The rules of life prescribed for the priest of Jupiter, the Flamen Dialis,
are given in part by Plutarch (_Q. R._ 40, 44, 50, 109, 110, 111, 112, and
113),[69] and are a signal instance of the necessity of explaining Roman
cults, not by reference to the artificial mythology of the Vedas or to the
civilised myths of Greece, but to the customs of peoples who are still
steeped in animism. That a spirit may take up its abode as a Dryad in a
tree or in an animal, as in the beasts worshipped by the ancient Egyptians,
or may temporarily take possession of a human being, as Apollo possessed
the Pythian priestess, is easily comprehended. But that a spirit should
permanently dwell in a man, and that the man should exercise all the powers
and receive all the worship that belong to the spirit, would be almost
incredible were it not for the numerous instances of such worship collected
by the erudition of Mr. Frazer.[70] In Japan the sun-goddess dwelt in the
Mikado; in Lower Guinea and among the Zapotecs of South Mexico the
sun-spirit takes human form. In Cambodia the spirit of fire and the spirit
of water manifest themselves in the (human) kings of fire and water.
Rain-kings are found on the Congo, the Upper Nile, and among Abyssinian
tribes. The weather-spirit is worshipped in the kings of Loango, Mombaza,
Quiteva, the Banjars, and the Muyscas. In the South Sea Islands, generally,
"every god can take possession of a man and speak through him."[71]
In the next place, these divine kings or priests are all charged with a
force which enables them to control the course of Nature. Lest, therefore,
this force should be inadvertently and unintentionally discharged, with
results disastrous to the recipient of the shock or to the universe at
large, the divine priest or king must be insulated. And this insulation is
effected by taboos: every action is taboo to him which might bring him into
dangerous contact with others.[72]
When, therefore, we learn that the Flamen Dialis was subject to a very
large number of taboos, all of which find analogies, while some find their
exact counterparts, in the taboos laid on the divine priests and kings
previously mentioned; and when we further discover that Preller,[73] on
totally different grounds, considered the Flamen to have been "the living
counterpart" of Jupiter, it seems not unreasonable to regard the Flamen
Dialis as the human embodiment of the sky-spirit.
The Flamen, according to Plutarch (_R. Q._ 40), was forbidden to anoint his
body in the open air, _i.e._ _sub Jove_; and of the Mikado we are told,
"Much less will they suffer that he should expose his sacred person to the
open air."[74] The Flamen was forbidden to touch meal or raw meat, _i.e._,
meal or meat which might be consumed by others; so, too, the vessels used
by the Mikado were "generally broke, for fear they should come into the
hands of laymen; for they believe religiously that if any layman should
presume to eat his food out of these sacred dishes, it would swell and
inflame his mouth and throat."[75]
For the many other taboos imposed on the Flamen, I must refer to Mr.
Frazer's great work.[76] I will here only mention one, which is not
explicitly explained in the _Golden Bough_. If the Flamen's wife died, he
had to resign (_Q. R._ 50). Now, it is obvious from this that a widowed
Flamen was somehow dangerous or in danger, and that the danger was one
which re-marriage would not avert. I submit, therefore, that a widowed
Flamen was considered in danger of sudden death, and that this danger (a
danger to the community, which might thus lose the sky-spirit) consisted in
the probability that the soul of the departed wife might tempt away the
soul of the living Flamen. In Burmah, proper precautions are taken to
prevent a baby's soul from following that of its dead mother, or the soul
of a bereaved husband or wife from rejoining the lost one, or to prevent
the soul of a dead child "from luring away the soul of its playmate to the
spirit-land."[77] But accidents will happen, and it is so important for an
agricultural community to have the sky-spirit under direct control, that
the Romans were doubtless well advised in running no risks, and in
transferring the spirit into another Flamen.