the golden bough-第5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！


　on。

3。　Recapitulation

WE　can　now　perhaps　understand　why　the　ancients　identified　Hippolytus；　the　consort　of　Artemis；　with　Virbius；　who；　according　to　Servius；　stood　to　Diana　as　Adonis　to　Venus；　or　Attis　to　the　Mother　of　the　Gods。　For　Diana；　like　Artemis；　was　a　goddess　of　fertility　in　general；　and　of　childbirth　in　particular。　As　such　she；　like　her　Greek　counterpart；　needed　a　male　partner。　That　partner；　if　Servius　is　right；　was　Virbius。　In　his　character　of　the　founder　of　the　sacred　grove　and　first　king　of　Nemi；　Virbius　is　clearly　the　mythical　predecessor　or　archetype　of　the　line　of　priests　who　served　Diana　under　the　title　of　Kings　of　the　Wood；　and　who　came；　like　him；　one　after　the　other；　to　a　violent　end。　It　is　natural；　therefore；　to　conjecture　that　they　stood　to　the　goddess　of　the　grove　in　the　same　relation　in　which　Virbius　stood　to　her；　in　short；　that　the　mortal　King　of　the　Wood　had　for　his　queen　the　woodland　Diana　herself。　If　the　sacred　tree　which　he　guarded　with　his　life　was　supposed；　as　seems　probable；　to　be　her　special　embodiment；　her　priest　may　not　only　have　worshipped　it　as　his　goddess　but　embraced　it　as　his　wife。　There　is　at　least　nothing　absurd　in　the　supposition；　since　even　in　the　time　of　Pliny　a　noble　Roman　used　thus　to　treat　a　beautiful　beech…tree　in　another　sacred　grove　of　Diana　on　the　Alban　hills。　He　embraced　it；　he　kissed　it；　he　lay　under　its　shadow；　he　poured　wine　on　its　trunk。　Apparently　he　took　the　tree　for　the　goddess。　The　custom　of　physically　marrying　men　and　women　to　trees　is　still　practised　in　India　and　other　parts　of　the　East。　Why　should　it　not　have　obtained　in　ancient　Latium？

Reviewing　the　evidence　as　a　whole；　we　may　conclude　that　the　worship　of　Diana　in　her　sacred　grove　at　Nemi　was　of　great　importance　and　immemorial　antiquity；　that　she　was　revered　as　the　goddess　of　woodlands　and　of　wild　creatures；　probably　also　of　domestic　cattle　and　of　the　fruits　of　the　earth；　that　she　was　believed　to　bless　men　and　women　with　offspring　and　to　aid　mothers　in　childbed；　that　her　holy　fire；　tended　by　chaste　virgins；　burned　perpetually　in　a　round　temple　within　the　precinct；　that　associated　with　her　was　a　water…nymph　Egeria　who　discharged　one　of　Diana's　own　functions　by　succouring　women　in　travail；　and　who　was　popularly　supposed　to　have　mated　with　an　old　Roman　king　in　the　sacred　grove；　further；　that　Diana　of　the　Wood　herself　had　a　male　companion　Virbius　by　name；　who　was　to　her　what　Adonis　was　to　Venus；　or　Attis　to　Cybele；　and；　lastly；　that　this　mythical　Virbius　was　represented　in　historical　times　by　a　line　of　priests　known　as　Kings　of　the　Wood；　who　regularly　perished　by　the　swords　of　their　successors；　and　whose　lives　were　in　a　manner　bound　up　with　a　certain　tree　in　the　grove；　because　so　long　as　that　tree　was　uninjured　they　were　safe　from　attack。

Clearly　these　conclusions　do　not　of　themselves　suffice　to　explain　the　peculiar　rule　of　succession　to　the　priesthood。　But　perhaps　the　survey　of　a　wider　field　may　lead　us　to　think　that　they　contain　in　germ　the　solution　of　the　problem。　To　that　wider　survey　we　must　now　address　ourselves。　It　will　be　long　and　laborious；　but　may　possess　something　of　the　interest　and　charm　of　a　voyage　of　discovery；　in　which　we　shall　visit　many　strange　foreign　lands；　with　strange　foreign　peoples；　and　still　stranger　customs。　The　wind　is　in　the　shrouds：　we　shake　out　our　sails　to　it；　and　leave　the　coast　of　Italy　behind　us　for　a　time。

Chapter　2。　Priestly　Kings　THE　questions　which　we　have　set　ourselves　to　answer　are　mainly　two：　first；　why　had　Diana's　priest　at　Nemi；　the　King　of　the　Wood；　to　slay　his　predecessor？　second；　why　before　doing　so　had　he　to　pluck　the　branch　of　a　certain　tree　which　the　public　opinion　of　the　ancients　identified　with　Virgil's　Golden　Bough？

The　first　point　on　which　we　fasten　is　the　priest's　title。　Why　was　he　called　the　King　of　the　Wood？　Why　was　his　office　spoken　of　as　a　kingdom？

The　union　of　a　royal　title　with　priestly　duties　was　common　in　ancient　Italy　and　Greece。　At　Rome　and　in　other　cities　of　Latium　there　was　a　priest　called　the　Sacrificial　King　or　King　of　the　Sacred　Rites；　and　his　wife　bore　the　title　of　Queen　of　the　Sacred　Rites。　In　republican　Athens　the　second　annual　magistrate　of　the　state　was　called　the　King；　and　his　wife　the　Queen；　the　functions　of　both　were　religious。　Many　other　Greek　democracies　had　titular　kings；　whose　duties；　so　far　as　they　are　known；　seem　to　have　been　priestly；　and　to　have　centered　round　the　Common　Hearth　of　the　state。　Some　Greek　states　had　several　of　these　titular　kings；　who　held　office　simultaneously。　At　Rome　the　tradition　was　that　the　Sacrificial　King　had　been　appointed　after　the　abolition　of　the　monarchy　in　order　to　offer　the　sacrifices　which　before　had　been　offered　by　the　kings。　A　similar　view　as　to　the　origin　of　the　priestly　kings　appears　to　have　prevailed　in　Greece。　In　itself　the　opinion　is　not　improbable；　and　it　is　borne　out　by　the　example　of　Sparta；　almost　the　only　purely　Greek　state　which　retained　the　kingly　form　of　government　in　historical　times。　For　in　Sparta　all　state　sacrifices　were　offered　by　the　kings　as　descendants　of　the　god。　One　of　the　two　Spartan　kings　held　the　priesthood　of　Zeus　Lacedaemon；　the　other　the　priesthood　of　Heavenly　Zeus。

This　combination　of　priestly　functions　with　royal　authority　is　familiar　to　every　one。　Asia　Minor；　for　example；　was　the　seat　of　various　great　religious　capitals　peopled　by　thousands　of　sacred　slaves；　and　ruled　by　pontiffs　who　wielded　at　once　temporal　and　spiritual　authority；　like　the　popes　of　mediaeval　Rome。　Such　priest…ridden　cities　were　Zela　and　Pessinus。　Teutonic　kings；　again；　in　the　old　heathen　days　seem　to　have　stood　in　the　position；　and　to　have　exercised　the　powers；　of　high　priests。　The　Emperors　of　China　offered　public　sacrifices；　the　details　of　which　were　regulated　by　the　ritual　books。　The　King　of　Madagascar　was　high…priest　of　the　realm。　At　the　great　festival　of　the　new　year；　when　a　bullock　was　sacrificed　for　the　good　of　the　kingdom；　the　king　stood　over　the　sacrifice　to　offer　prayer　and　thanksgiving；　while　his　attendants　slaughtered　the　animal。　In　the　monarchical　states　which　still　maintain　their　independence　among　the　Gallas　of　Eastern　Africa；　the　king　sacrifices　on　the　mountain　tops　and　regulates　the　immolation　of　human　victims；　and　the　dim　light　of　tradition　reveals　a　similar　union　of　temporal　and　spiritual　power；　of　royal　and　priestly　duties；　in　the　kings　of　that　delightful　region　of　Central　America　whose　ancient　capital；　now　buried　under　the　rank　growth　of　the　tropical　forest；　is　marked　by　the　stately　and　mysterious　ruins　of　Palenque。

When　we　have　said　that　the　ancient　kings　were　commonly　priests　also；　we　are　far　from　having　exhausted　the　religious　aspect　of　their　office。　In　those　days　the　divinity　that　hedges　a　king　was　no　empty　form　of　speech；　but　the　expression　of　a　sober　belief。　Kings　were　revered；　in　many　cases　not　merely　as　priests；　that　is；　as　intercessors　between　man　and　god；　but　as　themselves　gods；　able　to　bestow　upon　their　subjects　and　worshippers　those　blessings　which　are　commonly　supposed　to　be　beyond　the　reach　of　mortals；　and　are　sought；　if　at　all；　only　by　prayer　and　sacrifice　offered　to　superhuman　and　invisible　beings。　Thus　kings　are　often　expected　to　give　rain　and　sunshine　in　due　season；　to　make　the　crops　grow；　and　so　on。　Strange　as　this　expectation　appears　to　us；　it　is　quite　of　a　piece　with　early　modes　of　thought。　A　savage　hardly　conceives　the　distinction　commonly　drawn　by　more　advanced　peoples　between　the　natural　and　the　supernatural。　To　him　the　world　is　to　a　great　extent　worked　by　supernatural　agents；　that　is；　by　personal　beings　acting　on　impulses　and　motives　like　his　own；　liable　like　him　to　be　moved　by　appeals　to　their　pity；　their　hopes；　and　their　fears。　In　a　world　so　conceived　he　sees　no　limit　to　his　power　of　influencing　the　course　of　nature　to　his　own　advantage。　Prayers；　promises；　or　threats　may　secure　him　fine　weather　and　an　abundant　crop　from　the　gods；　and　if　a　god　should　happen；　as　he　sometimes　believes；　to　become　incarnate　in　his　own　person；　then　he　need　appeal　to　no　higher　being；　he；　the　savage；　possesses　in　himself　all　the　powers　necessary　to　further　his　own　well…being　and　that　of　his　fellow…men。

This　is　one　way　in　which　the　idea　of　a　man…god　is　reached。　But　there　is　another。　Along　with　the　view　of　the　world　as　pervaded　by　spiritual　forces；　savage　man　has　a　different；　and　probably　still　older；　conception　in　which　we　may　detect　a　germ　of　the　modern　notion　of　natural　law　or　the　view　of　nature　as　a　series　of　events　occurring　in　an　invariable　order　without　the　intervention　of　personal　agency。　The　germ　of　which　I　speak　is　involved　in　that　sympathetic　magic；　as　it　may　be　called；　which　plays　a　large　part　in　most　systems　of　superstition。　In　early　society　the　king　is　frequently　a　magician　as　well　as　a　priest；　indeed　he　appears　to　have　often　attained　to　power　by　virtue　of　his　supposed　proficiency　in　the　black　or　white　art。　Hence　in　order　to　understand　the　evolution　of　the　kingship　and　the　sacred　character　with　which　the　office　has　commonly　been　invested　in　the　eyes　of　savage　or　barbarous　peoples；　it　is　essential　to　have　some　acquaintance　with　the　principles　of　magic　and　to　form　some　conception　of　the　extraordinary　hold　which　that　ancient　system　of　superstition　has　had　o