the golden bough-第114部分

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al。

Thus　according　to　what　seems　to　have　been　the　general　native　tradition　Osiris　was　a　good　and　beloved　king　of　Egypt；　who　suffered　a　violent　death　but　rose　from　the　dead　and　was　henceforth　worshipped　as　a　deity。　In　harmony　with　this　tradition　he　was　regularly　represented　by　sculptors　and　painters　in　human　and　regal　form　as　a　dead　king；　swathed　in　the　wrappings　of　a　mummy；　but　wearing　on　his　head　a　kingly　crown　and　grasping　in　one　of　his　hands；　which　were　left　free　from　the　bandages；　a　kingly　sceptre。　Two　cities　above　all　others　were　associated　with　his　myth　or　memory。　One　of　them　was　Busiris　in　Lower　Egypt；　which　claimed　to　possess　his　backbone；　the　other　was　Abydos　in　Upper　Egypt；　which　gloried　in　the　possession　of　his　head。　Encircled　by　the　nimbus　of　the　dead　yet　living　god；　Abydos；　originally　an　obscure　place；　became　from　the　end　of　the　Old　Kingdom　the　holiest　spot　in　Egypt；　his　tomb　there　would　seem　to　have　been　to　the　Egyptians　what　the　Church　of　the　Holy　Sepulchre　at　Jerusalem　is　to　Christians。　It　was　the　wish　of　every　pious　man　that　his　dead　body　should　rest　in　hallowed　earth　near　the　grave　of　the　glorified　Osiris。　Few　indeed　were　rich　enough　to　enjoy　this　inestimable　privilege；　for；　apart　from　the　cost　of　a　tomb　in　the　sacred　city；　the　mere　transport　of　mummies　from　great　distances　was　both　difficult　and　expensive。　Yet　so　eager　were　many　to　absorb　in　death　the　blessed　influence　which　radiated　from　the　holy　sepulchre　that　they　caused　their　surviving　friends　to　convey　their　mortal　remains　to　Abydos；　there　to　tarry　for　a　short　time；　and　then　to　be　brought　back　by　river　and　interred　in　the　tombs　which　had　been　made　ready　for　them　in　their　native　land。　Others　had　cenotaphs　built　or　memorial　tablets　erected　for　themselves　near　the　tomb　of　their　dead　and　risen　Lord；　that　they　might　share　with　him　the　bliss　of　a　joyful　resurrection。

Chapter　39。　The　Ritual　of　Osiris。

1。　The　Popular　Rites。

A　USEFUL　clue　to　the　original　nature　of　a　god　or　goddess　is　often　furnished　by　the　season　at　which　his　or　her　festival　is　celebrated。　Thus；　if　the　festival　falls　at　the　new　or　the　full　moon；　there　is　a　certain　presumption　that　the　deity　thus　honoured　either　is　the　moon　or　at　least　has　lunar　affinities。　If　the　festival　is　held　at　the　winter　or　summer　solstice；　we　naturally　surmise　that　the　god　is　the　sun；　or　at　all　events　that　he　stands　in　some　close　relation　to　that　luminary。　Again；　if　the　festival　coincides　with　the　time　of　sowing　or　harvest；　we　are　inclined　to　infer　that　the　divinity　is　an　embodiment　of　the　earth　or　of　the　corn。　These　presumptions　or　inferences；　taken　by　themselves；　are　by　no　means　conclusive；　but　if　they　happen　to　be　confirmed　by　other　indications；　the　evidence　may　be　regarded　as　fairly　strong。

Unfortunately；　in　dealing　with　the　Egyptian　gods　we　are　in　a　great　measure　precluded　from　making　use　of　this　clue。　The　reason　is　not　that　the　dates　of　the　festivals　are　always　unknown；　but　that　they　shifted　from　year　to　year；　until　after　a　long　interval　they　had　revolved　through　the　whole　course　of　the　seasons。　This　gradual　revolution　of　the　festal　Egyptian　cycle　resulted　from　the　employment　of　a　calendar　year　which　neither　corresponded　exactly　to　the　solar　year　nor　was　periodically　corrected　by　intercalation。

If　the　Egyptian　farmer　of　the　olden　time　could　get　no　help；　except　at　the　rarest　intervals；　from　the　official　or　sacerdotal　calendar；　he　must　have　been　compelled　to　observe　for　himself　those　natural　signals　which　marked　the　times　for　the　various　operations　of　husbandry。　In　all　ages　of　which　we　possess　any　records　the　Egyptians　have　been　an　agricultural　people；　dependent　for　their　subsistence　on　the　growth　of　the　corn。　The　cereals　which　they　cultivated　were　wheat；　barley；　and　apparently　sorghum　（Holcus　sorghum；　Linnaeus）；　the　doora　of　the　modern　fellaheen。　Then　as　now　the　whole　country；　with　the　exception　of　a　fringe　on　the　coast　of　the　Mediterranean；　was　almost　rainless；　and　owed　its　immense　fertility　entirely　to　the　annual　inundation　of　the　Nile；　which；　regulated　by　an　elaborate　system　of　dams　and　canals；　was　distributed　over　the　fields；　renewing　the　soil　year　by　year　with　a　fresh　deposit　of　mud　washed　down　from　the　great　equatorial　lakes　and　the　mountains　of　Abyssinia。　Hence　the　rise　of　the　river　has　always　been　watched　by　the　inhabitants　with　the　utmost　anxiety；　for　if　it　either　falls　short　of　or　exceeds　a　certain　height；　dearth　and　famine　are　the　inevitable　consequences。　The　water　begins　to　rise　early　in　June；　but　it　is　not　until　the　latter　half　of　July　that　it　swells　to　a　mighty　tide。　By　the　end　of　September　the　inundation　is　at　its　greatest　height。　The　country　is　now　submerged；　and　presents　the　appearance　of　a　sea　of　turbid　water；　from　which　the　towns　and　villages；　built　on　higher　ground；　rise　like　islands。　For　about　a　month　the　flood　remains　nearly　stationary；　then　sinks　more　and　more　rapidly；　till　by　December　or　January　the　river　has　returned　to　its　ordinary　bed。　With　the　approach　of　summer　the　level　of　the　water　continues　to　fall。　In　the　early　days　of　June　the　Nile　is　reduced　to　half　its　ordinary　breadth；　and　Egypt；　scorched　by　the　sun；　blasted　by　the　wind　that　has　blown　from　the　Sahara　for　many　days；　seems　a　mere　continuation　of　the　desert。　The　trees　are　choked　with　a　thick　layer　of　grey　dust。　A　few　meagre　patches　of　vegetables；　watered　with　difficulty；　struggle　painfully　for　existence　in　the　immediate　neighbourhood　of　the　villages。　Some　appearance　of　verdure　lingers　beside　the　canals　and　in　the　hollows　from　which　the　moisture　has　not　wholly　evaporated。　The　plain　appears　to　pant　in　the　pitiless　sunshine；　bare；　dusty；　ash…coloured；　cracked　and　seamed　as　far　as　the　eye　can　see　with　a　network　of　fissures。　From　the　middle　of　April　till　the　middle　of　June　the　land　of　Egypt　is　but　half　alive；　waiting　for　the　new　Nile。

For　countless　ages　this　cycle　of　natural　events　has　determined　the　annual　labours　of　the　Egyptian　husbandman。　The　first　work　of　the　agricultural　year　is　the　cutting　of　the　dams　which　have　hitherto　prevented　the　swollen　river　from　flooding　the　canals　and　the　fields。　This　is　done；　and　the　pent…up　waters　released　on　their　beneficent　mission；　in　the　first　half　of　August。　In　November；　when　the　inundation　has　subsided；　wheat；　barley；　and　sorghum　are　sown。　The　time　of　harvest　varies　with　the　district；　falling　about　a　month　later　in　the　north　than　in　the　south。　In　Upper　or　Southern　Egypt　barley　is　reaped　at　the　beginning　of　March；　wheat　at　the　beginning　of　April；　and　sorghum　about　the　end　of　that　month。

It　is　natural　to　suppose　that　the　various　events　of　the　agricultural　year　were　celebrated　by　the　Egyptian　farmer　with　some　simple　religious　rites　designed　to　secure　the　blessing　of　the　gods　upon　his　labours。　These　rustic　ceremonies　he　would　continue　to　perform　year　after　year　at　the　same　season；　while　the　solemn　festivals　of　the　priests　continued　to　shift；　with　the　shifting　calendar；　from　summer　through　spring　to　winter；　and　so　backward　through　autumn　to　summer。　The　rites　of　the　husbandman　were　stable　because　they　rested　on　direct　observation　of　nature：　the　rites　of　the　priest　were　unstable　because　they　were　based　on　a　false　calculation。　Yet　many　of　the　priestly　festivals　may　have　been　nothing　but　the　old　rural　festivals　disguised　in　the　course　of　ages　by　the　pomp　of　sacerdotalism　and　severed；　by　the　error　of　the　calendar；　from　their　roots　in　the　natural　cycle　of　the　seasons。

These　conjectures　are　confirmed　by　the　little　we　know　both　of　the　popular　and　of　the　official　Egyptian　religion。　Thus　we　are　told　that　the　Egyptians　held　a　festival　of　Isis　at　the　time　when　the　Nile　began　to　rise。　They　believed　that　the　goddess　was　then　mourning　for　the　lost　Osiris；　and　that　the　tears　which　dropped　from　her　eyes　swelled　the　impetuous　tide　of　the　river。　Now　if　Osiris　was　in　one　of　his　aspects　a　god　of　the　corn；　nothing　could　be　more　natural　than　that　he　should　be　mourned　at　midsummer。　For　by　that　time　the　harvest　was　past；　the　fields　were　bare；　the　river　ran　low；　life　seemed　to　be　suspended；　the　corn…god　was　dead。　At　such　a　moment　people　who　saw　the　handiwork　of　divine　beings　in　all　the　operations　of　nature　might　well　trace　the　swelling　of　the　sacred　stream　to　the　tears　shed　by　the　goddess　at　the　death　of　the　beneficent　corn…god　her　husband。

And　the　sign　of　the　rising　waters　on　earth　was　accompanied　by　a　sign　in　heaven。　For　in　the　early　days　of　Egyptian　history；　some　three　or　four　thousand　years　before　the　beginning　of　our　era；　the　splendid　star　of　Sirius；　the　brightest　of　all　the　fixed　stars；　appeared　at　dawn　in　the　east　just　before　sunrise　about　the　time　of　the　summer　solstice；　when　the　Nile　begins　to　rise。　The　Egyptians　called　it　Sothis；　and　regarded　it　as　the　star　of　Isis；　just　as　the　Babylonians　deemed　the　planet　Venus　the　star　of　Astarte。　To　both　peoples　apparently　the　brilliant　luminary　in　the　morning　sky　seemed　the　goddess　of　life　and　love　come　to　mourn　her　departed　lover　or　spouse　and　to　wake　him　from　the　dead。　Hence　the　rising　of　Sirius　marked　the　beginning　of　the　sacred　Egyptian　year；　and　was　regularly　celebrated　by　a　festival　which　did　not　shift　with　the　shifting　official　year。

The　cutting　of　the　dams　and　the　admission　of　the　water　into　the　canals　and　fields　is　a　great　event　in　the　Egyptian　year。　At　Cairo　the　operation　generally　takes　place　between　the　sixth　and　the　sixteenth　of　August；　and　till　lately　was　attended　by　ceremonies　which　deserve　to　be　noticed；　because　they　were　probably　handed　down　from　antiquity。　An　ancient　canal；　known　by　the　name　of　the　Khalíj；　formerly　passed　through　the　native　town　of　Cairo。　Near　its　entrance　the　canal　was　crossed　by　a　dam　of　earth；　very　broad　at　the　bottom　and　diminishing　in　breadth　upwards；　which　used　to　be　constructed　before　or　soon　after　the　Nile　began　to　rise。　In　front　of　the　dam；　on　the　side　of　the　river；　was　reared　a　truncated　cone　of　earth　called　the　'arooseh　or　bride；　on　the　top　of　which　a　little　maize　or　millet　was　generally　sown。　This　bride　was　commonly　washed　down　by　the　rising　tide　a　week　or　a　fortnight　before　the　cutting　of　the　dam。　Tradition　runs　that　the　old　custom　was　to　deck　a　young　virgin　in　gay　apparel　and　throw　her　into　the　river　as　a　sacrifice　to　obtain　a　plentiful　inundation。　Whether　that　was　so　or　not；　the　intention　of　the　practice　appears　t