The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion: A New Abridgement from the Second and Third Editions (Oxford World's Classics)

Book Description

A classic study of the beliefs and institutions of mankind, and the progress through magic and religion to scientific thought, The Golden Bough has a unique status in modern anthropology and literature. First published in 1890, The Golden Bough was eventually issued in a twelve-volume edition (1906-15) which was abridged in 1922 by the author and his wife. That abridgement has never been reconsidered for a modern audience. In it some of the more controversial passages were dropped, including Frazer's daring speculations on the Crucifixion of Christ. For the first time this one-volume edition restores Frazer's bolder theories and sets them within the framework of a valuable introduction and notes. A seminal work of modern anthropolgy, The Golden Bough also influenced many twentieth-century writers, including D H Lawrence, T S Eliot, and Wyndham Lewis. Its discussion of magical types, the sacrificial killing of kings, the dying god, and the scapegoat is given fresh pertinence in this new edition.

Customer Reviews:

Golden Bough.......2007-09-26

A approach of academic study to common reader interest. A excellent book for ritual understanding. The Frazer's Golden Bough is one of more sold around the world and is also one of more controversial within academic society because its author broken one of its dogmas - written without the academic language vicious.

An influential work on four 20th century seminal works.......2007-09-23

This book is a seminal work because it had a crucial influence on four important works of the twentieth century: T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land, Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, and Francis Ford Coppolla's movie Apocalypse Now, screenplay by John Milius.

Sir James George Frazer's book written in 1922 was a groundbreaking work on ancient religion, paganism, and roots of early Christianity. Frazer does an in-depth examination of the sacrificial killing of god-kings to ensure bountiful harvests, which Frazer traces through several cultures, including in his elaborations the myths of Adonis, Osiris, and Balder.

Frazer spent his life writing fifteen volumes of history of myth and religion. This book sums up his theory of magic and its connections to paganism, as well as fusing ideas from Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual To Romance and Gnostic texts that serve as a link to early Christianity's influence from ancient nature cults. His chapter titles say much about where his work goes and why it is so influential on iconic twentieth century works. The King of the Wood explains the original nature of the task imposed upon the hero, it undoubtedly influenced both Campbell's and Coppola's works. The Myths of Adonis, Attis, and Osiris looks to establish a chain of descent connecting early Aryan and Babylonian ritual with classic, Medieval and modern forms of nature worship. Our Debt to the Savage explains the role of the Medicine Man or doctor in fertility ritual. The Killing of the Devine King analyzes how this title is prevalent in so many of humankind's legends, and was a definite influence on Coppola's Colonel Kurtz character. Sacrifice of the King's Son regarded as an object of awe certainly influenced The Da Vinci Code.

Frazer's book is interesting and fun to read. I especially became interested in it from the movie Apocalypse Now. There is a scene in the movie that shows Colonel Kurtz's nightstand in his cave. Weston's book is one of three on the nightstand. The other two are Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which the film is based on. The other book is Jessie L. Weston's book From Ritual To Romance. Anyone wanting to understand the movie Apocalypse Now, especially the character of Colonel Kurtz, and what Milius and Copolla were trying to tell their audience need to read these three books!

As a graduate student reading in philosophy and history I recommend this book for anyone interested in literature, myth, history, philosophy, religion and fans of Apocalypse Now.

The real deal.......2007-07-04

I'll skip reviewing the content and speak to book's edition. This is the one that was abridged by the author from a multi-volume, earlier edition. In later years, the tome was watered down and censored due to authorial speculation on the nature of Jesus. All the controversial ideas are present in this particular edition, so it is safe to purchase it and not feel cheated.

Finally!.......2007-01-03

An "uncensored" abridged version,
full of speculation about Christ. Sure to get the evangelicals lighting their torches,
to storm this Castle of Prometheus.

The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer.......2006-06-29

This is a wonderful book on the origin of beliefs, culture and
classic ceremonies. For instance, the Native American Indians
regarded a person's name as a part of their personality.
In Bohemia, children carry a straw man out of the village to
cast out death. Aphrodite and Old Paphos constitute one of the
most celebrated shrines in the ancient world. In death and
resurrection, Egyptians celebrated life after death. At Lagos in
Guinea, young women were impaled by custom after spring equinox
in order to secure a good crop that year. Festivities were
prepared in order to coincide with the summer and winter solstices.

The work would be perfect for students of world culture,
fine arts, language and literature.

The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion

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The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
James, George Frazer
Manufacturer: Cosimo Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1596056851

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The notion of a man-god, or of a human being endowed with divine or supernatural powers, belongs essentially to that earlier period of religious history in which gods and men are still viewed as beings of much the same order, and before they are divided by the impassable gulf which, to later thought, opens out between them. Strange, therefore, as may seem to us the idea of a god incarnate in human form, it has nothing very startling for early man, who sees in a man-god or a god-man only a higher degree of the same supernatural powers which he arrogates in perfect good faith to himself. -from "Chapter VII: Incarnate Human Gods" In 1890, James George Frazer began publishing The Golden Bough, his monumental study of myth, ritual, and religion, which would, by 1936, run to 13 volumes and establish him as a pioneer in the study of religion as an aspect of culture. This abridged edition, assembled in 1922, condenses this fundamental work to one readable volume that is still a source for modern anthropology, thanks to its expansive discussions ancient cultish practices and their connections to the rites of modern Christianity. In eloquent prose, Frazer discusses legends of the woods, sympathetic magic, magicians as kings, the worship of trees, the concept of the sacred marriage, the links between priestly and royal power, ritual royal sacrifices, the concept of "eating the god," the myths of Osiris, Adonis, Isis, and other ancient deities, and much more. Lovers of mythology will be enraptured by this book, which draws all of human belief under one unifying umbrella, celebrating myth and ritual as part of the basis of all human culture. Scottish anthropologist SIR JAMES GEORGE FRAZER (1854-1941) also wrote Man, God, and Immortality (1927) and Creation and Evolution in Primitive Cosmogonies (1935).

The Illustrated Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion

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Man's blunders on the way to knowledge.
History Buffs welcome!

The Illustrated Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
James George Frazer
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684818507

Customer Reviews:

Man's blunders on the way to knowledge........2002-02-01

Given the limited time I had to read the book, I skipped passages that looked to me as rubbing in the major team. I am not sure that the author's aim was to rub anything in; in fact, I am sure it was not. It only looked so from my personal perspective. As far as I can judge, the purpose of the author was to unearth as many instances of pre-religion rituals as he could find out about. He achieved his goal most brilliantly and honestly. Evidence to his honesty is the fact that originally these were 12 tomes, mostly due to references to sources. Removal of the references allowed for compression to one tome.

So, what did I learn from the book?

From the very start, people desired to control nature in order to gain better control over their lives - for prosperity and happiness.

However, knowledge about nature was too skimpy for that goal to be achieved. People observed the sequences of natural events, and assumed that in every sequential pair of events the former is the cause of the latter. We know now that that does not have to be true, and the sequence itself heavily depends on what the observer sees as sequential events.

Based on this more often than not erroneous causal relationship, people established a wide variety of rituals to influence natural events. When after the ritual the desired event did happen people repeated the ritual every time they desired the event. When after the ritual the desired event failed to happen people dropped the ritual or blamed the failure on less than perfect performance of the ritual.

These futile attempts to control nature lasted for many centuries. In order to dramatize the ritual people included in it sacrifices of other people, often the most beloved members of their families or the most valuable people of the community. Those rituals look to us as senseless murder. Even when there was no murder, people assumed that Nature, in order to comply, demands sacrifices in shape of self-denial of pleasure and infliction of pain and injury. People ended up being more than enslaved in a web of rituals. I say "more", because the slave master was the Man himself.

One could see as logical, if people were gradually gaining more factual knowledge about nature, by developing scientific methods and logic, and would replace the futile rituals with activities more similar to the ones we use now to utilize natural phenomena in our favour. Were that the course of Man's mental development, the whole phenomenon of religion could have been skipped.

However, that was not the course.

Frustrated by the inconsistency of the rituals' outcomes, people gave up and started delegating decisions to different gods. Instead of trying to control Nature by rituals, they started to worship gods to get favors from them. Eventually people united those many gods into one God. Then God's sons came along, each worshipped by different populations.

For many centuries religion diverted Man from collecting and systematizing factual knowledge about Nature, and by doing so mightily slowed down human progress toward a more rewarding life.

I can only guess what initiated Man's return to study of Nature. My guess is - the written word. The written word allowed for wider exchange of observations and thought between people removed from each other in space and time, and thereby allowed for the creation of a critical mass of thought that is strong enough to move the knowledge of Nature forward.

This book describes the beginnings of the torturous path of Man in quest to control Nature.

History Buffs welcome!.......2001-02-26

The Illustrated Golden Bough; A study in magic and religon, was a well written book that I would reccomend to those with a bit of time on their hands. It was thorough in it's information, but lacked a spicy sense of humor that would keep the reader glued to the pages. For those of you that are interested in history, this is a must read. It includes stuff from before Christianity and way into the witch doctors. I loved how it wrote about magic, without judging it. Over all, it was a little dry, but very informative.

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The golden bough;: A study in magic and religion
James George Frazer
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0006EULR2

Golden Bough: The Roots of Religion and Folklore

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An influential work on four 20th century seminal works
Fascinating yet slow
TYPICAL 19TH CENTURY RACIST TRACT
a century later and still going strong
A Good One to Start With

Golden Bough: The Roots of Religion and Folklore
James G. Frazer
Manufacturer: Gramercy
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0517336332
Release Date: 1993-09-04

Amazon.com

Before Joseph Campbell became the world's most famous practitioner of comparative mythology, there was Sir James George Frazer. The Golden Bough was originally published in two volumes in 1890, but Frazer became so enamored of his topic that over the next few decades he expanded the work sixfold, then in 1922 cut it all down to a single thick edition suitable for mass distribution. The thesis on the origins of magic and religion that it elaborates "will be long and laborious," Frazer warns readers, "but may possess something of the charm of a voyage of discovery, in which we shall visit many strange lands, with strange foreign peoples, and still stranger customs." Chief among those customs--at least as the book is remembered in the popular imagination--is the sacrificial killing of god-kings to ensure bountiful harvests, which Frazer traces through several cultures, including in his elaborations the myths of Adonis, Osiris, and Balder.

While highly influential in its day, The Golden Bough has come under harsh critical scrutiny in subsequent decades, with many of its descriptions of regional folklore and legends deemed less than reliable. Furthermore, much of its tone is rooted in a philosophy of social Darwinism--sheer cultural imperialism, really--that finds its most explicit form in Frazer's rhetorical question: "If in the most backward state of human society now known to us we find magic thus conspicuously present and religion conspicuously absent, may we not reasonably conjecture that the civilised races of the world have also at some period of their history passed through a similar intellectual phase?" (The truly civilized races, he goes on to say later, though not particularly loudly, are the ones whose minds evolve beyond religious belief to embrace the rational structures of scientific thought.) Frazer was much too genteel to state plainly that "primitive" races believe in magic because they are too stupid and backwards to know any better; instead he remarks that "a savage hardly conceives the distinction commonly drawn by more advanced peoples between the natural and the supernatural." And he certainly was not about to make explicit the logical extension of his theories--"that Christian legend, dogma, and ritual" (to quote Robert Graves's summation of Frazer in The White Goddess) "are the refinement of a great body of primitive and barbarous beliefs." Whatever modern readers have come to think of the book, however, its historical significance and the eloquence with which Frazer attempts to develop what one might call a unifying theory of anthropology cannot be denied. --Ron Hogan

Book Description

A world classic.

The Golden Bough describes our ancestors' primitive methods of worship, sex practices, strange rituals and festivals. Disproving the popular thought that primitive life was simple, this monumental survey shows that savage man was enmeshed in a tangle of magic, taboos, and superstitions. Revealed here is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization, from the modification of his weird and often bloodthirsty customs to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

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The origins of magic, myth and religion are examined in this fascinating classic of anthropology.

Customer Reviews:

An influential work on four 20th century seminal works.......2007-09-23

Fascinating yet slow.......2007-03-30

Sit back and let Frazier lead you through a compendium of European myths and Classical cultures. It's fascinating for a while, but it's one of the few books I've tried repeatedly to finish.

Why is anyone buying this particular edition? The one listed as a "Board Book" with ISBN 0020955707 is IDENTICAL in text and covers, it just has a different publisher name. And it's significantly cheaper, if purchased used.

TYPICAL 19TH CENTURY RACIST TRACT.......2007-01-28

nothing really extraordinary here. lots of slandering dark-skinned peoples with the word "savages" thereby excusing genocidal and land-grabbing actions by the more "civilized" Xtian believing "aryans" who of course have evolved beyond all that superstition by emblazoning their one true god on their only appropriate place of worship--dollar bills.

a century later and still going strong.......2005-10-27

This book is veritable attic full of folklore and ritual. But, like an attic, it is sometimes dusty and overstuffed. First published in 1922 and hardly out of print since, the author states it began as a study of a curious practice in a grove near Nemi, Italy in classical times of the killing of a local divine wood king/priest by his successor. His studies lead him to research one thing after another, which eventually became a multi-volume treatise on many of the ritual and folk practices of the world, especially in regards to gods of trees, vegetation and grain, and other resurrection myths.

At times it is a difficult read as the author does not have the current sense of treating other cultures as different, rather than "lesser", than ours, but despite repeated references to "savages" he presents practices and customs rather fairly and non-judgementally. It's only fault lies in it's length, perhaps, though this may be attributed to modern short attention spans, though it does seem to provide so many examples of a practice that I often thought five examples would have sufficed where he used twenty or more.

A curious thing, when I read this any shred of belief I might have had left in the Christ mythos was shattered with the detailed descriptions of other gods of resurrection. Undoubtedly without meaning to, Frazer presents such a clear picture of the rites and myths concerning Adonis, Attis, Osiris, among others, that you realize how little of the Christ myth (if anything) is original. This, of course, is not to disparage Christian believers, as my gods come as much out of myth as theirs, and so it is just as valid, but even when one has been a pagan as long as I have, there still remains some shred, I think, of a person that wonders if the original religion of our childhood might not be valid.

In any case, this is a long and interesting read. I originally picked it up after encountering numerous references in other pagan texts over the years to "Frazer's theory of the Divine King", etc., and finally wanted to read the work for myself. I don't regret it, and I don't think you will either, if you approach this book with patience when you have some time to devote to it.

A Good One to Start With.......2005-01-18

I got this book a long time ago when I was heavily into HP Lovecraft. Something about HPL's writing strikes a chord - even though it's cheesy, something about it feels TRUE, and that's scary ... so I started chasing down his sources, to read what he had read, in order to make sense of the feelings his writing evokes. The Golden Bough was the first one I found, probably because it is still widely available and can be found in most bookstores. HPL always put it on his doomed occultist characters' bookshelves alongside the Necronomicon, "The Witch Cult in Western Europe" (which does exist and can be bought here at Amazon!), and the "Unausprechlichen Kulten" of Von Juntz.
In the "Golden Bough" Sir Frazer takes the basic premise of explaining the strange rite of succession of the priest at Nemi, and uses it as a launch-pad to go into a long, drawn-out discussion of the roots of magic and superstition, and how so-called "primitive" beliefs have been common to all cultures in a certain stage of their development, all over the world.
The subject matter is fascinating, but Frazer's writing style is very dry, very British, very turn-of-the-(20th)century academic ... and he rambles. Some chapters he seems to be lost on a sidetrack, distracted by the unending cascade of interesting facts and anecdotes, but ultimately he returns to the main idea just when you thought he had lost it forever. The contrast between the "holy crap" amazement of what he's telling you and the soothing, hypnotic monotone of his written voice actually gives me a strangely pleasant tingling sensation along my spine after about 15 minutes of reading.
Of course I don't expect everyone (or anyone at all, for that matter) to have such a visceral reaction, but most readers with any interest in the shadowy depths of human thought and spirituality will enjoy this book immensely.

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The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
James George Frazer
Manufacturer: IndyPublish.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1404304789

The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion: Part 1. The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings. Volume 1

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The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion: Part 1. The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings. Volume 1
Sir James George Frazer
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1402183461
Release Date: 2000-11-22

Book Description

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1922 edition by Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London.

The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion: Part 4. Adonis, Attis, Osiris. Volume 1

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The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion: Part 4. Adonis, Attis, Osiris. Volume 1
Sir James George Frazer
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1402131844
Release Date: 2000-11-22

Book Description

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1922 edition by Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London. Third edition, revised and enlarged. In two volumes.

The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion: Part 4. Adonis, Attis, Osiris. Volume 2

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The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion: Part 4. Adonis, Attis, Osiris. Volume 2
Sir James George Frazer
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1402131860
Release Date: 2000-11-22

Book Description

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1922 edition by Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London.

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The Golden Bough - A Study in Magic and Religion
Sir James George Frazer
Manufacturer: MacMillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GLQ24Q

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