the golden bough-第56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！


　and　eat　no　flesh　for　five　days；　while　among　the　Lanquineros　and　Cajaboneros　the　period　of　abstinence　from　these　carnal　pleasures　extends　to　thirteen　days。　So　amongst　some　of　the　Germans　of　Transylvania　it　is　a　rule　that　no　man　may　sleep　with　his　wife　during　the　whole　of　the　time　that　he　is　engaged　in　sowing　his　fields。　The　same　rule　is　observed　at　Kalotaszeg　in　Hungary；　the　people　think　that　if　the　custom　were　not　observed　the　corn　would　be　mildewed。　Similarly　a　Central　Australian　headman　of　the　Kaitish　tribe　strictly　abstains　from　marital　relations　with　his　wife　all　the　time　that　he　is　performing　magical　ceremonies　to　make　the　grass　grow；　for　he　believes　that　a　breach　of　this　rule　would　prevent　the　grass　seed　from　sprouting　properly。　In　some　of　the　Melanesian　islands；　when　the　yam　vines　are　being　trained；　the　men　sleep　near　the　gardens　and　never　approach　their　wives；　should　they　enter　the　garden　after　breaking　this　rule　of　continence　the　fruits　of　the　garden　would　be　spoilt。

If　we　ask　why　it　is　that　similar　beliefs　should　logically　lead；　among　different　peoples；　to　such　opposite　modes　of　conduct　as　strict　chastity　and　more　or　less　open　debauchery；　the　reason；　as　it　presents　itself　to　the　primitive　mind；　is　perhaps　not　very　far　to　seek。　If　rude　man　identifies　himself；　in　a　manner；　with　nature；　if　he　fails　to　distinguish　the　impulses　and　processes　in　himself　from　the　methods　which　nature　adopts　to　ensure　the　reproduction　of　plants　and　animals；　he　may　leap　to　one　of　two　conclusions。　Either　he　may　infer　that　by　yielding　to　his　appetites　he　will　thereby　assist　in　the　multiplication　of　plants　and　animals；　or　he　may　imagine　that　the　vigour　which　he　refuses　to　expend　in　reproducing　his　own　kind；　will　form　as　it　were　a　store　of　energy　whereby　other　creatures；　whether　vegetable　or　animal；　will　somehow　benefit　in　propagating　their　species。　Thus　from　the　same　crude　philosophy；　the　same　primitive　notions　of　nature　and　life；　the　savage　may　derive　by　different　channels　a　rule　either　of　profligacy　or　of　asceticism。

To　readers　bred　in　religion　which　is　saturated　with　the　ascetic　idealism　of　the　East；　the　explanation　which　I　have　given　of　the　rule　of　continence　observed　under　certain　circumstances　by　rude　or　savage　peoples　may　seem　far…fetched　and　improbable。　They　may　think　that　moral　purity；　which　is　so　intimately　associated　in　their　minds　with　the　observance　of　such　a　rule；　furnishes　a　sufficient　explanation　of　it；　they　may　hold　with　Milton　that　chastity　in　itself　is　a　noble　virtue；　and　that　the　restraint　which　it　imposes　on　one　of　the　strongest　impulses　of　our　animal　nature　marks　out　those　who　can　submit　to　it　as　men　raised　above　the　common　herd；　and　therefore　worthy　to　receive　the　seal　of　the　divine　approbation。　However　natural　this　mode　of　thought　may　seem　to　us；　it　is　utterly　foreign　and　indeed　incomprehensible　to　the　savage。　If　he　resists　on　occasion　the　sexual　instinct；　it　is　from　no　high　idealism；　no　ethereal　aspiration　after　moral　purity；　but　for　the　sake　of　some　ulterior　yet　perfectly　definite　and　concrete　object；　to　gain　which　he　is　prepared　to　sacrifice　the　immediate　gratification　of　his　senses。　That　this　is　or　may　be　so；　the　examples　I　have　cited　are　amply　sufficient　to　prove。　They　show　that　where　the　instinct　of　self…preservation；　which　manifests　itself　chiefly　in　the　search　for　food；　conflicts　or　appears　to　conflict　with　the　instinct　which　conduces　to　the　propagation　of　the　species；　the　former　instinct；　as　the　primary　and　more　fundamental；　is　capable　of　overmastering　the　latter。　In　short；　the　savage　is　willing　to　restrain　his　sexual　propensity　for　the　sake　of　food。　Another　object　for　the　sake　of　which　he　consents　to　exercise　the　same　self…restraint　is　victory　in　war。　Not　only　the　warrior　in　the　field　but　his　friends　at　home　will　often　bridle　their　sensual　appetites　from　a　belief　that　by　so　doing　they　will　the　more　easily　overcome　their　enemies。　The　fallacy　of　such　a　belief；　like　the　belief　that　the　chastity　of　the　sower　conduces　to　the　growth　of　the　seed；　is　plain　enough　to　us；　yet　perhaps　the　self…restraint　which　these　and　the　like　beliefs；　vain　and　false　as　they　are；　have　imposed　on　mankind；　has　not　been　without　its　utility　in　bracing　and　strengthening　the　breed。　For　strength　of　character　in　the　race　as　in　the　individual　consists　mainly　in　the　power　of　sacrificing　the　present　to　the　future；　of　disregarding　the　immediate　temptations　of　ephemeral　pleasure　for　more　distant　and　lasting　sources　of　satisfaction。　The　more　the　power　is　exercised　the　higher　and　stronger　becomes　the　character；　till　the　height　of　heroism　is　reached　in　men　who　renounce　the　pleasures　of　life　and　even　life　itself　for　the　sake　of　keeping　or　winning　for　others；　perhaps　in　distant　ages；　the　blessings　of　freedom　and　truth。

Chapter　12。　The　Sacred　Marriage。

1。　Diana　as　a　Goddess　of　Fertility

WE　have　seen　that　according　to　a　widespread　belief；　which　is　not　without　a　foundation　in　fact；　plants　reproduce　their　kinds　through　the　sexual　union　of　male　and　female　elements；　and　that　on　the　principle　of　homoeopathic　or　imitative　magic　this　reproduction　is　supposed　to　be　stimulated　by　the　real　or　mock　marriage　of　men　and　women；　who　masquerade　for　the　time　being　as　spirits　of　vegetation。　Such　magical　dramas　have　played　a　great　part　in　the　popular　festivals　of　Europe；　and　based　as　they　are　on　a　very　crude　conception　of　natural　law；　it　is　clear　that　they　must　have　been　handed　down　from　a　remote　antiquity。　We　shall　hardly；　therefore；　err　in　assuming　that　they　date　from　a　time　when　the　forefathers　of　the　civilised　nations　of　Europe　were　still　barbarians；　herding　their　cattle　and　cultivating　patches　of　corn　in　the　clearings　of　the　vast　forests；　which　then　covered　the　greater　part　of　the　continent；　from　the　Mediterranean　to　the　Arctic　Ocean。　But　if　these　old　spells　and　enchantments　for　the　growth　of　leaves　and　blossoms；　of　grass　and　flowers　and　fruit；　have　lingered　down　to　our　own　time　in　the　shape　of　pastoral　plays　and　popular　merry…makings；　is　it　not　reasonable　to　suppose　that　they　survived　in　less　attenuated　forms　some　two　thousand　years　ago　among　the　civilised　peoples　of　antiquity？　Or；　to　put　it　otherwise；　is　it　not　likely　that　in　certain　festivals　of　the　ancients　we　may　be　able　to　detect　the　equivalents　of　our　May　Day；　Whitsuntide；　and　Midsummer　celebrations；　with　this　difference；　that　in　those　days　the　ceremonies　had　not　yet　dwindled　into　mere　shows　and　pageants；　but　were　still　religious　or　magical　rites；　in　which　the　actors　consciously　supported　the　high　parts　of　gods　and　goddesses？　Now　in　the　first　chapter　of　this　book　we　found　reason　to　believe　that　the　priest　who　bore　the　title　of　King　of　the　Wood　at　Nemi　had　for　his　mate　the　goddess　of　the　grove；　Diana　herself。　May　not　he　and　she；　as　King　and　Queen　of　the　Wood；　have　been　serious　counterparts　of　the　merry　mummers　who　play　the　King　and　Queen　of　May；　the　Whitsuntide　Bridegroom　and　Bride　in　modern　Europe？　and　may　not　their　union　have　been　yearly　celebrated　in　a　theogamy　or　divine　marriage？　Such　dramatic　weddings　of　gods　and　goddesses；　as　we　shall　see　presently；　were　carried　out　as　solemn　religious　rites　in　many　parts　of　the　ancient　world；　hence　there　is　no　intrinsic　improbability　in　the　supposition　that　the　sacred　grove　at　Nemi　may　have　been　the　scene　of　an　annual　ceremony　of　this　sort。　Direct　evidence　that　it　was　so　there　is　none；　but　analogy　pleads　in　favour　of　the　view；　as　I　shall　now　endeavour　to　show。

Diana　was　essentially　a　goddess　of　the　woodlands；　as　Ceres　was　a　goddess　of　the　corn　and　Bacchus　a　god　of　the　vine。　Her　sanctuaries　were　commonly　in　groves；　indeed　every　grove　was　sacred　to　her；　and　she　is　often　associated　with　the　forest　god　Silvanus　in　dedications。　But　whatever　her　origin　may　have　been；　Diana　was　not　always　a　mere　goddess　of　trees。　Like　her　Greek　sister　Artemis；　she　appears　to　have　developed　into　a　personification　of　the　teeming　life　of　nature；　both　animal　and　vegetable。　As　mistress　of　the　greenwood　she　would　naturally　be　thought　to　own　the　beasts；　whether　wild　or　tame；　that　ranged　through　it；　lurking　for　their　prey　in　its　gloomy　depths；　munching　the　fresh　leaves　and　shoots　among　the　boughs；　or　cropping　the　herbage　in　the　open　glades　and　dells。　Thus　she　might　come　to　be　the　patron　goddess　b