--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not without fear and trembling that…" description: "\"It is not without fear and trembling that a historian of religion approaches the problem of myth. This is not only because of that preliminary embarras..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/mircea-eliade-3290_answers_it-is-not-without-fear-and-trembling-tha_801618.jpg" --- # It is not without fear and trembling that a historian of… ![“It is not without fear and trembling that a historian of religion approaches the problem of myth. This is not only because of that preliminary embarrassing question: what is intended by myth? It is also because the answers given depend for the most part on the documents selected.” quote by Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/mircea-eliade-3290_answers_it-is-not-without-fear-and-trembling-tha_801618.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/mircea-eliade-3290_answers_it-is-not-without-fear-and-trembling-tha_801618.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/mircea-eliade-3290_answers_it-is-not-without-fear-and-trembling-tha_801618.jpg) > “It is not without fear and trembling that a historian of religion approaches the problem of myth. This is not only because of that preliminary embarrassing question: what is intended by myth? It is also because the answers given depend for the most part on the documents selected.” [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scholars must confront fear and bias when defining myth, as interpretations hinge on selected sources. **In simple terms:** Studying myths is fraught with fear and bias. Key Takeaway Approach myth with humility and critical source analysis. Themes scholarship mythology bias methodology Mood critical inquisitive Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - religious studies - cultural analysis Key Concepts epistemology interpretation historical context Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you bring to myth study? - How can you mitigate source bias? A Different Perspective Bias can skew myth interpretation; sources matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Documents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documents/) [Embarrassing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embarrassing/) [Embarrassing questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embarrassing-questions-54547/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [Historian Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian-religion-4361911/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Intended Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intended-myth-6136651/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-answers-6136650/) [Myth Preliminary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-preliminary-6136649/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Selected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selected/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Trembling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trembling/) [Trembling Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trembling-historian-6136648/) ## Related quotes > [In the entire first Christian century Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman historian, religion scholar, politician, philosopher or poet. 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