92 PRIMEVAL MAN. 



nd in the social institutions which are con- 

 nected with Belief. 



The truth is, that Man's capacities of degra- 

 lation stand in close relation, and are pro- 

 portionate, to his capacities of improvement. 

 What faculty of the human mind lies nearer 

 to the very centre of its highest life than 

 the faculty of Imagination? Without it we 

 could not interpret Nature, or form any 

 conception of its laws, or feel their harmony, 

 or understand their use. Without it we could 

 not see the Abstract or read the Future. 

 Without it we should be without motive to 

 resist Impulse, or to maintain Conviction, or 

 to rise to Duty. We could form no idea 

 whatever of Religion. It would not be possible 

 to desire the Unknown or to hope for the 



