the golden bough-第272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！


t　Man　himself　descending　swiftly　out　of　heaven　and　rending　the　trees　with　his　flaming　arms。

It　is　a　plausible　theory　that　the　reverence　which　the　ancient　peoples　of　Europe　paid　to　the　oak；　and　the　connexion　which　they　traced　between　the　tree　and　their　sky…god；　were　derived　from　the　much　greater　frequency　with　which　the　oak　appears　to　be　struck　by　lightning　than　any　other　tree　of　our　European　forests。　This　peculiarity　of　the　tree　has　seemingly　been　established　by　a　series　of　observations　instituted　within　recent　years　by　scientific　enquirers　who　have　no　mythological　theory　to　maintain。　However　we　may　explain　it；　whether　by　the　easier　passage　of　electricity　through　oak…wood　than　through　any　other　timber；　or　in　some　other　way；　the　fact　itself　may　well　have　attracted　the　notice　of　our　rude　forefathers；　who　dwelt　in　the　vast　forests　which　then　covered　a　large　part　of　Europe；　and　they　might　naturally　account　for　it　in　their　simple　religious　way　by　supposing　that　the　great　sky…god；　whom　they　worshipped　and　whose　awful　voice　they　heard　in　the　roll　of　thunder；　loved　the　oak　above　all　the　trees　of　the　wood　and　often　descended　into　it　from　the　murky　cloud　in　a　flash　of　lightning；　leaving　a　token　of　his　presence　or　of　his　passage　in　the　riven　and　blackened　trunk　and　the　blasted　foliage。　Such　trees　would　thenceforth　be　encircled　by　a　nimbus　of　glory　as　the　visible　seats　of　the　thundering　sky…god。　Certain　it　is　that；　like　some　savages；　both　Greeks　and　Romans　identified　their　great　god　of　the　sky　and　of　the　oak　with　the　lightning　flash　which　struck　the　ground；　and　they　regularly　enclosed　such　a　stricken　spot　and　treated　it　thereafter　as　sacred。　It　is　not　rash　to　suppose　that　the　ancestors　of　the　Celts　and　Germans　in　the　forests　of　Central　Europe　paid　a　like　respect　for　like　reasons　to　a　blasted　oak。

This　explanation　of　the　Aryan　reverence　for　the　oak　and　of　the　association　of　the　tree　with　the　great　god　of　the　thunder　and　the　sky；　was　suggested　or　implied　long　ago　by　Jacob　Grimm；　and　has　been　in　recent　years　powerfully　reinforced　by　Mr。　W。　Warde　Fowler。　It　appears　to　be　simpler　and　more　probable　than　the　explanation　which　I　formerly　adopted；　namely；　that　the　oak　was　worshipped　primarily　for　the　many　benefits　which　our　rude　forefathers　derived　from　the　tree；　particularly　for　the　fire　which　they　drew　by　friction　from　its　wood；　and　that　the　connexion　of　the　oak　with　the　sky　was　an　after…thought　based　on　the　belief　that　the　flash　of　lightning　was　nothing　but　the　spark　which　the　sky…god　up　aloft　elicited　by　rubbing　two　pieces　of　oak…wood　against　each　other；　just　as　his　savage　worshipper　kindled　fire　in　the　forest　on　earth。　On　that　theory　the　god　of　the　thunder　and　the　sky　was　derived　from　the　original　god　of　the　oak；　on　the　present　theory；　which　I　now　prefer；　the　god　of　the　sky　and　the　thunder　was　the　great　original　deity　of　our　Aryan　ancestors；　and　his　association　with　the　oak　was　merely　an　inference　based　on　the　frequency　with　which　the　oak　was　seen　to　be　struck　by　lightning。　If　the　Aryans；　as　some　think；　roamed　the　wide　steppes　of　Russia　or　Central　Asia　with　their　flocks　and　herds　before　they　plunged　into　the　gloom　of　the　European　forests；　they　may　have　worshipped　the　god　of　the　blue　or　cloudy　firmament　and　the　flashing　thunderbolt　long　before　they　thought　of　associating　him　with　the　blasted　oaks　in　their　new　home。

Perhaps　the　new　theory　has　the　further　advantage　of　throwing　light　on　the　special　sanctity　ascribed　to　mistletoe　which　grows　on　an　oak。　The　mere　rarity　of　such　a　growth　on　an　oak　hardly　suffices　to　explain　the　extent　and　the　persistence　of　the　superstition。　A　hint　of　its　real　origin　is　possibly　furnished　by　the　statement　of　Pliny　that　the　Druids　worshipped　the　plant　because　they　believed　it　to　have　fallen　from　heaven　and　to　be　a　token　that　the　tree　on　which　it　grew　was　chosen　by　the　god　himself。　Can　they　have　thought　that　the　mistletoe　dropped　on　the　oak　in　a　flash　of　lightning？　The　conjecture　is　confirmed　by　the　name　thunder…besom　which　is　applied　to　mistletoe　in　the　Swiss　canton　of　Aargau；　for　the　epithet　clearly　implies　a　close　connexion　between　the　parasite　and　the　thunder；　indeed　thunder…besom　is　a　popular　name　in　Germany　for　any　bushy　nest…like　excrescence　growing　on　a　branch；　because　such　a　parasitic　growth　is　actually　believed　by　the　ignorant　to　be　a　product　of　lightning。　If　there　is　any　truth　in　this　conjecture；　the　real　reason　why　the　Druids　worshipped　a　mistletoe…bearing　oak　above　all　other　trees　of　the　forest　was　a　belief　that　every　such　oak　had　not　only　been　struck　by　lightning　but　bore　among　its　branches　a　visible　emanation　of　the　celestial　fire；　so　that　in　cutting　the　mistletoe　with　mystic　rites　they　were　securing　for　themselves　all　the　magical　properties　of　a　thunder…bolt。　If　that　was　so；　we　must　apparently　conclude　that　the　mistletoe　was　deemed　an　emanation　of　the　lightning　rather　than；　as　I　have　thus　far　argued；　of　the　midsummer　sun。　Perhaps；　indeed；　we　might　combine　the　two　seemingly　divergent　views　by　supposing　that　in　the　old　Aryan　creed　the　mistletoe　descended　from　the　sun　on　Midsummer　Day　in　a　flash　of　lightning。　But　such　a　combination　is　artificial　and　unsupported；　so　far　as　I　know；　by　any　positive　evidence。　Whether　on　mythical　principles　the　two　interpretations　can　really　be　reconciled　with　each　other　or　not；　I　will　not　presume　to　say；　but　even　should　they　prove　to　be　discrepant；　the　inconsistency　need　not　have　prevented　our　rude　forefathers　from　embracing　both　of　them　at　the　same　time　with　an　equal　fervour　of　conviction；　for　like　the　great　majority　of　mankind　the　savage　is　above　being　hidebound　by　the　trammels　of　a　pedantic　logic。　In　attempting　to　track　his　devious　thought　through　the　jungle　of　crass　ignorance　and　blind　fear；　we　must　always　remember　that　we　are　treading　enchanted　ground；　and　must　beware　of　taking　for　solid　realities　the　cloudy　shapes　that　cross　our　path　or　hover　and　gibber　at　us　through　the　gloom。　We　can　never　completely　replace　ourselves　at　the　standpoint　of　primitive　man；　see　things　with　his　eyes；　and　feel　our　hearts　beat　with　the　emotions　that　stirred　his。　All　our　theories　concerning　him　and　his　ways　must　therefore　fall　far　short　of　certainty；　the　utmost　we　can　aspire　to　in　such　matters　is　a　reasonable　degree　of　probability。

To　conclude　these　enquiries　we　may　say　that　if　Balder　was　indeed；　as　I　have　conjectured；　a　personification　of　a　mistletoe…bearing　oak；　his　death　by　a　blow　of　the　mistletoe　might　on　the　new　theory　be　explained　as　a　death　by　a　stroke　of　lightning。　So　long　as　the　mistletoe；　in　which　the　flame　of　the　lightning　smouldered；　was　suffered　to　remain　among　the　boughs；　so　long　no　harm　could　befall　the　good　and　kindly　god　of　the　oak；　who　kept　his　life　stowed　away　for　safety　between　earth　and　heaven　in　the　mysterious　parasite；　but　when　once　that　seat　of　his　life；　or　of　his　death；　was　torn　from　the　branch　and　hurled　at　the　trunk；　the　tree　fellthe　god　diedsmitten　by　a　thunderbolt。

And　what　we　have　said　of　Balder　in　the　oak　forests　of　Scandinavia　may　perhaps；　with　all　due　diffidence　in　a　question　so　obscure　and　uncertain；　be　applied　to　the　priest　of　Diana；　the　King　of　the　Wood；　at　Aricia　in　the　oak　forests　of　Italy。　He　may　have　personated　in　flesh　and　blood　the　great　Italian　god　of　the　sky；　Jupiter；　who　had　kindly　come　down　from　heaven　in　the　lightning　flash　to　dwell　among　men　in　the　mistletoethe　thunder…besomthe　Golden　Boughgrowing　on　the　sacred　oak　in　the　dells　of　Nemi。　If　that　was　so；　we　need　not　wonder　that　the　priest　guarded　with　drawn　sword　the　mystic　bough　which　contained　the　god's　life　and　his　own。　The　goddess　whom　he　served　and　married　was　herself；　if　I　am　right；　no　other　than　the　Queen　of　Heaven；　the　true　wife　of　the　sky…god。　For　she；　too；　loved　the　solitude　of　the　woods　and　the　lonely　hills；　and　sailing　overhead　on　clear　nights　in　the　likeness　of　the　silver　moon　looked　down　with　pleasure　on　her　own　fair　image　reflected　on　the　calm；　the　burnished　surface　of　the　lake；　Diana's　Mirror。

Chapter　69。　Farewell　to　Nemi

WE　are　at　the　end　of　our　enquiry；　but　as　often　happens　in　the　search　after　truth；　if　we　have　answered　one　question；　we　have　raised　many　more；　if　we　have　followed　one　track　home；　we　have　had　to　pass　by　others　that　opened　off　it　and　led；　or　seemed　to　lead