this branch of philology, was good enough to give me as to the mental capacities of these interesting races. It was only after receiving such valuable help that in my Preface to 'Myths and Songs from the South Pacific,' by the Rev. William Wyatt Gill, 18761, I ventured to call attention to the lessons which Comparative Mythologists might learn, even in the small island of Mangaia, and to the curious coincidences between Polynesian and classical myths and customs. It may, no doubt, seem bold to classical scholars to endeavour to make the myths of Greek poets and the theories of Greek philosophers as to the marriage between Heaven and Earth more intelligible by a reference to the crude traditions of the New Zealanders 2, still more to trace the sensus numinis and the first apprehensions of the Infinite to the Mana of the Melanesians. Still, under proper safeguards, and more particularly with the advice of the best authorities accessible at present, such boldness may be forgiven, and may possibly encourage others who are better qualified than I am to prosecute researches, which have already yielded some fruit. As to the African languages, they were brought near to me many years ago through my personal intercourse with the late Dr. Bleek, and afterwards with his gifted successor, Dr. Hahn. But again I should have hesitated to avail myself of the rich materials which the folk-lore of African races supplies to the student of mythology, had I not been able to confer personally with such scholars as Dr. Callaway and Dr. Hahn on every point on which I wished to speak 1 Introduction to the Science of Religion, p. 248. India, what can it teach us? pp. 150-56; Hibbert Lectures, p. 55. as elucidating dark corners in the mythology of India and Greece. It was under such guidance that I felt encouraged to write what I have written on South African mythology, on the metaphorical meaning of Uthlanga 1, on the Mythology among the Hottentots 2, and on the Languages of Africa in general3. We have thus examined the three schools of Comparative Mythology, the Etymological, the Analogical, and the purely Psychological, and we have seen what kind of work has been done. and may still be done, by each of them. It may possibly be asked why mythology should deserve so laborious a study. In former times mythology was studied chiefly to enable the classical scholar to understand the frequent allusions to gods and goddesses, to heroes and heroines which occur in Greek and Latin authors. It was also considered a part of general education, so far as it enabled ladies and gentlemen to recognise the character and meaning of ancient statues in our museums, and the right pronunciation of the names of classical gods and heroes, so often introduced into their writings by modern poets. But that mythology should possess an interest of its own, that it should mark an important period in the history of language and thought, and therefore in the history of the human race, was never thought of. So long as we knew of Greek and Roman mythology only, this was intelligible. The Greeks and Romans were always looked upon as exceptional people, and it was ascribed to their peculiar poetical genius that they should have invented so strange a collection of fancies and horrors as their mythology. 1 Introduction to the Science of Religion, 1882, p. 40. 2 3 But when it was found that almost every nation, whether civilised or uncivilised, possessed something like mythology, and that these various mythologies presented the most startling coincidences, philosophers could not help admitting that there must be something in human nature that by necessity led to mythology, nay, that there must be some reason in all the unreason that goes by the name of myth. That something was discovered to be language, in its natural progress from roots to words; in its being forced to use roots expressive of human activities in naming the most striking phenomena of the objective world, and, in many cases, in its forgetfulness of the original purport of such names. Mythology, which at first seemed like a kind of madness that had come over the human race at a certain period of its development, has now been recognised as an inevitable phase in the growth of language and thought, for the two are always inseparable. It represents what in geology we should call a metamorphic stratum, a convulsion of rational, intelligible, and duly stratified language produced by volcanic eruptions of underlying rocks. It is metamorphic language and thought, and it is the duty of the geologist of language to try to discover in the widely scattered fragments of that mythological stratum the remains of organic life, of rational thought, and of the earliest religious aspirations. THE LECTURE XIX. ON CUSTOMS AND LAWS. Materials for the Study of Customs and Laws. HE consideration of the materials for the study of Natural Religion which may be discovered in language and mythology, has occupied us for a long time. It would not have been enough simply to enumerate these materials. It was necessary at the same time to show how they have been obtained, and how they could and should be used. The ore in this case is not, as it were, to be found on the surface, but has first to be brought to light, and to be sifted and purified before it can be made to serve our own purposes. It is different with Customs and Laws. Here there can be little doubt as to where the materials can be found or how they should be used. Many of the ancient laws and customs have been collected and have received a place among the Sacred Books. You will find rich materials in the translations of the 'Sacred Books of the East,' for instance, in the Brahmanas (Nos. XII, XXVI), the Grihya-sûtras (Nos. XXIX, XXX), the Sacred Laws of the Aryas (Nos. II, XIV, XXV), for Hinduism; in the Vinaya texts (Nos. XIII, XVII, XX) for Buddhism; in the Avesta (Nos. IV, XXIII, XXXI) for Zoroastrianism ; and in several of the books of Confucius for China. In other countries we must depend either on ancient codes of law, or on the descriptions found in the works of travellers, explorers, and missionaries. Still, it must not be supposed that the study of manners and customs and laws is without its difficulties, a mere amusement for casual readers and compilers. It is difficult for travellers to observe and describe customs and laws correctly; it is still more difficult for the student to discover their real origin and their true purport. Customs based on Religious Ideas. Even if we confine our study to customs and laws which bear a religious character, we shall find it by no means easy to distinguish between those which are based on religious ideas and those which have served as a basis for religious ideas. The custom of prayer, for instance, springs, no doubt, from a religious source, and the same may be said of simple libations and offerings to the gods which accompanied such prayers. Nothing is more natural than such a prayer at the rising and the setting of the sun, and a midday prayer also would soon find its legitimate place between the two. These three prayers we find in the Old Testament as well as in the Veda, and among many of the so-called savage But soon these three prayers, and any observances connected with them, begin to serve another purpose also, namely the division of the day and of the labours of the day, and this purpose may in time become so prominent in the eyes of the people as to obscure altogether the original meaning of the three daily prayers and libations (Tri-sandhya). races. We have read a great deal lately about the Vedic prayers being later than the Vedic sacrifices. No |