To the
benevolent creative Powers they attributed all that is beautiful in
the world (_i.e._ certain of the trees, plants, flowers, animals,
insects, and pleasing colours and scents); all that is fair and
agreeable in the human being, such as affection, love, kindness, the
arts and sciences--in a word all that in any degree affected the
welfare of mankind; and to the malevolent creative Powers they
attributed all that was noxious in creation; all that was harmful to
man, and detrimental to his moral and physical progress (_i.e._
diseases, and all savage and filthy passions); all races of low
intelligence, viz. Paleolithic and Neolithic man--and all those born
with black or red skins (those colours being particularly significant
of the malignant Occult Elements); all destructive animals; (_i.e._
reptiles such as the teleosaurus, steneosaurus, etc.; birds, such as
the ptereodactyl, vulture, eagle, etc.; mammals, such as the cave
lion, cave tiger, etc.; fish, such as the shark, octopus, etc.); and
all ugly and venomous insects.
These earliest records show that at one time the physical and
superphysical world were in close touch; all kinds of spirits--trolls,
pixies, nymphs, satyrs, imps, Vagrarians, Barrowvians, etc.--mixing
freely with living human beings; but that as the population increased
and civilization evolved, superphysical manifestations became more and
more rare, until finally they became restricted to certain conditions
dependent on time and locality.
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