the golden bough-第129章

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om　the　corresponding　legend　told　of　Pygmalion；　a　Phoenician　king　of　Cyprus；　who　is　said　to　have　fallen　in　love　with　an　image　of　Aphrodite　and　taken　it　to　his　bed。　When　we　consider　that　Pygmalion　was　the　father…in…law　of　Cinyras；　that　the　son　of　Cinyras　was　Adonis；　and　that　all　three；　in　successive　generations；　are　said　to　have　been　concerned　in　a　love…intrigue　with　Aphrodite；　we　can　hardly　help　concluding　that　the　early　Phoenician　kings　of　Paphos；　or　their　sons；　regularly　claimed　to　be　not　merely　the　priests　of　the　goddess　but　also　her　lovers；　in　other　words；　that　in　their　official　capacity　they　personated　Adonis。　At　all　events　Adonis　is　said　to　have　reigned　in　Cyprus；　and　it　appears　to　be　certain　that　the　title　of　Adonis　was　regularly　borne　by　the　sons　of　all　the　Phoenician　kings　of　the　island。　It　is　true　that　the　title　strictly　signified　no　more　than　lord；　yet　the　legends　which　connect　these　Cyprian　princes　with　the　goddess　of　love　make　it　probable　that　they　claimed　the　divine　nature　as　well　as　the　human　dignity　of　Adonis。　The　story　of　Pygmalion　points　to　a　ceremony　of　a　sacred　marriage　in　which　the　king　wedded　the　image　of　Aphrodite；　or　rather　of　Astarte。　If　that　was　so；　the　tale　was　in　a　sense　true；　not　of　a　single　man　only；　but　of　a　whole　series　of　men；　and　it　would　be　all　the　more　likely　to　be　told　of　Pygmalion；　if　that　was　a　common　name　of　Semitic　kings　in　general；　and　of　Cyprian　kings　in　particular。　Pygmalion；　at　all　events；　is　known　as　the　name　of　the　king　of　Tyre　from　whom　his　sister　Dido　fled；　and　a　king　of　Citium　and　Idalium　in　Cyprus；　who　reigned　in　the　time　of　Alexander　the　Great；　was　also　called　Pygmalion；　or　rather　Pumiyathon；　the　Phoenician　name　which　the　Greeks　corrupted　into　Pygmalion。　Further；　it　deserves　to　be　noted　that　the　names　Pygmalion　and　Astarte　occur　together　in　a　Punic　inscription　on　a　gold　medallion　which　was　found　in　a　grave　at　Carthage；　the　characters　of　the　inscription　are　of　the　earliest　type。　As　the　custom　of　religious　prostitution　at　Paphos　is　said　to　have　been　founded　by　king　Cinyras　and　observed　by　his　daughters；　we　may　surmise　that　the　kings　of　Paphos　played　the　part　of　the　divine　bridegroom　in　a　less　innocent　rite　than　the　form　of　marriage　with　a　statue；　in　fact；　that　at　certain　festivals　each　of　them　had　to　mate　with　one　or　more　of　the　sacred　harlots　of　the　temple；　who　played　Astarte　to　his　Adonis。　If　that　was　so；　there　is　more　truth　than　has　commonly　been　supposed　in　the　reproach　cast　by　the　Christian　fathers　that　the　Aphrodite　worshipped　by　Cinyras　was　a　common　whore。　The　fruit　of　their　union　would　rank　as　sons　and　daughters　of　the　deity；　and　would　in　time　become　the　parents　of　gods　and　goddesses；　like　their　fathers　and　mothers　before　them。　In　this　manner　Paphos；　and　perhaps　all　sanctuaries　of　the　great　Asiatic　goddess　where　sacred　prostitution　was　practised；　might　be　well　stocked　with　human　deities；　the　offspring　of　the　divine　king　by　his　wives；　concubines；　and　temple　harlots。　Any　one　of　these　might　probably　succeed　his　father　on　the　throne　or　be　sacrificed　in　his　stead　whenever　stress　of　war　or　other　grave　junctures　called；　as　they　sometimes　did；　for　the　death　of　a　royal　victim。　Such　a　tax；　levied　occasionally　on　the　king's　numerous　progeny　for　the　good　of　the　country；　would　neither　extinguish　the　divine　stock　nor　break　the　father's　heart；　who　divided　his　paternal　affection　among　so　many。　At　all　events；　if；　as　there　seems　reason　to　believe；　Semitic　kings　were　often　regarded　at　the　same　time　as　hereditary　deities；　it　is　easy　to　understand　the　frequency　of　Semitic　personal　names　which　imply　that　the　bearers　of　them　were　the　sons　or　daughters；　the　brothers　or　sisters；　the　fathers　or　mothers　of　a　god；　and　we　need　not　resort　to　the　shifts　employed　by　some　scholars　to　evade　the　plain　sense　of　the　words。　This　interpretation　is　confirmed　by　a　parallel　Egyptian　usage；　for　in　Egypt；　where　the　kings　were　worshipped　as　divine；　the　queen　was　called　the　wife　of　the　god　or　the　mother　of　the　god；　and　the　title　father　of　the　god　was　borne　not　only　by　the　king's　real　father　but　also　by　his　father…in…law。　Similarly；　perhaps；　among　the　Semites　any　man　who　sent　his　daughter　to　swell　the　royal　harem　may　have　been　allowed　to　call　himself　the　father　of　the　god。

If　we　may　judge　by　his　name；　the　Semitic　king　who　bore　the　name　of　Cinyras　was；　like　King　David；　a　harper；　for　the　name　of　Cinyras　is　clearly　connected　with　the　Greek　cinyra；　a　lyre；　which　in　its　turn　comes　from　the　Semitic　kinnor；　a　lyre；　the　very　word　applied　to　the　instrument　on　which　David　played　before　Saul。　We　shall　probably　not　err　in　assuming　that　at　Paphos　as　at　Jerusalem　the　music　of　the　lyre　or　harp　was　not　a　mere　pastime　designed　to　while　away　an　idle　hour；　but　formed　part　of　the　service　of　religion；　the　moving　influence　of　its　melodies　being　perhaps　set　down；　like　the　effect　of　wine；　to　the　direct　inspiration　of　a　deity。　Certainly　at　Jerusalem　the　regular　clergy　of　the　temple　prophesied　to　the　music　of　harps；　of　psalteries；　and　of　cymbals；　and　it　appears　that　the　irregular　clergy　also；　as　we　may　call　the　prophets；　depended　on　some　such　stimulus　for　inducing　the　ecstatic　state　which　they　took　for　immediate　converse　with　the　divinity。　Thus　we　read　of　a　band　of　prophets　coming　down　from　a　high　place　with　a　psaltery；　a　timbrel；　a　pipe；　and　a　harp　before　them；　and　prophesying　as　they　went。　Again；　when　the　united　forces　of　Judah　and　Ephraim　were　traversing　the　wilderness　of　Moab　in　pursuit　of　the　enemy；　they　could　find　no　water　for　three　days；　and　were　like　to　die　of　thirst；　they　and　the　beasts　of　burden。　In　this　emergency　the　prophet　Elisha；　who　was　with　the　army；　called　for　a　minstrel　and　bade　him　play。　Under　the　influence　of　the　music　he　ordered　the　soldiers　to　dig　trenches　in　the　sandy　bed　of　the　waterless　waddy　through　which　lay　the　line　of　march。　They　did　so；　and　next　morning　the　trenches　were　full　of　the　water　that　had　drained　down　into　them　underground　from　the　desolate；　forbidding　mountains　on　either　hand。　The　prophet's　success　in　striking　water　in　the　wilderness　resembles　the　reported　success　of　modern　dowsers；　though　his　mode　of　procedure　was　different。　Incidentally　he　rendered　another　service　to　his　countrymen。　For　the　skulking　Moabites　from　their　lairs　among　the　rocks　saw　the　red　sun　of　the　desert　reflected　in　the　water；　and　taking　it　for　the　blood；　or　perhaps　rather　for　an　omen　of　the　blood；　of　their　enemies；　they　plucked　up　heart　to　attack　the　camp　and　were　defeated　with　great　slaughter。

Again；　just　as　the　cloud　of　melancholy　which　from　time　to　time　darkened　the　moody　mind　of　Saul　was　viewed　as　an　evil　spirit　from　the　Lord　vexing　him；　so　on　the　other　hand　the　solemn　strains　of　the　harp；　which　soothed　and　composed　his　troubled　thoughts；　may　well　have　seemed　to　the　hag…ridden　king　the　very　voice　of　God　or　of　his　good　angel　whispering　peace。　Even　in　our　own　day　a　great　religious　writer；　himself　deeply　sensitive　to　the　witchery　of　music；　has　said　that　musical　notes；　with　all　their　power　to　fire　the　blood　and　melt　the　heart；　cannot　be　mere　empty　sounds　and　nothing　more；　no；　they　have　escaped　from　some　higher　sphere；　they　are　outpourings　of　eternal　harmony；　the　voice　of　angels；　the　Magnificat　of　saints。　It　is　thus　that　the　rude　imaginings　of　primitive　man　are　transfigured　and　his　feeble　lispings　echoed　with　a　rolling　reverberation　in　the　musical　prose　of　Newman。　Indeed　the　influence　of　music　on　the　development　of　religion　is　a　subject　which　would　repay　a　sympathetic　study。　For　we　cannot　doubt　that　this；　the　most　intimate　and　affecting　of　all　the　arts；　has　done　much　to　create　as　well　as　to　express　the　religious　emotions；　thus　modifying　more　or　less　deeply　the　fabric　of　belief　to　which　at　first　sight　it　seems　only　to　minister。　The　musician　has　done　his　part　as　well　as　the　prophet　and　the　thinker　in　the　making　of　religion。　Every　faith　has　its　appropriate　music；　and　the　difference　between　the　creeds　might　almost　be　expressed　in　musical　notation。　The　interval；　for　example；　which　divides　the　wild　revels　of　Cybele　from　the　stately　ritual　of　the　Catholic　Church　is　measured　by　the　gulf　which　severs　the　dissonant　clash　of　cymbals　and　tambourines　from　the　grave　harmonies　of　Palestrina　and　Handel。　A　different　spirit　breathes　in　the　difference　of