ASOKA COMPARED WITH CONSTANTINE 171 ical Hinduism or Jainism, but his prohibition of bloody sacrifices, the preference which he openly avowed for Buddhism, and his active propaganda undoubtedly brought his favourite doctrine to the front, and estab- lished it as the dominant religion both in India and Ceylon. It still retains that position in the southern island, but has vanished from the land of its birth, and has failed to retain its grasp upon many of its distant conquests. Still, notwithstanding many failures, fluctuations, developments, and corruptions, Buddhism now com- mands, and will command for countless centuries to come, the devotion of hundreds of millions of men. This great result is the work of Asoka alone, and en- titles him to rank for all time with that small body of men who may be said to have changed the faith of the world. The obvious comparison of Asoka with Constantine has become a commonplace, but, like most historical parallels, it is far from exact. Christianity, when the emperor adopted it as the state creed, was already a power throughout the Roman Empire, and Constan- tine 's adherence was rather an act ^f submission to an irresistible force than one of patronage to an obscure sect. Buddhism, on the contrary, when Asoka accorded to it his invaluable support, was but one of many sects struggling for existence and survival, and without any pretension to dictate imperial policy. His personal action, probably prompted and directed by his teacher, Upagupta, was the direct cause of the spread of the
