But if it not be true, the myth itself requires to be explained, and every principle of philosophy and common sense demand that the explanation be sought, not in arbitrary allegorical categories, but in the actual facts of ritual or religious custom to which the myth attaches.
William Robertson Smith FRSE was a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Biblica. Wikipedia
Born: 8 November 1846, Keig
Died: 31 March 1894, Cambridge
Education: University of Aberdeen, The University of Edinburgh
Notable student: James George Frazer
Died: 31 March 1894, Cambridge
Education: University of Aberdeen, The University of Edinburgh
Notable student: James George Frazer