Inothertimesandamongmenimbuedwithadifferentbodyofpreconceptionsthislineisnotdrawnpreciselyaswedrawitto-day。Inthesavageorthebarbarianschemeoflifeitisdrawninadifferentplaceandinanotherway。Inallcommunitiesunderthebarbarianculturethereisanalertandpervadingsenseofantithesisbetweentwocomprehensivegroupsofphenomena，inoneofwhichbarbarianmanincludeshimself，andintheother，hisvictual。Thereisafeltantithesisbetweeneconomicandnon-economicphenomena，butitisnotconceivedinthemodernfashion；itliesnotbetweenmanandbrutecreation，butbetweenanimateandinertthings。
Itmaybeanexcessofcautionatthisdaytoexplainthatthebarbariannotionwhichitishereintendedtoconveybytheterm“animate“isnotthesameaswouldbeconveyedbytheword“living“。Thetermdoesnotcoveralllivingthings，anditdoescoveragreatmanyothers。Suchastrikingnaturalphenomenonasastorm，adisease，awaterfall，arerecognisedas“animate“；
whilefruitsandherbs，andeveninconspicuousanimals，suchashouse-flies，maggots，lemmings，sheep，arenotordinarilyapprehendedas“animate“exceptwhentakencollectively。Ashereusedthetermdoesnotnecessarilyimplyanindwellingsoulorspirit。Theconceptincludessuchthingsasintheapprehensionoftheanimisticsavageorbarbarianareformidablebyvirtueofarealorimputedhabitofinitiatingaction。Thiscategorycomprisesalargenumberandrangeofnaturalobjectsandphenomena。Suchadistinctionbetweentheinertandtheactiveisstillpresentinthehabitsofthoughtofunreflectingpersons，anditstillprofoundlyaffectstheprevalenttheoryofhumanlifeandofnaturalprocesses；butitdoesnotpervadeourdailylifetotheextentorwiththefar-reachingpracticalconsequencesthatareapparentatearlierstagesofcultureandbelief。
Tothemindofthebarbarian，theelaborationandutilisationofwhatisaffordedbyinertnatureisactivityonquiteadifferentplanefromhisdealingswith“animate“thingsandforces。Thelineofdemarcationmaybevagueandshifting，butthebroaddistinctionissufficientlyrealandcogenttoinfluencethebarbarianschemeoflife。Totheclassofthingsapprehendedasanimate，thebarbarianfancyimputesanunfoldingofactivitydirectedtosomeend。Itisthisteleologicalunfoldingofactivitythatconstitutesanyobjectorphenomenonan“animate“fact。Wherevertheunsophisticatedsavageorbarbarianmeetswithactivitythatisatallobtrusive，heconstruesitintheonlytermsthatarereadytohand——thetermsimmediatelygiveninhisconsciousnessofhisownactions。
Activityis，therefore，assimilatedtohumanaction，andactiveobjectsareinsofarassimilatedtothehumanagent。Phenomenaofthischaracter——especiallythosewhosebehaviourisnotablyformidableorbaffling——havetobemetinadifferentspiritandwithproficiencyofadifferentkindfromwhatisrequiredindealingwithinertthings。Todealsuccessfullywithsuchphenomenaisaworkofexploitratherthanofindustry。Itisanassertionofprowess，notofdiligence。