The origin and development of the moral ideas

”The gods of the Gold Coast,” says Major Ellis, “are jealous gods, jealous of their dignity, jealous of the adulation and offerings paid to them; and there is nothing they resent so much as any slight, whether intentional or accidental, which may be offered them…. There is nothing that offends them so deeply as to ignore them, or question their power, or laugh at them.”1 The wrath of Yahveh burst forth with vehemence whenever his honour or sanctity was in the least violated, however unintentionally.2 Many peoples consider it insulting and dangerous merely to point at one of the celestial bodies;3 and among the North American Indians it is a widespread belief that, if anybody points at the rainbow, the finger will wither or become misshapen.4

Nor is it to supernatural danger only that a person exposes himself by irreverence to a god, but in many cases he is also punished by his fellow men. On the Slave Coast insults to a god “are always resented and punished by the priests and worshippers of that god, it being their duty to guard his honour.”5 Among the ancient Peruvians6 and Hebrews,7 as also among Christian nations up to comparatively recent times, blasphemy was a capital offence. In England, in the reign of Henry VIII., a boy of fifteen was burned because he had spoken, much after the fashion of a parrot, some idle words affecting the sacrament of the altar, which he had chanced to hear but of which he could not have understood the meaning.8 According to Muhammedan law a person guilty of blasphemy is to be put to death without delay, even though he profess himself repentant, as adequate repentance for such a sin is deemed impossible.9 These and similar laws are rooted in the idea that the god is personally offended by the insult. It was the Lord himself who made the law that he who blasphemed His name should be stoned to death by all the congregation.10 “Blasphemy,” says Thomas Aquinas, “as being an offence directly against God, outweighs murder, which is an offence against our neighbour…. The blasphemer intends to wound the honour of God.”11 That blasphemy is, or should be, punished not as a sin against the deity but as an offence against the religious feelings of men, is an idea of quite modern origin.

In Morocco the jnûn (jinn) must not be referred to by name in the afternoon and evening after the ʿâṣar. If speaking of them at all, the people then make use of some circumlocution; the Berbers of Southern Morocco call them wīd-iáḍnin, “those others,” or wīd-urḍ-hĕr’nin, “those unseen,” or wīd-tntl-tísnt, “those who shun salt.” The Greenlanders dare not pronounce the name of a glacier as they row past it, for fear lest it should be offended and throw off an iceberg.12 Some North American Indians believe that if, when travelling, they mention the names of rocks or islands or rivers, they will have much rain or be wrecked or be devoured by some monster in the river.13 The Omahas, again, “are very careful not to use names which they regard as sacred on ordinary occasions; and no one dares to sing sacred songs except the chiefs and old men at the proper times.”14 Some other Indians considered it a profanation to mention the name of their highest divinity.15 Among certain Australian natives the elders of the tribe impart to the youth, on his initiation, the name of the god Tharamūlŭn; but there is such a disinclination to pronounce his name that, in speaking of him, they generally use elliptical expressions, such as “He,” “the man,” or “the name I told you of,” and the women only know him by the name of Papang (father).16 The Marutse and allied tribes along the Zambesi shrink from mentioning the real name of their chief god Nyambe and therefore substitute for it the word molemo, which has a very comprehensive meaning, denoting, besides God, all kinds of good and evil spirits,

medicines, poisons, and amulets.17 According to Cicero, there was a god, a son of Nilus, whose name the Egyptians considered it a crime to pronounce;18 and Herodotus is unwilling to mention the name of Osiris on two occasions when he is speaking of him.19 The divine name of Indra was secret, the real name of Agni was unknown.20 The gods of Brahmanism have mystic names, which nobody dares to speak.21 The real name of Confucius is so sacred that it is a statutable offence in China to pronounce it; and the name of the supreme god of the Chinese is equally tabooed. “Tien,” they say, “means properly only the material heaven, but it also means Shang-Te (supreme ruler, God); for, as it is not lawful to use his name lightly, we name him by his residence, which is in tien.”22 The “great name” of Allah is a secret name, known only to prophets, and possibly to some great saints.23 Yahveh said, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”;24 and orthodox Jews avoid mentioning the word Yahveh altogether.25 Among Christian nations, as Professor Nyrop observes, there is a common disinclination to use the word “God” or its equivalents in everyday speech. The English say good instead of God (“good gracious,” “my goodness,” “thank goodness”); the Germans, Potz instead of Gotts (“Potz Welt,” “Potz Wetter,” “Potz Blitz”); the French, bleu instead of Dieu (“corbleu,” “morbleu,” “sambleu”); the Spaniards, brios or diez instead of Dios (“voto á brios,” “juro á brios,” “par diez”).26

These taboos have sprung from fear. There is, first, something uncanny in mentioning the name of a supernatural being, even apart from any definite ideas connected with the act. But to do so is also supposed to summon him or to attract his attention, and this may be considered dangerous, especially if he is looked upon as malevolent or irritable, as is generally the case with the Moorish jnûn. The uncanny feeling or the notion of danger readily leads to the belief that the supernatural being feels offended if his name is pronounced; we have noticed a similar association of thought in connection with the names of the dead. But a god may also have good reason for wishing that his name should not be used lightly or taken in vain. According to primitive ideas a person’s name is a part of his personality, hence the holiness of a god may be polluted by his name being mentioned in profane conversation. Moreover, it may be of great importance for him to prevent his name from being divulged, as magic may be wrought on a person through his name just as easily as through any part of his body.

In early civilisation there is a common tendency to keep the real name of a human individual secret so that sorcerers may not make an evil use of it;27 and it is similarly believed that gods must conceal their true names lest other gods or men should be able to conjure with them.28 The great Egyptian god Râ declared that the name which his father and mother had given him remained hidden in his body since his birth, so that no magician might have magic power over him.29 The list of divine names possessed by the Roman pontiffs in their indigitamenta was a magical instrument which laid at their mercy all the forces of the spirit world;30 and we are told that the Romans kept the name of their tutelary god secret in order to prevent their enemies from drawing him away by pronouncing it.31 There is a Muhammedan tradition that whosoever calls upon Allah by his “great name” will obtain all his desires, being able merely by mentioning it to raise the dead to life, to kill the living, in fact to perform any miracle he pleases.32