Illustrations of Universal Progress: A Series of DiscussionsSpencer, Herbert
Philosophy
Illustrations of Universal Progress: A Series of Discussions
Spencer, Herbert
Philosophy; Political science; Science
We might further dwell on the facts, that _Lord_ signifies high-born, or,
as the same root gives a word meaning heaven, possibly heaven-born; that,
before it became common, _Sir_ or _Sire_, as well as _Father_, was the
distinction of a priest; that _worship_, originally worth-ship--a term of
respect that has been used commonly, as well as to magistrates--is also our
term for the act of attributing greatness or worth to the Deity; so that to
ascribe worth-ship to a man is to worship him. We might make much of the
evidence that all early governments are more or less distinctly theocratic;
and that among ancient Eastern nations even the commonest forms and customs
appear to have been influenced by religion. We might enforce our argument
respecting the derivation of ceremonies, by tracing out the aboriginal
obeisance made by putting dust on the head, which probably symbolizes
putting the head in the dust: by affiliating the practice prevailing among
certain tribes, of doing another honour by presenting him with a portion of
hair torn from the head--an act which seems tantamount to saying, "I am
your slave;" by investigating the Oriental custom of giving to a visitor
any object he speaks of admiringly, which is pretty clearly a carrying out
the compliment, "All I have is yours."
Without enlarging, however, on these and many minor facts, we venture to
think that the evidence already assigned is sufficient to justify our
position. Had the proofs been few or of one kind, little faith could have
been placed in the inference. But numerous as they are, alike in the case
of titles, in that of complimentary phrases, and in that of
salutes--similar and simultaneous, too, as the process of depreciation has
been in all of these; the evidences become strong by mutual confirmation.
And when we recollect, also, that not only have the results of this process
been visible in various nations and in all times, but that they are
occurring among ourselves at the present moment, and that the causes
assigned for previous depreciations may be seen daily working out other
ones--when we recollect this, it becomes scarcely possible to doubt that
the process has been as alleged; and that our ordinary words, acts, and
phrases of civility were originally acknowledgments of submission to
another's omnipotence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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