The chapter entitled Sympathetic Magic is hilarious. An obviously sceptical Frazer sorts through the various aims of magic, sarcastically recounting every instance in which magic was deemed infallible. "The ancients held that if a person suffering from jaundice looked sharply at a stone-curlew, and the bird looked steadily at him, he was cured of the disease... So well recognised among bird-fanciers was this valuable property of the stone curlew that when they had one of these birds for sale they kept it carefully covered, lest a jaundiced person should look at it and be cured for nothing." (Frazer 18) The entire paragraph preceding and succeeding this line racked me with laughter. I had no idea this book would be funny and I am pleasantly surprised...thank you Frazer for entertaining me in the midst of your undeniably dense capitulation of Greek mythology.
Another laughter-inspiring passage: "One of the great merits of homeopathic magic is that it enables the cure to be performed on the person of the doctor instead of on that of his victim, who is thus relieved of all the trouble and inconvenience, while he sees his medical man writhe in anguish before him." I can just see the patient watching, holding his chin between his fingers, cringing (laughing inwardly) and saying "So...do you think its working?", while he watches this ridiculous farce unfold. Its no wonder people were sick and seeking the help of magicians. I, personally, would love it if my sicknesses were cured by another person releiving me of the less pleasant parts of recovery. Also, if the patient were of a mind to procure some dark entertainment, to spiritually cleanse them during their sickness, a few laughs, watching their neighborhood physician fling himself on the ground and writhe around, would probably suffice. It's a win-win really.
No comments:
Post a Comment