(2) The explanation by original community, first applied by Th. Benfey
[Pantschatantra, 1859] to the widely distributed parallel forms of
folklore and fairy tales. Originating in a favorable locality [India]
these tales were first accepted by the primarily related [namely the
Indo-Germanic] peoples, then continued to grow while retaining the
common primary traits, and ultimately radiated over the entire earth.
This mode of explanation was first adapted to the wide distribution of
the hero myths by Rudolf Schubert[4] [1890].
(3) The modern theory of migration, or borrowing, according to which
the individual myths originate from definite peoples [especially the
Babylonians], and are accepted by other peoples through oral tradition
[commerce and traffic], or through literary influences.[5]
The modern theory of migration and borrowing can be readily shown to
be merely a modification of Benfey’s theory, necessitated by newly
discovered and irreconcilable material. The profound and extensive
research of modern investigations has shown that not India, but rather
Babylonia, may be regarded as the first home of the myths. Moreover
the mythic tales presumably did not radiate from a single point, but
travelled over and across the entire inhabited globe. This brings into
prominence the idea of the interdependence of mythical structures, an
idea which was generalized by Braun[6] [1864], as the basic law of
the nature of the human mind: Nothing new is ever discovered as long
as it is possible to copy. The theory of the elementary thoughts, so
strenuously advocated by Bauer over a quarter of a century ago, is
unconditionally declined by the most recent investigators [Winckler,[7]
Stucken], who maintain the migration and purloining theory.
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