The myths connected with individual sanctuaries and ceremonies were merely part of the apparatus of the worship; they served to excite the fancy and sustain the interest of the worshipper... no one cared what he believed about its origin.

William Robertson Smith FRSE (8 November 1846 – 31 March 1894) was a Scottish orientalist Old Testament scholar professor of divinity and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Biblica. He is also known for his book Religion of the Semites which is considered a foundational text in the comparative study of religion.