212 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the isolated and ignorant who are bigoted. A still higher degree 

 of light gained by those who have come out of the caves of super- 

 stition will induce them to imitate the decision of the witty sage 

 with regard to ghosts he had seen so many that he could not be- 

 lieve in any. 



When a future state of rewards and punishments, depending 

 upon belief in a particular dogma, has been established, the atti- 

 tude of believers becomes antagonistic. They maintain that a 

 denial of their belief is disrespect to their god, and they angrily 

 stigmatize such denial as blasphemy or skepticism, or use some 

 other term of vituperation, and they say that their anger is right- 

 eous. But it is simply egotistic. The true ground of their hos- 

 tility to any dissentient opinion is the cloud cast on their title to 

 future happiness. This must be fought as titles are contested in 

 courts of law, or by the last resort of war, or by such persecution 

 as silences the objectors to the title. But as the Israelites claimed 

 no such title, they were not sensitive about its disparagement. 

 In the religious stage described, neither the Indians nor the Is- 

 raelites sought to make religious proselytes. The noble motive 

 of missionaries is to save souls ; but the peoples now compared 

 could not have had, indeed could not have understood, that motive. 



At the commencement of this address the rule was laid down 

 that it was essential to omit all reference to revelation as de- 

 ciding the points discussed. Many points, however, have been 

 touched upon which properly bring to notice the order of the 

 development of revelation in general, without discussion of its 

 decisive authority. This procedure may be submitted to students 

 of anthropology as applicable to all revelations save those which 

 each one individually credits. 



It is evident that some practice existed early for which a natu- 

 ral explanation may be given. This practice became a formal 

 custom which, after a time, was considered to be obligatory under 

 the vague but compelling idea that it was " bad luck " not to ob- 

 serve it. Bad luck is necessarily connected with the supernatu- 

 ral. Hence the custom or the congeries of customs became a 

 religion, and that was always supported and explained at a later 

 time by a myth. That was not necessarily an explanation made 

 by imposture or with intent to deceive, but grew from the curi- 

 osity of men and their hurry to account for everything. All 

 such myths are declared to be obtained, through revelation, from 

 a power higher than man. The result is, therefore, that revela- 

 tion, which is the last step in the evolution of religion, is enounced, 

 by antedating, to be the first step. When supposed revelation is 

 once regnant, men cling to it as a refuge from the doubt which 

 must always result from reasoning on subjects which do not ad- 

 mit of demonstration. Such clinging becomes fanatical with most 



