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 230 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

markation between fact and myth. We seem to have in the Bible a collection of equally trustworthy books; and it appears to be a matter of great presumption to assert anything to the contrary. It is much to the advantage of sociological higher criticism that this part of the biblical problem has been care- fully handled from the literary and historical standpoints.

If we look into the literatures of all ancient peoples we find that the narratives relating to the earliest periods are full of miraculous, or supernatural, accounts. According to these won- derful stories, man everywhere lives in the presence of the gods. Everywhere the gods mingle with men and interfere with the course of history. Social institutions whose origins are not clearly understood are said to have been established by the gods. But as we follow the narratives along from period to period, coming up through later and later times, the history of all ancient peoples loses the character of supernaturalism and as- sumes a more conventional, matter-of-fact aspect. The point where supernatural history ends and natural history begins can- not be exactly indicated in every case, for the reason that all early tradition is a blending of myth and fact. In regard to this problem, three stages of investigation have succeeded each other.* In the first stage, all miraculous traditions are taken as abso- lutely true. In the second stage, all miraculous traditions are rejected as absolutely false. In the third stage, all miraculous traditions are carefully and skilfully examined; and a nucleus of historical fact is recognized in them. Good examples of the application of these methods are to be found in the treatment of Greek, Roman, and German history. And precisely the same attitudes have been taken up with reference to the history of Israel. The miraculous traditions of Israel were formerly ac- cepted as literally true. Then they were held to be pure myths. But finally, scientific scholarship took up its present, mediating position, in which the supernatural traditions of Israel, like those of other nations, are found to contain a kernel of histori- cal fact. Now, the miraculous traditions in question are more numerous in the narratives dealing with affairs before the set-

•This has been emphasized by Professor Budde, of Strassburg.