The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-02-04
Frederick Hask1n's Letter
Especial conp.poaaree 81
Superstitious in Spite of Ourselves

but there. may be a superstitions
remnant in it."
My one superstitious praci q iF
you can call 1t such" Wrote sin
another" is to knock on wood affs-
Boosting of my health or good for
tune"
one instructor admitted that he
had a certain amount of faith Il
the truth of the old sayink. ~Sibz
before breakfast, and you viii ers
before night"
Another said: u have an :,
stinctive dislike Of seeing the pev
moon over my left shoulder"
Early Impressions Responsible
Bruce thinks that the influen.a
of popular superstitiOrs upon ths
educated adult mind may be ey-
planned largely by the fact thst
they are acquired in Childhood
that plastic period when the nina
is most receptive and the criticsI
faculty most in allegiance. Tba
folk tales of the nursery and tbs
kitchen" he says, "the superstitions
sayings of the older members ~
the family circle make a tremend-
our impression on the mind OF The
| child This would not matter "a
much were it not for the fact that
impressions of childhood. esne.
cially when they appeal strongly n
the emotional in man, are ant "A
persist throughout life"
He also points out that supersti-
ton has played an important part
in the development of all religions
| and governments and quotes
British anthrOpologist, DR.. I G
Frazer, who declares that sthe
salutary principle of respect for
government can be traced, in parf
at all events, to the superstftio7s
reverence with which primitive
people have always regarded their
chiefs, holding them in awe as mar
sons possessed of supernatural
powers. This attitude, sin muca
in evidence among savage trbsa
seems to have been shared by Tia
ancestors of all Aryan peoples
| while in England a lingering rsIsei
Of it remained until as late al tia.
18th century in he notion Glstl
scrofula could be healed By a tuurA,
of the kings hand
Similarly, respect for pEupeEfF,
was vastly strengthened by that
form of superstition known "a
taboo by which the supernatural
power supposed to reside in the
person of the chieftain was trans
mitted to his movable property,
| his clothes, tools, weapons, orna-
/ ments, in fact, to everything he
| touched.
Respect for human life was long
promoted by the worldwide belize
in the ability of the ghost Of a mur-
dered man to haunt his slayer"
Religious Font of SupersitiOHs.
Many of our most popular super
stitiOns today have been traced to
religious sources, as, for instance,
the unlucky nature of Friday and
: the number IS. The dread of the
number Is is well-nigh universal
In Rome and Florence it is never
used in numbering houses, nor on
theatre boxes nor in making up
lottery lists. In India the 18th year
is feared like plague. In Persia
people carefully refrain from pro-
nouncing the number, and in Tur-
key it is avoided as far as possible
in conversation.
It is thought that 13 acquired It's
, unfortunate reputation ut the
Lords Supper when Is men sat at
table. The last TO take his place
is supposed to have been Judas
Yet there is no proof that Judas
was the last to be seated, and,
furthermore, there is considerable
evidence to show that the evil 13
existed long before the Christian
era. 1t is generally accepted. how
ever, that Friday is held to be IN
lucky because Christ was cTuGissz
on that day.
The history of superstition, in
deed, presents some fascinating
aspects, but it is not at all faJte--
ing to the race. 1t shows that in
spite of all our railroads and motor
cars and gas bombs and aerOpIanss,
We are emotionally just about as
primitive as We were when the race
was young. We still gaze eau
tiously at the new moon over the
proper shoulder. and We still cher
ish a haIf-ashamed belief in the
power of charms.