darwin and modern science-第177章
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tus of appeal to emotion and willthe more unintelligible they are the better they serve their purpose of inhibiting thought。 Thus ritual deadens the intellect and stimulates will； desire； emotion。 〃Les operations magiques。。。sont le resultat d'une science et d'une habitude qui exaltent la volonte humaine au…dessus de ses limites habituelles。〃 （Eliphas Levi； 〃Dogme et Rituel de la haute Magie〃； II。 page 32； Paris； 1861； and 〃A defence of Magic〃； by Evelyn Underhill； 〃Fortnightly Review〃； 1907。） It is this personal EXPERIENCE； this exaltation； this sense of immediate； non…intellectual revelation； of mystical oneness with all things； that again and again rehabilitates a ritual otherwise moribund。
To resume。 The outcome of our examination of ORIGINES seems to be that religious phenomena result from two delusive processesa delusion of the non…critical intellect； a delusion of the over…confident will。 Is religion then entirely a delusion？ I think not。 （I am deeply conscious that what I say here is a merely personal opinion or sentiment； unsupported and perhaps unsupportable by reason； and very possibly quite worthless； but for fear of misunderstanding I prefer to state it。） Every dogma religion has hitherto produced is probably false； but for all that the religious or mystical spirit may be the only way of apprehending some things and these of enormous importance。 It may also be that the contents of this mystical apprehension cannot be put into language without being falsified and misstated； that they have rather to be felt and lived than uttered and intellectually analysed； and thus do not properly fall under the category of true or false； in the sense in which these words are applied to propositions； yet they may be something for which 〃true〃 is our nearest existing word and are often； if not necessary at least highly advantageous to life。 That is why man through a series of more or less grossly anthropomorphic mythologies and theologies with their concomitant rituals tries to restate them。 Meantime we need not despair。 Serious psychology is yet young and has only just joined hands with physiology。 Religious students are still hampered by mediaevalisms such as Body and Soul； and by the perhaps scarcely less mythological segregations of Intellect； Emotion； Will。 But new facts （See the 〃Proceedings〃 of the Society for Psychical Research； London； passim； and especially Vols。 VII。…XV。 For a valuable collection of the phenomena of mysticism； see William James； 〃Varieties of Religious Experience〃； Edinburgh； 1901…2。） are accumulating； facts about the formation and flux of personality； and the relations between the conscious and the sub…conscious。 Any moment some great imagination may leap out into the dark； touch the secret places of life； lay bare the cardinal mystery of the marriage of the spatial with the non…spatial。 It is； I venture to think； towards the apprehension of such mysteries； not by reason only； but by man's whole personality； that the religious spirit in the course of its evolution through ancient magic and modern mysticism is ever blindly yet persistently moving。
Be this as it may； it is by thinking of religion in the light of evolution； not as a revelation given； not as a realite faite but as a process； and it is so only； I think； that we attain to a spirit of real patience and tolerance。 We have ourselves perhaps learnt laboriously something of the working of natural law； something of the limitations of our human will； and we have therefore renounced the practice of magic。 Yet we are bidden by those in high places to pray 〃Sanctify this water to the mystical washing away of sin。〃 Mystical in this connection spells magical； and we have no place for a god…magician： the prayer is to us unmeaning； irreverent。 Or again； after much toil we have ceased； or hope we have ceased； to think anthropomorphically。 Yet we are invited to offer formal thanks to God for a meal of flesh whose sanctity is the last survival of that sacrifice of bulls and goats he has renounced。 Such a ritual confuses our intellect and fails to stir our emotion。 But to others this ritual； magical or anthropomorphic as it is； is charged with emotional impulse； and others； a still larger number； think that they act by reason when really they are hypnotised by suggestion and tradition； their fathers did this or that and at all costs they must do it。 It was good that primitive man in his youth should bear the yoke of conservative custom； from each man's neck that yoke will fall； when and because he has outgrown it。 Science teaches us to await that moment with her own inward and abiding patience。 Such a patience； such a gentleness we may well seek to practise in the spirit and in the memory of Darwin。
XXVI。 EVOLUTION AND THE SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE。
By P。 GILES； M。A。； LL。D。 （Aberdeen）； Reader in Comparative Philology in the University of Cambridge。
In no study has the historical method had a more salutary influence than in the Science of Language。 Even the earliest records show that the meaning of the names of persons； places； and common objects was then； as it has always been since； a matter of interest to mankind。 And in every age the common man has regarded himself as competent without special training to explain by inspection （if one may use a mathematical phrase） the meaning of any words that attracted his attention。 Out of this amateur etymologising has sprung a great amount of false history； a kind of historical mythology invented to explain familiar names。 A single example will illustrate the tendency。 According to the local legend the ancestor of the Earl of Errolla husbandman who stayed the flight of his countrymen in the battle of Luncarty and won the victory over the Danes by the help of the yoke of his oxenexhausted with the fray uttered the exclamation 〃Hoch heigh！〃 The grateful king about to ennoble the victorious ploughman at once replied：
〃Hoch heigh！ said ye And Hay shall ye be。〃
The Norman origin of the name Hay is well…known； and the battle of Luncarty long preceded the appearance of Normans in Scotland； but the legend nevertheless persists。
Though the earliest European treatise on philological questions which is now extantthe 〃Cratylus〃 of Plato；as might be expected from its authorship； contains some acute thinking and some shrewd guesses； yet the work as a whole is infantine in its handling of language； and it has been doubted whether Plato was more than half serious in some of the suggestions which he puts forward。 （For an account of the 〃Cratylus〃 with references to other literature see Sandys' 〃History of Classical Scholarship〃； I。 page 92 ff。； Cambridge； 1903。） In the hands of the Romans things were worse even than they had been in the hands of Plato and his Greek successors。 The lack of success on the part of Varro and later Roman writers may have been partly due to the fact that； from the etymological point of view； Latin is a much more difficult language than Greek； it is by no means so closely connected with Greek as the ancients imagined； and they had no knowledge of the Celtic languages from which； on some sides at least； much greater light on the history of the Latin language might have been obtained。 Roman civilisation was a late development compared with Greek； and its records dating earlier than 300 B。C。a period when the best of Greek literature was already in existenceare very few and scanty。 Varro it is true was much more of an antiquary than Plato； but his extant works seem to show that he was rather a 〃dungeon of learning〃 than an original thinker。
A scientific knowledge of language can be obtained only by comparison of different languages of the same family and the contrasting of their characteristics with those of another family or other families。 It never occurred to the Greeks that any foreign language was worthy of serious study。 Herodotus and other travellers and antiquaries indeed picked up individual words from various languages； either as being necessary in communication with the inhabitants of the countries where they sojourned； or because of some point which interested them personally。 Plato and others noticed the similarity of some Phrygian words to Gr
