historical data as a whole or to their religious environment. The preliminary preparation for research of any value becomes yearly more exacting. Many traces of myth, legend and "primitive" thought survive in the Old Testament, and on the most cautious estimate they presuppose a vitality which is not a little astonishing. But they are now softened and often bereft of their earlier significance, and it is this and their divergence from common Oriental thought which make Old Testament thought so profound and unique. The process finds its normal development in later and non-biblical literature; but one can recognize earlier, cruder and less distinctive stages, and, as surely as writings reflect the mentality of an author or of his age, the peculiar characteristics of the extant sources, viewed in the light of a comprehensive survey of Palestinian and surrounding culture, demand a reasonable explanation. The differences between the form of the written history and the conditions which prevailed have impressed themselves variously upon modern writers, and efforts have been made to recover from the Old Testament earlier forms more in accordance with the external evidence. It may be doubted, however, whether the material is sufficient for such restoration or reconstruction.[63] In the Old Testament we have the outcome of specific developments, and the stage at which we see each element of tradition or belief is not always isolated or final (cf. Kings and Chronicles). The early myths, legends and traditions which can be traced differ profoundly from the canonical history, and the gap is wider than that between the latter and the subsequent apocalyptical and pseudepigraphical literature.