the golden bough-第21节

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ly　dying　of　the　Mass　of　Saint　Sécaire。

Yet　though　magic　is　thus　found　to　fuse　and　amalgamate　with　religion　in　many　ages　and　in　many　lands；　there　are　some　grounds　for　thinking　that　this　fusion　is　not　primitive；　and　that　there　was　a　time　when　man　trusted　to　magic　alone　for　the　satisfaction　of　such　wants　as　transcended　his　immediate　animal　cravings。　In　the　first　place　a　consideration　of　the　fundamental　notions　of　magic　and　religion　may　incline　us　to　surmise　that　magic　is　older　than　religion　in　the　history　of　humanity。　We　have　seen　that　on　the　one　hand　magic　is　nothing　but　a　mistaken　application　of　the　very　simplest　and　most　elementary　processes　of　the　mind；　namely　the　association　of　ideas　by　virtue　of　resemblance　or　contiguity；　and　that　on　the　other　hand　religion　assumes　the　operation　of　conscious　or　personal　agents；　superior　to　man；　behind　the　visible　screen　of　nature。　Obviously　the　conception　of　personal　agents　is　more　complex　than　a　simple　recognition　of　the　similarity　or　contiguity　of　ideas；　and　a　theory　which　assumes　that　the　course　of　nature　is　determined　by　conscious　agents　is　more　abstruse　and　recondite；　and　requires　for　its　apprehension　a　far　higher　degree　of　intelligence　and　reflection；　than　the　view　that　things　succeed　each　other　simply　by　reason　of　their　contiguity　or　resemblance。　The　very　beasts　associate　the　ideas　of　things　that　are　like　each　other　or　that　have　been　found　together　in　their　experience；　and　they　could　hardly　survive　for　a　day　if　they　ceased　to　do　so。　But　who　attributes　to　the　animals　a　belief　that　the　phenomena　of　nature　are　worked　by　a　multitude　of　invisible　animals　or　by　one　enormous　and　prodigiously　strong　animal　behind　the　scenes？　It　is　probably　no　injustice　to　the　brutes　to　assume　that　the　honour　of　devising　a　theory　of　this　latter　sort　must　be　reserved　for　human　reason。　Thus；　if　magic　be　deduced　immediately　from　elementary　processes　of　reasoning；　and　be；　in　fact；　an　error　into　which　the　mind　falls　almost　spontaneously；　while　religion　rests　on　conceptions　which　the　merely　animal　intelligence　can　hardly　be　supposed　to　have　yet　attained　to；　it　becomes　probable　that　magic　arose　before　religion　in　the　evolution　of　our　race；　and　that　man　essayed　to　bend　nature　to　his　wishes　by　the　sheer　force　of　spells　and　enchantments　before　he　strove　to　coax　and　mollify　a　coy；　capricious；　or　irascible　deity　by　the　soft　insinuation　of　prayer　and　sacrifice。

The　conclusion　which　we　have　thus　reached　deductively　from　a　consideration　of　the　fundamental　ideas　of　magic　and　religion　is　confirmed　inductively　by　the　observation　that　among　the　aborigines　of　Australia；　the　rudest　savages　as　to　whom　we　possess　accurate　information；　magic　is　universally　practised；　whereas　religion　in　the　sense　of　a　propitiation　or　conciliation　of　the　higher　powers　seems　to　be　nearly　unknown。　Roughly　speaking；　all　men　in　Australia　are　magicians；　but　not　one　is　a　priest；　everybody　fancies　he　can　influence　his　fellows　or　the　course　of　nature　by　sympathetic　magic；　but　nobody　dreams　of　propitiating　gods　by　prayer　and　sacrifice。

But　if　in　the　most　backward　state　of　human　society　now　known　to　us　we　find　magic　thus　conspicuously　present　and　religion　conspicuously　absent；　may　we　not　reasonably　conjecture　that　the　civilised　races　of　the　world　have　also　at　some　period　of　their　history　passed　through　a　similar　intellectual　phase；　that　they　attempted　to　force　the　great　powers　of　nature　to　do　their　pleasure　before　they　thought　of　courting　their　favour　by　offerings　and　prayerin　short　that；　just　as　on　the　material　side　of　human　culture　there　has　everywhere　been　an　Age　of　Stone；　so　on　the　intellectual　side　there　has　everywhere　been　an　Age　of　Magic？　There　are　reasons　for　answering　this　question　in　the　affirmative。　When　we　survey　the　existing　races　of　mankind　from　Greenland　to　Tierra　del　Fuego；　or　from　Scotland　to　Singapore；　we　observe　that　they　are　distinguished　one　from　the　other　by　a　great　variety　of　religions；　and　that　these　distinctions　are　not；　so　to　speak；　merely　coterminous　with　the　broad　distinctions　of　race；　but　descend　into　the　minuter　subdivisions　of　states　and　commonwealths；　nay；　that　they　honeycomb　the　town；　the　village；　and　even　the　family；　so　that　the　surface　of　society　all　over　the　world　is　cracked　and　seamed；　sapped　and　mined　with　rents　and　fissures　and　yawning　crevasses　opened　up　by　the　disintegrating　influence　of　religious　dissension。　Yet　when　we　have　penetrated　through　these　differences；　which　affect　mainly　the　intelligent　and　thoughtful　part　of　the　community；　we　shall　find　underlying　them　all　a　solid　stratum　of　intellectual　agreement　among　the　dull；　the　weak；　the　ignorant；　and　the　superstitious；　who　constitute；　unfortunately；　the　vast　majority　of　mankind。　One　of　the　great　achievements　of　the　nineteenth　century　was　to　run　shafts　down　into　this　low　mental　stratum　in　many　parts　of　the　world；　and　thus　to　discover　its　substantial　identity　everywhere。　It　is　beneath　our　feetand　not　very　far　beneath　themhere　in　Europe　at　the　present　day；　and　it　crops　up　on　the　surface　in　the　heart　of　the　Australian　wilderness　and　wherever　the　advent　of　a　higher　civilisation　has　not　crushed　it　under　ground。　This　universal　faith；　this　truly　Catholic　creed；　is　a　belief　in　the　efficacy　of　magic。　While　religious　systems　differ　not　only　in　different　countries；　but　in　the　same　country　in　different　ages；　the　system　of　sympathetic　magic　remains　everywhere　and　at　all　times　substantially　alike　in　its　principles　and　practice。　Among　the　ignorant　and　superstitious　classes　of　modern　Europe　it　is　very　much　what　it　was　thousands　of　years　ago　in　Egypt　and　India；　and　what　it　now　is　among　the　lowest　savages　surviving　in　the　remotest　corners　of　the　world。　If　the　test　of　truth　lay　in　a　show　of　hands　or　a　counting　of　heads；　the　system　of　magic　might　appeal；　with　far　more　reason　than　the　Catholic　Church；　to　the　proud　motto；　Quod　semper；　quod　ubique；　quod　ab　omnibus；　as　the　sure　and　certain　credential　of　its　own　infallibility。

It　is　not　our　business　here　to　consider　what　bearing　the　permanent　existence　of　such　a　solid　layer　of　savagery　beneath　the　surface　of　society；　and　unaffected　by　the　superficial　changes　of　religion　and　culture；　has　upon　the　future　of　humanity。　The　dispassionate　observer；　whose　studies　have　led　him　to　plumb　its　depths；　can　hardly　regard　it　otherwise　than　as　a　standing　menace　to　civilisation。　We　seem　to　move　on　a　thin　crust　which　may　at　any　moment　be　rent　by　the　subterranean　forces　slumbering　below。　From　time　to　time　a　hollow　murmur　underground　or　a　sudden　spirt　of　flame　into　the　air　tells　of　what　is　going　on　beneath　our　feet。　Now　and　then　the　polite　world　is　startled　by　a　paragraph　in　a　newspaper　which　tells　how　in　Scotland　an　image　has　been　found　stuck　full　of　pins　for　the　purpose　of　killing　an　obnoxious　laird　or　minister；　how　a　woman　has　been　slowly　roasted　to　death　as　a　witch　in　Ireland；　or　how　a　girl　has　been　murdered　and　chopped　up　in　Russia　to　make　those　candles　of　human　tallow　by　whose　light　thieves　hope　to　pursue　their　midnight　trade　unseen。　But　whether　the　influences　that　make　for　further　progress；　or　those　that　threaten　to　undo　what　has　already　been　accomplished；　will　ultimately　prevail；　whether　the　impulsive　energy　of　the　minority　or　the　dead　weight　of　the　majority　of　mankind　will　prove　the　stronger　force　to　carry　us　up　to　higher　heights　or　to　sink　us　into　lower　depths；　are　questions　rather　for　the　sage；　the　moralist；　and　the　statesman；　whose　eagle　vision　scans　the　future；　than　for　the　humble　student　of　the　present　and　the　past。　Here　we　are　only　concerned　to　ask　how　far　the　uniformity；　the　universality；　and　the　permanence　of　a　belief　in　magic；　compared　with　the　endless　variety　and　the　shifting　character　of　religious　creeds；　raises　a　presumption　that　the　former　represents　a　ruder　and　earlier　phase　of　the　human　mind；　through　which　all　the　races　of　mankind　have　passed　or　are　passing　on　their　way　to　religion　and　science。

If　an　Age　of　Religion　has　thus　everywhere；　as　I　venture　to　surmise；　been　preceded　by　an　Age　of　Magic；　it　is　natural　that　we　should　enquire　what　causes　have　led　mankind；　or　rather　a　portion　of　them；　to　abandon　magic　as　a　principle　of　faith　and　practice　and　to　betake　themselves　to　religion　instead。　When　we　reflect　upon　the　multitude；　the　variety；　and　the　complexity　of　the　facts　to　be　explained；　and　the　scantiness　of　our　information　regarding　them；　we　shall　be　ready　to　acknowledge　that　a　full　and　satisfactory　solution　of　so　profound　a　problem　is　hardly　to　be　hoped　for；　and　that　the　most　we　can　do　in　the　present　state　of　our　knowledge　is　to　hazard　a　more　or　less　plausible　conjecture。　With　all　due　diffidence；　then；　I　would　suggest　that　a　tardy　recognition　of　the　inherent　falsehood　and　barrenness　of　magic　set　the　more　thoughtful　part　of　mankind　to　cast　about　for　a　truer　theory　of　nature　and　a　more　fruitful　method　of　turning　her　resources　to　account。　The　shrewder　intelligences　must　in　time　have　come　to　perceive　that　magical　ceremonies　and　incantations　did　not　really　effect　the　results　which　they　were　designed　to　produce；　and　which　the　majority　of　their　simpler　fellows　still　believed　that　they　did　actually　produce。　This　great　discovery　of　the　inefficacy　of　magic　must　have　wrought　a　radical　though　probably　slow　revolution　in　the　minds　of　those　who　had　t