438 HISTORY OF RELIGION 



defects of Miiller's method and the erroneousness of many of the 

 conclusions which, with little modification, he maintained to the 

 end of his life. The hymns of the Rig- Veda are almost as far as the 

 Homeric epics from being the product of a simple society, or the 

 "childlike speech" of primitive religion; the equation of Indian and 

 Greek gods and myths is often effected by dubious etymologies or 

 partial and inconclusive coincidences. The identification of the gods 

 with natural objects, and the meteoric interpretation of the myths 

 is assumed following the classical mythologists of the time - 

 rather than established; the insecurity of the results being manifest 

 from the possibility of the rival "nubilar" or "crepuscular" theories. 

 The most radical fault of the system, however, was the arbitrary 

 limitation of the material. In particular, the isolation of hymns 

 and myths from the ritual was a fruitful cause of misunderstanding; 

 and the assumption that the darker side of Indian religion, as repre- 

 sented in the Atharva-Veda or parts of the Brahmanas, is wholly 

 a late declension from the pure Vedic faith, led to its virtual exclusion 

 from consideration; the same assumption was made concerning the 

 darker features of Greek religion in contrast to the aspect presented 

 in the Homeric poems. 



At this point, therefore, Miiller's method and results were assailed 

 by the critics of the anthropological school, among whom Andrew 

 Lang wielded the most trenchant pen. 1 What demands explanation 

 in the myths is the irrational and immoral element. This is not to 

 be explained away by allegorical interpretation, in ancient or modern 

 fashion ; it is not accounted for by the theory of " disease of language," 

 which makes of it misunderstood poetry or metaphor. The savage 

 features of ancient mythology are the natural product of a savage 

 state of society, and survived in civilization under the conservative 

 influence of religious tradition. The proof of this is the mythology of 

 modern savages, in which corresponding phenomena are observed 

 among the most widely separated and diverse races. Moreover, 

 mythology is not the only or even the most important witness to 

 religious beliefs. Custom, ceremony, ritual the things which the 

 gods expect of men and which the worshipers do in the service of 

 the gods, not tales about the gods, of whatever origin constitute 

 the real substance of religion, and embody its fundamental ideas. 

 Many myths are not poetical reflections of natural phenomena, 



Workshop, 1867, 2 vols. ; Lectures on the Science of Religion, 1872; The Origin and 

 Growth of Religion, illustrated by the Religion of India (Hibbert Lectures), 1878; 

 Natural Religion, 1889, Physical Religion, 1891, Anthropological Religion, 1892, 

 Tkeosophy, or Psychological Religion, 1893 (Gifford Lectures); Contributions to 

 the Science of Mythology, 1897, 2 vols. 



1 Lang, Andrew, Custom and Myth, 1884; Myth, Ritual, and Religion, 1887, 

 2 vols.; 1899, 2 vols.; Modern Mythology, 1897; The Making of Religion, 1898, 

 2d od. 1900; Magic and Religion, 1901. The last two volumes against some posi- 

 tions of the anthropological school. 



