FAITH. 171 



ever we ascribe, for want of a better word, to Chance, 

 is by him ascribed to the direct interference of the 

 gods. He knows nothing about the laws of nature. 

 Death itself is not a natural event. Sooner or later 

 men make the gods angry and are killed. 



It is difficult for those who have not lived among 

 savages to perfectly realise their faith. When told 

 that his gods do not exist, the savage merely laughs 

 in mild wonder at such an extraordinary observation 

 being made. It seems quite natural to him that his 

 gods should be as his parents and grandparents have 

 described : he believes as he breathes, without an 

 effort ; he feels that what he has been taught is true. 

 His creed is in harmony with his intellect, and cannot 

 be changed until his intellect is changed. If a god 

 in a dream, or through the priests, has made him a 

 promise and the promise is broken, he does not on 

 that account doubt the existence of the god. He 

 merely supposes that the god has told a lie. Nor 

 does it seem strange to him that a god should tell a 

 lie. His god is only a gigantic man, a sensual despotic 

 king, who orders his subjects to give him the first 

 fruits of the fields, the firstlings of the flock, virgins 

 for his harem, human bodies for his cannibal repasts. 

 As for himself, he is the slave of that god or king : he 

 prays, that is to say, he begs ; he sings hymns, that is 

 to say, he flatters ; he sacrifices, that is to say, he pays 

 tribute, chiefly out of fear, but partly in the hope of 

 getting something better in return — long life, riches, 

 and fruitful wives. He is usually afraid to say of the 

 gods what he thinks, or even to utter their real name. 

 But sometimes he gives vent to the hatred which is 

 burning in his heart. Writhing on a bed of sickness, 

 he heaps curses on the god who he declares is " eating 



