Section V Religions Of India And Iran Section Vi Religions Of The Greeks And Romans Section Vii Religions Of The Germans Celts And Slavs Section Viii The Christian Religion Section Ix Method And Scope Of The History Of Religions

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 edition. Excerpt: ...was assumed by Ammianus to be a kind of corporate life; but those who wrote most fully of the Druids knew nothing of this. The position and power of the Druids demanded some kind of organization, and in Gaul there was a chief Druid wielding authority over the others. Evidence tends to show that the insular Druids were similarly organized and had a chief, as was certainly the case with the Filid. M. Bertrand's development of the words of Ammianus, and his theory that the Druids were a kind of monks living a corporate life, while Irish monasticism was a transformation of the system, is opposed to the evidence. Irish Druids had wives and children. Christianity opposed Druidism too much to adopt any part of its system, and there is no doubt that Irish monasticism was modelled on that of the continent. The Druidic organization probably denoted no more than that the Druids were bound by certain ties, and were also more or less graded, with different classes practising different functions, though these were perhaps never very exclusively defined. The religious, magical, and other functions of the Druids are well known; their position as teachers, both in Gaul and Ireland, deserves examination. Their teaching of immortality had the practical end of making men fearless of death. Their scientific teaching was connected with magic and included cosmogonic myths. Their theology was largely mythological; their moral teaching resembled that found in all barbaric societies. Ritual formulae, runes, incantations would also be taught: these were probably the subject of the verses which were never committed to writing and which were kept secret from the people. This secrecy did not involve an esoteric, philosophic, or monotheistic teaching. These...