following the death of Jesus, in whose
career a lively and growing interest is shown.

One of these accounts, communicated by a merchant, refers to the origin
of Jesus and his family; another tells of the expulsion of his partisans
and the persecutions they had to suffer.

Only at the end of the second volume is found the first categorical
affirmation of the chronicler. He says there that Issa was a man blessed
by God and the best of all; that it was he in whom the great Brahma had
elected to incarnate when, at a period fixed by destiny, his spirit was
required to, for a time, separate from the Supreme Being.

After telling that Issa descended from poor Israelite parents, the
chronicler makes a little digression, for the purpose of explaining,
according to ancient accounts, who were those sons of Israel.

I have arranged all the fragments concerning the life of Issa in
chronological order and have taken pains to impress upon them the
character of unity, in which they were absolutely lacking.

I leave it to the _savans_, the philosophers and the theologians to
search into the causes for the contradictions which may be found between
the "Life of Issa" which I lay before the public and the accounts of the
Gospels. But I trust that everybody will agree with me in assuming that
the version which I present to the public, one compiled three or four
years after the death of Jesus, from the accounts of eyewitnesses and
contemporaries, has much more probability of being in conformity with
truth than the accounts of the Gospels, the composition of which was
effected at different epochs and at periods much posterior to the
occurrence of the events.

Before speaking of the life of Jesus, I must say a few words on the
history of Moses, who, according to the so-far most accredited legend,
was an Israelite. In this respect the legend is contradicted by the
Buddhists. We learn from the outset that Moses was an Egyptian prince,
the son of a Pharaoh, and that he only was taught by learned Israelites.
I believe that if this important point is carefully examined, it must be
admitted that the Buddhist author may be right.

It is not my intent to argue against the Biblical legend concerning the
origin of Moses, but I think everyone reading it must share my
conviction that Moses could not have been a simple Israelite. His
education was rather that of a king's son, and it is difficult to
believe that a child introduced by chance into th