pagan and christian creeds-第25章

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　Fall；　and　so　one　is　inevitably　led　to　the　conjecture　and　the　hope　that　a　third　stage　will　redeem　the　earth　and　its　inhabitants　to　a　condition　of　comparative　blessedness。



X。　THE　SAVIOUR…GOD　AND　THE　VIRGIN…MOTHER

From　the　consideration　of　the　world…wide　belief　in　a　past　Golden　Age；　and　the　world…wide　practice　of　the　Eucharist；　in　the　sense　indicated　in　the　last　chapter；　to　that　of　the　equally　widespread　belief　in　a　human…divine　Saviour；　is　a　brief　and　easy　step。　Some　thirty　years　ago；　dealing　with　this　subject；＇1＇　I　wrote　as　follows：〃The　true　Self　of　man　consists　in　his　organic　relation　with　the　whole　body　of　his　fellows；　and　when　the　man　abandons　his　true　Self　he　abandons　also　his　true　relation　to　his　fellows。　The　mass…Man　must　rule　in　each　unit…man；　else　the　unit…man　will　drop　off　and　die。　But　when　the　outer　man　tries　to　separate　himself　from　the　inner；　the　unit…man　from　the　mass…Man；　then　the　reign　of　individuality　beginsa　false　and　impossible　individuality　of　course；　but　the　only　means　of　coming　to　the　consciousness　of　the　true　individuality。〃　And　further；　〃Thus　this　divinity　in　each　creature；　being　that　which　constitutes　it　and　causes　it　to　cohere　together；　was　conceived　of　as　that　creature's　saviour；　healerhealer　of　wounds　of　body　and　wounds　of　heartthe　Man　within　the　man；　whom　it　was　not　only　possible　to　know；　but　whom　to　know　and　be　united　with　was　the　alone　salvation。　This；　I　take　it；　was　the　law　of　healthand　of　holinessas　accepted　at　some　elder　time　of　human　history；　and　by　us　seen　as　through　a　glass　darkly。〃

＇1＇　See　Civilisation：　its　Cause　and　Cure；　ch。　i。


I　think　it　is　impossible　not　to　seehowever　much　in　our　pride　of　Civilization　（！）　we　like　to　jeer　at　the　pettinesses　of　tribal　lifethat　these　elder　people　perceived　as　a　matter　of　fact　and　direct　consciousness　the　redeeming　presence　（within　each　unit…member　of　the　group）　of　the　larger　life　to　which　he　belonged。　This　larger　life　was　a　reality　〃a　Presence　to　be　felt　and　known〃；　and　whether　he　called　it　by　the　name　of　a　Totem…animal；　or　by　the　name　of　a　Nature…divinity；　or　by　the　name　of　some　gracious　human…limbed　Godsome　Hercules；　Mithra；　Attis；　Orpheus；　or　what…notor　even　by　the　great　name　of　Humanity　itself；　it　was　still　in　any　case　the　Saviour；　the　living　incarnate　Being　by　the　realization　of　whose　presence　the　little　mortal　could　be　lifted　out　of　exile　and　error　and　death　and　suffering　into　splendor　and　life　eternal。

It　is　impossible；　I　think；　not　to　see　that　the　myriad　worship　of　〃Saviours〃　all　over　the　world；　from　China　to　Peru；　can　only　be　ascribed　to　the　natural　working　of　some　such　law　of　human　and　tribal　psychologyfrom　earliest　times　and　in　all　races　the　samespringing　up　quite　spontaneously　and　independently；　and　（so　far）　unaffected　by　the　mere　contagion　of　local　tradition。　To　suppose　that　the　Devil；　long　before　the　advent　of　Christianity；　put　the　idea　into　the　heads　of　all　these　earlier　folk；　is　really　to　pay　TOO　great　a　compliment　both　to　the　power　and　the　ingenuity　of　his　Satanic　Majestythough　the　ingenuity　with　which　the　early　Church　DID　itself　suppress　all　information　about　these　pre…Christian　Saviours　almost　rivals　that　which　it　credited　to　Satan！　And　on　the　other　hand　to　suppose　this　marvellous　and　universal　consent　of　belief　to　have　sprung　by　mere　contagion　from　one　accidental　source　would　seem　equally　far…fetched　and　unlikely。

But　almost　more　remarkable　than　the　world…encircling　belief　in　human…divine　Saviours　is　the　equally　widespread　legend　of　their　birth　from　Virgin…mothers。　There　is　hardly　a　godas　we　have　already　had　occasion　to　seewhose　worship　as　a　benefactor　of　mankind　attained　popularity　in　any　of　the　four　continents；　Europe；　Asia；　Africa　and　Americawho　was　not　reported　to　have　been　born　from　a　Virgin；　or　at　least　from　a　mother　who　owed　the　Child　not　to　any　earthly　father；　but　to　an　impregnation　from　Heaven。　And　this　seems　at　first　sight　all　the　more　astonishing　because　the　belief　in　the　possibility　of　such　a　thing　is　so　entirely　out　of　the　line　of　our　modern　thought。　So　that　while　it　would　seem　not　unnatural　that　such　a　legend　should　have；　sprung　up　spontaneously　in　some　odd　benighted　corner　of　the　world；　we　find　it　very　difficult　to　understand　how　in　that　case　it　should　have　spread　so　rapidly　in　every　direction；　orif　it　did　not　spreadhow　we　are　to　account　for　its　SPONTANEOUS　appearance　in　all　these　widely　sundered　regions。

I　think　here；　and　for　the　understanding　of　this　problem；　we　are　thrown　back　upon　a　very　early　age　of　human　evolutionthe　age　of　Magic。　Before　any　settled　science　or　philosophy　or　religion　existed；　there　were　still　certain　Thingsand　consequently　also　certain　Wordswhich　had　a　tremendous　influence　on　the　human　mind；　which　in　fact　affected　it　deeply。　Such　a　word；　for　instance；　is　'Thunder'；　to　hear　thunder；　to　imitate　it；　even　to　mention　it；　are　sure　ways　of　rousing　superstitious　attention　and　imagination。　Such　another　word　is　'Serpent；'　another　'Tree；'　and　so　forth。　There　is　no　one　who　is　insensible　to　the　reverberation　of　these　and　other　such　words　and　images＇1＇；　and　among　them；　standing　prominently　out；　are　the　two　'Mother'　and　'Virgin。'　The　word　Mother　touches　the　deepest　springs　of　human　feeling。　As　the　earliest　word　learnt　and　clung　to　by　the　child；　it　twines　itself　with　the　heart…strings　of　the　man　even　to　his　latest　day。　Nor　must　we　forget　that　in　a　primitive　state　of　society　（the　Matriarchate）　that　influence　was　probably　even　greater　than　now；　for　the　father　of　the　child　being　（often　as　not）　UNKNOWN　the　attachment　to　the　mother　was　all　the　more　intense　and　undivided。　The　word　Mother　had　a　magic　about　it　which　bas　remained　even　until　to…day。　But　if　that　word　rooted　itself　deep　in　the　heart　of　the　Child；　the　other　word　'virgin'　had　an　obvious　magic　for　the　full　grown　and　sexually　mature　Mana　magic　which　it；　too；　has　never　lost。

＇1＇　Nor　is　it　difficult　to　see　how　out　of　the　discreet　use　of　such　words　and　images；　combined　with　elementary　forms　like　the　square；　the　triangle　and　the　circle；　and　elementary　numbers　like　3；　4；　5；　etc。；　quite　a　science；　so　to　speak；　of　Magic　arose。


There　is　ample　evidence　that　one　of　the　very　earliest　objects　of　human　worship　was　the　Earth　itself；　conceived　of　as　the　fertile　Mother　of　all　things。　Gaia　or　Ge　（the　earth）　had　temples　and　altars　in　almost　all　the　cities　of　Greece。　Rhea　or　Cybele；　sprung　from　the　Earth；　was　〃mother　of　all　the　gods。〃　Demeter　（〃earth　mother〃）　was　honored　far　and　wide　as　the　gracious　patroness　of　the　crops　and　vegetation。　Ceres；　of　course；　the　same。　Maia　in　the　Indian　mythology　and　Isis　in　the　Egyptian　are　forms　of　Nature　and　the　Earth…spirit；　represented　as　female；　and　so　forth。　The　Earth；　in　these　ancient　cults　；　was　the　mystic　source　of　all　life；　and　to　it；　as　a　propitiation；　life　of　all　kinds　was　sacrificed。　＇There　are　strange　accounts　of　a　huge　fire　being　made；　with　an　altar　to　Cybele　in　the　midst；　and　of　deer　and　fawns　and　wild　animals；　and　birds　and　sheep　and　corn　and　fruits　being　thrown　pell…mell　into　the　flames。＇1＇＇　It　was；　in　a　way；　the　most　natural；　as　it　seems　to　have　been　the　earliest　and　most　spontaneous　of　cultsthe　worship　of　the　Earth…mother；　the　all…producing　eternal　source　of　life；　and　on　account　of　her　never…failing　ever…renewed　fertility　conceived　of　as　an　immortal　Virgin。

＇1＇　See　Pausanias　iv。　32。　6；　and　Lucian；　De　Syria　Dea；　49。


But　when　the　Saviour…legend　sprang　upas　indeed　I　think　it　must　have　sprung　up；　in　tribe　after　tribe　and　people　after　people；　independentlythen；　whether　it　sprang　from　the　divinization　of　some　actual　man　who　showed　the　way　of　light　and　deliverance　to　his　fellows　〃sitting　in　darkness；〃　or　whether　from　the　personification　of　the　tribe　itself　as　a　god；　in　either　case　the　question　of　the　hero's　parentage　was　bound　to　arise。　If　the　'saviour'　was　plainly　a　personification　of　the　tribe；　it　was　obviously　impossible　to　suppose　him　the　son　of　a　mortal　mother。　In　that　caseand　if　the　tribe　was　generally　traced　in　the　legends　to　some　primeval　Animal　or　Mountain　or　thing　of　Natureit　was　probably　easy　to　think　of　him　（the　saviour）　as；　born　out　of　Nature's　womb；　descended　perhaps　from　that　pure　Virgin　of　the　World　who　is　the　Earth　and　Nature；　who　rules　the　skies　at　night；　and　stands　in　the　changing　phases　of　the　Moon；　and　is　worshiped　（as　we　have　seen）　in　the　great　constellation　Virgo。　If；　on　the　other　hand；　he　was　the　divinization　of　some　actual　man；　more　or　less　known　either　personally　or　by　tradition　to　his　fellows；　then　in　all　probability　the　name　of　his　mortal　mother　would　be　recognized　and　accepted；　but　as　to　his　father；　that　side　of　parentage　being；　as　we　have　said；　generally　very　uncertain；　it　would　be　easy　to　suppose　some　heavenly　Annunciation；　the　midnight　visit　of　a　God；　and　what　is　usually　termed　a　Virgin…birth。

There　are　two　elements　to　be　remembered　here；　as　conspiring　to　this　conclusion。　One　is　the　condition　of　affairs　in　a　remote　matriarchial　period；　when　descent　was　reckoned　always　through　the　maternal　line；　and　the　fatherhood　in　each　generation　was　obscure　or　unknown　or　commonly　left　out　of　account；　and　the　other　is　the　factso　strange　and　difficult　for　us　to　realizethat　among　some　very　primitive　peoples；　like　the　Australian　aborigines；　the　necessity　for　a　woman　to　have　intercourse　with　a　male；　in　order　to　bring　about　conception　and　child…birth；　was　actually　not　recognized。　Scientific　observation　had　not　always　got　as　far　as　that；　and　the　matter　was　still　under　the　domain　of　Magic！＇1＇　A　Virgin…Mother　was　therefore　a　quite　imaginable　（not　to　say　'conceivable'）　thing；　and　indeed　a　very　beautiful　and　fascinating　thing；　combining　in　one　image　the　potent　magic　of　two　very　wonderful　words。　It　does　not　seem　impossible　that　considerations　of　this　kind　led　to　the　adoption　of　the　doctrine　or　legend　of　the　virgin…mother　and　the　heavenly　father　among　so　many　races　and　in　so　many　localitieseven　without　any　contagion　of　tradition　among　them。

＇1＇　Probably　the　long　period　（nine　months）　elapsing　between　cohabitation　and　childbirth　confused　early　speculation　on　the　subject。　Then　clearly　cohabitation　was　NOT　always　followed　by　childbirth。　And；　more　important　still；　the　number　of　virgins　of　a　mature　age　in　primitive　societies　was　so　very　minute　that　the　fact　of　their　childlessness　attracted　no　attentionwhereas　in　OUR　societies　the　sterility　of　the　whole　class　is　patent　to　everyone。


Anyhow；　and　as　a　matter　of　fact；　the　world…wide　dissemination　of　the　legend　is　most　remarkable。　Zeus；　Father　of　the　gods；　visited　Semele；　it　will　be　remembered；　in　the　form　of　a　thunderstorm；　and　she　gave　birth　to　the　great　saviour　and　deliverer　Dionysus。　Zeus；　again；　impregnated　Danae　in　a　shower　of　gold；　and　the　child　was　Perseus；　who　slew　the　Gorgons　（the　powers　of　darkness）　and　saved　Andromeda　（the　human　soul＇1＇）。　Devaki；　the　radiant　Virgin　of　the　Hindu　mythology；　became　the　wife　of　the　god　Vishnu　and　bore　Krishna；　the　beloved　hero　and　prototype　of　Christ。　With　regard　to　Buddha　St。　Jerome　says＇2＇　〃It　is　handed　down　among　the　Gymnosophists；　of　India　that　Buddha；　the　founder　of　their　system；　was　brought　forth　by　a　Virgin　from　her　side。〃　The　Egyptian　Isis；　with　the　child　Horus；　on　her　knee；　was　honored　centuries　before　the　Christian　era；　and　worshiped　under　the　names　of　〃Our　Lady；〃　〃Queen　of　Heaven；〃　〃Star　of　the　Sea；〃　〃Mother　of