With The Advance Of Knowledge, Therefore, Prayer

Yet It Would Be Unfair To The Generality Of Our Kind To Ascribe To Their Intellectual And Moral Weakness The Gradual Divergence Of Buddhism And Christianity From Their Primitive Patterns. For It Should Not Be Forgotten That By Their Glorification Of Poverty And Celibacy Both These Religions Struck Straight At The Root Not Merely Of Civil Society But Of Human Existence. The Blow Was Parried By The Wisdom Or The Folly Of The Vast Majority Of Mankind, Who Refused To Purchase A Chance Of Saving Their Souls With The Certainty Of Extinguishing The Species.

For There Are Strong Grounds For Thinking That, In The Evolution Of Thought, Magic Has Preceded Religion.

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.

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.

The Question Whether Our Conscious Personality Survives After Death Has Been Answered By Almost All Races Of Men In The Affirmative.