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141    HERE is but little trace of superstitions connected with
the great objects of Nature, the mountains, rivers, glens, sea,
&c., which were probably regarded by the ancient inhabitants of
Man merely with dumb awe and reverence. But of their adoration
of the Heavenly Bodies which supplied them with light, and of
the animals, trees, and plants, which supplied their daily
needs, there are significant traces. 1 Their religion, like
those of all primitive races, was, in effect, a vague worship of
the phenomena of nature, which they regarded as living powers.
Now, of all the phenomena which are visible to man, the Sun is
at once the most awful, beneficent, and mysterious. It is the
source of light and warmth, and, when it departs, darkness and
cold follow. With darkness, fear and death are associated, and
with light, joy and life. And as the sun is the source of light,
it was considered the originator and generator of life. The
worship of the sun w