The World Cannot Live At The Level

The Natives Of British Columbia Live Largely Upon The Fish Which Abound In Their Seas And Rivers. If The Fish Do Not Come In Due Season, And The Indians Are Hungry, A Nootka Wizard Will Make An Image Of A Swimming Fish And Put It Into The Water In The Direction From Which The Fish Generally Appear. This Ceremony, Accompanied By A Prayer To The Fish To Come, Will Cause Them To Arrive At Once.

The Awe And Dread With Which The Untutored Savage Contemplates His Mother-in-law Are Amongst The Most Familiar Facts Of Anthropology.

With The Advance Of Knowledge, Therefore, Prayer And Sacrifice Assume The Leading Place In Religious Ritual; And Magic; Which Once Ranked With Them As A Legitimate Equal, Is Gradually Relegated To The Background And Sinks To The Level Of A Black Art.

It Is A Common Rule With Primitive People Not To Waken A Sleeper, Because His Soul Is Away And Might Not Have Time To Get Back.

In Course Of Time The Slow Advance Of Knowledge, Which Has Dispelled So Many Cherished Illusions, Convinced At Least The More Thoughtful Portion Of Mankind That The Alterations Of Summer And Winter, Of Spring And Autumn, Were Not Merely The Result Of Their Own Magical Rites, But That Some Deeper Cause, Some Mightier Power, Was At Work Behind The Shifting Scenes Of Nature.