Itwillbetothepoint，however，tonotethegeneraleconomiccharacterofdevoutconsumption，incomparisonwithconsumptionforotherpurposes。Anindicationoftherangeofmotivesandpurposesfromwhichdevoutconsumptionofgoodsproceedswillhelptowardanappreciationofthevaluebothofthisconsumptionitselfandofthegeneralhabitofmindtowhichitiscongenial。Thereisastrikingparallelism，ifnotratherasubstantialidentityofmotive，betweentheconsumptionwhichgoestotheserviceofananthropomorphicdivinityandthatwhichgoestotheserviceofagentlemanofleisurechieftainorpatriarch——intheupperclassofsocietyduringthebarbarianculture。Bothinthecaseofthechieftainandinthatofthedivinitythereareexpensiveedificessetapartforthebehoofofthepersonserved。Theseedifices，aswellasthepropertieswhichsupplementthemintheservice，mustnotbecommoninkindorgrade；theyalwaysshowalargeelementofconspicuouswaste。
Itmayalsobenotedthatthedevoutedificesareinvariablyofanarchaiccastintheirstructureandfittings。Soalsotheservants，bothofthechieftainandofthedivinity，mustappearinthepresenceclothedingarmentsofaspecial，ornatecharacter。Thecharacteristiceconomicfeatureofthisapparelisamorethanordinarilyaccentuatedconspicuouswaste，togetherwiththesecondaryfeature——moreaccentuatedinthecaseofthepriestlyservantsthaninthatoftheservantsorcourtiersofthebarbarianpotentate——thatthiscourtdressmustalwaysbeinsomedegreeofanarchaicfashion。Alsothegarmentswornbythelaymembersofthecommunitywhentheycomeintothepresence，shouldbeofamoreexpensivekindthantheireverydayapparel。Here，again，theparallelismbetweentheusageofthechieftain’saudiencehallandthatofthesanctuaryisfairlywellmarked。Inthisrespectthereisrequiredacertainceremonial“cleanness“ofattire，theessentialfeatureofwhich，intheeconomicrespect，isthatthegarmentswornontheseoccasionsshouldcarryaslittlesuggestionasmaybeofanyindustrialoccupationorofanyhabitualaddictiontosuchemploymentsasareofmaterialuse。
Thisrequirementofconspicuouswasteandofceremonialcleannessfromthetracesofindustryextendsalsototheapparel，andinalessdegreetothefood，whichisconsumedonsacredholidays；thatistosay，ondayssetapart——tabu——forthedivinityorforsomememberofthelowerranksofthepreternaturalleisureclass。Ineconomictheory，sacredholidaysareobviouslytobeconstruedasaseasonofvicariousleisureperformedforthedivinityorsaintinwhosenamethetabuisimposedandtowhosegoodreputetheabstentionfromusefuleffortonthesedaysisconceivedtoinure。Thecharacteristicfeatureofallsuchseasonsofdevoutvicariousleisureisamoreorlessrigidtabuonallactivitythatisofhumanuse。Inthecaseoffast-daystheconspicuousabstentionfromgainfuloccupationsandfromallpursuitsthatmateriallyfurtherhumanlifeisfurtheraccentuatedbycompulsoryabstinencefromsuchconsumptionaswouldconducetothecomfortorthefullnessoflifeoftheconsumer。
Itmayberemarked，parenthetically，thatsecularholidaysareofthesameorigin，byslightlyremoterderivation。Theyshadeoffbydegreesfromthegenuinelysacreddays，throughanintermediateclassofsemi-sacredbirthdaysofkingsandgreatmenwhohavebeeninsomemeasurecanonized，tothedeliberatelyinventedholidaysetaparttofurtherthegoodreputeofsomenotableeventorsomestrikingfact，towhichitisintendedtodohonor，orthegoodfameofwhichisfelttobeinneedofrepair。Theremoterrefinementintheemploymentofvicariousleisureasameansofaugmentingthegoodreputeofaphenomenonordatumisseenatitsbestinitsverylatestapplication。A
dayofvicariousleisurehasinsomecommunitiesbeensetapartasLaborDay。Thisobservanceisdesignedtoaugmenttheprestigeofthefactoflabor，bythearchaic，predatorymethodofacompulsoryabstentionfromusefuleffort。Tothisdatumoflabor-in-generalisimputedthegoodreputeattributabletothepecuniarystrengthputinevidencebyabstainingfromlabor。