Material

The scientific material for the history of religions was especially enriched after the mystery of Egyptian hieroglyphs and Assyrian wedge-shaped inscriptions was solved. It is true that the work of studying the Egyptian and Assyrian religious monuments is far from complete, since here, instead of complete certainty, one must often be content with guesses; but for all that, the material acquired is quite sufficient to understand the foundations of the religious beliefs of the peoples who played such a prominent role in the history of antiquity.

The Foundation for the construction of the history of religions, we can say, is ready, and moreover the Foundation is so solid that it can be envied even by such Sciences, which have long won the right to exist. But the very science of the history of religions is still in its infancy or primary growth. The fact is that religion is such an intimate side of human life that it is very difficult to unravel all the subtleties of religious beliefs, customs and institutions. In this case, the complexity and richness of the material can only complicate the historical coverage of the subject, not facilitate it.

Moreover, it is a material for studying the religions of only cultural peoples who have left written evidence about themselves. Meanwhile, for the purpose of historical coverage of the gradual development of religious beliefs, it would be necessary to open the veil that separates the primitive man from us at the dawn of his life. How man began his religious life is a question that should be of most interest to both the historian of religions and the researcher of primitive culture. And yet our science is extremely weak in solving this problem. So we have to start from the middle, not from the beginning. Whether it will ever be possible to restore the beginning is a dark question. All hope in this case is in the history of primitive culture, which has already managed to reveal much of what relates to the life and religious customs of primitive tribes. It may be that we are a little nearer to the solution of the question of primitive religion and the study of the religious life of modern savages. In this respect, the material is also stored in sufficient quantity, thanks to scientific reports about the life of savage scientists-travelers and missionaries. But all this is too little to restore those primary beliefs and rites with which primitive man began his religious life.