INDIAN INFLUENCE ON GREEKS & ROMAN EMPIRE: Vincent Arthur Smith, CIE, (1848–1920) was a British Indologist and art historian. |
Smith wrote: “The Greek influence never penetrated deeply (into the Indic civilization)...
On the other hand, the West learned something from India in consequence of the
communications opened up by
Alexander's adventure. Our knowledge of the facts
is so scanty and fragmentary that
it is difficult to make any positive assertions
with confidence,
but it is safe to say that the influence of Buddhist ideas on
Christian doctrine may be traced
in the Gnostic forms of Christianity, if not
elsewhere.
The notions of Indian philosophy and religion which filtered into
the Roman empire flowed through channels opened by Alexander.” | - Source: The Search of the Cradle of Civilization: New Light on Ancient India
By Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, David Frawley
Publisher: Quest Books; (1 Nov. 1995)
ISBN-10: 0835607410
ISBN-13: 978-0835607414
|
Smith was born in Dublin on 3 June 1848 which was then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
His father was Dr Aquilla Smith, well known in medical and numismatic circles in Dublin and London.
He passed the Indian Civil Services exam in 1871 and was appointed to what would become the United Provinces in India.
He would go to serve between 1871–1900 in a variety of magisterial and executive positions including terms as district
and sessions judge eventually retiring as commissioner in July 1900.
By 1910 Smith was settled in Oxford where he joined St.
John's College and was appointed a Curator of the Indian Institute.
After his return to England, Smith wrote books on various rulers such as the Buddhist emperor,
Ashoka and the Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a history of fine arts in India and Ceylon.
He also published two comprehensive volumes on Indian history,
The Early History of India and The Oxford History of India. ||
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