philosophy arose and became systematised, with its wonderful
endeavour to perfect the base metals by the Philosopher's Stone--the
concentrated Essence of Nature,--as man's soul is perfected through
the life-giving power of JESUS CHRIST.

I want, in conclusion to these brief introductory remarks, to say
a few words concerning phallicism in connection with my topic.
For some "tender-minded"[1] and, to my thought, obscure,
reason the subject is tabooed. Even the British Museum
does not include works on phallicism in its catalogue,
and special permission has to be obtained to consult them.
Yet the subject is of vast importance as concerns the origin
and development of religion and philosophy, and the extent
of phallic worship may be gathered from the widespread occurrence
of obelisks and similar objects amongst ancient relics.
Our own maypole dances may be instanced as one survival
of the ancient worship of the male generative principle.


[1] I here use the term with the extended meaning Mr H. G. WELLS
has given to it. See _The New Machiavelli_.


What could be more easy to understand than that, when man first
questioned as to the creation of the earth, he should suppose it
to have been generated by some process analogous to that which he saw
held in the case of man? How else could he account for its origin,
if knowledge must proceed from the known to the unknown?
No one questions at all that the worship of the human generative
organs as symbols of the dual generative principle of Nature