MEDICINE AND MAGIC.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 24 November 1924, Page 7

MEDICINE AND MAGIC.

—.—. —. rTHE FUNCTION OF RELIGION

(Dean Inge in “Morning Post.) |

Religion and modicino, as the late Professor Rivers has said, were originally part of the same science or discipline, by which primitive man sought protection against mysterious enemies. Of .this combined science, magic was a special department. Among savages, medicine is generally subordinate to magic; many primitive peoples do not believe that disease is ever the result of natural causes. Either it is sent by some god, or it is produced by human malice. After a long entanglement, the results of which may be studied in Sir Clifford Allbutts essays on ancient and mediaeval medicine, the healing art has nearly established its independence both of magic and religion. Even if the priest does not wish 'to be a spiritual medicine-man —and he is sorely tempted to act the part—his flock are often eager to endow him with occult powers; and if the Church disclaims tlio gift of curing bodily diseases, new sects arise which oiler and advertise these attractions. Medicine is ashamed of magic, but uses it furtively and with a fairly good conscience. There is a great virtue in a Latin prescription; it looks very like an exorcism.

But whereas in the nineteenth century religion and medicine were drawing completely apart, and magic was discredited and disowned, though sometimes used by both, we now see a tendency to go hack on this radical differentiation. Psychology is the mediator between the two branches ol the healing art, which are begining to study each other’s methods and talk of possible cooperation. And as we live in the days of the pragmatist philosophy, many are saying: If magio works, no matter liow, why should wo not use it?

RELIGION AND MAGIC. Magic lias been distinguished from religion by some experts as private ■and selfish theurgy, in opposition to the officially recognised methods 0.l propitiating the Deity. The distinction seems to be to be rather that the sorcerer claims to tap the sources of supernatural energy without the con sent of the higher power. The priest makes petitions and offers sacrifices; the magician calls spirits from the vasty deep, and forces them to serve his turn. No doubt prayer may be, and often is, offered in the hope ol controlling the event, such prayei belongs to magic rather than to religion. . But true, religion, unlike magic; says :- “Thy .will be done.” . The habits and methods of the savage/ medicine-man have been much studied by modern scholars and travellers. He not only cures disease; he is equally skilled in causing it; and it is part of his trade to call down rain,, or to A blight the crops and domestic animals, of an enemy. Voltaire said that there is no dohbt that a curse will ■ destroy' a flock of sheep, if administered with a sufficient quantity of strychnine.- ,> But the strange thing;; fs that tho medicine-man can kill a 'strong and healthy ,brave in aJ:ouple of days by cursing him, without stry chniqe . or any other poison. This / .fact'may bo said-to be thoroughly : proved; examples are forthcoming from. < Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. ,| I once asked a doctor, what cause ot-doath-vwould be revealed by an autopsy j in such cases, but he could not tell j me.V Perhaps the coroner would direct his jury do Vrotutn- , a * verdict :-d “Died by the Aetrof God,’- whioh ays

judge once pronounced to be the propei verdict when no rational explanation of tho death could be discovered. The fact of faith-killing is very important as bearing on the possibilities of faith-healing. If a healthy man will dutifully - die because sorcerer has told him to die, or because (as in a well-authenticated case in New Zealand) he lias inadvertently eaten tabu food reserved for the chief, may not the same amount ot fait 1 effect what medical science would call an impossible or miraculous cure, lho limits of treatment by suggestion liavo not vet been fully ascertained, and the investigation is difficult because accurate diagnosis and unlimited super stition do not often meet. But it is certain that where belief in sorcery exists, if. finds a great deal of incontrovertible evidence to support it The medicine-man can point to some wonderful cures and many extiemely deadly curses. He is not, as a rule, a mere impostor, and more than the witches of the Middle Ages, who, as long as people believed in them, were really dangerous people to offend.

PRIEST-PHYSICIANS. I Similarly, modern medicine has discovered tuat half the drugs used a hundred years ago -were inti liisicaliy worthless; but mat at the same time they were practice very useful. Ihe practitioners of that time were, in fact, sorcerers, without knowin" it. T’ne result has been a careful study ot psycho-therapeutics, which lias many branches, from iueud I lo the American Emmanual movement, and from Christian Science to the proposed revival of sacramental uneLon. \Ve are likely to see many inoro priest-physicians in the near future. The knowledge of hypnotism owes much to India, where it was practised Ion" before it was familiar m Europe. \Ve°used to know it as mesmerism, m animal magnetism, for the materialistic science of me time postulated some sort of “fluid,” like the imaginary fluid o electricity, as the medium of physical influence'. When the importance ot “suggestion” was recognised it was disputed whether the suggesion should be made to the intellect, or, as the latter school insists, bv bringing to the surface experiences which have been so completely forgotten that by no effort of will could tlicy be recalled. Professor Rivers, who not only investigated the psychology of savages, but had much experiences of nervous cases in the Great War, was led to form a high opinion of Freud’s discoveries, while at the same time he regrets that Freud concentrated his attention so exclusively on repressions connected with sex. This has caused much prejudice against psycho-analysis, and has dona untold mischief by attracting morbid-minded persons to the study ol it. It was the Great War which enabled/experts to cbYrect the Onesidedness of Freud’s theory. Tho effects of mental shock in weakening the powers of control, and setting up morbid processes have never before been exhibited on such a large scale, since never before have men undergone, for a long time together, such I horrible experiences. But, as Dr. Rivers says: “In the vast majority of cases, the morbid processes which have been set up by the shock or strain are not connected with the sexual instinct, but depend' on the awakening of suppressed tendencies connected with the .still more fundamental instinct of self-preservation.” /Thus corrected, it seems likely that Freud’s system may bear valuable j fruit.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SUGGESTION. An important part of the new treatment is to explain to ,the patient, the true cause of lm psychical troubles. He cannot be reasoned out of his delusions, which, are themselves a quasi-rational explanation of his state of inind• but when he -understands that his state of mind is itself the result of his psychical condition, he may cure himself. I once cured myself of a severe fit of depression, caused by overwork, by observing that it was far worse in the small hour's of the morning that at other times. This brought homo to me the absurdity ot attributing my depression to the condition of my country, or of mv finafices, or of my soul. With intelligent people, this kind of explanation is very efficacious. Sometimes, however, the morbid thought-habits have taken too strong a hold, and suggestion, which is now often imparted without hvpotism, is resorted to. The essence of suggestion is that another will, not the patient’s own is brought in to help him. The treatment therefore differs from the training in self-knowledge and self-reliance, which in milder cases is sufficient. Suggestion is often necessary, but it disturbs the process by which the patient is led to recovery by knowledge of the causes which upsets his equilibrium. What is the function of religion in this treatment? Surely the essence of religion is reliance on a power which is not ourselves, and yet is not wholly external or alien to ourselves. The presence of God in the soul enhances nd strengthens the personality, raising i. above itself ; and yet this sin ritual nfluencs acts always through the self, ■•nd not merely upon it from without. The value of prayer in neurotic, conditions has not yet, I thipk. been sufficiently tested and considered. Professor Rivers ends his book by

ondering whether the now science ran vor be applied to the neuroses of the odv politir, whirh ma.v. he suggests, '0 partly duo to long-forgotten experinces and deep-buried depressions. fn hot rase we want an entirely new "rand of politirinns. This opens out fascinating speculations, not to bo touched at the end of an article. Itht I fear that quarks now in possession " ill not, he easy to get rid of. Wo ‘-hall have to wait for (he advent of Plato's ideal Slate, in which Kings are 'philosophers or philosophers Kings.