the golden bough-第30部分

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at　children　would　both　thrive　the　better　for　the　royal　touch；　and　for　a　like　reason　farmers　asked　him　to　throw　the　seed　for　them。　It　was　the　belief　of　the　ancient　Irish　that　when　their　kings　observed　the　customs　of　their　ancestors；　the　seasons　were　mild；　the　crops　plentiful；　the　cattle　fruitful；　the　waters　abounded　with　fish；　and　the　fruit　trees　had　to　be　propped　up　on　account　of　the　weight　of　their　produce。　A　canon　attributed　to　St。　Patrick　enumerates　among　the　blessings　that　attend　the　reign　of　a　just　king　fine　weather；　calm　seas；　crops　abundant；　and　trees　laden　with　fruit。　On　the　other　hand；　dearth；　dryness　of　cows；　blight　of　fruit；　and　scarcity　of　corn　were　regarded　as　infallible　proofs　that　the　reigning　king　was　bad。

Perhaps　the　last　relic　of　such　superstitions　which　lingered　about　our　English　kings　was　the　notion　that　they　could　heal　scrofula　by　their　touch。　The　disease　was　accordingly　known　as　the　King's　Evil。　Queen　Elizabeth　often　exercised　this　miraculous　gift　of　healing。　On　Midsummer　Day　1633；　Charles　the　First　cured　a　hundred　patients　at　one　swoop　in　the　chapel　royal　at　Holyrood。　But　it　was　under　his　son　Charles　the　Second　that　the　practice　seems　to　have　attained　its　highest　vogue。　It　is　said　that　in　the　course　of　his　reign　Charles　the　Second　touched　near　a　hundred　thousand　persons　for　scrofula。　The　press　to　get　near　him　was　sometimes　terrific。　On　one　occasion　six　or　seven　of　those　who　came　to　be　healed　were　trampled　to　death。　The　cool…headed　William　the　Third　contemptuously　refused　to　lend　himself　to　the　hocuspocus；　and　when　his　palace　was　besieged　by　the　usual　unsavoury　crowd；　he　ordered　them　to　be　turned　away　with　a　dole。　On　the　only　occasion　when　he　was　importuned　into　laying　his　hand　on　a　patient；　he　said　to　him；　God　give　you　better　health　and　more　sense。　However；　the　practice　was　continued；　as　might　have　been　expected；　by　the　dull　bigot　James　the　Second　and　his　dull　daughter　Queen　Anne。

The　kings　of　France　also　claimed　to　possess　the　same　gift　of　healing　by　touch；　which　they　are　said　to　have　derived　from　Clovis　or　from　St。　Louis；　while　our　English　kings　inherited　it　from　Edward　the　Confessor。　Similarly　the　savage　chiefs　of　Tonga　were　believed　to　heal　scrofula　and　cases　of　indurated　liver　by　the　touch　of　their　feet；　and　the　cure　was　strictly　homoeopathic；　for　the　disease　as　well　as　the　cure　was　thought　to　be　caused　by　contact　with　the　royal　person　or　with　anything　that　belonged　to　it。

On　the　whole；　then；　we　seem　to　be　justified　in　inferring　that　in　many　parts　of　the　world　the　king　is　the　lineal　successor　of　the　old　magician　or　medicine…man。　When　once　a　special　class　of　sorcerers　has　been　segregated　from　the　community　and　entrusted　by　it　with　the　discharge　of　duties　on　which　the　public　safety　and　welfare　are　believed　to　depend；　these　men　gradually　rise　to　wealth　and　power；　till　their　leaders　blossom　out　into　sacred　kings。　But　the　great　social　revolution　which　thus　begins　with　democracy　and　ends　in　despotism　is　attended　by　an　intellectual　revolution　which　affects　both　the　conception　and　the　functions　of　royalty。　For　as　time　goes　on；　the　fallacy　of　magic　becomes　more　and　more　apparent　to　the　acuter　minds　and　is　slowly　displaced　by　religion；　in　other　words；　the　magician　gives　way　to　the　priest；　who；　renouncing　the　attempt　to　control　directly　the　processes　of　nature　for　the　good　of　man；　seeks　to　attain　the　same　end　indirectly　by　appealing　to　the　gods　to　do　for　him　what　he　no　longer　fancies　he　can　do　for　himself。　Hence　the　king；　starting　as　a　magician；　tends　gradually　to　exchange　the　practice　of　magic　for　the　priestly　functions　of　prayer　and　sacrifice。　And　while　the　distinction　between　the　human　and　the　divine　is　still　imperfectly　drawn；　it　is　often　imagined　that　men　may　themselves　attain　to　godhead；　not　merely　after　their　death；　but　in　their　lifetime；　through　the　temporary　or　permanent　possession　of　their　whole　nature　by　a　great　and　powerful　spirit。　No　class　of　the　community　has　benefited　so　much　as　kings　by　this　belief　in　the　possible　incarnation　of　a　god　in　human　form。　The　doctrine　of　that　incarnation；　and　with　it　the　theory　of　the　divinity　of　kings　in　the　strict　sense　of　the　word；　will　form　the　subject　of　the　following　chapter。

Chapter　7。　Incarnate　Human　Gods

THE　INSTANCES　which　in　the　preceding　chapters　I　have　drawn　from　the　beliefs　and　practices　of　rude　peoples　all　over　the　world；　may　suffice　to　prove　that　the　savage　fails　to　recognise　those　limitations　to　his　power　over　nature　which　seem　so　obvious　to　us。　In　a　society　where　every　man　is　supposed　to　be　endowed　more　or　less　with　powers　which　we　should　call　supernatural；　it　is　plain　that　the　distinction　between　gods　and　men　is　somewhat　blurred；　or　rather　has　scarcely　emerged。　The　conception　of　gods　as　superhuman　beings　endowed　with　powers　to　which　man　possesses　nothing　comparable　in　degree　and　hardly　even　in　kind；　has　been　slowly　evolved　in　the　course　of　history。　By　primitive　peoples　the　supernatural　agents　are　not　regarded　as　greatly；　if　at　all；　superior　to　man；　for　they　may　be　frightened　and　coerced　by　him　into　doing　his　will。　At　this　stage　of　thought　the　world　is　viewed　as　a　great　democracy；　all　beings　in　it；　whether　natural　or　supernatural；　are　supposed　to　stand　on　a　footing　of　tolerable　equality。　But　with　the　growth　of　his　knowledge　man　learns　to　realise　more　clearly　the　vastness　of　nature　and　his　own　littleness　and　feebleness　in　presence　of　it。　The　recognition　of　his　helplessness　does　not；　however；　carry　with　it　a　corresponding　belief　in　the　impotence　of　those　supernatural　beings　with　which　his　imagination　peoples　the　universe。　On　the　contrary；　it　enhances　his　conception　of　their　power。　For　the　idea　of　the　world　as　a　system　of　impersonal　forces　acting　in　accordance　with　fixed　and　invariable　laws　has　not　yet　fully　dawned　or　darkened　upon　him。　The　germ　of　the　idea　he　certainly　has；　and　he　acts　upon　it；　not　only　in　magic　art；　but　in　much　of　the　business　of　daily　life。　But　the　idea　remains　undeveloped；　and　so　far　as　he　attempts　to　explain　the　world　he　lives　in；　he　pictures　it　as　the　manifestation　of　conscious　will　and　personal　agency。　If　then　he　feels　himself　to　be　so　frail　and　slight；　how　vast　and　powerful　must　he　deem　the　beings　who　control　the　gigantic　machinery　of　nature！　Thus　as　his　old　sense　of　equality　with　the　gods　slowly　vanishes；　he　resigns　at　the　same　time　the　hope　of　directing　the　course　of　nature　by　his　own　unaided　resources；　that　is；　by　magic；　and　looks　more　and　more　to　the　gods　as　the　sole　repositories　of　those　supernatural　powers　which　he　once　claimed　to　share　with　them。　With　the　advance　of　knowledge；　therefore；　prayer　and　sacrifice　assume　the　leading　place　in　religious　ritual；　and　magic；　which　once　ranked　with　them　as　a　legitimate　equal；　is　gradually　relegated　to　the　background　and　sinks　to　the　level　of　a　black　art。　It　is　not　regarded　as　an　encroachment；　at　once　vain　and　impious；　on　the　domain　of　the　gods；　and　as　such　encounters　the　steady　opposition　of　the　priests；　whose　reputation　and　influence　rise　or　fall　with　those　of　their　gods。　Hence；　when　at　a　late　period　the　distinction　between　religion　and　superstition　has　emerged；　we　find　that　sacrifice　and　prayer　are　the　resource　of　the　pious　and　enlightened　portion　of　the　community；　while　magic　is　the　refuge　of　the　superstitious　and　ignorant。　But　when；　still　later；　the　conception　of　the　elemental　forces　as　personal　agents　is　giving　way　to　the　recognition　of　natural　law；　then　magic；　based　as　it　implicitly　is　on　the　idea　of　a　necessary　and　invariable　sequence　of　cause　and　effect；　independent　of　personal　will；　reappears　from　the　obscurity　and　discredit　into　which　it　had　fallen；　and　by　investigating　the　causal　sequences　in　nature；　directly　prepares　the　way　for　science。　Alchemy　leads　up　to　chemistry。

The　notion　of　a　man…god；　or　of　a　human　being　endowed　with　divine　or　supernatural　powers；　belongs　essentially　to　that　earlier　period　of　religious　history　in　which　gods　and　men　are　still　viewed　as　beings　of　much　the　same　order；　and　before　they　are　divided　by　the　impassable　gulf　which；　to　later　thought；　opens　out　between　them。　Strange；　therefore；　as　may　seem　to　us　the　idea　of　a　god　incarnate　in　human　form；　it　has　nothing　very　startling　for　early　man；　who　sees　in　a　man…god　or　a　god…man　only　a　higher　degree　of　the　same　supernatural　powers　which　he　arrogates　in　perfect　good　faith　to　himself。　Nor　does　he　draw　any　very　sharp　distinction　between　a　god　and　a　powerful　sorcerer。　His　gods　are　often　merely　invisible　magicians　who　behind　the　veil　of　nature　work　the　same　sort　of　charms　and　incantations　which　the　human　magician　works　in　a　visible　and　bodily　form　among　his　fellows。　And　as　the　gods　are　commonly　believed　to　exhibit　themselves　in　the　likeness　of　men　to　their　worshippers；　it　is　easy　for　the　magician；　with　his　supposed　miraculous　powers；　to　acquire　the　reputation　of　being　an　incarnate　deity。　Thus　beginning　as　little　more　than　a　simple　conjurer；　the　medicine…man　or　magician　tends　to　blossom　out　into　a　full…blown　god　and　king　in　one。　Only　in　speaking　of　him　as　a　god　we　must　beware　of　importing　into　the　savage　conception　of　deity　those　very　abstract　and　complex　ideas　which　we　attach　to　the　term。　Our　ideas　on　this　profound　subject　are　the　fruit　of　a　long　intellectual　and　moral　evolution；　and　they　are　so　far　from　being　shared　by　the　savage　that　he　cannot　even　understand　them　when　they　are　explained　to　him。　Much　of　the　controversy　which　has　raged　as　to　the　religion　of　the　lower　races　has　sprung　merely　from　a　mutual　misunderstanding。　The　savage　does　not　understand　the　thoughts　of　the　civilised　man；　and　few　civilised　men　understand　the　thoughts　of　the　savage。　When　the　savage　uses　his　word　for　god；　he　has　in　his　mind　a　being　of　a　certain　sort：　when　the　civilised　man　uses　his　word　for　god；　he　has　in　his　mind　a　being　of　a　very　different　sort；　and　if；　as　commonly　happens；　the　two　men　are　equally　unable　to　place　themselves　at　the　other's　point　of　view；　nothing　but　confusion　and　mistakes　can　result　from　their　discussions。　If　we　civilised　men　insist　on　limiting　the　name　of　God　to　that　particular　conception　of　the　divine　nature　which　we　ourselves　have　formed；　then　we　must　confess　that　the　savage　has　no　god　at　all。　But　we　shall　adhere　more　closely　to　the　facts　of　history　if　we　allow　most　of　the　higher　savages　at　least　to　posses