Tree And Serpent Worship: Or Illustrations Of Mythology And Art In India in The First And Fourth Centuries After Christ From The Sculptures Of The Buddhist Topes At Sanchi And Amravati

- The script of the book has been prepared in the context of the ancient India’s historical architecture and antiquities. It became a very serious question what form the text of the work ought to assume. The great danger to be avoided was apparently the assumption that the TREE AND SERPENT WORSIP portrayed in the illustrations of this work should be considered as a mere local Indian superstition. In order either to enlist the sympathy of European scholars, or to place it on its true basis, it seemed indispensable to explain how far that form of worship had prevailed in other countries, and to what extent it underlaid or influenced other forms of faith. To do this fully and completely was quite incompatible with the scope of the present work, even if the author had been qualified to attempt it. He feels that the illustrations of this work are in themselves—wholly irrespective of the text –the most valuable contribution that has been offered to the students of Indian antiquities for many years past, that he at once abandoned any such idea. This work is immensely beneficial to all.