"Alexander stayed only nineteen months in India, and however far-reaching his plans may have been, it is manifestly impossible that during those few months of incessant conflict he should have founded Hellenic institutions on a permanet basis, or materially affected the structure of Hindu polity and society.' (Vincent Smith's "The Early History of India". "It is impossible to deny that conquerors were often in early times pioneers of civilization, commerce following along their bloody track, and compensating for their devastation by the blessings which it diffused. Such was certainly the result of the Indian expedition of Alexander ; and therefore, while reprobating, the motives in which it originated, we cannot but rejoice that it was so overruled by Providence as to be productive of most important and valuable results." (Beveridge A Comprehensive History of India.)
