Page:A School History of England (1911).djvu/19

 So one by one the earth gave up her secrets to our forefathers, and, like Adam and Eve, they went forth to subdue and replenish this Isle of Britain. Each century that passed, they lived longer, were better fed, better housed, used better weapons, killed off more wild beasts. They quarrelled of course, and even killed each other; family often fought with family, tribe with tribe, for they were always breaking the Tenth Commandment. But such quarrels were not perpetual; tribe might often join with tribe, and so begin to form one nation or people. How they were governed, what their laws and customs were, what their religious ideas were, we can only guess. Perhaps the eldest man of the tribe was a sort of king and declared what were the ‘customs’ which the tribe must keep; said ‘this would make the gods angry’ and that would not; settled the disputes about a sheep or piece of corn-land; led the tribe to fight in battle. Perhaps this king pretended to be descended from the gods, and his tribe got to believe it.

Who were the gods? Sun, moon, stars, rivers, trees, lakes; the rain, the lightning, the clouds; perhaps certain animals; dead ancestors, if they had been brave men, would come to be counted gods. But all round you were gods and spirits of some sort, whom you must appease by sacrifices, or by absurd customs. ‘Do not cut your hair by moonlight, or the goddess of the moon will be angry.’ ‘If you are the King, never cut your hair at all.’ ‘Luck’ perhaps was the origin of many of such customs; some famous man hud once cut his hair by moonlight, and next day he had been struck by lightning. Then there were priests, or ‘medicine-men’ of some kind. These would generally support the