the golden bough-第63章

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iz。　In　this　the　bride；　armed　with　a　formidable　whip；　mounts　a　fleet　horse；　and　is　pursued　by　all　the　young　men　who　make　any　pretensions　to　her　hand。　She　will　be　given　as　a　prize　to　the　one　who　catches　her；　but　she　has　the　right；　besides　urging　on　her　horse　to　the　utmost；　to　use　her　whip；　often　with　no　mean　force；　to　keep　off　those　lovers　who　are　unwelcome　to　her；　and　she　will　probably　favour　the　one　whom　she　has　already　chosen　in　her　heart。　The　race　for　the　bride　is　found　also　among　the　Koryaks　of　North…eastern　Asia。　It　takes　place　in　a　large　tent；　round　which　many　separate　compartments　called　pologs　are　arranged　in　a　continuous　circle。　The　girl　gets　a　start　and　is　clear　of　the　marriage　if　she　can　run　through　all　the　compartments　without　being　caught　by　the　bridegroom。　The　women　of　the　encampment　place　every　obstacle　in　the　man's　way；　tripping　him　up；　belabouring　him　with　switches；　and　so　forth；　so　that　he　has　little　chance　of　succeeding　unless　the　girl　wishes　it　and　waits　for　him。　Similar　customs　appear　to　have　been　practised　by　all　the　Teutonic　peoples；　for　the　German；　Anglo…Saxon；　and　Norse　languages　possess　in　common　a　word　for　marriage　which　means　simply　bride…race。　Moreover；　traces　of　the　custom　survived　into　modern　times。

Thus　it　appears　that　the　right　to　marry　a　girl；　and　especially　a　princess；　has　often　been　conferred　as　a　prize　in　an　athletic　contest。　There　would　be　no　reason；　therefore；　for　surprise　if　the　Roman　kings；　before　bestowing　their　daughters　in　marriage；　should　have　resorted　to　this　ancient　mode　of　testing　the　personal　qualities　of　their　future　sons…in…law　and　successors。　If　my　theory　is　correct；　the　Roman　king　and　queen　personated　Jupiter　and　his　divine　consort；　and　in　the　character　of　these　divinities　went　through　the　annual　ceremony　of　a　sacred　marriage　for　the　purpose　of　causing　the　crops　to　grow　and　men　and　cattle　to　be　fruitful　and　multiply。　Thus　they　did　what　in　more　northern　lands　we　may　suppose　the　King　and　Queen　of　May　were　believed　to　do　in　days　of　old。　Now　we　have　seen　that　the　right　to　play　the　part　of　the　King　of　May　and　to　wed　the　Queen　of　May　has　sometimes　been　determined　by　an　athletic　contest；　particularly　by　a　race。　This　may　have　been　a　relic　of　an　old　marriage　custom　of　the　sort　we　have　examined；　a　custom　designed　to　test　the　fitness　of　a　candidate　for　matrimony。　Such　a　test　might　reasonably　be　applied　with　peculiar　rigour　to　the　king　in　order　to　ensure　that　no　personal　defect　should　incapacitate　him　for　the　performance　of　those　sacred　rites　and　ceremonies　on　which；　even　more　than　on　the　despatch　of　his　civil　and　military　duties；　the　safety　and　prosperity　of　the　community　were　believed　to　depend。　And　it　would　be　natural　to　require　of　him　that　from　time　to　time　he　should　submit　himself　afresh　to　the　same　ordeal　for　the　sake　of　publicly　demonstrating　that　he　was　still　equal　to　the　discharge　of　his　high　calling。　A　relic　of　that　test　perhaps　survived　in　the　ceremony　known　as　the　Flight　of　the　King　（regifugium）；　which　continued　to　be　annually　observed　at　Rome　down　to　imperial　times。　On　the　twenty…fourth　day　of　February　a　sacrifice　used　to　be　offered　in　the　Comitium；　and　when　it　was　over　the　King　of　the　Sacred　Rites　fled　from　the　Forum。　We　may　conjecture　that　the　Flight　of　the　King　was　originally　a　race　for　an　annual　kingship；　which　may　have　been　awarded　as　a　prize　to　the　fleetest　runner。　At　the　end　of　the　year　the　king　might　run　again　for　a　second　term　of　office；　and　so　on；　until　he　was　defeated　and　deposed　or　perhaps　slain。　In　this　way　what　had　once　been　a　race　would　tend　to　assume　the　character　of　a　flight　and　a　pursuit。　The　king　would　be　given　a　start；　he　ran　and　his　competitors　ran　after　him；　and　if　he　were　overtaken　he　had　to　yield　the　crown　and　perhaps　his　life　to　the　lightest　of　foot　among　them。　In　time　a　man　of　masterful　character　might　succeed　in　seating　himself　permanently　on　the　throne　and　reducing　the　annual　race　or　flight　to　the　empty　form　which　it　seems　always　to　have　been　within　historical　times。　The　rite　was　sometimes　interpreted　as　a　commemoration　of　the　expulsion　of　the　kings　from　Rome；　but　this　appears　to　have　been　a　mere　afterthought　devised　to　explain　a　ceremony　of　which　the　old　meaning　was　forgotten。　It　is　far　more　likely　that　in　acting　thus　the　King　of　the　Sacred　Rites　was　merely　keeping　up　an　ancient　custom　which　in　the　regal　period　had　been　annually　observed　by　his　predecessors　the　kings。　What　the　original　intention　of　the　rite　may　have　been　must　probably　always　remain　more　or　less　a　matter　of　conjecture。　The　present　explanation　is　suggested　with　a　full　sense　of　the　difficulty　and　obscurity　in　which　the　subject　is　involved。

Thus　if　my　theory　is　correct；　the　yearly　flight　of　the　Roman　king　was　a　relic　of　a　time　when　the　kingship　was　an　annual　office　awarded；　along　with　the　hand　of　a　princess；　to　the　victorious　athlete　or　gladiator；　who　thereafter　figured　along　with　his　bride　as　a　god　and　goddess　at　a　sacred　marriage　designed　to　ensure　the　fertility　of　the　earth　by　homoeopathic　magic。　If　I　am　right　in　supposing　that　in　very　early　times　the　old　Latin　kings　personated　a　god　and　were　regularly　put　to　death　in　that　character；　we　can　better　understand　the　mysterious　or　violent　ends　to　which　so　many　of　them　are　said　to　have　come。　We　have　seen　that；　according　to　tradition；　one　of　the　kings　of　Alba　was　killed　by　a　thunderbolt　for　impiously　mimicking　the　thunder　of　Jupiter。　Romulus　is　said　to　have　vanished　mysteriously　like　Aeneas；　or　to　have　been　cut　to　pieces　by　the　patricians　whom　he　had　offended；　and　the　seventh　of　July；　the　day　on　which　he　perished；　was　a　festival　which　bore　some　resemblance　to　the　Saturnalia。　For　on　that　day　the　female　slaves　were　allowed　to　take　certain　remarkable　liberties。　They　dressed　up　as　free　women　in　the　attire　of　matrons　and　maids；　and　in　this　guise　they　went　forth　from　the　city；　scoffed　and　jeered　at　all　whom　they　met；　and　engaged　among　themselves　in　a　fight；　striking　and　throwing　stones　at　each　other。　Another　Roman　king　who　perished　by　violence　was　Tatius；　the　Sabine　colleague　of　Romulus。　It　is　said　that　he　was　at　Lavinium　offering　a　public　sacrifice　to　the　ancestral　gods；　when　some　men；　to　whom　he　had　given　umbrage；　despatched　him　with　the　sacrificial　knives　and　spits　which　they　had　snatched　from　the　altar。　The　occasion　and　the　manner　of　his　death　suggest　that　the　slaughter　may　have　been　a　sacrifice　rather　than　an　assassination。　Again；　Tullus　Hostilius；　the　successor　of　Numa；　was　commonly　said　to　have　been　killed　by　lightning；　but　many　held　that　he　was　murdered　at　the　instigation　of　Ancus　Marcius；　who　reigned　after　him。　Speaking　of　the　more　or　less　mythical　Numa；　the　type　of　the　priestly　king；　Plutarch　observes　that　his　fame　was　enhanced　by　the　fortunes　of　the　later　kings。　For　of　the　five　who　reigned　after　him　the　last　was　deposed　and　ended　his　life　in　exile；　and　of　the　remaining　four　not　one　died　a　natural　death；　for　three　of　them　were　assassinated　and　Tullus　Hostilius　was　consumed　by　thunderbolts。

These　legends　of　the　violent　ends　of　the　Roman　kings　suggest　that　the　contest　by　which　they　gained　the　throne　may　sometimes　have　been　a　mortal　combat　rather　than　a　race。　If　that　were　so；　the　analogy　which　we　have　traced　between　Rome　and　Nemi　would　be　still　closer。　At　both　places　the　sacred　kings；　the　living　representatives　of　the　godhead；　would　thus　be　liable　to　suffer　deposition　and　death　at　the　hand　of　any　resolute　man　who　could　prove　his　divine　right　to　the　holy　office　by　the　strong　arm　and　the　sharp　sword。　It　would　not　be　surprising　if　among　the　early　Latins　the　claim　to　the　kingdom　should　often　have　been　settled　by　single　combat；　for　down　to　historical　times　the　Umbrians　regularly　submitted　their　private　disputes　to　the　ordeal　of　battle；　and　he　who　cut　his　adversary's　throat　was　thought　thereby　to　have　proved　the　justice　of　his　cause　beyond　the　reach　of　cavil。

Chapter　15。　The　Worship　of　the　Oak

THE　WORSHIP　of　the　oak　tree　or　of　the　oak　god　appears　to　have　been　shared　by　all　the　branches　of　the　Aryan　stock　in　Europe。　Both　Greeks　and　Italians　associated　the　tree　with　their　highest　god；　Zeus　or　Jupiter；　the　divinity　of　the　sky；　the　rain；　and　the　thunder。　Perhaps　the　oldest　and　certainly　one　of　the　most　famous　sanctuaries　in　Greece　was　that