ad chief was wrapped
up in the hide of an ox before being buried. [223] In the Vedic
horse-sacrifice in India the horse was stifled in robes. The chief
queen approached him; a cloak having been thrown over them both,
she performed a repulsively obscene act symbolising the transmission
to her of his fructifying powers. [224] In other cases the king was
identified with the corn-spirit, and in this manner he also, it may
be suggested, represented the common life of the people.

The belief that the king was the incarnation of the common life of the
people led to the most absurd restrictions on his liberty and conduct,
a few instances of which from the large collection in _The Golden
Bough_ have been quoted in the article on Nai. Thus in an old account
of the daily life of the Mikado it is stated: "In ancient times he
was obliged to sit on the throne for some hours every morning, with
the imperial crown on his head, but to sit altogether like a statue,
without stirring either hands or feet, head or eyes, nor indeed any
part of his body, because, by this means, it was thought that he could
preserve peace and tranquillity in his empire; for if, unfortunately,
he turned himself on one side or the other, or if he looked a good
while towards any part of his dominions, it was apprehended that war,
famine, fire or some great misfortune was near at hand to desolate
the country." [225] Here it would appear that by sitting absolutely
immobile the king conferred the quality of tranquillity on the common
life of his people incarnate in his person; but by looking too long in
any one direction he would cause a severe disturbance of the common
life in the part to which he looked. And when the Israelites were
fighting with the Amalekites, so long as Moses held up his hands
the Israelites prevailed; but when his hands hung down they gave
way before the enemy. Here apparently the common life was held to
be centred in Moses, and when he held his arms up it was vigorous,
but declined as he let them down. Similarly it was often thought that
the king should be killed as soon as his bodily strength showed signs
of waning, so that the common life might be renewed and saved from a
similar decay. Even the appearance of grey hair or the loss of a tooth
were sometimes considered sufficient reasons for putting the king
to death in Africa. [226] Another view was that any one who killed
the king was entitled to succeed him, because the life of the king,