said unto ,jahveh1 the ,elohim of       
,israel1 ,shew the    right4 ,and       
,jonathan and ,saul were taken by lot3  
but the people    escaped4 ,and ,saul   
said1 ,cast lots between me and         
,jonathan    my son4 ,and ,jonathan was 
taken4 ,and ,saul said to ,jonathan1    
,tell    me what thou hast done4444 ,and
 the people rescued ,jonathan so    that
 he died not 7#a ,sam4 xiv4 #da-de74    
,as the ,israelites had great yearly    
feasts1 so had the ,polynesians2 as the 
,israelites practised circumcision1 so  
did many ,polynesian people2 as the     
,israelites had a complex and often     
arbitrary-seeming multitude of          
distinctions between clean and unclean  
things1 and clean and unclean states of 
men1 to which they attached great       
importance1 so had the ,polynesians     
their notions of ceremonial purity and  

their tabu1 an equally extensive and    
strange system of prohibitions1         
violation of which was visited by death4
 ,these doctrines of cleanness and      
uncleanness no doubt may have taken     
their rise in the real or fancied       
utility of the prescriptions1 but it is 
probable that the origin of many is     
indicated in the curious habit of the   
,samoans to make fetishes of living     
animals4 ,it will be recollected that   
these people had no gods made with      
hands1 but they substituted animals for 
them4  ,at his birth  every ,samoan was 
supposed to be taken under the care of  
some tutelary god or aitu  ,atua as it  
was called4 ,the help of perhaps half a 
dozen different gods was invoked in     
succession on the occasion1 but the one 
who happened to be addressed just as the
 child was born was marked and declared 
to be the child's god for life4  ,these 
gods were supposed to appear in some    
visible incarnation1 and the particular 
thing in which his god was in the habit 

of appearing was1 to the ,samoan1 an    
object of veneration4 ,it was in fact   
his idol1 and he was careful never to   
injure it or treat it with contempt4    
,one1 for instance1 saw his god in the  
eel1 another in the shark1 another in   
the turtle1 another in the dog1 another 
in the owl1 another in the lizard2 and  
so on1 throughout all the fish of the   
sea and birds and four-footed beasts and
 creeping things4 ,in some of the       
shell-fish even1 gods were supposed to  
be present4 ,a man would eat freely of  
what was regarded as the incarnation of 
the god of another man1 but the         
incarnation of his own particular god he
 would consider it death to injure or   
eat4 #bc  ,we have here that which      
appears to be the origin1 or one of the 
origins1 of food prohibitions1 on the   
one hand1 and of totemism on the other4 
,when it is remembered that the old     
,israelites sprang from ancestors who   
are said to have resided near1 or in1   
one of the great seats of ancient       

,babylonian civilisation1 the city of   
,ur2 that they had been1 it is said for 
centuries1 in close contact with the    
,egyptians2 and that1 in the theology of
 both the ,babylonians and the          
,egyptians1 there is abundant evidence1 
notwithstanding their advanced social   
organisation1 of the belief in spirits1 
with sorcery1 ancestor-worship1 the     
deification of animals1 and the converse
 animalisation of gods--it obviously    
needs very strong evidence to justify   
the belief that the rude tribes of      
,israel did not share the notions from  
which their far more civilised          
neighbours had not emancipated          
themselves4  ,but it is surely needless 
to carry the comparison further4 ,out of
 the abundant evidence at command1 ,i   
think that sufficient has been produced 
to furnish ample grounds for the belief1
 that the old ,israelites of the time of
 ,samuel entertained theological        
conceptions which were on a level with  
those current among the more civilised  

of the ,polynesian islanders1 though    
their ethical code may possibly1 in some
 respects1 have been more advanced4 #bd 
,a theological system of essentially    
similar character1 exhibiting the same  
fundamental conceptions respecting the  
continued existence and incessant       
interference in human affairs of        
disembodied spirits1 prevails1 or       
formerly prevailed1 among the whole of  
the inhabitants of the ,polynesian and  
,melanesian islands1 and among the      
people of ,australia1 notwithstanding   
the wide differences in physical        
character and in grade of civilisation  
which obtain among them4 ,and the same  
proposition is true of the people who   
inhabit the riverain shores of the      
,pacific ,ocean whether ,dyaks1 ,malays1
 ,indo-,chinese1 ,chinese1 ,japanese1   
the wild tribes of ,america1 or the     
highly civilised old ,mexicans and      
,peruvians4 ,it is no less true of the  
,mongolic nomads of ,northern ,asia1 of 
the ,asiatic ,aryans and of the ,ancient

 ,greeks and ,romans1 and it holds good 
among the ,dravidians of the ,dekhan and
 the negro tribes of ,africa4 ,no tribe 
of savages which has yet been           
discovered1 has been conclusively proved
 to have so poor a theological equipment
 as to be devoid of a belief in ghosts1 
and in the utility of some form of      
witchcraft1 in influencing those ghosts4
 ,and there is no nation1 modern or     
ancient1 which1 even at this moment1 has
 wholly given up the belief2 and in     
which it has not1 at one time or other1 
played a great part in practical life4  
,this sciotheism1 #be as it might be    
called1 is found1 in several degrees of 
complexity1 in rough correspondence with
 the stages of social organisation1 and1
 like these1 separated by no sudden     
breaks4  ,in its simplest condition1    
such as may be met with among the       
,australian savages1 theology is a mere 
belief in the existence1 powers1 and    
disposition 7usually malignant7 of      
ghostlike entities who may be           

propitiated or scared away2 but no cult 
can properly be said to exist4 ,and1 in 
this stage1 theology is wholly          
independent of ethics4 ,the moral code1 
such as is implied by public opinion1   
derives no sanction from the theological
 dogmas1 and the influence of the       
spirits is supposed to be exerted out of
 mere caprice or malice4  ,as a next    
stage1 the fundamental fear of ghosts   
and the consequent desire to propitiate 
them acquire an organised ritual in     
simple forms of ancestor-worship1 such  
as the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,turner describes     
among the people of ,tanna 7l4c4 p4     
#hh72 and this line of development may  
be followed out until it attains its    
acme in the ,state-theology of ,china   
and the ,kami-theology #bf of ,japan4   
,each of these is essentially           
ancestor-worship1 the ancestors being   
reckoned back through family groups1 of 
higher and higher order1 sometimes with 
strict reference to the principle of    
agnation1 as in old ,rome2 and1 as in   

the latter1 it is intimately bound up   
with the whole organisation of the      
,state4 ,there are no idols2 inscribed  
tablets in ,china1 and strips of paper  
lodged in a peculiar portable shrine in 
,japan1 represent the souls of the      
deceased1 or the special seats which    
they occupy when sacrifices are offered 
by their descendants4 ,in ,japan it is  
interesting to observe that a national  
,kami--,ten-zio-dai-zin--is worshipped  
as a sort of ,jahveh by the nation in   
general1 and 7as ,lippert has observed7 
it is singular that his special seat is 
a portable litter-like shrine1 termed   
the ,mikosi1 in some sort analogous to  
the ,israelitic ark4 ,in ,china1 the    
emperor is the representative of the    
primitive ancestors1 and stands1 as it  
were1 between them and the supreme      
cosmic deities--,heaven and ,earth--who 
are superadded to them1 and who answer  
to the ,tangaloa and the ,maui of the   
,polynesians4  ,sciotheism1 under the   
form of the deification of ancestral    

ghosts1 in its most pronounced form1 is 
therefore the chief element in the      
theology of a great moiety1 possibly of 
more than half1 of the human race4 ,i   
think this must be taken to be a matter 
of fact--though various opinions may be 
held as to how this ancestor-worship    
came about4 ,but on the other hand1 it  
is no less a matter of fact that there  
are very few people without additional  
gods1 who cannot1 with certainty1 be    
accounted for as deified ancestors4     
,with all respect for the distinguished 
authorities on the other side1 ,i cannot
 find good reasons for accepting the    
theory that the cosmic deities--who are 
superadded to deified ancestors even in 
,china2 who are found all over          
,polynesia1 in ,tangaloa and ,maui1 and 
in old ,peru1 in the ,sun--are the      
product either of the search after the  
infinite1 or of mistakes arising out of 
the confusion of a great chief's name   
with the thing signified by the name4   
,but1 however this may be1 ,i think it  

is again merely matter of fact that1    
among a large portion of mankind1       
ancestor-worship is more or less thrown 
into the background either by such      
cosmic deities1 or by tribal gods of    
uncertain origin1 who have been raised  
to eminence by the superiority in       
warfare1 or otherwise1 of their         
worshippers4  ,among certain nations1   
the polytheistic theology1 thus         
constituted1 has become modified by the 
selection of some one cosmic or tribal  
god1 as the only god to whom worship is 
due on the part of that nation 7though  
it is by no means denied that other     
nations have a right to worship other   
gods71 and thus results a worship of one
 ,god--monolatry1 as ,wellhausen calls  
it--which is very different from genuine
 monotheism4 #bg ,in ancestral          
sciotheism1 and in this monolatry1 the  
ethical code1 often of a very high      
order1 comes into closer relation with  
the theological creed4 ,morality is     
taken under the patronage of the god or 

gods1 who reward all morally good       
conduct and punish all morally evil     
conduct in this world or the next4 ,at  
the same time1 however1 they are        
conceived to be thoroughly human1 and   
they visit any shadow of disrespect to  
themselves1 shown by disobedience to    
their commands1 or by delay1 or         
carelessness1 in carrying them out1 as  
severely as any breach of the moral     
laws4 ,piety means minute attention to  
the due performance of all sacred rites1
 and covers any number of lapses in     
morality1 just as cruelty1 treachery1   
murder1 and adultery did not bar        
,david's claim to the title of the man  
after ,god's own heart among the        
,israelites2 crimes against men may be  
expiated1 but blasphemy against the gods
 is an unpardonable sin4 ,men forgive   
all injuries but those which touch their
 self-esteem2 and they make their gods  
after their own likeness1 in their own  
image make they them4  ,it is in the    
category of monolatry that ,i conceive  

the theology of the old ,israelites must
 be ranged4 ,they were polytheists1 in  
so far as they admitted the existence of
 other ,elohim of divine rank beside    
,jahveh2 they differed from ordinary    
polytheists1 in so far as they believed 
that ,jahveh was the supreme god and the
 one proper object of their own national
 worship4 ,but it will doubtless be     
objected that ,i have been building up a
 fictitious ,israelitic theology on the 
foundation of the recorded habits and   
customs of the people1 when they had    
lapsed from the ordinances of their     
great lawgiver and prophet ,moses1 and  
that my conclusions may be good for the 
perverts to ,canaanitish theology1 but  
not for the true observers of the       
,sinaitic legislation4 ,the answer to   
the objection is that--so far as ,i can 
form a judgment of that which is well   
ascertained in the history of           
,israel--there is very little ground for
 believing that we know much1 either    
about the theological and social value  

of the influence of ,moses1 or about    
what happened during the wanderings in  
the ,desert4  ,the account of the       
,exodus and of the occurrences in the   
,sinaitic peninsula2 in fact1 all the   
history of ,israel before the invasion  
of ,canaan1 is full of wonderful        
stories1 which may be true1 in so far as
 they are conceivable occurrences1 but  
which are certainly not probable1 and   
which ,i1 for one1 decline to accept    
until evidence1 which deserves that     
name1 is offered of their historical    
truth4 ,up to this time ,i know of none4
 #bh ,furthermore1 ,i see no answer to  
the argument that one has no right to   
pick out of an obviously unhistorical   
statement the assertions which happen to
 be probable and to discard the rest4   
,but it is also certain that a          
primitively veracious tradition may be  
smothered under subsequent mythical     
additions1 and that one has no right to 
cast away the former along with the     
latter4 ,thus1 perhaps the fairest way  

of stating the case may be as follows4  
,there can be no a priori objection to  
the supposition that the ,israelites    
were delivered from their ,egyptian     
bondage by a leader called ,moses1 and  
that he exerted a great influence over  
their subsequent organisation in the    
,desert4 ,there is no reason to doubt   
that1 during their residence in the land
 of ,goshen1 the ,israelites knew       
nothing of ,jahveh2 but1 as their own   
prophets declare 7see ,ezek4 xx471 were 
polytheistic idolaters1 sharing in the  
worst practices of their neighbours4 ,as
 to their conduct in other respects1    
nothing is known4 ,but it may fairly be 
suspected that their ethics were not of 
a higher order than those of ,jacob1    
their progenitor1 in which case they    
might derive great profit from contact  
with ,egyptian society1 which held      
honesty and truthfulness in the highest 
esteem4 ,thanks to the ,egyptologers1 we
 now know1 with all requisite certainty1
 the moral standard of that society in  

the time1 and long before the time1 of  
,moses4 ,it can be determined from the  
scrolls buried with the mummified dead  
and from the inscriptions on the tombs  
and memorial statues of that age4 ,for1 
though the lying of epitaphs is         
proverbial1 so far as their subject is  
concerned1 they gave an unmistakable    
insight into that which the writers and 
the readers of them think praiseworthy4 
,in the famous tombs at ,beni ,hassan   
there is a record of the life of ,prince
 ,nakht1 who served ,osertasen ,,ii41 a 
,pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty as      
governor of a province4 ,the inscription
 speaks in his name3 ,i was a benevolent
 and kindly governor who loved his      
country4444 ,never was a little child   
distressed nor a widow ill-treated by   
me4 ,i have never repelled a workman nor
 hindered a shepherd4 ,i gave alike to  
the widow and to the married woman1 and 
have not preferred the great to the     
small in my gifts4 ,and we have the high
 authority of the late ,dr4 ,samuel     

,birch for the statement that the       
inscriptions of the twelfth dynasty     
abound in injunctions of a high ethical 
character4 ,to feed the hungry1 give    
drink to the thirsty1 clothe the naked1 
bury the dead1 loyally serve the king1  
formed the first duty of a pious man and
 faithful subject4 #bi ,the people for  
whom these inscriptions embodied their  
ideal of praiseworthiness assuredly had 
no imperfect conception of either       
justice or mercy4 ,but there is a       
document which gives still better       
evidence of the moral standard of the   
,egyptians4 ,it is the ,book of the     
,dead1 a sort of ,guide to ,spiritland1 
the whole1 or a part1 of which was      
buried with the mummy of every          
well-to-do ,egyptian1 while extracts    
from it are found in innumerable        
inscriptions4 ,portions of this work are
 of extreme antiquity1 evidence of their
 existence occurring as far back as the 
fifth and sixth dynasties2 while the    
#abjth chapter1 which constitutes a sort

 of book by itself1 and is known as the 
,book of ,redemption in the ,hall of the
 two ,truths1 is frequently inscribed   
upon coffins and other monuments of the 
nineteenth dynasty 7that under which1   
there is some reason to believe1 the    
,israelites were oppressed and the      
,exodus took place71 and it occurs1 more
 than once1 in the famous tombs of the  
kings of this and the preceding dynasty 
at ,thebes4 #cj ,this ,book of          
,redemption is chiefly occupied by the  
so-called negative confession made to   
the forty-two ,divine ,judges1 in which 
the soul of the dead denies that he has 
committed faults of various kinds4 ,it  
is1 therefore1 obvious that the         
,egyptians conceived that their gods    
commanded them not to do the deeds which
 are here denied4 ,the ,book of         
,redemption1 in fact1 implies the       
existence in the mind of the ,egyptians1
 if not in a formal writing1 of a series
 of ordinances1 couched1 like the       
majority of the ten commandments1 in    

negative terms4 ,and it is easy to prove
 the implied existence of a series which
 nearly answers to the ten words4 ,of   
course a polytheistic and               
image-worshipping people1 who observed a
 great many holy days1 but no ,sabbaths1
 could have nothing analogous to the    
first or the second and the fourth      
commandments of the ,decalogue2 but     
answering to the third1 is ,i have not  
blasphemed2 to the fifth1 ,i have not   
reviled the face of the king or my      
father2 to the sixth1 ,i have not       
murdered2 to the seventh1 ,i have not   
committed adultery2 to the eighth1 ,i   
have not stolen1 ,i have not done fraud 
to man2 to the ninth1 ,i have not told  
falsehoods in the tribunal of truth1    
and1 further1 ,i have not calumniated   
the slave to his master4 ,i find nothing
 exactly similar to the tenth           
commandment2 but that the inward        
disposition of mind was held to be of no
 less importance than the outward act is
 to be gathered from the praises of     

kindliness already cited and the cry of 
,i am pure1 which is repeated by the    
soul on trial4 ,moreover1 there is a    
minuteness of detail in the confession  
which shows no little delicacy of moral 
appreciation--,i have not privily done  
evil against mankind1 ,i have not       
afflicted men1 ,i have not withheld milk
 from the mouths of sucklings1 ,i have  
not been idle1 ,i have not played the   
hypocrite1 ,i have not told falsehoods1 
,i have not corrupted woman or man1 ,i  
have not caused fear1 ,i have not       
multiplied words in speaking4  ,would   
that the moral sense of the nineteenth  
century ,a4,d4 were as far advanced as  
that of the ,egyptians in the nineteenth
 century ,b4,c4 in this last particular6
 ,what incalculable benefit to mankind  
would flow from strict observance of the
 commandment1 ,thou shalt not multiply  
words in speaking6 ,nothing is more     
remarkable than the stress which the old
 ,egyptians1 here and elsewhere1 lay    
upon this and other kinds of            

truthfulness1 as compared with the      
absence of any such requirement in the  
,israelitic ,decalogue1 in which only a 
specific kind of untruthfulnes is       
forbidden4  ,if1 as the story runs1     
,moses was adopted by a princess of the 
royal house1 and was instructed in all  
the wisdom of the ,egyptians1 it is     
surely incredible that he should not    
have been familiar from his youth up1   
with the high moral code implied in the 
,book of ,redemption4 ,it is surely     
impossible that he should have been less
 familiar with the complete legal       
system1 and with the method of          
administration of justice1 which1 even  
in his time1 had enabled the ,egyptian  
people to hold together1 as a complex   
social organisation1 for a period far   
longer than the duration of old ,roman  
society1 from the building of the city  
to the death of the last ,caesar4 ,nor  
need we look to ,moses alone for the    
influence of ,egypt upon ,israel4 ,it is
 true that the ,hebrew nomads who came  

into contact with the ,egyptians of     
,osertasen1 or of ,ramses1 stood in much
 the same relation to them1 in point of 
culture1 as a ,germanic tribe did to the
 ,romans of ,tiberius1 or of ,marcus    
,antoninus2 or as ,captain ,cook's ,omai
 did to the ,english of ,george the     
,third4 ,but1 at the same time1 any     
difficulty of communication which might 
have arisen out of this circumstance was
 removed by the long pre-existing       
intercourse of other ,semites1 of every 
grade of civilisation1 with the         
,egyptians4 ,in ,mesopotamia and        
elsewhere1 as in ,phenicia1 ,semitic    
people had attained to a social         
organisation as advanced as that of the 
,egyptians2 ,semites had conquered and  
occupied ,lower ,egypt for centuries4   
,so extensively had ,semitic influences 
penetrated ,egypt that the ,egyptian    
language1 during the period of the      
nineteenth dynasty1 is said by ,brugsch 
to be as full of ,semitisms as ,german  
is of ,gallicisms2 while ,semitic       

deities had supplanted the ,egyptian    
gods at ,heliopolis and elsewhere4 ,on  
the other hand1 the ,semites1 as far as 
,phenicia1 were extensively influenced  
by ,egypt4  ,it is generally admitted   
#ca that ,moses1 ,phinehas 7and perhaps 
,aaron71 are names of ,egyptian origin1 
and there is excellent authority for the
 statement that the name ,abir1 which   
the ,israelites gave to their golden    
calf1 and which is also used to signify 
the strong1 the heavenly1 and even ,god1
 #cb is simply the ,egyptian ,apis4     
,brugsch points out that the god1 ,tum  
or ,tom1 who was the special object of  
worship in the city of ,pi-,tom1 with   
which the ,israelites were only too     
familiar1 was called ,ankh and the great
 god1 and had no image4 ,ankh means ,he 
who lives1 the living one1 a name the   
resemblance of which to the ,i am that  
,i am of ,exodus is unmistakable1       
whatever may be the value of the fact4  
,every discussion of ,israelitic ritual 
seeks and finds the explanation of its  

details in the portable sacred chests1  
the altars1 the priestly dress1 the     
breastplate1 the incense1 and the       
sacrifices depicted on the monuments of 
,egypt4 ,but it must be remembered that 
these signs of the influence of ,egypt  
upon ,israel are not necessarily        
evidence that such influence was exerted
 before the ,exodus4 ,it may have come  
much later1 through the close connection
 of the ,israel of ,david and ,solomon1 
first with ,phenicia and then with      
,egypt4  ,if we suppose ,moses to have  
been a man of the stamp of ,calvin1     
there is no difficulty in conceiving    
that he may have constructed the        
substance of the ten words1 and even of 
the ,book of the ,covenant1 which       
curiously resembles parts of the ,book  
of the ,dead1 from the foundation of    
,egyptian ethics and theology which had 
filtered through to the ,israelites in  
general1 or had been furnished specially
 to himself by his early education2 just
 as the great ,genevese reformer built  

up a puritanic social organisation on so
 much as remained of the ethics and     
theology of the ,roman ,church1 after he
 had trimmed them to his liking4  ,thus1
 ,i repeat1 ,i see no a priori objection
 to the assumption that ,moses may have 
endeavoured to give his people a        
theologico-political organisation based 
on the ten commandments 7though         
certainly not quite in their present    
form7 and the ,book of the ,covenant1   
contained in our present book of        
,exodus4 ,but whether there is such     
evidence as amounts to proof1 or1 ,i had
 better say1 to probability1 that even  
this much of the ,pentateuch owes its   
origin to ,moses is another matter4 ,the
 mythical character of the accessories  
of the ,sinaitic history is patent1 and 
it would take a good deal more evidence 
than is afforded by the bare assertion  
of an unknown writer to justify the     
belief that the people who saw the      
thunderings and the lightnings and the  
voice of the trumpet and the mountain   

smoking 7,exod4 xx4 #ah72 to whom       
,jahveh orders ,moses to say1 ,ye       
yourselves have seen that ,i have talked
 with you from heaven4 ,ye shall not    
make other gods with me2 gods of silver 
and gods of gold ye shall not make unto 
you 7ibid4 #bb1 #bc71 should1 less than 
six weeks afterwards1 have done the     
exact thing they were thus awfully      
forbidden to do4 ,nor is the credibility
 of the story increased by the statement
 that ,aaron1 the brother of ,moses1 the
 witness and fellow-worker of the       
miracles before ,pharaoh1 was their     
leader and the artificer of the idol4   
,and yet1 at the same time1 ,aaron was  
apparently so ignorant of wrongdoing    
that he made proclamation1 ,tomorrow    
shall be a feast to ,jahveh1 and the    
people proceeded to offer their         
burnt-offerings and peace-offerings1 as 
if everything in their proceedings must 
be satisfactory to the ,deity with whom 
they had just made a solemn covenant to 
abolish image-worship4 ,it seems to me  

that1 on a survey of all the facts of   
the case1 only a very cautious and      
hypothetical judgment is justifiable4   
,it may be that ,moses profited by the  
opportunities afforded him of access to 
what was best in ,egyptian society to   
become acquainted1 not only with its    
advanced ethical and legal code1 but    
with the more or less pantheistic       
unification of the ,divine to which the 
speculations of the ,egyptian thinkers1 
like those of all polytheistic          
philosophers1 from ,polynesia to        
,greece1 tend2 if indeed the theology of
 the period of the nineteenth dynasty   
was not1 as some ,egyptologists think1 a
 modification of an earlier1 more       
distinctly monotheistic doctrine of a   
long antecedent age4 ,it took only half 
a dozen centuries for the theology of   
,paul to become the theology of ,gregory
 the ,great2 and it is possible that    
twenty centuries lay between the        
theology of the first worshippers in the
 sanctuary of the ,sphinx and that of   

the priests of ,ramses ,maimun4  ,it may
 be that the ten commandments and the   
,book of the ,covenant are based upon   
faithful traditions of the efforts of a 
great leader to raise his followers to  
his own level4 ,for myself1 as a matter 
of pious opinion1 ,i like to think so2  
as ,i like to imagine that1 between     
,moses and ,samuel1 there may have been 
many a seer1 many a herdsman such as him
 of ,tekoah1 lonely amidst the hills of 
,ephraim and ,judah1 who cherished and  
kept alive these traditions4 ,in the    
present results of ,biblical criticism1 
however1 ,i can discover no             
justification for the common assumption 
that1 between the time of ,joshua and   
that of ,rehoboam1 the ,israelites were 
familiar with either the ,deuteronomic  
or the ,levitical legislation2 or that  
the theology of the ,israelites1 from   
the king who sat on the throne to the   
lowest of his subjects1 was in any      
important respect different from that   
which might naturally be expected from  

their previous history and the          
conditions of their existence4 ,but     
there is excellent evidence to the      
contrary effect4 ,and1 for my part1 ,i  
see no reason to doubt that1 like the   
rest of the world1 the ,israelites had  
passed through a period of mere         
ghost-worship1 and had advanced through 
,ancestor-worship and ,fetishism and    
,totemism to the theological level at   
which we find them in the books of      
,judges and ,samuel4  ,all the more     
remarkable1 therefore1 is the           
extraordinary change which is to be     
noted in the eighth century ,b4,c4 ,the 
student who is familiar with the        
theology implied1 or expressed1 in the  
books of ,judges1 ,samuel1 and the first
 book of ,kings1 finds himself in a new 
world of thought1 in the full tide of a 
great reformation1 when he reads ,joel1 
,amos1 ,hosea1 ,isaiah1 ,micah1 and     
,jeremiah4  ,the essence of this change 
is the reversal of the position which1  
in primitive society1 ethics holds in   

relation to theology4 ,originally1 that 
which men worship is a theological      
hypothesis1 not a moral ideal4 ,the     
prophets1 in substance1 if not always in
 form preach the opposite doctrine4     
,they are constantly striving to free   
the moral ideal from the stifling       
embrace of the current theology and its 
concomitant ritual4 ,theirs was not an  
intellectual criticism1 argued on       
strictly scientific grounds2 the        
image-worshippers and the believers in  
the efficacy of sacrifices and          
ceremonies might logically have held    
their own against anything the prophets 
have to say2 it was an ethical          
criticism4 ,from the height of his moral
 intuition--that the whole duty of man  
is to do justice and to love mercy and  
to bear himself as humbly as befits his 
insignificance in face of the           
,infinite--the prophet simply laughs at 
the idolaters of stocks and stones and  
the idolaters of ritual4 ,idols of the  
first kind1 in his experience1 were     

inseparably united with the practice of 
immorality1 and they were to be         
ruthlessly destroyed4 ,as for sacrifices
 and ceremonies1 whatever their         
intrinsic value might be1 they might be 
tolerated on condition of ceasing to be 
idols2 they might even be praiseworthy  
on condition of being made to subserve  
the worship of the true ,jahveh--the    
moral ideal4  ,if the realm of ,david   
had remained undivided1 if the ,assyrian
 and the ,chaldean and the ,egyptian had
 left ,israel to the ordinary course of 
development of an ,oriental kingdom1 it 
is possible that the effects of the     
reforming zeal of the prophets of the   
eighth and seventh centuries might have 
been effaced by the growth1 according to
 its inevitable tendencies1 of the      
theology which they combated4 ,but the  
captivity made the fortune of the ideas 
which it was the privilege of these men 
to launch upon an endless career4 ,with 
the abolition of the ,temple-services   
for more than half a century1 the priest

 must have lost and the scribe gained   
influence4 ,the puritanism of a vigorous
 minority among the ,babylonian ,jews   
rooted out polytheism from all its      
hiding-places in the theology which they
 had inherited2 they created the first  
consistent1 remorseless1 naked          
monotheism1 which1 so far as history    
records1 appeared in the world 7for     
,zoroastrism is practically ditheism1   
and ,buddhism any-theism or no-theism72 
and they inseparably united therewith an
 ethical code1 which1 for its purity and
 for its efficiency as a bond of social 
life1 was and is1 unsurpassed4 ,so ,i   
think we must not judge ,ezra and       
,nehemiah and their followers too       
hardly1 if they exemplified the usual   
doom of poor humanity to escape from one
 error only to fall into another2 if    
they failed to free themselves as       
completely from the idolatry of ritual  
as they had from that of images and     
dogmas2 if they cherished the new       
fetters of the ,levitical legislation   

which they had fitted upon themselves   
and their nation1 as though such bonds  
had the sanctity of the obligations of  
morality2 and if they led succeeding    
generations to spend their best energies
 in building that hedge round the ,torah
 which was meant to preserve both ethics
 and theology1 but which too often had  
the effect of pampering the latter and  
starving the former4 ,the world being   
what it was1 it is to be doubted whether
 ,israel would have preserved intact the
 pure ore of religion1 which the        
prophets had extracted for the use of   
mankind as well as for their nation1 had
 not the leaders of the nation been     
zealous1 even to death1 for the dross of
 the law in which it was embedded4 ,the 
struggle of the ,jews1 under the        
,maccabean house1 against the           
,seleucidae was as important for mankind
 as that of the ,greeks against the     
,persians4 ,and1 of all the strange     
ironies of history1 perhaps the         
strangest is that ,pharisee is current1 

as a term of reproach1 among the        
theological descendants of that sect of 
,nazarenes who1 without the martyr      
spirit of those primitive ,puritans1    
would never have come into existence4   
,they1 like their historical successors1
 our own ,puritans1 have shared the     
general fate of the poor wise men who   
save cities4  ,a criticism of theology  
from the side of science is not thought 
of by the prophets1 and is at most      
indicated in the books of ,job and      
,ecclesiastes1 in both of which the     
problem of vindicating the ways of ,god 
to man is given up1 though on different 
grounds1 as a hopeless one4 ,but with   
the extensive introduction of ,greek    
thought among the ,jews1 which took     
place1 not only during the domination of
 the ,seleucidae in ,palestine1 but in  
the great ,judaic colony which          
flourished in ,egypt under the          
,ptolemies1 criticism1 on both ethical  
and scientific grounds1 took a new      
departure4  ,in the hands of the        

,alexandrian ,jews1 as represented by   
,philo1 the fundamental axiom of later  
,jewish1 as of ,christian monotheism1   
that the ,deity is infinitely perfect   
and infinitely good1 worked itself out  
into its logical consequence--agnostic  
theism4 ,philo will allow of no point of
 contact between ,god and a world in    
which evil exists4 ,for him ,god has no 
relation to space or to time1 and1 as   
infinite1 suffers no predicate beyond   
that of existence4 ,it is therefore     
absurd to ascribe to ,him mental        
faculties and affections comparable in  
the remotest degree to those of men2 ,he
 is in no way an object of cognition2   
,he is ,greek and ,greek #cc--without   
quality and incomprehensible4 ,that is  
to say the ,alexandrian ,jew of the     
first century had anticipated the       
reasonings of ,hamilton and ,mansell in 
the nineteenth1 and1 for him1 ,god is   
the ,unknowable in the sense in which   
that term is used by ,mr4 ,herbert      
,spencer4 ,moreover1 ,philo's definition

 of the ,supreme ,being would not be    
inconsistent with that substantia       
constans infinitis attributis1 quorum   
unumquodque aeternam et infinitam       
essentiam exprimit1 given by another    
great ,israelite1 were it not that      
,spinoza's doctrine of the immanence of 
the ,deity in the world puts him1 at any
 rate formally1 at the antipodes of     
theological speculation4 ,but the       
conception of the essential             
incognoscibility of the ,deity is the   
same in each case4 ,however1 ,philo was 
too thorough an ,israelite and too much 
the child of his time to be content with
 this agnostic position4 ,with the help 
of the ,platonic and ,stoic philosophy1 
he constructed an apprehensible1 if not 
comprehensible1 quasi-deity out of the  
,logos2 while other more or less        
personified divine powers1 or           
attributes1 bridged over the interval   
between ,god and man2 between the sacred
 existence1 too pure to be called by any
 name which implied a conceivable       

quality1 and the gross and evil world of
 matter4 ,in order to get over the      
ethical difficulties presented by the   
naive naturalism of many parts of those 
,scriptures1 in the divine authority of 
which he firmly believed1 ,philo        
borrowed from the ,stoics 7who had been 
in like straits in respect of ,greek    
mythology71 that great ,excalibur which 
they had forged with infinite pains and 
skill--the method of allegorical        
interpretation4 ,this mighty two-handed 
engine at the door of the theologian is 
warranted to make a speedy end of any   
and every moral or intellectual         
difficulty1 by showing that1 taken      
allegorically or1 as it is otherwise    
said1 poetically or1 in a spiritual     
sense1 the plainest words mean whatever 
a pious interpreter desires they should 
mean4 ,in ,biblical phrase1 ,zeno 7who  
probably had a strain of ,semitic blood 
in him7 was the father of all such as   
reconcile4 ,no doubt ,philo and his     
followers were eminently religious men2 

but they did endless injury to the cause
 of religion by laying the foundations  
of a new theology1 while equipping the  
defenders of it with the subtlest of all
 weapons of offence and defence1 and    
with an inexhaustible store of          
sophistical arguments of the most       
plausible aspect4  ,the question of the 
real bearing upon theology of the       
influence exerted by the teaching of    
,philo's contemporary1 ,jesus of        
,nazareth1 is one upon which it is not  
germane to my present purpose to enter4 
,i take it simply as an unquestionable  
fact that his immediate disciples1 known
 to their countrymen as ,nazarenes1 were
 regarded as1 and considered themselves 
to be1 perfectly orthodox ,jews1        
belonging to the puritanic or pharisaic 
section of their people1 and differing  
from the rest only in their belief that 
the ,messiah had already come4          
,christianity1 it is said1 first became 
clearly differentiated at ,antioch1 and 
it separated itself from orthodox       

,judaism by denying the obligation of   
the rite of circumcision and of the food
 prohibitions1 prescribed by the law4   
,henceforward theology became relatively
 stationary among the ,jews1 #cd and the
 history of its rapid progress in a new 
course of evolution is the history of   
the ,christian ,churches1 orthodox and  
heterodox4 ,the steps in this evolution 
are obvious4 ,the first is the birth of 
a new theological scheme arising out of 
the union of elements derived from      
,greek philosophy with elements derived 
from ,israelitic theology4 ,in the      
fourth ,gospel1 the ,logos1 raised to a 
somewhat higher degree of               
personification than in the ,alexandrian
 theosophy1 is identified with ,jesus of
 ,nazareth4 ,in the ,epistles1          
especially the later of those attributed
 to ,paul1 the ,israelitic ideas of the 
,messiah and of sacrificial atonement   
coalesce with one another and with the  
embodiment of the ,logos in ,jesus1     
until the apotheosis of the ,son of man 

is almost1 or quite1 effected4 ,the     
history of ,christian dogma1 from       
,justin to ,athanasius1 is a record of  
continual progress in the same          
direction1 until the fair body of       
religion1 revealed in almost naked      
purity by the prophets1 is once more    
hidden under a new accumulation of      
dogmas and of ritual practices of which 
the primitive ,nazarene knew nothing2   
and which he would probably have        
regarded as blasphemous if he could have
 been made to understand them4  ,as1    
century after century1 the ages roll on1
 polytheism comes back under the        
disguise of ,mariolatry and the         
adoration of saints2 image-worship      
becomes as rampant as in old ,egypt2    
adoration of relics takes the place of  
the old fetish-worship2 the virtues of  
the ephod pale before those of holy     
coats and handkerchiefs2 shrines and    
calvaries make up for the loss of the   
ark and of the high places2 and even the
 lustral fluid of paganism is replaced  

by holy water at the porches of the     
temples4 ,a touching ceremony--the      
common meal originally eaten in pious   
memory of a loved teacher--becomes      
metamorphosed into a flesh-and-blood    
sacrifice1 supposed to possess exactly  
that redeeming virtue which the prophets
 denied to the flesh-and-blood          
sacrifices of their day2 while the      
minute observance of ritual is raised to
 a degree of punctilious refinement     
which ,levitical legislators might envy4
 ,and with the growth of this theology1 
grew its inevitable concomitant1 the    
belief in evil spirits1 in possession1  
in sorcery1 in charms and omens1 until  
the ,christians of the twelfth century  
after our era were sunk in more debased 
and brutal superstitions than are       
recorded of the ,israelites in the      
twelfth century before it4  ,the        
greatest men of the ,middle ,ages are   
unable to escape the infection4 ,dante's
 ,inferno would be revolting if it were 
not so often sublime1 so often          

exquisitely tender4 ,the hideous        
pictures which cover a vast space on the
 south wall of the ,campo ,santo of     
,pisa convey information1 as terrible as
 it is indisputable1 of the theological 
conceptions of ,dante's countrymen in   
the fourteenth century1 whose eyes were 
addressed by the painters of those      
disgusting scenes1 and whose approbation
 they knew how to win4 ,a candid        
,mexican of the time of ,cortez1 could  
he have seen this ,christian            
burial-place1 would have taken it for an
 appropriately adorned ,teocalli4 ,the  
professed disciple of the ,god of       
justice and of mercy might there gloat  
over the sufferings of his fellowmen    
depicted as undergoing every extremity  
of atrocious and sanguinary torture to  
all eternity1 for theological errors no 
less than for moral delinquencies2      
while1 in the central figure of ,satan1 
#ce occupied in champing up souls in his
 capacious and well-toothed jaws1 to    
void them again for the purpose of      

undergoing fresh suffering1 we have the 
counterpart of the strange ,polynesian  
and ,egyptian dogma that there were     
certain gods who employed themselves in 
devouring the ghostly flesh of the      
,spirits of the dead4 ,but in justice to
 the ,polynesians1 it must be           
recollected that1 after three such      
operations1 they thought the soul was   
purified and happy4 ,in the view of the 
,christian theologian the operation was 
only a preparation for new tortures     
continued for ever and aye4  ,with the  
growth of civilisation in ,europe1 and  
with the revival of letters and of      
science in the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries1 the ethical and intellectual 
criticism of theology once more         
recommenced1 and arrived at a temporary 
resting-place in the confessions of the 
various reformed ,protestant sects in   
the sixteenth century2 almost all of    
which1 as soon as they were strong      
enough1 began to persecute those who    
carried criticism beyond their own      

limit4 ,but the movement was not        
arrested by these ecclesiastical        
barriers1 as their constructors fondly  
imagined it would be2 it was continued1 
tacitly or openly1 by ,galileo1 by      
,hobbes1 by ,descartes1 and especially  
by ,spinoza1 in the seventeenth century2
 by the ,english ,freethinkers1 by      
,rousseau1 by the ,french               
,encyclopaedists1 and by the ,german    
,rationalists1 among whom ,lessing      
stands out a head and shoulders taller  
than the rest1 throughout the eighteenth
 century2 by the historians1 the        
philologers1 the ,biblical critics1 the 
geologists1 and the biologists in the   
nineteenth century1 until it is obvious 
to all who can see that the moral sense 
and the really scientific method of     
seeking for truth are once more         
predominating over false science4 ,once 
more ethics and theology are parting    
company4  ,it is my conviction that1    
with the spread of true scientific      
culture1 whatever may be the medium1    

historical1 philological1 philosophical1
 or physical1 through which that culture
 is conveyed1 and with its necessary    
concomitant1 a constant elevation of the
 standard of veracity1 the end of the   
evolution of theology will be like its  
beginning--it will cease to have any    
relation to ethics4 ,i suppose that1 so 
long as the human mind exists1 it will  
not escape its deep-seated instinct to  
personify its intellectual conceptions4 
,the science of the present day is as   
full of this particular form of         
intellectual shadow-worship as is the   
nescience of ignorant ages4 ,the        
difference is that the philosopher who  
is worthy of the name knows that his    
personified hypotheses1 such as law1 and
 force1 and ether1 and the like1 are    
merely useful symbols1 while the        
ignorant and the careless take them for 
adequate expressions of reality4 ,so1 it
 may be1 that the majority of mankind   
may find the practice of morality made  
easier by the use of theological        

symbols4 ,and unless these are converted
 from symbols into idols1 ,i do not see 
that science has anything to say to the 
practice1 except to give an occasional  
warning of its dangers4 ,but1 when such 
symbols are dealt with as real          
existences1 ,i think the highest duty   
which is laid upon men of science is to 
show that these dogmatic idols have no  
greater value than the fabrications of  
men's hands1 the stocks and the stones1 
which they have replaced4               
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #a3 ,even the   
most sturdy believers in the popular    
theory that the proper or titular names 
attached to the books of the ,bible are 
those of their authors will hardly be   
prepared to maintain that ,jephthah1    
,gideon1 and their colleagues wrote the 
book of ,judges4 ,nor is it easily      
admissible that ,samuel wrote the two   
books which pass under his name1 one of 
which deals entirely with events which  
took place after his death4 ,in fact1 no
 one knows who wrote either ,judges or  

,samuel1 nor when1 within the range of  
#ajj years1 their present form was given
 to these books4  ,footnote #b3 ,my     
citations are taken from the ,revised   
,version1 but for ,lord and ,god ,i have
 substituted ,jahveh and ,elohim4       
,footnote #c3 ,i need hardly say that ,i
 depend upon authoritative ,biblical    
critics1 whenever a question of         
interpretation of the text arises4 ,as  
,reuss appears to me to be one of the   
most learned1 acute1 and fair-minded of 
those whose works ,i have studied1 ,i   
have made most use of the commentary and
 dissertations in his splendid ,french  
edition of the ,bible4 ,but ,i have also
 had recourse to the works of ,dillman1 
,kalisch1 ,kuenen1 ,thenius1 ,tuch1 and 
others1 in cases in which another       
opinion seemed desirable4  ,footnote #d3
 ,see ,divination1 by ,hazoral1 ,journal
 of ,anthropology1 ,bombay1 vol4 i4 ,no4
 #a4  ,footnote #e3 ,see1 for example1  
the message of ,jephthah to the ,king of
 the ,ammonites3 ,so now ,jahveh1 the   

,elohim of ,israel1 hath dispossessed   
the ,amorites from before his people    
,israel1 and shouldest thou possess     
them8 ,wilt not thou possess that which 
,chemosh1 thy ,elohim1 giveth thee to   
possess8 7,jud4 xi4 #bc1 #bd74 ,for     
,jephthah1 ,chemosh is obviously as real
 a personage as ,jahveh4  ,footnote #f3 
,for example3 ,my oblation1 my food for 
my offerings made by fire1 of a sweet   
savour to me1 shall ye observe to offer 
unto me in their due season 7,num4      
xxviii4 #b74  ,footnote #g3 ,in #b      
,samuel xv4 #bg ,david says to ,zadok   
the priest1 ,art thou not a seer8 and   
,gad is called ,david's seer4  ,footnote
 #h3 ,this would at first appear to be  
inconsistent with the use of the word   
prophetess for ,deborah4 ,but it does   
not follow because the writer of ,judges
 applies the name to ,deborah that it   
was used in her day4  ,footnote #i3     
,samuel tells the cook1 ,bring the      
potion which ,i gave thee1 of which ,i  
said to thee1 ,set it by thee4 ,it was  

therefore ,samuel's to give4 ,and the   
cook took up the thigh 7or shoulder7 and
 that which was upon it and set it      
before ,saul4 ,but1 in the ,levitical   
regulations1 it is the thigh 7or        
shoulder7 which becomes the priest's own
 property4 ,and the right thigh 7or     
shoulder7 shall ye give unto the priest 
for an heave-offering1 which is given   
along with the wave breast unto ,aaron  
the priest and unto his sons as a due   
for ever from the children of ,israel   
7,lev4 vii4 #ca-cd74 ,reuss writes on   
this passage3 ,la cuisse n'est point    
agitee1 mais simplement prelevee sur ce 
que les convives mangeront4  ,footnote  
#aj3 ,see1 for example1 ,elkanah's      
sacrifice1 #a ,sam4 i4 #c-i4  ,footnote 
#aa3 ,the ghost was not supposed to be  
capable of devouring the gross material 
substance of the offering2 but his      
vaporous body appropriated the smoke of 
the burnt sacrifice1 the visible and    
odorous exhalations of other offerings4 
,the blood of the victim was            

particularly useful because it was      
thought to be the special seat of its   
soul or life4 ,a ,west ,african negro   
replied to an ,european sceptic3 ,of    
course1 the spirit cannot eat corporeal 
food1 but he extracts its spiritual     
part1 and1 as we see1 leaves the        
material part behind 7,lippert1         
,seelencult1 p4 #af74  ,footnote #ab3   
,it is further well worth consideration 
whether indications of former           
ancestor-worship are not to be found in 
the singular weight attached to the     
veneration of parents in the fourth     
commandment4 ,it is the only positive   
commandment1 in addition to those       
respecting the ,deity and that          
concerning the ,sabbath1 and the        
penalties for infringing it were of the 
same character4 ,in ,china1 a           
corresponding reverence for parents is  
part and parcel of ancestor-worship2 so 
in ancient ,rome and in ,greece 7where  
parents were even called secondary and  
earthly74 ,the fifth commandment1 as it 

stands1 would be an excellent compromise
 between ancestor-worship and           
monotheism4 ,the larger hereditary share
 allotted by ,israelitic law to the     
eldest son reminds one of the privileges
 attached to primogeniture in ancient   
,rome1 which were closely connected with
 ancestor-worship4 ,there is a good deal
 to be said in favour of the speculation
 that the ark of the covenant may have  
been a relic of ancestor-worship2 but   
that topic is too large to be dealt with
 incidentally in this place  ,footnote  
#ac3 ,the ,scientific ,aspects of       
,positivism1 ,fortnightly ,review1      
#ahfi1 republished in ,lay ,sermons4    
,footnote #ad3 ,o,euvres de ,bossuet1   
ed4 #ahjh1 t4 xxxv4 p4 #bhb4  ,footnote 
#ae3 ,i should like further to add the  
expression of my indebtedness to two    
works by ,herr ,julius ,lippert1 ,der   
,seelencult in seinen ,beziehungen zur  
alt-hebraischen ,religion and ,die      
,religionen der europaischen            
,culturvolker1 both pubished in #ahha4  

,i have found them full of valuable     
suggestions4  ,footnote #af3 ,see among 
others the remarkable work of ,fustel de
 ,coulanges1 ,la ,cite antique1 in which
 the social importance of the old ,roman
 ancestor-worship is brought out with   
great clearness4  ,footnote #ag3        
,supposed to be the finer or more       
aeriform part of the body1 standing in  
the same relation to the body as the    
perfume and the more essential qualities
 of a flower do to the more solid       
substances 7,mariner1 vol4 ii4 p4 #abg74
  ,footnote #ah3 ,a kind of clients in  
the ,roman sense4  ,footnote #ai3 ,it is
 worthy of remark that ,greek among the 
,greeks1 and ,deus among the ,romans1   
had the same wide signification4 ,the   
dii manes were ghosts of ancestors,atuas
 of the family4  ,footnote #bj3 ,voyages
 aux iles du ,grand ,ocean1 t4 i4 p4    
#dhb4  ,footnote #ba3 ,te ,ika a ,maui3 
,new ,zealand and its ,inhabitants1 p4  
#gb4  ,footnote #bb3 ,compare3 ,and     
,samuel said unto ,saul1 ,why hast thou 

disquieted me8 7,i ,sam4 xxviii4 l#e7   
,footnote #bc3 ,turner1 ,nineteen ,years
 in ,polynesia1 p4 #bch4  ,footnote #bd3
 ,see ,lippert's excellent remarks on   
this subject1 ,der ,seelencult1 p4 #hi4 
,footnote #be3 ,sciography has the      
authority of ,cudworth1 ,intellectual   
,system1 vol4 ii4 p4 #hcf4 ,sciomancy   
,greek1 which1 in the sense of          
divination by ghosts1 may be found in   
,bailey's ,dictionary 7#agea3 also      
furnishes a precedent for my coinage4   
,footnote #bf3 ,kami is used in the     
sense of ,elohim2 and is also1 like our 
word ,lord1 employed as a title of      
respect among men1 as indeed ,elohim    
was4  ,footnote #bg3 ,the ,assyrians    
thus raised ,assur to a position of     
pre-eminence4  ,footnote #bh3 ,i refer  
those who wish to know the reasons which
 lead me to take up this position to the
 works of ,reuss and ,wellhausen1 and   
especially to ,stade's ,geschichte des  
,volkes ,israel4  ,footnote #bi3        
,bunsen4 ,egypt's ,place1 vol4 v4       

p4#abi1 note4  ,footnote #cj3 ,see      
,birch1 in ,egypt's ,place1 vol4 v2 and 
,brugsch1 ,history of ,egypt4  ,footnote
 #ca3 ,even by ,graetz1 who1 though a   
fair enough historian1 cannot be accused
 of any desire to over-estimate the     
importance of ,egyptian influence upon  
his people4  ,footnote #cb3 ,graetz1    
,geschichte der ,juden1 ,bd4 i4 p4 #cgj4
  ,footnote #cc3 ,see the careful       
analsyis of the work of the ,alexandrian
 philosopher and theologian 7who1 it    
should be remembered1 was a most devout 
,jew1 held in the highest esteem by his 
countrymen7 in ,siegfried's ,philo von  
,alexandrien1 #ahge4 7,also ,dr4 ,j4    
,drummond's ,philo ,judaeus1 #ahhh47    
,footnote #cd3 ,i am not unaware of the 
existence of many and widely divergent  
sects and schools among the ,jews at all
 periods of their history1 since the    
dispersion4 ,but ,i imagine that        
orthodox ,judaism is now pretty much    
what it was in ,philo's time2 while     
,peter and ,paul1 if they could return  

to life1 would certainly have to learn  
the catechism of either the ,roman1     
,greek1 or ,anglican ,churches1 if they 
desired to be considered orthodox       
,christians4  ,footnote #ce3 ,dante's   
description of ,lucifer engaged in the  
eternal mastication of ,brutus1         
,cassius1 and ,judas ,iscariot--     ,da
 ogni bocca dirompea co' denti       ,un
 peccatore1 a guisa di maciulla1        
,si che tre ne facea cos dolenti4     ,a
 quel dinanzi il mordere era nulla1     
,verso 'l graffiar1 che tal volta la    
schiena       ,rimanea della pelle tutta
 brulla--  is quite in harmony with the 
,pisan picture and perfectly ,polynesian
 in conception4