Myths as poetry

"There are two stages in the criticism of myths…The first treats them angrily as superstitions; the second treats them smilingly as poetry…Religion is human experience interpreted by human imagination…The idea that religion contains a literal, not a symbolic, representation of truth and life is simply an impossible idea. Whoever entertains it has not come within the region of profitable philosophizing on that subject…Matters of religion should never be matters of controversy…We seek rather to honour the piety and understand the poetry embodied in these fables." George Santayana