PREFACE ix 



man in the Congo and Nigeria, and little by little I 

 have discovered a formula which I maintain is at the 

 back of his mind and has been the foundation of his 

 religious and social systems. And the more I read of 

 the efforts of great minds at home scientifically to put 

 the subconscious in its proper place, the more I feel 

 the need of their help in my studies. It is therefore 

 more in a tentative way that I bring forward what 

 seems to me a very remarkable lesson that I have 

 learnt from the native of Africa, namely, that his 

 natural religion and form of government is, in my 

 opinion, rather the result of instinct and the sub- 

 conscious than of any direct effort of his brain, although 

 it would appear that at some period or other a classi- 

 fication of his ideas may have been drawn up by his 

 priests or some prophet or philosopher. 



