These earliest records show that at one time the physical and superphysical world were in close touch; all kinds of spirits—­trolls, pixies, nymphs, satyrs, imps, Vagrarians, Barrowvians, etc.—­mixing freely with living human beings; but that as the population increased and civilization evolved, superphysical manifestations became more and more rare, until finally they became restricted to certain conditions dependent on time and locality.[10]

Up to this period there had been no state religion—­no temples in Atlantis.  If any one wished for a particular favour from the Occult Powers—­for example, from the Rabses, the Occult Powers of music; the Brakvos, the Occult Powers of medicine; or the Derinas, the Occult Powers of love, they retired to some secluded spot and held direct intercourse with these Powers.  The idea of praying to an invisible being—­who might or might not hear them—­never entered their minds; they were far too matter of fact for that—­and it was not until superphysical manifestations had become confined to a very select few, that the plan of erecting public buildings in spots frequented by the spirits, so that all who wished could assemble there and communicate with them, was proposed and put into operation.  In these buildings, however, the spirits did not choose always, to appear to order—­sometimes they quitted the spot where the edifice had been erected; sometimes they would only appear there periodically; and sometimes, out of perversity, they would appear when least expected.  But whether occult manifestations really took place in these buildings or not, those assembled to see them were persuaded by those in charge of the building, who saw thereby an opportunity of making money, that the spirits were actually there; and in due time these buildings became known as temples, and their showmen as priests.  Every temple was dedicated to an individual spirit—­one to the Spirit Bara-boo; another to the Spirit Karaboro, and so on; whilst in the absence of genuine spirit manifestations, prayers, incantations and rituals, invented by the priests, always attracted a large concourse of people to these temples, and finally proved a greater source of attraction than the spirits themselves.

It was to gain favours from the Occult Powers that donations from the public were at first invited, then demanded; and the priests in this manner accumulated vast fortunes.  Later on, too, there sprang up, in connection with these temples, colleges for the training of young men—­invariably selected from the wealthy classes—­to the priesthood; and from the parents of these youthful aspirants large fees, which in course of time became exorbitant, were extracted, thereby furnishing another source of revenue to the priests.  The most famous colleges for the training of priests in Atlantis were those of Bara-boo-rek[11] at Keisionwo, Karaboro-rek at Diniangek, and Ballygarap-rek at Tijimin.