The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs [antikvár]

The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs INTRODUCTION. The true origin of superstition is to be found in early man's effort to explain Nature and his own existence; in the desire to propitiate Fate and invite Fortune; in the wish to avoid evils he could not understand ; and in the unavoidable attempt to pry into the future. From these sources alone must have sprung that system of crude notions and practices still obtaining among savage nations; and although in more advanced nations the crude system gave place to attractive mythology, the moving power was still the same; man's interpretation of the world was equal to his ability to understand its mysteries— no more, no less. For this reason the superstitions which, to use a Darwinian word, persist^ are of special interest, as showing a psychological habit of some importance. Of this, more anon. The first note in all superstitions is that of ignorance. Take three representative and widely different cases. The first is a Chinaman living about one thousand years before Christ. He has before him the " Book of Changes," and is about to divine the future by gecmetrical figures; the second is a Roman lady,