Ernest Becker

"As ritual is an organization for life, it has to be carried out according to a particular theory of prosperity--that is, how exactly to get nature to give more life to the tribe. The most striking thing to us about the primitive theory of prosperity is how elemental it was--or organic, as we would say today. Primitive man observed nature and tried to discern in it what made the dance of life--where the power came from, how things became fecund. If you are going to generate life, you have to determine its principles and imitate the things that embody them."