I would point to a feature common to the Jatarkas, the Fables of Bidpai, and those of Babrius and Phædrus. And that is the "moral-pidgin," as Mr. Leland's Chinaman would say, that is inseparably connected with all these forms of the fable, though, if one thinks of it, the very raison d'etre of the Fable is to imply its moral without mentioning it. The whole book before us seems to be written in the spirit of the Duchess in Alice's Adventures who, it will be remembered, concludes every statement of hers with the remark "And the moral of that is ." This moralising tendency is so distinctive a feature that one is tempted to trace it to a definite and single source, which can only be the gatha or "moral" verse, of the Buddhistic Jatarkas (see Appendix). That there was time for them to reach the Hellenic world is shown by the fact that as early as the time of Augustus a sramanakarja (teacher of the Ascetics) created a great impression by burning himself alive at Athens, where his tomb was long afterwards to be seen with the inscription Ζαρμανοχηγὰς Ἰνδὸς ἀπὸ Βαργόσης [Barygaza, then He decides against any Indian influence in a very tren chant manner, but more trenchant than convincing, as it seems to me.
