That the Eleusinia included an ethical element seems undeniable. This
one would think probable, _a priori_, on the ground that Greek Mysteries
are an embellished survival of the initiatory rites of savages, which do
contain elements of morality. This I have argued at some length in
"Myth, Ritual, and Religion." Many strange customs in some Greek
Mysteries, such as the daubing of the initiate with clay, the use of the
[Greek text] (the Australian _Tundun_, a small piece of wood whirled
noisily by a string), the general suggestion of _a new life_, the
flogging of boys at Sparta, their retreat, each with his instructor
(Australian _kabbo_, Greek [Greek text]) to the forests, are precisely
analogous to things found in Australia, America, and Africa. Now savage
rites are often associated with what we think gross cruelty, and, as in
Fiji, with abandoned license, of which the Fathers also accuse the
Greeks. But, among the Yao of Central Africa, the initiator, observes
Mr. Macdonald, "is said to give much good advice. His lectures condemn
selfishness, and a selfish person is called _mwisichana_, that is,
'uninitiated.'" {74a}

Among the Australians, Dampier, in 1688, observed the singular unselfish
generosity of distribution of food to the old, the weak, and the sick.
According to Mr. Howitt, the boys of the Coast Murring tribe are taught
in the Mysteries "to speak the straightforward truth while being
initiated, and are warned to avoid various offences against propriety and
morality." The method of instruction is bad, a pantomimic representation
of the sin to be avoided, but the intention is excellent. {74b} Among
the Kurnai respect for the old, for unprotected women, the duty of
unselfishness, and other ethical ideas are inculcated, {74c} while
certain food taboos prevail during the rite, as was also the case in the
Eleusinia. That this moral idea of "sharing what they have with their
friends" is not confined merely to the tribe, is proved by the experience