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ying the spirit of vegetation at any time and above all in spring； when his services are most wanted？ The only probable answer to this question seems to be given in the explanation already proposed of the custom of killing the divine king or priest。 The divine life； incarnate in a material and mortal body； is liable to be tainted and corrupted by the weakness of the frail medium in which it is for a time enshrined； and if it is to be saved from the increasing enfeeblement which it must necessarily share with its human incarnation as he advances in years； it must be detached from him before； or at least as soon as； he exhibits signs of decay； in order to be transferred to a vigorous successor。 This is done by killing the old representative of the god and conveying the divine spirit from him to a new incarnation。 The killing of the god； that is； of his human incarnation； is therefore merely a necessary step to his revival or resurrection in a better form。 Far from being an extinction of the divine spirit； it is only the beginning of a purer and stronger manifestation of it。 If this explanation holds good of the custom of killing divine kings and priests in general； it is still more obviously applicable to the custom of annually killing the representative of the tree…spirit or spirit of vegetation in spring。 For the decay of plant life in winter is readily interpreted by primitive man as an enfeeblement of the spirit of vegetation； the spirit has； he thinks； grown old and weak and must therefore be renovated by being slain and brought to life in a younger and fresher form。 Thus the killing of the representative of the tree…spirit in spring is regarded as a means to promote and quicken the growth of vegetation。 For the killing of the tree…spirit is associated always （we must suppose） implicitly； and sometimes explicitly also； with a revival or resurrection of him in a more youthful and vigorous form。 So in the Saxon and Thüringen custom； after the Wild Man has been shot he is brought to life again by a doctor； and in the Wurmlingen ceremony there figures a Dr。 Iron…Beard； who probably once played a similar part； certainly in another spring ceremony； which will be described presently； Dr。 Iron…Beard pretends to restore a dead man to life。 But of this revival or resurrection of the god we shall have more to say anon。
The points of similarity between these North European personages and the subject of our enquiry 〃the King of the Wood or priest of Nemi〃 are sufficiently striking。 In these northern maskers we see kings； whose dress of bark and leaves along with the hut of green boughs and the fir…trees； under which they hold their court； proclaim them unmistakably as； like their Italian counterpart； Kings of the Wood。 Like him they die a violent death； but like him they may escape from it for a time by their bodily strength and agility； for in several of these northern customs the flight and pursuit of the king is a prominent part of the ceremony； and in one case at least if the king can outrun his pursuers he retains his life and his office for another year。 In this last case the king in fact holds office on condition of running for his life once a year； just as the King of Calicut in later times held office on condition of defending his life against all comers once every twelve years； and just as the priest of Nemi held office on condition of defending himself against any assault at any time。 In every one of these instances the life of the god…man is prolonged on condition of his showing； in a severe physical contest of fight or flight； that his bodily strength is not decayed； and that； therefore； the violent death； which sooner or later is inevitable； may for the present be postponed。 With regard to flight it is noticeable that flight figured conspicuously both in the legend and in the practice of the King of the Wood。 He had to be a runaway slave in memory of the flight of Orestes； the traditional founder of the worship； hence the Kings of the Wood are described by an ancient writer as both strong of hand and fleet of foot。 Perhaps if we knew the ritual of the Arician grove fully we might find that the king was allowed a chance for his life by flight； like his Bohemian brother。 I have already conjectured that the annual flight of the priestly king at Rome （regifugium） was at first a flight of the same kind； in other words； that he was originally one of those divine kings who are either put to death after a fixed period or allowed to prove by the strong hand or the fleet foot that their divinity is vigorous and unimpaired。 One more point of resemblance may be noted between the Italian King of the Wood and his northern counterparts。 In Saxony and Thüringen the representative of the tree…spirit； after being killed； is brought to life again by a doctor。 This is exactly what legend affirmed to have happened to the first King of the Wood at Nemi； Hippolytus or Virbius； who after he had been killed by his horses was restored to life by the physician Aesculapius。 Such a legend tallies well with the theory that the slaying of the King of the Wood was only a step to his revival or resurrection in his successor。 2。 Burying the Carnival
THUS far I have offered an explanation of the rule which required that the priest of Nemi should be slain by his successor。 The explanation claims to be no more than probable； our scanty knowledge of the custom and of its history forbids it to be more。 But its probability will be augmented in proportion to the extent to which the motives and modes of thought which it assumes can be proved to have operated in primitive society。 Hitherto the god with whose death and resurrection we have been chiefly concerned has been the tree…god。 But if I can show that the custom of killing the god and the belief in his resurrection originated； or at least existed； in the hunting and pastoral stage of society； when the slain god was an animal； and that it survived into the agricultural stage； when the slain god was the corn or a human being representing the corn； the probability of my explanation will have been considerably increased。 This I shall attempt to do in the sequel； and in the course of the discussion I hope to clear up some obscurities which still remain； and to answer some objections which may have suggested themselves to the reader。
We start from the point at which we left offthe spring customs of European peasantry。 Besides the ceremonies already described there are two kindred sets of observances in which the simulated death of a divine or supernatural being is a conspicuous feature。 In one of them the being whose death is dramatically represented is a personification of the Carnival； in the other it is Death himself。 The former ceremony falls naturally at the end of the Carnival； either on the last day of that merry season； namely Shrove Tuesday； or on the first day of Lent； namely Ash Wednesday。 The date of the other ceremonythe Carrying or Driving out of Death； as it is commonly calledis not so uniformly fixed。 Generally it is the fourth Sunday in Lent； which hence goes by the name of Dead Sunday； but in some places the celebration falls a week earlier； in others； as among the Czechs of Bohemia； a wee