THE CIVIL FUNCTIONS OF PK1ESTS. 791 



Boyle writes of the Dyaks that &quot;next door to the Tuah 

 [chief] lived the manang or medicine man.&quot; And this 

 reminds us of Hue s remark concerning the Tartar emperor, 

 Mangou-khan, who &quot; was given to a number of superstitious 

 practices, and the principal soothsayer was lodged opposite 

 his tent . . . having under his care the cars that bore the 

 idols.&quot; So has it been where the sacerdotal character has 

 become decided. We have seen that in Mexico &quot; the high- 

 priests were the oracles whom the kings consulted in all 

 the most important affairs of the State.&quot; So was it among 

 other ancient American peoples ; as in primitive Michoacan, 

 where the priests &quot;had the greatest influence in secular 

 as well as ecclesiastical affairs.&quot; In ancient Egypt it was 

 the same. &quot; Next to the king, the priests held the first rank, 

 and from them were chosen his confidential and responsible 

 advisers.&quot; And it is still so in Burmah, where, Sangermano 

 says, &quot;all is regulated by the opinions of the Brahmins, 

 so that not even the king shall presume to take any step 

 without their advice.&quot; 



That this advising function in civil affairs should be joined 

 with the sacerdotal function, in societies having cults origin 

 ating from worship of dead rulers, is to be expected. We 

 see, &quot;however, that even the priests of a conquering religion 

 acquire in this, as in other respects, the same essential 

 positions as the priests of an indigenous religion, 

 history of mediseval Europe shows how prelates became 

 agents of civil rule; alike as ministers, as diplomatic agents, 

 and as members of councils dealing with political affairs. 



637. But as with the military functions of priests so 

 with their civil functions, social development, ever accom 

 panied by specialization, more and more restricts them. 



At the one extreme we have, in the primitive king, a 

 complete fusion of the two sets of functions; while in the 

 governments of advanced societies we see approach to an 

 extreme in which priests, instead of taking prominent parts 



