HISTOKICAL EVOLUTION OF MYTH AND SCIENCE. 233 



both mechanical and positive, the ideal system was 

 also modified, and gave place to sounder and truer 

 theories. This great fact, the ultimate evolution of 

 our own time, was effected on the one side by 

 psychological analysis, and on the other by the direct 

 and experimental observation of nature. Setting 

 aside the gradual preparation which led up to this 

 point, we can consider Descartes and Galileo as the 

 representatives of these two great factors ; since the 

 one by the analysis of thought, the other by natural 

 experiments, overthrew the mythical ideas, although 

 without being aware that the achievement would 

 produce such grand results. 



The Platonic Ideas were objective to the mind, 

 and independent of it, since they were regarded as a 

 divine, concrete, absolute world in themselves. The 

 earlier evolution of myth and science relied upon this 

 and were resolved into it. But we know that the 

 process of thought is continuous in historic races, 

 and that myth is gradually divested of its personality 

 and assumes a more intellectual form in the mind. 

 Thus the material Idea passed into an intellectual 

 conception ; that which first appeared in an objective 

 and extrinsic form became subjective and intrinsic, a 

 transition which was effected by the nominalists. 

 This gave rise to a cognition which was altogether 

 psychological ; at first reality was wholly objective, 

 and the ideas were only a sublime intellectual myth, 

 but now the objective world disappeared, and tho 



