Symbol-Psychology A New Interpretation of Race-Traditions

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 edition. Excerpt: ... Ill the man-animal story but the race-man was not content with the general and broader recognition of the fact that man has two natures--an inner and an outer, a spiritual and a natural--a soul and a mind. It continued its research. When once it had drawn the broad distinci tions between the inner and the outer, it next elaborated the idea that the inner nature is human and that the outer is animal. Thus was the man-animal story born. The man-animal stories are quite familiar to every one; every reader of legends and myths is familiar with the fact that there are combinations of animals and of men of various kinds and in various orders. It is true of these forms, as it is of everything else, that there seems to be no connection between the different stories as they are told, but when they are more closely examined they yield certain quite definite results. The familiar idea of man setting forth upon his journey and associating with animals early in that journey, comes to the surface; that is to say, as we watch the hero of a fairy tale start out upon his pilgrimage he at first comes across certain animals, for whom he performs certain services. Usually the animal is in some sort of difficulty, and the hero helps it out of its distress. As a reward for such service he is given by the animal a certain part of its own substance; usually the substance is a part of an antenna, a wing, a claw, a hair, a feather, according to the nature of the animal. The hero treasures these things which are given to him, and usually at the end of his journey the service is returned to him in kind. If he liberated some one at the beginning of the story, he is liberated at the end; if he simply assisted some one at the beginning of the story, he is assisted at...