the golden bough-第65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！



We　have　found　that　at　an　early　stage　of　society　men；　ignorant　of　the　secret　processes　of　nature　and　of　the　narrow　limits　within　which　it　is　in　our　power　to　control　and　direct　them；　have　commonly　arrogated　to　themselves　functions　which　in　the　present　state　of　knowledge　we　should　deem　superhuman　or　divine。　The　illusion　has　been　fostered　and　maintained　by　the　same　causes　which　begot　it；　namely；　the　marvellous　order　and　uniformity　with　which　nature　conducts　her　operations；　the　wheels　of　her　great　machine　revolving　with　a　smoothness　and　precision　which　enable　the　patient　observer　to　anticipate　in　general　the　season；　if　not　the　very　hour；　when　they　will　bring　round　the　fulfilment　of　his　hopes　or　the　accomplishment　of　his　fears。　The　regularly　recurring　events　of　this　great　cycle；　or　rather　series　of　cycles；　soon　stamp　themselves　even　on　the　dull　mind　of　the　savage。　He　foresees　them；　and　foreseeing　them　mistakes　the　desired　recurrence　for　an　effect　of　his　own　will；　and　the　dreaded　recurrence　for　an　effect　of　the　will　of　his　enemies。　Thus　the　springs　which　set　the　vast　machine　in　motion；　though　they　lie　far　beyond　our　ken；　shrouded　in　a　mystery　which　we　can　never　hope　to　penetrate；　appear　to　ignorant　man　to　lie　within　his　reach：　he　fancies　he　can　touch　them　and　so　work　by　magic　art　all　manner　of　good　to　himself　and　evil　to　his　foes。　In　time　the　fallacy　of　this　belief　becomes　apparent　to　him：　he　discovers　that　there　are　things　he　cannot　do；　pleasures　which　he　is　unable　of　himself　to　procure；　pains　which　even　the　most　potent　magician　is　powerless　to　avoid。　The　unattainable　good；　the　inevitable　ill；　are　now　ascribed　by　him　to　the　action　of　invisible　powers；　whose　favour　is　joy　and　life；　whose　anger　is　misery　and　death。　Thus　magic　tends　to　be　displaced　by　religion；　and　the　sorcerer　by　the　priest。　At　this　stage　of　thought　the　ultimate　causes　of　things　are　conceived　to　be　personal　beings；　many　in　number　and　often　discordant　in　character；　who　partake　of　the　nature　and　even　of　the　frailty　of　man；　though　their　might　is　greater　than　his；　and　their　life　far　exceeds　the　span　of　his　ephemeral　existence。　Their　sharply…marked　individualities；　their　clear…cut　outlines　have　not　yet　begun；　under　the　powerful　solvent　of　philosophy；　to　melt　and　coalesce　into　that　single　unknown　substratum　of　phenomena　which；　according　to　the　qualities　with　which　our　imagination　invests　it；　goes　by　one　or　other　of　the　high…sounding　names　which　the　wit　of　man　has　devised　to　hide　his　ignorance。　Accordingly；　so　long　as　men　look　on　their　gods　as　beings　akin　to　themselves　and　not　raised　to　an　unapproachable　height　above　them；　they　believe　it　to　be　possible　for　those　of　their　own　number　who　surpass　their　fellows　to　attain　to　the　divine　rank　after　death　or　even　in　life。　Incarnate　human　deities　of　this　latter　sort　may　be　said　to　halt　midway　between　the　age　of　magic　and　the　age　of　religion。　If　they　bear　the　names　and　display　the　pomp　of　deities；　the　powers　which　they　are　supposed　to　wield　are　commonly　those　of　their　predecessor　the　magician。　Like　him；　they　are　expected　to　guard　their　people　against　hostile　enchantments；　to　heal　them　in　sickness；　to　bless　them　with　offspring；　and　to　provide　them　with　an　abundant　supply　of　food　by　regulating　the　weather　and　performing　the　other　ceremonies　which　are　deemed　necessary　to　ensure　the　fertility　of　the　earth　and　the　multiplication　of　animals。　Men　who　are　credited　with　powers　so　lofty　and　far…reaching　naturally　hold　the　highest　place　in　the　land；　and　while　the　rift　between　the　spiritual　and　the　temporal　spheres　has　not　yet　widened　too　far；　they　are　supreme　in　civil　as　well　as　religious　matters：　in　a　word；　they　are　kings　as　well　as　gods。　Thus　the　divinity　which　hedges　a　king　has　its　roots　deep　down　in　human　history；　and　long　ages　pass　before　these　are　sapped　by　a　profounder　view　of　nature　and　man。

In　the　classical　period　of　Greek　and　Latin　antiquity　the　reign　of　kings　was　for　the　most　part　a　thing　of　the　past；　yet　the　stories　of　their　lineage；　titles；　and　pretensions　suffice　to　prove　that　they　too　claimed　to　rule　by　divine　right　and　to　exercise　superhuman　powers。　Hence　we　may　without　undue　temerity　assume　that　the　King　of　the　Wood　at　Nemi；　though　shorn　in　later　times　of　his　glory　and　fallen　on　evil　days；　represented　a　long　line　of　sacred　kings　who　had　once　received　not　only　the　homage　but　the　adoration　of　their　subjects　in　return　for　the　manifold　blessings　which　they　were　supposed　to　dispense。　What　little　we　know　of　the　functions　of　Diana　in　the　Arician　grove　seems　to　prove　that　she　was　here　conceived　as　a　goddess　of　fertility；　and　particularly　as　a　divinity　of　childbirth。　It　is　reasonable；　therefore；　to　suppose　that　in　the　discharge　of　these　important　duties　she　was　assisted　by　her　priest；　the　two　figuring　as　King　and　Queen　of　the　Wood　in　a　solemn　marriage；　which　was　intended　to　make　the　earth　gay　with　the　blossoms　of　spring　and　the　fruits　of　autumn；　and　to　gladden　the　hearts　of　men　and　women　with　healthful　offspring。

If　the　priest　of　Nemi　posed　not　merely　as　a　king；　but　as　a　god　of　the　grove；　we　have　still　to　ask；　What　deity　in　particular　did　he　personate？　The　answer　of　antiquity　is　that　he　represented　Virbius；　the　consort　or　lover　of　Diana。　But　this　does　not　help　us　much；　for　of　Virbius　we　know　little　more　than　the　name。　A　clue　to　the　mystery　is　perhaps　supplied　by　the　Vestal　fire　which　burned　in　the　grove。　For　the　perpetual　holy　fires　of　the　Aryans　in　Europe　appear　to　have　been　commonly　kindled　and　fed　with　oak…wood；　and　in　Rome　itself；　not　many　miles　from　Nemi；　the　fuel　of　the　Vestal　fire　consisted　of　oaken　sticks　or　logs；　as　has　been　proved　by　a　microscopic　analysis　of　the　charred　embers　of　the　Vestal　fire；　which　were　discovered　by　Commendatore　G。　Boni　in　the　course　of　the　memorable　excavations　which　he　conducted　in　the　Roman　forum　at　the　end　of　the　nineteenth　century。　But　the　ritual　of　the　various　Latin　towns　seems　to　have　been　marked　by　great　uniformity；　hence　it　is　reasonable　to　conclude　that　wherever　in　Latium　a　Vestal　fire　was　maintained；　it　was　fed；　as　at　Rome；　with　wood　of　the　sacred　oak。　If　this　was　so　at　Nemi；　it　becomes　probable　that　the　hallowed　grove　there　consisted　of　a　natural　oak…wood；　and　that　therefore　the　tree　which　the　King　of　the　Wood　had　to　guard　at　the　peril　of　his　life　was　itself　an　oak；　indeed；　it　was　from　an　evergreen　oak；　according　to　Virgil；　that　Aeneas　plucked　the　Golden　Bough。　Now　the　oak　was　the　sacred　tree　of　Jupiter；　the　supreme　god　of　the　Latins。　Hence　it　follows　that　the　King　of　the　Wood；　whose　life　was　bound　up　in　a　fashion　with　an　oak；　personated　no　less　a　deity　than　Jupiter　himself。　At　least　the　evidence；　slight　as　it　is；　seems　to　point　to　this　conclusion。　The　old　Alban　dynasty　of　the　Silvii　or　Woods；　with　their　crown　of　oak　leaves；　apparently　aped　the　style　and　emulated　the　powers　of　Latian　Jupiter；　who　dwelt　on　the　top　of　the　Alban　Mount。　It　is　not　impossible　that　the　King　of　the　Wood；　who　guarded　the　sacred　oak　a　little　lower　down　the　mountain；　was　the　lawful　successor　and　representative　of　this　ancient　line　of　the　Silvii　or　Woods。　At　all　events；　if　I　am　right　in　supposing　that　he　passed　for　a　human　Jupiter；　it　would　appear　that　Virbius；　with　whom　legend　identified　him；　was　nothing　but　a　local　form　of　Jupiter；　considered　perhaps　in　his　original　aspect　as　a　god　of　the　greenwood。

The　hypothesis　that　in　later　times　at　all　events　the　King　of　the　Wood　played　the　part　of　the　oak　god　Jupiter；　is　confirmed　by　an　examination　of　his　divine　partner　Diana。　For　two　distinct　lines　of　argument　converge　to　show　that　if　Diana　was　a　queen　of　the　woods　in　general；　she　was　at　Nemi　a　goddess　of　the　oak　in　particular。　In　the　first　place；　she　bore　the　title　of　Vesta；　and　as　such　presided　over　a　perpetual　fire；　which　we　have　seen　reason　to　believe　was　fed　with　oak　wood。　But　a　goddess　of　fire　is　not　far　removed　from　a　goddess　of　the　fuel　which　burns　in　the　fire；　primitive　thought　perhaps　drew　no　sharp　line　of　distinction　between　the　blaze　and　the　wood　that　blazes。　In　the　second　place；　the　nymph　Egeria　at　Nemi　appears　to　have　been　merely　a　form　of　Diana；　and　Egeria　is　definitely　said　to　have　been　a　Dryad；　a　nymph　of　the　oak。　Elsewhere　in　Italy　the　goddess　had　her　home　on　oak…clad　mountains。　Thus　Mount　Algidus；　a　spur　of