Excerpt from The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 18

As to the origin of the Black Death, there are various opin ions. Not a few writers have considered it a special punish ment sent by the Almighty because of the wickedness of the world, others have thought that the plague was created in the beginning, and that there has been no break in it since, still others think it unnecessary to assume that the Black Death (or the plague in any form) was created in heaven for the punishment of man's wickedness, or that it has existed in unbroken succession since the beginning of the world, but prefer to hold that the germs exist. And only need suitable soil or right conditions in order to develop and pro duce the disease. This view, it seems to me, will force itself upon one who makes a careful and exhaustive study of all the facts. The origin of the Black Death, as of other outbreaks of the plague in modern times, could no doubt be traced to natu ralcauses in some definite place if records had been kept. Whether it originated in China, ' as some think, or in Arabia, as others believe, I shall not discuss, but shall stop where I think absolutely authentic history stops.

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