10 KANSAS CITY REVIEV/ OF SCIENCE. 



waifs of literature. Traditionary lore has been gathered from many of the most 

 distant lands, and at the some time the customs of different races have been 

 studied to see what traditional or what historical origin there was to them. 



The simplest customs of modern days, such as dancing around the May-pole, 

 the various religious and burial customs, have thus proved to be connected with 

 tradition, and many of the symbols which are so frequently associated with re- 

 ligious forms have been traced back to very early times. The works on this sub- 

 ject are numerous and need to be studied. 



There are also numerous books of travels, travels in Africa, in Siberia, Inde- 

 pendent Tartary and among various wild tribes and uncultivated nations, all of 

 which it is important to consult. 



The works on comparative mythology are also numerous. Many of these 

 are quite recent, such as " Cox's Aryan Mythology," and " Brinton's Myths and 

 Myth Makers of the New World," and others, and yet the various Geographical and 

 Geological Surveys are constantly gathering material for new works. In ancient 

 history, also, a vast and increasing field opens before us, wherein we are to 

 search for the original facts on which tradition is based. Not only are the ancient 

 works of Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch to be consulted, but the 

 later investigations of Rawlinson, Layard, George Smith, Gladstone, Grote and 

 many others. 



In the line of comparative religions there are also proofs on the subject, and 

 the works of James Freeman Clarke, "Ten Religions" of Hardwick, "Christ 

 and other Masters," and many others, need to be studied, as well as the older 

 works of Davidson, Prideaux, Smith's Patriarchal Age and Warburton's Divine 

 Legation. 



Now, to sift all this vast mass of erudition, and to gather material from the 

 many different departments of history, ethnology, mythology, and to say that we 

 have arrived at definite proofs on this subject would be presumptuous indeed. 

 Grote, the historian, bears witness to "the uselessness of digging for a supposed 

 basis of truth," and Max Miiller himself finds it very difficult to arrive at defi- 

 nite conclusions in reference to many of the myths and traditions even of the 

 old world. 



In studying the subject, however, we have not undertaken to trace the re- 

 semblance of all this vast and varied amount of material. This would be a task 

 for a life-time. The largest part must necessarily be left in its own crude and un- 

 classified condition, and other generations will need to trace the ethnological and 

 the historical lines, or establish the ethnic philosophy which may account for the 

 analogies and resemblances which so extensively appear. There has, however, 

 been suggested to us a way of studying the subject which has at least been help- 

 ful and instructive. 



It is well known that the Bible is the oldest book in the world, and in refer- 

 ence to the traditions of the ancient races at least, it is very instructive. 



In reading the numerous volumes of that rare old work on comparative my- 



