History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c16.63

v1.c16.63

It is true Buddhist books tell us frequently of statues of Buddha having been made at much earlier dates.⁴ But Indian books have this fatal defect, that they represent facts and beliefs at the time they were written, or acquired the forms in which we now find them, without much reference to facts at the time at which they are supposed to have happened. The actual remains and the period to which they belong are our surest guides, and we have now sufficient evidence to interpret these sculptures with reasonable confidence.