第96章 Chapter 12 Devout Observances(6)

It may also be noted that the devout edifices are invariably of an archaic cast in their structure and fittings. So also the servants， both of the chieftain and of the divinity， must appear in the presence clothed in garments of a special， ornate character. The characteristic economic feature of this apparel is a more than ordinarily accentuated conspicuous waste， together with the secondary feature -- more accentuated in the case of the priestly servants than in that of the servants or courtiers of the barbarian potentate -- that this court dress must always be in some degree of an archaic fashion. Also the garments worn by the lay members of the community when they come into the presence， should be of a more expensive kind than their everyday apparel. Here， again， the parallelism between the usage of the chieftain's audience hall and that of the sanctuary is fairly well marked. In this respect there is required a certain ceremonial "cleanness" of attire， the essential feature of which， in the economic respect， is that the garments worn on these occasions should carry as little suggestion as may be of any industrial occupation or of any habitual addiction to such employments as are of material use.

This requirement of conspicuous waste and of ceremonial cleanness from the traces of industry extends also to the apparel， and in a less degree to the food， which is consumed on sacred holidays； that is to say， on days set apart -- tabu -- for the divinity or for some member of the lower ranks of the preternatural leisure class. In economic theory， sacred holidays are obviously to be construed as a season of vicarious leisure performed for the divinity or saint in whose name the tabu is imposed and to whose good repute the abstention from useful effort on these days is conceived to inure. The characteristic feature of all such seasons of devout vicarious leisure is a more or less rigid tabu on all activity that is of human use. In the case of fast-days the conspicuous abstention from gainful occupations and from all pursuits that (materially) further human life is further accentuated by compulsory abstinence from such consumption as would conduce to the comfort or the fullness of life of the consumer.

It may be remarked， parenthetically， that secular holidays are of the same origin， by slightly remoter derivation. They shade off by degrees from the genuinely sacred days， through an intermediate class of semi-sacred birthdays of kings and great men who have been in some measure canonized， to the deliberately invented holiday set apart to further the good repute of some notable event or some striking fact， to which it is intended to do honor， or the good fame of which is felt to be in need of repair. The remoter refinement in the employment of vicarious leisure as a means of augmenting the good repute of a phenomenon or datum is seen at its best in its very latest application. A day of vicarious leisure has in some communities been set apart as Labor Day. This observance is designed to augment the prestige of the fact of labor， by the archaic， predatory method of a compulsory abstention from useful effort. To this datum of labor-in-general is imputed the good repute attributable to the pecuniary strength put in evidence by abstaining from labor.

Sacred holidays， and holidays generally， are of the nature of a tribute levied on the body of the people. The tribute is paid in vicarious leisure， and the honorific effect which emerges is imputed to the person or the fact for whose good repute the holiday has been instituted. Such a tithe of vicarious leisure is a perquisite of all members of the preternatural leisure class and is indispensable to their good fame. Un saint qu'on ne ch鬽e pas is indeed a saint fallen on evil days.

Besides this tithe of vicarious leisure levied on the laity， there are also special classes of persons -- the various grades of priests and hierodules -- whose time is wholly set apart for a similar service. It is not only incumbent on the priestly class to abstain from vulgar labor， especially so far as it is lucrative or is apprehended to contribute to the temporal well-being of mankind. The tabu in the case of the priestly class goes farther and adds a refinement in the form of an injunction against their seeking worldly gain even where it may be had without debasing application to industry. It is felt to he unworthy of the servant of the divinity， or rather unworthy the dignity of the divinity whose servant he is， that he should seek material gain or take thought for temporal matters. "Of all contemptible things a man who pretends to be a priest of God and is a priest to his own comforts and ambitions is the most contemptible." There is a line of discrimination， which a cultivated taste in matters of devout observance finds little difficulty in drawing， between such actions and conduct as conduce to the fullness of human life and such as conduce to the good fame of the anthropomorphic divinity； and the activity of the priestly class， in the ideal barbarian scheme， falls wholly on the hither side of this line. What falls within the range of economics falls below the proper level of solicitude of the priesthood in its best estate. Such apparent exceptions to this rule as are afforded， for instance， by some of the medieval orders of monks (the members of which actually labored to some useful end)， scarcely impugn the rule. These outlying orders of the priestly class are not a sacerdotal element in the full sense of the term. And it is noticeable also that these doubtfully sacerdotal orders， which countenanced their members in earning a living， fell into disrepute through offending the sense of propriety in the communities where they existed.