The World Cannot Live At The Level

With The Advance Of Knowledge, Therefore, Prayer And Sacrifice Assume The Leading Place In Religious Ritual; And Magic; Which Once Ranked With Them As A Legitimate Equal, Is Gradually Relegated To The Background And Sinks To The Level Of A Black Art.

The Second Principle Of Magic: Things Which Have Once Been In Contact With Each Other Continue To Act On Each Other At A Distance After The Physical Contact Has Been Severed.

Some Of The Old Laws Of Israel Are Clearly Savage Taboos Of A Familiar Type Thinly Disguised As Commands Of The Deity.

For When A Nation Becomes Civilized, If It Does Not Drop Human Sacrifices Altogether, It At Least Selects As Victims Only Such Wretches As Would Be Put To Death At Any Rate. Thus The Killing Of A God May Sometimes Come To Be Confounded With The Execution Of A Criminal.

It Is A Common Rule With Primitive People Not To Waken A Sleeper, Because His Soul Is Away And Might Not Have Time To Get Back.