On its front are the
initials of his Italianized name; over its main entrance is the
inscription "_Divo Josafat_"; and within it is an altar dedicated to
the saint--above this being a pedestal bearing his name and
supporting a large statue which represents him as a youthful prince
wearing a crown and contemplating a crucifix.
Moreover, relics of this saint were found; bones alleged to be
parts of his skeleton, having been presented by a Doge of Venice
to a King of Portugal, are now treasured at Antwerp.
But even as early as the sixteenth century a pregnant fact
regarding this whole legend was noted: for the Portuguese
historian Diego Conto showed that it was identical with the legend
of Buddha. Fortunately for the historian, his faith was so robust
that he saw in this resemblance only a trick of Satan; the life of
Buddha being, in his opinion, merely a diabolic counterfeit of the
life of Josaphat centuries before the latter was lived or
written--just as good Abbe Huc saw in the ceremonies of Buddhism a
similar anticipatory counterfeit of Christian ritual.
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