Sentence:  The Etruscans, said to be the most ancient people of whom we have any preserved records in Europe, were evidently, like most primaeval races, strong believers in a future state, and took great pains to protect their dead; we may even suggest that precaution, lest the <WSD>dread fascination</WSD> should injure the bodies of their helpless departed, may have led to burning them, and thus we arrive at the ultimate origin of cremation, certainly not the earliest method of disposal of the dead. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A malignant supernatural influence produced by the evil eye.