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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17280-h.zip b/17280-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..73fbc82 --- /dev/null +++ b/17280-h.zip diff --git a/17280-h/17280-h.htm b/17280-h/17280-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..75bfede --- /dev/null +++ b/17280-h/17280-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7360 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> + +<html> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> + <title>The Project Gutenberg e-Book of Anthropology by R.R. Marett, M.A.</title> + <style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body {margin:5%; text-align:justify} + h4 {text-align:center} + h3 {text-align:center} + h2 {text-align:center} + h1 {text-align:center} --> + </style> +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anthropology, by Robert Marett + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Anthropology + +Author: Robert Marett + +Release Date: December 11, 2005 [EBook #17280] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHROPOLOGY *** + + + + +Produced by Ron Swanson + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h3>HOME UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE</h3> +<center>No. 37</center> +<br> +<center><i>Editors:</i><br> +HERBERT FISHER, M.A., F.B.A.<br> +P<small>ROF</small>. GILBERT MURRAY, L<small>ITT</small>.D., LL.D., F.B.A.<br> +P<small>ROF</small>. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, M.A.<br> +P<small>ROF</small>. WILLIAM T. BREWSTER, M.A.</center> +<br> +<i>A complete classified list of the volumes of</i> T<small>HE</small> H<small>OME</small> U<small>NIVERSITY</small> +L<small>IBRARY</small> <i>already published will be found at the end of this book</i>. +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>ANTHROPOLOGY</h1> +<br> +<h4>BY</h4> +<h3>R.R. MARETT, M.A.</h3> +<center><small>READER IN SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE<br> +UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD<br> +AUTHOR OF "THE THRESHOLD OF RELIGION," ETC.</small></center> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h4>NEW YORK<br> +HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY</h4> +<h4>LONDON<br> +WILLIAMS AND NORGATE</h4> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" summary="table of contents"> + <tr> + <td width="10%" align="right"><small>CHAP.</small></td> + <td align="left"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">I</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap1">SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">II</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap2">ANTIQUITY OF MAN</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">III</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap3">RACE</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">IV</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap4">ENVIRONMENT</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">V</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap5">LANGUAGE</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">VI</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap6">SOCIAL ORGANIZATION</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">VII</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap7">LAW</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">VIII</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap8">RELIGION</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">IX</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap9">MORALITY</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right">X</td> + <td align="left"><a href="#chap10">MAN THE INDIVIDUAL</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right"> </td> + <td align="left"><a href="#bibliography">BIBLIOGRAPHY</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="right"> </td> + <td align="left"><a href="#index">INDEX</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote>"Bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, are these half-brutish +prehistoric brothers. Girdled about with the immense darkness of this +mysterious universe even as we are, they were born and died, suffered +and struggled. Given over to fearful crime and passion, plunged in the +blackest ignorance, preyed upon by hideous and grotesque delusions, +yet steadfastly serving the profoundest of ideals in their fixed faith +that existence in any form is better than non-existence, they ever +rescued triumphantly from the jaws of ever-imminent destruction the +torch of life which, thanks to them, now lights the world for us. How +small, indeed, seem individual distinctions when we look back on these +overwhelming numbers of human beings panting and straining under the +pressure of that vital want! And how inessential in the eyes of God +must be the small surplus of the individual's merit, swamped as it is +in the vast ocean of the common merit of mankind, dumbly and undauntedly +doing the fundamental duty, and living the heroic life! We grow humble +and reverent as we contemplate the prodigious spectacle."</blockquote> + +<div align=right>W<small>ILLIAM</small> J<small>AMES</small>, in <i>Human Immortality</i>. + </div> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page7"></a> +<h2>ANTHROPOLOGY</h2> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap1">CHAPTER I</a></h3></div> +<h4>SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY</h4> +<br> +<p>In this chapter I propose to say something, firstly, about the ideal +scope of anthropology; secondly, about its ideal limitations; and, +thirdly and lastly, about its actual relations to existing studies. +In other words, I shall examine the extent of its claim, and then go +on to examine how that claim, under modern conditions of science and +education, is to be made good.</p> + +<p>Firstly, then, what is the ideal scope of anthropology? Taken at its +fullest and best, what ought it to comprise?</p> + +<p>Anthropology is the whole history of man as fired and pervaded by the +idea of evolution. Man in evolution—that is the subject in its full +reach. Anthropology studies man as he occurs at all known times. It +studies him as he occurs in all known parts of the world. It studies +him body and soul together—as a <a name="page8"></a>bodily organism, subject to conditions +operating in time and space, which bodily organism is in intimate +relation with a soul-life, also subject to those same conditions. +Having an eye to such conditions from first to last, it seeks to plot +out the general series of the changes, bodily and mental together, +undergone by man in the course of his history. Its business is simply +to describe. But, without exceeding the limits of its scope, it can +and must proceed from the particular to the general; aiming at nothing +less than a descriptive formula that shall sum up the whole series of +changes in which the evolution of man consists.</p> + +<p>That will do, perhaps, as a short account of the ideal scope of +anthropology. Being short, it is bound to be rather formal and +colourless. To put some body into it, however, it is necessary to +breathe but a single word. That word is: Darwin.</p> + +<p>Anthropology is the child of Darwin. Darwinism makes it possible. +Reject the Darwinian point of view, and you must reject anthropology +also. What, then, is Darwinism? Not a cut-and-dried doctrine. Not a +dogma. Darwinism is a working hypothesis. You suppose something to be +true, and work away to see whether, in the light of that supposed truth, +certain facts fit together <a name="page9"></a>better than they do on any other supposition. +What is the truth that Darwinism supposes? Simply that all the forms +of life in the world are related together; and that the relations +manifested in time and space between the different lives are +sufficiently uniform to be described under a general formula, or law +of evolution.</p> + +<p>This means that man must, for certain purposes of science, toe the line +with the rest of living things. And at first, naturally enough, man +did not like it. He was too lordly. For a long time, therefore, he +pretended to be fighting for the Bible, when he was really fighting +for his own dignity. This was rather hard on the Bible, which has nothing +to do with the Aristotelian theory of the fixity of species; though +it might seem possible to read back something of the kind into the +primitive creation-stories preserved in Genesis. Now-a-days, however, +we have mostly got over the first shock to our family pride. We are +all Darwinians in a passive kind of way. But we need to darwinize +actively. In the sciences that have to do with plants, and with the +rest of the animals besides man, naturalists have been so active in +their darwinizing that the pre-Darwinian stuff is once for all laid +by on the shelf. When man, however, engages on the subject <a name="page10"></a>of his noble +self, the tendency still is to say: We accept Darwinism so long as it +is not allowed to count, so long as we may go on believing the same +old stuff in the same old way.</p> + +<p>How do we anthropologists propose to combat this tendency? By working +away at our subject, and persuading people to have a look at our results. +Once people take up anthropology, they may be trusted not to drop it +again. It is like learning to sleep with your window open. What could +be more stupefying than to shut yourself up in a closet and swallow +your own gas? But is it any less stupefying to shut yourself up within +the last few thousand years of the history of your own corner of the +world, and suck in the stale atmosphere of its own self-generated +prejudices? Or, to vary the metaphor, anthropology is like travel. +Every one starts by thinking that there is nothing so perfect as his +own parish. But let a man go aboard ship to visit foreign parts, and, +when he returns home, he will cause that parish to wake up.</p> + +<p>With Darwin, then, we anthropologists say: Let any and every portion +of human history be studied in the light of the whole history of mankind, +and against the background of the history of living things in general. +It is the Darwinian outlook that <a name="page11"></a>matters. None of Darwin's particular +doctrines will necessarily endure the test of time and trial. Into the +melting-pot must they go as often as any man of science deems it fitting. +But Darwinism as the touch of nature that makes the whole world kin +can hardly pass away. At any rate, anthropology stands or falls with +the working hypothesis, derived from Darwinism, of a fundamental +kinship and continuity amid change between all the forms of human life.</p> + +<p>It remains to add that, hitherto, anthropology has devoted most of its +attention to the peoples of rude—that is to say, of simple—culture, +who are vulgarly known to us as "savages." The main reason for this, +I suppose, is that nobody much minds so long as the darwinizing kind +of history confines itself to outsiders. Only when it is applied to +self and friends is it resented as an impertinence. But, although it +has always up to now pursued the line of least resistance, anthropology +does not abate one jot or tittle of its claim to be the whole science, +in the sense of the whole history, of man. As regards the word, call +it science, or history, or anthropology, or anything else—what does +it matter? As regards the thing, however, there can be no compromise. +We anthropologists are out to secure this: that there <a name="page12"></a>shall not be one +kind of history for savages and another kind for ourselves, but the +same kind of history, with the same evolutionary principle running +right through it, for all men, civilized and savage, present and past.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>So much for the ideal scope of anthropology. Now, in the second place, +for its ideal limitations. Here, I am afraid, we must touch for a moment +on very deep and difficult questions. But it is well worth while to +try at all costs to get firm hold of the fact that anthropology, though +a big thing, is not everything.</p> + +<p>It will be enough to insist briefly on the following points: that +anthropology is science in whatever way history is science; that it +is not philosophy, though it must conform to its needs; and that it +is not policy, though it may subserve its designs.</p> + +<p>Anthropology is science in the sense of specialized research that aims +at truth for truth's sake. Knowing by parts is science, knowing the +whole as a whole is philosophy. Each supports the other, and there is +no profit in asking which of the two should come first. One is aware +of the universe as the whole universe, however much one may be resolved +to study its details one at a time. The scientific mood, however, is +uppermost when one says: Here is a particular lot of <a name="page13"></a>things that seem +to hang together in a particular way; let us try to get a general idea +of what that way is. Anthropology, then, specializes on the particular +group of human beings, which itself is part of the larger particular +group of living beings. Inasmuch as it takes over the evolutionary +principle from the science dealing with the larger group, namely +biology, anthropology may be regarded as a branch of biology. Let it +be added, however, that, of all the branches of biology, it is the one +that is likely to bring us nearest to the true meaning of life; because +the life of human beings must always be nearer to human students of +life than, say, the life of plants.</p> + +<p>But, you will perhaps object, anthropology was previously identified +with history, and now it is identified with science, namely, with a +branch of biology? Is history science? The answer is, Yes. I know that +a great many people who call themselves historians say that it is not, +apparently on the ground that, when it comes to writing history, truth +for truth's sake is apt to bring out the wrong results. Well, the +doctored sort of history is not science, nor anthropology, I am ready +to admit. But now let us listen to another and a more serious objection +to the claim of history to be science. Science, it will be said <a name="page14"></a>by many +earnest men of science, aims at discovering laws that are clean out +of time. History, on the other hand, aims at no more than the generalized +description of one or another phase of a time-process. To this it may +be replied that physics, and physics only, answers to this altogether +too narrow conception of science. The laws of matter in motion are, +or seem to be, of the timeless or mathematical kind. Directly we pass +on to biology, however, laws of this kind are not to be discovered, +or at any rate are not discovered. Biology deals with life, or, if you +like, with matter as living. Matter moves. Life evolves. We have entered +a new dimension of existence. The laws of matter in motion are not +abrogated, for the simple reason that in physics one makes abstraction +of life, or in other words leaves its peculiar effects entirely out +of account. But they are transcended. They are multiplied by <i>x</i>, an +unknown quantity. This being so from the standpoint of pure physics, +biology takes up the tale afresh, and devises means of its own for +describing the particular ways in which things hang together in virtue +of their being alive. And biology finds that it cannot conveniently +abstract away the reference to time. It cannot treat living things as +machines. What does it do, <a name="page15"></a>then? It takes the form of history. It states +that certain things have changed in certain ways, and goes on to show, +so far as it can, that the changes are on the whole in a certain direction. +In short, it formulates tendencies, and these are its only laws. Some +tendencies, of course, appear to be more enduring than others, and thus +may be thought to approximate more closely to laws of the timeless kind. +But <i>x</i>, the unknown quantity, the something or other that is not +physical, runs through them all, however much or little they may seem +to endure. For science, at any rate, which departmentalizes the world, +and studies it bit by bit, there is no getting over the fact that living +beings in general, and human beings in particular, are subject to an +evolution which is simple matter of history.</p> + +<p>And now what about philosophy? I am not going into philosophical +questions here. For that reason I am not going to describe biology as +natural history, or anthropology as the natural history of man. Let +philosophers discuss what "nature" is going to mean for them. In science +the word is question-begging; and the only sound rule in science is +to beg as few philosophical questions as you possibly can. Everything +in the world is natural, of course, in the sense that things are <a name="page16"></a>somehow +all akin—all of a piece. We are simply bound to take in the parts as +parts of a whole, and it is just this fact that makes philosophy not +only possible but inevitable. All the same, this fact does not prevent +the parts from having their own specific natures and specific ways of +behaving. The people who identify the natural with the physical are +putting all their money on one specific kind of nature or behaviour +that is to be found in the world. In the case of man they are backing +the wrong horse. The horse to back is the horse that goes. As a going +concern, however, anthropology, as part of evolutionary biology, is +a history of vital tendencies which are not natural in the sense of +merely physical.</p> + +<p>What are the functions of philosophy as contrasted with science? Two. +Firstly, it must be critical. It must police the city of the sciences, +preventing them from interfering with each other's rights and free +development. Co-operation by all means, as, for instance, between +anthropology and biology. But no jumping other folks' claims and laying +down the law for all; as, for instance, when physics would impose the +kind of method applicable to machines on the sciences of evolving life. +Secondly, philosophy must be synthetic. It must put all the ways of +knowing together, and <a name="page17"></a>likewise put these in their entirety together +with all the ways of feeling and acting; so that there may result a +theory of reality and of the good life, in that organic interdependence +of the two which our very effort to put things together presupposes +as its object.</p> + +<p>What, then, are to be the relations between anthropology and +philosophy? On the one hand, the question whether anthropology can help +philosophy need not concern us here. That is for the philosopher to +determine. On the other hand, philosophy can help anthropology in two +ways: in its critical capacity, by helping it to guard its own claim, +and develop freely without interference from outsiders; and in its +synthetic capacity, perhaps, by suggesting the rule that, of two types +of explanation, for instance, the physical and the biological, the more +abstract is likely to be farther away from the whole truth, whereas, +contrariwise, the more you take in, the better your chance of really +understanding.</p> + +<p>It remains to speak about policy. I use this term to mean any and all +practical exploitation of the results of science. Sometimes, indeed, +it is hard to say where science ends and policy begins, as we saw in +the case of those gentlemen who would doctor their history, because +practically it pays to have <a name="page18"></a>a good conceit of ourselves, and believe +that our side always wins its battles. Anthropology, however, would +borrow something besides the evolutionary principle from biology, +namely, its disinterestedness. It is not hard to be candid about bees +and ants; unless, indeed, one is making a parable of them. But as +anthropologists we must try, what is so much harder, to be candid about +ourselves. Let us look at ourselves as if we were so many bees and ants, +not forgetting, of course, to make use of the inside information that +in the case of the insects we so conspicuously lack.</p> + +<p>This does not mean that human history, once constructed according to +truth-regarding principles, should and could not be used for the +practical advantage of mankind. The anthropologist, however, is not, +as such, concerned with the practical employment to which his +discoveries are put. At most, he may, on the strength of a conviction +that truth is mighty and will prevail for human good, invite practical +men to study his facts and generalizations in the hope that, by knowing +mankind better, they may come to appreciate and serve it better. For +instance, the administrator, who rules over savages, is almost +invariably quite well-meaning, but not seldom utterly ignorant of +native customs and beliefs. <a name="page19"></a>So, in many cases, is the missionary, +another type of person in authority, whose intentions are of the best, +but whose methods too often leave much to be desired. No amount of zeal +will suffice, apart from scientific insight into the conditions of the +practical problem. And the education is to be got by paying for it. +But governments and churches, with some honourable exceptions, are +still wofully disinclined to provide their probationers with the +necessary special training; though it is ignorance that always proves +most costly in the long run. Policy, however, including bad policy, +does not come within the official cognizance of the anthropologist. +Yet it is legitimate for him to hope that, just as for many years already +physiological science has indirectly subserved the art of medicine, +so anthropological science may indirectly, though none the less +effectively, subserve an art of political and religious healing in the +days to come.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>The third and last part of this chapter will show how, under modern +conditions of science and education, anthropology is to realize its +programme. Hitherto, the trouble with anthropologists has been to see +the wood for the trees. Even whilst attending mainly to the peoples +of rude culture, they have heaped <a name="page20"></a>together facts enough to bewilder +both themselves and their readers. The time has come to do some sorting; +or rather the sorting is doing itself. All manner of groups of special +students, interested in some particular side of human history, come +now-a-days to the anthropologist, asking leave to borrow from his stock +of facts the kind that they happen to want. Thus he, as general +storekeeper, is beginning to acquire, almost unconsciously, a sense +of order corresponding to the demands that are made upon him. The goods +that he will need to hand out in separate batches are being gradually +arranged by him on separate shelves. Our best way, then, of proceeding +with the present inquiry, is to take note of these shelves. In other +words, we must consider one by one the special studies that claim to +have a finger in the anthropological pie.</p> + +<p>Or, to avoid the disheartening task of reviewing an array of bloodless +"-ologies," let us put the question to ourselves thus: Be it supposed +that a young man or woman who wants to take a course, of at least a +year's length, in the elements of anthropology, joins some university +which is thoroughly in touch with the scientific activities of the day. +A university, as its very name implies, ought to be an all-embracing +assemblage of higher <a name="page21"></a>studies, so adjusted to each other that, in +combination, they provide beginners with a good general education; +whilst, severally, they offer to more advanced students the opportunity +of doing this or that kind of specific research. In such a +well-organized university, then, how would our budding anthropologist +proceed to form a preliminary acquaintance with the four corners of +his subject? What departments must he attend in turn? Let us draw him +up a curriculum, praying meanwhile that the multiplicity of the demands +made upon him will not take away his breath altogether. Man is a +many-sided being; so there is no help for it if anthropology also is +many-sided.</p> + +<p>For one thing, he must sit at the feet of those whose particular concern +is with pre-historic man. It is well to begin here, since thus will the +glamour of the subject sink into his soul at the start. Let him, for +instance, travel back in thought to the Europe of many thousands of +years ago, shivering under the effects of the great ice-age, yet +populous with human beings so far like ourselves that they were alive +to the advantage of a good fire, made handy tools out of stone and wood +and bone, painted animals on the walls of their caves, or engraved them +on mammoth-ivory, far more skilfully than most of us could <a name="page22"></a>do now, and +buried their dead in a ceremonial way that points to a belief in a future +life. Thus, too, he will learn betimes how to blend the methods and +materials of different branches of science. A human skull, let us say, +and some bones of extinct animals, and some chipped flints are all +discovered side by side some twenty feet below the level of the soil. +At least four separate authorities must be called in before the parts +of the puzzle can be fitted together.</p> + +<p>Again, he must be taught something about race, or inherited breed, as +it applies to man. A dose of practical anatomy—that is to say, some +actual handling and measuring of the principal portions of the human +frame in its leading varieties—will enable our beginner to appreciate +the differences of outer form that distinguish, say, the British +colonist in Australia from the native "black-fellow," or the whites +from the negroes, and redskins, and yellow Asiatics in the United States. +At this point, he may profitably embark on the details of the Darwinian +hypothesis of the descent of man. Let him search amongst the manifold +modern versions of the theory of human evolution for the one that comes +nearest to explaining the degrees of physical likeness and unlikeness +shown by men in general as compared with the animals, <a name="page23"></a>especially the +man-like apes; and again, those shown by the men of divers ages and +regions as compared with each other. Nor is it enough for him, when +thus engaged, to take note simply of physical features—the shape of +the skull, the colour of the skin, the tint and texture of the hair, +and so on. There are likewise mental characters that seem to be bound +up closely with the organism and to follow the breed. Such are the +so-called instincts, the study of which should be helped out by +excursions into the mind-history of animals, of children, and of the +insane. Moreover, the measuring and testing of mental functions, +and, in particular, of the senses, is now-a-days carried on by means +of all sorts of ingenious instruments; and some experience of their +use will be all to the good, when problems of descent are being tackled.</p> + +<p>Further, our student must submit to a thorough grounding in +world-geography with its physical and human sides welded firmly together. +He must be able to pick out on the map the headquarters of all the more +notable peoples, not merely as they are now, but also as they were at +various outstanding moments of the past. His next business is to master +the main facts about the natural conditions to which each people is +subjected—the climate, the conformation of land and <a name="page24"></a>sea, the animals +and plants. From here it is but a step to the economic life—the +food-supply, the clothing, the dwelling-places, the principal +occupations, the implements of labour. A selected list of books of +travel must be consulted. No less important is it to work steadily +through the show-cases of a good ethnological museum. Nor will it +suffice to have surveyed the world by regions. The communications +between regions—the migrations and conquests, the trading and the +borrowing of customs—must be traced and accounted for. Finally, on +the basis of their distribution, which the learner must chart out for +himself on blank maps of the world, the chief varieties of the useful +arts and appliances of man can be followed from stage to stage of their +development.</p> + +<p>Of the special studies concerned with man the next in order might seem +to be that which deals with the various forms of human society; since, +in a sense, social organization must depend directly on material +circumstances. In another and perhaps a deeper sense, however, the +prime condition of true sociality is something else, namely, the +exclusively human gift of articulate speech. To what extent, then, must +our novice pay attention to the history of language? Speculation about +its far-off origins is now-a-days rather out of <a name="page25"></a>fashion. Moreover, +language is no longer supposed to provide, by itself at any rate, and +apart from other clues, a key to the endless riddles of racial descent. +What is most needed, then, is rather some elementary instruction +concerning the organic connection between language and thought, and +concerning their joint development as viewed against the background +of the general development of society. And, just as words and thoughts +are essentially symbols, so there are also gesture-symbols and written +symbols, whilst again another set of symbols is in use for counting. +All these pre-requisites of human intercourse may be conveniently taken +together.</p> + +<p>Coming now to the analysis of the forms of society, the beginner must +first of all face the problem: "What makes a people one?" Neither blood, +nor territory, nor language, but only the fact of being more or less +compactly organized in a political society, will be found to yield the +unifying principle required. Once the primary constitution of the body +politic has been made out, a limit is set up, inside of which a number +of fairly definite forms of grouping offer themselves for examination; +whilst outside of it various social relationships of a vaguer kind have +also to be considered. Thus, amongst institutions of <a name="page26"></a>the internal kind, +the family by itself presents a wide field of research; though in +certain cases it is liable to be overshadowed by some other sort of +organization, such as, notably, the clan. Under the same rubric fall +the many forms of more or less voluntary association, economic, +religious, and so forth. On the other hand, outside the circle of the +body politic there are, at all known stages of society, mutual +understandings that regulate war, trade, travel, the celebration of +common rites, the interchange of ideas. Here, then, is an abundance +of types of human association, to be first scrutinized separately, and +afterwards considered in relation to each other.</p> + +<p>Closely connected with the previous subject is the history of law. Every +type of association, in a way, has its law, whereby its members are +constrained to fulfil a certain set of obligations. Thus our student +will pass on straight from the forms of society to the most essential +of their functions. The fact that, amongst the less civilized peoples, +the law is uncodified and merely customary, whilst the machinery for +enforcing it is, though generally effective enough, yet often highly +indefinite and occasional, makes the tracing of the growth of legal +institutions from their rudiments no less vitally important, though +it makes it none the easier. The <a name="page27"></a>history of authority is a strictly +kindred topic. Legislating and judging on the one hand, and governing +on the other, are different aspects of the same general function. In +accordance, then, with the order already indicated, law and government +as administered by the political society in the person of its +representatives, chiefs, elders, war-lords, priest-kings, and so forth, +must first be examined; then the jurisdiction and discipline of +subordinate bodies, such as the family and the clan, or again the +religious societies, trade guilds, and the rest; then, lastly, the +international conventions, with the available means of ensuring their +observance.</p> + +<p>Again, the history of religion is an allied theme of far-reaching +interest. For the understanding of the ruder forms of society it may +even be said to furnish the master-key. At this stage, religion is the +mainstay of law and government. The constraining force of custom makes +itself felt largely through a magnifying haze of mystic sanctions; +whilst, again, the position of a leader of society rests for the most +part on the supernormal powers imputed to him. Religion and magic, then, +must be carefully studied if we would understand how the various persons +and bodies that exercise authority are assisted, or else hindered, in +their efforts to maintain social <a name="page28"></a>discipline. Apart from this +fundamental inquiry, there is another, no less important in its way, +to which the study of religion and magic opens up a path. This is the +problem how reflection manages as it were to double human experience, +by setting up beside the outer world of sense an inner world of +thought-relations. Now constructive imagination is the queen of those +mental functions which meet in what we loosely term "thought"; and +imagination is ever most active where, on the outer fringe of the mind's +routine work, our inarticulate questionings radiate into the unknown. +When the genius has his vision, almost invariably, among the ruder +peoples, it is accepted by himself and his society as something +supernormal and sacred, whether its fruit be an act of leadership or +an edict, a practical invention or a work of art, a story of the past +or a prophecy, a cure or a devastating curse. Moreover, social tradition +treasures the memory of these revelations, and, blending them with the +contributions of humbler folk—for all of us dream our dreams—provides +in myth and legend and tale, as well as in manifold other art-forms, +a stimulus to the inspiration of future generations. For most purposes +fine art, at any rate during its more rudimentary stages, may be studied +in connection with religion.</p> + +<p><a name="page29"></a>So far as law and religion will not account for the varieties of social +behaviour, the novice may most conveniently consider them under the +head of morals. The forms of social intercourse, the fashions, the +festivities, are imposed on us by our fellows from without, and none +the less effectively because as a general rule we fall in with them +as a matter of course. The difference between manners and morals of +the higher order is due simply to the more pressing need, in the case +of our most serious duties, of a reflective sanction, a "moral sense," +to break us in to the common service. It is no easy task to keep legal +and religious penalties or rewards out of the reckoning, when trying +to frame an estimate of what the notions of right and wrong, prevalent +in a given society, amount to in themselves; nevertheless, it is worth +doing, and valuable collections of material exist to aid the work. The +facts about education, which even amongst rude peoples is often carried +on far into manhood, throw much light on this problem. So do the +moralizings embodied the traditional lore of the folk—the proverbs, +the beast-fables, the stories of heroes.</p> + +<p>There remains the individual to be studied in himself. If the individual +be ignored by social science, as would sometimes appear to be the case, +so much the worse for social <a name="page30"></a>science, which, to a corresponding extent, +falls short of being truly anthropological. Throughout the history of +man, our beginner should be on the look-out for the signs, and the +effects, of personal initiative. Freedom of choice, of course, is +limited by what there is to choose from; so that the development of +what may be termed social opportunity should be concurrently reviewed. +Again, it is the aim of every moral system so to educate each man that +his directive self may be as far as possible identified with his social +self. Even suicide is not a man's own affair, according to the voice +of society which speaks in the moral code. Nevertheless, lest the +important truth be overlooked that social control implies a will that +must meet the control half-way, it is well for the student of man to +pay separate and special attention to the individual agent. The last +word in anthropology is: Know thyself.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap2">CHAPTER II</a></h3></div> +<h4>ANTIQUITY OF MAN</h4> +<br> +<p>History, in the narrower sense of the word, depends on written records. +As we follow back history to the point at which our written <a name="page31"></a>records +grow hazy, and the immediate ancestors or predecessors of the peoples +who appear in history are disclosed in legend that needs much eking +out by the help of the spade, we pass into proto-history. At the back +of that, again, beyond the point at which written records are of any +avail at all, comes pre-history.</p> + +<p>How, then, you may well inquire, does the pre-historian get to work? +What is his method of linking facts together? And what are the sources +of his information?</p> + +<p>First, as to his method. Suppose a number of boys are in a field playing +football, whose superfluous garments are lying about everywhere in +heaps; and suppose you want, for some reason, to find out in what order +the boys arrived on the ground. How would you set about the business? +Surely you would go to one of the heaps of discarded clothes, and take +note of the fact that this boy's jacket lay under that boy's waistcoat. +Moving on to other heaps you might discover that in some cases a boy +had thrown down his hat on one heap, his tie on another, and so on. +This would help you all the more to make out the general series of +arrivals. Yes, but what if some of the heaps showed signs of having +been upset? Well, you must make allowances for these disturbances in +your <a name="page32"></a>calculations. Of course, if some one had deliberately made hay +with the lot, you would be nonplussed. The chances are, however, that, +given enough heaps of clothes, and bar intentional and systematic +wrecking of them, you would be able to make out pretty well which boy +preceded which; though you could hardly go on to say with any precision +whether Tom preceded Dick by half a minute or half an hour.</p> + +<p>Such is the method of pre-history. It is called the stratigraphical +method, because it is based on the description of strata, or layers.</p> + +<p>Let me give a simple example of how strata tell their own tale. It is +no very remarkable instance, but happens to be one that I have examined +for myself. They were digging out a place for a gas-holder in a meadow +in the town of St. Helier, Jersey, and carried their borings down to +bed rock at about thirty feet, which roughly coincides with the present +mean sea-level. The modern meadow-soil went down about five feet. Then +came a bed of moss-peat, one to three feet thick. There had been a bog +here at a time which, to judge by similar finds in other places, was +just before the beginning of the bronze-age. Underneath the moss-peat +came two or three feet of silt with sea-shells in it. Clearly the <a name="page33"></a>island +of Jersey underwent in those days some sort of submergence. Below this +stratum came a great peat-bed, five to seven feet thick, with large +tree-trunks in it, the remains of a fine forest that must have needed +more or less elevated land on which to grow. In the peat was a weapon +of polished stone, and at the bottom were two pieces of pottery, one +of them decorated with little pitted marks. These fragments of evidence +are enough to show that the foresters belonged to the early neolithic +period, as it is called. Next occurred about four feet of silt with +sea-shells, marking another advance of the sea. Below that, again, was +a mass, six to eight feet deep, of the characteristic yellow clay with +far-carried fragments of rock in it that is associated with the great +floods of the ice-age. The land must have been above the reach of the +tide for the glacial drift to settle on it. Finally, three or four feet +of blue clay resting immediately on bed-rock were such as might be +produced by the sea, and thus probably betokened its presence at this +level in the still remoter past.</p> + +<p>Here the strata are mostly geological. Man only comes in at one point. +I might have taken a far more striking case—the best I know—from St. +Acheul, a suburb of Amiens in the north of France. Here M. Commont found +human implements of distinct types in about <a name="page34"></a>eight out of eleven or +twelve successive geological layers. But the story would take too long +to tell. However, it is well to start with an example that is primarily +geological. For it is the geologist who provides the pre-historic +chronometer. Pre-historians have to reckon in geological time—that +is to say, not in years, but in ages of indefinite extent corresponding +to marked changes in the condition of the earth's surface. It takes +the plain man a long time to find out that it is no use asking the +pre-historian, who is proudly displaying a skull or a stone implement, +"Please, how many years ago exactly did its owner live?" I remember +hearing such a question put to the great savant, M. Cartailhac, when +he was lecturing upon the pre-historic drawings found in the French +and Spanish caves; and he replied, "Perhaps not less than 6,000 years +ago and not more than 250,000." The backbone of our present system of +determining the series of pre-historic epochs is the geological theory +of an ice-age comprising a succession of periods of extreme glaciation +punctuated by milder intervals. It is for the geologists to settle in +their own way, unless, indeed, the astronomers can help them, why there +should have been an ice-age at all; what was the number, extent, and +relative duration of its ups and <a name="page35"></a>downs; and at what time, roughly, it +ceased in favour of the temperate conditions that we now enjoy. The +pre-historians, for their part, must be content to make what traces +they discover of early man fit in with this pre-established scheme, +uncertain as it is. Every day, however, more agreement is being reached +both amongst themselves and between them and the geologists; so that +one day, I am confident, if not exactly to-morrow, we shall know with +fair accuracy how the boys, who left their clothes lying about, followed +one another into the field.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, however, geology does not, on the face of it, come into the +reckoning. Thus I might have asked the reader to assist at the digging +out of a cave, say, one of the famous caves at Mentone, on the Italian +Riviera, just beyond the south-eastern corner of France. These caves +were inhabited by man during an immense stretch of time, and, as you +dig down, you light upon one layer after another of his leavings. But +note in such a case as this how easily you may be baffled by some one +having upset the heap of clothes, or, in a word, by rearrangement. Thus +the man whose leavings ought to form the layer half-way up may have +seen fit to dig a deep hole in the cave-floor in order to bury a deceased +friend, and with him, let us suppose, to bury also an assortment of +<a name="page36"></a>articles likely to be useful in the life beyond the grave. Consequently +an implement of one age will be found lying cheek by jowl with the +implement of a much earlier age, or even, it may be, some feet below +it. Thereupon the pre-historian must fall back on the general run, or +type, in assigning the different implements each to its own stratum. +Luckily, in the old days fashions tended to be rigid; so that for the +pre-historian two flints with slightly different chipping may stand +for separate ages of culture as clearly as do a Greek vase and a German +beer-mug for the student of more recent times.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Enough concerning the stratigraphical method. A word, in the next place, +about the pre-historian's main sources of information. Apart from +geological facts, there are three main classes of evidence that serve +to distinguish one pre-historic epoch from another. These are animal +bones, human bones, and human handiwork.</p> + +<p>Again I illustrate by means of a case of which I happen to have +first-hand knowledge. In Jersey, near the bay of St. Brelade, is a cave, +in which we dug down through some twenty feet of accumulated clay and +rock-rubbish, presumably the effects of the last throes of the ice-age, +and came upon a <a name="page37"></a>pre-historic hearth. There were the big stones that +had propped up the fire, and there were the ashes. By the side were +the remains of a heap of food-refuse. The pieces of decayed bone were +not much to look at; yet, submitted to an expert, they did a tale unfold. +He showed them to be the remains of the woolly rhinoceros, the mammoth's +even more unwieldy comrade, of the reindeer, of two kinds of horse, +one of them the pony-like wild horse still to be found in the Mongolian +deserts, of the wild ox, and of the deer. Truly there was better hunting +to be got in Jersey in the days when it formed part of a frozen continent.</p> + +<p>Next, the food-heap yields thirteen of somebody's teeth. Had they eaten +him? It boots not to inquire; though, as the owner was aged between +twenty and thirty, the teeth could hardly have fallen out of their own +accord. Such grinders as they are too! A second expert declares that +the roots beat all records. They are of the kind that goes with an +immensely powerful jaw, needing a massive brow-ridge to counteract the +strain of the bite, and in general involving the type of skull known +as the Neanderthal, big-brained enough in its way, but uncommonly +ape-like all the same.</p> + +<p>Finally, the banqueters have left plenty of their knives lying about. +These good folk <a name="page38"></a>had their special and regular way of striking off a +broad flat flake from the flint core; the cores are lying about, too, +and with luck you can restore some of the flakes to their original +position. Then, leaving one side of the flake untouched, they trimmed +the surface of the remaining face, and, as the edges grew blunt with +use, kept touching them up with the hammer-stone—there it is also lying +by the hearth—until, perhaps, the flake loses its oval shape and +becomes a pointed triangle. A third expert is called in, and has no +difficulty in recognizing these knives as the characteristic handiwork +of the epoch known as the Mousterian. If one of these worked flints +from Jersey was placed side by side with another from the cave of Le +Moustier, near the right bank of the Vezère in south-central France, +whence the term Mousterian, you could hardly tell which was which; +whilst you would still see the same family likeness if you compared +the Jersey specimens with some from Amiens, or from Northfleet on the +Thames, or from Icklingham in Suffolk.</p> + +<p>Putting all these kinds of evidence together, then, we get a notion, +doubtless rather meagre, but as far as it goes well-grounded, of a +hunter of the ice-age, who was able to get the better of a woolly +rhinoceros, could cook a lusty steak off him, had a sharp knife to <a name="page39"></a>carve +it, and the teeth to chew it, and generally knew how, under the very +chilly circumstances, both to make himself comfortable and to keep his +race going.</p> + +<p>There is one other class of evidence on which the pre-historian may +with due caution draw, though the risks are certain and the profits +uncertain. The ruder peoples of to-day are living a life that in its +broad features cannot be wholly unlike the life of the men of long ago. +Thus the pre-historian should study Spencer and Gillen on the natives +of Central Australia, if only that he may take firm hold of the fact +that people with skulls inclining towards the Neanderthal type, and +using stone knives, may nevertheless have very active minds; in short, +that a rich enough life in its way may leave behind it a poor +rubbish-heap. When it comes, however, to the borrowing of details, to +patch up the holes in the pre-historic record with modern rags and +tatters makes better literature than science. After all, the +Australians, or Tasmanians, or Bushmen, or Eskimo, of whom so much is +beginning to be heard amongst pre-historians, are our +contemporaries—that is to say, have just as long an ancestry as +ourselves; and in the course of the last 100,000 years or so our stock +has seen so many changes, that their stocks may possibly have seen a +few also. Yet <a name="page40"></a>the real remedy, I take it, against the misuse of analogy +is that the student should make himself sufficiently at home in both +branches of anthropology to know each of the two things he compares +for what it truly is.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Having glanced at method and sources, I pass on to results. Some +text-book must be consulted for the long list of pre-historic periods +required for western Europe, not to mention the further complications +caused by bringing in the remaining portions of the world. The stone-age, +with its three great divisions, the eolithic (<i>eôs</i>, Greek for dawn, +and <i>lithos</i>, stone) the palæolithic (<i>pallæos</i>, old), and the +neolithic (<i>neos</i>, new), and their numerous subdivisions, comes first; +then the age of copper and bronze; and then the early iron-age, which +is about the limit of proto-history. Here I shall confine my remarks +to Europe. I am not going far afield into such questions as: Who were +the mound-builders of North America? And are the Calaveras skull and +other remains found in the gold-bearing gravels of California to be +reckoned amongst the earliest traces of man in the globe? Nor, again, +must I pause to speculate whether the dark-stained lustrous flint +implements discovered by Mr. Henry Balfour at a high level below the +Victoria Falls, and <a name="page41"></a>possibly deposited there by the river Zambezi +before it had carved the present gorge in the solid basalt, prove that +likewise in South Africa man was alive and busy untold thousands of +years ago. Also, I shall here confine myself to the stone-age, because +my object is chiefly to illustrate the long pedigree of the species +from which we are all sprung.</p> + +<p>The antiquity of man being my immediate theme, I can hardly avoid saying +something about eoliths; though the subject is one that invariably sets +pre-historians at each other's throats. There are eoliths and eoliths, +however; and some of M. Rutot's Belgian examples are now-a-days almost +reckoned respectable. Let us, nevertheless, inquire whether eoliths +are not to be found nearer home. I can wish the reader no more delightful +experience than to run down to Ightham in Kent, and pay a call on Mr. +Benjamin Harrison. In the room above what used to be Mr. Harrison's +grocery-store, eoliths beyond all count are on view, which he has +managed to amass in his rare moments of leisure. As he lovingly cons +the stones over, and shows off their points, his enthusiasm is likely +to prove catching. But the visitor, we shall suppose, is sceptical. +Very good; it is not far, though a stiffish pull, to Ash on the top +of the North Downs. Hereabouts are Mr. Harrison's <a name="page42"></a>hunting-grounds. Over +these stony tracts he has conducted Sir Joseph Prestwich and Sir John +Evans, to convince the one authority, but not the other. Mark this +pebbly drift of rusty-red colour spread irregularly along the fields, +as if the relics of some ancient stream or flood. On the surface, if +you are lucky, you may pick up an unquestionable palæolith of early +type, with the rusty-red stain of the gravel over it to show that it +has lain there for ages. But both on and below the surface, the gravel +being perhaps from five to seven feet deep, another type of stone occurs, +the so-called eolith. It is picked out from amongst ordinary stones +partly because of its shape, and partly because of rough and much-worn +chippings that suggest the hand of art or of nature, according to your +turn of mind. Take one by itself, explains Mr. Harrison, and you will +be sure to rank it as ordinary road-metal. But take a series together, +and then, he urges, the sight of the same forms over and over again +will persuade you in the end that human design, not aimless chance, +has been at work here.</p> + +<p>Well, I must leave Mr. Harrison to convert you into the friend or foe +of his eoliths, and will merely add a word in regard to the probable +age of these eolith-bearing gravels. Sir Joseph Prestwich has tried +to work the <a name="page43"></a>problem out. Now-a-days Kent and Sussex run eastwards in +five more or less parallel ridges, not far short of 1,000 feet high, +with deep valleys between. Formerly, however, no such valleys existed, +and a great dome of chalk, some 2,500 feet high at its crown, perhaps, +though others would say less, covered the whole country. That is why +rivers like the Darenth and Medway cut clean through the North Downs +and fall into the Thames, instead of flowing eastwards down the later +valleys. They started to carve their channels in the soft chalk in the +days gone by, when the watershed went north and south down the slopes +of the great dome. And the red gravels with the eoliths in them, +concludes Prestwich, must have come down the north slope whilst the +dome was still intact; for they contain fragments of stone that hail +from right across the present valleys. But, if the eoliths are man-made, +then man presumably killed game and cut it up on top of the Wealden +dome, how many years ago one trembles to think.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Let us next proceed to the subject of palæoliths. There is, at any +rate, no doubt about them. Yet, rather more than half a century ago, +when the Abbé Boucher de Perthes found palæoliths in the gravels of +the Somme at Abbeville, and was the first to <a name="page44"></a>recognize them for what +they are, there was no small scandal. Now-a-days, however, the world +takes it as a matter of course that those lumpish, discoloured, and +much-rolled stones, shaped something like a pear, which come from the +high terraces deposited by the Ancient Thames, were once upon a time +the weapons or tools of somebody who had plenty of muscle in his arm. +Plenty of skill he had in his fingers, too; for to chip a flint-pebble +along both faces, till it takes a more or less symmetrical and standard +shape, is not so easy as it sounds. Hammer away yourself at such a pebble, +and see what a mess you make of it. To go back for one moment to the +subject of eoliths, we may fairly argue that experimental forms still +ruder than the much-trimmed palæoliths of the early river-drift must +exist somewhere, whether Mr. Harrison's eoliths are to be classed +amongst them or not. Indeed, the Tasmanians of modern days carved their +simple tools so roughly, that any one ignorant of their history might +easily mistake the greater number for common pieces of stone. On the +other hand, as we move on from the earlier to the later types of +river-drift implements, we note how by degrees practice makes perfect. +The forms grow ever more regular and refined, up to the point of time +which has <a name="page45"></a>been chosen as the limit for the first of the three main stages +into which the vast palæolithic epoch has to be broken up. The man +of the late St. Acheul period, as it is termed, was truly a great artist +in his way. If you stare vacantly at his handiwork in a museum, you +are likely to remain cold to its charm. But probe about in a gravel-bed +till you have the good fortune to light on a masterpiece; tenderly +smooth away with your fingers the dirt sticking to its surface, and +bring to view the tapering or oval outline, the straight edge, the even +and delicate chipping over both faces; then, wrapping it carefully in +your handkerchief, take it home to wash, and feast till bedtime on the +clean feel and shining mellow colour of what is hardly more an implement +than a gem. They took a pride in their work, did the men of old; and, +until you can learn to sympathize, you are no anthropologist.</p> + +<p>During the succeeding main stage of the palæolithic epoch there was +a decided set-back in the culture, as judged by the quality of the +workmanship in flint. Those were the days of the Mousterians who dined +off woolly rhinoceros in Jersey. Their stone implements, worked only +on one face, are poor things by comparison with those of late St. Acheul +days, though for a time degenerated forms of the <a name="page46"></a>latter seem to have +remained in use. What had happened? We can only guess. Probably +something to do with the climate was at the bottom of this change for +the worse. Thus M. Rutot believes that during the ice-age each big +freeze was followed by an equally big flood, preceding each fresh return +of milder weather. One of these floods, he thinks, must have drowned +out the neat-fingered race of St. Acheul, and left the coast clear for +the Mousterians with their coarser type of culture. Perhaps they were +coarser in their physical type as well.[1]</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 1: Theirs was certainly the rather ape-like Neanderthal build. +If, however, the skull found at Galley Hill, near Northfleet in Kent, +amongst the gravels laid down by the Thames when it was about ninety +feet above its present level, is of early palæolithic date, as some +good authorities believe, there was a kind of man away back in the +drift-period who had a fairly high forehead and moderate brow-ridges, +and in general was a less brutal specimen of humanity than our +Mousterian friend of the large grinders.]</small></p> + +<p>To the credit of the Mousterians, however, must be set down the fact +that they are associated with the habit of living in caves, and perhaps +may even have started it; though some implements of the drift type occur +in Le Moustier itself, as well as in other caves, such as the famous +Kent's Cavern near Torquay. Climate, once more, has very possibly to +answer for having thus driven man underground. Anyway, whether because +they <a name="page47"></a>must, or because they liked it, the Mousterians went on with their +cave life during an immense space of time, making little progress; +unless it were to learn gradually how to sharpen bones into implements. +But caves and bones alike were to play a far more striking part in +the days immediately to follow.</p> + +<p>The third and last main stage of the palæolithic epoch developed by +degrees into a golden age of art. But I cannot dwell on all its glories. +I must pass by the beautiful work in flint; such as the thin blades +of laurel-leaf pattern, fairly common in France but rare in England, +belonging to the stage or type of culture known as the Solutrian (from +Solutré in the department of Saône-et-Loire). I must also pass by the +exquisite French examples of the carvings or engravings of bone and +ivory; a single engraving of a horse's head, from the cave at Creswell +Crags in Derbyshire, being all that England has to offer in this line. +Any good museum can show you specimens or models of these delightful +objects; whereas the things about which I am going to speak must remain +hidden away for ever where their makers left them—I mean the paintings +and engravings on the walls of the French and Spanish caves.</p> + +<p>I invite you to accompany me in the spirit first of all to the cave +of Gargas near Aventiron, <a name="page48"></a>under the shadow of the Pic du Midi in the +High Pyrenees. Half-way up a hill, in the midst of a wilderness of rocky +fragments, the relics of the ice-age, is a smallish hole, down which +we clamber into a spacious but low-roofed grotto, stretching back five +hundred feet or so into infinite darkness. Hard by the mouth, where +the light of day freely enters, are the remains of a hearth, with +bone-refuse and discarded implements mingling with the ashes to a +considerable depth. A glance at these implements, for instance the +small flint scraper with narrow high back and perpendicular chipping +along the sides, is enough to show that the men who once warmed their +fingers here were of the so-called Aurignacian type (Aurignac in the +department of Haute Garonne, in southern France), that is to say, lived +somewhere about the dawn of the third stage of the palæolithic epoch. +Directly after their disappearance nature would seem to have sealed +up the cave again until our time, so that we can study them here all +by themselves.</p> + +<p>Now let us take our lamps and explore the secrets of the interior. The +icy torrents that hollowed it in the limestone have eaten away rounded +alcoves along the sides. On the white surface of these, glazed over +with a preserving film of stalactite, we at once notice <a name="page49"></a>the outlines +of many hands. Most of them left hands, showing that the Aurignacians +tended to be right-handed, like ourselves, and dusted on the paint, +black manganese or red ochre, between the outspread fingers in just +way that we, too, would find convenient. Curiously enough, this +practice of stencilling hands upon the walls of caves is in vogue +amongst the Australian natives; though unfortunately, they keep the +reason, if there is any deeper one than mere amusement, strictly to +themselves. Like the Australians, again, and other rude peoples, these +Aurignacians would appear to have been given to lopping off an +occasional finger—from some religious motive, we may guess—to judge +from the mutilated look of a good many of the handprints.</p> + +<p>The use of paint is here limited to this class of wall-decoration. But +a sharp flint makes an excellent graving tool; and the Aurignacian +hunter is bent on reproducing by this means the forms of those +game-animals about which he doubtless dreams night and day. His efforts +in this direction, however, rather remind us of those of our +infant-schools. Look at this bison. His snout is drawn sideways, but +the horns branch out right and left as if in a full-face view. Again, +our friend scamps details such as the legs. Sheer want <a name="page50"></a>of skill, we +may suspect, leads him to construct what is more like the symbol of +something thought than the portrait of something seen. And so we wander +farther and farther into the gloomy depths, adding ever new specimens +to our pre-historic menagerie, including the rare find of a bird that +looks uncommonly like the penguin. Mind, by the way, that you do not +fall into that round hole in the floor. It is enormously deep; and more +than forty cave-bears have left their skeletons at the bottom, amongst +which your skeleton would be a little out of place.</p> + +<p>Next day let us move off eastwards to the Little Pyrenees to see another +cave, Niaux, high up in a valley scarred nearly up to the top by former +glaciers. This cave is about a mile deep; and it will take you half +a mile of awkward groping amongst boulders and stalactites, not to +mention a choke in one part of the passage such as must puzzle a fat +man, before the cavern becomes spacious, and you find yourself in the +vast underground cathedral that pre-historic man has chosen for his +picture-gallery. This was a later stock, that had in the meantime learnt +how to draw to perfection. Consider the bold black and white of that +portrait of a wild pony, with flowing mane and tail, glossy barrel, +and jolly snub-nosed face. It is four or five feet across, and <a name="page51"></a>not an +inch of the work is out of scale. The same is true of nearly every one +of the other fifty or more figures of game-animals. These artists could +paint what they saw.</p> + +<p>Yet they could paint up on the walls what they thought, too. There are +likewise whole screeds of symbols waiting, perhaps waiting for ever, +to be interpreted. The dots and lines and pothooks clearly belong to +a system of picture-writing. Can we make out their meaning at all? Once +in a way, perhaps. Note these marks looking like two different kinds +of throwing-club; at any rate, there are Australian weapons not unlike +them. To the left of them are a lot of dots in what look like patterns, +amongst which we get twice over the scheme of one dot in the centre +of a circle of others. Then, farther still to the left, comes the painted +figure of a bison; or, to be more accurate, the front half is painted, +the back being a piece of protruding rock that gives the effect of low +relief. The bison is rearing back on its haunches, and there is a patch +of red paint, like an open wound, just over the region of its heart. +Let us try to read the riddle. It may well embody a charm that ran +somewhat thus: "With these weapons, and by these encircling tactics, +may we slay a fat bison, O ye powers of the dark!" Depend upon it, the +men who went half a mile <a name="page52"></a>into the bowels of a mountain, to paint things +up on the walls, did not do so merely for fun. This is a very eerie +place, and I daresay most of us would not like to spend the night there +alone; though I know a pre-historian who did. In Australia, as we shall +see later on, rock-paintings of game-animals, not so lifelike as these +of the old days, but symbolic almost beyond all recognizing, form part +of solemn ceremonies whereby good hunting is held to be secured. +Something of the sort, then, we may suppose, took place ages ago in +the cave of Niaux. So, indeed, it was a cathedral after a fashion; and, +having in mind the carven pillars of stalactite, the curving alcoves +and side-chapels, the shining white walls, and the dim ceiling that +held in scorn our powerful lamps, I venture to question whether man +has ever lifted up his heart in a grander one.</p> + +<p>Space would fail me if I now sought to carry you off to the cave of +Altamira, near Santander, in the north-west of Spain. Here you might +see at its best a still later style of rock-painting, which deserts +mere black and white for colour-shading of the most free description. +Indeed, it is almost too free, in my judgment; for, though the control +of the artist over his rude material is complete, he is inclined to +turn his back on real life, <a name="page53"></a>forcing the animal forms into attitudes +more striking than natural, and endowing their faces sometimes, as it +seems to me, with almost human expressions. Whatever may be thought +of the likelihood of these beasts being portrayed to look like men, +certain it is that in the painted caves of this period the men almost +invariably have animal heads, as if they were mythological beings, half +animal and half human; or else—as perhaps is more probable—masked +dancers. At one place, however—namely, in the rock shelter of Cogul +near Lerida, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, we have a picture +of a group of women dancers who are not masked, but attired in the style +of the hour. They wear high hats or chignons, tight waists, and +bell-shaped skirts. Really, considering that we thus have a +contemporary fashion-plate, so to say, whilst there are likewise the +numerous stencilled hands elsewhere on view, and even, as I have seen +with my own eyes at Niaux in the sandy floor, hardened over with +stalagmite, the actual print of a foot, we are brought very near to +our palæolithic forerunners; though indefinite ages part them from +us if we reckon by sheer time.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Before ending this chapter, I have still to make good a promise to say +something about <a name="page54"></a>the neolithic men of western Europe. These people often, +though not always, polished their stone; the palæolithic folk did not. +That is the distinguishing mark by which the world is pleased to go. +It would be fatal to forget, however, that, with this trifling +difference, go many others which testify more clearly to the contrast +between the older and newer types of culture. Thus it has still to be +proved that the palæolithic races ever used pottery, or that they +domesticated animals—for instance, the fat ponies which they were so +fond of eating; or that they planted crops. All these things did the +neolithic peoples sooner or later; so that it would not be strange if +palæolithic man withdrew in their favour, because he could not compete. +Pre-history is at present almost silent concerning the manner of his +passing. In a damp and draughty tunnel, however, called Mas d'Azil, +in the south of France, where the river Arize still bores its way through +a mountain, some palæolithic folk seem to have lingered on in a sad +state of decay. The old sureness of touch in the matter of carving bone +had left them. Again, their painting was confined to the adorning of +certain pebbles with spots and lines, curious objects, that perhaps +are not without analogy in Australia, whilst something like them crops +<a name="page55"></a>up again in the north of Scotland in what seems to be the early iron-age. +Had the rest of the palæolithic men already followed the reindeer and +other arctic animals towards the north-east? Or did the neolithic +invasion, which came from the south, wipe out the lot? Or was there +a commingling of stocks, and may some of us have a little dose of +palæolithic blood, as we certainly have a large dose of neolithic? +To all these questions it can only be replied that we do not yet know.</p> + +<p>No more do we know half as much as we should like about fifty things +relating to the small, dark, long-headed neolithic folk, with a +language that has possibly left traces in the modern Basque, who spread +over the west till they reached Great Britain—it probably was an island +by this time—and erected the well-known long barrows and other +monuments of a megalithic (great-stone) type; though not the round +barrows, which are the work of a subsequent round-headed race of the +bronze-age. Every day, however, the spade is adding to our knowledge. +Besides, most of the ruder peoples of the modern world were at the +neolithic stage of culture at the time of their discovery by Europeans. +Hence the weapons, the household utensils, the pottery, the +pile-dwellings, and so on, can be compared closely; and we have a <a name="page56"></a>fresh +instance of the way in which one branch of anthropology can aid another.</p> + +<p>In pursuance of my plan, however, of merely pitching here and there +on an illustrative point, I shall conclude by an excursion to Brandon, +just on the Suffolk side of the border between that county and Norfolk. +Here we can stand, as it were, with one foot in neolithic times and +the other in the life of to-day. When Canon Greenwell, in 1870, explored +in this neighbourhood one of the neolithic flint-mines known as Grime's +Graves, he had to dig out the rubbish from a former funnel-shaped pit +some forty feet deep. Down at this level, it appeared, the neolithic +worker had found the layer of the best flint. This he quarried by means +of narrow galleries in all directions. For a pick he used a red-deer's +antler. In the British Museum is to be seen one of these with the miner's +thumb-mark stamped on a piece of clay sticking to the handle. His lamp +was a cup of chalk. His ladder was probably a series of rough steps +cut in the sides of the pit. As regards the use to which the material +was put, a neolithic workshop was found just to the south of Grime's +Graves. Here, scattered about on all sides, were the cores, the +hammer-stones that broke them up, and knives, scrapers, borers, +spear-heads and arrow-heads galore, in all stages of manufacture.</p> + +<p><a name="page57"></a>Well, now let us hie to Lingheath, not far off, and what do we find? +A family of the name of Dyer carry on to-day exactly the same old method +of mining. Their pits are of squarer shape than the neolithic ones, +but otherwise similar. Their one-pronged pick retains the shape of the +deer's antler. Their light is a candle stuck in a cup of chalk. And +the ladder is just a series of ledges or, as they call them, "toes" +in the wall, five feet apart and connected by foot-holes. The miner +simply jerks his load, several hundredweight of flints, from ledge to +ledge by the aid of his head, which he protects with something that +neolithic man was probably without, namely, an old bowler hat. He even +talks a language of his own. "Bubber-hutching on the sosh" is the term +for sinking a pit on the slant, and, for all we can tell, may have a +very ancient pedigree. And what becomes of the miner's output? It is +sold by the "jag"—a jag being a pile just so high that when you stand +on any side you can see the bottom flint on the other—to the knappers +of Brandon. Any one of these—for instance, my friend Mr. Fred +Snare—will, while you wait, break up a lump with a short round hammer +into manageable pieces. Then, placing a "quarter" with his left hand +the leather pad that covers his knee, he will, with an oblong hammer, +strike off flake after <a name="page58"></a>flake, perhaps 1,500 in a morning; and finally +will work these up into sharp-edged squares to serve as gun-flints for +the trade with native Africa. Alas! the palmy days of knapping +gun-flints for the British Army will never return to Brandon. Still, +there must have been trade depression in those parts at any time from +the bronze-age up to the times of Brown Bess; for the strike-a-lights, +still to be got at a penny each, can have barely kept the wolf from +the door. And Mr. Snare is not merely an artisan but an artist. He has +chipped out a flint ring, a feat which taxed the powers of the clever +neolithic knappers of pre-dynastic Egypt; whilst with one of his own +flint fishhooks he has taken a fine trout from the Little Ouse that +runs by the town.</p> + +<p>Thus there are things in old England that are older even than some of +our friends wot. In that one county of Suffolk, for instance, the good +flint—so rich in colour as it is, and so responsive to the hammer, +at any rate if you get down to the lower layers or "sases," for instance, +the floorstone, or the black smooth-stone that is generally below +water-level—has served the needs of all the palæolithic periods, and +of the neolithic age as well, and likewise of the modern Englishmen +who fought with flintlocks at Waterloo, or still more recently took +out tinder-boxes with them to the war <a name="page59"></a>in South Africa. And what does +this stand for in terms of the antiquity of man? Thousands of years? +We do not know exactly; but say rather hundreds of thousands of years.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap3">CHAPTER III</a></h3></div> +<h4>RACE</h4> +<br> +<p>There is a story about the British sailor who was asked to state what +he understood by a Dago. "Dagoes," he replied, "is anything wot isn't +our sort of chaps." In exactly the same way would an ancient Greek have +explained what he meant by a "barbarian." When it takes this wholesale +form we speak, not without reason, of race-prejudice. We may well wonder +in the meantime how far this prejudice answers to something real. Race +would certainly seem to be a fact that stares one in the face.</p> + +<p>Stroll down any London street: you cannot go wrong about that Hindu +student with features rather like ours but of a darker shade. The short +dapper man with eyes a little aslant is no less unmistakably a Japanese. +It takes but a slightly more practised eye to pick out <a name="page60"></a>the German waiter, +the French chauffeur, and the Italian vendor of ices. Lastly, when you +have made yourself really good at the game, you will be scarcely more +likely to confuse a small dark Welshman with a broad florid Yorkshireman +than a retriever with a mastiff.</p> + +<p>Yes, but remember that you are judging by the gross impression, not +by the element of race or breed as distinguished from the rest. Here, +you say, come a couple of our American cousins. Perhaps it is their +speech that betrayeth them; or perhaps it is the general cut of their +jib. If you were to go into their actual pedigrees, you would find that +the one had a Scotch father and a mother from out of Dorset; whilst +the other was partly Scandinavian and partly Spanish with a tincture +of Jew. Yet to all intents and purposes they form one type. And, the +more deeply you go into it, the more mixed we all of us turn out to +be, when breed, and breed alone, is the subject of inquiry. Yet race, +in the only sense that the word has for an anthropologist, means +inherited breed, and nothing more or less—inherited breed, and all +that it covers, whether bodily or mental features.</p> + +<p>For race, let it not be forgotten, presumably extends to mind as well +as to body. It is not merely skin-deep. Contrast the stoical Red Indian +with the vivacious Negro; or the <a name="page61"></a>phlegmatic Dutchman with the +passionate Italian. True, you say, but what about the influence of their +various climates, or again of their different ideals of behaviour? +Quite so. It is immensely difficult to separate the effects of the +various factors. Yet surely the race-factor counts for something in +the mental constitution. Any breeder of horses will tell you that +neither the climate of Newmarket, nor careful training, nor any +quantity of oats, nor anything else, will put racing mettle into +cart-horse stock.</p> + +<p>In what follows, then, I shall try to show just what the problem about +the race-factor is, even if I have to trespass a little way into general +biology in order to do so.[2] And I shall not attempt to conceal the +difficulties relating to the race-problem. I know that the ordinary +reader is supposed to prefer that all the thinking should be done +beforehand, and merely the results submitted to him. But I cannot +believe that he would find it edifying to look at half-a-dozen books +upon the races of mankind, and find half-a-dozen accounts of their +relationships, having scarcely a single statement in common. Far better +face the fact that race still baffles us almost completely. <a name="page62"></a>Yet, breed +is there; and, in its own time and in its own way, breed will out.</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 2: The reader is advised to consult also the more +comprehensive study on <i>Evolution</i> by Professors Geddes and Thomson +in this series.]</small></p> + +<p>Race or breed was a moment ago described as a factor in human nature. +But to break up human nature into factors is something that we can do, +or try to do, in thought only. In practice we can never succeed in doing +anything of the kind. A machine such as a watch we can take to bits +and then put together again. Even a chemical compound such as water +we can resolve into oxygen and hydrogen and then reproduce out of its +elements. But to dissect a living thing is to kill it once and for all. +Life, as was said in the first chapter, is something unique, with the +unique property of being able to evolve. As life evolves, that is to +say changes, by being handed on from certain forms to certain other +forms, a partial rigidity marks the process together with a partial +plasticity. There is a stiffening, so to speak, that keeps the +life-force up to a point true to its old direction; though, short of +that limit, it is free to take a new line of its own. Race, then, stands +for the stiffening in the evolutionary process. Just up to what point +it goes in any given case we probably can never quite tell. Yet, if +we could think our way anywhere near to that point in regard to man, +I doubt not that we should eventually succeed in forging a fresh +instrument for <a name="page63"></a>controlling the destinies of our species, an instrument +perhaps more powerful than education itself—I mean, eugenics, the art +of improving the human breed.</p> + +<p>To see what race means when considered apart, let us first of all take +your individual self, and ask how you would proceed to separate your +inherited nature from the nature which you have acquired in the course +of living your life. It is not easy. Suppose, however, that you had +a twin brother born, if indeed that were possible, as like you as one +pea is like another. An accident in childhood, however, has caused him +to lose a leg. So he becomes a clerk, living a sedentary life in an +office. You, on the other hand, with your two lusty legs to help you, +become a postman, always on the run. Well, the two of you are now very +different men in looks and habits. He is pale and you are brown. You +play football and he sits at home reading. Nevertheless, any friend +who knows you both intimately will discover fifty little things that +bespeak in you the same underlying nature and bent. You are both, for +instance, slightly colour-blind, and both inclined to fly into violent +passions on occasion. That is your common inheritance peeping out—if, +at least, your friend has really managed to make allowance for your +common bringing-up, which might mainly <a name="page64"></a>account for the passionateness, +though hardly for the colour-blindness.</p> + +<p>But now comes the great difficulty. Let us further suppose that you +two twins marry wives who are also twins born as like as two peas; and +each pair of you has a family. Which of the two batches of children +will tend on the whole to have the stronger legs? Your legs are strong +by use; your brother's are weak by disuse. But do use and disuse make +any difference to the race? That is the theoretical question which, +above all others, complicates and hampers our present-day attempts to +understand heredity.</p> + +<p>In technical language, this is the problem of use-inheritance, +otherwise known as the inheritance of acquired characters. It is apt +to seem obvious to the plain man that the effects of use and disuse +are transmitted to offspring. So, too, thought Lamarck, who half a +century before Darwin propounded a theory of the origin of species that +was equally evolutionary in its way. Why does the giraffe have so long +a neck? Lamarck thought it was because the giraffe had acquired a habit +of stretching his neck out. Every time there was a bad season, the +giraffes must all stretch up as high as ever they could towards the +leafy tops of the trees; and the one that stretched up farthest survived, +and <a name="page65"></a>handed on the capacity for a like feat to his fortunate descendants. +Now Darwin himself was ready to allow that use and disuse might have +some influence on the offspring's inheritance; but he thought that this +influence was small as compared with the influence of what, for want +of a better term, he called spontaneous variation. Certain of his +followers, however, who call themselves Neo-Darwinians, are ready to +go one better. Led by the German biologist, Weismann, they would thrust +the Lamarckians, with their hypothesis of use-inheritance, clean out +of the field. Spontaneous variation, they assert, is all that is needed +to prepare the way for the selection of the tall giraffe. It happened +to be born that way. In other words, its parents had it in them to breed +it so. This is not a theory that tells one anything positive. It is +merely a caution to look away from use and disuse to another explanation +of variation that is not yet forthcoming.</p> + +<p>After all, the plain man must remember that the effects of use and disuse, +which he seems to see everywhere about him, are mixed up with plenty +of apparent instances to the contrary. He will smile, perhaps, when +I tell him that Weismann cut off the tails of endless mice, and, breeding +them together, found that tails invariably decorated the race as before. +<a name="page66"></a>I remember hearing Mr. Bernard Shaw comment on this experiment. He was +defending the Lamarckianism of Samuel Butler, who declared that our +heredity was a kind of race-memory, a lapsed intelligence. "Why," said +Mr. Shaw, "did the mice continue to grow tails? Because they never +wanted to have them cut off." But men-folk are wont to shave off their +beards because they want to have them off; and, amongst people more +conservative in their habits than ourselves, such a custom may persist +through numberless generations. Yet who ever observed the slightest +signs of beardlessness being produced in this way? On the other hand, +there are beardless as well as bearded races in the world; and, by +crossing them, you could, doubtless, soon produce ups and downs in the +razor-trade. Only, as Weismann's school would say, the required +variation is in this case spontaneous, that is, comes entirely of its +own accord.</p> + +<p>Leaving the question of use-inheritance open, I pass on to say a word +about variation as considered in itself and apart from this doubtful +influence. Weismann holds, that organisms resulting from the union of +two cells are more variable than those produced out of a single one. +On this view, variation depends largely on the laws of the interaction +of the dissimilar characters brought <a name="page67"></a>together in cell-union. But what +are these laws? The best that can be said is that we are getting to +know a little more about them every day. Amongst other lines of inquiry, +the so-called Mendelian experiments promise to clear up much that is +at present dark.</p> + +<p>The development of the individual that results from such cell-union +is no mere mixture or addition, but a process of selective organization. +To put it very absurdly, one does not find a pair of two-legged parents +having a child with legs as big as the two sets of legs together, or +with four legs, two of them of one shape and two of another. In other +words, of the possibilities contributed by the father and mother, some +are taken and some are left in the case of any one child. Further, +different children will represent different selections from amongst +the germinal elements. Mendelism, by the way, is especially concerned +to find out the law according to which the different types of +organization are distributed between the offspring. Each child, +meanwhile, is a unique individual, a living whole with an organization +of its very own. This means that its constituent elements form a system. +They stand to each other in relations of mutual support. In short, +life is possible because there is balance.</p> + +<p><a name="page68"></a>This general state of balance, however, is able to go along with a lot +of special balancings that seem largely independent of each other. It +is important to remember this when we come a little later on to consider +the instincts. All sorts of lesser systems prevail within the larger +system represented by the individual organism. It is just as if within +the state with its central government there were a number of county +councils, municipal corporations, and so on, each of them enjoying a +certain measure of self-government on its own account. Thus we can see +in a very general way how it is that so much variation is possible. +The selective organization, which from amongst the germinal elements +precipitates ever so many and different forms of fresh life, is so loose +and elastic that a working arrangement between the parts can be reached +in all sorts of directions. The lesser systems are so far self-governing +that they can be trusted to get along in almost any combination; though +of course some combinations are naturally stronger and more stable than +the rest, and hence tend to outlast them, or, as the phrase goes, to +be preserved by natural selection.</p> + +<p>It is time to take account of the principle of natural selection. We +have done with the subject of variation. Whether use and disuse <a name="page69"></a>have +helped to shape the fresh forms of life, or whether these are purely +spontaneous combinations that have come into being on what we are +pleased to call their own account, at any rate let us take them as given. +What happens now? At this point begins the work of natural selection. +Darwin's great achievement was to formulate this law; though it is only +fair to add that it was discovered by A.R. Wallace at the same moment. +Both of them get the first hint of it from Malthus. This English +clergyman, writing about half a century earlier, had shown that the +growth of population is apt very considerably to outstrip the +development of food-supply; whereupon natural checks such as famine +or war must, he argued, ruthlessly intervene so as to redress the +balance. Applying these considerations to the plant and animal kingdoms +at large, Darwin and Wallace perceived that, of the multitudinous forms +of life thrust out upon the world to get a livelihood as best they could, +a vast quantity must be weeded out. Moreover, since they vary +exceedingly in their type of organization, it seemed reasonable to +suppose that, of the competitors, those who were innately fitted to +make the best of the ever-changing circumstances would outlive the rest. +An appeal to the facts fully bore out this hypothesis. It must not, +indeed, be <a name="page70"></a>thought that all the weeding out which goes on favours the +fittest. Accidents will always happen. On the whole, however, the type +that is most at home under the surrounding conditions, it may be because +it is more complex, or it may be because it is of simpler organization, +survives the rest.</p> + +<p>Now to survive is to survive to breed. If you live to eighty, and have +no children, you do not survive in the biological sense; whereas your +neighbour who died at forty may survive in a numerous progeny. Natural +selection is always in the last resort between individuals; because +individuals are alone competent to breed. At the same time, the reason +for the individual's survival may lie very largely outside him. Amongst +the bees, for instance, a non-working type of insect survives to breed +because the sterile workers do their duty by the hive. So, too, that +other social animal, man, carries on the race by means of some whom +others die childless in order to preserve. Nevertheless, breeding being +a strictly individual and personal affair, there is always a risk lest +a society, through spending its best too freely, end by recruiting its +numbers from those in whom the engrained capacity to render social +service is weakly developed. To rear a goodly family must always be +the first duty of unselfish people; for otherwise the <a name="page71"></a>spirit of +unselfishness can hardly be kept alive the world.</p> + +<p>Enough about heredity as a condition of evolution. We return, with a +better chance of distinguishing them, to the consideration of the +special effects that it brings about. It was said just now that heredity +is the stiffening in human nature, a stiffening bound up with a more +or less considerable offset of plasticity. Now clearly it is in some +sense true that the child's whole nature, its modicum of plasticity +included, is handed on from its parents. Our business in this chapter, +however, is on the whole to put out of our thoughts this plastic side +of the inherited life-force. The more or less rigid, definite, +systematized characters—these form the hereditary factor, the race. +Now none of these are ever quite fixed. A certain measure of plasticity +has to be counted in as part of their very nature. Even in the bee, +with its highly definite instincts, there is a certain flexibility +bound up with each of these; so that, for instance, the inborn faculty +of building up the comb regularly is modified if the hive happens to +be of an awkward shape. Yet, as compared with what remains over, the +characters that we are able to distinguish as racial must show fixity. +Unfortunately, habits show fixity too. Yet habits belong to the plastic +side of our nature; for, in forming a <a name="page72"></a>habit, we are plastic at the start, +though hardly so once we have let ourselves go. Habits, then, must be +discounted in our search for the hereditary bias in our lives. It is +no use trying to disguise the difficulties attending an inquiry into +race.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>These difficulties notwithstanding, in the rest of this chapter let +us consider a few of what are usually taken to be racial features of +man. As before, the treatment must be illustrative; we cannot work +through the list. Further, we must be content with a very rough division +into bodily and mental features. Just at this point we shall find it +very hard to say what is to be reckoned bodily and what mental. Leaving +these niceties to the philosophers, however, let us go ahead as best +we can.</p> + +<p>Oh for an external race-mark about which there could be no mistake! +That has always been a dream of the anthropologist; but it is a dream +that shows no signs of coming true. All sorts of tests of this kind +have been suggested. Cranium, cranial sutures, frontal process, nasal +bones, eye, chin, jaws, wisdom teeth, hair, humerus, pelvis, the +heart-line across the hand, calf, tibia, heel, colour, and even +smell—all these external signs, as well as many more, have been thought, +separately <a name="page73"></a>or together, to afford the crucial test of a man's pedigree. +Clearly I cannot here cross-examine the entire crowd of claimants, were +I even competent to do so. I shall, therefore, say a few words about +two, and two only, namely, head-form and colour.</p> + +<p>I believe that, if the plain man were to ask himself how, in walking +down a London street, he distinguished one racial type from another, +he would find that he chiefly went by colour. In a general way he knows +how to make allowance for sunburn and get down to the native complexion +underneath. But, if he went off presently to a museum and tried to apply +his test to the pre-historic men on view there, it would fail for the +simple reason that long ago they left their skins behind them. He would +have to get to work, therefore, on their bony parts, and doubtless would +attack the skulls for choice. By considering head-form and colour, then, +we may help to cover a certain amount of the ground, vast as it is. +For remember that anthropology in this department draws no line between +ancient and modern, or between savage and civilized, but tries to tackle +every sort of man that comes within its reach.</p> + +<p>Head-shape is really a far more complicated thing to arrive at for +purposes of comparison than one might suppose. Since no part of <a name="page74"></a>the +skull maintains a stable position in regard to the rest, there can be +no fixed standard of measurement, but at most a judgment of likeness +or unlikeness founded on an averaging of the total proportions. Thus +it comes about that, in the last resort, the impression of a good expert +is worth in these matters a great deal more than rows of figures. +Moreover, rows of figures in their turn take a lot of understanding. +Besides, they are not always easy to get. This is especially the case +if you are measuring a live subject. Perhaps he is armed with a club, +and may take amiss the use of an instrument that has to be poked into +his ears, or what not. So, for one reason or another, we have often +to put up with that very unsatisfactory single-figure description of +the head-form which is known as the cranial index. You take the greatest +length and greatest breadth of the skull, and write down the result +obtained by dividing the former into the latter when multiplied by 100. +Medium-headed people have an index of anything between 75 and 80. Below +that figure men rank as long-headed, above it as round-headed. This +test, however, as I have hinted, will not by itself carry us far. On +the other hand, I believe that a good judge of head-form in all its +aspects taken together will generally be able to make a pretty shrewd +<a name="page75"></a>guess as to the people amongst whom the owner of a given skull is to +be placed.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, to say people is not to say race. It may be that a given +people tend to have a characteristic head-form, not so much because +they are of common breed, as because they are subjected after birth, +or at any rate, after conception, to one and the same environment. Thus +some careful observations made recently by Professor Boas on American +immigrants from various parts of Europe seem to show that the new +environment does in some unexplained way modify the head-form to a +remarkable extent. For example, amongst the East European Jews the head +of the European-born is shorter and wider than that of the American-born, +the difference being even more marked in the second generation of the +American-born. At the same time, other European nationalities exhibit +changes of other kinds, all these changes, however, being in the +direction of a convergence towards one and the same American type. How +are we to explain these facts, supposing them to be corroborated by +more extensive studies? It would seem that we must at any rate allow +for a considerable plasticity in the head-form, whereby it is capable +of undergoing decisive alteration under the influences of environment; +not, of course, at any moment during life, but <a name="page76"></a>during those early days +when the growth of the head is especially rapid. The further question +whether such an acquired character can be transmitted we need not raise +again. Before passing on, however, let this one word to the wise be +uttered. If the skull can be so affected, then what about the brain +inside it? If the hereditarily long-headed can change under suitable +conditions, then what about the hereditarily short-witted?</p> + +<p>It remains to say a word about the types of pre-historic men as judged +by their bony remains and especially by their skulls. Naturally the +subject bristles with uncertainties.</p> + +<p>By itself stands the so-called Pithecanthropus (Ape-man) of Java, a +regular "missing link." The top of the skull, several teeth, and a +thigh-bone, found at a certain distance from each other, are all that +we have of it or him. Dr. Dubois, their discoverer, has made out a fairly +strong case for supposing that the geological stratum in which the +remains occurred is Pliocene—that is to say, belongs to the Tertiary +epoch, to which man has not yet been traced back with any strong +probability. It must remain, however, highly doubtful whether this is +a proto-human being, or merely an ape of a type related to the gibbon. +The intermediate character is shown especially in the head form. If +an ape, Pithecanthropus <a name="page77"></a>had an enormous brain; if a man, he must have +verged on what we should consider idiocy.</p> + +<p>Also standing somewhat by itself is the Heidelberg man. All that we +have of him is a well-preserved lower jaw with its teeth. It was found +more than eighty feet below the surface of the soil, in company with +animal remains that make it possible to fix its position in the scale +of pre-historic periods with some accuracy. Judged by this test, it +is as old as the oldest of the unmistakable drift implements, the +so-called Chellean (from Chelles in the department of Seine-et-Marne +in France). The jaw by itself would suggest a gorilla, being both +chinless and immensely powerful. The teeth, however, are human beyond +question, and can be matched, or perhaps even in respect to certain +marks of primitiveness out-matched, amongst ancient skulls of the +Neanderthal order, if not also amongst modern ones from Australia.</p> + +<p>We may next consider the Neanderthal group of skulls, so named after +the first of that type found in 1856 in the Neanderthal valley close +to Düsseldorf in the Rhine basin. A narrow head, with low and retreating +forehead, and a thick projecting brow-ridge, yet with at least twice +the brain capacity of any gorilla, set the learned world disputing +whether this <a name="page78"></a>was an ape, a normal man, or an idiot. It was unfortunate +that there were no proofs to hand of the age of these relics. After +a while, however, similar specimens began to come in. Thus in 1866 the +jaw of a woman, displaying a tendency to chinlessness combined with +great strength, was found in the Cave of La Naulette in Belgium, +associated with more or less dateable remains of the mammoth, woolly +rhinoceros and reindeer. A few years earlier, though its importance +was not appreciated at the moment, there had been discovered, near +Forbes' quarry at Gibraltar, the famous Gibraltar skull, now to be seen +in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Any visitor +will notice at the first glance that this is no man of to-day. There +are the narrow head, low crown, and prominent brow-ridge as before, +supplemented by the most extraordinary eye-holes that were ever seen, +vast circles widely separated from each other. And other peculiar +features will reveal themselves on a close inspection; for instance, +the horseshoe form in which, ape-fashion, the teeth are arranged, and +the muzzle-like shape of the face due to the absence of the depressions +that in our own case run down on each side from just outside the nostrils +towards the corners of the mouth.</p> + +<p>And now at the present time we have twenty <a name="page79"></a>or more individuals of this +Neanderthal type to compare. The latest discoveries are perhaps the +most interesting, because in two and perhaps other cases the man has +been properly buried. Thus at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, in the French +department of Corrèze, a skeleton, which in its head-form closely +recalls the Gibraltar example, was found in a pit dug in the floor of +a low grotto. It lay on its back, head to the west, with one arm bent +towards the head, the other outstretched, and the legs drawn up. Some +bison bones lay in the grave as if a food-offering had been made. Hard +by were flint implements of a well-marked Mousterian type. In the +shelter of Le Moustier itself a similar burial was discovered. The body +lay on its right side, with the right arm bent so as to support the +head upon a carefully arranged pillow of flints; whilst the left arm +was stretched out, so that the hand might be near a magnificent oval +stone-weapon chipped on both faces, evidently laid there by design. +So much for these men of the Neanderthal type, denizens of the +mid-palæolithic world at the very latest. Ape-like they doubtless are +in their head-form up to a certain point, though almost all their +separate features occur here and there amongst modern Australian +natives. And yet they were men enough, had brains enough, to believe +in a <a name="page80"></a>life after death. There is something to think about in that.</p> + +<p>Without going outside Europe, we have, however, to reckon with at least +two other types of very early head-form.</p> + +<p>In one of the caves of Mentone known as La Grotte des Enfants two +skeletons from a low stratum were of a primitive type, but unlike the +Neanderthal, and have been thought to show affinities to the modern +negro. As, however, no other Proto-Negroes are indisputably +forthcoming either from Europe or from any other part of the world, +there is little at present to be made out about this interesting racial +type.</p> + +<p>In the layer immediately above the negroid remains, however, as well +as in other caves at Mentone, were the bones of individuals of quite +another order, one being positively a giant. They are known as the +Cro-Magnon race, after a group of them discovered in a rock shelter +of that name on the banks of the Vezère. These particular people can +be shown to be Aurignacian—that is to say, to have lived just after +the Mousterian men of the Neanderthal head-form. If, however, as has +been already suggested, the Galley Hill individual, who shows +affinities to the Cro-Magnon type, really goes back to the drift-period, +then we can believe that from very <a name="page81"></a>early times there co-existed in +Europe at least two varieties; and these so distinct, that some +authorities would trace the original divergence between them right back +to the times before man and the apes had parted company, linking the +Neanderthal race with the gorilla and the Cro-Magnon race with the orang. +The Cro-Magnon head-form is refined and highly developed. The forehead +is high, and the chin shapely, whilst neither the brow-ridge nor the +lower jaw protrudes as in the Neanderthal type. Whether this race +survives in modern Europe is, as was said in the last chapter, highly +uncertain. In certain respects—for instance, in a certain shortness +of face—these people present exceptional features; though some think +they can still find men of this type in the Dordogne district. Perhaps +the chances are, however, considering how skulls of the neolithic +period prove to be anything but uniform, and suggest crossings between +different stocks, that we may claim kinship to some extent with the +more good-looking of the two main types of palæolithic man—always +supposing that head-form can be taken as a guide. But can it? The Pygmies +of the Congo region have medium heads; the Bushmen of South Africa, +usually regarded as akin in race, have long heads. The American Indians, +generally supposed to <a name="page82"></a>be all, or nearly all, of one racial type, show +considerable differences of head-form; and so on. It need not be +repeated that any race-mark is liable to deceive.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>We have sufficiently considered the use to which the particular +race-mark of head-form has been put in the attempted classification +of the very early men who have left their bones behind them. Let us +now turn to another race-mark, namely colour; because, though it may +really be less satisfactory than others, for instance hair, that is +the one to which ordinary people naturally turn when they seek to +classify by races the present inhabitants of the earth.</p> + +<p>When Linnæus in pre-Darwinian days distinguished four varieties of +man, the white European, the red American, the yellow Asiatic, and the +black African, he did not dream of providing the basis of anything more +than an artificial classification. He probably would have agreed with +Buffon in saying that in every case it was one and the same kind of +man, only dyed differently by the different climates. But the Darwinian +is searching for a natural classification. He wants to distinguish men +according to their actual descent. Now race and descent mean for him +the same thing. Hence a race-mark, if one is to be <a name="page83"></a>found, must stand +for, by co-existing with, the whole mass of properties that form the +inheritance. Can colour serve for a race-mark in this profound sense? That +is the only question here.</p> + +<p>First of all, what is the use of being coloured one way or the other? +Does it make any difference? Is it something, like the heart-line of +the hand, that may go along with useful qualities, but in itself seems +to be a meaningless accident? Well, as some unfortunate people will +be able to tell you, colour is still a formidable handicap in the +struggle for existence. Not to consider the colour-prejudice in other +aspects, there is no gainsaying the part it plays in sexual selection +at this hour. The lower animals appear to be guided in the choice of +a mate by externals of a striking and obvious sort. And men and women +to this day marry more with their eyes than with their heads.</p> + +<p>The coloration of man, however, though it may have come to subserve +the purposes of mating, does not seem in its origin to have been like +the bright coloration of the male bird. It was not something wholly +useless save as a means of sexual attraction, though in such a capacity +useful because a mark of vital vigour. Colour almost certainly +developed in strict relation to climate. Right away in the back <a name="page84"></a>ages +we must place what Bagehot has called the race-making epoch, when the +chief bodily differences, including differences of colour, arose +amongst men. In those days, we may suppose, natural selection acted +largely on the body, because mind had not yet become the prime condition +of survival. The rest is a question of pre-historic geography. Within +the tropics, the habitat of the man-like apes, and presumably of the +earliest men, a black skin protects against sunlight. A white skin, +on the other hand—though this is more doubtful—perhaps economizes +sun-heat in colder latitudes. Brown, yellow and the so-called red are +intermediate tints suitable to intermediate regions. It is not hard +to plot out in the pre-historic map of the world geographical provinces, +or "areas of characterization," where races of different shades +corresponding to differences in the climate might develop, in an +isolation more or less complete, such as must tend to reinforce the +process of differentiation.</p> + +<p>Let it not be forgotten, however, that individual plasticity plays its +part too in the determination of human colour. The Anglo-Indian planter +is apt to return from a long sojourn in the East with his skin charged +with a dark pigment which no amount of Pears' soap will remove during +the rest of his life. It would be <a name="page85"></a>interesting to conduct experiments, +on the lines of those of Professor Boas already mentioned, with the +object of discovering in what degree the same capacity for amassing +protective pigment declares itself in children of European parentage +born in the tropics or transplanted thither during infancy. +Correspondingly, the tendency of dark stocks to bleach in cold +countries needs to be studied. In the background, too, lurks the +question whether such effects of individual plasticity can be +transmitted to offspring, and become part of the inheritance.</p> + +<p>One more remark upon the subject of colour. Now-a-days civilized +peoples, as well as many of the ruder races that the former govern, +wear clothes. In other words they have dodged the sun, by developing, +with the aid of mind, a complex society that includes the makers of +white drill suits and solar helmets. But, under such conditions, the +colour of one's skin becomes more or less of a luxury. Protective +pigment, at any rate now-a-days, counts for little as compared with +capacity for social service. Colour, in short, is rapidly losing its +vital function. Will it therefore tend to disappear? In the long run, +it would seem—perhaps only in the very long run—it will become +dissociated from that general fitness to survive under particular +climatic conditions <a name="page86"></a>of which it was once the innate mark. Be this as +it may, race-prejudice, that is so largely founded on sheer +considerations of colour, is bound to decay, if and when the races of +darker colour succeed in displaying, on the average, such qualities +of mind as will enable them to compete with the whites on equal terms, +in a world which is coming more and more to include all climates.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Thus we are led on to discuss race in its mental aspect. Here, more +than ever, we are all at sea, for want of a proper criterion. What is +to be the test of mind? Indeed, mind and plasticity are almost the same +thing. Race, therefore, as being the stiffening in the evolution of +life, might seem by its very nature opposed to mind as a limiting or +obstructing force. Are we, then, going to return to the old +pre-scientific notion of soul as something alien to body, and thereby +simply clogged, thwarted and dragged down? That would never do. Body +and soul are, for the working purposes of science, to be conceived as +in perfect accord, as co-helpers in the work of life, and as such subject +to a common development. Heredity, then, must be assumed to apply to +both equally. In proportion as there is plastic mind there will be +plastic body.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, the most plastic part of body <a name="page87"></a>is likewise the hardest +to observe, at any rate whilst it is alive, namely, the brain. No certain +criterion of heredity, then, is likely to be available from this quarter. +You will see it stated, for instance, that the size of the brain cavity +will serve to mark off one race from another. This is extremely doubtful, +to put it mildly. No doubt the average European shows some advantage +in this respect as compared, say, with the Bushman. But then you have +to write off so much for their respective types of body, a bigger body +going in general with a bigger head, that in the end you find yourself +comparing mere abstractions. Again, the European may be the first to +cry off on the ground that comparisons are odious; for some specimens +of Neanderthal man in sheer size of the brain cavity are said to give +points to any of our modern poets and politicians. Clearly, then, +something is wrong with this test. Nor, if the brain itself be examined +after death, and the form and number of its convolutions compared, is +this criterion of hereditary brain-power any more satisfactory. It +might be possible in this way to detect the difference between an idiot +and a person of normal intelligence, but not the difference between +a fool and a genius.</p> + +<p>We cross the uncertain line that divides the bodily from the mental +when we subject the <a name="page88"></a>same problem of hereditary mental endowment to the +methods of what is known as experimental psychology. Thus acuteness +of sight, hearing, taste, smell and feeling are measured by various +ingenious devices. Seeing what stories travellers bring back with them +about the hawk-like vision of hunting races, one might suppose that +such comparisons would be all in their favour. The Cambridge Expedition +to Torres Straits, however, of which Dr. Haddon was the leader, included +several well-trained psychologists, who devoted special attention to +this subject; and their results show that the sensory powers of these +rude folk were on the average much the same as those of Europeans. It +is the hunter's experience only that enables him to sight the game at +an immense distance. There are a great many more complicated tests of +the same type designed to estimate the force of memory, attention, +association, reasoning and other faculties that most people would +regard as purely mental; whilst another set of such tests deals with +reaction to stimulus, co-ordination between hand and eye, fatigue, +tremor, and, most ingenious perhaps of all, emotional excitement as +shown through the respiration—phenomena which are, as it were, mental +and bodily at once and together. Unfortunately, psychology cannot +distinguish <a name="page89"></a>in such cases between the effects of heredity and those +of individual experience, whether it take the form of high culture or +of a dissipated life. Indeed, the purely temporary condition of body +and mind is apt to influence the results. A man has been up late, let +us say, or has been for a long walk, or has missed a meal; obviously +his reaction-times, his record for memory, and so on, will show a +difference for the worse. Or, again, the subject may confront the +experiment in very various moods. At one moment he may be full of vanity, +anxious to show what superior qualities he possesses; whilst at another +time he will be bored. Not to labour the point further, these methods, +whatever they may become in the future, are at present unable to afford +any criterion whatever of the mental ability that goes with race. They +are fertile in statistics; but an interpretation of these statistics +that furthers our purpose is still to seek.</p> + +<p>But surely, it will be said, we can tell an instinct when we come across +it, so uniform as it is, and so independent of the rest of the system. +Not at all. For one thing, the idea that an instinct is apiece of +mechanism, as fixed as fate, is quite out of fashion. It is now known +to be highly plastic in many cases, to vary considerably in individuals, +and to <a name="page90"></a>involve conscious processes, thought, feeling and will, at any +rate of an elementary kind. Again, how are you going to isolate an +instinct? Those few automatic responses to stimulation that appear +shortly after birth, as, for instance, sucking, may perhaps be +recognized, since parental training and experience in general are out +of the question here. But what about the instinct or group of instincts +answering to sex? This is latent until a stage of life when experience +is already in full swing. Indeed, psychologists are still busy +discussing whether man has very few instincts or whether, on the +contrary, he appears to have few because he really has so many that, +in practice, they keep interfering with one another all the time. In +support of the latter view, it has been recently suggested by Mr. +McDougall that the best test of the instincts that we have is to be +found in the specific emotions. He believes that every instinctive +process consists of an afferent part or message, a central part, and +an efferent part or discharge. At its two ends the process is highly +plastic. Message and discharge, to which thought and will correspond, +are modified in their type as experience matures. The central part, +on the other hand, to which emotion answers on the side of consciousness, +remains for ever much the same. To fear, to <a name="page91"></a>wonder, to be angry, or +disgusted, to be puffed up, or cast down, or to be affected with +tenderness—all these feelings, argues Mr. McDougall, and various more +complicated emotions arising out of their combinations with each other, +are common to all men, and bespeak in them deep-seated tendencies to +react on stimulation in relatively particular and definite ways. And +there is much, I think, to be said in favour of this contention.</p> + +<p>Yet, granting this, do we thus reach a criterion whereby the different +races of men are to be distinguished? Far from it. Nay, on the contrary, +as judged simply by his emotions, man is very much alike everywhere, +from China to Peru. They are all there in germ, though different customs +and grades of culture tend to bring special types of feeling to the +fore.</p> + +<p>Indeed, a certain paradox is to be noted here. The Negro, one would +naturally say, is in general more emotional than the white man. Yet +some experiments conducted by Miss Kellor of Chicago on negresses and +white women, by means of the test of the effects of emotion on +respiration, brought out the former as decidedly the more stolid of +the two. And, whatever be thought of the value of such methods of proof, +certain it is that the observers of rude races incline to put down <a name="page92"></a>most +of them as apathetic, when not tuned up to concert-pitch by a dance +or other social event. It may well be, then, that it is not the +hereditary temperament of the Negro, so much as the habit, which he +shares with other peoples at the same level of culture, of living and +acting in a crowd, that accounts for his apparent excitability. But +after all, "mafficking" is not unknown in civilized countries. Thus +the quest for a race-mark of a mental kind is barren once more.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>What, then, you exclaim, is the outcome of this chapter of negatives? +Is it driving at the universal equality and brotherhood of man? Or, +on the contrary, does it hint at the need of a stern system of eugenics? +I offer nothing in the way of a practical suggestion. I am merely trying +to show that, considered anthropologically—that is to say, in terms +of pure theory—race or breed remains something which we cannot at +present isolate, though we believe it to be there. Practice, meanwhile, +must wait on theory; mere prejudices, bad as they are, are hardly worse +guides to action than premature exploitations of science.</p> + +<p>As regards the universal brotherhood of man, the most that can be said +is this: The old ideas about race as something hard and <a name="page93"></a>fast for all +time are distinctly on the decline. Plasticity, or, in other words, +the power of adaptation to environment, has to be admitted to a greater +share in the moulding of mind, and even of body, than ever before. But +how plasticity is related to race we do not yet know. It may be that +use-inheritance somehow incorporates its effects in the offspring of +the plastic parents. Or it may be simply that plasticity increases with +inter-breeding on a wider basis. These problems have still to be solved.</p> + +<p>As regards eugenics, there is no doubt that a vast and persistent +elimination of lives goes on even in civilized countries. It has been +calculated that, of every hundred English born alive, fifty do not +survive to breed, and, of the remainder, half produce three-quarters +of the next generation. But is the elimination selective? We can hardly +doubt that it is to some extent. But what its results are—whether it +mainly favours immunity from certain diseases, or the capacity for a +sedentary life in a town atmosphere, or intelligence and capacity for +social service—is largely matter of guesswork. How, then, can we say +what is the type to breed from, even if we confine our attention to +one country? If, on the other hand, we look farther afield, and study +the results of race-mixture or "miscegenation," we but encounter fresh +puzzles. That the <a name="page94"></a>half-breed is an unsatisfactory person may be true; +and yet, until the conditions of his upbringing are somehow discounted, +the race problem remains exactly where it was. Or, again, it may be +true that miscegenation increases human fertility, as some hold; but, +until it is shown that the increase of fertility does not merely result +in flooding the world with inferior types, we are no nearer to a +solution.</p> + +<p>If, then, there is a practical moral to this chapter, it is merely this: +to encourage anthropologists to press forward with their study of race; +and in the meantime to do nothing rash.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap4">CHAPTER IV</a></h3></div> +<h4>ENVIRONMENT</h4> +<br> +<p>When a child is born it has been subjected for some three-quarters of +a year already to the influences of environment. Its race, indeed, was +fixed once for all at the moment of conception. Yet that superadded +measure of plasticity, which has to be treated as something apart from +the racial factor, enables it to respond for good or for evil to the +pre-natal—that is to say, maternal—environment. Thus we may easily +fall into the mistake of <a name="page95"></a>supposing our race to be degenerate, when poor +feeding and exposure to unhealthy surroundings on the part of the +mothers are really responsible for the crop of weaklings that we deplore. +And, in so far as it turns out to be so, social reformers ought to heave +a sigh of relief. Why? Because to improve the race by way of eugenics, +though doubtless feasible within limits, remains an unrealized +possibility through our want of knowledge. On the other hand, to improve +the physical environment is fairly straight-ahead work, once we can +awake the public conscience to the need of undertaking this task for +the benefit of all classes of the community alike. If civilized man +wishes to boast of being clearly superior to the rest of his kind, it +must be mainly in respect to his control over the physical environment. +Whatever may have been the case in the past, it seems as true now-a-days +to say that man makes his physical environment as that his physical +environment makes him.</p> + +<p>Even if this be granted, however, it remains the fact that our material +circumstances in the widest sense of the term play a very decisive part +in the shaping of our lives. Hence the importance of geographical +studies as they bear on the subject of man. From the moment that a child +is conceived, it is <a name="page96"></a>subjected to what it is now the fashion to call +a "geographic control." Take the case of the child of English parents +born in India. Clearly several factors will conspire to determine +whether it lives or dies. For simplicity's sake let us treat them as +three. First of all, there is the fact that the child belongs to a +particular cultural group; in other words, that it has been born with +a piece of paper in its mouth representing one share in the British +Empire. Secondly, there is its race, involving, let us say, blue eyes +and light hair, and a corresponding constitution. Thirdly, there is +the climate and all that goes with it. Though in the first of these +respects the white child is likely to be superior to the native, +inasmuch as it will be tended with more careful regard to the laws of +health; yet such disharmony prevails between the other two factors of +race and climate, that it will almost certainly die, if it is not removed +at a certain age from the country. Possibly the English could +acclimatize themselves in India at the price of an immense toll of +infant lives; but it is a price which they show no signs of being willing +to pay.</p> + +<p>What, then, are the limits of the geographical control? Where does its +influence begin and end? Situation, race and culture—to reduce it to +a problem of three terms only—which <a name="page97"></a>of the three, if any, in the long +run controls the rest? Remember that the anthropologist is trying to +be the historian of long perspective. History which counts by years, +proto-history which counts by centuries, pre-history which counts by +millenniums—he seeks to embrace them all. He sees the English in India, +on the one hand, and in Australia on the other. Will the one invasion +prove an incident, he asks, and the other an event, as judged by a +history of long perspective? Or, again, there are whites and blacks +and redskins in the southern portion of the United States of America, +having at present little in common save a common climate. Different +races, different cultures, a common geographical situation—what net +result will these yield for the historian of patient, far-seeing +anthropological outlook? Clearly there is here something worth the +puzzling out. But we cannot expect to puzzle it out all at once.</p> + +<p>In these days geography, in the form known as anthropo-geography, is +putting forth claims to be the leading branch of anthropology. And, +doubtless, a thorough grounding in geography must henceforth be part +of the anthropologist's equipment.[3] The schools of Ratzel <a name="page98"></a>in Germany +and Le Play in France are, however, fertile in generalizations that +are far too pretty to be true. Like other specialists, they exaggerate +the importance of their particular brand of work. The full meaning of +life can never be expressed in terms of its material conditions. I +confess that I am not deeply moved when Ratzel announces that man is +a piece of the earth. Or when his admirers, anxious to improve on this, +after distinguishing the atmosphere or air, the hydrosphere or water, +the lithosphere or crust, and the centrosphere or interior mass, +proceed to add that man is the most active portion of an intermittent +biosphere, or living envelope of our planet, I cannot feel that the +last word has been said about him.</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 3: Thus the reader of the present work should not fail to +study also Dr. Marion Newbigin's <i>Geography</i> in this series.]</small></p> + +<p>Or, again, listen for a moment to M. Demolins, author of a very +suggestive book, <i>Comment la route crée le type social</i> ("How the road +creates the social type"). "There exists," he says in his preface, "on +the surface of the terrestrial globe an infinite variety of peoples. +What is the cause that has created this variety? In general the reply +is, Race. But race explains nothing; for it remains to discover what +has produced the diversity of races. Race is not a cause; it is a +consequence. The first and decisive cause of the diversity of peoples +and of the diversity of <a name="page99"></a>races is the road that the peoples have followed. +It is the road that creates the race, and that creates the social type." +And he goes further: "If the history of humanity were to recommence, +and the surface of the globe had not been transformed, this history +would repeat itself in its main lines. There might well be secondary +differences, for example, in certain manifestations of public life, +in political revolutions, to which we assign far too great an importance; +but the same roads would reproduce the same social types, and would +impose on them the same essential characters."</p> + +<p>There is no contending with a pious opinion, especially when it takes +the form of an unverifiable prophecy. Let the level-headed +anthropologist beware, however, lest he put all his eggs into one basket. +Let him seek to give each factor in the problem its due. Race must count +for something, or why do not the other animals take a leaf out of our +book and build up rival civilizations on suitable sites? Why do men +herd cattle, instead of the cattle herding the men? We are rational +beings, in other words, because we have it in us to be rational beings. +Again, culture, with the intelligence and choice it involves, counts +for something too. It is easy to argue that, since there were the Asiatic +steppes with the wild horses ready to hand in them, man was <a name="page100"></a>bound sooner +or later to tame the horse and develop the characteristic culture of +the nomad type. Yes, but why did man tame the horse later rather than +sooner? And why did the American redskins never tame the bison, and +adopt a pastoral life in their vast prairies? Or why do modern black +folk and white folk alike in Africa fail to utilize the elephant? Is +it because these things cannot be done, or because man has not found +out how to do them?</p> + +<p>When all allowances, however, are made for the exaggerations almost +pardonable in a branch of science still engaged in pushing its way to +the front, anthropo-geography remains a far-reaching method of +historical study which the anthropologist has to learn how to use. To +put it crudely, he must learn how to work all the time with a map of +the earth at his elbow.</p> + +<p>First of all, let him imagine his world of man stationary. Let him plot +out in turn the distribution of heat, of moisture, of diseases, of +vegetation, of food-animals, of the physical types of man, of density +of population, of industries, of forms of government, of religions, +of languages, and so on and so forth. How far do these different +distributions bear each other out? He will find a number of things that +go together in what <a name="page101"></a>will strike him as a natural way. For instance, +all along the equator, whether in Africa or South America or Borneo, +he will find them knocking off work in the middle of the day in order +to take a siesta. On the other hand, other things will not agree so +well. Thus, though all will be dark-skinned, the South Americans will +be coppery, the Africans black, and the men of Borneo yellow.</p> + +<p>Led on by such discrepancies, perhaps, he will want next to set his +world of man in movement. He will thereupon perceive a circulation, +so to speak, amongst the various peoples, suggestive of interrelations +of a new type. Now so long as he is dealing in descriptions of a detached +kind, concerning not merely the physical environment, but likewise the +social adjustments more immediately corresponding thereto, he will be +working at the geographical level. Directly it comes, however, to a +generalized description or historical explanation, as when he seeks +to show that here rather than there a civilization is likely to arise, +geographical considerations proper will not suffice. Distribution is +merely one aspect of evolution. Yet that it is a very important aspect +will now be shown by a hasty survey of the world according to +geographical regions.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p><a name="page102"></a>Let us begin with Europe, so as to proceed gradually from the more known +to the less known. Lecky has spoken of "the European epoch of the human +mind." What is the geographical and physical theatre of that epoch? +We may distinguish—I borrow the suggestion from Professor +Myres—three stages in its development. Firstly, there was the +river-phase; next, the Mediterranean phase; lastly, the present-day +Atlantic phase. Thus, to begin with, the valleys of the Nile and +Euphrates were each the home of civilizations both magnificent and +enduring. They did not spring up spontaneously, however. If the rivers +helped man, man also helped the rivers by inventing systems of +irrigation. Next, from Minoan days right on to the end of the Middle +Ages, the Mediterranean basin was the focus of all the higher life in +the world, if we put out of sight the civilizations of India and China, +together with the lesser cultures of Peru and Mexico. I will consider +this second phase especially, because it is particularly instructive +from the geographical standpoint. Finally, since the time of the +discovery of America, the sea-trade, first called into existence as +a civilizing agent by Mediterranean conditions, has shifted its base +to the Atlantic coast, and especially to that land of natural harbours, +the British Isles. We must give <a name="page103"></a>up thinking in terms of an Eastern and +Western Hemisphere. The true distinction, as applicable to modern times, +is between a land-hemisphere, with the Atlantic coast of Europe as its +centre, and a sea-hemisphere, roughly coinciding with the Pacific. The +Pacific is truly an ocean; but the Atlantic is becoming more of a +"herring-pond" every day.</p> + +<p>Fixing our eyes, then, on the Mediterranean basin, with its Black Sea +extension, it is easy to perceive that we have here a well-defined +geographical province, capable of acting as an area of characterization +as perhaps no other in the world, once its various peoples had the taste +and ingenuity to intermingle freely by way of the sea. The first fact +to note is the completeness of the ring-fence that shuts it in. From +the Pyrenees right along to Ararat runs the great Alpine fold, like +a ridge in a crumpled table-cloth; the Spanish Sierras and the Atlas +continue the circle to the south-west; and the rest is desert. Next, +the configuration of the coasts makes for intercourse by sea, +especially on the northern side with its peninsulas and islands, the +remains of a foundered and drowned mountain-country. This same +configuration, considered in connection with the flora and fauna that +are favoured by the climate, goes far to explain that discontinuity +of the political life which encouraged <a name="page104"></a>independence whilst it prevented +self-sufficiency. The forest-belt, owing to the dry summer, lay towards +the snow-line, and below it a scrub-belt, yielding poor hunting, drove +men to grow their corn and olives and vines in the least swampy of the +lowlands, scattered like mere oases amongst the hills and promontories.</p> + +<p>For a long time, then, man along the north coasts must have been +oppressed rather than assisted by his environment. It made +mass-movements impossible. Great waves of migration from the +steppe-land to the northeast, or from the forest-land to the north-west, +would thunder on the long mountain barrier, only to trickle across in +rivulets and form little pools of humanity here and there. Petty feuds +between plain, shore, and mountain, as in ancient Attica, would but +accentuate the prevailing division. Contrariwise, on the southern side +of the Mediterranean, where there was open, if largely desert, country, +there would be room under primitive conditions for a homogeneous race +to multiply. It is in North Africa that we must probably place the +original hotbed of that Mediterranean race, slight and dark with oval +heads and faces, who during the neolithic period colonized the opposite +side of the Mediterranean, and threw out a wing along the warm Atlantic +coast as far <a name="page105"></a>north as Scotland, as well as eastwards to the Upper Danube; +whilst by way of south and east they certainly overran Egypt, Arabia, +and Somaliland, with probable ramifications still farther in both +directions. At last, however, in the eastern Mediterranean was learnt +the lesson of the profits attending the sea-going life, and there began +the true Mediterranean phase, which is essentially an era of sea-borne +commerce. Then was the chance for the northern shore with its peninsular +configuration. Carthage on the south shore must be regarded as a bold +experiment that did not answer. The moral, then, would seem to be that +the Mediterranean basin proved an ideal nursery for seamen; but only +as soon as men were brave and clever enough to take to the sea. The +geographical factor is at least partly consequence as well as cause.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Now let us proceed farther north into what was for the earlier +Mediterranean folk the breeding-ground of barbarous outlanders, +forming the chief menace to their circuit of settled civic life. It +is necessary to regard northern Europe and northern Asia as forming +one geographic province. Asia Minor, together with the Euphrates valley +and with Arabia in a lesser degree, belongs to the Mediterranean area. +India and China, with the south-eastern <a name="page106"></a>corner of Asia that lies between +them, form another system that will be considered separately later on.</p> + +<p>The Eurasian northland consists naturally, that is to say, where +cultivation has not introduced changes, of four belts. First, to the +southward, come the mountain ranges passing eastwards into high plateau. +Then, north of this line, from the Lower Danube, as far as China, +stretches a belt of grassland or steppe-country at a lower level, a +belt which during the milder periods of the ice-age and immediately +after it must have reached as far as the Atlantic. Then we find, still +farther to the north, a forest belt, well developed in the Siberia of +to-day. Lastly, on the verge of the Arctic sea stretches the tundra, +the frozen soil of which is fertile in little else than the lichen known +as reindeer moss, whilst to the west, as, for instance, in our islands, +moors and bogs represent this zone of barren lands in a milder form.</p> + +<p>The mountain belt is throughout its entire length the home of +round-headed peoples, the so-called Alpine race, which is generally +supposed to have originally come from the high plateau country of Asia. +These round-headed men in western Europe appear where-ever there are +hills, throwing out offshoots by way of the highlands of central France +into <a name="page107"></a>Brittany, and even reaching the British Isles. Here they +introduced the use of bronze (an invention possibly acquired by contact +with Egyptians in the near East), though without leaving any marked +traces of themselves amongst the permanent population. At the other +end of Europe they affected Greece by way of a steady though limited +infiltration; whilst in Asia Minor they issued forth from their hills +as the formidable Hittites, the people, by the way, to whom the Jews +are said to owe their characteristic, yet non-Semitic, noses. But are +these round-heads all of one race? Professor Ridgeway has put forward +a rather paradoxical theory to the effect that, just as the long-faced +Boer horse soon evolved in the mountains of Basutoland into a +round-headed pony, so it is in a few generations with human mountaineers, +irrespective of their breed. This is almost certainly to overrate the +effects of environment. At the same time, in the present state of our +knowledge, it would be premature either to affirm or deny that in the +very long run round-headedness goes with a mountain life.</p> + +<p>The grassland next claims our attention. Here is the paradise of the +horse, and consequently of the horse-breaker. Hence, therefore, came +the charging multitudes of Asiatic marauders who, after many repulses, +broke <a name="page108"></a>through the Mediterranean cordon, and established themselves as +the modern Turks; whilst at the other end of their beat they poured +into China, which no great wall could avail to save, and established +the Manchu domination. Given the steppe-country and a horse-taming +people, we might seek, with the anthropo-geographers of the bolder sort, +to deduce the whole way of life, the nomadism, the ample food, including +the milk-diet infants need and find so hard to obtain farther south, +the communal system, the patriarchal type of authority, the +caravan-system that can set the whole horde moving along like a swarm +of locusts, and so on. But, as has been already pointed out, the horse +had to be tamed first. Palæolithic man in western Europe had horse-meat +in abundance. At Solutré, a little north of Lyons, a heap of food-refuse +100 yards long and 10 feet high largely consists of the bones of horses, +most of them young and tender. This shows that the old hunters knew +how to enjoy the passing hour in their improvident way, like the equally +reckless Bushmen, who have left similar Golgothas behind them in South +Africa. Yet apparently palæolithic man did not tame the horse. +Environment, in fact, can only give the hint; and man may not be ready +to take it.</p> + +<p>The forest-land of the north affords fair <a name="page109"></a>hunting in its way, but it +is doubtful if it is fitted to rear a copious brood of men, at any rate +so long as stone weapons are alone available wherewith to master the +vegetation and effect clearings, whilst burning the brushwood down is +precluded by the damp. Where the original home may have been of the +so-called Nordic race, the large-limbed fair men of the Teutonic world, +remains something of a mystery; though it is now the fashion to place +it in the north-east of Europe rather than in Asia, and to suppose it +to have been more or less isolated from the rest of the world by formerly +existing sheets of water. Where-ever it was, there must have been +grassland enough to permit of pastoral habits, modified, perhaps, by +some hunting on the one hand, and by some primitive agriculture on the +other. The Mediterranean men, coming from North Africa, an excellent +country for the horse, may have vied with the Asiatics of the steppes +in introducing a varied culture to the north. At any rate, when the +Germans of Tacitus emerge into the light of history, they are not mere +foresters, but rather woodlanders, men of the glades, with many sides +to their life; including an acquaintance with the sea and its ways, +surpassing by far that of those early beachcombers whose miserable +kitchen-middens are to be found along the coast of Denmark.</p> + +<p><a name="page110"></a>Of the tundra it is enough to say that all depends on the reindeer. +This animal is the be-all and end-all of Lapp existence. When Nansen, +after crossing Greenland, sailed home with his two Lapps, he called +their attention to the crowds of people assembled to welcome them at +the harbour. "Ah," said the elder and more thoughtful of the pair, "if +they were only reindeer!" When domesticated, the reindeer yields milk +as well as food, though large numbers are needed to keep the community +in comfort. Otherwise hunting and fishing must serve to eke out the +larder. Miserable indeed are the tribes or rather remnants of tribes +along the Siberian tundra who have no reindeer. On the other hand, if +there are plenty of wild reindeer, as amongst the Koryaks and some of +the Chukchis, hunting by itself suffices.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Let us now pass on from the Eurasian northland to what is, zoologically, +almost its annexe, North America; its tundra, for example, where the +Eskimo live, being strictly continuous with the Asiatic zone. Though +having a very different fauna and flora, South America presumably forms +part of the same geographical province so far as man is concerned, +though there is evidence for thinking that he reached it very early. +Until, however, <a name="page111"></a>more data are available for the pre-history of the +American Indian, the great moulding forces, geographical or other, must +be merely guessed at. Much turns on the period assigned to the first +appearance of man in this region; for that he is indigenous is highly +improbable, if only because no anthropoid apes are found here. The +racial type, which, with the exception of the Eskimo, and possibly of +the salmon-fishing tribes along the north-west coast, is one for the +whole continent, has a rather distant resemblance to that of the Asiatic +Mongols. Nor is there any difficulty in finding the immigrants a means +of transit from northern Asia. Even if it be held that the land-bridge +by way of what are now the Aleutian Islands was closed at too early +a date for man to profit by it, there is always the passage over the +ice by way of Behring Straits; which, if it bore the mammoth, as is +proved by its remains in Alaska, could certainly bear man.</p> + +<p>Once man was across, what was the manner of his distribution? On this +point geography can at present tell us little. M. Demolins, it is true, +describes three routes, one along the Rockies, the next down the central +zone of prairies, and the third and most easterly by way of the great +lakes. But this is pure hypothesis. No facts are adduced. Indeed, +<a name="page112"></a>evidence bearing on distribution is very hard to obtain in this area, +since the physical type is so uniform throughout. The best available +criterion is the somewhat poor one of the distribution of the very +various languages. Some curious lines of migration are indicated by +the occurrence of the same type of language in widely separated regions, +the most striking example being the appearance of one linguistic stock, +the so-called Athapascan, away up in the north-west by the Alaska +boundary; at one or two points in south-western Oregon and +north-western California, where an absolute medley of languages +prevails; and again in the southern highlands along the line of Colorado +and Utah to the other side of the Mexican frontier. Does it follow from +this distribution that the Apaches, at the southern end of the range, +have come down from Alaska, by way of the Rockies and the Pacific slope, +to their present habitat? It might be so in this particular case; but +there are also those who think that the signs in general point to a +northward dispersal of tribes, who before had been driven south by a +period of glaciation. Thus the first thing to be settled is the +antiquity of the American type of man.</p> + +<p>A glance at South America must suffice. Geographically it consists of +three regions. Westwards we have the Pacific line of bracing <a name="page113"></a>highlands, +running down from Mexico as far as Chile, the home of two or more +cultures of a rather high order. Then to the east there is the steaming +equatorial forest, first covering a fan of rivers, then rising up into +healthier hill-country, the whole in its wild state hampering to human +enterprise. And below it occurs the grassland of the pampas, only +needing the horse to bring out the powers of its native occupants.</p> + +<p>Before leaving this subject of the domesticated horse, of which so much +use has already been made in order to illustrate how geographic +opportunity and human contrivance must help each other out, it is worth +noticing how an invention can quickly revolutionize even that cultural +life of the ruder races which is usually supposed to be quite hide-bound +by immemorial custom. When the Europeans first broke in upon the +redskins of North America, they found them a people of hunters and +fishers, it is true, but with agriculture as a second string everywhere +east of the Mississippi as well as to the south, and on the whole +sedentary, with villages scattered far apart; so that in pre-Conquest +days they would seem to have been enjoying a large measure of security +and peace. The coming of the whites soon crowded them back upon +themselves, disarranging the old boundaries. At the same <a name="page114"></a>time the horse +and the gun were introduced. With extraordinary rapidity the Indian +adapted himself to a new mode of existence, a grassland life, +complicated by the fact that the relentless pressure of the invaders +gave it a predatory turn which it might otherwise have lacked. Something +very similar, though neither conditions nor consequences were quite +the same, occurred in the pampas of South America, where horse-Indians +like the Patagonians, who seem at first sight the indigenous outcrop +of the very soil, are really the recent by-product of an intrusive +culture.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>And now let us hark back to southern Asia with its two reservoirs of +life, India and China, and between them a jutting promontory pointing +the way to the Indonesian archipelago, and thence onward farther still +to the wide-flung Austral region with its myriad lands ranging in size +from a continent to a coral-atoll. Here we have a nursery of seamen +on a vaster scale than in the Mediterranean; for remember that from +this point man spread, by way of the sea, from Easter Island in the +Eastern Pacific right away to Madagascar, where we find Javanese +immigrants, and negroes who are probably Papuan, whilst the language +is of a Malayo-Polynesian type.</p> + +<p><a name="page115"></a>India and China each well-nigh deserve the status of geographical +provinces on their own account. Each is an area of settlement; and, +once there is settlement, there is a cultural influence which +co-operates with the environment to weed out immigrant forms; as we +see, for example, in Egypt, where a characteristic physical type, or +rather pair of types, a coarser and a finer, has apparently persisted, +despite the constant influx of other races, from the dawn of its long +history. India, however, and China have both suffered so much invasion +from the Eurasian northland, and at the same time are of such great +extent and comprise such diverse physical conditions, that they have, +in the course of the long years, sent forth very various broods of men +to seek their fortunes in the south-east.</p> + +<p>Nor must we ignore the possibility of an earlier movement in the +opposite direction. In Indonesia, the home of the orang-utan and gibbon, +not to speak of Pithecanthropus, many authorities would place the +original home of the human race. It will be wise to touch lightly on +matters involving considerations of palæo-geography, that most +kaleidoscopic of studies. The submerged continents which it calls from +the vasty deep have a habit of crumbling away again. Let us therefore +refrain from providing man with land-bridges <a name="page116"></a>(draw-bridges, they might +almost be called), whether between the Indonesian islands; or between +New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania; or between Indonesia and Africa +by way of the Indian Ocean. Let the curious facts about the present +distribution of the racial types speak for themselves, the difficulties +about identifying a racial type being in the meantime ever borne in +mind.</p> + +<p>Most striking of all is the diffusion of the Negro stocks with black +skin and woolly hair. Their range is certainly suggestive of a +breeding-ground somewhere about Indonesia. To the extreme west are the +negroes of Africa, to the extreme east the Papuasians (Papuans and +Melanesians) extending from New Guinea through the oceanic islands as +far as Fiji. A series of connecting links is afforded by the small +negroes of the pygmy type, the so-called Negritos. It is not known how +far they represent a distinct and perhaps earlier experiment in +negro-making, though this is the prevailing view; or whether the negro +type, with its tendency to infantile characters due to the early closing +of the cranial sutures, is apt to throw off dwarfed forms in an +occasional way. At any rate, in Africa there are several groups of +pygmies in the Congo region, as well as the Bushmen and allied stocks +in South Africa. Then the Andaman Islanders, the <a name="page117"></a>Semang of the Malay +Peninsula, the Aket of eastern Sumatra, the now extinct Kalangs of Java, +said to have been in some respects the most ape-like of human beings, +the Aetas of the Philippines, and the dwarfs, with a surprisingly high +culture, recently reported from Dutch New Guinea, are like so many +scattered pieces of human wreckage. Finally, if we turn our gaze +southward, we find that Negritos until the other day inhabited +Tasmania; whilst in Australia a strain of Negrito, or Negro (Papuan), +blood is likewise to be detected.</p> + +<p>Are we here on the track of the original dispersal of man? It is +impossible to say. It is not even certain, though highly probable, that +man originated in one spot. If he did, he must have been hereditarily +endowed, almost from the outset, with an adaptability to different +climates quite unique in its way. The tiger is able to range from the +hot Indian jungle to the freezing Siberian tundra; but man is the +cosmopolitan animal beyond all others. Somehow, on this theory of a +single origin, he made his way to every quarter of the globe; and when +he got there, though needing time, perhaps, to acquire the local colour, +managed in the end to be at home. It looks as if both race and a dash +of culture had a good deal to do with his exploitation of <a name="page118"></a>geographical +opportunity. How did the Australians and their Negrito forerunners +invade their Austral world, at some period which, we cannot but suspect, +was immensely remote in time? Certain at least it is that they crossed +a formidable barrier. What is known as Wallace's line corresponds with +the deep channel running between the islands of Bali and Lombok and +continuing northwards to the west of Celebes. On the eastern side the +fauna are non-Asiatic. Yet somehow into Australia with its queer +monotremes and marsupials entered triumphant man—man and the dog with +him. Haeckel has suggested that man followed the dog, playing as it +were the jackal to him. But this sounds rather absurd. It looks as if +man had already acquired enough seamanship to ferry himself across the +zoological divide, and to take his faithful dog with him on board his +raft or dug-out. Until we have facts whereon to build, however, it would +be as unpardonable to lay down the law on these matters as it is +permissible to fill up the blank by guesswork.</p> + +<p>It remains to round off our original survey by a word or two more about +the farther extremities, west, south, and east, of this vast southern +world, to which south-eastern Asia furnishes a natural approach. The +negroes did not have Africa, that is, Africa <a name="page119"></a>south of the Sahara, all +to themselves. In and near the equatorial forest-region of the west +the pure type prevails, displaying agricultural pursuits such as the +cultivation of the banana, and, farther north, of millet, that must +have been acquired before the race was driven out of the more open +country. Elsewhere occur mixtures of every kind with intrusive pastoral +peoples of the Mediterranean type, the negro blood, however, tending +to predominate; and thus we get the Fulahs and similar stocks to the +west along the grassland bordering on the desert; the Nilotic folk +amongst the swamps of the Upper Nile; and throughout the eastern and +southern parkland the vigorous Bantu peoples, who have swept the +Bushmen and the kindred Hottentots before them down into the desert +country in the extreme south-west. It may be added that Africa has a +rich fauna and flora, much mineral wealth, and a physical configuration +that, in respect to its interior, though not to its coasts, is highly +diversified; so that it may be doubted whether the natives have reached +as high a pitch of indigenous culture as the resources of the +environment, considered by itself, might seem to warrant. If the use +of iron was invented in Africa, as some believe, it would only be another +proof that opportunity is nothing apart from the capacity to grasp it.</p> + +<p><a name="page120"></a>Of the Australian aborigines something has been said already. Apart +from the Negrito or Negro strain in their blood, they are usually held +to belong to that pre-Dravidian stock represented by various jungle +tribes in southern India and by the Veddas of Ceylon, connecting links +between the two areas being the Sakai of the Malay Peninsula and East +Sumatra, and the Toala of Celebes. It may be worth observing, also, +that pre-historic skulls of the Neanderthal type find their nearest +parallels in modern Australia. We are here in the presence of some very +ancient dispersal, from what centre and in what direction it is hard +to imagine. In Australia these early colonists found pleasant, if +somewhat lightly furnished, lodgings. In particular there were no +dangerous beasts; so that hunting was hardly calculated to put a man +on his mettle, as in more exacting climes. Isolation, and the consequent +absence of pressure from human intruders, is another fact in the +situation. Whatever the causes, the net result was that, despite a very +fair environment, away from the desert regions of the interior, man +on the whole stagnated. In regard to material comforts and conveniences, +the rudeness of their life seems to us appalling. On the other hand, +now that we are coming to know something of the inner life and <a name="page121"></a>mental +history of the Australians, a somewhat different complexion is put upon +the state of their culture. With very plain living went something that +approached to high thinking; and we must recognize in this case, as +in others, what might be termed a differential evolution of culture, +according to which some elements may advance, whilst others stand still, +or even decay.</p> + +<p>To another and a very different people, namely, the Polynesians, the +same notion of a differential evolution may be profitably applied. They +were in the stone-age when first discovered, and had no bows and arrows. +On the other hand, with coco-nut, bananas and bread-fruit, they had +abundant means of sustenance, and were thoroughly at home in their +magnificent canoes. Thus their island-life was rich in ease and +variety; and, whilst rude in certain respects, they were almost +civilized in others. Their racial affinities are somewhat complex. What +is almost certain is that they only occupied the Eastern Pacific during +the course of the last 1500 years or so. They probably came from +Indonesia, mixing to a slight extent with Melanesians on their way. +How the proto-Polynesians came into existence in Indonesia is more +problematic. Possibly they were the result of a mixture between +long-headed immigrants from <a name="page122"></a>eastern India, and round-headed Mongols +from Indo-China and the rest of south-eastern Asia, from whom the +present Malays are derived.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>We have completed our very rapid regional survey of the world; and what +do we find? By no means is it case after case of one region corresponding +to one type of man and to one type of culture. It might be that, given +persistent physical conditions of a uniform kind, and complete +isolation, human life would in the end conform to these conditions, +or in other words stagnate. No one can tell, and no one wants to know, +because as a matter of fact no such environmental conditions occur in +this world of ours. Human history reveals itself as a bewildering series +of interpenetrations. What excites these movements? Geographical +causes, say the theorists of one idea. No doubt man moves forward partly +because nature kicks him behind. But in the first place some types of +animal life go forward under pressure from nature, whilst others lie +down and die. In the second place man has an accumulative faculty, a +social memory, whereby he is able to carry on to the conquest of a new +environment whatever has served him in the old. But this is as it were +to compound environments—a process <a name="page123"></a>that ends by making the environment +coextensive with the world. Intelligent assimilation of the new by +means of the old breaks down the provincial barriers one by one, until +man, the cosmopolitan animal by reason of his hereditary constitution, +develops a cosmopolitan culture; at first almost unconsciously, but +later on with self-conscious intent, because he is no longer content +to live, but insists on living well.</p> + +<p>As a sequel to this brief examination of the geographic control +considered by itself it would be interesting, if space allowed, to +append a study of the distribution of the arts and crafts of a more +obviously economic and utilitarian type. If the physical environment +were all in all, we ought to find the same conditions evoking the same +industrial appliances everywhere, without the aid of suggestions from +other quarters. Indeed, so little do we know about the conditions +attending the discovery of the arts of life that gave humanity its +all-important start—the making of fire, the taming of animals, the +sowing of plants, and so on—that it is only too easy to misread our +map. We know almost nothing of those movements of peoples, in the course +of which a given art was brought from one part of the world to another. +Hence, when we find the art duly installed in a particular place, and +<a name="page124"></a>utilizing the local product, the bamboo in the south, let us say, or +the birch in the north, as it naturally does, we easily slip into the +error of supposing that the local products of themselves called the +art into existence. Similar needs, we say, have generated similar +expedients. No doubt there is some truth in this principle; but I doubt +if, on the whole, history tends to repeat itself in the case of the +great useful inventions. We are all of us born imitators, but inventive +genius is rare.</p> + +<p>Take the case of the early palæoliths of the drift type. From Egypt, +Somaliland, and many other distant lands come examples which Sir John +Evans finds "so identical in form and character with British specimens +that they might have been manufactured by the same hands." And +throughout the palæolithic age in Europe the very limited number and +regular succession of forms testifies to the innate conservatism of +man, and the slow progress of invention. And yet, as some American +writers have argued—who do not find that the distinction between +chipped palæoliths and polished neoliths of an altogether later age +applies equally well to the New World—it was just as easy to have got +an edge by rubbing as by flaking. The fact remains that in the Old World +human inventiveness moved along one channel rather than <a name="page125"></a>another, and +for an immense lapse of time no one was found to strike out a new line. +There was plenty of sand and water for polishing, but it did not occur +to their minds to use it.</p> + +<p>To wind up this chapter, however, I shall glance at the distribution, +not of any implement connected directly and obviously with the +utilization of natural products, but of a downright oddity, something +that might easily be invented once only and almost immediately dropped +again. And yet here it is all over the world, going back, we may +conjecture, to very ancient times, and implying interpenetrations of +bygone peoples, of whose wanderings perhaps we may never unfold the +secret. It is called the "bull-roarer," and is simply a slat of wood +on the end of a string, which when whirled round produces a rather +unearthly humming sound. Will the anthropo-geographer, after studying +the distribution of wood and stringy substances round the globe, +venture to prophesy that, if man lived his half a million years or so +over again, the bull-roarer would be found spread about very much where +it is to-day? "Bull-roarer" is just one of our local names for what +survives now-a-days as a toy in many an old-fashioned corner of the +British Isles, where it is also known as boomer, buzzer, whizzer, swish, +<a name="page126"></a>and so on. Without going farther afield we can get a hint of the two +main functions which it seems to have fulfilled amongst ruder peoples. +In Scotland it is, on the one hand, sometimes used to "ca' the cattle +hame." A herd-boy has been seen to swing a bull-roarer of his own making, +with the result that the beasts were soon running frantically towards +the byre. On the other hand, it is sometimes regarded there as a +"thunner-spell," a charm against thunder, the superstition being that +like cures like, and whatever makes a noise like thunder will be on +good terms, so to speak, with the real thunder.</p> + +<p>As regards its uses in the rest of the world, it may be said at once +that here and there, in Galicia in Europe, in the Malay Peninsula in +Asia, and amongst the Bushmen in Africa, it is used to drive or scare +animals, whether tame or wild. And this, to make a mere guess, may have +been its earliest use, if utilitarian contrivances can generally claim +historical precedence, as is by no means certain. As long as man hunted +with very inferior weapons, he must have depended a good deal on drives, +that either forced the game into a pitfall, or rounded them up so as +to enable a concerted attack to be made by the human pack. No wonder +that the bull-roarer is sometimes used to bring luck in <a name="page127"></a>a mystic way +to hunters. More commonly, however, at the present day, the bull-roarer +serves another type of mystic purpose, its noise, which is so suggestive +of thunder or wind, with a superadded touch of weirdness and general +mystery, fitting it to play a leading part in rain-making ceremonies. +From these not improbably have developed all sorts of other ceremonies +connected with making vegetation and the crops grow, and with making +the boys grow into men, as is done at the initiation rites. It is not +surprising, therefore, to find a carved human face appearing on the +bull-roarer in New Guinea, and again away in North America, whilst in +West Africa it is held to contain the voice of a very god. In Australia, +too, all their higher notions about a benevolent deity and about +religious matters in general seem to concentrate on this strange +symbol, outwardly the frailest of toys, yet to the spiritual eye of +these simple folk a veritable holy of holies.</p> + +<p>And now for the merest sketch of its distribution, the details of which +are to be learnt from Dr. Haddon's valuable paper in <i>The Study of Man</i>. +England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales have it. It can be tracked along +central Europe through Switzerland, Germany, and Poland beyond the +Carpathians, whereupon ancient Greece with its Dionysiac <a name="page128"></a>mysteries +takes up the tale. In America it is found amongst the Eskimo, is +scattered over the northern part of the continent down to the Mexican +frontier, and then turns up afresh in central Brazil. Again, from the +Malay Peninsula and Sumatra it extends over the great fan of darker +peoples, from Africa, west and south, to New Guinea, Melanesia, and +Australia, together with New Zealand alone of Polynesian islands—a +fact possibly showing it to have belonged to some earlier race of +colonists. Thus in all of the great geographical areas the bull-roarer +is found, and that without reckoning in analogous implements like the +so-called "buzz," which cover further ground, for instance, the eastern +coastlands of Asia. Are we to postulate many independent origins, or +else far-reaching transportations by migratory peoples, by the +American Indians and the negroes, for example? No attempt can be made +here to answer these questions. It is enough to have shown by the use +of a single illustration how the study of the geographical distribution +of inventions raises as many difficulties as it solves.</p> + +<p>Our conclusion, then, must be that the anthropologist, whilst +constantly consulting his physical map of the world, must not suppose +that by so doing he will be saved all <a name="page129"></a>further trouble. Geographical +facts represent a passive condition, which life, something by its very +nature active, obeys, yet in obeying conquers. We cannot get away from +the fact that we are physically determined. Yet, physical +determinations have been surmounted by human nature in a way to which +the rest of the animal world affords no parallel. Thus man, as the old +saying has it, makes love all the year round. Seasonal changes of course +affect him, yet he is no slave of the seasons. And so it is with the +many other elements involved in the "geographic control." The "road," +for instance—that is to say, any natural avenue of migration or +communication, whether by land over bridges and through passes, or by +sea between harbours and with trade-winds to swell the sails—takes +a hand in the game of life, and one that holds many trumps; but so again +does the non-geographical fact that your travelling-machine may be your +pair of legs, or a horse, or a boat, or a railway, or an airship. Let +us be moderate in all things, then, even in our references to the force +of circumstances. Circumstances can unmake; but of themselves they +never yet made man, nor any other form of life.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br><a name="page130"></a> +<div><h3><a name="chap5">CHAPTER V</a></h3></div> +<h4>LANGUAGE</h4> +<br> +<p>The differentia of man—the quality that marks him off from the other +animal kinds—is undoubtedly the power of articulate speech. Thereby +his mind itself becomes articulate. If language is ultimately a +creation of the intellect, yet hardly less fundamentally is the +intellect a creation of language. As flesh depends on bone, so does +the living tissue of our spiritual life depend on its supporting +framework of steadfast verbal forms. The genius, the heaven-born +benefactor of humanity, is essentially he who wrestles with "thoughts +too deep for words," until at last he assimilates them to the scheme +of meanings embodied in his mother-tongue, and thus raises them +definitely above the threshold of the common consciousness, which is +likewise the threshold of the common culture.</p> + +<p>There is good reason, then, for prefixing a short chapter on language +to an account of those factors in the life of man that together stand +on the whole for the principle of freedom—of rational self-direction. +Heredity and environment do not, indeed, lie utterly beyond the range +of our control. As they are viewed from the standpoint of <a name="page131"></a>human history +as a whole, they show each in its own fashion a certain capacity to +meet the needs and purposes of the life-force halfway. Regarded +abstractly, however, they may conveniently be treated as purely passive +and limiting conditions. Here we are with a constitution not of our +choosing, and in a world not of our choosing. Given this inheritance, +and this environment, how are we, by taking thought and taking risks, +to achieve the best-under-the-circumstances? Such is the vital problem +as it presents itself to any particular generation of men.</p> + +<p>The environment is as it were the enemy. We are out to conquer and +enslave it. Our inheritance, on the other hand, is the impelling force +we obey in setting forth to fight; it tingles in our blood, and nerves +the muscles of our arm. This force of heredity, however, abstractly +considered, is blind. Yet, corporately and individually, we fight with +eyes that see. This supervening faculty, then, of utilizing the light +of experience represents a third element in the situation; and, from +the standpoint of man's desire to know himself, the supreme element. +The environment, inasmuch as under this conception are included all +other forms of life except man, can muster on its side a certain amount +of intelligence of a low order. But man's prerogative is to <a name="page132"></a>dominate +his world by the aid of intelligence of a high order. When he defied +the ice-age by the use of fire, when he outfaced and outlived the mammoth +and the cave bear, he was already the rational animal, <i>homo sapiens</i>. +In his way he thought, even in those far-off days. And therefore we +may assume, until direct evidence is forthcoming to the contrary, that +he likewise had language of an articulate kind. He tried to make a speech, +we may almost say, as soon as he had learned to stand up on his hind +legs.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, we entirely lack the means of carrying back the history +of human speech to its first beginnings. In the latter half of the last +century, whilst the ferment of Darwinism was freshly seething, all +sorts of speculations were rife concerning the origin of language. One +school sought the source of the earliest words in imitative sounds of +the type of bow-wow; another in interjectional expressions of the type +of tut-tut. Or, again, as was natural in Europe, where, with the +exception of Basque in a corner of the west, and of certain Asiatic +languages, Turkish, Hungarian and Finnish, on the eastern border, all +spoken tongues present certain obvious affinities, the comparative +philologist undertook to construct sundry great families of speech; +and it was hoped that sooner or <a name="page133"></a>later, by working back to some linguistic +parting of the ways, the central problem would be solved of the +dispersal of the world's races.</p> + +<p>These painted bubbles have burst. The further examination of the forms +of speech current amongst peoples of rude culture has not revealed a +conspicuous wealth either of imitative or of interjectional sounds. +On the other hand, the comparative study of the European, or, as they +must be termed in virtue of the branch stretching through Persia into +India, the Indo-European stock of languages, carries us back three or +four thousand years at most—a mere nothing in terms of anthropological +time. Moreover, a more extended search through the world, which in many +of its less cultured parts furnishes no literary remains that may serve +to illustrate linguistic evolution, shows endless diversity of tongues +in place of the hoped-for system of a few families; so that half a +hundred apparently independent types must be distinguished in North +America alone. For the rest, it has become increasingly clear that race +and language need not go together at all. What philologist, for instance, +could ever discover, if he had no history to help him, but must rely +wholly on the examination of modern French, that the bulk of the +population of France is connected by way of <a name="page134"></a>blood with ancient Gauls +who spoke Celtic, until the Roman conquest caused them to adopt a vulgar +form of Latin in its place. The Celtic tongue, in its turn, had, +doubtless not so very long before, ousted some earlier type of language, +perhaps one allied to the still surviving Basque; though it is not in +the least necessary, therefore, to suppose that the Celtic-speaking +invaders wiped out the previous inhabitants of the land to a +corresponding extent. Races, in short, mix readily; languages, except +in very special circumstances, hardly at all.</p> + +<p>Disappointed in its hope of presiding over the reconstruction of the +distant past of man, the study of language has in recent years tended +somewhat to renounce the historical—that is to say, +anthropological—method altogether. The alternative is a purely formal +treatment of the subject. Thus, whereas vocabularies seem hopelessly +divergent in their special contents, the general apparatus of vocal +expression is broadly the same everywhere. That all men alike +communicate by talking, other symbols and codes into which thoughts +can be translated, such as gestures, the various kinds of writing, +drum-taps, smoke signals, and so on, being in the main but secondary +and derivative, is a fact of which the very universality may easily +blind <a name="page135"></a>us to its profound significance. Meanwhile, the science of +phonetics—having lost that "guid conceit of itself" which once led +it to discuss at large whether the art of talking evolved at a single +geographical centre, or at many centres owing to similar capacities +of body and mind—contents itself now-a-days for the most part with +conducting an analytic survey of the modes of vocal expression as +correlated with the observed tendencies of the human speech-organs. +And what is true of phonetics in particular is hardly less true of +comparative philology as a whole. Its present procedure is in the main +analytic or formal. Thus its fundamental distinction between isolating, +agglutinative and inflectional languages is arrived at simply by +contrasting the different ways in which words are affected by being +put together into a sentence. No attempt is made to show that one type +of arrangement normally precedes another in time, or that it is in any +way more rudimentary—that is to say, less adapted to the needs of human +intercourse. It is not even pretended that a given language is bound +to exemplify one, and one alone, of these three types; though the +process known as analogy—that is, the regularizing of exceptions by +treating the unlike as if it were like—will always be apt to establish +one system at the expense of the rest.</p> + +<p><a name="page136"></a>If, then, the study of language is to recover its old pre-eminence +amongst anthropological studies, it looks as if a new direction must +be given to its inquiries. And there is much to be said for any change +that would bring about this result. Without constant help from the +philologist, anthropology is bound to languish. To thoroughly +understand the speech of the people under investigation is the +field-worker's master-key; so much so, that the critic's first question +in determining the value of an ethnographical work must always be, Could +the author talk freely with the natives in their own tongue? But how +is the study of particular languages to be pursued successfully, if +it lack the stimulus and inspiration which only the search for general +principles can impart to any branch of science? To relieve the hack-work +of compiling vocabularies and grammars, there must be present a sense +of wider issues involved, and such issues as may directly interest a +student devoted to language for its own sake. The formal method of +investigating language, in the meantime, can hardly supply the needed +spur. Analysis is all very well so long as its ultimate purpose is to +subserve genesis—that is to say, evolutionary history. If, however, +it tries to set up on its own account, it is in danger of degenerating +into <a name="page137"></a>sheer futility. Out of time and history is, in the long run, out +of meaning and use. The philologist, then, if he is to help anthropology, +must himself be an anthropologist, with a full appreciation of the +importance of the historical method. He must be able to set each +language or group of languages that he studies in its historical setting. +He must seek to show how it has evolved in relation to the needs of +a given time. In short, he must correlate words with thoughts; must +treat language as a function of the social life.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Here, however, it is not possible to attempt any but the most general +characterization of primitive language as it throws light on the +workings of the primitive intelligence. For one reason, the subject +is highly technical; for another reason, our knowledge about most types +of savage speech is backward in the extreme; whilst, for a third and +most far-reaching reason of all, many peoples, as we have seen, are +not speaking the language truly native to their powers and habits of +mind, but are expressing themselves in terms imported from another +stock, whose spiritual evolution has been largely different. Thus it +is at most possible to contrast very broadly and generally the more +rudimentary with the more advanced methods that mankind employs <a name="page138"></a>for +the purpose of putting its experience into words. Happily the careful +attention devoted by American philologists to the aboriginal languages +of their continent has resulted in the discovery of certain principles +which the rest of our evidence, so far as it goes, would seem to stamp +as of world-wide application. The reader is advised to study the most +stimulating, if perhaps somewhat speculative, pages on language in the +second volume of E.J. Payne's <i>History of the New World called America</i>; +or, if he can wrestle with the French tongue, to compare the conclusions +here reached with those to which Professor Lévy-Bruhl is led, largely +by the consideration of this same American group of languages, in his +recent work, <i>Les Fonctions Mentales dans les Sociétés Inférieures</i> +("Mental Functions in the Lower Societies").</p> + +<p>If the average man who had not looked into the matter at all were asked +to say what sort of language he imagined a savage to have, he would +be pretty sure to reply that in the first place the vocabulary would +be very small, and in the second place that it would consist of very +short, comprehensive terms—roots, in fact—such as "man," "bear," +"eat," "kill," and so on. Nothing of the sort is actually the case. +Take the inhabitants of that cheerless spot, Tierra del Fuego, <a name="page139"></a>whose +culture is as rude as that of any people on earth. A scholar who tried +to put together a dictionary of their language found that he had got +to reckon with more than thirty thousand words, even after suppressing +a large number of forms of lesser importance. And no wonder that the +tally mounted up. For the Fuegians had more than twenty words, some +containing four syllables, to express what for us would be either "he" +or "she"; then they had two names for the sun, two for the moon, and +two more for the full moon, each of the last-named containing four +syllables and having no element in common. Sounds, in fact, are with +them as copious as ideas are rare. Impressions, on the other hand, are, +of course, infinite in number. By means of more or less significant +sounds, then, Fuegian society compounds impressions, and that somewhat +imperfectly, rather than exchanges ideas, which alone are the currency +of true thought.</p> + +<p>For instance, I-cut-bear's-leg-at-the-joint-with-a-flint-now +corresponds fairly well with the total impression produced by the +particular act; though, even so, I have doubtless selectively reduced +the notion to something I can comfortably take in, by leaving out a +lot of unnecessary detail—for instance, that I was hungry, in a hurry, +doing it for the benefit <a name="page140"></a>of others as well as myself, and so on. Well, +American languages of the ruder sort, by running a great number of +sounds or syllables together, manage to utter a portmanteau +word—"holophrase" is the technical name for it—into which is packed +away enough suggestions to reproduce the situation in all its detail, +the cutting, the fact that I did it, the object, the instrument, the +time of the cutting, and who knows what besides. Amusing examples of +such portmanteau words meet one in all the text-books. To go back to +the Fuegians, their expression <i>mamihlapinatapai</i> is said to mean "to +look at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which +both parties desire but are unwilling to do." Now, since exactly the +same situation never recurs, but is partly the same and partly different, +it is clear that, if the holophrase really tried to hit off in each +case the whole outstanding impression that a given situation provoked, +then the same combination of sounds would never recur either; one could +never open one's mouth without coining a new word. Ridiculous as this +notion sounds, it may serve to mark a downward limit from which the +rudest types of human speech are not so very far removed. Their +well-known tendency to alter their whole character in twenty years or +less is <a name="page141"></a>due largely to the fluid nature of primitive utterance; it being +found hard to detach portions, capable of repeated use in an unchanged +form, from the composite vocables wherein they register their highly +concrete experiences.</p> + +<p>Thus in the old Huron-Iroquois language <i>eschoirhon</i> means +"I-have-been-to-the-water," <i>setsanha</i> "Go-to-the-water," +<i>ondequoha</i> "There-is-water-in-the-bucket," +<i>daustantewacharet</i> "There-is-water-in-the-pot." In this case +there is said to have been a common word for "water," <i>awen</i>, which, +moreover, is somehow suggested to an aboriginal ear as an element +contained in each of these longer forms. In many other cases the +difficulty of isolating the common meaning, and fixing it by a common +term, has proved too much altogether for a primitive language. You can +express twenty different kinds of cutting; but you simply cannot say +"cut" at all. No wonder that a large vocabulary is found necessary, +when, as in Zulu, "my father," "thy father," "his-or-her-father," are +separate polysyllables without any element in common.</p> + +<p>The evolution of language, then, on this view, may be regarded as a +movement out of, and away from, the holophrastic in the direction of +the analytic. When every piece <a name="page142"></a>in your play-box of verbal bricks can +be dealt with separately, because it is not joined on in all sorts of +ways to the other pieces, then only can you compose new constructions +to your liking. Order and emphasis, as is shown by English, and still +more conspicuously by Chinese, suffice for sentence-building. Ideally, +words should be individual and atomic. Every modification they suffer +by internal change of sound, or by having prefixes or suffixes tacked +on to them, involves a curtailment of their free use and a sacrifice +of distinctness. It is quite easy, of course, to think confusedly, even +whilst employing the clearest type of language; though in such a case +it is very hard to do so without being quickly brought to book. On the +other hand, it is not feasible to attain to a high degree of clear +thinking, when the only method of speech available is one that tends +towards wordlessness—that is to say, is relatively deficient in verbal +forms that preserve their identity in all contexts. Wordless thinking +is not in the strictest sense impossible; but its somewhat restricted +opportunities lie almost wholly on the farther side, as it were, of +a clean-cut vocabulary. For the very fact that the words are +crystallized into permanent shape invests them with a suggestion of +interrupted continuity, an overtone of <a name="page143"></a>un-utilized significance, that +of itself invites the mind to play with the corresponding fringe of +meaning attaching to the concepts that the words embody.</p> + +<p>It would prove an endless task if I were to try here to illustrate at +all extensively the stickiness, as one might almost call it, of +primitive modes of speech. Person, number, case, tense, mood and +gender—all these, even in the relatively analytical phraseology of +the most cultured peoples, are apt to impress themselves on the very +body of the words of which they qualify the sense. But the meagre list +of determinations thus produced in an evolved type of language can yield +one no idea of the vast medley of complicated forms that serve the same +ends at the lower levels of human experience. Moreover, there are many +other shades of secondary and circumstantial meaning which in advanced +languages are invariably represented by distinct words, so that when +not wanted they can be left out, but in a more primitive tongue are +apt to run right through the very grammar of the sentence, thus mixing +themselves up inextricably with the really substantial elements in the +thought to be conveyed. For instance, in some American languages, +things are either animate or inanimate, and must be distinguished +accordingly by <a name="page144"></a>accompanying particles. Or, again, they are classed by +similar means as rational or irrational; women, by the bye, being +designated amongst the Chiquitos by the irrational sign. Reverential +particles, again, are used to distinguish what is high or low in the +tribal estimation; and we get in this connection such oddities as the +Tamil practice of restricting the privilege of having a plural to +high-caste names, such as those applied to gods and human beings, as +distinguished from the beasts, which are mere casteless "things." Or, +once more, my transferable belongings, "my-spear," or "my-canoe," +undergo verbal modifications which are denied to non-transferable +possessions such as "my-hand"; "my-child," be it observed, falling +within the latter class.</p> + +<p>Most interesting of all are distinctions of person. These cannot but +bite into the forms of speech, since the native mind is taken up mostly +with the personal aspect of things, attaining to the conception of a +bloodless system of "its" with the greatest difficulty, if at all. Even +the third person, which is naturally the most colourless, because +excluded from a direct part of the conversational game, undergoes +multitudinous leavening in the light of conditions which the primitive +mind regards as highly important, <a name="page145"></a>whereas we should banish them from +our thoughts as so much irrelevant "accident." Thus the Abipones in +the first place distinguished "he-present," <i>eneha</i>, and +"she-present," <i>anaha</i>, from "he-absent" and "she-absent." But +presence by itself gave too little of the speaker's impression. So, +if "he" or "she" were sitting, it was necessary to say <i>hiniha</i> and +<i>haneha</i>; if they were walking and in sight <i>ehaha</i> and <i>ahaha</i>, but, +if walking and out of sight, <i>ekaha</i> and <i>akaha</i>; if they were lying +down, <i>hiriha</i> and <i>haraha</i>, and so on. Moreover, these were all +"collective" forms, implying that there were others involved as well. +If "he" or "she" were alone in the matter, an entirely different set +of words was needed, "he-sitting (alone)" becoming <i>ynitara</i>, and so +forth. The modest requirements of Fuegian intercourse have called more +than twenty such separate pronouns into being.</p> + +<p>Without attempting to go thoroughly into the efforts of primitive +speech to curtail its interest in the personnel of its world by +gradually acquiring a stock of de-individualized words, let us glance +at another aspect of the subject, because it helps to bring out the +fundamental fact that language is a social product, a means of +intersubjective intercourse developed within a society that hands <a name="page146"></a>on +to a new generation the verbal experiments that are found to succeed +best. Payne shows reason for believing that the collective "we" +precedes "I" in the order of linguistic evolution. To begin with, in +America and elsewhere, "we" may be inclusive and mean "all-of-us," or +selective, meaning "some-of-us-only." Hence, we are told, a missionary +must be very careful, and, if he is preaching, must use the inclusive +"we" in saying "we have sinned," lest the congregation assume that only +the clergy have sinned; whereas, in praying, he must use the selective +"we," or God would be included in the list of sinners. Similarly, "I" +has a collective form amongst some American languages, and this is +ordinarily employed, whereas the corresponding selective form is used +only in special cases. Thus if the question be "Who will help?" the +Apache will reply "I-amongst-others," "I-for-one"; but, if he were +recounting his own personal exploits, he says <i>sheedah</i>, +"I-by-myself," to show that they were wholly his own. Here we seem to +have group-consciousness holding its own against individual +self-consciousness, as being for primitive folk on the whole the more +normal attitude of mind.</p> + +<p>Another illustration of the sociality engrained in primitive speech +is to be found in the terms employed to denote relationship. +<a name="page147"></a>"My-mother," to the child of nature, is something more than an ordinary +mother like yours. Thus, as we have already seen, there may be a special +particle applying to blood-relations as non-transferable possessions. +Or, again, one Australian language has special duals, "we-two," one +to be used between relations generally, another between father and +child only. Or an American language supplies one kind of plural suffix +for blood-relations, another for the rest of human beings. These +linguistic concretions are enough to show how hard it is for primitive +thought to disjoin what is joined fast in the world of everyday +experience.</p> + +<p>No wonder that it is usually found impracticable by the European +traveller who lacks an anthropological training to extract from natives +any coherent account of their system of relationships; for his +questions are apt to take the form of "Can a man marry his deceased +wife's sister?" or what not. Such generalities do not enter at all into +the highly concrete scheme of viewing the customs of his tribe imposed +on the savage alike by his manner of life and by the very forms of his +speech. The so-called "genealogical method" initiated by Dr. Rivers, +which the scientific explorer now invariably employs, rests mainly on +the use of a concrete type of <a name="page148"></a>procedure corresponding to the mental +habits of the simple folk under investigation. John, whom you address +here, can tell you exactly whether he may, or may not, marry Mary Anne +over there; also he can point out his mother, and tell you her name, +and the names of his brothers and sisters. You work round the whole +group—it very possibly contains no more than a few hundred members +at most—and interrogate them one and all about their relationships +to this and that individual whom you name. In course of time you have +a scheme which you can treat in your own analytic way to your heart's +content; whilst against your system of reckoning affinity you can set +up by way of contrast the native system; which can always be obtained +by asking each informant what relationship-terms he would apply to the +different members of his pedigree, and, reciprocally, what terms they +would each apply to him.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Before closing this altogether inadequate sketch of a vast and +intricate subject, I would say just one word about the expression of +ideas of number. It is quite a mistake to suppose that savages have +no sense of number, because the simple-minded European traveller, +compiling a short vocabulary in the usual way, can get no equivalent +for our <a name="page149"></a>numerals, say from 5 to 10. The fact is that the numerical +interest has taken a different turn, incorporating itself with other +interests of a more concrete kind in linguistic forms to which our own +type of language affords no key at all. Thus in the island of Kiwai, +at the mouth of the Fly River in New Guinea, the Cambridge Expedition +found a whole set of phrases in vogue, whereby the number of subjects +acting on the number of objects at a given moment could be concretely +specified. To indicate the action of two on many in the past, they said +<i>rudo</i>, in the present <i>durudo</i>; of many on many in the past <i>rumo</i>, +in the present <i>durumo</i>; of two on two in the past, <i>amarudo</i>, in the +present <i>amadurudo</i>; of many on two in the past <i>amarumo</i>; of many on +three in the past <i>ibidurumo</i>, of many on three in the present +<i>ibidurudo</i>; of three on two in the present, <i>amabidurumo</i>, of three +on two in the past, <i>amabirumo</i>, and so on. Meanwhile, words to serve +the purpose of pure counting are all the scarcer because hands and feet +supply in themselves an excellent means not only of calculating, but +likewise of communicating, a number. It is the one case in which +gesture-language can claim something like an independent status by the +side of speech.</p> + +<p>For the rest, it does not follow that the mind <a name="page150"></a>fails to appreciate +numerical relations, because the tongue halts in the matter of +symbolizing them abstractly. A certain high official, when presiding +over the Indian census, was informed by a subordinate that it was +impossible to elicit from a certain jungle tribe any account of the +number of their huts, for the simple and sufficient reason that they +could not count above three. The director, who happened to be a man +of keen anthropological insight, had therefore himself to come to the +rescue. Assembling the tribal elders, he placed a stone on the ground, +saying to one "This is your hut," and to another "This is your hut," +as he placed a second stone a little way from the first. "And now where +is yours?" he asked a third. The natives at once entered into the spirit +of the game, and in a short time there was plotted out a plan of the +whole settlement, which subsequent verification proved to be both +geographically and numerically correct and complete. This story may +serve to show how nature supplies man with a ready reckoner in his +faculty of perception, which suffices well enough for the affairs of +the simpler sort of life. One knows how a shepherd can take in the +numbers of a flock at a glance. For the higher flights of experience, +however, especially when the unseen and merely possible has to be dealt +<a name="page151"></a>with, percepts must give way to concepts; massive consciousness must +give way to thinking by means of representations pieced together out +of elements rendered distinct by previous dissection of the total +impression; in short, a concrete must give way to an analytic way of +grasping the meaning of things. Moreover, since thinking is little more +or less than, as Plato put it, a silent conversation with oneself, to +possess an analytic language is to be more than half-way on the road +to the analytic mode of intelligence—the mode of thinking by distinct +concepts.</p> + +<p>If there is a moral to this chapter, it must be that, whereas it is +the duty of the civilized overlords of primitive folk to leave them +their old institutions so far as they are not directly prejudicial to +their gradual advancement in culture, since to lose touch with one's +home-world is for the savage to lose heart altogether and die; yet this +consideration hardly applies at all to the native language. If the +tongue of an advanced people can be substituted, it is for the good +of all concerned. It is rather the fashion now-a-days amongst +anthropologists to lay it down as an axiom that the typical savage and +the typical peasant of Europe stand exactly on a par in respect to their +power of general intelligence. If by power we are to understand sheer +potentiality, <a name="page152"></a>I know of no sufficient evidence that enables us to say +whether, under ideal conditions, the average degree of mental capacity +would in the two cases prove the same or different. But I am sure that +the ordinary peasant of Europe, whose society provides him, in the shape +of an analytic language, with a ready-made instrument for all the +purposes of clear thinking, starts at an immense advantage, as compared +with a savage whose traditional speech is holophrastic. Whatever be +his mental power, the former has a much better chance of making the +most of it under the given circumstances. "Give them the words so that +the ideas may come," is a maxim that will carry us far, alike in the +education of children, and in that of the peoples of lower culture, +of whom we have charge.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap6">CHAPTER VI</a></h3></div> +<h4>SOCIAL ORGANIZATION</h4> +<br> +<p>If an explorer visits a savage tribe with intent to get at the true +meaning of their life, his first duty, as every anthropologist will +tell him, is to acquaint himself thoroughly with the social +organization in all its forms. The reason for this is simply that only +by studying <a name="page153"></a>the outsides of other people can we hope to arrive at what +is going on inside them. "Institutions" will be found a convenient word +to express all the externals of the life of man in society, so far as +they reflect intelligence and purpose. Similarly, the internal or +subjective states thereto corresponding may be collectively described +as "beliefs." Thus, the field-worker's cardinal maxim can be phrased +as follows: Work up to the beliefs by way of the institutions.</p> + +<p>Further, there are two ways in which a given set of institutions can +be investigated, and of these one, so far as it is practicable, should +precede the other. First, the institutions should be examined as so +many wheels in a social machine that is taken as if it were standing +still. You simply note the characteristic make of each, and how it is +placed in relation to the rest. Regarded in this static way, the +institutions appear as "forms of social organization." Afterwards, the +machine is supposed to be set going, and you contemplate the parts in +movement. Regarded thus dynamically, the institutions appear as +"customs."</p> + +<p>In this chapter, then, something will be said about the forms of social +organization prevailing amongst peoples of the lower culture. Our +interest will be confined to the <a name="page154"></a>social morphology. In subsequent +chapters we shall go on to what might be called, by way of contrast, +the physiology of social life. In other words, we shall briefly consider +the legal and religious customs, together with the associated beliefs.</p> + +<p>How do the forms of social organization come into being? Does some one +invent them? Does the very notion of organization imply an organizer? +Or, like Topsy, do they simply grow? Are they natural crystallizations +that take place when people are thrown together? For my own part, I +think that, so long as we are pursuing anthropology and not +philosophy—in other words, are piecing together events historically +according as they appear to follow one another, and are not discussing +the ultimate question of the relation of mind to matter, and which of +the two in the long run governs which—we must be prepared to recognize +both physical necessity and spiritual freedom as interpenetrating +factors in human life. In the meantime, when considering the subject +of social organization, we shall do well, I think, to keep asking +ourselves all along, How far does force of circumstances, and how far +does the force of intelligent purpose, account for such and such a net +result?</p> + +<p>If I were called upon to exhibit the chief <a name="page155"></a>determinants of human life +as a single chain of causes and effects—a simplification of the +historical problem, I may say at once, which I should never dream of +putting forward except as a convenient fiction, a device for making +research easier by providing it with a central line—I should do it +thus. Working backwards, I should say that culture depends on social +organization; social organization on numbers; numbers on food; and food +on invention. Here both ends of the series are represented by spiritual +factors—namely, culture at the one end, and invention at the other. +Amongst the intermediate links, food and numbers may be reckoned as +physical factors. Social organization, however, seems to face in both +directions at once, and to be something half-way between a spiritual +and a physical manifestation.</p> + +<p>In placing invention at the bottom of the scale of conditions, I +definitely break with the opinion that human evolution is throughout +a purely "natural" process. Of course, you can use the word "natural" +so widely and vaguely as to cover everything that was, or is, or could +be. If it be used, however, so as to exclude the "artificial," then +I am prepared to say that human life is preeminently an artificial +construction, or, in other words, a work of art; the distinguishing +<a name="page156"></a>mark of man consisting precisely in the fact that he alone of the animals +is capable of art.</p> + +<p>It is well known how the invention of machinery in the middle of the +eighteenth century brought about that industrial revolution, the +social and political effects of which are still developing at this hour. +Well, I venture to put it forward as a proposition which applies to +human evolution, so far back as our evidence goes, that history is the +history of great inventions. Of course, it is true that climate and +geographical conditions in general help to determine the nature and +quantity of the food-supply; so that, for instance, however much versed +you may be in the art of agriculture, you cannot get corn to grow on +the shores of the Arctic sea. But, given the needful inventions, +superior weapons for instance, you need never allow yourselves to be +shoved away into such an inhospitable region; to which you presumably +do not retire voluntarily, unless, indeed, the state of your arts—for +instance, your skill in hunting or taming the reindeer—inclines you +to make a paradise of the tundra.</p> + +<p>Suppose it granted, then, that a given people's arts and inventions, +whether directly or indirectly productive, are capable of a certain +average yield of food, it is certain, <a name="page157"></a>as Malthus and Darwin would remind +us, that human fertility can be reckoned on to bring the numbers up +to a limit bearing a more or less constant ratio to the means of +subsistence.</p> + +<p>At length we reach our more immediate subject—namely, social +organization. In what sense, if any, is social organization dependent +on numbers? Unfortunately, it is too large a question to thrash out +here. I may, however, refer the reader to the ingenious classification +of the peoples of the world, by reference to the degree of their social +organization and culture, which is attempted by Mr. Sutherland in his +<i>Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct</i>. He there tries to show that +a certain size of population can be correlated with each grade in the +scale of human evolution—at any rate up to the point at which +full-blown civilization is reached, when cases like that of Athens +under Pericles, or Florence under the Medici, would probably cause him +some trouble. For instance, he makes out that the lowest savages, Veddas, +Pygmies, and so on, form groups of from ten to forty; whereas those +who are but one degree less backward, such as the Australian natives, +average from fifty to two hundred; whilst most of the North American +tribes, who represent the next stage of general advance, run <a name="page158"></a>from a +hundred up to five hundred. At this point he takes leave of the peoples +he would class as "savage," their leading characteristic from the +economic point of view being that they lead the more or less wandering +life of hunters or of mere "gatherers." He then goes on to arrange +similarly, in an ascending series of three divisions, the peoples that +he terms "barbarian." Economically they are either sedentary, with a +more or less developed agriculture, or, if nomad, pursue the pastoral +mode of life. His lowest type of group, which includes the Iroquois, +Maoris, and so forth, ranges from one thousand to five thousand; next +come loosely organized states, such as Dahomey or Ashanti, where the +numbers may reach one hundred thousand; whilst he makes barbarism +culminate in more firmly compacted communities, such as are to be found, +for example, in Abyssinia or Madagascar, the population of which he +places at about half a million.</p> + +<p>Now I am very sceptical about Mr. Sutherland's statistics, and regard +his bold attempt to assign the world's peoples each to their own rung +on the ladder of universal culture as, in the present state of our +knowledge, no more than a clever hypothesis; which some keen +anthropologist of the future might find it well worth his while to put +thoroughly to <a name="page159"></a>the test. At a guess, however, I am disposed to accept +his general principle that, on the whole and in the long run, during +the earlier stages of human evolution, the complexity and coherence +of the social order follow upon the size of the group; which, since +its size, in turn, follows upon the mode of the economic life, may be +described as the food-group.</p> + +<p>Besides food, however, there is a second elemental condition which +vitally affects the human race; and that is sex. Social organization +thus comes to have a twofold aspect. On the one hand, and perhaps +primarily, it is an organization of the food-quest. On the other hand, +hardly less fundamentally, it is an organization of marriage. In what +follows, the two aspects will be considered more or less together, as +to a large extent they overlap. Primitive men, like other social animals, +hang together naturally in the hunting pack, and no less naturally in +the family; and at a very rudimentary stage of evolution there probably +is very little distinction between the two. When, however, for some +reason or other which anthropologists have still to discover, man takes +to the institution of exogamy, the law of marrying-out, which forces +men and women to unite who are members of more or less distinct +food-groups, then, as we shall presently see, the <a name="page160"></a>matrimonial aspect +of social organization tends to overshadow the politico-economic; if +only because the latter can usually take care of itself, whereas to +marry a perfect stranger is an embarrassing operation that might be +expected to require a certain amount of arrangement on both sides.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>To illustrate the pre-exogamic stage of human society is not so easy +as it may seem; for, though it is possible to find examples, especially +amongst Negritos such as the Andamanese or Bushmen, of peoples of the +rudest culture, and living in very small communities, who apparently +know neither exogamy nor what so often accompanies it, namely, totemism, +we can never be certain whether we are dealing in such a case with the +genuinely primitive, or merely with the degenerate. For instance, the +chapter on the forms of social organization in Professor Hobhouse's +<i>Morals in Evolution</i> starts off with an account of the system in vogue +amongst the Veddas of the Ceylon jungle, his description being founded +on the excellent observations of the brothers Sarasin. Now it is +perfectly true that some of the Veddas appear to afford a perfect +instance of what is sometimes called "the natural family." A tract of +a few miles square forms the beat of <a name="page161"></a>a small group of families, four +or five at most, which, for the most part, singly or in pairs, wander +round hunting, fishing, gathering honey and digging up the wild yams; +whilst they likewise take shelter together in shallow caves, where a +roof, a piece of skin to lie on—though this is not essential—and, +that most precious luxury of all, a fire, represent, apart from food, +the sum total of their creature comforts.</p> + +<p>Now, under these circumstances, it is not, perhaps, wonderful that the +relationships within a group should be decidedly close. Indeed, the +correct thing is for the children of a brother and sister to marry; +though not, it would seem, for the children of two brothers or of two +sisters. And yet there is no approach to promiscuity, but, on the +contrary, a very strict monogamy, infidelities being as rare as they +are deeply resented. That they had clans of some sort was, indeed, known +to Professor Hobhouse and to the authorities whom he follows; but these +clans are dismissed as having but the slightest organization and very +few functions. An entirely new light, however, has been thrown on the +meaning of this clan-system by the recent researches of Dr. and Mrs. +Seligmann. It now turns out that some of the Veddas are exogamous—that +is to say, are obliged by <a name="page162"></a>custom to marry outside their own clan—though +others are not. The question then arises, Which, for the Veddas, is +the older system, marrying-out or marrying-in? Seeing what a miserable +remnant the Veddas are, I cannot but believe that we have here the case +of a formerly exogamous people, groups of which have been forced to +marry-in, simply because the alternative was not to marry at all. Of +course, it is possible to argue that in so doing they merely reverted +to what was once everywhere the primeval condition of man. But at this +point historical science tails off into mere guesswork.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>We reach relatively firm ground, on the other hand, when we pass on +to consider the social organization of such exogamous and totemic +peoples as the natives of Australia. The only trouble here is that the +subject is too vast and complicated to permit of a handling at once +summary and simple. Perhaps the most useful thing that can be done for +the reader in a short space is to provide him with a few elementary +distinctions, applying not only to the Australians, but more or less +to totemic societies in general. With the help of these he may proceed +to grapple for himself with the mass of highly interesting but +bewildering details concerning social <a name="page163"></a>organization to be found in any +of the leading first-hand authorities. For instance, for Australia he +can do no better than consult the two fascinating works of Messrs. +Spencer and Gillen on the Central tribes, or the no less illuminating +volume of Howitt on the natives of the South-eastern region; whilst +for North America there are many excellent monographs to choose from +amongst those issued by the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian +Institution. Or, if he is content to allow some one else to collect +the material for him, his best plan will be to consult Dr. Frazer's +monumental treatise, <i>Totemism and Exogamy</i>, which epitomizes the +known facts for the whole wide world, as surveyed region by region.</p> + +<p>The first thing to grasp is that, for peoples of this type, social +organization is, primarily and on the face of it, identical with +kinship-organization. Before proceeding further, let us see what +kinship means. Distinguish kinship from consanguinity. Consanguinity +is a physical fact. It depends on birth, and covers all one's real +blood-relationships, whether recognized by society or not. Kinship, +on the other hand, is a sociological fact. It depends on the +conventional system of counting descent. Thus it may exclude real +relationships; whilst, contrariwise, it may include such as are purely +fictitious, as when <a name="page164"></a>some one is allowed by law to adopt a child as if +it were his own. Now, under civilized conditions, though there is, as +we have just seen, such an institution as adoption, whilst, again, there +is the case of the illegitimate child, who can claim consanguinity, +but can never, in English law at least, attain to kinship, yet, on the +whole, we are hardly conscious of the difference between the genuine +blood-tie and the social institution that is modelled more or less +closely upon it. In primitive society, however, consanguinity tends +to be wider than kinship by as much again. In other words, in the +recognition of kinship one entire side of the family is usually left +clean out of account. A man's kin comprises either his mother's people +or his father's people, but not both. Remember that by the law of exogamy, +the father and mother are strangers to each other. Hence, primitive +society, as it were, issues a judgment of Solomon to the effect that, +since they are not prepared to halve their child, it must belong body +and soul either to one party or to the other.</p> + +<p>We may now go on to analyse this one-sided type of kinship-organization +a little more fully. There are three elementary principles that combine +to produce it. They are exogamy, lineage and totemism. A word must be +said about each in turn.</p> + +<p><a name="page165"></a>Exogamy presents no difficulty until you try to account for its origin. +It simply means marrying-out, in contrast to endogamy, or marrying-in. +Suppose there were a village composed entirely of McIntyres and +McIntoshes, and suppose that fashion compelled every McIntyre to marry +a McIntosh, and every McIntosh a McIntyre, whilst to marry an outsider, +say a McBean, was bad form for McIntyres and McIntoshes alike; then +the two clans would be exogamous in respect to each other, whereas the +village as a whole would be endogamous.</p> + +<p>Lineage is the principle of reckoning descent along one or other of +two lines—namely, the mother's line or the father's. The former method +is termed matrilineal, the latter patrilineal. It sometimes, but by +no means invariably, happens, when descent is counted matrilineally, +that the wife stays with her people, and the husband has the status +of a mere visitor and alien. In such a case the marriage is called +matrilocal; otherwise it is patrilocal. Again, when the matrilocal type +of marriage prevails, as likewise often when it does not, the wife and +her people, rather than the father and his people, exercise supreme +authority over the children. This is known as the matripotestal, as +contrasted with the patripotestal, type of family. <a name="page166"></a>When the matrilineal, +matrilocal and matripotestal conditions are found together, we have +mother-right at its fullest and strongest. Where we get only two out +of the three, or merely the first by itself, most authorities would +still speak of mother-right; though it may be questioned how far the +word mother-right, or the corresponding, now almost discarded, +expression, "the matriarchate," can be safely used without further +explanation, since it tends to imply a right (in the legal sense) and +an authority, which in these circumstances is often no more than +nominal.</p> + +<p>Totemism, in the specific form that has to do with kinship, means that +a social group depends for its identity on a certain intimate and +exclusive relation in which it stands towards an animal-kind, or a +plant-kind, or, more rarely, a class of inanimate objects, or, very +rarely, something that is individual and not a kind or class at all. +Such a totem, in the first place, normally provides the social group +with its name. (The Boy Scouts, who call themselves Foxes, Peewits, +and so on, according to their different patrols, have thus reverted +to a very ancient usage.) In the second place, this name tends to be +the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace that, +somehow flowing from the totem to the totemites, sanctifies their +communion. They are <a name="page167"></a>"all-one-flesh" with one another, as certain of +the Australians phrase it, because they are "all-one-flesh" with the +totem. Or, again, a man whose totem was <i>ngaui</i>, the sun, said that +his name was <i>ngaui</i> and he "was" <i>ngaui</i>; though he was equally ready +to put it in another way, explaining that <i>ngaui</i> "owned" him. If we +wish to express the matter comprehensively, and at the same time to +avoid language suggestive of a more advanced mysticism, we may perhaps +describe the totem as, from this point of view, the totemite's "luck."</p> + +<p>There is considerable variation, however, to be found in the practices +and beliefs of a more or less religious kind that are associated with +this form of totemism; though almost always there are some. Sometimes +the totem is thought of as an ancestor, or as the common fund of life +out of which the totemites are born and into which they go back when +they die. Sometimes the totem is held to be a very present help in time +of trouble, as when a kangaroo, by hopping along in a special way, warns +the kangaroo-man of impending danger. Sometimes, on the other hand, +the kangaroo-man thinks of himself mainly as the helper of the kangaroo, +holding ceremonies in order that the kangaroos may wax fat and multiply. +Again, almost invariably the totemite shows <a name="page168"></a>some respect towards his +totem, refraining, for instance, from slaying and eating the +totem-animal, unless it be in some specially solemn and sacramental +way.</p> + +<p>The upshot of these considerations is that if the totem is, on the face +of it, a name, the savage answers the question, "What's in a name?" +by finding in the name that makes him one with his brethren a wealth +of mystic meaning, such as deepens for him the feeling of social +solidarity to an extent that it takes a great effort on our part to +appreciate.</p> + +<p>Having separately examined the three principles of exogamy, lineage +and totemism, we must now try to see how they work together. +Generalization in regard to these matters is extremely risky, not to +say rash; nevertheless, the following broad statements may serve the +reader as working hypotheses, that he can go on to test for himself +by looking into the facts. Firstly, exogamy and totemism, whether they +be in origin distinct or not, tend in practice to go pretty closely +together. Secondly, lineage, or the one-sided system of reckoning +descent, is more or less independent of the other two principles.[4]</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 4: That is to say, either mother-right or father-right in +any of their forms may exist in conjunction with exogamy and totemism. +It is certainly not the fact that, wherever totemism is in a state of +vigour, mother-right is regularly found. At most it may be urged in +favour of the priority of mother-right that, if there is change, it +is invariably from mother-right to father-right, and never the other +way about.]</small></p> + +<p><a name="page169"></a>If, instead of consulting the evidence that is to hand about the savage +world as it exists to-day, you read some book crammed full with theories +about social origins, you probably come away with the impression that +totemic society is entirely an affair of clans. Some such notion as +the following is precipitated in your mind. You figure to yourself two +small food-groups, whose respective beats are, let us say, on each side +of a river. For some unknown reason they are totemic, one group calling +itself Cockatoo, the other calling itself Crow, whilst each feels in +consequence that its members are "all-one-flesh" in some mysterious +and moving sense. Again, for some unknown reason each is exogamous, +so that matrimonial alliances are bound to take place across the river. +Lastly, each has mother-right of the full-blown kind. The +Cockatoo-girls and the Crow-girls abide each on their own side of the +river, where they are visited by partners from across the water; who, +whether they tend to stay and make themselves useful, or are merely +intermittent in their attentions, remain outsiders from the totemic +point of view and are treated as such. <a name="page170"></a>The children, meanwhile, grow +up in the Cockatoo and Crow quarters respectively as little Cockatoos +or Crows. If they need to be chastised, a Cockatoo hand, not necessarily +the mother's, but perhaps her brother's—never the father's, +however—administers the slap. When they grow up, they take their +chances for better and worse with the mother's people; fighting when +they fight, though it be against the father's people; sharing in the +toils and the spoils of the chase; inheriting the weapons and any other +property that is handed on from one generation to another; and, last +but not least, taking part in the totemic mysteries that disclose to +the elect the inner meaning of being a Cockatoo or a Crow, as the case +may be.</p> + +<p>Now such a picture of the original clan and of the original inter-clan +organization is very pretty and easy to keep in one's head. And when +one is simply guessing about the first beginnings of things, there is +something to be said for starting from some highly abstract and simple +concept, which is afterwards elaborated by additions and +qualifications until the developed notion comes near to matching the +complexity of the real facts. Such speculations, then, are quite +permissible and even necessary in their place. To do justice, however, +to the facts about totemic <a name="page171"></a>society, as known to us by actual observation, +it remains to note that the clan is by no means the only form of social +organization that it displays.</p> + +<p>The clan, it is true, whether matrilineal or patrilineal, tends at the +totemic level of society to eclipse the family. The natural family, +of course—that is to say, the more or less permanent association of +father, mother and children, is always there in some shape and to some +extent. But, so long as the one-sided method of counting descent +prevails, and is reinforced by totemism, the family cannot attain to +the dignity of a formally recognized institution. On the other hand, +the totemic clan, of all the formally recognized groupings of society +to which an individual belongs in virtue of his birth and kinship, is, +so to speak, the most specific. As the Australian puts it, it makes +him what he "is." His social essence is to be a Cockatoo or a Crow. +Consequently his first duty is towards his clan and its members, human +and not-human. Wherever there are clans, and so long as there is any +totemism worthy of the name, this would seem to be the general law.</p> + +<p>Besides the specific unity, however, provided by the clan, there are +wider, and, as it were, more generic unities into which a man is <a name="page172"></a>born, +in totemic society of the complex type that is found in the actual world +of to-day.</p> + +<p>First, he belongs to a phratry. In Australia the tribe—a term to be +defined presently—is nearly always split up into two exogamous +divisions, which it is usual to call phratries.[5] Then, in some of +the Australian tribes, the phratry is subdivided into two, and, in +others, into four portions, between which exogamy takes place according +to a curious criss-cross scheme. These exogamous subdivisions, which +are peculiar to Australia, are known as matrimonial classes. Dr. Frazer +thinks that they are the result of deliberate arrangement on the part +of native statesmen; and certainly he is right in his contention that +there is an artificial and man-made look about them. The system of +phratries, on the other hand, whether it carves up the tribe into two, +or, as sometimes in North America and elsewhere, into more than two +primary divisions, under which the clans tend to group themselves in +a more or less orderly way, has all the appearance of a natural +development out of the clan-system. Thus, to revert to the imaginary +case of the Cockatoos and Crows practising exogamy across the river, +it seems easy to understand how the numbers <a name="page173"></a>on both sides might increase +until, whilst remaining Cockatoos and Crows for cross-river purposes, +they would find it necessary to adopt among themselves subordinate +distinctions; such as would be sure to model themselves on the old +Cockatoo-Crow principle of separate totemic badges. But we must not +wander off into questions of origin. It is enough for our present +purpose to have noted the fact that, within the tribe, there are +normally other forms of social grouping into which a man is born, as +well as the clan.</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 5: From a Greek word meaning "brotherhood," which was applied +to a very similar institution.]</small></p> + +<p>Now we come to the tribe. This may be described as the political unit. +Its constitution tends to be lax and its functions vague. One way of +seizing its nature is to think of it as the social union within which +exogamy takes place. The intermarrying groups naturally hang together, +and are thus in their entirety endogamous, in the sense that marriage +with pure outsiders is disallowed by custom. Moreover, by mingling in +this way, they are likely to attain to the use of a common dialect, +and a common name, speaking of themselves, for instance, as "the +men," and lumping the rest of humanity together as "foreigners." To +act together, however, as, for instance, in war, in order to repel +incursions on the part of the said foreigners, is not easy without some +definite <a name="page174"></a>organization. In Australia, where there is very little war, +this organization is mostly wanting. In North America, on the other +hand, amongst the more advanced and warlike tribes, we find regular +tribal officers, and some approach to a political constitution. Yet +in Australia there is at least one occasion when a sort of tribal +gathering takes place—namely, when their elaborate ceremonies for the +initiation of the youths is being held.</p> + +<p>It would seem, however, that these ceremonies are, as often as not, +intertribal rather than tribal. So similar are the customs and beliefs +over wide areas, that groups with apparently little or nothing else +in common will assemble together, and take part in proceedings that +are something like a Pan-Anglican Congress and a World's Fair rolled +into one. To this indefinite type of intertribal association the term +"nation" is sometimes applied. Only when there is definite organization, +as never in Australia, and only occasionally in North America, as +amongst the Iroquois, can we venture to describe it as a genuine +"confederacy."</p> + +<p>No doubt the reader's head is already in a whirl, though I have +perpetrated endless sins of omission and, I doubt not, of commission +as well, in order to simplify the glorious confusion of the subject +of the social <a name="page175"></a>organization prevailing in what is conveniently but +loosely lumped together as totemic society. Thus, I have omitted to +mention that sometimes the totems seem to have nothing to do at all +with the social organization; as, for example, amongst the famous +Arunta of central Australia, whom Messrs. Spencer and Gillen have so +carefully described. I have, again, refrained from pointing out that +sometimes there are exogamous divisions—some would call them moieties +to distinguish them from phratries—which have no clans grouped under +them, and, on the other hand, have themselves little or no resemblance +to totemic clans. These, and ever so many other exceptional cases, I +have simply passed by.</p> + +<p>An even more serious kind of omission is the following. I have +throughout identified the social organization with the kinship +organization—namely, that into which a man is born in consequence of +the marriage laws and the system of reckoning descent. But there are +other secondary features of what can only be classed as social +organization, which have nothing to do with kinship. Sex, for instance, +has a direct bearing on social status. The men and the women often form +markedly distinct groups; so that we are almost reminded of the way +in which the male <a name="page176"></a>and the female linnets go about in separate flocks +as soon as the pairing season is over. Of course, disparity of +occupation has something to do with it. But, for the native mind, the +difference evidently goes far deeper than that. In some parts of +Australia there are actually sex-totems, signifying that each sex is +all-one-flesh, a mystic corporation. And, all the savage world over, +there is a feeling that woman is uncanny, a thing apart, which feeling +is probably responsible for most of the special disabilities—and the +special privileges—that are the lot of woman at the present day.</p> + +<p>Again, age likewise has considerable influence on social status. It +is not merely a case of being graded as a youth until once for all +you legally "come of age," and are enrolled, amongst the men. The +grading of ages is frequently most elaborate, and each batch mounts +the social ladder step by step. Just as, at the university, each year +has apportioned to it by public opinion the things it may do and the +things it may not do, whilst, later on, the bachelor, the master, and +the doctor stand each a degree higher in respect of academic rank; so +in darkest Australia, from youth up to middle age at least, a man will +normally undergo a progressive initiation into the secrets of life, +accompanied by a <a name="page177"></a>steady widening in the sphere of his social duties +and rights.</p> + +<p>Lastly, locality affects status, and increasingly as the wandering life +gives way to stable occupation. Amongst a few hundred people who are +never out of touch with each other, the forms of natal association hold +their own against any that local association is likely to suggest in +their place. According to natal grouping, therefore, in the broad sense +that includes sex and age no less than kinship, the members of the tribe +camp, fight, perform magical ceremonies, play games, are initiated, +are married, and are buried. But let the tribe increase in numbers, +and spread through a considerable area, over the face of which +communications are difficult and proportionately rare. Instantly the +local group tends to become all in all. Authority and initiative must +always rest with the men on the spot; and the old natal combinations, +weakened by inevitable absenteeism, at last cease to represent the true +framework of the social order. They tend to linger on, of course, in +the shape of subordinate institutions. For instance, the totemic groups +cease to have direct connection with the marriage system, and, on the +strength of the ceremonies associated with them, develop into what are +known as secret societies. Or, <a name="page178"></a>again, the clan is gradually +overshadowed by the family, so that kinship, with its rights and duties, +becomes practically limited to the nearer blood-relations; who, +moreover, begin to be treated for practical purposes as kinsmen, even +when they are on the side of the family which lineage does not officially +recognize. Thus the forms of natal association no longer constitute +the backbone of the body politic. Their public importance has gone. +Henceforward, the social unit is the local group. The territorial +principle comes more and more to determine affinities and functions. +Kinship has dethroned itself by its very success. Thanks to the +organizing power of kinship, primitive society has grown, and by +growing has stretched the birth-tie until it snaps. Some relationships +become distant in a local and territorial sense, and thereupon they +cease to count. My duty towards my kin passes into my duty towards my +neighbour.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Reasons of space make it impossible to survey the further developments +to which social organization is subject under the sway of locality. +It is, perhaps, less essential to insist on them here, because, whereas +totemic society is a thing which we civilized folk have the very +greatest difficulty in understanding, we <a name="page179"></a>all have direct insight into +the meaning of a territorial arrangement; since, from the village +community up to the modern state, the same fundamental type of social +structure obtains throughout.</p> + +<p>Besides local contiguity, however, there is a second principle which +greatly helps to shape the social order, as soon as society is +sufficiently advanced in its arts and industries to have taken firm +root, so to speak, on the earth's surface. This is the principle of +private property, and especially of private property in land. The most +fundamental of class distinctions is that between rich and poor. That +between free and slave, in communities that have slavery, is not at +first sight strictly parallel, since there may be a class of poor +freemen intermediate between the nobles and the slaves; but it is +obvious that in this case, too, private property is really responsible +for the mode of grading. Or sometimes social position may seem to depend +primarily on industrial occupation, the Indian caste-system providing +an instance in point. Since, however, the most honourable occupations +in the long run coincide with those that pay best, we come back once +again to private property as the ultimate source of social rank, under +an economic system of the more developed kind.</p> + +<p><a name="page180"></a>In this brief sketch it has been impossible to do more than hint how +social organization is relative to numbers, which in their turn are +relative to the skill with which the food-quest is carried on. But if, +up to a certain point, it be true that the structure of society depends +on its mass in a more or less physical way, there is to be borne in +mind another aspect of the matter, which also has been hinted at as +we went rapidly along. A good deal of intelligence has throughout helped +towards the establishing of the social order. If social organization +is in part a natural result of the expansion of the population, it is +partly also, in the best sense of the word, an artificial creation of +the human mind, which has exerted itself to devise modes of grouping +whereby men might be enabled to work together in larger and ever larger +wholes.</p> + +<p>Regarded, however, in the purely external way which a study of its mere +structure involves, society appears as a machine—that is to say, +appears as the work of intelligence indeed, but not as itself instinct +with intelligence. In what follows we shall set the social machine +moving. We shall then have a better chance of obtaining an inner view +of the driving power. We shall find that we have to abandon the notion +that society is a machine. It is more, even, than an organism. It is +a <a name="page181"></a>communion of souls—souls that, as so many independent, yet +interdependent, manifestations of the life-force, are pressing forward +in the search for individuality and freedom.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap7">CHAPTER VII</a></h3></div> +<h4>LAW</h4> +<br> +<p>The general plan of this little book being to start from the influences +that determine man's destiny in a physical, external, necessary sort +of way, and to work up gradually to the spiritual, internal, voluntary +factors in human nature—that strange "compound of clay and flame"—it +seems advisable to consider law before religion, and religion before +morality, whether in its collective or individual aspect, for the +following reason. There is more sheer constraint to be discerned in +law than in religion, whilst religion, in the historical sense which +identifies it with organized cult, is more coercive in its mode of +regulating life than the moral reason, which compels by force of +persuasion.</p> + +<p>To one who lives under civilized conditions the phrase "the strong arm +of the law" inevitably suggests the policeman. Apart from policemen, +magistrates, and the soldiers <a name="page182"></a>who in the last resort must be called +out to enforce the decrees of the community, it might appear that law +could not exist. And certainly it is hard to admit that what is known +as mob-law is any law at all. For historical purposes, however, we must +be prepared to use the expression "law" rather widely. We must be ready +to say that there is law wherever there is punishment on the part of +a human society, whether acting in the mass, or through its +representatives. Punishment means the infliction of pain on one who +is judged to have broken a social rule. Conversely, then, a law is any +social rule to the infringement of which punishment is by usage attached. +So long as it is recognized that a man breaks a social rule at the risk +of pain, and that it is the business of everybody, or of somebody armed +with the common authority, to make that risk a reality for the offender, +there is law within the meaning of the term as it exists for +anthropology.</p> + +<p>Punishment, however, is by its very nature an exceptional measure. It +is only because the majority are content to follow a social rule, that +law and punishment are possible at all. If, again, every one habitually +obeys the social rules, law ceases to exist, because it is unnecessary. +Now, one reason why it is hard to find any law in primitive society +is because, <a name="page183"></a>in a general way of speaking, no one dreams of breaking +the social rules.</p> + +<p>Custom is king, nay tyrant, in primitive society. When Captain Cook +asked the chiefs of Tahiti why they ate apart and alone, they simply +replied, "Because it is right." And so it always is with the ruder +peoples. "'Tis the custom, and there's an end on't" is their notion +of a sufficient reason in politics and ethics alike. Now that way lies +a rigid conservatism. In the chapter on morality we shall try to +discover its inner springs, its psychological conditions. For the +present, we may be content to regard custom from the outside, as the +social habit of conserving all traditional practices for their own sake +and regardless of consequences. Of course, changes are bound to occur, +and do occur. But they are not supposed to occur. In theory, the social +rules of primitive society are like "the law of the Medes and Persians +which altereth not."</p> + +<p>This absolute respect for custom has its good and its bad sides. On +the one hand, it supplies the element of discipline; without which any +society is bound soon to fall to pieces. We are apt to think of the +savage as a freakish creature, all moods—at one moment a friend, at +the next moment a fiend. So he might be, if it were not for the social +drill <a name="page184"></a>imposed by his customs. So he is, if you destroy his customs, +and expect him nevertheless to behave as an educated and reasonable +being. Given, then, a primitive society in a healthy and uncontaminated +condition, its members will invariably be found to be on the average +more law-abiding, as judged from the standpoint of their own law, than +is the case any civilized state.</p> + +<p>But now we come to the bad side of custom. Its conserving influence +extends to all traditional practices, however unreasonable or +perverted. In that amber any fly is apt to be enclosed. Hence the +whimsicalities of savage custom. In <i>Primitive Culture</i> Dr. Tylor tells +a good story about the Dyaks of Borneo. The white man's way of chopping +down a tree by notching out V-shaped cuts was not according to Dyak +custom. Hence, any Dyak caught imitating the European fashion was +punished by a fine. And yet so well aware were they that this method +was an improvement on their own that, when they could trust each other +not to tell, they would surreptitiously use it. These same Dyaks, it +may be added, are, according to Mr. A.R. Wallace, the best of observers, +"among the most pleasing of savages." They are good-natured, mild, and +by no means bloodthirsty in the ordinary relations of life. Yet they +are <a name="page185"></a>well known to be addicted to the horrid practice of head-hunting. +"It was a custom," Mr. Wallace explains, "and as a custom was observed, +but it did not imply any extraordinary barbarism or moral delinquency."</p> + +<p>The drawback, then, to a reign of pure custom is this: Meaningless +injunctions abound, since the value of a traditional practice does not +depend on its consequences, but simply on the fact that it is the +practice; and this element of irrationality is enough to perplex, till +it utterly confounds, the mind capable of rising above routine and +reflecting on the true aims and ends of the social life. How to break +through "the cake of custom," as Bagehot has called it, is the hardest +lesson that humanity has ever had to learn. Customs have often been +broken up by the clashing of different societies; but in that case they +merely crystallize again into new shapes. But to break through custom +by the sheer force of reflection, and so to make rational progress +possible, was the intellectual feat of one people, the ancient Greeks; +and it is at least highly doubtful if, without their leadership, a +progressive civilization would have existed to-day.</p> + +<p>It may be added in parenthesis that customs may linger on indefinitely, +after losing, through one cause or another, their place amongst the +<a name="page186"></a>vital interests of the community. They are, or at any rate seem, +harmless; their function is spent. Hence, whilst perhaps the humbler +folk still take them more or less seriously, the leaders of society +are not at pains to suppress them. Nor would they always find it easy +to do so. Something of the primeval man lurks in us all; and these +"survivals," as they are termed by the anthropologist, may often in +large part correspond to impulses that are by no means dead in us, but +rather sleep; and are hence liable to be reawakened, if the environment +happens to supply the appropriate stimulus. Witness the fact that +survivals, especially when the whirligig of social change brings +uneducated temporarily to the fore, have a way of blossoming forth into +revivals; and the state may in consequence have to undergo something +equivalent to an operation for appendicitis. The study of so-called +survivals, therefore, is a most important branch of anthropology, which +cannot unfortunately in this hasty sketch be given its due. It would +seem to coincide with the central interest of what is known as folk-lore. +Folk-lore, however, tends to broaden out till it becomes almost +indistinguishable from general anthropology. There are at least two +reasons for this. Firstly, the survivals of custom amongst advanced +nations, such as <a name="page187"></a>the ancient Greeks or the modern British, are to be +interpreted mainly by comparison with the similar institutions still +flourishing amongst ruder peoples. Secondly, all these ruder peoples +themselves, without exception, have their survivals too. Their customs +fall as it were into two layers. On top is the live part of the fire. +Underneath are smouldering ashes, which, though dying out on the whole, +are yet liable here and there to rekindle into flame.</p> + +<p>So much for custom as something on the face of it distinct from law, +inasmuch as it seems to dispense with punishment. It remains to note, +however, that brute force lurks behind custom, in the form of what +Bagehot has called "the persecuting tendency." Just a boy at school +who happens to offend against the unwritten code has his life made a +burden by the rest of his mates, so in the primitive community the fear +of a rough handling causes "I must not" to wait upon "I dare not." One +has only to read Mr. Andrew Lang's instructive story of the fate of +"Why Why, the first Radical," to realize how amongst savages—and is +it so very different amongst ourselves?—it pays much better to be +respectable than to play the moral hero.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p><a name="page188"></a>Let us pass on to examine the beginnings of punitive law. After all, +even under the sway of custom, casual outbreaks are liable to occur. +Some one's passions will prove too much for him, and there will be an +accident. What happens then in the primitive society? Let us first +consider one of the very unorganized communities at the bottom of the +evolutionary scale; as, for example, the little Negritos of the Andaman +Islands. Their justice, explains Mr. Man, in his excellent account of +these people, is administered by the simple method of allowing the +aggrieved party to take the law into his own hands. This he usually +does by flinging a burning faggot at the offender, or by discharging +an arrow at him, though more frequently near him. Meanwhile all others +who may be present are apt to beat a speedy retreat, carrying off as +much of their property as their haste will allow, and remaining hid +in the jungle until sufficient time has elapsed for the quarrel to have +blown over. Sometimes, however, friends interpose, and seek to deprive +the disputants of their weapons. Should, however, one of them kill the +other, nothing is necessarily said or done to him by the rest. Yet +conscience makes cowards of us all; so that the murderer, from +prudential motives, will not uncommonly absent himself until he <a name="page189"></a>judges +that the indignation of the victim's friends has sufficiently abated.</p> + +<p>Now here we seem to find want of social structure and want of law going +together as cause and effect. The "friends" of whom we hear need to +be organized into a police force. If we now turn to totemic society, +with its elaborate clan-system, it is quite another story. +Blood-revenge ranks amongst the foremost of the clansman's social +obligations. Over the whole world it stands out by itself as the type +of all that law means for the savage. Within the clan, indeed, the maxim +of blood for blood does not hold; though there may be another kind of +punitive law put into force by the totemites against an erring brother, +as, for instance, if they slay one of their number for disregarding +the exogamic rule and consorting with a woman who is all-one-flesh with +him. But, between clans of the same tribe, the system of blood-revenge +requires strict reprisals, according to the principle that some one +on the other side, though not necessarily the actual murderer, must +die the death. This is known as the principle of collective +responsibility; and one of the most interesting problems relating to +the evolution of early law is to work out how individual responsibility +gradually develops out of collective, until at length, <a name="page190"></a>even as each +man does, so likewise he suffers.</p> + +<p>The collective method of settling one's grievances is natural enough, +when men are united into groups bound together by the closest of +sentimental ties, and on the other hand there is no central and +impartial authority to arbitrate between the parties. One of our crew +has been killed by one of your crew. So a stand-up fight takes place. +Of course we should like to get at the right man if we could; but, failing +that, we are out to kill some one in return, just to teach your crew +a lesson. Comparatively early in the day, however, it strikes the savage +mind that there are degrees of responsibility. For instance, some one +has to call the avenging party together, and to lead it. He will tend +to be a real blood-relation, son, father, or brother. Thus he stands +out as champion, whilst the rest are in the position of mere seconds. +Correspondingly, the other side will tend to thrust forward the actual +offender into the office of counter-champion. There is direct evidence +to show that, amongst Australians, Eskimo, and so on, whole groups at +one time met in battle, but later on were represented by chosen +individuals, in the persons of those who were principals in the affair. +Thus we arrive at the duel. The transition is seen in <a name="page191"></a>such a custom as +that of the Port Lincoln black-fellows. The brother of the murdered +man must engage the murderer; but any one on either side who might care +to join in the fray was at liberty to do so. Hence it is but a step +to the formal duel, as found, for instance, amongst the Apaches of North +America.</p> + +<p>Now the legal duel is an advance on the collective bear-fight, if only +because it brings home to the individual perpetrator of the crime that +he will have to answer for it. Cranz, the great authority on the Eskimo +of Greenland, naïvely remarks that a Greenlander dare not murder or +otherwise wrong another, since it might possibly cost him the life of +his best friend. Did the Greenlander know that it would probably cost +him his own life, his sense of responsibility, we may surmise, might +be somewhat quickened. On the other hand, duelling is not a satisfactory +way of redressing the balance, since it merely gives the powerful bully +an opportunity of adding a second murder to the first. Hence the ordeal +marks an advance in legal evolution. A good many Australian peoples, +for example, have reached the stage of requiring the murderer to submit +to a shower of spears or boomerangs at the hands of the aggrieved group, +on the mutual understanding that the blood-revenge ends here.</p> + +<p><a name="page192"></a>Luckily, however, for the murderer, it often takes time to bring him +to book; and angry passions are apt in the meanwhile to subside. The +ruder savages are not so bloodthirsty as we are apt to imagine. War +has evolved like everything else; and with it has evolved the man who +likes fighting for its own sake. So, in place of a life for a life, +compensation—"pacation," as it is technically termed—comes to be +recognized as a reasonable <i>quid pro quo</i>. Constantly we find custom +at the half-way stage. If the murderer is caught soon, he is killed; +but if he can stave off the day of justice, he escapes with a fine. +When private property has developed, the system of blood-fines becomes +most elaborate. Amongst the Iroquois the manslayer must redeem himself +from death by means of no less than sixty presents to the injured kin; +one to draw the axe out of the wound, a second to wipe the blood away, +a third to restore peace to the land, and so forth. According to the +collective principle, the clansmen on one side share the price of +atonement, and on the other side must tax themselves in order to make +it up. Shares are on a scale proportionate to degrees of relationship. +Or, again, further nice calculations are required, if it is sought to +adjust the gross amount of the payment to the degree of guilt. Hence +it is not surprising that, when <a name="page193"></a>a more or less barbarous people, such +as the Anglo-Saxons, came to require a written law, it should be almost +entirely taken up by regulations about blood-fines, that had become +too complicated for the people any longer to keep in their heads.</p> + +<p>So far we have been considering the law of blood-revenge as purely an +affair between the clans concerned; the rest of the tribal public +keeping aloof, very much in the style of the Andamanese bystanders who +retire into the jungle when there is a prospect of a row. But with the +development of a central authority, whether in the shape of the rule +of many or of one, the public control of the blood-feud begins to assert +itself; for the good reason that endless vendetta is a dissolving force, +which the larger and more stable type of society cannot afford to +tolerate if it is to survive. The following are a few instances +illustrative of the transition from private to public jurisdiction. +In North America, Africa, and elsewhere, we find the chief or chiefs +pronouncing sentence, but the clan or family left to carry it out as +best they can. Again, the kin may be entrusted with the function of +punishment, but obliged to carry it out in the way prescribed by the +authorities; as, for instance, in Abyssinia, where the nearest relation +executes the manslayer in the presence <a name="page194"></a>of the king, using exactly the +same kind of weapon as that with which the murder was committed. Or +the right of the kin to punish dwindles to a mere form. Thus in +Afghanistan the elders make a show of handing over the criminal to his +accusers, who must, however, comply strictly with the wishes of the +assembly; whilst in Samoa the offender was bound and deposited before +the family "as if to signify that he lay at their mercy," and the chief +saw to the rest. Finally, the state, in the person of its executive +officers, both convicts and executes.</p> + +<p>When the state is represented by a single ruler, crime tends to become +an offence against "the king's peace"—or, in the language of Roman +law, against his "majesty." Henceforward, the easy-going system of +getting off with a fine is at an end, and murder is punished with the +utmost sternness. In such a state as Dahomey, in the old days of +independence, there may have been a good deal of barbarity displayed +in the administration of justice, but at any rate human life was no +less effectively protected by the law than it was, say, in mediæval +Europe.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>The evolution of the punishment of murder affords the typical instance +of the <a name="page195"></a>development of a legal sanction in primitive society. Other forms, +however, of the forcible repression of wrong-doing deserve a more or +less passing notice.</p> + +<p>Adultery is, even amongst the ruder peoples, a transgression that is +reckoned only a degree less grave than manslaughter; especially as +manslaughter is a usual consequence of it, quarrels about women +constituting one of the chief sources of trouble in the savage world. +With a single interesting exception, the stages in the development of +the law against adultery are exactly the same as in the case already +examined. Whole kins fight about it. Then duelling is substituted. Then +duelling gives way to the ordeal. Then, after the penalty has long +wavered between death and a fine, fines become the rule, so long as +the kins are allowed to settle the matter. If, however, the community +comes to take cognizance of the offence, severer measures ensue. The +one noticeable difference in the two developments is the following. +Whereas murder is an offence against the chief's "majesty," and as such +a criminal offence, adultery, like theft, with which primitive law is +wont to associate it as an offence against property, tends to remain +a purely civil affair. Kafir law, for example, according to Maclean, +draws this distinction very clearly.</p> + +<p><a name="page196"></a>It remains to add as regards adultery that, so far, we have only been +considering the punishment that falls on the guilty man. The guilty +woman's fate is a matter relating to a distinct department of primitive +law. Family jurisdiction, as we find it, for instance, in an advanced +community such as ancient Rome, meant the right of the <i>pater familias</i>, +the head of the house, to subject his <i>familia</i>, or household, which +included his wife, his children (up to a certain age), and his slaves, +to such domestic discipline as he saw fit. Such family jurisdiction +was more or less completely independent of state jurisdiction; and, +indeed, has remained so in Europe until comparatively recent times.</p> + +<p>What light, then, does the study of primitive society throw on the first +beginnings of family law as administered by the house-father? To answer +this question at all adequately would involve the writing of many pages +on the evolution of the family. For our present purpose, all turns on +the distinction between the matripotestal and the patripotestal family. +If the man and the woman were left to fight it out alone, the latter, +despite the "shrewish sanction" that she possesses in her tongue, must +inevitably bow to the principle that might is right. But, as long as +marriage is matrilocal—that is to say, allows the wife to <a name="page197"></a>remain at +home amongst male defenders of her own clan—she can safely lord it +over her stranger husband; and there can scarcely be adultery on her +part, since she can always obtain divorce by simply saying, Go! Things +grow more complicated when the wife lives amongst her husband's people, +and, nevertheless, the system of counting descent favours her side of +the family and not his. Does the mere fact that descent is matrilineal +tend to imply on the whole that the mother's kin take a more active +interest in her, and are more effective in protecting her from hurt, +whether undeserved or deserved? It is no easy problem to settle. Dr. +Steinmetz, however, in his important work on <i>The Evolution of +Punishment</i> (in German), seeks to show that under mother-right, in all +its forms taken together, the adulteress is more likely to escape with +a light penalty, or with none at all, than under father-right. Whatever +be the value of the statistical method that he employs, at any rate +it makes out the death penalty to be inflicted in only a third of his +cases under the former system, but in about half under the latter.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>We must be content with a mere glance at other types of wrong-doing +which, whilst sooner or later recognized by the law of the <a name="page198"></a>community, +affect its members in their individual capacity. Theft and slander are +cases in point.</p> + +<p>Amongst the ruder savages there cannot be much stealing, because there +is next to nothing to steal. Nevertheless, groups are apt to quarrel +over hunting and fishing claims; whilst the division of the spoils of +the chase may give rise to disputes, which call for the interposition +of leading men. We even occasionally find amongst Australians the +formal duel employed to decide cases of the violation of +property-rights. Not, however, until the arts of life have advanced, +and wealth has created the two classes of "haves" and "have-nots," does +theft become an offence of the first magnitude, which the central +authority punishes with corresponding severity.</p> + +<p>As regards slander, though it might seem a slight matter, it must be +remembered that the savage cannot stand up for a moment again an adverse +public opinion; so that to rob him of his good name is to take away +all that makes life worth living. To shout out, Long-nose! Sunken-eyes! +or Skin-and-bone! usually leads to a fight in Andamanese circles, as +Mr. Man informs us. Nor, again, is it conducive to peace in Australian +society to sing as follows about the staying-powers of a +fellow-tribesman temporarily overtaken by <a name="page199"></a>European liquor: "Spirit +like emu—as a whirlwind—pursues—lays violent hold on +travelling—uncle of mine (this being particularly derisive)—tired +out with fatigue—throws himself down helpless." Amongst more advanced +peoples, therefore, slander and abuse are sternly checked. They +constitute a ground for a civil action in Kafir law; whilst we even +hear of an African tribe, the Ba-Ngindo, who rejoice in the special +institution of a peace-maker, whose business is to compose troubles +arising from this vexatious source.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>Let us now turn to another class of offences, such as, from the first, +are regarded as so prejudicial to the public interest that the community +as a whole must forcibly put them down.</p> + +<p>Cases of what may be termed military discipline fall under this head. +Even when the functions of the commander are undeveloped, and war is +still "an affair of armed mobs," shirking—a form of crime which, to +do justice to primitive society, is rare—is promptly and effectively +resented by the host. Amongst American tribes the coward's arms are +taken away from him; he is made to eat with the dogs; or perhaps a shower +of arrows causes him to "run the gauntlet." The <a name="page200"></a>traitor, on the other +hand, is inevitably slain without mercy—tied to a tree and shot, or, +it may be, literally hacked to pieces. Naturally, with the evolution +of war, these spontaneous outbursts of wrath and disgust give way to +a more formal system of penalties. To trace out this development fully, +however, would entail a lengthy disquisition on the growth of kingship +in one of its most important aspects. If constant fighting turns the +tribe into something like a standing army, the position of war-lord, +as, for instance, amongst the Zulus, is bound to become both permanent +and of all-embracing authority. There is, however, another side to the +history of kingship, as the following considerations will help to make +clear.</p> + +<p>Public safety is construed by the ruder type of man not so much in terms +of freedom from physical danger—unless such a danger, the onset of +another tribe, for instance, is actually imminent—as in terms of +freedom from spiritual, or mystic, danger. The fear of ill-luck, in +other words, is the bogy that haunts him night and day. Hence his life +is enmeshed, as Dr. Frazer puts it, in a network of taboos. A taboo +is anything that one must not do lest ill-luck befall. And ill-luck +is catching, like an infectious disease. If my next-door neighbour +breaks a taboo, <a name="page201"></a>and brings down a visitation on himself, depend upon +it some of its unpleasant consequences will be passed on to me and mine. +Hence, if some one has committed an act that is not merely a crime but +a sin, it is every one's concern to wipe out that sin; which is usually +done by wiping out the sinner. Mobbish feeling always inclines to +violence. In the mob, as a French psychologist has said, ideas +neutralize each other, but emotions aggrandize each other. Now +war-feeling is a mobbish experience that, I daresay, some of my readers +have tasted; and we have seen how it leads the unorganized levy of a +savage tribe to make short work of the coward and traitor. But war-fever +is a mild variety of mobbish experience as compared with panic in any +form, and with superstitious panic most of all. Being attacked in the +dark, as it were, causes the strongest to lose their heads.</p> + +<p>Hence it is not hard to understand how it comes about that the violator +of a taboo is the central object of communal vengeance in primitive +society. The most striking instance of such a taboo-breaker is the man +or woman who disregards the prohibition against marriage within the +kin—in other words, violates the law of exogamy. To be thus guilty +of incest is to incite in the community at large a horror which, venting +itself in what Bagehot <a name="page202"></a>calls a "wild spasm of wild justice," involves +certain death for the offender. To interfere with a grave, to pry into +forbidden mysteries, to eat forbidden meats, and so on, are further +examples of transgressions liable to be thus punished.</p> + +<p>Falling under the same general category of sin, though distinct from +the violation of taboo, is witchcraft. This consists in trafficking, +or at any rate in being supposed to traffic, with powers of evil for +sinister and anti-social ends. We have only to remember how England, +in the seventeenth century, could work itself up into a frenzy on this +account to realize how, in an African society even of the better sort, +the "smelling-out" and destroying of a witch may easily become a general +panacea for quieting the public nerves.</p> + +<p>When crimes and sins, affairs of state and affairs of church thus +overlap and commingle in primitive jurisprudence, it is no wonder if +the functions of those who administer the law should tend to display +a similar fusion of aspects. The chief, or king, has a "divine right," +and is himself in one or another sense divine, even whilst he takes +the lead in regard to all such matters as are primarily secular. The +earliest written codes, such as the Mosaic Books of the Law, with their +strange medley <a name="page203"></a>of injunctions concerning things profane and sacred, +accurately reflect the politico-religious character of all primitive +authority.</p> + +<p>Indeed, it is only by an effort of abstraction that the present chapter +has been confined to the subject of law, as distinguished from the +subject of the following chapter, namely, religion. Any crime, as +notably murder, and even under certain circumstances theft, is apt to +be viewed by the ruder peoples either as a violation of taboo, or as +some closely related form of sin. Nay, within the limits of the clan, +legal punishment can scarcely be said to be in theory possible; the +sacredness of the blood-tie lending to any chastisement that may be +inflicted on an erring kinsman the purely religious complexion of a +sacrifice, an act of excommunication, a penance, or what not. Thus +almost insensibly we are led on to the subject of religion from the +study of the legal sanction; this very term "sanction," which is derived +from Roman law, pointing in the same direction, since it originally +stood for the curse which was appended in order to secure the +inviolability of a legal enactment.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br><a name="page204"></a> +<div><h3><a name="chap8">CHAPTER VIII</a></h3></div> +<h4>RELIGION</h4> +<br> +<p>"How can there be a History of Religions?" once objected a French +senator. "For either one believes in a religion, and then everything +in it appears natural; or one does not believe in it, and then everything +in it appears absurd!"</p> + +<p>This was said some thirty years ago, when it was a question of founding +the now famous chair of the General History of Religions at the Collège +de France. At that time, such chairs were almost unheard of. Now-a-days +the more important universities of the world, to reckon them alone, +can show at least thirty.</p> + +<p>What is the significance of this change? It means that the parochial +view of religion is out of date. The religious man has to be a man of +the world, a man of the wider world, an anthropologist. He has to +recognize that there is a "soul of truth" in other religions besides +his own.</p> + +<p>It will be replied—and I fully realize the force of the objection—that +history, and therefore anthropology, has nothing to do with truth or +falsehood—in a word, with value. <a name="page205"></a>In strict theory, this is so. Its +business is to describe and generalize fact; and religion from first +to last might be pure illusion or even delusion, and it would be fact +none the less on that account.</p> + +<p>At the same time, being men, we all find it hard, nay impossible, to +study mankind impartially. When we say that we are going to play the +historian, or the anthropologist, and to put aside for the time being +all consideration of the moral of the story we seek to unfold, we are +merely undertaking to be as fair all round as we can. Willy nilly, +however, we are sure to colour our history, to the extent, at any rate, +of taking a hopeful or a gloomy view of man's past achievements, as +bearing on his present condition and his future prospects.</p> + +<p>In the same way, then, I do not believe that we can help thinking to +ourselves all the time, when we are tracing out the history of +world-religion, either that there is "nothing in it" at all, or that +there is "something in it," whatever form it assume, and whether it +hold itself to be revealed (as it almost always does) or not. On the +latter estimate of religion, however, it is still quite possible to +judge that one form of religion is infinitely higher and better than +another. Religion, regarded historically, is in evolution. The <a name="page206"></a>best +form of religion that we can attain to is inevitably the best for us; +but, as a worse form preceded it, so a better form, we must allow and +even desire, may follow. Now, frankly, I am one of those who take the +more sympathetic view of historical religion; an I say so at once, in +case my interpretation of the facts turn out to be coloured by this +sanguine assumption.</p> + +<p>Moreover, I think that we may easily exaggerate the differences in +culture and, more especially, in religious insight and understanding +that exist between the ruder peoples and ourselves. In view of our +common hope, and our common want of knowledge, I would rather identify +religion with a general striving of humanity than with the exclusive +pretension of any one people or sect. Who knows, for instance, the final +truth about what happens to the soul at death? I am quite ready to admit, +indeed, that some of us can see a little farther into a brick wall than, +say, Neanderthal man. Yet when I find facts that appear to prove that +Neanderthal man buried his dead with ceremony, and to the best of his +means equipped them for a future life, I openly confess that I would +rather stretch out a hand across the ages and greet him as my brother +and fellow-pilgrim than throw in my lot with the self-righteous <a name="page207"></a>folk +who seem to imagine this world and the next to have been created for +their exclusive benefit.</p> + +<p>Now the trouble with anthropologists is to find a working definition +of religion on which they can agree. Christianity is religion, all would +have to admit. Again, Mahomedanism is religion, for all anthropological +purposes. But, when a naked savage "dances" his god—when the spoken +part of the rite simply consists, as amongst the south-eastern +Australians, in shouting "Daramulun! Daramulun!" (the god's name), so +that we cannot be sure whether the dancers are indulging in a prayer +or in an incantation—is that religion? Or, worse still, suppose that +no sort of personal god can be discovered at the back of the +performance—which consists, let us say, as amongst the central +Australians, in solemnly rubbing a bull-roarer on the stomach, so that +its mystic virtues may cause the man to become "good" and "glad" and +"strong" (for that is his own way of describing the spiritual +effects)—is that religion, in any sense that can link it historically +with, say, the Christian type of religion?</p> + +<p>No, say some, these low-class dealings with the unseen are magic, not +religion. The rude folk in question do not go the right way about +putting themselves into touch with the unseen. <a name="page208"></a>They try to put pressure +on the unseen, to control it. They ought to conciliate it, by bowing +to its will. Their methods may be earnest, but they are not propitiatory. +There is too much "My will be done" about it all.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, two can play at this game of <i>ex-parte</i> definition. The +more unsympathetic type of historian, relentlessly pursuing the clue +afforded by this distinction between control and conciliation, +professes himself able to discover plenty of magic even in the higher +forms of religion. The rite as such—say, churchgoing as such—appears +to be reckoned by some of the devout as not without a certain intrinsic +efficacy. "Very well," says this school, "then a good deal of average +Christianity is magic."</p> + +<p>My own view, then, is that this distinction will only lead us into +trouble. And, to my mind, it adds to the confusion if it be further +laid down, as some would do, that this sort of dealing with the unseen +which, on the face of it, and according to our notions, seems rather +mechanical (being, as it were, an effort to get a hold on some hidden +force) is so far from being akin to religion that its true affinity +is with natural science. The natural science of to-day, I quite admit, +has in part evolved out of experiments with the occult; <a name="page209"></a>just as law, +fine art, and almost every other one of our higher interests have +likewise done. But just so long and so far as it was occult science, +I would maintain, it was not natural science at all, but, as it were, +rather supernatural science. Besides, much of our natural science has +grown up out of straightforward attempts to carry out mechanical work +on industrial lines—to smelt iron, let us say; but since then, as now, +there were numerous trade-secrets, an atmosphere of mystery was apt +to surround the undertaking, which helped to give it the air of a +trafficking with the uncanny. But because science then, as even now +sometimes, was thought by the ignorant to be somehow closely associated +with all the powers of evil, it does not follow that then or now the +true affinity of science must be with the devil.</p> + +<p>Magic and religion, according to the view I would support, belong to +the same department of human experience—one of the two great +departments, the two worlds, one might almost call them, into which +human experience, throughout its whole history, has been divided. +Together they belong to the supernormal world, the <i>x</i>-region of +experience, the region of mental twilight.</p> + +<p>Magic I take to include all bad ways, and religion all good ways, of +dealing with the <a name="page210"></a>supernormal—bad and good, of course, not as we may +happen to judge them, but as the society concerned judges them. +Sometimes, indeed, the people themselves hardly know where to draw the +line between the two; and, in that case, the anthropologist cannot well +do it for them. But every primitive society thinks witchcraft bad. +Witchcraft consists in leaguing oneself with supernormal powers of evil +in order to effect selfish and anti-social ends. Witchcraft, then, is +genuine magic—black magic of the devil's colour. On the other hand, +every primitive society also distinguishes certain salutary ways of +dealing with supernormal powers. All these ways taken together +constitute religion. For the rest, there will always be a mass of more +or less evaporated beliefs, going with practices that have more or less +lost their hold on the community. These belong to the folklore which +every people has. Under this or some closely related head must also +be set down the mass of mere wonder-tales, due to the play of fancy, +and without direct bearing on the serious pursuits of life.</p> + +<p>The world to which neither magic nor religion belongs, but to which +physical science, the knowledge of how to deal mechanically with +material things, does belong wholly, is the workaday world, the region +of normal, <a name="page211"></a>commonplace, calculable happenings. With our telescopes and +microscopes we see farther and deeper into things than does the savage. +Yet the savage has excellent eyes. What he sees he sees. Consequently, +we must duly allow for the fact that there is for him, as well as for +us, a "natural," that is to say, normal and workaday world; even though +it be far narrower in extent than ours. The savage is not perpetually +spook-haunted. On the contrary, when he is engaged on the daily round, +and all is going well, he is as careless and happy as a child.</p> + +<p>But savage life has few safeguards. Crisis is a frequent, if +intermittent, element in it. Hunger, sickness and war are examples of +crisis. Birth and death are crises. Marriage is usually regarded by +humanity as a crisis. So is initiation—the turning-point in one's +career, when one steps out into the world of men. Now what, in terms +of mind, does crisis mean? It means that one is at one's wits' end; +that the ordinary and expected has been replaced by the extraordinary +and unexpected; that we are projected into the world of the unknown. +And in that world of the unknown we must miserably abide until, somehow, +confidence is restored.</p> + +<p>Psychologically regarded, then, the function of religion is to restore +men's confidence when <a name="page212"></a>it is shaken by crisis. Men do not seek crisis; +they would always run away from it, if they could. Crisis seeks them; +and, whereas the feebler folk are ready to succumb, the bolder spirits +face it. Religion is the facing of the unknown. It is the courage in +it that brings comfort.[6]</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 6: The courage involved in all live religion normally +coexists with a certain modesty or humility. I have tried to work out +this point elsewhere in a short study entitled <i>The Birth of Humility</i>.]</small></p> + +<p>We must go on, however, to consider religion sociologically. A religion +is the effort to face crisis, so far as that effort is organized by +society in some particular way. A religion is congregational—that is +to say, serves the ends of a number of persons simultaneously. It is +traditional—that is to say, has served the ends of successive +generations of persons. Therefore inevitably it has standardized a +method. It involves a routine, a ritual. Also it involves some sort +of conventional doctrine, which is, as it were, the inner side of the +ritual—its lining.</p> + +<p>Now in what follows I shall insist, in the first instance, on this +sociological side of religion. For anthropological purposes it is the +sounder plan. We must altogether eschew that "Robinson Crusoe method" +which consists in reconstructing the creed of a solitary savage, <a name="page213"></a>who +is supposed to evolve his religion out of his inner consciousness: "The +mountain frowns, therefore it is alive"; "I move about in my dreams +whilst my body lies still, therefore I have a soul," and so on. No doubt +somebody had to think these things, for they are thoughts. But he did +not think them, at any rate did not think them out, alone. Men thought +them out together; nay, whole ages of living and thinking together have +gone to make them what they are. So a social method is needed to explain +them.</p> + +<p>The religion of a savage is part of his custom; nay, rather, it is his +whole custom so far as it appears sacred—so far as it coerces him by +way of his imagination. Between him and the unknown stands nothing but +his custom. It is his all-in-all, his stand-by, his faith and his hope. +Being thus the sole source of his confidence, his custom, so far as +his imagination plays about it, becomes his "luck." We may say that +any and every custom, in so far as it is regarded as lucky, is a religious +rite.</p> + +<p>Hence the conservatism inherent in religion. "Nothing," says Robertson +Smith, "appeals so strongly as religion to the conservative instincts." +"The history of religion," once exclaimed Dr. Frazer, "is a long attempt +to reconcile old custom with new reason, to find a sound theory for +absurd practice." At first <a name="page214"></a>sight one is apt to see nothing but the +absurdities in savage custom and religion. After all, these are what +strike us most, being the curiosity-hunters that we all are. But savage +custom and religion must be taken as a whole, the bad side with the +good. Of course, if we have to do with a primitive society on the +down-grade—and very few that have been "civilizaded," as John Stuart +Mill terms it, at the hands of the white man are not on the +down-grade—its disorganized and debased custom no longer serves a +vital function. But a healthy society is bound, in a wholesale way, +to have a healthy custom. Though it may go about the business in a queer +and roundabout fashion, it must hit off the general requirements of +the situation. Therefore I shall not waste time, as I might easily do, +in piling up instances of outlandish "superstitions," whether horrible +and disgusting, from our more advanced point of view, or merely droll +and silly. On the contrary, I would rather make it my working assumption +that, with all its apparent drawbacks, the religion of a human society, +if the latter be a going concern, is always something to be respected.</p> + +<p>In considering, however, the relation of religion to custom, we are +met by the apparent difficulty that, whereas custom implies "Do," <a name="page215"></a>the +prevailing note of primitive religion would seem rather to consist in +"Do not." But there is really no antagonism between them on this account. +As the old Greek proverb has it, "There is only one way of going right, +but there are infinite ways of going wrong." Hence, a nice observance +of custom of itself involves endless taboos. Since a given line of +conduct is lucky, then this or that alternative course of behaviour +must be unlucky. There is just this difference between positive customs +or rites, which cause something to be done, and negative customs or +rites, which cause something to be left undone, that the latter appeal +more exclusively to the imagination for their sanction, and are +therefore more conspicuously and directly a part of religion. "Why +should I do this?" is answered well-nigh sufficiently by saying, +"Because it is the custom, because it is right." It seems hardly +necessary to add, "Because it will bring luck." But "Why should I not +do something else instead?" meets, in the primitive society, with the +invariable answer, "Because, if you do, something awful will happen +to us all." What precise shape the ill-luck will take need not be +specified. The suggestion rather gains than loses by the indefiniteness +of its appeal to the imagination.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p><a name="page216"></a>To understand more clearly the difference between negative and positive +types of custom as associated with religion, let us examine in some +detail an example of each. It will be well to select our cases from +amongst those that show the custom and the religion to be quite +inseparable—to be, in short, but two aspects of one and the same fact. +Now nothing could be more commonplace and secular a custom than that +of providing for one's dinner. Yet for primitive society this custom +tends to be likewise a rite—a rite which may, however, be mainly +negative and precautionary, or mainly positive and practical in +character, as we shall now see.</p> + +<p>The Todas, so well described by Dr. Rivers, are a small community, less +than a thousand all told, who have retired out of the stress of the +world into the fastnesses of the Nilgiri Hills, in southern India, where +they spend a safe but decidedly listless life. They are in a backwater, +and are likely to remain there. At any rate, their religion is not such +as to make them more enterprising. Gods they may be said to have none. +The bare names of certain deities of the hill-tops are retained, but +whether these were once the honoured gods of the Todas or, as some think, +those of a former race, certain it is that there is more shadow than +substance about them now. The real <a name="page217"></a>religion of the people centres round +a dairy-ritual. From a practical and economic point of view, the work +of the dairy consists in converting the milk of their buffaloes into +the butter and buttermilk which constitute their staple diet. From a +religious point of view, it consists in converting something they dare +not eat into something they can eat.</p> + +<p>Many, though not all, of their buffaloes are sacred, and their milk +may not be drunk. The reason why it may not be drunk anthropologists +may cast about to discover, but the Todas themselves do not know. All +that they know, and are concerned to know, is that things would somehow +all go wrong, if any one were foolish enough to commit such a sin. So +in the Toda temple, which is a dairy, the Toda priest, who is the +dairyman, sets about rendering the sacred products harmless. The dairy +has two compartments—one sacred, the other profane. In the first are +stored the sacred vessels, into which the milk is placed when it comes +from the buffaloes, and in which it is turned into butter and buttermilk +with the help of some of the previous brew, this having meanwhile been +put by in an especially sacred vessel. In the second compartment are +profane vessels, destined to receive the butter and buttermilk, after +they have been carefully transferred from the sacred vessels with the +<a name="page218"></a>help of an intermediary vessel, which stands exactly on the line between +the two compartments. This transference, being carried out to the +accompaniment of all sorts of reverential gestures and utterances, +secures such a profanation of the sacred substance as is without the +evil consequences that would otherwise be entailed. Thus the ritual +is essentially precautionary. A taboo is the hinge of the whole affair.</p> + +<p>And the tendency of such a negative type of religion is to pile +precautions on precautions. Thus the dairyman, in order to be equal +to his sacred office, must observe taboos without end. He must be +celibate. He must avoid all contact with the dead. He is limited to +certain kinds of food; which, moreover, must be prepared in a certain +way, and consumed in a certain place. His drink, again, is a special +milk, which must be poured out with prescribed formulas. He is +inaccessible to ordinary folk save on certain days and in certain ways, +their mode of approach, their salutations, his greeting in reply, being +all regulated with the utmost nicety. He can only wear a special garb. +He must never cut his hair. His nails must be suffered to grow long. +And so on and so forth. Such disabilities, indeed, are wont to +circumscribe the life of all sacred persons, and can be matched <a name="page219"></a>from +every part of the world. But they may fairly be cited here, as helping +to fill in the picture of what I have called the precautionary or +negative type of religious ritual.</p> + +<p>Further, there is something rotten in the state of Toda religion. The +dairymen struck Dr. Rivers as very slovenly in the performance of their +duties, as well as vague and inaccurate in their accounts of what ought +to be done. Indeed, it was hard to find persons willing to undertake +the office. Ritual duties involving uncomfortable taboos were apt to +be thrust on youngsters. The youngsters, being youngsters, would +probably violate the taboos; but anyway that was their look-out. From +evasions to fictions is but a step. Hence when an unclean person +approached the dairyman, the latter would simply pretend not to see +him. Or the rule that he must not enter a hut, if women were within, +would be circumvented by simply removing from the dwelling the three +emblems of womanhood, the pounder, the sieve, and the sweeper; +whereupon his "face was saved." Now wherefore all this lack of +earnestness? Dr. Rivers thinks that too much ritual was the reason. +I agree; but would venture to add, "too much negative ritual." A +religion that is all dodging must produce a sneaking kind of worshipper.</p> + +<p>Now let us turn another type of primitive <a name="page220"></a>religion that is equally +identified with the food-quest, but allied to its positive and active +functions, which it seeks to help out. Messrs. Spencer and Gillen have +given us a most minute account of certain ceremonies of the Arunta, +a people of central Australia. These ceremonies they have named +<i>Intichiuma</i>, and the name will probably stick, though there is reason +to believe that the native word for them is really something different. +Their purpose is to make the food-animals and food-plants multiply and +prosper. Each animal or plant is attended to by the group that has it +for a totem. (Totemism amongst this very remarkable people has nothing +to do either with exogamy or with lineage; but that is a subject into +which it is impossible to go here.) The rites vary considerably from +totem to totem, but a typical case or two may be cited.</p> + +<p>The witchetty-grub men, for instance, want the grubs to multiply, that +there may be plenty for their fellows to eat. So they wend their way +along a certain path which tradition declares to have been traversed +by the great leader of the witchetty-grubs of the days of long ago. +(These were grubs transformed into men, who became by reincarnation +ancestors of the present totemites.) The path brings them to a place +in the hills where there <a name="page221"></a>is a big stone surrounded by many small stones. +The big stone is the adult animal, the little stones are its eggs. So +first they tap the big stone, chanting an invitation to it to lay eggs. +Then the master of the ceremonies rubs the stomach of each totemite +with the little stones, and says, "You have eaten much food."</p> + +<p>Or, again, the Kangaroo men repair to a place called Undiara. It is +a picturesque spot. By the side of a water-hole that is sheltered by +a tall gum-tree rises a curiously gnarled and weather-beaten face of +quartzite rock. About twenty feet from the base a ledge juts out. When +the totemites hold their ceremony, they repair to this ledge. For here +in the days of long ago the ancestors who are now reincarnated in them +cooked and ate kangaroo food; and here, moreover, the kangaroo animals +of that time deposited their spirit-parts. First the face of the rock +below the ledge is decorated with long stripes of red ochre and white +gypsum, to represent the red fur and white bones of the kangaroo. It +is, in fact, one of those rock-paintings such as the palæolithic men +of Europe made in their caves. Then a number of men, say, seven or eight, +mount upon the ledge, and, whilst the rest sing solemn chants about +the prospective increase of the kangaroos, these <a name="page222"></a>men open veins in their +arms, so that the blood flows down freely upon the ceremonial stone. +This is the first part of the rite. The second part is no less +interesting. After the blood-letting, they hunt until they kill a +kangaroo. Thereupon the old men of the totem eat a little of the meat; +then they smear some of the fat on the bodies of all the party; finally, +they divide the flesh amongst them. Afterwards, the totemites paint +their bodies with stripes in imitation of the design upon the rock. +A second hunt, followed by a second sacramental meal, concludes the +whole ceremony. That their meal is sacramental, a sort of communion +service, is proved by the fact that henceforth in an ordinary way they +allow themselves to partake of kangaroo meat at most but very sparingly, +and of certain portions of the flesh not at all.</p> + +<p>One more example of these rites may be cited, in order to bring out +the earnestness of this type of religion, which is concerned with doing, +instead of mere not-doing. There is none of the Toda perfunctoriness +here. It will be enough to glance at the commencement of the ritual +of the honey-ant totemites. The master of the ceremonies places his +hand as if he were shading his eyes, and gazes intently in the direction +of the sacred place to which they are about to repair. As he <a name="page223"></a>does so, +the rest kneel, forming a straight line behind him. In this position +they remain for some time, whilst the leader chants in a subdued tone. +Then all stand up. The company must now start. The leader, who has fallen +to the rear, that he may marshal the column in perfect line, gives the +signal. Then they move off in single file, taking a direct course to +the holy ground, marching in perfect silence, and with measured step, +as if something of the profoundest import were about to take place.</p> + +<p>I make no apology for describing these proceedings at some length. It +is necessary to my argument to convey the impression that the essentials +of religion are present in these apparently godless observances of the +ruder peoples. They arise directly out of custom—in this case the +hunting custom. Their immediate design is to provide these people with +their daily bread. Yet their appeal to the imagination—which in religion, +as in science, art, and philosophy, is the impulse that presides over +all progress, all creative evolution—is such that the food-quest is +charged with new and deeper meaning. Not bread alone, but something +even more sustaining to the life of man, is suggested by these tangled +and obscure solemnities. They are penetrated by quickenings of +sacrifice, prayer, <a name="page224"></a>and communion. They bring to bear on the need of +the hour all the promise of that miraculous past, which not only cradled +the race, but still yields it the stock of reincarnated soul-force that +enables it to survive. If, then, these rites are part and parcel of +mere magic, most, or all, of what the world knows as religion must be +mere magic. But it is better for anthropology to call things by the +names that they are known by in the world of men—that is, in the wider +world, not in some corner or coterie of it.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>In order to bring out more fully the second point that I have been trying +to make, namely, the close interdependence between religion and custom +in primitive society, let me be allowed to quote one more example of +the ritual of a rude people. And again let us resort to native Australia, +though this time to the south-eastern corner of it; since in Australia +we have a cultural development on the whole very low, having been as +it were arrested through isolation, yet one that turns out to be not +incompatible with high religion in the making.</p> + +<p>Initiation in native Australia is the equivalent of what is known +amongst ourselves as the higher education. The only difference is that, +with them, every one who is not judged <a name="page225"></a>utterly unfit is duly initiated; +whereas, with us, the higher education is offered to some who are unfit, +whilst many who are fit never have the luck to get it. The +initiation-custom is intended to tide the boys over the difficult time +of puberty, and turn them into responsible men. The whole of the adult +males assist in the ceremonies. Special men, however, are told off to +tutor the youth—a lengthy business, since it entails a retirement, +perhaps for six months, into the bush with their charges; who are there +taught the tribal traditions, and are generally admonished, sometimes +forcibly, for their good. Further, this is rather like a retirement +into a monastery for the young men, seeing that during all the time +they are strictly taboo, or in other words in a holy state that involves +much fasting and mortification of the flesh. At last comes the time +when their actual passage across the threshold of manhood has to be +celebrated. The rites may be described in one word as impressive. +Society wishes to set a stamp on their characters, and believes in +stamping hard. Physically, then, the lads feel the force of society. +A tooth is knocked out, they are tossed in the air to make them grow +tall, and so on—rites that, whilst they may have separate occult ends +in view, are completely at one in being highly unpleasant.</p> + +<p><a name="page226"></a>Spiritual means of education, however, are always more effective than +physical, if designed and applied with sufficient wisdom. The +bull-roarer, of which something has been already said, furnishes the +ceremonies with a background of awe. It fills the woods, that surround +the secret spot where the rites are held, with the rise and fall of +its weird music, suggestive of a mighty rushing wind, of spirits in +the air. Not until the boys graduate as men do they learn how the sound +is produced. Even when they do learn this, the mystery of the voice +speaking through the chip of wood merely wings the imagination for +loftier flights. Whatever else the high god of these mysteries, +Daramulun, may be for these people—and undoubtedly all sorts of trains +of confused thinking meet in the notion of him—he is at any rate the +god of the bull-roarer, who has put his voice into the sacred instrument. +But Daramulun is likewise endowed with a human form; for they set up +an image of him rudely shaped in wood, and round about it dance and +shout his name. Daramulun instituted these rites, as well as all the +other immemorial rites of the assembled tribe or tribes. So when over +the heads of the boys, prostrated on the ground, are recited solemnly +what Mr. Lang calls "the ten commandments," that bid them honour <a name="page227"></a>the +elders, respect the marriage law, and so on, there looms up before their +minds the figure of the ultimate law-giver; whilst his unearthly voice +becomes for them the voice of the law. Thus is custom exalted, and its +coercive force amplified, by the suggestion of a power—in this case +a definitely personal power—that "makes for righteousness," and, +whilst beneficent, is full of terror for offenders.</p> +<br> +<br> +<p>And now it may seem high time to pass on from the sociological and +external view that has hitherto been taken of primitive religion to +a psychological view of it—one that should endeavour to disclose the +hidden motives, the spiritual sources, of the beliefs that underlie +and sustain the customary practices. But precisely at this point the +anthropological treatment of religion is apt to prove unsatisfactory. +History can record that such and such is done with far more certainty +than that such and such a state of mind accompanies and inspires the +doing. Besides, the savage is no authority on the why and wherefore +of his customs. "However else would a reasonable being think of acting?" +is his sufficient reason, as we have already seen. Not but what the +higher minds amongst savages reflect in their own way upon the meaning +of their customs and rites. But most of this reflection is no more <a name="page228"></a>than +an elaborate "justification after the event." The mind invents what +Mr. Kipling would call a "Just-so story" to account for something +already there. How it might have come about, not how it did come about, +is all that the professed explanation amounts to. And when it comes +to choosing amongst mere possibilities, the anthropologist, instead +of consulting the savage, may just as well endeavour to do it for +himself.</p> + +<p>Now anthropological theories of the origin of religion seem to me to +go wrong mainly because they seek to simplify too much. Having got down +to what they take to be a root-idea, they straightway proclaim it <i>the</i> +root-idea. I believe that religion has just as few, or as many, roots +as human life and mind.</p> + +<p>The theory of the origin of religion that may be said to hold the field, +because it is the view of the greatest of living anthropologists, is +Dr. Tylor's theory of animism. The term animism is derived from the +Latin <i>anima</i>, which—like the corresponding word <i>spiritus</i>, whence +our "spirit"—signifies the breath, and hence the soul, which primitive +folk tend to identify with the breath. Dr. Tylor's theory of animism, +then, as set forth in his great work, <i>Primitive Culture</i>, is that "the +belief in spiritual beings" will do as a <a name="page229"></a>definition of religion taken +at its least; which for him means the same thing as taken at its earliest. +Now what is a "spiritual being"? Clearly everything turns on that. Dr. +Tylor's general treatment of the subject seems to lay most of the +emphasis on the phantasm. A phantasm (as the etymology of the word +shows) is essentially an appearance. In a dream or hallucination one +sees figures, more or less dim, but still having "vaporous +materiality." So, too, the shadow is something without body that one +can see; though the breath, except on a frosty day, shows its subtle +but yet sensible nature rather by being felt than by being seen. Now +there can be no doubt that the phantasm plays a considerable part in +primitive religion (as well as in those fancies of the primitive mind +that have never found their way into religion, at all events into +religion as identified with organized cult). Savages see ghosts, though +probably not more frequently than we do; they have vivid dreams, and +are much impressed by their dream-experiences; and so on. Besides, the +phantasm forms a very convenient half-way house between the seen and +the unseen; and there can be no doubt that the savage often says breath, +shadow, and so forth, when he is trying to think and mean something +immaterial altogether.</p> + +<p><a name="page230"></a>But animism would seem sometimes to be used by Dr. Tylor in a wider +sense, namely, as "a doctrine of universal vitality." In dealing with +the myths of the ruder peoples, as, for example, those about the sun, +moon, and stars, he shows how "a general animation of nature" is implied. +The primitive man reads himself into these things, which, according +to our science, are without life or personality. He thinks that they +have a different kind of body, but the same kind of feelings and motives. +But this is not necessarily to think that they are capable of giving +off a phantasm, as a man does when his soul temporarily leaves him, +or when after death his soul becomes a ghost. There need be nothing +ghost-like about the sun, whether it is imagined as a shining orb, or +as a shining being of human shape to whom the orb belongs. There is +not anything in the least phantasmal about the Greek god Apollo. I think, +then, that we had better distinguish this wider sense of animism by +a different name, calling it "animatism," since that will serve at once +to disconnect and to connect the two conceptions.</p> + +<p>I am not sure, however, how far we ought to press this "doctrine of +universal vitality." Does a savage, for instance, when he is hammering +at a piece of flint think of it as other than a "thing," any more than +we should? <a name="page231"></a>I doubt it. He may say "Confound you!" if it suddenly snaps +in two, just as we might do. But though the language may seem to imply +a "you," he would mean, I believe, to impute to the flint just as much, +or as little, of personality as we should mean to do when using similar +language. In other words, I believe that, within the world of his +ordinary work-a-day experience, he recognizes both things and persons; +without giving a thought, in either case, to the hidden principles that +make them be what they are, and act as they do.</p> + +<p>When, on the other hand, the thing, or the person, falls within the +world of supernormal experience, when they strike the imagination as +wonderful and wonder-working, then there is much more reason why he +should seek to account to himself for the mystery in, or behind, the +strange appearance. Howitt, who knew his Australian natives intimately, +cites the following as "a good example of how the native mind works." +To the black-fellow his club or his spear are part and parcel of his +ordinary life. There is no, "medicine," no "devil," in them. If they +are to be made supernaturally potent, they must be specially charmed. +But it is quite otherwise with his spear-thrower or his bull-roarer. +The former for no obvious reason enables him to throw his spear +extraordinarily far. (I have myself <a name="page232"></a>seen an Australian spear, with the +help of the spear-thrower, fly a hundred and fifty yards, and strike +true and deep at the end of its flight.) The latter emits the noise +of thunder, though a mere chip of wood on the end of a string. These, +then, are in themselves "medicine." There is "virtue" in, or behind, +them.</p> + +<p>Is, then, to attribute "virtue" the same thing, necessarily, as to +attribute vitality? Are the spear-thrower and the bull-roarer +inevitably thought of as alive? Or are they, as a matter of course, +endowed with soul or spirit? Or may there be also an impersonal kind +of "virtue," "medicine," or whatever the wonder-working power in the +wonder-working thing is to be called? Now there is evidence that the +savage himself, in speaking about these matters, sometimes says power, +sometimes vitality, sometimes spirit. But the simplest way of disposing +of these questions is to remember that such fine distinctions as these, +which theorists may seek to draw, do not appeal at all to the savage +himself. For him the only fact that matters is that, whereas some things +in the world are ordinary, and can be reckoned on, other things cannot +be reckoned on, but are wonder-working.</p> + +<p>Moreover, of wonder-working things, some are good and some are bad. +To get all the <a name="page233"></a>good kind of wonder-workers on to his side, so as to confound +the bad kind—that is what his religion is there to do for him. "May +blessings come, may mischiefs go!" is the import of his religious +striving, whether anthropologists class it as spell or as prayer.</p> + +<p>Now the function of religion, it has been assumed, is to restore +confidence, when man is mazed, and out of his depth, fearful of the +mysteries that obtrude on his life, yet compelled, if not exactly +wishful, to face them and wrest from them whatever help is in them. +This function religion fulfils by what may be described in one word +as "suggestion." How the suggestion works psychologically—how, for +instance, association of ideas, the so-called "sympathetic magic," +predominates at the lower levels of religious experience—is a +difficult and technical question which cannot be discussed here. +Religion stands by when there is something to be done, and suggests +that it can be done well and successfully; nay, that it is being so +done. And, when the religion is of the effective sort, the believers +respond to the suggestion, and put the thing through. As the Latin poet +says, "they can because they think they can."</p> + +<p>What, from the anthropological point of view, is the effective sort +of religion, the sort that survives because, on the whole, those <a name="page234"></a>whom +it helps survive? It is dangerous to make sweeping generalizations, +but there is at any rate a good deal to be said for classing the world's +religions either as mechanical and ineffective, or as spiritual and +effective. The mechanical kind offers its consolations in the shape +of a set of implements. The "virtue" resides in certain rites and +formularies. These, as we have seen, are especially liable to harden +into mere mechanism when they are of the negative and precautionary +type. The spiritual kind of religion, on the other hand, which is +especially associated with the positive and active functions of life, +tends to read will and personality into the wonder-working powers that +it summons to man's aid. The will and personality in the worshippers +are in need not so much of implements as of more will and personality. +They get this from a spiritual kind of religion; which in one way or +another always suggests a society, a communion, as at once the means +and the end of vital betterment.</p> + +<p>To say that religion works by suggestion is only to say that it works +through the imagination. There is good make-believe as well as bad; +and one must necessarily imagine and make-believe in order to will. +The more or less inarticulate and intuitional forces of the mind, +however, need to be supplemented by <a name="page235"></a>the power of articulate reasoning, +if the will is to make good its twofold character of a faculty of ends +that is likewise a faculty of the means to those ends. Suggestion, in +short, must be purged by criticism before it can serve as the guide +of the higher life. To bring this point out will be the object of the +following chapter.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap9">CHAPTER IX</a></h3></div> +<h4>MORALITY</h4> +<br> +<p>Space is running out fast, and it is quite impossible to grapple with +the details of so vast a subject as primitive morality. For these the +reader must consult Dr. Westermarck's monumental treatise, <i>The Origin +and Development of the Moral Ideas</i>, which brings together an immense +quantity of facts, under a clear and comprehensive scheme of headings. +He will discover, by the way, that, whereas customs differ immensely, +the emotions, one may even say the sentiments, that form the raw +material of morality are much the same everywhere.</p> + +<p>Here it will be of most use to sketch the psychological groundwork of +primitive <a name="page236"></a>morality, as contrasted with morality of the more advanced +type. In pursuance of the plan hitherto followed, let us try to move +yet another step on from the purely exterior view of human life towards +our goal; which is to appreciate the true inwardness of human life—so +far at least as this is matter for anthropology, which reaches no +farther than the historic method can take it.</p> + +<p>It is, of course, open to question whether either primitive or advanced +morality is sufficiently of one piece to allow, as it were, a composite +photograph to be framed of either. For our present purposes, however, +this expedient is so serviceable as to be worth risking. Let us assume, +then, that there are two main stages in the historical evolution of +society, as considered from the standpoint of the psychology of conduct. +I propose to term them the synnomic and the syntelic phases of society. +"Synnomic" (from the Greek <i>nomos</i>, custom) means that customs are +shared. "Syntelic" (from the Greek <i>telos</i>, end) means that ends are +shared.</p> + +<p>The synnomic phase is, from the psychological point of view, a kingdom +of habit; the syntelic phase is a kingdom of reflection. The former +is governed by a subconscious selection of its standards of good and +bad; the latter by a conscious selection of its standards. It <a name="page237"></a>remains +to show very briefly how such a difference comes about.</p> + +<p>The outstanding fact about the synnomic life of the ruder peoples is +perhaps this—that there is hardly any privacy. Of course, many other +drawbacks must be taken into account also—no wide-thrown +communications, no analytic language, no writing, no books, and so on; +but perhaps being in a crowd all the time is the worst drawback of all. +For, as Disraeli says in <i>Sybil</i>, gregariousness is not association. +Constant herding and huddling together hinders the development of +personality. That independence of character which is the prime +condition of syntelic society cannot mature, even though the germs be +there. No one has a chance of withdrawing into his own soul. Therefore +the individual does not experience that silent conversation with self +which is reflection. Instead of turning inwards, he turns outwards. +In short, he imitates.</p> + +<p>But how, it may be objected, does evolution take place, if every one +imitates every one else? Certainly, it looks at first sight like a +vicious circle. Nevertheless, there is room for a certain progress, +or at any rate for a certain process of change. To analyse its +psychological springs would take us too long. If a phrase will do +instead of an explanation, we <a name="page238"></a>may sum them up, with the brilliant French +psychologist, Tarde, as "a cross-fertilization of imitations." We need +not, however, go far to get an impression of how this process of change +works. It is going on every day in our midst under the name of "change +of fashion." When one purchases the latest thing in ties or straw hats, +one is not aiming at a rational form of dress. If there is progress +in this direction, it is subconscious. The underlying spiritual +condition is not inaptly described by Dr. Lloyd Morgan as "a +sheep-through-the-gapishness."</p> + +<p>From a moral point of view, this lack of capacity for private judgment +is equivalent to a want of moral freedom. We have seen how relatively +external are the sanctions of savage life. This does not mean, of course, +that there is no answering judgment in the mind of the individual when +he follows his customs. He says, "It is the custom; therefore it is +right." But this judgment can scarcely be said to proceed from a truly +judging, that is to say, critical, self. The man watches his neighbours, +taking his cue from them. His judgment is a judgment of sense. He does +not look inwards to principle. A moral principle is a standard that +can, by means of thought, be transferred from one sensible situation +to another sensible situation. <a name="page239"></a>The general law, and its application +to the situation present now to the senses, are considered apart, before +being put together. Consequently, a possible application, however +strongly suggested by custom, fashion, the action of one's neighbours, +one's own impulse or prejudice, or what not, can be resisted, if it +appear on reflection not to be really suited to the circumstances. In +short, in order to be rational and "put two and two together," one must +be able to entertain two and two as distinct conceptions. Perceptions, +on the contrary, can only be compared in the lump. Just as in the +chapter on language we saw how man began by talking in holophrases, +and only gradually attained to analytic, that is, separable, elements +of speech, so in this chapter we have to note the strictly parallel +development from confusion to distinction on the side of thought.</p> + +<p>Savage morality, then, is not rational in the sense of analysed, but +is, so to speak, impressionistic. We might, perhaps, describe it as +the expression of a collective impression. It is best understood in +the light of that branch of social psychology which usually goes by +the name of "mob-psychology." Perhaps mob and mobbish are rather +unfortunate terms. They are apt to make us think of the wilder +explosions of collective feeling—<a name="page240"></a>panics, blood-mania, +dancing-epidemics, and so on. But, though a savage society is by no +means a mob in the sense of a weltering mass of humanity that has for +the time being lost its head, the psychological considerations applying +to the latter apply also to the former, when due allowance has been +made for the fact that savage society is organized on a permanent basis. +The difference between the two comes, in short, to this, that the mob +as represented in the savage society is a mob consisting of many +successive generations of men. Its tradition constitutes, as it were, +a prolonged and abiding impression, which its conduct thereupon +expresses.</p> + +<p>Savage thought, then, is not able, because it does not try, to break +up custom into separate pieces. Rather it plays round the edges of +custom; religion especially, with its suggestion of the general +sacredness of custom, helping it to do so. There is found in primitive +society plenty of vague speculation that seeks to justify the existing. +But to take the machine to bits in order to put it together differently +is out of the reach of a type of intelligence which, though competent +to grapple with details, takes its principles for granted. When +progress comes, it comes by stealth, through imitating the letter, but +refusing to imitate the spirit; until by means <a name="page241"></a>of legal fictions, ritual +substitutions, and so on, the new takes the place of the old without +any one noticing the fact.</p> + +<p>Freedom, in the sense of intellectual freedom, may perhaps be said to +have been born in one place and at one time—namely, in Greece in the +fifth and fourth centuries B.C.[7] Of course, minglings and clashings +of peoples had prepared the way. Ideas begin to count as soon as they +break away from their local context. But Greece, in teaching the world +the meaning of intellectual freedom, paved a way towards that most +comprehensive form of freedom which is termed moral. Moral freedom is +the will to give out more than you take in; to repay with interest the +cost of your social education. It is the will to take thought about +the meaning and end of human life, and by so doing to assist in creative +evolution.</p> + +<p><small>[Footnote 7: Political freedom, which is rather a different matter, +is perhaps pre-eminently the discovery of England.]</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<div><h3><a name="chap10">CHAPTER X</a></h3></div> +<h4>MAN THE INDIVIDUAL</h4> +<br> +<p>By way of epilogue, a word about individuality, as displayed amongst +peoples of <a name="page242"></a>the ruder type, will not be out of place. There is a real +danger lest the anthropologist should think that a scientific view of +man is to be obtained by leaving out the human nature in him. This comes +from the over-anxiety of evolutionary history to arrive at general +principles. It is too ready to rule out the so-called "accident," +forgetful of the fact that the whole theory of biological evolution +may with some justice be described as "the happy accident theory." The +man of high individuality, then, the exceptional man, the man of genius, +be he man of thought, man of feeling, or man of action, is no accident +that can be overlooked by history. On the contrary, he is in no small +part the history-maker; and, as such, should be treated with due respect +by the history-compiler. The "dry bones" of history, its statistical +averages, and so on, are all very well in their way; but they correspond +to the superficial truth that history repeats itself, rather than to +the deeper truth that history is an evolution. Anthropology, then, +should not disdain what might be termed the method of the historical +novel. To study the plot without studying the characters will never +make sense of the drama of human life.</p> + +<p>It may seem a truism, but is perhaps worth recollecting at the start, +that no man or woman <a name="page243"></a>lacks individuality altogether, even if it cannot +be regarded in a particular case as a high individuality. No one is +a mere item. That useful figment of the statistician has no real +existence under the sun. We need to supplement the books of abstract +theory with much sympathetic insight directed towards men and women +in their concrete selfhood. Said a Vedda cave-dweller to Dr. Seligmann +(it is the first instance I light on in the first book I happen to take +up): "It is pleasant for us to feel the rain beating on our shoulders, +and good to go out and dig yams, and come home wet, and see the fire +burning in the cave, and sit round it." That sort of remark, to my mind, +throws more light on the anthropology of cave-life than all the bones +and stones that I have helped to dig out of our Mousterian caves in +Jersey. As the stock phrase has it, it is, as far as it goes, a "human +document." The individuality, in the sense of the intimate +self-existence, of the speaker and his group—for, characteristically +enough, he uses the first person plural—is disclosed sufficiently for +our souls to get into touch. We are the nearer to appreciating human +history from the inside.</p> + +<p>Some of those students of mankind, therefore, who have been privileged +to live amongst the ruder peoples, and to learn their language <a name="page244"></a>well, +and really to be friends with some of them (which is hard, since +friendship implies a certain sense of equality on both sides), should +try their hands at anthropological biography. Anthropology, so far as +it relates to savages, can never rise to the height of the most +illuminating kind of history until this is done.</p> + +<p>It ought not to be impossible for an intelligent white man to enter +sympathetically into the mental outlook of the native man of affairs, +the more or less practical and hardheaded legislator and statesman, +if only complete confidence could be established between the two. That +there are men of outstanding individuality who help to make political +history even amongst the rudest peoples is, moreover, hardly to be +doubted. Thus Messrs. Spencer and Gillen, in the introductory chapter +of their work on the Central Australians, state that, after observing +the conduct of a great gathering of the natives, they reached the +opinion that the changes which undoubtedly take place from time to time +in aboriginal custom are by no means wholly of the subconscious and +spontaneous sort, but are in part due also to the influence of +individuals of superior ability. "At this gathering, for example, some +of the oldest men were of no account; but, on the other <a name="page245"></a>hand, others +not so old as they were, but more learned in ancient lore or more skilled +in matters of magic, were looked up to by the others, and they it was +who settled everything. It must, however, be understood that we have +no definite proof to bring forward of the actual introduction by this +means of any fundamental change of custom. The only thing that we can +say is that, after carefully watching the natives during the +performance of their ceremonies and endeavouring as best we could to +enter into their feelings, to think as they did, and to become for the +time being one of themselves, we came to the conclusion that if one +or two of the most powerful men settled upon the advisability of +introducing some change, even an important one, it would be quite +possible for this to be agreed upon and carried out."</p> + +<p>This passage is worth quoting at length if only for the admirable method +that it discloses. The policy of "trying to become for the time being +one of themselves" resulted in the book that, of all first-hand studies, +has done most for modern anthropology. At the same time Messrs. Spencer +and Gillen, it is evident, would not claim to have done more than +interpret the external signs of a high individuality on the part of +these prominent natives. It still remains a rare and almost <a name="page246"></a>unheard-of +thing for an anthropologist to be on such friendly terms with a savage +as to get him to talk intimately about himself, and reveal the real +man within.</p> + +<p>There exist, however, occasional side-lights on human personality in +the anthropological literature that has to do with very rude peoples. +The page from a human document that I shall cite by way of example is +all the more curious, because it relates to a type of experience quite +outside the compass of ordinary civilized folk. Here and there, however, +something like it may be found amongst ourselves. My friend Mr. L.P. +Jacks, for instance, in his story-book, <i>Mad Shepherds</i>, has described +a rustic of the north of England who belonged to this old-world order +of great men. For men of the type in question can be great, at any rate +in low-level society. The so-called medicine man is a leader, perhaps +even the typical leader, of primitive society; and, just because he +is, by reason of his calling, addicted to privacy and aloofness, he +certainly tends to be more individual, more of a "character," than the +general run of his fellows.</p> + +<p>I shall slightly condense from Howitt's <i>Native Tribes of South-East +Australia</i> the man's own story of his experience of initiation. Howitt +says, by the way, "I feel strongly <a name="page247"></a>assured that the man believed that +the events which he related were real, and that he had actually +experienced them"; and then goes on to talk about "subjective +realities." I myself offer no commentary. Those interested in psychical +research will detect hypnotic trance, levitation, and so forth. Others, +versed in the spirit of William James' <i>Varieties of Religious +Experience</i>, will find an even deeper meaning in it all. The sociologist, +meanwhile, will point to the force of custom and tradition, as colouring +the whole experience, even when at its most subjective and dreamlike. +But each according to his bent must work out these things for himself. +In any case it is well that the end of a book should leave the reader +still thinking.</p> + +<p>The speaker was a Wiradjuri doctor of the Kangaroo totem. He said: "My +father is a Lizard-man. When I was a small boy, he took me into the +bush to train me to be a doctor. He placed two large quartz-crystals +against my breast, and they vanished into me. I do not know how they +went, but I felt them going through me like warmth. This was to make +me clever, and able to bring things up." (This refers to the +medicine-man's custom of bringing up into the mouth, as if from the +stomach, the quartz-crystal in which his "virtue" has its chief +material embodiment <a name="page248"></a>or symbol; being likewise useful, as we see later +on, for hypnotizing purposes.) "He also gave me some things like +quartz-crystals in water. They looked like ice, and the water tasted +sweet. After that, I used to see things that my mother could not see. +When out with her I would say, 'What is out there like men walking?' +She used to say, 'Child, there is nothing.' These were the ghosts which +I began to see."</p> + +<p>The account goes on to state that at puberty our friend went through +the regular initiation for boys; when he saw the doctors bringing up +their crystals, and, crystals in mouth, shooting the "virtue" into him +to make him "good." Thereupon, being in a holy state like any other +novice, he had retired to the bush in the customary manner to fast and +meditate.</p> + +<p>"Whilst I was in the bush, my old father came out to me. He said, 'Come +here to me,' and then he showed me a piece of quartz-crystal in his +hand. When I looked at it, he went down into the ground; and I saw him +come up all covered with red dust. It made me very frightened. Then +my father said, 'Try and bring up a crystal.' I did try, and brought +one up. He then said, 'Come with me to this place.' I saw him standing +by a hole in the ground, leading to a grave. I went inside and saw a +dead man, who rubbed me all <a name="page249"></a>over to make me clever, and gave me some +crystals. When we came out, my father pointed to a tiger-snake, saying, +'That is your familiar. It is mine also.' There was a string extending +from the tail of the snake to us—one of those strings which the +medicine-men bring up out of themselves. My father took hold of the +string, and said, 'Let us follow the snake.' The snake went through +several tree-trunks, and let us through them. At last we reached a tree +with a great swelling round its roots. It is in such places that +Daramulun lives. The snake went down into the ground, and came up inside +the tree, which was hollow. We followed him. There I saw a lot of little +Daramuluns, the sons of Baiame. Afterwards, the snake took us into a +great hole, in which were a number of snakes. These rubbed themselves +against me, and did not hurt me, being my familiars. They did this to +make me a clever man and a doctor.</p> + +<p>"Then my father said, 'We will go up to Baiame's Camp.' [Amongst the +Wiradjuri, Baiame is the high god, and Daramulun is his son. What +'little Daramuluns' may be is not very clear.] He got astride a thread, +and put me on another, and we held by each other's arms. At the end +of the thread was Wombu, the bird of Baiame. We went up through the +clouds, and on the other side was the sky. We <a name="page250"></a>went through the place +where the doctors go through, and it kept opening and shutting very +quickly. My father said that, if it touched a doctor when he was going +through, it would hurt his spirit, and when he returned home he would +sicken and die. On the other side we saw Baiame sitting in his camp. +He was a very great old man with a long beard. He sat with his legs +under him, and from his shoulders extended two great quartz-crystals +to the sky above him. There were also numbers of the boys of Baiame, +and of his people who are birds and beasts. [The totems.]</p> + +<p>"After this time, and while I was in the bush, I began to bring crystals +up; but I became very ill, and cannot do anything since."</p> +<br> +<br> +<p><i>November, 1911</i>.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br><a name="page251"></a> +<div><h3><a name="bibliography">BIBLIOGRAPHY</a></h3></div> +<br> +<p>I<small>NTRODUCTORY</small> N<small>OTE</small>.—It is impossible to provide a bibliography of so +vast a subject, even when first-class authorities only are referred +to; whilst selection must be arbitrary and invidious. Here books +written in English are alone cited, and those mostly the more modern. +The reader is advised to spend such time as he can give to the subject +mostly on the descriptive treatises. A few very educative studies are +marked by an asterisk. In many cases, to save space, merely the author's +name with initials is given, and a library catalogue must be consulted, +or a list of authors such as is to be found, <i>e.g.</i> at the end of +Westermarck's works.</p> + +<br> +<h4>A. THEORETICAL</h4> + +<p>G<small>ENERAL</small>.—E.B. Tylor, <i>Anthropology</i>* (best manual); <i>Primitive +Culture</i>* (the greatest of anthropological classics); Lord Avebury's +works; <i>Anthropological Essays presented to E.B. Tylor</i>.</p> + +<p>A<small>NTIQUITY OF</small> M<small>AN</small>.—W.J. Sollas, <i>Ancient Hunters and their Modern +Representatives</i> (best popular account). Subject difficult without +special knowledge, to be derived from, <i>e.g.</i> Sir J. Evans (Stone +Implements); J. Geikie (Geology of Ice Age), etc. See also Brit. Mus. +Guides to Stone Age, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age.</p> + +<p>R<small>ACE AND</small> G<small>EOGRAPHICAL</small> D<small>ISTRIBUTION</small>.—A.C. Haddon, <i>Races of Man</i> and +<i>The Wanderings of Peoples</i> (best short outlines to work from); fuller +details in J. Deniker, A.H. Keane; and, for Europe, W.Z. Ripley. See +also Brit. Mus. Guide to Ethnological Collections.</p> + +<p>S<small>OCIAL</small> O<small>RGANIZATION AND</small> L<small>AW</small>.—J.G. Frazer, <i>Totemism and Exogamy</i>*; +L.H. Morgan, <i>Ancient Society</i>*; E. Westermarck, <i>History of Human +Marriage</i>*; E.S. Hartland, <i>Primitive Paternity</i>; A. Lang, <i>The Secret +of the Totem</i>; N.W. Thomas, <i>Kinship Organization and Group Marriage +in Australia</i>; H. Webster, <i>Primitive Secret Societies</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="page252"></a>R<small>ELIGION</small>, M<small>AGIC</small>, F<small>OLK-LORE</small>.—J.G. Frazer, <i>The Golden Bough</i>* (3rd +edit.); E.S. Hartland, <i>The Legend of Perseus</i> (esp. vol. ii); A. Lang, +<i>Myth, Ritual and Religion</i>,* <i>The Making of Religion</i>, etc.; W. +Robertson Smith, <i>Early Religion of the Semites</i>*; F.B. Jevons, A.C. +Crawley, D.G. Brinton, G.L. Gomme, L.R. Farnell, R.R. Marett, etc.</p> + +<p>M<small>ORALS</small>.—E. Westermarck, <i>Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas</i>*; +E.B. Tylor, <i>Contemp. Rev.</i> xxi-ii; L.T. Hobhouse, <i>Morals in +Evolution</i>; A. Sutherland, <i>Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct</i>.</p> + +<p>M<small>ISCELLANEOUS</small>.—Language: E.J. Payne, <i>History of the New World called +America</i>,* vol. ii. Art: Y. Hirn, <i>Origins of Art</i>.* Economics: P.J.H. +Grierson, <i>The Silent Trade</i>.</p> + +<br> +<h4>B. DESCRIPTIVE</h4> + +<p>A<small>USTRALIA</small>.—B. Spencer and F.J. Gillen, <i>Native Tribes of Central +Australia</i>,* <i>Northern Tribes of Central Australia</i>; A.W. Howitt, +<i>Native Tribes of South-east Australia</i>*; J. Woods (and others), +<i>Native Tribes of South Australia</i>; L. Fison and A.W. Howitt, +<i>Kamilaroi and Kurnai</i>; H. Ling Roth, <i>Aborigines of Tasmania</i>.</p> + +<p>O<small>CEANIA AND</small> I<small>NDONESIA</small>.—R.H. Codrington, <i>The Melanesians</i>*; B.H. +Thompson, <i>The Fijians</i>; A.C. Haddon (and others), <i>Report of Cambridge +Expedition to Torres Straits</i>; C.G. Seligmann (for New Guinea); G. +Turner, W. Ellis, E. Shortland, R. Taylor (for Polynesia); A.R. Wallace, +<i>Malay Archipelago</i>; C. Hose and W. McDougall (for Indonesia).</p> + +<p>A<small>SIA</small>.—J.J.M. de Groot, <i>The Religious System of China</i>; W.H.R. Rivers, +<i>The Todas</i>*; and a host of other good authorities for India, <i>e.g.</i> +Sir H.H. Risley, E. Thurston, W. Crooke, T.C. Hodson, P.R.T. Gurdon, +C.G. and B.Z. Seligmann (Veddas of Ceylon); E.H. Man, <i>Journ. R. Anthrop. +Instit.</i> xii (Andamanese); W. Skeat (for Malay Peninsula).</p> + +<p>A<small>FRICA</small>.—South: H. Callaway, E. Casalis, J. Maclean, D. Kidd. East: +A.C. Hollis, J. Roscoe, W.S. and K. Routledge, A. Werner. West: M.H. +Kingsley, A.B. Ellis. Madagascar: W. Ellis.</p> + +<p><a name="page253"></a>A<small>MERICA</small>.—A vast number of important works, see esp. <i>Smithsonian +Institution</i>, <i>Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology</i> (J.W. Powell, F. +Boas, F. Cushing, A.C. Fletcher, M.C. Stevenson, J.R. Swanton, C. +Mindeleff, S. Powers, J. Mooney, J.O. Dorsey, W.J. Hoffman, W.J. McGee, +etc.); L.H. Morgan (on Iroquois), J. Teit, C. Hill Tout; C. Lumholtz, +<i>Unknown Mexico</i>; Sir E. im Thurn, <i>Among the Indians of Guiana</i>.</p> + +<p>E<small>UROPE</small>.—Ancient: L.R. Farnell, <i>Cults of the Greek States</i>; J.E. +Harrison, <i>Prolegomena to Greek Religion</i>; W. Warde Fowler, <i>Religious +Experience of the Roman People</i>; <i>Anthropology and the Classics</i>, etc. +Modern: G.F. Abbott, C. Lawson (to compare modern with ancient), +Folk-lore Society's Publications, etc.</p> + +<br> +<h4>C. SUBSIDIARY</h4> + +<p>C. Darwin, <i>Descent of Man</i> (Part I); W. Bagehot, <i>Physics and +Politics</i>*; W. James, <i>Varieties of Religious Experience</i>*; W. +McDougall, <i>Introduction to Social Psychology</i>.* And in this series +Geddes and Thomson, Newbigin, Myres, McDougall, Keith.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br><a name="page254"></a> +<div><h3><a name="index">INDEX</a></h3></div> +<br> +Adultery, +<a href="#page195">195</a><br> +<br> +Africans, +<a href="#page41">41</a>, +<a href="#page100">100</a>, +<a href="#page118">118</a>, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page158">158</a>, +<a href="#page193">193</a>, +<a href="#page194">194</a>, +<a href="#page195">195</a>, +<a href="#page199">199</a><br> +<br> +Age-grades, +<a href="#page176">176</a><br> +<br> +Alpine race, +<a href="#page106">106</a><br> +<br> +Altamira, +<a href="#page52">52</a><br> +<br> +Americans, +<a href="#page40">40</a>, +<a href="#page97">97</a>, +<a href="#page100">100</a>, +<a href="#page110">110-114</a>, +<a href="#page124">124</a>, +<a href="#page128">128</a>, +<a href="#page133">133</a>, +<a href="#page138">138-147</a>, +<a href="#page157">157</a>, +<a href="#page163">163</a>, +<a href="#page174">174</a>, +<a href="#page192">192</a>, +<a href="#page199">199</a><br> +<br> +Andamanese, +<a href="#page160">160</a>, +<a href="#page188">188</a>, +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +Anglo-Saxons, +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +Animatism, +<a href="#page230">230</a><br> +<br> +Animism, +<a href="#page228">228</a>, +<a href="#page230">230</a><br> +<br> +Anthropo-geography, +<a href="#page23">23</a>, +<a href="#page84">84</a>, +<a href="#page95">95-101</a>, +<a href="#page115">115</a>, +<a href="#page129">129</a><br> +<br> +Anthropoid apes, +<a href="#page23">23</a>, +<a href="#page37">37</a>, +<a href="#page76">76-79</a>, +<a href="#page81">81</a>, +<a href="#page84">84</a>, +<a href="#page111">111</a>, +<a href="#page115">115</a>, +<a href="#page117">117</a><br> +<br> +Anthropology, +<a href="#page7">7-30</a>, +<a href="#page186">186</a>, +<a href="#page204">204</a>, +<a href="#page227">227</a>, +<a href="#page242">242</a>, +<a href="#page244">244</a><br> +<br> +Asiatics, +<a href="#page37">37</a>, +<a href="#page59">59</a>, +<a href="#page82">82</a>, +<a href="#page99">99</a>, +<a href="#page105">105-111</a>, +<a href="#page114">114-118</a>, +<a href="#page120">120-122</a>, +<a href="#page128">128</a>, +<a href="#page132">132</a>, +<a href="#page133">133</a>, +<a href="#page142">142</a>, +<a href="#page150">150</a>, +<a href="#page160">160-162</a>, +<a href="#page183">183</a>, +<a href="#page188">188</a>, +<a href="#page194">194</a>, +<a href="#page216">216-219</a><br> +<br> +Athapascan languages, +<a href="#page112">112</a><br> +<br> +Atlantic phase of culture, +<a href="#page102">102</a><br> +<br> +Aurignac, +<a href="#page48">48</a><br> +<br> +Australians, +<a href="#page39">39</a>, +<a href="#page49">49</a>, +<a href="#page51">51</a>, +<a href="#page52">52</a>, +<a href="#page54">54</a>, +<a href="#page118">118</a>, +<a href="#page120">120</a>, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page147">147</a>, +<a href="#page157">157</a>, +<a href="#page162">162</a>, +<a href="#page167">167</a>, +<a href="#page174">174</a>, +<a href="#page190">190</a>, +<a href="#page191">191</a>, +<a href="#page198">198</a>, +<a href="#page207">207</a>, +<a href="#page219">219-227</a>, +<a href="#page231">231</a>, +<a href="#page244">244-250</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Bagehot, W., +<a href="#page84">84</a>, +<a href="#page185">185</a>, +<a href="#page187">187</a>, +<a href="#page201">201</a><br> +<br> +Baiame, +<a href="#page249">249</a>, +<a href="#page250">250</a><br> +<br> +Balfour, H., +<a href="#page40">40</a><br> +<br> +Basque language, +<a href="#page55">55</a>, +<a href="#page132">132</a>, +<a href="#page134">134</a><br> +<br> +Biology, +<a href="#page10">10</a>, +<a href="#page13">13</a><br> +<br> +Bison, +<a href="#page49">49</a>, +<a href="#page51">51</a>, +<a href="#page79">79</a>, +<a href="#page100">100</a><br> +<br> +Blood-revenge, +<a href="#page189">189-194</a><br> +<br> +Boas, F., +<a href="#page77">77</a>, +<a href="#page85">85</a><br> +<br> +Borneo, +<a href="#page101">101</a>, +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Brandon, +<a href="#page56">56</a>, +<a href="#page59">59</a><br> +<br> +Bronze-age, +<a href="#page32">32</a>, +<a href="#page55">55</a>, +<a href="#page107">107</a><br> +<br> +Bull-roarer, +<a href="#page125">125-128</a>, +<a href="#page207">207</a>, +<a href="#page226">226</a>, +<a href="#page231">231</a><br> +<br> +Burial, +<a href="#page35">35</a>, +<a href="#page79">79</a>, +<a href="#page177">177</a>, +<a href="#page202">202</a>, +<a href="#page206">206</a>, +<a href="#page248">248</a><br> +<br> +Bushmen, +<a href="#page39">39</a>, +<a href="#page81">81</a>, +<a href="#page87">87</a>, +<a href="#page108">108</a>, +<a href="#page119">119</a>, +<a href="#page126">126</a>, +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +Butler, S., +<a href="#page66">66</a><br> +<br> +Buzz, +<a href="#page128">128</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Calaveras skull, +<a href="#page40">40</a><br> +<br> +Cannibalism, +<a href="#page37">37</a><br> +<br> +Cartailhac, E., +<a href="#page34">34</a><br> +<br> +Carthage, +<a href="#page105">105</a><br> +<br> +Caste, +<a href="#page144">144</a>, +<a href="#page179">179</a><br> +<br> +Cave-paintings, +<a href="#page21">21</a>, +<a href="#page47">47-53</a>, +<a href="#page221">221</a><br> +<br> +Chelles, +<a href="#page77">77</a><br> +<br> +China, +<a href="#page106">106</a>, +<a href="#page108">108</a>, +<a href="#page115">115</a>, +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +<br> +Chukchis, +<a href="#page110">110</a><br> +<br> +Clan, +<a href="#page161">161</a>, +<a href="#page171">171</a>, +<a href="#page175">175</a>, +<a href="#page189">189</a>, +<a href="#page197">197</a>, +<a href="#page203">203</a><br> +<br> +Class (matrimonial), +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +<br> +Climate, +<a href="#page83">83-86</a>, +<a href="#page101">101</a>, +<a href="#page103">103</a>, +<a href="#page117">117</a>, +<a href="#page156">156</a><br> +<br> +Cogul, +<a href="#page53">53</a><br> +<br> +Collective responsibility, +<a href="#page189">189</a>, +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +Colour, +<a href="#page82">82-86</a><br> +<br> +Commont, V., +<a href="#page33">33</a><br> +<br> +Confederacy, +<a href="#page174">174</a><br> +<br> +Consanguinity, +<a href="#page163">163</a><br> +<br> +Conservatism of savage, +<a href="#page113">113</a>, +<a href="#page124">124</a>, +<a href="#page183">183</a>, +<a href="#page184">184</a>, +<a href="#page213">213</a>, +<a href="#page245">245</a><br> +<br> +Counting, +<a href="#page25">25</a>, +<a href="#page148">148</a>, +<a href="#page150">150</a><br> +<br> +Cranial index, +<a href="#page74">74</a><br> +<br> +Cranz, D., +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +<br> +Creswell Crags, +<a href="#page47">47</a><br> +<br> +Cro-Magnon, +<a href="#page80">80</a><br> +<br> +Custom, +<a href="#page38">38</a>, +<a href="#page183">183-187</a>, +<a href="#page213">213-215</a>, +<a href="#page223">223</a>, +<a href="#page227">227</a>, +<a href="#page238">238</a>, +<a href="#page245">245</a>, +<a href="#page247">247</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Dahomey, +<a href="#page158">158</a>, +<a href="#page194">194</a><br> +<br> +Dairy-ritual, +<a href="#page216">216-219</a><br> +<br> +Daramulun, +<a href="#page207">207</a>, +<a href="#page226">226</a>, +<a href="#page249">249</a><br> +<br> +Darwin, C., +<a href="#page8">8-11</a>, +<a href="#page22">22</a>, +<a href="#page64">64</a>, +<a href="#page65">65</a>, +<a href="#page69">69</a>, +<a href="#page132">132</a>, +<a href="#page157">157</a><br> +<br> +Demolins, E., +<a href="#page98">98</a>, +<a href="#page111">111</a><br> +<br> +Differential evolution, +<a href="#page121">121</a><br> +<br> +Dog, +<a href="#page118">118</a><br> +<br> +Dubois, E., +<a href="#page76">76</a><br> +<br> +Duel, +<a href="#page191">191</a>, +<a href="#page195">195</a>, +<a href="#page198">198</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Egypt, +<a href="#page102">102</a>, +<a href="#page105">105</a>, +<a href="#page107">107</a>, +<a href="#page115">115</a><br> +<br> +Endogamy, +<a href="#page165">165</a>, +<a href="#page173">173</a><br> +<br> +Environment, +<a href="#page69">69</a>, +<a href="#page70">70</a>, +<a href="#page75">75</a>, +<a href="#page93">93</a>, +<a href="#page94">94-129</a><br> +<br> +Eoliths, +<a href="#page41">41-48</a><br> +<br> +Eskimo, +<a href="#page39">39</a>, +<a href="#page111">111</a>, +<a href="#page190">190</a>, +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +<br> +Eugenics, +<a href="#page63">63</a>, +<a href="#page70">70</a>, +<a href="#page93">93</a>, +<a href="#page95">95</a><br> +<br> +Eurasian region, +<a href="#page106">106-110</a><br> +<br> +Europeans, +<a href="#page33">33-59</a>, +<a href="#page75">75</a>, +<a href="#page77">77-82</a>, +<a href="#page93">93</a>, +<a href="#page102">102-105</a>, +<a href="#page108">108</a>, +<a href="#page109">109</a>, +<a href="#page124">124</a>, +<a href="#page126">126</a>, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page133">133</a>, +<a href="#page185">185</a>, +<a href="#page193">193</a>, +<a href="#page202">202</a>, +<a href="#page230">230</a>, +<a href="#page241">241</a><br> +<br> +Evans, Sir J., +<a href="#page42">42</a>, +<a href="#page124">124</a><br> +<br> +Evolution, +<a href="#page7">7-12</a>, +<a href="#page14">14</a>, +<a href="#page22">22</a>, +<a href="#page61">61-72</a>, +<a href="#page136">136</a>, +<a href="#page205">205</a><br> +<br> +Exogamy, +<a href="#page159">159</a>, +<a href="#page161">161-165</a>, +<a href="#page168">168</a>, +<a href="#page169">169</a>, +<a href="#page172">172</a>, +<a href="#page173">173</a>, +<a href="#page220">220</a><br> +<br> +Experimental psychology, +<a href="#page23">23</a>, +<a href="#page88">88</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Family, +<a href="#page159">159</a>, +<a href="#page160">160</a>, +<a href="#page164">164</a>, +<a href="#page171">171</a>, +<a href="#page178">178</a>, +<a href="#page196">196</a><br> +<br> +Family jurisdiction, +<a href="#page196">196</a><br> +<br> +Flint-mining, +<a href="#page56">56</a>, +<a href="#page57">57</a><br> +<br> +Folk-lore, +<a href="#page186">186</a>, +<a href="#page210">210</a><br> +<br> +Frazer, J.G., +<a href="#page163">163</a>, +<a href="#page172">172</a>, +<a href="#page200">200</a><br> +<br> +Freedom, +<a href="#page130">130</a>, +<a href="#page154">154</a>, +<a href="#page181">181</a>, +<a href="#page185">185</a>, +<a href="#page238">238</a>, +<a href="#page241">241</a><br> +<br> +Fuegians, +<a href="#page138">138-140</a>, +<a href="#page145">145</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Galley Hill skull, +<a href="#page46">46</a>, +<a href="#page80">80</a><br> +<br> +Gargas, +<a href="#page47">47-50</a><br> +<br> +Genealogical method, +<a href="#page147">147</a><br> +<br> +Gesture-language, +<a href="#page134">134</a>, +<a href="#page149">149</a><br> +<br> +Ghosts, +<a href="#page229">229</a>, +<a href="#page230">230</a>, +<a href="#page248">248</a><br> +<br> +Gibraltar skull, +<a href="#page78">78</a><br> +<br> +Greece, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page157">157</a>, +<a href="#page172">172</a>, +<a href="#page185">185</a>, +<a href="#page241">241</a><br> +<br> +Greenwell, W., +<a href="#page56">56</a><br> +<br> +Grime's Graves, +<a href="#page56">56</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Haddon, A.H., +<a href="#page88">88</a>, +<a href="#page127">127</a><br> +<br> +Haeckel, E., +<a href="#page118">118</a><br> +<br> +Hand-prints, +<a href="#page49">49</a><br> +<br> +Harrison, B., +<a href="#page41">41</a>, +<a href="#page44">44</a><br> +<br> +Head-form, +<a href="#page73">73-82</a>, +<a href="#page107">107</a><br> +<br> +Head-hunting, +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +<br> +Heidelberg mandible, +<a href="#page77">77</a><br> +<br> +History, +<a href="#page11">11</a>, +<a href="#page13">13-15</a>, +<a href="#page30">30</a>, +<a href="#page97">97</a>, +<a href="#page156">156</a>, +<a href="#page227">227</a>, +<a href="#page242">242</a><br> +<br> +Hittites, +<a href="#page107">107</a><br> +<br> +Hobhouse, L.T., +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +Holophrase, +<a href="#page140">140-152</a>, +<a href="#page239">239</a><br> +<br> +Horse, +<a href="#page37">37</a>, +<a href="#page50">50</a>, +<a href="#page100">100</a>, +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +<br> +Howitt, A.W., +<a href="#page163">163</a>, +<a href="#page231">231</a>, +<a href="#page246">246</a><br> +<br> +Humility, +<a href="#page212">212</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Ice-age, +<a href="#page21">21</a>, +<a href="#page33">33</a>, +<a href="#page36">36</a>, +<a href="#page38">38</a>, +<a href="#page46">46</a>, +<a href="#page106">106</a>, +<a href="#page112">112</a>, +<a href="#page132">132</a><br> +<br> +Icklingham, +<a href="#page38">38</a>,<br> +<br> +Imagination, +<a href="#page28">28</a>, +<a href="#page213">213</a>, +<a href="#page223">223</a>, +<a href="#page234">234</a><br> +<br> +Incest, +<a href="#page189">189</a>, +<a href="#page200">200</a><br> +<br> +India, +<a href="#page115">115</a><br> +<br> +Individuality, +<a href="#page29">29</a>, +<a href="#page241">241-250</a><br> +<br> +Indo-European languages, +<a href="#page133">133</a><br> +<br> +Indonesia, +<a href="#page116">116</a>, +<a href="#page118">118</a>, +<a href="#page121">121</a>, +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Initiation, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page174">174</a>, +<a href="#page176">176</a>, +<a href="#page211">211</a>, +<a href="#page224">224-227</a>, +<a href="#page246">246-250</a><br> +<br> +Instinct, +<a href="#page23">23</a>, +<a href="#page68">68</a>, +<a href="#page71">71</a>, +<a href="#page89">89-91</a><br> +<br> +Intichiuma ceremonies, +<a href="#page51">51</a>, +<a href="#page167">167</a>, +<a href="#page220">220-223</a><br> +<br> +Iron-age, +<a href="#page40">40</a>, +<a href="#page119">119</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Jacks, L.P., +<a href="#page246">246</a><br> +<br> +James, W., +<a href="#page247">247</a><br> +<br> +Jersey, +<a href="#page32">32</a>, +<a href="#page36">36</a>, +<a href="#page45">45</a>, +<a href="#page243">243</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Kellor, F.A., +<a href="#page91">91</a><br> +<br> +Kent's cavern, +<a href="#page46">46</a><br> +<br> +Kingship, +<a href="#page194">194</a>, +<a href="#page195">195</a>, +<a href="#page200">200</a>, +<a href="#page202">202</a><br> +<br> +Kinship, +<a href="#page163">163</a>, +<a href="#page177">177</a><br> +<br> +Knappers, +<a href="#page57">57</a>, +<a href="#page58">58</a><br> +<br> +Koryaks, +<a href="#page110">110</a><br> +<br> +<br> +La Chapelle-aux-Saints, +<a href="#page79">79</a><br> +<br> +Lamarck, J.B., +<a href="#page64">64</a>, +<a href="#page65">65</a><br> +<br> +La Naulette mandible, +<a href="#page78">78</a><br> +<br> +Lang, A., +<a href="#page187">187</a>, +<a href="#page226">226</a><br> +<br> +Language, +<a href="#page24">24</a>, +<a href="#page130">130-152</a><br> +<br> +Lapps, +<a href="#page110">110</a><br> +<br> +Law, +<a href="#page26">26</a>, +<a href="#page181">181-203</a><br> +<br> +Lecky, T., +<a href="#page102">102</a><br> +<br> +Le Moustier, +<a href="#page38">38</a>, +<a href="#page45">45-47</a>, +<a href="#page79">79</a><br> +<br> +Le Play, F., +<a href="#page98">98</a><br> +<br> +Lévy-Bruhl, L., +<a href="#page138">138</a><br> +<br> +Lineage, +<a href="#page165">165</a>, +<a href="#page168">168</a><br> +<br> +Lloyd Morgan, C., +<a href="#page238">238</a><br> +<br> +Local association, +<a href="#page177">177</a><br> +<br> +Luck, +<a href="#page167">167</a>, +<a href="#page200">200</a>, +<a href="#page213">213</a>, +<a href="#page215">215</a><br> +<br> +<br> +McDougall, W., +<a href="#page90">90</a><br> +<br> +Madagascar, +<a href="#page114">114</a>, +<a href="#page158">158</a><br> +<br> +Magic, +<a href="#page27">27</a>, +<a href="#page51">51</a>, +<a href="#page177">177</a>, +<a href="#page202">202</a>, +<a href="#page208">208-210</a>, +<a href="#page224">224</a>, +<a href="#page245">245</a>, +<a href="#page247">247</a><br> +<br> +Malaya, +<a href="#page114">114</a>, +<a href="#page122">122</a>, +<a href="#page126">126</a><br> +<br> +Malthus, T., +<a href="#page69">69</a>, +<a href="#page157">157</a><br> +<br> +Mammoth, +<a href="#page37">37</a>, +<a href="#page78">78</a>, +<a href="#page111">111</a>, +<a href="#page132">132</a><br> +<br> +Man, E.H., +<a href="#page188">188</a>, +<a href="#page198">198</a><br> +<br> +Mas d'Azil, +<a href="#page54">54</a><br> +<br> +Masks, +<a href="#page53">53</a><br> +<br> +Matriarchate, +<a href="#page166">166</a><br> +<br> +Matrilineal, matrilocal, matripotestal, +<a href="#page165">165</a>, +<a href="#page196">196</a><br> +<br> +Medicine-man, +<a href="#page246">246-250</a><br> +<br> +Mediterranean race, +<a href="#page104">104</a>, +<a href="#page109">109</a>, +<a href="#page119">119</a><br> +<br> +Melanesians, +<a href="#page116">116</a>, +<a href="#page121">121</a>, +<a href="#page128">128</a><br> +<br> +Mendelism, +<a href="#page67">67</a><br> +<br> +Mentone, +<a href="#page35">35</a><br> +<br> +Military discipline, +<a href="#page192">192</a>, +<a href="#page199">199</a><br> +<br> +Miscegenation, +<a href="#page93">93</a><br> +<br> +Mob-psychology, +<a href="#page92">92</a>, +<a href="#page201">201</a>, +<a href="#page239">239-241</a><br> +<br> +Moieties, +<a href="#page175">175</a><br> +<br> +Morality, +<a href="#page29">29</a>, +<a href="#page235">235-241</a><br> +<br> +Mother-right, +<a href="#page166">166</a>, +<a href="#page169">169</a>, +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +<br> +Myres, J.L., +<a href="#page102">102</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Nation, +<a href="#page174">174</a><br> +<br> +Natural selection, +<a href="#page68">68-71</a>, +<a href="#page84">84</a><br> +<br> +Nature, +<a href="#page15">15</a>, +<a href="#page82">82</a>, +<a href="#page155">155</a>, +<a href="#page211">211</a>, +<a href="#page230">230</a><br> +<br> +Neanderthal race, +<a href="#page37">37</a>, +<a href="#page39">39</a>, +<a href="#page77">77-81</a>, +<a href="#page87">87</a>, +<a href="#page120">120</a>, +<a href="#page206">206</a><br> +<br> +Negative rites, +<a href="#page216">216-219</a>, +<a href="#page234">234</a><br> +<br> +Negritos, +<a href="#page81">81</a>, +<a href="#page116">116-118</a>, +<a href="#page120">120</a>, +<a href="#page160">160</a>, +<a href="#page188">188</a><br> +<br> +Negro race, +<a href="#page80">80</a>, +<a href="#page91">91</a>, +<a href="#page116">116</a>, +<a href="#page120">120</a><br> +<br> +Neolithic age, +<a href="#page40">40</a>, +<a href="#page53">53-59</a>, +<a href="#page81">81</a>, +<a href="#page104">104</a>, +<a href="#page109">109</a><br> +<br> +Niaux, +<a href="#page50">50-53</a><br> +<br> +Nordic race, +<a href="#page109">109</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Ordeal, +<a href="#page191">191</a>, +<a href="#page195">195</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Pacation, +<a href="#page192">192</a>, +<a href="#page195">195</a><br> +<br> +Painted pebbles, +<a href="#page54">54</a><br> +<br> +Palæolithic age, +<a href="#page40">40</a>, +<a href="#page43">43-54</a>, +<a href="#page108">108</a>, +<a href="#page124">124</a><br> +<br> +Papuasians, +<a href="#page116">116</a><br> +<br> +Patagonians, +<a href="#page114">114</a><br> +<br> +Patrilineal, patrilocal, patripotestal, +<a href="#page165">165</a>, +<a href="#page196">196</a><br> +<br> +Payne, E.J., +<a href="#page138">138</a><br> +<br> +Persecuting tendency, +<a href="#page187">187</a><br> +<br> +Perthes, Boucher de, +<a href="#page43">43</a><br> +<br> +Phantasm, +<a href="#page229">229</a><br> +<br> +Philosophy, +<a href="#page15">15-17</a>, +<a href="#page72">72</a>, +<a href="#page154">154</a>, +<a href="#page223">223</a><br> +<br> +Phratry, +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +<br> +Pictographs, +<a href="#page51">51</a><br> +<br> +Pithecanthropus erectus, +<a href="#page76">76</a>, +<a href="#page115">115</a><br> +<br> +Policy, +<a href="#page17">17-19</a><br> +<br> +Polynesians, +<a href="#page121">121</a>, +<a href="#page128">128</a>, +<a href="#page183">183</a>, +<a href="#page194">194</a><br> +<br> +Positive rites, +<a href="#page219">219-224</a>, +<a href="#page234">234</a><br> +<br> +Pottery, +<a href="#page33">33</a>, +<a href="#page55">55</a><br> +<br> +Pre-Dravidians, +<a href="#page120">120</a><br> +<br> +Pre-historic chronology, +<a href="#page34">34</a><br> +<br> +Pre-history, +<a href="#page21">21</a>, +<a href="#page31">31</a>, +<a href="#page97">97</a>, +<a href="#page111">111</a><br> +<br> +Pre-natal environment, +<a href="#page94">94</a><br> +<br> +Prestwich, Sir J., +<a href="#page42">42</a><br> +<br> +Profane vessels, +<a href="#page217">217</a><br> +<br> +Property, +<a href="#page179">179</a>, +<a href="#page192">192</a>, +<a href="#page195">195</a>, +<a href="#page198">198</a><br> +<br> +Proto-history, +<a href="#page31">31</a>, +<a href="#page97">97</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Quartz crystals, +<a href="#page248">248-250</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Race, +<a href="#page22">22</a>, +<a href="#page59">59-94</a>, +<a href="#page96">96</a>, +<a href="#page99">99</a><br> +<br> +Ratzel, F., +<a href="#page98">98</a><br> +<br> +Reincarnation, +<a href="#page167">167</a>, +<a href="#page221">221</a>, +<a href="#page224">224</a><br> +<br> +Reindeer, +<a href="#page37">37</a>, +<a href="#page55">55</a>, +<a href="#page78">78</a>, +<a href="#page106">106</a>, +<a href="#page110">110</a><br> +<br> +Religion, +<a href="#page27">27</a>, +<a href="#page49">49</a>, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page166">166-168</a>, +<a href="#page204">204-235</a>, +<a href="#page246">246-250</a><br> +<br> +Ridgeway, W., +<a href="#page107">107</a><br> +<br> +Rites, +<a href="#page212">212</a>, +<a href="#page219">219-224</a>, +<a href="#page234">234</a><br> +<br> +River-phase of culture, +<a href="#page102">102</a><br> +<br> +Rivers, W.H.R., +<a href="#page147">147</a>, +<a href="#page216">216</a>, +<a href="#page219">219</a><br> +<br> +Rutot, A., +<a href="#page41">41</a>, +<a href="#page46">46</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Sacramental meal, +<a href="#page222">222</a><br> +<br> +Sacredness, +<a href="#page28">28</a>, +<a href="#page52">52</a>, +<a href="#page127">127</a>, +<a href="#page168">168</a>, +<a href="#page203">203</a>, +<a href="#page213">213</a>, +<a href="#page217">217</a>, +<a href="#page218">218</a>, +<a href="#page224">224</a>, +<a href="#page226">226</a><br> +<br> +St. Acheul, +<a href="#page33">33</a>, +<a href="#page45">45</a>, +<a href="#page46">46</a><br> +<br> +Sanction, +<a href="#page195">195</a>, +<a href="#page203">203</a>,<br> +<br> +Savagery, +<a href="#page11">11</a>, +<a href="#page158">158</a><br> +<br> +Science, +<a href="#page12">12-15</a><br> +<br> +Secret Societies, +<a href="#page177">177</a><br> +<br> +Seligmann, C.G. and B.Z., +<a href="#page161">161</a>, +<a href="#page243">243</a><br> +<br> +Sex-totems, +<a href="#page176">176</a><br> +<br> +Shaw, B., +<a href="#page66">66</a><br> +<br> +Slander, +<a href="#page198">198</a><br> +<br> +Slavery, +<a href="#page179">179</a><br> +<br> +Smith, W. Robertson, +<a href="#page213">213</a><br> +<br> +Snare, F., +<a href="#page57">57</a><br> +<br> +Social organization, +<a href="#page24">24-26</a>, +<a href="#page152">152-181</a><br> +<br> +Solutré, +<a href="#page47">47</a>, +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +<br> +Spear-thrower, +<a href="#page231">231</a><br> +<br> +Spencer, B., and Gillen, F.J., +<a href="#page39">39</a>, +<a href="#page163">163</a>, +<a href="#page175">175</a>, +<a href="#page220">220</a>, +<a href="#page244">244</a><br> +<br> +Spirit, +<a href="#page228">228</a>, +<a href="#page229">229</a><br> +<br> +Steinmetz, S.R., +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +<br> +Stratigraphical method, +<a href="#page31">31-36</a><br> +<br> +Suggestion, +<a href="#page233">233-235</a>, +<a href="#page237">237-240</a><br> +<br> +Survivals, +<a href="#page186">186</a><br> +<br> +Sutherland, A., +<a href="#page157">157</a><br> +<br> +Sympathetic magic, +<a href="#page126">126</a>, +<a href="#page233">233</a><br> +<br> +Synnomic phase of society +<a href="#page236">236</a><br> +<br> +Syntelic phase of society, +<a href="#page236">236</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Taboo, +<a href="#page200">200-203</a>, +<a href="#page215">215</a>, +<a href="#page218">218</a><br> +<br> +Tasmanians, +<a href="#page39">39-44</a><br> +<br> +Thames gravels, +<a href="#page38">38-44</a>, +<a href="#page46">46</a><br> +<br> +Theft, +<a href="#page198">198</a><br> +<br> +Todas, +<a href="#page210">210-219</a><br> +<br> +Torres Straits, +<a href="#page88">88</a><br> +<br> +Totemism, +<a href="#page160">160</a>, +<a href="#page166">166-168</a>, +<a href="#page175">175</a>, +<a href="#page189">189</a>, +<a href="#page220">220-223</a>, +<a href="#page250">250</a><br> +<br> +Tribe, +<a href="#page173">173</a><br> +<br> +Tylor, E.B., +<a href="#page184">184</a>, +<a href="#page228">228-230</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Use-inheritance, +<a href="#page64">64</a>, +<a href="#page93">93</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Variation, +<a href="#page66">66-68</a><br> +<br> +Veddas, +<a href="#page120">120</a>, +<a href="#page160">160</a>, +<a href="#page243">243</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Wallace, A.R., +<a href="#page69">69</a>, +<a href="#page118">118</a>, +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Wealden dome, +<a href="#page43">43</a><br> +<br> +Weismann, A., +<a href="#page65">65</a>, +<a href="#page66">66</a><br> +<br> +Westermarck, E., +<a href="#page235">235</a><br> +<br> +Witchcraft, +<a href="#page202">202</a>, +<a href="#page210">210</a><br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>The Home University Library <i>of Modern Knowledge</i></h3> + +<p>Is made up of absolutely new books by leading authorities. The editors +are <i>Professors Gilbert Murray</i>, <i>H.A.L. Fisher</i>, <i>W.T. Brewster</i>, +<i>and J. Arthur Thomson</i>.</p> + +<p>Cloth bound, good paper, clear type, 256 pages per volume, +bibliographies, indices, also maps or illustrations where needed. Each +complete and sold separately.</p> + +<h4>50c. per volume</h4> +<br> +<h4>AMERICAN HISTORY</h4> + +[<i>Order<br> +number</i>] + +<p><big>47. The Colonial Period (1607-1766).</big><br> +By C<small>HARLES</small> M<small>C</small>L<small>EAN</small> A<small>NDREWS</small>, Professor of American History, Yale. The +fascinating history of the two hundred years of "colonial times."</p> + +<p><big>82. The Wars Between England and America (1763-1815).</big><br> +By T<small>HEODORE</small> C. S<small>MITH</small>, Professor of American History, Williams College. +A history of the period, with especial emphasis on The Revolution and +The War of 1812.</p> + +<p><big>67. From Jefferson to Lincoln (1815-1860).</big><br> +By W<small>ILLIAM</small> M<small>AC</small>D<small>ONALD</small>, Professor of History, Brown University. The +author makes the history of this period circulate about constitutional +ideas and slavery sentiment.</p> + +<p><big>25. The Civil War (1854-1865).</big><br> +By F<small>REDERIC</small> L. P<small>AXSON</small>, Professor of American History, University of +Wisconsin.</p> + +<p><big>39. Reconstruction and Union (1865-1912).</big><br> +By P<small>AUL</small> L<small>ELAND</small> H<small>AWORTH</small>, A History of the United States in our own times.</p> + +<br> +<h4>GENERAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY</h4> + +<p><big>92. The Ancient East.</big><br> +By D.G. H<small>OGARTH</small>, M.A., F.B.A., F.S.A. Connects with Prof. Myres's <i>Dawn +of History</i> (No. 26) at about 1000 B.C. and reviews the history of +Assyria, Babylon, Cilicia, Persia and Macedon.</p> + +<p><big>94. The Navy and Sea Power.</big><br> +By D<small>AVID</small> H<small>ANNAY</small>, author of <i>Short History of the Royal Navy</i>, etc. A +brief history of the navies, sea power, and ship growth of all nations, +including the rise and decline of America on the sea, and explains the +present British supremacy thereon.</p> + +<p><big>78. Latin America.</big><br> +By W<small>ILLIAM</small> R. S<small>HEPHERD</small>, Professor of History, Columbia. With maps. The +historical, artistic, and commercial development of the Central South +American republics.</p> + +<p><big>76. The Ocean. A General Account of the Science of the Sea.</big><br> +By S<small>IR</small> J<small>OHN</small> M<small>URRAY</small>, K.C.B., Naturalist H.M.S. "Challenger," 1872-1876, +joint author of <i>The Depths of the Ocean</i>, etc.</p> + +<p><big>86. Exploration of the Alps.</big><br> +By A<small>RNOLD</small> L<small>UNN</small>, M.A.</p> + +<p><big>72. Germany of To-day.</big><br> +By C<small>HARLES</small> T<small>OWER</small>.</p> + +<p><big>57. Napoleon.</big><br> +By H.A.L. F<small>ISHER</small>, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield University. Author of +<i>The Republican Tradition in Europe</i>, etc.</p> + +<p><big>26. The Dawn of History.</big><br> +By J.L. M<small>YRES</small>, Professor of Ancient History, Oxford.</p> + +<p><big>30. Rome. </big><br> +By W. W<small>ARDE</small> F<small>OWLER</small>, author of <i>Social Life at Rome</i>, etc. "A masterly +sketch of Roman character and what it did for the world."—<i>London +Spectator</i>.</p> + +<p><big>84. The Growth of Europe.</big><br> +By G<small>RANVILLE</small> C<small>OLE</small>, Professor of Geology, Royal College of Science, +Ireland. A study of the geology and physical geography in connection +with the political geography.</p> + +<p><big>13. Medieval Europe.</big><br> +By H.W.C. D<small>AVIS</small>, Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, author of +<i>Charlemagne</i>, etc.</p> + +<p><big>33. The History of England.</big><br> +By A.F. P<small>OLLARD</small>, Professor of English History, University of London.</p> + +<p><big>100. Poland.</big><br> +By W. A<small>LISON</small> P<small>HILLIPS</small>, University of Dublin. A history with special +emphasis upon the Polish question of to-day.</p> + +<p><big>95. Belgium.</big><br> +By R.C.K. E<small>NSOR</small>, Sometime Scholar of Balliol College. The geographical, +linguistic, historical, artistic, and literary associations.</p> + +<p><big>3. The French Revolution.</big><br> +By H<small>ILAIRE</small> B<small>ELLOC</small>.</p> + +<p><big>4. A Short History of War and Peace.</big><br> +By G.H. P<small>ERRIS</small>, author of <i>Russia in Revolution</i>, etc.</p> + +<p><big>20. History of Our Time (1885-1911).</big><br> +By G.P. G<small>OOCH</small>. A "moving picture" of the world since 1885.</p> + +<p><big>22. The Papacy and Modern Times.</big><br> +By R<small>EV</small>. W<small>ILLIAM</small> B<small>ARRY</small>, D.D., author of <i>The Papal Monarchy</i>, etc. The +story of the rise and fall of the Temporal Power.</p> + +<p><big>8. Polar Exploration.</big><br> +By D<small>R</small>. W.S. B<small>RUCE</small>, Leader of the "Scotia" expedition. Emphasizes the +results of the expeditions.</p> + +<p><big>18. The Opening-up of Africa.</big><br> +By S<small>IR</small> H.H. J<small>OHNSTON</small>. The first living authority on the subject tells +how and why the "Native races" went to the various parts of Africa and +summarizes its exploration and colonization.</p> + +<p><big>19. The Civilization of China.</big><br> +By H.A. G<small>ILES</small>, Professor of Chinese, Cambridge.</p> + +<p><big>36. Peoples and Problems of India.</big><br> +By S<small>IR</small> T.W. H<small>OLDERNESS</small>. "The best small treatise dealing with the range +of subjects fairly indicated by the title."—<i>The Dial</i>.</p> + +<p><big>7. Modern Geography.</big><br> +By D<small>R</small>. M<small>ARION</small> N<small>EWBIGIN</small>. Shows the relation of physical features to +living things and to some of the chief institutions of civilization.</p> + +<p><big>51. Master Mariners.</big><br> +By J<small>OHN</small> R. S<small>PEARS</small>, author of <i>The History of Our Navy</i>, etc. A history +of sea craft adventure from the earliest times.</p> + +<br> +<h4>SOCIAL SCIENCE</h4> + +<p><big>91. The Negro.</big><br> +By W.E. B<small>URGHARDT</small> D<small>U</small>B<small>OIS</small>, author of <i>Souls of Black Folks</i>, etc. A +history of the black man in Africa, America or wherever else his +presence has been or is important.</p> + +<p><big>77. Co-Partnership and Profit Sharing.</big><br> +By A<small>NEURIN</small> W<small>ILLIAMS</small>, Chairman, Executive Committee, International +Co-operative Alliance, etc. Explains the various types of +co-partnership or profit-sharing, or both, and gives details of the +arrangements now in force in many of the great industries.</p> + +<p><big>98. Political Thought: From Herbert Spencer to the Present Day.</big><br> +By E<small>RNEST</small> B<small>ARKER</small>, M.A.</p> + +<p><big>99. Political Thought: The Utilitarians. From Benthan to J.S. Mill.</big><br> +By W<small>ILLIAM</small> L. D<small>AVIDSON</small>.</p> + +<p><big>79. Unemployment.</big><br> +By A.C. P<small>IGOU</small>, M.A., Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge. The +meaning, measurement, distribution, and effects of unemployment, its +relation to wages, trade fluctuations, and disputes, and some proposals +of remedy or relief.</p> + +<p><big>80. Common-Sense in Law.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. P<small>AUL</small> V<small>INOGRADOFF</small>, D.C.L., LL.D. Social and Legal Rules—Legal +Rights and Duties—Facts and Acts in +Law—Legislation—Custom—Judicial Precedents—Equity—The Law of +Nature.</p> + +<p><big>49. Elements of Political Economy.</big><br> +By S.J. C<small>HAPMAN</small>, Professor of Political Economy and Dean of Faculty +of Commerce and Administration, University of Manchester.</p> + +<p><big>11. The Science of Wealth.</big><br> +By J.A. H<small>OBSON</small>, author of <i>Problems of Poverty</i>. A study of the +structure and working of the modern business world.</p> + +<p><big>1. Parliament. Its History, Constitution, and Practice.</big><br> +By S<small>IR</small> C<small>OURTENAY</small> P. I<small>LBERT</small>, Clerk of the House of Commons.</p> + +<p><big>16. Liberalism.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. L.T. H<small>OBHOUSE</small>, author of <i>Democracy and Reaction</i>. A masterly +philosophical and historical review of the subject.</p> + +<p><big>5. The Stock Exchange.</big><br> +By F.W. H<small>IRST</small>, Editor of the London <i>Economist</i>. Reveals to the +non-financial mind the facts about investment, speculation, and the +other terms which the title suggests.</p> + +<p><big>10. The Socialist Movement.</big><br> +By J. R<small>AMSAY</small> M<small>ACDONALD</small>, Chairman of the British Labor Party.</p> + +<p><big>28. The Evolution of Industry.</big><br> +By D.H. M<small>AC</small>G<small>REGOR</small>, Professor of Political Economy, University of Leeds. +An outline of the recent changes that have given us the present +conditions of the working classes and the principles involved.</p> + +<p><big>29. Elements of English Law.</big><br> +By W.M. G<small>ELDART</small>, Vinerian Professor of English Law, Oxford. A simple +statement of the basic principles of the English legal system on which +that of the United States is based.</p> + +<p><big>32. The School: An Introduction to the Study of Education.</big><br> +By J.J. F<small>INDLAY</small>, Professor of Education, Manchester. Presents the +history, the psychological basis, and the theory of the school with +a rare power of summary and suggestion.</p> + +<p><big>6. Irish Nationality.</big><br> +By M<small>RS</small>. J.R. G<small>REEN</small>. A brilliant account of the genius and mission of +the Irish people.</p> + +<br> +<h4>NATURAL SCIENCE</h4> + +<p><big>68. Disease and Its Causes.</big><br> +By W.T. C<small>OUNCILMAN</small>, M.D., LL.D., Professor of Pathology, Harvard +University.</p> + +<p><big>85. Sex.</big><br> +By J. A<small>RTHUR</small> T<small>HOMPSON</small> and P<small>ATRICK</small> G<small>EDDES</small>, joint authors of <i>The +Evolution of Sex</i>.</p> + +<p><big>71. Plant Life.</big><br> +By J.B. F<small>ARMER</small>, D.Sc., F.R.S., Professor of Botany in the Imperial +College of Science. This very fully illustrated volume contains an +account of the salient features of plant form and function.</p> + +<p><big>63. The Origin and Nature of Life.</big><br> +By B<small>ENJAMIN</small> M. M<small>OORE</small>, Professor of Bio-Chemistry, Liverpool.</p> + +<p><big>90. Chemistry.</big><br> +By R<small>APHAEL</small> M<small>ELDOLA</small>, F.R.S., Professor of Chemistry, Finsbury Technical +College. Presents the way in which the science has developed and the +stage it has reached.</p> + +<p><big>53. Electricity.</big><br> +By G<small>ISBERT</small> K<small>APP</small>, Professor Of Electrical Engineering, University of +Birmingham.</p> + +<p><big>54. The Making of the Earth.</big><br> +By. J.W. G<small>REGORY</small>, Professor of Geology, Glasgow University. 38 maps +and figures. Describes the origin of the earth, the formation and +changes of its surface and structure, its geological history, the first +appearance of life, and its influence upon the globe.</p> + +<p><big>56. Man: A History of the Human Body.</big><br> +By A. K<small>EITH</small>, M.D., Hunterian Professor, Royal College of Surgeons. +Shows how the human body developed.</p> + +<p><big>74. Nerves.</big><br> +By D<small>AVID</small> F<small>RASER</small> H<small>ARRIS</small>, M.D., Professor of Physiology, Dalhousie +University, Halifax. Explains in non-technical language the place and +powers of the nervous system.</p> + +<p><big>21. An Introduction to Science.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. J. A<small>RTHUR</small> T<small>HOMSON</small>, Science Editor Of the Home University +Library. For those unacquainted with the scientific volumes in the +series, this would prove an excellent introduction.</p> + +<p><big>14. Evolution.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. J. A<small>RTHUR</small> T<small>HOMSON</small> and P<small>ROF</small>. P<small>ATRICK</small> G<small>EDDES</small>. Explains to the +layman what the title means to the scientific world.</p> + +<p><big>23. Astronomy.</big><br> +By A.R. H<small>INKS</small>, Chief Assistant at the Cambridge Observatory. "Decidedly +original in substance, and the most readable and informative little +book on modern astronomy we have seen for a long time."—<i>Nature</i>.</p> + +<p><big>24. Psychical Research.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. W.F. B<small>ARRETT</small>, formerly President of the Society for Psychical +Research. A strictly scientific examination.</p> + +<p><big>9. The Evolution of Plants.</big><br> +By D<small>R</small>. D.H. S<small>COTT</small>, President of the Linnean Society of London. The story +of the development of flowering plants, from the earliest zoological +times, unlocked from technical language.</p> + +<p><big>43. Matter and Energy.</big><br> +By F. S<small>ODDY</small>, Lecturer in Physical Chemistry and Radioactivity, +University of Glasgow. "Brilliant. Can hardly be surpassed. Sure to +attract attention."—<i>New York Sun</i>.</p> + +<p><big>41. Psychology, The Study of Behaviour.</big><br> +By W<small>ILLIAM</small> M<small>C</small>D<small>OUGALL</small>, of Oxford. A well digested summary of the +essentials of the science put in excellent literary form by a leading +authority.</p> + +<p><big>42. The Principles of Physiology.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. J.G. M<small>C</small>K<small>ENDRICK</small>. A compact statement by the Emeritus Professor +at Glasgow, for uninstructed readers.</p> + +<p><big>37. Anthropology.</big><br> +By R.R. M<small>ARETT</small>, Reader in Social Anthropology, Oxford. Seeks to plot +out and sum up the general series of changes, bodily and mental, +undergone by man in the course of history. "Excellent. So enthusiastic, +so clear and witty, and so well adapted to the general +reader."—<i>American Library Association Booklist</i>.</p> + +<p><big>17. Crime and Insanity.</big><br> +By D<small>R</small>. C.A. M<small>ERCIER</small>, author of <i>Text-Book of Insanity</i>, etc.</p> + +<p><big>12. The Animal World.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. F.W. G<small>AMBLE</small>.</p> + +<p><big>15. Introduction to Mathematics.</big><br> +By A.N. W<small>HITEHEAD</small>, author of <i>Universal Algebra</i>.</p> + +<br> +<h4>PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION</h4> + +<p><big>69. A History of Freedom of Thought.</big><br> +By J<small>OHN</small> B. B<small>URY</small>, M.A., LL.D., Regius Professor of Modern History in +Cambridge University. Summarizes the history of the long struggle +between authority and reason and of the emergence of the principle that +coercion of opinion is a mistake.</p> + +<p><big>55. Missions: Their Rise and Development.</big><br> +By M<small>RS</small>. M<small>ANDELL</small> C<small>REIGHTON</small>, author of <i>History of England</i>. The author +seeks to prove that missions have done more to civilize the world than +any other human agency.</p> + +<p><big>52. Ethics.</big><br> +By G.E. M<small>OORE</small>, Lecturer in Moral Science, Cambridge. Discusses what +is right and what is wrong, and the whys and wherefores.</p> + +<p><big>65. The Literature of the Old Testament.</big><br> +By G<small>EORGE</small> F. M<small>OORE</small>, Professor of the History of Religion, Harvard +University. "A popular work of the highest order. Will be profitable +to anybody who cares enough about Bible study to read a serious book +on the subject."—<i>American Journal of Theology</i></p> + +<p><big>50. The Making of the New Testament.</big><br> +By B.W. B<small>ACON</small>, Professor of New Testament Criticism, Yale. An +authoritative summary of the results of modern critical research with +regard to the origins of the New Testament.</p> + +<p><big>96. A History of Philosophy.</big><br> +By C<small>LEMENT</small> C.J. W<small>EBB</small>, Oxford.</p> + +<p><big>35. The Problems of Philosophy.</big><br> +By B<small>ERTRAND</small> R<small>USSELL</small>, Lecturer and Late Fellow, Trinity College, +Cambridge.</p> + +<p><big>44. Buddhism.</big><br> +By M<small>RS</small>. R<small>HYS</small> D<small>AVIDS</small>, Lecturer on Indian Philosophy, Manchester.</p> + +<p><big>46. English Sects: A History of Nonconformity.</big><br> +By W.B. S<small>ELBIE</small>, Principal of Manchester College, Oxford.</p> + +<p><big>60. Comparative Religion.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. J. E<small>STLIN</small> C<small>ARPENTER</small>.</p> + +<p><big>88. Religious Development Between Old and New Testaments.</big><br> +By R.H. C<small>HARLES</small>, Canon of Westminster. Shows how religious and ethical +thought grew between 180 B.C. and 100 A.D.</p> + +<br> +<h4>LITERATURE AND ART</h4> + +<p><big>73. Euripides and His Age.</big><br> +By G<small>ILBERT</small> M<small>URRAY</small>, Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford.</p> + +<p><big>81. Chaucer and His Times.</big><br> +By G<small>RACE</small> E. H<small>ADOW</small>, Lecturer Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford; Late Reader, +Bryn Mawr.</p> + +<p><big>70. Ancient Art and Ritual.</big><br> +By J<small>ANE</small> E. H<small>ARRISON</small>, LL.D., D.Litt. "One of the 100 most important books +of 1913."—<i>New York Times Review</i>.</p> + +<p><big>61. The Victorian Age in Literature.</big><br> +By G.K. C<small>HESTERTON</small>.</p> + +<p><big>97. Milton.</big><br> +By J<small>OHN</small> B<small>AILEY</small>.</p> + +<p><big>59. Dr. Johnson and His Circle.</big><br> +By J<small>OHN</small> B<small>AILEY</small>. Johnson's life, character, works, and friendships are +surveyed; and there is a notable vindication of the "Genius of Boswell."</p> + +<p><big>58. The Newspaper.</big><br> +By G. B<small>INNEY</small> D<small>IBBLE</small>. The first full account, from the inside, of +newspaper organization as it exists to-day.</p> + +<p><big>62. Painters and Painting.</big><br> +By S<small>IR</small> F<small>REDERIC</small> W<small>EDMORE</small>. With 16 half-tone illustration.</p> + +<p><big>64. The Literature of Germany.</big><br> +By J.G. R<small>OBERTSON</small>.</p> + +<p><big>48. Great Writers of America.</big><br> +By W.P. T<small>RENT</small> and J<small>OHN</small> E<small>RSKINE</small>, of Columbia University.</p> + +<p><big>87. The Renaissance.</big><br> +By E<small>DITH</small> S<small>ICHEL</small>, author of <i>Catherine de Medici, Men and Women of the +French Renaissance</i>.</p> + +<p><big>101. Dante.</big><br> +By J<small>EFFERSON</small> B. F<small>LETCHER</small>, Columbia University, An interpretation of +Dante and his teachings from his writings.</p> + +<p><big>93. An Outline of Russian Literature.</big><br> +By M<small>AURICE</small> B<small>ARING</small>, author of <i>The Russian People</i>, etc. Tolstoi, +Tourgenieff, Dostoieffsky, Pushkin (the father of Russian Literature), +Saltykov (the satirist), Leskov, and many other authors.</p> + +<p><big>40. The English Language.</big><br> +By L.P. S<small>MITH</small>. A concise history of its origin and development.</p> + +<p><big>45. Medieval English Literature.</big><br> +By W.P. K<small>ER</small>, Professor of English Literature, University College, +London. "One of the soundest scholars. His style is effective, simple, +yet never dry."—<i>The Athenaeum</i>.</p> + +<p><big>89. Elizabethan Literature.</big><br> +By J.M. R<small>OBERTSON</small>, M.P., author of <i>Montaigne and Shakespeare, Modern +Humanists</i>.</p> + +<p><big>27. Modern English Literature.</big><br> +By G.H. M<small>AIR</small>. From Wyatt and Surrey to Synge and Yeats. "One of the +best of this great series."—<i>Chicago Evening Post</i>.</p> + +<p><big>2. Shakespeare.</big><br> +By J<small>OHN</small> M<small>ASEFIELD</small>. "One of the very few indispensable adjuncts to a +Shakespearean Library."—<i>Boston Transcript</i>.</p> + +<p><big>31. Landmarks in French Literature.</big><br> +By G.L. S<small>TRACHEY</small>, Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. "It is +difficult to imagine how a better account of French Literature could +be given in 250 pages."—<i>London Times</i>.</p> + +<p><big>38. Architecture.</big><br> +By P<small>ROF</small>. W.R. L<small>ETHABY</small>. An introduction to the history and theory of +the art of building.</p> + +<p><big>66. Writing English Prose.</big><br> +By W<small>ILLIAM</small> T. B<small>REWSTER</small>, Professor of English, Columbia University. +"Should be put into the hands of every man who is beginning to write +and of every teacher of English that has brains enough to understand +sense."—<i>New York Sun</i>.</p> + +<p><big>83. William Morris: His Work and Influence.</big><br> +By A. C<small>LUTTON</small> B<small>ROCK</small>, author of <i>Shelley: The Man and the Poet</i>. William +Morris believed that the artist should toil for love of his work rather +than the gain of his employer, and so he turned from making works of +art to remaking society.</p> + +<p><big>75. Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle.</big><br> +By H.N. B<small>RAILSFORD</small>. The influence of the French Revolution on England.</p> +<br> +<br> +<center><i><small>OTHER VOLUMES IN PREPARATION</small></i><br> +<big>HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY</big><br> +34 West 33d Street, New York</center> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anthropology, by Robert Marett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHROPOLOGY *** + +***** This file should be named 17280-h.htm or 17280-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/2/8/17280/ + +Produced by Ron Swanson + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Anthropology + +Author: Robert Marett + +Release Date: December 11, 2005 [EBook #17280] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHROPOLOGY *** + + + + +Produced by Ron Swanson + + + + + +HOME UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE +No. 37 + +_Editors:_ +HERBERT FISHER, M.A., F.B.A. +PROF. GILBERT MURRAY, LITT.D., LL.D., F.B.A. +PROF. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, M.A. +PROF. WILLIAM T. BREWSTER, M.A. + +_A complete classified list of the volumes of_ THE HOME UNIVERSITY +LIBRARY _already published will be found at the end of this book_. + + + + +ANTHROPOLOGY + +BY +R.R. MARETT, M.A. + +READER IN SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD +AUTHOR OF "THE THRESHOLD OF RELIGION," ETC. + + + + +NEW YORK +HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY + +LONDON +WILLIAMS AND NORGATE + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAP. PAGE + I SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY . . . 7 + + II ANTIQUITY OF MAN . . . . . 30 + + III RACE . . . . . . . . . . . 59 + + IV ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . 94 + + V LANGUAGE . . . . . . . . . 130 + + VI SOCIAL ORGANIZATION . . . . 152 + + VII LAW . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 + + VIII RELIGION . . . . . . . . . 204 + + IX MORALITY . . . . . . . . . 235 + + X MAN THE INDIVIDUAL . . . . 241 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . 251 + + INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . 254 + + + + +"Bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, are these half-brutish +prehistoric brothers. Girdled about with the immense darkness of this +mysterious universe even as we are, they were born and died, suffered +and struggled. Given over to fearful crime and passion, plunged in +the blackest ignorance, preyed upon by hideous and grotesque delusions, +yet steadfastly serving the profoundest of ideals in their fixed faith +that existence in any form is better than non-existence, they ever +rescued triumphantly from the jaws of ever-imminent destruction the +torch of life which, thanks to them, now lights the world for us. How +small, indeed, seem individual distinctions when we look back on these +overwhelming numbers of human beings panting and straining under the +pressure of that vital want! And how inessential in the eyes of God +must be the small surplus of the individual's merit, swamped as it +is in the vast ocean of the common merit of mankind, dumbly and +undauntedly doing the fundamental duty, and living the heroic life! +We grow humble and reverent as we contemplate the prodigious +spectacle." + +WILLIAM JAMES, in _Human Immortality_. + + + + +ANTHROPOLOGY + + + + +CHAPTER I +SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY + + +In this chapter I propose to say something, firstly, about the ideal +scope of anthropology; secondly, about its ideal limitations; and, +thirdly and lastly, about its actual relations to existing studies. +In other words, I shall examine the extent of its claim, and then go +on to examine how that claim, under modern conditions of science and +education, is to be made good. + +Firstly, then, what is the ideal scope of anthropology? Taken at its +fullest and best, what ought it to comprise? + +Anthropology is the whole history of man as fired and pervaded by the +idea of evolution. Man in evolution--that is the subject in its full +reach. Anthropology studies man as he occurs at all known times. It +studies him as he occurs in all known parts of the world. It studies +him body and soul together--as a bodily organism, subject to conditions +operating in time and space, which bodily organism is in intimate +relation with a soul-life, also subject to those same conditions. +Having an eye to such conditions from first to last, it seeks to plot +out the general series of the changes, bodily and mental together, +undergone by man in the course of his history. Its business is simply +to describe. But, without exceeding the limits of its scope, it can +and must proceed from the particular to the general; aiming at nothing +less than a descriptive formula that shall sum up the whole series +of changes in which the evolution of man consists. + +That will do, perhaps, as a short account of the ideal scope of +anthropology. Being short, it is bound to be rather formal and +colourless. To put some body into it, however, it is necessary to +breathe but a single word. That word is: Darwin. + +Anthropology is the child of Darwin. Darwinism makes it possible. +Reject the Darwinian point of view, and you must reject anthropology +also. What, then, is Darwinism? Not a cut-and-dried doctrine. Not a +dogma. Darwinism is a working hypothesis. You suppose something to +be true, and work away to see whether, in the light of that supposed +truth, certain facts fit together better than they do on any other +supposition. What is the truth that Darwinism supposes? Simply that +all the forms of life in the world are related together; and that the +relations manifested in time and space between the different lives +are sufficiently uniform to be described under a general formula, or +law of evolution. + +This means that man must, for certain purposes of science, toe the +line with the rest of living things. And at first, naturally enough, +man did not like it. He was too lordly. For a long time, therefore, +he pretended to be fighting for the Bible, when he was really fighting +for his own dignity. This was rather hard on the Bible, which has +nothing to do with the Aristotelian theory of the fixity of species; +though it might seem possible to read back something of the kind into +the primitive creation-stories preserved in Genesis. Now-a-days, +however, we have mostly got over the first shock to our family pride. +We are all Darwinians in a passive kind of way. But we need to darwinize +actively. In the sciences that have to do with plants, and with the +rest of the animals besides man, naturalists have been so active in +their darwinizing that the pre-Darwinian stuff is once for all laid +by on the shelf. When man, however, engages on the subject of his noble +self, the tendency still is to say: We accept Darwinism so long as +it is not allowed to count, so long as we may go on believing the same +old stuff in the same old way. + +How do we anthropologists propose to combat this tendency? By working +away at our subject, and persuading people to have a look at our results. +Once people take up anthropology, they may be trusted not to drop it +again. It is like learning to sleep with your window open. What could +be more stupefying than to shut yourself up in a closet and swallow +your own gas? But is it any less stupefying to shut yourself up within +the last few thousand years of the history of your own corner of the +world, and suck in the stale atmosphere of its own self-generated +prejudices? Or, to vary the metaphor, anthropology is like travel. +Every one starts by thinking that there is nothing so perfect as his +own parish. But let a man go aboard ship to visit foreign parts, and, +when he returns home, he will cause that parish to wake up. + +With Darwin, then, we anthropologists say: Let any and every portion +of human history be studied in the light of the whole history of mankind, +and against the background of the history of living things in general. +It is the Darwinian outlook that matters. None of Darwin's particular +doctrines will necessarily endure the test of time and trial. Into +the melting-pot must they go as often as any man of science deems it +fitting. But Darwinism as the touch of nature that makes the whole +world kin can hardly pass away. At any rate, anthropology stands or +falls with the working hypothesis, derived from Darwinism, of a +fundamental kinship and continuity amid change between all the forms +of human life. + +It remains to add that, hitherto, anthropology has devoted most of +its attention to the peoples of rude--that is to say, of +simple--culture, who are vulgarly known to us as "savages." The main +reason for this, I suppose, is that nobody much minds so long as the +darwinizing kind of history confines itself to outsiders. Only when +it is applied to self and friends is it resented as an impertinence. +But, although it has always up to now pursued the line of least +resistance, anthropology does not abate one jot or tittle of its claim +to be the whole science, in the sense of the whole history, of man. +As regards the word, call it science, or history, or anthropology, +or anything else--what does it matter? As regards the thing, however, +there can be no compromise. We anthropologists are out to secure this: +that there shall not be one kind of history for savages and another +kind for ourselves, but the same kind of history, with the same +evolutionary principle running right through it, for all men, +civilized and savage, present and past. + + * * * * * + +So much for the ideal scope of anthropology. Now, in the second place, +for its ideal limitations. Here, I am afraid, we must touch for a moment +on very deep and difficult questions. But it is well worth while to +try at all costs to get firm hold of the fact that anthropology, though +a big thing, is not everything. + +It will be enough to insist briefly on the following points: that +anthropology is science in whatever way history is science; that it +is not philosophy, though it must conform to its needs; and that it +is not policy, though it may subserve its designs. + +Anthropology is science in the sense of specialized research that aims +at truth for truth's sake. Knowing by parts is science, knowing the +whole as a whole is philosophy. Each supports the other, and there +is no profit in asking which of the two should come first. One is aware +of the universe as the whole universe, however much one may be resolved +to study its details one at a time. The scientific mood, however, is +uppermost when one says: Here is a particular lot of things that seem +to hang together in a particular way; let us try to get a general idea +of what that way is. Anthropology, then, specializes on the particular +group of human beings, which itself is part of the larger particular +group of living beings. Inasmuch as it takes over the evolutionary +principle from the science dealing with the larger group, namely +biology, anthropology may be regarded as a branch of biology. Let it +be added, however, that, of all the branches of biology, it is the +one that is likely to bring us nearest to the true meaning of life; +because the life of human beings must always be nearer to human students +of life than, say, the life of plants. + +But, you will perhaps object, anthropology was previously identified +with history, and now it is identified with science, namely, with a +branch of biology? Is history science? The answer is, Yes. I know that +a great many people who call themselves historians say that it is not, +apparently on the ground that, when it comes to writing history, truth +for truth's sake is apt to bring out the wrong results. Well, the +doctored sort of history is not science, nor anthropology, I am ready +to admit. But now let us listen to another and a more serious objection +to the claim of history to be science. Science, it will be said by +many earnest men of science, aims at discovering laws that are clean +out of time. History, on the other hand, aims at no more than the +generalized description of one or another phase of a time-process. +To this it may be replied that physics, and physics only, answers to +this altogether too narrow conception of science. The laws of matter +in motion are, or seem to be, of the timeless or mathematical kind. +Directly we pass on to biology, however, laws of this kind are not +to be discovered, or at any rate are not discovered. Biology deals +with life, or, if you like, with matter as living. Matter moves. Life +evolves. We have entered a new dimension of existence. The laws of +matter in motion are not abrogated, for the simple reason that in +physics one makes abstraction of life, or in other words leaves its +peculiar effects entirely out of account. But they are transcended. +They are multiplied by _x_, an unknown quantity. This being so from +the standpoint of pure physics, biology takes up the tale afresh, and +devises means of its own for describing the particular ways in which +things hang together in virtue of their being alive. And biology finds +that it cannot conveniently abstract away the reference to time. It +cannot treat living things as machines. What does it do, then? It takes +the form of history. It states that certain things have changed in +certain ways, and goes on to show, so far as it can, that the changes +are on the whole in a certain direction. In short, it formulates +tendencies, and these are its only laws. Some tendencies, of course, +appear to be more enduring than others, and thus may be thought to +approximate more closely to laws of the timeless kind. But _x_, the +unknown quantity, the something or other that is not physical, runs +through them all, however much or little they may seem to endure. For +science, at any rate, which departmentalizes the world, and studies +it bit by bit, there is no getting over the fact that living beings +in general, and human beings in particular, are subject to an evolution +which is simple matter of history. + +And now what about philosophy? I am not going into philosophical +questions here. For that reason I am not going to describe biology +as natural history, or anthropology as the natural history of man. +Let philosophers discuss what "nature" is going to mean for them. In +science the word is question-begging; and the only sound rule in +science is to beg as few philosophical questions as you possibly can. +Everything in the world is natural, of course, in the sense that things +are somehow all akin--all of a piece. We are simply bound to take in +the parts as parts of a whole, and it is just this fact that makes +philosophy not only possible but inevitable. All the same, this fact +does not prevent the parts from having their own specific natures and +specific ways of behaving. The people who identify the natural with +the physical are putting all their money on one specific kind of nature +or behaviour that is to be found in the world. In the case of man they +are backing the wrong horse. The horse to back is the horse that goes. +As a going concern, however, anthropology, as part of evolutionary +biology, is a history of vital tendencies which are not natural in +the sense of merely physical. + +What are the functions of philosophy as contrasted with science? Two. +Firstly, it must be critical. It must police the city of the sciences, +preventing them from interfering with each other's rights and free +development. Co-operation by all means, as, for instance, between +anthropology and biology. But no jumping other folks' claims and laying +down the law for all; as, for instance, when physics would impose the +kind of method applicable to machines on the sciences of evolving life. +Secondly, philosophy must be synthetic. It must put all the ways of +knowing together, and likewise put these in their entirety together +with all the ways of feeling and acting; so that there may result a +theory of reality and of the good life, in that organic interdependence +of the two which our very effort to put things together presupposes +as its object. + +What, then, are to be the relations between anthropology and +philosophy? On the one hand, the question whether anthropology can +help philosophy need not concern us here. That is for the philosopher +to determine. On the other hand, philosophy can help anthropology in +two ways: in its critical capacity, by helping it to guard its own +claim, and develop freely without interference from outsiders; and +in its synthetic capacity, perhaps, by suggesting the rule that, of +two types of explanation, for instance, the physical and the biological, +the more abstract is likely to be farther away from the whole truth, +whereas, contrariwise, the more you take in, the better your chance +of really understanding. + +It remains to speak about policy. I use this term to mean any and all +practical exploitation of the results of science. Sometimes, indeed, +it is hard to say where science ends and policy begins, as we saw in +the case of those gentlemen who would doctor their history, because +practically it pays to have a good conceit of ourselves, and believe +that our side always wins its battles. Anthropology, however, would +borrow something besides the evolutionary principle from biology, +namely, its disinterestedness. It is not hard to be candid about bees +and ants; unless, indeed, one is making a parable of them. But as +anthropologists we must try, what is so much harder, to be candid about +ourselves. Let us look at ourselves as if we were so many bees and +ants, not forgetting, of course, to make use of the inside information +that in the case of the insects we so conspicuously lack. + +This does not mean that human history, once constructed according to +truth-regarding principles, should and could not be used for the +practical advantage of mankind. The anthropologist, however, is not, +as such, concerned with the practical employment to which his +discoveries are put. At most, he may, on the strength of a conviction +that truth is mighty and will prevail for human good, invite practical +men to study his facts and generalizations in the hope that, by knowing +mankind better, they may come to appreciate and serve it better. For +instance, the administrator, who rules over savages, is almost +invariably quite well-meaning, but not seldom utterly ignorant of +native customs and beliefs. So, in many cases, is the missionary, +another type of person in authority, whose intentions are of the best, +but whose methods too often leave much to be desired. No amount of +zeal will suffice, apart from scientific insight into the conditions +of the practical problem. And the education is to be got by paying +for it. But governments and churches, with some honourable exceptions, +are still wofully disinclined to provide their probationers with the +necessary special training; though it is ignorance that always proves +most costly in the long run. Policy, however, including bad policy, +does not come within the official cognizance of the anthropologist. +Yet it is legitimate for him to hope that, just as for many years already +physiological science has indirectly subserved the art of medicine, +so anthropological science may indirectly, though none the less +effectively, subserve an art of political and religious healing in +the days to come. + + * * * * * + +The third and last part of this chapter will show how, under modern +conditions of science and education, anthropology is to realize its +programme. Hitherto, the trouble with anthropologists has been to see +the wood for the trees. Even whilst attending mainly to the peoples +of rude culture, they have heaped together facts enough to bewilder +both themselves and their readers. The time has come to do some sorting; +or rather the sorting is doing itself. All manner of groups of special +students, interested in some particular side of human history, come +now-a-days to the anthropologist, asking leave to borrow from his stock +of facts the kind that they happen to want. Thus he, as general +storekeeper, is beginning to acquire, almost unconsciously, a sense +of order corresponding to the demands that are made upon him. The goods +that he will need to hand out in separate batches are being gradually +arranged by him on separate shelves. Our best way, then, of proceeding +with the present inquiry, is to take note of these shelves. In other +words, we must consider one by one the special studies that claim to +have a finger in the anthropological pie. + +Or, to avoid the disheartening task of reviewing an array of bloodless +"-ologies," let us put the question to ourselves thus: Be it supposed +that a young man or woman who wants to take a course, of at least a +year's length, in the elements of anthropology, joins some university +which is thoroughly in touch with the scientific activities of the +day. A university, as its very name implies, ought to be an +all-embracing assemblage of higher studies, so adjusted to each other +that, in combination, they provide beginners with a good general +education; whilst, severally, they offer to more advanced students +the opportunity of doing this or that kind of specific research. In +such a well-organized university, then, how would our budding +anthropologist proceed to form a preliminary acquaintance with the +four corners of his subject? What departments must he attend in turn? +Let us draw him up a curriculum, praying meanwhile that the +multiplicity of the demands made upon him will not take away his breath +altogether. Man is a many-sided being; so there is no help for it if +anthropology also is many-sided. + +For one thing, he must sit at the feet of those whose particular concern +is with pre-historic man. It is well to begin here, since thus will +the glamour of the subject sink into his soul at the start. Let him, +for instance, travel back in thought to the Europe of many thousands +of years ago, shivering under the effects of the great ice-age, yet +populous with human beings so far like ourselves that they were alive +to the advantage of a good fire, made handy tools out of stone and +wood and bone, painted animals on the walls of their caves, or engraved +them on mammoth-ivory, far more skilfully than most of us could do +now, and buried their dead in a ceremonial way that points to a belief +in a future life. Thus, too, he will learn betimes how to blend the +methods and materials of different branches of science. A human skull, +let us say, and some bones of extinct animals, and some chipped flints +are all discovered side by side some twenty feet below the level of +the soil. At least four separate authorities must be called in before +the parts of the puzzle can be fitted together. + +Again, he must be taught something about race, or inherited breed, +as it applies to man. A dose of practical anatomy--that is to say, +some actual handling and measuring of the principal portions of the +human frame in its leading varieties--will enable our beginner to +appreciate the differences of outer form that distinguish, say, the +British colonist in Australia from the native "black-fellow," or the +whites from the negroes, and redskins, and yellow Asiatics in the +United States. At this point, he may profitably embark on the details +of the Darwinian hypothesis of the descent of man. Let him search +amongst the manifold modern versions of the theory of human evolution +for the one that comes nearest to explaining the degrees of physical +likeness and unlikeness shown by men in general as compared with the +animals, especially the man-like apes; and again, those shown by the +men of divers ages and regions as compared with each other. Nor is +it enough for him, when thus engaged, to take note simply of physical +features--the shape of the skull, the colour of the skin, the tint +and texture of the hair, and so on. There are likewise mental characters +that seem to be bound up closely with the organism and to follow the +breed. Such are the so-called instincts, the study of which should +be helped out by excursions into the mind-history of animals, of +children, and of the insane. Moreover, the measuring and testing of +mental functions, and, in particular, of the senses, is now-a-days +carried on by means of all sorts of ingenious instruments; and some +experience of their use will be all to the good, when problems of +descent are being tackled. + +Further, our student must submit to a thorough grounding in +world-geography with its physical and human sides welded firmly +together. He must be able to pick out on the map the headquarters of +all the more notable peoples, not merely as they are now, but also +as they were at various outstanding moments of the past. His next +business is to master the main facts about the natural conditions to +which each people is subjected--the climate, the conformation of land +and sea, the animals and plants. From here it is but a step to the +economic life--the food-supply, the clothing, the dwelling-places, +the principal occupations, the implements of labour. A selected list +of books of travel must be consulted. No less important is it to work +steadily through the show-cases of a good ethnological museum. Nor +will it suffice to have surveyed the world by regions. The +communications between regions--the migrations and conquests, the +trading and the borrowing of customs--must be traced and accounted +for. Finally, on the basis of their distribution, which the learner +must chart out for himself on blank maps of the world, the chief +varieties of the useful arts and appliances of man can be followed +from stage to stage of their development. + +Of the special studies concerned with man the next in order might seem +to be that which deals with the various forms of human society; since, +in a sense, social organization must depend directly on material +circumstances. In another and perhaps a deeper sense, however, the +prime condition of true sociality is something else, namely, the +exclusively human gift of articulate speech. To what extent, then, +must our novice pay attention to the history of language? Speculation +about its far-off origins is now-a-days rather out of fashion. Moreover, +language is no longer supposed to provide, by itself at any rate, and +apart from other clues, a key to the endless riddles of racial descent. +What is most needed, then, is rather some elementary instruction +concerning the organic connection between language and thought, and +concerning their joint development as viewed against the background +of the general development of society. And, just as words and thoughts +are essentially symbols, so there are also gesture-symbols and written +symbols, whilst again another set of symbols is in use for counting. +All these pre-requisites of human intercourse may be conveniently +taken together. + +Coming now to the analysis of the forms of society, the beginner must +first of all face the problem: "What makes a people one?" Neither blood, +nor territory, nor language, but only the fact of being more or less +compactly organized in a political society, will be found to yield +the unifying principle required. Once the primary constitution of the +body politic has been made out, a limit is set up, inside of which +a number of fairly definite forms of grouping offer themselves for +examination; whilst outside of it various social relationships of a +vaguer kind have also to be considered. Thus, amongst institutions +of the internal kind, the family by itself presents a wide field of +research; though in certain cases it is liable to be overshadowed by +some other sort of organization, such as, notably, the clan. Under +the same rubric fall the many forms of more or less voluntary +association, economic, religious, and so forth. On the other hand, +outside the circle of the body politic there are, at all known stages +of society, mutual understandings that regulate war, trade, travel, +the celebration of common rites, the interchange of ideas. Here, then, +is an abundance of types of human association, to be first scrutinized +separately, and afterwards considered in relation to each other. + +Closely connected with the previous subject is the history of law. +Every type of association, in a way, has its law, whereby its members +are constrained to fulfil a certain set of obligations. Thus our +student will pass on straight from the forms of society to the most +essential of their functions. The fact that, amongst the less civilized +peoples, the law is uncodified and merely customary, whilst the +machinery for enforcing it is, though generally effective enough, yet +often highly indefinite and occasional, makes the tracing of the growth +of legal institutions from their rudiments no less vitally important, +though it makes it none the easier. The history of authority is a +strictly kindred topic. Legislating and judging on the one hand, and +governing on the other, are different aspects of the same general +function. In accordance, then, with the order already indicated, law +and government as administered by the political society in the person +of its representatives, chiefs, elders, war-lords, priest-kings, and +so forth, must first be examined; then the jurisdiction and discipline +of subordinate bodies, such as the family and the clan, or again the +religious societies, trade guilds, and the rest; then, lastly, the +international conventions, with the available means of ensuring their +observance. + +Again, the history of religion is an allied theme of far-reaching +interest. For the understanding of the ruder forms of society it may +even be said to furnish the master-key. At this stage, religion is +the mainstay of law and government. The constraining force of custom +makes itself felt largely through a magnifying haze of mystic +sanctions; whilst, again, the position of a leader of society rests +for the most part on the supernormal powers imputed to him. Religion +and magic, then, must be carefully studied if we would understand how +the various persons and bodies that exercise authority are assisted, +or else hindered, in their efforts to maintain social discipline. Apart +from this fundamental inquiry, there is another, no less important +in its way, to which the study of religion and magic opens up a path. +This is the problem how reflection manages as it were to double human +experience, by setting up beside the outer world of sense an inner +world of thought-relations. Now constructive imagination is the queen +of those mental functions which meet in what we loosely term "thought"; +and imagination is ever most active where, on the outer fringe of the +mind's routine work, our inarticulate questionings radiate into the +unknown. When the genius has his vision, almost invariably, among the +ruder peoples, it is accepted by himself and his society as something +supernormal and sacred, whether its fruit be an act of leadership or +an edict, a practical invention or a work of art, a story of the past +or a prophecy, a cure or a devastating curse. Moreover, social +tradition treasures the memory of these revelations, and, blending +them with the contributions of humbler folk--for all of us dream our +dreams--provides in myth and legend and tale, as well as in manifold +other art-forms, a stimulus to the inspiration of future generations. +For most purposes fine art, at any rate during its more rudimentary +stages, may be studied in connection with religion. + +So far as law and religion will not account for the varieties of social +behaviour, the novice may most conveniently consider them under the +head of morals. The forms of social intercourse, the fashions, the +festivities, are imposed on us by our fellows from without, and none +the less effectively because as a general rule we fall in with them +as a matter of course. The difference between manners and morals of +the higher order is due simply to the more pressing need, in the case +of our most serious duties, of a reflective sanction, a "moral sense," +to break us in to the common service. It is no easy task to keep legal +and religious penalties or rewards out of the reckoning, when trying +to frame an estimate of what the notions of right and wrong, prevalent +in a given society, amount to in themselves; nevertheless, it is worth +doing, and valuable collections of material exist to aid the work. +The facts about education, which even amongst rude peoples is often +carried on far into manhood, throw much light on this problem. So do +the moralizings embodied the traditional lore of the folk--the +proverbs, the beast-fables, the stories of heroes. + +There remains the individual to be studied in himself. If the +individual be ignored by social science, as would sometimes appear +to be the case, so much the worse for social science, which, to a +corresponding extent, falls short of being truly anthropological. +Throughout the history of man, our beginner should be on the look-out +for the signs, and the effects, of personal initiative. Freedom of +choice, of course, is limited by what there is to choose from; so that +the development of what may be termed social opportunity should be +concurrently reviewed. Again, it is the aim of every moral system so +to educate each man that his directive self may be as far as possible +identified with his social self. Even suicide is not a man's own affair, +according to the voice of society which speaks in the moral code. +Nevertheless, lest the important truth be overlooked that social +control implies a will that must meet the control half-way, it is well +for the student of man to pay separate and special attention to the +individual agent. The last word in anthropology is: Know thyself. + + + + +CHAPTER II +ANTIQUITY OF MAN + + +History, in the narrower sense of the word, depends on written records. +As we follow back history to the point at which our written records +grow hazy, and the immediate ancestors or predecessors of the peoples +who appear in history are disclosed in legend that needs much eking +out by the help of the spade, we pass into proto-history. At the back +of that, again, beyond the point at which written records are of any +avail at all, comes pre-history. + +How, then, you may well inquire, does the pre-historian get to work? +What is his method of linking facts together? And what are the sources +of his information? + +First, as to his method. Suppose a number of boys are in a field playing +football, whose superfluous garments are lying about everywhere in +heaps; and suppose you want, for some reason, to find out in what order +the boys arrived on the ground. How would you set about the business? +Surely you would go to one of the heaps of discarded clothes, and take +note of the fact that this boy's jacket lay under that boy's waistcoat. +Moving on to other heaps you might discover that in some cases a boy +had thrown down his hat on one heap, his tie on another, and so on. +This would help you all the more to make out the general series of +arrivals. Yes, but what if some of the heaps showed signs of having +been upset? Well, you must make allowances for these disturbances in +your calculations. Of course, if some one had deliberately made hay +with the lot, you would be nonplussed. The chances are, however, that, +given enough heaps of clothes, and bar intentional and systematic +wrecking of them, you would be able to make out pretty well which boy +preceded which; though you could hardly go on to say with any precision +whether Tom preceded Dick by half a minute or half an hour. + +Such is the method of pre-history. It is called the stratigraphical +method, because it is based on the description of strata, or layers. + +Let me give a simple example of how strata tell their own tale. It +is no very remarkable instance, but happens to be one that I have +examined for myself. They were digging out a place for a gas-holder +in a meadow in the town of St. Helier, Jersey, and carried their borings +down to bed rock at about thirty feet, which roughly coincides with +the present mean sea-level. The modern meadow-soil went down about +five feet. Then came a bed of moss-peat, one to three feet thick. There +had been a bog here at a time which, to judge by similar finds in other +places, was just before the beginning of the bronze-age. Underneath +the moss-peat came two or three feet of silt with sea-shells in it. +Clearly the island of Jersey underwent in those days some sort of +submergence. Below this stratum came a great peat-bed, five to seven +feet thick, with large tree-trunks in it, the remains of a fine forest +that must have needed more or less elevated land on which to grow. +In the peat was a weapon of polished stone, and at the bottom were +two pieces of pottery, one of them decorated with little pitted marks. +These fragments of evidence are enough to show that the foresters +belonged to the early neolithic period, as it is called. Next occurred +about four feet of silt with sea-shells, marking another advance of +the sea. Below that, again, was a mass, six to eight feet deep, of +the characteristic yellow clay with far-carried fragments of rock in +it that is associated with the great floods of the ice-age. The land +must have been above the reach of the tide for the glacial drift to +settle on it. Finally, three or four feet of blue clay resting +immediately on bed-rock were such as might be produced by the sea, +and thus probably betokened its presence at this level in the still +remoter past. + +Here the strata are mostly geological. Man only comes in at one point. +I might have taken a far more striking case--the best I know--from +St. Acheul, a suburb of Amiens in the north of France. Here M. Commont +found human implements of distinct types in about eight out of eleven +or twelve successive geological layers. But the story would take too +long to tell. However, it is well to start with an example that is +primarily geological. For it is the geologist who provides the +pre-historic chronometer. Pre-historians have to reckon in geological +time--that is to say, not in years, but in ages of indefinite extent +corresponding to marked changes in the condition of the earth's surface. +It takes the plain man a long time to find out that it is no use asking +the pre-historian, who is proudly displaying a skull or a stone +implement, "Please, how many years ago exactly did its owner live?" +I remember hearing such a question put to the great savant, M. +Cartailhac, when he was lecturing upon the pre-historic drawings found +in the French and Spanish caves; and he replied, "Perhaps not less +than 6,000 years ago and not more than 250,000." The backbone of our +present system of determining the series of pre-historic epochs is +the geological theory of an ice-age comprising a succession of periods +of extreme glaciation punctuated by milder intervals. It is for the +geologists to settle in their own way, unless, indeed, the astronomers +can help them, why there should have been an ice-age at all; what was +the number, extent, and relative duration of its ups and downs; and +at what time, roughly, it ceased in favour of the temperate conditions +that we now enjoy. The pre-historians, for their part, must be content +to make what traces they discover of early man fit in with this +pre-established scheme, uncertain as it is. Every day, however, more +agreement is being reached both amongst themselves and between them +and the geologists; so that one day, I am confident, if not exactly +to-morrow, we shall know with fair accuracy how the boys, who left +their clothes lying about, followed one another into the field. + +Sometimes, however, geology does not, on the face of it, come into +the reckoning. Thus I might have asked the reader to assist at the +digging out of a cave, say, one of the famous caves at Mentone, on +the Italian Riviera, just beyond the south-eastern corner of France. +These caves were inhabited by man during an immense stretch of time, +and, as you dig down, you light upon one layer after another of his +leavings. But note in such a case as this how easily you may be baffled +by some one having upset the heap of clothes, or, in a word, by +rearrangement. Thus the man whose leavings ought to form the layer +half-way up may have seen fit to dig a deep hole in the cave-floor +in order to bury a deceased friend, and with him, let us suppose, to +bury also an assortment of articles likely to be useful in the life +beyond the grave. Consequently an implement of one age will be found +lying cheek by jowl with the implement of a much earlier age, or even, +it may be, some feet below it. Thereupon the pre-historian must fall +back on the general run, or type, in assigning the different implements +each to its own stratum. Luckily, in the old days fashions tended to +be rigid; so that for the pre-historian two flints with slightly +different chipping may stand for separate ages of culture as clearly +as do a Greek vase and a German beer-mug for the student of more recent +times. + + * * * * * + +Enough concerning the stratigraphical method. A word, in the next place, +about the pre-historian's main sources of information. Apart from +geological facts, there are three main classes of evidence that serve +to distinguish one pre-historic epoch from another. These are animal +bones, human bones, and human handiwork. + +Again I illustrate by means of a case of which I happen to have +first-hand knowledge. In Jersey, near the bay of St. Brelade, is a +cave, in which we dug down through some twenty feet of accumulated +clay and rock-rubbish, presumably the effects of the last throes of +the ice-age, and came upon a pre-historic hearth. There were the big +stones that had propped up the fire, and there were the ashes. By the +side were the remains of a heap of food-refuse. The pieces of decayed +bone were not much to look at; yet, submitted to an expert, they did +a tale unfold. He showed them to be the remains of the woolly rhinoceros, +the mammoth's even more unwieldy comrade, of the reindeer, of two kinds +of horse, one of them the pony-like wild horse still to be found in +the Mongolian deserts, of the wild ox, and of the deer. Truly there +was better hunting to be got in Jersey in the days when it formed part +of a frozen continent. + +Next, the food-heap yields thirteen of somebody's teeth. Had they eaten +him? It boots not to inquire; though, as the owner was aged between +twenty and thirty, the teeth could hardly have fallen out of their +own accord. Such grinders as they are too! A second expert declares +that the roots beat all records. They are of the kind that goes with +an immensely powerful jaw, needing a massive brow-ridge to counteract +the strain of the bite, and in general involving the type of skull +known as the Neanderthal, big-brained enough in its way, but uncommonly +ape-like all the same. + +Finally, the banqueters have left plenty of their knives lying about. +These good folk had their special and regular way of striking off a +broad flat flake from the flint core; the cores are lying about, too, +and with luck you can restore some of the flakes to their original +position. Then, leaving one side of the flake untouched, they trimmed +the surface of the remaining face, and, as the edges grew blunt with +use, kept touching them up with the hammer-stone--there it is also +lying by the hearth--until, perhaps, the flake loses its oval shape +and becomes a pointed triangle. A third expert is called in, and has +no difficulty in recognizing these knives as the characteristic +handiwork of the epoch known as the Mousterian. If one of these worked +flints from Jersey was placed side by side with another from the cave +of Le Moustier, near the right bank of the Vezere in south-central +France, whence the term Mousterian, you could hardly tell which was +which; whilst you would still see the same family likeness if you +compared the Jersey specimens with some from Amiens, or from Northfleet +on the Thames, or from Icklingham in Suffolk. + +Putting all these kinds of evidence together, then, we get a notion, +doubtless rather meagre, but as far as it goes well-grounded, of a +hunter of the ice-age, who was able to get the better of a woolly +rhinoceros, could cook a lusty steak off him, had a sharp knife to +carve it, and the teeth to chew it, and generally knew how, under the +very chilly circumstances, both to make himself comfortable and to +keep his race going. + +There is one other class of evidence on which the pre-historian may +with due caution draw, though the risks are certain and the profits +uncertain. The ruder peoples of to-day are living a life that in its +broad features cannot be wholly unlike the life of the men of long +ago. Thus the pre-historian should study Spencer and Gillen on the +natives of Central Australia, if only that he may take firm hold of +the fact that people with skulls inclining towards the Neanderthal +type, and using stone knives, may nevertheless have very active minds; +in short, that a rich enough life in its way may leave behind it a +poor rubbish-heap. When it comes, however, to the borrowing of details, +to patch up the holes in the pre-historic record with modern rags and +tatters makes better literature than science. After all, the +Australians, or Tasmanians, or Bushmen, or Eskimo, of whom so much +is beginning to be heard amongst pre-historians, are our +contemporaries--that is to say, have just as long an ancestry as +ourselves; and in the course of the last 100,000 years or so our stock +has seen so many changes, that their stocks may possibly have seen +a few also. Yet the real remedy, I take it, against the misuse of analogy +is that the student should make himself sufficiently at home in both +branches of anthropology to know each of the two things he compares +for what it truly is. + + * * * * * + +Having glanced at method and sources, I pass on to results. Some +text-book must be consulted for the long list of pre-historic periods +required for western Europe, not to mention the further complications +caused by bringing in the remaining portions of the world. The +stone-age, with its three great divisions, the eolithic (_eos_, Greek +for dawn, and _lithos_, stone) the palaeolithic (_pallaeos_, old), +and the neolithic (_neos_, new), and their numerous subdivisions, +comes first; then the age of copper and bronze; and then the early +iron-age, which is about the limit of proto-history. Here I shall +confine my remarks to Europe. I am not going far afield into such +questions as: Who were the mound-builders of North America? And are +the Calaveras skull and other remains found in the gold-bearing gravels +of California to be reckoned amongst the earliest traces of man in +the globe? Nor, again, must I pause to speculate whether the +dark-stained lustrous flint implements discovered by Mr. Henry Balfour +at a high level below the Victoria Falls, and possibly deposited there +by the river Zambezi before it had carved the present gorge in the +solid basalt, prove that likewise in South Africa man was alive and +busy untold thousands of years ago. Also, I shall here confine myself +to the stone-age, because my object is chiefly to illustrate the long +pedigree of the species from which we are all sprung. + +The antiquity of man being my immediate theme, I can hardly avoid saying +something about eoliths; though the subject is one that invariably +sets pre-historians at each other's throats. There are eoliths and +eoliths, however; and some of M. Rutot's Belgian examples are +now-a-days almost reckoned respectable. Let us, nevertheless, inquire +whether eoliths are not to be found nearer home. I can wish the reader +no more delightful experience than to run down to Ightham in Kent, +and pay a call on Mr. Benjamin Harrison. In the room above what used +to be Mr. Harrison's grocery-store, eoliths beyond all count are on +view, which he has managed to amass in his rare moments of leisure. +As he lovingly cons the stones over, and shows off their points, his +enthusiasm is likely to prove catching. But the visitor, we shall +suppose, is sceptical. Very good; it is not far, though a stiffish +pull, to Ash on the top of the North Downs. Hereabouts are Mr. +Harrison's hunting-grounds. Over these stony tracts he has conducted +Sir Joseph Prestwich and Sir John Evans, to convince the one authority, +but not the other. Mark this pebbly drift of rusty-red colour spread +irregularly along the fields, as if the relics of some ancient stream +or flood. On the surface, if you are lucky, you may pick up an +unquestionable palaeolith of early type, with the rusty-red stain of +the gravel over it to show that it has lain there for ages. But both +on and below the surface, the gravel being perhaps from five to seven +feet deep, another type of stone occurs, the so-called eolith. It is +picked out from amongst ordinary stones partly because of its shape, +and partly because of rough and much-worn chippings that suggest the +hand of art or of nature, according to your turn of mind. Take one +by itself, explains Mr. Harrison, and you will be sure to rank it as +ordinary road-metal. But take a series together, and then, he urges, +the sight of the same forms over and over again will persuade you in +the end that human design, not aimless chance, has been at work here. + +Well, I must leave Mr. Harrison to convert you into the friend or foe +of his eoliths, and will merely add a word in regard to the probable +age of these eolith-bearing gravels. Sir Joseph Prestwich has tried +to work the problem out. Now-a-days Kent and Sussex run eastwards in +five more or less parallel ridges, not far short of 1,000 feet high, +with deep valleys between. Formerly, however, no such valleys existed, +and a great dome of chalk, some 2,500 feet high at its crown, perhaps, +though others would say less, covered the whole country. That is why +rivers like the Darenth and Medway cut clean through the North Downs +and fall into the Thames, instead of flowing eastwards down the later +valleys. They started to carve their channels in the soft chalk in +the days gone by, when the watershed went north and south down the +slopes of the great dome. And the red gravels with the eoliths in them, +concludes Prestwich, must have come down the north slope whilst the +dome was still intact; for they contain fragments of stone that hail +from right across the present valleys. But, if the eoliths are man-made, +then man presumably killed game and cut it up on top of the Wealden +dome, how many years ago one trembles to think. + + * * * * * + +Let us next proceed to the subject of palaeoliths. There is, at any +rate, no doubt about them. Yet, rather more than half a century ago, +when the Abbe Boucher de Perthes found palaeoliths in the gravels of +the Somme at Abbeville, and was the first to recognize them for what +they are, there was no small scandal. Now-a-days, however, the world +takes it as a matter of course that those lumpish, discoloured, and +much-rolled stones, shaped something like a pear, which come from the +high terraces deposited by the Ancient Thames, were once upon a time +the weapons or tools of somebody who had plenty of muscle in his arm. +Plenty of skill he had in his fingers, too; for to chip a flint-pebble +along both faces, till it takes a more or less symmetrical and standard +shape, is not so easy as it sounds. Hammer away yourself at such a +pebble, and see what a mess you make of it. To go back for one moment +to the subject of eoliths, we may fairly argue that experimental forms +still ruder than the much-trimmed palaeoliths of the early river-drift +must exist somewhere, whether Mr. Harrison's eoliths are to be classed +amongst them or not. Indeed, the Tasmanians of modern days carved their +simple tools so roughly, that any one ignorant of their history might +easily mistake the greater number for common pieces of stone. On the +other hand, as we move on from the earlier to the later types of +river-drift implements, we note how by degrees practice makes perfect. +The forms grow ever more regular and refined, up to the point of time +which has been chosen as the limit for the first of the three main +stages into which the vast palaeolithic epoch has to be broken up. +The man of the late St. Acheul period, as it is termed, was truly a +great artist in his way. If you stare vacantly at his handiwork in +a museum, you are likely to remain cold to its charm. But probe about +in a gravel-bed till you have the good fortune to light on a +masterpiece; tenderly smooth away with your fingers the dirt sticking +to its surface, and bring to view the tapering or oval outline, the +straight edge, the even and delicate chipping over both faces; then, +wrapping it carefully in your handkerchief, take it home to wash, and +feast till bedtime on the clean feel and shining mellow colour of what +is hardly more an implement than a gem. They took a pride in their +work, did the men of old; and, until you can learn to sympathize, you +are no anthropologist. + +During the succeeding main stage of the palaeolithic epoch there was +a decided set-back in the culture, as judged by the quality of the +workmanship in flint. Those were the days of the Mousterians who dined +off woolly rhinoceros in Jersey. Their stone implements, worked only +on one face, are poor things by comparison with those of late St. Acheul +days, though for a time degenerated forms of the latter seem to have +remained in use. What had happened? We can only guess. Probably +something to do with the climate was at the bottom of this change for +the worse. Thus M. Rutot believes that during the ice-age each big +freeze was followed by an equally big flood, preceding each fresh +return of milder weather. One of these floods, he thinks, must have +drowned out the neat-fingered race of St. Acheul, and left the coast +clear for the Mousterians with their coarser type of culture. Perhaps +they were coarser in their physical type as well.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Theirs was certainly the rather ape-like Neanderthal +build. If, however, the skull found at Galley Hill, near Northfleet +in Kent, amongst the gravels laid down by the Thames when it was about +ninety feet above its present level, is of early palaeolithic date, +as some good authorities believe, there was a kind of man away back +in the drift-period who had a fairly high forehead and moderate +brow-ridges, and in general was a less brutal specimen of humanity +than our Mousterian friend of the large grinders.] + +To the credit of the Mousterians, however, must be set down the fact +that they are associated with the habit of living in caves, and perhaps +may even have started it; though some implements of the drift type +occur in Le Moustier itself, as well as in other caves, such as the +famous Kent's Cavern near Torquay. Climate, once more, has very +possibly to answer for having thus driven man underground. Anyway, +whether because they must, or because they liked it, the Mousterians +went on with their cave life during an immense space of time, making +little progress; unless it were to learn gradually how to sharpen bones +into implements. But caves and bones alike were to play a far more +striking part in the days immediately to follow. + +The third and last main stage of the palaeolithic epoch developed by +degrees into a golden age of art. But I cannot dwell on all its glories. +I must pass by the beautiful work in flint; such as the thin blades +of laurel-leaf pattern, fairly common in France but rare in England, +belonging to the stage or type of culture known as the Solutrian (from +Solutre in the department of Saone-et-Loire). I must also pass by the +exquisite French examples of the carvings or engravings of bone and +ivory; a single engraving of a horse's head, from the cave at Creswell +Crags in Derbyshire, being all that England has to offer in this line. +Any good museum can show you specimens or models of these delightful +objects; whereas the things about which I am going to speak must remain +hidden away for ever where their makers left them--I mean the paintings +and engravings on the walls of the French and Spanish caves. + +I invite you to accompany me in the spirit first of all to the cave +of Gargas near Aventiron, under the shadow of the Pic du Midi in the +High Pyrenees. Half-way up a hill, in the midst of a wilderness of +rocky fragments, the relics of the ice-age, is a smallish hole, down +which we clamber into a spacious but low-roofed grotto, stretching +back five hundred feet or so into infinite darkness. Hard by the mouth, +where the light of day freely enters, are the remains of a hearth, +with bone-refuse and discarded implements mingling with the ashes to +a considerable depth. A glance at these implements, for instance the +small flint scraper with narrow high back and perpendicular chipping +along the sides, is enough to show that the men who once warmed their +fingers here were of the so-called Aurignacian type (Aurignac in the +department of Haute Garonne, in southern France), that is to say, lived +somewhere about the dawn of the third stage of the palaeolithic epoch. +Directly after their disappearance nature would seem to have sealed +up the cave again until our time, so that we can study them here all +by themselves. + +Now let us take our lamps and explore the secrets of the interior. +The icy torrents that hollowed it in the limestone have eaten away +rounded alcoves along the sides. On the white surface of these, glazed +over with a preserving film of stalactite, we at once notice the +outlines of many hands. Most of them left hands, showing that the +Aurignacians tended to be right-handed, like ourselves, and dusted +on the paint, black manganese or red ochre, between the outspread +fingers in just way that we, too, would find convenient. Curiously +enough, this practice of stencilling hands upon the walls of caves +is in vogue amongst the Australian natives; though unfortunately, they +keep the reason, if there is any deeper one than mere amusement, +strictly to themselves. Like the Australians, again, and other rude +peoples, these Aurignacians would appear to have been given to lopping +off an occasional finger--from some religious motive, we may guess--to +judge from the mutilated look of a good many of the handprints. + +The use of paint is here limited to this class of wall-decoration. +But a sharp flint makes an excellent graving tool; and the Aurignacian +hunter is bent on reproducing by this means the forms of those +game-animals about which he doubtless dreams night and day. His efforts +in this direction, however, rather remind us of those of our +infant-schools. Look at this bison. His snout is drawn sideways, but +the horns branch out right and left as if in a full-face view. Again, +our friend scamps details such as the legs. Sheer want of skill, we +may suspect, leads him to construct what is more like the symbol of +something thought than the portrait of something seen. And so we wander +farther and farther into the gloomy depths, adding ever new specimens +to our pre-historic menagerie, including the rare find of a bird that +looks uncommonly like the penguin. Mind, by the way, that you do not +fall into that round hole in the floor. It is enormously deep; and +more than forty cave-bears have left their skeletons at the bottom, +amongst which your skeleton would be a little out of place. + +Next day let us move off eastwards to the Little Pyrenees to see another +cave, Niaux, high up in a valley scarred nearly up to the top by former +glaciers. This cave is about a mile deep; and it will take you half +a mile of awkward groping amongst boulders and stalactites, not to +mention a choke in one part of the passage such as must puzzle a fat +man, before the cavern becomes spacious, and you find yourself in the +vast underground cathedral that pre-historic man has chosen for his +picture-gallery. This was a later stock, that had in the meantime +learnt how to draw to perfection. Consider the bold black and white +of that portrait of a wild pony, with flowing mane and tail, glossy +barrel, and jolly snub-nosed face. It is four or five feet across, +and not an inch of the work is out of scale. The same is true of nearly +every one of the other fifty or more figures of game-animals. These +artists could paint what they saw. + +Yet they could paint up on the walls what they thought, too. There +are likewise whole screeds of symbols waiting, perhaps waiting for +ever, to be interpreted. The dots and lines and pothooks clearly belong +to a system of picture-writing. Can we make out their meaning at all? +Once in a way, perhaps. Note these marks looking like two different +kinds of throwing-club; at any rate, there are Australian weapons not +unlike them. To the left of them are a lot of dots in what look like +patterns, amongst which we get twice over the scheme of one dot in +the centre of a circle of others. Then, farther still to the left, +comes the painted figure of a bison; or, to be more accurate, the front +half is painted, the back being a piece of protruding rock that gives +the effect of low relief. The bison is rearing back on its haunches, +and there is a patch of red paint, like an open wound, just over the +region of its heart. Let us try to read the riddle. It may well embody +a charm that ran somewhat thus: "With these weapons, and by these +encircling tactics, may we slay a fat bison, O ye powers of the dark!" +Depend upon it, the men who went half a mile into the bowels of a +mountain, to paint things up on the walls, did not do so merely for +fun. This is a very eerie place, and I daresay most of us would not +like to spend the night there alone; though I know a pre-historian +who did. In Australia, as we shall see later on, rock-paintings of +game-animals, not so lifelike as these of the old days, but symbolic +almost beyond all recognizing, form part of solemn ceremonies whereby +good hunting is held to be secured. Something of the sort, then, we +may suppose, took place ages ago in the cave of Niaux. So, indeed, +it was a cathedral after a fashion; and, having in mind the carven +pillars of stalactite, the curving alcoves and side-chapels, the +shining white walls, and the dim ceiling that held in scorn our powerful +lamps, I venture to question whether man has ever lifted up his heart +in a grander one. + +Space would fail me if I now sought to carry you off to the cave of +Altamira, near Santander, in the north-west of Spain. Here you might +see at its best a still later style of rock-painting, which deserts +mere black and white for colour-shading of the most free description. +Indeed, it is almost too free, in my judgment; for, though the control +of the artist over his rude material is complete, he is inclined to +turn his back on real life, forcing the animal forms into attitudes +more striking than natural, and endowing their faces sometimes, as +it seems to me, with almost human expressions. Whatever may be thought +of the likelihood of these beasts being portrayed to look like men, +certain it is that in the painted caves of this period the men almost +invariably have animal heads, as if they were mythological beings, +half animal and half human; or else--as perhaps is more +probable--masked dancers. At one place, however--namely, in the rock +shelter of Cogul near Lerida, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, +we have a picture of a group of women dancers who are not masked, but +attired in the style of the hour. They wear high hats or chignons, +tight waists, and bell-shaped skirts. Really, considering that we thus +have a contemporary fashion-plate, so to say, whilst there are likewise +the numerous stencilled hands elsewhere on view, and even, as I have +seen with my own eyes at Niaux in the sandy floor, hardened over with +stalagmite, the actual print of a foot, we are brought very near to +our palaeolithic forerunners; though indefinite ages part them from +us if we reckon by sheer time. + + * * * * * + +Before ending this chapter, I have still to make good a promise to +say something about the neolithic men of western Europe. These people +often, though not always, polished their stone; the palaeolithic folk +did not. That is the distinguishing mark by which the world is pleased +to go. It would be fatal to forget, however, that, with this trifling +difference, go many others which testify more clearly to the contrast +between the older and newer types of culture. Thus it has still to +be proved that the palaeolithic races ever used pottery, or that they +domesticated animals--for instance, the fat ponies which they were +so fond of eating; or that they planted crops. All these things did +the neolithic peoples sooner or later; so that it would not be strange +if palaeolithic man withdrew in their favour, because he could not +compete. Pre-history is at present almost silent concerning the manner +of his passing. In a damp and draughty tunnel, however, called Mas +d'Azil, in the south of France, where the river Arize still bores its +way through a mountain, some palaeolithic folk seem to have lingered +on in a sad state of decay. The old sureness of touch in the matter +of carving bone had left them. Again, their painting was confined to +the adorning of certain pebbles with spots and lines, curious objects, +that perhaps are not without analogy in Australia, whilst something +like them crops up again in the north of Scotland in what seems to +be the early iron-age. Had the rest of the palaeolithic men already +followed the reindeer and other arctic animals towards the north-east? +Or did the neolithic invasion, which came from the south, wipe out +the lot? Or was there a commingling of stocks, and may some of us have +a little dose of palaeolithic blood, as we certainly have a large dose +of neolithic? To all these questions it can only be replied that we +do not yet know. + +No more do we know half as much as we should like about fifty things +relating to the small, dark, long-headed neolithic folk, with a +language that has possibly left traces in the modern Basque, who spread +over the west till they reached Great Britain--it probably was an +island by this time--and erected the well-known long barrows and other +monuments of a megalithic (great-stone) type; though not the round +barrows, which are the work of a subsequent round-headed race of the +bronze-age. Every day, however, the spade is adding to our knowledge. +Besides, most of the ruder peoples of the modern world were at the +neolithic stage of culture at the time of their discovery by Europeans. +Hence the weapons, the household utensils, the pottery, the +pile-dwellings, and so on, can be compared closely; and we have a fresh +instance of the way in which one branch of anthropology can aid another. + +In pursuance of my plan, however, of merely pitching here and there +on an illustrative point, I shall conclude by an excursion to Brandon, +just on the Suffolk side of the border between that county and Norfolk. +Here we can stand, as it were, with one foot in neolithic times and +the other in the life of to-day. When Canon Greenwell, in 1870, explored +in this neighbourhood one of the neolithic flint-mines known as Grime's +Graves, he had to dig out the rubbish from a former funnel-shaped pit +some forty feet deep. Down at this level, it appeared, the neolithic +worker had found the layer of the best flint. This he quarried by means +of narrow galleries in all directions. For a pick he used a red-deer's +antler. In the British Museum is to be seen one of these with the miner's +thumb-mark stamped on a piece of clay sticking to the handle. His lamp +was a cup of chalk. His ladder was probably a series of rough steps +cut in the sides of the pit. As regards the use to which the material +was put, a neolithic workshop was found just to the south of Grime's +Graves. Here, scattered about on all sides, were the cores, the +hammer-stones that broke them up, and knives, scrapers, borers, +spear-heads and arrow-heads galore, in all stages of manufacture. + +Well, now let us hie to Lingheath, not far off, and what do we find? +A family of the name of Dyer carry on to-day exactly the same old method +of mining. Their pits are of squarer shape than the neolithic ones, +but otherwise similar. Their one-pronged pick retains the shape of +the deer's antler. Their light is a candle stuck in a cup of chalk. +And the ladder is just a series of ledges or, as they call them, "toes" +in the wall, five feet apart and connected by foot-holes. The miner +simply jerks his load, several hundredweight of flints, from ledge +to ledge by the aid of his head, which he protects with something that +neolithic man was probably without, namely, an old bowler hat. He even +talks a language of his own. "Bubber-hutching on the sosh" is the term +for sinking a pit on the slant, and, for all we can tell, may have +a very ancient pedigree. And what becomes of the miner's output? It +is sold by the "jag"--a jag being a pile just so high that when you +stand on any side you can see the bottom flint on the other--to the +knappers of Brandon. Any one of these--for instance, my friend Mr. +Fred Snare--will, while you wait, break up a lump with a short round +hammer into manageable pieces. Then, placing a "quarter" with his left +hand the leather pad that covers his knee, he will, with an oblong +hammer, strike off flake after flake, perhaps 1,500 in a morning; and +finally will work these up into sharp-edged squares to serve as +gun-flints for the trade with native Africa. Alas! the palmy days of +knapping gun-flints for the British Army will never return to Brandon. +Still, there must have been trade depression in those parts at any +time from the bronze-age up to the times of Brown Bess; for the +strike-a-lights, still to be got at a penny each, can have barely kept +the wolf from the door. And Mr. Snare is not merely an artisan but +an artist. He has chipped out a flint ring, a feat which taxed the +powers of the clever neolithic knappers of pre-dynastic Egypt; whilst +with one of his own flint fishhooks he has taken a fine trout from +the Little Ouse that runs by the town. + +Thus there are things in old England that are older even than some +of our friends wot. In that one county of Suffolk, for instance, the +good flint--so rich in colour as it is, and so responsive to the hammer, +at any rate if you get down to the lower layers or "sases," for instance, +the floorstone, or the black smooth-stone that is generally below +water-level--has served the needs of all the palaeolithic periods, +and of the neolithic age as well, and likewise of the modern Englishmen +who fought with flintlocks at Waterloo, or still more recently took +out tinder-boxes with them to the war in South Africa. And what does +this stand for in terms of the antiquity of man? Thousands of years? +We do not know exactly; but say rather hundreds of thousands of years. + + + + +CHAPTER III +RACE + + +There is a story about the British sailor who was asked to state what +he understood by a Dago. "Dagoes," he replied, "is anything wot isn't +our sort of chaps." In exactly the same way would an ancient Greek +have explained what he meant by a "barbarian." When it takes this +wholesale form we speak, not without reason, of race-prejudice. We +may well wonder in the meantime how far this prejudice answers to +something real. Race would certainly seem to be a fact that stares +one in the face. + +Stroll down any London street: you cannot go wrong about that Hindu +student with features rather like ours but of a darker shade. The short +dapper man with eyes a little aslant is no less unmistakably a Japanese. +It takes but a slightly more practised eye to pick out the German waiter, +the French chauffeur, and the Italian vendor of ices. Lastly, when +you have made yourself really good at the game, you will be scarcely +more likely to confuse a small dark Welshman with a broad florid +Yorkshireman than a retriever with a mastiff. + +Yes, but remember that you are judging by the gross impression, not +by the element of race or breed as distinguished from the rest. Here, +you say, come a couple of our American cousins. Perhaps it is their +speech that betrayeth them; or perhaps it is the general cut of their +jib. If you were to go into their actual pedigrees, you would find +that the one had a Scotch father and a mother from out of Dorset; whilst +the other was partly Scandinavian and partly Spanish with a tincture +of Jew. Yet to all intents and purposes they form one type. And, the +more deeply you go into it, the more mixed we all of us turn out to +be, when breed, and breed alone, is the subject of inquiry. Yet race, +in the only sense that the word has for an anthropologist, means +inherited breed, and nothing more or less--inherited breed, and all +that it covers, whether bodily or mental features. + +For race, let it not be forgotten, presumably extends to mind as well +as to body. It is not merely skin-deep. Contrast the stoical Red Indian +with the vivacious Negro; or the phlegmatic Dutchman with the +passionate Italian. True, you say, but what about the influence of +their various climates, or again of their different ideals of +behaviour? Quite so. It is immensely difficult to separate the effects +of the various factors. Yet surely the race-factor counts for something +in the mental constitution. Any breeder of horses will tell you that +neither the climate of Newmarket, nor careful training, nor any +quantity of oats, nor anything else, will put racing mettle into +cart-horse stock. + +In what follows, then, I shall try to show just what the problem about +the race-factor is, even if I have to trespass a little way into general +biology in order to do so.[2] And I shall not attempt to conceal the +difficulties relating to the race-problem. I know that the ordinary +reader is supposed to prefer that all the thinking should be done +beforehand, and merely the results submitted to him. But I cannot +believe that he would find it edifying to look at half-a-dozen books +upon the races of mankind, and find half-a-dozen accounts of their +relationships, having scarcely a single statement in common. Far +better face the fact that race still baffles us almost completely. +Yet, breed is there; and, in its own time and in its own way, breed +will out. + +[Footnote 2: The reader is advised to consult also the more +comprehensive study on _Evolution_ by Professors Geddes and Thomson +in this series.] + +Race or breed was a moment ago described as a factor in human nature. +But to break up human nature into factors is something that we can +do, or try to do, in thought only. In practice we can never succeed +in doing anything of the kind. A machine such as a watch we can take +to bits and then put together again. Even a chemical compound such +as water we can resolve into oxygen and hydrogen and then reproduce +out of its elements. But to dissect a living thing is to kill it once +and for all. Life, as was said in the first chapter, is something unique, +with the unique property of being able to evolve. As life evolves, +that is to say changes, by being handed on from certain forms to certain +other forms, a partial rigidity marks the process together with a +partial plasticity. There is a stiffening, so to speak, that keeps +the life-force up to a point true to its old direction; though, short +of that limit, it is free to take a new line of its own. Race, then, +stands for the stiffening in the evolutionary process. Just up to what +point it goes in any given case we probably can never quite tell. Yet, +if we could think our way anywhere near to that point in regard to +man, I doubt not that we should eventually succeed in forging a fresh +instrument for controlling the destinies of our species, an instrument +perhaps more powerful than education itself--I mean, eugenics, the +art of improving the human breed. + +To see what race means when considered apart, let us first of all take +your individual self, and ask how you would proceed to separate your +inherited nature from the nature which you have acquired in the course +of living your life. It is not easy. Suppose, however, that you had +a twin brother born, if indeed that were possible, as like you as one +pea is like another. An accident in childhood, however, has caused +him to lose a leg. So he becomes a clerk, living a sedentary life in +an office. You, on the other hand, with your two lusty legs to help +you, become a postman, always on the run. Well, the two of you are +now very different men in looks and habits. He is pale and you are +brown. You play football and he sits at home reading. Nevertheless, +any friend who knows you both intimately will discover fifty little +things that bespeak in you the same underlying nature and bent. You +are both, for instance, slightly colour-blind, and both inclined to +fly into violent passions on occasion. That is your common inheritance +peeping out--if, at least, your friend has really managed to make +allowance for your common bringing-up, which might mainly account for +the passionateness, though hardly for the colour-blindness. + +But now comes the great difficulty. Let us further suppose that you +two twins marry wives who are also twins born as like as two peas; +and each pair of you has a family. Which of the two batches of children +will tend on the whole to have the stronger legs? Your legs are strong +by use; your brother's are weak by disuse. But do use and disuse make +any difference to the race? That is the theoretical question which, +above all others, complicates and hampers our present-day attempts +to understand heredity. + +In technical language, this is the problem of use-inheritance, +otherwise known as the inheritance of acquired characters. It is apt +to seem obvious to the plain man that the effects of use and disuse +are transmitted to offspring. So, too, thought Lamarck, who half a +century before Darwin propounded a theory of the origin of species +that was equally evolutionary in its way. Why does the giraffe have +so long a neck? Lamarck thought it was because the giraffe had acquired +a habit of stretching his neck out. Every time there was a bad season, +the giraffes must all stretch up as high as ever they could towards +the leafy tops of the trees; and the one that stretched up farthest +survived, and handed on the capacity for a like feat to his fortunate +descendants. Now Darwin himself was ready to allow that use and disuse +might have some influence on the offspring's inheritance; but he +thought that this influence was small as compared with the influence +of what, for want of a better term, he called spontaneous variation. +Certain of his followers, however, who call themselves Neo-Darwinians, +are ready to go one better. Led by the German biologist, Weismann, +they would thrust the Lamarckians, with their hypothesis of +use-inheritance, clean out of the field. Spontaneous variation, they +assert, is all that is needed to prepare the way for the selection +of the tall giraffe. It happened to be born that way. In other words, +its parents had it in them to breed it so. This is not a theory that +tells one anything positive. It is merely a caution to look away from +use and disuse to another explanation of variation that is not yet +forthcoming. + +After all, the plain man must remember that the effects of use and +disuse, which he seems to see everywhere about him, are mixed up with +plenty of apparent instances to the contrary. He will smile, perhaps, +when I tell him that Weismann cut off the tails of endless mice, and, +breeding them together, found that tails invariably decorated the race +as before. I remember hearing Mr. Bernard Shaw comment on this +experiment. He was defending the Lamarckianism of Samuel Butler, who +declared that our heredity was a kind of race-memory, a lapsed +intelligence. "Why," said Mr. Shaw, "did the mice continue to grow +tails? Because they never wanted to have them cut off." But men-folk +are wont to shave off their beards because they want to have them off; +and, amongst people more conservative in their habits than ourselves, +such a custom may persist through numberless generations. Yet who ever +observed the slightest signs of beardlessness being produced in this +way? On the other hand, there are beardless as well as bearded races +in the world; and, by crossing them, you could, doubtless, soon produce +ups and downs in the razor-trade. Only, as Weismann's school would +say, the required variation is in this case spontaneous, that is, comes +entirely of its own accord. + +Leaving the question of use-inheritance open, I pass on to say a word +about variation as considered in itself and apart from this doubtful +influence. Weismann holds, that organisms resulting from the union +of two cells are more variable than those produced out of a single +one. On this view, variation depends largely on the laws of the +interaction of the dissimilar characters brought together in +cell-union. But what are these laws? The best that can be said is that +we are getting to know a little more about them every day. Amongst +other lines of inquiry, the so-called Mendelian experiments promise +to clear up much that is at present dark. + +The development of the individual that results from such cell-union +is no mere mixture or addition, but a process of selective organization. +To put it very absurdly, one does not find a pair of two-legged parents +having a child with legs as big as the two sets of legs together, or +with four legs, two of them of one shape and two of another. In other +words, of the possibilities contributed by the father and mother, some +are taken and some are left in the case of any one child. Further, +different children will represent different selections from amongst +the germinal elements. Mendelism, by the way, is especially concerned +to find out the law according to which the different types of +organization are distributed between the offspring. Each child, +meanwhile, is a unique individual, a living whole with an organization +of its very own. This means that its constituent elements form a system. +They stand to each other in relations of mutual support. In short, +life is possible because there is balance. + +This general state of balance, however, is able to go along with a +lot of special balancings that seem largely independent of each other. +It is important to remember this when we come a little later on to +consider the instincts. All sorts of lesser systems prevail within +the larger system represented by the individual organism. It is just +as if within the state with its central government there were a number +of county councils, municipal corporations, and so on, each of them +enjoying a certain measure of self-government on its own account. Thus +we can see in a very general way how it is that so much variation is +possible. The selective organization, which from amongst the germinal +elements precipitates ever so many and different forms of fresh life, +is so loose and elastic that a working arrangement between the parts +can be reached in all sorts of directions. The lesser systems are so +far self-governing that they can be trusted to get along in almost +any combination; though of course some combinations are naturally +stronger and more stable than the rest, and hence tend to outlast them, +or, as the phrase goes, to be preserved by natural selection. + +It is time to take account of the principle of natural selection. We +have done with the subject of variation. Whether use and disuse have +helped to shape the fresh forms of life, or whether these are purely +spontaneous combinations that have come into being on what we are +pleased to call their own account, at any rate let us take them as +given. What happens now? At this point begins the work of natural +selection. Darwin's great achievement was to formulate this law; +though it is only fair to add that it was discovered by A.R. Wallace +at the same moment. Both of them get the first hint of it from Malthus. +This English clergyman, writing about half a century earlier, had shown +that the growth of population is apt very considerably to outstrip +the development of food-supply; whereupon natural checks such as +famine or war must, he argued, ruthlessly intervene so as to redress +the balance. Applying these considerations to the plant and animal +kingdoms at large, Darwin and Wallace perceived that, of the +multitudinous forms of life thrust out upon the world to get a +livelihood as best they could, a vast quantity must be weeded out. +Moreover, since they vary exceedingly in their type of organization, +it seemed reasonable to suppose that, of the competitors, those who +were innately fitted to make the best of the ever-changing +circumstances would outlive the rest. An appeal to the facts fully +bore out this hypothesis. It must not, indeed, be thought that all +the weeding out which goes on favours the fittest. Accidents will +always happen. On the whole, however, the type that is most at home +under the surrounding conditions, it may be because it is more complex, +or it may be because it is of simpler organization, survives the rest. + +Now to survive is to survive to breed. If you live to eighty, and have +no children, you do not survive in the biological sense; whereas your +neighbour who died at forty may survive in a numerous progeny. Natural +selection is always in the last resort between individuals; because +individuals are alone competent to breed. At the same time, the reason +for the individual's survival may lie very largely outside him. Amongst +the bees, for instance, a non-working type of insect survives to breed +because the sterile workers do their duty by the hive. So, too, that +other social animal, man, carries on the race by means of some whom +others die childless in order to preserve. Nevertheless, breeding +being a strictly individual and personal affair, there is always a +risk lest a society, through spending its best too freely, end by +recruiting its numbers from those in whom the engrained capacity to +render social service is weakly developed. To rear a goodly family +must always be the first duty of unselfish people; for otherwise the +spirit of unselfishness can hardly be kept alive the world. + +Enough about heredity as a condition of evolution. We return, with +a better chance of distinguishing them, to the consideration of the +special effects that it brings about. It was said just now that heredity +is the stiffening in human nature, a stiffening bound up with a more +or less considerable offset of plasticity. Now clearly it is in some +sense true that the child's whole nature, its modicum of plasticity +included, is handed on from its parents. Our business in this chapter, +however, is on the whole to put out of our thoughts this plastic side +of the inherited life-force. The more or less rigid, definite, +systematized characters--these form the hereditary factor, the race. +Now none of these are ever quite fixed. A certain measure of plasticity +has to be counted in as part of their very nature. Even in the bee, +with its highly definite instincts, there is a certain flexibility +bound up with each of these; so that, for instance, the inborn faculty +of building up the comb regularly is modified if the hive happens to +be of an awkward shape. Yet, as compared with what remains over, the +characters that we are able to distinguish as racial must show fixity. +Unfortunately, habits show fixity too. Yet habits belong to the plastic +side of our nature; for, in forming a habit, we are plastic at the +start, though hardly so once we have let ourselves go. Habits, then, +must be discounted in our search for the hereditary bias in our lives. +It is no use trying to disguise the difficulties attending an inquiry +into race. + + * * * * * + +These difficulties notwithstanding, in the rest of this chapter let +us consider a few of what are usually taken to be racial features of +man. As before, the treatment must be illustrative; we cannot work +through the list. Further, we must be content with a very rough division +into bodily and mental features. Just at this point we shall find it +very hard to say what is to be reckoned bodily and what mental. Leaving +these niceties to the philosophers, however, let us go ahead as best +we can. + +Oh for an external race-mark about which there could be no mistake! +That has always been a dream of the anthropologist; but it is a dream +that shows no signs of coming true. All sorts of tests of this kind +have been suggested. Cranium, cranial sutures, frontal process, nasal +bones, eye, chin, jaws, wisdom teeth, hair, humerus, pelvis, the +heart-line across the hand, calf, tibia, heel, colour, and even +smell--all these external signs, as well as many more, have been +thought, separately or together, to afford the crucial test of a man's +pedigree. Clearly I cannot here cross-examine the entire crowd of +claimants, were I even competent to do so. I shall, therefore, say +a few words about two, and two only, namely, head-form and colour. + +I believe that, if the plain man were to ask himself how, in walking +down a London street, he distinguished one racial type from another, +he would find that he chiefly went by colour. In a general way he knows +how to make allowance for sunburn and get down to the native complexion +underneath. But, if he went off presently to a museum and tried to +apply his test to the pre-historic men on view there, it would fail +for the simple reason that long ago they left their skins behind them. +He would have to get to work, therefore, on their bony parts, and +doubtless would attack the skulls for choice. By considering head-form +and colour, then, we may help to cover a certain amount of the ground, +vast as it is. For remember that anthropology in this department draws +no line between ancient and modern, or between savage and civilized, +but tries to tackle every sort of man that comes within its reach. + +Head-shape is really a far more complicated thing to arrive at for +purposes of comparison than one might suppose. Since no part of the +skull maintains a stable position in regard to the rest, there can +be no fixed standard of measurement, but at most a judgment of likeness +or unlikeness founded on an averaging of the total proportions. Thus +it comes about that, in the last resort, the impression of a good expert +is worth in these matters a great deal more than rows of figures. +Moreover, rows of figures in their turn take a lot of understanding. +Besides, they are not always easy to get. This is especially the case +if you are measuring a live subject. Perhaps he is armed with a club, +and may take amiss the use of an instrument that has to be poked into +his ears, or what not. So, for one reason or another, we have often +to put up with that very unsatisfactory single-figure description of +the head-form which is known as the cranial index. You take the greatest +length and greatest breadth of the skull, and write down the result +obtained by dividing the former into the latter when multiplied by +100. Medium-headed people have an index of anything between 75 and +80. Below that figure men rank as long-headed, above it as round-headed. +This test, however, as I have hinted, will not by itself carry us far. +On the other hand, I believe that a good judge of head-form in all +its aspects taken together will generally be able to make a pretty +shrewd guess as to the people amongst whom the owner of a given skull +is to be placed. + +Unfortunately, to say people is not to say race. It may be that a given +people tend to have a characteristic head-form, not so much because +they are of common breed, as because they are subjected after birth, +or at any rate, after conception, to one and the same environment. +Thus some careful observations made recently by Professor Boas on +American immigrants from various parts of Europe seem to show that +the new environment does in some unexplained way modify the head-form +to a remarkable extent. For example, amongst the East European Jews +the head of the European-born is shorter and wider than that of the +American-born, the difference being even more marked in the second +generation of the American-born. At the same time, other European +nationalities exhibit changes of other kinds, all these changes, +however, being in the direction of a convergence towards one and the +same American type. How are we to explain these facts, supposing them +to be corroborated by more extensive studies? It would seem that we +must at any rate allow for a considerable plasticity in the head-form, +whereby it is capable of undergoing decisive alteration under the +influences of environment; not, of course, at any moment during life, +but during those early days when the growth of the head is especially +rapid. The further question whether such an acquired character can +be transmitted we need not raise again. Before passing on, however, +let this one word to the wise be uttered. If the skull can be so affected, +then what about the brain inside it? If the hereditarily long-headed +can change under suitable conditions, then what about the hereditarily +short-witted? + +It remains to say a word about the types of pre-historic men as judged +by their bony remains and especially by their skulls. Naturally the +subject bristles with uncertainties. + +By itself stands the so-called Pithecanthropus (Ape-man) of Java, a +regular "missing link." The top of the skull, several teeth, and a +thigh-bone, found at a certain distance from each other, are all that +we have of it or him. Dr. Dubois, their discoverer, has made out a +fairly strong case for supposing that the geological stratum in which +the remains occurred is Pliocene--that is to say, belongs to the +Tertiary epoch, to which man has not yet been traced back with any +strong probability. It must remain, however, highly doubtful whether +this is a proto-human being, or merely an ape of a type related to +the gibbon. The intermediate character is shown especially in the head +form. If an ape, Pithecanthropus had an enormous brain; if a man, he +must have verged on what we should consider idiocy. + +Also standing somewhat by itself is the Heidelberg man. All that we +have of him is a well-preserved lower jaw with its teeth. It was found +more than eighty feet below the surface of the soil, in company with +animal remains that make it possible to fix its position in the scale +of pre-historic periods with some accuracy. Judged by this test, it +is as old as the oldest of the unmistakable drift implements, the +so-called Chellean (from Chelles in the department of Seine-et-Marne +in France). The jaw by itself would suggest a gorilla, being both +chinless and immensely powerful. The teeth, however, are human beyond +question, and can be matched, or perhaps even in respect to certain +marks of primitiveness out-matched, amongst ancient skulls of the +Neanderthal order, if not also amongst modern ones from Australia. + +We may next consider the Neanderthal group of skulls, so named after +the first of that type found in 1856 in the Neanderthal valley close +to Dusseldorf in the Rhine basin. A narrow head, with low and retreating +forehead, and a thick projecting brow-ridge, yet with at least twice +the brain capacity of any gorilla, set the learned world disputing +whether this was an ape, a normal man, or an idiot. It was unfortunate +that there were no proofs to hand of the age of these relics. After +a while, however, similar specimens began to come in. Thus in 1866 +the jaw of a woman, displaying a tendency to chinlessness combined +with great strength, was found in the Cave of La Naulette in Belgium, +associated with more or less dateable remains of the mammoth, woolly +rhinoceros and reindeer. A few years earlier, though its importance +was not appreciated at the moment, there had been discovered, near +Forbes' quarry at Gibraltar, the famous Gibraltar skull, now to be +seen in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Any +visitor will notice at the first glance that this is no man of to-day. +There are the narrow head, low crown, and prominent brow-ridge as +before, supplemented by the most extraordinary eye-holes that were +ever seen, vast circles widely separated from each other. And other +peculiar features will reveal themselves on a close inspection; for +instance, the horseshoe form in which, ape-fashion, the teeth are +arranged, and the muzzle-like shape of the face due to the absence +of the depressions that in our own case run down on each side from +just outside the nostrils towards the corners of the mouth. + +And now at the present time we have twenty or more individuals of this +Neanderthal type to compare. The latest discoveries are perhaps the +most interesting, because in two and perhaps other cases the man has +been properly buried. Thus at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, in the French +department of Correze, a skeleton, which in its head-form closely +recalls the Gibraltar example, was found in a pit dug in the floor +of a low grotto. It lay on its back, head to the west, with one arm +bent towards the head, the other outstretched, and the legs drawn up. +Some bison bones lay in the grave as if a food-offering had been made. +Hard by were flint implements of a well-marked Mousterian type. In +the shelter of Le Moustier itself a similar burial was discovered. +The body lay on its right side, with the right arm bent so as to support +the head upon a carefully arranged pillow of flints; whilst the left +arm was stretched out, so that the hand might be near a magnificent +oval stone-weapon chipped on both faces, evidently laid there by design. +So much for these men of the Neanderthal type, denizens of the +mid-palaeolithic world at the very latest. Ape-like they doubtless +are in their head-form up to a certain point, though almost all their +separate features occur here and there amongst modern Australian +natives. And yet they were men enough, had brains enough, to believe +in a life after death. There is something to think about in that. + +Without going outside Europe, we have, however, to reckon with at least +two other types of very early head-form. + +In one of the caves of Mentone known as La Grotte des Enfants two +skeletons from a low stratum were of a primitive type, but unlike the +Neanderthal, and have been thought to show affinities to the modern +negro. As, however, no other Proto-Negroes are indisputably +forthcoming either from Europe or from any other part of the world, +there is little at present to be made out about this interesting racial +type. + +In the layer immediately above the negroid remains, however, as well +as in other caves at Mentone, were the bones of individuals of quite +another order, one being positively a giant. They are known as the +Cro-Magnon race, after a group of them discovered in a rock shelter +of that name on the banks of the Vezere. These particular people can +be shown to be Aurignacian--that is to say, to have lived just after +the Mousterian men of the Neanderthal head-form. If, however, as has +been already suggested, the Galley Hill individual, who shows +affinities to the Cro-Magnon type, really goes back to the drift-period, +then we can believe that from very early times there co-existed in +Europe at least two varieties; and these so distinct, that some +authorities would trace the original divergence between them right +back to the times before man and the apes had parted company, linking +the Neanderthal race with the gorilla and the Cro-Magnon race with +the orang. The Cro-Magnon head-form is refined and highly developed. +The forehead is high, and the chin shapely, whilst neither the +brow-ridge nor the lower jaw protrudes as in the Neanderthal type. +Whether this race survives in modern Europe is, as was said in the +last chapter, highly uncertain. In certain respects--for instance, +in a certain shortness of face--these people present exceptional +features; though some think they can still find men of this type in +the Dordogne district. Perhaps the chances are, however, considering +how skulls of the neolithic period prove to be anything but uniform, +and suggest crossings between different stocks, that we may claim +kinship to some extent with the more good-looking of the two main types +of palaeolithic man--always supposing that head-form can be taken as +a guide. But can it? The Pygmies of the Congo region have medium heads; +the Bushmen of South Africa, usually regarded as akin in race, have +long heads. The American Indians, generally supposed to be all, or +nearly all, of one racial type, show considerable differences of +head-form; and so on. It need not be repeated that any race-mark is +liable to deceive. + + * * * * * + +We have sufficiently considered the use to which the particular +race-mark of head-form has been put in the attempted classification +of the very early men who have left their bones behind them. Let us +now turn to another race-mark, namely colour; because, though it may +really be less satisfactory than others, for instance hair, that is +the one to which ordinary people naturally turn when they seek to +classify by races the present inhabitants of the earth. + +When Linnaeus in pre-Darwinian days distinguished four varieties of +man, the white European, the red American, the yellow Asiatic, and +the black African, he did not dream of providing the basis of anything +more than an artificial classification. He probably would have agreed +with Buffon in saying that in every case it was one and the same kind +of man, only dyed differently by the different climates. But the +Darwinian is searching for a natural classification. He wants to +distinguish men according to their actual descent. Now race and descent +mean for him the same thing. Hence a race-mark, if one is to be found, +must stand for, by co-existing with, the whole mass of properties that +form the inheritance. Can colour serve for a race-mark in this profound +sense? That is the only question here. + +First of all, what is the use of being coloured one way or the other? +Does it make any difference? Is it something, like the heart-line of +the hand, that may go along with useful qualities, but in itself seems +to be a meaningless accident? Well, as some unfortunate people will +be able to tell you, colour is still a formidable handicap in the +struggle for existence. Not to consider the colour-prejudice in other +aspects, there is no gainsaying the part it plays in sexual selection +at this hour. The lower animals appear to be guided in the choice of +a mate by externals of a striking and obvious sort. And men and women +to this day marry more with their eyes than with their heads. + +The coloration of man, however, though it may have come to subserve +the purposes of mating, does not seem in its origin to have been like +the bright coloration of the male bird. It was not something wholly +useless save as a means of sexual attraction, though in such a capacity +useful because a mark of vital vigour. Colour almost certainly +developed in strict relation to climate. Right away in the back ages +we must place what Bagehot has called the race-making epoch, when the +chief bodily differences, including differences of colour, arose +amongst men. In those days, we may suppose, natural selection acted +largely on the body, because mind had not yet become the prime condition +of survival. The rest is a question of pre-historic geography. Within +the tropics, the habitat of the man-like apes, and presumably of the +earliest men, a black skin protects against sunlight. A white skin, +on the other hand--though this is more doubtful--perhaps economizes +sun-heat in colder latitudes. Brown, yellow and the so-called red are +intermediate tints suitable to intermediate regions. It is not hard +to plot out in the pre-historic map of the world geographical provinces, +or "areas of characterization," where races of different shades +corresponding to differences in the climate might develop, in an +isolation more or less complete, such as must tend to reinforce the +process of differentiation. + +Let it not be forgotten, however, that individual plasticity plays +its part too in the determination of human colour. The Anglo-Indian +planter is apt to return from a long sojourn in the East with his skin +charged with a dark pigment which no amount of Pears' soap will remove +during the rest of his life. It would be interesting to conduct +experiments, on the lines of those of Professor Boas already mentioned, +with the object of discovering in what degree the same capacity for +amassing protective pigment declares itself in children of European +parentage born in the tropics or transplanted thither during infancy. +Correspondingly, the tendency of dark stocks to bleach in cold +countries needs to be studied. In the background, too, lurks the +question whether such effects of individual plasticity can be +transmitted to offspring, and become part of the inheritance. + +One more remark upon the subject of colour. Now-a-days civilized +peoples, as well as many of the ruder races that the former govern, +wear clothes. In other words they have dodged the sun, by developing, +with the aid of mind, a complex society that includes the makers of +white drill suits and solar helmets. But, under such conditions, the +colour of one's skin becomes more or less of a luxury. Protective +pigment, at any rate now-a-days, counts for little as compared with +capacity for social service. Colour, in short, is rapidly losing its +vital function. Will it therefore tend to disappear? In the long run, +it would seem--perhaps only in the very long run--it will become +dissociated from that general fitness to survive under particular +climatic conditions of which it was once the innate mark. Be this as +it may, race-prejudice, that is so largely founded on sheer +considerations of colour, is bound to decay, if and when the races +of darker colour succeed in displaying, on the average, such qualities +of mind as will enable them to compete with the whites on equal terms, +in a world which is coming more and more to include all climates. + + * * * * * + +Thus we are led on to discuss race in its mental aspect. Here, more +than ever, we are all at sea, for want of a proper criterion. What +is to be the test of mind? Indeed, mind and plasticity are almost the +same thing. Race, therefore, as being the stiffening in the evolution +of life, might seem by its very nature opposed to mind as a limiting +or obstructing force. Are we, then, going to return to the old +pre-scientific notion of soul as something alien to body, and thereby +simply clogged, thwarted and dragged down? That would never do. Body +and soul are, for the working purposes of science, to be conceived +as in perfect accord, as co-helpers in the work of life, and as such +subject to a common development. Heredity, then, must be assumed to +apply to both equally. In proportion as there is plastic mind there +will be plastic body. + +Unfortunately, the most plastic part of body is likewise the hardest +to observe, at any rate whilst it is alive, namely, the brain. No +certain criterion of heredity, then, is likely to be available from +this quarter. You will see it stated, for instance, that the size of +the brain cavity will serve to mark off one race from another. This +is extremely doubtful, to put it mildly. No doubt the average European +shows some advantage in this respect as compared, say, with the Bushman. +But then you have to write off so much for their respective types of +body, a bigger body going in general with a bigger head, that in the +end you find yourself comparing mere abstractions. Again, the European +may be the first to cry off on the ground that comparisons are odious; +for some specimens of Neanderthal man in sheer size of the brain cavity +are said to give points to any of our modern poets and politicians. +Clearly, then, something is wrong with this test. Nor, if the brain +itself be examined after death, and the form and number of its +convolutions compared, is this criterion of hereditary brain-power +any more satisfactory. It might be possible in this way to detect the +difference between an idiot and a person of normal intelligence, but +not the difference between a fool and a genius. + +We cross the uncertain line that divides the bodily from the mental +when we subject the same problem of hereditary mental endowment to +the methods of what is known as experimental psychology. Thus acuteness +of sight, hearing, taste, smell and feeling are measured by various +ingenious devices. Seeing what stories travellers bring back with them +about the hawk-like vision of hunting races, one might suppose that +such comparisons would be all in their favour. The Cambridge Expedition +to Torres Straits, however, of which Dr. Haddon was the leader, +included several well-trained psychologists, who devoted special +attention to this subject; and their results show that the sensory +powers of these rude folk were on the average much the same as those +of Europeans. It is the hunter's experience only that enables him to +sight the game at an immense distance. There are a great many more +complicated tests of the same type designed to estimate the force of +memory, attention, association, reasoning and other faculties that +most people would regard as purely mental; whilst another set of such +tests deals with reaction to stimulus, co-ordination between hand and +eye, fatigue, tremor, and, most ingenious perhaps of all, emotional +excitement as shown through the respiration--phenomena which are, as +it were, mental and bodily at once and together. Unfortunately, +psychology cannot distinguish in such cases between the effects of +heredity and those of individual experience, whether it take the form +of high culture or of a dissipated life. Indeed, the purely temporary +condition of body and mind is apt to influence the results. A man has +been up late, let us say, or has been for a long walk, or has missed +a meal; obviously his reaction-times, his record for memory, and so +on, will show a difference for the worse. Or, again, the subject may +confront the experiment in very various moods. At one moment he may +be full of vanity, anxious to show what superior qualities he +possesses; whilst at another time he will be bored. Not to labour the +point further, these methods, whatever they may become in the future, +are at present unable to afford any criterion whatever of the mental +ability that goes with race. They are fertile in statistics; but an +interpretation of these statistics that furthers our purpose is still +to seek. + +But surely, it will be said, we can tell an instinct when we come across +it, so uniform as it is, and so independent of the rest of the system. +Not at all. For one thing, the idea that an instinct is apiece of +mechanism, as fixed as fate, is quite out of fashion. It is now known +to be highly plastic in many cases, to vary considerably in individuals, +and to involve conscious processes, thought, feeling and will, at any +rate of an elementary kind. Again, how are you going to isolate an +instinct? Those few automatic responses to stimulation that appear +shortly after birth, as, for instance, sucking, may perhaps be +recognized, since parental training and experience in general are out +of the question here. But what about the instinct or group of instincts +answering to sex? This is latent until a stage of life when experience +is already in full swing. Indeed, psychologists are still busy +discussing whether man has very few instincts or whether, on the +contrary, he appears to have few because he really has so many that, +in practice, they keep interfering with one another all the time. In +support of the latter view, it has been recently suggested by Mr. +McDougall that the best test of the instincts that we have is to be +found in the specific emotions. He believes that every instinctive +process consists of an afferent part or message, a central part, and +an efferent part or discharge. At its two ends the process is highly +plastic. Message and discharge, to which thought and will correspond, +are modified in their type as experience matures. The central part, +on the other hand, to which emotion answers on the side of consciousness, +remains for ever much the same. To fear, to wonder, to be angry, or +disgusted, to be puffed up, or cast down, or to be affected with +tenderness--all these feelings, argues Mr. McDougall, and various more +complicated emotions arising out of their combinations with each other, +are common to all men, and bespeak in them deep-seated tendencies to +react on stimulation in relatively particular and definite ways. And +there is much, I think, to be said in favour of this contention. + +Yet, granting this, do we thus reach a criterion whereby the different +races of men are to be distinguished? Far from it. Nay, on the contrary, +as judged simply by his emotions, man is very much alike everywhere, +from China to Peru. They are all there in germ, though different customs +and grades of culture tend to bring special types of feeling to the +fore. + +Indeed, a certain paradox is to be noted here. The Negro, one would +naturally say, is in general more emotional than the white man. Yet +some experiments conducted by Miss Kellor of Chicago on negresses and +white women, by means of the test of the effects of emotion on +respiration, brought out the former as decidedly the more stolid of +the two. And, whatever be thought of the value of such methods of proof, +certain it is that the observers of rude races incline to put down +most of them as apathetic, when not tuned up to concert-pitch by a +dance or other social event. It may well be, then, that it is not the +hereditary temperament of the Negro, so much as the habit, which he +shares with other peoples at the same level of culture, of living and +acting in a crowd, that accounts for his apparent excitability. But +after all, "mafficking" is not unknown in civilized countries. Thus +the quest for a race-mark of a mental kind is barren once more. + + * * * * * + +What, then, you exclaim, is the outcome of this chapter of negatives? +Is it driving at the universal equality and brotherhood of man? Or, +on the contrary, does it hint at the need of a stern system of eugenics? +I offer nothing in the way of a practical suggestion. I am merely trying +to show that, considered anthropologically--that is to say, in terms +of pure theory--race or breed remains something which we cannot at +present isolate, though we believe it to be there. Practice, meanwhile, +must wait on theory; mere prejudices, bad as they are, are hardly worse +guides to action than premature exploitations of science. + +As regards the universal brotherhood of man, the most that can be said +is this: The old ideas about race as something hard and fast for all +time are distinctly on the decline. Plasticity, or, in other words, +the power of adaptation to environment, has to be admitted to a greater +share in the moulding of mind, and even of body, than ever before. +But how plasticity is related to race we do not yet know. It may be +that use-inheritance somehow incorporates its effects in the offspring +of the plastic parents. Or it may be simply that plasticity increases +with inter-breeding on a wider basis. These problems have still to +be solved. + +As regards eugenics, there is no doubt that a vast and persistent +elimination of lives goes on even in civilized countries. It has been +calculated that, of every hundred English born alive, fifty do not +survive to breed, and, of the remainder, half produce three-quarters +of the next generation. But is the elimination selective? We can hardly +doubt that it is to some extent. But what its results are--whether +it mainly favours immunity from certain diseases, or the capacity for +a sedentary life in a town atmosphere, or intelligence and capacity +for social service--is largely matter of guesswork. How, then, can +we say what is the type to breed from, even if we confine our attention +to one country? If, on the other hand, we look farther afield, and +study the results of race-mixture or "miscegenation," we but encounter +fresh puzzles. That the half-breed is an unsatisfactory person may +be true; and yet, until the conditions of his upbringing are somehow +discounted, the race problem remains exactly where it was. Or, again, +it may be true that miscegenation increases human fertility, as some +hold; but, until it is shown that the increase of fertility does not +merely result in flooding the world with inferior types, we are no +nearer to a solution. + +If, then, there is a practical moral to this chapter, it is merely +this: to encourage anthropologists to press forward with their study +of race; and in the meantime to do nothing rash. + + + + +CHAPTER IV +ENVIRONMENT + + +When a child is born it has been subjected for some three-quarters +of a year already to the influences of environment. Its race, indeed, +was fixed once for all at the moment of conception. Yet that superadded +measure of plasticity, which has to be treated as something apart from +the racial factor, enables it to respond for good or for evil to the +pre-natal--that is to say, maternal--environment. Thus we may easily +fall into the mistake of supposing our race to be degenerate, when +poor feeding and exposure to unhealthy surroundings on the part of +the mothers are really responsible for the crop of weaklings that we +deplore. And, in so far as it turns out to be so, social reformers +ought to heave a sigh of relief. Why? Because to improve the race by +way of eugenics, though doubtless feasible within limits, remains an +unrealized possibility through our want of knowledge. On the other +hand, to improve the physical environment is fairly straight-ahead +work, once we can awake the public conscience to the need of undertaking +this task for the benefit of all classes of the community alike. If +civilized man wishes to boast of being clearly superior to the rest +of his kind, it must be mainly in respect to his control over the +physical environment. Whatever may have been the case in the past, +it seems as true now-a-days to say that man makes his physical +environment as that his physical environment makes him. + +Even if this be granted, however, it remains the fact that our material +circumstances in the widest sense of the term play a very decisive +part in the shaping of our lives. Hence the importance of geographical +studies as they bear on the subject of man. From the moment that a +child is conceived, it is subjected to what it is now the fashion to +call a "geographic control." Take the case of the child of English +parents born in India. Clearly several factors will conspire to +determine whether it lives or dies. For simplicity's sake let us treat +them as three. First of all, there is the fact that the child belongs +to a particular cultural group; in other words, that it has been born +with a piece of paper in its mouth representing one share in the British +Empire. Secondly, there is its race, involving, let us say, blue eyes +and light hair, and a corresponding constitution. Thirdly, there is +the climate and all that goes with it. Though in the first of these +respects the white child is likely to be superior to the native, +inasmuch as it will be tended with more careful regard to the laws +of health; yet such disharmony prevails between the other two factors +of race and climate, that it will almost certainly die, if it is not +removed at a certain age from the country. Possibly the English could +acclimatize themselves in India at the price of an immense toll of +infant lives; but it is a price which they show no signs of being willing +to pay. + +What, then, are the limits of the geographical control? Where does +its influence begin and end? Situation, race and culture--to reduce +it to a problem of three terms only--which of the three, if any, in +the long run controls the rest? Remember that the anthropologist is +trying to be the historian of long perspective. History which counts +by years, proto-history which counts by centuries, pre-history which +counts by millenniums--he seeks to embrace them all. He sees the +English in India, on the one hand, and in Australia on the other. Will +the one invasion prove an incident, he asks, and the other an event, +as judged by a history of long perspective? Or, again, there are whites +and blacks and redskins in the southern portion of the United States +of America, having at present little in common save a common climate. +Different races, different cultures, a common geographical +situation--what net result will these yield for the historian of +patient, far-seeing anthropological outlook? Clearly there is here +something worth the puzzling out. But we cannot expect to puzzle it +out all at once. + +In these days geography, in the form known as anthropo-geography, is +putting forth claims to be the leading branch of anthropology. And, +doubtless, a thorough grounding in geography must henceforth be part +of the anthropologist's equipment.[3] The schools of Ratzel in Germany +and Le Play in France are, however, fertile in generalizations that +are far too pretty to be true. Like other specialists, they exaggerate +the importance of their particular brand of work. The full meaning +of life can never be expressed in terms of its material conditions. +I confess that I am not deeply moved when Ratzel announces that man +is a piece of the earth. Or when his admirers, anxious to improve on +this, after distinguishing the atmosphere or air, the hydrosphere or +water, the lithosphere or crust, and the centrosphere or interior mass, +proceed to add that man is the most active portion of an intermittent +biosphere, or living envelope of our planet, I cannot feel that the +last word has been said about him. + +[Footnote 3: Thus the reader of the present work should not fail to +study also Dr. Marion Newbigin's _Geography_ in this series.] + +Or, again, listen for a moment to M. Demolins, author of a very +suggestive book, _Comment la route cree le type social_ ("How the road +creates the social type"). "There exists," he says in his preface, +"on the surface of the terrestrial globe an infinite variety of peoples. +What is the cause that has created this variety? In general the reply +is, Race. But race explains nothing; for it remains to discover what +has produced the diversity of races. Race is not a cause; it is a +consequence. The first and decisive cause of the diversity of peoples +and of the diversity of races is the road that the peoples have followed. +It is the road that creates the race, and that creates the social type." +And he goes further: "If the history of humanity were to recommence, +and the surface of the globe had not been transformed, this history +would repeat itself in its main lines. There might well be secondary +differences, for example, in certain manifestations of public life, +in political revolutions, to which we assign far too great an +importance; but the same roads would reproduce the same social types, +and would impose on them the same essential characters." + +There is no contending with a pious opinion, especially when it takes +the form of an unverifiable prophecy. Let the level-headed +anthropologist beware, however, lest he put all his eggs into one +basket. Let him seek to give each factor in the problem its due. Race +must count for something, or why do not the other animals take a leaf +out of our book and build up rival civilizations on suitable sites? +Why do men herd cattle, instead of the cattle herding the men? We are +rational beings, in other words, because we have it in us to be rational +beings. Again, culture, with the intelligence and choice it involves, +counts for something too. It is easy to argue that, since there were +the Asiatic steppes with the wild horses ready to hand in them, man +was bound sooner or later to tame the horse and develop the +characteristic culture of the nomad type. Yes, but why did man tame +the horse later rather than sooner? And why did the American redskins +never tame the bison, and adopt a pastoral life in their vast prairies? +Or why do modern black folk and white folk alike in Africa fail to +utilize the elephant? Is it because these things cannot be done, or +because man has not found out how to do them? + +When all allowances, however, are made for the exaggerations almost +pardonable in a branch of science still engaged in pushing its way +to the front, anthropo-geography remains a far-reaching method of +historical study which the anthropologist has to learn how to use. +To put it crudely, he must learn how to work all the time with a map +of the earth at his elbow. + +First of all, let him imagine his world of man stationary. Let him +plot out in turn the distribution of heat, of moisture, of diseases, +of vegetation, of food-animals, of the physical types of man, of +density of population, of industries, of forms of government, of +religions, of languages, and so on and so forth. How far do these +different distributions bear each other out? He will find a number +of things that go together in what will strike him as a natural way. +For instance, all along the equator, whether in Africa or South America +or Borneo, he will find them knocking off work in the middle of the +day in order to take a siesta. On the other hand, other things will +not agree so well. Thus, though all will be dark-skinned, the South +Americans will be coppery, the Africans black, and the men of Borneo +yellow. + +Led on by such discrepancies, perhaps, he will want next to set his +world of man in movement. He will thereupon perceive a circulation, +so to speak, amongst the various peoples, suggestive of interrelations +of a new type. Now so long as he is dealing in descriptions of a detached +kind, concerning not merely the physical environment, but likewise +the social adjustments more immediately corresponding thereto, he will +be working at the geographical level. Directly it comes, however, to +a generalized description or historical explanation, as when he seeks +to show that here rather than there a civilization is likely to arise, +geographical considerations proper will not suffice. Distribution is +merely one aspect of evolution. Yet that it is a very important aspect +will now be shown by a hasty survey of the world according to +geographical regions. + + * * * * * + +Let us begin with Europe, so as to proceed gradually from the more +known to the less known. Lecky has spoken of "the European epoch of +the human mind." What is the geographical and physical theatre of that +epoch? We may distinguish--I borrow the suggestion from Professor +Myres--three stages in its development. Firstly, there was the +river-phase; next, the Mediterranean phase; lastly, the present-day +Atlantic phase. Thus, to begin with, the valleys of the Nile and +Euphrates were each the home of civilizations both magnificent and +enduring. They did not spring up spontaneously, however. If the rivers +helped man, man also helped the rivers by inventing systems of +irrigation. Next, from Minoan days right on to the end of the Middle +Ages, the Mediterranean basin was the focus of all the higher life +in the world, if we put out of sight the civilizations of India and +China, together with the lesser cultures of Peru and Mexico. I will +consider this second phase especially, because it is particularly +instructive from the geographical standpoint. Finally, since the time +of the discovery of America, the sea-trade, first called into existence +as a civilizing agent by Mediterranean conditions, has shifted its +base to the Atlantic coast, and especially to that land of natural +harbours, the British Isles. We must give up thinking in terms of an +Eastern and Western Hemisphere. The true distinction, as applicable +to modern times, is between a land-hemisphere, with the Atlantic coast +of Europe as its centre, and a sea-hemisphere, roughly coinciding with +the Pacific. The Pacific is truly an ocean; but the Atlantic is becoming +more of a "herring-pond" every day. + +Fixing our eyes, then, on the Mediterranean basin, with its Black Sea +extension, it is easy to perceive that we have here a well-defined +geographical province, capable of acting as an area of +characterization as perhaps no other in the world, once its various +peoples had the taste and ingenuity to intermingle freely by way of +the sea. The first fact to note is the completeness of the ring-fence +that shuts it in. From the Pyrenees right along to Ararat runs the +great Alpine fold, like a ridge in a crumpled table-cloth; the Spanish +Sierras and the Atlas continue the circle to the south-west; and the +rest is desert. Next, the configuration of the coasts makes for +intercourse by sea, especially on the northern side with its peninsulas +and islands, the remains of a foundered and drowned mountain-country. +This same configuration, considered in connection with the flora and +fauna that are favoured by the climate, goes far to explain that +discontinuity of the political life which encouraged independence +whilst it prevented self-sufficiency. The forest-belt, owing to the +dry summer, lay towards the snow-line, and below it a scrub-belt, +yielding poor hunting, drove men to grow their corn and olives and +vines in the least swampy of the lowlands, scattered like mere oases +amongst the hills and promontories. + +For a long time, then, man along the north coasts must have been +oppressed rather than assisted by his environment. It made +mass-movements impossible. Great waves of migration from the +steppe-land to the northeast, or from the forest-land to the north-west, +would thunder on the long mountain barrier, only to trickle across +in rivulets and form little pools of humanity here and there. Petty +feuds between plain, shore, and mountain, as in ancient Attica, would +but accentuate the prevailing division. Contrariwise, on the southern +side of the Mediterranean, where there was open, if largely desert, +country, there would be room under primitive conditions for a +homogeneous race to multiply. It is in North Africa that we must +probably place the original hotbed of that Mediterranean race, slight +and dark with oval heads and faces, who during the neolithic period +colonized the opposite side of the Mediterranean, and threw out a wing +along the warm Atlantic coast as far north as Scotland, as well as +eastwards to the Upper Danube; whilst by way of south and east they +certainly overran Egypt, Arabia, and Somaliland, with probable +ramifications still farther in both directions. At last, however, in +the eastern Mediterranean was learnt the lesson of the profits +attending the sea-going life, and there began the true Mediterranean +phase, which is essentially an era of sea-borne commerce. Then was +the chance for the northern shore with its peninsular configuration. +Carthage on the south shore must be regarded as a bold experiment that +did not answer. The moral, then, would seem to be that the Mediterranean +basin proved an ideal nursery for seamen; but only as soon as men were +brave and clever enough to take to the sea. The geographical factor +is at least partly consequence as well as cause. + + * * * * * + +Now let us proceed farther north into what was for the earlier +Mediterranean folk the breeding-ground of barbarous outlanders, +forming the chief menace to their circuit of settled civic life. It +is necessary to regard northern Europe and northern Asia as forming +one geographic province. Asia Minor, together with the Euphrates +valley and with Arabia in a lesser degree, belongs to the Mediterranean +area. India and China, with the south-eastern corner of Asia that lies +between them, form another system that will be considered separately +later on. + +The Eurasian northland consists naturally, that is to say, where +cultivation has not introduced changes, of four belts. First, to the +southward, come the mountain ranges passing eastwards into high +plateau. Then, north of this line, from the Lower Danube, as far as +China, stretches a belt of grassland or steppe-country at a lower level, +a belt which during the milder periods of the ice-age and immediately +after it must have reached as far as the Atlantic. Then we find, still +farther to the north, a forest belt, well developed in the Siberia +of to-day. Lastly, on the verge of the Arctic sea stretches the tundra, +the frozen soil of which is fertile in little else than the lichen +known as reindeer moss, whilst to the west, as, for instance, in our +islands, moors and bogs represent this zone of barren lands in a milder +form. + +The mountain belt is throughout its entire length the home of +round-headed peoples, the so-called Alpine race, which is generally +supposed to have originally come from the high plateau country of Asia. +These round-headed men in western Europe appear where-ever there are +hills, throwing out offshoots by way of the highlands of central France +into Brittany, and even reaching the British Isles. Here they +introduced the use of bronze (an invention possibly acquired by contact +with Egyptians in the near East), though without leaving any marked +traces of themselves amongst the permanent population. At the other +end of Europe they affected Greece by way of a steady though limited +infiltration; whilst in Asia Minor they issued forth from their hills +as the formidable Hittites, the people, by the way, to whom the Jews +are said to owe their characteristic, yet non-Semitic, noses. But are +these round-heads all of one race? Professor Ridgeway has put forward +a rather paradoxical theory to the effect that, just as the long-faced +Boer horse soon evolved in the mountains of Basutoland into a +round-headed pony, so it is in a few generations with human +mountaineers, irrespective of their breed. This is almost certainly +to overrate the effects of environment. At the same time, in the present +state of our knowledge, it would be premature either to affirm or deny +that in the very long run round-headedness goes with a mountain life. + +The grassland next claims our attention. Here is the paradise of the +horse, and consequently of the horse-breaker. Hence, therefore, came +the charging multitudes of Asiatic marauders who, after many repulses, +broke through the Mediterranean cordon, and established themselves +as the modern Turks; whilst at the other end of their beat they poured +into China, which no great wall could avail to save, and established +the Manchu domination. Given the steppe-country and a horse-taming +people, we might seek, with the anthropo-geographers of the bolder +sort, to deduce the whole way of life, the nomadism, the ample food, +including the milk-diet infants need and find so hard to obtain farther +south, the communal system, the patriarchal type of authority, the +caravan-system that can set the whole horde moving along like a swarm +of locusts, and so on. But, as has been already pointed out, the horse +had to be tamed first. Palaeolithic man in western Europe had +horse-meat in abundance. At Solutre, a little north of Lyons, a heap +of food-refuse 100 yards long and 10 feet high largely consists of +the bones of horses, most of them young and tender. This shows that +the old hunters knew how to enjoy the passing hour in their improvident +way, like the equally reckless Bushmen, who have left similar Golgothas +behind them in South Africa. Yet apparently palaeolithic man did not +tame the horse. Environment, in fact, can only give the hint; and man +may not be ready to take it. + +The forest-land of the north affords fair hunting in its way, but it +is doubtful if it is fitted to rear a copious brood of men, at any +rate so long as stone weapons are alone available wherewith to master +the vegetation and effect clearings, whilst burning the brushwood down +is precluded by the damp. Where the original home may have been of +the so-called Nordic race, the large-limbed fair men of the Teutonic +world, remains something of a mystery; though it is now the fashion +to place it in the north-east of Europe rather than in Asia, and to +suppose it to have been more or less isolated from the rest of the +world by formerly existing sheets of water. Where-ever it was, there +must have been grassland enough to permit of pastoral habits, modified, +perhaps, by some hunting on the one hand, and by some primitive +agriculture on the other. The Mediterranean men, coming from North +Africa, an excellent country for the horse, may have vied with the +Asiatics of the steppes in introducing a varied culture to the north. +At any rate, when the Germans of Tacitus emerge into the light of +history, they are not mere foresters, but rather woodlanders, men of +the glades, with many sides to their life; including an acquaintance +with the sea and its ways, surpassing by far that of those early +beachcombers whose miserable kitchen-middens are to be found along +the coast of Denmark. + +Of the tundra it is enough to say that all depends on the reindeer. +This animal is the be-all and end-all of Lapp existence. When Nansen, +after crossing Greenland, sailed home with his two Lapps, he called +their attention to the crowds of people assembled to welcome them at +the harbour. "Ah," said the elder and more thoughtful of the pair, +"if they were only reindeer!" When domesticated, the reindeer yields +milk as well as food, though large numbers are needed to keep the +community in comfort. Otherwise hunting and fishing must serve to eke +out the larder. Miserable indeed are the tribes or rather remnants +of tribes along the Siberian tundra who have no reindeer. On the other +hand, if there are plenty of wild reindeer, as amongst the Koryaks +and some of the Chukchis, hunting by itself suffices. + + * * * * * + +Let us now pass on from the Eurasian northland to what is, zoologically, +almost its annexe, North America; its tundra, for example, where the +Eskimo live, being strictly continuous with the Asiatic zone. Though +having a very different fauna and flora, South America presumably forms +part of the same geographical province so far as man is concerned, +though there is evidence for thinking that he reached it very early. +Until, however, more data are available for the pre-history of the +American Indian, the great moulding forces, geographical or other, +must be merely guessed at. Much turns on the period assigned to the +first appearance of man in this region; for that he is indigenous is +highly improbable, if only because no anthropoid apes are found here. +The racial type, which, with the exception of the Eskimo, and possibly +of the salmon-fishing tribes along the north-west coast, is one for +the whole continent, has a rather distant resemblance to that of the +Asiatic Mongols. Nor is there any difficulty in finding the immigrants +a means of transit from northern Asia. Even if it be held that the +land-bridge by way of what are now the Aleutian Islands was closed +at too early a date for man to profit by it, there is always the passage +over the ice by way of Behring Straits; which, if it bore the mammoth, +as is proved by its remains in Alaska, could certainly bear man. + +Once man was across, what was the manner of his distribution? On this +point geography can at present tell us little. M. Demolins, it is true, +describes three routes, one along the Rockies, the next down the +central zone of prairies, and the third and most easterly by way of +the great lakes. But this is pure hypothesis. No facts are adduced. +Indeed, evidence bearing on distribution is very hard to obtain in +this area, since the physical type is so uniform throughout. The best +available criterion is the somewhat poor one of the distribution of +the very various languages. Some curious lines of migration are +indicated by the occurrence of the same type of language in widely +separated regions, the most striking example being the appearance of +one linguistic stock, the so-called Athapascan, away up in the +north-west by the Alaska boundary; at one or two points in +south-western Oregon and north-western California, where an absolute +medley of languages prevails; and again in the southern highlands along +the line of Colorado and Utah to the other side of the Mexican frontier. +Does it follow from this distribution that the Apaches, at the southern +end of the range, have come down from Alaska, by way of the Rockies +and the Pacific slope, to their present habitat? It might be so in +this particular case; but there are also those who think that the signs +in general point to a northward dispersal of tribes, who before had +been driven south by a period of glaciation. Thus the first thing to +be settled is the antiquity of the American type of man. + +A glance at South America must suffice. Geographically it consists +of three regions. Westwards we have the Pacific line of bracing +highlands, running down from Mexico as far as Chile, the home of two +or more cultures of a rather high order. Then to the east there is +the steaming equatorial forest, first covering a fan of rivers, then +rising up into healthier hill-country, the whole in its wild state +hampering to human enterprise. And below it occurs the grassland of +the pampas, only needing the horse to bring out the powers of its native +occupants. + +Before leaving this subject of the domesticated horse, of which so +much use has already been made in order to illustrate how geographic +opportunity and human contrivance must help each other out, it is worth +noticing how an invention can quickly revolutionize even that cultural +life of the ruder races which is usually supposed to be quite hide-bound +by immemorial custom. When the Europeans first broke in upon the +redskins of North America, they found them a people of hunters and +fishers, it is true, but with agriculture as a second string everywhere +east of the Mississippi as well as to the south, and on the whole +sedentary, with villages scattered far apart; so that in pre-Conquest +days they would seem to have been enjoying a large measure of security +and peace. The coming of the whites soon crowded them back upon +themselves, disarranging the old boundaries. At the same time the horse +and the gun were introduced. With extraordinary rapidity the Indian +adapted himself to a new mode of existence, a grassland life, +complicated by the fact that the relentless pressure of the invaders +gave it a predatory turn which it might otherwise have lacked. +Something very similar, though neither conditions nor consequences +were quite the same, occurred in the pampas of South America, where +horse-Indians like the Patagonians, who seem at first sight the +indigenous outcrop of the very soil, are really the recent by-product +of an intrusive culture. + + * * * * * + +And now let us hark back to southern Asia with its two reservoirs of +life, India and China, and between them a jutting promontory pointing +the way to the Indonesian archipelago, and thence onward farther still +to the wide-flung Austral region with its myriad lands ranging in size +from a continent to a coral-atoll. Here we have a nursery of seamen +on a vaster scale than in the Mediterranean; for remember that from +this point man spread, by way of the sea, from Easter Island in the +Eastern Pacific right away to Madagascar, where we find Javanese +immigrants, and negroes who are probably Papuan, whilst the language +is of a Malayo-Polynesian type. + +India and China each well-nigh deserve the status of geographical +provinces on their own account. Each is an area of settlement; and, +once there is settlement, there is a cultural influence which +co-operates with the environment to weed out immigrant forms; as we +see, for example, in Egypt, where a characteristic physical type, or +rather pair of types, a coarser and a finer, has apparently persisted, +despite the constant influx of other races, from the dawn of its long +history. India, however, and China have both suffered so much invasion +from the Eurasian northland, and at the same time are of such great +extent and comprise such diverse physical conditions, that they have, +in the course of the long years, sent forth very various broods of +men to seek their fortunes in the south-east. + +Nor must we ignore the possibility of an earlier movement in the +opposite direction. In Indonesia, the home of the orang-utan and gibbon, +not to speak of Pithecanthropus, many authorities would place the +original home of the human race. It will be wise to touch lightly on +matters involving considerations of palaeo-geography, that most +kaleidoscopic of studies. The submerged continents which it calls from +the vasty deep have a habit of crumbling away again. Let us therefore +refrain from providing man with land-bridges (draw-bridges, they might +almost be called), whether between the Indonesian islands; or between +New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania; or between Indonesia and Africa +by way of the Indian Ocean. Let the curious facts about the present +distribution of the racial types speak for themselves, the +difficulties about identifying a racial type being in the meantime +ever borne in mind. + +Most striking of all is the diffusion of the Negro stocks with black +skin and woolly hair. Their range is certainly suggestive of a +breeding-ground somewhere about Indonesia. To the extreme west are +the negroes of Africa, to the extreme east the Papuasians (Papuans +and Melanesians) extending from New Guinea through the oceanic islands +as far as Fiji. A series of connecting links is afforded by the small +negroes of the pygmy type, the so-called Negritos. It is not known +how far they represent a distinct and perhaps earlier experiment in +negro-making, though this is the prevailing view; or whether the negro +type, with its tendency to infantile characters due to the early +closing of the cranial sutures, is apt to throw off dwarfed forms in +an occasional way. At any rate, in Africa there are several groups +of pygmies in the Congo region, as well as the Bushmen and allied stocks +in South Africa. Then the Andaman Islanders, the Semang of the Malay +Peninsula, the Aket of eastern Sumatra, the now extinct Kalangs of +Java, said to have been in some respects the most ape-like of human +beings, the Aetas of the Philippines, and the dwarfs, with a +surprisingly high culture, recently reported from Dutch New Guinea, +are like so many scattered pieces of human wreckage. Finally, if we +turn our gaze southward, we find that Negritos until the other day +inhabited Tasmania; whilst in Australia a strain of Negrito, or Negro +(Papuan), blood is likewise to be detected. + +Are we here on the track of the original dispersal of man? It is +impossible to say. It is not even certain, though highly probable, +that man originated in one spot. If he did, he must have been +hereditarily endowed, almost from the outset, with an adaptability +to different climates quite unique in its way. The tiger is able to +range from the hot Indian jungle to the freezing Siberian tundra; but +man is the cosmopolitan animal beyond all others. Somehow, on this +theory of a single origin, he made his way to every quarter of the +globe; and when he got there, though needing time, perhaps, to acquire +the local colour, managed in the end to be at home. It looks as if +both race and a dash of culture had a good deal to do with his +exploitation of geographical opportunity. How did the Australians and +their Negrito forerunners invade their Austral world, at some period +which, we cannot but suspect, was immensely remote in time? Certain +at least it is that they crossed a formidable barrier. What is known +as Wallace's line corresponds with the deep channel running between +the islands of Bali and Lombok and continuing northwards to the west +of Celebes. On the eastern side the fauna are non-Asiatic. Yet somehow +into Australia with its queer monotremes and marsupials entered +triumphant man--man and the dog with him. Haeckel has suggested that +man followed the dog, playing as it were the jackal to him. But this +sounds rather absurd. It looks as if man had already acquired enough +seamanship to ferry himself across the zoological divide, and to take +his faithful dog with him on board his raft or dug-out. Until we have +facts whereon to build, however, it would be as unpardonable to lay +down the law on these matters as it is permissible to fill up the blank +by guesswork. + +It remains to round off our original survey by a word or two more about +the farther extremities, west, south, and east, of this vast southern +world, to which south-eastern Asia furnishes a natural approach. The +negroes did not have Africa, that is, Africa south of the Sahara, all +to themselves. In and near the equatorial forest-region of the west +the pure type prevails, displaying agricultural pursuits such as the +cultivation of the banana, and, farther north, of millet, that must +have been acquired before the race was driven out of the more open +country. Elsewhere occur mixtures of every kind with intrusive +pastoral peoples of the Mediterranean type, the negro blood, however, +tending to predominate; and thus we get the Fulahs and similar stocks +to the west along the grassland bordering on the desert; the Nilotic +folk amongst the swamps of the Upper Nile; and throughout the eastern +and southern parkland the vigorous Bantu peoples, who have swept the +Bushmen and the kindred Hottentots before them down into the desert +country in the extreme south-west. It may be added that Africa has +a rich fauna and flora, much mineral wealth, and a physical +configuration that, in respect to its interior, though not to its +coasts, is highly diversified; so that it may be doubted whether the +natives have reached as high a pitch of indigenous culture as the +resources of the environment, considered by itself, might seem to +warrant. If the use of iron was invented in Africa, as some believe, +it would only be another proof that opportunity is nothing apart from +the capacity to grasp it. + +Of the Australian aborigines something has been said already. Apart +from the Negrito or Negro strain in their blood, they are usually held +to belong to that pre-Dravidian stock represented by various jungle +tribes in southern India and by the Veddas of Ceylon, connecting links +between the two areas being the Sakai of the Malay Peninsula and East +Sumatra, and the Toala of Celebes. It may be worth observing, also, +that pre-historic skulls of the Neanderthal type find their nearest +parallels in modern Australia. We are here in the presence of some +very ancient dispersal, from what centre and in what direction it is +hard to imagine. In Australia these early colonists found pleasant, +if somewhat lightly furnished, lodgings. In particular there were no +dangerous beasts; so that hunting was hardly calculated to put a man +on his mettle, as in more exacting climes. Isolation, and the +consequent absence of pressure from human intruders, is another fact +in the situation. Whatever the causes, the net result was that, despite +a very fair environment, away from the desert regions of the interior, +man on the whole stagnated. In regard to material comforts and +conveniences, the rudeness of their life seems to us appalling. On +the other hand, now that we are coming to know something of the inner +life and mental history of the Australians, a somewhat different +complexion is put upon the state of their culture. With very plain +living went something that approached to high thinking; and we must +recognize in this case, as in others, what might be termed a +differential evolution of culture, according to which some elements +may advance, whilst others stand still, or even decay. + +To another and a very different people, namely, the Polynesians, the +same notion of a differential evolution may be profitably applied. +They were in the stone-age when first discovered, and had no bows and +arrows. On the other hand, with coco-nut, bananas and bread-fruit, +they had abundant means of sustenance, and were thoroughly at home +in their magnificent canoes. Thus their island-life was rich in ease +and variety; and, whilst rude in certain respects, they were almost +civilized in others. Their racial affinities are somewhat complex. +What is almost certain is that they only occupied the Eastern Pacific +during the course of the last 1500 years or so. They probably came +from Indonesia, mixing to a slight extent with Melanesians on their +way. How the proto-Polynesians came into existence in Indonesia is +more problematic. Possibly they were the result of a mixture between +long-headed immigrants from eastern India, and round-headed Mongols +from Indo-China and the rest of south-eastern Asia, from whom the +present Malays are derived. + + * * * * * + +We have completed our very rapid regional survey of the world; and +what do we find? By no means is it case after case of one region +corresponding to one type of man and to one type of culture. It might +be that, given persistent physical conditions of a uniform kind, and +complete isolation, human life would in the end conform to these +conditions, or in other words stagnate. No one can tell, and no one +wants to know, because as a matter of fact no such environmental +conditions occur in this world of ours. Human history reveals itself +as a bewildering series of interpenetrations. What excites these +movements? Geographical causes, say the theorists of one idea. No doubt +man moves forward partly because nature kicks him behind. But in the +first place some types of animal life go forward under pressure from +nature, whilst others lie down and die. In the second place man has +an accumulative faculty, a social memory, whereby he is able to carry +on to the conquest of a new environment whatever has served him in +the old. But this is as it were to compound environments--a process +that ends by making the environment coextensive with the world. +Intelligent assimilation of the new by means of the old breaks down +the provincial barriers one by one, until man, the cosmopolitan animal +by reason of his hereditary constitution, develops a cosmopolitan +culture; at first almost unconsciously, but later on with +self-conscious intent, because he is no longer content to live, but +insists on living well. + +As a sequel to this brief examination of the geographic control +considered by itself it would be interesting, if space allowed, to +append a study of the distribution of the arts and crafts of a more +obviously economic and utilitarian type. If the physical environment +were all in all, we ought to find the same conditions evoking the same +industrial appliances everywhere, without the aid of suggestions from +other quarters. Indeed, so little do we know about the conditions +attending the discovery of the arts of life that gave humanity its +all-important start--the making of fire, the taming of animals, the +sowing of plants, and so on--that it is only too easy to misread our +map. We know almost nothing of those movements of peoples, in the course +of which a given art was brought from one part of the world to another. +Hence, when we find the art duly installed in a particular place, and +utilizing the local product, the bamboo in the south, let us say, or +the birch in the north, as it naturally does, we easily slip into the +error of supposing that the local products of themselves called the +art into existence. Similar needs, we say, have generated similar +expedients. No doubt there is some truth in this principle; but I doubt +if, on the whole, history tends to repeat itself in the case of the +great useful inventions. We are all of us born imitators, but inventive +genius is rare. + +Take the case of the early palaeoliths of the drift type. From Egypt, +Somaliland, and many other distant lands come examples which Sir John +Evans finds "so identical in form and character with British specimens +that they might have been manufactured by the same hands." And +throughout the palaeolithic age in Europe the very limited number and +regular succession of forms testifies to the innate conservatism of +man, and the slow progress of invention. And yet, as some American +writers have argued--who do not find that the distinction between +chipped palaeoliths and polished neoliths of an altogether later age +applies equally well to the New World--it was just as easy to have +got an edge by rubbing as by flaking. The fact remains that in the +Old World human inventiveness moved along one channel rather than +another, and for an immense lapse of time no one was found to strike +out a new line. There was plenty of sand and water for polishing, but +it did not occur to their minds to use it. + +To wind up this chapter, however, I shall glance at the distribution, +not of any implement connected directly and obviously with the +utilization of natural products, but of a downright oddity, something +that might easily be invented once only and almost immediately dropped +again. And yet here it is all over the world, going back, we may +conjecture, to very ancient times, and implying interpenetrations of +bygone peoples, of whose wanderings perhaps we may never unfold the +secret. It is called the "bull-roarer," and is simply a slat of wood +on the end of a string, which when whirled round produces a rather +unearthly humming sound. Will the anthropo-geographer, after studying +the distribution of wood and stringy substances round the globe, +venture to prophesy that, if man lived his half a million years or +so over again, the bull-roarer would be found spread about very much +where it is to-day? "Bull-roarer" is just one of our local names for +what survives now-a-days as a toy in many an old-fashioned corner of +the British Isles, where it is also known as boomer, buzzer, whizzer, +swish, and so on. Without going farther afield we can get a hint of +the two main functions which it seems to have fulfilled amongst ruder +peoples. In Scotland it is, on the one hand, sometimes used to "ca' +the cattle hame." A herd-boy has been seen to swing a bull-roarer of +his own making, with the result that the beasts were soon running +frantically towards the byre. On the other hand, it is sometimes +regarded there as a "thunner-spell," a charm against thunder, the +superstition being that like cures like, and whatever makes a noise +like thunder will be on good terms, so to speak, with the real thunder. + +As regards its uses in the rest of the world, it may be said at once +that here and there, in Galicia in Europe, in the Malay Peninsula in +Asia, and amongst the Bushmen in Africa, it is used to drive or scare +animals, whether tame or wild. And this, to make a mere guess, may +have been its earliest use, if utilitarian contrivances can generally +claim historical precedence, as is by no means certain. As long as +man hunted with very inferior weapons, he must have depended a good +deal on drives, that either forced the game into a pitfall, or rounded +them up so as to enable a concerted attack to be made by the human +pack. No wonder that the bull-roarer is sometimes used to bring luck +in a mystic way to hunters. More commonly, however, at the present +day, the bull-roarer serves another type of mystic purpose, its noise, +which is so suggestive of thunder or wind, with a superadded touch +of weirdness and general mystery, fitting it to play a leading part +in rain-making ceremonies. From these not improbably have developed +all sorts of other ceremonies connected with making vegetation and +the crops grow, and with making the boys grow into men, as is done +at the initiation rites. It is not surprising, therefore, to find a +carved human face appearing on the bull-roarer in New Guinea, and again +away in North America, whilst in West Africa it is held to contain +the voice of a very god. In Australia, too, all their higher notions +about a benevolent deity and about religious matters in general seem +to concentrate on this strange symbol, outwardly the frailest of toys, +yet to the spiritual eye of these simple folk a veritable holy of +holies. + +And now for the merest sketch of its distribution, the details of which +are to be learnt from Dr. Haddon's valuable paper in _The Study of +Man_. England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales have it. It can be tracked +along central Europe through Switzerland, Germany, and Poland beyond +the Carpathians, whereupon ancient Greece with its Dionysiac mysteries +takes up the tale. In America it is found amongst the Eskimo, is +scattered over the northern part of the continent down to the Mexican +frontier, and then turns up afresh in central Brazil. Again, from the +Malay Peninsula and Sumatra it extends over the great fan of darker +peoples, from Africa, west and south, to New Guinea, Melanesia, and +Australia, together with New Zealand alone of Polynesian islands--a +fact possibly showing it to have belonged to some earlier race of +colonists. Thus in all of the great geographical areas the bull-roarer +is found, and that without reckoning in analogous implements like the +so-called "buzz," which cover further ground, for instance, the +eastern coastlands of Asia. Are we to postulate many independent +origins, or else far-reaching transportations by migratory peoples, +by the American Indians and the negroes, for example? No attempt can +be made here to answer these questions. It is enough to have shown +by the use of a single illustration how the study of the geographical +distribution of inventions raises as many difficulties as it solves. + +Our conclusion, then, must be that the anthropologist, whilst +constantly consulting his physical map of the world, must not suppose +that by so doing he will be saved all further trouble. Geographical +facts represent a passive condition, which life, something by its very +nature active, obeys, yet in obeying conquers. We cannot get away from +the fact that we are physically determined. Yet, physical +determinations have been surmounted by human nature in a way to which +the rest of the animal world affords no parallel. Thus man, as the +old saying has it, makes love all the year round. Seasonal changes +of course affect him, yet he is no slave of the seasons. And so it +is with the many other elements involved in the "geographic control." +The "road," for instance--that is to say, any natural avenue of +migration or communication, whether by land over bridges and through +passes, or by sea between harbours and with trade-winds to swell the +sails--takes a hand in the game of life, and one that holds many trumps; +but so again does the non-geographical fact that your travelling-machine +may be your pair of legs, or a horse, or a boat, or a railway, or an +airship. Let us be moderate in all things, then, even in our references +to the force of circumstances. Circumstances can unmake; but of +themselves they never yet made man, nor any other form of life. + + + + +CHAPTER V +LANGUAGE + + +The differentia of man--the quality that marks him off from the other +animal kinds--is undoubtedly the power of articulate speech. Thereby +his mind itself becomes articulate. If language is ultimately a +creation of the intellect, yet hardly less fundamentally is the +intellect a creation of language. As flesh depends on bone, so does +the living tissue of our spiritual life depend on its supporting +framework of steadfast verbal forms. The genius, the heaven-born +benefactor of humanity, is essentially he who wrestles with "thoughts +too deep for words," until at last he assimilates them to the scheme +of meanings embodied in his mother-tongue, and thus raises them +definitely above the threshold of the common consciousness, which is +likewise the threshold of the common culture. + +There is good reason, then, for prefixing a short chapter on language +to an account of those factors in the life of man that together stand +on the whole for the principle of freedom--of rational self-direction. +Heredity and environment do not, indeed, lie utterly beyond the range +of our control. As they are viewed from the standpoint of human history +as a whole, they show each in its own fashion a certain capacity to +meet the needs and purposes of the life-force halfway. Regarded +abstractly, however, they may conveniently be treated as purely +passive and limiting conditions. Here we are with a constitution not +of our choosing, and in a world not of our choosing. Given this +inheritance, and this environment, how are we, by taking thought and +taking risks, to achieve the best-under-the-circumstances? Such is +the vital problem as it presents itself to any particular generation +of men. + +The environment is as it were the enemy. We are out to conquer and +enslave it. Our inheritance, on the other hand, is the impelling force +we obey in setting forth to fight; it tingles in our blood, and nerves +the muscles of our arm. This force of heredity, however, abstractly +considered, is blind. Yet, corporately and individually, we fight with +eyes that see. This supervening faculty, then, of utilizing the light +of experience represents a third element in the situation; and, from +the standpoint of man's desire to know himself, the supreme element. +The environment, inasmuch as under this conception are included all +other forms of life except man, can muster on its side a certain amount +of intelligence of a low order. But man's prerogative is to dominate +his world by the aid of intelligence of a high order. When he defied +the ice-age by the use of fire, when he outfaced and outlived the +mammoth and the cave bear, he was already the rational animal, _homo +sapiens_. In his way he thought, even in those far-off days. And +therefore we may assume, until direct evidence is forthcoming to the +contrary, that he likewise had language of an articulate kind. He tried +to make a speech, we may almost say, as soon as he had learned to stand +up on his hind legs. + +Unfortunately, we entirely lack the means of carrying back the history +of human speech to its first beginnings. In the latter half of the +last century, whilst the ferment of Darwinism was freshly seething, +all sorts of speculations were rife concerning the origin of language. +One school sought the source of the earliest words in imitative sounds +of the type of bow-wow; another in interjectional expressions of the +type of tut-tut. Or, again, as was natural in Europe, where, with the +exception of Basque in a corner of the west, and of certain Asiatic +languages, Turkish, Hungarian and Finnish, on the eastern border, all +spoken tongues present certain obvious affinities, the comparative +philologist undertook to construct sundry great families of speech; +and it was hoped that sooner or later, by working back to some +linguistic parting of the ways, the central problem would be solved +of the dispersal of the world's races. + +These painted bubbles have burst. The further examination of the forms +of speech current amongst peoples of rude culture has not revealed +a conspicuous wealth either of imitative or of interjectional sounds. +On the other hand, the comparative study of the European, or, as they +must be termed in virtue of the branch stretching through Persia into +India, the Indo-European stock of languages, carries us back three +or four thousand years at most--a mere nothing in terms of +anthropological time. Moreover, a more extended search through the +world, which in many of its less cultured parts furnishes no literary +remains that may serve to illustrate linguistic evolution, shows +endless diversity of tongues in place of the hoped-for system of a +few families; so that half a hundred apparently independent types must +be distinguished in North America alone. For the rest, it has become +increasingly clear that race and language need not go together at all. +What philologist, for instance, could ever discover, if he had no +history to help him, but must rely wholly on the examination of modern +French, that the bulk of the population of France is connected by way +of blood with ancient Gauls who spoke Celtic, until the Roman conquest +caused them to adopt a vulgar form of Latin in its place. The Celtic +tongue, in its turn, had, doubtless not so very long before, ousted +some earlier type of language, perhaps one allied to the still +surviving Basque; though it is not in the least necessary, therefore, +to suppose that the Celtic-speaking invaders wiped out the previous +inhabitants of the land to a corresponding extent. Races, in short, +mix readily; languages, except in very special circumstances, hardly +at all. + +Disappointed in its hope of presiding over the reconstruction of the +distant past of man, the study of language has in recent years tended +somewhat to renounce the historical--that is to say, +anthropological--method altogether. The alternative is a purely +formal treatment of the subject. Thus, whereas vocabularies seem +hopelessly divergent in their special contents, the general apparatus +of vocal expression is broadly the same everywhere. That all men alike +communicate by talking, other symbols and codes into which thoughts +can be translated, such as gestures, the various kinds of writing, +drum-taps, smoke signals, and so on, being in the main but secondary +and derivative, is a fact of which the very universality may easily +blind us to its profound significance. Meanwhile, the science of +phonetics--having lost that "guid conceit of itself" which once led +it to discuss at large whether the art of talking evolved at a single +geographical centre, or at many centres owing to similar capacities +of body and mind--contents itself now-a-days for the most part with +conducting an analytic survey of the modes of vocal expression as +correlated with the observed tendencies of the human speech-organs. +And what is true of phonetics in particular is hardly less true of +comparative philology as a whole. Its present procedure is in the main +analytic or formal. Thus its fundamental distinction between isolating, +agglutinative and inflectional languages is arrived at simply by +contrasting the different ways in which words are affected by being +put together into a sentence. No attempt is made to show that one type +of arrangement normally precedes another in time, or that it is in +any way more rudimentary--that is to say, less adapted to the needs +of human intercourse. It is not even pretended that a given language +is bound to exemplify one, and one alone, of these three types; though +the process known as analogy--that is, the regularizing of exceptions +by treating the unlike as if it were like--will always be apt to +establish one system at the expense of the rest. + +If, then, the study of language is to recover its old pre-eminence +amongst anthropological studies, it looks as if a new direction must +be given to its inquiries. And there is much to be said for any change +that would bring about this result. Without constant help from the +philologist, anthropology is bound to languish. To thoroughly +understand the speech of the people under investigation is the +field-worker's master-key; so much so, that the critic's first +question in determining the value of an ethnographical work must always +be, Could the author talk freely with the natives in their own tongue? +But how is the study of particular languages to be pursued successfully, +if it lack the stimulus and inspiration which only the search for +general principles can impart to any branch of science? To relieve +the hack-work of compiling vocabularies and grammars, there must be +present a sense of wider issues involved, and such issues as may +directly interest a student devoted to language for its own sake. The +formal method of investigating language, in the meantime, can hardly +supply the needed spur. Analysis is all very well so long as its +ultimate purpose is to subserve genesis--that is to say, evolutionary +history. If, however, it tries to set up on its own account, it is +in danger of degenerating into sheer futility. Out of time and history +is, in the long run, out of meaning and use. The philologist, then, +if he is to help anthropology, must himself be an anthropologist, with +a full appreciation of the importance of the historical method. He +must be able to set each language or group of languages that he studies +in its historical setting. He must seek to show how it has evolved +in relation to the needs of a given time. In short, he must correlate +words with thoughts; must treat language as a function of the social +life. + + * * * * * + +Here, however, it is not possible to attempt any but the most general +characterization of primitive language as it throws light on the +workings of the primitive intelligence. For one reason, the subject +is highly technical; for another reason, our knowledge about most types +of savage speech is backward in the extreme; whilst, for a third and +most far-reaching reason of all, many peoples, as we have seen, are +not speaking the language truly native to their powers and habits of +mind, but are expressing themselves in terms imported from another +stock, whose spiritual evolution has been largely different. Thus it +is at most possible to contrast very broadly and generally the more +rudimentary with the more advanced methods that mankind employs for +the purpose of putting its experience into words. Happily the careful +attention devoted by American philologists to the aboriginal languages +of their continent has resulted in the discovery of certain principles +which the rest of our evidence, so far as it goes, would seem to stamp +as of world-wide application. The reader is advised to study the most +stimulating, if perhaps somewhat speculative, pages on language in +the second volume of E.J. Payne's _History of the New World called +America_; or, if he can wrestle with the French tongue, to compare +the conclusions here reached with those to which Professor Levy-Bruhl +is led, largely by the consideration of this same American group of +languages, in his recent work, _Les Fonctions Mentales dans les +Societes Inferieures_ ("Mental Functions in the Lower Societies"). + +If the average man who had not looked into the matter at all were asked +to say what sort of language he imagined a savage to have, he would +be pretty sure to reply that in the first place the vocabulary would +be very small, and in the second place that it would consist of very +short, comprehensive terms--roots, in fact--such as "man," "bear," +"eat," "kill," and so on. Nothing of the sort is actually the case. +Take the inhabitants of that cheerless spot, Tierra del Fuego, whose +culture is as rude as that of any people on earth. A scholar who tried +to put together a dictionary of their language found that he had got +to reckon with more than thirty thousand words, even after suppressing +a large number of forms of lesser importance. And no wonder that the +tally mounted up. For the Fuegians had more than twenty words, some +containing four syllables, to express what for us would be either "he" +or "she"; then they had two names for the sun, two for the moon, and +two more for the full moon, each of the last-named containing four +syllables and having no element in common. Sounds, in fact, are with +them as copious as ideas are rare. Impressions, on the other hand, +are, of course, infinite in number. By means of more or less significant +sounds, then, Fuegian society compounds impressions, and that somewhat +imperfectly, rather than exchanges ideas, which alone are the currency +of true thought. + +For instance, I-cut-bear's-leg-at-the-joint-with-a-flint-now +corresponds fairly well with the total impression produced by the +particular act; though, even so, I have doubtless selectively reduced +the notion to something I can comfortably take in, by leaving out a +lot of unnecessary detail--for instance, that I was hungry, in a hurry, +doing it for the benefit of others as well as myself, and so on. Well, +American languages of the ruder sort, by running a great number of +sounds or syllables together, manage to utter a portmanteau +word--"holophrase" is the technical name for it--into which is packed +away enough suggestions to reproduce the situation in all its detail, +the cutting, the fact that I did it, the object, the instrument, the +time of the cutting, and who knows what besides. Amusing examples of +such portmanteau words meet one in all the text-books. To go back to +the Fuegians, their expression _mamihlapinatapai_ is said to mean "to +look at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which +both parties desire but are unwilling to do." Now, since exactly the +same situation never recurs, but is partly the same and partly +different, it is clear that, if the holophrase really tried to hit +off in each case the whole outstanding impression that a given +situation provoked, then the same combination of sounds would never +recur either; one could never open one's mouth without coining a new +word. Ridiculous as this notion sounds, it may serve to mark a downward +limit from which the rudest types of human speech are not so very far +removed. Their well-known tendency to alter their whole character in +twenty years or less is due largely to the fluid nature of primitive +utterance; it being found hard to detach portions, capable of repeated +use in an unchanged form, from the composite vocables wherein they +register their highly concrete experiences. + +Thus in the old Huron-Iroquois language _eschoirhon_ means +"I-have-been-to-the-water," _setsanha_ "Go-to-the-water," +_ondequoha_ "There-is-water-in-the-bucket," _daustantewacharet_ +"There-is-water-in-the-pot." In this case there is said to have been +a common word for "water," _awen_, which, moreover, is somehow +suggested to an aboriginal ear as an element contained in each of these +longer forms. In many other cases the difficulty of isolating the +common meaning, and fixing it by a common term, has proved too much +altogether for a primitive language. You can express twenty different +kinds of cutting; but you simply cannot say "cut" at all. No wonder +that a large vocabulary is found necessary, when, as in Zulu, "my +father," "thy father," "his-or-her-father," are separate +polysyllables without any element in common. + +The evolution of language, then, on this view, may be regarded as a +movement out of, and away from, the holophrastic in the direction of +the analytic. When every piece in your play-box of verbal bricks can +be dealt with separately, because it is not joined on in all sorts +of ways to the other pieces, then only can you compose new constructions +to your liking. Order and emphasis, as is shown by English, and still +more conspicuously by Chinese, suffice for sentence-building. Ideally, +words should be individual and atomic. Every modification they suffer +by internal change of sound, or by having prefixes or suffixes tacked +on to them, involves a curtailment of their free use and a sacrifice +of distinctness. It is quite easy, of course, to think confusedly, +even whilst employing the clearest type of language; though in such +a case it is very hard to do so without being quickly brought to book. +On the other hand, it is not feasible to attain to a high degree of +clear thinking, when the only method of speech available is one that +tends towards wordlessness--that is to say, is relatively deficient +in verbal forms that preserve their identity in all contexts. Wordless +thinking is not in the strictest sense impossible; but its somewhat +restricted opportunities lie almost wholly on the farther side, as +it were, of a clean-cut vocabulary. For the very fact that the words +are crystallized into permanent shape invests them with a suggestion +of interrupted continuity, an overtone of un-utilized significance, +that of itself invites the mind to play with the corresponding fringe +of meaning attaching to the concepts that the words embody. + +It would prove an endless task if I were to try here to illustrate +at all extensively the stickiness, as one might almost call it, of +primitive modes of speech. Person, number, case, tense, mood and +gender--all these, even in the relatively analytical phraseology of +the most cultured peoples, are apt to impress themselves on the very +body of the words of which they qualify the sense. But the meagre list +of determinations thus produced in an evolved type of language can +yield one no idea of the vast medley of complicated forms that serve +the same ends at the lower levels of human experience. Moreover, there +are many other shades of secondary and circumstantial meaning which +in advanced languages are invariably represented by distinct words, +so that when not wanted they can be left out, but in a more primitive +tongue are apt to run right through the very grammar of the sentence, +thus mixing themselves up inextricably with the really substantial +elements in the thought to be conveyed. For instance, in some American +languages, things are either animate or inanimate, and must be +distinguished accordingly by accompanying particles. Or, again, they +are classed by similar means as rational or irrational; women, by the +bye, being designated amongst the Chiquitos by the irrational sign. +Reverential particles, again, are used to distinguish what is high +or low in the tribal estimation; and we get in this connection such +oddities as the Tamil practice of restricting the privilege of having +a plural to high-caste names, such as those applied to gods and human +beings, as distinguished from the beasts, which are mere casteless +"things." Or, once more, my transferable belongings, "my-spear," or +"my-canoe," undergo verbal modifications which are denied to +non-transferable possessions such as "my-hand"; "my-child," be it +observed, falling within the latter class. + +Most interesting of all are distinctions of person. These cannot but +bite into the forms of speech, since the native mind is taken up mostly +with the personal aspect of things, attaining to the conception of +a bloodless system of "its" with the greatest difficulty, if at all. +Even the third person, which is naturally the most colourless, because +excluded from a direct part of the conversational game, undergoes +multitudinous leavening in the light of conditions which the primitive +mind regards as highly important, whereas we should banish them from +our thoughts as so much irrelevant "accident." Thus the Abipones in +the first place distinguished "he-present," _eneha_, and +"she-present," _anaha_, from "he-absent" and "she-absent." But +presence by itself gave too little of the speaker's impression. So, +if "he" or "she" were sitting, it was necessary to say _hiniha_ and +_haneha_; if they were walking and in sight _ehaha_ and _ahaha_, but, +if walking and out of sight, _ekaha_ and _akaha_; if they were lying +down, _hiriha_ and _haraha_, and so on. Moreover, these were all +"collective" forms, implying that there were others involved as well. +If "he" or "she" were alone in the matter, an entirely different set +of words was needed, "he-sitting (alone)" becoming _ynitara_, and so +forth. The modest requirements of Fuegian intercourse have called more +than twenty such separate pronouns into being. + +Without attempting to go thoroughly into the efforts of primitive +speech to curtail its interest in the personnel of its world by +gradually acquiring a stock of de-individualized words, let us glance +at another aspect of the subject, because it helps to bring out the +fundamental fact that language is a social product, a means of +intersubjective intercourse developed within a society that hands on +to a new generation the verbal experiments that are found to succeed +best. Payne shows reason for believing that the collective "we" +precedes "I" in the order of linguistic evolution. To begin with, in +America and elsewhere, "we" may be inclusive and mean "all-of-us," +or selective, meaning "some-of-us-only." Hence, we are told, a +missionary must be very careful, and, if he is preaching, must use +the inclusive "we" in saying "we have sinned," lest the congregation +assume that only the clergy have sinned; whereas, in praying, he must +use the selective "we," or God would be included in the list of sinners. +Similarly, "I" has a collective form amongst some American languages, +and this is ordinarily employed, whereas the corresponding selective +form is used only in special cases. Thus if the question be "Who will +help?" the Apache will reply "I-amongst-others," "I-for-one"; but, +if he were recounting his own personal exploits, he says _sheedah_, +"I-by-myself," to show that they were wholly his own. Here we seem +to have group-consciousness holding its own against individual +self-consciousness, as being for primitive folk on the whole the more +normal attitude of mind. + +Another illustration of the sociality engrained in primitive speech +is to be found in the terms employed to denote relationship. +"My-mother," to the child of nature, is something more than an ordinary +mother like yours. Thus, as we have already seen, there may be a special +particle applying to blood-relations as non-transferable possessions. +Or, again, one Australian language has special duals, "we-two," one +to be used between relations generally, another between father and +child only. Or an American language supplies one kind of plural suffix +for blood-relations, another for the rest of human beings. These +linguistic concretions are enough to show how hard it is for primitive +thought to disjoin what is joined fast in the world of everyday +experience. + +No wonder that it is usually found impracticable by the European +traveller who lacks an anthropological training to extract from +natives any coherent account of their system of relationships; for +his questions are apt to take the form of "Can a man marry his deceased +wife's sister?" or what not. Such generalities do not enter at all +into the highly concrete scheme of viewing the customs of his tribe +imposed on the savage alike by his manner of life and by the very forms +of his speech. The so-called "genealogical method" initiated by Dr. +Rivers, which the scientific explorer now invariably employs, rests +mainly on the use of a concrete type of procedure corresponding to +the mental habits of the simple folk under investigation. John, whom +you address here, can tell you exactly whether he may, or may not, +marry Mary Anne over there; also he can point out his mother, and tell +you her name, and the names of his brothers and sisters. You work round +the whole group--it very possibly contains no more than a few hundred +members at most--and interrogate them one and all about their +relationships to this and that individual whom you name. In course +of time you have a scheme which you can treat in your own analytic +way to your heart's content; whilst against your system of reckoning +affinity you can set up by way of contrast the native system; which +can always be obtained by asking each informant what relationship-terms +he would apply to the different members of his pedigree, and, +reciprocally, what terms they would each apply to him. + + * * * * * + +Before closing this altogether inadequate sketch of a vast and +intricate subject, I would say just one word about the expression of +ideas of number. It is quite a mistake to suppose that savages have +no sense of number, because the simple-minded European traveller, +compiling a short vocabulary in the usual way, can get no equivalent +for our numerals, say from 5 to 10. The fact is that the numerical +interest has taken a different turn, incorporating itself with other +interests of a more concrete kind in linguistic forms to which our +own type of language affords no key at all. Thus in the island of Kiwai, +at the mouth of the Fly River in New Guinea, the Cambridge Expedition +found a whole set of phrases in vogue, whereby the number of subjects +acting on the number of objects at a given moment could be concretely +specified. To indicate the action of two on many in the past, they +said _rudo_, in the present _durudo_; of many on many in the past _rumo_, +in the present _durumo_; of two on two in the past, _amarudo_, in the +present _amadurudo_; of many on two in the past _amarumo_; of many +on three in the past _ibidurumo_, of many on three in the present +_ibidurudo_; of three on two in the present, _amabidurumo_, of three +on two in the past, _amabirumo_, and so on. Meanwhile, words to serve +the purpose of pure counting are all the scarcer because hands and +feet supply in themselves an excellent means not only of calculating, +but likewise of communicating, a number. It is the one case in which +gesture-language can claim something like an independent status by +the side of speech. + +For the rest, it does not follow that the mind fails to appreciate +numerical relations, because the tongue halts in the matter of +symbolizing them abstractly. A certain high official, when presiding +over the Indian census, was informed by a subordinate that it was +impossible to elicit from a certain jungle tribe any account of the +number of their huts, for the simple and sufficient reason that they +could not count above three. The director, who happened to be a man +of keen anthropological insight, had therefore himself to come to the +rescue. Assembling the tribal elders, he placed a stone on the ground, +saying to one "This is your hut," and to another "This is your hut," +as he placed a second stone a little way from the first. "And now where +is yours?" he asked a third. The natives at once entered into the spirit +of the game, and in a short time there was plotted out a plan of the +whole settlement, which subsequent verification proved to be both +geographically and numerically correct and complete. This story may +serve to show how nature supplies man with a ready reckoner in his +faculty of perception, which suffices well enough for the affairs of +the simpler sort of life. One knows how a shepherd can take in the +numbers of a flock at a glance. For the higher flights of experience, +however, especially when the unseen and merely possible has to be dealt +with, percepts must give way to concepts; massive consciousness must +give way to thinking by means of representations pieced together out +of elements rendered distinct by previous dissection of the total +impression; in short, a concrete must give way to an analytic way of +grasping the meaning of things. Moreover, since thinking is little +more or less than, as Plato put it, a silent conversation with oneself, +to possess an analytic language is to be more than half-way on the +road to the analytic mode of intelligence--the mode of thinking by +distinct concepts. + +If there is a moral to this chapter, it must be that, whereas it is +the duty of the civilized overlords of primitive folk to leave them +their old institutions so far as they are not directly prejudicial +to their gradual advancement in culture, since to lose touch with one's +home-world is for the savage to lose heart altogether and die; yet +this consideration hardly applies at all to the native language. If +the tongue of an advanced people can be substituted, it is for the +good of all concerned. It is rather the fashion now-a-days amongst +anthropologists to lay it down as an axiom that the typical savage +and the typical peasant of Europe stand exactly on a par in respect +to their power of general intelligence. If by power we are to understand +sheer potentiality, I know of no sufficient evidence that enables us +to say whether, under ideal conditions, the average degree of mental +capacity would in the two cases prove the same or different. But I +am sure that the ordinary peasant of Europe, whose society provides +him, in the shape of an analytic language, with a ready-made instrument +for all the purposes of clear thinking, starts at an immense advantage, +as compared with a savage whose traditional speech is holophrastic. +Whatever be his mental power, the former has a much better chance of +making the most of it under the given circumstances. "Give them the +words so that the ideas may come," is a maxim that will carry us far, +alike in the education of children, and in that of the peoples of lower +culture, of whom we have charge. + + + + +CHAPTER VI +SOCIAL ORGANIZATION + + +If an explorer visits a savage tribe with intent to get at the true +meaning of their life, his first duty, as every anthropologist will +tell him, is to acquaint himself thoroughly with the social +organization in all its forms. The reason for this is simply that only +by studying the outsides of other people can we hope to arrive at what +is going on inside them. "Institutions" will be found a convenient +word to express all the externals of the life of man in society, so +far as they reflect intelligence and purpose. Similarly, the internal +or subjective states thereto corresponding may be collectively +described as "beliefs." Thus, the field-worker's cardinal maxim can +be phrased as follows: Work up to the beliefs by way of the +institutions. + +Further, there are two ways in which a given set of institutions can +be investigated, and of these one, so far as it is practicable, should +precede the other. First, the institutions should be examined as so +many wheels in a social machine that is taken as if it were standing +still. You simply note the characteristic make of each, and how it +is placed in relation to the rest. Regarded in this static way, the +institutions appear as "forms of social organization." Afterwards, +the machine is supposed to be set going, and you contemplate the parts +in movement. Regarded thus dynamically, the institutions appear as +"customs." + +In this chapter, then, something will be said about the forms of social +organization prevailing amongst peoples of the lower culture. Our +interest will be confined to the social morphology. In subsequent +chapters we shall go on to what might be called, by way of contrast, +the physiology of social life. In other words, we shall briefly +consider the legal and religious customs, together with the associated +beliefs. + +How do the forms of social organization come into being? Does some +one invent them? Does the very notion of organization imply an +organizer? Or, like Topsy, do they simply grow? Are they natural +crystallizations that take place when people are thrown together? For +my own part, I think that, so long as we are pursuing anthropology +and not philosophy--in other words, are piecing together events +historically according as they appear to follow one another, and are +not discussing the ultimate question of the relation of mind to matter, +and which of the two in the long run governs which--we must be prepared +to recognize both physical necessity and spiritual freedom as +interpenetrating factors in human life. In the meantime, when +considering the subject of social organization, we shall do well, I +think, to keep asking ourselves all along, How far does force of +circumstances, and how far does the force of intelligent purpose, +account for such and such a net result? + +If I were called upon to exhibit the chief determinants of human life +as a single chain of causes and effects--a simplification of the +historical problem, I may say at once, which I should never dream of +putting forward except as a convenient fiction, a device for making +research easier by providing it with a central line--I should do it +thus. Working backwards, I should say that culture depends on social +organization; social organization on numbers; numbers on food; and +food on invention. Here both ends of the series are represented by +spiritual factors--namely, culture at the one end, and invention at +the other. Amongst the intermediate links, food and numbers may be +reckoned as physical factors. Social organization, however, seems to +face in both directions at once, and to be something half-way between +a spiritual and a physical manifestation. + +In placing invention at the bottom of the scale of conditions, I +definitely break with the opinion that human evolution is throughout +a purely "natural" process. Of course, you can use the word "natural" +so widely and vaguely as to cover everything that was, or is, or could +be. If it be used, however, so as to exclude the "artificial," then +I am prepared to say that human life is preeminently an artificial +construction, or, in other words, a work of art; the distinguishing +mark of man consisting precisely in the fact that he alone of the +animals is capable of art. + +It is well known how the invention of machinery in the middle of the +eighteenth century brought about that industrial revolution, the +social and political effects of which are still developing at this +hour. Well, I venture to put it forward as a proposition which applies +to human evolution, so far back as our evidence goes, that history +is the history of great inventions. Of course, it is true that climate +and geographical conditions in general help to determine the nature +and quantity of the food-supply; so that, for instance, however much +versed you may be in the art of agriculture, you cannot get corn to +grow on the shores of the Arctic sea. But, given the needful inventions, +superior weapons for instance, you need never allow yourselves to be +shoved away into such an inhospitable region; to which you presumably +do not retire voluntarily, unless, indeed, the state of your arts--for +instance, your skill in hunting or taming the reindeer--inclines you +to make a paradise of the tundra. + +Suppose it granted, then, that a given people's arts and inventions, +whether directly or indirectly productive, are capable of a certain +average yield of food, it is certain, as Malthus and Darwin would remind +us, that human fertility can be reckoned on to bring the numbers up +to a limit bearing a more or less constant ratio to the means of +subsistence. + +At length we reach our more immediate subject--namely, social +organization. In what sense, if any, is social organization dependent +on numbers? Unfortunately, it is too large a question to thrash out +here. I may, however, refer the reader to the ingenious classification +of the peoples of the world, by reference to the degree of their social +organization and culture, which is attempted by Mr. Sutherland in his +_Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct_. He there tries to show that +a certain size of population can be correlated with each grade in the +scale of human evolution--at any rate up to the point at which +full-blown civilization is reached, when cases like that of Athens +under Pericles, or Florence under the Medici, would probably cause +him some trouble. For instance, he makes out that the lowest savages, +Veddas, Pygmies, and so on, form groups of from ten to forty; whereas +those who are but one degree less backward, such as the Australian +natives, average from fifty to two hundred; whilst most of the North +American tribes, who represent the next stage of general advance, run +from a hundred up to five hundred. At this point he takes leave of +the peoples he would class as "savage," their leading characteristic +from the economic point of view being that they lead the more or less +wandering life of hunters or of mere "gatherers." He then goes on to +arrange similarly, in an ascending series of three divisions, the +peoples that he terms "barbarian." Economically they are either +sedentary, with a more or less developed agriculture, or, if nomad, +pursue the pastoral mode of life. His lowest type of group, which +includes the Iroquois, Maoris, and so forth, ranges from one thousand +to five thousand; next come loosely organized states, such as Dahomey +or Ashanti, where the numbers may reach one hundred thousand; whilst +he makes barbarism culminate in more firmly compacted communities, +such as are to be found, for example, in Abyssinia or Madagascar, the +population of which he places at about half a million. + +Now I am very sceptical about Mr. Sutherland's statistics, and regard +his bold attempt to assign the world's peoples each to their own rung +on the ladder of universal culture as, in the present state of our +knowledge, no more than a clever hypothesis; which some keen +anthropologist of the future might find it well worth his while to +put thoroughly to the test. At a guess, however, I am disposed to accept +his general principle that, on the whole and in the long run, during +the earlier stages of human evolution, the complexity and coherence +of the social order follow upon the size of the group; which, since +its size, in turn, follows upon the mode of the economic life, may +be described as the food-group. + +Besides food, however, there is a second elemental condition which +vitally affects the human race; and that is sex. Social organization +thus comes to have a twofold aspect. On the one hand, and perhaps +primarily, it is an organization of the food-quest. On the other hand, +hardly less fundamentally, it is an organization of marriage. In what +follows, the two aspects will be considered more or less together, +as to a large extent they overlap. Primitive men, like other social +animals, hang together naturally in the hunting pack, and no less +naturally in the family; and at a very rudimentary stage of evolution +there probably is very little distinction between the two. When, +however, for some reason or other which anthropologists have still +to discover, man takes to the institution of exogamy, the law of +marrying-out, which forces men and women to unite who are members of +more or less distinct food-groups, then, as we shall presently see, +the matrimonial aspect of social organization tends to overshadow the +politico-economic; if only because the latter can usually take care +of itself, whereas to marry a perfect stranger is an embarrassing +operation that might be expected to require a certain amount of +arrangement on both sides. + + * * * * * + +To illustrate the pre-exogamic stage of human society is not so easy +as it may seem; for, though it is possible to find examples, especially +amongst Negritos such as the Andamanese or Bushmen, of peoples of the +rudest culture, and living in very small communities, who apparently +know neither exogamy nor what so often accompanies it, namely, totemism, +we can never be certain whether we are dealing in such a case with +the genuinely primitive, or merely with the degenerate. For instance, +the chapter on the forms of social organization in Professor Hobhouse's +_Morals in Evolution_ starts off with an account of the system in vogue +amongst the Veddas of the Ceylon jungle, his description being founded +on the excellent observations of the brothers Sarasin. Now it is +perfectly true that some of the Veddas appear to afford a perfect +instance of what is sometimes called "the natural family." A tract +of a few miles square forms the beat of a small group of families, +four or five at most, which, for the most part, singly or in pairs, +wander round hunting, fishing, gathering honey and digging up the wild +yams; whilst they likewise take shelter together in shallow caves, +where a roof, a piece of skin to lie on--though this is not +essential--and, that most precious luxury of all, a fire, represent, +apart from food, the sum total of their creature comforts. + +Now, under these circumstances, it is not, perhaps, wonderful that +the relationships within a group should be decidedly close. Indeed, +the correct thing is for the children of a brother and sister to marry; +though not, it would seem, for the children of two brothers or of two +sisters. And yet there is no approach to promiscuity, but, on the +contrary, a very strict monogamy, infidelities being as rare as they +are deeply resented. That they had clans of some sort was, indeed, +known to Professor Hobhouse and to the authorities whom he follows; +but these clans are dismissed as having but the slightest organization +and very few functions. An entirely new light, however, has been thrown +on the meaning of this clan-system by the recent researches of Dr. +and Mrs. Seligmann. It now turns out that some of the Veddas are +exogamous--that is to say, are obliged by custom to marry outside their +own clan--though others are not. The question then arises, Which, for +the Veddas, is the older system, marrying-out or marrying-in? Seeing +what a miserable remnant the Veddas are, I cannot but believe that +we have here the case of a formerly exogamous people, groups of which +have been forced to marry-in, simply because the alternative was not +to marry at all. Of course, it is possible to argue that in so doing +they merely reverted to what was once everywhere the primeval condition +of man. But at this point historical science tails off into mere +guesswork. + + * * * * * + +We reach relatively firm ground, on the other hand, when we pass on +to consider the social organization of such exogamous and totemic +peoples as the natives of Australia. The only trouble here is that +the subject is too vast and complicated to permit of a handling at +once summary and simple. Perhaps the most useful thing that can be +done for the reader in a short space is to provide him with a few +elementary distinctions, applying not only to the Australians, but +more or less to totemic societies in general. With the help of these +he may proceed to grapple for himself with the mass of highly +interesting but bewildering details concerning social organization +to be found in any of the leading first-hand authorities. For instance, +for Australia he can do no better than consult the two fascinating +works of Messrs. Spencer and Gillen on the Central tribes, or the no +less illuminating volume of Howitt on the natives of the South-eastern +region; whilst for North America there are many excellent monographs +to choose from amongst those issued by the Bureau of Ethnology of the +Smithsonian Institution. Or, if he is content to allow some one else +to collect the material for him, his best plan will be to consult Dr. +Frazer's monumental treatise, _Totemism and Exogamy_, which +epitomizes the known facts for the whole wide world, as surveyed region +by region. + +The first thing to grasp is that, for peoples of this type, social +organization is, primarily and on the face of it, identical with +kinship-organization. Before proceeding further, let us see what +kinship means. Distinguish kinship from consanguinity. Consanguinity +is a physical fact. It depends on birth, and covers all one's real +blood-relationships, whether recognized by society or not. Kinship, +on the other hand, is a sociological fact. It depends on the +conventional system of counting descent. Thus it may exclude real +relationships; whilst, contrariwise, it may include such as are purely +fictitious, as when some one is allowed by law to adopt a child as +if it were his own. Now, under civilized conditions, though there is, +as we have just seen, such an institution as adoption, whilst, again, +there is the case of the illegitimate child, who can claim +consanguinity, but can never, in English law at least, attain to +kinship, yet, on the whole, we are hardly conscious of the difference +between the genuine blood-tie and the social institution that is +modelled more or less closely upon it. In primitive society, however, +consanguinity tends to be wider than kinship by as much again. In other +words, in the recognition of kinship one entire side of the family +is usually left clean out of account. A man's kin comprises either +his mother's people or his father's people, but not both. Remember +that by the law of exogamy, the father and mother are strangers to +each other. Hence, primitive society, as it were, issues a judgment +of Solomon to the effect that, since they are not prepared to halve +their child, it must belong body and soul either to one party or to +the other. + +We may now go on to analyse this one-sided type of kinship-organization +a little more fully. There are three elementary principles that combine +to produce it. They are exogamy, lineage and totemism. A word must +be said about each in turn. + +Exogamy presents no difficulty until you try to account for its origin. +It simply means marrying-out, in contrast to endogamy, or marrying-in. +Suppose there were a village composed entirely of McIntyres and +McIntoshes, and suppose that fashion compelled every McIntyre to marry +a McIntosh, and every McIntosh a McIntyre, whilst to marry an outsider, +say a McBean, was bad form for McIntyres and McIntoshes alike; then +the two clans would be exogamous in respect to each other, whereas +the village as a whole would be endogamous. + +Lineage is the principle of reckoning descent along one or other of +two lines--namely, the mother's line or the father's. The former method +is termed matrilineal, the latter patrilineal. It sometimes, but by +no means invariably, happens, when descent is counted matrilineally, +that the wife stays with her people, and the husband has the status +of a mere visitor and alien. In such a case the marriage is called +matrilocal; otherwise it is patrilocal. Again, when the matrilocal +type of marriage prevails, as likewise often when it does not, the +wife and her people, rather than the father and his people, exercise +supreme authority over the children. This is known as the matripotestal, +as contrasted with the patripotestal, type of family. When the +matrilineal, matrilocal and matripotestal conditions are found +together, we have mother-right at its fullest and strongest. Where +we get only two out of the three, or merely the first by itself, most +authorities would still speak of mother-right; though it may be +questioned how far the word mother-right, or the corresponding, now +almost discarded, expression, "the matriarchate," can be safely used +without further explanation, since it tends to imply a right (in the +legal sense) and an authority, which in these circumstances is often +no more than nominal. + +Totemism, in the specific form that has to do with kinship, means that +a social group depends for its identity on a certain intimate and +exclusive relation in which it stands towards an animal-kind, or a +plant-kind, or, more rarely, a class of inanimate objects, or, very +rarely, something that is individual and not a kind or class at all. +Such a totem, in the first place, normally provides the social group +with its name. (The Boy Scouts, who call themselves Foxes, Peewits, +and so on, according to their different patrols, have thus reverted +to a very ancient usage.) In the second place, this name tends to be +the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace that, +somehow flowing from the totem to the totemites, sanctifies their +communion. They are "all-one-flesh" with one another, as certain of +the Australians phrase it, because they are "all-one-flesh" with the +totem. Or, again, a man whose totem was _ngaui_, the sun, said that +his name was _ngaui_ and he "was" _ngaui_; though he was equally ready +to put it in another way, explaining that _ngaui_ "owned" him. If we +wish to express the matter comprehensively, and at the same time to +avoid language suggestive of a more advanced mysticism, we may perhaps +describe the totem as, from this point of view, the totemite's "luck." + +There is considerable variation, however, to be found in the practices +and beliefs of a more or less religious kind that are associated with +this form of totemism; though almost always there are some. Sometimes +the totem is thought of as an ancestor, or as the common fund of life +out of which the totemites are born and into which they go back when +they die. Sometimes the totem is held to be a very present help in +time of trouble, as when a kangaroo, by hopping along in a special +way, warns the kangaroo-man of impending danger. Sometimes, on the +other hand, the kangaroo-man thinks of himself mainly as the helper +of the kangaroo, holding ceremonies in order that the kangaroos may +wax fat and multiply. Again, almost invariably the totemite shows some +respect towards his totem, refraining, for instance, from slaying and +eating the totem-animal, unless it be in some specially solemn and +sacramental way. + +The upshot of these considerations is that if the totem is, on the +face of it, a name, the savage answers the question, "What's in a name?" +by finding in the name that makes him one with his brethren a wealth +of mystic meaning, such as deepens for him the feeling of social +solidarity to an extent that it takes a great effort on our part to +appreciate. + +Having separately examined the three principles of exogamy, lineage +and totemism, we must now try to see how they work together. +Generalization in regard to these matters is extremely risky, not to +say rash; nevertheless, the following broad statements may serve the +reader as working hypotheses, that he can go on to test for himself +by looking into the facts. Firstly, exogamy and totemism, whether they +be in origin distinct or not, tend in practice to go pretty closely +together. Secondly, lineage, or the one-sided system of reckoning +descent, is more or less independent of the other two principles.[4] + +[Footnote 4: That is to say, either mother-right or father-right in +any of their forms may exist in conjunction with exogamy and totemism. +It is certainly not the fact that, wherever totemism is in a state +of vigour, mother-right is regularly found. At most it may be urged +in favour of the priority of mother-right that, if there is change, +it is invariably from mother-right to father-right, and never the other +way about.] + +If, instead of consulting the evidence that is to hand about the savage +world as it exists to-day, you read some book crammed full with theories +about social origins, you probably come away with the impression that +totemic society is entirely an affair of clans. Some such notion as +the following is precipitated in your mind. You figure to yourself +two small food-groups, whose respective beats are, let us say, on each +side of a river. For some unknown reason they are totemic, one group +calling itself Cockatoo, the other calling itself Crow, whilst each +feels in consequence that its members are "all-one-flesh" in some +mysterious and moving sense. Again, for some unknown reason each is +exogamous, so that matrimonial alliances are bound to take place across +the river. Lastly, each has mother-right of the full-blown kind. The +Cockatoo-girls and the Crow-girls abide each on their own side of the +river, where they are visited by partners from across the water; who, +whether they tend to stay and make themselves useful, or are merely +intermittent in their attentions, remain outsiders from the totemic +point of view and are treated as such. The children, meanwhile, grow +up in the Cockatoo and Crow quarters respectively as little Cockatoos +or Crows. If they need to be chastised, a Cockatoo hand, not necessarily +the mother's, but perhaps her brother's--never the father's, +however--administers the slap. When they grow up, they take their +chances for better and worse with the mother's people; fighting when +they fight, though it be against the father's people; sharing in the +toils and the spoils of the chase; inheriting the weapons and any other +property that is handed on from one generation to another; and, last +but not least, taking part in the totemic mysteries that disclose to +the elect the inner meaning of being a Cockatoo or a Crow, as the case +may be. + +Now such a picture of the original clan and of the original inter-clan +organization is very pretty and easy to keep in one's head. And when +one is simply guessing about the first beginnings of things, there +is something to be said for starting from some highly abstract and +simple concept, which is afterwards elaborated by additions and +qualifications until the developed notion comes near to matching the +complexity of the real facts. Such speculations, then, are quite +permissible and even necessary in their place. To do justice, however, +to the facts about totemic society, as known to us by actual observation, +it remains to note that the clan is by no means the only form of social +organization that it displays. + +The clan, it is true, whether matrilineal or patrilineal, tends at +the totemic level of society to eclipse the family. The natural family, +of course--that is to say, the more or less permanent association of +father, mother and children, is always there in some shape and to some +extent. But, so long as the one-sided method of counting descent +prevails, and is reinforced by totemism, the family cannot attain to +the dignity of a formally recognized institution. On the other hand, +the totemic clan, of all the formally recognized groupings of society +to which an individual belongs in virtue of his birth and kinship, +is, so to speak, the most specific. As the Australian puts it, it makes +him what he "is." His social essence is to be a Cockatoo or a Crow. +Consequently his first duty is towards his clan and its members, human +and not-human. Wherever there are clans, and so long as there is any +totemism worthy of the name, this would seem to be the general law. + +Besides the specific unity, however, provided by the clan, there are +wider, and, as it were, more generic unities into which a man is born, +in totemic society of the complex type that is found in the actual +world of to-day. + +First, he belongs to a phratry. In Australia the tribe--a term to be +defined presently--is nearly always split up into two exogamous +divisions, which it is usual to call phratries.[5] Then, in some of +the Australian tribes, the phratry is subdivided into two, and, in +others, into four portions, between which exogamy takes place +according to a curious criss-cross scheme. These exogamous +subdivisions, which are peculiar to Australia, are known as +matrimonial classes. Dr. Frazer thinks that they are the result of +deliberate arrangement on the part of native statesmen; and certainly +he is right in his contention that there is an artificial and man-made +look about them. The system of phratries, on the other hand, whether +it carves up the tribe into two, or, as sometimes in North America +and elsewhere, into more than two primary divisions, under which the +clans tend to group themselves in a more or less orderly way, has all +the appearance of a natural development out of the clan-system. Thus, +to revert to the imaginary case of the Cockatoos and Crows practising +exogamy across the river, it seems easy to understand how the numbers +on both sides might increase until, whilst remaining Cockatoos and +Crows for cross-river purposes, they would find it necessary to adopt +among themselves subordinate distinctions; such as would be sure to +model themselves on the old Cockatoo-Crow principle of separate +totemic badges. But we must not wander off into questions of origin. +It is enough for our present purpose to have noted the fact that, within +the tribe, there are normally other forms of social grouping into which +a man is born, as well as the clan. + +[Footnote 5: From a Greek word meaning "brotherhood," which was applied +to a very similar institution.] + +Now we come to the tribe. This may be described as the political unit. +Its constitution tends to be lax and its functions vague. One way of +seizing its nature is to think of it as the social union within which +exogamy takes place. The intermarrying groups naturally hang together, +and are thus in their entirety endogamous, in the sense that marriage +with pure outsiders is disallowed by custom. Moreover, by mingling +in this way, they are likely to attain to the use of a common dialect, +and a common name, speaking of themselves, for instance, as "the men," +and lumping the rest of humanity together as "foreigners." To act +together, however, as, for instance, in war, in order to repel +incursions on the part of the said foreigners, is not easy without +some definite organization. In Australia, where there is very little +war, this organization is mostly wanting. In North America, on the +other hand, amongst the more advanced and warlike tribes, we find +regular tribal officers, and some approach to a political constitution. +Yet in Australia there is at least one occasion when a sort of tribal +gathering takes place--namely, when their elaborate ceremonies for +the initiation of the youths is being held. + +It would seem, however, that these ceremonies are, as often as not, +intertribal rather than tribal. So similar are the customs and beliefs +over wide areas, that groups with apparently little or nothing else +in common will assemble together, and take part in proceedings that +are something like a Pan-Anglican Congress and a World's Fair rolled +into one. To this indefinite type of intertribal association the term +"nation" is sometimes applied. Only when there is definite +organization, as never in Australia, and only occasionally in North +America, as amongst the Iroquois, can we venture to describe it as +a genuine "confederacy." + +No doubt the reader's head is already in a whirl, though I have +perpetrated endless sins of omission and, I doubt not, of commission +as well, in order to simplify the glorious confusion of the subject +of the social organization prevailing in what is conveniently but +loosely lumped together as totemic society. Thus, I have omitted to +mention that sometimes the totems seem to have nothing to do at all +with the social organization; as, for example, amongst the famous +Arunta of central Australia, whom Messrs. Spencer and Gillen have so +carefully described. I have, again, refrained from pointing out that +sometimes there are exogamous divisions--some would call them moieties +to distinguish them from phratries--which have no clans grouped under +them, and, on the other hand, have themselves little or no resemblance +to totemic clans. These, and ever so many other exceptional cases, +I have simply passed by. + +An even more serious kind of omission is the following. I have +throughout identified the social organization with the kinship +organization--namely, that into which a man is born in consequence +of the marriage laws and the system of reckoning descent. But there +are other secondary features of what can only be classed as social +organization, which have nothing to do with kinship. Sex, for instance, +has a direct bearing on social status. The men and the women often +form markedly distinct groups; so that we are almost reminded of the +way in which the male and the female linnets go about in separate flocks +as soon as the pairing season is over. Of course, disparity of +occupation has something to do with it. But, for the native mind, the +difference evidently goes far deeper than that. In some parts of +Australia there are actually sex-totems, signifying that each sex is +all-one-flesh, a mystic corporation. And, all the savage world over, +there is a feeling that woman is uncanny, a thing apart, which feeling +is probably responsible for most of the special disabilities--and the +special privileges--that are the lot of woman at the present day. + +Again, age likewise has considerable influence on social status. It +is not merely a case of being graded as a youth until once for all +you legally "come of age," and are enrolled, amongst the men. The +grading of ages is frequently most elaborate, and each batch mounts +the social ladder step by step. Just as, at the university, each year +has apportioned to it by public opinion the things it may do and the +things it may not do, whilst, later on, the bachelor, the master, and +the doctor stand each a degree higher in respect of academic rank; +so in darkest Australia, from youth up to middle age at least, a man +will normally undergo a progressive initiation into the secrets of +life, accompanied by a steady widening in the sphere of his social +duties and rights. + +Lastly, locality affects status, and increasingly as the wandering +life gives way to stable occupation. Amongst a few hundred people who +are never out of touch with each other, the forms of natal association +hold their own against any that local association is likely to suggest +in their place. According to natal grouping, therefore, in the broad +sense that includes sex and age no less than kinship, the members of +the tribe camp, fight, perform magical ceremonies, play games, are +initiated, are married, and are buried. But let the tribe increase +in numbers, and spread through a considerable area, over the face of +which communications are difficult and proportionately rare. +Instantly the local group tends to become all in all. Authority and +initiative must always rest with the men on the spot; and the old natal +combinations, weakened by inevitable absenteeism, at last cease to +represent the true framework of the social order. They tend to linger +on, of course, in the shape of subordinate institutions. For instance, +the totemic groups cease to have direct connection with the marriage +system, and, on the strength of the ceremonies associated with them, +develop into what are known as secret societies. Or, again, the clan +is gradually overshadowed by the family, so that kinship, with its +rights and duties, becomes practically limited to the nearer +blood-relations; who, moreover, begin to be treated for practical +purposes as kinsmen, even when they are on the side of the family which +lineage does not officially recognize. Thus the forms of natal +association no longer constitute the backbone of the body politic. +Their public importance has gone. Henceforward, the social unit is +the local group. The territorial principle comes more and more to +determine affinities and functions. Kinship has dethroned itself by +its very success. Thanks to the organizing power of kinship, primitive +society has grown, and by growing has stretched the birth-tie until +it snaps. Some relationships become distant in a local and territorial +sense, and thereupon they cease to count. My duty towards my kin passes +into my duty towards my neighbour. + + * * * * * + +Reasons of space make it impossible to survey the further developments +to which social organization is subject under the sway of locality. +It is, perhaps, less essential to insist on them here, because, whereas +totemic society is a thing which we civilized folk have the very +greatest difficulty in understanding, we all have direct insight into +the meaning of a territorial arrangement; since, from the village +community up to the modern state, the same fundamental type of social +structure obtains throughout. + +Besides local contiguity, however, there is a second principle which +greatly helps to shape the social order, as soon as society is +sufficiently advanced in its arts and industries to have taken firm +root, so to speak, on the earth's surface. This is the principle of +private property, and especially of private property in land. The most +fundamental of class distinctions is that between rich and poor. That +between free and slave, in communities that have slavery, is not at +first sight strictly parallel, since there may be a class of poor +freemen intermediate between the nobles and the slaves; but it is +obvious that in this case, too, private property is really responsible +for the mode of grading. Or sometimes social position may seem to depend +primarily on industrial occupation, the Indian caste-system providing +an instance in point. Since, however, the most honourable occupations +in the long run coincide with those that pay best, we come back once +again to private property as the ultimate source of social rank, under +an economic system of the more developed kind. + +In this brief sketch it has been impossible to do more than hint how +social organization is relative to numbers, which in their turn are +relative to the skill with which the food-quest is carried on. But +if, up to a certain point, it be true that the structure of society +depends on its mass in a more or less physical way, there is to be +borne in mind another aspect of the matter, which also has been hinted +at as we went rapidly along. A good deal of intelligence has throughout +helped towards the establishing of the social order. If social +organization is in part a natural result of the expansion of the +population, it is partly also, in the best sense of the word, an +artificial creation of the human mind, which has exerted itself to +devise modes of grouping whereby men might be enabled to work together +in larger and ever larger wholes. + +Regarded, however, in the purely external way which a study of its +mere structure involves, society appears as a machine--that is to say, +appears as the work of intelligence indeed, but not as itself instinct +with intelligence. In what follows we shall set the social machine +moving. We shall then have a better chance of obtaining an inner view +of the driving power. We shall find that we have to abandon the notion +that society is a machine. It is more, even, than an organism. It is +a communion of souls--souls that, as so many independent, yet +interdependent, manifestations of the life-force, are pressing +forward in the search for individuality and freedom. + + + + +CHAPTER VII +LAW + + +The general plan of this little book being to start from the influences +that determine man's destiny in a physical, external, necessary sort +of way, and to work up gradually to the spiritual, internal, voluntary +factors in human nature--that strange "compound of clay and flame"--it +seems advisable to consider law before religion, and religion before +morality, whether in its collective or individual aspect, for the +following reason. There is more sheer constraint to be discerned in +law than in religion, whilst religion, in the historical sense which +identifies it with organized cult, is more coercive in its mode of +regulating life than the moral reason, which compels by force of +persuasion. + +To one who lives under civilized conditions the phrase "the strong +arm of the law" inevitably suggests the policeman. Apart from policemen, +magistrates, and the soldiers who in the last resort must be called +out to enforce the decrees of the community, it might appear that law +could not exist. And certainly it is hard to admit that what is known +as mob-law is any law at all. For historical purposes, however, we +must be prepared to use the expression "law" rather widely. We must +be ready to say that there is law wherever there is punishment on the +part of a human society, whether acting in the mass, or through its +representatives. Punishment means the infliction of pain on one who +is judged to have broken a social rule. Conversely, then, a law is +any social rule to the infringement of which punishment is by usage +attached. So long as it is recognized that a man breaks a social rule +at the risk of pain, and that it is the business of everybody, or of +somebody armed with the common authority, to make that risk a reality +for the offender, there is law within the meaning of the term as it +exists for anthropology. + +Punishment, however, is by its very nature an exceptional measure. +It is only because the majority are content to follow a social rule, +that law and punishment are possible at all. If, again, every one +habitually obeys the social rules, law ceases to exist, because it +is unnecessary. Now, one reason why it is hard to find any law in +primitive society is because, in a general way of speaking, no one +dreams of breaking the social rules. + +Custom is king, nay tyrant, in primitive society. When Captain Cook +asked the chiefs of Tahiti why they ate apart and alone, they simply +replied, "Because it is right." And so it always is with the ruder +peoples. "'Tis the custom, and there's an end on't" is their notion +of a sufficient reason in politics and ethics alike. Now that way lies +a rigid conservatism. In the chapter on morality we shall try to +discover its inner springs, its psychological conditions. For the +present, we may be content to regard custom from the outside, as the +social habit of conserving all traditional practices for their own +sake and regardless of consequences. Of course, changes are bound to +occur, and do occur. But they are not supposed to occur. In theory, +the social rules of primitive society are like "the law of the Medes +and Persians which altereth not." + +This absolute respect for custom has its good and its bad sides. On +the one hand, it supplies the element of discipline; without which +any society is bound soon to fall to pieces. We are apt to think of +the savage as a freakish creature, all moods--at one moment a friend, +at the next moment a fiend. So he might be, if it were not for the +social drill imposed by his customs. So he is, if you destroy his +customs, and expect him nevertheless to behave as an educated and +reasonable being. Given, then, a primitive society in a healthy and +uncontaminated condition, its members will invariably be found to be +on the average more law-abiding, as judged from the standpoint of their +own law, than is the case any civilized state. + +But now we come to the bad side of custom. Its conserving influence +extends to all traditional practices, however unreasonable or +perverted. In that amber any fly is apt to be enclosed. Hence the +whimsicalities of savage custom. In _Primitive Culture_ Dr. Tylor +tells a good story about the Dyaks of Borneo. The white man's way of +chopping down a tree by notching out V-shaped cuts was not according +to Dyak custom. Hence, any Dyak caught imitating the European fashion +was punished by a fine. And yet so well aware were they that this method +was an improvement on their own that, when they could trust each other +not to tell, they would surreptitiously use it. These same Dyaks, it +may be added, are, according to Mr. A.R. Wallace, the best of observers, +"among the most pleasing of savages." They are good-natured, mild, +and by no means bloodthirsty in the ordinary relations of life. Yet +they are well known to be addicted to the horrid practice of +head-hunting. "It was a custom," Mr. Wallace explains, "and as a custom +was observed, but it did not imply any extraordinary barbarism or moral +delinquency." + +The drawback, then, to a reign of pure custom is this: Meaningless +injunctions abound, since the value of a traditional practice does +not depend on its consequences, but simply on the fact that it is the +practice; and this element of irrationality is enough to perplex, till +it utterly confounds, the mind capable of rising above routine and +reflecting on the true aims and ends of the social life. How to break +through "the cake of custom," as Bagehot has called it, is the hardest +lesson that humanity has ever had to learn. Customs have often been +broken up by the clashing of different societies; but in that case +they merely crystallize again into new shapes. But to break through +custom by the sheer force of reflection, and so to make rational +progress possible, was the intellectual feat of one people, the ancient +Greeks; and it is at least highly doubtful if, without their leadership, +a progressive civilization would have existed to-day. + +It may be added in parenthesis that customs may linger on indefinitely, +after losing, through one cause or another, their place amongst the +vital interests of the community. They are, or at any rate seem, +harmless; their function is spent. Hence, whilst perhaps the humbler +folk still take them more or less seriously, the leaders of society +are not at pains to suppress them. Nor would they always find it easy +to do so. Something of the primeval man lurks in us all; and these +"survivals," as they are termed by the anthropologist, may often in +large part correspond to impulses that are by no means dead in us, +but rather sleep; and are hence liable to be reawakened, if the +environment happens to supply the appropriate stimulus. Witness the +fact that survivals, especially when the whirligig of social change +brings the uneducated temporarily to the fore, have a way of blossoming +forth into revivals; and the state may in consequence have to undergo +something equivalent to an operation for appendicitis. The study of +so-called survivals, therefore, is a most important branch of +anthropology, which cannot unfortunately in this hasty sketch be given +its due. It would seem to coincide with the central interest of what +is known as folk-lore. Folk-lore, however, tends to broaden out till +it becomes almost indistinguishable from general anthropology. There +are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, the survivals of custom +amongst advanced nations, such as the ancient Greeks or the modern +British, are to be interpreted mainly by comparison with the similar +institutions still flourishing amongst ruder peoples. Secondly, all +these ruder peoples themselves, without exception, have their +survivals too. Their customs fall as it were into two layers. On top +is the live part of the fire. Underneath are smouldering ashes, which, +though dying out on the whole, are yet liable here and there to rekindle +into flame. + +So much for custom as something on the face of it distinct from law, +inasmuch as it seems to dispense with punishment. It remains to note, +however, that brute force lurks behind custom, in the form of what +Bagehot has called "the persecuting tendency." Just a boy at school +who happens to offend against the unwritten code has his life made +a burden by the rest of his mates, so in the primitive community the +fear of a rough handling causes "I must not" to wait upon "I dare not." +One has only to read Mr. Andrew Lang's instructive story of the fate +of "Why Why, the first Radical," to realize how amongst savages--and +is it so very different amongst ourselves?--it pays much better to +be respectable than to play the moral hero. + + * * * * * + +Let us pass on to examine the beginnings of punitive law. After all, +even under the sway of custom, casual outbreaks are liable to occur. +Some one's passions will prove too much for him, and there will be +an accident. What happens then in the primitive society? Let us first +consider one of the very unorganized communities at the bottom of the +evolutionary scale; as, for example, the little Negritos of the Andaman +Islands. Their justice, explains Mr. Man, in his excellent account +of these people, is administered by the simple method of allowing the +aggrieved party to take the law into his own hands. This he usually +does by flinging a burning faggot at the offender, or by discharging +an arrow at him, though more frequently near him. Meanwhile all others +who may be present are apt to beat a speedy retreat, carrying off as +much of their property as their haste will allow, and remaining hid +in the jungle until sufficient time has elapsed for the quarrel to +have blown over. Sometimes, however, friends interpose, and seek to +deprive the disputants of their weapons. Should, however, one of them +kill the other, nothing is necessarily said or done to him by the rest. +Yet conscience makes cowards of us all; so that the murderer, from +prudential motives, will not uncommonly absent himself until he judges +that the indignation of the victim's friends has sufficiently abated. + +Now here we seem to find want of social structure and want of law going +together as cause and effect. The "friends" of whom we hear need to +be organized into a police force. If we now turn to totemic society, +with its elaborate clan-system, it is quite another story. +Blood-revenge ranks amongst the foremost of the clansman's social +obligations. Over the whole world it stands out by itself as the type +of all that law means for the savage. Within the clan, indeed, the +maxim of blood for blood does not hold; though there may be another +kind of punitive law put into force by the totemites against an erring +brother, as, for instance, if they slay one of their number for +disregarding the exogamic rule and consorting with a woman who is +all-one-flesh with him. But, between clans of the same tribe, the +system of blood-revenge requires strict reprisals, according to the +principle that some one on the other side, though not necessarily the +actual murderer, must die the death. This is known as the principle +of collective responsibility; and one of the most interesting problems +relating to the evolution of early law is to work out how individual +responsibility gradually develops out of collective, until at length, +even as each man does, so likewise he suffers. + +The collective method of settling one's grievances is natural enough, +when men are united into groups bound together by the closest of +sentimental ties, and on the other hand there is no central and +impartial authority to arbitrate between the parties. One of our crew +has been killed by one of your crew. So a stand-up fight takes place. +Of course we should like to get at the right man if we could; but, +failing that, we are out to kill some one in return, just to teach +your crew a lesson. Comparatively early in the day, however, it strikes +the savage mind that there are degrees of responsibility. For instance, +some one has to call the avenging party together, and to lead it. He +will tend to be a real blood-relation, son, father, or brother. Thus +he stands out as champion, whilst the rest are in the position of mere +seconds. Correspondingly, the other side will tend to thrust forward +the actual offender into the office of counter-champion. There is +direct evidence to show that, amongst Australians, Eskimo, and so on, +whole groups at one time met in battle, but later on were represented +by chosen individuals, in the persons of those who were principals +in the affair. Thus we arrive at the duel. The transition is seen in +such a custom as that of the Port Lincoln black-fellows. The brother +of the murdered man must engage the murderer; but any one on either +side who might care to join in the fray was at liberty to do so. Hence +it is but a step to the formal duel, as found, for instance, amongst +the Apaches of North America. + +Now the legal duel is an advance on the collective bear-fight, if only +because it brings home to the individual perpetrator of the crime that +he will have to answer for it. Cranz, the great authority on the Eskimo +of Greenland, naively remarks that a Greenlander dare not murder or +otherwise wrong another, since it might possibly cost him the life +of his best friend. Did the Greenlander know that it would probably +cost him his own life, his sense of responsibility, we may surmise, +might be somewhat quickened. On the other hand, duelling is not a +satisfactory way of redressing the balance, since it merely gives the +powerful bully an opportunity of adding a second murder to the first. +Hence the ordeal marks an advance in legal evolution. A good many +Australian peoples, for example, have reached the stage of requiring +the murderer to submit to a shower of spears or boomerangs at the hands +of the aggrieved group, on the mutual understanding that the +blood-revenge ends here. + +Luckily, however, for the murderer, it often takes time to bring him +to book; and angry passions are apt in the meanwhile to subside. The +ruder savages are not so bloodthirsty as we are apt to imagine. War +has evolved like everything else; and with it has evolved the man who +likes fighting for its own sake. So, in place of a life for a life, +compensation--"pacation," as it is technically termed--comes to be +recognized as a reasonable _quid pro quo_. Constantly we find custom +at the half-way stage. If the murderer is caught soon, he is killed; +but if he can stave off the day of justice, he escapes with a fine. +When private property has developed, the system of blood-fines becomes +most elaborate. Amongst the Iroquois the manslayer must redeem himself +from death by means of no less than sixty presents to the injured kin; +one to draw the axe out of the wound, a second to wipe the blood away, +a third to restore peace to the land, and so forth. According to the +collective principle, the clansmen on one side share the price of +atonement, and on the other side must tax themselves in order to make +it up. Shares are on a scale proportionate to degrees of relationship. +Or, again, further nice calculations are required, if it is sought +to adjust the gross amount of the payment to the degree of guilt. Hence +it is not surprising that, when a more or less barbarous people, such +as the Anglo-Saxons, came to require a written law, it should be almost +entirely taken up by regulations about blood-fines, that had become +too complicated for the people any longer to keep in their heads. + +So far we have been considering the law of blood-revenge as purely +an affair between the clans concerned; the rest of the tribal public +keeping aloof, very much in the style of the Andamanese bystanders +who retire into the jungle when there is a prospect of a row. But with +the development of a central authority, whether in the shape of the +rule of many or of one, the public control of the blood-feud begins +to assert itself; for the good reason that endless vendetta is a +dissolving force, which the larger and more stable type of society +cannot afford to tolerate if it is to survive. The following are a +few instances illustrative of the transition from private to public +jurisdiction. In North America, Africa, and elsewhere, we find the +chief or chiefs pronouncing sentence, but the clan or family left to +carry it out as best they can. Again, the kin may be entrusted with +the function of punishment, but obliged to carry it out in the way +prescribed by the authorities; as, for instance, in Abyssinia, where +the nearest relation executes the manslayer in the presence of the +king, using exactly the same kind of weapon as that with which the +murder was committed. Or the right of the kin to punish dwindles to +a mere form. Thus in Afghanistan the elders make a show of handing +over the criminal to his accusers, who must, however, comply strictly +with the wishes of the assembly; whilst in Samoa the offender was bound +and deposited before the family "as if to signify that he lay at their +mercy," and the chief saw to the rest. Finally, the state, in the person +of its executive officers, both convicts and executes. + +When the state is represented by a single ruler, crime tends to become +an offence against "the king's peace"--or, in the language of Roman +law, against his "majesty." Henceforward, the easy-going system of +getting off with a fine is at an end, and murder is punished with the +utmost sternness. In such a state as Dahomey, in the old days of +independence, there may have been a good deal of barbarity displayed +in the administration of justice, but at any rate human life was no +less effectively protected by the law than it was, say, in mediaeval +Europe. + + * * * * * + +The evolution of the punishment of murder affords the typical instance +of the development of a legal sanction in primitive society. Other +forms, however, of the forcible repression of wrong-doing deserve a +more or less passing notice. + +Adultery is, even amongst the ruder peoples, a transgression that is +reckoned only a degree less grave than manslaughter; especially as +manslaughter is a usual consequence of it, quarrels about women +constituting one of the chief sources of trouble in the savage world. +With a single interesting exception, the stages in the development +of the law against adultery are exactly the same as in the case already +examined. Whole kins fight about it. Then duelling is substituted. +Then duelling gives way to the ordeal. Then, after the penalty has +long wavered between death and a fine, fines become the rule, so long +as the kins are allowed to settle the matter. If, however, the community +comes to take cognizance of the offence, severer measures ensue. The +one noticeable difference in the two developments is the following. +Whereas murder is an offence against the chief's "majesty," and as +such a criminal offence, adultery, like theft, with which primitive +law is wont to associate it as an offence against property, tends to +remain a purely civil affair. Kafir law, for example, according to +Maclean, draws this distinction very clearly. + +It remains to add as regards adultery that, so far, we have only been +considering the punishment that falls on the guilty man. The guilty +woman's fate is a matter relating to a distinct department of primitive +law. Family jurisdiction, as we find it, for instance, in an advanced +community such as ancient Rome, meant the right of the _pater familias_, +the head of the house, to subject his _familia_, or household, which +included his wife, his children (up to a certain age), and his slaves, +to such domestic discipline as he saw fit. Such family jurisdiction +was more or less completely independent of state jurisdiction; and, +indeed, has remained so in Europe until comparatively recent times. + +What light, then, does the study of primitive society throw on the +first beginnings of family law as administered by the house-father? +To answer this question at all adequately would involve the writing +of many pages on the evolution of the family. For our present purpose, +all turns on the distinction between the matripotestal and the +patripotestal family. If the man and the woman were left to fight it +out alone, the latter, despite the "shrewish sanction" that she +possesses in her tongue, must inevitably bow to the principle that +might is right. But, as long as marriage is matrilocal--that is to +say, allows the wife to remain at home amongst male defenders of her +own clan--she can safely lord it over her stranger husband; and there +can scarcely be adultery on her part, since she can always obtain +divorce by simply saying, Go! Things grow more complicated when the +wife lives amongst her husband's people, and, nevertheless, the system +of counting descent favours her side of the family and not his. Does +the mere fact that descent is matrilineal tend to imply on the whole +that the mother's kin take a more active interest in her, and are more +effective in protecting her from hurt, whether undeserved or deserved? +It is no easy problem to settle. Dr. Steinmetz, however, in his +important work on _The Evolution of Punishment_ (in German), seeks +to show that under mother-right, in all its forms taken together, the +adulteress is more likely to escape with a light penalty, or with none +at all, than under father-right. Whatever be the value of the +statistical method that he employs, at any rate it makes out the death +penalty to be inflicted in only a third of his cases under the former +system, but in about half under the latter. + + * * * * * + +We must be content with a mere glance at other types of wrong-doing +which, whilst sooner or later recognized by the law of the community, +affect its members in their individual capacity. Theft and slander +are cases in point. + +Amongst the ruder savages there cannot be much stealing, because there +is next to nothing to steal. Nevertheless, groups are apt to quarrel +over hunting and fishing claims; whilst the division of the spoils +of the chase may give rise to disputes, which call for the interposition +of leading men. We even occasionally find amongst Australians the +formal duel employed to decide cases of the violation of +property-rights. Not, however, until the arts of life have advanced, +and wealth has created the two classes of "haves" and "have-nots," +does theft become an offence of the first magnitude, which the central +authority punishes with corresponding severity. + +As regards slander, though it might seem a slight matter, it must be +remembered that the savage cannot stand up for a moment again an adverse +public opinion; so that to rob him of his good name is to take away +all that makes life worth living. To shout out, Long-nose! Sunken-eyes! +or Skin-and-bone! usually leads to a fight in Andamanese circles, as +Mr. Man informs us. Nor, again, is it conducive to peace in Australian +society to sing as follows about the staying-powers of a +fellow-tribesman temporarily overtaken by European liquor: "Spirit +like emu--as a whirlwind--pursues--lays violent hold on +travelling--uncle of mine (this being particularly derisive)--tired +out with fatigue--throws himself down helpless." Amongst more advanced +peoples, therefore, slander and abuse are sternly checked. They +constitute a ground for a civil action in Kafir law; whilst we even +hear of an African tribe, the Ba-Ngindo, who rejoice in the special +institution of a peace-maker, whose business is to compose troubles +arising from this vexatious source. + + * * * * * + +Let us now turn to another class of offences, such as, from the first, +are regarded as so prejudicial to the public interest that the +community as a whole must forcibly put them down. + +Cases of what may be termed military discipline fall under this head. +Even when the functions of the commander are undeveloped, and war is +still "an affair of armed mobs," shirking--a form of crime which, to +do justice to primitive society, is rare--is promptly and effectively +resented by the host. Amongst American tribes the coward's arms are +taken away from him; he is made to eat with the dogs; or perhaps a +shower of arrows causes him to "run the gauntlet." The traitor, on +the other hand, is inevitably slain without mercy--tied to a tree and +shot, or, it may be, literally hacked to pieces. Naturally, with the +evolution of war, these spontaneous outbursts of wrath and disgust +give way to a more formal system of penalties. To trace out this +development fully, however, would entail a lengthy disquisition on +the growth of kingship in one of its most important aspects. If constant +fighting turns the tribe into something like a standing army, the +position of war-lord, as, for instance, amongst the Zulus, is bound +to become both permanent and of all-embracing authority. There is, +however, another side to the history of kingship, as the following +considerations will help to make clear. + +Public safety is construed by the ruder type of man not so much in +terms of freedom from physical danger--unless such a danger, the onset +of another tribe, for instance, is actually imminent--as in terms of +freedom from spiritual, or mystic, danger. The fear of ill-luck, in +other words, is the bogy that haunts him night and day. Hence his life +is enmeshed, as Dr. Frazer puts it, in a network of taboos. A taboo +is anything that one must not do lest ill-luck befall. And ill-luck +is catching, like an infectious disease. If my next-door neighbour +breaks a taboo, and brings down a visitation on himself, depend upon +it some of its unpleasant consequences will be passed on to me and +mine. Hence, if some one has committed an act that is not merely a +crime but a sin, it is every one's concern to wipe out that sin; which +is usually done by wiping out the sinner. Mobbish feeling always +inclines to violence. In the mob, as a French psychologist has said, +ideas neutralize each other, but emotions aggrandize each other. Now +war-feeling is a mobbish experience that, I daresay, some of my readers +have tasted; and we have seen how it leads the unorganized levy of +a savage tribe to make short work of the coward and traitor. But +war-fever is a mild variety of mobbish experience as compared with +panic in any form, and with superstitious panic most of all. Being +attacked in the dark, as it were, causes the strongest to lose their +heads. + +Hence it is not hard to understand how it comes about that the violator +of a taboo is the central object of communal vengeance in primitive +society. The most striking instance of such a taboo-breaker is the +man or woman who disregards the prohibition against marriage within +the kin--in other words, violates the law of exogamy. To be thus guilty +of incest is to incite in the community at large a horror which, venting +itself in what Bagehot calls a "wild spasm of wild justice," involves +certain death for the offender. To interfere with a grave, to pry into +forbidden mysteries, to eat forbidden meats, and so on, are further +examples of transgressions liable to be thus punished. + +Falling under the same general category of sin, though distinct from +the violation of taboo, is witchcraft. This consists in trafficking, +or at any rate in being supposed to traffic, with powers of evil for +sinister and anti-social ends. We have only to remember how England, +in the seventeenth century, could work itself up into a frenzy on this +account to realize how, in an African society even of the better sort, +the "smelling-out" and destroying of a witch may easily become a +general panacea for quieting the public nerves. + +When crimes and sins, affairs of state and affairs of church thus +overlap and commingle in primitive jurisprudence, it is no wonder if +the functions of those who administer the law should tend to display +a similar fusion of aspects. The chief, or king, has a "divine right," +and is himself in one or another sense divine, even whilst he takes +the lead in regard to all such matters as are primarily secular. The +earliest written codes, such as the Mosaic Books of the Law, with their +strange medley of injunctions concerning things profane and sacred, +accurately reflect the politico-religious character of all primitive +authority. + +Indeed, it is only by an effort of abstraction that the present chapter +has been confined to the subject of law, as distinguished from the +subject of the following chapter, namely, religion. Any crime, as +notably murder, and even under certain circumstances theft, is apt +to be viewed by the ruder peoples either as a violation of taboo, or +as some closely related form of sin. Nay, within the limits of the +clan, legal punishment can scarcely be said to be in theory possible; +the sacredness of the blood-tie lending to any chastisement that may +be inflicted on an erring kinsman the purely religious complexion of +a sacrifice, an act of excommunication, a penance, or what not. Thus +almost insensibly we are led on to the subject of religion from the +study of the legal sanction; this very term "sanction," which is +derived from Roman law, pointing in the same direction, since it +originally stood for the curse which was appended in order to secure +the inviolability of a legal enactment. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII +RELIGION + + +"How can there be a History of Religions?" once objected a French +senator. "For either one believes in a religion, and then everything +in it appears natural; or one does not believe in it, and then +everything in it appears absurd!" + +This was said some thirty years ago, when it was a question of founding +the now famous chair of the General History of Religions at the College +de France. At that time, such chairs were almost unheard of. Now-a-days +the more important universities of the world, to reckon them alone, +can show at least thirty. + +What is the significance of this change? It means that the parochial +view of religion is out of date. The religious man has to be a man +of the world, a man of the wider world, an anthropologist. He has to +recognize that there is a "soul of truth" in other religions besides +his own. + +It will be replied--and I fully realize the force of the +objection--that history, and therefore anthropology, has nothing to +do with truth or falsehood--in a word, with value. In strict theory, +this is so. Its business is to describe and generalize fact; and +religion from first to last might be pure illusion or even delusion, +and it would be fact none the less on that account. + +At the same time, being men, we all find it hard, nay impossible, to +study mankind impartially. When we say that we are going to play the +historian, or the anthropologist, and to put aside for the time being +all consideration of the moral of the story we seek to unfold, we are +merely undertaking to be as fair all round as we can. Willy nilly, +however, we are sure to colour our history, to the extent, at any rate, +of taking a hopeful or a gloomy view of man's past achievements, as +bearing on his present condition and his future prospects. + +In the same way, then, I do not believe that we can help thinking to +ourselves all the time, when we are tracing out the history of +world-religion, either that there is "nothing in it" at all, or that +there is "something in it," whatever form it assume, and whether it +hold itself to be revealed (as it almost always does) or not. On the +latter estimate of religion, however, it is still quite possible to +judge that one form of religion is infinitely higher and better than +another. Religion, regarded historically, is in evolution. The best +form of religion that we can attain to is inevitably the best for us; +but, as a worse form preceded it, so a better form, we must allow and +even desire, may follow. Now, frankly, I am one of those who take the +more sympathetic view of historical religion; an I say so at once, +in case my interpretation of the facts turn out to be coloured by this +sanguine assumption. + +Moreover, I think that we may easily exaggerate the differences in +culture and, more especially, in religious insight and understanding +that exist between the ruder peoples and ourselves. In view of our +common hope, and our common want of knowledge, I would rather identify +religion with a general striving of humanity than with the exclusive +pretension of any one people or sect. Who knows, for instance, the +final truth about what happens to the soul at death? I am quite ready +to admit, indeed, that some of us can see a little farther into a brick +wall than, say, Neanderthal man. Yet when I find facts that appear +to prove that Neanderthal man buried his dead with ceremony, and to +the best of his means equipped them for a future life, I openly confess +that I would rather stretch out a hand across the ages and greet him +as my brother and fellow-pilgrim than throw in my lot with the +self-righteous folk who seem to imagine this world and the next to +have been created for their exclusive benefit. + +Now the trouble with anthropologists is to find a working definition +of religion on which they can agree. Christianity is religion, all +would have to admit. Again, Mahomedanism is religion, for all +anthropological purposes. But, when a naked savage "dances" his +god--when the spoken part of the rite simply consists, as amongst the +south-eastern Australians, in shouting "Daramulun! Daramulun!" (the +god's name), so that we cannot be sure whether the dancers are indulging +in a prayer or in an incantation--is that religion? Or, worse still, +suppose that no sort of personal god can be discovered at the back +of the performance--which consists, let us say, as amongst the central +Australians, in solemnly rubbing a bull-roarer on the stomach, so that +its mystic virtues may cause the man to become "good" and "glad" and +"strong" (for that is his own way of describing the spiritual +effects)--is that religion, in any sense that can link it historically +with, say, the Christian type of religion? + +No, say some, these low-class dealings with the unseen are magic, not +religion. The rude folk in question do not go the right way about +putting themselves into touch with the unseen. They try to put pressure +on the unseen, to control it. They ought to conciliate it, by bowing +to its will. Their methods may be earnest, but they are not propitiatory. +There is too much "My will be done" about it all. + +Unfortunately, two can play at this game of _ex-parte_ definition. +The more unsympathetic type of historian, relentlessly pursuing the +clue afforded by this distinction between control and conciliation, +professes himself able to discover plenty of magic even in the higher +forms of religion. The rite as such--say, churchgoing as such--appears +to be reckoned by some of the devout as not without a certain intrinsic +efficacy. "Very well," says this school, "then a good deal of average +Christianity is magic." + +My own view, then, is that this distinction will only lead us into +trouble. And, to my mind, it adds to the confusion if it be further +laid down, as some would do, that this sort of dealing with the unseen +which, on the face of it, and according to our notions, seems rather +mechanical (being, as it were, an effort to get a hold on some hidden +force) is so far from being akin to religion that its true affinity +is with natural science. The natural science of to-day, I quite admit, +has in part evolved out of experiments with the occult; just as law, +fine art, and almost every other one of our higher interests have +likewise done. But just so long and so far as it was occult science, +I would maintain, it was not natural science at all, but, as it were, +rather supernatural science. Besides, much of our natural science has +grown up out of straightforward attempts to carry out mechanical work +on industrial lines--to smelt iron, let us say; but since then, as +now, there were numerous trade-secrets, an atmosphere of mystery was +apt to surround the undertaking, which helped to give it the air of +a trafficking with the uncanny. But because science then, as even now +sometimes, was thought by the ignorant to be somehow closely associated +with all the powers of evil, it does not follow that then or now the +true affinity of science must be with the devil. + +Magic and religion, according to the view I would support, belong to +the same department of human experience--one of the two great +departments, the two worlds, one might almost call them, into which +human experience, throughout its whole history, has been divided. +Together they belong to the supernormal world, the _x_-region of +experience, the region of mental twilight. + +Magic I take to include all bad ways, and religion all good ways, of +dealing with the supernormal--bad and good, of course, not as we may +happen to judge them, but as the society concerned judges them. +Sometimes, indeed, the people themselves hardly know where to draw +the line between the two; and, in that case, the anthropologist cannot +well do it for them. But every primitive society thinks witchcraft +bad. Witchcraft consists in leaguing oneself with supernormal powers +of evil in order to effect selfish and anti-social ends. Witchcraft, +then, is genuine magic--black magic of the devil's colour. On the other +hand, every primitive society also distinguishes certain salutary ways +of dealing with supernormal powers. All these ways taken together +constitute religion. For the rest, there will always be a mass of more +or less evaporated beliefs, going with practices that have more or +less lost their hold on the community. These belong to the folklore +which every people has. Under this or some closely related head must +also be set down the mass of mere wonder-tales, due to the play of +fancy, and without direct bearing on the serious pursuits of life. + +The world to which neither magic nor religion belongs, but to which +physical science, the knowledge of how to deal mechanically with +material things, does belong wholly, is the workaday world, the region +of normal, commonplace, calculable happenings. With our telescopes +and microscopes we see farther and deeper into things than does the +savage. Yet the savage has excellent eyes. What he sees he sees. +Consequently, we must duly allow for the fact that there is for him, +as well as for us, a "natural," that is to say, normal and workaday +world; even though it be far narrower in extent than ours. The savage +is not perpetually spook-haunted. On the contrary, when he is engaged +on the daily round, and all is going well, he is as careless and happy +as a child. + +But savage life has few safeguards. Crisis is a frequent, if +intermittent, element in it. Hunger, sickness and war are examples +of crisis. Birth and death are crises. Marriage is usually regarded +by humanity as a crisis. So is initiation--the turning-point in one's +career, when one steps out into the world of men. Now what, in terms +of mind, does crisis mean? It means that one is at one's wits' end; +that the ordinary and expected has been replaced by the extraordinary +and unexpected; that we are projected into the world of the unknown. +And in that world of the unknown we must miserably abide until, somehow, +confidence is restored. + +Psychologically regarded, then, the function of religion is to restore +men's confidence when it is shaken by crisis. Men do not seek crisis; +they would always run away from it, if they could. Crisis seeks them; +and, whereas the feebler folk are ready to succumb, the bolder spirits +face it. Religion is the facing of the unknown. It is the courage in +it that brings comfort.[6] + +[Footnote 6: The courage involved in all live religion normally +coexists with a certain modesty or humility. I have tried to work out +this point elsewhere in a short study entitled _The Birth of +Humility_.] + +We must go on, however, to consider religion sociologically. A religion +is the effort to face crisis, so far as that effort is organized by +society in some particular way. A religion is congregational--that +is to say, serves the ends of a number of persons simultaneously. It +is traditional--that is to say, has served the ends of successive +generations of persons. Therefore inevitably it has standardized a +method. It involves a routine, a ritual. Also it involves some sort +of conventional doctrine, which is, as it were, the inner side of the +ritual--its lining. + +Now in what follows I shall insist, in the first instance, on this +sociological side of religion. For anthropological purposes it is the +sounder plan. We must altogether eschew that "Robinson Crusoe method" +which consists in reconstructing the creed of a solitary savage, who +is supposed to evolve his religion out of his inner consciousness: +"The mountain frowns, therefore it is alive"; "I move about in my dreams +whilst my body lies still, therefore I have a soul," and so on. No +doubt somebody had to think these things, for they are thoughts. But +he did not think them, at any rate did not think them out, alone. Men +thought them out together; nay, whole ages of living and thinking +together have gone to make them what they are. So a social method is +needed to explain them. + +The religion of a savage is part of his custom; nay, rather, it is +his whole custom so far as it appears sacred--so far as it coerces +him by way of his imagination. Between him and the unknown stands +nothing but his custom. It is his all-in-all, his stand-by, his faith +and his hope. Being thus the sole source of his confidence, his custom, +so far as his imagination plays about it, becomes his "luck." We may +say that any and every custom, in so far as it is regarded as lucky, +is a religious rite. + +Hence the conservatism inherent in religion. "Nothing," says Robertson +Smith, "appeals so strongly as religion to the conservative +instincts." "The history of religion," once exclaimed Dr. Frazer, "is +a long attempt to reconcile old custom with new reason, to find a sound +theory for absurd practice." At first sight one is apt to see nothing +but the absurdities in savage custom and religion. After all, these +are what strike us most, being the curiosity-hunters that we all are. +But savage custom and religion must be taken as a whole, the bad side +with the good. Of course, if we have to do with a primitive society +on the down-grade--and very few that have been "civilizaded," as John +Stuart Mill terms it, at the hands of the white man are not on the +down-grade--its disorganized and debased custom no longer serves a +vital function. But a healthy society is bound, in a wholesale way, +to have a healthy custom. Though it may go about the business in a +queer and roundabout fashion, it must hit off the general requirements +of the situation. Therefore I shall not waste time, as I might easily +do, in piling up instances of outlandish "superstitions," whether +horrible and disgusting, from our more advanced point of view, or +merely droll and silly. On the contrary, I would rather make it my +working assumption that, with all its apparent drawbacks, the religion +of a human society, if the latter be a going concern, is always +something to be respected. + +In considering, however, the relation of religion to custom, we are +met by the apparent difficulty that, whereas custom implies "Do," the +prevailing note of primitive religion would seem rather to consist +in "Do not." But there is really no antagonism between them on this +account. As the old Greek proverb has it, "There is only one way of +going right, but there are infinite ways of going wrong." Hence, a +nice observance of custom of itself involves endless taboos. Since +a given line of conduct is lucky, then this or that alternative course +of behaviour must be unlucky. There is just this difference between +positive customs or rites, which cause something to be done, and +negative customs or rites, which cause something to be left undone, +that the latter appeal more exclusively to the imagination for their +sanction, and are therefore more conspicuously and directly a part +of religion. "Why should I do this?" is answered well-nigh sufficiently +by saying, "Because it is the custom, because it is right." It seems +hardly necessary to add, "Because it will bring luck." But "Why should +I not do something else instead?" meets, in the primitive society, +with the invariable answer, "Because, if you do, something awful will +happen to us all." What precise shape the ill-luck will take need not +be specified. The suggestion rather gains than loses by the +indefiniteness of its appeal to the imagination. + + * * * * * + +To understand more clearly the difference between negative and +positive types of custom as associated with religion, let us examine +in some detail an example of each. It will be well to select our cases +from amongst those that show the custom and the religion to be quite +inseparable--to be, in short, but two aspects of one and the same fact. +Now nothing could be more commonplace and secular a custom than that +of providing for one's dinner. Yet for primitive society this custom +tends to be likewise a rite--a rite which may, however, be mainly +negative and precautionary, or mainly positive and practical in +character, as we shall now see. + +The Todas, so well described by Dr. Rivers, are a small community, +less than a thousand all told, who have retired out of the stress of +the world into the fastnesses of the Nilgiri Hills, in southern India, +where they spend a safe but decidedly listless life. They are in a +backwater, and are likely to remain there. At any rate, their religion +is not such as to make them more enterprising. Gods they may be said +to have none. The bare names of certain deities of the hill-tops are +retained, but whether these were once the honoured gods of the Todas +or, as some think, those of a former race, certain it is that there +is more shadow than substance about them now. The real religion of +the people centres round a dairy-ritual. From a practical and economic +point of view, the work of the dairy consists in converting the milk +of their buffaloes into the butter and buttermilk which constitute +their staple diet. From a religious point of view, it consists in +converting something they dare not eat into something they can eat. + +Many, though not all, of their buffaloes are sacred, and their milk +may not be drunk. The reason why it may not be drunk anthropologists +may cast about to discover, but the Todas themselves do not know. All +that they know, and are concerned to know, is that things would somehow +all go wrong, if any one were foolish enough to commit such a sin. +So in the Toda temple, which is a dairy, the Toda priest, who is the +dairyman, sets about rendering the sacred products harmless. The dairy +has two compartments--one sacred, the other profane. In the first are +stored the sacred vessels, into which the milk is placed when it comes +from the buffaloes, and in which it is turned into butter and buttermilk +with the help of some of the previous brew, this having meanwhile been +put by in an especially sacred vessel. In the second compartment are +profane vessels, destined to receive the butter and buttermilk, after +they have been carefully transferred from the sacred vessels with the +help of an intermediary vessel, which stands exactly on the line +between the two compartments. This transference, being carried out +to the accompaniment of all sorts of reverential gestures and +utterances, secures such a profanation of the sacred substance as is +without the evil consequences that would otherwise be entailed. Thus +the ritual is essentially precautionary. A taboo is the hinge of the +whole affair. + +And the tendency of such a negative type of religion is to pile +precautions on precautions. Thus the dairyman, in order to be equal +to his sacred office, must observe taboos without end. He must be +celibate. He must avoid all contact with the dead. He is limited to +certain kinds of food; which, moreover, must be prepared in a certain +way, and consumed in a certain place. His drink, again, is a special +milk, which must be poured out with prescribed formulas. He is +inaccessible to ordinary folk save on certain days and in certain ways, +their mode of approach, their salutations, his greeting in reply, being +all regulated with the utmost nicety. He can only wear a special garb. +He must never cut his hair. His nails must be suffered to grow long. +And so on and so forth. Such disabilities, indeed, are wont to +circumscribe the life of all sacred persons, and can be matched from +every part of the world. But they may fairly be cited here, as helping +to fill in the picture of what I have called the precautionary or +negative type of religious ritual. + +Further, there is something rotten in the state of Toda religion. The +dairymen struck Dr. Rivers as very slovenly in the performance of their +duties, as well as vague and inaccurate in their accounts of what ought +to be done. Indeed, it was hard to find persons willing to undertake +the office. Ritual duties involving uncomfortable taboos were apt to +be thrust on youngsters. The youngsters, being youngsters, would +probably violate the taboos; but anyway that was their look-out. From +evasions to fictions is but a step. Hence when an unclean person +approached the dairyman, the latter would simply pretend not to see +him. Or the rule that he must not enter a hut, if women were within, +would be circumvented by simply removing from the dwelling the three +emblems of womanhood, the pounder, the sieve, and the sweeper; +whereupon his "face was saved." Now wherefore all this lack of +earnestness? Dr. Rivers thinks that too much ritual was the reason. +I agree; but would venture to add, "too much negative ritual." A +religion that is all dodging must produce a sneaking kind of +worshipper. + +Now let us turn another type of primitive religion that is equally +identified with the food-quest, but allied to its positive and active +functions, which it seeks to help out. Messrs. Spencer and Gillen have +given us a most minute account of certain ceremonies of the Arunta, +a people of central Australia. These ceremonies they have named +_Intichiuma_, and the name will probably stick, though there is reason +to believe that the native word for them is really something different. +Their purpose is to make the food-animals and food-plants multiply +and prosper. Each animal or plant is attended to by the group that +has it for a totem. (Totemism amongst this very remarkable people has +nothing to do either with exogamy or with lineage; but that is a subject +into which it is impossible to go here.) The rites vary considerably +from totem to totem, but a typical case or two may be cited. + +The witchetty-grub men, for instance, want the grubs to multiply, that +there may be plenty for their fellows to eat. So they wend their way +along a certain path which tradition declares to have been traversed +by the great leader of the witchetty-grubs of the days of long ago. +(These were grubs transformed into men, who became by reincarnation +ancestors of the present totemites.) The path brings them to a place +in the hills where there is a big stone surrounded by many small stones. +The big stone is the adult animal, the little stones are its eggs. +So first they tap the big stone, chanting an invitation to it to lay +eggs. Then the master of the ceremonies rubs the stomach of each +totemite with the little stones, and says, "You have eaten much food." + +Or, again, the Kangaroo men repair to a place called Undiara. It is +a picturesque spot. By the side of a water-hole that is sheltered by +a tall gum-tree rises a curiously gnarled and weather-beaten face of +quartzite rock. About twenty feet from the base a ledge juts out. When +the totemites hold their ceremony, they repair to this ledge. For here +in the days of long ago the ancestors who are now reincarnated in them +cooked and ate kangaroo food; and here, moreover, the kangaroo animals +of that time deposited their spirit-parts. First the face of the rock +below the ledge is decorated with long stripes of red ochre and white +gypsum, to represent the red fur and white bones of the kangaroo. It +is, in fact, one of those rock-paintings such as the palaeolithic men +of Europe made in their caves. Then a number of men, say, seven or +eight, mount upon the ledge, and, whilst the rest sing solemn chants +about the prospective increase of the kangaroos, these men open veins +in their arms, so that the blood flows down freely upon the ceremonial +stone. This is the first part of the rite. The second part is no less +interesting. After the blood-letting, they hunt until they kill a +kangaroo. Thereupon the old men of the totem eat a little of the meat; +then they smear some of the fat on the bodies of all the party; finally, +they divide the flesh amongst them. Afterwards, the totemites paint +their bodies with stripes in imitation of the design upon the rock. +A second hunt, followed by a second sacramental meal, concludes the +whole ceremony. That their meal is sacramental, a sort of communion +service, is proved by the fact that henceforth in an ordinary way they +allow themselves to partake of kangaroo meat at most but very sparingly, +and of certain portions of the flesh not at all. + +One more example of these rites may be cited, in order to bring out +the earnestness of this type of religion, which is concerned with doing, +instead of mere not-doing. There is none of the Toda perfunctoriness +here. It will be enough to glance at the commencement of the ritual +of the honey-ant totemites. The master of the ceremonies places his +hand as if he were shading his eyes, and gazes intently in the direction +of the sacred place to which they are about to repair. As he does so, +the rest kneel, forming a straight line behind him. In this position +they remain for some time, whilst the leader chants in a subdued tone. +Then all stand up. The company must now start. The leader, who has +fallen to the rear, that he may marshal the column in perfect line, +gives the signal. Then they move off in single file, taking a direct +course to the holy ground, marching in perfect silence, and with +measured step, as if something of the profoundest import were about +to take place. + +I make no apology for describing these proceedings at some length. +It is necessary to my argument to convey the impression that the +essentials of religion are present in these apparently godless +observances of the ruder peoples. They arise directly out of custom--in +this case the hunting custom. Their immediate design is to provide +these people with their daily bread. Yet their appeal to the +imagination--which in religion, as in science, art, and philosophy, +is the impulse that presides over all progress, all creative +evolution--is such that the food-quest is charged with new and deeper +meaning. Not bread alone, but something even more sustaining to the +life of man, is suggested by these tangled and obscure solemnities. +They are penetrated by quickenings of sacrifice, prayer, and communion. +They bring to bear on the need of the hour all the promise of that +miraculous past, which not only cradled the race, but still yields +it the stock of reincarnated soul-force that enables it to survive. +If, then, these rites are part and parcel of mere magic, most, or all, +of what the world knows as religion must be mere magic. But it is better +for anthropology to call things by the names that they are known by +in the world of men--that is, in the wider world, not in some corner +or coterie of it. + + * * * * * + +In order to bring out more fully the second point that I have been +trying to make, namely, the close interdependence between religion +and custom in primitive society, let me be allowed to quote one more +example of the ritual of a rude people. And again let us resort to +native Australia, though this time to the south-eastern corner of it; +since in Australia we have a cultural development on the whole very +low, having been as it were arrested through isolation, yet one that +turns out to be not incompatible with high religion in the making. + +Initiation in native Australia is the equivalent of what is known +amongst ourselves as the higher education. The only difference is that, +with them, every one who is not judged utterly unfit is duly initiated; +whereas, with us, the higher education is offered to some who are unfit, +whilst many who are fit never have the luck to get it. The +initiation-custom is intended to tide the boys over the difficult time +of puberty, and turn them into responsible men. The whole of the adult +males assist in the ceremonies. Special men, however, are told off +to tutor the youth--a lengthy business, since it entails a retirement, +perhaps for six months, into the bush with their charges; who are there +taught the tribal traditions, and are generally admonished, sometimes +forcibly, for their good. Further, this is rather like a retirement +into a monastery for the young men, seeing that during all the time +they are strictly taboo, or in other words in a holy state that involves +much fasting and mortification of the flesh. At last comes the time +when their actual passage across the threshold of manhood has to be +celebrated. The rites may be described in one word as impressive. +Society wishes to set a stamp on their characters, and believes in +stamping hard. Physically, then, the lads feel the force of society. +A tooth is knocked out, they are tossed in the air to make them grow +tall, and so on--rites that, whilst they may have separate occult ends +in view, are completely at one in being highly unpleasant. + +Spiritual means of education, however, are always more effective than +physical, if designed and applied with sufficient wisdom. The +bull-roarer, of which something has been already said, furnishes the +ceremonies with a background of awe. It fills the woods, that surround +the secret spot where the rites are held, with the rise and fall of +its weird music, suggestive of a mighty rushing wind, of spirits in +the air. Not until the boys graduate as men do they learn how the sound +is produced. Even when they do learn this, the mystery of the voice +speaking through the chip of wood merely wings the imagination for +loftier flights. Whatever else the high god of these mysteries, +Daramulun, may be for these people--and undoubtedly all sorts of trains +of confused thinking meet in the notion of him--he is at any rate the +god of the bull-roarer, who has put his voice into the sacred instrument. +But Daramulun is likewise endowed with a human form; for they set up +an image of him rudely shaped in wood, and round about it dance and +shout his name. Daramulun instituted these rites, as well as all the +other immemorial rites of the assembled tribe or tribes. So when over +the heads of the boys, prostrated on the ground, are recited solemnly +what Mr. Lang calls "the ten commandments," that bid them honour the +elders, respect the marriage law, and so on, there looms up before +their minds the figure of the ultimate law-giver; whilst his unearthly +voice becomes for them the voice of the law. Thus is custom exalted, +and its coercive force amplified, by the suggestion of a power--in +this case a definitely personal power--that "makes for righteousness," +and, whilst beneficent, is full of terror for offenders. + + * * * * * + +And now it may seem high time to pass on from the sociological and +external view that has hitherto been taken of primitive religion to +a psychological view of it--one that should endeavour to disclose the +hidden motives, the spiritual sources, of the beliefs that underlie +and sustain the customary practices. But precisely at this point the +anthropological treatment of religion is apt to prove unsatisfactory. +History can record that such and such is done with far more certainty +than that such and such a state of mind accompanies and inspires the +doing. Besides, the savage is no authority on the why and wherefore +of his customs. "However else would a reasonable being think of +acting?" is his sufficient reason, as we have already seen. Not but +what the higher minds amongst savages reflect in their own way upon +the meaning of their customs and rites. But most of this reflection +is no more than an elaborate "justification after the event." The mind +invents what Mr. Kipling would call a "Just-so story" to account for +something already there. How it might have come about, not how it did +come about, is all that the professed explanation amounts to. And when +it comes to choosing amongst mere possibilities, the anthropologist, +instead of consulting the savage, may just as well endeavour to do +it for himself. + +Now anthropological theories of the origin of religion seem to me to +go wrong mainly because they seek to simplify too much. Having got +down to what they take to be a root-idea, they straightway proclaim +it _the_ root-idea. I believe that religion has just as few, or as +many, roots as human life and mind. + +The theory of the origin of religion that may be said to hold the field, +because it is the view of the greatest of living anthropologists, is +Dr. Tylor's theory of animism. The term animism is derived from the +Latin _anima_, which--like the corresponding word _spiritus_, whence +our "spirit"--signifies the breath, and hence the soul, which +primitive folk tend to identify with the breath. Dr. Tylor's theory +of animism, then, as set forth in his great work, _Primitive Culture_, +is that "the belief in spiritual beings" will do as a definition of +religion taken at its least; which for him means the same thing as +taken at its earliest. Now what is a "spiritual being"? Clearly +everything turns on that. Dr. Tylor's general treatment of the subject +seems to lay most of the emphasis on the phantasm. A phantasm (as the +etymology of the word shows) is essentially an appearance. In a dream +or hallucination one sees figures, more or less dim, but still having +"vaporous materiality." So, too, the shadow is something without body +that one can see; though the breath, except on a frosty day, shows +its subtle but yet sensible nature rather by being felt than by being +seen. Now there can be no doubt that the phantasm plays a considerable +part in primitive religion (as well as in those fancies of the primitive +mind that have never found their way into religion, at all events into +religion as identified with organized cult). Savages see ghosts, +though probably not more frequently than we do; they have vivid dreams, +and are much impressed by their dream-experiences; and so on. Besides, +the phantasm forms a very convenient half-way house between the seen +and the unseen; and there can be no doubt that the savage often says +breath, shadow, and so forth, when he is trying to think and mean +something immaterial altogether. + +But animism would seem sometimes to be used by Dr. Tylor in a wider +sense, namely, as "a doctrine of universal vitality." In dealing with +the myths of the ruder peoples, as, for example, those about the sun, +moon, and stars, he shows how "a general animation of nature" is implied. +The primitive man reads himself into these things, which, according +to our science, are without life or personality. He thinks that they +have a different kind of body, but the same kind of feelings and motives. +But this is not necessarily to think that they are capable of giving +off a phantasm, as a man does when his soul temporarily leaves him, +or when after death his soul becomes a ghost. There need be nothing +ghost-like about the sun, whether it is imagined as a shining orb, +or as a shining being of human shape to whom the orb belongs. There +is not anything in the least phantasmal about the Greek god Apollo. +I think, then, that we had better distinguish this wider sense of +animism by a different name, calling it "animatism," since that will +serve at once to disconnect and to connect the two conceptions. + +I am not sure, however, how far we ought to press this "doctrine of +universal vitality." Does a savage, for instance, when he is hammering +at a piece of flint think of it as other than a "thing," any more than +we should? I doubt it. He may say "Confound you!" if it suddenly snaps +in two, just as we might do. But though the language may seem to imply +a "you," he would mean, I believe, to impute to the flint just as much, +or as little, of personality as we should mean to do when using similar +language. In other words, I believe that, within the world of his +ordinary work-a-day experience, he recognizes both things and persons; +without giving a thought, in either case, to the hidden principles +that make them be what they are, and act as they do. + +When, on the other hand, the thing, or the person, falls within the +world of supernormal experience, when they strike the imagination as +wonderful and wonder-working, then there is much more reason why he +should seek to account to himself for the mystery in, or behind, the +strange appearance. Howitt, who knew his Australian natives intimately, +cites the following as "a good example of how the native mind works." +To the black-fellow his club or his spear are part and parcel of his +ordinary life. There is no, "medicine," no "devil," in them. If they +are to be made supernaturally potent, they must be specially charmed. +But it is quite otherwise with his spear-thrower or his bull-roarer. +The former for no obvious reason enables him to throw his spear +extraordinarily far. (I have myself seen an Australian spear, with +the help of the spear-thrower, fly a hundred and fifty yards, and strike +true and deep at the end of its flight.) The latter emits the noise +of thunder, though a mere chip of wood on the end of a string. These, +then, are in themselves "medicine." There is "virtue" in, or behind, +them. + +Is, then, to attribute "virtue" the same thing, necessarily, as to +attribute vitality? Are the spear-thrower and the bull-roarer +inevitably thought of as alive? Or are they, as a matter of course, +endowed with soul or spirit? Or may there be also an impersonal kind +of "virtue," "medicine," or whatever the wonder-working power in the +wonder-working thing is to be called? Now there is evidence that the +savage himself, in speaking about these matters, sometimes says power, +sometimes vitality, sometimes spirit. But the simplest way of +disposing of these questions is to remember that such fine distinctions +as these, which theorists may seek to draw, do not appeal at all to +the savage himself. For him the only fact that matters is that, whereas +some things in the world are ordinary, and can be reckoned on, other +things cannot be reckoned on, but are wonder-working. + +Moreover, of wonder-working things, some are good and some are bad. +To get all the good kind of wonder-workers on to his side, so as to +confound the bad kind--that is what his religion is there to do for +him. "May blessings come, may mischiefs go!" is the import of his +religious striving, whether anthropologists class it as spell or as +prayer. + +Now the function of religion, it has been assumed, is to restore +confidence, when man is mazed, and out of his depth, fearful of the +mysteries that obtrude on his life, yet compelled, if not exactly +wishful, to face them and wrest from them whatever help is in them. +This function religion fulfils by what may be described in one word +as "suggestion." How the suggestion works psychologically--how, for +instance, association of ideas, the so-called "sympathetic magic," +predominates at the lower levels of religious experience--is a +difficult and technical question which cannot be discussed here. +Religion stands by when there is something to be done, and suggests +that it can be done well and successfully; nay, that it is being so +done. And, when the religion is of the effective sort, the believers +respond to the suggestion, and put the thing through. As the Latin +poet says, "they can because they think they can." + +What, from the anthropological point of view, is the effective sort +of religion, the sort that survives because, on the whole, those whom +it helps survive? It is dangerous to make sweeping generalizations, +but there is at any rate a good deal to be said for classing the world's +religions either as mechanical and ineffective, or as spiritual and +effective. The mechanical kind offers its consolations in the shape +of a set of implements. The "virtue" resides in certain rites and +formularies. These, as we have seen, are especially liable to harden +into mere mechanism when they are of the negative and precautionary +type. The spiritual kind of religion, on the other hand, which is +especially associated with the positive and active functions of life, +tends to read will and personality into the wonder-working powers that +it summons to man's aid. The will and personality in the worshippers +are in need not so much of implements as of more will and personality. +They get this from a spiritual kind of religion; which in one way or +another always suggests a society, a communion, as at once the means +and the end of vital betterment. + +To say that religion works by suggestion is only to say that it works +through the imagination. There is good make-believe as well as bad; +and one must necessarily imagine and make-believe in order to will. +The more or less inarticulate and intuitional forces of the mind, +however, need to be supplemented by the power of articulate reasoning, +if the will is to make good its twofold character of a faculty of ends +that is likewise a faculty of the means to those ends. Suggestion, +in short, must be purged by criticism before it can serve as the guide +of the higher life. To bring this point out will be the object of the +following chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER IX +MORALITY + + +Space is running out fast, and it is quite impossible to grapple with +the details of so vast a subject as primitive morality. For these the +reader must consult Dr. Westermarck's monumental treatise, _The Origin +and Development of the Moral Ideas_, which brings together an immense +quantity of facts, under a clear and comprehensive scheme of headings. +He will discover, by the way, that, whereas customs differ immensely, +the emotions, one may even say the sentiments, that form the raw +material of morality are much the same everywhere. + +Here it will be of most use to sketch the psychological groundwork +of primitive morality, as contrasted with morality of the more advanced +type. In pursuance of the plan hitherto followed, let us try to move +yet another step on from the purely exterior view of human life towards +our goal; which is to appreciate the true inwardness of human life--so +far at least as this is matter for anthropology, which reaches no +farther than the historic method can take it. + +It is, of course, open to question whether either primitive or advanced +morality is sufficiently of one piece to allow, as it were, a composite +photograph to be framed of either. For our present purposes, however, +this expedient is so serviceable as to be worth risking. Let us assume, +then, that there are two main stages in the historical evolution of +society, as considered from the standpoint of the psychology of conduct. +I propose to term them the synnomic and the syntelic phases of society. +"Synnomic" (from the Greek _nomos_, custom) means that customs are +shared. "Syntelic" (from the Greek _telos_, end) means that ends are +shared. + +The synnomic phase is, from the psychological point of view, a kingdom +of habit; the syntelic phase is a kingdom of reflection. The former +is governed by a subconscious selection of its standards of good and +bad; the latter by a conscious selection of its standards. It remains +to show very briefly how such a difference comes about. + +The outstanding fact about the synnomic life of the ruder peoples is +perhaps this--that there is hardly any privacy. Of course, many other +drawbacks must be taken into account also--no wide-thrown +communications, no analytic language, no writing, no books, and so +on; but perhaps being in a crowd all the time is the worst drawback +of all. For, as Disraeli says in _Sybil_, gregariousness is not +association. Constant herding and huddling together hinders the +development of personality. That independence of character which is +the prime condition of syntelic society cannot mature, even though +the germs be there. No one has a chance of withdrawing into his own +soul. Therefore the individual does not experience that silent +conversation with self which is reflection. Instead of turning inwards, +he turns outwards. In short, he imitates. + +But how, it may be objected, does evolution take place, if every one +imitates every one else? Certainly, it looks at first sight like a +vicious circle. Nevertheless, there is room for a certain progress, +or at any rate for a certain process of change. To analyse its +psychological springs would take us too long. If a phrase will do +instead of an explanation, we may sum them up, with the brilliant French +psychologist, Tarde, as "a cross-fertilization of imitations." We need +not, however, go far to get an impression of how this process of change +works. It is going on every day in our midst under the name of "change +of fashion." When one purchases the latest thing in ties or straw hats, +one is not aiming at a rational form of dress. If there is progress +in this direction, it is subconscious. The underlying spiritual +condition is not inaptly described by Dr. Lloyd Morgan as "a +sheep-through-the-gapishness." + +From a moral point of view, this lack of capacity for private judgment +is equivalent to a want of moral freedom. We have seen how relatively +external are the sanctions of savage life. This does not mean, of course, +that there is no answering judgment in the mind of the individual when +he follows his customs. He says, "It is the custom; therefore it is +right." But this judgment can scarcely be said to proceed from a truly +judging, that is to say, critical, self. The man watches his neighbours, +taking his cue from them. His judgment is a judgment of sense. He does +not look inwards to principle. A moral principle is a standard that +can, by means of thought, be transferred from one sensible situation +to another sensible situation. The general law, and its application +to the situation present now to the senses, are considered apart, +before being put together. Consequently, a possible application, +however strongly suggested by custom, fashion, the action of one's +neighbours, one's own impulse or prejudice, or what not, can be +resisted, if it appear on reflection not to be really suited to the +circumstances. In short, in order to be rational and "put two and two +together," one must be able to entertain two and two as distinct +conceptions. Perceptions, on the contrary, can only be compared in +the lump. Just as in the chapter on language we saw how man began by +talking in holophrases, and only gradually attained to analytic, that +is, separable, elements of speech, so in this chapter we have to note +the strictly parallel development from confusion to distinction on +the side of thought. + +Savage morality, then, is not rational in the sense of analysed, but +is, so to speak, impressionistic. We might, perhaps, describe it as +the expression of a collective impression. It is best understood in +the light of that branch of social psychology which usually goes by +the name of "mob-psychology." Perhaps mob and mobbish are rather +unfortunate terms. They are apt to make us think of the wilder +explosions of collective feeling--panics, blood-mania, +dancing-epidemics, and so on. But, though a savage society is by no +means a mob in the sense of a weltering mass of humanity that has for +the time being lost its head, the psychological considerations +applying to the latter apply also to the former, when due allowance +has been made for the fact that savage society is organized on a +permanent basis. The difference between the two comes, in short, to +this, that the mob as represented in the savage society is a mob +consisting of many successive generations of men. Its tradition +constitutes, as it were, a prolonged and abiding impression, which +its conduct thereupon expresses. + +Savage thought, then, is not able, because it does not try, to break +up custom into separate pieces. Rather it plays round the edges of +custom; religion especially, with its suggestion of the general +sacredness of custom, helping it to do so. There is found in primitive +society plenty of vague speculation that seeks to justify the existing. +But to take the machine to bits in order to put it together differently +is out of the reach of a type of intelligence which, though competent +to grapple with details, takes its principles for granted. When +progress comes, it comes by stealth, through imitating the letter, +but refusing to imitate the spirit; until by means of legal fictions, +ritual substitutions, and so on, the new takes the place of the old +without any one noticing the fact. + +Freedom, in the sense of intellectual freedom, may perhaps be said +to have been born in one place and at one time--namely, in Greece in +the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.[7] Of course, minglings and +clashings of peoples had prepared the way. Ideas begin to count as +soon as they break away from their local context. But Greece, in +teaching the world the meaning of intellectual freedom, paved a way +towards that most comprehensive form of freedom which is termed moral. +Moral freedom is the will to give out more than you take in; to repay +with interest the cost of your social education. It is the will to +take thought about the meaning and end of human life, and by so doing +to assist in creative evolution. + +[Footnote 7: Political freedom, which is rather a different matter, +is perhaps pre-eminently the discovery of England.] + + + + +CHAPTER X +MAN THE INDIVIDUAL + + +By way of epilogue, a word about individuality, as displayed amongst +peoples of the ruder type, will not be out of place. There is a real +danger lest the anthropologist should think that a scientific view +of man is to be obtained by leaving out the human nature in him. This +comes from the over-anxiety of evolutionary history to arrive at +general principles. It is too ready to rule out the so-called +"accident," forgetful of the fact that the whole theory of biological +evolution may with some justice be described as "the happy accident +theory." The man of high individuality, then, the exceptional man, +the man of genius, be he man of thought, man of feeling, or man of +action, is no accident that can be overlooked by history. On the +contrary, he is in no small part the history-maker; and, as such, should +be treated with due respect by the history-compiler. The "dry bones" +of history, its statistical averages, and so on, are all very well +in their way; but they correspond to the superficial truth that history +repeats itself, rather than to the deeper truth that history is an +evolution. Anthropology, then, should not disdain what might be termed +the method of the historical novel. To study the plot without studying +the characters will never make sense of the drama of human life. + +It may seem a truism, but is perhaps worth recollecting at the start, +that no man or woman lacks individuality altogether, even if it cannot +be regarded in a particular case as a high individuality. No one is +a mere item. That useful figment of the statistician has no real +existence under the sun. We need to supplement the books of abstract +theory with much sympathetic insight directed towards men and women +in their concrete selfhood. Said a Vedda cave-dweller to Dr. Seligmann +(it is the first instance I light on in the first book I happen to +take up): "It is pleasant for us to feel the rain beating on our +shoulders, and good to go out and dig yams, and come home wet, and +see the fire burning in the cave, and sit round it." That sort of remark, +to my mind, throws more light on the anthropology of cave-life than +all the bones and stones that I have helped to dig out of our Mousterian +caves in Jersey. As the stock phrase has it, it is, as far as it goes, +a "human document." The individuality, in the sense of the intimate +self-existence, of the speaker and his group--for, characteristically +enough, he uses the first person plural--is disclosed sufficiently +for our souls to get into touch. We are the nearer to appreciating +human history from the inside. + +Some of those students of mankind, therefore, who have been privileged +to live amongst the ruder peoples, and to learn their language well, +and really to be friends with some of them (which is hard, since +friendship implies a certain sense of equality on both sides), should +try their hands at anthropological biography. Anthropology, so far +as it relates to savages, can never rise to the height of the most +illuminating kind of history until this is done. + +It ought not to be impossible for an intelligent white man to enter +sympathetically into the mental outlook of the native man of affairs, +the more or less practical and hardheaded legislator and statesman, +if only complete confidence could be established between the two. That +there are men of outstanding individuality who help to make political +history even amongst the rudest peoples is, moreover, hardly to be +doubted. Thus Messrs. Spencer and Gillen, in the introductory chapter +of their work on the Central Australians, state that, after observing +the conduct of a great gathering of the natives, they reached the +opinion that the changes which undoubtedly take place from time to +time in aboriginal custom are by no means wholly of the subconscious +and spontaneous sort, but are in part due also to the influence of +individuals of superior ability. "At this gathering, for example, some +of the oldest men were of no account; but, on the other hand, others +not so old as they were, but more learned in ancient lore or more skilled +in matters of magic, were looked up to by the others, and they it was +who settled everything. It must, however, be understood that we have +no definite proof to bring forward of the actual introduction by this +means of any fundamental change of custom. The only thing that we can +say is that, after carefully watching the natives during the +performance of their ceremonies and endeavouring as best we could to +enter into their feelings, to think as they did, and to become for +the time being one of themselves, we came to the conclusion that if +one or two of the most powerful men settled upon the advisability of +introducing some change, even an important one, it would be quite +possible for this to be agreed upon and carried out." + +This passage is worth quoting at length if only for the admirable method +that it discloses. The policy of "trying to become for the time being +one of themselves" resulted in the book that, of all first-hand studies, +has done most for modern anthropology. At the same time Messrs. Spencer +and Gillen, it is evident, would not claim to have done more than +interpret the external signs of a high individuality on the part of +these prominent natives. It still remains a rare and almost unheard-of +thing for an anthropologist to be on such friendly terms with a savage +as to get him to talk intimately about himself, and reveal the real +man within. + +There exist, however, occasional side-lights on human personality in +the anthropological literature that has to do with very rude peoples. +The page from a human document that I shall cite by way of example +is all the more curious, because it relates to a type of experience +quite outside the compass of ordinary civilized folk. Here and there, +however, something like it may be found amongst ourselves. My friend +Mr. L.P. Jacks, for instance, in his story-book, _Mad Shepherds_, has +described a rustic of the north of England who belonged to this +old-world order of great men. For men of the type in question can be +great, at any rate in low-level society. The so-called medicine man +is a leader, perhaps even the typical leader, of primitive society; +and, just because he is, by reason of his calling, addicted to privacy +and aloofness, he certainly tends to be more individual, more of a +"character," than the general run of his fellows. + +I shall slightly condense from Howitt's _Native Tribes of South-East +Australia_ the man's own story of his experience of initiation. Howitt +says, by the way, "I feel strongly assured that the man believed that +the events which he related were real, and that he had actually +experienced them"; and then goes on to talk about "subjective +realities." I myself offer no commentary. Those interested in +psychical research will detect hypnotic trance, levitation, and so +forth. Others, versed in the spirit of William James' _Varieties of +Religious Experience_, will find an even deeper meaning in it all. +The sociologist, meanwhile, will point to the force of custom and +tradition, as colouring the whole experience, even when at its most +subjective and dreamlike. But each according to his bent must work +out these things for himself. In any case it is well that the end of +a book should leave the reader still thinking. + +The speaker was a Wiradjuri doctor of the Kangaroo totem. He said: +"My father is a Lizard-man. When I was a small boy, he took me into +the bush to train me to be a doctor. He placed two large quartz-crystals +against my breast, and they vanished into me. I do not know how they +went, but I felt them going through me like warmth. This was to make +me clever, and able to bring things up." (This refers to the +medicine-man's custom of bringing up into the mouth, as if from the +stomach, the quartz-crystal in which his "virtue" has its chief +material embodiment or symbol; being likewise useful, as we see later +on, for hypnotizing purposes.) "He also gave me some things like +quartz-crystals in water. They looked like ice, and the water tasted +sweet. After that, I used to see things that my mother could not see. +When out with her I would say, 'What is out there like men walking?' +She used to say, 'Child, there is nothing.' These were the ghosts which +I began to see." + +The account goes on to state that at puberty our friend went through +the regular initiation for boys; when he saw the doctors bringing up +their crystals, and, crystals in mouth, shooting the "virtue" into +him to make him "good." Thereupon, being in a holy state like any other +novice, he had retired to the bush in the customary manner to fast +and meditate. + +"Whilst I was in the bush, my old father came out to me. He said, 'Come +here to me,' and then he showed me a piece of quartz-crystal in his +hand. When I looked at it, he went down into the ground; and I saw +him come up all covered with red dust. It made me very frightened. +Then my father said, 'Try and bring up a crystal.' I did try, and brought +one up. He then said, 'Come with me to this place.' I saw him standing +by a hole in the ground, leading to a grave. I went inside and saw +a dead man, who rubbed me all over to make me clever, and gave me some +crystals. When we came out, my father pointed to a tiger-snake, saying, +'That is your familiar. It is mine also.' There was a string extending +from the tail of the snake to us--one of those strings which the +medicine-men bring up out of themselves. My father took hold of the +string, and said, 'Let us follow the snake.' The snake went through +several tree-trunks, and let us through them. At last we reached a +tree with a great swelling round its roots. It is in such places that +Daramulun lives. The snake went down into the ground, and came up inside +the tree, which was hollow. We followed him. There I saw a lot of little +Daramuluns, the sons of Baiame. Afterwards, the snake took us into +a great hole, in which were a number of snakes. These rubbed themselves +against me, and did not hurt me, being my familiars. They did this +to make me a clever man and a doctor. + +"Then my father said, 'We will go up to Baiame's Camp.' [Amongst the +Wiradjuri, Baiame is the high god, and Daramulun is his son. What +'little Daramuluns' may be is not very clear.] He got astride a thread, +and put me on another, and we held by each other's arms. At the end +of the thread was Wombu, the bird of Baiame. We went up through the +clouds, and on the other side was the sky. We went through the place +where the doctors go through, and it kept opening and shutting very +quickly. My father said that, if it touched a doctor when he was going +through, it would hurt his spirit, and when he returned home he would +sicken and die. On the other side we saw Baiame sitting in his camp. +He was a very great old man with a long beard. He sat with his legs +under him, and from his shoulders extended two great quartz-crystals +to the sky above him. There were also numbers of the boys of Baiame, +and of his people who are birds and beasts. [The totems.] + +"After this time, and while I was in the bush, I began to bring crystals +up; but I became very ill, and cannot do anything since." + +_November, 1911_. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +INTRODUCTORY NOTE.--It is impossible to provide a bibliography of so +vast a subject, even when first-class authorities only are referred +to; whilst selection must be arbitrary and invidious. Here books +written in English are alone cited, and those mostly the more modern. +The reader is advised to spend such time as he can give to the subject +mostly on the descriptive treatises. A few very educative studies are +marked by an asterisk. In many cases, to save space, merely the author's +name with initials is given, and a library catalogue must be consulted, +or a list of authors such as is to be found, _e.g._ at the end of +Westermarck's works. + + +A. THEORETICAL + +GENERAL.--E.B. Tylor, _Anthropology_* (best manual); _Primitive +Culture_* (the greatest of anthropological classics); Lord Avebury's +works; _Anthropological Essays presented to E.B. Tylor_. + +ANTIQUITY OF MAN.--W.J. Sollas, _Ancient Hunters and their Modern +Representatives_ (best popular account). Subject difficult without +special knowledge, to be derived from, _e.g._ Sir J. Evans (Stone +Implements); J. Geikie (Geology of Ice Age), etc. See also Brit. Mus. +Guides to Stone Age, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age. + +RACE AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.--A.C. Haddon, _Races of Man_ and +_The Wanderings of Peoples_ (best short outlines to work from); fuller +details in J. Deniker, A.H. Keane; and, for Europe, W.Z. Ripley. See +also Brit. Mus. Guide to Ethnological Collections. + +SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND LAW.--J.G. Frazer, _Totemism and Exogamy_*; +L.H. Morgan, _Ancient Society_*; E. Westermarck, _History of Human +Marriage_*; E.S. Hartland, _Primitive Paternity_; A. Lang, _The Secret +of the Totem_; N.W. Thomas, _Kinship Organization and Group Marriage +in Australia_; H. Webster, _Primitive Secret Societies_. + +RELIGION, MAGIC, FOLK-LORE.--J.G. Frazer, _The Golden Bough_* (3rd +edit.); E.S. Hartland, _The Legend of Perseus_ (esp. vol. ii); A. Lang, +_Myth, Ritual and Religion_,* _The Making of Religion_, etc.; W. +Robertson Smith, _Early Religion of the Semites_*; F.B. Jevons, A.C. +Crawley, D.G. Brinton, G.L. Gomme, L.R. Farnell, R.R. Marett, etc. + +MORALS.--E. Westermarck, _Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas_*; +E.B. Tylor, _Contemp. Rev._ xxi-ii; L.T. Hobhouse, _Morals in +Evolution_; A. Sutherland, _Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct_. + +MISCELLANEOUS.--Language: E.J. Payne, _History of the New World called +America_,* vol. ii. Art: Y. Hirn, _Origins of Art_.* Economics: P.J.H. +Grierson, _The Silent Trade_. + + +B. DESCRIPTIVE + +AUSTRALIA.--B. Spencer and F.J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central +Australia_,* _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_; A.W. Howitt, +_Native Tribes of South-east Australia_*; J. Woods (and others), +_Native Tribes of South Australia_; L. Fison and A.W. Howitt, +_Kamilaroi and Kurnai_; H. Ling Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_. + +OCEANIA AND INDONESIA.--R.H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_*; B.H. +Thompson, _The Fijians_; A.C. Haddon (and others), _Report of +Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits_; C.G. Seligmann (for New +Guinea); G. Turner, W. Ellis, E. Shortland, R. Taylor (for Polynesia); +A.R. Wallace, _Malay Archipelago_; C. Hose and W. McDougall (for +Indonesia). + +ASIA.--J.J.M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_; W.H.R. Rivers, +_The Todas_*; and a host of other good authorities for India, _e.g._ +Sir H.H. Risley, E. Thurston, W. Crooke, T.C. Hodson, P.R.T. Gurdon, +C.G. and B.Z. Seligmann (Veddas of Ceylon); E.H. Man, _Journ. R. +Anthrop. Instit._ xii (Andamanese); W. Skeat (for Malay Peninsula). + +AFRICA.--South: H. Callaway, E. Casalis, J. Maclean, D. Kidd. East: +A.C. Hollis, J. Roscoe, W.S. and K. Routledge, A. Werner. West: M.H. +Kingsley, A.B. Ellis. Madagascar: W. Ellis. + +AMERICA.--A vast number of important works, see esp. _Smithsonian +Institution_, _Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (J.W. Powell, F. +Boas, F. Cushing, A.C. Fletcher, M.C. Stevenson, J.R. Swanton, C. +Mindeleff, S. Powers, J. Mooney, J.O. Dorsey, W.J. Hoffman, W.J. McGee, +etc.); L.H. Morgan (on Iroquois), J. Teit, C. Hill Tout; C. Lumholtz, +_Unknown Mexico_; Sir E. im Thurn, _Among the Indians of Guiana_. + +EUROPE.--Ancient: L.R. Farnell, _Cults of the Greek States_; J.E. +Harrison, _Prolegomena to Greek Religion_; W. Warde Fowler, _Religious +Experience of the Roman People_; _Anthropology and the Classics_, etc. +Modern: G.F. Abbott, C. Lawson (to compare modern with ancient), +Folk-lore Society's Publications, etc. + + +C. SUBSIDIARY + +C. Darwin, _Descent of Man_ (Part I); W. Bagehot, _Physics and +Politics_*; W. James, _Varieties of Religious Experience_*; W. +McDougall, _Introduction to Social Psychology_.* And in this series +Geddes and Thomson, Newbigin, Myres, McDougall, Keith. + + + + +INDEX + + +Adultery, 195 + +Africans, 41, 100, 118, 127, 158, 193, 194, 195, 199 + +Age-grades, 176 + +Alpine race, 106 + +Altamira, 52 + +Americans, 40, 97, 100, 110-114, 124, 128, 133, 138-147, 157, 163, +174, 192, 199 + +Andamanese, 160, 188, 193 + +Anglo-Saxons, 193 + +Animatism, 230 + +Animism, 228, 230 + +Anthropo-geography, 23, 84, 95-101, 115, 129 + +Anthropoid apes, 23, 37, 76-79, 81, 84, 111, 115, 117 + +Anthropology, 7-30, 186, 204, 227, 242, 244 + +Asiatics, 37, 59, 82, 99, 105-111, 114-118, 120-122, 128, 132, 133, +142, 150, 160-162, 183, 188, 194, 216-219 + +Athapascan languages, 112 + +Atlantic phase of culture, 102 + +Aurignac, 48 + +Australians, 39, 49, 51, 52, 54, 118, 120, 127, 147, 157, 162, 167, +174, 190, 191, 198, 207, 219-227, 231, 244-250 + + +Bagehot, W., 84, 185, 187, 201 + +Baiame, 249, 250 + +Balfour, H., 40 + +Basque language, 55, 132, 134 + +Biology, 10, 13 + +Bison, 49, 51, 79, 100 + +Blood-revenge, 189-194 + +Boas, F., 75, 85 + +Borneo, 101, 184 + +Brandon, 56, 59 + +Bronze-age, 32, 55, 107 + +Bull-roarer, 125-128, 207, 226, 231 + +Burial, 35, 79, 177, 202, 206, 248 + +Bushmen, 39, 81, 87, 108, 119, 126, 160 + +Butler, S., 66 + +Buzz, 128 + + +Calaveras skull, 40 + +Cannibalism, 37 + +Cartailhac, E., 34 + +Carthage, 105 + +Caste, 144, 179 + +Cave-paintings, 21, 47-53, 221 + +Chelles, 77 + +China, 106, 108, 115, 142 + +Chukchis, 110 + +Clan, 161, 171, 175, 189, 197, 203 + +Class (matrimonial), 172 + +Climate, 83-86, 101, 103, 117, 156 + +Cogul, 53 + +Collective responsibility, 189, 192 + +Colour, 82-86 + +Commont, V., 33 + +Confederacy, 174 + +Consanguinity, 163 + +Conservatism of savage, 113, 124, 183, 184, 213, 245 + +Counting, 25, 148, 150 + +Cranial index, 74 + +Cranz, D., 191 + +Creswell Crags, 47 + +Cro-Magnon, 80 + +Custom, 38, 183-187, 213-215, 223, 227, 238, 245, 247 + + +Dahomey, 158, 194 + +Dairy-ritual, 216-219 + +Daramulun, 207, 226, 249 + +Darwin, C., 8-11, 22, 64, 65, 69, 132, 157 + +Demolins, E., 98, 111 + +Differential evolution, 121 + +Dog, 118 + +Dubois, E., 76 + +Duel, 191, 195, 198 + + +Egypt, 102, 105, 107, 115 + +Endogamy, 165, 173 + +Environment, 69, 70, 75, 93, 94-129 + +Eoliths, 41-48 + +Eskimo, 39, 111, 190, 191 + +Eugenics, 63, 70, 93, 95 + +Eurasian region, 106-110 + +Europeans, 33-59, 75, 77-82, 93, 102-105, 108, 109, 124, 126, 127, +133, 185, 193, 202, 230, 241 + +Evans, Sir J., 42, 124 + +Evolution, 7-12, 14, 22, 61-72, 136, 205 + +Exogamy, 159, 161-165, 168, 169, 172, 173, 220 + +Experimental psychology, 23, 88 + + +Family, 159, 160, 164, 171, 178, 196 + +Family jurisdiction, 196 + +Flint-mining, 56, 57 + +Folk-lore, 186, 210 + +Frazer, J.G., 163, 172, 200 + +Freedom, 130, 154, 181, 185, 238, 241 + +Fuegians, 138-140, 145 + + +Galley Hill skull, 46, 80 + +Gargas, 47-50 + +Genealogical method, 147 + +Gesture-language, 134, 149 + +Ghosts, 229, 230, 248 + +Gibraltar skull, 78 + +Greece, 127, 157, 172, 185, 241 + +Greenwell, W., 56 + +Grime's Graves, 56 + + +Haddon, A.H., 88, 127 + +Haeckel, E., 118 + +Hand-prints, 49 + +Harrison, B., 41, 44 + +Head-form, 73-82, 107 + +Head-hunting, 185 + +Heidelberg mandible, 77 + +History, 11, 13-15, 30, 97, 156, 227, 242 + +Hittites, 107 + +Hobhouse, L.T., 160 + +Holophrase, 140-152, 239 + +Horse, 37, 50, 100, 108 + +Howitt, A.W., 163, 231, 246 + +Humility, 212 + + +Ice-age, 21, 33, 36, 38, 46, 106, 112, 132 + +Icklingham, 38 + +Imagination, 28, 213, 223, 234 + +Incest, 189, 200 + +India, 115 + +Individuality, 29, 241-250 + +Indo-European languages, 133 + +Indonesia, 116, 118, 121, 184 + +Initiation, 127, 174, 176, 211, 224-227, 246-250 + +Instinct, 23, 68, 71, 89-91 + +Intichiuma ceremonies, 51, 167, 220-223 + +Iron-age, 40, 119 + + +Jacks, L.P., 246 + +James, W., 247 + +Jersey, 32, 36, 45, 243 + + +Kellor, F.A., 91 + +Kent's cavern, 46 + +Kingship, 194, 195, 200, 202 + +Kinship, 163, 177 + +Knappers, 57, 58 + +Koryaks, 110 + + +La Chapelle-aux-Saints, 79 + +Lamarck, J.B., 64, 65 + +La Naulette mandible, 78 + +Lang, A., 187, 226 + +Language, 24, 130-152 + +Lapps, 110 + +Law, 26, 181-203 + +Lecky, T., 102 + +Le Moustier, 38, 45-47, 79 + +Le Play, F., 98 + +Levy-Bruhl, L., 138 + +Lineage, 165, 168 + +Lloyd Morgan, C., 238 + +Local association, 177 + +Luck, 167, 200, 213, 215 + + +McDougall, W., 90 + +Madagascar, 114, 158 + +Magic, 27, 51, 177, 202, 208-210, 224, 245, 247 + +Malaya, 114, 122, 126 + +Malthus, T., 69, 157 + +Mammoth, 37, 78, 111, 132 + +Man, E.H., 188, 198 + +Mas d'Azil, 54 + +Masks, 53 + +Matriarchate, 166 + +Matrilineal, matrilocal, matripotestal, 165, 196 + +Medicine-man, 246-250 + +Mediterranean race, 104, 109, 119 + +Melanesians, 116, 121, 128 + +Mendelism, 67 + +Mentone, 35 + +Military discipline, 192, 199 + +Miscegenation, 93 + +Mob-psychology, 92, 201, 239-241 + +Moieties, 175 + +Morality, 29, 235-241 + +Mother-right, 166, 169, 197 + +Myres, J.L., 102 + + +Nation, 174 + +Natural selection, 68-71, 84 + +Nature, 15, 82, 155, 211, 230 + +Neanderthal race, 37, 39, 77-81, 87, 120, 206 + +Negative rites, 216-219, 234 + +Negritos, 81, 116-118, 120, 160, 188 + +Negro race, 80, 91, 116, 120 + +Neolithic age, 40, 53-59, 81, 104, 109 + +Niaux, 50-53 + +Nordic race, 109 + + +Ordeal, 191, 195 + + +Pacation, 192, 195 + +Painted pebbles, 54 + +Palaeolithic age, 40, 43-54, 108, 124 + +Papuasians, 116 + +Patagonians, 114 + +Patrilineal, patrilocal, patripotestal, 165, 196 + +Payne, E.J., 138 + +Persecuting tendency, 187 + +Perthes, Boucher de, 43 + +Phantasm, 229 + +Philosophy, 15-17, 72, 154, 223 + +Phratry, 172 + +Pictographs, 51 + +Pithecanthropus erectus, 76, 115 + +Policy, 17-19 + +Polynesians, 121, 128, 183, 194 + +Positive rites, 219-224, 234 + +Pottery, 33, 55 + +Pre-Dravidians, 120 + +Pre-historic chronology, 34 + +Pre-history, 21, 31, 97, 111 + +Pre-natal environment, 94 + +Prestwich, Sir J., 42 + +Profane vessels, 217 + +Property, 179, 192, 195, 198 + +Proto-history, 31, 97 + + +Quartz crystals, 248-250 + + +Race, 22, 59-94, 96, 99 + +Ratzel, F., 98 + +Reincarnation, 167, 221, 224 + +Reindeer, 37, 55, 78, 106, 110 + +Religion, 27, 49, 127, 166-168, 204-235, 246-250 + +Ridgeway, W., 107 + +Rites, 212, 219-224, 234 + +River-phase of culture, 102 + +Rivers, W.H.R., 147, 216, 219 + +Rutot, A., 41, 46 + + +Sacramental meal, 222 + +Sacredness, 28, 52, 127, 168, 203, 213, 217, 218, 224, 226 + +St. Acheul, 33, 45, 46 + +Sanction, 195, 203 + +Savagery, 11, 158 + +Science, 12-15 + +Secret Societies, 177 + +Seligmann, C.G. and B.Z., 161, 243 + +Sex-totems, 176 + +Shaw, B., 66 + +Slander, 198 + +Slavery, 179 + +Smith, W. Robertson, 213 + +Snare, F., 57 + +Social organization, 24-26, 152-181 + +Solutre, 47, 108 + +Spear-thrower, 231 + +Spencer, B., and Gillen, F.J., 39, 163, 175, 220, 244 + +Spirit, 228, 229 + +Steinmetz, S.R., 197 + +Stratigraphical method, 31-36 + +Suggestion, 233-235, 237-240 + +Survivals, 186 + +Sutherland, A., 157 + +Sympathetic magic, 126, 233 + +Synnomic phase of society 236 + +Syntelic phase of society, 236 + + +Taboo, 200-203, 215, 218 + +Tasmanians, 39-44 + +Thames gravels, 38-44, 46 + +Theft, 198 + +Todas, 210-219 + +Torres Straits, 88 + +Totemism, 160, 166-168, 175, 189, 220-223, 250 + +Tribe, 173 + +Tylor, E.B., 184, 228-230 + + +Use-inheritance, 64, 93 + + +Variation, 66-68 + +Veddas, 120, 160, 243 + + +Wallace, A.R., 69, 118, 184 + +Wealden dome, 43 + +Weismann, A., 65, 66 + +Westermarck, E., 235 + +Witchcraft, 202, 210 + + + + +The Home University Library _of Modern Knowledge_ + +Is made up of absolutely new books by leading authorities. The editors +are _Professors Gilbert Murray_, _H.A.L. Fisher_, _W.T. Brewster_, +_and J. Arthur Thomson_. + +Cloth bound, good paper, clear type, 256 pages per volume, +bibliographies, indices, also maps or illustrations where needed. Each +complete and sold separately. + +50c. per volume + + +AMERICAN HISTORY + +[_Order +number_] + +47. The Colonial Period (1607-1766). +By CHARLES MCLEAN ANDREWS, Professor of American History, Yale. The +fascinating history of the two hundred years of "colonial times." + +82. The Wars Between England and America (1763-1815). +By THEODORE C. SMITH, Professor of American History, Williams College. +A history of the period, with especial emphasis on The Revolution and +The War of 1812. + +67. From Jefferson to Lincoln (1815-1860). +By WILLIAM MACDONALD, Professor of History, Brown University. The +author makes the history of this period circulate about constitutional +ideas and slavery sentiment. + +25. The Civil War (1854-1865). +By FREDERIC L. PAXSON, Professor of American History, University of +Wisconsin. + +39. Reconstruction and Union (1865-1912). +By PAUL LELAND HAWORTH, A History of the United States in our own times. + + +GENERAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY + +92. The Ancient East. +By D.G. HOGARTH, M.A., F.B.A., F.S.A. Connects with Prof. Myres's _Dawn +of History_ (No. 26) at about 1000 B.C. and reviews the history of +Assyria, Babylon, Cilicia, Persia and Macedon. + +94. The Navy and Sea Power. +By DAVID HANNAY, author of _Short History of the Royal Navy_, etc. +A brief history of the navies, sea power, and ship growth of all nations, +including the rise and decline of America on the sea, and explains +the present British supremacy thereon. + +78. Latin America. +By WILLIAM R. SHEPHERD, Professor of History, Columbia. With maps. +The historical, artistic, and commercial development of the Central +South American republics. + +76. The Ocean. A General Account of the Science of the Sea. +By SIR JOHN MURRAY, K.C.B., Naturalist H.M.S. "Challenger," 1872-1876, +joint author of _The Depths of the Ocean_, etc. + +86. Exploration of the Alps. +By ARNOLD LUNN, M.A. + +72. Germany of To-day. +By CHARLES TOWER. + +57. Napoleon. +By H.A.L. FISHER, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield University. Author of +_The Republican Tradition in Europe_, etc. + +26. The Dawn of History. +By J.L. MYRES, Professor of Ancient History, Oxford. + +30. Rome. +By W. WARDE FOWLER, author of _Social Life at Rome_, etc. "A masterly +sketch of Roman character and what it did for the world."--_London +Spectator_. + +84. The Growth of Europe. +By GRANVILLE COLE, Professor of Geology, Royal College of Science, +Ireland. A study of the geology and physical geography in connection +with the political geography. + +13. Medieval Europe. +By H.W.C. DAVIS, Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, author of +_Charlemagne_, etc. + +33. The History of England. +By A.F. POLLARD, Professor of English History, University of London. + +100. Poland. +By W. ALISON PHILLIPS, University of Dublin. A history with special +emphasis upon the Polish question of to-day. + +95. Belgium. +By R.C.K. ENSOR, Sometime Scholar of Balliol College. The geographical, +linguistic, historical, artistic, and literary associations. + +3. The French Revolution. +By HILAIRE BELLOC. + +4. A Short History of War and Peace. +By G.H. PERRIS, author of _Russia in Revolution_, etc. + +20. History of Our Time (1885-1911). +By G.P. GOOCH. A "moving picture" of the world since 1885. + +22. The Papacy and Modern Times. +By REV. WILLIAM BARRY, D.D., author of _The Papal Monarchy_, etc. The +story of the rise and fall of the Temporal Power. + +8. Polar Exploration. +By DR. W.S. BRUCE, Leader of the "Scotia" expedition. Emphasizes the +results of the expeditions. + +18. The Opening-up of Africa. +By SIR H.H. JOHNSTON. The first living authority on the subject tells +how and why the "Native races" went to the various parts of Africa +and summarizes its exploration and colonization. + +19. The Civilization of China. +By H.A. GILES, Professor of Chinese, Cambridge. + +36. Peoples and Problems of India. +By SIR T.W. HOLDERNESS. "The best small treatise dealing with the range +of subjects fairly indicated by the title."--_The Dial_. + +7. Modern Geography. +By DR. MARION NEWBIGIN. Shows the relation of physical features to +living things and to some of the chief institutions of civilization. + +51. Master Mariners. +By JOHN R. SPEARS, author of _The History of Our Navy_, etc. A history +of sea craft adventure from the earliest times. + + +SOCIAL SCIENCE + +91. The Negro. +By W.E. BURGHARDT DUBOIS, author of _Souls of Black Folks_, etc. A +history of the black man in Africa, America or wherever else his +presence has been or is important. + +77. Co-Partnership and Profit Sharing. +By ANEURIN WILLIAMS, Chairman, Executive Committee, International +Co-operative Alliance, etc. Explains the various types of +co-partnership or profit-sharing, or both, and gives details of the +arrangements now in force in many of the great industries. + +98. Political Thought: From Herbert Spencer to the Present Day. +By ERNEST BARKER, M.A. + +99. Political Thought: The Utilitarians. From Benthan to J.S. Mill. +By WILLIAM L. DAVIDSON. + +79. Unemployment. +By A.C. PIGOU, M.A., Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge. The +meaning, measurement, distribution, and effects of unemployment, its +relation to wages, trade fluctuations, and disputes, and some +proposals of remedy or relief. + +80. Common-Sense in Law. +By PROF. PAUL VINOGRADOFF, D.C.L., LL.D. Social and Legal Rules--Legal +Rights and Duties--Facts and Acts in Law--Legislation--Custom--Judicial +Precedents--Equity--The Law of Nature. + +49. Elements of Political Economy. +By S.J. CHAPMAN, Professor of Political Economy and Dean of Faculty +of Commerce and Administration, University of Manchester. + +11. The Science of Wealth. +By J.A. HOBSON, author of _Problems of Poverty_. A study of the +structure and working of the modern business world. + +1. Parliament. Its History, Constitution, and Practice. +By SIR COURTENAY P. ILBERT, Clerk of the House of Commons. + +16. Liberalism. +By PROF. L.T. HOBHOUSE, author of _Democracy and Reaction_. A masterly +philosophical and historical review of the subject. + +5. The Stock Exchange. +By F.W. HIRST, Editor of the London _Economist_. Reveals to the +non-financial mind the facts about investment, speculation, and the +other terms which the title suggests. + +10. The Socialist Movement. +By J. RAMSAY MACDONALD, Chairman of the British Labor Party. + +28. The Evolution of Industry. +By D.H. MACGREGOR, Professor of Political Economy, University of Leeds. +An outline of the recent changes that have given us the present +conditions of the working classes and the principles involved. + +29. Elements of English Law. +By W.M. GELDART, Vinerian Professor of English Law, Oxford. A simple +statement of the basic principles of the English legal system on which +that of the United States is based. + +32. The School: An Introduction to the Study of Education. +By J.J. FINDLAY, Professor of Education, Manchester. Presents the +history, the psychological basis, and the theory of the school with +a rare power of summary and suggestion. + +6. Irish Nationality. +By MRS. J.R. GREEN. A brilliant account of the genius and mission of +the Irish people. + + +NATURAL SCIENCE + +68. Disease and Its Causes. +By W.T. COUNCILMAN, M.D., LL.D., Professor of Pathology, Harvard +University. + +85. Sex. +By J. ARTHUR THOMPSON and PATRICK GEDDES, joint authors of _The +Evolution of Sex_. + +71. Plant Life. +By J.B. FARMER, D.Sc., F.R.S., Professor of Botany in the Imperial +College of Science. This very fully illustrated volume contains an +account of the salient features of plant form and function. + +63. The Origin and Nature of Life. +By BENJAMIN M. MOORE, Professor of Bio-Chemistry, Liverpool. + +90. Chemistry. +By RAPHAEL MELDOLA, F.R.S., Professor of Chemistry, Finsbury Technical +College. Presents the way in which the science has developed and the +stage it has reached. + +53. Electricity. +By GISBERT KAPP, Professor Of Electrical Engineering, University of +Birmingham. + +54. The Making of the Earth. +By. J.W. GREGORY, Professor of Geology, Glasgow University. 38 maps +and figures. Describes the origin of the earth, the formation and +changes of its surface and structure, its geological history, the first +appearance of life, and its influence upon the globe. + +56. Man: A History of the Human Body. +By A. KEITH, M.D., Hunterian Professor, Royal College of Surgeons. +Shows how the human body developed. + +74. Nerves. +By DAVID FRASER HARRIS, M.D., Professor of Physiology, Dalhousie +University, Halifax. Explains in non-technical language the place and +powers of the nervous system. + +21. An Introduction to Science. +By PROF. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, Science Editor Of the Home University +Library. For those unacquainted with the scientific volumes in the +series, this would prove an excellent introduction. + +14. Evolution. +By PROF. J. ARTHUR THOMSON and PROF. PATRICK GEDDES. Explains to the +layman what the title means to the scientific world. + +23. Astronomy. +By A.R. HINKS, Chief Assistant at the Cambridge Observatory. +"Decidedly original in substance, and the most readable and +informative little book on modern astronomy we have seen for a long +time."--_Nature_. + +24. Psychical Research. +By PROF. W.F. BARRETT, formerly President of the Society for Psychical +Research. A strictly scientific examination. + +9. The Evolution of Plants. +By DR. D.H. SCOTT, President of the Linnean Society of London. The +story of the development of flowering plants, from the earliest +zoological times, unlocked from technical language. + +43. Matter and Energy. +By F. SODDY, Lecturer in Physical Chemistry and Radioactivity, +University of Glasgow. "Brilliant. Can hardly be surpassed. Sure to +attract attention."--_New York Sun_. + +41. Psychology, The Study of Behaviour. +By WILLIAM MCDOUGALL, of Oxford. A well digested summary of the +essentials of the science put in excellent literary form by a leading +authority. + +42. The Principles of Physiology. +By PROF. J.G. MCKENDRICK. A compact statement by the Emeritus Professor +at Glasgow, for uninstructed readers. + +37. Anthropology. +By R.R. MARETT, Reader in Social Anthropology, Oxford. Seeks to plot +out and sum up the general series of changes, bodily and mental, +undergone by man in the course of history. "Excellent. So enthusiastic, +so clear and witty, and so well adapted to the general +reader."--_American Library Association Booklist_. + +17. Crime and Insanity. +By DR. C.A. MERCIER, author of _Text-Book of Insanity_, etc. + +12. The Animal World. +By PROF. F.W. GAMBLE. + +15. Introduction to Mathematics. +By A.N. WHITEHEAD, author of _Universal Algebra_. + + +PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION + +69. A History of Freedom of Thought. +By JOHN B. BURY, M.A., LL.D., Regius Professor of Modern History in +Cambridge University. Summarizes the history of the long struggle +between authority and reason and of the emergence of the principle +that coercion of opinion is a mistake. + +55. Missions: Their Rise and Development. +By MRS. MANDELL CREIGHTON, author of _History of England_. The author +seeks to prove that missions have done more to civilize the world than +any other human agency. + +52. Ethics. +By G.E. MOORE, Lecturer in Moral Science, Cambridge. Discusses what +is right and what is wrong, and the whys and wherefores. + +65. The Literature of the Old Testament. +By GEORGE F. MOORE, Professor of the History of Religion, Harvard +University. "A popular work of the highest order. Will be profitable +to anybody who cares enough about Bible study to read a serious book +on the subject."--_American Journal of Theology_ + +50. The Making of the New Testament. +By B.W. BACON, Professor of New Testament Criticism, Yale. An +authoritative summary of the results of modern critical research with +regard to the origins of the New Testament. + +96. A History of Philosophy. +By CLEMENT C.J. WEBB, Oxford. + +35. The Problems of Philosophy. +By BERTRAND RUSSELL, Lecturer and Late Fellow, Trinity College, +Cambridge. + +44. Buddhism. +By MRS. RHYS DAVIDS, Lecturer on Indian Philosophy, Manchester. + +46. English Sects: A History of Nonconformity. +By W.B. SELBIE, Principal of Manchester College, Oxford. + +60. Comparative Religion. +By PROF. J. ESTLIN CARPENTER. + +88. Religious Development Between Old and New Testaments. +By R.H. CHARLES, Canon of Westminster. Shows how religious and ethical +thought grew between 180 B.C. and 100 A.D. + + +LITERATURE AND ART + +73. Euripides and His Age. +By GILBERT MURRAY, Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford. + +81. Chaucer and His Times. +By GRACE E. HADOW, Lecturer Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford; Late Reader, +Bryn Mawr. + +70. Ancient Art and Ritual. +By JANE E. HARRISON, LL.D., D.Litt. "One of the 100 most important +books of 1913."--_New York Times Review_. + +61. The Victorian Age in Literature. +By G.K. CHESTERTON. + +97. Milton. +By JOHN BAILEY. + +59. Dr. Johnson and His Circle. +By JOHN BAILEY. Johnson's life, character, works, and friendships are +surveyed; and there is a notable vindication of the "Genius of +Boswell." + +58. The Newspaper. +By G. BINNEY DIBBLE. The first full account, from the inside, of +newspaper organization as it exists to-day. + +62. Painters and Painting. +By SIR FREDERIC WEDMORE. With 16 half-tone illustration. + +64. The Literature of Germany. +By J.G. ROBERTSON. + +48. Great Writers of America. +By W.P. TRENT and JOHN ERSKINE, of Columbia University. + +87. The Renaissance. +By EDITH SICHEL, author of _Catherine de Medici, Men and Women of the +French Renaissance_. + +101. Dante. +By JEFFERSON B. FLETCHER, Columbia University, An interpretation of +Dante and his teachings from his writings. + +93. An Outline of Russian Literature. +By MAURICE BARING, author of _The Russian People_, etc. Tolstoi, +Tourgenieff, Dostoieffsky, Pushkin (the father of Russian Literature), +Saltykov (the satirist), Leskov, and many other authors. + +40. The English Language. +By L.P. SMITH. A concise history of its origin and development. + +45. Medieval English Literature. +By W.P. KER, Professor of English Literature, University College, +London. "One of the soundest scholars. His style is effective, simple, +yet never dry."--_The Athenaeum_. + +89. Elizabethan Literature. +By J.M. ROBERTSON, M.P., author of _Montaigne and Shakespeare, Modern +Humanists_. + +27. Modern English Literature. +By G.H. MAIR. From Wyatt and Surrey to Synge and Yeats. "One of the +best of this great series."--_Chicago Evening Post_. + +2. Shakespeare. +By JOHN MASEFIELD. "One of the very few indispensable adjuncts to a +Shakespearean Library."--_Boston Transcript_. + +31. Landmarks in French Literature. +By G.L. STRACHEY, Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. "It is +difficult to imagine how a better account of French Literature could +be given in 250 pages."--_London Times_. + +38. Architecture. +By PROF. W.R. LETHABY. An introduction to the history and theory of +the art of building. + +66. Writing English Prose. +By WILLIAM T. BREWSTER, Professor of English, Columbia University. +"Should be put into the hands of every man who is beginning to write +and of every teacher of English that has brains enough to understand +sense."--_New York Sun_. + +83. William Morris: His Work and Influence. +By A. CLUTTON BROCK, author of _Shelley: The Man and the Poet_. William +Morris believed that the artist should toil for love of his work rather +than the gain of his employer, and so he turned from making works of +art to remaking society. + +75. Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle. +By H.N. BRAILSFORD. 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