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appease, quiet. immortal, deathless.
Arch-Druid, chief druid. intently, earnestly.
ban, curse. mystery, secrecy.
circular, round. parasite, a plant nourished on the sap of another.
crescent, curve. prominent, principal.
criminals, persons accused of crime. pronounced, spoken; called down.
embodied, set forth. hedged, fenced; guarded.
1. The 10th of March has come and gone. The moon, now a thin silver crescent, has reached its sixth day. Bearded Druids, pacing solemnly along the dark avenues of the oak wood which surrounds their circular temple of stones, have long watched through summer days the yellowish leaves of mistletoe peeping out from among the darker foliage of one old tree, and have grown glad at heart when autumn withered the pointed oak leaves, and left the sacred evergreen hanging on a naked bough, ripe for the golden knife. The apple-tree being the favourite home of this pretty parasite, its presence on the oak, where it rarely grew, was considered a special mark of Divine favour.
STONE-CIRCLES AT STONEHENGE
2. Calling his priests together, the Arch-Druid, a priest of extraordinary power, hedged with a dignity far beyond what earthly kingship could bestow, leads a procession to the tree. The Oakmen, whose short hair,flowing beards, and loose white robes distinguish them from the lines of awe-struck people, between which they slowly pass, march to the hallowed spot, moving, perhaps, to the wild music of the chants with which the holy maidens of the Sacred Island profess to raise storms and to cure the sick.
3. Two milk-white bulls are led along, and are bound by their horns to the trunk of the oak. And when the Arch-Druid has climbed the tree, and the mistletoe, cut with a golden knife, has fallen into the snowy cloth stretched out lest the branch should touch the earth and lose its magic power, another knife pierces the pinky throats of the oxen. The sacrifice is offered. A blessin is pronounced on the sacred plant, the leaves and berries of which are believed to possess wonderful virtues against poison and disease. Then the ceremony—most solemn of all the Druid rites—is wound up by a banquet, probably consisting of the flesh of the sacrific
DRUID CUTTING THE MISTLETOE.
4. But there were bloodier scenes than this in the Druid worship. Within a huge cage of wickerwork, woven in imitation of the human form, a huddled heap of men and oxen were roasted alive in one great offering, to appease the wrath of some offended deity; and, as the wretched victims shrieked out in wordless agony amid the red-tongued flames, songs, shouted to the music of harps and the loud beating of drums, drowned their screams. Criminals and prisoners of war generally suffered this fearful death
5. The Druids, whose creed is thought to have grown out of Eastern fire-worship, paid homage to many gods. They worshipped the sun and the moon; and fire played a prominent part in all their great festivals—the first of May,DRUID CUTTING THE MISTLETOE. Midsummer Eve, the last day of October, and that day of March on which the mistletoe was cut. They also worshipped the serpent, and are said to have worn, hung from the neck, a ball like an apple, generally cased in gold, which they called a serpent's egg.
6. They had other deities, whom Caesar calls by the Roman names, placing Mercury first, and after him Apollo, Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva. That the soul was immortal they believed; but the simplicity of that doctrine was marred by their notion that it passed through a series of brute bodies before it was received into the abode of final bliss
7. According to the wont of ancient priesthoods, they clothed their rites and their lives with a mystery which the common people beheld with the deepest awe. The shadowy oak glades, which formed their college halls, were thronged with noble youths, who devoted many years to the study of those charms and songs in which the secrets of the order were embodied. These verses were never committed to writing, although the Druids wrote their common documents in the Greek character. They studied the stars intently; and their woodland life enabled them to acquire a knowledge of herbs, with which they performed some simple cures.
8. They sat as judges in the weightiest matters. The true wielder of the British sceptre then was the Arch-Druid, who held the keys of life and death, of peace and war. A word from those powerful lips could shut a man out even from the hearts in which his own blood ran. None dared give food or fi re to the wretch on whom the ban had fallen. Need we wonder that the British kings—huge swordsmen though they were—were merely puppets in the hands of this dark and merciless superstition?
中文阅读
1. 年复一年，每当3月10日过后，一弯银月又挂到了天边。新月第六日的夜晚，留着胡子的德鲁伊长老们正在橡树的黯淡树荫下庄严踱步，被橡树林所包围的便是他们用石头搭成的圆形神殿。在漫长的夏日里，他们每天都会注目于一颗老树上的槲寄生，看着它在浓密的枝叶空隙中慢慢长出淡黄的叶子。而当秋天来临，尖尖的橡树叶子渐渐凋落，槲寄生依然在树冠中心茂盛地生长，最终留下一丛神圣的青绿悬挂在裸露的枝干上，这标志着槲寄生已成熟，可以用金刀来切割它们了。苹果树是这种寄生植物最喜爱的寄主树种，而橡树上面长势很好的槲寄生就非常少见了，因此它们被视为一种超凡神迹的特别标志。
2. 德鲁伊大长老是一位拥有超凡精神力量的神职祭司，笼罩在远远超出王权可以授予的神圣与高贵的光环之中。现在他正呼唤着他的僧众，排成队列向着橡树缓步走去。这些橡树之子们造型特别，短发、冉冉的胡须、宽松的长袍，把他们和外围充满敬畏的人群明显区别开来。他们正在人群的夹道中缓慢经过，一步一步走向神坛。在这过程中，可能还有粗陋的圣歌乐曲的伴奏，和着音乐的拍子。这个神圣岛屿上贞洁的少女们正在祈求风雨，以及祷告疾病的康复。
3. 两头乳白色的公牛孤零零地被牵过来，它们的犄角被绳子拴在橡树树干上。大长老爬上树，用一把金刀砍断树上的槲寄生，让它们滚落在雪白的长袍上，长袍在地上伸展得很开，以避免槲寄生直接接触地面，这样会丧失魔力。这时另外一把刀则刺向白牛粉红的喉咙，于是献祭就大功告成了。祷告便在这神圣的植物旁开始宣读，人们相信槲寄生的叶子和浆果拥有神奇的美德与法力，能抵御罪恶与疾病。接下来的仪式，就是德鲁伊信仰中最庄严神圣一刻：一场生肉盛宴。
4. 但在德鲁伊信仰中，还有远比这更为血腥的场面。在一个巨大的用枝条编制成的人型笼子里，挤成一堆的人和牛正被活生生地放在火上烤，他们认为这是上好的祭品，可以用来消弭被冒犯的神灵的愤怒。被用来献祭的人在临死前的巨大痛苦中挣扎哀嚎，而火舌还在燃烧，圣歌还在唱响，竖琴还在演奏，鼓乐还在敲打，他们的尖叫早已被淹没得一干二净。罪犯和战争中的俘虏常常会面对这样可怕的死亡。
5. 关于德鲁伊的教义，有人认为是起源于东方的拜火教，并且崇拜许多神灵，是多神教。他们崇拜太阳和月亮，火在他们的所有重大节日中也都有着突出的意义，比如五月首日节、仲夏夜、十月尾日节，还有三月份砍获槲寄生的日子。他们还崇拜蛇，据说还在脖子上挂着一个像苹果一样的球，球外面包裹着黄金，他们把这玩意叫蛇蛋。
6. 他们还信奉其他神灵，若以恺撒的罗马叫法，这些神有：太阳神、宙斯神、战神、智慧女神
。他们相信灵魂不朽，但这一简单质朴的教义却被它们的另一个观念毁坏了，那就是灵魂在被最终摄回极乐世界之前，还要在牲畜的身体内流转一番。
7. 这些远古神职祭司的日常习俗，把他们的仪式与生活都蒙上了一层神秘的色彩，也让普通人深深敬畏。橡树林也变成了他们的学院会堂，年轻的贵族们常常在此济济一堂，花费很多年学习德鲁伊教义中的咒文和圣歌，社会秩序便在无形中隐秘地开始了孕育。但在学习的过程中，这些咒文严禁被写下来，只能心传口授，不过德鲁伊长老们可以用希腊文撰写文书。他们还专心致志地研究星象，林地的生活也使得他们获取了一些关于草药的知识，让他们能应付一些简单的疾病治疗。
8. 在一些重大事情上，他们还充任法官。在那个时代，德鲁伊大长老成了真正意义上的不列颠王权的行使者，他们能决定人的生死，也能决定国家的战争与和平。他们的一句话，就可以让一个人被排斥在亲族之外，没有人敢给这些被降罪的人提供食物和温暖。我们不禁要问，在如此黑暗残忍的恐怖迷信中，不列颠的国王们，也就是那些伟岸的剑客们，难道就仅仅是别人手中的木偶吗？