By religion, then, I understand a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of natur… - James George Frazer

With the advance of knowledge, therefore, prayer and sacrifice assume the leading place in religious ritual; and magic; which once ranked with them as a legitimate equal, is gradually relegated to the background and sinks to the level of a black art.

It is a common rule with primitive people not to waken a sleeper, because his soul is away and might not have time to get back; so if the man wakened without his soul, he would fall sick. If it is absolutely necessary to rouse a sleeper, it must be done very gradually, to allow the soul time to return.

We seem to move on a thin crust which may at any moment be rent by the subterranean forces slumbering below.