the golden bough-第6章

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red　Rites；　and　his　wife　bore　the　title　of　Queen　of　the　Sacred　Rites。　In　republican　Athens　the　second　annual　magistrate　of　the　state　was　called　the　King；　and　his　wife　the　Queen；　the　functions　of　both　were　religious。　Many　other　Greek　democracies　had　titular　kings；　whose　duties；　so　far　as　they　are　known；　seem　to　have　been　priestly；　and　to　have　centered　round　the　Common　Hearth　of　the　state。　Some　Greek　states　had　several　of　these　titular　kings；　who　held　office　simultaneously。　At　Rome　the　tradition　was　that　the　Sacrificial　King　had　been　appointed　after　the　abolition　of　the　monarchy　in　order　to　offer　the　sacrifices　which　before　had　been　offered　by　the　kings。　A　similar　view　as　to　the　origin　of　the　priestly　kings　appears　to　have　prevailed　in　Greece。　In　itself　the　opinion　is　not　improbable；　and　it　is　borne　out　by　the　example　of　Sparta；　almost　the　only　purely　Greek　state　which　retained　the　kingly　form　of　government　in　historical　times。　For　in　Sparta　all　state　sacrifices　were　offered　by　the　kings　as　descendants　of　the　god。　One　of　the　two　Spartan　kings　held　the　priesthood　of　Zeus　Lacedaemon；　the　other　the　priesthood　of　Heavenly　Zeus。

This　combination　of　priestly　functions　with　royal　authority　is　familiar　to　every　one。　Asia　Minor；　for　example；　was　the　seat　of　various　great　religious　capitals　peopled　by　thousands　of　sacred　slaves；　and　ruled　by　pontiffs　who　wielded　at　once　temporal　and　spiritual　authority；　like　the　popes　of　mediaeval　Rome。　Such　priest…ridden　cities　were　Zela　and　Pessinus。　Teutonic　kings；　again；　in　the　old　heathen　days　seem　to　have　stood　in　the　position；　and　to　have　exercised　the　powers；　of　high　priests。　The　Emperors　of　China　offered　public　sacrifices；　the　details　of　which　were　regulated　by　the　ritual　books。　The　King　of　Madagascar　was　high…priest　of　the　realm。　At　the　great　festival　of　the　new　year；　when　a　bullock　was　sacrificed　for　the　good　of　the　kingdom；　the　king　stood　over　the　sacrifice　to　offer　prayer　and　thanksgiving；　while　his　attendants　slaughtered　the　animal。　In　the　monarchical　states　which　still　maintain　their　independence　among　the　Gallas　of　Eastern　Africa；　the　king　sacrifices　on　the　mountain　tops　and　regulates　the　immolation　of　human　victims；　and　the　dim　light　of　tradition　reveals　a　similar　union　of　temporal　and　spiritual　power；　of　royal　and　priestly　duties；　in　the　kings　of　that　delightful　region　of　Central　America　whose　ancient　capital；　now　buried　under　the　rank　growth　of　the　tropical　forest；　is　marked　by　the　stately　and　mysterious　ruins　of　Palenque。

When　we　have　said　that　the　ancient　kings　were　commonly　priests　also；　we　are　far　from　having　exhausted　the　religious　aspect　of　their　office。　In　those　days　the　divinity　that　hedges　a　king　was　no　empty　form　of　speech；　but　the　expression　of　a　sober　belief。　Kings　were　revered；　in　many　cases　not　merely　as　priests；　that　is；　as　intercessors　between　man　and　god；　but　as　themselves　gods；　able　to　bestow　upon　their　subjects　and　worshippers　those　blessings　which　are　commonly　supposed　to　be　beyond　the　reach　of　mortals；　and　are　sought；　if　at　all；　only　by　prayer　and　sacrifice　offered　to　superhuman　and　invisible　beings。　Thus　kings　are　often　expected　to　give　rain　and　sunshine　in　due　season；　to　make　the　crops　grow；　and　so　on。　Strange　as　this　expectation　appears　to　us；　it　is　quite　of　a　piece　with　early　modes　of　thought。　A　savage　hardly　conceives　the　distinction　commonly　drawn　by　more　advanced　peoples　between　the　natural　and　the　supernatural。　To　him　the　world　is　to　a　great　extent　worked　by　supernatural　agents；　that　is；　by　personal　beings　acting　on　impulses　and　motives　like　his　own；　liable　like　him　to　be　moved　by　appeals　to　their　pity；　their　hopes；　and　their　fears。　In　a　world　so　conceived　he　sees　no　limit　to　his　power　of　influencing　the　course　of　nature　to　his　own　advantage。　Prayers；　promises；　or　threats　may　secure　him　fine　weather　and　an　abundant　crop　from　the　gods；　and　if　a　god　should　happen；　as　he　sometimes　believes；　to　become　incarnate　in　his　own　person；　then　he　need　appeal　to　no　higher　being；　he；　the　savage；　possesses　in　himself　all　the　powers　necessary　to　further　his　own　well…being　and　that　of　his　fellow…men。

This　is　one　way　in　which　the　idea　of　a　man…god　is　reached。　But　there　is　another。　Along　with　the　view　of　the　world　as　pervaded　by　spiritual　forces；　savage　man　has　a　different；　and　probably　still　older；　conception　in　which　we　may　detect　a　germ　of　the　modern　notion　of　natural　law　or　the　view　of　nature　as　a　series　of　events　occurring　in　an　invariable　order　without　the　intervention　of　personal　agency。　The　germ　of　which　I　speak　is　involved　in　that　sympathetic　magic；　as　it　may　be　called；　which　plays　a　large　part　in　most　systems　of　superstition。　In　early　society　the　king　is　frequently　a　magician　as　well　as　a　priest；　indeed　he　appears　to　have　often　attained　to　power　by　virtue　of　his　supposed　proficiency　in　the　black　or　white　art。　Hence　in　order　to　understand　the　evolution　of　the　kingship　and　the　sacred　character　with　which　the　office　has　commonly　been　invested　in　the　eyes　of　savage　or　barbarous　peoples；　it　is　essential　to　have　some　acquaintance　with　the　principles　of　magic　and　to　form　some　conception　of　the　extraordinary　hold　which　that　ancient　system　of　superstition　has　had　on　the　human　mind　in　all　ages　and　all　countries。　Accordingly　I　propose　to　consider　the　subject　in　some　detail。

Chapter　3。　Sympathetic　Magic。

1。　The　Principles　of　Magic

IF　we　analyse　the　principles　of　thought　on　which　magic　is　based；　they　will　probably　be　found　to　resolve　themselves　into　two：　first；　that　like　produces　like；　or　that　an　effect　resembles　its　cause；　and；　second；　that　things　which　have　once　been　in　contact　with　each　other　continue　to　act　on　each　other　at　a　distance　after　the　physical　contact　has　been　severed。　The　former　principle　may　be　called　the　Law　of　Similarity；　the　latter　the　Law　of　Contact　or　Contagion。　From　the　first　of　these　principles；　namely　the　Law　of　Similarity；　the　magician　infers　that　he　can　produce　any　effect　he　desires　merely　by　imitating　it：　from　the　second　he　infers　that　whatever　he　does　to　a　material　object　will　affect　equally　the　person　with　whom　the　object　was　once　in　contact；　whether　it　formed　part　of　his　body　or　not。　Charms　based　on　the　Law　of　Similarity　may　be　called　Homoeopathic　or　Imitative　Magic。　Charms　based　on　the　Law　of　Contact　or　Contagion　may　be　called　Contagious　Magic。　To　denote　the　first　of　these　branches　of　magic　the　term　Homoeopathic　is　perhaps　preferable；　for　the　alternative　term　Imitative　or　Mimetic　suggests；　if　it　does　not　imply；　a　conscious　agent　who　imitates；　thereby　limiting　the　scope　of　magic　too　narrowly。　For　the　same　principles　which　the　magician　applies　in　the　practice　of　his　art　are　implicitly　believed　by　him　to　regulate　the　operations　of　inanimate　nature；　in　other　words；　he　tacitly　assumes　that　the　Laws　of　Similarity　and　Contact　are　of　universal　application　and　are　not　limited　to　human　actions。　In　short；　magic　is　a　spurious　system　of　natural　law　as　well　as　a　fallacious　guide　of　conduct；　it　is　a　false　science　as　well　as　an　abortive　art。　Regarded　as　a　system　of　natural　law；　that　is；　as　a　statement　of　the　rules　which　determine　the　sequence　of　events　throughout　the　world；　it　may　be　called　Theoretical　Magic：　regarded　as　a　set　of　precepts　which　human　beings　observe　in　order　to　compass　their　ends；　it　may　be　called　Practical　Magic。　At　the　same　time　it　is　to　be　borne　in　mind　that　the　primitive　magician　knows　magic　only　on　its　practical　side；　he　never　analyses　the　mental　processes　on　which　his　practice　is　based；　never　reflects　on　the　abstract　principles　involved　in　his　actions。　With　him；　as　with　the　vast　majority　of　men；　logic　is　implicit；　not　explicit：　he　reasons　just　as　he　digests　his　food　in　complete　ignorance　of　the　intellectual　and　physiological　processes　which　are　essential　to　the　one　operation　and　to　the　other。　In　short；　to　him　magic　is　always　an　art；　never　a　science；　the　very　idea　of　science　is　lacking　in　his　undeveloped　mind。　It　is　for　the　philosophic　student　to　trace　the　train　of　thought　which　underlies　the　magician's　practice；　to　draw　out　the　few　simple　threads　of　which　the　tangled　skein　is　composed；　to　disengage　the　abstract　principles　from　their　concrete　applications；　in　short；　to　discern　the　spurious　science　behind　the　bastard　art。

If　my　analys