No part of a nation's history is more important than that of its religion. Of the religions of antiquity several that were flourishing have become extinct, for instance the faiths of Greece, Italy and Egypt. But in the East, Hinduism and Buddhism have been possessed of more stability. In fact, the past religions of Greece and Italy cannot be studied without frequent references to Hinduism. This book, first published in 1885, was aimed by the author to be sufficiently correct to satisfy the Orientalists and yet it is short and simple to attract the ordinary reader. About the Author John Murray Mitchell (1815-1904) was a Scottish missionary and Orientalist. He was sent to Bombay to join some missionary colleagues of the Church of Scotland in July 1838 where he mastered Marathi and also studied Sanskrit. He also authored The Great Religions of India  and  translated  works  from  Marathi  into  English.