diff options
Diffstat (limited to '1061-h/1061-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | 1061-h/1061-h.htm | 8573 |
1 files changed, 8573 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/1061-h/1061-h.htm b/1061-h/1061-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7132bf0 --- /dev/null +++ b/1061-h/1061-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8573 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Myths and Myth-makers, by John Fiske + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1061 ***</div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + MYTHS AND MYTH-MAKERS + </h1> + <h2> + Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By John Fiske + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + La mythologie, cette science toute nouvelle, qui nous fait suivre les + croyances de nos peres, depuis le berceau du monde jusqu'aux superstitions + de nos campagnes.—EDMOND SCHERER + </p> + <p> + TO MY DEAR FRIEND, WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, IN REMEMBRANCE OF PLEASANT AUTUMN + EVENINGS SPENT AMONG WEREWOLVES AND TROLLS AND NIXIES, I dedicate THIS + RECORD OF OUR ADVENTURES. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + IN publishing this somewhat rambling and unsystematic series of papers, in + which I have endeavoured to touch briefly upon a great many of the most + important points in the study of mythology, I think it right to observe + that, in order to avoid confusing the reader with intricate discussions, I + have sometimes cut the matter short, expressing myself with dogmatic + definiteness where a sceptical vagueness might perhaps have seemed more + becoming. In treating of popular legends and superstitions, the paths of + inquiry are circuitous enough, and seldom can we reach a satisfactory + conclusion until we have travelled all the way around Robin Hood's barn + and back again. I am sure that the reader would not have thanked me for + obstructing these crooked lanes with the thorns and brambles of + philological and antiquarian discussion, to such an extent as perhaps to + make him despair of ever reaching the high road. I have not attempted to + review, otherwise than incidentally, the works of Grimm, Muller, Kuhn, + Breal, Dasent, and Tylor; nor can I pretend to have added anything of + consequence, save now and then some bit of explanatory comment, to the + results obtained by the labour of these scholars; but it has rather been + my aim to present these results in such a way as to awaken general + interest in them. And accordingly, in dealing with a subject which depends + upon philology almost as much as astronomy depends upon mathematics, I + have omitted philological considerations wherever it has been possible to + do so. Nevertheless, I believe that nothing has been advanced as + established which is not now generally admitted by scholars, and that + nothing has been advanced as probable for which due evidence cannot be + produced. Yet among many points which are proved, and many others which + are probable, there must always remain many other facts of which we cannot + feel sure that our own explanation is the true one; and the student who + endeavours to fathom the primitive thoughts of mankind, as enshrined in + mythology, will do well to bear in mind the modest words of Jacob Grimm,—himself + the greatest scholar and thinker who has ever dealt with this class of + subjects,—"I shall indeed interpret all that I can, but I cannot + interpret all that I should like." + </p> + <p> + PETERSHAM, September 6, 1872. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a> + </p> + <br /> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>MYTHS AND MYTH-MAKERS.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> I. THE ORIGINS OF FOLK-LORE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> II. THE DESCENT OF FIRE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> III. WEREWOLVES AND SWAN-MAIDENS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> IV. LIGHT AND DARKNESS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> V. MYTHS OF THE BARBARIC WORLD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VI. JUVENTUS MUNDI. [150] </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> VII. THE PRIMEVAL GHOST-WORLD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> NOTE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_FOOT"> FOOTNOTES: </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MYTHS AND MYTH-MAKERS. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. THE ORIGINS OF FOLK-LORE. + </h2> + <p> + FEW mediaeval heroes are so widely known as William Tell. His exploits + have been celebrated by one of the greatest poets and one of the most + popular musicians of modern times. They are doubtless familiar to many who + have never heard of Stauffacher or Winkelried, who are quite ignorant of + the prowess of Roland, and to whom Arthur and Lancelot, nay, even + Charlemagne, are but empty names. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, in spite of his vast reputation, it is very likely that no + such person as William Tell ever existed, and it is certain that the story + of his shooting the apple from his son's head has no historical value + whatever. In spite of the wrath of unlearned but patriotic Swiss, + especially of those of the cicerone class, this conclusion is forced upon + us as soon as we begin to study the legend in accordance with the canons + of modern historical criticism. It is useless to point to Tell's + lime-tree, standing to-day in the centre of the market-place at Altdorf, + or to quote for our confusion his crossbow preserved in the arsenal at + Zurich, as unimpeachable witnesses to the truth of the story. It is in + vain that we are told, "The bricks are alive to this day to testify to it; + therefore, deny it not." These proofs are not more valid than the + handkerchief of St. Veronica, or the fragments of the true cross. For if + relics are to be received as evidence, we must needs admit the truth of + every miracle narrated by the Bollandists. + </p> + <p> + The earliest work which makes any allusion to the adventures of William + Tell is the chronicle of the younger Melchior Russ, written in 1482. As + the shooting of the apple was supposed to have taken place in 1296, this + leaves an interval of one hundred and eighty-six years, during which + neither a Tell, nor a William, nor the apple, nor the cruelty of Gessler, + received any mention. It may also be observed, parenthetically, that the + charters of Kussenach, when examined, show that no man by the name of + Gessler ever ruled there. The chroniclers of the fifteenth century, Faber + and Hammerlin, who minutely describe the tyrannical acts by which the Duke + of Austria goaded the Swiss to rebellion, do not once mention Tell's name, + or betray the slightest acquaintance with his exploits or with his + existence. In the Zurich chronicle of 1479 he is not alluded to. But we + have still better negative evidence. John of Winterthur, one of the best + chroniclers of the Middle Ages, was living at the time of the battle of + Morgarten (1315), at which his father was present. He tells us how, on the + evening of that dreadful day, he saw Duke Leopold himself in his flight + from the fatal field, half dead with fear. He describes, with the loving + minuteness of a contemporary, all the incidents of the Swiss revolution, + but nowhere does he say a word about William Tell. This is sufficiently + conclusive. These mediaeval chroniclers, who never failed to go out of + their way after a bit of the epigrammatic and marvellous, who thought far + more of a pointed story than of historical credibility, would never have + kept silent about the adventures of Tell, if they had known anything about + them. + </p> + <p> + After this, it is not surprising to find that no two authors who describe + the deeds of William Tell agree in the details of topography and + chronology. Such discrepancies never fail to confront us when we leave the + solid ground of history and begin to deal with floating legends. Yet, if + the story be not historical, what could have been its origin? To answer + this question we must considerably expand the discussion. + </p> + <p> + The first author of any celebrity who doubted the story of William Tell + was Guillimann, in his work on Swiss Antiquities, published in 1598. He + calls the story a pure fable, but, nevertheless, eating his words, + concludes by proclaiming his belief in it, because the tale is so popular! + Undoubtedly he acted a wise part; for, in 1760, as we are told, Uriel + Freudenberger was condemned by the canton of Uri to be burnt alive, for + publishing his opinion that the legend of Tell had a Danish origin. <a + href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The bold heretic was substantially right, however, like so many other + heretics, earlier and later. The Danish account of Tell is given as + follows, by Saxo Grammaticus:— + </p> + <p> + "A certain Palnatoki, for some time among King Harold's body-guard, had + made his bravery odious to very many of his fellow-soldiers by the zeal + with which he surpassed them in the discharge of his duty. This man once, + when talking tipsily over his cups, had boasted that he was so skilled an + archer that he could hit the smallest apple placed a long way off on a + wand at the first shot; which talk, caught up at first by the ears of + backbiters, soon came to the hearing of the king. Now, mark how the + wickedness of the king turned the confidence of the sire to the peril of + the son, by commanding that this dearest pledge of his life should be + placed instead of the wand, with a threat that, unless the author of this + promise could strike off the apple at the first flight of the arrow, he + should pay the penalty of his empty boasting by the loss of his head. The + king's command forced the soldier to perform more than he had promised, + and what he had said, reported, by the tongues of slanderers, bound him to + accomplish what he had NOT said. Yet did not his sterling courage, though + caught in the snare of slander, suffer him to lay aside his firmness of + heart; nay, he accepted the trial the more readily because it was hard. So + Palnatoki warned the boy urgently when he took his stand to await the + coming of the hurtling arrow with calm ears and unbent head, lest, by a + slight turn of his body, he should defeat the practised skill of the + bowman; and, taking further counsel to prevent his fear, he turned away + his face, lest he should be scared at the sight of the weapon. Then, + taking three arrows from the quiver, he struck the mark given him with the + first he fitted to the string..... But Palnatoki, when asked by the king + why he had taken more arrows from the quiver, when it had been settled + that he should only try the fortune of the bow ONCE, made answer, 'That I + might avenge on thee the swerving of the first by the points of the rest, + lest perchance my innocence might have been punished, while your violence + escaped scot-free.'" <a href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" + id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> + </p> + <p> + This ruthless king is none other than the famous Harold Blue-tooth, and + the occurrence is placed by Saxo in the year 950. But the story appears + not only in Denmark, but in England, in Norway, in Finland and Russia, and + in Persia, and there is some reason for supposing that it was known in + India. In Norway we have the adventures of Pansa the Splay-footed, and of + Hemingr, a vassal of Harold Hardrada, who invaded England in 1066. In + Iceland there is the kindred legend of Egil brother of Wayland Smith, the + Norse Vulcan. In England there is the ballad of William of Cloudeslee, + which supplied Scott with many details of the archery scene in "Ivanhoe." + Here, says the dauntless bowman, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "I have a sonne seven years old; + Hee is to me full deere; + I will tye him to a stake— + All shall see him that bee here— + And lay an apple upon his head, + And goe six paces him froe, + And I myself with a broad arrowe + Shall cleave the apple in towe." +</pre> + <p> + In the Malleus Maleficarum a similar story is told Puncher, a famous + magician on the Upper Rhine. The great ethnologist Castren dug up the same + legend in Finland. It is common, as Dr. Dasent observes, to the Turks and + Mongolians; "and a legend of the wild Samoyeds, who never heard of Tell or + saw a book in their lives relates it, chapter and verse, of one of their + marksmen." Finally, in the Persian poem of Farid-Uddin Attar, born in + 1119, we read a story of a prince who shoots an apple from the head of a + beloved page. In all these stories, names and motives of course differ; + but all contain the same essential incidents. It is always an unerring + archer who, at the capricious command of a tyrant, shoots from the head of + some one dear to him a small object, be it an apple, a nut, or a piece of + coin. The archer always provides himself with a second arrow, and, when + questioned as to the use he intended to make of his extra weapon, the + invariable reply is, "To kill thee, tyrant, had I slain my son." Now, when + a marvellous occurrence is said to have happened everywhere, we may feel + sure that it never happened anywhere. Popular fancies propagate themselves + indefinitely, but historical events, especially the striking and dramatic + ones, are rarely repeated. The facts here collected lead inevitably to the + conclusion that the Tell myth was known, in its general features, to our + Aryan ancestors, before ever they left their primitive dwelling-place in + Central Asia. + </p> + <p> + It may, indeed, be urged that some one of these wonderful marksmen may + really have existed and have performed the feat recorded in the legend; + and that his true story, carried about by hearsay tradition from one + country to another and from age to age, may have formed the theme for all + the variations above mentioned, just as the fables of La Fontaine were + patterned after those of AEsop and Phaedrus, and just as many of Chaucer's + tales were consciously adopted from Boccaccio. No doubt there has been a + good deal of borrowing and lending among the legends of different peoples, + as well as among the words of different languages; and possibly even some + picturesque fragment of early history may have now and then been carried + about the world in this manner. But as the philologist can with almost + unerring certainty distinguish between the native and the imported words + in any Aryan language, by examining their phonetic peculiarities, so the + student of popular traditions, though working with far less perfect + instruments, can safely assert, with reference to a vast number of + legends, that they cannot have been obtained by any process of conscious + borrowing. The difficulties inseparable from any such hypothesis will + become more and more apparent as we proceed to examine a few other stories + current in different portions of the Aryan domain. + </p> + <p> + As the Swiss must give up his Tell, so must the Welshman be deprived of + his brave dog Gellert, over whose cruel fate I confess to having shed more + tears than I should regard as well bestowed upon the misfortunes of many a + human hero of romance. Every one knows how the dear old brute killed the + wolf which had come to devour Llewellyn's child, and how the prince, + returning home and finding the cradle upset and the dog's mouth dripping + blood, hastily slew his benefactor, before the cry of the child from + behind the cradle and the sight of the wolf's body had rectified his + error. To this day the visitor to Snowdon is told the touching story, and + shown the place, called Beth-Gellert, <a href="#linknote-3" + name="linknoteref-3" id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> where the + dog's grave is still to be seen. Nevertheless, the story occurs in the + fireside lore of nearly every Aryan people. Under the Gellert-form it + started in the Panchatantra, a collection of Sanskrit fables; and it has + even been discovered in a Chinese work which dates from A. D. 668. Usually + the hero is a dog, but sometimes a falcon, an ichneumon, an insect, or + even a man. In Egypt it takes the following comical shape: "A Wali once + smashed a pot full of herbs which a cook had prepared. The exasperated + cook thrashed the well-intentioned but unfortunate Wali within an inch of + his life, and when he returned, exhausted with his efforts at belabouring + the man, to examine the broken pot, he discovered amongst the herbs a + poisonous snake." <a href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" + id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> Now this story of the Wali is as + manifestly identical with the legend of Gellert as the English word FATHER + is with the Latin pater; but as no one would maintain that the word father + is in any sense derived from pater, so it would be impossible to represent + either the Welsh or the Egyptian legend as a copy of the other. Obviously + the conclusion is forced upon us that the stories, like the words, are + related collaterally, having descended from a common ancestral legend, or + having been suggested by one and the same primeval idea. + </p> + <p> + Closely connected with the Gellert myth are the stories of Faithful John + and of Rama and Luxman. In the German story, Faithful John accompanies the + prince, his master, on a journey in quest of a beautiful maiden, whom he + wishes to make his bride. As they are carrying her home across the seas, + Faithful John hears some crows, whose language he understands, foretelling + three dangers impending over the prince, from which his friend can save + him only by sacrificing his own life. As soon as they land, a horse will + spring toward the king, which, if he mounts it, will bear him away from + his bride forever; but whoever shoots the horse, and tells the king the + reason, will be turned into stone from toe to knee. Then, before the + wedding a bridal garment will lie before the king, which, if he puts it + on, will burn him like the Nessos-shirt of Herakles; but whoever throws + the shirt into the fire and tells the king the reason, will be turned into + stone from knee to heart. Finally, during the wedding-festivities, the + queen will suddenly fall in a swoon, and "unless some one takes three + drops of blood from her right breast she will die"; but whoever does so, + and tells the king the reason, will be turned into stone from head to + foot. Thus forewarned, Faithful John saves his master from all these + dangers; but the king misinterprets his motive in bleeding his wife, and + orders him to be hanged. On the scaffold he tells his story, and while the + king humbles himself in an agony of remorse, his noble friend is turned + into stone. + </p> + <p> + In the South Indian tale Luxman accompanies Rama, who is carrying home his + bride. Luxman overhears two owls talking about the perils that await his + master and mistress. First he saves them from being crushed by the falling + limb of a banyan-tree, and then he drags them away from an arch which + immediately after gives way. By and by, as they rest under a tree, the + king falls asleep. A cobra creeps up to the queen, and Luxman kills it + with his sword; but, as the owls had foretold, a drop of the cobra's blood + falls on the queen's forehead. As Luxman licks off the blood, the king + starts up, and, thinking that his vizier is kissing his wife, upbraids him + with his ingratitude, whereupon Luxman, through grief at this unkind + interpretation of his conduct, is turned into stone. <a href="#linknote-5" + name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> + </p> + <p> + For further illustration we may refer to the Norse tale of the "Giant who + had no Heart in his Body," as related by Dr. Dasent. This burly magician + having turned six brothers with their wives into stone, the seventh + brother—the crafty Boots or many-witted Odysseus of European + folk-lore—sets out to obtain vengeance if not reparation for the + evil done to his kith and kin. On the way he shows the kindness of his + nature by rescuing from destruction a raven, a salmon, and a wolf. The + grateful wolf carries him on his back to the giant's castle, where the + lovely princess whom the monster keeps in irksome bondage promises to act, + in behalf of Boots, the part of Delilah, and to find out, if possible, + where her lord keeps his heart. The giant, like the Jewish hero, finally + succumbs to feminine blandishments. "Far, far away in a lake lies an + island; on that island stands a church; in that church is a well; in that + well swims a duck; in that duck there is an egg; and in that egg there + lies my heart, you darling." Boots, thus instructed, rides on the wolf's + back to the island; the raven flies to the top of the steeple and gets the + church-keys; the salmon dives to the bottom of the well, and brings up the + egg from the place where the duck had dropped it; and so Boots becomes + master of the situation. As he squeezes the egg, the giant, in mortal + terror, begs and prays for his life, which Boots promises to spare on + condition that his brothers and their brides should be released from their + enchantment. But when all has been duly effected, the treacherous youth + squeezes the egg in two, and the giant instantly bursts. + </p> + <p> + The same story has lately been found in Southern India, and is published + in Miss Frere's remarkable collection of tales entitled "Old Deccan Days." + In the Hindu version the seven daughters of a rajah, with their husbands, + are transformed into stone by the great magician Punchkin,—all save + the youngest daughter, whom Punchkin keeps shut up in a tower until by + threats or coaxing he may prevail upon her to marry him. But the captive + princess leaves a son at home in the cradle, who grows up to manhood + unmolested, and finally undertakes the rescue of his family. After long + and weary wanderings he finds his mother shut up in Punchkin's tower, and + persuades her to play the part of the princess in the Norse legend. The + trick is equally successful. "Hundreds of thousands of miles away there + lies a desolate country covered with thick jungle. In the midst of the + jungle grows a circle of palm-trees, and in the centre of the circle stand + six jars full of water, piled one above another; below the sixth jar is a + small cage which contains a little green parrot; on the life of the parrot + depends my life, and if the parrot is killed I must die." <a + href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + The young prince finds the place guarded by a host of dragons, but some + eaglets whom he has saved from a devouring serpent in the course of his + journey take him on their crossed wings and carry him to the place where + the jars are standing. He instantly overturns the jars, and seizing the + parrot, obtains from the terrified magician full reparation. As soon as + his own friends and a stately procession of other royal or noble victims + have been set at liberty, he proceeds to pull the parrot to pieces. As the + wings and legs come away, so tumble off the arms and legs of the magician; + and finally as the prince wrings the bird's neck, Punchkin twists his own + head round and dies. + </p> + <p> + The story is also told in the highlands of Scotland, and some portions of + it will be recognized by the reader as incidents in the Arabian tale of + the Princess Parizade. The union of close correspondence in conception + with manifest independence in the management of the details of these + stories is striking enough, but it is a phenomenon with which we become + quite familiar as we proceed in the study of Aryan popular literature. The + legend of the Master Thief is no less remarkable than that of Punchkin. In + the Scandinavian tale the Thief, wishing to get possession of a farmer's + ox, carefully hangs himself to a tree by the roadside. The farmer, passing + by with his ox, is indeed struck by the sight of the dangling body, but + thinks it none of his business, and does not stop to interfere. No sooner + has he passed than the Thief lets himself down, and running swiftly along + a by-path, hangs himself with equal precaution to a second tree. This time + the farmer is astonished and puzzled; but when for the third time he meets + the same unwonted spectacle, thinking that three suicides in one morning + are too much for easy credence, he leaves his ox and runs back to see + whether the other two bodies are really where he thought he saw them. + While he is framing hypotheses of witchcraft by which to explain the + phenomenon, the Thief gets away with the ox. In the Hitopadesa the story + receives a finer point. "A Brahman, who had vowed a sacrifice, went to the + market to buy a goat. Three thieves saw him, and wanted to get hold of the + goat. They stationed themselves at intervals on the high road. When the + Brahman, who carried the goat on his back, approached the first thief, the + thief said, 'Brahman, why do you carry a dog on your back?' The Brahman + replied, 'It is not a dog, it is a goat.' A little while after he was + accosted by the second thief, who said, 'Brahman, why do you carry a dog + on your back?' The Brahman felt perplexed, put the goat down, examined it, + took it up again, and walked on. Soon after he was stopped by the third + thief, who said, 'Brahman, why do you carry a dog on your back?' Then the + Brahman was frightened, threw down the goat, and walked home to perform + his ablutions for having touched an unclean animal. The thieves took the + goat and ate it." The adroitness of the Norse King in "The Three + Princesses of Whiteland" shows but poorly in comparison with the keen + psychological insight and cynical sarcasm of these Hindu sharpers. In the + course of his travels this prince met three brothers fighting on a lonely + moor. They had been fighting for a hundred years about the possession of a + hat, a cloak, and a pair of boots, which would make the wearer invisible, + and convey him instantly whithersoever he might wish to go. The King + consents to act as umpire, provided he may once try the virtue of the + magic garments; but once clothed in them, of course he disappears, leaving + the combatants to sit down and suck their thumbs. Now in the "Sea of + Streams of Story," written in the twelfth century by Somadeva of Cashmere, + the Indian King Putraka, wandering in the Vindhya Mountains, similarly + discomfits two brothers who are quarrelling over a pair of shoes, which + are like the sandals of Hermes, and a bowl which has the same virtue as + Aladdin's lamp. "Why don't you run a race for them?" suggests Putraka; + and, as the two blockheads start furiously off, he quietly picks up the + bowl, ties on the shoes, and flies away! <a href="#linknote-7" + name="linknoteref-7" id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> + </p> + <p> + It is unnecessary to cite further illustrations. The tales here quoted are + fair samples of the remarkable correspondence which holds good through all + the various sections of Aryan folk-lore. The hypothesis of lateral + diffusion, as we may call it, manifestly fails to explain coincidences + which are maintained on such an immense scale. It is quite credible that + one nation may have borrowed from another a solitary legend of an archer + who performs the feats of Tell and Palnatoki; but it is utterly incredible + that ten thousand stories, constituting the entire mass of household + mythology throughout a dozen separate nations, should have been handed + from one to another in this way. No one would venture to suggest that the + old grannies of Iceland and Norway, to whom we owe such stories as the + Master Thief and the Princesses of Whiteland, had ever read Somadeva or + heard of the treasures of Rhampsinitos. A large proportion of the tales + with which we are dealing were utterly unknown to literature until they + were taken down by Grimm and Frere and Castren and Campbell, from the lips + of ignorant peasants, nurses, or house-servants, in Germany and Hindustan, + in Siberia and Scotland. Yet, as Mr. Cox observes, these old men and + women, sitting by the chimney-corner and somewhat timidly recounting to + the literary explorer the stories which they had learned in childhood from + their own nurses and grandmas, "reproduce the most subtle turns of thought + and expression, and an endless series of complicated narratives, in which + the order of incidents and the words of the speakers are preserved with a + fidelity nowhere paralleled in the oral tradition of historical events. It + may safely be said that no series of stories introduced in the form of + translations from other languages could ever thus have filtered down into + the lowest strata of society, and thence have sprung up again, like + Antaios, with greater energy and heightened beauty." There is indeed no + alternative for us but to admit that these fireside tales have been handed + down from parent to child for more than a hundred generations; that the + primitive Aryan cottager, as he took his evening meal of yava and sipped + his fermented mead, listened with his children to the stories of Boots and + Cinderella and the Master Thief, in the days when the squat Laplander was + master of Europe and the dark-skinned Sudra was as yet unmolested in the + Punjab. Only such community of origin can explain the community in + character between the stories told by the Aryan's descendants, from the + jungles of Ceylon to the highlands of Scotland. + </p> + <p> + This conclusion essentially modifies our view of the origin and growth of + a legend like that of William Tell. The case of the Tell legend is + radically different from the case of the blindness of Belisarius or the + burning of the Alexandrian library by order of Omar. The latter are + isolated stories or beliefs; the former is one of a family of stories or + beliefs. The latter are untrustworthy traditions of doubtful events; but + in dealing with the former, we are face to face with a MYTH. + </p> + <p> + What, then, is a myth? The theory of Euhemeros, which was so fashionable a + century ago, in the days of the Abbe Banier, has long since been so + utterly abandoned that to refute it now is but to slay the slain. The + peculiarity of this theory was that it cut away all the extraordinary + features of a given myth, wherein dwelt its inmost significance, and to + the dull and useless residuum accorded the dignity of primeval history. In + this way the myth was lost without compensation, and the student, in + seeking good digestible bread, found but the hardest of pebbles. + Considered merely as a pretty story, the legend of the golden fruit + watched by the dragon in the garden of the Hesperides is not without its + value. But what merit can there be in the gratuitous statement which, + degrading the grand Doric hero to a level with any vulgar fruit-stealer, + makes Herakles break a close with force and arms, and carry off a crop of + oranges which had been guarded by mastiffs? It is still worse when we come + to the more homely folk-lore with which the student of mythology now has + to deal. The theories of Banier, which limped and stumbled awkwardly + enough when it was only a question of Hermes and Minos and Odin, have + fallen never to rise again since the problems of Punchkin and Cinderella + and the Blue Belt have begun to demand solution. The conclusion has been + gradually forced upon the student, that the marvellous portion of these + old stories is no illegitimate extres-cence, but was rather the pith and + centre of the whole, <a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" + id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> in days when there was no + supernatural, because it had not yet been discovered that there was such a + thing as nature. The religious myths of antiquity and the fireside legends + of ancient and modern times have their common root in the mental habits of + primeval humanity. They are the earliest recorded utterances of men + concerning the visible phenomena of the world into which they were born. + </p> + <p> + That prosaic and coldly rational temper with which modern men are wont to + regard natural phenomena was in early times unknown. We have come to + regard all events as taking place regularly, in strict conformity to law: + whatever our official theories may be, we instinctively take this view of + things. But our primitive ancestors knew nothing about laws of nature, + nothing about physical forces, nothing about the relations of cause and + effect, nothing about the necessary regularity of things. There was a time + in the history of mankind when these things had never been inquired into, + and when no generalizations about them had been framed, tested, or + established. There was no conception of an order of nature, and therefore + no distinct conception of a supernatural order of things. There was no + belief in miracles as infractions of natural laws, but there was a belief + in the occurrence of wonderful events too mighty to have been brought + about by ordinary means. There was an unlimited capacity for believing and + fancying, because fancy and belief had not yet been checked and headed off + in various directions by established rules of experience. Physical science + is a very late acquisition of the human mind, but we are already + sufficiently imbued with it to be almost completely disabled from + comprehending the thoughts of our ancestors. "How Finn cosmogonists could + have believed the earth and heaven to be made out of a severed egg, the + upper concave shell representing heaven, the yolk being earth, and the + crystal surrounding fluid the circumambient ocean, is to us + incomprehensible; and yet it remains a fact that they did so regard them. + How the Scandinavians could have supposed the mountains to be the + mouldering bones of a mighty Jotun, and the earth to be his festering + flesh, we cannot conceive; yet such a theory was solemnly taught and + accepted. How the ancient Indians could regard the rain-clouds as cows + with full udders milked by the winds of heaven is beyond our + comprehension, and yet their Veda contains indisputable testimony to the + fact that they were so regarded." We have only to read Mr. Baring-Gould's + book of "Curious Myths," from which I have just quoted, or to dip into Mr. + Thorpe's treatise on "Northern Mythology," to realize how vast is the + difference between our stand-point and that from which, in the later + Middle Ages, our immediate forefathers regarded things. The frightful + superstition of werewolves is a good instance. In those days it was firmly + believed that men could be, and were in the habit of being, transformed + into wolves. It was believed that women might bring forth snakes or + poodle-dogs. It was believed that if a man had his side pierced in battle, + you could cure him by nursing the sword which inflicted the wound. "As + late as 1600 a German writer would illustrate a thunder-storm destroying a + crop of corn by a picture of a dragon devouring the produce of the field + with his flaming tongue and iron teeth." + </p> + <p> + Now if such was the condition of the human intellect only three or four + centuries ago, what must it have been in that dark antiquity when not even + the crudest generalizations of Greek or of Oriental science had been + reached? The same mighty power of imagination which now, restrained and + guided by scientific principles, leads us to discoveries and inventions, + must then have wildly run riot in mythologic fictions whereby to explain + the phenomena of nature. Knowing nothing whatever of physical forces, of + the blind steadiness with which a given effect invariably follows its + cause, the men of primeval antiquity could interpret the actions of nature + only after the analogy of their own actions. The only force they knew was + the force of which they were directly conscious,—the force of will. + Accordingly, they imagined all the outward world to be endowed with + volition, and to be directed by it. They personified everything,—sky, + clouds, thunder, sun, moon, ocean, earthquake, whirlwind. <a + href="#linknote-9" name="linknoteref-9" id="linknoteref-9"><small>9</small></a> + The comparatively enlightened Athenians of the age of Perikles addressed + the sky as a person, and prayed to it to rain upon their gardens. <a + href="#linknote-10" name="linknoteref-10" id="linknoteref-10"><small>10</small></a> + And for calling the moon a mass of dead matter, Anaxagoras came near + losing his life. To the ancients the moon was not a lifeless ball of + stones and clods: it was the horned huntress, Artemis, coursing through + the upper ether, or bathing herself in the clear lake; or it was + Aphrodite, protectress of lovers, born of the sea-foam in the East near + Cyprus. The clouds were no bodies of vaporized water: they were cows with + swelling udders, driven to the milking by Hermes, the summer wind; or + great sheep with moist fleeces, slain by the unerring arrows of + Bellerophon, the sun; or swan-maidens, flitting across the firmament, + Valkyries hovering over the battle-field to receive the souls of falling + heroes; or, again, they were mighty mountains piled one above another, in + whose cavernous recesses the divining-wand of the storm-god Thor revealed + hidden treasures. The yellow-haired sun, Phoibos, drove westerly all day + in his flaming chariot; or perhaps, as Meleagros, retired for a while in + disgust from the sight of men; wedded at eventide the violet light + (Oinone, Iole), which he had forsaken in the morning; sank, as Herakles, + upon a blazing funeral-pyre, or, like Agamemnon, perished in a + blood-stained bath; or, as the fish-god, Dagon, swam nightly through the + subterranean waters, to appear eastward again at daybreak. Sometimes + Phaethon, his rash, inexperienced son, would take the reins and drive the + solar chariot too near the earth, causing the fruits to perish, and the + grass to wither, and the wells to dry up. Sometimes, too, the great + all-seeing divinity, in his wrath at the impiety of men, would shoot down + his scorching arrows, causing pestilence to spread over the land. Still + other conceptions clustered around the sun. Now it was the wonderful + treasure-house, into which no one could look and live; and again it was + Ixion himself, bound on the fiery wheel in punishment for violence offered + to Here, the queen of the blue air. + </p> + <p> + This theory of ancient mythology is not only beautiful and plausible, it + is, in its essential points, demonstrated. It stands on as firm a + foundation as Grimm's law in philology, or the undulatory theory in + molecular physics. It is philology which has here enabled us to read the + primitive thoughts of mankind. A large number of the names of Greek gods + and heroes have no meaning in the Greek language; but these names occur + also in Sanskrit, with plain physical meanings. In the Veda we find Zeus + or Jupiter (Dyaus-pitar) meaning the sky, and Sarameias or Hermes, meaning + the breeze of a summer morning. We find Athene (Ahana), meaning the light + of daybreak; and we are thus enabled to understand why the Greek described + her as sprung from the forehead of Zeus. There too we find Helena + (Sarama), the fickle twilight, whom the Panis, or night-demons, who serve + as the prototypes of the Hellenic Paris, strive to seduce from her + allegiance to the solar monarch. Even Achilleus (Aharyu) again confronts + us, with his captive Briseis (Brisaya's offspring); and the fierce + Kerberos (Carvara) barks on Vedic ground in strict conformity to the laws + of phonetics. <a href="#linknote-11" name="linknoteref-11" + id="linknoteref-11"><small>11</small></a> Now, when the Hindu talked about + Father Dyaus, or the sleek kine of Siva, he thought of the personified sky + and clouds; he had not outgrown the primitive mental habits of the race. + But the Greek, in whose language these physical meanings were lost, had + long before the Homeric epoch come to regard Zeus and Hermes, Athene, + Helena, Paris, and Achilleus, as mere persons, and in most cases the + originals of his myths were completely forgotten. In the Vedas the Trojan + War is carried on in the sky, between the bright deities and the demons of + night; but the Greek poet, influenced perhaps by some dim historical + tradition, has located the contest on the shore of the Hellespont, and in + his mind the actors, though superhuman, are still completely + anthropomorphic. Of the true origin of his epic story he knew as little as + Euhemeros, or Lord Bacon, or the Abbe Banier. + </p> + <p> + After these illustrations, we shall run no risk of being misunderstood + when we define a myth as, in its origin, an explanation, by the + uncivilized mind, of some natural phenomenon; not an allegory, not an + esoteric symbol,—for the ingenuity is wasted which strives to detect + in myths the remnants of a refined primeval science,—but an + explanation. Primitive men had no profound science to perpetuate by means + of allegory, nor were they such sorry pedants as to talk in riddles when + plain language would serve their purpose. Their minds, we may be sure, + worked like our own, and when they spoke of the far-darting sun-god, they + meant just what they said, save that where we propound a scientific + theorem, they constructed a myth. <a href="#linknote-12" + name="linknoteref-12" id="linknoteref-12"><small>12</small></a> A thing is + said to be explained when it is classified with other things with which we + are already acquainted. That is the only kind of explanation of which the + highest science is capable. We explain the origin, progress, and ending of + a thunder-storm, when we classify the phenomena presented by it along with + other more familiar phenomena of vaporization and condensation. But the + primitive man explained the same thing to his own satisfaction when he had + classified it along with the well-known phenomena of human volition, by + constructing a theory of a great black dragon pierced by the unerring + arrows of a heavenly archer. We consider the nature of the stars to a + certain extent explained when they are classified as suns; but the + Mohammedan compiler of the "Mishkat-ul-Ma'sabih" was content to explain + them as missiles useful for stoning the Devil! Now, as soon as the old + Greek, forgetting the source of his conception, began to talk of a human + Oidipous slaying a leonine Sphinx, and as soon as the Mussulman began, if + he ever did, to tell his children how the Devil once got a good pelting + with golden bullets, then both the one and the other were talking pure + mythology. + </p> + <p> + We are justified, accordingly, in distinguishing between a myth and a + legend. Though the words are etymologically parallel, and though in + ordinary discourse we may use them interchangeably, yet when strict + accuracy is required, it is well to keep them separate. And it is perhaps + needless, save for the sake of completeness, to say that both are to be + distinguished from stories which have been designedly fabricated. The + distinction may occasionally be subtle, but is usually broad enough. Thus, + the story that Philip II. murdered his wife Elizabeth, is a + misrepresentation; but the story that the same Elizabeth was culpably + enamoured of her step-son Don Carlos, is a legend. The story that Queen + Eleanor saved the life of her husband, Edward I., by sucking a wound made + in his arm by a poisoned arrow, is a legend; but the story that Hercules + killed a great robber, Cacus, who had stolen his cattle, conceals a + physical meaning, and is a myth. While a legend is usually confined to one + or two localities, and is told of not more than one or two persons, it is + characteristic of a myth that it is spread, in one form or another, over a + large part of the earth, the leading incidents remaining constant, while + the names and often the motives vary with each locality. This is partly + due to the immense antiquity of myths, dating as they do from a period + when many nations, now widely separated, had not yet ceased to form one + people. Thus many elements of the myth of the Trojan War are to be found + in the Rig-Veda; and the myth of St. George and the Dragon is found in all + the Aryan nations. But we must not always infer that myths have a common + descent, merely because they resemble each other. We must remember that + the proceedings of the uncultivated mind are more or less alike in all + latitudes, and that the same phenomenon might in various places + independently give rise to similar stories. <a href="#linknote-13" + name="linknoteref-13" id="linknoteref-13"><small>13</small></a> The myth + of Jack and the Beanstalk is found not only among people of Aryan descent, + but also among the Zulus of South Africa, and again among the American + Indians. Whenever we can trace a story in this way from one end of the + world to the other, or through a whole family of kindred nations, we are + pretty safe in assuming that we are dealing with a true myth, and not with + a mere legend. + </p> + <p> + Applying these considerations to the Tell myth, we at once obtain a valid + explanation of its origin. The conception of infallible skill in archery, + which underlies such a great variety of myths and popular fairy-tales, is + originally derived from the inevitable victory of the sun over his + enemies, the demons of night, winter, and tempest. Arrows and spears which + never miss their mark, swords from whose blow no armour can protect, are + invariably the weapons of solar divinities or heroes. The shafts of + Bellerophon never fail to slay the black demon of the rain-cloud, and the + bolt of Phoibos Chrysaor deals sure destruction to the serpent of winter. + Odysseus, warring against the impious night-heroes, who have endeavoured + throughout ten long years or hours of darkness to seduce from her + allegiance his twilight-bride, the weaver of the never-finished web of + violet clouds,—Odysseus, stripped of his beggar's raiment and + endowed with fresh youth and beauty by the dawn-goddess, Athene, engages + in no doubtful conflict as he raises the bow which none but himself can + bend. Nor is there less virtue in the spear of Achilleus, in the swords of + Perseus and Sigurd, in Roland's stout blade Durandal, or in the brand + Excalibur, with which Sir Bedivere was so loath to part. All these are + solar weapons, and so, too, are the arrows of Tell and Palnatoki, Egil and + Hemingr, and William of Cloudeslee, whose surname proclaims him an + inhabitant of the Phaiakian land. William Tell, whether of Cloudland or of + Altdorf, is the last reflection of the beneficent divinity of daytime and + summer, constrained for a while to obey the caprice of the powers of cold + and darkness, as Apollo served Laomedon, and Herakles did the bidding of + Eurystheus. His solar character is well preserved, even in the sequel of + the Swiss legend, in which he appears no less skilful as a steersman than + as an archer, and in which, after traversing, like Dagon, the tempestuous + sea of night, he leaps at daybreak in regained freedom upon the land, and + strikes down the oppressor who has held him in bondage. + </p> + <p> + But the sun, though ever victorious in open contest with his enemies, is + nevertheless not invulnerable. At times he succumbs to treachery, is bound + by the frost-giants, or slain by the demons of darkness. The poisoned + shirt of the cloud-fiend Nessos is fatal even to the mighty Herakles, and + the prowess of Siegfried at last fails to save him from the craft of + Hagen. In Achilleus and Meleagros we see the unhappy solar hero doomed to + toil for the profit of others, and to be cut off by an untimely death. The + more fortunate Odysseus, who lives to a ripe old age, and triumphs again + and again over all the powers of darkness, must nevertheless yield to the + craving desire to visit new cities and look upon new works of strange men, + until at last he is swallowed up in the western sea. That the unrivalled + navigator of the celestial ocean should disappear beneath the western + waves is as intelligible as it is that the horned Venus or Astarte should + rise from the sea in the far east. It is perhaps less obvious that winter + should be so frequently symbolized as a thorn or sharp instrument. + Achilleus dies by an arrow-wound in the heel; the thigh of Adonis is + pierced by the boar's tusk, while Odysseus escapes with an ugly scar, + which afterwards secures his recognition by his old servant, the + dawn-nymph Eurykleia; Sigurd is slain by a thorn, and Balder by a sharp + sprig of mistletoe; and in the myth of the Sleeping Beauty, the + earth-goddess sinks into her long winter sleep when pricked by the point + of the spindle. In her cosmic palace, all is locked in icy repose, naught + thriving save the ivy which defies the cold, until the kiss of the + golden-haired sun-god reawakens life and activity. + </p> + <p> + The wintry sleep of nature is symbolized in innumerable stories of + spell-bound maidens and fair-featured youths, saints, martyrs, and heroes. + Sometimes it is the sun, sometimes the earth, that is supposed to slumber. + Among the American Indians the sun-god Michabo is said to sleep through + the winter months; and at the time of the falling leaves, by way of + composing himself for his nap, he fills his great pipe and divinely + smokes; the blue clouds, gently floating over the landscape, fill the air + with the haze of Indian summer. In the Greek myth the shepherd Endymion + preserves his freshness in a perennial slumber. The German Siegfried, + pierced by the thorn of winter, is sleeping until he shall be again called + forth to fight. In Switzerland, by the Vierwald-stattersee, three Tells + are awaiting the hour when their country shall again need to be delivered + from the oppressor. Charlemagne is reposing in the Untersberg, sword in + hand, waiting for the coming of Antichrist; Olger Danske similarly dreams + away his time in Avallon; and in a lofty mountain in Thuringia, the great + Emperor Yrederic Barbarossa slumbers with his knights around him, until + the time comes for him to sally forth and raise Germany to the first rank + among the kingdoms of the world. The same story is told of Olaf + Tryggvesson, of Don Sebastian of Portugal, and of the Moorish King + Boabdil. The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, having taken refuge in a cave from + the persecutions of the heathen Decius, slept one hundred and sixty-four + years, and awoke to find a Christian emperor on the throne. The monk of + Hildesheim, in the legend so beautifully rendered by Longfellow, doubting + how with God a thousand years ago could be as yesterday, listened three + minutes entranced by the singing of a bird in the forest, and found, on + waking from his revery, that a thousand years had flown. To the same + family of legends belong the notion that St. John is sleeping at Ephesus + until the last days of the world; the myth of the enchanter Merlin, + spell-bound by Vivien; the story of the Cretan philosopher Epimenides, who + dozed away fifty-seven years in a cave; and Rip Van Winkle's nap in the + Catskills. <a href="#linknote-14" name="linknoteref-14" id="linknoteref-14"><small>14</small></a> + </p> + <p> + We might go on almost indefinitely citing household tales of wonderful + sleepers; but, on the principle of the association of opposites, we are + here reminded of sundry cases of marvellous life and wakefulness, + illustrated in the Wandering Jew; the dancers of Kolbeck; Joseph of + Arimathaea with the Holy Grail; the Wild Huntsman who to all eternity + chases the red deer; the Captain of the Phantom Ship; the classic + Tithonos; and the Man in the Moon. + </p> + <p> + The lunar spots have afforded a rich subject for the play of human fancy. + Plutarch wrote a treatise on them, but the myth-makers had been before + him. "Every one," says Mr. Baring-Gould, "knows that the moon is inhabited + by a man with a bundle of sticks on his back, who has been exiled thither + for many centuries, and who is so far off that he is beyond the reach of + death. He has once visited this earth, if the nursery rhyme is to be + credited when it asserts that + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The Man in the Moon + Came down too soon + And asked his way to Norwich'; +</pre> + <p> + but whether he ever reached that city the same authority does not state." + Dante calls him Cain; Chaucer has him put up there as a punishment for + theft, and gives him a thorn-bush to carry; Shakespeare also loads him + with the thorns, but by way of compensation gives him a dog for a + companion. Ordinarily, however, his offence is stated to have been, not + stealing, but Sabbath-breaking,—an idea derived from the Old + Testament. Like the man mentioned in the Book of Numbers, he is caught + gathering sticks on the Sabbath; and, as an example to mankind, he is + condemned to stand forever in the moon, with his bundle on his back. + Instead of a dog, one German version places with him a woman, whose crime + was churning butter on Sunday. She carries her butter-tub; and this brings + us to Mother Goose again:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Jack and Jill went up the hill + To get a pail of water. + Jack fell down and broke his crown, + And Jill came tumbling after." +</pre> + <p> + This may read like mere nonsense; but there is a point of view from which + it may be safely said that there is very little absolute nonsense in the + world. The story of Jack and Jill is a venerable one. In Icelandic + mythology we read that Jack and Jill were two children whom the moon once + kidnapped and carried up to heaven. They had been drawing water in a + bucket, which they were carrying by means of a pole placed across their + shoulders; and in this attitude they have stood to the present day in the + moon. Even now this explanation of the moon-spots is to be heard from the + mouths of Swedish peasants. They fall away one after the other, as the + moon wanes, and their water-pail symbolizes the supposed connection of the + moon with rain-storms. Other forms of the myth occur in Sanskrit. + </p> + <p> + The moon-goddess, or Aphrodite, of the ancient Germans, was called Horsel, + or Ursula, who figures in Christian mediaeval mythology as a persecuted + saint, attended by a troop of eleven thousand virgins, who all suffer + martyrdom as they journey from England to Cologne. The meaning of the myth + is obvious. In German mythology, England is the Phaiakian land of clouds + and phantoms; the succubus, leaving her lover before daybreak, excuses + herself on the plea that "her mother is calling her in England." <a + href="#linknote-15" name="linknoteref-15" id="linknoteref-15"><small>15</small></a> + The companions of Ursula are the pure stars, who leave the cloudland and + suffer martyrdom as they approach the regions of day. In the Christian + tradition, Ursula is the pure Artemis; but, in accordance with her ancient + character, she is likewise the sensual Aphrodite, who haunts the + Venusberg; and this brings us to the story of Tannhauser. + </p> + <p> + The Horselberg, or mountain of Venus, lies in Thuringia, between Eisenach + and Gotha. High up on its slope yawns a cavern, the Horselloch, or cave of + Venus within which is heard a muffled roar, as of subterranean water. From + this cave, in old times, the frightened inhabitants of the neighbouring + valley would hear at night wild moans and cries issuing, mingled with + peals of demon-like laughter. Here it was believed that Venus held her + court; "and there were not a few who declared that they had seen fair + forms of female beauty beckoning them from the mouth of the chasm." <a + href="#linknote-16" name="linknoteref-16" id="linknoteref-16"><small>16</small></a> + Tannhauser was a Frankish knight and famous minnesinger, who, travelling + at twilight past the Horselberg, "saw a white glimmering figure of + matchless beauty standing before him and beckoning him to her." Leaving + his horse, he went up to meet her, whom he knew to be none other than + Venus. He descended to her palace in the heart of the mountain, and there + passed seven years in careless revelry. Then, stricken with remorse and + yearning for another glimpse of the pure light of day, he called in agony + upon the Virgin Mother, who took compassion on him and released him. He + sought a village church, and to priest after priest confessed his sin, + without obtaining absolution, until finally he had recourse to the Pope. + But the holy father, horrified at the enormity of his misdoing, declared + that guilt such as his could never be remitted sooner should the staff in + his hand grow green and blossom. "Then Tannhauser, full of despair and + with his soul darkened, went away, and returned to the only asylum open to + him, the Venusberg. But lo! three days after he had gone, Pope Urban + discovered that his pastoral staff had put forth buds and had burst into + flower. Then he sent messengers after Tannhauser, and they reached the + Horsel vale to hear that a wayworn man, with haggard brow and bowed head, + had just entered the Horselloch. Since then Tannhauser has not been seen." + (p. 201.) + </p> + <p> + As Mr. Baring-Gould rightly observes, this sad legend, in its + Christianized form, is doubtless descriptive of the struggle between the + new and the old faiths. The knightly Tannhauser, satiated with pagan + sensuality, turns to Christianity for relief, but, repelled by the + hypocrisy, pride, and lack of sympathy of its ministers, gives up in + despair, and returns to drown his anxieties in his old debauchery. + </p> + <p> + But this is not the primitive form of the myth, which recurs in the + folk-lore of every people of Aryan descent. Who, indeed, can read it + without being at once reminded of Thomas of Erceldoune (or Horsel-hill), + entranced by the sorceress of the Eilden; of the nightly visits of Numa to + the grove of the nymph Egeria; of Odysseus held captive by the Lady + Kalypso; and, last but not least, of the delightful Arabian tale of Prince + Ahmed and the Peri Banou? On his westward journey, Odysseus is ensnared + and kept in temporary bondage by the amorous nymph of darkness, Kalypso + (kalnptw, to veil or cover). So the zone of the moon-goddess Aphrodite + inveigles all-seeing Zeus to treacherous slumber on Mount Ida; and by a + similar sorcery Tasso's great hero is lulled in unseemly idleness in + Armida's golden paradise, at the western verge of the world. The + disappearance of Tannhauser behind the moonlit cliff, lured by Venus + Ursula, the pale goddess of night, is a precisely parallel circumstance. + </p> + <p> + But solar and lunar phenomena are by no means the only sources of popular + mythology. Opposite my writing-table hangs a quaint German picture, + illustrating Goethe's ballad of the Erlking, in which the whole wild + pathos of the story is compressed into one supreme moment; we see the + fearful, half-gliding rush of the Erlking, his long, spectral arms + outstretched to grasp the child, the frantic gallop of the horse, the + alarmed father clasping his darling to his bosom in convulsive embrace, + the siren-like elves hovering overhead, to lure the little soul with their + weird harps. There can be no better illustration than is furnished by this + terrible scene of the magic power of mythology to invest the simplest + physical phenomena with the most intense human interest; for the true + significance of the whole picture is contained in the father's address to + his child, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind; + In durren Blattern sauselt der Wind." +</pre> + <p> + The story of the Piper of Hamelin, well known in the version of Robert + Browning, leads to the same conclusion. In 1284 the good people of Hamelin + could obtain no rest, night or day, by reason of the direful host of rats + which infested their town. One day came a strange man in a bunting-suit, + and offered for five hundred guilders to rid the town of the vermin. The + people agreed: whereupon the man took out a pipe and piped, and instantly + all the rats in town, in an army which blackened the face of the earth, + came forth from their haunts, and followed the piper until he piped them + to the river Weser, where they alls jumped in and were drowned. But as + soon as the torment was gone, the townsfolk refused to pay the piper on + the ground that he was evidently a wizard. He went away, vowing vengeance, + and on St. John's day reappeared, and putting his pipe to his mouth blew a + different air. Whereat all the little, plump, rosy-cheeked, golden-haired + children came merrily running after him, their parents standing aghast, + not knowing what to do, while he led them up a hill in the neighbourhood. + A door opened in the mountain-side, through which he led them in, and they + never were seen again; save one lame boy, who hobbled not fast enough to + get in before the door shut, and who lamented for the rest of his life + that he had not been able to share the rare luck of his comrades. In the + street through which this procession passed no music was ever afterwards + allowed to be played. For a long time the town dated its public documents + from this fearful calamity, and many authorities have treated it as an + historical event. <a href="#linknote-17" name="linknoteref-17" + id="linknoteref-17"><small>17</small></a> Similar stories are told of + other towns in Germany, and, strange to say, in remote Abyssinia also. + Wesleyan peasants in England believe that angels pipe to children who are + about to die; and in Scandinavia, youths are said to have been enticed + away by the songs of elf-maidens. In Greece, the sirens by their magic lay + allured voyagers to destruction; and Orpheus caused the trees and dumb + beasts to follow him. Here we reach the explanation. For Orpheus is the + wind sighing through untold acres of pine forest. "The piper is no other + than the wind, and the ancients held that in the wind were the souls of + the dead." To this day the English peasantry believe that they hear the + wail of the spirits of unbaptized children, as the gale sweeps past their + cottage doors. The Greek Hermes resulted from the fusion of two deities. + He is the sun and also the wind; and in the latter capacity he bears away + the souls of the dead. So the Norse Odin, who like Hermes fillfils a + double function, is supposed to rush at night over the tree-tops, + "accompanied by the scudding train of brave men's spirits." And readers of + recent French literature cannot fail to remember Erokmann-Chatrian's + terrible story of the wild huntsman Vittikab, and how he sped through the + forest, carrying away a young girl's soul. + </p> + <p> + Thus, as Tannhauser is the Northern Ulysses, so is Goethe's Erlking none + other than the Piper of Hamelin. And the piper, in turn, is the classic + Hermes or Orpheus, the counterpart of the Finnish Wainamoinen and the + Sanskrit Gunadhya. His wonderful pipe is the horn of Oberon, the lyre of + Apollo (who, like the piper, was a rat-killer), the harp stolen by Jack + when he climbed the bean-stalk to the ogre's castle. <a href="#linknote-18" + name="linknoteref-18" id="linknoteref-18"><small>18</small></a> And the + father, in Goethe's ballad, is no more than right when he assures his + child that the siren voice which tempts him is but the rustle of the wind + among the dried leaves; for from such a simple class of phenomena arose + this entire family of charming legends. + </p> + <p> + But why does the piper, who is a leader of souls (Psychopompos), also draw + rats after him? In answering this we shall have occasion to note that the + ancients by no means shared that curious prejudice against the brute + creation which is indulged in by modern anti-Darwinians. In many + countries, rats and mice have been regarded as sacred animals; but in + Germany they were thought to represent the human soul. One story out of a + hundred must suffice to illustrate this. "In Thuringia, at Saalfeld, a + servant-girl fell asleep whilst her companions were shelling nuts. They + observed a little red mouse creep from her mouth and run out of the + window. One of the fellows present shook the sleeper, but could not wake + her, so he moved her to another place. Presently the mouse ran back to the + former place and dashed about, seeking the girl; not finding her, it + vanished; at the same moment the girl died." <a href="#linknote-19" + name="linknoteref-19" id="linknoteref-19"><small>19</small></a> This + completes the explanation of the piper, and it also furnishes the key to + the horrible story of Bishop Hatto. + </p> + <p> + This wicked prelate lived on the bank of the Rhine, in the middle of which + stream he possessed a tower, now pointed out to travellers as the Mouse + Tower. In the year 970 there was a dreadful famine, and people came from + far and near craving sustenance out of the Bishop's ample and well-filled + granaries. Well, he told them all to go into the barn, and when they had + got in there, as many as could stand, he set fire to the barn and burnt + them all up, and went home to eat a merry supper. But when he arose next + morning, he heard that an army of rats had eaten all the corn in his + granaries, and was now advancing to storm the palace. Looking from his + window, he saw the roads and fields dark with them, as they came with fell + purpose straight toward his mansion. In frenzied terror he took his boat + and rowed out to the tower in the river. But it was of no use: down into + the water marched the rats, and swam across, and scaled the walls, and + gnawed through the stones, and came swarming in about the shrieking + Bishop, and ate him up, flesh, bones, and all. Now, bearing in mind what + was said above, there can be no doubt that these rats were the souls of + those whom the Bishop had murdered. There are many versions of the story + in different Teutonic countries, and in some of them the avenging rats or + mice issue directly, by a strange metamorphosis, from the corpses of the + victims. St. Gertrude, moreover, the heathen Holda, was symbolized as a + mouse, and was said Go lead an army of mice; she was the receiver of + children's souls. Odin, also, in his character of a Psychopompos, was + followed by a host of rats. <a href="#linknote-20" name="linknoteref-20" + id="linknoteref-20"><small>20</small></a> + </p> + <p> + As the souls of the departed are symbolized as rats, so is the psychopomp + himself often figured as a dog. Sarameias, the Vedic counterpart of Hermes + and Odin, sometimes appears invested with canine attributes; and countless + other examples go to show that by the early Aryan mind the howling wind + was conceived as a great dog or wolf. As the fearful beast was heard + speeding by the windows or over the house-top, the inmates trembled, for + none knew but his own soul might forthwith be required of him. Hence, to + this day, among ignorant people, the howling of a dog under the window is + supposed to portend a death in the family. It is the fleet greyhound of + Hermes, come to escort the soul to the river Styx. <a href="#linknote-21" + name="linknoteref-21" id="linknoteref-21"><small>21</small></a> + </p> + <p> + But the wind-god is not always so terrible. Nothing can be more + transparent than the phraseology of the Homeric Hymn, in which Hermes is + described as acquiring the strength of a giant while yet a babe in the + cradle, as sallying out and stealing the cattle (clouds) of Apollo, and + driving them helter-skelter in various directions, then as crawling + through the keyhole, and with a mocking laugh shrinking into his cradle. + He is the Master Thief, who can steal the burgomaster's horse from under + him and his wife's mantle from off her back, the prototype not only of the + crafty architect of Rhampsinitos, but even of the ungrateful slave who + robs Sancho of his mule in the Sierra Morena. He furnishes in part the + conceptions of Boots and Reynard; he is the prototype of Paul Pry and + peeping Tom of Coventry; and in virtue of his ability to contract or + expand himself at pleasure, he is both the Devil in the Norse Tale, <a + href="#linknote-22" name="linknoteref-22" id="linknoteref-22"><small>22</small></a> + whom the lad persuades to enter a walnut, and the Arabian Efreet, whom the + fisherman releases from the bottle. + </p> + <p> + The very interesting series of myths and popular superstitions suggested + by the storm-cloud and the lightning must be reserved for a future + occasion. When carefully examined, they will richly illustrate the + conclusion which is the result of the present inquiry, that the marvellous + tales and quaint superstitions current in every Aryan household have a + common origin with the classic legends of gods and heroes, which formerly + were alone thought worthy of the student's serious attention. These + stories—some of them familiar to us in infancy, others the delight + of our maturer years—constitute the debris, or alluvium, brought + down by the stream of tradition from the distant highlands of ancient + mythology. + </p> + <p> + September, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. THE DESCENT OF FIRE. + </h2> + <p> + IN the course of my last summer's vacation, which was spent at a small + inland village, I came upon an unexpected illustration of the tenacity + with which conceptions descended from prehistoric antiquity have now and + then kept their hold upon life. While sitting one evening under the trees + by the roadside, my attention was called to the unusual conduct of half a + dozen men and boys who were standing opposite. An elderly man was moving + slowly up and down the road, holding with both hands a forked twig of + hazel, shaped like the letter Y inverted. With his palms turned upward, he + held in each hand a branch of the twig in such a way that the shank + pointed upward; but every few moments, as he halted over a certain spot, + the twig would gradually bend downwards until it had assumed the likeness + of a Y in its natural position, where it would remain pointing to + something in the ground beneath. One by one the bystanders proceeded to + try the experiment, but with no variation in the result. Something in the + ground seemed to fascinate the bit of hazel, for it could not pass over + that spot without bending down and pointing to it. + </p> + <p> + My thoughts reverted at once to Jacques Aymar and Dousterswivel, as I + perceived that these men were engaged in sorcery. During the long drought + more than half the wells in the village had become dry, and here was an + attempt to make good the loss by the aid of the god Thor. These men were + seeking water with a divining-rod. Here, alive before my eyes, was a + superstitious observance, which I had supposed long since dead and + forgotten by all men except students interested in mythology. + </p> + <p> + As I crossed the road to take part in the ceremony a farmer's boy came up, + stoutly affirming his incredulity, + </p> + <p> + and offering to show the company how he could carry the rod motionless + across the charmed spot. But when he came to take the weird twig he + trembled with an ill-defined feeling of insecurity as to the soundness of + his conclusions, and when he stood over the supposed rivulet the rod bent + in spite of him,—as was not so very strange. For, with all his vague + scepticism, the honest lad had not, and could not be supposed to have, the + foi scientifique of which Littre speaks. <a href="#linknote-23" + name="linknoteref-23" id="linknoteref-23"><small>23</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Hereupon I requested leave to try the rod; but something in my manner + seemed at once to excite the suspicion and scorn of the sorcerer. "Yes, + take it," said he, with uncalled-for vehemence, "but you can't stop it; + there's water below here, and you can't help its bending, if you break + your back trying to hold it." So he gave me the twig, and awaited, with a + smile which was meant to express withering sarcasm, the discomfiture of + the supposed scoffer. But when I proceeded to walk four or five times + across the mysterious place, the rod pointing steadfastly toward the + zenith all the while, our friend became grave and began to philosophize. + "Well," said he, "you see, your temperament is peculiar; the conditions + ain't favourable in your case; there are some people who never can work + these things. But there's water below here, for all that, as you'll find, + if you dig for it; there's nothing like a hazel-rod for finding out + water." + </p> + <p> + Very true: there are some persons who never can make such things work; who + somehow always encounter "unfavourable conditions" when they wish to test + the marvellous powers of a clairvoyant; who never can make "Planchette" + move in conformity to the requirements of any known alphabet; who never + see ghosts, and never have "presentiments," save such as are obviously due + to association of ideas. The ill-success of these persons is commonly + ascribed to their lack of faith; but, in the majority of cases, it might + be more truly referred to the strength of their faith,—faith in the + constancy of nature, and in the adequacy of ordinary human experience as + interpreted by science. <a href="#linknote-24" name="linknoteref-24" + id="linknoteref-24"><small>24</small></a> La foi scientifique is an + excellent preventive against that obscure, though not uncommon, kind of + self-deception which enables wooden tripods to write and tables to tip and + hazel-twigs to twist upside-down, without the conscious intervention of + the performer. It was this kind of faith, no doubt, which caused the + discomfiture of Jacques Aymar on his visit to Paris, <a href="#linknote-25" + name="linknoteref-25" id="linknoteref-25"><small>25</small></a> and which + has in late years prevented persons from obtaining the handsome prize + offered by the French Academy for the first authentic case of + clairvoyance. + </p> + <p> + But our village friend, though perhaps constructively right in his + philosophizing, was certainly very defective in his acquaintance with the + time-honoured art of rhabdomancy. Had he extended his inquiries so as to + cover the field of Indo-European tradition, he would have learned that the + mountain-ash, the mistletoe, the white and black thorn, the Hindu + asvattha, and several other woods, are quite as efficient as the hazel for + the purpose of detecting water in times of drought; and in due course of + time he would have perceived that the divining-rod itself is but one among + a large class of things to which popular belief has ascribed, along with + other talismanic properties, the power of opening the ground or cleaving + rocks, in order to reveal hidden treasures. Leaving him in peace, then, + with his bit of forked hazel, to seek for cooling springs in some future + thirsty season, let us endeavour to elucidate the origin of this curious + superstition. + </p> + <p> + The detection of subterranean water is by no means the only use to which + the divining-rod has been put. Among the ancient Frisians it was regularly + used for the detection of criminals; and the reputation of Jacques Aymar + was won by his discovery of the perpetrator of a horrible murder at Lyons. + Throughout Europe it has been used from time immemorial by miners for + ascertaining the position of veins of metal; and in the days when talents + were wrapped in napkins and buried in the field, instead of being exposed + to the risks of financial speculation, the divining-rod was employed by + persons covetous of their neighbours' wealth. If Boulatruelle had lived in + the sixteenth century, he would have taken a forked stick of hazel when he + went to search for the buried treasures of Jean Valjean. It has also been + applied to the cure of disease, and has been kept in households, like a + wizard's charm, to insure general good-fortune and immunity from disaster. + </p> + <p> + As we follow the conception further into the elf-land of popular + tradition, we come upon a rod which not only points out the situation of + hidden treasure, but even splits open the ground and reveals the mineral + wealth contained therein. In German legend, "a shepherd, who was driving + his flock over the Ilsenstein, having stopped to rest, leaning on his + staff, the mountain suddenly opened, for there was a springwort in his + staff without his knowing it, and the princess [Ilse] stood before him. + She bade him follow her, and when he was inside the mountain she told him + to take as much gold as he pleased. The shepherd filled all his pockets, + and was going away, when the princess called after him, 'Forget not the + best.' So, thinking she meant that he had not taken enough, he filled his + hat also; but what she meant was his staff with the springwort, which he + had laid against the wall as soon as he stepped in. But now, just as he + was going out at the opening, the rock suddenly slammed together and cut + him in two." <a href="#linknote-26" name="linknoteref-26" + id="linknoteref-26"><small>26</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Here the rod derives its marvellous properties from the enclosed + springwort, but in many cases a leaf or flower is itself competent to open + the hillside. The little blue flower, forget-me-not, about which so many + sentimental associations have clustered, owes its name to the legends told + of its talismanic virtues. <a href="#linknote-27" name="linknoteref-27" + id="linknoteref-27"><small>27</small></a> A man, travelling on a lonely + mountain, picks up a little blue flower and sticks it in his hat. + Forthwith an iron door opens, showing up a lighted passage-way, through + which the man advances into a magnificent hall, where rubies and diamonds + and all other kinds of gems are lying piled in great heaps on the floor. + As he eagerly fills his pockets his hat drops from his head, and when he + turns to go out the little flower calls after him, "Forget me not!" He + turns back and looks around, but is too bewildered with his good fortune + to think of his bare head or of the luck-flower which he has let fall. He + selects several more of the finest jewels he can find, and again starts to + go out; but as he passes through the door the mountain closes amid the + crashing of thunder, and cuts off one of his heels. Alone, in the gloom of + the forest, he searches in vain for the mysterious door: it has + disappeared forever, and the traveller goes on his way, thankful, let us + hope, that he has fared no worse. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes it is a white lady, like the Princess Ilse, who invites the + finder of the luck-flower to help himself to her treasures, and who utters + the enigmatical warning. The mountain where the event occurred may be + found almost anywhere in Germany, and one just like it stood in Persia, in + the golden prime of Haroun Alraschid. In the story of the Forty Thieves, + the mere name of the plant sesame serves as a talisman to open and shut + the secret door which leads into the robbers' cavern; and when the + avaricious Cassim Baba, absorbed in the contemplation of the bags of gold + and bales of rich merchandise, forgets the magic formula, he meets no + better fate than the shepherd of the Ilsenstein. In the story of Prince + Ahmed, it is an enchanted arrow which guides the young adventurer through + the hillside to the grotto of the Peri Banou. In the tale of Baba + Abdallah, it is an ointment rubbed on the eyelid which reveals at a single + glance all the treasures hidden in the bowels of the earth. + </p> + <p> + The ancient Romans also had their rock-breaking plant, called Saxifraga, + or "sassafras." And the further we penetrate into this charmed circle of + traditions the more evident does it appear that the power of cleaving + rocks or shattering hard substances enters, as a primitive element, into + the conception of these treasure-showing talismans. Mr. Baring-Gould has + given an excellent account of the rabbinical legends concerning the + wonderful schamir, by the aid of which Solomon was said to have built his + temple. From Asmodeus, prince of the Jann, Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, + wrested the secret of a worm no bigger than a barley-corn, which could + split the hardest substance. This worm was called schamir. "If Solomon + desired to possess himself of the worm, he must find the nest of the + moor-hen, and cover it with a plate of glass, so that the mother bird + could not get at her young without breaking the glass. She would seek + schamir for the purpose, and the worm must be obtained from her." As the + Jewish king did need the worm in order to hew the stones for that temple + which was to be built without sound of hammer, or axe, or any tool of + iron, <a href="#linknote-28" name="linknoteref-28" id="linknoteref-28"><small>28</small></a> + he sent Benaiah to obtain it. According to another account, schamir was a + mystic stone which enabled Solomon to penetrate the earth in search of + mineral wealth. Directed by a Jinni, the wise king covered a raven's eggs + with a plate of crystal, and thus obtained schamir which the bird brought + in order to break the plate. <a href="#linknote-29" name="linknoteref-29" + id="linknoteref-29"><small>29</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In these traditions, which may possibly be of Aryan descent, due to the + prolonged intercourse between the Jews and the Persians, a new feature is + added to those before enumerated: the rock-splitting talisman is always + found in the possession of a bird. The same feature in the myth reappears + on Aryan soil. The springwort, whose marvellous powers we have noticed in + the case of the Ilsenstein shepherd, is obtained, according to Pliny, by + stopping up the hole in a tree where a woodpecker keeps its young. The + bird flies away, and presently returns with the springwort, which it + applies to the plug, causing it to shoot out with a loud explosion. The + same account is given in German folk-lore. Elsewhere, as in Iceland, + Normandy, and ancient Greece, the bird is an eagle, a swallow, an ostrich, + or a hoopoe. + </p> + <p> + In the Icelandic and Pomeranian myths the schamir, or "raven-stone," also + renders its possessor invisible,—a property which it shares with one + of the treasure-finding plants, the fern. <a href="#linknote-30" + name="linknoteref-30" id="linknoteref-30"><small>30</small></a> In this + respect it resembles the ring of Gyges, as in its divining and + rock-splitting qualities it resembles that other ring which the African + magrician gave to Aladdin, to enable him to descend into the cavern where + stood the wonderful lamp. + </p> + <p> + According to one North German tradition, the luck-flower also will make + its finder invisible at pleasure. But, as the myth shrewdly adds, it is + absolutely essential that the flower be found by accident: he who seeks + for it never finds it! Thus all cavils are skilfully forestalled, even if + not satisfactorily disposed of. The same kind of reasoning is favoured by + our modern dealers in mystery: somehow the "conditions" always are askew + whenever a scientific observer wishes to test their pretensions. + </p> + <p> + In the North of Europe schamir appears strangely and grotesquely + metamorphosed. The hand of a man that has been hanged, when dried and + prepared with certain weird unguents and set on fire, is known as the Hand + of Glory; and as it not only bursts open all safe-locks, but also lulls to + sleep all persons within the circle of its influence, it is of course + invaluable to thieves and burglars. I quote the following story from + Thorpe's "Northern Mythology": "Two fellows once came to Huy, who + pretended to be exceedingly fatigued, and when they had supped would not + retire to a sleeping-room, but begged their host would allow them to take + a nap on the hearth. But the maid-servant, who did not like the looks of + the two guests, remained by the kitchen door and peeped through a chink, + when she saw that one of them drew a thief's hand from his pocket, the + fingers of which, after having rubbed them with an ointment, he lighted, + and they all burned except one. Again they held this finger to the fire, + but still it would not burn, at which they appeared much surprised, and + one said, 'There must surely be some one in the house who is not yet + asleep.' They then hung the hand with its four burning fingers by the + chimney, and went out to call their associates. But the maid followed them + instantly and made the door fast, then ran up stairs, where the landlord + slept, that she might wake him, but was unable, notwithstanding all her + shaking and calling. In the mean time the thieves had returned and were + endeavouring to enter the house by a window, but the maid cast them down + from the ladder. They then took a different course, and would have forced + an entrance, had it not occurred to the maid that the burning fingers + might probably be the cause of her master's profound sleep. Impressed with + this idea she ran to the kitchen and blew them out, when the master and + his men-servants instantly awoke, and soon drove away the robbers." The + same event is said to have occurred at Stainmore in England; and + Torquermada relates of Mexican thieves that they carry with them the left + hand of a woman who has died in her first childbed, before which talisman + all bolts yield and all opposition is benumbed. In 1831 "some Irish + thieves attempted to commit a robbery on the estate of Mr. Naper, of + Loughcrew, county Meath. They entered the house armed with a dead man's + hand with a lighted candle in it, believing in the superstitious notion + that a candle placed in a dead man's hand will not be seen by any but + those by whom it is used; and also that if a candle in a dead hand be + introduced into a house, it will prevent those who may be asleep from + awaking. The inmates, however, were alarmed, and the robbers fled, leaving + the hand behind them." <a href="#linknote-31" name="linknoteref-31" + id="linknoteref-31"><small>31</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the Middle Ages the hand of glory was used, just like the divining-rod, + for the detection of buried treasures. + </p> + <p> + Here, then, we have a large and motley group of objects—the forked + rod of ash or hazel, the springwort and the luck-flower, leaves, worms, + stones, rings, and dead men's hands—which are for the most part + competent to open the way into cavernous rocks, and which all agree in + pointing out hidden wealth. We find, moreover, that many of these charmed + objects are carried about by birds, and that some of them possess, in + addition to their generic properties, the specific power of benumbing + people's senses. What, now, is the common origin of this whole group of + superstitions? And since mythology has been shown to be the result of + primeval attempts to explain the phenomena of nature, what natural + phenomenon could ever have given rise to so many seemingly wanton + conceptions? Hopeless as the problem may at first sight seem, it has + nevertheless been solved. In his great treatise on "The Descent of Fire," + Dr. Kuhn has shown that all these legends and traditions are descended + from primitive myths explanatory of the lightning and the storm-cloud. <a + href="#linknote-32" name="linknoteref-32" id="linknoteref-32"><small>32</small></a> + </p> + <p> + To us, who are nourished from childhood on the truths revealed by science, + the sky is known to be merely an optical appearance due to the partial + absorption of the solar rays in passing through a thick stratum of + atmospheric air; the clouds are known to be large masses of watery vapour, + which descend in rain-drops when sufficiently condensed; and the lightning + is known to be a flash of light accompanying an electric discharge. But + these conceptions are extremely recondite, and have been attained only + through centuries of philosophizing and after careful observation and + laborious experiment. To the untaught mind of a child or of an uncivilized + man, it seems far more natural and plausible to regard the sky as a solid + dome of blue crystal, the clouds as snowy mountains, or perhaps even as + giants or angels, the lightning as a flashing dart or a fiery serpent. In + point of fact, we find that the conceptions actually entertained are often + far more grotesque than these. I can recollect once framing the hypothesis + that the flaming clouds of sunset were transient apparitions, vouchsafed + us by way of warning, of that burning Calvinistic hell with which my + childish imagination had been unwisely terrified; <a href="#linknote-33" + name="linknoteref-33" id="linknoteref-33"><small>33</small></a> and I have + known of a four-year-old boy who thought that the snowy clouds of noonday + were the white robes of the angels hung out to dry in the sun. <a + href="#linknote-34" name="linknoteref-34" id="linknoteref-34"><small>34</small></a> + My little daughter is anxious to know whether it is necessary to take a + balloon in order to get to the place where God lives, or whether the same + end can be accomplished by going to the horizon and crawling up the sky; + <a href="#linknote-35" name="linknoteref-35" id="linknoteref-35"><small>35</small></a> + the Mohammedan of old was working at the same problem when he called the + rainbow the bridge Es-Sirat, over which souls must pass on their way to + heaven. According to the ancient Jew, the sky was a solid plate, hammered + out by the gods, and spread over the earth in order to keep up the ocean + overhead; <a href="#linknote-36" name="linknoteref-36" id="linknoteref-36"><small>36</small></a> + but the plate was full of little windows, which were opened whenever it + became necessary to let the rain come through. <a href="#linknote-37" + name="linknoteref-37" id="linknoteref-37"><small>37</small></a> With equal + plausibility the Greek represented the rainy sky as a sieve in which the + daughters of Danaos were vainly trying to draw water; while to the Hindu + the rain-clouds were celestial cattle milked by the wind-god. In primitive + Aryan lore, the sky itself was a blue sea, and the clouds were ships + sailing over it; and an English legend tells how one of these ships once + caught its anchor on a gravestone in the churchyard, to the great + astonishment of the people who were coming out of church. Charon's + ferry-boat was one of these vessels, and another was Odin's golden ship, + in which the souls of slain heroes were conveyed to Valhalla. Hence it was + once the Scandinavian practice to bury the dead in boats; and in Altmark a + penny is still placed in the mouth of the corpse, that it may have the + means of paying its fare to the ghostly ferryman. <a href="#linknote-38" + name="linknoteref-38" id="linknoteref-38"><small>38</small></a> In such a + vessel drifted the Lady of Shalott on her fatal voyage; and of similar + nature was the dusky barge, "dark as a funeral-scarf from stem to stern," + in which Arthur was received by the black-hooded queens. <a + href="#linknote-39" name="linknoteref-39" id="linknoteref-39"><small>39</small></a> + </p> + <p> + But the fact that a natural phenomenon was explained in one way did not + hinder it from being explained in a dozen other ways. The fact that the + sun was generally regarded as an all-conquering hero did not prevent its + being called an egg, an apple, or a frog squatting on the waters, or + Ixion's wheel, or the eye of Polyphemos, or the stone of Sisyphos, which + was no sooner pushed to the zenith than it rolled down to the horizon. So + the sky was not only a crystal dome, or a celestial ocean, but it was also + the Aleian land through which Bellerophon wandered, the country of the + Lotos-eaters, or again the realm of the Graiai beyond the twilight; and + finally it was personified and worshipped as Dyaus or Varuna, the Vedic + prototypes of the Greek Zeus and Ouranos. The clouds, too, had many other + representatives besides ships and cows. In a future paper it will be shown + that they were sometimes regarded as angels or houris; at present it more + nearly concerns us to know that they appear, throughout all Aryan + mythology, under the form of birds. It used to be a matter of hopeless + wonder to me that Aladdin's innocent request for a roc's egg to hang in + the dome of his palace should have been regarded as a crime worthy of + punishment by the loss of the wonderful lamp; the obscurest part of the + whole affair being perhaps the Jinni's passionate allusion to the egg as + his master: "Wretch! dost thou command me to bring thee my master, and + hang him up in the midst of this vaulted dome?" But the incident is to + some extent cleared of its mystery when we learn that the roc's egg is the + bright sun, and that the roc itself is the rushing storm-cloud which, in + the tale of Sindbad, haunts the sparkling starry firmament, symbolized as + a valley of diamonds. <a href="#linknote-40" name="linknoteref-40" + id="linknoteref-40"><small>40</small></a> According to one Arabic + authority, the length of its wings is ten thousand fathoms. But in + European tradition it dwindles from these huge dimensions to the size of + an eagle, a raven, or a woodpecker. Among the birds enumerated by Kuhn and + others as representing the storm-cloud are likewise the wren or "kinglet" + (French roitelet); the owl, sacred to Athene; the cuckoo, stork, and + sparrow; and the red-breasted robin, whose name Robert was originally an + epithet of the lightning-god Thor. In certain parts of France it is still + believed that the robbing of a wren's nest will render the culprit liable + to be struck by lightning. The same belief was formerly entertained in + Teutonic countries with respect to the robin; and I suppose that from this + superstition is descended the prevalent notion, which I often encountered + in childhood, that there is something peculiarly wicked in killing robins. + </p> + <p> + Now, as the raven or woodpecker, in the various myths of schamir, is the + dark storm-cloud, so the rock-splitting worm or plant or pebble which the + bird carries in its beak and lets fall to the ground is nothing more or + less than the flash of lightning carried and dropped by the cloud. "If the + cloud was supposed to be a great bird, the lightnings were regarded as + writhing worms or serpents in its beak. These fiery serpents, elikiai + gram-moeidws feromenoi, are believed in to this day by the Canadian + Indians, who call the thunder their hissing." <a href="#linknote-41" + name="linknoteref-41" id="linknoteref-41"><small>41</small></a> + </p> + <p> + But these are not the only mythical conceptions which are to be found + wrapped up in the various myths of schamir and the divining-rod. The + persons who told these stories were not weaving ingenious allegories about + thunder-storms; they were telling stories, or giving utterance to + superstitions, of which the original meaning was forgotten. The old + grannies who, along with a stoical indifference to the fate of quails and + partridges, used to impress upon me the wickedness of killing robins, did + not add that I should be struck by lightning if I failed to heed their + admonitions. They had never heard that the robin was the bird of Thor; + they merely rehearsed the remnant of the superstition which had survived + to their own times, while the essential part of it had long since faded + from recollection. The reason for regarding a robin's life as more sacred + than a partridge's had been forgotten; but it left behind, as was natural, + a vague recognition of that mythical sanctity. The primitive meaning of a + myth fades away as inevitably as the primitive meaning of a word or + phrase; and the rabbins who told of a worm which shatters rocks no more + thought of the writhing thunderbolts than the modern reader thinks of + oyster-shells when he sees the word ostracism, or consciously breathes a + prayer as he writes the phrase good bye. It is only in its callow infancy + that the full force of a myth is felt, and its period of luxuriant + development dates from the time when its physical significance is lost or + obscured. It was because the Greek had forgotten that Zeus meant the + bright sky, that he could make him king over an anthropomorphic Olympos. + The Hindu Dyaus, who carried his significance in his name as plainly as + the Greek Helios, never attained such an exalted position; he yielded to + deities of less obvious pedigree, such as Brahma and Vishnu. + </p> + <p> + Since, therefore, the myth-tellers recounted merely the wonderful stories + which their own nurses and grandmas had told them, and had no intention of + weaving subtle allegories or wrapping up a physical truth in mystic + emblems, it follows that they were not bound to avoid incongruities or to + preserve a philosophical symmetry in their narratives. In the great + majority of complex myths, no such symmetry is to be found. A score of + different mythical conceptions would get wrought into the same story, and + the attempt to pull them apart and construct a single harmonious system of + conceptions out of the pieces must often end in ingenious absurdity. If + Odysseus is unquestionably the sun, so is the eye of Polyphemos, which + Odysseus puts out. <a href="#linknote-42" name="linknoteref-42" + id="linknoteref-42"><small>42</small></a> But the Greek poet knew nothing + of the incongruity, for he was thinking only of a superhuman hero freeing + himself from a giant cannibal; he knew nothing of Sanskrit, or of + comparative mythology, and the sources of his myths were as completely + hidden from his view as the sources of the Nile. + </p> + <p> + We need not be surprised, then, to find that in one version of the + schamir-myth the cloud is the bird which carries the worm, while in + another version the cloud is the rock or mountain which the talisman + cleaves open; nor need we wonder at it, if we find stories in which the + two conceptions are mingled together without regard to an incongruity + which in the mind of the myth-teller no longer exists. <a + href="#linknote-43" name="linknoteref-43" id="linknoteref-43"><small>43</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In early Aryan mythology there is nothing by which the clouds are more + frequently represented than by rocks or mountains. Such were the + Symplegades, which, charmed by the harp of the wind-god Orpheus, parted to + make way for the talking ship Argo, with its crew of solar heroes. <a + href="#linknote-44" name="linknoteref-44" id="linknoteref-44"><small>44</small></a> + Such, too, were the mountains Ossa and Pelion, which the giants piled up + one upon another in their impious assault upon Zeus, the lord of the + bright sky. As Mr. Baring-Gould observes: "The ancient Aryan had the same + name for cloud and mountain. To him the piles of vapour on the horizon + were so like Alpine ranges, that he had but one word whereby to designate + both. <a href="#linknote-45" name="linknoteref-45" id="linknoteref-45"><small>45</small></a> + These great mountains of heaven were opened by the lightning. In the + sudden flash he beheld the dazzling splendour within, but only for a + moment, and then, with a crash, the celestial rocks closed again. + Believing these vaporous piles to contain resplendent treasures of which + partial glimpse was obtained by mortals in a momentary gleam, tales were + speedily formed, relating the adventures of some who had succeeded in + entering these treasure-mountains." + </p> + <p> + This sudden flash is the smiting of the cloud-rock by the arrow of Ahmed, + the resistless hammer of Thor, the spear of Odin, the trident of Poseidon, + or the rod of Hermes. The forked streak of light is the archetype of the + divining-rod in its oldest form,—that in which it not only indicates + the hidden treasures, but, like the staff of the Ilsenstein shepherd, + bursts open the enchanted crypt and reveals them to the astonished + wayfarer. Hence the one thing essential to the divining-rod, from whatever + tree it be chosen, is that it shall be forked. + </p> + <p> + It is not difficult to comprehend the reasons which led the ancients to + speak of the lightning as a worm, serpent, trident, arrow, or forked wand; + but when we inquire why it was sometimes symbolized as a flower or leaf; + or when we seek to ascertain why certain trees, such as the ash, hazel, + white-thorn, and mistletoe, were supposed to be in a certain sense + embodiments of it, we are entering upon a subject too complicated to be + satisfactorily treated within the limits of the present paper. It has been + said that the point of resemblance between a cow and a comet, that both + have tails, was quite enough for the primitive word-maker: it was + certainly enough for the primitive myth-teller. <a href="#linknote-46" + name="linknoteref-46" id="linknoteref-46"><small>46</small></a> Sometimes + the pinnate shape of a leaf, the forking of a branch, the tri-cleft + corolla, or even the red colour of a flower, seems to have been sufficient + to determine the association of ideas. The Hindu commentators of the Veda + certainly lay great stress on the fact that the palasa, one of their + lightning-trees, is trident-leaved. The mistletoe branch is forked, like a + wish-bone, <a href="#linknote-47" name="linknoteref-47" id="linknoteref-47"><small>47</small></a> + and so is the stem which bears the forget-me-not or wild scorpion grass. + So too the leaves of the Hindu ficus religiosa resemble long spear-heads. + <a href="#linknote-48" name="linknoteref-48" id="linknoteref-48"><small>48</small></a> + But in many cases it is impossible for us to determine with confidence the + reasons which may have guided primitive men in their choice of talismanic + plants. In the case of some of these stories, it would no doubt be wasting + ingenuity to attempt to assign a mythical origin for each point of detail. + The ointment of the dervise, for instance, in the Arabian tale, has + probably no special mythical significance, but was rather suggested by the + exigencies of the story, in an age when the old mythologies were so far + disintegrated and mingled together that any one talisman would serve as + well as another the purposes of the narrator. But the lightning-plants of + Indo-European folk-lore cannot be thus summarily disposed of; for however + difficult it may be for us to perceive any connection between them and the + celestial phenomena which they represent, the myths concerning them are so + numerous and explicit as to render it certain that some such connection + was imagined by the myth-makers. The superstition concerning the hand of + glory is not so hard to interpret. In the mythology of the Finns, the + storm-cloud is a black man with a bright copper hand; and in Hindustan, + Indra Savitar, the deity who slays the demon of the cloud, is + golden-handed. The selection of the hand of a man who has been hanged is + probably due to the superstition which regarded the storm-god Odin as + peculiarly the lord of the gallows. The man who is raised upon the gallows + is placed directly in the track of the wild huntsman, who comes with his + hounds to carry off the victim; and hence the notion, which, according to + Mr. Kelly, is "very common in Germany and not extinct in England," that + every suicide by hanging is followed by a storm. + </p> + <p> + The paths of comparative mythology are devious, but we have now pursued + them long enough I believe, to have arrived at a tolerably clear + understanding of the original nature of the divining-rod. Its power of + revealing treasures has been sufficiently explained; and its affinity for + water results so obviously from the character of the lightning-myth as to + need no further comment. But its power of detecting criminals still + remains to be accounted for. + </p> + <p> + In Greek mythology, the being which detects and punishes crime is the + Erinys, the prototype of the Latin Fury, figured by late writers as a + horrible monster with serpent locks. But this is a degradation of the + original conception. The name Erinys did not originally mean Fury, and it + cannot be explained from Greek sources alone. It appears in Sanskrit as + Saranyu, a word which signifies the light of morning creeping over the + sky. And thus we are led to the startling conclusion that, as the light of + morning reveals the evil deeds done under the cover of night, so the + lovely Dawn, or Erinys, came to be regarded under one aspect as the + terrible detector and avenger of iniquity. Yet startling as the conclusion + is, it is based on established laws of phonetic change, and cannot be + gainsaid. + </p> + <p> + But what has the avenging daybreak to do with the lightning and the + divining-rod? To the modern mind the association is not an obvious one: in + antiquity it was otherwise. Myths of the daybreak and myths of the + lightning often resemble each other so closely that, except by a delicate + philological analysis, it is difficult to distinguish the one from the + other. The reason is obvious. In each case the phenomenon to be explained + is the struggle between the day-god and one of the demons of darkness. + There is essentially no distinction to the mind of the primitive man + between the Panis, who steal Indra's bright cows and keep them in a dark + cavern all night, and the throttling snake Ahi or Echidna, who imprisons + the waters in the stronghold of the thunder-cloud and covers the earth + with a short-lived darkness. And so the poisoned arrows of Bellerophon, + which slay the storm-dragon, differ in no essential respect from the + shafts with which Odysseus slaughters the night-demons who have for ten + long hours beset his mansion. Thus the divining-rod, representing as it + does the weapon of the god of day, comes legitimately enough by its + function of detecting and avenging crime. + </p> + <p> + But the lightning not only reveals strange treasures and gives water to + the thirsty land and makes plain what is doing under cover of darkness; it + also sometimes kills, benumbs, or paralyzes. Thus the head of the Gorgon + Medusa turns into stone those who look upon it. Thus the ointment of the + dervise, in the tale of Baba Abdallah, not only reveals all the treasures + of the earth, but instantly thereafter blinds the unhappy man who tests + its powers. And thus the hand of glory, which bursts open bars and bolts, + benumbs also those who happen to be near it. Indeed, few of the favoured + mortals who were allowed to visit the caverns opened by sesame or the + luck-flower, escaped without disaster. The monkish tale of "The Clerk and + the Image," in which the primeval mythical features are curiously + distorted, well illustrates this point. + </p> + <p> + In the city of Rome there formerly stood an image with its right hand + extended and on its forefinger the words "strike here." Many wise men + puzzled in vain over the meaning of the inscription; but at last a certain + priest observed that whenever the sun shone on the figure, the shadow of + the finger was discernible on the ground at a little distance from the + statue. Having marked the spot, he waited until midnight, and then began + to dig. At last his spade struck upon something hard. It was a trap-door, + below which a flight of marble steps descended into a spacious hall, where + many men were sitting in solemn silence amid piles of gold and diamonds + and long rows of enamelled vases. Beyond this he found another room, a + gynaecium filled with beautiful women reclining on richly embroidered + sofas; yet here, too, all was profound silence. A superb banqueting-hall + next met his astonished gaze; then a silent kitchen; then granaries loaded + with forage; then a stable crowded with motionless horses. The whole place + was brilliantly lighted by a carbuncle which was suspended in one corner + of the reception-room; and opposite stood an archer, with his bow and + arrow raised, in the act of taking aim at the jewel. As the priest passed + back through this hall, he saw a diamond-hilted knife lying on a marble + table; and wishing to carry away something wherewith to accredit his + story, he reached out his hand to take it; but no sooner had he touched it + than all was dark. The archer had shot with his arrow, the bright jewel + was shivered into a thousand pieces, the staircase had fled, and the + priest found himself buried alive. <a href="#linknote-49" + name="linknoteref-49" id="linknoteref-49"><small>49</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Usually, however, though the lightning is wont to strike dead, with its + basilisk glance, those who rashly enter its mysterious caverns, it is + regarded rather as a benefactor than as a destroyer. The feelings with + which the myth-making age contemplated the thunder-shower as it revived + the earth paralyzed by a long drought, are shown in the myth of Oidipous. + The Sphinx, whose name signifies "the one who binds," is the demon who + sits on the cloud-rock and imprisons the rain, muttering, dark sayings + which none but the all-knowing sun may understand. The flash of solar + light which causes the monster to fling herself down from the cliff with a + fearful roar, restores the land to prosperity. But besides this, the + association of the thunder-storm with the approach of summer has produced + many myths in which the lightning is symbolized as the life-renewing wand + of the victorious sun-god. Hence the use of the divining-rod in the cure + of disease; and hence the large family of schamir-myths in which the dead + are restored to life by leaves or herbs. In Grimm's tale of the "Three + Snake Leaves," a prince is buried alive (like Sindbad) with his dead wife, + and seeing a snake approaching her body, he cuts it in three pieces. + Presently another snake, crawling from the corner, saw the other lying + dead, and going, away soon returned with three green leaves in its mouth; + then laying the parts of the body together so as to join, it put one leaf + on each wound, and the dead snake was alive again. The prince, applying + the leaves to his wife's body, restores her also to life." <a + href="#linknote-50" name="linknoteref-50" id="linknoteref-50"><small>50</small></a> + In the Greek story, told by AElian and Apollodoros, Polyidos is shut up + with the corpse of Glaukos, which he is ordered to restore to life. He + kills a dragon which is approaching the body, but is presently astonished + at seeing another dragon come with a blade of grass and place it upon its + dead companion, which instantly rises from the ground. Polyidos takes the + same blade of grass, and with it resuscitates Glaukos. The same incident + occurs in the Hindu story of Panch Phul Ranee, and in Fouque's "Sir + Elidoc," which is founded on a Breton legend. + </p> + <p> + We need not wonder, then, at the extraordinary therapeutic properties + which are in all Aryan folk-lore ascribed to the various lightning-plants. + In Sweden sanitary amulets are made of mistletoe-twigs, and the plant is + supposed to be a specific against epilepsy and an antidote for poisons. In + Cornwall children are passed through holes in ash-trees in order to cure + them of hernia. Ash rods are used in some parts of England for the cure of + diseased sheep, cows, and horses; and in particular they are supposed to + neutralize the venom of serpents. The notion that snakes are afraid of an + ash-tree is not extinct even in the United States. The other day I was + told, not by an old granny, but by a man fairly educated and endowed with + a very unusual amount of good common-sense, that a rattlesnake will sooner + go through fire than creep over ash leaves or into the shadow of an + ash-tree. Exactly the same statement is made by Piny, who adds that if you + draw a circle with an ash rod around the spot of ground on which a snake + is lying, the animal must die of starvation, being as effectually + imprisoned as Ugolino in the dungeon at Pisa. In Cornwall it is believed + that a blow from an ash stick will instantly kill any serpent. The ash + shares this virtue with the hazel and fern. A Swedish peasant will tell + you that snakes may be deprived of their venom by a touch with a hazel + wand; and when an ancient Greek had occasion to make his bed in the woods, + he selected fern leaves if possible, in the belief that the smell of them + would drive away poisonous animals. <a href="#linknote-51" + name="linknoteref-51" id="linknoteref-51"><small>51</small></a> + </p> + <p> + But the beneficent character of the lightning appears still more clearly + in another class of myths. To the primitive man the shaft of light coming + down from heaven was typical of the original descent of fire for the + benefit and improvement of the human race. The Sioux Indians account for + the origin of fire by a myth of unmistakable kinship; they say that "their + first ancestor obtained his fire from the sparks which a friendly panther + struck from the rocks as he scampered up a stony hill." <a + href="#linknote-52" name="linknoteref-52" id="linknoteref-52"><small>52</small></a> + This panther is obviously the counterpart of the Aryan bird which drops + schamir. But the Aryan imagination hit upon a far more remarkable + conception. The ancient Hindus obtained fire by a process similar to that + employed by Count Rumford in his experiments on the generation of heat by + friction. They first wound a couple of cords around a pointed stick in + such a way that the unwinding of the one would wind up the other, and + then, placing the point of the stick against a circular disk of wood, + twirled it rapidly by alternate pulls on the two strings. This instrument + is called a chark, and is still used in South Africa, <a + href="#linknote-53" name="linknoteref-53" id="linknoteref-53"><small>53</small></a> + in Australia, in Sumatra, and among the Veddahs of Ceylon. The Russians + found it in Kamtchatka; and it was formerly employed in America, from + Labrador to the Straits of Magellan. <a href="#linknote-54" + name="linknoteref-54" id="linknoteref-54"><small>54</small></a> The Hindus + churned milk by a similar process; <a href="#linknote-55" + name="linknoteref-55" id="linknoteref-55"><small>55</small></a> and in + order to explain the thunder-storm, a Sanskrit poem tells how "once upon a + time the Devas, or gods, and their opponents, the Asuras, made a truce, + and joined together in churning the ocean to procure amrita, the drink of + immortality. They took Mount Mandara for a churning-stick, and, wrapping + the great serpent Sesha round it for a rope, they made the mountain spin + round to and fro, the Devas pulling at the serpent's tail, and the Asuras + at its head." <a href="#linknote-56" name="linknoteref-56" + id="linknoteref-56"><small>56</small></a> In this myth the churning-stick, + with its flying serpent-cords, is the lightning, and the armrita, or drink + of immortality, is simply the rain-water, which in Aryan folk-lore + possesses the same healing virtues as the lightning. "In Sclavonic myths + it is the water of life which restores the dead earth, a water brought by + a bird from the depths of a gloomy cave." <a href="#linknote-57" + name="linknoteref-57" id="linknoteref-57"><small>57</small></a> It is the + celestial soma or mead which Indra loves to drink; it is the ambrosial + nectar of the Olympian gods; it is the charmed water which in the Arabian + Nights restores to human shape the victims of wicked sorcerers; and it is + the elixir of life which mediaeval philosophers tried to discover, and in + quest of which Ponce de Leon traversed the wilds of Florida. <a + href="#linknote-58" name="linknoteref-58" id="linknoteref-58"><small>58</small></a> + </p> + <p> + "Jacky's next proceeding was to get some dry sticks and wood, and prepare + a fire, which, to George's astonishment, he lighted thus. He got a block + of wood, in the middle of which he made a hole; then he cut and pointed a + long stick, and inserting the point into the block, worked it round + between his palms for some time and with increasing rapidity. Presently + there came a smell of burning wood, and soon after it burst into a flame + at the point of contact. Jacky cut slices of shark and roasted them."—Reade, + Never too Late to Mend, chap. xxxviii. + </p> + <p> + The most interesting point in this Hindu myth is the name of the peaked + mountain Mandara, or Manthara, which the gods and devils took for their + churning-stick. The word means "a churning-stick," and it appears also, + with a prefixed preposition, in the name of the fire-drill, pramantha. Now + Kuhn has proved that this name, pramantha, is etymologically identical + with Prometheus, the name of the beneficent Titan, who stole fire from + heaven and bestowed it upon mankind as the richest of boons. This sublime + personage was originally nothing but the celestial drill which churns fire + out of the clouds; but the Greeks had so entirely forgotten his origin + that they interpreted his name as meaning "the one who thinks beforehand," + and accredited him with a brother, Epimetheus, or "the one who thinks too + late." The Greeks had adopted another name, trypanon, for their + fire-drill, and thus the primitive character of Prometheus became + obscured. + </p> + <p> + I have said above that it was regarded as absolutely essential that the + divining-rod should be forked. To this rule, however, there was one + exception, and if any further evidence be needed to convince the most + sceptical that the divining-rod is nothing but a symbol of the lightning, + that exception will furnish such evidence. For this exceptional kind of + divining-rod was made of a pointed stick rotating in a block of wood, and + it was the presence of hidden water or treasure which was supposed to + excite the rotatory motion. + </p> + <p> + In the myths relating to Prometheus, the lightning-god appears as the + originator of civilization, sometimes as the creator of the human race, + and always as its friend, <a href="#linknote-59" name="linknoteref-59" + id="linknoteref-59"><small>59</small></a> suffering in its behalf the most + fearful tortures at the hands of the jealous Zeus. In one story he creates + man by making a clay image and infusing into it a spark of the fire which + he had brought from heaven; in another story he is himself the first man. + In the Peloponnesian myth Phoroneus, who is Prometheus under another name, + is the first man, and his mother was an ash-tree. In Norse mythology, + also, the gods were said to have made the first man out of the ash-tree + Yggdrasil. The association of the heavenly fire with the life-giving + forces of nature is very common in the myths of both hemispheres, and in + view of the facts already cited it need not surprise us. Hence the Hindu + Agni and the Norse Thor were patrons of marriage, and in Norway, the most + lucky day on which to be married is still supposed to be Thursday, which + in old times was the day of the fire-god. <a href="#linknote-60" + name="linknoteref-60" id="linknoteref-60"><small>60</small></a> Hence the + lightning-plants have divers virtues in matters pertaining to marriage. + The Romans made their wedding torches of whitethorn; hazel-nuts are still + used all over Europe in divinations relating to the future lover or + sweetheart; <a href="#linknote-61" name="linknoteref-61" + id="linknoteref-61"><small>61</small></a> and under a mistletoe bough it + is allowable for a gentleman to kiss a lady. A vast number of kindred + superstitions are described by Mr. Kelly, to whom I am indebted for many + of these examples. <a href="#linknote-62" name="linknoteref-62" + id="linknoteref-62"><small>62</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Thus we reach at last the completed conception of the divining-rod, or as + it is called in this sense the wish-rod, with its kindred talismans, from + Aladdin's lamp and the purse of Bedreddin Hassan, to the Sangreal, the + philosopher's stone, and the goblets of Oberon and Tristram. These symbols + of the reproductive energies of nature, which give to the possessor every + good and perfect gift, illustrate the uncurbed belief in the power of wish + which the ancient man shared with modern children. In the Norse story of + Frodi's quern, the myth assumes a whimsical shape. The prose Edda tells of + a primeval age of gold, when everybody had whatever he wanted. This was + because the giant Frodi had a mill which ground out peace and plenty and + abundance of gold withal, so that it lay about the roads like pebbles. + Through the inexcusable avarice of Frodi, this wonderful implement was + lost to the world. For he kept his maid-servants working at the mill until + they got out of patience, and began to make it grind out hatred and war. + Then came a mighty sea-rover by night and slew Frodi and carried away the + maids and the quern. When he got well out to sea, he told them to grind + out salt, and so they did with a vengeance. They ground the ship full of + salt and sank it, and so the quern was lost forever, but the sea remains + salt unto this day. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Kelly rightly identifies Frodi with the sun-god Fro or Freyr, and + observes that the magic mill is only another form of the fire-churn, or + chark. According to another version the quern is still grinding away and + keeping the sea salt, and over the place where it lies there is a + prodigious whirlpool or maelstrom which sucks down ships. + </p> + <p> + In its completed shape, the lightning-wand is the caduceus, or rod of + Hermes. I observed, in the preceding paper, that in the Greek conception + of Hermes there have been fused together the attributes of two deities who + were originally distinct. The Hermes of the Homeric Hymn is a wind-god; + but the later Hermes Agoraios, the patron of gymnasia, the mutilation of + whose statues caused such terrible excitement in Athens during the + Peloponnesian War, is a very different personage. He is a fire-god, + invested with many solar attributes, and represents the quickening forces + of nature. In this capacity the invention of fire was ascribed to him as + well as to Prometheus; he was said to be the friend of mankind, and was + surnamed Ploutodotes, or "the giver of wealth." + </p> + <p> + The Norse wind-god Odin has in like manner acquired several of the + attributes of Freyr and Thor. <a href="#linknote-63" name="linknoteref-63" + id="linknoteref-63"><small>63</small></a> His lightning-spear, which is + borrowed from Thor, appears by a comical metamorphosis as a wish-rod which + will administer a sound thrashing to the enemies of its possessor. Having + cut a hazel stick, you have only to lay down an old coat, name your + intended victim, wish he was there, and whack away: he will howl with pain + at every blow. This wonderful cudgel appears in Dasent's tale of "The Lad + who went to the North Wind," with which we may conclude this discussion. + The story is told, with little variation, in Hindustan, Germany, and + Scandinavia. + </p> + <p> + The North Wind, representing the mischievous Hermes, once blew away a poor + woman's meal. So her boy went to the North Wind and demanded his rights + for the meal his mother had lost. "I have n't got your meal," said the + Wind, "but here's a tablecloth which will cover itself with an excellent + dinner whenever you tell it to." So the lad took the cloth and started for + home. At nightfall he stopped at an inn, spread his cloth on the table, + and ordered it to cover itself with good things, and so it did. But the + landlord, who thought it would be money in his pocket to have such a + cloth, stole it after the boy had gone to bed, and substituted another + just like it in appearance. Next day the boy went home in great glee to + show off for his mother's astonishment what the North Wind had given him, + but all the dinner he got that day was what the old woman cooked for him. + In his despair he went back to the North Wind and called him a liar, and + again demanded his rights for the meal he had lost. "I have n't got your + meal," said the Wind, "but here's a ram which will drop money out of its + fleece whenever you tell it to." So the lad travelled home, stopping over + night at the same inn, and when he got home he found himself with a ram + which did n't drop coins out of its fleece. A third time he visited the + North Wind, and obtained a bag with a stick in it which, at the word of + command, would jump out of the bag and lay on until told to stop. Guessing + how matters stood as to his cloth and ram, he turned in at the same + tavern, and going to a bench lay down as if to sleep. The landlord thought + that a stick carried about in a bag must be worth something, and so he + stole quietly up to the bag, meaning to get the stick out and change it. + But just as he got within whacking distance, the boy gave the word, and + out jumped the stick and beat the thief until he promised to give back the + ram and the tablecloth. And so the boy got his rights for the meal which + the North Wind had blown away. October, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. WEREWOLVES AND SWAN-MAIDENS. + </h2> + <p> + IT is related by Ovid that Lykaon, king of Arkadia, once invited Zeus to + dinner, and served up for him a dish of human flesh, in order to test the + god's omniscience. But the trick miserably failed, and the impious monarch + received the punishment which his crime had merited. He was transformed + into a wolf, that he might henceforth feed upon the viands with which he + had dared to pollute the table of the king of Olympos. From that time + forth, according to Pliny, a noble Arkadian was each year, on the festival + of Zeus Lykaios, led to the margin of a certain lake. Hanging his clothes + upon a tree, he then plunged into the water and became a wolf. For the + space of nine years he roamed about the adjacent woods, and then, if he + had not tasted human flesh during all this time, he was allowed to swim + back to the place where his clothes were hanging, put them on, and return + to his natural form. It is further related of a certain Demainetos, that, + having once been present at a human sacrifice to Zeus Lykaios, he ate of + the flesh, and was transformed into a wolf for a term of ten years. <a + href="#linknote-64" name="linknoteref-64" id="linknoteref-64"><small>64</small></a> + </p> + <p> + These and other similar mythical germs were developed by the mediaeval + imagination into the horrible superstition of werewolves. + </p> + <p> + A werewolf, or loup-garou <a href="#linknote-65" name="linknoteref-65" + id="linknoteref-65"><small>65</small></a> was a person who had the power + of transforming himself into a wolf, being endowed, while in the lupine + state, with the intelligence of a man, the ferocity of a wolf, and the + irresistible strength of a demon. The ancients believed in the existence + of such persons; but in the Middle Ages the metamorphosis was supposed to + be a phenomenon of daily occurrence, and even at the present day, in + secluded portions of Europe, the superstition is still cherished by + peasants. The belief, moreover, is supported by a vast amount of evidence, + which can neither be argued nor pooh-poohed into insignificance. It is the + business of the comparative mythologist to trace the pedigree of the ideas + from which such a conception may have sprung; while to the critical + historian belongs the task of ascertaining and classifying the actual + facts which this particular conception was used to interpret. + </p> + <p> + The mediaeval belief in werewolves is especially adapted to illustrate the + complicated manner in which divers mythical conceptions and misunderstood + natural occurrences will combine to generate a long-enduring superstition. + Mr. Cox, indeed, would have us believe that the whole notion arose from an + unintentional play upon words; but the careful survey of the field, which + has been taken by Hertz and Baring-Gould, leads to the conclusion that + many other circumstances have been at work. The delusion, though doubtless + purely mythical in its origin, nevertheless presents in its developed + state a curious mixture of mythical and historical elements. + </p> + <p> + With regard to the Arkadian legend, taken by itself, Mr. Cox is probably + right. The story seems to belong to that large class of myths which have + been devised in order to explain the meaning of equivocal words whose true + significance has been forgotten. The epithet Lykaios, as applied to Zeus, + had originally no reference to wolves: it means "the bright one," and gave + rise to lycanthropic legends only because of the similarity in sound + between the names for "wolf" and "brightness." Aryan mythology furnishes + numerous other instances of this confusion. The solar deity, Phoibos + Lykegenes, was originally the "offspring of light"; but popular etymology + made a kind of werewolf of him by interpreting his name as the + "wolf-born." The name of the hero Autolykos means simply the + "self-luminous"; but it was more frequently interpreted as meaning "a very + wolf," in allusion to the supposed character of its possessor. Bazra, the + name of the citadel of Carthage, was the Punic word for "fortress"; but + the Greeks confounded it with byrsa, "a hide," and hence the story of the + ox-hides cut into strips by Dido in order to measure the area of the place + to be fortified. The old theory that the Irish were Phoenicians had a + similar origin. The name Fena, used to designate the old Scoti or Irish, + is the plural of Fion, "fair," seen in the name of the hero Fion Gall, or + "Fingal"; but the monkish chroniclers identified Fena with phoinix, whence + arose the myth; and by a like misunderstanding of the epithet Miledh, or + "warrior," applied to Fion by the Gaelic bards, there was generated a + mythical hero, Milesius, and the soubriquet "Milesian," colloquially + employed in speaking of the Irish. <a href="#linknote-66" + name="linknoteref-66" id="linknoteref-66"><small>66</small></a> So the + Franks explained the name of the town Daras, in Mesopotamia, by the story + that the Emperor Justinian once addressed the chief magistrate with the + exclamation, daras, "thou shalt give": <a href="#linknote-67" + name="linknoteref-67" id="linknoteref-67"><small>67</small></a> the Greek + chronicler, Malalas, who spells the name Doras, informs us with equal + complacency that it was the place where Alexander overcame Codomannus with + dorn, "the spear." A certain passage in the Alps is called Scaletta, from + its resemblance to a staircase; but according to a local tradition it owes + its name to the bleaching skeletons of a company of Moors who were + destroyed there in the eighth century, while attempting to penetrate into + Northern Italy. The name of Antwerp denotes the town built at a "wharf"; + but it sounds very much like the Flemish handt werpen, "hand-throwing": + "hence arose the legend of the giant who cut of the hands of those who + passed his castle without paying him black-mail, and threw them into the + Scheldt." <a href="#linknote-68" name="linknoteref-68" id="linknoteref-68"><small>68</small></a> + In the myth of Bishop Hatto, related in a previous paper, the Mause-thurm + is a corruption of maut-thurm; it means "customs-tower," and has nothing + to do with mice or rats. Doubtless this etymology was the cause of the + floating myth getting fastened to this particular place; that it did not + give rise to the myth itself is shown by the existence of the same tale in + other places. Somewhere in England there is a place called Chateau Vert; + the peasantry have corrupted it into Shotover, and say that it has borne + that name ever since Little John shot over a high hill in the + neighbourhood. <a href="#linknote-69" name="linknoteref-69" + id="linknoteref-69"><small>69</small></a> Latium means "the flat land"; + but, according to Virgil, it is the place where Saturn once hid + (latuisset) from the wrath of his usurping son Jupiter. <a + href="#linknote-70" name="linknoteref-70" id="linknoteref-70"><small>70</small></a> + </p> + <p> + It was in this way that the constellation of the Great Bear received its + name. The Greek word arktos, answering to the Sanskrit riksha, meant + originally any bright object, and was applied to the bear—for what + reason it would not be easy to state—and to that constellation which + was most conspicuous in the latitude of the early home of the Aryans. When + the Greeks had long forgotten why these stars were called arktoi, they + symbolized them as a Great Bear fixed in the sky. So that, as Max Muller + observes, "the name of the Arctic regions rests on a misunderstanding of a + name framed thousands of years ago in Central Asia, and the surprise with + which many a thoughtful observer has looked at these seven bright stars, + wondering why they were ever called the Bear, is removed by a reference to + the early annals of human speech." Among the Algonquins the sun-god + Michabo was represented as a hare, his name being compounded of michi, + "great," and wabos, "a hare"; yet wabos also meant "white," so that the + god was doubtless originally called simply "the Great White One." The same + naive process has made bears of the Arkadians, whose name, like that of + the Lykians, merely signified that they were "children of light"; and the + metamorphosis of Kallisto, mother of Arkas, into a bear, and of Lykaon + into a wolf, rests apparently upon no other foundation than an erroneous + etymology. Originally Lykaon was neither man nor wolf; he was but another + form of Phoibos Lykegenes, the light-born sun, and, as Mr. Cox has shown, + his legend is but a variation of that of Tantalos, who in time of drought + offers to Zeus the flesh of his own offspring, the withered fruits, and is + punished for his impiety. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me, however, that this explanation, though valid as far as it + goes, is inadequate to explain all the features of the werewolf + superstition, or to account for its presence in all Aryan countries and + among many peoples who are not of Aryan origin. There can be no doubt that + the myth-makers transformed Lykaon into a wolf because of his unlucky + name; because what really meant "bright man" seemed to them to mean + "wolf-man"; but it has by no means been proved that a similar equivocation + occurred in the case of all the primitive Aryan werewolves, nor has it + been shown to be probable that among each people the being with the + uncanny name got thus accidentally confounded with the particular beast + most dreaded by that people. Etymology alone does not explain the fact + that while Gaul has been the favourite haunt of the man-wolf, Scandinavia + has been preferred by the man-bear, and Hindustan by the man-tiger. To + account for such a widespread phenomenon we must seek a more general + cause. + </p> + <p> + Nothing is more strikingly characteristic of primitive thinking than the + close community of nature which it assumes between man and brute. The + doctrine of metempsychosis, which is found in some shape or other all over + the world, implies a fundamental identity between the two; the Hindu is + taught to respect the flocks browsing in the meadow, and will on no + account lift his hand against a cow, for who knows but it may he his own + grandmother? The recent researches of Mr. M`Lennan and Mr. Herbert Spencer + have served to connect this feeling with the primeval worship of ancestors + and with the savage customs of totemism. <a href="#linknote-71" + name="linknoteref-71" id="linknoteref-71"><small>71</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The worship of ancestors seems to have been every where the oldest + systematized form of fetichistic religion. The reverence paid to the + chieftain of the tribe while living was continued and exaggerated after + his death The uncivilized man is everywhere incapable of grasping the idea + of death as it is apprehended by civilized people. He cannot understand + that a man should pass away so as to be no longer capable of communicating + with his fellows. The image of his dead chief or comrade remains in his + mind, and the savage's philosophic realism far surpasses that of the most + extravagant mediaeval schoolmen; to him the persistence of the idea + implies the persistence of the reality. The dead man, accordingly, is not + really dead; he has thrown off his body like a husk, yet still retains his + old appearance, and often shows himself to his old friends, especially + after nightfall. He is no doubt possessed of more extensive powers than + before his transformation, <a href="#linknote-72" name="linknoteref-72" + id="linknoteref-72"><small>72</small></a> and may very likely have a share + in regulating the weather, granting or withholding rain. Therefore, argues + the uncivilized mind, he is to be cajoled and propitiated more sedulously + now than before his strange transformation. + </p> + <p> + This kind of worship still maintains a languid existence as the state + religion of China, and it still exists as a portion of Brahmanism; but in + the Vedic religion it is to be seen in all its vigour and in all its naive + simplicity. According to the ancient Aryan, the pitris, or "Fathers" (Lat. + patres), live in the sky along with Yama, the great original Pitri of + mankind. This first man came down from heaven in the lightning, and back + to heaven both himself and all his offspring must have gone. There they + distribute light unto men below, and they shine themselves as stars; and + hence the Christianized German peasant, fifty centuries later, tells his + children that the stars are angels' eyes, and the English cottager + impresses it on the youthful mind that it is wicked to point at the stars, + though why he cannot tell. But the Pitris are not stars only, nor do they + content themselves with idly looking down on the affairs of men, after the + fashion of the laissez-faire divinities of Lucretius. They are, on the + contrary, very busy with the weather; they send rain, thunder, and + lightning; and they especially delight in rushing over the housetops in a + great gale of wind, led on by their chief, the mysterious huntsman, Hermes + or Odin. + </p> + <p> + It has been elsewhere shown that the howling dog, or wish-hound of Hermes, + whose appearance under the windows of a sick person is such an alarming + portent, is merely the tempest personified. Throughout all Aryan mythology + the souls of the dead are supposed to ride on the night-wind, with their + howling dogs, gathering into their throng the souls of those just dying as + they pass by their houses. <a href="#linknote-73" name="linknoteref-73" + id="linknoteref-73"><small>73</small></a> Sometimes the whole complex + conception is wrapped up in the notion of a single dog, the messenger of + the god of shades, who comes to summon the departing soul. Sometimes, + instead of a dog, we have a great ravening wolf who comes to devour its + victim and extinguish the sunlight of life, as that old wolf of the tribe + of Fenrir devoured little Red Riding-Hood with her robe of scarlet + twilight. <a href="#linknote-74" name="linknoteref-74" id="linknoteref-74"><small>74</small></a> + Thus we arrive at a true werewolf myth. The storm-wind, or howling + Rakshasa of Hindu folk-lore, is "a great misshapen giant with red beard + and red hair, with pointed protruding teeth, ready to lacerate and devour + human flesh; his body is covered with coarse, bristling hair, his huge + mouth is open, he looks from side to side as he walks, lusting after the + flesh and blood of men, to satisfy his raging hunger and quench his + consuming thirst. Towards nightfall his strength increases manifold; he + can change his shape at will; he haunts the woods, and roams howling + through the jungle." <a href="#linknote-75" name="linknoteref-75" + id="linknoteref-75"><small>75</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Now if the storm-wind is a host of Pitris, or one great Pitri who appears + as a fearful giant, and is also a pack of wolves or wish-hounds, or a + single savage dog or wolf, the inference is obvious to the mythopoeic mind + that men may become wolves, at least after death. And to the uncivilized + thinker this inference is strengthened, as Mr. Spencer has shown, by + evidence registered on his own tribal totem or heraldic emblem. The bears + and lions and leopards of heraldry are the degenerate descendants of the + totem of savagery which designated the tribe by a beast-symbol. To the + untutored mind there is everything in a name; and the descendant of Brown + Bear or Yellow Tiger or Silver Hyaena cannot be pronounced unfaithful to + his own style of philosophizing, if he regards his ancestors, who career + about his hut in the darkness of night, as belonging to whatever order of + beasts his totem associations may suggest. + </p> + <p> + Thus we not only see a ray of light thrown on the subject of + metempsychosis, but we get a glimpse of the curious process by which the + intensely realistic mind of antiquity arrived at the notion that men could + be transformed into beasts. For the belief that the soul can temporarily + quit the body during lifetime has been universally entertained; and from + the conception of wolf-like ghosts it was but a short step to the + conception of corporeal werewolves. In the Middle Ages the phenomena of + trance and catalepsy were cited in proof of the theory that the soul can + leave the body and afterwards return to it. Hence it was very difficult + for a person accused of witchcraft to prove an alibi; for to any amount of + evidence showing that the body was innocently reposing at home and in bed, + the rejoinder was obvious that the soul may nevertheless have been in + attendance at the witches' Sabbath or busied in maiming a neighbour's + cattle. According to one mediaeval notion, the soul of the werewolf quit + its human body, which remained in a trance until its return. <a + href="#linknote-76" name="linknoteref-76" id="linknoteref-76"><small>76</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The mythological basis of the werewolf superstition is now, I believe, + sufficiently indicated. The belief, however, did not reach its complete + development, or acquire its most horrible features, until the pagan habits + of thought which had originated it were modified by contact with Christian + theology. To the ancient there was nothing necessarily diabolical in the + transformation of a man into a beast. But Christianity, which retained + such a host of pagan conceptions under such strange disguises, which + degraded the "All-father" Odin into the ogre of the castle to which Jack + climbed on his bean-stalk, and which blended the beneficent lightning-god + Thor and the mischievous Hermes and the faun-like Pan into the grotesque + Teutonic Devil, did not fail to impart a new and fearful character to the + belief in werewolves. Lycanthropy became regarded as a species of + witchcraft; the werewolf was supposed to have obtained his peculiar powers + through the favour or connivance of the Devil; and hundreds of persons + were burned alive or broken on the wheel for having availed themselves of + the privilege of beast-metamorphosis. The superstition, thus widely + extended and greatly intensified, was confirmed by many singular phenomena + which cannot be omitted from any thorough discussion of the nature and + causes of lycanthropy. + </p> + <p> + The first of these phenomena is the Berserker insanity, characteristic of + Scandinavia, but not unknown in other countries. In times when killing + one's enemies often formed a part of the necessary business of life, + persons were frequently found who killed for the mere love of the thing; + with whom slaughter was an end desirable in itself, not merely a means to + a desirable end. What the miser is in an age which worships mammon, such + was the Berserker in an age when the current idea of heaven was that of a + place where people could hack each other to pieces through all eternity, + and when the man who refused a challenge was punished with confiscation of + his estates. With these Northmen, in the ninth century, the chief business + and amusement in life was to set sail for some pleasant country, like + Spain or France, and make all the coasts and navigable rivers hideous with + rapine and massacre. When at home, in the intervals between their + freebooting expeditions, they were liable to become possessed by a strange + homicidal madness, during which they would array themselves in the skins + of wolves or bears, and sally forth by night to crack the backbones, smash + the skulls, and sometimes to drink with fiendish glee the blood of unwary + travellers or loiterers. These fits of madness were usually followed by + periods of utter exhaustion and nervous depression. <a href="#linknote-77" + name="linknoteref-77" id="linknoteref-77"><small>77</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Such, according to the unanimous testimony of historians, was the + celebrated "Berserker rage," not peculiar to the Northland, although there + most conspicuously manifested. Taking now a step in advance, we find that + in comparatively civilized countries there have been many cases of + monstrous homicidal insanity. The two most celebrated cases, among those + collected by Mr. Baring-Gould, are those of the Marechal de Retz, in 1440, + and of Elizabeth, a Hungarian countess, in the seventeenth century. The + Countess Elizabeth enticed young girls into her palace on divers pretexts, + and then coolly murdered them, for the purpose of bathing in their blood. + The spectacle of human suffering became at last such a delight to her, + that she would apply with her own hands the most excruciating tortures, + relishing the shrieks of her victims as the epicure relishes each sip of + his old Chateau Margaux. In this way she is said to have murdered six + hundred and fifty persons before her evil career was brought to an end; + though, when one recollects the famous men in buckram and the notorious + trio of crows, one is inclined to strike off a cipher, and regard + sixty-five as a sufficiently imposing and far less improbable number. But + the case of the Marechal de Retz is still more frightful. A marshal of + France, a scholarly man, a patriot, and a man of holy life, he became + suddenly possessed by an uncontrollable desire to murder children. During + seven years he continued to inveigle little boys and girls into his + castle, at the rate of about TWO EACH WEEK, (?) and then put them to death + in various ways, that he might witness their agonies and bathe in their + blood; experiencing after each occasion the most dreadful remorse, but led + on by an irresistible craving to repeat the crime. When this unparalleled + iniquity was finally brought to light, the castle was found to contain + bins full of children's bones. The horrible details of the trial are to be + found in the histories of France by Michelet and Martin. + </p> + <p> + Going a step further, we find cases in which the propensity to murder has + been accompanied by cannibalism. In 1598 a tailor of Chalons was sentenced + by the parliament of Paris to be burned alive for lycanthropy. "This + wretched man had decoyed children into his shop, or attacked them in the + gloaming when they strayed in the woods, had torn them with his teeth and + killed them, after which he seems calmly to have dressed their flesh as + ordinary meat, and to have eaten it with a great relish. The number of + little innocents whom he destroyed is unknown. A whole caskful of bones + was discovered in his house." <a href="#linknote-78" name="linknoteref-78" + id="linknoteref-78"><small>78</small></a> About 1850 a beggar in the + village of Polomyia, in Galicia, was proved to have killed and eaten + fourteen children. A house had one day caught fire and burnt to the + ground, roasting one of the inmates, who was unable to escape. The beggar + passed by soon after, and, as he was suffering from excessive hunger, + could not resist the temptation of making a meal off the charred body. + From that moment he was tormented by a craving for human flesh. He met a + little orphan girl, about nine years old, and giving her a pinchbeck ring + told her to seek for others like it under a tree in the neighbouring wood. + She was slain, carried to the beggar's hovel, and eaten. In the course of + three years thirteen other children mysteriously disappeared, but no one + knew whom to suspect. At last an innkeeper missed a pair of ducks, and + having no good opinion of this beggar's honesty, went unexpectedly to his + cabin, burst suddenly in at the door, and to his horror found him in the + act of hiding under his cloak a severed head; a bowl of fresh blood stood + under the oven, and pieces of a thigh were cooking over the fire. <a + href="#linknote-79" name="linknoteref-79" id="linknoteref-79"><small>79</small></a> + </p> + <p> + This occurred only about twenty years ago, and the criminal, though ruled + by an insane appetite, is not known to have been subject to any mental + delusion. But there have been a great many similar cases, in which the + homicidal or cannibal craving has been accompanied by genuine + hallucination. Forms of insanity in which the afflicted persons imagine + themselves to be brute animals are not perhaps very common, but they are + not unknown. I once knew a poor demented old man who believed himself to + be a horse, and would stand by the hour together before a manger, nibbling + hay, or deluding himself with the presence of so doing. Many of the + cannibals whose cases are related by Mr. Baring-Gould, in his chapter of + horrors, actually believed themselves to have been transformed into wolves + or other wild animals. Jean Grenier was a boy of thirteen, partially + idiotic, and of strongly marked canine physiognomy; his jaws were large + and projected forward, and his canine teeth were unnaturally long, so as + to protrude beyond the lower lip. He believed himself to be a werewolf. + One evening, meeting half a dozen young girls, he scared them out of their + wits by telling them that as soon as the sun had set he would turn into a + wolf and eat them for supper. A few days later, one little girl, having + gone out at nightfall to look after the sheep, was attacked by some + creature which in her terror she mistook for a wolf, but which afterwards + proved to be none other than Jean Grenier. She beat him off with her + sheep-staff, and fled home. As several children had mysteriously + disappeared from the neighbourhood, Grenier was at once suspected. Being + brought before the parliament of Bordeaux, he stated that two years ago he + had met the Devil one night in the woods and had signed a compact with him + and received from him a wolf-skin. Since then he had roamed about as a + wolf after dark, resuming his human shape by daylight. He had killed and + eaten several children whom he had found alone in the fields, and on one + occasion he had entered a house while the family were out and taken the + baby from its cradle. A careful investigation proved the truth of these + statements, so far as the cannibalism was concerned. There is no doubt + that the missing children were eaten by Jean Grenier, and there is no + doubt that in his own mind the halfwitted boy was firmly convinced that he + was a wolf. Here the lycanthropy was complete. + </p> + <p> + In the year 1598, "in a wild and unfrequented spot near Caude, some + countrymen came one day upon the corpse of a boy of fifteen, horribly + mutilated and bespattered with blood. As the men approached, two wolves, + which had been rending the body, bounded away into the thicket. The men + gave chase immediately, following their bloody tracks till they lost them; + when, suddenly crouching among the bushes, his teeth chattering with fear, + they found a man half naked, with long hair and beard, and with his hands + dyed in blood. His nails were long as claws, and were clotted with fresh + gore and shreds of human flesh." <a href="#linknote-80" + name="linknoteref-80" id="linknoteref-80"><small>80</small></a> + </p> + <p> + This man, Jacques Roulet, was a poor, half-witted creature under the + dominion of a cannibal appetite. He was employed in tearing to pieces the + corpse of the boy when these countrymen came up. Whether there were any + wolves in the case, except what the excited imaginations of the men may + have conjured up, I will not presume to determine; but it is certain that + Roulet supposed himself to be a wolf, and killed and ate several persons + under the influence of the delusion. He was sentenced to death, but the + parliament of Paris reversed the sentence, and charitably shut him up in a + madhouse. + </p> + <p> + The annals of the Middle Ages furnish many cases similar to these of + Grenier and Roulet. Their share in maintaining the werewolf superstition + is undeniable; but modern science finds in them nothing that cannot be + readily explained. That stupendous process of breeding, which we call + civilization, has been for long ages strengthening those kindly social + feelings by the possession of which we are chiefly distinguished from the + brutes, leaving our primitive bestial impulses to die for want of + exercise, or checking in every possible way their further expansion by + legislative enactments. But this process, which is transforming us from + savages into civilized men, is a very slow one; and now and then there + occur cases of what physiologists call atavism, or reversion to an + ancestral type of character. Now and then persons are born, in civilized + countries, whose intellectual powers are on a level with those of the most + degraded Australian savage, and these we call idiots. And now and then + persons are born possessed of the bestial appetites and cravings of + primitive man, his fiendish cruelty and his liking for human flesh. Modern + physiology knows how to classify and explain these abnormal cases, but to + the unscientific mediaeval mind they were explicable only on the + hypothesis of a diabolical metamorphosis. And there is nothing strange in + the fact that, in an age when the prevailing habits of thought rendered + the transformation of men into beasts an easily admissible notion, these + monsters of cruelty and depraved appetite should have been regarded as + capable of taking on bestial forms. Nor is it strange that the + hallucination under which these unfortunate wretches laboured should have + taken such a shape as to account to their feeble intelligence for the + existence of the appetites which they were conscious of not sharing with + their neighbours and contemporaries. If a myth is a piece of unscientific + philosophizing, it must sometimes be applied to the explanation of obscure + psychological as well as of physical phenomena. Where the modern calmly + taps his forehead and says, "Arrested development," the terrified ancient + made the sign of the cross and cried, "Werewolf." + </p> + <p> + We shall be assisted in this explanation by turning aside for a moment to + examine the wild superstitions about "changelings," which contributed, + along with so many others, to make the lives of our ancestors anxious and + miserable. These superstitions were for the most part attempts to explain + the phenomena of insanity, epilepsy, and other obscure nervous diseases. A + man who has hitherto enjoyed perfect health, and whose actions have been + consistent and rational, suddenly loses all self-control and seems + actuated by a will foreign to himself. Modern science possesses the key to + this phenomenon; but in former times it was explicable only on the + hypothesis that a demon had entered the body of the lunatic, or else that + the fairies had stolen the real man and substituted for him a diabolical + phantom exactly like him in stature and features. Hence the numerous + legends of changelings, some of which are very curious. In Irish folk-lore + we find the story of one Rickard, surnamed the Rake, from his worthless + character. A good-natured, idle fellow, he spent all his evenings in + dancing,—an accomplishment in which no one in the village could + rival him. One night, in the midst of a lively reel, he fell down in a + fit. "He's struck with a fairy-dart," exclaimed all the friends, and they + carried him home and nursed him; but his face grew so thin and his manner + so morose that by and by all began to suspect that the true Rickard was + gone and a changeling put in his place. Rickard, with all his + accomplishments, was no musician; and so, in order to put the matter to a + crucial test, a bagpipe was left in the room by the side of his bed. The + trick succeeded. One hot summer's day, when all were supposed to be in the + field making hay, some members of the family secreted in a clothes-press + saw the bedroom door open a little way, and a lean, foxy face, with a pair + of deep-sunken eyes, peer anxiously about the premises. Having satisfied + itself that the coast was clear, the face withdrew, the door was closed, + and presently such ravishing strains of music were heard as never + proceeded from a bagpipe before or since that day. Soon was heard the + rustle of innumerable fairies, come to dance to the changeling's music. + Then the "fairy-man" of the village, who was keeping watch with the + family, heated a pair of tongs red-hot, and with deafening shouts all + burst at once into the sick-chamber. The music had ceased and the room was + empty, but in at the window glared a fiendish face, with such fearful + looks of hatred, that for a moment all stood motionless with terror. But + when the fairy-man, recovering himself, advanced with the hot tongs to + pinch its nose, it vanished with an unearthly yell, and there on the bed + was Rickard, safe and sound, and cured of his epilepsy. <a + href="#linknote-81" name="linknoteref-81" id="linknoteref-81"><small>81</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Comparing this legend with numerous others relating to changelings, and + stripping off the fantastic garb of fairy-lore with which popular + imagination has invested them, it seems impossible to doubt that they have + arisen from myths devised for the purpose of explaining the obscure + phenomena of mental disease. If this be so, they afford an excellent + collateral illustration of the belief in werewolves. The same mental + habits which led men to regard the insane or epileptic person as a + changeling, and which allowed them to explain catalepsy as the temporary + departure of a witch's soul from its body, would enable them to attribute + a wolf's nature to the maniac or idiot with cannibal appetites. And when + the myth-forming process had got thus far, it would not stop short of + assigning to the unfortunate wretch a tangible lupine body; for all + ancient mythology teemed with precedents for such a transformation. + </p> + <p> + It remains for us to sum up,—to tie into a bunch the keys which have + helped us to penetrate into the secret causes of the werewolf + superstition. In a previous paper we saw what a host of myths, + fairy-tales, and superstitious observances have sprung from attempts to + interpret one simple natural phenomenon,—the descent of fire from + the clouds. Here, on the other hand, we see what a heterogeneous multitude + of mythical elements may combine to build up in course of time a single + enormous superstition, and we see how curiously fact and fancy have + co-operated in keeping the superstition from falling. In the first place + the worship of dead ancestors with wolf totems originated the notion of + the transformation of men into divine or superhuman wolves; and this + notion was confirmed by the ambiguous explanation of the storm-wind as the + rushing of a troop of dead men's souls or as the howling of wolf-like + monsters. Mediaeval Christianity retained these conceptions, merely + changing the superhuman wolves into evil demons; and finally the + occurrence of cases of Berserker madness and cannibalism, accompanied by + lycanthropic hallucinations, being interpreted as due to such demoniacal + metamorphosis, gave rise to the werewolf superstition of the Middle Ages. + The etymological proceedings, to which Mr. Cox would incontinently ascribe + the origin of the entire superstition, seemed to me to have played a very + subordinate part in the matter. To suppose that Jean Grenier imagined + himself to be a wolf, because the Greek word for wolf sounded like the + word for light, and thus gave rise to the story of a light-deity who + became a wolf, seems to me quite inadmissible. Yet as far as such verbal + equivocations may have prevailed, they doubtless helped to sustain the + delusion. + </p> + <p> + Thus we need no longer regard our werewolf as an inexplicable creature of + undetermined pedigree. But any account of him would be quite imperfect + which should omit all consideration of the methods by which his change of + form was accomplished. By the ancient Romans the werewolf was commonly + called a "skin-changer" or "turn-coat" (versipellis), and similar epithets + were applied to him in the Middle Ages The mediaeval theory was that, + while the werewolf kept his human form, his hair grew inwards; when he + wished to become a wolf, he simply turned himself inside out. In many + trials on record, the prisoners were closely interrogated as to how this + inversion might be accomplished; but I am not aware that any one of them + ever gave a satisfactory answer. At the moment of change their memories + seem to have become temporarily befogged. Now and then a poor wretch had + his arms and legs cut off, or was partially flayed, in order that the + ingrowing hair might be detected. <a href="#linknote-82" + name="linknoteref-82" id="linknoteref-82"><small>82</small></a> Another + theory was, that the possessed person had merely to put on a wolf's skin, + in order to assume instantly the lupine form and character; and in this + may perhaps be seen a vague reminiscence of the alleged fact that + Berserkers were in the habit of haunting the woods by night, clothed in + the hides of wolves or bears. <a href="#linknote-83" name="linknoteref-83" + id="linknoteref-83"><small>83</small></a> Such a wolfskin was kept by the + boy Grenier. Roulet, on the other hand, confessed to using a magic salve + or ointment. A fourth method of becoming a werewolf was to obtain a + girdle, usually made of human skin. Several cases are related in Thorpe's + "Northern Mythology." One hot day in harvest-time some reapers lay down to + sleep in the shade; when one of them, who could not sleep, saw the man + next him arise quietly and gird him with a strap, whereupon he instantly + vanished, and a wolf jumped up from among the sleepers and ran off across + the fields. Another man, who possessed such a girdle, once went away from + home without remembering to lock it up. His little son climbed up to the + cupboard and got it, and as he proceeded to buckle it around his waist, he + became instantly transformed into a strange-looking beast. Just then his + father came in, and seizing the girdle restored the child to his natural + shape. The boy said that no sooner had he buckled it on than he was + tormented with a raging hunger. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes the werewolf transformation led to unlucky accidents. At + Caseburg, as a man and his wife were making hay, the woman threw down her + pitchfork and went away, telling her husband that if a wild beast should + come to him during her absence he must throw his hat at it. Presently a + she-wolf rushed towards him. The man threw his hat at it, but a boy came + up from another part of the field and stabbed the animal with his + pitchfork, whereupon it vanished, and the woman's dead body lay at his + feet. + </p> + <p> + A parallel legend shows that this woman wished to have the hat thrown at + her, in order that she might be henceforth free from her liability to + become a werewolf. A man was one night returning with his wife from a + merry-making when he felt the change coming on. Giving his wife the reins, + he jumped from the wagon, telling her to strike with her apron at any + animal which might come to her. In a few moments a wolf ran up to the side + of the vehicle, and, as the woman struck out with her apron, it bit off a + piece and ran away. Presently the man returned with the piece of apron in + his mouth and consoled his terrified wife with the information that the + enchantment had left him forever. + </p> + <p> + A terrible case at a village in Auvergne has found its way into the annals + of witchcraft. "A gentleman while hunting was suddenly attacked by a + savage wolf of monstrous size. Impenetrable by his shot, the beast made a + spring upon the helpless huntsman, who in the struggle luckily, or + unluckily for the unfortunate lady, contrived to cut off one of its + fore-paws. This trophy he placed in his pocket, and made the best of his + way homewards in safety. On the road he met a friend, to whom he exhibited + a bleeding paw, or rather (as it now appeared) a woman's hand, upon which + was a wedding-ring. His wife's ring was at once recognized by the other. + His suspicions aroused, he immediately went in search of his wife, who was + found sitting by the fire in the kitchen, her arm hidden beneath her + apron, when the husband, seizing her by the arm, found his terrible + suspicions verified. The bleeding stump was there, evidently just fresh + from the wound. She was given into custody, and in the event was burned at + Riom, in presence of thousands of spectators." <a href="#linknote-84" + name="linknoteref-84" id="linknoteref-84"><small>84</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Sometimes a werewolf was cured merely by recognizing him while in his + brute shape. A Swedish legend tells of a cottager who, on entering the + forest one day without recollecting to say his Patter Noster, got into the + power of a Troll, who changed him into a wolf. For many years his wife + mourned him as dead. But one Christmas eve the old Troll, disguised as a + beggarwoman, came to the house for alms; and being taken in and kindly + treated, told the woman that her husband might very likely appear to her + in wolf-shape. Going at night to the pantry to lay aside a joint of meat + for tomorrow's dinner, she saw a wolf standing with its paws on the + window-sill, looking wistfully in at her. "Ah, dearest," said she, "if I + knew that thou wert really my husband, I would give thee a bone." + Whereupon the wolf-skin fell off, and her husband stood before her in the + same old clothes which he had on the day that the Troll got hold of him. + </p> + <p> + In Denmark it was believed that if a woman were to creep through a colt's + placental membrane stretched between four sticks, she would for the rest + of her life bring forth children without pain or illness; but all the boys + would in such case be werewolves, and all the girls Maras, or nightmares. + In this grotesque superstition appears that curious kinship between the + werewolf and the wife or maiden of supernatural race, which serves + admirably to illustrate the nature of both conceptions, and the + elucidation of which shall occupy us throughout the remainder of this + paper. + </p> + <p> + It is, perhaps, needless to state that in the personality of the + nightmare, or Mara, there was nothing equine. The Mara was a female demon, + <a href="#linknote-85" name="linknoteref-85" id="linknoteref-85"><small>85</small></a> + who would come at night and torment men or women by crouching on their + chests or stomachs and stopping their respiration. The scene is well + enough represented in Fuseli's picture, though the frenzied-looking horse + which there accompanies the demon has no place in the original + superstition. A Netherlandish story illustrates the character of the Mara. + Two young men were in love with the same damsel. One of them, being + tormented every night by a Mara, sought advice from his rival, and it was + a treacherous counsel that he got. "Hold a sharp knife with the point + towards your breast, and you'll never see the Mara again," said this false + friend. The lad thanked him, but when he lay down to rest he thought it as + well to be on the safe side, and so held the knife handle downward. So + when the Mara came, instead of forcing the blade into his breast, she cut + herself badly, and fled howling; and let us hope, though the legend here + leaves us in the dark, that this poor youth, who is said to have been the + comelier of the two, revenged himself on his malicious rival by marrying + the young lady. + </p> + <p> + But the Mara sometimes appeared in less revolting shape, and became the + mistress or even the wife of some mortal man to whom she happened to take + a fancy. In such cases she would vanish on being recognized. There is a + well-told monkish tale of a pious knight who, journeying one day through + the forest, found a beautiful lady stripped naked and tied to a tree, her + back all covered with deep gashes streaming with blood, from a flogging + which some bandits had given her. Of course he took her home to his castle + and married her, and for a while they lived very happily together, and the + fame of the lady's beauty was so great that kings and emperors held + tournaments in honor of her. But this pious knight used to go to mass + every Sunday, and greatly was he scandalized when he found that his wife + would never stay to assist in the Credo, but would always get up and walk + out of church just as the choir struck up. All her husband's coaxing was + of no use; threats and entreaties were alike powerless even to elicit an + explanation of this strange conduct. At last the good man determined to + use force; and so one Sunday, as the lady got up to go out, according to + custom, he seized her by the arm and sternly commanded her to remain. Her + whole frame was suddenly convulsed, and her dark eyes gleamed with weird, + unearthly brilliancy. The services paused for a moment, and all eyes were + turned toward the knight and his lady. "In God's name, tell me what thou + art," shouted the knight; and instantly, says the chronicler, "the bodily + form of the lady melted away, and was seen no more; whilst, with a cry of + anguish and of terror, an evil spirit of monstrous form rose from the + ground, clave the chapel roof asunder, and disappeared in the air." + </p> + <p> + In a Danish legend, the Mara betrays her affinity to the Nixies, or + Swan-maidens. A peasant discovered that his sweetheart was in the habit of + coming to him by night as a Mara. He kept strict watch until he discovered + her creeping into the room through a small knot-hole in the door. Next day + he made a peg, and after she had come to him, drove in the peg so that she + was unable to escape. They were married and lived together many years; but + one night it happened that the man, joking with his wife about the way in + which he had secured her, drew the peg from the knot-hole, that she might + see how she had entered his room. As she peeped through, she became + suddenly quite small, passed out, and was never seen again. + </p> + <p> + The well-known pathological phenomena of nightmare are sufficient to + account for the mediaeval theory of a fiend who sits upon one's bosom and + hinders respiration; but as we compare these various legends relating to + the Mara, we see that a more recondite explanation is needed to account + for all her peculiarities. Indigestion may interfere with our breathing, + but it does not make beautiful women crawl through keyholes, nor does it + bring wives from the spirit-world. The Mara belongs to an ancient family, + and in passing from the regions of monkish superstition to those of pure + mythology we find that, like her kinsman the werewolf, she had once seen + better days. Christianity made a demon of the Mara, and adopted the theory + that Satan employed these seductive creatures as agents for ruining human + souls. Such is the character of the knight's wife, in the monkish legend + just cited. But in the Danish tale the Mara appears as one of that large + family of supernatural wives who are permitted to live with mortal men + under certain conditions, but who are compelled to flee away when these + conditions are broken, as is always sure to be the case. The eldest and + one of the loveliest of this family is the Hindu nymph Urvasi, whose love + adventures with Pururavas are narrated in the Puranas, and form the + subject of the well-known and exquisite Sanskrit drama by Kalidasa. Urvasi + is allowed to live with Pururavas so long as she does not see him + undressed. But one night her kinsmen, the Gandharvas, or cloud-demons, + vexed at her long absence from heaven, resolved to get her away from her + mortal companion, They stole a pet lamb which had been tied at the foot of + her couch, whereat she bitterly upbraided her husband. In rage and + mortification, Pururavas sprang up without throwing on his tunic, and + grasping his sword sought the robber. Then the wicked Gandharvas sent a + flash of lightning, and Urvasi, seeing her naked husband, instantly + vanished. + </p> + <p> + The different versions of this legend, which have been elaborately + analyzed by comparative mythologists, leave no doubt that Urvasi is one of + the dawn-nymphs or bright fleecy clouds of early morning, which vanish as + the splendour of the sun is unveiled. We saw, in the preceding paper, that + the ancient Aryans regarded the sky as a sea or great lake, and that the + clouds were explained variously as Phaiakian ships with bird-like beaks + sailing over this lake, or as bright birds of divers shapes and hues. The + light fleecy cirrhi were regarded as mermaids, or as swans, or as maidens + with swan's plumage. In Sanskrit they are called Apsaras, or "those who + move in the water," and the Elves and Maras of Teutonic mythology have the + same significance. Urvasi appears in one legend as a bird; and a South + German prescription for getting rid of the Mara asserts that if she be + wrapped up in the bedclothes and firmly held, a white dove will forthwith + fly from the room, leaving the bedclothes empty. <a href="#linknote-86" + name="linknoteref-86" id="linknoteref-86"><small>86</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the story of Melusina the cloud-maiden appears as a kind of mermaid, + but in other respects the legend resembles that of Urvasi. Raymond, Count + de la Foret, of Poitou, having by an accident killed his patron and + benefactor during a hunting excursion, fled in terror and despair into the + deep recesses of the forest. All the afternoon and evening he wandered + through the thick dark woods, until at midnight he came upon a strange + scene. All at once "the boughs of the trees became less interlaced, and + the trunks fewer; next moment his horse, crashing through the shrubs, + brought him out on a pleasant glade, white with rime, and illumined by the + new moon; in the midst bubbled up a limpid fountain, and flowed away over + a pebbly-floor with a soothing murmur. Near the fountain-head sat three + maidens in glimmering white dresses, with long waving golden hair, and + faces of inexpressible beauty." <a href="#linknote-87" + name="linknoteref-87" id="linknoteref-87"><small>87</small></a> One of + them advanced to meet Raymond, and according to all mythological + precedent, they were betrothed before daybreak. In due time the + fountain-nymph <a href="#linknote-88" name="linknoteref-88" + id="linknoteref-88"><small>88</small></a> became Countess de la Foret, but + her husband was given to understand that all her Saturdays would be passed + in strictest seclusion, upon which he must never dare to intrude, under + penalty of losing her forever. For many years all went well, save that the + fair Melusina's children were, without exception, misshapen or disfigured. + But after a while this strange weekly seclusion got bruited about all over + the neighbourhood, and people shook their heads and looked grave about it. + So many gossiping tales came to the Count's ears, that he began to grow + anxious and suspicious, and at last he determined to know the worst. He + went one Saturday to Melusina's private apartments, and going through one + empty room after another, at last came to a locked door which opened into + a bath; looking through a keyhole, there he saw the Countess transformed + from the waist downwards into a fish, disporting herself like a mermaid in + the water. Of course he could not keep the secret, but when some time + afterwards they quarrelled, must needs address her as "a vile serpent, + contaminator of his honourable race." So she disappeared through the + window, but ever afterward hovered about her husband's castle of Lusignan, + like a Banshee, whenever one of its lords was about to die. + </p> + <p> + The well-known story of Undine is similar to that of Melusina, save that + the naiad's desire to obtain a human soul is a conception foreign to the + spirit of the myth, and marks the degradation which Christianity had + inflicted upon the denizens of fairy-land. In one of Dasent's tales the + water-maiden is replaced by a kind of werewolf. A white bear marries a + young girl, but assumes the human shape at night. She is never to look + upon him in his human shape, but how could a young bride be expected to + obey such an injunction as that? She lights a candle while he is sleeping, + and discovers the handsomest prince in the world; unluckily she drops + tallow on his shirt, and that tells the story. But she is more fortunate + than poor Raymond, for after a tiresome journey to the "land east of the + sun and west of the moon," and an arduous washing-match with a parcel of + ugly Trolls, she washes out the spots, and ends her husband's enchantment. + <a href="#linknote-89" name="linknoteref-89" id="linknoteref-89"><small>89</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the majority of these legends, however, the Apsaras, or cloud-maiden, + has a shirt of swan's feathers which plays the same part as the wolfskin + cape or girdle of the werewolf. If you could get hold of a werewolf's sack + and burn it, a permanent cure was effected. No danger of a relapse, unless + the Devil furnished him with a new wolfskin. So the swan-maiden kept her + human form, as long as she was deprived of her tunic of feathers. + Indo-European folk-lore teems with stories of swan-maidens forcibly wooed + and won by mortals who had stolen their clothes. A man travelling along + the road passes by a lake where several lovely girls are bathing; their + dresses, made of feathers curiously and daintily woven, lie on the shore. + He approaches the place cautiously and steals one of these dresses. <a + href="#linknote-90" name="linknoteref-90" id="linknoteref-90"><small>90</small></a> + When the girls have finished their bathing, they all come and get their + dresses and swim away as swans; but the one whose dress is stolen must + needs stay on shore and marry the thief. It is needless to add that they + live happily together for many years, or that finally the good man + accidentally leaves the cupboard door unlocked, whereupon his wife gets + back her swan-shirt and flies away from him, never to return. But it is + not always a shirt of feathers. In one German story, a nobleman hunting + deer finds a maiden bathing in a clear pool in the forest. He runs + stealthily up to her and seizes her necklace, at which she loses the power + to flee. They are married, and she bears seven sons at once, all of whom + have gold chains about their necks, and are able to transform themselves + into swans whenever they like. A Flemish legend tells of three Nixies, or + water-sprites, who came out of the Meuse one autumn evening, and helped + the villagers celebrate the end of the vintage. Such graceful dancers had + never been seen in Flanders, and they could sing as well as they could + dance. As the night was warm, one of them took off her gloves and gave + them to her partner to hold for her. When the clock struck twelve the + other two started off in hot haste, and then there was a hue and cry for + gloves. The lad would keep them as love-tokens, and so the poor Nixie had + to go home without them; but she must have died on the way, for next + morning the waters of the Meuse were blood-red, and those damsels never + returned. + </p> + <p> + In the Faro Islands it is believed that seals cast off their skins every + ninth night, assume human forms, and sing and dance like men and women + until daybreak, when they resume their skins and their seal natures. Of + course a man once found and hid one of these sealskins, and so got a + mermaid for a wife; and of course she recovered the skin and escaped. <a + href="#linknote-91" name="linknoteref-91" id="linknoteref-91"><small>91</small></a> + On the coasts of Ireland it is supposed to be quite an ordinary thing for + young sea-fairies to get human husbands in this way; the brazen things + even come to shore on purpose, and leave their red caps lying around for + young men to pick up; but it behooves the husband to keep a strict watch + over the red cap, if he would not see his children left motherless. + </p> + <p> + This mermaid's cap has contributed its quota to the superstitions of + witchcraft. An Irish story tells how Red James was aroused from sleep one + night by noises in the kitchen. Going down to the door, he saw a lot of + old women drinking punch around the fireplace, and laughing and joking + with his housekeeper. When the punchbowl was empty, they all put on red + caps, and singing + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "By yarrow and rue, + And my red cap too, + Hie me over to England," +</pre> + <p> + they flew up chimney. So Jimmy burst into the room, and seized the + housekeeper's cap, and went along with them. They flew across the sea to a + castle in England, passed through the keyholes from room to room and into + the cellar, where they had a famous carouse. Unluckily Jimmy, being unused + to such good cheer, got drunk, and forgot to put on his cap when the + others did. So next morning the lord's butler found him dead-drunk on the + cellar floor, surrounded by empty casks. He was sentenced to be hung + without any trial worth speaking of; but as he was carted to the gallows + an old woman cried out, "Ach, Jimmy alanna! Would you be afther dyin' in a + strange land without your red birredh?" The lord made no objections, and + so the red cap was brought and put on him. Accordingly when Jimmy had got + to the gallows and was making his last speech for the edification of the + spectators, he unexpectedly and somewhat irrelevantly exclaimed, "By + yarrow and rue," etc., and was off like a rocket, shooting through the + blue air en route for old Ireland. <a href="#linknote-92" + name="linknoteref-92" id="linknoteref-92"><small>92</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In another Irish legend an enchanted ass comes into the kitchen of a great + house every night, and washes the dishes and scours the tins, so that the + servants lead an easy life of it. After a while in their exuberant + gratitude they offer him any present for which he may feel inclined to + ask. He desires only "an ould coat, to keep the chill off of him these + could nights"; but as soon as he gets into the coat he resumes his human + form and bids them good by, and thenceforth they may wash their own dishes + and scour their own tins, for all him. + </p> + <p> + But we are diverging from the subject of swan-maidens, and are in danger + of losing ourselves in that labyrinth of popular fancies which is more + intricate than any that Daidalos ever planned. The significance of all + these sealskins and feather-dresses and mermaid caps and werewolf-girdles + may best be sought in the etymology of words like the German leichnam, in + which the body is described as a garment of flesh for the soul. <a + href="#linknote-93" name="linknoteref-93" id="linknoteref-93"><small>93</small></a> + In the naive philosophy of primitive thinkers, the soul, in passing from + one visible shape to another, had only to put on the outward integument of + the creature in which it wished to incarnate itself. With respect to the + mode of metamorphosis, there is little difference between the werewolf and + the swan-maiden; and the similarity is no less striking between the + genesis of the two conceptions. The original werewolf is the night-wind, + regarded now as a manlike deity and now as a howling lupine fiend; and the + original swan-maiden is the light fleecy cloud, regarded either as a + woman-like goddess or as a bird swimming in the sky sea. The one + conception has been productive of little else but horrors; the other has + given rise to a great variety of fanciful creations, from the treacherous + mermaid and the fiendish nightmare to the gentle Undine, the charming + Nausikaa, and the stately Muse of classic antiquity. + </p> + <p> + We have seen that the original werewolf, howling in the wintry blast, is a + kind of psychopomp, or leader of departed souls; he is the wild ancestor + of the death-dog, whose voice under the window of a sick-chamber is even + now a sound of ill-omen. The swan-maiden has also been supposed to summon + the dying to her home in the Phaiakian land. The Valkyries, with their + shirts of swan-plumage, who hovered over Scandinavian battle-fields to + receive the souls of falling heroes, were identical with the Hindu + Apsaras; and the Houris of the Mussulman belong to the same family. Even + for the angels,—women with large wings, who are seen in popular + pictures bearing mortals on high towards heaven,—we can hardly claim + a different kinship. Melusina, when she leaves the castle of Lusignan, + becomes a Banshee; and it has been a common superstition among sailors, + that the appearance of a mermaid, with her comb and looking-glass, + foretokens shipwreck, with the loss of all on board. + </p> + <p> + October, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. LIGHT AND DARKNESS. + </h2> + <p> + WHEN Maitland blasphemously asserted that God was but "a Bogie of the + nursery," he unwittingly made a remark as suggestive in point of philology + as it was crude and repulsive in its atheism. When examined with the + lenses of linguistic science, the "Bogie" or "Bug-a-boo" or "Bugbear" of + nursery lore turns out to be identical, not only with the fairy "Puck," + whom Shakespeare has immortalized, but also with the Slavonic "Bog" and + the "Baga" of the Cuneiform Inscriptions, both of which are names for the + Supreme Being. If we proceed further, and inquire after the ancestral form + of these epithets,—so strangely incongruous in their significations,—we + shall find it in the Old Aryan "Bhaga," which reappears unchanged in the + Sanskrit of the Vedas, and has left a memento of itself in the surname of + the Phrygian Zeus "Bagaios." It seems originally to have denoted either + the unclouded sun or the sky of noonday illumined by the solar rays. In + Sayana's commentary on the Rig-Veda, Bhaga is enumerated among the seven + (or eight) sons of Aditi, the boundless Orient; and he is elsewhere + described as the lord of life, the giver of bread, and the bringer of + happiness. <a href="#linknote-94" name="linknoteref-94" id="linknoteref-94"><small>94</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Thus the same name which, to the Vedic poet, to the Persian of the time of + Xerxes, and to the modern Russian, suggests the supreme majesty of deity, + is in English associated with an ugly and ludicrous fiend, closely akin to + that grotesque Northern Devil of whom Southey was unable to think without + laughing. Such is the irony of fate toward a deposed deity. The German + name for idol—Abgott, that is, "ex-god," or "dethroned god"—sums + up in a single etymology the history of the havoc wrought by monotheism + among the ancient symbols of deity. In the hospitable Pantheon of the + Greeks and Romans a niche was always in readiness for every new divinity + who could produce respectable credentials; but the triumph of monotheism + converted the stately mansion into a Pandemonium peopled with fiends. To + the monotheist an "ex-god" was simply a devilish deceiver of mankind whom + the true God had succeeded in vanquishing; and thus the word demon, which + to the ancient meant a divine or semi-divine being, came to be applied to + fiends exclusively. Thus the Teutonic races, who preserved the name of + their highest divinity, Odin,—originally, Guodan,—by which to + designate the God of the Christian, <a href="#linknote-95" + name="linknoteref-95" id="linknoteref-95"><small>95</small></a> were + unable to regard the Bog of ancient tradition as anything but an "ex-god," + or vanquished demon. + </p> + <p> + The most striking illustration of this process is to be found in the word + devil itself: To a reader unfamiliar with the endless tricks which + language delights in playing, it may seem shocking to be told that the + Gypsies use the word devil as the name of God. <a href="#linknote-96" + name="linknoteref-96" id="linknoteref-96"><small>96</small></a> This, + however, is not because these people have made the archfiend an object of + worship, but because the Gypsy language, descending directly from the + Sanskrit, has retained in its primitive exalted sense a word which the + English language has received only in its debased and perverted sense. The + Teutonic words devil, teufel, diuval, djofull, djevful, may all be traced + back to the Zend dev, <a href="#linknote-97" name="linknoteref-97" + id="linknoteref-97"><small>97</small></a> a name in which is implicitly + contained the record of the oldest monotheistic revolution known to + history. The influence of the so-called Zoroastrian reform upon the + long-subsequent development of Christianity will receive further notice in + the course of this paper; for the present it is enough to know that it + furnished for all Christendom the name by which it designates the author + of evil. To the Parsee follower of Zarathustra the name of the Devil has + very nearly the same signification as to the Christian; yet, as Grimm has + shown, it is nothing else than a corruption of deva, the Sanskrit name for + God. When Zarathustra overthrew the primeval Aryan nature-worship in + Bactria, this name met the same evil fate which in early Christian times + overtook the word demon, and from a symbol of reverence became henceforth + a symbol of detestation. <a href="#linknote-98" name="linknoteref-98" + id="linknoteref-98"><small>98</small></a> But throughout the rest of the + Aryan world it achieved a nobler career, producing the Greek theos, the + Lithuanian diewas, the Latin deus, and hence the modern French Dieu, all + meaning God. + </p> + <p> + If we trace back this remarkable word to its primitive source in that once + lost but now partially recovered mother-tongue from which all our Aryan + languages are descended, we find a root div or dyu, meaning "to shine." + From the first-mentioned form comes deva, with its numerous progeny of + good and evil appellatives; from the latter is derived the name of Dyaus, + with its brethren, Zeus and Jupiter. In Sanskrit dyu, as a noun, means + "sky" and "day"; and there are many passages in the Rig-Veda where the + character of the god Dyaus, as the personification of the sky or the + brightness of the ethereal heavens, is unmistakably apparent. This key + unlocks for us one of the secrets of Greek mythology. So long as there was + for Zeus no better etymology than that which assigned it to the root zen, + "to live," <a href="#linknote-99" name="linknoteref-99" id="linknoteref-99"><small>99</small></a> + there was little hope of understanding the nature of Zeus. But when we + learn that Zeus is identical with Dyaus, the bright sky, we are enabled to + understand Horace's expression, "sub Jove frigido," and the prayer of the + Athenians, "Rain, rain, dear Zeus, on the land of the Athenians, and on + the fields." <a href="#linknote-100" name="linknoteref-100" + id="linknoteref-100"><small>100</small></a> Such expressions as these were + retained by the Greeks and Romans long after they had forgotten that their + supreme deity was once the sky. Yet even the Brahman, from whose mind the + physical significance of the god's name never wholly disappeared, could + speak of him as Father Dyaus, the great Pitri, or ancestor of gods and + men; and in this reverential name Dyaus pitar may be seen the exact + equivalent of the Roman's Jupiter, or Jove the Father. The same root can + be followed into Old German, where Zio is the god of day; and into + Anglo-Saxon, where Tiwsdaeg, or the day of Zeus, is the ancestral form of + Tuesday. + </p> + <p> + Thus we again reach the same results which were obtained from the + examination of the name Bhaga. These various names for the supreme Aryan + god, which without the help afforded by the Vedas could never have been + interpreted, are seen to have been originally applied to the sun-illumined + firmament. Countless other examples, when similarly analyzed, show that + the earliest Aryan conception of a Divine Power, nourishing man and + sustaining the universe, was suggested by the light of the mighty Sun; + who, as modern science has shown, is the originator of all life and motion + upon the globe, and whom the ancients delighted to believe the source, not + only of "the golden light," <a href="#linknote-101" name="linknoteref-101" + id="linknoteref-101"><small>101</small></a> but of everything that is + bright, joy-giving, and pure. Nevertheless, in accepting this conclusion + as well established by linguistic science, we must be on our guard against + an error into which writers on mythology are very liable to fall. Neither + sky nor sun nor light of day, neither Zeus nor Apollo, neither Dyaus nor + Indra, was ever worshipped by the ancient Aryan in anything like a + monotheistic sense. To interpret Zeus or Jupiter as originally the supreme + Aryan god, and to regard classic paganism as one of the degraded remnants + of a primeval monotheism, is to sin against the canons of a sound + inductive philosophy. Philology itself teaches us that this could not have + been so. Father Dyaus was originally the bright sky and nothing more. + Although his name became generalized, in the classic languages, into deus, + or God, it is quite certain that in early days, before the Aryan + separation, it had acquired no such exalted significance. It was only in + Greece and Rome—or, we may say, among the still united + Italo-Hellenic tribes—that Jupiter-Zeus attained a pre-eminence over + all other deities. The people of Iran quite rejected him, the Teutons + preferred Thor and Odin, and in India he was superseded, first by Indra, + afterwards by Brahma and Vishnu. We need not, therefore, look for a single + supreme divinity among the old Aryans; nor may we expect to find any + sense, active or dormant, of monotheism in the primitive intelligence of + uncivilized men. <a href="#linknote-102" name="linknoteref-102" + id="linknoteref-102"><small>102</small></a> The whole fabric of + comparative mythology, as at present constituted, and as described above, + in the first of these papers, rests upon the postulate that the earliest + religion was pure fetichism. + </p> + <p> + In the unsystematic nature-worship of the old Aryans the gods are + presented to us only as vague powers, with their nature and attributes + dimly defined, and their relations to each other fluctuating and often + contradictory. There is no theogony, no regular subordination of one deity + to another. The same pair of divinities appear now as father and daughter, + now as brother and sister, now as husband and wife; and again they quite + lose their personality, and are represented as mere natural phenomena. As + Muller observes, "The poets of the Veda indulged freely in theogonic + speculations without being frightened by any contradictions. They knew of + Indra as the greatest of gods, they knew of Agni as the god of gods, they + knew of Varuna as the ruler of all; but they were by no means startled at + the idea that their Indra had a mother, or that their Agni [Latin ignis] + was born like a babe from the friction of two fire-sticks, or that Varuna + and his brother Mitra were nursed in the lap of Aditi." <a + href="#linknote-103" name="linknoteref-103" id="linknoteref-103"><small>103</small></a> + Thus we have seen Bhaga, the daylight, represented as the offspring, of + Aditi, the boundless Orient; but he had several brothers, and among them + were Mitra, the sun, Varuna, the overarching firmament, and Vivasvat, the + vivifying sun. Manifestly we have here but so many different names for + what is at bottom one and the same conception. The common element which, + in Dyaus and Varuna, in Bhaga and Indra, was made an object of worship, is + the brightness, warmth, and life of day, as contrasted with the darkness, + cold, and seeming death of the night-time. And this common element was + personified in as many different ways as the unrestrained fancy of the + ancient worshipper saw fit to devise. <a href="#linknote-104" + name="linknoteref-104" id="linknoteref-104"><small>104</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Thus we begin to see why a few simple objects, like the sun, the sky, the + dawn, and the night, should be represented in mythology by such a host of + gods, goddesses, and heroes. For at one time the Sun is represented as the + conqueror of hydras and dragons who hide away from men the golden + treasures of light and warmth, and at another time he is represented as a + weary voyager traversing the sky-sea amid many perils, with the steadfast + purpose of returning to his western home and his twilight bride; hence the + different conceptions of Herakles, Bellerophon, and Odysseus. Now he is + represented as the son of the Dawn, and again, with equal propriety, as + the son of the Night, and the fickle lover of the Dawn; hence we have, on + the one hand, stories of a virgin mother who dies in giving birth to a + hero, and, on the other hand, stories of a beautiful maiden who is + forsaken and perhaps cruelly slain by her treacherous lover. Indeed, the + Sun's adventures with so many dawn-maidens have given him quite a bad + character, and the legends are numerous in which he appears as the + prototype of Don Juan. Yet again his separation from the bride of his + youth is described as due to no fault of his own, but to a resistless + decree of fate, which hurries him away as Aineias was compelled to abandon + Dido. Or, according to a third and equally plausible notion, he is a hero + of ascetic virtues, and the dawn-maiden is a wicked enchantress, daughter + of the sensual Aphrodite, who vainly endeavours to seduce him. In the + story of Odysseus these various conceptions are blended together. When + enticed by artful women, <a href="#linknote-105" name="linknoteref-105" + id="linknoteref-105"><small>105</small></a> he yields for a while to the + temptation; but by and by his longing to see Penelope takes him homeward, + albeit with a record which Penelope might not altogether have liked. + Again, though the Sun, "always roaming with a hungry heart," has seen many + cities and customs of strange men, he is nevertheless confined to a single + path,—a circumstance which seems to have occasioned much speculation + in the primeval mind. Garcilaso de la Vega relates of a certain Peruvian + Inca, who seems to have been an "infidel" with reference to the orthodox + mythology of his day, that he thought the Sun was not such a mighty god + after all; for if he were, he would wander about the heavens at random + instead of going forever, like a horse in a treadmill, along the same + course. The American Indians explained this circumstance by myths which + told how the Sun was once caught and tied with a chain which would only + let him swing a little way to one side or the other. The ancient Aryan + developed the nobler myth of the labours of Herakles, performed in + obedience to the bidding of Eurystheus. Again, the Sun must needs destroy + its parents, the Night and the Dawn; and accordingly his parents, + forewarned by prophecy, expose him in infancy, or order him to be put to + death; but his tragic destiny never fails to be accomplished to the + letter. And again the Sun, who engages in quarrels not his own, is + sometimes represented as retiring moodily from the sight of men, like + Achilleus and Meleagros: he is short-lived and ill-fated, born to do much + good and to be repaid with ingratitude; his life depends on the duration + of a burning brand, and when that is extinguished he must die. + </p> + <p> + The myth of the great Theban hero, Oidipous, well illustrates the + multiplicity of conceptions which clustered about the daily career of the + solar orb. His father, Laios, had been warned by the Delphic oracle that + he was in danger of death from his own son. The newly born Oidipous was + therefore exposed on the hillside, but, like Romulus and Remus, and all + infants similarly situated in legend, was duly rescued. He was taken to + Corinth, where he grew up to manhood. Journeying once to Thebes, he got + into a quarrel with an old man whom he met on the road, and slew him, who + was none other than his father, Laios. Reaching Thebes, he found the city + harassed by the Sphinx, who afflicted the land with drought until she + should receive an answer to her riddles. Oidipous destroyed the monster by + solving her dark sayings, and as a reward received the kingdom, with his + own mother, Iokaste, as his bride. Then the Erinyes hastened the discovery + of these dark deeds; Iokaste died in her bridal chamber; and Oidipous, + having blinded himself, fled to the grove of the Eumenides, near Athens, + where, amid flashing lightning and peals of thunder, he died. + </p> + <p> + Oidipous is the Sun. Like all the solar heroes, from Herakles and Perseus + to Sigurd and William Tell, he performs his marvellous deeds at the behest + of others. His father, Laios, is none other than the Vedic Dasyu, the + night-demon who is sure to be destroyed by his solar offspring In the + evening, Oidipous is united to the Dawn, the mother who had borne him at + daybreak; and here the original story doubtless ended. In the Vedic hymns + we find Indra, the Sun, born of Dahana (Daphne), the Dawn, whom he + afterwards, in the evening twilight, marries. To the Indian mind the story + was here complete; but the Greeks had forgotten and outgrown the primitive + signification of the myth. To them Oidipous and Iokaste were human, or at + least anthropomorphic beings; and a marriage between them was a fearful + crime which called for bitter expiation. Thus the latter part of the story + arose in the effort to satisfy a moral feeling As the name of Laios + denotes the dark night, so, like Iole, Oinone, and Iamos, the word Iokaste + signifies the delicate violet tints of the morning and evening clouds. + Oidipous was exposed, like Paris upon Ida (a Vedic word meaning "the + earth"), because the sunlight in the morning lies upon the hillside. <a + href="#linknote-106" name="linknoteref-106" id="linknoteref-106"><small>106</small></a> + He is borne on to the destruction of his father and the incestuous + marriage with his mother by an irresistible Moira, or Fate; the sun cannot + but slay the darkness and hasten to the couch of the violet twilight. <a + href="#linknote-107" name="linknoteref-107" id="linknoteref-107"><small>107</small></a> + The Sphinx is the storm-demon who sits on the cloud-rock and imprisons the + rain; she is the same as Medusa, Ahi, or Echidna, and Chimaira, and is + akin to the throttling snakes of darkness which the jealous Here sent to + destroy Herakles in his cradle. The idea was not derived from Egypt, but + the Greeks, on finding Egyptian figures resembling their conception of the + Sphinx, called them by the same name. The omniscient Sun comprehends the + sense of her dark mutterings, and destroys her, as Indra slays Vritra, + bringing down rain upon the parched earth. The Erinyes, who bring to light + the crimes of Oidipous, have been explained, in a previous paper, as the + personification of daylight, which reveals the evil deeds done under the + cover of night. The grove of the Erinyes, like the garden of the + Hyperboreans, represents "the fairy network of clouds, which are the first + to receive and the last to lose the light of the sun in the morning and in + the evening; hence, although Oidipous dies in a thunder-storm, yet the + Eumenides are kind to him, and his last hour is one of deep peace and + tranquillity." <a href="#linknote-108" name="linknoteref-108" + id="linknoteref-108"><small>108</small></a> To the last remains with him + his daughter Antigone, "she who is born opposite," the pale light which + springs up opposite to the setting sun. + </p> + <p> + These examples show that a story-root may be as prolific of heterogeneous + offspring as a word-root. Just as we find the root spak, "to look," + begetting words so various as sceptic, bishop, speculate, conspicsuous, + species, and spice, we must expect to find a simple representation of the + diurnal course of the sun, like those lyrically given in the Veda, + branching off into stories as diversified as those of Oidipous, Herakles, + Odysseus, and Siegfried. In fact, the types upon which stories are + constructed are wonderfully few. Some clever playwright—I believe it + was Scribe—has said that there are only seven possible dramatic + situations; that is, all the plays in the world may be classed with some + one of seven archetypal dramas. <a href="#linknote-109" + name="linknoteref-109" id="linknoteref-109"><small>109</small></a> If this + be true, the astonishing complexity of mythology taken in the concrete, as + compared with its extreme simplicity when analyzed, need not surprise us. + </p> + <p> + The extreme limits of divergence between stories descended from a common + root are probably reached in the myths of light and darkness with which + the present discussion is mainly concerned The subject will be best + elucidated by taking a single one of these myths and following its various + fortunes through different regions of the Aryan world. The myth of + Hercules and Cacus has been treated by M. Breal in an essay which is one + of the most valuable contributions ever made to the study of comparative + mythology; and while following his footsteps our task will be an easy one. + </p> + <p> + The battle between Hercules and Cacus, although one of the oldest of the + traditions common to the whole Indo-European race, appears in Italy as a + purely local legend, and is narrated as such by Virgil, in the eighth book + of the AEneid; by Livy, at the beginning of his history; and by Propertius + and Ovid. Hercules, journeying through Italy after his victory over + Geryon, stops to rest by the bank of the Tiber. While he is taking his + repose, the three-headed monster Cacus, a son of Vulcan and a formidable + brigand, comes and steals his cattle, and drags them tail-foremost to a + secret cavern in the rocks. But the lowing of the cows arouses Hercules, + and he runs toward the cavern where the robber, already frightened, has + taken refuge. Armed with a huge flinty rock, he breaks open the entrance + of the cavern, and confronts the demon within, who vomits forth flames at + him and roars like the thunder in the storm-cloud. After a short combat, + his hideous body falls at the feet of the invincible hero, who erects on + the spot an altar to Jupiter Inventor, in commemoration of the recovery of + his cattle. Ancient Rome teemed with reminiscences of this event, which + Livy regarded as first in the long series of the exploits of his + countrymen. The place where Hercules pastured his oxen was known long + after as the Forum Boarium; near it the Porta Trigemina preserved the + recollection of the monster's triple head; and in the time of Diodorus + Siculus sight-seers were shown the cavern of Cacus on the slope of the + Aventine. Every tenth day the earlier generations of Romans celebrated the + victory with solemn sacrifices at the Ara Maxima; and on days of triumph + the fortunate general deposited there a tithe of his booty, to be + distributed among the citizens. + </p> + <p> + In this famous myth, however, the god Hercules did not originally figure. + The Latin Hercules was an essentially peaceful and domestic deity, + watching over households and enclosures, and nearly akin to Terminus and + the Penates. He does not appear to have been a solar divinity at all. But + the purely accidental resemblance of his name to that of the Greek deity + Herakles, <a href="#linknote-110" name="linknoteref-110" + id="linknoteref-110"><small>110</small></a> and the manifest identity of + the Cacus-myth with the story of the victory of Herakles over Geryon, led + to the substitution of Hercules for the original hero of the legend, who + was none other than Jupiter, called by his Sabine name Sancus. Now + Johannes Lydus informs us that, in Sabine, Sancus signified "the sky," a + meaning which we have already seen to belong to the name Jupiter. The same + substitution of the Greek hero for the Roman divinity led to the + alteration of the name of the demon overcome by his thunderbolts. The + corrupted title Cacus was supposed to be identical with the Greek word + kakos, meaning "evil" and the corruption was suggested by the epithet of + Herakles, Alexikakos, or "the averter of ill." Originally, however, the + name was Caecius, "he who blinds or darkens," and it corresponds literally + to the name of the Greek demon Kaikias, whom an old proverb, preserved by + Aulus Gellius, describes as a stealer of the clouds. <a + href="#linknote-111" name="linknoteref-111" id="linknoteref-111"><small>111</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Thus the significance of the myth becomes apparent. The three-headed Cacus + is seen to be a near kinsman of Geryon's three-headed dog Orthros, and of + the three-headed Kerberos, the hell-hound who guards the dark regions + below the horizon. He is the original werewolf or Rakshasa, the fiend of + the storm who steals the bright cattle of Helios, and hides them in the + black cavernous rock, from which they are afterwards rescued by the + schamir or lightning-stone of the solar hero. The physical character of + the myth is apparent even in the description of Virgil, which reads + wonderfully like a Vedic hymn in celebration of the exploits of Indra. But + when we turn to the Veda itself, we find the correctness of the + interpretation demonstrated again and again, with inexhaustible + prodigality of evidence. Here we encounter again the three-headed Orthros + under the identical title of Vritra, "he who shrouds or envelops," called + also Cushna, "he who parches," Pani, "the robber," and Ahi, "the + strangler." In many hymns of the Rig-Veda the story is told over and over, + like a musical theme arranged with variations. Indra, the god of light, is + a herdsman who tends a herd of bright golden or violet-coloured cattle. + Vritra, a snake-like monster with three heads, steals them and hides them + in a cavern, but Indra slays him as Jupiter slew Caecius, and the cows are + recovered. The language of the myth is so significant, that the Hindu + commentators of the Veda have themselves given explanations of it similar + to those proposed by modern philologists. To them the legend never became + devoid of sense, as the myth of Geryon appeared to Greek scholars like + Apollodoros. <a href="#linknote-112" name="linknoteref-112" + id="linknoteref-112"><small>112</small></a> + </p> + <p> + These celestial cattle, with their resplendent coats of purple and gold, + are the clouds lit up by the solar rays; but the demon who steals them is + not always the fiend of the storm, acting in that capacity. They are + stolen every night by Vritra the concealer, and Caecius the darkener, and + Indra is obliged to spend hours in looking for them, sending Sarama, the + inconstant twilight, to negotiate for their recovery. Between the + storm-myth and the myth of night and morning the resemblance is sometimes + so close as to confuse the interpretation of the two. Many legends which + Max Muller explains as myths of the victory of day over night are + explained by Dr. Kuhn as storm-myths; and the disagreement between two + such powerful champions would be a standing reproach to what is rather + prematurely called the SCIENCE of comparative mythology, were it not easy + to show that the difference is merely apparent and non-essential. It is + the old story of the shield with two sides; and a comparison of the ideas + fundamental to these myths will show that there is no valid ground for + disagreement in the interpretation of them. The myths of schamir and the + divining-rod, analyzed in a previous paper, explain the rending of the + thunder-cloud and the procuring of water without especial reference to any + struggle between opposing divinities. But in the myth of Hercules and + Cacus, the fundamental idea is the victory of the solar god over the + robber who steals the light. Now whether the robber carries off the light + in the evening when Indra has gone to sleep, or boldly rears his black + form against the sky during the daytime, causing darkness to spread over + the earth, would make little difference to the framers of the myth. To a + chicken a solar eclipse is the same thing as nightfall, and he goes to + roost accordingly. Why, then, should the primitive thinker have made a + distinction between the darkening of the sky caused by black clouds and + that caused by the rotation of the earth? He had no more conception of the + scientific explanation of these phenomena than the chicken has of the + scientific explanation of an eclipse. For him it was enough to know that + the solar radiance was stolen, in the one case as in the other, and to + suspect that the same demon was to blame for both robberies. + </p> + <p> + The Veda itself sustains this view. It is certain that the victory of + Indra over Vritra is essentially the same as his victory over the Panis. + Vritra, the storm-fiend, is himself called one of the Panis; yet the + latter are uniformly represented as night-demons. They steal Indra's + golden cattle and drive them by circuitous paths to a dark hiding-place + near the eastern horizon. Indra sends the dawn-nymph, Sarama, to search + for them, but as she comes within sight of the dark stable, the Panis try + to coax her to stay with them: "Let us make thee our sister, do not go + away again; we will give thee part of the cows, O darling." <a + href="#linknote-113" name="linknoteref-113" id="linknoteref-113"><small>113</small></a> + According to the text of this hymn, she scorns their solicitations, but + elsewhere the fickle dawn-nymph is said to coquet with the powers of + darkness. She does not care for their cows, but will take a drink of milk, + if they will be so good as to get it for her. Then she goes back and tells + Indra that she cannot find the cows. He kicks her with his foot, and she + runs back to the Panis, followed by the god, who smites them all with his + unerring arrows and recovers the stolen light. From such a simple + beginning as this has been deduced the Greek myth of the faithlessness of + Helen. <a href="#linknote-114" name="linknoteref-114" id="linknoteref-114"><small>114</small></a> + </p> + <p> + These night-demons, the Panis, though not apparently regarded with any + strong feeling of moral condemnation, are nevertheless hated and dreaded + as the authors of calamity. They not only steal the daylight, but they + parch the earth and wither the fruits, and they slay vegetation during the + winter months. As Caecius, the "darkener," became ultimately changed into + Cacus, the "evil one," so the name of Vritra, the "concealer," the most + famous of the Panis, was gradually generalized until it came to mean + "enemy," like the English word fiend, and began to be applied + indiscriminately to any kind of evil spirit. In one place he is called + Adeva, the "enemy of the gods," an epithet exactly equivalent to the + Persian dev. + </p> + <p> + In the Zendavesta the myth of Hercules and Cacus has given rise to a vast + system of theology. The fiendish Panis are concentrated in Ahriman or + Anro-mainyas, whose name signifies the "spirit of darkness," and who + carries on a perpetual warfare against Ormuzd or Ahuramazda, who is + described by his ordinary surname, Spentomainyas, as the "spirit of + light." The ancient polytheism here gives place to a refined dualism, not + very different from what in many Christian sects has passed current as + monotheism. Ahriman is the archfiend, who struggles with Ormuzd, not for + the possession of a herd of perishable cattle, but for the dominion of the + universe. Ormuzd creates the world pure and beautiful, but Ahriman comes + after him and creates everything that is evil in it. He not only keeps the + earth covered with darkness during half of the day, and withholds the rain + and destroys the crops, but he is the author of all evil thoughts and the + instigator of all wicked actions. Like his progenitor Vritra and his + offspring Satan, he is represented under the form of a serpent; and the + destruction which ultimately awaits these demons is also in reserve for + him. Eventually there is to be a day of reckoning, when Ahriman will be + bound in chains and rendered powerless, or when, according to another + account, he will be converted to righteousness, as Burns hoped and Origen + believed would be the case with Satan. + </p> + <p> + This dualism of the ancient Persians has exerted a powerful influence upon + the development of Christian theology. The very idea of an archfiend + Satan, which Christianity received from Judaism, seems either to have been + suggested by the Persian Ahriman, or at least to have derived its + principal characteristics from that source. There is no evidence that the + Jews, previous to the Babylonish captivity, possessed the conception of a + Devil as the author of all evil. In the earlier books of the Old Testament + Jehovah is represented as dispensing with his own hand the good and the + evil, like the Zeus of the Iliad. <a href="#linknote-115" + name="linknoteref-115" id="linknoteref-115"><small>115</small></a> The + story of the serpent in Eden—an Aryan story in every particular, + which has crept into the Pentateuch—is not once alluded to in the + Old Testament; and the notion of Satan as the author of evil appears only + in the later books, composed after the Jews had come into close contact + with Persian ideas. <a href="#linknote-116" name="linknoteref-116" + id="linknoteref-116"><small>116</small></a> In the Book of Job, as Reville + observes, Satan is "still a member of the celestial court, being one of + the sons of the Elohim, but having as his special office the continual + accusation of men, and having become so suspicious by his practice as + public accuser, that he believes in the virtue of no one, and always + presupposes interested motives for the purest manifestations of human + piety." In this way the character of this angel became injured, and he + became more and more an object of dread and dislike to men, until the + later Jews ascribed to him all the attributes of Ahriman, and in this + singularly altered shape he passed into Christian theology. Between the + Satan of the Book of Job and the mediaeval Devil the metamorphosis is as + great as that which degraded the stern Erinys, who brings evil deeds to + light, into the demon-like Fury who torments wrong-doers in Tartarus; and, + making allowance for difference of circumstances, the process of + degradation has been very nearly the same in the two cases. + </p> + <p> + The mediaeval conception of the Devil is a grotesque compound of elements + derived from all the systems of pagan mythology which Christianity + superseded. He is primarily a rebellious angel, expelled from heaven along + with his followers, like the giants who attempted to scale Olympos, and + like the impious Efreets of Arabian legend who revolted against the + beneficent rule of Solomon. As the serpent prince of the outer darkness, + he retains the old characteristics of Vritra, Ahi, Typhon, and Echidna. As + the black dog which appears behind the stove in Dr. Faust's study, he is + the classic hell-hound Kerberos, the Vedic Carvara. From the sylvan deity + Pan he gets his goat-like body, his horns and cloven hoofs. Like the + wind-god Orpheus, to whose music the trees bent their heads to listen, he + is an unrivalled player on the bagpipes. Like those other wind-gods the + psychopomp Hermes and the wild huntsman Odin, he is the prince of the + powers of the air: his flight through the midnight sky, attended by his + troop of witches mounted on their brooms, which sometimes break the boughs + and sweep the leaves from the trees, is the same as the furious chase of + the Erlking Odin or the Burckar Vittikab. He is Dionysos, who causes red + wine to flow from the dry wood, alike on the deck of the Tyrrhenian + pirate-ship and in Auerbach's cellar at Leipzig. He is Wayland, the smith, + a skilful worker in metals and a wonderful architect, like the classic + fire-god Hephaistos or Vulcan; and, like Hephaistos, he is lame from the + effects of his fall from heaven. From the lightning-god Thor he obtains + his red beard, his pitchfork, and his power over thunderbolts; and, like + that ancient deity, he is in the habit of beating his wife behind the door + when the rain falls during sunshine. Finally, he takes a hint from + Poseidon and from the swan-maidens, and appears as a water-imp or Nixy + (whence probably his name of Old Nick), and as the Davy (deva) whose + "locker" is situated at the bottom of the sea. <a href="#linknote-117" + name="linknoteref-117" id="linknoteref-117"><small>117</small></a> + </p> + <p> + According to the Scotch divines of the seventeenth century, the Devil is a + learned scholar and profound thinker. Having profited by six thousand + years of intense study and meditation, he has all science, philosophy, and + theology at his tongue's end; and, as his skill has increased with age, he + is far more than a match for mortals in cunning. <a href="#linknote-118" + name="linknoteref-118" id="linknoteref-118"><small>118</small></a> Such, + however, is not the view taken by mediaeval mythology, which usually + represents his stupidity as equalling his malignity. The victory of + Hercules over Cacus is repeated in a hundred mediaeval legends in which + the Devil is overreached and made a laughing-stock. The germ of this + notion may be found in the blinding of Polyphemos by Odysseus, which is + itself a victory of the sun-hero over the night-demon, and which curiously + reappears in a Middle-Age story narrated by Mr. Cox. "The Devil asks a man + who is moulding buttons what he may be doing; and when the man answers + that he is moulding eyes, asks him further whether he can give him a pair + of new eyes. He is told to come again another day; and when he makes his + appearance accordingly, the man tells him that the operation cannot be + performed rightly unless he is first tightly bound with his back fastened + to a bench. While he is thus pinioned he asks the man's name. The reply is + Issi (`himself'). When the lead is melted, the Devil opens his eyes wide + to receive the deadly stream. As soon as he is blinded, he starts up in + agony, bearing away the bench to which he had been bound; and when some + workpeople in the fields ask him who had thus treated him, his answer is, + 'Issi teggi' (`Self did it'). With a laugh they bid him lie on the bed + which he has made: 'selbst gethan, selbst habe.' The Devil died of his new + eyes, and was never seen again." + </p> + <p> + In his attempts to obtain human souls the Devil is frequently foiled by + the superior cunning of mortals. Once, he agreed to build a house for a + peasant in exchange for the peasant's soul; but if the house were not + finished before cockcrow, the contract was to be null and void. Just as + the Devil was putting on the last tile the man imitated a cockcrow and + waked up all the roosters in the neighbourhood, so that the fiend had his + labour for his pains. A merchant of Louvain once sold himself to the + Devil, who heaped upon him all manner of riches for seven years, and then + came to get him. The merchant "took the Devil in a friendly manner by the + hand and, as it was just evening, said, 'Wife, bring a light quickly for + the gentleman.' 'That is not at all necessary,' said the Devil; 'I am + merely come to fetch you.' 'Yes, yes, that I know very well,' said the + merchant, 'only just grant me the time till this little candle-end is + burnt out, as I have a few letters to sign and to put on my coat.' 'Very + well,' said the Devil, 'but only till the candle is burnt out.' 'Good,' + said the merchant, and going into the next room, ordered the maid-servant + to place a large cask full of water close to a very deep pit that was dug + in the garden. The men-servants also carried, each of them, a cask to the + spot; and when all was done, they were ordered each to take a shovel, and + stand round the pit. The merchant then returned to the Devil, who seeing + that not more than about an inch of candle remained, said, laughing, 'Now + get yourself ready, it will soon be burnt out.' 'That I see, and am + content; but I shall hold you to your word, and stay till it IS burnt.' + 'Of course,' answered the Devil; 'I stick to my word.' 'It is dark in the + next room,' continued the merchant, 'but I must find the great book with + clasps, so let me just take the light for one moment.' 'Certainly,' said + the Devil, 'but I'll go with you.' He did so, and the merchant's + trepidation was now on the increase. When in the next room he said on a + sudden, 'Ah, now I know, the key is in the garden door.' And with these + words he ran out with the light into the garden, and before the Devil + could overtake him, threw it into the pit, and the men and the maids + poured water upon it, and then filled up the hole with earth. Now came the + Devil into the garden and asked, 'Well, did you get the key? and how is it + with the candle? where is it?' 'The candle?' said the merchant. 'Yes, the + candle.' 'Ha, ha, ha! it is not yet burnt out,' answered the merchant, + laughing, 'and will not be burnt out for the next fifty years; it lies + there a hundred fathoms deep in the earth.' When the Devil heard this he + screamed awfully, and went off with a most intolerable stench." <a + href="#linknote-119" name="linknoteref-119" id="linknoteref-119"><small>119</small></a> + </p> + <p> + One day a fowler, who was a terrible bungler and could n't hit a bird at a + dozen paces, sold his soul to the Devil in order to become a Freischutz. + The fiend was to come for him in seven years, but must be always able to + name the animal at which he was shooting, otherwise the compact was to be + nullified. After that day the fowler never missed his aim, and never did a + fowler command such wages. When the seven years were out the fowler told + all these things to his wife, and the twain hit upon an expedient for + cheating the Devil. The woman stripped herself, daubed her whole body with + molasses, and rolled herself up in a feather-bed, cut open for this + purpose. Then she hopped and skipped about the field where her husband + stood parleying with Old Nick. "there's a shot for you, fire away," said + the Devil. "Of course I'll fire, but do you first tell me what kind of a + bird it is; else our agreement is cancelled, Old Boy." There was no help + for it; the Devil had to own himself nonplussed, and off he fled, with a + whiff of brimstone which nearly suffocated the Freischutz and his good + woman. <a href="#linknote-120" name="linknoteref-120" id="linknoteref-120"><small>120</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the legend of Gambrinus, the fiend is still more ingloriously defeated. + Gambrinus was a fiddler, who, being jilted by his sweetheart, went out + into the woods to hang himself. As he was sitting on the bough, with the + cord about his neck, preparatory to taking the fatal plunge, suddenly a + tall man in a green coat appeared before him, and offered his services. He + might become as wealthy as he liked, and make his sweetheart burst with + vexation at her own folly, but in thirty years he must give up his soul to + Beelzebub. The bargain was struck, for Gambrinus thought thirty years a + long time to enjoy one's self in, and perhaps the Devil might get him in + any event; as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb. Aided by Satan, he + invented chiming-bells and lager-beer, for both of which achievements his + name is held in grateful remembrance by the Teuton. No sooner had the Holy + Roman Emperor quaffed a gallon or two of the new beverage than he made + Gambrinus Duke of Brabant and Count of Flanders, and then it was the + fiddler's turn to laugh at the discomfiture of his old sweetheart. + Gambrinus kept clear of women, says the legend, and so lived in peace. For + thirty years he sat beneath his belfry with the chimes, meditatively + drinking beer with his nobles and burghers around him. Then Beelzebub sent + Jocko, one of his imps, with orders to bring back Gambrinus before + midnight. But Jocko was, like Swiveller's Marchioness, ignorant of the + taste of beer, never having drunk of it even in a sip, and the Flemish + schoppen were too much for him. He fell into a drunken sleep, and did not + wake up until noon next day, at which he was so mortified that he had not + the face to go back to hell at all. So Gambrinus lived on tranquilly for a + century or two, and drank so much beer that he turned into a beer-barrel. + <a href="#linknote-121" name="linknoteref-121" id="linknoteref-121"><small>121</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The character of gullibility attributed to the Devil in these legends is + probably derived from the Trolls, or "night-folk," of Northern mythology. + In most respects the Trolls resemble the Teutonic elves and fairies, and + the Jinn or Efreets of the Arabian Nights; but their pedigree is less + honourable. The fairies, or "White Ladies," were not originally spirits of + darkness, but were nearly akin to the swan-maidens, dawn-nymphs, and + dryads, and though their wrath was to be dreaded, they were not malignant + by nature. Christianity, having no place for such beings, degraded them + into something like imps; the most charitable theory being that they were + angels who had remained neutral during Satan's rebellion, in punishment + for which Michael expelled them from heaven, but has left their ultimate + fate unannounced until the day of judgment. The Jinn appear to have been + similarly degraded on the rise of Mohammedanism. But the Trolls were + always imps of darkness. They are descended from the Jotuns, or + Frost-Giants of Northern paganism, and they correspond to the Panis, or + night-demons of the Veda. In many Norse tales they are said to burst when + they see the risen sun. <a href="#linknote-122" name="linknoteref-122" + id="linknoteref-122"><small>122</small></a> They eat human flesh, are + ignorant of the simplest arts, and live in the deepest recesses of the + forest or in caverns on the hillside, where the sunlight never penetrates. + Some of these characteristics may very likely have been suggested by + reminiscences of the primeval Lapps, from whom the Aryan invaders wrested + the dominion of Europe. <a href="#linknote-123" name="linknoteref-123" + id="linknoteref-123"><small>123</small></a> In some legends the Trolls are + represented as an ancient race of beings now superseded by the human race. + "'What sort of an earth-worm is this?' said one Giant to another, when + they met a man as they walked. 'These are the earth-worms that will one + day eat us up, brother,' answered the other; and soon both Giants left + that part of Germany." "'See what pretty playthings, mother!' cries the + Giant's daughter, as she unties her apron, and shows her a plough, and + horses, and a peasant. 'Back with them this instant,' cries the mother in + wrath, 'and put them down as carefully as you can, for these playthings + can do our race great harm, and when these come we must budge.'" Very + naturally the primitive Teuton, possessing already the conception of + night-demons, would apply it to these men of the woods whom even to this + day his uneducated descendants believe to be sorcerers, able to turn men + into wolves. But whatever contributions historical fact may have added to + his character, the Troll is originally a creation of mythology, like + Polyphemos, whom he resembles in his uncouth person, his cannibal + appetite, and his lack of wit. His ready gullibility is shown in the story + of "Boots who ate a Match with the Troll." Boots, the brother of + Cinderella, and the counterpart alike of Jack the Giant-killer, and of + Odysseus, is the youngest of three brothers who go into a forest to cut + wood. The Troll appears and threatens to kill any one who dares to meddle + with his timber. The elder brothers flee, but Boots puts on a bold face. + He pulled a cheese out of his scrip and squeezed it till the whey began to + spurt out. "Hold your tongue, you dirty Troll," said he, "or I'll squeeze + you as I squeeze this stone." So the Troll grew timid and begged to be + spared, <a href="#linknote-124" name="linknoteref-124" id="linknoteref-124"><small>124</small></a> + and Boots let him off on condition that he would hew all day with him. + They worked till nightfall, and the Troll's giant strength accomplished + wonders. Then Boots went home with the Troll, having arranged that he + should get the water while his host made the fire. When they reached the + hut there were two enormous iron pails, so heavy that none but a Troll + could lift them, but Boots was not to be frightened. "Bah!" said he. "Do + you suppose I am going to get water in those paltry hand-basins? Hold on + till I go and get the spring itself!" "O dear!" said the Troll, "I'd + rather not; do you make the fire, and I'll get the water." Then when the + soup was made, Boots challenged his new friend to an eating-match; and + tying his scrip in front of him, proceeded to pour soup into it by the + ladleful. By and by the giant threw down his spoon in despair, and owned + himself conquered. "No, no! don't give it up yet," said Boots, "just cut a + hole in your stomach like this, and you can eat forever." And suiting the + action to the words, he ripped open his scrip. So the silly Troll cut + himself open and died, and Boots carried off all his gold and silver. + </p> + <p> + Once there was a Troll whose name was Wind-and-Weather, and Saint Olaf + hired him to build a church. If the church were completed within a certain + specified time, the Troll was to get possession of Saint Olaf. The saint + then planned such a stupendous edifice that he thought the giant would be + forever building it; but the work went on briskly, and at the appointed + day nothing remained but to finish the point of the spire. In his + consternation Olaf rushed about until he passed by the Troll's den, when + he heard the giantess telling her children that their father, + Wind-and-Weather, was finishing his church, and would be home to-morrow + with Saint Olaf. So the saint ran back to the church and bawled out, "Hold + on, Wind-and-Weather, your spire is crooked!" Then the giant tumbled down + from the roof and broke into a thousand pieces. As in the cases of the + Mara and the werewolf, the enchantment was at an end as soon as the + enchanter was called by name. + </p> + <p> + These Trolls, like the Arabian Efreets, had an ugly habit of carrying off + beautiful princesses. This is strictly in keeping with their character as + night-demons, or Panis. In the stories of Punchkin and the Heartless + Giant, the night-demon carries off the dawn-maiden after having turned + into stone her solar brethren. But Boots, or Indra, in search of his + kinsfolk, by and by arrives at the Troll's castle, and then the + dawn-nymph, true to her fickle character, cajoles the Giant and enables + Boots to destroy him. In the famous myth which serves as the basis for the + Volsunga Saga and the Nibelungenlied, the dragon Fafnir steals the + Valkyrie Brynhild and keeps her shut up in a castle on the Glistening + Heath, until some champion shall be found powerful enough to rescue her. + The castle is as hard to enter as that of the Sleeping Beauty; but Sigurd, + the Northern Achilleus, riding on his deathless horse, and wielding his + resistless sword Gram, forces his way in, slays Fafnir, and recovers the + Valkyrie. + </p> + <p> + In the preceding paper the Valkyries were shown to belong to the class of + cloud-maidens; and between the tale of Sigurd and that of Hercules and + Cacus there is no difference, save that the bright sunlit clouds which are + represented in the one as cows are in the other represented as maidens. In + the myth of the Argonauts they reappear as the Golden Fleece, carried to + the far east by Phrixos and Helle, who are themselves Niblungs, or + "Children of the Mist" (Nephele), and there guarded by a dragon. In all + these myths a treasure is stolen by a fiend of darkness, and recovered by + a hero of light, who slays the demon. And—remembering what Scribe + said about the fewness of dramatic types—I believe we are warranted + in asserting that all the stories of lovely women held in bondage by + monsters, and rescued by heroes who perform wonderful tasks, such as Don + Quixote burned to achieve, are derived ultimately from solar myths, like + the myth of Sigurd and Brynhild. I do not mean to say that the + story-tellers who beguiled their time in stringing together the incidents + which make up these legends were conscious of their solar character. They + did not go to work, with malice prepense, to weave allegories and + apologues. The Greeks who first told the story of Perseus and Andromeda, + the Arabians who devised the tale of Codadad and his brethren, the + Flemings who listened over their beer-mugs to the adventures of + Culotte-Verte, were not thinking of sun-gods or dawn-maidens, or + night-demons; and no theory of mythology can be sound which implies such + an extravagance. Most of these stories have lived on the lips of the + common people; and illiterate persons are not in the habit of allegorizing + in the style of mediaeval monks or rabbinical commentators. But what has + been amply demonstrated is, that the sun and the clouds, the light and the + darkness, were once supposed to be actuated by wills analogous to the + human will; that they were personified and worshipped or propitiated by + sacrifice; and that their doings were described in language which applied + so well to the deeds of human or quasi-human beings that in course of time + its primitive purport faded from recollection. No competent scholar now + doubts that the myths of the Veda and the Edda originated in this way, for + philology itself shows that the names employed in them are the names of + the great phenomena of nature. And when once a few striking stories had + thus arisen,—when once it had been told how Indra smote the Panis, + and how Sigurd rescued Brynhild, and how Odysseus blinded the Kyklops,—then + certain mythic or dramatic types had been called into existence; and to + these types, preserved in the popular imagination, future stories would + inevitably conform. We need, therefore, have no hesitation in admitting a + common origin for the vanquished Panis and the outwitted Troll or Devil; + we may securely compare the legends of St. George and Jack the + Giant-killer with the myth of Indra slaying Vritra; we may see in the + invincible Sigurd the prototype of many a doughty knight-errant of + romance; and we may learn anew the lesson, taught with fresh emphasis by + modern scholarship, that in the deepest sense there is nothing new under + the sun. + </p> + <p> + I am the more explicit on this point, because it seems to me that the + unguarded language of many students of mythology is liable to give rise to + misapprehensions, and to discredit both the method which they employ and + the results which they have obtained. If we were to give full weight to + the statements which are sometimes made, we should perforce believe that + primitive men had nothing to do but to ponder about the sun and the + clouds, and to worry themselves over the disappearance of daylight. But + there is nothing in the scientific interpretation of myths which obliges + us to go any such length. I do not suppose that any ancient Aryan, + possessed of good digestive powers and endowed with sound common-sense, + ever lay awake half the night wondering whether the sun would come back + again. <a href="#linknote-125" name="linknoteref-125" id="linknoteref-125"><small>125</small></a> + The child and the savage believe of necessity that the future will + resemble the past, and it is only philosophy which raises doubts on the + subject. <a href="#linknote-126" name="linknoteref-126" + id="linknoteref-126"><small>126</small></a> The predominance of solar + legends in most systems of mythology is not due to the lack of "that + Titanic assurance with which we say, the sun MUST rise"; <a + href="#linknote-127" name="linknoteref-127" id="linknoteref-127"><small>127</small></a> + nor again to the fact that the phenomena of day and night are the most + striking phenomena in nature. Eclipses and earthquakes and floods are + phenomena of the most terrible and astounding kind, and they have all + generated myths; yet their contributions to folk-lore are scanty compared + with those furnished by the strife between the day-god and his enemies. + The sun-myths have been so prolific because the dramatic types to which + they have given rise are of surpassing human interest. The dragon who + swallows the sun is no doubt a fearful personage; but the hero who toils + for others, who slays hydra-headed monsters, and dries the tears of + fair-haired damsels, and achieves success in spite of incredible + obstacles, is a being with whom we can all sympathize, and of whom we + never weary of hearing. + </p> + <p> + With many of these legends which present the myth of light and darkness in + its most attractive form, the reader is already acquainted, and it is + needless to retail stories which have been told over and over again in + books which every one is presumed to have read. I will content myself with + a weird Irish legend, narrated by Mr. Patrick Kennedy, <a + href="#linknote-128" name="linknoteref-128" id="linknoteref-128"><small>128</small></a> + in which we here and there catch glimpses of the primitive mythical + symbols, as fragments of gold are seen gleaming through the crystal of + quartz. + </p> + <p> + Long before the Danes ever came to Ireland, there died at Muskerry a + Sculloge, or country farmer, who by dint of hard work and close economy + had amassed enormous wealth. His only son did not resemble him. When the + young Sculloge looked about the house, the day after his father's death, + and saw the big chests full of gold and silver, and the cupboards shining + with piles of sovereigns, and the old stockings stuffed with large and + small coin, he said to himself, "Bedad, how shall I ever be able to spend + the likes o' that!" And so he drank, and gambled, and wasted his time in + hunting and horse-racing, until after a while he found the chests empty + and the cupboards poverty-stricken, and the stockings lean and penniless. + Then he mortgaged his farm-house and gambled away all the money he got for + it, and then he bethought him that a few hundred pounds might be raised on + his mill. But when he went to look at it, he found "the dam broken, and + scarcely a thimbleful of water in the mill-race, and the wheel rotten, and + the thatch of the house all gone, and the upper millstone lying flat on + the lower one, and a coat of dust and mould over everything." So he made + up his mind to borrow a horse and take one more hunt to-morrow and then + reform his habits. + </p> + <p> + As he was returning late in the evening from this farewell hunt, passing + through a lonely glen he came upon an old man playing backgammon, betting + on his left hand against his right, and crying and cursing because the + right WOULD win. "Come and bet with me," said he to Sculloge. "Faith, I + have but a sixpence in the world," was the reply; "but, if you like, I'll + wager that on the right." "Done," said the old man, who was a Druid; "if + you win I'll give you a hundred guineas." So the game was played, and the + old man, whose right hand was always the winner, paid over the guineas and + told Sculloge to go to the Devil with them. + </p> + <p> + Instead of following this bit of advice, however, the young farmer went + home and began to pay his debts, and next week he went to the glen and won + another game, and made the Druid rebuild his mill. So Sculloge became + prosperous again, and by and by he tried his luck a third time, and won a + game played for a beautiful wife. The Druid sent her to his house the next + morning before he was out of bed, and his servants came knocking at the + door and crying, "Wake up! wake up! Master Sculloge, there's a young lady + here to see you." "Bedad, it's the vanithee <a href="#linknote-129" + name="linknoteref-129" id="linknoteref-129"><small>129</small></a> + herself," said Sculloge; and getting up in a hurry, he spent three + quarters of an hour in dressing himself. At last he went down stairs, and + there on the sofa was the prettiest lady ever seen in Ireland! Naturally, + Sculloge's heart beat fast and his voice trembled, as he begged the lady's + pardon for this Druidic style of wooing, and besought her not to feel + obliged to stay with him unless she really liked him. But the young lady, + who was a king's daughter from a far country, was wondrously charmed with + the handsome farmer, and so well did they get along that the priest was + sent for without further delay, and they were married before sundown. + Sabina was the vanithee's name; and she warned her husband to have no more + dealings with Lassa Buaicht, the old man of the glen. So for a while all + went happily, and the Druidic bride was as good as she was beautiful But + by and by Sculloge began to think he was not earning money fast enough. He + could not bear to see his wife's white hands soiled with work, and thought + it would be a fine thing if he could only afford to keep a few more + servants, and drive about with Sabina in an elegant carriage, and see her + clothed in silk and adorned with jewels. + </p> + <p> + "I will play one more game and set the stakes high," said Sculloge to + himself one evening, as he sat pondering over these things; and so, + without consulting Sabina, he stole away to the glen, and played a game + for ten thousand guineas. But the evil Druid was now ready to pounce on + his prey, and he did not play as of old. Sculloge broke into a cold sweat + with agony and terror as he saw the left hand win! Then the face of Lassa + Buaicht grew dark and stern, and he laid on Sculloge the curse which is + laid upon the solar hero in misfortune, that he should never sleep twice + under the same roof, or ascend the couch of the dawn-nymph, his wife, + until he should have procured and brought to him the sword of light. When + Sculloge reached home, more dead than alive, he saw that his wife knew + all. Bitterly they wept together, but she told him that with courage all + might be set right. She gave him a Druidic horse, which bore him swiftly + over land and sea, like the enchanted steed of the Arabian Nights, until + he reached the castle of his wife's father who, as Sculloge now learned, + was a good Druid, the brother of the evil Lassa Buaicht. This good Druid + told him that the sword of light was kept by a third brother, the powerful + magician, Fiach O'Duda, who dwelt in an enchanted castle, which many brave + heroes had tried to enter, but the dark sorcerer had slain them all. Three + high walls surrounded the castle, and many had scaled the first of these, + but none had ever returned alive. But Sculloge was not to be daunted, and, + taking from his father-in-law a black steed, he set out for the fortress + of Fiach O'Duda. Over the first high wall nimbly leaped the magic horse, + and Sculloge called aloud on the Druid to come out and surrender his + sword. Then came out a tall, dark man, with coal-black eyes and hair and + melancholy visage, and made a furious sweep at Sculloge with the flaming + blade. But the Druidic beast sprang back over the wall in the twinkling of + an eye and rescued his rider, leaving, however, his tail behind in the + court-yard. Then Sculloge returned in triumph to his father-in-law's + palace, and the night was spent in feasting and revelry. + </p> + <p> + Next day Sculloge rode out on a white horse, and when he got to Fiach's + castle, he saw the first wall lying in rubbish. He leaped the second, and + the same scene occurred as the day before, save that the horse escaped + unharmed. + </p> + <p> + The third day Sculloge went out on foot, with a harp like that of Orpheus + in his hand, and as he swept its strings the grass bent to listen and the + trees bowed their heads. The castle walls all lay in ruins, and Sculloge + made his way unhindered to the upper room, where Fiach lay in Druidic + slumber, lulled by the harp. He seized the sword of light, which was hung + by the chimney sheathed in a dark scabbard, and making the best of his way + back to the good king's palace, mounted his wife's steed, and scoured over + land and sea until he found himself in the gloomy glen where Lassa Buaicht + was still crying and cursing and betting on his left hand against his + right. + </p> + <p> + "Here, treacherous fiend, take your sword of light!" shouted Sculloge in + tones of thunder; and as he drew it from its sheath the whole valley was + lighted up as with the morning sun, and next moment the head of the + wretched Druid was lying at his feet, and his sweet wife, who had come to + meet him, was laughing and crying in his arms. November, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. MYTHS OF THE BARBARIC WORLD. + </h2> + <p> + THE theory of mythology set forth in the four preceding papers, and + illustrated by the examination of numerous myths relating to the + lightning, the storm-wind, the clouds, and the sunlight, was originally + framed with reference solely to the mythic and legendary lore of the Aryan + world. The phonetic identity of the names of many Western gods and heroes + with the names of those Vedic divinities which are obviously the + personifications of natural phenomena, suggested the theory which + philosophical considerations had already foreshadowed in the works of Hume + and Comte, and which the exhaustive analysis of Greek, Hindu, Keltic, and + Teutonic legends has amply confirmed. Let us now, before proceeding to the + consideration of barbaric folk-lore, briefly recapitulate the results + obtained by modern scholarship working strictly within the limits of the + Aryan domain. + </p> + <p> + In the first place, it has been proved once for all that the languages + spoken by the Hindus, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Kelts, Slaves, and Teutons + are all descended from a single ancestral language, the Old Aryan, in the + same sense that French, Italian, and Spanish are descended from the Latin. + And from this undisputed fact it is an inevitable inference that these + various races contain, along with other elements, a race-element in + common, due to their Aryan pedigree. That the Indo-European races are + wholly Aryan is very improbable, for in every case the countries overrun + by them were occupied by inferior races, whose blood must have mingled in + varying degrees with that of their conquerors; but that every + Indo-European people is in great part descended from a common Aryan stock + is not open to question. + </p> + <p> + In the second place, along with a common fund of moral and religious ideas + and of legal and ceremonial observances, we find these kindred peoples + possessed of a common fund of myths, superstitions, proverbs, popular + poetry, and household legends. The Hindu mother amuses her child with + fairy-tales which often correspond, even in minor incidents, with stories + in Scottish or Scandinavian nurseries; and she tells them in words which + are phonetically akin to words in Swedish and Gaelic. No doubt many of + these stories might have been devised in a dozen different places + independently of each other; and no doubt many of them have been + transmitted laterally from one people to another; but a careful + examination shows that such cannot have been the case with the great + majority of legends and beliefs. The agreement between two such stories, + for instance, as those of Faithful John and Rama and Luxman is so close as + to make it incredible that they should have been independently fabricated, + while the points of difference are so important as to make it extremely + improbable that the one was ever copied from the other. Besides which, the + essential identity of such myths as those of Sigurd and Theseus, or of + Helena and Sarama, carries us back historically to a time when the + scattered Indo-European tribes had not yet begun to hold commercial and + intellectual intercourse with each other, and consequently could not have + interchanged their epic materials or their household stories. We are + therefore driven to the conclusion—which, startling as it may seem, + is after all the most natural and plausible one that can be stated—that + the Aryan nations, which have inherited from a common ancestral stock + their languages and their customs, have inherited also from the same + common original their fireside legends. They have preserved Cinderella and + Punchkin just as they have preserved the words for father and mother, ten + and twenty; and the former case, though more imposing to the imagination, + is scientifically no less intelligible than the latter. + </p> + <p> + Thirdly, it has been shown that these venerable tales may be grouped in a + few pretty well defined classes; and that the archetypal myth of each + class—the primitive story in conformity to which countless + subsequent tales have been generated—was originally a mere + description of physical phenomena, couched in the poetic diction of an age + when everything was personified, because all natural phenomena were + supposed to be due to the direct workings of a volition like that of which + men were conscious within themselves. Thus we are led to the striking + conclusion that mythology has had a common root, both with science and + with religious philosophy. The myth of Indra conquering Vritra was one of + the theorems of primitive Aryan science; it was a provisional explanation + of the thunder-storm, satisfactory enough until extended observation and + reflection supplied a better one. It also contained the germs of a + theology; for the life-giving solar light furnished an important part of + the primeval conception of deity. And finally, it became the fruitful + parent of countless myths, whether embodied in the stately epics of Homer + and the bards of the Nibelungenlied, or in the humbler legends of St. + George and William Tell and the ubiquitous Boots. + </p> + <p> + Such is the theory which was suggested half a century ago by the + researches of Jacob Grimm, and which, so far as concerns the mythology of + the Aryan race, is now victorious along the whole line. It remains for us + to test the universality of the general principles upon which it is + founded, by a brief analysis of sundry legends and superstitions of the + barbaric world. Since the fetichistic habit of explaining the outward + phenomena of nature after the analogy of the inward phenomena of conscious + intelligence is not a habit peculiar to our Aryan ancestors, but is, as + psychology shows, the inevitable result of the conditions under which + uncivilized thinking proceeds, we may expect to find the barbaric mind + personifying the powers of nature and making myths about their operations + the whole world over. And we need not be surprised if we find in the + resulting mythologic structures a strong resemblance to the familiar + creations of the Aryan intelligence. In point of fact, we shall often be + called upon to note such resemblance; and it accordingly behooves us at + the outset to inquire how far a similarity between mythical tales shall be + taken as evidence of a common traditional origin, and how far it may be + interpreted as due merely to the similar workings of the untrained + intelligence in all ages and countries. + </p> + <p> + Analogies drawn from the comparison of languages will here be of service + to us, if used discreetly; otherwise they are likely to bewilder far more + than to enlighten us. A theorem which Max Muller has laid down for our + guidance in this kind of investigation furnishes us with an excellent + example of the tricks which a superficial analogy may play even with the + trained scholar, when temporarily off his guard. Actuated by a + praiseworthy desire to raise the study of myths to something like the high + level of scientific accuracy already attained by the study of words, Max + Muller endeavours to introduce one of the most useful canons of philology + into a department of inquiry where its introduction could only work the + most hopeless confusion. One of the earliest lessons to be learned by the + scientific student of linguistics is the uselessness of comparing together + directly the words contained in derivative languages. For example, you + might set the English twelve side by side with the Latin duodecim, and + then stare at the two words to all eternity without any hope of reaching a + conclusion, good or bad, about either of them: least of all would you + suspect that they are descended from the same radical. But if you take + each word by itself and trace it back to its primitive shape, explaining + every change of every letter as you go, you will at last reach the old + Aryan dvadakan, which is the parent of both these strangely metamorphosed + words. <a href="#linknote-130" name="linknoteref-130" id="linknoteref-130"><small>130</small></a> + Nor will it do, on the other hand, to trust to verbal similarity without a + historical inquiry into the origin of such similarity. Even in the same + language two words of quite different origin may get their corners rubbed + off till they look as like one another as two pebbles. The French words + souris, a "mouse," and souris, a "smile," are spelled exactly alike; but + the one comes from Latin sorex and the other from Latin subridere. + </p> + <p> + Now Max Muller tells us that this principle, which is indispensable in the + study of words, is equally indispensable in the study of myths. <a + href="#linknote-131" name="linknoteref-131" id="linknoteref-131"><small>131</small></a> + That is, you must not rashly pronounce the Norse story of the Heartless + Giant identical with the Hindu story of Punchkin, although the two + correspond in every essential incident. In both legends a magician turns + several members of the same family into stone; the youngest member of the + family comes to the rescue, and on the way saves the lives of sundry + grateful beasts; arrived at the magician's castle, he finds a captive + princess ready to accept his love and to play the part of Delilah to the + enchanter. In both stories the enchanter's life depends on the integrity + of something which is elaborately hidden in a far-distant island, but + which the fortunate youth, instructed by the artful princess and assisted + by his menagerie of grateful beasts, succeeds in obtaining. In both + stories the youth uses his advantage to free all his friends from their + enchantment, and then proceeds to destroy the villain who wrought all this + wickedness. Yet, in spite of this agreement, Max Muller, if I understand + him aright, would not have us infer the identity of the two stories until + we have taken each one separately and ascertained its primitive mythical + significance. Otherwise, for aught we can tell, the resemblance may be + purely accidental, like that of the French words for "mouse" and "smile." + </p> + <p> + A little reflection, however, will relieve us from this perplexity, and + assure us that the alleged analogy between the comparison of words and the + comparison of stories is utterly superficial. The transformations of words—which + are often astounding enough—depend upon a few well-established + physiological principles of utterance; and since philology has learned to + rely upon these principles, it has become nearly as sure in its methods + and results as one of the so-called "exact sciences." Folly enough is + doubtless committed within its precincts by writers who venture there + without the laborious preparation which this science, more than almost any + other, demands. But the proceedings of the trained philologist are no more + arbitrary than those of the trained astronomer. And though the former may + seem to be straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel when he coolly tells + you that violin and fiddle are the same word, while English care and Latin + cura have nothing to do with each other, he is nevertheless no more + indulging in guess-work than the astronomer who confesses his ignorance as + to the habitability of Venus while asserting his knowledge of the + existence of hydrogen in the atmosphere of Sirius. To cite one example out + of a hundred, every philologist knows that s may become r, and that the + broad a-sound may dwindle into the closer o-sound; but when you adduce + some plausible etymology based on the assumption that r has changed into + s, or o into a, apart from the demonstrable influence of some adjacent + letter, the philologist will shake his head. + </p> + <p> + Now in the study of stories there are no such simple rules all cut and + dried for us to go by. There is no uniform psychological principle which + determines that the three-headed snake in one story shall become a + three-headed man in the next. There is no Grimm's Law in mythology which + decides that a Hindu magician shall always correspond to a Norwegian Troll + or a Keltic Druid. The laws of association of ideas are not so simple in + application as the laws of utterance. In short, the study of myths, though + it can be made sufficiently scientific in its methods and results, does + not constitute a science by itself, like philology. It stands on a footing + similar to that occupied by physical geography, or what the Germans call + "earth-knowledge." No one denies that all the changes going on over the + earth's surface conform to physical laws; but then no one pretends that + there is any single proximate principle which governs all the phenomena of + rain-fall, of soil-crumbling, of magnetic variation, and of the + distribution of plants and animals. All these things are explained by + principles obtained from the various sciences of physics, chemistry, + geology, and physiology. And in just the same way the development and + distribution of stories is explained by the help of divers resources + contributed by philology, psychology, and history. There is therefore no + real analogy between the cases cited by Max Muller. Two unrelated words + may be ground into exactly the same shape, just as a pebble from the North + Sea may be undistinguishable from another pebble on the beach of the + Adriatic; but two stories like those of Punchkin and the Heartless Giant + are no more likely to arise independently of each other than two coral + reefs on opposite sides of the globe are likely to develop into exactly + similar islands. + </p> + <p> + Shall we then say boldly, that close similarity between legends is proof + of kinship, and go our way without further misgivings? Unfortunately we + cannot dispose of the matter in quite so summary a fashion; for it remains + to decide what kind and degree of similarity shall be considered + satisfactory evidence of kinship. And it is just here that doctors may + disagree. Here is the point at which our "science" betrays its weakness as + compared with the sister study of philology. Before we can decide with + confidence in any case, a great mass of evidence must be brought into + court. So long as we remained on Aryan ground, all went smoothly enough, + because all the external evidence was in our favour. We knew at the + outset, that the Aryans inherit a common language and a common + civilization, and therefore we found no difficulty in accepting the + conclusion that they have inherited, among other things, a common stock of + legends. In the barbaric world it is quite otherwise. Philology does not + pronounce in favour of a common origin for all barbaric culture, such as + it is. The notion of a single primitive language, standing in the same + relation to all existing dialects as the relation of old Aryan to Latin + and English, or that of old Semitic to Hebrew and Arabic, was a notion + suited only to the infancy of linguistic science. As the case now stands, + it is certain that all the languages actually existing cannot be referred + to a common ancestor, and it is altogether probable that there never was + any such common ancestor. I am not now referring to the question of the + unity of the human race. That question lies entirely outside the sphere of + philology. The science of language has nothing to do with skulls or + complexions, and no comparison of words can tell us whether the black men + are brethren of the white men, or whether yellow and red men have a common + pedigree: these questions belong to comparative physiology. But the + science of language can and does tell us that a certain amount of + civilization is requisite for the production of a language sufficiently + durable and wide-spread to give birth to numerous mutually resembling + offspring Barbaric languages are neither widespread nor durable. Among + savages each little group of families has its own dialect, and coins its + own expressions at pleasure; and in the course of two or three generations + a dialect gets so strangely altered as virtually to lose its identity. + Even numerals and personal pronouns, which the Aryan has preserved for + fifty centuries, get lost every few years in Polynesia. Since the time of + Captain Cook the Tahitian language has thrown away five out of its ten + simple numerals, and replaced them by brand-new ones; and on the Amazon + you may acquire a fluent command of some Indian dialect, and then, coming + back after twenty years, find yourself worse off than Rip Van Winkle, and + your learning all antiquated and useless. How absurd, therefore, to + suppose that primeval savages originated a language which has held its own + like the old Aryan and become the prolific mother of the three or four + thousand dialects now in existence! Before a durable language can arise, + there must be an aggregation of numerous tribes into a people, so that + there may be need of communication on a large scale, and so that tradition + may be strengthened. Wherever mankind have associated in nations, + permanent languages have arisen, and their derivative dialects bear the + conspicuous marks of kinship; but where mankind have remained in their + primitive savage isolation, their languages have remained sporadic and + transitory, incapable of organic development, and showing no traces of a + kinship which never existed. + </p> + <p> + The bearing of these considerations upon the origin and diffusion of + barbaric myths is obvious. The development of a common stock of legends + is, of course, impossible, save where there is a common language; and thus + philology pronounces against the kinship of barbaric myths with each other + and with similar myths of the Aryan and Semitic worlds. Similar stories + told in Greece and Norway are likely to have a common pedigree, because + the persons who have preserved them in recollection speak a common + language and have inherited the same civilization. But similar stories + told in Labrador and South Africa are not likely to be genealogically + related, because it is altogether probable that the Esquimaux and the Zulu + had acquired their present race characteristics before either of them + possessed a language or a culture sufficient for the production of myths. + According to the nature and extent of the similarity, it must be decided + whether such stories have been carried about from one part of the world to + another, or have been independently originated in many different places. + </p> + <p> + Here the methods of philology suggest a rule which will often be found + useful. In comparing, the vocabularies of different languages, those words + which directly imitate natural sounds—such as whiz, crash, crackle—are + not admitted as evidence of kinship between the languages in which they + occur. Resemblances between such words are obviously no proof of a common + ancestry; and they are often met with in languages which have demonstrably + had no connection with each other. So in mythology, where we find two + stories of which the primitive character is perfectly transparent, we need + have no difficulty in supposing them to have originated independently. The + myth of Jack and his Beanstalk is found all over the world; but the idea + of a country above the sky, to which persons might gain access by + climbing, is one which could hardly fail to occur to every barbarian. + Among the American tribes, as well as among the Aryans, the rainbow and + the Milky-Way have contributed the idea of a Bridge of the Dead, over + which souls must pass on the way to the other world. In South Africa, as + well as in Germany, the habits of the fox and of his brother the jackal + have given rise to fables in which brute force is overcome by cunning. In + many parts of the world we find curiously similar stories devised to + account for the stumpy tails of the bear and hyaena, the hairless tail of + the rat, and the blindness of the mole. And in all countries may be found + the beliefs that men may be changed into beasts, or plants, or stones; + that the sun is in some way tethered or constrained to follow a certain + course; that the storm-cloud is a ravenous dragon; and that there are + talismans which will reveal hidden treasures. All these conceptions are so + obvious to the uncivilized intelligence, that stories founded upon them + need not be supposed to have a common origin, unless there turns out to be + a striking similarity among their minor details. On the other hand, the + numerous myths of an all-destroying deluge have doubtless arisen partly + from reminiscences of actually occurring local inundations, and partly + from the fact that the Scriptural account of a deluge has been carried all + over the world by Catholic and Protestant missionaries. <a + href="#linknote-132" name="linknoteref-132" id="linknoteref-132"><small>132</small></a> + </p> + <p> + By way of illustrating these principles, let us now cite a few of the + American myths so carefully collected by Dr. Brinton in his admirable + treatise. We shall not find in the mythology of the New World the wealth + of wit and imagination which has so long delighted us in the stories of + Herakles, Perseus, Hermes, Sigurd, and Indra. The mythic lore of the + American Indians is comparatively scanty and prosaic, as befits the + product of a lower grade of culture and a more meagre intellect. Not only + are the personages less characteristically pourtrayed, but there is a + continual tendency to extravagance, the sure index of an inferior + imagination. Nevertheless, after making due allowances for differences in + the artistic method of treatment, there is between the mythologies of the + Old and the New Worlds a fundamental resemblance. We come upon solar myths + and myths of the storm curiously blended with culture-myths, as in the + cases of Hermes, Prometheus, and Kadmos. The American parallels to these + are to be found in the stories of Michabo, Viracocha, Ioskeha, and + Quetzalcoatl. "As elsewhere the world over, so in America, many tribes had + to tell of.... an august character, who taught them what they knew,—the + tillage of the soil, the properties of plants, the art of picture-writing, + the secrets of magic; who founded their institutions and established their + religions; who governed them long with glory abroad and peace at home; and + finally did not die, but, like Frederic Barbarossa, Charlemagne, King + Arthur, and all great heroes, vanished mysteriously, and still lives + somewhere, ready at the right moment to return to his beloved people and + lead them to victory and happiness." <a href="#linknote-133" + name="linknoteref-133" id="linknoteref-133"><small>133</small></a> + Everyone is familiar with the numerous legends of white-skinned, + full-bearded heroes, like the mild Quetzalcoatl, who in times long + previous to Columbus came from the far East to impart the rudiments of + civilization and religion to the red men. By those who first heard these + stories they were supposed, with naive Euhemerism, to refer to + pre-Columbian visits of Europeans to this continent, like that of the + Northmen in the tenth century. But a scientific study of the subject has + dissipated such notions. These legends are far too numerous, they are too + similar to each other, they are too manifestly symbolical, to admit of any + such interpretation. By comparing them carefully with each other, and with + correlative myths of the Old World, their true character soon becomes + apparent. + </p> + <p> + One of the most widely famous of these culture-heroes was Manabozho or + Michabo, the Great Hare. With entire unanimity, says Dr. Brinton, the + various branches of the Algonquin race, "the Powhatans of Virginia, the + Lenni Lenape of the Delaware, the warlike hordes of New England, the + Ottawas of the far North, and the Western tribes, perhaps without + exception, spoke of this chimerical beast,' as one of the old missionaries + calls it, as their common ancestor. The totem, or clan, which bore his + name was looked up to with peculiar respect." Not only was Michabo the + ruler and guardian of these numerous tribes,—he was the founder of + their religious rites, the inventor of picture-writing, the ruler of the + weather, the creator and preserver of earth and heaven. "From a grain of + sand brought from the bottom of the primeval ocean he fashioned the + habitable land, and set it floating on the waters till it grew to such a + size that a strong young wolf, running constantly, died of old age ere he + reached its limits." He was also, like Nimrod, a mighty hunter. "One of + his footsteps measured eight leagues, the Great Lakes were the beaver-dams + he built, and when the cataracts impeded his progress he tore them away + with his hands." "Sometimes he was said to dwell in the skies with his + brother, the Snow, or, like many great spirits, to have built his wigwam + in the far North on some floe of ice in the Arctic Ocean..... But in the + oldest accounts of the missionaries he was alleged to reside toward the + East; and in the holy formulae of the meda craft, when the winds are + invoked to the medicine lodge, the East is summoned in his name, the door + opens in that direction, and there, at the edge of the earth where the sun + rises, on the shore of the infinite ocean that surrounds the land, he has + his house, and sends the luminaries forth on their daily journeys." <a + href="#linknote-134" name="linknoteref-134" id="linknoteref-134"><small>134</small></a> + From such accounts as this we see that Michabo was no more a wise + instructor and legislator than Minos or Kadmos. Like these heroes, he is a + personification of the solar life-giving power, which daily comes forth + from its home in the east, making the earth to rejoice. The etymology of + his name confirms the otherwise clear indications of the legend itself. It + is compounded of michi, "great," and wabos, which means alike "hare" and + "white." "Dialectic forms in Algonquin for white are wabi, wape, wampi, + etc.; for morning, wapan, wapanch, opah; for east, wapa, wanbun, etc.; for + day, wompan, oppan; for light, oppung." So that Michabo is the Great White + One, the God of the Dawn and the East. And the etymological confusion, by + virtue of which he acquired his soubriquet of the Great Hare, affords a + curious parallel to what has often happened in Aryan and Semitic + mythology, as we saw when discussing the subject of werewolves. + </p> + <p> + Keeping in mind this solar character of Michabo, let us note how full of + meaning are the myths concerning him. In the first cycle of these legends, + "he is grandson of the Moon, his father is the West Wind, and his mother, + a maiden, dies in giving him birth at the moment of conception. For the + Moon is the goddess of night; the Dawn is her daughter, who brings forth + the Morning, and perishes herself in the act; and the West, the spirit of + darkness, as the East is of light, precedes, and as it were begets the + latter, as the evening does the morning. Straightway, however, continues + the legend, the son sought the unnatural father to revenge the death of + his mother, and then commenced a long and desperate struggle. It began on + the mountains. The West was forced to give ground. Manabozho drove him + across rivers and over mountains and lakes, and at last he came to the + brink of this world. 'Hold,' cried he, 'my son, you know my power, and + that it is impossible to kill me.' What is this but the diurnal combat of + light and darkness, carried on from what time 'the jocund morn stands + tiptoe on the misty mountain-tops,' across the wide world to the sunset, + the struggle that knows no end, for both the opponents are immortal?" <a + href="#linknote-135" name="linknoteref-135" id="linknoteref-135"><small>135</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Even the Veda nowhere affords a more transparent narrative than this. The + Iroquois tradition is very similar. In it appear twin brothers, <a + href="#linknote-136" name="linknoteref-136" id="linknoteref-136"><small>136</small></a> + born of a virgin mother, daughter of the Moon, who died in giving them + life. Their names, Ioskeha and Tawiskara, signify in the Oneida dialect + the White One and the Dark One. Under the influence of Christian ideas the + contest between the brothers has been made to assume a moral character, + like the strife between Ormuzd and Ahriman. But no such intention appears + in the original myth, and Dr. Brinton has shown that none of the American + tribes had any conception of a Devil. When the quarrel came to blows, the + dark brother was signally discomfited; and the victorious Ioskeha, + returning to his grandmother, "established his lodge in the far East, on + the horders of the Great Ocean, whence the sun comes. In time he became + the father of mankind, and special guardian of the Iroquois." He caused + the earth to bring forth, he stocked the woods with game, and taught his + children the use of fire. "He it was who watched and watered their crops; + 'and, indeed, without his aid,' says the old missionary, quite out of + patience with their puerilities, 'they think they could not boil a pot.'" + There was more in it than poor Brebouf thought, as we are forcibly + reminded by recent discoveries in physical science. Even civilized men + would find it difficult to boil a pot without the aid of solar energy. + Call him what we will,—Ioskeha, Michabo, or Phoibos,—the + beneficent Sun is the master and sustainer of us all; and if we were to + relapse into heathenism, like Erckmann-Chatrian's innkeeper, we could not + do better than to select him as our chief object of worship. + </p> + <p> + The same principles by which these simple cases are explained furnish also + the key to the more complicated mythology of Mexico and Peru. Like the + deities just discussed, Viracocha, the supreme god of the Quichuas, rises + from the bosom of Lake Titicaca and journeys westward, slaying with his + lightnings the creatures who oppose him, until he finally disappears in + the Western Ocean. Like Aphrodite, he bears in his name the evidence of + his origin, Viracocha signifying "foam of the sea"; and hence the "White + One" (l'aube), the god of light rising white on the horizon, like the foam + on the surface of the waves. The Aymaras spoke of their original ancestors + as white; and to this day, as Dr. Brinton informs us, the Peruvians call a + white man Viracocha. The myth of Quetzalcoatl is of precisely the same + character. All these solar heroes present in most of their qualities and + achievements a striking likeness to those of the Old World. They combine + the attributes of Apollo, Herakles, and Hermes. Like Herakles, they + journey from east to west, smiting the powers of darkness, storm, and + winter with the thunderbolts of Zeus or the unerring arrows of Phoibos, + and sinking in a blaze of glory on the western verge of the world, where + the waves meet the firmament. Or like Hermes, in a second cycle of + legends, they rise with the soft breezes of a summer morning, driving + before them the bright celestial cattle whose udders are heavy with + refreshing rain, fanning the flames which devour the forests, blustering + at the doors of wigwams, and escaping with weird laughter through vents + and crevices. The white skins and flowing beards of these American heroes + may be aptly compared to the fair faces and long golden locks of their + Hellenic compeers. Yellow hair was in all probability as rare in Greece as + a full beard in Peru or Mexico; but in each case the description suits the + solar character of the hero. One important class of incidents, however is + apparently quite absent from the American legends. We frequently see the + Dawn described as a virgin mother who dies in giving birth to the Day; but + nowhere do we remember seeing her pictured as a lovely or valiant or + crafty maiden, ardently wooed, but speedily forsaken by her solar lover. + Perhaps in no respect is the superior richness and beauty of the Aryan + myths more manifest than in this. Brynhild, Urvasi, Medeia, Ariadne, + Oinone, and countless other kindred heroines, with their brilliant + legends, could not be spared from the mythology of our ancestors without, + leaving it meagre indeed. These were the materials which Kalidasa, the + Attic dramatists, and the bards of the Nibelungen found ready, awaiting + their artistic treatment. But the mythology of the New World, with all its + pretty and agreeable naivete, affords hardly enough, either of variety in + situation or of complexity in motive, for a grand epic or a genuine + tragedy. + </p> + <p> + But little reflection is needed to assure us that the imagination of the + barbarian, who either carries away his wife by brute force or buys her + from her relatives as he would buy a cow, could never have originated + legends in which maidens are lovingly solicited, or in which their favour + is won by the performance of deeds of valour. These stories owe their + existence to the romantic turn of mind which has always characterized the + Aryan, whose civilization, even in the times before the dispersion of his + race, was sufficiently advanced to allow of his entertaining such + comparatively exalted conceptions of the relations between men and women. + The absence of these myths from barbaric folk-lore is, therefore, just + what might be expected; but it is a fact which militates against any + possible hypothesis of the common origin of Aryan and barbaric mythology. + If there were any genetic relationship between Sigurd and Ioskeha, between + Herakles and Michabo, it would be hard to tell why Brynhild and Iole + should have disappeared entirely from one whole group of legends, while + retained, in some form or other, throughout the whole of the other group. + On the other hand, the resemblances above noticed between Aryan and + American mythology fall very far short of the resemblances between the + stories told in different parts of the Aryan domain. No barbaric legend, + of genuine barbaric growth, has yet been cited which resembles any Aryan + legend as the story of Punchkin resembles the story of the Heartless + Giant. The myths of Michabo and Viracocha are direct copies, so to speak, + of natural phenomena, just as imitative words are direct copies of natural + sounds. Neither the Redskin nor the Indo-European had any choice as to the + main features of the career of his solar divinity. He must be born of the + Night,—or of the Dawn,—must travel westward, must slay + harassing demons. Eliminating these points of likeness, the resemblance + between the Aryan and barbaric legends is at once at an end. Such an + identity in point of details as that between the wooden horse which enters + Ilion, and the horse which bears Sigurd into the place where Brynhild is + imprisoned, and the Druidic steed which leaps with Sculloge over the walls + of Fiach's enchanted castle, is, I believe, nowhere to be found after we + leave Indo-European territory. + </p> + <p> + Our conclusion, therefore, must be, that while the legends of the Aryan + and the non-Aryan worlds contain common mythical elements, the legends + themselves are not of common origin. The fact that certain mythical ideas + are possessed alike by different races, shows that in each case a similar + human intelligence has been at work explaining similar phenomena; but in + order to prove a family relationship between the culture of these + different races, we need something more than this. We need to prove not + only a community of mythical ideas, but also a community between the + stories based upon these ideas. We must show not only that Michabo is like + Herakles in those striking features which the contemplation of solar + phenomena would necessarily suggest to the imagination of the primitive + myth-maker, but also that the two characters are similarly conceived, and + that the two careers agree in seemingly arbitrary points of detail, as is + the case in the stories of Punchkin and the Heartless Giant. The mere fact + that solar heroes, all over the world, travel in a certain path and slay + imps of darkness is of great value as throwing light upon primeval habits + of thought, but it is of no value as evidence for or against an alleged + community of civilization between different races. The same is true of the + sacredness universally attached to certain numbers. Dr. Blinton's opinion + that the sanctity of the number four in nearly all systems of mythology is + due to a primitive worship of the cardinal points, becomes very probable + when we recollect that the similar pre-eminence of seven is almost + demonstrably connected with the adoration of the sun, moon, and five + visible planets, which has left its record in the structure and + nomenclature of the Aryan and Semitic week. <a href="#linknote-137" + name="linknoteref-137" id="linknoteref-137"><small>137</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In view of these considerations, the comparison of barbaric myths with + each other and with the legends of the Aryan world becomes doubly + interesting, as illustrating the similarity in the workings of the + untrained intelligence the world over. In our first paper we saw how the + moon-spots have been variously explained by Indo-Europeans, as a man with + a thorn-bush or as two children bearing a bucket of water on a pole. In + Ceylon it is said that as Sakyamuni was one day wandering half starved in + the forest, a pious hare met him, and offered itself to him to be slain + and cooked for dinner; whereupon the holy Buddha set it on high in the + moon, that future generations of men might see it and marvel at its piety. + In the Samoan Islands these dark patches are supposed to be portions of a + woman's figure. A certain woman was once hammering something with a + mallet, when the moon arose, looking so much like a bread-fruit that the + woman asked it to come down and let her child eat off a piece of it; but + the moon, enraged at the insult, gobbled up woman, mallet, and child, and + there, in the moon's belly, you may still behold them. According to the + Hottentots, the Moon once sent the Hare to inform men that as she died + away and rose again, so should men die and again come to life. But the + stupid Hare forgot the purport of the message, and, coming down to the + earth, proclaimed it far and wide that though the Moon was invariably + resuscitated whenever she died, mankind, on the other hand, should die and + go to the Devil. When the silly brute returned to the lunar country and + told what he had done, the Moon was so angry that she took up an axe and + aimed a blow at his head to split it. But the axe missed and only cut his + lip open; and that was the origin of the "hare-lip." Maddened by the pain + and the insult, the Hare flew at the Moon and almost scratched her eyes + out; and to this day she bears on her face the marks of the Hare's claws. + <a href="#linknote-138" name="linknoteref-138" id="linknoteref-138"><small>138</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Again, every reader of the classics knows how Selene cast Endymion into a + profound slumber because he refused her love, and how at sundown she used + to come and stand above him on the Latmian hill, and watch him as he lay + asleep on the marble steps of a temple half hidden among drooping + elm-trees, over which clambered vines heavy with dark blue grapes. This + represents the rising moon looking down on the setting sun; in Labrador a + similar phenomenon has suggested a somewhat different story. Among the + Esquimaux the Sun is a maiden and the Moon is her brother, who is overcome + by a wicked passion for her. Once, as this girl was at a dancing-party in + a friend's hut, some one came up and took hold of her by the shoulders and + shook her, which is (according to the legend) the Esquimaux manner of + declaring one's love. She could not tell who it was in the dark, and so + she dipped her hand in some soot and smeared one of his cheeks with it. + When a light was struck in the hut, she saw, to her dismay, that it was + her brother, and, without waiting to learn any more, she took to her + heels. He started in hot pursuit, and so they ran till they got to the end + of the world,—the jumping-off place,—when they both jumped + into the sky. There the Moon still chases his sister, the Sun; and every + now and then he turns his sooty cheek toward the earth, when he becomes so + dark that you cannot see him. <a href="#linknote-139" + name="linknoteref-139" id="linknoteref-139"><small>139</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Another story, which I cite from Mr. Tylor, shows that Malays, as well as + Indo-Europeans, have conceived of the clouds as swan-maidens. In the + island of Celebes it is said that "seven heavenly nymphs came down from + the sky to bathe, and they were seen by Kasimbaha, who thought first that + they were white doves, but in the bath he saw that they were women. Then + he stole one of the thin robes that gave the nymphs their power of flying, + and so he caught Utahagi, the one whose robe he had stolen, and took her + for his wife, and she bore him a son. Now she was called Utahagi from a + single white hair she had, which was endowed with magic power, and this + hair her husband pulled out. As soon as he had done it, there arose a + great storm, and Utahagi went up to heaven. The child cried for its + mother, and Kasimbaha was in great grief, and cast about how he should + follow Utahagi up into the sky." Here we pass to the myth of Jack and the + Beanstalk. "A rat gnawed the thorns off the rattans, and Kasimbaha + clambered up by them with his son upon his back, till he came to heaven. + There a little bird showed him the house of Utahagi, and after various + adventures he took up his abode among the gods." <a href="#linknote-140" + name="linknoteref-140" id="linknoteref-140"><small>140</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In Siberia we find a legend of swan-maidens, which also reminds us of the + story of the Heartless Giant. A certain Samojed once went out to catch + foxes, and found seven maidens swimming in a lake surrounded by gloomy + pine-trees, while their feather dresses lay on the shore. He crept up and + stole one of these dresses, and by and by the swan-maiden came to him + shivering with cold and promising to become his wife if he would only give + her back her garment of feathers. The ungallant fellow, however, did not + care for a wife, but a little revenge was not unsuited to his way of + thinking. There were seven robbers who used to prowl about the + neighbourhood, and who, when they got home, finding their hearts in the + way, used to hang them up on some pegs in the tent. One of these robbers + had killed the Samojed's mother; and so he promised to return the + swan-maiden's dress after she should have procured for him these seven + hearts. So she stole the hearts, and the Samojed smashed six of them, and + then woke up the seventh robber, and told him to restore his mother to + life, on pain of instant death, Then the robber produced a purse + containing the old woman's soul, and going to the graveyard shook it over + her bones, and she revived at once. Then the Samojed smashed the seventh + heart, and the robber died; and so the swan-maiden got back her plumage + and flew away rejoicing. <a href="#linknote-141" name="linknoteref-141" + id="linknoteref-141"><small>141</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Swan-maidens are also, according to Mr. Baring-Gould, found among the + Minussinian Tartars. But there they appear as foul demons, like the Greek + Harpies, who delight in drinking the blood of men slain in battle. There + are forty of them, who darken the whole firmament in their flight; but + sometimes they all coalesce into one great black storm-fiend, who rages + for blood, like a werewolf. + </p> + <p> + In South Africa we find the werewolf himself. <a href="#linknote-142" + name="linknoteref-142" id="linknoteref-142"><small>142</small></a> A + certain Hottentot was once travelling with a Bushwoman and her child, when + they perceived at a distance a troop of wild horses. The man, being + hungry, asked the woman to turn herself into a lioness and catch one of + these horses, that they might eat of it; whereupon the woman set down her + child, and taking off a sort of petticoat made of human skin became + instantly transformed into a lioness, which rushed across the plain, + struck down a wild horse and lapped its blood. The man climbed a tree in + terror, and conjured his companion to resume her natural shape. Then the + lioness came back, and putting on the skirt made of human skin reappeared + as a woman, and took up her child, and the two friends resumed their + journey after making a meal of the horse's flesh. <a href="#linknote-143" + name="linknoteref-143" id="linknoteref-143"><small>143</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The werewolf also appears in North America, duly furnished with his + wolf-skin sack; but neither in America nor in Africa is he the genuine + European werewolf, inspired by a diabolic frenzy, and ravening for human + flesh. The barbaric myths testify to the belief that men can be changed + into beasts or have in some cases descended from beast ancestors, but the + application of this belief to the explanation of abnormal cannibal + cravings seems to have been confined to Europe. The werewolf of the Middle + Ages was not merely a transformed man,—he was an insane cannibal, + whose monstrous appetite, due to the machinations of the Devil, showed its + power over his physical organism by changing the shape of it. The barbaric + werewolf is the product of a lower and simpler kind of thinking. There is + no diabolism about him; for barbaric races, while believing in the + existence of hurtful and malicious fiends, have not a sufficiently vivid + sense of moral abnormity to form the conception of diabolism. And the + cannibal craving, which to the mediaeval European was a phenomenon so + strange as to demand a mythological explanation, would not impress the + barbarian as either very exceptional or very blameworthy. + </p> + <p> + In the folk-lore of the Zulus, one of the most quick-witted and + intelligent of African races, the cannibal possesses many features in + common with the Scandinavian Troll, who also has a liking for human flesh. + As we saw in the preceding paper, the Troll has very likely derived some + of his characteristics from reminiscences of the barbarous races who + preceded the Aryans in Central and Northern Europe. In like manner the + long-haired cannibal of Zulu nursery literature, who is always represented + as belonging to a distinct race, has been supposed to be explained by the + existence of inferior races conquered and displaced by the Zulus. + Nevertheless, as Dr. Callaway observes, neither the long-haired mountain + cannibals of Western Africa, nor the Fulahs, nor the tribes of Eghedal + described by Barth, "can be considered as answering to the description of + long-haired as given in the Zulu legends of cannibals; neither could they + possibly have formed their historical basis..... It is perfectly clear + that the cannibals of the Zulu legends are not common men; they are + magnified into giants and magicians; they are remarkably swift and + enduring; fierce and terrible warriors." Very probably they may have a + mythical origin in modes of thought akin to those which begot the Panis of + the Veda and the Northern Trolls. The parallelism is perhaps the most + remarkable one which can be found in comparing barbaric with Aryan + folk-lore. Like the Panis and Trolls, the cannibals are represented as the + foes of the solar hero Uthlakanyana, who is almost as great a traveller as + Odysseus, and whose presence of mind amid trying circumstances is not to + be surpassed by that of the incomparable Boots. Uthlakanyana is as + precocious as Herakles or Hermes. He speaks before he is born, and no + sooner has he entered the world than he begins to outwit other people and + get possession of their property. He works bitter ruin for the cannibals, + who, with all their strength and fleetness, are no better endowed with + quick wit than the Trolls, whom Boots invariably victimizes. On one of his + journeys, Uthlakanyana fell in with a cannibal. Their greetings were + cordial enough, and they ate a bit of leopard together, and began to build + a house, and killed a couple of cows, but the cannibal's cow was lean, + while Uthlakanyana's was fat. Then the crafty traveller, fearing that his + companion might insist upon having the fat cow, turned and said, "'Let the + house be thatched now then we can eat our meat. You see the sky, that we + shall get wet.' The cannibal said, 'You are right, child of my sister; you + are a man indeed in saying, let us thatch the house, for we shall get + wet.' Uthlakanyana said, 'Do you do it then; I will go inside, and push + the thatching-needle for you, in the house.' The cannibal went up. His + hair was very, very long. Uthlakanyana went inside and pushed the needle + for him. He thatched in the hair of the cannibal, tying it very tightly; + he knotted it into the thatch constantly, taking it by separate locks and + fastening it firmly, that it might be tightly fastened to the house." Then + the rogue went outside and began to eat of the cow which was roasted. "The + cannibal said, 'What are you about, child of my sister? Let us just finish + the house; afterwards we can do that; we will do it together.' + Uthlakanyana replied, 'Come down then. I cannot go into the house any + more. The thatching is finished.' The cannibal assented. When he thought + he was going to quit the house, he was unable to quit it. He cried out + saying, 'Child of my sister, how have you managed your thatching?' + Uthlakanyana said, 'See to it yourself. I have thatched well, for I shall + not have any dispute. Now I am about to eat in peace; I no longer dispute + with anybody, for I am now alone with my cow.'" So the cannibal cried and + raved and appealed in vain to Uthlakanyana's sense of justice, until by + and by "the sky came with hailstones and lightning Uthlakanyana took all + the meat into the house; he stayed in the house and lit a fire. It hailed + and rained. The cannibal cried on the top of the house; he was struck with + the hailstones, and died there on the house. It cleared. Uthlakanyana went + out and said, 'Uncle, just come down, and come to me. It has become clear. + It no longer rains, and there is no more hail, neither is there any more + lightning. Why are you silent?' So Uthlakanyana ate his cow alone, until + he had finished it. He then went on his way." <a href="#linknote-144" + name="linknoteref-144" id="linknoteref-144"><small>144</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In another Zulu legend, a girl is stolen by cannibals, and shut up in the + rock Itshe-likantunjambili, which, like the rock of the Forty Thieves, + opens and shuts at the command of those who understand its secret. She + gets possession of the secret and escapes, and when the monsters pursue + her she throws on the ground a calabash full of sesame, which they stop to + eat. At last, getting tired of running, she climbs a tree, and there she + finds her brother, who, warned by a dream, has come out to look for her. + They ascend the tree together until they come to a beautiful country well + stocked with fat oxen. They kill an ox, and while its flesh is roasting + they amuse themselves by making a stout thong of its hide. By and by one + of the cannibals, smelling the cooking meat, comes to the foot of the + tree, and looking up discovers the boy and girl in the sky-country! They + invite him up there; to share in their feast, and throw him an end of the + thong by which to climb up. When the cannibal is dangling midway between + earth and heaven, they let go the rope, and down he falls with a terrible + crash. <a href="#linknote-145" name="linknoteref-145" id="linknoteref-145"><small>145</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In this story the enchanted rock opened by a talismanic formula brings us + again into contact with Indo-European folk-lore. And that the conception + has in both cases been suggested by the same natural phenomenon is + rendered probable by another Zulu tale, in which the cannibal's cave is + opened by a swallow which flies in the air. Here we have the elements of a + genuine lightning-myth. We see that among these African barbarians, as + well as among our own forefathers, the clouds have been conceived as birds + carrying the lightning which can cleave the rocks. In America we find the + same notion prevalent. The Dakotahs explain the thunder as "the sound of + the cloud-bird flapping his wings," and the Caribs describe the lightning + as a poisoned dart which the bird blows through a hollow reed, after the + Carib style of shooting. <a href="#linknote-146" name="linknoteref-146" + id="linknoteref-146"><small>146</small></a> On the other hand, the + Kamtchatkans know nothing of a cloud-bird, but explain the lightning as + something analogous to the flames of a volcano. The Kamtchatkans say that + when the mountain goblins have got their stoves well heated up, they throw + overboard, with true barbaric shiftlessness, all the brands not needed for + immediate use, which makes a volcanic eruption. So when it is summer on + earth, it is winter in heaven; and the gods, after heating up their + stoves, throw away their spare kindlingwood, which makes the lightning. <a + href="#linknote-147" name="linknoteref-147" id="linknoteref-147"><small>147</small></a> + </p> + <p> + When treating of Indo-European solar myths, we saw the unvarying, + unresting course of the sun variously explained as due to the subjection + of Herakles to Eurystheus, to the anger of Poseidon at Odysseus, or to the + curse laid upon the Wandering Jew. The barbaric mind has worked at the + same problem; but the explanations which it has given are more childlike + and more grotesque. A Polynesian myth tells how the Sun used to race + through the sky so fast that men could not get enough daylight to hunt + game for their subsistence. By and by an inventive genius, named Maui, + conceived the idea of catching the Sun in a noose and making him go more + deliberately. He plaited ropes and made a strong net, and, arming himself + with the jawbone of his ancestress, Muri-ranga-whenua, called together all + his brethren, and they journeyed to the place where the Sun rises, and + there spread the net. When the Sun came up, he stuck his head and + fore-paws into the net, and while the brothers tightened the ropes so that + they cut him and made him scream for mercy, Maui beat him with the jawbone + until he became so weak that ever since he has only been able to crawl + through the sky. According to another Polynesian myth, there was once a + grumbling Radical, who never could be satisfied with the way in which + things are managed on this earth. This bold Radical set out to build a + stone house which should last forever; but the days were so short and the + stones so heavy that he despaired of ever accomplishing his project. One + night, as he lay awake thinking the matter over, it occurred to him that + if he could catch the Sun in a net, he could have as much daylight as was + needful in order to finish his house. So he borrowed a noose from the god + Itu, and, it being autumn, when the Sun gets sleepy and stupid, he easily + caught the luminary. The Sun cried till his tears made a great freshet + which nearly drowned the island; but it was of no use; there he is + tethered to this day. + </p> + <p> + Similar stories are met with in North America. A Dog-Rib Indian once + chased a squirrel up a tree until he reached the sky. There he set a snare + for the squirrel and climbed down again. Next day the Sun was caught in + the snare, and night came on at once. That is to say, the sun was + eclipsed. "Something wrong up there," thought the Indian, "I must have + caught the Sun"; and so he sent up ever so many animals to release the + captive. They were all burned to ashes, but at last the mole, going up and + burrowing out through the GROUND OF THE SKY, (!) succeeded in gnawing + asunder the cords of the snare. Just as it thrust its head out through the + opening made in the sky-ground, it received a flash of light which put its + eyes out, and that is why the mole is blind. The Sun got away, but has + ever since travelled more deliberately. <a href="#linknote-148" + name="linknoteref-148" id="linknoteref-148"><small>148</small></a> + </p> + <p> + These sun-myths, many more of which are to be found collected in Mr. + Tylor's excellent treatise on "The Early History of Mankind," well + illustrate both the similarity and the diversity of the results obtained + by the primitive mind, in different times and countries, when engaged upon + similar problems. No one would think of referring these stories to a + common traditional origin with the myths of Herakles and Odysseus; yet + both classes of tales were devised to explain the same phenomenon. Both to + the Aryan and to the Polynesian the steadfast but deliberate journey of + the sun through the firmament was a strange circumstance which called for + explanation; but while the meagre intelligence of the barbarian could only + attain to the quaint conception of a man throwing a noose over the sun's + head, the rich imagination of the Indo-European created the noble picture + of Herakles doomed to serve the son of Sthenelos, in accordance with the + resistless decree of fate. + </p> + <p> + Another world-wide myth, which shows how similar are the mental habits of + uncivilized men, is the myth of the tortoise. The Hindu notion of a great + tortoise that lies beneath the earth and keeps it from falling is familiar + to every reader. According to one account, this tortoise, swimming in the + primeval ocean, bears the earth on his back; but by and by, when the gods + get ready to destroy mankind, the tortoise will grow weary and sink under + his load, and then the earth will be overwhelmed by a deluge. Another + legend tells us that when the gods and demons took Mount Mandara for a + churning-stick and churned the ocean to make ambrosia, the god Vishnu took + on the form of a tortoise and lay at the bottom of the sea, as a pivot for + the whirling mountain to rest upon. But these versions of the myth are not + primitive. In the original conception the world is itself a gigantic + tortoise swimming in a boundless ocean; the flat surface of the earth is + the lower plate which covers the reptile's belly; the rounded shell which + covers his back is the sky; and the human race lives and moves and has its + being inside of the tortoise. Now, as Mr. Tylor has pointed out, many + tribes of Redskins hold substantially the same theory of the universe. + They regard the tortoise as the symbol of the world, and address it as the + mother of mankind. Once, before the earth was made, the king of heaven + quarrelled with his wife, and gave her such a terrible kick that she fell + down into the sea. Fortunately a tortoise received her on his back, and + proceeded to raise up the earth, upon which the heavenly woman became the + mother of mankind. These first men had white faces, and they used to dig + in the ground to catch badgers. One day a zealous burrower thrust his + knife too far and stabbed the tortoise, which immediately sank into the + sea and drowned all the human race save one man. <a href="#linknote-149" + name="linknoteref-149" id="linknoteref-149"><small>149</small></a> In + Finnish mythology the world is not a tortoise, but it is an egg, of which + the white part is the ocean, the yolk is the earth, and the arched shell + is the sky. In India this is the mundane egg of Brahma; and it reappears + among the Yorubas as a pair of calabashes put together like oyster-shells, + one making a dome over the other. In Zulu-land the earth is a huge beast + called Usilosimapundu, whose face is a rock, and whose mouth is very large + and broad and red: "in some countries which were on his body it was + winter, and in others it was early harvest." Many broad rivers flow over + his back, and he is covered with forests and hills, as is indicated in his + name, which means "the rugose or knotty-backed beast." In this group of + conceptions may be seen the origin of Sindbad's great fish, which lay + still so long that sand and clay gradually accumulated upon its back, and + at last it became covered with trees. And lastly, passing from barbaric + folk-lore and from the Arabian Nights to the highest level of + Indo-European intelligence, do we not find both Plato and Kepler amusing + themselves with speculations in which the earth figures as a stupendous + animal? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. JUVENTUS MUNDI. <a href="#linknote-150" name="linknoteref-150" + id="linknoteref-150"><small>150</small></a> + </h2> + <p> + TWELVE years ago, when, in concluding his "Studies on Homer and the + Homeric Age," Mr. Gladstone applied to himself the warning addressed by + Agamemnon to the priest of Apollo, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Let not Nemesis catch me by the swift ships." +</pre> + <p> + he would seem to have intended it as a last farewell to classical studies. + Yet, whatever his intentions may have been, they have yielded to the sweet + desire of revisiting familiar ground,—a desire as strong in the + breast of the classical scholar as was the yearning which led Odysseus to + reject the proffered gift of immortality, so that he might but once more + behold the wreathed smoke curling about the roofs of his native Ithaka. In + this new treatise, on the "Youth of the World," Mr. Gladstone discusses + the same questions which were treated in his earlier work; and the main + conclusions reached in the "Studies on Homer" are here so little modified + with reference to the recent progress of archaeological inquiries, that + the book can hardly be said to have had any other reason for appearing, + save the desire of loitering by the ships of the Argives, and of returning + thither as often as possible. + </p> + <p> + The title selected by Mr. Gladstone for his new work is either a very + appropriate one or a strange misnomer, according to the point of view from + which it is regarded. Such being the case, we might readily acquiesce in + its use, and pass it by without comment, trusting that the author + understood himself when he adopted it, were it not that by incidental + references, and especially by his allusions to the legendary literature of + the Jews, Mr. Gladstone shows that he means more by the title than it can + fairly be made to express. An author who seeks to determine prehistoric + events by references to Kadmos, and Danaos, and Abraham, is at once liable + to the suspicion of holding very inadequate views as to the character of + the epoch which may properly be termed the "youth of the world." Often in + reading Mr. Gladstone we are reminded of Renan's strange suggestion that + an exploration of the Hindu Kush territory, whence probably came the + primitive Aryans, might throw some new light on the origin of language. + Nothing could well be more futile. The primitive Aryan language has + already been partly reconstructed for us; its grammatical forms and + syntactic devices are becoming familiar to scholars; one great philologist + has even composed a tale in it; yet in studying this long-buried dialect + we are not much nearer the first beginnings of human speech than in + studying the Greek of Homer, the Sanskrit of the Vedas, or the Umbrian of + the Igovine Inscriptions. The Aryan mother-tongue had passed into the last + of the three stages of linguistic growth long before the break-up of the + tribal communities in Aryana-vaedjo, and at that early date presented a + less primitive structure than is to be seen in the Chinese or the + Mongolian of our own times. So the state of society depicted in the + Homeric poems, and well illustrated by Mr. Gladstone, is many degrees less + primitive than that which is revealed to us by the archaeological + researches either of Pictet and Windischmann, or of Tylor, Lubbock, and + M'Lennan. We shall gather evidences of this as we proceed. Meanwhile let + us remember that at least eleven thousand years before the Homeric age men + lived in communities, and manufactured pottery on the banks of the Nile; + and let us not leave wholly out of sight that more distant period, perhaps + a million years ago, when sparse tribes of savage men, contemporaneous + with the mammoths of Siberia and the cave-tigers of Britain, struggled + against the intense cold of the glacial winters. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, though the Homeric age appears to be a late one when + considered with reference to the whole career of the human race, there is + a point of view from which it may be justly regarded as the "youth of the + world." However long man may have existed upon the earth, he becomes + thoroughly and distinctly human in the eyes of the historian only at the + epoch at which he began to create for himself a literature. As far back as + we can trace the progress of the human race continuously by means of the + written word, so far do we feel a true historical interest in its + fortunes, and pursue our studies with a sympathy which the mere lapse of + time is powerless to impair. But the primeval man, whose history never has + been and never will be written, whose career on the earth, dateless and + chartless, can be dimly revealed to us only by palaeontology, excites in + us a very different feeling. Though with the keenest interest we ransack + every nook and corner of the earth's surface for information about him, we + are all the while aware that what we are studying is human zoology and not + history. Our Neanderthal man is a specimen, not a character. We cannot ask + him the Homeric question, what is his name, who were his parents, and how + did he get where we found him. His language has died with him, and he can + render no account of himself. We can only regard him specifically as Homo + Anthropos, a creature of bigger brain than his congener Homo Pithekos, and + of vastly greater promise. But this, we say, is physical science, and not + history. + </p> + <p> + For the historian, therefore, who studies man in his various social + relations, the youth of the world is the period at which literature + begins. We regard the history of the western world as beginning about the + tenth century before the Christian era, because at that date we find + literature, in Greece and Palestine, beginning to throw direct light upon + the social and intellectual condition of a portion of mankind. That great + empires, rich in historical interest and in materials for sociological + generalizations, had existed for centuries before that date, in Egypt and + Assyria, we do not doubt, since they appear at the dawn of history with + all the marks of great antiquity; but the only steady historical light + thrown upon them shines from the pages of Greek and Hebrew authors, and + these know them only in their latest period. For information concerning + their early careers we must look, not to history, but to linguistic + archaeology, a science which can help us to general results, but cannot + enable us to fix dates, save in the crudest manner. + </p> + <p> + We mention the tenth century before Christ as the earliest period at which + we can begin to study human society in general and Greek society in + particular, through the medium of literature. But, strictly speaking, the + epoch in question is one which cannot be fixed with accuracy. The earliest + ascertainable date in Greek history is that of the Olympiad of Koroibos, + B. C. 776. There is no doubt that the Homeric poems were written before + this date, and that Homer is therefore strictly prehistoric. Had this fact + been duly realized by those scholars who have not attempted to deny it, a + vast amount of profitless discussion might have been avoided. Sooner or + later, as Grote says, "the lesson must be learnt, hard and painful though + it be, that no imaginable reach of critical acumen will of itself enable + us to discriminate fancy from reality, in the absence of a tolerable stock + of evidence." We do not know who Homer was; we do not know where or when + he lived; and in all probability we shall never know. The data for + settling the question are not now accessible, and it is not likely that + they will ever be discovered. Even in early antiquity the question was + wrapped in an obscurity as deep as that which shrouds it to-day. The case + between the seven or eight cities which claimed to be the birthplace of + the poet, and which Welcker has so ably discussed, cannot be decided. The + feebleness of the evidence brought into court may be judged from the fact + that the claims of Chios and the story of the poet's blindness rest alike + upon a doubtful allusion in the Hymn to Apollo, which Thukydides (III. + 104) accepted as authentic. The majority of modern critics have consoled + themselves with the vague conclusion that, as between the two great + divisions of the early Greek world, Homer at least belonged to the + Asiatic. But Mr. Gladstone has shown good reasons for doubting this + opinion. He has pointed out several instances in which the poems seem to + betray a closer topographical acquaintance with European than with Asiatic + Greece, and concludes that Athens and Argos have at least as good a claim + to Homer as Chios or Smyrna. + </p> + <p> + It is far more desirable that we should form an approximate opinion as to + the date of the Homeric poems, than that we should seek to determine the + exact locality in which they originated. Yet the one question is hardly + less obscure than the other. Different writers of antiquity assigned eight + different epochs to Homer, of which the earliest is separated from the + most recent by an interval of four hundred and sixty years,—a period + as long as that which separates the Black Prince from the Duke of + Wellington, or the age of Perikles from the Christian era. While + Theopompos quite preposterously brings him down as late as the + twenty-third Olympiad, Krates removes him to the twelfth century B. C. The + date ordinarily accepted by modern critics is the one assigned by + Herodotos, 880 B. C. Yet Mr. Gladstone shows reasons, which appear to me + convincing, for doubting or rejecting this date. + </p> + <p> + I refer to the much-abused legend of the Children of Herakles, which seems + capable of yielding an item of trustworthy testimony, provided it be + circumspectly dealt with. I differ from Mr. Gladstone in not regarding the + legend as historical in its present shape. In my apprehension, Hyllos and + Oxylos, as historical personages, have no value whatever; and I faithfully + follow Mr. Grote, in refusing to accept any date earlier than the Olympiad + of Koroibos. The tale of the "Return of the Herakleids" is undoubtedly as + unworthy of credit as the legend of Hengst and Horsa; yet, like the + latter, it doubtless embodies a historical occurrence. One cannot approve, + as scholarlike or philosophical, the scepticism of Mr. Cox, who can see in + the whole narrative nothing but a solar myth. There certainly was a time + when the Dorian tribes—described in the legend as the allies of the + Children of Herakles—conquered Peloponnesos; and that time was + certainly subsequent to the composition of the Homeric poems. It is + incredible that the Iliad and the Odyssey should ignore the existence of + Dorians in Peloponnesos, if there were Dorians not only dwelling but + ruling there at the time when the poems were written. The poems are very + accurate and rigorously consistent in their use of ethnical appellatives; + and their author, in speaking of Achaians and Argives, is as evidently + alluding to peoples directly known to him, as is Shakespeare when he + mentions Danes and Scotchmen. Now Homer knows Achaians, Argives, and + Pelasgians dwelling in Peloponnesos; and he knows Dorians also, but only + as a people inhabiting Crete. (Odyss. XIX. 175.) With Homer, moreover, the + Hellenes are not the Greeks in general but only a people dwelling in the + north, in Thessaly. When these poems were written, Greece was not known as + Hellas, but as Achaia,—the whole country taking its name from the + Achaians, the dominant race in Peloponnesos. Now at the beginning of the + truly historical period, in the eighth century B. C., all this is changed. + The Greeks as a people are called Hellenes; the Dorians rule in + Peloponnesos, while their lands are tilled by Argive Helots; and the + Achaians appear only as an insignificant people occupying the southern + shore of the Corinthian Gulf. How this change took place we cannot tell. + The explanation of it can never be obtained from history, though some + light may perhaps be thrown upon it by linguistic archaeology. But at all + events it was a great change, and could not have taken place in a moment. + It is fair to suppose that the Helleno-Dorian conquest must have begun at + least a century before the first Olympiad; for otherwise the geographical + limits of the various Greek races would not have been so completely + established as we find them to have been at that date. The Greeks, indeed, + supposed it to have begun at least three centuries earlier, but it is + impossible to collect evidence which will either refute or establish that + opinion. For our purposes it is enough to know that the conquest could not + have taken place later than 900 B. C.; and if this be the case, the + MINIMUM DATE for the composition of the Homeric poems must be the tenth + century before Christ; which is, in fact, the date assigned by Aristotle. + Thus far, and no farther, I believe it possible to go with safety. Whether + the poems were composed in the tenth, eleventh, or twelfth century cannot + be determined. We are justified only in placing them far enough back to + allow the Helleno-Dorian conquest to intervene between their composition + and the beginning of recorded history. The tenth century B. C. is the + latest date which will account for all the phenomena involved in the case, + and with this result we must be satisfied. Even on this showing, the Iliad + and Odyssey appear as the oldest existing specimens of Aryan literature, + save perhaps the hymns of the Rig-Veda and the sacred books of the Avesta. + </p> + <p> + The apparent difficulty of preserving such long poems for three or four + centuries without the aid of writing may seem at first sight to justify + the hypothesis of Wolf, that they are mere collections of ancient ballads, + like those which make up the Mahabharata, preserved in the memories of a + dozen or twenty bards, and first arranged under the orders of + Peisistratos. But on a careful examination this hypothesis is seen to + raise more difficulties than it solves. What was there in the position of + Peisistratos, or of Athens itself in the sixth century B. C., so + authoritative as to compel all Greeks to recognize the recension then and + there made of their revered poet? Besides which the celebrated ordinance + of Solon respecting the rhapsodes at the Panathenaia obliges us to infer + the existence of written manuscripts of Homer previous to 550 B. C. As Mr. + Grote well observes, the interference of Peisistratos "presupposes a + certain foreknown and ancient aggregate, the main lineaments of which were + familiar to the Grecian public, although many of the rhapsodes in their + practice may have deviated from it both by omission and interpolation. In + correcting the Athenian recitations conformably with such understood + general type, Peisistratos might hope both to procure respect for Athens + and to constitute a fashion for the rest of Greece. But this step of + 'collecting the torn body of sacred Homer' is something generically + different from the composition of a new Iliad out of pre-existing songs: + the former is as easy, suitable, and promising as the latter is violent + and gratuitous." <a href="#linknote-151" name="linknoteref-151" + id="linknoteref-151"><small>151</small></a> + </p> + <p> + As for Wolf's objection, that the Iliad and Odyssey are too long to have + been preserved by memory, it may be met by a simple denial. It is a + strange objection indeed, coming from a man of Wolf's retentive memory. I + do not see how the acquisition of the two poems can be regarded as such a + very arduous task; and if literature were as scanty now as in Greek + antiquity, there are doubtless many scholars who would long since have had + them at their tongues' end. Sir G. C. Lewis, with but little conscious + effort, managed to carry in his head a very considerable portion of Greek + and Latin classic literature; and Niebuhr (who once restored from + recollection a book of accounts which had been accidentally destroyed) was + in the habit of referring to book and chapter of an ancient author without + consulting his notes. Nay, there is Professor Sophocles, of Harvard + University, who, if you suddenly stop and interrogate him in the street, + will tell you just how many times any given Greek word occurs in + Thukydides, or in AEschylos, or in Plato, and will obligingly rehearse for + you the context. If all extant copies of the Homeric poems were to be + gathered together and burnt up to-day, like Don Quixote's library, or like + those Arabic manuscripts of which Cardinal Ximenes made a bonfire in the + streets of Granada, the poems could very likely be reproduced and orally + transmitted for several generations; and much easier must it have been for + the Greeks to preserve these books, which their imagination invested with + a quasi-sanctity, and which constituted the greater part of the literary + furniture of their minds. In Xenophon's time there were educated gentlemen + at Athens who could repeat both Iliad and Odyssey verbatim. (Xenoph. + Sympos., III. 5.) Besides this, we know that at Chios there was a company + of bards, known as Homerids, whose business it was to recite these poems + from memory; and from the edicts of Solon and the Sikyonian Kleisthenes + (Herod., V. 67), we may infer that the case was the same in other parts of + Greece. Passages from the Iliad used to be sung at the Pythian festivals, + to the accompaniment of the harp (Athenaeus, XIV. 638), and in at least + two of the Ionic islands of the AEgaean there were regular competitive + exhibitions by trained young men, at which prizes were given to the best + reciter. The difficulty of preserving the poems, under such circumstances, + becomes very insignificant; and the Wolfian argument quite vanishes when + we reflect that it would have been no easier to preserve a dozen or twenty + short poems than two long ones. Nay, the coherent, orderly arrangement of + the Iliad and Odyssey would make them even easier to remember than a group + of short rhapsodies not consecutively arranged. + </p> + <p> + When we come to interrogate the poems themselves, we find in them quite + convincing evidence that they were originally composed for the ear alone, + and without reference to manuscript assistance. They abound in catchwords, + and in verbal repetitions. The "Catalogue of Ships," as Mr. Gladstone has + acutely observed, is arranged in well-defined sections, in such a way that + the end of each section suggests the beginning of the next one. It + resembles the versus memoriales found in old-fashioned grammars. But the + most convincing proof of all is to be found in the changes which Greek + pronunciation went through between the ages of Homer and Peisistratos. "At + the time when these poems were composed, the digamma (or w) was an + effective consonant, and figured as such in the structure of the verse; at + the time when they were committed to writing, it had ceased to be + pronounced, and therefore never found a place in any of the manuscripts,—insomuch + that the Alexandrian critics, though they knew of its existence in the + much later poems of Alkaios and Sappho, never recognized it in Homer. The + hiatus, and the various perplexities of metre, occasioned by the loss of + the digamma, were corrected by different grammatical stratagems. But the + whole history of this lost letter is very curious, and is rendered + intelligible only by the supposition that the Iliad and Odyssey belonged + for a wide space of time to the memory, the voice, and the ear + exclusively." <a href="#linknote-152" name="linknoteref-152" + id="linknoteref-152"><small>152</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Many of these facts are of course fully recognized by the Wolfians; but + the inference drawn from them, that the Homeric poems began to exist in a + piecemeal condition, is, as we have seen, unnecessary. These poems may + indeed be compared, in a certain sense, with the early sacred and epic + literature of the Jews, Indians, and Teutons. But if we assign a plurality + of composers to the Psalms and Pentateuch, the Mahabharata, the Vedas, and + the Edda, we do so because of internal evidence furnished by the books + themselves, and not because these books could not have been preserved by + oral tradition. Is there, then, in the Homeric poems any such internal + evidence of dual or plural origin as is furnished by the interlaced + Elohistic and Jehovistic documents of the Pentateuch? A careful + investigation will show that there is not. Any scholar who has given some + attention to the subject can readily distinguish the Elohistic from the + Jehovistic portions of the Pentateuch; and, save in the case of a few + sporadic verses, most Biblical critics coincide in the separation which + they make between the two. But the attempts which have been made to break + up the Iliad and Odyssey have resulted in no such harmonious agreement. + There are as many systems as there are critics, and naturally enough. For + the Iliad and the Odyssey are as much alike as two peas, and the + resemblance which holds between the two holds also between the different + parts of each poem. From the appearance of the injured Chryses in the + Grecian camp down to the intervention of Athene on the field of contest at + Ithaka, we find in each book and in each paragraph the same style, the + same peculiarities of expression, the same habits of thought, the same + quite unique manifestations of the faculty of observation. Now if the + style were commonplace, the observation slovenly, or the thought trivial, + as is wont to be the case in ballad-literature, this argument from + similarity might not carry with it much conviction. But when we reflect + that throughout the whole course of human history no other works, save the + best tragedies of Shakespeare, have ever been written which for combined + keenness of observation, elevation of thought, and sublimity of style can + compare with the Homeric poems, we must admit that the argument has very + great weight indeed. Let us take, for example, the sixth and twenty-fourth + books of the Iliad. According to the theory of Lachmann, the most eminent + champion of the Wolfian hypothesis, these are by different authors. Human + speech has perhaps never been brought so near to the limit of its capacity + of expressing deep emotion as in the scene between Priam and Achilleus in + the twenty-fourth book; while the interview between Hektor and Andromache + in the sixth similarly wellnigh exhausts the power of language. Now, the + literary critic has a right to ask whether it is probable that two such + passages, agreeing perfectly in turn of expression, and alike exhibiting + the same unapproachable degree of excellence, could have been produced by + two different authors. And the physiologist—with some inward + misgivings suggested by Mr. Galton's theory that the Greeks surpassed us + in genius even as we surpass the negroes—has a right to ask whether + it is in the natural course of things for two such wonderful poets, + strangely agreeing in their minutest psychological characteristics, to be + produced at the same time. And the difficulty thus raised becomes + overwhelming when we reflect that it is the coexistence of not two only, + but at least twenty such geniuses which the Wolfian hypothesis requires us + to account for. That theory worked very well as long as scholars + thoughtlessly assumed that the Iliad and Odyssey were analogous to ballad + poetry. But, except in the simplicity of the primitive diction, there is + no such analogy. The power and beauty of the Iliad are never so hopelessly + lost as when it is rendered into the style of a modern ballad. One might + as well attempt to preserve the grandeur of the triumphant close of + Milton's Lycidas by turning it into the light Anacreontics of the ode to + "Eros stung by a Bee." The peculiarity of the Homeric poetry, which defies + translation, is its union of the simplicity characteristic of an early age + with a sustained elevation of style, which can be explained only as due to + individual genius. + </p> + <p> + The same conclusion is forced upon us when we examine the artistic + structure of these poems. With regard to the Odyssey in particular, Mr. + Grote has elaborately shown that its structure is so thoroughly integral, + that no considerable portion could be subtracted without converting the + poem into a more or less admirable fragment. The Iliad stands in a + somewhat different position. There are unmistakable peculiarities in its + structure, which have led even Mr. Grote, who utterly rejects the Wolfian + hypothesis, to regard it as made up of two poems; although he inclines to + the belief that the later poem was grafted upon the earlier by its own + author, by way of further elucidation and expansion; just as Goethe, in + his old age, added a new part to "Faust." According to Mr. Grote, the + Iliad, as originally conceived, was properly an Achilleis; its design + being, as indicated in the opening lines of the poem, to depict the wrath + of Achilleus and the unutterable woes which it entailed upon the Greeks + The plot of this primitive Achilleis is entirely contained in Books I., + VIII., and XI.-XXII.; and, in Mr. Grote's opinion, the remaining books + injure the symmetry of this plot by unnecessarily prolonging the duration + of the Wrath, while the embassy to Achilleus, in the ninth book, unduly + anticipates the conduct of Agamemnon in the nineteenth, and is therefore, + as a piece of bungling work, to be referred to the hands of an inferior + interpolator. Mr. Grote thinks it probable that these books, with the + exception of the ninth, were subsequently added by the poet, with a view + to enlarging the original Achilleis into a real Iliad, describing the war + of the Greeks against Troy. With reference to this hypothesis, I gladly + admit that Mr. Grote is, of all men now living, the one best entitled to a + reverential hearing on almost any point connected with Greek antiquity. + Nevertheless it seems to me that his theory rests solely upon imagined + difficulties which have no real existence. I doubt if any scholar, reading + the Iliad ever so much, would ever be struck by these alleged + inconsistencies of structure, unless they were suggested by some a priori + theory. And I fear that the Wolfian theory, in spite of Mr. Grote's + emphatic rejection of it, is responsible for some of these over-refined + criticisms. Even as it stands, the Iliad is not an account of the war + against Troy. It begins in the tenth year of the siege, and it does not + continue to the capture of the city. It is simply occupied with an episode + in the war,—with the wrath of Achilleus and its consequences, + according to the plan marked out in the opening lines. The supposed + additions, therefore, though they may have given to the poem a somewhat + wider scope, have not at any rate changed its primitive character of an + Achilleis. To my mind they seem even called for by the original conception + of the consequences of the wrath. To have inserted the battle at the + ships, in which Sarpedon breaks down the wall of the Greeks, immediately + after the occurrences of the first book, would have been too abrupt + altogether. Zeus, after his reluctant promise to Thetis, must not be + expected so suddenly to exhibit such fell determination. And after the + long series of books describing the valorous deeds of Aias, Diomedes, + Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Menelaos, the powerful intervention of Achilleus + appears in far grander proportions than would otherwise be possible. As + for the embassy to Achilleus, in the ninth book, I am unable to see how + the final reconciliation with Agamemnon would be complete without it. As + Mr. Gladstone well observes, what Achilleus wants is not restitution, but + apology; and Agamemnon offers no apology until the nineteenth book. In his + answer to the ambassadors, Achilleus scornfully rejects the proposals + which imply that the mere return of Briseis will satisfy his righteous + resentment, unless it be accompanied with that public humiliation to which + circumstances have not yet compelled the leader of the Greeks to subject + himself. Achilleus is not to be bought or cajoled. Even the extreme + distress of the Greeks in the thirteenth book does not prevail upon him; + nor is there anything in the poem to show that he ever would have laid + aside his wrath, had not the death of Patroklos supplied him with a new + and wholly unforeseen motive. It seems to me that his entrance into the + battle after the death of his friend would lose half its poetic effect, + were it not preceded by some such scene as that in the ninth book, in + which he is represented as deaf to all ordinary inducements. As for the + two concluding books, which Mr. Grote is inclined to regard as a + subsequent addition, not necessitated by the plan of the poem, I am at a + loss to see how the poem can be considered complete without them. To leave + the bodies of Patroklos and Hektor unburied would be in the highest degree + shocking to Greek religious feelings. Remembering the sentence incurred, + in far less superstitious times, by the generals at Arginusai, it is + impossible to believe that any conclusion which left Patroklos's manes + unpropitiated, and the mutilated corpse of Hektor unransomed, could have + satisfied either the poet or his hearers. For further particulars I must + refer the reader to the excellent criticisms of Mr. Gladstone, and also to + the article on "Greek History and Legend" in the second volume of Mr. + Mill's "Dissertations and Discussions." A careful study of the arguments + of these writers, and, above all, a thorough and independent examination + of the Iliad itself, will, I believe, convince the student that this great + poem is from beginning to end the consistent production of a single + author. + </p> + <p> + The arguments of those who would attribute the Iliad and Odyssey, taken as + wholes, to two different authors, rest chiefly upon some apparent + discrepancies in the mythology of the two poems; but many of these + difficulties have been completely solved by the recent progress of the + science of comparative mythology. Thus, for example, the fact that, in the + Iliad, Hephaistos is called the husband of Charis, while in the Odyssey he + is called the husband of Aphrodite, has been cited even by Mr. Grote as + evidence that the two poems are not by the same author. It seems to me + that one such discrepancy, in the midst of complete general agreement, + would be much better explained as Cervantes explained his own + inconsistency with reference to the stealing of Sancho's mule, in the + twenty-second chapter of "Don Quixote." But there is no discrepancy. + Aphrodite, though originally the moon-goddess, like the German Horsel, had + before Homer's time acquired many of the attributes of the dawn-goddess + Athene, while her lunar characteristics had been to a great extent + transferred to Artemis and Persephone. In her renovated character, as + goddess of the dawn, Aphrodite became identified with Charis, who appears + in the Rig-Veda as dawn-goddess. In the post-Homeric mythology, the two + were again separated, and Charis, becoming divided in personality, appears + as the Charites, or Graces, who were supposed to be constant attendants of + Aphrodite. But in the Homeric poems the two are still identical, and + either Charis or Aphrodite may be called the wife of the fire-god, without + inconsistency. + </p> + <p> + Thus to sum up, I believe that Mr. Gladstone is quite right in maintaining + that both the Iliad and Odyssey are, from beginning to end, with the + exception of a few insignificant interpolations, the work of a single + author, whom we have no ground for calling by any other name than that of + Homer. I believe, moreover, that this author lived before the beginning of + authentic history, and that we can determine neither his age nor his + country with precision. We can only decide that he was a Greek who lived + at some time previous to the year 900 B.C. + </p> + <p> + Here, however, I must begin to part company with Mr. Gladstone, and shall + henceforth unfortunately have frequent occasion to differ from him on + points of fundamental importance. For Mr. Gladstone not only regards the + Homeric age as strictly within the limits of authentic history, but he + even goes much further than this. He would not only fix the date of Homer + positively in the twelfth century B. C., but he regards the Trojan war as + a purely historical event, of which Homer is the authentic historian and + the probable eye-witness. Nay, he even takes the word of the poet as proof + conclusive of the historical character of events happening several + generations before the Troika, according to the legendary chronology. He + not only regards Agamemnon, Achilleus, and Paris as actual personages, but + he ascribes the same reality to characters like Danaos, Kadmos, and + Perseus, and talks of the Pelopid and Aiolid dynasties, and the empire of + Minos, with as much confidence as if he were dealing with Karlings or + Capetians, or with the epoch of the Crusades. + </p> + <p> + It is disheartening, at the present day, and after so much has been + finally settled by writers like Grote, Mommsen, and Sir G. C. Lewis, to + come upon such views in the work of a man of scholarship and intelligence. + One begins to wonder how many more times it will be necessary to prove + that dates and events are of no historical value, unless attested by + nearly contemporary evidence. Pausanias and Plutarch were able men no + doubt, and Thukydides was a profound historian; but what these writers + thought of the Herakleid invasion, the age of Homer, and the war of Troy, + can have no great weight with the critical historian, since even in the + time of Thukydides these events were as completely obscured by lapse of + time as they are now. There is no literary Greek history before the age of + Hekataios and Herodotos, three centuries subsequent to the first recorded + Olympiad. A portion of this period is satisfactorily covered by + inscriptions, but even these fail us before we get within a century of + this earliest ascertainable date. Even the career of the lawgiver + Lykourgos, which seems to belong to the commencement of the eighth century + B. C., presents us, from lack of anything like contemporary records, with + many insoluble problems. The Helleno-Dorian conquest, as we have seen, + must have occurred at some time or other; but it evidently did not occur + within two centuries of the earliest known inscription, and it is + therefore folly to imagine that we can determine its date or ascertain the + circumstances which attended it. Anterior to this event there is but one + fact in Greek antiquity directly known to us,—the existence of the + Homeric poems. The belief that there was a Trojan war rests exclusively + upon the contents of those poems: there is no other independent testimony + to it whatever. But the Homeric poems are of no value as testimony to the + truth of the statements contained in them, unless it can be proved that + their author was either contemporary with the Troika, or else derived his + information from contemporary witnesses. This can never be proved. To + assume, as Mr. Gladstone does, that Homer lived within fifty years after + the Troika, is to make a purely gratuitous assumption. For aught the + wisest historian can tell, the interval may have been five hundred years, + or a thousand. Indeed the Iliad itself expressly declares that it is + dealing with an ancient state of things which no longer exists. It is + difficult to see what else can be meant by the statement that the heroes + of the Troika belong to an order of men no longer seen upon the earth. + (Iliad, V. 304.) Most assuredly Achilleus the son of Thetis, and Sarpedon + the son of Zeus, and Helena the daughter of Zeus, are no ordinary mortals, + such as might have been seen and conversed with by the poet's grandfather. + They belong to an inferior order of gods, according to the peculiar + anthropomorphism of the Greeks, in which deity and humanity are so closely + mingled that it is difficult to tell where the one begins and the other + ends. Diomedes, single-handed, vanquishes not only the gentle Aphrodite, + but even the god of battles himself, the terrible Ares. Nestor quaffs + lightly from a goblet which, we are told, not two men among the poet's + contemporaries could by their united exertions raise and place upon a + table. Aias and Hektor and Aineias hurl enormous masses of rock as easily + as an ordinary man would throw a pebble. All this shows that the poet, in + his naive way, conceiving of these heroes as personages of a remote past, + was endeavouring as far as possible to ascribe to them the attributes of + superior beings. If all that were divine, marvellous, or superhuman were + to be left out of the poems, the supposed historical residue would hardly + be worth the trouble of saving. As Mr. Cox well observes, "It is of the + very essence of the narrative that Paris, who has deserted Oinone, the + child of the stream Kebren, and before whom Here, Athene, and Aphrodite + had appeared as claimants for the golden apple, steals from Sparta the + beautiful sister of the Dioskouroi; that the chiefs are summoned together + for no other purpose than to avenge her woes and wrongs; that Achilleus, + the son of the sea-nymph Thetis, the wielder of invincible weapons and the + lord of undying horses, goes to fight in a quarrel which is not his own; + that his wrath is roused because he is robbed of the maiden Briseis, and + that henceforth he takes no part in the strife until his friend Patroklos + has been slain; that then he puts on the new armour which Thetis brings to + him from the anvil of Hephaistos, and goes forth to win the victory. The + details are throughout of the same nature. Achilleus sees and converses + with Athene; Aphrodite is wounded by Diomedes, and Sleep and Death bear + away the lifeless Sarpedon on their noiseless wings to the far-off land of + light." In view of all this it is evident that Homer was not describing, + like a salaried historiographer, the state of things which existed in the + time of his father or grandfather. To his mind the occurrences which he + described were those of a remote, a wonderful, a semi-divine past. + </p> + <p> + This conclusion, which I have thus far supported merely by reference to + the Iliad itself, becomes irresistible as soon as we take into account the + results obtained during the past thirty years by the science of + comparative mythology. As long as our view was restricted to Greece, it + was perhaps excusable that Achilleus and Paris should be taken for + exaggerated copies of actual persons. Since the day when Grimm laid the + foundations of the science of mythology, all this has been changed. It is + now held that Achilleus and Paris and Helena are to be found, not only in + the Iliad, but also in the Rig-Veda, and therefore, as mythical + conceptions, date, not from Homer, but from a period preceding the + dispersion of the Aryan nations. The tale of the Wrath of Achilleus, far + from originating with Homer, far from being recorded by the author of the + Iliad as by an eyewitness, must have been known in its essential features + in Aryana-vaedjo, at that remote epoch when the Indian, the Greek, and the + Teuton were as yet one and the same. For the story has been retained by + the three races alike, in all its principal features; though the Veda has + left it in the sky where it originally belonged, while the Iliad and the + Nibelungenlied have brought it down to earth, the one locating it in Asia + Minor, and the other in Northwestern Europe. <a href="#linknote-153" + name="linknoteref-153" id="linknoteref-153"><small>153</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the Rig-Veda the Panis are the genii of night and winter, corresponding + to the Nibelungs, or "Children of the Mist," in the Teutonic legend, and + to the children of Nephele (cloud) in the Greek myth of the Golden Fleece. + The Panis steal the cattle of the Sun (Indra, Helios, Herakles), and carry + them by an unknown route to a dark cave eastward. Sarama, the creeping + Dawn, is sent by Indra to find and recover them. The Panis then tamper + with Sarama, and try their best to induce her to betray her solar lord. + For a while she is prevailed upon to dally with them; yet she ultimately + returns to give Indra the information needful in order that he might + conquer the Panis, just as Helena, in the slightly altered version, + ultimately returns to her western home, carrying with her the treasures + (ktemata, Iliad, II. 285) of which Paris had robbed Menelaos. But, before + the bright Indra and his solar heroes can reconquer their treasures they + must take captive the offspring of Brisaya, the violet light of morning. + Thus Achilleus, answering to the solar champion Aharyu, takes captive the + daughter of Brises. But as the sun must always be parted from the + morning-light, to return to it again just before setting, so Achilleus + loses Briseis, and regains her only just before his final struggle. In + similar wise Herakles is parted from Iole ("the violet one"), and Sigurd + from Brynhild. In sullen wrath the hero retires from the conflict, and his + Myrmidons are no longer seen on the battle-field, as the sun hides behind + the dark cloud and his rays no longer appear about him. Yet toward the + evening, as Briseis returns, he appears in his might, clothed in the + dazzling armour wrought for him by the fire-god Hephaistos, and with his + invincible spear slays the great storm-cloud, which during his absence had + wellnigh prevailed over the champions of the daylight. But his triumph is + short-lived; for having trampled on the clouds that had opposed him, while + yet crimsoned with the fierce carnage, the sharp arrow of the night-demon + Paris slays him at the Western Gates. We have not space to go into further + details. In Mr. Cox's "Mythology of the Aryan Nations," and "Tales of + Ancient Greece," the reader will find the entire contents of the Iliad and + Odyssey thus minutely illustrated by comparison with the Veda, the Edda, + and the Lay of the Nibelungs. + </p> + <p> + Ancient as the Homeric poems undoubtedly are, they are modern in + comparison with the tale of Achilleus and Helena, as here unfolded. The + date of the entrance of the Greeks into Europe will perhaps never be + determined; but I do not see how any competent scholar can well place it + at less than eight hundred or a thousand years before the time of Homer. + Between the two epochs the Greek, Latin, Umbrian, and Keltic lauguages had + time to acquire distinct individualities. Far earlier, therefore, than the + Homeric "juventus mundi" was that "youth of the world," in which the Aryan + forefathers, knowing no abstract terms, and possessing no philosophy but + fetichism, deliberately spoke of the Sun, and the Dawn, and the Clouds, as + persons or as animals. The Veda, though composed much later than this,—perhaps + as late as the Iliad,—nevertheless preserves the record of the + mental life of this period. The Vedic poet is still dimly aware that + Sarama is the fickle twilight, and the Panis the night-demons who strive + to coax her from her allegiance to the day-god. He keeps the scene of + action in the sky. But the Homeric Greek had long since forgotten that + Helena and Paris were anything more than semi-divine mortals, the daughter + of Zeus and the son of the Zeus-descended Priam. The Hindu understood that + Dyaus ("the bright one") meant the sky, and Sarama ("the creeping one") + the dawn, and spoke significantly when he called the latter the daughter + of the former. But the Greek could not know that Zeus was derived from a + root div, "to shine," or that Helena belonged to a root sar, "to creep." + Phonetic change thus helped him to rise from fetichism to polytheism. His + nature-gods became thoroughly anthropomorphic; and he probably no more + remembered that Achilleus originally signified the sun, than we remember + that the word God, which we use to denote the most vast of conceptions, + originally meant simply the Storm-wind. Indeed, when the fetichistic + tendency led the Greek again to personify the powers of nature, he had + recourse to new names formed from his own language. Thus, beside Apollo we + have Helios; Selene beside Artemis and Persephone; Eos beside Athene; Gaia + beside Demeter. As a further consequence of this decomposition and new + development of the old Aryan mythology, we find, as might be expected, + that the Homeric poems are not always consistent in their use of their + mythic materials. Thus, Paris, the night-demon, is—to Max Muller's + perplexity—invested with many of the attributes of the bright solar + heroes. "Like Perseus, Oidipous, Romulus, and Cyrus, he is doomed to bring + ruin on his parents; like them he is exposed in his infancy on the + hillside, and rescued by a shepherd." All the solar heroes begin life in + this way. Whether, like Apollo, born of the dark night (Leto), or like + Oidipous, of the violet dawn (Iokaste), they are alike destined to bring + destruction on their parents, as the night and the dawn are both destroyed + by the sun. The exposure of the child in infancy represents the long rays + of the morning-sun resting on the hillside. Then Paris forsakes Oinone + ("the wine-coloured one"), but meets her again at the gloaming when she + lays herself by his side amid the crimson flames of the funeral pyre. + Sarpedon also, a solar hero, is made to fight on the side of the Niblungs + or Trojans, attended by his friend Glaukos ("the brilliant one"). They + command the Lykians, or "children of light"; and with them comes also + Memnon, son of the Dawn, from the fiery land of the Aithiopes, the + favourite haunt of Zeus and the gods of Olympos. + </p> + <p> + The Iliad-myth must therefore have been current many ages before the + Greeks inhabited Greece, long before there was any Ilion to be conquered. + Nevertheless, this does not forbid the supposition that the legend, as we + have it, may have been formed by the crystallization of mythical + conceptions about a nucleus of genuine tradition. In this view I am upheld + by a most sagacious and accurate scholar, Mr. E. A. Freeman, who finds in + Carlovingian romance an excellent illustration of the problem before us. + </p> + <p> + The Charlemagne of romance is a mythical personage. He is supposed to have + been a Frenchman, at a time when neither the French nation nor the French + language can properly be said to have existed; and he is represented as a + doughty crusader, although crusading was not thought of until long after + the Karolingian era. The legendary deeds of Charlemagne are not conformed + to the ordinary rules of geography and chronology. He is a myth, and, what + is more, he is a solar myth,—an avatar, or at least a + representative, of Odin in his solar capacity. If in his case legend were + not controlled and rectified by history, he would be for us as unreal as + Agamemnon. + </p> + <p> + History, however, tells us that there was an Emperor Karl, German in race, + name, and language, who was one of the two or three greatest men of action + that the world has ever seen, and who in the ninth century ruled over all + Western Europe. To the historic Karl corresponds in many particulars the + mythical Charlemagne. The legend has preserved the fact, which without the + information supplied by history we might perhaps set down as a fiction, + that there was a time when Germany, Gaul, Italy, and part of Spain formed + a single empire. And, as Mr. Freeman has well observed, the mythical + crusades of Charlemagne are good evidence that there were crusades, + although the real Karl had nothing whatever to do with one. + </p> + <p> + Now the case of Agamemnon may be much like that of Charlemagne, except + that we no longer have history to help us in rectifying the legend. The + Iliad preserves the tradition of a time when a large portion of the + islands and mainland of Greece were at least partially subject to a common + suzerain; and, as Mr. Freeman has again shrewdly suggested, the assignment + of a place like Mykenai, instead of Athens or Sparta or Argos, as the seat + of the suzerainty, is strong evidence of the trustworthiness of the + tradition. It appears to show that the legend was constrained by some + remembered fact, instead of being guided by general probability. + Charlemagne's seat of government has been transferred in romance from + Aachen to Paris; had it really been at Paris, says Mr. Freeman, no one + would have thought of transferring it to Aachen. Moreover, the story of + Agamemnon, though uncontrolled by historic records, is here at least + supported by archaeologic remains, which prove Mykenai to have been at + some time or other a place of great consequence. Then, as to the Trojan + war, we know that the Greeks several times crossed the AEgaean and + colonized a large part of the seacoast of Asia Minor. In order to do this + it was necessary to oust from their homes many warlike communities of + Lydians and Bithynians, and we may be sure that this was not done without + prolonged fighting. There may very probably have been now and then a levy + en masse in prehistoric Greece, as there was in mediaeval Europe; and + whether the great suzerain at Mykenai ever attended one or not, legend + would be sure to send him on such an expedition, as it afterwards sent + Charlemagne on a crusade. + </p> + <p> + It is therefore quite possible that Agamemnon and Menelaos may represent + dimly remembered sovereigns or heroes, with their characters and actions + distorted to suit the exigencies of a narrative founded upon a solar myth. + The character of the Nibelungenlied here well illustrates that of the + Iliad. Siegfried and Brunhild, Hagen and Gunther, seem to be mere + personifications of physical phenomena; but Etzel and Dietrich are none + other than Attila and Theodoric surrounded with mythical attributes; and + even the conception of Brunhild has been supposed to contain elements + derived from the traditional recollection of the historical Brunehault. + When, therefore, Achilleus is said, like a true sun-god, to have died by a + wound from a sharp instrument in the only vulnerable part of his body, we + may reply that the legendary Charlemagne conducts himself in many respects + like a solar deity. If Odysseus detained by Kalypso represents the sun + ensnared and held captive by the pale goddess of night, the legend of + Frederic Barbarossa asleep in a Thuringian mountain embodies a portion of + a kindred conception. We know that Charlemagne and Frederic have been + substituted for Odin; we may suspect that with the mythical impersonations + of Achilleus and Odysseus some traditional figures may be blended. We + should remember that in early times the solar-myth was a sort of type + after which all wonderful stories would be patterned, and that to such a + type tradition also would be made to conform. + </p> + <p> + In suggesting this view, we are not opening the door to Euhemerism. If + there is any one conclusion concerning the Homeric poems which the labours + of a whole generation of scholars may be said to have satisfactorily + established, it is this, that no trustworthy history can be obtained from + either the Iliad or the Odyssey merely by sifting out the mythical + element. Even if the poems contain the faint reminiscence of an actual + event, that event is inextricably wrapped up in mythical phraseology, so + that by no cunning of the scholar can it be construed into history. In + view of this it is quite useless for Mr. Gladstone to attempt to base + historical conclusions upon the fact that Helena is always called "Argive + Helen," or to draw ethnological inferences from the circumstances that + Menelaos, Achilleus, and the rest of the Greek heroes, have yellow hair, + while the Trojans are never so described. The Argos of the myth is not the + city of Peloponnesos, though doubtless so construed even in Homer's time. + It is "the bright land" where Zeus resides, and the epithet is applied to + his wife Here and his daughter Helena, as well as to the dog of Odysseus, + who reappears with Sarameyas in the Veda. As for yellow hair, there is no + evidence that Greeks have ever commonly possessed it; but no other colour + would do for a solar hero, and it accordingly characterizes the entire + company of them, wherever found, while for the Trojans, or children of + night, it is not required. + </p> + <p> + A wider acquaintance with the results which have been obtained during the + past thirty years by the comparative study of languages and mythologies + would have led Mr. Gladstone to reconsider many of his views concerning + the Homeric poems, and might perhaps have led him to cut out half or two + thirds of his book as hopelessly antiquated. The chapter on the divinities + of Olympos would certainly have had to be rewritten, and the ridiculous + theory of a primeval revelation abandoned. One can hardly preserve one's + gravity when Mr. Gladstone derives Apollo from the Hebrew Messiah, and + Athene from the Logos. To accredit Homer with an acquaintance with the + doctrine of the Logos, which did not exist until the time of Philo, and + did not receive its authorized Christian form until the middle of the + second century after Christ, is certainly a strange proceeding. We shall + next perhaps be invited to believe that the authors of the Volsunga Saga + obtained the conception of Sigurd from the "Thirty-Nine Articles." It is + true that these deities, Athene and Apollo, are wiser, purer, and more + dignified, on the whole, than any of the other divinities of the Homeric + Olympos. They alone, as Mr. Gladstone truly observes, are never deceived + or frustrated. For all Hellas, Apollo was the interpreter of futurity, and + in the maid Athene we have perhaps the highest conception of deity to + which the Greek mind had attained in the early times. In the Veda, Athene + is nothing but the dawn; but in the Greek mythology, while the merely + sensuous glories of daybreak are assigned to Eos, Athene becomes the + impersonation of the illuminating and knowledge-giving light of the sky. + As the dawn, she is daughter of Zeus, the sky, and in mythic language + springs from his forehead; but, according to the Greek conception, this + imagery signifies that she shares, more than any other deity, in the + boundless wisdom of Zeus. The knowledge of Apollo, on the other hand, is + the peculiar privilege of the sun, who, from his lofty position, sees + everything that takes place upon the earth. Even the secondary divinity + Helios possesses this prerogative to a certain extent. + </p> + <p> + Next to a Hebrew, Mr. Gladstone prefers a Phoenician ancestry for the + Greek divinities. But the same lack of acquaintance with the old Aryan + mythology vitiates all his conclusions. No doubt the Greek mythology is in + some particulars tinged with Phoenician conceptions. Aphrodite was + originally a purely Greek divinity, but in course of time she acquired + some of the attributes of the Semitic Astarte, and was hardly improved by + the change. Adonis is simply a Semitic divinity, imported into Greece. But + the same cannot be proved of Poseidon; <a href="#linknote-154" + name="linknoteref-154" id="linknoteref-154"><small>154</small></a> far + less of Hermes, who is identical with the Vedic Sarameyas, the rising + wind, the son of Sarama the dawn, the lying, tricksome wind-god, who + invented music, and conducts the souls of dead men to the house of Hades, + even as his counterpart the Norse Odin rushes over the tree-tops leading + the host of the departed. When one sees Iris, the messenger of Zeus, + referred to a Hebrew original, because of Jehovah's promise to Noah, one + is at a loss to understand the relationship between the two conceptions. + Nothing could be more natural to the Greeks than to call the rainbow the + messenger of the sky-god to earth-dwelling men; to call it a token set in + the sky by Jehovah, as the Hebrews did, was a very different thing. We may + admit the very close resemblance between the myth of Bellerophon and + Anteia, and that of Joseph and Zuleikha; but the fact that the Greek story + is explicable from Aryan antecedents, while the Hebrew story is isolated, + might perhaps suggest the inference that the Hebrews were the borrowers, + as they undoubtedly were in the case of the myth of Eden. Lastly, to + conclude that Helios is an Eastern deity, because he reigns in the East + over Thrinakia, is wholly unwarranted. Is not Helios pure Greek for the + sun? and where should his sacred island be placed, if not in the East? As + for his oxen, which wrought such dire destruction to the comrades of + Odysseus, and which seem to Mr. Gladstone so anomalous, they are those + very same unhappy cattle, the clouds, which were stolen by the storm-demon + Cacus and the wind-deity Hermes, and which furnished endless material for + legends to the poets of the Veda. + </p> + <p> + But the whole subject of comparative mythology seems to be terra incognita + to Mr. Gladstone. He pursues the even tenour of his way in utter disregard + of Grimm, and Kuhn, and Breal, and Dasent, and Burnouf. He takes no note + of the Rig-Veda, nor does he seem to realize that there was ever a time + when the ancestors of the Greeks and Hindus worshipped the same gods. Two + or three times he cites Max Muller, but makes no use of the copious data + which might be gathered from him. The only work which seems really to have + attracted his attention is M. Jacolliot's very discreditable performance + called "The Bible in India." Mr. Gladstone does not, indeed, unreservedly + approve of this book; but neither does he appear to suspect that it is a + disgraceful piece of charlatanry, written by a man ignorant of the very + rudiments of the subject which he professes to handle. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Gladstone is equally out of his depth when he comes to treat purely + philological questions. Of the science of philology, as based upon + established laws of phonetic change, he seems to have no knowledge + whatever. He seems to think that two words are sufficiently proved to be + connected when they are seen to resemble each other in spelling or in + sound. Thus he quotes approvingly a derivation of the name Themis from an + assumed verb them, "to speak," whereas it is notoriously derived from + tiqhmi, as statute comes ultimately from stare. His reference of hieros, + "a priest," and geron, "an old man," to the same root, is utterly + baseless; the one is the Sanskrit ishiras, "a powerful man," the other is + the Sanskrit jaran, "an old man." The lists of words on pages 96-100 are + disfigured by many such errors; and indeed the whole purpose for which + they are given shows how sadly Mr. Gladstone's philology is in arrears. + The theory of Niebuhr—that the words common to Greek and Latin, + mostly descriptive of peaceful occupations, are Pelasgian—was + serviceable enough in its day, but is now rendered wholly antiquated by + the discovery that such words are Aryan, in the widest sense. The + Pelasgian theory works very smoothly so long as we only compare the Greek + with the Latin words,—as, for instance, sugon with jugum; but when + we add the English yoke and the Sanskrit yugam, it is evident that we have + got far out of the range of the Pelasgoi. But what shall we say when we + find Mr. Gladstone citing the Latin thalamus in support of this antiquated + theory? Doubtless the word thalamus is, or should be, significative of + peaceful occupations; but it is not a Latin word at all, except by + adoption. One might as well cite the word ensemble to prove the original + identity or kinship between English and French. + </p> + <p> + When Mr. Gladstone, leaving the dangerous ground of pure and applied + philology, confines himself to illustrating the contents of the Homeric + poems, he is always excellent. His chapter on the "Outer Geography" of the + Odyssey is exceedingly interesting; showing as it does how much may be + obtained from the patient and attentive study of even a single author. Mr. + Gladstone's knowledge of the SURFACE of the Iliad and Odyssey, so to + speak, is extensive and accurate. It is when he attempts to penetrate + beneath the surface and survey the treasures hidden in the bowels of the + earth, that he shows himself unprovided with the talisman of the wise + dervise, which alone can unlock those mysteries. But modern philology is + an exacting science: to approach its higher problems requires an amount of + preparation sufficient to terrify at the outset all but the boldest; and a + man who has had to regulate taxation, and make out financial statements, + and lead a political party in a great nation, may well be excused for + ignorance of philology. It is difficult enough for those who have little + else to do but to pore over treatises on phonetics, and thumb their + lexicons, to keep fully abreast with the latest views in linguistics. In + matters of detail one can hardly ever broach a new hypothesis without + misgivings lest somebody, in some weekly journal published in Germany, may + just have anticipated and refuted it. Yet while Mr. Gladstone may be + excused for being unsound in philology, it is far less excusable that he + should sit down to write a book about Homer, abounding in philological + statements, without the slightest knowledge of what has been achieved in + that science for several years past. In spite of all drawbacks, however, + his book shows an abiding taste for scholarly pursuits, and therefore + deserves a certain kind of praise. I hope,—though just now the idea + savours of the ludicrous,—that the day may some time arrive when OUR + Congressmen and Secretaries of the Treasury will spend their vacations in + writing books about Greek antiquities, or in illustrating the meaning of + Homeric phrases. + </p> + <p> + July, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. THE PRIMEVAL GHOST-WORLD. + </h2> + <p> + NO earnest student of human culture can as yet have forgotten or wholly + outlived the feeling of delight awakened by the first perusal of Max + Muller's brilliant "Essay on Comparative Mythology,"—a work in which + the scientific principles of myth-interpretation, though not newly + announced, were at least brought home to the reader with such an amount of + fresh and striking concrete illustration as they had not before received. + Yet it must have occurred to more than one reader that, while the analyses + of myths contained in this noble essay are in the main sound in principle + and correct in detail, nevertheless the author's theory of the genesis of + myth is expressed, and most likely conceived, in a way that is very + suggestive of carelessness and fallacy. There are obvious reasons for + doubting whether the existence of mythology can be due to any "disease," + abnormity, or hypertrophy of metaphor in language; and the criticism at + once arises, that with the myth-makers it was not so much the character of + the expression which originated the thought, as it was the thought which + gave character to the expression. It is not that the early Aryans were + myth-makers because their language abounded in metaphor; it is that the + Aryan mother-tongue abounded in metaphor because the men and women who + spoke it were myth-makers. And they were myth-makers because they had + nothing but the phenomena of human will and effort with which to compare + objective phenomena. Therefore it was that they spoke of the sun as an + unwearied voyager or a matchless archer, and classified inanimate no less + than animate objects as masculine and feminine. Max Muller's way of + stating his theory, both in this Essay and in his later Lectures, affords + one among several instances of the curious manner in which he combines a + marvellous penetration into the significance of details with a certain + looseness of general conception. <a href="#linknote-155" + name="linknoteref-155" id="linknoteref-155"><small>155</small></a> The + principles of philological interpretation are an indispensable aid to us + in detecting the hidden meaning of many a legend in which the powers of + nature are represented in the guise of living and thinking persons; but + before we can get at the secret of the myth-making tendency itself, we + must leave philology and enter upon a psychological study. We must inquire + into the characteristics of that primitive style of thinking to which it + seemed quite natural that the sun should be an unerring archer, and the + thunder-cloud a black demon or gigantic robber finding his richly merited + doom at the hands of the indignant Lord of Light. + </p> + <p> + Among recent treatises which have dealt with this interesting problem, we + shall find it advantageous to give especial attention to Mr. Tylor's + "Primitive Culture," <a href="#linknote-156" name="linknoteref-156" + id="linknoteref-156"><small>156</small></a> one of the few erudite works + which are at once truly great and thoroughly entertaining. The learning + displayed in it would do credit to a German specialist, both for extent + and for minuteness, while the orderly arrangement of the arguments and the + elegant lucidity of the style are such as we are accustomed to expect from + French essay-writers. And what is still more admirable is the way in which + the enthusiasm characteristic of a genial and original speculator is + tempered by the patience and caution of a cool-headed critic. Patience and + caution are nowhere more needed than in writers who deal with mythology + and with primitive religious ideas; but these qualities are too seldom + found in combination with the speculative boldness which is required when + fresh theories are to be framed or new paths of investigation opened. The + state of mind in which the explaining powers of a favourite theory are + fondly contemplated is, to some extent, antagonistic to the state of mind + in which facts are seen, with the eye of impartial criticism, in all their + obstinate and uncompromising reality. To be able to preserve the balance + between the two opposing tendencies is to give evidence of the most + consummate scientific training. It is from the want of such a balance that + the recent great work of Mr. Cox is at times so unsatisfactory. It may, I + fear, seem ill-natured to say so, but the eagerness with which Mr. Cox + waylays every available illustration of the physical theory of the origin + of myths has now and then the curious effect of weakening the reader's + conviction of the soundness of the theory. For my own part, though by no + means inclined to waver in adherence to a doctrine once adopted on good + grounds, I never felt so much like rebelling against the mythologic + supremacy of the Sun and the Dawn as when reading Mr. Cox's volumes. That + Mr. Tylor, while defending the same fundamental theory, awakens no such + rebellious feelings, is due to his clear perception and realization of the + fact that it is impossible to generalize in a single formula such + many-sided correspondences as those which primitive poetry end philosophy + have discerned between the life of man and the life of outward nature. + Whoso goes roaming up and down the elf-land of popular fancies, with sole + intent to resolve each episode of myth into some answering physical event, + his only criterion being outward resemblance, cannot be trusted in his + conclusions, since wherever he turns for evidence he is sure to find + something that can be made to serve as such. As Mr. Tylor observes, no + household legend or nursery rhyme is safe from his hermeneutics. "Should + he, for instance, demand as his property the nursery 'Song of Sixpence,' + his claim would be easily established,—obviously the four-and-twenty + blackbirds are the four-and-twenty hours, and the pie that holds them is + the underlying earth covered with the overarching sky,—how true a + touch of nature it is that when the pie is opened, that is, when day + breaks, the birds begin to sing; the King is the Sun, and his counting out + his money is pouring out the sunshine, the golden shower of Danae; the + Queen is the Moon, and her transparent honey the moonlight; the Maid is + the 'rosy-fingered' Dawn, who rises before the Sun, her master, and hangs + out the clouds, his clothes, across the sky; the particular blackbird, who + so tragically ends the tale by snipping off her nose, is the hour of + sunrise." In all this interpretation there is no a priori improbability, + save, perhaps, in its unbroken symmetry and completeness. That some + points, at least, of the story are thus derived from antique + interpretations of physical events, is in harmony with all that we know + concerning nursery rhymes. In short, "the time-honoured rhyme really wants + but one thing to prove it a sun-myth, that one thing being a proof by some + argument more valid than analogy." The character of the argument which is + lacking may be illustrated by a reference to the rhyme about Jack and + Jill, explained some time since in the paper on "The Origins of Folk + Lore." If the argument be thought valid which shows these ill-fated + children to be the spots on the moon, it is because the proof consists, + not in the analogy, which is in this case not especially obvious, but in + the fact that in the Edda, and among ignorant Swedish peasants of our own + day, the story of Jack and Jill is actually given as an explanation of the + moon-spots. To the neglect of this distinction between what is plausible + and what is supported by direct evidence, is due much of the crude + speculation which encumbers the study of myths. + </p> + <p> + It is when Mr. Tylor merges the study of mythology into the wider inquiry + into the characteristic features of the mode of thinking in which myths + originated, that we can best appreciate the practical value of that union + of speculative boldness and critical sobriety which everywhere + distinguishes him. It is pleasant to meet with a writer who can treat of + primitive religious ideas without losing his head over allegory and + symbolism, and who duly realizes the fact that a savage is not a + rabbinical commentator, or a cabalist, or a Rosicrucian, but a plain man + who draws conclusions like ourselves, though with feeble intelligence and + scanty knowledge. The mystic allegory with which such modern writers as + Lord Bacon have invested the myths of antiquity is no part of their + original clothing, but is rather the late product of a style of reasoning + from analogy quite similar to that which we shall perceive to have guided + the myth-makers in their primitive constructions. The myths and customs + and beliefs which, in an advanced stage of culture, seem meaningless save + when characterized by some quaintly wrought device of symbolic + explanation, did not seem meaningless in the lower culture which gave + birth to them. Myths, like words, survive their primitive meanings. In the + early stage the myth is part and parcel of the current mode of + philosophizing; the explanation which it offers is, for the time, the + natural one, the one which would most readily occur to any one thinking on + the theme with which the myth is concerned. But by and by the mode of + philosophizing has changed; explanations which formerly seemed quite + obvious no longer occur to any one, but the myth has acquired an + independent substantive existence, and continues to be handed down from + parents to children as something true, though no one can tell why it is + true: Lastly, the myth itself gradually fades from remembrance, often + leaving behind it some utterly unintelligible custom or seemingly absurd + superstitious notion. For example,—to recur to an illustration + already cited in a previous paper,—it is still believed here and + there by some venerable granny that it is wicked to kill robins; but he + who should attribute the belief to the old granny's refined sympathy with + all sentient existence, would be making one of the blunders which are + always committed by those who reason a priori about historical matters + without following the historical method. At an earlier date the + superstition existed in the shape of a belief that the killing of a robin + portends some calamity; in a still earlier form the calamity is specified + as death; and again, still earlier, as death by lightning. Another step + backward reveals that the dread sanctity of the robin is owing to the fact + that he is the bird of Thor, the lightning god; and finally we reach that + primitive stage of philosophizing in which the lightning is explained as a + red bird dropping from its beak a worm which cleaveth the rocks. Again, + the belief that some harm is sure to come to him who saves the life of a + drowning man, is unintelligible until it is regarded as a case of survival + in culture. In the older form of the superstition it is held that the + rescuer will sooner or later be drowned himself; and thus we pass to the + fetichistic interpretation of drowning as the seizing of the unfortunate + person by the water-spirit or nixy, who is naturally angry at being + deprived of his victim, and henceforth bears a special grudge against the + bold mortal who has thus dared to frustrate him. + </p> + <p> + The interpretation of the lightning as a red bird, and of drowning as the + work of a smiling but treacherous fiend, are parts of that primitive + philosophy of nature in which all forces objectively existing are + conceived as identical with the force subjectively known as volition. It + is this philosophy, currently known as fetichism, but treated by Mr. Tylor + under the somewhat more comprehensive name of "animism," which we must now + consider in a few of its most conspicuous exemplifications. When we have + properly characterized some of the processes which the untrained mind + habitually goes through, we shall have incidentally arrived at a fair + solution of the genesis of mythology. + </p> + <p> + Let us first note the ease with which the barbaric or uncultivated mind + reaches all manner of apparently fanciful conclusions through reckless + reasoning from analogy. It is through the operation of certain laws of + ideal association that all human thinking, that of the highest as well as + that of the lowest minds, is conducted: the discovery of the law of + gravitation, as well as the invention of such a superstition as the Hand + of Glory, is at bottom but a case of association of ideas. The difference + between the scientific and the mythologic inference consists solely in the + number of checks which in the former case combine to prevent any other + than the true conclusion from being framed into a proposition to which the + mind assents. Countless accumulated experiences have taught the modern + that there are many associations of ideas which do not correspond to any + actual connection of cause and effect in the world of phenomena; and he + has learned accordingly to apply to his newly framed notions the rigid + test of verification. Besides which the same accumulation of experiences + has built up an organized structure of ideal associations into which only + the less extravagant newly framed notions have any chance of fitting. The + primitive man, or the modern savage who is to some extent his counterpart, + must reason without the aid of these multifarious checks. That immense + mass of associations which answer to what are called physical laws, and + which in the mind of the civilized modern have become almost organic, have + not been formed in the mind of the savage; nor has he learned the + necessity of experimentally testing any of his newly framed notions, save + perhaps a few of the commonest. Consequently there is nothing but + superficial analogy to guide the course of his thought hither or thither, + and the conclusions at which he arrives will be determined by associations + of ideas occurring apparently at haphazard. Hence the quaint or grotesque + fancies with which European and barbaric folk-lore is filled, in the + framing of which the myth-maker was but reasoning according to the best + methods at his command. To this simplest class, in which the association + of ideas is determined by mere analogy, belong such cases as that of the + Zulu, who chews a piece of wood in order to soften the heart of the man + with whom he is about to trade for cows, or the Hessian lad who "thinks he + may escape the conscription by carrying a baby-girl's cap in his pocket,—a + symbolic way of repudiating manhood." <a href="#linknote-157" + name="linknoteref-157" id="linknoteref-157"><small>157</small></a> A + similar style of thinking underlies the mediaeval necromancer's practice + of making a waxen image of his enemy and shooting at it with arrows, in + order to bring about the enemy's death; as also the case of the magic rod, + mentioned in a previous paper, by means of which a sound thrashing can be + administered to an absent foe through the medium of an old coat which is + imagined to cover him. The principle involved here is one which is + doubtless familiar to most children, and is closely akin to that which + Irving so amusingly illustrates in his doughty general who struts through + a field of cabbages or corn-stalks, smiting them to earth with his cane, + and imagining himself a hero of chivalry conquering single-handed a host + of caitiff ruffians. Of like origin are the fancies that the breaking of a + mirror heralds a death in the family,—probably because of the + destruction of the reflected human image; that the "hair of the dog that + bit you" will prevent hydrophobia if laid upon the wound; or that the + tears shed by human victims, sacrificed to mother earth, will bring down + showers upon the land. Mr. Tylor cites Lord Chesterfield's remark, "that + the king had been ill, and that people generally expected the illness to + be fatal, because the oldest lion in the Tower, about the king's age, had + just died. 'So wild and capricious is the human mind,'" observes the + elegant letter-writer. But indeed, as Mr. Tylor justly remarks, "the + thought was neither wild nor capricious; it was simply such an argument + from analogy as the educated world has at length painfully learned to be + worthless, but which, it is not too much to declare, would to this day + carry considerable weight to the minds of four fifths of the human race." + Upon such symbolism are based most of the practices of divination and the + great pseudo-science of astrology. "It is an old story, that when two + brothers were once taken ill together, Hippokrates, the physician, + concluded from the coincidence that they were twins, but Poseidonios, the + astrologer, considered rather that they were born under the same + constellation; we may add that either argument would be thought reasonable + by a savage." So when a Maori fortress is attacked, the besiegers and + besieged look to see if Venus is near the moon. The moon represents the + fortress; and if it appears below the companion planet, the besiegers will + carry the day, otherwise they will be repulsed. Equally primitive and + childlike was Rousseau's train of thought on the memorable day at Les + Charmettes when, being distressed with doubts as to the safety of his + soul, he sought to determine the point by throwing a stone at a tree. + "Hit, sign of salvation; miss, sign of damnation!" The tree being a large + one and very near at hand, the result of the experiment was reassuring, + and the young philosopher walked away without further misgivings + concerning this momentous question. <a href="#linknote-158" + name="linknoteref-158" id="linknoteref-158"><small>158</small></a> + </p> + <p> + When the savage, whose highest intellectual efforts result only in + speculations of this childlike character, is confronted with the phenomena + of dreams, it is easy to see what he will make of them. His practical + knowledge of psychology is too limited to admit of his distinguishing + between the solidity of waking experience and what we may call the + unsubstantialness of the dream. He may, indeed, have learned that the + dream is not to be relied on for telling the truth; the Zulu, for example, + has even reached the perverse triumph of critical logic achieved by our + own Aryan ancestors in the saying that "dreams go by contraries." But the + Zulu has not learned, nor had the primeval Aryan learned, to disregard the + utterances of the dream as being purely subjective phenomena. To the mind + as yet untouched by modern culture, the visions seen and the voices heard + in sleep possess as much objective reality as the gestures and shouts of + waking hours. When the savage relates his dream, he tells how he SAW + certain dogs, dead warriors, or demons last night, the implication being + that the things seen were objects external to himself. As Mr. Spencer + observes, "his rude language fails to state the difference between seeing + and dreaming that he saw, doing and dreaming that he did. From this + inadequacy of his language it not only results that he cannot truly + represent this difference to others, but also that he cannot truly + represent it to himself. Hence in the absence of an alternative + interpretation, his belief, and that of those to whom he tells his + adventures, is that his OTHER SELF has been away and came back when he + awoke. And this belief, which we find among various existing savage + tribes, we equally find in the traditions of the early civilized races." + <a href="#linknote-159" name="linknoteref-159" id="linknoteref-159"><small>159</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Let us consider, for a moment, this assumption of the OTHER SELF, for upon + this is based the great mass of crude inference which constitutes the + primitive man's philosophy of nature. The hypothesis of the OTHER SELF, + which serves to account for the savage's wanderings during sleep in + strange lands and among strange people, serves also to account for the + presence in his dreams of parents, comrades, or enemies, known to be dead + and buried. The other self of the dreamer meets and converses with the + other selves of his dead brethren, joins with them in the hunt, or sits + down with them to the wild cannibal banquet. Thus arises the belief in an + ever-present world of souls or ghosts, a belief which the entire + experience of uncivilized man goes to strengthen and expand. The existence + of some tribe or tribes of savages wholly destitute of religious belief + has often been hastily asserted and as often called in question. But there + is no question that, while many savages are unable to frame a conception + so general as that of godhood, on the other hand no tribe has ever been + found so low in the scale of intelligence as not to have framed the + conception of ghosts or spiritual personalities, capable of being angered, + propitiated, or conjured with. Indeed it is not improbable a priori that + the original inference involved in the notion of the other self may be + sufficiently simple and obvious to fall within the capacity of animals + even less intelligent than uncivilized man. An authentic case is on record + of a Skye terrier who, being accustomed to obtain favours from his master + by sitting on his haunches, will also sit before his pet india-rubber ball + placed on the chimney-piece, evidently beseeching it to jump down and play + with him. <a href="#linknote-160" name="linknoteref-160" + id="linknoteref-160"><small>160</small></a> Such a fact as this is quite + in harmony with Auguste Comte's suggestion that such intelligent animals + as dogs, apes, and elephants may be capable of forming a few fetichistic + notions. The behaviour of the terrier here rests upon the assumption that + the ball is open to the same sort of entreaty which prevails with the + master; which implies, not that the wistful brute accredits the ball with + a soul, but that in his mind the distinction between life and inanimate + existence has never been thoroughly established. Just this confusion + between things living and things not living is present throughout the + whole philosophy of fetichism; and the confusion between things seen and + things dreamed, which suggests the notion of another self, belongs to this + same twilight stage of intelligence in which primeval man has not yet + clearly demonstrated his immeasurable superiority to the brutes. <a + href="#linknote-161" name="linknoteref-161" id="linknoteref-161"><small>161</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The conception of a soul or other self, capable of going away from the + body and returning to it, receives decisive confirmation from the + phenomena of fainting, trance, catalepsy, and ecstasy, <a + href="#linknote-162" name="linknoteref-162" id="linknoteref-162"><small>162</small></a> + which occur less rarely among savages, owing to their irregular mode of + life, than among civilized men. "Further verification," observes Mr. + Spencer, "is afforded by every epileptic subject, into whose body, during + the absence of the other self, some enemy has entered; for how else does + it happen that the other self on returning denies all knowledge of what + his body has been doing? And this supposition, that the body has been + 'possessed' by some other being, is confirmed by the phenomena of + somnambulism and insanity." Still further, as Mr. Spencer points out, when + we recollect that savages are very generally unwilling to have their + portraits taken, lest a portion of themselves should get carried off and + be exposed to foul play, <a href="#linknote-163" name="linknoteref-163" + id="linknoteref-163"><small>163</small></a> we must readily admit that the + weird reflection of the person and imitation of the gestures in rivers or + still woodland pools will go far to intensify the belief in the other + self. Less frequent but uniform confirmation is to be found in echoes, + which in Europe within two centuries have been commonly interpreted as the + voices of mocking fiends or wood-nymphs, and which the savage might well + regard as the utterances of his other self. + </p> + <p> + With the savage's unwillingness to have his portrait taken, lest it fall + into the hands of some enemy who may injure him by conjuring with it, may + be compared the reluctance which he often shows toward telling his name, + or mentioning the name of his friend, or king, or tutelar ghost-deity. In + fetichistic thought, the name is an entity mysteriously associated with + its owner, and it is not well to run the risk of its getting into hostile + hands. Along with this caution goes the similarly originated fear that the + person whose name is spoken may resent such meddling with his personality. + For the latter reason the Dayak will not allude by name to the small pox, + but will call it "the chief" or "jungle-leaves"; the Laplander speaks of + the bear as the "old man with the fur coat"; in Annam the tiger is called + "grandfather" or "Lord"; while in more civilized communities such sayings + are current as "talk of the Devil, and he will appear," with which we may + also compare such expressions as "Eumenides" or "gracious ones" for the + Furies, and other like euphemisms. Indeed, the maxim nil mortuis nisi + bonum had most likely at one time a fetichistic flavour. + </p> + <p> + In various islands of the Pacific, for both the reasons above specified, + the name of the reigning chief is so rigorously "tabu," that common words + and even syllables resembling that name in sound must be omitted from the + language. In New Zealand, where a chiefs name was Maripi, or "knife," it + became necessary to call knives nekra; and in Tahiti, fetu, "star," had to + be changed into fetia, and tui, "to strike," became tiai, etc., because + the king's name was Tu. Curious freaks are played with the languages of + these islands by this ever-recurring necessity. Among the Kafirs the women + have come to speak a different dialect from the men, because words + resembling the names of their lords or male relatives are in like manner + "tabu." The student of human culture will trace among such primeval + notions the origin of the Jew's unwillingness to pronounce the name of + Jehovah; and hence we may perhaps have before us the ultimate source of + the horror with which the Hebraizing Puritan regards such forms of light + swearing—"Mon Dieu," etc.—as are still tolerated on the + continent of Europe, but have disappeared from good society in Puritanic + England and America. The reader interested in this group of ideas and + customs may consult Tylor, Early History of Mankind, pp. 142, 363; Max + Muller, Science of Language, 6th edition, Vol. II. p. 37; Mackay, + Religious Development of the Greeks and Hebrews, Vol. I. p. 146. + </p> + <p> + Chamisso's well-known tale of Peter Schlemihl belongs to a widely diffused + family of legends, which show that a man's shadow has been generally + regarded not only as an entity, but as a sort of spiritual attendant of + the body, which under certain circumstances it may permanently forsake. It + is in strict accordance with this idea that not only in the classic + languages, but in various barbaric tongues, the word for "shadow" + expresses also the soul or other self. Tasmanians, Algonquins, + Central-Americans, Abipones, Basutos, and Zulus are cited by Mr. Tylor as + thus implicitly asserting the identity of the shadow with the ghost or + phantasm seen in dreams; the Basutos going so far as to think "that if a + man walks on the river-bank, a crocodile may seize his shadow in the water + and draw him in." Among the Algonquins a sick person is supposed to have + his shadow or other self temporarily detached from his body, and the + convalescent is at times "reproached for exposing himself before his + shadow was safely settled down in him." If the sick man has been plunged + into stupor, it is because his other self has travelled away as far as the + brink of the river of death, but not being allowed to cross has come back + and re-entered him. And acting upon a similar notion the ailing Fiji will + sometimes lie down and raise a hue and cry for his soul to be brought + back. Thus, continues Mr. Tylor, "in various countries the bringing back + of lost souls becomes a regular part of the sorcerer's or priest's + profession." <a href="#linknote-164" name="linknoteref-164" + id="linknoteref-164"><small>164</small></a> On Aryan soil we find the + notion of a temporary departure of the soul surviving to a late date in + the theory that the witch may attend the infernal Sabbath while her + earthly tabernacle is quietly sleeping at home. The primeval conception + reappears, clothed in bitterest sarcasm, in Dante's reference to his + living contemporaries whose souls he met with in the vaults of hell, while + their bodies were still walking about on the earth, inhabited by devils. + </p> + <p> + The theory which identifies the soul with the shadow, and supposes the + shadow to depart with the sickness and death of the body, would seem + liable to be attended with some difficulties in the way of verification, + even to the dim intelligence of the savage. But the propriety of + identifying soul and breath is borne out by all primeval experience. The + breath, which really quits the body at its decease, has furnished the + chief name for the soul, not only to the Hebrew, the Sanskrit, and the + classic tongues; not only to German and English, where geist, and ghost, + according to Max Muller, have the meaning of "breath," and are akin to + such words as gas, gust, and geyser; but also to numerous barbaric + languages. Among the natives of Nicaragua and California, in Java and in + West Australia, the soul is described as the air or breeze which passes in + and out through the nostrils and mouth; and the Greenlanders, according to + Cranz, reckon two separate souls, the breath and the shadow. "Among the + Seminoles of Florida, when a woman died in childbirth, the infant was held + over her face to receive her parting spirit, and thus acquire strength and + knowledge for its future use..... Their state of mind is kept up to this + day among Tyrolese peasants, who can still fancy a good man's soul to + issue from his mouth at death like a little white cloud." <a + href="#linknote-165" name="linknoteref-165" id="linknoteref-165"><small>165</small></a> + It is kept up, too, in Lancashire, where a well-known witch died a few + years since; "but before she could 'shuffle off this mortal coil' she must + needs TRANSFER HER FAMILIAR SPIRIT to some trusty successor. An intimate + acquaintance from a neighbouring township was consequently sent for in all + haste, and on her arrival was immediately closeted with her dying friend. + What passed between them has never fully transpired, but it is confidently + affirmed that at the close of the interview this associate RECEIVED THE + WITCH'S LAST BREATH INTO HER MOUTH AND WITH IT HER FAMILIAR SPIRIT. The + dreaded woman thus ceased to exist, but her powers for good or evil were + transferred to her companion; and on passing along the road from Burnley + to Blackburn we can point out a farmhouse at no great distance with whose + thrifty matron no neighbouring farmer will yet dare to quarrel." <a + href="#linknote-166" name="linknoteref-166" id="linknoteref-166"><small>166</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Of the theory of embodiment there will be occasion to speak further on. At + present let us not pass over the fact that the other self is not only + conceived as shadow or breath, which can at times quit the body during + life, but is also supposed to become temporarily embodied in the visible + form of some bird or beast. In discussing elsewhere the myth of Bishop + Hatto, we saw that the soul is sometimes represented in the form of a rat + or mouse; and in treating of werewolves we noticed the belief that the + spirits of dead ancestors, borne along in the night-wind, have taken on + the semblance of howling dogs or wolves. "Consistent with these quaint + ideas are ceremonies in vogue in China of bringing home in a cock (live or + artificial) the spirit of a man deceased in a distant place, and of + enticing into a sick man's coat the departing spirit which has already + left his body and so conveying it back." <a href="#linknote-167" + name="linknoteref-167" id="linknoteref-167"><small>167</small></a> In + Castren's great work on Finnish mythology, we find the story of the giant + who could not be killed because he kept his soul hidden in a twelve-headed + snake which he carried in a bag as he rode on horseback; only when the + secret was discovered and the snake carefully killed, did the giant yield + up his life. In this Finnish legend we have one of the thousand phases of + the story of the "Giant who had no Heart in his Body," but whose heart was + concealed, for safe keeping, in a duck's egg, or in a pigeon, carefully + disposed in some belfry at the world's end a million miles away, or + encased in a wellnigh infinite series of Chinese boxes. <a + href="#linknote-168" name="linknoteref-168" id="linknoteref-168"><small>168</small></a> + Since, in spite of all these precautions, the poor giant's heart + invariably came to grief, we need not wonder at the Karen superstition + that the soul is in danger when it quits the body on its excursions, as + exemplified in countless Indo-European stories of the accidental killing + of the weird mouse or pigeon which embodies the wandering spirit. + Conversely it is held that the detachment of the other self is fraught + with danger to the self which remains. In the philosophy of "wraiths" and + "fetches," the appearance of a double, like that which troubled Mistress + Affery in her waking dreams of Mr. Flintwinch, has been from time out of + mind a signal of alarm. "In New Zealand it is ominous to see the figure of + an absent person, for if it be shadowy and the face not visible, his death + may erelong be expected, but if the face be seen he is dead already. A + party of Maoris (one of whom told the story) were seated round a fire in + the open air, when there appeared, seen only by two of them, the figure of + a relative, left ill at home; they exclaimed, the figure vanished, and on + the return of the party it appeared that the sick man had died about the + time of the vision." <a href="#linknote-169" name="linknoteref-169" + id="linknoteref-169"><small>169</small></a> The belief in wraiths has + survived into modern times, and now and then appears in the records of + that remnant of primeval philosophy known as "spiritualism," as, for + example, in the case of the lady who "thought she saw her own father look + in at the church-window at the moment he was dying in his own house." + </p> + <p> + The belief in the "death-fetch," like the doctrine which identifies soul + with shadow, is instructive as showing that in barbaric thought the other + self is supposed to resemble the material self with which it has + customarily been associated. In various savage superstitions the minute + resemblance of soul to body is forcibly stated. The Australian, for + instance, not content with slaying his enemy, cuts off the right thumb of + the corpse, so that the departed soul may be incapacitated from throwing a + spear. Even the half-civilized Chinese prefer crucifixion to decapitation, + that their souls may not wander headless about the spirit-world. <a + href="#linknote-171" name="linknoteref-171" id="linknoteref-171"><small>171</small></a> + Thus we see how far removed from the Christian doctrine of souls is the + primeval theory of the soul or other self that figures in dreamland. So + grossly materialistic is the primitive conception that the savage who + cherishes it will bore holes in the coffin of his dead friend, so that the + soul may again have a chance, if it likes, to revisit the body. To this + day, among the peasants in some parts of Northern Europe, when Odin, the + spectral hunter, rides by attended by his furious host, the windows in + every sick-room are opened, in order that the soul, if it chooses to + depart, may not be hindered from joining in the headlong chase. And so, + adds Mr. Tylor, after the Indians of North America had spent a riotous + night in singeing an unfortunate captive to death with firebrands, they + would howl like the fiends they were, and beat the air with brushwood, to + drive away the distressed and revengeful ghost. "With a kindlier feeling, + the Congo negroes abstained for a whole year after a death from sweeping + the house, lest the dust should injure the delicate substance of the + ghost"; and even now, "it remains a German peasant saying that it is wrong + to slam a door, lest one should pinch a soul in it." <a + href="#linknote-172" name="linknoteref-172" id="linknoteref-172"><small>172</small></a> + Dante's experience with the ghosts in hell and purgatory, who were + astonished at his weighing down the boat in which they were carried, is + belied by the sweet German notion "that the dead mother's coming back in + the night to suckle the baby she has left on earth may be known by the + hollow pressed down in the bed where she lay." Almost universally ghosts, + however impervious to thrust of sword or shot of pistol, can eat and drink + like Squire Westerns. And lastly, we have the grotesque conception of + souls sufficiently material to be killed over again, as in the case of the + negro widows who, wishing to marry a second time, will go and duck + themselves in the pond, in order to drown the souls of their departed + husbands, which are supposed to cling about their necks; while, according + to the Fiji theory, the ghost of every dead warrior must go through a + terrible fight with Samu and his brethren, in which, if he succeeds, he + will enter Paradise, but if he fails he will be killed over again and + finally eaten by the dreaded Samu and his unearthly company. + </p> + <p> + From the conception of souls embodied in beast-forms, as above + illustrated, it is not a wide step to the conception of beast-souls which, + like human souls, survive the death of the tangible body. The wide-spread + superstitions concerning werewolves and swan-maidens, and the hardly less + general belief in metempsychosis, show that primitive culture has not + arrived at the distinction attained by modern philosophy between the + immortal man and the soulless brute. Still more direct evidence is + furnished by sundry savage customs. The Kafir who has killed an elephant + will cry that he did n't mean to do it, and, lest the elephant's soul + should still seek vengeance, he will cut off and bury the trunk, so that + the mighty beast may go crippled to the spirit-land. In like manner, the + Samoyeds, after shooting a bear, will gather about the body offering + excuses and laying the blame on the Russians; and the American redskin + will even put the pipe of peace into the dead animal's mouth, and beseech + him to forgive the deed. In Assam it is believed that the ghosts of slain + animals will become in the next world the property of the hunter who kills + them; and the Kamtchadales expressly declare that all animals, even flies + and bugs, will live after death,—a belief, which, in our own day, + has been indorsed on philosophical grounds by an eminent living + naturalist. <a href="#linknote-173" name="linknoteref-173" + id="linknoteref-173"><small>173</small></a> The Greenlanders, too, give + evidence of the same belief by supposing that when after an exhausting + fever the patient comes up in unprecedented health and vigour, it is + because he has lost his former soul and had it replaced by that of a young + child or a reindeer. In a recent work in which the crudest fancies of + primeval savagery are thinly disguised in a jargon learned from the + superficial reading of modern books of science, M. Figuier maintains that + human souls are for the most part the surviving souls of deceased animals; + in general, the souls of precocious musical children like Mozart come from + nightingales, while the souls of great architects have passed into them + from beavers, etc., etc. <a href="#linknote-174" name="linknoteref-174" + id="linknoteref-174"><small>174</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The practice of begging pardon of the animal one has just slain is in some + parts of the world extended to the case of plants. When the Talein offers + a prayer to the tree which he is about to cut down, it is obviously + because he regards the tree as endowed with a soul or ghost which in the + next life may need to be propitiated. And the doctrine of transmigration + distinctly includes plants along with animals among the future existences + into which the human soul may pass. + </p> + <p> + As plants, like animals, manifest phenomena of life, though to a much less + conspicuous degree, it is not incomprehensible that the savage should + attribute souls to them. But the primitive process of anthropomorphisation + does not end here. Not only the horse and dog, the bamboo, and the + oak-tree, but even lifeless objects, such as the hatchet, or bow and + arrows, or food and drink of the dead man, possess other selves which pass + into the world of ghosts. Fijis and other contemporary savages, when + questioned, expressly declare that this is their belief. "If an axe or a + chisel is worn out or broken up, away flies its soul for the service of + the gods." The Algonquins told Charlevoix that since hatchets and kettles + have shadows, no less than men and women, it follows, of course, that + these shadows (or souls) must pass along with human shadows (or souls) + into the spirit-land. In this we see how simple and consistent is the + logic which guides the savage, and how inevitable is the genesis of the + great mass of beliefs, to our minds so arbitrary and grotesque, which + prevail throughout the barbaric world. However absurd the belief that pots + and kettles have souls may seem to us, it is nevertheless the only belief + which can be held consistently by the savage to whom pots and kettles, no + less than human friends or enemies, may appear in his dreams; who sees + them followed by shadows as they are moved about; who hears their voices, + dull or ringing, when they are struck; and who watches their doubles + fantastically dancing in the water as they are carried across the stream. + <a href="#linknote-175" name="linknoteref-175" id="linknoteref-175"><small>175</small></a> + To minds, even in civilized countries, which are unused to the severe + training of science, no stronger evidence can be alleged than what is + called "the evidence of the senses"; for it is only long familiarity with + science which teaches us that the evidence of the senses is trustworthy + only in so far as it is correctly interpreted by reason. For the truth of + his belief in the ghosts of men and beasts, trees and axes, the savage has + undeniably the evidence of his senses which have so often seen, heard, and + handled these other selves. + </p> + <p> + The funeral ceremonies of uncultured races freshly illustrate this crude + philosophy, and receive fresh illustration from it. On the primitive + belief in the ghostly survival of persons and objects rests the almost + universal custom of sacrificing the wives, servants, horses, and dogs of + the departed chief of the tribe, as well as of presenting at his shrine + sacred offerings of food, ornaments, weapons, and money. Among the Kayans + the slaves who are killed at their master's tomb are enjoined to take + great care of their master's ghost, to wash and shampoo it, and to nurse + it when sick. Other savages think that "all whom they kill in this world + shall attend them as slaves after death," and for this reason the thrifty + Dayaks of Borneo until lately would not allow their young men to marry + until they had acquired some post mortem property by procuring at least + one human head. It is hardly necessary to do more than allude to the Fiji + custom of strangling all the wives of the deceased at his funeral, or to + the equally well-known Hindu rite of suttee. Though, as Wilson has shown, + the latter rite is not supported by any genuine Vedic authority, but only + by a shameless Brahmanic corruption of the sacred text, Mr. Tylor is + nevertheless quite right in arguing that unless the horrible custom had + received the sanction of a public opinion bequeathed from pre-Vedic times, + the Brahmans would have had no motive for fraudulently reviving it; and + this opinion is virtually established by the fact of the prevalence of + widow sacrifice among Gauls, Scandinavians, Slaves, and other European + Aryans. <a href="#linknote-176" name="linknoteref-176" id="linknoteref-176"><small>176</small></a> + Though under English rule the rite has been forcibly suppressed, yet the + archaic sentiments which so long maintained it are not yet extinct. Within + the present year there has appeared in the newspapers a not improbable + story of a beautiful and accomplished Hindu lady who, having become the + wife of a wealthy Englishman, and after living several years in England + amid the influences of modern society, nevertheless went off and privately + burned herself to death soon after her husband's decease. + </p> + <p> + The reader who thinks it far-fetched to interpret funeral offerings of + food, weapons, ornaments, or money, on the theory of object-souls, will + probably suggest that such offerings may be mere memorials of affection or + esteem for the dead man. Such, indeed, they have come to be in many + countries after surviving the phase of culture in which they originated; + but there is ample evidence to show that at the outset they were presented + in the belief that their ghosts would be eaten or otherwise employed by + the ghost of the dead man. The stout club which is buried with the dead + Fiji sends its soul along with him that he may be able to defend himself + against the hostile ghosts which will lie in ambush for him on the road to + Mbulu, seeking to kill and eat him. Sometimes the club is afterwards + removed from the grave as of no further use, since its ghost is all that + the dead man needs. In like manner, "as the Greeks gave the dead man the + obolus for Charon's toll, and the old Prussians furnished him with + spending money, to buy refreshment on his weary journey, so to this day + German peasants bury a corpse with money in his mouth or hand," and this + is also said to be one of the regular ceremonies of an Irish wake. Of + similar purport were the funeral feasts and oblations of food in Greece + and Italy, the "rice-cakes made with ghee" destined for the Hindu + sojourning in Yama's kingdom, and the meat and gruel offered by the + Chinaman to the manes of his ancestors. "Many travellers have described + the imagination with which the Chinese make such offerings. It is that the + spirits of the dead consume the impalpable essence of the food, leaving + behind its coarse material substance, wherefore the dutiful sacrificers, + having set out sumptuous feasts for ancestral souls, allow them a proper + time to satisfy their appetite, and then fall to themselves." <a + href="#linknote-177" name="linknoteref-177" id="linknoteref-177"><small>177</small></a> + So in the Homeric sacrifice to the gods, after the deity has smelled the + sweet savour and consumed the curling steam that rises ghost-like from the + roasting viands, "the assembled warriors devour the remains." <a + href="#linknote-178" name="linknoteref-178" id="linknoteref-178"><small>178</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Thus far the course of fetichistic thought which we have traced out, with + Mr. Tylor's aid, is such as is not always obvious to the modern inquirer + without considerable concrete illustration. The remainder of the process, + resulting in that systematic and complete anthropomorphisation of nature + which has given rise to mythology, may be more succinctly described. + Gathering together the conclusions already obtained, we find that daily or + frequent experience of the phenomena of shadows and dreams has combined + with less frequent experience of the phenomena of trance, ecstasy, and + insanity, to generate in the mind of uncultured man the notion of a + twofold existence appertaining alike to all animate or inanimate objects: + as all alike possess material bodies, so all alike possess ghosts or + souls. Now when the theory of object-souls is expanded into a general + doctrine of spirits, the philosophic scheme of animism is completed. Once + habituated to the conception of souls of knives and tobacco-pipes passing + to the land of ghosts, the savage cannot avoid carrying the interpretation + still further, so that wind and water, fire and storm, are accredited with + indwelling spirits akin by nature to the soul which inhabits the human + frame. That the mighty spirit or demon by whose impelling will the trees + are rooted up and the storm-clouds driven across the sky should resemble a + freed human soul, is a natural inference, since uncultured man has not + attained to the conception of physical force acting in accordance with + uniform methods, and hence all events are to his mind the manifestations + of capricious volition. If the fire burns down his hut, it is because the + fire is a person with a soul, and is angry with him, and needs to be + coaxed into a kindlier mood by means of prayer or sacrifice. Thus the + savage has a priori no alternative but to regard fire-soul as something + akin to human-soul; and in point of fact we find that savage philosophy + makes no distinction between the human ghost and the elemental demon or + deity. This is sufficiently proved by the universal prevalence of the + worship of ancestors. The essential principle of manes-worship is that the + tribal chief or patriarch, who has governed the community during life, + continues also to govern it after death, assisting it in its warfare with + hostile tribes, rewarding brave warriors, and punishing traitors and + cowards. Thus from the conception of the living king we pass to the notion + of what Mr. Spencer calls "the god-king," and thence to the rudimentary + notion of deity. Among such higher savages as the Zulus, the doctrine of + divine ancestors has been developed to the extent of recognizing a first + ancestor, the Great Father, Unkulunkulu, who made the world. But in the + stratum of savage thought in which barbaric or Aryan folk-lore is for the + most part based, we find no such exalted speculation. The ancestors of the + rude Veddas and of the Guinea negroes, the Hindu pitris (patres, + "fathers"), and the Roman manes have become elemental deities which send + rain or sunshine, health or sickness, plenty or famine, and to which their + living offspring appeal for guidance amid the vicissitudes of life. <a + href="#linknote-179" name="linknoteref-179" id="linknoteref-179"><small>179</small></a> + The theory of embodiment, already alluded to, shows how thoroughly the + demons which cause disease are identified with human and object souls. In + Australasia it is a dead man's ghost which creeps up into the liver of the + impious wretch who has ventured to pronounce his name; while conversely in + the well-known European theory of demoniacal possession, it is a fairy + from elf-land, or an imp from hell, which has entered the body of the + sufferer. In the close kinship, moreover, between disease-possession and + oracle-possession, where the body of the Pythia, or the medicine-man, is + placed under the direct control of some great deity, <a + href="#linknote-180" name="linknoteref-180" id="linknoteref-180"><small>180</small></a> + we may see how by insensible transitions the conception of the human ghost + passes into the conception of the spiritual numen, or divinity. + </p> + <p> + To pursue this line of inquiry through the countless nymphs and dryads and + nixies of the higher nature-worship up to the Olympian divinities of + classic polytheism, would be to enter upon the history of religious + belief, and in so doing to lose sight of our present purpose, which has + merely been to show by what mental process the myth-maker can speak of + natural objects in language which implies that they are animated persons. + Brief as our account of this process has been, I believe that enough has + been said, not only to reveal the inadequacy of purely philological + solutions (like those contained in Max Muller's famous Essay) to explain + the growth of myths, but also to exhibit the vast importance for this + purpose of the kind of psychological inquiry into the mental habits of + savages which Mr. Tylor has so ably conducted. Indeed, however lacking we + may still be in points of detail, I think we have already reached a very + satisfactory explanation of the genesis of mythology. Since the essential + characteristic of a myth is that it is an attempt to explain some natural + phenomenon by endowing with human feelings and capacities the senseless + factors in the phenomenon, and since it has here been shown how uncultured + man, by the best use he can make of his rude common sense, must inevitably + come, and has invariably come, to regard all objects as endowed with + souls, and all nature as peopled with supra-human entities shaped after + the general pattern of the human soul, I am inclined to suspect that we + have got very near to the root of the whole matter. We can certainly find + no difficulty in seeing why a water-spout should be described in the + "Arabian Nights" as a living demon: "The sea became troubled before them, + and there arose from it a black pillar, ascending towards the sky, and + approaching the meadow,.... and behold it was a Jinni, of gigantic + stature." We can see why the Moslem camel-driver should find it most + natural to regard the whirling simoom as a malignant Jinni; we may + understand how it is that the Persian sees in bodily shape the scarlet + fever as "a blushing maid with locks of flame and cheeks all rosy red"; + and we need not consider it strange that the primeval Aryan should have + regarded the sun as a voyager, a climber, or an archer, and the clouds as + cows driven by the wind-god Hermes to their milking. The identification of + William Tell with the sun becomes thoroughly intelligible; nor can we be + longer surprised at the conception of the howling night-wind as a ravenous + wolf. When pots and kettles are thought to have souls that live hereafter, + there is no difficulty in understanding how the blue sky can have been + regarded as the sire of gods and men. And thus, as the elves and bogarts + of popular lore are in many cases descended from ancient divinities of + Olympos and Valhalla, so these in turn must acknowledge their ancestors in + the shadowy denizens of the primeval ghost-world. + </p> + <p> + August, 1872. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTE. + </h2> + <p> + THE following are some of the modern works most likely to be of use to the + reader who is interested in the legend of William Tell. + </p> + <p> + HISELY, J. J. Dissertatio historiea inauguralis de Oulielmo Tellio, etc. + Groningae, 1824. + </p> + <p> + IDELER, J. L. Die Sage von dem Schuss des Tell. Berlin, 1836. + </p> + <p> + HAUSSER, L. Die Sage von Tell aufs Neue kritisch untersucht. Heidelberg, + 1840. + </p> + <p> + HISELY, J. J. Recherches critiques sur l'histoire de Guillaume Tell. + Lausanne, 1843. + </p> + <p> + LIEBENAU, H. Die Tell-Sage zu dem Jahre 1230 historisoh nach neuesten + Quellen. Aarau, 1864. + </p> + <p> + VISCHER, W. Die Sage von der Befreinng der Waldstatte, etc. Nebst einer + Beilage: das alteste Tellensehauspiel. Leipzig, 1867. + </p> + <p> + BORDIER, H. L. Le Grutli et Guillaume Tell, ou defense de la tradition + vulgaire sur les origines de la confederation suisse. Geneve et Bale, + 1869. + </p> + <p> + The same. La querelle sur les traditions concernant l'origine de la + confederation suisse. Geneve et Bale, 1869. + </p> + <p> + RILLIET, A. Les origines de la confederation suisse: histoire et legende. + 2eS ed., revue et corrigee. Geneve et Bale, 1869. + </p> + <p> + The same. Lettre a M. Henri Bordier a propos de sa defense de la tradition + vulgaire sur les origines de la confederation suisse. Geneve et Bale, + 1869. + </p> + <p> + HUNGERBUHLER, H. Etude critique sur les traditions relatives aux origines + de la confederation suisse. Geneve et Bale, 1869. + </p> + <p> + MEYER, KARL. Die Tellsage. [In Bartsch, Germanistische Studien, I. + 159-170. Wien, 1872.] + </p> + <p> + See also the articles by M. Scherer, in Le Temps, 18 Feb., 1868; by M. + Reuss, in the Revue critique d'histoire, 1868; by M. de Wiss, in the + Journal de Geneve, 7 July, 1868; also Revue critique, 17 July, 1869; + Journal de Geneve, 24 Oct., 1868; Gazette de Lausanne, feuilleton + litteraire, 2-5 Nov., 1868, "Les origines de la confederation suisse," par + M. Secretan; Edinburgh Review, Jan., 1869, "The Legend of Tell and Rutli." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_FOOT" id="link2H_FOOT"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + FOOTNOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ See Delepierre, Historical + Difficulties, p. 75.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ Saxo Grammaticus, Bk. X. p. + 166, ed. Frankf. 1576.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ According to Mr. Isaac + Taylor, the name is really derived from "St. Celert, a Welsh saint of the + fifth century, to whom the church of Llangeller is consecrated." (Words + and Places, p. 339.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Krilof's story of + the Gnat and the Shepherd, in Mr. Ralston's excellent version, Krilof and + his Fables, p. 170. Many parallel examples are cited by Mr. Baring-Gould, + Curious Myths, Vol. I. pp. 126-136. See also the story of Folliculus,—Swan, + Gesta Romanorum, ad. Wright, Vol. I. p. lxxxii] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ See Cox, Mythology of the + Aryan Nations, Vol. I. pp. 145-149.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ The same incident occurs in + the Arabian story of Seyf-el-Mulook and Bedeea-el-Jemal, where the Jinni's + soul is enclosed in the crop of a sparrow, and the sparrow imprisoned in a + small box, and this enclosed in another small box, and this again in seven + other boxes, which are put into seven chests, contained in a coffer of + marble, which is sunk in the ocean that surrounds the world. + Seyf-el-Mulook raises the coffer by the aid of Suleyman's seal-ring, and + having extricated the sparrow, strangles it, whereupon the Jinni's body is + converted into a heap of black ashes, and Seyf-el-Mulook escapes with the + maiden Dolet-Khatoon. See Lane's Arabian Nights, Vol. III. p. 316.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ The same incident is + repeated in the story of Hassan of El-Basrah. See Lane's Arabian Nights, + Vol. III p. 452.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ "Retrancher le merveilleux + d'un mythe, c'est le supprimer."—Breal, Hercule et Cacus, p. 50.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-9">return</a>)<br /> [ "No distinction between the + animate and inanimate is made in the languages of the Eskimos, the + Choctaws, the Muskoghee, and the Caddo. Only the Iroquois, Cherokee, and + the Algonquin-Lenape have it, so far as is known, and with them it is + partial." According to the Fijians, "vegetables and stones, nay, even + tools and weapons, pots and canoes, have souls that are immortal, and + that, like the souls of men, pass on at last to Mbulu, the abode of + departed spirits."—M'Lennan, The Worship of Animals and Plants, + Fortnightly Review, Vol. XII. p, 416.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-10">return</a>)<br /> [ Marcus Aurelius, V. 7.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-11" id="linknote-11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-11">return</a>)<br /> [ Some of these etymologies + are attacked by Mr. Mahaffy in his Prolegomena to Ancient History, p. 49. + After long consideration I am still disposed to follow Max Muller in + adopting them, with the possible exception of Achilleus. With Mr. Mahaffy + s suggestion (p. 52) that many of the Homeric legends may have clustered + around some historical basis, I fully agree; as will appear, further on, + from my paper on "Juventus Mundi."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-12" id="linknote-12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-12">return</a>)<br /> [ Les facultes qui + engendrent la mythologie sont les memes que celles qui engendront la + philosophie, et ce n'est pas sans raison que l'Inde et la Grece nous + presentent le phenomene de la plus riche mythologie a cote de la plus + profonde metaphysique. "La conception de la multiplicite dans l'univers, + c'est le polytheisme chez les peuples enfants; c'est la science chez les + peuples arrives a l'age mur."—Renan, Hist. des Langues Semitiques, + Tom. I. p. 9.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-13" id="linknote-13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-13">return</a>)<br /> [ Cases coming under this + head are discussed further on, in my paper on "Myths of the Barbaric + World."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-14" id="linknote-14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-14">return</a>)<br /> [ A collection of these + interesting legends may be found in Baring-Gould's "Curious Myths of the + Middle Ages," of which work this paper was originally a review.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-15" id="linknote-15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-15">return</a>)<br /> [ See Procopius, De Bello + Gothico, IV. 20; Villemarque, Barzas Breiz, I. 136. As a child I was + instructed by an old nurse that Vas Diemen's Land is the home of ghosts + and departed spirits.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-16" id="linknote-16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-16">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Curious + Myths, Vol. I. p. 197.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-17" id="linknote-17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-17">return</a>)<br /> [ Hence perhaps the adage, + "Always remember to pay the piper."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-18" id="linknote-18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-18">return</a>)<br /> [ And it reappears as the + mysterious lyre of the Gaelic musician, who + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Could harp a fish out o' the water, + Or bluid out of a stane, + Or milk out of a maiden's breast, + That bairns had never nane."] +</pre> + <p> + <a name="linknote-19" id="linknote-19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-19">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Curious + Myths, Vol. II. p. 159.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-20" id="linknote-20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-20">return</a>)<br /> [ Perhaps we may trace back + to this source the frantic terror which Irish servant-girls often manifest + at sight of a mouse.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-21" id="linknote-21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-21">return</a>)<br /> [ In Persia a dog is + brought to the bedside of the person who is dying, in order that the soul + may be sure of a prompt escort. The same custom exists in India. Breal, + Hercule et Cacus, p. 123.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-22" id="linknote-22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-22">return</a>)<br /> [ The Devil, who is + proverbially "active in a gale of wind," is none other than Hermes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-23" id="linknote-23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-23">return</a>)<br /> [ "Il faut que la coeur + devienne ancien parmi les aneiennes choses, et la plenitude de l'histoire + ne se devoile qu'a celui qui descend, ainsi dispose, dans le passe. Mais + il faut que l'esprit demeure moderne, et n'oublie jamais qu'il n'y a pour + lui d'autre foi que la foi scientifique."—LITTRS.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-24" id="linknote-24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-24">return</a>)<br /> [ For an admirable example + of scientific self-analysis tracing one of these illusions to its + psychological sources, see the account of Dr. Lazarus, in Taine, De + l'Intelligence, Vol. I. pp. 121-125.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-25" id="linknote-25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-25">return</a>)<br /> [ See the story of Aymar in + Baring-Gould, Curious Myths, Vol. I. pp. 57-77. The learned author + attributes the discomfiture to the uncongenial Parisian environment; which + is a style of reasoning much like that of my village sorcerer, I fear.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-26" id="linknote-26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-26">return</a>)<br /> [ Kelly, Indo-European + Folk-Lore, p. 177.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-27" id="linknote-27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-27">return</a>)<br /> [ The story of the + luck-flower is well told in verse by Mr. Baring Gould, in his Silver + Store, p. 115, seq.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-28" id="linknote-28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-28">return</a>)<br /> [ 1 Kings vi. 7.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-29" id="linknote-29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-29">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare the Mussulman + account of the building of the temple, in Baring-Gould, Legends of the + Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 337, 338. And see the story of Diocletian's + ostrich, Swan, Gesta Romanorum, ed. Wright, Vol I. p. lxiv. See also the + pretty story of the knight unjustly imprisoned, id. p. cii.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-30" id="linknote-30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-30">return</a>)<br /> [ "We have the receipt of + fern-seed. We walk invisible." —Shakespeare, Henry IV. See Ralston, + Songs of the Russian People, p. 98] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-31" id="linknote-31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-31">return</a>)<br /> [ Henderson, Folk-Lore of + the Northern Counties of England, p. 202] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-32" id="linknote-32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-32">return</a>)<br /> [ Kuhn, Die Herabkunft des + Feuers und des Gottertranks. Berlin, 1859.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-33" id="linknote-33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-33">return</a>)<br /> [ "Saga me forwhan byth seo + sunne read on aefen? Ic the secge, forthon heo locath on helle.—Tell + me, why is the sun red at even? I tell thee, because she looketh on hell." + Thorpe, Analecta Anglo-Saxonica, p. 115, apud Tylor, Primitive Culture, + Vol. II. p. 63. Barbaric thought had partly anticipated my childish + theory.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-34" id="linknote-34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-34">return</a>)<br /> [ "Still in North Germany + does the peasant say of thunder, that the angels are playing skittles + aloft, and of the snow, that they are shaking up the feather beds in + heaven."—Baring-Gould, Book of Werewolves, p. 172.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-35" id="linknote-35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-35">return</a>)<br /> [ "The Polynesians imagine + that the sky descends at the horizon and encloses the earth. Hence they + call foreigners papalangi, or 'heaven-bursters,' as having broken in from + another world outside."—Max Muller, Chips, II. 268.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-36" id="linknote-36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-36">return</a>)<br /> [ "—And said the + gods, let there be a hammered plate in the midst of the waters, and let it + be dividing between waters and waters." Genesis i. 6.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-37" id="linknote-37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-37">return</a>)<br /> [ Genesis vii. 11.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-38" id="linknote-38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-38">return</a>)<br /> [ See Kelly, Indo-European + Folk-Lore, p 120; who states also that in Bengal the Garrows burn their + dead in a small boat, placed on top of the funeral-pile. In their + character of cows, also, the clouds were regarded as psychopomps; and + hence it is still a popular superstition that a cow breaking into the yard + foretokens a death in the family.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39" id="linknote-39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-39">return</a>)<br /> [ The sun-god Freyr had a + cloud-ship called Skithblathnir, which is thus described in Dasent's Prose + Edda: "She is so great, that all the AEsir, with their weapons and + war-gear, may find room on board her"; but "when there is no need of + faring on the sea in her, she is made.... with so much craft that Freyr + may fold her together like a cloth, and keep her in his bag." This same + virtue was possessed by the fairy pavilion which the Peri Banou gave to + Ahmed; the cloud which is no bigger than a man's hand may soon overspread + the whole heaven, and shade the Sultan's army from the solar rays.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40" id="linknote-40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-40">return</a>)<br /> [ Euhemerism has done its + best with this bird, representing it as an immense vulture or condor or as + a reminiscence of the extinct dodo. But a Chinese myth, cited by Klaproth, + well preserves its true character when it describes it as "a bird which in + flying obscures the sun, and of whose quills are made water-tuns." See + Nouveau Journal Asiatique, Tom. XII. p. 235. The big bird in the Norse + tale of the "Blue Belt" belongs to the same species.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41" id="linknote-41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-41">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Curious + Myths, Vol. II. p. 146. Compare Tylor, Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p. 237, + seq.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42" id="linknote-42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-42">return</a>)<br /> [ "If Polyphemos's eye be + the sun, then Odysseus, the solar hero, extinguishes himself, a very + primitive instance of suicide." Mahaffy, Prolegomena, p. 57. See also + Brown, Poseidon, pp. 39, 40. This objection would be relevant only in case + Homer were supposed to be constructing an allegory with entire knowledge + of its meaning. It has no validity whatever when we recollect that Homer + could have known nothing of the incongruity.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43" id="linknote-43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-43">return</a>)<br /> [ The Sanskrit myth-teller + indeed mixes up his materials in a way which seems ludicrous to a Western + reader. He describes Indra (the sun-god) as not only cleaving the + cloud-mountains with his sword, but also cutting off their wings and + hurling them from the sky. See Burnouf, Bhagavata Purana, VI. 12, 26.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44" id="linknote-44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-44">return</a>)<br /> [ Mr. Tylor offers a + different, and possibly a better, explanation of the Symplegades as the + gates of Night through which the solar ship, having passed successfully + once, may henceforth pass forever. See the details of the evidence in his + Primitive Culture, I. 315.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45" id="linknote-45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-45">return</a>)<br /> [ The Sanskrit parvata, a + bulging or inflated body, means both "cloud" and "mountain." "In the Edda, + too, the rocks, said to have been fashioned out of Ymir's bones, are + supposed to be intended for clouds. In Old Norse Klakkr means both cloud + and rock; nay, the English word CLOUD itself has been identified with the + Anglo-Saxon clud, rock. See Justi, Orient und Occident, Vol. II. p. 62." + Max Muller, Rig-Veda, Vol. 1. p. 44.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46" id="linknote-46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-46">return</a>)<br /> [ In accordance with the + mediaeval "doctrine of signatures," it was maintained "that the hard, + stony seeds of the Gromwell must be good for gravel, and the knotty tubers + of scrophularia for scrofulous glands; while the scaly pappus of scaliosa + showed it to be a specific in leprous diseases, the spotted leaves of + pulmonaria that it was a sovereign remedy for tuberculous lungs, and the + growth of saxifrage in the fissures of rocks that it would disintegrate + stone in the bladder." Prior, Popular Names of British Plants, Introd., p. + xiv. See also Chapiel, La Doctrine des Signatures. Paris, 1866.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47" id="linknote-47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-47">return</a>)<br /> [ Indeed, the wish-bone, or + forked clavicle of a fowl, itself belongs to the same family of talismans + as the divining-rod.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48" id="linknote-48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-48">return</a>)<br /> [ The ash, on the other + hand, has been from time immemorial used for spears in many parts of the + Aryan domain. The word oesc meant, in Anglo-Saxon, indifferently + "ash-tree," or "spear"; and the same is, or has been, true of the French + fresne and the Greek melia. The root of oesc appears in the Sanskrit as, + "to throw" or "lance," whence asa, "a bow," and asana, "an arrow." See + Pictet, Origines Indo-Europeennes, I. 222.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-49" id="linknote-49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-49">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Spenser's story + of Sir Guyon, in the "Faery Queen," where, however, the knight fares + better than this poor priest. Usually these lightning-caverns were like + Ixion's treasure-house, into which none might look and live. This + conception is the foundation of part of the story of Blue-Beard and of the + Arabian tale of the third one-eyed Calender] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-50" id="linknote-50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-50">return</a>)<br /> [ Cox, Mythology of the + Aryan Nations, Vol. 1. p. 161.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-51" id="linknote-51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-51">return</a>)<br /> [ Kelly, Indo-European + Folk-Lore, pp. 147, 183, 186, 193.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-52" id="linknote-52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-52">return</a>)<br /> [ Brinton, Myths of the New + World, p. 151.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-53" id="linknote-53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-53">return</a>)<br /> [ Callaway, Zulu Nursery + Tales, I. 173, Note 12.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-54" id="linknote-54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-54">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, Early History of + Mankind, p. 238; Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p. 254; Darwin, Naturalist's + Voyage, p. 409.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-55" id="linknote-55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-55">return</a>)<br /> [ The production of fire by + the drill is often called churning, e. g. "He took the uvati [chark], and + sat down and churned it, and kindled a fire." Callaway, Zulu Nursery + Tales, I. 174.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-56" id="linknote-56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-56">return</a>)<br /> [ Kelly, Indo-European + Folk-Lore, p. 39. Burnouf, Bhagavata Purana, VIII. 6, 32.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-57" id="linknote-57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-57">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Curious + Myths, p. 149.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-58" id="linknote-58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-58">return</a>)<br /> [ It is also the + regenerating water of baptism, and the "holy water" of the Roman + Catholic.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-59" id="linknote-59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-59">return</a>)<br /> [ In the Vedas the rain-god + Soma, originally the personification of the sacrificial ambrosia, is the + deity who imparts to men life, knowledge, and happiness. See Breal, + Hercule et Cacus, p. 85. Tylor, Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p. 277.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-60" id="linknote-60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-60">return</a>)<br /> [ We may, perhaps, see here + the reason for making the Greek fire-god Hephaistos the husband of + Aphrodite.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-61" id="linknote-61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-61">return</a>)<br /> [ "Our country maidens are + well aware that triple leaves plucked at hazard from the common ash are + worn in the breast, for the purpose of causing prophetic dreams respecting + a dilatory lover. The leaves of the yellow trefoil are supposed to possess + similar virtues."—Harland and Wilkinson, Lancashire Folk-Lore, p. + 20.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-62" id="linknote-62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-62">return</a>)<br /> [ In Peru, a mighty and + far-worshipped deity was Catequil, the thunder-god,.... "he who in + thunder-flash and clap hurls from his sling the small, round, smooth + thunder-stones, treasured in the villages as fire-fetishes and charms to + kindle the flames of love."—Tylor, op. cit. Vol. II. p. 239] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-63" id="linknote-63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-63">return</a>)<br /> [ In Polynesia, "the great + deity Maui adds a new complication to his enigmatic solar-celestial + character by appearing as a wind-god."—Tylor, op. cit. Vol. II. p. + 242.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-64" id="linknote-64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-64">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Plato, Republic, + VIII. 15.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-65" id="linknote-65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-65">return</a>)<br /> [ Were-wolf = man-wolf, wer + meaning "man." Garou is a Gallic corruption of werewolf, so that + loup-garou is a tautological expression.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-66" id="linknote-66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-66">return</a>)<br /> [ Meyer, in Bunsen's + Philosophy of Universal History, Vol. I. p. 151.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-67" id="linknote-67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-67">return</a>)<br /> [ Aimoin, De Gestis + Francorum, II. 5.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-68" id="linknote-68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-68">return</a>)<br /> [ Taylor, Words and Places, + p. 393.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-69" id="linknote-69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-69">return</a>)<br /> [ Very similar to this is + the etymological confusion upon which is based the myth of the "confusion + of tongues" in the eleventh chapter of Genesis. The name "Babel" is really + Bab-Il, or "the gate of God"; but the Hebrew writer erroneously derives + the word from the root balal, "to confuse"; and hence arises the mythical + explanation,—that Babel was a place where human speech became + confused. See Rawlinson, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. I. p. + 149; Renan, Histoire des Langues Semitiques, Vol. I. p. 32; Donaldson, New + Cratylus, p. 74, note; Colenso on the Pentateuch, Vol. IV. p. 268.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-70" id="linknote-70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-70">return</a>)<br /> [ Vilg. AEn. VIII. 322. + With Latium compare plat?s, Skr. prath (to spread out), Eng. flat. Ferrar, + Comparative Grammar of Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit, Vol. I. p. 31.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-71" id="linknote-71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-71">return</a>)<br /> [ M`Lennan, "The Worship of + Animals and Plants," Fortnightly Review, N. S. Vol. VI. pp. 407-427, + 562-582, Vol. VII. pp 194-216; Spencer, "The Origin of Animal Worship," + Id. Vol. VII. pp. 535-550, reprinted in his Recent Discussions in Science, + etc., pp. 31-56.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-72" id="linknote-72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-72">return</a>)<br /> [ Thus is explained the + singular conduct of the Hindu, who slays himself before his enemy's door, + in order to acquire greater power of injuring him. "A certain Brahman, on + whose lands a Kshatriya raja had built a house, ripped himself up in + revenge, and became a demon of the kind called Brahmadasyu, who has been + ever since the terror of the whole country, and is the most common + village-deity in Kharakpur. Toward the close of the last century there + were two Brahmans, out of whose house a man had wrongfully, as they + thought, taken forty rupees; whereupon one of the Brahmans proceeded to + cut off his own mother's head, with the professed view, entertained by + both mother and son, that her spirit, excited by the beating of a large + drum during forty days might haunt, torment, and pursue to death the taker + of their money and those concerned with him." Tylor, Primitive Culture, + Vol. II. p. 103.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-73" id="linknote-73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-73">return</a>)<br /> [ Hence, in many parts of + Europe, it is still customary to open the windows when a person dies, in + order that the soul may not be hindered in joining the mystic cavalcade.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-74" id="linknote-74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-74">return</a>)<br /> [ The story of little Red + Riding-Hood is "mutilated in the English version, but known more perfectly + by old wives in Germany, who can tell that the lovely little maid in her + shining red satin cloak was swallowed with her grandmother by the wolf, + till they both came out safe and sound when the hunter cut open the + sleeping beast." Tylor, Primitive Culture, I. 307, where also see the + kindred Russian story of Vasilissa the Beautiful. Compare the case of Tom + Thumb, who "was swallowed by the cow and came out unhurt"; the story of + Saktideva swallowed by the fish and cut out again, in Somadeva Bhatta, II. + 118-184; and the story of Jonah swallowed by the whale, in the Old + Testament. All these are different versions of the same myth, and refer to + the alternate swallowing up and casting forth of Day by Night, which is + commonly personified as a wolf, and now and then as a great fish. Compare + Grimm's story of the Wolf and Seven Kids, Tylor, loc. cit., and see Early + History of Mankind, p. 337; Hardy, Manual of Budhism, p. 501.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-75" id="linknote-75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-75">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Book of + Werewolves, p. 178; Muir, Sanskrit Texts, II. 435.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-76" id="linknote-76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-76">return</a>)<br /> [ In those days even an + after-dinner nap seems to have been thought uncanny. See Dasent, Burnt + Njal, I. xxi.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-77" id="linknote-77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-77">return</a>)<br /> [ See Dasent, Burnt Njai, + Vol. I. p. xxii.; Grettis Saga, by Magnusson and Morris, chap. xix.; Viga + Glum's Saga, by Sir Edmund Head, p. 13, note, where the Berserkers are + said to have maddened themselves with drugs. Dasent compares them with the + Malays, who work themselves into a frenzy by means of arrack, or hasheesh, + and run amuck.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-78" id="linknote-78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-78">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Werewolves, + p. 81.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-79" id="linknote-79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-79">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, op. cit. + chap. xiv.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-80" id="linknote-80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-80">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, op. cit. p. + 82.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-81" id="linknote-81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-81">return</a>)<br /> [ Kennedy, Fictions of the + Irish Celts, p. 90.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-82" id="linknote-82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-82">return</a>)<br /> [ "En 1541, a Padoue, dit + Wier, un homme qui se croyait change en loup courait la campagne, + attaquant et mettant a mort ceux qu'il rencontrait. Apres bien des + difficultes, on parvint s'emparer de lui. Il dit en confidence a ceux qui + l'arreterent: Je suis vraiment un loup, et si ma peau ne parait pas etre + celle d'un loup, c'est parce qu'elle est retournee et que les poils sont + en dedans.—Pour s'assurer du fait, on coupa le malheureux aux + differentes parties du corps, on lui emporta les bras et les jambes."—Taine, + De l'Intelligence, Tom. II. p. 203. See the account of Slavonic werewolves + in Ralston, Songs of the Russian People, pp. 404-418.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-83" id="linknote-83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-83">return</a>)<br /> [ Mr. Cox, whose scepticism + on obscure points in history rather surpasses that of Sir G. C. Lewis, + dismisses with a sneer the subject of the Berserker madness, observing + that "the unanimous testimony of the Norse historians is worth as much and + as little as the convictions of Glanvil and Hale on the reality of + witchcraft." I have not the special knowledge requisite for pronouncing an + opinion on this point, but Mr. Cox's ordinary methods of disposing of such + questions are not such as to make one feel obliged to accept his bare + assertion, unaccompanied by critical arguments. The madness of the + bearsarks may, no doubt, be the same thing us the frenzy of Herakles; but + something more than mere dogmatism is needed to prove it.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-84" id="linknote-84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-84">return</a>)<br /> [ Williams, Superstitions + of Witchcraft, p. 179. See a parallel case of a cat-woman, in Thorpe's + Northern Mythology, II. 26. "Certain witches at Thurso for a long time + tormented an honest fellow under the usual form of cats, till one night he + put them to flight with his broadsword, and cut off the leg of one less + nimble than the rest; taking it up, to his amazement he found it to be a + woman's leg, and next morning he discovered the old hag its owner with but + one leg left."—Tylor, Primitive Culture, I. 283.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-85" id="linknote-85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-85">return</a>)<br /> [ "The mare in nightmare + means spirit, elf, or nymph; compare Anglo-Saxon wudurmaere (wood-mare) = + echo."—Tylor, Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p. 173.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-86" id="linknote-86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-86">return</a>)<br /> [ See Kuhn, Herabkunft des + Feuers, p. 91; Weber, Indische Studien. I. 197; Wolf, Beitrage zur + deutschen Mythologie, II. 233-281 Muller, Chips, II. 114-128.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-87" id="linknote-87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-87">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Curious + Myths, II. 207.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-88" id="linknote-88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-88">return</a>)<br /> [ The word nymph itself + means "cloud-maiden," as is illustrated by the kinship between the Greek + numph and the Latin nubes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-89" id="linknote-89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-89">return</a>)<br /> [ This is substantially + identical with the stories of Beauty and the Beast, Eros and Psyche, + Gandharba Sena, etc.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-90" id="linknote-90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-90">return</a>)<br /> [ The feather-dress + reappears in the Arabian story of Hasssn of El-Basrah, who by stealing it + secures possession of the Jinniya. See Lane's Arabian Nights, Vol. III. p. + 380. Ralston, Songs of the Russian People, p. 179.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-91" id="linknote-91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-91">return</a>)<br /> [ Thorpe, Northern + Mythology, III. 173; Kennedy, Fictions of the Irish Celts, p. 123.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-92" id="linknote-92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-92">return</a>)<br /> [ Kennedy, Fictions of the + Irish Celts, p. 168.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-93" id="linknote-93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-93">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Book of + Werewolves, p. 133.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-94" id="linknote-94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-94">return</a>)<br /> [ Muir's Sanskrit Texts, + Vol. IV. p. 12; Muller, Rig-Veda Sanhita, Vol. I. pp. 230-251; Fick, + Woerterbuch der Indogermanischen Grundsprache, p. 124, s v. Bhaga.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-95" id="linknote-95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-95">return</a>)<br /> [ In the North American + Review, October, 1869, p. 354, I have collected a number of facts which + seem to me to prove beyond question that the name God is derived from + Guodan, the original form of Odin, the supreme deity of our Pagan + forefathers. The case is exactly parallel to that of the French Dieu, + which is descended from the Deus of the pagan Roman.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-96" id="linknote-96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-96">return</a>)<br /> [ See Pott, Die Zigeuner, + II. 311; Kuhn, Beitrage, I. 147. Yet in the worship of dewel by the + Gypsies is to be found the element of diabolism invariably present in + barbaric worship. "Dewel, the great god in heaven (dewa, deus), is rather + feared than loved by these weather-beaten outcasts, for he harms them on + their wanderings with his thunder and lightning, his snow and rain, and + his stars interfere with their dark doings. Therefore they curse him + foully when misfortune falls on them; and when a child dies, they say that + Dewel has eaten it." Tylor, Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p. 248.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-97" id="linknote-97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-97">return</a>)<br /> [ See Grimm, Deutsche + Mythologie, 939.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-98" id="linknote-98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-98">return</a>)<br /> [ The Buddhistic as well as + the Zarathustrian reformation degraded the Vedic gods into demons. "In + Buddhism we find these ancient devas, Indra and the rest, carried about at + shows, as servants of Buddha, as goblins, or fabulous heroes." Max Muller, + Chips, I. 25. This is like the Christian change of Odin into an ogre, and + of Thor into the Devil.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-99" id="linknote-99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-99">return</a>)<br /> [ Zeus—Dia—Zhna—di + on............ Plato Kratylos, p. 396, A., with Stallbaum's note. See also + Proklos, Comm. ad Timaeum, II. p. 226, Schneider; and compare + Pseudo-Aristotle, De Mundo, p. 401, a, 15, who adopts the etymology. See + also Diogenes Laertius, VII. 147.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-100" id="linknote-100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-100">return</a>)<br /> [ Marcus Aurelius, v. 7; + Hom. Iliad, xii. 25, cf. Petronius Arbiter, Sat. xliv.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-101" id="linknote-101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-101">return</a>)<br /> [ "Il Sol, dell aurea + luce eterno forte." Tasso, Gerusalemme, XV. 47; ef. Dante, Paradiso, X. + 28.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-102" id="linknote-102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-102">return</a>)<br /> [ The Aryans were, + however, doubtless better off than the tribes of North America. "In no + Indian language could the early missionaries find a word to express the + idea of God. Manitou and Oki meant anything endowed with supernatural + powers, from a snake-skin or a greasy Indian conjurer up to Manabozho and + Jouskeha. The priests were forced to use a circumlocution,—`the + great chief of men,' or 'he who lives in the sky.'" Parkman, Jesuits in + North America, p. lxxix. "The Algonquins used no oaths, for their language + supplied none; doubtless because their mythology had no beings + sufficiently distinct to swear by." Ibid, p. 31.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-103" id="linknote-103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-103">return</a>)<br /> [ Muller, + Rig-Veda-Sanhita, I. 230.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-104" id="linknote-104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-104">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare the remarks of + Breal, Hercule et Cacus, p. 13.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-105" id="linknote-105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-105">return</a>)<br /> [ It should be borne in + mind, however, that one of the women who tempt Odysseus is not a + dawn-maiden, but a goddess of darkness; Kalypso answers to Venus-Ursula in + the myth of Tannhauser. Kirke, on the other hand, seems to be a + dawn-maiden, like Medeia, whom she resembles. In her the wisdom of the + dawn-goddess Athene, the loftiest of Greek divinities, becomes degraded + into the art of an enchantress. She reappears, in the Arabian Nights, as + the wicked Queen Labe, whose sorcery none of her lovers can baffle, save + Beder, king of Persia.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-106" id="linknote-106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-106">return</a>)<br /> [ The Persian Cyrus is an + historical personage; but the story of his perils in infancy belongs to + solar mythology as much as the stories of the magic sleep of Charlemagne + and Barbarossa. His grandfather, Astyages, is purely a mythical creation, + his name being identical with that of the night-demon, Azidahaka, who + appears in the Shah-Nameh as the biting serpent Zohak. See Cox, Mythology + of the Aryan Nations, II. 358.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-107" id="linknote-107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-107">return</a>)<br /> [ In mediaeval legend + this resistless Moira is transformed into the curse which prevents the + Wandering Jew from resting until the day of judgment.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-108" id="linknote-108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-108">return</a>)<br /> [ Cox, Manual of + Mythology, p. 134.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-109" id="linknote-109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-109">return</a>)<br /> [ In his interesting + appendix to Henderson's Folk Lore of the Northern Counties of England, Mr. + Baring-Gould has made an ingenious and praiseworthy attempt to reduce the + entire existing mass of household legends to about fifty story-roots; and + his list, though both redundant and defective, is nevertheless, as an + empirical classification, very instructive.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-110" id="linknote-110"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 110 (<a href="#linknoteref-110">return</a>)<br /> [ There is nothing in + common between the names Hercules and Herakles. The latter is a compound, + formed like Themistokles; the former is a simple derivative from the root + of hercere, "to enclose." If Herakles had any equivalent in Latin, it + would necessarily begin with S, and not with H, as septa corresponds to + epta, sequor to epomai, etc. It should be noted, however, that Mommsen, in + the fourth edition of his History, abandons this view, and observes: "Auch + der griechische Herakles ist fruh als Herclus, Hercoles, Hercules in + Italien einheimisch und dort in eigenthumlicher Weise aufgefasst worden, + wie es scheint zunachst als Gott des gewagten Gewinns und der + ausserordentlichen Vermogensvermehrung." Romische Geschichte, I. 181. One + would gladly learn Mommsen's reasons for recurring to this apparently less + defensible opinion.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-111" id="linknote-111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 111 (<a href="#linknoteref-111">return</a>)<br /> [ For the relations + between Sancus and Herakles, see Preller, Romische Mythologie, p. 635; + Vollmer, Mythologie, p. 970.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-112" id="linknote-112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 112 (<a href="#linknoteref-112">return</a>)<br /> [ Burnouf, + Bhagavata-Purana, III. p. lxxxvi; Breal, op. cit. p. 98.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-113" id="linknote-113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 113 (<a href="#linknoteref-113">return</a>)<br /> [ Max Muller, Science of + Language, II 484.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-114" id="linknote-114"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 114 (<a href="#linknoteref-114">return</a>)<br /> [ As Max Muller observes, + "apart from all mythological considerations, Sarama in Sanskrit is the + same word as Helena in Greek." Op. cit. p. 490. The names correspond + phonetically letter for letter, as, Surya corresponds to Helios, Sarameyas + to Hermeias, and Aharyu to Achilleus. Muller has plausibly suggested that + Paris similarly answers to the Panis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-115" id="linknote-115"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 115 (<a href="#linknoteref-115">return</a>)<br /> [ "I create evil," Isaiah + xiv. 7; "Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?" + Amos iii. 6; cf. Iliad, xxiv. 527, and contrast 2 Samuel xxiv. 1 with 1 + Chronicles xxi. 1.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-116" id="linknote-116"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 116 (<a href="#linknoteref-116">return</a>)<br /> [ Nor is there any ground + for believing that the serpent in the Eden myth is intended for Satan. The + identification is entirely the work of modern dogmatic theology, and is + due, naturally enough, to the habit, so common alike among theologians and + laymen, of reasoning about the Bible as if it were a single book, and not + a collection of writings of different ages and of very different degrees + of historic authenticity. In a future work, entitled "Aryana Vaedjo," I + hope to examine, at considerable length, this interesting myth of the + garden of Eden.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-117" id="linknote-117"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 117 (<a href="#linknoteref-117">return</a>)<br /> [ For further particulars + see Cox, Mythology of the Aryan Nations, Vol. II. pp 358, 366; to which I + am indebted for several of the details here given. Compare Welcker, + Griechische Gotterlehre, I. 661, seq.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-118" id="linknote-118"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 118 (<a href="#linknoteref-118">return</a>)<br /> [ Many amusing passages + from Scotch theologians are cited in Buckle's History of Civilization, + Vol. II. p. 368. The same belief is implied in the quaint monkish tale of + "Celestinus and the Miller's Horse." See Tales from the Gesta Romanorum, + p. 134.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-119" id="linknote-119"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 119 (<a href="#linknoteref-119">return</a>)<br /> [ Thorpe, Northern + Mythology, Vol. 11. p. 258.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-120" id="linknote-120"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 120 (<a href="#linknoteref-120">return</a>)<br /> [ Thorpe, Northern + Mythology, Vol. II. p. 259. In the Norse story of "Not a Pin to choose + between them," the old woman is in doubt as to her own identity, on waking + up after the butcher has dipped her in a tar-barrel and rolled her on a + heap of feathers; and when Tray barks at her, her perplexity is as great + as the Devil's when fooled by the Frenschutz. See Dasent, Norse Tales, p. + 199.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-121" id="linknote-121"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 121 (<a href="#linknoteref-121">return</a>)<br /> [ See Deulin, Contes d'un + Buveur de Biere, pp. 3-29.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-122" id="linknote-122"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 122 (<a href="#linknoteref-122">return</a>)<br /> [ Dasent, Popular Tales + from the Norse, No. III. and No. XLII.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-123" id="linknote-123"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 123 (<a href="#linknoteref-123">return</a>)<br /> [ See Dasent's + Introduction, p. cxxxix; Campbell, Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. IV. + p. 344; and Williams, Indian Epic Poetry, p. 10.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-124" id="linknote-124"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 124 (<a href="#linknoteref-124">return</a>)<br /> [ "A Leopard was + returning home from hunting on one occasion, when he lighted on the kraal + of a Ram. Now the Leopard had never seen a Ram before, and accordingly, + approaching submissively, he said, 'Good day, friend! what may your name + be?' The other, in his gruff voice, and striking his breast with his + forefoot, said, 'I am a Ram; who are you?' 'A Leopard,' answered the + other, more dead than alive; and then, taking leave of the Ram, he ran + home as fast as he could." Bleek, Hottentot Fables, p. 24.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-125" id="linknote-125"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 125 (<a href="#linknoteref-125">return</a>)<br /> [ I agree, most heartily, + with Mr. Mahaffy's remarks, Prolegomena to Ancient History, p. 69.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-126" id="linknote-126"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 126 (<a href="#linknoteref-126">return</a>)<br /> [ Sir George Grey once + told some Australian natives about the countries within the arctic circle + where during part of the year the sun never sets. "Their astonishment now + knew no bounds. 'Ah! that must be another sun, not the same as the one we + see here,' said an old man; and in spite of all my arguments to the + contrary, the others adopted this opinion." Grey's Journals, I. 293, cited + in Tylor, Early History of Mankind, p. 301.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-127" id="linknote-127"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 127 (<a href="#linknoteref-127">return</a>)<br /> [ Max Muller, Chips, II. + 96.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-128" id="linknote-128"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 128 (<a href="#linknoteref-128">return</a>)<br /> [ Fictions of the Irish + Celts, pp. 255-270.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-129" id="linknote-129"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 129 (<a href="#linknoteref-129">return</a>)<br /> [ A corruption of Gaelic + bhan a teaigh, "lady of the house."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-130" id="linknote-130"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 130 (<a href="#linknoteref-130">return</a>)<br /> [ For the analysis of + twelve, see my essay on "The Genesis of Language," North American Review, + October 1869, p. 320.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-131" id="linknote-131"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 131 (<a href="#linknoteref-131">return</a>)<br /> [ Chips from a German + Workshop, Vol. II. p. 246.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-132" id="linknote-132"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 132 (<a href="#linknoteref-132">return</a>)<br /> [ For various legends of + a deluge, see Baring-Gould, Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. + 85-106.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-133" id="linknote-133"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 133 (<a href="#linknoteref-133">return</a>)<br /> [ Brinton, Myths of the + New World, p. 160.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-134" id="linknote-134"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 134 (<a href="#linknoteref-134">return</a>)<br /> [ Brinton, op. cit. p. + 163.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-135" id="linknote-135"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 135 (<a href="#linknoteref-135">return</a>)<br /> [ Brinton, op. cit. p. + 167.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-136" id="linknote-136"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 136 (<a href="#linknoteref-136">return</a>)<br /> [ Corresponding, in + various degrees, to the Asvins, the Dioskouroi, and the brothers True and + Untrue of Norse mythology.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-137" id="linknote-137"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 137 (<a href="#linknoteref-137">return</a>)<br /> [ See Humboldt's Kosmos, + Tom. III. pp. 469-476. A fetichistic regard for the cardinal points has + not always been absent from the minds of persons instructed in a higher + theology as witness a well-known passage in Irenaeus, and also the custom, + well-nigh universal in Europe, of building Christian churches in a line + east and west.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-138" id="linknote-138"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 138 (<a href="#linknoteref-138">return</a>)<br /> [ Bleek, Hottentot Fables + and Tales, p. 72. Compare the Fiji story of Ra Vula, the Moon, and Ra + Kalavo, the Rat, in Tylor, Primitive Culture, I. 321.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-139" id="linknote-139"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 139 (<a href="#linknoteref-139">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, Early History of + Mankind, p. 327.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-140" id="linknote-140"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 140 (<a href="#linknoteref-140">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit., p. + 346.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-141" id="linknote-141"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 141 (<a href="#linknoteref-141">return</a>)<br /> [ Baring-Gould, Curious + Myths, II. 299-302.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-142" id="linknote-142"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 142 (<a href="#linknoteref-142">return</a>)<br /> [ Speaking of beliefs in + the Malay Archipelago, Mr. Wallace says: "It is universally believed in + Lombock that some men have the power to turn themselves into crocodiles, + which they do for the sake of devouring their enemies, and many strange + tales are told of such transformations." Wallace, Malay Archipelago, Vol. + I. p. 251.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-143" id="linknote-143"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 143 (<a href="#linknoteref-143">return</a>)<br /> [ Bleek, Hottentot Fables + and Tales, p. 58.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-144" id="linknote-144"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 144 (<a href="#linknoteref-144">return</a>)<br /> [ Callaway, Zulu Nursery + Tales, pp. 27-30.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-145" id="linknote-145"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 145 (<a href="#linknoteref-145">return</a>)<br /> [ Callaway, op. cit. pp. + 142-152; cf. a similar story in which the lion is fooled by the jackal. + Bleek, op. cit. p. 7. I omit the sequel of the tale.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-146" id="linknote-146"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 146 (<a href="#linknoteref-146">return</a>)<br /> [ Brinton, op. cit. p. + 104.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-147" id="linknote-147"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 147 (<a href="#linknoteref-147">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. p. + 320.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-148" id="linknote-148"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 148 (<a href="#linknoteref-148">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. pp. + 338-343.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-149" id="linknote-149"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 149 (<a href="#linknoteref-149">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. p. 336. + November, 1870] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-150" id="linknote-150"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 150 (<a href="#linknoteref-150">return</a>)<br /> [ Juventus Mundi. The + Gods and Men of the Heroic Age. By the Rt. Hon. William Ewart Gladstone. + Boston: Little, Brown, & Co. 1869.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-151" id="linknote-151"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 151 (<a href="#linknoteref-151">return</a>)<br /> [ Hist. Greece, Vol. II. + p. 208.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-152" id="linknote-152"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 152 (<a href="#linknoteref-152">return</a>)<br /> [ Grote, Hist. Greece, + Vol. II. p. 198.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-153" id="linknote-153"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 153 (<a href="#linknoteref-153">return</a>)<br /> [ For the precise extent + to which I would indorse the theory that the Iliad-myth is an account of + the victory of light over darkness, let me refer to what I have said above + on p. 134. I do not suppose that the struggle between light and darkness + was Homer's subject in the Iliad any more than it was Shakespeare's + subject in "Hamlet." Homer's subject was the wrath of the Greek hero, as + Shakespeare's subject was the vengeance of the Danish prince. + Nevertheless, the story of Hamlet, when traced back to its Norse original, + is unmistakably the story of the quarrel between summer and winter; and + the moody prince is as much a solar hero as Odin himself. See Simrock, Die + Quellen des Shakespeare, I. 127-133. Of course Shakespeare knew nothing of + this, as Homer knew nothing of the origin of his Achilleus. The two + stories, therefore, are not to be taken as sun-myths in their present + form. They are the offspring of other stories which were sun-myths; they + are stories which conform to the sun-myth type after the manner above + illustrated in the paper on Light and Darkness. [Hence there is nothing + unintelligible in the inconsistency—which seems to puzzle Max Muller + (Science of Language, 6th ed. Vol. II. p. 516, note 20)—of investing + Paris with many of the characteristics of the children of light. + Supposing, as we must, that the primitive sense of the Iliad-myth had as + entirely disappeared in the Homeric age, as the primitive sense of the + Hamlet-myth had disappeared in the times of Elizabeth, the fit ground for + wonder is that such inconsistencies are not more numerous.] The physical + theory of myths will be properly presented and comprehended, only when it + is understood that we accept the physical derivation of such stories as + the Iliad-myth in much the same way that we are bound to accept the + physical etymologies of such words as soul, consider, truth, convince, + deliberate, and the like. The late Dr. Gibbs of Yale College, in his + "Philological Studies,"—a little book which I used to read with + delight when a boy,—describes such etymologies as "faded metaphors." + In similar wise, while refraining from characterizing the Iliad or the + tragedy of Hamlet—any more than I would characterize Le Juif Errant + by Sue, or La Maison Forestiere by Erckmann-Chatrian—as + nature-myths, I would at the same time consider these poems well described + as embodying "faded nature-myths."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-154" id="linknote-154"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 154 (<a href="#linknoteref-154">return</a>)<br /> [ I have no opinion as to + the nationality of the Earth-shaker, and, regarding the etymology of his + name, I believe we can hardly do better than acknowledge, with Mr. Cox, + that it is unknown. It may well be doubted, however, whether much good is + likely to come of comparisons between Poseidon, Dagon, Oannes, and Noah, + or of distinctions between the children of Shem and the children of Ham. + See Brown's Poseidon; a Link between Semite, Hamite, and Aryan, London, + 1872,—a book which is open to several of the criticisms here + directed against Mr. Gladstone's manner of theorizing.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-155" id="linknote-155"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 155 (<a href="#linknoteref-155">return</a>)<br /> [ "The expression that + the Erinys, Saranyu, the Dawn, finds out the criminal, was originally + quite free from mythology; IT MEANT NO MORE THAN THAT CRIME WOULD BE + BROUGHT TO LIGHT SOME DAY OR OTHER. It became mythological, however, as + soon as the etymological meaning of Erinys was forgotten, and as soon as + the Dawn, a portion of time, assumed the rank of a personal being."—Science + of Language, 6th edition, II. 615. This paragraph, in which the + italicizing is mine, contains Max Muller's theory in a nutshell. It seems + to me wholly at variance with the facts of history. The facts concerning + primitive culture which are to be cited in this paper will show that the + case is just the other way. Instead of the expression "Erinys finds the + criminal" being originally a metaphor, it was originally a literal + statement of what was believed to be fact. The Dawn (not "a portion of + time,"(!) but the rosy flush of the morning sky) was originally regarded + as a real person. Primitive men, strictly speaking, do not talk in + metaphors; they believe in the literal truth of their similes and + personifications, from which, by survival in culture, our poetic metaphors + are lineally descended. Homer's allusion to a rolling stone as essumenos + or "yearning" (to keep on rolling), is to us a mere figurative expression; + but to the savage it is the description of a fact.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-156" id="linknote-156"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 156 (<a href="#linknoteref-156">return</a>)<br /> [ Primitive Culture: + Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Art, + and Custom By Edward B. Tylor. 2 vols. 8vo. London. 1871.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-157" id="linknote-157"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 157 (<a href="#linknoteref-157">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. + 107.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-158" id="linknote-158"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 158 (<a href="#linknoteref-158">return</a>)<br /> [ Rousseau, Confessions, + I. vi. For further illustration, see especially the note on the "doctrine + of signatures," supra, p. 55.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-159" id="linknote-159"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 159 (<a href="#linknoteref-159">return</a>)<br /> [ Spencer, Recent + Discussions in Science, etc., p. 36, "The Origin of Animal Worship."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-160" id="linknote-160"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 160 (<a href="#linknoteref-160">return</a>)<br /> [ See Nature, Vol. VI. p. + 262, August 1, 1872. The circumstances narrated are such as to exclude the + supposition that the sitting up is intended to attract the master's + attention. The dog has frequently been seen trying to soften the heart of + the ball, while observed unawares by his master.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-161" id="linknote-161"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 161 (<a href="#linknoteref-161">return</a>)<br /> [ "We would, however, + commend to Mr. Fiske's attention Mr. Mark Twain's dog, who 'couldn't be + depended on for a special providence,' as being nearer to the actual dog + of every-day life than is the Skye terrier mentioned by a certain + correspondent of Nature, to whose letter Mr. Fiske refers. The terrier is + held to have had 'a few fetichistic notions,' because he was found + standing up on his hind legs in front of a mantel-piece, upon which lay an + india-rubber ball with which he wished to play, but which he could not + reach, and which, says the letter-writer, he was evidently beseeching to + come down and play with him. We consider it more reasonable to suppose + that a dog who had been drilled into a belief that standing upon his hind + legs was very pleasing to his master, and who, therefore, had accustomed + himself to stand on his hind legs whenever he desired anything, and whose + usual way of getting what he desired was to induce somebody to get it for + him, may have stood up in front of the mantel-piece rather from force of + habit and eagerness of desire than because he had any fetichistic notions, + or expected the india-rubber ball to listen to his supplications. We + admit, however, to avoid polemical controversy, that in matter of religion + the dog is capable of anything." The Nation, Vol. XV. p. 284, October 1, + 1872. To be sure, I do not know for certain what was going on in the dog's + mind; and so, letting both explanations stand, I will only add another + fact of similar import. "The tendency in savages to imagine that natural + objects and agencies are animated by spiritual or living essences is + perhaps illustrated by a little fact which I once noticed: my dog, a + full-grown and very sensible animal, was lying on the lawn during a hot + and still day; but at a little distance a slight breeze occasionally moved + an open parasol, which would have been wholly disregarded by the dog, had + any one stood near it. As it was, every time that the parasol slightly + moved, the dog growled fiercely and barked. He must, I think, have + reasoned to himself, in a rapid and unconscious manner, that movement + without any apparent cause indicated the presence of some strange living + agent, and no stranger had a right to be on his territory." Darwin, + Descent of Man, Vol. 1. p. 64. Without insisting upon all the details of + this explanation, one may readily grant, I think, that in the dog, as in + the savage, there is an undisturbed association between motion and a + living motor agency; and that out of a multitude of just such associations + common to both, the savage, with his greater generalizing power, frames a + truly fetichistic conception.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-162" id="linknote-162"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 162 (<a href="#linknoteref-162">return</a>)<br /> [ Note the fetichism + wrapped up in the etymologies of these Greek words. Catalepsy, katalhyis, + a seizing of the body by some spirit or demon, who holds it rigid. + Ecstasy, ekstasis, a displacement or removal of the soul from the body, + into which the demon enters and causes strange laughing, crying, or + contortions. It is not metaphor, but the literal belief ill a ghost-world, + which has given rise to such words as these, and to such expressions as "a + man beside himself or transported."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-163" id="linknote-163"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 163 (<a href="#linknoteref-163">return</a>)<br /> [ Something akin to the + savage's belief in the animation of pictures may be seen in young + children. I have often been asked by my three-year-old boy, whether the + dog in a certain picture would bite him if he were to go near it; and I + can remember that, in my own childhood, when reading a book about insects, + which had the formidable likeness of a spider stamped on the centre of the + cover, I was always uneasy lest my finger should come in contact with the + dreaded thing as I held the book.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-164" id="linknote-164"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 164 (<a href="#linknoteref-164">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, Primitive + Culture, I. 394. "The Zulus hold that a dead body can cast no shadow, + because that appurtenance departed from it at the close of life." + Hardwick, Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-Lore, p. 123.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-165" id="linknote-165"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 165 (<a href="#linknoteref-165">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. + 391.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-166" id="linknote-166"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 166 (<a href="#linknoteref-166">return</a>)<br /> [ Harland and Wilkinson, + Lancashire Folk-Lore, 1867, p. 210.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-167" id="linknote-167"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 167 (<a href="#linknoteref-167">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. II. + 139.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-168" id="linknote-168"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 168 (<a href="#linknoteref-168">return</a>)<br /> [ In Russia the souls of + the dead are supposed to be embodied in pigeons or crows. "Thus when the + Deacon Theodore and his three schismatic brethren were burnt in 1681, the + souls of the martyrs, as the 'Old Believers' affirm, appeared in the air + as pigeons. In Volhynia dead children are supposed to come back in the + spring to their native village under the semblance of swallows and other + small birds, and to seek by soft twittering or song to console their + sorrowing parents." Ralston, Songs of the Russian People, p. 118.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-169" id="linknote-169"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 169 (<a href="#linknoteref-169">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. + 404.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-171" id="linknote-171"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 171 (<a href="#linknoteref-171">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. + 407.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-172" id="linknote-172"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 172 (<a href="#linknoteref-172">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. 410. + In the next stage of survival this belief will take the shape that it is + wrong to slam a door, no reason being assigned; and in the succeeding + stage, when the child asks why it is naughty to slam a door, he will be + told, because it is an evidence of bad temper. Thus do old-world fancies + disappear before the inroads of the practical sense.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-173" id="linknote-173"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 173 (<a href="#linknoteref-173">return</a>)<br /> [ Agassiz, Essay on + Classification, pp. 97-99.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-174" id="linknote-174"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 174 (<a href="#linknoteref-174">return</a>)<br /> [ Figuier, The To-morrow + of Death, p. 247.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-175" id="linknote-175"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 175 (<a href="#linknoteref-175">return</a>)<br /> [ Here, as usually, the + doctrine of metempsychosis comes in to complete the proof. "Mr. Darwin saw + two Malay women in Keeling Island, who had a wooden spoon dressed in + clothes like a doll; this spoon had been carried to the grave of a dead + man, and becoming inspired at full moon, in fact lunatic, it danced about + convulsively like a table or a hat at a modern spirit-seance." Tylor, op. + cit. II. 139.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-176" id="linknote-176"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 176 (<a href="#linknoteref-176">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. + 414-422.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-177" id="linknote-177"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 177 (<a href="#linknoteref-177">return</a>)<br /> [ Tylor, op. cit. I. 435, + 446; II. 30, 36.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-178" id="linknote-178"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 178 (<a href="#linknoteref-178">return</a>)<br /> [ According to the + Karens, blindness occurs when the SOUL OF THE EYE is eaten by demons. Id., + II. 353.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-179" id="linknote-179"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 179 (<a href="#linknoteref-179">return</a>)<br /> [ The following citation + is interesting as an illustration of the directness of descent from + heathen manes-worship to Christian saint-worship: "It is well known that + Romulus, mindful of his own adventurous infancy, became after death a + Roman deity, propitious to the health and safety of young children, so + that nurses and mothers would carry sickly infants to present them in his + little round temple at the foot of the Palatine. In after ages the temple + was replaced by the church of St. Theodorus, and there Dr. Conyers + Middleton, who drew public attention to its curious history, used to look + in and see ten or a dozen women, each with a sick child in her lap, + sitting in silent reverence before the altar of the saint. The ceremony of + blessing children, especially after vaccination, may still be seen there + on Thursday mornings." Op. cit. II. 111.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-180" id="linknote-180"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 180 (<a href="#linknoteref-180">return</a>)<br /> [ Want of space prevents + me from remarking at length upon Mr. Tylor's admirable treatment of the + phenomena of oracular inspiration. Attention should be called, however, to + the brilliant explanation of the importance accorded by all religions to + the rite of fasting. Prolonged abstinence from food tends to bring on a + mental state which is favourable to visions. The savage priest or + medicine-man qualifies himself for the performance of his duties by + fasting, and where this is not sufficient, often uses intoxicating drugs; + whence the sacredness of the hasheesh, as also of the Vedic soma-juice. + The practice of fasting among civilized peoples is an instance of + survival.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1061 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |