If people
do not believe this, many will die in September and October. Should any
people call on you at midnight, do not answer; it is not a human being
that calls, but an evil spirit. Do not be wicked, but be good."
But I do not propose to write a treatise on Pagan theology, nor do I
propose to trace in historical detail the progress through which
Christian and Pagan beliefs have in process of time become assimilated,
when I have occasion, I may notice these things. I intend, as I said at
the beginning, to deal with superstition, no matter from what source it
may have arisen, recognising superstition to be as already
defined--beliefs and practices founded upon erroneous ideas of God and
the laws of nature. In many things, I believe, we are yet too
superstitious, and our popular theology, instead of aiding to destroy
these erroneous beliefs, aids them in maintaining their vitality.
Orthodox Christians believe in a general and also in a special
providence; the ancients, on the other hand, believed that all events
were under the control and direction of separate and special divinities,
so that when praying for certain results, they addressed the divinity
having control over that phenomenon or circumstance by which they were
affected, and when their desires were gratified, they expressed their
thankfulness by offerings to that divinity.
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