rded as raised above all ordinary limitations of humanity.
Of these conceptions, that of the ghost's superhuman power of movement
remains in the popular faith to the present day.

+93+. The practical question for the early man is the determination of
the relation of departed souls to earthly life. Among savage tribes
their attitude is sometimes friendly, sometimes unfriendly, more often
the latter.[195] To fear the unknown is a human instinct. Shades are
looked on as aliens, and aliens are generally enemies. In particular,
ghosts are conceived of as sometimes wandering about in search of food
or warmth, or as cherishing enmity toward persons who had wronged them
in their earthly life. They are supposed to be capable of inflicting
disease or pain, and precautions are taken against them. Cases are
reported of persons who killed themselves in order that, as ghosts, they
might wreak vengeance on enemies.[196] On the other hand, to the members
of its own family the departed soul is sometimes held to be friendly, or
not unfriendly, but among savages it is not thought of as a potent and
valuable friend.

+94+. In the more advanced cults the functions of the departed souls
become larger and more important. They are regarded as having the power
of foretelling the future, and are consulted.[197] They become guardian
spirits, and a cult of souls arises.[198] In some higher forms of
religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) they are regarded as mediators
between man and the deity, or as advocates for man in the heavenly
court.

+95+. _Prayer for the dead._ Before the ethical stage of religion the
moral condition and needs of the dead did not come into consideration;
their physical wants were met by performance of funeral rites and by
supplying them with food and other necessities of life,[199] and they
later came to be looked on as helpers rather than as needing help; but
when this old view passed away, and the conceptions of judgment and
ethical retribution after death were reached, the moral status of the
dead became a source of anxiety to the living. It was held that the
divine judge might be reached--by intercession or by petitions, or by
the performance of certain ceremonies--and his attitude toward the dead
modified.

+96+. A trace of such care for the deceased may be found in the
Brahmanic ceremonies intended to secure complete immortality to
fathers.[200] In Egypt, in the later times, there was an arrangement for
securin