,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,idea ,,of
 ,,god  ,,an ,,inquiry ,,into ,,the     
,,origins ,,of ,,religions  ,,by ,,grant
 ,,allen  ,,author ,,of 8,,physiological
 ,,sthetics0 8,,the ,,colours ,,of      
,,flowers0 8,,force ,,and ,,energy0     
,,etc  ,,london3 ,,grant ,,richards     
#ahig     ,,preface  ,,two main schools 
of religious thinking exist in our midst
 at the present day3 the school of      
humanists and the school of animists4   
,this work is to some extent an attempt 
to reconcile them4 ,it contains1 ,i     
believe1 the first extended effort that 
has yet been made to trace the genesis  
of the belief in a ,god from its        
earliest origin in the mind of primitive
 man up to its fullest development in   
advanced and etherealised ,christian    
theology4 ,my method is therefore       
constructive1 not destructive4 ,instead 
of setting out to argue away or demolish
 a deep-seated and ancestral element in 
our complex nature1 this book merely    
posits for itself the psychological     

question1 8,by what successive steps did
 men come to frame for themselves the   
conception of a deity80--or1 if the     
reader so prefers it1 8,how did we      
arrive at our knowledge of ,god80 ,it   
seeks provisionally to answer these     
profound and important questions by     
reference to the earliest beliefs of    
savages1 past or present1 and to the    
testimony of historical documents and   
ancient monuments4 ,it does not concern 
itself at all with the validity or      
invalidity of the ideas in themselves2  
it does but endeavour to show how       
inevitable they were1 and how man's     
relation with the external universe was 
certain a priori to beget them as of    
necessity4  ,in so vast a synthesis1 it 
would be absurd to pretend at the       
present day that one approached one's   
subject entirely de novo4 ,every        
enquirer must needs depend much upon the
 various researches of his predecessors 
in various parts of his field of        
enquiry4 ,the problem before us divides 

itself into three main portions3 first1 
how did men come to believe in many     
gods--the origin of polytheism2 second1 
how1 by elimination of most of these    
gods1 did certain races of men come to  
believe in one single supreme and       
omnipotent ,god--the origin of          
monotheism2 third how1 having arrived at
 that concept1 did the most advanced    
races and civilisations come to conceive
 of that ,god as ,triune1 and to        
identify one of his ,persons with a     
particular divine and human             
incarnation--the origin of              
,christianity4 ,in considering each of  
these three main problems ,i have been  
greatly guided and assisted by three    
previous enquirers or sets of enquirers4
  ,as to the origin of polytheism1 ,i   
have adopted in the main ,mr4 ,herbert  
,spencer's remarkable ghost theory1     
though with certain important           
modifications and additions4 ,in this   
part of my work ,i have also been       
largely aided by materials derived from 

,mr4 ,duff ,macdonald1 the able author  
of ,africana1 from ,mr4 ,turner1 the    
well-known ,samoan missionary1 and from 
several other writers1 supplemented as  
they are by my own researches among the 
works of explorers and ethnologists in  
general4 ,on the whole1 ,i have here    
accepted the theory which traces the    
origin of the belief in gods to primeval
 ancestor-worship1 or rather            
corpse-worship1 as against the rival    
theory which traces its origin to a     
supposed primitive animism4  ,as to the 
rise of monotheism1 ,i have been        
influenced in no small degree by ,kuenen
 and the ,teutonic school of ,old       
,testament criticism1 whose ideas have  
been supplemented by later concepts     
derived from ,professor ,robertson      
,smith's admirable work1 ,the ,religion 
of the ,semites4 ,but here1 on the      
whole1 the central explanation ,i have  
to offer is1 ,i venture to think1 new   
and original3 the theory1 good or bad1  
of the circumstances which led to the   

elevation of the ethnical ,hebrew ,god1 
,jahweh1 above all his rivals1 and his  
final recognition as the only true and  
living god1 is my own and no one else's4
  ,as to the origin of ,christianity1   
and its relations to the preceding cults
 of corn and wine gods1 ,i have been    
guided to a great extent by ,mr4 ,j4 ,g4
 ,frazer and ,mannhardt1 though ,i do   
not suppose that either the living or   
the dead anthropologist would wholly    
acquiesce in the use ,i have made of    
their splendid materials4 ,mr4 ,frazer1 
the author of that learned work1 ,the   
,golden ,bough1 has profoundly          
influenced the opinions of all serious  
workers at anthropology and the science 
of religion1 and ,i cannot too often    
acknowledge the deep obligations under  
which ,i lie to his profound and able   
treatises4 ,at the same time1 ,i have so
 transformed the material derived from  
him and from ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith as  
to have made it in many ways practically
 my own2 and ,i have supplemented it by 

several new examples and ideas1         
suggested in the course of my own       
tolerably wide reading4  ,throughout the
 book as a whole1 ,i also owe a         
considerable debt to ,dr4 ,e4 ,b4       
,tylor1 from whom ,i have borrowed much 
valuable matter2 to ,mr4 ,sidney        
,hartland's ,legend of ,perseus2 to ,mr4
 ,lawrence ,gomme1 who has come nearer  
at times than anyone else to the special
 views and theories here promulgated2   
and to ,mr4 ,william ,simpson of the    
,illustrated ,london ,news1 an          
unobtrusive scholar whose excellent     
monographs on ,the ,worship of ,death   
and kindred subjects have never yet     
received the attention ,they deserve1 at
 the hands of unprejudiced students of  
religion4 ,my other obligations1 to ,dr4
 ,mommsen1 to my friends ,mr4 ,edward   
,clodd1 ,professor ,john ,rhys1 and     
,professor ,york ,powell1 as well as to 
numerous travellers1 missionaries1      
historians1 and classicists1 are too    
frequent to specify4  ,looking at the   

subject broadly1 ,i would presume to say
 once more that my general conclusions  
may be regarded as representing to some 
extent a reconciliation between the     
conflicting schools of humanists and    
animists1 headed respectively by ,mr4   
,spencer and ,mr4 ,frazer1 though with a
 leaning rather to the former than the  
latter4  ,at the same time it would be a
 great mistake to look upon my book as  
in any sense a mere eirenicon or        
compromise4 ,on the contrary1 it is in  
every part a new and personal work1     
containing1 whatever its value1 a fresh 
and original synthesis of the subject4  
,i would venture to point out as        
especially novel the two following      
points3 the complete demarcation of     
religion from mythology1 as practice    
from mere explanatory gloss or          
guesswork2 and the important share      
assigned in the genesis of most existing
 religious systems to the deliberate    
manufacture of gods by killing4 ,this   
doctrine of the manufactured god1 to    

which nearly half my book is devoted1   
seems to me to be a notion of cardinal  
value4 ,among other new ideas of        
secondary rank1 ,i would be bold enough 
to enumerate the following3 the         
establishment of three successive stages
 in the conception of the ,life of the  
,dead1 which might be summed up as      
,corpse-worship1 ,ghost-worship1 and    
,shade-worship1 and which answer to the 
three stages of preservation or         
mummification1 burial1 and cremation2   
the recognition of the high place to be 
assigned to the safe-keeping of the     
oracular head in the growth of          
idol-worship2 the importance attached to
 the sacred stone1 the sacred stake1 and
 the sacred tree1 and the provisional   
proof of their close connection with the
 graves of the dead2 the entirely new   
conception of the development of        
monotheism among the ,jews from the     
exclusive cult of the jealous god2 the  
hypothesis of the origin of cultivation 
from tumulus-offerings1 and its         

connection with the growth of gods of   
cultivation2 the wide expansion given to
 the ancient notion of the divine-human 
victim2 the recognition of the          
world-wide prevalence of the five-day   
festival of the corn or wine god1 and of
 the close similarity which marks its   
rites throughout all the continents1    
including ,america2 the suggested       
evolution of the god-eating sacraments  
of lower religions from the cannibal    
practice of honorifically eating one's  
dead relations2 99 and the evidence of  
the wide survival of primitive          
corpse-worship down to our own times in 
civilised ,europe4 ,i could largely     
increase this rapid list of what ,i     
believe to be the new contributions here
 made to the philosophy of religious    
evolution2 but ,i purposely refrain4 ,i 
think it will be allowed that if even a 
few of these ideas turn out on          
examination to be both new and true1 my 
book will have succeeded in justifying  
its existence4       99 ,while this work

 was passing through the press a similar
      theory has been propounded by ,mr4
 ,flinders ,petrie in an      article on
 8,eaten with ,honour10 in which he     
reviews briefly      the evidence for   
the custom in ,egypt and elsewhere4  ,i 
put forth this work with the utmost     
diffidence4 ,the harvest is vast and the
 labourers are few4 ,i have been engaged
 upon collecting and comparing materials
 for more than twenty years4 ,i have    
been engaged in writing my book for more
 than ten4 ,as ,i explain in the last   
chapter1 the present first sketch of the
 conclusions at which ,i have at last   
arrived is little more than provisional4
 ,i desire in my present essay merely to
 lay down the lines of the general      
theory which after so many years of     
study ,i incline to accept4 ,if my      
attempt succeeds in attracting public   
attention1 ,i hope to follow it up by   
several other volumes in which the main 
opinions or suggestions here set forth  
may be reinforced and expanded by       

copious collections of evidence and     
illustrations4 ,if it fails to arouse   
public attention1 however1 ,i must      
perforce be satisfied with this very    
inadequate preliminary statement4 ,i    
should also like to add here1 what ,i   
point out at greater length in the body 
of the work1 that ,i do not hold        
dogmatically to all or to a single one  
of the ideas ,i have now expressed4     
,they are merely conceptions forced upon
 my mind by the present state of the    
evidence2 and ,i recognise the fact that
 in so vast and varied a province1 where
 almost encyclopaedic knowledge would be
 necessary in order to enable one to    
reach a decided conclusion1 every single
 one or all together of these           
conceptions are liable to be upset by   
further research4 ,i merely say1 8,this 
is how the matter figures itself to me  
at present1 on the strength of the facts
 now and here known to us40  ,a few     
chapters of the book were separately    
published in various reviews at the time

 they were first written4 ,they were    
composed1 however1 from the outset1 as  
parts of this book1 which does not      
therefore consist of disconnected essays
 thrown into line in an artificial      
unity4 ,each occupies the precise place 
in the argument for which it was first  
intended4 ,the chapters in question are 
those on 8,religion and ,mythology10 and
 8,the ,life of the ,dead10 contributed 
under the titles of 8,practical         
,religion0 and 8,immortality and        
,resurrection0 to the ,fortnightly      
,re-view2 that on 8,sacred ,stones10    
contributed under the same name to the  
same periodical2 and that on 8,the ,gods
 of ,egypt10 which originally appeared  
in the ,universal ,review4 ,i have to   
thank the proprietors and editors of    
those magazines for permission to print 
them in their proper place here4 ,they  
have all been altered and brought up as 
far as ,i could bring them to the       
existing state of our knowledge with    
regard to the subjects of which they    

treat4  ,in dealing with so large a     
variety of materials1 drawn from all    
times and places1 races and languages1  
it would be well-nigh impossible to     
avoid errors4 ,such as my own care could
 discover ,i have of course corrected3  
for the rest1 ,i must ask on this ground
 the indulgence of those who may happen 
to note them4  ,i have endeavoured to   
write without favour or prejudice1      
animated by a single desire to discover 
the truth4 ,whether ,i have succeeded in
 that attempt or not1 ,i trust my book  
may be received in the same spirit in   
which it has been written1--a spirit of 
earnest anxiety to learn all that can be
 learnt by enquiry and investigation of 
man's connection with his ,god1 in the  
past and the present4 ,in this hope ,i  
commit it to the kindly consideration of
 that small section of the reading      
public which takes a living interest in 
religious questions4     ,,the          
,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,idea ,,of      
,,god4     ,,chapter ,i4--,,christianity

 ,,as ,a ,,religious ,,standard4  ,i    
propose in this work to trace out in    
rough outline the evolution of the idea 
of ,god from its earliest and crudest   
beginnings in the savage mind of        
primitive man to that highly evolved and
 abstract form which it finally assumes 
in contemporary philosophical and       
theological thinking4  ,in the eyes of  
the modern evolutionary enquirer the    
interest of the origin and history of   
this widespread idea is mainly          
psychological4 ,we have before us a vast
 and pervasive group of human opinions1 
true or false1 which have exercised and 
still exercise an immense influence upon
 the development of mankind and of      
civilisation3 the question arises1 ,why 
did human beings ever come to hold these
 opinions at all1 and how did they      
arrive at them8 ,what was there in the  
conditions of early man which led him to
 frame to himself such abstract notions 
of one or more great supernatural       
agents1 of whose objective existence he 

had certainly in nature no clear or     
obvious evidence8 ,regarding the problem
 in this light1 as essentially a problem
 of the processes of the human mind1 ,i 
set aside from the outset1 as foreign to
 my purpose1 any kind of enquiry into   
the objective validity of any one among 
the religious beliefs thus set          
#jjb;before us as subject-matter4 ,the  
question whether there may be a ,god or 
gods1 and1 if so1 what may be his or    
their substance and attributes1 do not  
here concern us4 ,all we have to do in  
our present capacity is to ask ourselves
 strictly1 ,what first suggested to the 
mind of man the notion of deity in the  
abstract at all8 ,and how1 from the     
early multiplicity of deities which we  
find to have prevailed in all primitive 
times among all human races1 did the    
conception of a single great and        
unlimited deity first take its rise8 ,in
 other words1 why did men ever believe  
there were gods at all1 and why from    
many gods did they arrive at one8 ,why  

from polytheism have the most advanced  
nations proceeded to monotheism8  ,to   
put the question in this form is to     
leave entirely out of consideration the 
objective reality or otherwise of the   
idea itself4 ,to analyse the origin of a
 concept is not to attack the validity  
of the belief it encloses4 ,the idea of 
gravitation1 for example1 arose by slow 
degrees in human minds1 and reached at  
last its final expression in ,newton's  
law4 ,but to trace the steps by which   
that idea was gradually reached is not  
in any way to disprove or to discredit  
it4 ,the ,christian believer may        
similarly hold that men arrived by      
natural stages at the knowledge of the  
one true ,god2 he is not bound to reject
 the final conception as false merely   
because of the steps by which it was    
slowly evolved4 ,a creative ,god1 it is 
true1 might prefer to make a sudden     
revelation of himself to some chosen    
body of men2 but an evolutionary ,god1  
we may well believe1 might prefer in his

 inscrutable wisdom to reveal his own   
existence and qualities to his creatures
 by means of the same slow and tentative
 intellectual gropings as those by which
 he revealed to them the physical truths
 of nature4 ,i wish my enquiry1         
therefore1 to be regarded1 not as       
destructive1 but as reconstructive4 ,it 
only attempts to recover and follow out 
the various planes in the evolution of  
the idea of ,god1 rather than to cast   
doubt upon the truth of the evolved     
concept4  ,in#jjc investigating any     
abstruse and difficult subject1 it is   
often best to proceed from the known to 
the unknown1 even although the unknown  
itself may happen to come first in the  
order of nature and of logical          
development4 ,for this reason1 it may be
 advisable to begin here with a brief   
preliminary examination of              
,christianity1 which is not only the    
most familiar of all religions to us    
,christian nations1 but also the best   
known in its origins3 and then to show  

how far we may safely use it as a       
,standard of ,reference in explaining   
the less obvious and certain features of
 earlier or collateral cults4           
,christianity1 then1 viewed as a        
religious standard1 has this clear and  
undeniable advantage over almost every  
other known form of faith--that it quite
 frankly and confessedly sets out in its
 development with the worship of a      
particular ,deified ,man4  ,this point  
in its history cannot1 ,i think1 be     
overrated in importance1 because in that
 single indubitable central fact it     
gives us the key to much that is        
cardinal in all other religions2 every  
one of which1 as ,i hope hereafter to   
show1 equally springs1 directly or      
indirectly1 from the worship of a single
 ,deified ,man1 or of many ,deified     
,men1 more or less etherealised4        
,whatever else may be said about the    
origin of ,christianity1 it is at least 
fairly agreed on either side1 both by   
friends and foes1 that this great       

religion took its rise around the       
personality of a certain particular     
,galilean teacher1 by name ,jesus1      
concerning whom1 if we know anything at 
all with any approach to certainty1 we  
know at least that he was a man of the  
people1 hung on a cross in ,jerusalem   
under the procuratorship of ,caius      
,pontius ,pilatus4 ,that kernel of      
fact--a man1 and his death--,jesus      
,christ and him crucified--is the one   
almost undoubted historical nucleus     
round which all the rest of a vast      
,european and ,asiatic system of thought
 and belief has slowly crystallised4    
,let us figure clearly to ourselves the 
full import of these truths4 #jjd;,a    
,deified ,man is the central figure in  
the faith of ,christendom4  ,from the   
very beginning1 however1 a legend1 true 
or false 7but whose truth or falsity has
 no relation whatever to our present    
subject71 gathered about the personality
 of this particular ,galilean peasant   
reformer4 ,reverenced at first by a     

small body of disciples of his own race 
and caste1 he grew gradually in their   
minds into a divine personage1 of whom  
strange stories were told1 and a strange
 history believed by a group of         
ever-increasing adherents in all parts  
of the ,grco-,roman ,mediterranean      
civilisation4 ,the earliest of these    
stories1 in all probability--certainly  
the one to which most importance was    
attached by the pioneers of the         
faith--clustered about his death and its
 immediate sequence4 ,jesus1 we are     
told1 was crucified1 dead1 and buried4  
,but at the end of three days1 if we may
 credit the early documents of our      
,christian faith1 his body was no longer
 to be found in the sepulchre where it  
had been laid by friendly hands3 and the
 report spread abroad that he had risen 
again from the dead1 and lived once more
 a somewhat phantasmal life among the   
living in his province4 ,supernatural   
messengers announced his resurrection to
 the women who had loved him3 he was    

seen in the flesh from time to time for 
very short periods by one or other among
 the faithful who still revered his     
memory4 ,at last1 after many such       
appearances1 more or less fully         
described in the crude existing         
narratives1 he was suddenly carried up  
to the sky before the eyes of his       
followers1 where1 as one of the versions
 authoritatively remarks1 he was        
8received into heaven1 and sat on the   
right hand of ,god0--that is to say1 of 
,jahweh1 the ethnical deity of the      
,hebrew people4  ,such in its kernel was
 the original ,christian doctrine as    
handed down to us amid a mist of        
miracle1 in four or five documents of   
doubtful age and uncertain authenticity4
 ,even this central idea does not fully 
appear in the ,pauline epistles1        
believed to be the oldest in date of all
 our ,christian #jjewritings3 it first  
takes full shape in the somewhat later  
,gospels and ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,in
 the simplest and perhaps the earliest  

of these definite accounts we are merely
 told the story of the death and        
resurrection1 the latter fact being     
vouched for on the dubious testimony of 
8a young man clothed in a long white    
garment10 supplemented 7apparently at a 
later period7 by subsequent             
8appearances0 to various believers4     
,with the controversies which have raged
 about these different stories1 however1
 the broad anthropological enquiry into 
the evolution of ,god has no concern4   
,it is enough for us here to admit1 what
 the evidence probably warrants us in   
concluding1 that a real historical man  
of the name of ,jesus did once exist in 
,lower ,syria1 and that his disciples at
 a period very shortly after his        
execution believed him to have actually 
risen from the dead1 and in due time to 
have ascended into heaven4  ,at a very  
early date1 too1 it was further asserted
 that ,jesus was in some unnatural or   
supernatural sense 8the son of          
,god0--that is to say1 once more1 the   

son of ,jahweh1 the local and national  
deity of the ,jewish people4 ,in other  
words1 his worship was affiliated upon  
the earlier historical worship of the   
people in whose midst he lived1 and from
 whom his first disciples were          
exclusively gathered4 ,it was not1 as we
 shall more fully see hereafter1 a      
revolutionary or purely destructive     
system4 ,it based itself upon the common
 conceptions of the ,semitic community4 
,the handful of ,jews and ,galileans who
 accepted ,jesus as a divine figure did 
not think it necessary1 in adopting him 
as a god1 to get rid of their own       
preconceived religious opinions4 ,they  
believed rather in his prior existence1 
as a part of ,jahweh1 and in his        
incarnation in a human body for the     
purpose of redemption4 ,and when his    
cult spread around into neighboring     
countries 7chiefly1 it would seem1      
through the instrumentality of one ,paul
 of ,tarsus1 who had never seen him1 or 
had beheld him only in what is vaguely  

called 8a vision07 the cult #jjfof      
,jahweh went hand in hand with it1 so   
that a sort of modified mystic          
monotheism1 based on ,judaism1 became   
the early creed of the new cosmopolitan 
,christian church4  ,other legends1 of a
 sort familiar in the lives of the      
founders of creeds and churches         
elsewhere1 grew up about the life of the
 ,christian leader2 or at any rate1     
incidents of a typical kind were        
narrated by his disciples as part of his
 history4 ,that a god or a godlike      
person should be born of a woman by the 
ordinary physiological processes of     
humanity seems derogatory to his        
dignity--perhaps fatal to his godhead3  
99 therefore it was asserted--we know   
not whether truly or otherwise--that the
 founder of ,christianity1 by some      
mysterious afflatus1 was born of a      
virgin4 ,though described at times as   
the son of one ,joseph1 a carpenter1 of 
,nazareth1 and of ,mary1 his betrothed  
wife1 he was also regarded in an        

alternative way as the son of the       
,hebrew god ,jahweh1 just as ,alexander1
 though known to be the son of ,philip1 
was also considered to be the offspring 
of ,amon-,ra or ,zeus ,ammon4 ,we are   
told1 in order to lessen this           
discrepancy 7on the slender authority of
 a dream of ,joseph's71 how ,jesus was  
miraculously conceived by the ,holy     
,spirit of ,jahweh in ,mary's womb4 ,he 
was further provided with a royal       
pedigree from the house of ,david1 a    
real or mythical early ,hebrew king2 and
 prophecies from the ,hebrew sacred     
books were found to be fulfilled in his 
most childish adventures4 ,in one of the
 existing biographies1 commonly ascribed
 to ,luke1 the companion of ,paul1 but  
supposed to bear traces of much later   
authorship1 many such marvellous stories
 are recounted of his infantile         
adventures3 and in all our documents1   
miracles attest his supernatural powers1
 while appeal is constantly made to the 
fulfilment of supposed predictions 7all 

of old ,hebrew origin7 as a test and    
credential of the reality of his divine 
mission4       99 ,on this subject1 see 
,mr4 ,sidney ,hartland's ,legend of     
,perseus1 vol4 i4  ,we #jjgshall see    
hereafter that these two points--the    
gradual growth of a myth or legend1 and 
affiliation upon earlier local religious
 ideas--are common features in the      
evolution of gods in general1 and of the
 ,god of monotheism in particular4 ,in  
almost every case where we can          
definitely track him to his rise1 the   
deity thus begins with a ,deified ,man1 
elevated by his worshippers to divine   
rank1 and provided with a history of    
miraculous incident1 often connected    
with the personality of preexistent     
deities4  ,in the earlier stages1 it    
seems pretty clear that the relations of
 nascent ,christianity to ,judaism were 
vague and undefined3 the ,christians    
regarded themselves as a mere sect of   
the ,jews1 who paid special reverence to
 a particular dead teacher1 now raised  

to heaven by a special apotheosis of a  
kind with which everyone was then       
familiar4 ,but as the ,christian church 
spread to other lands1 by the great     
seaports1 it became on the one hand more
 distinct and exclusive1 while on the   
other hand it became more definitely    
dogmatic and theological4 ,it was in    
,egypt1 it would seem1 that the         
,christian ,pantheon 7if ,i may be      
allowed the expression in the case of a 
religion nominally monotheistic7 first  
took its definite ,trinitarian shape4   
,under the influence of the old         
,egyptian love for ,triads or ,trinities
 of gods1 a sort of mystical triune     
deity was at last erected out of the    
,hebrew ,jahweh and the man ,jesus1 with
 the aid of the ,holy ,spirit or ,wisdom
 of ,jahweh1 which had come to be       
regarded by early ,christian minds      
7under the influence of direct divine   
inspiration or otherwise7 as a separate 
and coordinate person of this composite 
godhead4 ,how far the familiar ,egyptian

 ,trinity of ,osiris1 ,isis1 and ,horus 
may have influenced the conception of   
the ,christian ,trinity1 thus finally   
made up of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy     
,ghost1 we shall discuss at a later     
stage of our enquiry2 for the present1  
it may suffice to point out that the    
,grco-,egyptian ,athanasius was the     
great upholder of the definite dogma of 
the ,trinity against opposing           
7heretical7 ,christian thinkers2 and    
#jjhthat the hymn or so-called creed    
known by his name 7though not in all    
probability of his own composition7     
bears the impress of the mystical       
,egyptian spirit1 tempered by the       
,alexandrian ,greek delight in          
definiteness and minuteness of          
philosophical distinction4  ,in this    
respect1 too1 we shall observe in the   
sequel that the history of              
,christianity1 the most known among the 
religions1 was exactly parallel to that 
of earlier and obscurer creeds4 ,at     
first1 the relations of the gods to one 

another are vague and undetermined2     
their pedigree is often confused and    
even contradictory2 and the pantheon    
lacks anything like due hierarchical    
system or subordination of persons4 ,but
 as time goes on1 and questions of      
theology or mythology are debated among 
the priests and other interested        
parties1 details of this sort get       
settled in the form of rigid dogmas1    
while subtle distinctions of a          
philosophical or metaphysical sort tend 
to be imported by more civilised men    
into the crude primitive faith4 ,the    
belief that began with frank acceptance 
of ,judaism1 plus a personal worship of 
the ,deified ,man1 ,jesus1 crystallised 
at last into the ,catholic ,faith in one
 ,god1 of three persons1 the ,father1   
the ,son1 and the ,holy ,ghost4         
,quibbles are even made1 and discussions
 raised at last as to the question      
whether ,father and ,son are 8of one    
substance0 or only 8of like substance02 
whether the ,holy ,ghost proceeds from  

the ,father and the ,son1 or from the   
,father only2 and so on ad infinitum4   
,it was largely in other countries than 
,juda1 and especially in ,gaul1 ,rome1  
and ,egypt1 too1 as ,i believe1 that    
symbolism came to the aid of mysticism3 
that the cross1 the tau1 the labarum1   
the fish1 the ,alpha and ,omega1 and all
 the other early ,christian emblems were
 evolved and perfected2 and that the    
beginnings of ,christian art took their 
first definite forms4 ,such forms were  
especially to a great extent evolved in 
the ,roman catacombs4 ,christianity1    
being a universal1 not a local or       
national1 religion1 has #jji;adopted in 
its course many diverse elements from   
most varied sources4  ,originally1 it   
would seem1 the ,christian pantheon was 
almost exclusively filled by the triune 
,god1 in his three developments or      
8persons10 as thus rigorously conceived 
by the ,alexandrian intelligence4 ,but  
from a very early time1 if not from the 
first dawn of the ,christian cult1 it   

was customary to reverence the remains  
of those who had suffered for the faith1
 and perhaps even to invoke their aid   
with ,christ and the ,father4 ,the      
,roman branch of the church1 especially1
 accustomed to the ,roman               
ancestor-worship and the ,roman         
reverence for the ,du ,manes1 had its   
chief places of prayer in the catacombs1
 where its dead were laid4 ,thus arose  
the practice of the invocation of       
saints1 at whose graves or relics       
prayers were offered1 both to the       
supreme deity and to the faithful dead  
themselves as intercessors with ,christ 
and the ,father4 ,the early ,christians1
 accustomed in their heathen stage to   
pay respect and even worship to the     
spirits of their deceased friends1 could
 not immediately give up this pious     
custom after their conversion to the new
 creed1 and so grafted it on to their   
adopted religion4 ,thus the subsidiary  
founders of ,christianity1 ,paul1       
,peter1 the ,apostles1 the ,evangelists1

 the martyrs1 the confessors1 came to   
form1 as it were1 a subsidiary pantheon1
 and to rank to some extent almost as an
 inferior order of deities4  ,among the 
persons who thus shared in the honours  
of the new faith1 the mother of ,jesus  
early assumed a peculiar prominence4    
,goddesses had filled a very large part 
in the devotional spirit of the older   
religions3 it was but natural that the  
devotees of ,isis and ,pasht1 of        
,artemis and ,aphrodite1 should look for
 some corresponding object of feminine  
worship in the younger faith4 ,the      
,theotokos1 the mother of ,god1 the     
blessed ,madonna1 soon came to possess a
 practical importance in ,christian     
worship scarcely inferior to that       
enjoyed by the persons of the ,trinity  
themselves--in certain southern         
countries1 indeed1 actually superior    
#jajto it4 ,the ,virgin and ,child1 in  
pictorial representation1 grew to be the
 favourite subject of ,christian art4   
,how far this particular development of 

the ,christian spirit had its origin in 
,egypt1 and was related to the          
well-known ,egyptian figures of the     
goddess ,isis with the child ,horus in  
her lap1 is a question which may demand 
consideration in some future treatise4  
,for the present1 it will be enough to  
call attention in passing to the fact   
that in this secondary rank of deities  
or semi-divine persons1 the saints and  
martyrs1 all alike1 from the ,blessed   
,virgin ,mary down to the newest        
canonised among ,roman ,catholic        
prelates1 were at one time or another   
,living ,men and ,women4 ,in other      
words1 besides the one ,deified ,man1   
,jesus1 round whom the entire system of 
,christianity centres1 the ,church now  
worships also in the second degree a    
whole host of minor ,dead ,men and      
,women1 bishops1 priests1 virgins1 and  
confessors4  ,from the earliest to the  
latest ages of the ,church1 the         
complexity thus long ago introduced into
 her practice has gone on increasing    

with every generation4 ,nominally from  
the very outset a monotheistic religion1
 ,christianity gave up its strict       
monotheism almost at the first start by 
admitting the existence of three persons
 in the godhead1 whom it vainly         
endeavoured to unify by its mystic but  
confessedly incomprehensible ,athanasian
 dogma4 ,the ,madonna 7with the ,child7 
rose in time practically to the rank of 
an independent goddess 7in all but      
esoteric ,catholic theory73 while ,st4  
,sebastian1 ,st4 ,george1 ,st4 ,john    
,baptist1 ,st4 ,catherine1 and even ,st4
 ,thomas of ,canterbury himself1 became 
as important objects of worship in      
certain places as the deity in person4  
,at ,milan1 for example1 ,san ,carlo    
,borromeo1 at ,compostella1 ,santiago1  
at ,venice1 ,st4 ,mark1 usurped to a    
great extent the place of the original  
,god4 ,as more and more saints died in  
each generation1 while the cult of the  
older saints still lingered on          
everywhere more or less locally1 the    

secondary pantheon grew ever fuller and 
fuller4 ,obscure personages1 #jaalike   
,st4 ,crispin and ,st4 ,cosmas1 ,st4    
,chad and ,st4 ,cuthbert rose to the    
rank of departmental or local patrons1  
like the departmental and local gods of 
earlier religions4 ,every trade1 every  
guild1 every nation1 every province1 had
 its peculiar saint4 ,and at the same   
time1 the theory of the ,church         
underwent a constant evolution4 ,creed  
was added to creed--,apostles'1 ,nicene1
 ,athanasian1 and so forth1 each        
embodying some new and often subtle     
increment to the whole mass of accepted 
dogma4 ,council after council made fresh
 additions of articles of faith--the    
,unity of ,substance1 the ,doctrine of  
the ,atonement1 the ,immaculate         
,conception1 the ,authority of the      
,church1 the ,infallibility of the ,pope
 in his spiritual capacity4 ,and all    
these also are well-known incidents of  
every evolving cult3 constant increase  
in the number of divine beings2 constant

 refinements in the articles of         
religion1 under the influence of        
priestly or scholastic metaphysics4     
,two or three other points must still be
 noted in this hasty review of the      
evolution of ,christianity1 regarded as 
a standard of religion2 and these ,i    
will now proceed to consider with all   
possible brevity4  ,in the matter of    
ceremonial and certain other important  
accessories of religion it must frankly 
be admitted that ,christianity rather   
borrowed from the older cults than      
underwent a natural and original        
development on its own account4 ,a      
priesthood1 as such1 does not seem to   
have formed any integral or necessary   
part of the earliest ,christendom3 and  
when the orders of bishops1 priests1 and
 deacons were introduced into the new   
creed1 the idea seems to have been      
derived rather from the existing        
priesthoods of anterior religions than  
from any organic connexion with the     
central facts of the new worship4 ,from 

the very nature of the circumstances    
this would inevitably result4 ,for the  
primitive temple 7as we shall see       
hereafter7 was the ,dead ,man's tomb2   
the altar was his gravestone2 and the   
priest was the relative or              
representative who continued for him the
 customary gifts to the ghost #jab;at   
the grave4 ,but the case of ,jesus      
differs from almost every other case on 
record of a ,deified ,man in this--that 
his body seems to have disappeared at an
 early date2 and that1 inasmuch as his  
resurrection and ascension into heaven  
were made the corner-stone of the new   
faith1 it was impossible for worship of 
his remains to take the same form as had
 been taken in the instances of almost  
all previously deified ,dead ,persons4  
,thus1 the materials out of which the   
,temple1 the ,altar1 ,sacrifices1       
,priesthood1 are usually evolved 7as we 
shall hereafter see7 were here to a very
 large extent necessarily wanting4      
,nevertheless1 so essential to religion 

in the minds of its followers are all   
these imposing and wonted accessories   
that our cult did actually manage to    
borrow them readymade from the great    
religions that went before it1 and to   
bring them into some sort of artificial 
relation with its own system4 ,you      
cannot revolutionize the human mind at  
one blow4 ,the pagans had been          
accustomed to all these ideas as        
integral parts of religion as they      
understood it3 and they proceeded as    
,christians to accommodate them by      
side-issues to the new faith1 in which  
these elements had no such natural place
 as in the older creeds4 ,not only did  
sacred places arise at the graves or    
places of martyrdom of the saints2 not  
only was worship performed beside the   
bones of the holy dead1 in the catacombs
 and elsewhere2 but even a mode of      
sacrifice and of sacrificial communion  
was invented in the mass1--a somewhat   
artificial development from the possibly
 unsacerdotal ,agape-feasts of the      

primitive ,christians4 ,gradually1      
churches gathered around the relics of  
the martyr saints3 and in time it became
 a principle of usage that every church 
must contain an altar--made of stones on
 the analogy of the old sacred stones2  
containing the bones or other relics of 
a saint1 like all earlier shrines2      
consecrated by the pouring on of oil    
after the antique fashion2 and devoted  
to the celebration of the sacrifice of  
the mass1 which became by degrees more  
and more expiatory and sacerdotal in    
#jac;character4 ,as the saints increased
 in importance1 new holy places sprang  
up around their bodies2 and some of     
these holy places1 containing their     
tombs1 became centres of pilgrimage for 
the most distant parts of ,christendom2 
as did also in particular the empty tomb
 of ,christ himself1 the ,holy          
,sepulchre at ,jerusalem4  ,the growth  
of the priesthood kept pace with the    
growth of ceremonial in general1 till at
 last it culminated in the mediaeval    

papacy1 with its hierarchy of cardinals1
 archbishops1 bishops1 priests1 and     
other endless functionaries4 ,vestments1
 incense1 and like accompaniments of    
sacerdotalism also rapidly gained       
ground4 ,all this1 too1 is a common     
trait of higher religious evolution     
everywhere4 ,so likewise are fasting1   
vigils1 and the ecstatic condition4 ,but
 asceticism1 monasticism1 celibacy1 and 
other forms of morbid abstinence are    
peculiarly rife in the east1 and found  
their highest expression in the life of 
the ,syrian and ,egyptian hermits4      
,lastly1 a few words must be devoted in 
passing to the rise and development of  
the ,sacred ,books1 now excessively     
venerated in ,north-western             
,christendom4 ,these consisted in the   
first instance of genuine or spurious   
letters of the apostles to the various  
local churches 7the so-called           
,epistles71 some of which would no doubt
 be preserved with considerable         
reverence2 and later of lives or legends

 of ,jesus and his immediate successors 
7the so-called ,gospels and the ,acts of
 the ,apostles74 ,furthermore1 as       
,christianity adopted from ,judaism the 
cult of its one supreme divine figure1  
now no longer envisaged as ,jahweh1 the 
national deity of the ,hebrews1 but as a
 universal cosmopolitan ,god and        
,father1 it followed naturally that the 
sacred books of the ,jewish people1 the 
literature of ,jahweh-worship1 should   
also receive considerable attention at  
the hands of the new priesthood4 ,by a  
gradual process of selection and        
elimination1 the canon of scripture was 
evolved from these heterogeneous        
materials3 the historical or            
quasi-historical and prophetic ,hebrew  
#jadtracts were adopted by the ,church1 
with a few additions of later date1 such
 as the ,book of ,daniel1 under the     
style and title of the ,old ,testament4 
,the more generally accepted lives of   
,christ1 again1 known as ,evangels or   
,gospels2 the ,acts of the ,apostles2   

the epistles to the churches2 and that  
curious mystical allegory of the        
,neronian persecution known as the      
,apocalypse1 were chosen out of the mass
 of early ,christian literature to form 
the authoritative collection of inspired
 writing which we call the ,new         
,testament4 ,the importance of this     
heterogeneous anthology of works        
belonging to all ages and systems1 but  
confounded together in popular fancy    
under the name of the ,books1 or more   
recently still as a singular noun1 the  
,bible1 grew apace with the growth of   
the ,church3 though the extreme and     
superstitions adoration of their mere   
verbal contents has only been reached in
 the debased and reactionary forms of   
,christianity followed at the present   
day by our half-educated ,english and   
,american ,protestant dissenters4  ,from
 this very brief review of the most     
essential factors in the development of 
the ,christian religion as a system1    
strung loosely together with a single   

eye to the requirements of our present  
investigation1 it will be obvious at    
once to every intelligent reader that   
,christianity cannot possibly throw for 
us any direct or immediate light on the 
problem of the evolution of the idea of 
,god4 ,not only did the concept of a god
 and gods exist full-fledged long before
 ,christianity took its rise at all1 but
 also the purely monotheistic conception
 of a single supreme ,god1 the creator  
and upholder of all things1 had been    
reached in all its sublime simplicity by
 the ,jewish teachers centuries before  
the birth of the man ,jesus4            
,christianity borrowed from ,judaism    
this magnificent concept1 and1 humanly  
speaking1 proceeded to spoil it by its  
addition of the ,son and the ,holy      
,ghost1 who mar the complete unity of   
the grand ,hebrew ideal4 ,even outside  
,judaism1 the selfsame notion had       
already been arrived at in a certain    
mystical #jae;form as the 8esoteric     
doctrine0 of the ,egyptian priesthood2  

from whom1 with their peculiar views as 
to emanations and ,triads1 the          
,christian dogmas of the ,trinity1 the  
,logos1 the ,incarnation1 and the ,holy 
,ghost were in large part borrowed4 ,the
 ,jews of ,alexandria1 that eastern     
,london1 formed the connecting link     
between ,egyptian heathenism1 ,hellenic 
philosophy1 and early ,christianity2 and
 their half-philosophical1              
half-religious ideas may be found       
permeating the first writings and the   
first systematic thought of the nascent 
church4 ,in none of these ways1         
therefore1 can we regard ,christianity  
as affording us any direct or immediate 
guidance in our search for the origin   
and evolution of the concepts of many   
gods1 and of one ,god the creator4      
,still1 in a certain secondary and      
illustrative sense1 ,i think we are     
fully justified in saying that the      
history of ,christianity1 the religion  
whose beginnings are most surely known  
to us1 forms a standard of reference for

 all the other religions of the world1  
and helps us indirectly to understand   
and explain the origin and evolution of 
these deepest among our fundamental     
spiritual conceptions4  ,its value in   
this respect may best be understood if  
,i point out briefly in two contrasted  
statements the points in which it may   
and the points in which it may not be   
fairly accepted as a typical religion4  
,let us begin first with the points in  
which it may4  ,in the first place1     
,christianity is thoroughly typical in  
the fact that beyond all doubt its most 
central divine figure was at first1 by  
common consent of orthodox and heterodox
 alike1 nothing other than a particular 
,deified ,man4 ,all else that has been  
asserted about this particular          
,man--that he was the ,son of ,god1 that
 he was the incarnation of the ,logos1  
that he existed previously from all     
eternity1 that he sits now on the right 
hand of the ,father--all the rest of    
these theological stories do nothing in 

any way to obscure the plain and        
universally admitted historical fact    
that this ,divine ,person1 the ,very    
,god of ,very ,god1 being of one        
#jafsubstance with the ,father1 begotten
 of the ,father before all worlds1 was  
yet1 at the moment when we first catch a
 glimpse of him in the writings of his  
followers1 a ,man recently deceased1    
respected1 reverenced1 and perhaps      
worshipped by a little group of         
fellow-peasants who had once known him  
as ,jesus1 the son of the carpenter4 ,on
 that unassailable ,rock of solid       
historical fact we may well be content  
to found our argument in this volume4   
,here at least nobody can accuse us of  
8crude and gross ,euhemerism40 ,or      
rather the crude and gross ,euhemerism  
is here known to represent the solid    
truth4 ,jesus and his saints--,dominic1 
,francis1 ,catherine of ,siena--are no  
mere verbal myths1 no allegorical       
concepts1 no personifications of the    
,sun1 the ,dawn1 the ,storm-cloud4      

,leaving aside for the present from our 
purview of the ,faith that one element  
of the older supreme ,god--the ,hebrew  
,jahweh1--whom ,christianity borrowed   
from the earlier ,jewish religion1 we   
can say at least with perfect certainty 
that every single member of the         
,christian pantheon--,jesus1 the        
,madonna1 ,st4 ,john ,baptist1 ,st4     
,peter1 the ,apostles1 the              
,evangelists--were1 just as much as ,san
 ,carlo ,borromeo or ,st4 ,thomas of    
,canterbury or ,st4 ,theresa1 ,dead ,men
 or ,women1 worshipped after their death
 with divine or quasi-divine honours4   
,in this the best-known of all human    
religions1 the one that has grown up    
under the full eye of history1 the one  
whose gods and saints are most          
distinctly traceable1 every object of   
worship1 save only the single early and 
as yet unresolved deity of the ,hebrew  
cult1 whose origin is lost for us in the
 mist of ages1 turns out on enquiry to  
be indeed a purely ,euhemeristic god or 

saint1--in ultimate analysis1 a ,real   
,man or ,woman4  ,that point alone ,i   
hold to be of cardinal importance1 and  
of immense or almost inestimable        
illustrative value1 in seeking for the  
origin of the idea of a god in earlier  
epochs4  ,in the second place1          
,christianity is thoroughly typical in  
all that concerns its subsequent course 
of evolution2 the gradual #jag;elevation
 of its central ,venerated ,man into a  
,god of the highest might and power2 the
 multiplication of secondary deities or 
saints by worship or adoration of other 
,dead ,men and ,women2 the growth of a  
graduated and duly subordinated         
hierarchy of divine personages2 the rise
 of a legend1 with its miracles and     
other supernatural adjuncts2 the        
formation of a definite theology1       
philosophy1 and systematic dogmatism2   
the development of special artistic     
forms1 and the growth or adoption of    
appropriate symbolism2 the production of
 sacred books1 rituals1 and formularies2

 the rise of ceremonies1 mysteries1     
initiations1 and sacraments2 the        
reverence paid to relics1 sacred sites1 
tombs1 and dead bodies2 and the close   
connexion of the religion as a whole    
with the ideas of death1 the soul1 the  
ghost1 the spirit1 the resurrection of  
the body1 the last judgment1 hell1      
heaven1 the life everlasting1 and all   
the other vast group of concepts which  
surround the simple fact of death in the
 primitive human mind generally4  ,now1 
in the second place1 let us look wherein
 ,christianity to a certain small extent
 fails to be typical1 or at least to    
solve our fundamental problems4  ,it    
fails to be typical because it borrows  
largely a whole ready-made theology1 and
 above all a single supreme ,god1 from a
 pre-existent religion4 ,in so far as it
 takes certain minor features from other
 cults1 we can hardly say with truth    
that it does not represent the average  
run of religious systems2 for almost    
every particular new creed so bases     

itself upon elements of still earlier   
faiths2 and it is perhaps impossible for
 us at the present day to get back to   
anything like a really primitive or     
original form of cult4 ,but             
,christianity is very far removed indeed
 from all primitive cults in that it    
accepts ready-made the monotheistic     
conception1 the high-water-mark1 so to  
speak1 of religious philosophising4     
,while in the frankness with which it   
exhibits to us what is practically one  
half of its supreme deity as a ,galilean
 peasant of undoubted humanity1         
subsequently deified and etherealised1  
it allows us to get down at a single    
#jahstep to the very origin of godhead2 
yet in the strength with which it       
asserts for the other half of its       
supreme deity 7the ,father1 with his    
shadowy satellite the ,holy ,ghost7 an  
immemorial antiquity and a complete     
severance from human life1 it is the    
least anthropomorphic and the most      
abstract of creeds4 ,in order to track  

the idea of ,god to its very source1    
then1 we must apply in the last resort  
to this unresolved element of           
,christianity--the ,hebrew ,jahweh--the 
same sort of treatment which we apply to
 the conception of ,jesus or            
,buddha2--we must show it to be also the
 immensely transfigured and magnified   
ghost of a ,human ,being2 in the simple 
and forcible language of ,swinburne1    
8,the shade cast by the soul of man40   
,furthermore1 ,christianity fails to be 
typical in that it borrows also from    
pre-existing religions to a great extent
 the ideas of priesthood1 sacrifice1 the
 temple1 the altar1 which1 owing to the 
curious disappearance or at least       
un-recognisability of the body of its   
founder 7or1 rather1 its central object 
of worship71 have a less natural place  
in our ,christian system than in any    
other known form of religious practice4 
,it is quite true that magnificent      
churches1 a highly-evolved              
sacerdotalism1 the sacrifice of the     

mass1 the altar1 and the relics1 have   
all been imported in their fullest shape
 into developed ,christianity1          
especially in its central or ,roman     
form4 ,but every one of these things is 
partly borrowed1 almost as a survival or
 even as an alien feature1 from earlier 
religions1 and partly grew up about the 
secondary worship of saints and martyrs1
 their bones1 their tombs1 their        
catacombs1 and their reliquaries4       
,christianity itself1 particularly when 
viewed as the worship of ,christ 7to    
which it has been largely reduced in    
,teutonic ,europe71 does not so         
naturally lend itself to these secondary
 ceremonies2 and in those debased       
schismatic forms of the ,church which   
confine themselves most strictly to the 
worship of ,jesus and of the supreme    
,god1 sacerdotalism and sacramentalism  
have been brought down to a minimum1    
#jaiso that the temple and the altar    
have lost the greater part of their     
sacrificial importance4  ,i propose1    

then1 in subsequent chapters1 to trace  
the growth of the idea of a ,god from   
the most primitive origins to the most  
highly evolved forms2 beginning with the
 ghost1 and the early undeveloped deity3
 continuing through polytheism to the   
rise of monotheism2 and then returning  
at last once more to the full ,christian
 conception1 which we shall understand  
far better in detail after we have      
explained the nature of the yet         
unresolved or but provisionally resolved
 ,jehovistic element4 ,i shall try to   
show1 in short1 the evolution of ,god1  
by starting with the evolution of gods  
in general1 and coming down by gradual  
stages through various races to the     
evolution of the ,hebrew1 ,christian1   
and ,moslem ,god in particular4         
lsquo2,and the goal towards which ,i    
shall move will be the one already      
foreshadowed in this introductory       
chapter1--the proof that in its origin  
the concept of a god is nothing more    
than that of a ,dead ,man1 regarded as a

 still surviving ghost or spirit1 and   
endowed with increased or supernatural  
powers1 and qualities4     ,,chapter    
,,ii4--,,religion ,,and ,,mythology4    
,at #jbjthe very outset of the profound 
enquiry on which we are now about to    
embark1 we are met by a difficulty of   
considerable magnitude4 ,in the opinion 
of most modern mythologists mythology is
 the result of 8a disease of language40 
,we are assured by many eminent men that
 the origin of religion is to be sought1
 not in savage ideas about ghosts and   
spirits1 the ,dead ,man and his body or 
his surviving double1 but in primitive  
misconceptions of the meaning of words  
which had reference to the appearance of
 the ,sun and the ,clouds1 the ,wind and
 the ,rain1 the ,dawn and the ,dusk1 the
 various phenomena of meteorology in    
general4 ,if this be so1 then our       
attempt to derive the evolution of gods 
from the crude ideas of early men about 
their dead is clearly incorrect2 the    
analogy of ,christianity which we have  

already alleged is a mere will o' the   
wisp2 and the historical ,jesus himself 
may prove in the last resort to be an   
alias of the sun-god or an embodiment of
 the vine-spirit4  ,i do not believe    
these suggestions are correct4 ,it seems
 to me that the worship of the sun1     
moon1 and stars1 instead of being an    
element in primitive religion1 is really
 a late and derivative type of          
adoration2 and that mythology is        
mistaken in the claims it makes for its 
own importance in the genesis of the    
idea of a ,god or gods4 ,in order1      
however1 to clear the ground for a fair 
start in this direction1 we ought1 ,i   
think1 to begin by enquiring into the   
relative positions of mythology and     
religion4 ,i shall therefore #jba;devote
 a preliminary chapter to the           
consideration of this important subject4
  ,religion1 says another group of      
modern thinkers1 of whom ,mr4 ,edward   
,clodd is perhaps the most able ,english
 exponent1 8grew out of fear40 ,it is   

born of man's terror of the great and   
mysterious natural agencies by which he 
is surrounded4 ,now ,i am not concerned 
to deny that many mythological beings of
 various terrible forms do really so    
originate4 ,i would readily accept some 
such vague genesis for many of the      
dragons and monsters which abound in all
 savage or barbaric imaginings--for     
,gorgons and ,hydras and ,chimras dire1 
and other manifold shapes of the        
superstitiously appalling4 ,i would give
 up to ,mr4 ,clodd the ,etruscan devils 
and the ,hebrew ,satan1 the ,grendels   
and the ,fire-drakes1 the whole brood of
 ,cerberus1 ,briareus1 the ,cyclops1 the
 ,centaurs4 ,none of these1 however1 is 
a god or anything like one4 ,they have  
no more to do with religion1 properly so
 called1 than the unicorn of the royal  
arms has to do with ,british            
,christianity4 ,a god1 as ,i understand 
the word1 and as the vast mass of       
mankind has always understood it1 is a  
supernatural being to be revered and    

worshipped4 ,he stands to his votaries1 
on the whole1 as ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith 
has well pointed out1 in a kindly and   
protecting relation4 ,he may be angry   
with them at times1 to be sure2 but his 
anger is temporary and paternal alone3  
his permanent attitude towards his      
people is one of friendly concern2 he is
 worshipped as a beneficent and generous
 ,father4 ,it is the origin of gods in  
this strictest sense that concerns us   
here1 not the origin of those vague and 
formless creatures which are dreaded1   
not worshipped1 by primitive humanity4  
,bearing this distinction carefully in  
mind1 let us proceed to consider the    
essentials of religion4 ,if you were to 
ask almost any intelligent and          
unsophisticated child1 8,what is        
religion80 he would answer offhand1 with
 the clear vision of youth1 8,oh1 it's  
saying your prayers1 and heading your   
,bible1 and singing hymns1 and going to 
church #jbbor to chapel on ,sundays40   
,if you were to ask any intelligent and 

unsophisticated ,hindu peasant the same 
question1 he would answer in almost the 
self-same spirit1 8,oh1 it is doing     
poojah regularly1 and paying your dues  
every day to ,mahadeo40 ,if you were to 
ask any simple-minded ,african savage1  
he would similarly reply1 8,it is giving
 the gods flour1 and oil1 and native    
beer1 and goat-mutton10 ,and finally if 
you were to ask a devout ,italian       
contadino1 he would instantly say1 8,it 
is offering up candles and prayers to   
the ,madonna1 attending mass1 and       
remembering the saints on every festa40 
,and they would all be quite right4     
,this1 in its essence1 is precisely what
 we call religion4 ,apart from the      
special refinements of the higher minds 
in particular creeds1 which strive to   
import into it all1 according to their  
special tastes or fancies1 a larger or  
smaller dose of philosophy1 or of       
metaphysics1 or of ethics1 or of        
mysticism1 this is just what religion   
means and has always meant to the vast  

majority of the human species4 ,what is 
common to it throughout is ,custom or   
,practice3 a certain set of more or less
 similar ,observances3 propitiation1    
prayer1 praise1 offerings3 the request  
for divine favours1 the deprecation of  
divine anger or other misfortunes3 and  
as the outward and visible adjuncts of  
all these1 the altar1 the sacrifice1 the
 temple1 the church2 priesthood1        
services1 vestments1 ceremonial4  ,what 
is not at all essential to religion in  
its wider aspect--taking the world      
round1 both past and present1 ,pagan1   
,buddhist1 ,mohammadan1 ,christian1     
savage1 and civilised--is the ethical   
element1 properly so called4 ,and what  
is very little essential indeed is the  
philosophical element1 theology or      
mythology1 the abstract theory of       
spiritual existences4 ,this theory1 to  
be sure1 is in each country or race     
closely related with religion under     
certain aspects2 and the stories told   
about the gods or ,god are much mixed up

 with the cult itself in the minds of   
worshippers2 but they are no proper part
 of religion1 strictly so called4 ,in a 
single word1 ,i contend that religion1  
as such1 is essentially #jbcpractical3  
theology or mythology1 as such1 is      
essentially theoretical4  ,moreover1 ,i 
also believe1 and shall attempt to show1
 that the two have to a large extent    
distinct origins and roots3 that the    
union between them is in great part     
adventitious3 and that1 therefore1 to   
account for or explain the one is by no 
means equivalent to accounting for and  
explaining the other4  ,frank           
recognition of this difference of origin
 between religion and mythology would1  
,i imagine1 largely reconcile the two   
conflicting schools of thought which at 
present divide opinion between them on  
this interesting problem in the         
evolution of human ideas4 ,on the one   
side1 we have the mythological school of
 interpreters1 whether narrowly         
linguistic1 like ,professor ,max ,mller1

 or broadly anthropological1 like ,mr4  
,andrew ,lang1 attacking the problem    
from the point of view of myth or theory
 alone4 ,on the other side1 we have the 
truly religious school of interpreters1 
like ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 and to some
 extent ,mr4 ,tylor1 attacking the      
problem from the point of view of       
practice or real religion4 ,the former  
school1 it seems to me1 has failed to   
perceive that what it is accounting for 
is not the origin of religion at all--of
 worship1 which is the central-root idea
 of all religious observance1 or of the 
temple1 the altar1 the priest1 and the  
offering1 which are its outer           
expression--but merely the origin of    
myth or fable1 the mass of story and    
legend about various beings1 real or    
imaginary1 human or divine1 which       
naturally grows up in every primitive   
community4 ,the latter school1 on the   
other hand1 while correctly interpreting
 the origin of all that is essential and
 central in religion1 have perhaps      

underestimated the value of their       
opponentsrsquo2 work through regarding  
it as really opposed to their own1      
instead of accepting what part of it may
 be true in the light of a contribution 
to an independent but allied branch of  
the same enquiry4  ,in short1 if the    
view here suggested be correct1 ,spencer
 and #jbd,tylor have paved the way to a 
true theory of the ,origin of ,religion2
 ,max ,mller1 ,lang1 and the other      
mythologists have thrown out hints of   
varying value towards a true theory of  
the ,origin of ,mythology1 or of its    
more modern equivalent and successor1   
,theology4  ,a brief outline of facts   
will serve to bring into clearer relief 
this view of religion as essentially    
practical--a set of observances1        
rendered inevitable by the primitive    
data of human psychology4 ,it will then 
be seen that what is fundamental and    
essential in religion is the body of    
practices1 remaining throughout all     
stages of human development the same1 or

 nearly the same1 in spite of changes of
 mythological or theological theory2 and
 that what is accidental and variable is
 the particular verbal explanation or   
philosophical reason assigned for the   
diverse rites and ceremonies4  ,in its  
simplest surviving savage type1 religion
 consists wholly and solely in certain  
acts of deference paid by the living to 
the persons of the dead4 ,i shall try to
 show in the sequel that down to its    
most highly evolved modern type in the  
most cultivated societies1 precisely    
similar acts of deference1 either       
directly to corpses or ghosts as such1  
or indirectly to gods who were once     
ghosts1 or were developed from ghosts1  
form its essence still4 ,but to begin   
with ,i will try to bring a few simple  
instances of the precise nature of      
religion in its lowest existing savage  
mode4  ,i might if ,i chose take my     
little collection of illustrative facts 
from some theoretical writer1 like ,mr4 
,herbert ,spencer1 who has collected    

enough instances in all conscience to   
prove this point2 but ,i prefer to go   
straight to an original observer of     
savage life and habit1 a ,presbyterian  
missionary in ,central ,africa--the     
,rev4 ,duff ,macdonald1 author of       
,africana--who had abundant             
opportunities at the ,blantyre ,mission 
for learning the ideas and practice of  
the ,soudanese natives1 and who         
certainly had no theoretic              
predisposition towards resolving all    
religious notions into #jbethe primitive
 respect and reverence for the dead or  
the worship of ancestors4  ,here1 in    
outline1 but in ,mr4 ,macdonald's own   
words1 are the ideas and observances    
which this careful and accurate         
investigator found current among the    
tribes of the heart of ,africa4 8,i do  
not think10 he says1 8,i have admitted  
any point of importance without having  
heard at least four natives on the      
subject4 ,the statements are            
translations1 as far as possible1 from  

the ipsissima verba of the negroes40    
,the tribes he lived among 8are         
unanimous in saying that there is       
something beyond the body which they    
call spirit4 ,every human body at death 
is forsaken by this spirit40 ,that is   
the almost universal though not quite   
primitive belief1 whose necessary       
genesis has been well traced out by ,mr4
 ,herbert ,spencer1 and more recently in
 ,america with great vigour and         
clearness by ,mr4 ,lester ,ward4  8,do  
these spirits ever die80 ,mr4 ,macdonald
 asks4 8,some10 he answers1 8,i have    
heard affirm that it is possible for a  
troublesome spirit to be killed4 ,others
 give this a direct denial4 ,many1 like 
,kumpama1 or ,cherasulo1 say1 #8,you ask
 me whether a man's spirit ever dies4 ,i
 cannot tell4 ,i have never been in the 
spirit-world1 but this ,i am certain of1
 that spirits live for a very long      
time4'0  ,on the question1 8,who the    
gods are80 ,mr4 ,macdonald says3 8,in   
all our translations of ,scripture where

 we found the word ,god we used         
,mulungu2 but this word is chiefly used 
by the natives as a general name for    
spirit4 ,the spirit of a deceased man is
 called his ,mulungu1 and all the       
prayers and offerings of the living are 
presented to such spirits of the dead4  
,it is here that we find the great      
centre of the native religion4 ,the     
spirits of the dead are the gods of the 
living4  8,where are these gods found8  
,at the grave8 ,no4 ,the villagers      
shrink from yonder gloomy place that    
lies far beyond their fields on the     
bleak mountain side4 ,it is only        
#jbfwhen they have to lay another       
sleeper beside his forefathers that they
 will go there4 ,their god is not the   
body in the grave1 but the spirit1 and  
they seek this spirit at the place where
 their departed kinsman last lived among
 them4 ,it is the great tree at the     
verandah of the dead man's house that is
 their temple2 and if no tree grow here 
they erect a little shade1 and there    

perform their simple rites4 ,if this    
spot become too public1 the offerings   
may be defiled1 and the sanctuary will  
be removed to a carefully-selected spot 
under some beautiful tree4 ,very        
frequently a man presents an offering at
 the top of his own bed beside his head4
 ,he wishes his god to come to him and  
whisper in his ear as he sleeps40  ,and 
here1 again1 we get the origin of       
nature-worship3  8,the spirit of an old 
chief may have a whole mountain for his 
residence1 but he dwells chiefly on the 
cloudy summit4 ,there he sits to receive
 the worship of his votaries1 and to    
send down the refreshing showers in     
answer to their prayers40  ,almost as   
essential to religion as these prime    
factors in its evolution--the god1      
worship1 offerings1 presents1 holy      
places1 temples--is the existence of a  
priesthood4 ,here is how the ,central   
,africans arrive at that special        
function3  8,a certain amount of        
etiquette is observed in approaching the

 gods4 ,in no case can a little boy or  
girl approach these deities1 neither can
 anyone that has not been at the        
mysteries4 ,the common qualification is 
that a person has attained a certain    
age1 about twelve or fourteen years1 and
 has a house of his own4 ,slaves seldom 
pray1 except when they have had a dream4
 ,children that have had a dream tell   
their mother1 who approaches the deity  
on their behalf4 7,a present for the god
 is necessary1 and the slave or child   
may not have it47  8,apart from the case
 of dreams and a few such private       
matters1 it is not usual for anyone to  
approach the gods except the chief1 of  
the village4 ,he is the recognised high 
priest #jbgwho presents prayers and     
offerings on behalf of all that live in 
his village4 ,if the chief is from home 
his wife will act1 and if both are      
absent1 his younger brother4 ,the       
natives worship not so much individually
 as in villages or communities4 ,their  
religion is more a public than a private

 matter40  ,but there are also further  
reasons why priests are necessary4      
,relationship forms always a good ground
 for intercession4 ,a mediator is       
needed4  8,the chief of a village10 says
 ,mr4 ,macdonald1 8has another title to 
the priesthood4 ,it is his relatives    
that are the village gods4 ,everyone    
that lives in the village recognises    
these gods2 but if anyone remove to     
another village he changes his gods4 ,he
 recognises now the gods of his new     
chief4 ,one wishing to pray to the god  
7or gods7 of any village naturally      
desires to have his prayers presented   
through the village chief1 because the  
latter is nearly related to the village 
god1 and may be expected to be better   
listened to than a stranger40  ,a little
 further on ,mr4 ,macdonald says3 8,on  
the subject of the village gods opinions
 differ4 ,some say that every one in the
 village1 whether a relative of the     
chief or not1 must worship the          
forefathers of the chief4 ,others say   

that a person not related to the chief  
must worship his own forefathers1       
otherwise their spirits will bring      
trouble upon him4 ,to reconcile these   
authorities we may mention that nearly  
everyone in the village is related to   
its chief1 or if not related is1 in     
courtesy1 considered so4 ,any person not
 related to the village chief would be  
polite enough on all public occasions to
 recognise the village god3 on occasions
 of private prayer 7which are not so    
numerous as in ,christendom7 he would   
approach the spirits of his own         
forefathers4 ,besides1 there might be a 
god of the land4 ,the chief ,kapeni     
prays to his own relatives1 and also to 
the old gods of the place4 ,his own     
relatives he approaches himself2 the    
other deities he may also approach      
himself1 but he often #jbh;finds people 
more closely related and consequently   
more acceptable to the old gods of the  
land40  ,the ,african pantheon is thus  
widely peopled4 ,elimination and natural

 selection next give one the transition 
from the ghost to the god1 properly so  
called4  8,the gods of the natives then 
are nearly as numerous as their dead4   
,it is impossible to worship all2 a     
selection must be made1 and1 as we have 
indicated1 each worshipper turns most   
naturally to the spirits of his own     
departed relatives2 but his gods are too
 many still1 and in farther selecting he
 turns to those that have lived nearest 
his own time4 ,thus the chief of a      
village will not trouble himself about  
his great-great-grandfather3 he will    
present his offering to his own         
immediate predecessor1 and say1 #8,o    
father1 ,i do not know all your         
relatives1 you know them all1 invite    
them to feast with you4rsquo2 ,the      
offering is not simply for himself1 but 
for himself and all his relatives40     
,ordinary ghosts are soon forgotten with
 the generation that knew them4 ,not so 
a few select spirits1 the ,csars and    
,napoleons1 the ,charlemagnes and       

,timurs of savage empires4  8,a great   
chief that has been successful in his   
wars does not pass out of memory so     
soon4 ,he may become the god of a       
mountain or a lake1 and may receive     
homage as a local deity long after his  
own descendants have been driven from   
the spot4 ,when there is a supplication 
for rain the inhabitants of the country 
pray not so much to their own           
forefathers as to the god of yonder     
mountain on whose shoulders the great   
rain-clouds repose4 7,smaller hills are 
seldom honoured with a deity470  ,well1 
in all this we get1 it seems to me1 the 
very essentials and universals of       
religion generally1--the things without 
which no religion could exist--the vital
 part1 without the ever-varying and     
changeable additions of mere gossiping  
mythology4 ,in the presents brought to  
the dead man's grave to appease the     
ghost1 we have the central element of   
all worship1 the practical key of all   
cults1 past or present4  ,on #jbithe    

other hand1 mythologists tell us nothing
 about the origin of prayer and         
sacrifice3 they put us off with stories 
of particular gods1 without explaining  
to us how those gods ever came to be    
worshipped4 ,now1 mythology is a very   
interesting study in its own way3 but to
 treat as religion a mass of stories and
 legends about gods or saints1 with     
hardly a single living element of       
practice or sacrifice1 seems to me      
simply to confuse two totally distinct  
branches of human enquiry4 ,the ,origin 
of ,tales has nothing at all to do with 
the ,origin of ,worship4  ,when we come 
to read ,mr4 ,macdonald's account of a  
native funeral1 on the other hand1 we   
are at once on a totally different tack2
 we can understand1 as by an electric   
flash1 the genesis of the primitive acts
 of sacrifice and religion4  8,along    
with the deceased is buried a           
considerable part of his property4 ,we  
have already seen that his bed is buried
 with him2 so also are all his clothes4 

,if he possesses several tusks of ivory1
 one tusk or more is ground to a powder 
between two stones and put beside him4  
,beads are also ground down in the same 
way4 ,these precautions are taken to    
prevent the witch 7who is supposed to be
 answerable for his death7 from making  
any use of the ivory or beads4  8,if the
 deceased owned several slaves1 an      
enormous hole is dug for a grave4 ,the  
slaves are now brought forward4 ,they   
may be either cast into the pit alive1  
or the undertakers may cut all their    
throats4 ,the body of their master or   
their mistress is then laid down to rest
 above theirs1 and the grave is covered 
in4  8,after this the women come forward
 with the offerings of food1 and place  
them at the head of the grave4 ,the     
dishes in which the food was brought are
 left behind4 ,the pot that held the    
drinking-water of the deceased and his  
drinking-cup are also left with him4    
,these1 too1 might be coveted by the    
witch1 but a hole is pierced in the pot1

 and the drinking calabash is broken4   
8,the #jcjman has now gone from the     
society of the living1 and he is        
expected to share the meal thus left at 
his grave with those that have gone     
before him4 ,the funeral party breaks   
up2 they do not want to visit the grave 
of their friend again without a very    
good reason4 ,anyone found among the    
graves may be taken for a cannibal4     
,their friend has become a citizen of a 
different village4 ,he is with all his  
relatives of the past4 ,he is entitled  
to offerings or presents which may come 
to him individually or through his      
chief4 ,these offerings in most cases he
 will share with others1 just as he used
 to do when alive10 ,sometimes the man  
may be buried in his own hut4  8,in this
 case the house is not taken down1 but  
is generally covered with cloth1 and the
 verandah becomes the place for         
presenting offerings4 ,his old house    
thus becomes a kind of temple4444 ,the  
deceased is now in the spirit-world1 and

 receives offerings and adoration4 ,he  
is addressed as lsquo2,our great spirit 
that has gone before4' ,if anyone dream 
of him4 it is at once concluded that the
 spirit is lsquo2up to something4' ,very
 likely he wants to have some of the    
survivors for his companions4 ,the      
dreamer hastens to appease the spirit by
 an offering40  ,so real is this society
 of the dead that ,mr4 ,macdonald says3 
8,the practice of sending messengers to 
the world beyond the grave is found on  
the ,west ,coast4 ,a chief summons a    
slave1 delivers to him a message1 and   
then cuts off his head4 ,if the chief   
forget anything that he wanted to say1  
he sends another slave as a postscript40
  ,i have quoted at such length from    
this recent and extremely able work     
because ,i want to bring into strong    
relief the fact that we have here going 
on under our very eyes1 from day to day1
 de novo1 the entire genesis of new gods
 and goddesses1 and of all that is most 
central and essential to                

religion--worship1 prayer1 the temple1  
the altar1 priesthood1 sacrifice4       
,nothing that the mythologists can tell 
us about the ,sun or the ,moon1 the     
,dawn or the ,stormcloud1 #jca,little   
,red ,riding ,hood or ,cinderella and   
the ,glass ,slipper1 comes anywhere near
 the ,origin of ,religion in these its  
central and universal elements4 ,those  
stories or guesses may be of immense    
interest and importance as contributions
 to the history of ideas in our race2   
but nothing we can learn about the      
savage survival in the myth of ,cupid or
 ,psyche1 or about the primitive        
cosmology in the myth of the children of
 ,kronos1 helps us to get one inch      
nearer the origin of ,god or of prayer1 
of worship1 of religious ceremonial1 of 
the temple1 the church1 the sacrifice1  
the mass1 or any other component part of
 what we really know as ,religion in the
 concrete4 ,these myths may be sometimes
 philosophic guesses1 sometimes         
primitive folk-tales1 but they certainly

 are not the truths of ,religion4 ,on   
the other hand1 the living facts1 here  
so simply detailed by a careful1        
accurate1 and unassuming observer1      
strengthened by the hundreds of similar 
facts collected by ,tylor1 ,spencer1 and
 others1 do help us at once to          
understand the origin of the central    
core and kernel of religion as          
universally practised all the world     
over4  ,for1 omitting for the present   
the mythological and cosmological       
factor1 which so often comes in to      
obscure the plain religious facts in    
missionary narrative or highly-coloured 
,european accounts of native beliefs1   
what do we really find as the underlying
 truths of all religion8 ,that all the  
world over practices essentially similar
 to those of these savage ,central      
,africans prevail among mankind2        
practices whose affiliation upon the    
same primitive ideas has been abundantly
 proved by ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer2      
practices which have for their essence  

the propitiation or adulation of a      
spiritual being or beings1 derived from 
ghosts1 and conceived of as similar1 in 
all except the greatness of the connoted
 attributes1 to the souls of men4       
8,whenever the ,indian villagers are    
questioned about their creed10 says ,sir
 ,william ,hunter1 8the same answer is  
invariably given3 #8,the common people  
have no idea of religion1 #jcb;but to do
 right ceremonially and to worship the  
village god40  ,in short1 ,i maintain   
that religion is not mainly1 as the     
mistaken analogy of ,christian usage    
makes us erroneously call it1 ,faith or 
,creed1 but simply and solely ,ceremony1
 ,custom1 or ,practice4 ,and ,i am glad 
to say that1 for early ,semitic times at
 least1 ,professor ,robertson ,smith is 
of the same opinion4  ,if one looks at  
the vast mass of the world1 ancient and 
modern1 it is quite clear that religion 
consists1 and has always consisted1 of  
observances essentially similar to those
 just described among the ,central      

,african tribes4 ,its core is worship4  
,its centre is the ,god--that is to say1
 the ,dead ,ancestor or ,relative4 ,the 
religion of ,china is to this day almost
 entirely one of pure ancestor-cult4    
,the making of offerings and burning of 
joss-paper before the ,family ,dead form
 its principal ceremonies4 ,in ,india1  
while the three great gods of the       
mystical ,brahmanist philosophy are     
hardly worshipped in actual practice at 
all1 every community and every house has
 its own particular gods and its own    
special cult of its little domestic     
altar4  8,the first ,englishman10 says  
,sir ,william ,hunter1 8who tried to    
study the natives as they actually are1 
and not as the ,brahmans described them1
 was struck by the universal prevalence 
of a worship quite distinct from that of
 the ,hindu deities4 ,a ,bengal village 
has usually its local god1 which it     
adores either in the form of a rude     
unhewn stone1 or a stump1 or a tree     
marked with red-lead4 ,sometimes a lump 

of clay placed under a tree does duty   
for a deity1 and the attendant priest1  
when there is one1 generally belongs to 
one of the half-,hinduised low-castes4  
,the rude stone represents the          
non-,aryan fetish2 and the tree seems to
 owe its sanctity to the non-,aryan     
belief that it forms the abode of the   
ghosts1 or gods1 of the village40       
,omitting the mere guesswork about the  
fetish and the gratuitous supposition1  
made out of deference to the dying creed
 of ,max-,mllerism1 that                
ancestor-worship must necessarily       
#jcc;be a 8non-,aryan0 feature 7though  
it exists or existed in all so-called   
,aryan races71 this simple description  
shows us the prevalence over the whole  
of ,india of customs essentially similar
 to those which obtain in ,central      
,africa and in the ,chinese provinces4  
,the ,roman religion1 in somewhat the   
same way1 separates itself at once into 
a civic or national and a private or    
family cult4 ,there were the great gods1

 native or adopted1 whom the ,state     
worshipped publicly1 as the ,central    
,african tribes worship the chiefs      
ancestors2 and there were the ,lares and
 ,penates1 whom the family worshipped at
 its own hearth1 and whose very name    
shows them to have been in origin and   
essence ancestral spirits4 ,and as the  
real or practical ,hindu religion       
consists mainly of offering up rice1    
millet1 and ghee to the little local and
 family deities or to the chosen patron 
god in the ,brahmanist pantheon1 so1    
too1 the real or practical ,roman       
religion consisted mainly of sacrifice  
done at the domestic altar to the       
special ,penates1 farre pio et saliente 
mica4  ,i will not go on to point out in
 detail at the present stage of our     
argument how ,professor ,sayce similarly
 finds ancestor-worship and ,shamanism  
7a low form of ghost-propitiation7 at   
the root of the religion of the ancient 
,ac-cadians2 how other observers have   
performed the same task for the         

,egyptians and ,japanese2 and how like  
customs have been traced among ,greeks  
and ,amazulu1 among ,hebrews and        
,nicaraguans1 among early ,english and  
,digger ,indians1 among our ,aryan      
ancestors themselves and ,andaman       
,islanders4 ,every recent narrative of  
travel abounds with examples4 ,of       
,netherland ,island ,i read1 8,the      
skulls of their ancestors were treasured
 for gods of the ,new ,hebrides1 8,the  
people worshipped the spirits of their  
ancestors4 ,they prayed to them1 over   
the kava-bowl1 for health and           
prosperity40 ,in ,new ,caledonia1       
8,their gods were their ancestors1 whose
 relics they kept up and idolised40 ,at 
,tana1 8,the general name for gods      
seemed to be aremha2 that means a dead  
man1 and hints10 #jcdsays the ,rev4     
,george ,turner1 with pleasing          
frankness1 8alike at the origin and     
nature of their religious worship40     
,when the chief prayed1 he offered up   
yam and fruits1 saying1 8,compassionate 

father1 here is some food for you2 eat  
it4 ,be kind to us on account of it40   
,those who wish to see the whole of the 
evidence on this matter marshalled in   
battle array have only to turn to the   
first volume of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's
 ,principles of ,sociology1 where they  
will find abundant examples from all    
times and places gathered together in a 
vast and overwhelming phalanx4  ,what   
concerns us in this chapter a little    
more is to call attention by            
anticipation to the fact that even in   
,christianity itself the same primitive 
element survives as the centre of all   
that is most distinctively religious1 as
 opposed to theological1 in the         
,christian religion4 ,and ,i make these 
remarks provisionally here in order that
 the reader may the better understand to
 what ultimate goal our investigation   
will lead him4  ,it is the universal    
,catholic custom to place the relics of 
saints or martyrs under the altars in   
churches4 ,thus the body of ,st4 ,mark  

the ,evangelist lies under the high     
altar of ,st4 ,mark's1 at ,venice2 and  
in every other ,italian cathedral1 or   
chapel1 a reliquary is deposited within 
the altar itself4 ,so well understood is
 this principle in the ,latin ,church1  
that it has hardened into the saying1   
8,no relic1 no altar40 ,the sacrifice of
 the mass takes place at such an altar1 
and is performed by a priest in         
sacrificial robes4 ,the entire ,roman   
,catholic ritual is a ritual derived    
from the earlier sacerdotal ideas of    
ministry at an altar1 and its connection
 with the primitive form is still kept  
up by the necessary presence of human   
remains in its holy places4             
,furthermore1 the very idea of a church 
itself is descended from the early      
,christian meeting-places in the        
catacombs or at the tombs of the        
martyrs1 which are universally allowed  
to have been the primitive ,christian   
altars4 #jce,we know now that the       
cruciform dome-covered plan of          

,christian churches is derived from     
these early meeting-places at the       
junction of lanes or alleys in the      
catacombs2 that the nave1 chancel1 and  
transepts indicate the crossing of the  
alleys1 while the dome represents the   
hollowed-out portion or rudely circular 
vault where the two lines of archway    
intersect4 ,the earliest dome-covered   
churches were attempts1 as it were1 to  
construct a catacomb above ground for   
the reception of the altar-tomb of a    
saint or martyr4 ,similarly with the    
chapels that open out at the side from  
the aisles or transepts4                
,etymologically1 the word chapel is the 
modernised form of capella1 the arched  
sepulchre excavated in the walls of the 
catacombs1 before the tomb at which it  
was usual to offer up prayer and praise4
 ,the chapels built out from the aisles 
in ,roman churches1 each with its own   
altar and its own saintly relics1 are   
attempts to reproduce above ground in   
the same way the original sacred places 

in the early ,christian excavated       
cemeteries4 ,we will recur to this      
subject at much greater length in       
subsequent chapters4  ,thus             
,christianity itself is linked on to the
 very antique custom of worship at      
tombs1 and the habit of ancestor-worship
 by altars1 relics1 and invocation of   
saints1 even revolutionary              
,protestantism still retaining some last
 faint marks of its origin in the       
dedication of churches to particular    
evangelists or martyrs1 and in the more 
or less disguised survival of altar1    
priesthood1 sacrifice1 and vestments4   
,now1 ,i do not say ancestor-worship    
gives us the whole origin of everything 
that is included in ,christian ,english 
minds in the idea of religion4 ,i do not
 say it accounts for all the cosmologies
 and cosmogonies of savage1 barbaric1 or
 civilised tribes4 ,those1 for the most 
part1 are pure mythological products1   
explicable mainly1 ,i believe1 by means 
of the key with which mythology supplies

 us2 and one of them1 adopted into      
,genesis from an alien source1 has come 
to be accepted by modern ,christendom as
 part of #jcfthat organised body of     
belief which forms the ,christian creed1
 though not in any true sense the       
,christian religion4 ,nor do ,i say that
 ancestor-worship gives us the origin of
 those ontological1 metaphysical1 or    
mystical conceptions which form part of 
the philosophy or theology of many      
priesthoods4 ,religions1 as we generally
 get them envisaged for us nowadays1 are
 held to include the mythology1 the     
cosmogony1 the ontology1 and even the   
ethics of the race that practises them4 
,these extraneous developments1 however1
 ,i hold to spring from different roots 
and to have nothing necessarily in      
common with religion proper4 ,the god is
 the true crux4 ,if we have once        
accounted for the origin of ghosts1     
gods1 tombs1 altars1 temples1 churches1 
worship1 sacrifice1 priesthoods1 and    
ceremonies1 then we have accounted for  

all that is essential and central in    
religion1 and may hand over the         
rest--the tales1 stories1 and pious     
legends--to the account of comparative  
mythology or of the yet unfounded       
science of comparative idealogy4  ,once 
more1 ,i do not wish to insist1 either1 
that every particular and individual    
god1 national or naturalistic1 must     
necessarily represent a particular      
ghost--the dead spirit of a single      
definite once-living person4 ,it is     
enough to show1 as ,mr4 ,spencer has    
shown1 that the idea of the god1 and the
 worship paid to a god1 are directly    
derived from the idea of the ghost1 and 
the offerings made to the ghost1 without
 necessarily holding1 as ,mr4 ,spencer  
seems to hold1 that every god is and    
must be in ultimate analysis the ghost  
of a particular human being4 ,once the  
conception of gods had been evolved by  
humanity1 and had become a common part  
of every man's imagined universe--of the
 world as it presented itself to the    

mind of the percipient--then it was     
natural enough that new gods should be  
made from time to time out of           
abstractions or special aspects and     
powers of nature1 and that the same     
worship should be paid to such new-made 
and purely imaginary gods as had        
previously been paid to the whole host  
of gods #jcg;evolved from personal and  
tribal ancestors4 ,it is the first step 
that costs3 once you have got the idea  
of a god fairly evolved1 any number of  
extra gods may be invented or introduced
 from all quarters4 ,a great pantheon   
readily admits new members to its ranks 
from1 many strange sources4 ,familiar   
instances in one of the best-known      
pantheons are those of ,concordia1      
,pecunia1 ,aius ,locutius1 ,rediculus   
,tutanus4 ,the ,romans1 indeed1 deified 
every conceivable operation of nature or
 of human life2 they had gods or        
goddesses for the minutest details of   
agriculture1 of social relations1 of the
 first years of childhood1 of marriage  

and domestic arrangements generally4    
,many of their deities1 as we shall see 
hereafter1 were obviously manufactured  
to meet a special demand on special     
occasions4 ,but at the same time1 none  
of these gods1 so far as we can judge1  
could ever have come to exist at all if 
the ghost-theory and ancestor-worship   
had not already made familiar to the    
human mind the principles and practice  
of religion generally4 ,the very idea of
 a god could not otherwise have been    
evolved2 though1 when once evolved1 any 
number of new beings could readily be   
affiliated upon it by the human         
imagination4  ,still1 to admit that     
other elements have afterwards come in  
to confuse religion is quite a different
 thing from admitting that religion     
itself has more than one origin4        
,whatever gives us the key to the       
practice of worship gives us the key to 
all real religion4 ,now1 one may read   
through almost any books of the         
mythological school without ever coming 

upon a single word that throws one ray  
of light upon the origin of religion    
itself thus properly called4 ,to trace  
the development of this1 that1 or the   
other story or episode in a religious   
myth is in itself a very valuable study 
in human evolution3 but no amount of    
tracing such stories ever gives us the  
faintest clue to the question why men   
worshipped ,osiris1 ,zeus1 ,siva1 or    
,venus2 why they offered up prayer and  
praise to ,isis1 or to ,artemis2 why    
they made sacrifices of oxen to         
,capitolian ,jove #jch;at ,rome1 or slew
 turtle-doves on the altar of ,jahweh1  
god of ,israel1 at ,jerusalem4 ,the     
ghost-theory and the practice of        
ancestor-worship show us a natural basis
 and genesis for all these customs1 and 
explain them in a way to which no       
mythological enquiry can add a single   
item of fundamental interest4  ,it may  
be well at this point to attempt        
beforehand some slight provisional      
disentanglement of the various          

extraneous elements which interweave    
themselves at last with the simple      
primitive fabric of practical religion4 
,in the first place1 there is the       
mythological element4 ,the mythopoeic   
faculty is a reality in mankind4        
,stories arise1 grow1 gather episodes   
with movement1 transform and transmute  
themselves1 wander far in space1 get    
corrupted by time1 in ten thousand ways 
suffer change and modification4 ,now1   
such stories sometimes connect          
themselves with living men and women4   
,everybody knows how many myths exist   
even in our own day about every         
prominent or peculiar person4 ,they also
 gather more particularly round the     
memory of the dead1 and especially of   
any very distinguished dead man or      
woman4 ,sometimes they take their rise  
in genuine tradition1 sometimes they are
 pure fetches of fancy or of the        
romancing faculty4 ,the ghosts or the   
gods are no less exempt from these      
mythopic freaks than other people2 and  

as gods go on living indefinitely1 they 
have plenty of time for myths to gather 
about them4 ,most often1 a myth is      
invented to account for some particular 
religious ceremony4 ,again1 myths       
demonstrably older than a particular    
human being--say ,csar1 ,virgil1        
,arthur1 ,charlemagne--may get fitted by
 later ages to those special            
personalities4 ,the same thing often    
happens also with gods4 ,myth comes at  
last1 in short1 to be the history of the
 gods2 and a personage about whom many  
myths exist1 whether real or imaginary1 
a personification of nature or an       
abstract quality1 may grow in time to be
 practically a divine being1 and even   
perhaps to receive worship1 the final   
test of divinity4  ,again1 #jcimyths    
about the gods come in the long run1 in 
many cases1 to be written down1         
especially by the priests1 and          
themselves acquire a considerable degree
 of adventitious holiness4 ,thus we get 
,sacred ,books2 and in most advanced    

races1 the sacred books tend to become  
an important integral part of religion1 
and a test of the purity of tenets or   
ceremonial4 ,but sacred books almost    
always contain rude cosmological guesses
 and a supernatural cosmogony1 as well  
as tales about the doings1              
relationships1 and prerogatives of the  
gods4 ,such early philosophical         
conjectures come then to be intimately  
bound up with the idea of religion1 and 
in many cases even to supersede in      
certain minds its true1 practical1      
central kernel4 ,the extreme of this    
tendency is seen in ,english ,protestant
 ,dissenting ,bibliolatry4              
,rationalistic and reconciliatory       
glosses tend to arise with advancing    
culture4 ,attempts are made to trace the
 pedigree and mutual relations of the   
gods1 and to get rid of discrepancies in
 earlier legends4 ,the ,theogony of     
,hesiod is a definite effort undertaken 
in this direction for the ,greek        
pantheon4 ,often the attempt is made by 

the most learned and                    
philosophically-minded among the        
priests1 and results in a               
quasi-philosophical mythology like that 
of the ,brahmans4 ,in the monotheistic  
or half-monotheistic religions1 this    
becomes theology4 ,in proportion as it  
grows more and more laboured and        
definite the attention of the learned   
and the priestly class is more and more 
directed to dogma1 creed1 faith1        
abstract formulae of philosophical or   
intellectual belief1 while insisting    
also upon ritual or practice4 ,but the  
popular religion remains usually1 as in 
,india1 a religion of practical custom  
and observances alone1 having very      
little relation to the highly abstract  
theological ideas of the learned or the 
priestly4  ,lastly1 in the highest      
religions1 a large element of ethics1 of
 sentiment1 of broad humanitarianism of 
adventitious emotion1 is allowed to come
 in1 often to the extent of obscuring   
the original factors of practice and    

observance4  ,we are #jdj;constantly    
taught that 8real religion0 means many  
things which have nothing on earth to do
 with religion proper1 in any sense1 but
 are merely high morality1 tinctured by 
emotional devotion towards a spiritual  
being or set of beings4  ,owing to all  
these causes1 modern investigators1 in  
searching for the origin of religion1   
are apt to mix up with it1 even when    
dealing with savage tribes1 many        
extraneous questions of cosmology1      
cosmogony1 philosophy1 metaphysics1     
ethics1 and mythology4 ,they do not     
sufficiently see that the true question 
narrows itself down at last to two prime
 factors--worship and sacrifice4 ,in all
 early religions1 the practice is at a  
maximum1 and the creed at a minimum4    
,we1 nowadays1 look back upon these     
early cults1 which were cults and little
 else1 with minds warped by modern      
theological prejudices--by constant     
wrangling over dogmas1 clauses1         
definitions1 and formularies4 ,we talk  

glibly of the ,hindu faith or the       
,chinese belief1 when we ought rather to
 talk of the ,hindu practice or the     
,chinese observances4 ,by thus wrongly  
conceiving the nature of religion1 we go
 astray as to its origin4 ,we shall only
 get right again when we learn to       
separate mythology entirely from        
religion1 and when we recognise that the
 growth and development of the myth have
 nothing at all to do with the          
beginnings of worship4 ,the science of  
comparative mythology and folk-lore is a
 valuable and light-bearing study in its
 own way3 but it has no more to do with 
the origin of religion than the science 
of ethics or the science of geology4    
,there are ethical rules in most        
advanced cults3 there are geological    
surmises in most sacred books3 but      
neither one nor the other is on that    
account religion1 any more than the     
history of ,jehoshaphat or the legend of
 ,samson4  ,what ,i want to suggest in  
the present chapter sums itself up in a 

few sentences thus3 ,religion is        
practice1 mythology is story-telling4   
,every religion has myths that accompany
 it3 but the myths do not give rise to  
the religion3 #jdaon the contrary1 the  
religion gives rise to the myths4 ,and  
,i shall attempt in this book to account
 for the origin of religion alone1      
omitting altogether both mythology as a 
whole1 and all mythical persons or      
beings other than gods in the sense here
 illustrated4     ,,chapter             
,,iii4--,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,dead4 
,the #jdbobject of this book1 we saw at 
the beginning1 is to trace the evolution
 of the idea of ,god4 ,but the solution 
of that problem implies two separate    
questions--first1 how did men begin to  
frame the idea of a god at all2 and     
second1 how did they progress from the  
conception of many distinct gods to the 
conception of a single supreme ,god1    
like the central deity of ,christianity 
and of ,islam4 ,in other words1 we have 
first to enquire into the origin of     

polytheism1 and next into its gradual   
supersession by monotheism4 ,those are  
the main lines of enquiry ,i propose to 
follow out in the present volume4       
,religion1 however1 has one element     
within it still older1 more fundamental1
 and more persistent than any mere      
belief in a god or gods--nay1 even than 
the custom or practice of supplicating  
and appeasing ghosts or gods by gifts   
and observances4 ,that element is the   
conception of the ,life of the ,dead4   
,on the primitive belief in such life1  
all religion ultimately bases itself4   
,the belief is in fact the earliest     
thing to appear in religion1 for there  
are savage tribes who have nothing worth
 calling gods1 but have still a religion
 or cult of their dead relatives4 ,it is
 also the latest thing to survive in    
religion2 for many modern spiritualists1
 who have ceased to be theists1 or to   
accept any other form of the            
supernatural1 nevertheless go on        
believing in the continued existence of 

the dead1 and in the possibility of     
intercommunication between them and the 
living4 ,this1 therefore1 which is the  
earliest manifestation of religious     
thought1 #jdc;and which persists        
throughout as one of its most salient   
and irrepressible features1 must engage 
our attention for a little time before  
we pass on to the genesis of polytheism4
  ,but the belief in continued life     
itself1 like all other human ideas1 has 
naturally undergone various stages of   
evolution4 ,the stages glide            
imperceptibly into one another1 of      
course2 but ,i think we can on the whole
 distinguish with tolerable accuracy    
between three main layers or strata of  
opinion with regard to the continued    
existence of the dead4 ,in the first or 
lowest stratum1 the difference between  
life and death themselves is but ill or 
inadequately perceived2 the dead are    
thought of as yet bodily living4 ,in the
 second stratum1 death is recognised as 
a physical fact1 but is regarded as only

 temporary2 at this stage1 men look     
forward to the ,resurrection of the     
,body1 and expect the ,life of the      
,world to ,come4 ,in the third stratum1 
the soul is regarded as a distinct      
entity from the body2 it survives it in 
a separate and somewhat shadowy form3 so
 that the opinion as to the future      
proper to this stage is not a belief in 
the ,resurrection of the ,body1 but a   
belief in the ,immortality of the ,soul4
 ,these two concepts have often been    
confounded together by loose and        
semi-philosophical ,christian thinkers2 
but in their essence they are wholly    
distinct and irreconcilable4  ,i shall  
examine each of these three strata      
separately4  ,and first as to that early
 savage level of thought where the ideas
 of life and death are very ill         
demarcated4 ,to us at the present day it
 seems a curious notion that people     
should not possess the conception of    
death as a necessary event in every     
individual human history4 ,but that is  

because we cannot easily unread all our 
previous thinking1 cannot throw         
ourselves frankly back into the state of
 the savage4 ,we are accustomed to      
living in large and populous            
communities1 where deaths are frequent1 
and where natural death in particular is
 an every-day occurrence4 ,we have      
behind us a vast and long history of    
previous ages2 and #jddwe know that     
historical time was occupied by the     
lives of many successive generations1   
all of which are now dead1 and none of  
which on the average exceeded a certain 
fixed limit of seventy or eighty odd    
years4 ,to us1 the conception of human  
life as a relatively short period1      
bounded by a known duration1 and        
naturally terminating at a relatively   
fixed end1 is a common and familiar one4
  ,we forget1 however1 that to the      
savage all this is quite otherwise4 ,he 
lives in a small and scattered          
community1 where deaths are rare1 and   
where natural death in particular is    

comparatively infrequent4 ,most of his  
people are killed in war1 or devoured by
 wild beasts1 or destroyed by accidents 
in the chase1 or by thirst or           
starvation4 ,some are drowned in rapid  
rivers2 some crushed by falling trees or
 stones2 some poisoned by deadly fruits1
 or bitten by venomous snakes2 some     
massacred by chiefs1 or murdered in     
quarrels with their own tribesmen4 ,in a
 large majority of instances1 there is  
some open and obvious cause of death2   
and this cause is generally due either  
to the hand of man or to some other     
animal2 or failing that1 to some        
apparently active effort of external    
nature1 such as flood1 or lightning1 or 
forest fires1 or landslip and           
earthquake4 ,death by disease is        
comparatively rare2 death by natural    
decay almost unknown or unrecognised4   
,nor has the savage a great historic    
past behind him4 ,he knows few but his  
tribesmen1 and little of their ancestors
 save those whom his parents can        

remember before them4 ,his perspective  
of the past is extremely limited4       
,nothing enables him to form that wide  
idea of the necessity and invariability 
of death which to us is so familiar4    
,that 8all men are mortal0 is to        
civilised man a truism2 to very early   
savages it would necessarily have seemed
 a startling paradox4 ,no man ever dies 
within his own experience2 ever since he
 can remember1 he has continued to exist
 as a permanent part of all his         
adventures4 ,most of the savage's family
 have gone on continuously living with  
him4 ,a death has been a rare and       
startling occurrence4 #jde,thus the     
notion of death as an inevitable end    
never arises at all2 the notion of death
 as due to natural causes seems quite   
untenable4 ,when a savage dies1 the     
first question that arises is 8,who has 
killed him80 ,if he is slain in war1 or 
devoured by a tiger1 or ripped up by an 
elephant1 or drowned by a stream in     
spate1 or murdered by a tribesman1 the  

cause is obvious4 ,if none of these1    
then the death is usually set down to   
witchcraft4  ,furthermore1 the mere fact
 of death is much less certain among    
primitive or savage men than in         
civilised communities4 ,we know as a    
rule with almost absolute certainty     
whether at a given moment a sick or     
wounded man is dead or living4          
,nevertheless1 even among ourselves1    
cases of doubt not infrequently occur4  
,at times we hesitate whether a man or  
woman is dead or has fainted4 ,if the   
heart continues to beat1 we consider    
them still living2 if not the slightest 
flutter of the pulse can be perceived1  
we consider them dead4 ,even our        
advanced medical science1 however1 is   
often perplexed in very obscure cases of
 catalepsy2 and mistakes have occurred  
from time to time1 resulting in         
occasional premature burials4 ,the      
discrimination of true from apparent    
death is not always easy4 ,vesalius1 the
 eminent anatomist1 opened a supposed   

corpse in which the heart was seen to be
 still beating2 and the ,abb ,prvost1   
who had been struck by apoplexy1 was    
regarded as dead1 but recovered         
consciousness once more under the       
surgeon's scalpel4 ,naturally1 among    
savages1 such cases of doubt are far    
more likely to occur than among         
civilised people2 or rather1 to put it  
as the savage would think of it1 there  
is often no knowing when a person who is
 lying stiff and lifeless may happen to 
get up again and resume his usual       
activity4 ,the savage is accustomed to  
seeing his fellows stunned or rendered  
unconscious by blows1 wounds1 and other 
accidents1 inflicted either by the      
enemy1 by wild beasts1 by natural       
agencies1 or by the wrath of his        
tribesmen2 and he never knows how soon  
the effect of such accidents may pass   
away1 and the man may recover his       
#jdfordinary vitality4 ,as a rule1 he   
keeps and tends the bodies of his       
friends as long as any chance remains of

 their ultimate recovery1 and often 7as 
we shall see in the sequel7 much longer4
  ,again1 in order to understand this   
attitude of early man towards his       
wounded1 his stricken1 and his dead1 we 
must glance aside for a moment at the   
primitive psychology4 ,very early indeed
 in the history of the human mind1 ,i   
believe1 some vague adumbration of the  
notion of a soul began to pervade       
humanity4 ,we now know that             
consciousness is a function of the      
brain2 that it is intermitted during    
sleep1 when the brain rests1 and also   
during times of grave derangement of the
 nervous or circulatory systems1 as when
 we faint or assume the comatose        
condition1 or are stunned by a blow1 or 
fall into catalepsy or epilepsy4 ,we    
also know that consciousness ceases     
altogether at death1 when the brain no  
longer functions2 and that the          
possibility of its further continuance  
is absolutely cut off by the fact of    
decomposition4 ,but these truths1 still 

imperfectly understood or rashly        
rejected by many among ourselves1 were  
wholly unknown to early men4 ,they had  
to frame for themselves as best they    
could some vague working hypothesis of  
the human mind1 from data which         
suggested themselves in the ordinary    
course of life2 and the hypothesis which
 they framed was more or less roughly   
that of the soul or spirit1 still       
implicitly accepted by a large majority 
of the human species4  ,according to    
this hypothesis every man consists of   
two halves or parts1 one material or    
bodily1 the other immaterial or         
spiritual4 ,the first half1 called the  
body1 is visible and tangible2 the      
second half1 called the soul1 dwells    
within it1 and is more or less invisible
 or shadowy4 ,it is to a large extent   
identified with the breath2 and like the
 breath it is often believed to quit the
 body at death1 and even to go off in a 
free form and live its own life         
elsewhere4 ,as this supposed            

independence of the soul from the body  
lies at the very basis of all ghosts and
 gods1 and therefore of #jdgreligion    
itself1 ,i may be excused for going at  
some length into the question of its    
origin4  ,actually1 so far as we know by
 direct and trustworthy evidence1 the   
existence of a mind1 consciousness1 or  
8soul10 apart from a body1 has never yet
 been satisfactorily demonstrated4 ,but 
the savage derived the belief1          
apparently1 from a large number of      
concurrent hints and suggestions1 of    
which such a hypothesis seemed to him   
the inevitable result4 ,during the      
daytime he was awake2 at night he slept2
 yet even in his sleep1 while his body  
lay curled on the ground beside the     
camp-fire1 he seemed to hunt or to      
fight1 to make love or to feast1 in some
 other region4 ,what was this part of   
him that wandered from the body in      
dreams8--what1 if not the soul or breath
 which he naturally regarded as         
something distinct and separate8 ,and   

when a man died1 did not the soul or    
breath go from him8 ,when he was badly  
wounded1 did it not disappear for a     
time1 and then return again8 ,in        
fainting fits1 in catalepsy1 and in     
other abnormal states1 did it not leave 
the body1 or even play strange tricks   
with it8 ,i need not pursue this line of
 thought1 already fully worked out by   
,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer and ,dr4 ,tylor4 
,it is enough to say that from a very   
early date1 primitive man began to      
regard the soul or life as something    
bound up with the breath1 something     
which could go away from the body at    
will and return to it again1 something  
separable and distinct1 yet essential to
 the person1 very vaguely conceived as  
immaterial or shadowy1 but more so at a 
later than at an earlier period4 99     
99 ,the question of the ,separate ,soul 
has recently received      very full    
treatment from ,mr4 ,frazer in ,the     
,golden ,bough1 and      ,mr4 ,sidney   
,hartland in ,the ,legend of ,perseus4  

,moreover1 these souls or spirits 7which
 quitted the body in sleep or trance7   
outlived death1 and appeared again to   
survivors4 ,in dreams1 we often see the 
shapes of living men2 but we also see   
with peculiar vividness the images of   
the departed4 ,everybody is familiar    
with the frequent reappearance #jdh;in  
sleep of intimate friends or relations  
lately deceased4 ,these appearances1 ,i 
fancy1 are especially frequent during   
the first few months of bereavement1 and
 gradually weaken in frequency and      
vividness as time goes on4 ,the reason  
for both sets of phenomena ,i take to be
 this3 the nervous structures1          
accustomed to be stimulated in          
particular combinations by intercourse  
with the dead friend1 miss automatically
 their wonted stimulation2 and being    
therefore in a highly nourished and     
unstable state1 are peculiarly ready to 
undergo ideal stimulation in sleep1 as  
we know to be the case with other       
well-nurtured and underworked           

nerve-centres4 ,or1 to put it less      
materially1 the brain falls readily into
 a familiar rhythm4 ,but in course of   
time the channels atrophy by disuse2 the
 habit is lost2 and the                 
dream-appearances of the dead friend    
grow more and more infrequent4 ,the     
savage1 however1 accepts the dream-world
 as almost equally real with the world  
of sense-presentation4 ,as he envisages 
the matter to himself1 his soul has been
 away on its travels without its body1  
and there has met and conversed with the
 souls of dead friends or relations4    
,we must remember also that in savage   
life occasions for trance1 for fainting1
 and for other abnormal or comatose     
nervous conditions occur far more       
frequently than in civilised life4 ,the 
savage is often wounded and fails from  
loss of blood2 he cuts his foot against 
a stone1 or is half killed by a wild    
beast2 he fasts long and often1         
perforce1 or is reduced to the very     
verge of starvation2 and he is therefore

 familiar1 both in his own case and in  
the case of others1 with every variety  
of unconsciousness and of delirium or   
delusion4 ,all these facts figure       
themselves to his mind as absences of   
the soul from the body1 which is thus to
 him a familiar and almost every-day    
experience4  ,moreover1 it will hence   
result that the savage can hardly gain  
any clear conception of ,death1 and     
especially of death from natural causes4
 ,when a tribesman is brought home      
severely wounded and unconscious1 the   
spectator's immediate #jdi;idea must    
necessarily be that the soul has gone   
away and deserted the body4 ,for how    
long it has gone1 he cannot tell2 but   
his first attempts are directed towards 
inducing or compelling it to return     
again4 ,for this purpose1 he often      
addresses it with prayers and           
adjurations1 or begs it to come back    
with loud cries and persuasions4 ,and he
 cannot possibly discriminate between   
its temporary absence and its final     

departure4 ,as ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer   
well says1 the consequences of blows or 
wounds merge into death by imperceptible
 stages4 8,now the injured man shortly  
#8returned to himself1rsquo2 and did not
 go away again2 and now1 returning to   
himself only after a long absence1 he   
presently deserted his body for an      
indefinite time4 ,lastly1 instead of    
these temporary returns1 followed by    
final absence1 there sometimes occurred 
cases in which a violent blow caused    
continuous absence from the very first2 
the other self never came back at all40 
,in point of fact1 during these earlier 
stages1 the idea of ,death as we know it
 did not and does not occur in any form4
 ,there are still savages who do not    
seem to recognise the universality and  
necessity of death--who regard it on the
 contrary as something strange and      
unatural1 something due to the          
machination of enemies or of witchcraft4
 ,with the earliest men1 it is a        
foregone conclusion1 psychologically    

speaking1 that they should so regard it2
 they could not form any other concept  
without far more extended knowledge than
 they have the means of possessing4 ,to 
them1 a ,dead ,man must always have     
seemed a man whose soul or breath or    
other self had left him1 but might      
possibly return again to the body at any
 time4  ,each of the three stages of    
thought above discriminated has its     
appropriate mode of disposing of its    
dead4 ,the appropriate mode for this    
earliest stage is ,preservation of the  
,corpse1 which eventuates at last in    
,mummification4  ,the simplest form of  
this mode of disposal of the corpse     
consists in keeping it in the hut or    
cave where the family dwell1 together   
with the living4 ,a ,new ,guinea woman  
thus #jejkept her husband's body in her 
hut till it dried up of itself1 and she 
kissed it and offered it food every day1
 as though it were living4 ,many similar
 cases are reported from elsewhere4 ,hut
 preservation is common in the very     

lowest races4 ,more frequently1 however1
 owing to the obvious discomfort of     
living in too close proximity to a dead 
body1 the corpse at this stage of       
thought is exposed openly in a tree or  
on a platform or under some other       
circumstances where no harm can come to 
it4 ,among the ,australians and ,andaman
 ,islanders1 who1 like the ,negritoes of
 ,new ,guinea1 preserve for us a very   
early type of human customs1 the corpse 
is often exposed on a rough raised      
scaffold4 ,some of the ,polynesian and  
,melanesian peoples follow the same     
practice4 ,the ,dyaks and ,kyans expose 
their dead in trees4 8,but it is in     
,america10 says ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 
8that exposure on raised stages is      
commonest4 ,the ,dakotahs adopt this    
method2 at one time it was the practice 
of the ,iroquois2 ,catlin1 describing   
the ,mandans as having scaffolds on     
which #8their dead live as they term    
it1' remarks that they are thus kept out
 of the way of wolves and dogs2 and     

,schoolcraft says the same of the       
,chippewas40 ,generally speaking1 at the
 lowest grades of culture1 savages      
preserve the actual bodies of their dead
 above ground1 either in the home       
itself1 or in close proximity to it4 ,we
 shall recur later on to this singular  
practice4  ,a slight variant on this    
method1 peculiar to a very maritime     
race1 is that described by ,mr4 ,h4 ,o4 
,forbes among the natives of ,timurlaut3
  8,the dead body is placed in a portion
 of a prau fitted to the length of the  
individual1 or within strips of         
gaba-gaba1 or stems of the sago-palm    
pinned together4 ,if it is a person of  
some consequence1 such as an ,orang     
,kaya1 an ornate and decorated          
prau-shaped coffin is specially made4   
,this is then enveloped in calico1 and  
placed either on the top of a rock by   
the margin of the sea at a short        
distance from the village1 or on a high 
pile-platform erected on the shore      
#jea;about low-tide mark4 ,on the top of

 the coffin-lid are erected tall flags1 
and the figures of men playing gongs1   
shooting guns1 and gesticulating wildly 
to frighten away evil influences from   
the sleeper4 ,sometimes the platform is 
erected on the shore above high-water   
mark1 and near it is stuck in the ground
 a tall bamboo full of palm-wine2 and   
suspended over a bamboo rail are bunches
 of sweet potatoes for the use of the   
dead man's ,nitu4 ,when the body is     
quite decomposed1 his son or one of the 
family disinters the skull and deposits 
it on a little platform in his house1 in
 the gable opposite the fireplace1 while
 to ward off evil from himself he       
carries about with him the atlas and    
axis bones of its neck in his luon1 or  
siri-holder40  ,this interesting account
 is full of implications whose fuller   
meaning we will perceive hereafter4 ,the
 use of the skull and of the talisman   
bone should especially be noted for     
their later importance4 ,for skulls are 
fundamental in the history of religion4 

,cases like these readily pass into the 
practice of ,mummifying1 more especially
 in dry or desert climates4 ,even in so 
damp a tropical country as ,new ,guinea1
 however1 ,d',albertis found in a shed  
on the banks of the ,fly ,river two     
mummies1 artificially prepared1 as he   
thought1 by removal of the flesh1 the   
bones alone being preserved with the    
skin to cover them4 ,here we have       
evidently a clear conception of death as
 a serious change1 of a different       
character from a mere temporary absence4
 ,so1 too1 ,mr4 ,chalmers says of the   
,koiari people in the same island1      
8,they treat their dead after this      
fashion4 ,a fire is kept burning day and
 night at the head and feet for months4 
,the entire skin is removed by means of 
the thumb and forefinger1 and the juices
 plastered all over the face and body of
 the operator 7parent1 husband1 or wife 
of the deceased74 ,the fire gradually   
desiccates the flesh1 so that little    
more than the skeleton is left40 ,but   

mummification for the most part is      
confined to drier climates1 where it is 
artificially performed #jeb;down to a   
very evolved stage of civilisation1 as  
we know well in ,peru and ,egypt4  ,one 
word must be said in passing as to the  
frequent habit of specially preserving1 
and even carrying about the person1 the 
head or hand of a deceased relative4    
,this has been already mentioned in the 
case of ,timurlaut2 and it occurs       
frequently elsewhere4 ,thus ,mr4        
,chalmers says of a ,new ,guinea baby3  
8,it will be covered with two inches of 
soil1 the friends watching beside the   
grave2 but eventually the skull and     
smaller bones will be preserved and worn
 by the mother40 ,similarly1 in the     
,andaman ,islands1 where we touch       
perhaps the lowest existing stratum of  
savage feeling1 8widows may be seen with
 the skulls of their deceased partners  
suspended round their necks40 ,the      
special preservation of the head1 even  
when the rest of the body is eaten or   

buried1 will engage our attention at a  
later period3 heads so preserved are    
usually resorted to as oracles1 and are 
often treated as the home of the spirit4
 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer has collected   
many similar instances1 such as that of 
the ,tasmanians who wore a bone from the
 skull or arm of a dead relation4 ,he   
rightly notes1 too1 that throughout the 
,new ,world 8the primitive conception of
 death as a long-suspended animation    
seems to have been especially vivid20   
and we find accordingly that customs of 
this character are particularly frequent
 among ,american savages4 ,thus1 to draw
 once more from his great storehouse1   
the ,crs carried bones and hair of dead 
relations about for three years2 while  
the ,caribs and several ,guiana tribes  
distributed the clean bones among the   
kinsmen of the deceased4 ,in the        
,sandwich ,islands1 also1 bones of kings
 and chiefs were carried about by their 
descendants1 under the impression that  
the dead exercised guardianship over    

them4  ,at this stage of thought1 it    
seems to me1 it is the actual corpse    
that is still thought to be alive2 the  
actual corpse that appears in dreams2   
and the actual corpse that is fed and   
worshipped and propitiated with         
presents4  ,ceremonial #jec;cannibalism1
 which will be more fully considered    
hereafter1 appears in this stratum1 and 
survives from it into higher levels4    
,the body is eaten entire1 and the bones
 preserved2 or the flesh and fat are    
removed1 and the skin left2 or a portion
 only is sacramentally and reverently   
eaten by the surviving relations4 ,these
 processes also will be more minutely   
described in the sequel4  ,the first    
stage merges by gradual degrees into the
 second1 which is that of ,burial or its
 equivalent4 ,cave-burial of mummies or 
of corpses forms the transitional link4 
,indeed1 inasmuch as many races of      
primitive men lived habitually in caves1
 the placing or leaving the corpse in a 
cave seems much the same thing as the   

placing or leaving it in a shed1 hut1 or
 shelter4 ,the cave-dwelling ,veddahs   
simply left the dead man in the cave    
where he died1 and themselves migrated  
to some other cavern4 ,still1           
cave-burial lingered on late with many  
tribes or nations which had for ages    
outlived the habit of cave-dwelling4    
,among the ,south ,american ,indians1   
cave-burial was common2 and in ,peru it 
assumed high developments of            
mummification4 ,the making of an        
artificial cave or vault for the dead is
 but a slight variant on this custom2 it
 was frequent in ,egypt1 the other dry  
country where the making of mummies was 
carried to a high pitch of perfection4  
,the ,tombs of the ,kings at ,thebes are
 splendid instances of such artificial  
caves1 elaborated into stately palaces  
with painted walls1 where the dead      
monarchs might pass their underground   
life in state and dignity4 ,cave-tombs1 
natural or artificial1 are also common  
in ,asia ,minor1 ,italy1 and elsewhere4 

,during the first stage1 it may be      
noted1 the attitude of man towards his  
dead is chiefly one of affectionate     
regard4 ,the corpse is kept at home1 and
 fed or tended2 the skull is carried    
about as a beloved object4 ,but in the  
second stage1 which induces the practice
 of burial1 a certain ,fear of the ,dead
 becomes more obviously apparent4 ,men  
dread the return of the corpse or the   
ghost1 and strive to keep #jed;it within
 prescribed limits4 ,in this stage1 the 
belief in the ,resurrection of the ,body
 is the appropriate creed2 and though at
 first the actual corpse is regarded as 
likely to return to plague survivors1   
that idea gives place a little later1 ,i
 believe1 to the conception of a less   
material double or spirit4  ,and here   
let us begin by discriminating carefully
 between the ,resurrection of the ,body 
and the ,immortality of the ,soul4  ,the
 idea of ,resurrection arose from and is
 closely bound up with the practice of  
burial1 the second and simpler mode of  

disposing of the remains of the dead4   
,the idea of ,immortality arose from and
 is closely bound up with the practice  
of burning1 a later and better          
innovation1 invented at the third stage 
of human culture4 ,during the early     
historical period all the most advanced 
and cultivated nations burnt their dead1
 and1 in consequence1 accepted the more 
ideal and refined notion of             
,immortality4 ,but modern ,european     
nations bury their dead1 and1 in        
consequence1 accept1 nominally at least1
 the cruder and grosser notion of       
,resurrection4 ,nominally1 ,i say1      
because1 in spite of creeds and         
formularies1 the influence of ,plato and
 other ancient thinkers1 as well as of  
surviving ancestral ideas1 has made most
 educated ,europeans really believe in  
,immortality1 even when they imagine    
themselves to be believing in           
,resurrection4 ,nevertheless1 the belief
 in ,resurrection is the avowed and     
authoritative belief of the ,christian  

world1 which thus proclaims itself as on
 a lower level in this respect than the 
civilised peoples of antiquity4  ,the   
earliest of these two ways of disposing 
of the bodies of the dead is certainly  
by burial4 ,as this fact has recently   
been called in question1 ,i will venture
 to enlarge a little upon the evidence  
in its favour4 ,in point of time1 burial
 goes back with certainty to the        
neolithic age1 and with some probability
 to the palaeolithic4 ,several true     
interments in caves have been attributed
 by competent geologists to the earlier 
of these two periods1 the first for     
which we #jee;have any sure warranty of 
man's existence on earth4 ,but1 as ,i do
 not desire to introduce controversial  
matter of any sort into this exposition1
 ,i will waive the evidence for burial  
in the palaeolithic age as doubtful1 and
 will merely mention that in the        
,mentone caves1 according to ,mr4       
,arthur ,evans1 a most competent        
authority1 we have a case of true burial

 accompanied by neolithic remains of a  
grade of culture earlier and simpler    
than any known to us elsewhere4 ,in     
other words1 from the very earliest     
beginning of the neolithic age men      
buried their dead2 and they continued to
 bury them1 in caves or tumuli1 down to 
the end of neolithic culture4 ,they     
buried them in the ,long ,barrows in    
,england2 they buried them in the ,ohio 
mounds2 they buried them in the shadowy 
forests of ,new ,zealand2 they buried   
them in the heart of darkest ,africa4 ,i
 know of no case of burning or any means
 of disposal of the dead1 otherwise than
 by burial or its earlier equivalent1   
mummification1 among people in the stone
 age of culture in ,europe4 ,it is only 
when bronze and other metals are        
introduced that races advance to the    
third stage1 the stage of cremation4 ,in
 ,america1 however1 the ,mexicans we99re
 cremationists4  ,the wide diffusal of  
burial over the globe is also a strong  
argument for its relatively primitive   

origin4 ,in all parts of the world men  
now bury their dead1 or did once bury   
them4 ,from the ,tombs of the ,kings at 
,pekin to the ,pyramids of ,memphis2    
from the ,peruvian caves to the ,samoyed
 graveyards1 we find most early peoples1
 most savage peoples1 most primitive    
peoples1 once or still engaged in one or
 other form of burying4 ,burial is the  
common and universal mode2 burning1     
exposure1 throwing into a sacred river1 
and so forth1 are sporadic and          
exceptional1 and in many cases1 as among
 the ,hindus1 are demonstrably of late  
origin1 and connected with certain      
relatively modern refinements of        
religion4  ,once more1 in many or most  
cases1 we have positive evidence that   
where a race now burns its dead1 it used
 once #jefto bury them4 ,burial preceded
 burning in preheroic ,greece1 as it    
also did in ,etruria and in early       
,latium4 ,the people of the ,long       
,barrows1 in ,western ,europe generally1
 buried their dead2 the people of the   

,round ,barrows who succeeded them1 and 
who possessed a far higher grade of     
culture1 almost always cremated4 ,it has
 been assumed that burning is primordial
 in ,india2 but ,mr4 ,william ,simpson1 
the well-known artist of the            
,illustrated ,london ,news1 calls my    
attention to the fact that the ,vedas   
speak with great clearness of burial as 
the usual mode of disposing of the      
corpse1 and even allude to the tumulus1 
the circle of stones around it1 and the 
sacred temenos which they enclose4      
,according to ,rajendralala ,mitra1     
whose high authority on the subject is  
universally acknowledged1 burial was the
 rule in ,india till about the          
thirteenth or fourteenth century before 
the ,christian era2 then came in        
cremation1 with burial of the ashes1 and
 this continued till about the time of  
,christ1 when burial was dispensed with1
 and the ashes were thrown into some    
sacred river4 ,i think1 therefore1 until
 some more positive evidence is adduced 

on the other side1 we may rest content  
with our general conclusion that burial 
is the oldest1 most universal1 and most 
savage mode of disposing of the remains 
of the dead among humanity after the    
general recognition of death as a       
positive condition4 ,it probably took   
its rise in an early period1 while      
mankind was still one homogeneous       
species2 and it has been dispersed1     
accordingly1 over the whole world1 even 
to the most remote oceanic islands4     
,what is the origin of this barbaric and
 disgusting custom1 so repugnant to all 
the more delicate sentiments of human   
nature8 ,i think ,mr4 ,frazer is right  
in attributing it to the terror felt by 
the living for the ghosts 7or1 rather1  
at first the corpses7 of the dead1 and  
the fear that they may return to plague 
or alarm their surviving fellow         
tribesmen4  ,in his admirable paper on  
8,certain ,burial ,customs as           
,illustrative of the ,primitive ,theory 
of the ,soul10 ,mr4 ,frazer points out  

that certain tribes of early men paid   
great #jeg;attention to the dead1 not so
 much from affection as from selfish    
terror4 ,ghosts or bodies of the dead   
haunt the earth everywhere1 unless      
artificially confined to bounds1 and    
make themselves exceedingly disagreeable
 to their surviving relatives4 ,to      
prevent this1 simple primitive          
philosophy in its second stage has hit  
upon many devices4 ,the most universal  
is to bury the dead--that is to say1 to 
put them in a deep-dug hole1 and to     
cover them with a mighty mound of earth1
 which has now sadly degenerated in     
civilised countries into a mere formal  
heap1 but which had originally the size 
and dignity of a tumulus4 ,the object of
 piling up this great heap of earth was 
to confine the ghost 7or corpse71 who   
could not easily move so large a        
superincumbent mass of matter4 ,in point
 of fact1 men buried their dead in order
 to get well rid of them1 and to        
effectually prevent their return to     

light to disturb the survivors4  ,for   
the same reason heavy stones were often 
piled on the top of the dead4 ,in one   
form1 these became at last the cairn2   
and1 as the ghosts of murderers and     
their victims tend to be especially     
restless1 everybody who passes their    
graves in ,arabia1 ,germany1 and ,spain 
is bound to add a stone to the growing  
pile in order to confine them4 ,in      
another form1 that of the single big    
stone rolled just on top of the body to 
keep it down by its mass1 the makeweight
 has developed into the modern          
tombstone4 ,in our own times1 indeed1   
the tombstone has grown into a mere     
posthumous politeness1 and is generally 
made to do duty as a record of the name 
and incomparable virtues of the deceased
 7concerning whom1 nil nisi bonum72 but 
in origin it was nothing more than the  
big1 heavy boulder1 meant to confine the
 ghost1 and was anything but honorific  
in intention and function4  ,again1     
certain nations go further still in     

their endeavours to keep the ghost 7or  
corpse7 from roaming4 ,the corpse of a  
,damara1 says ,galton1 having been sewn 
up in an old ox-hide is buried in a     
hole1 and the spectators jump backwards 
#jeh;and forwards over the grave to keep
 the deceased from rising out of it4 ,in
 ,america1 the ,tupis tied fast all the 
limbs of the corpse1 8that the dead man 
might not be able to get up1 and infest 
his friends with his visits40 ,you may  
even divert a river from its course1 as 
,mr4 ,frazer notes1 bury your dead man  
securely in its bed1 and then allow the 
stream to return to its channel4 ,it was
 thus that ,alaric was kept in his grave
 from further plaguing humanity2 and    
thus ,captain ,cameron found a tribe of 
,central ,africans compelled their      
deceased chiefs to 8cease from          
troubling40 ,sometimes1 again1 the grave
 is enclosed by a fence too high for the
 dead man to clear even with a running  
jump2 and sometimes the survivors take  
the prudent precaution of nailing the   

body securely to the coffin1 or of      
breaking their friend's spine1 or       
even--but this is an extreme case--of   
hacking him to pieces4 ,in ,christian   
,england the poor wretch whom misery had
 driven to suicide was prevented from   
roaming about to the discomfort of the  
lieges by being buried with a stake     
driven barbarously through him4 ,the    
,australians1 in like manner1 used to   
cut off the thumb of a slain enemy that 
he might be unable to draw the bow2 and 
the ,greeks were wont to hack off the   
extremities of their victims in order to
 incapacitate them for further fighting4
 ,these cases will be seen to be very   
luminiferous when we come to examine the
 origin and meaning of cremation4       
,burial1 then1 ,i take it1 is simply by 
origin a means adopted by the living to 
protect themselves against the vagrant  
tendencies of the actual dead4 ,for some
 occult reason1 the vast majority of men
 in all ages have been foolishly afraid 
of meeting with the spirits of the      

departed4 ,their great desire has been1 
not to see1 but to avoid seeing these   
singular visitants2 and for that purpose
 they invented1 first of all1 burial1   
and afterwards cremation4  ,the common  
modern conception of the ghost is       
certainly that of an immaterial or      
shadowy form1 which can be seen but not 
touched1 and which preserves an outer   
semblance #jeiof the human figure4 ,but 
that idea itself1 which has been        
imported into all our descriptions and  
reasonings about the ghost-beliefs of   
primitive man1 is1 ,i incline to think1 
very far from primitive1 and has been   
largely influenced by quite late        
conceptions derived from the cremational
 rather than the burial level of        
religious philosophy4 ,in other words1  
though1 in accordance with universal    
usage and ,mr4 ,frazer's precedent1 ,i  
have used the word 8ghost0 above in     
referring to these superstitious terrors
 of early man1 ,i believe it is far less
 the spirit than the actual corpse      

itself that early men even in this      
second stage were really afraid of4 ,it 
is the corpse that may come back and do 
harm to survivors4 ,it is the corpse    
that must be kept down by physical      
means1 that must be covered with earth1 
pressed flat beneath a big and ponderous
 stone1 deprived of its thumbs1 its     
hands1 its eyes1 its members4 ,true1 ,i 
believe the savage also thinks of the   
ghost or double as returning to earth2  
but his psychology1 ,i fancy1 is not so 
definite as to distinguish very         
accurately between corpse and spirit4   
,the accurate differentiation of the two
 belongs rather1 it seems to me1 to the 
post-cremational and more spiritual     
philosophy than to the primary or       
preservative1 and the secondary or      
inhumational4  ,anybody who looks at the
 evidence collected by ,mr4 ,frazer will
 see for himself that precautions are   
taken rather against the return of the  
actual physical body than against the   
return of the ghost or spirit4 ,or      

perhaps1 to be more precise1 the two are
 hardly thought of at this early stage  
in separation or antithesis4  ,if we    
look at the means taken to preserve the 
body after death among the majority of  
primitive peoples1 above the ,tasmanian 
level1 this truth of the corpse being   
itself immortal becomes clearer and     
clearer4 ,we are still1 in fact1 at a   
level where ghost and dead man are      
insufficiently differentiated4 ,in all  
these cases it is believed that the dead
 body continues to live in the grave the
 same sort of life that it led above    
ground2 and for this purpose it is      
provided #jfjwith weapons1 implements1  
utensils1 food1 vessels1 and all the    
necessaries of life for its new mansion4
 ,continued sentient existence of the   
body after death is the keynote of the  
earliest level of psychical philosophy4 
,first1 the corpse lives in the hut with
 its family3 later1 it lives in the     
grave with its forefathers4  ,but side  
by side with this nave belief in the    

continued existence of the body after   
death1 which survives into the          
inhumational stage of evolution1 goes   
another and apparently irreconcilable   
belief in a future resurrection4        
,strictly speaking1 of course1 if the   
body is still alive1 there is no need   
for any such special revivification4    
,but religious thought1 as we all know1 
does not always pride itself upon the   
temporal virtues of logic or            
consistency2 and the savage in          
particular is not in the least staggered
 at being asked to conceive of one and  
the same subject in two opposite and    
contradictory manners4 ,he does not     
bring the two incongruities into thought
 together2 he thinks them alternately1  
sometimes one1 sometimes the other4     
,even ,christian systematists are quite 
accustomed to combine the incongruous   
beliefs in a future resurrection and in 
the continued existence of the soul     
after death1 by supposing that the soul 
remains meanwhile in some nondescript   

limbo1 apart from its body--some        
uncertain ,sheol1 some dim hades or     
purgatory or 8place of departed         
spirits40 ,the savage is scarcely likely
 to be more exacting in this matter than
 our doctors of divinity4  ,it is the   
common belief of the second or          
inhumational stage1 then1 that there    
will be at some time or other a         
8,general ,resurrection40 ,no doubt this
 ,general ,resurrection has been slowly 
developed out of the belief in and      
expectation of many partial             
resurrections4 ,it is understood that   
each individual corpse will1 or may1    
resurge at some time3 therefore it is   
believed that all corpses together will 
resurge at a single particular moment4  
,so long as burial persists1 the belief 
in the ,resurrection persists beside it1
 #jfa;and forms a main feature in the   
current conception of the future life   
among the people who practise it4  ,how1
 then1 do we progress from this second  
or inhumational stage to the third stage

 with its practice of burning1 and its  
correlated dogma of the ,immortality of 
the ,soul8  ,in this way1 as it seems to
 me4 ,besides keeping down the ghost 7or
 corpse7 with clods and stones1 it was  
usual in many cases to adopt other still
 stronger persuasives and dissuasives in
 the same direction4 ,sometimes the     
persuasives were of the gentlest type2  
for example1 the dead man was often     
politely requested and adjured to remain
 quiet in the grave and to give no      
trouble4 ,but sometimes they were less  
bland2 the corpse was often pelted with 
sticks1 stones1 and hot coals1 in order 
to show him that his visits at home     
would not in future be appreciated4 ,the
 ordinary stake and mutilation treatment
 goes1 it is clear1 upon the same       
principle2 if the man has no feet or    
legs of his own1 he cannot very well    
walk back again4 ,but further           
developments of the like crude idea are 
to cut off the head1 to tear out the    
heart1 to hack the body in pieces1 to   

pour boiling water and vinegar over the 
dangerous place where the corpse lies   
buried4 ,now burning1 ,i take it1       
belonged originally to the same category
 of strong measures against refractory  
ghosts or corpses2 and this is the more 
probable owing to the fact that it is   
mentioned by ,mr4 ,frazer among the     
remedies recommended for use in the     
extreme case of vampires4 ,its original 
object was1 no doubt1 to prevent the    
corpse from returning in any way to the 
homes of the living4  ,once any people  
adopted burning as a regular custom1    
however1 the chances are that1 cteris   
paribus1 it would continue and spread4  
,for the practice of cremation is so    
much more wholesome and sanitary than   
the practice of burial that it would    
give a double advantage in the struggle 
for existence to any race that adopted  
it1 in peace and in war4 ,hence it is   
quite natural that when at a certain    
grade of culture certain races happened 
to light upon it #jfb;in this           

superstitious way1 those races would be 
likely to thrive and to take the lead in
 culture as long as no adverse          
circumstances counteracted the          
advantage4  ,but the superstitions and  
the false psychology which gave rise at 
first to the notion of a continued life 
after death would not1 of course1       
disappear with the introduction of      
burning4 ,the primitive cremationists   
may have hoped1 by reducing to ashes the
 bodies of their dead1 to prevent the   
recurrence of the corpse to the presence
 of the living2 but they could not      
prevent the recurrence of the ghost in  
the dreams of the survivors2 they could 
not prevent the wind that sighed about  
the dead man's grave1 the bats that     
flitted1 the vague noises that          
terrified1 the abiding sense of the     
corpse's presence4 ,all the factors that
 go to make up the ghost or the revenant
 7to use a safe word less liable to     
misinterpretation7 still remained as    
active as ever4 ,hence1 ,i believe1 with

 the introduction of cremation the      
conception of the ghost merely suffered 
an airy change4 ,he grew more shadowy1  
more immaterial1 more light1 more       
spiritual4 ,in one word1 he became1     
strictly speaking1 a ghost as we now    
understand the word1 not a returning    
dead man4 ,this conception of the ghost 
as essentially a shade or shadow belongs
 peculiarly1 it seems to me1 to the     
cremating peoples4 ,i can answer for it 
that among negroes1 for example1 the    
8duppy0 is conceived as quite a material
 object4 ,it is classical literature1   
the literature of the cremating ,greeks 
and ,romans1 that has familiarised us   
most with the idea of the ghost as      
shadowy and intangible4 ,burying races  
have more solid doubles4 ,when ,peter   
escaped from prison in ,jerusalem1 the  
assembled brethren were of opinion that 
it must be 8his angel40 ,the white woman
 who lived for years in a native        
,australian tribe was always spoken of  
by her hosts as a ghost4 ,in one word1  

at a low stage of culture the revenant  
is conceived of as material and earthly2
 at a higher stage1 he is conceived of  
as immaterial and shadowy4  ,now        
#jfcwhen people take to burning their   
dead1 it is clear they will no longer be
 able to believe in the ,resurrection of
 the ,body4 ,indeed1 if ,i am right in  
the theory here set forth1 it is just in
 order to prevent the ,resurrection of  
the ,body at inconvenient moments that  
they take to burning4 ,to be sure1      
civilised nations1 with their developed 
power of believing in miracles1 are     
capable of supposing1 not only that the 
sea will yield up its dead1 but also    
that burnt1 mangled1 or dispersed bodies
 will be collected from all parts to be 
put together again at the ,resurrection4
 ,this1 however1 is not the nave belief 
of simple and natural men4 ,to them1    
when you have burnt a body you have     
utterly destroyed it1 here and          
hereafter2 and we know that mutilation  
and burning were employed for this very 

purpose in the case of vampires and     
other corpses whose total suppression   
was desirable4 ,sepoys were blown from  
the guns in the ,indian mutiny for the  
express reason that1 according to the   
,hindu belief1 that method of disposing 
of them destroyed not only the body but 
the soul as well--got rid of them       
entirely4 ,the ordinary human idea is   
that when you burn a body you simply    
annihilate it2 and on that very account 
early ,christians preferred burial to   
cremation1 because they thought they    
stood thereby a better chance at the    
,resurrection4 ,it is true they allowed 
that the divine omnipotence could make  
new bodies for the martyrs who were     
burnt2 but for themselves1 they seem to 
have preferred on the average to go on  
afresh with their old familiar ones4    
,naturally1 therefore1 among cremating  
peoples1 the doctrine of the            
,resurrection of the ,body tended to go 
out1 and what replaced it was the       
doctrine of the ,immortality of the     

,soul4 ,you may burn the body1 but the  
spirit still survives2 and the survival 
gives origin to a new philosophy of     
ghosts and revenants1 a new idea of the 
inner nature of ghosthood4 ,gradually   
the spirit gets to be conceived as      
diviner essence1 entangled and          
imprisoned1 as it were1 in the meshes of
 the flesh1 and only to be set free by  
means #jfdof fire1 which thus becomes   
envisaged at last as friendly rather    
than destructive in its action on the   
dead body4 ,what was at first a         
precaution against the return of the    
corpse becomes in the end a pious duty2 
just as burial itself1 originally a     
selfish precaution against the pranks   
and tricks of returning corpses1 becomes
 in the end so sacred and imperative    
that unburied ghosts are conceived as   
wandering about1 ,archytas-wise1 begging
 for the favour of a handful of sand to 
prevent them from homeless vagabondage  
for ever4 ,nations who burn come to     
regard the act of burning as the        

appointed means for freeing the ghost   
from the confining meshes of the body1  
and regard it rather as a solemn duty to
 the dead than as a personal precaution4
  ,not only so1 but there arises among  
them a vague and fanciful conception of 
the world of shades very different      
indeed from the definite and material   
conception of the two earlier stages4   
,the mummy was looked upon as inhabiting
 the tomb1 which was furnished and      
decorated for its reception like a      
house2 and it was provided with every   
needful article for use and comfort4    
,even the buried body was supplied with 
tools and implements for the ghost4 ,the
 necessities of the shade are quite     
different and more shadowy4 ,he has no  
need of earthly tools or implements4    
,the objects found in the ,long ,barrows
 of the burying folk and the ,round     
,barrows of the cremationists well      
illustrate this primordial and          
far-reaching difference4 ,the ,long     
,barrows of the ,stone ,age people are  

piled above an interment2 they contain a
 chambered tomb1 which is really the    
subterranean home or palace of the body 
buried in it4 ,the wives and slaves of  
the deceased were killed and interred   
with him to keep him company in his new 
life in the grave2 and implements1      
weapons1 drinking-cups1 games1 trinkets1
 and ornaments were buried with their   
owners4 ,the life in the grave was all  
as material and real as this one2 the   
same objects that served the warrior in 
this world would equally serve him in   
the same form in the next4 #jfe;,it is  
quite different with the ,round ,barrows
 of the ,bronze ,age cremationists4     
,these barrows are piled round an urn41 
which determines the shape of the       
tumulus1 as the chambered tomb and the  
corpse determine the shape of the       
earlier ,stone ,age interments4 ,they   
contain ashes alone2 and the implements 
and weapons placed in them are all      
broken or charred with fire4 ,why8      
,because the ghost1 immaterial as he has

 now become1 can no longer make use of  
solid earthly weapons or utensils4 ,it  
is only their ghosts or shadows that can
 be of any use to the ghostly possessor 
in the land of shades4 ,hence everything
 he needs is burnt or broken1 in order  
that its ghost may be released and      
liberated2 and all material objects are 
now conceived as possessing such ghosts1
 which can be utilised accordingly in   
the world of spirits4  ,note also that  
with this advance from the surviving or 
revivable ,corpse to the immortal ,soul 
or ,spirit1 there goes almost naturally 
and necessarily a correlative advance   
from continued but solitary life in the 
tomb to a freer and wider life in an    
underground world of shades and spirits4
 ,the ghost gets greatly liberated and  
emancipated4 ,he has more freedom of    
movement1 and becomes a citizen of an   
organised community1 often envisaged as 
ruled over by a ,king of the ,dead1 and 
as divided into places of reward and    
punishment4 ,but while we modern        

,europeans pretend to be                
resurrectionists1 it is a fact that our 
current ghostly and eschatological      
conceptions 7,i speak of the world at   
large1 not of mere scholastic           
theologians7 have been largely          
influenced by ideas derived from this   
opposite doctrine--a doctrine once held 
by many or most of our own ancestors1   
and familiarised to us from childhood in
 classical literature4 ,in fact1 while  
most ,englishmen of the present day     
believe they believe in the             
,resurrection of the ,body1 what they   
really believe in is the ,immortality of
 the ,soul44  ,it might seem at first   
sight as though a grave discrepancy     
existed between the two incongruous     
ideas1 first of burying #jffor burning  
your dead so that they may not be able  
to return or to molest you1 and second  
of worshipping at their graves or making
 offerings to their disembodied spirits4
 ,but to the savage mind these two      
conceptions are by no means             

irreconcilable4 ,while he jumps upon the
 corpse of his friend or his father to  
keep it in the narrow pit he has digged 
for it1 he yet brings it presents of    
food and drink1 or slays animals at the 
tomb1 that the ghost may be refreshed by
 the blood that trickles down to it4    
,indeed1 several intermediate customs   
occur1 which help us to bridge over the 
apparent gulf between reverential       
preservation of the mummified body1 and 
the coarse precautions of burial or     
burning4 ,thus1 in many cases1 some of  
which we shall examine in the next      
chapter1 after the body has been for    
some time buried1 the head is           
disinterred1 and treasured with care in 
the family oratory1 where it is         
worshipped and tended1 and where it     
often gives oracles to the members of   
the household4 ,a ceremonial washing is 
almost always a feature in this         
reception of the head2 it recurs again  
and again in various cases1 down to the 
enshrinement of the head of ,hoseyn at  

,cairo1 and that of ,st4 ,denis at the  
abbey of the same name1 to both of which
 we shall allude once more at a far     
later stage of our enquiry4 ,for the    
present1 it must suffice to say that the
 ceremonial and oracular preservation of
 the head--the part which sees1 and     
speaks1 and eats1 and drinks1 and       
listens--is a common feature in all     
religious usages2 that it gives rise    
apparently to the collections of family 
skulls which adorn so many savage huts  
and oratories2 that it may be answerable
 ultimately for the ,roman busts and    
many other imitative images of the dead1
 in which the head alone is represented2
 and that when transferred to the sacred
 human or animal victim 7himself1 as we 
shall hereafter see1 a slain god71 it   
seems to account for the human heads    
hung up by the ,dyaks and other savages 
about their houses1 as also for the     
skulls of oxen and other sacred animals 
habitually displayed on the front of    
places of #jfgworship1 whose last relic 

is the sculptured oxen's heads which    
fill the metopes in some ,greek and most
 ,roman temples4 ,much of this1 ,i      
admit1 will be little comprehensible to 
the reader at the present stage of our  
argument3 but ,i beg him to bear in mind
 provisionally this oracular and        
representative value of the head or     
skull from this point forth2 he will    
find1 as he proceeds1 its meaning will  
become clearer and ever clearer at each 
successive stage of our exposition4  ,i 
ought also to add that between complete 
preservation of the corpse and the      
practice of burial there seems to have  
gone another intermediate stage1 now    
comparatively rare1 but once very       
general1 if we may judge from the traces
 it has left behind it--a stage when all
 the body or part of it was             
sacramentally eaten by the survivors as 
an act of devotion4 ,we will consider   
this curious and revolting practice more
 fully when we reach the abstruse       
problem of sacrifice and sacrament2 for 

the present it will suffice to say that 
in many instances1 in ,australia1 ,south
 ,america1 and elsewhere1 the body is   
eaten1 while only the bones are burned  
or buried4 ,among these savages1 again1 
it usually happens that the head is     
cleaned of its flesh by cooking1 while  
the skull is ceremonially washed1 and   
preserved as an object of household     
veneration and an oracular deity4       
,instances will be quoted in succeeding 
chapters4  ,thus1 between the care taken
 to prevent returns of the corpse1 and  
the worship paid to the ghost or shade1 
primitive races feel no such sense of   
discrepancy or incongruity as would     
instantly occur to civilised people4    
,the three stages in human ideas with   
which this chapter deals may be shortly 
summed up as corpse-worship1            
ghost-worship1 and shade-worship4       
,,chapter ,,iv4--,,the ,,origin ,,of    
,,gods4  ,,mr4 #jfh;,herbert ,spencer   
has traced so admirably in his          
,principles of ,sociology the progress  

of development from the ,ghost to the   
,god that ,i do not propose in this     
chapter to attempt much more than a     
brief recapitulation of his main        
propositions1 which1 however1 ,i shall  
supplement with fresh examples1 and     
adapt at the same time to the conception
 of three successive stages in human    
ideas about the ,life of the ,dead1 as  
set forth in the preceding argument4    
,but the hasty resume which ,i shall    
give at present will be fleshed out     
incidentally at a later point by        
consideration of several national       
religions4  ,in the earliest stage of   
all--the stage where the actual bodies  
of the dead are preserved1--,gods as    
such are for the most part unknown3 it  
is the corpses of friends and ancestors 
that are worshipped and reverenced4 ,for
 example1 ,ellis says of the corpse of a
 ,tahitian chief that it was placed in a
 sitting posture under a protecting     
shed2 8a small altar was erected before 
it1 and offerings of fruit1 food1 and   

flowers were daily presented by the     
relatives1 or the priest appointed to   
attend the body40 7,this point about the
 priest is of essential importance47    
,the ,central ,americans1 again1 as ,mr4
 ,spencer notes1 performed similar rites
 before bodies dried by artificial heat4
 ,the ,new ,guinea people1 as           
,d',albertis found1 worship the dried   
mummies of their fathers and husbands4  
,a little higher in the scale1 we get   
the developed mummy-worship of ,egypt   
and ,peru1 which survives even after the
 evolution #jfiof greater gods1 from    
powerful kings or chieftains4 ,other    
evidence in abundance has been adduced  
from ,polynesia and from ,africa4       
,wherever the actual bodies of the dead 
are preserved1 there also worship and   
offerings are paid to them4  ,often1    
however1 as already noted1 it is not the
 whole body but the head alone that is  
specially kept and worshipped4 ,thus    
,mr4 ,h4 ,o4 ,forbes says of the people 
of ,buru3 8,the dead are buried in the  

forest in some secluded spot1 marked    
often by a merang or grave-pole2 over   
which at certain intervals the relatives
 place tobacco1 cigarettes1 and various 
offerings4 ,when the body is decomposed1
 the son or nearest relative disinters  
the head1 wraps a new cloth about it1   
and places it in the ,matakau at the    
back of his house1 or in a little hut   
erected for it near the grave4 ,it is   
the representative of his forefathers1  
whose behests he holds in the greatest  
respect40  ,two points are worthy of    
notice in this interesting account1 as  
giving us an anticipatory hint of two   
further accessories whose evolution we  
must trace hereafter2 first the         
grave-stake1 which is probably the      
origin of the wooden idol2 and second1  
the little hut erected over the head by 
the side of the grave1 which is         
undoubtedly one of the origins of the   
temple or praying-house4 ,observe also  
the ceremonial wrapping of the skull in 
cloth1 and its oracular functions4      

,similarly1 ,mr4 ,wyatt ,gill1 the      
well-known missionary1 writes of a dead 
baby at ,boera1 in ,new ,guinea3 8,it   
will be covered with two inches of soil1
 the friends watching beside the grave2 
but eventually the skull and smaller    
bones will be preserved and worn by the 
mother40 ,and of the ,suau people he    
says3 8,enquiring the use of several    
small houses1 ,i learned that it is to  
cover grave-pits4 ,all the members of a 
family at death occupy the same grave1  
the earth that thinly covered the last  
occupant being scooped out to admit the 
newcomer4 ,these graves are shallow2 the
 dead are buried in a sitting posture1  
hands folded4 #jgj,the earth is thrown  
in up to the mouth only4 ,an earthen pot
 covers the head4 ,after a time the pot 
is taken off1 the perfect skull removed 
and cleansed--eventually to be hung up  
in a basket or net inside the dwelling  
of the deceased over the fire1 to       
blacken in the smoke40 ,in ,africa1     
again1 the skull is frequently preserved

 in such a pot and prayed to4 ,in       
,america1 earthenware pots have been    
found moulded round human skulls in     
mounds at ,new ,madrid and elsewhere2   
the skull cannot be removed without     
breaking the vessel4 ,indeed1 this      
curious method of preservation in pots  
seems to be very widespread2 we get     
perhaps a vague hint or reminiscence of 
its former prevalence in ,europe in the 
story of ,isabella and the pot of basil4
  ,the special selection and            
preservation of the head as an object of
 worship thus noted in ,new ,guinea and 
the ,malay ,archipelago is also still   
found among many other primitive        
peoples4 ,for instance1 the ,andamanese 
widows keep the skulls of their husbands
 as a precious possession3 and the ,new 
,caledonians1 in case of sickness or    
calamities1 8present offerings of food  
to the skulls of the departed40 ,mr4    
,spencer quotes several similar         
examples1 a few of which alone ,i       
extract from his pages4  8#8,in the     

private fetish-hut of ,king ,adolee1 at 
,badagry1 the skull of that monarch's   
father is preserved in a clay vessel    
placed in the earth4' ,he #8gently      
rebukes it if his success does not      
happen to answer his expectations4'     
,similarly among the ,mandans1 who place
 the skulls of their dead in a circle1  
each wife knows the skull of her former 
husband or child1 #8and there seldom    
passes a day that she does not visit it1
 with a dish of the best cooked food4444
 ,there is scarcely an hour in a        
pleasant day1 but more or less of these 
women may be seen sitting or lying by   
the skull of their child or             
husband--talking to it in the most      
pleasant and endearing language that    
they can use 7as they were wont to do in
 former days71 and seemingly getting an 
answer back4'0  ,this #jga;affectionate 
type of converse with the dead1 almost  
free from fear1 is especially           
characteristic of the first or          
corpse-preserving stage of human        

death-conceptions4 ,it seldom survives  
where burial has made the feeling toward
 the corpse a painful or loathsome one1 
and it is then confined to the head     
alone1 while the grave itself with the  
body it encloses is rather shunned and  
dreaded4  ,a little above this level1   
,mr4 ,du ,chaillu notes that some of his
 ,west ,african followers1 when going on
 an expedition1 brought out the skulls  
of their ancestors 7which they          
religiously preserved7 and scraped off  
small portions of the bone1 which they  
mixed with water and drank2 giving as a 
reason for this conduct that their      
ancestors were brave1 and that by       
drinking a portion of them they too     
became brave and fearless like their    
ancestors4 ,here we have a simple and   
early case of that habit of 8eating the 
god0 to whose universality and          
importance ,mr4 ,frazer has so forcibly 
called attention1 and which we must     
examine at full in a subsequent chapter4
  ,throughout the earlier and ruder     

phases of human evolution1 this         
primitive conception of ancestors or    
dead relatives as the chief known       
objects of worship survives undiluted3  
and ancestor-worship remains to this day
 the principal religion of the ,chinese1
 and of several other peoples4 ,gods1 as
 such1 are practically unknown in       
,china4 ,ancestor-worship also survives 
in many other races as one of the main  
cults1 even after other elements of     
later religion have been superimposed   
upon it4 ,in ,greece and ,rome1 it      
remained to the last an important part  
of domestic ritual4 ,but in most cases1 
a gradual differentiation is set up in  
time between various classes of ghosts  
or dead persons1 some ghosts being      
considered of more importance and power 
than others2 and out of these last it is
 that gods as a rule are finally        
developed4 ,a god1 in fact1 is in the   
beginning at least an exceptionally     
powerful and friendly ghost--a ghost    
able to help1 and from whose help great 

things may reasonably be expected4      
,again1 #jgbthe rise of chieftainship   
and kingship has much to do with the    
growth of a higher conception of        
godhead2 a dead king of any great power 
or authority is sure to be thought of in
 time as a god of considerable          
importance4 ,we shall trace out this    
idea more fully hereafter in the        
religion of ,egypt2 for the present it  
must suffice to say that the supposed   
power of the gods in each pantheon has  
regularly increased in proportion to the
 increased power of kings or emperors4  
,when we pass from the first plane of   
corpse-preservation and mummification to
 the second plane where burial is       
habitual1 it might seem at a hasty      
glance as though continued worship of   
the dead1 and their elevation into gods1
 would no longer be possible4 ,for we   
saw that burial is prompted by a deadly 
fear lest the corpse or ghost should    
return to plague the living4            
,nevertheless1 natural affection for    

parents or friends1 and the desire to   
ensure their good will and aid1 make    
these seemingly contrary ideas          
reconcilable4 ,as a matter of fact1 we  
find that even when men bury or burn    
their dead1 they continue to worship    
them3 while1 as we shall show in the    
sequel1 even the great stones which they
 roll on top of the grave to prevent the
 dead from rising again become in time  
altars on which sacrifices are offered  
to the spirit4  ,in these two later     
stages of thought with regard to the    
dead which accompany burial and         
cremation1 the gods1 indeed1 grow more  
and more distinct from minor ghosts with
 an accelerated rapidity of evolution4  
,they grow greater in proportion to the 
rise of temples and hierarchies4        
,furthermore1 the very indefiniteness of
 the bodiless ghost tells in favour of  
an enlarged godship4 ,the gods are      
thought of as more and more aerial and  
immaterial1 less definitely human in    
form and nature2 they are clothed with  

mighty attributes2 they assume colossal 
size2 they are even identified with the 
sun1 the moon1 the great powers of      
nature4 ,but they are never quite       
omnipotent during the polytheistic      
stage1 because in a pantheon they are   
#jgcnecessarily mutually limiting4 ,even
 in the ,greek and ,roman civilisation1 
it is clear that the gods were not      
commonly envisaged by ordinary minds as 
much more than human2 for ,pisistratus  
dressed up a courtesan at ,athens to    
represent ,pallas ,athene1 and imposed  
by this cheap theatrical trick upon the 
vulgar ,athenians2 while ,paul and      
,barnabas were taken at ,lystra for     
,zeus and ,hermes4 ,many similar        
instances will occur at once to the     
classical scholar4 ,it is only quite    
late1 under the influence of monotheism1
 that the exalted conceptions of deity  
now prevalent began to form themselves  
in ,judaism and ,christianity4  ,mere   
domestic ancestor-worship1 once more1   
could scarcely give us the origin of    

anything more than domestic             
religion--the cult of the manes1 the    
household gods1 as distinct from that of
 the tribal and national deities4 ,but  
kingship supplies us with the missing   
link4 ,we have seen in ,mr4 ,duff       
,macdonaldrsquo2s account of the        
,central ,african god-making how the    
worship of the chief's ancestors gives  
rise to tribal or village gods2 and it  
is clear how1 as chieftainship and      
kingship widen1 national gods of far    
higher types may gradually evolve from  
these early monarchs4 ,especially must  
we take the time-element into account1  
remembering that the earlier ancestors  
get at last to be individually forgotten
 as men1 and remain in memory only as   
supernatural beings4 ,thus kingship     
rapidly reacts upon godship4 ,if the    
living king himself is great1 how much  
greater must be the ancestor whom even  
the king himself fears and worships2 and
 how infinitely greater still that yet  
earlier god1 the ancestor's ancestor1   

whom the ancestor himself revered and   
propitiated6 ,in some such way there    
grows up gradually a hierarchy of gods1 
among whom the oldest1 and therefore the
 least known1 are usually in the end the
 greatest of any4  ,the consolidation of
 kingdoms and empires1 and the advance  
of the arts1 tell strongly with         
concurrent force in these directions2   
while the invention of written language 
sets #jgd;a final seal on the godhead   
and might of great early ancestors4     
,among very primitive tribes1 indeed1 we
 find as a rule only very domestic and  
recent objects of worship4 ,the chief   
prays for the most part to his own      
father and his immediate predecessors4  
,the more ancient ancestors1 as ,mr4    
,duff ,macdonald has so well pointed    
out1 grow rapidly into oblivion4 ,but   
with more advanced races1 various       
agencies arise which help to keep in    
mind the early dead2 and in very evolved
 communities these agencies1 reaching a 
high pitch of evolution1 make the recent

 gods or kings or ghosts seem           
comparatively unimportant by the side of
 the very ancient and very              
long-worshipped ones4 ,more than of any 
other thing1 it may be said of a god1   
vires acquirit eundo4 ,thus1 in advanced
 types of society1 saints or gods of    
recent origin assume but secondary or   
minor importance2 while the highest and 
greatest gods of all are those of the   
remotest antiquity1 whose human history 
is lost from our view in the dim mist of
 ages4  ,three such agencies of prime   
importance in the transition from the   
mere ghost to the fully developed god   
must here be mentioned4 ,they are the   
rise of temples1 of idols1 and1 above   
all1 of priesthoods4 ,each of these we  
must now consider briefly but           
separately4  ,the origin of the ,temple 
is various2 but all temples may         
nevertheless be reduced in the last     
resort either into graves of the dead1  
or into places where worship is         
specially offered up to them4 ,this     

truth1 which ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer     
arrived at by examination of the reports
 of travellers or historians1 and worked
 up in connection with his ,principles  
of ,sociology1 was independently arrived
 at through quite a different line of   
observation and reasoning by ,mr4       
,william ,simpson1 the well-known artist
 of the ,illustrated ,london ,news4 ,mr4
 ,simpson has probably visited a larger 
number of places of worship all over the
 world than any other traveller of any  
generation3 and he was early impressed  
by the fact which forced itself upon his
 eyes1 that almost every one of them1   
where its origin could be #jgetraced1   
turned out to be a tomb in one form or  
another4 ,he has set forth the results  
of his researches in this direction in  
several admirable papers1 all of which1 
but especially the one entitled ,the    
,worship of ,death1 ,i can confidently  
recommend to the serious attention of   
students of religion4 ,they contain the 
largest collection of instances in this 

matter ever yet made2 and they show     
beyond a doubt the affiliation of the   
very idea of a temple on the tomb or    
grave of some distinguished dead person1
 famous for his power1 his courage1 or  
his saintliness4  ,the cave is probably 
the first form of the ,temple4          
,sometimes the dead man is left in the  
cave which he inhabited when living2 an 
instance of which we have already       
noticed among the ,veddahs of ,ceylon4  
,in other cases1 where races have       
outgrown the custom of cave-dwelling1   
the habit of cave-burial1 or rather of  
laying the dead in caves or in          
artificial grottoes1 still continues    
through the usual conservatism of       
religious feeling4 ,offerings are made  
to the dead in all these various caves3 
and here we get the beginnings of       
cave-temples4 ,such temples are at first
 of course either natural or extremely  
rude2 but they soon begin to be         
decorated with rough frescoes1 as is    
done1 for example1 by the ,south        

,african ,bushmen4 ,these frescoes again
 give rise in time by slow degrees to   
such gorgeous works as those of the     
,tombs of the ,kings at ,thebes2 each of
 which has attached to it a magnificent 
temple as its mortuary chapel4          
,sculpture is similarly employed on the 
decoration of cave-temples2 and we get  
the final result of such artistic       
ornament in splendid cave-temples like  
those of ,ellora4 ,both arts were       
employed together in the beautiful and  
interesting ,etruscan tomb-temples4  ,in
 another class of cases1 the hut where  
the dead man lived is abandoned at his  
death by his living relations1 and thus 
becomes a rudimentary ,temple where     
offerings are made to him4 ,this is the 
case with the ,hottentots1 to take an   
instance at a very low grade of culture4
 ,of a ,new ,guinea #jgf;hut-burial1    
,mr4 ,chalmers says3 8,the chief is     
buried in the centre2 a mat was spread  
over the grave1 on which ,i was asked to
 sit until they had a weeping40 ,this   

weeping is generally performed by       
women--a touch which leads us on to     
,adonis and ,osiris rites1 and to the   
,christian ,piet4 ,mr4 ,spencer has     
collected several other excellent       
examples4 ,thus1 the ,arawaks place the 
corpse in a small boat and bury it in   
the hut2 among the ,creeks1 the         
habitation of the dead becomes his place
 of interment2 the ,fantees likewise    
bury the dead person in his own house2  
and the ,yucatanese 8as a rule abandoned
 the house1 and left it uninhabited     
after the burial40 ,i will not multiply 
quotations2 it will be better to refer  
the reader to ,mr4 ,spencer's own pages1
 where a sufficient number of           
confirmatory examples are collected to  
satisfy any but the most prejudiced     
critic4 8,as repeated supplies of food  
are taken to the abandoned house10 says 
,mr4 ,spencer1 8and as along with making
 offerings there go other propitiatory  
acts1 the deserted dwelling house1      
turned into a mortuary house1 acquires  

the attributes of a temple40  ,a third  
origin for ,temples is found in the     
shed1 hut1 or shelter1 erected over the 
grave1 either for the protection of the 
dead or for the convenience of the      
living who bring their offerings4 ,thus1
 in parts of ,new ,guinea1 according to 
,mr4 ,chalmers1 8,the natives bury their
 dead in the front of their dwellings1  
and cover the grave with a small house1 
in which the near relatives sleep for   
several months40  8,where house-burial  
is not practised10 says ,mr4 ,spencer1  
once more1 8the sheltering structure    
raised above the grave1 or above the    
stage bearing the corpse1 becomes the   
germ of the sacred building4 ,by some of
 the ,new ,guinea people there is a     
#8roof of atap erected over' the        
burial-place4 ,in ,cook's time the      
,tahitians placed the body of a dead    
person upon a kind of bier supported by 
sticks and under a roof4 ,so1 too1 in   
,sumatra1 where #8a shed is built over' 
the grave2 and so1 too1 in ,tonga4 ,of  

course #jggthis shed admits of          
enlargement and finish4 ,the ,dyaks in  
some places build mausoleums like       
houses1 #ah feet high1 ornamentally     
carved1 containing the goods of the     
departed--sword1 shield1 paddle1 etc4   
,when we read that the ,fijians deposit 
the bodies of their chiefs in small     
enbures or temples1 we may fairly       
conclude that these so-called temples   
are simply more-developed sheltering    
structures4 ,still more clearly did the 
customs of the ,peruvians show that the 
structure erected over the dead body    
develops into a temple4 ,acosta tells us
 that lsquo2every one of these kings    
,yncas left all his treasure and        
revenues to entertaine the place of     
worshippe where his body was layed1 and 
there were many ministers with all their
 familie dedicated to his service4'0    
,note in the last touch1 by             
anticipation1 one origin of priesthood4 
,on the other hand1 we saw in ,mr4 ,duff
 ,macdonald's account of the ,central   

,african natives that those savages do  
not worship at the actual grave itself4 
,in this case1 terror of the revenant   
seems to prevent the usual forms of     
homage at the tomb of the deceased4     
,moreover1 the ghost being now conceived
 as more or less freely separable from  
the corpse1 it will be possible to      
worship it in some place remote from the
 dreaded cemetery4 ,hence these         
,africans ldquo2seek the spirit at the  
place where their departed kinsman last 
lived among them4 ,it is the great tree 
at the verandah of the dead man's house 
that is their temple3 and if no tree    
grow here1 they erect a little shade1   
and there perform their simple rites40  
,we have in this case yet another       
possible origin for certain temples1 and
 also1 ,i will add by anticipation of a 
future chapter1 for the sacred tree1    
which is so common an object of pious   
adoration in many countries4  ,beginning
 with such natural caves or such humble 
huts1 the ,temple assumes larger        

proportions and more beautiful          
decorations with the increase of art and
 the growth of kingdoms4 ,especially1 as
 we see in the tomb-temples and pyramids
 #jghof ,egypt and ,peru1 does it assume
 great size and acquire costly ornaments
 when it is built by a powerful king for
 himself during his own lifetime4       
,temple-tombs of this description reach 
a high point of artistic development in 
such a building as the so-called        
,treasury of ,atreus at ,mycen1 which is
 really the sepulchre of some nameless  
prehistoric monarch4 ,it is admirably   
reconstructed in ,perrot and ,chipiez4  
,obviously1 the importance and          
magnificence of the temple will react   
upon the popular conception of the      
importance and magnificence of the god  
who inhabits it4 ,and conversely1 as the
 gods grow greater and greater1 more art
 and more constructive skill will       
constantly be devoted to the building   
and decoration of their permanent homes4
 ,thus in ,egypt the tomb was often more

 carefully built and splendidly         
decorated than the house2 because the   
house was inhabited for a short time    
only1 but the tomb for eternity4        
,moreover1 as kings grew more powerful1 
they often adorned the temples of their 
ancestors with emulous pride1 to show   
their own greatness4 ,in ,egypt1 once   
more1 the original part of all the more 
important temples is but a small dark   
cell1 of early origin1 to which one     
successive king after another in later  
dynasties added statelier and ever      
statelier antechambers or porches1 so   
that at last the building assumed the   
gigantic size and noble proportions of  
,karnak and ,luxor4 ,this access of     
importance to the temple cannot have    
failed to add correspondingly to the    
dignity of the god2 so that1 as time    
went on1 instead of the early kings     
being forgotten and no longer           
worshipped1 they assumed ever greater   
and greater importance from the         
magnificence of the works in which their

 memory was enshrined4 ,to the very end1
 the god depends largely on his house   
for impressiveness4 ,how much did not   
,hellenic religion itself owe to the    
,parthenon and the temple of ,olympian  
,zeus6 ,how much does not ,christianity 
itself owe to ,lincoln and ,durham1 to  
,amiens and ,chartres1 to ,milan and    
,pisa1 to ,st4 ,mark's and #jgj,st4     
,peter's6 ,men cannot believe that the  
deities worshipped in such noble and    
dimly religious shrines were once human 
like themselves1 compact of the same    
bodies1 parts1 and passions4 ,yet in the
 last instance at least we know the     
great works to be raised in honour of a 
single ,lower ,syrian peasant4  ,with   
this brief and imperfect notice of the  
origin of temples1 which will indirectly
 be expanded in later portions of my    
work1 ,i pass on from the consideration 
of the sacred building itself to that of
 the ,idol who usually dwells within it4
  ,where burial prevails1 and where arts
 are at a low stage of development1 the 

memory of the dead is not likely to     
survive beyond two or three generations4
 ,but where mummification is the rule1  
there is no reason why deceased persons 
should not be preserved and worshipped  
for an indefinite period2 and we know   
that in ,egypt at least the cult of     
kings who died in the most remote times 
of the ,early ,empire was carried on    
regularly down to the days of the       
,ptolemies4 ,in such a case as this1    
there is absolutely no need for idols to
 arise2 the corpse itself is the chief  
object of worship4 ,we do find          
accordingly that both in ,egypt and in  
,peru the worship of the mummy played a 
large part in the local religions2      
though sometimes it alternated with the 
worship of other holy objects1 such as  
the image or the sacred stone1 which we 
shall see hereafter to have had a like  
origin4 ,but in many other countries1   
where bodies were less visibly and      
obviously preserved1 the worship due to 
the ghost or god was often paid to a    

simulacrum or idol2 so much so that     
8idolatry0 has become in ,christian     
parlance the common term for most forms 
of worship other than monotheistic4     
,now what is the origin and meaning of  
,idols1 and how can they be affiliated  
upon primitive corpse or ghost worship8 
,like the temple1 the ,idol1 ,i believe1
 has many separate origins1 several of  
which have been noted by ,mr4 ,herbert  
,spencer1 #jhjwhile others1 it seems to 
me1 have escaped the notice even of that
 profound and acute observer4  ,the     
earliest ,idols1 if ,i may be allowed   
the contradictory expression1 are not   
idols at all--not images or             
representations of the dead person1 but 
actual bodies1 preserved and mummified4 
,these pass readily1 however1 into      
various types of representative figures4
 ,for in the first place the mummy      
itself is usually wrapped round in      
swathing-cloths which obscure its       
features2 and in the second place it is 
frequently enclosed in a wooden         

mummy-case1 which is itself most often  
rudely human in form1 and which has     
undoubtedly given rise to certain forms 
of idols4 ,thus1 the images of ,amun1   
,khem1 ,osiris1 and ,ptah among         
,egyptian gods are frequently or        
habitually those of a mummy in a        
mummy-case4 ,but furthermore1 the mummy 
itself is seldom or never the entire    
man2 the intestines at least have been  
removed1 or even1 as in ,new ,guinea1   
the entire mass of flesh1 leaving only  
the skin and the skeleton4 ,the eyes1   
again1 are often replaced1 as in ,peru1 
by some other imitative object1 so as to
 keep up the lifelike appearance4 ,cases
 like these lead on to others1 where the
 image or idol gradually supersedes     
altogether the corpse or mummy4  ,mr4   
,h4 ,o4 ,forbes gives an interesting    
instance of such a transitional stage in
 ,timorlaut4 8,the bodies of those who  
die in war or by a violent death are    
buried1rdquo2 he says2 8and if the head 
has been captured by the enemy1 a       

cocoanut is placed in the grave to      
represent the missing member1 and to    
deceive and satisfy his spirit40 ,there 
is abundant evidence that such makeshift
 limbs or bodies amply suffice for the  
use of the soul1 when the actual corpse 
has been destroyed or mutilated4        
,sometimes1 indeed1 the substitution of 
parts is deliberate and intentional4    
,landa says of the ,yucatanese that they
 cut oft the heads of the ancient lords 
of ,cocom when they died1 and cleared   
them from flesh by cooking them 7very   
probably to eat at a sacrificial feast1 
of which more hereafter72 then they     
sawed #jhaoff the top of the skull1     
filled in the rest of the head with     
cement1 and1 making the face as like as 
possible to the original possessor1 kept
 these images along with the statues and
 the ashes4 ,note here the usual        
preservation of the head as             
exceptionally sacred4 ,in other cases1  
they made for their fathers wooden      
statues1 put in the ashes of the burnt  

body1 and attached the skin of the      
occiput taken off the corpse4 ,these    
images1 half mummy1 half idol1 were kept
 in the oratories of their houses1 and  
were greatly reverenced and assiduously 
cared for4 ,on all the festivals1 food  
and drink were offered to them4  ,mr4   
,spencer has collected other interesting
 instances of this transitional stage   
between the corpse or mummy and the mere
 idol4 ,the ,mexicans1 who were         
cremationists1 used to burn a dead lord1
 and collect the ashes2 8and after      
kneading them with human blood1 they    
made of them an image of the deceased1  
which was kept in memory of him40       
,sometimes1 as in ,yucatan1 the ashes   
were placed in a man-shaped receptacle  
of clay1 and temples or oratories were  
erected over them4 8,in yet other       
cases10 says ,mr4 ,spencer1 8there is   
worship of the relics1 joined with the  
representative figure1 not by inclusion1
 but only by proximity40 ,thus ,gomara  
tells us that the ,mexicans having burnt

 the body of their deceased king1       
gathered up the ashes1 bones1 jewels1   
and gold in cloths1 and made a figure   
dressed as a man1 before which1 as well 
as before the relics1 offerings were    
placed4 ,it is clear that cremation     
specially lends itself to such          
substitution of an image for the actual 
dead body4 ,among burying races it is   
the severed skull1 on the contrary1 that
 is oftenest preserved and worshipped4  
,the transition from such images to     
small stone sarcophagi1 like those of   
the ,etruscan tombs1 is by no means a   
great one4 ,these sarcophagi contained  
the burnt ashes of the dead1 but were   
covered by a lid which usually          
represented the deceased1 reclining1 as 
if at a banquet1 with a beaker in his   
hands4 ,the tombs in which the          
sarcophagi were placed were of two      
types2 one1 the stone pyramid or        
#jhb;cone1 which1 says ,dr4 ,isaac      
,taylor1 8is manifestly a survival of   
the tumulus02 the other1 the rock-cut   

chamber1 8which is a survival of the    
cave40 ,these lordly graves are no mere 
cheerless sepulchres2 they are abodes   
for the dead1 constructed on the model  
of the homes of the living4 ,they       
contain furniture and pottery2 and their
 walls are decorated with costly mural  
paintings4 ,they are also usually       
provided with an antechamber1 where the 
family could assemble at the annual     
feast to do homage to the spirits of    
departed ancestors1 who shared in the   
meal from their sculptured sarcophagus  
lids4  ,at a further stage of distance  
from the primitive mummy-idol we come   
upon the image pure and simple4 ,the    
,mexicans1 for example1 as we have seen1
 were cremationists2 and when men killed
 in battle were missing1 they made      
wooden figures of them1 which they      
honoured1 and then burnt them in place  
of the bodies4 ,in somewhat the same    
spirit the ,egyptians used to place     
beside the mummy itself an image of the 
dead1 to act as a refuge or receptacle  

for the soul1 8in case of the accidental
 destruction of the actual body40 ,so   
the ,mexicans once more1 if one of their
 merchants died on a journey1 were      
accustomed to make a statue of wood in  
the shape of the deceased1 to which they
 paid all the honours they would have   
done to his actual corpse before burning
 it4 ,in ,africa1 while a king of ,congo
 is being embalmed1 a figure is set up  
in the palace to represent him1 and is  
daily furnished with food and drink4    
,mr4 ,spencer has collected several     
similar instances of idols substituted  
for the bodies of the dead4 ,the ,roman 
imagines wore masks of wax1 which       
preserved in like manner the features of
 ancestors4 ,perhaps the most curious   
modern survival of this custom of double
 representations is to be found in the  
effigies of our kings and queens still  
preserved in ,westminster ,abbey4       
,there are two other sources of         
idol-worship1 however1 which1 as it     
seems to me1 have hardly received       

sufficient attention at ,mr4 ,spencer's 
hands4 ,those two are the stake which   
#jhcmarks the grave1 and the standing   
stone or tombstone4 ,by far the larger  
number of idols1 ,i venture to believe1 
are descended from one or other of these
 two originals1 both of which ,i shall  
examine hereafter in far greater detail4
 ,there is indeed no greater lacuna1 ,i 
fancy1 in ,mr4 ,spencer's monumental    
work than that produced by the          
insufficient consideration of these two 
fruitful sources of worshipful objects4 
,i shall therefore devote a considerable
 space to their consideration in        
subsequent chapters2 for the present it 
will suffice to remark that the wooden  
stake seems often to form the origin or 
point of departure for the carved wooden
 image1 as well as for such ruder       
objects of reverence as the cones and   
wooden pillars so widely reverenced     
among the ,semitic tribes2 while the    
rough boulder1 standing stone1 or       
tombstone seems to form the origin or   

point of departure for the stone or     
marble statue1 the commonest type of    
idol the whole world over in all        
advanced and cultivated communities4    
,such stones were at first mere rude    
blocks or unhewn masses1 the descendants
 of those which were rolled over the    
grave in primitive times in order to    
keep down the corpse of the dead man1   
and prevent him from returning to       
disturb the living4 ,but in time they   
grew to be roughly dressed into slabs or
 squares1 and finally to be decorated   
with a rude representation of a human   
head and shoulders4 ,from this stage    
they readily progressed to that of the  
,greek ,herm4 ,we now know that this was
 the early shape of most ,hellenic gods 
and goddesses2 and we can trace their   
evolution onward from this point to the 
wholly anthropomorphic ,aphrodite or    
,here4 ,the well-known figure of the    
,ephesian ,artemis is an intermediate   
case which will occur at once to every  
classical reader4 ,starting from such   

shapeless beginnings1 we progress at    
last to the artistic and splendid bronze
 and marble statues of ,hellas1         
,etruria1 and ,rome1 to the many-handed 
deities of modern ,india1 and to the    
sculptured ,madonnas and ,piets of      
,renaissance ,italy4  ,naturally1       
#jhd;as the gods grow more beautiful and
 more artistically finished in          
workmanship1 the popular idea of their  
power and dignity must increase pari    
passu4 ,in ,egypt1 this increase took   
chiefly the form of colossal size and   
fine manipulation of hard granitic      
materials4 ,the so-called ,memnon and   
the ,sphinx are familiar instances of   
the first2 the ,pashts of ,syenite1 the 
black basalt gods1 so well known at the 
,louvre and the ,british ,museum1 are   
examples of the second4 ,in ,greece1    
effect was sought rather by ideal       
beauty1 as in the ,aphrodites and       
,apollos1 or by costliness of material1 
as in the chryselephantine ,zeus and the
 ,athene of the ,parthenon4 ,but we must

 always remember that in ,hellas itself 
these glorious gods were developed in a 
comparatively short space of time from  
the shapeless blocks or standing stones 
of the ruder religion2 indeed1 we have  
still many curious intermediate forms   
between the extremely grotesque and     
hardly human ,mycenan types1 and the    
exquisite imaginings of ,myron or       
,phidias4 ,the earliest ,hellenic idols 
engraved by ,messrs4 ,perrot and        
,chipiez in their great work on ,art in 
,primitive ,greece do not rise in any   
respect superior to the ,polynesian     
level2 while the so-called ,apollos of  
later archaic workmanship1 rigidly erect
 with their arms at their sides1 recall 
in many respects the straight           
up-and-down outline of the standing     
stone from which they are developed4  ,i
 should add that in an immense number of
 instances the rude stone image or idol1
 and at a still lower grade the         
unwrought sacred stone1 stands as the   
central object under a shed or shelter1 

which develops by degrees into the      
stately temple4 ,the advance in both is 
generally more or less parallel2 though 
sometimes1 as in historical ,greece1 a  
temple of the noblest architecture      
encloses as its central and principal   
object of veneration the rough unhewn   
stone of early barbaric worship4 ,so    
even in ,christendom1 great churches and
 cathedrals often hold as their most    
precious possession some rude and       
antique image like #jhethe sacred       
,bambino of ,santa ,maria in ,ara ,cli  
at ,rome1 or the 8,black ,madonnas0     
which are revered by the people at so   
many famous ,italian places of          
pilgrimage4  ,nor do ,i mean to say that
 every ,idol is necessarily itself a    
funereal relic4 ,when once the idea of  
godship has been thoroughly developed1  
and when men have grown accustomed to   
regard an image or idol as the          
representative or dwelling-place of     
their god1 it is easy to multiply such  
images indefinitely4 ,hundreds of       

representations may exist of the        
self-same ,apollo or ,aphrodite or      
,madonna or ,st4 ,sebastian4 ,at the    
same time1 it is quite clear that for   
most worshippers1 the divine being is   
more or less actually confused with the 
image2 a particular ,artemis or a       
particular ,notre ,dame is thought of as
 more powerful or more friendly than    
another4 ,i have known women in         
,southern ,europe go to pray at the     
shrine of a distant ,madonna1 8because  
she is greater than our own ,madonna40  
,moreover1 it is probable that in many  
cases images or sacred stones once      
funereal in origin1 and representing    
particular gods or ghosts1 have been    
swallowed up at last by other and more  
powerful deities1 so as to lose in the  
end their primitive distinctness4 ,thus1
 there were many ,baals and many        
,ashteroths2 probably there were many   
,apollos1 many ,artemises1 many         
,aphrodites4 ,it is almost certain that 
there were many distinct ,herm4 ,the    

progress of research tends to make us   
realise that numberless deities1 once   
considered unique and individual1 may be
 resolved into a whole host of local    
gods1 afterwards identified with some   
powerful deity on the merest external   
resemblances of image1 name1 or         
attribute4 ,in ,egypt at least this     
process of identification and           
centralisation was common4 ,furthermore1
 we know that each new religion tends to
 swallow up and assimilate to itself all
 possible elements of older cults2 just 
as ,hebrew ,jahwehism tried to adopt the
 sacred stones of early ,semitic        
heathenism by associating them with     
episodes in the history of the          
patriarchs2 and just as ,christianity   
has sanctified #jhfsuch stones in its   
own area by using them sometimes as the 
base of a cross1 or by consecrating them
 at others with the name of some saint  
or martyr4  ,but even more than the     
evolution of the ,temple and the ,idol1 
the evolution of the ,priesthood has    

given dignity1 importance1 and power to 
the gods4 ,for the priests are a class  
whose direct interest it is to make the 
most of the greatness and majesty of the
 deities they tend or worship4          
,priesthood1 again1 has probably at     
least two distinct origins4 ,the one is 
quasi-royal2 the other is quasiservile4 
,i begin with the first4 ,we saw that   
the chief of an ,african village1 as the
 son and representative of the chief    
ghosts1 who are the tribal gods1 has    
alone the right to approach them        
directly with offerings4 ,the inferior  
villager1 who desires to ask anything of
 the gods1 asks through the chief1 who  
is a kinsman and friend of the divine   
spirits1 and who therefore naturally    
understands their ideas and habits4     
,such chiefs are thus also naturally    
priests4 ,they are sacred by family2    
they and their children stand in a      
special relation to the gods of the     
tribe1 quite different from the relation
 in which the common people stand2 they 

are of the blood of the deities4 ,this  
type of relation is common in many      
countries2 the chiefs in such instances 
are 8kings and priests1 after the order 
of ,melchizedek40  ,to put it briefly1  
in the earliest or domestic form of     
religion1 the gods of each little group 
or family are its own dead ancestors1   
and especially 7while the historic      
memory is still but weak7 its immediate 
predecessors4 ,in this stage1 the head  
of the household naturally discharges   
the functions of priest2 it is he who   
approaches the family ghosts or gods on 
behalf of his wives1 his sons1 his      
dependants4 ,to the last1 indeed1 the   
father of each family retains this      
priestly function as regards the more   
restricted family rites2 he is priest of
 the worship of the lares and penates2  
he offers the family sacrifice to the   
family gods2 he reads family prayers in 
the ,christian household4 ,but as       
#jhgthe tribe or nation arises1 and     
chieftainship grows greater1 it is the  

ghosts or ancestors of the chiefly or   
kingly family who develop most into     
gods2 and the living chief and his kin  
are their natural representatives4      
,thus1 in most cases1 the priestly      
office comes to be associated with that 
of king or chief4 ,indeed1 we shall see 
hereafter in a subsequent chapter that  
many kings1 being the descendants of    
gods1 are gods themselves2 and that this
 union of the kingly and divine         
characters has much to do with the      
growth of the dignity of godhead4 ,here1
 however1 ,i waive this point for the   
present2 it will suffice for us to note 
at the present stage of our argument    
that in a large number of instances the 
priesthood and the kingship were        
inherent and hereditary in the self-same
 families4  8,the union of a royal title
 with priestly duties10 says ,mr4       
,frazer in ,the ,golden ,bough1 8was    
common in ancient ,italy and ,greece4   
,at ,rome and in other ,italian cities  
there was a priest called the           

,sacrificial ,king or ,king of the      
sacred rites 7,rex ,sacrificulus or ,rex
 ,sacrorum71 and his wife bore the title
 of ,queen of the ,sacred ,rites4 ,in   
republican ,athens1 the second          
magistrate of the state was called the  
,king1 and his wife the ,queen2 the     
functions of both were religious4 ,many 
other ,greek democracies had titular    
kings1 whose duties1 so far as they are 
known1 seem to have been priestly4 ,at  
,rome the tradition was that the        
,sacrificial ,king had been appointed   
after the expulsion of the kings in     
order to offer the sacrifices which had 
been previously offered by the kings4   
,in ,greece a similar view appears to   
have prevailed as to the origin of the  
priestly kings4 ,in itself the view is  
not improbable1 and it is borne out by  
the example of ,sparta1 the only purely 
,greek state which retained the kingly  
form of government in historical times4 
,for in ,sparta all state sacrifices    
were offered by the kings as descendants

 of the god4 ,this combination of       
priestly functions with royal authority 
is familiar to every one4 ,asia ,minor1 
for example1 was the seat of various    
great religious capitals1 peopled by    
thousands of #8,sacred #jhgslaves1rsquo2
 and ruled by pontiffs who wielded at   
once temporal and spiritual authority1  
like the popes of mediaeval ,rome4 ,such
 priest-ridden cities were ,zela and    
,pes-sinus4 ,teutonic ,kings1 again1 in 
the old heathen days seem to have stood 
in the position and exercised the powers
 of high priests4 ,the ,emperors of     
,china offer public sacrifices1 the     
details of which are regulated by the   
ritual books4 ,it is needless1 however1 
to multiply examples of what is the rule
 rather than the exception in the early 
history of the kingship40  ,we will     
return hereafter in another connexion to
 this ancient relation of kingship with 
priesthood1 which arises naturally from 
the still more ancient relation of the  
king to the god4  ,where priesthood     

originates in this particular way1      
little differentiation is likely to     
occur between the temporal and the      
ecclesiastical power4 ,but there is a   
second and far more potent origin of    
priesthood1 less distinguished in its   
beginnings1 yet more really pregnant of 
great results in the end4 ,for where the
 king is a priest1 and the descendant of
 the gods1 as in ,peru and ,egypt1 his  
immediate and human power seems to      
overshadow and as it were to belittle   
the power of his divine ancestors4 ,no  
statue of ,osiris1 for example1 is half 
so big in size as the colossal figure of
 ,rameses ,,ii4 which lies broken in    
huge pieces outside the mortuary temple 
of the king it commemorates1 among the  
ruins of ,thebes4 ,but where a separate 
and distinct priesthood gets the        
management of sacred rites entirely into
 its own hands1 we find the authority of
 the gods often rising superior to that 
of the kings1 who are only their        
vicegerents3 till at last we get ,popes 

dictating to emperors1 and powerful     
monarchs doing humble penance before the
 costly shrines of murdered archbishops4
  ,the origin of independent or         
quasi-servile priesthood is to be found 
in the institution of 8temple           
slaves10--the attendants told off as we 
have already seen to do duty at the     
grave of the chief or dead warrior4     
,egypt1 again affords #jhius1 on the    
domestic side1 an admirable example of  
the origin of such priesthoods4 ,over   
the lintel of each of the cave-like     
tombs at ,beni ,hassan and ,sakkarah is 
usually placed an inscription setting   
forth the name and titles of its        
expected occupant 7for each was built   
during the life-time of its owner71 with
 an invocation praying for him          
propitious funeral rites1 and a good    
burial-place after a long and happy     
life4 ,then follows a pious hope that   
the spirit may enjoy for all eternity   
the proper payment of funereal          
offerings1 a list of which is ordinarily

 appended1 together with a statement of 
the various anniversaries on which they 
were due4 ,but the point which specially
 concerns us here is this3 ,priests or  
servants were appointed to see that     
these offerings were duly made2 and the 
tomb was endowed with property for the  
purpose both of keeping up the offerings
 in question1 and of providing a stipend
 or living-wage for the priest4 ,as we  
shall see hereafter1 such priesthoods   
were generally made hereditary1 so as to
 ensure their continuance throughout all
 time3 and so successful were they that 
in many cases worship continued to be   
performed for several hundred years at  
the tomb2 so that a person who died     
under the ,early ,empire was still being
 made the recipient of funeral dues     
under kings of the ,eighteenth and      
,nineteenth ,dynasties4  ,i give this   
interesting historical instance at some 
length because it is one of the best    
known1 and also one of the most         
persistent4 ,but everywhere1 all the    

world over1 similar evolutions have     
occurred on a shorter scale4 ,the temple
 attendants1 endowed for the purpose of 
performing sacred rites for the ghost or
 god1 have grown into priests1 who knew 
the habits of the unseen denizen of the 
shrine4 ,bit by bit1 prescriptions have 
arisen2 customs and rituals have        
developed2 and the priests have become  
the depositaries of the divine          
traditions4 ,they alone know how to     
approach the god2 they alone can read   
the hidden signs of his pleasure or     
displeasure4 ,as intermediaries between 
worshipper and deity1 they are          
themselves half sacred4 #jij,without    
them1 no votary can rightly approach the
 shrine of his patron4 ,thus at last    
they rise into-importance far above     
their origin2 priestcraft comes into    
being2 and by magnifying their god1 the 
members of the hierarchy magnify at the 
same time their own office and function4
  ,yet another contributing cause must  
be briefly noted4 ,picture-writing and  

hieroglyphics take their rise more      
especially in connexion with tombs and  
temples4 ,the priests in particular hold
 as a rule the key to this knowledge4   
,in ancient ,egypt1 to take a well-known
 instance1 they were the learned class2 
they became the learned class again     
under other circumstances in mediaeval  
,europe4 ,everywhere we come upon sacred
 mysteries that the priests alone know2 
and where hieroglyphics exist1 these    
mysteries1 committed to writing1 become 
the peculiar property of the priests in 
a more special sense4 ,where writing is 
further differentiated into hieratic and
 demotic1 the gulf between laity and    
priesthood grows still wider2 the       
priests possess a special key to        
knowledge1 denied to the commonalty4    
,the recognition of ,sacred ,books has  
often the same result2 of these1 the    
priests are naturally the guardians and 
exponents4 ,i need hardly add that side 
by side with the increase of            
architectural grandeur in the temple1   

and the increase of artistic beauty and 
costliness in the idols or statues and  
pictures of the gods1 goes increase in  
the stateliness of the priestly robes1  
the priestly surroundings1 the priestly 
ritual4 ,finally1 we get ceremonies of  
the most dignified character1 adorned   
with all the accessories of painting and
 sculpture1 of candles and flowers1 of  
incense and music1 of rich mitres and   
jewelled palls1--ceremonies performed in
 the dim shade of lofty temples1 or     
mosques1 or churches1 in honour of god  
or gods of infinite might1 power1 and   
majesty1 who must yet in the last resort
 be traced back to some historic or     
prehistoric ,dead ,man1 or at least to  
some sacred stone or stake or image1 his
 relic and representative4  ,thus1      
#jia;by convergence of all these        
streams1 the primitive mummy or ghost or
 spirit passes gradually into a deity of
 unbounded glory and greatness and      
sanctity4 ,the bodiless soul1 released  
from necessary limits of space and time1

 envisaged as a god1 is pictured as ever
 more and more superhuman1 till all     
memory of its origin is entirely        
forgotten4 ,but to the last1 observe    
this curious point3 all new gods or     
saints or divine persons are1 each as   
they crop up first1 of demonstrably     
human origin4 ,whenever we find a new   
god added from known sources to a       
familiar pantheon1 we find without      
exception that he turns out to be--a    
human being4 ,whenever we go back to    
very primitive religions1 we find all   
men's gods are the corpses or ghosts of 
their ancestors4 ,it is only when we    
take relatively advanced races with     
unknown early histories that we find    
them worshipping a certain number of    
gods who cannot be easily and           
immediately resolved into dead men or   
spirits4 ,unfortunately1 students of    
religion have oftenest paid the closest 
attention to those historical religions 
which lie furthest away from the        
primitive type1 and in which at their   

first appearance before us we come upon 
the complex idea of godhead already     
fully developed4 ,hence they are too    
much inclined1 like ,professor          
,robertson ,smith1 and even sometimes   
,mr4 ,frazer 7whose name1 however1 ,i   
cannot mention in passing without the   
pro-foundest respect71 to regard the    
idea of a godship as primordial1 not    
derivative2 and to neglect the obvious  
derivation of godhead as a whole from   
the cult and reverence of the deified   
ancestor4 ,yet the moment we get away   
from these advanced and too overlaid    
historical religions to the early       
conceptions of simple savages1 we see at
 once that no gods exist for them save  
the ancestral corpses or ghosts2 that   
religion means the performance of       
certain rites and offerings to these    
corpses or ghosts2 and that higher      
elemental or departmental deities are   
wholly wanting4 ,even in the great      
historical religions themselves1 the    
further back we go1 and the lower down  

we #jibprobe1 the closer do we come to  
the foundation-stratum of ghosts or     
ancestor-gods4 ,and where1 as in ,egypt1
 the evidence is oldest and most        
complete throughout1 the more do we     
observe how the mystic nature-gods of   
the later priestly conceptions yield1 as
 we go back age by age in time1 to the  
simpler and more purely human ancestral 
gods of the earliest documents4  ,it    
will be our task in the succeeding      
chapters of this work to do even more   
than this--to show that the apparently  
unresolvable element in later religions1
 including the ,hebrew god ,jahweh      
himself1 can be similarly affiliated by 
no uncertain evidence upon the primitive
 conception of a ghost or ancestor4     
,,chapter ,v4--,,sacred ,,stones4  ,i   
#jicmentioned in the last chapter two   
origins of ,idols to which1 as ,i       
believed1 an insufficient amount of     
attention had been directed by ,mr4     
,herbert ,spencer4 ,these were the      
,sacred ,stone and the ,wooden ,stake   

which mark the grave4 ,to these two ,i  
will now add a third common object of   
worship1 which does not indeed enter    
into the genesis of idols1 but which is 
of very high importance in early        
religion--the sacred tree1 with its     
collective form1 the sacred grove4 ,all 
the objects thus enumerated demand      
further attention at our hands1 both    
from their general significance in the  
history of religion1 and also from their
 special interest in connexion with the 
evolution of the ,god of ,israel1 who   
became in due time the ,god of          
,christianity and of ,islam1 as well as 
the ,god of modern idealised and        
sublimated theism4  ,i will begin with  
the consideration of the ,sacred ,stone1
 not only because it is by far the most 
important of the three1 but also        
because1 as we shall shortly see1 it    
stands in the direct line of parentage  
of the ,god of ,israel4  ,all the world 
over1 and at all periods of history1 we 
find among the most common objects of   

human worship certain blocks of stone1  
either rudely shaped and dressed by the 
hand1 or else more often standing alone 
on the soil in all their native and     
natural roughness4 ,the downs of        
,england are everywhere studded with    
cromlechs1 dolmens1 and other antique   
megalithic structures 7of which the     
gigantic trilithons of ,stonehenge and  
,avebury are the best-known examples71  
#jidlong described by antiquaries as    
8druidical remains10 and certainly      
regarded by the ancient inhabitants of  
,britain with an immense amount of      
respect and reverence4 ,in ,france we   
have the endless avenues of ,carnac and 
,locmariaker2 in ,sardinia1 the curious 
conical shafts known to the local       
peasants as sepolture dei giganti--the  
tombs of the giants4 ,in ,syria1 ,major 
,conder has described similar monuments 
in ,heth and ,moab1 at ,gilboa and at   
,heshbon4 ,in ,india1 five stones are   
set up at the corner of a field1 painted
 red1 and worshipped by the natives as  

the ,five ,pandavas4 ,theophrastus tells
 us as one of the characteristics of the
 superstitious man that he anoints with 
oil the sacred stones at the street     
corners2 and from an ancient tradition  
embedded in the ,hebrew scriptures we   
learn how the patriarch ,jacob set up a 
stone at ,bethel 8for a pillar10 and    
8poured oil upon the top of it10 as a   
like act of worship4 ,even in our own   
day there is a certain ,english hundred 
where the old open-air court of the     
manor is inaugurated by the ceremony of 
breaking a bottle of wine over a        
standing stone which tops a tumulus2 and
 the sovereigns of the ,united ,kingdom 
are still crowned in a chair which      
encloses under its seat the ancestral   
sacred stone of their heathen ,scottish 
and ,irish predecessors4  ,now1 what is 
the share of such sacred stones in the  
rise and growth of the religious habit8 
,it is hardly necessary1 ,i suppose1 to 
give formal proof of the familiar fact  
that an upright slab is one of the      

commonest modes of marking the place    
where a person is buried4 ,from the     
ancient pillar that prehistoric savages 
set up over the tumulus of their dead   
chief1 to the headstone that marks the  
dwarfed and stunted barrow in our own   
,english cemeteries1 the practice of    
mankind has been one and continuous4    
,sometimes the stone is a rough boulder 
from the fields2 a representative of the
 big block which savages place on the   
grave to keep the corpse from rising3   
sometimes it is an oblong slab of slate 
or marble2 sometimes1 and especially    
among the more advanced races1 it is    
#jie;a shapely cross or sculptured      
monument4 ,but whenever on earth        
interment is practised1 there stones of 
some sort1 solitary or in heaps1 almost 
invariably mark the place of burial4    
,again1 as presents and sacrifices are  
offered at graves to the spirits of the 
dead1 it is at the stone which records  
the last resting-place of the deceased  
that they will oftenest be presented4   

,as a matter of fact we know that1 all  
the world over1 offerings of wine1 oil1 
rice1 ghee1 corn1 and meat are          
continually made at the graves of chiefs
 or relations4 ,victims1 both human and 
otherwise1 are sacrificed at the tomb1  
and their blood is constantly smeared on
 the headstone or boulder that marks the
 spot4 ,indeed1 after a time1 the grave 
and the stone get to be confounded      
together1 and the place itself comes to 
have a certain sacredness1 derived from 
the ghost which haunts and inhabits it4 
,four well-marked varieties of early    
tombstone are recognised in the eastern 
continent at least1 and their           
distribution and nature is thus         
described by ,major ,conder3 8,rude     
stone monuments1 bearing a strong family
 resemblance in their mode of           
construction and dimensions1 have been  
found distributed over all parts of     
,europe and ,western ,asia1 and occur   
also in ,india4 ,in some cases they are 
attributable to early ,aryan tribes2 in 

others they seem to be of ,semitic      
origin4 ,they include menhirs1 or       
standing stones1 which were erected as  
memorials1 and worshipped as deities1   
with libations of blood1 milk1 honey1 or
 water poured upon the stones3 dolmens1 
or stone tables1 free standing--that is1
 not covered by any mound or            
superstructure1 which may be considered 
without doubt to have been used as      
altars on which victims 7often human7   
were immolated3 cairns1 also memorial1  
and sometimes surrounding menhirs2 these
 were made by the contributions of      
numerous visitors or pilgrims1 each     
adding a stone as witness of his        
presence3 finally cromlechs1 or stone   
circles1 used as sacred enclosures or   
early hypthral temples1 often #jifwith a
 central menhir or dolmen as statue or  
altar40  ,there can be very little doubt
 that every one of these monuments is   
essentially sepulchral in character4    
,the menhir or standing stone is the    
ordinary gravestone still in use among  

us3 the dolmen is a chambered tomb1 once
 covered by a tumulus1 but now bare and 
open3 the cairn is a heap of stones     
piled above the dead body3 the stone    
circle is apparently a later temple     
built around a tomb1 whose position is  
marked by the menhir or altar-stone in  
its centre4 ,and each has been the      
parent of a numerous offspring4 ,the    
menhir gives rise to the obelisk1 the   
stone cross1 and the statue or idol2 the
 dolmen1 to the sarcophagus1 the        
altar-tomb1 and the high altar2 the     
cairn1 to the tope and also to the      
pyramid2 the cromlech1 or stone circle1 
to the temple or church in one at least 
of its many developments4  ,each of     
these classes of monuments1 ,major      
,conder observes1 has its distinctive   
name in the ,semitic languages1 and is  
frequently mentioned in the early       
,hebrew literature4 ,the menhir is the  
8pillar0 of our ,authorised ,version of 
the ,old ,testament2 the dolmen is the  
8altar02 the cairn is the 8heap02 and   

the stone circle appears under the names
 ,gilgal and ,hazor4 ,the significance  
of these facts will appear a little     
later on when ,i reach a more advanced  
stage in the evolution of stone-worship4
  ,in the simplest and most primitive   
stage of religion1 such as that pure    
ancestor-cult still surviving unmixed   
among the people of ,new ,guinea or the 
,african tribes whose practice ,mr4     
,duff ,macdonald has so admirably       
described for us1 it is the corpse or   
ghost itself1 not the stone to mark its 
dwelling1 which comes in for all the    
veneration and all the gifts of the     
reverent survivors4 ,but we must        
remember that every existing religion1  
however primitive in type1 is now very  
ancient2 and it is quite natural that in
 many cases the stone should thus come  
itself to be regarded as the ghost or   
god1 the object to which veneration is  
#jigpaid by the tribesmen4 ,in fact1    
just in proportion as the ghost evolves 
into the god1 so does the tombstone     

begin to evolve into the fetish or idol4
  ,at first1 however1 it is merely as   
the rude unshapen stone that the idol in
 this shape receives the worship of its 
votaries4 ,this is the stage that has   
been christened by that very misleading 
name fetishism1 and erroneously supposed
 to lie at the very basis of all        
religion4 ,here are a few interesting   
samples of this stage of stone-worship1 
taken from the very careful ,samoan     
collection of ,mr4 ,turner1 of the      
,london ,missionary ,society3  8,fonge  
and ,toafa were the names of the two    
oblong smooth stones which stood on a   
raised platform of loose stones inland  
of one of the villages4 ,they were      
supposed to be the parents of ,saato1 a 
god who controlled the rain4 ,when the  
chiefs and people were ready to go off  
for weeks to certain places in the bush 
for the sport of pigeon-catching1       
offerings of cooked taro and fish were  
laid on the stones1 accompanied by      
prayers for fine weather and no rain4   

,any one who refused an offering to the 
stones was frowned upon2 and in the     
event of rain was blamed and punished   
for bringing down the wrath of the      
fine-weather god1 and spoiling the      
sports of the season40  ,here1 even if  
one doubts that ,saato was a deceased   
,weather-doctor1 and that ,fonge and    
,toafa were his father and mother 7which
 ,i do not care to insist upon71 it is  
at least clear that we have to deal     
essentially with two standing stones of 
precisely the same sort as those which  
habitually mark sepulture4  ,of the gods
 of ,hudson's ,island1 ,mr4 ,turner     
gives this very interesting and         
suggestive account3  8,foelangi and     
,maumau were the principal gods4 ,they  
had each a temple2 and under the altars1
 on which were laid out in rows the     
skulls of departed chiefs and people1   
were suspended offerings of pearl-shell 
and other valuables4 ,foelangi had an   
unchiselled block of stone to represent 
him--something like a six feet high     

gravestone4444 #jih,offerings of food   
were taken to the temples1 that the gods
 might first partake before anyone else 
ate anything4444 ,husked cocoanuts were 
laid down1 one before each skull40  ,and
 of ,st4 ,augustine ,island he writes3  
8,at the ,temple of ,maumau there stood 
a nine feet high coral sandstone slab   
from the beach4444 ,meat offerings were 
laid on the altars1 accompanied by songs
 and dances in honour of the god40      
,similarly1 about one of the ,gilbert   
,group1 ,mr4 ,turner says3  8,they had  
other gods and goddesses1 and1 as was   
common in this group1 had sandstone     
slabs or pillars set up here and there  
among the houses4 ,before these shrines 
offerings of food were laid during the  
day1 which the priests took away        
stealthily by night and made the        
credulous believe that gods and not     
mortals had done it4 ,if the stone slab 
represented a goddess it was not placed 
erect1 but laid down on the ground4     
,being a lady they thought it would be  

cruel to make her stand so long40  ,in  
these cases1 and in many others1 it     
seems to me clear that the original     
gravestone or menhir itself is the      
object of worship1 viewed as the        
residence of the ghost or god in whose  
honour it was erected4 ,for in ,samoa we
 know that the grave 8was marked by a   
little heap of stones1 a foot or two    
high10 and at ,de ,peyster's ,island 8a 
stone was raised at the head of the     
grave1 and a human head carved on it0--a
 first step1 as we have already seen1   
towards the evolution of one form of    
idol4  ,similar instances abound        
everywhere4 ,among the ,khonds of       
,india1 every village has its local god1
 represented by an upright stone under  
the big tree on the green1 to use       
frankly an ,english equivalent4 7,the   
full importance of this common          
combination of sacred stone and sacred  
tree will only come out at a later stage
 of our enquiry47 ,in ,peru1 worship was
 paid to standing stones which1 says    

,dr4 ,tylor1 8represented the penates of
 households #jii;and the patron-deities 
of villages0--in other words1 the ghosts
 of ancestors and of tribal chiefs4     
8,near ,acora10 says the ,marquis de    
,nadaillac1 8the bodies were placed     
under megalithic stones1 reminding us of
 the dolmens and cromlechs of ,europe4  
,one vast plain is covered with erect   
stones1 some forming circles1 some      
squares1 and often covered in with large
 slabs which entirely closed round the  
sepulchral chamber40 ,in ,fiji the gods 
and goddesses 8had their abodes or      
shrines in black stones like smooth     
round milestones1 and there received    
their offerings of food40 ,an immense   
number of similar instances have been   
collected by ,dr4 ,tylor and other      
anthropologists4  ,but when once the    
idea of the sacredness of stones had    
thus got firmly fixed in the savage     
mind1 it was natural enough that other  
stones1 resembling those which were     
already recognised as gods1 should come 

to be regarded as themselves divine1 or 
as containing an indwelling ghost or    
deity4 ,of this stage1 ,mr4 ,turner's   
,samoa again affords us some curious    
instances4  8,smooth stones apparently  
picked up out of the bed of the river   
were regarded as representatives of     
certain gods1 and wherever the stone    
was1 there the god was supposed to be4  
,one resembling a fish would be prayed  
to as the fisherman's god4 ,another1    
resembling a yam1 would be the yam god4 
,a third1 round like a breadfruit1 the  
breadfruit god--and so on40  ,now1 the  
word 8apparently0 used by this very     
cautious observer in this passage shows 
clearly that he had never of his own    
knowledge seen a stone thus selected at 
random worshipped or deified1 and it is 
therefore possible that in all such     
cases the stone may really have been one
 of sepulchral origin4 ,still1 ,i agree 
with ,mr4 ,spencer that when once the   
idea of a ghost or god is well          
developed1 the notion of such a spirit  

as animating any remarkable or          
odd-looking object is a natural         
transition4 99       99 ,the whole      
subject is admirably worked out in ,the 
,principles of ,sociology1  #aei4       
,hence ,i incline #ajjto believe ,mr4   
,turner is right1 and that these stones 
may really have been picked out and     
worshipped1 merely for their oddity1 but
 always1 as he correctly infers1 from   
the belief in their connexion with some 
god or spirit4  ,here is another case1  
also from ,polynesia1 where no immediate
 connexion with any particular grave    
seems definitely implied3  8,two        
unchiselled #8smooth stones of the      
stream' were kept in a temple at one of 
the villages1 and guarded with great    
care4 ,no stranger or over-curious      
person was allowed to go near the place1
 under penalty of a beating from the    
custodians of these gods4 ,they         
represented good and not malicious      
death-causing gods4 ,the one made the   
yams1 breadfruit1 and cocoanuts1 and the

 other sent fish to the nets4  8,another
 stone was carefully housed in another  
village as the representative of a      
rain-making god4 ,when there was        
overmuch rain1 the stone was laid by the
 fire and kept heated till fine weather 
set in40  ,further instances 7if fairly 
reported7 occur elsewhere4 8,among the  
lower races of ,america10 says ,dr4     
,tylor1 summarising ,schoolcraft1 8the  
,dakotahs would pick up a round boulder1
 paint it1 and then1 addressing it as   
grandfather1 make offerings to it1 and  
pray it to deliver them from danger40   
,but here the very fact that the stone  
is worshipped and treated as an ancestor
 shows how derivative is the            
deification--how dependent upon the     
prior association of such stones with   
the tomb of a forefather and its        
indwelling spirit4 ,just in the same way
 we know there are countries where a    
grave is more generally marked1 not by a
 stone1 but by a wooden stake2 and in   
these countries1 as for instance among  

the ,samoyedes of ,siberia1 sticks1 not 
stones1 are the most common objects of  
reverence4 7,thus1 again1 stick-worship 
is found 8among the ,damaras of ,south  
,africa1 whose ancestors are represented
 at the sacrificial feasts by stakes cut
 from trees or bushes consecrated to    
them1 to which stakes the meat is first 
#ajaoffered407 ,but here1 too1 we see   
the clear affiliation upon              
ancestor-worship2 and indeed1 wherever  
we find the common worship of 8stocks   
and stones10 all the analogies lead us  
to believe the stocks and stones either 
actually mark the graves of ancestors or
 else are accepted as their             
representatives and embodiments4  ,the  
vast majority1 however1 of sacred stones
 with whose history we are well         
acquainted are indubitably connected    
with interments1 ancient or modern4 ,all
 the ,european sacred stones are        
cromlechs1 dolmens1 trilithons1 or      
menhirs1 of which ,mr4 ,angus ,smith1 a 
most cautious authority1 observes       

categorically1 8,we know for a certainty
 that memorials of burials are the chief
 object of the first one1 and of nearly 
all1 the only object apparently40 ,so   
many other examples will come out       
incidentally in the course of the sequel
 that ,i will not labour the point any  
further at present4 ,among the most     
remarkable instances1 however1 ,i cannot
 refrain from mentioning the great      
,sardinian sacred stones1 which so often
 occur in the neighbourhood of the      
nuraghi1 or ancient forts4 ,these       
consist of tall conical monoliths1 rough
 and unhewn in the oldest examples1     
rudely hewn in the later ones1 and      
occasionally presenting some distant    
resemblance to a human face--the first  
rough draft of the future idol4 8,behind
 the monolith lies the burial-place1 ten
 to fourteen yards long by one or two in
 width40 ,these burial-places have been 
examined by the ,abbate ,spano4  8,he   
was satisfied that several bodies had   
been buried together in the same tomb1  

and that these were therefore family    
burial-places4 ,when the death of one of
 the members of the tribe occurred1 one 
of the great transverse stones which    
covered the long alley built behind the 
monolith was removed1 and then replaced 
until the time came for another body to 
claim its place in the tomb4 ,the       
monolith1 called by the ,sardinian      
peasants pietra dellrsquo2 altare1 or   
altar-stone1 because they believe it to 
have been used for human sacrifice1     
always faces the south or east40  ,such 
#ajb;a surviving tradition as to the    
human sacrifices1 in an island so little
 sophisticated as ,sardinia1 has almost 
certainly come down to us unbroken from 
a very early age4  ,i have already      
stated that the idol is probably in many
 cases derived from the gravestone or   
other sacred stone4 ,i believe that in  
an immense number of cases it is simply 
the original pillar1 more or less rudely
 carved into the semblance of a human   
figure4  ,how this comes about we can   

readily understand if we recollect that 
by a gradual transference of sentiment  
the stone itself is at last identified  
with the associated spirit4 ,here1 once 
more1 is a transitional instance from   
our ,polynesian storehouse4  ,the great 
god of ,bowditch ,island 8was supposed  
to be embodied in a stone1 which was    
carefully wrapped up with fine mats1 and
 never seen by any one but the king0    
7note this characteristic touch of      
kingly priesthood71 8and that only once 
a year1 when the decayed mats were      
stripped off and thrown away4 ,in       
sickness1 offerings of fine mats were   
taken and rolled round the sacred stone1
 and thus it got busked up to a         
prodigious size2 but as the idol was    
exposed to the weather out of doors1    
night and day1 the mats soon rotted4 ,no
 one dared to appropriate what had been 
offered to the god1 and hence the old   
mats1 as they were taken off1 were      
heaped in a place by themselves and     
allowed to rot40  ,now the              

reasonableness of all this is           
immediately apparent if we remember that
 the stones which stand on graves are   
habitually worshipped1 and anointed with
 oil1 milk1 and blood4 ,it is but a     
slight further step to regard the stone1
 not only as eating and drinking1 but   
also as needing warmth and clothing4 ,as
 an admirable example of the same train 
of thought1 working out the same result 
elsewhere1 compare this curious account 
of a stone idol at ,inniskea 7a rocky   
islet off the ,mayo coast71 given by the
 ,earl of ,roden1 as late as #ahea1 in  
his ,progress of the ,reformation in    
,ireland3 8,in #ajcthe south island1 in 
the house of a man named ,monigan1 a    
stone idol1 called in the ,irish        
#8,neevougi1rsquo2 has been from time   
immemorial religiously preserved and    
worshipped4 ,this god resembles in      
appearance a thick roll of home-spun    
flannel1 which arises from the custom of
 dedicating a dress of that material to 
it whenever its aid is sought2 this is  

sewn on by an old woman1 its priestess1 
whose peculiar care it is4 ,of the early
 history of this idol no authentic      
information can be procured1 but its    
power is believed to be immense2 they   
pray to it in time of sickness2 it is   
invoked when a storm is desired to dash 
some hapless ship upon their coast2 and1
 again1 the exercise of its power is    
solicited in calming the angry waves1 to
 admit of fishing or visiting the       
mainland40  ,nor is this a solitary     
instance in modern ,europe4 8,in certain
 mountain districts of ,norway10 says   
,dr4 ,tylor1 8up to the end of the last 
century1 the peasants used to preserve  
round stones1 washed them every         
,thursday evening14444 smeared them with
 butter before the fire1 laid them in   
the seat of honour on fresh straw1 and  
at certain times of the year steeped    
them in ale1 that they might bring luck 
and comfort to the house40  ,the first  
transitional step towards the idol      
proper is given in some rude attempt to 

make the standing stone at the grave    
roughly resemble a human figure4 ,in the
 later ,sardinian examples1 two conical 
lumps1 representing the breasts1 seem to
 mark that the figure is intended to be 
female--either because a woman is buried
 there1 or to place the spot under the  
protection of a goddess4 ,from this rude
 beginning we get every transitional    
form1 like the ,herm and the archaic    
,apollos1 till we arrive at the perfect 
freedom and beauty of ,hellenic         
sculpture4 ,says ,grote1 in speaking of 
,greek worship1 8their primitive        
memorial erected to a god did not even  
pretend to be an image1 but was often   
nothing more than a pillar1 a board1 a  
shapeless stone1 or a post notice the   
resemblance to ordinary grave-marks     
receiving care and decoration from the  
#ajdneighbourhood as well as worship40  
,dr4 ,tylor1 to whose great collection  
of instances ,i owe many                
acknowledgments1 says in comment on this
 passage1 8,such were the log that stood

 for ,artemis in ,euboea2 the stake that
 represented ,pallas ,athene #8sine     
effigie rudis palus1 et informe lignum2'
 the unwrought stone at ,hyethos1 which 
#8after the ancient manner' represented 
,heracles2 the thirty such stones which 
the ,pharans in like fashion worshipped 
for the gods2 and that one which        
received such honour in ,boeotian       
festivals as representing the ,thespian 
,eros40 ,such also was the conical      
pillar of ,asiatic type which stood     
instead of an image of the ,paphian     
,aphrodite1 and the conical stone       
worshipped in ,attica under the name of 
,apollo4 ,a sacred boulder lay in front 
of the temple of the ,trzenians1 while  
another in ,argos bore the significant  
name of ,zeus ,kappotas4 8,among all the
 ,greeks10 says ,pausanias1 8rude stones
 were worshipped before the images of   
the gods40 ,among the ,semites1 in like 
manner1 ,melcarth was reverenced at     
,tyre under the form of two stone       
pillars4  ,intermediate forms1 in which 

the stone takes successively a face1 a  
head1 arms1 legs1 a shapely and         
well-moulded body1 are familiar to all  
of us in existing remains4 ,the         
well-known figures of ,priapus form a   
good transitional example4 8,at ,tbala1 
in ,arabia10 says ,professor ,robertson 
,smith1 8a sort of crown was sculptured 
on the stone of al-,lat to mark her     
head40 ,indeed1 to the last1 the pillar 
or monolithic type is constantly        
suggested in the erect attitude and the 
proportions of the statue among all     
except the highest ,hellenic examples4  
,i may add1 that even in ,islam itself1 
which so sternly forbids images of any  
sort1 some traces of such               
anthropomorphic gravestones may still be
 found4 ,i noticed in the mosque of     
,mehemet ,ali at ,cairo that the        
headstones of the ,vice-regal family    
were each adorned with a fez and tassel4
  ,it is worth noting that the obelisk1 
also1 doubtless owes its origin to the  
monolith or standing stone4 ,whatever   

fresh #ajesacredness it may later have  
obtained from the associations of       
sun-worship1 as a solar ray1 cannot mask
 for any wide anthropological enquirer  
the fact that it is by descent a mere   
shapeless head-stone1 with a new        
symbolic meaning given to it 7as so     
often happens7 in a new religion4 ,the  
two obelisksrsquo2 which stand so often 
before ,egyptian temples are clearly the
 analogues of the two pillars of        
,melcarth at ,tyre1 and the sacred pair 
at ,paphos1 ,hera-polis1 and            
,solomonrsquo2s temple4 ,in the same    
way1 the ,indian tope and the pyramid   
are descendants of the cairn1 as the    
great stone-built tombs of the ,numidian
 kings in ,algeria seem to be more      
advanced equivalents of the tumulus or  
round barrow4 ,and let me clear the     
ground here for what is to follow by    
adding most emphatically that the       
genesis of stone-worship here sketched  
out precludes the possibility of phallic
 worship being in any sense a primitive 

form of it4 ,the standing stone may have
 been1 and doubtless often was1 in later
 stages2 identified with a phallus2 but 
if the theory here advocated is true1   
the lingam1 instead of lying at the root
 of the monolith1 must necessarily be a 
later and derivative form of it4 ,at the
 same time1 the stone being regarded as 
the ancestor of the family1 it is not   
unnatural that early men should         
sometimes carve it into a phallic shape4
 ,having said this1 ,i will say no more 
on the subject1 which has really        
extremely little to do with the         
essentials of stone worship1 save that  
on many gravestones of early date a     
phallus marked the male sex of the      
occupant1 while breasts1 or a symbolical
 triangle1 or a mandorla1 marked the    
grave of a woman4  ,sometimes1 both     
forms of god1 the most primitive and the
 most finished1 the rude stone and the  
perfect statue1 exist side by side in   
the same community4  8,in the legendary 
origin of ,jagannath10 says ,sir        

,william ,hunter1 8we find the          
aboriginal people worshipping a blue    
stone in the depths of the forest4 ,but 
the deity at length wearies of primitive
 jungle offerings1 and longs for the    
cooked food of the more civilised       
,aryans1 upon #ajfwhose arrival on the  
scene the rude blue stone gives place to
 a carved image4 ,at the present hour1  
in every hamlet of ,orissa1 this twofold
 worship coexists4 ,the common people   
have their shapeless stone or block1    
which they adore with simple rites in   
the open air2 while side by side with it
 stands a temple to one of the ,aryan   
gods1 with its carved idol and elaborate
 rites40  ,where many sacred stones     
exist all round1 marking the graves of  
the dead1 or inhabited by their spirits1
 it is not surprising1 once more1 that a
 general feeling of reverence towards   
all stones should begin to arise--that  
the stone per se1 especially if large1  
odd1 or conspicuous1 should be credited 
to some extent with indwelling divinity4

 ,nor is it astonishing that the idea of
 men being descended from stones should 
be rife among people who must often1    
when young1 have been shown headstones1 
monoliths1 boulders1 or cromlechs1 and  
been told that the offerings made upon  
them were gifts to their ancestors4     
,they would accept the idea as readily  
as our own children accept the ,hebrew  
myth of the creation of ,adam1 our prime
 ancestor1 from 8the dust of the        
ground0--a far less promising material  
than a block of marble or sandstone4 ,in
 this way1 it seems to me1 we can most  
readily understand the numerous stories 
of men becoming stones1 and stones      
becoming men1 which are rife among the  
myths of savage or barbarous peoples4   
,fernandez de ,piedrahita says that the 
,laches 8worshipped every stone as a    
god1 as they said they had all been     
men40 ,arriaga tells us the ,peruvians  
paid honour to 8very large stones1      
saying that they were once men40 ,in the
 ,american ,report of the ,bureau of    

,ethnology for #ahhj1 several stories   
are told of metamorphosis of men into   
stones from the ,iroquois legends4      
,according to ,dorman1 the ,oneidas and 
,dakotahs claim descent from stones1 to 
which they ascribe animation4 ,an       
interesting intermediate form1 which    
shows the growth of this idea1 is given 
in ,arriaga's statement that the        
,marcayoc1 or idol worshipped in        
#ajg,peru as the patron of the village1 
8is sometimes a stone and sometimes a   
mummy03 in other words1 it depended upon
 circumstances whether they reverenced  
the body itself or the gravestone that  
covered it4 ,among the ,coast ,negroes1 
when a person dies1 a stone is taken to 
a certain house--the village            
valhalla--to represent his ghost2 and   
among the ,bulloms1 women 8make         
occasional sacrifices and offerings of  
rice to the stones which are preserved  
in memory of the dead40 ,at ,tanna1 in  
the ,new ,hebrides1 ,mr4 ,gray1 a       
missionary1 found 8a piece of sacred    

ground1 on which were deposited the     
stones in which they supposed the       
spirits of their departed relatives to  
reside02 and ,commander ,henderson1     
commenting upon a similar case from     
,vati ,island1 says these 8were the only
 form of gods the natives possessed1 and
 into them they supposed the souls of   
their departed friends and relatives to 
enter40 ,some of them 8had a small piece
 chipped out on one side1 by means of   
which the indwelling ghost or spirit was
 supposed to have ingress or egress40   
,of a third sort1 rudely fashioned by   
hand1 ,captain ,henderson says acutely1 
8these1 it seemed to me1 were the       
beginnings of a graven image--a common  
stone1 sacred as the dwelling-place of  
an ancestral ghost40 99       99 ,i owe 
this and several other references to    
,mr4 ,spencer's      ,appendix1 as ,i do
 some of my previously cited cases to   
,mr4      ,lang or ,dr4 ,tylor4         
,classical and ,hebrew literature are   
full of examples of such stones1        

believed to have been once human4 ,niobe
 and ,lot's wife are instances that will
 at once occur to every reader4 ,in     
,boeotia1 ,pausanias tells us1 people   
believed ,alkmene1 the mother of        
,herakles1 was changed into a stone4    
,perseus and the ,gorgon's head is      
another example1 paralleled by the      
,breton idea that their great stone     
circles were people1 who1 in the modern 
,christianised version of the story1    
were turned into stone for dancing on a 
,sunday4 7,about this ,christianisation 
,i shall have a word to say further on2 
meanwhile1 observe the similar name of  
the ,giant's ,dance given to the great  
,stonehenge #ajhof ,ireland47 ,in the   
same way there is a ,standing ,rock on  
the upper ,missouri which parallels the 
story of ,niobe--it was once a woman1   
who became petrified with grief when her
 husband took a second wife4 ,some      
,samoan gods 7or ancestral ghosts7 8were
 changed into stones10 says ,mr4        
,turner1 8and now stand up in a rocky   

part of the lagoon on the north side of 
,upolu40  ,on the other hand1 if men    
become stones1 stones also become men1  
or at least give birth to men4 ,we get a
 good instance of this in the legend of 
,deucalion4 ,again1 by the roadside1    
near the city of the ,panopoeans1 lay   
the stones out of which ,prometheus made
 men4 ,manke1 the first man in ,mitchell
 ,island1 came out of a stone4 ,the     
inhabitants of the ,new ,hebrides say   
that 8the human race sprang from stones 
and the earth40 ,on ,francis ,island1   
says ,mr4 ,turner1 8close by the temple 
there was a seven-feet-long beach       
sandstone slab erected1 before which    
offerings were laid as the people united
 for prayer02 and the natives here told 
him that one of their gods had made     
stones become men4 8,in ,melanesia10    
says ,mr4 ,lang1 8matters are so mixed  
that it is not easy to decide whether a 
worshipful stone is the dwelling of a   
dead man's soul1 or is of spiritual     
merit in itself1 or whether the stone is

 the spirit's outward part or organ40   
,and1 indeed1 a sort of general         
confusion between the stone1 the ghost1 
the ancestor1 and the god1 at last      
pervades the mind of the                
stone-worshipper everywhere4 8,the      
curious anthropomorphic idea of stones  
being husbands and wives1 and even      
having children10 as ,dr4 ,tylor calls  
it--an idea familiar to the ,fijians as 
to the ,peruvians and ,lapps--is surely 
explicable at once by the existence of  
headstones either to men or women1 and  
the confusion between the mark and the  
ghost it commemorates4  ,an interesting 
side-point in this gradual mixing up of 
the ghost and the stone1 the god and the
 image1 is shown in a gradual change of 
detail as to the mode of making         
offerings at the tomb or shrine4 ,on the
 great trilithon in ,tonga1 #aji,miss   
,gordon-,cumming tells us1 a bowl of    
kava was placed on a horizontal stone4  
,here it must have been supposed that   
the ghost itself issued forth 7perhaps  

by night7 to drink it1 as the serpent   
which represented the spirit of         
,anchises glided from the tomb to lick  
up the offerings presented by neas4     
,gradually1 however1 as the stone and   
the ghost get more closely connected in 
idea the offering is made to the        
monument itself2 though in the earlier  
stages the convenience of using the flat
 altar-stone 7wherever such exists7 as a
 place of sacrifice for victims probably
 masks the transition even to the       
worshippers themselves4 ,dr4 ,wise saw  
in the ,himalayas a group of stones     
8erected to the memory of the petty     
,rajahs of ,kolam10 where 8some fifty or
 sixty unfortunate women sacrificed     
themselves40 ,the blood1 in particular1 
is offered up to the ghost2 and 8the    
cup-hollows which have been found in    
menhirs and dolmens10 says ,captain     
,conder1 8are the indications of the    
libations1 often of human blood1 once   
poured on these stones by heathen       
worshippers40 8,cups are often found10  

says a good ,scotch observer1 8on stones
 connected with the monuments of the    
dead1 such as on the covering stones of 
kistvaens1 particularly those of the    
short or rarest form2 on the flat stones
 of cromlechs2 and on stones of         
chambered graves40 ,on the top of the   
cairn at ,glen ,urquhart1 on ,loch      
,ness1 is an oblong mass of slate-stone1
 obviously sepulchral1 and marked with  
very numerous cups4 ,when the stones are
 upright the notion of offering the     
blood to the upper part1 which          
represents the face or mouth1 becomes   
very natural1 and forms a distinct step 
in the process of anthropomorphisation  
of the headstone into the idol4  ,we get
 two stages of this evolution side by   
side in the two deities of the ,samoyed 
travelling ark-sledge1 8one with a stone
 head1 the other a mere black stone1    
both dressed in green robes with red    
lappets1 and both smeared with          
sacrificial blood40 ,in the ,indian     
groups of standing stones1 representing 

the ,five ,pandavas1 8it is a usual     
practice10 #aajsays ,dr4 ,tylor1 8to    
daub each stone with red paint1 forming1
 as it were1 a great blood-spot where   
the face would be if it were a shaped   
idol40 ,mr4 ,spencer1 ,i think1 hits the
 key-note of this practice in an        
instructive passage4 8,a ,dakotah10 he  
says1 8before praying to a stone for    
succour paints it with some red pigment1
 such as red ochre4 ,now1 when we read  
that along with offerings of milk1      
honey1 fruit1 flour1 etc41 the ,bodo and
 ,dhimals offer #8red lead or           
cochineal1rsquo2 we may suspect that    
these three colouring matters1 having   
red as their common character1 are      
substitutes for blood4 ,the supposed    
resident ghost was at first propitiated 
by anointing the stone with human blood2
 and then1 in default of this1 red      
pigment was used1 ghosts and gods being 
supposed by primitive men to be easily  
deceived by shams40 ,it is possible1    
too1 that with the process of           

idealisation and spiritualisation it    
might be supposed a substitute would    
please the gods equally well1 or that   
redness generally was the equivalent of 
blood1 in the same way as the ,chinese  
burn paper money and utensils to set    
free their ghosts for the use of        
ancestral spirits4  ,in any case1 it is 
interesting to note that the faces of   
many ,hindu gods are habitually painted 
red4 ,and that this is the survival of  
the same ancient custom we see in the   
case of ,shashti1 protectress of        
children1 whose proper representative is
 8a rough stone as big as a man's head1 
smeared with red paint1 and set at the  
foot of the sacred vata-tree40 ,like    
customs survived in ,greece down to the 
classical period4 8,the faces of the    
ancient gilded ,dionysi at ,corinth10   
says ,mr4 ,lang1 quoting ,pausanias1    
8were smudged all over with cinnabar1   
like fetish-stones in ,india or         
,africa40 ,in early ,south ,italy1 too1 
the ,priapus-,hermes1 who protected the 

fields1 had his face similarly 8daubed  
with minium40 ,is it possible to        
dissever these facts from the cannibal  
banquets of the ,aztec gods1 where the  
images had lumps of palpitating human   
flesh thrust into their lips1 #aaa;and  
where their faces were smeared with the 
warm blood of the helpless victims8     
,only in one instance1 however1 have ,i 
been able to trace the custom of        
painting with red directly back to      
cannibalism1 and that is among the      
man-eaters of the ,new ,hebrides1 where1
 when a man died1 and his body was laid 
out in a piece of thick native cloth1   
8the face was kept exposed and painted  
red40 ,i believe with this practice must
 ultimately be correlated the           
red-painted faces of the ,corinthian    
,dionysi4  ,another point of            
considerable interest and importance in 
the evolution of stone worship is       
connected with the migration of sacred  
stones4 ,when the ,israelites left      
,egypt1 according to the narrative in   

,exodus1 they carried the bones of      
,joseph with them4 ,when ,rachel left   
her father's tent she stole the family  
teraphim to accompany her on her        
wanderings4 ,when neas flew from burning
 ,troy1 he bore away to his ships his   
country's gods1 his ,lares and ,penates4
 ,all of these tales1 no doubt1 are     
equally unhistorical1 but they represent
 what1 to the people who framed the     
legends1 seemed perfectly natural and   
probable conduct4 ,just in the same way1
 when stone-worshippers migrate from one
 country to another1 they are likely to 
carry with them their sacred stones1 or 
at least the most portable or holiest of
 the number4  ,here is a very good      
illustrative case1 once more from that  
most valuable storehouse1 ,turner's     
,samoa4 ,the ,fijian gods and goddesses 
we saw1 according to ,tylor1 8had their 
abodes or shrines in black stones like  
smooth round millstones1 and there      
received their offerings of food40 ,but 
on a certain ,samoan island1 says ,mr4  

,turner1 8,in a district said to have   
been early populated by settlers from   
,fiji1 a number of fancy ,fijian stones 
were kept in a temple1 and worshipped in
 time of war4 ,the priest1 in consulting
 them1 built them up in the form of a   
wall1 and then watched to see how they  
fell4 ,if they fell to the westward1 it 
was a sign that the enemy there was to  
be #aab;driven2 but if they fell to     
eastward1 that was a warning of defeat1 
and delay in making an attack was       
ordered accordingly40  ,i cannot find   
room here for many detailed instances of
 similar migrations2 but there are two  
examples in ,britain so exceedingly     
interesting that even in so hasty a     
notice ,i cannot pass them by without a 
brief mention4 ,the inner or smaller    
stones at ,stonehenge are known to be of
 remote origin1 belonging to rocks not  
found nearer ,salisbury ,plain than     
,cumberland in one direction or ,belgium
 in the other4 ,they are surrounded by a
 group of much larger stones1 arranged  

as trilithons1 but carved out of the    
common sarsen blocks distributed over   
the neighbouring country4 ,i have tried 
to show elsewhere that these smaller    
igneous rocks1 untouched by the tool1 99
 were the ancient sacred stones of an   
immigrant tribe that came into ,britain 
from the ,continent1 probably over a    
broad land-belt which then existed where
 the ,straits of ,dover now flow2 and   
that the strangers on their arrival in  
,britain erected these their ancestral  
gods on the ,plain of ,amesbury1 and    
further contributed to their importance 
and appearance by surrounding them with 
a circle of the biggest and most        
imposing grey-wethers that the new      
country in which they had settled could 
easily afford4       99 ,so ,moses in   
the legend commanded the children of    
,israel to      build 8an altar of whole
 stones1 over which no man hath lift    
up any iron02 and so of the boulders    
composing the altar on      ,mount ,ebal
 it was said1 8,thou shah not lift up   

any iron tool      upon them40 ,the     
conservatism of religion kept up the    
archaic      fashion for sacred         
purposes4  ,the other case is that of   
the ,scone stone4 ,this sacred block1   
according to the accredited legend1 was 
originally the ancestral god of the     
,irish ,scots1 on whose royal tumulus at
 ,tara it once stood4 ,it was carried by
 them to ,argyllshire on their first    
invasion1 and placed in a cranny of the 
wall 7say modern versions7 at           
,dunstaffnage ,castle4 ,when the ,scotch
 kings removed to ,scone1 ,kenneth ,,ii4
 took the stone to his new lowland      
residence4 ,thence ,edward ,i4          
#aac;carried it off to ,england1 where  
it has ever since remained in           
,westminster ,abbey1 as part of the     
chair in which the sovereigns of        
,britain sit at their coronation4 ,the  
immense significance of these facts or  
tales will be seen more clearly when we 
come to consider the analogies of the   
,hebrew ark4 ,meanwhile1 it may help to 

explain the coronation usage1 and the   
legend that wherever the ,stone of      
,destiny is found 8the ,scots in place  
must reign10 if ,i add a couple of      
analogous cases from the history of the 
same mixed ,celtic race4 ,according to  
,dr4 ,orsquo2,donovan1 the inauguration 
stone of the ,o',donnells stood on a    
tumulus in the midst of a large plain2  
and on this sacred stone1 called the    
,flagstone of the ,kings1 the elected   
chief stood to receive the white wand or
 sceptre of kingship4 ,a cylindrical    
obelisk1 used for the same purpose1     
stands to this day1 according to ,dr4   
,petrie1 in the ,rath-na-,riogh4 ,so1   
too1 ,m',donald was crowned ,king of the
 ,isles1 standing on a sacred stone1    
with an impression on top to receive his
 feet4 ,he based himself1 as it were1   
upon the gods his ancestors4 ,the ,tara 
stone even cried aloud1 ,professor ,rhys
 tells us1 when the true king placed his
 feet above it4 ,the coronation stone   
exists in other countries2 for example1 

in ,hebrew history1 or half-history1 we 
learn that when ,abimelech was mads king
 it was 8by the plain of the pillar that
 was in ,shechem02 and when ,jehoash was
 anointed by ,jehoiada1 8the king stood 
by a pillar1 as the manner was40 ,in    
front of the church of ,sant' ,ambrogio 
at ,milan stands the stone pillar at    
which the ,lombard kings and ,german    
emperors took the coronation oath1 under
 the ancient lime-trees which overshadow
 the piazza4  ,now1 it is quite true    
that ,mr4 ,skene1 the best authority on 
,celtic ,scotland1 rejects this story of
 the ,stone of ,destiny in most parts as
 legendary3 he believes the ,scone stone
 to have been merely the sacred         
coronation-block of the ,pictish ,kings 
at ,scone1 and never to have come from  
,ireland at all4 ,professor ,ramsay     
thinks it is a piece of red             
#aadsandstone broken off the rock of    
that district of ,scotland4 ,even       
,professor ,rhys 7who gives a most      
interesting account of the ,tara ,stone7

 seems to have doubts as to the         
migration4 ,but1 true or not1 the story 
will amply serve my purpose here2 for ,i
 use it only to illustrate the equally  
dubious wanderings of a ,hebrew sacred  
stone1 at which we will arrive in due   
time2 and one legend is surely always   
the best possible parallel of another4  
,in the course of ages1 as religions    
develop1 and especially as a few great  
gods grow to overshadow the minor       
ancestral ,lares and spirits1 it often  
comes about that sacred stones of the   
older faith have a new religious        
significance given them in the later    
system4 ,thus we have seen the ,argives 
worshipped their old sacred stone under 
the name of ,zeus ,kappotas2 the        
,thespians identified theirs with the   
later ,hellenic ,eros2 and the          
,megarians considered a third as the    
representative of ,phoebus4 ,the        
original local sacred stone of ,delos   
has been found on the spot where it     
originally stood1 beneath the feet of   

the statue of the ,delian ,apollo4 ,and 
this1 ,i am glad to see1 is ,mr4 ,andrew
 ,lang's view also2 for he remarks of   
the ,greek unwrought stones1 8,they were
 blocks which bore the names of gods1   
,hera1 or ,apollo1 names perhaps given1 
as ,de ,brosses says1 to the old        
fetishistic objects of worship1 after   
the anthropomorphic gods entered ,i     
should say1 were developed in ,hellas40 
,so1 too1 in ,india1 the local sacred   
stones have been identified with the    
deities of the ,hindu pantheon2 ,mr4    
,hislop remarks that in every part of   
the ,deccan 7where ,hinduism is of      
comparatively late introduction7 four or
 five stones may often be seen in the   
ryot's field1 placed in a row and daubed
 with red paint1 which the peasants call
 the ,five ,pandavas2 but1 says ,dr4    
,tylor1 8he reasonably takes these      
,hindu names to have superseded more    
ancient appellations40 ,islam1 in like  
manner1 has adopted the ,kaaba1 the     
great black stone of the ,holy ,place at

 ,mecca2 and the ,egyptian religion gave
 #aae;a new meaning to the pillar or    
monolith1 by shaping it as an obelisk to
 represent a ray of the rising sun-god4 
,sometimes the sanctity of the antique  
stones was secured in the later faith by
 connecting them with some legend or    
episode of the orthodox religion4 ,thus 
the ancient sacred stone kept at        
,delphi--no doubt the original oracle of
 that great shrine1 as the rude ,delian 
block was the precursor of the ,delian  
,apollo--was explained with reference to
 the later ,hellenic belief by the myth 
that it was the stone which ,kronos     
swallowed in mistake for ,zeus3 an      
explanation doubtless due to the fact   
that this boulder was kept1 like        
,monigan's ,irish idol and the ,samoan  
god1 wrapped up in flannel2 and in the  
myth1 ,rhea deceived ,kronos by offering
 him1 instead of ,zeus1 a stone wrapped 
in swaddling-bands4 ,there is here      
indeed food for much reflection4 ,the   
sacred stone of the ,trzenians1 in like 

manner1 lay in front of the temple2 but 
it was ,hellenised1 so to speak1 by the 
story that on it the ,trzenian elders   
sat when they purified ,orestes from the
 murder of his mother4  ,in modern      
,europe1 as everybody knows1 a similar  
,christianisation of holy wells1 holy   
stones1 and holy places has been managed
 by connecting them with legends of     
saints1 or by the still simpler device  
of marking a cross upon them4 ,the cross
 has a threefold value3 in the first    
place1 it drives away from their        
accustomed haunts the ancient gods or   
spirits1 always envisaged in early      
,christian and medival thought as devils
 or demons2 in the second place1 it     
asserts the supremacy of the new faith2 
and in the third place1 by conferring a 
fresh sanctity upon the old holy place  
or object1 it induces the people to     
worship the cross by the mere habit of  
resorting to the shrine at which their  
ancestors so long worshipped4 ,gregory's
 well-known advice to ,st4 ,augustine on

 this matter is but a single example of 
what went on over all ,christendom4 ,in 
many cases1 crosses in ,britain are     
still found firmly fixed in old sacred  
stones1 usually recognisable by their   
unwrought condition4 ,the finest        
#aaf;example in ,europe is probably the 
gigantic monolith of ,plumen in         
,brittany1 topped by an insignificant   
little cross1 and still resorted to by  
the peasants 7especially the childless7 
as a great place of worship4 ,the       
prehistoric monuments of ,narvia in the 
,isle of ,man have been ,christianised  
by having crosses deeply incised upon   
them4 ,other cases1 like the ,black     
,stones of ,iona1 which gave sanctity to
 that ,holy ,isle long before the time  
of ,columba1 will doubtless occur at    
once to every reader4 ,with many of the 
,scotch sculptured stones1 it is        
difficult to decide whether they were   
originally erected as crosses1 or are   
prehistoric monuments externally        
,christianised4  ,i have thus           

endeavoured briefly to suggest the      
ultimate derivation of all sacred stones
 from sepulchral monuments1 and to point
 out the very large part which they bear
 in the essential of religion--that is  
to say1 worship--everywhere4 ,there is1 
however1 one particular application to  
which ,i wish to call special attention1
 because of its peculiar interest as    
regards the origin of the monotheistic  
god of ,judaism and ,christianity4      
,hitherto in this chapter1 ,i have      
intentionally made but very few         
allusions to the faith and the sacred   
stones of the ,hebrews1 because ,i      
wished first to give a general view of  
the whole ramifications and             
modifications of stone-worship before   
coming down to the particular instance  
in which we modern ,europeans are most  
deeply interested4 ,i will now1 however1
 give a brief summary of what seems to  
me most suggestive and important in the 
early ,semitic stone-cult4 ,these       
results are no doubt already familiar in

 outline to most cultivated readers1 but
 it is possible they may appear in a    
somewhat new light when regarded in     
connexion with the general history of   
stone-worship as here elucidated4  ,that
 the ,semites1 as well as other early   
nations1 were stone-worshippers we know 
from a great number of positive         
instances4 ,the stone pillars of ,baal  
and the wooden ,ashera cones were the   
chief objects of adoration in the       
,phoenician religion4 ,the ,stone of    
,bethel was apparently a menhir3 #aagthe
 cairn of ,mizpeh was doubtless a       
sepulchral monument4 ,the ,israelites   
under ,joshua1 we are told1 built a     
,gilgal of twelve standing stones2 and  
other instances in the early traditions 
of the ,hebrews will be noticed in their
 proper place later on4 ,similarly1     
among the ,arabs of the time of         
,mohammed1 two of the chief deities were
 ,manah and ,lt1 the one a rock1 the    
other a sacred stone or stone idol3 and 
the ,kaaba itself1 the great black stone

 of local worship1 even the ,prophet was
 compelled to recognise and ,islamise by
 adopting it bodily into his            
monotheistic religion4  ,the stone      
worship of the ,semites at large1 though
 comparatively neglected by ,professor  
,robertson ,smith1 must have played a   
large part in the religion of that race1
 from which the ,hebrews were a special 
offshoot4 8,in ,arabia10 says ,professor
 ,smith1 8where sacrifice by fire was   
almost unknown1 we find no proper altar1
 but in its place a rude pillar or heap 
of stones1 beside which the victim is   
slain1 the blood being poured out over  
the stone or at its base40 ,to the great
 orientalist1 it is true1 the sacred    
stone or altar1 like the sacred tree and
 the sacred fountain1 are nothing more  
than 8common symbols at sanctuaries02 he
 thinks of them not as gods but merely  
as representatives of the god1          
arbitrarily chosen4 ,after the evidence 
,i have already adduced1 however1 ,i    
think it will be seen that this position

 is altogether untenable2 indeed1 ,dr4  
,smith himself uses many phrases in this
 connexion which enables us to see the  
true state of the case far more clearly 
than he himself did4 8,the sacred stones
 of the ,arabs1 which are already       
mentioned by ,herodotus1 are called     
ansab1 i4e41 stones set up1 pillars4 ,we
 also find the name ghariy1             
#8blood-bedaubed1rsquo2 with reference  
to the ritual just described of         
sacrifice at the nosb or sacred pillar4 
,the meaning of this ritual will occupy 
us later3 meantime the thing to be noted
 is that the altar is only a            
modification of the nosb1 and that the  
rude ,arabian usage is the primitive    
type out of which all the elaborate     
altar ceremonies of the #aahmore        
cultivated ,semites grew4 ,whatever else
 was done in connexion with a sacrifice1
 the primitive rite of sprinkling or    
dashing the blood against the altar1 or 
allowing it to flow down on the ground  
at its base1 was hardly ever omitted2   

and this practice was not peculiar to   
the ,semites1 but was equally the rule  
with the ,greeks and ,romans1 and indeed
 with the ancient nations generally40   
8,it is certain10 says ,professor ,smith
 again1 8that the original altar among  
the ,northern ,semites1 as well as among
 the ,arabs1 was a great stone or cairn1
 at which the blood of the victim was   
shed40 ,there is no difference1 he      
declares1 between the ,hebrew altar and 
the ,arabian standing stone4            
8,monolithic pillars or cairns of stone 
are frequently mentioned in the more    
ancient parts of the ,old ,testament as 
standing at ,sanctuaries1 generally in  
connexion with a sacred legend about the
 occasion on which they were set up by  
some famous patriarch or hero4 ,in the  
biblical story1 they usually appear as  
mere memorial structures without any    
definite ritual significance2 but the   
pentateuchal law looks on the use of    
sacred pillars as idolatrous4 ,this is  
the best evidence that such pillars held

 an important place among the           
appurtenances of ,canaanite temples2 and
 as ,hosea speaks of the pillar as an   
indispensable feature in the sanctuaries
 of ,northern ,israel in his time1 we   
may be sure that by the mass of the     
,hebrews the pillars of ,shechem1       
,bethel1 ,gilgal1 and other shrines were
 looked upon1 not as mere memorials of  
historical events1 but as necessary     
parts of the ritual apparatus of a place
 of worship4444 ,from these evidences1  
and especially from the fact that       
libations of the same kind are applied  
to both1 it seems clear that the altar  
is a differentiated form of the         
primitive rude stone pillar4 ,but the   
sacred stone is more than an altar1 for 
in ,hebrew and ,canaanite sanctuaries   
the altar1 in its developed form as a   
table or hearth1 does not supersede the 
pillar2 the two are found side by side  
at the same sanctuary1 the altar as a   
piece of sacrificial apparatus1 and the 
pillar as a visible symbol or embodiment

 of the #aaipresence of the deity1 which
 in process of time comes to be         
fashioned and carved in various ways1   
till ultimately it becomes a statue or  
anthropomorphic idol of stone1 just as  
the sacred tree or post was ultimately  
developed into an image of wood40  ,in  
spite of much obvious groping in the    
dark in this and other passages of the  
,religion of the ,semites1 it is clear  
that the learned professor recognised at
 least one central fact--8the sacred    
stone at ,semitic sanctuaries was from  
the first an object of worship1 a sort  
of rude idol in which the divinity was  
somehow supposed to be present40 ,again1
 he notes that 8,jacob's pillar is more 
than a mere landmark1 for it is         
anointed1 just as idols were in         
antiquity1 and the pillar itself1 not   
the spot on which it stood1 is called   
#8the house of ,god1' as if the deity   
were conceived actually to dwell in the 
stone1 or manifest himself therein to   
his worshippers4 ,and this is the       

conception which appears to have been   
associated with sacred stones           
everywhere4 ,when the ,arab daubed blood
 on the nosh1 his object was to bring   
the offering into direct contact with   
the deity2 and in like manner the       
practice of stroking the sacred stone   
with the hand is identical with the     
practice of touching or stroking the    
garments or beard of a man in acts of   
supplication before him40 ,elsewhere he 
says3 8,so far as evidence from         
tradition and ritual goes1 we can only  
think of the sacred stone as consecrated
 by the actual presence of the godhead1 
so that whatever touched it was brought 
into immediate contact with the deity40 
,and he quotes a line from an ,arab poet
 in which the ,arabian gods are         
expressly described as 8gods of stone40 
,it is thus clear that sacred stones    
were common objects of worship with the 
,semites in general1 and also with the  
,hebrew people in particular4 ,but after
 the exclusive worship of ,jahweh1 the  

local ,jewish god1 had grown obligatory 
among the ,jews1 it became the policy of
 the 8,jehovist0 priests to ,jehovise   
and to consecrate the sacred stones of  
,palestine by bringing them into        
connexion #abjwith the ,jehovistic      
legend and the tales of the ,patriarchs4
 ,thus ,professor ,cheyne comments as   
follows upon the passage in ,isaiah     
where the prophet mocks the partizan of 
the old polytheistic creed as a         
stone-worshipper--8,among the smooth    
stones of the valley is thy portion3    
,they1 they are thy lot3 ,even to them  
hast thou poured a drink offering3 ,thou
 hast offered a meat offering3 8,the    
large smooth stones referred to above   
were the fetishes of the primitive      
,semitic races1 and anointed with oil1  
according to a widely spread custom4 ,it
 was such a stone which ,jacob took for 
a pillow1 and afterwards consecrated by 
pouring oil upon it4 ,the early ,semites
 and reactionary idolatrous ,israelites 
called such stones ,bethels4444 i4e41   

houses of ,el 7the early ,semitic word  
for ,god7 994444 ,in spite of the       
efforts of the #8,jehovist' who desired 
to convert these ancient fetishes into  
memorials of patriarchal history1 the   
old heathenish use of them seems to have
 continued especially in secluded       
places40       99 ,say rather1 ldquo2for
 a god40  ,besides the case of the stone
 at ,bethel1 there is the later one 7in 
our narrative7 when ,jacob and ,laban   
made a covenant1 8and ,jacob took a     
stone1 and set it up for a pillar4 ,and 
,jacob said unto his brethren1 ,gather  
stones2 and they took stones and made an
 heap3 and they did eat there upon the  
heap40 ,so1 once more1 at ,shalem1 he   
erects an altar called                  
,el-,elohe-,israel2 he sets a pillar    
upon the grave of ,rachel1 and another  
at the place at ,luz where ,god appeared
 to him4 ,of like import is the story of
 the twelve stones which the twelve men 
take out of ,jordan to commemorate the  
passage of the tribes4 ,all are clearly 

attempts to ,jehovise these early sacred
 stones or local gods by connecting them
 with incidents in the ,jehovistic      
version of the ancient ,hebrew legends4 
,that such stones1 however1 were        
worshipped as deities in early times1   
before the cult of ,jahweh had become an
 exclusive one among his devotees1 is   
evident from the ,jehovistic            
#abanarrative itself1 which has not     
wholly succeeded in blotting out all    
traces of earlier religion4 ,samuel     
judged ,israel every year at ,bethel1   
the place of ,jacob's sacred pillar3 at 
,gilgal1 the place where ,joshua's      
twelve stones were set up2 and at       
,mizpeh1 where stood the cairn          
surmounted by the pillar of ,laban's    
covenant4 ,in other words1 these were   
the sanctuaries of the chief ancient    
gods of ,israel4 ,samuel himself 8took a
 stone and set it between ,mizpeh and   
,shem and its very name1 ,eben-ezer1    
8the stone of help10 shows that it was  
originally worshipped before proceeding 

on warlike expeditions1 though the      
,jehovistic gloss1 8saying1 ,hitherto   
the ,lord hath helped us10 does its     
best1 of course1 to obscure the real    
meaning4 ,so at ,peran1 in ,new ,guinea1
 ,mr4 ,chalmers saw 8a large            
peculiarly-shaped stone10 by name       
,ravai1 considered very sacred4         
,sacrifices are made to it1 and it is   
more particularly addressed in times of 
fighting4 8,before setting forth1       
offerings are presented1 with food10 and
 the stone is entreated to precede the  
warriors into battle4 ,wherever a stone 
has a name1 it is almost certainly of   
mortuary origin4 ,it was to the         
stone-circle of ,gilgal1 once more1 that
 ,samuel directed ,saul to go1 saying1  
8,i will come down unto thee1 to offer  
burnt-offerings1 and to sacrifice       
sacrifices of peace-offerings40 ,it was 
at the cairn of ,mizpeh that ,saul was  
chosen king2 and after the victory over 
the ,ammonites1 ,saul went once more to 
the great ,stonehenge at ,gilgal to     

8renew the kingdom10 and 8there they    
made ,saul king before ,jahweh in       
,gilgal2 and there they sacrificed      
sacrifices of peace-offerings before    
,jahweh40 ,this passage is a very       
instructive and important one1 because  
here we see that in the opinion of the  
writer at least ,jahweh was then        
domiciled at ,gilgal1 amid the other    
sacred stones of that holy circle4      
,observe1 ldquo2however1 that when ,saul
 was directed to go to find his father's
 asses1 he was sent first to ,rachel's  
pillar at ,telzah1 and then to the plain
 of ,tabor1 where he was to meet 8three 
men going up to ,god not to ,jahweh at  
,bethel10 #abb;evidently to sacrifice1  
8one carrying three kids1 and another   
carrying three loaves of bread1 and     
another carrying a bottle of wine40     
,these and many other like memorials of 
stone-worship lie thickly scattered     
through the early books of the ,hebrew  
,scriptures1 sometimes openly avowed1   
and sometimes cloaked under a thin veil 

of ,jehovism4  ,on the other hand1 at   
the present day1 the ,palestine         
exploration has shown that no rude stone
 monuments exist in ,palestine proper1  
though east of the ,jordan they are     
common in all parts of the country4     
,how1 then1 are we to explain their     
disappearance8 ,major ,conder thinks    
that when pure ,jehovism finally        
triumphed under ,hezekiah and ,josiah1  
the ,jehovists destroyed all these      
8idolatrous0 stones throughout the      
,jewish dominions1 in accordance with   
the injunctions in the ,book of         
,deuteronomy to demolish the religious  
emblems of the ,canaanites4 ,jahweh1 the
 god of the ,hebrews1 was a jealous     
,god1 and he would tolerate no alien    
sacred stones within his own            
jurisdiction4  ,and who or what was this
 ,jahweh himself1 this local and ethnic 
god of the ,israelites1 who would suffer
 no other god or sacred monolith to live
 near him8  ,i will not lay stress upon 
the point that when ,joshua was dying1  

according to the legend1 he 8took a     
great stone0 and set it up by an oak    
that was by the sanctuary of ,jahweh1   
saying that it had heard all the words  
of ,jahweh4 ,that document is too       
doubtful in terms to afford us much     
authority4 ,but ,i will merely point out
 that at the time when we first seem to 
catch clear historic glimpses of true   
,jahweh worship1 we find ,jahweh1       
whoever or whatever that mystic object  
might have been1 located with his ark at
 the ,twelve ,stones at ,gilgal4 ,it is 
quite clear that in 8the camp at        
,gilgal10 as the later compilers        
believed1 ,jahweh1 god of ,israel1 who  
had brought his people up out of ,egypt1
 remained till the conquest of the land 
was completed4 ,but after the end of the
 conquest1 the #abctent in which he     
dwelt was removed to ,shiloh2 and that  
,jahweh went with it is clear from the  
fact that ,joshua cast lots for the land
 there 8before ,jahweh1 our ,god40 ,he  
was there still when ,hannah and her    

husband went up to ,shiloh to sacrifice 
unto ,jahweh2 and when ,samuel          
ministered unto ,jahweh before ,eli the 
priest4 ,that ,jahweh made a long stay  
at ,shiloh is1 therefore1 it would seem1
 a true old tradition--a tradition of   
the age just before the historical      
beginnings of the ,hebrew annals4  ,but 
,jahweh was an object of portable size1 
for1 omitting for the present the       
descriptions in the ,pentateuch1 which  
seem likely to be of late date1 and not 
too trustworthy1 through their strenuous
 ,jehovistic editing1 he was carried    
from ,shiloh in his ark to the front    
during the great battle with the        
,philistines at ,ebenezer2 and the      
,philistines were afraid1 for they said1
 8,a god is come into the camp40 ,but   
when the ,philistines captured the ark1 
the rival god1 ,dagon1 fell down and    
broke in pieces--so ,hebrew legend      
declared--before the face of ,jahweh4   
,after the ,philistines restored the    
sacred object1 it rested for a time at  

,kirjath-jearim1 till ,david1 on the    
capture of ,jerusalem from the          
,jebusites1 went down to that place to  
bring up from thence the ark of the god2
 and as it went1 on a new cart1 they    
8played before ,jahweh on all manner of 
instruments10 and ,david himself 8danced
 before ,jahweh40 ,jahweh was then      
placed in the tent or tabernacle that   
,david had prepared for him1 till       
,solomon built the first temple1 8the   
house of ,jahweh10 and ,jahweh's ark was
 set up in it1 8in the oracle of the    
house1 the most holy place1 even under  
the wings of the cherubim40 ,just so    
,mr4 ,chalmers tells us that when he was
 at ,peran1 in ,new ,guinea1 the        
peculiarly-shaped holy stone1 ,ravai1   
and the two wooden idols1 ,epe and      
,kivava1 8made long ago and considered  
very sacred10 were for the moment       
8located in an old house1 until all the 
arrangements necessary for their removal
 to the splendid new dubu prepared for  
them are completed40 ,and so1 too1 at   

the opposite end of the scale of        
civilisation1 as ,mr4 #abd,lang puts it1
 8the fetish-stones of ,greece were     
those which occupied the holy of holies 
of the most ancient temples1 the        
mysterious fanes within dark cedar or   
cypress groves1 to which men were hardly
 admitted40  ,that ,jahweh himself1 in  
the most ancient traditions of the race1
 was similarly concealed within his     
chest or ark in the holy of holies1 is  
evident1 ,i think1 to any attentive     
reader4 ,it is true1 the later          
,jehovistic glosses of ,exodus and      
,deuteronomy1 composed after the        
,jehovistic worship had become purified 
and spiritualised1 do their best to     
darken the comprehension of this matter 
by making the presence of ,jahweh seem  
always incorporeal2 and even in the     
earlier traditions1 the phrase 8the ark 
of the covenant of ,jahweh0 is often    
substituted for the simpler and older   
one1 8the ark of ,jahweh40 ,but through 
all the disfigurements with which the   

priestly scribes of the age of ,josiah  
and the sacerdotalists of the return    
from the captivity have overlaid the    
primitive story1 we can still see       
clearly in many places that ,jahweh     
himself was at first personally present 
in the ark that covered him4 ,and though
 the scribes 7evidently ashamed of the  
early worship they had outlived7 protest
 somewhat vehemently more than once1    
8,there was nothing in the ark save the 
two tables of stone which ,moses put    
there at ,horeb1 when ,jahweh made a    
covenant with the children of ,israel1  
when they came out of the land of       
,egypt10 yet this much at least even    
they admit--that the object or objects  
concealed in the ark consisted of a     
sculptured stone or stones2 and that to 
dance or sing before this stone or these
 stones was equivalent to dancing or    
singing before the face of ,jahweh4     
,the question whether the mysterious    
body concealed in the ark was or was not
 a lingam or other phallic object ,i    

purposely omit to discuss here1 as not  
cognate to our present enquiry4 ,it is  
sufficient to insist that from the      
evidence before us1 first1 it was       
,jahweh himself1 and second1 it was an  
object made of stone4 ,further than that
 'twere #abe;curious to enquire1 and ,i 
for one do not desire to pry into the   
mysteries4  ,not to push the argument   
too far1 then1 we may say this much is  
fairly certain4 ,the children of ,israel
 in early times carried about with them 
a tribal god1 ,jahweh1 whose presence in
 their midst was intimately connected   
with a certain ark or chest1 containing 
a stone object or objects4 ,this chest  
was readily portable1 and could be      
carried to the front in case of warfare4
 ,they did not know the origin of the   
object in the ark with certainty1 but   
they regarded it emphatically as        
8,jahweh their god1 which led them out  
of the land of ,egypt40 ,even after its 
true nature had been spiritualised away 
into a great national deity1 the most   

unlimited and incorporeal the world has 
ever known 7as we get him in the best   
and purest work of the prophets71 the   
imagery of later times constantly       
returns to the old idea of a stone      
pillar or menhir4 ,in the embellished   
account of the exodus from ,egypt1      
,jahweh goes before the ,israelites as a
 pillar or monolith of cloud by day and 
of fire by night4 ,according to         
,levitical law his altar must be built  
of unhewn stone1 8for if thou lift up   
thy tool upon it thou hast polluted it40
 ,it is as a ,rock that the prophets    
often figuratively describe ,jahweh1    
using the half-forgotten language of an 
earlier day to clothe their own sublimer
 and more purified conceptions4 ,it is  
to the ,rock of ,israel--the sacred     
stone of the tribe--that they look for  
succour4 ,nay1 even when ,josiah        
accepted the forged roll of the law and 
promised to abide by it1 8the king stood
 by a pillar 7a menhir7 and made a      
covenant before ,jahweh40 ,even to the  

last we see in vague glimpses the real  
original nature of the worship of that  
jealous god who caused ,dagon to break  
in pieces before him1 and would allow no
 other sacred stones to remain          
undemolished within his tribal          
boundaries4  ,i do not see1 therefore1  
how we can easily avoid the obvious     
inference that ,jahweh1 the god of the  
,hebrews1 who later became sublimated   
and etherealised into the ,god #abfof   
,christianity1 was in his origin nothing
 more nor less than the ancestral sacred
 stone of the people of ,israel1 however
 sculptured1 and perhaps1 in the very   
last resort of all1 the unhewn          
monumental pillar of some early ,semitic
 sheikh or chieftain4     ,,chapter     
,,vi4--,,sacred ,,stakes4  ,,milton     
#abgspeaks in a famous sonnet of the    
time 8when all our fathers worshipped   
stocks and stones4rdquo2 ,that familiar 
and briefly contemptuous phrase of the  
,puritan poet does really cover the vast
 majority of objects of worship for the 

human race at all times and in all      
places4 ,we have examined the stones2   
the stocks must now come in for their   
fair share of attention4 ,they need not1
 however1 delay us quite so long as     
their sister deities1 both because they 
are on the whole less important in      
themselves1 and because their           
development from grave-marks into gods  
and idols is almost absolutely parallel 
to that which we have already followed  
out in detail in the case of the        
standing stone or megalithic monument4  
,stakes or wooden posts are often used  
all the world over as marks of an       
interment4 ,like other grave-marks1 they
 also share naturally in the honours    
paid to the ghost or nascent god4 ,but  
they are less important as elements in  
the growth of religion than standing    
stones for two distinct reasons4 ,in the
 first place1 a stake or post most often
 marks the interment of a person of     
little social consideration2 chiefs and 
great men have usually stone monuments  

erected in their honour2 the commonalty 
have to be satisfied with wooden marks1 
as one may observe to this day at ,pre  
,lachaise1 or any other great ,christian
 cemetery4 ,in the second place1 the    
stone monument is far more lasting and  
permanent than the wooden one4 ,each of 
these points counts for something4 ,for 
it is #abh;chiefs and great men whose   
ghosts most often grow into gods2 and it
 is the oldest ghosts1 the oldest gods1 
the oldest monuments that are always the
 most sacred4 ,for both these reasons1  
then1 the stake is less critical than   
the stone in the history of religion4   
,nevertheless1 it has its own special   
importance4 ,as the sacred stone derives
 ultimately from the great boulder piled
 above the grave to keep down the       
corpse1 so the stake1 ,i believe1       
derives from the sharp-pointed stick    
driven through the body to pin it down  
as we saw in the third chapter1 and     
still so employed in ,christian ,england
 to prevent suicides from walking4 ,such

 a stake or pole is usually permitted to
 protrude from the ground1 so as to warn
 living men of the neighbourhood of a   
spirit4  ,at a very early date1 however1
 the stake1 ,i fancy1 became a mere     
grave-mark2 and though1 owing to its    
comparative inconspicuousness1 it       
obtains relatively little notice1 it is 
now and always has been by far the most 
common mode of preserving the memory of 
the spot where a person lies buried4 ,a 
good example1 which will throw light    
upon many subsequent modifications1 is  
given by ,mr4 ,wyatt ,gill from ,port   
,moresby in ,new ,guinea4 8,the body10  
he says1 8was buried4 ,at the side was  
set up a stake1 to which were tied the  
spear1 club1 bow and arrow of the       
deceased1 but broken1 to prevent theft4 
,a little beyond was the grave of a     
woman3 her cooking utensils1 grass      
petticoats1 etc41 hung up on the stake40
 ,similar customs1 he adds1 are almost  
universal in ,polynesia4  ,though       
worship of stakes or wooden posts is    

common all over the world1 ,i can give  
but few quite unequivocal instances of  
such worship being paid to a post       
actually known to surmount an undoubted 
grave4 ,almost the best direct evidence 
,i can obtain is the case of the        
grave-pole in ,buru1 already quoted from
 ,mr4 ,h4 ,o4 ,forbes4 ,but the         
following account of a ,samoyed place of
 sacrifice1 extracted from ,baron       
,nordenskiold's ,voyage of the ,vega1 is
 certainly suggestive4 ,on a hillock on 
,vaygats ,island #abithe ,swedish       
explorer found a number of reindeer     
skulls1 so arranged that they formed a  
close thicket of antlers4 ,around lay   
other bones1 both of bears and reindeer2
 and in the midst of all 8the mighty    
beings to whom all this splendour was   
offered4 ,they consistedrsquo2 of       
hundreds of small wooden sticks1 the    
upper portions of which were carved very
 clumsily in the form of the human      
countenance1 most of them from fifteen  
to twenty1 but some of them three       

hundred and seventy centimetres in      
length4 ,they were all stuck in the     
ground on the southeast part of the     
eminence4 ,near the place of sacrifice  
there were to be seen pieces of         
driftwood and remains of the fireplace  
at which the sacrificial meal was       
prepared4 ,our guide told us that at    
these meals the mouths of the idols were
 besmeared with blood and wetted with   
brandy2 and the former statement was    
confirmed by the large spots of blood   
which were found on most of the large   
idols below the holes intended to       
represent the mouth40 ,at a far earlier 
date1 ,stephen ,burrough in #aeef writes
 as follows to much the same effect in  
his interesting narrative printed in    
,hakluyt3 8,there ,i met againe with    
,loshak1 and went on shore with him1 and
 he brought me to a heap of ,samoeds    
idols1 which were in number about #cjj1 
the worst and the most unartificiall    
worke that ever ,i saw3 the eyes and    
mouthes of sundrie of them were bloodie1

 they had the shape of men1 women1 and  
children1 very grossly wrought1 and that
 which they had made for other parts was
 also sprinkled with blood4 ,some of    
their idols were an olde sticke with two
 or three notches1 made with a knife in 
it4 ,there was one of their sleds broken
 and lay by the heape of idols1 and     
there ,i saw a deers skinne which the   
foules had spoyled3 and before certaine 
of their idols blocks were made as high 
as their mouthes2 being all bloody1 ,i  
thought that to be the table wheron they
 offered their sacrifice40  ,in neither 
of these accounts1 it is true1 is it    
distinctly mentioned that the place of  
sacrifice was a ,samoyed cemetery3      
#acj;but ,i believe this to be the case1
 partly from analogy1 and partly because
 ,nordenskild mentions elsewhere that an
 upturned sled is a frequent sign of a  
,samoyed grave4 ,compare also the       
following account of a graveyard among  
nominally ,christian ,ostyak ,siberians1
 also from ,nordenskild3 8,the corpses  

were placed in large coffins above      
ground1 at which almost always a cross  
was erected40 ,the accompanying woodcut 
shews that these crosses were rude      
wooden stakes with one or two crossbars4
 8,in one of the crosses a sacred       
picture was inserted which must be      
considered a further proof that a       
,christian rested in the coffin4        
,notwithstanding this1 we found some    
clothes1 which had belonged to the      
departed1 hanging on a bush beside the  
grave1 together with a bundle containing
 food1 principally dried fish4 ,at the  
graves of the richer natives the        
survivors are even said to place along  
with food some rouble notes1 in order   
that the departed may not be altogether 
without ready money on his entrance into
 the other world40  ,to complete the    
parallel1 ,i ought to add that money was
 also deposited on the sacrificial place
 on ,vaygats ,island4 ,of another such  
sacrificial place on ,yalmal1           
,nordenskild says1 after describing a   

pile of bones1 reindeer skulls1 and     
walrus jaws3 8,in the middle of the heap
 of bones stood four erect pieces of    
wood4 ,two consisted of sticks a metre  
in length1 with notches cut in them4444 
,the two others1 which clearly were the 
proper idols of this place of sacrifice1
 consisted of driftwood roots1 on which 
some carvings had been made to          
distinguish the eyes1 mouth1 and nose4  
,the parts of the pieces of wood1       
intended to represent the eyes and      
mouth1 had recently been besmeared with 
blood1 and there still lay at the heap  
of bones the entrails of a newly killed 
reindeer40  ,indeed1 ,i learn from      
another source that 8the ,samoyedes feed
 the wooden images of the dead02 while  
an instance from ,erman helps further to
 confirm the same conclusion4 ,according
 to that acute writer1 among the        
,ostyaks #acaof ,eastern ,siberia there 
is found a most interesting custom1 in  
which1 says ,dr4 ,tylor1 8we see the    
transition from the image of the dead   

man to the actual idol40 ,when a man    
dies1 they set up a rude wooden image of
 him in the yurt1 which receives        
offerings at every meal and has honours 
paid to it1 while the widow continually 
embraces and caresses it4 ,as a general 
rule1 these images are buried at the end
 of three years or so3 but sometimes    
8the image of a shaman 7native          
sorcerer710 says ,tylor1 8is set up     
permanently1 and remains as a saint for 
ever40 ,for 8saint0 ,i should say 8god02
 and we see the transformation at once  
completed4 ,indeed1 ,erman adds acutely 
about the greater gods of the ,ostyaks3 
8,that these latter also have a         
historical origin1 that they were       
originally monuments of distinguished   
men1 to which prescription and the      
interest of the ,shamans gave by degrees
 an arbitrary meaning and importance1   
seems to me not liable to doubt40  ,with
 regard to the blood smeared upon such  
,siberian wooden idols1 it must be      
remembered that bowls of blood are      

common offerings to the dead2 and ,dr4  
,robertson ,smith himself1 no friendly  
witness in this matter1 has compared the
 blood-offerings to ghosts with those to
 deities4 ,in the eleventh book of the  
,odyssey1 for example1 the ghosts drink 
greedily of the sacrificial blood2 and  
libations of gore form a special feature
 in ,greek offerings to heroes4 ,that   
blood was offered to the sacred stones  
we have already seen2 and we noticed    
that there as here it was specially     
smeared upon the parts representing the 
mouth4 ,offerings of blood to gods1 or  
pouring of blood on altars1 are too     
common to demand particular notice2 and 
we shall also recur to that part of the 
subject when we come to consider the    
important questions of sacrifice and    
sacrament4 ,i will only add here that   
according to ,maimonides the ,sabians   
looked on blood as the nourishment of   
the gods2 while the ,hebrew ,jahweh asks
 indignantly in the fiftieth #acb,psalm1
 8,will ,i eat the flesh of bulls1 or   

drink the blood of goats80  ,to pass on 
to more unequivocal cases of            
stake-worship1 where we can hardly doubt
 that the stake represents a dead man1  
,captain ,cook noticed that in the      
,society ,islands 8the carved wooden    
images at burial-places were not        
considered mere memorials1 but abodes   
into which the souls of the departed    
retired40 ,so ,ellis observes of        
,polynesians generally that the sacred  
objects might be either mere stocks and 
stones1 or carved wooden images1 from   
six to eight feet long down to as many  
inches4 ,some of these were to represent
 8tu10 divine manes or spirits of the   
dead2 while others were to represent    
8tu10 or deities of higher rank and     
power4 ,to my mind1 this is almost a    
distinction without a difference2 the   
first being ghosts of recently deceased 
ancestors1 the second ghosts of remoter 
progenitors4 ,the ancient ,araucanians  
again fixed over a tomb an upright log1 
8rudely carved to represent the human   

frame40 ,after the death of ,new        
,zealand chiefs1 wooden images1 #bj to  
#dj feet high1 were erected as          
monuments4 ,i might easily multiply     
instances2 but ,i refrain lest the list 
grow tedious4  ,dr4 ,codrington notes   
that the large mouths and lolling       
tongues of many ,new ,zealand and       
,polynesian gods are due to the habit of
 smearing the mouth with blood and other
 offerings4  ,where men preserve the    
corpses of their dead1 images are not so
 likely to grow up2 but where fear of   
the dead has brought about the practice 
of burial or burning1 it is reasonable  
that the feelings of affection which    
prompted gifts and endearments to the   
mummy in the first stage of thought     
should seek some similar material outlet
 under the altered circumstances4 ,among
 ourselves1 a photograph1 a portrait1   
the toys of a dead child1 are preserved 
and cherished4 ,among savages1 ruder    
representations become necessary4 ,they 
bury the actual corpse safely out of    

sight1 but make some rough wooden       
imitation to represent #acc;it4 ,thus it
 does not surprise us to find that while
 the ,marianne ,islanders keep the dried
 bodies of their dead ancestors in their
 huts as household gods1 and expect them
 to give oracles out of their skulls1   
the ,new ,zealanders1 on the other hand1
 8set up memorial idols of deceased     
persons near the burial-place1 talking  
affectionately to them as if still      
alive1 and casting garments to them when
 they pass by10 while they also         
8preserve in their houses small carved  
wooden images1 each dedicated to the    
spirit of an ancestor40 ,the ,coast     
,negroes 8place several earthen images  
on the graves40 ,some ,papuans1 8after a
 grave is filled up1 collect round an   
idol1 and offer provisions to it40 ,the 
,javans dress up an image in the clothes
 of the deceased4 ,so1 too1 of the      
,caribs of the ,west ,indies1 we learn  
that they 8carved little images in the  
shape in which they believed spirits to 

have appeared to them2 and some human   
figures bore the names of ancestors in  
memory of them40 ,from such little      
images1 obviously substituted for the   
dead body which used once to be         
preserved and affectionately tended1 are
 derived1 ,i believe1 most of the       
household gods of the world--the ,lares 
and ,penates of the ,romans1 the huacas 
of the ,peruvians1 the teraphim of the  
,semites4  ,how absolutely image and    
ancestor are identified we can see among
 the ,tenimber ,islanders1 with whom    
8the matmate are the spirits of their   
ancestors which are worshipped as       
guardian spirits or household gods4     
,they are supposed to enter the house   
through an opening in the roof1 and to  
take up their abode temporarily in the  
skulls1 or in images of wood or ivory1  
in order to partake of the offerings40  
,a few more facts in the same direction 
may help to bring out in still stronger 
relief this close equivalence of the    
corpse and the image4 ,a ,new ,guinea   

mother keeps the mummied body of her    
child1 and carries it about with her2   
whereas a ,west ,african mother1 living 
in a tribe where terror of the dead has 
induced the practice of burial1 makes   
#acd;a little image of her lost darling 
out of a gourd or calabash1 wraps it in 
skins1 and feeds it or puts it to sleep 
like a living baby4 ,bastian saw ,indian
 women in ,peru1 who had lost an infant1
 carrying about on their backs a wooden 
doll to represent it4 ,at a somewhat    
higher level1 8the spiritual beings of  
the ,algonquins10 says ,dr4 ,tylor1 to  
whom ,i owe not a few of these          
instances1 8were represented by1 and in 
language completely identified with1 the
 carved wooden heads0 7note this point7 
8or more complete images1 to which      
worship and sacrifice were offered40 ,in
 all these instances we see clearly1 ,i 
think1 the course of the genesis of     
household deities4 ,in ,siam1 the ashes 
of the dead are similarly moulded into  
,buddhist images1 which are afterwards  

worshipped as household gods4  ,mr4     
,herbert ,spencer has collected several 
interesting examples some of which ,i   
will borrow1 as showing incidentally how
 much the growth of the idol or image   
depends upon such abstraction of the    
real body for burial or its equivalent4 
,while a deceased king of ,congo is     
being embalmed1 a figure is set up in   
the palace to represent him1 and is     
daily furnished with meat and drink4    
,when ,charles ,,vi4 of ,france was     
buried1 8over the coffin was an image of
 the late king1 bearing a rich crown of 
gold and diamonds1 and holding two      
shields4444 ,this image was dressed with
 cloth of gold4444 ,in this state was he
 solemnly carried to the church of      
,notre ,dame40 ,madame de ,motteville   
says of the father of the great ,cond1  
8,the effigy of this prince was waited  
upon for three days1 as was             
customary0--forty days having been the  
original time during which food was     
supplied to such effigies at the usual  

hours4 ,monstrelet describes a like     
figure used at the burial of ,henry ,v4 
of ,england3 and the ,westminster ,abbey
 images already noticed belong to the   
same category4  ,as in the case of      
sacred stones1 once more1 ,i am quite   
ready to admit that when once the       
sanctity of certain stakes or wooden    
poles came to be generally recognised1  
it #acewould be a simple transference of
 feeling to suppose that any stake1     
arbitrarily set up1 might become the    
shrine or home of an indwelling spirit4 
,thus we are told that the ,brazilian   
tribes 8set up stakes in the ground1 and
 make offerings before them to appease  
their deities or demons40 ,so also we   
are assured that among the ,dinkas of   
the ,white ,nile1 8the missionaries saw 
an old woman in her hut offering the    
first of her food before a short thick  
staff planted in the ground40 ,but in   
neither of these cases is there         
necessarily anything to show that the   
spot where the staff was set up was not 

a place of burial2 while in the second  
instance this is even probable1 as hut  
interments are extremely common in      
,africa4 ,i will quote one other        
instance only1 for its illustrative     
value in a subsequent connexion4 ,in the
 ,society ,islands1 rude logs are       
clothed in native cloth 7like ,monigan's
 idol7 and anointed with oil1 receiving 
adoration and sacrifice as the          
dwelling-place of a deity4 ,this custom 
is parallel to that of the ,caribs1 who 
took a bone of a dead friend from the   
grave1 wrapped it up in cotton1 and     
enquired of it for oracles4  ,mr4       
,savage ,landor1 in his interesting work
 ,the ,hairy ,ainu1 figures and         
describes some curious grave-stakes of  
those ,japanese aborigines4 ,the stakes 
on the men's graves are provided with a 
phallic protuberance2 those on the      
women's with an equally phallic         
perforation4 ,this fact helps to        
illustrate the phallicism of sacred     
stones in ,syria and elsewhere4  ,among 

the ,semitic peoples1 always specially  
interesting to us from their genetic    
connexion with ,judaism and             
,christianity1 the worship of stakes    
usually took the form of adoration paid 
to the curious log of wood described as 
an ashera4 ,what kind of object an      
ashera was we learn from the injunction 
in ,deuteronomy1 8,thou shalt not plant 
an ashera of any kind of wood beside the
 altar of ,jahweh40 ,this prohibition is
 clearly parallel to that against any   
hewn stone or 8graven image40 ,but the  
,semites in general worshipped as a rule
 at a rude stone altar1 #acf;beside     
which stood an ashera1 under a green    
tree1--all three of the great sacred    
objects of humanity being thus present  
together4 ,a similar combination is not 
uncommon in ,india1 where sacred stone  
and wooden image stand often under the  
shade of the same holy peepul tree4     
8,the ashera10 says ,professor          
,robertson ,smith1 8is a sacred symbol1 
the seat of the deity1 and perhaps the  

name itself1 as ,g4 ,hoffmann has       
suggested1 means nothing more than the  
#8mark' of the divine presence40 ,those 
who have followed me so far in the      
present work1 however1 will be more     
likely to conclude that it meant        
originally the mark of a place where an 
ancestor lay buried4 8,every altar10    
says ,professor ,smith1 again1 8had its 
ashera1 even such altars as in the      
popular preprophetic forms of the       
,hebrew religion were dedicated to      
,jehovah40  ,the ,semitic sacred pole   
was treated in most respects like the   
other grave-stakes and idols we have    
hitherto considered2 for an ,assyrian   
monument from ,khorsabad1 figured by    
,rawlinson1 represents an ornamental    
pole1 planted beside an altar2 priests  
stand before it engaged in an act of    
worship1 and touch the pole with their  
hands1 8or perhaps10 says ,professor    
,smith1 8anoint it with some liquid     
substance40 ,that the ashera was also   
draped1 like the logs of the ,society   

,islanders1 or ,monigan's ,irish idol1  
we learn from the famous passage in     
,second ,kings 7xxiii4 #g7 where it is  
said that the women 8wove hangings for  
the ashera40 ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith     
illustrates this passage by the parallel
 of the sacred erica at ,byblus1 which  
was 8a mere dead stump1 for it was cut  
down by ,isis and presented to the      
,byblians wrapped in a linen cloth and  
anointed with myrrh like a corpse4 ,it  
therefore represented the dead god0     
7,osiris1 or rather in its origin       
,adonis74 8,but as a mere stump1 it also
 resembles the ,hebrew ashera40 ,so near
 may a man come to the perception of a  
truth1 and yet so utterly may he miss   
its actual import4  ,i will dwell no    
longer upon these more or less remote   
derivatives of the grave-stake4 ,i will 
only say briefly that in #acgmy opinion 
all wooden idols or images are directly 
or indirectly descended from the wooden 
headpost or still more primitive        
sepulchral pole4 ,not of course that ,i 

suppose every wooden image to have been 
necessarily once itself a funereal      
monument4 ,donatello's ,magdalen in ,san
 ,giovanni at ,florence1 the blue-robed 
and star-spangled ,madonna of the       
wayside shrine1 have certainly no such  
immediate origin4 ,but ,i do believe    
that the habit of making and worshipping
 wooden images arose in the way ,i have 
pointed out2 and to those who would     
accuse me of 8gross ,euhemerism10 ,i    
would once more remark that even in     
these highest ,christian instances the  
objects of veneration are themselves in 
the last resort admitted to have been at
 one time ,galilean women4 ,nay1 is not 
even the wayside shrine itself in most  
,catholic countries more often than not 
the mortuary chapel erected where some  
wayfarer has died a violent death1 by   
murder1 lightning1 accident1 or         
avalanche8     ,,chapter ,,vil--,,sacred
 ,,trees4  ,the #achsacred tree stands  
less obviously in the direct line of    
ancestry of gods and of ,god than the   

sacred stone and the sacred stake which 
we have just considered4 ,i would       
willingly pass it over1 therefore1 in   
this long preliminary inquisition1 could
 ,i safely do so1 in order to progress  
at once to the specific consideration of
 the ,god of ,israel and the rise of    
,monotheism4 ,but the tree is           
nevertheless so closely linked with the 
two other main objects of human worship 
that ,i hardly see how ,i can avoid     
considering it here in the same         
connexion3 especially as in the end it  
has important implications with regard  
to the tree of the cross1 as well as to 
the ,true ,vine1 and many other elements
 of ,christian faith and ,christian     
symbolism4 ,i shall therefore give it a 
short chapter as ,i pass1 premising that
 ,i have already entered into the       
subject at greater length in my excursus
 ,on the ,origin of ,tree-,worship1     
appended to my verse translation of the 
,attis of ,catullus4  ,the worship of   
sacred trees is almost as widely        

diffused over the whole world as the    
worship of dead bodies1 mummies1 relics1
 graves1 sacred stones1 sacred stakes1  
and stone or wooden idols4 ,the great   
authorities on the subject of           
,tree-,worship are ,mannhardt's         
,baumkultus and ,mr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer's  
,the ,golden ,bough4 ,neither of those  
learned and acute writers1 however1 has 
fully seen the true origin of worship   
from funeral practices3 and therefore it
 becomes necessary to go over the same  
ground again briefly here from the point
 of view afforded us by the             
corpse-theory and #aci;ghost-theory of  
the basis of religion4 ,i shall hope to 
add something to their valuable results1
 and also incidentally to show that all 
the main objects of worship together    
leads us back unanimously to the ,cult  
of the ,dead as their common            
starting-point4  ,let us begin in this  
instance 7contrary to our previous      
practice7 by examining and endeavouring 
to understand a few cases of the        

behaviour of tree-spirits in various    
mythologies4 ,virgil tells us in the    
,third neid how1 on a certain occasion1 
neas was offering a sacrifice on a      
tumulus crowned with dogwood and myrtle 
bushes4 ,he endeavoured to pluck up some
 of these by the roots1 in order to     
cover the altar1 as was customary1 with 
leaf-clad branches4 ,as he did so1 the  
first bush which he tore up astonished  
him by exuding drops of liquid blood1   
which trickled and fell upon the soil   
beneath4 ,he tried again1 and again the 
tree bled human gore4 ,on the third     
trial1 a groan was heard proceeding from
 the tumulus1 and a voice assured neas  
that the barrow on which he stood       
covered the murdered remains of his     
friend ,polydorus4  ,now1 in this       
typical and highly illustrative myth--no
 doubt an ancient and well-known story  
incorporated by ,virgil in his great    
poem--we see that the tree which grows  
upon a barrow is itself regarded as the 
representative and embodiment of the    

dead manrsquo2s soul1 just as elsewhere 
the snake which glides from the tomb of 
,anchises is regarded as the embodied   
spirit of the hero1 and just as the owls
 and bats which haunt sepulchral caves  
are often identified in all parts of the
 world with the souls of the departed4  
,similar stories of bleeding or speaking
 trees or bushes occur abundantly       
elsewhere4 8,when the oak is being      
felled1rdquo2 says ,aubrey1 in his      
,remains of ,gentilisme1 8it gives a    
kind of shriekes and groanes that may be
 heard a mile off1 as if it were the    
genius of the oak lamenting4 ,e4 ,wyld1 
,esq41 hath heared it severall          
times4rdquo2 ,certain ,indians1 says    
,bastian1 dare not cut a particular     
plant1 because there comes out of it a  
red juice which they take for its blood4
 #adj;,i myself remember hearing as a   
boy in ,canada that wherever            
,sanguinaria ,canadensis1 the common    
,american bloodroot1 grew in the woods1 
an ,indian had once been buried1 and    

that the red drops of juice which exuded
 from the stem when one picked the      
flowers were the dead man's blood4 ,in  
,samoa1 says ,mr4 ,turner1 the special  
abode of ,tuifiti1 ,king of ,fiji1 was a
 grove of large and durable afzelia     
trees4 8,no one dared cut that timber4  
,a story is told of a party from ,upolu 
who once attempted it1 and the          
consequence was that blood flowed from  
the tree1 and that the sacrilegious     
strangers all took ill and died40 ,till 
#ahee1 says ,mannhardt1 there was a     
sacred larch-tree at ,nauders in the    
,tyrol1 which was thought to bleed      
whenever it was cut4 ,in some of these  
cases1 it is true1 we do not actually   
know that the trees grew on tumuli1 but 
this point is specially noticed about   
,polydorusrsquo2s dogwood1 and is       
probably implied in the ,samoan case1 as
 ,i gather from the title given to the  
spirit as king of ,fiji4  ,in other     
instances1 however1 such a doubt does   
not exist4 ,we are expressly told that  

it is the souls of the dead which are   
believed to animate the speaking or     
bleeding trees4 8,the ,dieyerie tribe of
 ,south ,australia10 says ,mr4 ,frazer1 
8regard as very sacred certain trees    
which are supposed to be their fathers  
transformed2 hence they will not cut the
 trees down1 and protest against        
settlers doing so40 ,some of the        
,philippine ,islanders believe that the 
souls of their forefathers inhabit      
certain trees1 which they therefore     
spare4 ,if obliged to fell one of these 
sacred trunks1 they excuse themselves by
 saying that it was the priests who made
 them fell it4  ,now1 how did this      
connexion between the tree and the ghost
 or ancestor grow up8 ,in much the same 
way1 ,i imagine1 as the connexion       
between the sacred stone or the sacred  
stake and the dead chief who lies buried
 beneath it4 ,whatever grows or stands  
upon the grave is sure to share the     
honours paid to the spirit that dwells  
within it4 ,thus a snake or other animal

 seen to glide out of a tomb is         
#ada;instantly taken by savages and even
 by half-civilised men as the genius or 
representative of the dead inhabitant4  
,but do trees grow out of graves8       
,undoubtedly1 yes4 ,in the first place1 
they may grow by mere accident1 as they 
might grow anywhere else2 the more so as
 the soil in such a case has been turned
 and laboured4 ,but beyond this1 in the 
second place1 it is common all over the 
world to plant trees or shrubs over the 
graves of relatives or tribesmen4       
,though direct evidence on this point is
 difficult to obtain1 a little is       
forthcoming4 ,in ,algeria1 ,i observed1 
the ,arab women went on ,fridays to     
plant flowers and shrubs on the graves  
of their immediate dead4 ,i learned from
 ,mr4 ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson that similar   
plantings take place in ,samoa and      
,fiji4 ,the ,tahitians put young        
casuarinas on graves4 ,in ,roman        
,catholic countries the planting of     
shrubs in cemeteries takes place usually

 on the jour des morts1 a custom which  
would argue for it an immense antiquity2
 for though it is a point of honour     
among ,catholics to explain this fete as
 of comparatively recent origin1        
definitely introduced by a particular   
saint at a particular period1 its       
analogy to similar celebrations         
elsewhere shows us that it is really a  
surviving relic of a very ancient form  
of ,manesworship4  ,in ,grco-,roman     
antiquity it is certain that trees were 
frequently planted around the barrows of
 the dead2 and that leafy branches      
formed part of the established          
ceremonial of funerals4 ,i cannot do    
better than quote in this respect once  
more the case of ,polydorus3  ,ergo     
instauramus ,polydoro funus1 et ingens  
,aggeritur tumulo tellus2 stant ,manibus
 ar1  ,cruleis mst vittis atraque       
cupresso4  ,suetonius again tells us how
 the tumulus of the divine ,augustus was
 carefully planted2 and the manner in   
which he notes the fact seems to me to  

argue that some special importance was  
attached to the ceremony4 ,the acacia is
 one of the most sacred trees of ,egypt2
 and ,egyptian monuments1 with their    
usual frankness1 show us a sarcophagus  
#adb;from which an acacia emerges1 with 
the nave motto1 8,osiris springs        
forth401  ,an incident which occurred   
during the recent ,sino-,japanese war   
shows how easily points of this sort may
 be overlooked by hasty writers in      
formal descriptions4 ,one of the ,london
 illustrated papers printed an account  
of the burial of the ,japanese dead at  
,port ,arthur1 and after mentioning the 
simple headstone erected at each grave  
volunteered the further statement that  
nothing else marked the place of        
interment4 ,but the engraving which     
accompanied it1 taken from a photograph1
 showed on the contrary that a little   
tree had also been planted on each tiny 
tumulus4  ,i learn from ,mr4 ,william   
,simpson that the ,tombs of the ,kings  
near ,pekin are conspicuous from afar by

 their lofty groves of pine trees4      
,evergreens1 ,i believe1 are specially  
planted upon graves or tumuli because   
they retain their greenness throughout  
the entire winter1 and thus as it were  
give continuous evidence of the vitality
 and activity of the indwelling spirit4 
,mr4 ,frazer has shown in ,the ,golden  
,bough that mistletoe similarly owes its
 special sanctity to the fact that it   
visibly holds the soul of the tree      
uninjured in itself1 while all the      
surrounding branches stand bare and     
lifeless4 ,accordingly1 tumuli are very 
frequently crowned by evergreens4       
,almost all the round barrows in        
southern ,england1 for example1 are     
topped by very ancient ,scotch firs2 and
 as the ,scotch fir is not an indigenous
 tree south of the ,tweed1 it is        
practically certain that these old pines
 are the descendants of ancestors put in
 by human hands when the barrows were   
first raised over the cremated and      
buried bodies of prehistoric chieftains4

 ,in short1 the ,scotch fir is in       
,england the sacred tree of the barrows4
 ,as a rule1 however1 in ,northern      
,europe1 the yew is the species         
specially planted in graveyards1 and    
several such yews in various parts of   
,england and ,germany are held to       
possess a peculiar sanctity4 ,the great 
clump of very ancient yews in           
#adc,norbury ,park near ,dorking1 known 
as the ,druids' ,grove1 has long been   
considered a holy wood of remote        
antiquity4 ,in southern ,europe1 the    
cypress replaces the yew as the         
evergreen most closely connected with   
tombs and cemeteries4 ,in ,provence and 
,italy1 however1 the evergreen holme-oak
 is almost equally a conventional       
denizen of places of interment4 ,m4     
,lajard in his able essay ,sur le ,culte
 du ,cypres has brought together much   
evidence of this worship of evergreens1 
among the ,greeks1 ,etruscans1 ,romans1 
,phoenicians1 ,arabs1 ,persians1        
,hindus1 ,chinese1 and ,american        

nations4  ,sacred trees1 especially when
 standing alone1 are treated in many    
respects with the same ceremonial as is 
employed towards dead bodies1 mummies1  
graves1 sacred stones1 sacred stakes1   
and carved idols or statues4 ,in other  
words1 the offerings to the ghost or god
 may be made to the tree that grows on  
the grave just as well as to any other  
of the recognised embodiments of the    
indwelling spirit4 ,darwin in the       
,voyage of the ,beagle describes how the
 ,indians of ,south ,america would greet
 with loud shouts some sacred tree1     
standing solitary on some high part of  
the ,pampas2 libations of brandy and mat
 were poured into a hole at its base to 
gratify the soul of the deity who dwelt 
there4 ,one of these tree-gods had a    
name1 ,walleechu4 ,the ,congo people1   
again1 put calabashes of palm-wine at   
the foot of 8trees treated as idols40   
,in other cases1 blood is smeared on the
 tree2 or oil is offered to it4 ,mr4    
,duff ,macdonald's ,central ,africans   

kill chickens at the foot of the 8prayer
 tree10 and let its blood trickle down  
to the roots4 ,oldfield saw at          
,addacoodah fowls and many other        
articles of food suspended as offerings 
to a gigantic tree4 ,sir ,william       
,hunter mentions that once a year at    
,beerbhoom the ,santals 8make simple    
offerings to a ghost who dwells in a    
,bela tree40 ,in ,tonga1 the natives lay
 presents of food at the foot of        
particular trees which they believe to  
be inhabited by spirits4 ,i need not    
multiply #add;instances2 they may be    
found by the hundred in ,dr4 ,tylor and 
other great anthropological collections4
  ,furthermore1 the sacred tree is found
 in the closest possible connection with
 the other indubitably ancestral        
monuments1 the sacred stone and the     
idol4 8,a ,bengal village10 says ,sir   
,william ,hunter1 8has usually its local
 god1 which it adores either in the form
 of a rude unhewn stone1 or a stump1 or 
a tree marked with red lead02 the last  

being probably a substitute for the     
blood of human or animal victims with   
which it was once watered4 8,sometimes a
 lump of clay placed under a tree does  
duty for a deity2 and the attendant     
priest1 when there is one1 generally    
belongs to one of the half-,hinduised   
low castes4 ,the rude stone represents  
the non-,aryan fetish2 and the tree     
seems to owe its sanctity to the        
non-,aryan belief that it forms the     
abode of the ghosts or gods of the      
village40 ,that is to say1 we have here 
ancestor-worship in its undisguised     
early native development4  ,i may       
mention here in brief that1 as we shall 
hereafter see1 this triple combination  
of stone1 log1 and tree forms almost the
 normal or invariable composition of the
 primitive shrine the whole world over4 
,the association of the sacred tree with
 actual idols or images of deceased     
ancestors is well seen in the following 
passage which ,i quote from ,dr4 ,tylor3
 8,a clump of larches on a ,siberian    

steppe1 a grove in the recesses of a    
forest1 is the sanctuary of a ,turanian 
tribe4 ,gaily-decked idols in their warm
 fur coats1 each set up beneath its     
great tree swathed with cloth or        
tinplate1 endless reindeer-hides and    
peltry hanging to the trees around1     
kettles and spoons and snuff-horns and  
household valuables strewn as offerings 
before the gods--such is the description
 of a ,siberian holy grove1 at the stage
 when the contact of foreign            
civilisation has begun by ornamenting   
the rude old ceremonial it must end by  
abolishing4 ,a race ethnologically      
allied to these tribes1 though risen to 
higher culture1 kept up remarkable      
relics of tree-worship in ,northern     
,europe4 ,in #ade;,esthonian districts1 
within the present century1 the         
traveller might often see the sacred    
tree1 generally an ancient lime1 oak1 or
 ash1 standing inviolate in a sheltered 
spot near the dwelling-house2 and the   
old memories are handed down of the time

 when the first blood of a slaughtered  
beast was sprinkled on its roots1 that  
the cattle might prosper1 or when an    
offering was laid beneath the holy      
linden1 on the stone where the          
worshipper knelt on his bare knees1     
moving from east to west and back1 which
 stone he kissed when he had said1      
#8,receive the food as an               
offering4lsquo20 ,after the evidence    
already given1 ,i do not think there can
 be a reasonable doubt1 in such a       
combination of tree and stone1 that we  
have here a sacrifice to an ancestral   
spirit4  ,similarly1 in the courtyard of
 a ,bodo house is planted the sacred    
euphorbia of ,batho1 the national god1  
to which a priest offers prayer and     
kills a pig4 ,in the island of ,tjumba1 
in the ,east ,indies1 a festival is held
 after harvest1 and vessels are filled  
with rice as a thank-offering to the    
gods4 ,then the sacred stone at the foot
 of a palm tree is sprinkled with the   
blood of a sacrificed animal1 and rice  

is laid on the stone for the gods4 ,when
 the ,khonds settle a new village1 a    
sacred cotton tree must be planted with 
solemn rites1 and beneath it is placed  
the sacrificial stone which embodies or 
represents the village deity4 ,among the
 ,semites1 says ,professor ,robertson   
,smith1 8no ,canaanite high place was   
complete without its sacred tree        
standing beside the altar40 ,we shall   
only fully understand the importance of 
these facts1 however1 when we come later
 to consider the subject of the         
manufacture of gods by deliberate       
process1 and the nature of the bloody   
ceremonial which always accompanies it4 
,in some of the above instances it is   
incidentally mentioned that the trunks  
of sacred trees are occasionally draped1
 as we saw to be also the case with     
sacred stones1 sacred stakes1 idols1 and
 relics4 ,another example of this       
practice is given in the account of the 
holy oak of ,romowe1 venerated #adf;by  
the ancient ,prussians1 which was hung  

with drapery like the ashera1 and decked
 with little hanging images of the gods4
 ,the holy trees of ,ireland are still  
covered with rag offerings4 ,other cases
 will be noticed in other connexions    
hereafter4  ,once more1 just as stones  
come to be regarded as ancestors1 so by 
a like process do sacred trees4 ,thus   
,galton says in ,south ,africa1 8,we    
passed a magnificent tree4 ,it was the  
parent of all the ,damaras4444 ,the     
savages danced round it in great        
delight40 ,several ,indian tribes       
believe themselves to be the sons of    
trees4 ,many other cases are noted by   
,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer and ,dr4 ,tylor4 
,i do not think it is necessary for our 
argument to repeat them here4           
,sometimes1 however1 especially in later
 rationalising times1 the sacred tree is
 merely said to have been planted by the
 god or hero whom it commemorates4 ,thus
 the cypresses of ,herakles at ,daphne  
were believed to have been set on the   
spot by that deity1 while the tamarisk  

at ,beersheba was supposed to have been 
placed there by ,abraham4  ,i hope it is
 clear from this rapid resume that all  
the facts about the worship of sacred   
trees stand exactly parallel to those   
with regard to the worship of graves1   
mummies1 idols1 sacred stones1 sacred   
stakes1 and other signs of departed     
spirits4 ,indeed1 we have sometimes     
direct evidence of such affiliation4    
,thus ,mr4 ,turner says of a sacred tree
 on a certain spot in the island of     
,savaii1 which enjoyed rights of        
sanctuary like the cities of refuge or a
 medival cathedral3 8,it is said that   
the king of a division of ,upolu1 called
 ,atua1 once lived at that spot4 ,after 
he died1 the house fell into decay2 but 
the tree was fixed on as representing   
the departed king1 and out of respect   
for his memory it was made the          
substitute of a living and royal        
protector40 ,by the light of this remark
 we may surely interpret in a similar   
sense such other statements of ,mr4     

,turner's as that a sweet-scented tree  
in another place 8was held to be the    
habitat of a household god1 and anything
 aromatic #adgwhich the family happened 
to get was presented to it as an        
offering20 or again1 8a family god was  
supposed to live0 in another tree2 8and 
hence no one dared to pluck a leaf or   
break a branch40 ,for family gods1 as we
 saw in a previous chapter1 are really  
family ghosts1 promoted to be deities4  
,in modern accounts of sacred trees much
 stress is usually laid upon the fact   
that they are large and well-grown1     
often very conspicuous1 and occupying a 
height1 where they serve as landmarks4  
,hence it has frequently been taken for 
granted that they have been selected for
 worship on account of their size and   
commanding position4 ,this1 however1 ,i 
think1 is a case of putting the cart    
before the horse1 as though one were to 
say that ,st4 ,peterrsquo2s and         
,westminster ,abbey1 the ,temple of     
,karnak or the ,mosque of ,omar1 owed   

their sanctity to their imposing        
dimensions4 ,there is every reason why a
 sacred tree should grow to be          
exceptionally large and conspicuous4    
,barrows are usually built on more or   
less commanding heights1 where they may 
attract general attention4 ,the ground  
is laboured1 piled high1 freed from     
weeds1 and enriched by blood and other  
offerings4 ,the tree1 being sacred1 is  
tended and cared for4 ,it is never cut  
down1 and so naturally on the average of
 instances grows to be a big and        
well-developed specimen4 ,hence ,i hold 
the tree is usually big because it is   
sacred1 not sacred because it is big4   
,on the other hand1 where a tree already
 full-grown is chosen for a place of    
burial1 it would no doubt be natural to 
choose a large and conspicuous one4     
,thus ,i read of the tree under which   
,dr4 ,livingstone's heart was buried by 
his native servant1 8,it is the largest 
in the neighbourhood40  ,looking at the 
question broadly1 the case stands thus4 

,we know that in many instances savages 
inter their dead under the shade of big 
trees4 ,we know that such trees are     
thereafter considered sacred1 and       
worshipped with blood1 clothes1 drapery1
 offerings4 ,we know that young shrubs  
#adhor trees are frequently planted on  
graves in all countries4 ,we know that  
whatever comes up on or out of a grave  
is counted as representative of the     
ghost within it4 ,the presumption is    
therefore in favour of any particular   
sacred tree being of funereal origin2   
and the onus of proving the opposite    
lies with the person who asserts some   
more occult and less obvious            
explanation4  ,at the same time ,i am   
quite ready to allow here1 as in        
previous instances1 when once the idea  
of certain trees being sacred has grown 
common among men1 many trees may come to
 possess by pure association a sanctity 
of their own4 ,this is doubtless the    
case in ,india with the peepul1 and in  
various other countries with various    

other trees4 ,exactly the same thing has
 happened to stones4 ,and so1 again1    
though ,i believe the temple to have    
been developed out of the tomb or its   
covering1 ,i do not deny that churches  
are now built apart from tombs1 though  
always dedicated to the worship of a    
,god who is demonstrably a particular   
deified personage4  ,another point on   
which ,i must touch briefly is that of  
the sacred grove or cluster of trees4   
,these often represent1 ,i take it1 the 
trees planted in the temenos or sacred  
tabooed space which surrounds the       
primitive tomb or temple4 ,the koubbas  
or little dome-shaped tombs of          
,mahommedan saints so common in ,north  
,africa are all surrounded by such a    
walled enclosure1 within which          
ornamental or other trees are habitually
 planted4 ,in many cases these are      
palms--the familiar sacred tree of      
,mesopotamia1 about which more must be  
said hereafter in a later chapter4 ,the 
well-known bois sacr at ,blidah is a    

considerable grove1 with a koubba in its
 midst4 ,a similar temenos frequently   
surrounded the ,egyptian and the ,greek 
temple4 ,i do not assert that these were
 always of necessity actual tombs2 but  
they were at any rate cenotaphs4 ,when  
once people had got accustomed to the   
idea that certain trees were sacred to  
the memory of their ancestors or their  
gods1 it would be but a slight step to  
plant such trees #adiround an empty     
temple4 ,when ,xenophon1 for example1   
built a shrine to ,artemis1 and planted 
around it a grove of many kinds of fruit
 trees1 and placed in it an altar and an
 image of the goddess1 nobody would for 
a moment suppose he erected it over the 
body of an actual dead ,artemis4 ,but   
men would never have begun building     
temples and consecrating groves at all  
if they had not first built houses for  
the dead god-chief1 and planted shrubs  
and trees upon his venerated tumulus4   
,nay1 even the nave inscription upon    
,xenophon's shrine--8,he who lives here 

and enjoys the fruits of the ground must
 every year offer the tenth part of the 
produce to the goddess1 and out of the  
residue keep the temple in repair0--does
 it not carry us back implicitly to the 
origin of priesthood1 and of the desire 
for perpetuity in the due maintenance of
 the religious offices8  ,i shall say   
nothing here about the evolution of the 
great civilised tree-gods like ,attis   
and ,adonis1 so common in the region of 
the eastern ,mediterranean1 partly      
because ,i have already treated them at 
some length in the essay on             
,tree-,worship to which ,i have alluded 
above1 and partly because they would    
lead us too far afield from our present 
subject4 ,but a few words must be       
devoted in passing to the prevalence of 
tree-worship among the ,semitic peoples1
 intimately connected as it is with the 
rise of certain important elements in   
the ,christian cult4  8,in all parts of 
the ,semitic area10 says ,professor     
,robertson ,smith1 8trees were adored as

 divine40 ,among the species thus       
honoured he enumerates especially the   
pines and cedars of ,lebanon1 the       
evergreen oaks of the ,palestinian      
hills1 the tamarisks of the ,syrian     
jungles1 and the acacias of the ,arabian
 wadies4 ,most of these1 it will be     
noted1 are evergreens4 ,in ,arabia1 the 
most striking case on record is that of 
the sacred date-palm at ,nejran4 ,this  
was adored at an annual feast1 when it  
was 8all hung with fine clothes and     
women's ornaments40 ,a similar tree     
existed at ,mecca1 to which the people  
resorted annually1 #aej;and hung upon it
 weapons1 garments1 ostrich eggs1 and   
other offerings4 ,in a sacred acacia at 
,nakla a goddess was supposed to live4  
,the modern ,arabs still hang pieces of 
flesh on such sacred trees1 honour them 
with sacrifices1 and present them with  
rags of calico and coloured beads4  ,as 
regards the ,phoenicians and            
,canaanites1 ,philo ,byblius says that  
plants were in ancient times revered as 

gods1 and honoured with libations and   
sacrifices4 ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith gives
 several instances4 ,christianity has   
not extinguished the veneration for     
sacred trees in ,syria1 where they are  
still prayed to in sickness and hung    
with rags4 ,the ,moslems of ,palestine  
also venerate the sacred trees of       
immemorial antiquity4  ,in the ,hebrew  
scriptures tree-worship constantly      
appears1 and is frankly dwelt with by   
,professor ,robertson ,smith1 who does  
not refuse to connect with this set of  
beliefs the legend of ,jahweh in the    
burning bush4 ,the local altars of early
 ,hebrew cult were habitually set up    
8under green trees40 ,on this subject ,i
 would refer the reader to ,dr4 ,smith's
 own interesting disquisition on p4 #aic
 of ,the ,religion of the ,semites4     
,with regard to the general sacredness  
of vegetation1 and especially of        
food-plants1 such as corn1 the vine1 and
 the date-palm1 ,i postpone that        
important subject for the present1 till 

we come to consider the gods of         
cultivation1 and the curious set of     
ideas which gradually led up to         
sacramental god-eating4 ,in a theme so  
vast and so involved as that of human   
religion1 it becomes necessary to take  
one point at a time1 and to deal with   
the various parts in analytic isolation4
  ,we have now examined briefly almost  
all the principal sacred objects of the 
world1 according to classes--the corpse1
 the mummy1 the idol1 the sacred stone1 
the sacred stake1 the sacred tree or    
grove2 there remains but one other group
 of holy things1 very generally         
recognised1 which ,i do not propose to  
examine separately1 but to which #aea;a 
few words may yet be devoted at the end 
of a chapter4 ,i mean1 the sacred wells4
 ,it might seem at first sight as if    
these could have no possible connection 
with death or burial2 but that          
expectation is1 strange to say1         
delusive4 ,there appears to be some     
reason for bringing wells1 too1 into the

 widening category of funereal objects4 
,the oxen's well at ,acre1 for example1 
was visited by ,christian1 ,jewish1 and 
,moslem pilgrims2 it was therefore an   
object of great ancient sanctity2 but   
observe this point3 there is a mashhed  
or sacred tomb beside it1 8perhaps the  
modern representative of the ancient    
,memnonium40 ,every ,egyptian temple had
 in like manner its sacred lake4 ,in    
modern ,syria1 8cisterns are always     
found beside the grave of saints1 and   
are believed to be inhabited by a sort  
of fairy4 ,a pining child is thought to 
be a fairy changeling1 and must be      
lowered into the cistern40 ,the         
similarity of the belief about holy     
wells in ,england and ,ireland1 and     
their frequent association with the name
 of a saint1 would seem to suggest for  
them a like origin4 ,sacred rivers      
usually rise from sacred springs1 near  
which stands a temple4 ,the river       
,adonis took its origin at the shrine of
 ,aphaca3 and the grave of ,adonis1     

about whom much more must be said       
hereafter1 stood near the mouth of the  
holy stream that was reddened by his    
blood4 ,the sacred river ,belus had also
 its peculiar ,memnonium or ,adonis     
tomb4 ,but ,i must add that sacred      
rivers had likewise their annual        
god-victims1 about whom we shall have a 
great deal to say at a later stage of   
our enquiry1 and from whom in part they 
probably derived their sanctity4 ,still1
 that their holiness was also due in    
part1 and originally1 to tombs at their 
sources1 ,i think admits of no          
reasonable doubt4  ,the equivalence of  
the holy well and the holy stone is     
shown by the fact that while a woman    
whose chastity was suspected had to     
drink water of a sacred spring to prove 
her innocence1 at ,mecca she had to     
swear seventy oaths by the ,kaaba4      
,again1 #aebsacred wells and fountains  
were and are worshipped with just the   
same acts of sacrifice as ghosts and    
images4 ,at ,aphaca1 the pilgrims cast  

into the holy pool1 jewels of gold and  
silver1 with webs of linen and other    
precious stuffs4 ,a holy grove was an   
adjunct of the holy spring3 in ,greece1 
according to ,botticher1 they were      
seldom separated4 ,at the annual fair of
 the ,sacred ,terebinth1 or tree and    
well of ,abraham at ,mamre1 the heathen 
visitors offered sacrifices beside the  
tree1 and cast into the well libations  
of wine1 with cakes1 coins1 myrrh1 and  
incense3 all of which we may compare    
with the ,ostyak offerings to ancestral 
grave-stakes4 ,at the holy waters of    
,karwa1 bread1 fruit1 and other foods   
were laid beside the fountain4 ,at      
,mecca1 and at the ,stygian ,waters in  
the ,syrian desert1 similar gifts were  
cast into the holy source4 ,in one of   
these instances at least we know that   
the holy well was associated with an    
actual burial2 for at ,aphaca1 the      
holiest shrine of ,syria1 the tomb of   
the local ,baal or god was shown beside 
the sacred fountain4 8,a buried god10   

says ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith quaintly1 in
 commenting on this fact1 8is a god that
 dwells under ground40 ,it would be far 
truer and more philosophical to say that
 a god who dwells underground is a      
buried man4  ,i need not recall the     
offerings to ,cornish and ,irish        
well-spirits1 which have now degenerated
 for the most part into pins and        
needles4  ,on the whole1 though it is   
impossible to understand the entire     
genesis of sacred founts and rivers     
without previous consideration of       
deliberate god-making1 a subject which  
,i reserve for a later portion of our   
exposition1 ,i do not think we shall go 
far wrong in supposing that the sacred  
well most often occurs in company with  
the sacred tree1 the sacred stone or    
altar1 and the sacred tomb2 and that it 
owes its sanctity in the last resort1   
originally at least1 to a burial by its 
side2 though ,i do not doubt that this  
sanctity was in many cases kept up by   
the annual immolation of a fresh        

victim-god1 of a type whose genesis will
 hereafter #aec;detain us4 ,indeed1 ,dr4
 ,robertson ,smith says of the ,semitic 
worship in general1 8,the usual natural 
symbols are a fountain or a tree1 while 
the ordinary artificial symbol is a     
pillar or pile of stones3 but very often
 all three are found together1 and this 
was the rule in the more developed      
sanctuaries40 ,i cannot agree with him  
on the point of 8symbolism03 but the    
collocation of objects is at least      
significant4  ,thus1 in ultimate        
analysis1 we see that all the sacred    
objects of the world are either dead men
 themselves1 as corpse1 mummy1 ghost1 or
 god2 or else the tomb where such men   
are buried2 or else the temple1 shrine1 
or hut which covers the tomb2 or else   
the tombstone1 altar1 image1 or statue1 
standing over it and representing the   
ghost2 or else the stake1 idol1 or      
household god which is fashioned as     
their deputy2 or else the tree which    
grows above the barrow2 or else the     

well1 or tank1 or spring1 natural or    
artificial1 by whose side the dead man  
has been laid to rest4 ,in one form or  
another1 from beginning to end1 we find 
only1 in ,mr4 ,william ,simpson's       
graphic phrase1 8the ,worship of        
,death10 as the basis and root of all   
human religion4     ,,chapter           
,,viii4--,,the ,,gods ,,of ,,egypt4     
,,we #aed;have now completed our        
preliminary survey of the nature and    
origin of ,gods in general4 ,we have    
seen how men first came to believe in   
the objective existence of these        
powerful and invisible beings1 how they 
learnt to invest them with majestic     
attributes1 and how they grew to worship
 them under the various forms of mummies
 or boulders1 stone or wooden idols1    
trees or stumps1 wells1 rivers1 and     
fountains4 ,in short1 we have briefly   
arrived at the origin of ,polytheism4   
,we have now to go on to our second     
question--,how from the belief in many  
gods did men progress to the belief in  

one single ,god1 the creator and        
upholder of all things8 ,our task is now
 to reconstruct the origin of           
,monotheism4  ,but ,monotheism bases    
itself entirely upon the great ,god of  
the ,hebrews4 ,to him1 therefore1 we    
must next address ourselves4 ,is he too 
resoluble1 as ,i hinted before1 into a  
,sacred ,stone1 the monument and        
representative of some prehistoric      
chieftain8 ,can we trace the origin of  
the ,deity of ,christendom till we find 
him at last in a forgotten ,semitic     
ghost of the earliest period8  ,the     
chief ,hebrew god ,jahweh1 when we first
 catch a passing glimpse of his         
primitive worship by his own people1 was
 but one among a number of competing    
deities1 mostly1 it would appear1       
embodied by their votaries in the       
visible form of stone or wooden pillars1
 and adored by a small group of         
loosely-connected tribes among the      
mountain region in the southwest of     
,syria4 ,the confederacy among #aeewhom 

he dwelt knew themselves as the ,sons of
 ,israel2 they regarded ,jahweh as their
 principal god1 much as the ,greeks did 
,zeus1 or the early ,teutons their      
national hero ,woden4 ,but a universal  
tradition among them bore witness to the
 fact that they had once lived in a     
subject condition in ,egypt1 the house  
of bondage1 and that their god ,jahweh  
had been instrumental in leading them   
thence into the rugged land they        
inhabited throughout the whole          
historical period1 between the valley of
 ,jordan and the ,mediterranean coast4  
,so consistent and so definite was this 
traditional belief that we can hardly   
regard it otherwise than as enclosing a 
kernel of truth2 and not only do ,kuenen
 and other ,semitic scholars of the     
present day admit it as genuine1 but the
 ,egyptologists also seem generally to  
allow its substantial accuracy and full 
accord with hieroglyphic literature4    
,this sojourn in ,egypt cannot have     
failed to influence to some extent the  

,semitic strangers3 therefore ,i shall  
begin my quest of the ,hebrew god among 
the ,egyptian monuments4 ,admitting that
 he was essentially in all respects a   
deity of the true ,semitic pattern1 ,i  
think it will do us good to learn a     
little beforehand about the people among
 whom his votaries dwelt so long1       
especially as the history of the        
,egyptian cults affords us perhaps the  
best historical example of the growth   
and development of a great national     
religion4  ,a peculiar interest1 indeed1
 attaches in the history of the human   
mind to the evolution of the gods of    
,egypt4 ,nowhere else in the world can  
we trace so well such a continuous      
development from the very simplest      
beginnings of religious ideas to the    
very highest planes of mysticism and    
philosophic theology4 ,there are savage 
cults1 it is true1 which show us more   
clearly the earliest stages in the      
process whereby the simple ancestral    
ghost passes imperceptibly into the more

 powerful form of a supernatural deity3 
there are elevated civilised creeds     
which show us more grandly in its       
evolved shape the final conception of a 
single supreme ,ruler of the ,cosmos4   
,but there is no other #aefreligious    
system known to us in which we can      
follow so readily1 without a single     
break1 the whole evolutionary movement  
whereby the earlier ideas get gradually 
expanded and etherealised into the      
later4 ,the origin of the other great   
historical religions is lost from our   
eyes among dim mists of fable3 in ,egypt
 alone1 of all civilised countries1 does
 our record go back to the remote period
 when the religious conception was still
 at the common savage level1 and follow 
it forward continuously to the advanced 
point where it had all but achieved1 in 
its syncretic movement1 the ultimate    
goal of pure monotheism4  ,i would wish1
 however1 to begin my review of this    
singular history by saying1 once for    
all1 that while ,i make no pretensions  

to special ,egyptological knowledge1 ,i 
must nevertheless dissent on general    
anthropological grounds from the        
attitude taken up by ,mr4 ,le ,page     
,renouf in his ,lectures on the         
,religion of ,ancient ,egypt4 ,that     
learned writer's work1 indeed1 is1      
scientifically speaking1 half a century 
behind its time4 ,it is written as      
though the doctrine of evolution had    
never been promulgated2 and every page  
contains glaring contradictions of the  
most elementary principles of human     
development4 ,mr4 ,renouf still adheres 
to the discredited ideas that polytheism
 grew out of an antecedent monotheism2  
that animal-worship and other low forms 
of adoration are 8symbolical0 in origin2
 and that 8the sublimer portions of the 
,egyptian religion are not the          
comparatively late result of a process  
of development or elimination from the  
grosser40 ,such theories would of       
themselves be extremely improbable1 even
 on the fullest and best evidence2 but  

the evidence which ,mr4 ,renouf brings  
forward to support them is of the       
flimsiest description4 ,a plain survey  
of the ,egyptian monuments in the ,nile 
valley1 and of the known facts about    
,egyptian religion1 will lead any       
unbiassed mind1 free from the warping   
influence of preconception1 and         
accustomed to wide anthropological      
enquiry1 to precisely opposite and more 
probable conclusions4 ,for it must be   
carefully borne in mind #aegthat on     
these subjects the specialist is the    
last man whose opinions should be       
implicitly and unhesitatingly accepted4 
,the religion of ,egypt1 like the       
religion of ,juda or the religion of    
,hawaii1 must be judged1 not in         
isolation1 but by the analogies of other
 religions elsewhere2 the attempt to    
explain it as an unrelated phenomenon1  
which has already been found so         
disastrous in the case of the ,semitic  
and the ,aryan cults1 must be abandoned 
once for all by the comparative         

psychologist as a hopeless error4 ,the  
key to the origin of the ,egyptian faith
 is to be found1 not in the late        
philosophising glosses quoted by ,m4 de 
,roug and his ,english disciple1 but in 
the simple1 unvarying1 ancestral creeds 
of existing ,african savages4  ,looked  
at from this point of view1 then--the   
evolutionary point of view--nothing can 
be clearer than the fact that the early 
,egyptian religion bases itself entirely
 upon two main foundations1             
ancestor-worship and totemism4  ,i will 
begin with the first of these1 which all
 analogy teaches us to consider by far  
the earliest1 and infinitely the most   
important4 ,and ,i may add that it is   
also1 to judge by the ,egyptian evidence
 alone1 both the element which underlies
 the whole religious conceptions of the 
,nile valley1 and likewise the element  
which directly accounts1 as we shall see
 hereafter1 for all the most important  
gods of the national pantheon1 including
 ,osiris1 ,ptah1 ,khem1 and ,amen1 as   

well perhaps as many of their           
correlative goddesses4 ,there is not1 in
 fact1 any great ethnical religion on   
earth1 except possibly the ,chinese1 in 
which the basal importance of the ,dead 
,man is so immediately apparent as in   
the ancient cult of ,pharaohnic ,egypt4 
,the ,egyptian religion bases itself    
upon the tomb4 ,it is impossible for a  
moment to doubt that fact as one stands 
under the scanty shade of the desert    
date-palms among the huge sun-smitten   
dust-heaps that represent the streets of
 ,thebes and ,memphis4 ,the commonest   
object of worship on all the monuments  
of ,nile is beyond doubt the ,mummy3    
sometimes the private mummy of an       
ancestor #aehor kinsman1 sometimes the  
greater deified mummies of immemorial   
antiquity1 blended in the later         
syncretic mysticism with the sun-god and
 other allegorical deities1 but         
represented to the very last in all ages
 of art--on the shattered ,rameseum at  
,thebes or the ,ptolemaic pillars of    

still unshaken ,denderah--as always     
unmistakable and obvious mummies4 ,if   
ever there was a country where the      
,worship of the ,dead was pushed to an  
extreme1 that country was distinctly and
 decisively ,egypt4  8,the oldest       
sculptures show us no acts of adoration 
or of sacrifice10 says ,mr4 ,loftie1    
8except those of worship at the shrine  
of a deceased ancestor or relative40    
,this is fully in keeping with what we  
know of the dawn of religion elsewhere1 
and with the immense importance always  
attached to the preservation of the     
mummy intact throughout the whole long  
course of ,egyptian history4 ,the       
,egyptian1 in spite of his high         
civilisation1 remained always at the    
first or corpse-preserving stage of     
custom as regards the dead4 ,to him1    
therefore1 the life after death was far 
more serious than the life on earth3 he 
realised it so fully that he made       
endless preparations for it during his  
days above1 and built himself a tomb as 

an eternal mansion4 ,the grave was a    
place of abode1 where the mummy was to  
pass the greater part of his existence2 
and even in the case of private persons 
7like that famous ,tih whose painted    
sepulchre at ,sakkarah every tourist to 
,cairo makes a point of visiting7 it was
 sumptuously decorated with painting and
 sculpture4 ,in the mortuary chambers or
 chapels attached to the tombs1 the     
relations of the deceased and the       
priests of the cemetery celebrated on   
certain fixed dates various ceremonies  
in honour of the dead1 and offered      
appropriate gifts to the mummy within4  
ldquo2,the tables of offerings1 which no
 doubt formed part of the furniture of  
the chambers1 are depicted on the walls1
 covered with the gifts of meat1 fruits1
 bread1 and wine which had to be        
presented in kind40 ,these parentalia   
undoubtedly formed the main feature of  
the practical religion #aeiof early     
,egypt1 as exhibited to us on all the   
monuments except the late tomb-caves of 

royal personages1 devoted to the worship
 of the equally mummified great gods4   
,the ,egyptian tomb was usually a       
survival of the cave artificially       
imitated4 ,the outer chamber1 in which  
the ceremonies of the offertory took    
place1 was the only part accessible1    
after the interment had been completed1 
to the feet of survivors4 ,the mummy    
itself1 concealed in its sarcophagus1   
lay at the bottom of a deep pit beyond1 
by the end of a corridor often          
containing statues or idols of the      
deceased4 ,these idols1 says ,m4        
,maspero1 were indefinitely multiplied1 
in case the mummy itself should be      
accidentally destroyed1 in order that   
the ,ka 7the ghost or double7 might find
 a safe dwelling-place4 ,compare the    
numerous little images placed upon the  
grave by the ,coast ,negroes4 ,it was   
the outer chamber1 however1 that        
sheltered the stele or pillar which bore
 the epitaph1 as well as the altar or   
table for offerings1 the smoke from     

which was conveyed to the statues in the
 corridor through a small aperture in   
the wall of partition4 ,down the well   
beyond1 the mummy in person reposed1 in 
its eternal dwelling-place1 free from   
all chance of violation or outrage4     
8,the greatest importance10 says ,mr4   
,renouf1 8was attached to the permanence
 of the tomb1 to the continuance of the 
religious ceremonies1 and to the prayers
 of passers-by40 ,again1 8there is a    
very common formula stating that the    
person who raised the tablet #8made it  
as a memorial to his fathers who are in 
the nether world1 built up what he found
 was imperfect1 and renewed what was    
found out of repair4'0 ,in the          
inscription on one of the great tombs at
 ,beni-,hssan the founder says3 8,i made
 to flourish the name of my father1 and 
,i built chapels for his ka or ghost4 ,i
 caused statues to be conveyed to the   
holy dwelling1 and distributed to them  
their offerings in pure gifts4 ,i       
instituted the officiating priest1 to   

whom ,i gave donations in land and      
presents4 ,i ordered funeral offerings  
for all the feasts of the nether world  
which are then enumerated #afj;at       
considerable length4 ,if it happen that 
the priest or any other cease to do     
this1 may he not exist1 and may his son 
not sit in his seat40 ,all this is      
highly instructive from the point of    
view of the origin of priesthood4  ,how 
long these early religious endowments   
continued to be respected is shown by   
,mr4 ,renouf himself in one instructive 
passage4 ,the kings who built the       
,pyramids in the ,early ,empire endowed 
a priestly office for the purpose of    
celebrating the periodical rites of     
offering to their ghosts or mummies4    
,now1 a tablet in the ,louvre shows that
 a certain person who lived under the   
,twenty-sixth ,dynasty was priest of    
,khufu1 the builder of the ,great       
,pyramid1 who had endowed the office two
 thousand years before his time4 ,we    
have actually the tombs of some of his  

predecessors who filled the same office 
immediately after ,khufu's death4 ,so   
that in this instance at least1 the     
worship of the deceased monarch         
continued for a couple of thousand years
 without interruption4 8,if in the case 
of private interments10 says ,m4        
,maspero1 8we find no proof of so       
persistent a veneration1 that is because
 in ordinary tombs the ceremonies were  
performed not by special priests1 but by
 the children or descendants of the     
deceased person4 ,often1 at the end of a
 few generations1 either through        
negligence1 removals1 ruin1 or          
extinction of the family1 the cult was  
suspended1 and the memory of the dead   
died out altogether40  ,for this reason1
 as everywhere else among               
ancestor-worshippers1 immense importance
 was attached by the ,egyptians to the  
begetting of a son who should perform   
the due family rites1 or see that they  
were performed by others after him4 ,the
 duty of undertaking these rites is     

thoroughly insisted upon in all the     
maxims or moral texts2 while on the     
other hand1 the wish that a man may not 
have a son to perform them for him is   
the most terrible of all ancient        
,egyptian imprecations4 8,many centuries
 after the construction of a tomb1      
,egyptian travellers have left a record 
upon its walls of the splendour of the  
sacred abode1 #afaof the abundance of   
the materials which they found provided 
for the fulfilment of the rites for the 
departed1 and of their own repetition of
 the funeral formula40 ,in fact1 the    
whole practical religion of the ordinary
 ,egyptians1 as a plain observer sees it
 to-day in the vast mass of the existing
 monuments1 consists almost exclusively 
in the worship of the ka--the genii1    
manes1 or lares of the departed4  ,if   
even the common herd were thus carefully
 embalmed--if even the lesser           
functionaries of the court or temple lay
 in expensive tombs1 daintily painted   
and exquisitely sculptured--it might    

readily be believed that the great kings
 of the mighty conquering dynasties     
themselves would raise for their mummies
 eternal habitations of special         
splendour and becoming magnificence4    
,and so they did4 ,in ,lower ,egypt1    
their tombs are barrows or pyramids3 in 
,upper ,egypt they are artificial caves4
 ,the dreary desert district west of the
 ,nile and south of ,cairo consists for 
many miles1 all but uninterruptedly1 of 
the cemetery of ,memphis--a vast and    
mouldering city of the dead--whose chief
 memorials are the wonderful series of  
,pyramids1 the desecrated tombs piled up
 for the kings of the ,third1 ,fourth1  
,fifth1 and ,sixth ,dynasties4 ,there1  
under stone tumuli of enormous          
size1--barrows or cairns more carefully 
constructed1--the ,pharaohs of the ,old 
,empire reposed1 in peace in sepulchres 
unmarked by any emblems of the mystic   
gods or sacred beasts of later          
imagination4 ,but still more significant
 and infinitely more beautiful are the  

rock-hewn ,tombs of the ,kings at       
,thebes1 belonging to the great monarchs
 of the ,eighteenth1 ,nineteenth and    
,twentieth ,dynasties1 when the religion
 had assumed its full mystical          
development4 ,those magnificent         
subterranean halls form in the truest   
and most literal sense a real           
necropolis1 a town of mummies1 where    
each king was to inhabit an eternal     
palace of regal splendour1 decorated    
with a profusion of polychromatic art1  
and filled with many mansions for the   
officers #afbof state1 still destined to
 attend upon their sovereign in the     
nether world4 ,some of the mural        
paintings would even seem to suggest    
that slaves or captives were sacrificed 
at the tomb1 to serve their lord in his 
eternal home1 as his courtiers had      
served him in the temporal palaces of   
,medinet-,hbu or the corridors of       
,luxor4  ,m4 ,mariette has further shown
 that the huge ,theban temples which    
skirt in long line the edge of the      

desert near the ,valley of ,tombs were  
really cenotaphs where the memory of the
 kings buried hard by was preserved and 
worshipped4 ,thus the ,rameseum was the 
mastabah or mortuary chapel for the tomb
 and ghost of ,rameses ,,ii42 the temple
 of ,medinet-,hbu fulfilled the same    
purpose for ,rameses ,,iii42 the temple 
of ,kurneh for ,rameses ,i42 and so     
forth throughout the whole long series  
of those gigantic ruins1 with their     
correlated group of subterranean        
excavations4  ,at any rate1 it is quite 
impossible for any impartial person to  
examine the existing monuments which    
line the grey desert hills of the ,nile 
without seeing for himself that the     
mummy is everywhere the central object  
of worship--that the entire practical   
religion of the people was based upon   
this all-pervading sense of the         
continuity of life beyond the grave1 and
 upon the necessity for paying due      
reverence and funereal offerings to the 
manes of ancestors4 ,everything in      

,egypt points to this one conclusion4   
,even the great sacred ritual is the    
,book of the ,dead3 and the very word by
 which the departed are oftenest        
described means itself 8the living10    
from the firm belief of the people that 
they were really enjoying everlasting   
life4 ,mors janua vitae is the short    
summing-up of ,egyptian religious       
notions4 ,death was the great beginning 
for which they all prepared1 and the    
dead were the real objects of their most
 assiduous oublie and private worship4  
,moreover1 in the tombs themselves we   
can trace a gradual development of the  
religious sentiment from                
,corpse-,worship #afcto ,god-,worship4  
,thus1 in the tombs of ,sakkarah1       
belonging to the ,old ,empire 7,fifth   
,dynasty71 all those symbolical         
representations of the life beyond the  
tomb which came in with the later       
mysticism are almost wholly wanting4    
,the quotations from 7or anticipations  
of7 the ,book of the ,dead are few and  

short4 ,the great gods are rarely       
alluded to4 ,again1 in the grottos of   
,beni-,hassan 7of the ,twelfth ,dynasty7
 the paintings mostly represent scenes  
from the life of the deceased1 and the  
mystic signs and deities are still      
absent4 ,the doctrine of rewards and    
punishments remains as yet comparatively
 in abeyance4 ,it is only at the ,tombs 
of the ,kings at ,thebes 7of the        
,eighteenth ,dynasty7 that entire       
chapters of the ,book of the ,dead are  
transcribed at length1 and the walls are
 covered with 8a whole army of grotesque
 and fantastic divinities40  8,but the  
,egyptians10 it will be objected1 8had  
also great gods1 distinct from their    
ancestors--national1 or local1 or common
 gods--whose names and figures have come
 down to us inscribed upon all the      
monuments40 ,quite true3 that is to say1
 there are gods who are not immediately 
or certainly resolvable into deified    
ancestors--gods whose power and might   
were at last widely extended1 and who   

became transfigured by degrees beyond   
all recognition in the latest ages4 ,but
 it is by no means certain1 even so1    
that we cannot trace these greater gods 
themselves back in the last resort to   
deified ancestors of various ruling     
families or dominant cities2 and in one 
or two of the most important cases the  
suggestions of such an origin are far   
from scanty4  ,i will take1 to begin    
with1 one typical example4 ,there is no 
single god in the ,egyptian pantheon    
more important or more universally      
diffused than ,osiris4 ,in later forms  
of the national religion1 he is elevated
 into the judge of the departed and king
 of the nether world3 to be 8justified  
by ,osiris10 or1 as later interpreters  
say1 8a justified ,osiris10 is the      
prayer of every corpse as set forth in  
his funeral #afd;inscription2 and       
identification with ,osiris is looked   
upon as the reward of all the happy and 
faithful dead4 ,now ,osiris1 in every   
one of his representations and modes1 is

 simply--a ,mummy4 ,his myth1 to be     
sure1 assumed at last immense           
proportions2 and his relations with     
,isis and ,horus form the centre of an  
endless series of irreconcilable tales1 
repeated over and over again in art and 
literature4 ,if we took mythology as our
 guide1 instead of the monuments1 we    
should be tempted to give him far other 
origins4 ,he is identified often with   
other gods1 especially with ,amen2 and  
the disentanglement of his personality  
in the monuments of the newer empire1   
when ,ra1 the sun-god1 got mixed up     
inextricably with so many other deities1
 is particularly difficult4 ,but if we  
neglect these later complications of a  
very ancient cult1 and go back to the   
simplest origin of ,egyptian history and
 religion1 we shall1 ,i think1 see that 
this mystic god1 so often explained away
 by elemental symbolism into the sun or 
the home of the dead1 was in his first  
beginnings nothing more or less than    
what all his pictures and statues show  

him to be--a revered and worshipped     
,mummy1 a very ancient chief or king of 
the town or little district of ,this by 
,abydos4  ,i do not deny that in later  
ages ,osiris became much more than this4
 ,nor do ,i deny that his name was      
accepted as a symbol for all the happy  
and pious dead4 ,furthermore1 we shall  
find at a later stage that he was       
identified in the end with an annual    
slain ,corn-,god4 ,i will even allow    
that there may have been more than one  
original ,osiris--that the word may even
 at first have been generic1 not        
specific4 ,but ,i still maintain that   
the evidence shows us the great and     
principal ,osiris of all as a ,dead     
,chief of ,abydos4  ,we must remember   
that in ,egypt alone history goes back  
to an immense antiquity and yet shows us
 already at its very beginning an       
advanced civilisation and a developed   
picture-writing4 ,therefore the very    
oldest known state of ,egypt            
#afenecessarily presupposes a vast      

anterior era of slow growth in          
concentration and culture4 ,before ever 
,upper or ,lower ,egypt became united   
under a single crown1 there must have   
been endless mud-built villages and     
petty palm-shadowed principalities along
 the bank of the ,nile1 each possessing 
its own local chief or king1 and each   
worshipping its own local deceased      
potentates4 ,the sheikh of the village1 
as we should call him nowadays1 was then
 their nameless ,pharaoh1 and the       
mummies of his ancestors were their gods
 and goddesses4 ,each tribe had also its
 special totem1 about which ,i shall    
have a little more to say hereafter2 and
 these totems were locally worshipped   
almost as gods1 and gave rise in all    
probability to the later ,egyptian      
,zoolatry and the animal-headed deities4
 ,to the very last1 ,egyptian religion  
bore marked traces of this original     
tribal form2 the great multiplicity of  
,egyptian gods seems to be due to the   
adoption of so many of them1 after the  

unification of the country1 into the    
national pantheon4 ,the local gods and  
local totems1 however1 continued to be  
specially worshipped in their original  
sites4 ,thus the ithyphallic ,amen-,khem
 was specially worshipped at ,thebes1   
where his figure occurs with unpleasant 
frequency upon every temple2 ,apis was  
peculiarly sacred at ,memphis2 ,pasht at
 ,bubastis2 ,anubis at ,sekhem2 ,neith  
at ,sais2 ,ra at ,heliopolis2 and       
,osiris himself at ,abydos1 his ancient 
dwelling-place4  ,even ,egyptian        
tradition seems to preserve some dim    
memory of such a state of things1 for it
 asserts that before the time of ,menes1
 the first king of the ,first ,dynasty1 
reputed the earliest monarch of a united
 ,egypt1 dynasties of the gods ruled in 
the country4 ,in other words1 it was    
recognised that the gods were originally
 kings of local lines which reigned in  
the various provinces of the ,nile      
valley before the unification4  ,in the 
case of ,osiris1 the indications which  

lead us in this direction are almost    
irresistible4 ,it is all but certain    
that ,osiris was originally a local god 
of ,this or ,thinis1 a #affvillage near 
,abydos1 where a huge mound of rubbish  
still marks the site of the great       
deity's resting-place4 ,the latter town 
is described in the ,harris papyrus as  
,abud1 the hand of ,osiris2 and in the  
monuments which still remain at that    
site1 ,osiris is everywhere the chief   
deity represented1 to whom kings and    
priests present appropriate offerings4  
,but it is a significant fact that      
,menes1 the founder of the united       
monarchy1 was born at the same place2   
and this suggests the probability that  
,osiris may have been the most sacred   
and most venerated of ,menes's          
ancestors4 ,the suggestion derives      
further weight from the fact that       
,osiris is invariably represented as a  
mummy1 and that he wears a peculiar     
head-dress or cap of office1 the same as
 that which was used in historical times

 as the crown of ,upper ,egypt4 ,he also
 holds in his hands the crook and       
scourge which are the marks of kingly   
office--the crook to lead his own people
 like a shepherd1 the scourge to punish 
evil-doers and to ward off enemies4 ,his
 image is therefore nothing more nor    
less than the image of a ,mummied ,king4
 ,sometimes1 too1 he wears in addition  
the regal ostrich plumes4 ,surely1      
naught save the blind infatuation of    
mythologists could make them overlook   
the plain inference that ,osiris was a  
mummified chief of ,abydos in the days  
before the unification of ,egypt under a
 single rule1 and that he was worshipped
 by his successors in the petty         
principality exactly as we know other   
kingly mummies were worshipped by their 
family elsewhere--exactly1 for example1 
as on the famous ,tablet of ,ancestors  
found at ,abydos itself1 ,sethi ,i4 and 
,rameses ,,ii4 are seen offering homage 
to seventy-six historical kings1 their  
predecessors on the throne of ,united   

,egypt4  ,not only1 however1 is ,osiris 
represented as a king and a mummy1 but  
we are expressly told by ,plutarch 7or  
at least by the author of the tract ,de 
,osiride which bears his name7 that the 
tomb of ,osiris existed at ,abydos1 and 
that the richest and most powerful of   
the ,egyptians were desirous of being   
buried in the adjacent cemetery1 in     
order that #afgthey might lie1 as it    
were1 in the same grave with the great  
god of their country4 ,all this is      
perfectly comprehensible and natural if 
we suppose that a ,thinite dynasty first
 conquered the whole of ,egypt2 that it 
extended the worship of its own local   
ancestor-god over the entire country2   
and that in time1 when this worship had 
assumed national importance1 the local  
god became the chief figure in the      
common pantheon4  ,i had arrived at this
 opinion independently before ,i was    
aware that ,mr4 ,loftie had anticipated 
me in it4 ,but in his rare and          
interesting ,essay on ,scarabs ,i find  

he has reached the same conclusions4    
8,the divinity of ,pharaoh10 says ,mr4  
,loftie1 8was the first article in the  
creed of the pyramid period1 the        
earliest of which we know anything4 ,as 
time went on1 though the king was still 
called divine1 we see him engaged in the
 worship of other gods4 ,at last he     
appears as a priest himself2 and when   
,herodotus and the later ,greek         
historians visited ,egypt1 there was so 
little of this part of the old religion 
left that it is not even mentioned by   
them as a matter of importance40 ,this  
is quite natural1 ,i may remark         
parenthetically1 for as the antiquity   
and grandeur of the great gods          
increased1 the gulf between them and    
mere men1 even though those men were    
kings1 their offspring1 must always have
 grown ever wider and wider4 8,i have   
myself no doubt whatever10 ,mr4 ,loftie 
goes on1 8that the names of ,osiris and 
of ,horus are those of ancient rulers4  
,i think that1 long before authentic    

history begins1 ,asar and ,aset his wife
 reigned in ,egypt1 probably in that    
wide valley of the ,upper ,nile which is
 now the site of ,girgeh and ,berb0     
7exactly where ,i place the principality
 of ,osiris74 8,their son was ,hor1 or  
,horus1 the first king of ,upper and    
,lower ,egypt2 and the #8,hor           
seshoo4rsquo2 the successors of ,horus1 
are not obscurely mentioned by later    
chroniclers4 ,i know that this view is  
not shared by all students of the       
subject1 and much learning and ingenuity
 have been spent to prove that ,asar1   
and ,aset1 and ,hor1 and #afh,ptah1 and 
,anep1 are representations of the powers
 of nature2 that they do not point to   
ancient princes1 but to ancient         
principles2 and that ,horus and his     
successors are gods and were never men4 
,but in the oldest inscriptions we find 
none of that mysticism which is shown in
 the sculptures from the time of the    
eighteenth dynasty down to the          
,ptolemies and the ,roman ,emperors40   

,in short1 ,mr4 ,loftie goes on to set  
forth a theory of the origin of the     
great gods essentially similar to the   
one ,i am here defending4  ,though a    
little out of place1 ,i cannot help     
noting here the curious confirmatory    
fact that a number of ibis mummies have 
been found at ,abvdos in close proximity
 to the mound where ,m4 ,mariette       
confidently expected to discover in the 
rock the actual tomb of ,osiris himself4
 ,hence we may conclude that the ibis   
was in all probability the totem of     
,abydos or ,this1 as the bull was of    
,memphis1 the crocodile of the ,fayoum1 
the cat of ,bubastis1 and the baboon of 
,thebes4 ,now1 the ibis-god of ,abydos  
is ,thoth2 and it is noteworthy that    
,thoth1 as recorder1 always accompanies 
,osiris1 in later legend1 as judge of   
the dead3 the local mummy-god1 in other 
words1 has as his assessor the local    
totem-god2 and both are commonly to be  
seen on the monuments of ,abydos1 in    
company with ,horus1 ,anubis1 ,isis1 and

 other 7probably7 local divinities4  ,it
 is quite easy to see how1 with this    
origin1 ,osiris would almost inevitably 
grow with time to be the ,king of the   
,dead1 and supreme judge of the nether  
regions4 ,for1 as the most sacred of the
 ancestors of the regal line1 he would  
naturally be the one whom the kings1 in 
their turn1 would most seek to          
propitiate1 and whom they would look    
forward to joining in their eternal     
home4 ,as the myth extended1 and as     
mystical interpretations began to creep 
in1 identifications being made of the   
gods with the sun or other natural      
energies1 the original meaning of       
,osiris-worship would grow gradually    
obscured4 ,but to the last1 ,osiris     
himself1 in spite of all corruptions1 is
 represented #afi;as a mummy3 and even  
when identified with ,amen1 the later   
intrusive god1 he still wears his       
mummy-bandages1 and still bears the     
crook and scourge and sceptre of his    
primitive kingship4  ,it may be         

objected1 however1 that there were many 
forms of ,orisis1 and many local gods   
who bore the same name4 ,he was buried  
at ,abydos1 but was also equally buried 
at ,memphis1 and at ,phil as well4 ,the 
pretty little 8,temple on the ,roof0 at 
,denderah is an exquisitely elaborate   
chapel to the local ,osiris of that     
town1 with chambers dedicated to the    
various other ,osiris-gods of the       
forty-two nomes of ancient ,egypt4      
,well1 that fact runs exactly parallel  
with the local ,madonnas and the local  
,apollos of other religions3 and nobody 
has suggested doubts as to the human    
reality of the ,blessed ,virgin ,mary   
because so many different ,maries exist 
in different sacred sites or in         
different cathedrals4 ,our ,lady of     
,loretto is the same as ,our ,lady of   
,lourdes4 ,jesus of ,nazareth was       
nevertheless born at ,bethlehem3 he was 
the son of ,joseph1 but he was also the 
son of ,david1 and the son of ,god4     
,perhaps ,osiris was a common noun3     

perhaps a slightly different ,osiris was
 worshipped in various towns of later   
,egypt2 perhaps a local mummy-god1 the  
ancestor of some extinct native line1   
often wrongly usurped the name and      
prerogatives of the great mummy-god of  
,abydos1 especially under the influence 
of late priestly mysticism4 ,moreover1  
when we come to consider the subject of 
the manufacture of gods1 we shall see   
that the body of an annual incarnation  
of ,osiris may have been divided and    
distributed among all the nomes of      
,egypt4 ,it is enough for my present    
purpose if ,i point out in brief that   
ancestor-worship amply explains the rise
 and prevalence of the cult of ,osiris1 
the kingly mummy1 with the associated   
cults of ,horus1 ,isis1 ,thoth1 and the 
other deities of the ,osirian cycle4  ,i
 may add that a gradual growth of       
,osiris-worship is clearly marked on the
 monuments themselves4 ,the simpler     
#agjstel and memorials of the earliest  
age seldom contain the names of any god1

 but display votaries making offerings  
at the shrine of ancestors4 ,similarly1 
the scenes represented on the walls of  
tombs of early date bear no reference to
 the great gods of later ages1 but are  
merely domestic and agricultural in     
character1 as may be observed at        
,sakkarah and even to some extent also  
at ,beni-,hassan4 ,under the ,sixth     
,dynasty1 the monuments begin to make   
more and more frequent mention of       
,osiris1 who now comes to be regarded as
 ,judge of the ,dead and ,lord of the   
,lower ,world2 and on a tablet of this  
age in the ,boulak ,museum occurs for   
the first time the expression afterwards
 so common1 8justified by ,osiris40     
,under the ,twelfth ,dynasty1 legend    
becomes more prominent2 a solar and     
lunar character seems to be given by    
reflex to ,osiris and ,isis3 and the    
name of ,ra1 the sun1 is added to that  
of many previously distinct and         
independent deities4 ,khem1 the         
ithyphallic god of the ,thebaid1 now    

also assumes greater importance1 as is  
quite natural under a line of ,theban   
princes3 and ,khem1 a local mummy-god1  
is always represented in his            
swathing-clothes1 and afterwards        
confounded1 certainly with ,amen1 and   
probably also with the mummy-god of     
,abydos4 ,but ,osiris from this time    
forward rises distinctly into the front 
rank as a deity4 8,to him1 rather than  
to the dead1 the friends and family     
offer their sacrifices4 ,a court is     
formed for him4 ,thoth1 the recorder    
totem-god of ,abydos1 ,anubis the       
watcher1 ,ra the impersonation of truth1
 and others1 assist in judgment on the  
soul40 ,the name of the deceased is     
henceforth constantly accompanied by the
 formula 8justified by ,osiris40 ,about 
the same time the ,book of the ,dead in 
its full form came into existence1 with 
its developed conception of the lower   
world1 and its complicated arrangement  
of planes of purgatorial progress4      
,under the ,eighteenth ,dynasty1 the    

legend thickens2 the identifications of 
the gods become more and more intricate2
 ,amen and ,ra are sought and found     
under innumerable #aga;forms of other   
deities2 and a foundation is laid for   
the esoteric ,monotheism or pantheistic 
nature-worship of the later             
philosophising priesthood4 ,it was under
 the ,nineteenth ,dynasty that the cult 
of local ,triads or ,trinities took     
fullest shape1 and that the mystical    
interpretation of the religion of ,egypt
 came well into the foreground4 ,the    
great ,osirian myth was then more and   
more minutely and mystically elaborated2
 and even the bull ,apis1 the totem-god 
of ,memphis1 was recognised as a special
 incarnation of ,osiris1 who thus       
becomes1 with ,amen1 the mysterious     
summing-up of almost all the national   
pantheon4 ,at last we find the myth     
going off into pure mysticism1 ,osiris  
being at once the father1 brother1      
husband1 and son of ,isis1 and also the 
son of his own child ,horus4 99         

,sentences with an almost ,athanasian   
mixture of vagueness and definiteness   
inform us how 8the son proceeds from the
 father1 and the father proceeds from   
his son02 how 8,ra is the soul of       
,osiris1 and ,osiris the soul of ,ra and
 how ,horus his child1 awakened by      
magical rites from his dead body1 is    
victorious over ,set1 the prince of     
darkness1 and sits as ,osiris upon the  
throne of the father whom he has revived
 and avenged4 ,here as elsewhere the    
myth1 instead of being the explanation  
of the god1 does nothing more than      
darken counsel40       99 8,stories like
 the ,osiris myth10 says ,mr4 ,lang1    
8spring      from no pure religious     
source1 but embody the delusions and    
fantastic dreams of the lowest and least
 developed human      fancy and human   
speculation40 ,this sentence enforces   
precisely the same idea that ,i have    
previously expressed in      chapter ii4
 as to the real relations of religion   
and      mythology4 ,the myth nowhere   

explains the cult2 it casts no          
light upon its origin or history2 on the
 contrary1 it only      obscures and    
overshadows the underlying kernel of    
genuine      fact4  ,in like manner1 ,i 
believe1 ,ptah was originally a local   
mummy-god of ,memphis1 and ,khem of ,ap1
 afterwards known as ,chemmis4  ,this   
gradual growth of a dead and mummified  
village chief1 however1 into a          
pantheistic god1 strange as it may seem1
 is not in any way more remarkable than 
the gradual growth #agbof a ,galilean   
peasant into the second person of an    
eternal and omnipotent ,godhead4 ,nor   
does the myth of the death and          
resurrection of ,osiris 7to be          
considered hereafter in a later chapter7
 militate against the reality of his    
human existence any more than the       
history of the death and resurrection of
 ,jesus ,christ militates against the   
human existence of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 
8,gross and crude euphemerism0 may be   
bad2 but airy and fantastic             

,max-mullerism appears to me just as    
unphilosophical4  ,the difficulty of the
 evolution1 indeed1 is not at all great1
 if we consider the further fact that   
even after the concept of godship had   
been fully developed1 the king still    
remained of like nature with the gods1  
their son and descendant1 a divine      
personage himself1 differing from them  
only in not having yet received eternal 
life1 the symbol of which they are often
 shown in sculpture as presenting with  
gracious expressions to their favoured  
scion4 8,the ruling sovereign of        
,egypt10 says ,mr4 ,le ,page ,renouf1   
8was the living image of and vicegerent 
of the sun-god4 ,he was invested with   
the attributes of divinity1 and that in 
the earliest times of which we possess  
monumental evidence40 ,and quite        
naturally1 for in antique times gods had
 ruled in ,egypt1 whose successor the   
king was3 and the kings before ,menes   
were significantly known as 8the        
successors of ,horus40 ,as late as the  

times of the ,ptolemies1 we saw1 there  
were priests of ,menes and other        
,pharaohs of the most ancient dynasties4
 ,the pyramid kings took the title of   
the ,golden ,horus1 afterwards copied by
 their descendants2 and from ,chafra    
onward the reigning monarch was known as
 the ,son of ,ra and the ,great ,god4   
,amenophis ,,il1 during his own         
lifetime1 is 8a god good like ,ra1 the  
sacred seed of ,amen1 the son whom he   
begot40 ,and on all the monuments the   
king is represented of the same         
superhuman stature as the gods          
themselves3 he converses with them on   
equal terms2 they lead him by the hand  
into their inmost sanctuaries1 or       
present him with the symbols of royal   
rule and of eternal life1 like friends  
of the family4  ,the #agc;former guerdon
 bestows upon him the same rank they    
themselves had held on earth2 the latter
 advances him to share with them the    
glories of the other existence4 ,in the 
temple of ,kurneh1 ,rameses ,i4 7then   

dead7 receives the offerings and        
liturgies of his royal grandson4 ,hard  
by1 ,rameses ,,ii4 offers to ,amen-ra1  
,khonso1 and ,rameses ,i41 without      
distinction of divinity4 ,on the side   
wall1 ,sethi ,i4 receives similar divine
 honours from the royal hands3 while in 
the centre chamber ,sethi himself       
officiates before the statue of his     
father placed in a shrine4 ,the ,king is
 thus but the ,living ,god3 the ,god is 
thus but the ,dead ,king4  ,i conclude1 
therefore1 that a large part of the     
greater ,egyptian gods--the national or 
local gods1 as opposed to those         
worshipped by each family in its own    
necropolis--were early kings1 whose     
myths were later expanded into legends1 
rationalised into nature-worship1 and   
adorned by priestly care with endless   
symbolical or esoteric fancies4 ,but    
down to the very latest age of          
independence1 inscriptions of the god   
,euergetes1 and the goddess ,berenice1  
or representations like that at ,phil1  

of the god ,philadelphus suckled by     
,isis1 show that to the ,egyptian mind  
the gulf between humanity and divinity  
was very narrow1 and that the original  
manhood of all the deities was an idea  
quite familiar to priests and people4   
,there was1 however1 another class of   
gods about which we can be somewhat less
 certain2 these are the animal-gods and 
animal-headed gods which developed out  
of the totems of the various villages4  
,such bestial types1 ,professor ,sayce  
remarks1 8take us back to a remote      
prehistoric age1 when the religious     
creed of ,egypt10 say rather1 the custom
 of ,egypt1 8was still totemism40 ,but  
in what precise relation totemism stood 
to the main line of the evolution of    
gods ,i do not feel quite so sure in my 
own mind as does ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer4
 ,it seems to me possible that the totem
 may in its origin have been merely the 
lucky-beast or badge of a particular    
tribe 7like the regimental #agd;goat or 
deer72 and that from being at first     

petted1 domesticated1 and to some extent
 respected on this account1 it may have 
grown at last1 through a confusion of   
ideas1 to share the same sort of divine 
honours which were paid to the ghosts of
 ancestors and the gods evolved from    
them4 ,but ,mr4 ,frazer has suggested a 
better origin of totemism from the      
doctrine of the ,separable ,soul1 which 
is1 up to date1 the best explanation yet
 offered of this obscure subject4 ,be   
that as it may1 if the totems were only 
gradually elevated into divinities1 we  
can easily understand ,mr4 ,renouf's    
remark that the long series of tombs of 
the ,apis bulls at ,sakkarah shows 8how 
immeasurably greater the devotion to the
 sacred animals was in the later times  
than in the former40  ,may ,i add that  
the worship of totems1 as distinct from 
the mere care implied by ,mr4 ,frazer's 
suggestion1 very probably arose from the
 custom of carving the totem-animal of  
the deceased on the grave-stake or      
grave-board8 ,this custom is still      

universal among the ,indian tribes of   
,northwestern ,america4  ,nevertheless1 
whatever be the true origin of the      
totem-gods1 ,i do not think totemism    
militates in any way against the general
 principle of the evolution of the idea 
of a god from the ghost1 the ,dead ,man1
 or the deified ancestor4 ,for only     
after the concept of a god had been     
formed from ancestor-cult1 and only     
after worship had been evolved from the 
customary offerings to the mummy or     
spirit at the tomb1 could any other     
object by any possibility be elevated to
 the godhead4 ,nor1 on the other hand1  
as ,i have before remarked1 do ,i feel  
inclined wholly to agree with ,mr4      
,spencer that every individual god was  
necessarily once a particular ,dead     
,man4 ,it seems to me indubitable that  
after the idea of godhead had become    
fully fixed in the human mind1 some gods
 at least began to be recognised who    
were directly framed either from        
abstract conceptions1 from natural      

objects1 or from pure outbursts of the  
mythopoeic faculty4 ,i do not think1    
therefore1 that the existence #ageof a  
certain 7relatively unimportant7 class  
of totem-gods in ,egypt or elsewhere is 
necessarily inconsistent in any way with
 our main theory of the origin of       
godhead4  ,be this as it may1 it is at  
any rate clear that totemism itself was 
a very ancient and widespread           
institution in early ,egypt4 ,totems are
 defined by ,mr4 ,frazer as 8a class of 
material objects which a savage regards 
with superstitious respect1 believing   
that there exists between him and every 
member of the class an intimate and     
altogether special relation4rdquo2      
8,observation of existing totem tribes  
in ,africa1 ,australia1 and             
elsewhere1rdquo2 says ,sir ,martin      
,conway1 8shows us that one or more     
representatives of the totem are often  
fed or even kept alive in captivity by  
the tribe4rdquo2 ,mr4 ,frazer tells us  
that 8amongst the ,nar-rinyeri in ,south

 ,australia1 men of the snake clan      
sometimes catch snakes1 pull out their  
teeth1 or sew up their mouths1 and keep 
them as pets4 ,in a pigeon clan of      
,samoa a pigeon was carefully kept and  
fed4 ,amongst the ,kalong in ,java1     
whose totem is a red dog1 each family as
 a rule keeps one of these animals1     
which they will on no account allow to  
be struck or ill-used by any one4rdquo2 
,in the same way1 no doubt1 certain     
,egyptian clans kept sacred bulls1 cats1
 crocodiles1 hawks1 jackals1 cobras1    
lizards1 ibises1 asps1 and beetles4     
,mummies of most of these sacred        
animals1 and little images of others1   
are common in the neighbourhood of      
certain places where they were specially
 worshipped4  ,whether the animal-headed
 gods represent a later stage of the    
same totem-worship1 or whether they     
stand merely for real ancestor-gods     
belonging to a particular totem-clan1   
and therefore represented by its totem1 
is not a question easily settled4 ,but  

at any rate it is clear that many gods  
are the equivalents of such             
totem-animals1 as is the case with the  
hawk-headed ,horus1 the jackal-headed   
,anubis1 the cow-headed ,athor1 the     
ram-headed ,knum1 the cat-headed ,pasht1
 the lion-headed ,sekhet1 the           
ibis-headed #agf,thoth1 and the         
kestrel-headed ,khons4 ,these gods      
appear on the earlier monuments as      
beasts alone1 not as human forms with   
bestial heads4 ,till the ,twelfth       
,dynasty1 when a totem-god is mentioned 
7which is not often71 8he is            
represented10 says ,mr4 ,flinders       
,petrie1 8by his animal40 ,anubis1 for  
example1 at this stage1 is merely a     
jackal2 and as ,m4 ,maspero puts it1    
8,whatever may have been the object of  
worship in ,thoth-,ibis1 it was a bird1 
not a hieroglyph1 that the earliest     
ibis-worshippers adored40 ,there were   
other totems1 however1 which were less  
fruitful in deities1 but which entered  
largely in artistic forms into the later

 religious symbolism4 ,such were        
especially the asp and the sacred       
scarabus1 which almost rival the        
sun-disk in the large part they play in 
the developed religious art-language of 
the great temple-building dynasties4 ,i 
may add that among the other symbols of 
this curious emblematical               
picture-writing are the ,tau or crux    
ansata1 by origin apparently a combined 
linga and yoni2 the lotus1 the sceptre1 
the leek1 and the crescent4  ,there is1 
however1 yet a third class of divine or 
quasidivine beings in the newer         
,egyptian ,pantheon to which ,mr4       
,andrew ,lang1 in his able introduction 
to the ,euterpe of ,herodotus1 still    
allows that great importance may be     
attached4 ,these are the elemental or   
seemingly elemental deities1 the        
,nature-,gods who play so large a part  
in all rationalistic or mystical        
mythologies4 ,such are no doubt ,nut and
 ,seb1 the personal heaven and earth1   
named as early as the inscription on the

 coffin of ,menkaoura of the ,fourth    
,dynasty in the ,british ,museum3 such  
perhaps 7though far less certainly7 are 
,khons1 identified with the rising sun1 
and ,tum1 regarded as the impersonation 
of his nightly setting4 ,but none of the
 quite obviously elemental gods1 except 
,ra1 play any large part in the actual  
and practical worship of the people3 to 
adopt the broad distinction ,i have     
ventured to draw in our second chapter1 
they are gods to talk about1 not gods to
 adore--mythological conceptions rather 
than religious beings4 ,their names     
occur #aggmuch in the sacred texts1 but 
their images are rare and their temples 
unknown4 ,it is not ,nut or ,seb whose  
figures we see carved abundantly in     
relief on the grey sandstone pillars of 
,karnak and ,luxor1 painted in endless  
file on the gesso-covered walls of the  
,tombs of the ,kings1 or represented by 
dozens in the great collection of little
 bronze idols that fill so many cabinets
 at the ,boulak ,museum4 ,the actual    

objects of the highest worship are far  
other than these abstract elemental     
conceptions3 they are ,osiris1 ,isis1   
,horus1 ,anubis1 ,khem1 ,pasht1 and     
,athor4 ,the quaint or grotesque incised
 figures of ,nut1 represented as a      
female form with arms and legs extended 
like a living canopy over the earth1 as 
at ,denderah1 belong1 ,i believe1 almost
 if not quite exclusively to the        
,ptolemaic period1 when zodiacal and    
astrological conceptions had been freely
 borrowed by the ,egyptians from ,greece
 and ,asia4 ,nut and ,seb1 as gods1 not 
myths1 are in short quite recent ideas  
in ,egypt4 ,even sun-disk ,ra1 himself1 
important as he becomes in the later    
developed creed1 is hardly so much in   
his origin a separate god as an adjunct 
or symbol of divinity united            
syncretically with the various other    
deities4 ,to call a king the sun is a   
common piece of courtier flattery4 ,it  
is as ,amen-,ra or as ,osiris that the  
sun receives most actual worship4 ,his  

name is joined to the names of gods as  
to the names of kings3 he is almost as  
much a symbol as the ,tau or the ,asp2  
he obtains little if any adoration in   
his simple form1 but plenty when        
conjoined in a compound conception with 
some more practical deity of strictly   
human origin4 ,even at the great        
8,temple of the ,sun0 at ,heliopolis1 it
 was as the bull ,men or ,mnevis that   
the luminary was adored3 and that cult1 
according to ,manetho1 went back as far 
as the totemistic times of the ,second  
,dynasty4  ,to put it briefly1 then1 ,i 
hold that the element of nature-worship 
is a late gloss or superadded factor in 
the ,egyptian religion2 that it is      
always rather mythological or           
explanatory than religious in the strict
 sense2 and that it does #aghnot in the 
least interfere with our general        
inference that the real ,egyptian gods  
as a whole were either ancestral or     
totemistic in origin4  ,from the        
evidence before us1 broadly considered1 

we may fairly conclude1 then1 that the  
earliest cult of ,egypt consisted of    
pure ancestor-worship1 complicated by a 
doubtfully religious element of         
totemism1 which afterwards by one means 
or another interwove itself closely with
 the whole ghostly worship of the       
country4 ,the later gods were probably  
deified ancestors of the early tribal   
kings1 sometimes directly worshipped as 
mummies1 and sometimes perhaps          
represented by their totem-animals or   
later still by human figures with animal
 heads4 ,almost every one of these great
 gods is localised to a particular      
place--8,lord of ,abydos10 8,mistress of
 ,senem10 8,president of ,thebes10      
8,dweller at ,hermopolis10 as would     
naturally be the case if they were      
locally-deified princes1 admitted at    
last into a national pantheon4 ,in the  
earliest period of which any monuments  
remain to us1 the ancestor-worship was  
purer1 simpler1 and freer from symbolism
 or from the cult of the great gods than

 at any later time4 ,with the gradual   
evolution of the creed and the pantheon1
 however1 legends and myths increased1  
the syncretic tendency manifested itself
 everywhere1 identifications multiplied1
 mysticism grew rife1 and an esoteric   
faith1 with leanings towards a vague    
pantheistic monotheism1 endeavoured to  
rationalise and to explain away the more
 gross and foolish portions of the      
original belief4 ,it is the refinements 
and glosses of this final philosophical 
stage that pass current for the most    
part in systematic works as the true    
doctrines of ,egyptian religion1 and    
that so many modern enquirers have      
erroneously treated as equivalent to the
 earliest product of native thought4    
,the ideas as to the unity of ,god1 and 
the sun-myths of ,horus1 ,isis1 and     
,osiris1 are clearly late developments  
or excrescences on the original creed1  
and betray throughout the esoteric      
spirit of priestly interpretation4 ,to  
the very last1 the ,worship of the      

,dead1 and the #agi crude polytheism    
based upon it1 were the true religion of
 the ancient ,egyptians1 as we see it   
expressed in all the monuments4  ,such  
was the religious world into which1 if  
we may believe the oldest ,semitic      
traditions1 the ,sons of ,israel brought
 their ,god ,jahweh and their other     
deities from beyond the ,euphrates at a 
very remote period of their national    
history4 ,and such1 in its fuller and   
more mystical form1 was the religion    
practised and taught in ,ptolemaic and  
,roman ,egypt1 at the moment when the   
,christian faith was just beginning to  
evolve itself round the historical      
nucleus of the man ,christ ,jesus1 and  
him crucified4     ,,chapter            
,,ix4--,,the ,,gods ,,of ,,israel4      
,,the #ahjonly people who ever invented 
or evolved a pure monotheism at first   
hand were the ,jews4 ,individual        
thinkers elsewhere approached or aimed  
at that ideal goal1 like the ,egyptian  
priests and the ,greek philosophers3    

entire races elsewhere borrowed         
monotheism from the ,hebrews1 like the  
,arabs under ,mohammad1 or1 to a less   
extent1 the ,romans and the modern      
,european nations1 when they adopted    
,christianity in its trinitarian form3  
but no other race ever succeeded as a   
whole in attaining by their own         
exertions the pure monotheistic         
platform1 however near certain persons  
among them might have arrived to such   
attainment in esoteric or mystical      
philosophising4 ,it is the peculiar     
glory of ,israel to have evolved ,god4  
,and the evolution of ,god from the     
diffuse gods of the earlier ,semitic    
religion is ,israel's great contribution
 to the world's thought4  ,the sacred   
books of the ,jews1 as we possess them  
in garbled forms to-day1 assign this    
peculiar belief to the very earliest    
ages of their race3 they assume that    
,abraham1 the mythical common father of 
all the ,semitic tribes1 was already a  
monotheist2 and they even treat         

monotheism as at a still remoter date   
the universal religion of the entire    
world1 from which all polytheistic cults
 were but a corruption and a falling    
away4 ,such a belief is nowadays1 of    
course1 wholly untenable4 ,so also is   
the crude notion that monotheism was    
smitten out at a single blow by the     
genius of one individual man1 ,moses1 at
 the moment #ahaof the ,hebrew exodus   
from ,egypt4 ,the bare idea that one    
particular thinker1 just escaped from   
the midst of ardent polytheists1 whose  
religion embraced an endless pantheon   
and a low form of animal-worship1 could 
possibly have invented a pure           
monotheistic cult1 is totally opposed to
 every known psychological law of human 
nature4 ,the real stages by which       
monotheism was evolved out of a         
preceding polytheism in a single small  
group of ,semitic tribes have already   
been well investigated by ,dutch and    
,german scholars3 all that ,i propose to
 do in the present volume is to         

reconsider the subject from our broader 
anthropological standpoint1 and show how
 in the great ,jewish god himself we may
 still discern1 as in a glass1 darkly1  
the vague but constant lineaments of an 
ancestral ghost-deity4  ,down to a      
comparatively late period of ,jewish    
history1 as we now know1 ,jahweh was but
 one and the highest among a            
considerable group of ,israelitish      
divinities2 the first among his peers1  
like ,zeus among the gods of ,hellas1   
,osiris or ,amen among the gods of      
,egypt1 and ,woden or ,thunor among the 
gods of the old ,teutonic pantheon4 ,as 
late as the century of ,hezekiah1 the   
religion of the great mass of the       
,israelites and ,jews was still a broad 
though vague polytheism4 ,the gods seem 
to have been as numerous and as         
localised as in ,egypt3 8,according to  
the number of thy cities are thy gods1  
,o ,judah10 says the prophet ,jeremiah  
in the sixth century4 ,it was only by a 
slow process of syncretism1 by the      

absorption into ,jahweh-worship of all  
other conflicting creeds1 that ,israel  
at last attained its full ideal of pure 
monotheism4 ,that ideal was never       
finally reached by the people at large  
till the return from the captivity3 it  
had only even been aimed at by a few    
ardent and exclusive ,jahweh-worshippers
 in the last dangerous and doubtful     
years of national independence which    
immediately preceded the ,babylonish    
exile4  ,in order to understand the     
inner nature of this curious gradual    
revolution we must look briefly1 first1 
at the general character #ahbof the old 
,hebrew polytheism2 and secondly1 at the
 original cult of the great ethnical god
 ,jahweh himself4  ,in spite of their   
long sojourn in ,egypt1 the national    
religion of the ,hebrews1 when we first 
begin dimly to descry its features      
through the veil of later glosses1 is   
regarded by almost all modern           
investigators as truly ,semitic and     
local in origin4 ,it is usually         

described as embracing three principal  
forms of cult3 the worship of the       
teraphim or family gods2 the worship of 
sacred stones2 and the worship of       
certain great gods1 partly native1      
partly perhaps borrowed2 some of them   
adored in the form of animals1 and some 
apparently elemental or solar in their  
acquired attributes4 ,although for us   
these three are one1 ,i shall examine   
them here in that wonted order4  ,the   
cult of the teraphim1 ,i think1 we      
cannot consider1 on a broad             
anthropological view1 otherwise than as 
the equivalent of all the other family  
cults known to us2 that is to say1 in   
other words1 as pure unadulterated      
domestic ancestor-worship4 8,by that    
name10 says ,kuenen1 8were indicated    
larger or smaller images1 which were    
worshipped as household gods1 and upon  
which the happiness of the family was   
supposed to depend40 ,in the legend of  
,jacob's flight from ,laban1 we are told
 how ,rachel stole her father's         

teraphim3 and when the angry chieftain  
overtakes the fugitives1 he enquires of 
them why they have robbed him of his    
domestic gods4 ,of ,micah1 we learn that
 he made images of his teraphim1 and    
consecrated one of his own sons to be   
his family priest3 such a domestic and  
private priesthood being exactly what we
 are accustomed to find in the worship  
of ancestral manes everywhere4 ,even    
through the mist of the later           
,jehovistic recension we catch1 in      
passing1 frequent glimpses of the early 
worship of these family gods1 one of    
which is described as belonging to      
,michal1 the daughter of ,saul and wife 
of ,david2 while ,hosea alludes to them 
as stocks of wood1 and ,zechariah as    
idols that speak lies to the people4 ,it
 is clear #ahcthat the teraphim were    
preserved in each household with        
reverential care1 that they were        
sacrificed to by the family at stated   
intervals1 and that they were consulted 
on all occasions of doubt or difficulty 

by a domestic priest clad in an ephod4  
,i think1 then1 if we put these         
indications side by side with those of  
family cults elsewhere1 we may conclude 
that the ,jewish religion1 like all     
others1 was based upon an ultimate      
foundation of general ancestor-worship4 
,it has been denied1 indeed1 that       
ancestor-worship pure and simple ever   
existed among the ,semitic races4 ,a    
clear contradiction of this denial is   
furnished by ,m4 ,lenormant1 who        
comments thus on sepulchral monuments   
from ,yemen3 8,here1 then1 we have twice
 repeated a whole series of human       
persons1 decidedly deceased ancestors or
 relations of the authors of the        
dedications4 ,their names are           
accompanied with the titles they bore   
during life4 ,they are invoked by their 
descendants in the same way as the gods4
 ,they are incontestably deified        
persons1 objects of a family worship1   
and gods or genii in the belief of the  
people of their race40 ,after this1 we  

need not doubt that the teraphim were   
the images of such family gods or       
ancestral spirits4  ,it is not          
surprising1 however1 that these domestic
 gods play but a small part in the      
history of the people as it has come    
down to us in the late ,jehovistic      
version of the ,hebrew traditions4      
,nowhere in literature1 even under the  
most favourable circumstances1 do we    
hear much of the manes and lares1       
compared with the great gods of national
 worship4 ,nor were such minor          
divinities likely to provoke the wrath  
even of that 8jealous god0 who later    
usurped all the adoration of ,israel3 so
 that denunciations of their votaries   
are comparatively rare in the rhapsodies
 of the prophets4 8,their use10 says    
,kuenen1 speaking of the teraphim1 8was 
very general1 and was by no means       
considered incompatible with the worship
 of ,jahweh40 ,they were regarded merely
 as family affairs1 poor foemen for     
#ahdthe great and awesome tribal god who

 bore no rival near his throne1 and     
would not suffer the pretensions of     
,molech or of the ,baalim4 ,to use a    
modern analogy1 their cult was as little
 inconsistent with ,jahweh-worship as a 
belief in fairies1 banshees1 or family  
ghosts was formerly inconsistent with a 
belief in ,christianity4  ,this         
conclusion will doubtless strike the    
reader at once as directly opposed to   
the oft-repeated assertion that the     
early ,hebrews had little or no         
conception of the life beyond the grave 
and of the doctrine of future rewards   
and punishments4 ,i am afraid it cannot 
be denied that such is the case4 ,hard  
as it is to run counter to so much      
specialist opinion1 ,i can scarcely see 
how any broad anthropological enquirer  
may deny to the ,semites of the tenth   
and twelfth centuries before ,christ    
participation in an almost 7or quite7   
universal human belief1 common to the   
lowest savages and the highest          
civilisations1 and particularly well    

developed in that ,egyptian society with
 which the ancestors of the ,hebrews had
 so long rubbed shoulders4 ,the subject1
 however1 is far too large a one for    
full debate here4 ,i must content myself
 with pointing out that1 apart from the 
a priori improbability of such a        
conclusion1 the ,hebrew documents       
themselves contain numerous allusions1  
even in their earliest traditional      
fragments1 to the belief in ghosts and  
in the world of shades1 as well as to   
the probability of future resurrection4 
,the habit of cave-burial and of        
excavated grotto-burial2 the importance 
attached to the story of the purchase of
 ,machpelah2 the common phrase that     
such-and-such a patriarch 8was gathered 
to his people10 or 8slept with his      
fathers02 the embalming of ,joseph1 and 
the carrying up of his bones from ,egypt
 to ,palestine2 the episode of ,saul and
 the ghost of ,samuel2 and indeed the   
entire conception of ,sheol1 the place  
of the departed--all alike show that the

 ,hebrew belief in this respect did not 
largely differ in essentials from the   
general belief of surrounding peoples4  
,the very frequency of allusions to     
witchcraft and necromancy #ahepoint in  
the same direction2 while the common    
habit of assuming a priestly or         
sacrificial garment1 the ephod1 and then
 consulting the family teraphim as a    
domestic oracle1 is strictly in         
accordance with all that we know of the 
minor ancestor-worship as it occurs     
elsewhere4  ,closely connected with the 
teraphim is the specific worship at     
tombs or graves4 8,the whole north      
,semitic area10 says ,professor         
,robertson ,smith1 8was dotted over with
 sacred tombs1 ,memnonia1 ,semiramis    
mounds1 and the like2 and at every such 
spot a god or demigod had his           
subterranean abode40 ,this1 of course1  
is pure ancestor-worship4 ,traces of    
still older cave-burial are also common 
in the ,hebrew ,scriptures4 8,at the    
present day10 says ,professor ,smith1   

8almost every sacred site in ,palestine 
has its grotto1 and that this is no new 
thing is plain from the numerous symbols
 of ,astarte-worship found on the walls 
of caves in ,phoenicia4 ,there can be   
little doubt that the oldest ,phoenician
 temples were natural or artificial     
grottoes40  ,we are fairly entitled to  
conclude1 then1 ,i believe1 that a      
domestic cult of the manes or lares1 the
 family dead1 formed the general        
substratum of early ,hebrew religion1   
though as in all other cases1 owing to  
its purely personal nature1 this        
universal cult makes but a small figure 
in the literature of the race1 compared 
with the worship of the greater national
 gods and goddesses4  ,second in the    
list of worshipful objects in early     
,israel come the sacred stones1 about   
which ,i have already said a good deal  
in the chapter devoted to that          
interesting subject1 but concerning     
whose special nature in the ,semitic    
field a few more words may here be fitly

 added4  ,it is now very generally      
admitted that stone-worship played an   
exceedingly large and important part in 
the primitive ,semitic religion4 ,how   
important a part we may readily gather  
from many evidences1 but from none more 
than from the fact that even ,mohammad  
himself was unable to exclude from      
,islam1 the most monotheistic of all    
#ahfknown religious systems1 the holy   
black stone of the ,kaaba at ,mecca4 ,in
 ,arabia1 says ,professor ,robertson    
,smith1 the altar or hewn stone is      
unknown1 and in its place we find the   
rude pillar or the cairn1 beside which  
the sacrificial victim is slain1 the    
blood being poured out over the stone or
 at its base4 ,but in ,israel1 the      
shaped stone seems the more usual mark  
of the ghost or god4 ,such a sacred     
stone1 we have already seen1 was known  
to the early ,hebrews as a ,beth-el1    
that is to say an 8abode of deity10 from
 the common belief that it was inhabited
 by a god1 ghost1 or spirit4 ,the great 

prevalence of the cult of stones among  
the ,semites1 however1 is further       
indicated by the curious circumstance   
that this word was borrowed by the      
,greeks and ,romans 7in a slightly      
altered form7 to denote the stones so   
supposed to be inhabited by deities4    
,references to such gods abound         
throughout the ,hebrew books1 though    
they are sometimes denounced as         
idolatrous images1 and sometimes covered
 with a thin veneer of ,jehovism by     
being connected with the national heroes
 and with the later ,jahweh-worship4    
,in the legend of ,jacob's dream we get 
a case where the sacred stone is        
anointed and a promise is made to it of 
a tenth of the speaker's substance as an
 offering4 ,and again1 on a later       
occasion1 we learn that ,jacob 8set up a
 pillar of stone1 and he poured a       
drink-offering thereon1 and he poured   
oil thereon20 just as1 in the great     
phallic worship of the linga in ,india  
7commonly called the linga puja71 a     

cylindrical pillar1 rounded at the top1 
and universally considered as a phallus 
in its nature1 is worshipped by pouring 
upon it one of five sacred anointing    
liquids1 water1 milk1 ghee1 oil1 and    
wine4 ,similar rites are offered in many
 other places to other sacred stones2   
and in many cases the phallic value     
assigned to them is clearly shown by the
 fact that it is usual for sterile women
 to pray to them for the blessing of    
children1 as ,hindu wives pray to       
,mahadeo1 and as so many ,hebrew women  
7to be noted hereafter7 #ahg;are        
mentioned in our texts as praying to    
,jahweh4  ,a brief catalogue of the     
chief stone-deities alluded to in       
,hebrew literature may help to enforce  
the importance of the subject3 and it   
may be noted in passing that the stones 
are often mentioned in connexion with   
sacred trees--an association with which 
we are already familiar4 ,in the        
neighbourhood of ,sichem was an oak--the
 8oak of the prophets0 or 8oak of the   

soothsayers0--by which lay a stone1     
whose holiness is variously accounted   
for by describing it as1 in one place1  
an altar of ,abraham1 in another an     
altar of ,jacob1 and in a third a       
memorial of ,joshua4 ,but the fact shows
 that it was resorted to for sacrifice1 
and that oracles or responses were      
sought from it by its votaries4 ,that is
 to say1 it was a sepulchral monument4  
,near ,hebron stood 8the oak of ,mamre10
 and under it a sacred stone1 accounted 
for as an altar of ,abraham1 to which in
 ,david's time sacrifices were offered4 
,near ,beersheba we find yet a third    
tree1 the tamarisk1 said to have been   
planted by ,abraham1 and an altar or    
stone pillar ascribed to ,isaac4 ,in the
 camp at ,gilgal were 8the twelve       
stones10 sometimes1 apparently1 spoken  
of as 8the graven images10 but sometimes
 explained away as memorials of         
,jahweh's help at the passing of the    
,jordan4 ,other examples are ,ebenezer1 
8the helpful stone10 and ,tobeleth1 the 

8serpent-stone10 as well as the 8great  
stone0 to which sacrifices were offered 
at ,bethshemesh1 and the other great    
stone at ,gibeon1 which was also1 no    
doubt1 an early ,hebrew deity4  ,so     
often is the name of ,abraham connected 
with these stones1 indeed1 that1 as some
 ,german scholars have suggested1       
,abraham himself may perhaps be regarded
 as a sacred boulder1 the rock from     
which ,israel originally2 sprang4  ,in  
any case1 ,i need hardly say1 we must   
look upon such sacred stones as         
themselves a further evidence of        
ancestor-worship in ,palestine1 on the  
analogy of all similar stones elsewhere4
 #ahh,we may conclude that1 as in       
previously noted instances1 they were   
erected on the graves of deceased       
chieftains4  ,and now we come to the    
third and most difficult division of    
early ,hebrew religion1 the cult of the 
great gods whom the jealous ,jahweh     
himself finally superseded4 ,the        
personality of these gods is very       

obscure1 partly because of the nature of
 our materials1 which1 being derived    
entirely from ,jehovistic sources1 have 
done their best to overshadow the 8false
 gods02 but partly also1 ,i believe1    
because1 in the process of evolving     
monotheism1 a syncretic movement merged 
almost all their united attributes into 
,jahweh himself1 who thus becomes at    
last the all-absorbing synthesis of an  
entire pantheon4 ,nevertheless1 we can  
point out one or two shadowy references 
to such greater gods1 either by name    
alone1 or by the form under which they  
were usually worshipped4  ,the          
scholarship of the elder generation     
would no doubt have enumerated first    
among these gods the familiar names of  
,baal and ,molech4 ,at present1 such an 
enumeration is scarcely possible4 ,we   
can no longer see in the ,baal of the   
existing ,hebrew scriptures a single    
great god4 ,we must regard the word     
rather as a common substantive1--8the   
lord0 or 8the master10--descriptive of  

the relation of each distinct god to the
 place he inhabited4 ,the ,baalim1 in   
other words1 seem to have been the local
 deities or deified chiefs of the       
,semitic region2 doubtless the dead     
kings or founders of families1 as       
opposed to the lesser gods of each      
particular household4 ,it is not        
improbable1 therefore1 that they were   
really identified with the sacred stones
 we have just been considering1 and with
 the wooden ashera4 ,the ,baal is       
usually spoken of indefinitely1 without 
a proper name1 much as at ,delos men    
spoke of 8the ,god10 at ,athens of 8the 
,goddess10 and now at ,padua of 8il     
,santo10--meaning respectively ,apollo1 
,athene1 ,st4 ,antony4 ,melcarth is thus
 the ,baal of ,tyre1 ,astarte the       
,baalath of ,byblos2 there was a ,baal  
of ,lebanon1 of ,mount #ahi;,hermon1 of 
,mount ,peor1 and so forth4 ,a few      
specific ,baalim have their names       
preserved for us in the nomenclature of 
towns2 such are ,baal-tamar1 the lord of

 the palm-tree2 with ,baal-gad1         
,baal-,berith1 ,baal-meon1 and          
,baal-zephon4 ,but in the ,hebrew       
scriptures1 as a rule1 every effort has 
been made to blot out the very memory of
 these 8false gods10 and to represent   
,jahweh alone as from the earliest      
period the one true prince and ruler in 
,israel4  ,as for ,molech1 that title   
merely means 8the king02 and it may have
 been applied to more than one distinct 
deity4 ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith does not  
hesitate to hold that the particular    
,molech to whom human sacrifices of     
children were offered by the ,jews      
before the captivity was ,jahweh        
himself2 it was to the national god1 he 
believes1 that these fiery rites were   
performed at the ,tophet or pyre in the 
ravine just below the temple4  ,we are  
thus reduced to the most nebulous       
details about these great gods of the   
,hebrews1 other than ,jahweh1 in the    
period preceding the ,babylonian        
captivity4 ,all that is certain appears 

to be that a considerable number of     
local gods were worshipped here and     
there at special sanctuaries1 each of   
which seems to have consisted of an     
altar or stone image1 standing under a  
sacred tree or sacred grove1 and        
combined with an ashera4 ,while the     
names of ,chemosh1 the god of ,moab1 and
 of ,dagon1 the god of the ,philistines1
 have come down to us with perfect      
frankness and clearness1 no local       
,hebrew god save ,jahweh has left a name
 that can now be discerned with any     
approach to certainty4 ,it should be    
added that the worship of many of the   
gods of surrounding ,semitic tribes     
undoubtedly extended from the earliest  
times into ,israel also4  ,i must       
likewise premise that the worship of the
 ,baalim1 within and without ,israel1   
was specially directed to upright       
conical stones1 the most sacred objects 
at all the sanctuaries2 and that these  
stones are generally admitted to have   
#aijpossessed for their worshippers a   

phallic significance4  ,certain writers 
have further endeavoured to show that a 
few animal-gods entered into the early  
worship of the ,hebrews4 ,i do not feel 
sure that their arguments are           
convincing2 but for the sake of         
completeness ,i include the two most    
probable cases in this brief review of  
the vague and elusive deities of early  
,israel4  ,one of these is the god in   
the form of a young bull1 specially     
worshipped at ,dan and ,bethel1 as the  
bull ,apis was worshipped at ,memphis1  
and the bull ,mnevis at ,on or          
,heliopolis4 ,this cult of the bull is  
pushed back in the later traditions to  
the period of the exodus1 when the      
,israelites made themselves a 8golden   
calf0 in the wilderness4 ,kuenen1       
indeed1 lays stress upon the point that 
this ,semitic bull-worship differed     
essentially from the cult of ,apis in   
the fact that it was directed to an     
image or idol1 not to a living animal4  
,this is true1 and ,i certainly do not  

wish to press any particular connexion  
between ,egypt and the golden bulls of  
,jeroboam in the cities of ,ephraim3    
though ,i think too much may perhaps be 
made of superficial differences and too 
little of deep-seated resemblances in   
these matters1 seeing that bull-worship 
is a common accompaniment of a phallic  
cult in the whole wide district between 
,egypt and ,india4 ,it is the tendency  
of the scholastic mind1 indeed1 to      
over-elaborate trifles1 and to multiply 
to excess minute distinctions4 ,but in  
any case1 we are on comparatively safe  
ground in saying that a bull-god was an 
object of worship in ,israel down to a  
very late period2 that his cult         
descended from an early age of the      
national existence2 and that the chief  
seats of his images were at ,dan and    
,bethel in ,ephraim1 and at ,beersheba  
in ,judah4  ,was this bull-shaped deity 
,jahwehrsquo2 himself1 or one of the    
polymorphic forms of ,jahweh8 ,such is  
the opinion of ,kuenen1 who says        

explicitly1 8,jahweh was worshipped in  
the shape of a young bull4 ,it cannot be
 doubted that the #aia;cult of the      
bull-calf was really the cult of ,jahweh
 in person40 ,and certainly in the      
prophetic writings of the eighth        
century1 we can clearly descry that the 
worshippers of the bull regarded        
themselves as worshipping the god       
,jahweh1 who brought up his people from 
the land of ,egypt4 ,nevertheless1      
dangerous as it may seem for an outsider
 to differ on such a subject from great 
,semitic scholars1 ,i venture to think  
we may see reason hereafter to conclude 
that this was not originally the case3  
that the god worshipped under the form  
of the bull-calf was some other deity1  
like the ,molech whom we know to have   
been represented with a bullrsquo2s     
head2 and that only by the later        
syncretic process did this bull-god come
 to be identified in the end with       
,jahweh1 a deity 7as seems likely7 of   
quite different origin1 much as ,mnevis 

came to be regarded at ,heliopolis as an
 incarnation of ,ra1 and as ,apis came  
to be regarded at ,memphis as an avatar 
of ,ptah and still later of ,osiris4 ,on
 the other hand1 we must remember that1 
as ,mr4 ,frazer has shown1 a sacred     
animal is often held to be the          
representative and embodiment of the    
very god to whom it is habitually       
sacrificed4 ,here again we trench on    
ground which can only satisfactorily be 
occupied at a later stage of our        
polymorphic argument4  ,a second        
animal-god1 apparently1 also adored in  
the form of a metal image1 was the asp  
or snake1 known in our version as 8the  
brazen serpent10 and connected by the   
,jehovistic editors of the earlier      
traditions with ,moses in the           
wilderness4 ,the name of this deity is  
given us in the ,book of ,kings as      
,nehushtan1 8the brass god02 but whether
 this was really its proper designation 
or a mere contemptuous descriptive title
 we can hardly be certain4 ,the worship 

of the serpent is said to have gone on  
uninterruptedly till the days of        
,hezekiah1 when1 under the influence of 
the exclusive devotion to ,jahweh which 
was then becoming popular1 the image was
 broken in pieces as an idolatrous      
object4 ,it is scarcely necessary to    
point out in passing that the asp was   
one of the most sacred animals #aib;in  
,egypt3 but1 as in the case of the bull1
 the snake was also a widespread object 
of worship throughout all the           
surrounding countries2 and it is        
therefore probable that the ,hebrew     
snake-worship may have been parallel to1
 rather than derived from1 ,egyptian    
ophiolatry4  ,such1 then1 seen through  
the dim veil of ,jehovism1 are the misty
 features of that uncertain pantheon in 
which1 about the eighth century at      
least1 ,jahweh found himself the most   
important deity4 ,the most important1 ,i
 say1 because it is clear from our      
records that for many ages the worship  
of ,jahweh and the worship of the       

,baalim went on side by side without    
conscious rivalry4  ,and what sort of   
god was this holy ,jahweh himself1 whom 
the ,hebrews recognised from a very     
early time as emphatically and above all
 others 8the ,god of ,israel08  ,if ever
 he was envisaged as a golden bull1 if  
ever he was regarded as the god of      
light1 fire1 or the sun1 those concepts1
 ,i believe1 must have been the result  
of a late transference of attributes and
 confusion of persons1 such as we may   
see so rife in the more recent mystical 
religion of ,egypt4 ,what in his own    
nature ,jahweh must have been in the    
earliest days of his nascent godhead ,i 
believe we can best judge by putting    
together some of the passages in old    
traditionary legend which bear most     
plainly upon his character and          
functions4  ,in the legendary account of
 the earliest dealings of ,jahweh with  
the ,hebrew race1 we are told that the  
ethnical god appeared to ,abraham in    
,haran1 and promised to make of him 8a  

great nation40 ,later on1 ,abraham      
complains of the want of an heir1 saying
 to ,jahweh1 8,thou hast given me no    
seed40 ,then ,jahweh 8brought him forth 
abroad1 and said1 ,look now toward      
heaven and tell the stars3 so shall thy 
seed be40 ,over and over again we get   
similar promises of fruitfulness made to
 ,abraham3 8,i will multiply thee       
exceedingly02 8thou shalt be a father of
 many nations02 8,i will make thee      
exceeding fruitful02 8kings shall come  
out of thee02 8for a father of many     
nations #aic;have ,i made thee40 ,so1   
too1 of ,sarah3 8she shall be a mother  
of nations2 kings of people shall be of 
her40 ,and of ,ishmael3 8,i have blessed
 him and will make him fruitful1 and    
will multiply him exceedingly3 twelve   
princes shall he beget1 and ,i will make
 him a great nation40 ,time after time  
these blessings recur for ,abraham1     
,isaac1 and all his family3 8,i will    
multiply thy seed as the stars of the   
heaven1 and as the sand which is upon   

the seashore1 and thy seed shall possess
 the gate of his enemies40  ,in every   
one of these passages1 and in many more 
which need not be quoted1 but which will
 readily occur to every reader1 ,jahweh 
is represented especially as a god of   
increase1 of generation1 of             
populousness1 of fertility4 ,as such1   
too1 we find him frequently and markedly
 worshipped on special occasions4 ,he   
was the god to whom sterile women       
prayed1 and from whom they expected the 
special blessing of a son1 to keep up   
the cult of the family ancestors4 ,this 
trait survived even into the poetry of  
the latest period4 8,he maketh the      
barren woman to keep house10 says a     
psalmist about ,jahweh1 8and to be a    
joyful mother of children40 ,and from   
the beginning to the end of ,hebrew     
legend we find a similar characteristic 
of the ethnical god amply vindicated4   
,when ,sarah is old and well stricken in
 years1 ,jahweh visits her and she      
conceives ,isaac4 ,then ,isaac in turn  

8intreated ,jahweh for his wife1 because
 she was barren2 and ,jahweh was        
intreated of him1 and ,rebekah his wife 
conceived40 ,again1 8when ,jahweh saw   
that ,leah was hated1 he opened her     
womb2 but ,rachel was barren40 ,once    
more1 of the birth of ,samson we are    
told that ,manoah's wife 8was barren and
 bare not03 but 8the angel of ,jahweh   
appeared unto the woman and said unto   
her1 ,behold1 now thou art barren and   
bearest not2 but thou shalt conceive and
 bear a son40 ,and of ,hannah we are    
told1 even more significantly1 that     
,jahweh had 8shut up her womb40 ,at the 
shrine of ,jahweh at ,shiloh1 therefore1
 she prayed to ,jahweh that this        
disgrace might be removed from her and  
that a child might #aid;be born to her4 
,if she bore 8a man child10 she would   
offer him up all his life long as an    
anchorite to ,jahweh1 to be a ,nazarite 
of the ,lord1 an ascetic and a fanatic4 
8,jahweh remembered her10 and she bore  
,samuel4 ,and after that again1 8,jahweh

 visited ,hannah1 so that she conceived 
and bare three sons and two daughters40 
,in many other passages we get the      
self-same trait3 ,jahweh is regarded    
above everything as a god of increase   
and a giver of offspring4 8,children are
 a heritage from ,jahweh10 says the much
 later author of a familiar ode3 8the   
fruit of the womb are a reward from     
him40  ,it is clear1 too1 that this     
desire for children1 for a powerful     
clan1 for the increase of the people1   
was a dominant one everywhere in        
,ephraim and in ,judah4 8,thy wife shall
 be as a fruitful vine10 says ,jahweh to
 his votary by the mouth of the poet2   
8thy children like olive plants round   
about thy table40 8,happy is the man    
that hath his quiver full of them10 says
 another psalmist2 8they shall speak    
with the enemies in the gate40 ,again   
and again the promise is repeated that  
the seed of ,abraham or of ,joseph or of
 ,ishmael shall be numerous as the stars
 of heaven or the sands of the sea3     

,jahweh's chief prerogative is evidently
 the gift of increase1 extended often to
 cattle and asses1 but always including 
at least sons and daughters4 ,if ,israel
 obeys ,jahweh1 says the ,deuteronomist1
 8,jahweh will make thee plenteous for  
good in the fruit of thy belly1 and in  
the fruit of thy cattle1 and in the     
fruit of thy ground03 but if otherwise1 
then 8cursed shall be the fruit of thy  
body1 and the fruit of thy land1 the    
increase of thy kine1 and the flocks of 
thy sheep40  ,now1 elsewhere throughout 
the world we find in like manner a      
certain class of phallic gods who are   
specially conceived as givers of        
fertility1 and to whom prayers and      
offerings are made by barren women who  
desire children4 ,and the point to      
observe is that these gods are usually  
7perhaps one might even say always7     
embodied in stone pillars #aieor upright
 monoliths4 ,the practical great god of 
,india--the god whom the people really  
worship--is ,mahadeo2 and ,mahadeo is1  

as we know1 a cylinder of stone1 to whom
 the linga puja is performed1 and to    
whom barren women pray for offspring4   
,there are sacred stones in western     
,europe1 now crowned by a cross1 at     
which barren women still pray to ,god   
and the ,madonna1 or to some local      
saint1 for the blessing of children4 ,it
 is allowed that while the obelisk is   
from one point of view 7in later theory7
 a ray of the sun1 it is from another   
point of view 7in earlier origin7 a     
8symbol of the generative power of      
nature1--which is only another way of   
saying that it is an ancestral stone of 
phallic virtue4 ,in short1 without      
laying too much stress upon the         
connexion1 we may conclude generally    
that the upright pillar came early to be
 regarded1 not merely as a memento of   
the dead and an abode of the ghost or   
indwelling god1 but also in some        
mysterious and esoteric way as a        
representative of the male and          
generative principle4  ,if we recollect 

that the stone pillar was often         
identified with the ancestor or father1 
the reason for this idea will not       
perhaps be quite so hard to understand4 
8,from these stones we are all          
descended10 thinks the primitive        
worshipper3 8these are our fathers2     
therefore1 they are the givers of       
children1 the producers and begetters of
 all our generations1 the principle of  
fertility1 the proper gods to whom to   
pray for offspring40 ,add that many of  
them1 being represented as human1 or    
human in their upper part at least1 grow
 in time to be ithyphallic1 like        
,priapus1 party by mere grotesque       
barbarism1 but partly also as a sign of 
the sex of the deceased3 and we can see 
the naturalness of this easy transition4
 ,from the ,herm of the ,greeks to the  
rude phallic deities of so many existing
 savage races1 we get everywhere signs  
of this constant connexion between the  
sacred stone and the idea of paternity4 
,where the stone represents the grave of

 a woman1 the deity of course is        
conceived as a goddess1 but with #aifthe
 same implications4 ,herodotus saw in   
,syria stel engraved with the female    
pudenda4 ,the upright stone god is thus 
everywhere and always liable to be      
regarded as a god of fruitfulness4  ,but
 did this idea of the stone pillar      
extend to ,palestine and to the ,semitic
 nations8 ,there is evidence that it    
did1 besides that of ,herodotus4 ,major 
,conder1 whose opinion on all questions 
of pure archaeology 7as opposed to      
philology7 deserves the highest respect1
 says of ,canaanitish times1 8,the      
menhir1 or conical stone1 was the emblem
 throughout ,syria of the gods presiding
 over fertility1 and the cup hollows    
which have been formed in menhirs and   
dolmens are the indications of          
libations1 often of human blood1 once   
poured on these stones by early         
worshippers40 ,he connects these        
monuments with the linga cult of ,india1
 and adds that ,dr4 ,chaplin has found  

such a cult still surviving near the    
,sea of ,galilee4 ,lucian speaks of the 
two great pillars at the temple of      
,hierapolis as phalli4 ,of the          
,phoenicians ,major ,conder writes3     
8,the chief emblem worshipped in the    
temples was a pillar or cone1 derived no
 doubt from the rude menhirs which were 
worshipped by early savage tribes1 such 
as ,dravidians1 ,arabs1 ,celts1 and     
,hottentots40 ,that they were originally
 sepulchral in character we can gather  
from the fact that 8they often stood    
beneath trilithons or dolmens1 or were  
placed before an altar made by a stone  
laid flat on an upright base40 8,the    
representations on early ,babylonian    
cylinders of tables whereon a small fire
 might be kindled1 or an offering of    
some small object laid1 seem to indicate
 a derivation from similar structures4  
,the original temple in which the cone  
and its shrine1 or its altar1 were      
placed1 was but a cromlech or enclosure1
 square or round1 made by setting up    

stones40 ,remains of such enclosures1   
with dolmens on one side1 are found at  
various spots in ,moab and ,phoenicia4  
,nothing could be more obviously        
sepulchral in character than these rude 
shrines or ,gilgals1 with the pillar or 
gravestone1 from which1 as ,major       
,conder suggests1 #aigthe hypthral      
temples of ,byblos and ,baalbek are     
finally developed4  ,that ,jahweh       
himself in his earliest form was such a 
stone god1 the evidence1 ,i think1      
though not perhaps exactly conclusive1  
is to say the least extremely           
suggestive4 ,i have already called      
attention to it in a previous chapter1  
and need not here recapitulate it in    
full2 but a few stray additions may not 
be without value4 ,besides the general  
probability1 among a race whose gods    
were so almost universally represented  
by sacred stones1 that any particular   
god1 unless the contrary be proved1 was 
so represented1 there is the evidence of
 all the later language1 and of the     

poems written after the actual stone god
 himself had perished1 that ,jahweh was 
still popularly regarded as1 at least in
 a metaphorical sense1 a stone or rock4 
8,he is the ,rock10 says the            
,deuteronomist1 in the song put into the
 mouth of ,moses2 8,i will publish the  
name of ,jahweh2 ascribe greatness unto 
our god40 8,jahweh liveth1 and blessed  
be my rock10 says the hymn which a later
 writer composes for ,david in the      
,second ,book of ,samuel3 8exalted be   
the god of the rock of my salvation40   
,and in the psalms the image recurs     
again and again3 8,jahweh is my rock and
 my fortress02 8,who is a god save      
,jahweh1 and who is a rock save our     
god802 8,he set my feet upon a rock1 and
 established my goings02 8,lead me to   
the rock that is greater than ,i02      
8,jahweh is my defence1 and my god is   
the rock of my refuge02 8,o come1 let us
 sing to ,jahweh2 let us make a joyful  
noise to the rock of our salvation40    
,and that the shape of this stone was   

probably that of a rounded pillar1      
bevelled at the top1 we see in the fact 
that later ages pictured to themselves  
their transfigured ,jahweh as leading   
the ,sons of ,israel in the wilderness  
as a pillar of fire by night and a      
pillar of cloud by daytime4  ,the       
earlier ,israelites1 however1 had no    
such poetical illusions4 ,to them1 their
 god ,jahweh was simply the             
object--stone pillar or                 
otherwise--preserved in the ark or chest
 #aihwhich long rested at ,shiloh1 and  
which was afterwards enshrined1 8between
 the thighs of the building0 7as a later
 gloss has it71 in the ,temple at       
,jerusalem4 ,the whole of the early     
traditions embedded in the books of     
,judges1 ,samuel1 and ,kings show us    
quite clearly that ,jahweh himself was  
then regarded as inhabiting the ark1 and
 as carried about with it from place to 
place in all its wanderings4 ,the story 
of the battle with the ,philistines at  
,eben-ezer1 the fall of ,dagon before   

the rival god1 the fortunes of the ark  
after its return to the ,israelitish    
people1 the removal to ,jerusalem by    
,david1 the final enthronement by       
,solomon1 all distinctly show that      
,jahweh in person dwelt within the ark1 
between the guardian cherubim4 8,who is 
able to stand before the face of        
,jahweh1 this very sacred god80 ask the 
men of ,bethshemesh1 when they ventured 
to look inside that hallowed abode1 and 
were smitten down by the 8jealous god0  
who loved to live in the darkness of the
 inmost sanctuary4 99       99 ,mr4     
,william ,simpson has some excellent    
remarks on the      analogies of the    
,egyptian and ,hebrew arks and          
sanctuaries in      his pamphlet on ,the
 ,worship of ,death4  ,it may be well to
 note in this connexion two significant 
facts3 ,just such an ark was used in    
,egypt to contain the sacred objects or 
images of the gods4 ,and further1 at the
 period when the ,sons of ,israel were  
tributaries in ,egypt1 a ,theban dynasty

 ruled the country1 and the worship of  
the great ,theban phallic deity1 ,khem1 
was widely spread throughout every part 
of the ,egyptian dominions4  ,is there1 
however1 any evidence of a linga or     
other stone pillar being ever thus      
enshrined and entempled as the great god
 of a sanctuary8 ,clearly1 ,major       
,conder has already supplied some1 and  
more is forthcoming from various other  
sources4 ,the cone which represented    
,aphrodite in ,cyprus was similarly     
enshrined as the chief object of a      
temple1 as were the stel of all         
,egyptian mummies4 8,the trilithon10    
says ,major ,conder1 8becomes later a   
shrine1 in which the cone or a statue   
stands40 ,the significance #aiiof this  
correlation will at once be seen if the 
reader remembers how1 in the chapter on 
,sacred ,stones1 ,i showed the origin of
 the idol from the primitive menhir or  
upright pillar4 8,the ,khonds and other 
non-,aryan tribes in ,india10 says      
,conder once more1 8build such temples  

of rude stones1 daubed with red1--a     
survival of the old practice of         
anointing the menhirs and the sacred    
cone or pillar with blood of victims1   
sometimes apparently human4 ,among the  
,indians1 the pillar is a lingam1 and   
such apparently was its meaning among   
the ,phoenicians40 ,and in the ,greek   
cities we know from ,pausanias that an  
unhewn stone was similarly enshrined in 
the most magnificent adytum of the      
noblest ,hellenic temples4 ,in fact1 it 
was rather the rule than otherwise that 
a stone was the chief object of worship 
in the noblest fanes4  ,one more curious
 trait must be noted in the worship of  
,jahweh4 ,not only did he rejoice in    
human sacrifices1 but he also demanded  
especially an offering of the firstborn1
 and he required a singular and         
significant ransom from every man-child 
whom he permitted to live among his     
peculiar votaries4 ,on the fact of human
 sacrifices ,i need hardly insist3 they 
were an integral part of all ,semitic   

worship1 and their occurrence in the    
cult of ,jahweh has been universally    
allowed by all unprejudiced scholars4   
,the cases of ,agag1 whom ,samuel hewed 
to pieces before the face of ,jahweh1   
and of ,jephthah's daughter1 whom her   
father offered up as a thank-offering   
for his victory1 though not of course   
strictly historical from a critical     
point of view1 are quite sufficient     
evidence to show the temper and the     
habit of the ,jahweh-worshippers who    
described them4 ,so with the legend of  
the offering of ,isaac1 who is merely   
rescued at the last moment in order that
 the god of generation may make him the 
father of many thousands4 ,again1 ,david
 seeks to pacify the anger of ,jahweh by
 a sacrifice of seven of the sons of    
,saul4 ,and the prophet ,micah asks1    
8,shall ,i give my first-born for my    
transgression1 the fruit of my body for 
the sin of my soul80--a passage         
#bjjwhich undoubtedly implies that in   
,micah's time such a sacrifice of the   

eldest child was a common incident of   
current ,jahweh-worship4  ,from human   
sacrifice to circumcision the transition
 is less violent than would at first    
sight appear4 ,an intermediate type is  
found in the dedication of the          
first-born1 where ,jahweh seems to claim
 for himself1 not as a victim1 but as a 
slave and devotee1 the first fruits of  
that increase which it is his peculiar  
function to ensure4 ,in various laws1   
,jahweh lays claim to the first-born of 
man and beast1--sometimes to all1       
sometimes only to the male first-born4  
,the animals were sacrificed2 the sons1 
in later ages at least1 were either made
 over as ,nazarites or redeemed with an 
offering or a money-ransom4 ,but we     
cannot doubt that in the earliest times 
the first-born child was slain before   
,jahweh4 ,in the curious legend of      
,moses and ,zipporah we get a strange   
folk-tale connecting this custom        
indirectly with the practice of         
circumcision4 ,jahweh seeks to kill     

,moses1 apparently because he has not   
offered up his child3 but ,zipporah his 
wife takes a stone knife1 circumcises   
her son1 and flings the bloody offering 
at ,jahweh's feet1 who thereupon lets   
her husband go4 ,this1 rather than the  
later account of its institution by     
,abraham1 seems the true old explanatory
 legend of the origin of circumcision--a
 legend analogous to those which we find
 in ,roman and other early history as   
embodying or explaining certain ancient 
customs or legal formulae4              
,circumcision1 in fact1 appears to be a 
bloody sacrifice to ,jahweh1 as the god 
of generation3 a sacrifice essentially  
of the nature of a ransom1 and therefore
 comparable to all those other bodily   
mutilations whose origin ,mr4 ,herbert  
,spencer has so well shown in the       
,ceremonial ,institutions4  ,at the same
 time1 the nature of the offering helps 
to cast light upon the character of     
,jahweh as a god of increase2 exactly as
 the 8emerods0 with which the           

,philistines were afflicted for the     
capture of ,jahweh and his ark show     
#bjathe nature of the vengeance which   
might naturally be expected from a deity
 of generation4  ,last of all1 how is it
 that later ,hebrew writers believed the
 object concealed in the ark to have    
been1 not a phallic stone1 but a copy of
 the 8,ten ,words0 which ,jahweh was    
fabled to have delivered to ,moses8     
,that would be difficult to decide3 but 
here at least is an aperu upon the      
subject which ,i throw out for what it  
may be worth4 ,the later ,hebrews1 when 
their views of ,jahweh had grown        
expanded and etherealised1 were         
obviously ashamed of their old          
stone-worship1 if indeed they were      
archaeologists enough after the         
captivity to know that it had ever      
really existed4 ,what more natural1     
then1 than for them to suppose that the 
stone which they heard of as having been
 enclosed in the ark was a copy of the  
8,ten ,words10--the covenant of ,jahweh8

 ,hence1 perhaps1 the later substitution
 of the term1 8,ark of the ,covenant10  
for the older and correcter phrase1     
8,ark of ,jahweh40 ,one more suggestion1
 still more purely hypothetical4 ,cones 
with pyramidal heads1 bearing           
inscriptions to the deceased1 were used 
by the ,phoenicians for interments4 ,it 
is just possible that the original      
,jahweh may have been such an ancient   
pillar1 covered with writings of some   
earlier character1 which were           
interpreted later as the equivalents or 
symbols of the 8,ten ,words40  ,putting 
all the evidence together1 then1 as far 
as we can now recover it1 and           
interpreting it on broad anthropological
 lines by analogy from elsewhere1 ,i    
should say the following propositions   
seem fairly probable3  ,the original    
religion of ,israel was a mixed         
polytheism1 containing many various     
types of gods1 and based like all other 
religions upon domestic and tribal      
ancestor-worship4 ,some of the gods were

 of animal shapes3 others were more or  
less vaguely anthropomorphic4 ,but the  
majority were worshipped under the form 
of sacred stones1 trees1 or wooden      
cones4 ,the greater part of these gods  
were ,semitic in type1 and common to the
 ,sons of ,israel with their neighbours 
#bjb;and kinsmen4 ,the character of the 
,hebrew worship1 however1 apparently    
underwent some slight modification in   
,egypt2 or at any rate1 ,egyptian       
influences led to the preference of     
certain gods over others at the period  
of the ,exodus4 ,one god1 in particular1
 ,jahweh by name1 seems to have been    
almost peculiar to the ,sons of         
,israel1--their ethnical deity1 and     
therefore in all probability an early   
tribal ancestor or the stone            
representative of such an ancestor4 ,the
 legends are probably right in their    
implication that this god was already   
worshipped 7not of course exclusively7  
by the ,sons of ,israel before their    
stay in ,egypt2 they are almost         

certainly correct in ascribing the great
 growth and extension of his cult to the
 period of the ,exodus4 ,the ,sons of   
,israel1 at least from the date of the  
,exodus onward1 carried this god or his 
rude image with them in an ark or box   
through all their wanderings4 ,the      
object so carried was probably a conical
 stone pillar1 which we may conjecture  
to have been the grave-stone of some    
deified ancestor3 and of this ancestor  
8,jahweh0 was perhaps either the proper 
name or a descriptive epithet4 ,even if1
 as ,colenso suggests1 the name itself  
was ,canaanitish1 and belonged already  
to a local god1 its application to the  
sacred stone of the ark would be merely 
another instance of the common tendency 
to identify the gods of one race or     
country with those of another4 ,the     
stone itself was always enshrouded in   
,egyptian mystery1 and no private person
 was permitted to behold it4            
,sacrifices1 both human and otherwise1  
were offered up to it1 as to the other  

gods1 its fellowrsquo2s and afterwards  
its hated rivals4 ,the stone1 like other
 sacred stones of pillar shape1 was     
regarded as emblematic of the generative
 power4 ,circumcision was a mark of     
devotion to ,jahweh1 at first1 no doubt1
 either voluntary1 or performed by way  
of a ransom1 but becoming with the      
growth and exclusiveness of             
,jahweh-worship a distinctive rite of   
,jahweh's chosen people4 7,but other    
,semites also circumcised #bjcthemselves
 as a blood-offering to their own more  
or less phallic deities47  ,more briefly
 still1 among many ,hebrew gods1 ,jahweh
 was originally but a single one1 a     
tribal ancestor-god1 worshipped in the  
form of a cylindrical stone1 perhaps at 
first a grave-stone1 and regarded as    
essentially a god of increase1 a special
 object of veneration by childless      
women4  ,from this rude ethnical        
divinity1 the mere sacred pillar of a   
barbarous tribe1 was gradually developed
 the ,lord ,god of later ,judaism and of

 ,christianity--a power1 eternal1       
omniscient1 almighty1 holy2 the most    
ethereal1 the most sublime1 the most    
superhuman deity that the brain of man  
has ever conceived4 ,by what slow       
evolutionary process of syncretism and  
elimination1 of spiritual mysticism and 
national enthusiasm1 of ethical effort  
and imaginative impulse that mighty ,god
 was at last projected out of so        
unpromising an original it will be the  
task of our succeeding chapters to      
investigate and to describe4            
,,chapter ,x4--,,the ,,rise ,,of        
,,monotheism4  ,,we #bjd;have seen that 
the ,hebrews were originally            
polytheists1 and that their ethnical god
 ,jahweh seems to have been worshipped  
by them in early times under the        
material form of a cylindrical stone    
pillar4 ,or rather1 to speak more       
naturally1 the object they so worshipped
 they regarded as a god1 and called     
,jahweh4 ,the question next confronts   
us1 how from this humble beginning did  

,israel attain to the pure monotheism of
 its later age8 ,what was there in the  
position or conditions of the ,hebrew   
race which made the later ,jews reject  
all their other gods1 and fabricate out 
of their early national ,sacred ,stone  
the most sublime1 austere1 and          
omnipotent deity that humanity has      
known8  ,the answer1 ,i believe1 to this
 pregnant question is partly to be found
 in a certain general tendency of the   
,semitic mind2 partly in the peculiar   
political and social state of the       
,israelitish tribes during the ninth1   
eighth1 seventh1 sixth1 and fifth       
centuries before the ,christian era4    
,or1 to put the proposed solution of the
 problem1 beforehand1 in a still simpler
 form1 ,hebrew monotheism was to some   
extent the result of a syncretic        
treatment of all the gods1 in the course
 of which the attributes and characters 
of each became merged in the other1 only
 the names 7if anything7 remaining      
distinct2 and to some extent the result 

of the intense national patriotism1 of  
which the ethnical god ,jahweh was at   
once the outcome1 the expression1 and   
the fondest hope4 ,the belief that      
,jahweh fought for ,israel1 #bje;and    
that by trust in ,jahweh alone could    
,israel hold her own against ,egypt and 
,assyria1 wildly fanatical as it appears
 to us to-day1 and utterly disproved by 
all the facts of the case as it         
ultimately was1 nevertheless formed a   
central idea of the ,hebrew patriots1   
and resulted by slow degrees in the firm
 establishment first of an exclusive1   
and afterwards of a truly monotheistic  
,jahweh-cult4  ,it is one of ,ernest    
,renan's brilliant paradoxes that the   
,semitic mind is naturally monotheistic4
 ,as a matter of fact1 the ,semitic mind
 has shown this native tendency in its  
first stages by everywhere evolving     
pretty much the same polytheistic       
pantheon as that evolved by every other 
group of human beings everywhere4       
,nevertheless1 there is perhaps this    

kernel of truth in ,renan's paradoxical 
contention2 the ,semites1 more readily  
than most other people1 merge the       
features of their deities one in the    
other4 ,that is not1 indeed1 by any     
means an exclusive ,semitic trait4 ,we  
saw already1 in dealing with the        
,egyptian religion1 how all the forms   
and functions of the gods faded at last 
into an inextricable mixture1 an olla   
podrida of divinity1 from which it was  
practically impossible to disentangle   
with certainty the original             
personalities of ,ra and ,turn1 of ,amen
 and ,osiris1 of ,neith and ,isis1 of   
,ptah and ,apis4 ,even in the relatively
 fixed and individualised pantheon of   
,hellas1 it occurs often enough that    
confusions both of person and           
prerogative obscure the distinctness of 
the various gods4 ,aphrodite and        
,herakles are polymorphic in their      
embodiments4 ,but in the ,semitic       
religions1 at least in that later stage 
where we first come across them1 the    

lineaments of the different deities are 
so blurred and indefinite that hardly   
anything more than mere names can with  
certainty be recognised4 ,no other gods 
are so shadowy and so vague4 ,the type  
of this pantheon is that dim figure of  
,el-,shaddai1 the early and terrible    
object of ,hebrew worship1 of whose     
attributes and nature we know positively
 nothing1 but who stands in the         
background of all ,hebrew thought as the
 embodiment of the nameless #bjf;and    
trembling dread begotten on man's soul  
by the irresistible and ruthless forces 
of nature4  ,this vagueness and         
shadowiness of the ,semitic religious   
conceptions seems to depend to some     
extent upon the inartistic nature of the
 ,semitic culture4 ,the ,semite seldom  
carved the image of his god4 ,roman     
observers noted with surprise that the  
shrine of ,carmel contained no idol4    
,but it depended also upon deep-seated  
characteristics of the ,semitic race4   
,melancholy1 contemplative1 proud1      

reserved1 but strangely fanciful1 the   
,arab of to-day perhaps gives us the    
clue to the indefinite nature of early  
,semitic religious thinking4 ,there     
never was anether world more ghostly    
than ,sheol2 there never were gods more 
dimly awful than the ,elohim who float  
through the early stories of the ,hebrew
 mystical cycle4 ,their very names are  
hardly known to us3 they come to us     
through the veil of later ,jehovistic   
editing with such merely descriptive    
titles as the ,god of ,abraham1 the     
,terror of ,isaac1 the ,mighty ,power1  
the ,most ,high ,deity4 ,indeed1 the    
true ,hebrew1 like many other           
barbarians1 seems to have shrunk either 
from looking upon the actual form of his
 god itself1 or from pronouncing aloud  
his proper name4 ,his deity was shrouded
 in the darkness of an ark or the deep  
gloom of an inner tent or sanctuary2 the
 syllables that designated the object of
 his worship were never uttered in full1
 save on the most solemn occasions1 but 

were shirked or slurred over by some    
descriptive epithet4 ,even the          
unpronounceable title of ,jahweh itself 
appears from our documents to have been 
a later name bestowed during the ,exodus
 on an antique god3 while the rival     
titles of the ,baal and the ,molech mean
 nothing more than the ,lord and the    
,king respectively4 ,an excessive       
reverence forbade the ,semite to know   
anything of his god's personal          
appearance or true name1 and so left the
 features of almost all the gods equally
 uncertain and equally formless4  ,but  
besides the difficulty of accurately    
distinguishing between the forms and    
functions of the different ,semitic     
deities #bjgwhich even their votaries   
must have felt from the beginning1 there
 was a superadded difficulty in the     
developed creed1 due to the             
superposition of elemental mysticism and
 nature-worship upon the primitive cult 
of ancestral ghosts as gods and         
goddesses4 ,just as ,ra1 the sun1 was   

identified in the latest ages with      
almost every ,egyptian god1 so solar    
ideas and solar myths affected at last  
the distinct personality of almost every
 ,semitic deity4 ,the consequence is    
that all the gods become in the end     
practically indistinguishable3 one is so
 like the other that different          
interpreters make the most diverse      
identifications1 and are apparently     
justified in so doing 7from the         
mythological standpoint7 by the strong  
solar or elemental family likeness which
 runs through the whole pantheon in its 
later stages4 ,it has even been doubted 
by scholars of the older school whether 
,jahweh is not himself a form of his    
great rival ,baal3 whether both were not
 at bottom identical--mere divergent    
shapes of one polyonymous sun-god4 ,to  
us1 who recognise in every ,baal the    
separate ghost-god of a distinct tomb1  
such identification is clearly          
impossible4  ,to the worshippers of the 
,baalim or of ,jahweh themselves1       

however1 these abstruser mythological   
problems never presented themselves4    
,the difference of name and of holy     
place was quite enough for them1 in     
spite of essential identity of attribute
 or nature4 ,they would kill one another
 for the sake of a descriptive epithet1 
or risk death itself rather than offer  
up sacrifices at a hostile altar4       
,nevertheless1 various influences       
conspired1 here as elsewhere1 to bring  
about a gradual movement of             
syncretism--that is to say1 of the      
absorption of many distinct gods into   
one2 the final identification of several
 deities originally separate4 ,what     
those influences were we must now       
briefly consider4  ,in the first place1 
we must recollect that while in ,egypt1 
with its dry and peculiarly preservative
 climate1 mummies1 idols1 tombs1 and    
temples might be kept unchanged and     
undestroyed #bjh;for ages1 in almost all
 other countries rain1 wind1 and time   
are mighty levellers of human           

handicraft4 ,thus1 while in ,egypt the  
cult of the ,dead ,ancestor survives as 
such quite confessedly and openly for   
many centuries1 in most other countries 
the tendency is for the actual personal 
objects of worship to be more and more  
forgotten2 vague gods and spirits usurp 
by degrees the place of the historic    
man2 rites at last cling rather to sites
 than to particular persons4 ,the tomb  
may disappear2 and yet the sacred stone 
may be reverenced still with the        
accustomed veneration4 ,the sacred stone
 may go2 and yet the sacred tree may be 
watered yearly with the blood of        
victims4 ,the tree itself may die2 and  
yet the stump may continue to be draped 
on its anniversary with festal apparel4 
,the very stump may decay2 and yet gifts
 of food or offerings of rags may be    
cast as of old into the sacred spring   
that once welled beside it4 ,the        
locality thus grows to be holy in       
itself1 and gives us one clear and      
obvious source of later nature-worship4 

,the gods or spirits who haunt such     
shrines come naturally to be thought of 
with the lapse of ages as much like one 
another4 ,godship is all that can long  
remain of their individual attributes4  
,their very names are often unknown2    
they are remembered merely as the lord  
of ,lebanon1 the ,baal of ,mount ,peor4 
,no wonder that after a time they get to
 be practically identified with one     
another1 while similar myths are often  
fastened by posterity to many of them   
together4 ,indeed1 we know that new     
names1 and even foreign intrusive names1
 frequently take the place of the       
original titles1 while the god himself  
still continues to be worshipped as the 
same shapeless stone1 with the same     
prescribed rites1 in the same squalid or
 splendid temples4 ,thus1 ,melcarth1 the
 ,baal of ,tyre1 was adored in later    
days under the ,greek name of ,herakles2
 and thus at ,bablos two local deities1 
after being identified first with the   
,syrian divinities1 ,adonis and         

,astarte1 were identified later with the
 ,egyptian divinities1 ,osiris and      
,isis4 #bji,yet the myths of the place  
show us that through all that time the  
true worship was paid to the dead stump 
of a sacred tree1 which was said to have
 grown from the grave of a god--in other
 words1 from the tumulus of an ancient  
chieftain4 ,no matter how greatly       
mythologies change1 these local cults   
remain ever constant2 the sacred stones 
are here described as haunted by djinns1
 and there as memorials of ,christian   
martyrs2 the holy wells are dedicated   
here to nymph or hero1 and receive      
offerings there to saint or fairy4 ,so  
the holy oaks of immemorial worship in  
,england become 8,thor's oaks0 under    
,saxon heathendom1 and 8,gospel oaks0   
under mediaeval ,christianity4          
,finally1 in the latest stages of       
worship1 an attempt is always made to   
work in the heavenly bodies and the     
great energies of nature into the       
mythological groundwork or theory of    

religion4 ,every king is the descendant 
of the sun1 and every great god is      
therefore necessarily the sun in person4
 ,endless myths arise from these        
phrases1 which are mistaken by          
mythologists for the central facts and  
sources of religion4 ,but they are      
nothing of the kind4 ,mysticism and     
symbolism can never be primitive2 they  
are well-meant attempts by cultivated   
religious thinkers of later days to read
 deep-seated meaning into the crude     
ideas and still cruder practices of     
traditional religion4 ,i may add that   
,dr4 ,robertson ,smith's learned and    
able works are constantly spoiled in    
this way by his dogged determination to 
see nature-worship as primitive1 where  
it is really derivative1 as the earliest
 starting-point1 where it is really the 
highest and latest development4         
,clearly1 when all gods have come to be 
more or less solar in their external and
 acquired features1 the process of      
identification and internationalisation 

is proportionately easy4  ,the          
syncretism thus brought about in the    
,hebrew religion by the superposition of
 nature-worship on the primitive cult   
must have paved the way for the later   
recognition of #bajmonotheism1 exactly  
as we know it did in the esoteric creed 
of ,egypt1 by making all the gods so    
much alike that worshippers had only to 
change the name of their deity1 not the 
attributes of the essential conception4 
,let us look first how far this         
syncretism affected the later idea of   
,jahweh1 the phallic stone-god preserved
 in the ark2 and then let us enquire    
afterward how the patriotic reaction    
against ,assyrian aggression put the    
final coping-stone on the rising fabric 
of monotheistic ,jahweh-worship4  ,it is
 often asserted that ,jahweh was        
worshipped in many places in ,israel    
under the form of a golden calf4 ,that  
is to say1 ,hebrews who set up images of
 a metal bull believed themselves       
nevertheless to be worshipping ,jahweh4 

,even the prophets of the eighth century
 regard the cult of the bull as a form  
of ,jahweh-worship1 though not a form to
 which they can personally give their   
approbation4 ,but the bull is probably  
in its origin a distinct god from the   
stone in the ark2 and if its worship was
 identified with that of the ,rock of   
,israel1 it could be only by a late     
piece of syncretic mysticism4 ,perhaps  
the link here1 as in the case of ,apis1 
was a priestly recognition of the bull  
as symbolising the generative power of  
nature2 an idea which would be          
peculiarly appropriate to the god whose 
great function it was to encourage      
fruitfulness4 ,but in any case1 we      
cannot but see in this later            
calf-worship a superadded element wholly
 distinct from the older cult of the    
sacred stone1 just as the worship of ,ra
 was wholly distinct in origin from the 
totem-cult of ,mnevis1 or as the worship
 of ,amen was wholly distinct from that 
of ,khem and ,osiris4 ,the stone-god and

 the bull-god merge at last into one1   
much as at a far later date the man     
,jesus merges into the ,hebrew god1 and 
receives more reverence in modern faiths
 than the older deity whom he           
practically replaces4  ,even in the     
,temple at ,jerusalem itself1 symbols of
 bull-worship were apparently admitted4 
,the altar upon which the daily         
sacrifice was burnt had four horns2 and 
the laver #baa;in the court1 the 8brazen
 sea10 was supported upon the figures of
 twelve oxen4 ,when we remember that the
 ,molech had the head of a bull1 we can 
hardly fail to see in these symbols a   
token of that gradual syncretism which  
invariably affects all developed        
pantheons in all civilised countries4   
,much more important are the supposed   
signs of the later identification of    
,jahweh with the sun1 and his emergence 
as a modified and transfigured sun-god4 
,it may seem odd at first that such a   
character could ever be acquired by a   
sacred stone1 did we not recollect the  

exactly similar history of the ,egyptian
 obelisk1 which in like manner          
represents1 first and foremost1 the     
upright pillar or monolith--that is to  
say1 the primitive gravestone--but      
secondarily and derivatively1 at once   
the generative principle and a ray of   
the sun4 ,with this luminous analogy to 
guide us in our search1 we shall have   
little difficulty in recognising how a  
solar character may have been given to  
the later attributes and descriptions of
 ,jahweh4  ,i do not myself attach undue
 importance to these solar              
characteristics of the fully evolved    
,jahweh2 but so much has been made of   
them by a certain school of modern      
thinkers that ,i must not pass them over
 in complete silence4  ,to his early    
worshippers1 then1 as we saw1 ,jahweh   
was merely the stone in the ark4 ,he    
dwelt there visibly1 and where the ark  
went1 there ,jahweh went with it4 ,but  
the later ,hebrews--say in the eighth   
century--had acquired a very different  

idea of ,jahweh's dwelling-place4       
,astrological and solar ideas 7doubtless
 ,akkadian in origin7 had profoundly    
modified their rude primitive           
conceptions4 ,to ,amos and to the true  
,isaiah1 ,jahweh dwells in the open sky 
above and is 8,jahweh of hosts10 the    
leader among the shining army of heaven1
 the king of the star-world4 8,over     
those celestial bodies and celestial    
inhabitants ,jahweh rules02 they        
surround him and execute his commands3  
#babthe host of heaven are his          
messengers--in the more familiar        
language of our modern religion1 8the   
angels of the ,lord10 the servants of   
,jahweh4 ,to ,micah1 heaven is 8the     
temple of ,jahweh's holiness03 8,god on 
high10 is the descriptive phrase by     
which the prophet alludes to him4 ,in   
all this we have reached a very         
different conception indeed from that of
 the early and simple-minded ,israelites
 who carried their god with them on an  
ox-cart from station to station4        

,furthermore1 light and fire are        
constantly regarded by these later      
thinkers as manifestations of ,jahweh2  
and even in editing the earlier legends 
they introduce such newer ideas1 making 
8the glory of ,jahweh0 light up the ark1
 or appear in the burning bush1 or      
combining both views1 the elder and the 
younger1 in the pillar of fire that     
preceded the nomad horde of ,israel in  
the wilderness4 ,jahweh is said to      
8send0 or to 8cast fire0 from heaven1 in
 which expressions we see once more the 
advanced concept of an elemental god1   
whose voice is the thunder1 and whose   
weapon the lightning4 ,all these are    
familiar developments of the chief god  
in a pantheon4 ,says ,zechariah in his  
poem1 8,ask ye of ,jahweh rain in the   
time of the latter showers3 ,jahweh will
 make the lightnings40 ,says ,isaiah1   
8,the light of ,israel shall be for a   
fire1 ,and his holy one for a flame02   
8,behold1 the name of ,jahweh cometh    
from afar1 ,his anger burneth1 and      

violently the smoke riseth on high3 ,his
 lips are full of indignation1 ,and his 
tongue is as a devouring fire40 ,in     
these and a hundred other passages that 
might be quoted1 we seem to see ,jahweh 
envisaged to a great extent as a        
sun-god1 and clothed in almost all the  
attributes of a fiery ,molech4          
,sometimes these ,molech-traits come    
very close indeed to those of the more  
generally acknowledged fire-gods4 8,thus
 we read10 says ,kuenen1 8that lsquo2the
 glory of ,jahweh was like devouring    
fire on the top of ,mount ,sinairsquo22 
and that #8his angel appeared in a flame
 of fire out of the midst of a bush3 the
 bush burned with fire but was not      
consumed4'0 #bac,so ,jahweh himself is  
called 8a consuming fire1 a jealous     
god03 and a poet thus describes his     
appearance1 8,smoke goeth up out of his 
nostrils1 ,and fire out of his mouth    
devoureth2 coals of fire are kindled by 
him40 ,these are obviously very         
derivative and borrowed prerogatives    

with which to deck out the primitive    
stone pillar that led the people of     
,israel up out of ,egypt4 ,yet we know  
that precisely analogous evolutions have
 been undergone by other stone-gods     
elsewhere4  ,once more1 though this is  
to anticipate a little1 the later       
,jahweh-worship seems to have absorbed  
into itself certain astrological        
elements which were originally quite    
alien to it1 belonging to the cult of   
other gods4 ,such for example is the    
institution of the ,sabbath1 the unlucky
 day of the malign god ,kewn or ,saturn1
 on which it was undesirable to do any  
kind of work1 and on which accordingly  
the superstitious ,semite rested        
altogether from his weekly labours4 ,the
 division of the lunar month 7the sacred
 period of ,astarte1 the queen of       
heaven7 into four weeks of seven days   
each1 dedicated in turn to the gods of  
the seven planets1 belongs obviously to 
the same late cult of the elemental and 
astrological gods1 or1 rather1 of the   

gods with whom these heavenly bodies    
were at last identified under ,akkadian 
influence4 ,the earlier prophets of the 
exclusive ,jahweh-worship denounce as   
idolatrous such observation of the      
,sabbath and the astrological           
feasts--8,your ,sabbaths and your new   
moons are an abomination to me02 and    
according to ,amos1 ,kewn himself had   
been the chief idolatrous object of     
worship by his countrymen in the        
wilderness4 ,later on1 however1 the     
,jehovistic party found itself powerless
 to break the current of superstition on
 the ,sabbath question1 and a new modus 
vivendi was therefore necessary4 ,they  
arranged a prudent compromise4 ,the     
,sabbath was adopted bodily into the    
monotheistic ,jahweh-worship1 and a     
mythical reason was given for its       
institution and its sacred character    
which nominally linked it on to the cult
 of the ethnical god4 ,on that day1 said
 #badthe priestly cosmogonists1 ,jahweh 
rested from his labour of creation4 ,in 

the same way1 many other fragments of   
external cults were loosely attached to 
the worship of ,jahweh by a verbal      
connection with some part of the revised
 ,jehovistic legend1 or else were       
accredited to national ,jehovistic or   
,jehovised heroes4  ,having thus briefly
 sketched out the gradual changes which 
the conception of ,jahweh himself       
underwent during the ages when his      
supremacy was being slowly established  
in the confederacy of ,israel1 let us   
now hark back once more and attack the  
final problem1 ,why did the particular  
cult of ,jahweh become at last exclusive
 and monotheistic8  ,to begin with1 we  
must remember that from the very outset 
of the national existence1 ,jahweh was  
clearly regarded on all hands as the    
ethnical god1 the special god of        
,israel4 ,the relation of such ethnical 
gods to their people has been admirably 
worked out by ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith in 
,the ,religion of the ,semites4 ,even   
though we cannot1 however1 accept as    

historical the view given us of the     
exodus in the ,pentateuch1 nor admit    
that ,jahweh played anything like so    
large a part in the great national      
migration as is there indicated1 it is  
yet obvious that from the moment when   
,israel felt itself a nation at all1    
,jahweh was recognised as its chief     
deity4 ,he was the 8god of ,israel10    
just as ,milcom was the god of the      
,ammonites1 ,chemosh the god of ,moab1  
and ,ashtaroth the goddess of ,sidon4   
,as distinctly as every ,athenian1 while
 worshipping ,zeus and ,hera and        
,apollo1 held ,athene to be the special 
patron of ,athens1 so did every         
,israelite1 while worshipping the       
,baalim and the ,molech and the local   
deities generally1 hold ,jahweh to be   
the special patron of ,israel4          
,moreover1 from the very beginning1     
there is reason to suppose that the     
,israelites regarded ,jahweh as their   
supreme god4 ,most pantheons finally    
settle down into a recognised hierarchy1

 in which one deity or another gradually
 assumes the first place4 ,so1 in       
,hellas1 the supremacy of ,zeus was     
undoubted2 so1 in ,rome1 was the        
supremacy #baeof ,jupiter4 ,sometimes1  
to be sure1 as among our ,teutonic      
ancestors1 we see room for doubt between
 two rival gods3 it would be difficult  
to assign the exact priority to either  
of the two leading deities3 among the   
,english1 ,woden rather bore it over    
,thunor2 among the ,scandinavians1 ,thor
 rather bore it over ,odin4 ,in ,israel1
 in like manner1 there was apparently a 
time when the ,presidency of the        
,immortals hovered between ,jahweh and  
one or other of the local ,baalim4 ,but 
in the end1 and perhaps even from the   
very beginning1 the suffrages of the    
people were mainly with the sacred stone
 of the ark4 ,he was the ,god of        
,israel1 and they were the chosen people
 of ,jahweh4  ,the custom of            
circumcision must have proved at once   
the symbol and in part the cause1 in    

part the effect1 of this general        
devotion of the people to a single      
supreme god4 ,at first1 no doubt1 only  
the first-born or other persons         
specially dedicated to ,jahweh1 would   
undergo the rite which marked them out  
so clearly as the devotees of the god of
 fertility4 ,but as time went on1 long  
before the triumph of the exclusive     
,jahweh-worship1 it would seem that the 
practice of offering up every male child
 to the national god had become         
universal4 ,as early as the shadowy     
reign of ,david1 the ,philistines are   
reproachfully alluded to in our legends 
as 8the uncircumcised02 whence we may   
perhaps conclude 7though the authority  
is doubtful7 that even then circumcision
 had become coextensive with            
,israelitish citizenship4 ,such         
universal dedication of the whole males 
of the race to the national god must    
have done much to ensure his ultimate   
triumph4  ,if we look at the            
circumstances of the ,israelites in     

,palestine1 we shall easily see how both
 religious unity and intense national   
patriotism were fostered by the very    
nature of their tenure of the soil2 and 
also why a deity mainly envisaged as a  
god of generation should have become the
 most important member of their national
 pantheon4 ,their position during the   
first few centuries of their #baflife in
 ,lower ,syria may be compared to that  
of the ,dorians in ,peloponnesus3 they  
were but a little garrison in a hostile 
land fighting incessantly with          
half-conqered tributaries and encircling
 foes2 now hard-pressed by rebellions of
 their internal enemies2 and now again  
rendered subject themselves to the      
hostile ,philistines on their maritime  
border4 ,the handful of rude warriors   
who burst upon the land under such      
bloodthirsty leaders as the mystical    
,joshua could only hope for success by  
rapid and constant increase of their    
numbers1 and by avoiding as far as      
possible those internal quarrels which  

were always the prelude to national     
disgrace4 ,to be 8a mother in           
,israelrdquo2 is the highest hope of    
every ,hebrew woman4 ,hence it was      
natural that a god of generation should 
become the chief among the local        
deities1 and that the promise held out  
by his priests of indefinite            
multiplication should make him the most 
popular and powerful member of the      
,israelitish pantheon4 ,and though all  
the stone gods were probably phallic1   
yet ,jahweh1 as the ethnical patron1    
seems most of all to have been regarded 
as the giver of increase to ,israel4    
,it seems clear1 too1 that the common   
worship of ,jahweh was at first the only
 solid bond of union between the        
scattered and discordant tribes who were
 afterwards to grow into the            
,israelitish people4 ,this solidarity of
 god and tribe has well been insisted on
 by ,professor ,robertson ,smith as a   
common feature of all ,semitic worship4 
,the ark of ,jahweh in its house at     

,shiloh appears to have formed the      
general meeting-place for ,hebrew       
patriotism1 as the sanctuary of ,olympia
 formed a focus later for the dawning   
sense of ,hellenic unity4 ,the ark was  
taken out to carry before the ,hebrew   
army1 that the god of ,israel might     
fight for his worshippers4 ,evidently1  
therefore1 from a very early date1      
,jahweh was regarded in a literal sense 
as the god of battles1 the power upon   
whom ,israel might specially rely to    
guard it against its enemies4 ,when1 as 
the legends tell us1 the national unity 
was realised under #bag;,david2 when the
 subject peoples were finally merged    
into a homogeneous whole2 when the last 
relics of ,canaanitish nationality were 
stamped out by the final conquest of the
 ,jebusites2 and when ,jerusalem was    
made the capital of a united ,israel1   
this feeling must have increased both in
 extent and intensity4 ,the bringing of 
,jahweh to ,jerusalem by ,david1 and the
 building of his temple by ,solomon 7if 

these facts be historical71 must have   
helped to stamp him as the great god of 
the race3 and though ,solomon also      
erected temples to other ,hebrew gods1  
which remained in existence for some    
centuries1 we may be sure that from the 
date of the opening of the great central
 shrine1 ,jahweh remained the principal 
deity of the southern kingdom at least1 
after the separation4  ,there was one   
characteristic of ,jahweh-worship1      
however1 which especially helped to make
 it at last an exclusive cult1 and thus 
paved the way for its final development 
into a pure monotheism4 ,jahweh was     
specially known to be a 8jealous god03  
this is a trait in his temperament early
 and often insisted on4 ,we do not know 
when or where the famous 8,ten ,words0  
were first promulgated2 but we have     
every reason to believe that in essence 
at least they date from a very antique  
period4 ,now1 at the head of these      
immemorial precepts of ,jahweh stands   
the prohibition of placing any other    

gods before his face4 ,originally1 no   
doubt1 the prohibition meant exactly    
what it states2 that ,jahweh would      
endure no companion gods to share his   
temple2 that wherever he dwelt1 he would
 dwell alone without what the ,greeks   
would have called fellow shrine-sharers4
 ,thus we know that no ashera was to be 
driven into the ground near ,jahweh's   
ark2 and that when ,dagon found himself 
face to face with the ,rock of ,israel1 
he broke in pieces1 and could not stand 
before the awful presence of the great  
,hebrew ,pillar4 ,no more than this1    
then1 was at first demanded by 8the     
jealous god03 he asked of his           
worshippers that they should keep him   
apart from the society of all inferior  
gods1 #bahshould allow no minor or rival
 deity to enter his precincts4          
,gradually1 however1 as ,jahweh-worship 
grew deeper1 and the conception of      
godhead became wider and more sublime1  
the ,jahweh-worshipper began to put a   
stricter interpretation upon the antique

 command of the jealous god4 ,it was    
supposed that every circumcised person1 
every man visibly devoted to ,jahweh1   
owed to ,jahweh alone his whole         
religious service4 ,nobody doubted as   
yet1 indeed1 that other gods existed3   
but the extreme ,jehovists in the later 
days of national independence held as an
 article of faith that no true          
,israelite ought in any way to honour   
them4 ,an internal religious conflict   
thus arose between the worshippers of   
,jahweh and the worshippers of the      
,baalim1 in which1 as might be expected1
 the devotees of the national god had   
very much the best of it4 ,exclusive    
,jahweh-worship became thenceforth the  
ideal of the extreme ,jehovists3 they   
began to regard all other gods as       
8idols10 to be identified with their    
images2 they began to look upon ,jahweh 
alone as a living god1 at least within  
the bounds of the ,israelitish nation4  
,to this result1 another ancient        
prohibition of the priests of ,jahweh no

 doubt largely contributed4 ,the        
priesthood held it unlawful to make or  
multiply images of ,jahweh4 ,the one    
sacred stone enclosed in the ark was    
alone to be worshipped3 and by thus     
concentrating on ,shiloh1 or afterwards 
on ,jerusalem1 the whole religious      
spirit of the ethnical cult1 they must  
largely have succeeded in cementing the 
national unity4 ,strict ,jehovists      
looked with dislike upon the adoration  
paid to the bull-images in the northern 
kingdom1 though those1 too1 were        
regarded 7at least in later days7 as    
representatives of ,jahweh4 ,they held  
that the true god of ,abraham was to be 
found only in the ark at ,jerusalem1 and
 that to give to the ,rock of ,israel   
human form or bestial figure was in     
itself a high crime against the majesty 
of their deity4 ,hence arose the        
peculiar ,hebrew dislike to 8idolatry02 
a dislike never #bai;equally shared by  
any but ,semitic peoples1 and having    
deep roots1 apparently1 at once in the  

inartistic genius of the people and in  
the profound metaphysical and dreamy    
character of ,semitic thinking4 ,the    
comparative emptiness of ,semitic       
shrines1 indeed1 was always a           
stumbling-block to the ,greek1 with his 
numerous and exquisite images of        
anthropomorphic deities4  ,all that was 
now wanted to drive the increasingly    
exclusive and immaterial ,jahweh-worship
 into pure monotheism for the whole     
people was the spur of a great national 
enthusiasm1 in answer to some dangerous 
external attack upon the existence of   
,israel and of ,israel's god4 ,this     
final touch was given by the aggression 
of ,assyria1 and later of ,babylon4 ,for
 years the two tiny ,israelitish        
kingdoms had maintained a precarious    
independence between the mighty empires 
of ,egypt and ,mesopotamia4 ,in the     
eighth century1 it became certain that  
they could no longer play their         
accustomed game of clever diplomacy and 
polite subjection4 ,the very existence  

of ,israel was at stake2 and the        
fanatical worshippers of ,jahweh1 now   
pushed to an extreme of frenzy by the   
desperate straits to which they were    
reduced1 broke out in that memorable    
ecstasy of enthusiasm which we may      
fairly call the ,age of the ,prophets1  
and which produced the earliest         
masterpieces of ,hebrew literature in   
the wild effort to oppose to the arms of
 the invaders the passive resistance of 
a supreme ,jahweh4 ,in times of old1 the
 prophets say1 when ,jahweh led the     
forces of ,israel1 the horses and the   
chariots of their enemies counted for   
naught3 if in this crisis ,israel would 
cease to think of aid from ,egypt or    
alliance with ,assyria--if ,israel would
 get rid of all her other gods and trust
 only to ,jahweh1--then ,jahweh would   
break asunder the strength of ,assyria  
and would reduce ,babylon to nothing    
before his chosen people4  ,such is the 
language that ,isaiah ventured to use in
 the very crisis of a grave national    

danger4  ,now1 strange as it seems to us
 that any people should have #bbjthrown 
themselves into such a general state of 
fanatical folly1 it is nevertheless true
 that these extraordinary counsels      
prevailed in both the ,israelitish      
kingdoms1 and that the very moment when 
the national existence was most         
seriously imperilled was the moment     
chosen by the ,jehovistic party for     
vigorously attempting a religious       
reformation4 ,the downfall of ,ephraim  
only quickened the bigoted belief of the
 fanatics in ,judah that pure           
,jahweh-worship was the one possible    
panacea for the difficulties of ,israel4
 ,taking advantage of a minority and of 
a plastic young king1 they succeeded in 
imposing exclusive ,jehovism upon the   
half-unwilling people4 ,the timely      
forgery of the ,book of                 
,deuteromony--the first germ of the     
,pentateuch--by the priests of the      
temple at ,jerusalem was quickly        
followed by the momentary triumph of    

pure ,jahweh-worship4 ,in this memorable
 document1 the exclusive cult of ,jahweh
 was falsely said to have descended from
 the earliest periods of the national   
existence4 ,josiah1 we are told1 alarmed
 at the denunciations in the forged roll
 of the law1 set himself to work at once
 to root out by violent means every form
 of 8idolatry40 ,he brought forth from  
the house of ,jahweh 8the vessels that  
were made for the ,baal1 and for the    
,ashera1 and for all the ,host of       
,heaven1 and he burned them without     
,jerusalem in the fields of ,kidron40   
,he abolished all the shrines and       
priesthoods of other gods in the cities 
of ,judah1 and put down 8them that      
burned incense to the ,baal1 to the sun1
 and to the moon1 and to the planets1   
and all the ,host of ,heaven40 ,he also 
brought out the ,ashera from the temple 
of ,jahweh1 and burnt it to ashes2 and  
8took away the horses that the kings of 
,judah had given to the sun1 and burned 
the chariots of the sun with fire40 ,and

 by destroying the temples said to have 
been built by ,solomon for ,chemosh1    
,milcom1 and ,ashtoreth1 he left        
exclusive and triumphant ,jahweh-worship
 the sole accredited religion of        
,israel4  ,all1 however1 was of no      
avail4 ,religious fanaticism could      
#bbanot save the little principality    
from the aggressive arms of its powerful
 neighbours4 ,within twenty or thirty   
years of ,josiah's reformation1 the     
,babylonians ceased to toy with their   
petty tributaries1 and thrice captured  
and sacked ,jerusalem4 ,the temple of   
,jahweh was burnt1 the chief ornaments  
were removed1 and the desolate site     
itself lay empty and deserted4 ,the     
principal inhabitants were transported  
to ,babylonia1 and the kingdom of ,judah
 ceased for a time to have any          
independent existence of any sort4  ,but
 what1 in this disaster1 became of      
,jahweh himself8 ,how fared or fell the 
,sacred ,stone in the ark1 the ,rock of 
,israel1 in this general destruction of 

all his holiest belongings8 ,strange to 
say1 the ,hebrew annalist never stops to
 tell us4 ,in the plaintive catalogue of
 the wrongs wrought by the ,babylonians 
at ,jerusalem1 every pot and shovel and 
vessel is enumerated1 but 8the ark of   
,god0 is not so much as once mentioned4 
,perhaps the historian shrank from      
relating that final disgrace of his     
country's deity2 perhaps a sense of     
reverence prevented him from chronicling
 it2 perhaps he knew nothing of what had
 finally been done with the cherished   
and time-honoured stone pillar of his   
ancestors4 ,it is possible1 too1 that   
with his later and more etherealised    
conceptions of the cult of his god1 he  
had ceased to regard the ark itself as  
the abode of ,jahweh1 and was unaware   
that his tribal deity had been          
represented in the innermost shrine of  
the temple by a rough-hewn pillar4 ,be  
that as it may1 the actual fate of      
,jahweh himself is involved for us now  
in impenetrable obscurity4 ,probably the

 invaders who took away 8the treasures  
of the house of ,jahweh1 and cut in     
pieces all the vessels of gold which    
,solomon1 ,king of ,israel1 had made10  
would care but little for the rude      
sacred stone of a conquered people4 ,we 
may conjecture that they broke ,jahweh  
into a thousand fragments and ground him
 to powder1 as ,josiah had done with the
 ,baalim and the ,ashera1 so that his   
very relics could no longer be          
recognised or worshipped by #bbb;his    
followers4 ,at any rate1 we hear no     
more1 from that time forth1 of ,jahweh  
himself1 as a material existence1 or of 
the ark he dwelt in4 ,his spirit alone  
survived unseen1 to guard and protect   
his chosen people4  ,yet1 strange to    
say1 this final disappearance of ,jahweh
 himself1 as a visible and tangible god1
 from the page of history1 instead of   
proving the signal for the utter        
downfall of his cult and his sanctity1  
was the very making of ,jahweh-worship  
as a spiritual1 a monotheistic1 and a   

cosmopolitan religion4 ,at the exact    
moment when ,jahweh ceased to exist1 the
 religion of ,jahweh began to reach its 
highest and fullest development4 ,even  
before the captivity1 as we have seen1  
the prophets and their party had begun  
to form a most exalted and spiritualised
 conception of ,jahweh's greatness1     
,jahweh's holiness1 ,jahweh's           
unapproachable nature1 ,jahweh's        
superhuman sublimity and omnipotence4   
,but now that the material ,jahweh      
itself1 which clogged and cramped their 
ideas1 had disappeared for ever1 this   
spiritual conception of a great ,unseen 
,god widened and deepened amazingly4    
,forbidden by their creed and by        
,jahweh's own express command to make   
any image of their chosen deity1 the    
,hebrews in ,babylonia gradually evolved
 for themselves the notion of a ,supreme
 ,ruler wholly freed from material      
bonds1 to be worshipped without image1  
representative1 or symbol2 a dweller in 
the heavens1 invisible to men1 too high 

and pure for human eyes to look upon4   
,the conical stone in the ark gave place
 almost at once to an incorporeal1      
inscrutable1 and almighty ,being4  ,it  
was during the captivity1 too1 that pure
 monotheism became for the first time   
the faith of ,israel4 ,convinced that   
desertion of ,jahweh was the cause of   
all their previous misfortunes1 the     
,jews during their exile grew more      
deeply attached than ever to the deity  
who represented their national unity and
 their national existence4 ,they made   
their way back in time to ,juda1 after  
two generations had passed away1 with a 
firm conviction that all their happiness
 #bbc;depended on restoring in ideal    
purity a cult that had never been the   
cult of their fathers4 ,a new form of   
,jahweh-worship had become a passion    
among those who sat disconsolate by the 
waters of ,babylon4 ,few if any of the  
zealots who returned at last to         
,jerusalem had ever themselves known the
 stone god who lay shrouded in the ark3 

it was the etherealised ,jahweh who     
ruled in heaven above among the starry  
hosts to whom they offered up           
aspirations in a strange land for the   
restoration of ,israel4 ,in the temple  
that they built on the sacred site to   
the new figment of their imaginations1  
,jahweh was no longer personally        
present3 it was not so much his 8house10
 like the old one demolished by the     
,babylonian invaders1 as the place where
 sacrifice was offered and worship paid 
to the great god in heaven4 ,the new    
religion was purely spiritual2 ,jahweh  
had triumphed1 but only by losing his   
distinctive personal characteristics1   
and coming out of the crisis1 as it     
were1 the blank form or generic         
conception of pure deity in general4    
,it is this that gives monotheism its   
peculiar power1 and enables it so       
readily to make its way everywhere4 ,for
 monotheism is religion reduced to its  
single central element2 it contains     
nothing save what every votary of all   

gods already implicitly believes1 with  
every unnecessary complexity or         
individuality smoothed away and         
simplified4 ,its simplicity recommends  
it to all intelligent minds2 its        
uniformity renders it the easiest and   
most economical form of pantheon that   
man can frame for himself4  ,under the  
influence of these new ideas1 before    
long1 the whole annals of ,israel were  
edited and written down in ,jehovistic  
form2 the ,pentateuch and the older     
historical books assumed the dress in   
which we now know them4 ,from the moment
 of the return from the captivity1 too1 
the monotheistic conception kept ever   
widening4 ,at first1 no doubt1 even with
 the ,jews of the ,sixth ,century1      
,jahweh was commonly looked upon merely 
as the ethnical god of ,israel4 ,but1 in
 time1 the sublimer and broader         
conception #bbdof some few among the    
earlier poetical prophets began to gain 
general acceptance1 and ,jahweh was     
regarded as in very deed the one true   

,god of all the world--somewhat such a  
,god as ,islam and ,christendom to-day  
acknowledge4 ,still1 even so1 he was as 
yet most closely connected with the     
,jewish people1 through whom alone the  
gentiles were expected in the fulness of
 time to learn his greatness4 ,it was   
reserved for a ,grco-,jewish ,cilician1 
five centuries later1 to fulfil the     
final ideal of pure cosmopolitan        
monotheism1 and to proclaim abroad the  
unity of god to all nations1 with the   
,catholic ,church as its earthly witness
 before the eyes of universal humanity4 
,to ,paul of ,tarsus we owe above all   
men that great and on the whole         
cosmopolitanising conception4           
,,chapter ,,xi4--,,human ,,gods4  ,,we  
#bbe;have now in a certain sense        
accomplished our intention of tracing   
the evolution of gods and of ,god4 ,we  
have shown how polytheism came to be1   
and how from it a certain particular    
group of men1 the early ,israelites1    
rose by slow degrees1 through natural   

stages1 to the monotheistic conception4 
,it might seem1 therefore1 as though the
 task we set before ourselves was now   
quite completed4 ,nevertheless1 many    
abstruse and difficult questions still  
lie before us4 ,our problem as yet is   
hardly half solved4 ,we have still to   
ask1 ,i think1 ,how did this purely     
local and national ,hebrew deity advance
 to the conquest of the civilised world8
 ,how from an obscure corner of ,lower  
,syria did the god of a small tribe of  
despised and barbaric tributaries slowly
 live down the great conquering deities 
of ,babylon and ,susa1 of ,hellas and   
,italy8 ,and again1 we have further to  
enquire1 ,why do most of the modern     
nations which have nominally adopted    
monotheism yet conceive of their god as 
compounded in some mystically           
incomprehensible fashion of ,three      
,persons1 the ,father1 the ,son1 and the
 ,holy ,ghost8 ,in short1 ,i am not     
satisfied with tracing the idea of a god
 from the primitive mummy or the        

secondary ghost to the one supreme ,god 
of the ancient ,hebrews2 ,i desire also 
to follow on that developed concept till
 it merges at last in the triune ,god of
 modern ,christendom4 ,for1 naturally1  
it is the god in whom men believe here  
and now that most of all concerns and   
interests us4  ,i #bbfmay also add that1
 incidentally to this supplementary     
enquiry1 we shall come upon several     
additional traits in the idea of deity  
and several important sources of earlier
 godhead1 the consideration of which we 
had to postpone before till a more      
convenient season4 ,we shall find that  
the process of tracking down            
,christianity to its hidden springs     
suggests to us many aspects of primitive
 religion which we were compelled to    
neglect in our first hasty synthesis4   
,the reader must remember that in       
dealing with so complex a subject as    
that of human beliefs and human cults1  
it is impossible ever to condense the   
whole of the facts at once into a single

 conspectus4 ,we cannot grasp at a time 
the entire mass of evidence4 ,while we  
are following out one clue1 we must     
neglect another4 ,it is only by         
examining each main set of components in
 analytical distinctness that we can    
proceed by degrees to a full and        
complete synthetic reconstruction of the
 whole vast fabric4 ,we must therefore  
correct and supplement in the sequel    
much that may have seemed vague1        
inaccurate1 or insufficient in our      
preliminary survey4  ,the ,christian    
religion with which we have next to deal
 bases itself fundamentally upon the    
personality of a man1 by name ,jesus1   
commonly described as the ,christ1 that 
is to say 8the anointed40 ,of this most 
sacred and deified person it is affirmed
 by modern ,christianity1 and has been  
affirmed by orthodox ,christians from a 
very early period1 that he was not      
originally a mere man1 afterwards taken 
into the godhead1 but that he was born  
from the first the son of ,god1 that is 

to say1 of the ,hebrew ,jahweh2 that he 
existed previously from all time2 that  
he was miraculously conceived of a      
virgin mother2 that he was crucified and
 buried2 that on the third day he arose 
from the dead2 and that he is now a     
living and distinct person in a divine  
and mystically-united ,trinity4 ,i      
propose to show in the subsequent       
chapters how far all these conceptions  
were already familiar throughout the    
world in which ,christianity #bbgwas    
promulgated1 and to how large an extent 
the new religion owed its rapid success 
to the fact that it was but a rsum or   
idealised embodiment of all the chief   
conceptions already common to the main  
cults of ,mediterranean civilisation4   
,at the moment when the empire was      
cosmopolitanising the world1            
,christianity began to cosmopolitanise  
religion1 by taking into itself whatever
 was central1 common1 and universal in  
the worship of the peoples among whom it
 originated4  ,we will begin with the   

question of the incarnation1 which lies 
at the very root of the ,christian      
concept4  ,i have said already that in  
ancient ,egypt and elsewhere1 8,the ,god
 was the ,dead ,king1 the ,king was the 
,living ,god40 ,this is true1 literally 
and absolutely4 ,since the early kings  
are gods1 the present kings1 their      
descendants1 are naturally also gods by 
descent2 their blood is divine2 they    
differ in nature as well as in position 
from mere common mortals4 ,while they   
live1 they are gods on earth2 when they 
die1 they pass over to the community of 
the gods their ancestors1 and share with
 them a happy and regal immortality4 ,we
 have seen how this essential divinity  
of the ,pharaoh is a prime article in   
the religious faith of the ,egyptian    
,pyramid-builders4 ,and though in later 
days1 when a ,greek dynasty1 not of the 
old divine native blood1 bore sway in   
,egypt1 this belief in the divinity of  
the king grew fainter1 yet to the very  
last the ,ptolemies and the ,cleopatras 

bear the title of god or goddess1 and   
carry in their hands the sacred tau or  
crux ansata1 the symbol and mark of     
essential divinity4  ,the inference made
 in ,egypt that the children of gods    
must be themselves divine was also made 
in most other countries1 especially in  
those where similar great despotisms    
established themselves at an early grade
 of culture4 ,thus in ,peru1 the ,incas 
were gods4 ,they were the children of   
the ,sun2 and when they died1 it was    
said that their father1 the ,sun1 had   
sent to fetch them4 ,the ,mexican kings 
were likewise gods1 with full control of
 the course of nature2 #bbhthey swore at
 their accession to make the sun shine1 
the rain fall1 the rivers flow1 and the 
earth bring forth her fruit in due      
season4 ,how they could promise all this
 seems at first a little difficult for  
us to conceive2 but it will become more 
comprehensible at a later stage of our  
investigation1 when we come to consider 
the gods of cultivation3 even at        

present1 if we remember that kings are  
children of the ,sun1 and that sacred   
trees1 sacred groves1 and sacred wells  
are closely connected with the tombs of 
their ancestors1 we can guess at the    
beginning of such a mental connexion4   
,thus the ,chinese emperor is the ,son  
of ,heaven2 he is held responsible to   
his people for the occurrence of drought
 or other serious derangements of       
nature4 ,the ,parthian kings of the     
,arsacid house1 says ,mr4 ,frazer1 to   
whom ,i am greatly indebted for most of 
the succeeding facts1 styled themselves 
brothers of the sun and moon1 and were  
worshipped as deities4 ,numberless other
 cases are cited by ,mr4 ,frazer1 who   
was the first to point out the full     
importance of this widespread belief in 
man-gods4 ,i shall follow him largely in
 the subsequent discussion of this      
cardinal subject1 though ,i shall often 
give to the facts an interpretation     
slightly different from that which he   
would allow to be the correct one4 ,for 

to me1 godhead springs always from the  
primitive ,dead ,man1 while to ,mr4     
,frazer it is spiritual or animistic in 
origin4  ,besides these human gods who  
are gods by descent from deified        
ancestors1 there is another class of    
gods who are gods by inspiration or     
indwelling of the divine spirit1 that is
 to say of some ghost or god who        
temporarily or permanently inhabits the 
body of a living man4 ,the germ-idea of 
such divine possession we may see in the
 facts of epilepsy1 catalepsy1 dream1   
and madness4 ,in all such cases of      
abnormal nervous condition it seems to  
primitive man1 as it still seemed to the
 ,jews of the age of the ,gospels1 that 
the sufferer is entered or seized upon  
by some spirit1 who bodily inhabits him4
 ,the spirit may throw #bbithe man down1
 or may speak through his mouth in      
strange unknown tongues2 it may exalt   
him so that he can perform strange feats
 of marvellous strength1 or may debase  
him to a position of grovelling         

abjectness4 ,by fasting and religious   
asceticism men and women can even       
artificially attain this state1 when the
 god speaks through them1 as he spoke   
through the mouth of the ,pythia at     
,delphi4 ,and fasting is always one of  
the religious exercises of god-possessed
 men1 priests1 monks1 anchorites1 and   
ascetics in general4 ,where races have  
learnt how to manufacture intoxicating  
drinks1 or to express narcotic juices   
from plants1 they also universally      
attribute the effects of such plants to 
the personal action of an inspiring     
spirit--an idea so persistent even into 
civilised ages that we habitually speak 
of alcoholic liquors as spirits4 ,both  
these ways of attaining the presence of 
an indwelling god are commonly practised
 among savages and half-civilised       
people4  ,when we recollect how we saw  
already that ancestral spirits may      
descend from time to time into the      
skulls that once were theirs1 or into   
the clay or wooden images that represent

 them1 and there give oracles1 we shall 
not be surprised to find that they can  
thus enter at times into a human body1  
and speak through its lips1 for good or 
for evil4 ,indeed1 ,i have dwelt but    
little in this book on this migratory   
power and this ubiquitousness of the    
spirits1 because ,i have desired to fix 
attention chiefly on that primary aspect
 of religion which is immediately and   
directly concerned with ,worship2 but   
readers familiar with such works as ,dr4
 ,tylor's and ,mr4 ,frazer's will be    
well aware of the common power which    
spirits possess of projecting themselves
 readily into every part of nature4 ,the
 faculty of possession or of divination 
is but one particular example of this   
well-known attribute4 ,the mysteries and
 oracles of all creeds are full of such 
phenomena4  ,certain persons1 again1 are
 born from the womb as incarnations of a
 god or an ancestral spirit4 8,incarnate
 gods10 #bcjsays ,mr4 ,frazer1 8are     
common in rude society4 ,the incarnation

 may be temporary or permanent4444 ,when
 the divine spirit has taken up its     
abode in a human body1 the god-man is   
usually expected to vindicate his       
character by working miracles40 ,mr4    
,frazer gives several excellent examples
 of both these classes4 ,i extract a few
 almost verbatim4  ,certain persons are 
possessed from time to time by a spirit 
or deity2 while possession lasts1 their 
own personality lies in abeyance1 and   
the presence of the spirit is revealed  
by convulsive shakings and quiverings of
 the body4 ,in this abnormal state1 the 
man's utterances are accepted as the    
voice of the god or spirit dwelling in  
him and speaking through him4 ,in       
,mangaia1 for instance1 the priests in  
whom the gods took up their abode were  
called god-boxes or gods4 ,before giving
 oracles1 they drank an intoxicating    
liquor1 and the words they spoke in     
their frenzy were then regarded as      
divine4 ,in other cases1 the inspired   
person produces the desired condition of

 intoxication by drinking the fresh     
blood of a victim1 human or animal1     
which1 as we shall see hereafter1 is    
probably itself an avatar of the        
inspiring god4 ,in the temple of ,apollo
 ,diradiotes at ,argos1 a lamb was      
sacrificed by night once a month2 a     
woman1 who had to observe the rule of   
chastity1 tasted its blood1 and then    
gave oracles4 ,at gira in ,acha the     
priestess of the ,earth drank the fresh 
blood of a bull before she descended    
into her cave to prophesy4 7,note in    
passing that caves1 the places of       
antique burial1 are also the usual      
places for prophetic inspiration47 ,in  
southern ,india1 the so-called          
devil-dancer drinks the blood of a goat1
 and then becomes seized with the divine
 afflatus4 ,he is worshipped as a deity1
 and bystanders ask him questions       
requiring superhuman knowledge to       
answer4 ,mr4 ,frazer extends this list  
of oracular practices by many other     
striking instances1 for which ,i would  

refer the reader to the original volume4
  ,of permanent living human gods1      
inspired by the constant #bca;indwelling
 of a deity1 ,mr4 ,frazer also gives    
several apt examples4 ,in the ,marquesas
 ,islands there was a class of men who  
were deified in their lifetime4 ,they   
were supposed to wield supernatural     
control over the elements4 ,they could  
give or withhold rain and good harvests4
 ,human sacrifices were offered them to 
appease their wrath4 8,a missionary has 
described one of these human gods from  
personal observation4 ,the god was a    
very old man who lived in a large house 
within an enclosure40 7,a temple in its 
temenos47 8,in the house was a kind of  
altar1 and on the beams of the house and
 on the trees around it were hung human 
skeletons1 head down4 ,no one entered   
the enclosure1 except the persons       
dedicated to the service of the god2    
only on days when human victims were    
sacrificed might ordinary people        
penetrate into the precinct4 ,this human

 god received more sacrifices than all  
the other gods2 often he would sit on a 
sort of scaffold in front of his house  
and call for two or three human victims 
at a time4 ,they were always brought1   
for the terror he inspired was extreme4 
,he was invoked all over the island1 and
 offerings were sent to him from every  
side40 ,indeed1 throughout the ,south   
,sea ,islands1 each island had usually a
 man who embodied its deity4 ,such men  
were called gods1 and were regarded as  
of divine substance4 ,the man-god was   
sometimes a king2 oftener he was a      
priest or a subordinate chief4 ,the gods
 of ,samoa were sometimes permanently   
incarnate in men1 who gave oracles1     
received offerings 7occasionally of     
human flesh71 healed the sick1 answered 
prayer1 and generally performed all     
divine functions4 ,of the ,fijians it is
 said3 8,there appears to be no certain 
line of demarcation between departed    
spirits and gods1 nor between gods and  
living men1 for many of the priests and 

old chiefs are considered as sacred     
persons1 and not a few of them will also
 claim to themselves the right of       
divinity4 #8,i am a god1rsquo2          
,tuikilakila would say2 and he believed 
it too40 ,there is said to be a sect in 
,orissa who worship the ,queen of       
,england as their chief divinity2       
#bcb;and another sect in the ,punjab    
worshipped during his lifetime the great
 ,general ,nicholson4  ,sometimes1 ,i   
believe1 kings are divine by birth1 as  
descendants of gods2 but sometimes      
divinity is conferred upon them with the
 kingship1 as indeed was the case even  
in the typical instance of ,egypt4      
,tanatoa1 king of ,raiatea1 was deified 
by a certain ceremony performed at the  
chief temple4 ,he was made a god before 
the gods his ancestors1 as ,celtic      
chiefs received the chieftainship       
standing on the sacred stone of their   
fathers4 ,as one of the deities of his  
subjects1 therefore1 the king was       
worshipped1 consulted as an oracle1 and 

honoured with sacrifices4 ,the king of  
,tahiti at his inauguration received a  
sacred girdle of red and yellow         
feathers1 which not only raised him to  
the highest earthly station1 but also   
identified him with the heavenly gods4  
,compare the way in which the gods of   
,egypt make the king one of themselves1 
as represented in the bas-reliefs1 by   
the presentation of the divine tau4 ,in 
the ,pelew ,islands1 a god may incarnate
 himself in a common person2 this lucky 
man is thereupon raised to sovereign    
rank1 and rules as god and king over the
 community4 ,not unsimilar is the mode  
of selection of a ,grand ,lama4 ,in     
later stages1 the king ceases to be     
quite a god1 but retains the anointment1
 the consecration on a holy stone1 and  
the claim to 8divine right02 he also    
shows some last traces of deity in his  
divine power to heal diseases1 which    
fades away at last into the practice of 
8touching for king's evil40 ,on all     
these questions1 again1 ,mr4 ,frazer's  

great work is a perfect thesaurus of    
apposite instances4 ,i abstain from     
quoting his whole two volumes4  ,but did
 ideas of this character still survive  
in the ,mediterranean world of the first
 and second centuries1 where            
,christianity was evolved8 ,most        
undoubtedly they did4 ,in ,egypt1 the   
divine line of the ,ptolemies had only  
just become extinct4 ,in ,rome itself1  
the divine ,csar had recently undergone 
official apotheosis2 the divine         
,augustus had ruled over the empire as  
the adopted son of the new-made         
#bcc;god2 and altars rose in provincial 
cities to the divine spirit of the      
reigning ,trajan or ,hadrian4 ,indeed1  
both forms of divinity were claimed     
indirectly for the god ,julius2 he was  
divine by apotheosis1 but he was also   
descended from the goddess ,venus4 ,so  
the double claim was made for the       
central personage of the ,christian     
faith3 he was the son of ,god--that is  
to say of ,jahweh2 but he was also of   

kingly ,jewish origin1 a descendant of  
,david1 and in the genealogies          
fabricated for him in the ,gospels      
extreme importance is attached to this  
pretended royal ancestry4 ,furthermore1 
how readily men of the ,mediterranean   
civilisation could then identify living 
persons with gods we see in the familiar
 episode of ,paul and ,barnabas at      
,lystra4 ,incarnation1 in short1 was a  
perfectly ordinary feature of religion  
and daily life as then understood4 ,and 
to oriental ideas in particular1 the    
conception was certainly no novelty4    
8,even an infant king10 say the laws of 
,manu1 which go to the root of so much  
eastern thinking1 8must not be despised 
from an idea that he is a mere mortal3  
for he is a great deity in human form40 
,to most modern thinkers1 however1 it   
would seem at first sight like a grave  
difficulty in the way of accepting the  
deity of an ordinary man that he should 
have suffered a violent death at the    
hands of his enemies4 ,yet this fact1   

instead of standing in the way of       
acceptance of ,christ's divinity1 is    
really almost a guarantee and proof of  
it4 ,for1 strange as it sounds to us1   
the human gods were frequently or almost
 habitually put to death by their       
votaries4 ,the secret of this curious   
ritual and persistent custom has been   
ingeniously deciphered for us by ,mr4   
,frazer1 whose book is almost entirely  
devoted to these two main questions1    
8,why do men kill their gods80 and 8,why
 do they eat and drink their flesh and  
blood under the form of bread and wine80
 ,we must go over some of the same      
ground here in rapid summary1 with      
additional corollaries2 and we must also
 bring ,mr4 ,frazer's curious facts into
 line with our general principles of the
 origin of godhead4  ,meanwhile1 #bcd;it
 may be well to add here two similar    
instances of almost contemporary        
apotheoses4 ,the dictator ,julius was   
killed by a band of reactionary         
conspirators1 and yet was immediately   

raised to divine honours4 ,a little     
later1 ,antinous1 the favourite of the  
emperor ,hadrian1 devoted himself to    
death in order to avert misfortune from 
his master2 he was at once honoured with
 temples and worship4 ,the belief that  
it is expedient that 8one man should die
 for the people10 and that the person   
who so dies is a god in human shape1    
formed1 as we shall see1 a common       
component of many faiths1 and especially
 of the faiths of the eastern           
,mediterranean4 ,indeed1 a little later1
 each ,christian martyrdom is followed  
as a matter of course by                
canonisation--that is to say1 by minor  
apotheosis4 ,mr4 ,frazer has traced the 
genesis of this group of allied beliefs 
in the slaughter of the man-god in the  
most masterly manner4 ,they spring from 
a large number of converging ideas1 some
 of which can only come out in full as  
we proceed in later chapters to other   
branches of our subject4  ,in all parts 
of the world1 one of the commonest      

prerogatives and functions of the human 
god is the care of the weather4 ,as     
representative of heaven1 it is his     
business to see that rain falls in      
proper quantities1 and that the earth   
brings forth her increase in due season4
 ,but1 god though he is1 he must needs  
be coerced if he does not attend to this
 business properly4 ,thus1 in ,west     
,africa1 when prayers and offerings     
presented to the king have failed to    
procure rain1 his subjects bind him with
 ropes1 and take him to the grave of his
 deified forefathers1 that he may obtain
 from them the needful change in the    
weather4 ,here we see in the fullest    
form the nature of the relation between 
dead gods and living ones4 ,the ,son is 
the natural mediator between men and the
 ,father4 ,among the ,antaymours of     
,madagascar1 the king is responsible for
 bad crops and all other misfortunes4   
,the ancient ,scythians1 when food was  
scarce1 put their kings in bonds4       
#bce,the ,banjars in ,west ,africa      

ascribe to their king the power of      
causing rain or fine weather4 ,as long  
as the climate is satisfactory1 they    
load him with presents of grain and     
cattle4 ,but if long drought or rain    
does serious harm1 they insult and beat 
him till the weather changes4 ,the      
,burgundians deposed their king if he   
failed to make their crops grow to their
 satisfaction4  ,further than that1     
certain tribes have even killed their   
kings in times of scarcity4 ,in the days
 of the ,swedish king ,domalde1 a mighty
 famine broke out1 which lasted several 
years1 and could not be stayed by human 
or animal sacrifices4 ,so1 in a great   
popular assembly held at ,upsala1 the   
chiefs decided that ,king ,domalde      
himself was the cause of the scarcity1  
and must be sacrificed for good seasons4
 ,then they slew him1 and smeared with  
his blood the altars of the gods4 ,here 
we must recollect that the divine king  
is himself a god1 the descendant of     
gods1 and he is sacrificed to the       

offended spirits of his own forefathers4
 ,we shall see hereafter how often      
similar episodes occur--how the god is  
sacrificed1 himself to himself2 how the 
,son is sacrificed to the ,father1 both 
being gods2 and how the ,father         
sacrifices his ,son1 to make a god of   
him4 ,to take another ,scandinavian     
example from ,mr4 ,frazer's collection3 
in the reign of ,king ,olaf1 there came 
a great dearth1 and the people thought  
that the fault was the king's1 because  
he was sparing in sacrifices4 ,so they  
mustered an army and marched against    
him2 then they surrounded his palace and
 burnt it1 with him within it1 8giving  
him to ,odin as a sacrifice for good    
crops40 ,many points must here be noted4
 ,olaf himself was of divine stock1 a   
descendant of ,odin4 ,he is burnt as an 
offering to his father1 much as the     
,carthaginians burnt their sons1 or the 
king of ,moab his first-born1 as        
sacrifices to ,melcarth and to ,chemosh4
 ,the royal and divine person is here   

offered up to his own fathers1 just as  
on the cross of the founder of          
,christendom the inscription ran1       
8,jesus of ,nazareth1 king of the       
,jews10 and just as in ,christian       
#bcftheology ,god offers his ,son as a  
sacrifice to his own offended justice4  
,other instances elsewhere point to the 
same analogies4 ,in #ahad1 a pestilence 
broke out among the reindeer of the     
,chukches 7a ,siberian tribe72 and the  
shamans declared that the beloved chief 
,koch must be sacrificed to the angry   
gods 7probably his ancestors72 so the   
chief's own son stabbed him with a      
dagger4 ,on the coral island of ,niue in
 the ,south ,pacific there once reigned 
a line of kings2 but they were also     
8high-priests0 7that is to say1 divine  
representatives of divine ancestors72   
and they were supposed to make the crops
 grow1 for a reason which will come out 
more fully in the sequel4 ,in times of  
scarcity1 the people 8grew angry with   
them and killed them10 or more probably1

 as ,i would interpret the facts1       
sacrificed them for crops to their own  
deified ancestors4 ,so in time there    
were no kings left1 and the monarchy    
ceased altogether on the island4  ,the  
divine kings being thus responsible for 
rain and wind1 and for the growth of    
crops1 whose close dependence upon them 
we shall further understand hereafter1  
it is clear that they are persons of the
 greatest importance and value to the   
community4 ,moreover1 in the ideas of   
early men1 their spirit is almost one   
with that of external nature1 over which
 they exert such extraordinary powers4  
,a subtle sympathy seems to exist       
between the king and the world outside4 
,the sacred trees which embody his      
ancestors2 the crops1 which1 as we shall
 see hereafter1 equally embody them2 the
 rain-clouds in which they dwell2 the   
heaven they inhabit2--all these1 as it  
were1 are parts of the divine body1 and 
therefore by implication part of the    
god-king's1 who is but the avatar of his

 deified fathers4 ,hence1 whatever      
affects the king1 affects the sky1 the  
crops1 the rain1 the people4 ,there is  
even reason to believe that the man-god1
 representative of the ancestral spirit 
and tribal god1 is therefore the        
representative and embodiment of the    
tribe itself--the soul of the nation4   
,l'tat1 c'est moi #bcg;is no mere       
personal boast of ,louis ,quatorze2 it  
is the belated survival of an old and   
once very powerful belief1 shared in old
 times by kings and peoples4 ,whatever  
hurts the king1 hurts the people1 and   
hurts by implication external nature4   
,whatever preserves the king from       
danger1 preserves and saves the world   
and the nation4  ,mr4 ,frazer has shown 
many strange results of these early     
beliefs--which he traces1 however1 to   
the supposed primitive animism1 and not 
7as ,i have done7 to the influence of   
the ghost-theory4 ,whichever            
interpretation we accept1 however1 his  
facts at least are equally valuable4 ,he

 calls attention to the number of kingly
 taboos which are all intended to       
prevent the human god from endangering  
or imperilling his divine life1 or from 
doing anything which might react        
hurtfully upon nature and the welfare of
 his people4 ,the man-god is guarded by 
the strictest rules1 and surrounded by  
precautions of the utmost complexity4   
,he may not set his sacred foot on the  
ground1 because he is a son of heaven2  
he may not eat or drink with his sacred 
mouth certain dangerous1 impure1 or     
unholy foods2 he may not have his sacred
 hair cut1 or his sacred nails pared2 he
 must preserve intact his divine body1  
and every part of it--the incarnation of
 the community1--lest evil come of his  
imprudence or his folly4  ,the ,mikado1 
for example1 was and still is regarded  
as an incarnation of the sun1 the deity 
who rules the entire universe1 gods and 
men included4 ,the greatest care must   
therefore be taken both by him and of   
him4 ,his whole life1 down to its       

minutest details1 must be so regulated  
that no act of his may upset the        
established order of nature4 ,lest he   
should touch the earth1 he used to be   
carried wherever he went on men's       
shoulders4 ,he could not expose his     
sacred person to the open air1 nor eat  
out of any but a perfectly new vessel4  
,in every way his sanctity and his      
health were jealously guarded1 and he   
was treated like a person #bchwhose     
security was important to the whole     
course of nature4  ,mr4 ,frazer quotes  
several similar examples1 of which the  
most striking is that of the high       
pontiff of the ,zapotecs1 an ancient    
people of ,southern ,mexico4 ,this      
spiritual lord1 a true ,pope or ,lama1  
governed ,yopaa1 one of the chief cities
 of the kingdom1 with absolute dominion4
 ,he was looked upon as a god 8whom     
earth was not worthy to hold or the sun 
to shine upon40 ,he profaned his        
sanctity if he touched the common ground
 with his holy foot4 ,the officers who  

bore his palanquin on their shoulders   
were chosen from the members of the     
highest families2 he hardly deigned to  
look on anything around him2 those who  
met him prostrated themselves humbly on 
the ground1 lest death should overtake  
them if they even saw his divine shadow4
 7,compare the apparition of ,jahweh to 
,moses47 ,a rule of continence was      
ordinarily imposed upon him2 but on     
certain days in the year which were high
 festivals1 it was usual for him to get 
ceremonially and sacramentally drunk4   
,on such days1 we may be sure1 the high 
gods peculiarly entered into him with   
the intoxicating pulque1 and the        
ancestral spirits reinforced his        
godhead4 ,while in this exalted state   
78full of the god10 as a ,greek or      
,roman would have said7 the divine      
pontiff received a visit from one of the
 most beautiful of the virgins          
consecrated to the service of the gods4 
,if the child she bore him was a son1 it
 succeeded in due time to the throne of 

the ,zapotecs4 ,we have here again an   
instructive mixture of the various ideas
 out of which such divine kingship and  
godship is constructed4  ,it might seem 
at first sight a paradoxical corollary  
that people who thus safeguard and      
protect their divine king1 the          
embodiment of nature1 should also       
habitually and ceremonially kill him4   
,yet the apparent paradox is1 from the  
point of view of the early worshipper1  
both natural and reasonable4 ,we read of
 the ,congo negroes that they have a    
supreme pontiff whom they regard as a   
god upon earth1 and #bci;all-powerful in
 heaven4 ,but1 8if he were to die a     
natural death1 they thought the world   
would perish1 and the earth1 which he   
alone sustained by his power and merit1 
would immediately be annihilated40 ,this
 idea of a god as the creator and       
supporter of all things1 without whom   
nothing would be1 is of course a        
familiar component element of the most  
advanced theology4 ,but many nations    

which worship human gods carry out the  
notion to its logical conclusion in the 
most rigorous manner4 ,since the god is 
a man1 it would obviously be quite wrong
 to let him grow old and weak2 since    
thereby the whole course of nature might
 be permanently enfeebled2 rain would   
but dribble2 crops would grow thin2     
rivers would trickle away2 and the race 
he ruled would dwindle to nothing4      
,hence senility must never overcome the 
sacred man-god2 he must be killed in the
 fulness of his strength and health     
7say1 about his thirtieth year71 so that
 the indwelling spirit1 yet young and   
fresh1 may migrate unimpaired into the  
body of some newer and abler            
representative4 ,mr4 ,frazer was the    
first1 ,i believe1 to point out this    
curious result of primitive human       
reasoning1 and to illustrate it by      
numerous and conclusive instances4  ,i  
cannot transcribe here in full ,mr4     
,frazer's admirable argument1 with the  
examples which enforce it2 but ,i must  

at least give so much of it in brief as 
will suffice for comprehension of our   
succeeding exposition4 8,no amount of   
care and precaution10 he says1 8will    
prevent the man-god from growing old and
 feeble1 and at last dying4 ,his        
worshippers have to lay their account   
with this sad necessity and to meet it  
as best they can4 ,the danger is a      
formidable one2 for if the course of    
nature is dependent on the man-god's    
life1 what catastrophes may not be      
expected from the gradual enfeeblement  
of his powers and their final extinction
 in death8 ,there is only one way of    
averting these dangers4 ,the man-god    
must be killed as soon as he shows      
symptoms that his powers are beginning  
to fail1 and his soul must be           
transferred to a #bdjvigorous successor 
before it has been seriously impaired by
 the threatened decay4 ,the advantages  
of thus putting the man-god to death    
instead of allowing him to die of old   
age and disease are1 to the savage1     

obvious enough4 ,for if the man-god dies
 what we call a natural death1 it means1
 according to the savage1 that his soul 
has either voluntarily departed from his
 body and refuses to return1 or more    
commonly that it has been extracted or  
at least detained in its wanderings by a
 demon or sorcerer4 ,in any of these    
cases the soul of the man-god is lost to
 his worshippers2 and with it their     
prosperity is gone and their very       
existence endangered4 ,even if they     
could arrange to catch the soul of the  
dying god as it left his lips or his    
nostrils and so transfer it to a        
successor1 this would not effect their  
purpose2 for1 thus dying of disease1 his
 soul would necessarily leave his body  
in the last stage of weakness and       
exhaustion1 and as such it would        
continue to drag out a feeble existence 
in the body to which it might be        
transferred4 ,whereas by killing him his
 worshippers could1 in the first place1 
make sure of catching his soul as it    

escaped and transferring it to a        
suitable successor2 and1 in the second  
place1 by killing him before his natural
 force was abated1 they would secure    
that the world should not fall into     
decay with the decay of the man-god4    
,every purpose1 therefore1 was answered1
 and all dangers averted by thus killing
 the man-god and transferring his soul1 
while yet at its prime1 to a vigorous   
successor40  ,for this reason1 when the 
pontiff of ,congo grew old1 and seemed  
likely to die1 the man who was destined 
to succeed him in the pontificate       
entered his house with a rope or club1  
and strangled or felled him4 ,the       
,ethiopian kings of ,meroe were         
worshipped as gods2 but when the priests
 thought fit1 they sent a messenger to  
the king1 ordering him to die1 and      
alleging an oracle of the gods 7or      
earlier kings7 as the reason of their   
command4 ,this command the kings always 
obeyed down to the reign of ,ergamenes1 
a contemporary of ,ptolemy ,,ii4 of     

,egypt4 ,so1 when #bdathe king of       
,unyoro in ,central ,africa falls ill1  
or begins to show signs of approaching  
age1 one of his own wives is compelled  
by custom to kill him4 ,the kings of    
,sofala were regarded by their people as
 gods who could give rain or sunshine2  
but the slightest bodily blemish1 such  
as the loss of a tooth1 was considered a
 sufficient reason for putting one of   
these powerful man-gods to death2 he    
must be whole and sound1 lest all nature
 pay for it4 ,many kings1 human gods1   
divine priests1 or sultans are          
enumerated by ,mr4 ,frazer1 each of whom
 must be similarly perfect in every limb
 and member4 ,the same perfect manhood  
is still exacted of the ,christian      
,pope1 who1 however1 is not put to death
 in case of extreme age or feebleness4  
,but there is reason to believe that the
 ,grand ,lama1 the divine ,pope of the  
,tibetan ,buddhists1 is killed from time
 to time1 so as to keep him 8ever fresh 
and ever young10 and to allow the       

inherent deity within him to escape     
full-blooded into another embodiment4   
,in all these cases the divine king or  
priest is suffered by his people to     
retain office1 or rather to house the   
godhead1 till by some outward defect1 or
 some visible warning of age or illness1
 he shows them that he is no longer     
equal to the proper performance of his  
divine functions4 ,until such symptoms  
appear1 he is not put to death4 ,some   
peoples1 however1 as ,mr4 ,frazer shows1
 have not thought it safe to wait for   
even the slightest symptom of decay     
before killing the human god or king2   
they have destroyed him in the plenitude
 of his life and vigour4 ,in such cases1
 the people fix a term beyond which the 
king may not reign1 and at the close of 
which he must die1 the term being short 
enough to prevent the probability of    
degeneration meanwhile4 ,in some parts  
of ,southern ,india1 for example1 the   
term was fixed at twelve years2 at the  
expiration of that time1 the king had to

 cut himself to pieces visibly1 before  
the great local idol1 of which he was in
 all probability the human equivalent4  
8,whoever desires to reign other twelve 
years10 says an early observer1 8and to 
undertake #bdbthis martyrdom for the    
sake of the idol1 has to be present     
looking on at this2 and from that place 
they raise him up as king40  ,the king  
of ,calicut1 on the ,malabar coast1 had 
also to cut his throat in public after a
 twelve yearsrsquo2 reign4 ,but towards 
the end of the seventeenth century1 the 
rule was so far relaxed that the king   
was allowed to retain the throne1 and   
probably the godship1 if he could       
protect himself against all comers4 ,as 
long as he was strong enough to guard   
his position1 it was held that he was   
strong enough to retain the divine power
 unharmed4 ,the ,king of the ,wood at   
,aricia held his priesthood and ghostly 
kingship on the same condition2 as long 
as he could hold his own against all    
comers1 he might continue to be priest2 

but any runaway slave had the right of  
attacking the king2 and if he could kill
 him1 he became the ,king of the ,wood  
till some other in turn slew him4 ,this 
curious instance has been amply and     
learnedly discussed by ,mr4 ,frazer1 and
 forms the central subject of his       
admirable treatise4  ,more often still1 
however1 the divine priesthood1         
kingship1 or godhead was held for one   
year alone1 for a reason which we shall 
more fully comprehend after we have     
considered the annual gods of           
cultivation4 ,the most interesting      
example1 and the most cognate to our    
present enquiry1 is that of the         
,babylonian custom cited by ,berosus4   
,during the five days of the festival   
called the ,saca1 a prisoner condemned  
to death was dressed in the king's      
robes1 seated on the king's throne1     
allowed to eat1 drink1 and order        
whatever he chose1 and even permitted to
 sleep with the king's concubines4 ,but 
at the end of five days1 he was stripped

 of his royal insignia1 scourged1 and   
crucified4 ,i need hardly point out the 
crucial importance of this singular     
instance1 occurring in a country within 
the ,semitic circle4 ,mr4 ,frazer       
rightly concludes that the condemned man
 was meant to die in the king's stead2  
was himself1 in point of fact1 a king   
substitute2 and was therefore invested  
for the time being with the fullest     
#bdcprerogatives of royalty4 ,doubtless 
we have here to deal with a modification
 of an older and sterner rule1 which    
compelled the king himself to be slain  
annually4 8,when the time drew near for 
the king to be put to death10 says ,mr4 
,frazer1 8he abdicated for a few days1  
during which a temporary king reigned   
and suffered in his stead4 ,at first the
 temporary king may have been an        
innocent person1 possibly a member of   
the king's own family2 but with the     
growth of civilisation1 the sacrifice of
 an innocent person would be revolting  
to the public sentiment1 and accordingly

 a condemned criminal would be invested 
with the brief and fatal sovereignty4444
 ,we shall find other examples of a     
criminal representing a dying god4 ,for 
we must not forget that the king is     
slain in his character of a god1 his    
death and resurrection1 as the only     
means of perpetuating the divine life   
unimpaired1 being deemed necessary for  
the salvation of his people and the     
world40 ,i need not point out the       
importance of such ideas as assisting in
 the formation of a groundwork for the  
doctrines of ,christianity4  ,other     
evidence on this point1 of a more       
indirect nature1 has been collected by  
,mr4 ,frazer2 and still more will come  
out in subsequent chapters4 ,for the    
present ,i will only add that the annual
 character of some such sacrifices seems
 to be derived from the analogy of the  
annually-slain gods of cultivation1     
whose origin and meaning we have yet to 
examine4 ,these gods1 being intimately  
connected with each year's crop1        

especially with crops of cereals1       
pulses1 and other annual grains1 were   
naturally put to death at the beginning 
of each agricultural year1 and as a rule
 about the period of the spring         
equinox1--say1 at ,easter4 ,starting    
from that analogy1 as ,i believe1 many  
races thought it fit that the other     
divine person1 the man-god king1 should 
also be put to death annually1 often    
about the same period4 ,and ,i will even
 venture to suggest the possibility that
 the institution of annual consuls1     
archons1 etc41 may have something to do 
with such annual sacrifices4            
#bdd;,certainly the legend of ,codrus at
 ,athens and of the ,regifugium at ,rome
 seem to point to an ancient            
king-slaying custom4  ,at any rate1 it  
is now certain that the putting to death
 of a public man-god was a common       
incident of many religions4 ,and it is  
also clear that in many cases travellers
 and other observers have made serious  
mistakes by not understanding the inner 

nature of such god-slaying practices4   
,for instance it is now pretty certain  
that ,captain ,cook was killed by the   
people of ,tahiti just because he was a 
god1 perhaps in order to keep his spirit
 among them4 ,it is likewise clear that 
many rites1 commonly interpreted as     
human sacrifices to a god1 are really   
god-slayings2 often the god in one of   
his human avatars seems to be offered to
 himself1 in his more permanent         
embodiment as an idol or stone image4   
,this idea of sacrificing a god1 himself
 to himself1 is one which will          
frequently meet us hereafter2 and ,i    
need hardly point out that1 as 8the     
sacrifice of the mass10 it has even     
enshrined itself in the central         
sanctuary of the ,christian religion4   
,christianity apparently took its rise  
among a group of irregular northern     
,israelites1 the ,galilans1 separated   
from the mass of their coreligionists1  
the ,jews1 by the intervention of a     
heretical and doubtfully ,israelitish   

wedge1 the ,samaritans4 ,the earliest   
believers in ,jesus were thus           
intermediate between ,jews and ,syrians4
 ,according to their own tradition1 they
 were first described by the name of    
,christians at ,antioch2 and they appear
 on many grounds to have attracted      
attention first in ,syria in general1   
and particularly at ,damascus4 ,we may  
be sure1 therefore1 that their tenets   
from the first would contain many       
elements more or less distinctly        
,syrian1 and especially such elements as
 formed ideas held in common by almost  
all the surrounding peoples4 ,as a      
matter of fact4 ,christianity1 as we    
shall see hereafter1 may be regarded    
historically as a magma of the most     
fundamental religious ideas of the      
,mediterranean basin1 and especially of 
the eastern #bde,mediterranean1 grafted 
on to the ,jewish cult and the ,jewish  
scriptures1 and clustering round the    
personality of the man-god1 ,jesus4 ,it 
is interesting therefore to note that in

 ,syria and the north ,semitic area the 
principal cult was the cult of just such
 a slain man-god1 ,adonis1--originally1 
as ,mr4 ,frazer shows1 an annually slain
 man-god1 afterwards put to death and   
bewailed in effigy1 after a fashion of  
which we shall see not a few examples in
 the sequel1 and of which the ,mass     
itself is but an etherealised survival4 
,similarly in ,phrygia1 where           
,christianity early made a considerable 
impression1 the most devoutly worshipped
 among the gods was ,attis1 who1 as     
,professor ,ramsay suggests1 was almost 
certainly embodied in early times as an 
annually slain man-god1 and whose cult  
was always carried on by means of a     
divine king-priest1 bearing himself the 
name of ,attis4 ,though in later days   
the priest did not actually immolate    
himself every year1 yet on the yearly   
feast of the god1 at the spring equinox 
7corresponding to the ,christian        
,easter7 he drew blood from his own     
arms1 as a substitute no doubt for the  

earlier practice of self-slaughter4 ,and
 ,i may add in this connexion 7to       
anticipate once more7 that in all such  
godslaughtering rites1 immense          
importance was always attached to the   
blood of the man-god2 just as in        
,christianity 8the blood of ,christ0    
remains to the end of most saving       
efficacy4 ,both ,adonis and ,attis were 
conceived as young men in the prime of  
life1 like the victims chosen for other 
god-slaying rites4  ,i have dealt in    
this chapter only in very brief summary 
with this vast and interesting question 
of human deities4 ,mr4 ,frazer has      
devoted to it two large and fascinating 
volumes4 ,his work is filled with       
endless facts as to such man-gods       
themselves1 the mode of their vicarious 
or expiatory slaughter on behalf of the 
community1 the gentler substitution of  
condemned criminals for the divine kings
 in more civilised countries1 the       
occasional mitigation whereby the divine
 king merely draws his own blood instead

 #bdfof killing himself1 or where an    
effigy is made to take the place of the 
actual victim1 and so forth ad          
infinitum4 ,all these valuable          
suggestions and ideas ,i could not      
reproduce here without transcribing in  
full many pages of ,the ,golden ,bough1 
where ,mr4 ,frazer has marshalled the   
entire evidence on the point with       
surprising effectiveness4 ,i will       
content myself therefore by merely      
referring readers to that most learned  
yet interesting and amusing book4 ,i    
will only say in conclusion that what   
most concerns us here is ,mr4 ,frazer's 
ample and convincing proof of the large 
part played by such slain 7and rerisen7 
man-gods in the religion of those       
self-same east-,mediterranean countries 
where ,christianity was first evolved as
 a natural product of the popular       
imagination4 ,the death and resurrection
 of the humanly-embodied god form indeed
 the keynote of the greatest and most   
sacred religions of western ,asia and   

northeastern ,africa4     ,,chapter     
,,xii4--,,the ,,manufacture ,,of ,,gods4
  ,normally #bdg;and originally1 ,i     
believe1 all gods grow spontaneously4   
,they evolve by degrees out of dead and 
deified ancestors or chieftains4 ,the   
household gods are the dead of the      
family2 the greater gods are the dead   
chiefs of the state or town or village4 
,but upon this earlier and spontaneous  
crop of gods there supervenes later an  
artificial crop1 deliberately           
manufactured4 ,the importance of this   
later artificial class is so great1     
especially in connexion with the gods of
 agriculture1 and with the habit of     
eating the god's body as corn and       
drinking his blood as wine1 that it     
becomes necessary for us here to examine
 their nature in due order4 ,we shall   
find that some knowledge of them is     
needed preliminary to the comprehension 
of the ,christian system4  ,we saw that 
in ,west ,africa the belief in another  
world is so matter-of-fact and material 

that a chief who wishes to communicate  
with his dead father kills a slave as a 
messenger1 after first impressing upon  
him the nature of the message he will   
have to deliver4 ,if he forgets         
anything1 says ,mr4 ,duff ,macdonald1 he
 kills a second and sends him after 8as 
a postscript40 ,a ,khond desired to be  
avenged upon an enemy2 so he cut off the
 head of his mother1 who cheerfully     
suggested this domestic arrangement1 in 
order that her ghost might haunt and    
terrify the offender4 ,similar plenitude
 of belief in the actuality and nearness
 of the ,other ,world makes attendants1 
wives1 and even friends of a dead man1  
in many countries1 volunteer to kill    
themselves #bdh;at his funeral1 in order
 that they may accompany their lord and 
master to the nether realms4 ,all these 
examples combine to show us two things3 
first1 that the other life is very real 
and close to the people who behave so2  
and second1 that no great unwillingness 
habitually exists to migration from this

 life to the next1 if occasion demands  
it4  ,starting with such ideas1 it is   
not surprising that many races should   
have deliberately made for themselves   
gods by killing a man1 and especially a 
man of divine or kingly blood1 the      
embodiment of a god1 in order that his  
spirit might perform some specific      
divine function4 ,nor is it even        
remarkable that the victim selected for 
such a purpose should voluntarily submit
 to death1 often preceded by violent    
torture1 so as to attain in the end to a
 position of trust and importance as a  
tutelary deity4 ,we have only to        
remember the ease with which ,mahommedan
 fanatics will face death1 expecting to 
enjoy the pleasures of ,paradise1 or the
 fervour with which ,christian believers
 used to embrace the crown of martyrdom1
 in order to convince ourselves of the  
reality and profundity of such a        
sentiment4 ,the further back we go in   
time or culture1 the stronger does the  
sentiment in question become2 it is only

 the civilised and sceptical thinker who
 hesitates to exchange the solid        
comforts of this world for the shadowy  
and uncertain delights of the next4     
,the existence of such                  
artificially-manufactured gods has been 
more or less recognised for some time   
past1 and attention has been called to  
one or other class of them by ,mr4      
,baring ,gould and ,mr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer2
 but ,i believe the present work will be
 the first in which their profound      
importance and their place in the       
genesis of the higher religions has been
 fully pointed out in systematic detail4
  ,the best known instances of such     
deliberate godmaking are those which    
refer to the foundation of cities1 city 
walls1 and houses4 ,in such cases1 a    
human victim is often sacrificed in     
order that his blood may be used as     
cement1 #bdi;and his soul be built in to
 the very stones of the fabric4         
,thereafter he becomes the tutelary     
deity or 8fortune0 of the house or city4

 ,in many cases1 the victim offers      
himself voluntarily for the purpose2    
frequently he is of kingly or divine    
ancestry4 ,as a sheep before her        
shearers is dumb1 so he opens not his   
mouth4 ,in ,polynesia1 where we usually 
stand nearest to the very core of       
religion1 ,ellis heard that the central 
pillar of the temple at ,mva was planted
 upon the body of a human victim4 ,among
 the ,dyaks of ,borneo1 a slave girl was
 crushed to death under the first post  
of a house4 ,in ,october #ahha1 the king
 of ,ashanti put fifty girls to death   
that their blood might be mixed with the
 8swish0 or mud used in the repair of   
the royal buildings4 ,even in ,japan1 a 
couple of centuries since1 when a great 
wall was to be built1 8some wretched    
slave would offer himself as a          
foundation40 ,observe in this instance  
the important fact that the immolation  
was purely voluntary4 ,mr4 ,tylor1 it is
 true1 treats most of these cases as    
though the victim were intended to      

appease the earth-demons1 which is the  
natural interpretation for the elder    
school of thinkers to put upon such     
ceremonies2 but those who have read ,mr4
 ,frazer and ,mr4 ,baring ,gould will   
know that the offering is really a piece
 of deliberate god-making4 ,many of the 
original witnesses1 indeed1 correctly   
report this intention on the part of the
 perpetrators2 thus ,mason was told by  
an eyewitness that at the building of   
the new city of ,tavoy in ,tennasserim  
8a criminal was put in each post-hole to
 become a protecting demon0 or rather   
deity4 ,so in ,siam1 when a new city    
gate was being erected1 says ,mr4       
,speth1 officers seized the first four  
or eight people who passed1 and buried  
them under it 8as guardian angels40 ,and
 in ,roumania a stahic is defined as    
8the ghost of a person who has been     
immured in the walls of a building in   
order to make it more solid40 ,the      
,irish ,banshee is doubtless of similar 
origin4  ,other curious examples are    

reported from ,africa4 ,in ,galam1      
#bej;a boy and girl used to be buried   
alive before the great gate of a city1  
to make it impregnable2 and ,i gather   
here that the sacrifice was periodically
 renewed1 as we shall see it to have    
been in many other cases4 ,in ,great    
,bassam and ,yarriba1 similar sacrifices
 were usual at the foundation of a house
 or village4 ,clearly the idea in these 
cases was to supply the site with a     
tutelary deity1 a god whose existence   
was bound up with the place thus        
consecrated to him4 ,he and the town    
henceforth were one2 he was its soul1   
and it was his body4 ,human victims are 
said to have been buried 8for           
spirit-watchers0 under the gates of     
,mandelay4 ,so too1 according to legend1
 here a tolerably safe guide1 a queen   
was drowned in a ,burmese reservoir1 to 
make the dyke safe2 while the choice for
 such a purpose of a royal victim shows 
clearly the desirability of divine blood
 being present in the body of the future

 deity4 ,when ,rajah ,sala ,byne was    
building the fort of ,sialkot in the    
,punjaub1 the foundation gave way so    
often that he consulted a soothsayer4   
,the soothsayer advised that the blood  
of an only son should be shed on the    
spot2 and the only son of a widow was   
accordingly killed there4 ,i may add    
that the blood of 8an only-begotten son0
 has always been held to possess        
peculiar efficacy4  ,in ,europe itself1 
not a few traces survive of such        
foundation-gods1 or spirits of towns1   
town-walls1 and houses4 ,the ,piets are 
said to have bathed their               
foundation-stones in human blood1       
especially in building their forts and  
castles4 ,st4 ,columba himself1 though  
nominally a ,christian1 did not scruple 
thus to secure the safety of his        
monastery4 ,columbkille said to his     
people1 8#8,it would be well for us that
 our roots should pass into the earth   
here4' ,and he said to them1 #8,it is   
permitted to you that some one of you go

 under the earth to consecrate it4'0    
,st4 ,oran volunteered to accept the    
task1 and was ever after honoured as the
 patron saint of the monastery4 ,here   
again it may be noted that the offering 
was voluntary4 ,as late as #adfc1 when  
the broken dam of the ,nogat had to be  
repaired1 #beathe peasants1 being       
advised to throw in a living man1 are   
said to have made a beggar drunk 7in    
which state he would of course be 8full 
of the god07 and utilised him for the   
purpose4 ,in #ahhe1 on the restoration  
of ,hols-worthy church in ,devon1 a     
skeleton with a mass of mortar plastered
 over the mouth was found embedded in an
 angle of the building4 ,to make the    
castle of ,liebenstein fast and         
impregnable1 a child was bought for hard
 money of its mother1 and walled into   
the building4 ,again1 when the church at
 ,blex in ,oldenburg was being built1   
the authorities of the village crossed  
the ,weser1 8bought a child from a poor 
mother at ,bremerleke1 and built it     

alive into the foundations40 ,we shall  
see hereafter that 8to be brought with a
 price0 is a variant1 as it were1 on the
 voluntary offering2 great stress is    
often laid when a victim is offered on  
this particular fact1 which is held to  
absolve the perpetrators from the crime 
of god-murder4 ,so1 we shall see in the 
sequel1 the divine animal-victim1 which 
is the god offered to himself1 his      
animal embodiment to his image or altar1
 must always consent to its own         
sacrifice2 if it refuse or show the     
slightest disinclination1 it is no good 
victim4 ,legend says that the child in  
the case of the ,liebenstein offering   
was beguiled with a cake1 probably so as
 to make it a consenting party1 and was 
slowly walled up before the eyes of the 
mother4 ,all these details are full of  
incidental instructiveness and          
importance4 ,as late as #ahfe1 according
 to ,mr4 ,speth1 some ,christian        
labourers1 working at a-block-house at  
,duga1 near ,scutari1 found two young   

,christian children in the hands of     
,mahommedan ,arnauts1 who were trying to
 bury them alive under the block-house4 
,it is about city walls1 however1 that  
we oftenest read such legendary stories4
 ,thus the wall of ,copenhagen sank as  
fast as it was built2 so they took an   
innocent little girl1 and set her at a  
table with toys and eatables4 ,then1    
while she played and eat1 twelve master 
masons closed a vault over her4 ,with   
clanging music1 to drown the child's    
cries1 #bebthe wall was raised1 and     
stood fast ever after4 ,in ,italy1 once 
more1 the bridge of ,arta fell in1 time 
after time1 till they walled in the     
master builder's wife2 the last point   
being a significant detail1 whose       
meaning will come out still more clearly
 in the sequel4 ,at ,scutari in ,servia1
 once more1 the fortress could only be  
satisfactorily built after a human      
victim was walled into it2 so the three 
brothers who wrought at it decided to   
offer up the first of their wives who   

came to the place to bring them food4   
7,compare the case of ,jephtha's        
daughter1 where the first living thing  
met by chance is to be sacrificed to    
,jahweh47 ,so1 too1 in ,welsh legend1   
,vortigern could not finish his tower   
till the foundation-stone was wetted    
with 8the blood of a child born of a    
mother without a father0--this episode  
of the virgin-born infant being a common
 element in the generation of man-gods1 
as ,mr4 ,sidney ,hartland has abundantly
 proved for us4  ,in one case cited     
above1 we saw a mitigation of the       
primitive custom1 in that a criminal was
 substituted for a person of royal blood
 or divine origin--a form of            
substitution of which ,mr4 ,frazer has  
supplied abundant examples in other     
connexions4 ,still further mitigations  
are those of building-in a person who   
has committed sacrilege or broken some  
religious vow of chastity4 ,in the      
museum at ,algiers is a plaster cast of 
the mould left by the body of one       

,geronimo1 a ,moorish ,christian 7and   
therefore a recusant of ,islam71 who was
 built into a block of concrete in the  
angle of the fort in the sixteenth      
century4 ,faithless nuns were so immured
 in ,europe during the middle ages2 and 
,mr4 ,rider ,haggard's statement that he
 saw in the museum at ,mexico bodies    
similarly immured by the ,inquisition   
has roused so much ,catholic wrath and  
denial that one can hardly have any     
hesitation in accepting its substantial 
accuracy4 ,but in other cases1 the      
substitution has gone further still2    
instead of criminals1 recusants1 or     
heretics1 we get an animal victim in    
place of the human one4 ,mr4 ,st4 ,john 
saw a chicken sacrificed for a slave    
girl #bec;at a building among the ,dyaks
 of ,borneo4 ,a lamb was walled-in under
 the altar of a church in ,denmark1 to  
make it stand fast2 or the churchyard   
was hanselled by burying first a live   
horse1 an obvious parallel to the case  
of ,st ,oran4 ,when the parish church of

 ,chumleigh in ,devonshire was taken    
down a few years ago1 in a wall of the  
fifteenth century was found a carved    
figure of ,christ1 crucified to a       
vine--a form of substitution to which we
 shall find several equivalents later4  
,in modern ,greece1 says ,dr4 ,tylor1 to
 whom ,i owe many of these instances1 a 
relic of the idea survives in the belief
 that the first passer-by after a       
foundation-stone is laid will die within
 the year2 so the masons compromise the 
matter by killing a cock or a black lamb
 on the foundation-stone4 ,this animal  
then becomes the spirit of the building4
  ,we shall see reason to suspect1 as we
 proceed1 that every slaughtered victim 
in every rite was at first a            
divine-human being2 and that animal     
victims are always substitutes1 though  
supposed to be equally divine with the  
man-god they personate4 ,i will ask the 
reader to look out for such cases as we 
proceed1 and also to notice1 even when  
,i do not call attention to them1 the   

destination of the oracular head1 and   
the frequent accompaniment of 8clanging 
music40  ,elsewhere we find other       
customs which help to explain these     
curious survivals4 ,the shadow is often 
identified with the soul2 and in        
,roumania1 when a new building is to be 
erected1 the masons endeavour to catch  
the shadow of a passing stranger1 and   
then lay the foundation-stone upon it4  
,or the stranger is enticed by stealth  
to the stone1 when the mason secretly   
measures his body or his shadow1 and    
buries the measure thus taken under the 
foundation4 ,here we have a survival of 
the idea that the victim must at least  
be not unwilling4 ,it is believed that  
the person thus measured will languish  
and die within forty days2 and we may be
 sure that originally the belief ran    
that his soul became the god or guardian
 spirit of the edifice4 #bed;,if the    
,bulgarians cannot get a human shadow to
 wall in1 they content themselves with  
the shadow of the first animal that     

passes by4 ,here again we get that form 
of divine chance in the pointing out of 
a victim which is seen in the case of   
,jephtha's daughter4 ,still milder      
substitutions occur in the empty coffin 
walled into a church in ,germany1 or the
 rude images of babies in               
swaddling-clothes similarly immured in  
,holland4 ,the last trace of the custom 
is found in ,england in the modern      
practice of putting coins and newspapers
 under the foundation-stone4 ,here it   
would seem as if the victim were        
regarded as a sacrifice to the ,earth 7a
 late and derivative idea71 and the     
coins were a money payment in lieu of   
the human or animal offering4 ,i owe    
many of the cases here instanced to the 
careful research of my friend ,mr4      
,clodd4 ,but since this chapter was     
written1 all other treatises on the     
subject have been superseded by ,mr4    
,speth's exhaustive and scholarly       
pamphlet on 8,builder's ,rites and      
,ceremonies10 a few examples from which 

,i have intercalated in my argument4    
,other implications must be briefly     
treated4 ,the best ghost or god for this
 purpose seems to be a divine or kingly 
person2 and in stages when the meaning  
of the practice is still quite clear to 
the builders1 the dearly-be-loved son or
 wife of the king is often selected for 
the honour of tutelary godship4 ,later  
this notion passes into the sacrifice of
 the child or wife of the master mason2 
many legends or traditions contain this 
more recent element4 ,in ,vortigern's   
case1 however1 the child is clearly a   
divine being1 as we shall see to be true
 a little later on in certain ,semitic  
instances4 ,to the last1 the connexion  
of children with such sacrifices is most
 marked2 thus when in #ahac the ice on  
the ,elbe broke down one of the dams1 an
 old peasant sneered at the efforts of  
the ,government engineer1 saying to him1
 8,you will never get the dyke to hold  
unless you first sink an innocent child 
under the foundations40 ,here the very  

epithet 8innocent0 in itself reveals    
some last #bee;echo of godship4 ,so too1
 in #ahdc1 when a new bridge was to be  
built at ,halle in ,germany1 the people 
told the architects that the pier would 
not stand unless a living child was     
immured under the foundations4 ,schrader
 says that when the great railway bridge
 over the ,ganges was begun1 every      
mother in ,bengal trembled for her      
infant4 ,the ,slavonic chiefs who       
founded ,detinez sent out men to catch  
the first boy they met and bury him in  
the foundation4 ,here once more we have 
the sacred-chance victim4 ,briefly ,i   
would say there seems to be a preference
 in all such cases for children1 and    
especially for girls2 of kingly stock1  
if possible1 but at least a near        
relation of the master builder4  ,mr4   
,speth points out that horses' heads    
were frequently fastened on churches or 
other buildings1 and suggests that they 
belong to animal foundation-victims4    
,this use of the skull is in strict     

accordance with its usual oracular      
destination4  ,some notable historical  
or mythical tales of town and village   
gods1 deliberately manufactured1 may now
 be considered4 ,we read in ,first      
,kings that when ,hiel the ,bethelite   
built ,jericho1 8he laid the foundation 
thereof in ,abiram his first-born1 and  
set up the gates thereof in his youngest
 ,segub40 ,here we see evidently a      
princely master builder1 sacrificing his
 own two sons as guardian gods of his   
new city4 ,abundant traces exist of such
 deliberate production of a ,fortune for
 a town4 ,and it is also probable that  
the original sacrifice was repeated     
annually1 as if to keep up the constant 
stream of divine life1 somewhat after   
the fashion of the human gods we had to 
consider in the last chapter4 ,dido     
appears to have been the ,fortune or    
foundation-goddess of ,carthage2 she is 
represented in the legend as the        
foundress-queen1 and is said to have    
lept into her divine pyre from the walls

 of her palace4 ,but the annual human   
sacrifice appears to have been performed
 at the same place2 for 8,it can hardly 
be doubted10 says ,professor ,robertson 
,smith1 8that #befthe spot at which     
legend placed the self-sacrifice of     
,dido to her husband ,sicharbas was that
 at which the later ,carthaginian human 
sacrifices were performed40 ,at         
,laodicea1 again1 an annual sacrifice   
took place of a deer1 in lieu of a      
maiden2 and this sacrifice1 we are      
expressly told1 was offered to the      
goddess of the city4 ,legend said that  
the goddess was a maiden1 who had been  
similarly sacrificed to consecrate the  
foundation of the town1 and was         
thenceforth worshipped as its ,fortune1 
like ,dido at ,carthage2 8it was        
therefore the death of the goddess      
herself10 says ,professor ,robertson    
,smith1 8that was annually renewed in   
the piacular rite40 7,i do not admit the
 justice of the epithet 8piacular407    
,again1 ,malalas tells us that the #bb;d

 of ,may was kept at ,antioch as the    
anniversary of a maiden sacrificed at   
the foundation of the city1 and         
worshipped thereafter as the ,tyche1 or 
luck1 of the town4 ,at ,durna in ,arabia
 an annual victim was similarly buried  
under the stone which formed the altar4 
,in most of the legends1 as they come   
down to us from civilised and lettered  
antiquity1 the true nature of this      
sanguinary foundation-rite is overlaid  
and disguised by later rationalising    
guesses and ,i may mention that ,dr4    
,robertson ,smith in particular         
habitually treats the rationalising     
guesses as primitive1 and the real old  
tradition of the slaughtered virgin as a
 myth of explanation of 8the later      
,euhemeristic ,syrians40 ,but after the 
examples we have already seen of        
foundation-gods1 ,i think ,i can hardly 
be doubted that this is to reverse the  
true order2 that a girl was really      
sacrificed for a tutelary deity when a  
town was founded1 and that the          

substitution of an animal victim at the 
annual renewal was a later refinement4  
,mr4 ,speth quotes a case in point of a 
popular tradition that a young girl had 
been built into the castle of           
,nieder-,manderschied2 and when the wall
 was opened in #ahdd1 the ,euhemeristic 
workmen found a cavity enclosing a human
 skeleton4 ,i would suggest1 again1 that
 in the original legend of the          
foundation of ,rome1 ,romulus was       
represented as having built-in #beg;his 
brother ,remus as a ,fortune1 or god1 of
 the city1 and that to this             
identification of ,remus with the city  
we ought to trace such phrases as turba 
,remi for the ,roman people4 ,the word  
forum in its primitive signification    
means the empty space left before a     
tomb--the llan or temenos4 ,hence ,i    
would suggest that the ,roman ,forum and
 other ,latin fora were really the      
tomb-enclosures of the original         
foundation-victims4 99 ,so1 too1 the    
,english village green and 8play-field0 

are probably the space dedicated to the 
tribal or village god--a slain man-god2 
and they are usually connected with the 
sacred stone and sacred tree4 ,i trust  
this point will become clearer as we    
proceed1 and develop the whole theory of
 the foundation god or goddess1 the     
allied sacred stone and the tree or     
trunk memorial4       99 ,in the case of
 ,rome1 the ,forum would represent the  
grave      of the later foundation-god  
of the compound ,latin and ,sabine      
city4  ,for1 if ,i am right1 the entire 
primitive ritual of the foundation of a 
village consisted in killing or burying 
alive or building into the wall a human 
victim1 as town or village god1 and     
raising a stone and planting a tree     
close by to commemorate him4 ,at these  
two monuments the village rites were    
thereafter performed4 ,the stone and    
tree are thus found in their usual      
conjunction2 both coexist in the ,indian
 village to the present day1 as in the  
,siberian woodland or the ,slavonic     

forest4 ,thus1 at ,rome1 we have not    
only the legend of the death of ,remus1 
a prince of the blood-royal of ,alba    
,longa1 intimately connected with the   
building of the wall of ,roma ,quadrata1
 but we have also the sacred fig-tree of
 ,romulus in the ,forum1 which was      
regarded as the embodiment of the city  
life of the combined ,rome1 so that when
 it showed signs of withering1          
consternation spread through the city2  
and hard by we have the sacred stone or 
,palladium1 guarded by the sacred       
,vestal ,virgins who kept the city      
hearth-fire1 and still more closely     
bound up with the fortune of that       
secondary ,rome which had its home in   
the ,forum4 ,are not these three the    
#behtriple form of the foundation-god of
 that united ,capitoline and ,palatine  
,rome8 ,and may not the sacred cornel on
 the ,palatine1 again1 have been        
similarly the holy foundation-tree of   
that older ,roma ,ouadrata which is more
 particularly associated with the name  

of ,romulus8 ,of this tree ,plutarch    
tells us that when it appeared to a     
passer-by to be drooping1 he set up a   
hue and cry1 which was soon responded to
 by people on all sides rushing up with 
buckets of water to pour upon it1 as if 
they were hastening to put out a fire4  
,clearly1 here again we have to deal    
with an embodied ,fortune4  ,we do not  
often get all three of these ,fortunes  
combined--the human victim1 the stone1  
and the tree1 with the annual offering  
which renews its sanctity4 ,but we find 
traces so often of one or other of the  
trio that we are justified1 ,i think1 in
 connecting them together as parts of a 
whole1 whereof here one element         
survives1 and there another4 8,among all
 primitive communities10 says ,mr4      
,gomme1 8when a village was first       
established1 a stone was set up4 ,to    
this stone1 the headman of the village  
made an offering once a year40 ,to the  
present day1 ,london preserves her      
foundation-god in the shape of ,london  

,stone1 now enclosed in a railing or    
iron grill just opposite ,cannon ,street
 ,station4 ,now1 ,london ,stone was for 
ages considered as the representative   
and embodiment of the entire community4 
,proclamations and other important state
 businesses were announced from its top2
 and the defendant in trials in the     
,lord ,mayor's court was summoned to    
attend from ,london ,stone1 as though   
the stone itself spoke to the wrong-doer
 with the united voice of the assembled 
citizens4 ,the first ,lord ,mayor1      
indeed1 was ,henry de ,lundonstone1 no  
doubt1 as ,mr4 ,loftie suggests1 the    
hereditary keeper of this urban         
fetish1--in short1 the representative of
 the village headman4 ,i have written at
 greater length on the implications of  
this interesting relic in an article on 
,london ,stone in ,longmanrsquo2s       
,magazine1 to which ,i would refer the  
reader for further information4 #bei;,i 
will only add here the curious episode  
of ,jack ,cade1 who1 when he forced his 

way1 under his assumed name of          
,mortimer1 into the city in #adej1 first
 of all proceeded to this sacred relic1 
the embodiment of palladium of ancient  
,london1 and having struck it with his  
sword exclaimed1 8,now is ,mortimer lord
 of this city40  ,a similar sacred stone
 exists to this day at ,bovey ,tracey in
 ,devon1 of which ,ormerod tells us that
 the mayor of ,bovey used to ride round 
it on the first day of his tenure of    
office1 and strike it with a            
stick1--which further explains ,jack    
,cade's proceeding4 ,according to the   
,totnes ,times of ,may #ac1 #ahhb1 the  
young men of the town were compelled on 
the same day to kiss the magic stone and
 pledge allegiance in upholding the     
ancient rights and privileges of ,bovey4
 7,i owe these details to ,mr4 ,lawrence
 ,gomme's ,village ,community47 ,i do   
not think we can dissociate from these  
two cases the other sacred stones of    
,britain1 such as the ,king's ,stone at 
,kingston in ,surrey1 where several of  

the ,west ,saxon kings were crowned2 nor
 the ,scone ,stone in the               
coronation-chair at ,westminster ,abbey2
 nor the ,stone of ,clackmannan1 and the
 sacred stones already mentioned in a   
previous chapter on which the heads of  
clans or of ,irish septs succeeded to   
the chieftainship of their respective   
families4 ,these may in part have been  
ancestral and sepulchral monuments3 but 
it is probable that they also partook in
 part of this artificial and factitious 
sanctity4 ,certainly in some cases that 
sanctity was renewed by an animal       
sacrifice4  ,with these fairly obvious  
instances ,i would also connect certain 
other statements which seem to me to    
have been hitherto misinterpreted4 ,thus
 ,mesha1 king of ,moab1 when he is close
 beleaguered1 burns his son as a        
holocaust on the wall of the city4 ,is  
not this an offering to protect the wall
 by the deliberate manufacture of an    
additional deity8 ,for straightway the  
besiegers seem to feel they are         

overpowered1 and the siege is raised4   
,observe #bfj;here once more that it is 
the king's own dearly-be-loved son who  
is chosen as victim4 ,again1 at         
,amathus1 human sacrifices were offered 
to ,jupiter ,hospes 8before the gates02 
and this ,jupiter ,hospes1 as ,ovid     
calls him1 is the ,amathusian ,herakles 
or ,malika1 whose name1 preserved for us
 by ,hesychius1 identifies him at once  
as a local deity similar to the ,tyrian 
,melcarth4 ,was not this again1         
therefore1 the ,fortune of the city8 ,at
 ,tyre itself1 the sepulchre of         
,herakles ,melcarth was shown1 where he 
was said to have been cremated4 ,for    
among cremating peoples it was natural  
to burn1 not slaughter1 the yearly      
god-victim4 ,at ,tarsus1 once more1     
there was an annual feast1 at which a   
very fair pyre was erected1 and the     
local ,herakles or ,baal was burned on  
it in effigy4 ,we cannot doubt1 ,i      
think1 that this was a mitigation of an 
earlier human holocaust4 ,indeed1 ,dr4  

,robertson ,smith says of this instance3
 8,this annual commemoration of the     
death of the god in fire must have its  
origin in an older rite1 in which the   
victim was not a mere effigy1 but a     
theanthropic sacrifice1 i4e41 an actual 
man or sacred animal1 whose life1       
according to the antique conception now 
familiar to us1 was an embodiment of the
 divine-human life40 ,this is very near 
my own view on the subject4  ,from these
 instances we may proceed1 ,i think1 to 
a more curious set1 whose implications  
seem to me to have been even more       
grievously mistaken by later            
interpreters4 ,i mean the case of       
children of kings or of ruling families1
 sacrificed in time of war or peril as  
additional or auxiliary deities4 ,thus  
,philo of ,byblos says3 8,it was an     
ancient custom in a crisis of great     
danger that the ruler of a city or      
nation should give his beloved son to   
die for the whole people1 as a ransom   
offered to the avenging demons2 and the 

children thus offered were slain with   
mystic rites4 ,so ,cronus1 whom the     
,phoenicians call ,israel1 being king of
 the land1 and having an only-begotten  
son called ,jeoud 7for in the           
,phoenicians tongue ,jeoud signifies    
only-begotten71 dressed him in royal    
robes and sacrificed him upon an altar  
#bfa;in a time of war1 when the country 
was in great danger from the enemy40 ,i 
do not think ,philo is right in his     
gloss or guess about 8the avenging      
demons10 but otherwise his story is     
interesting evidence4 ,it helps us more 
or less directly to connect the common  
,phoenician and ,hebrew child-sacrifices
 with this deliberate manufacture of    
artificial gods4 ,i do not doubt1       
indeed1 that the children were partly   
sacrificed to pre-existent and          
well-defined great gods2 but ,i believe 
also that the practice first arose as   
one of deliberate manufacture of gods1  
and retained to the end many traces of  
its origin4  ,we know that in times of  

national calamity the ,phoenicians used 
thus to sacrifice their dearest to      
,baal4 ,phoenician history1 we know from
 ,porphyry1 is full of such sacrifices4 
,when the ,carthaginians were defeated  
and besieged by ,agathocles1 they       
ascribed their disasters to the anger of
 the god2 for whereas in former times   
they used to sacrifice to him their own 
children1 they had latterly fallen 7as  
we shall see hereafter the ,khonds did7 
into the habit of buying children and   
rearing them as victims4 ,so two hundred
 young people of the noblest families   
were picked out for sacrifice2 and these
 were accompanied by no less than three 
hundred more1 who volunteered to die for
 the fatherland4 ,they were sacrificed  
by being placed1 one by one1 on the     
sloping hands of the brazen image1 from 
which they rolled into a pit of fire4   
,so too at ,jerusalem1 in moments of    
great danger1 children were sacrificed  
to some ,molech1 whether ,jahweh or     
another1 by being placed in the fiery   

arms of the image at the ,tophet4 ,i    
will admit that in these last cases we  
approach very near to the mere piacular 
human sacrifice2 but we shall see1 when 
we come to deal with gods of            
cultivation1 and the doctrine of the    
atonement1 that it is difficult to draw 
a line between the two2 while the fact  
that a dearly-beloved or only-begotten  
son is the victim--especially the son of
 a king of divine blood--links such     
cases on directly to the more obvious   
instances of deliberate god-making4     
,some such voluntary sacrifice #bfbseems
 to me to be commemorated in the        
beautiful imagery of the #ec;d of       
,isaiah4 ,but there the language is     
distinctly piacular4  ,that annual human
 sacrifices originated in deliberate    
god-making of this sort is an inference 
which has already been almost arrived at
 by more orthodox thinkers4 8,among the 
,semites10 says ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith1 
8the most current view of annual piacula
 seems to have been that they           

commemorate a divine tragedy--the death 
of some god or goddess4 ,the origin of  
such myths is easily explained from the 
nature of the ritual4 ,originally1 the  
death of the god was nothing else than  
the death of the theanthropic victim2   
but when this ceased to be understood1  
it was thought that the piacular        
sacrifice represented an historical     
tragedy in which the god was killed40   
,but we shall see hereafter that the    
idea of expiation in sacrifice is quite 
a late and derivative one2 it seems more
 probable that the victim was at first a
 human god1 for whom later an animal    
victim was substituted4 ,in the         
,athenian ,thar-gelia1 the victims were 
human to the very end1 though           
undoubtedly they were thought of as     
bearing vicariously the sins of the     
people4 ,we shall come across similar   
intrusions of the idea of expiation in  
later chapters2 that idea belongs to a  
stage of thought when men considered it 
necessary to explain away by some       

ethical reference the sanguinary element
 of primitive ritual4 ,thus in two      
,greek towns1 as we learn from          
,pausanias--at ,potni and ,patr1--an    
annual sacrifice existed which had once 
been the sacrifice of a human victim2   
but this was later explained as an      
expiation of an ancient crime for which 
satisfaction had to be made from        
generation to generation4 ,indeed1 as a 
rule1 later ages looked upon the murder 
of a god as obviously criminal1 and     
therefore regarded the slaughter of the 
victim1 who replaced the god1 as being  
an atonement for his death1 instead of  
regarding it as a deliberate release of 
his divine spirit4  ,i have dwelt here  
mainly on that particular form of       
artificial #bfc;god-making which is     
concerned with the foundation of houses1
 villages1 cities1 walls1 and           
fortresses1 because this is the         
commonest and most striking case1       
outside agriculture1 and because it is  
specially connected with the world-wide 

institution of the village or city god4 
,but other types occur in abundance2 and
 to them a few lines must now be        
devoted4  ,when a ship was launched1 it 
was a common practice to provide her    
with a guardian spirit or god by making 
her roll over the body of a human       
victim4 ,the ,norwegian vikings used to 
8redden their rollers0 with human blood4
 ,that is to say1 when a warship was    
launched1 human victims were lashed to  
the round logs over which the galley was
 run down to the sea1 so that the stem  
was sprinkled with their spurting blood4
 ,thus the victim was incorporated1 as  
it were1 in the very planks of the      
vessel4 ,captain ,cook found the ,south 
,sea ,islanders similarly christening   
their war-canoes with blood4 ,in #aghd1 
says ,mr4 ,william ,simpson1 at the     
launching of one of the ,bey of         
,tripoli's cruisers1 8a black slave was 
led forward and fastened at the prow of 
the vessel to influence a happy         
reception in the ocean40 ,and ,mr4      

,speth quotes a newspaper account of the
 sacrifice of a sheep when the first    
caique for 8,constantinople at ,olympia0
 was launched in the ,bosphorus4 ,in    
many other cases1 it is noted that a    
victim1 human or animal1 is slaughtered 
at the launching of a ship4 ,our own    
ceremony of breaking a bottle of wine   
over the bows is the last relic of this 
barbarous practice4 ,here as elsewhere  
red wine does duty for blood1 in virtue 
of its colour4 ,i do not doubt that the 
images of gods in the bow of a ship were
 originally idols in which the spirits  
thus liberated might dwell1 and that it 
was to them the sailors prayed for      
assistance in storm or peril4 ,the god  
was bound up in the very fabric of the  
vessel4 ,the modern figure-head still   
represents these gods2 figure-heads     
essentially similar to the domestic     
idols occur on ,new ,zealand and        
,polynesian war-canoes4  ,the           
#bfd;canoes of the ,solomon ,islanders1 
for example1 8often have as figure-head 

a carved representation of the upper    
half of a man1 who holds in his hands a 
human head40 ,this head1 known as the   
8canoe-god0 or 8charm10 8represents the 
life taken when the canoe was first     
used40 ,a canoe of importance 8required 
a life for its inauguration10 says ,dr4 
,codrington4  ,another curious instance 
is to be found in the customs and       
beliefs regarding river gods4 ,rivers1  
,i have suggested1 are often divine     
because they spring near or are         
connected with the grave of a hero4 ,but
 often their divinity has been          
deliberately given them1 and is annually
 renewed by a god-making sacrifice3 just
 as at the ,jewish ,passover an annual  
animal-victim was slain1 and his blood  
smeared on the lintels1 as a renewal of 
the foundation sacrifice4 ,the best     
instance ,i have found of this curious  
custom is one cited by ,mr4 ,gomme from 
,major ,ellis4 ,along the banks of the  
,prah in ,west ,africa there are many   
deities1 all bearing the common name of 

,prah1 and all regarded as spirits of   
the river4 ,at each town or considerable
 village along the stream1 a sacrifice  
is held on a day about the middle of    
,october4 ,the usual sacrifice was two  
human adults1 one male and one female4  
,the inhabitants of each village believe
 in a separate spirit of the ,prah1 who 
resides in some part of the river close 
to their own hamlet4 ,everywhere along  
the river the priests of these gods     
officiate in groups of three1 two male  
and one female1 an arrangement which is 
peculiar to the river gods4 ,here1      
unless ,i mistake1 we have an obvious   
case of deliberate god-making4  ,this   
savage instance1 and others like it1    
which space precludes me from detailing1
 suggest the conclusion that many river 
gods are of artificial origin4 ,the     
,wohhanda in ,esthonia received         
offerings of little children1 whom we   
may fairly compare with the children    
immured in buildings or offered to the  
,molech4 ,many other rivers             

spontaneously #bfetake their victim     
annually2 thus the ,devonshire rhyme    
goes1  ,river of ,dart1 river of ,dart1 
,every year thou claimest a heart4  ,the
 ,spey also takes one life each year1   
and so do several ,british rivers       
elsewhere4 ,originally1 no doubt1 the   
victim was deliberately chosen and slain
 annually2 but later on1 as a mitigation
 of the custom1 the river itself seems  
to have selected its own spirit by      
divine chance1 such as we have already  
seen in action more than once in the    
earlier cases4 ,in other words1 if a    
passer-by happened to be accidentally   
drowned1 he was accepted in place of a  
deliberate victim4 99 ,hence the danger 
of rescuing a man from drowning2 you    
interfere with the course of divine     
selection1 and you will pay for it      
yourself by being the next victim4      
8,when1 in the ,solomon ,islands1 a man 
accidentally falls into a river1 and a  
shark attacks him1 he is not allowed to 
escape4 ,if he succeeds in eluding the  

shark1 his fellow-tribesmen throw him   
back to his doom1 believing him to be   
marked out for sacrifice to the god of  
the river40 ,similarly1 in ,britain     
itself1 the ,lancashire ,ribble has a   
water-spirit called ,peg o' ,nell1      
represented by a stone image1 now       
headless1 which stands at the spring    
where the river rises in the grounds of 
,waddon4 7,compare the ,adonis tomb and 
grove by the spring at ,aphaca47 ,this  
,peg o' ,nell was originally1 according 
to tradition1 a girl of the             
neighbourhood2 but she was done to death
 by incantations1 and now demands every 
seven years that a life should be       
quenched in the waters of the ,ribble4  
,when 8,peg's night0 came round at the  
close of the septennate1 unless a bird1 
a cat1 or a dog was drowned in the      
river1 it was sure to claim its human   
victim4 ,this name of ,peg is evidently 
a corruption of some old local ,celtic  
or pre-,celtic word #bff;for a nymph or 
water-spirit2 for there is another ,peg 

in the ,tees1 known as ,peg ,powler2 and
 children used there to be warned       
against playing on the banks of the     
stream1 for fear ,peg should drag them  
into the water4 ,such traces of a       
child-sacrifice are extremely           
significant4       99 ,here is an       
analogue in foundation sacrifices4 ,a   
house was      being built at ,hind     
,head while this book was in progress4  
,a      workman fell from a beam and was
 killed4 ,the other workmen             
declared this was luck for the house and
 would ensure its      stability4  ,i   
cannot do more than suggest here in     
passing that we have in these stories   
and practices the most probable origin  
of the common myth which accounts for   
the existence of river gods or river    
nymphs by some episode of a youth or    
maiden drowned there4 ,arethusa is the  
example that occurs to everyone4        
,grossly ,euhemeristic as it may sound  
to say so1 ,i yet believe that such     
myths of metamorphosis have their origin

 in the deliberate manufacture of a     
water-deity by immolation in the stream2
 and that the annual renewal of such a  
sacrifice was due in part to the desire 
to keep alive the memory of the gods--to
 be sure they were there1 to make them  
8fresh and fresh10 if one may venture to
 say so--and in part to the analogy of  
those very important artificial gods of 
agriculture whose origin and meaning we 
have still to consider4 ,i would add    
that the commonness of sea-horses and   
river-horses in the mythology of the    
world doubtless owes its origin partly  
to the natural idea of 8white horses0 on
 the waves1 but partly also to the      
deliberate sacrifice of horses to the   
sea or rivers1 which this notion        
suggested1 and which tended to intensify
 it4 ,it is as though the worshipper    
wished to keep up a continuous supply of
 such divine and ghostly steeds4 ,at    
,rhodes1 for example1 four horses were  
annually cast into the sea2 and ,i need 
hardly refer to the conventional horses 

of ,poseidon and ,neptune4 ,the ,ugly   
,burn in ,ross-shire is the abode of a  
water-horse2 in the remains of the      
,roman temple at ,lydney1 the god       
,nodens1 who represents the ,severn1 is 
shown in the mosaic pavement as drawn in
 a chariot by four horses2 and the      
,yore1 near ,middleham1 is still        
infested by a water-horse who annually  
claims at least one human victim4       
,elsewhere other animals take the place 
of the horse4 ,the ,ostyaks             
#bfgsacrifice to the river ,ob by       
casting in a live reindeer when fish are
 scanty4  ,i do not deny that in many of
 these cases two distinct ideas--the    
earlier idea of the victim as future    
god1 and the later idea of the victim as
 prey or sacrifice--have got            
inextricably mixed up2 but ,i do think  
enoughrsquo2 has been said to suggest   
the probability that many river-gods are
 artificially produced1 and that this is
 in large part the origin of nymphs and 
kelpies4 ,legend1 indeed1 almost always 

represents them so2 it is only our      
mythologists1 with their blind hatred of
 ,euhemerism1 who fail to perceive the  
obvious implication4 ,and that even the 
accidental victim was often envisaged as
 a river-god1 after his death1 we see   
clearly from the ,bohemian custom of    
going to pray on the river bank where a 
man has been drowned1 and casting into  
the river a loaf of new bread and a pair
 of wax candles1 obvious offerings to   
his spirit4  ,many other classes of     
manufactured gods seem to me to exist1  
whose existence ,i must here pass over  
almost in silence4 ,such are the gods   
produced at the beginning of a war1 by  
human or other sacrifice2 gods intended 
to aid the warriors in their coming     
enterprise by being set free from       
fleshly bonds for that very purpose4    
,thus1 according to ,phylarchus1 a human
 sacrifice was at one time customary in 
,greece at the beginning of hostilities2
 and we know that as late as the age of 
,themistocles three captives were thus  

offered up before the battle of         
,salamis4 ,the sacrifice of ,iphigenia  
is a good legendary case in point1      
because it is one of a virgin1 a        
princess1 the daughter of the leader1   
and therefore a typical release of a    
divine or royal spirit4 ,here1 as usual1
 later philosophising represents the act
 as an expiation for mortal guilt2 but  
we may be sure the original story       
contained no such ethical or piacular   
element4 ,among the early ,hebrews1 the 
summons to a war seems similarly to have
 been made by sending round pieces of   
the human victim2 in later ,hebrew      
usage1 this rite declines into the      
sacrifice of a burnt #bfhoffering2      
though we get an intermediate stage when
 ,saul sends round portions of a        
slaughtered ox1 as the ,levite in       
,judges had sent round the severed limbs
 of his concubine to rouse the          
,israelites4 ,in ,africa1 a war is still
 opened with a solemn sacrifice1 human  
or otherwise2 and ,mr4 ,h4 ,o4 ,forbes  

gives a graphic account of the similar  
ceremony which precedes an expedition in
 the island of ,timor4  ,in conclusion1 
,i will only say that a great many other
 obscure rites or doubtful legends seem 
to me explicable by similar deliberate  
exercises of god-making4 ,how common    
such sacrifice was in agricultural      
relations we shall see in the sequel2   
but ,i believe that even in other fields
 of life future research will so explain
 many other customs4 ,the               
self-immolation of ,codrus1 of          
,sardanapa-lus1 of ,p4 ,decius ,mus1 as 
of so many other kings or heroes or gods
 or goddesses2 the divine beings who    
fling themselves from cliffs into the   
sea2 ,m4 ,curtius devoting himself in   
the gulf in the ,forum2 the tombs of the
 lovers whom ,semiramis buried alive2   
all these1 ,i take it1 have more or less
 similar implications4 ,even such tales 
as that of ,t4 ,manlius ,torquatus and  
his son must be assimilated1 ,i think1  
to the story of the king of ,moab       

killing his son on the wall1 or to that 
of the ,carthaginians offering up their 
children to the offended deity2 only1 in
 later times1 the tale was              
misinterpreted and used to point the    
supposed moral of the stern and         
inflexible old ,roman discipline4       
,frequent reiteration of sacrifices     
seems necessary1 also1 in order to keep 
up the sanctity of images and sacred    
rites--to put1 as it were1 a new soul   
into them4 ,thus1 rivers needed a fresh 
river-god every year2 and recently in   
,ashantee it was discovered that a      
fetish would no longer 8work0 unless    
human victims were abundantly immolated 
for it4  ,this is also perhaps the      
proper place to observe that just as the
 great god ,baal has been resolved by   
modern scholarship #bfi;into many local 
,baalim1 and just as the great god      
,adonis has been reduced by recent      
research in each case to some particular
 ,adon or lord out of many1 so each such
 separate deity1 artificially           

manufactured1 though called by the      
common name of the ,prah or the         
,tiber1rsquo2 yet retains to the last   
some distinct identity4 ,in fact1 the   
great gods appear to be rather classes  
than individuals4 ,that there were many 
,nymphs and many ,fauni1 many ,silvani  
and many ,martes1 has long been known2  
it is beginning to be clear that there  
were also many ,saturns1 many ,jupiters1
 many ,junones1 many ,vest4 ,even in    
,greece it is more than probable that   
the generalised names of the great gods 
were given in later ages to various old 
sacred stones and holy sites of diverse 
origin3 the real object of worship was  
in each case the spontaneous or         
artificial god2 the name was but a      
general title applied in common1 perhaps
 adjectivally1 to several such separate 
deities4 ,in the ,roman pantheon1 this  
principle is now1 quite well            
established2 in the ,semitic it is      
probable2 in most others1 the progress  
of modern research is gradually leading 

up to it4 ,even the elemental gods      
themselves do not seem in their first   
origin to be really singular2 they grow1
 apparently1 from generalised phrases1  
like our 8,heaven0 and 8,providence10   
applied at first to the particular deity
 of whom at the moment the speaker is   
thinking4 ,the ,zeus or ,jupiter varies 
with the locality4 ,thus1 when the      
,latin prtor1 at the outbreak of the    
,latin war1 defied the ,roman ,jupiter1 
we may be sure it was the actual god    
there visible before him at whom he     
hurled his sacrilegious challenge1 not  
the ideal deity in the sky above his    
head4 ,indeed1 we now know that each    
village and each farm had a ,jovis of   
its own1 regarded as essentially a god  
of wine1 and specially worshipped at the
 wine-feast in ,april1 when the first   
cask was broached4 ,this individuality  
of the gods is an important point to    
bear in mind2 for the tendency of       
language is always to treat many similar
 deities as practically identical1      

especially in late #bgj;and etherealised
 forms of religion4 ,and mythologists   
have made the most of this syncretic    
tendency4  ,a single concrete instance  
will help to make this general principle
 yet clearer4 ,boundaries1 ,i believe1  
were originally put under the charge of 
local and artificial deities1 by        
slaughtering a human victim at each     
turning-point in the limits1 and        
erecting a sacred stone on the spot     
where he died to preserve his memory4   
,often1 too1 in accordance with the     
common rule1 a sacred tree seems to have
 been planted beside the sacred stone   
monument4 ,each such victim became      
forthwith a boundary god1 a protecting  
and watching spirit1 and was known      
thenceforth as a ,hermes or a ,terminus4
 ,but there were many ,herm and many    
,termini1 not in ,greece and ,italy     
alone1 but throughout the world4 ,only  
much later did a generalised god1       
,hermes or ,terminus1 arise from the    
union into a single abstract concept of 

all these separate and individual       
deities4 ,once more1 the boundary god   
was renewed each year by a fresh victim4
 ,our own practice of 8beating the      
bounds0 appears to be the last expiring 
relic of such annual sacrifices4 ,the   
bounds are beaten1 apparently1 in order 
to expel all foreign gods or hostile    
spirits2 the boys who play a large part 
in the ceremony are the representatives 
of the human victims4 ,they are whipped 
at each terminus stone1 partly in order 
to make them shed tears as a rain-charm 
7after the fashion with which ,mr4      
,frazer has made us familiar71 but      
partly also because all                 
artificially-made gods are scourged or  
tortured before being put to death1 for 
some reason which ,i do not think we yet
 fully understand4 ,the rationalising   
gloss that the boys are whipped 8in     
order to make them remember the         
boundaries0 is one of the usual shallow 
explanations so glibly offered by the   
eighteenth century4 ,the fact that the  

ceremony takes place at sacred stones or
 8,gospel oaks0 sufficiently proclaims  
its original meaning4  ,the idea        
underlying ,christian martyrdom1 where  
the martyr #bgavoluntarily devotes      
himself or herself to death in order to 
gain the crown and palm in heaven1 is   
essentially similar to the              
self-immolation of the artificial gods1 
and helps to explain the nature of such 
self-sacrifice4 ,for ,christianity is   
only nominally a monotheistic religion1 
and the saints and martyrs form in it   
practically a secondary or minor rank of
 deities4  ,on the other hand1 the point
 of view of the god-slayers cannot be   
more graphically put than in the story  
which ,mr4 ,william ,simpson relates of 
,sir ,richard ,burton4 ,burton1 it      
seems1 was exploring a remote           
,mahommedan region on the ,indian       
frontier1 and in order to do so with    
greater freedom and ease had disguised  
himself as a fakir of ,islam4 ,so great 
was his knowledge of ,muslim devotions  

that the people soon began to entertain 
a great respect for him as a most holy  
person4 ,he was congratulating himself  
upon the success of his disguise1 and   
looking forward to a considerable stay  
in the valley1 when one night one of the
 elders of the village came to him      
stealthily1 and begged him1 if he valued
 his own safety1 to go away4 ,burton    
asked whether the people did not like   
him4 ,the elder answered1 yes2 that was 
the root of the trouble4 ,they had      
conceived1 in fact1 the highest possible
 opinion of his exceptional sanctity1   
and they thought it would be an         
excellent thing for the village to      
possess the tomb of so holy a man4 ,so  
they were casting about now how they    
could best kill him4 ,whether this      
particular story is true or not1 it at  
least exhibits in very vivid colours the
 state of mind of the ordinary          
god-slayer4  ,dr4 ,tylor1 ,mr4 ,speth1  
and other writers on foundation         
sacrifices treat them as springing from 

primitive animism4 ,to me1 they seem    
rather to imply the exact opposite4 ,for
 if everything has already a soul by    
nature1 why kill a man or criminal to   
supply it with one8     ,,chapter       
,,xiii4--,,gods ,,of ,,cultivation4     
,,by #bgb;far the most interesting in   
the curious group of artifically-made   
gods are those which are sacrificed in  
connexion with agriculture4 ,these      
deities appeal to us from several points
 of view4 ,in the first place1 they     
form1 among agricultural races as a     
whole1 the most important and venerated 
objects of worship4 ,in the second      
place1 it is largely through their      
influence or on their analogy1 as ,i    
believe1 that so many other artificial  
gods came to be renewed or sacrificed   
annually4 ,in the third place1 it is the
 gods of agriculture who are most of all
 slain sacramentally1 whose bodies are  
eaten by their votaries in the shape of 
cakes of bread or other foodstuffs1 and 
whose blood is drunk in the form of     

wine4 ,the immediate connexion of these 
sacramental ceremonies with the         
sacrifice of the mass1 and the          
identification of the ,christ with bread
 and wine1 give to this branch of our   
enquiry a peculiar importance from the  
point of view of the evolution of       
,christianity4 ,we must therefore enter 
at some little length into the genesis  
of these peculiar and departmental gods1
 who stand so directly in the main line 
of evolution of the central divine      
figure in the ,christian religion4  ,all
 over the world1 wherever cultivation   
exists1 a special class of corn-gods or 
grain-gods is found1 deities of the     
chief foodstuff1--be it maize1 or dates1
 or plantain1 or rice--and it is a      
common feature of all these gods that   
they are represented by human or        
quasi-human victims1 who are annually   
slain at the time of sowing4 ,these     
human gods #bgc;are believed to reappear
 once more in the form of the crop that 
rises from their sacred bodies2 their   

death and resurrection are celebrated in
 festivals2 and they are eaten and drunk
 sacramentally by their votaries1 in the
 shape of first-fruits1 or of cakes and 
wine1 or of some other embodiment of the
 divine being4 ,we have therefore to    
enquire into the origin of this curious 
superstition1 which involves1 as it     
seems to me1 the very origin of         
cultivation itself as a human custom4   
,and ,i must accordingly bespeak my     
readers' indulgence if ,i diverge for a 
while into what may seem at first a     
purely botanical digression4  ,most     
people must have been struck by the     
paradox of cultivation4 ,a particular   
plant in a state of nature1 let us say1 
grows and thrives only in water1 or in  
some exceedingly moist and damp         
situation4 ,you take up this waterside  
plant with a trowel one day1 and        
transfer it incontinently to a dry bed  
in a sun-baked garden2 when lo6 the     
moisture-loving creature1 instead of    
withering and dying1 as one might       

naturally expect of it1 begins to grow  
apace1 and to thrive to all appearance  
even better and more lustily than in its
 native habitat4 ,or you remove some    
parched desert weed from its arid rock  
to a moist and rainy climate2 and       
instead of dwindling1 as one imagines it
 ought to do under the altered          
conditions1 it spreads abroad in the    
deep rich mould of a shrubbery bed1 and 
attains a stature impossible to its kind
 in its original surroundings4 ,our     
gardens1 in fact1 show us side by side  
plants which1 in the wild state1 demand 
the most varied and dissimilar habitats4
 ,siberian squills blossom amicably in  
the same bed with ,italian tulips2 the  
alpine saxifrage spreads its purple     
rosettes in friendly rivalry with the   
bog-loving marsh-marigold or the dry    
,spanish iris4 ,the question1 therefore1
 sooner or later occurs to the enquiring
 mind3 ,how can they all live together  
so well here in man's domain1 when in   
the outside world each demands and      

exacts so extremely different and       
specialised a situation8  ,of           
#bgd;course it is only an inexperienced 
biologist who could long be puzzled by  
this apparent paradox4 ,he must soon see
 the true solution of the riddle1 if he 
has read and digested the teachings of  
,darwin4 ,for the real fact is1 in a    
garden or out of it1 most of these      
plants could get on very well in a great
 variety of climates or situations--if  
only they were protected against outside
 competition4 ,there we have the actual 
crux of the problem4 ,it is not that the
 moisture-loving plants cannot live in  
dry situations1 but that the dry-loving 
plants1 specialised and adapted for the 
post1 can compete with them there at an 
immense advantage1 and so1 in a very    
short time1 live them down altogether4  
,every species in a state of nature is  
continually exposed to the ceaseless    
competition of every other2 and each on 
its own ground can beat its competitors4
 ,but in a garden1 the very thing we aim

 at is just to restrict and prevent     
competition2 to give each species a fair
 chance for life1 even in conditions    
where other and better-adapted species  
can usually outlive it4 ,this1 in fact1 
is really at bottom all that we ever    
mean by a garden--a space of ground     
cleared1 and kept clear1 of its natural 
vegetation 7commonly called in this     
connexion weeds71 and deliberately      
stocked with other plants1 most or all  
of which the weeds would live down if   
not artificially prevented4  ,we see the
 truth of this point of view the moment 
the garden is1 as we say1               
abandoned--that is to say1 left once    
more to the operation of unaided nature4
 ,the plants with which we have stocked 
it loiter on for a while in a feeble and
 uncertain fashion1 but are ultimately  
choked out by the stronger and          
better-adapted weeds which compose the  
natural vegetation of the locality4 ,the
 dock and nettle live down in time the  
larkspur and the peony4 ,the essential  

thing in the garden is1 in short1 the   
clearing of the ground from the         
weeds--that is1 in other words1 from the
 native vegetation4 ,a few minor things 
may or may not be added1 such as        
manuring1 turning the soil1 protecting  
with #bgeshelter1 and so forth2 but the 
clearing is itself the one thing        
needful4  ,slight as this point seems at
 first sight1 ,i believe it includes the
 whole secret of the origin of tillage1 
and therefore1 by implication1 of the   
gods of agriculture4 ,for1 looked at in 
essence1 cultivation is weeding1 and    
weeding is cultivation4 ,when we say    
that a certain race cultivates a certain
 plant-staple1 we mean no more in the   
last resort than that it sows or sets it
 in soil artificially cleared of        
competing species4 ,sowing without      
clearing is absolutely useless4 ,so the 
question of the origin of cultivation   
resolves itself at last simply into     
this--how did certain men come first to 
know that by clearing ground of weeds   

and keeping it clear of them they could 
promote the growth of certain desirable 
human foodstuffs8  ,to begin with1 it   
may be as well to premise that the      
problem of the origin of cultivation is 
a far more complex one than appears at  
first sight4 ,for we have not only to   
ask1 as might seem to the enquirer      
unaccustomed to such investigations1    
8,how did the early savage first find   
out that seeds would grow better when   
planted in open soil1 already freed from
 weeds or natural competitors80 but also
 the other and far more difficult       
question1 8,how did the early savage    
ever find out that plants would grow    
from seeds at all80 ,that1 ,i take it1  
is the real riddle of the situation1 and
 it is one which1 so far as ,i know1 has
 hitherto escaped all enquirers into the
 history and origin of human progress4  
,fully to grasp the profound nature of  
this difficulty we must throw ourselves 
back mentally into the condition and    
position of primitive man4 ,we ourselves

 have known so long and so familiarly   
the fact that plants grow from          
seeds--that the seed is the essential   
reproductive part of the vegetable      
organism--that we find it hard to       
unthink that piece of commonplace       
knowledge1 and to realise that what to  
us is an almost self-evident truth is to
 the primitive savage a long and        
difficult inference4 ,our own common and
 #bgf;certain acquaintance with the     
fact1 indeed1 is entirely-derived from  
the practice of agriculture4 ,we have   
seen seeds sown from our earliest       
childhood4 ,but before agriculture grew 
up1 the connexion between seed and      
seedling could not possibly be known or 
even suspected by primitive man1 who was
 by no means prone to make abstract     
investigations into the botanical nature
 or physiological object of the various 
organs in the herbs about him4 ,that the
 seed is the reproductive part of the   
plant was a fact as little likely in    
itself to strike him as that the stamens

 were the male organs1 or that the      
leaves were the assimilative and        
digestive surfaces4 ,he could only have 
found out that plants grew from seeds by
 the experimental process of sowing and 
growing them4 ,such an experiment he was
 far from likely ever to try for its own
 sake4 ,he must have been led to it by  
some other and accidental coincidence4  
,now what was primitive man likely to   
know and observe about the plants around
 him8 ,primarily one thing only3 that   
some of them were edible1 and some were 
not4 ,there you have a distinction of   
immediate interest to all humanity4 ,and
 what parts of plants were most likely  
to be useful to him in this respect as  
foodstuffs8 ,those parts which the plant
 had specially filled up with rich      
material for its own use or the use of  
its offspring4 ,the first are the roots1
 stocks1 bulbs1 corms1 or tubers in     
which it lays by foodstuffs for its     
future growth2 the second are the seeds 
which it produces and enriches in order 

to continue its kind to succeeding      
generations4  ,primitive man1 then1     
knows the fruits1 seeds1 and tubers1    
just as the squirrel1 the monkey1 and   
the parrot know them1 as so much good   
foodstuff1 suitable to his purpose4 ,but
 why should he ever dream of saving or  
preserving some of these fruits or      
seeds1 when he has found them1 and of   
burying them in the soil1 on the bare   
off-chance that by pure magic1 as it    
were1 they might give rise to others8   
,no idea could be more foreign to the   
nature and #bgg;habits of early man4 ,in
 the first place1 he is far from        
provident2 his way is to eat up at once 
what he has killed or picked2 and in the
 second place1 how could he ever come to
 conceive that seeds buried in the      
ground could possibly produce more seeds
 in future8 ,nay1 even if he did know   
it--which is well-nigh impossible--would
 he be likely1 feckless creature that he
 is1 to save or spare a handful of seeds
 to-day in order that other seeds might 

spring from their burial-place in       
another twelvemonth8 ,the difficulty is 
so enormous when one fairly faces it    
that it positively staggers one2 we     
begin to wonder whether really1 after   
all1 the first steps in                 
cultivationrsquo2 could ever have been  
taken4  ,the savage1 when he has killed 
a deer or a game-bird1 does not bury a  
part of it or an egg of it in the       
ground1 in the expectation that it will 
grow into more deer or more bird        
hereafter4 ,why1 then1 should he1 when  
he has picked a peck of fruits or wild  
cereals1 bury some of them in the       
ground1 and expect a harvest8 ,the      
savage is a simple and superstitious    
person2 but ,i do not think he is quite 
such a fool as this proceeding would    
make him out to be4 ,he is not likely   
ever to have noticed that plants in the 
wild state grow from seeds--at least    
prior to the rise of agriculture1 from  
which1 as ,i believe1 he first and      
slowly gained that useful knowledge4    

,and he certainly is not likely ever to 
have tried deliberate experiments upon  
the properties of plants1 as if he were 
a ,fellow of the ,royal ,society4 ,these
 two roads being thus effectually       
blocked to us1 we have to enquire1 8,was
 there ever any way in which primitive  
man could have blundered blindfold upon 
a knowledge of the truth1 and could have
 discovered incidentally to some other  
function of his life the two essential  
facts that plants grow from seeds1 and  
that the growth and supply of useful    
food-plants can be artificially         
increased by burying or sowing such     
seeds in ground cleared of weeds1 that  
is to say of the natural competing      
vegetation80  ,i #bgh;believe there is  
one way1 and one way only1 in which     
primitive man was at all likely to      
become familiar with these facts4 ,i    
shall try to show that all the          
operations of primitive agriculture very
 forcibly point to this strange and     
almost magical origin of cultivation2   

that all savage agriculture retains to  
the last many traces of its origin2 and 
that the sowing of the seed itself is   
hardly considered so important and      
essential a part of the complex process 
as certain purely superstitious and     
bloodthirsty practices that long        
accompany it4 ,in one word1 not to keep 
the reader in doubt any longer1 ,i am   
inclined to believe that cultivation and
 the sowing of seeds for crops had their
 beginning as an adjunct of the         
primitive burial system4  ,up to the    
present time1 so far as ,i know1 only   
one origin for cultivation has ever been
 even conjecturally suggested2 and that 
is a hard one4 ,it has been said that   
the first hint of cultivation may have  
come from the observation that seeds    
accidentally cast out on the            
kitchen-middens1 or on the cleared space
 about huts1 caves1 or other human      
dwelling-places1 germinated and produced
 more seeds in succeeding seasons4 ,very
 probably many savages have observed the

 fact that food-plants frequently grow  
on such heaps of refuse4 ,but that      
observation alone does not bring us much
 nearer to the origin of cultivation4   
,for why should early man connect such a
 fact with the seeds more than with the 
bones1 the shells1 or the mere accident 
of proximity8 ,we must rid our minds of 
all the preconceptions of inductive and 
experimental science1 and throw         
ourselves mentally back into the        
position of the savage to whom nature is
 one vast field of unrelated events1    
without fixed sequence or physical      
causation4 ,moreover1 a kitchen-midden  
is not a cleared space3 on the contrary1
 it is a weed-bed of extraordinary      
luxuriance4 ,it brings us no nearer the 
origin of clearing4  ,there is1 however1
 one set of functions in which primitive
 men do actually perform all the        
essential acts of agriculture1 without  
in the least intending it2 and that is  
the almost #bgiuniversal act of the     
burial of the dead4 ,burial is1 so far  

as ,i can see1 the only object for which
 early races1 or1 what comes to the same
 thing1 very low savages1 ever turn or  
dig the ground4 ,we have seen already   
that the original idea of burial was to 
confine the ghost or corpse of the dead 
man by putting a weight of earth on top 
of him2 and lest this should be         
insufficient to keep him from           
troublesome reappearances1 a big stone  
was frequently rolled above his mound or
 tumulus1 which is the origin of all our
 monuments1 now diverted to the honour  
and commemoration of the deceased4 ,but 
the point to which ,i wish just now to  
direct attention is this--that in the   
act of burial1 and in that act alone1 we
 get a first beginning of turning the   
soil1 exposing fresh earth1 and so      
incidentally eradicating the weeds4 ,we 
have here1 in short1 the first necessary
 prelude to the evolution of            
agriculture4  ,the next step1 of course1
 must be the sowing of the seed4 ,and   
here1 ,i venture to think1 funeral      

customs supply us with the only         
conceivable way in which such sowing    
could ever have begun4 ,for early men   
would certainly not waste the precious  
seeds which it took them so much time   
and trouble to collect from the wild    
plants around them1 in mere otiose      
scientific experiments on vegetable     
development4 ,but we have seen that it  
is the custom of all savages to offer at
 the tombs of their ancestors food and  
drink of the same kind as they          
themselves are in the habit of using4   
,now1 with people in the hunting stage1 
such offerings would no doubt most      
frequently consist of meat1 the flesh of
 the hunted beasts or game-birds2 but   
they would also include fish1 fruits1   
seeds1 tubers1 and berries1 and in      
particular such rich grains as those of 
the native pulses and cereals4 ,evidence
 of such things being offered at the    
graves of the dead has been collected in
 such abundance by ,dr4 ,tylor1 ,mr4    
,frazer1 and ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1    

that ,i need not here adduce any further
 examples of so familiar a practice4    
,what must be the obvious result8 ,here1
 and here alone1 #bhjthe savage quite   
unconsciously sows seeds upon           
newly-turned ground1 deprived of its    
weeds1 and further manured by the blood 
and meat of the frequent sacrificial    
offerings4 ,these seeds must often      
spring up and grow apace1 with a        
rapidity and luxuriance which cannot    
fail to strike the imagination of the   
primitive hunter4 ,especially will this 
be the case with that class of plants   
which ultimately develop into the       
food-crops of civilised society4 ,for   
the peculiarity of these plants is that 
they are one and all--maize1 corn1 or   
rice1 pease1 beans1 or millet--annuals  
of rapid growth and portentous stature2 
plants which have thriven in the        
struggle for existence by laying up     
large stores of utilisable material in  
their seeds for the use of the seedling2
 and this peculiarity enables them to   

start in life in each generation        
exceptionally well endowed1 and so to   
compete at an advantage with all their  
fellows4 ,seeds of such a sort would    
thrive exceedingly in the newly-turned  
and well-manured soil of a grave or     
barrow2 and producing there a quantity  
of rich and edible grain1 would         
certainly attract the attention of that 
practical and observant man1 the savage4
 ,for though he is so incurious about   
what are non-essentials1 your savage is 
a peculiarly longheaded person about all
 that concerns his own immediate        
advantage4  ,what conclusion would at   
once be forced upon him8 ,that seeds    
planted in freshly-turned and           
richly-manured soil produce threefold   
and fourfold8 ,nothing of the sort4 ,he 
knows naught of seeds and manures and   
soils2 he would at once conclude1 after 
his kind1 that the dreaded and powerful 
ghost in the barrow1 pleased with the   
gifts of meat and seeds offered to him1 
had repaid those gifts in kind by       

returning grain for grain a hundredfold 
out of his own body4 ,this original     
connexion of ideas seems to me fully to 
explain that curious identification of  
the ghost or spirit with the corn or    
other foodstuff which ,mr4 ,frazer has  
so wonderfully and conclusively         
elaborated in ,the ,golden ,bough4      
,some #bhalittle evidence is even       
forthcoming that vegetation actually    
does show exceptional luxuriance on     
graves and barrows4 ,the ,rev4          
,alexander ,stewart of ,ballachulish    
mentions that the milkmaids in ,lochaber
 and elsewhere in the ,scotch highlands 
used to pour a little milk daily from   
the pail on the 8fairy knowes10 or      
prehistoric barrows2 and the consequence
 was that 8these fairy knolls were      
clothed with a more beautiful verdure   
than any other spot in the country40 ,in
 ,fiji1 ,mr4 ,fison remarks that        
yam-plants spring luxuriantly from the  
heaps of yam presented to ancestral     
spirits in the sacred stone enclosure or

 temenos2 and two or three recent       
correspondents 7since this chapter was  
first printed in a monthly review7 have 
obligingly communicated to me analogous 
facts from ,madagascar1 ,central        
,africa1 and the ,malay ,archipelago4   
,it is clear from their accounts that   
graves do often give rise to crops of   
foodstuffs1 accidentally springing from 
the food laid upon them4  ,just at      
first1 under such circumstances1 the    
savage would no doubt be content merely 
to pick and eat the seeds that thus grew
 casually1 as it were1 on the graves or 
barrows of his kings and kinsfolk4 ,but 
in process of time it would almost      
certainly come about that the area of   
cultivation would be widened somewhat4  
,the first step toward such widening1 ,i
 take it1 would arise from the          
observation that cereals and other seeds
 only throve exceptionally upon         
newly-made graves1 not on graves in     
general4 ,for as soon as the natural    
vegetation reasserted itself1 the       

quickening power of the ghost would seem
 to be used up4 ,thus it might be found 
well to keep fresh ghosts always going  
for agricultural purposes4 ,hence might 
gradually arise a habit of making a new 
grave annually1 at the most favourable  
sowing-time1 which last would come to be
 recognised by half-unconscious         
experiment and observation4 ,and this   
new grave1 as ,i shall show reason for  
believing a little later1 would be the  
grave1 not of a person who happened to  
die then and there accidentally1 but    
#bhbof a deliberate victim1 slain in    
order to provide a spirit of            
vegetation1--an artificial god1--and to 
make the corn grow with vigour and      
luxuriance4 ,step by step1 ,i believe1  
it would at length be discovered that if
 only you dug wide enough1 the corn     
would grow well around as well as upon  
the actual grave of the divine victim4  
,thus slowly there would develop the    
cultivated field1 the wider clearing1   
dug up or laboured by hand1 and finally 

the ploughed field1 which yet remains a 
grave in theory and in all essentials4  
,i have ventured to give this long and  
apparently unessential preamble1 because
 ,i wish to make it clear that the      
manufactured or artificial god of the   
corn-field or other cultivated plot     
really dates back to the very origin of 
cultivation4 ,without a god1 there would
 be no corn-field at all2 and the       
corn-field1 ,i believe1 is long         
conceived merely as the embodiment of   
his vegetative spirit4 ,nay1 the tilled 
field is often at our own day1 and even 
in our own country1 a grave in theory4  
,it is a mere commonplace at the present
 time to say that among early men and   
savages every act of life has a sacred  
significance2 and agriculture especially
 is everywhere and always invested with 
a special sanctity4 ,to us1 it would    
seem natural that the act of sowing seed
 should be regarded as purely practical 
and physiological2 that the seed should 
be looked upon merely as the part of the

 plant intended for reproduction1 and   
that its germination should be accepted 
as a natural and normal process4        
,savages and early men1 however1 have no
 such conceptions4 ,to them the whole   
thing is a piece of natural magic2 you  
sow seeds1 or1 to be more accurate1 you 
bury certain grains of foodstuff in the 
freshly-turned soil1 with certain       
magical rites and ceremonies2 and then1 
after the lapse of a certain time1      
plants begin to grow upon this soil1    
from which you finally obtain a crop of 
maize or wheat or barley4 ,the burial of
 the seeds or grains is only one part of
 the #bhcmagical cycle1 no more         
necessarily important for the           
realisation of the desired end than many
 others4  ,and what are the other       
magical acts necessary in order that    
grain-bearing plants may grow upon the  
soil prepared for their reception8 ,mr4 
,frazer has collected abundant evidence 
for answering that question1 a small    
part of which ,i shall recapitulate here

 for the benefit of those who have not  
read his remarkable work1 referring     
students to ,the ,golden ,bough itself  
for fuller details and collateral       
developments4 ,at the same time ,i      
should like to make it clearly          
understood that ,mr4 ,frazer is         
personally in no way responsible for the
 use ,i here make of his admirable      
materials4  ,all the world over1 savages
 and semi-civilised people are in the   
habit of sacrificing human victims1     
whose bodies are buried in the field    
with the seed of corn or other          
bread-stuffs4 ,often enough the victim's
 blood is mixed with the grain in order 
to fertilise it4 ,the most famous       
instance is that of the ,khonds of      
,orissa1 who chose special victims1     
known as ,meriahs1 and offered them up  
to ensure good harvests4 ,the ,meriah   
was often kept for years before being   
sacrificed4 ,he was regarded as a       
consecrated being1 and treated with     
extreme affection1 mingled with         

deference4 ,a ,meriah youth1 on reaching
 manhood1 was given a wife who was      
herself a ,meriah2 their offspring were 
all brought up as victims4 8,the        
periodical sacrifices10 says ,mr4       
,frazer1 8were generally so arranged by 
tribes and divisions of tribes that each
 head of a family was enabled1 at least 
once a year1 to procure a shred of flesh
 for his fields1 generally about the    
time when his chief crop was laid down40
 ,on the day of the sacrifice1 which was
 horrible beyond description in its     
details1 the body was cut to pieces1 and
 the flesh hacked from it was instantly 
taken home by the persons whom each     
village had deputed to bring it4 ,on    
arriving at its destination1 it was     
divided by the priest into two portions1
 one of which he buried in a hole in the
 ground1 with his back turned and       
without looking #bhd;at it4 ,then each  
man in the village added a little earth 
to cover it1 and the priest poured water
 over the mimic tumulus4 ,the other     

portion of the flesh the priest divided 
into as many shares as there were heads 
of houses present4 ,each head of a house
 buried his shred in his own field1     
placing it in the earth behind his back 
without looking4 ,the other remains of  
the human victim--the head1 the bones1  
and the intestines--were burned on a    
funeral-pile1 and the ashes were        
scattered over the fields1 or mixed with
 the new corn to preserve it from       
injury4 ,every one of these details     
should be carefully noted4  ,now1 in    
this case1 it is quite clear to me that 
every field is regarded as essentially a
 grave2 portions of the divine victim   
are buried in it2 his ashes are mixed   
with the seed2 and from the ground thus 
treated he springs again in the form of 
corn1 or rice1 or turmeric4 ,these      
customs1 as ,mr4 ,frazer rightly notes1 
8imply that to the body of the ,meriah  
there was ascribed a direct or intrinsic
 power of making the crops to grow4 ,in 
other words1 the flesh and ashes of the 

victim were believed to be endowed with 
a magical or physical power of          
fertilising the land40 ,more than that1 
it seems to me that the seed itself is  
not regarded as sufficient to produce a 
crop3 it is the seed buried in the      
sacred grave with the divine flesh which
 germinates at last into next year's    
foodstuffs4  ,a few other points must be
 noticed about this essential case1     
which is one of the most typical        
instances of manufactured godhead4 ,the 
,meriah was only satisfactory if he had 
been purchased--8bought with a price10  
like the children who were built as     
foundation-gods into walls2 or else was 
the child of a previous ,meriah--in     
other words1 was of divine stock by     
descent and inheritance4 ,khonds in     
distress often sold their children as   
,meriahs1 8considering the              
beatification0 7apotheosis1 ,i would    
rather say7 8of their souls certain1 and
 their death1 for the benefit of        
mankind1 the most honourable possible40 

,this sense of the sacrifice as a case  
of 8one man dying for the people0 is    
most #bhemarked in our accounts1 and is 
especially interesting from its analogy 
to ,christian reasoning4 ,a man of the  
,panua tribe was once known to upbraid a
 ,khond because he had sold for a       
,meriah his daughter whom the ,panu     
wished to marry2 the ,khonds around at  
once comforted the insulted father1     
exclaiming1 8,your child died that all  
the world may live40 ,here and elsewhere
 we have the additional idea of a       
piacular value attached to the          
sacrifice1 about which more must be said
 in a subsequent chapter4 ,the death of 
the ,meriah was supposed to ensure not  
only good crops1 but also 8immunity from
 all disease and accident40 ,the ,khonds
 shouted in his dying ear1 8,we bought  
you with a price2 no sin rests with us40
 ,it is also worthy of notice that the  
victim was anointed with oil1 a point   
which recalls the very name of          
,christus4 ,once more1 the victim might 

not be bound or make any show of        
resistance2 but the bones of his arms   
and his legs were often broken to render
 struggling impossible4 ,sometimes1     
however1 he was stupefied with opium1   
one of the ordinary features in the     
manufacture of gods1 as we have already 
seen1 being such preliminary            
stupefaction4 ,among the various ways in
 which the ,meriah was slain ,i would   
particularly specify the mode of        
execution by squeezing him to death in  
the cleft of a tree4 ,i mention these   
points here1 though they somewhat       
interrupt the general course of our     
argument1 because of their great        
importance as antecedents of the        
,christian theory4 ,in fact1 ,i believe 
the ,christian legend to have been      
mainly constructed out of the details of
 such early god-making sacrifices2 ,i   
hold that ,christ is essentially one    
such artificial god2 and ,i trust the   
reader will carefully observe for       
himself as we proceed how many small    

details 7such as the breaking of the    
bones7 recall in many ways the incidents
 of the passion and the crucifixion4    
,the ,khonds1 however1 have somewhat    
etherealised the conception of          
artificial god-making by allowing one   
victim to do for many fields together4  
,other savages are more prodigal #bhfof 
divine crop-raisers4 ,to draw once more 
from ,mr4 ,frazer's storehouse--the     
,indians of ,guayaquil1 in ,south       
,america1 used to sacrifice human blood 
and the hearts of men when they sowed   
their fields4 ,the ancient ,mexicans1   
conceiving the maize as a personal being
 who went through the whole course of   
life between seed-time and harvest1     
sacrificed new-born babes when the maize
 was sown1 older children when it had   
sprouted1 and so on till it was fully   
ripe1 when they sacrificed old men4 ,may
 we not parallel with this instance the 
singular fact that the ,romans had as   
their chief agricultural deity          
,saturnus1 the god of sowing1 but had   

also several other subsidiary           
crop-deities1 such as ,seia1 who has to 
do with the corn when it sprouts1       
,segetia1 with the corn when shot up1   
and ,tutilina with the corn stored in   
the granary8 7,an obvious objection     
based on the numerous gods of childhood 
and practical arts at ,rome will be     
answered in a later chapter47 ,the      
,pawnees1 again1 annually sacrificed a  
human victim in spring1 when they sowed 
their fields4 ,they thought that an     
omission of this sacrifice would be     
followed by the total failure of the    
crops of maize1 beans1 and pumpkins4 ,in
 the account of one such sacrifice of a 
girl in #ahcg or #ahch1 we are told3    
8,while her flesh was still warm1 it was
 cut in small pieces from the bones1 put
 in little baskets1 and taken to a      
neighbouring corn-field4 ,here the head 
chief took a piece of the flesh from a  
basket1 and squeezed a drop of blood    
upon the newly-deposited grains of corn4
 ,his example was followed by the rest1 

till all the seed had been sprinkled    
with the blood2 it was then covered up  
with earth40 ,many other cases might be 
quoted from ,america4  ,in ,west        
,africa1 once more1 a tribal queen used 
to sacrifice a man and woman in the     
month of ,march4 ,they were killed with 
spades and hoes1 and their bodies buried
 in the middle of a field which had just
 been tilled4 ,at ,lagos1 in ,guinea1 it
 was the custom annually to impale a    
young girl alive soon after the spring  
equinox in order to #bhgsecure good     
crops4 ,a similar sacrifice is still    
annually offered at ,benin4 ,the        
,marimos1 a ,bechuana tribe1 sacrifice a
 human being for the crops4 ,the victim 
chosen is generally a short stout man4  
,he is seized by violence or intoxicated
 7note that detail7 and taken to the    
fields1 where he is killed amongst the  
wheat 8to serve as seed40 ,after his    
blood has coagulated in the sun1 it is  
burned1 along with that peculiarly      
sacred part1 the frontal bone1 the flesh

 attached to it1 and the brain2 the     
ashes are then scattered over the ground
 to fertilise it4 ,such scattering of   
the ashes occurs in many instances1 and 
will meet us again in the case of       
,osiris4  ,in ,india1 once more1 the    
,gonds1 like the ,khonds1 kidnapped     
,brahman boys1 and kept them as victims 
to be sacrificed on various occasions4  
,at sowing and reaping1 after a         
triumphal procession1 one of the lads   
was killed by being punctured with a    
poisoned arrow4 ,his blood was then     
sprinkled over the ploughed field or the
 ripe crop1 and his flesh was           
sacramentally devoured4 ,the last point 
again will call at a later stage for    
further examination4  ,i will detail no 
more such instances 7out of the         
thousands that exist7 for fear of       
seeming tedious4 ,but the interpretation
 ,i put upon the facts is this4         
,originally1 men noticed that           
food-plants grew abundantly from the    
laboured and well-manured soil of       

graves4 ,they observed that this        
richness sprang from a coincidence of   
three factors--digging1 a sacred dead   
body1 and seeds of foodstuffs4 ,in time1
 they noted that if you dug wide enough 
and scattered seed far enough1 a single 
corpse was capable of fertilising a     
considerable area4 ,the grave grew into 
the field or garden4 ,but they still    
thought it necessary to bury some one in
 the field2 and most of the evidence    
shows that they regarded this victim as 
a divine personage2 that they considered
 him the main source of growth or       
fertility2 and that they endeavoured to 
deserve his favour by treating him well 
during the greater part of his lifetime4
 ,for in many of the accounts it is     
expressly stated #bhhthat the intended  
victim was treated as a god or as a     
divine king1 and was supplied with every
 sort of luxury up to the moment of his 
immolation4 ,in process of time1 the    
conception of the field as differing    
from the grave grew more defined1 and   

the large part borne by seed in the     
procedure was more fully recognised4    
,even so1 however1 nobody dreamed of    
sowing the seed alone without the body  
of a victim4 ,both grain and flesh or   
blood came to be regarded alike as      
8seed03 that is to say1 the concurrence 
of the two was considered necessary to  
produce the desired effect of           
germination and fertility4 ,till a very 
late period1 either the actual sacrifice
 or some vague remnant of it remained as
 an essential part of cultivation4 ,mr4 
,frazer's pages teem with such survivals
 in modern folk-custom4 ,from his work  
and from other sources1 ,i will give a  
few instances of these last dying relics
 of the primitive superstition4  ,mr4   
,gomme1 in his ,ethnology in ,folklore1 
supplies an account of a singular       
village festival in ,southern ,india4   
,in this feast1 a priest1 known as the  
,potraj1 and specially armed with a     
divine whip1 like the scourge of        
,osiris1 sacrifices a sacred buffalo1   

which is turned loose when a calf1 and  
allowed to feed and roam about the      
village4 ,in that case1 we have the     
common substitution of an animal for a  
human victim1 which almost always       
accompanies advancing civilisation4 ,at 
the high festival1 the head of the      
buffalo was struck off at a single blow1
 and placed in front of the shrine of   
the village goddess4 ,around were placed
 vessels containing the different       
cereals1 and hard by a heap of mixed    
grains with a drill-plough in the       
centre4 ,the carcase was then cut up    
into small pieces1 and each cultivator  
received a portion to bury in his field4
 ,the heap of grain was finally divided 
among all the cultivators1 to be buried 
by each one in his field with the bit of
 flesh4 ,at last1 the head1 that very   
sacred part1 was buried before a little 
temple1 sacred to the goddess of        
boundaries4 ,the goddess is represented 
by a shapeless stone--no doubt a        
,terminus1 #bhior rather the tombstone  

of an artificial goddess1 a girl buried 
under an ancient boundary-mark4 ,here we
 have evidently a last stage of the same
 ritual which in the case of the ,khonds
 was performed with a human victim4 ,it 
is worth while noting that1 as part of  
this ceremony1 a struggle took place for
 portions of the victim4  ,a still more 
attenuated form of the same ceremony is 
mentioned by ,captain ,harkness and     
others1 as occurring among the ,badagas 
of the ,nilgiri ,hills4 ,i condense     
their accounts1 taking out of each such 
elements as are most cognate to our     
purpose4 ,among these barbarians1 the   
first furrow is ploughed by a low-caste 
,kurrumbar1 who gives his benediction to
 the field1 without which there would be
 no harvest4 ,here1 the member of the   
aboriginal race is clearly looked upon  
as a priest or kinsman of the local     
gods1 whose cooperation must be obtained
 by later intrusive races4 ,but the     
,kurrumbar does not merely bless the    
field2 he also sets up a stone in its   

midst2 and then1 prostrating himself    
before the stone1 he sacrifices a goat1 
the head of which he keeps as his       
perquisite4 ,this peculiar value of the 
oracular head retained by the priest is 
also significant4 ,when harvest-time    
comes1 the same ,kurrumbar is summoned  
once more1 in order that he may reap the
 first handful of corn1 an episode the  
full importance of which will only be   
apparent to those who have read ,mr4    
,frazer's analysis of harvest customs4  
,but in this case also1 the appearance  
of the sacred stone is pregnant with    
meaning4 ,we can hardly resist the      
inference that we have here to do with  
the animal substitute for a human       
sacrifice of the god-making order1 in   
which the victim was slaughtered1 a     
stone set up to mark the site of the    
sacrifice1 and the head preserved as a  
god to give oracles1 in the fashion with
 which we are already familiar4         
,comparing this instance with the       
previous one of the sacred buffalo and  

the still earlier cases of ancestral    
heads preserved as gods for oracular    
purposes1 ,i think the affiliation is   
too clear to be disregarded4  ,evidence 
#bijof similar customs elsewhere exists 
in such abundance that ,i can only give 
a very small part of it at present1 lest
 ,i should assign too much space to a   
subordinate question2 ,i hope to detail 
the whole of it hereafter in a          
subsequent volume4 ,here is a striking  
example from ,mr4 ,gomme's ,ethnology in
 ,folklore1 the analogy of which with   
preceding instances will at once be     
apparent4  8,at the village of ,holne1  
situated on one of the spurs of         
,dartmoor1 is a field of about two      
acres1 the property of the parish1 and  
called the ,ploy ,field4 ,in the centre 
of this field stands a granite pillar   
7,menhir7 six or seven feet high4 ,on   
,may-morning1 before daybreak1 the young
 men of the village used to assemble    
there1 and then proceed to the moor1    
where they selected a ram lamb1 and1    

after running it down1 brought it in    
triumph to the ,ploy ,field1 fastened it
 to the pillar1 cut its throat1 and then
 roasted it whole1 skin1 wool1 etc4 ,at 
midday a struggle took place1 at the    
risk of cut hands1 for a slice1 it being
 supposed to confer luck for the ensuing
 year on the fortunate devourer4 ,as an 
act of gallantry the young men sometimes
 fought their way through the crowd to  
get a slice for the chosen amongst the  
young women1 all of whom1 in their best 
dresses1 attended the ,ram ,feast1 as it
 was called4 ,dancing1 wrestling1 and   
other games1 assisted by copious        
libations of cider during the afternoon1
 prolonged the festivity till midnight40
  ,here again we get several interesting
 features of the primitive ritual       
preserved for us4 ,the connexion with   
the stone which enshrines the original  
village deity is perfectly clear4 ,this 
stone no doubt represents the place     
where the local foundation-god was slain
 in very remote ages2 and it is         

therefore the proper place for the      
annual renewal sacrifices to be offered4
 ,the selection of ,maymorning for the  
rite2 the slaughter at the stone pillar2
 the roasting of the beast whole2 the   
struggle for the pieces2 and the idea   
that they would confer luck1 all show   
survival of primitive feeling4 ,so does 
the cider1 sacramental #bia;intoxication
 being an integral part of all these    
proceedings4 ,every detail1 indeed1 has 
its meaning for those who look close2   
for the struggle at midday is itself    
significant1 as is also the prolongation
 of the feast till midnight4 ,but we    
miss the burial of the pieces in the    
fields2 in so far1 the primitive object 
of the rite seems to have been forgotten
 or overlooked in ,devonshire4  ,a still
 more attenuated survival is quoted by  
,mr4 ,gomme from another ,english       
village4 8,a ,whitsuntide custom in the 
parish of ,king's ,teignton1            
,devonshire1 is thus described3 ,a lamb 
is drawn about the parish on ,whitsun   

,monday in a cart covered with garlands 
of lilac1 laburnum1 and other flowers1  
when persons are requested to give      
something towards the animal and        
attendant expenses2 on ,tuesday it is   
killed and roasted whole in the middle  
of the village4 ,the lamb is then sold  
in slices to the poor at a cheap rate4  
,the origin of the custom is forgotten1 
but a tradition1 supposed to trace back 
to heathen days1 is to this effect3 ,the
 village suffered from a dearth of      
water1 when the inhabitants were advised
 by their priests to pray to the gods   
for water2 whereupon the water sprang up
 spontaneously in a meadow about a third
 of a mile above the river1 in an estate
 now called ,rydon1 amply sufficient to 
supply the wants of the place1 and at   
present adequate1 even in a dry summer1 
to work three mills4 ,a lamb1 it is     
said1 has ever since that time been     
sacrificed as a votive thank-offering at
 ,whitsuntide in the manner before      
mentioned4 ,the said water appears like 

a large pond1 from which in rainy       
weather may be seen jets springing up   
some inches above the surface in many   
parts4 ,it has ever had the name of     
#8,fair ,water4'0  ,i mention this      
curious instance here1 because it well  
illustrates the elusive way in which    
such divine customs of various origins  
merge into one another2 and also the    
manner in which different ideas are     
attached in different places to very    
similar ceremonies4 ,for ,mr4 ,frazer   
has shown that the notion of a          
rain-charm is also closely bound up with
 #bibthe gods of agriculture2 the ,khond
 ,meriah must weep1 or there will be no 
rain that year2 his red blood must flow1
 or the turmeric will not produce its   
proper red colour4 7,compare the red    
blood that flowed from ,poly-dorus's    
cornel1 and the ,indian's blood that    
drops from the ,canadian bloodroot47 ,in
 this last instance of the ,king's      
,teignton ceremony1 it is the rain-charm
 that has most clearly survived to our  

days3 and there are obvious references  
to a human sacrifice offered up to make 
a river-god in times long gone1 and now 
replaced by an animal victim4 ,the      
garlands of lilac1 laburnum1 and other  
flowers are1 however1 common adornments 
of the artificial god of cultivation2   
they occurred in the ,dionvsiac rites   
and the ,attis festival1 and are still  
preserved in many ,european customs4    
,very closely bound up with the         
artificial gods of cultivation are the  
terminal gods with whom ,i dealt in the 
last chapter2 so closely that it is     
sometimes impossible to separate them4  
,we have already seen some instances of 
this connexion2 the procession of the   
sacred victim usually ends with a       
perlustration of the boundaries4 ,this  
perlustration is often preceded by the  
head of the thean-thropic victim4 ,such 
a ceremony extends all over ,india2 in  
,france and other ,european countries it
 survives in the shape of the rite known
 as ,blessing the ,fields1 where the    

priest plays the same part as is played 
among the ,nilgiri hillsmen by the      
low-caste ,kurrumbar4 ,in this rite1 the
 ,host is carried round the bounds of   
the parish1 as the head of the sacred   
buffalo is carried round at the ,indian 
festival4 ,in some cases every field is 
separately visited4 ,i was told as a boy
 in ,normandy that a portion of the     
,host 7stolen or concealed1 ,i imagine7 
was sometimes buried in each field1 but 
of this curious detail ,i can now obtain
 no confirmatory evidence1 and ,i do not
 insist upon it4 ,we must remember1     
however1 that the ,host is the body of  
,christ1 and that its presence in such  
cases is the exact analogue of the      
carrying round the pieces of the        
,meriah4  ,in #bic;,england1 the        
ceremony merges into that of ,beating   
the ,bounds1 already described2 though  
,i believe the significance of the      
boy-victims1 and the necessity for      
whipping them as a rain-charm1 will now 
be more apparent than when we last met  

with it4  ,in many cases1 all the world 
over1 various animals come to replace   
the human victim-god4 ,thus we learn    
from ,festus that the ,romans sacrificed
 red-haired puppies in spring1 in the   
belief that the crops would thus grow   
ripe and ruddy2 and there can be little 
doubt that these puppies1 like the lamb 
sacrifice at ,holne and ,king's         
,teignton1 were a substitute for an     
original human victim4 ,even so1 the    
,egyptians1 as we shall see1 sacrificed 
red-haired men as the representatives of
 ,osiris1 envisaged as a corn-god4 ,in  
some cases1 indeed1 we have historical  
evidence of the human god being replaced
 at recent dates by a divine            
animal-victim2 for example1 in ,chinna  
,kimedy1 after the ,british had         
suppressed human sacrifices1 a goat took
 the place of the sacred ,meriah4       
,mannhardt has collected much evidence  
of the curious customs still 7or lately7
 existing in modern ,europe1 which look 
like survivals in a very mitigated form 

of the same superstition4 ,these are    
generally known by the name of          
8,carrying out ,death10 or 8,burying the
 ,carnival40 ,they are practised in     
almost every country of ,europe1 and    
relics of them survive even in ,england4
 ,the essence of these ceremonies       
consists in an effigy being substituted 
for the human victim4 ,this effigy is   
treated much as the victim used to be4  
,sometimes it is burned1 sometimes      
thrown into a river1 and sometimes      
buried piecemeal4 ,in ,austrian         
,silesia1 for example1 the effigy is    
burned1 and while it is burning a       
general struggle takes place for the    
pieces1 which are pulled out of the     
flames with bare hands4 7,compare the   
struggle among the ,khonds1 and also at 
the ,potraj festival and the ,holne     
sacrifice47 ,each person who secures a  
fragment of the figure ties it to a     
branch of the largest tree in his       
garden1 or buries it in his field1 in   
the #bid;belief that this causes the    

crops to grow better4 ,sometimes a sheaf
 of corn does duty for the victim1 and  
portions of it are buried in each field 
as fertilisers4 ,in the ,hartz          
,mountains1 at similar ceremonies1 a    
living man is laid on a baking-trough   
and carried with dirges to a grave2 but 
a glass of brandy is substituted for him
 at the last moment4 ,here the spirit is
 the equivalent of a god4 ,in other     
cases the man is actually covered with  
straw1 and so lightly buried4 ,in ,italy
 and ,spain1 a similar custom bore the  
name of 8,sawing the ,old ,woman40 ,in  
,palermo1 a real old woman was drawn    
through the streets on a cart1 and made 
to mount a scaffold1 where two mock     
executioners proceeded to saw through a 
bladder of blood which had been fitted  
to her neck4 ,the blood gushed out1 and 
the old woman pretended to swoon and    
die4 ,this is obviously a mitigation of 
a human sacrifice4 ,at ,florence1 an    
effigy stuffed with walnuts and dried   
figs represented the ,old ,woman4 ,at   

mid-,lent1 this figure was sawn through 
the middle in the ,mercato ,nuovo1 and  
when the dried fruits tumbled out they  
were scrambled for by the crowd1 as     
savages scrambled for fragments of the  
human victim or his animal              
representative4 ,upon all this subject a
 mass of material has been collected by 
,mannhardt and ,mr4 ,frazer4 ,perhaps   
the most interesting case of all is the 
,russian ceremony of the ,funeral of    
,yarilo4 ,in this instance1 the people  
chose an old man and gave him a small   
coffin containing a figure representing 
,yarilo4 ,this he carried out of the    
town1 followed by women chanting dirges1
 as the ,syrian women mourned for       
,adonis1 and the ,egyptians for ,osiris4
 ,in the open fields a grave was dug1   
and into it the figure was lowered amid 
weeping and wailing4  ,myth and         
folk-lore also retain many traces of the
 primitive connexion4 ,thus1 in the     
genuine ,american legend of ,hiawatha1  
the hero wrestles with and vanquishes   

,mon-damin1 and where he buries him     
springs up for the first time the maize1
 or ,indian-corn plant4 ,similar        
episodes occur #bie;in the ,finnish     
,kalevala and other barbaric epics4     
,according to ,mr4 ,chalmers1 the ,motu 
tribe in ,new ,guinea say that yams     
sprang first from the bones of a        
murdered man1 which were buried in a    
grave4 ,after some time1 the grave was  
opened1 and the bones were found to be  
no longer bones1 but large and small    
yams of different colours4  ,in order to
 complete our preliminary survey of     
these artificial gods of cultivation1   
before we proceed to the consideration  
of the great corn-gods and wine-gods1 it
 may be well to premise that in theory  
at least the original victim seems to   
have been a king or chief1 himself      
divine1 or else at least a king's son or
 daughter1 one of the divine stock1 in  
whose veins flowed the blood of the     
earlier deities4 ,later on1 it would    
seem1 the temporary king was often      

allowed to do duty for the real king2   
and for this purpose he seems frequently
 to have been clad in royal robes1 and  
treated with divine and royal honours4  
,examples of this complication will crop
 up in the sequel4 ,for the present ,i  
will only refer to the interesting set  
of survivals1 collected by ,mr4 ,gomme1 
where temporary kings or mayors in      
,england are annually elected1          
apparently for the sake of being        
sacrificed only4 ,in many of these cases
 we get mere fragmentary portions of the
 original rite2 but by piecing them all 
together1 we obtain on the whole a      
tolerably complete picture of the       
original ceremonial observance4 ,at ,st4
 ,germans in ,cornwall1 the mock mayor  
was chosen under the large walnut-tree  
at the ,may-fair2 he was made drunk     
overnight1 in order to fit him for      
office1 and was in that state drawn     
round the nut-tree1 much as we saw the  
mayor of ,bovey rode round the ,bovey   
stone on his accession to the mayoralty4

 ,the mayor of ,st4 ,germans also       
displayed his royal character by being  
mounted on the wain or cart of old      
,teutonic and ,celtic sovereignty4 ,at  
,lostwithiel1 the mock mayor was dressed
 with a crown on his head1 and a sceptre
 in his hand1 and had a sword borne     
before him4 ,at ,penrhyn1 the mayor was 
preceded by torch-bearers and town      
sergeants1 and though he was not        
#bif;actually burnt1 either in play or  
in effigy1 bonfires were lighted1 and   
fireworks discharged1 which connect the 
ceremony with such pyre-sacrifices of   
cremationists as the festival of the    
,tyrian ,melcarth and the ,baal of      
,tarsus4 ,on ,halgaver ,moor1 near      
,bodmin1 a stranger was arrested1       
solemnly tried in sport1 and then       
trained in the mire or otherwise        
ill-treated4 ,at ,polperro1 the mayor   
was gen-rally 8some half-witted or      
drunken fellow1rdquo2 in either case1   
according to early ideas1 divine2 he was
 treated with ale1 and1 8having         

completed the perambulation of the      
town10 was wheeled by his attendants    
into the sea4 ,there1 he was allowed to 
scramble out again1 as the mock victim  
does in many ,european ceremonies2 but  
originally1 ,i do not doubt1 he was     
drowned as a rain-charm4  ,these        
ceremonies1 at the time when our        
authorities learnt of them1 had all     
degenerated to the level of mere        
childish pastimes2 but they contain in  
them1 none the less1 persistent elements
 of most tragic significance1 and they  
point back to hideous and sanguinary    
god-making festivals4 ,in most of them  
we see still preserved the choice of the
 willing or unconscious victim2 the     
preference for a stranger1 a fool1 or an
 idiot2 the habit of intoxicating the   
chosen person2 the treatment of the     
victim as king1 mayor1 or governor2 his 
scourging or mocking2 his final death2  
and his burning on a pyre1 or his       
drowning as a rain-charm4 ,all these    
points are still more clearly noticeable

 in the other form of survival where the
 king or divine victim is represented1  
not by a mock or temporary king1 but by 
an image or effigy4 ,such is the common 
case of ,king ,carnival1 who is at last 
burnt in all his regalia1 or thrown into
 a river4 ,our own ,guy ,fawkes1 though 
fastened upon the personality of a      
particular unpopular historical         
character1 seems to be the last feeble  
,english representative of such a human 
victim4 ,i will not elaborate this point
 any further 7considerations of space   
forbid71 but will refer the reader for  
additional examples to ,mr4 ,gomme's    
#big,village ,community1 and ,mr4       
,frazer's wonderful collection of       
examples in ,the ,golden ,bough4  ,the  
general conclusion ,i would incline to  
draw from all these instances is briefly
 this4 ,cultivation probably began with 
the accidental sowing of grains upon the
 tumuli of the dead4 ,gradually it was  
found that by extending the dug or      
tilled area and sowing it all over1 a   

crop would grow upon it1 provided always
 a corpse was buried in the centre4 ,in 
process of time divine corpses were     
annually provided for the purpose1 and  
buried with great ceremony in each      
field4 ,by-and-bye it was found         
sufficient to offer up a single victim  
for a whole tribe or village1 and to    
divide his body piecemeal among the     
fields of the community4 ,but the crops 
that grew in such fields were still     
regarded as the direct gifts of the dead
 and deified victims1 whose soul was    
supposed to animate and fertilize them4 
,as cultivation spread1 men became      
familiarised at last with the conception
 of the seed and the ploughing as the   
really essential elements in the        
process2 but they still continued to    
attach to the victim a religious        
importance1 and to believe in the       
necessity of his presence for good luck 
in the harvest4 ,with the gradual       
mitigation of savagery an animal        
sacrifice was often substituted for a   

human one2 but the fragments of the     
animal were still distributed through   
the fields with a mimic or symbolical   
burial1 just as the fragments of the    
man-god had formerly been distributed4  
,finally1 under the influence of        
,christianity and other civilised       
religions1 an effigy was substituted for
 a human victim1 though an animal       
sacrifice was often retained side by    
side with it1 and a real human being was
 playfully killed in pantomime4  ,in    
early stages1 however1 ,i note that the 
field or garden sometimes retains the   
form of a tumulus4 ,thus ,mr4 ,turner1  
the ,samoan missionary1 writes of the   
people of ,tana1 in the ,new ,hebrides3 
8,they bestow a great deal of labour on 
their yam plantations1 and keep them in 
fine order4 ,you look over a reed       
#bih;fence1 and there you see ten or    
twenty mounds of earth1 some of them    
seven feet high and sixty in            
circumference4 ,these are heaps of loose
 earth without a single stone1 all      

thrown up by the hand4 ,in the centre   
they plant one of the largest yams      
whole1 and round the sides some smaller 
ones40  ,this looks very much like a    
tumulus in its temenos4 ,i should       
greatly like to know whether a victim is
 buried in it4  ,i may add that the idea
 of the crop being a gift from the      
deified ancestor or the divine-human    
victim is kept up in the common habit of
 offering the first-fruits to the dead1 
or to the gods1 or to the living chief1 
their representative and descendant4 ,of
 the equivalence of these three         
ceremonies1 ,i have given some evidence 
in my essay on ,tree-,worship appended  
to my translation of the ,attis of      
,catullus4 ,for example1 ,mr4 ,turner   
says of these same ,tanese in the ,new  
,hebrides3  8,the spirits of their      
departed ancestors were among their     
gods4 ,chiefs who reached an advanced   
age were1 after death1 deified1         
addressed by name1 and prayed to on     
various occasions4 ,they were supposed  

especially to preside over the growth of
 the yams and the different fruit-trees4
 ,the first-fruits were presented to    
them1 and in doing this they laid a     
little of the fruit on some stone or    
shelving branch of the tree1 or some    
more temporary altar441 in the form of a
 table4444 ,all being quiet1 the chief  
acted as high priest and prayed aloud   
thus3 #8,compassionate father1 here is  
some food for you2 eat it2 be kind to us
 on account of it4rsquo2 ,and instead of
 an ,amen1 all united in a loud shout40 
,similar evidence is abundant elsewhere4
 ,i summarise a little of it4 ,every    
year the ,kochs of ,assam1 when they    
gather their first-fruits1 offer some to
 their ancestors1 calling them even by  
name1 and clapping their hands to summon
 them4 ,the people of ,kobi and         
,sariputi1 two villages in ,ceram1      
8offer the first-fruits of the paddy in 
the form of cooked rice to their        
ancestors as a token of gratitude40     
#bii,the ceremony is called 8,feeding   

the ,dead40 ,in the ,tenimber and       
,timorlaut ,islands1 the first-fruits of
 the paddy are offered to the spirits of
 the ancestors1 who are worshipped as   
guardian gods or household lares4 ,the  
people of ,luzon worship chiefly the    
souls of their ancestors1 and offer to  
them the first-fruits of the harvest4   
,in ,fiji the earliest of the yams are  
presented to the ancestral ghosts in the
 sacred stone enclosure2 and no man may 
taste of the new crop till after this   
presentation4  ,in other cases it is    
gods rather than ghosts to whom the     
offering is made1 though among savages  
the distinction is for the most part an 
elusive one4 ,but in not a few instances
 the first-fruits are offered1 not to   
spirits or gods at all1 but to the      
divine king himself1 who is the living  
representative and earthly counterpart  
of his deified ancestors4 ,thus in      
,ashantee a harvest festival is held in 
,september1 when the yams are ripe4     
,during the festival the king eats the  

new yams1 but none of the people may eat
 them till the close of the festival1   
which lasts a fortnight4 ,the ,hovas1 of
 ,madagascar1 present the first sheaves 
of the new grain to the sovereign4 ,the 
sheaves are carried in procession to the
 palace from time to time as the grain  
ripens4 ,so1 in ,burmah1 when the       
pangati fruits ripen1 some of them used 
to be taken to the king's palace that he
 might eat of them2 no one might partake
 of them before the king4 ,in short1    
what is offered in one place to the     
living chief is offered in another place
 to his dead predecessor1 and is offered
 in a third place to the great deity who
 has grown slowly out of them4 ,the god 
is the dead king2 the king1 as in       
ancient ,egypt1 is the living god1 and  
the descendant of gods1 his deified     
ancestors4 ,indeed1 the first-fruits    
seem sometimes to be offered to the     
human victim himself1 in his deified    
capacity1 and sometimes to the ,adonis1 
or ,osiris1 who is his crystallised     

embodiment4 ,our own harvest festival   
seems to preserve the offering in a     
,christianised form4  ,finally1 ,i will 
add that in many cases it looks as      
though the #cjj;divine                  
agriculture-victim were regarded as the 
king in person1 the embodiment of the   
village or tribal god1 and were offered 
up1 himself to himself1 at the stone    
which forms the monument and altar of   
the primitive deity4 ,of this idea we   
shall see examples when we go on to     
examine the great corn-gods and         
wine-gods of the ,mediterranean region4 
,,chapter ,,xiv4--,,corn- ,,and         
,,wine-,,gods4  ,,in #cja;advanced      
communities1 the agricultural gods with 
whom we dealt in the last chapter come  
to acquire specific class-names1 such as
 ,attis and ,adonis2 are specialised as 
corn-gods1 wine-gods1 gods of the       
date-palm1 or gods of the harvest2 and  
rise to great distinction in the various
 religions4  ,i propose to examine at   
some length the more important of these 

in the ,mediterranean civilisations1    
where ,christianity was first evolved4  
,and ,i begin with ,dionysus4  ,one of  
the notable features of the ,potraj     
festival of southern ,india1 which ,sir 
,walter ,elliot has minutely described  
for us1 and of which ,i gave a brief    
abstract in the previous chapter1 is its
 orgiastic character4 ,as type of the   
orgiastic god-making ceremonies1 with   
their five-day festival1 it well        
deserves some fuller description4 ,the  
feast takes place near the temple of the
 village goddess1 who is worshipped in  
the form of an unshapely stone1 stained 
red with vermillion1 the probable       
representative of the first human       
foundation-victim4 ,an altar was erected
 behind this temple to the god who bears
 the name of ,potraj4 ,he is a deity of 
cultivation4 ,the festival itself was   
under the charge of the ,pariahs1 or    
aboriginal outcasts2 it was attended by 
all the lowest classes1 including the   
dancing girls of the temple and the     

shepherds or other 8non-,aryan0 castes4 
,during the festival1 these people took 
temporarily the first place in the      
village2 they appeared to #cjb;form the 
court of the temporary king1 and to     
represent the early local worship1 whose
 gods the conquering races are afraid of
 offending4 ,for since the dead of the  
conquered race are in possession of the 
soil1 immigrant conquerors everywhere   
have a superstitious dread of incurring 
their displeasure4 ,on the first day of 
the orgy1 the low-caste people chose one
 of themselves as priest or ,potraj4    
,on the second day of the feast1 the    
sacred buffalo1 already described as    
having the character of a theanthropic  
victim1 was thrown down before the      
goddess2 its head was struck off at a   
single blow1 and was placed in front of 
the shrine1 with one leg in its mouth4  
,the carcase1 as we saw already1 was    
then cut up1 and delivered to the       
cultivators to bury in their fields4    
,the blood and offal were afterwards    

collected into a large basket2 and the  
officiating priest1 a low-caste man1 who
 bore 7like the god7 the name of        
,potraj1 taking a live kid1 hewed it in 
pieces over the mess4 ,the basket was   
then placed on the head of a naked man1 
of the leather-dresser class1 who ran   
with it round the circuit of the village
 boundaries1 scattering the fragments   
right and left as he went4 ,the ,potraj 
was armed with a sacred whip1 like      
,osiris2 and this whip was itself the   
object of profound veneration4  ,on the 
third and fourth days1 many buffaloes   
and sheep were slaughtered2 and on the  
fourth day1 women walked naked to the   
temple1 clad in boughs of trees alone2 a
 common religious exercise of which ,i  
have only space here to suggest that    
,st4 ,elizabeth of ,hungary and the     
,godiva procession at ,coventry are     
surviving relics4 7,these relations have
 well been elucidated by ,mr4 ,sidney   
,hartland47  ,on the fifth and last day1
 the whole community marched with music 

to the village temple1 and offered a    
concluding sacrifice at the ,potraj     
altar4 ,a lamb was concealed close by4  
,the ,potraj1 having found it after a   
pretended search1 rendered it insensible
 by a blow of his whip1 or by mesmeric  
passes--a survival of the idea of the   
voluntary victim4 ,then the assistants  
tied the ,potraj's hands behind his     
#cjc;back1 and the whole party began to 
dance round him with orgiastic joy4     
,potraj joined in the excitement1 and   
soon came under the present influence of
 the deity4 ,he was led up1 bound1 to   
the place where the lamb lay motionless4
 ,carried away with divine frenzy1 he   
rushed at it1 seized it with his teeth1 
tore through the skin1 and eat into its 
throat4 ,when it was quite dead1 he was 
lifted up2 a dishful of the             
meat-offering was presented to him2 he  
thrust his blood-stained face into it1  
and it was then buried with the remains 
of the lamb beside the altar4 ,after    
that1 his arms were untied1 and he fled 

the place4 ,i may add that as a rule the
 slaughterer of the god everywhere has  
to fly from the vengeance of his        
worshippers1 who1 after participating in
 the attack1 pretend indignation as soon
 as the sacrifice is completed4  ,the   
rest of the party now adjourned to the  
front of the temple1 where a heap of    
grain deposited on the first day was    
divided among all the cultivators1 to be
 sown by each one in the field with his 
piece of flesh4 ,after this1 a          
distribution was made of the piled-up   
heads of the buffaloes and sheep        
slaughtered on the third and fourth     
days4 ,these were evidently considered  
as sacred as divine heads generally in  
all countries and ages4 ,about forty of 
the sheeps' heads were divided among    
certain privileged persons2 for the     
remainder1 a general scramble took      
place1 men of all castes soon rolling   
together on the ground in a mess of     
putrid gore4 ,for the buffaloes' heads1 
only the ,pariahs contended4 ,whoever   

was fortunate enough to secure one of   
either kind carried it off and buried it
 in his field4 ,of the special          
importance of the head in all such      
sacrifices1 ,mr4 ,gomme has collected   
many apposite examples4  ,the           
proceedings were terminated by a        
procession round the boundaries2 the    
burial of the head of the sacred buffalo
 close to the shrine of the village     
goddess2 and the outbreak of a perfect  
orgy1 a 8rule of misrule10 during which 
the chief musician indulged in unbridled
 abuse of all the authorities1 native or
 ,british4  ,i #cjd;have given at such  
length an account of this singular      
festival1 partly because it sheds light 
upon much that has gone before1 but     
partly also because it helps to explain 
many elements in the worship of the     
great corn- and wine-gods4 ,one point of
 cardinal importance to be noticed here 
is that the officiating priest1 who was 
at one time also both god and victim1 is
 called ,potraj like the deity whom he  

represents4 ,so1 too1 in ,phrygia the   
combined ,attis-victim and ,attis-priest
 bore the name of ,attis2 and so in     
,egypt the annual ,osiris-offering bore 
the name of ,osiris1 whom he            
represented4  ,if ,i am right1          
therefore1 in the analogy of the two    
feasts ,dionysus was in his origin a    
corn-god1 and later a vine-god1 annually
 slain and buried in order that his     
blood might fertilise the field or the  
vineyard4 ,in the ,homeric period1 he   
was still a general god of cultivation3 
only later did he become distinctively  
the grape-god and wine-deity4 ,there was
 originally1 ,i believe1 a ,dionysus in 
every village2 and this divine victim   
was annually offered1 himself to        
himself1 with orgiastic rites like those
 of ,potraj4 ,mr4 ,laurence ,gomme has  
already in part pointed out this        
equation of the ,hellenic and the       
,indian custom4 ,the earliest form of   
,dionysus-worship1 on this hypothesis1  
would be the one which survived in      

,chios and ,tenedos1 where a living     
human being was orgiastically torn to   
pieces at the feast of ,dionysus4 ,at   
,orchomenus1 the human victim was by    
custom a woman of the family of the     
,olei 7so that there were women         
,dionysi73 at the annual festival1 the  
priest of ,dionysus pursued these women 
with a drawn sword1 and if he caught    
one1 he had the right to slay her4      
7,this is the sacred-chance victim47 ,in
 other places1 the ceremony had been    
altered in historical times2 thus at    
,potnice1 in ,boeotia1 it was once the  
custom to slay a child as ,dionysus2 but
 later on1 a goat1 which was identified 
with the god1 was substituted for the   
original human victim4 ,the equivalence 
of the animal victim with the human god 
is shown by the fact that at ,tenedos   
the newborn #cje;calf sacrificed to     
,dionysus--or as ,dionysus--was shod in 
buskins1 while the mother cow was tended
 like a woman in childbed4  ,elsewhere  
we find other orgiastic rites still more

 closely resembling the ,indian pattern4
 ,among the ,cretans1 a ,dionysus was   
sacrificed biennially under the form of 
a bull2 and the worshippers tore the    
living animal to pieces wildly with     
their teeth4 ,indeed1 says ,mr4 ,frazer1
 the rending and devouring of live bulls
 and calves seems to have been a regular
 feature of the ,dionysiac rites4 ,in   
some cities1 again1 the animal that took
 the place of the human victim was a    
kid4 ,when the followers of ,dionysus   
tore in pieces a live goat and drank its
 blood1 they believed they were         
devouring the actual body and blood of  
the god4 ,this eating and drinking the  
god is an important point1 which will   
detain us again at a later stage of our 
enquiry4  ,i do not desire to dwell too 
long upon any one deity1 or rather class
 of deities2 therefore ,i will say      
briefly here that when ,dionysus became 
the annual or biennial vine-god victim1 
it was inevitable that his worshippers  
should have seen his resurrection and   

embodiment in the vine1 and should have 
regarded the wine it yielded as the     
blood of the god4 ,in this case1 the    
identification was particularly natural1
 for could not every worshipper feel the
 god in the wine8 and did not the divine
 spirit within it inspire and intoxicate
 him8 ,to be 8full of the god0 was the  
natural expression for the resulting    
exhilaration2 the cult of the           
wine-spirit is thus one of those which  
stands on the surest and most intimate  
personal basis4  ,the death and         
resurrection of ,dionysus are           
accordingly a physical reality4 ,the god
 is annually killed in the flesh1 as    
man1 bull1 or goat2 and he rises again  
in the vine1 to give his blood once more
 for the good of his votaries4          
,moreover1 he may be used as a          
fertiliser for many other trees2 and so 
we find ,dionysus has many functions4   
,he is variously adored as ,dionysus of 
the tree1 and more particularly #cjfof  
the fruit-bearing fig and apple4 ,his   

image1 like those of other tree-gods    
already encountered1 was often an       
upright post1 without arms1 but draped  
7like the ashera7 in a mantle1 and with 
a bearded mask to represent the head1   
while green boughs projecting from it   
marked his vegetable character4 ,he was 
the patron of cultivated trees2 prayers 
were offered to him to make trees grow2 
he was honoured by fruit-growers1 who   
set up an image of him1 in the shape of 
a natural tree-stump1 in the midst of   
their orchards4 7,compare that last     
degraded and utilitarian relic1 the     
modern scarecrow47 ,for other equally   
interesting facts1 ,i would refer the   
reader once more to ,mr4 ,frazer1 whose 
rich store ,i must not further rifle4   
,it seems to me obvious from his        
collection of facts that there was      
originally everywhere a separate local  
,dionysus1 an annual man-god or         
woman-god victim 7for which a beast was 
later substituted71 and that only slowly
 did the worship of the individual      

,dionysi pass into the general worship  
of one great idealised god ,dionysus4   
,the great gods are at first classes1   
not individuals4  ,mr4 ,gomme has       
further pointed out three interesting   
points of resemblance between the       
,dionysiac rites and the ,indian ,potraj
 festival4 ,in the first place1         
,dionysus is sometimes represented to   
his worshippers by his head only--no    
doubt a preserved oracular head2 and in 
any case a parallel to the importance of
 the head in the ,indian ceremony4 ,in  
the second place1 the sacrificer of the 
calf at ,tenedos was driven out and     
stoned after the fulfilment of the      
rite--a counterpart of the ,potraj      
fleeing from the place after the        
slaughter of the lamb4 ,and in the third
 place1 the women worshippers of        
,dionysus attended the rites nude1      
crowned with garlands1 and daubed over  
with dirt--a counterpart of the naked   
female votaries surrounded with branches
 of trees in the ,indian festival4 ,all 

three of these points recur abundantly  
in similar ceremonies elsewhere4  ,as a 
rule1 ,i severely disregard mere myths1 
as darkeners of #cjg;counsel1 confining 
my attention to the purely religious and
 practical elements of custom and       
worship4 ,but it is worth while noting  
here for its illustrative value the     
,cretan ,dionysus-myth1 preserved for us
 in a ,romanised form by ,firmicus      
,maternus4 ,dionysus is there           
represented as the son of ,zeus1 a      
,cretan king2 and this legend1 dismissed
 cavalierly by ,mr4 ,frazer as          
8,euhemeristic10 at least encloses the  
old idea that the ,dionysus-victim was  
at first himself a divine god-king1     
connected by blood with the supreme god 
or founder of the community4 ,hera1 the 
wife of ,zeus1 was jealous of the child1
 and lured him into an ambush1 where he 
was set upon by her satellites the      
,titans1 who cut him limb from limb1    
boiled his body with various herbs1 and 
ate it4 ,other forms of the myth tell us

 how his mother ,demeter pieced together
 his mangled remains1 and made him young
 again4 ,more often1 however1 ,dionysus 
is the son of ,semele1 and various other
 versions are given of the mode of his  
resurrection4 ,it is enough for our     
purpose that in all of them the         
wine-god1 after having been slain and   
torn limb from limb1 rises again from   
the dead1 and often ascends to his      
father ,zeus in heaven4 ,the            
resurrection1 visibly enacted1 formed in
 many places a part of the rite2 though 
,i cannot agree with ,mr4 ,frazer's     
apparent and 7for him7 unusual          
suggestion that the rite grew out of the
 myth2 ,i hold the exact opposite to    
have been the order of evolution4  ,on  
the whole1 then1 though ,i do not deny  
that the later ,greeks envisaged        
,dionysus as a single supreme god of    
vegetation1 nor that many abstract ideas
 were finally fathered upon the         
worship--especially those which         
identified the death and resurrection of

 the god with the annual winter sleep   
and spring revival--,i maintain that in 
his origin the ,dionysus was nothing    
more than the annual corn-victim1       
afterwards extended into the tree and   
vine victim1 from whose grave sprang the
 pomegranate1 that blood-red fruit1 and 
whose life-juice was expressed as the   
god-giving wine4 ,at first a yearly     
human victim1 he was afterwards         
personated #cjh;by a goat or a bull2 and
 was therefore represented in art as a  
bull1 or a bull-horned man4 ,gradually  
identified with vegetation in general1  
he was regarded at last as the ,flowery 
,dionysus1 the ,fig ,dionysus1 or even1 
like ,attis1 the god of the pine-tree4  
,but all these1 ,i believe1 were later  
syncretic additions2 and ,i consider    
that in such primitive forms as the     
orgiastic crop-god of the ,indian       
corn-festival we get the prime original 
of the ,hellenic vine-deity4  ,i pass on
 to ,osiris1 in his secondary or        
acquired character as corn-god4  ,i have

 already expressed the belief1 in which 
,i am backed up by ,mr4 ,loftie1 that   
the original ,osiris was a real         
historical early king of ,this by       
,abydos4 ,but in the later ,egyptian    
religion1 after mystic ideas had begun  
to be evolved1 he came to be regarded as
 the god of the dead1 and every mummy or
 every justified soul was looked upon as
 an ,osiris4 ,moreover1 it seems        
probable that in ,egypt the name of     
,osiris was also fitted to the annual   
slain corn-victim or corn-god4 ,thus all
 over ,egypt there were many duplicates 
of ,osiris2 notably at ,busiris1 where  
the name was attached to an early tomb  
like the one at ,abydos4 ,this          
identification of the new-made god with 
the historic ancestor1 the dead king1 or
 the tribal deity is quite habitual2 it 
is parallel to the identification of the
 officiating ,potraj with the ,potraj   
god1 of the ,attis-priest with ,attis1  
of the ,dionysus-victim with the son of 
,zeus3 and it will meet us hereafter in 

savage parallels4 ,let us look at the   
evidence4  ,as in ,india1 the ,osiris   
festival lasted for five days4 7,the    
period is worth noting47 ,the ceremonies
 began with ploughing the earth4 ,we do 
not know for certain that a human victim
 was immolated2 but many side-analogies 
would lead us to that conclusion1 and   
suggest that as elsewhere the sacred    
victim was torn to pieces in the        
eagerness of the cultivators and        
worshippers to obtain a fragment of his 
fertilising body4 ,for in the myth1     
,typhon cuts up the corpse of the god   
into fourteen pieces1 which he          
#cjiscatters abroad 7as the naked       
leather-dresser scatters the sacred     
buffalo73 and we know that in the       
,egyptian ceremonies one chief element  
was the search for the mangled portions 
of ,osiris1 the rejoicings at their     
discovery1 and their solemn burial4 ,on 
one of the days of the feast1 a         
procession of priests went the round of 
the temples--or beat the bounds3 and the

 festival closed with the erection of a 
pillar or stone monument to the ,osiris1
 which1 in a bas-relief1 the king       
himself is represented as assisting in  
raising4 ,i think it is impossible to   
overlook the general resemblance of     
these rites to the rites of ,potraj4  ,i
 ought to add1 though ,i cannot go into 
that matter fully here1 that the many   
allusions to the flinging of the coffer 
containing the ,osiris into the ,nile   
are clear indications of the rain-charm 
obtained by throwing the human victim   
into a spring or river4 ,in this case1  
however1 it must of course be regarded  
locally as a charm to make the ,nile    
rise in due season4  ,the character of  
the later ,osiris1 or the god-victim    
identified with him1 as a corn and      
vegetable god1 is amply borne out by    
several other pieces of evidence4       
,osiris1 it is said1 was the first to   
teach men the use of corn4 ,he also     
introduced the cultivation of the vine4 
,mr4 ,frazer notes that in one of the   

chambers dedicated to ,osiris in the    
great temple of ,isis at ,phil1 the dead
 body of ,osiris is represented with    
stalks of corn springing from it1 and a 
priest is watering the stalks from a    
pitcher which he holds in his hand4     
,that human corn-victims were at least  
not unknown in ,egypt we have on the    
direct authority of ,manetho1 who tells 
us that red-haired men used to be       
burned1 and their ashes scattered with  
winnowing fans4 7,similar cases         
elsewhere have been previously          
mentioned47 ,so1 too1 the legend tells  
us that ,isis placed the severed limbs  
of ,osiris on a corn-sieve4 ,red-haired 
oxen were also sacrificed in ,egypt1    
apparently in order to produce red      
wheat4 ,this is the analogue of the bull
 sacrificed as ,dionysus4  ,again1      
#caj;in the legend of ,busiris1 and the 
glosses or comments upon it1 we get     
important evidence1 the value of which  
has not fully been noted1 ,i believe1 by
 ,mr4 ,frazer4 ,the story comes to us in

 a ,greek form2 but we can see through  
it that it represents the myth which    
accounted for the ,osiris sacrifice4    
,the name ,busiris means the city of    
,osiris1 which was so called because the
 grave of an ancient ,osiris 7either a  
mummy1 or a local chief identified with 
the great god of ,abydos7 was situated  
there4 ,human sacrifices were said to   
have been offered at his tomb2 just as  
the ,potraj sacrifice is offered at the 
shrine of the village goddess1 and just 
as the annual victim elsewhere was      
sacrificed at the ,terminus stone or the
 sacred stone of the foundation-god or  
goddess4 ,the victims were redhaired    
men1 and strangers4 ,their ashes were   
scattered abroad with winnowing fans4   
,they were slain on the harvest-field1  
and mourned by the reapers 7like ,adonis
 and ,attis7 in the song which through a
 ,greek mistake is known to us as the   
,maneros4 ,the reapers prayed at the    
same time that ,osiris might revive and 
return with renewed vigour in the       

following year4 ,the most interesting   
point in this account1 pieced together  
from ,apollodorus1 ,diodorus1 and       
,plutarch1 is the fact that it shows us 
how the annual ,osiris was identified   
with the old divine king who lay in his 
grave hard by2 and so brings the case   
into line with others we have already   
considered and must still consider4 ,as 
for the hunting after the pieces of     
,osiris's body1 that is just like the   
hunting after the mangled pieces of     
,dionysus by ,demeter4 ,i interpret both
 the resurrection of ,osiris1 and the   
story of the fragments being pieced     
together and growing young again1 told  
of ,dionysus1 as meaning that the       
scattered pieces1 buried like those of  
the ,khond ,meriah1 grow up again next  
year into the living corn for the       
harvest4  ,furthermore1 there exists to 
this day in ,egypt an apparent survival 
of the ancient ,osiris rite1 in an      
attenuated form 7like the mock mayors in
 ,england71 which distinctly suggests   

#caathe identification ,i am here       
attempting4 ,in ,upper ,egypt1          
,klunzinger tells us1 on the first day  
of the 7,egyptian7 solar year1 when the 
,nile has usually reached its highest   
point1 the regular government is        
suspended for three days in each        
district1 and every town chooses its own
 temporary ruler4 ,this temporary king  
7a local ,osiris1 as ,i believe7 wears a
 conical cap1 and a long flaxen beard1  
and is enveloped in a strange mantle4 ,i
 say unhesitatingly1 the dress of an    
,osiris1 wearing the old royal cap of   
,upper ,egypt4 ,with a wand of office in
 his hands--like the crook which ,osiris
 carries on the monuments--and attended 
by men disguised as scribes1            
executioners1 and so forth1 he proceeds 
to the governor's house4 ,the governor  
allows himself to be deposed2 the mock  
king1 mounting the throne1 holds a      
tribunal1 to whose decisions even the   
governor himself must bow4 ,in short1   
like other temporary kings1 he really   

enjoys royal authority for the moment4  
,after three days1 however1 the mock    
king is condemned to death2 the envelope
 or shell in which he is encased is     
committed to the flames2 and from its   
ashes creeps forth the ,fellah who      
impersonated him4 ,i do not doubt that  
the case here represents the antique    
coffer or mummy-case of ,osiris4  ,in   
this graphic ceremonial1 then1 ,i see a 
survival1 with the customary            
mitigations1 of the annual ,osiris      
sacrifice1 once actually performed on a 
human victim4 ,i do not doubt that in   
,egypt as elsewhere a mock king was     
formerly chosen in place of the real    
king to personate the descendant of     
,osiris1 an ,osiris himself2 and that   
this substitute was put to death1 and   
torn to pieces or burnt1 while his ashes
 were winnowed and scattered over the   
land4 ,it may also be worth while to    
enquire whether the scourge which       
,osiris holds in the bas-reliefs is not 
the equivalent of the divine whip of the

 ,potraj1 and the other whips which ,mr4
 ,gomme has so ingeniously correlated   
with that very venerable and mystic     
attribute4  ,i would suggest1 then1 that
 ,osiris in his later embodiment #cabwas
 annually renewed as a corn and vine    
victim4 ,originally a king of ,upper    
,egypt1 or part of it1 he was envisaged 
in later myth as a general culture-god4 
,isis1 his sister and wife1 discovered  
wheat and barley growing wild2 and      
,osiris introduced these grains among   
his people1 who thereupon abandoned     
cannibalism1 and took to grain-growing4 
,an annual victim1 most often a         
stranger1 identified with the racial    
god1 was torn to pieces in his place2   
and ,osiris himself was finally merged  
with the abstract spirit of vegetation1 
and supposed to be the parent of all    
trees4 ,just as the ,corinthians1 when  
ordered by an oracle to worship a       
certain pine tree 8equally with the     
god10 cut it down and made two images of
 ,dionysus out of it1 with gilt bodies  

and red-stained faces2 so the ,egyptians
 cut down a pine-tree1 took out the     
heart1 made an image of ,osiris1 and    
then buried it in the hollow of the tree
 from which it had been taken4 ,similar 
rites obtained in ,attis-worship and all
 alike bear witness to that late and    
abstract stage of thought where the     
primitive cultivation-victim has been   
sublimated and elevated into a          
generalised god of vegetation in the    
abstract4 ,but this1 which for ,mr4     
,frazer is the starting-point1 is for me
 the goal of the evolution of ,osiris4  
,let us next look very briefly at the   
case of ,adonis4  ,the ,adon or ,lord   
commonly known as ,thammuz was one of   
the chief elements in ,syrian religion4 
,he was closely connected with the      
namesake river ,adonis1 which rose by   
his grave at the sacred spring of       
,aphaca4 ,we do not actually know1 ,i   
believe1 of a human ,adonis-victim2 but 
his death was annually lamented with a  
bitter wailing1 chiefly by women4       

,images of him were dressed like        
corpses1 and carried out as if for      
burial1 and then thrown into the sea or 
into springs4 ,this was evidently a rain
 charm1 such as is particularly natural 
in a dry country like ,syria4 ,and ,i   
will add incidentally that ,i attribute 
to similar circumstances also some      
portion at least of the sanctity of     
rivers4 ,in certain places1 the         
resurrection of the ,adonis was         
#cac;celebrated on the succeeding day4  
,at ,byblos1 he also ascended into      
heaven before the eyes of his           
worshippers--a point worth notice from  
its ,christian analogies4 ,the blood-red
 hue of the river ,adonis in            
spring--really due to the discoloration 
of the tributary torrents by red earth  
from the mountains--was set down to the 
blood of the god ,adonis2 the scarlet   
anemone sprang from his wounds4 ,but the
 scholiast on ,theocritus expressly     
explains the ,adonis as 8the sown corn20
 and that he was 8seed10 like the common

 corn-victims in ,india and elsewhere1  
we can hardly doubt from the repeated   
stories of his death and resurrection4  
,the so-called 8gardens of ,adonis10    
which were mimic representations of a   
tumulus planted with corn1 formed a most
 noticeable part of the god's ritual4   
,they consisted of baskets or pots1     
filled with earth1 in which wheat1      
barley1 flowers1 and so forth were sown 
and tended by women2 and at the end of  
eight days they were carried out with   
the images of the dead ,adonis1 and     
flung into the sea or into springs4     
,this was no doubt another case of a    
rain-charm4 ,mr4 ,frazer has collected  
several interesting examples of similar 
rites the whole world over4  ,a few     
other embodiments of the corn-god may be
 more hastily treated4  ,what ,adonis   
was to ,syria1 ,attis was to ,phrygia4  
,originally he seems1 according to      
,professor ,ramsay1 to have been        
represented by an annual priest-victim1 
who slew himself for the people to      

ensure fertility4 ,this priest-victim   
himself bore the name of ,attis1 and was
 identified with the god whose worship  
he performed4 ,in later days1 instead of
 killing himself1 he merely drew his own
 blood2 and there is reason to think    
that a pig was also substituted as      
duplicate victim1 and that this pig was 
itself regarded as an ,attis4 ,analogies
 exist with the ,paschal lamb2 while the
 self-mutilation of ,attis-worship has  
also features in common with ,jewish    
circumcision4 ,moreover1 the ceremonies 
were closely connected1 at ,pessinus at 
least1 with the ancient sacred stone    
which bore the name of ,cybele1 and     
which was #cad;described as the ,mother 
of the ,gods2 this connexion exactly    
recalls that of the ,potraj-god in      
,india with the cult of the local       
village goddess4 ,as ,i believe the     
village goddess to be the permanent form
 of the foundation human sacrifice1 ,i  
also believe ,cybele 7gross ,euhemerism 
as it may seem7 to be the sacred stone  

of the original virgin who was          
sacrificed at the first foundation of   
,pessinus4  ,when the sacred stone of   
,cybele and the cult of ,attis were     
removed to ,rome 7under circumstances to
 which ,i shall refer in a later        
chapter7 the festival consisted of a    
five days' rite1 like that of the       
,potraj4 ,it took place at the spring   
equinox1 as does our own equivalent     
festival of ,easter4 ,on the first day1 
a pine-tree was cut down in the woods1  
and the effigy of a young man was tied  
to it4 ,this effigy no doubt represented
 the primitive human sacrifice1 and its 
crucifixion answers exactly to the      
slaughter of the sacred buffalo in      
,india4 ,the second day yields nothing  
of importance2 on the third day1 the    
,attis-priest drew blood from his own   
arms and presented it as an offering2 ,i
 would conjecture that this was a       
substitute for self-immolation1 and that
 the self-immolation was originally     
performed by mutilation of the genitals4

 ,it was perhaps on this night that a   
mourning took place over the body of    
,attis1 represented by an effigy1 which 
was afterwards solemnly buried4 ,on the 
fourth day came the ,festival of ,joy1  
on which1 as ,mr4 ,frazer believes1 the 
resurrection of the god was celebrated4 
,the fifth day closed with a procession 
to the brook ,almo1 in which the sacred 
stone of the goddess and her            
bullock-cart were bathed as a           
rain-charm4 ,on the return1 the cart was
 strewn with flowers4 ,i think the close
 parallelism to the ,indian usage is    
here fairly evident4 ,indeed1 out of    
consideration for brevity1 ,i have      
suppressed several other most curious   
resemblances4  ,attis was thus          
essentially a corn-god4 ,his death and  
resurrection were annually celebrated at
 ,rome and at ,pessinus4 ,an ,attis of  
some sort died yearly4 ,the ,attis of   
,pessinus was both priest and king2 it  
was perhaps at one time #cae;his duty to
 die at the end of his yearly reign as a

 corn-god for his people4 ,one epithet  
of ,attis was 8very fruitful02 he was   
addressed as 8the reaped yellow ear of  
corn02 and when an effigy took the place
 of the annual slain priest-king1 this  
effigy itself was kept for a year1 and  
then burnt as the priest-king himself   
would have been at an earlier period4   
,it seems to me impossible to resist the
 cumulative weight of this singular     
evidence4  ,for the very curious customs
 and myths regarding ,demeter1          
,persephone1 and other female           
corn-victims1 ,i must refer the reader  
once more to ,mr4 ,frazer4 ,it is true1 
the enquirer will there find the subject
 treated from the opposite standpoint2  
he will see the goddesses regarded as   
first corn-spirits1 then animal1 finally
 human3 but after the examples ,i have  
here given of my own mode of envisaging 
the facts1 ,i think the reader will see 
for himself what corrections to make for
 ,mr4 ,frazer's animism and personal    
equation4 ,i will only say here that in 

many countries1 from ,peru to ,africa1 a
 girl or woman seems to have been       
offered up as a corn-goddess2 that this 
corn-goddess seems to have been sown    
with the seed1 and believed to come to  
life again with the corn2 and that      
several ,european harvest customs appear
 to be mitigations of the old           
ceremonial1 with the usual substitution 
of an animal or an effigy for the human 
victim4 ,regarded in this light1 ,mr4   
,frazer's collection of facts about the 
,corn ,baby affords an excellent        
groundwork for research2 but though ,i  
could say much on the subject1 ,i will  
refrain from it here1 as ,i desire only 
at present to give such an outline as   
will enable the reader to understand my 
general principles4 ,the half is often  
more than the whole2 and ,i fear if ,i  
flesh out the framework too much1 it may
 be difficult to follow the main line of
 my argument4  ,i cannot1 however1      
refrain from mentioning that the        
ceremonies of 8,carrying out ,death0 and

 8,burying the ,carnival10 which prevail
 all over ,europe1 retain many          
interesting features of the ,potraj1    
,dionysus1 and ,attis-,adonis           
#caf;festivals4 ,the figure of          
,death--that is to say1 as ,i understand
 it1 the image of the dead human god--is
 often torn to pieces1 and the fragments
 are then buried in the fields to make  
the crops grow well4 ,but the ,death is 
also drowned or burned2 in the first    
case1 like ,adonis1 in the second1 like 
the ,osiris in the modern ,egyptian     
custom4 ,and the analogies of the       
festivals to those of ,india and        
,western ,asia must strike every        
attentive reader of ,mr4 ,frazer's      
masterwork4  ,two or three typical      
instances must suffice as examples4 ,in 
,bohemia1 the children carry a straw man
 out of the village1 calling it ,death1 
and then burn it1 singing1  ,now carry  
we ,death out of the village1  ,the new 
summer into the village2  ,welcome1 dear
 summer1  ,green little corn4  ,here the

 relation of the ceremony to the        
primitive corn-sacrifice is immediately 
evident4 ,and the making of the effigy  
out of straw is significant4 ,at ,tabor 
in ,bohemia the image of ,death is flung
 from a high rock into the water1       
evidently as a rain-charm1 with a       
similar song1 praying for 8good wheat   
and rye40 7,compare the ceremony of the 
,tarpeian rock1 where the victim was at 
last a condemned criminal3 as also the  
myths of immolation by jumping into the 
sea47 ,in ,lower ,bavaria the pantomime 
was more realistic2 the ,pfingstl1 as   
the victim was called1 was clad in      
leaves and flowers1 and drenched with   
water4 ,he waded into a brook up to his 
middle1 while a boy pretended to cut off
 his head4 ,in ,saxony and ,thringen1   
the ,wild ,man1 who represents the god1 
is killed in dumb show at ,whitsuntide4 
,his captors pretend to shoot him1 and  
he falls as if dead1 but is afterwards  
revived1 as in the resurrection of      
,adonis and ,dionysus4 ,such            

resurrections form a common episode in  
the popular corn-drama4 ,i have found a 
case in ,sussex4 ,at ,semic in ,bohemia 
we have the further graphic point that  
the victim is actually described as the 
,king1 wears a crown of bark1 and       
carries a wand as a #cagsceptre1 like   
the mock ,osiris4 ,other kings are      
frequent elsewhere4 ,in the ,koniggratz 
district1 the ,king is tried1 and1 if   
condemned1 is beheaded in pantomime4    
,near ,schomberg1 the mock victim used  
to be known as the ,fool1 another       
significant name1 and was finally buried
 under straw and dung1 a conjunction of 
obvious agricultural import4 ,in        
,rottweil1 the ,fool is made drunk1 and 
interred in straw amid ,adonis-like     
lamentations4 ,elsewhere1 the ,fool1    
either in person or by a straw effigy1  
is flung into water4 ,at ,schluckenau1  
realism goes a stage further3 the ,wild 
,man wears a bladder filled with blood  
round his neck2 this the executioner    
stabs1 and the blood gushes forth on the

 ground4 ,next day1 a straw man1 made to
 look as like him as possible1 is laid  
on a bier1 and taken to a pool into     
which it is flung4 ,in all these antique
 ceremonies it is impossible not to see 
a now playful survival of the primitive 
corn-sacrifice4 ,our own ,april ,fool   
shows the last stage of degradation in  
such world-wide customs4 ,originally    
sent on a fool's errand to the place of 
sacrifice1 so that he might go          
voluntarily1 he is now merely sent in   
meaningless derision4  ,i will only add 
here that while corn-gods and wine-gods 
are the most notable members of this    
strange group of artificial deities1 the
 sacred date-palm has its importance as 
well in the religions of ,mesopotamia2  
and elsewhere the gods of the maize1 the
 plantain1 and the cocoanut rise into   
special or local prominence4rsquo2 ,so  
do the ,rice-,spirit1 the ,oats-,wife1  
the ,mother of the ,rye1 and the ,mother
 of the ,barley 7or ,demeter74 ,all seem
 to be modifications of the primitive   

victim1 sacrificed to make a spirit for 
the crop1 or to act as 8seed0 for the   
date or the plantain4     ,,chapter     
,,xv4--,,sacrifice ,,and ,,sacrament4   
,,we #cah;have now arrived at a point   
where we can more fully understand those
 curious ideas of sacrifice and         
sacrament which lie at the root of so   
much that is essential in the ,jewish1  
the ,christian1 and most other          
religions4  ,mr4 ,galton tells us that  
to the ,damaras1 when he travelled among
 them1 all meat was common property4 ,no
 one killed an ox except as a sacrifice 
and on a festal occasion2 and when the  
ox was killed1 the whole community      
feasted upon it indiscriminately4 ,this 
is but a single instance of a feeling   
almost universal among primitive        
pastoral people4 ,cattle and other      
domestic animals1 being regarded as     
sacred1 are rarely killed2 and when they
 are killed1 they are eaten at a feast  
as a social and practically religious   
rite--in short1 sacramentally4 ,i need  

not give instances of so well-known a   
principle2 ,i will content myself with  
quoting what ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith says
 of a particular race3 8,among the early
 ,semites generally1 no slaughter was   
legitimate except for sacrifice40       
,barbaric herdsmen1 indeed1 can hardly  
conceive of men to whom flesh meat is a 
daily article of diet4 ,mr4 ,galton     
found the idea very strange to his      
,damaras4 ,primitive pastoral races keep
 their domestic animals mainly for the  
sake of the milk1 or as beasts of       
burden1 or for the wool and hair2 they  
seldom kill one except for a feast1 at  
which the gods are fellow-partakers4    
,indeed1 it is probable1 as the sequel  
will suggest1 that domestic animals were
 originally kept as totems or           
ancestor-gods1 and that the habit of    
eating #caithe meat of sheep1 goats1 and
 oxen has arisen mainly out of the      
substitution of such a divine           
animal-victim for the divine            
human-victim of earlier usage4 ,our     

butchers' shops have their origin in    
mitigated sacrificial cannibalism4      
,sacrifice1 regarded merely as offering 
to the gods1 has thus1 ,i believe1 two  
distinct origins4 ,its earliest1        
simplest1 and most natural form is that 
whose development we have already       
traced1--the placing of small articles  
of food and drink at the graves of      
ancestors or kings or revered           
fellow-tribesmen4 ,that from a very     
early period men have believed the dead 
to eat and drink1 whether as corpse1 as 
mummy1 as ghost of buried friend1 or as 
ethereal spirit of cremated chieftain1  
we have already seen with sufficient    
frequency4 ,about the origin of these   
simplest and most primitive sacrifices1 
,i think1 there can be little doubt4    
,savages offer at the graves of their   
dead precisely those ordinary articles  
of food which they consumed while       
living1 without any distinction of kind2
 and they continue to offer them in the 
same nave way when the ghost has        

progressed to the status of one of the  
great gods of the community4  ,but there
 is another mode of sacrifice1          
superposed upon this1 and gradually     
tending to be more or less identified   
with it1 which yet1 if ,i am right1 had 
a quite different origin in the         
artificial production of gods about     
which ,i have written at considerable   
length in the last three chapters4 ,the 
human or animal victim1 thus slaughtered
 in order to make a new god or          
protecting spirit1 came in time to be   
assimilated in thought to the older type
 of mere honorific offerings to the dead
 gods2 and so gave rise to those mystic 
ideas of the god who is sacrificed1     
himself to himself1 of which the        
sacrament of the ,mass is the final and 
most mysterious outcome4 ,thus1 the     
foundation-gods1 originally killed in   
order to make a protecting spirit for a 
house or a tribal god for a city or     
village1 came at last to be regarded as 
victims sacrificed to the ,earth        

,goddess or to the ,earth ,demons2 and  
thus1 too1 the ,meriahs and other       
agricultural #cbjvictims1 originally    
killed in order to make a corn-god or a 
corn-spirit1 came at last to be regarded
 as sacrifices to the ,earth1 or to some
 abstract ,dionysus or ,attis or        
,adonis4 ,and since in the last case at 
least the god and the victim were still 
called by the same name and recognised  
as one1 there grew up at last in many   
lands1 and in both hemispheres1 but     
especially in the ,eastern              
,mediterranean basin1 the mystic theory 
of the sacrifice of a god1 himself to   
himself1 in atonement or expiation1     
which forms the basis of the ,christian 
,plan of ,salvation4 ,it is this        
secondary and derivative form of        
sacrifice1 ,i believe1 which is mainly  
considered in ,professor ,robertson     
,smith's elaborate and extremely        
valuable analysis4  ,i have said that   
the secondary form of sacrifice1 which  
for brevity's sake ,i shall henceforth  

designate as the mystic1 is found in    
most parts of the world and in both     
hemispheres4 ,this naturally raises the 
question whether it has a single common 
origin1 and antedates the dispersal of  
mankind through the hemispheres2 or     
whether it has been independently       
evolved several times over in many lands
 by many races4 ,for myself1 ,i have no 
cut-and-dried answer to this abstruse   
question1 nor do ,i regard it1 indeed1  
as a really important one4 ,on the one  
hand1 there are many reasons for        
supposing that certain relatively high  
traits of thought or art were common    
property among mankind before the       
dispersion from the primitive centre1 if
 a primitive centre ever existed4 ,on   
the other hand1 psychologists know well 
that the human mind acts with           
extraordinary similarity in given       
circumstances all the world over1 and   
that identical stages of evolution seem 
to have been passed through             
independently by many races1 in ,egypt  

and ,mexico1 in ,china and ,peru2 so    
that we can find nothing inherently     
improbable in the idea that even these  
complex conceptions of mystic sacrifice 
have distinct origins in remote         
countries4 ,what is certain is the fact 
that among the ,aztecs1 as among the    
,phrygians1 the priest who sacrificed1  
the victim he slew1 and the image or    
great god to #cbawhom he slew him1 were 
all identified2 the killer1 the killed1 
and the being in whose honor the killing
 took place were all one single         
indivisible deity4 ,even such details as
 that the priest clothed himself in the 
skin of the victim are common to many   
lands2 they may very well be either a   
heritage from remote ancestral humanity1
 or the separate product of the human   
mind1 working along like grooves under  
identical conditions4 ,in one word they 
may perhaps be necessary and inevitable 
corollaries from antecedent conceptions4
  ,i must further premise that no       
religion as we now know it is by any    

means primitive4 ,the most savage creeds
 we find among us have still hundreds of
 thousands of years behind them4 ,the   
oldest religions whose records have     
descended to us1 like those of ,egypt   
and of ,assyria1 are still remote by    
hundreds of thousands of years from the 
prime original4 ,cultivation itself is a
 very ancient and immemorial art4 ,few  
savages1 even among those who are       
commonly described as in the hunting    
stage1 are wholly ignorant of some      
simple form of seed-sowing and tillage4 
,the few who are now ignorant of those  
arts show some apparent signs of being  
rather degenerate than primitive        
peoples4 ,my own belief or suspicion is 
that ideas derived from the set of      
practices in connexion with agriculture 
detailed in the last two chapters have  
deeply coloured the life and thought of 
almost the whole human race1 including  
even those rudest tribes which now know 
little or nothing of agriculture4 ,but  
,i do not lay stress upon this          

half-formed conviction1 to justify which
 would lead me too far afield4 ,i shall 
be content with endeavouring to suggest 
how far they have coloured the ideas of 
the greater number of existing nations4 
,early pastoral races seldom kill a     
beast except on great occasions4 ,when  
they kill it1 they devour it in common1 
all the tribe being invited to the      
festival4 ,but they also eat it in      
fellowship with their gods2 every great 
feast is essentially a ,theoxenion1 a   
,lectisternium1 a banquet in which the  
#cbb;deities participate with mortals4  
,it is this sense of a common feast of  
gods and men which gave1 no doubt1 the  
first step towards the complex idea of  
the sacramental meal--an idea still     
further developed at a later stage by   
the addition of the concept that the    
worshipper eats and drinks the actual   
divinity4  ,my own belief is that all   
sacrificial feasts of this godeating    
character most probably originated in   
actual cannibalism2 and that later an   

animal victim was substituted for the   
human meat2 but ,i do not insist on this
 point1 nor attempt1 strictly speaking1 
to prove it4 ,it is hardly more than a  
deeply grounded suspicion4              
,nevertheless1 ,i will begin for        
convenience' sake with the cannibal     
class of sacrifice1 and will come round 
in time to the familiar slaughter of    
sheep and oxen1 which in many cases is  
known to have supplanted a human        
offering4  ,acosta's account of the     
,mexican custom is perhaps the best     
instance we now possess of the ritual of
 cannibal mystic sacrifice in its       
fullest barbarity4 8,they took a        
captive10 says that racy old author1 8at
 random2 and before sacrificing him to  
their idols1 they gave him the name of  
the idol to whom he should be           
sacrificed1 and dressed him in the same 
ornaments1 identifying him with the god4
 ,during the time that the              
identification lasted1 which was for a  
year in some feasts1 six months or less 

in others1 they reverenced and          
worshipped him in the same manner as the
 idol itself4 ,meanwhile1 he was allowed
 to eat1 drink1 and make merry4 ,when he
 went through the streets1 the people   
came forth to worship him2 and every one
 brought alms1 with children and sick   
people that he might cure them and bless
 them4 ,he did as he pleased in         
everything except that he had ten or    
twelve men about him1 to prevent him    
from escaping4 ,in order that he might  
be reverenced as he passed1 he sometimes
 sounded upon a small flute1 to tell the
 people to worship him4 ,when the feast 
arrived1 and he had grown fat1 they     
killed him1 opened him1 and making a    
solemn sacrifice1 eat him40 ,there1 in  
the words #cbcof a competent authority1 
we have the simple cannibal feast in its
 fullest nakedness4  ,i need hardly     
point out how much this account recalls 
the ,khond custom of the ,meriah4 ,the  
victim1 though not really of royal      
blood1 is made artificially into a      

divine king2 he is treated with all the 
honours of royalty and godhead1 is      
dressed like the deity with whom he is  
identified1 and is finally killed and   
eaten4 ,the last point alone differs in 
any large degree from the case of the   
,meriah4 ,we have still to enquire1     
8,why did they eat him80  ,the answer to
 this enquiry takes us into the very    
heart and core of the sacramental       
concept4  ,it is a common early belief  
that to eat of any particular animal    
gives you the qualities of that animal4 
,the ,miris of ,northern ,india prize   
tiger's flesh for men2 it gives them    
strength and courage2 but women must not
 eat it2 'twould make them 8too         
strong-minded40 ,the ,namaquas abstain  
from eating hare2 they would become     
faint-hearted if they swallowed it2 but 
they eat the meat of the lion or drink  
the blood of the leopard1 in order to   
gain their strength and courage4 ,among 
the ,dyaks1 young men and warriors must 
not eat deer2 it would render them      

cowardly2 but women and very old men are
 allowed to eat it4 ,men of the ,buro   
and ,aru ,islands feed on the flesh of  
dogs in order to be bold and nimble4    
,mr4 ,frazer has collected an immense   
number of similar instances1 which show 
both how widespread and how deep-seated 
are such beliefs4 ,even scrapings of the
 bones are sufficient to produce the    
desired result2 in ,corea1 the bones of 
tigers fetch a higher price than those  
of leopards as inspirers of courage4    
,the heart of a lion is also            
particularly good for this purpose2 and 
the tongues of birds are recommended for
 eloquence4  ,again1 on the same        
analogy1 the flesh and blood of brave   
men are eaten in order to inspire       
bravery4 ,the ,australian ,kamilaroi eat
 the heart and liver of a valiant       
warrior in order to acquire his courage4
 ,the ,philippine ,islanders drink the  
blood of their bravest enemies4 ,in the 
,shire ,highlands #cbdof ,africa1 those 
who kill a distinguished fighter eat his

 heart to get his courage4 ,du          
,chaillu's negro1 attendants1 we saw1   
scraped their ancestors' skulls1 and    
drank the powder in water4 8,our        
ancestors were brave10 said they2 8and  
by drinking their skulls1 we shall be   
brave as they were40 ,here again ,i can 
only refer the reader for numerous      
examples to ,mr4 ,frazer's inexhaustible
 storehouse4  ,the case of ,du          
,chaillu's warriors1 however1 takes us  
with one bound into the heart of the    
subject4 ,many savages for similar      
reasons actually eat their own dead     
fathers4 99 ,we learn from ,strabo that 
the ancient ,irish 8deemed it honourable
 to devour the bodies of their parents40
 ,so1 ,herodotus tells us1 did the      
,issedones of ,central ,asia4 ,the      
,massaget used 8from compassion0 to club
 and eat their aged people4 ,the custom 
was quite recently common among the     
,battas of ,sumatra1 who used           
8religiously and ceremonially to eat    
their old relations40 ,in ,australia1 it

 was usual to eat relatives who died by 
mischance4 ,of the ,cucumas we read that
 8as soon as a relation died1 these     
people assembled and eat him roasted or 
boiled1 according as he was thin or     
fat40 ,the ,tarianas and ,tucanas1 who  
drink the ashes of their relatives1     
8believe that thus the virtues of the   
deceased will be transmitted to the     
drinkers40 ,the ,arawaks think it the   
highest mark of honour they could pay to
 the dead to drink their powdered bones 
mixed in water4 ,generally speaking1 in 
a large number of cases1 the parents or 
relatives were eaten in order 8not to   
let the life go out of the family0 or to
 preserve the bodies and souls in a     
kindred body2 or to gain the courage and
 other qualities of the dead relation4  
,in short1 the dead were eaten          
sacramentally or1 as one writer even    
phrases it1 8eucharistically40 ,mr4     
,hartland has collected many striking   
instances4       99 ,since this chapter 
was written1 the subject of honorific   

cannibalism has been far more fully     
treated by ,mr4 ,sidney      ,hartland  
in the chapter on ,funeral ,rites1 in   
the second      volume of ,the ,legend  
of ,perseus4  ,how this strange custom  
originates we may guess from ,mr4       
#cbe,wyatt ,gill's description of a ,new
 ,guinea funeral4 8,the women lacerated 
their faces and beat their breasts most 
affectingly10 he says2 8and then1 in the
 madness of their grief1 pressed the    
matter out of the wounded thigh1 and    
smeared it over their faces and persons1
 and even licked it up40 ,of the ,koiari
 corpses he says3 8,a fire is kept      
burning day and night at the head and   
feet for months4 ,the entire skin is    
removed by means of the thumb and       
forefinger1 and the juices plastered all
 over the face and body of the          
operator1--parent1 husband1 or wife of  
the deceased4 ,the fire gradually       
desiccates the flesh1 so that little    
more than the skeleton is left40 ,this  
naturally leads on to eating the dead1  

which indeed is practised elsewhere in  
,new ,guinea4  ,but if men eat the      
bodies of their fathers1 who are their  
family and household gods1 they will    
also naturally eat the bodies of the    
artificial gods of cultivation1 or of   
the temporary kings who die for the     
people4 ,by eating the body of a god1   
you absorb his divinity2 he and you     
become one2 he is in you and inspires   
you4 ,this is the root-idea of          
sacramental practice2 you eat your god  
by way of complete union2 you subsume   
him in yourself2 you and he are one     
being4  ,still1 how can you eat your god
 if you also bury him as a corn-spirit  
to use him as seed8 ,the ,gonds supply  
us with the answer to that obvious      
difficulty4 ,for1 as we saw1 they       
sprinkle the blood of the victim over   
the ploughed field or ripe crop1 and    
then they sacramentally devour his body4
 ,such a double use of the artificial   
god is frequently to be detected1       
indeed1 through the vague words of our  

authorities4 ,we see it in the ,potraj  
ceremony1 where the blood of the lamb is
 drunk by the officiating priest1 while 
the remainder of the animal is buried   
beside the altar2 we see it in the      
numerous cases where a portion of the   
victim is eaten sacramentally1 and the  
rest burned and scattered over the      
fields1 which it is supposed to         
fertilise4 ,you eat your god in part1 so
 as to imbibe his divinity2 but you bury
 #cbf;him in part1 so as to secure at   
the same time his fertilising qualities 
for your corn or your vineyard4  ,i     
admit that all this is distinctly       
mystic2 but mystery-mongering and       
strange reduplication of persons1 with  
marvellous identifications and minute   
distinctions1 have always formed much of
 the stock-in-trade of religion4 ,if    
cults were all plain sailing throughout1
 what room for faith8--there would be   
less to engage the imagination of the   
votary4  ,and now let us return awhile  
to our ,mexican instances4  ,at the     

annual feast of the great god           
,tezcatlipoca1 which1 like most similar 
festivals1 fell about the same time as  
the ,christian ,easter1 a young man was 
chosen to be the representative of the  
god for a twelvemonth4 ,as in the case  
of almost all chosen victims1 he had to 
be a person of unblemished body1 and he 
was trained to behave like a god-king   
with becoming dignity4 ,during his year 
of godship1 he was lapped in luxury2 and
 the actual reigning emperor took care  
that he should be splendidly attired1   
regarding him already as a present      
deity4 ,he was attended by eight pages  
clad in the royal livery--which shows   
him to have been a king as well as a    
god2 and wherever he went the people    
bowed down to him4 ,twenty days before  
the festival at which he was to be      
sacrificed1 four noble maidens1 bearing 
the names of four goddesses1 were given 
him to be his brides4 ,the final feast  
itself1 like those of ,dionysus1 of     
,attis1 and of ,potraj1 occupied five   

days--a coincidence between the two     
hemispheres which almost points to      
original identity of custom before the  
dispersion of the races4 ,during these  
five days the real king remained in his 
palace--and this circumstance plainly   
shows that the victim belonged to the   
common class of substituted and         
temporary divine king-gods4 ,the whole  
court1 on the other hand1 attended the  
victim4 ,on the last day of the feast1  
the victim was ferried across the lake  
in a covered barge to a small temple in 
the form of a pyramid4 ,on reaching the 
summit1 he was seized and held down on a
 block of stone1--no doubt #cbg;an altar
 of funereal origin1--while the priest  
cut open his breast with a stone knife1 
and plucked his heart out4 ,this he     
offered to the god of the sun4 ,the head
 was hung up among the skulls of        
previous victims1 no doubt for oracular 
purposes1 and as a permanent god2 but   
the legs and arms were cooked and       
prepared for the table of the lords1 who

 thus partook of the god sacramentally4 
,his place was immediately filled by    
another young man1 who for a year was   
treated with the same respect1 and at   
the end of that time was similarly      
slaughtered4  ,i do not think ,i need   
point out the close resemblance of this 
ritual to that of the ,khond ,meriah1 of
 the ,potraj1 and of the festivals of   
,dionysus1 ,osiris1 ,attis1 and ,adonis4
 ,but ,i would also call particular     
attention to the final destination of   
the skull1 and its exact equivalence to 
the skull of the animal-god in ,india   
and elsewhere4  8,the idea that the god 
thus slain in the person of his         
representative comes to life again      
immediately10 says ,mr4 ,frazer1 8was   
graphically represented in the ,mexican 
ritual by skinning the slain man-god1   
and clothing in his skin a living man1  
who thus became the new representative  
of the godhead40 ,for example1 at an    
annual festival in ,mexico1 a woman was 
sacrificed who represented ,toci1 the   

,mother of the ,gods--a sort of yearly  
,mexican ,cybele4 ,she was dressed in   
the ornaments and bore the name of the  
goddess of whom she was believed to be  
an incarnation4 ,after being feasted for
 several days1 she was taken at midnight
 to the summit of a temple1 and there   
beheaded4 ,her body was flayed1 and one 
of the priests1 clothing himself in the 
skin1 became the representative of the  
goddess ,toci4 ,the skin of the woman's 
thigh1 however1 was separately removed1 
and a young man who represented the god 
,cinteotl1 the son of ,toci1 wrapt it   
round him like a mask4 ,ceremonies then 
followed1 in which the two men1 clad in 
the woman's skin1 enacted the parts of  
the god and goddess4 ,in all this1 there
 is much that seems to me reminiscent   
#cbhof ,isis and ,horus1 of ,cybele and 
,attis1 of ,semele and ,dionysus1 and of
 several other eastern rituals4  ,still 
more significant is the yearly festival 
of the god ,totec1 who was represented  
in like manner by a priest1 clad in the 

skin of a human victim1 and who received
 offerings of first-fruits and          
first-flowers1 together with bunches of 
maize which had been kept for seed4     
,here we have the closest possible      
analogy to the case of the ,meriah4 ,the
 offering of first-fruits1 made         
sometimes to the king1 sometimes to the 
ancestral spirits1 is here made to the  
human god of cultivation1 who represents
 both in his own person4  ,many other   
cannibal sacrifices are recorded in     
,mexico3 in more than one of them it was
 customary for the priest to tear out   
the warm throbbing heart of the victim1 
and present it to the idol4 ,whether    
these sacrifices in each particular case
 were of the ordinary or of the mystic  
type it is not always quite easy to     
decide2 probably the worshippers        
themselves did not accurately           
discriminate in every instance4 ,but    
however that may be1 we know at least   
this much3 when human sacrifices had    
been rare1 the priests reminded the     

kings that the gods 8were starving with 
hunger02 war was then made on purpose to
 take prisoners1 8because the gods had  
asked for something to eat10 and        
thousands of victims were thus          
slaughtered annually4 ,the blood of the 
victims was separately offered2 and ,i  
may add in this connexion that as a rule
 both ghosts and gods are rather thirsty
 than hungry4 ,i take the explanation of
 this peculiar taste to be that blood   
and other liquids poured upon the ground
 of graves or at altar-stones soon sink 
in1 and so seem to have been drunk or   
sucked up by the ghost or god2 whereas  
meat and solid offerings are seen to be 
untouched by the deity to whom they are 
presented4 ,a minor trait in this       
blood-loving habit of the gods is seen  
in the fact that the ,mexicans also gave
 the god to drink fresh blood drawn from
 their own ears1 and that the priests   
likewise drew blood from their legs1 and
 daubed it on the temples4 ,similar     
mitigations of self-immolation #cbi;are 

seen elsewhere in the ,attis-priest     
drawing blood from his arms for ,attis1 
in the ,hebrew ,baal-priests 8cutting   
themselves for ,baal10 and in the       
familiar ,hebrew rite of circumcision4  
,blood is constantly drawn by survivors 
or worshippers as an act of homage to   
the dead or to deities4  ,i might       
multiply instances of human sacrifices  
of the mystic order elsewhere1 but ,i   
prefer to pass on to the various        
mitigations which they tend to undergo  
in various communities4 ,in its fullest 
form1 ,i take it1 the mystic sacrifice  
ought to be the self-immolation of a    
divine priest-king1 a god and descendant
 of gods1 himself to himself1 on the    
altar of his own divine                 
foundation-ancestor4 ,but in most cases 
which we can trace1 the sacrifice has   
already assumed the form of an          
immolation of a willing victim1 a       
temporary king1 of the divine stock only
 by adoption1 though sometimes a son or 
brother of the actual monarch4 ,further 

modifications are that the victim       
becomes a captive taken in war 7which   
indeed is implied in the very etymology 
of the ,latin word victima71 or a       
condemned criminal1 or an imbecile1 who 
can be more readily induced to undertake
 the fatal office4 ,of all of these we  
have seen hints at least in previous    
cases4 ,still more mitigated are the    
forms in which the victim is allowed to 
escape actual death by a subterfuge1 and
 those in which an image or effigy is   
allowed to do duty for the living       
person4 ,of these intermediates we get a
 good instance in the case of the       
,bhagats1 mentioned by ,col4 ,dalton1   
who 8annually make an image of a man in 
wood1 put clothes and ornaments on it1  
and present it before the altar of a    
,mahadeo0 7or rude stone phallic idol74 
8,the person who officiates as priest on
 the occasion says1 #8,o1 ,mahadeo1 we  
sacrifice this man to you according to  
ancient customs4 ,give us rain in due   
season1 and a plentiful harvest4' ,then1

 with one stroke of the axe1 the head of
 the image is struck off1 and the body  
is removed and buried40 ,this strange   
rite shows us a surviving #ccj;but much 
mitigated form of the ,khond ,meriah    
practice4  ,as a rule1 however1 such    
bloodless representations do not please 
the gods2 nor do they succeed in really 
liberating a ghost or corn-god4 ,they   
are after all but feeble phantom        
sacrifices4 ,blood the gods want1 and   
blood is given them4 ,the most common   
substitute for the human victim-god is  
therefore the animal victim-god1 of     
which we have already seen copious      
examples in the ox and kid of ,dionysus1
 the pig of ,attis1 and many others4 ,it
 seems probable that a large number of  
sacrifices1 if not the majority of those
 in which domestic animals are slain1   
belong in the last resort to the same   
category4 ,thus1 indeed1 we can most    
easily explain the theory of the        
so-called 8thean-thropic0 victim1--the  
animal which stands for a man and a     

god1--as well as the point of view of   
sacrifice so ably elaborated by ,dr4    
,robertson ,smith4  ,according to this  
theory1 the domestic animals were early 
regarded as of the same kin or blood as 
the tribe2 and the slaughter of an ox1 a
 goat1 or a sheep could only be         
permitted if it were done1 like the     
slaughter of a king's son1 sacrificially
 and sacramentally4 ,in my own opinion1 
this scarcely means more than that the  
sacred domestic animals were early      
accepted as substitutes for the human   
victim1 and that they were eaten        
sacrificially and sacramentally as the  
human victim was also eaten4 ,but ,i    
will waive this somewhat controversial  
point1 and content myself with          
suggesting that the animal victim was   
habitually treated as in itself divine1 
and that its blood was treated in the   
same way as the blood of the original   
cannibal offering4 ,at the same time1   
the sacrifice was usually offered at the
 altar of some older and1 so to speak1  

more constant deity1 while the blood of 
the victim was allowed to flow over the 
sacred stone4 ,certainly1 both among the
 ,arabs and the ,hebrews1 all slaughter 
of domestic animals appears to have been
 at one time sacrificial2 and even when 
the slaughter ceased necessarily to     
involve a formal sacrifice1 it was still
 thought #ccanecessary to slay the      
victim in the name of a god1 and to pour
 out the blood in his honour on the     
ground4 ,even in the ,grco-,roman world1
 the mass of butcher's meat was 8meat   
offered to idols40 ,we shall see        
hereafter that among existing savages   
the slaughter of domestic animals is    
still regarded as a sacred rite4  ,i    
believe also that as a rule the         
blood-offering is the earliest and      
commonest form of slaughter to the gods2
 and that the victim in the earlier     
stages was generally consumed by the    
communicants1 as we know the cannibal   
victim to have been consumed among the  
,mexicans1 and as we saw the            

theanthropic goat or kid was            
orgiastically devoured by the           
worshippers of ,dionysus4 ,it is a      
detail whether the sacred victim        
happened to be eaten raw or cooked2 the 
one usage prevailed in the earlier and  
more orgiastic rites1 the other in the  
milder and more civilised ceremonies4   
,but in either case1 the animal-god1    
like the human god1 was eaten           
sacramentally by all his worshippers1   
who thus took into themselves his divine
 qualities4 ,the practice of burning the
 victim1 on the other hand1 prevailed   
mainly1 ,i think1 among cremationists1  
like the ,tyrians and ,hellenes1 though 
it undoubtedly extended also to many    
burying peoples1 like the ,hebrews and  
,egyptians4 ,in most cases even of      
cremated victims1 it would appear1 a    
portion at least of the animal was saved
 from the fire and sacramentally eaten  
by the worshippers4  ,once more1 the    
victim itself was usually a particular  
kind of sacred animal4 ,this sacredness 

of the chosen beast has some more       
important bearings than we have yet     
considered4 ,for among various pastoral 
races1 various domesticated animals     
possess in themselves positive sanctity4
 ,we know1 for example1 that cows are   
very holy in the greater part of ,india1
 and buffaloes in the ,deccan4 ,among   
the ,african peoples of the pastoral    
tribes1 the common food is milk and     
game2 cattle are seldom slaughtered     
merely to eat1 and always on exceptional
 or sacred occasions--the very occasions
 which elsewhere demand a human         
#ccbvictim--such as the proclamation of 
a war1 a religious festival1 a wedding1 
or the funeral of a great chieftain4 ,in
 such cases1 the feast is public1 all   
blood-relations having a natural right  
to attend4 ,the cattle-kraal itself is  
extremely sacred4 ,the herd and its     
members are treated by their masters    
with affectionate and almost brotherly  
regard4  ,a few further points must also
 be added4 ,among early races1 to kill  

and eat wild animals1 or to kill and eat
 enemies1 who are not members of the    
tribe1 is not accounted in any way      
wrong4 ,but to kill a tribesman--to shed
 kindred blood--is deeply sinful2 and so
 it is sinful to kill and eat the       
domestic herds4 ,in old age1 indeed1 or 
when sick and feeble1 you may kill and  
eat your blood-relation blamelessly2 and
 so you may also kill and eat old or    
sickly cattle4 ,but as a rule1 you only 
eat them sacramentally and              
sacrificially1 under the same           
circumstances where you would be        
justified in killing and eating a human 
victim4 ,thus1 as a rule1 each tribe has
 its own sacred beast1 which is employed
 as a regular substitute for a man-god4 
,among the ,arabs1 this beast was a     
camel2 among the ,indian peoples1 the   
bull or the buffalo2 among shepherd     
races1 it is the sheep or goat2 among   
the ,teutons1 the horse2 among many     
settled urban peoples1 the pig2 and with
 the ,samoyeds and ,os-tiaks1 their one 

chattel1 the reindeer4  ,also1 as a     
rule1 the cow or other female animal was
 not usually sacrificed2 she was kept   
for milk-yielding4 ,it was the bull1 the
 ram1 the ox1 the he-goat that was      
oftenest offered and eaten              
sacramentally4 ,mere utilitarian        
considerations would soon lead to this  
use1 just as our own butchers kill ram  
lambs by choice1 and spare the ewes for 
breeding4 ,the custom1 once introduced1 
would tend to become sacred2 for        
whatever our divine ancestors did is    
itself divine1 and should not be lightly
 or carelessly altered4 ,hence we can   
understand that supreme sanctity of the 
cow1 which has made so many races refuse
 to sacrifice it1 while they sacrifice  
and eat the bull or ox without let or   
scruple4 #ccc,thus the ,todas have never
 eaten the flesh of the female buffalo2 
but the male they eat once a year1      
sacramentally1 all the adult men in the 
village joining in the ceremony of      
killing and roasting it4  ,a remarkable 

instance of the theanthropic sacrifice  
of such a sacred animal is given us in  
,nilus's account of the ceremony        
performed by the ,arabs of his time4 ,a 
holy camel1 chosen as a victim1 was     
bound upon a rude cairn of piled-up     
stones4 ,in this primitive altar we can 
hardly fail to recognise the grave of an
 early tribal chieftain4 ,the leader of 
the band then led the worshippers thrice
 round the cairn in a solemn procession1
 chanting a solemn hymn as they went4   
,as the last words of the hymn were     
sung1 he fell upon the camel 7like      
,potraj on the lamb71 wounded it1 and   
hastily drank of the blood that gushed  
out from it4 ,forthwith the whole       
company fell on the victim with their   
swords1 hacked off pieces of the        
quivering flesh1 and devoured them raw  
with such wild haste that between the   
rise of the day-star and that of the    
sun1 the entire camel1 body and bones1  
skin1 blood1 and entrails1 was          
absolutely eaten4 ,i need not point out 

the close resemblance of this savage    
rite to those of ,potraj and of         
,dionysus4 ,it is a point1 however1 to  
observe that here also the blood falls  
on the cairn or grave or altar4 ,i may  
note that the annual sacrifice of the   
paschal lamb among the shepherd ,hebrews
 is obviously a mere mitigation of this 
barbarous rite4 ,in that case1 as might 
be expected in a more civilised race1   
the victim is roasted whole3 but it is  
similarly necessary that every part of  
it should be hastily eaten4 ,legend     
further informs us1 in the instance of  
the ,passover1 that the lamb was a      
substitute for a human victim1 and that 
the first-born were sanctified to       
,jahweh1 instead of being sacrificed4   
,note also that the feast of the paschal
 lamb occupied the now familiar space of
 five days3 the sacred animal was chosen
 on the tenth day of the month1 and     
sacrificed on the fourteenth4 ,the whole
 ceremonial is most illustrative and    
full of survivals4  ,though #ccd;it     

breaks for a moment the thread of my    
argument1 ,i find it impossible not to  
mention here the curious parallel case  
of the judicial sacrifice among the     
,battas of ,sumatra1 which is the human 
analogue of the ,arabian                
camel-sacrament4 ,only in this instance1
 as in so many others1 sacrifice and    
punishment merge into one another4      
8,with them the adulterer1 the          
night-thief1 and those who had          
treacherously attacked a town1 a        
village1 or a particular person1 were   
condemned to be eaten by the people4    
,they were tied to three posts2 their   
legs and their arms were stretched out  
in the shape of a ,st4 ,andrew's        
cross2and then1 when a signal was given1
 the populace rushed upon the body and  
cut it into fragments with hatchets or  
with knives1 or perhaps more simply with
 their nails and their teeth4 ,the      
strips so torn off were devoured        
instantly1 all raw and bloody2 they were
 merely dipped into a cocoanut bowl     

containing a sauce prepared beforehand  
of lemon-juice and salt4 ,in the case of
 adultery1 the outraged husband had the 
right of choosing first what piece he   
liked best4 ,the guests invited to the  
feast performed this work with so much  
ardour that they often tore and hurt    
each other40 ,i do not think we can read
 this account without being struck by   
its close analogy to many of our        
previous sacrifices1 both of human      
corn-gods and of sacred animals4 ,the   
criminal is here nothing more than the  
substitute for a holy human victim4     
,and now we must also remember that in  
most countries the gods were housemates 
of their worshippers1 present at all    
times in every home1 and partakers of   
every meal1 side by side with the       
living4 ,they lived in the house1 as    
still in ,new ,guinea4 ,libations to    
them were poured from every cup2 food   
was offered to their ghosts or skulls or
 wooden images at every family          
gathering4 ,the ordinary feasts were    

thus mere enlarged festal gatherings1 at
 which a victim was sacrificially slain 
and sacramentally eaten2 and the        
visitors believed they were eating the  
body and blood of the god to their own  
salvation4 ,greater sacrifices1 like the
 #cce;hecatombs1 or the heroic ,indian  
horse-sacrifice1 must have been         
relatively rare2 but in all of them we  
see clear proof that the victim was     
regarded as a sacred animal1 that is to 
say a god1 in one of his embodiments4   
,clear evidence of this equivalence is  
seen in the fact that the worshippers   
often clad themselves in the skin of the
 victim1 as the ,mexicans did in the    
skin of the annual god4 ,sometimes the  
hide is even used to deck the idol4 ,in 
the ,cyprian sacrifice of a sheep to the
 sheep-goddess ,aphrodite1 the          
celebrants wore the skin of the sheep2  
while the ,assyrian ,dagon-worshipper   
offered the fish-sacrifice to the       
fish-god1 clad in a fish-skin4 ,of      
similar import is doubtless the gis or  

goat-skin of ,athena1 envisaged as a    
goat-goddess1 and the skins used in the 
,dionysiac mysteries4 ,i do not hesitate
 to affiliate all these on a primitive  
usage like that of the ,mexican cannibal
 sacrifice4  ,having reached this point1
 we can see further that the case where 
a sacred animal1 the representative of a
 human victim1 is slaughtered before the
 altar of an older god is exactly       
equivalent to the other known case where
 a human victim is slaughtered before   
the foundation-stone of a town or       
village4 ,in either case1 there is a    
distinct renewal of the divine life2    
fresh blood1 as it were1 is instilled by
 the act into the ancient deity4 ,all   
the other concomitants are precisely the
 same4 ,thus at the ,theban sacrifice of
 a ram to the ram-god ,amen1 the        
worshippers bewailed the victim1 as the 
women bewailed ,adonis and ,attis2 and  
the image of ,amen was finally draped in
 the skin of the victim1 while its body 
was buried in a sacred coffin4 ,at the  

,buphonia or sacramental ox-slaying in  
,athens1 there was a regular trial after
 the victim was slain1 everybody        
throwing the blame on one another1 till 
at last the knife that inflicted the    
wound was found guilty of murder and    
cast into the sea4 7,this casting into  
the sea of a guilt-bearer for the       
community will meet us again when we    
come to consider the doctrine of the    
atonement47 ,so we saw that the ,potraj 
fled after the performance of his       
sanguinary sacrifice2 and #ccfso too the
 slayer of the ,dionysus-calf at        
,tenedos fled for his life when the     
ceremony was completed4 ,indeed1 we get 
many intermediate cases1 like that of   
the goat dressed up as a girl which was 
offered theanthropically to ,artemis    
,munychia1 or that of the ,dionysus-calf
 clad in buskins1 whose mother-cow was  
treated as a woman in child-birth4 ,to  
me1 all these instances are obvious     
attempts to palm off1 as it were1 on the
 gods a sacred animal in place of a     

genuine human victim4 ,they are little  
more than divine legal fictions1 eked   
out1 no doubt1 by the fiction of kinship
 between the herd and its masters4  ,as 
a whole1 then1 we may venture to say not
 perhaps that all1 but that a great     
number of sacrifices1 and certainly the 
best-known among historic nations1 are  
slaughters of animal substitutes for    
human victims2 and that the flesh is    
sacramentally consumed by the           
worshippers4  ,there is one special form
 of this animal sacrifice1 however1     
which ,i cannot here pass over in       
complete silence4 ,it is the one of     
which the harvest-feast is the final    
relic4 ,mr4 ,frazer has fully worked out
 this theme in his fascinating essay3 to
 detail it here at length would occupy  
too much space2 ,i can only give the    
barest outline of his instances4        
,originally1 it would seem1 the corn-god
 or corn-spirit was conceived during the
 reaping as taking refuge in the last   
sheaf left standing4 ,whoever cut that  

wisp of corn slew the corn-spirit1 and  
was therefore1 on the analogy of the    
slayer of the divine king1 himself the  
corn-spirit4 ,mr4 ,frazer does not      
absolutely assert that this human       
representative was originally killed and
 eaten1 though all analogy would seem to
 suggest it2 but that he was at least   
killed is abundantly certain2 and killed
 he still is1 in dumb show at any rate1 
on many modern ,european corn-fields4   
,more often1 however1 the corn-spirit is
 supposed to be embodied in any animal  
which happens to be found in the last   
sheaf1 where even now small creatures   
like mice and hedgehogs often take      
refuge4 ,in earlier times1 however1     
wolves1 wild boars1 and other large     
animals #ccgseem to have been frequently
 met with under similar circumstances4  
,however that may be1 a great many      
beasts--generally sacred beasts--are or 
have been sacramentally eaten as        
representatives of the corn-god2 while1 
conversely1 the last sheaf is often made

 up into the image of a man or still    
more often of a woman1 and preserved    
religiously for a year1 like the annual 
king1 till the next harvest4 ,sometimes 
a cock is beheaded and eaten at the     
harvest feast1 special importance being 
here attached to its head1 as to the    
head of the human victim in so many     
other cases4 ,sometimes1 as with the    
ancient ,prussians1 it was the corn-goat
 whose body was sacramentally eaten4    
,sometimes1 as at ,chambry1 an ox is    
slaughtered1 and eaten with special     
rites by the reapers at supper4         
,sometimes1 it is the old sacred        
,teutonic animal1 the horse1 that is    
believed to inhabit the last wisp of    
corn4 ,i will add parenthetically here  
7what ,i trust in some future work to   
show7 that we have probably in this and 
kindred ideas the origin of the sacred  
and oracular heads of horses and oxen   
attached to temples or built into       
churches4 ,sometimes1 again1 it is a pig
 that represents the god1 and is        

ceremonially eaten at the harvest       
festival4  ,i need hardly mention that  
all these sacred animals1 substitutes   
for the original human god1 find their  
parallels in the festivals of ,dionysus1
 ,attis1 ,osiris1 ,demeter1 ,adonis1    
,lityerses1 and the other great corn and
 wine gods of the historic              
civilisations4  ,but there is yet       
another and more sublimated form of     
sacramental feast4 ,since the corn-god  
and the wine-god1 when slain1 undergo   
resurrection in the corn and the vine1  
may we not also eat their bodies as     
bread1 and drink their blood as wine or 
soma8  ,to people already familiar1     
first with the honorific cannibal form  
of god-eating1 and then with its gentler
 animal-victim modification1 nothing    
could be more natural than this slight  
transference of feeling4 ,nay1 more3    
whoever eat bread and drank wine from   
the beginning must have known #cch;it   
was the body and blood of a god he was  
eating and drinking4 ,still1 there is a 

certain difference between mere ordinary
 every-day food and the sacramental     
feast1 to which sacred cannibalism and  
animal-sacrifice had now familiarised   
men's minds4 ,accordingly1 we find in   
many cases that there exists a special  
sacramental eating and drinking of bread
 and wine1 which is more especially     
regarded as eating the body and drinking
 the blood of the deity4  ,some curious 
illustrative facts may here be cited4   
,since straw and corn grow from the     
slaughtered corn-god1 they may be       
regarded as one of his natural          
embodiments4 ,hence1 when human         
sacrifices are prohibited1 people       
sometimes make a straw god do duty for a
 human one4 ,the ,gonds1 we saw1 used   
once to kidnap sacred ,brahman          
boys--gods by race1 as it were1 yet     
strangers and children--scatter their   
blood over the fields1 and eat their    
bodies sacramentally4 ,but when the     
unsympathetic ,british government       
interfered with the god-making habits of

 the ,gond people1 they took1 says ,col4
 ,dalton1 to making an image of straw   
instead1 which they now similarly       
sacrifice4 ,so it may be noted in many  
of the ceremonies of 8,burying the      
,carnival0 and the like1 which ,i have  
already cited1 that a straw man is      
substituted symbolically for the human  
victim4 ,indeed1 in that singular set of
 survivals we have every possible       
substitute--the mock king1 the imbecile1
 the pretended killing1 the ceremonial  
shedding of blood1 the animal victim1   
and the straw man or effigy4 ,i may add 
that even the making of our modern ,guy 
,fawkes as 8a man of straw0 is thus no  
mere accident4 ,but we get a very       
similar use of corn in the curious      
practice of fashioning the corn-wife and
 the corn-baby1 so fully detailed by    
,mr4 ,frazer4 ,in this attenuated       
survival of human sacrifice1 a sheaf of 
corn does duty for a human victim1 and  
represents the life of the corn-god or  
corn-spirit from one year to another4   

,all the existing evidence goes to      
suggest the idea that at harvest a      
corn-maiden or corn-wife1 after a year  
#cciof deification1 was slain in former 
times1 and that the human victim is now 
represented by her vegetable analogue or
 equivalent1 the corn in the ear1 a     
sheaf of which does duty in her place1  
and reigns as corn-queen till the next  
year's harvest4 ,the corn-baby is thus a
 temporary queen1 made of corn1 not of  
human flesh and blood4 ,we may compare  
with this case the account of the ,sioux
 girl who was sacrificed by the         
,pawnees1 by being burned over a slow   
fire1 and then shot 7like ,st4          
,sebastian7 with arrows4 ,the chief     
sacrificer tore out her heart and       
devoured it1 thus eating the goddess in 
true cannibal fashion4 ,while her flesh 
was still warm1 it was cut up into small
 pieces and taken to the corn-field4    
,drops of blood were squeezed from it   
upon the grains of seed-corn2 after     
which it was all covered up in the      

ground to form a crop-raiser4 ,of such a
 ghastly goddess-making ceremony1 our   
seemingly innocent harvest comedy of the
 corn-baby is probably the last         
surviving relic4 ,mr4 ,frazer rightly   
connects it with the cult of the        
,athenian ,kor1 ,persephone4 ,i think1  
indeed1 the double form of the name1    
8the ,old ,woman0 and 8the ,corn-baby10 
makes it probable that the pair are the 
vegetable equivalents of both ,demeter  
and her ravished daughter4  ,in other   
cases1 however1 it is the actual bread  
and wine themselves1 not the straw or   
the corn in the ear1 that represent the 
god and are sacramentally eaten4 ,we owe
 to ,mr4 ,frazer most of our existing   
knowledge of the wide prevalence and    
religious importance of this singular   
ritual4  ,we have seen already that in  
many countries the first-fruits of the  
crops are presented either to ancestral 
ghosts1 or to the great gods1 or else to
 the king1 who is the living god and    
present representative of the divine    

ancestors4 ,till this is done1 it would 
be unsafe to eat of the new harvest4    
,the god within it would kill you4 ,but 
in addition to the ceremonial offering  
of first-fruits to the spirits1 many    
races also 8eat the god0 in the new corn
 or rice sacramentally4 ,in ,wermland1  
in ,sweden1 the farmer's wife uses      
#cdjthe grain of the last sheaf 7in     
which1 as we saw1 the corn-god or       
corn-spirit is supposed specially to    
reside71 in order to bake a loaf in the 
shape of a little girl4 ,here we have   
the maiden1 who was previously          
sacrificed as a corn-goddess or         
,persephone1 reappearing once more in a 
bread image4 ,this loaf is divided among
 all the household and eaten by them4   
,so at ,la ,palisse in ,france1 a man   
made of dough is hung upon the fir-tree 
which is carried home to the granary on 
the last harvest-waggon4 ,the dough man 
and the tree are taken to the mayor's   
house till the vintage is over2 then a  
feast takes place1 at which the mayor   

breaks the dough man in pieces1 and     
gives the fragments to the people to    
eat4 ,here1 the mayor clearly represents
 the king or chief1 while the feast of  
first-fruits and the sacramental eating 
are combined1 as was perhaps originally 
the case1 in one and the same           
sacrificial ceremony4 ,no particular    
mention is made of wine2 but as the     
feast is deferred so as to take place   
after the vintage1 it is probable that  
the blood of the wine-god as well as the
 body of the corn-god entered once at   
least into the primitive ritual4  ,many 
similar feasts survive in ,europe2 but  
for the rite of eating the corn-god in  
its fullest form we must go once more to
 ,mexico1 which also supplied us with   
the best and most thoroughly            
characteristic examples of the cannibal 
god-eating4 ,twice a year1 in ,may and  
,december1 an image of the great        
,mexican god ,huitzilopochtli was made  
of dough1 then broken in pieces1 and    
solemnly eaten by his assembled         

worshippers4 ,two days before the ,may  
feast1 says ,acosta1 the virgins of the 
temple kneaded beet-seeds with roasted  
maize1 and moulded them with honey into 
a paste idol1 as big as the permanent   
wooden idol which represented the god1  
putting in glass beads for eyes1 and    
grains of ,indian corn in the place of  
teeth4 ,the nobles then brought the     
vegetable god an exquisite and rich     
garment1 like that worn by the wooden   
idol1 and dressed the image up in it4   
,this done1 the carried the effigy on a 
litter #cdaon their shoulders1 no doubt 
to mark its royal authority4 ,on the    
morning of the feast1 the virgins of the
 god dressed themselves in garlands of  
maize and other festal attire4 ,young   
men1 similarly caparisoned1 carried the 
image in its ark or litter to the foot  
of the great pyramid temple4 ,it was    
drawn up the steps with clanging music  
of flutes and trumpets--a common        
accompaniment of god-slaying ceremonies4
 ,flowers were strewed on it1 as was    

usual with all the gods of vegetation1  
and it was lodged in a little chapel of 
roses4 ,certain ceremonies of singing   
and dancing then took place1 by means of
 which the paste was consecrated into   
the actual body and bones of the god4   
,finally1 the image was broken up and   
distributed to the people1 first the    
nobles1 and then the commonalty1 who    
received it1 men1 women1 and children1  
8with such tears1 fear1 and reverence as
 if it were sacred1 saying they did eat 
the flesh and bones of ,god1 wherewith  
they were grieved40 ,i need not point   
out the close resemblance here to the   
mourning over the bodies of ,attis and  
,adonis1 nor to the rites of ,dionysus4 
,still more closely does the ,december  
feast 7which took place1 like           
,christmas1 at the winter solstice7     
recall the cannibal practice2 for here  
an image of the god was made of seeds1  
kneaded into dough with the blood of    
children4 ,such a ,massacre of the      
,innocents occurs often elsewhere in    

similar connexions3 we shall meet with  
it again on a subsequent occasion4 ,the 
image was placed on the chief altar of  
the temple1 and on the day of its       
,epiphany1 the king of ,mexico offered  
incense to it4 ,bambino gods like this  
are well known in other countries4 ,next
 day it was taken down1 and a priest    
flung at it a flint-tipped arrow4 ,this 
was called 8killing the god so that his 
body might be eaten40 ,one of the       
priests then cut out the heart of the   
image and gave it to the actual king to 
eat1 just as in other sacrifices the    
priest cut out the throbbing heart of   
the human victim and placed it in the   
mouth of the cannibal god4 ,the rest of 
the image was divided into small pieces1
 #cdbwhich were distributed to all the  
males of the community1 adults or       
children4 ,the ceremony was called 8,god
 is ,eaten40  ,i will not multiply      
examples of the main principle of eating
 the corn-god in the shape of little    
cakes or human images1 which have been  

collected in abundance all the world    
over4 ,mr4 ,frazer's work is a perfect  
thesaurus of analogous customs4 ,i will 
rather call attention to one or two     
special parallels with similar          
god-eating rites1 cannibal or animal1   
which occur elsewhere4 ,at the close of 
the rice harvest in ,boeroe1 in the     
,east ,indies1 each clan meets at a     
common sacrificial meal1 to which every 
member of the clan is bound to          
contribute a little of his new rice from
 the current season4 ,this is called    
8eating the soul of the rice40 ,but some
 of the rice is also set apart and      
offered to the spirits--that is1 ,i take
 it1 to the ghosts of ancestors4 ,this  
combination is like the common case of  
the human victim being offered on the   
altar-stone of earlier ancestral        
deities4 ,amongst the ,alfoers of       
,celebes1 again1 it is the priest who   
sows the first rice-seeds1 and plucks   
the first ripe rice in each field4 ,this
 he roasts and grinds into meal1 giving 

some of it to each member of the family4
 ,here the priest no doubt represents   
the old tribal priest-king4 ,several    
similar practices are reported from     
,india1 only one of which need at       
present detain us4 ,among the ,hindoos  
of the ,deccan there is a magical and   
sacramental eating of the new rice2 but 
the special point of interest to be     
noted here is the fact that some of it  
is offered to the god ,ganesa1 after    
which the whole family partake of the   
produce4 ,among the ,kafirs of ,natal   
and ,zululand1 however1 it is at the    
king's kraal that the people assemble   
for their sacramental feast of new      
fruits1 where they dance and perform    
certain sacred ceremonies4 ,in this     
case1 the king1 the living god1 seems to
 take the place of the god1 the dead    
king1 in the ,indian festival4 ,various 
grains are mixed with the flesh of a    
sacrificed animal1 in whom we shall now 
have perhaps little difficulty in       
recognising the representative #cdcof a 

human corn-god victim2 and a portion of 
this mess is placed in the mouth of each
 man by the king himself1 here          
officiating in his capacity of ancestral
 priest4 ,by the light of such          
analogies1 ,i think we need have no     
hesitation in reconstructing the        
primitive sacramental feast1 where a man
 was sacrificed as an annual            
manufactured corn-god2 seeds were mixed 
with his blood2 his flesh was eaten     
sacramentally by the people1 fed by the 
king2 a part of his body was also eaten 
by the king himself1 and a part was     
offered to the great gods1 or to the    
tribal god1 or the foundation god or    
goddess of the village or city4 ,after  
putting together the various survivals  
already cited1 ,i do not think this is  
too large an exercise of the            
constructive faculty4  ,an interesting  
mixed case of god-eating1 in which the  
cake was baked1 not in the form of a    
man1 but of a divine animal1 ,i have    
seen myself in the house of ,irish      

emigrants in ,canada4 ,the new corn was 
there made into loaves or buns in the   
shape of little pigs1 with currants for 
eyes2 and one of these was given to each
 of the children4 ,though merely        
regarded as a playful custom1 this      
instance1 ,i venture to think1 has still
 its own illustrative value4  ,the      
practice of kneading sacramental cakes  
from the blood of infants1 which we saw 
to prevail in the case of a ,mexican    
god1 is parallelled in the practice of  
mixing them with shreds of the flesh    
from an animal victim in the ,zulu      
ceremony4 ,the cannibal form of the rite
 must1 however1 have been very          
widespread2 as we gather from the fact  
that a ,christian sect1 the ,paulicians1
 were accused of it as late as the      
eighth century4 ,john of ,osun1         
,patriarch of ,armenia1 wrote a diatribe
 against these sectaries1 in which he   
mentions the fact that they moulded an  
image of wheaten flower with the blood  
of children1 and eat therewith their    

unholy communion4 ,of course1 there     
could have been no direct intercourse in
 the ninth century between ,armenia and 
,mexico2 but the accusation shows at    
least that similar ceremonies were known
 or remembered in #cdd;,asia as actual  
practices4 ,indeed1 the ,harranians in  
the middle ages annually sacrificed an  
infant1 and boiling down its flesh1     
baked it into cakes1 of which every     
freeman was allowed to partake4 ,in both
 these cases1 we have the two extremes  
of eating the god combined in one       
practice--the cannibal rite and the     
sacramental corn-cake4  ,mr4 ,frazer    
calls attention to another interesting  
transitional instance4 ,loaves made in  
the shape of men were called at ,rome   
,mani2 and it appears that such loaves  
were specially made at ,aricia4 ,now    
,aricia was also the one place in ,italy
 where a divine priest-king1 the ,rex   
,nemoralis1 lived on well recognised    
into the full blaze of the historic     
period1 on the old savage tenure of     

killing his predecessor4 ,again1 ,mania 
was the name of the ,mother or          
,grandmother of ,ghosts4 ,woollen       
images1 dedicated to this ,latin        
,cybele1 were hung out in ,rome at the  
feast of the ,compitalia1 and were said 
to be substitutes for human victims4    
,mr4 ,frazer suggests that the loaves in
 human form which were baked at ,aricia 
were sacramental bread2 and that in old 
days1 when the ,rex ,nemoralis was      
annually slain1 loaves were also made in
 his image as in ,mexico1 and were eaten
 sacramentally by his worshippers4 ,i do
 not hesitate myself to suggest still   
further that the gingerbread cakes1     
shaped like a man1 and still richly     
gilt1 which are sold at so many fairs in
 ,france and ,italy1 and also sometimes 
in ,england1 are last dying relics of   
similar early sacramental images4 ,for  
fairs are for the most part diminished  
survivals of religious festivals4  ,as  
the theanthropic animal victim          
represents a man and a god1 it is       

reasonable that a cake shaped as an     
animal and baked of flour should        
sometimes do as well as the animal      
victim4 ,for the corn is after all the  
embodiment of the corn-god4 ,hence      
bakers in the antique world used to keep
 in stock representations in dough of   
the various sacrificial animals1 for    
people who were too poor to afford the  
originals4 ,oxen and sheep were         
regularly so represented4 ,when         
,mithridates besieged ,cyzicus1 and the 
people #cde;could not get a black cow to
 sacrifice to ,persephone1 they made a  
dough cow and placed it at the altar4   
,at the ,athenian festival of the       
,diasia1 cakes shaped like animals were 
similarly sacrificed2 and at the ,osiris
 festival in ,egypt1 when the rich      
offered a real pig1 the poor used to    
present a dough pig as a substitute1    
like the dough pig of the ,irish        
,canadians4  ,but in many other rites1  
the sacramental and sacrificial cake has
 entirely lost all semblance of a man or

 animal4 ,the god is then eaten either  
in the shapeless form of a boiled mess  
of rice or porridge1 or in a round cake 
or loaf1 without image of any sort1 or  
in a wafer stamped with the solar or    
,christian cross4 ,instances of this    
type are familiar to everyone4  ,more   
closely related still to primitive      
cannibalism is the curious ritual of the
 ,sin-,eater1 so well elaborated by ,mr4
 ,sidney ,hartland4 ,in ,upper ,bavaria1
 what is called a corpse-cake is kneaded
 from flour1 and placed on the breast of
 a dead person1 in order to absorb the  
virtues of the departed4 ,this cake is  
then eaten by the nearest relation4 ,in 
the ,balkan peninsula1 a small image of 
the dead person was made in bread and   
eaten by the survivors of the family4   
,these are intermediate stages between  
cannibalism and the well-known practice 
of sin-eating4  ,i hope ,i have now made
 clear the general affiliation which ,i 
am seeking to suggest1 if not to        
establish4 ,my idea is that in the      

beginning certain races devoured their  
own parents1 or parts of them1 so as to 
absorb the divine souls of their        
forebears into their own bodies4 ,later1
 when artificial god-making became a    
frequent usage1 especially in connexion 
with agriculture1 men eat the god1 or   
part of him1 for a similar reason4 ,but 
they likewise eat him as the corn or yam
 or rice1 sacramentally4 ,when          
thean-thropic victims were substituted  
for the man-god1 they eat the           
theanthropic victim in like manner4     
,also they made images in paste of both 
man and beast1 and1 treating these as   
compounded of the god1 similarly        
sacrificed and eat them4 #cdf;,and they 
drank his blood1 in the south as wine1  
in the north as beer1 in ,india as soma4
 ,if this line of reconstruction be     
approximately correct1 then sacraments  
as a whole are in the last resort based 
upon survival from the cannibal         
god-feast4  ,it is a significant fact   
that in many cases1 as at the ,potraj   

festival1 the officiating priest drinks 
the blood of the divine victim1 while   
the laity are only permitted to eat of  
its body4     ,,chapter ,,xvi4--,,the   
,,doctrine ,,of ,,the ,,atonement4      
,,one #cdgmore element of some          
importance yet remains in the complex   
conception of the human or animal       
victim1 or slain god1 which we must     
briefly examine before we can proceed   
with advantage to the evolution of      
,christianity2 ,i mean the doctrine of  
piacular sacrifice--or1 in other words1 
of the atonement4  8,without shedding of
 blood10 says the author of one of the  
earliest ,christian tractates1 8there is
 no remission of sin40 ,this is a common
 theory in all advanced religions2 the  
sacrifice is regarded1 not merely as the
 self-immolation of a willing divine    
victim or incarnate god1 but also as an 
expiation for crimes committed4 8,behold
 the ,lamb of ,god10 says the ,baptist  
in the legend1 8which taketh away the   
sins of the world40  ,this idea1 ,i take

 it1 is not primitive4 ,sin must be     
regarded as a late ethical intruder into
 the domain of religion4 ,early man for 
the most part takes his gods joyously4  
,he is on the best of terms with them4  
,he eats and drinks and carouses in     
their presence4 ,they join in his       
phallic and bacchanalian orgies4 ,they  
are not great moral censors1 like the   
noble creation of the ,hebrew prophets1 
8of purer eyes than to behold iniquity40
 ,they are creatures of like passions   
and failings with himself1--dear        
ancestors and friends1 ever ready to    
overlook small human frailties like     
murder or rapine1 but exercising a      
fatherly care for the most part over the
 lives and fortunes of their descendants
 or tribesmen4 ,angry they may be at    
times1 #cdhno doubt2 but their anger as 
a rule can be easily assuaged by a human
 victim1 or by the blood of slaughtered 
goats and bulls4 ,under normal          
circumstances1 they are familiar        
housemates4 ,their skulls or images     

adorn the hearth4 ,they assist at the   
family and domestic feasts2 and they    
lick up the offerings of blood or wine  
made to them with a smiling countenance4
 ,in short1 they are average members of 
the tribe1 gone before to the           
spirit-world2 and they continue to share
 without pride or asceticism in the joys
 and feasts and merry-makings of their  
relatives4  ,thus the idea of expiation1
 save as a passing appeasement for a    
temporary tiff1 did not probably occur  
in the very earliest and most primitive 
religions4 ,it is only later1 as ethical
 ideas begin to obtrude themselves into 
the sacred cycle1 that the notion of    
sin1 which is primarily that of an      
offence against the established         
etiquette of the gods1 makes itself     
slowly visible4 ,in many cases1 later   
glosses seem to put a piacular sense    
upon what was in its origin by obvious  
analogy a mere practical god-making and 
godslaying ceremony4 ,but in more       
consciously philosophic stages of       

religion this idea of atonement gains   
ground so fast that it almost swallows  
up the earlier conception of communion  
or feasting together4 ,sacrifice is then
 chiefly conceived of as a piacular     
offering to a justly offended or        
estranged deity2 this is the form of    
belief which we find almost everywhere  
meeting us in the hecatombs of the      
,homeric poems1 as in many works of     
,hellenic and ,semitic literature4  ,in 
particular1 the piacular sacrifice seems
 to have crystallised and solidified    
round the sacred person of the          
artificial deity4 8,the accumulated     
misfortunes and sins of the whole       
people10 says ,mr4 ,frazer1 8are        
sometimes laid upon the dying god1 who  
is supposed to bear them away for ever1 
leaving the people innocent and happy40 
8,surely he hath borne our griefs and   
carried our sorrows10 says one of the   
,hebrew poets1 whose verses are         
conjecturally attributed #cdito ,isaiah1
 about one such divine scapegoat2 8yet  

we did esteem him stricken1 smitten of  
,god1 and afflicted4 ,he was wounded for
 our transgressions2 he was bruised for 
our iniquities4 ,the chastisement of our
 peace was upon him1 and with his       
stripes are we healed4 ,jahweh hath laid
 upon him the iniquity of us all40  ,the
 ideas here expressed in such noble     
language were common to all the later   
man-gods of the more advanced and       
ethical religions4  ,mr4 ,frazer is     
probably right in connecting the notion 
of the scapegoat1 human or animal1 with 
the popular barbaric idea of the        
transference of evils4 ,thus1 in popular
 magic of all nations1 diseases of every
 sort1 from serious fevers and plagues1 
down to headache1 toothache1 warts1 and 
sores1 are transferred by some simple   
ceremony of witchcraft to animals1 rags1
 or other people4 ,i will quote examples
 but briefly4 ,epilepsy is made over to 
leaves and thrown away in the ,malay    
,archipelago4 ,toothache is put into a  
stone in ,australia4 ,a ,bechuana king  

gave his illness to an ox1 which was    
drowned in his stead1 to secure his     
recovery4 ,mr4 ,gomme quotes a terrible 
story of a ,scotch nobleman who         
transferred his mortal disease to his   
brother by a magical ceremony4 8,charms0
 for fever or for warts generally       
contain some such amiable element of    
transferring the trouble to a string1 a 
rag1 or a piece of paper1 which is flung
 away to carry the evil with it to the  
person who next touches it4 ,numerous   
cases of like implication may be found  
in the works of ,mr4 ,gomme and ,mr4    
,hartland1 to which ,i would refer      
enquirers after further evidence4       
,closely connected with these notions of
 transference are also the occasional or
 periodical ceremonies undertaken for   
the expulsion of evils from a village or
 a community4 ,devils1 demons1 hostile  
spirits1 diseases1 and other misfortunes
 of every sort are frequently thus      
expelled with gongs1 drums1 and other   
magical instruments4 ,often the         

boundaries of the tribe or parish are   
gone over1 a #cejperlustration is       
performed1 and the evil influences are  
washed out of the territory or forcibly 
ejected4 ,our own rite of ,beating the  
,bounds represents on one of its many   
sides this primitive ceremony4 ,washings
 and dippings are frequent              
accompaniments of the expulsive ritual2 
in ,peru1 it was also bound up with that
 common feature of the corn-god         
sacrament--a cake kneaded with the blood
 of living children4 ,the periodical    
exorcism generally takes place once a   
year1 but is sometimes biennial3 it has 
obvious relations with the sacrifice of 
the human or animal victim4 ,in ,europe1
 it still survives in many places as the
 yearly expulsion of witches4 ,the whole
 subject has been so admirably treated  
by ,mr4 ,frazer that ,i have nothing to 
add to his excellent exposition4        
,putting these two cardinal ideas       
together1 we arrive at the compound     
conception of the scapegoat4 ,a         

scapegoat is a human or animal victim1  
chosen to carry off1 at first the       
misfortunes or diseases1 later the sin  
and guilt of the community4 ,the name by
 which we designate it in ,english1     
being taken from the derivative ,hebrew 
usage1 has animal implications2 but1 as 
in all analogous cases1 ,i do not doubt 
that the human evil-bearer precedes the 
animal one4  ,a good example of this    
incipient stage in the evolution of the 
scapegoat occurs at ,onitsha1 on the    
,quorra ,river4 ,two human beings are   
there annually sacrificed1 8to take away
 the sins of the land0--though ,i       
suspect it would be more true to native 
ideas to say1 8the misfortunes40 ,the   
number two1 as applied to the victims1  
crops up frequently in this special     
connexion4 ,the victims here again are  
8bought with a price0--purchased by     
public subscription4 ,all persons who   
during the previous year have committed 
gross offences against native ethics are
 expected to contribute to the cost of  

the victims4 ,two sickly people are     
bought with the money1 8one for the land
 and one for the river40 ,the victims   
are dragged along the ground to the     
place of execution1 face downward4 ,the 
crowd who accompany #ceathem cry1       
8,wickedness6 wickedness60 ,so in ,siam 
it was customary to choose a broken-down
 woman of evil life1 carry her on a     
litter through the streets 7which is    
usually a symbol of kingship or godhead7
 and throw her on a dunghill or hedge of
 thorns outside the wall1 forbidding her
 ever again to enter the city4 ,in this 
eastern case1 there is mere expulsion1  
not actual killing4  ,in other          
instances1 however1 the divine character
 attributed to the human scapegoat is   
quite unmistakable4 ,among the ,gonds of
 ,india1 at the festival of the god of  
the crops1 the deity descends on the    
head of one of the worshippers1 who is  
seized with a fit1 and rushes off to the
 jungle4 ,there1 it is believed he would
 die of himself1 if he were not brought 

back and tenderly treated3 but the      
,gonds1 more merciful here than in many 
other cases1 take him back and restore  
him4 ,the idea is that he is thus       
singled out to bear the sins of the rest
 of the village4 ,at ,halberstadt in    
,thuringia an exactly similar custom    
survived till late in the middle ages4  
,a man was chosen1 stained with deadly  
sin1 as the public scapegoat4 ,on the   
first day of ,lent he was dressed in    
mourning1 and expelled from church4 ,for
 forty days1 he wandered about1 fed only
 by the priests1 and no one would speak 
to him4 ,he slept in the street4 ,on the
 day before ,good ,friday1 however1 he  
was absolved of his sins1 and being     
called ,adam1 was believed to be now in 
a state of innocence4 ,this is a        
mitigated and ,christianised form of the
 human sin-offering4  ,again1 the       
,albanians of the ,eastern ,caucasus    
kept a number of sacred slaves in the   
temple of the moon1 many of whom were   
inspired and prophesied4 ,when one of   

these men exhibited unusual symptoms of 
inspiration1 the high priest had him    
bound with a sacred chain1 and          
maintained for a year in luxury1 like   
the ,mexican corn-god4 ,this fact       
immediately brings the human scapegoat  
into line with the annual human gods we 
have already considered4 ,at the end of 
a year1 he was anointed with unguents   
7or1 so to speak1 christed71 and led    
forth to be sacrificed4 #ceb,the        
sacrifice was accomplished as a         
purificatory ceremony4  ,mr4 ,frazer1 to
 whom ,i owe all these examples1        
connects with such rites the curious    
ceremony of the expulsion of the ,old   
,mars1 the ,mamurius ,veturius1 at      
,rome4 ,every year on the #adth of      
,march 7near the spring equinox71 a man1
 called by the name of a god1 was clad  
in skins--the significance of which rite
 we now know--and after being beaten    
with long white rods1 was expelled the  
city4 ,from one point of view1 this     
personage no doubt represented the god  

of vegetation of the previous year 7for 
the ,mars was originally an annual      
corn-god74 ,but from another point of   
view1 being now of no further use to the
 community1 he was utilised with true   
old ,roman parsimony as a scapegoat1 and
 sent to carry away the offences of the 
people4 ,indeed1 there seems to be some 
reason for believing that he was driven 
into the territory of the hostile       
,oscans4 ,in this case we perceive that 
an annual god is made the sin-offering  
for the crimes of a nation4  ,in        
,greece1 we get similar traces of the   
human scapegoat4 ,at ,chronea in        
,boeotia1 the chief magistrate at the   
town-hall1 and every householder in his 
own house1 as we learn from ,plutarch   
7who was himself a magistrate there7 had
 on a certain day to beat a slave with  
rods of agnus castus1 and turn him out  
of doors1 with the formula1 8,out1      
hunger6 in1 health and wealth60         
,elsewhere the custom retained more     
unpleasant features4 ,at ,marseilles1   

when the colony was ravaged by plague1 a
 man of the poorer classes used         
voluntarily to offer himself as a       
sin-offering or scapegoat4 ,here we have
 once more the common episode of the    
willing victim4 ,for a whole year1 like 
other annual gods1 he was fed at the    
public expense1 and treated as a        
gentleman--that is to say1 a kingly     
man-god4 ,at the end of that time1 he   
was dressed in sacred garments --another
 mark of godship--decked with holy      
branches1 the common insignia of gods of
 vegetation1 and led through the city1  
while prayers were offered up that the  
sins of #cecthe people might fall on his
 head4 ,he was then cast out of the     
colony4 ,the ,athenians kept a number of
 outcasts as public victims at the      
expense of the town2 and when plague1   
drought1 or famine befell1 sacrificed   
two of them 7note the number7 as human  
scapegoats4 ,one was said to be a       
substitute for the men1 and one for the 
women4 ,they were led about the city    

7like ,beating the ,bounds again7 and   
then apparently stoned to death without 
it4 ,moreover1 periodically every year1 
at the festival of the ,thargelia1 two  
victims were stoned to death as         
scapegoats at ,athens1 one for the men1 
and one for the women4 ,i would         
conjecturally venture to connect this   
sacred number1 not merely with the      
,african practice already noted1 but    
also with the dual kings at ,sparta1 the
 two consuls at ,rome1 and the two      
suffetes at ,carthage and in other      
,semitic cities4 ,the duality of kings1 
indeed1 is a frequent phenomenon4  ,i   
can only add here that the many other   
ceremonies connected with these human   
scapegoats have been well expounded and 
explained by ,mannhardt1 who shows that 
they were all of a purificatory         
character1 and that the scourging of the
 god before putting him to death was a  
necessary point of divine procedure4    
,hence the significance of the agnus    
castus4  ,briefly1 then1 the evidence   

collected by ,mannhardt and ,frazer     
suffices to suggest that the human      
scapegoat was the last term of a god1   
condemned to death1 upon whose head the 
transgression or misfortunes of the     
community were laid as substitute4 ,he  
was the vicarious offering who died for 
the people4  ,it is only here and there1
 however1 that the scapegoat retains to 
historical times his first early form as
 a human victim4 ,much more often1 in   
civilised lands at least1 we get the    
usual successive mitigations of the     
custom4 ,sometimes1 as we have seen     
already in these cases1 the victim is   
not actually killed1 but merely         
expelled1 or even only playfully and    
ceremonially driven out of the city4 ,in
 other instances1 #cedwe get the        
familiar substitution of the condemned  
criminal1 or the imbecile1 as in the    
,attic ,thargelia4rsquo2 ,the ,greeks of
 ,asia ,minor used actually to burn     
their atonement-victim1 and cast his    
ashes into the sea2 but the ,leucadians 

merely threw down a condemned prisoner  
from a cliff1 and lightened his fall by 
fastening live birds to him1 while they 
kept boats below to save him from       
drowning1 and carry him well beyond the 
frontier4 ,in the vast majority of      
cases1 however1 we have the still more  
common substitution of a sacred animal  
for a human victim2 and this appears to 
be in large part the origin of that     
common religious feature1 the piacular  
sacrifice4  ,occasionally we get        
historical or half-historical evidence  
of the transition from a human victim to
 a divine or quasidivine animal4 ,thus1 
the people of ,nias offer either a red  
horse or a buffalo to purify the land2  
but formerly1 a man was bound to the    
same stake with the buffalo1 and when   
the buffalo was killed1 the man was     
driven away1 no native daring to receive
 him or feed him4 ,the sacrificial camel
 of the ancient ,arabs1 presumably      
piacular1 is expressly stated to be a   
substitute for a human victim4 ,the     

favourite victims of the ,saracens were 
young and beautiful captives3 but if    
such were not to be procured1 they      
contented themselves with a white and   
faultless camel4 ,the step hence to the 
habitual immolation or driving forth of 
a divine animal in place of a divine or 
quasi-divine man is a very small one4   
,in ,malabar1 the cow is a sacred beast1
 and to kill or eat a cow is a crime    
like murder4 ,nevertheless1 the         
,brahmans transfer the sins of the      
people to a cow or cows1 which are then 
driven out wherever the ,brahmans       
appoint4 ,the ancient ,egyptians used to
 sacrifice a bull1 and lay upon its head
 all the evils which might otherwise    
happen to themselves and their country2 
then they sold the bull's head to the   
,greeks1 or flung it into the river4    
7,contrast this effort to get rid of the
 accursed head with the careful         
preservation and worship of the sacred  
one47 ,the best-known case of all1 of   
course1 is the ,hebrew scapegoat1 which 

was #ceethe sacred animal of a shepherd 
people1 turned out to die of hunger or  
thirst in the desert1 and bearing on its
 head the sins of the people4 7,contrast
 the scapegoat with the paschal lamb1   
and compare with the goats and sheep of 
the last judgment47 ,when cholera rages 
among the aboriginal tribes of ,india1  
they take a goat or a buffalo--in either
 case a female1 the most sacred sex in  
,indian sacrifice1 and black all over1  
like ,apis and ,mnevis2 they turn it out
 of the village1 with magical           
ceremonies1 and do not allow it to      
return within their precincts4 ,in many 
other similar poojahs1 the victim is a  
goat4 ,mr4 ,frazer has collected1 here  
as elsewhere1 a vast number of valuable 
and illustrative instances4  ,as a rule1
 the man-god or divine animal selected  
as a scapegoat is not actually          
slaughtered1 in the fullest form of the 
rite2 he is driven away1 or flung into  
the sea1 or left to die of hunger and   
thirst4 ,sometimes1 however1 he is      

burned as a holocaust3 sometimes he is  
stoned1 and sometimes slaughtered4 ,and 
in later and less perfect forms of      
piacular animal sacrifice1 slaughter was
 the rule1 save where burning had ousted
 it4 ,indeed1 in many cases1 it is      
difficult to disentangle the various    
elements of the complex problem4 ,people
 had got accustomed to certain forms of 
sacrifice1 and mixed them up            
indiscriminately1 so that one and the   
same rite seems sometimes to be         
sacramental1 sacrificial1 and piacular1 
all at once4 ,thus ,dr4 ,robertson      
,smith writes of ancient ,egypt3 8,bulls
 were offered on the altar1 and part of 
the flesh eaten in a sacrificial feast2 
but the sacrifice was only permitted as 
a piaculum1 was preceded by a solemn    
fast1 and was accompanied by public     
lamentation1 as at the death of a       
kinsman40 ,compare the annual mourning  
for ,adonis2 and also the similar union 
of sacrifice1 sacrament1 and atonement  
in the ,mass1 which1 at the great       

resurrection-festival of the ,christian 
year1 ,easter1 is equally preceded by a 
fast1 and by the solemn mourning of     
,good ,friday4  ,now1 ,i do not pretend 
to discriminate accurately in these     
#cefvery mixed cases between one element
 and another in the compound rite4      
,often enough1 all the various traits of
 god-slaying1 of sacrament1 and of      
public expiation are evidently present4 
,usually1 too1 the victim is slain      
before the altar or sacred stone of some
 earlier and greater god1 and its blood 
poured forth for him4 ,thus1 in the     
,hebrew ritual both of the holocaust and
 the sin-offering1 the victim is slain  
at the altar1 8before ,jahweh10 and the 
effusion of blood on the sacred slab has
 a special significance4 ,in the        
,semitic held1 as ,dr4 ,robertson ,smith
 observes 7and ,i would add1 in most    
others71 8the fundamental idea of       
sacrifice is not that of a sacred       
tribute1 but of joint communion between 
the god and his worshippers1 by joint   

participation in the living flesh and   
blood of a sacred victim40 ,but the     
identity of god and victim is often     
quite clear2 thus1 as we saw before1 the
 sheep-,aphrodite was worshipped in     
,cyprus with an annual mystic and       
piacular sacrifice of a sheep2 and the  
worshippers themselves were clad in     
sheepskins1 a rite whose significance is
 now abundantly evident to us4  ,on the 
whole1 then1 at the stage we have at    
last reached1 ,i will not attempt to    
distinguish in every case between the   
various superposed ideas in the         
sacrificial ceremony4 ,most sacrifices  
seem in the last resort to be           
substitutes for human-divine victims4   
,most seem to be sacramental1 and most  
to be more or less distinctly piacular4 
,i do not even know whether1 in         
reconstructing afresh for others a      
series of rites the ideas of which have 
grown slowly clear to my own mind by    
consideration of numerous mixed         
examples1 ,i have always placed each    

particular fact in its best and most    
effective position for illustration4    
,the elements of the problem are so     
involved and so closely interosculating4
 ,for instance1 ,i do not doubt that the
 great ,phoenician and ,carthaginian    
holocausts of human victims1 which ,i   
was compelled at first to treat most    
inadequately1 were mainly piacular in   
intention2 nor do ,i doubt that the     
,greek hecatomb 7or holocaust of a      
hundred oxen7 was a mitigation or       
attenuation #cegof such gigantic human  
holocausts as these1 or as those        
attributed to the ,british ,druids4     
,asclepiades states expressly that every
 victim was originally regarded as a    
substitute for human sacrifice2 and so1 
in the ,elohistic account of the origin 
of burnt sacrifice1 a ram is accepted as
 a substitute for the life of ,isaac1   
the dearly-beloved son whom the chief or
 king1 ,abraham1 intends to offer as a  
royal victim to his tribal god4 ,abraham
 says that the god himself will provide 

a victim2 and the ram then1 as it were1 
voluntarily offers itself4 ,so at the   
great temple of ,astarte at ,eryx1 where
 the victims were drawn from the sacred 
or divine herds kept at the sanctuary1  
the chosen beast was believed of its own
 accord to present itself at the altar4 
,at the ,dupolia in like manner a number
 of bulls were driven together round the
 holy table2 and the bull was selected  
which voluntarily approached and eat of 
the sacred cakes2 thereby not only      
showing himself to be a willing victim1 
but also doubly divine1 first because he
 took the food intended for the god1 and
 second because he swallowed the sacred 
corn1 itself the duplicate body of the  
deity4 7,compare1 of course1 the ,hebrew
 shewbread47 ,i need not pursue this    
line of thought any further4 ,it must be
 obvious that many sacrifices at least  
are sacra-mentally-piacular god-slaying 
ceremonies1 and that in most of them the
 god is slain1 himself to himself1 in   
human or animal form1 as an expiation of

 crimes against his own majesty4 ,nor   
need ,i point out how this complex      
concept lies at the very root of        
,pauline theology4  ,i would like to    
add1 however1 that the ideas here       
formulated must give a new meaning to   
many points we could not at first       
understand in ceremonies mentioned in   
our earlier chapters4 ,i will take only 
one example--that of the place of       
,samoyed sacrifice which ,baron         
,nordenskild saw on ,vaygats ,island4   
,we can now divine the meaning of the   
heap of reindeer skulls piled around the
 rude open-air shrine2 for reindeer are 
the sacred and the-anthropic animals of 
the northern races2 while the           
preservation #cehof their heads at the  
hypthral altar of the elder gods or     
ghosts has its usual holy and oracular  
meaning4 ,we can also guess why remains 
of a fireplace could be seen by the     
side1 at which the sacrificial and      
sacramental meal was habitually         
prepared2 and why the mouths of the     

idols were smeared with blood1 in order 
to make the older gods or ghosts        
participators in the festival4 ,indeed1 
any reader who has followed me thus far1
 and who now turns back to the earlier  
chapters of this book1 will find that   
many details appear to him in quite a   
different light1 and will see why ,i    
have insisted beforehand on some minor  
points which must have seemed to him at 
the time wholly irrelevant4  ,many other
 curious ceremonies that seem equally   
meaningless at first in narratives of   
travel will also come to have a         
significant meaning when thus regarded4 
,for instance4 ,mr4 ,chalmers tells us  
that among the ,new ,guinea natives of  
particular districts1 8pigs are never   
killed but in the one place1 and then   
they are offered to the spirit4 ,the    
blood is poured out there1 and the      
carcase is then carried back to the     
village1 to be divided1 cooked1 and     
eaten4 ,pigs' skulls are kept and hung  
up in the house4 ,food for a feast1 such

 as at house-building0--a most pregnant 
hint--8is placed near the post where the
 skulls hang1 and a prayer is said4     
,when the centre-post is set up1 the    
spirits have wallaby1 fish1 and bananas 
presented to them1 and they are besought
 to keep that house always full of food1
 and that it may not fall when the wind 
is strong40 ,if we recall other cases   
elsewhere1 we can hardly doubt that the 
pigs in these instances are killed as   
sacred victims at the grave of the chief
 family ancestor2 especially when ,mr4  
,chalmers also tells us that 8each      
family has a sacred place where they    
carry offerings to the spirits of       
deceased ancestors1 whom they greatly   
fear40 ,when sickness1 famine1 or       
scarcity of fish occur1 it is these     
spirits that have to be appeased4 ,and  
if we recollect once more that in so    
many cases the central post of the hut  
is based on a human or animal victim1   
both #cei;in ,new ,guinea and elsewhere1
 we can hardly doubt that to this       

household god or foundation-ghost the   
offerings at the central post are       
presented4 ,finally1 the skulls of the  
pigs which are kept in the house and    
hung on the post remind us on the one   
hand of the skulls of ancestor-gods     
similarly preserved1 and on the other   
hand of the skulls of theanthropic      
victims kept by the people of ,india at 
their festivals1 or fastened by early   
,greeks and ,romans on their temples4   
8,they cook the heads of their slain    
enemies10 says ,mr4 ,chalmers again1 8to
 secure clean skulls to put on sacred   
places40 ,adequately to develop the     
hints thus suggested1 however1 would    
require another book as long as the     
present one4  ,yet here is just one more
 such hint1 from the same author1 too   
pregnant to be omitted4  8,when the     
natives begin planting1 they first take 
a bunch of bananas and sugar-cane1 and  
go to the centre of the plantation1 and 
call over the names of the dead         
belonging to their family1 adding3      

#8,there is your food1 your bananas and 
sugar-cane2 let our food grow well1 and 
let it be plentiful4 ,if it does not    
grow well and plentiful1 you all will be
 full of shame1 and so shall we4rsquo2  
8,when they go on trading expeditions1  
they present their food to the spirits  
at the centre-post of the house1 and ask
 the spirits to go before them and      
prepare the people1 so that the trading 
may be prosperous4  8,when sickness is  
in the family1 a pig is brought to the  
sacred place of the great spirit0       
7probably the chief ancestral ghost71   
8and killed4 ,the carcase is then taken 
to the sacred place of the family1 and  
the spirits are asked to accept it4     
,sins are confessed1 such as bananas    
that are taken1 or cocoanuts1 and none  
have been presented1 and leave not given
 to eat them4 #8,there is a pig2 accept1
 and remove the sickness4' ,death       
follows1 and the day of burial arrives4 
,the friends all stand round the open   
grave1 and the chief's sister or cousin0

 7the primitive priestess7 8calls out in
 a loud voice1 #8,you have been angry   
with us for #cfjthe bananas we have     
taken 7or cocoanuts1 as the case may    
be71 and you have1 in your anger1 taken 
this child4 ,now let it suffice1 and    
bury your anger4' ,the body is then     
placed in the grave1 and covered over   
with earth40  ,here we have in brief a  
perfect epitome of savage theology1     
savage ceremonial1 and savage atonement4
 ,i could enlarge not a little on its   
numerous implications4  ,a single       
quotation from ,mr4 ,savage ,landor's   
work on ,the ,hairy ,ainu of ,japan will
 also serve as an excellent summary of  
such encyclopaedic barbaric theology4   
8,if they have any belief at all10 he   
says1 8it is an imperfect kind of       
,totemism1 and the central point of that
 belief is their own descent from the   
bear4 ,this does not include the        
smallest reverence for their ancestor4  
,they capture their ,totem and keep it  
in captivity2 they speak to it and feed 

it2 but no prayers are offered to it4   
,when the bear is fat1 it is taken out  
of the cage to be ill-treated and baited
 by all the men present40 ,like the     
,khond ,meriah and the tortures of      
martyrs4 8,it is tied to a stake0 or    
stauros or accursed tree1 8and a pole is
 thrust into its mouth2 and when the    
poor beast has been sufficiently        
tortured1 pricked with pointed sticks1  
shot at with blunted arrows10 like ,st4 
,sebastian1 8bruised with stones10 like 
,st4 ,stephen1 8maddened with rage and  
ill-usage1 it is killed outright1 and1  
ancestor as it may be1 it makes the     
chief dish and raison drsquo2etre of a  
festival1 where all the members of the  
tribe partake of its flesh4 ,the owner  
of the hut in which the feast takes     
place then sticks the skull on to a     
forked pole1 and sets it outside with   
the others at the east end of his hut4  
,the skin is made into garments1 or is  
spread on the ground to sleep on40      
,here1 ,i need hardly say1 we have      

sacrifice1 sacrament1 orientation1 the  
sacred head1 the use of the skin as a   
covering of the worshipper1 and all the 
other traits of theanthropic            
substitution4  ,it is more to our       
purpose now1 however1 to remember these 
two cardinal points3 first1 that a dying
 god1 human or animal1 is usually       
selected as a convenient vehicle for the
 #cfasins of the people2 and second1    
that 8without shedding of blood there is
 no remission of sin40 ,these two       
doctrines were commonly current all over
 the world1 but especially in that      
,eastern ,mediterranean world where     
,christianity was first evolved4        
,indeed1 they were there so generally   
recognised that the writers of the      
earliest ,christian tractates1 the      
,apostolic ,epistles1 take them for     
granted as self-evident--as principles  
of which every intelligent man would at 
once admit the truth and cogency4       
,,chapter ,,xvii4--,,the ,,world        
,,before ,,christ4  ,christianity       

#cfb;grew4 ,it was a natural product4   
,it did not spring1 full-fledged1 from  
any one manrsquo2s brain1 as ,athene    
sprang from the head of ,zeus4 ,it was  
not even invented by any little group or
 school of men1 ,petrine or ,pauline1   
the apostles or the disciples1 the early
 church of ,jerusalem1 ,antioch1 or     
,alexandria4 ,christianity grew--slowly4
 ,it developed1 bit by bit1 for three   
long centuries1 taking shape by gradual 
stages in all the teeming centres of the
 ,roman world2 and even after it had    
assumed a consistent form as the ,holy  
,catholic ,church1 it still went on     
growing in the minds of men1 with a     
growth which never ends1 but which      
reveals itself even now in a thousand   
modes1 from a ,vatican ,council to the  
last new departure of the last new group
 of ,american sectaries4  ,christianity 
grew--in the crowded cosmopolitanised   
seaports and cities of the ,roman       
empire--in ,antioch1 ,alexandria1       
,thessalonica1 ,cyrene1 ,byzantium1     

,rome4 ,its highway was the sea4 ,though
 partly ,jewish in origin1 it yet       
appears from its earliest days          
essentially as a universal and          
international religion4 ,therefore we   
may gain some approximate knowledge of  
its origin and antecedents by           
considering the religious condition of  
these various great towns at the time   
when ,christianity began to spring      
spontaneous in their midst4 ,we can     
arrive at some idea of the product      
itself by observing the environment in  
which it was evolved4  ,once more1      
,christianity grew--for the most part   
among #cfcthe lower orders of the       
cosmopolitan seaports4 ,it fashioned    
itself among the slaves1 the freedmen1  
the ,jewish1 ,syrian1 and ,african      
immigrants1 the ,druidical ,gauls and   
,britons of ,rome1 the petty            
shopkeepers1 the pauperised clients1 the
 babes and sucklings of the populous    
centres4 ,hence1 while based upon       
,judaism1 it gathered hospitably into   

itself all those elements of religious  
thought and religious practice that were
 common to the whole world1 and         
especially to the ,eastern              
,mediterranean basin4 ,furthermore1 it  
gathered hospitably into itself in      
particular those elements which belonged
 to the older and deeper-seated part of 
the popular religions1 rather than those
 which belonged to the civilised1       
,hellenised1 and recognised             
modifications of the state religions4   
,it was a democratic rather than an     
official product4 ,we have to look1     
therefore1 at the elder far more than   
the younger stratum of religious thought
 in the great cities1 for the influences
 which went to mould ,christianity4 ,i  
do not deny1 indeed1 that the new faith 
was touched and tinged in all its higher
 parts by beautiful influences from     
,neo-,platonism1 ,alexandrian ,judaism1 
and other half-mystical philosophic     
systems2 but for its essential          
groundwork we have still to go to the   

root-stratum of religious practice and  
belief in ,antioch and ,alexandria1 in  
,phrygia and ,galatia1 in ,jerusalem and
 ,rome4 ,it based itself above all on   
sacrament1 sacrifice1 atonement1 and    
resurrection4 ,yet again1 ,christianity 
originated first of all among the       
,jewish1 ,syrian1 or ,semitic population
 of these great towns of the empire1 at 
the very moment of its full             
cosmopolitanisation2 it spread rapidly  
from them1 no doubt at first with       
serious modifications1 to the mixed mass
 of sailors1 slaves1 freedwomen1 and    
townspeople who formed apparently its   
earliest adherents4 ,hence1 we must look
 in it for an intimate blend of ,judaism
 with the central ideas of the popular  
religions1 ,aryan or ,hamitic1 of the   
,mediterranean basin4 ,we must expect in
 it much that was common in ,syria1     
,asia ,minor1 ,hellas1 and              
,egypt1--something even from ,gaul1     
,hispania1 ,carthage4 ,its first o w    
great #cfd;apostle1 if we may believe   

our authorities1 was one ,saul or ,paul1
 a half-,hellenised ,jew of ,semitic and
 commercial ,tarsus in ,cilicia1 and a  
,roman citizen4 ,its first great        
churches sprang up in the busy ports and
 marts of the ,levant4 ,its very name of
 ,christian was given to it first in the
 crowded and cosmopolitan city of       
,antioch4  ,it is here1 then1 in these  
huge slave-peopled hives of ,hellenised 
and ,romanised commerce1 that we must   
look for the mother-ideas of            
,christianity4  ,antioch was quite      
undoubtedly in the earliest times the   
principal cradle of the new religion4 ,i
 do not mean that ,jerusalem was not    
very probably the place where men first 
began to form a small sect of esoteric  
,christ-worshippers1 or that ,galilee   
was not the region where the ,christ    
himself most largely lived and taught1  
if indeed such a person ever really     
existed4 ,in those matters the          
traditions handed down to us in the     
relatively late ,gospels may be         

perfectly correct3 and again1 they may  
not4 ,but ,christianity as we know it1  
the ,christianity of the ,pauline       
epistles and the later writings1 such as
 the ,gospels and the works of the      
,fathers1 must have been essentially a  
cult of wider ,syrian and ,gentile      
growth4 ,it embraces in itself elements 
which doubtless lingered on in secluded 
corners more or less among the mass of  
the people even in ,juda itself1 though 
discountenanced by the adherents of the 
priestly and official ,jahweh-worship2  
but which were integral parts of the    
popular and even the recognised religion
 throughout the whole of northern       
,syria4  ,antioch1 where ,christianity  
thus took its first feeble steps1 was a 
handsome and bustling commercial city1  
the capital of the ,greek ,seleucid     
kings1 and the acknowledged metropolis  
of the ,syrian area4 ,at the time of    
,paul 7if there was a ,paul71 it        
probably contained half a million       
people2 it was certainly the largest    

town in ,asia1 and worthy to be compared
 with ,rome itself in the splendour of  
its buildings4 ,many things about its   
position are deserving of notice4 ,it   
stood upon the banks of the ,orontes1 a 
#cfesacred stream1 ensconced in a rich  
agricultural plain1 fourteen miles from 
the river's mouth4 ,its ,ostia was at   
,selucia1 the harbour whence flowed the 
entire export trade of ,syria and the   
east towards ,hellas and ,italy4 ,the   
,mediterranean in front connected it    
with ,rome1 ,alexandria1 ,asia ,minor1  
,greece2 the caravan routes across the  
,syrian desert in the rear put it in    
communication with the bazars of        
,mesopotamia and the remoter east4 ,it  
was thus the main entrept of the through
 trade between two important worlds4    
,the ,venice of its time1 it lay at the 
focal point where the highroads of      
,europe and of ,asia converged4         
,scholars of repute have pointed out the
 fact that even earlier than the days of
 ,paul1 ,buddhist ideas from ,india seem

 to have dribbled through and affected  
the ,syrian world1 as ,zoroastrian ideas
 a little later dribbled through and    
affected the thought of ,alexandria3 and
 some importance has been attached to   
this infiltration of motives from the   
mystical east4 ,now1 ,i do not care to  
deny that budding ,christianity may have
 been much influenced on its ritual and 
still more on its ethical side by       
floating elements of ,buddhist opinion3 
that the infancy of the ,christ may have
 been nursed by the ,magi4 ,but on the  
whole ,i think the facts we have just   
been considering as to the manufacture  
of artificial human gods and the nature 
and meaning of piacular sacrifices will 
suffice to show that ,christianity was  
chiefly a plant of home growth4 ,the    
native soil contained already every     
essential element that was needed to    
feed it--the doctrine of the            
,incarnation1 the death of the          
,man-,god1 the atoning power of his     
,blood1 the ,resurrection and           

,ascension4 ,so that1 while allowing due
 weight to this peculiar international  
position of ,antioch1 as the            
double-faced ,janus-gate of ,europe and 
,asia1 ,i am not inclined to think that 
points peculiar to ,buddhism need have  
exercised any predominant influence in  
the evolution of the new religion4 ,for 
we must remember that ,buddhism itself  
did but subsume into its own fabric     
ideas #cffwhich were common to ,peru and
 ,mexico1 to ,greece and ,india1 to     
,syria and ,egypt1 and which came out in
 fresh forms1 surging up from below1 in 
the creed of ,christendom4 ,if anything 
is clear from our previous researches it
 is this--that the world has never      
really had more than one religion--8of  
many names1 a single central shape10 as 
the poet phrases it4  ,the ,syrian      
people1 ,semites by race and cult1 had  
fallen1 like all the rest of the eastern
 world1 under the ,hellenic dominion of 
the successors of ,alexander4 ,a quick  
and subtle folk1 very pliable and       

plastic1 they underwent rapid and facile
 ,hellenisation4 ,it was an easy task   
for them to accept ,greek culture and   
,greek religion4 ,the worshipper of     
,adonis had little difficulty in        
renaming his chief god as ,dionysus and 
continuing to practise his old rites and
 ceremonies to the newly-named deity    
after the ancestral pattern4 ,the       
,astarte whom the east had given to     
,hellas under the alias of ,aphrodite1  
came back again as ,aphrodite to        
,astarte's old sanctuaries4             
,identifications of gods and cults were 
but simple matters1 where so many gods  
were after all essentially similar in   
origin and function4 ,thus the          
easy-going ,syrian had few scruples     
about practising his primitive          
ceremonies under foreign titles1 or     
admitting to the hospitality of his     
,semitic temples the ,hellenic deities  
of the reigning ,antiochi4  ,the        
,seleucids1 however1 did not fare so    
well in their attempt to impose the     

alien gods on the fierce ,jehovistic    
zealots of the southern mountains4      
,antiochus ,,iv4 endeavoured in vain to 
force the cults of intrusive ,hellenism 
on his new kingdom of ,palestine4 ,he   
reckoned without his hosts4 ,the        
populace of ,jerusalem would not away   
with his 8idolatrous0 rites--would not  
permit the worship of ,zeus and ,pallas1
 of ,artemis and ,aphrodite1 to usurp a 
place in the holy city of ,jahweh4 ,the 
rebellion of the ,maccabees secured at  
least the religious independence of     
,juda from the early ,seleucid period   
down to the days of ,vespasian and      
,titus4 ,lower ,syria remained true in  
her arid hills #cfgto the exclusive and 
monotheistic cult of the ,god of        
,israel4 ,and at the same time the ,jew 
spread everywhere over the surrounding  
countries1 carrying with him not only   
his straw and his basket1 but also his  
ingrained and ineradicable prejudices4  
,in ,antioch1 then1 after the ,roman    
absorption of ,syria1 a most            

cosmopolitan religion appears to have   
existed1 containing mingled ,semitic and
 ,hellenic elements1 half assimilated to
 one another1 in a way that was highly  
characteristic of the early empire4 ,and
 among the popular cults of the great   
city we must certainly place high those 
of ,adonis and ,dionysus1 of            
,aphrodite-,astarte1 and of the local   
gods or goddesses1 the ,baalim and      
,ashtareth1 such as the maiden who1 as  
we learnt from ,malalas1 was sacrificed 
at the original foundation of the city1 
and ever after worshipped as its ,tyche 
or ,fortune4 ,in other words1 the       
conception of the human god1 of the corn
 and wine god1 of the death of the god1 
and of his glorious resurrection1 must  
have all been perfectly familiar ideas  
to the people of ,antioch and of ,syria 
in general4  ,let us note here1 too1    
that the particular group of            
,jah-weh-worshippers among whom the     
,christ is said to have found his       
personal followers1 were not people of  

the priestly type of ,jerusalem1 but    
,galilan peasants of the northern       
mountains1 separated from the most      
orthodox set of ,jews by the intrusive  
wedge of heretical ,samaritans1 and     
closely bordering on the heathen        
,phoenician seaboard--8the coasts of    
,tyre and ,sidon40 ,here ,judaism and   
heathenism marched together2 here       
,jahweh had his worshippers among the   
fishers of the lake1 while ,hellenism   
had fixed itself in the statelier villas
 of ,tiberias and ,ptole-mais4          
,alexandria was another of the great    
cosmopolitan seaport towns where        
,christianity made its earliest         
converts1 and assumed not a few of its  
distinctive tenets4 ,now1 in            
,alexandria1 ,hellenism and the         
immemorially ancient ,egyptian religion 
found themselves face to face at very   
close #cfhquarters4 ,it is true1 the    
town in its historical aspect was mainly
 ,greek1 founded by the great           
,macedonian himself1 and priding itself 

on its pure ,hellenic culture4 ,but the 
mass of the lower orders who thronged   
its alleys must surely have consisted of
 more or less mongrel ,egyptians1 still 
clinging with all the old ,egyptian     
conservatism to the ideas and practices 
and rites of their fathers4 ,besides    
these1 we get hints of a large          
cosmopolitan seafaring population1 among
 whom strange faiths and exotic gods    
found ready acceptance4 ,beside the     
stately forms of the ,greek pantheon1   
and the mummified or animal-headed      
,egyptian deities1 the imported ,syrian 
worship of ,adonis had acquired a firm  
footing2 the annual festival of the     
slaughtered god was one of the principal
 holidays2 and other ,syrian or remoter 
faiths had managed to secure their      
special following4 ,the hybrid ,serapis 
occupied the stateliest fane of the     
hybrid city4 ,in that huge and busy     
hive1 indeed1 every form of cult found a
 recognised place1 and every creed was  
tolerated which did not inculcate       

interference with the equal religious   
freedom of others4  ,the ,ptolemaic     
family represents in itself this curious
 adaptability of the ,grco-,egyptian    
,alexandrian mind4 ,at ,alexandria and  
in the ,delta1 the kings appear before  
us as good ,hellenes1 worshipping their 
ancestral deities in splendid temples2  
but in the ,thebaid1 the god ,ptolemy or
 the goddess ,cleopatra erected         
buildings in honor of ,ptah or ,khem in 
precisely the old ,egyptian style1 and  
appeared on their propyla in the guise  
of ,pharaohs engaged in worshipping     
,amen-,ra or ,osiris4 ,the great        
,alexander himself had inaugurated this 
system when he gave himself out as the  
son of 8,zeus ,ammon02 and his indirect 
representatives carried it on throughout
 with a curious dualism which excused   
itself under the veil of arbitrary      
identifications4 ,thus ,serapis himself 
was the dead ,apis bull1 invested with  
the attributes of an ,osiris and of the 
,hellenic ,hades2 while ,amen-,ra was   

,zeus in an ,egyptian avatar4  ,the     
large ,jewish colony at ,alexandria also
 prepared the way #cfi;for the ultimate 
admixture of ,neo-,platonism in the     
,christian faith2 while the ,egyptian   
belief in ,triads of gods formed the    
groundwork for the future doctrine of   
the ,trinity1 so doggedly battled for by
 the ,alexandrian ,athanasius4 ,it is   
true that ,ampre and ,preller have      
strenuously denied any ,egyptian        
admixture in the philosophy of          
,alexandria2 and their reasoning may be 
conclusive enough as to the upper       
stratum of thought3 but it must at least
 be admitted that popular belief in the 
city of the ,ptolemies must have been   
deeply coloured by the ideas and creeds 
of its ,egyptian substratum4 ,now1 in   
the growth of ,christianity1 it was the 
people who counted1 not the official    
classes1 the learned1 or the            
philosophic4 ,we must not attribute to  
the population of the ,east ,end of     
,london the theology of ,pusey or the   

evolutionism of ,herbert ,spencer4      
,christianity would seem also to have   
taken part at least of its form in      
,rome4 ,and as ,roman influence extended
 likewise over every portion of the vast
 empire1 ,i must say a very few words   
here about the origin and growth of the 
,roman religion4  ,that religion1 as it 
comes upon us in the few glimpses we get
 of its early ,italic and               
pre-,hellenised form1 was one of the    
rudest and most primitive type1 almost  
savage in its extreme simplicity4 ,it   
knew hardly any great gods by name3 the 
few deities it possessed1 it expressed  
only for the most part by adjectival    
names4 ,few1 ,i say1 as to type1 for as 
to number of individuals1 their name    
indeed was legion2 they pervaded the    
whole1 world in that reckless           
multiplicity which distinguishes the    
simple ghosts or spirits of early       
hunting or pastoral peoples4 ,with the  
,romans1 this multiplicity1 ubiquity1   
and vagueness survived into a relatively

 settled and civilised agricultural     
condition4 ,a vast number of small      
departmental gods1 with few or no great 
ones--that is the first state of the    
,roman pantheon4  ,the central point of 
old ,roman religion was clearly the     
household2 the family ghosts or lares   
were the most honoured #cgj;gods4 ,we   
may instructively compare ,mr4          
,chalmers's account of the theology of  
,new ,guinea4 ,beside these ancestral   
shades1 or almost identical with them1  
came the pnates or practical deities of 
the store-room1 perhaps the             
representatives of the victims slain as 
foundation-ghosts at the first erection 
of the building4 ,of these two1 the     
,lares were undoubtedly the departed    
ancestors of the family2 they lived near
 the spot where they were first buried  
7for the old ,romans were buriers71 and 
they still presided over the household  
as in life1 like its fathers and        
senators4 ,they were worshipped daily   
with prayers and simple offerings of    

food and drink2 their masks or busts    
which hung on the wall were perhaps the 
representatives1 or in ancient days the 
coverings1 of the old oracular heads or 
skulls2 for the skulls themselves may   
have been preserved in wax1 as so often 
elsewhere at an earlier period4 99 ,the 
,penates1 which were worshipped with the
 ,lares1 seem to have stood for the     
family spirit in a more generalised way2
 they represent the continuity and      
persistence of its ,fortune2 and        
therefore1 if we may trust the analogy  
of the ,fortune of a town1 they are     
probably the ghosts of the foundation or
 renewal victims4 ,in judging of all    
this1 we cannot attach too great        
importance to the analogy of ,negritto  
and ,polynesian customs4       99 ,to   
this use of the oracular head ,i would  
venture also to      refer the common   
employment of small masks as amulets3 an
      employment which1 as ,bottiger    
rightly remarks1 explains 8the      vast
 number of such subjects met with in    

antique gems40  ,other deities are more 
public4 ,but most of them seem to belong
 to the simplest and most immediately   
ghost-like stratum4 ,they had to do with
 sowing1 reaping1 and vintage--in other 
words1 were corn or wine gods4 ,or else 
they had to do with the navigable river1
 the ,tiber1 and the port of ,ostia1    
which lay at its mouth--in other words1 
were spring and river gods4 ,or else    
they had to do with war and             
expeditions--in other words were        
slaughtered campaign gods of the        
,iphigenia pattern1 ,bellonas and       
battle-victims4  ,among #cgathis dim    
crowd of elder manufactured deities1    
,saturnus1 the sowing god1 was most     
likely an annual corn-victim2 his       
adjectival name by itself suggests that 
conclusion4 ,terminus1 the boundary god1
 is already familiar to us4 ,about these
 two at least we can hardly be mistaken4
 ,a red-haired man 7as in ,egypt7 no    
doubt preceded as yearly corn-victim the
 red-haired puppies still slaughtered   

for the crops within the ken of ,festus4
 ,seia1 ,segetia1 ,tutilina1 the        
successive corn-deities1 we have already
 considered4 ,they seem to equate with  
the successive maidens slain for the    
corn in other communities1 and still    
commemorated in our midst by the        
corn-baby and the corn-wife4 ,at each   
stage of age in the corn1 a             
corresponding stage in the age of the   
human victim was considered desirable4  
,but how reconcile this idea with the   
existence of numerous petty functional  
deities--gods of the door and the       
hinge8--with the ,cunina who guards the 
child in the cradle1 and the ,statina   
who takes care of him when he begins to 
stand8 ,i answer1 all these are but     
adjectival gods1 mere ghosts or spirits1
 unknown in themselves1 but conceived as
 exercising this particular function4   
8,the god that does so-and-so0 is just a
 convenient expression1 no more2 it     
serves its purpose1 and that was enough 
for the practical ,roman4 ,how readily  

they could put up with these            
rough-and-ready identifications we know 
in the case of ,aius ,locutius and of   
the ,deus ,rediculus4  ,each ,terminus  
and each ,silvanus is thus the god or   
protecting ghost of each boundary stone 
or each sacred grove--not a proper name1
 but a class--not a particular god1 but 
a kind of spirit4 ,the generalised and  
abstract gods are later unifications of 
all the individuals included in each    
genus4 ,the ,janus1 ,i take it1 was at  
first the victim once sacrificed        
annually before each gate of the city1  
as he is sacrificed still on the west   
coast of ,africa3 as the god of opening1
 he was slaughtered at the opening of   
every new year2 and the year conversely 
opened its course with the month sacred 
to the god of opening4 ,perhaps he was  
also slain #cgb;as fortune at the       
beginning of each war4 ,the ,vesta is   
the hearth-goddess2 and every house had 
its ,vesta2 perhaps originally a        
slaughtered hearth-victim4 ,every man   

had in like manner his ,genius1 an      
ancestral protecting spirit2 the        
corresponding guardian of the woman was 
her ,juno2 they descend to              
,christianity1 especially in its most   
distinctive ,roman form1 as the guardian
 angels4 ,mars was a corn-spirit2 only  
later was he identified with the        
expeditionary god4 ,his annual expulsion
 as the human scapegoat has already been
 considered4 ,the ,jupiter or ,jovis was
 a multiple wine-god1 doubtless in every
 case the annual victim slain1          
,dionysus-wise1 for the benefit of the  
vineyard4 ,each village and each farm   
had once its ,jovis1 specially          
worshipped1 and1 ,i doubt not1          
originally slaughtered1 at the broaching
 of the year's first wine-cask in       
,april4 ,but his name shows that1 as    
usual1 he was also identified with that 
very ancient ,sky-god who is common to  
all the ,aryan race2 the particular     
,jovis being probably sacrificed1       
himself to himself1 before the old      

,sky-god's altar1 as elsewhere the      
,dionysus-victim at the shrine of       
,dionysus4  ,these identifications1 ,i  
know1 may sound fanciful to mere        
classical scholars1 unacquainted with   
the recent advances in anthropology1 and
 ,i would not have ventured to propound 
them at an earlier stage of our involved
 argument2 but now that we have seen and
 learned to recognise the extraordinary 
similarity of all pantheons the whole   
world over1 ,i think the exact way these
 deities fall into line with the        
wall-gods1 gate-gods1 corn-gods1        
wine-gods1 boundary-gods1 forest-gods1  
fountain-gods1 and river-gods everywhere
 else must surely be allowed some little
 weight in analogically placing them4   
,the later ,roman religion only widens1 
if at all1 from within its own range1 by
 the inclusion of larger and larger     
tribal elements4 ,thus the ,deus        
,fidius1 who presided over each separate
 alliance1 ,i take to be the ghost of   
the victim slain to form a covenant2    

just as in ,africa to this day1 when    
#cgctwo tribes have concluded a treaty  
of peace1 they crucify a slave 8to      
ratify the bargain40 ,the nature of such
 covenant victims has been well         
illustrated by ,professor ,robertson    
,smith1 but the growth of the           
covenant-gods1 who finally assumed very 
wide importance1 is a subject which     
considerations of space prevent me from 
including in our present purview4 ,the  
victim1 at first no doubt human1 became 
later a theanthropic animal2 as did also
 the ,jo vis-victim and the             
representatives of the other adjectival 
or departmental deities4 ,the ,roman    
,mars and the ,sabine ,ouirinus may     
readily have been amalgamated into a    
,mars ,ouirinus1 if we remember that    
,mars is probably a general name1 and   
that any number of ,martes may at any   
time have been sacrificed4 ,the ,jovis  
of the city of ,rome thus comes at last 
to be the greatest and most powerful    
,jupiter of them all1 and the           

representative of the ,roman union4     
,under ,hellenising influences1 however1
 all these minor gods get elevated at   
last into generalised deities2 and the  
animal victims offered to them become   
mere honorific or piacular sacrifices1  
hardly identified at all with the great 
images who receive them4  ,the          
,hellenising process went so far1       
indeed1 at ,rome that the old ,roman    
religion grew completely obscured1 and  
almost disappeared1 save in its domestic
 character4 ,in the home1 the ,lares    
still held the first rank4 ,elsewhere1  
,bacchus took the place of ,liber1 while
 the traits of ,hermes were fastened on 
the adjectival ,roman bargain-spirit    
,mercurius4 ,yet even so1 the ,roman    
retained his primitive belief in corn   
and wine gods1 under the newer guises2  
his ,ceres he saw as one with the ,attic
 ,demeter2 his rural ceremonies still   
continued unchanged by the change of    
attributes that infected and            
transfigured the city temples4          

,moreover1 the ,romans1 and later the   
cosmopolitan population of ,rome1       
borrowed gods and goddesses freely from 
without in ever increasing numbers4 ,in 
very early days1 they borrowed from     
,etruria2 later1 they borrowed ,apollo  
from ,greece1 and 7by an etymological   
blunder7 #cgd;fixed upon their own      
,hercules the traits of ,heracles4 ,on  
the occasion of a plague1 they publicly 
summoned ,asclepios1 the ,greek         
leech-god1 from ,epidaurus2 and at the  
very crisis of the life-and-death       
conflict with ,hannibal1 they fetched   
the sacred field-stone known as ,cybele1
 the ,mother of the ,gods1 from         
,pessinus in ,phrygia4 ,the people of   
,pessinus with strange compliance let   
their goddess go2 and the whole         
orgiastic cult of ,attis was thus       
transported entire to ,italian soil4    
,the rites of the great festival were   
carried on at ,rome almost as they had  
been carried on before in ,phrygia2 so  
that an ,asiatic worship of the most    

riotous type found a firm official      
footing in the centre of the empire4    
,the priest1 indeed1 was still an       
,asiatic1 or at least not a ,roman2 but 
the expulsion of ,hannibal from ,italy  
which followed on this adoption of a    
foreign god1 must have greatly increased
 the prestige and reputation of the     
alien and orgiastic deity4  ,the        
luxurious ,aphrodite of ,eryx in ,sicily
 arrived in ,rome about the same time   
with ,cybele4 ,originally a ,semitic    
goddess1 she combined the ,hellenic and 
oriental ideas1 and was identified in   
,italy with the old ,latin ,venus4      
,later still1 yet other gods were       
imported from without4 ,new deities     
flowed in from ,asia and ,africa4 ,the  
population of the city under the early  
empire had almost ceased to be ,roman1  
save in the upper strata2 a vast number 
of slaves from all parts of the world   
formed the lowest layer in the crowded  
vaults3 the middle rank was filled by   
,syrians1 ,africans1 ,greeks1           

,sicilians1 ,moors1 and freedmen--men of
 all places and races from ,spain or    
,britain to the ,euphrates and the      
,nile1 the steppes and the desert4 ,the 
,orontes1 said ,juvenal1 had flooded the
 ,tiber4 ,among this mixed mass of all  
creeds and colours1 subfusk or          
golden-haired1 a curious mixture of     
religions grew up4 ,some of these were  
mere ready-made foreign                 
importations--,isis-worship from ,egypt2
 ,jahweh-worship from ,juda2 strange    
eastern or northern or ,african cults   
from the remotest parts of ,pontus or   
,mauritania4 ,others were intermixtures 
#cgeor rationalisations of older        
religions1 such as ,christianity1 which 
mingled together ,judaism and ,adonis or
 ,osiris elements2 such as ,gnosticism1 
which1 starting from ,zoroastrian       
infiltrations1 kneaded all the gods of  
the world at last into its own supreme  
mystic and magic-god ,abraxas4  ,looking
 a little deeper through the empire in  
general1 we see that from the time of   

,augustus onward1 the need for a new    
cosmopolitan religion1 to fit the new   
cosmopolitan state1 was beginning to be 
dimly felt and acknowledged4 ,soldiers1 
enlisted in one country1 took the cult  
and images of their gods to another4    
,the bull-slaying ,mithra 7in whom we   
can hardly fail to see a solar form of  
the bull-god1 who sacrifices a bull1    
himself to himself1 before his own      
altar7 was worshipped here and there1 as
 numerous bas-reliefs show1 from ,persia
 to ,britain4 ,the ,gaul endeavoured to 
identify his own local war-gods with the
 ,roman ,mars1 who had been ,hellenised 
in turn into the duplicate presentment  
of the ,greek ,ares4 ,the ,briton saw   
his river-gods remodelled in mosaic into
 images like those of ,roman ,tiber1 or 
provided with the four horses who drag  
the ,roman ,neptune1 as ,neptune had    
borrowed the representation at least    
from the ,greek ,poseidon4 ,and this was
 all the easier because everywhere alike
 horses were sacrificed to sea or river1

 in lieu of human victims2 just as      
everywhere corn-gods were dressed in    
green1 and everywhere wine-gods wore    
coronals of vine-leaves on their holy   
foreheads4 ,men felt the truth ,i have  
tried to impress1 that everywhere and   
always there is but one religion4       
,attributes and origin were so much     
alike that worship was rapidly          
undergoing a cosmopolitanisation of     
name1 as it already possessed a         
similarity of rites and underlying      
features4 ,language itself assisted this
 unifying process4 ,in the west1 as     
,latin spread1 ,latin names of gods     
superseded local ones2 in the east1 as  
,greek spread1 ,hellenic deities gave   
their titles and their beautiful forms  
to native images4 ,an artificial unity  
was introduced #cgf;and fixed by a      
conventional list of ,greek and ,roman  
equivalents2 and in the west1 as ,greek 
art gained ground and spread1 noble     
,greek representations of the higher    
gods in ideal human form became         

everywhere common4  ,but that was not   
enough4 ,as the government was one1     
under a strong centralised despotism1 it
 was but natural that the religion      
should be one also1 under the rule of a4
 similar omnipotent deity4 ,man makes   
his heaven in the image of earth2 his   
pantheon answers to his political       
constitution4 ,the mediaeval hall of    
heaven had an imperial ,god1 like the   
,othos or the ,fredericks1 on his regal 
throne1 surrounded by a court of great  
barons and abbots in the angels and     
archangels1 the saints and martyrs3 the 
new religions1 like spiritualism and    
,theosophy1 which spring up in the      
modern democratic world1 are religions  
of free and independent spirits1 hardly 
even theistic4 ,the ,roman empire thus  
demanded a single religion under a      
single strong god4 ,it tended to find   
it1 if not in the ,genius of ,trajan or 
,antonine1 then in some bull-slaying    
,mithra or some universal ,abraxas4     
,materialists were satisfied with the   

worship of the ,emperor or of the city  
of ,rome3 idealists turned rather to    
,isis or to ,christ4  ,one religion     
there was which might have answered the 
turn of the empire3 the pure and ideal  
monotheism of ,juda4 ,but the cult of   
,jahweh was too local and too national2 
it never extended beyond the real or    
adopted sons of ,israel4 ,even so1 it   
gained proselytes of high rank at ,rome1
 especially among women2 as regards men1
 the painful and degrading initiatory   
ceremony of ,judaism must always have   
stood seriously in the way of converts4 
,yet in spite of this drawback1 there   
were proselytes in all the cosmopolitan 
cities where the ,jews were settled2 men
 who loved their nation and had built   
them a synagogue4 ,if ,judaism could but
 get rid of its national exclusiveness1 
and could incorporate into its god some 
more of those genial and universal      
traits which he had too early shuffled  
off--if #cgg;it could make itself less  
austere1 less abstract1 and at the same 

time less local--there was a chance that
 it might rise to be the religion of    
humanity4 ,the dream of the prophets    
might still come true and all the world 
might draw nigh to ,zion4  ,at this     
critical juncture1 an obscure little    
sect began to appear among the ,jews and
 ,galilans1 in ,jerusalem and ,antioch1 
which happened to combine in a          
remarkable degree all the main          
requirements of a new world-religion4   
,and whatever the cult of ,jesus lacked 
in this respect in its first beginnings1
 it made up for as it went by absorption
 and permeation4  ,it was a ,catholic   
,church3 it stood for the world1 not for
 a tribe or a nation4 ,it was a ,holy   
,church3 it laid great stress upon the  
ethical element4 ,it was a ,roman       
,church3 it grew and prospered          
throughout the ,roman empire4 ,it made a
 city what was once a world4 ,whence it 
came and how it grew must be our next   
and final questions4     ,,chapter      
,,xviii4--,,the ,,growth ,,of           

,,christianity4  ,,while #cghthe world  
was thus seething and fermenting with   
new faiths the creed of the ,christ made
 its first appearance on the seaboard of
 ,asia4 ,in spite of certain remarks in 
my first chapter1 ,i am not such a      
8gross and crass ,euhemerist0 as to     
insist dogmatically on the historical   
existence of a personal ,jesus4 ,of the 
,christ himself1 if a ,christ there     
were1 we know little or nothing4 ,the   
account of his life which has come down 
to us in the ,gospels is so devoid of   
authority1 and so entirely built up of  
miraculous fragments1 derived from      
elsewhere1 that we may well be excused  
for gravely doubting whether he is not  
rather to be numbered with ,st4 ,george 
and ,st4 ,catherine1 with ,perseus and  
,arthur1 among the wholly mythical and  
imaginary figures of legend and         
religion4  ,on the other hand1 it is    
quite possible1 or even probable1 that  
there really did live in ,galilee1 at   
some time about the beginning of our    

accepted era1 a teacher and reformer    
bearing the ,semitic name which is      
finally ,hellenised and ,latinised for  
us as ,jesus4 ,if so1 it seems not      
unlikely that this unknown person was   
crucified 7or rather hung on a post7 by 
the ,romans at ,jerusalem under the     
,procurator ,c4 ,pontius ,pilatus2 and  
that after his death he was worshipped  
more or less as a god by his immediate  
followers4 ,such kernel of truth may    
very well exist in the late and         
derivative ,gospel story2 a kernel of   
truth1 but imbedded in a mass of        
unhistorical myth1 which implicitly     
identifies him with all the familiar    
corn-gods and wine-gods of the ,eastern 
,mediterranean4  ,furthermore1 #cgi;it  
is even possible that the ,christ may   
have been deliberately put to death1 at 
the instigation of the ,jewish rabble1  
as one of those temporary divine kings  
whose nature and meaning we have already
 discussed4 ,if this suggestion seem    
improbable from the lack of any similar 

recorded case in the scanty ,jewish     
annals1 ,i would answer that formal     
histories seldom give us any hint of the
 similar customs still surviving in     
civilised ,european countries2 that many
 popular rites exist unheard of         
everywhere2 and that the ,jews were     
commonly believed through the ,middle   
,ages to crucify ,christian boys1 like  
,st4 ,hugh of ,lincoln1 in certain      
irregular and unrecognised ethnical     
ceremonies4 ,furthermore1 lest ,i should
 be thought to adduce this instance     
through an anti-,semite tendency 7which 
,i do not in the slightest degree       
possess71 ,i may add that even among    
,christians similar customs are believed
 to exist in rural parts of ,italy at   
the present day1--there are villages    
where a man dies yearly as the          
representative of ,christ2 and that in  
my opinion the ,oberammergau and other  
,passion ,plays are survivals of like   
representations in which a condemned    
criminal1 the usual substitute1 did once

 actually enact the part of ,christ4 ,in
 short1 ,i do not hesitate to say that  
god-slaying ceremonies1 more or less    
attenuated1 have lingered on everywhere 
in obscure forms among the folk-rites   
and folk-customs of the most civilised  
peoples4  ,without doing more than      
briefly indicate this possibility1      
however1 ,i pass on to say that if ever 
there was really a personal ,christ1 and
 if his followers began by vaguely      
believing in his resurrection1 the      
legend1 as we get it1 is obviously made 
up of collected fragments from all the  
godslaying customs and beliefs we have  
been considering in detail through the  
last six or seven chapters4 ,in the     
,gospel of his later believers1 after   
the sect had spread widely among the    
,gentiles of the towns1 ,jesus is       
conceived of as a corn and wine god1 a  
temporary king1 slain on a cross as a   
piacular atonement1 and raised again    
from the dead after #chjthree days1 in  
the manner common to all corn and wine  

gods4 ,it is possible1 of course1 that  
the first believers may have fastened   
all these ideas on to an accidental     
condemnation and execution1 so to speak2
 but it is possible too that the ,christ
 may actually have been put to death at 
the great spring feast of the ,passover1
 in accordance with some obscure and    
unrecognised folk-rite of the rabble of 
,jerusalem4 ,i do not even pretend to   
have an opinion on this subject2 ,i do  
not assert or deny any historical       
nucleus of fact3 ,i am satisfied with   
saying that the story on the whole      
exhibits the ,christ to us entirely in  
the character of a temporary king1 slain
 with piacular rites as a corn and wine 
god4 ,in this case at least1 ,i am no   
dogmatic ,euhemerist4  ,i think it was  
,professor ,freeman who once quaintly   
described ,buddhism as 8a blasphemous   
anticipatory parody of ,christianity40  
,the learned historian's idea apparently
 was that the author of all evil1 being 
aware beforehand of the divine          

intentions1 had invented ,buddhism      
before the advent of ,christ1 so as to  
discount the ,christian ,plan of        
,salvation by anticipation4 ,if so1 we  
must regard all other religions as      
similar blasphemous attempts at         
forestalling ,god3 for we shall see as  
we proceed that every one of them       
contains innumerable anticipations of   
,christianity--or1 to put it conversely1
 that ,christianity subsumes them all   
into itself1 in a highly concentrated   
and etherealised solution4  ,in the     
earliest ,christian documents1 the      
,pauline and other ,apostolic ,epistles1
 we get little information about the    
history of the real or mythical ,christ4
 ,shadowy allusions alone to the        
crucifixion and the resurrection repay  
our scrutiny4 ,but through the mist of  
words we see two or three things        
clearly4 ,the ,christ is described as   
the son of ,god--that is to say of the  
,jewish deity2 and he is spoken of      
continually as slain on a post or tree1 

the sacred symbol of so many old        
religions4 ,he dies to save mankind2 and
 salvation is offered in his name to all
 men4 ,a careful reading #chaof the     
epistles from this point of view will   
give in brief an epitome of the earliest
 and least dogmatic yet very doctrinal  
,christian theology4 ,its cardinal      
points are four --incarnation1 death1   
resurrection1 atonement4  ,the later    
accounts which we get in the ,gospels   
are far more explicit4 ,the legend by   
that time had taken form3 it had grown  
clear and consistent4 ,all the elements 
of the slain and risen corn and wine god
 are there in perfection4 ,for brevity's
 sake1 ,i will run all these accounts   
together1 adding to them certain traits 
of still later origin4  ,the aspect of  
,christ as a survival of the corn-god is
 already clear in ,paul's argument in   
,first ,corinthians on the resurrection 
of the body4 ,this argument would strike
 home at once to every ,greek and every 
,asiatic4 8,that which you sow is not   

quickened unless it die4 ,and when you  
sow1 you sow not the body that is to be1
 but bare grain2 it may be wheat or any 
other grain4 ,but ,god gives it a shape 
as pleases him2 to every seed its own   
body40 ,the whole of this fifteenth     
chapter1 the earliest statement of the  
,christian belief1 should be read       
through in this connexion by any one who
 wishes to understand the close relation
 of the idea of sowing to the           
resurrection4 ,it might have been       
written by any worshipper of ,adonis or 
,osiris who wished to recommend his     
special doctrine of a bodily            
resurrection to a doubtful cremationist1
 familiar with the cult of ,dionysus and
 of ,attis4  ,the earliest known rite of
 the ,christian church was the          
sacramental eating and drinking of bread
 and wine together2 which rite was said 
to commemorate the death of the ,lord1  
and his last supper1 when he eat and    
drank bread and wine with his disciples4
 ,the language put into his mouth on    

this occasion in the ,gospels1          
especially the ,fourth1 is distinctly   
that of the corn and wine god4 8,i am   
the true vine2 ye are the branches40 8,i
 am the bread of life40 8,take1 eat1    
this is my body40 8,this is my blood of 
the new testament40 ,numberless other   
touches of like kind are scattered      
through the speeches4 ,in the parable   
#chbof the vineyard1 ,god the ,father is
 described as the owner of a vineyard1  
who sends his only begotten son to      
receive the fruit of it3 and the workers
 slay him4 ,the first miracle at ,cana  
of ,galilee is one where water is turned
 into wine by the hand of ,jesus3 and so
 on through a long series of curious    
instances1 which readers can discover   
for themselves by inspection4  ,in early
 ,christian art1 as exhibited in the    
catacombs at ,rome1 the true vine is    
most frequently figured2 as are also    
baskets of loaves1 with the             
corresponding miracle of the loaves and 
fishes4 ,multiplication of bread and    

wine are the natural credentials of the 
corn and wine god4 ,the earliest        
description we possess of ,christ1 that 
of ,john of ,damascus1 states that his  
complexion was 8of the colour of wheat02
 while in the apocryphal letter of      
,lentulus to the ,roman ,senate we read 
in the same spirit that his hair was    
8wine-coloured40 ,the ,greek description
 by ,epiphanius ,monachus says that     
,christ was six feet high2 his hair long
 and golden-coloured2 and in countenance
 he was ruddy like his father ,david4   
,all these descriptions are obviously   
influenced by the identification of the 
bread and wine of the eucharist with the
 personal ,jesus4  ,in the usage of the 
church from very early days1 it has been
 customary to eat the body of ,christ in
 the form of bread1 and to drink his    
blood as wine in the sacrament4 ,in the 
,catholic church1 this continuous       
ceremony takes place at an altar1       
containing sacred bones1 and is         
represented as being the offering of    

,god1 himself to himself1 in the form of
 a mystic and piacular sacrifice4 ,the  
priest drinks the wine or blood2 the    
laity eat only the bread or body4  ,a   
curious custom which occurs in many     
churches of ,sicily at ,easter still    
further enforces this unity of ,christ  
with the cult of earlier corn and wine  
gods1 like ,adonis and ,osiris4 ,the    
women sow wheat1 lentils1 and           
canary-seed in plates1 which are kept in
 the dark and watered every second day4 
,the plants soon shoot up2 they are then
 tied together #chcwith red ribbons1 and
 the plates containing them are placed  
on the sepulchres which1 with effigies  
of the dead ,christ1 are made up in     
,roman ,catholic and ,greek churches on 
,good ,friday1 8just as the gardens of  
,adonis10 says ,mr4 ,frazer1 8were      
placed on the grave of the dead         
,adonis40 ,in this curious ceremony we  
get a survival from the very lowest     
stratum of corn-god worship2 the stratum
 where an actual human victim is killed1

 and corn and other crops are sown above
 his body4 ,even where the sowing itself
 no longer survives1 the sepulchre      
remains as a relic of the same antique  
ritual4 ,such sepulchres are everywhere 
common at ,easter1 as are the cradles of
 the child-god at the feast of the      
winter solstice4 ,the ,piet is the final
 form of this mourning of the corn-god  
by the holy women4  ,passing on to the  
other aspects of ,christ as corn-god and
 divine-human victim1 we see that he is 
doubly recognised as god and man1 like  
all the similar gods of early races4 ,in
 the speeches put into his mouth by his 
biographers1 he constantly claims the   
,jewish god as his father4 ,moreover1 he
 is a king2 and his kingly descent from 
his ancestor ,david is insisted upon in 
the genealogies with some little        
persistence4 ,he is ,god incarnate2 but 
also he is the ,king of the ,jews1 and  
the ,king of ,glory4 ,wise men come from
 the east to worship him1 and bring     
gifts of gold and myrrh and frankincense

 to the infant ,god in his manger       
cradle4 ,but he is further the ,christ1 
the anointed of ,god2 and1 as we saw1   
anointment is a common element with     
numerous other divine-human victims4    
,once more1 he is the ,king's son2 and  
he is the only begotten son1 the dearly 
beloved son1 who is slain as an         
expiation for the sins of the people4   
,the heavens open1 and a voice from them
 declares1 8,this is my beloved son in  
whom ,i am well pleased40 ,he is        
affiliated1 like all other such victims1
 on the older and earlier ethnical god1 
,jah-weh2 and though he is himself ,god1
 and one with the ,father1 he is offered
 up1 himself to himself1 in expiation of
 #chdthe sin committed by men against   
divine justice4 ,all this would be      
familiar theology indeed to the         
worshipper of ,osiris1 ,adonis1 and     
,attis4  ,the common ,hebrew offering   
was the paschal lamb2 therefore ,christ 
is envisaged as the ,lamb of ,god1 that 
taketh away the sins of the world4 ,in  

the paintings of the catacombs1 it is as
 a lamb that the ,saviour of the world  
is oftenest represented4 ,as a lamb he  
raises another lamb1 ,lazarus2 as a lamb
 he turns the water into wine2 as a lamb
 he strikes the living springs from the 
rock on the spandrils of the sarcophagus
 of ,junius ,bassus4 ,but his birth in a
 manger is also significant3 and his    
vine and his dove are almost as frequent
 as his lamb in the catacombs4  ,the    
,gospel history represents the passion  
of ,christ essentially as the sacrifice 
of a temporary king1 invested with all  
the familiar elements of that early     
ritual4 ,christ enters ,jerusalem in    
royal state1 among popular plaudits1    
like those which always accompany the   
temporary king1 and the ,attis or       
,adonis4 ,he is mounted on an ass1 the  
royal beast of the ,semites4 ,the people
 fling down branches of trees in his    
path1 as they always fling down parts of
 green trees before the gods of         
vegetation4 ,on ,palm ,sunday his       

churches are still decked with          
palm-branches or with sprays of         
willow-catkin4 ,such rites with green   
things form an integral part of all the 
old rituals of the tree-god or the      
corn-god1 and of all the modern         
,european survivals in folk-lore--they  
are equally found in the ,dionysiac     
festival1 and in the ,jack-in-the-,green
 revels on ,english fair-days4 ,the     
connexion with trees is also well marked
 throughout the ,gospels2 and the       
miracle of the barren fig-tree is       
specially mentioned in close connexion  
with the entry into ,jerusalem4 ,the    
people as he entered cried 8,hosanna0 to
 the son of ,david and the prophetic    
words were supposed to be fulfilled1    
8,behold1 thy king cometh unto thee1    
meek1 sitting upon an ass1 and a colt1  
the foal of an ass40  ,the ,christ goes 
as a willing victim to the cross2 he    
does not #cheseriously ask that the cup 
should pass from him4 ,he foretells his 
own death1 and voluntarily submits to it

 ,but he is also bought with a          
price--the thirty pieces of silver paid 
to ,judas4 ,of all this1 we had         
forecasts in the ,khond1 the ,mexican1  
and various other rituals4              
,furthermore1 there is a trial--a double
 trial1 before the high priest1 and     
before ,pilate4 ,such trials1 we have   
seen1 are common elements of the        
mock-king's degradation4 ,like all other
 similar victims1 the ,christ1 after    
being treated like a monarch1 is reviled
 and spat upon1 buffeted and insulted4  
,he is bound with cords1 and carried    
before ,pilate4 ,the procurator asks    
him1 8,art thou the ,king of the ,jews80
 and the ,christ by implication admits  
the justice of the title4 ,all the      
subsequent episodes of the painful drama
 are already familiar to us4 ,the sacred
 victim is cruelly scourged that his    
tears may flow4 ,as in other cases he is
 crowned with flowers or with bark1 in  
order to mark his position as king of   
vegetation1 so here he is crowned with a

 chaplet of thorns that adds to his     
ignominy4 ,the sacred blood must flow   
from the sacred head4 ,but still1 he is 
clothed with purple and saluted with the
 words1 8,hail1 ,king of the ,jews60 in 
solemn irony4 ,he is struck on the head 
with a reed by the soldiers3 yet even as
 they strike1 they bow their knees and  
worship him4 ,they give him to drink    
wine1 mingled with myrrh2 8but he       
received it not40 ,then he is crucified 
at ,golgotha1 the place of a skull1 99  
on a cross1 the old sacred emblem of so 
many religions2 it bears the            
inscription1 8,the ,king of the ,jews10 
by order of the ,procurator4 ,after the 
death of the ,christ he is mourned over1
 like ,adonis and ,osiris1 by the holy  
women1 including his mother4 ,i do not  
think ,i need point out in detail the   
many close resemblances which exist     
between the ,mother of the ,gods and the
 ,mother of ,god--the ,theotokos4       
99 ,according to mediaeval legend1 the  
skull was ,adam's1 and      the sacred  

blood which fell upon it revived it4 ,in
      crucifixions1 a skull is generally
 represented at the foot      of the    
cross4  ,the #chfthieves crucified with 
the ,saviour have their legs broken1    
like many other sacred victims2 but the 
,christ himself has not a bone broken1  
like the paschal lamb which was the     
,jewish substitute for the primitive    
human victim4 ,thus both ideas on this  
subject1 the earlier and the later1 seem
 to find an appropriate place in the    
history4 ,instead of having his legs    
broken1 however1 the ,christ has his    
side pierced2 and from it flows the     
mystic blood of the atonement1 in which 
all ,christians are theoretically       
washed2 this baptism of blood 7a literal
 reality in older cults7 being already a
 familiar image at the date of the      
,apocalypse1 where the robes of the     
elect are washed white in the blood of  
the lamb that was slain4  ,after the    
crucifixion1 the ,christ is taken down  
and buried4 ,but1 like all other corn   

and wine gods1 he rises again from the  
dead on the third day--this very period 
of three days being already a           
conventional one in similar cases4      
,every one of the surroundings recalls  
,osiris and ,attis4 ,it is the women    
once more who see him first2 and        
afterwards the men4 ,finally1 he ascends
 into heaven1 to his ,father1 before the
 wondering eyes of his disciples and his
 mother4 ,in each item of this1 there is
 nothing with which we are not already  
familiar elsewhere4  ,i will not pursue 
the analogy further4 ,to do so would be 
endless4 ,indeed1 ,i do not think there 
is an element in the ,gospel story which
 does not bear out the parallel here    
suggested4 ,the slight incident of the  
visit to ,herod1 for example1 is exactly
 analogous to the visit of the false    
,osiris in modern ,egypt to the         
governor's house1 and the visit of the  
temporary or mock king in so many other 
cases to the real king's palace4 ,the   
episode where ,herod and his men of war 

array the ,christ in a gorgeous robe is 
the equivalent of the episode of the    
,mexican king arraying the god-victim in
 royal dress1 and is also paralleled in 
numerous other like dramas elsewhere4   
,the women who prepare spices and       
ointments for the body recall the       
,adonis rites2 ,pilate washing his hands
 of the guilt of condemnation           
#chgrecalls the frequent episode of the 
slaughterers of the god laying the blame
 upon others1 or casting it on the      
knife1 or crying out1 8,we bought you   
with a price2 we are guiltless40        
,whoever will read carefully through the
  ,gospel accounts1 side by side with   
,mr4 ,frazer's well-chosen collection of
 mock-king narratives1 will see for     
himself that endless other minor traits 
crop up in the story which may be       
equated with numerous similar incidents 
in the death and resurrection of the    
man-god elsewhere4  ,the very subjects  
of the parables are in themselves       
significant3 the lord of the vineyard   

who sends his son1 whom the hirers slay2
 the labourers who come at the eleventh 
hour3 the sower and the good and bad    
ground3 the grain of mustard-seed3 the  
leaven of the ,pharisees3 the seed      
growing secretly3 the sons in the       
vineyard4 ,it will be found that almost 
all of them turn on the key-note        
subjects of bread and wine1 or at least 
of seed-sowing4  ,by what precise stages
 the story of the ,galilan man-god arose
 and fixed itself around the person of  
the real or mythical ,jesus it would be 
hard to say4 ,already in the epistles we
 may catch stray glimpses1 in the germ1 
of most of it4 ,already we notice       
strange hints and foreshadowings4       
,probably the first ,jewish disciples   
had arrived at the outline of the       
existing story even before the ,gentiles
 began to add their quotum4 ,and when we
 look at documents so overloaded with   
miracle and legend as the ,gospels and  
the ,acts of the ,apostles1 we find it  
hard indeed to separate any element of  

historical truth from the enormous      
accretion of myth and legend4 ,still1 ,i
 see no grave reason to doubt the       
general truth of the idea that the      
,christian belief and practice arose    
first among ,galilan ,jews1 and that    
from them it spread with comparative    
rapidity to the people of ,syria and    
,asia ,minor4 ,it even seems probable   
that one ,saul or ,paul was really the  
person who first conceived the idea of  
preaching the new religion throughout   
the empire1 and especially in the great 
cities1 as a faith which might be       
embraced by both ,jew and ,gentile4     
,certainly1 #chhwhile the young cult    
contained most of the best features of  
,judaism1 viewed as a possible universal
 religion1--its monotheism1 its purity1 
its comparative freedom from vile and   
absurd legends of the gods and their    
amours--it surpassed the elder faith in 
acceptability to the world at large1 and
 especially to the people of ,syria and 
western ,asia4 ,every one of them could 

have said with perfect truth1 8,nothing 
is changed2 there is but one god more to
 worship40  ,as the church spread1 the  
legend grew apace4 ,to the early account
 of the death and resurrection of the   
,king of the ,jews1 later narrators     
added the story of his miraculous birth 
from a virgin mother1 who conceived     
directly from the spirit of ,god wafted 
down upon her4 ,the wide extent and the 
origin of this belief about the         
conception of gods and heroes has been  
fully examined by ,mr4 ,sidney ,hartland
 in his admirable study of the ,legend  
of ,perseus4 ,the new believers further 
provided their divine leader with a     
royal genealogy from ,david downward1   
and made him by a tolerably circuitous  
argument be born at ,bethlehem1         
according to the supposed               
prophecy--though if there ever was      
really a ,jesus at all1 it would seem   
that the one fact of which we could feel
 tolerably sure about him1 was the fact 
of his being a man of ,nazareth4 ,later 

writers put into his mouth a high moral 
teaching for its time1 somewhat         
anticipated by ,hillel and other rabbis1
 and perhaps in part of ,buddhist       
origin2 they also made him announce for 
himself that divine rle of mediator and 
atoner which they themselves claimed for
 the ,saviour of ,mankind4 ,he calls    
himself the vine1 the bread of life1 the
 good shepherd2 he is called 8the lamb  
of ,god that taketh away the sins of the
 world10 by ,john the ,baptist1 an      
enthusiast whose fame has attracted him 
at last into the ,christian legend4     
,very early1 the old rite of            
water-lustration or baptism1 adopted by 
,john1 was employed as one of the chief 
,christian ceremonies1 the ceremony of  
initiation1 which replaced with         
advantage the bloody and dangerous      
,jewish circumcision4  ,this            
#chi;allowed for far freer proselytism  
than ,judaism could ever expect2 and    
though no doubt at first the ,christians
 regarded themselves as a sect of the   

,jews1 and though they always adopted   
entire the ,jewish sacred books and the 
,jewish ,god1 with all the ,jewish      
history1 cosmogony1 and mythology1 yet  
the new religion was from the beginning 
a cosmopolitan one1 and preached the    
word unto all nations4 ,such a faith1   
coming at such a moment1 and telling men
 precisely what they were ready to      
believe1 was certain beforehand of      
pretty general acceptance4 ,when        
,constantine made ,christianity the     
official creed of the empire1 it is     
clear that he did but put an official   
stamp of approval on a revolution that  
had long been growing more and more     
inevitable4  ,in one word1 ,christianity
 triumphed1 because it united in itself 
all the most vital elements of all the  
religions then current in the world1    
with little that was local1 national1 or
 distasteful2 and it added to them all a
 high ethical note and a social doctrine
 of human brotherhood especially suited 
to an age of unification and systematic 

government4  ,occasionally1 even in the 
,gospels themselves1 we get strange     
passing echoes of a mysterious          
identification of the ,christ with the  
ancient ,hebrew ethnical god1 not as the
 ,lord of the ,universe alone1 but      
vaguely remembered as the sacred stone  
of the ark1 the ,rock of ,israel4 8,the 
stone which the builders rejected1 that 
one has become the head of the corner40 
8,whosoever shall fall on this stone    
shall be broken2 but on whomsoever it   
shall fall1 it will grind him to        
powder40 ,and in a speech put into the  
mouth of ,christ1 he says to ,peter1    
8,rock thou art1 and on this ,rock will 
,i build my assembly40 99       99 ,i   
can honestly assure the polemical       
,protestant divine      that ,i am well 
aware of the difference in gender in    
this      passage--and of its utter     
unimportance4 ,the name ,peter could    
not well be made feminine to suit a     
particular play upon      words or to   
anticipate the objections of a          

particular set of      trivial          
word-twisters4  ,sometimes1 too1 in the 
epistles the two ideas of the corn-god  
and the foundation stone-god are worked 
upon alternately4 #cij8;,i have planted2
 ,apollos watered40 8,ye are ,god's     
husbandry2 ye are ,god's building40 8,i 
have laid the foundation1 and another   
builds thereon4 ,let every man take care
 how he builds upon it4 ,for other      
foundation can no man lay than that     
which is laid1 which is the ,christ1    
,jesus40 ,or again1 8,you are built upon
 the foundation of the apostles and     
prophets1 ,jesus1 the ,christ1 being    
himself the chief corner stone40        
,whoever rereads the epistles by the    
light of the analogies suggested in this
 book will find that they positively    
teem with similar references to the     
familiar theology of the various slain  
man-gods1 which must have been known to 
every one along the shores of the       
,mediterranean4  ,the church which was  
built upon this rock--and that ,rock was

 ,christ--has shown its continuity with 
earlier religions in a thousand ways and
 by a thousand analogies4 ,solar and    
astrological elements have been freely  
admitted1 side by side with those which 
recall the corn and wine gods4 ,the     
chief festivals still cling to the solar
 feasts of the equinoxes and the        
solstices4 ,thus every year the church  
celebrates in mimicry the death and     
resurrection of the ,christ1 as the     
,mediterranean peoples celebrated the   
death and resurrection of the ,attis1   
the ,adonis1 the ,dionysus1 the ,osiris4
 ,it celebrates the feast at the usual  
time for most such festivals1 the spring
 equinox4 ,more than that1 it chooses   
for the actual day of the resurrection1 
commonly called in ,english ,easter1 and
 in the ,latin dialects the ,paschal    
feast 7or ,pques71 a trebly astrological
 date4 ,the festival must be as near as 
possible to the spring equinox2 but it  
must be after a full moon1 and it must  
be on the day sacred to the sun4 ,before

 the feast1 a long fast takes place1 at 
the close of which the ,christ is slain 
in effigy1 and solemnly laid in a mimic 
sepulchre4 ,good ,friday is the         
anniversary of his piacular death1 and  
the special day of the annual mourning1 
as for ,adonis and ,attis4 ,on ,easter  
,sunday1 he rises again from the dead1  
and every good ,catholic is bound to    
communicate--to eat the body of his     
slaughtered #cia;god on the annual      
spring festival of reviving vegetation4 
,comparison of the ,holy ,week          
ceremonies at ,rome with the other      
annual festivals1 from the ,mexican     
corn-feast and the ,potraj rite of      
,india to ,attis and ,adonis1 will be   
found extremely enlightening--,i mean1  
of course1 the ceremonies as they were  
when the ,pope1 the ,priest-,king1 the  
representative of the annual ,attis at  
,pessinus1 officiated publicly in the   
,sistine ,chapel1 with paschal music    
known as ,lamentations1 and elevation of
 the ,host amid the blare of trumpets4  

,on this subject1 ,i limit myself to the
 barest hint4 ,whoever chooses to follow
 out so pregnant a clue will find it    
lead him into curious analogies and     
almost incredible survivals4            
,similarly1 the birth of ,christ is     
celebrated at the winter solstice1 the  
well-known date for so many earlier     
ceremonies of the gods of vegetation4   
,then the infant god lies unconscious in
 his cradle4 ,whoever has read ,mr4     
,frazer's great work will understand the
 connexion of the holly and the         
mistletoe1 and the ,christmas tree1 with
 this second great festival of          
,christendom1 very important in the     
,teutonic north1 though far inferior in 
the south to the spring-tide feast1 when
 the god is slain and eaten of          
necessity4 ,i limit myself to saying    
that the ,christmas rites are all of    
them rites of the birth of the corn-god4
  ,even the ,christian cross1 it is now 
known1 was not employed as a symbol of  
the faith before the days of            

,constantine1 and was borrowed from the 
solar wheel of the ,gaulish             
sun-god-worshippers who formed the mass 
of the successful emperor's legionaries4
  ,we are now1 therefore1 in a very     
different position for understanding the
 causes which led to the rise and       
development of the ,christian religion  
from that which we occupied at the      
outset of our enquiry4 ,we had then to  
accept crudely the bare fact that about 
the first century of our era a certain  
cult of a ,divine ,man1 ,jesus1 arose   
among a fraction of the maritime people 
of ,lower ,syria4 ,that fact as we at   
first received it stood isolated and    
unrelated #cib;in its naked singularity4
 ,we can now see that it was but one    
more example of a universal god-making  
tendency in human nature1 high or low2  
and in our last chapter we shall find   
that this universal tendency to worship 
the dead has ever since persisted as    
fully as ever1 and is in fact the       
central element in the entire religious 

instinct of humanity4  ,the main        
emotional chord upon which ,christianity
 played in its early days--and indeed   
the main chord upon which it still      
plays--is just1 ,i believe1 the         
universal feeling in favour of the      
deification or beatification of the     
dead1 with the desire for immortality on
 the part of the individual believer    
himself in person4 ,like all other      
religions1 but even more than any other 
religion at that time in vogue1         
,christianity appealed to these two     
allied and deep-seated longings of human
 nature4 ,it appealed on the one hand to
 the unselfish emotions and affections  
of mankind by promising a close1 bodily1
 personal1 and speedy reassociation of  
the living believer with his dead       
relatives and friends4 ,it appealed on  
the other hand to the selfish wishes and
 desires of each1 by holding forth to   
every man the sure and certain hope of a
 glorious resurrection4 ,like all other 
creeds1 but beyond all other creeds1 it 

was the religion of immortality1 of the 
dead revived1 of the new world3 in an   
age of doubt1 of scepticism1 of the     
decay of faith1 it gave fresh life and a
 totally new basis to the old           
beliefs--perhaps the old delusions--of  
the religious nature4  ,a necessary     
consequence of the universal ferment and
 intermixture of pantheons everywhere   
during the early days of the ,roman     
empire was a certain amount of floating 
scepticism about the gods as a whole1   
which reaches its highest point in the  
mocking humour of ,lucian1 or still     
earlier in the ,epicurean atheism of    
,lucretius and of ,roman philosophy in  
general4 ,but while this nascent        
scepticism was very real and very       
widespread1 it affected rather current  
beliefs as to the personality and       
history of the various gods than the    
#cicunderlying conception of godhead in 
the abstract4 ,even those who laughed   
and those who disbelieved1 retained at  
bottom many superstitions and           

supernatural ideas4 ,their scepticism   
was due1 not like that of our own time  
to fundamental criticism of the very    
notion of the supernatural1 but to the  
obvious inadequacy of existing gods to  
satisfy the requirements of educated    
cosmopolitans4 ,the deities of the time 
were too coarse1 too childish1 too gross
 for their worshippers4 ,the common     
philosophic attitude of cultivated ,rome
 and cultivated ,alexandria might be    
compared to some extent to that of our  
own ,unitarians1 who are not indeed     
hostile to the conception of theology in
 its own nature1 but who demur to the   
most miraculous and supernatural part of
 the popular doctrine4  ,with the mass1 
however1 the religious unrest showed    
itself mainly1 as it always shows itself
 at such critical moments1 in a general 
habit of running after new and strange  
religions1 from some one or other of    
which the anxious enquirer hopes to     
obtain some divine answer to his doubts 
and difficulties4 ,when old faiths      

decay1 there is room for new ones4 ,as  
might have been expected1 this tendency 
was most clearly shown in the great     
cosmopolitan trading towns1 where men of
 many nations rubbed shoulders together1
 and where outlandish cults of various  
sorts had their temples and their       
adherents4 ,especially was this the case
 at ,rome1 ,alexandria1 and ,antioch1   
the capitals respectively of the ,roman1
 the ,hellenic1 and the ,semitic worlds4
 ,in the ,grco-,egyptian metropolis1 the
 worship of ,serapis1 a composite deity 
of hybrid origin1 grew gradually into   
the principal cult of the teeming city4 
,at ,antioch1 ,hellenic deities were    
ousting the ,baalim4 ,at ,rome1 the     
worship of ,isis1 of ,jahweh1 of ,syrian
 and other remoter ,eastern gods was    
carried on by an ever-increasing body of
 the foreign1 native1 and servile       
population4 ,these were the places where
 ,christianity spread4 ,the men of the  
villages were long1 as the world still  
quaintly phrases it1 8pagans40  ,the    

#cidstrange cults which united in thus  
gradually crushing out the old local and
 national pantheons throughout the      
,roman world1 had for the most part two 
marked attributes in common3 they were  
more or less mystical2 and they tended  
more or less in the direction of        
monotheism4 ,solar myth1 syncretism1 the
 esoteric priestly interpretations1 and 
the general diffusion of ,greek         
philosophic notions1 mixed with subtler 
oriental and ,zoroastrian ideas1 had all
 promoted the rise and growth of the    
mystic element3 while a vague           
monotheistic movement had long been     
apparent in the higher thought of       
,egypt1 ,greece1 ,italy1 and the ,east4 
,in the resulting conflict and          
intermixture of ideas1 ,judaism1 as one 
of the most mystical and monotheistic of
 religions1 would have stood a good     
chance of becoming the faith of the     
world1 had it not been for the fatal    
weight of its strict and obstinate      
national character4 ,even as it was1    

,jewish communities were scattered      
through all the commercial towns of the 
,grco-,roman world2 a ,jewish colony    
strongly influenced ,alexandria2 and    
,jewish teachers made proselytes in     
,rome in the very bosom of the imperial 
household4  ,the ferment which thus     
existed by the ,orontes1 the ,nile1 and 
the ,tiber must also have extended in a 
somewhat less degree to all the         
cosmopolitan seaports and trading towns 
of the great and heterogeneous military 
empire4 ,what was true of ,rome1        
,alexandria1 and ,antioch1 was true in  
part1 we have every reason to believe1  
of ,damascus1 of ,byzantium1 of ,sinope1
 of ,ephesus3 of ,rhodes1 of ,cyrene1 of
 ,athens1 of ,carthage2 perhaps even of 
,massilia1 of ,gades1 of ,burdigala1 of 
,lugdunum4 ,all around the eastern      
,mediterranean at least1 new faiths were
 seething1 new ideas were brewing1 new  
mysticisms were being evolved1 new      
superstitions were arising1             
,phoenix-like1 out of the dying embers  

of decaying creeds4 ,setting aside mere 
exotic or hybrid cults1 like the worship
 of ,serapis at ,alexandria and of ,isis
 at ,rome1 or mere abortive attempts    
like the short-lived worship of         
,antinous in ,egypt1 #ciewe may say that
 three of these new religions appealed  
strongly to the wants and desires of the
 time3 and those three were ,mithraism1 
,gnosticism1 and ,christianity4  ,all   
were alike somewhat eclectic in         
character2 and all could lay claim to a 
certain cosmopolitan and catholic spirit
 unknown to the cults of the old        
national pantheons4 ,all came to the    
,greek and ,roman world from the mystic 
east1 the land of the rising sun1 whose 
magic is felt even at the present day by
 the votaries of ,theosophy and of      
,esoteric ,buddhism4 ,which of the three
 was to conquer in the end might have   
seemed at one time extremely doubtful3  
nor indeed do ,i believe that the       
ultimate triumph of ,christianity1 the  
least imposing of the three1 inevitable 

as it at last became1 was by any means  
at first a foregone conclusion4 ,the    
religion of ,jesus probably owed quite  
as much to what we call chance--that is 
to say1 to the play of purely personal  
and casual circumstances--as to its own 
essential internal characteristics4 ,if 
,constantine or any other shrewd        
military chief had happened to adopt the
 symbols of ,mithra or ,abraxas instead 
of the name of ,christ1 it is quite     
conceivable that all the civilised world
 might now be adoring the mystic        
divinity of the three hundred and       
sixty-five emanations1 as sedulously as 
it actually adores the final theological
 outcome of the old ,hebrew ,jahweh4    
,but there were certain real advantages 
as well1 which told1 ,i believe1 in the 
very nature of things1 in favour of the 
,christ as against the coinage of       
,basilides or the far-eastern sun-god4  
,constantine1 in other words1 chose his 
religion wisely4 ,it was the cult       
exactly adapted to the times3 above all 

others1 during the two centuries or so  
that had passed since its first         
beginning 7for we must place the real   
evolution of the ,christian system      
considerably later than the life or     
death of ,jesus himself7 it had shown   
itself capable of thoroughly engaging on
 its own side the profoundest interests 
and emotions of the religious nature4   
,we must remember1 too1 that in all     
religious crises1 while #cif;faith in   
the actual gods and creeds declines     
rapidly1 no corresponding weakening     
occurs in the underlying sentiments on  
which all religions ultimately base     
themselves4 ,hence the apparent paradox 
that periods of doubt are also almost   
always periods of intense credulity as  
well4 ,the human mind1 cast free from   
the moorings which have long sufficed   
for it1 drifts about restlessly in      
search of some new haven in which it may
 take refuge from the terrors of        
uncertainty and infidelity4 ,and its new
 faith is always but a fresh form of the

 old one4 ,a god or gods1 prayer1       
praise1 and sacraments1 are essential   
elements4 ,more especially is it the    
case that when trust in the great gods  
begins to fail1 a blind groping after   
necromancy1 spiritualism1 and ghost-lore
 in general takes its place for the     
moment4 ,we have seen this tendency     
fully exemplified in our own time by the
 spiritualists and others3 nor was it   
less marked in the tempest of           
conflicting ideas which broke over the  
,roman world from the age of the        
,antonines to the fall of the empire4   
,the fact is1 the average man cares but 
little1 after all1 for his gods and his 
goddesses1 viewed as individuals4 ,they 
are but an outlet for his own emotions4 
,he appeals to them for help1 as long as
 he continues to believe in their       
effective helpfulness3 he is ready to   
cajole them with offerings of blood or  
to flatter them with homage of praise   
and prayer1 as long as he expects to    
gain some present or future benefit1    

bodily or spiritual1 in return for his  
assiduous adulation4 ,but as soon as his
 faith in their existence and power     
begins to break down1 he puts up with   
the loss of their godhead1 so far as    
they themselves are concerned1 without  
one qualm of disappointment or          
inconvenience4 ,it is something far     
other than that that touches him in     
religion3 it is his hopes for his own   
eternal welfare1 and the welfare after  
death of those that love him4  ,hence1 a
 decline of faith in the great gods is  
immediately followed by a recrudescence 
of the most barbaric and original       
element in religion--the cult of the    
ghost or spirit1 #cignecromancy1 the    
direct worship of the dead or           
intercourse with the dead3 a habit of   
enquiry into the positive chances of    
human immortality4 ,this necromantic    
spirit is well marked in ,gnostic       
remains1 and in the fragmentary magical 
literature of the decadent ,grco-,roman 
world4 ,it is precisely the same        

tendency which produces spiritualism in 
our own time3 and it is due to the      
desire to find some new and experimental
 basis for the common human belief in   
the immortality of the soul or the      
resurrection of the body4  ,and here we 
get the clue to the serious change which
 ,christianity wrought in the religious 
feeling of the western world3 a change  
whose importance and whose retrograde   
nature has never yet1 ,i believe1 been  
fully recognised4 ,for ,christianity1   
while from one point of view1 as a      
monotheistic or quasi-monotheistic      
religion1 an immense advance upon the   
aesthetic paganism of ,greece and       
,italy1 was from another point of view1 
as a religion of resurrection rather    
than a religion of immortality1 a step  
backward for all ,western ,europe4      
,even among the ,jews themselves1       
however1 the new cult must have come    
with all the force of an 8aid to faith0 
in a sceptical generation4 ,abroad1     
among the ,jewish ,hellenists1 ,greek   

philosophy must have undermined much of 
the fanatical and patriotic enthusiasm  
for ,jahweh which had grown stronger and
 ever stronger in ,juda itself through  
the days of the ,maccabees and the      
,asmonan princes4 ,scraps of vague      
,platonic theorising on the nature of   
the ,divine were taking among these     
exiles the place of the firm old        
dogmatic belief in the ,rock of ,israel4
 ,at home1 the ,hellenising tendencies  
of the house of ,herod1 and the         
importance in ,jerusalem of the         
,sadducees 8who say there is no         
resurrection10 were striking at the very
 roots of the hope and faith that pious 
,jews most tenderly cherished4 ,instead 
of ,israel converting the world1 the    
world seemed likely to convert ,israel4 
,swamped in the great absorbing and     
assimilating empire1 ,judah #cihmight   
follow in the way of ,ephraim4 ,and     
,israel's work in the world might thus  
be undone1 or rather stultified for     
ever4  ,just at this very moment1 when  

all faiths were tottering visibly to    
their fall1 a tiny band of obscure      
,galilan peasants1 who perhaps had      
followed a wild local enthusiast from   
their native hills up to turbulent      
,jerusalem1 may have been seized with a 
delusion neither unnatural nor          
unaccustomed under their peculiar       
circumstances2 but which nevertheless   
has sufficed to turn or at least to     
modify profoundly the entire subsequent 
course of the world's history4 ,their   
leader1 if we may trust the universal   
tradition of the sect1 as laid down long
 after in their legendary ,gospels1 was 
crucified at ,jerusalem under ,c4       
,pontius ,pilatus4 ,if any fact upon    
earth about ,jesus is true1 besides the 
fact of his residence at ,nazareth1 it  
is this fact of the crucifixion1 which  
derives verisimilitude from being always
 closely connected with the name of that
 particular ,roman official4 ,but three 
days after1 says the legend1 the body of
 ,jesus could not be found in the       

sepulchre where his friends had laid    
him3 and a rumour graduallyrsquo2 gained
 ground that he had risen from the dead1
 and had been seen abroad by the women  
who mourned him and by various of his   
disciples4 ,in short1 what was          
universally believed about all other and
 elder human gods1 was specifically     
asserted afresh in a newer case about   
the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,the idea fitted
 in with the needs of the time1 and the 
doctrine of the ,resurrection of ,jesus 
the ,christ became the corner-stone of  
the new-born ,christian religion4       
,nothing can be clearer than the fact   
admitted on all hands1 that this event  
formed the central point of the         
,apostles' preaching4 ,it was the       
,resurrection of ,jesus1 regarded as an 
earnest of general resurrection for all 
his followers1 that they most insisted  
upon in their words and writings4 ,it   
was the resurrection that converted the 
world of western ,europe4 8,your faith  
is flagging10 said the early ,christians

 in effect to their pagan fellows3 8your
 gods are #cii;half-dead2 your ideas    
about your own future1 and the present  
state of your departed friends1 are most
 vague and shadowy4 ,in opposition to   
all this1 we offer you a sure and       
certain hope2 we tell you a tale of real
 life1 and recent2 we preach a god of   
the familiar pattern1 yet very close to 
you2 we present you with a specimen of  
actual resurrection4 ,we bring you good 
tidings of ,jesus as the ,messiah1 and  
him crucified3 to the ,jews1 a          
stumbling-block2 to the ,greeks1        
foolishness2 but to such as are saved1 a
 plain evidence of the power of the ,god
 of ,israel4 ,accept our word3 let your 
dead sleep in ,christ in our catacombs1 
as once they slept in ,osiris at        
,abydos1 or rested upon him that rests  
at ,phil40 8,if ,christ be not risen10  
says one of the earliest ,christian     
writers in a passionate peroration1     
8then is our preaching vain1 and your   
faith is vain also3 but as it is1       

,christ is risen from the dead1 and has 
become the first fruits of them that    
slept40 8,else what shall they do10 he  
goes on1 touching to the quick that     
ingrained human desire for communion    
with the departed1 8what shall they do  
which are baptised for the dead1 if the 
dead rise not at all8 ,why are they then
 baptised for the dead80 ,these1 in     
short1 apart from the elements common to
 all creeds1 are the three great motors 
of primitive ,christianity3 one         
dogmatic1 the resurrection of ,jesus3   
one selfish1 the salvation of the       
individual soul3 one altruistic1 the    
desire for reunion with the dead among  
one's beloved4  ,syria and ,egypt could 
easily accept the new doctrine4 ,it     
involved for them no serious change of  
front1 no wide departure from the ideas 
and ceremonies which always formed their
 rounded concept of human existence4    
,there is a representation of the       
resurrection of ,osiris in the little   
temple on the roof at ,denderah which   

might almost pass for a ,christian      
illustration of the resurrection of     
,jesus4 ,to ,syrian and ,egyptian1 the  
resurrection indeed was but a special   
modern instance of a well-known fact2 a 
fresh basis of evidence upon which to   
plant firmly the tottering edifice      
#djjof their old convictions4rsquo2 ,in 
its beginnings1 in short1 ,christianity 
was essentially an oriental religion2 it
 spread fastest in the eastern          
,mediterranean basin1 where ,judaism was
 already well established3 at ,rome1 it 
seems to have attracted chiefly the     
oriental population4 ,and it is a       
significant fact that its official      
adoption as the public religion of the  
,roman state was the act of the same    
prince who deliberately shifted the seat
 of his government from the ,tiber to   
the ,bosphorus1 and largely transformed 
the character of the empire from a      
,latin to a ,grco-,asiatic type4 ,all   
the new religions which struggled       
together for the mastery of the world   

were oriental in origin3 the triumph of 
,christianity was but a single episode  
in the general triumph of aggressive    
orientalism over the occidental element 
in the ,roman system4  ,egypt in        
particular1 ,i believe1 had far more to 
do with the dogmatic shaping of early   
,christianity1 and the settlement of    
,christian symbolism and ,christian     
mysticism1 than is generally admitted by
 the official historians of the         
primitive church4 ,there1 where the idea
 of resurrection was already so         
universal1 and where every man desired  
to be 8justified by ,osiris10           
,christianity soon made an easy conquest
 of a people on whose faith it exerted  
so little change4 ,and ,egypt easily    
made its influence felt on the plastic  
young creed4 ,it is allowed that the    
doctrine of the ,trinity took shape     
among the ,triad-worshippers on the     
banks of the ,nile1 and that the        
scarcely less important doctrine of the 
,logos was borrowed from the philosophy 

of ,alexandrian ,jews4 ,nobody can look 
at the figures of ,isis and the infant  
,horus in any ,egyptian museum without  
being at once struck by the obvious     
foreshadowing of the ,coptic and        
,byzantine ,madonna and ,child4 ,the    
mystery that sprang up about the new    
doctrines2 the strange syncretic union  
of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost into 
a single ,trinity2 the miraculous       
conception by the ,theotokos or mother  
of ,god--a clear variant in one aspect  
on the older idea of ,hathor2 and the   
antenatal existence of ,christ #dja;in  
heaven before his incarnation2 all are  
thoroughly ,egyptian in character1 with 
a faint superadded dash of ,alexandrian 
,jewish ,hellenism4 ,the love of symbols
 which the young church so early        
exhibits in the catacombs and elsewhere 
smacks equally of ,ptolemaic            
reminiscences of ,thebes and ,memphis4  
,the mummy-form of ,lazarus2 the fish   
that makes such a clever alphabetic     
ideogram for the name and titles of     

,jesus2 the dove that symbolises the    
,holy ,ghost2 the animal types of the   
four evangelists--all these are in large
 part ,egyptian echoes1 resonant of the 
same spirit which produced the          
hieroglyphics and the symbolism of the  
great ,nilotic temples4 ,at the same    
time it must be remembered that sacred  
fish were common in ,syria1 and that    
similar identifications of gods with    
animals have met us at every turn1 in   
our earlier investigation4  ,nay1 more1 
the very details themselves of          
,christian symbolism often go back to   
early ,egyptian models4 ,the central    
,christian emblem of all1 the cross1 is 
holy all the world over3 it is the      
sacred tree3 and each race has adapted  
it to its own preconceived ideas and    
symbols4 ,but in ,coptic ,christianity  
it has obvious affinities with the crux 
ansata4 ,in the ,coptic room of the ,new
 ,museum at ,ghizeh is an early         
,christian monument with a ,greek uncial
 inscription1 on which is represented a 

cross of four equal limbs with expanded 
flanges1 having a crux ansata inserted  
in all its four interstices4 ,at the    
,coptic church of ,abu ,sirgeh at ,old  
,cairo occurs a similar cross1 also with
 suggestions of ,tau-like origin1 but   
with other equal-limbed crosses         
substituted for the cruces ansatae in   
the corners4 99 ,how far the ,egyptian  
,christians thus merely transferred     
their old ideas to the new faith may be 
gathered from a single curious example4 
,in ,mr4 ,loftie's collection of sacred 
beetles is a scarabus #djb;containing a 
representation of the crucifixion1 with 
two palm branches3 and other scarabs    
have ,christian crosses1 8some of them10
 says ,mr4 ,loftie1 8very unmistakable40
 ,if we remember how extremely sacred   
the scarab was held in the ,egyptian    
religion1 and also that it was regarded 
as the symbol of the resurrection1 we   
cannot possibly miss the importance of  
this implication4 ,indeed1 the          
,alexandrian ,father1 ,epiphanius1      

speaks of ,christ as 8the scarabus of   
,god10 a phrase which may be still      
better understood if ,i add that in the 
treatise on hieroglyphs known under the 
name of ,horapollo a scarabus is said to
 denote 8an only-begotten40 ,thus 8the  
lamb of ,god0 in the tongue of ,israel  
becomes 8the scarabus of ,god0 in the   
mouth of an ,egyptian speaker4 ,to put  
it shortly1 ,i believe we may say with  
truth1 in a sense far other than that   
intended by either prophet or           
evangelist1 8,out of ,egypt have ,i     
called my son40       99 ,count ,goblet 
d',alviella's interesting work on ,the  
,migration of ,symbols well illustrates 
this common syncretism      and         
interchangeability of symbolic signs1   
which runs      parallel with the       
syncretism of gods and religions4  ,in  
the west1 however1 the results of the   
spread of ,christianity were far more   
revolutionary4 ,indeed1 ,i do not think 
the cult of ,jesus could ever have      
spread at all in ,rome had it not been  

for the large extent to which the city  
was peopled in later times by ,syrians  
and ,africans4 ,and if ,christianity had
 not spread in ,rome1 it could never    
have gained a foothold at all in the    
,aryan world3 for it is not at bottom an
 ,aryan religion in tone and feeling3 it
 has only become possible among ,aryan  
peoples by undergoing at last a         
considerable change of spirit1 though   
not largely of form1 in its westward    
progress4 ,this change is indicated by  
the first great schism1 which severed   
the ,latin from the ,greek communion4   
,foremost among the changes which       
,christianity involved in ,italy and the
 rest of western ,europe was the        
retrograde change from the belief in    
immortality and the immateriality of the
 soul1 with cremation as its practical  
outcome1 to the belief in the           
resurrection of the body1 with a return 
to the disused and discredited practice 
of burial as its normal correlative4    
,the catacombs were the necessary       

#djcresult of this backward movement2   
and with the catacombs came in the      
possibility of relic-worship1           
martyr-worship1 and the adoration of    
saints and their corpses4 ,i shall trace
 out in my next chapter the remoter     
effects of this curious revival of the  
prime element in religion--the cult of  
the dead--in greater detail3 it must    
suffice here to point out briefly that  
it resulted as a logical effect from the
 belief in the resurrection of ,christ1 
and the consequent restoration of the   
practice of burial4 ,moreover1 to       
polytheists1 this habit gave a practical
 opening for the cult of many deities in
 the midst of nominal monotheism1 which 
the ,italians and sundry other          
essentially polytheistic peoples were   
not slow to seize upon4 ,here again the 
difference between the more monotheistic
 and syncretic east1 which puts a ban   
upon graven images1 and the more        
polytheistic and separating west1 which 
freely admits the employment of         

sculpture1 is not a little significant4 
,it is true that theoretically the      
adoration paid to saints and martyrs is 
never regarded as real worship3 but ,i  
need hardly say that technical          
distinctions like these are always a    
mere part of the artificial theology of 
scholastic priesthoods1 and may be as   
safely disregarded by the broad         
anthropological enquirer as may all the 
other fanciful lumber of metaphysical   
,brahmans and theologians everywhere4   
,the genuine facts of religion are the  
facts and rites of the popular cult1    
which remain in each race for long      
periods together essentially uniform4   
,thus we early get two main forms of    
,christianity1 both official and        
popular3 one eastern--,greek1 ,coptic1  
,syrian2 more mystical in type1 more    
symbolic1 more philosophic1 more        
monotheistic3 the other western--,latin1
 ,celtic1 ,spanish2 more ,aryan in type1
 more practical1 more material1 more    
polytheistic4 ,and these at a later time

 are reinforced by a third or northern  
form1--the ,teutonic and ,protestant2 in
 which ethical ideas preponderate over  
religious1 and the worship of the ,book 
in its most literal and often foolish   
interpretation supersedes the earlier   
worship of ,madonna1 saints1 pictures1  
statues1 and emblems4  ,at #djdthe      
period when ,christianity first begins  
to emerge from the primitive obscurity  
of its formative nisus1 however1 we find
 it practically compounded of the       
following elements--which represent the 
common union of a younger god offered up
 to an older one with whom he is        
identified4  ,first of all1 as the      
implied basis1 taken for granted in all 
the early ,hebrew scriptures1 there is  
current ,judaism1 in the form that      
,judaism had gradually assumed in the   
fourth1 third1 and second centuries     
before the ,christian era4 ,this        
includes as its main principle the cult 
of the one god ,jahweh1 now no longer   
largely thought of under that personal  

name1 or as a strictly ethnic deity1 but
 rather envisaged as the ,lord ,god who 
dwells in heaven1 very much as          
,christians of to-day still envisage    
him4 ,it includes also an undercurrent  
of belief in a heavenly hierarchy of    
angels and archangels1 the court of the 
,lord 7modifications of an earlier      
astrological conception1 the ,host of   
,heaven71 and in a principle of evil1   
,satan or the devil1 dwelling in hell1  
and similarly surrounded by a crowd of  
minor or assistant demons4 ,further1 it 
accepts implicitly from earlier ,judaism
 the resurrection of the dead1 the      
judgment of the good and the wicked1 the
 doctrine of future rewards and         
punishments 7perhaps in its fullest     
shape a ,hellenistic importation from   
,egypt1 though also commonly found in   
most spontaneous religions71 and many   
other tenets of the current ,jewish     
belief4 ,in short1 the very earliest    
,christians1 being probably for the most
 part ,jews1 ,galilans1 and proselytes1 

or else ,syrians and ,africans of       
,judaising tendencies1 did not attempt  
to get rid of all their preconceived    
religious opinions when they became     
,christians1 but merely superadded to   
these as a new item the special cult of 
the deified ,jesus4  ,on the other hand1
 as the ,gospel spread to the ,gentiles1
 it was not thought necessary to burden 
the fresh converts with the whole minute
 ceremonial of ,judaism1 and especially 
with the difficult and unpleasant       
initiatory rite of circumcision4 #dje;,a
 mere symbolical lustration1 known as   
baptism1 was all that was demanded of   
new adherents to the faith1 with        
abstinence from any participation in    
ldquo2heathen0 sacrifices or functions4 
,to this extent the old exclusiveness of
 ,jahweh-worship1 the cult of the       
jealous ,god1 was still allowed to      
assert itself4 ,and the general         
authority of the ,hebrew scriptures1    
especially as a historical account of   
the development of ,judaism1 from which 

,christianity sprang1 was more or less  
fully admitted1 at first by implication 
or quotation alone1 but afterwards by   
the deliberate and avowed voice of the  
whole ,christian assembly4 ,the         
translation of this mixed mass of       
historical documents1 early cosmogonies1
 ill-reported and ,jeho-vised ,jewish   
traditions1 misinterpreted poems1 and   
conscious forgeries1 in the ,latin      
version known as the ,vulgate1 had the  
effect of endowing ,europe for many     
centuries with a false body of ancient  
history1 which must have largely        
retarded the development of the race up 
to our own time1 and whose evil effects 
have hardly yet passed away among the   
more ignorant and conservative          
,bibliolatrous classes of modern        
society4  ,superimposed upon this       
substratum of current ,judaism with its 
worship of ,jahweh came the distinctive 
,jesus-cult1 the worship of the         
particular dead ,galilan peasant4 ,this 
element was superadded to the cult of   

the ,father1 the great god who had      
slowly and imperceptibly developed out  
of the sacred stone that the sons of    
,israel were believed to have brought up
 with them from the land of ,egypt4 ,but
 how1 in a religion pretending to be    
monotheistic1 were these two distinct   
cults of two such diverse gods to be    
reconciled or to be explained away8 ,by 
the familiar doctrine of the            
incarnation1 and the belief in the human
 god who is sacrificed1 himself to      
himself1 as a piacular offering4 ,jewish
 tradition and subtler ,egyptian        
mysticism sufficed to smooth over the   
apparent anomaly4 ,the ,jews looked     
forward to a mysterious deliverer1 a new
 ,moses1 the ,messiah1 who was to fulfil
 the destiny of ,israel by uniting all  
nations under the sceptre of ,david1 and
 by #djf;bringing the ,gentiles to the  
feet of the ,god of ,israel4 ,jesus1    
said the ,christians1 had proclaimed    
himself that very ,messiah1 the ,christ 
of ,god2 he had often alluded to the    

great ,hebrew deity as his father2 he   
had laid claim to the worship of the    
,lord of heaven4 ,further than this1    
perhaps1 the unaided ,jewish            
intelligence would hardly have gone3 it 
would have been satisfied with assigning
 to the slain man-god ,jesus a secondary
 place1 as the only begotten ,son of    
,god1 who gave himself up as a willing  
victim--a position perhaps scarcely more
 important than that which ,mohammad    
holds in the system of ,islam4 ,such1 it
 seems to me1 is on the whole the       
conception which permeates the synoptic 
,gospels1 representing the ideas of     
,syrian ,christendom4 ,but here the     
acute ,grco-,egyptian mind came in with 
its nice distinctions and its mystical  
identifications4 ,there was but one god1
 indeed2 yet that god was at least      
twofold 7to go no further for the       
present74 ,he had two persons1 the      
,father and the ,son3 and the ,second   
,person1 identified with the            
,alexandrian conception of the ,logos1  

though inferior to the ,father as       
touching his manhood1 was equal to the  
,father as touching his godhead--after  
the precise fashion we saw so common in 
describing the relations of ,osiris and 
,horus1 and the identification of the   
,attis or ,adonis victim with the       
earlier and older god he represented4   
8,i and my ,father are one10 says the   
,christ of the ,fourth ,gospel1 the     
embodiment and incarnation of the       
,alexandrian ,logos4 ,and in the very   
forefront of that manifesto of          
,neo-,platonic ,christianity comes the  
dogmatic assertion1 8,in the beginning  
was the ,logos3 and the ,logos dwelt    
with ,god3 and the ,logos was ,god40    
,even so the basis of the new creed is  
still incomplete4 ,the ,father and ,son 
give the whole of the compound deity as 
the popular mind1 everywhere and always1
 has commonly apprehended it4 ,but the  
scholastic and theological intelligence 
needed a ,third ,person to complete the 
,trinity which to all mankind1 as       

especially to orientals1 is the #djgonly
 perfect and thoroughly rounded figure4 
,in later days1 no doubt1 the ,madonna  
would have been chosen to fill up the   
blank1 and1 on the analogy of ,isis1    
would have filled it most efficiently4  
,as a matter of fact1 in the creed of   
,christendom as the ,catholic people    
know it1 the ,madonna is really one of  
the most important personages4 ,but in  
those early formative times1 the cult of
 the ,theotokos had hardly yet assumed  
its full importance3 perhaps1 indeed1   
the ,jewish believers would have been   
shocked at the bare notion of the       
worship of a woman1 the readmission of  
an ,astarte1 a ,queen of ,heaven1 into  
the faith of ,israel4 ,another object of
 adoration had therefore to be found4   
,it was discovered in that vague        
essence1 the ,holy ,ghost1 or ,divine   
,wisdom1 whose gradual development and  
dissociation from ,god himself is one of
 the most curious chapters in all the   
history of artificial god-making4 ,the  

8spirit of ,jahweh0 had frequently been 
mentioned in ,hebrew writings2 and with 
so invisible and unapproachable a deity 
as the ,jewish ,god1 was often made to  
do duty as a messenger or intermediary  
where the personal presence of ,jahweh  
himself would have been felt to         
contravene the first necessities of     
incorporeal divinity4 ,it was the       
8spirit of ,jahweh0 that came upon the  
prophets3 it was the 8wisdom of ,jahweh0
 that the poets described1 and that grew
 at last to be detached from the        
personality of ,god1 and alluded to     
almost as a living individual4 ,in the  
early church1 this 8spirit of ,god10    
this 8holy spirit10 was supposed to be  
poured forth upon the heads of          
believers3 it descended upon ,jesus     
himself in the visible form of a dove   
from heaven1 and upon the disciples at  
,pentecost as tongues of fire4          
,gradually1 the conception of a personal
 ,holy ,ghost took form and             
definiteness3 an ,alexandrian monk      

insisted on the necessity for a ,triad  
of gods who were yet one ,god3 and by   
the time the first creeds of the nascent
 church were committed to writing1 the  
,spirit had come to rank with the       
,father and the ,son as the ,third      
,person in the ever-blessed ,trinity4   
,by #djhthis time1 too1 it is pretty    
clear that the original manhood of      
,jesus had got merged in the idea of his
 eternal godhead2 he was regarded as the
 ,logos1 come down from heaven1 where he
 had existed before all worlds1 and     
incarnate by the ,holy ,ghost in the    
,virgin ,mary4 ,the other articles of   
the ,christian faith clustered gradually
 round these prime elements3 the myth   
gathered force2 the mysticism increased2
 the secondary divine beings or saints  
grew vastly in numbers2 and the element 
of ,judaism disappeared piecemeal1 while
 a new polytheism and a new             
sacerdotalism took root apace in the    
,aryan world4 ,i shall strive to show1  
however1 in my concluding chapters1 how 

even to the very end the worship of the 
dead is still the central force in      
modern ,christianity3 how religion1     
whatever its form1 can never wander far 
from that fundamental reality3 and how1 
whenever by force of circumstances the  
gods become too remote from human life1 
so that the doctrine of resurrection or 
personal immortality is endangered for a
 time1 and reunion with relations in the
 other world becomes doubtful or        
insecure1 a reaction is sure to set in  
which takes things back once more to    
these fundamental concepts1 the most    
persistent and perpetually recurrent    
element in all religious thinking4      
,,chapter ,,xix4--,,survivals ,,in      
,,christendom4  ,,we #dji;have now      
travelled far1 apparently1 from that    
primitive stage of god-making where the 
only known gods are the corpses1        
mummies1 skulls1 ghosts1 or spirits of  
dead chieftains or dead friends and     
relations4 ,the ,god of ,christianity1  
in his fully-evolved form1 especially as

 known to thinkers and theologians1 is a
 being so vast1 so abstract1 so         
ubiquitous1 so eternal1 that he seems to
 have hardly and points of contact at   
all with the simple ancestral spirit or 
sacred stone from which in the last     
resort he appears to be descended4 ,yet 
even here1 we must beware of being      
misled by too personal an outlook4      
,while the higher minds in ,christendom 
undoubtedly conceive of the ,christian  
,god in terms of ,mansel and ,martineau1
 the lower minds even among ourselves   
conceive of him in far simpler and more 
material fashions4 ,a good deal of      
enquiry among ordinary ,english people  
of various classes1 not always the      
poorest1 convinces me that to large     
numbers of them ,god is envisaged as    
possessing a material human form1 more  
or less gaseous in composition2 that1 in
 spite of the ,thirty-nine ,articles1 he
 has body1 parts1 and passions2 that he 
is usually pictured to the mind's eye as
 about ten or twelve feet high1 with    

head1 hands1 eyes and mouth1 used to see
 with and speak with in human fashion2  
and that he sits on a throne1 like a    
king that he is1 surrounded by a visible
 court of angels and archangels4        
,italian art so invariably represents   
him1 with a frankness unknown to        
,protestant ,christendom4 ,instead of   
#daj;being in all places at once1       
pervading and underlying nature1 the    
,deity is conceived of by most of his   
worshippers as having merely the power  
of annihilating space1 and finding      
himself wherever he likes at a given    
moment4 ,his omniscience and omnipotence
 are readily granted2 but his           
abstractness and immateriality are not  
really grasped by one out of a thousand 
of his believers in ,britain4  ,the fact
 is1 so abstract a conception as the    
highest theological conception of ,god  
cannot be realised except symbolically1 
and then for a few moments only1 in     
complete isolation4 ,the moment ,god is 
definitely thought of in connexion with 

any cosmic activity1 still more in      
connexion with any human need1 he is    
inevitably thought of on human          
analogies1 and more or less completely  
anthropomorphised in the brain of the   
believer4 ,being by origin an offshoot  
of the mind of man1 a great deified     
human being1 he retains necessarily     
still1 for all save a few very mystical 
or ontological souls1 the obvious marks 
of his ultimate descent from a ghost or 
spirit4 ,indeed1 on the mental as       
opposed to the bodily side1 he does so  
for us all2 since even theologians      
freely ascribe to him such human        
feelings as love1 affection1 a sense of 
justice1 a spirit of mercy1 of truth1 of
 wisdom3 knowledge1 will1 the powers of 
intellect1 all the essential and        
fundamental human faculties and         
emotions4  ,thus1 far as we seem to have
 travelled from our base in the most    
exalted concepts of ,god1 we are nearer 
to it still than most of us imagine4    
,moreover1 in spite of this height to   

which the highest minds have raised     
their idea of the ,deity1 as the        
creator1 sustainer1 and mover of the    
universe1 every religion1 however       
monotheistic1 still continues to make   
new minor gods for itself out of the    
dead as they die1 and to worship these  
gods with even more assiduous worship   
than it bestows upon the great ,god of  
,christendom or the great gods of the   
central pantheon4 ,and the ,christian   
religion makes such minor deities no    
less than all #daaothers4 ,the fact is1 
the religious emotion takes its origin  
from the affection and regard felt for  
the dead by survivors1 mingled with the 
hope and belief that they may be of some
 use or advantage1 temporal or          
spiritual1 to those who call upon them2 
and these primitive faiths and feelings 
remain so ingrained in the very core of 
humanity that even the most abstract of 
all religions1 like the ,protestant     
schism1 cannot wholly choke them1 while 
recrudescences of the original creed and

 custom spring up from time to time in  
the form of spiritualism1 theosophy1 and
 other vague types of simple            
ghost-worship4  ,most advanced          
religions1 however1 and especially      
,christianity in its central1 true1 and 
main form of ,catholicism1 have found it
 necessary to keep renewing from time to
 time the stock of minor gods--here     
arbitrarily known as saints--much as the
 older religions found it always        
necessary from year to year to renew the
 foundation-gods1 the corn and wine     
gods1 and the other special deities of  
the manufactured order1 by a constant   
supply of theanthropic victims4 ,what ,i
 wish more particularly to point out    
here1 however1 is that the vast majority
 of places of worship all the world over
 are still erected1 as at the very      
beginning1 above the body of a dead man 
or woman2 that the chief objects of     
worship in every shrine are still1 as   
always1 such cherished bodies of dead   
men and women2 and that the primitive   

connexion of ,religion with ,death has  
never for a moment been practically     
severed in the greater part of the      
world1--not even in ,protestant ,england
 and ,america4  ,mr4 ,william ,simpson  
was one of the first persons to point   
out this curious underlying connexion   
between churches1 temples1 mosques1 or  
topes1 and a tomb or monument4 ,he has  
proved his point in a very full manner1 
and ,i would refer the reader who wishes
 to pursue this branch of the subject at
 length to his interesting monographs4  
,in this work1 ,i will confine my       
attention mainly to the continued       
presence of this death-element in       
,christianity2 but by way of            
illustration1 ,i will preface my remarks
 #dab;by a few stray instances picked up
 at random from the neighbouring and    
interesting field of ,islam4  ,there is 
no religion in all the world which      
professes to be more purely monotheistic
 in character than ,mohammedanism4 ,the 
unity of ,god1 in the very strictest    

sense1 is the one dogma round which the 
entire creed of ,islam centres4 ,more   
than any other cult1 it represents      
itself as a distinct reaction against   
the polytheism and superstition of      
surrounding faiths4 ,the isolation of   
,allah is its one great dogma4 ,if1     
therefore1 we find even in this most    
monotheistic of existing religious      
systems a large element of practically  
polytheistic survival--if we find that  
even here the ,worship of the ,dead     
remains1 as a chief component in        
religious practice1 if not in religious 
theory1 we shall be fairly entitled to  
conclude1 ,i think1 that such           
constituents are indeed of the very     
essence of religious thinking1 and we   
shall be greatly strengthened in the    
conclusions at which we previously      
arrived as to a belief in immortality or
 continued life of the dead being in    
fact the core and basis of worship and  
of deity4  ,some eight or ten years     
since1 when ,i first came practically   

into connexion with ,islam in ,algeria  
and ,egypt1 ,i was immediately struck by
 the wide prevalence among the          
,mahommedan population of forms of      
worship for which ,i was little prepared
 by anything ,i had previously read or  
heard as to the nature and practice of  
that exclusive and ostentatiously       
monotheistic faith4 ,two points1 indeed1
 forcibly strike any visitor who for the
 first time has the opportunity of      
observing a ,mahommedan community in its
 native surroundings4 ,the first is the 
universal habit on the part of the women
 of visiting the cemeteries and mourning
 or praying over the graves of their    
relations on ,friday1 the sacred day of 
,islam4 ,the second is the frequency of 
,koubbas1 or little whitewashed         
mosque-tombs erected over the remains of
 ,marabouts1 fakeers1 or local saints1  
which form the real centres for the     
religion and worship of every village4  
,islam1 in practice1 is a religion      
#dacof pilgrimages to the tombs of the  

dead4 ,in ,algeria1 every hillside is   
dotted over with these picturesque      
little whitewashed domes1 each          
overshadowed by its sacred date-palm1   
each surrounded by its small walled     
enclosure or temenos of prickly pear or 
agave1 and each attended by its local   
ministrant1 who takes charge of the tomb
 and of the alms of the faithful4 ,holy 
body1 sacred stone1 tree1 well1 and     
priest--not an element of the original  
cult of the dead is lacking4 ,numerous  
pilgrimages are made to these koubbas by
 the devout3 and on ,friday evenings the
 little courtyards are almost invariably
 thronged by a crowd of eager and       
devoted worshippers4 ,within1 the bones 
of the holy man lie preserved in a frame
 hung about with rosaries1 pictures1 and
 other oblations of his ardent          
disciples1 exactly as in the case of    
,roman ,catholic chapels4 ,the saint1 in
 fact1 is quite as much an institution  
of monotheistic ,islam as of any other  
religion with which ,i am practically   

acquainted4  ,these two peculiarities of
 the cult of ,islam strike a stranger   
immediately on the most casual visit4   
,when he comes to look at the matter    
more closely1 however1 he finds also    
that most of the larger mosques in the  
principal towns are themselves similarly
 built to contain and enshrine the bones
 of saintly personages1 more or less    
revered in their immediate              
neighbourhood4 ,some of these are indeed
 so holy that their bones have been     
duplicated exactly like the wood of the 
true cross1 and two tombs have been     
built in separate places where the whole
 or a portion of the supposed remains   
are said to be buried4 ,i will only     
specify as instances of such holy tombs 
the sacred city of ,kerouan in ,tunisia1
 which ranks second to ,mecca and       
,medina alone in the opinion of all     
devout western ,mohammedans4 ,here1 the 
most revered building is the shrine of  
8,the ,companion of the ,prophet10 who  
lies within a catafalque covered with   

palls of black velvet and silver--as    
funereal a monument as is known to me   
anywhere4 ,close by stands the          
catafalque of an ,indian saint while    
#dadother holy tomb-mosques abound in   
the city4 ,in ,algiers town1 the holiest
 place is similarly the mosque-tomb of  
,sidi ,abd-er-,rahman1 which contains   
the shrine and body of that saint1 who  
died in #adga4 ,around him1 so as to    
share his sacred burial-place 7like the 
,egyptians who wished to be interred    
with ,osiris71 lie the bodies of several
 ,deys and ,pashas4 ,lights are kept    
constantly burning at the saint's tomb1 
which is hung with variously-coloured   
drapery1 after the old ,semitic fashion1
 while banners and ostrich-eggs1 the    
gifts of the faithful1 dangle           
ostentatiously round it from the        
decorated ceiling4 ,still more sacred in
 its way is the venerable shrine of     
,sidi ,okba near ,biskra1 one of the    
most ancient places of worship in the   
,mahommedan world4 ,the tomb of the     

great saint stands in a chantry1        
screened off from the noble mosque which
 forms the ante-chamber1 and is hung    
round with silk and other dainty        
offerings4 ,on the front an inscription 
in very early ,cufic characters informs 
us that 8,this is the tomb of ,okba1 son
 of ,nafa3 ,may ,allah have mercy upon  
him40 ,the mosque is a famous place of  
pilgrimage1 and a belief obtains that   
when the ,sidi is rightly invoked1 a    
certain minaret in its front will nod in
 acceptance of the chosen worshipper4 ,i
 could multiply instances indefinitely1 
but refrain on purpose4 ,all the chief  
mosques at ,tlemen1 ,constantine1 and   
the other leading ,north ,african towns 
similarly gather over the bodies of     
saints or marabouts1 who are invoked in 
prayer1 and to whom every act of worship
 is offered4  ,all over ,islam we get   
such holy grave-mosques4 ,the tomb of   
the ,prophet at ,medina heads the list3 
with the equally holy tomb of his       
daughter ,fatima4 ,among the ,shiahs1   

,ali's grave at ,nejef and ,hoseyn's    
grave at ,kerbela are as sacred as that 
of the ,prophet at ,medina4 ,the shrines
 of the ,imams are much adored in       
,persia4 ,the graves of the peers in    
,india1 the ,ziarets of the fakeers in  
,afghanistan1 show the same tendency4   
,in ,palestine1 says ,major             
#dae;,conder1 worship at the tombs of   
local saints 8represents the real       
religion of the peasant40  ,i had       
originally intended1 indeed1 to include 
in this work a special chapter on these 
survivals in ,islam1 a vast number of   
which ,i have collected in various      
places2 but my book has already swelled 
to so much larger dimensions than ,i had
 originally contemplated that ,i am     
compelled reluctantly to forego this    
disquisition4  ,one word1 however1 must 
be given to ,egypt1 where the cult of   
the dead was always so marked a feature 
in the developed religion1 and where    
neither ,christianity nor ,islam has    
been able to obscure this primitive     

tendency4 ,nothing is more noticeable in
 the ,nile ,valley than the             
extraordinary way in which the habits   
and ideas as to burial and the          
preservation of the dead have survived  
in spite of the double and rapid        
alteration in religious theory4 ,at     
,sak-karah and ,thebes1 one is familiar 
with the streets and houses of tombs1   
regularly laid out so as to form in the 
strictest sense a true ,necropolis1 or  
city of the dead4 ,just outside ,cairo1 
on the edge of the desert1 a precisely  
similar modern ,necropolis exists to    
this day1 regularly planned in streets  
and quarters1 with the tomb of each     
family standing in its own courtyard or 
enclosure1 and often very closely       
resembling the common round-roofed or   
domed ,egyptian houses4 ,in this town of
 dead bodies1 every distinction of rank 
and wealth may now be observed4 ,the    
rich are buried under splendid mausolea 
of great architectural pretensions2 the 
poor occupy humble tombs just raised    

above the surface of the desert1 and    
marked at head and foot with rough and  
simple ,egyptian tombstones4 ,still1 the
 entire aspect of such a cemetery is the
 aspect of a town4 ,in northern         
climates1 the dead sleep their last     
sleep under grassy little tumuli1 wholly
 unlike the streets of a city3 in       
,egypt1 to this day1 the dead occupy1 as
 in life1 whole lanes and alleys of     
eternal houses4 ,even the spirit which  
produced the ,pyramids and the ,tombs of
 the ,kings is conspicuous in modern or 
mediaeval ,cairo in #dafthe taste which 
begot those vast domed mosques known as 
the ,tombs of the ,khalifs and the      
,tombs of the ,mamelooks4 ,whatever is  
biggest in the neighbourhood of ancient 
,memphis turns out on examination to be 
the last resting-place of a ,dead ,man1 
and a place of worship4  ,almost every  
one of the great mosques of ,cairo is   
either a tomb built for himself by a    
ruler--and this is the more frequent    
case--or else the holy shrine of some   

saint of ,islam4 ,it is characteristic  
of ,egypt1 however1 where king and god  
have always been so closely combined1   
that while elsewhere the mosque is      
usually the prayer-tomb of a holy man1  
in ,cairo it is usually the             
memorial-temple of a ,sultan1 an ,emeer1
 a viceroy1 or a ,khedive4 ,it is       
interesting to find1 too1 after all we  
have seen as to the special sanctity of 
the oracular head1 that perhaps the     
holiest of all these mosques contains   
the head of ,hoseyn1 the grandson of the
 ,prophet4 ,a ceremonial washing is     
particularly mentioned in the story of  
its translation4 ,the mosque of ,sultan 
,hassan1 with its splendid mausolem1 is 
a peculiarly fine example of the        
temple-tombs of ,cairo4  ,i will not    
linger any longer1 however1 in the      
precincts of ,islam1 further than to    
mention the significant fact that the   
great central object of worship for the 
,mahommedan world is the ,kaaba at      
,mecca1 which itself1 as ,mr4 ,william  

,simpson long ago pointed out1 bears    
obvious traces of being at once a tomb  
and a sacred altar-stone4 ,sir ,richard 
,burton's original sketch of this mystic
 object shows it as a square and        
undecorated temple-tomb1 covered        
throughout with a tasselled black       
pall--a most funereal object--the       
so-called 8sacred carpet40 ,it is1 in   
point of fact1 a simple catafalque4 ,as 
the ,kaaba was adopted direct by        
,mohammad from the early ,semitic       
heathenism of ,arabia1 and as it must   
always have been treated with the same  
respect1 ,i do not think we can avoid   
the obvious conclusion that this very   
ancient tomb has been funereally draped 
in the self-same manner1 like those of  
,biskra1 ,algiers1 and ,kerouan1 from   
the time of its first erection4         
#dag,this case thus throws light on the 
draping of the ashera1 as do also the   
many-coloured draperies and hangings of 
saints' catafalques in ,algeria and     
,tunis4  ,nor can ,i resist a passing   

mention of the ,moharram festival1 which
 is said to be the commemoration of the 
death of ,hoseyn1 the son of ,ali 7whose
 holy head is preserved at ,cairo74     
,this is a rude piece of acting1 in     
which the events supposed to be         
connected with the death of ,hoseyn are 
graphically represented2 and it ends    
with a sacred ,adonis-like or           
,osiris-like procession1 in which the   
body of the saint is carried and mourned
 over4 ,the funeral is the grand part of
 the performance2 catafalques are       
constructed for the holy corpse1 covered
 with green and gold tinsel--the green  
being obviously a last reminiscence of  
the god of vegetation4 ,in ,bombay1     
after the dead body and shrine have been
 carried through the streets amid       
weeping and wailing1 they are finally   
thrown into the sea1 like ,king         
,carnival4 ,i think we need hardly doubt
 that here we have an evanescent relic  
of the rites of the corn-god1 ending in 
a rain-charm1 and very closely          

resembling those of ,adonis and ,osiris4
  ,but if in ,islam the great objects of
 worship are the ,kaaba tomb at ,mecca  
and the ,tomb of the ,prophet at        
,medina1 so the most holy spot in the   
world for ,christendom is--the ,holy    
,sepulchre4 ,it was for possession of   
that most sacred place of pilgrimage    
that ,christians fought ,moslems through
 the middle ages2 and it is there that  
while faith in the human ,christ was    
strong and vigorous the vast majority of
 the most meritorious pilgrimages       
continued to be directed4 ,to worship at
 the tomb of the risen ,redeemer was the
 highest hope of the devout medival     
,christian4 ,imitations of the ,holy    
,sepulchre occur in abundance all over  
,europe3 one exists at ,s4 ,stefano in  
,bologna2 another1 due to the genius of 
,alberti1 is well known in the          
,ruccellai chapel at ,florence4 ,i need 
hardly recall the ,sacro ,monte at      
,varallo4  ,for the most part1 however1 
in ,christendom1 and especially #dah;in 

those parts of ,christendom remote from 
,palestine1 men contented themselves    
with nearer and more domestic saints4   
,from a very early date we see in the   
catacombs the growth of this practice of
 offering up prayer by 7or to7 the      
bodies of the ,dead who slept in        
,christ4 ,a chapel or capella1 as ,dean 
,burgon has pointed out1 meant          
originally an arched sepulchre in the   
walls of the catacombs1 at which prayer 
was afterwards habitually made3 and     
above-ground chapels were modelled1     
later on1 upon the pattern of these     
ancient underground shrines4 ,i have    
alluded briefly in my second chapter to 
the probable origin of the cruciform    
church from two galleries of the        
catacombs crossing one another at right 
angles2 the ,high ,altar stands there   
over the body or relics of a ,dead      
,saint2 and the chapels represent other 
minor tombs grouped like niches in the  
catacombs around it4 ,a chapel is thus1 
as ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer phrases it1 8a

 tomb within a tomb02 and a great       
cathedral is a serried set of such      
cumulative tombs1 one built beside the  
other4 ,sometimes the chapels are actual
 graves1 sometimes they are cenotaphs2  
but the connexion with death is always  
equally evident4 ,on this subject1 ,i   
would refer the reader again to ,mr4    
,spencer's pages4  ,so long as          
,christianity was proscribed at ,rome   
and throughout the empire1 the worship  
of the dead must have gone on only      
silently1 and must have centred in the  
catacombs or by the graves of saints and
 martyrs--the last-named being          
practically mere ,christian successors  
of the willing victims of earlier       
religions4 8,to be counted worthy to    
suffer0 was the heart's desire of every 
earnest ,christian--as it still is among
 fresh and living sects like the        
,salvation ,army2 and the creed of      
self-sacrifice1 whose very name betrays 
its human-victim origin1 was all but    
universal4 ,when ,christianity had      

triumphed1 however1 and gained not only 
official recognition but official       
honour1 the cult of the martyrs and the 
other faithful dead became with         
,christian ,rome a perfect passion4 ,the
 ,holy ,innocents1 #dai,st4 ,stephen    
,protomartyr1 the nameless martyrs of   
the ,ten ,persecutions1 together with   
,poly carp1 ,vivia ,perptua1 ,flicitas1 
,ignatius and all the rest1 came to     
receive from the church a form of       
veneration which only the nice          
distinctions of the theological mind    
could enable us to discriminate from    
actual worship4 ,the great procession of
 the slain for ,christ in the mosaics of
 ,sant' ,apollinare ,nuovo at ,ravenna  
gives a good comprehensive list of the  
more important of these earliest saints 
7at least for ,aryan worshippers7 headed
 by ,st4 ,martin1 ,st4 ,clement1 ,st4   
,justin1 ,st4 ,lawrence1 and ,st4       
,hippolytus4 ,later on came the more    
mythical and poetic figures1 derived    
apparently from heathen gods--,st4      

,catharine1 ,st4 ,barbara1 ,st4 ,george1
 ,st4 ,christopher4 ,these form as they 
go a perfect new pantheon1 circling     
round the figures of ,christ himself1   
and his mother the ,madonna1 who grows  
quickly in turn1 by absorption of ,isis1
 ,astarte1 and ,artemis1 into the ,queen
 of ,heaven4  ,the love-feasts or agap  
of the early ,christians were usually   
held1 in the catacombs or elsewhere1    
above the bodies of the martyrs4        
,subsequently1 the remains of the       
sainted dead were transferred to lordly 
churches without1 like ,sant' ,agnese   
and ,san ,paolo1 where they were        
deposited under the altar or sacred     
stone thus consecrated1 from whose top  
the body and blood of ,christ was       
distributed in the ,eucharist4 ,as early
 as the fourth century1 we know that no 
church was complete without some such   
relic2 and the passion for martyrs      
spread so greatly from that period      
onward that at one time no less than    
#bcjj corpses of holy men together were 

buried at ,s4 ,prassede4 ,it is only in 
,rome itself that the full importance of
 this martyr-worship can now be         
sufficiently understood1 or the large   
part which it played in the development 
of ,christianity adequately recognised4 
,perhaps the easiest way for the        
,protestant reader to put himself in    
touch with this side of the subject is  
to peruse the very interesting and      
graphic #dbj;account given in the second
 volume of ,mrs4 ,jameson's ,sacred and 
,legendary ,art4  ,i have room for a few
 illustrative examples only4  ,when ,st4
 ,ambrose founded his new church at     
,milan1 he wished to consecrate it with 
some holy relics4 ,in a vision1 he      
beheld two young men in shining clothes1
 and it was revealed to him that these  
were holy martyrs whose bodies lay near 
the spot where he lived in the city4 ,he
 dug for them1 accordingly1 and found   
two bodies1 which proved to be those of 
two saints1 ,gervasius and ,protasius1  
who had suffered for the faith in the   

reign of ,nero4 ,they were installed in 
the new basilica ,ambrose had built at  
,milan4 ,churches in their honour now   
exist all over ,christendom1 the best   
known being those at ,venice and ,paris4
  ,the body of ,st4 ,agnes1 saint and   
martyr1 who is always represented with  
that familiar emblem1 the lamb which she
 duplicates1 lies in a sarcophagus under
 the ,high ,altar of ,sant' ,agnese     
beyond the ,porta ,pia1 where a basilica
 was erected over the remains by        
,constantine the ,great1 only a few     
years after the martyrdom of the saint4 
,the body of ,st4 ,cecilia lies         
similarly in the church of ,santa       
,cecilia in ,trastevere4 ,in this       
last-named case1 the original house     
where ,cecilia was put to death is said 
to have been consecrated as a place of  
worship1 after the very early savage    
fashion1 the room where she suffered    
possessing especial sanctity4 ,pope     
,symmachus held a council there in the  
year #ejj4 ,this earliest church having 

fallen into ruins during the troubles of
 the barbarians1 ,pope ,paschal ,i41 the
 great patron of relic-hunting1 built a 
new one in honour of the saint in the   
ninth century4 ,while engaged in the    
work1 he had a dream 7of a common       
pattern71 when ,cecilia appeared to him 
and showed him the place in which she   
lay buried4 ,search was made1 and the   
body was found in the catacombs of ,st4 
,calixtus1 wrapped in a shroud of gold  
tissue1 while at her feet lay a linen   
cloth dipped in the sacred blood of her 
martyrdom4 ,near her were deposited the 
remains of ,valerian1 ,tiburtius1 and   
,maximus1 #dba;all of whom are more or  
less mixed up in her legend4 ,the body  
was removed to the existing church1 the 
little room where the saint died being  
preserved as a chapel4 ,in the sixteenth
 century1 the sacred building was again 
repaired and restored in the atrocious  
taste of the time2 and the sarcophagus  
was opened before the eyes of several   
prelates1 including ,cardinal ,baronius4

 ,the body was found entire1 and was    
then replaced in the silver shrine in   
which it still reposes4 ,almost every   
church in ,rome has thus its entire body
 of a patron saint1 oftenest a martyr of
 the early persecutions4  ,in many      
similar cases1 immense importance is    
attached to the fact that the body      
remains1 as the phrase goes1            
8uncorrupted02 and ,i may mention in    
this connexion that in the frequent     
representations of the ,raising of      
,lazarus1 which occur as 8emblems of the
 resurrection0 in the catacombs1 the    
body of ,lazarus is represented as a    
mummy1 often enclosed in what seems to  
be a mummy-case4 ,indeed1 it is most    
reminiscent of the ,egyptian ,osiris    
images4  ,i pass on to other and more   
interesting instances of survival in    
corpse-worship4  ,the great central     
temple of the ,catholic ,church is ,st4 
,peter's at ,rome4 ,the very body of the
 crucified saint lies enshrined under   
the high altar1 in a sarcophagus brought

 from the catacomb near ,s4 ,sebastiano4
 ,upon this ,rock1 ,st4 ,peter's and the
 ,catholic ,church are founded4         
,ana-cletus1 the successor of ,clement1 
built a monument over the bones of the  
blessed ,peter2 and if ,peter be a      
historical person at all1 ,i see no     
reason to doubt that his veritable body 
actually lies there4 ,st4 ,paul shares  
with him in the same shrine2 but only   
half the two corpses now repose within  
the stately ,confessio in the ,sacristy 
of the papal basilica3 the other portion
 of ,st4 ,peter consecrates the         
,lateran2 the other portion of ,st4     
,paul gives sanctity to ,san ,paolo     
fuori le ,mura4  ,other much venerated  
bodies at ,rome are those of the        
,quattro ,coronati1 in the church of    
that name2 ,s4 ,praxedis #dbb;and ,st4  
,pudentiana in their respective         
churches2 ,st4 ,cosmo and ,st4 ,damian2 
and many more too numerous to mention4  
,several of the ,roman churches1 like   
,san ,clemente1 stand upon the site of  

the house of the saint to whom they are 
dedicated1 or whose body they preserve1 
thus recalling the early ,new ,guinea   
practice4 ,others occupy the site of his
 alleged martyrdom1 or enclose the      
pillar to which he was fastened4 ,the   
legends of all these ,roman saints are  
full of significant echoes of paganism4 
,the visitor to ,rome who goes the round
 of the churches and catacombs with an  
unprejudiced mind must be astonished to 
find how sites1 myths1 and ceremonies   
recall at every step familiar heathen   
holy places or stories4 ,in the single  
church of ,san ,zaccaria at ,venice1    
again1 ,i found the bodies of ,st4      
,zacharias 7father of ,john the         
,baptist71 ,st4 ,sabina1 ,st4 ,tarasius1
 ,sts4 ,nereus and ,achilles1 and many  
other saints too numerous to mention4   
,how great importance was attached to   
the possession of the actual corpse or  
mummy of a saint we see exceptionally   
well indeed in this case of ,venice4    
,the bringing of the corpse or mummy of 

,st4 ,mark from ,alexandria to the      
lagoons was long considered the most    
important event in the history of the   
,republic2 the church in which it was   
housed is the noblest in ,christendom1  
and contains an endless series of       
records of the connexion of ,st4 ,mark  
with the city and people that so royally
 received him4 ,the soul1 as one may see
 in ,tintoret's famous picture1 flitted 
over sea with the body to ,venice1      
warned the sailors of danger by the way1
 and ever after protected the hospitable
 ,republic in all its enterprises4 ,one 
must have lived long in the city of the 
,lagoons and drunk in its very spirit in
 order to know how absolutely it        
identified itself with the ,evangelist  
its patron4 8,pax tibi1 ,marce1         
evangelista metis10 is the motto on its 
buildings4 ,the lion of ,st4 ,mark stood
 high in the ,piazzetta to be seen of   
all2 he recurs in every detail of       
sculpture or painting in the ,doges'    
,palace and the public edifices of the  

city4 ,the body that lay #dbcunder the  
pall of gold in the great church of the 
,piazza was a veritable ,palladium1 a   
very present help in time of trouble4   
,it was no mere sentiment or fancy to   
the ,venetians2 they knew that they     
possessed in their own soil1 and under  
their own church domes1 the body and    
soul of the second of the evangelists4  
,nor was that the only important helper 
that ,venice could boast4 ,she contained
 also the body of ,st4 ,george at ,san  
,giorgio ,maggiore1 and the body of ,st4
 ,nicholas at ,san ,niccolo di ,lido4   
,the beautiful legend of the ,doge and  
the ,fisherman 7immortalised for us by  
the pencil of ,paris ,bordone in one of 
the noblest pictures the world has ever 
seen7 tells us how the three great      
guardian saints1 ,st4 ,mark1 ,st4       
,george1 and ,st4 ,nicholas1 took a     
gondola one day from their respective   
churches1 and rowed out to sea amid a   
raging storm to circumvent the demons   
who were coming in a tempest to         

overwhelm ,venice4 ,a fourth saint1 of  
far later date1 whom the ,venetians also
 carried off by guile1 was ,st4 ,roch of
 ,montpelier4 ,this holy man was a very 
great sanitary precaution against the   
plague1 to which the city was much      
exposed through its eastern commerce4   
,so the men of ,venice simply stole the 
body by fraud from ,montpelier1 and     
built in its honour the exquisite church
 and ,scuola di ,san ,rocco1 the great  
museum of the art of ,tintoret4 ,the    
fact that mere possession of the holy   
body counts in itself for much could not
 be better shown than by these forcible 
abductions4  ,the corpse of ,st4        
,nicholas1 who was a highly revered     
bishop of ,myra in ,lycia1 lies1 as ,i  
said1 under the high altar of ,san      
,niccolo di ,lido at ,venice4 ,but      
another and more authentic body of the  
same great saint1 the patron of sailors 
and likewise of schoolboys1 lies also   
under the high altar of the magnificent 
basilica of ,san ,nicola at ,bari1 from 

which circumstance the holy bishop is   
generally known as ,st4 ,nicolas of     
,bari4 ,a miraculous fluid1 the ,manna  
di ,bari1 highly prized by the pious1   
exudes from the remains4 ,a gorgeous    
cathedral rises over the sepulchre4     
#dbd,such emulous duplication of bodies 
and relics is extremely common1 both in 
,christendom and in ,islam4  ,i have    
made a point of visiting the shrines of 
a vast number of leading saints in      
various parts of ,italy2 and could      
devote a volume to their points of      
interest4 ,the corpse of ,st4           
,augustine1 for example1 lies at ,pavia 
in a glorious ark1 one of the most      
sumptuous monuments ever erected by the 
skill of man1 as well as one of the     
loveliest4 ,padua similarly boasts the  
body of ,st4 ,antony of ,padua1 locally 
known as 8il ,santo10 and far more      
important in his own town than all the  
rest of the ,christian pantheon put     
together4 ,the many-domed church erected
 over his remains is considerably larger

 than ,st4 ,mark's at ,venice2 and the  
actual body of the saint itself is      
enclosed in an exquisite marble chapel1 
designed by ,sansovino1 and enriched    
with all the noblest art of the         
,renaissance4 ,dominican monks and nuns 
make pilgrimages to ,bologna1 in order  
to venerate the body of ,st4 ,dominic1  
who died in that city1 and whose corpse 
is enclosed in a magnificent sarcophagus
 in the church dedicated to him1 and    
adorned with exquisite sculpture by     
various hands from the time of ,niccolo 
,pisano to that of ,michael ,angelo4    
,siena has for its special glory ,st4   
,catherine the second--the first was the
 mythical princess of ,alexandria2 and  
the house of that ecstatic nun is still 
preserved intact as an oratory for the  
prayers of the pious4 ,her head1 laid by
 in a silver shrine or casket1 decorates
 the altar of her chapel in ,san        
,domenico1 where the famous frescoes of 
,sodoma too often usurp the entire      
attention of northern visitors4 ,compare

 the holy head of ,hoseyn at ,cairo4    
,the great ,franciscan church at        
,assisi1 once more1 enshrines the       
remains of the founder of the           
,franciscans1 which formerly reposed    
under the high altar2 the church of     
,santa ,maria degli ,angeli below it    
encloses the little hut which was the   
first narrow home of the nascent order4 
,i could go on multiplying such         
instances without number2 ,i hope these 
few will suffice to make the ,protestant
 reader feel how real is the reverence  
#dbestill paid to the very corpses and  
houses of the saints in ,italy4 ,if ever
 he was present at ,milan on the festa  
of ,san ,carlo ,borromeo1 and saw the   
peasants from neighbouring villages     
flock in hundreds to kiss the relics of 
the holy man1 as ,i have seen them1 he  
would not hesitate to connect much      
current ,christianity with the most     
primitive forms of corpse-worship and   
mummy-worship4  ,north of the ,alps1    
again1 ,i cannot refrain from mentioning

 a few salient instances1 which help to 
enforce principles already enunciated4  
,at ,paris1 the two great local saints  
are ,st4 ,denis and ,ste4 ,genevive4    
,st4 ,denis was the first bishop of     
,lutetia and of the ,parish3 he is said 
to have been beheaded with his two      
companions at ,montmartre1--,mons       
,martyrum4 ,he afterwards walked with   
his head in his hands from that point   
7now covered by the little church of    
,st4 ,pierre1 next door to the new      
basilica of the ,sacre ,cur71 to the    
spot where he piously desired to be     
buried4 ,a holy woman named ,catulla    
7note that last echo7 performed the     
final rites for him at the place where  
the stately abbey-church of ,st4 ,denis 
now preserves his memory4 ,the first    
cathedral on the spot was erected before
 the ,frankish invasion2 the second1    
built by ,dagobert1 was consecrated 7as 
a vision showed7 by ,christ himself1 who
 descended for the purpose from heaven1 
surrounded by apostles1 angels1 and ,st4

 ,denis4 ,the actual head or skull of   
the saint was long preserved in the     
basilica in a splendid reliquary of     
solid silver1 the gift of ,margurite de 
,france1 just as ,hoseyn's head is still
 preserved at ,cairo1 and as so many    
other miraculous or oracular heads are  
kept by savages or barbarians elsewhere4
 ,indeed1 the anthropological enquirer  
may be inclined to suppose that the     
severance of th head from the body and  
its preservation above ground1 after the
 common fashion1 gave rise later to the 
peculiar but by no means unique legend4 
,compare the bear's head in the ,aino   
superstition1 as well as the oracular   
,german and ,scandinavian ,nithstangs4  
,as for #dbf,ste4 ,genevive1 she rested 
first in the church dedicated to her on 
the site now occupied by the ,pantheon1 
which still in part1 though secularised1
 preserves her memory4 ,her body 7or    
what remains of it7 lies at present in  
the neighbouring church of ,st4 ,etienne
 du ,mont1 where every lover of ,paris  

surely pays his devotion to the shrine  
in the most picturesque and original    
building which the city holds1 whenever 
he passes through the domain of ,ste4   
,genevive4 ,how real the devotion of the
 people still is may be seen on any     
morning of the working week1 and still  
more during the octave of the saint's   
fete-day4  ,as in many other cases1     
however1 the remains of the virgin      
patroness of ,paris have been more than 
once removed from place to place for    
safe custody4 ,the body was originally  
buried in the crypt of the old abbey    
church of the ,holy ,apostles on the    
,ile de la ,cit4 ,when the ,normans     
overran the country1 the monks carried  
it away with them in a wooden box to a  
place of safety4 ,as soon as peace was  
once more restored1 the corpse was      
enshrined in a splendid chsse2 while the
 empty tomb was still treated with the  
utmost reverence4 ,at the ,revolution1  
the actual bones1 it is said1 were      
destroyed2 but the sarcophagus or       

cenotaph survived the storm1 and was    
transferred to ,st4 ,etienne4           
,throughout the ,neuvaine1 thousands of 
the faithful still flock to worship it4 
,the sarcophagus is believed even now to
 contain some holy portions of the      
saint's body1 saved from the wreck by   
pious adherents4  ,other familiar       
examples will occur to every one1 such  
as the bones of the ,magi or ,three     
,kings1 preserved in a reliquary in the 
,cathedral at ,cologne2 those of ,st4   
,ursula and the #aa1jjj virgins2 those  
of ,st4 ,stephen and ,st4 ,lawrence at  
,rome2 those of ,st4 ,hubert1           
disinterred and found uncorrupted1 at   
the town of the same name in the        
,ardennes2 and those of ,st4 ,longinus  
in his chapel at ,mantua4 ,all these    
relics and bodies perform astounding    
miracles1 and #dbg;all have been the    
centres of important cults for a        
considerable period4  ,in ,britain1 from
 the first stages of ,christianity1 the 
reverence paid to the bodies of saints  

was most marked1 and the story of their 
wanderings forms an important part of   
our early annals4 ,indeed1 ,i dwell so  
long upon this point because few        
northerners of the present day can fully
 appreciate the large part which the    
,dead ,body plays and has played for    
many centuries in ,christian worship4   
,only those who1 like me1 have lived    
long in thoroughly ,catholic countries1 
have made pilgrimages to numerous famous
 shrines1 and have waded through reams  
of ,anglo-,saxon and other early        
mediaeval documents1 can really         
understand this phase of ,christian     
hagiology4 ,to such people it is        
abundantly clear that the actual ,dead  
,body of some sainted man or woman has  
been in many places the chief object of 
reverence for millions of ,christians in
 successive generations4 ,a good        
,british instance is found in the case  
of ,st4 ,cuthbert's corpse4 ,the tale of
 its wanderings is too long to be given 
here in full2 it should be read in any  

good history of ,durham4 ,i epitomize   
briefly4 ,the body of the devoted       
missionary of the north was first kept  
for some time at ,lindisfarne4 ,when1 at
 the end of eleven years1 the saint's   
tomb was opened1 his outer form was     
found still incorrupt2 and so for more  
than #hjj years it was believed to      
remain4 ,it rested at ,lindisfarne till 
#hge1 when the piratical ,danes invaded 
,northumbria4 ,the monks1 regarding ,st4
 ,cuthbert as their greatest treasure1  
fled inland1 carrying the holy body with
 them on their own shoulders4 ,such     
translations of sacred corpses are      
common in ,christian and heathen        
history4 ,after many wanderings1 during 
which it was treated with the utmost    
care and devotion1 the hallowed body    
found an asylum for a while at          
,chester-le-,street in #hhc4 ,in #iie1  
it was transferred to ,ripon1 where it  
sanctified the minster by even so short 
a sojourn2 but in the same year it went 
forth again1 on its way north to        

,lindisfarne4 ,on the way1 however1 it  
miraculously #dbhsignified 7by stubborn 
refusal to move7 its desire to rest for 
ever at ,durham--a town whose strong    
natural position and capacity for       
defence does honour to the saint's      
military judgment4 ,here1 enclosed in a 
costly shrine1 it remained working daily
 miracles till the ,reformation4 ,the   
later grave was opened in #ahbf1 when   
the coffin was found to enclose another1
 made in #aajd3 and this again contained
 a third1 which answered the description
 of the sarcophagus made in #fih1 when  
the saint was raised from his first     
grave4 ,the innermost case contained1   
not indeed the uncorrupted body of      
,cuthbert1 but a skeleton1 still entire1
 and wrapped in fine robes of           
embroidered silk4 ,no story known to me 
casts more light on corpse-worship than 
does this one when read with all the    
graphic details of the original         
authorities4  ,but everywhere in        
,britain we get similar local saints1   

whose bodies or bones performed         
marvellous miracles and were zealously  
guarded against sacrilegious intruders4 
,bede himself is already full of such   
holy corpses3 and in later days they    
increased by the hundred4 ,st4 ,alban at
 ,st4 ,alban's1 the protomartyr of      
,britain2 the 8white hand0 of ,st4      
,oswald1 that when all else perished    
remained white and uncorrupted because  
blessed by ,aidan2 ,st4 ,etheldreda at  
,ely1 another remarkable and            
illustrative instance2 ,edward the      
,confessor at ,westminster ,abbey2 these
 are but a few out of hundreds of       
examples which will at once occur to    
students of our history4 ,and ,i will   
add that sometimes the legends of these 
saints link us on unexpectedly to far   
earlier types of heathen worship2 as    
when we read concerning ,st4 ,edmund of 
,east ,anglia1 the patron of ,bury ,st4 
,edmund's1 that ,ingvar the viking took 
him by force1 bound him to a tree1      
scourged him cruelly1 made him a target 

for the arrows of the pagan ,danes1 and 
finally beheaded him4 ,either1 ,i say1 a
 god-making sacrifice of the northern   
heathens2 or1 failing that1 a           
reminiscence1 like ,st4 ,sebastian1 of  
such god-making rites as preserved      
#dbi;in the legends of ancient martyrs4 
,compare here1 once more1 the ,aino     
bear-sacrifice4  ,but during the later  
middle ages1 the sacred ,body of        
,britain1 above all others1 was         
undoubtedly that of ,thomas ,a',becket  
at ,canterbury4 ,hither1 as we know1 all
 ,england went on pilgrimage2 and       
nothing could more fully show the       
rapidity of canonisation in such cases  
than the fact that even the mighty      
,henry ,,ii4 had to prostrate himself   
before his old enemy's body and submit  
to a public scourging at the shrine of  
the new-made martyr4 ,for several       
hundred years after his death there can 
be no doubt at all that the cult of ,st4
 ,thomas of ,canterbury was much the    
most real and living worship throughout 

the whole of ,england2 its only serious 
rivals in popular favour being the cult 
of ,st4 ,cuthbert to the north of       
,humber1 and that of ,st4 ,etheldreda in
 the ,eastern ,counties4  ,holy heads in
 particular were common in ,britain     
before the ,reformation4 ,a familiar    
,scottish case is that of the head of   
,st4 ,fergus1 the apostle of ,banff and 
the ,pictish ,highlands1 transferred to 
and preserved at the royal seat of      
,scone4 8,by ,sanct ,fergus heid at     
,scone0 was the favourite oath of the   
,scotch monarchs1 as 8,par ,sainct      
,denys0 was that of their ,french       
contemporaries4  ,in almost all these   
cases1 again1 and down to the present   
day1 popular appreciation goes long     
before official ,roman canonisation4    
,miracles are first performed at the    
tomb1 and prayers are answered2 an      
irregular cult precedes the formal one4 
,even in our own day1 only a few weeks  
after ,cardinal ,manning's death1       
advertisements appeared in ,catholic    

papers in ,london1 giving thanks for    
spiritual and temporal blessings        
received through the intervention of    
,our ,lady1 the saints1 8and our beloved
 ,cardinal40  ,this popular canonisation
 has often far outrun the regular       
official acceptance1 as in the case of  
,joan of ,arc in ,france at the present 
day1 or of 8,maister ,john ,schorn1 that
 blessed man born10 in the ,kent of the 
middle ages4 ,thus countries like ,wales
 and ,cornwall are full of local and    
#dcjpatriotic saints1 often of doubtful 
,catholicity1 like ,st4 ,cadoc1 ,st4    
,padern1 ,st4 ,petrock1 ,st4 ,piran1    
,st4 ,ruan1 and ,st4 ,illtyd1 not to    
mention more accepted cases1 like ,st4  
,asaph and ,st4 ,david4 ,the fact is1   
men have everywhere felt the natural    
desire for a near1 a familiar1 a recent1
 and a present god or saint2 they have  
worshipped rather the dead whom they    
loved and revered themselves than the   
elder gods and the remoter martyrs who  
have no body among them1 no personal    

shrine1 no local associations1 no living
 memories4 8,i have seen in ,brittany10 
says a ,french correspondent of ,mr4    
,herbert ,spencer's1 8the tomb of a     
pious and charitable priest covered with
 garlands3 people flocked to it by      
hundreds to pray of him that he would   
procure them restoration to health1 and 
guard over their children40 ,there1 with
 the ,christian addition of the supreme 
,god1 we get once more the root-idea of 
religion4  ,i should like to add that   
beyond such actual veneration of the    
bodies of saints and martyrs1 there has 
always existed a definite theory in the 
,roman church that no altar can exist   
without a relic4 ,the altar1 being      
itself a monumental stone1 needs a body 
or part of a body to justify and        
consecrate it4 ,dr4 ,rock1 a high       
authority1 says in his ,hierurgia1 8,by 
the regulations of the ,church it is    
ordained that the ,holy ,sacrifice of   
the ,mass be offered upon an altar which
 contains a stone consecrated by a      

,bishop1 enclosing the relics of some   
saint or martyr2 and be covered with    
three linen cloths that have been       
blessed for that purpose with an        
appropriate form of benediction40 ,the  
consecration of the altar1 indeed1 is   
considered even more serious than the   
consecration of the church itself2 for  
without the stone and its relic1 the    
ceremony of the ,mass cannot be         
performed at all4 ,even when ,mass has  
to be said in a private house1 the      
priest brings a consecrated stone and   
its relic along with him2 and other such
 stones were carried in the retables or 
portable altars so common in military   
expeditions of the middle ages4 ,the    
church is thus #dca;a tomb1 with chapel 
tombs around it2 it contains a stone    
monument covering a dead body or part of
 a body2 and in it is made and exhibited
 the ,body of ,christ1 in the form of   
the consecrated and transmuted wafer4   
,not only1 however1 is the altar in this
 manner a reduced or symbolical tomb1   

and not only is it often placed above   
the body of a saint1 as at ,st4 ,mark's 
and ,st4 ,peter's1 but it also sometimes
 consists itself of a stone sarcophagus4
 ,one such sarcophagus exists in the    
,cathedral at ,st4 ,malo2 ,i have seen  
other coffin-shaped altars in the       
monastery of ,la ,trappe near ,algiers  
and elsewhere4 ,when1 however1 the altar
 stands1 like that at ,st4 ,peter's1    
above the actual body of a saint1 it    
does not require to contain a relic2    
otherwise it does4 ,that is to say1 it  
must be either a real or else an        
attenuated and symbolical sarcophagus4  
,in the eastern church1 a sort of       
relic-bag1 called an ,antimins1 is      
necessary for the proper performance of 
the ,holy ,eucharist4 ,it consists of a 
square cloth1 laid on the altar or      
wrapped up in its coverings1 and figured
 with a picture representing the burial 
of ,christ by ,joseph of ,arimathea and 
the ,holy ,women4 ,this brings it very  
near to the ,adonis and ,hoseyn         

ceremonies4 ,but it must necessarily    
contain some saintly relic4  ,apart from
 corpse-worship and relic-worship in the
 case of saints1 ,catholic ,christendom 
has long possessed an annual            
,commemoration of the ,dead1 the ,jour  
des ,morts1 which links itself on       
directly to earlier ancestor-worship4   
,it is true1 this commemoration is      
stated officially1 and no doubt         
correctly1 to owe its origin 7in its    
recognised form7 to a particular        
historical person1 ,adam de ,saint      
,victor3 but when we consider how       
universal such commemorations and annual
 dead-feasts have been in all times and 
places1 we can hardly doubt that the    
church did but adopt and sanctify a     
practice which1 though perhaps accounted
 heathenish1 had never died out at all  
among the mass of believers4 ,the very  
desire to be buried in a church or      
churchyard1 and all that it implies1    
link on ,christian usage here #dcbonce  
more to primitive corpse-worship4       

,compare with the dead who sleep with   
,osiris4 ,in the middle ages1 many      
people were buried in chapels containing
 the body 7or a relic7 of their patron  
saint4  ,in short1 from first to last1  
religion never gets far away from these 
its earliest and profoundest            
associations4 8,god and                 
immortality10--those two are its        
key-notes4 ,and those two are one2 for  
the god in the last resort is nothing   
more than the immortal ghost1           
etherealised and extended4  ,on the     
other hand1 whenever religion travels   
too far afield from its emotional and   
primal base in the cult of the nearer   
dead1 it must either be constantly      
renewed by fresh and familiar objects of
 worship1 or it tends to dissipate      
itself into mere vague pantheism4 ,a new
 god1 a new saint1 a 8revival of        
religion10 is continually necessary4    
,the ,sacrifice of the ,mass is wisely  
repeated at frequent intervals2 but that
 alone does not suffice2 men want the   

assurance of a nearer1 a more familiar  
deity4 ,in our own time1 and especially 
in ,protestant and sceptical ,england   
and ,america1 this need has made itself 
felt in the rise of spiritualism and    
kindred beliefs1 which are but the      
doctrine of the ghost or shade in its   
purified form1 apart1 as a rule1 from   
the higher conception of a supreme      
ruler4 ,and what is ,positivism itself  
save the veneration of the mighty dead1 
just tinged with vague ethical yearnings
 after the abstract service of living   
humanity8 ,i have known many men of     
intellect1 suffering under a severe     
bereavement--the loss of a wife or a    
dearly-loved child--take refuge for a   
time either in spiritualism or          
,catholicism4 ,the former seems to give 
them the practical assurance of actual  
bodily intercourse with the dead1       
through mediums or table-turning2 the   
latter supplies them with a theory of   
death which makes reunion a probable    
future for them4 ,this desire for direct

 converse with the dead we saw          
exemplified in a very early or primitive
 stage in the case of the ,mandan wives 
who talk lovingly to their              
husbandsrsquo2 skulls2 it probably forms
 the basis for the common habit of      
keeping the head #dccwhile burying the  
body1 whose widespread results we have  
so frequently noticed4 ,i have known two
 instances of modern spiritualists who  
similarly had their wives' bodies       
embalmed1 in order that the spirit might
 return and inhabit them4  ,thus the    
,cult of the ,dead1 which is the        
earliest origin of all religion1 in the 
sense of worship1 is also the last relic
 of the religious spirit which survives 
the gradual decay of faith due to modern
 scepticism4 ,to this cause ,i refer on 
the whole the spiritualistic utterances 
of so many among our leaders of modern  
science4 ,they have rejected religion1  
but they cannot reject the inherited and
 ingrained religious emotions4          
,,chapter ,,xx4--,,conclusion4  ,,and   

#dcdnow we have reached at last the end 
of our long and toilsome disquisition4  
,i need hardly say1 to those who have   
persisted with me so far1 that ,i do not
 regard a single part of it all as by   
any means final4 ,there is not a chapter
 in this book1 indeed1 which ,i could   
not have expanded to double or treble   
its present length1 had ,i chosen to    
include in it a tithe of the evidence ,i
 have gathered on the subject with which
 it deals4 ,but for many adequate       
reasons1 compression was imperative4    
,some of the greatest treatises ever    
written on this profoundly important and
 interesting question have met with far 
less than the attention they deserved   
because they were so bulky and so       
overloaded with evidence that the reader
 could hardly see the wood for the      
trees2 he lost the thread of the        
argument in the mazes of example4 ,in my
 own case1 ,i had or believed ,i had a  
central idea2 and ,i desired to set that
 idea forth with such simple brevity as 

would enable the reader to grasp it and 
to follow it4 ,i go1 as it were1 before 
a ,grand ,jury only4 ,i do not pretend  
in any one instance to have proved my   
points2 ,i am satisfied if ,i have made 
out a prima facie case for further      
enquiry4  ,my object in the present     
reconstructive treatise has therefore   
been merely to set forth in as short a  
form as was consistent with clearness my
 conception of the steps by which       
mankind arrived at its idea of its ,god4
 ,i have not tried to produce evidence  
on each step in full2 ,i have only tried
 to lay before the general public a     
rough sketch of a psychological         
#dcerebuilding1 and to suggest at the   
same time to scholars and               
anthropologists some inkling of the     
lines along which evidence in favour of 
my proposed reconstruction is likeliest 
to be found4 ,this book is thus no more 
than a summary of probabilities4 ,should
 it succeed in attracting attention and 
arousing interest in so vast and        

fundamental a subject1 ,i shall hope to 
follow it up by others in future1 in    
which the various component elements of 
my theory will be treated in detail1 and
 original authorities will be copiously 
quoted with the fullest references4 ,as1
 however1 in this preliminary outline of
 my views ,i have dealt with few save   
well-known facts1 and relied for the    
most part upon familiar collocations of 
evidence1 ,i have not thought it        
necessary to encumber my pages with     
frequent and pedantic footnotes1        
referring to the passages or persons    
quoted4 ,the scholar will know well     
enough where to look for the proofs he  
needs1 while the general reader can only
 judge my rough foreshadowing of a      
hypothesis according as he is impressed 
by its verisimilitude or the contrary4  
,if1 on the other hand1 this            
avant-courier of a reasoned system fails
 to interest the public1 ,i must        
perforce be content to refrain from     
going any deeper in print into this     

fascinating theme1 on which ,i have     
still an immense number of ideas and    
facts which ,i desire the opportunity of
 publicly ventilating4  ,i wish also to 
remark before ,i close that ,i do not   
hold dogmatically to the whole or any   
part of the elaborate doctrine here     
tentatively suggested4 ,i have changed  
my own mind far too often1 with regard  
to these matters1 in the course of my   
personal evolution1 ever to think ,i    
have reached complete finality4 ,fifteen
 or twenty years ago1 indeed1 ,i was    
rash enough to think ,i had come to     
anchor1 when ,i first read ,mr4 ,herbert
 ,spencer's sketch of the origin of     
religion in the opening volume of the   
,principles of ,sociology4 ,ten or      
twelve years since1 doubts and          
difficulties again obtruded themselves4 
,six years ago1 once more1 #dcfwhen ,the
 ,golden ,bough appeared1 after this    
book had been planned and in part       
executed1 ,i was forced to go back      
entirely upon many cherished former     

opinions1 and to reconsider many        
questions which ,i had fondly imagined  
were long since closed for me4 ,since   
that time1 new lights have been         
constantly shed upon me from without1 or
 have occurred to me from within3 and ,i
 humbly put this sketch forward now for 
what it may be worth1 not with the idea 
that ,i have by any means fathomed the  
whole vast truth1 but in the faint hope 
that ,i may perhaps have looked down    
here and there a little deeper into the 
profound abysses beneath us than has    
been the lot of most previous           
investigators4 ,at the same time1 ,i    
need hardly reiterate my sense of the   
immense obligations under which ,i lie  
to not a few among them1 and            
preeminently to ,mr4 ,spencer1 ,mr4     
,frazer1 ,mr4 ,hartland1 and ,dr4       
,tylor4 ,my only claim is that ,i may   
perhaps have set forth a scheme of      
reconstruction which further evidence   
will possibly show to be true in parts1 
and mistaken in others44  ,on the other 

hand1 by strictly confining my attention
 to religious features1 properly so     
called1 to the exclusion of mythology1  
ethics1 and all other external          
accretions or accidents1 ,i trust ,i    
have been able to demonstrate more      
clearly than has hitherto been done the 
intimate connexion which always exists  
between cults in general and the worship
 of the ,dead ,god1 natural or          
artificial4 ,even if ,i have not quite  
succeeded in inducing the believer in   
primitive animism to reconsider his     
prime dogma of the origin of gods from  
all-pervading spirits 7of which         
affiliation ,i can see no proof in the  
evidence before us71 ,i venture to think
 ,i shall at any rate have made him feel
 that ,ancestor-,worship and the ,cult  
of the ,dead ,god have played a far     
larger and deeper part than he has      
hitherto been willing to admit in the   
genesis of the religious emotions4      
,though ,i may not have raised the      
worship of the ,dead ,man to a supreme  

and unique place in the god-making      
process1 ,i have at least1 ,i trust1    
raised it to a position of higher       
importance than #dcg;it has hitherto    
held1 even since the publication of ,mr4
 ,herbert ,spencer's epoch-making       
researches4 ,i believe ,i have made it  
tolerably clear that the vast mass of   
existing gods or divine persons1 when we
 come to analyse them1 do actually turn 
out to be dead and deified human beings4
 ,in short1 it is my hope that ,i have  
rehabilitated ,euhemerism4  ,this is not
 the place1 at the very end of so long a
 disquisition1 to examine the theory of 
primitive animism4 ,i would therefore   
only say briefly here that ,i do not    
deny the actual existence of that       
profoundly animistic frame of mind which
 ,mr4 ,im ,thurn has so well depicted   
among the ,indians of ,guiana2 nor that 
which exists among the ,sa-moyeds of    
,siberia2 nor that which meets us at    
every turn in historical accounts of the
 old ,roman religion4 ,i am quite ready 

to admit that1 to people at that stage  
of religious evolution1 the world seems 
simply thronged with spirits on every   
side1 each of whom has often his own    
special functions and peculiar          
prerogatives4 ,but ,i fail to see that  
any one of these ideas is demonstrably  
primitive4 ,most often1 we can trace    
ghosts1 spirits1 and gods to particular 
human origins3 where spirits exist in   
abundance and pervade all nature1 ,i    
still fail to understand why they may   
not be referred to the one known source 
and spring of all ghostly beings4 ,it is
 abundantly clear that no distinction of
 name or rite habitually demarcates     
these ubiquitous and uncertain spirits  
at large from those domestic gods whose 
origin is perfectly well remembered in  
the family circle4 ,i make bold to      
believe1 therefore1 that in every such  
case we have to deal with unknown and   
generalised ghosts1--with ghosts of most
 varying degrees of antiquity4 ,if any  
one can show me a race of               

spirit-believers who do not worship     
their own ancestral spirits1 or can     
adduce any effective prime differentia  
between the spirit that was once a      
living man1 and the spirit that never   
was human at all1 ,i will gladly hear   
him4 ,up to date1 however1 no such race 
has been pointed out1 and no such       
differentia ever posited4  ,the         
#dchtruth is1 we have now no primitive  
men at all4 ,existing men are the       
descendants of people who have had      
religions1 in all probability1 for over 
a million years4 ,the best we can do1   
therefore1 is to trace what gods we can 
to their original source1 and believe   
that the rest are of similar            
development4 ,and whither do we track   
them8  8,so far as ,i have been able to 
trace back the origin of the best-known 
minor provincial deities10 says ,sir    
,alfred ,lyall1 speaking of ,india in   
general1 8they are usually men of past  
generations who have earned special     
promotion and brevet rank among         

disembodied ghosts4444 ,of the numerous 
local gods known to have been living    
men1 by far the greater proportion      
derive from the ordinary canonisation of
 holy personages4444 ,the number of     
shrines thus raised in ,berar alone to  
these anchorites and persons deceased in
 the odour of sanctity is large1 and it 
is constantly increasing4 ,some of them 
have already attained the rank of       
temples40 ,we have seen that an acute   
observer1 ,erman1 came to a similar     
conclusion about the gods of those very 
,ostyaks who are often quoted as typical
 examples of primitive animists4 ,of    
late years1 all the world over1 numerous
 unprejudiced investigators1 like ,mr4  
,duff ,macdonald and ,captain           
,henderson1 have similarly come to the  
conclusion that the gods of the natives 
among whom they worked were all of human
 origin2 while we know that some whole  
great national creeds1 like the ,shinto 
of ,japan1 recognise no deities at all  
save living kings and dead ancestral    

spirits4 ,under these circumstances1    
judging the unknown by the known1 ,i    
hesitate to take the very bold step of  
positing any new and fanciful source for
 the small residuum of unresolved gods  
whose human origin is less certainly    
known to us4  ,in one word1 ,i believe  
that corpse-worship is the protoplasm of
 religion1 while admitting that         
folk-lore is the protoplasm of          
mythology1 and of its more modern and   
philosophical offshoot1 theology4