The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-11-17
.SUPERSTITION'S REIGN.
IN INHERENT ELEIENT ~ THE
CONSTITUTIONS OFOUR NATURE.
Not Only the Savage but the Sage as Wei
Victim of it, Potent Influence
Napsieon's star.

As a preliminary 10 what follows. let
Us chdsay0r 10 settle the meaning OF the
word superstition. What, then, Is super
sttion.
Two standard authorities define it thus:
SUI erstitionr says " obster. lis belief
IN the direct agency OF superior powers
IN certain extraordinary ana Sinsu-1I
events, or in omens and prOgnostlcs.
Worcester terms superstition "a belief
IN the direct agency Of supernatural
bower In producing results which can
either be proved 10 proct cd from second
airy causes, or BY reasonable analogy
must be Inferred 50 10 proceed
Although II is very much the fashion
10 rate superstition "a something igno-
Die and out OF date, not in touch with
the intelligence and advancement or our
time. II Is nevertheless an Inherent ana
ineradlcable element in the constitution
OF mans nature. modlnod, OF course, more
or less by the conditions in which he OK
lists. It's influence operated upon man
Kind when Ga the morning twilight OF
civilization he made his first feeble and
clumsy efforts TO satisfy the cravings OF
hunger, and to protect himself from the
inclemcncy Of the weather ard the rdpaci-
" of Wild beasts. and II operates upon
him now, near the close OF this the latest
century Of the worlds existence, ~ the
most enlightened centres OF the hishest
civilization. as well as in the huts ana
wigwams OF the savage and barha1an.
Scout the truth as We may, and palter
with IL as we often do, the fact remains
nevertheless that there IS IN the breast
OF every human being a germ or super
stition, developed more or less according
to circumstances and varying conditions
OF life.
SO various are the phases OF supersti-
tious credibility, and so numerous the
forms under which they appear. that any
attempt 10 classify or arrange them would
~.
few selected at random viii be enough
for the purposes Of this article.
rHEDAY or wi oMTS.
One of the most familiar is that which
deems Friday an unlucky, unprOpitious
day The origin or this superstition -,
10 say the least. natural and eNcusabie.
According 10 ecclesiastic. history ara
tradition, the Saviour of mankind sure =
ed the cruel and shameful death 10 when
he vas condemned, on Friday. Forever
associated, then, with crime so heinOus
and a personality 80 remarkable, il -
not surprising tnat the Christians OF me
early Church came to regard the SKIN
day OF the week as day or eFll omen
portentOus and acrursed. But N is m
deed surprising that this belief, surviving
so great an interval of time, should have
travelled down the long perspective OF
centuries 10 reach our day ana genera
ton and find a home IN the hosOms OF
thousands in this and many other lands.
Could by any means the tale be accu-
rateiy taken, we would be astounueu at
the number OF people VINO RECKON FRIDAY
an unlucky day, and who. solely ior mat
reason. will neither begin an undertaking
start ON a journey. nor solcmnize a mar
riage ceremony on the sixth day or the
weekly seven.
1T WILL LAST.
No doubt the increase OF education and
the progress of civilization have operated
TO minimize superstitiOus beliefs ana prdc-
tees in certain quarters or the siopei gtt
they have not awaited, and We have no
reason 10 suppose that they VIII ever ue
sufficiently potent 10 eliminate supersu-
ton absolutely from the breast Of man.
kind The assertion smacks. perhaps
somewhat Of audacity, yet IT Is never
less true that superstitcus beieIs arc
by no means confined to the unletlefei
and ignorant but are cherished by pto-
ple of average intelligence and iaif euu-
cation. and, too. now ana then nN ih,li
and women conspicuous for intellect ana
erudiuon. in fact. supersutlous t'nlen
cies. more or less pronounced seem iy
be distributed from the base 10 the apex
OF the pyramid Of humanity. Axe an
instance I'm point The natives OF certain
African tribes believe rom , ul,,li
death they are cherished and watcnen
over by "a guardian spirit that az tunes
assumes the material and visible ioin on
n snake To this snake, or splill, ll's
tons prudent decisions. and for most cir
and events that tend 10 their
safety and welfare.
=vApoLroN's STAR or DESTINY.
one Of the first Napoleon's most marked
was his rooted belief IN the
paramount influence, for veal or woe, or
his star of destiny. To its favoring IN
clinaHou he attributed the unparalleled
successes of his wonderful career anu
when, after the in-advised ana alSas-
trous invasion of Russia. the tide began
TO turn, the hapless monarch even tneu
lettering to his fall. attributed the change
not 10 his own impati s1ce, clouuel jung
ment and failing faculties, but 10 tht
n alcVclcnt influence or hls desctilli-
star Here We have ,Heflpilel Two ~
as widely separted as the
&, tremes Of human condition can admit,
both cherishing "A belief founded neither
unon reason nor any thing lucldlN eAnu-
cable vet each deeply imhued win lalln
in the single tenet Of his sinefstluous
creed. Can any one say thal iile super
stition Of the great Emperor was IN any
wise more logically deiensible than mat
OF the negro savage
THn POLLY or DREAMS.
One Of the least dcfensiblc. on rational
grounds, OF sundry phases OF superstition,
is the credit sometimes accorded 10
drcams-credit much greater than ls JUS
tilted by their accidental origin and vague,
Irrelevant nature.
Science has demonstrated. ana ones
pGsonal experience and observation con-
firms the iact that the stomach. acting
upon the brain, produces these misty ana
fmsv phantasms that men call dreams
estIy anxious as 10 the Interpretation
Yet we find both men and women earn
Of these airS, fgments OF Indigestion and
sleep and seriously troubled II such in
teri rotation proves doubtful or unpropi-
tious Well may Puck oXclaim, what
fools these rnortais be-" G. Il. Is.