darwin and modern science-第49节

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reshing　perfume　of　the　wild　thyme　which　scented　all　the　air；　and　to　enjoy　the　distant　prospects；　rich　in　natural　beauty；　rich　too　in　memories　of　the　legendary　and　historic　past。　　To　the　south　the　finely…cut　peak　of　Helicon　peered　over　the　low　intervening　hills。　　In　the　west　loomed　the　mighty　mass　of　Parnassus；　its　middle　slopes　darkened　by　pine…woods　like　shadows　of　clouds　brooding　on　the　mountain…side；　while　at　its　skirts　nestled　the　ivy…mantled　walls　of　Daulis　overhanging　the　deep　glen；　whose　romantic　beauty　accords　so　well　with　the　loves　and　sorrows　of　Procne　and　Philomela；　which　Greek　tradition　associated　with　the　spot。　　Northwards；　across　the　broad　plain　to　which　the　hill　of　Panopeus　descends；　steep　and　bare；　the　eye　rested　on　the　gap　in　the　hills　through　which　the　Cephissus　winds　his　tortuous　way　to　flow　under　grey　willows；　at　the　foot　of　barren　stony　hills；　till　his　turbid　waters　lose　themselves；　no　longer　in　the　vast　reedy　swamps　of　the　now　vanished　Copaic　Lake；　but　in　the　darkness　of　a　cavern　in　the　limestone　rock。　　Eastward；　clinging　to　the　slopes　of　the　bleak　range　of　which　the　hill　of　Panopeus　forms　part；　were　the　ruins　of　Chaeronea；　the　birthplace　of　Plutarch；　and　out　there　in　the　plain　was　fought　the　disastrous　battle　which　laid　Greece　at　the　feet　of　Macedonia。　　There；　too；　in　a　later　age　East　and　West　met　in　deadly　conflict；　when　the　Roman　armies　under　Sulla　defeated　the　Asiatic　hosts　of　Mithridates。　　Such　was　the　landscape　spread　out　before　me　on　one　of　those　farewell　autumn　days　of　almost　pathetic　splendour；　when　the　departing　summer　seems　to　linger　fondly；　as　if　loth　to　resign　to　winter　the　enchanted　mountains　of　Greece。　　Next　day　the　scene　had　changed：　　summer　was　gone。　　A　grey　November　mist　hung　low　on　the　hills　which　only　yesterday　had　shone　resplendent　in　the　sun；　and　under　its　melancholy　curtain　the　dead　flat　of　the　Chaeronean　plain；　a　wide　treeless　expanse　shut　in　by　desolate　slopes；　wore　an　aspect　of　chilly　sadness　befitting　the　battlefield　where　a　nation's　freedom　was　lost。

But　crowded　as　the　prospect　from　Panopeus　is　with　memories　of　the　past；　the　place　itself；　now　so　still　and　deserted；　was　once　the　scene　of　an　event　even　more　ancient　and　memorable；　if　Greek　story…tellers　can　be　trusted。　　For　here；　they　say；　the　sage　Prometheus　created　our　first　parents　by　fashioning　them；　like　a　potter；　out　of　clay。　　（Pausanias　X。　4。4。　　Compare　Apollodorus；　〃Bibliotheca〃；　I。　7。　1；　Ovid；　〃Metamorph。〃　I。　82　sq。；　Juvenal；　〃Sat〃。　XIV。　35。　　According　to　another　version　of　the　tale；　this　creation　of　mankind　took　place　not　at　Panopeus；　but　at　Iconium　in　Lycaonia。　　After　the　original　race　of　mankind　had　been　destroyed　in　the　great　flood　of　Deucalion；　the　Greek　Noah；　Zeus　commanded　Prometheus　and　Athena　to　create　men　afresh　by　moulding　images　out　of　clay；　breathing　the　winds　into　them；　and　making　them　live。　　See　〃Etymologicum　Magnum〃；　s。v。　〃'Ikonion〃；　pages　470　sq。　　It　is　said　that　Prometheus　fashioned　the　animals　as　well　as　men；　giving　to　each　kind　of　beast　its　proper　nature。　　See　Philemon；　quoted　by　Stobaeus；　〃Florilegium〃　II。　27。　　The　creation　of　man　by　Prometheus　is　figured　on　ancient　works　of　art。　　See　J。　Toutain；　〃Etudes　de　Mythologie　et　d'Histoire　des　Religions　Antiques〃　（Paris；　1909）；　page　190。　　According　to　Hesiod　（〃Works　and　Days〃；　60　sqq。）　it　was　Hephaestus　who　at　the　bidding　of　Zeus　moulded　the　first　woman　out　of　moist　earth。）　　The　very　spot　where　he　did　so　can　still　be　seen。　　It　is　a　forlorn　little　glen　or　rather　hollow　behind　the　hill　of　Panopeus；　below　the　ruined　but　still　stately　walls　and　towers　which　crown　the　grey　rocks　of　the　summit。　　The　glen；　when　I　visited　it　that　hot　day　after　the　long　drought　of　summer；　was　quite　dry；　no　water　trickled　down　its　bushy　sides；　but　in　the　bottom　I　found　a　reddish　crumbling　earth；　a　relic　perhaps　of　the　clay　out　of　which　the　potter　Prometheus　moulded　the　Greek　Adam　and　Eve。　　In　a　volume　dedicated　to　the　honour　of　one　who　has　done　more　than　any　other　in　modern　times　to　shape　the　ideas　of　mankind　as　to　their　origin　it　may　not　be　out　of　place　to　recall　this　crude　Greek　notion　of　the　creation　of　the　human　race；　and　to　compare　or　contrast　it　with　other　rudimentary　speculations　of　primitive　peoples　on　the　same　subject；　if　only　for　the　sake　of　marking　the　interval　which　divides　the　childhood　from　the　maturity　of　science。

The　simple　notion　that　the　first　man　and　woman　were　modelled　out　of　clay　by　a　god　or　other　superhuman　being　is　found　in　the　traditions　of　many　peoples。　　This　is　the　Hebrew　belief　recorded　in　Genesis：　　〃The　Lord　God　formed　man　of　the　dust　of　the　ground；　and　breathed　into　his　nostrils　the　breath　of　life；　and　man　became　a　living　soul。〃　　（Genesis　ii。7。）　　To　the　Hebrews　this　derivation　of　our　species　suggested　itself　all　the　more　naturally　because　in　their　language　the　word　for　〃ground〃　（adamah）　is　in　form　the　feminine　of　the　word　for　man　（adam）。　　（S。R。　Driver　and　W。H。Bennett；　in　their　commentaries　on　Genesis　ii。　7。）　　From　various　allusions　in　Babylonian　literature　it　would　seem　that　the　Babylonians　also　conceived　man　to　have　been　moulded　out　of　clay。　　（H。　Zimmern；　in　E。　Schrader's　〃Die　Keilinschriften　und　das　Alte　Testament〃3　（Berlin；　1902）；　page　506。）　　According　to　Berosus；　the　Babylonian　priest　whose　account　of　creation　has　been　preserved　in　a　Greek　version；　the　god　Bel　cut　off　his　own　head；　and　the　other　gods　caught　the　flowing　blood；　mixed　it　with　earth；　and　fashioned　men　out　of　the　bloody　paste；　and　that；　they　said；　is　why　men　are　so　wise；　because　their　mortal　clay　is　tempered　with　divine　blood。　　（Eusebius；　〃Chronicon〃；　ed。　A。　Schoene；　Vol。　I。　（Berlin；　1875）；　col。　16。）　　In　Egyptian　mythology　Khnoumou；　the　Father　of　the　gods；　is　said　to　have　moulded　men　out　of　clay。　　（G。　Maspero；　〃Histoire　Ancienne　des　Peuples　de　l'Orient　Classique〃；　I。　（Paris；　1895）；　page　128。）　　We　cannot　doubt　that　such　crude　conceptions　of　the　origin　of　our　race　were　handed　down　to　the　civilised　peoples　of　antiquity　by　their　savage　or　barbarous　forefathers。　　Certainly　stories　of　the　same　sort　are　known　to　be　current　among　savages　and　barbarians。

Thus　the　Australian　blacks　in　the　neighbourhood　of　Melbourne　said　that　Pund…jel；　the　creator；　cut　three　large　sheets　of　bark　with　his　big　knife。　　On　one　of　these　he　placed　some　clay　and　worked　it　up　with　his　knife　into　a　proper　consistence。　　He　then　laid　a　portion　of　the　clay　on　one　of　the　other　pieces　of　bark　and　shaped　it　into　a　human　form；　first　he　made　the　feet；　then　the　legs；　then　the　trunk；　the　arms；　and　the　head。　　Thus　he　made　a　clay　man　on　each　of　the　two　pieces　of　bark；　and　being　well　pleased　with　them　he　danced　round　them　for　joy。　　Next　he　took　stringy　bark　from　the　Eucalyptus　tree；　made　hair　of　it；　and　stuck　it　on　the　heads　of　his　clay　men。　　Then　he　looked　at　them　again；　was　pleased　with　his　work；　and　again　danced　round　them　for　joy。　　He　then　lay　down　on　them；　blew　his　breath　hard　into　their　mouths；　their　noses；　and　their　navels；　and　presently　they　stirred；　spoke；　and　rose　up　as　full…grown　men。　　（R。　Brough　Smyth；　〃The　Aborigines　of　Victoria〃　（Melbourne；　1878）；　I。　424。　　This　and　many　of　the　following　legends　of　creation　have　been　already　cited　by　me　in　a　note　on　Pausanias　X。　4。　4　（〃Pausanias's　Description　of　Greece；　translated　with　a　Commentary〃　（London；　1898）；　Vol　V。　pages　220　sq。）。）　　The　Maoris　of　New　Zealand　say　that　Tiki　made　man　after　his　own　image。　　He　took　red　clay；　kneaded　it；　like　the　Babylonian　Bel；　with　his　own　blood；　fashioned　it　in　human　form；　and　gave　the　image　breath。　　As　he　had　made　man　in　his　own　likeness　he　called　him　Tiki…ahua　or　Tiki's　likeness。　　（R。　Taylor　〃Te　Ika　A　Maui；　or　New　Zealand　and　its　Inhabitants〃；　Second　Edition　（London；　1870）；　page　117。　　Compare　E。　Shortland；　〃Maori　Religion　and　Mythology〃　（London；　1882）；　pages　21　sq。）　　A　very　generally　received　tradition　in　Tahiti　was　that　the　first　human　pair　was　made　by　Taaroa；　the　chief　god。　　They　say　that　after　he　had　formed　the　world　he　created　man　out　of　red　earth；　which　was　also　the　food　of　mankind　until　bread…fruit　was　produced。　　Further；　some　say　that　one　day　Taaroa　called　for　the　man　by　name；　and　when　he　came　he　made　him　fall　asleep。　　As　he　slept；　the　creator　took　out　one　of　his　bones　（ivi）　and　made　a　woman　of　it；　whom　he　gave　to　the　man　to　be　his　wife；　and　the　pair　became　the　progenitors　of　mankind。　　This　narrative　was　taken　down　from　the　lips　of　the　natives　in　the　early　years　of　the　mission　to　Tahiti。　　The　missionary　who　records　it　observes：　　〃This　always　appeared　to　me　a　mere　recital　of　the　Mosaic　account　of　creation；　which　they　had　heard　from　some　European；　and　I　never　placed　any　reliance　on　it；　although　they　have　repeatedly　told　me　it　was　a　tradition　among　them　before　any　foreigner　arrived。　　Some　have　also　stated　that　the　woman's　name　was　Ivi；　which　would　be　by　them　pronounced　as　if　written　〃Eve〃。　　〃Ivi〃　is　an　aboriginal　word；　and　not　only　signifies　a　bone；　but　also　a　widow；　and　a　victim　slain　in　war。　　Notwithstanding　the　assertion　of　the　natives；　I　am　disposed　to　think　that　〃Ivi〃；　or　Eve；　is　the　only　aboriginal　part　of　the　story；　as　far　as　it　respects　the　mother　of　the　human　race。　　（W。　Ellis；　〃Polynesian　Researches〃；　Second　Edition　（London；　1832）；　I。　110　sq。　　〃Ivi〃　or　〃iwi〃　is　the　regular　word　for　〃bone〃　in　the　various　Polynesian　languages。　　See　E。　Tregear；　〃Th