the golden bough-第227节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！



Now；　considering　the　primitive　character　and　remarkable　similarity　of　the　fire…festivals　observed　by　all　the　branches　of　the　Aryan　race　in　Europe；　we　may　infer　that　these　festivals　form　part　of　the　common　stock　of　religious　observances　which　the　various　peoples　carried　with　them　in　their　wanderings　from　their　old　home。　But；　if　I　am　right；　an　essential　feature　of　those　primitive　fire…festivals　was　the　burning　of　a　man　who　represented　the　tree…spirit。　In　view；　then；　of　the　place　occupied　by　the　oak　in　the　religion　of　the　Aryans；　the　presumption　is　that　the　tree　so　represented　at　the　fire…festivals　must　originally　have　been　the　oak。　So　far　as　the　Celts　and　Lithuanians　are　concerned；　this　conclusion　will　perhaps　hardly　be　contested。　But　both　for　them　and　for　the　Germans　it　is　confirmed　by　a　remarkable　piece　of　religious　conservatism。　The　most　primitive　method　known　to　man　of　producing　fire　is　by　rubbing　two　pieces　of　wood　against　each　other　till　they　ignite；　and　we　have　seen　that　this　method　is　still　used　in　Europe　for　kindling　sacred　fires　such　as　the　need…fire；　and　that　most　probably　it　was　formerly　resorted　to　at　all　the　fire…festivals　under　discussion。　Now　it　is　sometimes　required　that　the　need…fire；　or　other　sacred　fire；　should　be　made　by　the　friction　of　a　particular　kind　of　wood；　and　when　the　kind　of　wood　is　prescribed；　whether　among　Celts；　Germans；　or　Slavs；　that　wood　appears　to　be　generally　the　oak。　But　if　the　sacred　fire　was　regularly　kindled　by　the　friction　of　oak…wood；　we　may　infer　that　originally　the　fire　was　also　fed　with　the　same　material。　In　point　of　fact；　it　appears　that　the　perpetual　fire　of　Vesta　at　Rome　was　fed　with　oak…wood；　and　that　oak…wood　was　the　fuel　consumed　in　the　perpetual　fire　which　burned　under　the　sacred　oak　at　the　great　Lithuanian　sanctuary　of　Romove。　Further；　that　oak…wood　was　formerly　the　fuel　burned　in　the　midsummer　fires　may　perhaps　be　inferred　from　the　custom；　said　to　be　still　observed　by　peasants　in　many　mountain　districts　of　Germany；　of　making　up　the　cottage　fire　on　Midsummer　Day　with　a　heavy　block　of　oak…wood。　The　block　is　so　arranged　that　it　smoulders　slowly　and　is　not　finally　reduced　to　charcoal　till　the　expiry　of　a　year。　Then　upon　next　Midsummer　Day　the　charred　embers　of　the　old　log　are　removed　to　make　room　for　the　new　one；　and　are　mixed　with　the　seed…corn　or　scattered　about　the　garden。　This　is　believed　to　guard　the　food　cooked　on　the　hearth　from　witchcraft；　to　preserve　the　luck　of　the　house；　to　promote　the　growth　of　the　crops；　and　to　keep　them　from　blight　and　vermin。　Thus　the　custom　is　almost　exactly　parallel　to　that　of　the　Yule…log；　which　in　parts　of　Germany；　France；　England；　Serbia；　and　other　Slavonic　lands　was　commonly　of　oak…wood。　The　general　conclusion　is；　that　at　those　periodic　or　occasional　ceremonies　the　ancient　Aryans　both　kindled　and　fed　the　fire　with　the　sacred　oak…wood。

But　if　at　these　solemn　rites　the　fire　was　regularly　made　of　oakwood；　it　follows　that　any　man　who　was　burned　in　it　as　a　personification　of　the　tree…spirit　could　have　represented　no　tree　but　the　oak。　The　sacred　oak　was　thus　burned　in　duplicate；　the　wood　of　the　tree　was　consumed　in　the　fire；　and　along　with　it　was　consumed　a　living　man　as　a　personification　of　the　oak…spirit。　The　conclusion　thus　drawn　for　the　European　Aryans　in　general　is　confirmed　in　its　special　application　to　the　Scandinavians　by　the　relation　in　which　amongst　them　the　mistletoe　appears　to　have　stood　to　the　burning　of　the　victim　in　the　midsummer　fire。　We　have　seen　that　among　Scandinavians　it　has　been　customary　to　gather　the　mistletoe　at　midsummer。　But　so　far　as　appears　on　the　face　of　this　custom；　there　is　nothing　to　connect　it　with　the　midsummer　fires　in　which　human　victims　or　effigies　of　them　were　burned。　Even　if　the　fire；　as　seems　probable；　was　originally　always　made　with　oak…wood；　why　should　it　have　been　necessary　to　pull　the　mistletoe？　The　last　link　between　the　midsummer　customs　of　gathering　the　mistletoe　and　lighting　the　bonfires　is　supplied　by　Balder's　myth；　which　can　hardly　be　disjoined　from　the　customs　in　question。　The　myth　suggests　that　a　vital　connexion　may　once　have　been　believed　to　subsist　between　the　mistletoe　and　the　human　representative　of　the　oak　who　was　burned　in　the　fire。　According　to　the　myth；　Balder　could　be　killed　by　nothing　in　heaven　or　earth　except　the　mistletoe；　and　so　long　as　the　mistletoe　remained　on　the　oak；　he　was　not　only　immortal　but　invulnerable。　Now；　if　we　suppose　that　Balder　was　the　oak；　the　origin　of　the　myth　becomes　intelligible。　The　mistletoe　was　viewed　as　the　seat　of　life　of　the　oak；　and　so　long　as　it　was　uninjured　nothing　could　kill　or　even　wound　the　oak。　The　conception　of　the　mistletoe　as　the　seat　of　life　of　the　oak　would　naturally　be　suggested　to　primitive　people　by　the　observation　that　while　the　oak　is　deciduous；　the　mistletoe　which　grows　on　it　is　evergreen。　In　winter　the　sight　of　its　fresh　foliage　among　the　bare　branches　must　have　been　hailed　by　the　worshippers　of　the　tree　as　a　sign　that　the　divine　life　which　had　ceased　to　animate　the　branches　yet　survived　in　the　mistletoe；　as　the　heart　of　a　sleeper　still　beats　when　his　body　is　motionless。　Hence　when　the　god　had　to　be　killedwhen　the　sacred　tree　had　to　be　burntit　was　necessary　to　begin　by　breaking　off　the　mistletoe。　For　so　long　as　the　mistletoe　remained　intact；　the　oak　（so　people　might　think）　was　invulnerable；　all　the　blows　of　their　knives　and　axes　would　glance　harmless　from　its　surface。　But　once　tear　from　the　oak　its　sacred　heartthe　mistletoeand　the　tree　nodded　to　its　fall。　And　when　in　later　times　the　spirit　of　the　oak　came　to　be　represented　by　a　living　man；　it　was　logically　necessary　to　suppose　that；　like　the　tree　he　personated；　he　could　neither　be　killed　nor　wounded　so　long　as　the　mistletoe　remained　uninjured。　The　pulling　of　the　mistletoe　was　thus　at　once　the　signal　and　the　cause　of　his　death。

On　this　view　the　invulnerable　Balder　is　neither　more　nor　less　than　a　personification　of　a　mistletoe…bearing　oak。　The　interpretation　is　confirmed　by　what　seems　to　have　been　an　ancient　Italian　belief；　that　the　mistletoe　can　be　destroyed　neither　by　fire　nor　water；　for　if　the　parasite　is　thus　deemed　indestructible；　it　might　easily　be　supposed　to　communicate　its　own　indestructibility　to　the　tree　on　which　it　grows；　so　long　as　the　two　remain　in　conjunction。　Or；　to　put　the　same　idea　in　mythical　form；　we　might　tell　how　the　kindly　god　of　the　oak　had　his　life　securely　deposited　in　the　imperishable　mistletoe　which　grew　among　the　branches；　how　accordingly　so　long　as　the　mistletoe　kept　its　place　there；　the　deity　himself　remained　invulnerable；　and　how　at　last　a　cunning　foe；　let　into　the　secret　of　the　god's　invulnerability；　tore　the　mistletoe　from　the　oak；　thereby　killing　the　oak…god　and　afterwards　burning　his　body　in　a　fire　which　could　have　made　no　impression　on　him　so　long　as　the　incombustible　parasite　retained　its　seat　among　the　boughs。　　19

But　since　the　idea　of　a　being　whose　life　is　thus；　in　a　sense；　outside　himself；　must　be　strange　to　many　readers；　and　has；　indeed；　not　yet　been　recognised　in　its　full　bearing　on　primitive　superstition；　it　will　be　worth　while　to　illustrate　it　by　examples　drawn　both　from　story　and　custom。　The　result　will　be　to　show　that；　in　assuming　this　idea　as　the　explanation　of　Balder's　relation　to　the　mistletoe；　I　assume　a　principle　which　is　deeply　engraved　on　the　mind　of　primitive　man。

Chapter　66。　The　External　Soul　in　Folk…Tales

IN　A　FORMER　part　of　this　work　we　saw　that；　in　the　opinion　of　primitive　people；　the　soul　may　temporarily　absent　itself　from　the　body　without　causing　death。　Such　temporary　absences　of　the　soul　are　often　believed　to　involve　considerable　risk；　since　the　wandering　soul　is　liable　to　a　variety　of　mishaps　at　the　hands　of　enemies；　and　so　forth。　But　there　is　another　aspect　to　this　power　of　disengaging　the　soul　from　the　body。　If　only　the　safety　of　the　soul　can　be　ensured　during　its　absence；　there　is　no　reason　why　the　soul　should　not　continue　absent　for　an　indefinite　time；　indeed　a　man　may；　on　a　pure　calculation　of　personal　safety；　desire　that　his　soul　should　never　return　to　his　body。　Unable　to　conceive　of　life　abstractly　as　a　permanent　possibility　of　sensation　or　a　continuous　adjustment　of　internal　arrangements　to　external　relations；　the　savage　thinks　of　it　as　a　concrete　material　thing　of　a　definite　bulk；　capable　of　being　seen　and　handled；　kept　in　a　box　or　jar；　and　liable　to　be　bruised；　fractured；　or　smashed　in　pieces。　It　is　not　needful　that　the　life；　so　conceived；　should　be　in　the　man；　it　may　be　absent　from　his　body　and　still　continue　to　animate　him　by　virtue　of　a　sort　of　sympathy　or　action　at　a　distance。　So　long　as　this　object　which　he　calls　his　life　or　soul　remains　unharmed；　the　man　is　well；　if　it　is　injured；　he　suffers；　if　it　is　destroyed；　he　dies。　Or；　to　put　it　otherwise；　when　a　man　is　ill　or　dies；　the　fact　is　explained　by　saying　that　the　material　object　called　his　life　or　soul；　whether　it　be　in　his　body　or　out　of　it；　has　either　sustained　injury　or　been　destroyed。　But　there　may　be　circumstances　in　which；　if　the　life　or　soul　remains　in　the　man；　it　stands　a　greater　chance　of　sustaining　injury　than　if　it　were　stowed　away　in　some　safe　and　secret　place。　Accordingly；　in　such　circumstances；　primitive　man　takes　his　soul　out　of　his　body　and　d