the golden bough-第102章

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cted　us。　We　have　seen　that　in　savage　or　barbarous　society　there　are　often　found　men　to　whom　the　superstition　of　their　fellows　ascribes　a　controlling　influence　over　the　general　course　of　nature。　Such　men　are　accordingly　adored　and　treated　as　gods。　Whether　these　human　divinities　also　hold　temporal　sway　over　the　lives　and　fortunes　of　their　adorers；　or　whether　their　functions　are　purely　spiritual　and　supernatural；　in　other　words；　whether　they　are　kings　as　well　as　gods　or　only　the　latter；　is　a　distinction　which　hardly　concerns　us　here。　Their　supposed　divinity　is　the　essential　fact　with　which　we　have　to　deal。　In　virtue　of　it　they　are　a　pledge　and　guarantee　to　their　worshippers　of　the　continuance　and　orderly　succession　of　those　physical　phenomena　upon　which　mankind　depends　for　subsistence。　Naturally；　therefore；　the　life　and　health　of　such　a　god…man　are　matters　of　anxious　concern　to　the　people　whose　welfare　and　even　existence　are　bound　up　with　his；　naturally　he　is　constrained　by　them　to　conform　to　such　rules　as　the　wit　of　early　man　has　devised　for　averting　the　ills　to　which　flesh　is　heir；　including　the　last　ill；　death。　These　rules；　as　an　examination　of　them　has　shown；　are　nothing　but　the　maxims　with　which；　on　the　primitive　view；　every　man　of　common　prudence　must　comply　if　he　would　live　long　in　the　land。　But　while　in　the　case　of　ordinary　men　the　observance　of　the　rules　is　left　to　the　choice　of　the　individual；　in　the　case　of　the　god…man　it　is　enforced　under　penalty　of　dismissal　from　his　high　station；　or　even　of　death。　For　his　worshippers　have　far　too　great　a　stake　in　his　life　to　allow　him　to　play　fast　and　loose　with　it。　Therefore　all　the　quaint　superstitions；　the　old…world　maxims；　the　venerable　saws　which　the　ingenuity　of　savage　philosophers　elaborated　long　ago；　and　which　old　women　at　chimney　corners　still　impart　as　treasures　of　great　price　to　their　descendants　gathered　round　the　cottage　fire　on　winter　eveningsall　these　antique　fancies　clustered；　all　these　cobwebs　of　the　brain　were　spun　about　the　path　of　the　old　king；　the　human　god；　who；　immeshed　in　them　like　a　fly　in　the　toils　of　a　spider；　could　hardly　stir　a　limb　for　the　threads　of　custom；　light　as　air　but　strong　as　links　of　iron；　that　crossing　and　recrossing　each　other　in　an　endless　maze　bound　him　fast　within　a　network　of　observances　from　which　death　or　deposition　alone　could　release　him。

Thus　to　students　of　the　past　the　life　of　the　old　kings　and　priests　teems　with　instruction。　In　it　was　summed　up　all　that　passed　for　wisdom　when　the　world　was　young。　It　was　the　perfect　pattern　after　which　every　man　strove　to　shape　his　life；　a　faultless　model　constructed　with　rigorous　accuracy　upon　the　lines　laid　down　by　a　barbarous　philosophy。　Crude　and　false　as　that　philosophy　may　seem　to　us；　it　would　be　unjust　to　deny　it　the　merit　of　logical　consistency。　Starting　from　a　conception　of　the　vital　principle　as　a　tiny　being　or　soul　existing　in；　but　distinct　and　separable　from；　the　living　being；　it　deduces　for　the　practical　guidance　of　life　a　system　of　rules　which　in　general　hangs　well　together　and　forms　a　fairly　complete　and　harmonious　whole。　The　flawand　it　is　a　fatal　oneof　the　system　lies　not　in　its　reasoning；　but　in　its　premises；　in　its　conception　of　the　nature　of　life；　not　in　any　irrelevancy　of　the　conclusions　which　it　draws　from　that　conception。　But　to　stigmatise　these　premises　as　ridiculous　because　we　can　easily　detect　their　falseness；　would　be　ungrateful　as　well　as　unphilosophical。　We　stand　upon　the　foundation　reared　by　the　generations　that　have　gone　before；　and　we　can　but　dimly　realise　the　painful　and　prolonged　efforts　which　it　has　cost　humanity　to　struggle　up　to　the　point；　no　very　exalted　one　after　all；　which　we　have　reached。　Our　gratitude　is　due　to　the　nameless　and　forgotten　toilers；　whose　patient　thought　and　active　exertions　have　largely　made　us　what　we　are。　The　amount　of　new　knowledge　which　one　age；　certainly　which　one　man；　can　add　to　the　common　store　is　small；　and　it　argues　stupidity　or　dishonesty；　besides　ingratitude；　to　ignore　the　heap　while　vaunting　the　few　grains　which　it　may　have　been　our　privilege　to　add　to　it。　There　is　indeed　little　danger　at　present　of　undervaluing　the　contributions　which　modern　times　and　even　classical　antiquity　have　made　to　the　general　advancement　of　our　race。　But　when　we　pass　these　limits；　the　case　is　different。　Contempt　and　ridicule　or　abhorrence　and　denunciation　are　too　often　the　only　recognition　vouchsafed　to　the　savage　and　his　ways。　Yet　of　the　benefactors　whom　we　are　bound　thankfully　to　commemorate；　many；　perhaps　most；　were　savages。　For　when　all　is　said　and　done　our　resemblances　to　the　savage　are　still　far　more　numerous　than　our　differences　from　him；　and　what　we　have　in　common　with　him；　and　deliberately　retain　as　true　and　useful；　we　owe　to　our　savage　forefathers　who　slowly　acquired　by　experience　and　transmitted　to　us　by　inheritance　those　seemingly　fundamental　ideas　which　we　are　apt　to　regard　as　original　and　intuitive。　We　are　like　heirs　to　a　fortune　which　has　been　handed　down　for　so　many　ages　that　the　memory　of　those　who　built　it　up　is　lost；　and　its　possessors　for　the　time　being　regard　it　as　having　been　an　original　and　unalterable　possession　of　their　race　since　the　beginning　of　the　world。　But　reflection　and　enquiry　should　satisfy　us　that　to　our　predecessors　we　are　indebted　for　much　of　what　we　thought　most　our　own；　and　that　their　errors　were　not　wilful　extravagances　or　the　ravings　of　insanity；　but　simply　hypotheses；　justifiable　as　such　at　the　time　when　they　were　propounded；　but　which　a　fuller　experience　has　proved　to　be　inadequate。　It　is　only　by　the　successive　testing　of　hypotheses　and　rejection　of　the　false　that　truth　is　at　last　elicited。　After　all；　what　we　call　truth　is　only　the　hypothesis　which　is　found　to　work　best。　Therefore　in　reviewing　the　opinions　and　practices　of　ruder　ages　and　races　we　shall　do　well　to　look　with　leniency　upon　their　errors　as　inevitable　slips　made　in　the　search　for　truth；　and　to　give　them　the　benefit　of　that　indulgence　which　we　ourselves　may　one　day　stand　in　need　of：　cum　excusatione　itaque　veteres　audiendi　sunt。

Chapter　24。　The　Killing　of　the　Divine　King。

1。　The　Mortality　of　the　Gods。

MAN　has　created　gods　in　his　own　likeness　and　being　himself　mortal　he　has　naturally　supposed　his　creatures　to　be　in　the　same　sad　predicament。　Thus　the　Greenlanders　believed　that　a　wind　could　kill　their　most　powerful　god；　and　that　he　would　certainly　die　if　he　touched　a　dog。　When　they　heard　of　the　Christian　God；　they　kept　asking　if　he　never　died；　and　being　informed　that　he　did　not；　they　were　much　surprised；　and　said　that　he　must　be　a　very　great　god　indeed。　In　answer　to　the　enquiries　of　Colonel　Dodge；　a　North　American　Indian　stated　that　the　world　was　made　by　the　Great　Spirit。　Being　asked　which　Great　Spirit　he　meant；　the　good　one　or　the　bad　one；　Oh；　neither　of　them；　replied　he；　the　Great　Spirit　that　made　the　world　is　dead　long　ago。　He　could　not　possibly　have　lived　as　long　as　this。　A　tribe　in　the　Philippine　Islands　told　the　Spanish　conquerors　that　the　grave　of　the　Creator　was　upon　the　top　of　Mount　Cabunian。　Heitsi…eibib；　a　god　or　divine　hero　of　the　Hottentots；　died　several　times　and　came　to　life　again。　His　graves　are　generally　to　be　met　with　in　narrow　defiles　between　mountains。　When　the　Hottentots　pass　one　of　them；　they　throw　a　stone　on　it　for　good　luck；　sometimes　muttering；　Give　us　plenty　of　cattle。　The　grave　of　Zeus；　the　great　god　of　Greece；　was　shown　to　visitors　in　Crete　as　late　as　about　the　beginning　of　our　era。　The　body　of　Dionysus　was　buried　at　Delphi　beside　the　golden　statue　of　Apollo；　and　his　tomb　bore　the　inscription；　Here　lies　Dionysus　dead；　the　son　of　Semele。　According　to　one　account；　Apollo　himself　was　buried　at　Delphi；　for　Pythagoras　is　said　to　have　carved　an　inscription　on　his　tomb；　setting　forth　how　the　god　had　been　killed　by　the　python　and　buried　under　the　tripod。

The　great　gods　of　Egypt　themselves　were　not　exempt　from　the　common　lot。　They　too　grew　old　and　died。　But　when　at　a　later　time　the　discovery　of　the　art　of　embalming　gave　a　new　lease　of　life　to　the　souls　of　the　dead　by　preserving　their　bodies　for　an　indefinite　time　from　corruption；　the　deities　were　permitted　to　share　the　benefit　of　an　invention　which　held　out　to　gods　as　well　as　to　me