the golden bough-第43章

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as　especially　dedicated　to　the　kings；　and　sacrifices　were　offered　to　them　at　the　new　moon　and　on　the　fifteenth　of　each　month。　Again；　the　Parthian　monarchs　of　the　Arsacid　house　styled　themselves　brothers　of　the　sun　and　moon　and　were　worshipped　as　deities。　It　was　esteemed　sacrilege　to　strike　even　a　private　member　of　the　Arsacid　family　in　a　brawl。

The　kings　of　Egypt　were　deified　in　their　lifetime；　sacrifices　were　offered　to　them；　and　their　worship　was　celebrated　in　special　temples　and　by　special　priests。　Indeed　the　worship　of　the　kings　sometimes　cast　that　of　the　gods　into　the　shade。　Thus　in　the　reign　of　Merenra　a　high　official　declared　that　he　had　built　many　holy　places　in　order　that　the　spirits　of　the　king；　the　ever…living　Merenra；　might　be　invoked　more　than　all　the　gods。　It　has　never　been　doubted　that　the　king　claimed　actual　divinity；　he　was　the　'great　god；'　the'golden　Horus；'　and　son　of　Ra。　He　claimed　authority　not　only　over　Egypt；　but　over'all　lands　and　nations；''the　whole　world　in　its　length　and　its　breadth；　the　east　and　the　west；''the　entire　compass　of　the　great　circuit　of　the　sun；''the　sky　and　what　is　in　it；　the　earth　and　all　that　is　upon　it；''every　creature　that　walks　upon　two　or　upon　four　legs；　all　that　fly　or　flutter；　the　whole　world　offers　her　productions　to　him。'　Whatever　in　fact　might　be　asserted　of　the　Sun…god；　was　dogmatically　predicable　of　the　king　of　Egypt。　His　titles　were　directly　derived　from　those　of　the　Sun…god。　In　the　course　of　his　existence；　we　are　told；　the　king　of　Egypt　exhausted　all　the　possible　conceptions　of　divinity　which　the　Egyptians　had　framed　for　themselves。　A　superhuman　god　by　his　birth　and　by　his　royal　office；　he　became　the　deified　man　after　his　death。　Thus　all　that　was　known　of　the　divine　was　summed　up　in　him。

We　have　now　completed　our　sketch；　for　it　is　no　more　than　a　sketch；　of　the　evolution　of　that　sacred　kingship　which　attained　its　highest　form；　its　most　absolute　expression；　in　the　monarchies　of　Peru　and　Egypt。　Historically；　the　institution　appears　to　have　originated　in　the　order　of　public　magicians　or　medicine…men；　logically　it　rests　on　a　mistaken　deduction　from　the　association　of　ideas。　Men　mistook　the　order　of　their　ideas　for　the　order　of　nature；　and　hence　imagined　that　the　control　which　they　have；　or　seem　to　have；　over　their　thoughts；　permitted　them　to　exercise　a　corresponding　control　over　things。　The　men　who　for　one　reason　or　another；　because　of　the　strength　or　the　weakness　of　their　natural　parts；　were　supposed　to　possess　these　magical　powers　in　the　highest　degree；　were　gradually　marked　off　from　their　fellows　and　became　a　separate　class；　who　were　destined　to　exercise　a　most　far…reaching　influence　on　the　political；　religious；　and　intellectual　evolution　of　mankind。　Social　progress；　as　we　know；　consists　mainly　in　a　successive　differentiation　of　functions；　or；　in　simpler　language；　a　division　of　labour。　The　work　which　in　primitive　society　is　done　by　all　alike　and　by　all　equally　ill；　or　nearly　so；　is　gradually　distributed　among　different　classes　of　workers　and　executed　more　and　more　perfectly；　and　so　far　as　the　products；　material　or　immaterial；　of　this　specialised　labour　are　shared　by　all；　the　whole　community　benefits　by　the　increasing　specialisation。　Now　magicians　or　medicine…men　appear　to　constitute　the　oldest　artificial　or　professional　class　in　the　evolution　of　society。　For　sorcerers　are　found　in　every　savage　tribe　known　to　us；　and　among　the　lowest　savages；　such　as　the　Australian　aborigines；　they　are　the　only　professional　class　that　exists。　As　time　goes　on；　and　the　process　of　differentiation　continues；　the　order　of　medicine…men　is　itself　subdivided　into　such　classes　as　the　healers　of　disease；　the　makers　of　rain；　and　so　forth；　while　the　most　powerful　member　of　the　order　wins　for　himself　a　position　as　chief　and　gradually　develops　into　a　sacred　king；　his　old　magical　functions　falling　more　and　more　into　the　background　and　being　exchanged　for　priestly　or　even　divine　duties；　in　proportion　as　magic　is　slowly　ousted　by　religion。　Still　later；　a　partition　is　effected　between　the　civil　and　the　religious　aspect　of　the　kingship；　the　temporal　power　being　committed　to　one　man　and　the　spiritual　to　another。　Meanwhile　the　magicians；　who　may　be　repressed　but　cannot　be　extirpated　by　the　predominance　of　religion；　still　addict　themselves　to　their　old　occult　arts　in　preference　to　the　newer　ritual　of　sacrifice　and　prayer；　and　in　time　the　more　sagacious　of　their　number　perceive　the　fallacy　of　magic　and　hit　upon　a　more　effectual　mode　of　manipulating　the　forces　of　nature　for　the　good　of　man；　in　short；　they　abandon　sorcery　for　science。　I　am　far　from　affirming　that　the　course　of　development　has　everywhere　rigidly　followed　these　lines：　it　has　doubtless　varied　greatly　in　different　societies。　I　merely　mean　to　indicate　in　the　broadest　outline　what　I　conceive　to　have　been　its　general　trend。　Regarded　from　the　industrial　point　of　view　the　evolution　has　been　from　uniformity　to　diversity　of　function：　regarded　from　the　political　point　of　view；　it　has　been　from　democracy　to　despotism。　With　the　later　history　of　monarchy；　especially　with　the　decay　of　despotism　and　its　displacement　by　forms　of　government　better　adapted　to　the　higher　needs　of　humanity；　we　are　not　concerned　in　this　enquiry：　our　theme　is　the　growth；　not　the　decay；　of　a　great　and；　in　its　time；　beneficent　institution。

Chapter　8。　Departmental　Kings　of　Nature

THE　PRECEDING　investigation　has　proved　that　the　same　union　of　sacred　functions　with　a　royal　title　which　meets　us　in　the　King　of　the　Wood　at　Nemi；　the　Sacrificial　King　at　Rome；　and　the　magistrate　called　the　King　at　Athens；　occurs　frequently　outside　the　limits　of　classical　antiquity　and　is　a　common　feature　of　societies　at　all　stages　from　barbarism　to　civilisation。　Further；　it　appears　that　the　royal　priest　is　often　a　king；　not　only　in　name　but　in　fact；　swaying　the　sceptre　as　well　as　the　crosier。　All　this　confirms　the　traditional　view　of　the　origin　of　the　titular　and　priestly　kings　in　the　republics　of　ancient　Greece　and　Italy。　At　least　by　showing　that　the　combination　of　spiritual　and　temporal　power；　of　which　Graeco…Italian　tradition　preserved　the　memory；　has　actually　existed　in　many　places；　we　have　obviated　any　suspicion　of　improbability　that　might　have　attached　to　the　tradition。　Therefore　we　may　now　fairly　ask；　May　not　the　King　of　the　Wood　have　had　an　origin　like　that　which　a　probable　tradition　assigns　to　the　Sacrificial　King　of　Rome　and　the　titular　King　of　Athens？　In　other　words；　may　not　his　predecessors　in　office　have　been　a　line　of　kings　whom　a　republican　revolution　stripped　of　their　political　power；　leaving　them　only　their　religious　functions　and　the　shadow　of　a　crown？　There　are　at　least　two　reasons　for　answering　this　question　in　the　negative。　One　reason　is　drawn　from　the　abode　of　the　priest　of　Nemi；　the　other　from　his　title；　the　King　of　the　Wood。　If　his　predecessors　had　been　kings　in　the　ordinary　sense；　he　would　surely　have　been　found　residing；　like　the　fallen　kings　of　Rome　and　Athens；　in　the　city　of　which　the　sceptre　had　passed　from　him。　This　city　must　have　been　Aricia；　for　there　was　none　nearer。　But　Aricia　was　three　miles　off　from　his　forest　sanctuary　by　the　lake　shore。　If　he　reigned；　it　was　not　in　the　city；　but　in　the　greenwood。　Again　his　title；　King　of　the　Wood；　hardly　allows　us　to　suppose　that　he　had　ever　been　a　king　in　the　common　sense　of　the　word。　More　likely　he　was　a　king　of　nature；　and　of　a　special　side　of　nature；　namely；　the　woods　from　which　he　took　his　title。　If　we　could　find　instances　of　what　we　may　call　departmental　kings　of　nature；　that　is　of　persons　supposed　to　rule　over　particular　elements　or　aspects　of　nature；　they　would　probably　present　a　closer　analogy　to　the　King　of　the　Wood　than　the　divine　kings　we　have　been　hitherto　considering；　whose　control　of　nature　is　general　rather　than　special。　Instances　of　such　departmental　kings　are　not　wanting。

On　a　hill　at　Bomma　near　the　mouth　of　the　Congo　dwells　Namvulu　Vumu；　King　of　the　Rain　and　Storm。　Of　some　of　the　tribes　on　the　Upper　Nile　we　are　told　that　they　have　no　kings　in　the　common　sense；　the　only　persons　whom　they　acknowledge　as　such　are　the　Kings　of　the　Rain；　Mata　Kodou；　who　are　credited　with　the　power　of　giving　rain　at　the　proper　time；　that　is；　t