the golden bough-第146章

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yptians　drew　an　augury　of　human　immortality。　They　are　not　the　only　people　who　have　built　the　same　lofty　hopes　on　the　same　slender　foundation。

A　god　who　thus　fed　his　people　with　his　own　broken　body　in　this　life；　and　who　held　out　to　them　a　promise　of　a　blissful　eternity　in　a　better　world　hereafter；　naturally　reigned　supreme　in　their　affections。　We　need　not　wonder；　therefore；　that　in　Egypt　the　worship　of　the　other　gods　was　overshadowed　by　that　of　Osiris；　and　that　while　they　were　revered　each　in　his　own　district；　he　and　his　divine　partner　Isis　were　adored　in　all。

Chapter　41。　Isis。

THE　ORIGINAL　meaning　of　the　goddess　Isis　is　still　more　difficult　to　determine　than　that　of　her　brother　and　husband　Osiris。　Her　attributes　and　epithets　were　so　numerous　that　in　the　hieroglyphics　she　is　called　the　many…named；　the　thousand…named；　and　in　Greek　inscriptions　the　myriad…named。　Yet　in　her　complex　nature　it　is　perhaps　still　possible　to　detect　the　original　nucleus　round　which　by　a　slow　process　of　accretion　the　other　elements　gathered。　For　if　her　brother　and　husband　Osiris　was　in　one　of　his　aspects　the　corn…god；　as　we　have　seen　reason　to　believe；　she　must　surely　have　been　the　corn…goddess。　There　are　at　least　some　grounds　for　thinking　so。　For　if　we　may　trust　Diodorus　Siculus；　whose　authority　appears　to　have　been　the　Egyptian　historian　Manetho；　the　discovery　of　wheat　and　barley　was　attributed　to　Isis；　and　at　her　festivals　stalks　of　these　grains　were　carried　in　procession　to　commemorate　the　boon　she　had　conferred　on　men。　A　further　detail　is　added　by　Augustine。　He　says　that　Isis　made　the　discovery　of　barley　at　the　moment　when　she　was　sacrificing　to　the　common　ancestors　of　her　husband　and　herself；　all　of　whom　had　been　kings；　and　that　she　showed　the　newly　discovered　ears　of　barley　to　Osiris　and　his　councillor　Thoth　or　Mercury；　as　Roman　writers　called　him。　That　is　why；　adds　Augustine；　they　identify　Isis　with　Ceres。　Further；　at　harvest…time；　when　the　Egyptian　reapers　had　cut　the　first　stalks；　they　laid　them　down　and　beat　their　breasts；　wailing　and　calling　upon　Isis。　The　custom　has　been　already　explained　as　a　lamen　for　the　corn…spirit　slain　under　the　sickle。　Amongst　the　epithets　by　which　Isis　is　designated　in　the　inscriptions　are　Creatress　of　green　things；　Green　goddess；　whose　green　colour　is　like　unto　the　greenness　of　the　earth；　Lady　of　Bread；　Lady　of　Beer；　Lady　of　Abundance。　According　to　Brugsch　she　is　not　only　the　creatress　of　the　fresh　verdure　of　vegetation　which　covers　the　earth；　but　is　actually　the　green　corn…field　itself；　which　is　personified　as　a　goddess。　This　is　confirmed　by　her　epithet　Sochit　or　Sochet；　meaning　a　corn…field；　a　sense　which　the　word　still　retains　in　Coptic。　The　Greeks　conceived　of　Isis　as　a　corn…goddess；　for　they　identified　her　with　Demeter。　In　a　Greek　epigram　she　is　described　as　she　who　has　given　birth　to　the　fruits　of　the　earth；　and　the　mother　of　the　ears　of　corn；　and　in　a　hymn　composed　in　her　honour　she　speaks　of　herself　as　queen　of　the　wheat…field；　and　is　described　as　charged　with　the　care　of　the　fruitful　furrow's　wheat…rich　path。　Accordingly；　Greek　or　Roman　artists　often　represented　her　with　ears　of　corn　on　her　head　or　in　her　hand。

Such；　we　may　suppose；　was　Isis　in　the　olden　time；　a　rustic　Corn…Mother　adored　with　uncouth　rites　by　Egyptian　swains。　But　the　homely　features　of　the　clownish　goddess　could　hardly　be　traced　in　the　refined；　the　saintly　form　which；　spiritualised　by　ages　of　religious　evolution；　she　presented　to　her　worshippers　of　after　days　as　the　true　wife；　the　tender　mother；　the　beneficent　queen　of　nature；　encircled　with　the　nimbus　of　moral　purity；　of　immemorial　and　mysterious　sanctity。　Thus　chastened　and　transfigured　she　won　many　hearts　far　beyond　the　boundaries　of　her　native　land。　In　that　welter　of　religions　which　accompanied　the　decline　of　national　life　in　antiquity　her　worship　was　one　of　the　most　popular　at　Rome　and　throughout　the　empire。　Some　of　the　Roman　emperors　themselves　were　openly　addicted　to　it。　And　however　the　religion　of　Isis　may；　like　any　other；　have　been　often　worn　as　a　cloak　by　men　and　women　of　loose　life；　her　rites　appear　on　the　whole　to　have　been　honourably　distinguished　by　a　dignity　and　composure；　a　solemnity　and　decorum；　well　fitted　to　soothe　the　troubled　mind；　to　ease　the　burdened　heart。　They　appealed　therefore　to　gentle　spirits；　and　above　all　to　women；　whom　the　bloody　and　licentious　rites　of　other　Oriental　goddesses　only　shocked　and　repelled。　We　need　not　wonder；　then；　that　in　a　period　of　decadence；　when　traditional　faiths　were　shaken；　when　systems　clashed；　when　men's　minds　were　disquieted；　when　the　fabric　of　empire　itself；　once　deemed　eternal；　began　to　show　ominous　rents　and　fissures；　the　serene　figure　of　Isis　with　her　spiritual　calm；　her　gracious　promise　of　immortality；　should　have　appeared　to　many　like　a　star　in　a　stormy　sky；　and　should　have　roused　in　their　breasts　a　rapture　of　devotion　not　unlike　that　which　was　paid　in　the　Middle　Ages　to　the　Virgin　Mary。　Indeed　her　stately　ritual；　with　its　shaven　and　tonsured　priests；　its　matins　and　vespers；　its　tinkling　music；　its　baptism　and　aspersions　of　holy　water；　its　solemn　processions；　its　jewelled　images　of　the　Mother　of　God；　presented　many　points　of　similarity　to　the　pomps　and　ceremonies　of　Catholicism。　The　resemblance　need　not　be　purely　accidental。　Ancient　Egypt　may　have　contributed　its　share　to　the　gorgeous　symbolism　of　the　Catholic　Church　as　well　as　to　the　pale　abstractions　of　her　theology。　Certainly　in　art　the　figure　of　Isis　suckling　the　infant　Horus　is　so　like　that　of　the　Madonna　and　child　that　it　has　sometimes　received　the　adoration　of　ignorant　Christians。　And　to　Isis　in　her　later　character　of　patroness　of　mariners　the　Virgin　Mary　perhaps　owes　her　beautiful　epithet　of　Stella　Maris；　Star　of　the　Sea；　under　which　she　is　adored　by　tempest…tossed　sailors。　The　attributes　of　a　marine　deity　may　have　been　bestowed　on　Isis　by　the　sea…faring　Greeks　of　Alexandria。　They　are　quite　foreign　to　her　original　character　and　to　the　habits　of　the　Egyptians；　who　had　no　love　of　the　sea。　On　this　hypothesis　Sirius；　the　bright　star　of　Isis；　which　on　July　mornings　rises　from　the　glassy　waves　of　the　eastern　Mediterranean；　a　harbinger　of　halcyon　weather　to　mariners；　was　the　true　Stella　Maris；　the　Star　of　the　Sea。

Chapter　42。　Osiris　and　the　Sun。

OSIRIS　has　been　sometimes　interpreted　as　the　sun…god；　and　in　modern　times　this　view　has　been　held　by　so　many　distinguished　writers　that　it　deserves　a　brief　examination。　If　we　enquire　on　what　evidence　Osiris　has　been　identified　with　the　sun　or　the　sun…god；　it　will　be　found　on　analysis　to　be　minute　in　quantity　and　dubious；　where　it　is　not　absolutely　worthless；　in　quality。　The　diligent　Jablonski；　the　first　modern　scholar　to　collect　and　sift　the　testimony　of　classical　writers　on　Egyptian　religion；　says　that　it　can　be　shown　in　many　ways　that　Osiris　is　the　sun；　and　that　he　could　produce　a　cloud　of　witnesses　to　prove　it；　but　that　it　is　needless　to　do　so；　since　no　learned　man　is　ignorant　of　the　fact。　Of　the　ancient　writers　whom　he　condescends　to　quote；　the　only　two　who　expressly　identify　Osiris　with　the　sun　are　Diodorus　and　Macrobius。　But　little　weight　can　be　attached　to　their　evidence；　for　the　statement　of　Diodorus　is　vague　and　rhetorical；　and　the　reasons　which　Macrobius；　one　of　the　fathers　of　solar　mythology；　assigns　for　the　identification　are　exceedingly　slight。

The　ground　upon　which　some　modern　writers　seem　chiefly　to　rely　for　the　identification　of　Osiris　with　the　sun　is　that　the　story　of　his　death　fits　better　with　the　solar　phenomena　than　with　any　other　in　nature。　It　may　readily　be　admitted　that　the　daily　appearance　and　disappearance　of　the　sun　might　very　naturally　be　expressed　by　a　myth　of　his　death　and　resurrection；　and　writers　who　regard　Osiris　as　the　sun　are　careful　to　indicate　that　it　is　the　diurnal；　and　not　the　annual；　course　of　the　sun　to　which　they　understand　the　myth　to　apply。　Thus　Renouf；　who　identified　Osiris　with　the　sun；　admitted　that　the　Egyptian　sun　could　not　with　any　show　of　reason　be　described　as　dead　in　winter。　But　if　his　daily　death　was　the　theme　of　the　legend；　why　was　it　celebrated　by　an　annual　ceremony？　This　fact　alone　seems　fatal　to　the　interpretation　of　the　myth　as　descriptive　of　sunset　and　sunrise。　Aga