, and indicates that
which man must not use or touch, because it belongs to a deity. The
god's land must not be trodden, the animal dedicated to the god must
not be eaten, the chief who represents the god must not be lightly
treated or spoken of. These are examples of taboo where the
inviolable object or person belongs to a good god, and where the
taboo corresponds exactly with the rule of holiness.[4] But instances
are still more numerous among savages of taboo attaching to an object
because it is connected with a malignant power. The savage is
surrounded on every side by such prohibitions; there is danger at
every step that he may touch on what is forbidden to him, and draw
down on himself unforeseen penalties. The nature of the early deities
also excludes idolatry in connection with them; there is no need for
a representation of a being who is visibly present, and can be
extolled and worshipped in his own person. It was at a later stage,
when the god came to be personified and separated in thought from his
natural basis, that the need arose to make representations of him to
aid the imagination. The stones of early religion are not idols. They
are natural, not artificial stones; they are not images of the god,
but the god himself, or at least that in which the divine spirit
dwells,[5] or with which it associates itself for the purpose of
worship. And, further, the earliest time knows no priests; there is
no special class to whom alone the celebration of sacrifice is
entrusted. It would be quite inconsistent with the whole view of
sacrifice which then prevailed, to suppose that it could be done by
proxy. It was a man's own act, by which he identified himself with
his god and with his tribe, and that could only be done by a personal
service. We often find kings and chiefs sacrificing. Agamemnon does
so, Abraham and Saul do so, though the sacrifice of the latter is
disapproved of by the priestly writer. David does so without being
rebuked for it. The king or chief does this as the natural head of
his clan; some one must take the leading part in the transaction. As
religion is the principal part of politics, and the first business of
the state is to keep itself right with the gods, the head of the
state is its most natural representative on such an occasion. The
head of a household also sacrifices for his house, not only to the
spirits of the house, but in cases like that of Job, where there is
no question of ancestor-wor