Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/357

MARCO POLO'S SILENCE RESPECTING CHRISTIANITY. 345 No work has ever furnished more material for other authors, none has been more commented on ; and it must at the same time be admitted that no other has been more deserving of the honour, either on account of the variety or the extent of the information it con- tains. Although it was at first supposed to be false and exaggerated, its sincerity and accuracy are now universally recognised. The incredulity with which it was originally received, has given place to a perfect confidence ; and far from there being now any dispo- sition to underrate its importance, the tendency is perhaps rather to exaggerate it, and the same traveller who was once ridiculed with the nickname of Messer Marco Millione, has been since called the Humboldt of the thirteenth century; and though this eulogy may be carried too far, it at least shows the superiority of the Venetian traveller over the others of his own day. Notwithstanding the interest which is constantly maintained throughout Marco Polo's narrative, one can hardly help regretting the absence of any information as to the state of Christianity in Central Asia, and especially in China, at the period in which he writes. His long residence in those countries, and the important duties with which the Khan intrusted him, must as- suredly have placed in his possession all the details of this interesting question ; but, notwithstanding this, it is only occasionally and by chance that he drops a word with reference to Christians or Christianity. Thus, in describing the formidable insurrection raised by Nayan, the nephew of the Khan, and the great victory that the emperor obtained over him, he contents himself with saying that Nayan was a Christian; that the sign of the cross was affixed to his standards ; and that a