The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 03 of 12)Frazer, James George
Religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 03 of 12)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
spittle and the earth with it, and kneaded thereof a serpent and laid it
in the path where the great god passed every day to his double kingdom
after his heart’s desire. And when he came forth according to his wont,
attended by all his company of gods, the sacred serpent stung him, and the
god opened his mouth and cried, and his cry went up to heaven. And the
company of gods cried, “What aileth thee?” and the gods shouted, “Lo and
behold!” But he could not answer; his jaws rattled, his limbs shook, the
poison ran through his flesh as the Nile floweth over the land. When the
great god had stilled his heart, he cried to his followers, “Come to me, O
my children, offspring of my body. I am a prince, the son of a prince, the
divine seed of a god. My father devised my name; my father and my mother
gave me my name, and it remained hidden in my body since my birth, that no
magician might have magic power over me. I went out to behold that which I
have made, I walked in the two lands which I have created, and lo!
something stung me. What it was, I know not. Was it fire? was it water? My
heart is on fire, my flesh trembleth, all my limbs do quake. Bring me the
children of the gods with healing words and understanding lips, whose
power reacheth to heaven.” Then came to him the children of the gods, and
they were very sorrowful. And Isis came with her craft, whose mouth is
full of the breath of life, whose spells chase pain away, whose word
maketh the dead to live. She said, “What is it, divine Father? what is
it?” The holy god opened his mouth, he spake and said, “I went upon my
way, I walked after my heart’s desire in the two regions which I have made
to behold that which I have created, and lo! a serpent that I saw not
stung me. Is it fire? is it water? I am colder than water, I am hotter
than fire, all my limbs sweat, I tremble, mine eye is not steadfast, I
behold not the sky, the moisture bedeweth my face as in summer-time.” Then
spake Isis, “Tell me thy name, divine Father, for the man shall live who
is called by his name.” Then answered Ra, “I created the heavens and the
earth, I ordered the mountains, I made the great and wide sea, I stretched
out the two horizons like a curtain. I am he who openeth his eyes and it
is light, and who shutteth them and it is dark. At his command the Nile
riseth, but the gods know not his name. I am Khepera in the morning, I am
Ra at noon, I am Tum at eve.” But the poison was not taken away from him;
it pierced deeper, and the great god could no longer walk. Then said Isis
to him, “That was not thy name that thou spakest unto me. Oh tell it me,
that the poison may depart; for he shall live whose name is named.” Now
the poison burned like fire, it was hotter than the flame of fire. The god
said, “I consent that Isis shall search into me, and that my name shall
pass from my breast into hers.” Then the god hid himself from the gods,
and his place in the ship of eternity was empty. Thus was the name of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account