pagan and christian creeds-第36章

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y　of　the　evolution　of　the　human　heart；　and　of　human　consciousness。　But　with　the　psychology　of　the　whole　subject　I　shall　deal　in　the　next　chapter。


I　may　here；　however；　dwell　for　a　moment　on　two　other　points　which　belong　properly　to　this　chapter。　I　have　already　mentioned　the　great　reliance　placed　by　the　advocates　of　a　unique　'revelation'　on　the　high　morality　taught　in　the　Gospels　and　the　New　Testament　generally。　There　is　no　need　of　course　to　challenge　that　morality　or　to　depreciate　it　unduly；　but　the　argument　assumes　that　it　is　so　greatly　superior　to　anything　of　the　kind　that　had　been　taught　before　that　we　are　compelled　to　suppose　something　like　a　revelation　to　explain　its　appearancewhereas　of　course　anyone　familiar　with　the　writings　of　antiquity；　among　the　Greeks　or　Romans　or　Egyptians　or　Hindus　or　later　Jews；　knows　perfectly　well　that　the　reported　sayings　of　Jesus　and　the　Apostles　may　be　paralleled　abundantly　from　these　sources。　I　have　illustrated　this　already　from　the　Sermon　on　the　Mount。　If　anyone　will　glance　at　the　Testament　of　the　Twelve　Patriarchsa　Jewish　book　composed　about　120　B。　C。he　will　see　that　it　is　full　of　moral　precepts；　and　especially　precepts　of　love　and　forgiveness；　so　ardent　and　so　noble　that　it　hardly　suffers　in　any　way　when　compared　with　the　New　Testament　teaching；　and　that　consequently　no　special　miracle　is　required　to　explain　the　appearance　of　the　latter。

The　twelve　Patriarchs　in　question　are　the　twelve　sons　of　Jacob；　and　the　book　consists　of　their　supposed　deathbed　scenes；　in　which　each　patriarch　in　turn　recites　his　own　（more　or　less　imaginary）　life　and　deeds　and　gives　pious　counsel　to　his　children　and　successors。　It　is　composed　in　a　fine　and　poetic　style；　and　is　full　of　lofty　thought；　remindful　in　scores　of　passages　of　the　Gospelswords　and　all　the　coincidences　being　too　striking　to　be　accidental。　It　evidently　had　a　deep　influence　on　the　authors　of　the　Gospels；　as　well　as　on　St。　Paul。　It　affirms　a　belief　in　the　coming　of　a　Messiah；　and　in　salvation　for　the　Gentiles。　The　following　are　some　quotations　from　it：＇1＇　Testament　of　Zebulun　（p。　116）：　〃My　children；　I　bid　you　keep　the　commands　of　the　Lord；　and　show　mercy　to　your　neighbours；　and　have　compassion　towards　all；　not　towards　men　only；　but　also　towards　beasts。〃　Dan　（p。　127）：　〃Love　the　Lord　through　all　your　life；　and　one　another　with　a　true　heart。〃　Joseph　（p。　173）：　〃I　was　sick；　and　the　Lord　visited　me；　in　prison；　and　my　God　showed　favor　unto　me。〃　Benjamin　（p。　209）：　〃For　as　the　sun　is　not　defiled　by　shining　on　dung　and　mire；　but　rather　drieth　up　both　and　driveth　away　the　evil　smell；　so　also　the　pure　mind；　encompassed　by　the　defilements　of　earth；　rather　cleanseth　them　and　is　not　itself　defiled。〃

＇1＇　The　references　being　to　the　Edition　by　R。　H。　Charles　（1907）。


I　think　these　quotations　are　sufficient　to　prove　the　high　standard　of　this　book；　which　was　written　in　the　Second　Century　B。　C。；　and　FROM　which　the　New　Testament　authors　copiously　borrowed。

The　other　point　has　to　do　with　my　statement　at　the　beginning　of　this　chapter　that　two　of　the　main　'characteristics'　of　Christianity　were　its　insistence　on　（a）　a　tendency　towards　renunciation　of　the　world；　and　a　consequent　cultivation　of　a　purely　spiritual　love；　and　（b）　on　a　morality　whose　inspiration　was　a　private　sense　of　duty　to　God　rather　than　a　public　sense　of　duty　to　one's　neighbor　and　to　society　generally。　I　think；　however；　that　the　last…mentioned　characteristic　ought　to　be　viewed　in　relation　to　a　third；　namely；　（c）　the　extraordinarily　DEMOCRATIC　tendency　of　the　new　Religion。＇1＇　Celsus　（A。D。　200）　jeered　at　the　early　Christians　for　their　extreme　democracy：　〃It　is　only　the　simpletons；　the　ignoble；　the　senselessslaves　and　womenfolk　and　childrenwhom　they　wish　to　persuade　＇to　join　their　churches＇　or　CAN　persuade〃〃wool…dressers　and　cobblers　and　fullers；　the　most　uneducated　and　vulgar　persons；〃　and　〃whosoever　is　a　sinner；　or　unintelligent　or　a　fool；　in　a　word；　whoever　is　god…forsaken　（）；　him　the　Kingdom　of　God　will　receive。〃＇2＇　Thus　Celsus；　the　accomplished；　clever；　philosophic　and　withal　humorous　critic；　laughed　at　the　new　religionists；　and　prophesied　their　speedy　extinction。　Nevertheless　he　was　mistaken。　There　is　little　doubt　that　just　the　inclusion　of　women　and　weaklings　and　outcasts　did　contribute　LARGELY　to　the　spread　of　Christianity　（and　Mithraism）。　It　brought　hope　and　a　sense　of　human　dignity　to　the　despised　and　rejected　of　the　earth。　Of　the　immense　numbers　of　lesser　officials　who　carried　on　the　vast　organization　of　the　Roman　Empire；　most　perhaps；　were　taken　from　the　ranks　of　the　freedmen　and　quondam　slaves；　drawn　from　a　great　variety　of　races　and　already　familiar　with　pagan　cults　of　all　kindsEgyptian；　Syrian；　Chaldean；　Iranian；　and　so　forth。＇3＇　This　fact　helped　to　give　to　Christianityunder　the　fine　tolerance　of　the　Empire　its　democratic　character　and　also　its　willingness　to　accept　all。　The　rude　and　menial　masses；　who　had　hitherto　been　almost　beneath　the　notice　of　Greek　and　Roman　culture；　flocked　in；　and　though　this　was　doubtless；　as　time　went　on；　a　source　of　weakness　to　the　Church；　and　a　cause　of　dissension　and　superstition；　yet　it　was　in　the　inevitable　line　of　human　evolution；　and　had　a　psychological　basis　which　I　must　now　endeavor　to　explain。

＇1＇　It　is　important　to　note；　however；　that　this　same　democratic　tendency　was　very　marked　in　Mithraism。　〃Il　est　certain；〃　says　Cumont；　〃qu'il　a　fait　ses　premieres　conquetes　dans　les　classes　inferieures　de　la　societe　et　c'est　l'a　un　fait　considerable；　le　mithracisme　est　reste　longtemps　la　religion　des　humbles。〃　Mysteres　de　Mithra；　p。　68。

＇2＇　See　Glover's　Conflict　of　Religions　in　the　early　Roman　Empire；　ch。　viii。

＇3＇　See　Toutain；　Cultes　paiens；　vol。　ii；　conclusion。



XIV。　THE　MEANING　OF　IT　ALL

The　general　drift　and　meaning　of　the　present　book　must　now；　I　think；　from　many　hints　scattered　in　the　course　of　it；　be　growing　clear。　But　it　will　be　well　perhaps　in　this　chapter；　at　the　risk　of　some　repetition；　to　bring　the　whole　argument　together。　And　the　argument　is　that　since　the　dawn　of　humanity　on　the　earthmany　hundreds　of　thousands　or　perhaps　a　million　years　agothere　has　been　a　slow　psychologic　evolution；　a　gradual　development　or　refinement　of　Consciousness；　which　at　a　certain　stage　has　spontaneously　given　birth　in　the　human　race　to　the　phenomena　of　religious　belief　and　religious　ritualthese　phenomena　（whether　in　the　race　at　large　or　in　any　branch　of　it）　always　following；　step　by　step；　a　certain　order　depending　on　the　degrees　of　psychologic　evolution　concerned；　and　that　it　is　this　general　fact　which　accounts　for　the　strange　similarities　of　belief　and　ritual　which　have　been　observed　all　over　the　world　and　in　places　far　remote　from　each　other；　and　which　have　been　briefly　noted　in　the　preceding　chapters。

And　the　main　stages　of　this　psychologic　evolutionthose　at　any　rate　with　which　we　are　here　concernedare　Three：　the　stage　of　Simple　Consciousness；　the　stage　of　Self…　consciousness；　and　a　third　Stage　which　for　want　of　a　better　word　we　may　term　the　stage　of　Universal　Consciousness。　Of　course　these　three　stages　may　at　some　future　time　be　analyzed　into　lesser　degrees；　with　useful　result　but　at　present　I　only　desire　to　draw　attention　to　them　in　the　rough；　so　to　speak；　to　show　that　it　is　from　them　and　from　their　passage　one　into　another　that　there　has　flowed　by　a　perfectly　natural　logic　and　concatenation　the　strange　panorama　of　humanity's　religious　evolutionits　superstitions　and　magic　and　sacrifices　and　dancings　and　ritual　generally；　and　later　its　incantations　and　prophecies；　and　services　of　speech　and　verse；　and　paintings　and　forms　of　art　and　figures　of　the　gods。　A　wonderful　Panorama　indeed；　or　poem　of　the　Centuries；　or；　if　you　like；　World…symphony　with　three　great　leading　motives！


And　first　we　have　the　stage　of　Simple　Consciousness。　For　hundreds　of　centuries　（we　cannot　doubt）　Man　possessed　a　degree　of　consciousness　not　radically　different　from　that　of　the　higher　Animals；　though　probably　more　quick　and　varied。　He　saw；　he　heard；　he　felt；　he　noted。　He　acted　or　reacted；　quickly　or　slowly；　in　response　to　these　impressions。　But　the　consciousness　of　himSELF；　as　a　being　separate　from　his　impressions；　as　separate　from　his　surroundings；　had　not　yet　arisen　or　taken　hold　on　him。　He　was　an　instinctive　part；　of　Nature。　And　in　this　respect　he　was　very　near　to　the　Animals。　Self…consciousness　in　the　animals；　in　a　germinal　form　is　there；　no　doubt；　but　EMBEDDED；　so　to　speak；　in　the　general　world　consciousness。　It　is　on　this　account　that　the　animals　have　such　a　marvellously　acute　perception　and　instinct；　being　embedded　in　Nature。　And　primitive　Man　had　the　same。　Also　we　must；　as　I　have　said　before；　allow　that　man　in　that　stage　must　have　had　the　same　sort　of　grace　and　perfection　of　form　and　movement　as　we　admire　in　the　（wild）　animals　now。　It　would　be　quite　unreasonable　to　suppose　that　he；　the　crown　in　the　same　sense　of　creation；　was　from　the　beginning　a　lame　and　ill…made　abortion。　For　a　long　period　the　tribes　of　men；　like　the　tribes　of　the　higher　animals；　must　have　been　（on　the　whole；　and　allowing　for　occasional　privations　and　sufferings　and　conflicts）　well　adapted　to　their　surroundings　and　harmonious　with　the　earth　and　with　each　other。　There　must　have　been　a　period　resembling　a　Golden　Agesome　condition　at　any　rate　which；　compared　with　subsequent　miseries；　merited　the　epithet　'golden。'

It　was　during　this　period　apparently　that　the　system　of　Totems　arose。　The　tribes　felt　their　relationship　to　their　winged　and　fourfooted　mates　（including　also　other　objects　of　nature）　so　deeply　and　intensely　that　they　adopted　the　latter　as　their　emblems。　The　pre…civilization　Man　fairly　worshipped；　the　animals　and　was　proud　to　be　called　after　them。　Of　course　we　moderns　find　this　strange。　We；　whose　conceptions　of　these　beautiful　creatures　are　mostly　derived　from　a　broken…down　cab…horse；　or　a　melancholy　milk…rummaged　cow　in　a　sooty　field；　or　a　diseased　and　despondent　lion　or　eagle　at　the　Zoo；　have　never　even　seen　or　loved　them　and　have　only　wondered　with　our　true　commercial　instinct　what　profit　we　could　extract　from　them。　But　they；　the　primitives；　loved　and　admired　the　animals；　they　domesticated　many　of　them　by　the　force　of　a　natural　friendship；＇1＇　and　accorded　them　a　kind　of　divinity。　This　was　the　age　of　tribal　solidarity　and　of　a　latent　sense　of　solidarity　with　Nature。　And　the　point　of　it　all　is　（with　regard　to　the　subject　we　have　in　hand）　that　this　was　also　the　age　from　which　by　a　natural　evolution　the　sense　of　Religion　came　to　mankind。　If　Religion　in　man　is　the　sense　of　ties　binding　his　inner　self　to　the　powers　of　the　universe　around　him；　then　it　is　evident　I　think　that　primitive　man　as　I　have　described　him　possessed　the　REALITY　of　this　sense　though　so　far　buried　and　subconscious　that　he　was　hardly　aware　of　it。　It　was　only　later；　and　with　the　coming　of　the　Second　Stage；　that　this　sense　began　to　rise　distinctly　into　consciousness。

＇1＇　See　ch。　iv。　Tylor　in　his　Primitive　Culture　（vol。　i；　p。　460；　edn。　1903）　says：　〃The　sense　of　an　absolute　psychical　distinction　between　man　and　beast；　so　prevalent　in　the　civilized　world；　is　hardly　to　be　found　among　the　lower　races。〃


Let　us　pass　then　to　the　Second　Stage。　There　is　a　moment　in　the　evolution　of　a　childsomewhere　perhaps　about　the　age　of　thr