darwin and modern science-第129章

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tus　of　appeal　to　emotion　and　willthe　more　unintelligible　they　are　the　better　they　serve　their　purpose　of　inhibiting　thought。　　Thus　ritual　deadens　the　intellect　and　stimulates　will；　desire；　emotion。　　〃Les　operations　magiques。。。sont　le　resultat　d'une　science　et　d'une　habitude　qui　exaltent　la　volonte　humaine　au…dessus　de　ses　limites　habituelles。〃　　（Eliphas　Levi；　〃Dogme　et　Rituel　de　la　haute　Magie〃；　II。　page　32；　Paris；　1861；　and　〃A　defence　of　Magic〃；　by　Evelyn　Underhill；　〃Fortnightly　Review〃；　1907。）　　It　is　this　personal　EXPERIENCE；　this　exaltation；　this　sense　of　immediate；　non…intellectual　revelation；　of　mystical　oneness　with　all　things；　that　again　and　again　rehabilitates　a　ritual　otherwise　moribund。

To　resume。　　The　outcome　of　our　examination　of　ORIGINES　seems　to　be　that　religious　phenomena　result　from　two　delusive　processesa　delusion　of　the　non…critical　intellect；　a　delusion　of　the　over…confident　will。　　Is　religion　then　entirely　a　delusion？　　I　think　not。　　（I　am　deeply　conscious　that　what　I　say　here　is　a　merely　personal　opinion　or　sentiment；　unsupported　and　perhaps　unsupportable　by　reason；　and　very　possibly　quite　worthless；　but　for　fear　of　misunderstanding　I　prefer　to　state　it。）　　Every　dogma　religion　has　hitherto　produced　is　probably　false；　but　for　all　that　the　religious　or　mystical　spirit　may　be　the　only　way　of　apprehending　some　things　and　these　of　enormous　importance。　　It　may　also　be　that　the　contents　of　this　mystical　apprehension　cannot　be　put　into　language　without　being　falsified　and　misstated；　that　they　have　rather　to　be　felt　and　lived　than　uttered　and　intellectually　analysed；　and　thus　do　not　properly　fall　under　the　category　of　true　or　false；　in　the　sense　in　which　these　words　are　applied　to　propositions；　yet　they　may　be　something　for　which　〃true〃　is　our　nearest　existing　word　and　are　often；　if　not　necessary　at　least　highly　advantageous　to　life。　　That　is　why　man　through　a　series　of　more　or　less　grossly　anthropomorphic　mythologies　and　theologies　with　their　concomitant　rituals　tries　to　restate　them。　　Meantime　we　need　not　despair。　　Serious　psychology　is　yet　young　and　has　only　just　joined　hands　with　physiology。　　Religious　students　are　still　hampered　by　mediaevalisms　such　as　Body　and　Soul；　and　by　the　perhaps　scarcely　less　mythological　segregations　of　Intellect；　Emotion；　Will。　　But　new　facts　（See　the　〃Proceedings〃　of　the　Society　for　Psychical　Research；　London；　passim；　and　especially　Vols。　VII。…XV。　　For　a　valuable　collection　of　the　phenomena　of　mysticism；　see　William　James；　〃Varieties　of　Religious　Experience〃；　Edinburgh；　1901…2。）　are　accumulating；　facts　about　the　formation　and　flux　of　personality；　and　the　relations　between　the　conscious　and　the　sub…conscious。　　Any　moment　some　great　imagination　may　leap　out　into　the　dark；　touch　the　secret　places　of　life；　lay　bare　the　cardinal　mystery　of　the　marriage　of　the　spatial　with　the　non…spatial。　　It　is；　I　venture　to　think；　towards　the　apprehension　of　such　mysteries；　not　by　reason　only；　but　by　man's　whole　personality；　that　the　religious　spirit　in　the　course　of　its　evolution　through　ancient　magic　and　modern　mysticism　is　ever　blindly　yet　persistently　moving。

Be　this　as　it　may；　it　is　by　thinking　of　religion　in　the　light　of　evolution；　not　as　a　revelation　given；　not　as　a　realite　faite　but　as　a　process；　and　it　is　so　only；　I　think；　that　we　attain　to　a　spirit　of　real　patience　and　tolerance。　　We　have　ourselves　perhaps　learnt　laboriously　something　of　the　working　of　natural　law；　something　of　the　limitations　of　our　human　will；　and　we　have　therefore　renounced　the　practice　of　magic。　　Yet　we　are　bidden　by　those　in　high　places　to　pray　〃Sanctify　this　water　to　the　mystical　washing　away　of　sin。〃　　Mystical　in　this　connection　spells　magical；　and　we　have　no　place　for　a　god…magician：　　the　prayer　is　to　us　unmeaning；　irreverent。　　Or　again；　after　much　toil　we　have　ceased；　or　hope　we　have　ceased；　to　think　anthropomorphically。　　Yet　we　are　invited　to　offer　formal　thanks　to　God　for　a　meal　of　flesh　whose　sanctity　is　the　last　survival　of　that　sacrifice　of　bulls　and　goats　he　has　renounced。　　Such　a　ritual　confuses　our　intellect　and　fails　to　stir　our　emotion。　　But　to　others　this　ritual；　magical　or　anthropomorphic　as　it　is；　is　charged　with　emotional　impulse；　and　others；　a　still　larger　number；　think　that　they　act　by　reason　when　really　they　are　hypnotised　by　suggestion　and　tradition；　their　fathers　did　this　or　that　and　at　all　costs　they　must　do　it。　　It　was　good　that　primitive　man　in　his　youth　should　bear　the　yoke　of　conservative　custom；　from　each　man's　neck　that　yoke　will　fall；　when　and　because　he　has　outgrown　it。　　Science　teaches　us　to　await　that　moment　with　her　own　inward　and　abiding　patience。　　Such　a　patience；　such　a　gentleness　we　may　well　seek　to　practise　in　the　spirit　and　in　the　memory　of　Darwin。


XXVI。　　EVOLUTION　AND　THE　SCIENCE　OF　LANGUAGE。

By　P。　GILES；　M。A。；　LL。D。　（Aberdeen）；　Reader　in　Comparative　Philology　in　the　University　of　Cambridge。

In　no　study　has　the　historical　method　had　a　more　salutary　influence　than　in　the　Science　of　Language。　　Even　the　earliest　records　show　that　the　meaning　of　the　names　of　persons；　places；　and　common　objects　was　then；　as　it　has　always　been　since；　a　matter　of　interest　to　mankind。　　And　in　every　age　the　common　man　has　regarded　himself　as　competent　without　special　training　to　explain　by　inspection　（if　one　may　use　a　mathematical　phrase）　the　meaning　of　any　words　that　attracted　his　attention。　　Out　of　this　amateur　etymologising　has　sprung　a　great　amount　of　false　history；　a　kind　of　historical　mythology　invented　to　explain　familiar　names。　　A　single　example　will　illustrate　the　tendency。　　According　to　the　local　legend　the　ancestor　of　the　Earl　of　Errolla　husbandman　who　stayed　the　flight　of　his　countrymen　in　the　battle　of　Luncarty　and　won　the　victory　over　the　Danes　by　the　help　of　the　yoke　of　his　oxenexhausted　with　the　fray　uttered　the　exclamation　〃Hoch　heigh！〃　　The　grateful　king　about　to　ennoble　the　victorious　ploughman　at　once　replied：

〃Hoch　heigh！　said　ye　And　Hay　shall　ye　be。〃

The　Norman　origin　of　the　name　Hay　is　well…known；　and　the　battle　of　Luncarty　long　preceded　the　appearance　of　Normans　in　Scotland；　but　the　legend　nevertheless　persists。

Though　the　earliest　European　treatise　on　philological　questions　which　is　now　extantthe　〃Cratylus〃　of　Plato；as　might　be　expected　from　its　authorship；　contains　some　acute　thinking　and　some　shrewd　guesses；　yet　the　work　as　a　whole　is　infantine　in　its　handling　of　language；　and　it　has　been　doubted　whether　Plato　was　more　than　half　serious　in　some　of　the　suggestions　which　he　puts　forward。　　（For　an　account　of　the　〃Cratylus〃　with　references　to　other　literature　see　Sandys'　〃History　of　Classical　Scholarship〃；　I。　page　92　ff。；　Cambridge；　1903。）　　In　the　hands　of　the　Romans　things　were　worse　even　than　they　had　been　in　the　hands　of　Plato　and　his　Greek　successors。　　The　lack　of　success　on　the　part　of　Varro　and　later　Roman　writers　may　have　been　partly　due　to　the　fact　that；　from　the　etymological　point　of　view；　Latin　is　a　much　more　difficult　language　than　Greek；　it　is　by　no　means　so　closely　connected　with　Greek　as　the　ancients　imagined；　and　they　had　no　knowledge　of　the　Celtic　languages　from　which；　on　some　sides　at　least；　much　greater　light　on　the　history　of　the　Latin　language　might　have　been　obtained。　　Roman　civilisation　was　a　late　development　compared　with　Greek；　and　its　records　dating　earlier　than　300　B。C。a　period　when　the　best　of　Greek　literature　was　already　in　existenceare　very　few　and　scanty。　　Varro　it　is　true　was　much　more　of　an　antiquary　than　Plato；　but　his　extant　works　seem　to　show　that　he　was　rather　a　〃dungeon　of　learning〃　than　an　original　thinker。

A　scientific　knowledge　of　language　can　be　obtained　only　by　comparison　of　different　languages　of　the　same　family　and　the　contrasting　of　their　characteristics　with　those　of　another　family　or　other　families。　　It　never　occurred　to　the　Greeks　that　any　foreign　language　was　worthy　of　serious　study。　　Herodotus　and　other　travellers　and　antiquaries　indeed　picked　up　individual　words　from　various　languages；　either　as　being　necessary　in　communication　with　the　inhabitants　of　the　countries　where　they　sojourned；　or　because　of　some　point　which　interested　them　personally。　　Plato　and　others　noticed　the　similarity　of　some　Phrygian　words　to　Greek；　but　no　systematic　comparison　seems　ever　to　have　been　instituted。

In　the　Middle　Ages　the　treatment　of　language　was　in　a　sense　more　historical。　　The　Middle　Ages　started　with　the　hypothesis；　derived　from　the　book　of　Genesis；　that　in　the　early　world　all　men　were　of　one　language　and　of　one　speech。　　Though　on　the　same　authority　they　believed　that　the　plain　of　Shinar　has　seen　that　confusion　of　tongues　whence　sprang　all　the　languages　upon　earth；　they　seem　to　have　considered　that　the　words　of　each　separate　language　were　nevertheless　derived　from　this　original　tongue。　　And　as　Hebrew　was　the　language　of　the　Chosen　People；　it　was　naturally　assumed　that　this　original　tongue　was　Hebrew。　　Hence　we　find　Dante　declaring　in　his　treatise　on　the　Vulgar　Tongue　（Dante　〃de　Vulgari　Eloquio〃；　I。　4。）　that　the　first　word　man　uttered　in　Paradise　must　have　been　〃El；〃　the　Hebrew　name　of　his　Maker；　while　as　a　result　of　the　fall　of　Adam；　the　first　utterance　of　every　child　now　born　into　this　world　of　sin　and　misery　is　〃heu；〃　Alas！　　After　the　splendidly　engraved　bronze　plates　containing；　as　we　now　know；　ritual　regulations　for　certain　cults；　were　discovered　in　1444　at　the　town　of　Gubbio；　in　Umbria；　they　were　declared；　by　some　authorities；　to　be　written　in　excellent　Hebrew。　　The　study　of　them　has　been　the　fascination　and　the　despair　of　many　a　philologist。　　Thanks　to　the　devoted　labours　of　numerous　scholars；　mainly　in　the　last　sixty　years；　the　general　drift　of　these　inscriptions　is　now　known。　　They　are　the　only　important　records　of　the　ancient　Umbrian　language；　which　was　related　closely　to　that　of　the　Samnites　and；　though　not　so　closely；　to　that　of　the　Romans　on　the　other　side　of　the　Apennines。　　Yet　less　than　twenty　years　ago　a　book　was　published　in　Germany；　which　boasts　itself　the　home　of　Comparative　Philology；　wherein　the　German　origin　of　the　Umbrian　language　was　no　less　solemnly　demonstrated　than　had　been　its　Celtic　origin　by　Sir　William　Betham　in　1842。

It　is　good　that　the　study　of　language　should　be　historical；　but　the　first　requisite　is　that　the　history　should　be　sound。　　How　little　had　been　learnt　of　the　true　history　of　language　a　century　ago　may　be　seen　from　a　little　book　by　Stephen　Weston　first　published　in　1802　and　several　times　reprinted；　where　accidental　assonance　is　considered　sufficient　to　establish　connection。　　Is　there　not　a　word　〃bad〃　in　English　and　a　word　〃bad〃　in　Persian　which　mean　the　same　thing？　　Clearly　therefore　Persian　and　English　must　be　connected。　　The　conclusion　is　true；　but　it　is　drawn　from　erroneous　premises。　　As　stated；　this　identity　has　no　more　value　than　the　similar　assonance　between　the　English　〃cover〃　and　the　Hebrew　〃kophar〃；　where　the　history　of　〃cover〃　as　coming　through　French　from　a　Latin　〃co…operire〃　was　even　in　1802　well…known　to　many。　　To　this　day；　in　spite　of　recent　elaborate　attempts　（Most　recently　in　H。　Moller's　〃Semitisch　und　Indogermanisch〃；　Erster　Teil；　Kopenhagen；　1907。）　to　establish　connection　between　the　Indo…　Germanic　and　the　Semitic　families　of　languages；　there　is　no　satisfactory　evidence　of　su