individual consciousness. Fundamental to the conclusions of the present volume, therefore, is the assumption of the reality of collective minds. For Professor Wundt, however, this assumption is not in the least of a dogmatic character. On the contrary, its acceptance is necessitated by the failure of opposing theories, and its validity is sustained by the fact that it renders intelligible a large and important body of facts. If this be admitted, it follows that folk psychology supplements not merely the methods of individual or physiological psychology, but also its principles and its laws. As yet, however, the prevailing tendency of psychologists, both in England and in America, is to retain the point of view of individual consciousness even when dealing with those phenomena which Wundt considers to be creations of the social group. That this occurs so frequently without any apparent thought of the necessity of justifying the procedure is—whether the position itself be right or wrong—an illustration of the barriers offered by a foreign language.

For the general reader who professes no acquaintance with the nature or the viewpoint of psychological science, it may not be amiss to remark that the author aims, in this book, to present, not a discussion of the philosophical validity of ideas or of the ethical or religious value of customs and institutions, but merely a descriptive account of human development. The "Elements" is an attempt to answer the question as to what beliefs and practices actually prevailed at the various stages of human development and what psychological explanation may be given of them. Such an investigation is quite distinct from an inquiry as to whether these beliefs and practices are justifiable. It is equally foreign, moreover, to the question as to whether the ideas that are entertained may be held either to bring us into relation with trans-subjective realities or to acquaint us with a truth that is, in any significant sense, eternal. However sacred or profane, true or delusional, experiences may be to the philosopher, the theologian, or the man of practical affairs, to him who is psychologizing they all alike are mental phenomena demanding, not evaluation, but observation, analysis, and reduction to mental laws. Wundt explicitly emphasizes the fact that his psychological account neither represents nor renders unnecessary a philosophy of history; similarly, it may be added, the present work is neither the equivalent nor the negation of ethics, jurisprudence, theology, epistemology, or metaphysics. Nevertheless, while the distinctions which we have suggested should be strictly kept in mind, a just appreciation of the significance of such books as the "Elements" demands that we recognize their notable value to all the various philosophical disciplines. Works of this sort succeed above all others in stimulating and sustaining a keen empirical interest on the part of philosophy, and they supply the latter with a fund of carefully selected and psychologically interpreted facts. Doubtless it is in connection with ethics and the science of religion that these services are most obvious. Even the epistemologist, however, will find much that is suggestive in Wundt's account of the origin and development of language, the characteristics and content of primitive thought, and the relation of mythological and religious ideas to the affective and conative life. That the Völkerpsychologie may contribute largely toward the solution of metaphysical problems has been strikingly demonstrated by Professor Royce in his profound volumes on "The Problem of Christianity."

The trials of the translator have been recounted too often any longer to require detailed mention. President G. Stanley Hall has suggested that the German proclivity to the use of long, involved sentences, loaded with qualifying words and phrases, and with compounds and supplementary clauses of every description, may perhaps be said to have the merit of rendering language somewhat correspondent with the actual course of thought. The significance of this statement can be appreciated by no one quite so keenly as by a translator, for whom the very fact which President Hall mentions causes many German sentences to be objects of despair. In the present instance, the endeavour has been to reproduce as faithfully as possible both the meaning and the spirit of the original, while yet taking such liberties as seemed necessary either to clarify certain passages or to avoid any serious offence to the English language. In a number of cases, no absolutely satisfactory equivalent of the German term seemed available. The very expression 'folk psychology,' for example, may scarcely be said to commend itself in every respect. Its use seemed unescapable, however, in view of the fact that the author, in his Introduction, expressly rejects the terms Sozialpsychologie and Gemeinschaftspsychologie in favour of Völkerpsychologie. Bildende Kunst has been rendered 'formative art,' not in the belief that this translation is wholly unobjectionable, but because it seemed preferable to all possible alternatives, such as 'plastic,' 'shaping,' or 'manual' art. Those who are familiar with, or who will take notice of, the very precise meaning which the present author gives to the terms Märchen, Sage, Legende, and Mythus will understand without explanation our frequent use of the word 'saga' and the necessity of the term 'märchen' in the translation. Wundt has always attached great significance to the distinctions which he has drawn between the various forms of the myth, and, more especially, to his contention that the earliest and, in a sense, the progenitor of these was the märchen. The crying need of exact definition and of clear thinking in a field so confused as that of mythology led him, on one occasion, to enter a plea for a clear-cut and consistent terminology such as that which he was attempting to maintain (vide Völkerpsychologie, Band V, Zweiter Teil, Zweite Auflage, s. 33). In this instance again, therefore, it seemed best to give to the author's own terms a preference over words which, while more familiar to the English reader, are less suited to convey the precise meaning intended.

The most pleasant of the translator's duties consists in acknowledging the very material assistance which he has received from his wife, whose preparation of an enlarged index for this English edition is but the last of many services which she has rendered in connection with the present undertaking.

EDWARD LEROY SCHAUB.
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY,
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS,
October 1915.

PREFACE

This volume pursues a different method, in its treatment of the problems of folk psychology, from that employed in my more extensive treatment of the subject. Instead of considering successively the main forms of expression of the folk mind, the present work studies the phenomena, so far as possible, synchronously, exhibiting their common conditions and their reciprocal relations. Even while engaged on my earlier task I had become more and more convinced that a procedure of this latter sort was required as its supplement. Indeed, I believed that the chief purpose of investigations in folk psychology must be found in a synthetic survey. The first prerequisite of such a survey is, of course, a separate examination of each of the various fields. The history of the development of the physical organism aims to understand not merely the genesis of the particular organs but primarily their co-operation and the correlation of their