GHOSTS FROM DREAMLAND 



already weakened by disease. In a sense, it was super- 

 stition that killed him. 



Of course this report, as instanced, may not be true; 

 buf whether true or false it serves equally well to point a 

 mora^j for if not true as an individual belief, it may 

 fairly stand as representative of the superstitious 

 beliefs of a large percentage of the cultivated people of 

 to-day. 



The really significant thing, however, is not that 

 superstitions still cling, but that they have been so nearly 

 banished. The relatively few that remain are mere 

 reminiscences of the times not far gone when super- 

 stition was rampant, and the persons who entertain 

 them realize their absurdity even while being dominated 

 by them. It is as hard to find a man who will ac- 

 knowledge that he is superstitious as to find one who 

 really is not superstitious. 



Even when confessing one's little whim, it is custom- 

 ary to disavow its implications in the same breath. If 

 A spills the salt, and is detected throwing a pinch of it 

 over his shoulder, he invariably says, half-apologetic- 

 ally, "I am not superstitious, but I do not like to spill 

 salt without at once throwing some of it over my 

 shoulder." The general disavowal always precedes 

 the specific admission, regardless of the fact that the 

 two are utterly inconsistent. 



The act itself was prima jacie evidence of a deep- 

 seated superstitious belief, which, however, the intellect 

 repudiates. The repudiation is of more significance 

 than the reminiscent act. It marks a distinct phase of 

 intellectual evolution. It shows our progress toward 



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