Quote by: Joseph Campbell

A priest is a functionary of a social sort. The society worships certain deities in a certain way, and the priest becomes ordained as a functionary to carry out that ritual. The deity to whom he is devoted is a deity that was there before he came along. But the shaman's powers are symbolized in his own familiars, deities of his own personal experience. His authority comes out of a psychological experience, not a social ordination.


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Author Bio


  • NameJoseph Campbell
  • DescriptionAmerican mythologist, writer and lecturer
  • AliasesJoseph John Campbell
  • BornMarch 26, 1904
  • DiedOctober 31, 1987
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionAnthropologist; Mythologist; Writer; Philosopher; Teacher