What is "propitiate"

Usage examples of "propitiate".

Obviously it rests on the supposition that the human personality in some form, whether we call it a soul, a spirit, a ghost, or what not, can survive death and thereafter continue for a longer or shorter time to exercise great power for good or evil over the destinies of the living, who are therefore compelled to propitiate the shades of the dead out of a regard for their own safety and well-being.

Hence if natural religion be defined roughly as a belief in superhuman spiritual beings and an attempt to propitiate them, we may perhaps say that, while natural religion has slain its thousands, magic has slain its ten thousands.

More than that they even endeavour to propitiate him by the performance of certain rites, which, however childish and absurd they may seem to us, are very solemn affairs for these simple folk.

It is not therefore for us to cast stones at the Warramunga men of the Wollunqua totem for attempting to propitiate and constrain their mythical serpent at the same time.

This feeling is probably vaguely associated with the idea that, as his body is infirm, so to a corresponding extent will his spirit part be, and therefore they have no special need to consider or propitiate this, as it can do them no harm.

Hence when men are in danger at sea, they seek to propitiate the ghosts by throwing areca-nuts and fragments of food into the water and by praying to the ghosts not to be angry with them.

If the food is at once devoured by the fish, which swarm in the pool, the man will die, but otherwise his life may be saved by the intervention of a man who knows the habits of the ghost and how to propitiate him.

Fison supposes that in the sexual licence and suspension of the rights of private property which characterise these festivals we have a reminiscence of a time when women and property were held in common by the community, and the motive for temporarily resuscitating these obsolete customs was a wish to propitiate the ancestral spirits, who were thought to be gratified by witnessing a revival of that primitive communism which they themselves had practised in the flesh so long ago.

These appeared much humbled by their defeats, and sought to propitiate the troops by bringing in supplies of grain and forage.

Now at last let us propitiate Phoebus with sacrifice and straightway prepare a feast.

Hence from that time forward the Phrygians propitiate Rhea with the wheel and the drum.

And now I bid you propitiate him with the steam of sacrifice and libations.

Mopsus, son of Ampycus, with word of prophecy urged them to land and propitiate him with libations.

And propitiate only-begotten Hecate, daughter of Perses, pouring from a goblet the hive-stored labour of bees.

And with songs did she propitiate and invoke the Deathspirits, devourers of life, the swift hounds of Hades, who, hovering through all the air, swoop down on the living.