Folk Lore | Page 3

connection
between such superstitious practices and religion, and the construction
of a new definition was rendered necessary. The following, I think,
covers the whole ground: _Beliefs and practices founded upon
erroneous ideas of God and nature._ With this meaning the term
"Superstition" is employed in the following pages, and if the definition
commend itself to the reader, it will at once become apparent that the
only way by which freedom from superstition can be attained is to
search Nature and Revelation for correct views of God and His
methods of working. Notwithstanding our pretensions to a correct
religious knowledge, a pure theology, and freedom from everything
like superstition, it is strange yet true, that, if we except the formulated
reply to the question in the Westminster Catechism, "What is God,"
scarcely two persons--perhaps no two persons--have exactly the same
idea of God. We each worship a God of our own. In one of the late
Douglas Jerrold's "Hedgehog Letters" he introduces two youths passing
St Giles' Church at a lonely hour, when the one addresses the other
thus:--"The old book and the parson tell us that at the beginning God
made man in his own image. We have now reversed this, and make
God in our image." A sad truth, although not new; Saint Paul made a
similar remark to the philosophic Athenians; but the remark applies not
to this age or to Saint Paul's age alone--its applicability extends to
every age and every people. As Goethe remarks, "Man never knows
how anthropomorphic he is." Our minds instinctively seek an
explanation of the cause or causes of the different phenomena
constantly occurring around us, but instinct does not supply the
solution. Only by patient watching and consideration can this be
arrived at; but in former ages scientific methods of investigation were
either not known, or not cared for, and so men were satisfied with
merely guessing at the causes of natural phenomena, and these guesses
were made from the standpoint of their own human passionate
intelligence. Alongside the intelligence everywhere observable in the
operations of nature they placed their own passionate humanity, they
projected themselves into the universe and anthropomorphised nature.
Thus came men to regard natural phenomena as manifestations of
supernatural agency; as expressions of the wrath or pleasure of good or
evil genii, and although in our day we have made great advances in our

knowledge of natural phenomena, the majority of men still regard the
ways of providence from a false standpoint, a standpoint erected in the
interests of ecclesiasticism. Churchmanship acts as a distorting medium,
twisting and displacing things out of their natural relations, and
although this influence was stronger in the past than it is now, still there
remains a considerable residuum of the old influence among us yet. For
example, we are not yet rid of the belief that God has set apart times,
places, and duties as specially sacred, that what is not only sinless but a
moral obligation at certain times and places becomes sinful at other
times and places. Ecclesiastical influence thus familiarises us with the
distinctions of secular and sacred, and we hear frequent mention made
of our duties to God and our duties to man, of our religious duties and
our worldly duties, and we frequently hear religion spoken of as
something readily distinguishable from business. But not only are these
things separated by name from one another, they are often regarded as
opposites, having no fellowship together. Hence has arisen in many
minds a slavish fear of performing at certain times and in certain places
the ordinary duties of life, lest by so doing they anger God. In certain
conditions of society such belief, erroneous though it be, may have
served a useful purpose in restraining, and thereby so far elevating a
rude people, just as now we may see many among ourselves restrained
from evil, and influenced to the practice of good, by beliefs which, to
the enlightened among us, are palpable absurdities.
Before reviewing the superstitious beliefs and practices of our
immediate forefathers, we may, I think, profitably occupy a short time
in gaining some general idea of the prominent features of ancient Pagan
religions, for without doubt much of the mythology and superstitious
practice of our forefathers had a Pagan origin. I shall not attempt any
exhaustive treatise on this subject, for the task is beyond me, but a
slight notice of ancient theology may not here be irrelevant. The late
George Smith, the eminent Assyriologist, says:--
"Upwards of 2000 years B.C. the Babylonians had three great
gods--_Anu_, _Bel_, and Hea. These three leading deities formed
members of twelve gods, also called great. These were--
1. Anu, King of Angels and Spirits. Lord of the city Eresh.
2. Bel, Lord of the world, Father of the