2] The colleges of Rome, composed of men specially
skilled in religious lore, and charged with the preservation of
traditional rules regarding the more general religious observances,
the proper fulfilment of which implied a certain amount of
information, and rendered it necessary for the state in its own
interest to provide the faithful transmission of that information,
have been described by Mommsen.[213]

I pass to the third class of tradition, namely, the legend, and this
need not detain us long. We have already illustrated it by the notes
on history and folklore, and by its very nature it belongs essentially
to the historic age. In dealing with legend, there is first to
determine whether its characters are historical, or are unknown to
history. If the former, there is next to disengage those parts of the
tradition which, by their parallels to other traditions, or by their
nature, may be safely certified as not belonging to the historical
hero or to the period of the historical hero. If the latter, the
details must be analysed to see what elements of culture are contained
therein. In both cases tradition will have served a purpose, and that
purpose must be sought. Tradition does not attach itself to an
historical personage without cause. There is necessity for it, and in
the case of Hereward the necessity was proved to have been the great
gap in the history of a national hero. Tradition does not preserve
details of primitive culture-history without cause, and in the
examples already quoted it has been shown that this cause rests upon
the indissoluble links which the uncultured peasant of to-day has with
the pre-cultured past of his race. He will have forgotten all about
his tribal life and its consequences, but will retain legends which
are founded upon tribal life. He will have lost touch with ideas which
proclaim that man or woman not of his tribe is an enemy to be feared
or attacked, but will gladly relate legends which deal with events
growing out of a state of perpetual strife among the ancestors of
people now in friendship. He will not understand the personal tie of
ancient times, but will listen to the legends attached to places in
such strange fashion as to make places seem to possess a personal life
full of events and happenings. He will know nothing of giants and
ogres, but will love the legends which tell of heroes meeting and
conquering such beings. The history of the school books is nothing to
him, but