pagan and christian creeds-第12章

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under…like　noises；　to　encourage　Vegetation　and　the　crops　to　leap　out　of　the　ground；　you　had　to　leap　and　dance。　〃In　Swabia　and　among　the　Transylvanian　Saxons　it　is　a　common　custom　（says　Dr。　Frazer）　for　a　man　who　has　some　hemp　to　leap　high　in　the　field　in　the　belief　that　this　will　make　the　hemp　grow　tall。〃＇1＇　Native　May…pole　dances　and　Jacks　in　the　Green　have　hardly　yet　died　outeven　in　this　most　civilized　England。　The　bower　of　green　boughs；　the　music　of　pipes；　the　leaping　and　the　twirling；　were　all　an　encouragement　to　the　arrival　of　Spring；　and　an　expression　of　Sympathetic　Magic。　When　you　felt　full　of　life　and　energy　and　virility　in　yourself　you　naturally　leapt　and　danced；　so　why　should　you　not　sympathetically　do　this　for　the　energizing　of　the　crops？　In　every　country　of　the　world　the　vernal　season　and　the　resurrection　of　the　Sun　has　been　greeted　with　dances　and　the　sound　of　music。　But　if　you　wanted　success　in　hunting　or　in　warfare　then　you　danced　before…hand　mimic　dances　suggesting　the　successful　hunt　or　battle。　It　was　no　more　than　our　children　do　to…day；　and　it　all　was；　and　is；　part　of　a　natural…magic　tendency　in　human　thought。

＇1＇　See　The　Golden　Bough；　i；　139　seq。　Also　Art　and　Ritual；　p。　31。


Let　me　pause　here　for　a　moment。　It　is　difficult　for　us　with　our　academical　and　somewhat　school…boardy　minds　to　enter　into　all　this；　and　to　understand　the　sense　of　（unconscious　or　sub…conscious）　identification　with　the　world　around　which　characterized　the　primitive　manor　to　look　upon　Nature　with　his　eyes。　A　Tree；　a　Snake；　a　Bull；　an　Ear　of　Corn。　WE　know　so　well　from　our　botany　and　natural　history　books　what　these　things　are。　Why　should　our　minds　dwell　on　them　any　longer　or　harbor　a　doubt　as　to　our　perfect　comprehension　of　them？

And　yet　（one　cannot　help　asking　the　question）：　Has　any　one　of　us　really　ever　SEEN　a　Tree？　I　certainly　do　not　think　that　I　haveexcept　most　superficially。　That　very　penetrating　observer　and　naturalist；　Henry　D。　Thoreau；　tells　us　that　he　would　often　make　an　appointment　to　visit　a　certain　tree；　miles　awaybut　what　or　whom　he　saw　when　he　got　there；　he　does　not　say。　Walt　Whitman；　also　a　keen　observer；　speaks　of　a　tulip…tree　near　which　he　sometimes　sat〃the　Apollo　of　the　woodstall　and　graceful；　yet　robust　and　sinewy；　inimitable　in　hang　of　foliage　and　throwing…out　of　limb；　as　if　the　beauteous；　vital；　leafy　creature　could　walk；　if　it　only　would〃；　and　mentions　that　in　a　dream…trance　he　actually　once　saw　his　〃favorite　trees　step　out　and　promenade　up；　down　and　around　VERY　CURIOUSLY。〃＇1＇　Once　the　present　writer　seemed　to　have　a　partial　vision　of　a　tree。　It　was　a　beech；　standing　somewhat　isolated；　and　still　leafless　in　quite　early　Spring。　Suddenly　I　was　aware　of　its　skyward…reaching　arms　and　up…turned　finger…tips；　as　if　some　vivid　life　（or　electricity）　was　streaming　through　them　far　into　the　spaces　of　heaven；　and　of　its　roots　plunged　in　the　earth　and　drawing　the　same　energies　from　below。　The　day　was　quite　still　and　there　was　no　movement　in　the　branches；　but　in　that　moment　the　tree　was　no　longer　a　separate　or　separable　organism；　but　a　vast　being　ramifying　far　into　space；　sharing　and　uniting　the　life　of　Earth　and　Sky；　and　full　of　a　most　amazing　activity。

＇1＇　Specimen　Days；　1882…3　Edition；　p。　iii。


The　reader　of　this　will　probably　have　had　some　similar　experiences。　Perhaps　he　will　have　seen　a　full…foliaged　Lombardy　poplar　swaying　in　half　a　gale　in　Junethe　wind　and　the　sun　streaming　over　every　little　twig　and　leaf；　the　tree　throwing　out　its　branches　in　a　kind　of　ecstasy　and　bathing　them　in　the　passionately　boisterous　caresses　of　its　two　visitants；　or　he　will　have　heard　the　deep　glad　murmur　of　some　huge　sycamore　with　ripening　seed　clusters　when　after　weeks　of　drought　the　steady　warm　rain　brings　relief　to　its　thirst；　and　he　will　have　known　that　these　creatures　are　but　likenesses　of　himself；　intimately　and　deeply…related　to　him　in　their　love　and　hunger　longing；　and；　like　himself　too；　unfathomed　and　unfathomable。

It　would　be　absurd　to　credit　early　man　with　conscious　speculations　like　these；　belonging　more　properly　to　the　twentieth　century；　yet　it　is　incontrovertible；　I　think；　that　in　SOME　ways　the　primitive　peoples；　with　their　swift　subconscious　intuitions　and　their　minds　unclouded　by　mere　book　knowledge；　perceived　truths　to　which　we　moderns　are　blind。　Like　the　animals　they　arrived　at　their　perceptions　without　（individual）　brain　effort；　they　knew　things　without　thinking。　When　they　did　THINK　of　course　they　went　wrong。　Their　budding　science　easily　went　astray。　Religion　with　them　had　as　yet　taken　no　definite　shape；　science　was　equally　protoplasmic；　and　all　they　had　was　a　queer　jumble　of　the　two　in　the　form　of　Magic。　When　at　a　later　time　Science　gradually　defined　its　outlook　and　its　observations；　and　Religion；　from　being　a　vague　subconscious　feeling；　took　clear　shape　in　the　form　of　gods　and　creeds；　then　mankind　gradually　emerged　into　the　stage　of　evolution　IN　WHICH　WE　NOW　ARE。　OUR　scientific　laws　and　doctrines　are　of　course　only　temporary　formulae；　and　so　also　are　the　gods　and　the　creeds　of　our　own　and　other　religions；　but　these　things；　with　their　set　and　angular　outlines；　have　served　in　the　past　and　will　serve　in　the　future　as　stepping…stones　towards　another　kind　of　knowledge　of　which　at　present　we　only　dream；　and　will　lead　us　on　to　a　renewed　power　of　perception　which　again　will　not　be　the　laborious　product　of　thought　but　a　direct　and　instantaneous　intuition　like　that　of　the　animals　and　the　angels。


To　return　to　our　Tree。　Though　primitive　man　did　not　speculate　in　modern　style　on　these　things；　I　yet　have　no　reasonable　doubt　that　he　felt　（and　FEELS；　in　those　cases　where　we　can　still　trace　the　workings　of　his　mind）　his　essential　relationship　to　the　creatures　of　the　forest　more　intimately；　if　less　analytically；　than　we　do　to…day。　If　the　animals　with　all　their　wonderful　gifts　are　（as　we　readily　admit）　a　veritable　part　of　Natureso　that　they　live　and　move　and　have　their　being　more　or　less　submerged　in　the　spirit　of　the　great　world　around　themthen　Man；　when　he　first　began　to　differentiate　himself　from　them；　must　for　a　long　time　have　remained　in　this　SUBconscious　unity；　becoming　only　distinctly　CONSCIOUS　of　it　when　he　was　already　beginning　to　lose　it。　That　early　dawn　of　distinct　consciousness　corresponded　to　the　period　of　belief　in　Magic。　In　that　first　mystic　illumination　almost　every　object　was　invested　with　a　halo　of　mystery　or　terror　or　adoration。　Things　were　either　tabu；　in　which　case　they　were　dangerous；　and　often　not　to　be　touched　or　even　looked　uponor　they　were　overflowing　with　magic　grace　and　influence；　in　which　case　they　were　holy；　and　any　rite　which　released　their　influence　was　also　holy。　William　Blake；　that　modern　prophetic　child；　beheld　a　Tree　full　of　angels；　the　Central　Australian　native　believes　bushes　to　be　the　abode　of　spirits　which　leap　into　the　bodies　of　passing　women　and　are　the　cause　of　the　conception　of　children；　Moses　saw　in　the　desert　a　bush　（perhaps　the　mimosa）　like　a　flame　of　fire；　with　Jehovah　dwelling　in　the　midst　of　it；　and　he　put　off　his　shoes　for　he　felt　that　the　place　was　holy；　Osiris　was　at　times　regarded　as　a　Tree…spirit＇1＇；　and　in　inscriptions　is　referred　to　as　〃the　solitary　one　in　the　acacia〃　which　reminds　us　curiously　of　the　〃burning　bush。〃　The　same　is　true　of　others　of　the　gods；　in　the　old　Norse　mythology　Ygdrasil　was　the　great　branching　World…Ash；　abode　of　the　soul　of　the　universe；　the　Peepul　or　Bo…tree　in　India　is　very　sacred　and　must　on　no　account　be　cut　down；　seeing　that　gods　and　spirits　dwell　among　its　branches。　It　is　of　the　nature　of　an　Aspen；　and　of　little　or　no　practical　use；＇2＇　but　so　holy　that　the　poorest　peasant　will　not　disturb　it。　The　Burmese　believe　the　things　of　nature；　but　especially　the　trees；　to　be　the　abode　of　spirits。　〃To　the　Burman　of　to…day；　not　less　than　to　the　Greek　of　long　ago；　all　nature　is　alive。　The　forest　and　the　river　and　the　mountains　are　full　of　spirits；　whom　the　Burmans　call　Nats。　There　are　all　kinds　of　Nats；　good　and　bad；　great　and　little；　male　and　female；　now　living　round　about　us。　Some　of　them　live　in　the　trees；　especially　in　the　huge　figtree　that　shades　half…　an…acre　without　the　village；　or　among　the　fern…like　fronds　of　the　tamarind。〃＇3＇


＇1＇　The　Golden　Bough；　iv；　339。

＇2＇　Though　the　sap　is　said　to　contain　caoutchouc。

＇3＇　The　Soul　of　a　People；　by　H。　Fielding　（1902）；　p。　250。


There　are　also　in　India　and　elsewhere　popular　rites　of　MARRIAGE　of　women　（and　men）　to　Trees；　which　suggest　that　trees　were　regarded　as　very　near　akin　to　human　beings！　The　Golden　Bough＇1＇　mentions　many　of　these；　including　the　idea　that　some　trees　are　male　and　others　female。　The　well…known　Assyrian　emblem　of　a　Pine　cone　being　presented　by　a　priest　to　a　Palm…tree　is　supposed　by　E。　B。　Tylor　to　symbolize　fertilizationthe　Pine　cone　being　masculine　and　the　Palm　feminine。　The　ceremony　of　the　god　Krishna's　marriage　to　a　Basil　plant　is　still　celebrated　in　India　down　to　the　present　day；　and　certain　trees　are　clasped　and　hugged　by　pregnant　womenthe　idea　no　doubt　being　that　they　bestow　fertility　on　those　who　embrace　them。　In　other　cases　apparently　it　is　the　trees　which　are　benefited；　since　it　is　said　that　men　sometimes　go　naked　into　the　Clove　plantations　at　night　in　order　by　a　sort　of　sexual　intercourse　to　fertilize　them。＇2＇

＇1＇　Vol。　i；　p。　40；　Vol。　iii；　pp。　24　sq。

＇2＇　Ibid。；　vol。　ii；　p。　98。


One　might　go　on　multiplying　examples　in　this　direction　quite　indefinitely。　There　is　no　end　to　them。　They　all　indicatewhat　was　instinctively　felt　by　early　man；　and　is　perfectly　obvious　to　all　to…day　who　are　not　blinded　by　〃civilization〃　（and　Herbert　Spencer！）　that　the　world　outside　us　is　really　most　deeply　akin　to　ourselves；　that　it　is　not　dead　and　senseless　but　intensely　alive　and　instinct　with　feeling　and　intelligence　resembling　our　own。　It　is　this　perception；　this　conviction　of　our　essential　unity　with　the　whole　of　creation；　which　lay　from　the　first　at　the　base　of　all　Religion；　yet　at　first；　as　I　have　said；　was　hardly　a　conscious　perception。　Only　later；　when　it　gradually　became　more　conscious；　did　it　evolve　itself　into　the　definite　forms　of　the　gods　and　the　creedsbut　of　that　process　I　will　speak　more　in　detail　presently。

The　Tree　therefore　was　a　most　intimate　presence　to　the　Man。　It　grew　in　the　very　midst　of　his　Garden　of　Eden。　It　had　a　magical　virtue；　which　his　tentative　science　could　only　explain　by　chance　analogies　and　assimilations。　Attractive　and　beloved　and　worshipped　by　reason　of　its　many　gifts　to　mankindits　grateful　shelter；　its　abounding　fruits；　its　timber；　and　other　invaluable　productswhy　should　it　not　become　the　natural　emblem　of　the　female；　to　whom　through　sex　man's　worship　is　ever　drawn？　If　the　Snake　has　an　unmistakable　resemblance　to　the　male　organ　in　its　active　state；　the　foliage　of　the　tree　or　bush　is　equally　remindful　of　the　female。　What　more　clear　than　that　the　conjunction　of　Tree　and　Serpent　is　the　fulfilment　in　nature　of　that　sex…mystery　which　is　so　potent　in　the　life　of　man　and　the　animals？　and　that　the　magic　ritual　most　obviously　fitted　to　induce　fertility　in　the　tribe　or　the　herds　（or　even　the　crops）　is　to　set　up　an　image　of　the　Tree　and　the　Serpent　combined；　and　for　all　the　tribe…folk　in　common　to　worship　and　pay　it　reverence。　In　the　Bible　with　more　or　less　veiled　sexual　signif