The Golden Bough

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. The King of the Wood

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 1-9

3. Priestly Kings

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 9-11

4. Sympathetic Magic

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 11-48

5. Magic and Religion

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 48-60

6. The Magical Control of the Weather

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 60-83

7. Magicians as Kings

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 83-91

8. Incarnate Human Gods

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 91-106

9. Departmental Kings of Nature

   • James George Frazer

   Pages 106-109

10. The Worship of Trees

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 109-120

11. Relics of Tree-Worship in Modern Europe

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 120-135

12. The Influence of the Sexes on Vegetation

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 135-139

13. The Sacred Marriage

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 139-146

14. The Kings of Rome and Alba

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 146-151

15. The Succession to the Kingdom in Ancient Latium

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 152-158

16. The Worship of the Oak

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 159-161

17. Dianus and Diana

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 161-167

18. The Burden of Royalty

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 168-178

19. The Perils of the Soul

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 178-194

20. Tabooed Acts

    • James George Frazer

    Pages 194-202

Sir James George Frazer originally set out to discover the origins of one ancient custom in Classical Rome - the plucking of the Golden Bough from a tree in the sacred grove of Diana, and the murderous succession of the priesthood there - and was led by his invetigations into a twenty-five year study of primitive customs, superstitions, magic and myth throughout the world. The monumental thirteen-volume work which resulted has been a rich source of anthropological material and a literary masterpiece for more than half a century. Both the wealth of his illustrative material and the broad sweep of his argument can be appreciated in this very readable single volume.

• Europe
• nature
• religion
• ritual
• son
• Transference
• vegetation
• work

'In the condensed volume which lies before us we can grasp the masterly plan of the whole work; the mind is fascinated by the author's skill as a constructive thinker and a framer of concepts, and also as a compiler of picturesque detail.' - Spectator

'...equally remarkable for its vast assembly of facts and its unusual charm of presentation. Few men of such learning have written more attractively.' - George Sampson, Concise Cambridge History of English Literature

'A classic; theoretically outmoded, but still informative, stimulating and highly readable.' - Maurice Freedman and I. Schapera, Reader's Guide

• Trinity College, Cambridge, UK

  James George Frazer

• Oxford, UK

  James George Frazer

• Cambridge and Durham, UK

  James George Frazer

• Glasgow, UK

  James George Frazer

• Universities of Paris and Strasbourg, France

  James George Frazer

SIR JAMES GEORGE FRAZER (1854-1941) was one of the arly pioneers in the sociological study of religion. He began his career as a classicist but it is for his work in social anthropology that he is best remembered. His most famous work, The Golden Bough first appeared in 1890 in a two-volume edition but was twice revised and expanded, the third edition appearing in twelve volumes in 1911-15. Frazer's other works include Psyche's Task, Totemism and Exogamy, The Belief in Immortality and The Worship of the Dead and Folklore in the Old Testament.

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