In this readable volume—originally a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London, in which, accordingly, one occasionally encounters instances of the tempered wind—the author has given us a psychoanalytic interpretation of sacrificial rites and rituals, of sacrifice as a phenomenon of primitive religion. In his own words, the book deals with the origin and legacy of the Oedipus complex, and its main thesis is that the various sacrificial rites so basic in primitive religion constitute a part of this legacy.

The volume opens, accordingly, with a suitable précis, fifty-five