pagan and christian creeds-第28章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


quite　gymnastic　exercise　in　which　the　performers　took　a　special　pride　in　striking　their　own　buttocks　with　their　heels！　or　others　wilder　still；　which　it　would　perhaps　not　be　convenient　to　describe。

＇1＇　：　　hymns　sung　over　the　winepress　（Dictionary）。


We　must　see　how　important　a　part　Dancing　played　in　that　great　panorama　of　Ritual　and　Religion　（spoken　of　in　the　last　chapter）　which；　having　originally　been　led　up　to　by　the　'Fall　of　Man；'　has　ever　since　the　dawn　of　history　gradually　overspread　the　world　with　its　strange　procession　of　demons　and　deities；　and　its　symbolic　representations　of　human　destiny。　When　it　is　remembered　that　ritual　dancing　was　the　matrix　out　of　which　the　Drama　sprang；　and　further　that　the　drama　in　its　inception　（as　still　to…day　in　India）　was　an　affair　of　religion　and　was　acted　in；　or　in　connection　with；　the　Temples；　it　becomes　easier　to　understand　how　all　this　mass　of　ceremonial　sacrifices；　expiations；　initiations；　Sun　and　Nature　festivals；　eucharistic　and　orgiastic　communions　and　celebrations；　mystery…plays；　dramatic　representations；　myths　and　legends；　etc。；　which　I　have　touched　upon　in　the　preceding　chapterstogether　with　all　the　emotions；　the　desires；　the　fears；　the　yearnings　and　the　wonderment　which　they　representedhave　practically　sprung　from　the　same　root：　a　root　deep　and　necessary　in　the　psychology　of　Man。　Presently　I　hope　to　show　that　they　will　all　practically　converge　again　in　the　end　to　one　meaning；　and　prepare　the　way　for　one　great　Synthesis　to　comean　evolution　also　necessary　and　inevitable　in　human　psychology。

In　that　truly　inspired　Ode　from　which　I　quoted　a　few　pages　back；　occur　those　well…known　words　whose　repetition　now　will；　on　account　of　their　beauty；　I　am　sure　be　excused：

　Our　birth　is　but　a　sleep　and　a　forgetting：　　The　Soul　that　rises　with　us；　our　life's　Star；　　　　　　Hath　had　elsewhere　its　setting；　　　　　　　　　　　And　cometh　from　afar；　　　　　　Not　in　entire　forgetfulness；　　　　　　And　not　in　utter　nakedness；　　But　trailing　clouds　of　glory　do　we　come　　　　　　From　God；　who　is　our　home：　　Heaven　lies　about　us　in　our　infancy！　　Shades　of　the　prison…house　begin　to　close　　　　　　Upon　the　growing　Boy；　　But　He　beholds　the　light　and　whence　it　flows　　　　　　He　sees　it　in　his　joy；　　The　youth　who　daily　farther　from　the　east　　　　　　Must　travel；　still　is　Nature's　Priest；　　　　　　And　by　the　vision　splendid　　　　　　Is　on　his　way　attended；　　At　length　the　man　perceives　it　die　away　　And　fade　into　the　light　of　common　day。


Wordsworththough　he　had　not　the　inestimable　advantage　of　a　nineteenth…century　education　and　the　inheritance　of　the　Darwinian　philosophydoes　nevertheless　put　the　matter　of　the　Genius　of　the　Child　in　a　way　which　（with　the　alteration　of　a　few　conventional　terms）　we　scientific　moderns　are　quite　inclined　to　accept。　We　all　admit　now　that　the　Child　does　not　come　into　the　world　with　a　mental　tabula　rasa　of　entire　forgetfulness　but　on　the　contrary　as　the　possessor　of　vast　stores　of　sub…conscious　memory；　derived　from　its　ancestral　inheritances；　we　all　admit　that　a　certain　grace　and　intuitive　insight　and　even　prophetic　quality；　in　the　child…nature；　are　due　to　the　harmonization　of　these　racial　inheritances　in　the　infant；　even　before　it　is　born；　and　that　after　birth　the　impact　of　the　outer　world　serves　rather　to　break　up　and　disintegrate　this　harmony　than　to　confirm　and　strengthen　it。　Some　psychologists　indeed　nowadays　go　so　far　as　to　maintain　that　the　child　is　not　only　'Father　of　the　man；'　but　superior　to　the　man；＇1＇　and　that　Boyhood　and　Youth　and　Maturity　are　attained　to　not

by　any　addition　but　by　a　process　of　loss　and　subtraction。　It　will　be　seen　that　the　last　ten　lines　of　the　above　quotation　rather　favor　this　view。

＇1＇　Man　in　the　course　of　his　life　falls　away　more　and　more　from　the　specifically　HUMAN　type　of　his　early　years；　but　the　Ape　in　the　course　of　his　short　life　goes　very　much　farther　along　the　road　of　degradation　and　premature　senility。〃　（Man　and　Woman；　by　Havelock　Ellis；　p。　24）。


But　my　object　in　making　the　quotation　was　not　to　insist　on　the　truth　of　its　application　to　the　individual　Child；　but　rather　to　point　out　the　remarkable　way　in　which　it　illustrates　what　I　have　said　about　the　Childhood　of　the　Race。　In　fact；　if　the　quotation　be　read　over　again　with　this　interpretation　（which　I　do　not　say　Wordsworth　intended）　that　the　'birth'　spoken　of　is　the　birth　or　evolution　of　the　distinctively　self…　conscious　Man　from　the　Animals　and　the　animal…natured；　unself…conscious　human　beings　of　a　preceding　age；　then　the　parable　unfolds　itself　perfectly　naturally　and　convincingly。　THAT　birth　certainly　was　sleep　and　a　forgetting；　the　grace　and　intuition　and　instinctive　perfection　of　the　animals　was　lost。　But　the　forgetfulness　was　not　entire；　the　memory　lingered　long　of　an　age　of　harmony；　of　an　Eden…　garden　left　behind。　And　trailing　clouds　of　this　remembrance　the　first　tribal　men；　on　the　edge　of　but　not　yet　WITHIN　the　civilization…period；　appear　in　the　dawn　of　History。

As　I　have　said　before；　the　period　of　the　dawn　of　Self…　consciousness　was　also　the　period　of　the　dawn　of　the　practical　and　inquiring　Intellect；　it　was　the　period　of　the　babyhood　of　both；　and　so　we　perceive　among　these　early　people　（as　we　also　do　among　children）　that　while　in　the　main　the　heart　and　the　intuitions　were　right；　the　intellect　was　for　a　long　period　futile　and　rambling　to　a　degree。　As　soon　as　the　mind　left　the　ancient　bases　of　instinct　and　sub…conscious　racial　experience　it　fell　into　a　hopeless　bog；　out　of　which　it　only　slowly　climbed　by　means　of　the　painfully…gathered　stepping…stones　of　logic　and　what　we　call　Science。　〃Heaven　lies　about　us　in　our　infancy。〃　Wordsworth　perceived　that　wonderful　world　of　inner　experience　and　glory　out　of　which　the　child　emerges；　and　some　even　of　us　may　perceive　that　similar　world　in　which　the　untampered　animals　STILL　dwell；　and　OUT　of　which　self…regarding　Man　in　the　history　of　the　race　was　long　ago　driven。　But　a　curse　went　with　the　exile。　As　the　Brain　grew；　the　Heart　withered。　The　inherited　instincts　and　racially　accumulated　wisdom；　on　which　the　first　men　thrived　and　by　means　of　which　they　achieved　a　kind　of　temporary　Paradise；　were　broken　up；　delusions　and　disease　and　dissension　set　in。　Cain　turned　upon　his　brother　and　slew　him；　and　the　shades　of　the　prison…　house　began　to　close。　The　growing　Boy；　however；　（by　whom　we　may　understand　the　early　tribes　of　Mankind）　had　yet　a　radiance　of　Light　and　joy　in　his　life；　and　the　Youththough　travelling　daily　farther　from　the　Eaststill　remained　Nature's　priest；　and　by　the　vision　splendid　was　on　his　way　attended：　but

　　　　　At　length　the　Man　perceived　it　die　away。　　　　　　And　fade　into　the　light　of　common　day。

What　a　strangely　apt　picture　in　a　few　words　（if　we　like　to　take　it　so）　of　the　long　pilgrimage　of　the　Human　Race；　its　early　and　pathetic　clinging　to　the　tradition　of　the　Eden…　garden；　its　careless　and　vigorous　boyhood；　its　meditative　youth；　with　consciousness　of　sin　and　endless　expiatory　ritual　in　Nature's　bosom；　its　fleeting　visions　of　salvation；　and　finally　its　complete　disillusionment　and　despair　in　the　world…　slaughter　and　unbelief　of　the　twentieth　century！

Leaving　Wordsworth；　however；　and　coming　back　to　our　main　line　of　thought；　we　may　point　out　that　while　early　peoples　were　intellectually　mere　babieswith　their　endless　yarns　about　heroes　on　horseback　leaping　over　wide　rivers　or　clouds　of　monks　flying　for　hundreds　of　miles　through　the　air；　and　their　utter　failure　to　understand　the　general　concatenations　of　cause　and　effectyet　practically　and　in　their　instinct　of　life　and　destiny　they　were；　as　I　have　already　said；　by　no　means　fools；　certainly　not　such　fools　as　many　of　the　arm…chair　students　of　these　things　delight　to　represent　them。　For　just　as；　a　few　years　ago；　we　modern　civilizees　studying　outlying　nations；　the　Chinese　for　instance；　rejoiced　（in　our　vanity）　to　pick　out　every　quaint　peculiarity　and　absurdity　and　monstrosity　of　a　supposed　topsyturvydom；　and　failed　entirely　to　see　the　real　picture　of　a　great　and　eminently　sensible　people；　so　in　the　case　of　primitive　men　we　have　been；　and　even　still　are；　far　too　prone　to　catalogue　their　cruelties　and　obscenities　and　idiotic　superstitions；　and　to　miss　the　sane　and　balanced　setting　of　their　actual　lives。

Mr。　R。　R。　Marett；　who　has　a　good　practical　acquaintance　with　his　subject；　had　in　the　Hibbert　Journal　for　October　1918　an　article　on　〃The　Primitive　Medicine　Man〃　in　which　he　shows　that　the　latter　is　as　a　rule　anything　but　a　fool　and　a　knavealthough　like　'medicals'　in　all　ages　he　hocuspocuses　his　patients　occasionally！　He　instances　the　medicine…　man's　excellent　management；　in　most　cases；　of　childbirth；　or　of　wounds　and　fractures；　or　his　primeval　skill　in　trepanning　or　trephiningall　of　which　operations；　he　admits；　may　be　accompanied　with　grotesque　and　superstitious　ceremonies；　yet　show　real　perception　and　ability。　We　all　knowthough　I　think　the　article　does　not　mention　the　matter　what　a　considerable　list　there　is　of　drugs　and　herbs　which　the　modern　art　of　healing　owes　to　the　ancient　medicine…man；　and　it　may　be　again　mentioned　that　one　of　the　most　up…to…　date　treatmentsthe　use　of　a　prolonged　and　exclusive　diet　of　MILK　as　a　means　of　giving　the　organism　a　new　start　in　severe　caseshas　really　come　down　to　us　through　the　ages　from　this　early　source。＇1＇　The　real　medicine…man；　Mr。　Marett　says；　is　largely　a　'faith…healer'　and　'soul…doctor'；　he　believes　in　his　vocation；　and　undergoes　much　for　the　sake　of　it：　〃The　main　point　is　to　grasp　that　by　his　special　initiation　and　the　rigid　taboos　which　he　practisesnot　to　speak　of　occasional　remarkable　gifts；　say　of　trance　and　ecstasy；　which　he　may　inherit　by　nature　and　have　improved　by　arthe　HAS　access　to　a　wonder…working　power。　。　。　。　And　the　great　need　of　primitive　folk　is　for　this　healer　of　souls。〃　Our　author　further　insists　on　the　enormous　play　and　influence　of　Fear　in　the　savage　minda　point　we　have　touched　on　alreadyand　gives　instances　of　Thanatomania；　or　cases　where；　after　a　quite　slight　and　superficial　wound；　the　patient　becomes　so　depressed　that　he；　quite　needlessly；　persists　in　dying！　Such　cases；　obviously；　can　only　be　countered　by　Faith；　or　something　（whatever　it　may　be）　which　restores　courage；　hope　and　energy　to　the　mind。　Nor　need　I　point　out　that　the　situation　is　exactly　the　same　among　a　vast　number　of　'patients'　to…day。　As　to　the　value；　in　his　degree；　of　the　medicine…man　many　modern　observers　and　students　quite　agree　with　the　above。＇2＇　Also　as　the　present　chapter　is　on　Ritual　Dancing　it　may　not　be　out　of　place　to　call　attention　to　the　supposed　healing　of　sick　people　in　Ceylon　and　other　places　by　Devil…dancingthe　enormous　output　of　energy　and　noise　in　the　ritual　possibly　having　the　effect　of　reanimating　the　patient　（if　it　does　not　kill　him）；　or　of　expelling　the　disease　from　his　organism。

＇1＇　Milk　（〃fast…milk〃　or　vrata）　was；　says　Mr。　Hewitt；　the　only　diet　in　the　Soma…sacrifice。　See　Ruling　Races　of　Prehistoric　Times　（preface）。　The　Soma　itself　was　a　fermented　drink　prepared　with　ceremony　from　the　milky　and　semen…like　sap　of　certain　plants；　and　much　used　in　sacrificial　offerings。　（See　Monier…Williams。　Sanskrit　Dictionary。）

＇2＇　See　Winwood　Reade　（Savage　Africa）；　Salamon　Reinach　（Cults；　Myths　and　Religions）；　and　others。


With　regard　to　the　practical　intelligence　of　primitive　pe