" Vijaya, the name of the founder of
the first dynasty (in Ceylon), means conquest, "and, therefore, such a
person most likely never existed" (p. 268). This he believes
invalidates the whole Buddhist chronology.
To which the following pendant may be offered:--
William I., King of England, is commonly called the Conqueror; he was,
moreover, the illegitimate son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, surnamed le
Diable. An opera, we hear, was invented on this subject, and full of
miraculous events, called "Robert the Devil," showing its traditional
character. Therefore shall we be also justified in saying that Edward
the Confessor, Saxons and all, up to the time of the union of the houses
of York and Lancaster under Henry VII.--the new historical period in
English history--are all "fabulous tradition" and "such a person as
William the Conqueror most likely never existed?"
2nd.--In the Chinese chronology--continues the dissecting critic
--"the list of the thirty-three Buddhist patriarchs .... is of a
doubtful character. For Western history the exact Ceylonese
chronology begins with 161 B.
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