73 2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



sary basis of religion. Without the knowledge of man the knowl- 

 edge of God would be useless for religious purposes ; the two go 

 hand in hand. The former springs from and is applied to all the 

 relations of human life. The part of it which comes to be distinct- 

 ively religious is the consciousness of dependence on God, with all 

 the convictions and feelings which therewith connect themselves. 

 This consciousness has a history similar to that of man's theo- 

 logical creed. It is at first simple and fleshly, relating to man's 

 animal passions and needs ; it is purified by time, growing till it 

 attains a well-developed ethical-spiritual shape. From being a 

 creature who needs only food and raiment, man comes to be a 

 highly endowed soul with aspirations after moral perfectness, and 

 at each step the deity must be able to satisfy his needs. 



The history of the genesis of things is in itself no more re- 

 ligious than anthropology. How the world, and man, and the 

 gods came into existence are essentially scientific questions ; they 

 assume a religious aspect from the fact that they are interwoven 

 with man's really religious conceptions. The first attitude of the 

 human mind on these points is one of indifference ; men accept 

 known facts without question. A period of reflection follows ; 

 interest is felt in the problem of origins. The construction of the 

 world is assigned, of course, to the supernatural powers ; the pro- 

 cess of creation is thought of as similar to human methods of 

 work : the world is said to have issued from an egg, or to have 

 been formed from the limbs of a giant, or to have been fashioned 

 in some way familiar to man. The genesis of man is explained in 

 a similar manner. He is born of divine or half -divine parents, or 

 fashioned out of stone or clay. The gods themselves are supposed 

 to have issued from earlier gods, who are held to have come into 

 existence in some far-off time out of primitive material, commonly 

 water. The whole process is one of reflection it is man's effort 

 to embody in living form the forces which he conceives to have 

 been at work in the creation of the universe. It is his first attempt 

 at scientific analysis and construction. 



This theological exposition of the world is a necessity of 

 human thought ; man can no more ignore it than he can cease 

 to breathe. It is equally necessary that he should define his own 

 relation to the unseen powers around him. They are believed to 

 determine, in large measure, his weal or woe : they send rain and 

 storm, pestilence and famine, sunshine and food ; they smite with 

 disease, or maintain in health ; they give victory over enemies, 

 and decide the success or failure of all undertakings. In order to 

 secure their favor and aid, he must know what it is in his conduct 

 that pleases or displeases them, and by what processes their anger 

 may be averted and their good-will obtained. At first, the sup- 

 posed requirements of human conduct are altogether ceremonial; 



