Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/131

 Rh light of his own investigations or predilections, and takes a different path towards the ultimate goal.

Everything with which we come in contact or in which we move is the result of composite forces, and so also is what we call the mind of the people. It is not the simple unfolding in a direct and straight line of any embryonic mental force, but a highly composite product of centuries of development under the most varied influences. The warp and woof of the human mind and of the lore of the people is not woven of one strand or of one colour, it is a multicoloured design of many strands and of many origins. The more we try to unravel this composite design, the more we find that patient following up of each separate thread is the only safe plan, unless we choose to lose ourselves in the labyrinth of metaphysical speculation. We must follow the thread that leads to the skein left at the entrance, and not try to unite ends which are separated in time and history. The historical investigation of each custom, tale, superstition, or charm is the primary condition for the solution of some of the problems of folklore. We shall never solve the riddle of the human heart; and we dare not ignore (as is often done) all the intervening chains and links which bind nations and organizations together, nor content ourselves with finding sufficient ground for new elucidatory theories in a single casual parallel, or even in a number of parallels. Our Society, happily, is not wedded to one single dogmatic teaching, and I contend that in the variety of opinions and views there lies a better prospect of approaching the ultimate truth, than in following one single beaten track. Because of this, 1 have taken the Letter of Toledo as a typical subject for investigation. It appeared in the middle period of the Christian Era, and started from one of the most famous centres of mediaeval learning. It will therefore be useful to study the question of this letter upwards and downwards; to follow its further spread from the twelfth century onwards, and to attempt to trace its origin back to older sources.