GOVERNMENT AND SCIENCE 205 



signal mark of the next stage of evolution after the develop- 

 ment of religion. In a very short time these fortune- 

 tellers or seers became the most feared and respected men 

 of the community. Princes and kings bent their knees 

 before the prophets and patriarchs. Thus it came about that 

 when one small city or district took up arms against another 

 appeal was made to the seer or idols to foretell which would 

 be the victorious army, in just the same manner as we appeal 

 to prayer when knowledge fails. 



As Study takes up time (and time and money are one 

 and the same article under different names it is a pity our 

 labour agitators cannot realise more than one side of this 

 truth), the fortune-teller found he could not grow fat on 

 study and fern roots, he therefore turned his knowledge into 

 a means of livelihood by granting it only when accompanied 

 by offerings of fowls, sheep, goats and cattle to his divinity. 

 These were offered as sacrifices, because this made a good 

 excuse for avaricious demands, but you may be sure the 

 priests of old took care that the daintiest morsels of the 

 sacrificed animals found their way to his table, and the 

 highest bribes found most favour with the deity. 



Now, fanaticism has ever been more powerful than arms 

 and it urges men to feats of valour and extremes of suffering 

 which even wealth and money have been powerless to conquer. 

 Hence it generally followed that the combatants who were 

 best able to bribe or buy the voice of the oracle became the 

 victors in the majority of cases because of the confidence 

 inspired by the prophecy. But knowledge, as it always does, 

 made crime easy ; hence the priest was able to inflict punish- 

 ment and chastisement on the unbelieving heretic, for his 

 superiority in knowledge enabled him to reek vengeance and 

 vent his spite on those who were more ignorant than himself 

 without danger or fear of detection. This soon made him 

 more powerful than the ruler or king of a city or tribe ; hence 

 he conceived the idea of governing, not only his native city 

 or tribe, but the kings or leaders of each tribe or city that came 

 to him for counsel or advice. So grew government out of reli- 

 gion, and from the order so raised grew estates and kingdoms 

 out of the villages and cities. Then a ruler becoming more 

 powerful than the priest or prophet dethroned him of his 

 power. But the wiser man, always being the most ready to 



