Custom and Myth | Page 3

the philological
interpreters.
The second essay, 'The Bull-Roarer,' is intended to show that certain
peculiarities in the Greek mysteries occur also in the mysteries of
savages, and that on Greek soil they are survivals of savagery.
'The Myth of Cronus' tries to prove that the first part of the legend is a
savage nature-myth, surviving in Greek religion, while the sequel is a
set of ideas common to savages.

'Cupid and Psyche' traces another Aryan myth among savage races, and
attempts to show that the myth may have had its origin in a rule of
barbarous etiquette.
'A Far-travelled Tale' examines a part of the Jason myth. This myth
appears neither to be an explanation of natural phenomena (like part of
the Myth of Cronus), nor based on a widespread custom (like Cupid
and Psyche.) The question is asked whether the story may have been
diffused by slow filtration from race to race all over the globe, as there
seems no reason why it should have been invented separately (as a
myth explanatory of natural phenomena or of customs might be) in
many different places.
'Apollo and the Mouse' suggests hypothetically, as a possible
explanation of the tie between the God and the Beast, that
Apollo-worship superseded, but did not eradicate, Totemism. The
suggestion is little more than a conjecture.
'Star Myths' points out that Greek myths of stars are a survival from the
savage stage of fancy in which such stories are natural.
'Moly and Mandragora' is a study of the Greek, the modern, and the
Hottentot folklore of magical herbs, with a criticism of a scholarly and
philological hypothesis, according to which Moly is the dog-star, and
Circe the moon.
'The Kalevala' is an account of the Finnish national poem; of all poems
that in which the popular, as opposed to the artistic, spirit is strongest.
The Kalevala is thus a link between Marchen and Volkslieder on one
side, and epic poetry on the other.
'The Divining Rod' is a study of a European and civilised superstition,
which is singular in its comparative lack of copious savage analogues.
'Hottentot Mythology' is a criticism of the philological method, applied
to savage myth.
'Fetichism and the Infinite,' is a review of Mr. Max Muller's theory that

a sense of the Infinite is the germ of religion, and that Fetichism is
secondary, and a corruption. This essay also contains a defence of the
evidence on which the anthropological method relies.
The remaining essays are studies of the 'History of the Family,' and of
'Savage Art.'
The essay on 'Savage Art' is reprinted, by the kind permission of
Messrs. Cassell & Co., from two numbers (April and May, 1882) of the
Magazine of Art. I have to thank the editors and publishers of the
Contemporary Review, the Cornhill Magazine, and Fraser's Magazine,
for leave to republish 'The Early History of the Family,' 'The Divining
Rod,' and 'Star Myths,' and 'The Kalevala.' A few sentences in 'The
Bull-Roarer,' and 'Hottentot Mythology,' appeared in essays in the
Saturday Review, and some lines of 'The Method of Folklore' in the
Guardian. To the editors of those journals also I owe thanks for their
courteous permission to make this use of my old articles.
To Mr. E. B. Tylor and Mr. W. R. S. Ralston I must express my
gratitude for the kindness with which they have always helped me in all
difficulties.
I must apologise for the controversial matter in the volume.
Controversy is always a thing to be avoided, but, in this particular case,
when a system opposed to the prevalent method has to be advocated,
controversy is unavoidable. My respect for the learning of my
distinguished adversaries is none the less great because I am not
convinced by their logic, and because my doubts are excited by their
differences.
Perhaps, it should be added, that these essays are, so to speak, only
flint-flakes from a neolithic workshop. This little book merely
skirmishes (to change the metaphor) in front of a much more
methodical attempt to vindicate the anthropological interpretation of
myths. But lack of leisure and other causes make it probable that my
'Key to All Mythologies' will go the way of Mr. Casaubon's treatise.

THE METHOD OF FOLKLORE.
After the heavy rain of a thunderstorm has washed the soil, it
sometimes happens that a child, or a rustic, finds a wedge-shaped piece
of metal or a few triangular flints in a field or near a road. There was no
such piece of metal, there were no such flints, lying there yesterday,
and the finder is puzzled about the origin of the objects on which he has
lighted. He carries them home, and the village wisdom determines that
the wedge-shaped piece of metal is a 'thunderbolt,' or that the bits of
flint are 'elf-shots,' the heads