'When we come to special cases we must not imagine that much can be
gained by using such general terms as Animism, Totemism, Fetishism, &c.,
as solvents of mythological problems. To my mind, all such general
terms, not excluding even Darwinism or Puseyism, seem most objectionable,
because they encourage vague thought, vague praise, or vague blame.
'It is, for instance, quite possible to place all worship of animal gods,
all avoidance of certain kinds of animal food, all adoption of animal
names as the names of men and families, under the wide and capacious
cover of totemism. All theriolatry would thus be traced back to
totemism. I am not aware, however, that any Egyptologists have adopted
such a view to account for the animal forms of the Egyptian gods.
Sanskrit scholars would certainly hesitate before seeing in Indra a totem
because he is called vrishabha, or bull, or before attempting to explain
on this ground the abstaining from beef on the part of orthodox Hindus
[i. 7].'