the golden bough-第23章

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Among　the　ignorant　classes　of　modern　Europe　the　same　confusion　of　ideas；　the　same　mixture　of　religion　and　magic；　crops　up　in　various　forms。　Thus　we　are　told　that　in　France　the　majority　of　the　peasants　still　believe　that　the　priest　possesses　a　secret　and　irresistible　power　over　the　elements。　By　reciting　certain　prayers　which　he　alone　knows　and　has　the　right　to　utter；　yet　for　the　utterance　of　which　he　must　afterwards　demand　absolution；　he　can；　on　an　occasion　of　pressing　danger；　arrest　or　reverse　for　a　moment　the　action　of　the　eternal　laws　of　the　physical　world。　The　winds；　the　storms；　the　hail；　and　the　rain　are　at　his　command　and　obey　his　will。　The　fire　also　is　subject　to　him；　and　the　flames　of　a　conflagration　are　extinguished　at　his　word。　For　example；　French　peasants　used　to　be；　perhaps　are　still；　persuaded　that　the　priests　could　celebrate；　with　certain　special　rites；　a　Mass　of　the　Holy　Spirit；　of　which　the　efficacy　was　so　miraculous　that　it　never　met　with　any　opposition　from　the　divine　will；　God　was　forced　to　grant　whatever　was　asked　of　Him　in　this　form；　however　rash　and　importunate　might　be　the　petition。　No　idea　of　impiety　or　irreverence　attached　to　the　rite　in　the　minds　of　those　who；　in　some　of　the　great　extremities　of　life；　sought　by　this　singular　means　to　take　the　kingdom　of　heaven　by　storm。　The　secular　priests　generally　refused　to　say　the　Mass　of　the　Holy　Spirit；　but　the　monks；　especially　the　Capuchin　friars；　had　the　reputation　of　yielding　with　less　scruple　to　the　entreaties　of　the　anxious　and　distressed。　In　the　constraint　thus　supposed　by　Catholic　peasantry　to　be　laid　by　the　priest　upon　the　deity　we　seem　to　have　an　exact　counterpart　of　the　power　which　the　ancient　Egyptians　ascribed　to　their　magicians。　Again；　to　take　another　example；　in　many　villages　of　Provence　the　priest　is　still　reputed　to　possess　the　faculty　of　averting　storms。　It　is　not　every　priest　who　enjoys　this　reputation；　and　in　some　villages；　when　a　change　of　pastors　takes　place；　the　parishioners　are　eager　to　learn　whether　the　new　incumbent　has　the　power　（pouder）；　as　they　call　it。　At　the　first　sign　of　a　heavy　storm　they　put　him　to　the　proof　by　inviting　him　to　exorcise　the　threatening　clouds；　and　if　the　result　answers　to　their　hopes；　the　new　shepherd　is　assured　of　the　sympathy　and　respect　of　his　flock。　In　some　parishes；　where　the　reputation　of　the　curate　in　this　respect　stood　higher　than　that　of　his　rector；　the　relations　between　the　two　have　been　so　strained　in　consequence　that　the　bishop　has　had　to　translate　the　rector　to　another　benefice。　Again；　Gascon　peasants　believe　that　to　revenge　themselves　on　their　enemies　bad　men　will　sometimes　induce　a　priest　to　say　a　mass　called　the　Mass　of　Saint　Sécaire。　Very　few　priests　know　this　mass；　and　three…fourths　of　those　who　do　know　it　would　not　say　it　for　love　or　money。　None　but　wicked　priests　dare　to　perform　the　gruesome　ceremony；　and　you　may　be　quite　sure　that　they　will　have　a　very　heavy　account　to　render　for　it　at　the　last　day。　No　curate　or　bishop；　not　even　the　archbishop　of　Auch；　can　pardon　them；　that　right　belongs　to　the　pope　of　Rome　alone。　The　Mass　of　Saint　Sécaire　may　be　said　only　in　a　ruined　or　deserted　church；　where　owls　mope　and　hoot；　where　bats　flit　in　the　gloaming；　where　gypsies　lodge　of　nights；　and　where　toads　squat　under　the　desecrated　altar。　Thither　the　bad　priest　comes　by　night　with　his　light　o'　love；　and　at　the　first　stroke　of　eleven　he　begins　to　mumble　the　mass　backwards；　and　ends　just　as　the　clocks　are　knelling　the　midnight　hour。　His　leman　acts　as　clerk。　The　host　he　blesses　is　black　and　has　three　points；　he　consecrates　no　wine；　but　instead　he　drinks　the　water　of　a　well　into　which　the　body　of　an　unbaptized　infant　has　been　flung。　He　makes　the　sign　of　the　cross；　but　it　is　on　the　ground　and　with　his　left　foot。　And　many　other　things　he　does　which　no　good　Christian　could　look　upon　without　being　struck　blind　and　deaf　and　dumb　for　the　rest　of　his　life。　But　the　man　for　whom　the　mass　is　said　withers　away　little　by　little；　and　nobody　can　say　what　is　the　matter　with　him；　even　the　doctors　can　make　nothing　of　it。　They　do　not　know　that　he　is　slowly　dying　of　the　Mass　of　Saint　Sécaire。

Yet　though　magic　is　thus　found　to　fuse　and　amalgamate　with　religion　in　many　ages　and　in　many　lands；　there　are　some　grounds　for　thinking　that　this　fusion　is　not　primitive；　and　that　there　was　a　time　when　man　trusted　to　magic　alone　for　the　satisfaction　of　such　wants　as　transcended　his　immediate　animal　cravings。　In　the　first　place　a　consideration　of　the　fundamental　notions　of　magic　and　religion　may　incline　us　to　surmise　that　magic　is　older　than　religion　in　the　history　of　humanity。　We　have　seen　that　on　the　one　hand　magic　is　nothing　but　a　mistaken　application　of　the　very　simplest　and　most　elementary　processes　of　the　mind；　namely　the　association　of　ideas　by　virtue　of　resemblance　or　contiguity；　and　that　on　the　other　hand　religion　assumes　the　operation　of　conscious　or　personal　agents；　superior　to　man；　behind　the　visible　screen　of　nature。　Obviously　the　conception　of　personal　agents　is　more　complex　than　a　simple　recognition　of　the　similarity　or　contiguity　of　ideas；　and　a　theory　which　assumes　that　the　course　of　nature　is　determined　by　conscious　agents　is　more　abstruse　and　recondite；　and　requires　for　its　apprehension　a　far　higher　degree　of　intelligence　and　reflection；　than　the　view　that　things　succeed　each　other　simply　by　reason　of　their　contiguity　or　resemblance。　The　very　beasts　associate　the　ideas　of　things　that　are　like　each　other　or　that　have　been　found　together　in　their　experience；　and　they　could　hardly　survive　for　a　day　if　they　ceased　to　do　so。　But　who　attributes　to　the　animals　a　belief　that　the　phenomena　of　nature　are　worked　by　a　multitude　of　invisible　animals　or　by　one　enormous　and　prodigiously　strong　animal　behind　the　scenes？　It　is　probably　no　injustice　to　the　brutes　to　assume　that　the　honour　of　devising　a　theory　of　this　latter　sort　must　be　reserved　for　human　reason。　Thus；　if　magic　be　deduced　immediately　from　elementary　processes　of　reasoning；　and　be；　in　fact；　an　error　into　which　the　mind　falls　almost　spontaneously；　while　religion　rests　on　conceptions　which　the　merely　animal　intelligence　can　hardly　be　supposed　to　have　yet　attained　to；　it　becomes　probable　that　magic　arose　before　religion　in　the　evolution　of　our　race；　and　that　man　essayed　to　bend　nature　to　his　wishes　by　the　sheer　force　of　spells　and　enchantments　before　he　strove　to　coax　and　mollify　a　coy；　capricious；　or　irascible　deity　by　the　soft　insinuation　of　prayer　and　sacrifice。

The　conclusion　which　we　have　thus　reached　deductively　from　a　consideration　of　the　fundamental　ideas　of　magic　and　religion　is　confirmed　inductively　by　the　observation　that　among　the　aborigines　of　Australia；　the　rudest　savages　as　to　whom　we　possess　accurate　information；　magic　is　universally　practised；　whereas　religion　in　the　sense　of　a　propitiation　or　conciliation　of　the　higher　powers　seems　to　be　nearly　unknown。　Roughly　speaking；　all　men　in　Australia　are　magicians；　but　not　one　is　a　priest；　everybody　fancies　he　can　influence　his　fellows　or　the　course　of　nature　by　sympathetic　magic；　but　nobody　dreams　of　propitiating　gods　by　prayer　and　sacrifice。

But　if　in　the　most　backward　state　of　human　society　now　known　to　us　we　find　magic　thus　conspicuously　present　and　religion　conspicuously　absent；　may　we　not　reasonably　conjecture　that　the　civilised　races　of　the　world　have　also　at　some　period　of　their　history　passed　through　a　similar　intellectual　phase；　that　they　attempted　to　force　the　great　powers　of　nature　to　do　their　pleasure　before　they　thought　of　courting　their　favour　by　offerings　and　prayerin　short　that；　just　as　on　the　material　side　of　human　culture　there　has　everywhere　been　an　Age　of　Stone；　so　on　the　intellectual　side　there　has　everywhere　been　an　Age　of　Magic？　There　are　reasons　for　answering　this　question　in　the　affirmative。　When　we　survey　the　existing　races　of　mankind　from　Greenland　to　Tierra　del　Fuego；　or　from　Scotland　to　Singapore；　we　observe　that　they　are　distinguished　one　from　the　other　by　a　great　variety　of　religions；　and　that　these　distinctions　are　not；　so　to　speak；　merely　coterminous　with　the　broad　distinctions　of　race；　but　descend　into　the　minuter　subdivisions　of　states　and　commonwealths；　nay；　that　they　honeycomb