The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

This chapter introduces the principle of “vicarious suffering,” whereby a burden of misfortune or sin can be unloaded onto another person, animal, or thing. He begins by describing beneficial transferences of human suffering onto inanimate objects, then he proceeds to illustrate ways in which these objects are used to transfer the suffering to a third party. In other cases, a functionary or priest voluntarily takes on the suffering or sin of a sick or dying individual.

In the second section, Frazer distinguishes the direct or immediate expulsion of ills, which are invisible and immaterial, and the indirect or mediate expulsion of ills through a scapegoat. The direct expulsion involves rituals or practices aimed at directly removing or banishing the negative forces or illnesses, whereas the indirect expulsion involves transferring these ills onto a scapegoat, which is then driven away or destroyed to carry the ills away from the community. This differentiation highlights the varied ways cultures attempt to purify themselves from harmful influences.

In the third section, Frazer provides examples of mediate expulsion, first through inanimate vessels and effigies and then in animal or human sacrifices. He concludes that the temporary bestowal of divine kingship always has this ultimate sacrificial purpose and that the idea of the messiah or Buddha (a sacrificial man-god) stems from these rituals.