Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 86.djvu/85

Rh the relics of pagan observances. Such a belief in the date of the nativity of the Christ is quite consistent with the beliefs of one’s neighbors and with one’s education and experiences.

Beliefs which are widespread and which may be called social beliefs, even though they be false, are not technically considered to be delusions. There are many popular beliefs of this kind which have no foundation in fact. The childish beliefs that it is unlucky to walk under a ladder, or to permit a pin to remain on the street if you see it, or to walk upon the cracks in the sidewalk, are examples of these. Such beliefs have probably arisen in more primitive conditions of life and the beliefs have been handed down from generation to generation, although not always in the same specific way. It has been suggested that the widespread belief regarding the harm which may ensue from leaving a pin on a pathway is due to a tradition which has come from the time when shoes and other protective devices for the feet were not as commonly used as they are at the present time. It may also have been due to the fact that these implements were expensive at one time, and that it was an indication of extravagance or lack of care if such objects were not picked up. Similarly, the belief in ghosts is also widespread and is probably the remnant of the mysterious ideas which were prevalent among primitive peoples as explanations of those things which could not be understood or explained in simple terms.

The mental association in the relation of cause and effect of two occurrences because two events have at one time been encountered in a temporal series is frequently met with among the uneducated. Similar causal connectives are believed in by those who, although educated, have not sufficient knowledge of the conditions of the phenomena with which they deal. The belief that certain individuals had supernatural powers or were in league with the devil was widespread among all classes several hundred years ago, and many people were whipped or burned because they were thought to be witches and capable of exerting an evil influence on others, such as producing sickness and death. The occurrence of sudden illness following certain actions of visitors was responsible for some of these beliefs, although the causative connection was not apparent. In these cases a certain mental “set” or attitude (the general belief in the supernatural) was the determining element which resulted in the individual beliefs. At the present time such beliefs are found among the uneducated, and they are especially numerous in communities which are isolated to a great extent from the rest of the world. Thus, the screeching of an owl is believed by some to portend coming misfortune; a dog howling at night means that some one had died or is going to die; the appearance of a strange black cat in one’s house is a sign of approaching illness or ill luck (although in certain communities it is considered lucky); crows foretell misfortune; etc.