Anthropology was by definition impossible, as long as these distinctions between ourselves and the primitive, ourselves and the barbarian, ourselves and the pagan, held sway over people's minds.

by definition ^{if sth. has a particular quality by definition, it must have that quality because all things of that type have it 从本质上来说;根据定义/本质上} 

• People say that students are by definition idealistic and impatient.
• Human perception is highly imperfect and by definition subjective.
• A square is by definition a rectangle with four equal sides.^{一个正方形根据定义就是四条边相等的矩形。}
• Fraud is by definition a deliberate deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain.^{欺诈本质上是为了获得不公平或非法的利益而进行的蓄意欺骗。}

hold sway ^{to be the main influence on people’s opinions or behavior 占主导地位(书面语)}

• The traditional idea of wearing new clothes on New Year’s day seems no longer to hold sway.
• For decades, the ideology of the ruling party held sway over people's minds.^{几十年来，执政党的意识形态一直支配着人们的思想。}
• Superstition often holds sway over people's minds in times of uncertainty.^{在不确定时期，迷信往往会支配人们的思想。}

It was necessary first to arrive at that degree of sophistication where we no longer set our own belief against our neighbour's superstition.

set … against … ^{make sb. oppose or be hostile to (a friend, relative, etc) 使某人反对或敌视（朋友、亲戚等）}

• The civil war set brother against brother.
• She accused her husband of setting their children against her.
• It is counterproductive to set our own methods against those of the new team members.^{将我们自己的方法与新团队成员的方法对立起来是事与愿违的。}

arrive at ^{达到/得出（结论、理解）}

• After hours of discussion, the committee was finally able to arrive at a consensus.^{经过数小时的讨论，委员会最终能够达成共识。}
• Go straight on, and in the evening you will arrive at a castle. ^{一直往前走，傍晚时你就会到达一座城堡。}
• Put a deadline on the input stage and arrive at a decision, even if it's a decision that doesn't have consensus. ^{你要在输入阶段设定一个最后期限并作出决定，即使这个决定没有达成共识。}
• We use information that we perceive through our senses to help us make decisions, to arrive at beliefs and so on. ^{我们利用我们通过感官感知到的信息来帮助我们做决定，达成信念等等。}

It was necessary to recognize that these institutions which are based on the same premises, let us say the supernatural, must be considered together, our own among the rest.

premise ^{n. statement or idea on which reasoning is based, hypothesis（推理所依据的）前提， 假定}

• Advice to investors was based on the premise that interest rates would continue to fall.
• Which premise would you reject? ^{你们反对哪个前提？}
• That's the crucial premise. ^{这是个很关键的前提。}
• We might need a suppressed premise. ^{我们可能需要一个隐含的前提。}

supernatural ^{adj. that cannot be explained by natural or physical laws 超自然的}

• supernatural beings, eg angels and devils
• witch-doctors believed to have supernatural powers
• Small wonder that an Indian legend described Devils Tower as being formed by supernatural powers. ^{难怪印度传说中魔鬼塔是由超自然力量形成的。}

our own (being) among the rest ^独立主语

be among … ^{是…之一；包括在…之中}

• He was among the last to leave.
• Among those present were the Prime Minister and her husband.
• These ocean waves are among the earth's most complicated natural phenomena.
• The committee reviewed all proposals, our own among the rest, to ensure impartiality.^{委员会审查了所有提案，包括我们自己的在内，以确保公正性。}