FIRE AS AN AGENT IN HUMAN CULTURE 189 



mals themselves are captured. He is at the zero of vegetal food in 

 his subsistence and at the top of the scale in the use of animal resources 

 in his culture. Again, he is at zero in the amount of daylight at the 

 period when house occupations are necessary. His need for artificial 

 light is imperative. It will be seen then that nothern latitudes conduce 

 to progress on account of long nights and long periods which can be 

 devoted to work within the house. Nature in the desert and favored 

 lands stimulates contemplation in open air. Northern unfavored lands 

 drive men to hard toil and give little time for contemplation. Here 

 the enforced house life, with its occupations and associations, strength- 

 ens the mind and enlarges the brain. The theory is that to house life 

 more than mastery of land or sea is due the advancement of the Scan- 

 dinavians. This theory, which partakes of the uncertainty which sur- 

 rounds conclusions, had much in its favor. It is supported by the 

 observation that the Eskimo are the most inventive of the races of 

 man, but is open to question as to cause by reason of the fact that 

 tribes in a similar rigorous environment are quite backward. 



The social nature of mankind, demanding the gathering together 

 at times of gi'oups for various purposes, originated many features of 

 interest which have been observed in the life of tribes nearest to or 

 whose condition is suggestive of the primitive state. Survivals also 

 of primitive customs give valuable data in this connection. The 

 activities referred to appear mainly in the night side of man's life, 

 when the distractions of diurnal work are laid aside, and consist of 

 ceremonies in which dramatic elements preponderate. The chief 

 requirement of these "dances" is a fire, or sometimes they are per- 

 formed under the natural light of the moon. In these ceremonies 

 among all races of man the fire is the nucleus of the night observ- 

 ances. There must be considered here the psychology of man's be- 

 havior toward fire, with the concomitant stimulation to the emotions 

 excited by this element. These emotions are not stimulated by 

 sunlight, and to a limited extent by fire in the daytime. The motion 

 rhythm of fire seen at night may partly explain this, and instinctive 

 survivals brought up from the subconciousness play a strong part. 

 Bonfires produce an exaltation mingled with a primitive terror 

 arising from a knowledge of the effects of unrestrainable conflagration, 

 the might of fire when it gets loose. It is instinctive when a bonfire 

 is well under way to look around and reassure oneself that it can not 

 spread to other combustible materials. Animal behavior with re- 

 gard to fire and its bearing on human reactions forms a chapter of 

 psychological investigation which can not be entered on here. 



There is one curious phase of the effect of artificial light upon the 

 communication of ideas to which attention is called. Wherever ges- 

 tures are a component of language and more or less essential to ex- 

 pression and to understanding on the part of the auditor, visuality 



