ce.

When man turns from a contemplation of self to the things around him,
there is added to the sense of the mysterious which is aroused in him,
the feeling of his own weakness which is borne in upon him with
overpowering force. He cannot fail to realize how dependent he is upon
the sun, the moon, the rain, and the storm. At every step he takes
dangers beset his path. The animal world is at times hostile, at times
friendly; but whether the one or the other, it is essential for him to
carefully _note_ all that is going on around him. Every happening or
sight of an unusual character arouses now his sense of fear, and again
his hope. He learns to attach special importance to deviations from the
normal course of things. There must be a reason for the exception from
the rule. It betokens something, and, concerned as man primarily is for
his own welfare, he naturally comes to connect both the regular
phenomena of nature as well as the deviations, the normal traits and
habits of the animal world as well as peculiar features occasionally
occurring, with his own fate. To forestall the future was his only
safeguard against the dangers in store for him. It was of the utmost
importance to him to know what was coming or, at all events, to be on
the lookout for _something_, in order to be in a proper frame to receive
either the benefits or to meet the difficulties of the situation.

His powers of observation--upon which man in a primitive state depended
almost entirely for his sustenance--were thus further strengthened by
the necessity of protecting himself, so far as possible, against the
uncertainties of the future. Nothing would escape him. The movement of
the stars and planets, their position at different seasons and periods,
the appearance of the clouds, an eclipse, the conditions of the streams,
an earthquake, the direction of the winds, storms, the flight of birds,
the barking of dogs, the movements of snakes and serpents, peculiar
marks on the bodies of children, of adults and animals, monstrosities
among mankind or the brute creation, the meeting with certain persons or
animals, the rustling of leaves, the change of seasons, the lustre of
precious stones, all attracted man's attention. Whatever he saw might
portend something to him, in fact _did_ portend something; hence the one
great aim and ideal of his life was to _see_ everything. Seeing meant
foreseeing, and the man who could see everything--the _seer par
excellence_,