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 THE ORIGIN OF MYTHS 11 ness were observed with a countless number of living beings, which may be called divinities of nature. These, like the beings which the human imagination had in a similar manner created out of souls, could not be directly perceived by the senses, and so the two kinds of supersensual beings were easily compared with each other. The natural result was that the peculiarities of the beings developed from souls, having been already determined, were transferred to the divinities of nature. 11. Now, if the observed exercise of power in any process of nature is mightier and of longer duration than can come from an ordinary human being or animal, the presupposed author is exalted above the measure of man or beast, as regards might and duration of life. Moreover, according as this power appears hostile or friendly, strong or gentle, active or passive, towards mankind, so in each case there is attributed to the being whose action is supposed to be thus manifested a friendly, or an unfriendly disposition, and masculine or feminine gender. 12. These divinities of nature, whose identity was preserved among the Greeks in the multitudes of river gods, centaurs, nymphs, nereids, satyrs, etc., were essen- tially different from the gods proper. For, during the stage of belief in such divinities, an exhibition of a given force is not attributed to some being that always produces similar results in similar objects ; but, rather, every object of nature exhibiting signs of the activity of life is supposed to be inhabited and preserved by a special divinity of its own. The transition from belief in the minor divinities to belief in gods. always follows first in the sphere in which strict distinctions of place