Myth and Science | Page 6

science and to the advancement of these special studies must result
from it: the assimilation and concentration of all the sources of myth
into a single act, whether normal or abnormal to humanity. To say that
animism is the general principle of myth does not reduce the different
sources whence it proceeds to a single psychical and organic act, since
they remain distinct and separate in their respective orbits. To attain our
object, it is necessary that the direct personification of natural
phenomena, as well as the indirect personification of metaphor; the
infusion of life into a man's own shadow, into reflex images and
dreams; the belief in the reality of normal illusions, as well as of the
abnormal hallucinations of delirium, of madness, and of all forms of
nervous affections; all these things must be resolved into a single
generating act which explains and includes them. It must be shown how
and why there is found in man the possibility of modifying all these
mythical forms into an image supposed to be external to himself, living
and personal. For if we are enabled to reply scientifically to such
inquiries, we shall not only have concentrated in a single fact all the
most diverse normal and abnormal forms of myth peculiar to man, but
we shall also have given an ulterior and analytic explanation of this
fact.
I certainly do not presume to declare myself competent to effect so
much, and I am more conscious than my critics how far I fall short of
my high aim; but the modest attempt, made with the resolution to
accept all criticism offered with courtesy and good faith, does not
imply culpable presumption nor excessive vanity.
I regret to say that it is not on this point only that my theory of myth
differs from that of others; I shall not be satisfied if I only succeed in
discovering in man the primitive act which issues the general animism
of things, which becomes the substance of the ulterior myths in their
intellectual and historical evolution. It is evident, at least to those who

do not cling obstinately to old traditions, that man is evolved from the
animal kingdom. The comparative anatomy, physiology, and
psychology of man and other animals distinctly show their intimate
connection in conformation, tissues, organs, and functions, and above
all, in consciousness and intelligence. This truth, deduced from simple
observation and experiment, must lead to the conviction that all issued
from the same germ, and had the same genesis.
For those who do not cherish pedantic and sectarian prejudices, this
hypothesis is changed into assurance by modern discoveries; it is
shown in the transformations and transitions of paleontological forms;
in the embryogenic evolution of so many animals, man included, which,
according to their various species, reveals the lower types whence they
issued; in the successive forms taken by the foetus; in the powerful and
indisputable laws of selection; in the modifications by adaptation of the
different organisms, and in the effects of isolation. This is the only
rational explanation, confirmed as it is by fresh facts every day, of the
multiplicity and variety of organic forms in the lapse of time; unless,
indeed, we ascribe such variety to a miracle, even more difficult to
accept than the difficulties of the opposite-theory.
I admit that evidence for the complete demonstration of this theory is
sometimes wanting; the gaps between the fossil fauna and flora and
those of modern times are neither few nor unimportant; but on the other
hand, such proofs are accumulating, and the gaps are filled up every
day, so that we may almost assert that in some way or other, by means
somewhat different from those on which we now rely, the great rational
principle of evolution will be successfully and permanently established.
It is more than twenty years since, in ways and by study peculiar to
ourselves, we first devoted ourselves to this theory, and while we gave
a conscientious consideration to opposite theories, so as to estimate
with sincerity their importance and value, we could not relinquish our
conviction that every advance in physical, biological, and social science
served to confirm the theory of evolution.
It must not be supposed that I make any dogmatic assertion, which
might possibly be erroneous, when I say that the evidence of facts does

not contradict the assumptions of modern science. Sincere convictions
should offend no one, nor do they indicate an a priori conflict with
other beliefs. Every one is justified in thinking his own thoughts when
he speaks with moderation and supports his peculiar opinions with a
certain amount of learning.
It is not denied, even by those who oppose modern theories respecting
the genesis of organisms, that there are, excluding some psychical
elements, many and important points of resemblance