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Translator's Introduction Palestine. So true is it that every great historical change has had its forerunner."
It is beyond doubt, therefore, that India was commercially connected with the countries situated on the shores of the Mediterranean many centuries before the birth of Jesus; that India's wealth and commodities had attracted different people to her in very ancient times; that her religions were openly preached and known in the very land which afterwards became the birthplace of Jesus; that Alexander's conquest had made foreign nations more familiar with India and her people and her glory had spread throughout the world then known. Is it then impossible that Jesus, having heard of the richness of the philosophies and sciences of India; should have gone there with a desire to study them? Add to this the various passages, both in the Old and New Testaments, which bear a close resemblance with the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain thoughts, (nay, some of the very customs and practices of the Jews of those early times can be fully explained only in the light of Indian wisdom) and the evidence is overwhelming in favor of the theory that Jesus must have been attracted to and lived in India during the time about which the Evangelists are silent.
In connection with the original work, in French, of M. Notovitch, I have very little to say. In the first part of his book, “Journey to Thibet," he gives “a very minute description of the hills, gorges, rivers, etc., over which he travelled, which is tedious to the average reader. I have, therefore, abridged that part, and have described his journey in my own words, omitting nothing that is at all interesting; on the contrary, I have added many things which M. Notovitch could not, he being a foreigner in the East, and, therefore, not well acquainted with its people and their customs. 1 have illustrated the work with many pictures—which I hope will make the book acceptable to all readers.
