Quotes:Desideri, Ippolito

Zirkoff, Boris

Desideri, Ippolito. Italian Jesuit missionary, b. at Pistoia, 1684; d. at Rome, 1733. Went to India, 1712, staying in Surat for a number of years, learning Oriental languages. Then went to Delhi, Lahore and Kashmir. Continued his journey to Bhutan, 1715, in company with Père Freyre; they were at first received well, but later accused of spying and had to leave. Desideri made his way to Lhasa, 1716: being very zealous, he made enemies among the Capuchin missionaries who forced his withdrawal, 1727. He went to Rome to justify himself, but Pope Benedict XIII refused to permit him to return to Tibet. Desideri translated the Kanjur into Latin. His Letters may be found in Lettres édifiantes and in the Bibliotheca Pistoriensis.

Source: Boris de Zirkoff, «H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings», vol. 4, p. 643