THE EVOLUTION OF RELIGION 143 



the end of the Glacial Period and the first descent of the Aryan 

 races on India and the Persian valley. He will then be struck 

 by the similitude of this description with what really took 

 place during these periods of evolution, namely, that the chil- 

 dren of Cain, or the Mongolian races, produced the earliest 

 age of civilisation and first form of religious belief. 



The Aryan races, personified by the children of Abel and 

 Seth, represent the first great northern population of the west 

 during the Stone Age ; then about the time of the Metal Age 

 they are driven to the warmer climates as the world nears end 

 of the Glacial Days of Noah, and, conquering and intermingling 

 with the Mongolian races, they learn their arts of agriculture 

 and manufacture in metal implements, bringing with them a 

 higher and more enlightened form of religion in the teachings 

 of Enos or Buddha, and so raising the tone of Mongolian 

 religion and civilisation in the days of Noah ; then after the 

 trials of the Glacial period the Mongolian races spread through 

 the centre of Siberia and Russia to the Irish Sea. So the Aryan 

 races now retrace their steps and reconquer them and lay the 

 foundation-stones of the civilisations of India, Persia, Egypt, 

 Greece and Rome. Of course, as all this took place before the 

 days of history, the data available to substantiate it is too 

 incomplete for me to make any absolute statements, and I can 

 only do my best to try and piece the fragments of fact together 

 by means of arguing what the most logical and probable course 

 of events would have been, so far as it is possible to draw 

 conclusions from the most likely causes that would produce 

 the results of which we have, alas ! only a smattering of know- 

 ledge on which to base our assumptions. Even to do this 

 in a satisfactory manner would require a great deal more time 

 and space to be devoted to the subject than I can now spare to 

 it, but I think I have said enough to show that both evolution 

 and Genesis herein coincide, which will be made even clearer 

 to the reader as I progress along the road of the evolution of 

 religion. 



As I have already hinted, the next stage we have to follow 

 is the progress of the Aryan races of mankind as they popu- 

 lated the western portions of the globe. As I have already 

 remarked, it is probable that China most likely evolved the 

 earliest form of civilisation and religion. It is often sur- 

 mised that the probable cause why she has not advanced and 



KK 



