42 MAGIC. 



vague and mistaken idea of his relationships with his sur- 

 roundings, falls easily into the error of thinking that he can 

 more or less control the forces of Nature by imitating the 

 result he desires ; in other words, he has only to set Nature 

 a pattern and she will probably follow it. 



I must ask members to accept this view of the origin of 

 magic ; an enormous number of instances could be produced 

 in support of it, but I will content myself with one or two. 



Certain living savages wishing to increase their herds and 

 flocks employ as shepherds the parents of twins, or even 

 entertain such persons in idleness in their villages. The 

 ewes, they believe, following the excellent example set before 

 them, will all produce twins. It will be remembered that 

 Jacob, having a strong personal interest in the production of 

 spotted calves by Laban's herds, gave the cows a pattern to 

 follow, in the belief, then no doubt general, that Nature 

 would imitate the example given to her. 



It is not only animate Nature that is thus supposed to copy 

 a pattern set before her. A sailor becalmed, and wishing the 

 wind to blow, will screw up his lips and blow violently through 

 them, thus imitating the rushing of the wind and its shrieking 

 in the rigging, believing, or rather hoping, that the real thing 

 will follow. The expression " whistling for the wind " has 

 passed into a proverb, and, perhaps, some members already 

 stand self -convicted of plying the magic art as I have -here 

 interpreted it. 



I must repeat that it seems certain that magic arose by a 

 confusion in the primitive mind of the relations of cause 

 and effect ; the sailor here unconsciously argues " when 

 there is a wind there is a whistling ; therefore, when there 

 is a whistling there will be a wind." From this simple logical 

 fallacy arises magic, and at first, as we have seen, it is innocent 

 enough, merely meant to stir up Nature to be a little more 

 generous with her favours. 



But magic has its other side ; if in the above case parents 

 of twins set a good example to flocks it equally follows that 

 childless people must be banished from their midst, and if 



