

RELIGIOUS RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT. 833 



throughout its course habitually modified by that Dissolution 

 which eventually undoes it : the changes which become mani 

 fest being usually but the differential results of opposing 

 tendencies towards integration and disintegration. Eightly to 

 understand the genesis and decay of religious systems, and 

 the probable future of those now existing, we must take this 

 tiuth into account. During those earlier changes by which 

 there is created a hierarchy of gods, demi-gods, manes-gods, 

 and spirits of various kinds and ranks, Evolution goes on 

 with but little qualification. The consolidated mythology 

 produced, while growing in the mass of supernatural beings 

 composing it, assumes increased heterogeneity along with 

 increased definiteness in the arrangement of its parts and the 

 attributes of its members. But the antagonist Dissolution 

 eventually gains predominance. The spreading recognition 

 of natural causation conflicts with this mythological evolution ; 

 and insensibly weakens those of its beliefs which are most 

 at variance with advancing knowledge. Demons and the 

 secondary divinities presiding over divisions of Nature, become 

 less thought of as the phenomena ascribed to them are more 

 commonly observed to follow a constant order; and hence 

 these minor components of the mythology slowly dissolve 

 away. At the same time, with growing supremacy of the great 

 god heading the hierarchy, there goes increasing ascription to 

 him of actions which were before distributed among numerous 

 supernatural beings: there is integration of power. While in 

 proportion as there arises the consentient conception of an 

 omnipotent and omnipresent deity, there is a gradual fading 

 of his alleged human attributes : dissolution begins to affect 

 the supreme personality in respect of ascribed form and 

 nature. 



Already, as we have seen, this process has in the more 

 advanced societies, and -especially among their higher mem 

 bers, gone to the extent of merging all minor supernatural 

 powers in one supernatural power ; and already this one super 

 natural power has, by what Mr, Fiske aptly calls de- 



