CHAPTEK IV. 



FIRE AND LIGHT. 



Put out the light, and then Put out the light i 



If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, 



I can again thy former light restore, 



Should I repent me : but once put out thy light, 



Thou cunniug'st pattern of excelling nature, 



I know not where is that Promethean heat 



That can thy light relume. 



Othello. 



IT seems probable that the discovery of the use of fire, 

 and of some mode of producing it at will, constituted 

 the first important advance of primitive man toward ob- 

 taining that command over nature which we term civili- 

 zation. How long ago it is since that first step was 

 taken, we have no means of determining. The palaeo- 

 lithic cave-dwellers made use of fire, and no tribes of 

 men have been found who were wholly unacquainted 

 with it. It was probably first utilized in volcanic dis- 

 tricts where sticks may often be ignited by thrusting 

 them into cavities in old lava streams. In other regions, 

 trees are often ignited when struck by lightning; and 

 when this was first observed, the agreeable warmth, the 

 ease with which the fire could be kept up by adding fresh 

 fuel, the cheerful blaze at night, and the pleasant taste 

 imparted to many kinds of food by roasting, would al- 

 most certainly lead to its careful preservation, and its 

 distribution to other families and tribes. When once 

 used, the inconvenience of losing it would be so great, 



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