按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
at the recent Great War and the following Events mark the lowest point of descent and the beginning of the human soul's return to sanity and ascent towards the heavenly Kingdom。 No doubt Man will arrive again SOME day at the grace； composure and leisurely beauty of life which the animals realized long ago； though he seems a precious long time about it； and when all this nightmare of Greed and Vanity and Self…conceit and Cruelty and Lust of oppression and domination； which marks the present period； is pastand it WILL passthen Humanity will come again to its Golden Age and to that Paradise of redemption and peace which has for so long been prophesied。
But we are dealing with the origins of Religion； and what I want the reader to see is that it was just this breaking up of the old psychologic unity and continuity of man with his surroundings which led to the whole panorama of the rituals and creeds。 Man； centering round himself； necessarily became an exile from the great Whole。 He committed the sin （if it was a sin） of Separation。 Anyhow Nemesis was swift。 The sense of loneliness and the sense of guilt came on him。 The realization of himself as a separate conscious being necessarily led to his attributing a similar consciousness of some kind to the great Life around him。 Action and reaction are equal and opposite。 Whatever he may have felt before； it became clear to him now that beings more or less like himselfthough doubtless vaster and more powerfulmoved behind the veil of the visible world。
From that moment the belief in Magic and Demons and Gods arose or slowly developed itself； and in the midst of this turmoil of perilous and conflicting powers； he perceived himself an alien and an exile； stricken with Fear； stricken with the sense of Sin。 If before； he had experienced fearin the kind of automatic way of self…preservation in which the animals feel ithe now； with fevered self… regard and excited imagination； experienced it in double or treble degree。 And if； before； he had been aware that fortune and chance were not always friendly and propitious to his designs； he now perceived or thought he perceived in every adverse happening the deliberate persecution of the powers； and an accusation of guilt directed against him for some neglect or deficiency in his relation to them。 Hence by a perfectly logical and natural sequence there arose the belief in other…world or supernatural powers； whether purely fortuitous and magical or more distinctly rational and personal； there arose the sense of Sin； or of offence against these powers； there arose a complex ritual of Expiationwhether by personal sacrifice and suffering or by the sacrifice of victims。 There arose too a whole catalogue of ceremoniesceremonies of Initiation； by which the novice should learn to keep within the good grace of the Powers； and under the blessing of his Tribe and the protection of its Totem； ceremonies of Eucharistic meals which should restore the lost sanctity of the common life and remove the sense of guilt and isolation； ceremonies of Marriage and rules and rites of sex…connection； fitted to curb the terrific and demonic violence of passions which else indeed might easily rend the community asunder。 And so on。 It is easy to see that granted an early stage of simple unreflecting nature…consciousness； and granting this broken into and； after a time； shattered by the arrival of SELF…consciousness there would necessarily follow in spontaneous yet logical order a whole series of religious institutions and beliefs； which phantasmal and unreal as they may appear to us； were by no means unreal to our ancestors。 It is easy also to see that as the psychological process was necessarily of similar general character in every branch of the human race and all over the world； so the religious evolutionsthe creeds and ritualstook on much the same complexion everywhere； and； though they differed in details according to climate and other influences； ran on such remarkably parallel lines as we have noted。
Finally； to make the whole matter clear； let me repeat that this event； the inbreak of Self…consciousness； took place； or BEGAN to take place； an enormous time ago； perhaps in the beginning of the Neolithic Age。 I dwell on the word 〃began〃 because I think it is probable that in its beginnings； and for a long period after； this newborn consciousness had an infantile and very innocent character； quite different from its later and more aggressive formsjust as we see self…consciousness in a little child has a charm and a grace which it loses later in a boastful or grasping boyhood and manhood。 So we may understand that though self…consciousness may have begun to appear in the human race at this very early time （and more or less contemporaneously with the invention of very rude tools and unformed language）； there probably did elapse a very long period perhaps the whole of the Neolithic Agebefore the evils of this second stage of human evolution came to a head。 Max Muller has pointed out that among the words which are common to the various branches of Aryan language； and which therefore belong to the very early period before the separation of these branches； there are not found the words denoting war and conflict and the weapons and instruments of strifea fact which suggests a long continuance of peaceful habit among mankind AFTER the first formation and use of language。
That the birth of language and the birth of self…consciousness were APPROXIMATELY simultaneous is a probable theory； and one favored by many thinkers；＇1＇ but the slow beginnings of both must have been so very protracted that it is perhaps useless to attempt any very exact determination。 Late researches seem to show that language began in what might be called TRIBAL expressions of mood and feeling （holophrases like 〃go…hunting…kill…bear〃） without reference to individual personalities and relationships； and that it was only at a later stage that words like 〃I〃 and 〃Thou〃 came into use； and the holophrases broke up into 〃parts of speech〃 and took on a definite grammatical structure。＇2＇ If true； these facts point clearly to a long foreground of rude communal language； something like though greatly superior to that of the animals； preceding or preparing the evolution of Self…consciousness proper； in the forms of 〃I〃 and 〃Thou〃 and the grammar of personal actions and relations。 〃They show that the plural and all other forms of number in grammar arise not by multiplication of an original 'I；' but by selection and gradual EXCLUSION from an original collective 'we。' 〃＇3＇ According to this view the birth of self…consciousness in the human family； or in any particular race or section of the human family； must have been equally slow and hesitating； and it would be easy to imagine； as just said； that there may have been a very long and 'golden' period at its beginning； before the new consciousness took on its maturer and harsher forms。
＇1＇ Dr。 Bucke （Cosmic Consciousness） insists on their simultaneity； but places both events excessively far back； as we should think； i。e。 200；000 or 300；000 years ago。 Possibly he does not differentiate sufficiently between the rude language of the holophrase and the much later growth of