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diff --git a/30306-0.txt b/30306-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bb74a0e --- /dev/null +++ b/30306-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8554 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30306 *** + + THE OPEN MIND LIBRARY + + BEING A SERIES OF WORKS DEALING WITH + QUESTIONS AS HANDLED BY DIFFERENT + SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT, IN RELIGION, + ETHICS, PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY + + + + + RELIGION & SEX + + STUDIES IN THE PATHOLOGY + OF RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT + BY CHAPMAN COHEN + + T. N. FOULIS, PUBLISHER + LONDON, EDINBURGH, & BOSTON + + +_Published October 1919_ + +_Printed by_ MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED, _Edinburgh_ + + + + +THE LIST OF CHAPTERS + + + I. SCIENCE & THE SUPERNATURAL _page_ 1 + + II. THE PRIMITIVE MIND & ITS ENVIRONMENT 35 + + III. THE RELIGION OF MENTAL DISEASE 51 + + IV. SEX & RELIGION IN PRIMITIVE LIFE 89 + + V. THE INFLUENCE OF SEXUAL & PATHOLOGIC + STATES ON RELIGIOUS BELIEF 120 + + VI. THE STREAM OF TENDENCY 145 + + VII. CONVERSION 169 + + VIII. RELIGIOUS EPIDEMICS 205 + + IX. RELIGIOUS EPIDEMICS--(_concluded_) 226 + + X. THE WITCH MANIA 243 + + XI. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION 269 + + + + +PREFACE + + +In spite of all that has been done in the way of applying scientific +principles to religious ideas, there is much that yet remains to be +accomplished. Generally speaking science has only dealt with the subject +of religion in its more normal and more regularised forms. The last +half-century has produced many elaborate and fruitful studies of the +origin of religious ideas, while comparative mythology has shown a close +and suggestive relationship between creeds and symbols that were once +believed to have nothing in common. But beyond these fields of research +there is at least one other that has hitherto been denied the attention +it richly deserves. When the anthropologist has described those +conditions of primitive culture amid which he believes religious ideas +took their origin, and the comparative mythologist has shown us the +similarities and inter-relations of widely separated creeds, religious +beliefs have yet to submit to the test of a scientific psychology, the +function of which is to determine how far the same principles apply to +all phases of mental life whether religious or non-religious. Moreover, +in addition to the normal psychical life of man, there is that vast +borderland in which the normal merges into the abnormal, and the healthy +state into a pathologic one. That there is a physiology of religion is +now generally admitted; but that there is also a pathology of religion +is not so generally recognised. The present work seeks to emphasise this +last aspect. It does not claim to be more than an outline of the +subject--a sketch map of a territory that others may fill in more +completely. + +From another point of view the following pages may be regarded as an +attempt more completely to apply scientific principles to religious +beliefs. And it would be idle to hope that such an attempt could be made +without incurring much hostile criticism. In connection with most other +subjects the help of science is welcomed; in connection with religion +science is still regarded as more or less of an intruder, profaning a +sacred subject with vulgar tests and impertinent enquiries. This must +almost inevitably follow when one has to face the opposition of +thousands of men who have been trained to regard themselves as the +authorised exponents of all that pertains to religion, but whose +training fails to supply them with a genuine scientific equipment. It +should, however, be clear that an attitude of hostility to science, +veiled or open, cannot be maintained. Mere authority has fallen on evil +days, and in all directions is being freely challenged. There is +increasing dislike to systems of thought that shrink from examination, +and to conclusions that cannot withstand the most rigorous +investigation. And if science really has anything of value to say on +this question it cannot be held to silence for ever. Sooner or later the +need for its assistance will be felt, and the self-elected authority of +an order must give way. It is, moreover, impossible for science with its +claim, sometimes avowed, but always implied, to cover the whole of life, +to forego so large a territory as that of religion. For there can be no +reasonable question that religion has played, and still plays a large +part in the life of the race. Whatever be the nature of religion, +science is bound either to deal with it or confess its main task to be +hopeless. + +Whether or not it is possible to apply known scientific principles to +the whole of religion will be a matter of opinion; but the attempt is at +least worth making. So much that appeared to be beyond the reach of +science has been ultimately brought within its ken, so many things that +seemed to stand in a class by themselves have been finally brought under +some more comprehensive generalisation, and so become part of the +'cosmic machine,' that one is impelled to believe that given time and +industry the same will result here. And it should never be forgotten +that one aspect of scientific progress has been the taking over of large +tracts of territory that religion once regarded as peculiarly its own; +and just as psychology and pathology were found to hold the key to an +understanding of such a phenomenon as witchcraft, so we may yet realise +that a true explanation of religious phenomena is to be found, not in +some supernatural world, but in the workings of natural forces +imperfectly understood. + +The defences set up by theologians against the scientific advance may be +summarised under two heads. It is claimed that the 'facts' of the +religious life belong to a world of inner experience, to a state of +spiritual development which brings the subject into touch with a +super-sensuous world not open to the normal human being, and with which +science, as ordinarily understood, is incompetent to deal. In essence +this is a very old position, and contains the kernel of 'mysticism' in +all ages, from the savage state onward. This position involves a very +obvious begging of the question at issue. It assumes that all attempts +to correlate religious phenomena with phenomena in general have failed, +and that all future attempts are similarly doomed to failure. Of course +nothing of the kind has been shown. On the contrary, the aim of the +present work is to show that no dividing line can be drawn between those +states of mind that have been and are classed as religious, and those +that are admittedly non-religious. For various reasons I have dealt +almost entirely with those conditions that are admittedly pathological, +but I believe it would be possible to prove the same of all normal +frames of mind and emotional states. Any human quality may be enlisted +in the service of religion, but there are none that are specifically +religious. It is a pure assumption that the religious visionary +possesses qualities that are either absent or rudimentary in other +persons. Human faculty is everywhere identical although the form in +which it is expressed differs according to education, the presence of +certain dominating ideas, and the general influence of one's +environment. To admit the claim of the mystic is to surrender all hope +of a scientific co-ordination of life. It is quite fatal to the +scientific ideal and involves the re-introduction into nature of a +dualism the removal of which has been one of the most marked advantages +of scientific thinking. + +Moreover, whatever views we may hold as to the ultimate nature of 'mind' +the dependence of all frames of mind upon the brain and nervous system +is now generally accepted. We may hold various theories as to the nature +of mind, we may, with the late William James, treat the brain as merely +a 'transmissive' organ, but even on that assumption--on behalf of which +not a shred of positive evidence has been offered--the frames of mind +expressed are determined by the nervous mechanism, and thus the laws of +mental phenomena become ultimately the laws of the operation of the +nervous system. The 'facts' of the religious life thus become part of +the facts of psychology as a whole. Its 'laws' will form part of +psychological laws as a whole, and religious experiences must be handed +over for examination and classification to the psychologist who in turn +relies for help and understanding on various associated branches of +science. + +Closely allied to the claim of the 'mystic' that his experiences bring +him into touch with a world of super-sensuous reality, is the attempt to +prove that science is incapable of dealing with anything but "in the +first place, the endless ascertainment of facts and the physical +conditions under which they occur, and in the second place to the +criticism of error." Well, no one denies that it is part of the work of +science to ascertain facts, or even that its work consists in +ascertaining facts and framing 'laws' that will explain them. But why +are we to limit science to _physical_ facts only? All facts are not +physical. If I have a head-ache, the unpleasant feeling is a fact. If I +feel hot or cold, angry or pleased, think one thing ugly or another +beautiful, my feelings are as much 'facts' as anything else that exists. +Nay, if I fancy I see a ghost, or a vision, these also are 'facts' so +far as my mental state at the time is concerned. So also are my beliefs +about all manner of things, and often the most important facts with +which I am connected. Facts may be objective or subjective. They may +exist in relation to all minds normally constituted, or they may exist +in relation to my own mind only; or, yet again, they may exist only in +relation to certain states of mind, but they do not, nevertheless, cease +to be facts. + +Now the business of science is to collect facts--all facts--classify +them, and frame generalisations that will explain their groupings and +modes of operation. It talks of the facts of the physical world, the +facts of the biological world, the facts of the psychological world, and +so forth. This last group comprises all sorts of feelings and ideas, +beliefs and experiences. Some of these facts it calls false, others it +calls true--that is, they are true when they hold good of all men and +women normally constituted, they are not true when they hold good of +isolated individuals only, and can be seen to be the product of +misinterpreted experience, or arise from a derangement--permanent or +temporary--of the nervous system. But true or false they remain facts of +the mental life. They must be collected, grouped, and explained exactly +as other facts are collected, grouped, and explained. They fall within +the scope of science, to be dealt with by scientific methods. + +There is really no escape from the position that so far as religious +'facts' are parts of mental life, religion becomes logically a +department of psychology. The substantial identity of all mental facts +is quite unaffected by their being directed to this or that special +object. As mental facts they are part of the material that it is the +work of science to reduce to order. And as mental facts religious +phenomena are seen to follow the same 'laws' that govern mental +phenomena in general. It is perfectly true that we cannot test and +measure the material of psychology with the same definiteness and +accuracy that the chemist applies to the subject-matter of his +department; but that may be due to want of knowledge, or to the extreme +complexity and variability of the matter with which we are dealing. And +if it were true that the same tests could not be applied in psychology +that are applied elsewhere, this would be no cause for scientific +despair. It would only mean that fresh tests would have to be devised +for a new group of facts, as every other science has already, as a +matter of fact, created its own special standard of value. + +The second of the two lines of defence consists in the bold assertion +that the religious interpretation of subjective phenomena is itself in +the nature of a true scientific induction. The methods of science are +not repudiated, but welcomed. But it is argued that the non-religious +explanation of religious phenomena breaks down hopelessly, while the +religious explanation fully covers and explains the facts. If this were +true, nothing more remains to be said, and we must accept this dualistic +scheme, however repugnant it may be to orthodox scientific ideas. But is +it true? Is it a fact that the non-religious explanation breaks down so +completely? Hitherto the course of events has been in the contrary +direction. It is the religious explanation that has, over and over +again, been shown to be unreliable, the non-religious explanation that +has been finally established. Insanity and epilepsy, once universally +ascribed to a supernatural order of being, have been reduced to the +level of nervous disorders. All the phenomena of 'possession' are still +with us, it is only our understanding of them that has altered. And +before it is admitted that the phenomena described as religious can +never be affiliated to the phenomena described as non-religious, it must +be shown--beyond all possibility of doubt--that their explanation in +terms of known forces is impossible. As I have said in the body of this +work, the question at issue is essentially one of interpretation. The +'facts' of the religious life are admitted. Science no more questions +the reality of the visions of the medieval mystic than it questions the +visions of the non-mystic admittedly suffering from neural derangement. +The crucial question is whether we have any good reason for separating +the two, and while we dismiss the one as hallucination accept the other +as introducing us to another order of being? I do not think there is the +slightest ground for any such differentiation, and I have given in the +following pages what I conceive to be good reasons for so thinking. And +I hope that the fact of the explanations there offered running counter +to the traditional one will not prevent readers weighing with the utmost +care the proofs that are offered. + + + + +RELIGION AND SEX + +CHAPTER ONE + +SCIENCE AND THE SUPERNATURAL + + +Accepting Professor Tylor's famous minimum definition of religion as +"the belief in Spiritual Beings," it is safe to say that religious +belief constitutes one of the largest facts in human history. No other +single subject has occupied so large a share of man's conscious life, no +other subject has absorbed so much of his energy. In very early stages +of culture religious belief is universal in the fullest sense of the +word. It shapes all primitive institutions; it dominates life from the +cradle to the grave, and creates a shadow-land beyond the grave from +which the dead continue to influence the actions of the living. At a +later stage of culture we see a distinction being drawn between the +natural and the supernatural, the secular and the spiritual, and the +beginning of an antagonism that is still with us. Of all antagonisms +conceived by the brain of man this is the deepest and the most +irreconcilable. Each feels that the growth of the other threatens its +own supremacy, with the result that advance from either side has been +contested with the greatest obstinacy and determination. And although it +is true that at present the supernatural is very largely "suspect," it +is still powerful. Nor is its influence confined to the lower strata of +European society. It has very many representatives among the higher +culture, disguised it may be under various pseudo-philosophic forms. +Altogether we may say that the supernatural has never been without its +"cloud of witnesses." At all times there have been individuals, or +groups of individuals, who have believed themselves, and have been +believed by others, to be in touch with another order of existence than +that with which people are normally in contact. And apart from these +specially favoured persons, the wide vogue of the belief in good and +evil portents, in lucky and unlucky days, the attraction of the "occult" +in fiction and in fact, all serve as evidence that belief in the +supernatural is still a force with which one has to reckon. + +To what causes are we to attribute the persistence of this belief in the +supernatural? It is useless replying that its persistence is evidence of +its truth. That clearly begs the whole question at issue. Mere social +heredity will doubtless count for much in this direction. Men do not +start their thinking afresh with each generation. It is based upon that +of preceding generations; it follows set forms, and is generally +influenced by that network of ideas and beliefs into which we are born +and from which none of us ever completely escapes. Still that is hardly +enough in itself to account for the persistence of supernaturalism. +Assuming that originally there existed what was accepted as good +evidence for the existence of a supernatural, it is hardly credible that +every subsequent generation went on accepting it merely because one +generation received evidence of its existence. As organs atrophy for +want of exercise, so do beliefs die out in time for want of proof. Some +kind of evidence must have been continually forthcoming in order to keep +the belief alive and active. It is not a question of whether the +evidence was good or bad. All evidence, it is important to bear in mind, +is good to some one. The "facts" upon which thousands of people were put +to death for witchcraft would not be considered evidence to anyone +nowadays, but they were once accepted as good ground for conviction. + +What kind of evidence is it, then, that has been accepted as proof of +the supernatural? Or, to return to Tylor's definition of religion, +seeing that the belief in spiritual beings has persisted in every +generation, upon what kind of evidence has this belief been nourished? +Various replies might be given to this question, all of which may +contain some degree of truth, or an aspect of a general truth. In the +present enquiry I am concerned with one line of investigation only, one +that has been strangely neglected, but which yet, I am convinced, +promises fruitful results. In other directions it has been established +that a great aid to an understanding of the human organism in times of +health is to study its activities under conditions of disease. Abnormal +psychology is now a recognised branch of psychology in general, and a +glance through almost any recent text-book will show that the two form +parts of a natural whole. The normal and the abnormal are in turn used +to throw light on each other. And it appears to the present writer that +in the matter of religious beliefs a much clearer understanding of their +nature, and also of some of the conditions of their perpetuation, may be +gained by a study of what has happened, and is happening, in the light +of mental pathology. + +To some, of course, the bare idea of there being a pathology of religion +will appear an entirely unwarrantable assumption. On the other hand, the +scientific study of all phases of religions having made so great headway +it is hoped that a larger number will be prepared for a discussion of +the subject from a point of view which, if not quite new, is certainly +not common. Of course, such a discussion, even if the author quite +succeeds in demonstrating the truth of his thesis, will still leave the +origin of the religious idea an open question. For the present we are +not concerned directly with the origin of the religious idea, but with +an examination of some of the causes that have served to perpetuate it, +and to trace the influence in the history of religion of states of mind, +both personal and collective, that are now admittedly abnormal or +pathological in character. The legitimacy of the enquiry cannot be +questioned. As to its value and significance, that every reader must +determine for himself. + +One may put the essential idea of the following pages in a +sentence:--Given the religious idea as already existing, in what way, +and to what extent has its development been affected by forces that are +not in themselves religious, and which modern thought definitely +separates from religion? + +Under civilised and uncivilised conditions we find religious beliefs +constantly associated with various forces--social, ethical, and +psychological. Very seldom is there any serious attempt to separate them +and assign to each their respective value; nor, indeed, is the task at +any time an easy one. The difficulty is made the greater by the way in +which writers so enlarge the meaning of "religion" that it is made to +include almost everything for which one feels admiration or respect. +This practice is neither helpful nor accurate. Human nature under all +aspects of intellectual conviction presents the same fundamental +characteristics, and a definition to be of value, while of necessity +inclusive, must also be decisively exclusive. It must unite, but it must +also separate. And many current definitions of religion, while they may +bear testimony to the amiability of those who frame them, are quite +destitute of scientific value. In any case, the association of the +religious idea with non-religious forces is a fact too patent to admit +of denial; and the important task is to determine their reciprocal +influence. In actual life this separation has been secured by the +development of the various branches of positive thought--ethics, +psychology, etc., all of which were once directly under the control of +religion. What remains to be done is to separate in theory what has +already been separated in fact, with such additions as a more critical +knowledge may suggest as advisable. + +Far more suggestive, however, than the association of religion with what +we may call the normal social forces, is its connection with conditions +that are now clearly recognised as abnormal. From the earliest times we +find the use of drugs and stimulants, the practice of fasting and +self-torture, with other methods of depressing or stimulating the action +of the nervous system, accepted as well-recognised methods of inducing a +sense of religious illumination, or the feeling that one is in direct +communion with a supernatural order of existence. Equally significant is +the world-wide acceptance--right up to recent times--of purely +pathological states as evidence of supernatural intercourse. About these +two sets of facts there can be no reasonable doubt. Over and over again +we can observe how the promptings of disease are taken for the voice of +divinity, and men and women who to-day would be handed over to the care +of the physician hailed as an incarnation of deity. In modern asylums +we find one of the commonest of delusions to be that of the insane +person who imagines himself to be a specially selected instrument of +deity. In such instances the causal influence of pathological conditions +is admitted. On the other hand, we have belonging to the more normal +type the person who claims a supernatural origin for many of his actions +and states of mind. And between these two extremes lie a whole series of +gradations. They exist in all stages of culture, and it is difficult to +see by what rule of logic or of experience one can say where the normal +ends and the abnormal begins. If we assume the inference of the normal +person concerning the origin of his mental states to be correct, it +seems difficult to deny the possibility of those of the insane person +having a similar origin, although distorted by the influence of disease. +If, on the other hand, we say the insane person is wholly wrong as to +the origin of his mental states, may we not also assume that the normal +person has likewise erred as to the cause of his emotions or ideas? + +Two considerations may be urged in support of this conclusion. In the +first place, there is the fact of the fundamental identity of human +qualities under all conditions of their manifestation. It is too often +assumed--sometimes it is explicitly claimed--that one with what is +called "a strong religious nature" possesses some quality of mind absent +or undeveloped in those of an opposite type. This assumption is quite +unwarrantable. The religious man is marked off from the non-religious +man, not by the possession of distinct mental qualities, but solely by +holding different ideas concerning the cause and significance of his +mental states. There is no such thing as a religious "faculty," but +only qualities of mind expressed in terms of the religious idea. If I am +conscious of a strong desire to work on behalf of the social betterment +of my fellows, I may account for this either by attributing it to having +inherited a nature modified by generations of social intercourse, or on +the hypothesis that I am an instrument in the hands of a superhuman +personality. But in either case the qualities manifested remain the +same. Love and hatred, fear and courage, honesty and roguery, with all +other human qualities, may be expressed in terms of religion, or they +may be expressed in non-religious terms. It is the cause to which they +are attributed, or the object to which they are directed, that marks off +the religious from the non-religious person. + +The second point is that the whole issue arises on a conflict of +interpretations. If I question the reality of the visions or states of +illumination experienced by Santa Teresa, I am not questioning that, so +far as the saint herself was concerned, these states of exaltation were +real. All mental states--whether arising under normal or abnormal +conditions--are quite real to those who experience them. The visions of +the hashish-eater are real, while they last; so are those of the victim +of delirium tremens. All I question is their genuineness as +corresponding to an objective reality. Over the mind of the subject +these visions may exercise an absolute sway. As to their occurrence, he +or she is the final and absolute authority. There can be no question +here. But when we proceed from the occurrence of these visions to the +question of their causation, then we are on entirely different ground. +Here it is not a question of their genuineness, or of their power, but +a question of how we are to interpret them. The honesty and +singlemindedness of these "inspired" characters may be admitted, but +honesty or singlemindedness is no guarantee of accuracy. We do not need +to ask whether the peasant girl of Lourdes experienced a vision of the +Madonna, but we do need to ask whether there was anything in her mental +history, social surroundings, or nervous state that would account for +the vision. All the "facts" of the religious life may be admitted; the +sole question at issue is whether an adequate interpretation of at least +some of them may not be found in terms of a purely scientific +psychology. + +Taking, then, the religious idea as already existing, the following +pages will be devoted to an examination of the extent to which this idea +has been associated with forces and conditions that were plainly +pathological. In very many individual cases it will not be difficult to +trace a vivid sense of the supernatural to the presence of abnormal +nervous states, sometimes deliberately induced, at other times arising +of themselves. And it is a matter of mere historical observation that +such individual cases have operated most powerfully to strengthen the +belief in the supernatural with others. The example of Lourdes is a case +in point. All Protestants will agree that the peasant girl's vision was +a sheer hallucination. And yet there can be no question that this vision +has served to strengthen the faith of many thousands of others in the +nearness of the supernatural. And it needs but little effort of the +imagination to realise how powerful such examples must have been in ages +when medical science was in its infancy, and the more subtle operations +of the nervous system completely unknown. + +This question, I repeat, is distinct from the much larger and wider +enquiry of the origin of religion. A fairly lengthy experience of the +capacity of the general mind for missing the real point at issue +prevents my being too sanguine as to the efficiency of the most explicit +avowal of one's purpose, but the duty of taking precautions nevertheless +remains. And in elaborating an unfamiliar view of the nature of much of +the world's so-called religious phenomena, the possibility of +misconception is multiplied enormously. Still, a writer must do what he +can to guard against misunderstanding, and in the most emphatic manner +it must be said that it is not my purpose to prove, nor is it my belief, +that religion springs from perverted sexuality, nor that the study of +religion is no more than an exercise in pathology. Nothing is further +from the writer's mind than so essentially preposterous a claim. Neither +sexuality, no matter how powerful, nor disease, no matter how +pronounced, can account for the religious idea. That has an entirely +separate and independent origin. This should be plain to anyone who has +but a merely casual acquaintance with the history of religion. It is, +however, a very different thing to enquire as to the part played in the +history of religion by morbid nervous states or perverted sexual +feeling. That is an enquiry both legitimate and desirable; and it is one +that promises to shed light on aspects of the subject otherwise very +obscure. And certainly, if so-called religious feelings do not admit of +explanation in terms of a scientific psychology, nothing remains but to +recognise religion as something quite apart from normal life, to hand +it over to the custody of word-spinning "Mystics," and so surrender all +possibility of a rational understanding of either its nature or its +history. + +In saying what I have concerning the probability of misconception, I +have had specially in mind the attack made by the late Professor William +James on what he called the "medical materialists." In that remarkable +piece of religious yellow-journalism, _The Varieties of Religious +Experience_, Professor James says of those who take up the position that +a great deal of what has been accepted by the world as religious +inspiration or exaltation can be accounted for as the products of +disordered nervous states or perverted sexual feeling, "We are surely +all familiar in a general way with this method of discrediting states of +mind for which we have an antipathy. We all use it in some degree in +criticising persons whose states of mind we regard as overstrained. But +when other people criticise our own exalted soul-flights by calling them +'nothing but' expressions of our organic disposition, we feel outraged +and hurt, for we know that, whatever be our organism's peculiarities, +our mental states have their substantive value as revelations of the +living truth; and we wish that all this medical materialism could be +made to hold its tongue." Again, "Few conceptions are less instructive +than this re-interpretation of religion as perverted sexuality.... It is +true that in the vast collection of religious phenomena, some are +undisguisedly amatory--_e.g._ sex deities and obscene rites in +polytheism, and ecstatic feelings of union with the Saviour in a few +Christian Mystics. But then why not equally call religion an aberration +of the digestive functions, and prove one's point by the worship of +Bacchus and Ceres, or by the ecstatic feelings of some other saints +about the Eucharist?" Or, seeing that the Bible is full of the language +of respiratory oppression, "one might almost as well interpret religion +as a perversion of the respiratory function." And if it is pointed out +that active interest in religion synchronises with adolescence, "the +retort again is easy.... The interest in mechanics, physics, chemistry, +logic, philosophy, and sociology, which springs up during adolescent +years along with that in poetry and religion, is also a perversion of +the sexual instinct."[1] + +Excellent fooling, this, but little else. I do not know that anyone has +ever claimed that religion took its origin in sexual feeling, or that +this would alone provide an explanation of historical religion. All that +anyone has ever urged is that a deal of so-called religious feeling, +past and present, can be shown to be due to unsatisfied or perverted +sexual feeling--which is a very different statement, and one of which +the truth may be demonstrated from Professor James's own pages. But +between saying that certain feelings are wrongly interpreted in terms of +an already existing idea, and saying that the idea itself is nothing but +these same feelings transformed, there is an obvious and important +difference. In every case the religious idea is taken for granted. Its +origin is a quite different subject of enquiry. But once the idea is in +existence there is always the probability of evidence for its truth +being found in the wrong direction. The analogy of the digestive and +respiratory organs is clever, but futile. The belief that much which +has passed for religious feeling is perverted sexuality is not based +merely upon the language employed. The language is only symptomatic. The +terminology of respiration and digestion when used in connection with +religion is frankly and palpably symbolic. That of sexual love is as +often frankly literal, and can be correlated with the actual state of +the person using it. Digestion and respiration must go on in any case; +but it is precisely the point at issue whether with a different sexual +life these so-called religious ecstatic states would have been +experienced. When we find religious characters of strongly marked +amorous dispositions, but leading an ascetic life, using toward the +object of their adoration terms usually associated with strong sexual +feeling, it does not seem extravagant to find here a little more than +what may be covered by mere symbolism. Would the medieval monk have been +tempted by Satan in the form of beautiful women had he been happily +married? Would Santa Teresa or Catherine of Sienna have used the +language they did use to express their relations to Jesus had they been +wives and mothers? Such questions admit of one answer, which is, in its +way, decisive. Professor James admits that modern psychology holds as a +general postulate "there is not a single one of our states of mind, high +or low, healthy or morbid, that has not some organic process as its +condition."[2] The 'medical materialist' can ask for no more than this. +But this being granted, on what ground are we to be forbidden finding in +these same organic processes the condition of the visions and ecstatic +states with which _The Varieties of Religious Experience_ is so largely +concerned? + +Again, it may be granted that adolescence brings with it an awakening of +the whole mental life, not of religion alone. But the analogy goes no +further, and, in any case, it begs the question. The full significance +of the connection will be seen when we come to deal with initiation in +primitive times and conversion in the modern period. At present it +suffices to point out that the interest in art, in science, in +literature, in sociology, are ends in themselves, and one need go no +further than the developing mental life for an explanation. But the +essential question here is whether this growing life can or cannot find +complete satisfaction quite apart from religion. A developing interest +in the larger social life is common to all, and to some extent this is +secured by the pressure of forces that are simply inescapable. On the +other hand, an interest in religion only exists with some, and then it +may usually be traced to a conscious direction of their energies. +Moreover, those who show no special interest in religion evince no lack +of anything--save in religious terms. In every respect they exhibit the +same mental and emotional qualities as their fellows. The only +discernible difference is that while in the one case adolescent nature +is expressed in terms of religion, in the other case it is expressed in +terms of a larger social life. + +The question here might be put thus: Given a generation not taught to +express its growing life in terms of religion, could adequate and +satisfactory expression be found in the social life to which adolescence +is unquestionably an introduction? Many would answer unhesitatingly, +yes. They would argue that what are called the religious feelings, are +normal social feelings exploited in the interests of the religious idea. +They would deny that there is any such thing as a religious quality of +mind. Any mental quality may be directed to a religious end, but all may +find complete expression and satisfaction in a non-religious social +life. This is the real question at issue, and yet Professor James never +once, in the whole of his 500 pages, addresses himself to it. + +Apart from sex, there is the important question of the relation between +abnormal and morbid nervous states and religious illumination. How far +has the one been mistaken for the other? To what extent have people +accepted the outcome of pathological conditions as proofs of intercourse +with an unseen spiritual world? There is no doubt that among uncivilised +people this is usually, if not invariably, the case. And our knowledge +of the relations between the nervous system and mental states--imperfect +as it still is--is so recent, that it is not surprising that fasting, +self-torture, solitary meditation, etc., because of the states of mind +to which they give rise, have been universally valued as aids to the +religious life. Dr. D. G. Brinton says:-- + +"When I say that all religions depend for their origin and continuation +directly upon inspiration, I state an historic fact. It may be known +under other names, of credit or discredit, as mysticism, ecstasy, +rhapsody, demoniac possession, the divine afflatus, the gnosis, or, in +its latest christening, 'cosmic consciousness.' All are but expressions +of a belief that knowledge arises, words are uttered or actions +performed not through conscious ideation or reflective purpose, but +through the promptings of a power above or beyond the individual +mind."[3] + +The connection between very many, at least, of these inspirational moods +and pathological states is too obvious to be ignored. Professor James +admits that "we cannot possibly ignore these pathological aspects of the +subject." His notice of them, however, reminds one of the preacher who +advised his hearers to look a certain difficulty boldly in the face--and +pass on. No serious attempt is made to deal with them. A huge mass of +"religious experiences" is thrown at the reader's head without any +adequate explanation. It is a glorified revival meeting in an expensive +volume. The testimony of a crowd of religious enthusiasts of all ages is +accepted at practically face value. Thus, a religious writer who +experiences the fairly common feeling of exaltation during a storm at +sea, and explains his carelessness of danger as resulting from his +"certainty of eternal life,"[4] is gravely cited as evidence of the +working of the religious consciousness. What, then, are we to make of +those who experience a similar feeling, but who are without the +certainty of eternal life? The declaration of St. Ignatius that a single +hour of meditation taught him more of the truth of "heavenly things than +all the teachings of the doctors" is given as evidence of mystic +illumination.[5] So with numerous other cases. We are even informed that +"nitrous oxide and ether, especially nitrous oxide, when sufficiently +diluted with air, stimulate the mystical consciousness in an +extraordinary degree."[6] There seems no reason why the same claim +should not be made on behalf of whisky. If one were not assured to the +contrary, one might conclude that Professor James wrote this volume to +poke fun at the whole tribe of mystics and their followers. + +The use made by Professor James of his long list of cases is the more +remarkable, since he quite correctly points out that there are no +religious feelings, only feelings directed towards a religious end. But +if this be so, how are we justified in taking the accounts of religious +visionaries as correct descriptions of the nature of their own mental +states? Clearly, we need a study of these cases quite apart from the +mystical interpretation of them. Instead of a study Professor James +presents us with a catalogue--useful from a documentary point of view, +but useless to any other end. And he is so averse to subjecting his +examples to analysis that, when the extravagance of certain cases are +glaring, he warns us that it is unfair to impute narrowness of mind as a +vice of the individual, because in "religious and theological matters he +probably absorbs his narrowness from his generation."[7] Granted; only +one would like to know what reason there is for not deriving virtues as +well as vices from the same source? And, deeper enquiry still, may not +the religious interpretation itself be a product of the special +environment of the period? + +The study of religious phenomena from the point of view above indicated +is of first-rate importance. But although much has been said, +parenthetically and inferentially, on the subject by various writers, +the enquiry has never been exhaustively or systematically pursued. This +is not due to any lack of material; that is abundant among both savage +and civilised peoples. Perhaps it is because, while it has been +considered permissible to point out that certain individuals have +mistaken their own morbid states for evidence of divine illumination, +too much ill-will would have been aroused had the powerful part played +by this factor in religious development as a whole been pointed out. +Still less admissible would it have been to point out, as will be done +in succeeding chapters, that the deliberate culture of abnormal states +of mind has been a part of the ritual of religions from the most +primitive to the most recent times. In this connection it is worth +noting that a very clear and shrewd essay on the connection between love +and religious devotion by Isaac d'Israeli, which appeared in the first +issue of the _Miscellanies of Literature_, was quietly eliminated from +subsequent editions. + +My purpose, therefore, is to give Professor James's query--"Under just +what biographic conditions did the sacred writers bring forth their +contributions to the holy volume? and what had they exactly in their +several individual minds, when they delivered their utterances?"[8]--a +wider scope. What are the conditions, biographic and social, under which +certain persons have imagined themselves, and have been believed by +others, to be specially favoured with divine illumination? The majority +of people, it may safely be said, are conscious of no such experience. +In what respect, then, do the favoured few differ from their fellows? +Must we assume that by some rare quality of natural endowment, or by +some unusual development of faculty, they are brought into touch with a +wider and deeper reality? Or are we to seek a less romantic explanation +with the aid of known tendencies and forces in human nature? And, +further, as this minority are not conscious of divine illumination all +the time, what is it that differentiates their normal state from their +abnormal condition? + +These are pertinent questions, and demand answer. But no answer of real +value will be found in ordinary religious writings. Rhapsodical eulogies +of religion tell us nothing; less than nothing that is useful, since +theories that obtain in such quarters are based upon the absolute +veracity of the phenomena under consideration. We may gather from this +direction what religious people say or do, but not why they say or do +these things. A description of the states of mind of religious people, +such as is given by Professor James, is interesting enough, but it is +their causation that is of fundamental importance. And their causation +is only to be understood by associating them with other and more +fundamental processes. Within recent years psychology owes much of the +advance made to a closer study of the physiology of the nervous system, +and if genuine advance is to be made in our understanding of religious +phenomena we must adopt the same plan of investigation. We do not, for +example, understand the nature of demoniacal possession by a mere +collation of cases. It is only when we put them side by side with +similar cases that now come under the control of the physician, and +associate them with certain peculiar nervous conditions, and a +particular social environment, that we find ourselves within sight of a +rational explanation. Without adopting this plan we are in the position +of one trying to determine the nature of a locomotive in complete +ignorance of its internal mechanism. Yet this is precisely the position +of the professional exponent of religion. As a student the budding +divine has his head filled with historic creeds, and texts, and dogmas, +and doctrines, none of which can possibly tell him anything of the real +nature of religion. On the contrary, they act as so many obstacles to +his acquiring real knowledge in later life. And it is a striking fact +that while the professional astronomer, biologist, or physicist each +adds to our knowledge of the subject that falls within his respective +department, we owe little or nothing of our knowledge of the nature of +religion to the professional theologian. + +To put the whole matter in a sentence, the study of religion must be +affiliated to the study of life as a whole. If possible, we must get at +the determining factors that lead one person to expend his energy on +religion and see supernatural influence in a thousand and one details of +his life, while another person, with apparently the same mental +qualities, finds complete satisfaction in another direction, and is +conscious of no such supernatural influence. It is scientifically +inadmissible to posit a "religious faculty" organically ear-marked for +religious use. Something of this kind is evidently in the minds of those +who explain Darwin's agnosticism as due to atrophy of his religious +sense, consequent on over-absorption in scientific pursuits, and who +also argue that the "religious faculty," like a physiological structure, +increases in efficiency with use and atrophies with disuse. There is no +reason for believing that, had Darwin been profoundly religious, his +mental qualities would have been different to what they were. They would +have been expressed in a different form, that is all. As I have already +said, there are no such things as specifically religious qualities of +the mind. There may be hope or fear or love or hatred or terror or +devotion or wonder in relation to religion, but they are precisely the +same mental qualities that meet us in relation to other things. The old +"faculty" psychology is dead, and the religious faculty must go with +it.[9] Mental qualities may be roused to activity in connection with a +belief in the supernatural, or they may be expressed in connection with +mundane associations. Even the belief in the supernatural is only an +expression of the same qualities of mind that with fuller knowledge +result in a scientific generalisation. Whatever be the exciting cause, +mental qualities themselves remain unchanged. + +In the present enquiry we are not concerned with a disproval of the +religious idea, but with an examination of the conditions of its +expression; less with the varieties of religious experience than with +the nature of its manifestations. How far may religious experience be +explained as a misinterpretation of normal non-religious life? To what +extent have pathological nervous states influenced the building up of +the religious consciousness? There can be no question that the +last-named factor is an important one. This is admitted by Professor +James in the following passage:-- + +"You will in point of fact hardly find a religious leader of any kind in +whose life there is no record of automatisms. I speak not merely of +savage priests and prophets, whose followers regard automatic utterance +and action as by itself tantamount to inspiration, I speak of leaders of +thought and subjects of intellectualised experience. St. Paul had his +visions, his ecstasies, his gifts of tongues, small as was the +importance he attached to the latter. The whole array of Christian +saints and heresiarchs, including the greatest, the Bernards, the +Loyolas, the Luthers, the Foxes, the Wesleys, had their visions, voices, +rapt conditions, guiding impressions, and 'openings.' They had these +things because they had exalted sensibility, and to such things persons +of exalted sensibility are liable."[10] + +The fact is unquestionable, but the question remains, In what sense were +these people exalted? Did their exalted sensibility really bring them +into touch with a form of existence hidden from persons of a coarser +fibre? Or did it belong to a class of cases which in a more violent form +comes within the province of the physician? The subjects, says Professor +James, "actually feel themselves played upon by powers beyond their +will. The evidence is dynamic; the god or spirit moves the very organs +of their body.... We have distinct professions of being under the +direction of a foreign power, and serving as its mouthpiece." Of course +we have, but for diagnostic purposes such professions are quite +valueless. What these people are conscious of, and all they are +conscious of, is a series of feelings of a more or less unusual kind. +Equally convinced was the medieval demoniac that a spirit moved the very +organs of his body. Equally convinced is the modern spiritualist medium +that his body is controlled by a disembodied spirit. It is not a +question of the actuality of certain states, but of their origin. The +intense conviction of the subject of the seizure is, as evidence, quite +irrelevant. The subjective state is always real, whether it belongs to a +saint in ecstasy or a drunkard in delirium tremens. There are no states +of mind more "real" while they last than those due to opium or hashish. +But it is never suggested that this is evidence of their veracity. In +such cases the testimony of a skilled outsider is of far greater value +than the conviction of the visionary. We are bound to appeal to Paul, +and Loyola, and Fox, and Wesley to know what their feelings were, +because here they are the supreme authorities. But we must consult +others to discover why they experienced these feelings. An illusion is +no more than a false interpretation of a real subjective experience; +although many are inclined to treat the rejection of the interpretation +as equivalent to a charge of imposture or deliberate lying. + +It is also a matter of demonstration that these religious experiences +are strictly determined by environmental conditions. Thousands of +Christians have been favoured with visions of Jesus or of the Christian +heaven in their dying moments. Millions of Jews and Mohammedans have +lived and died without any such experience--the very persons to whom, +from an evidential point of view--such visions would be most useful. The +spiritual experience is determined by the pre-existing religious belief. +When belief in a personal devil was general, visions of Satan were +common. The evidence for personal conflicts with Satan is of precisely +the same nature and strength as is the evidence for intercourse with +deity. When the belief in Satan died out, visions and conflicts with him +ceased. How can we discriminate between the two classes of cases? Why +should the testimony of a great Christian character that he is conscious +of intercourse with deity be more authoritative than the testimony of, +perhaps, the same person on other occasions, of conflict with a personal +devil? Moreover, visions and a sense of contact with a super-normal +world are not peculiar to the religious character. It is a common +feature of a general psychopathic condition. Medical works are filled +with such instances. And it is only to be expected that when the +psychopath is of a deeply religious nature the affection will find a +religious expression. What is clearly needed is an explanation that will +cover the phenomenon as it appears in both a religious and a +non-religious form. + +We may take as illustrative of what has been said the following case as +given by Dr. W. W. Ireland. It is that of a Berlin bookseller who placed +on record a clear description of his impressions while in ill-health, +and which entirely ceased on recovery. His delusions mostly took the +form of human figures; of these he says:-- + +"I saw, in the full use of my senses, and (after I had got the better of +the fright which at first seized me, and the disagreeable effects which +it caused) even in the greatest composure of mind, for almost two +months, constantly and involuntarily, a number of human and other +apparitions--nay, I even heard their voices. For the most part I saw +human figures of both sexes; they commonly passed to and fro, as if they +had no connection with each other, like people at a fair where all is +bustle. Sometimes they appeared to have business with one another. Once +or twice I saw amongst them persons on horseback, and dogs and birds; +these figures all appeared to me in their natural size, as distinctly as +if they had existed in real life, with the several tints on the +uncovered parts of the body, and with all the different kinds and +colours of clothes."[11] + +Here we have the case of a man who was under no misconception as to the +nature of his visions. But it is safe to say that had he been of a less +practical and analytic turn of mind, had he been, moreover, deeply +interested in religious matters, we might have had an altogether +different presentation of the facts. + +In the next instance, also given by Dr. Ireland, we have a religious +explanation given of somewhat similar experiences:-- + +"A poor woman complained to me that she was continually persecuted by +the devils who let loose at her all sorts of blasphemies, and, indeed, +all the worse the more she exerted herself not to attend to them; but +often, also, when she was talking and active. She had already been to a +clergyman who should exorcise the devil, and who had judiciously +directed her to me. I asked in which ear the devil always talked to her. +She was surprised at the question, which she had never started for +herself, but now recognised that it always occurred in the left ear. I +explained to her that it was an affection of the ear which now and then +occurs, but she was doubtful."[12] + +Here we have a distinctly physical affection ascribed to supernatural +agency. In this case the inference is promptly corrected by the +physician. But given a different environment, an atmosphere permeated +with a belief in the supernatural, an absence of adequate scientific +advice, and the more primitive explanation is certain to prevail. In the +next instance--that of Martin Luther--we have just this conjuncture of +circumstances, with the inevitable result. Writing of his experience in +1530, Luther says:-- + +"When I was in Coburg in 1530, I was tormented with a noise in my ear, +just as though there was some wind tearing through my head. The devil +had something to do with it.... When I try to work, my head becomes +filled with all sorts of whizzing, buzzing, thundering noises, and if I +did not leave off on the instant I should faint away. For the last two +or three days I have not been able to even look at a letter. My head has +lessened down to a very short chapter; soon it will be only a paragraph, +then only a syllable, then nothing at all. The day your letter came from +Nuremberg I had another visit from the devil.... This time the evil one +got the better of me, drove me out of my bed, and compelled me to seek +the face of man."[13] + +There is no need to quote more of this class of cases, at least for the +present. Their name is legion. One could, in fact, construct an +ascending series of cases, all agreeing in their symptom, and differing +only in the explanation offered. The series would commence with the +explanation of a possessing spirit, and end with that of a deranged +nervous system. Ignorant of the nature, or even of the existence, of a +nervous system, primitive man explains abnormal mental states as due to +a malignant spirit. Martin Luther, George Fox, or John Bunyan, living at +a time when the activity of evil spirits was a firmly held doctrine, +attribute their infirmities to satanic influence. We are in the true +line of descent. To-day we have with us every one of the phenomena on +which the satanic theory rested, but they are described, and prescribed +for, in medical works instead of manuals of exorcism. The +supernaturalist theory gives way to that of the expert neurologist. The +exorcist is replaced by the physician. Instead of expelling an intruding +demon, we have to repair a deranged system. We cannot argue that while +these affections remain constant in character their causes may have been +different in other ages from what they are now. That is pure absurdity. +To claim that the religious mystic is in moments of exaltation brought +into contact with a "deeper reality" is to invite the retort that one +might make a similar claim on behalf of the inmates of a lunatic asylum. +We cannot, with any pretence to rationality, accept the verdicts of both +the neurologist and the exorcist. If we agree that certain states of +mind to-day have their origin in neural disorder, on what ground can we +believe that similar mental states occurring a thousand or two thousand +years ago were due to supernatural stimulation? We may be told that +there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our +philosophy. This may be true, and while it is an observation that would +not occur to a fool, it needs no supreme wisdom for its excogitation, +and as generally used it is an excuse for idle speculation and grotesque +theory. Far more useful is the lesson, sadly needed, that there are few +things in heaven or earth that will not yield their secret to a method +of investigation that is sanely conceived and diligently employed. + +The utter uselessness of accepting at its face value anyone's +explanation of the nature of his subjective experience, is well shown by +the once universal belief in witchcraft. If there is a single belief on +behalf of which a mass of apparently unimpeachable evidence could be +produced, it is this one. It has run its course throughout the whole +world. It is still accepted by probably half the human race. In our own +country eminent men, not alone theologians, but doctors, lawyers, +statesmen, and men of letters, have given their solemn testimony in its +favour. Thousands of people have been bewitched, and their symptoms +described by thousands of others. More remarkable still, those accused +have often enough confessed their guilt. Every possible corroboration +has been given to this belief, and yet it is now scouted by educated +persons all over the civilised world. Even religious teachers accept the +explanation that these witchcraft cases were due to distinctly +pathological conditions, and to the power of suggestion operating upon +uninformed minds during an unenlightened age. But communications with +spiritual beings rest on no better foundation than communication with +Satan. Whether the alleged illumination be diabolic or angelic, the +evidence for either, or both, is the same. The testimony of a man like +the Rev. R. J. Campbell that he is conscious of a divine influence in +his life is of no greater value than that of the medieval peasant who +felt himself tormented by Satan. The one person is no better authority +than is the other on such a topic. Both are the heirs of the ages, +inheritors of a superstition that goes back to the most primitive ages +of mankind, only modified in its expression by the culture of +contemporary life. + +There is nothing new under the sun, and human nature remains +substantially unchanged generation after generation. All the phenomena +on which the belief in witchcraft was based, remain. Cases of delusion +are common, and the power of suggestion is an established fact in +psychology. All that has happened is this: taking the facts on which the +belief was based, modern science has shown them to be explainable +without the slightest reference to the supernatural. And this is the +principle that must be applied in other directions. Old occurrences must +be explained in the light of new knowledge. This is the accepted rule in +other directions, and it is of peculiar value in relation to religious +beliefs. To know what religious people have thought and felt and said +gives us no more than the data for a scientific study of the subject. To +know _why_ they thought and felt and spoke thus is what we really need +to understand. But if we are to do this we must relate phases of mind +that are called religious to other phases of a non-religious character. +I believe it is quite possible to do this. From medical records and from +numerous biographies it is possible to parallel all the experiences of +the religious mystic. We can see the same sense of exaltation, the same +conviction of illumination, the same belief that one is the tool of a +superior power. Take, as merely illustrative of this, the case of J. +Addington Symonds, as narrated by Professor James, who cites it as an +example of a "mystical experience with chloroform." Symonds tells us +that until he was twenty-eight years of age he was liable to extreme +states of exaltation concerning the nature of self. (It is worth while +pointing out that Sir James Crichton-Browne expresses the opinion that +Symonds's higher nerve centres were in some degree enfeebled by these +abnormal states.) In addition to this confession he placed on record an +interesting experience while under the influence of chloroform. He +says:-- + +"After the choking and stifling had passed away, I seemed at first in a +state of utter blankness; then came flashes of intense light, +alternating with blankness, and with a keen sense of vision of what was +going on in the room around me, but no sensation of touch. I thought +that I was near death; when suddenly my soul became aware of God who was +manifestly dealing with me, handling me, so to speak, in an intense +personal reality. I felt him streaming in like light upon me.... I +cannot describe the ecstasy I felt. Then, as I gradually awoke from the +influence of the anæsthetic, the old sense of my relation with the world +began to return, the new sense of my relation to God began to fade.... +Only think of it. To have felt for that long dateless ecstasy of vision +the very God, in all purity, tenderness, and truth, and absolute love, +and then to find that I had after all had no revelation, but that I had +been tricked by the abnormal excitement of my brain." + +With a slight variation of expression this confession might have come +direct from the lips of the most pronounced mystic. There is no question +of the intense reality of the experience. That was as vivid as anything +that ever occurred to any saint in the calendar. Still, no one will +dream of claiming that the way to get _en rapport_ with the higher +mysteries is by way of a dose of chloroform. The distinction here is +that Symonds knew and described the cause of his experience. And no one +will question that the phrase "tricked by the abnormal excitement of my +brain" covers the ground. Of course, there is always the easy retort +that saints and mystics did not use chloroform to produce their visions. +True, but chloroform is not the only agent by means of which a person +may be thrown into an abnormal state. Other means may be used; and as a +matter of fact, the use of herbs and drugs, as methods of producing +ecstatic states, have obtained in religious ceremonies from the most +primitive times. As we shall see later, tobacco, hashish, coca, laurel +water, and similar agents have been largely utilised for this purpose. +And when this plan is not adopted--although very often the two things +run side by side--we find fasting and other forms of self-torture +practised because of the abnormal conditions produced. + +It is not argued or implied that in all this there was of necessity +deliberate imposture. That would imply the possession of greater +knowledge than actually existed. But it was known that ecstatic states +followed the use of certain drugs, or were consequent on certain +austerities, and they were valued because they were believed to bring +people into communion with a hidden spiritual world. In this way there +has always been going on a more or less deliberate culture of the +supernatural, in more primitive times by crude and easily recognisable +means, later by methods that are more subtle in character and more +difficult of detection. But the method of inducing a sense of +"spiritual" illumination by means of practices alien to the normal life +of man remains unchanged throughout. The collation of the conditions +under which mystical states of mind are experienced among savages with +similar experiences among the higher races, proves at once that this +statement contains no exaggeration of the facts. + +The continuity of the phenomena is, indeed, of profound significance, +and is too often ignored. It is often asserted that we have to explain +the lower by the higher, and we can only understand the significance of +religion in its lower forms by bearing in mind the higher +manifestations. This is sheer fallacy. In nature the higher develops out +of the lower, of which it is compounded. In biology, for example, it is +now generally conceded that the secret of animal life lies in the cell. +This may be modified in all kinds of directions, the resulting organic +structure may be of the utmost complexity, but the basis remains +unchanged. So, too, with a great deal of so-called religious phenomena. +The story is not only continuous, but the same elements remain unchanged +with only those modifications initiated by a changed environment. And +just as we are driven back to the cell to explain organic structure, so +for an understanding of the phenomena under consideration we must study +their primitive elements. Analysis must precede synthesis here as +elsewhere. + +A survey of the subject is not at all exhausted by a study of abnormal +conditions, so far as these have entered into the life of religion. +There still remains the study of perfectly normal frames of mind that +are misinterpreted and diverted into religious channels. The importance +of this will be seen more clearly when we come to deal with the subject +of conversion. That "conversion" is a phenomenon of adolescence is now +settled beyond all reasonable doubt. Statistics are conclusive on this +point. But the advocate of revivalism quite misses the true significance +of the fact. Current religious literature is full of quite meaningless +chatter concerning the change of view, the larger and more unselfish +activities, that arise as a consequence of conversion. There is really +no evidence that the changes indicated have any connection with +conversion. All that does happen can be more simply and more adequately +explained as resulting from physiological and psychological changes in +terms of racial and social evolution. The whole significance of +adolescence lies in the bursting into activity of feelings hitherto +dormant, and the quickening of a desire for communion with a larger +social life. The individual becomes less self-centred, more alive to, +and more responsive to the claims of others; he displays tendencies +towards what the world calls self-sacrifice, but which mean, in the +truest sense, self-realisation. That these changes are often expressed +in terms of religion is undeniable. This, however, may be no more than +an environmental accident, quite as much so as was the case when +epilepsy was explained in terms of possession. + +So far as one can see, there are no feelings or impulses characteristic +of adolescence that could not receive complete satisfaction in a +rationally ordered social life. To-day it usually happens that the +strongest expressed influences brought to bear upon the individual are +of a religious kind, with the result that adolescent human nature is +most apt to express itself in religious language. It must always be +borne in mind that we are all as dependent upon our environment for the +form in which our explanation of things is cast, as we are for the +language in which we express those ideas. The whole enquiry opened is a +very wide one, with which I can only deal parenthetically. It is really +an enquiry as to how far the religious theory of human nature rests upon +a wrong interpretation of perfectly normal feelings, or to what extent +supernaturalistic ideas are perpetuated by the exploitation--innocent +exploitation, maybe--of man's social nature. It is extremely probable +that a deeper knowledge, a more accurate analysis of human qualities, +will disclose the truth that man is a social animal in a much more +profound sense than has usually attached to that phrase, and the +expression of these qualities in terms of religious beliefs, or in terms +of non-religious beliefs, is wholly determined by the knowledge current +in the society in which he moves. + +I conclude this chapter with one more attempt to avoid misunderstanding. +For purposes of clarity it will be necessary to consider various factors +out of relation to other factors. But it should hardly need pointing out +that in actual life such a separation does not obtain. The organism +functions as a whole; each part acts upon and is acted upon by every +other part. Life in action is a synthesis, and one resorts to analysis +only for the purpose of more adequate comprehension. It is not, +moreover, pretended that any one of the factors described in the +following pages will explain religion, nor even that all of them +combined will do so. The origin of the religious idea is a quite +different enquiry, and is adequately dealt with in the writings of men +like Tylor, Frazer, Spencer, and other representatives of the various +schools of anthropologists. My present purpose is of a more restricted +kind. It is that of tracing the operation of various processes, some +normal, but most of them abnormal, that have in all ages been accepted +as evidence for the supernatural. That the religious idea has been +associated with these processes, and that for multitudes they have +served as strong evidence of its truth, cannot be denied. And an +examination of this aspect of the history of religion ought not to be +ignored, however unpalatable such a study may be to certain +supersensitive minds. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] _Varieties of Religious Experience_, pp. 11-3. + +[2] _Varieties_, p. 14. + +[3] _Religions of Primitive Peoples_, p. 50. + +[4] Page 288. + +[5] Page 410. + +[6] Page 387. + +[7] Page 370. + +[8] _Varieties_, p. 4. + +[9] "The hypothesis of faculties ... must be regarded as productive of +much error in psychology. It has led to the false supposition that +mental activity, instead of being one and the same throughout its +manifold phases, is a juxtaposition of totally distinct activities, +answering to a bundle of detached powers, somehow standing side by side, +and exerting no influence on one another. Sometimes this absolute +separation of the parts of mind has gone so far as to personify the +several faculties as though they were distinct entities."--Sully, +_Outlines of Psychology_, p. 26. + +[10] _Varieties_, p. 478. + +[11] _The Blot upon the Brain_, p. 4. + +[12] _The Blot upon the Brain_, p. 16. + +[13] Cited by Dr. Ireland, p. 49. + + + + +CHAPTER TWO + +THE PRIMITIVE MIND & ITS ENVIRONMENT + + +Ever since the time of Aristotle it has been an accepted truth that man +is a social animal. Not only is individual human nature such that it +craves for intercourse with its kind, but it can only be effectively +understood in the light of those thousands of generations of associated +life that lie behind us all. As an isolated object, considered, that is, +apart from his fellows, man is more or less of a myth. At any rate, he +would not be the man we know and so may well be left out of account. Man +as we know him is essentially a member of a group; he is a part of a +really organic structure inasmuch as the characteristics of each part +are determined by its relations to the whole, and the characteristics of +the whole determined by a synthesis of the qualities of the parts. + +But while there is agreement in the fact, there is a considerable +divergence of opinion as to its nature. What is the nature of this fact +of sociability? What is the character of the force that binds the +members of a group so closely together? By some, the cause of +sociability is found in the pressure exerted upon all by purely external +forces. The need for protection, it is said, drives human beings +together, and thus in course of time the feeling of sociability is +developed. This seems much like mistaking a consequence for a cause. It +certainly leaves unanswered the question _Why_ should people have drawn +together in the face of danger? Most certainly collective action +strengthens the capacity for defence; and it also increases the +certainty of obtaining the means of subsistence. Such consequences +furnish a justification, so to speak, of group life, but they disclose +neither its nature nor its cause. And most certainly they do not bring +us into touch with the fundamental qualities of _human_ society. The +need for food, shelter, or protection will not differentiate the +gregarious from the non-gregarious forms of life, nor the social from +the merely gregarious. All forms of life require food, protection, and +shelter; they are part of animal economics. There is nothing +specifically human about them. + +We may reach what I conceive to be the truth in another way. Environment +is to-day almost a cant word. It is very largely used, and, as one might +expect, largely misunderstood. Without actually saying it in so many +words, a vast number of people seem to conceive the environment as +consisting of the purely material surroundings of man. This is to +overlook a most important fact. Even in the lowest stages of human +society, where man's power over natural forces is of the poorest kind, +it is not an exact statement of the case, and it is profoundly untrue +when we take society in its higher developments. If we take the lowest +existing savage race we find that its attitude towards life, what it +does, and what it refrains from doing, is the product of a certain +mental attitude, which is itself the outcome of a number of inherited +ideas and customs. A number of white people, placed in exactly the same +material environment and faced with exactly the same external +circumstances, bring a different psychological inheritance into play, +and act in an entirely different manner. If we transport a Chinaman into +England, or an Englishman into China, we find that both of them possess +the same biological and material needs whether in their native country +or elsewhere. Yet this community of needs does not make the Chinaman a +member of English society, nor an Englishman a member of Chinese +society. They are one in virtue of certain broad human characteristics; +they are divided by certain qualities characteristic of their special +groups. Each society is marked by the possession of certain +psychological characteristics--a number of specific beliefs and +emotional developments--without which its distinctive group character +disappears. This is true of groups within the State; it is true of the +State as a whole; it is true, on the most general scale of all, of the +race. + +In other words, the distinguishing feature of human society is the +possession of a psychological medium. The adaptations that the human +being must make are mainly of a psychological character. Their _form_ +may be partly determined by external conditions, but this does not +affect the general truth. Whether we take man in a civilised or in an +uncivilised state we find the important thing about him to be his +relations to his fellows. He is not merely a member of a tribe or a +society, but he thinks that society's thoughts, he feels their emotions, +his individual life is an expression of the psychical life of the group +to which he belongs. And his transactions with nature are an expression +of the ideas and beliefs current in the society of which he is a part. + +The recognition of this truth was one of the outstanding contributions +of Herbert Spencer to the science of sociology. Whereas other writers +had stressed the power of the environment, as a purely material thing, +in shaping human institutions, Spencer placed chief stress upon the +emotional and intellectual life of primitive man as determining their +beginnings. He showed how man's feelings and beliefs about himself, and +about his fellows, and about the world of living forces with which he +believed himself to be surrounded, were the all-important factors of +social evolution. And the subsequent history of society has been such +that scientific sociology is very largely the study of the growth and +elaboration of an essentially psychical environment. The lower animal +world--except so far as we allow for the operation of instincts--has, +broadly, only the existence of other animals and the physical +surroundings for its environment. With man it is vastly different. Owing +primarily to language, the environment of the man of to-day is made up +in part of the ideas of men who lived and died thousands of years ago. +The use of clothing and the invention of tools would alone make mind a +dominant fact in human life. But apart from these things, the great fact +of social heredity, in virtue of which one generation enjoys the +acquired culture of preceding generations, and without which +civilisation would have no existence, is a great and dominant _mental_ +fact. Our institutions, our customs, are transmitted to us as so many +psychic facts. Every new invention, every fresh culture acquisition, is +helping to strengthen and broaden the psychical environment of man. Each +newcomer is born into it; it moulds his nature and determines his life, +as his own career and his own acquisition help to mould the life of his +successors. Whether the phenomena be simple or complex, whether we are +dealing with man in a civilised or in an uncivilised state, there is no +escape from the general truth that man is everywhere under the +domination of his mental life. + +So far as this enquiry is concerned, we need only deal with one aspect +of the psychological medium in which primitive human life moves. And so +far as primitive mankind seeks to control the movements of social life, +there can be no question that this is done under the impulsion of that +class of beliefs which we call religious. The operation of religious +belief in savage society is neither spasmodic nor local. It is, on the +contrary, universal and persistent. It influences every event of daily +life with a force that the modern mind finds very difficult to +appreciate. In almost every action the savage feels himself to be in +touch with a supersensual world of living beings that exert a direct and +inescapable influence. And any study of human evolution that is to be of +real value must take this circumstance into consideration to a far +greater extent than is usually done. Professor Frazer, dealing with the +origin of various social institutions, rightly observes that "we are +only beginning to understand the mind of the savage, and therefore the +mind of our savage forefathers who created these institutions and handed +them down to us," and warns us that "a knowledge of the truth may +involve a reconstruction of society such as we can hardly dream of." He +also warns us that we have at all times, in dealing with social origins, +to "reckon with the influence of superstition, which pervades the life +of the savage and has contributed to build up the social organism to an +incalculable extent."[14] + +In emphasising this it must not be taken to imply that because social +institutions and human actions are in primitive times moulded by +religious beliefs, they stand to them in a relation of complete +dependence. It only means that the psychological medium is of such a +character that supernaturalistic reasons are found for doings things +that are susceptible to a totally different explanation. The facts of +life are expressed in terms of supernaturalism. Birth, marriage, death, +social cohesion, leadership, health and disease, are all natural facts, +and the mere play of social selection determines the weeding out of +practices that are sufficiently adverse to tribal well-being to threaten +its security. But in primitive times all these facts are allied with +religious beliefs, and to the primitive mind the religious belief +becomes the chief feature connected with them. As a matter of fact, this +is far from an uncommon feature of social life to-day. The amount of +supernaturalism current is still very large; and one still finds people +explaining some of the plainest facts of social life in terms of +supernaturalistic beliefs. It is all part of the truth that man is +always under the domination of the psychological forces. + +This being granted, the enquiry immediately presents itself, How comes +it that the facts of social life should be expressed in terms of +supernaturalism? Why do these facts not immediately present themselves +in their true nature? To answer this question one must bear in mind a +yet further truth. This is that the explanation which man offers to +himself or to others of phenomena must always be in terms of current +knowledge. A modern called upon to explain a storm, an eclipse, or a +disease, does so in terms of current physical or biological science. +This is done in virtue of a mass of prepared knowledge, slowly +accumulated by preceding generations, and which forms part of his social +heritage. Primitive man likewise explains things in terms of current +knowledge, but in his case the amount of reliable information is of a +very scanty and generally erroneous description. The inherited knowledge +which enables a modern schoolboy to start life with what would have been +an outfit to an ancient philosopher, had yet to be created. Instead of +finding, as we find, tools ready to hand, replies prepared to questions +that may arise, primitive mankind must create its own tools and prepare +its own answers. And in consequence of this the social environment, +which at all times determines the form of man's mental output, is with +primitive man radically different from our own. But however the form +varies there is agreement on this one point--in both cases phenomena are +explained in terms of known forces; the reasoning of each is determined +by the knowledge of each. The laws of mental life remain the same in all +stages of culture. The brain functions identically whether we take the +savage or the scientist. In a general way the savage intelligence is as +rational as that of a modern thinker. The difference is dependent upon +the accuracy and extent of the information possessed by each. Hence the +vital difference in the conclusions reached. Hence, too, the dominance +of supernaturalism in primitive times. + +The great distinction between primitive and scientific thinking may be +expressed in a sentence--the modern mind explains man by the world, +primitive thought explained the world by man. In the one case we move +from within outward, in the other from without inward. We are not now +concerned with semi-metaphysical idealistic theories that would reduce +the "whole choir of heaven and furniture of earth" to the creation of +mental activity, but with the plain, understandable truth that the +human organism is fashioned by the environment in which it dwells. And +there is amongst those capable of expressing an authoritative +opinion--an agreement supported by evidence that has simply nothing +against it--that the world of primitive man is overpoweringly animistic. +In the absence of that mass of scientifically verified knowledge which +forms part of our social heritage, humanity commences its intellectual +career by endowing natural forces with the qualities possessed by +itself. The forces conceived are living ones. They are to be dreaded +exactly as human beings are to be dreaded; to be appeased or +circumvented by the same methods that man applies to his fellows. The +problem before the savage is thus a very real one. In essence it is the +problem that is ever before humanity--that of subjugating forces to its +own welfare. Primitive man is not, however, concerned with the +elaboration of theories; nor is he consumed with vague 'spiritual +yearnings.' His difficulty is how to control or placate those invisible +but very real powers upon which he believes everything depends. He would +willingly ignore them if he could, and would cheerfully dispense with +their presence altogether if he believed that things would proceed as +well in their absence. But there they are, inescapable facts that have +to be reckoned with. + +The general outlook of the primitive mind is well put by Miss Mary +Kingsley in the following passage:-- + +"To the African the Universe is made up of matter permeated by spirit. +Everything happens by the direct action of spirit. The thing he does +himself is done by the spirit within him acting on his body ... +everything that is done by other things is done by their spirit +associated with their particular mass of matter.... The native will +point out to you a lightning-stricken tree and tell you that its spirit +has been killed. He will tell you, when the earthen cooking pot is +broken, it has lost its spirit. If his weapon fails him, it is because +someone has stolen its spirit or made it weak by means of his influence +on spirits of the same class.... In every action of his life he shows +you how he lives with a great spirit world around him. You see him +before he starts out to fight rubbing stuff into his weapon to +strengthen the spirit that is in it; telling it the while what care he +has taken of it.... You see him leaning over the face of the water +talking to its spirit with proper incantations, asking it when it meets +an enemy of his to upset his canoe and destroy him.... If a man is +knocked on the head with a club, or shot by an arrow or a bullet, the +cause of death is clearly the malignity of persons using these weapons; +and so it is easy to think that a man killed by the falling of a tree, +or by the upsetting of a canoe in the surf, or in a whirlpool in the +river is also a victim of some being using these things as weapons. For +a man holding this view, it seems both natural and easy to regard +disease as a manifestation of the wrath of some invisible being, and to +construct that intricate system which we find among the Africans, and +agree to call Witchcraft, Fetish, or Juju."[15] + +Miss Kingsley is here dealing specifically with West Africa, but her +description applies in a general way to uncivilised people all over the +world. There is much closer resemblance between the beliefs of +uncivilised peoples than between civilised ones, because the conditions +are much more alike. And under substantially identical conditions the +human mind has everywhere reached substantially identical conclusions. +The philosophy of the savage is simple, comprehensive, and, given the +data, logical. He does not divide the world into the natural and the +supernatural; it is all one. At most, he has only the seen and the +unseen. The supernatural, as a distinct category, only appears when a +definite knowledge of the natural has arisen to which it can be opposed. +He has no such distinction as that of the material and the immaterial; +so far as he thinks of these things, the invisible is only a finer form +of the visible. Of one thing, however, he is perfectly convinced, and +this is that he is at all times surrounded by a host of invisible +agencies to which all occurrences are due, and with whom he must come to +terms. Even death wears a different aspect to the primitive mind from +that which it presents to the modern. To us death puts a sharp and +abrupt termination to life. To the primitive mind death involves no such +ending.[16] Death is no more of a break than is sleep; and at all times +the conception of an annihilation of personality requires a marked +degree of mental power. So with the savage--the 'dead' man simply goes +on living. He may be incarnated in some natural object, or he may simply +go on living as one of the innumerable company of tribal ghosts. But he +remains a force to be reckoned with, and the need for dealing with these +ghostly personages is one of the ever-present problems of primitive +sociology, and brings us very near the beginnings of all religious +beliefs and ceremonies--if it does not form their real starting-point. + +On one point all modern schools of anthropologists are agreed. This is +that man's first conception of the supernatural--or what afterwards +ranks as such--is derived from a purely mistaken interpretation of +natural phenomena. In this they have returned to the standpoint of +Hobbes, that "fear of things invisible" forms the "natural seed of +religion." One source of origin of this belief in a supernatural world +is certainly found in the phenomena of dreaming. To the savage his +dreams are as real as his waking experiences. He does not _dream_ he +goes to distant places; he goes there during his sleep. He does not +_dream_ that people visit him; they actually come. If a West African +wakes up in the morning with a tired, bruised feeling, this arises, as +Miss Kingsley says, from his 'soul' having been out fighting and got +ill-treated. The only philosophy of dreaming amongst savage races is +that of the excursions and incursions of a 'soul' or double. + +Another powerful factor in the development of belief in the supernatural +is that of man's attempt to explain natural happenings. Why do things +happen? Why does the sun rise and set, why does rain fall, thunder +crash, rivers flow? Note the way in which a child answers similar +questions, and one is on the track of the primitive intelligence. If +man's own movements are caused by a 'soul' or double, then other things +must also move because they possess a 'soul.' If an answer is to be +found at all, it is only along these lines that the primitive mind is +able to find it. And, once the answer is given, there are a thousand +and one things occurring that lend it apparent support. Resemblances in +nature, coincidences, echoes, shadows, etc., all give their support to +this primitive hypothesis--the only one possible in the circumstances, +and the one still endorsed by the majority of the world's population. + +Particularly strong endorsement of this belief is supplied by disease +and abnormal nervous states. Instances to illustrate this are +innumerable, but from the numerous cases cited by Spencer I select the +following: Among the Amazulus convulsions are believed to be caused by +ancestral spirits. With Asiatic races epileptics are regarded as +possessed by demons. With the Kirghiz the involuntary muscular movements +of a woman in childbirth are believed to be caused by a spirit taking +possession of the body. The Samoans attribute all madness to possession. +The Congo people have the same notion of epilepsy. The East Africans +believe that falling sickness is due to spirits.[17] In Rajputana, says +Mr. W. Crooke, disease is generally attributed to Khor or the agency of +offended spirits. The Mahadeo Kolis of Ahmadnagar believe that every +malady or disease that seizes man, woman, or child, or cattle, is caused +either by evil spirits or by an angry god. The Bijapur Veddas have a +yearly feast to their ancestors to prevent the dead bringing sickness +into the house.[18] "A Catholic missionary," says Professor Frazer, +"observes that in New Guinea the _nepir_, or sorcerer, is everywhere.... +Nothing happens without the sorcerer's intervention; wars, marriage, +death, expeditions, fishing, hunting, always and everywhere the +sorcerer."[19] + +In Ancient Egypt, Chaldea, and Assyria there is ample evidence that the +same belief flourished. Everywhere we find the exorcist and the +witch-doctor existing as natural consequents of the belief that disease +has a supernatural origin. We see it in both the teaching and practice +of the early Christian Church. That great father of the Church, Origen, +says: "It is demons which produce famine, unfruitfulness, corruption of +the air, and pestilence." St. Augustine said that "All diseases of +Christians are to be ascribed to demons." The Church of England still +retains in its Articles an authorisation for the expulsion of demons; +and a number of charms yet in wide use amongst civilised nations show +how persistent is this belief. For centuries there existed all over +Europe sacred pools, wells, grottos, etc., all bearing eloquent witness +to the deep-seated belief that disease was of supernatural origin, and +was to be conquered by supernatural means. + +Enough has been said to indicate the kind of environment in which +primitive man moves, and also to understand why ideas concerning the +supernatural exert such an enormous influence in early society. In a +world where everything was yet to be learned, man's first attempts at +understanding himself and his fellows were necessarily blundering and +tentative. His first attempts at explanation are expressed in terms of +his own nature. He sees himself, his own passions, strengths, and +weaknesses reflected in the nature around him. This is the outstanding, +dominating fact in primitive life. Leave out this consideration and +primitive sociology becomes a chaos. Admit it, and we see the reason why +social institutions assumed the form they took, and also a key to much +that happens in subsequent human history. In primitive life religious +beliefs are not something separate from other forms of social life; so +far as man seeks consciously to shape that life they are to him an +essential part of it. And the mistake once made is perpetuated. The +initial blunder once committed, daily experience seems to give it +constant justification. In the absence of knowledge concerning natural +forces every event,--particularly if unusual,--every case of disease, +endorses and strengthens the mistake made. A psychological fatality +drives the human race along the wrong path of investigation, and only +very slowly is the mistake rectified. One cannot see how it could have +been otherwise. The only corrective is knowledge, and knowledge is a +plant of slow growth. This psychological first step was man's first +attempt to frame a theory of things satisfactory to his intellect--an +attempt that, beginning in the crude animism of the savage, ends in the +verifiable laws of modern science. + +From the point of view of our present enquiry two things are to be +noted. The first is that man's conviction of the nearness of a +supernatural world began in his lack of knowledge concerning the nature +of natural forces. Of this there can be little doubt. One can take all +the facts upon which primitive mankind built, and still builds, its +theories of supernaturalism, and show that they may be explained in a +quite different manner. The movements of the planets, the rush of +comets, the presence of disaster, the thousand and one operations of +natural forces no longer suggest to educated minds the action of +personal beings. The whole data of the primitive theory of things have +been rejected. The premises were false, and the conclusions necessarily +false also. + +The second point is that from the earliest times one of the strongest +proofs of human contact with a supernatural world has been found in the +existence of abnormal or pathological states of mind. These may have +sometimes arisen quite naturally; at other times they have been +deliberately induced. How much the perpetuation of religious beliefs as +a whole owes to this factor has never yet been adequately realised. That +it has had a very great influence seems beyond dispute. For it seems +certain that had not "proofs" of a supernatural world been offered in +the shape of visions, ecstatic states, etc., religious beliefs would +hardly have exercised the power that has been theirs. The number of +people who are able to maintain a strong consciousness of the truth of +religion, merely looking at it as a philosophy of existence, is +naturally very few. The great majority require more tangible evidence if +their belief is to be kept alive and active. And curiously enough, the +very growth of a naturalistic explanation has driven a great many to +find the evidence they desired in those abnormal states of mind that +seemed to defy scientific analysis. In succeeding chapters evidence will +be given to show to what extent this kind of evidence for the +supernatural has been offered and accepted. It will be seen, as +Professor Tylor points out, that the line of religious development is +continuous. The latest forms stretch back in an unbroken line to the +earliest. And if this proves nothing else, it at least proves that +consequences do not always die out with the conditions that gave them +birth. It was the world of the savage that gave birth to the +supernatural. But the supernatural is still with us, even though the +world that gave it birth has disappeared. We retain conclusions based on +admittedly false premises. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[14] _Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship_, pp. 36-7. + +[15] _West African Studies_, pp. 394-6. + +[16] See an interesting article on this point by W. H. R. Rivers on "The +Primitive Conception of Death," in _The Hibbert Journal_ for Jan. 1912. + +[17] _Principles of Sociology_, vol. i. + +[18] _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_, i. p. 124. + +[19] _Golden Bough_, 3rd ed., i. 337. + + + + +CHAPTER THREE + +THE RELIGION OF MENTAL DISEASE + + +"It is an interesting problem," says Professor J. H. Leuba, "to +determine what influences have led theologians to anchor their beliefs +upon the proposition that religious experience differs from other forms +of consciousness in that it gives one an _immediate_ knowledge of the +external existence of certain objects of belief, although they do not +fall under the senses, and an immediate knowledge of the truth of +certain historical facts."[20] This is, indeed, an interesting problem, +and, we may add, one of growing importance, since there is a pronounced +tendency on the part of present-day exponents of religion to rest their +case almost entirely upon the immediacy of their religious +consciousness. This conception of a certain order of experience, +however, is not and cannot have always existed. A belief may be so +widely and so generally diffused that it is accepted without resistance, +and, as it would almost seem, in the absence of evidence. But its +intuitive character is only superficial, and disappears on careful +examination. The mere vogue of a belief constitutes in itself a kind of +evidence, and for many people the most powerful kind of evidence. But +the conviction itself has a history, and it is in the unravelling of +that history, in the discovery of the class of facts upon which the +conviction has been built, that the work lies. And when this is done it +will be found that our intuitions are invariably based upon a +continuous--even though partly unconscious--appeal to facts. Sometimes +it will, of course, be found that a renewed and deliberate appeal to the +facts in question will justify the conviction. At other times it will +be found that the facts demand an altogether new interpretation. For +centuries all the observed facts supported a conviction that the earth +was flat. It was a fresh scrutiny of the facts in the light of a new +conception that revolutionised human opinion on the subject. + +What, then, is the history, and what are the facts upon which the belief +that religious experience brings man into contact with a kind of +existence not given in ordinary experience, is based? The kind of answer +that will be given to this question has already been indicated. +Religious beliefs are in their origin of the nature of an induction from +an observed order. The induction is not the result of that careful +collection of facts, leading up to an equally careful generalisation and +subsequent verification, which is a characteristic of modern science, +but it is an induction none the less. The primitive mind is not so much +engaged in seeking an explanation of certain experiences, as it has an +explanation forced upon it. To picture the savage as inventing a theory +in the sense in which Darwin propounded the theory of Natural Selection +is to quite misconceive the nature of the savage intelligence. But to +conceive the savage as having a certain explanation suggested by the +pressure of repeated experiences, and that this explanation subsequently +assumes the character of a fixed belief, is well within the scope of the +facts known to us. In this stage of culture the existence of +supernatural beings is as much a deduction from experience as any modern +scientific generalisation. Certain things are seen, certain feelings are +experienced, and the conclusion is that they are the products of +supernatural agency. From this point of view religion is no more than a +primitive science. It is the first stage of that long series of +generalisations which, beginning with crude animism, ends with the +discoveries of a Copernicus, a Newton, a Darwin, or a Spencer. It is a +history that begins with vitalism and ends with mechanism. We commence +with a world in which there exists a chaotic assemblage of independent +personal forces, and end with a universe that is self-acting, +self-adjusting, self-contained, and in which science makes no allowance +for the operation of intelligence save such as meets us in animal +organisation. + +Now amongst the facts that suggest to the primitive intelligence the +operation of 'spiritual' forces are those connected with the human +organism itself in both its normal and abnormal states. But it is +important to note--particularly so for the understanding of the part +played by ecstatic religious phenomena in comparatively recent +times--that once the occurrence of a certain state of mind is conceived +as the product of intercourse between man and spirits, there is every +inducement to cultivate these frames of mind whenever renewed +intercourse is desired. This does not imply, at least in the earlier +stages, conscious imposture. Generally the operator imposes on himself +as much as he imposes on others. Noting that privation of body, or +torture of mind, or the use of certain herbs is followed by visions or +ecstasy, it is believed, not that the vision is the product of the +practice, but that the practice is the condition of illumination. + +This attitude of mind is fairly paralleled by what takes place at the +ordinary spiritualistic _seance_. Those attending are advised that the +chief condition of a communication with the inhabitants of the other +world is a passive state of mind. This passivity cannot exclude +expectancy, since it is only assumed in order that something may occur. +If nothing occurs, if no communications are received, it is because the +requisite conditions have not been fulfilled, and the sceptic is met +with much semi-scientific jargon as to conditions being necessary to +every scientific investigation. The fact that this passivity and +expectancy, with other attendant circumstances, not the least of which +is the contagious influence of a number of people with a similar mental +disposition, opens the way to self-delusion is ignored. Then when the +expected and desired result follows, the mental attitude cultivated is +taken as the condition of communication with the spiritual world, +instead of its being, in all probability, the true cause of what is +experienced. In this way the story of supernatural intercourse runs +clear and unbroken from primitive savagery to its survival in modern +civilisation. When Professor Tylor says, "The conception of the human +soul is, as to its most essential nature, continuous from the philosophy +of the savage thinker to that of the modern professor of theology,"[21] +he makes a statement that is true of the whole story of supernatural +intercourse in all its varied manifestations. + +The chief distinction between primitive and modern man lies in the +consideration that in the first case the blunder is inevitable, in the +latter case the remedy lies to hand. How could primitive man be aware of +the real connection between the use of certain drugs or herbs and an +excitation or depression of the activities of the nervous system? He +does observe consequences, but he is quite ignorant of causes. Even +to-day their full consequences are unknown; and it is absurd to expect +that savage humanity should have been better informed. And even when a +more rational theory exists, the practice persists under various forms. +This is a principle that receives vivid illustration from the history of +religions. The modern believer in mystical states of consciousness no +longer advocates the use of drugs, and even fasting is going out of +fashion. But we still have a continuation of the primitive practice in +the shape of insistence on the cultivation of abnormal frames of mind if +we are to experience a consciousness of communion with an alleged +supersensible reality. That is, we are to achieve by a mental discipline +what the savage or the medieval monk achieved by coarser and more +obvious methods. To withdraw the mind from the normal influence of +everyday life is to expose it to the play of hallucination and delusion. +There is really no vital difference between unhealthy, solitary brooding +on a given subject and drugging the mind with hashish. This class of +modern mystic is one with the savage in an inability to recognise that +the illumination is the product of the discipline, not the mere +condition of its possession. Between the drug of the savage, the fasting +and self-torture of the medieval monk and the prayerful meditation of +the modern mystic, the difference is only that of changed times and +altered conditions. The method is the same throughout. + +The truth of this has been well put by Tylor:-- + +"The religious beliefs of the lower races are in no small measure based +on the evidence of visions and dreams, regarded as actual intercourse +with spiritual being. From the earliest stages of culture we find +religion in close alliance with ecstatic physical conditions. These are +brought on by various means of interference with the healthy action of +body and mind, and it is scarcely needful to remind the reader that, +according to philosophic theories antecedent to those of modern +medicine, such morbid disturbances are explained as symptoms of divine +visitation, or at least of superhuman spirituality. Among the strongest +means of disturbing the functions of the mind so as to produce ecstatic +vision, is fasting, accompanied, as it usually is, with other +privations, and with prolonged solitary contemplation in the desert or +in the forest. Among the ordinary vicissitudes of savage life, the wild +hunter has many a time to try involuntarily the effects of such a life +for days together, and under these circumstances he soon comes to see +and talk with phantoms which are to him invisible spirits. The secret of +spiritual intercourse thus learnt, he has thence-forth but to reproduce +the cause in order to renew the effects."[22] + +As a means, then, of strengthening and perpetuating a consciousness of +intercourse with the spiritual world, we have to reckon with, not merely +the accidental occurrence of abnormal nervous conditions, but with their +deliberate cultivation. The practice is world-wide, and persists in some +form or other in all ages. Thus we find the Australians and many tribes +of North American Indians use tobacco for this purpose. In Western +Siberia a species of fungi, the 'fly Agaric,' so called because it is +often steeped and the solution used to destroy house flies, is used to +produce religious ecstasy. Its action on the muscular system is +stimulatory, and it greatly excites the nervous system.[23] An early +Spanish observer says of the ancient Mexicans that they used a kind of +mushroom, "which are eaten raw, and on account of being bitter, they +drink after them, or eat with them a little honey of bees, and shortly +after they see a thousand visions."[24] The mushroom was called the +"bread of the gods." The Californian Indians give children tobacco, in +order to receive instruction from the resulting visions. North American +Indians held intoxication by tobacco to be supernatural ecstasy, and the +dreams of men in this state to be inspired. The Darien Indians use the +seeds of the Datura Sanguinea to induce visions. In Peru the priests +prepared themselves for intercourse with the gods by partaking of a +narcotic drink from the same plant. In Guiana the priest was prepared +for his functions by fasting and flagellation, and was afterwards dosed +with tobacco juice.[25] In India the Laws of Manu give explicit +instructions as to the means of producing visions. Chief of these is the +use of the 'Soma' drink. This is prepared from the flower of the lotus. +The sap of this, says De Candolle, would be poisonous if taken in large +quantities, but in small doses merely induces hallucination. Opium and +hashish, a preparation of the hemp plant, have been in general use among +Eastern peoples, as a means of producing ecstasy from remote antiquity. +Opium, it is well known, produces an extraordinary state of exaltation, +intensifying the sense of one's personality, and inducing a pleasurable +consciousness of mental strength and clarity. Under its influence, as De +Quincey said, time lengthens to infinity and space swells to +immensity.[26] Belladonna, a drug much used by medieval witches and +sorcerers, has also had its vogue for purely religious purposes. With +the Greeks the laurel was sacred to Æsculapius. Those who wished to ask +counsel of the god appeared before the altar crowned with laurel and +chewing its leaves. Before prophesying, the Greek priestesses drank a +preparation of laurel water. This contains, although it was, of course, +unknown to them, two toxic substances--prussic acid and the volatile oil +of laurel. The first would induce convulsions, the second, hallucinatory +visions. The two combined were calculated to produce with both subject +and observer a profound impression of spiritual illumination and +possession. + +It is unnecessary to multiply examples of the action of various drugs or +herbs on the nervous system, or to cite the people who use them. Enough +has been said to indicate how widespread is the practice, and the +consequences are not hard to foresee. A very moderate development of +intelligence would enable men to associate certain consequences with the +use of particular drugs, but a very considerable amount of knowledge +would be required to explain why these consequences were produced. In a +social environment saturated with superstition the explanation lies +ready to hand, and is accepted without question. A people that sees +spiritual agency in all the familiar phenomena of nature are certainly +not less likely to trace its influence in the mysterious and +unaccountable effects of narcotics and stimulants. And each repeated +experiment provides additional proof. Man thus not only believes himself +to be surrounded by a spiritual world; he is actually able to enter into +communication with it by methods that are defined in the clearest +possible manner. Every repetition strengthens the delusion and even +when the delusion, as such, is exploded, the temper of mind induced by +it persists. + +Various other methods are employed to induce a feeling of religious +exaltation. Prominent among these are dancing and singing. Dancing in +connection with religious ceremonies is now generally outgrown in the +civilised world, but singing is still the vogue. That is, singing is +not, it must be remembered, practised from any desire to cultivate a +love of music, although it may appeal to music-lovers. Still, its avowed +purpose is to induce a feeling of devoutness in the congregation. The +hypnotic consequences of a body of people singing in unison, or the +soothing, mystical effect of certain airs from a choir upon a +congregation, are recognised in practice if not in theory. This is a +phenomenon that is not, of course, exclusively associated with religion. +In this as in other instances religion only utilises the ordinary +qualities of human nature. But in all cases the purpose and the result +are the same. That is, the subject is placed for the time being in a +supernormal condition, and the mild state of passivity or enthusiasm +created makes him more susceptible to the influence brought to bear upon +him. This is true of religious singing and chanting, from the forest +gatherings of the primitive savage down to the more sedate and elaborate +assemblages in church or chapel. + +Primitive dancing had both a sexual and religious significance, +although, as will be seen later, in the primitive mind the sexual +functions themselves are very closely associated with supernatural +agency. Tylor is of opinion that originally men and women dance in order +to express their feelings and wishes,[27] but it is certain it very +early and universally became associated with religious ceremonies, and +that because of the ecstasy induced. In some cases drug-taking and +dancing go together. In others, reliance is placed on dancing alone. +This latter is the case with the 'devil dancers' of Ceylon. In Africa +the witch doctor discovers who has been guilty of sorcery by the aid of +inspiration furnished during a dance. The whirling dance of the Eastern +dervish is well known. Dancing also figures in the Bible. The Jews +danced around the golden calf (Ex. xxxii. 19) in a state of nudity. +David, too, danced naked before the Lord. Dancing was also part of the +religious ceremonies attendant on the worship of Dionysos or +Bacchus.[28] Along with the drinking of certain vegetable decoctions, +dancing formed an important part of the witches' saturnalia during the +medieval period. When in a state of frenzy, partly drug induced and +partly the product of exhilaration caused by wild dancing, visions of +Satan followed. In the dancing mania of the fourteenth century, the +sufferers saw visions of heaven opened, with Jesus and the Virgin +enthroned. Dancing was one of the prominent characteristics of the +French Convulsionnaires in the eighteenth century. In more recent times +we have the dancing and singing connected with the Methodist revival. In +modern instances the dancing seems to have been consequent on religious +excitement rather than precedent to it, but in earlier times there is no +doubt that it was deliberately practised as a means of producing a state +of exaltation. + +Among the commonest methods of inducing a sense of religious exaltation +is the practice of fasting. In various guises, this is the most +persistent form of religious self-torture. Amongst more civilised people +the reason given for fasting is that it is a form of repentance, the +genuineness of which is attested by voluntary punishment. But originally +there seems little reason to doubt that it was adopted for a different +purpose. It was valued not because the fasting person felt that he had +done anything for which it was necessary to repent, but because it was +believed to bring people into closer touch with the spiritual world. +There is, of course, a very obvious reason for this belief. A lowered +vitality is favourable to hallucinations of every description. A +shipwrecked sailor is placed, by no act of his own, in precisely the +same condition as is the primitive medicine man or the medieval saint by +his own volition. It has always been recognised, and by none more +readily than by the great religious teachers of the world, that a +well-nourished body is inimical to what they chose to term "spiritual +development." The historic Christian outcry against fleshly indulgence +has much more in it than a revolt against mere sensualism. A well-fed +body has been deprecated because it closed the avenue to spiritual +illumination. Hence it is that fasting has found such favour in all +religious systems. The ascetic saw more because, by reducing the body to +an abnormal state, he provided the conditions for seeing more. The Zulu +maxim, "A stuffed body cannot see secret things," really expresses in a +sentence the philosophy of the matter. + +Among the Blackfoot Indians of North America, when a boy reaches puberty +he is sent away from his father's lodge in search of a spiritual +protector or totem. Seeking a secluded spot, he abstains from food until +he is favoured in a dream with a vision of some animal or bird, which is +at once adopted by him.[29] This custom obtains with most of the North +American tribes. Among these tribes, also, the soothsayer prepares +himself by fasting for the ecstatic state in which the spirits give +their messages through him. The ordinary member of the tribe who wants +anything will fast until he is assured in a dream that it will be +granted him. Similarly, the Malay, to procure supernatural intercourse, +retires to the jungle and abstains from food. The Zulu doctor prepares +for intercourse with the tribal spirits by spare diet or solitary fasts. +Fasting is part of the ordinary regimen of the Hindu yogi. Of certain +Indian tribes we are told that before proceeding on an expedition they +"observe a rigorous fast, or rather abstain from every kind of food for +four days. In this interval their imagination is exalted to delirium; +whether it be through bodily weakness or the natural effect of delirium, +they pretend to have strange visions. The elders and sages of the tribe, +being called upon to interpret these dreams, draw from them omens more +or less favourable to the success of the enterprise; and their +explanations are received as oracles, by which the expedition will be +faithfully regulated."[30] Amongst the Samoans, when rain was required, +the priests blackened themselves all over, exhumed a dead body, took the +skeleton to a cave and poured water over it. They had to fast and remain +in the cave until it rained. Sometimes they died under the experiment, +but they generally chose the showery months for their rain-making.[31] + +In both the Old and New Testaments fasting figures largely. The +encounter of Jesus with Satan is preceded by a forty days' fast. St. +Catherine of Sienna began regular fasts at a very early age. Santa +Teresa kept lengthy fasts every year. The fasting of the monks and nuns +during the epidemic period of monasticism is too well known to call for +more than a mere reference. Perhaps the most curious religious reason +given for fasting is that cited by a writer from a monkish chronicler:-- + +"As a coach goes faster when it is empty, a man by fasting can be better +united to God; for it is a principle with geometers that a round body +can never touch a plane except in one point.... A belly too well filled +becomes round, it cannot touch God except in one point; but fasting +flattens the belly until it is united with the surface of God at all +points."[32] + +George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, confesses that he +"fasted much" and "walked abroad in solitary places," and "frequently in +the night walked about mournfully by myself." After much brooding and +fasting, he heard a voice which said, "There is one, even Jesus Christ, +that can speak to thy condition." Such an experience is not at all +surprising, seeing the method pursued to acquire it. Less fasting and +brooding, with more genial intercourse with his fellows, might easily +have prevented Fox, as it has prevented others, hearing heavenly voices +proffering him counsel. Such an experience is well within the reach of +anyone who cares to acquire it. Tylor has well said that "So long as +fasting is continued as a religious rite, so long the consequences in +morbid mental exaltation will continue the old savage doctrine that +morbid phantasy is supernatural experience. Bread and meat would have +robbed the ascetic of many an angel's visit; the opening of the +refectory door must many a time have closed the gate of heaven to his +gaze." No one will question the truth of this principle, so long as we +are dealing with uncivilised mankind. Many, however, shrink from +acknowledging that the practices current in more civilised times are +disguised illustrations of the same principle of interpretation, which +descends direct from savages, and but for them would never have existed. + +Commenting on the practices of certain savage medicine-men, a missionary +remarks:-- + +"It always appeared probable to me that these rogues, from long fasting, +contract a weakness of brain, a giddiness, a kind of delirium, which +makes them imagine that they are gifted with superior wisdom, and give +themselves out for physicians. They impose upon themselves first, and +afterwards upon others."[33] + +This is shrewdly said, and is a good example of the readiness with which +obvious truths are recognised when they do not clash with religious +prepossessions. The difficulty for others is to discern any real line of +demarcation between the practices of civilised and uncivilised. So far +as one can see, the only real distinction is that the method employed by +savages is open. That followed by civilised people is more or less +disguised. But derangement of function is derangement of function, no +matter how produced. And if we decline to believe that a savage holds +genuine intercourse with a spiritual world, as a consequence of this +derangement, in what way are we justified in accepting the testimony of +a Christian visionary to similar intercourse, when the derangement is in +his case no less clear? It is a case of accepting both, or neither. The +sane and scientific conclusion seems to lie in the following from Dr. +Henry Maudsley:-- + +"Now that the mental functions are known to be inseparably connected +with nervous substrata, disposed and united in the brain in the most +orderly fashion, superordinate, co-ordinate, and subordinate--the whole +a complex organisation of confederate nerve centres, each capable of +more or less independent action--a natural interpretation presents +itself. The extraordinary states of mental disintegration evince the +separate and irregular function of certain mental nerve tracts, or +grouped nerve tracts with which goes necessarily a coincident +suspension, partial or complete, of the functions of all the rest; the +supernatural incubus, therefore, neither demoniac nor divine, only +morbid. Thus the strange nervous seizures, with their mental +concomitants, not being outside the range of positive research, but +interesting events within it, become useful natural experiments to throw +an instructive light upon the intricate functions of the most complex +organ in the world--the human brain. Steadily are the researches of +pathology driving the supernatural back into its last and most obscure +retreat; for they prove that in the extremest ecstasies there is neither +_theolepsy_ nor _diabolepsy_, nor any other _lepsy_ in the sense of +possession of the individual by an external power; what there is truly +is a _psycholepsy_."[34] + +States of exaltation produced by the aid of drugs, fasting, or other +forms of self-torture come naturally under the category of deliberately +induced states of mind, owing to the conviction that spiritual knowledge +may be gained in this way. But there are other states that arise +naturally and which foster the same conviction. It has already been +pointed out that the generally accepted theory with uncivilised peoples +is that all disease is due to the action of malevolent spirits. There is +no need now to repeat proof of this, and in any case it lies to hand in +any work that deals with uncivilised life. Nor need we go back to +uncivilised times for evidence. One requires only to look but a very +little way into the history of any country to find the supernaturalistic +theory of disease in full swing, and even to-day one may discover +indications of its once general rule. Its importance to the present +enquiry lies in the part it has played in building up in the religious +consciousness a general conviction of religious truth that does not +disappear even when it is seen that the evidence upon which it rests is +faulty. Just as the inhabitants of a Welsh village have their general +belief in religion strengthened by the semi-hysterical speeches of an +Evan Roberts, and the convulsive capers of a whole congregation, so in +all ages people have found endorsement of their belief in a supernatural +world in the existence of cases the pathological nature of which admits +of no doubt. Belief in the supernatural character of specific nervous +conditions or mental states may disappear, but the fact that this +belief has been general for a time leaves behind a certain psychological +residuum in favour of supernaturalism in general. + +The connection between the priest and the physician is naturally a very +ancient one. The priest, indeed, is the primitive physician, the belief +that diseases are supernaturally caused indicating him as the agent of +their cure. And it is only to be expected that when the attempt is made +to divert the treatment of disease from priestly hands the effort should +be met with determined opposition. Quite naturally, too, the first +gropings after a scientific theory of disease show a curious mixture of +rationalism and superstition. Thus, in Greece, the temple hospitals +devoted to the mythical Æsculapius, which were situated at Epidaurus, +Pergamus, Cyrene, Corinth, and many other places, served as colleges, +hospitals, and places of worship. Sufferers slept in the temples in the +hopes of receiving messages from the gods, and the priests themselves +professed to have ecstatic visions which enabled them to prescribe for +those afflicted.[35] Great emphasis was placed on bathing, light, air, +and food, and it is pretty clear that the priests had begun to mix both +faith and physic in a most perplexing manner. + +The definite separation of medicine from magic and religion begins with +Hippocrates. His theory of disease was simple. He did not deny that +there might be a supernatural side to disease; he insisted that there +was always a natural one, and that this was the side with which we +should be concerned. Each disorder, he said, had its own physical +conditions, and he laid down the rule that we "ought to study the nature +of man, what he is with reference to that which he eats and drinks, and +to all his other occupations and habits, and to the consequences +resulting from each."[36] In Egypt, also, very considerable advance was +made in the same direction. Probably a good deal of their knowledge +resulted from the practice of embalming, in spite of the priestly +interdict on dissection. At all events, there is no doubt that +considerable advance had been made. Herophilus and Erasistratus wrote of +the structure of the heart, and described its connection with the veins +and arteries. The two kinds of nerves, motor and sensory, were +described, and the influence of foods, etc., as influencing health, +dwelt on. Insanity was also dealt with as due to natural and +controllable causes, and the effects of colour and music in dealing with +mania noted.[37] Had this advance been followed, the history of European +civilisation might have been different from what it was. Plagues, +epidemics, and diseases, with their far-reaching social and political +consequences,--consequences that are too little noted, or even +understood, by historians,--might have met with adequate resistance, and +some would never have occurred. + +The Pagan schools of medicine came to an untimely, although in some +cases a lingering, end. "The introduction of Christianity," says a +medical writer, "had an undoubted influence on the course of medical +science; for the Christian was taught to recognise, in every bodily +infirmity, the dispensation of the Almighty, and in the calm, abstracted +pursuits of those holy men who passed their time in prayer and +meditation, a propitiation: hence medicine fell into the hands of monks +and anchorites, who assumed to themselves, exclusively, the power of +interpreting all natural phenomena as indications of the Divine Will, +and pretended to possess some occult and supernatural means of curing +disease."[38] Reversing the natural order of things, the physician was +replaced by the priest. The supernaturalistic theory was revived, and +held its own for well on a thousand years. For every complaint the +Church provided a specific in the shape of a charm, an incantation, or a +saint. St. Apollonia for toothache, St. Avertin for lunacy, St. Benedict +for stone, St. Clara for sore eyes, St. Herbert for hydrophobia, St. +John for epilepsy, St. Maur for gout, St. Pernel for agues, St. +Genevieve for fevers, St. Sebastian for plague, etc.[39] The height of +absurdity was reached when, in spite of the monopoly of the treatment of +disease by the priesthood, the Council of Rheims (1119) actually forbade +monks to study medicine. This was followed by the Council of Beziers +(1246) prohibiting Christians applying for relief to Jewish physicians, +at a time when practically the only doctors of ability in Christendom +were Jews. In 1243 the Dominicans banished all books on medicine from +their monasteries. Innocent III. forbade physicians practising except +under the supervision of an ecclesiastic. Honorius (1222) forbade +priests the study of medicine; and at the end of the thirteenth Century +Boniface VIII. interdicted surgery as atheistical. The ill-treatment and +opposition experienced by the great Vesalius at the hands of the Church, +on account of his anatomical researches, is one of the saddest chapters +in the history of science.[40] + +When the sight of bodily disease strengthened and confirmed belief in +the supernatural, mental disease must have offered still more convincing +evidence. Among uncivilised people we know that this is so. To quote +again from the indispensable Tylor:-- + +"The possessed man ... rationally finds a spiritual cause for his +sufferings.... Especially when the mysterious unseen power throws him +helpless on the ground, jerks and writhes him in convulsions, makes him +leap upon the bystanders with a giant's strength and a wild beast's +ferocity, impels him with distorted face and frantic gesture, and voice +not his own nor seemingly even human, to pour forth wild incoherent +raving, or with thought and eloquence beyond his sober faculties to +command, to counsel, to foretell--such a one seems to those who watch +him, and even to himself, to have become the mere instrument of a spirit +which has seized him or entered into him, a possessing demon in whose +personality the patient believes so implicitly that he often imagines a +personal name for it, which it can declare when it speaks in its own +voice and character through his organs of speech."[41] + +It was this conception of insanity, universally current in the +uncivilised world, that was revived with fearful intensity in the early +Christian Church, and which certainly served its purpose in intensifying +the genuine belief in supernaturalism. Jesus had given His followers +power to expel demons "In My name," and this power of exorcism was one +upon which the early Christians specially prided themselves. It is with +unconscious sarcasm that Dean Trench puts the question, If one of the +disciples "were to enter a madhouse now, how many of the sufferers there +he might recognise as 'possessed'?"[42] One may safely say that he would +regard all as under the dominion of evil spirits. No other cause of +insanity appears to have been recognised, and the Church devised the +most elaborate formulæ for casting out demons. The assumed demoniac was +prayed over, incensed, and evil-smelling drugs burned under his nose. A +set form of objurgation then followed:-- + +"Thou lustful and stupid one.... Thou lean sow, famine-stricken and most +impure.... Thou wrinkled beast, of all beasts the most beastly.... Thou +bestial and foolish drunkard.... Thou sooty spirit from Tartarus.... I +cast thee down, O Tartarean boor, into the infernal kitchen.... +Loathsome cobbler ... filthy sow ... envious crocodile.... Malodorous +drudge ... swollen toad ... lousy swineherd," etc. etc.[43] + +Then followed the exorcism proper:-- + +"By the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, which God hath given to make known +unto His servants those things which are shortly to be ... I exorcise +you, ye angels of untold perversity.... May all the devils that are thy +foes rush forth upon thee and drag thee down to hell!... May the Holy +One trample on thee and hang thee up in an infernal fork, as was done to +the five kings of the Amorites!... May God set a nail to your skull, and +pound it with a hammer as Jael did to Sisera!... May Sother break thy +head and cut off thy hands, as was done to the cursed Dagon!... May God +hang thee in a hellish yoke, as seven men were hanged by the sons of +Saul!"[44] + +Marcus Aurelius mentions as one of his debts to the philosopher +Diognetus that he had taught him "not to give credit to vulgar tales of +prodigies and incantations, and evil spirits cast out by magicians or +pretenders to sorcery, and such kind of impostors."[45] What would have +been the thoughts of the great emperor, could he have revisited the +earth two centuries after his death and seen the then civilised world +enveloped in a mental atmosphere in which such ideas as those above +described could live? + +All over Europe for centuries lunatics were whipped, and otherwise +ill-treated, in the hopes of expelling the demons that were troubling +them. The seventy-second Canon of the Church of England still provides +that no unlicensed person shall "cast out any devil or devils" under +pain of penalties prescribed. A Bishop of Beauvais, in the fifteenth +century, not only caused five devils to come out of one person, but +actually induced them to sign a document promising not to molest this +particular sufferer again. Tremendous, again, were the labours of the +Jesuit Fathers of Vienna, who boasted that they had cast out no less +than 12,652 'living devils.' Such arithmetical exactitude silences all +hostile comment. In some parts of Scotland, as late as 1783, lunatics +were left all night in the churchyard, with a holy bell over their +heads. In Cornwall, St. Nun's pool was famous for the cure of lunatics. +The poor devils were tied hand and foot and doused in the water until +they were cured--or killed. Even the embraces of prostitutes, for some +peculiar reason, were recommended as a cure for insanity.[46] In 1788, +in Bristol, a drunken epileptic, one George Larkins, was brought into +church, and seven clergymen solemnly set themselves to the task of +exorcising the possessing demon. Whereupon Satan swore 'by his infernal +den'--an oath, says the chronicler, nowhere to be found but in Bunyan. +Under date of October 25, 1739, John Wesley also relates how he was sent +for and assisted at the expulsion of a demon from the body of a young +girl. + +Of all nervous diseases that of epilepsy appears to have been most +favourable to the encouragement of a belief in spiritual agency. One +medical authority whose experience enables him to speak with a peculiar +degree of authority has pointed out that with epilepsy there is often an +exaltation of the religious sentiments.[47] A more recent writer, Dr. +Bernard Hollander, asserts that epileptics are "highly religious."[48] +Sir T. S. Clouston also points out that strong religious emotionalism +often accompanies epilepsy.[49] Another eminent physician, while +pointing out that "a high degree of intelligence, amounting even to +genius, has in some cases been associated with epilepsy," observes that +"the epileptic is apt to be influenced greatly by the mystical and +awe-inspiring, and he is disposed to morbid piety."[50] + +Every medical man is acquainted with the close relation that exists +between epilepsy and all kinds of hallucinations and delusions, and it +would be more than surprising if in an environment where the religious +interpretation of things is paramount, or with a patient of strong +religious convictions, these delusions did not take a religious form. +And of all nervous disorders epilepsy seems most favourable for +producing this. Under its influence hallucination attacks every one of +the senses with a varying degree of intensity. "The patient hears +voices, and generally words expressing definite ideas, though he is +often unable to properly refer them to any speaking person. Sometimes +instead of external sounds or voices, the patient has a consciousness of +an internal voice that may be as real to him as any external auditory +perception. At first the voices may be indistinct, but upon constant +repetition and evolution from sub-conscious thought they acquire +intensity, eventually dominating the life of the individual."[51] Dr. +Ball says: "One patient perceives at the beginning of the attack a +toothed wheel, in the middle of which there appears a human face making +strange contortions; another sees a series of smiling landscapes. In +some cases it is the sense of hearing which is affected;--the patient +hears voices or strange noises. Others are warned by the sense of smell +that the fit is going to commence."[52] + +Sometimes these hallucinations of sight and hearing are in curious +contrast with each other. "Not rarely," says Dr. Conolly Norman, "a +patient has visual hallucinations of a cheering kind--as of God or +angels; yet his auditory hallucinations are full of blasphemy, mockery, +and insult."[53] + +Dr. Maudsley thus describes the general symptoms accompanying an +epileptic attack:-- + +"The patient's senses are possessed with hallucinations, his ganglionic +central cells being in a state of what may be called convulsive action; +before the eyes are blood-red flames of fire, amidst which whoever +happens to present himself appears as a devil or otherwise horribly +transformed; the ears are filled with a terribly roaring noise, or +resound with a voice imperatively commanding him to save himself; the +smell is one of sulphurous stifling, and the desperate and violent +actions are the convulsive reaction to such fearful hallucinations."[54] + +If anyone will bear in mind the numerous descriptions of religious +visions, written in all good faith, and the behaviour of many an assumed +'inspired' character, he will have little difficulty in realising how +easily, to a people unacquainted with the real character of such +phenomena, epilepsy lends itself to a religious interpretation. It must +also be borne in mind that the consequences of vivid hallucinations +experienced during epilepsy do not always disappear with the attack to +which they were originally due. + +It is certain that from the earliest times cases of what are undoubtedly +epilepsy have been taken as positive indications of supernatural +influence. "There is," says Emanuel Deutsch, "a peculiar something +supposed to inhere in epilepsy. The Greeks called it a divine disease. +Bacchantic and chorybantic furor were God-inspired stages. The Pythia +uttered her oracles under the most distressing signs. Symptoms of +convulsion were ever needed as a sign of the divine."[55] Much of the +evidence for the supernatural in the New Testament rests upon cases that +are obviously pathological in character. A man brings his son to Jesus +and describes how "ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the +water" (Matt. xvii. 15), and in another place (Mark ix. 18) the same +patient is described as having a dumb spirit, "and wheresoever he taketh +him, he teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and +pineth away." The response to the father's appeal for help is an +exorcism of the possessing spirit such as one meets with in all savage +culture. Between possession by a malignant spirit and domination by a +god, the difference is clearly one of terminology alone. And at the +side of the New Testament case just cited one may place this account +from Polynesia, written by a very competent observer, and a +missionary:-- + +"As soon as the god was supposed to have entered the priest, the latter +became violently agitated and worked himself up to the highest pitch of +apparent frenzy; the muscles of the limbs seemed convulsed, the body +swelled, the countenance became terrific, the features distorted, the +eyes wild and strained. In this state he often rolled on the earth, +foaming at the mouth, as if labouring under the influence of the +divinity by whom he was possessed, and in shrill cries, and often +violent and indistinct sounds, revealed the will of the god."[56] + +Advancing to a higher culture stage than that indicated in the last +passage, there is much evidence that Mohammed was subject to +hallucinations, and many authorities have indicated epilepsy as their +source. There is a tradition that someone who saw Mohammed while he was +receiving one of his revelations observed that he seemed unconscious and +was red in the face. Mohammed himself said:-- + +"Inspiration descendeth upon me in two ways. Sometimes Gabriel cometh +and communicateth the revelation unto me, as one man unto another, and +this is easy; at other times it affecteth me like the ringing of a bell, +penetrating my very heart, and rending me as it were in pieces; and this +it is which grievously afflicteth me." + +Emanuel Deutsch, although, in a passage already cited, recognising the +religious significance attached to epilepsy, has the following curious +comment:-- + +"Mohammed was epileptic; and vast ingenuity and medical knowledge have +been lavished upon this point as explanatory of Mohammed's mission and +success. We, for our own part, do not think that epilepsy ever made a +man appear a prophet to himself or even to the people of the East; or, +for the matter of that, inspired him with the like heart-moving words +and glorious pictures. Quite the contrary. It was taken as a sign of +demons within--demons, 'Devs,' devils to whom all manner of diseases +were ascribed throughout the antique world." + +This seems very largely to miss the point at issue. Of course, no one +would claim that Mohammed's success was due to epilepsy, or even that +the very severe forms of epilepsy were favourable to inducing a +conviction of revelation. But the disease assumes various forms, and in +some cases it is expressed in the form of a period of mental excitement +and general irritability. All that is claimed is that, given the +complaint in its less severe forms in one with whom religious beliefs +are strong, there are present all the conditions for attributing the +resulting hallucinations to personal revelation or ecstatic vision. And +it is also true that while some patients after emerging from a fit of +epilepsy are in a dazed or confused condition, others have a very clear +recollection of all they have seen and heard. Mohammed simply took the +current explanation of cases of nervous derangement, and being a man of +strong religious feeling, naturally gave his visions a religious +interpretation. All the rest has to be explained in terms of the innate +genius of the man and of the circumstances of his time. + +A similar case to the above is that of Emanuel Swedenborg. His followers +naturally resent the ascription of his visions and voices to a +pathologic origin, and point to his pronounced mental ability. And +certainly no one who is at all acquainted with the writings of +Swedenborg will question his great mental power, amounting at times to +positive genius. But here, again, we have strong religious conviction in +alliance with pathological conditions. Swedenborg's communications with +celestial beings were of a more frequent and more ordered character than +Mohammed's, but there is the same general likeness between them. Of his +first revelation he writes:-- + +"At ten o'clock I lay down in bed and was somewhat better; half an hour +after I heard a clamour under my head; I thought that then the tempter +went away; immediately there came over me a rigor so strong from the +head and the whole body, with some din, and this several times. I found +that something holy was over me. I thereupon fell asleep, and at about +twelve, one, or two o'clock in the night there came over me so strong a +shivering from head to foot, as if many winds rushed together, which +shook me, was indescribable, and prostrated me upon my face. Then, while +I was prostrated, I was in a moment quite awake, and saw that I was cast +down, and wondered what it meant. And I spoke as if I was awake, but +found that the word was put into my mouth, and I said, 'Omnipotent Jesus +Christ, as of Thy great grace Thou condescendest to come to so great a +sinner, make me worthy of this grace!' I held my hands together and +prayed, and then came a hand which squeezed my hands hard; immediately +thereupon I continued in prayer."[57] + +Swedenborg confessed to repeated walks and talks with celestial +visitants, and, of course, all thought of imposture must be put on one +side. What one has to consider is whether we are to accept these +experiences as hallucinations or not. On the one side no further +evidence seems possible than the profound faith of the man himself, his +recognised mental ability, and the belief of his followers. And against +this it must be urged that the most complete honesty is no guarantee +against self-deception, while ability and even genius are not at all +incompatible with a pathologic strain. And in addition it must be borne +in mind that these hallucinations are, after all, part of a very large +class. Men of very little ability and influence experience substantially +the same visions; they occur all over the world, under all conditions of +culture, and always express the personal idiosyncrasies of the subject +and reflect the character of his social environment. One may safely say +that had Swedenborg lived a century later, while he might still have +gone through the same mental and physical experiences, he himself would +have given a very different interpretation of them. + +St. Paul, Professor James points out, "certainly had once an epileptoid, +if not an epileptic seizure." One needs to add to this that the seizure +occurred at the one critical moment of his life which eventuated in his +conversion from Judaism to Christianity. Mary Magdalene, the first who +brought tidings of the resurrection, had been delivered of seven +devils. Luther's religious opinions were, of course, quite apart from +his physical state, sound or unsound. Still, even with him the reality +of supernatural intercourse became intensely vivid as a result of +nervous affections. His latest biographer points out that as a youth +while in the monastery he was seized with something that might well have +been an epileptic fit, and that although there is no record of a return +of this, he did suffer from ordinary fits of fainting.[58] He confesses +to have been much troubled, at twenty-two years of age, with giddiness +and noises in the ear, which he attributed to the devil. And right +through his life he attributed similar experiences to the same source. +Bunyan confesses that even during childhood the Lord "did scare and +affright me with fearful dreams, and did terrify me with dreadful +visions." George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, describes how, +in the middle of winter, when approaching Lichfield, "the Word of the +Lord was like a fire in me," and as he went through the town, "there +seemed to me to be a channel of blood running down the streets, and the +market-place appeared like a pool of blood." Reflecting on the meaning +of the vision, he remembered that, "In the Emperor Diocletian's time a +thousand Christians were martyred at Lichfield. So I was to go without +my shoes through the channel of their blood in the market-place, that I +might raise up the blood of these martyrs which had been shed above a +thousand years before."[59] + +In none of these cases could it be fairly claimed that the religious +conviction, as such, was the consequence of the hallucinations +experienced. But it can scarcely be questioned that these served to +strengthen it to an enormous extent. These trances, ecstasies, visions, +were accepted by the subjects as proofs of their 'divine mission,' and +were so accepted by multitudes of their followers. In their absence +religion would most probably have failed to be the fiercely irruptive +force in life that it has been. The religious idea has, so to speak +given hallucination a standing and an authority in life it would not +have possessed in its absence. In the case of men of ordinary capacity +these visions possess little authority. But in the case of men of +extraordinary capacity, men like Luther, Mohammed, Fox, Swedenborg,--who +must in any case have stood superior to their fellows,--these +hallucinations are then under favouring social conditions invested with +enormous authority. And there is no doubt about the fact that religious +leaders have been peculiarly subject to these psychical variations. This +is pointed out by Professor James in the following passage:-- + +"Even more perhaps than other kinds of genius, religious leaders have +been subject to abnormal psychical visitations. Invariably they have +been creatures of exalted emotional sensibility. Often they have led a +discordant inner life, and had melancholy during a part of their career. +They have known no measure, been liable to obsessions and fixed ideas; +and frequently they have fallen into trances, heard voices, seen +visions, and presented all sorts of peculiarities which are ordinarily +classed as pathological. Often, moreover, these pathological features in +their career have helped to give them their religious authority and +influence."[60] + +Well, in what way are we to discriminate between the visions of a +religious person, admittedly of an abnormal disposition, subject to fits +of melancholy, etc., and presenting "all sorts of peculiarities +ordinarily classed as pathological," and the hallucinations of an +admittedly pathologic subject? Why should the ordinary classification +break down at this point? Dr. Granger, dealing with this aspect of the +question, says: "The religious genius is not proved to be morbid by the +extent to which he diverges from the average type."[61] Quite so, genius +_must_ depart from the average type in order to be genius. But the +statement is quite beside the point at issue. It is not a mere +divergence from the average type that warrants one in assuming that much +passing for divine illumination owes its origin to pathological +conditions, but the fact that it is possible to affiliate certain cases +of religious exaltation with these conditions. Hallucinations are common +to all forms of ecstasy, and ecstasy is not confined to religion. Given +a one-sided mental activity, intense concentration on one or a few +analogous ideas, combined with a lowered nervous sensibility, and we +have all the conditions present favourable to hallucination.[62] These +hallucinations may occur in connection with any topic that engrosses the +subject's mind. In every other direction their true nature is recognised +and admitted. In connection with religious belief alone, it is held that +they bring the subject into touch with a supersensual world of reality. +What possible scientific warranty is there for any such distinction? + +Let us take, as an example, one of James's own cases, which he admits is +'distinctly pathological,' but without allowing this admission to +disturb his general conclusion. The case is that of Suso, a famous +fourteenth-century mystic. As a young man he wore a hair shirt and an +iron chain next the skin. Later he had made a leathern garment studded +with one hundred and fifty nails, points inward. The garment was made +very tight, and he used it to sleep in. To prevent himself throwing it +off during sleep he procured a pair of leather gloves studded with +tacks, so that if he attempted to get rid of the dress the tacks would +penetrate his flesh. Next he had made a wooden cross, with thirty +protruding nails, to emulate the sufferings of Jesus. He procured an old +door to sleep on. In winter he suffered from the frost. His feet were +full of sores, his legs became dropsical, his knees bloody and seared, +his loins covered with scars, his hands tremulous. During twenty years +he fed scantily upon the coarsest food, slept in the most uncomfortable +places, and during the whole of the time never took a bath. No wonder +that after his fortieth year he was favoured with a series of visions +from God. Would not one be surprised if any other result than this had +been achieved? And Suso's case is only one of thousands, many of not so +extreme a character, others quite as bad. + +In the case of Catherine of Sienna the austerities began earlier than +with Suso. As a child she flogged herself, and was favoured with visions +before she reached her teens. Santa Teresa, as a young woman, prayed to +God to send her an illness, and describes how she remained for days in a +trance, during which time her tongue was bitten in many places. She +describes how, during these trances, her body became to her light, and +she remained rigid. "It was altogether impossible for me to hinder it; +for my world would be carried absolutely away, and ordinarily even my +head, as it were, after it."[63] These are typical examples from a very +large number of cases. The annals of monasticism are filled with +accounts of self-inflicted tortures, with the one end in view, and in +serious belief that their experiences brought them into touch with a +reality denied them under normal conditions. The practice not only +quickened their own sense of the reality of religion, it served the same +purpose for thousands of others pursuing the course of ordinary social +existence. "Religious teachers," says Francis Galton, "by enforcing +celibacy, fasting, and solitude, have done their best towards making men +mad, and they have always largely succeeded in inducing morbid mental +conditions among their followers."[64] + +The phenomenon is thus continuous and, in its essentials, unchanging. +From the most primitive times there has been a close association between +the belief in divine illumination and spiritual intercourse, and mental +states that are unquestionably pathological. Following this there has +been a more or less deliberate cultivation of these states in the desire +to renew communion with a spiritual world hidden from man's normal +senses. In this there need be no deliberate imposture. When imposture +does occur, it would be at a later culture stage. At the beginning +there is nothing but misunderstanding. First in order of time comes the +crude animistic interpretation of almost every phase of human activity. +So far as primitive life is concerned, the evidence of this is simply +overwhelming. Next, as Tylor has pointed out, from believing that the +occurrence of certain mental states provides the conditions of +communication with an unseen world to the deliberate creation of those +states is a natural and an easy step. There is thus set on foot a +deliberate culture of the supernatural. This cultivation of abnormal +states of mind once initiated persists, now in one form, now in another, +but is substantially the same throughout. Whether we are dealing with +the crude practices of the savage, the less crude, but still obvious +methods of solitary living and bodily maceration of the medieval monk, +or the morbid and unhealthy dwelling upon a single idea which remains +one of the conditions of 'illumination' to-day, we are confronted with +the same thing. In every case the object--unconscious, maybe--is the +provision of conditions that render hallucination and illusion a +practical certainty. In connection with non-religious matters the +unhealthiness of mind, distortion of vision, and unreliability of +judgment induced by methods akin to those named is now generally +recognised. We have yet to see the same thing as generally recognised in +connection with religious beliefs. We see in addition that a great many +of those experiences, once accepted as clear evidence of supernatural +communication, are more properly explainable in terms of nervous +derangement. In such cases there is neither celestial illumination nor +diabolic communion, neither--to use Maudsley's phrase--theolepsy nor +diabolepsy, only psycholepsy. In the present chapter we have been +striving to apply this principle to a little wider field than is usual. +We have been studying the misinterpretation, in terms of religion, of +abnormal or pathological states of mind, and observing how far these +have contributed to building up and perpetuating a conviction of the +possibility of supernatural intercourse. We have yet to trace the same +principle of misinterpretation in the sexual and social life of mankind. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[20] _A Psychological Study of Religion_, p. 234. + +[21] _Primitive Culture_, i. p. 501. + +[22] _Primitive Culture_, ii. p. 410. + +[23] Some very curious information concerning the use of this and other +fungi is given by Dr. J. G. Bourke in his _Scatologic Rites_, pp. 69-75. + +[24] Cited by Bourke, p. 90. + +[25] Tylor, ii. pp. 417-9. + +[26] For a clear account of the effects of hemp preparations, calculated +to produce a feeling of religious ecstasy, the reader should consult Dr. +Hale White's _Text-Book of Pharmacology_, 1901, pp. 318-22. The effects +of opium are thus described by another writer: "Opium, in those who are +capable of stimulation by it, gives rise to a pleasurable feeling, +something like that which is produced by wine in not excessive doses; +but the excitement derived from it, instead of tending to some highest +point, remains stationary for hours, and in place of the slight +incoherence of thought always present in those who are exhilarated with +wine, the most perfect harmony is established among all the conceptions. +There is an extraordinary stimulation of the pure intellect, and not +merely of the power of expression. The opium-eater seems to have had the +eyes of his spirit opened, to have acquired a gift of insight into +things that to mere mortals are inexplicable. The most remote parts of +consciousness come into clear light; the finer shades of personality, +those that had been unknown even to the opium-eater himself, are brought +into view and become distinct; the smallest details of the things around +take new significance, and are seen to be profoundly important; their +analogies with other phenomena of nature are revealed. It is the same +with the moral as with the intellectual being; that also becomes +indefinitely exalted. An absolute balance of the faculties seems to have +been attained. The whole man _is_ what in his ordinary state he only +tends to be; he has realised the highest perfection of which he is +capable; only his 'best self' now remains; his lower self has been left +behind without need of the purgatorial fire of contention with the +environment to destroy it."--T. Whittaker, _Essays and Notices, +Psychological and Philosophical_, p. 367. + +[27] _Anthropology_, p. 296. + +[28] For a general account of religious dances, see Major-General +Forlong's _Faiths of Man_, art. "Dancing." + +[29] Catlin, _North American Indians_, i. p. 36. + +[30] Cited by Frazer, _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, p. 161. + +[31] Turner's _Samoa_, p. 345-6. + +[32] Brady, _Clavis Calendaria_, vol. i. p. 223. + +[33] Cited by Tylor, _Primitive Culture_, ii. pp. 412-3. + +[34] _Natural Causes and Supernatural Seemings_, p. 277. + +[35] A very good account of the methods followed in these places will be +found in Miss Hamilton's _Incubation, or the Cure of Diseases in Pagan +Temples and Christian Churches_, 1906. + +[36] Grote, _History of Greece_, vol. i. p. 359 and vol. v. p. 232. + +[37] "The ancient Egyptians and Greeks," says Dr. Maudsley, "used humane +and rational methods of treatment; it was only after the Christian +doctrine of possession by devils had taken hold of the minds of men that +the worst sort of treatment, of which history gives account, came into +force" (_Pathology of Mind_, p. 523). For a general account of Egyptian +medicine see the chapter on Egypt in Dr. Berdoe's _Origin and Growth of +the Healing Art_. + +[38] Meryon, _The History of Medicine_, vol. i. p. 67. + +[39] _Ibid._, vol. i. p. 104. + +[40] See Sir Michael Foster's _Lectures on the History of Physiology_, +chap. i. + +[41] _Primitive Culture_, ii. 124. + +[42] _On the Miracles_, p. 168. + +[43] Cited by White, who gives original authorities, _Warfare of Science +with Theology_, ii. 107. + +[44] White, ii. 108. + +[45] _Meditations_, bk. i. + +[46] Fort's _Medical Economy during the Middle Ages_, p. 345. + +[47] Dr. Howden, Medical Superintendent of the Montrose Lunatic Asylum, +in _Journal of Mental Science_, 1873. + +[48] _First Signs of Insanity_, p. 293. + +[49] _Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases_, p. 428. The whole of +chapter xi. is very pertinent. + +[50] Dr. R. Jones, in Allbutt's _System of Medicine_, vol. viii. p. 335 + +[51] Dr. Hollander, _First Signs of Insanity_, pp. 64-5. + +[52] Cited by Ireland, _The Blot on the Brain_, p. 39. + +[53] Allbutt's _System of Medicine_, viii. 395. + +[54] _Physiology of Mind_, p. 251. See also Dr. Mercier's _The Nervous +System and the Mind_, p. 55. + +[55] _Literary Remains_, p. 83. + +[56] W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, ii. 235-6. + +[57] Dr. H. Maudsley has gone fully into the case of Swedenborg in an +article in the _Journal of Mental Science_ for July and October 1869, +since reprinted in his _Body and Mind_. + +[58] See _Luther_, by H. Grisar, 1913, vol. i. pp. 16-7. + +[59] For other cases, and a general account of the relations between +pathologic states and religious delusion, see Lombroso, _Man of Genius_, +chap. iv. pt. iii. + +[60] _Varieties of Religious Experience_, pp. 6-7. + +[61] _The Soul of a Christian_, p. 13. + +[62] See Parish's _Hallucinations and Illusions_, pp. 38-9. + +[63] _Saint Teresa_, by H. Joly, pp. 25, 26, and 58. + +[64] _Inquiries into Human Faculty_, 1883, p. 68. + + + + +CHAPTER FOUR + +SEX & RELIGION IN PRIMITIVE LIFE + + +The connection between sexual feeling and religious belief is ancient, +intimate, and sustained. It has impressed itself on many observers who +have approached the subject from widely different points of view. Some +have treated the connection as purely accidental, and as having no more +than a mere historical interest. Others have used it as illustrating the +way in which so sacred a subject as religion may suffer degradation in +degenerate hands. Others of a more scientific temper have dealt with the +relations between sexualism and religion as illustrations of a mere +perversion. A deal may be said in favour of this last point of view. We +know, as a matter of fact, that such cases of perversion do exist, in +what form and to what extent will be discussed later. We are also aware +that strong feeling which cannot find vent in one direction will secure +expression in another. The annals of Roman Catholicism contain accounts +of numerous persons who have sought refuge in a monastery or a nunnery +as the result of disappointment in love, and it would be foolish to +conclude that strong amorous feelings are annihilated because there is a +change in the object to which they are directed. Paul was not a +different man from the Saul of pre-conversion days, but the same person +with his energies directed into a new channel. Protestantism is without +the obvious outlets for unsatisfied sexual feeling such as is provided +by Roman Catholicism, but it provides other outlets. Religious service +as a whole remains, and intense religious devotion may very often owe +its origin to sources undreamt of by the devotee. + +Between religious beliefs and sexual feelings the connection is, +however, wider and deeper, than the relation expressed by mere +perversion. Neither is the relation one of mere accident. An examination +of the facts in the light of adequate scientific knowledge, combined +with a due perception of primitive human psychology and sociology, have +shown that the two things are united at their source. One eminent +medical writer asserts that "in a certain sense, the history of religion +can be regarded as a peculiar mode of manifestation of the human sexual +instinct."[65] Another writer substantially endorses this by the remark +that "in a certain sense the religious life is an irradiation of the +reproductive instinct."[66] How easily one glides into the other very +little observation of life or study of history will show. The language +of devotion and of amatory passion is often identical, and seems to +serve equally well for either purpose. The significance of this fact is +often obscured by our having etherealised the conception of love, and so +losing sight of its physiological basis. And, having hidden it from +sight, we, not unnaturally, fail to give it due consideration. This is, +in its way, a fatal blunder. The sex life of man and woman is too large +a fact and too pervasive a force to be ignored with safety. Ignorance +combined with prudery conspires to perpetuate what ignorance alone +began; and the sex life, in both its normal and abnormal manifestations, +has been perpetually exploited in the interests of supernaturalism. + +The evidence that may be adduced in favour of what has been said is +vast, and covers a wide range. Historically it covers such facts as the +relations between primitive religious beliefs and the sexual life, and +the multiplication of sects of a markedly erotic character during +periods of religious enthusiasm. "Even the most casual students of +religion," says Professor G. B. Cutten, "must have observed an +apparently intimate connection between religious and sexual emotions, +and not a few have read with amazement the abnormal cults which have had +the sexual element as a foundation for their denominational +dissent."[67] A phenomenon so striking as to force itself on the notice +of the most 'casual students' raises the presumption that the relation +between the two sets of facts is rather more than that of 'apparent' +intimacy. When in the course of history two things appear together over +and over again, one is surely justified in assuming that there is some +underlying principle responsible for the association. The search for +this principle leads to the next class of evidence--the psychological. +In this we are concerned with the relation between the sexual feelings +and the religious idea, an association not always expressed through the +comparatively harmless medium of language. And, finally, we have the +evidence derived from pathology, where we are able to discern a +perverted sexuality masquerading as religious fervour. + +In a previous chapter there has been pointed out the kind of mental +environment in which primitive man moves. As one of the earliest forms +of systematised thinking, religion dominates all other forms of mental +activity. In savage culture there is hardly a single event into which +religious considerations do not enter. The savage does not merely +believe in a supernatural world, he lives in it; it is as real to him as +anything around him, and far more potent in its action. Above all, it is +important to bear in mind that although one is compelled to speak of the +natural and the supernatural when dealing with early beliefs, no such +separation is present to the primitive intelligence. The division +between the natural and the supernatural in the external world is the +reflection of a corresponding division in the world of thought, and this +arises only at a subsequent stage. What is afterwards recognised as the +supernatural pervades everything. In a sense it is everything, since +most of what occurs is by the agency or connivance of animistic forces. + +In such a world, where even the ordinary events of life have a +supernatural significance, the strange and sometimes terrifying +phenomena of sexual life carry peculiarly strong evidences of +supernatural activity. Events which are to the modern mind the most +obvious consequences of sex life are to the primitive mind proofs of +supernatural or ghostly agency. Nothing, for example, would appear less +open to misconception than the connection between sexual relations and +the birth of children. Yet, on this head, Mr. Sidney Hartland has +produced a mass of evidence, gathered from all parts of the world, and +leading to the conclusion that in the most primitive stages of human +culture, conception and birth are ascribed to direct supernatural +influence. Setting out from a study of the world-wide vogue of the +belief in supernatural birth--contained in the author's earlier work, +_The Legend of Perseus_--Mr. Hartland finds in this a survival of a +culture stage in which all birth is believed to be supernatural. +Survivals of this belief that birth is a phenomenon independent of the +union of the sexes are found in the existence of numerous semi-magical +devices to obtain children, still practised in many parts of Europe, and +which were practised on a much more extensive scale during the medieval +period; in the ignorance of man concerning physiological functions in +general, the existence of Motherright which appears to have universally +antedated Fatherright--the origin of which he traces to economic causes, +and to the animistic nature of primitive beliefs in general.[68] + +Such a conclusion is not without verification from the beliefs of +existing savages. The Bahau of Central Borneo have no notion of the real +duration of pregnancy, and date its commencement only from the time of +its becoming visible. The Niol-Niol of Dampier Land in North-Western +Australia hold birth to be independent of sexual intercourse. It is +engendered by a pre-existing spirit through the agency of a medicine +man. The North Queenslanders have a similar belief. They believe a child +to be sent in answer to the husband's prayer as a punishment to his wife +when he is vexed with her. On the Proserpine River the Blacks believe +that a child is the gift of a supernatural being called Kunya. In South +Queensland the Euahlayi believe that spirits congregate at certain spots +and pounce on passing women, and so are born. On the Slave Coast of West +Africa the Awunas say that a child derives the lower jaw from the +mother; all the rest comes from the spirits. Among these people and +others that might be named paternity exists in name, but it implies +something entirely different to what it afterwards connotes. Mr. +Hartland gives numerous instances of this curious fact, and points out +that "the attention of mankind would not be early or easily fastened +upon the procreative process. It is lengthy, extending over months +during which the observer's attention would be inevitably diverted by a +variety of objects, most of them of far more pressing import.... The +sexual passion would be gratified instinctively without any thought of +the consequences, and in an overwhelming proportion of cases without the +consequence of pregnancy at all. When that consequence occurred it would +not be visible for weeks or months after the act which produced it. A +hundred other events might have taken place in the interval which would +be likely to be credited with the result by one wholly ignorant of +natural laws." + +There seems, therefore, fair grounds for Mr. Hartland's conclusion +that:-- + +"for generations and æons the truth that a child is only born in +consequence of an act of sexual union, that the birth of a child is the +natural consequence of such an act performed in favouring circumstances, +and that every child must be the result of such an act and of no other +cause, was not realised by mankind, that down to the present day it is +imperfectly realised by some peoples, and that there are still others +among whom it is unknown." + +This, however, is but one of the ways in which supernatural beliefs +become associated with sexual phenomena. In truth, there is not a stage +of any importance in the sexual life of men and women where the same +association does not transpire. There is, for example, the important +phenomenon of puberty--important from both a physiological and +sociological point of view. Pubic ceremonies of some kind are found all +over the world, and in all forms, from those current amongst savages up +to the contemporary practice of confirmation in the Christian Church. At +all stages the period of puberty is the time of initiation. With +uncivilised peoples a very general rule is the separation of the sexes, +with fasting. Mr. Stanley Hall in his elaborate work on _Adolescence_ +has dealt very exhaustively with these customs, with which we shall be +more closely concerned when we come to deal with the subject of +conversion. At present it is only necessary to point out that the +governing idea is that at puberty the boy and the girl are brought into +special relationship with the tribal spirits, the proof of which +relationship lies in the sexual functions originated. + +With boys, once puberty is attained, the sexual development is orderly +and unobtrusive. In the case of girls certain recurring phenomena make +the essential fact of sex much more impressive to the primitive mind, +with far-reaching sociological consequences. "Ignorance of the nature of +female periodicity," says A. E. Crawley, "leads man to consider it as +the flow of blood from a wound, naturally, or more usually, +supernaturally produced."[69] In Siam an evil spirit is believed to be +the cause of the wound. Amongst the Chiriguanas the girl fasts, while +women beat the floor with sticks in order to drive away "the snake that +has wounded the girl." Similar beliefs are found very generally among +people in a low stage of culture, and customs and beliefs still +surviving among people more advanced point to the conclusion that +convictions of the same kind were once fairly universal. It is this +function, combined with the function of childbirth, that brings woman +into close contact with the supernatural world, makes her an object of +fear and wonder to primitive man, accounts for a number of the customs +and beliefs associated with her, and finally helps to determine her +social position. It is because her periodicity is taken as evidence of +her communion with spiritual forces that special precautions have to be +taken concerning her. She becomes spiritually contagious. Thus, the +natives of New Britain, while engaged in making fish-traps, carefully +avoid all women. They believe that if a woman were even to touch a +fish-trap, it would catch nothing. Amongst the Maoris, if a man touched +a menstruous woman, he would be taboo 'an inch thick.' An Australian +black fellow, who discovered that his wife had lain on his blanket at +her menstrual period, killed her, and died of terror himself within a +fortnight. In Uganda the pots which a woman touches while the impurity +of childbirth or menstruation is on her, are destroyed. With many North +American Indians the use of weapons touched by women during these times +would bring misfortune. A menstruating woman is with them the object +they dread most. In Tahiti women are secluded. In some cases she is too +dangerous to be even touched by others, and food is given her at the end +of a stick. With the Pueblo Indians contact with a woman at these times +exposes a man to attacks from an evil spirit, and he may pass on the +infection to others.[70] + +It is needless to multiply instances; the same general reason governs +all, and this has been clearly expressed by Dr. Frazer:-- + +"The object of secluding women at menstruation is to neutralise the +dangerous influence which is supposed to emanate from them at such +times. The general effect of these rules is to keep the women suspended, +so to say, between heaven and earth. Whether enveloped in her hammock +and slung up to the roof, as in South America, or elevated above the +ground in a dark and narrow cage, as in New Zealand, she may be +considered to be out of the way of doing mischief, since being shut off +both from the earth and from the sun, she can poison neither of these +great sources of life by her deadly contagion. The precautions thus +taken to isolate and insulate the girl are dictated by regard for her +own safety as well as for the safety of others.... In short, the girl is +viewed as charged with a powerful force which, if not kept within +bounds, may prove the destruction both of the girl herself and all with +whom she comes in contact. To repress this force within the limits +necessary for the safety of all concerned is the object of the taboos in +question." + +The savage is far too logical in his methods to allow such an idea to +end here. If a woman is so highly charged with spiritual infection as to +be dangerous at certain frequently recurring periods, she may be more or +less dangerous between these periods. As Havelock Ellis says: "Instead +of being regarded as a being who at periodic intervals becomes the +victim of a spell of impurity, the conception of impurity becomes +amalgamated with the conception of woman; she is, as Tertullian puts it, +_Janua diaboli_; and this is the attitude which still persisted in +medieval days."[71] This is to be expected from what one knows of the +workings of the primitive intelligence, but it is surprising to find Mr. +Ellis continue by saying, on apparently good grounds, that "the belief +in the periodically recurring impurity of women has by no means died out +to-day. Among a very large section of the women of the middle and lower +classes of England and other countries it is firmly believed that the +touch of a menstruating woman will contaminate; only a few years since, +in the course of a correspondence on this subject in the _British +Medical Journal_ (1878), even medical men were found to state from +personal observation that they had no doubt whatever on this point. +Thus, one doctor, who expressed surprise that any doubt could be thrown +on the point, wrote, after quoting cases of spoiled hams, etc., presumed +to be due to this cause, which had come under his own personal +observation: 'For two thousand years the Italians have had this idea of +menstruating women. We English hold to it, the Americans have it, also +the Australians. Now, I should like to know the country where the +evidence of any such observation is unknown.'" Evidently animism is a +more persistent frame of mind than most people are inclined to believe. + +It is certain, however, that this conception of woman's nature is +dominant in the lower stages of culture. She is spiritually dangerous, +and the principle of 'taboo' is made to cover a great many of her +relations to man. In Tahiti a woman was not allowed to touch the weapons +or fishing implements of men. Amongst the Todas women are not permitted +to touch the cattle. If a wife touches the food of her husband, among +the Hindus, the food is unfit to be eaten. An Eskimo wife dare not eat +with her husband. In New Zealand wives were not allowed to eat with the +males lest their taboo should kill them. Many tribes are careful to +refrain from contact with women before going to fight. They believe that +this would rob them and their weapons of strength. Other practices +followed by savages before going to war forbid one assuming that this +abstention is due to any rational fear of dissipating their energies. +Instead of conserving their strength they weaken themselves by the many +privations they undergo before fighting, in order to ensure victory. +Professor Frazer well says:-- + +"When we observe what pains these misguided savages took to unfit +themselves for the business of war by abstaining from food, denying +themselves rest, and lacerating their bodies, we shall probably not be +disposed to attribute their practice of continence in war to a rational +fear of dissipating their bodily energies by indulgence in the lusts of +the flesh."[72] + +The conception of woman as one heavily charged with supernatural +potentialities, and, therefore, a source of danger to the community, +seems to lie at the basis of the widespread belief in the religious +'uncleanness' of women. The real significance of the word 'unclean' in +religious ritual has been obscured by our modern use of it in a hygienic +or ethical sense. In reality it is but an illustration of the principle +of 'taboo,' and 'taboo' may extend to anything, good or bad, useful or +useless, hygienically clean or unclean. The primary meaning of 'taboo,' +a Polynesian word, is something that is set aside or forbidden. The +field covered by this word among savage and semi-savage races is, as +Robertson Smith points out, "very wide, for there is no part of life in +which the savage does not feel himself surrounded by mysterious agencies +and recognise the need of walking warily."[73] Anything may thus become +the object of a 'taboo.' Weapons, food, animals, places, special +relations of one person to another at certain times and under certain +conditions. It is enough that some special or particular degree of +supernatural influence is associated with the object in question. The +ancient Jews, for example, in prohibiting the eating of swine's flesh, +were as far as possible removed in their thought from any connection +with dietetics. They were simply following the well-known savage custom +that the totem of a tribe is sacred. The pig was a totem with many of +the Semitic tribes, and must not, therefore, be eaten.[74] It was not an +unclean animal, in the modern sense, it was a 'holy' animal. With the +Syrians the dove was so holy that even to touch it made a man 'unclean' +for a whole day. No North American Indian will eat of the flesh of an +animal that is a tribal totem, except under grave necessity, and even +then with elaborate religious ceremonies. So, "a prohibition to eat the +flesh of an animal of a certain species, that has its ground not in +natural loathing but in religious horror and reverence, implies that +something divine is ascribed to every animal of the species. And what +seems to us to be a natural loathing often turns out, in the case of +primitive peoples, to be based on a religious _taboo_, and to have its +origin not in feelings of contemptuous disgust, but of reverential +dread."[75] + +The real significance of 'unclean' in connection with religious ritual +is 'holy', something that partakes in a special manner of supernatural +influence and therefore involves a certain danger in contact. As the +writer just cited observes:-- + +"The acts that cause uncleanness are exactly the same which among savage +nations place a man under taboo.... These acts are often involuntary, +and often innocent, or even necessary to society. The savage, +accordingly, imposes a taboo on a woman in childbed, or during her +courses ... simply because birth and everything connected with the +propagation of the species on the one, and disease and death on the +other hand, seem to involve the action of supernatural agencies of a +dangerous kind. If he attempts to explain, he does so by supposing that +on these occasions spirits of deadly power are present; at all events +the persons involved seem to him to be sources of mysterious danger, +which has all the characters of an infection, and may extend to other +people unless due precautions are observed.... It has nothing to do with +respect for the gods, but springs from mere terror of the supernatural +influences associated with the woman's physical condition."[76] + +It is interesting to observe the manner in which this notion of the +sacramentally 'unclean' nature of woman has affected her religious +status, and by inference, her social status likewise. Among the +Australians women are shut out from any part in the religious +ceremonies. In the Sandwich Isles a woman's touch made a sacrifice +unclean. If a Hindu woman touches a sacred image the divinity is +destroyed. In Fiji women are excluded from the temples. The Papuans have +the same custom. The Ainus of Japan allow a woman to prepare the +sacrifice, but not to offer it. Women are excluded from many Mohammedan +mosques. Among the Jews women have no part in the religious ceremonies. +In the Christian Church women were excluded from the priestly office. A +Council held at Auxerre at the end of the sixth century forbade women +touching the Eucharist with their bare hands, and in various churches +they were forbidden to approach the altar during Mass.[77] In the +gospels Jesus forbids the woman to touch Him, after the resurrection, +although Thomas was allowed to feel His wounds. "The Church of the +Middle Ages did not hesitate to provide itself with eunuchs in order to +supply cathedral choirs with the soprano tones inhering by nature in +women alone."[78] The 'Churching' of women still in vogue has its origin +in the same superstition that childbirth endows woman with a +supernatural influence which must be removed in the interests of others. +This ceremony was formerly called "The Order of the Purification of +Women," and was read at the church door before the woman entered the +building. Its connection with the ideas indicated above is obvious. The +Tahitian practice of excluding women from intercourse with others for +two or three weeks after childbirth, with similar practices amongst +uncivilised peoples all over the world, led with various modifications +up to the current practice of churching. They show that in the opinion +of primitive peoples "a woman at and after childbirth is pervaded by a +certain dangerous influence which can infect anything and anybody she +touches; so that in the interests of the community it becomes necessary +to seclude her from society for a while, until the virulence of the +infection has passed away, when, after submitting to certain rites of +purification, she is again free to mingle with her fellows."[79] The +gradual change of this ceremony, from a getting rid of a dangerous +supernatural infection to returning thanks for a natural danger passed, +is on all fours with what takes place in other directions in relation to +religious ideas and practices. + +The important part played by this conception of woman's nature may be +traced in the fierce invective directed against her in the early +Christian writings. Of course, by that time society had reached a stage +when the primitive form of this belief had been outgrown, but ideas and +attitudes of mind persist long after their originating conditions have +disappeared. In this particular case we have the primitive idea +expressed in a form suitable to altered circumstances, and the primitive +feeling seeking new warranty in ethical or social considerations. But in +the main the old notion is there. Woman is a creature threatening +danger to man's spiritual welfare.[80] In this connection we may note +an observation of Westermarck's during his residence among the country +people of Morocco. He was struck, he says, with the superstitious fear +the men had of women. They are supposed to be much better versed in +magic, and therefore one ran greater danger in offending them. The +curses of women are, generally, much more feared than those of men. To +this we have a parallel in Christianity which so often revived and +strengthened the lower religious beliefs. During the witch mania an +overwhelming proportion of those charged with and executed for sorcery +were women. As a matter of fact, women were more prone than men to +credit themselves with possessing supernatural power. But the +theological explanation was that the devil had more power over women +than men. This was, obviously, a heritage from the primitive belief +above described.[81] + +Another way in which religion becomes closely associated with sexualism +is through the widely diffused phallic worship. The worship of the +generative power in the form of stones, pillars, and carved +representations of the male and female sexual organs plays an +unquestionably important part in the history of religion, however hardly +pressed it may have been by some enthusiastic theorisers. "The farther +back we go," says Mr. Hargrave Jennings, "in the history of every +country, the deeper we explore into all religions, ancient as well as +modern, we stumble the more frequently upon the incessantly intensifying +distinct traces of this supposedly indecent mystic worship."[82] On the +lower Congo, says Sir H. H. Johnston:-- + +"Phallic worship in various forms prevails. It is not associated with +any rites that might be called particularly obscene; and on the coast, +where manners and morals are particularly corrupt, the phallus cult is +no longer met with. In the forests between Manyanga and Stanley Pool it +is not rare to come upon a little rustic temple, made of palm fronds and +poles, within which male and female figures, nearly or quite life size, +may be seen, with disproportionate genital organs, the figures being +intended to represent the male and female principle. Around these carved +and painted statues are many offerings, plates, knives, and cloth, and +frequently also the phallic symbol may be seen dangling from the +rafters. There is not the slightest suspicion of obscenity in all this, +and anyone qualifying this worship of the generative power as obscene +does so hastily and ignorantly. It is a solemn mystery to the Congo +native, a force but dimly understood, and, like all mysterious natural +manifestations, it is a power that must be propitiated and persuaded to +his good."[83] + +The Egyptian religion was permeated with phallicism. In India phallic +worship is widely scattered. In Benares, the sacred city, "everywhere, +in the temples, in the little shrines in the street, the emblem of the +Creator is phallic." Symbols of the male and female sexual organs, the +Lingam and the Yoni, have been objects of worship in India from the +earliest times. With the Sakti ceremonies, Hindu religion dispenses with +symbols, and devotion is paid to a naked woman selected for the +occasion.[84] This worship of a nude female is a very familiar +phenomenon in the history of religion. Some of the early Christian sects +were said to have practised it, and it is a feature of some Russian +religious sects to-day. The subject will be dealt with more fully +hereafter. + +In ancient Rome, in the month of April, "when the fertilising powers of +nature begin to operate, and its powers to be visibly developed, a +festival in honour of Venus took place; in it the phallus was carried in +a cart, and led in procession by the Roman ladies to the temple of Venus +outside the Colline gate, and then presented by them to the sexual part +of the goddess."[85] In the Greek Bacchic religious processions huge +phalli were carried in a chariot drawn by bulls, and surrounded by women +and girls singing songs of praise. Phallic worship was also associated +with the cults of Dionysos and Eleusis. It is met with among the ancient +Mexicans and Peruvians, and also among the North American tribes. The +famous Black Stone of Mecca, to which religious honours are paid, is +also said by authorities to be a phallic symbol. The stone set up by +Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 18-9) falls into the same category. References to +phallic worship may be found in many parts of the Bible, and +authoritative writers like Mr. Hargrave Jennings and Major-General +Forlong have not hesitated to assert that the god of the Jewish Ark was +a sexual symbol. Seeing the extent to which phallic worship exists in +other religions, it would be surprising did this not also exist in the +early Jewish religion. + +In Christendom we have evidence of the perpetuation of the phallic cult +in the decree of Mans, 1247, and of the Synod of Tours, 1396, against +its practice. Quite unsuccessfully, however. Indeed, the architecture of +medieval churches bear in their ornamentation numerous evidences of the +failure at suppression. Of course, much of this ornamentation may have +been due to mere imitation, but often enough it was deliberate. "The +scholar," says Bonwick, "who gazed to-day at the roof of Temple Church, +London, had the illustration before him. A symbol there, repeatedly +displayed, is the popular Hindu one to express sex worship."[86] The +belief found expression in other ways than ornamentation. When Sir +William Hamilton visited Naples in 1781 he found in Isernia a Christian +custom in vogue which he described in a letter to Sir William Banks, and +which admitted of no doubt as to its Priapic character. Every September +was celebrated a festival in the Church of SS. Cosmus and Damianus. +During the progress of the festival vendors paraded the streets offering +small waxen phalli, which were bought by the devout and placed in the +church, much as candles are still purchased and given. At the same time, +prayers are offered to St. Como by those who desire children. In +Midlothian, in 1268, the clergy instructed their flock to sprinkle water +with a dog's phallus in order to avert a murrain. The same practice +existed in Inverkeithing, and in Easter week priest and people danced +round a wooden phallus.[87] Mr. Westropp, quoting an eighteenth-century +writer,[88] says: "When the Huguenots took Embrun, they found among the +relics of the principal church a Priapus, of three pieces in the ancient +fashion, the top of which was worn away from being constantly washed +with wine." The temple of St. Eutropius, destroyed by the Huguenots, is +said to have contained a similar figure. From Mr. Sidney Hartland's +collection of practices for obtaining children I take the following:-- + +"At Bourg-Dieu, in the diocese of Bourges, a similar saint" (similar to +the priapean figure previously described) "was called Guerlichon or +Greluchon. There after nine days' devotions women stretched themselves +on the horizontal figure of the saint, and then scraped the phallus for +mixture in water as a drink. Other saints were worshipped elsewhere in +France with equivalent rites. Down to the Revolution there stood at +Brest a chapel of Saint Guignolet containing a priapean statue of the +holy man. Women who were, or feared to be, sterile used to go and scrape +a little of the prominent member, which they put into a glass of water +from the well and drank. The same practice was followed at the Chapel of +Saint Pierre-à -Croquettes in Brabant until 1837, when the archæologist +Schayes called attention to it, and thereupon the ecclesiastical +authorities removed the cause of scandal. Women have, however, still +continued to make votive offerings of pins down almost, if not quite, to +the present day. At Antwerp stood at the gateway to the Church of Saint +Walburga in the Rue des Pêcheurs a statue, the sexual organ of which +had been entirely scraped away by women for the same purpose."[89] + +From what has been said, it will not be difficult to understand the +existence of the custom of religious prostitution. Considering the +sexual impulse as specially connected with a supernatural force, man +pays it religious honour, and comes to identify its manifestations as an +expression of the supernatural and also as an act of worship towards it. +In India the practice existed, when most temples had their 'bayadères.' +In ancient Chaldea every woman was compelled to prostitute herself once +in her life in the temple of the goddess Mylitta--the Chaldean Venus. +This custom existed elsewhere, and by it the woman was compelled to +remain within the temple enclosures until some man chose her, from whom +she received a piece of money. The money, of course, belonged to the +temple.[90] In Greece, Carthage, Syria, etc., we find the same custom. +Among the Jews, so orthodox a commentary as Smith's _Bible Dictionary_ +admits that the 'Kadechim' attached to the temple were prostitutes. The +frequent references to the service of the 'groves' surrounding the +temple irresistibly suggest their likeness to the groves around the +temples of Mylitta, and their use for the same purpose. + +There is no necessity to prolong the subject,[91] nor is it necessary to +my purpose to discuss the origin of phallic worship. It is enough to +have shown the manner in which, from the very earliest times, religious +belief and sexual phenomena have been connected in the closest possible +manner. In this respect it is only on all fours with the relation of +religion to phenomena in general, but here the attitude of mind is +accentuated and prolonged by the startling facts of sexual development. +The connection becomes consequently so close it is not surprising to +find that the association has persisted down to the present time, and +moods that have their origin in the sexual life are frequently +attributed to religious influences. The primitive intelligence, frankly +seeing in the phenomena of sex a manifestation of the supernatural, sees +here a continuous endorsement of religious life. The more sophisticated +mind raised above this point of view continues, with modifications, the +primitive practices, and in ignorance of the physiological causes of its +own states is only too ready to interpret ebullitions of sex feeling as +evidence of the divine. + + +NOTE TO PAGE 104. + + It is strange that so little attention has been paid to + these primitive beliefs as important factors in determining + the social position of women. It is too generally assumed + that because woman is physically weaker than man it is her + weakness that has determined her subordination. Both the + advocates and the opponents of 'Woman's Rights' appear to + have reached a common agreement on this point. During some + of the debates in the House of Commons, for example, it was + openly stated by prominent politicians, as an axiom of + political philosophy, that all laws rest upon a basis of + force, and if men say they will not obey woman-made laws + there is no power that can compel them to do so. On the + other side, women, while appealing to what they properly + call higher considerations, themselves dwell upon the + physical weakness of woman as the reason for her + subordination in the past. Both parties are helped in their + arguments by the facile division of social history into two + periods, an earlier one in which club law plays the chief + part, and a later period when mental and moral qualities + assume a dominating position. The consequence is, runs the + argument, that each sex has to battle with the dead weight + of tradition and custom. The woman is oppressed by the + tradition of subordination to the male; the man is inspired + by that of dominance over the female. + + It is when we ask for evidence of this that we see how + flimsy the case is. Social phenomena in either civilised or + uncivilised society furnishes no proof that institutions + and customs rest upon a basis of physical force. The + rulership of a tribe often rests with the old men of a + tribe; with some tribes the women are consulted, and + invariably custom and tradition plays a powerful part. The + notion that the primitive chief is the primitive strong man + of the tribe is as baseless as the belief in an original + social contract, and owes its existence to the same kind of + fanciful speculation. As Frazer says, "it is one of those + facile theories which the arm-chair philosopher concocts + with his feet on the fender without taking the trouble to + consult the facts." The primitive chief may be a strong + man. The tribal council or chief may use force or rely upon + physical force to enforce certain decrees, just as the + modern king or parliament may call on the help of policeman + or soldier, but this no more proves that their rule is + based upon force than Mr. Asquith's premiership proves his + physical superiority to the rest of the Cabinet. + +All political life, and to a smaller degree all social life, involves +the direction of force, but neither appeal to force for an ultimate +justification, nor do social institutions originate in an act of force. +It is one of the commonplaces of historical study that when an +institution is actually forced upon a people it very quickly becomes +inoperative. Other things equal, one group of people may overcome +another group because of physical superiority, but the conquest over, +the question as to which group shall really rule, or which set of +institutions shall survive, is settled on quite different grounds. The +history of almost any country will give examples of the absorption of +the conqueror by the conquered, and the bringing of imported +institutions into line with native life and feeling. Fundamentally the +relations binding people together into a society are not physical, but +psychological. Society rests upon the foundations of a common mental +life--upon sympathy, beliefs, the desire for companionship, etc. As +Professor J. M. Baldwin puts it, the fundamental social facts are not +_things_, but _thoughts_.[92] As a member of a social group man is born +into an environment that is essentially psychological, and his attitude +not only towards his fellow human beings, but towards nature in general, +is determined by the psychological contents of the society to which he +belongs. + +Now if the relation of one man to another is not determined by physical +superiority and inferiority, if the relations of classes within a +society are not determined in this manner, why should it be assumed that +as a sex woman's position is fixed by this means? It seems more +reasonable to assume that some other principle than that of club law, a +principle set in operation very early in the history of civilisation, +fixed the main lines upon which the relations of the sexes were to +develop, however much other forces helped its operation. I believe this +desired factor is to be found in the superstitious notions savages +develop concerning the nature and function of woman, and which society +only very slowly outgrows. For, as Frazer says: "The continuity of human +development has been such that most, if not all, of the great +institutions which still form the framework of a civilised society have +their roots in savagery, and have been handed down to us in these later +days through countless generations, assuming new outward forms in the +process of transmission, but remaining in their inmost core +substantially unchanged." + +In considering the play of primitive ideas as determining the lines of +human evolution several things must be kept clearly in mind. One is that +the course of biological development has made woman, as a sex, dependent +upon man, as a sex, for protection and support. This is true quite apart +from economic considerations or from those arising from the relative +physical strength of the sexes. The prime function of woman, +biologically, is that of motherhood. She is, so to speak, mother in a +much more important and more pervasive sense than man is father. In the +case of woman, her functions are of necessity subordinated to this one. +With man this is not the case. It is with the woman that the nutrition +of the child rests before birth, and a large portion of her strength is +expended in the discharge of this function. The same is true for some +period immediately after birth. Again to use a biological illustration, +during the period of child-bearing and child-rearing the relation of the +man to the woman may be likened to that which exists between the germ +cells and the somatic cells. As the latter is the medium of protection +and the conveyer of nutrition in relation to the former, so it falls to +the male to protect and in some degree to provide for the woman as +child-bearer. It would not, of course, be impossible for woman to +provide for herself, but it would detract so considerably from social +efficiency that any group in which it was done would soon disappear. It +is the nature and supreme function of woman that makes her dependent +upon man. And even though the dreams of some were realised, and society +as a whole cared for woman in the discharge of this function, the issue +would not be changed. It would mean that instead of a woman being +dependent upon one man she would be dependent upon all men. Nor are the +substantial facts of the situation changed by anyone pointing out that +all women do not and cannot under ordinary circumstances become wives +and mothers. Human nature will always develop on the lines of the normal +functions of men and women, and there can be no question in this case as +to what these are. + +I have used the word 'dependence,' but this does not, of necessity, +involve either subordination or subjection. It may provide the condition +of either or of both, but the dependence of the woman on the man is, as +I have said, biologically inescapable. Her subjection is quite another +question. Dependence may be mutual. One class of society may be +dependent upon another class, but the two may move on a perfect level of +equality. And with uncivilised peoples the evidence goes to prove that, +while the spheres of the sexes are more clearly differentiated than with +us, this difference is seldom if ever expressed in terms of superior and +inferior. Savages would say, as civilised people still say, there are +many things that it is wrong for a woman to do, and they would add there +are also things that a man must not do. They would be as shocked at +woman doing certain things as some people among ourselves were when +women first began to speak at public meetings. Their disapproval would +not rest on the ground that these things were 'unwomanly', nor upon any +question of weakness or strength, of inferiority or superiority, but for +another and, to the savage, very urgent reason. + +One can very easily exaggerate the extent of the subjection of women +among uncivilised people. As a matter of fact, it usually is +exaggerated. Not all travellers are capable of accurate observation, and +very many are led astray by what are really superficial aspects of +savage life. They are so impressed by the contemplation of a state of +affairs different from our own that they mistake mere lines of +demarcation for a moral valuation. Many travellers, for example, +observing that women are strictly forbidden to do this or that, conclude +that the woman has no rights as against the man. As in nearly all these +cases the man is as strictly forbidden to encroach on the woman's +sphere, one might as reasonably reverse the statement and dwell upon +male subjection. As a matter of fact, both furnish examples of the +all-powerful principle of 'taboo.' Some things are taboo to the man, +others to the woman. And the key to the problem lies in the nature and +origin of these taboos. But taboo does not extinguish rights; it +confirms them. Under its operation, far from its being the truth that +women are without status or rights or power, her position and rights are +clearly marked, generally recognised, and quickly enforced. Some +examples of this may be noted. + +A Kaffir woman when ill-treated possesses the right of asylum with her +parents, and remains there until the husband makes atonement. The same +thing holds of the West African Fulahs. In the Marquesas a woman is +prohibited the use of canoes; on the other hand, men are prohibited +frequenting certain places belonging to the women. In Nicaragua no man +may enter the woman's market-place under penalty of a beating. With most +of the North-American tribes a woman has supreme power inside the lodge. +The husband possesses no power of interference. In most cases the +husband cannot give away anything belonging to the lodge without first +getting the consent of his wife. With the Nootkas, women are consulted +on all matters of business. Livingstone relates his surprise on finding +that a native would not accompany him on a journey because he could not +get his wife's consent. He found this to be one of the customs of the +tribe to which the man belonged. Among the Kandhs of India nothing +public is done without consulting the women. In the Pellew Islands the +head of the family can do nothing of importance without consulting the +oldest female relative. Among the Hottentots women have supreme rule in +the house. If a man oversteps the line, his female relatives inflict a +fine, which is paid to the wife. With the Bechuanas the mother of the +chief is present at all councils, and he can hardly decide anything +without her consent. These are only a few of the cases that might be +cited, but they are sufficient to show that the common view of women +among savages as without recognised status, or power, needs very serious +qualification. Of course, ill-treatment of women does occur with +uncivilised as with civilised people, and she may suffer from the +expression of brutal passion or superior strength, but an examination of +the facts justifies Starcke's opinion that "we are not justified in +assuming that the savage feels a contempt for women in virtue of her +sex." + +In primitive life, in short, the dominant idea is not that of +superiority in relation to woman, but that of difference. She is +different from man, and this difference involves consequences of the +gravest character, and against which due precautions must be taken. +Superiority and inferiority are much later conceptions; they belong to a +comparatively civilised period, and their development offers an +admirable example of the way in which customs based on sheer +superstitions become transformed into a social prejudice, with the +consequent creation of numerous excuses for their perpetuation. What +that initial prejudice is--a prejudice so powerful that it largely +determines the future status of woman--has already been pointed out. Her +place in society is marked out in uncivilised times by the powerful +superstitions connected with sexual functions. Not that she is +weaker--although that is, of course, plain--nor that she is inferior, a +thought which scarcely exists with uncivilised peoples, but that she is +dangerous, particularly so during her functional crises and in +childbirth. And being dangerous, because charged with a supernatural +influence inimical to others, she is excluded from certain occupations, +and contact with her has to be carefully regulated. I agree with Mr. +Andrew Lang that in the regulations concerning women amongst uncivilised +people we have another illustration of the far-reaching principle of +taboo (_Social Origins and Primal Law_, p. 239) she suffers because of +her sex, and because of the superstitious dread to which her sex nature +gives birth. + +Of course, at a later stage other considerations begin to operate. +Where, for example, as amongst the Kaffirs, women are not permitted to +touch cattle because of this assumed spiritual infection, and where a +man's wealth is measured by the cattle he possesses, it is easy to see +that this would constitute a force preventing the political and social +equality of the sexes. The pursuits from which women were primarily +excluded for purely religious reasons would in course of time come to be +looked upon as man's inalienable possessions. And here her physical +weakness would play its part; for she could not take, as man could +withhold, by force. Even when the primitive point of view is discarded, +the social prejudices engendered by it long remains. And social +prejudices, as we all know, are the hardest of all things to destroy. + +A final consideration needs to be stated. This is that the customs +determined by the views of woman (above outlined) fall into line, in a +rough-and-ready fashion, with the biological tendency to consecrate the +female to the function of motherhood and conserve her energies to that +end, leaving other kinds of work to the male. It would be an obvious +advantage to a tribe in which woman, relieved from the necessity of +physical struggle for food and defence, was able to attend to children +and the more peaceful side of family life. Children would not only +benefit thereby, but the home with all its civilising, humanising +influences would develop more rapidly. Assuming variations in tribal +life in this direction, there is no question as to which tribe that +would stand the better chance of survival. The development of life has +proceeded here as elsewhere by differentiation and specialisation; and +while the tasks demanding the more sustained physical exertions were +left to man, and to the performance of which his sexual nature offered +no impediment, woman became more and more specialised for maternity and +domestic occupations. This, I hasten to add, is not at all intended as a +plea for denying to women the right to participate in the wider social +life of the species. I am trying to explain a social phase, and neither +justifying nor condemning its perpetuation. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[65] Dr. Iwan Bloch, _The Sexual Life of Our Time_, p. 97. + +[66] E. D. Starbuck, _The Psychology of Religion_, p. 401. + +[67] _The Psychological Phenomena of Christianity_, p. 419. + +[68] _Primitive Paternity_, 2 vols., 1909-10. + +[69] _The Mystic Rose_, p. 191. + +[70] See Frazer's _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 145-63, and +Crawley's _Mystic Rose_. + +[71] _Man and Woman_, p. 15. + +[72] _Taboo_, pp. 163-4. + +[73] _Religion of the Semites_, p. 142. + +[74] A long list of animals that were sacred to various Semitic tribes +has been compiled by Robertson Smith, _Kinship and Marriage in Early +Arabia_, pp. 194-201. + +[75] Robertson Smith, _Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia_, pp. 306-7. + +[76] _Religion of the Semites_, pp. 427-9. For a fuller discussion of +the subject, see _Studies in the Psychology of Sex_, by Havelock Ellis, +1901. + +[77] Westermarck, _Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas_, p. 666. + +[78] Westermarck, p. 666. + +[79] Frazer, _Taboo_, p. 150. + +[80] See the Rev. Principal Donaldson's _Woman: her Position and +Influence in Ancient Greece and Rome, and among the Early Christians_, +bk. iii. + +[81] For the general influence of these beliefs about woman in +determining her social position, see note at the end of this chapter. + +[82] _The Worship of Priapus_, Pref. p. 9. + +[83] _The River Congo_, p. 405. + +[84] A description of the Sakti ceremony is given by Major-General +Forlong, _Faiths of Man_, iii. pp. 228-9. + +[85] Westropp, _Primitive Symbolism_, p. 30. + +[86] _Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought_, p. 256. + +[87] Forlong, _Faiths of Man_, iii. p. 66. + +[88] _Primitive Symbolism_, p. 36. + +[89] _Primitive Paternity_, i. pp. 63-4. + +[90] Major-General Forlong agrees with many other authorities in tracing +our custom of kissing under the mistletoe to this ancient practice. "The +mistletoe," he says, "marks in one sense Venus's temple, for any girl +may be kissed if caught under its sprays--a practice, though modified, +which recalls to us that horrid one mentioned by Herodotus, where all +women were for once at least the property of the man who sought them in +Mylitta's temple."--_Rivers of Life_, i. p. 91. + +[91] Those who desire further and more detailed information may consult +Forlong's great work, _The Rivers of Life_, Payne Knight's _Worship of +Priapus_, Westropp and Wake's _Phallicism in Ancient Religion_, Brown's +_Dionysiak Myth_, Westropp's _Primitive Symbolism_, R. A. Campbell's +_Phallic Worship_, Hargrave Jennings's _Worship of Priapus_, etc. + +[92] A good discussion of the topic will be found in this author's +_Social and Ethical Interpretations in Mental Development_. + + + + +CHAPTER FIVE + +THE INFLUENCE OF SEXUAL AND PATHOLOGIC STATES ON RELIGIOUS BELIEF + + +In the preceding chapter we have been concerned with the various ways in +which the phenomena attendant on the sexual life of man and woman become +associated with religious beliefs. As a force that arises in the life of +each individual, and intrudes, as it were, into consciousness, the +phenomena of sex fill primitive man with an amazement that is not +unmixed with terror. In strict accord with primitive psychology sexual +phenomena are conceived as more or less connected with the supernatural +world, and becoming thus entwined with religious convictions are made +the nucleus of a number of superstitious ceremonies. The connection is +close and obvious so long as we restrict our survey to uncivilised +humanity. The only room for doubt or discussion is the exact meaning of +certain ceremonies, or the order of certain phases of development. It is +when we take man in a more advanced stage that obscurity gathers and +difficulties arise. The sexual life is no longer lived, as it were, +openly. Symbolism and mysticism develop; a more complex social life +provides disguised outlets for primitive and indestructible feelings. +Sexualism, instead of being something to be glorified, and, so to speak, +annotated by religious ceremonies, becomes something to be hidden or +decried. Ignored it may be. Decried it may be; but it will not be +denied. That is a practical impossibility in the case of so powerful and +so pervasive a fact as sex. We may disguise its expression, but only too +often the disguise is the equivalent of undesirable and unhealthy +manifestations. + +The modern history of religion offers a melancholy illustration of the +truth of the last sentence, and it is quite clearly exhibited in the +history of Christianity itself. From the beginning it strove to suppress +the power of sexual feeling. It was an enemy against whom one had to be +always on guard, one that had to be crushed, or at least kept in +subjection in the interests of spiritual development. And yet the very +intensity of the efforts at suppression defeated the object aimed at. +With some of the leaders of early Christianity sex became an obsession. +Long dwelling upon its power made them unduly and unhealthily conscious +of its presence. Instead of sex taking its place as one of the facts of +life, which like most other facts might be good or bad as circumstances +determined, it was so much dwelt upon as to often dwarf everything else. +Asceticism is, after all, mainly a reversed sensualism, or at least +confesses the existence of a sensualism that must not be allowed +expression lest its manifestation becomes overpowering. Mortification +confesses the supremacy of sense as surely as gratification. Moreover, +mortification of sense as preached by the great ascetics does not +prevent that most dangerous of all forms of gratification, the +sensualism of the imagination. That remains, and is apt to gain in +strength since the fundamentally healthful energies are denied +legitimate and natural modes of expression. Thus it is that we find +developing social life not always providing a healthy outlet for the +sexual life, and thus it is that the intense striving of religious +leaders against the power of the sexual impulse has often forced it into +strange and harmful forms of expression. So we find throughout the +history of religion, not only that a deal of what has passed for +supernatural illumination to have undoubtedly had its origin in +perverted sexual feeling, but the constant emergence of curious +religio-erotic sects whose strange mingling of eroticism and religion +has scandalised many, and offered a lesson to all had they but possessed +the wit to discern it. + +Although there is an understandable disinclination, amounting with some +to positive revulsion, to recognise the sexual origin of much that +passes for religious fervour, the fact is well known to competent +medical observers, as the following citations will show. More than a +generation since a well-known medical authority said:-- + +"I know of no fact in pathology more striking and more terrifying than +the way in which the phenomena of the ecstatic--which have often been +seized upon by sentimental theorisers as proofs of spiritual +exaltation--may be plainly seen to bridge the gulf between the innocent +foolery of ordinary hypnotic patients and the degraded and repulsive +phenomena of nymphomania and satyriasis."[93] + +Dr. C. Norman also observes:-- + +"Ecstasy, as we see in cases of acute mental disease, is probably always +connected with sexual excitement, if not with sexual depravity. The same +association is seen in less extreme cases, and one of the commonest +features in the conversation of acutely maniacal women is the +intermingling of erotic and religious ideas."[94] + +This opinion is fully endorsed by Sir Francis Galton:-- + +"It has been noticed that among the morbid organic conditions which +accompany the show of excessive piety and religious rapture in the +insane, none are so frequent as disorders of the sexual organisation. +Conversely, the frenzies of religious revivals have not infrequently +ended in gross profligacy. The encouragement of celibacy by the fervent +leaders of most creeds, utilises in an unconscious way the morbid +connection between an over-restraint of the sexual desires and impulses +towards extreme devotion."[95] + +Dr. Auguste Forel, the eminent German specialist, points out that-- + +"When we study the religious sentiment profoundly, especially in the +Christian religion, and Catholicism in particular, we find at each step +its astonishing connection with eroticism. We find it in the exalted +adoration of holy women, such as Mary Magdalene, Marie de Bethany, for +Jesus, in the holy legends, in the worship of the Virgin Mary in the +Middle Ages, and especially in art. The ecstatic Madonnas in our art +galleries cast their fervent regards on Jesus or on the heavens. The +expression in Murillo's 'Immaculate Conception' may be interpreted by +the highest voluptuous exaltation of love as well as by holy +transfiguration. The 'saints' of Correggio regard the Virgin with an +amorous ardour which may be celestial, but appears in reality extremely +terrestrial and human."[96] + +Another German authority remarks:-- + +"I venture to express my conviction that we should rarely err if, in a +case of religious melancholy, we assumed the sexual apparatus to be +implicated."[97] + +Dr. Bevan Lewis points out how frequently religious exaltation occurs +with women at puberty, and religious melancholia at the period of sexual +decline. And Dr. Charles Mercier puts the interchangeability of sexual +and religious feelings in the following passage:-- + +"Religious observances provide an alternative, into which the amatory +instinct can be easily and naturally diverted. The emotions and +instinctive desires, which finds expression in courtship, is a vast body +of vague feeling, which is at first undirected.... It is a voluminous +state of exaltation that demands enthusiastic action. This is the state +antecedent to falling in love, and if an object presents himself or +herself, the torrent of emotion is directed into amatory passion. But if +no object appears, or if the selected object is denied, then religious +observances yield a very passable substitute for the expression of the +emotion. Religious observances provide the sensuous atmosphere, the call +for self-renunciation, the means of expressing powerful and voluminous +feeling, that the potential or disappointed lover needs. The madrigal is +transformed into the hymn; the adornment of the person that should have +gone to allure the beloved now takes the shape of ecclesiastical +vestments; the reverence that should have been paid to the loved one is +transformed to a higher object; the enthusiasm that would have expanded +in courtship is expressed in worship; the gifts that would have been +made, the services that would have been rendered to the loved one, are +transferred to the Church."[98] + +Dr. Krafft-Ebing, after dwelling upon the substantial identity of sexual +love and religious emotion, summarises his conclusions by saying:-- + +"Religious and sexual hyperæsthesia at the acme of development show the +same volume of intensity and the same quality of excitement, and may, +therefore, under given circumstances interchange. Both will in certain +pathologic states degenerate into cruelty."[99] + +Even so orthodox a writer as the Rev. S. Baring-Gould points out that-- + +"The existence of that evil, which, knowing the constitution of man, we +should expect to find prevalent in mysticism, the experience of all ages +has shown following, dogging its steps inevitably. So slight is the film +that separates religion from sensual passion, that uncontrolled +spiritual fervour roars readily into a blaze of licentiousness."[100] + +No useful purpose would be served by lengthening this list of citations. +Enough has been said to show that the point of view expressed is one +endorsed by many sober, competent, and responsible observers. There +exists among them a general, and one may add a growing, recognition of +the important truth that the connection between religious and sexual +feeling is of the closest character, and that one is very often mistaken +for the other. Asceticism, usually taken as evidence to the reverse, is +on the contrary, confirmative. The ascetic often presents us with a +flagrant case of eroto-mania, expressing itself in terms of religion. +It is highly significant that the biographies of Christian saints should +furnish so many cases of men and women of strong sensual passions, and +whose ascetic devotion was only the reaction from almost unbridled +sensualism. No wonder that in the temptations experienced by the monks +the figures of nude women so often appeared before their heated +imaginations. Sexual feeling suppressed in one direction broke out in +another. Feelings, in themselves perfectly normal, became, as a +consequence of repression and misdirection, pathologic. And one +consequence of this was that many of the early Christian writers brought +to the consideration of the subject of sex a concentration of mind that +resulted in disquisitions of such a nature that it is impossible to do +more than refer to them. The sexual relation instead of being refined +was coarsened. Marriage was viewed in its lowest form, more as a +concession to the weakness of the flesh than as a desirable state for +all men and women. Nor can it be said, after many centuries, that these +ideas are quite eradicated from present-day life. + +A field of investigation that yields much illuminating information is +the biographies of the saints and of other religious characters. In many +of these cases the acceptance of sexual feeling for religious +illumination is very clear. Thus of St. Gertrude, a Benedictine nun of +the thirteenth century, we read:-- + +"One day at chapel she heard supernaturally sung the words, '_Sanctus, +Sanctus, Sanctus_.' The Son of God, leaning towards her like a sweet +lover, and giving to her soul the softest kiss, said to her at the +second _Sanctus_, 'In the _Sanctus_ addressed to My person, receive with +this all the sanctity of My divinity and of My humanity.'... And the +following Sunday, while she was thanking God for this favour, behold the +Son of God, more beauteous than thousands of angels, takes her to His +arms as if He were proud of her, and presents her to God the Father, and +in that perfection of sanctity with which He had endowed her."[101] + +Of Juliana of Norwich, who was granted a revelation in 1373, we are told +that she had for long 'ardently desired' a bodily sight of the Lord upon +the cross; and that finally Jesus appeared to her and said, "I love thee +and thou lovest Me, and our love shall never be disparted in two."[102] +So, again, in the case of Sister Jeanne des Anges, Superior of the +Convent of Ursulines of Loudun, and the principal character in the +famous Grandier witchcraft case, we have a detailed account, in her own +words, of the lascivious dreams, unclean suggestions, etc.--all +attributed to Satan--and alternating with impressions of bodily union +with Jesus.[103] Marie de L'Incarnation addresses Jesus as follows:-- + +"Oh, my love, when shall I embrace you? Have you no pity on the torments +that I suffer? Alas! alas! My love! My beauty! My life! Instead of +healing my pain, you take pleasure in it. Come, let me embrace you, and +die in your sacred arms."[104] + +Veronica Juliani, beatified by Pope Pius II., took a real lamb to bed +with her, kissed it, and suckled it at her breasts. St. Catherine of +Genoa threw herself on the ground to cool herself, crying out, "Love, +love, I can bear it no longer." She also confessed to a peculiar +longing towards her confessor.[105] + +The blessed Mary Alacoque, foundress of the Sacred Heart, was subject +from early life to a number of complaints--rheumatism, palsy, pains in +the side, ulceration of the legs--and experienced visions early in her +career. As a child she had so vivid a sense of modesty that the mere +sight of a man offended her. At seventeen she took to wearing a knotted +cord drawn so tightly that she could neither eat nor breathe without +pain. She compressed her arms so tightly with iron chains that she could +not remove them without anguish. "I made," she says, "a bed of +potsherds, on which I slept with extreme pleasure." She fasted and +tortured herself in a variety of ways, and the more her physical +disorders increased the more numerous became her visions. Before she was +eighteen years of age, in 1671, she entered a nunnery. From the time she +donned the habit of a novice she was 'blessed' with visions. "Our Lord +showed me that that day was the day of our spiritual wedding; He +forthwith gave me to understand that He wished to make me taste all the +sweetness of the caresses of His love. In reality, those divine caresses +were from that moment so excessive, that they often put me out of +myself." "Once," says one of her biographers, "having retired into her +chamber, she threw off the clothes with which she had bedecked herself +during the day, when the Son of God showed Himself to her in the state +in which He was after His cruel flagellation--that is, with His body all +wounded, torn, gory--and He said to her that it was her vanities that +had brought Him into that condition." In one of these visions Jesus +took the head of Mary, pressed it to His bosom, spoke to her in +passionate words, opened her side and took out her heart, plunged it +into His own, and then replaced it. He then explained His design of +founding the Order of the Sacred Heart. Ever after, Mary was conscious +of a pain in her side and a burning sensation in her chest--two plain +symptoms of hysteria.[106] + +Santa Teresa, who died at the early age of thirty-three, and in whose +family more than one case of well-developed neurasthenia can be traced, +was favoured with 'messages' at a very early age. She believed some of +these were temptations from the devil suggesting an 'honourable +alliance.' A nervous breakdown followed directly after entrance into a +convent. She was then twenty years of age, was subject to fainting fits +and longed for illness as a sign of divine favour. She was subject to +convulsions, and soon after taking the veil fell into a cataleptic +trance, which lasted three days. She was thought to be dead, but at the +end of the time sat up and told those around that she had visited both +heaven and hell, and seen the joys of the blessed and the torments of +the damned. It is at least suggestive that, in spite of the longing for +personal communion with Jesus, her first experience of the ecstasy of +divine love was experienced after discovering a 'very realistic' picture +of a martyred saint--St. Joseph. The significance of the intense +contemplation of a tortured body--possibly made by one whose sexual +nature was undergoing a process of suppression--is unmistakable.[107] + +On these and similar cases Professor William James makes the following +comment:-- + +"To the medical mind these ecstasies signify nothing but suggested +hypnoid states, on an intellectual basis of superstition, and a +corporeal one of degeneration and hysteria. Undoubtedly these +pathological conditions have existed in many and possibly in all the +cases, but that fact tells us nothing about the value for knowledge of +the consciousness which they induce. To pass a spiritual judgment upon +these states, we must not content ourselves with superficial medical +talk, but enquire into their fruits for life."[108] + +Now the question is really not what these ecstasies suggest to the +'medical mind,' as though that were a type of mind quite unfitted to +pass judgment. It is a question of what the facts suggest to any mind +judging the behaviour of a person under the influence of strong +religious emotion exactly as it would judge anyone under any other +strong emotional pressure. And if it be possible to explain these states +in terms of known physiological and mental action, what warranty have we +for rejecting this and preferring in its stead an explanation that is +both unprovable and unnecessary? And one would be excused for thinking +that cases which certainly involve some sort of abnormal nervous action +are precisely those in which the medical mind should be called on to +express an opinion. What is meant by passing 'a spiritual judgment' +upon these states is not exactly clear, unless it means judging them in +terms of the historic supernatural interpretation. But that is precisely +the interpretation which is challenged by the 'medical mind.' + +I do not see how any enquiry "into their fruits for life" can affect a +rational estimate of the nature of these mystical states. Mysticism adds +nothing to the native disposition of a person. It merely gives their +energies a new turn, a new direction. What they were before the +experience they remain, substantially, afterwards. That is why we find +religious mystics of every variety. Some energetically practical; others +dreamily unpractical. Professor James admits this in saying that "the +other-worldliness encouraged by the mystical consciousness makes this +over-abstraction from practical life peculiarly liable to befall mystics +in whom the character is naturally passive and the intellect feeble; but +in natively strong minds and characters we find quite opposite +results."[109] And when it is further admitted that "the mystical +feeling of enlargement, union, and emancipation has no specific +intellectual content whatever of its own," but "is capable of forming +matrimonial alliances with material furnished by the most diverse +philosophies and theologies, provided only they can find a place in +their framework for its peculiar emotional mood," mysticism seems +reduced to an emotional development on all fours with emotional +development in other directions. It is not peculiar to religious minds +because "it has no specific intellectual content." It is amorphous, so +to speak. And it may form diverse 'matrimonial alliances' precisely +because it does not point to a hidden world of reality, but is merely +indicative of tense emotional moods. In the face of nature the +non-theistic Richard Jeffries experiences all the feelings of mental +enlargement and emotional transports that Mary Alacoque or Santa Teresa +experienced in their visions of the 'Risen Christ.' + +It is idle, then, to sneer at 'medical materialism,' and stigmatise it +as superficial. Many people are constitutionally afraid of words, and +there is nothing that arouses prejudice so quickly as a name. But it is +really not a question of materialism, medical or non-medical. It is a +mere matter of applying knowledge and common sense to the cases before +us. Are we to take the subject's explanation of his or her mental states +as authoritative, so far as their nature is concerned; or are we to +treat them as symptoms demanding the skilled analysis of the specialist? +If the former, how can we differentiate between the mystic and the +admittedly hysterical patient? If the latter, what ground is there for +placing the mystic in a category of his own? Rational and scientific +analysis will certainly take far more notice of the nature of the +feelings excited than of the object towards which they are directed. +Here is the case of a young lady, given by Dr. Moreau, in his _Morbid +Psychology_:-- + +"During my long hours of sleeplessness in the night my beloved Saviour +began to make Himself manifest to me. Pondering over the meditations of +St. François de Sales on the _Song of Songs_, I seemed to feel all my +faculties suspended, and crossing my arms upon my chest, I awaited in a +sort of dread what might be revealed to me.... I saw the Redeemer +veritably in the flesh.... He extended Himself beside me, pressed me so +closely that I could feel His crown of thorns, and the nails in His feet +and hands, while He pressed His lips over mine, giving me the most +ravishing kiss of a divine Spouse, and sending a delicious thrill +through my entire body."[110] + +Get rid of the narcotising effect of theological associations by +eliminating the name of Jesus and other religious terms from this case, +and from the others already cited, and no one would have the least doubt +as to their real nature. Given a condition of physical health in these +cases, with conditions that favoured social activity, healthy +intercourse with the opposite sex, culminating in marriage and +parenthood, can there be any doubt that this species of religious +ecstasy would have been non-existent? If, as Tylor says, the refectory +door would many a time have closed the gates of heaven, happy family +life would in a vast number of cases have prevented those religio-erotic +trances which have played so powerful a part in the history of +supernaturalism. Most people will agree with Dr. Maudsley:-- + +"The ecstatic trances of such saintly women as Catherine Sienne and St. +Theresa, in which they believed themselves to be visited by their +Saviour and to be received as veritable spouses into His bosom, were, +though they knew it not, little better than vicarious sexual orgasm; a +condition of things which the intense contemplation of the naked male +figure, carved or sculptured in all its proportions on a cross, is more +fitted to produce in young women of susceptible nervous temperament than +people are apt to consider. Every experienced physician must have met +with instances of single and childless women who have devoted +themselves with extraordinary zeal to habitual religious exercises, and +who, having gone insane as a culmination of their emotional fervour, +have straightway exhibited the saddest mixture of religious and erotic +symptoms--a boiling over of lust in voice, face, gestures, under the +pitiful degradation of disease.... The fanatical religious sects, such +as the Shakers and the like, which spring up from time to time in +communities and disgust them by the offensive way in which they mingle +love and religion, are inspired in great measure by sexual feeling; on +the one hand, there is probably the cunning of a hypocritical knave, or +the self-deception of a half-insane one, using the weaknesses of weak +women to minister to his vanity or his lust under a religious guise; on +the other hand, there is an exaggerated self-feeling, often rooted in +the sexual passion, which is unwittingly fostered under the cloak of +religious emotion, and which is apt to conduct to madness or to sin. In +such cases the holy kiss owes its warmth to the sexual impulse, which +inspires it, consciously or unconsciously, and the mystical religious +union of the sexes is fitted to issue in a less spiritual union."[111] + +Many manuals of devotion will be found to furnish the same kind of +evidence as biographical narratives concerning the intimate relations +that exists between sexuality and religious feeling. What has just been +said may be repeated here, namely, that if the religious associations +were dispelled, there would be no mistaking the nature of feelings that +originated much of this class of writing, or the feelings to which they +appeal. The serious fact is that the appeal is there whether we +recognise it or not, and it is a question worthy of serious +consideration whether the unwary imagination of the young may be not as +surely debauched by certain books of devotion as by a frankly erotic +production. It is not without reason that d'Israeli the elder, in an +essay omitted from all editions of his book after the first, remarked +that "poets are amorous, lovers are poetical, but saints are both."[112] +Take, for example, the following from a collection of old English +homilies, dating from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries:-- + +"Jesus, my holy love, my sure sweetness! Jesus, my heart, my joy, my +soul-heal! Jesus, sweet Jesus, my darling, my life, my light, my balm, +my honey-drop!... Kindle me with the blaze of Thy enlightening love. Let +me be Thy leman, and teach me to love Thee.... Oh, that I might behold +how Thou stretchedst Thyself for me on the cross. Oh, that I might cast +myself between those same arms, so very wide outspread.... Oh, that I +were in Thy arms, in Thy arms so stretchedst and outspread on the +cross." + +Or this, from the same collection:-- + +"Sweet Jesus, my love, my darling, my Lord, my Saviour, my balm, sweeter +is the remembrance of Thee than honey in the mouth. Who is there that +may not love Thy lovely face? Whose heart is so hard that may not melt +at the remembrance of Thee? Oh! who may not love Thee, lovely Jesus? +Jesus, my precious darling, my love, my life, my beloved, my most worthy +of love, my heart's balm, Thou art lovesome in countenance, Thou art +altogether bright. All angels' life is to look upon Thy face, for Thy +cheer is so marvellously lovesome and pleasant to look upon.... Thou art +so bright, and so white that the sun would be pale if compared to Thy +blissful countenance. If I, then, love any man for beauty, I will love +Thee, my dear life, my mother's fairest son."[113] + +The language of erotic piety figures much more prominently in Roman +Catholic medieval writings than in Protestant literature. This is not +because an appeal to the same feelings is absent from the religious +literature of Protestantism, it is mainly due to the fact that more +modern conditions leads to a less intense religious appeal, while the +broadening of social life encourages a more natural outlet for all +aspects of human nature. Still, the following expression of a young lady +convert of Wesley's offers a fair parallel to the specimen given above. +It is taken from Southey's _Life of Wesley_:-- + +"Oh, mighty, powerful, happy change! The love of God was shed abroad in +my heart, and a flame kindled there with pains so violent, and yet so +very ravishing, that my body was almost torn asunder. I sweated, I +trembled, I fainted, I sang. Oh, I thought my head was a fountain of +water. I was dissolved in love. My beloved is mine, and I am His. He has +all charms; He has ravished my heart; He is my comforter, my friend, my +all. Oh, I am sick of love. He is altogether lovely, the chiefest among +ten thousand. Oh, how Jesus fills, Jesus extends, Jesus overwhelms the +soul in which He lives." + +The _Imitation of Christ_ has been described by more than one writer as +a manual of eroticism, and certainly the chapters "The Wonderful Effects +of Divine Love," and "Of the Proof of a True Lover," might well be cited +in defence of this view. In the following canticle of St. Francis of +Assisi it does not seem possible to distinguish a substantial difference +between it and a frankly avowed love poem:-- + + "Into love's furnace I am cast, + Into love's furnace I am cast, + I burn, I languish, pine, and waste. + Oh, love divine, how sharp thy dart! + How deep the wound that galls my heart! + As wax in heat, so, from above, + My smitten soul dissolves in love. + I live, yet languishing I die, + While in thy furnace bound I lie."[114] + +It would certainly be possible to furnish exact parallels from volumes +of secular verse that would be strictly 'taboo' among those who fail to +see anything objectionable in verses like the above when written in +connection with religion. Such people fail to recognise that their +attractiveness lies in the hidden appeal to amatory feeling, and owe +their origin to the suppressed or perverted sexual passion of their +author. We must not allow ourselves to be blinded by the consideration +as to whether the object of adoration be an earthly or a heavenly one. +Men and women have not distinct feelings that are aroused as their +objective differs, but the same feelings directed now in one direction, +now in another. The direction of these feelings, their exciting cause, +are sheer environmental accidents. How can one resist the implications +of the following, from a devotional work widely circulated amongst the +women of France:-- + + "Praise to Jesus, praise His power, + Praise His sweet allurements. + Praise to Jesus, when His goodness + Reduces me to nakedness; + Praise to Jesus when He says to me, + My sister, my dove, my beautiful one! + Praise to Jesus in all my steps, + Praise to His amorous charms. + Praise to Jesus when His loving mouth + Touches mine in a loving kiss. + Praise to Jesus when His gentle caresses + Overwhelm me with chaste joys. + Praise to Jesus when at His leisure + He allows me to kiss Him."[115] + +Against this we may place the following hymn, sung at an American camp +meeting of some thousands of persons between the ages of fourteen and +twenty-five:-- + + "Blessed Lily of the Valley, oh, how fair is He; + He is mine, I am His. + Sweeter than the angels' music is His voice to me; + He is mine, I am His. + Where the lilies fair are blooming by the waters calm + There He leads me and upholds me by His strong right arm. + + All the air is love around me--I can feel no harm; + He is mine, I am His."[116] + +Special significance is given to this reference by the age of those who +composed the gathering. This period embraces the years during which +sexual maturity is attained, and the organism experiences important +physiological and psychological changes. The consequence is that the +atmosphere is, so to say, charged with unsuspected sex feeling, and it +is not surprising that many complaints have been made of immorality +following such gatherings. The organism is then peculiarly liable to +suggestion in all forms. Along with the imitativeness of early years +there is something of the decisive initiative of maturity. These +qualities wisely guided might be turned to the great advantage of both +the individual and of the community. Mere incitement by religious +revivalism can result in little else than misdirection and injury. It +should be the most obvious of truths that the attractiveness of hymns +such as the one given, with the keen delight in the suggested pictures, +lies in their yielding--all unknown, perhaps, to those participating-- +satisfaction to feelings that are very frequently imperious in their +demands, and are at all times astonishingly pervasive in their +influence. + +Much valuable light is thrown upon this aspect of the subject by a +study of human behaviour under the influence of actual disease. Of late +years much useful work has been done in this direction, and our +knowledge of normal psychology greatly helped by a study of abnormal +mental states.[117] This is mainly because in disease we are able to +observe the operation of tendencies that are unobscured by the +restraints and inhibitions created by education and social convention. +And one of the most striking, and to many startling, things observed is +the close relation existing between erotic mania and religious delusion. +The person who at one time feels himself under direct religious +inspiration, or who imagines himself to be the incarnation of a divine +personage, will at another time exhibit the most shocking obscenity in +action and language. Sir T. S. Clouston furnishes a very striking case +of this character, which he cites in order to show "the common mixture +of religious and sexual emotion."[118] I do not reproduce it here +because of its grossly obscene character; but, save for coarseness of +language, it does not differ materially from illustrations already +given. Almost any of the text-books will supply cases illustrating the +connection between sexualism and religion, a connection generally +recognised as the opinions cited already clearly show. + +Dr. Mercier, in dealing with the connection between sexualism and +religion, which he says "has long been recognised, but never accounted +for," traces it to a feeling of, or desire for self-sacrifice common to +both. Certainly sacrifice in some form--of food, weapons, land, money, +or bodily inconvenience--is a feature present in every religion more or +less. And it is quite certain that not merely the fact, but the desire +for some amount of sacrifice, forms "an integral, fundamental, and +preponderating element" in the sexual emotion. Dr. Mercier further +believes that the benevolence founded on religious emotion has its +origin in sexual emotion, which is, again, extremely likely. This +community of origin would allow for the transformation of one into the +other, and supplies a key to the language of lover-like devotion and +self-abnegation which is so prominent in religious devotional +literature. The importance attached to dress is also very suggestive; +for here, again, the element of sacrifice expresses itself in the +cultivation of a studied repulsiveness to the normal attractiveness of +costume. "Thus," says Dr. Mercier, "we find that the self-sacrificial +vagaries of the rejected lover and of the religious devotee own a common +origin and nature. The hook and spiny kennel of the fakir, the pillar of +St. Simeon Stylites, the flagellum of the monk, the sombre garments of +the nun, the silence of the Trappists, the defiantly hideous costume of +the hallelujah lass, and the mortified sobriety of the district visitor, +have at bottom the same origin as the rags of Cardenio, the cage of Don +Quixote de la Mancha, and the yellow stockings and crossed garters of +Malvolio."[119] + +Professor Granger, who at times comes very near the truth, says:-- + +"There is something profoundly philosophical in the use of _The Song of +Songs_ to typify the communion of the soul with its ideal. The passion +which is expressed by the Shulamite for her earthly lover in such +glowing phrases becomes the type of the love of the soul towards +God."[120] + +One fails to see the profoundly philosophic nature of the selection. The +_Song of Songs_ is a frankly erotic love poem, written with no other aim +than is common to such poetry, and its spiritualisation is due to the +same process of reinterpretation that is applied to other parts of the +Bible in order to make them agreeable to modern thought. Had it not been +in the Bible, Christians would have found it neither profoundly +philosophical nor spiritually illuminating; and, as a matter of fact, +similar effusions are selected by Christians from non-Christian writings +as proofs of their sensual character. The real significance of its use +in religious worship is that it gives a marked expression to feelings +that crave an outlet. And the lesson is that sexual feeling cannot be +eliminated from life; it can only be diverted or disguised. Some +expression it will find--here in open perversion resulting in positive +vice, there in obsession that leads to a half-insane asceticism, and +elsewhere the creation of the unconsciously salacious with an unhealthy +fondness for dabbling in questions that refer to the illicit relations +of the sexes. + +"One of the reasons why popular religion in England," says Professor +Granger, "seems to be coming to the limits of its power, is that it has +contented itself so largely with the commonplace motives which, after +all, find sufficient exercise in the ordinary duties of life." Here, +again, is a curious obtuseness to a plain but important truth. With +what else should a healthy religion associate itself but the ordinary +motives or feelings of human life? With what else has religion always +associated itself? Far from that being the source of the weakness of +modern religion, it is its only genuine source of strength. If religion +can so associate itself with the ordinary facts and feelings of life +that these are unintelligible or poorer without religion, then religious +people have nothing to fear. But if it be true, as Professor Granger +implies, that life in its normal moods can receive complete +gratification apart from religion, then the outlook is very different. +From a merely historic point of view it is true that as men have found +explanations of phenomena, and gratifications of feelings apart from +religion, the latter has lost a deal of its power. This is seen in the +growth of the physical sciences, and also, although in a smaller +measure, in sociology and morals. + +This, however, opens up the enquiry, previously indicated, as to how far +the whole range of human life may be satisfactorily explained in the +complete absence of religion or supernaturalism. And with this we are +not now directly concerned. What we are concerned with is to show that +from one direction at least supernaturalism has derived strength from a +misinterpretation of the facts. These facts, once interpreted as clear +evidence for supernaturalism, are now seen to be susceptible to a +different explanation. But they have nevertheless played their part in +creating as part of the social heritage a diffused sense of the reality +of supernatural intercourse. It is not, then, a question of religion +losing power because it has contented itself with commonplace motives, +and because these have now found satisfaction in ordinary life. It is +rather a question of the adequacy of science to deal with facts that +have been taken to lie outside the scientific order. Has science the +knowledge or the ability to deal with the extraordinary as well as with +the ordinary facts of life? I believe it has. The facts we have passed +in review _are_ amenable to scientific treatment, for the reason that +they belong to a class with which the physician of to-day finds himself +in constant contact. And it is too often overlooked that the belief in +the existence and influence of a supersensible world is itself only a +theory put forward in explanation of certain classes of facts, and like +all theories it becomes superfluous once a simpler theory is made +possible. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[93] Article in _The Lancet_, Jan. 11, 1873. + +[94] Article in Tuke's _Dictionary of Psychological Medicine_. + +[95] _Inquiries into Human Faculty_, pp. 66-7. + +[96] _The Sexual Question_, pp. 354-5. + +[97] Cited by Havelock Ellis, _Psychology of Sex_, pp. 233-4. + +[98] _Conduct and its Disorders_, pp. 368-9. + +[99] _Psychopathia-Sexualis_, pp. 9-11. + +[100] _Lost and Hostile Gospels_, Preface. + +[101] Cited by James, _Varieties_, pp. 345-6. + +[102] Inge, _Christian Mysticism_, pp. 201-9. + +[103] See Ellis, _Psychology of Sex_, pp. 240-2. + +[104] Parkman's _Jesuits in North America_, p. 175. + +[105] Krafft-Ebing, _Psychopathia-Sexualis_, p. 8. + +[106] See L. Asseline's _Mary Alacoque and the Worship of the Sacred +Heart of Jesus_. + +[107] See _St. Teresa of Spain_, by H. H. Colvill, and _Saint Teresa_, +by H. Joly. + +[108] _Varieties_, p. 413. + +[109] _Varieties_, p. 413. + +[110] Cited by J. F. Nisbet, _The Insanity of Genius_, p. 248. + +[111] _Pathology of Mind_, p. 144. Also Mercier, _Sanity and Insanity_, +pp. 223, 281. + +[112] _Miscellanies_, 1796, p. 365. From the same essay I take the +following: "Even the ceremonies of religion, both in ancient and in +modern times, have exhibited the grossest indecencies. Priests in all +ages have been the successful panders of the human heart, and have +introduced in the solemn worship of the divinity, incitements, +gratifications, and representations, which the pen of the historian must +refuse to describe. Often has the sensible Catholic blushed amidst his +devotions, and I have seen chapels surrounded by pictures of lascivious +attitudes, and the obsolete amours of saints revived by the pencil of +some Aretine.... Their homilies were manuals of love, and the more +religious they became, the more depraved were their imaginations. In the +nunnery the love of Jesus was the most abandoned of passions, and the +ideal espousal was indulged at the cost of the feeble heart of many a +solitary beauty" (pp. 369-70). + +[113] From a collection published by the Early English Text Society, +1868, pp. 182-4, 268. + +[114] G. A. Coe, _The Spiritual Life_, p. 210. + +[115] _Les Perles de Saint François de Sales_, 1871. Cited by Bloch, p. +111. + +[116] Davenport's _Primitive Traits in Religious Revivals_, p. 29. + +[117] See, for example, _Conduct and its Disorders_, by Dr. C. Mercier; +_Psycho-Pathological Researches_, by Dr. Boris Sidis; and _Abnormal +Psychology_, by I. H. Coriat. + +[118] _Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases_, p. 584. + +[119] _Sanity and Insanity_, chap. viii. + +[120] _The Soul of a Christian_, p. 178. + + + + +CHAPTER SIX + +THE STREAM OF TENDENCY + + +It should hardly need pointing out that the facts presented in the last +chapter are not offered as an attempt at the--to use Professor William +James's expression--"reinterpretation of religion as perverted +sexuality." Nor, so far as the present writer is aware, has anyone ever +so presented them. The expression, indeed, seems almost a deliberate +mis-statement of a position in order to make its rebuttal easier. +Obviously the idea of religion must be already in existence before it +could be utilised for the purpose of explaining any group of phenomena. +But if the biographic and other facts described have any value whatever, +they are at least strong presumptive evidence in favour of the position +that in very many cases a perverted or unsatisfied sexuality has been at +the root of a great deal of the world's emotional piety. Of course, the +strong religious belief must be in existence before-hand. But given +this, and add thereto a sexual nature imperious in its demands and yet +denied legitimate outlet, and we have the conditions present for its +promptings being interpreted as the fruits of supernatural influence. It +is not a reinterpretation of _religion_ that is attempted, but a +reinterpretation of phenomena that have been erroneously called +religious. And on all sides the need for this reinterpretation is +becoming clear. Over sixty years ago Renan wrote, "A rigorous +psychological analysis would class the innate religious instinct of +women in the same category with the sexual instinct,"[121] and since +then a very much more detailed knowledge of both physiology and +psychology has furnished a multitude of data for an exhaustive study of +the whole question. + +In the present chapter our interest is mainly historical. And for +various reasons, chief amongst which is that interested readers may the +more easily follow up the study should they feel so inclined, the survey +has been restricted to the history of that religion with which we are +best acquainted--Christianity. Moreover, if we are to form a correct +judgment of the part played in the history of religions by the +misinterpretations already noted, it is necessary to trace the extent to +which they have influenced men and women in a collective capacity. For +the striking fact is that, in spite of the purification of the sexual +relations being one of the avowed objects of Christianity, in spite, +too, of the attempts of the official churches to suppress them, the +history of Christianity has been dogged by outbreaks of sexual +extravagance, by the continuous emergence of erotico-religious sects, +claiming Christian teachings as the authority for their actions. We need +not discuss the legitimacy of their inferences. We are concerned solely +with a chronicle of historic facts so far as they can be ascertained; +and these have a certain significance of their own, as events, quite +apart from their reasonableness or desirability. + +A part cause of the movements we are about to describe may have been a +violent reaction against an extravagant asceticism. Something may also +be due to the fact that over-concentration of mind upon a particular +evil is apt to defeat its end by the mere force of unconscious +suggestion in the contrary direction. But in all probability much was +due to the presence of certain elements inherited by Christianity from +the older religions. At any rate, those whose minds are filled with the +idea that sexual extravagance on a collective scale and under the cloak +of religion is either a modern phenomenon, or was unknown to the early +history of Christianity, would do well to revise their opinions in the +light of ascertainable facts. No less a person than the Rev. S. +Baring-Gould has reminded us that criticism discloses "on the shining +face of primitive Christianity rents and craters undreamt of in our old +simplicity," and also asserts "that there was in the breast of the +newborn Church an element of antinomianism, not latent, but in virulent +activity, is a fact as capable of demonstration as any conclusion in a +science which is not exact."[122] + +There would be little value in a study of these erotico-religious +movements if they involved only a detection of individual lust +consciously using religion as a cloak for its gratification. Such a +conclusion is a fatally easy one, but it does little justice to the +chief people concerned, and it is quite lacking in historical +perspective. In most cases the initiators of these strange sects have +put forward a philosophy of religion as a justification of their +teaching, and only a slight knowledge of this is enough to prove that we +are face to face with a phenomenon of much greater significance than +mere immorality. This may be recognised even in the pages of the New +Testament itself. It is not a practice that is there denounced; it is a +teaching that is repudiated. And one sees the same thing at later +periods. The conviction on the one side that certain actions are +unlawful, is met on the other side with the conviction that they are +perfectly legitimate. Conviction is met with conviction. Each side +expresses itself in terms of religion; the ethical aspect is incidental +or subordinate. It is a contest of opposing religious beliefs and +practices. + +The real nature of the conflict is often obscured by the fact of social +opinion and the social forces generally being on the side of the more +normal expression of sexual life. This, however, is no more than a +necessity of the situation. The continuance of a healthful social life +is dependent upon the maintenance of a certain balance in the relations +of the sexes, and anything that strikes at this strikes at social life +as a whole. In such cases we have, therefore, to allow for the operation +of social selection, which is always on the side of the more normal +type. From this it follows that although a small body of people may +exemplify a variation that is in itself socially disastrous, the main +forces of social life will prevent its ever assuming large dimensions. +Moreover, a large body of people, such as is represented by a church +holding a commanding position in society, will be forced to come to +terms with the permanent tendencies of social life, and will either +suppress undesirable variations or expel them. It thus happens that +while the larger and more dominant churches have been on the side of +normal, regularised expressions of the sexual life, abnormal variations +have constantly arisen and have been denounced by them. But the +significant feature is that they have arisen within the churches, and +most commonly during periods of great religious stress or excitement. + +These tendencies, as the Rev. S. Baring-Gould has pointed out, existed +in the very earliest days of Christianity. It is quite apparent from +Paul's writings that as early as the date of the First Epistle to the +Corinthians some of the more objectionable features of the older Pagan +worship had shown themselves in the Church. The doctrine of 'spiritual +wifehood' appeared at a very early date in the Church, and its teachers +cited even St. Paul himself as their authority. Their claim was based +upon Paul's declaration (1 Cor. ix. 5) that he had power to lead about +"a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the +Lord and Cephas." Curiously enough, commentators have never agreed as to +what Paul meant by this expression. The word translated may mean either +wife, or sister, or woman. Had it been wife in the ordinary sense, it +does not appear that at that date there would have been any room for +scandal. The clear fact is, however, that others claimed a like +privilege; the privilege was not always restricted to one woman, and the +practice, if not general, became not uncommon, and furnished the ground +for scandal for a long period. Two epistles, wrongly attributed to St. +Clement of Rome, and dating from some time in the second century, +condemn the practice of young people living together under the cloak of +religion, and specially warns virgins against cohabiting with the clergy +and so giving offence. That the practice was difficult to suppress is +shown by its being condemned by several church councils--Antioch in 210, +Nicea in 325, and Elvira in 350.[123] At a later date a much more +elaborate theory has been built on Paul's claim. The Pauline Church has +found several expressions both in England and America within recent +times.[124] These sects have claimed that both St. Paul and the woman +with whom he travelled were in a state of grace, and, therefore, above +all law. We do not mean the maintenance of an ascetic relationship, but +the normal relation of husband and wife. It is really the doctrine of +'Free Love' with a spiritual warranty instead of a secular one. + +This doctrine of religious 'Free Love' rests upon a twofold basis. +First, it was held that, apart from a wife after the flesh, one might +also have a wife after the spirit, and this spiritual union might exist +side by side with the fleshly one, and with different persons. A great +impetus appears to have been given to this theory from Germany, many of +the originators of the American sects of Free Lovers being Germans. +Secondly, it was held that a Christian in a state of grace was absolved +from laws that were binding upon other people. His actions were no +longer subject to the categories of right and wrong; as it was said, to +one in a state of grace all things were lawful, even though all things +might not be expedient. Some went the length of teaching that not only +were all things lawful, but all things were desirable. Separating by a +sharp division things that influenced the soul from things that +influenced the body, it was openly taught by some of the early sects +that nothing done by the body could injure the soul, and so could not +affect its salvation. Reversing the practice of asceticism, which sought +to crush bodily passions by a course of deprivation, it was taught that +all kinds of forbidden conduct might be practised in order to +demonstrate the soul's superiority. There is no question whatever that +this tendency was very prominent in the early Christian Church. It was +not there as something hidden, something of which men ought to be +ashamed; it was an avowed teaching, claiming full religious sanction. +"The Church," says Baring-Gould, "trembled on the verge of becoming an +immoral sect." The same writer also says:-- + +"This _teaching_ of immorality in the Church is a startling feature, and +it seems to have been pursued by some who called themselves apostles as +well as by those who assumed to be prophets. In the Corinthian Church +even the elders encouraged incest. Now, it is not possible to explain +this phenomenon except on the ground that Paul's argument as to the Law +being overridden had been laid hold of and elevated into a principle. +These teachers did not wink at lapses into immorality, but defiantly +urged on the converts to the Gospel to commit adultery, fornication, and +all uncleanness ... as a protest against those who contended that the +moral law as given on the tables was still binding upon the +Church."[125] + +A certain detachment from modern conditions, and from modern frames of +mind, is essential to an adequate appreciation of what has been said. +Looking at these events through the distorting medium of an altogether +different social atmosphere, one is apt to attribute them to the +operation of lawless desire, and so have done with it. This, however, is +to overlook the fact that we are dealing with a society in which sexual +symbols were common in religious worship, and in which theories of the +religious life were propounded and accepted which to-day would be +regarded as little less than maniacal. Unquestionably even then, once +the situation had established itself it would be utilised by those of a +coarser nature for mere sensual gratification. But practices such as we +know existed, on the scale we have every reason for believing they were, +could never have been had they not taken the form of an intense +conviction. To assume otherwise is equal to arguing that because men +have entered the Church from mere love of power or lust for wealth, the +Church owed its establishment to the play of these motives. It is true +that those who opposed these religio-erotic sects accused them of +immorality, but it is the form these teachings assumed to the members of +the impeached sects, not how they appeared to their enemies, that is +important. Eroticism taught and practised as a religious +conviction--that is the essential and significant feature of the +situation. Not to grasp this is to fail to realise the vital fact +embodied in the phenomena under consideration. We are not dealing with +mere sensualists, even though we may be dealing with what is largely an +expression of sensualism. It is sensualism expressed as, and sanctioned +by, religious conviction that is the vital fact of the situation. + +One of the earliest Christian institutions around which scandals +gathered was that of the Agapæ, or love-feasts. From the outset the +Pagan writers asserted that these love-feasts were new versions of +various old orgiastic practices, some of which were still current, +others of which had been suppressed by the Roman government. There is no +doubt that they were the grounds of very serious accusations against the +Christians. On the other hand, it must be remembered that, at the outset +at least, these charges were indignantly rejected by the Christians. The +Agapæ were called indiscriminately Feasts of Love and Feasts of +Charity. Each member, male and female, greeted each other with a holy +kiss, and the institution was described by Tertullian as "a support of +love, a solace of purity, a check on riches, a discipline of weakness." +These love-feasts were held on important occasions, such as a marriage, +a death, or the anniversary of a martyrdom. Some churches celebrated +them weekly. From the Acts of the Apostles we learn that the feasts +began about nightfall, and continued till after midnight, or even till +daybreak. It was only natural that mixed assemblies of men and women +that gathered in this manner, and where there was eating and drinking, +should create scandal. It is absolutely certain that some of this +scandal had a basis in fact. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould confesses that "at +Corinth, and certainly elsewhere, among excitable people, the wine, the +heat, the exaltation of emotion, led to orgiastic ravings, the jabbering +of disconnected, unintelligible words, to fits, convulsions, pious +exclamations, and incoherent ravings." And unless St. Paul was +deliberately slandering his fellow-believers worse things than these +occurred. + +Generally, even by non-Christian writers, it has been assumed that the +Agapæ commenced as a perfectly harmless, even admirable institution, and +afterwards degenerated, and so gave genuine cause for scandal. It is not +easy to see that this opinion rests on anything better than a mere +prejudice. It is true that there is no unmistakable evidence to the +contrary, but no clear evidence is to be found in its behalf. The Agapæ +was not, after all, an essentially Christian institution. Similar +gatherings existed among the Pagans, more or less orgiastic in +character. And even though at first some of the more extreme forms were +avoided amongst the Christians, it is not improbable, on the face of it, +that some kind of sexual extravagance or symbolism was present from the +outset. At any rate, as I have said, the charges were made, first by +Pagans, afterwards by Christians against other Christians. The charges +were persistent, and were made in districts far removed from each other. +Says Lecky: "When the Pagans accused the Christians of indulging in +orgies of gross licentiousness, the first apologist, while repudiating +the charge, was careful to add, of the heretics, 'Whether or not these +people commit those shameful acts ... I know not.' In a few years the +language of doubt and insinuation was exchanged for that of direct +assertion; and if we may believe St. Irenæus and St. Clement of +Alexandria, the followers of Carpocrates, the Marcionites, and some +other gnostic sects habitually indulged, in their secret meetings, in +acts of impurity and licentiousness as hideous and as monstrous as can +be conceived, and their conduct was one of the causes of the persecution +of the orthodox."[126] Tertullian accused some of the sects of +practising incestuous intercourse at the Agapæ. Ambrose compared the +institution to the Pagan Parentalia. Clement says, probably referring to +the Agapæ, "the shameless use of the rite occasions foul suspicion and +evil reports." The first epistle on Virginity by the Pseudo-Clement +(probably written in the second century) admits the existence of +immorality by saying, "Others eat and drink with them (_i.e._ the +virgins) at feasts, and indulge in loose behaviour and much uncleanness, +such as ought not to be among those who have elected holiness for +themselves." Justin Martyr, referring to certain sects, says more +cautiously: "Whether or not these people commit these shameful acts (the +putting out of lights, and indulging in promiscuous intercourse) I know +not." Others are more precise in their charges. That the Agapæ became +the legitimate cause of complaint is admitted by all. The only question +is whether it was the institution itself or the public mind in relation +to it that underwent a change. Eventually, on the avowed ground of evil +conduct, the Agapæ were forbidden by the Council of Carthage, 391, of +Orleans, 541, and of Constantinople, 680. + +The whole subject is obscure, but the one certain and significant thing +is that charges of licentiousness were connected with the Agapæ from the +outset. These may at first have been unfounded or exaggerated. On the +other hand, it is quite probable that just as Christianity continued +Pagan ceremonies in other directions, so there was also a carrying over +into the Church of some of the sexual rites and ceremonies connected +with earlier forms of worship. And we know that the principle of +Antinomianism, a prolific cause of evil at all times, was active amongst +the Christians from the outset. + +It is almost impossible to say at this distance how many sects +exhibiting marked erotic tendencies appeared in the early Christian +centuries. Many must have disappeared and left no trace of their +existence. But there can be no question that they were fairly numerous. +The extensive sect, or sects, of the gnostics contained in its teachings +elements that at least paved the way for the conduct with which other +Christians charged them, although the charges made may not have been +true of all. To some of the gnostic sects belongs the teaching--quite in +accord with the doctrine of the evil nature of the world, that +liberation from the 'Law' was one of the first conditions of spiritual +freedom. From this came the teaching, subsequently held by numerous +other sects, that those born of the Spirit could not be defiled by any +acts of the flesh, and that so-called vicious actions were rather to be +encouraged as providing experience useful to spiritual welfare. Some +branches of the gnostics had 'spiritual marriages,' similar to what +existed in India in the Sakti rites already described. Thus the +Adamites, a rather obscure gnostic sect of the second century, attempted +to imitate the Edenic state by condemning marriage and abandoning +clothing. Their assemblies were held underground, and on entering the +place of worship both sexes stripped themselves naked, and in that state +performed their ceremonies. They called their church Paradise, from +which all dissentients were promptly expelled. The Adamites themselves +claimed that their object was to extirpate desire by familiarising the +senses to strict control. Their religious opponents gave a very +different account of the practice, and it is not difficult to realise, +whatever may have been the motive of the founders, the consequences of +such a practice. It is curious, by the way, to observe how strong +religious excitement seems to lead people to discard clothing. Thus, +during the Crusade of 1203-42 the women crusaders rushed about the +streets in a state of nudity.[127] During the wars of the League in +France, men and women walked naked in procession headed by the +clergy.[128] Other examples of this curious practice might be given. + +The Nicolaitanes, a second-century sect referred to in the New Testament +(Rev. ii. 14), were accused of practising religious prostitution. So +also were the Manichæans, a very numerous sect, against whom the charges +were of a much more detailed character. With them the ceremonial +violation of a virgin is said to have formed a part of their regular +ritual, and that their meetings frequently ended in an orgy of +promiscuous intercourse.[129] As both these acts are found in connection +with other religious ceremonies, and, as will be seen later, have +persisted until recent times, the story does not sound so incredible as +otherwise it might. The difficulty of deciding definitely is intensified +by the fact of the Manichæans being split into a number of sects, and +statements true of some might be untrue of others. So we find St. +Augustine, who had been a Manichæan, declaring that if all did not +practise licentious rites, one sect (the Catharists) did, believing that +they could only mortify the flesh by the exercise of bad instincts, +since the flesh proceeded from demons. St. Augustine himself confesses +to have taken part in various phallic ceremonies before his conversion. +"I myself," he says, "when a young man used to go sometimes to the +sacrilegious entertainments and spectacles; I saw the priests raving in +religious excitement, and heard the choristers; I took pleasure in the +shameful games which were celebrated in honour of gods and goddesses, of +the Virgin Coelestia, and of Berecynthia, the mother of all gods. And +on the day consecrated to her purification, there were sung before her +couch productions so obscene and filthy to the ear--I do not say of the +mother of the gods, but of the mother of any senator or honest man--nay, +so impure that not even the mother of the foul-mouthed players +themselves could have formed one of the audience."[130] + +The Carpocratians, who claimed to be a branch of the Gnostics, taught +that faith and charity were alone necessary virtues: all others were +useless. There is nothing evil in itself, and life only becomes complete +when all so-called blemishes are fully displayed in conduct. Their +leader "not only allowed his disciples a full liberty to sin, but +recommended a vicious course of life as a matter of obligation and +necessity; asserting that eternal salvation was only attainable by those +who had committed all sorts of crimes.... It was the will of God that +all things should be possessed in common, the female sex not +excepted."[131] + +A little later we have the sect of the Agapetæ. They rejected marriage +as an institution, and permitted unrestrained intercourse between the +sexes. St. Jerome, alluding to this sect, says: "It is a shame even to +allude to the true facts. Whence did the pest of the Agapetæ creep into +the Church? Whence is this new title of wives without marriage rites? +Whence this new class of concubines? I will infer more. Whence these +harlots cleaving to one man? They occupy the same house, a single +chamber, often a single bed, and call us suspicious if we think anything +of it. The brother deserts his virgin sister, the virgin despises her +unmarried brother, and seeks a stranger, and since they pretend to be +aiming at the same object, they ask for the spiritual consolation of +each other that they may enjoy the pleasures of the flesh."[132] + +This form of extravagance does not appear to have been limited to a +single sect. It was more or less general during the ascendancy of +asceticism. Tertullian says that the desire to enjoy the reputation of +virginity led to much immorality, the effects of which were concealed by +infanticide. The Council of Antioch lamented the practice of unmarried +men and women sharing the same room. In 450, the Anchorites of Palestine +are described as herding together without distinction of sex, and with +no garments but a breech-clout.[133] The practice of priests travelling +about with women, mothers and wives, and the scandals created thereby, +is referred to in regulation after regulation. Although legislated +against, it never entirely disappeared, and eventually led to a +recognised priestly concubinage--recognised, that is, by public opinion, +although condemned by the Church. + +There is no need to go over even the names of all the numerous sects +that appeared during the early centuries manifesting curious features +concerning sexual relations. When suppressed in one form they reappeared +in another, and were unusually prominent during seasons of religious +unrest. Many of the teachings already noted made their appearance again +with the "Brethren of the Free Spirit" in the thirteenth, fourteenth, +and fifteenth centuries. Some of these sects took their stand on the +Pauline teaching, "The law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ hath +made me free from the law of sin and death," and claimed freedom from +sin, no matter what their actions. The "Brethren of the Free Spirit" +carried women about with them, held midnight assemblies, and, according +to Mosheim, attended these meetings in a state of nudity. The Ranters, +the Spirituels of Geneva, the Berghards, the Flagellants, the Molinists, +were all accused of sexual misconduct in their assemblies. One of the +specific teachings of the last-named body, as condemned by the +Inquisition, ran as follows: "God, to humble us, permits in certain +perfect souls that the devil should make them commit certain acts. In +this case, and in others, which without the permission of God, would be +guilty, there is no sin because there is no consent. It may happen, that +this violent movement, which excites to carnal acts, may take place in +two persons, a man and a woman, at the same instant."[134] + +It has been pointed out that the dominant Church made continuous efforts +to suppress these sects, but the remarkable thing is that they should so +often reappear, and always with strong claims to existence on the basis +of religious conviction. That a number of men and women should seek +gratification of their sensual feelings in ways not countenanced by the +laws of normal life need not excite surprise. There always have been and +always will be such. But to do this in the name of religion, and with a +persistency as great as that of the religious idea itself, is a +phenomenon that surely deserves more attention than it ordinarily +receives. Nor can it be said with justice that these sects began in mere +conscious lust. They ended there, true; more or less disguised, it may +always have been present, but those who initiated them believed that +they were justified in doing so by religious principles, and appealed to +those principles to justify their conduct. Why should this have been the +case? Why should conduct of which men and women are ashamed in the +social sphere, and which their social sense promptly condemns, in the +religious sphere be crowned with the dignity of lofty principles and +fought for with the fervour of intense conviction? So long as +theologians leave that question unanswered, their arguments are simply +wide of the real issue. + +Naturally, the closer we get to our own day, and to times when religious +feeling is more vigorously controlled by purely social forces, these +manifestations of sexuality become less frequent, less widely spread, +and more transient in character. Still they do occur. For reasons that +do not concern us here, America has in recent years been a favourable +ground for these religio-sexual developments. A sympathetic account of +many of these American sects will be found in Hepworth Dixon's +_Spiritual Wives_, with accounts of similar sects in Germany and +England. In some cases many of the features of the early Christian sects +were reproduced, even to the length of young women sharing the bedrooms +of their spiritual guides. All took Paul as their principal authority. +J. H. Noyes, one of the best known and most representative of these +teachers, laid down the main principles of his teachings thus:-- + +"When the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven, there will be +no marriage. The marriage supper of the Lamb is a feast at which every +dish is free to every guest. Exclusiveness, jealousy, quarrelling, have +no place there, for the same reason as that which forbids the guests at +a thanksgiving dinner to claim each his separate dish, and quarrel with +the rest for his rights. In a holy community there is no more reason why +sexual intercourse should be restrained by law, than why eating and +drinking should be; and there is as little occasion for shame in the one +case as in the other.... The guests of the marriage supper may have each +his favourite dish, each a dish of his own procuring, and that without +the jealousy of exclusiveness. I call a certain woman my wife; she is +yours; she is Christ's; and in Him she is the bride of all saints. She +is dear in the hands of a stranger, and according to my promise to her I +rejoice."[135] + +In a letter to Mr. Hepworth Dixon, J. H. Noyes claims the "right of +religious inspiration to shape society and dictate the form of family +life," and with probable accuracy says that the origin of these American +sects is to be found in revivals:-- + +"The philosophy of the matter seems to be this: Revivals are theocratic +in their very nature; they introduce God into human affairs.... In the +conservative theory of revivals, this power is restricted to the +conversion of souls; but in actual experience it goes, or tends to go, +into all the affairs of life.... Religious love is very near neighbour +to sexual love, and they always get mixed in the intimacies and social +excitements of revivals. The next thing a man wants, after he has found +the salvation of his soul, is to find his Eve and his Paradise.... The +course of things may be restated thus: Revivals lead to religious love; +religious love excites the passions; the converts, finding themselves +in theocratic liberty, begin to look about for their mates and their +liberty."[136] + +With regard to the beginnings of these modern movements of "Spiritual +Wifehood," all involving the abrogation of the normal relations of the +sexes, Hepworth Dixon writes:-- + +"It has not, I think, been noticed by any writer that three of the most +singular movements in the churches of our generation seem to have been +connected, more or less closely, with the state of mind produced by +revivals; one in Germany, one in England, and one in the United States; +movements which resulted, among other things, in the establishment of +three singular societies--the congregation of Pietists, vulgarly called +the Mucker, at Königsberg; the brotherhood of Princeites at Spaxton; and +the Bible Communists at Oneida Creek.... They had these chief things in +common: they began in colleges, they affected the form of family life, +and they were carried on by clergymen; each movement in a place of +learning and of theological study: that in Germany at the Luther-Kirch +of Königsberg, that in England at St. David's College, that in the +United States at Yale College.... These three divines, one Lutheran, one +Anglican, one Congregational, began their work in perfect ignorance of +each other.... Each movement was regarded by its votaries as the most +perfect fruit of the revival spirit. In truth, the change which came +upon the saints from their close experience of revival passion, was +regarded by themselves as in some degree miraculous, equal in divine +significance to a new creation of the world."[137] + +For an almost exact replica of the erotic extravagances of some of the +early Christian sects, one may turn to Russia. The difficulties and +dangers of political life in Russia are doubtless responsible for having +made religion such a power among the mass of the people, and this will +also explain the diversion into religious channels of energy that under +more favourable conditions is expended in social agitation and activity. +Many of these sects are, of course, of a harmless character, mostly +originating in an even greater love for the past and a more slavish +adherence to ancient formulas than is displayed by the orthodox Church. +Some, however, present the wildest excesses of sexual theory and +practice. Nothing seems too wild or too extravagant to become the +originating point of a new sect. Theories of marriage and sexual +relations generally are developed with a logical fearlessness peculiarly +Russian. Among the Bezpopovtsi, a numerous sect split up into several +branches, opinions on marriage vary between regarding it as a mere +conventional affair, and denouncing it as a hindrance to spiritual +development. "Between these two extremes," says Mr. Heard, "there is +room for the wildest and most repulsive theories. Carnal sensuality is +allied in monstrous union with religious mysticism. Free love, +independence of the sexes, possession of women in common, have been +preached and practised. Debauchery, as an incidental weakness of human +nature, has been advocated as the lesser evil; libertinism as preferable +to concubinage, and the latter as better than marriage. One of their +most austere teachers cynically declares that 'it is wiser to live with +beasts than to be joined to a wife; to frequent many women in secret, +rather than to live with one openly.'"[138] + +Another sect called 'Eunuchs' take their stand on Matt. xix. 12: "There +are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there +are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, +which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He +that is able to receive it, let him receive it." This sect believes in +and practises emasculation as the surest way of attaining perfection. +Man, they say, should be like the angels, without sex and without +desire. This practice reminds one of an early Christian sect, the +Valesians, which not only emasculated members of their own sect, but +performed the same operation forcibly on those who fell into their +hands.[139] The Khlysti, a sect which derives its name from the practice +of flagellation, denounce marriage as unclean, and part of their +religious ritual is, according to some writers, the worship of a naked +woman. Baron Von Haxthausen, writing in 1856, gives the following +description of their ceremonies on Easter night:-- + +"On this night the Khlysti all assemble for a great solemnity, the +worship of the mother of God. A virgin, fifteen years of age, whom they +have induced to act the part by tempting promises, is bound and placed +in a tub of warm water; some old women come, and first make a large +incision in the left breast, then cut it off, and staunch the blood in a +wonderfully short time. During the operation a mystical picture of the +Holy Spirit is put into the victim's hand, in order that she may be +absorbed in regarding it. The breast which has been removed is laid upon +a plate and cut into small pieces, which are eaten by all the members of +the sect present; the girl in the tub is then raised upon an altar which +stands near, and the whole congregation dance wildly round it, singing +at the same time. The jumping then grows madder and wilder, till the +lights are suddenly extinguished and horrible orgies commence."[140] + +The 'Jumpers,' an offshoot of the Khlysti, are much more pronounced in +their sexual extravagances. They openly profess debauchery, for the +usual reason, that of conquering the flesh by exhaustion and satiety. +They meet usually by night, and after prayers are chanted and hymns +sung, the leader commences a slow jumping movement, keeping time with a +song. Then:-- + +"The audience, arranged in couples, engaged to each other in advance, +imitate his example and join the strain; the bounds and the singing grow +faster and louder as it spreads, until, at its height, the elder shouts +that he hears the voices of angels; the lights are extinguished, the +jumping ceases, and the scene that follows in the darkness defies +description. Each one yields to his desires, born of inspiration, and +therefore righteous, and to be gratified; all are brethren in Christ, +all promptings of the inner spirit are holy; incest, even, is no sin. +They repudiate marriage, and justify their abominations by the Biblical +legends of Lot's daughters, Solomon's harem, and the like."[141] + +There are many other curious sects in Russia, many of which bring us +back to the religious atmosphere of the European dark ages. But without +pursuing a description of these to any greater extent, enough has been +said to show the persistence of the stream of sexualism in the history +of Christianity. Of course, this feature did not enter religion with +Christianity. On the contrary, I have shown that it was present from the +earliest times. The association of religion with sexual phenomena does +not commence as a sexual aberration; it only assumes that form at a +comparatively late stage in religious history. The origin of the +connection has to be found in that atmosphere of the supernatural which +envelops primitive life, moulds primitive conceptions, and more or less +fashions all primitive institutions. The sexual side of religious belief +and religious symbolism only becomes abnormal, and even morbid, when the +development of social life makes possible a truer view of sexuality. In +this the great churches have, perhaps, unconsciously assisted. Their +position of social control has compelled them to set their faces against +the sexual symbolism which is so closely associated with early religious +history, while at the same time countenancing religious fervour in +general. The consequence has been that small bodies of men and women, +freed from the restraining influence of social responsibility, have +developed to extravagant length certain phases of religious belief that +have been generally discountenanced elsewhere. Their so doing certainly +helps the present-day student to make a more complete survey of all the +factors that have played their part in religious history than would +otherwise have been possible. Repulsive as some of these features now +are, they have helped in their time to nourish the general belief in a +supernatural order, and so to strengthen the general idea to which they +were affiliated. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[121] _The Future of Science_, p. 465. + +[122] _Lost and Hostile Gospels_, Preface, p. 7. + +[123] See Baring-Gould's _Study of St. Paul_, pp. 450-1. + +[124] See Hepworth Dixon's curious work, _Spiritual Wives_, 1888, 2 +vols. + +[125] _Study of St. Paul_, p. 458. + +[126] _History of European Morals_, i. p. 417. + +[127] Cutten, _Psychological Christianity_, p. 157. + +[128] Sanger, _History of Prostitution_, p. 116. + +[129] See Blunt's _Dictionary of Sects_, art. "Manichæans." + +[130] _De Civitate Dei_, ii. 4. + +[131] Mosheim, _Cent. 2_, chap. v. sec. 4. + +[132] _Dictionary of Sects_, p. 13. + +[133] Lea, _Hist. of Sacerdotal Celibacy_, 1884, p. 42. + +[134] Cited by Michelet, _Priests, Women, and Families_, p. 130. + +[135] _Spiritual Wives_, ii. pp. 55-6. + +[136] _Spiritual Wives_, pp. 176-7, 181. + +[137] _Ibid._, pp. 84-6. + +[138] _The Russian Church and Russian Dissent_, p. 201. + +[139] Lea, _Hist. of Sacerdotal Celibacy_, p. 40. + +[140] _Visit to the Russian Empire_, i. p. 254. Merejkowski, in his +historical novel, _Peter and Alexis_, gives a more detailed account of +the sexual ceremonies of this sect. See also Heard's description, +_Russian Church_, p. 258. + +[141] _Russian Church and Russian Dissent_, p. 262. + + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN + +CONVERSION + + +From what has been already said, it should be clear that a complete +understanding of religious phenomena--whether legitimately or wrongly so +called--involves acquaintance with a number of factors that are not +usually called religious. Man's religious beliefs are usually a very +composite product; they are built up from a number of states of feeling +and mental convictions, some of which have only an accidental connection +with the religious idea itself. Unfortunately, the training given to +professional religious teachers rarely equips them for dealing with +religion from the scientific point of view. Their training gives them a +knowledge of several ancient languages, makes them acquainted with the +rise and fall of certain doctrines, the nature of Church ritual and the +like, all of which, while interesting enough in themselves, give little +more genuine enlightenment than a knowledge of the dates of English +monarchs provides of the character of genuine historic processes. One +writer pertinently asks:-- + +"What does the ordinary seminary graduate know of the histology, +anatomy, and physiology of the soul? Absolutely nothing. He must stumble +along through years of trying experience and look back over countless +mistakes before he understands these things even in a general way. What +does the ordinary graduate understand about doubt? It is all classed +together, whether in adolescents or in hardened sinners, and one dose is +applied. What does the graduate know about sexuality, so closely allied +with certain forms of religious manifestations? What about ecstasy, in +its various forms, the numerous methods of faith cure thrust upon an +illiterate but credulous people, or the significance or insignificance +of visions and dreams?"[142] + +It is, indeed, not too much to say that a theological training tends to +prevent a rational comprehension of religion in both its normal and +abnormal manifestations. Religious phenomena are not affiliated to +phenomena as a whole; they are treated as quite distinct from the rest +of life, possessing both an independent origin and justification. The +consequence is that what are usually called studies of religion move +round and round the same circle of ideas, and a revolution is mistaken +for progress. Genuine enlightenment has come to us from men who have +attacked the subject from a quite different point of view. They +recognised that whether the religious idea was accepted as true or +rejected as false, it could not be separated from that host of ideas and +beliefs which make up the psychological side of the social structure. It +was to be studied as a piece of natural history first of all. Whether it +involved more than this they left to be settled later. It cannot be said +that they belittled the _power_ of religion; on the contrary, the +investigations showed it to be one of the most potent of the forces that +shape social institutions. But they demonstrated the absurdity of +placing religion in a category of its own. As an objective fact, they +showed that religion was subject to the same forces that determine the +form of other objective facts. As a culture fact, they traced its +connection with corresponding phases of social development; and as a +psychological fact, they demonstrated its workings to be in harmony with +workings of normal psychological laws. Five thousand years of +theological study had left the world as ignorant of the nature of +religious phenomena as it was in the days of ancient Chaldea. Fifty +years of scientific study has served to make at least a broad path +through what was hitherto an impenetrable jungle. + +What has been said holds with peculiar force of the subject of +conversion. This is not a phenomenon peculiar to Christianity, for +initiation and conversion accompanies religion in all its phases. I do +not think that it is peculiar to religion even as a whole. A sudden +discharge of feeling in a special direction leading to a changed +attitude, more or less permanent towards life, may be seen in connection +with the non-religious life, although it fails to receive the attention +bestowed on changes that are connected with religion. But if conversion +is not a peculiarly Christian phenomenon, one school of theologians, at +least, has raised it to a position of peculiar eminence in connection +with Christianity. They have taken it to be the mark of a person who has +attained spiritual manhood, and have laid down elaborate rules for its +achievement. Many theologians will agree that this has been almost +wholly disastrous. On the one side, conversion has been dwelt upon as a +cataclysmal epoch in a person's life, produced, negatively, by an act of +self-surrender, and, positively, by a supernatural act of grace. This +has had the effect of blinding people to the real nature of the process, +and has led to certain evil consequences that must always accompany +attempts at wholesale conversion. On the other hand, it has given rise +to a class of professional evangelists who count their trophies in +'souls' as a Red Indian might count scalps, and who are ignorant of +nearly everything except the art of working upon the emotions of a crowd +of more or less uncultured people. Here, for instance, is an account of +an American evangelist and ex-prize fighter, and evidently a great +favourite with certain sections of the religious public in America. The +account is cited by Dr. Cutten from a local paper, Illinois:-- + +"5843 converts, 683 in a day. Total gift to Mr. Sunday, $10,431. +Greatest revival in history. Will attract the attention of the religious +world. Sermon on 'Booze,' the great effort of the revival! These are all +headlines to the report of the meeting, which covers six +columns--evidently a response to the interest shown in 'Billy' Sunday's +meetings. The sermon on 'Booze' is given in full, and the physical +exertions of the preacher described in detail. He began with his coat, +vest, tie, and collar off. In a few moments his shirt and undershirt +were gaping open to the waist, and the muscles of his neck and chest +were seen working like those in the arm of a blacksmith, while +perspiration poured from every pore. His clothing was soaked, as if a +hose had been turned on him. He strained, and twisted, and reached up +and down. Once he was on the floor for just a second, in the attitude of +crawling, to show that all crime crawled out of the saloon; then he was +on his feet as quickly as a cat could jump. At the end of forty-five +minutes he mounted a chair, reached high, as he shouted, then again was +on the floor, and dropped prostrate to illustrate a story of a drunken +man, bounded to his feet again as if steel springs filled that lithe, +slender, lightning-like body. He generally breaks a common kitchen chair +in this sermon, and this came after a terrible effort, with eyes +flashing, face scowling, the picture of hate. He whirled the chair over +his head, smashed the chair to the platform floor, whirled the shattered +wreck in the air again, and threw it to the ground in front of the +pulpit. In two minutes men from the front row were tearing the wreck to +pieces and dividing it up--a round here, a leg there, a piece of the +back to another, and so on. Later, men carried away in cheering could be +seen in the audience waving those chair fragments in the air." + +This is, of course, an extreme case, although it is but an exaggeration +of methods in common use among these professional revivalists. The whole +aim and purpose of these men is to arouse in the audience a high +emotional tension, and any means is acceptable that succeeds in doing +this. On the part of the congregation a large portion go for the express +purpose of indulging in an emotional debauch. Many attend revival after +revival, living over again the debauch of the last, and treasuring +lively expectations of the next. Between these and the victim of alcohol +tasting again his last 'burst,' and seeking opportunities for another, +there is really little moral or psychological distinction. The social +consequences of these engineered revivals have never been fully worked +out, but when it is done by some competent person, the conclusions will +be a revelation to many. One thing is certain: to expect really useful +social results from such methods is verily to look to gather grapes from +thistles. + +During recent years the phenomena of religious conversion have been +studied in a more scientific spirit.[143] Statistics have been compiled +and analysed, the frames of mind attendant on conversion arranged and +studied, with the result that the salient features are to be discerned +by all who approach the study of the subject with a little detachment of +mind. One outstanding feature of this more scientific enquiry into the +nature of conversion has been to demonstrate that it is almost +exclusively a phenomenon of puberty and adolescence. Mr. Hall has +compiled a lengthy list of the ages at which noted religious characters +experienced what is known as conversion.[144] From this I take the +following examples. Religious conviction came to St. Thekla at the age +of 18, to St. Agnes at 13, St. Antony at 18, Martin of Tours at 18, +Euphrasia at 12, Benedict at 14, Cuthbert at 15, St. Bernard at 12, St. +Dominic at 15, St. Collette at 20, St. Catherine at 7, St. Teresa at 12, +St. Francis of Sales at 11. In his _Life of Jesus_, Keim also remarks +that although some of the disciples may have been married, most of them +were probably about twenty years of age.[145] + +Professor Starbuck, placing on one side both historical and +anthropological aspects, set himself the task of examining cases of the +present day. A paper was sent out asking various questions as to age, +state of health, frame of mind, before, during, and following +conversion. The questions were sent to male and female members of +different religious denominations. In reply, 1265 papers were filled up +and returned. One result of a scrutiny of these returns was to show that +the age at which religious conversion was experienced began as early as +7 or 8 years, it increased gradually till 10 or 11, then a more rapid +increase till 18 or 20, a decline increasing in rapidity to the age of +25, and its practical disappearance beyond the age of 30. In girls, the +period of conversion antedates that of boys by about two years.[146] +Starbuck's conclusion is the perfectly valid one that conversion +"belongs almost exclusively to the years between 10 and 25," and is +distinctly a phenomenon of adolescence. + +This conclusion would be borne out by a study of almost any revival +crusade. Thus a few years ago--1904--England received a visit from the +American evangelist, Dr. Torrey. At the conclusion of his visit, Sir +Robertson Nicol invited opinions from ministers in the towns visited by +Torrey, and published the replies in his paper, _The British Weekly_, on +October 27. There was no attempt whatever to elicit the ages of the +reported converts; the enquiry was directed to the point of ascertaining +whether these engineered missions had a beneficial effect on church +life, or the reverse. But incidentally the ages of the converts were +given in some cases, and one may safely assume that in the reports where +no age was mentioned the facts, if disclosed, would not run counter to +the generalisation above given. The Rev. T. Towers, Birmingham, noted +that 16 out of 25 reported converts were children. Rev. A. Le Gros, +Rugby, reported: "A number of our youngest members, especially amongst +the young girls, were amongst those who professed conversion." Rev. H. +Singleton, Smethwick, says: "The bulk of the names sent to me were those +of children under thirteen years of age." Rev. W. G. Percival, Lozells +Congregational Church, says of the 'inquiry' meeting held after the +preaching: "The dear little things followed one another for inquiry +until the place was a scene of utter confusion." Reports of a similar +nature came from other places. The ages were pointed out quite +incidentally; conversions of youths of 17 or 18 would not excite comment +with these. Were the ages of all given, we should, without doubt, find +them fall into line with Starbuck's and Hall's figures. + +Professor James quite accepts this view of conversion. The conclusion, +he says, "would seem to be the only sound one: conversion is in its +essence a normal adolescent phenomenon, incidental to the passage from +the child's small universe to the wider intellectual and spiritual life +of maturity."[147] Conversion, in the sense of a change from "the +child's small universe" to the large world of human society, may be a +normal fact in life, but the really essential fact in the enquiry is not +the fact of growth, but growth in a specific direction. Why should this +normal change from childhood to maturity be the period during which +_religious_ conversion is experienced? This question is not only ignored +by Professor James, it is made more confused by his method of stating +it. Of course, if all people experienced this religious conviction, as +all people undergo other changes at adolescence, the question would be +simplified. But this is obviously not the case. A large number of people +never experience it so long as they are only brought into contact with +ordinary social forces. Special circumstances seem usually to be +required to rouse this sense of religious conviction. Nearly every story +of conversion turns upon something unusual, unexpected, or dramatic +occurring as the exciting cause. The question is, therefore, why should +the line of growth, general with all at adolescence, be, in the case of +some, diverted into religious channels? A study of the subject from this +point of view will, I think, show that conversion is only normal in the +sense that in an environment where religious influences are powerful +each person is normally exposed to it. Those on whom the religious +influence fails to operate experience the change from childhood to +adolescence, on to complete maturity, without their nature evincing any +lack of completeness. This is the vital truth of which Professor James +loses sight, and it is ignored by the vast majority of writers who treat +of the subject. + +Leaving, for a while, the statistical view of conversion, we may turn to +its other aspects. By the more advanced of religious teachers to-day the +developments attendant on adolescence are taken as supplying no more +than a favourable occasion for directing mind and emotion to definite +religious conviction. Here the connection is admittedly more or less +accidental. But by the great majority of theologians there is assumed a +direct supernatural influence in the states of mind developed during +adolescence. In more primitive times the connection is of a yet closer +character. Puberty does not at this stage represent what a modern would +call an awakening of the religious consciousness, but a direct +impingement of supernatural influence. From one point of view this +conception still remains part of all religious systems, however overlaid +it may be with modern ideas concerning sexual maturity. And we have, as +a mere matter of historic fact, a whole series of customs commencing +with the initiatory customs of savages and running right on to the +modern practice of confirmation. + +In a previous chapter it was pointed out what is the savage state of +mind in relation to the beginnings of sex life as it is manifested in +both boys and girls. Adolescence does not, to the primitive mind, serve +as an occasion for the creation of an interest in the religious life, it +is the sign of direct supernatural influence. One consequence of this is +the rise of more or less elaborate ceremonials marking the initiation of +youth into direct communion with the spiritual forces that govern tribal +life.[148] Among the Polynesians tattooing forms part of the religious +ceremony, and during the time the marks are healing the boy is taboo to +the rest of the tribe, owing to his having been touched by the gods. +With the North American Indians the following ceremony seems +characteristic:-- + +"When a boy has attained the age of fourteen or fifteen years he absents +himself from his father's lodge, lying on the ground in some remote or +secluded spot, crying to the Great Spirit, and fasting the whole time. +During this period of peril and abstinence, when he falls asleep, the +first animal, bird, or reptile, of which he dreams, he considers the +Great Spirit has designated for his mysterious protector through +life."[149] Similar ceremonies are described by Livingstone as existing +among the South African tribes. These customs are too widespread, and +bear too great a similarity to be described with reference to many +races. The variations are unimportant, and such as they are they may be +studied in the pages of Hall, Frazer, and numerous other writers. With +girls the measures adopted are of a more elaborate character than is the +case with boys, because, for reasons already stated, the occurrence of +puberty in girls gives the supernatural act a more startling and +significant character. Hence the strict seclusion of girls almost +universally practised among uncivilised peoples. The precautions taken +indicate, as Hartland points out, that they are at this period not +merely charged with a malign influence, but are peculiarly susceptible +to the onset of powers other than human. And with a modification of +language the same idea has persisted down to our time, even amongst +those who would reject with indignation the statement that savage ideas +concerning the nature of puberty form the real basis of their own mental +attitude. + +This truth cannot be too strongly emphasised. To ignore it is to miss +the whole significance of continuity in human institutions and ideas. +The ceremonies described do, of course, gather round the fact of sexual +development, but they are not concerned with the sexual life, as such. +It is sex as a supernatural manifestation that is the vital feature of +the situation. The governing idea is that puberty marks the direct +association of the individual with a spiritual world to the influence of +which the functional changes are due. As more accurate conceptions are +formed, the older and inaccurate one is not altogether discarded. It has +become incarnate in ceremonies, it is part of the traditional psychic +life of the people, and the change is one of transformation rather than +of eradication. In later cultural stages the physiological nature of the +changes are seen, but they are expressed in terms of religion. Such +expressions as "the soul's awareness of God," "the dawning consciousness +of religion," etc., take the place of the earlier and more direct +animistic interpretation. But the essential misinterpretation is +retained, disguised from careless or uninformed people by the use of a +modified terminology. But in substance the use made of puberty by +organised religious forces remains the same throughout. We have the same +absence of a rational explanation in both instances. In the one because +the state of knowledge makes any other impossible; in the other because +tradition, self-interest, and prejudice prevent its use. It is not only +in his physical structure that man carries reminiscences of a lower form +of life; such reminders are quite as plentiful in his mental life, and +in social institutions. + +Even with many who perceive the mechanism of conversion its real +significance is often missed. For the important thing is, not that some +people express the changes incident to adolescence in terms of religion, +but that many do not, and also that these find complete satisfaction +along lines of æsthetic, intellectual, or social interest. Yet one often +finds it assumed that the difference between the two classes is +explained by assuming a certain lack of 'spiritual' development in the +non-religious class. As stated, this is often perilously near to +impertinence, and in any case is little better than the language of a +charlatan. In the same way, the use of amatory phraseology is often +treated as the intrusion of the sex element in a sphere in which it has +no proper place. Enough has already been said to furnish good grounds +for believing that there is much more than this in the phenomenon, and +that one is justified in treating it as symptomatic of the operation of +forces of the nature of which the subject is quite unaware. The only +explanation of the facts already cited is that a misinterpretation of +sexual states lies at the heart of the question. No other hypothesis +covers the facts; no other hypothesis will explain why the larger number +of people should find complete development in activities that lie +outside the field of religion. + +How easy it is to see the truth and distort it in the stating may be +seen in the following passage:-- + +"Passing over the fact that the period of adolescence is noticeably a +period of 'susceptibility,' we may take as an example of the intrusion +or the persistence of the sexual elements in conditions of a non-sexual +kind the frequent association of sexual with religious excitement. The +appeal made during a religious revival to an unconverted person has +psychologically some resemblance to the attempt of the male to overcome +the hesitancy of the female. In each case the will has to be set aside, +and strong suggestive means are used; and in both cases the appeal is +not of the conflict type, but of an intimate, sympathetic, and pleading +kind. In the effort to make a moral adjustment, it consequently turns +out that a technique is used which was derived originally from sexual +life, and the use, so to speak, of the sexual machinery for a moral +adjustment involves, in some cases, the carrying over into the general +process of some sexual manifestations."[150] + +The important questions, why religion should so powerfully appeal to +people at adolescence, why its strength should reside so largely in the +appeal to feelings associated with sexual development, and why +conversion should be so rarely experienced when the period of sexual +crisis is past, are quite ignored by Mr. Thomas. Yet it is precisely +these questions that call most loudly for answers, and which, I believe, +contain the key of the situation. + +From many points of view adolescence is perhaps the most important epoch +in the life of every individual. It is a time of great and significant +organic growth, with the development of new organs and functions, and a +corresponding transformation of both the emotional and intellectual +output. So far as the brain, the most important organ of all, is +concerned, one may safely say that before puberty its main function has +been acquisition. After puberty vast tracts of brain tissue become +active, and an era of rapid development sets in. There is a rapid growth +of new nerve connections which occasions both physiological and +psychological unrest.[151] An important point to bear in mind, also, is +that all periods of rapid development involve conditions of relative +instability--one is, in fact, only the obverse side of the other. Dr. +Mercier says that with girls "more or less decided manifestations of +hysteria are the rule," and with both sexes this instability involves a +peculiar susceptibility to suggestions and impressions. Accompanying the +purely physical changes the mental and emotional nature undergoes what +is little less than a transformation. There is less direct concern with +self, and a more conscious concern with others. There is a craving for +sympathy, for fellowship, a tendency to look at oneself from the +outside, so to speak, a susceptibility to sights and sounds and +impressions that formerly had little influence. Each one is conscious of +new desires, new attractions, expressed often only in a vague feeling of +unrest, with a desire, half shy because half conscious, for the company +of the opposite sex. The childish desire for protection weakens; the +more mature desire to protect others begins to express itself. + +Now, the whole significance of these changes, physical and mental, is +fundamentally sexual and social. Human life, it may be said, has a +twofold aspect. As a mere animal organism, there is the perpetuation of +the species, which nature secures by the mere force of the sex impulse. +As a human being, he is part of a social structure, cell in the social +tissue, to use Leslie Stephen's expressive phrase. And in this direction +nature secures what is necessary by the presence of impulses and +cravings as imperious as, and even more permanent than, those of mere +sex. Of course, in practice these two things operate together. By a +process of selection, the anti-social character is weeded out, and the +two sets of feelings work together in harmony for the furtherance and +the development of the life of the species. The species is perpetuated +in the interests of society; society is perpetuated in the interests of +the species. Further, it is part of the natural 'plan' that there shall +be developed impulses and capacities suitable to each phase of life as +it emerges. Thus it has been shown that the lengthening of infancy--that +is, the prolongation of the time during which the young human being is +dependent upon its parents for support and protection--is nature's +method of developing to a greater degree the capacity of the human +animal for more complex adjustment. Instead of being launched on the +world with a number of instincts practically fully developed, and so +capable of attending to its own needs almost as soon as born, man is +born with few instincts, and a great capacity for education enabling him +to adjust his conduct to the demands of an environment constantly +increasing in complexity. In the same way it has been shown that the +instinct for play, practically universal throughout the whole of the +animal world, is nature's method of preparing the young for the more +serious business of nature.[152] It is, therefore, only in line with +what is found to be true elsewhere that the changes incident to puberty +should receive their rational interpretation in the necessities of +social life. That these necessities should be met largely by the play of +unreasoning impulse is, again, quite in line with what occurs in other +directions. The insistent pressure of social life for thousands of +generations secures the emergence of needs of the true nature of which +the individual may be ignorant. In no other way, in fact, could the +persistence of the species and of human society be secured. + +The whole significance, then, of puberty and adolescence is the entry of +the individual into the larger life of the race. It is, too, a statement +beyond reasonable dispute that if we eliminate religion altogether from +the environment there is not a single feeling experienced at +adolescence, not a single intellectual craving, that would not undergo +full development and receive complete satisfaction. The proof of the +truth of this is that it occurs in a large number of cases. Sacrifice, +the craving for the ideal, with every other feeling associated by many +with religion, exist in connection with non-religious phases of life. It +is idle to argue that some people have a craving for religion, and +nothing but religion will satisfy them. Where an individual is in +complete ignorance of the nature and significance of his own +development, and those around him no better informed; where, moreover, +there are others in a position of authority ready with a special +interpretation, it is not surprising if the religious explanation is +accepted as the genuine and only one. But in reality a sound judgment is +formed, not on the basis of what some declare they cannot do without, +but on the basis of what others actually do without, and suffer no +observable loss in consequence. We do not estimate the value of alcohol +on the basis of those who declare they cannot do without it. The true +test is found in those who abstain from its use. So, also, in the case +of religion. That some, even the majority, declare that religious belief +is essential to their welfare, proves little or nothing. Human nature +being what it is, and the history of society being what it is, it would +be surprising were it otherwise. There is much greater significance in +so large a number of people finding complete satisfaction in purely +secular activities. + +After what has been said of the misinterpretation of mental and +emotional states in terms of religious belief, it is not surprising to +find a writer, a clergyman, and one with experience of growing boys, +express himself as follows:-- + +"My experience confirms the opinion of the psychologists that most boys +of the public school age have a strongly mystical tendency. This is to +be expected, on account of the great emotional development of that +period of life. But it is obscured by the fact that the boy is both +unwilling and unable to give any verbal expression to this tendency. He +is unwilling because it is something very new and curious in his +experience; he is often a little frightened of it, and he is exceedingly +frightened of other people's contempt for it. And he is unable, because +the words he is accustomed to use are valueless in this connection, and +he feels priggish if he tries to use others.... But, though unexplained, +the mystical tendency is there, and should be appealed to and +developed."[153] + +Now, clearly, all that can be reasonably meant by saying that a boy of, +apparently, from 12 to 16 has a mystical tendency, is that the +physiological changes incident to puberty are accompanied by a mass of +feeling of a vague and formless character. Naturally, his boyish +experience is unable to furnish him with the means of giving adequate +expression to his feelings. That can only come with the experience of +maturity. And with equal inevitability he is at the mercy of the +explanation furnished him by those whom he regards as his teachers and +guides. When he is told that this element of 'mysticism' is the +awakening of religion in his soul, he accepts the explanation precisely +as he accepts explanations of other things. That this 'mystical +tendency' should be appealed to and developed is a statement open to +very great doubt. It should rather be explained, not perhaps in a +brutally frank manner, but in a way that would lead the boy to see +himself as an organic part of society, with definite duties and +obligations. If this were done, adolescence might provide us with the +raw material for a much greater number of useful and intelligent +citizens than it does at present. The true nature of the process, so +elaborately misunderstood by Dr. Temple, is clearly outlined by Dr. +Mercier:-- + +"In connection with normal development, a large body of vague and +formless feeling arises, and, until experience gives it shape, the +possessor remains ignorant of the source and nature of the feeling. If +the circumstances are appropriate for the natural outlet and expression +of the activities, they are expressed in affection, and are a source of +health and strength to the possessor. But if no such outlet exists, the +vague, voluminous, formless feelings are referred to an occasion that is +vague, voluminous, and wanting in definite form, they are ascribed to +the direct influence of the Deity, and assume a place in religious +emotion."[154] + +Leaving this aspect of the subject for a time, let us look more closely +at the process of conversion. It has already been pointed out that one +great feature of adolescence is susceptibility to impressions and +suggestions. One is not surprised to find, therefore, that in +Starbuck's collection of cases 34 per cent. of the females and 29 per +cent. of the males described their conversion as being directly due to +imitation, social pressure, and example. If we were to add to these the +cases where unconscious imitation and suggestion is at work, the +proportion would be much greater. Religion, like dress, has its modes, +and imitation will occur in the one direction as readily as in the +other. Nothing is more striking in the records of conversion than the +monotony of the language used to describe the feelings experienced. It +is exactly as though the converts had been learning a regular catechism, +as in a way they have been. Young boys and girls will confess their +sinful state in language identical with that used by one who has +actually lived a career of vice and crime. Others of an aggressively +commonplace character will use the language of exalted mysticism +suitable to an Augustine or a Jacob Boehme. In these cases we have not +identity of feeling finding expression in identity of language; it is +pure imitation and suggestion without the least regard to the fitness of +the language employed. + +The full power of suggestion would be more fitly considered in +connection with waves of religious feeling that have assumed an epidemic +form; but it will not be out of place here to call attention to this +factor in such a recent case as the outbreaks in Wales under the +leadership of persons such as Evan Roberts. Quite apart from the +suggestion and imitation operating in the gatherings themselves, it is +plain that many went to the meetings quite prepared to act in accordance +with what had gone before. Newspapers had published elaborate reports +of the 'scenes,' certain manifestations were recognised as signs of the +"workings of the Spirit," with the result that all these operated as +powerful suggestions, particularly with those of a hysterical +disposition. And behind this particular revival there were the +traditions of other revivals, all of which had created a heritage as +coercive as any purely social tradition. A crowd of people in a state of +eager expectancy, exposed to the assaults of a preacher skilled in +rousing their emotion to fever pitch, is naturally ready to see and hear +things that none would see and hear in their normal moments. No better +field for the study of crowd psychology, particularly at the point at +which it merges into the abnormal, could be imagined than the ordinary +revival. + +In America these revival out breaks seem to assume a much more +extravagant form than with us. Mr. Stanley Hall, for example, thus +describes a Kentucky camp meeting in which the prevailing term of +spiritual manifestation was that of 'jerking.' Quoting from an +eye-witness, he says:-- + +"The crowd swarmed all night round the preacher, singing, shouting, +laughing, some plunging wildly over stumps and benches into the forest, +shouting 'Lost, lost!' others leaping and bounding about like live fish +out of water; others rolling over and over on the ground for hours; +others lying on the ground and talking when they could not move; and yet +others beating the ground with their heels. As the excitement increased, +it grew more morbid and took the form of 'jerkings,' or in others the +holy laugh. The jerks began with the head, which was thrown violently +from side to side so rapidly that the features were blurred and the +hair almost seemed to snap, and when the sufferer struck an obstacle and +fell he would bounce about like a ball. Saplings were sometimes cut +breast high for the people to jerk by. In one place the earth about the +roots of one of them was kicked about as though by the feet of a horse +stamping flies. One sufferer mounted his horse to ride away when the +jerks threw him to the earth, whence he rose a Christian. A lad, who +feigned illness to stay away, was dragged there by the spirit and his +head dashed against the wall till he had to pray. A sceptic who cursed +and swore was crushed by a falling tree. Men fancied themselves dogs, +and gathered round a tree barking and 'treeing the devil.' They saw +visions and dreamed dreams, and as the revival waned, it left a crop of +nervous and hysterical disorders in its wake."[155] + +We have nothing quite so extreme as this in British revivals, but the +home phenomena are not substantially different in nature. A medical +observer of some of the earliest Methodist revivals thus describes the +symptoms of those who were subject to 'divine' seizures under the +influence of Wesley and his immediate followers:-- + +"There came on first a feeling of faintness, with rigor and a sense of +weight at the pit of the stomach; soon after which the patient cried out +as though in the agonies of labour. The convulsions then began, first +showing themselves in the muscles of the eyelids, though the eyes +themselves were fixed and staring. The most frightful contortions of the +countenance followed, and the convulsions now took their course +downwards, so that the muscles of the trunk and neck were affected, +causing a sobbing respiration, which was performed with great effort. +Tremors and agitations ensued, and the patients screamed out violently, +and tossed their heads from side to side. As the complaint increased, it +seized the arms, and its victims beat their breasts, clasped their +hands, and made all sorts of strange noises." + +To the non-medical religious observer the scenes produced a different +impression, thus:-- + +"When the power of religion began to be spoken of, the presence of God +really filled the place.... The greatest number of them who cried or +fell were men; but some women and several children felt the power of the +same Almighty Spirit, and seemed just sinking into hell. This occasioned +a mixture of sounds, some shrieking, some roaring aloud. The most +general was a loud breathing, like that of people half strangled and +gasping for life; and, indeed, almost all the cries were like those of +human creatures dying in bitter anguish.... I stood on a pew seat, as +did a young man in the opposite pew, an able-bodied, fresh, healthy +countryman; but in a moment, while he seemed to think of nothing less, +down he dropt with a violence inconceivable. The adjoining pews seemed +shook with his fall. I heard afterwards the stamping of his feet ready +to break the boards as he lay in strong convulsions at the bottom of the +pew.... Among the children who felt the arrows of the Almighty, I saw a +sturdy boy, about eight years old, who roared above his fellows, and +seemed, in his agony, to struggle with the strength of a grown man. His +face was red as scarlet; and almost all on whom God laid His hand turned +either very red or almost black."[156] + +In other instances connected with the same movement, a girl is described +as "lying on the floor as one dead." One woman "tore up the ground with +her hands, filling them with dust and with the hard-trodden grass"; +another "roared and screamed in dreadful agony." A child, seven years +old, "saw visions, and astonished the neighbours with her awful manner +of relating them." John Wesley personally interviewed a number of the +people seized in this manner, and was quite convinced of the +supernatural nature of the attacks. He said that he had "generally +observed more or less of these outward symptoms to attend the beginning +of a general work of God," although he admitted that in some cases +"Satan mimicked God's work in order to discredit the whole work." But +whether of God or Satan there was no question of their supernatural +character. Moreover, whatever may be one's opinion of these outbreaks, +there is one fact that stands out clear and indisputable. This is that +the Methodist revival owed a great deal of its vitality--as is also the +case with other religious movements--to phenomena of a distinctly +pathologic nature. Subtract from these movements all phenomena of the +class indicated, and such phrases as 'the revival fire' become +meaningless. Right through history religious conviction has been gained +in innumerable cases by the operation of factors that a more accurate +knowledge finds can be explained without any reference whatever to +supernatural forces. + +Lest the above examples be dismissed as belonging to an old order of +things, I subjoin the following account--from a missionary--of a recent +revival scene in India:-- + +"There were people ... on the floor fairly writhing over the realisation +of sin as it came over them.... Saturday we were favoured with a +wonderful manifestation of the Spirit. One of the older girls who had +had a remarkable experience, went into a trance, with her head thrown +back, her arms folded, and motionless, except for a slight movement of +her foot. She seemed to be seeing something wonderful, for she would +marvel at it, and then laugh excitedly.... One girl rushed to the back +of the vestibule and, lying across a bench, with her head and hands +against the wall, she fairly writhed in agony for two hours before peace +came to her."[157] + +I do not know on what grounds we are justified in calling civilised +people who chronicle these outbreaks as "a wonderful manifestation of +the Spirit." Civilised in other respects, in relation to other matters, +they may be. Civilised in relation to this particular matter they +certainly are not. Their viewpoint is precisely that of the lowest tribe +of savages. Savages, indeed, could not do more; our 'civilised' +missionaries do no less. Tylor well says that "such descriptions carry +us far back in the history of the human mind, showing modern men still +in ignorant sincerity producing the very fits and swoons to which for +untold ages savage tribes have given religious import. These +manifestations in modern Europe indeed form part of a revival of +religion, the religion of mental disease."[158] + +The truth is that the appeals usually made to induce conversion, and the +methods adopted, tend to develop a morbid state of mind, which very +easily passes into the pathological. A too insistent habit of +introspection is always dangerous, and the danger is heightened when it +takes the form of religious brooding. In Dr. Starbuck's collection of +cases, seventy-five per cent. of the males and sixty per cent. of the +females confessed to feelings of depression, anxiety, and sadness before +conversion. This may be attributed partly to the harping upon a +conviction of sinfulness, which in itself is wholly of an unhealthy +character. It does not indicate moral health, and it is very far from +indicating physiological health. The following confessions are +pertinent, and will illustrate both points. I give in brackets the ages +of the subjects where stated:-- + +"I felt the wrath of God resting on me. I called on Him for aid, and +felt my sins forgiven" (13). + +"I couldn't eat, and would lie awake all night." + +"Often, very often, I cried myself to sleep" (19). + +"Hymns would sound in my ears as if sung" (10). + +"I had visions of Christ saying to me, Come to Me, My child" (15). + +"Just before conversion I was walking along a pathway, thinking of +religious matters, when suddenly the word H-e-l-l was spelled out five +yards ahead of me" (17). + +"I felt a touch of the Divine One, and a voice said 'Thy sins are +forgiven thee; arise and go in peace'" (12). + +"The thoughts of my condition were terrible" (13). + +"For three months it seemed as if God's Spirit had withdrawn from me. +Fear took hold of me. For a week I was on the border of despair" (16). + +"A sense of sinfulness and estrangement from God grew daily" (15). + +"Everything went wrong with me; it felt like Sunday all the time" (12). + +"I felt that something terrible was going to happen" (14). + +"I fell on my face by a bench and tried to pray. Every time I would call +on God something like a man's hand would strangle me by choking. I +thought I would surely die if I could not get help. I made one final +effort to call on God for mercy if I did strangle and die, and the last +I remember at that time was falling back on the ground with that unseen +hand on my throat. When I came to myself there was a crowd around +praising God." + +A crowd around praising God! For all substantial purposes this last +might be the description of a state of affairs in Central Africa instead +of an occurrence in a country that claims to be civilised. It is not +surprising that so great an authority as Sir T. S. Clouston gives an +emphatic warning against revival services and unusual religious +meetings, which should "on no account be attended by persons with weak +heads, excitable dispositions, and neurotic constitutions."[159] +Unfortunately it is precisely these classes for whom they possess the +greatest attractions, and from whom the larger number of chronicled +cases are drawn. The excitement of the revival meeting is as fatal an +attraction to them as the dram is to the confirmed alcoholist; and if +the ill-consequences are neither so immediately discernible nor as +repulsive in character, they are none the less present in a large number +of cases. The emotional strain to which the organism is subjected +occurs, as the ages of the converts show, precisely at the time when it +is least able to bear it safely. The main characteristic of adolescence +is instability, physical, emotional, and intellectual. It is a time of +stress and strain, of the formation of new feelings and associations and +desires that crave for expression and gratification. The instability of +the organic conditions is evidenced by the large proportion of nervous +disorders that occur during adolescence. Adolescent insanity is a +well-known form of mania, although it is usually of brief duration. Sir +T. S. Clouston, in his _Neuroses of Development_, gives a long list of +complaints attendant on adolescence, and Sir W. R. Gowers, dealing with +1450 cases of epilepsy, points out that "three-quarters of the cases of +epilepsy begin under twenty years, and nearly half (46 per cent.) +between ten and twenty, the maximum being at fourteen, fifteen, and +sixteen." Of hysteria, the same writer points out that of the total +cases 50 per cent. occurs from ten to twenty years of age, 20 per cent. +from twenty to thirty, and only 10 per cent. from thirty to forty.[160] + +The peculiar danger, then, of the modern appeal for conversion is that +it is couched in a form likely to do the minimum of good and the maximum +of harm. Where religion exists as a normally operative factor of the +environment--as in lower stages of culture--the danger is avoided, +because no special machinery is required to bring about religious +conviction. The general social life secures this. But at a later stage, +when the religious and secular aspects of life become separated, with a +growing preponderance of the latter, religion must be, as it were, +specially and forcibly introduced. Whether for good or ill, it is a +disturbing force. It strives to divert the developing organic energies +into a new channel. To effect this, it plays upon the emotions to an +altogether dangerous extent, in complete ignorance of the nature of the +passions excited. In the older form of the religious appeal, that in +which fear was the chief emotion aroused, it is now generally conceded +that the consequences were wholly bad. But under any form the emotional +appeal is fraught with danger, since the tendency is for it to bring out +unsuspected weaknesses in other directions. Sir W. R. Gowers wisely +points out that "mental emotion--fright, excitement, anxiety--is the +most potent cause of epilepsy," which is accounted for by bearing in +mind "the profoundly disturbing effect of alarm on the nervous system, +deranging as it does almost every function of the nervous system." +Persons with predispositions to nervous disorders may pass with safety +through the period of adolescence so long as their circumstances provide +opportunities for healthy occupation with no undue emotional strain. But +let the former be lacking, and the latter danger is always present. The +hidden weakness develops, and injury more or less permanent follows. +There is hardly a qualified medical authority in the country who would +deny the truth of what has been said, although many do not care to speak +out in relation to religious matters. But all would doubtless agree with +Dr. Mercier that "every revival is attended by its crop of cases of +insanity, which are the more numerous as the revival is more fervent and +long continued."[161] + +Something must be said on the moral character of conversions in +general. This is, naturally, greatly exaggerated, often deliberately so. +In the first place, confessions of 'sinfulness' in a pre-conversion +state, when made by youths of both sexes, may be dismissed as quite +worthless. They are merely using the language placed in their mouths by +professional evangelists, and the similarity of the confessions carry +their own condemnation. Leading a sinful, or even a vicious life, +usually means no more than visiting a theatre, or a music hall, or +playing cards, or non-attendance at church, or not troubling about +religious doctrines. Very often the vague feeling of restlessness +incident to adolescence is interpreted as due to sin or estrangement +from God, and after conversion the convert is, for purposes of +self-glorification, given to magnify the benefits and comforts derived +from his religious convictions. The magnitude of the change increases +the value of the convert, and with well-known characters there has been +as great an exaggeration of vices before conversion as of virtues +subsequently. The way in which evangelical Christianity has created a +life of the wildest dissipation for the earlier years of John Bunyan is +an instructive instance of this procedure. + +So far as older converts are concerned, everyone of balanced judgment +will regard stories of conversion from extreme vice to extreme virtue +with the greatest suspicion. Character does not change suddenly, +although there may be cases of 'sports' in the moral world as elsewhere. +Where some modification of conduct, but hardly of character, results, +the machinery is very obvious, and does not in the least necessitate an +appeal to the intrusion of a supernatural influence for an explanation. +The religious gathering opens--as any non-religious meeting may open--a +new circle of associates with different ideals and standards of value. +So long as the newcomer is desirous of retaining the respect of his +fresh associates, so long he will try to act as they act and think as +they think. There will be a change of conduct, but not, as I have said, +of character. Those who look closely will find the same character still +active. The mean character remains mean, the untruthful one remains +untruthful. The only difference is that these qualities will be +expressed in a different form. Moreover, the same thing may be seen +occurring quite apart from religion. Every association of men and women +exerts precisely the same influence. In the army, a regiment that has a +reputation for steadiness and sobriety develops these qualities in all +who enter it. Regiments with a reputation for opposite qualities do not +fail to convert newcomers. A workshop, a club, a profession, exerts a +precisely similar influence. One man finds inspiration in the Bible and +another in the Newgate Calendar. A man will usually be guided by the +ideals of his associates, whether these ideals be those of a thieves' +kitchen or of a philanthropic institution. This only means that each +individual is subject to the influence of the group spirit. For good and +evil this is one of the deepest and most pregnant facts of human nature. +The utilisation and distortion of this fact in the interests of +religious organisations has served to prevent its general recognition +and the wise use of it by the community at large. + +Finally, it has to be borne in mind, in view of the data given above, +that conversion is experienced by the individual at that period of life +when the more social side of human nature is beginning to find +expression. In this way the natural growth from the small world of +childhood to the larger world of adult humanity is taken advantage of by +religion, and the process of inevitable growth is attributed to the +influence of religious belief. In itself the phenomenon is in no degree +religious, but wholly social. The process is well enough described by +Starbuck in the following passage--although there are certain quite +unnecessary theological implications:-- + +"Conversion is the surrender of the personal will to be guided by the +larger forces of which it is a part. These two aspects are often +mingled. In both there is much in common. There is a sudden revelation +and recognition of a higher order than that of the personal will. The +sympathies follow the direction of the new insight, and the convert +transfers the centre of life and activity from the part to the whole. +With new insight comes new beauty. Beauty and worth awaken love--love +for parents, kindred, kind, society, cosmic order, truth, and spiritual +life. The individual learns to transfer himself from a centre of +self-activity into an organ of revelation of universal being, and to +live a life of affection for and oneness with the larger life outside. +As a necessary condition of the spiritual awakening is the birth of +fresh activity and of a larger self-consciousness, which often assert +themselves as the dominant element in consciousness."[162] + +Adolescence is the golden period of life, because it is the age in which +the formative influences effect their strongest and most permanent +impressions. But this susceptibility, while pregnant with promise, is +because of this susceptibility likewise fraught with the possibilities +of danger. The developing qualities of mind need to be wisely and +carefully guided; and it is little short of criminal that at this +critical juncture so many young people should be handed over to the +ignorant ministrations of professional evangelism. The true sociological +significance of the development is ignored, and it is small wonder that, +having wasted this impressionable period, so many people should go +through life with a quite rudimentary sense of social responsibility and +duty. An American author, speaking of the connection between certain +brutal manifestations in social life in the United States and religious +teaching, says:-- + +"It is well known that lynching in the South is carried on largely by +the ignorant and baser elements of the white population. It is also well +known that the chief method of religious influence and training of the +black man and the ignorant white man is impulsive and emotional +revivalism. It is a highly dangerous situation, and deserves the earnest +consideration of the ecclesiastical statesmen of all denominations which +work in the South. It will be impossible to protect that part of the +nation, or any other, from the epidemic madness of the lynching mob if +the seeds of it are sown in the sacred soil of religion.... Their +preachers are great 'soul-savers,' but they lack the practical sense to +build up their emotionalised converts into anything that approaches a +higher life."[163] + +The truth of this passage has a very wide implication. It is not alone +true that so long as the lower kind of revivalism is encouraged, we are +unconsciously perpetuating certain very ugly manifestations of social +life; it is also true that while we give a supernaturalistic +interpretation of phenomena that are wholly physiological and +sociological in character, we can never make the most of the human +material we possess. On the one side we have a deplorable encouragement +of unhealthy emotionalism, and on the other a sheer misdirection and +misuse of human faculty. The increase of self-consciousness, the craving +for sympathy and communion with one's fellows, the impulse to service in +the common life of the State, have no genuine connection with religion, +although all these qualities are classified as religious, and are +utilised by religious organisations. Actually and fundamentally they +belong to the social side of human nature. As our hands are developed +for grasping, and the various organs of the body for their respective +functions, so mental and emotional qualities are developed in their due +course for a rational social life. Biologically and psychologically, +male and female are at adolescence entering into a deeper and more +enduring relationship with the life of the race. There is no other +meaning to the process. + +Naturally enough, the vast majority of people express their developing +nature in accordance with the fashion of their environment. If this +environmental influence were rationally non-religious, the language +would be that of a non-religious philosophy. As, however, +supernaturalism, in some form or other, is still a potent force we have +a contrary result. It is only here and there that one is found with the +inclination or the wit to analyse his or her impulses, and few possess +enough knowledge to make the analysis profitable. There is no wonder +that concerning many of the most important phenomena of human life we +are still little above the level of the fetish worshipper. We may have a +more elaborate phraseology, but the old ideas are still operative. The +consequence is that each newcomer finds certain ideas and forms of +speech ready for his acceptance, and is handed over, bound hand and +foot, to influences that are the least capable of sane direction. We do +not merely sacrifice our first-born; we immolate the whole of our +progeny. The ignorant past plays into the hands of the designing +present; the present conspires with the past to rob the future of the +good that might result from the growth of a wiser and a better race. + +Were society really enlightened and genuinely civilised, the truth of +what has been said would be recognised as soon as stated. It would, +indeed, be unnecessary to labour what would then be a generally +recognised truth. But the mass of the people are not genuinely +enlightened, our civilisation is largely a veneer, and numerous agencies +prevent our reaping the full benefit of our available knowledge. Thus it +happens that in place of an explanation of human qualities in terms of +biologic and social evolution, we find current an explanation that is +based upon pre-scientific ideas. Because our less instructed ancestors +accounted for various manifestations of human qualities as due to a +supernatural influence, we continue to perpetuate the delusion. We teach +youth to express itself in terms of supernaturalism, and then treat the +language and the fact as inseparable. In this respect, sociology is +passing through a phase from which some of the sciences have finally +emerged. In physics and astronomy, for instance, the fact has been +separated from the supernatural explanation, and shown to be +independent of it. An exploitation of social life in the interests of +supernaturalism is still in active operation. It is this that is really +the central truth of the situation. And in ignoring this truth we expose +a growing generation to the worst possible of educative influences, at a +time when a wiser control would be preparing it for an intelligent +participation in the serious and enduring work of social organisation. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[142] Dr. G. B. Cutten, _The Psychological Phenomena of Christianity_, +pp. 7-8. + +[143] The most elaborate study of this character known to the present +writer is Mr. G. Stanley Hall's _Adolescence_, in two volumes. The bulk +of the work is, however, terrifying to some, and the cost prohibitive to +many. For the general reader of limited leisure and means, Professor +Starbuck's smaller volume, _The Psychology of Religion_, presents the +salient facts in a brief and satisfactory manner. It is lacking, +however, on the anthropological side, a view that is well presented by +Dr. Stanley Hall. + +[144] See _Adolescence_, i. p. 528. + +[145] Vol. iii. p. 279. + +[146] _Psychology of Religion_, chap. iii. Hall's figures are given in +the second volume of his work, pp. 288-92. + +[147] _Varieties_, p. 199. + +[148] An elaborate list of these ceremonies in both the savage and +civilised worlds has been compiled by Mr. Hall, ii. chap. xiii. + +[149] Catlin, _North American Indians_, i. p. 36; see also ii. p. 347. + +[150] W. I. Thomas, _Sex and Society_, pp. 115-6. + +[151] For a good summary, see Donaldson's _Growth of the Brain_, pp. +241-48. + +[152] See on this subject the two fine works by Karl Groos, _The Play of +Animals_, _The Play of Man_. + +[153] W. Temple, _Repton School Sermons_. + +[154] _Sanity and Insanity_, p. 281. + +[155] _Adolescence_, ii. pp. 286-7. + +[156] Southey's _Life of Wesley_, chap. xxiv. + +[157] From _The Examiner_ of September 6, 1906, cited by Cutten, p. 185. + +[158] _Primitive Culture_, ii. p. 422. + +[159] _Clinical Lectures_, p. 39. + +[160] _Manual of Diseases of the Nervous System_, 1893, pp. 732 and 785. + +[161] _Sanity and Insanity_, p. 282. + +[162] _Psychology of Religion_, pp. 146-7. + +[163] _Primitive Traits in Religious Revivals._ + + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT + +RELIGIOUS EPIDEMICS + + +Under pressure of scientific analysis the old distinction between the +individual and society bids fair to break down, or to maintain itself as +no more than a convenience of classification. It is now being recognised +that a society is something more than a mere aggregate of self-contained +units, and that the individual is quite inexplicable apart from the +social group. It is the latter which gives the former his individuality. +His earliest impressions are derived from the life of the group, and as +he grows so he comes more and more under the influence of social forces. +The consequence is that the key to a very large part of the phenomena of +human nature is to be found in a study of group life. We may abstract +the individual for purposes of examination, much as a physiologist may +study the heart or the liver apart from the body from which it has been +taken. But ultimately it is in relation to the whole that the true +significance and value of the part is to be discerned. + +In this corporate life imitation and suggestion play a powerful part. +With children, by far the larger part of their education consists of +sheer imitation, nor do adults ever develop beyond its influence. +Suggestion is a factor that is more operative in youth and maturity than +in early childhood, and is exhibited in a thousand and one subtle and +unexpected ways. Both these forces are essential to an orderly, and to a +progressive, social life; but they may just as easily become the cause +of movements that are retrogressive, and even anti-social in character. +An epidemic of suicide or of murder is as easily initiated as an +epidemic of philanthropy. Let a person commit suicide in a striking and +unusual manner, and there will soon be others following his example. +Given a favourable environment, there is no idea, however unreal, that +will not find advocates; no example, however strange or disgusting, that +will not find imitators. The more uniform the society, the more powerful +the suggestion, the easier the imitation. That is why a crowd, acting as +a crowd, is nearly always made up of people drawn from the same social +stratum, each unit already familiar with certain ideals and belief. +Under such conditions a crowd will assume all the characteristics of a +psychological entity. As Gustave Le Bon has pointed out, a crowd will do +collectively what none of its constituent units would ever dream of +doing singly.[164] It becomes capable of deeds of heroism or of savage +cruelty. It will sacrifice itself or others with indifference. Above +all, the mere fact of moving in a mass gives the individual a sense of +power, a certainty of being in the right that he can--save under +exceptional circumstances--never acquire while alone. The intellect is +subdued, inhibition is inoperative, the instincts are given free play, +and their movement is determined in turn by suggestions not unlike those +with which a trained hypnotist influences his subject. + +In the phenomena of contagion words and symbols play a powerful part. +They are both a rallying-point and an outlet for the emotions of a +crowd. These words or symbols may be wholly incongruous with the real +needs of a people, but provided they are sufficiently familiar they will +serve their purpose. And the more primitive the type of mind represented +by the mass of the people the more powerfully these symbols operate. +Shakespeare's portrayal of the crowd in _Julius Cæsar_ remains eternally +true. The skilled orator, playing on old feelings, using familiar terms, +and invoking familiar ideas, finds a crowd quite plastic to his hands. +It is for these reasons that there is so keen a struggle with political +and social parties for a monopoly of good rallying cries, and a +readiness to fix objectionable titles on their opponents. Patriotism, +Little Englander, Jingo, The Church in Danger, Godless Education, etc. +etc. Causes are materially helped or injured by these means. There is +little or no consideration given to their justice or reasonableness; it +is the image aroused that does the work. + +Psychological epidemics may in some cases be justly called normal in +character. That is, they depend upon factors that are always in +operation and which form a part of every social structure. A war fever +or a commercial panic falls under this head. In other instances they +depend upon abnormal conditions, upon the workings, perhaps, of some +obscure nervous disease, and are of a pathological description. In yet +other cases they represent a mixture of both. In such cases, for +example, as that of the Medieval Flagellants or of the Dancing Mania, +the presence of pathological elements is unmistakable. But neither of +these epidemics could have occurred without a certain social +preparation, and unless they had called into operation those principles +of crowd psychology to which science has within recent years turned its +attention, and which are normal factors in every society. These three +classes of epidemics may be found in connection with subjects other than +religious, but I am at present concerned with them only in that +relation, and to point out that, in spite of their undesirable or +admittedly pathologic character, they have yet served to keep +supernaturalism alive and active. + +During the Christian period of European history by far the most +important of all epidemics, as it was indeed the earliest, was +monasticism. This takes front rank because of its extent, the degree to +which it prepared the ground for subsequent outbreaks, and because of +its indirect, and, I think, too little noticed, social consequences. It +may safely be said that no other movement has so powerfully affected +European society as has the monasticism of the early Christian +centuries. It cannot, of course, be urged that Christianity originated +monasticism. India and Egypt had its ascetic practices and celibate +priesthood long before the birth of Christianity, and indeed gave +Christianity the pattern from which to work. But the main stream of +social life remained unaffected to any considerable extent by this +asceticism. The social and domestic virtues received full recognition +from the upholders of the monastic life, and there is no evidence that +asceticism ever assumed an epidemic form. It has often been the lot of +the Christian Church to give a more intense expression to religious +tendencies already existing, and this was so in the case before us. At +any rate, it was left for the Christian Church to give to monasticism +the character of an epidemic, to treat the purely social and domestic +virtues as a positive hindrance to the religious life, seriously to +disturb national well-being, and to come perilously near destroying +civilisation. + +The origin of ascetic practices has already been indicated in a previous +chapter. It has there been pointed out that the deliberate torture of +mind and body arose from the belief that the induced states brought man +into direct communion with supernatural powers, and that this element +has continued in almost every religion in the world. Says +Baring-Gould:-- + +"The ascetic instinct is intimately united with the religious instinct. +There is scarcely a religion of ancient and modern times, certain forms +of Protestantism excepted, that does not recognise asceticism as an +element in its system.... Brahmanism has its order of ascetics.... +Mohammedanism has its fakirs, subduing the flesh by their austerities, +and developing the spirit by their contemplation and prayers. Fasting +and self-denial were observances required of the Greeks, who desired +initiation into the mysteries.... The scourge was used before the altars +of Artemis and over the tomb of Pelops. The Egyptian priests passed +their novitiate in the deserts, and when not engaged in their religious +functions were supposed to spend their time in caves. They renounced all +commerce with the world, and lived in contemplation, temperance, and +frugality, and in absolute poverty.... The Peruvians were required to +fast before sacrificing to the gods, and to bind themselves by vows of +chastity and abstinence from nourishing food.... There were ascetic +orders for old men and nunneries for widows among the Totomacs, monastic +orders among Toltecs dedicated to the service of Quetzalcoatl, and +others among the Aztecs consecrated to Tezcatlipoca."[165] + +It was argued by Bingham, a learned eighteenth-century ecclesiastical +historian, that although asceticism was known and practised in +individual cases from the earliest period of Christian history, it did +not establish itself within the Church until the fourth century. It is +not a matter of great consequence to the subject under discussion +whether this be so or not. It is at least certain that Christian +teaching contained within itself all the elements for such a +development, which was bound, sooner or later, to transpire. The +antithesis between the flesh and the spirit, the conception of the world +as given over to Satan, the ascetic teaching of Paul, with the value +placed upon suffering and privation as spiritually disciplinary forces, +could not but create in a society permeated with a special type of +supernaturalism, that asceticism which became so marked a feature of +medieval Christianity. And it is certain also that in no other instance +has asceticism proved itself so grave a danger to social order and +security. Allowing for what Lecky calls the 'glaring mendacity' of the +lives of the saints, a description that applies more or less to all the +ecclesiastical writings of the early centuries, it is evident that the +number of monks, their ferocity, and general practices, were enough to +constitute a grave social danger. It is said that St. Pachomius had 7000 +monks under his direct rule; that in the time of Jerome 50,000 monks +gathered together at the Easter festival; that one Egyptian city +mustered 20,000 nuns and 10,000 monks, and that the monastic population +of Egypt at one time equalled in number the rest of the inhabitants. At +a later date, within fifty years of its institution, the Franciscan +Order possessed 8000 houses, with 200,000 members. In the twelfth +century the Cluniacs had 2000 monasteries in France. In England, as late +as 1546, Hooper, afterwards Bishop of Gloucester, declared that there +were no less than 10,000 nuns in England. Every country in Europe +possessed a larger or smaller army of men and women whose ideals were in +direct conflict with nearly all that makes for a sane and progressive +civilisation. + +The general character of the monk during the full swing of the ascetic +epidemic has been well sketched by Lecky. His summary here will save a +more extended exposition:-- + +"There is perhaps no phase in the moral history of mankind of a deeper +and more painful interest than this ascetic epidemic. A hideous, sordid, +and emaciated maniac, without knowledge, without patriotism, without +natural affection, passing his life in a long routine of useless and +atrocious self-torture, and quailing before the ghastly phantoms of his +delirious brain, had become the ideal of the nations which had known the +writings of Plato and Cicero, and the lives of Socrates and Cato. For +about two centuries, the hideous maceration of the body was regarded as +the highest proof of excellence. St. Jerome declares, with a thrill of +admiration, how he had seen a monk, who for thirty years had lived +exclusively on a small portion of barley bread and of mouldy water; +another who lived in a hole and never ate more than five figs for his +daily repast; a third who cut his hair only on Easter Sunday, who never +washed his clothes, who never changed his tunic till it fell to pieces, +who starved himself till his eyes grew dim, and his skin like a pumice +stone.... For six months, it is said, St. Macarius of Alexandria slept +in a marsh, and exposed his naked body to the stings of venomous +flies.... His disciple, St. Eusebius, carried one hundred and fifty +pounds of iron, and lived for three years in a dried-up well.... St. +Besarion spent forty days and nights in the middle of thorn bushes, and +for forty days and nights never lay down when he slept.... Some saints, +like St. Marcian, restricted themselves to one meal a day, so small that +they continually suffered the pangs of hunger.... Some of the hermits +lived in deserted dens of wild beasts, others in dried-up wells, while +others found a congenial resting-place among the tombs. Some disdained +all clothes, and crawled abroad like the wild beasts, covered only by +their matted hair. The cleanliness of the body was regarded as a +pollution of the soul, and the saints who were most admired had become +one hideous mass of clotted filth. St. Athanasius relates with +enthusiasm how St. Antony, the patriarch of monachism, had never, to +extreme old age, been guilty of washing his feet.... St. Abraham, the +hermit, however, who lived for fifty years after his conversion, rigidly +refused from that date to wash either his face or his feet.... St. Ammon +had never seen himself naked. A famous virgin, named Sylvia, though she +was sixty years old, and though bodily sickness was a consequence of her +habits, resolutely refused, on religious principles, to wash any part of +her body except her fingers. St. Euphraxia joined a convent of one +hundred and thirty nuns, who never washed their feet, and who shuddered +at the mention of a bath."[166] + +It is difficult to realise what it is exactly that some writers have in +their minds when they praise the purity of the ascetic ideal, and lament +its degradation as though society lost something of great value thereby. +The examples cited realised that ideal as well as it could be realised, +and its anti-social character is unmistakable. If it is intended to +imply that an element of self-denial or self-discipline is essential to +healthy development, that is admitted, but this is not the ascetic +ideal; it is that of temperance as taught by the best of the ancient +philosophers. What the ascetic aimed at was not self-development, but +self-suppression. The discipline of the monk was only another name for +the cultivation of a frame of mind unhealthy and anti-social. +Eventually, the rapidity with which this mania spread, the fact that for +several centuries it raged as a veritable epidemic, carried with it the +germs of a corrective. The more numerous monks and nuns became, the more +certain it became that many of them would develop passions and +propensities they professed to despise. The love of ease and wealth, the +lust of power and pride of place, was sure to find expression, and if by +the degradation of the ascetic ideal is meant the fact that the +preachers of poverty, and humility, and meekness, became the wealthiest, +the most powerful, the most corrupt, and the most tyrannical order in +Christendom, the reason is that not even monasticism could prevent +ordinary human passions from finding expression. They might be +suppressed in the case of a few; it became impossible with a multitude. +That they found expression in so disastrous a form was due to the fact +that the disciplinary agent of these passions, a developed social +consciousness, played so small a part in the life of the monk. + +It is no part of my present purpose to trace the full consequences of +the ascetic epidemic. Some of these consequences, however, have a more +or less direct bearing upon this enquiry, and it is necessary to say +something upon them. One enduring and inevitable consequence of +monasticism has not, I think, been adequately noted by many writers. +This is its influence on the ideal of marriage, on the family, and on +the domestic virtues. In India and Egypt celibacy had been closely +associated with the religious life, but the ascetic was regarded as a +man peculiarly apart from his fellows, and the family continued to be +held in great honour, even by religious writers. Christianity provided +for the first time a body of writers who made a direct attack upon +marriage as obstructing the supreme duty of spiritual development. The +Rev. Principal Donaldson, in his generally excellent book on _Woman_, +professes to find some difficulty in accounting for the growth among the +early Christians of the feeling in favour of celibacy. He remarks that +"no one with the New Testament as his guide could venture to assert that +marriage was wrong." Not wrong, certainly; but anyone with the New +Testament before him would be justified in asserting marriage to be +inferior to celibacy. It is at most taken for granted; it is neither +commended nor recommended, and of its social value there is never a +glimpse. And there is much on the other side. Paul's teaching is +strongly in favour of celibacy, and marriage is only advised to avoid a +greater evil. In the Book of _Revelation_ there is a reference to the +144,000 saints who wait on "the Lamb," and who "were not defiled with +women, but were virgins." Certainly the New Testament does not condemn +marriage, but it is idle to pretend that those who preached the celibate +ideal failed to find therein a warranty for their teaching. + +The historic fact is, however, that the early Christian leaders were, in +the main, ardent advocates of celibacy. The social importance of +marriage being ignored, its functions became those of ministering to +sexual passion and the perpetuation of the race. In view of the supposed +approaching end of the world, the desirability of this last was +questioned, and in the name of purity the former was strongly denounced. +It is from these points of view that Tertullian describes children as +"burdens which are to most of us perilous as being unsuitable to faith," +and wives as women of the second degree of modesty who had fallen into +wedlock. Jerome said that marriage was at best a sin, and all that could +be done was to excuse and purify it. Epiphanius said that the Church was +based upon virginity as upon a corner-stone. Augustine was of opinion +that celibates would shine in heaven like dazzling stars. Married people +were declared, by another authority, to be incapable of salvation. The +most powerful and most influential of writers concurred that the sexual +relation was an almost fatal obstacle to religious salvation. + +Hardly any movement ever struck so hard against social well-being as +did this teaching of celibacy. Wives were encouraged to desert their +husbands, husbands to forsake their wives, children their parents. +Parents, in turn, were exhorted to devote their children to the monastic +life; and although at first children who had been so condemned were +allowed to return to the world, should they desire it, on reaching +maturity, this liberty was taken from them by the fourth Council of +Toledo in 633.[167] Some few of the Christian writers protested against +children being taught to forsake their parents in this manner, but the +general spirit of the time was in its favour. + +"Children were nursed and trained to expect at every instant more than +human interferences; their young energies had ever before them examples +of asceticism, to which it was the glory, the true felicity of life, to +aspire. The thoughtful child had all his mind thus preoccupied ... +wherever there was gentleness, modesty, the timidity of young passion, +repugnance to vice, an imaginative temperament, a consciousness of +unfitness to wrestle with the rough realities of life, the way lay +invitingly open.... It lay through perils, but was made attractive by +perpetual wonders. It was awful, but in its awfulness lay its power over +the young mind. It learned to trample down that last bond which united +the child to common humanity, filial reverence; the fond and mysterious +attachment of the child and the mother, the inborn reverence of the son +to the father. It is the highest praise of St. Fulgentius that he +overcame his mother's tenderness by religious cruelty."[168] + +The full warranty for Dean Milman's stricture is seen in the following +passage from St. Jerome:-- + +"Though your little nephew twine his arms around your neck; though your +mother, with dishevelled hair, and tearing her robe asunder, point to +the breast with which she suckled you; though your father fall down on +the threshold before you, pass on over your father's body. Fly with +tearless eyes to the banner of the cross. In this matter cruelty is the +only piety.... Your widowed sister may throw her gentle arms around +you.... Your father may implore you to wait but a short time to bury +those near to you, who will soon be no more; your weeping mother may +recall your childish days, and may point to her shrunken breast and to +her wrinkled brow. Those around you may tell you that all the household +rests upon you. Such chains as these the love of God and the fear of +hell can easily break. You say that Scripture orders you to obey your +parents, but he who loves them more than Christ loses his soul. The +enemy brandishes a sword to slay me. Shall I think of a mother's +tears?"[169] + +Gibbon said of the ascetic movement that the Pagan world regarded with +astonishment a society that perpetuated itself without marriage. +Unfortunately this perpetuation was secured by the sacrifice of some of +the dearest interests of the race. For, in general, one may say that +idealistic teaching of any kind appeals most powerfully to those who are +least in need of it. The world would at any time lose little, and might +possibly gain much, were it possible to restrain a certain class from +parentage. But there is no evidence that monasticism ever had its effect +on that kind of people; the presumption is indeed in the contrary +direction. The careless and brutal hear and are unaffected. The more +thoughtful and desirable alone are influenced. And there can be little +doubt that the Church in appealing to certain aspects of human nature +dissuaded from parentage those who were most fitted for the task. There +was a practical survival of the unfittest. Nothing is more striking, in +fact, in the early history of Christianity than the comparative absence +of home life and of the domestic ideals. Dean Milman remarked that in +all the discussion concerning celibacy he could not recall a single +instance where the social aspects appear to have occurred to the +disputants. The Dean's remark applies to some extent to a much later +period of Christian history than the one to which he refers. That +much-admired evangelical classic, Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_, for +example, shows a curious obliviousness to the value of family and social +life. But neglect of the socialising and refining influence of family +life leads inevitably to a hardening of character and a brutalising of +life in general. The ferocious nature of the theological disputes of the +early Christian period never fail to arouse the comments of historians. +But there was really nothing to soften or restrain them. Everything was +dominated by the theological interest. And we owe it in no small measure +to the vogue of the monk that the tolerance of Pagan times, with its +widespread respect for truth-seeking, was replaced by the narrow +intolerance of the medieval period, an intolerance which has never +really been eradicated from any part of Christian Europe. + +In counting this as one of the consequences of the Christian preaching +of celibacy, I am supported by no less an authority than the late Sir +Francis Galton. In his epoch-marking work, _Hereditary Genius_, this +writer says:-- + +"The long period of the Dark Ages under which Europe has lain is due, I +believe, in a very considerable degree, to the celibacy enjoined by the +religious orders on their votaries. Whenever a man or woman was +possessed of a gentle nature that fitted him or her to deeds of charity, +to meditation, to literature, or to art, the social condition of the +time was such that they had no refuge elsewhere than in the bosom of the +Church. But she chose to preach and exact celibacy. The consequence was +that these gentle natures had no continuance, and thus by a policy so +singularly unwise and suicidal that I am hardly able to speak of it +without impatience, the Church brutalised the breed of our forefathers. +She acted precisely as if she had aimed at selecting the rudest portion +of the community to be alone the parents of future generations. She +practised the arts that breeders would use, who aimed at creating +ferocious, currish, and stupid nature. No wonder that club law prevailed +for centuries over Europe; the wonder rather is that enough good +remained in the veins of Europeans to enable their race to rise to its +very moderate level of natural morality."[170] + +The consequences of asceticism on morals were almost wholly disastrous. +There is no intention of endorsing the vulgar Protestant prejudice of +every convent being a brothel, and all monks and nuns as given over to a +vicious life, but there is no question that a very widespread +demoralisation existed amongst the religious orders, that this existed +from the very earliest times, and that it was an inevitable consequence +of so large a number of people professing the ascetic life. This is not +a history of morals, and it is needless to enter into a detailed account +of the state of morality during the prevalence of asceticism. But the +absence of any favourable influence exerted by asceticism on conduct is +well illustrated in the description of Salvianus, Bishop of Marseilles +at the close of the fifth century, of the condition of society in his +day. Gaul, Spain, Italy, and Africa are depicted as sunk in an +overmastering sensuality. Rome is represented as the sewer of the +nations, and in the African Church, he says, the most diligent search +can scarce discover one chaste among thousands. And this, it must be +borne in mind, was the African Church, which under the care of Augustine +had been specially nurtured in the most rigid asceticism. Four hundred +years later the state of monastic morals is sufficiently indicated by a +regulation of St. Theodore Studita prohibiting the entrance of female +animals into monasteries.[171] A regulation passed in Paris at a Council +held in 1212 enforces the same lesson by forbidding monks or nuns +sleeping two in a bed. The avowed object of this was to repress offences +of the most disgusting description.[172] In 1208 an order was issued +prohibiting mothers or other female relatives residing with priests, on +account of the frequent scandals arising. Offences became so numerous +and so open that it was with relief that laymen saw priests openly +select concubines. That at least gave a promise of some protection to +domestic life. In some of the Swiss cantons it actually became the +practice to compel a new pastor, on taking up his charge, to select a +concubine as a necessary protection to the females under his care. The +same practice existed in Spain.[173] + +There is, as Lea rightly says, no injustice in holding the Church mainly +responsible for the laxity of morals which is characteristic of medieval +society. It had unbounded and unquestioned power, and this with its +wealth and privileges might have made medieval society the purest in the +world. As it was, "the period of its unquestioned domination over the +conscience of Europe was the very period in which licence among the +Teutonic races was most unchecked. A church which, though founded on the +Gospel, and wielding the illimitable power of the Roman hierarchy, could +yet allow the feudal principle to extend to the _jus primæ noctis_ or +_droit de marquette_, and whose ministers in their character of temporal +seigneurs could even occasionally claim the disgusting right, was +evidently exercising its influence, not for good, but for evil." + +On civic life and the civic virtues the influence of asceticism was +equally disastrous. "A candid examination," says Lecky, "will show that +the Christian civilisation has been as inferior to the Pagan ones in +civic and intellectual virtues as it has been superior to them in the +virtues of humanity and chastity." One may reasonably question the +latter part of this statement, bearing in mind the facts just pointed +out, but the first part admits of overwhelming proof. Celibacy is not +chastity, and it is difficult to see how the coarsening of character +described by Lecky himself can be consistent with a heightened +humanity. But there can be small doubt that the growth of the Christian +Church spelt disaster to the civic life and institutions of the Empire. +Nothing the Romans did was more admirable than their organisation of +municipal life. They avoided the common blunder of imposing on all a +uniform organisation, and so gave free play to local feeling and custom +so far as was consistent with imperial order and peace. Civic life +became, as a consequence, well ordered and persistent. It was far less +corrupt than administration in the capital, and freedom persisted in the +provincial towns for long after its practical disappearance in Rome +itself. Indeed, but for the antagonism of Christianity, it is probable +that the urban municipalities might have provided the impetus for the +rejuvenation of the Empire.[174] + +From the outset, the early Christian movement stood as a whole apart +from the civic life of the Empire, while the ascetic waged a constant +warfare against it. "According to monastic view of Christianity," says +Milman, "the total abandonment of the world, with all its ties and +duties, as well as its treasures, its enjoyments, and objects of +ambition, advanced rather than diminished the hopes of salvation." The +object was individual salvation, not social regeneration. When people +were praised for breaking the closest of family ties in their desire for +salvation, it would be absurd to suppose that social duties and +obligations would remain exempt. The Christian ascetic was ready enough +to risk his own life, or to take the life of others, on account of +minute points of doctrinal difference, but he was deaf to the call of +patriotism or the demands of civic life. Theology became the one +absorbing topic; and as monasticism assumed more menacing proportions, +the monk became the dominating figure, paralysing by his presence the +healthful activities of masses of the people. Speaking of the Eastern +Empire, although his words apply with almost equal truth wherever the +Church was supreme, Milman says:-- + +"That which is the characteristic sign of the times as a social and +political, as well as a religious, phenomenon, is the complete dominion +assumed by the monks in the East over the public mind.... The monks, in +fact, exercise the most complete tyranny, not merely over the laity, but +over bishops and patriarchs, whose rule, though nominally subject to it, +they throw off whenever it suits their purposes.... Monks in Alexandria, +monks in Antioch, monks in Constantinople, decide peremptorily on +orthodoxy and heterodoxy.... Persecution is universal; persecution by +every means of violence and cruelty; the only question is in whose hands +is the power to persecute.... Bloodshed, murder, treachery, +assassination, even during the public worship of God--these are the +frightful means by which each party strives to maintain its opinions and +to defeat its adversary. Ecclesiastical and civil authority are alike +paralysed by combinations of fanatics ready to suffer or to inflict +death, utterly unapproachable by reason."[175] + +Against such combinations of ignorance, fanaticism, and ferocity, the +few remaining lovers of secular progress were powerless. Patriotism +became a mere name, and organised civic life an almost forgotten +aspiration. What the Pagan world had understood by a 'good man' was one +who spent himself in the service of his country. The Christian +understood by it one who succeeded in saving his own soul, even at the +sacrifice of family and friends. Vampire-like, monasticism fed upon the +life-blood of the Empire. The civic life and patriotism of old Rome +became a mere tradition, to inspire long after the men of the +Renaissance and of the French Revolution. + +Finally, asceticism exerted a powerful influence on religion itself. +That it served to strengthen and perpetuate the life of religion there +can be little doubt. However strongly some people may have resented the +monastic ideal, it nevertheless gave increased strength and vitality to +the religious idea. To begin with, it offered for centuries a very +powerful obstacle to the development of those progressive and scientific +ideas that have made such advances in all centres of civilisation during +the past two or three centuries. To the common mind it brought home the +supremacy of religion in a way that nothing else could. The mere sight +of monarch and noble yielding homage to the monk, acknowledging his +supremacy in what was declared to be the chief interest in life, the +interference of the monk in every department of life, saturated society +with supernaturalism. And although at a later period the rapacity, +dissoluteness, and tyranny of the monkish orders led to revolt, by that +time the imagination of all had been thoroughly impressed with the value +of religion. Even to-day current theology is permeated with the monkish +notions of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and contempt of the world's +comfort and beauty as belonging to the essence of pure religion. The +lives of the saints still remain the storehouse of ideals for the +religious preacher. In spite of their absurd practices and disgusting +penances, later generations have not failed to hold them up as examples. +They have been used to impress the imagination of their successors, as +they were used to impress the minds of their contemporaries. The fact of +Thomas à Beckett wearing a hair shirt running with vermin has not +prevented his being held up as an example of the power of religion. +People fear ghosts long after they cease to believe in them; they pay +unreasoning homage to a crown long after intellectual development has +robbed the kingly office of its primitive significance; all the recent +developments of democracy have not abolished the Englishman's +constitutional crick in the neck at the sight of a nobleman. Nor is +supernaturalism expunged from a society because the conditions that gave +it birth have passed away. A religious epidemic is not analogous to +those physical disorders which deposit an antitoxin and so protect +against future attacks. It resembles rather those disorders that +permanently weaken, and so invite repeated assaults. The ascetic +epidemic passed away; but, before doing so, it thoroughly saturated with +supernaturalism the social atmosphere and impressed its power upon the +public mind. It gave supernaturalism a new and longer lease of life, and +paved the way for other outbreaks, of a less general, but still of a +thoroughly epidemic character. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[164] See _The Psychology of Peoples_ and _The Crowd_. + +[165] _Origin and Development of Religious Belief_, i. pp. 343-8. + +[166] _History of European Morals_, ii. pp. 107-10. For a careful +description of the monastic discipline in its more normal aspects, see +Bingham's Works, vol. ii. bk. vi. Gibbon gives his usual brilliant +summary of the movement in chapter xxxvii. of the _Decline and Fall_. A +host of facts similar to those cited by Lecky will be found in _The Book +of Paradise_, 2 vols., trans. by Wallis Budge. Lea's _History of +Sacerdotal Celibacy_ gives the classical and authoritative account of +the moral consequences of the practice of celibacy. For a vivid picture +of the psychology of the ascetic, see Flaubert's great romance, _St. +Antony_. + +[167] Cited by Lecky, ii. p. 131. + +[168] Dean Milman, _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, ii. pp. 81-2. + +[169] Lecky, ii. pp. 134-5. + +[170] _Hereditary Genius_, 1869, p. 357. + +[171] Lea, p. 109. + +[172] Lea, p. 332. + +[173] See Lea, pp. 353-4. + +[174] For a fine sketch of Roman municipal life, see Dill's _Roman +Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius_, chap. ii. + +[175] _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, i. pp. 317-8. + + + + +CHAPTER NINE + +RELIGIOUS EPIDEMICS--(_CONCLUDED_) + + +It is not easy to overestimate the influence of monasticism on +subsequent religious history. The lives of its votaries provided +examples of almost every conceivable kind of self-torture or +semi-maniacal behaviour. It had made the world thoroughly familiar with +extravagance of action as the symptom of intense religious conviction. +And its influence on social development had been such that the +susceptibility of the public mind to suggestions was as a raw wound in +the presence of a powerful irritant. Such an institution as the +Inquisition could only have maintained itself among a people thoroughly +familiar with supernaturalism, and to whom its preservation was the +first and most sacred of duties. + +A society habituated to the commanding presence of the monk, fed upon +stories of their miraculous encounters with celestial and diabolic +visitants, and so accustomed to regard the priesthood as in a very +peculiar sense the mouthpiece of divinity, was well prepared for such a +series of events as the crusades for the recovery of the Holy Land. +Pilgrimages to the burial-places of saints, and to spots connected, by +legend or otherwise, with Christian history, had long been in vogue, and +formed a source of both revenue to the Church and of inspiration to the +faithful. As early as 833 a guide-book had been prepared called the +_Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem_, and along the route marked +convents and shelters for the pilgrims were established. A lucrative +traffic in relics of every description had also been established, and +any interference with this touched the Church in its tenderest point. +Added to which the expected end of the world in the year 1000 had the +effect of still further increasing the crowd of pilgrims to the Holy +Land, where it was firmly believed the second advent would take place. + +In the eleventh century a tax was imposed on all Christians visiting +Jerusalem. There were also reports of Christian pilgrims being +ill-treated. Recent events in Europe have shown with what ease Christian +feeling may be roused against a Mohammedan power, and it was +considerably easier to do this in the eleventh century. Between them, +Pope Urban II. and Peter the Hermit--the former acting mainly from +political motives; the latter from a spirit of sheer fanaticism-- +succeeded in rousing Europe to a maniacal desire for the recovery +of the Holy Land. And for nearly two hundred years the world saw +a series of crusades on as absurd an errand as ever engaged the +energies of mankind. Every class of society participated, and it is +calculated that no less than two millions of lives were sacrificed. + +Ordinary histories lean to representing the crusades as a series of +armed expeditions, led by princes, nobles, and kings. But this gives a +quite inaccurate conception of the movement, during its early stages, at +all events. In reality it was a true psychological epidemic. No custom, +however ancient, no duty, no law, was allowed to stand before the +crusading mania. In every village the clergy fed the mania, promising +eternal rewards to all who took up the burden of the cross. Old and +young, the strong and the sick, the rich and the poor were enrolled. +Urban had told them that "under their General, Jesus Christ," they would +march to certain victory. Absolution for all sins was promised to all +who joined; and, as Gibbon says, "at the voice of their pastor, the +robber, the incendiary, the homicide, arose by thousands to redeem their +souls by repeating on the infidels the same deeds which they had +exercised against their Christian brethren." Until experience had taught +them better, little precautions were taken to provide food or arms. Huge +concourses of people,[176] some led by a goose and a goat, into which it +was believed the Holy Ghost had entered, set out for the Holy Land, so +ignorant that at every large town or city they enquired, "Is this Zion?" +Although a religious expedition, small regard was paid to decency or +humanity. Defenceless cities _en route_ were sacked. Women were +outraged, men and children killed. The Jews were murdered wholesale. +Almost universally the slaughter of Jews at home were preparatory to +crusading abroad. Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria, although providing +contingents for the crusading army, suffered heavily by the passage of +these undisciplined, lawless crowds. As one writer says:-- + +"If they had devoted themselves to the service of God, they convinced +the inhabitants on their line of march that they had ceased to regard +the laws of man. They considered themselves privileged to gratify every +wish and every lust as it arose. They recognised no rights of property, +they felt no gratitude for hospitality, and they possessed no sense of +honour. They violated the wives and daughters of their hosts when they +were kindly treated, they devastated the lands of friends whom they had +converted into enemies, they resorted to wanton robbery and destruction +in revenge for calamities which they had brought upon themselves. They +believed that they proved their superiority to the Mohammedans by +torturing the defenceless Jews; and this was the only exploit in which +the first divisions of the crusaders could boast of success.... To the +leaders, who could not write their own names, deception and treachery +were as familiar as force; to their followers rapine and murder were so +congenial that, in the absence of Saracens, Jews, or townsfolk, it +seemed but a professional pastime to kill or to rob a companion in +arms."[177] + +And of the behaviour of the crusaders on the first capture of Jerusalem, +1099, Dean Milman writes:-- + +"No barbarian, no infidel, no Saracen, ever perpetrated such wanton and +cold-blooded atrocities of cruelty as the wearers of the Cross of Christ +(who, it is said, had fallen on their knees and burst into a pious hymn +at the first view of the Holy City) on the capture of that city. Murder +was mercy, rape tenderness, simple plunder the mere assertion of the +conqueror's right. Children were seized by their legs, some of them +plucked from their mother's breasts, and dashed against the walls, or +whirled from the battlements. Others were obliged to leap from the +walls; some tortured, roasted by slow fires. They ripped up prisoners to +see if they had swallowed gold. Of 70,000 Saracens there were not left +enough to bury the dead; poor Christians were hired to perform the +office. Everyone surprised in the Temple was slaughtered, till the reek +from the dead drove away the slayers. The Jews were burned alive in +their synagogue."[178] + +The most remarkable of all the crusades, and the one that best shows +the character of the epidemic, was the children's crusade of 1212. It +was said that the sins of the crusaders had caused their failure, and +priests went about France and Germany calling upon the children to do +what the sins of their fathers had prevented them accomplishing. The +children were told that the sea would dry up to give them passage, and +the infidels be stricken by the Lord on their approach. A peasant lad, +Stephen of Cloyes, received the usual vision, and was ordered to lead +the crusade. Commencing with the children around Paris, he collected +some 30,000 followers, and without money or food commenced the march. At +the same time an army of children, 40,000 strong, was gathered together +at Cologne. The result of the crusade may be told in a few words. About +6000 of the French contingent, having reached Marseilles, were offered a +passage by some shipowners. Several of the ships foundered, others +reached shore, and the boys were sold into slavery. The girls were +reserved for a more sinister fate. Thousands of the children died in +attempting a march over the Alps. A mere remnant succeeded in reaching +home, ruined in both mind and body. Well might Fuller say: "This crusade +was done by the instinct of the devil, who, as it were, desired a +cordial of children's blood, to comfort his weak stomach, long cloyed +with murdering of men."[179] + +On both the social and the religious side the consequences were +important. For the first time large bodies of men, taught to regard all +those who were outside Christendom as beneath consideration, came into +contact with a people possessing an art, an industry, a culture far +superior to their own. As Draper says: "Even down to the meanest camp +follower, everyone must have recognised the difference between what they +had anticipated and what they had found. They had seen undaunted +courage, chivalrous bearing, intellectual culture far higher than their +own. They had been in lands filled with prodigies of human skill. They +did not melt down into the populations to whom they returned without +imparting to them a profound impression destined to make itself felt in +the course of time."[180] Hitherto Mohammedan culture had only +influenced Christendom through the medium of the Spanish schools and +universities. Now the influence became more general. A taste for greater +comfort developed. Commerce grew; literature improved. We approach the +period of the Renaissance, and to that new birth the crusades, despite +their intolerance and brutality, offered a contribution of no small +value. + +On the other hand, and for a time, the power of the Church grew greater. +The impetus given to superstitious hopes and fears made on all hands for +the wealth of the Church. Much was made over to the Church as a free +gift. Much was pawned to it. Much also was entrusted by those who went +to the Holy Land, never to return, in which case the Church became the +designated or undesignated heir. "In every way the all-absorbing Church +was still gathering in wealth, encircling new land within her hallowed +pale, the one steady merchant who in this vast traffic and sale of +personal and of landed property never made a losing venture, but went on +accumulating and still accumulating, and for the most part withdrawing +the largest portion of the land in every kingdom into a separate +estate, which claimed exemption from all burthens of the realm, until +the realm was compelled into measures, violent often and iniquitous in +their mode, but still inevitable."[181] + +Next, the crusades set their seal upon the justice of religious wars, +and established an enduring alliance between militarism and religion. +The military profession became surrounded with all the ceremonies and +paraphernalia of religion, without being in the least humanised by the +alliance. The knight received his arms blessed by the Church, he was +sworn to defend the Church, and he was as ready to turn his weapons +against heretics in Europe as against infidels in Syria. Military +persecutions of heretics assumed the form of a mania. There were +crusades against the Moors in Spain, against the Albigenses, and against +other heretics. As Bryce remarks: "The religious feeling which the +crusades evoked--a feeling which became the origin of the great orders +of chivalry, and somewhat later of the two great orders of mendicant +friars--turned wholly against the opponents of ecclesiastical claims, +and was made to work the will of the Holy See, which had blessed and +organised the project."[182] The expedition against King John by Philip +of France was undertaken at the behest of the Pope, and was called a +crusade. The attempt of Spain to crush the Netherlands was called a +crusade. So was the Armada that was fitted out against England. + +More than all, a stamp of permanency was given to popular superstition. +For two centuries people had seen expedition after expedition fitted out +to accomplish an avowedly religious purpose. They had been taught that +to die in defence of religion, or in the attempt to achieve a religious +object, was the noblest of deaths. They had seen the greatest in Europe +setting forth at the command of the Church. Signs and wonders had +abounded to prove the heaven-blessed character of the crusades. They had +seen the Church growing steadily in power, and every possible means had +been utilised to increase the flame of religious fanaticism. Expeditions +might fail, but failure did not cure fanaticism. It fed it; the +crusaders returned, chastened in some respects, but still sufficiently +full of religious zeal to be ready to battle against the unbeliever and +the heretic at the behest of the Church. And it was not the policy of +the Church to allow this fanaticism to remain unemployed. Even though it +might ultimately lose, the Church and superstition profited enormously +by the crusading spirit. It strengthened the general sense of the +supernatural, even while creating tendencies that were destined to limit +its sway. Above all, it prepared the way for other religious epidemics. +These were more circumscribed in area, and less lengthy in their +duration; but their existence was made possible and easy by the +centuries during which, first monasticism, and later the crusading +mania, had dominated the public mind. + +The crusades had hardly been brought to a close before continental +Europe witnessed an outbreak, in epidemic form, of a practice that had +been long associated with monastic discipline. The use of the whip as a +form of religious discipline had always played a part in conventual and +monastic life. On the one hand, it formed part of that insensate desire +to torture the body which went to make up the ascetic ideal; on the +other hand, the fondness for whipping bare flesh and for being whipped +has a distinctly pathologic character. The subject is rather too +unsavoury to dwell upon, but it has long been established that there is +a close connection between the whipping of certain parts of the body and +the production of intense sexual pleasure.[183] And it is also clear +that the life led by monks and nuns was such as to encourage sexual +aberrations of various forms. Moreover, when once the practice of +whipping became a public spectacle, and assumed an epidemic form, +imitation, combined with intense religious faith, would operate very +powerfully. + +In the fourteenth century Europe was visited by the Black Plague. In +countries utterly devoid of sanitation, where baths were practically +unknown and personal habits of the filthiest, the plague found a +fruitful soil. Nearly a quarter of the population died, and corpses were +so numerous that huge pits were dug and hundreds buried together. It was +amid the general terror and demoralisation caused by this visitation +that the sect of the Flagellants arose. Calling themselves the +Brotherhood of the Flagellants, or the Brethren of the Cross, wearing +dark garments with red crosses front and back, they traversed the cities +of the Continent carrying whips to which small pieces of iron were +fixed. England appears to have been the only country in which they +failed to establish themselves. Elsewhere their numbers grew with +formidable rapidity. At Spires two hundred boys, under twelve years of +age, influenced probably by the example of the children's crusade, +formed themselves into a brotherhood and marched through some of the +German cities. In Italy over 20,000 people marched from Florence in one +of these processions; from Modena, over 25,000. Some of them professed +to work miracles. Everywhere, while the mania lasted, they were warmly +welcomed, the inhabitants of towns and cities ringing the bells and +flocking in crowds to hear the preaching and witness the whippings. + +The proceedings of the Flagellants in all countries were very similar. +They marched from town to town, men and women and children stripped to +the waist--sometimes entirely naked--praying incessantly and whipping +each other. "Not only during the day, but even by night, and in the +severest winter, they traversed the cities with torches and banners, in +thousands and tens of thousands, headed by their priests, and prostrated +themselves before the altars." At other times they proceeded to the +market-place, arranged themselves on the ground in circles, assuming +attitudes in accordance with their real or supposed crimes. After each +had been whipped, "one of them, in conclusion, stood up to read a +letter, which it was pretended an angel had brought from heaven to St. +Peter's Church, at Jerusalem, stating that Christ, who was sore +displeased at the sins of man, had granted, at the intercession of the +Holy Virgin and of the angels, that all who should wander about for +thirty-four days and scourge themselves should be partakers of the +Divine grace." In the end the movement became so obnoxious to the +Church, and so troublesome to the civil authorities, that both combined +to secure its suppression. + +Equally significant in the history of religion is the dancing mania, +which broke out as the mania for flagellation was subsiding. The +function of dancing in primitive religious ceremonial has been pointed +out in a previous chapter. It is there a common and obvious method of +both creating and expressing a high state of nervous excitability. In +later times religious dancing becomes more purely hypnotic in character, +and suggestion plays a powerful part. During the medieval period the +conditions were peculiarly favourable to the prevalence of psychological +epidemics. Plagues, more or less severe, were of frequent occurrence. +Between 1119 and 1340, Italy alone had no less than sixteen such +visitations. Smallpox and leprosy were also common. The public mind was +morbidly sensitive to signs and portents and saturated to an almost +incredible degree with superstition. The public processions of the +Church, its penances, and practices were all calculated to fire the +imagination, and produce a mixed and dangerous condition of fear and +expectancy. Moreover, dancing mania, on a small scale, had made its +appearance on several previous occasions, and the public mind was thus +in a way prepared for a more serious outbreak. + +The great dancing mania of 1374 occurred immediately after the revels +connected with the semi-Pagan festival of St. John. Bacchanalian dances +formed one of the accompaniments of the festival of St. John, and made, +so to speak, a natural starting-point for the epidemic. Hecker, who +gives a very elaborate account of the dancing mania as it appeared in +various countries, thus describes the behaviour of those afflicted:-- + +"They formed circles, hand in hand, and, appearing to have lost control +over their senses, continued dancing, regardless of all bystanders, for +hours together, in wild delirium, until at length they fell to the +ground in a state of exhaustion.... While dancing, they neither saw nor +heard, being insensible to external impressions, but were haunted by +visions, their fancies conjuring up spirits whose names they shrieked +out; and some of them afterwards asserted that they felt as if they had +been immersed in a stream of blood, which obliged them to leap so high. +Others, during the paroxysm, saw the heavens open and the Saviour +enthroned with the Virgin Mary."[184] + +At Aix-la-Chapelle, Cologne, and Metz, says the same writer:-- + +"Peasants left their ploughs, mechanics their workshops, housewives +their domestic duties, to join the wild revels. Secret desires were +excited, and but too often found opportunities for wild enjoyment; and +numerous beggars, stimulated by vice and misery, availed themselves of +this new complaint to gain a temporary livelihood. Girls and boys +quitted their parents, and servants their masters, to amuse themselves +at the dances of those possessed, and greedily imbibed the poison of +mental infection. Above a hundred unmarried women were seen raving about +in consecrated and unconsecrated places, and the consequences were soon +perceived."[185] + +Once attacked, the hypnotic character of the complaint was shown by its +annual recurrence. Again to quote Hecker:-- + +"Most of those affected were only annually visited by attacks; and the +occasion of them was so manifestly referable to the prevailing notions +of that period that, if the unqualified belief in the agency of saints +could have been abolished, they would not have had any return of the +complaint. Throughout the whole of June, prior to the festival of St. +John, patients felt a disquietude and restlessness which they were +unable to overcome. They were dejected, timid, and anxious; wandered +about in an unsettled state, being tormented with twitching pains, which +seized them suddenly in different parts, and eagerly expected the eve of +St. John's Day, in the confident hope that by dancing at the altars of +this saint they would be freed from all their sufferings. This hope was +not disappointed; and they remained, for the rest of the year, exempt +from any further attack."[186] + +In addition to John the Baptist, the dancing disease was also connected +with another saint--St. Vitus. He is said to have been martyred about +303, and a body, reputed to be his, was transported to France in the +ninth century. It is said that just before he was killed he prayed that +all who would commemorate the day of his death should be protected from +the dancing mania. Whereupon a voice from heaven was heard to say, +"Vitus, thy prayer is accepted." The fact that the prayer was offered a +thousand years before the dancing mania appeared is a circumstance that +to the eye of faith merely heightened its value. + +Within recent times epidemics of dancing have been more local, less +persistent, and of necessity not so public in their display, but nearly +always their appearance has been in connection with displays of +religious fervour. In most cases the dancing has tended more to a +species of 'jumping,' and--although this may be due to more careful +observation--has been accompanied by actions of a clearly epileptoid +nature. One of the most famous of these outbreaks was that of the French +Convulsionnaires, which lasted from 1727 to the Revolution. In 1727, a +popular, but half-crazy priest, François de Paris, died. During his life +Paris had fasted and scourged himself, lived in a hut that was seldom or +never cleansed, showed the same lack of cleanliness in his person, and +often went about half naked. Very shortly after his death, it was said +that miracles began to take place at his grave in the cemetery of St. +Médard. People gathered round the tomb day after day, and one young girl +was seized with convulsions. (She is called a girl in the narrative, but +she was a mature virgin of forty-two years of age.) Afterwards other +miracles followed in rapid succession. Some fell in fits, others +swallowed pieces of coal or flint, some were cured of diseases. From the +description of the behaviour of some of these devotees there seems to +have been a considerable amount of sexual feeling mixed up with the +display. Sometimes, we are told, those seized "bounded from the ground +like fish out of water; this was so frequently imitated at a later +period that the women and girls, when they expected such violent +contortions, not wishing to appear indecent, put on gowns made like +sacks, closed at the feet. If they received any bruises by falling down, +they were healed with earth taken from the grave of the uncanonised +saint. They usually, however, showed great agility in this respect; and +it is scarcely necessary to remark that the female sex especially was +distinguished by all kinds of leaping, and almost inconceivable +contortions of body. Some spun round on their feet with incredible +rapidity, as is related of the dervishes. Others ran with their heads +against walls, or curved their bodies like rope dancers, so that their +heels touched their shoulders." + +Women figured very prominently among the Convulsionnaires, particularly +when the epidemic passed from convulsive dancing to prophecy, and thence +to various forms of self-torture. Women stretched themselves on the +floor, while other women, and even men, jumped upon their bodies. Others +were beaten with clubs and bars of iron. Some actually underwent +crucifixion on repeated occasions. They were stretched on wooden +crosses, and nails three inches long driven through hands and feet. Some +of the occurrences remind one of what is now seen to take place under +hypnotic influence. People labouring under strong excitement, it is +known, become insensible to pain. + +Outbreaks of jumping and dancing followed the introduction of Methodist +preachers into country districts in the eighteenth century. In Wales, a +sect of 'Jumpers' originated from this cause, and many of the American +'Jumpers' and 'Dancers' seem to have had their origin from this Welsh +outbreak. In all such cases the spread of the mania was helped, if not +made possible, by the preachers. They themselves looked upon these +exhibitions as manifestations of the power of God, and so encouraged +their hearers in their behaviour. Not every minister has the common +sense of the Shetland preacher cited by Hecker. An epileptic woman had a +fit in church, which a number of others hailed as a manifestation of +the power of God. Sunday after Sunday the same thing occurred with other +women, the number of the sufferers steadily increasing. The thing +threatened to assume such proportions, and to become so great a +nuisance, he announced that attendants would be at hand who would dip +women in the lake who happened to be seized. This threat proved a most +powerful form of exorcism. Not one woman was affected. Similar conduct +might have been quite as efficacious in preventing many religious +manifestations that have assumed epidemic proportions. + +Unfortunately, the influence of preachers and religious teachers was +most usually cast in the other direction. Very often, of course, they +were no better informed than their congregations; at other times they +undoubtedly encouraged the delusion for interested reasons. The most +striking recent illustration of this latter behaviour was seen in the +Welsh revival led by Evan Roberts. Of this man's mental condition there +could be little doubt. Just as little doubt could there be that the +behaviour of the congregations was wholly due to the power of +suggestions upon weak and excitable natures. Yet scarcely a preacher in +Britain said a word in disapproval. Hundreds of them used the outbreak +to illustrate the power of religion. Many prominent preachers travelled +down to Wales and returned telling of the great manifestations of +'spiritual power' they had witnessed. How little removed such behaviour +is from that of the savage watching with awe the actions of one +suffering from epilepsy or insanity, readers of the foregoing pages will +be in a position to judge. + +From the middle of the third century onward, Europe had been subject to +wave after wave of religious fanaticism. All along, religious belief had +been verified and strengthened by the occurrence of phenomena that now +admittedly fall within the purview of the pathologist. And from one +point of view the secularisation of life served but to emphasise the +dependence of religion upon the occurrence of these abnormal conditions. +For the more surely the phenomena of nature and of social life were +brought within the scope of a scientific generalisation, the more people +began to look for the life of religion in conditions that were removed +from the normal. But, above all, this long succession of waves of +fanaticism served to permeate the general mind with supernaturalism. +Each one cleared the way for a successor. And in the next chapter we +have to deal with one that, in some respects, is the most remarkable of +all, viz., that of the belief in witchcraft. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[176] It is estimated that 275,000 people formed the van of the first +crusade. + +[177] L. O. Pike, _History of Crime in England_, i. pp. 164-9. + +[178] _History of Latin Christianity_, iv. p. 188. + +[179] _History of the Holy War_, bk. iii. + +[180] _Intellectual Development of Europe_, 1872, p. 425. + +[181] Milman, iv. p. 199. + +[182] _Holy Roman Empire_, p. 164. + +[183] See Bloch, _Sexual Life of our Time_, pp. 568-74. + +[184] _Epidemics of the Middle Ages_, pp. 87-8. + +[185] Hecker, p. 91. + +[186] _Epidemics_, p. 105. + + + + +CHAPTER TEN + +THE WITCH MANIA + + +In all stages of religious history the witch and the wizard are familiar +figures. It is of no importance to our present enquiry whether magic +precedes religion or not. It is at all events certain that they are very +closely connected, and that conditions which foster the belief in magic +likewise serve to strengthen religious belief. Witchcraft, as Tylor +says, is part and parcel of savage life. Death is very frequently +attributed to the magical action of wizards, and the savage lives in +perpetual fear lest some of his belongings, or some part of his person, +should be bewitched by malevolent sorcerers. Sir Richard Burton says +that in East Africa his experience taught him that among the negroes, +what with slavery and what with black magic, no one, especially in old +age, is safe from being burnt at a day's notice. When from savage life +we mount to societies enjoying a higher culture, we still find the witch +and the wizard in evidence. Both in Greece and Rome the belief in +witchcraft existed. There were made direct laws against its practice, +although neither the Greeks nor the Romans stained their civilisation +with the judicial murder of thousands of victims such as occurred later +in Christian Europe. + +But the belief in witchcraft is continuous. So also are the methods +practised, and the modes of detection. The proofs offered in support of +sorcery in the seventeenth century are precisely similar to those +credited by savages in the lowest stage of human culture. The power of +transformation possessed by the accused, the ability to bewitch through +the possession of hairs belonging to the afflicted person, the making of +little effigies and driving sharp instruments into them, and so +affecting the corresponding parts of people, transportation through the +air, etc., all belong to the belief in and practice of witchcraft +wherever found. Had a Fijian been transported to a seat on the judicial +bench by the side of Sir Matthew Hale, when that judge condemned two old +women to death for witchcraft, he would have found himself in a quite +congenial atmosphere. Allowing for difference in language, he would have +found the evidence similar to that with which he was familiar, and he +would have been able to endorse the judge's remarks with tales of his +own experience. On this point, the level of culture attained by savages, +and that of the inhabitants of the overwhelming majority of European +countries little more than two hundred years ago, were substantially the +same. Even to-day cases are continually occurring which prove that +advances in knowledge and civilisation have not left this ancient +superstition without supporters. + +In subscribing to the belief in witchcraft, the Christian Church thus +fell into line with earlier forms of religious belief. The peculiar +feature it represents is that it came into existence when the belief in +witchcraft was losing its hold on the more cultured classes. Had it not +allied itself with this tendency, no such thing as the witch mania of +the medieval period could have existed. In sober truth, it brought about +a veritable renaissance of the cruder theories of demonism, while its +intolerance of opposition succeeded in stifling the voice of criticism +for centuries. The primitive theory which holds that man is surrounded +by hosts of spiritual agencies, mostly of a malevolent nature, was +revived and fully endorsed by all Christian teachers. In the commonest, +as well as in the rarest events of life, this supernatural activity was +manifest. In both the Old and New Testament the belief in demoniacal +agency was endorsed. Moreover, the fact that Christianity was not a +creed seeking to live as one of many others, but a religion struggling +for complete mastery, gave further impetus to the belief. An easy +explanation for the miracles and marvels that occurred in connection +with non-Christian beliefs was that they were the work of demons. The +Christian felt himself to be fighting not so much human antagonists as +so many embodiments of satanic power. And after the establishment of +Christianity it is probable that much that went on under cover of witch +assemblies, a more detailed knowledge than we possess would prove to be +really the clandestine exercise of prescribed forms of faith. The old +saying, "The sin of witchcraft is as the sin of rebellion," has more in +it than meets the eye. There is little real difference between the magic +that appears as piety and the magic that is denounced as sorcery, except +that one is permitted and the other is not. And it is almost a law of +religious development that the gods of one religion become the demons of +its successor. + +But while witchcraft has existed in all ages, it existed in a much +milder form than that which we find in the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries. First of all, there is the fact to which attention has +already been directed, namely, the concentration of the public mind upon +various forms of supernaturalism. Every aspect of life was more or less +under the direct influence of the Church, and no teaching was tolerated +that conflicted with her doctrines. And it was to the interest of the +Church perpetually to emphasise the reality of either angelic or +diabolic activity. Even in the case of those who showed a tendency to +revolt against Church rule there was no exception to this. If anything, +the belief was more pronounced. Next, the fifteenth and sixteenth +centuries saw a rising tide of heresy against which the Church was +compelled to battle; and to ascribe this alleged perversion of Christian +doctrines to the malevolence of Satan offered the line of least +resistance--just as the heretics attributed the power of the Church +itself to the same source. Whatever diminution ensued in the general +flood of superstition, as a consequence of the quarrel between +Protestant and Catholic, was, so far as the disputants were concerned, +incidental and even undesired. On the one point of demonism there +existed complete unanimity, and the sceptic fared equally hard with both +parties. In such an environment the wildest tales of sorcery became +credible; and nothing illustrates this more forcibly than the fact that +many of those tortured and condemned for sorcery actually believed +themselves capable of performing the marvels laid to their charge. Added +to these factors, we have to note that social conditions were also +extremely favourable. Moral ties were as loose as they could reasonably +be; and the attitude of the Church towards the sexual relation had +forced both the religious and the non-religious mind into wholly +unhealthy channels. This last aspect of the subject has been little +dealt with, but it is unquestionably a very real one. A German writer +says:-- + +"Whilst in the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, +as those well acquainted with the state of morals during this period can +all confirm, a most unbounded freedom was dominant in sexual relations, +the State and the Church were desirous of compelling the people to keep +better order by the use of actual force, and by religious compulsion. So +forced a transformation in so vital a matter necessarily resulted in a +reaction of the worst kind, and forced into secret channels the impulse +which it had attempted to suppress. This reaction occurred, moreover, +with an elemental force. There resulted widespread sexual violence and +seduction, hesitating at nothing, often insanely daring, in which +everywhere the devil was supposed to help; everyone's head was turned in +this way; the uncontrolled lust of debauchees found vent in secret +bacchanalian associations and orgies, wherein many, with or without +masquerade, played the part of Satan; shameful deeds were perpetrated by +excited women and by procuresses and prostitutes ready for any kind of +immoral abomination; add to these sexual orgies the most widely diffused +web of a completely developed theory of witchcraft, and the systematic +strengthening of the widely prevalent belief in the devil--all these +things, woven in a labyrinthine connection, made it possible for +thousands upon thousands to be murdered by a disordered justice and to +be sacrificed to delusion."[187] + +To those who look closely into the subject of medieval witchcraft the +presence of a strong sexual element is undeniable. When we examine +contemporary accounts of the 'Sabbath,' some of which are so gross as to +be unprintable, we find a portion of the proceedings to be of a marked +erotic character. The figure of Satan often enough reminds one of the +pagan Priapus, and the ceremonies bear a strong resemblance to the +ancient ones, with the mixture of Christian language and symbolism +inevitable under such circumstances. Promiscuous intercourse between the +sexes was said to occur at the witches' gatherings; and, indeed, unless +some sort of sexual extravagance occurred, it is hard to account for +both the persistency of the gatherings and of the reports concerning +them. The most probable theory is, as I have just said, that these +gatherings were covers for a continuance of the older sex worship. Many +customs connected therewith lingered on in the Church itself, and it is +not a wild assumption that they existed in a less adulterated and more +extravagant form outside. + +Universal as the belief in witchcraft has been, it was not until the +close of the fifteenth century that it assumed what may be justly called +an epidemic form. The famous Bull of Pope Innocent VIII. was not +unconnected in its origin with the growth of heresy. This precious +document, issued in 1484, declares:-- + +"It has come to our ears that very many persons of both sexes, deviating +from the Catholic Faith, abuse themselves with demons, Incubus and +Succubus; and by incantations, charms, and conjurations, and other +wicked superstitions, by criminal acts and offences, have caused the +offspring of women and of the lower animals, the fruits of the earth, +the grape, and the products of various plants, men, women, and other +animals of different kinds, vineyards, meadows, pasture land, corn and +other vegetables of the earth, to perish, be oppressed, and utterly +destroyed; that they torture men and women with cruel pains and +torments, internal as well as external; that they hinder the proper +intercourse of the sexes, and the propagation of the human species. +Moreover, they are in the habit of denying the very faith itself. We, +therefore, willing to provide by opportune remedies, according as it +falls to our office, by our apostolical authority, by the tenor of these +presents, do appoint and decree that they be convicted, imprisoned, +punished, and mulcted according to their offences." + +It was this Pope who commissioned the inquisitor, Sprenger, to root out +witches. Sprenger, with two others, acting on the authority of the +Popes, drew up the famous work, _The Witch Hammer_, which provided the +basis for all subsequent works on the detection and punishment of +witches.[188] The folly and iniquity of the book is almost unbelievable, +although it is quite matched by subsequent productions. It even provides +for the silence of people under torture. If they confess when tortured, +the case is complete. But if they do not confess, this diabolic +production lays it down that this is because witches who have given +themselves up to the devil are insensible to pain. Even the evidence of +children was admitted. And although in ordinary trials the evidence of +criminals was barred, it was to be freely allowed in trials for sorcery. +Everything that ingenuity could suggest or brutality execute was +provided for. + +From the issue of _The Witch Hammer_ until the middle of the seventeenth +century, a period of about one hundred and fifty years, an epidemic of +witchcraft raged. People of all ages and of all classes of society +became implicated, and for some time, at least, accusation meant +conviction. An almost unbelievably large number were executed. Says +Lecky:-- + +"In almost every province of Germany, but especially in those where +clerical influence predominated, the persecution raged with a fearful +intensity. Seven thousand witches are said to have been burned at +Trèves, six hundred by a single bishop in Bamberg, and nine hundred in a +single year in the bishopric of Würzburg.... At Toulouse, the seat of +the Inquisition, four hundred persons perished for sorcery at a single +execution, and fifty at Douay in a single year. Remy, a judge of Nancy, +boasted that he put to death eight hundred witches in sixteen years.... +In Italy, a thousand persons were executed in a single year in the +province of Como; and in other parts of the country the severity of the +inquisitors at last created an absolute rebellion.... In Geneva, which +was then ruled by a bishop, five hundred alleged witches were executed +in three months; forty-eight were burned at Constance or Ravensburg, and +eighty in the little town of Valery in Saxony. In 1670, seventy persons +were condemned in Sweden, and a large proportion of them burnt."[189] + +In England, from 1603 to 1680, it is estimated that seventy thousand +persons were put to death for sorcery.[190] Grey, the editor of +_Hudibras_, says that he had himself seen a list of three thousand who +were put to death during the Long Parliament. The celebrated +witch-finder, Mathew Hopkins, hung sixty in one year in the county of +Suffolk. In Scotland, for thirty-nine years, the number killed annually +averaged about two hundred. This, of course, does not take into account +the number who were hounded to death by persecution of a popular kind, +or whose lives were made so wearisome that death must have come as a +release. But the most remarkable, and the most horrible, of witchcraft +executions occurred in Würzburg in February 1629. No less than one +hundred and sixty-two witches were burned in a succession of +_autos-da-fé_. Among these, the reports disclose that there were +actually thirty-four children. The following details give the actual +ages of some of them:-- + + +----------+---------+---------------------------------+ + | Burning. | Number. | Children. | + +----------+---------+---------------------------------+ + | 7th | 7 | 1 Girl, aged 12. | + | 13th | 4 | 1 Girl of 10 and another. | + | 15th | 2 | 1 Boy of 12. | + | 18th | 6 | 2 Boys of 10, girl of 14. | + | 19th | 6 | 2 Boys, 10 and 12. | + | 20th | 6 | 2 Boys. | + | 23rd | 9 | 3 Boys, 9, 10, and 14. | + | 24th | 7 | 2 Boys, brought from hospital. | + | 26th | 8 | Little boy and girl. | + | 27th | 7 | 2 Boys, 8 and 9. | + | 28th | 6 | Blind girl and infant.[191] | + +----------+---------+---------------------------------+ + +The vast majority of those executed for sorcery were women. At all times +witches have been more numerous than wizards, owing to their assumed +closer connection with the world of supernatural beings. It was said, +"For one sorcerer, ten thousand sorceresses," and Christian writers were +ready to explain why. Woman had a greater affinity with the devil from +the outset. It was through woman that Satan had seduced Adam, and it +was only to be expected that he would employ the same instrument on +subsequent occasions. _The Witch Hammer_ has a special chapter devoted +to the consideration of why women are more given to sorcery than men, +and quotes freely from the Fathers to prove that this follows from her +nature. James I. in his _Demonologia_ follows Sprenger in accounting for +the number of witches. "The reason is easy. For as that sex is frailer +than man is, so it is easier to be entrapped in the gross snares of the +devil, as was over-well proved to be true by the serpent's deceiving of +Eve at the beginning, which makes him the homelier with the sex +sensine." To be old, or ugly, or unpopular, to have any peculiar +deformity or mark, was to invite persecution, and, in an overwhelming +majority of instances, conviction followed accusation. + +It is a significant comment upon the popular belief that Protestantism, +as a form of religious belief, was the product of an enlightened +rational life, that it was only with the advance of Protestantism that +the belief in witchcraft assumed an epidemic form. This may be partly +due to the greater direct dependence upon the Bible, in which satanic +influence--particularly in the New Testament--plays so large a part. In +the Roman Church, exorcism remained a regular part of the functions of +the priest; the Church was filled with accounts of satanic conflicts, +but diabolic intercourse seems to have been mainly limited to saintly +characters and priests. Protestantism which, theoretically, made every +man his own priest, raised the belief in satanic agency to an obsession. +And wherever Protestantism established itself there was an immediate +and marked increase in the number of cases of witchcraft. In England, if +we omit a doubtful law of the tenth century, there existed no regular +law against witchcraft until 1541. It remained a purely ecclesiastical +offence. Seventeen years later, the year of Elizabeth's accession, +Bishop Jewell, preaching before the Queen, drew attention to the +increase of sorcery. "It may please Your Grace," he said, "to understand +that witches and sorcerers, within these last few years, are +marvellously increased within Your Grace's realm. Your Grace's subjects +pine away even to the death, their colour fadeth, their flesh rotteth, +their senses are bereft. I pray God they never practise further than +upon the subject." And he added, "These eyes have seen most evident and +manifest marks of their wickedness." A measure was passed through +Parliament the same year, making enchantments and witchcraft felony. The +first year of James I. saw the passing of the 'Witch Act,' under which +subsequent executions took place, and which remained in force until +nearly the middle of the eighteenth century. + +With scarce an exception, the leaders of Protestantism encouraged the +belief in witches and urged their extermination as a religious and civil +duty. With Luther, in spite of the sturdy common sense he manifested in +some directions, belief in the activity of Satan amounted to an +obsession. He saw Satan everywhere in everything. The devil appeared to +him while writing, disturbed his rest by the rattling of pans, and +prevented his pursuing his studies by hammering on his skull. When a +storm arose, Luther declared, "'Tis the devil who has done this; the +winds are nothing else but good or bad spirits." Suicides, he said, were +often those strangled by the devil. Moreover, "The devil can so +completely assume the human form when he wants to deceive us, that we +may very well lie with what seems to be a woman of real flesh and blood, +and yet all the while 'tis only the devil in the shape of a woman." The +devil could also become the father of children. Luther says that he knew +of one such case, and added, "I would have that child thrown into the +Moldau at the risk of being held its murderer."[192] + +In America, Protestantism manifested the same influence. Of course, the +settlers took the superstition of witchcraft with them, but it underwent +no diminution in a new land. Increase Mather and his celebrated son, +Cotton Mather, were the principal agents in stirring up the belief to +frenzy point, and a commission was appointed to rout out witches and +suppress their practices. There was soon a plentiful supply of victims. +One woman was charged with "giving a look towards the great +meeting-house of Salem, and immediately a demon entered the house and +tore down part of it." It seems that a bit of the wooden wainscotting +had fallen down. In the case of Giles Corey, who refused to plead +guilty, torture was used. He was pressed to death, and when his tongue +protruded from his mouth the sheriff thrust it back with his +walking-stick. Many people were executed, and the ministers of Boston +and Charlestown drew up an address warmly thanking the commission for +its zeal, and expressing the hope that it would never be relaxed. + +Certainly the commission did what it could to earn the thanks given. A +shipmaster making for Maryland with emigrants encountered unusually +rough weather. An old woman, one Mary Lee, was accused of raising the +storm, and drowned as a witch. A woman walked a long distance over muddy +roads without soiling her dress. "I scorn to be drabbled," she said, and +was hanged as a reward. George Burroughs could lift a barrel by +inserting his finger in the bunghole. He was hanged for a wizard. +Bridget Bishop was charged with appearing before John Louder at midnight +and grievously oppressing him. Louder's evidence against the woman also +included the fact that he saw a black pig approach his door, and when he +went to kick it the pig vanished. He was also tempted by a black thing +with the body of a monkey, the feet of a cock, and the face of a man. On +going out of his back door he saw the said Bridget Bishop going towards +her house. The evidence was deemed quite conclusive. Another witness +said that being in bed on the Lord's Day, he saw a woman, Susanna +Martin, come in at the window and jump down on the floor. She took hold +of the witness's foot, and drawing his body into a heap, lay upon him +for nearly two hours, so that he could neither move nor hear. In most of +these cases torture was applied, and confessions were obtained. These +confessions often implicated others, but when the witches took to +accusing those in high places, and even ministers of religion, the need +for discrimination was realised. Once a critical judgment was aroused, +the mania began to subside--Cotton Mather fighting manfully for the +belief to the end. + +The impetus given by Protestantism to witch-hunting in Scotland was most +marked. Scotch witchcraft, says Lecky, was the offspring of Scotch +Puritanism, and faithfully reflected the character of its parent. The +clergy nowhere possessed greater power, and nowhere used it more +assiduously to fan the flame against witchcraft. Buckle says:-- + +"Of all the means of intimidation employed by the Scotch clergy, none +was more efficacious than the doctrines they propounded respecting evil +spirits and future punishments. On these subjects they constantly +uttered the most appalling threats. The language which they used was +calculated to madden men with fear, and to drive them to the depths of +despair.... It was generally believed that the world was overrun by evil +spirits, who not only went up and down the earth, but also lived in the +air, and whose business it was to tempt mankind. Their number was +infinite, and they were to be found in all places, and in all seasons. +At their head was Satan himself, whose delight it was to appear in +person, ensnaring or terrifying everyone he met. With this object he +assumed various forms. One day he would visit the earth as a black dog; +another day, as a raven; on another, he would be heard in the distance +roaring like a bull. He appeared sometimes as a white man in black +clothes, and sometimes he appeared as a black man in black clothes, when +it was remarked that his voice was ghostly, and that one of his feet was +cloven. His stratagems were endless. For, in the opinion of divines, his +cunning increased with his age, and, having been studying for more than +5000 years, he had now attained to unexampled dexterity."[193] + +Witchcraft was declared by the Scotch Parliament in 1563 to be +punishable by death. And, naturally, the more zealous and active the +search for witches, the more numerous they became. In the search the +clergy and the kirk-sessions led the way. In 1587 the General Assembly, +having before them a case of witchcraft in which the evidence was +insufficient, deputed James Melville to travel on the coast side and +collect evidence in favour of the prosecution. It also ordered that the +presbyteries should proceed in all severity against such magistrates as +liberated convicted witches. As in England so here, a body of men came +into existence whose business it was to travel the country and detect +witches. Anonymous accusations were invited, the clergy "placing an +empty box in church, to receive a billet with the sorcerer's name, and +the date and description of his deeds."[194] In 1603 "at the College of +Auld Abirdene" every minister was ordered to make "subtill and privie +inquisition," concerning the number of witches in his parish, and report +the same forthwith. Nothing that could whet the appetite for the hunt +was neglected. William Johnston, baron, bailie "of the regalitie and +barronie of Broughton," was awarded the goods of all who should be +"lawfullie convict be assyses of notorious and common witches, haunting +and resorting devilles and witches."[195] The lives of thousands of +people were rendered unbearable, and the complaint of one, Margaret +Miall, that "she desyres not to live, because nobody will converse with +her, seeing she is under the reputation of a witch," must have +represented the feelings of many. + +It was not only for working ill that people were accused of witchcraft +and executed; ill or well made little difference. In Edinburgh in 1623 +it was charged against Thomas Grieve that he had relieved many +sicknesses and grievous diseases by sorcery and witchcraft. "He took +sickness off a woman in Fife, and put it upon a cow, which thereafter +ran mad and died." He also cured a child of a disease "by straiking back +the hair of his head, and wrapping him in an anointed cloth, and by that +means putting him asleep," and thus through his devilry and witchcraft, +cured the child. Other charges of a similar kind were brought against +Grieve, who was found guilty and hanged on the Castle Hill.[196] At the +same place, a year previous, Margaret Wallace was also sentenced to be +hanged and burned, on the same kind of charge, and for "practising +devilry, incantation, and witchcraft, especially forbidden by the laws +of Almighty God, and the municipal laws of this realm." + +The following bill of costs for burning two women, Jane Wischert and +Isabel Cocker, in Aberdeen, has a certain melancholy interest:-- + + £ _s._ _d._ + + Item for 20 loads of Peatts to burn them 2 0 0 + " for ane boll of colles 1 4 0 + " for four tar barrells 0 6 8 + " for fir and win barrells 0 16 8 + " for a staick and the dressing of it 0 16 0 + " for four fathoms of towis 4 0 0 + " to Jon Justice for their execution 0 13 4 + +In England, no less than in Scotland, America, and on the Continent, +much learned testimony might be cited in defence of witchcraft. The +great Sir Thomas Browne said in the most famous of his writings: "For my +part I have ever believed, and do now know, that there are witches. They +that doubt of these do not only deny them, but spirits; and are +obliquely and upon consequence, a sort, not of infidels, but +atheists."[197] Henry More, the great Platonist, asserted that they who +deny the agency of witches are "puffed up with nothing but ignorance, +vanity, and stupid infidelity." Ralph Cudworth, one of the greatest +scholars of the latter part of the seventeenth century, said that they +who denied the possibility of satanic intercourse "can hardly escape the +suspicion of some hankering towards atheism."[198] Writing nearly a +century later, when the English law merely prosecuted as rogues and +vagabonds those who pretended to witchcraft, Blackstone thought it +necessary to point out that this alteration did not deny the possibility +of the offence, and added:-- + +"To deny this would be to contradict the revealed word of God in various +passages both of the Old and New Testaments; and the thing itself is a +truth in which every nation in the world hath in its turn borne +testimony; either by examples seemingly well attested, or by prohibitory +laws which at least suppose the possibility of a commerce with evil +spirits."[199] + +About the same time Wesley gave the world his famous declaration on the +subject:-- + +"It is true likewise that the English in general, and indeed most of the +men of learning in Europe, have given up all accounts of witches and +apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for it, and I +willingly take this opportunity of entering my solemn protest against +this violent compliment which so many who believe the Bible pay to those +who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. I take knowledge +that these are at the bottom of the outcry which has been raised and +with such insolence spread through the land in direct opposition, not +only to the Bible, but to the suffrage of the wisest and best of men in +all ages and nations. They well know (whether Christians know it or not) +that the giving up of witchcraft is in effect giving up the Bible."[200] + +The evidence upon which the convictions for witchcraft rested were +almost incredibly stupid, as the punishments were almost unbelievably +brutal. If the crops failed, or the milk turned sour; if the head of a +local magnate ached, or a minister of the gospel fell sick; if a woman +was childless, or a child taken with a fit; if a cow sickened, or sheep +died suddenly, some poor woman was pretty certain to be seized, and +tortured until she confessed her alleged crime. A mole or wart on any +part of the body was a sure sign of commerce with the devil. It was +believed that on the body of every witch was a spot insensible to pain. +To discover this she was stripped, pins were run into the body, and when +excess of pain had produced numbness, some such spot was pretty certain +to be found. Men regularly took up with this work in both England and +Scotland, and their fame as 'prickers' depended upon the number of +witches they unearthed. If a suspected witch kept a black cat, did not +shed tears, or could not repeat the Lord's Prayer correctly, these were +pretty sure signs of guilt. A more serious test was the ordeal by water. +This was a favourite and general test, and was highly recommended by +that learned fool, James the First. In this the right hand was tied to +the left foot, the left hand to the right foot. She was then thrown +into a pond. If she floated she was a witch, and was either hanged or +burned. If she sank, she was innocent--and was drowned. Another test was +to tie a woman's legs across, and she was so seated on them that they +bore the entire weight of her body. In this position she was kept for +hours, and on the first sign of pain condemned as a witch. + +If none of these tests were adopted, torture was used. There was the +boot--a frame of iron or wood in which the leg was placed and wedges +driven in until the limb was smashed. A variation of this was to place +the leg in an iron boot and slowly heat it over a fire. There was the +thumbscrew, an instrument which smashed the thumb to pulp by the turning +of a screw. More barbarous still was the bridle. This was an iron hoop +passing over the head, with four prongs, two pointing to the tongue and +palate, and one to either cheek. The suspected witch was then chained to +the wall, and watchers appointed to prevent her sleeping. The slightest +movement caused the greatest torture, and in the vast majority of cases +a confession was secured. In obstinate cases pressing between heavy +stones was adopted. + +One of the most famous of these witch-finders was the celebrated Mathew +Hopkins before referred to. He was appointed to the work by Parliament +during the time of the Commonwealth, and styled himself 'witch-finder +general.' Hopkins travelled round the country, much like an assize +judge, putting up at the principal inns, and at the expense of the local +authorities. His charge was twenty shillings a visit, whether he found +witches or not. If he discovered any, there was a further charge of +twenty shillings for every witch brought to execution. His favourite +method of detection was that of floating. But another of Hopkins's tests +was the following: The suspected witch was placed cross-legged on a +stool in the centre of the room. She was closely watched and kept +without food for four-and-twenty hours. Doors and windows remained open +to watch for the entrance of some of the devil's imps. These might come +in the form of a fly, a wasp, a moth, or some other insect. The work of +the watchers was to kill every insect that came into the room. But if +one escaped, it was clear proof that this was one of the witch's +familiars. + +Wherever Hopkins travelled numerous convictions followed. These were so +numerous that suspicion was aroused, not of the genuineness of the +convictions, but of Hopkins's knowledge concerning the locality of the +witches. In defence he published in 1647 a tract entitled "The Discovery +of Witches; in answer to several Queries lately delivered to the Judge +of Assize for the County of Norfolk; and now published by Mathew +Hopkins, Witchfinder, for the benefit of the whole Kingdom." The charge +against Hopkins was that he had been supplied by the devil with a +memorandum of all the witches, and so was able to find them where others +failed. Absurd as the charge was, it found credence, and although his +end is wrapped in obscurity, it is said that he was finally seized +himself on a charge of sorcery, tried by his own favourite water +test--and floated. One cannot but hope that tradition is in this case +trustworthy. + +It is difficult, nowadays, to realise the gravity with which these +trials were undertaken. An outline of a very famous witch trial, before +an eminent judge in the latter part of the seventeenth century, will +best serve as an illustration. Before me there lies a little tract of +some sixty pages, printed "for William Shrewsbury at the Bible in Duck +Lane," and bearing on the title page the following description:-- + +"At the Assizes and general gaol delivery, held at Bury St. Edmunds for +the County of Suffolk, the Tenth day of March, in the Sixteenth Year of +the Reign of our Sovereign, Lord King Charles II., before Mathew Hale, +Knight, Lord Chief Baron of His Majesties Court of Exchequer; Rose +Callender and Amy Duny, Widows, both of Leystoff, in the county +aforesaid, were severally indicted for bewitching Elizabeth and Anne +Durent, Jane Bocking, Susan Chandler, William Durent, Elizabeth and +Deborah Pacy and the said Callender and Duny, being arrainged upon the +same indictments, pleaded not guilty; and afterwards upon a long +evidence, were found guilty, and thereupon had judgment to dye for the +same." + +Both the women charged were old. The charges were as follows: The mother +of the infant, William Durent, sworn and examined in open court, deposed +that about the 10th of March, having special occasion to go from home, +left her child in the care of Amy Duny, giving her special occasion not +to give her child the breast. Nevertheless, Amy Duny did acquaint her +mother on her return that she had given the child the breast, and on +being reprimanded "used many high expressions and threatening speeches +towards her; telling her that she had as good have done otherwise than +to have found fault with her ... and that very night her son fell into +strange fits of swounding ... and so continued for several weeks." Much +troubled, the mother consulted a Dr. Jacob, of Yarmouth, who advised +her to hang up the child's blanket, at night to wrap the child in it, +and if she found anything therein to throw it in the fire. A very large +toad was found, which on being put in the fire "made a great and +horrible noise, and after a space there was a flashing in the fire like +gunpowder ... and thereupon the toad was no more seen or heard." More +wonderful still, "the next day there came a young woman and told this +deponnent that her aunt (meaning the said Amy) was in a most lamentable +condition, having her face all scorched with fire." And on the mother +enquiring of Amy Duny how this had happened, Amy replied, "she might +thank her for it, for that she was the cause thereof, but that she +should live to see some of her children dead, or else upon crutches." It +was further alleged "that not long after this deponnent was taken with +lameness in both her legges, from the knees downwards, and that she was +fain to go upon crutches ... and so continued till the time of the +Assizes, that the witch came to be tried." + +Concerning the bewitching of Elizabeth and Deborah Pacy, aged eleven and +nine, their father declared that Deborah was suddenly taken with +lameness. One day while the girl was resting outside the house, "Amy +Duny came to the deponnent's house to buy some herrings; but, being +denied, she went away discontented.... But at the very same instant of +time, the said child was taken with most violent fits, feeling extreme +pain in her stomach, like the pricking of pins, and shrieking out in a +dreadful manner like unto a whelp." As the result of this and other +ailments from which the child suffered, the father accused Amy Duny of +being a witch, and she was placed in the stocks. Being placed in the +stocks, further threats were uttered, and both children were afflicted +with fits. Upon recovery they "would cough extremely, and bring up much +phlegm and crooked pins, and one time a twopenny nail with a very broad +head; which pins (amounting to forty or more), together with the +twopenny nail, were produced in court, with the affirmation of the said +deponnent that he was present when the said nail was vomited up, and +also most of the pins.... In this manner the said children continued for +the space of two months, during which time, in their intervals, this +deponnent would cause them to read some chapters from the New Testament. +Whereupon he observed that they would read till they came to the name of +Lord or Jesus or Christ, and then, before they could pronounce either of +the said words, they would suddenly fall into their fits. But when they +came to the name of Satan or Devil, they would clap their fingers upon +the book, crying out, 'This bites, but makes me speak right well!'" + +Much more evidence of a similar kind was offered during the course of +the trial, with details of a too indelicate character for reproduction +concerning the search made on the women's bodies for devil's marks. +During the whole of the trial there were present in court a number of +distinguished people, amongst them Sir Thomas Browne. The latter, being +"desired to give his opinion, what he did conceive of him; was clearly +of opinion that the persons were bewitched, and said that in Denmark +there had lately been a great discovery of witches, who used the very +same way of afflicting persons, by conveying pins into them, and crooked +as these pins were, with needles and nails. And his opinion was that +the devil in such cases did work upon the bodies of men and women as on +a natural foundation, to stir up and excite such humours superabounding +in their bodies to a great excess, whereby he did in an extraordinary +manner afflict them with such distempers as their bodies were most +subject to, as particularly appeared in these children." + +Sir Mathew Hale, one of the greatest lawyers of his day, in directing +the jury, told them "he would not repeat the evidence unto them, lest by +so doing he should wrong the evidence one way or the other. Only this +acquainted them. First, whether or no these children were bewitched? +Secondly, whether the prisoners at the bar were guilty of it? That there +were such creatures he made no doubt at all. For, first, the Scriptures +had affirmed as much. Secondly, the wisdom of all nations had provided +laws against such persons, which is an argument of their confidence of +such a crime. And such had been the judgment of this kingdom, as appears +by that Act of Parliament which had provided punishments proportionable +to the quality of the offence. And desired them strictly to observe +their evidence, and desired the great God of Heaven to direct their +hearts in this weighty thing they had in hand; for to condemn the +innocent and let the guilty go free were both an abomination before the +Lord." The jury took no more than half an hour to consider their +verdict, and brought in both women guilty upon all counts. The judge +expressed his complete satisfaction with the verdict, and sentenced them +to be hanged--a sentence duly carried out a fortnight later. + +This is the last notable trial in English history. A witch was burned +later than the date of this trial, and the last one actually condemned +was in 1712. But in this case, on the representation of the judge who +tried the issue, the verdict was formally set aside. By that time people +were beginning to realise the wisdom of Montaigne's counsel, written at +the commencement of the witch epidemic:-- + +"How much more natural and more likely do I find it that two men should +lie than one in twelve hours should pass with the winds from east to +west? How much more natural that our understanding may, by the +volubility of our loose, capering mind, be transported from its place +than one of us should, flesh and bones as we are, by a strange spirit be +carried upon a broom through a tunnel or a chimney." + +In England the Witch Act of 1604 was not formally repealed until 1736. +In Scotland the last witch legally executed was in 1722. Captain Ross, +Sheriff of Sutherland, has the doubtful honour of having condemned her +to the stake. But fifty years later than this--1773--the Associated +Presbytery passed a resolution deploring the fact that witchcraft was +falling into disrepute. In Germany the last witch was executed in 1749, +by decapitation. The last trial for witchcraft in Massachusetts was as +late as 1793. These dates refer, of course, to legal proceedings. +Examples of the existence of this belief are continually being recorded +in newspapers, although they now only rank as solitary reminiscences of +one of the most degrading and brutalising beliefs that European history +records. + +I have not aimed at giving a history of the witch mania--indeed, a +scientific history of witchcraft, one that will make plain the nature of +the various factors involved, has yet to be written. I have only dwelt +upon it for the purpose of enforcing the lesson of how materially such +an epidemic must have contributed to give permanence to religious belief +in general. It is certain that such an epidemic could not occur save in +a society saturated with supernaturalism. It is equally certain that +once such an epidemic occurs it must in turn strengthen the tendency +towards supernaturalistic beliefs. Thanks to the long reign of the +religious idea, and to the overwhelming influence of the Church, the +people of Europe were prepared for such an outbreak. And it should be +clear that the prevalence of such beliefs, even though they may be +afterwards discarded, favours the perpetuation of religious belief as a +whole. The particular form of a belief that is prevalent for a time may +disappear, but the temper of mind induced by its reign remains. And +absurd as the belief in witches capering through the air on broomsticks, +changing themselves into black cats, raising storms, and causing +sickness--absurd though all this may be, it yet serves to keep alive the +temper of mind on which supernaturalism lives. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[187] Cited by Bloch, _Sexual Life of our Time_, p. 120. Michelet has +also dealt with this matter in his vivid and picturesque work, _The +Sorceress_. + +[188] A lengthy account of this work is given by Ennemoser in his +_History of Magic_, vol. ii. + +[189] _Rise and Influence of Rationalism_, i. pp. 3-6. + +[190] H. Williams, _The Superstitions of Witchcraft_, p. 214. + +[191] T. Wright, _Narratives of Sorcery and Magic_. + +[192] Michelet, _Life of Luther_, chap. vi. + +[193] _History of Civilisation_, chap. xix. + +[194] Dalyell, _Darker Superstitions of Scotland_, p. 623. + +[195] Dalyell, p. 628. + +[196] Pitcairn's _Criminal Trials_, vol. iii. + +[197] _Religio Medici_, pt. i. sec. 30. + +[198] _True Intellectual System_, ii. p. 650. + +[199] _Commentaries_, Stephen's Edition, i. p. 238. + +[200] _Journal_, 1768. + + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN + +SUMMARY & CONCLUSION + + +The study of religion falls naturally and easily into two parts. The +first is a question of origin. Under what conditions did the hypothesis +that supernatural beings control the life of man come into existence? We +know that in civilised times religious beliefs are in the nature of an +inheritance. A member of any civilised society finds them here when he +is born, he grows up with them, generally accepting them without +question, or effecting certain modifications in the form in which he +continues to hold them. If we treat religion as a hypothesis, advanced +as other hypotheses are advanced, to account for a certain class of +facts, then we can safely say that religion is one of the earliest in +the history of human thought. And its antiquity and universality +preclude us from seeking an explanation of its origin in the mental life +of civilised humanity. Whether the religious hypothesis can or cannot be +justified by an appeal to civilised intelligence, it is plain it did not +begin there. Its beginnings are earlier than any existing civilisation; +and in its most general form may be said to be as old as mankind itself. +Consequently, if any satisfactory explanation of the origin of the +religious idea is to be found, it must be sought amid the very earliest +conditions of human society. + +Now whatever the differences of opinion concerning matters of detail, +there is substantial agreement amongst European anthropologists upon one +important point. They all agree that the conception of supernatural, or +'spiritual,' beings owes its beginning to the ignorance of primitive man +concerning both his own nature and the nature of the world around him. +The beginnings of human experience suggest questions that can only be +satisfactorily answered by the accumulated experience of many +generations. These questions do not materially differ from those that +face men to-day. The why and wherefore of things are always with us; +life propounds the same problem to all; it is the replies alone that +vary, and the nature of these replies is determined by the knowledge at +our disposal. The difference is not in nature but in man. The answers +given by primitive man to these eternal questions are a complete +inversion of those of his better informed descendants. The conception of +natural force, of mechanical necessity, is as yet unborn, and the +primitive thinker everywhere assumes the operation of personal beings as +responsible for all that occurs. This is not so much the product of +careful and elaborate philosophising, it is closer akin to the _naive_ +thinking of a child concerning a thunderstorm. Primitive thought accepts +the universal operation of living and intelligent forces as an +unquestionable fact. Modern thought tends more and more surely in the +direction of regarding the universe as a complex of self-adjusting, +non-conscious forces. Primitive thought assumes a supernatural agency as +the cause of disease, and seeks, logically, to placate it by prayer or +coerce it by magic. Modern thought turns to test-tube and microscope, +searches for the malignant germ, and manufactures an antitoxin. The +history of human thought is, as Huxley said, a record of the +substitution of mechanical for vitalistic processes. The beginning of +religion is found in connection with the latter. A genuine science +commences with the emergence of the former. + +With this aspect of the matter I have not, however, been specially +concerned. It has been left on one side in order to concentrate +attention upon another and a more neglected aspect of the subject--that +of the conditions that have served to perpetuate the religious idea. +Grant, what cannot be well denied in the face of modern investigation, +that ideas of the supernatural began in primitive delusion. How comes it +that this idea has not by now disappeared from civilised society? What +are the causes that have given it such a lengthy lease of life? +Experience has shown that all really verifiable knowledge counts as an +asset of naturalism, and is so far opposed to supernaturalism. Moreover, +the history of science has been such that one feels justified in the +assumption that, given time and industry, there are no phenomena that +are not susceptible to a naturalistic explanation. Why, then, has not +supernaturalism died out? Even the religious idea cannot persist without +evidence of some kind being offered in its behalf. This evidence may be +to a better instructed mind inconclusive or irrelevant, but evidence of +some sort there must have been all along, and must still be. Granted +that the religious idea began with primitive mankind, granted also that +it was based on a mistaken interpretation of natural phenomena, these +reasons are quite insufficient to explain why thousands of generations +later that idea is still with us. "Our fathers have told us" offers to +the average mind a strong appeal, but surely the children will require +some further proof than this. What kind of evidence is it that +throughout the ages religious people have accepted as conclusive? A +study of primitive psychology shows clearly enough how the religious +idea vitalised the facts. What we next have to discern is the class of +facts that have kept the religious idea alive. + +The foregoing pages constitute an attempt to answer this question. The +need for some such investigation was clearly shown by the publication of +the late Professor William James's _Varieties of Religious Experience_ +and its reception by the religious press of the country as an +epoch-marking work. As a mere collection of documents, the work is +interesting enough. But its critical value is extremely small. How +religious visionaries have felt, or what has been their experiences, can +only furnish the mere data of an enquiry, and _their explanation of the +cause of their experiences is a part of the data_. This, apparently, +Professor James overlooked; and it will be noted by critical readers of +his book that it proceeds on the assumption that the statements of +religious visionaries are to be taken, not only as true concerning their +subjective experiences at a given time, but also as approximately true +as to the causes of their mental states. This, of course, by no means +follows. A scientific enquiry cannot separate mental conditions from the +subject's interpretation of their causation. Whether this interpretation +is genuine or not must be decided finally by an appeal to what is known +of the laws of mental life, under both normal and abnormal conditions. +If these are adequate to explain the "Varieties of Religious +Experience," there is no need whatever to assume the operation of a +supernatural agency. Nor does calling this agency 'transcendent' or +'supermundane' make any substantial difference. For, in this connection, +these are only names that serve to disguise a visitant of a highly +undesirable character. + +The evidence on behalf of a naturalistic explanation of religious +phenomena has been purposely stated in a suggestive rather than in an +exhaustive manner. The main lines of evidence are threefold. First, +there is the indisputable fact that in the lower stages of culture all +mental and bodily diseases are universally attributed to spiritual +agency. This explanation holds the field; it is the only one possible at +the time, and it is not replaced until a comparatively late stage of +human history. But of special importance is the fact that a belief does +not die out suddenly. It is only destroyed very slowly, and even after +the facts upon which the belief was originally based have been otherwise +interpreted, the attitude of mind engendered by the long reign of a +belief remains. It has by that time become part of the intellectual +environment. Theories of a quasi-philosophic or quasi-scientific +character are elaborated, and give to the original belief something of a +rational air. Even to-day the extent to which superstitious practices +still gather round the subject of disease is known only to the curious +in such matters. Not that the original reason is given for the practice. +In nearly every case a different one is invented. To take only a single +example. We still find saffron tea largely used in cases of measles. All +medical men are aware that it possesses not the slightest curative +value. Students of folklore are aware that it has its origin in the +theory of sympathetic cures. Its redeeming feature is that it is +harmless; so we find it still in common use, and the recovery of a child +from measles is often enough attributed to the potency of the +concoction. So with the relation of disease to the persistence of the +belief in the supernatural. The conclusion that disease--whether bodily +or mental--is due to the agency of spirits is one that follows from the +existence of the religious idea; but in turn the observed facts react +and strengthen the religious belief. Every case of disease becomes to +the primitive mind an unanswerable proof in favour of the original +hypothesis. The disease is there, and the only explanation possible is +in terms of the animistic idea. And all the time the religious idea is +becoming more deeply embedded in the social consciousness, more firmly +established as a social fact. + +The next line of evidence is that furnished by what I have called the +culture of the supernatural. By some means or other--probably by +accident in the first instance--it is discovered that certain herbs and +vegetable drugs have a peculiar effect on one's mental state. Those who +use them see or hear things other people do not normally hear or see. +Abstention from food and other bodily privations produce similar +results. What is the inevitable conclusion? The only one possible under +the existing conditions is that communication has been set up with an +invisible world from which one is shut off under normal conditions. From +this to the next step is obvious and easy. If a drug, or a fast, brings +one into communication with the supernatural world, one has only to +repeat the conditions in order to repeat the experience. And repeated +they are in all religions, with, at most, those modifications induced by +changed times and circumstances. This is why fasting and other forms of +'fleshly mortification' play so large a part in the history of religion. +The savage medicine man, the Hindu fakir, the medieval saint, all create +their ecstasies by the simple plan of disturbing the normal operations +of the nervous system. It is not, of course, implied that this is done +with a full consciousness of all that is involved in the practice. The +derangement is to them the condition of the supernatural manifestation, +not the physiological and psychological cause of the experience. + +The third main line of evidence is connected with the phenomena of +sexuality. It has been shown that in early stages of culture man +everywhere connects the phenomena of the sexual life with the activity +of supernatural forces. Following the lines of investigation indicated +by Mr. Sidney Hartland, we saw reason to believe that the primitive +conception of procreation is not that afterwards prevalent, but that of +assuming the birth of a child to be due to the direct action of +spiritual beings on the mother. Proofs of this are found in existing +beliefs among primitive peoples, in the magical practices so widely +current to obtain children, and in numerous other customs connected with +childbirth. The phenomenon of puberty in the male and of menstruation in +the female gives a terrifying reality to this belief. But still more +important is the fact that a great deal of assumed religious feeling is +found on analysis to be little more than masked sexuality. The +connection between eroticism and piety has been noted over and over +again by medical observers in the cases that have been brought +professionally under their notice. And it is hardly less marked in a +large number of instances that are usually classed as normal. Thus great +religious teachers have often emphasised the value of a celibate life as +a means of furthering religious devotion, and nearly all have treated it +with marked respect. The reason given for this is that marriage involves +a greater absorption in material or worldly cares, while celibacy +leaves one free to full devotion to the spiritual. But the bottom reason +for it is that sexual and domestic feelings, lacking their proper outlet +in marriage and family life, run with greater force in the outlet +provided by religion. So it happens that we find unmarried men and +women, devoted to the religious life, expressing themselves towards +Jesus or the Virgin in language which, separated from its religious +associations, leaves no doubt as to its origin in unsatisfied sexual +feeling. In these cases we are dealing with a perversion of one of the +deepest of human instincts. And it is one of the commonest of +observations in psychology that when a feeling is denied outlet through +its proper channel it finds vent in some other direction, and is to that +extent masked or disguised. + +Allied to the fact of perversion is that of misinterpretation. In the +chapter on _Conversion_ we have seen how largely this occurs at the +period of adolescence. The significant features of adolescence are a +development of the sexual nature and an awakening of a consciousness of +race kinship. Connected with these, and flowing from them, is a more or +less rapid development of what are called the altruistic feelings, the +individual becoming less self-centred and more concerned for the +well-being of others. From an evolutionary point it is easy to read the +fundamental meaning of these transformations, although in the course of +social development they have become overlaid with a number of secondary +characteristics. Still, in a completely rationalised social life, with +adequate knowledge concerning the nature of adolescence, every care +would be taken to direct these developing energies into purely social +channels. Adolescence is the great formative period; it is then that +imitation and suggestion play their most important parts, and it is then +that the foundations may be laid of a really good and useful +citizenship. If we fail then, we fail completely. + +In a society where supernaturalism still exerts considerable power +another, and a more disastrous, policy is pursued. Every endeavour is +made by religious organisations to exploit adolescence in their own +interest. Thousands of priests, often, no doubt, with the best of +motives, are engaged in impressing upon the youthful mind an entirely +erroneous notion of the character and the direction of the feelings +experienced. The sense of restlessness, consequent upon a period of +great physiological disturbance, is utilised to create an unhealthy +'conviction of sin,' or the need of 'getting right with God.' Social +duties and obligations are made incidental rather than fundamental. +Activities that should be consciously directed to a social end are +diverted into religious channels, and one consequence of this, as we +have seen, is a large crop of nervous disorders that might be avoided +were a healthier outlet provided. In this the modern priest is acting +precisely as his savage forerunner acted. As the savage medicine man +associates sexual phenomena with the activity of the tribal ghosts, so +the modern priest often associates the psychological conditions that +accompany adolescence with a supernatural influence. The distinction +between the two is a purely verbal one. In neither case is there a +recognition of the nature of the processes actually at work; in both +cases the phenomena are used to emphasise the reality and activity of +the supernatural. In both cases the social feelings are disguised by +the religious interpretation given, with the result that instead of +adolescence being, as it should be, the period of a conscious entry into +the larger social life, it only too often marks the beginning of a +lifelong servitude to retrogressive forces. + +These are the main lines along which, I conceive, the study of the +pathologic elements that enter into the history of religion must be +studied. And so long as we restrict our study to the lower culture +stages the evidence is clear and unmistakable. It is when we reach the +higher stages of civilisation that the problem becomes more difficult. +For although it is possible to detect the same factors at work they are +expressed in a different way, and affiliated to current philosophic and +even scientific ideas. Thus, it would be readily admitted by most people +nowadays that visions seen by a fasting man, or by a taker of drugs, or +by one suffering from some nervous disorder, were wholly inadmissible as +evidence. So far we have advanced beyond the point of view of primitive +races. But the testimony of one who by constantly dwelling upon a single +idea, and by excluding rational and corrective influences, has brought +about a quite abnormal state of mind, is still counted of value by +theologians. Much of the current cant concerning 'mysticism' may be +cited in illustration of this. Exactly what mysticism is no one appears +to know. Definitions are numerous and varied. So far as most mystics are +concerned the definition of Harnack--"Mysticism is rationalism applied +to a sphere beyond reason"--appears to hit the mark, although how reason +can be used in a sphere to which it does not apply is precisely one of +those unintelligible statements that so delights those with yearnings +after the ineffable. The normal mind will probably find more +satisfaction in John Stuart Mill's description of mysticism as being +"neither more nor less than ascribing objective existence to the +subjective creations of the mind, and believing that by watching and +contemplating these ideas of its own making, it can read what takes +place in the world without." + +But the general claim of 'mystics,' and, indeed, of supernaturalists +generally, is that they are, in virtue of the exercise of certain +qualities or 'faculties,' either inoperative at certain times, or absent +in the case of normal folk, able to perceive a truth not perceptible to +people less fortunately endowed. And these claims, I have no hesitation +in saying, are wholly false. There are all degrees of development of +human faculty, but it is substantially the same with all. There is no +royal road to truth in this direction more than in others. Truth is +reached in the same way by all, and although an induction may in the +case of certain well-dowered individuals be so rapid as to rank as an +'intuition,' a careful analysis destroys the illusion. + +When we clear away from the claims of the 'mystic' all the superfluities +of language that are there, and so reduce these claims to their lowest +and plainest terms, we find ourselves face to face with the claim of the +supernaturalist as it has existed from savage times onward. The method +remains true to itself. In the first instance, we have the claim to +illumination based upon direct interference with the normal workings of +the mind. In the next stage, we find this interference still marked, but +less direct. Finally, we have the unhealthy operation of fixed ideas, +and the exclusion of all conditions that would prevent the operation of +hallucination or illusion. But the method remains the same throughout, +and it is equally sterile throughout. In all history these mystical +states of illumination have discovered no verifiable truth; they have +never at any time advanced human knowledge in the smallest degree. And +the reason for this is plain: The brain of the mystic, like that of the +non-mystic, can only work on the basis of its acquired knowledge or +experience. It can create nothing new; it can declare no truth that is +not in the nature of an induction from existing knowledge. All that the +religious mystic can accomplish after brooding upon inherited religious +beliefs is to create new combinations, or effect certain modifications +or developments of them, and by continued contemplation endow his +subjective creations with an objective existence. That is why the +Christian mystic remains a Christian. The Mohammedan mystic remains a +Mohammedan. The 'supersensible reality' is always of the kind consonant +with their inherited beliefs and their social environment. That is also +why mysticism has its fashions like all other forms of religious +extravagance. And as he is "applying rationalism to a sphere above +reason," the mystic may give full vent to his imaginative powers. That +which is above reason may defy reasonable disproof. To some, however, it +has the disadvantage of not admitting of reasonable verification. There +is nothing here but the primitive delusion operating under changed +conditions. + +In addition, to the lines of investigation followed in the foregoing +pages, a great deal might be said as to how far the religious idea has +been perpetuated by an exploitation of purely social qualities. It must +be obvious to even the cursory student that a great deal of what is now +being put forward as religious is really no more than a sociology with a +religious label. The feeling for truth, beauty, justice, the desire for +social intercourse, are all treated as expressions of religious +conviction. All sorts of social reforms are urged in the name of +religion, and the degree of success achieved dwelt upon as fruits of the +religious spirit. But in no legitimate sense of the word can these +things be called religious. They may or may not be consonant with the +existing religion, but in themselves they are very clearly the outcome +of man's social nature, and would exist even though religion disappeared +entirely. The appeals made to man's moral sense, to his sense of +justice, to his sympathies, are thus fundamentally appeals made to his +social nature, and so far as the religious appeal is placed upon this +basis it becomes an exploitation of the social consciousness. +Unfortunately, the long association of religious forms with social life +and institutions, due ultimately to the immense power of supernaturalism +in early society, this, combined with early education, makes it a matter +of no small difficulty for the average man or woman to separate the two +things. + +Finally, let us imagine for a moment that the course of human history +had been different to what it actually has been. Suppose that by some +miracle humanity had started its career in full possession of that +knowledge of nature which has been so laboriously accumulated. In that +case, would the belief in the supernatural have ever existed? Would the +thousand and one 'spiritual beings' of primitive society have ever had +being? And if not called into being then, from what other source could +they have been derived? Is there anything in later scientific knowledge +that would ever have suggested the supernatural? We know there is not; +we know that the whole of modern science is an emphatic protest against +its existence. Unfortunately the scientist does not come first, but +last; and by the time he appears, the supernatural has made good its +foothold; it has permeated human institutions, and has bitten so deeply +into habits of thought as to make its eradication the most difficult of +all tasks. + +Let us carry our imagining yet a step further. Imagine that even after +primitive ignorance had created the supernatural, it had come to an +abrupt stop when man had emerged from the purely savage stage. Suppose a +generation born, not without knowledge of what their progenitors +believed, but with a sufficient knowledge of their own to correct their +ancestor's errors. Suppose that generation in a position to recognise +disease, insanity, delusion, hysteria, hallucination for what they are. +Assume them to be under no delusion concerning the nature of man, +physically or mentally. Would the religious idea have persisted in the +way that it has done? Granted religion would still have continued to +exist as an ultimate philosophy of nature that appealed to some minds, +as other systems of philosophy number their disciples, would it have +been the dominating power it has been? What under such conditions would +have become of that evidence for the supernatural, accepted generation +after generation, but which is now rejected by all educated minds? Where +would have been that long array of seers, prophets, illuminants, whose +credentials have been found in states of mind that are now seen to have +been pathological in character? For remember it was not always--very +seldom, in fact--the justice, or the reasonableness of the teachings set +forth, that won support, but generally the 'signs and wonders' that were +pointed to as evidence of the divine commission of the teachers. Assume, +then, that these 'signs and wonders' had been wanting, and that for +thousands of years people had looked at natural phenomena from the point +of view of the educated mind of to-day, what would have been the present +position of the religious idea? Would it not have been like a tree +divorced from the soil? + +Well, we know that the course of history has been far different from +what I have assumed to be the case. We know that the savage dies out +very slowly, and that even in civilised States to-day he is honoured in +the existence of a whole army of representatives. Each generation moves +along the road marked out by its predecessors, and broadens or lengthens +it to but a small extent. For many, many generations people went on +adopting the conclusions of the savage concerning man and the universe, +and finding proofs of the soundness of those conclusions in exactly the +same kind of experiences. The beliefs thus engendered were wild and +absurd--admittedly so, and many of such a nature that educated people +are now ashamed of them. But such as they were, they served the purpose +of perpetuating the belief in the supernatural, and so served to +strengthen the general religious idea. Of that there can be no +reasonable doubt. For the influence of beliefs that have been long held +does not end with the intellectual perception of their falsity. A belief +such as witchcraft dies out, but by that time it has done its work in +familiarising the general mind with the reality of the supernatural, and +so prepares the ground for other harvests. These long centuries of +superstitious beliefs have left behind in society a psychological +residuum that is at all times an obstacle and is sometimes fatal to +scientific thinking. We are like men who have obtained freedom after +almost a lifetime of slavery. We may be no longer in any real danger of +the lash, but fear of the whip has become part of our nature, and we +shrink without cause. So with all those now admitted delusions that have +been described in the foregoing pages, and which for generations were +asserted without question. They bit deeply in to social institutions; +the temper of mind they induced became part of our social heritage. They +perpetuated the long reign of supernaturalism, and still interpose a +serious obstacle to sane and helpful conceptions of man and the +universe. + + + + +INDEX + + +Adolescence and Religion, 177-8, 181, 276-7. + +Adolescence and Primitive Customs, 178. + +Adolescence and Nervous Disorders, 196-7. + +Adolescence, Social Significance of, 183-5. + +Agapæ, 152. + +Asceticism, 121, 125, 146, 208-13. + +Asceticism and Purity, 213. + +Asceticism, Influence on Religion, 224-5. + +Augustine, 157. + +Authority, Conflict with Science, viii. + + +Baring-Gould, S., 147, 153, 209. + +Baring-Gould, S., on Mysticism and Sexualism, 125, 151. + +Brinton, D. G., on Origin of Religion, 14. + +Bryce, J., 232. + +Buckle, T. H., 256. + + +Catherine of Sienna, 85, 129. + +Celibacy, 214-5. + +Celibacy, Results on Morals, 220-3. + +Celibacy, Social Consequences of, 216-9, 220-3. + +Clouston, Sir T. S., on Revivals, 195. + +Clouston, Sir T. S., on the Connection between Sexualism and Religion, +140. + +Conversion, Pathological Nature of, 194. + +Conversion and Adolescence, 32, 176-7, 276. + +Conversion, Theological Notions of, 169-71. + +Conversion, Ages of Converts, 174-5, 194-5. + +Conversion, Statistics of, 173-5. + +Conversion and Imitation, 188. + +Conversion, Social Aspects of, 200. + +Convulsionnaires (The), 239. + +Crowd Psychology, 206. + +Crusades, Character of, 227-9. + +Crusades, Children's, 230. + +Crusades, Consequences of, 232-3. + +Cudworth, R., 259. + + +Dalyell, J. G., 257. + +Dancing and Religious Ecstasy, 60-1. + +Dancing Epidemics, 236-40. + +Death, Savage Ideas of, 44. + +Demoniacs, 77. + +Disease, Theory of, amongst Primitive Peoples, 46. + +Disease, Theory of, amongst the Early Christians, 47. + +D'Israeli, I., on Sexualism and Religion, 17, 135. + +Draper, J. W., 231. + +Drugs, their use in the history of Religion, 57. + + +Environment, 36, 38. + +Environment, Nature of Primitive, 39. + +Epilepsy, Influence of, in fostering Supernaturalism, 74-9. + +Epilepsy, Opinion of Dr. Hollander, 75. + +Epilepsy, Opinion of Sir T. S. Clouston, 75. + +Epilepsy, Opinion of Dr. C. Norman, 76. + +Epilepsy, Opinion of Emanuel Deutsch, 77, 79. + +Epilepsy in New Testament, 77. + +Erotic Sects, 155-60, 165. + +Eroticism and Supernaturalism, 126-8, 132, 136-9. + +Evidence for the Supernatural, 2, 271. + + +Fasting, 61-5. + +Flagellation, 234-5. + +Forlong, Maj.-Gen., 109 _n._ + +Fox, George, Account of Visions, 82. + +Frazer, J. G., 39, 46, 97, 99, 111. + +Free Love--Religious, 150, 161-4. + + +Galton, Francis, on Religious and Morbid States, 86. + +Galton, Francis, 219. + +Gibbon, E., 227. + +Gowers, Sir W. R., 197. + +Granger, Prof., 84, 141-3. + + +Hallucinations, 23-4-5, 62, 84. + +Hecker, J. F. C., 236-7. + +Hopkins, Mathew, 261-2. + +Human Qualities, Identity of, 6. + + +Interpretation, Growth of Scientific, xiii. + +Ireland, Dr. W. W., on Hallucinations, 23-4. + + +James, W., 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 81, 83, 130, 131, 145, 175-6, +272. + + +Kingsley, Mary, on Primitive Thought, 42. + + +Lea, H. C., 220-1. + +Le Bon, Gustave, on Crowd Psychology, 206. + +Lecky, W. E. H., 154, 212, 221. + +Luther and Demonism, 25, 58, 82, 253. + + +Maudsley, H., on the Relation between Nervous States and Ecstasy, 66, +76, 133. + +Medicine and the Church, 70-1. + +Menstruation, 95-6-7-8. + +Mental States, Reality of, xi, 7, 22. + +Mercier, C., Connection between Sexualism and Religion, 124, 140-1, 187, +197. + +Milman, H. H., 219, 222-3, 225-6, 229, 232. + +Mind, Theories of, x. + +Mistletoe, Origin of Kissing under, 109 _n._ + +Mohammed, his Account of Inspiration, 78, 81. + +Monasticism, 225. + +Monasticism and the Family, 216-7, 219, 222-3. + +Monasticism and Morals, 220. + +Mysticism, 131, 279-80. + +Mysticism and the Abnormal, 55. + +Mysticism and Puberty, 186. + +Mysticism, Definitions of, 278-9. + +Mystics, Claims of, xi. + + +Opium, Effects of, 58. + + +Pathological States and Religious Belief, 5, 49. + +Pathological Aspects of Revivals, 190-1-2-3, 201. + +Pathology of Religion, Need of, 3. + +Phallicism, 104-5-6-7-8-9. + +Pike, L. O., on Character of Crusaders, 229. + +Procreation, Primitive Beliefs concerning, 93-4. + +Psychological Epidemics, 207. + +Psychology, Normal and Abnormal, 3. + +Psychology as a Social Force, 37-8. + +Puberty, 180-6. + +Puberty Customs, 62, 95, 96. + + +Religion, Definition of, 1. + Association of, with Non-religious Forces, 4. + and Intuition, 51. + and Puberty, 180. + and Dancing, 60-1-2. + and Fasting, 63-4-5. + and Environment, 199, 202. + in Primitive Life, 40, 44-5-6, 53. + its Connection with Pathological Conditions, 8, 14, 68-9, 70-1-2-3-4. + +Religious Faculty, Fallacy of, 7, 19, 20. + +Religious Idea and Modern Thought, vii. + +Renan, E., 145. + +Revivalistic Religion, 163, 172, 189, 190, 193, 201. + +Russian Sects, 164-7. + + +Saints, Medical Uses of, 70. + +Santa Teresa, 85. + +Science, Function of, xi-xii. + +Sexualism and Religious Belief, 9, 11-2, 89-90, 120, 121, 125-9, 145, +275. + +Sexualism and Religious Belief, Opinion of Dr. Norman, 122; + of Dr. Forel, 123; + of Dr. Mercier, 124; + of Dr. Krafft-Ebing, 125; + of Dr. Maudsley, 133-4. + +Smith, W. R., on the Meaning of 'Unclean,' 101. + +Sociability, Significance of, 35. + +Social Life and Religious Theories, 13, 281. + +Spencer, H., 37, 46. + +Spiritual Wifehood, 148-9. + +Spiritualism, 53-4. + +Starbuck, E. D., on Conversion, 174, 200. + +Sully, J., 20. + +Supernaturalism, Causes of Persistence of, 271, 273, 277, 282. + +Supernaturalism, Consequences of, 283-4. + +Supernaturalism, Persistence of, 2. + +Suso, Austerities of, 85. + +Swedenborg, E., 80. + +Symonds, J. A., Experience under Chloroform, 29. + + +Theologians, Attitude towards Science, ix. + +Thomas, W. I., 182. + +Tylor, E. B., 1, 49, 54, 55, 71, 182, 193. + + +Unclean, Religious Significance of, 100-1. + + +Whittaker, T., on the Effects of Opium, 58. + +Williams, A., 250. + +Witchcraft, 27, 243. + Pathology of, 246-7. + and Christian Church, 244. + Bull of Innocent VIII., 248. + Extent of Epidemic, 250. + and Sir Thomas Browne, 265. + and Montaigne, 267. + and Sir M. Hale, 266. + and John Wesley, 259. + and Luther, 253. + and Protestantism, 252-3. + Scottish, 255-6-7-8, 267. + American, 254-5. + Children burned for, 251. + Description of Trial, 263-6. + Legislation in England, 253, 267. + +Witches, Methods of Detection, 260-1. + +Witches, Number killed, 250-1. + +Woman, Christian Church and, 102. + +Woman, why considered religiously unclean, 103. + +Woman, a Source of Spiritual Infection, 99. + +Woman, Influence of Religious Beliefs in determining her Social +Position, 102-3, 110-9. + +Woman, Position among Primitive Peoples, 115. + +Wright, T., 251. + + +[Transcriber's Note: + +The following corrections were made: + +p. 21: extra open quote removed (In what sense) + +p. 24: Dr. W. H. Ireland to Dr. W. W. Ireland (as given by Dr. W. W. +Ireland) + +p. 25: Nuremburg to Nuremberg (came from Nuremberg), to match cited text + +p. 46: Crook to Crooke (says Mr. W. Crooke) + +p. 46: Ahmadnager to Ahmadnagar (Mahadeo Kolis of Ahmadnagar) + +p. 57: DeCandolle to De Candolle (says De Candolle) + +p. 58 (Footnote 26): Pharmæcology to Pharmacology (Text-Book of +Pharmacology) + +p. 70: Persel to Pernel (St. Pernel for agues), to match cited text + +p. 75: everyone to every one (every one of the senses) + +p. 76: Connolly to Conolly (Dr. Conolly Norman) + +pp. 86 (Footnote 63), and 130 (Footnote 107): Joli to Joly (H. Joly) + +p. 101 (Footnote 76): on to in (Studies in the Psychology of Sex) + +p. 114: is to are (Nor are the substantial facts) + +p. 123 (Footnote 96): Problem to Question (The Sexual Question) + +pp. 125, 128 (Footnote 105), and 287 (Index): Kraft-Ebing to +Krafft-Ebing + +p. 127: Loudon to Loudun (Convent of Ursulines of Loudun) + +p. 127 (Footnote 104): of America to in North America (Jesuits in North +America) + +p. 128: Alacocque to Alacoque (The blessed Mary Alacoque) + +p. 149 (Footnote 123): Life of St. Paul to Study of St. Paul + +p. 166 (Footnote 140): Churches to Church (Heard's description, Russian +Church) + +p. 178: tatooing to tattooing (tattooing forms part of the religious +ceremony) + +p. 182 (Footnote 151): missing 4 added in 241 (pp. 241-48) + +p. 209: Brahminism to Brahmanism (Brahmanism has its order of ascetics), +to match cited text + +p. 209: missing close quote added (consecrated to Tezcatlipoca.") + +p. 249 (Footnote 188): Enenmoser to Ennemoser (is given by Ennemoser) + +p. 250 (Footnote 190): A. Williams, The Superstition of Witchcraft to H. +Williams, The Superstitions of Witchcraft + +p. 251 (Footnote 191): History to Narratives (Narratives of Sorcery and +Magic) + +p. 255: Burroughes to Burroughs (George Burroughs) + +pp. 263, 264: Tacy to Pacy (Elizabeth and Deborah Pacy) + +p. 286 (Index): Ireland, Dr. W. H. to Ireland, Dr. W. W. + +p. 286 (Index): Millman, H. H. to Milman, H. H. + +Irregularities in hyphenation (e.g. supernormal vs. super-normal) and +misquotations have not been corrected. Unless it was found that the +error also occurred in the cited text, misspellings have been corrected. + +Although Footnote 81 (originally on p. 104) refers to a "note at the end +of this chapter," the "NOTE TO PAGE 104" begins on p. 110, several pages +before the chapter ends. This has not been changed. + +Footnotes markers have been changed from symbols (in the original) to +numerals. + +For the plain text versions, an oe-ligature has been changed to oe +(Coelestia).] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Religion & Sex, by Chapman Cohen + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30306 *** |