For the benefit of those who may think that the evidence of plagiarism on the part of the Hebrew writers has not been sufficiently substantiated, we will quote a few words from Prof. Max Müller, who is one of the best English authorities on this subject that can be produced. In speaking of this he says:
"The opinion that the _Pagan_ religions were mere corruptions of the religion of the Old Testament, once supported by men of high authority and great learning, _is now as completely surrendered as the attempts of explaining Greek and Latin as the corruptions of Hebrew_."[106:1]
"As soon as the ancient language and religion of India became known in Europe it was asserted that Sanskrit, _like all other languages_, was to be derived from Hebrew, and the ancient religion of the Brahmans from the Old Testament. There was at that time an enthusiasm among Oriental scholars, particularly at Calcutta, and an interest for Oriental antiquities in the public at large, of which we, in these days of apathy for Eastern literature, can hardly form an adequate idea. Everybody wished to be first in the field, and to bring to light some of the treasures which were supposed to be hidden in the sacred literature of the Brahmans. . . . No doubt the temptation was great. No one could look down for a moment into the rich mine of religious and mythological lore that was suddenly opened before the eyes of scholars and theologians, _without being struck by a host of similarities, not only in the languages, but also in the ancient traditions of the Hindoos_, the Greeks, and the Romans; and if at that time the Greeks and Romans were still _supposed_ to have borrowed their language and their religion from Jewish quarters, _the same conclusion could hardly be avoided with regard to the language and the religion of the Brahmans of India_. . . .
"The student of Pagan religion as well as Christian missionaries were bent on discovering more striking and more startling coincidences, _in order to use them in confirmation of their favorite theory that some rays of a primeval revelation, or some reflection of the Jewish religion, had reached the uttermost ends of the world_."[107:1]
The result of all this is summed up by Prof. Müller as follows:
