and much light has been thrown on the genesis and growth
of myths by studies of existing popular customs in civilized
communities.[1531]

+878+. Interest in the subject has now become general, and collections
of material are being made all over the world.[1532] At the same time it
is recognized that every local mass of myths must be studied first by
itself and then in connection with all other known material, and that
great caution must be exercised in dealing with questions of origin,
transmission, and survival. Archaeological and geographical discoveries
have widened the known area of human life on earth; it is seen that the
history of man's development is more complicated than was formerly
supposed.

+879+. We are still without a general survey of myths arranged in some
orderly fashion.[1533] The material for such a collection is scattered
through a great number of publications, in which the mythical stories
are not always treated critically. The most useful principle of
tabulation, perhaps, would be an arrangement according to motifs, under
which geographical or ethnological and geographical relations might be
noted. At the present time it would be possible only to make a beginning
in such a work, since the obtainable material is not all recorded, and
the complicated character of many myths makes an arrangement by place
and motif difficult. Still, even an incomplete digest would be of
service to students of mythology and would pave the way for a more
comprehensive work. The importance of the study of mythology for the
general history of religions is becoming more and more manifest. This
study, in its full form, includes, of course, psychological
investigation as well as collections of statistics; but the psychology
finds its material in the facts--we must first know what men believe,
and then explain why they believe.

+880+. It must, however, be added that myths have influenced mainly the
dogmas and ceremonies of religion--their part in more intimate or
spiritual worship, the converse of the worshiper with the deity, has
been comparatively slight. Religious ceremonies are ordinary social
customs and forms transferred to dealings with supernatural Powers.
Dogmas are quasi-philosophical expressions of conceptions concerning the
nature of these Powers and their relations with men, and sometimes
contain mythical material which is then introduced into worship; if, for
example, a man is divinized and worship is paid