the golden bough-第127节

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als；　was　distributed　over　the　fields；　renewing　the　soil　year　by　year　with　a　fresh　deposit　of　mud　washed　down　from　the　great　equatorial　lakes　and　the　mountains　of　Abyssinia。　Hence　the　rise　of　the　river　has　always　been　watched　by　the　inhabitants　with　the　utmost　anxiety；　for　if　it　either　falls　short　of　or　exceeds　a　certain　height；　dearth　and　famine　are　the　inevitable　consequences。　The　water　begins　to　rise　early　in　June；　but　it　is　not　until　the　latter　half　of　July　that　it　swells　to　a　mighty　tide。　By　the　end　of　September　the　inundation　is　at　its　greatest　height。　The　country　is　now　submerged；　and　presents　the　appearance　of　a　sea　of　turbid　water；　from　which　the　towns　and　villages；　built　on　higher　ground；　rise　like　islands。　For　about　a　month　the　flood　remains　nearly　stationary；　then　sinks　more　and　more　rapidly；　till　by　December　or　January　the　river　has　returned　to　its　ordinary　bed。　With　the　approach　of　summer　the　level　of　the　water　continues　to　fall。　In　the　early　days　of　June　the　Nile　is　reduced　to　half　its　ordinary　breadth；　and　Egypt；　scorched　by　the　sun；　blasted　by　the　wind　that　has　blown　from　the　Sahara　for　many　days；　seems　a　mere　continuation　of　the　desert。　The　trees　are　choked　with　a　thick　layer　of　grey　dust。　A　few　meagre　patches　of　vegetables；　watered　with　difficulty；　struggle　painfully　for　existence　in　the　immediate　neighbourhood　of　the　villages。　Some　appearance　of　verdure　lingers　beside　the　canals　and　in　the　hollows　from　which　the　moisture　has　not　wholly　evaporated。　The　plain　appears　to　pant　in　the　pitiless　sunshine；　bare；　dusty；　ash…coloured；　cracked　and　seamed　as　far　as　the　eye　can　see　with　a　network　of　fissures。　From　the　middle　of　April　till　the　middle　of　June　the　land　of　Egypt　is　but　half　alive；　waiting　for　the　new　Nile。

For　countless　ages　this　cycle　of　natural　events　has　determined　the　annual　labours　of　the　Egyptian　husbandman。　The　first　work　of　the　agricultural　year　is　the　cutting　of　the　dams　which　have　hitherto　prevented　the　swollen　river　from　flooding　the　canals　and　the　fields。　This　is　done；　and　the　pent…up　waters　released　on　their　beneficent　mission；　in　the　first　half　of　August。　In　November；　when　the　inundation　has　subsided；　wheat；　barley；　and　sorghum　are　sown。　The　time　of　harvest　varies　with　the　district；　falling　about　a　month　later　in　the　north　than　in　the　south。　In　Upper　or　Southern　Egypt　barley　is　reaped　at　the　beginning　of　March；　wheat　at　the　beginning　of　April；　and　sorghum　about　the　end　of　that　month。

It　is　natural　to　suppose　that　the　various　events　of　the　agricultural　year　were　celebrated　by　the　Egyptian　farmer　with　some　simple　religious　rites　designed　to　secure　the　blessing　of　the　gods　upon　his　labours。　These　rustic　ceremonies　he　would　continue　to　perform　year　after　year　at　the　same　season；　while　the　solemn　festivals　of　the　priests　continued　to　shift；　with　the　shifting　calendar；　from　summer　through　spring　to　winter；　and　so　backward　through　autumn　to　summer。　The　rites　of　the　husbandman　were　stable　because　they　rested　on　direct　observation　of　nature：　the　rites　of　the　priest　were　unstable　because　they　were　based　on　a　false　calculation。　Yet　many　of　the　priestly　festivals　may　have　been　nothing　but　the　old　rural　festivals　disguised　in　the　course　of　ages　by　the　pomp　of　sacerdotalism　and　severed；　by　the　error　of　the　calendar；　from　their　roots　in　the　natural　cycle　of　the　seasons。

These　conjectures　are　confirmed　by　the　little　we　know　both　of　the　popular　and　of　the　official　Egyptian　religion。　Thus　we　are　told　that　the　Egyptians　held　a　festival　of　Isis　at　the　time　when　the　Nile　began　to　rise。　They　believed　that　the　goddess　was　then　mourning　for　the　lost　Osiris；　and　that　the　tears　which　dropped　from　her　eyes　swelled　the　impetuous　tide　of　the　river。　Now　if　Osiris　was　in　one　of　his　aspects　a　god　of　the　corn；　nothing　could　be　more　natural　than　that　he　should　be　mourned　at　midsummer。　For　by　that　time　the　harvest　was　past；　the　fields　were　bare；　the　river　ran　low；　life　seemed　to　be　suspended；　the　corn…god　was　dead。　At　such　a　moment　people　who　saw　the　handiwork　of　divine　beings　in　all　the　operations　of　nature　might　well　trace　the　swelling　of　the　sacred　stream　to　the　tears　shed　by　the　goddess　at　the　death　of　the　beneficent　corn…god　her　husband。

And　the　sign　of　the　rising　waters　on　earth　was　accompanied　by　a　sign　in　heaven。　For　in　the　early　days　of　Egyptian　history；　some　three　or　four　thousand　years　before　the　beginning　of　our　era；　the　splendid　star　of　Sirius；　the　brightest　of　all　the　fixed　stars；　appeared　at　dawn　in　the　east　just　before　sunrise　about　the　time　of　the　summer　solstice；　when　the　Nile　begins　to　rise。　The　Egyptians　called　it　Sothis；　and　regarded　it　as　the　star　of　Isis；　just　as　the　Babylonians　deemed　the　planet　Venus　the　star　of　Astarte。　To　both　peoples　apparently　the　brilliant　luminary　in　the　morning　sky　seemed　the　goddess　of　life　and　love　come　to　mourn　her　departed　lover　or　spouse　and　to　wake　him　from　the　dead。　Hence　the　rising　of　Sirius　marked　the　beginning　of　the　sacred　Egyptian　year；　and　was　regularly　celebrated　by　a　festival　which　did　not　shift　with　the　shifting　official　year。

The　cutting　of　the　dams　and　the　admission　of　the　water　into　the　canals　and　fields　is　a　great　event　in　the　Egyptian　year。　At　Cairo　the　operation　generally　takes　place　between　the　sixth　and　the　sixteenth　of　August；　and　till　lately　was　attended　by　ceremonies　which　deserve　to　be　noticed；　because　they　were　probably　handed　down　from　antiquity。　An　ancient　canal；　known　by　the　name　of　the　Khalíj；　formerly　passed　through　the　native　town　of　Cairo。　Near　its　entrance　the　canal　was　crossed　by　a　dam　of　earth；　very　broad　at　the　bottom　and　diminishing　in　breadth　upwards；　which　used　to　be　constructed　before　or　soon　after　the　Nile　began　to　rise。　In　front　of　the　dam；　on　the　side　of　the　river；　was　reared　a　truncated　cone　of　earth　called　the　'arooseh　or　bride；　on　the　top　of　which　a　little　maize　or　millet　was　generally　sown。　This　bride　was　commonly　washed　down　by　the　rising　tide　a　week　or　a　fortnight　before　the　cutting　of　the　dam。　Tradition　runs　that　the　old　custom　was　to　deck　a　young　virgin　in　gay　apparel　and　throw　her　into　the　river　as　a　sacrifice　to　obtain　a　plentiful　inundation。　Whether　that　was　so　or　not；　the　intention　of　the　practice　appears　to　have　been　to　marry　the　river；　conceived　as　a　male　power；　to　his　bride　the　cornland；　which　was　so　soon　to　be　fertilised　by　his　water。　The　ceremony　was　therefore　a　charm　to　ensure　the　growth　of　the　crops。　In　modern　times　money　used　to　be　thrown　into　the　canal　on　this　occasion；　and　the　populace　dived　into　the　water　after　it。　This　practice　also　would　seem　to　have　been　ancient；　for　Seneca　tells　us　that　at　a　place　called　the　Veins　of　the　Nile；　not　far　from　Philae；　the　priests　used　to　cast　money　and　offerings　of　gold　into　the　river　at　a　festival　which　apparently　took　place　at　the　rising　of　the　water。

The　next　great　operation　of　the　agricultural　year　in　Egypt　is　the　sowing　of　the　seed　in　November；　when　the　water　of　the　inundation　has　retreated　from　the　fields。　With　the　Egyptians；　as　with　many　peoples　of　antiquity；　the　committing　of　the　seed　to　the　earth　assumed　the　character　of　a　solemn　and　mournful　rite。　On　this　subject　I　will　let　Plutarch　speak　for　himself。　What；　he　asks；　are　we　to　make　of　the　gloomy；　joyless；　and　mournful　sacrifices；　if　it　is　wrong　either　to　omit　the　established　rites　or　to　confuse　and　disturb　our　conceptions　of　the　gods　by　absurd　suspicions？　For　the　Greeks　also　perform　many　rites　which　resemble　those　of　the　Egyptians　and　are　observed　about　the　same　time。　Thus　at　the　festival　of　the　Thesmophoria　in　Athens　women　sit　on　the　ground　and　fast。　And　the　Boeotians　open　the　vaults　of　the　Sorrowful　One；　naming　that　festival　sorrowful　because　Demeter　is　sorrowing　for　the　descent　of　the　Maiden。　The　month　is　the　month　of　sowing　about　the　setting　of　the　Pleiades。　The　Egyptians　call　it　Athyr；　the　Athenians　Pyanepsion；　the　Boeotians　the　month　of　Demeter　。　For　it　was　that　time　of　year　when　they　saw　some　of　the　fruits　vanishing　and　failing　from　the　trees；　while　they　sowed　others　grudgingly　and　with　difficulty；　scraping　the　earth　with　their　hands　and　huddling　it　up　again；　on　the　uncertain　chance　that　what　they　deposited　in　the　ground　would　ever　ripen　and　come　to　maturity。　Thus　they　did　in　many　respects　like　those　who　bury　and　mourn　their　dead。

The　Egyptian　harvest；　as　we　have　seen；　falls　not　in　autumn　but　in　spring；　in　the　months　of　March；　April；　and　May。　To　the　husbandman　the　time　of　harvest；　at　least　in　a　good　year；　must　necessarily　be　a　season　of　joy：　in　bringing　home　his　sheaves　he　is　requited　for　his　long　and　anxious　labours。　Yet　if　the　old　Egyptian　farmer　felt　a　secret　joy　at　reaping　and　garnering　the　grain；　it　was　essential　that　he　should　conceal　the　natural　emotion　under　an　air　of　profound　dejection。　For　was　he　not　severing　the　body　of　the　corn…god　with　his　sickle　and　trampling　it　to　pieces　under　the　hoofs　of　his　cattle　on　the　threshing…floor？　Accordingly　we　are　told　that　it　was　an　ancient　custom　of　the　Egyptian　corn…reapers　to　beat　their　breasts　and　lament　over　the　first　sheaf　cut；　while　at　the　same　time　they　called　upon　Isis。　The　invocation　seems　to　have　taken　the　form　of　a　melancholy　chant；　to　which　the　Greeks　gave　the　name　of　Maneros。　Similar　plaintive　strains　were　chanted　by　corn…reapers　in　Phoenicia　an