It is possible, also, that the Æsopean fables of the Latin poet Phædrus, who in the title of his work calls himself a freedman of Augustus, were known to Planudes. But the work of Phædrus, which is based on that of Babrius, existed only in very rare MSS. till the end of the sixteenth century,[1] and may therefore have easily escaped the notice of Planudes.
On the other hand, we have seen that versions of Buddhist Birth Stories, and other Indian tales, had appeared in Europe before the time of Planudes in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Spanish; and many of his stories have been clearly traced back to this source.[2] Further, as I shall presently show, some of the fables of Babrius and Phædrus, found in Planudes, were possibly derived by those authors from Buddhist sources. And lastly, other versions of the Jātakas, besides those which have been mentioned as coming through the Arabs, had reached Europe long before the time of Planudes; and some more of his stories have been traced back to Buddhist sources through these channels also.
- ↑ It was first edited by Pithou, in 1596; also by Orelli, Zürich, 1831. Comp. Oesterley, 'Phædrus und die Æsop. Fabel im Mittelalter.'
- ↑ By Silvestre de Sacy, in his edition of Kalilah and Dimnah, Paris, 1816; Loiseleur Deslongchamps, in his 'Essai sur les Fables Indiennes, et sur leur Introd. en Europe,' Paris, 1838; Professor Benfey, in his edition of the Pañca Tantra, Leipzig, 1859; Professor Max Müller, 'On the Migration of Fables,' Contemporary Review, July, 1870; Professor Weber, 'Ueber den Zusammenhang indischer Fabeln mit Griechischen,' Indische Studien, iii. 337 and foll.; Adolf Wagener, 'Essai sur les rapports entre les apologues de l'Inde et de la Grèce,' 1853; Otto Keller, 'Ueber die Geschichte der Griechischen Fabeln,' 1862.
