The 

Precedent 

Before 

The 

Myth 

In Book II, there is a story about the raven. Toward the beginning of the story, the following text is written: 

"About that time the raven changed his color

From white to black, he who had once been silver-

White as the doves, as geese whose wakeful cries

Were destined to rescue Rome, as white as 

River-loving swans. But his tongue doomed him.

The chattering bird was everything not white"

Perhaps I myself am missing something, but from what I see, there seems to be some sort of precedent behind the color white, in order for the raven to be "everything not white." I comprehend white as being symbolic of purity, but since white is not inherently pure, there remains a precedent to be discovered of how white came to symbolize purity (or whatever other conceptions of white there may be). This causes me to wonder if there is a precedent behind every myth and whether there is anything without a precedent. I consider how God of the Bible is the creator of the "heavens and the earth," and while being eternal, He is before all precedents and therefore precedents can only be made because of who He is and what He has created. If this is correct, than precedents can only exist if an entity is already in existence. Precedents then, do not create; it is the precedents that are created. This is how my mind understands precedents. If I am mistaken of the meaning or function of precedents, please respond to this post and let me know!