370 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



The belief in " contagious magic " leads to the procuring 

 of a drop of the blood, or of a piece of the hair, the toe- 

 nails, the clothing, or even a part of the unconsumed 

 food of another individual, in order that a sorcerer may, 

 by acting upon it or repeating " incantations " over it, 

 influence the actions and life of that individual for good 

 or for ill. 



But besides the many forms of these two kinds of 

 magic, there is a later variety of magic which grew up 

 with what is not a primitive belief, namely, the belief in 

 the existence of spiritual beings inhabiting trees, rocks, 

 waters, and animals. It developed further with the later 

 belief in the existence of ghosts or spirits of the dead. 

 Fear and the desire to control hostile unseen forces was 

 the motive of all magic. The magician invented " spells," 

 " rites," and " ceremonies " for controlling and bending 

 these spirits to his will. But as a still later development, 

 we find more and more definitely separated from the 

 magician and his spells the priest, who learnt humility 

 in the face of might greater than his own, and, abandon- 

 ing the attempt to coerce, adopted the attitude of 

 propitiation and prayer, and prostrated himself before a 

 higher power. Thus (as Dr. Marret writes) religion 

 gradually became separated from magic, though often 

 mixed with it, and often retaining magical elements. 

 Religious cults became publicly recognized, established, 

 and respectable, whilst " magic " became private, secret, 

 disreputable, and at last openly condemned and sup- 

 pressed by the priests of religion. The history of magic 

 in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America presents an almost 

 unlimited field of study. We find remarkable agreements 

 in the fundamental notions on which magic is based in 

 all parts of the world and also important differences in 

 details and special developments. 



Divination is that branch of magic which attempts 



