for the origin of tales told about
the gods: it also explained the origin of the gods, about whom the
tales were told. It is a theory of the origin, not merely of
mythology, but also of polytheism.

Thus, even on Max Mueller's theory, mythology is the outcome of
reflection--of reflection upon the doings and behaviour of the sun,
the clouds, wind, fire etc. But, on his theory, the sun, moon etc.,
were not, at first, regarded as persons, at all: it was merely owing
to 'disease of language' that they came to be so regarded. Only if we
make this original assumption, can we accept the conclusions deduced
from it; and no student now accepts the assumption: it is one which is
forbidden by the well-established facts of animism. Sun, moon, wind
and fire, everything that acts, or is supposed to act, is regarded by
early man as animated by personal power. If, therefore, the external
objects, to which man turned with his question, 'Art thou there?' were
regarded by him, from the beginning, as animated by personal power,
the theory that they were not so regarded falls to the ground; and,
consequently, we cannot accept it as accounting for the origin of
polytheism.

Doubtless, during the time of its vogue, Max Mueller's theory was
accepted precisely because it did profess to account for the origin of
polytheism, and because it denied polytheism any religious value or
meaning whatever. On the theory, polytheism did not originate from any
religious sentiment whatever, but from a disease of language. And this
was a view which naturally commended itself to those who were ready to
say and believe that polytheism is not religion at all. But the
consequences of saying this are such as to make any science of
religion, or indeed any history of religion, impossible. Where the
idea of God is to be found, there some religion exists; and to say
that, in polytheism, no idea of God can be found, is out of the
question. If then polytheism is a stage in the history of religious
belief, we have to consider it in relation to the other stages of
religious belief, which preceded or followed it. We have to relate the
idea of God, as it appeared in polytheism, with the idea as it
appeared in other stages of belief. In order to do this, we must first
discover what the polytheistic idea of God is; and for that purpose we
must turn, at any rate at first, to the myths which embody the
reflections of polytheists upon the attributes and actions of the
Godhea