What was it like when myths were first being formed,
when only the originals existed--before, as in our day,
there were so many copies, imitations, comparisons,
allegories, parables, metaphors, and analogies? Take
Narcissus, for example. When his contemporaries saw
him gazing at his image in the pool, they wouldn't have
called him a 'Narcissist' or 'Narcissistic', would they?
So, what did they call him, before he, charmed by his
own image, fell into the pool and drowned? Do you
suppose they might have called him a 'Gingrichist'
or, perhaps, 'Palinistic'?