The world-wide myth explaining how man first became possessed of
fire--namely, by _stealing_ it--might well serve as a touchstone of the
philological and anthropological methods. To Mr. Max Muller the interest
of the story will certainly consist in discovering connections between
Greek and Sanskrit names of fire-gods and of fire bringing heroes. He
will not compare the fire-myths of other races all over the world, nor
will he even try to explain why--in almost all of these myths we find a
thief of fire, a Fire-stealer. This does not seem satisfactory to the
anthropologist, whose first curiosity is to know why fire is everywhere
said to have been obtained for men by sly theft or 'flat burglary.' Of
course it is obvious that a myth found in Australia and America cannot
possibly be the result of disease of Aryan languages not spoken in those
two continents. The myth of fire-stealing must necessarily have some
other origin.
'Fire Totems'
Mr. Max Muller, after a treatise on Agni and other fire-gods, consecrates
two pages to 'Fire Totems.' 'If we are assured that there are some dark
points left, and that these might be illustrated and rendered more
intelligible by what are called fire totems among the Red Indians of
North America, let us have as much light as we can get' (ii. 804). Alas!
I never heard of fire totems before. Probably some one has been writing
about them, somewhere, unless we owe them to Mr. Max Muller's own
researches. Of course, he cites no authority for his fire totems. 'The
fire totem, we are told, would thus naturally have become the god of the
Indians.' 'We are told'--where, and by whom? Not a hint is given on the
subject, so we must leave the doctrine of fire totems to its mysterious
discoverer. 'If others prefer to call Prometheus a fire totem, no one
would object, if only it would help us to a better understanding of
Prometheus' (ii. 810). Who are the 'others' who speak of a Greek
'culture-hero' by the impossibly fantastic name of 'a fire totem'?