the golden bough-第45章

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！


st　of　Arden　it　was　said　that　down　to　modern　times　a　squirrel　might　leap　from　tree　to　tree　for　nearly　the　whole　length　of　Warwickshire。　The　excavation　of　ancient　pile…villages　in　the　valley　of　the　Po　has　shown　that　long　before　the　rise　and　probably　the　foundation　of　Rome　the　north　of　Italy　was　covered　with　dense　woods　of　elms；　chestnuts；　and　especially　of　oaks。　Archaeology　is　here　confirmed　by　history；　for　classical　writers　contain　many　references　to　Italian　forests　which　have　now　disappeared。　As　late　as　the　fourth　century　before　our　era　Rome　was　divided　from　central　Etruria　by　the　dreaded　Ciminian　forest；　which　Livy　compares　to　the　woods　of　Germany。　No　merchant；　if　we　may　trust　the　Roman　historian；　had　ever　penetrated　its　pathless　solitudes；　and　it　was　deemed　a　most　daring　feat　when　a　Roman　general；　after　sending　two　scouts　to　explore　its　intricacies；　led　his　army　into　the　forest　and；　making　his　way　to　a　ridge　of　the　wooded　mountains；　looked　down　on　the　rich　Etrurian　fields　spread　out　below。　In　Greece　beautiful　woods　of　pine；　oak；　and　other　trees　still　linger　on　the　slopes　of　the　high　Arcadian　mountains；　still　adorn　with　their　verdure　the　deep　gorge　through　which　the　Ladon　hurries　to　join　the　sacred　Alpheus；　and　were　still；　down　to　a　few　years　ago；　mirrored　in　the　dark　blue　waters　of　the　lonely　lake　of　Pheneus；　but　they　are　mere　fragments　of　the　forests　which　clothed　great　tracts　in　antiquity；　and　which　at　a　more　remote　epoch　may　have　spanned　the　Greek　peninsula　from　sea　to　sea。

From　an　examination　of　the　Teutonic　words　for　temple　Grimm　has　made　it　probable　that　amongst　the　Germans　the　oldest　sanctuaries　were　natural　woods。　However　that　may　be；　tree…worship　is　well　attested　for　all　the　great　European　families　of　the　Aryan　stock。　Amongst　the　Celts　the　oak…worship　of　the　Druids　is　familiar　to　every　one；　and　their　old　word　for　sanctuary　seems　to　be　identical　in　origin　and　meaning　with　the　Latin　nemus；　a　grove　or　woodland　glade；　which　still　survives　in　the　name　of　Nemi。　Sacred　groves　were　common　among　the　ancient　Germans；　and　tree…worship　is　hardly　extinct　amongst　their　descendants　at　the　present　day。　How　serious　that　worship　was　in　former　times　may　be　gathered　from　the　ferocious　penalty　appointed　by　the　old　German　laws　for　such　as　dared　to　peel　the　bark　of　a　standing　tree。　The　culprit's　navel　was　to　be　cut　out　and　nailed　to　the　part　of　the　tree　which　he　had　peeled；　and　he　was　to　be　driven　round　and　round　the　tree　till　all　his　guts　were　wound　about　its　trunk。　The　intention　of　the　punishment　clearly　was　to　replace　the　dead　bark　by　a　living　substitute　taken　from　the　culprit；　it　was　a　life　for　a　life；　the　life　of　a　man　for　the　life　of　a　tree。　At　Upsala；　the　old　religious　capital　of　Sweden；　there　was　a　sacred　grove　in　which　every　tree　was　regarded　as　divine。　The　heathen　Slavs　worshipped　trees　and　groves。　The　Lithuanians　were　not　converted　to　Christianity　till　towards　the　close　of　the　fourteenth　century；　and　amongst　them　at　the　date　of　their　conversion　the　worship　of　trees　was　prominent。　Some　of　them　revered　remarkable　oaks　and　other　great　shady　trees；　from　which　they　received　oracular　responses。　Some　maintained　holy　groves　about　their　villages　or　houses；　where　even　to　break　a　twig　would　have　been　a　sin。　They　thought　that　he　who　cut　a　bough　in　such　a　grove　either　died　suddenly　or　was　crippled　in　one　of　his　limbs。　Proofs　of　the　prevalence　of　tree…worship　in　ancient　Greece　and　Italy　are　abundant。　In　the　sanctuary　of　Aesculapius　at　Cos；　for　example；　it　was　forbidden　to　cut　down　the　cypress…trees　under　a　penalty　of　a　thousand　drachms。　But　nowhere；　perhaps；　in　the　ancient　world　was　this　antique　form　of　religion　better　preserved　than　in　the　heart　of　the　great　metropolis　itself。　In　the　Forum；　the　busy　centre　of　Roman　life；　the　sacred　fig…tree　of　Romulus　was　worshipped　down　to　the　days　of　the　empire；　and　the　withering　of　its　trunk　was　enough　to　spread　consternation　through　the　city。　Again；　on　the　slope　of　the　Palatine　Hill　grew　a　cornel…tree　which　was　esteemed　one　of　the　most　sacred　objects　in　Rome。　Whenever　the　tree　appeared　to　a　passer…by　to　be　drooping；　he　set　up　a　hue　and　cry　which　was　echoed　by　the　people　in　the　street；　and　soon　a　crowd　might　be　seen　running　helter…skelter　from　all　sides　with　buckets　of　water；　as　if　（says　Plutarch）　they　were　hastening　to　put　out　a　fire。

Among　the　tribes　of　the　Finnish…Ugrian　stock　in　Europe　the　heathen　worship　was　performed　for　the　most　part　in　sacred　groves；　which　were　always　enclosed　with　a　fence。　Such　a　grove　often　consisted　merely　of　a　glade　or　clearing　with　a　few　trees　dotted　about；　upon　which　in　former　times　the　skins　of　the　sacrificial　victims　were　hung。　The　central　point　of　the　grove；　at　least　among　the　tribes　of　the　Volga；　was　the　sacred　tree；　beside　which　everything　else　sank　into　insignificance。　Before　it　the　worshippers　assembled　and　the　priest　offered　his　prayers；　at　its　roots　the　victim　was　sacrificed；　and　its　boughs　sometimes　served　as　a　pulpit。　No　wood　might　be　hewn　and　no　branch　broken　in　the　grove；　and　women　were　generally　forbidden　to　enter　it。

But　it　is　necessary　to　examine　in　some　detail　the　notions　on　which　the　worship　of　trees　and　plants　is　based。　To　the　savage　the　world　in　general　is　animate；　and　trees　and　plants　are　no　exception　to　the　rule。　He　thinks　that　they　have　souls　like　his　own；　and　he　treats　them　accordingly。　They　say；　writes　the　ancient　vegetarian　Porphyry；　that　primitive　men　led　an　unhappy　life；　for　their　superstition　did　not　stop　at　animals　but　extended　even　to　plants。　For　why　should　the　slaughter　of　an　ox　or　a　sheep　be　a　greater　wrong　than　the　felling　of　a　fir　or　an　oak；　seeing　that　a　soul　is　implanted　in　these　trees　also？　Similarly；　the　Hidatsa　Indians　of　North　America　believe　that　every　natural　object　has　its　spirit；　or　to　speak　more　properly；　its　shade。　To　these　shades　some　consideration　or　respect　is　due；　but　not　equally　to　all。　For　example；　the　shade　of　the　cottonwood；　the　greatest　tree　in　the　valley　of　the　Upper　Missouri；　is　supposed　to　possess　an　intelligence　which；　if　properly　approached；　may　help　the　Indians　in　certain　undertakings；　but　the　shades　of　shrubs　and　grasses　are　of　little　account。　When　the　Missouri；　swollen　by　a　freshet　in　spring；　carries　away　part　of　its　banks　and　sweeps　some　tall　tree　into　its　current；　it　is　said　that　the　spirit　of　the　tree　cries；　while　the　roots　still　cling　to　the　land　and　until　the　trunk　falls　with　a　splash　into　the　stream。　Formerly　the　Indians　considered　it　wrong　to　fell　one　of　these　giants；　and　when　large　logs　were　needed　they　made　use　only　of　trees　which　had　fallen　of　themselves。　Till　lately　some　of　the　more　credulous　old　men　declared　that　many　of　the　misfortunes　of　their　people　were　caused　by　this　modern　disregard　for　the　rights　of　the　living　cottonwood。　The　Iroquois　believed　that　each　species　of　tree；　shrub；　plant；　and　herb　had　its　own　spirit；　and　to　these　spirits　it　was　their　custom　to　return　thanks。　The　Wanika　of　Eastern　Africa　fancy　that　every　tree；　and　especially　every　coco…nut　tree；　has　its　spirit；　the　destruction　of　a　cocoa…nut　tree　is　regarded　as　equivalent　to　matricide；　because　that　tree　gives　them　life　and　nourishment；　as　a　mother　does　her　child。　Siamese　monks；　believing　that　there　are　souls　everywhere；　and　that　to　destroy　anything　whatever　is　forcibly　to　dispossess　a　soul；　will　not　break　a　branch　of　a　tree；　as　they　will　not　break　the　arm　of　an　innocent　person。　These　monks；　of　course；　are　Buddhists。　But　Buddhist　animism　is　not　a　philosophical　theory。　It　is　simply　a　common　savage　dogma　incorporated　in　the　system　of　an　historical　religion。　To　suppose；　with　Benfey　and　others；　that　the　theories　of　animism　and　transmigration　current　among　rude　peoples　of　Asia　are　derived　from　Buddhism；　is　to　reverse　the　facts。

Sometimes　it　is　only　particular　sorts　of　trees　that　are　supposed　to　be　tenanted　by　spirits。　At　Grbalj　in　Dalmatia　it　is　said　that　among　great　beeches；　oaks；　and　other　trees　there　are　some　that　are　endowed　with　shades　or　souls；　and　whoever　fells　one　of　them　must　die　on　the　spot；　or　at　least　live　an　invalid　for　the　rest　of　his　days。　If　a　woodman　fears　that　a　tree　which　he　has　felled　is　one　of　this　sort；　he　must　cut　off　the　head　of　a　live　hen　on　the　stump　of　the　tree　with　the　very　same　axe　with　which　he　cut　down