--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The claim that myth is always a narrative…" description: "\"The claim that myth is always a narrative spin-off of ritual; the claim that myth is the projection of human anxieties onto a cosmological scrim; the c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/robert-bringhurst-16008_anxiety_the-claim-that-myth-is-always-a-narrativ_2372781.jpg" --- # The claim that myth is always a narrative spin-off of… ![“The claim that myth is always a narrative spin-off of ritual; the claim that myth is the projection of human anxieties onto a cosmological scrim; the claim that myths are invented to give sanction to human predilections and institutions... These are ways of trivializing a mode of thought that has…” quote by Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/robert-bringhurst-16008_anxiety_the-claim-that-myth-is-always-a-narrativ_2372781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/robert-bringhurst-16008_anxiety_the-claim-that-myth-is-always-a-narrativ_2372781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/robert-bringhurst-16008_anxiety_the-claim-that-myth-is-always-a-narrativ_2372781.jpg) > “The claim that myth is always a narrative spin-off of ritual; the claim that myth is the projection of human anxieties onto a cosmological scrim; the claim that myths are invented to give sanction to human predilections and institutions... These are ways of trivializing a mode of thought that has served humanity well for a very long time.” [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Myths are often dismissed as mere stories, but they embody deep human insights and cultural foundations. **In simple terms:** Myths hold valuable cultural and psychological truths. Key Takeaway Respect and study myths for deeper understanding. Themes mythology culture cognition history Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - educational curricula - cultural analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts anthropology symbolism collective unconscious Questions to Reflect On - What myth resonates with you? - How do myths shape your worldview? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can reduce myths to mere academic subjects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/) [Ritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ritual/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [“The typical conservative Roman was far too practical for that. If you didn’t know by age five that the gods were made-up creatures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/the-typical-conservative-roman-was-far-too-practical-for-that-if-you/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“A myth is 'a narrative involving supernatural or fancied persons embodying popular ideas or social phenomena.' Women love telling stories . . . the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-o-brien/a-myth-is-a-narrative-involving-supernatural-or-fancied-persons/) Lucy O'Brien > [Literally, the Bible is a gigantic myth, a narrative extending over the whole of time from creation to apocalypse, unified by a body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literally-the-bible-is-a-gigantic-myth-a-narrative-extending-over-the/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [People who experience themselves as authentic are also experiencing themselves as myth, but that's not the narrative they're going with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/people-who-experience-themselves-as-authentic-are-also-experiencing/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [In the native literatures of North America there aren't any novels. Instead, the major genre is myth. And myths are stories that are fundamentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/in-the-native-literatures-of-north-america-there-aren-t-any-novels/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [We overhype everything. We create monumental myths. There are people who still believe that Brandi Chastain and the U.S. women's World Cup team pulled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/we-overhype-everything-we-create-monumental-myths-there-are-people/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-do-not-depend-upon-mere-legends-and-myths-they-are-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All my stories are like the Greek and Roman myths, and the Egyptian myths, and the Old and New Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/all-my-stories-are-like-the-greek-and-roman-myths-and-the-egyptian/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [Other people's beliefs may be myths, but not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/other-people-s-beliefs-may-be-myths-but-not-mine/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [When we lose our myths we lose our place in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-we-lose-our-myths-we-lose-our-place-in-the-universe/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Anachron’s Law: There is no myth which is so irrational that no one will believe it. Anachron’s Corollary: There is no truth which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hammond/anachron-s-law-there-is-no-myth-which-is-so-irrational-that-no-one/) [George Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hammond/) > [Songs are like myths. Myths are useful because they allow you to cast yourself and your life and your own experience. And for some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/songs-are-like-myths-myths-are-useful-because-they-allow-you-to-cast/) [James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/) > [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) ## More by Robert Bringhurst > [Popularity isn't just something that happens. You have to give something in exchange for it, and that's the dangerous part of the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/popularity-isn-t-just-something-that-happens-you-have-to-give/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [“Logograms pose a more difficult question. An increasing number of persons and institutions, from archy and mehitabel to PostScript and TrueType, come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/logograms-pose-a-more-difficult-question-an-increasing-number-of/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [How much money you get, depends on lots of extraneous things. It depends on how good you are at turning poetry into a marketable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/how-much-money-you-get-depends-on-lots-of-extraneous-things-it/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Anxiety projection can and does occur - in myth, in music, in fiction, and in the doctor's office too. That doesn't make it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/anxiety-projection-can-and-does-occur-in-myth-in-music-in-fiction-and/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [To design things means to interfere with things: to think of how they might be and to alter how they are. 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I think it really goes the other way around: words are made of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made-of-words-i-think-it-really/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Typography is to literature as musical performance is to composition: an essential act of interpretation, full of endless opportunities for insight or obtuseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/typography-is-to-literature-as-musical-performance-is-to-composition/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [By all means break the rules, and break them beautifully, deliberately and well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/by-all-means-break-the-rules-and-break-them-beautifully-deliberately/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Many intellectual heroes in the European tradition seem to find the great outdoors a chilling prospect - and its literary analogue, the mythworld, equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/many-intellectual-heroes-in-the-european-tradition-seem-to-find-the/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Typography exists to honor content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/typography-exists-to-honor-content/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Nature, or the world, or reality, is what mythology is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/nature-or-the-world-or-reality-is-what-mythology-is-all-about/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Essay on Adam" There are five possibilities. One: Adam fell. Two: he was pushed. Three: he jumped. Four: he only looked over the edge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/essay-on-adam-there-are-five-possibilities-one-adam-fell-two-he-was/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [Wings are a constraint that makes it possible to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/wings-are-a-constraint-that-makes-it-possible-to-fly/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [In a world rife with unsolicited messages, typography must often draw attention to itself before it will be read. Yet in order to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/in-a-world-rife-with-unsolicited-messages-typography-must-often-draw/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) [Explore all 41 Robert Bringhurst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) ## More Anxiety quotes > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I get nervous when I don't get nervous. If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/) [Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. If you really want to come out of your stressful situation than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/nothing-happens-on-its-own-you-have-to-make-things-happen-if-you/) [Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/) > [“I guess if we're talking about my anxiety, the even truthier truth is it started way before that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-winfrey/i-guess-if-we-re-talking-about-my-anxiety-the-even-truthier-truth-is/) [Kerry Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-winfrey/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As you know, I have been very open about my struggle with social anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-walker/as-you-know-i-have-been-very-open-about-my-struggle-with-social/) [Summer Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-walker/) > [Anxiety is not to be managed it is a sin that needs to be repented of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/anxiety-is-not-to-be-managed-it-is-a-sin-that-needs-to-be-repented-of/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) [Browse all 4,944 Anxiety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The claim that myth is always a narrative spin-off of ritual; the claim that myth is the projection of human anxieties onto a cosmological scrim; the claim that myths are invented to give sanction to human predilections and institutions... 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