rder the motley variety of local
worships and beliefs. For in this case the secondary character of the
myths is still more clearly marked. They are either products of early
philosophy, reflecting on the nature of the universe; or they are
political in scope, being designed to supply a thread of union between
the various worships of groups, originally distinct, which have been
united into one social or political organism; or, finally, they are due
to the free play of epic imagination. But philosophy, politics, and
poetry are something more, or something less, than religion pure and
simple.

There can be no doubt that, in the later stages of ancient religions,
mythology acquired an increased importance. In the struggle of
heathenism with scepticism on the one hand and Christianity on the
other, the supporters of the old traditional religions were driven to
search for ideas of a modern cast, which they could represent as the
true inner meaning of the traditional rites. To this end they laid hold
of the old myths, and applied to them an allegorical system of
interpretation. Myth interpreted by the aid of allegory became the
favourite means of infusing a new significance into ancient forms. But
the theories thus developed are the falsest of false guides as to the
original meaning of the old religions.

Religion in primitive times was not a system of belief with practical
applications; it was a body of fixed traditional practices, to which
every member of society conformed as a matter of course. Men would not
be men if they agreed to do certain things without having a reason for
their action; but in ancient religion the reason was not first
formulated as a doctrine and then expressed in practice, but conversely,
practice preceded doctrinal theory. Men form general rules of conduct
before they begin to express general principles in words; political
institutions are older than political theories, and in like manner
religious institutions are older than religious theories. This analogy
is not arbitrarily chosen, for in fact the parallelism in ancient
society between religious and political institutions is complete. In
each sphere great importance was attached to form and precedent, but the
explanation why the precedent was followed consisted merely of a legend
as to its first establishment. That the precedent, once established, was
authoritative did not appear to require any proof. The rules of society
were based on precedent,