Page:Conventional Lies of our Civilization.djvu/103

 strengthen his legitimate sources of superiority by adding to them the awe of the supernatural. His surpassing energy, wealth or bodily strength did not seem to him sufficient at this stage, to ensure to him the continued possession of his exalted position against the covetousness and ambition of his rivals, consequently he made the gods his mysterious and therefore doubly to be feared, confederates. He assumed the position of chief-priest of the tribe's religion, called the invisible spirits into his service and cultivated the growth of superstition until it became one of the strongest supports of his power. This was the condition of things among all the peoples of the globe, at the moment when they entered upon the field of history. The royal family claimed to be descended in a direct line from the gods. The Pharaohs, the Incas, were the sons of the sun. The Germanic royal leaders claimed to have sprung from the loins of Thor. The Maharadschas of India, traced their origin to Vishnu. The people considered their leader a sacred being, and ascribed supernatural powers to him. In the Orient no one could look upon the light of his countenance without being stricken with blindness. The kings of England and France possessed the power of curing scrofula, St. Vitus' dance and epilepsy, by merely laying their hand upon those afflicted with the disease.

The eternal vengeance of the gods rested on those who laid violent hands upon the person of the king, including their family and their entire tribe. In addition to his human hirelings, the king had all the gods and demi-gods of the heavens as guardians of his throne. The difference in station between the king and the people had already become immense. He was no longer merely the first among his fellows, the patriarch of the tribe, but a being of superior mould, supernatural and beyond the