A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s7.3

v2.c19.s7.3

The Dutch scholar *G. A. van den Bergh van Eysinga*² has approached the problem of the Indian influences on the Christian gospels far more cautiously than Seydel. He begins by eliminating everything which could easily be explained by the similarity of circumstances under which the texts originated, similarity of religious development, and finally on general human grounds. Nevertheless, even according to this scholar there still remain actual parallels which can only be explained as loans. He is, however, of opinion that we are not justified in assuming that there was any dependence upon written texts, but by mere oral transmission at the time of the Roman Empire, Indian subjects, themes and ideas reached the West, and certain of these features were borrowed in the formation of the legends of the earliest Christianity. Of the 51 parallels which Seydel believed to have found, Bergh van Eysinga regards only nine as worthy of discussion, and only six as more or less important.