The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-07

certain amount of faith in the truth
of the old saying, Sing before break
fast and you will cry before night
Another said: Il have an instructive
dislike of seeing the new moon over
my left shoulder.
Early Impressions Responsible
Bruce thinks that the influence of
popular superstitions upon the edu-
Gated adult mind may be explained
largely by the fact that they are &C
quired in childhood-'that plastic Pc
Rod when the mind is most receptive
and the critical faculty most in abey-
ance The folk tales of the nursery
and the kitchen" he says, ''the super
stitious sayings of the older members
of the family circle make a tremendous
impression on the mind of the child.
This would not matter so much were it
not for the fact that impressions of
childhood, especially when they appeal
strongly to the emotional in man, are
apt to persist throughout life"
He also points out that superstition
has played an important part in the
development of all religions and gov
ernments and quotes British anthro-
| pologist, DR.. J. G. Frazer, who declares
/ that "the salutary principle of respect
for government can be traced, in part,
| at all events, to the superstitious rev.
erence with which primitive peoples
/ have always regarded their chiefs,
holding them in awe as persons pos
sessed of supernatural powers. This
attitude, still much in evidence among
| savage tribes, seems to have been
shared by the ancestors of all Aryan
peoples; while in England lingering
relic of it remained until as late as
the eighteenth century in the notion
/ that scrofula could be healed by q
touch of the Kings hand.
Similarly, respect for property was
vastly strengthened by that form oil
/ superstition known as taboo by which
the supernatural power supposed to re
side in the person of the chieftain was
transmitted to his movable property
his clothes, tools, weapons, ornaments
in fact, to everything he touched.
i Respect for human life was Ions
promoted by the worldwide belief il
the ability of the ghost of a murdered
man to haunt his slayer
Religions Font of Superstititions
Many of our most popular superSti
tons today have been traced to relig
ious sources, as, for instance, the un
} lucky nature of Friday and the mum
Der 49, The dread of the number thir
teen is well-nigh universal In Rom,
and Florence it is never used in mum
J ber1ng houses, nor on theatre boXe
nor in making up lottery lists In Indi;
, the 18th year is feared like plague Il
: Persia people carefully refrain from
pronouncing the number, and in TUT
key it is avoided as far as possible il
conversation. 1t is thought that
acquired its unfortunate reputation a
the Lords Supper, when thirteen me-
: sat at table. The last to take hi
J place is supposed OF have been Judas
, Yet there is no proof that Judas wa
t the last tO'be seated, and. furthermore
, there is considerable evidence to shoy
) that the evil thirteen existed long be
) fore the Christian era. 1t is general
accepted, however, that Friday
held to be unlucky because Christ wa
: Crucified on that day.
The history of superstition, indeed
: presents some fascinating aspects, bu
. it is not at all flattering to the race