An Introduction to the Study of Comparative ReligionJevons, F. B. (Frank Byron)
Religion
An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion
Jevons, F. B. (Frank Byron)
Religion
every one concerned, the victim will fall. All over the world the
witch has but to stab the image she has drawn or made, and the person
portrayed will feel the wound. In this proceeding, the image is like
the person, and the blow delivered is like the blow which the victim is
to feel. It is open to us, therefore, to say that, in this typical
case of "imitative" or "mimetic" magic, like is believed to produce
like. And on pages 75-77, and elsewhere, above, I have taken that
position. But I would now add two qualifications. The first is, as
already intimated, that, though stabbing an effigy is like stabbing the
victim, it is only a magician or witch that has the power thus to
inflict wounds, sickness, or death: the services of the magician or
witch are employed for no other reason than that {269} the ordinary
person has not the power, even by the aid of the rite, to cause the
effect. The second qualification is that, whereas we distinguish
between the categories of likeness and identity, the savage makes but
little distinction. To us it is evident that stabbing the image is
only like stabbing the victim; but to the believer in magic, stabbing
the image is the same thing as stabbing the victim; and in his belief,
as the waxen image melts, so the victim withers away.
It would, therefore, be more precise and more correct to say (page 74,
above) that eating tiger to make you bold points rather to a confusion,
in the savage's mind, of the categories of likeness and identity, than
to a conscious recognition of the principle that like produces like: as
you eat tiger's flesh, so you become bold with the tiger's boldness.
The spirit of the tiger enters you. But no magic is necessary to
enable you to make the meal: any one can eat tiger. The belief that so
the tiger's spirit will enter you is a piece of Animism; but it is not
therefore a piece of magic.
{271}
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABT, A. Die Apologie des Apuleius von Madaura und die antike Zauberei.
Giessen. 1908.
ALVIELLA, G. Origin and Growth of the Conception of God. London.
1892.
BASTIAN, A. Allerlei aus Volks- und Menschenkunde. Berlin. 1888.
BOUSSET, W. What is Religion? (E. T.). London. 1907.
DAVIES, T. W. Magic, Divination, and Demonology. Leipzig. 1898.
ELLIS, A. B. The Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast. London.
1890. The Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast. London. 1887.
The Yoruba-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast. London. 1894.
FAHZ, L. De poetarum Romanorum doctrina magica. Giessen. 1904.
FARNELL, L. R. The Place of the Sonder-Götter in Greek Polytheism, in
Anthropological Essays. Oxford. 1907.
FRAZER, J. G. Adonis, Attis, Osiris. London. 1905. The Golden
Bough. London. 1900. Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship.
London. 1905.
GRANGER, F. The Worship of the Romans. London. 1895.
HADDON, H. C. Magic and Fetishism. London. 1906.
HARRISON, J. E. Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion.
Cambridge. 1903.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account