The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-02-17

DAgon was really noshing but sun-wcF. ship. There s some confusion here fos one san-god is offered ap as saeri. isce to propitiaie another san-god. DA- gon was civthseT he visited nen xsd taught them during the day, and wAen the sun ses he plunged into the sea to ap pear agasn cn the rising of the sun tho next morning The san-god Samson iu relation to the sun~ged pagen ioSes hss characteristics as diess. s,ying fruitful ness and plenty. and becomes who'll, hu. man. In popular belief the sun died a, the close ct summer and sacrifices were offered for his return.
 The story of samson with the Hebrews vas one that was handed down from re- mote and mythology, times The Jcho- vistic writers took up the legends, and connecting ~,th them human incidents, wosc the whole into the,r present torn. They had forgotten entirely the orsgin oi the myth, and they ~eic ignorant oi the tact that they were psopagatins essor when the ~,ldcs, tables were set afsoa, under the authority ot thess names. \ myth grows And scr soon loses all sem blancc to tha, which gave |, birth. rwo- pic under dlftercn; conditions ot life and with nnre varied experiences. take mp the tales tha, arc handed down to them and mould them into for,ns te su,t ih~,r fancy and taste. Language changes. wer.ls lose their eHsInai signlhc alton. and arc applied ,o dliferen, and distinct objects and ideas and ncccssarily myths must. through the changes ineideat to language, lose then ong,nai meaning. The Scsaste> ~ese \ stxil,sei race, and whatever myths are found in then htefa- ,nre mus, be considered as wholly a Semitic growth. There was m nec e>si,y tor them to adop, the myths ai other na. ,,ons, The, were perfectly capable ai evolving mythology themselves In the belief oi the ancien, Eebrrws the AL a,ighty was manifested io them through hl~ work. and th,s bcl,ef vas the ou.- growth oi Il pure nature worship.
 The languages oi the Semitic and lnda. European races grew from like germs, and were developed under like conditions. In their early stages oi growth words denoted qualities of ob. )eets. and ,he phys,e al significance etig- inally belonging ia terms neeeSSatil, continued to form part of their mean. ,ng when they had lse,nsne developed su represent something above the physioal X word or sound was the sign of the oh. less signihed, and when thc word oi sound was uttered the image CT repte- sentation ot thc object would bc pie. sented to the mlnd. Inc same qualIsies and attributes were gwen io objects and phenomena. which posses>ed no simlafi ty sxeep, III the po~scssion af like tttfiz buicS Ahstrae, words arose iiom phyai cai terms We know tha, all races in then human nature. and m thcif oonstt tut,onaI and fundamental powets oi n,nd and so iai .ss they have the capacity to make language and to form general ls.c4s. ssfe n ali respects the salne. Inc Semitic. mus, have passed through the same processes of growth and develop men, as other races.
 There is in the mass of Semitic iiiefa- ,uie underlying a subs,ratnm oi myth and legend. winch has been incorporated and blended into the relation of hlstasi- sal events, and ,hs whole has come do~n to us A Yetitsbie history Il ss the prov. cnce of sound CTIti,ism to sift out the truth IL ts ,niy an evidence of bl,ns bigotry and supefstitian in Us to believe Tn the existence of that which could never have been. as bcsng essential to oai future happIness.