the golden bough-第143节

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nd　beautiful　figures　of　Greek　mythology；　grew　out　of　the　same　simple　beliefs　and　practices　which　still　prevail　among　our　modern　peasantry；　and　that　they　were　represented　by　rude　dolls　made　out　of　the　yellow　sheaves　on　many　a　harvest…field　long　before　their　breathing　images　were　wrought　in　bronze　and　marble　by　the　master　hands　of　Phidias　and　Praxiteles。　A　reminiscence　of　that　olden　timea　scent；　so　to　say；　of　the　harvest…fieldlingered　to　the　last　in　the　title　of　the　Maiden　（Kore）　by　which　Persephone　was　commonly　known。　Thus　if　the　prototype　of　Demeter　is　the　Corn…mother　of　Germany；　the　prototype　of　Persephone　is　the　Harvest…maiden　which；　autumn　after　autumn；　is　still　made　from　the　last　sheaf　on　the　Braes　of　Balquhidder。　Indeed；　if　we　knew　more　about　the　peasant…farmers　of　ancient　Greece；　we　should　probably　find　that　even　in　classical　times　they　continued　annually　to　fashion　their　Corn…mothers　（Demeters）　and　Maidens　（Persephones）　out　of　the　ripe　corn　on　the　harvest…fields。　But　unfortunately　the　Demeter　and　Persephone　whom　we　know　were　the　denizens　of　towns；　the　majestic　inhabitants　of　lordly　temples；　it　was　for　such　divinities　alone　that　the　refined　writers　of　antiquity　had　eyes；　the　uncouth　rites　performed　by　rustics　amongst　the　corn　were　beneath　their　notice。　Even　if　they　noticed　them；　they　probably　never　dreamed　of　any　connexion　between　the　puppet　of　corn…stalks　on　the　sunny　stubble…field　and　the　marble　divinity　in　the　shady　coolness　of　the　temple。　Still　the　writings　even　of　these　town…bred　and　cultured　persons　afford　us　an　occasional　glimpse　of　a　Demeter　as　rude　as　the　rudest　that　a　remote　German　village　can　show。　Thus　the　story　that　Iasion　begat　a　child　Plutus　（　wealth；　abundance）　by　Demeter　on　a　thrice…ploughed　field；　may　be　compared　with　the　West　Prussian　custom　of　the　mock　birth　of　a　child　on　the　harvest…field。　In　this　Prussian　custom　the　pretended　mother　represents　the　Corn…mother　（Zytniamatka）；　the　pretended　child　represents　the　Corn…baby；　and　the　whole　ceremony　is　a　charm　to　ensure　a　crop　next　year。　The　custom　and　the　legend　alike　point　to　an　older　practice　of　performing；　among　the　sprouting　crops　in　spring　or　the　stubble　in　autumn；　one　of　those　real　or　mimic　acts　of　procreation　by　which；　as　we　have　seen；　primitive　man　often　seeks　to　infuse　his　own　vigorous　life　into　the　languid　or　decaying　energies　of　nature。　Another　glimpse　of　the　savage　under　the　civilised　Demeter　will　be　afforded　farther　on；　when　we　come　to　deal　with　another　aspect　of　those　agricultural　divinities。

The　reader　may　have　observed　that　in　modern　folk…customs　the　corn…spirit　is　generally　represented　either　by　a　Corn…mother　（Old　Woman；　etc。）　or　by　a　Maiden　（Harvest…child；　etc。）；　not　both　by　a　Corn…mother　and　by　a　Maiden。　Why　then　did　the　Greeks　represent　the　corn　both　as　a　mother　and　a　daughter？

In　the　Breton　custom　the　mother…sheafa　large　figure　made　out　of　the　last　sheaf　with　a　small　corn…doll　inside　of　itclearly　represents　both　the　Corn…mother　and　the　Corn…daughter；　the　latter　still　unborn。　Again；　in　the　Prussian　custom　just　referred　to；　the　woman　who　plays　the　part　of　Corn…mother　represents　the　ripe　grain；　the　child　appears　to　represent　next　year's　corn；　which　may　be　regarded；　naturally　enough；　as　the　child　of　this　year's　corn；　since　it　is　from　the　seed　of　this　year's　harvest　that　next　year's　crop　will　spring。　Further；　we　have　seen　that　among　the　Malays　of　the　Peninsula　and　sometimes　among　the　Highlanders　of　Scotland　the　spirit　of　the　grain　is　represented　in　double　female　form；　both　as　old　and　young；　by　means　of　ears　taken　alike　from　the　ripe　crop：　in　Scotland　the　old　spirit　of　the　corn　appears　as　the　Carline　or　Cailleach；　the　young　spirit　as　the　Maiden；　while　among　the　Malays　of　the　Peninsula　the　two　spirits　of　the　rice　are　definitely　related　to　each　other　as　mother　and　child。　Judged　by　these　analogies　Demeter　would　be　the　ripe　crop　of　this　year；　Persephone　would　be　the　seed…corn　taken　from　it　and　sown　in　autumn；　to　reappear　in　spring。　The　descent　of　Persephone　into　the　lower　world　would　thus　be　a　mythical　expression　for　the　sowing　of　the　seed；　her　reappearance　in　spring　would　signify　the　sprouting　of　the　young　corn。　In　this　way　the　Persephone　of　one　year　becomes　the　Demeter　of　the　next；　and　this　may　very　well　have　been　the　original　form　of　the　myth。　But　when　with　the　advance　of　religious　thought　the　corn　came　to　be　personified　no　longer　as　a　being　that　went　through　the　whole　cycle　of　birth；　growth；　reproduction；　and　death　within　a　year；　but　as　an　immortal　goddess；　consistency　required　that　one　of　the　two　personifications；　the　mother　or　the　daughter；　should　be　sacrificed。　However；　the　double　conception　of　the　corn　as　mother　and　daughter　may　have　been　too　old　and　too　deeply　rooted　in　the　popular　mind　to　be　eradicated　by　logic；　and　so　room　had　to　be　found　in　the　reformed　myth　both　for　mother　and　daughter。　This　was　done　by　assigning　to　Persephone　the　character　of　the　corn　sown　in　autumn　and　sprouting　in　spring；　while　Demeter　was　left　to　play　the　somewhat　vague　part　of　the　heavy　mother　of　the　corn；　who　laments　its　annual　disappearance　underground；　and　rejoices　over　its　reappearance　in　spring。　Thus　instead　of　a　regular　succession　of　divine　beings；　each　living　a　year　and　then　giving　birth　to　her　successor；　the　reformed　myth　exhibits　the　conception　of　two　divine　and　immortal　beings；　one　of　whom　annually　disappears　into　and　reappears　from　the　ground；　while　the　other　has　little　to　do　but　to　weep　and　rejoice　at　the　appropriate　seasons。

This　theory　of　the　double　personification　of　the　corn　in　Greek　myth　assumes　that　both　personifications　（Demeter　and　Persephone）　are　original。　But　if　we　suppose　that　the　Greek　myth　started　with　a　single　personification；　the　aftergrowth　of　a　second　personification　may　perhaps　be　explained　as　follows。　On　looking　over　the　harvest　customs　which　have　been　passed　under　review；　it　may　be　noticed　that　they　involve　two　distinct　conceptions　of　the　corn…spirit。　For　whereas　in　some　of　the　customs　the　corn…spirit　is　treated　as　immanent　in　the　corn；　in　others　it　is　regarded　as　external　to　it。　Thus　when　a　particular　sheaf　is　called　by　the　name　of　the　corn…spirit；　and　is　dressed　in　clothes　and　handled　with　reverence；　the　spirit　is　clearly　regarded　as　immanent　in　the　corn。　But　when　the　spirit　is　said　to　make　the　crops　grow　by　passing　through　them；　or　to　blight　the　grain　of　those　against　whom　she　has　a　grudge；　she　is　apparently　conceived　as　distinct　from；　though　exercising　power　over；　the　corn。　Conceived　in　the　latter　mode　the　corn…spirit　is　in　a　fair　way　to　become　a　deity　of　the　corn；　if　she　has　not　become　so　already。　Of　these　two　conceptions；　that　of　the　cornspirit　as　immanent　in　the　corn　is　doubtless　the　older；　since　the　view　of　nature　as　animated　by　indwelling　spirits　appears　to　have　generally　preceded　the　view　of　it　as　controlled　by　external　deities；　to　put　it　shortly；　animism　precedes　deism。　In　the　harvest　customs　of　our　European　peasantry　the　corn…spirit　seems　to　be　conceived　now　as　immanent　in　the　corn　and　now　as　external　to　it。　In　Greek　mythology；　on　the　other　hand；　Demeter　is　viewed　rather　as　the　deity　of　the　corn　than　as　the　spirit　immanent　in　it。　The　process　of　thought　which　leads　to　the　change　from　the　one　mode　of　conception　to　the　other　is　anthropomorphism；　or　the　gradual　investment　of　the　immanent　spirits　with　more　and　more　of　the　attributes　of　humanity。　As　men　emerge　from　savagery　the　tendency　to　humanise　their　divinities　gains　strength；　and　the　more　human　these　become　the　wider　is　the　breach　which　severs　them　from　the　natural　objects　of　which　they　were　at　first　merely　the　animating　spirits　or　souls。　But　in　the　progress　upwards　from　savagery　men　of　the　same　generation　do　not　march　abreast；　and　though　the　new　anthropomorphic　gods　may　satisfy　the　religious　wants　of　the　more　developed　intelligences；　the　backward　members　of　the　community　will　cling　by　preference　to　the　old　animistic　notions。　Now　when　the　spirit　of　any　natural　object　such　as　the　corn　has　been　invested　with　human　qualities；　detached　from　the　object；　and　converted　into　a　deity　controlling　it；　the　object　itself　is；　by　the　withdrawal　of　its　spirit；　left　inanimate；　it　becomes；　so　to　say；　a　spiritual　vacuum。　But　the　popular　fancy；　intolerant　of　such　a　vacuum；　in　other　words；　unable　to　conceive　anything　as　inanimate；　immediately　creates　a　fresh　mythical　being；　with　which　it　peoples　the　vacant　object。　Thus　the　same　natural　object　comes　to　be　represented　in　mythology　by　two　distinct　beings：　first　by　the　old　spirit　now　separated　from　it　and　raised　to　the　rank　of　a　deity；　second；　by　the　new　spirit；　freshly　created　by　the　popular　fancy　to　supply　the　place　vacated　by　the　old　spirit　on　its　elevation　to　a　higher　sphere。　In　such　cases　the　problem　for　mythology　is；　having　got　two　distinct　personifications　of　the　same　object；　what　to　do　with　them？　How　are　their　relations　to　each　other　to　be　adjusted；　and　room　found　for　both　in　the　mythological　system？　When　the　old　spirit　or　new　deity　is　conceived　as　creating　or　producing　the　object　in　question；　the　problem　is　easily　solved。　Since　the　object　is　believed　to　be　produced　by　the　old　spirit；　and　animated　by　the　new　one；　the　latter；　as　the　soul　of　the　object；　must　also　owe　its　existence　to　the　former；　thus　the　old　spirit　will　stand　to　the　new　one