Pahlavi Texts, Part II — SBE Vol. 18 (trans. E. W. West, 1882)
English·1879–1910·trans. E. W. West·375 passages
The text · part 8 of 18
4. An adopted son who is provided is such as a son that is acknowledged, who is accepted by one’s self!, and free from dezag appointed, or from necessity”.
5. And an adopted son who is appointed is he who is to be appointed among the relations who are suitable for adoption—and are nearest to him who is to be appointed as adopted son—and the ministers (pad4n) of religion, amd he performs the duty of
‘ That is, adopted during the man’s lifetime. * Reacing ayfif niy4zé, but it may be ay fifd &y4vd, ‘or from discovery.’
192 DApIsTAN-! pDinfK.
family guardianship!; he who ts the appointed one is he who is appointed by the men who ave the nearest relations (nabAnazdist4n6) on account of proximity.
Cuapter LIX.
1. As éo the fifty-eighth question and reply, that which you ask is thus: For how much property is it then necessary to appoint an adopted son ?
2. The reply is this, that when the property which has remained his for whom it is necessary to appoint an adopted son is as much as sixty sttrs* of income, z¢ is then indispensable to appoint an adopted son for him. 3. Even when 2¢ is less they should recognise him whose adoption is needful, axa who conducts an adopted son’s duty; and, similarly, an adoption is to be appointed for him, though it may not come as a possession unto him who is fittest for adoption. ,
CHAPTER LX.
1. As éo the fifty-ninth question and reply, that which you ask is thus: What is the sin owing to not appointing ax adopted son ?
2. The reply is this, that for the man himself 2¢ is allowable when he gives up all the property in
1 Mrq has ‘an existent family guardianship is :# the son of him appointed, and a provided one is that when he himself performs the duty in the guardianship ;’ but the phrase interpolated is hardly grammatical.
* About 84 rfipts (see Chap. LVI, 2).
CHAPTER LIX, I-LXI, 2. 193
righteous gifts, aza@ when he has no property they should not provide an adopted-sonship for him, and his relations are innocent as regards it. 3. But should they recognise him who has the adoptedsonship of the deceased, or has accepted the position of his adopted-sonship 1, ov should they have seized the property for the adopted-sonship zz order to appoint an acting adopted son (satérgar), and he conducts the adopted-sonship, and throws away doth the portion (b6n) provided for disbursement (vishé6p6) and the entirety, and quite destroys the property, and thoroughly ruins the adopted-sonship, though, on account of not restraining him, it is said to be a sin worthy of death for every single dirham, it is not said ¢hey are killed outright.
CuaPter LXI.
1. As ¢o the sixtieth question azd reply, that which you ask is thus: What is the propriety and impropriety, the merit axd demerit, of family guardianship ?
2. The reply is this, that the merit is the appointment and recognition of him who accomplishes more worthily the greater benefit; the demerit is as 40
2. The reply is this, that the merit is the appointment and recognition of him who accomplishes more worthily the greater benefit; the demerit is as 40
1 Mrgq ‘has ‘or any one who has accepted the adoption as an adoption.’
* The meaning appears to be that, though, owing to their misplaced confidence and neglect, they have been guilty of many mortal sins, they are not liable to capital punishment. It is evident that the writer had no apprehension that any property would lie neglected through want of administration, but that he had considerable doubts of the prudence and honesty of administrators.
(18) fo)
194 DApISTAN-t DINiK.
him who is unworthy, or him whose worthiness is not appointed to avert a lesser benefit and the ruining of a worthy adoption. 3. Nearer details (khdrdak5) of the family guardianship which is proper azd which is not proper for an adopted son’s duty, of the child of good religion with whose business z¢ is connected, and of the fathers for whom a family guardian is to be appointed, are zz the recital of five chapters (fragard6) of the Hdspardm /Vasé&', and zx the abstracts (giriftak6étha) of the good ideas in various scriptures (nask6) in which many decisions are together.
CuarTrer LXII.-
1. As éo the sixty-first question azd reply, that which you ask is thus: How stand the shares in the inheritance (mtr4t6) of property among those of the good religion, and how is it necessary for them to stand therein ?
2. The reply is this, that in the possession of wealth the wealth reaches higher ov lower, just like water when it goes in a stream on a declivity, but when the passage shall be closed at the bottom it goes back on the running water (pi y-4v5), and then it does not go to its after-course *,
1 The seventeenth book of the complete Mazda-worshipping literature, whose sixty-four sections are described in detail in the Dinkard (see Sls. X, 21). The five chapters here mentioned were evidently in that one of the last fourteen sections which is said to have consisted of six chapters on the ownership of property and disputes about it, on one’s own family, acquiring wife and children, adoption, &c.
® This metaphor seems to mean that property, like water, always
CHAPTER LXI, 3—LXII, 5. 195
3. When there is nothing otherwise in the will and private’, property goes to a wife ov daughter ? who is privileged ; if one gives her anything by will then she does not obtain the share (d4s) pertaining to her*. 4. Whenever‘ a share for a son is not provided by it, every one Aas so much and the wife who may be a privileged one has twice as much; and the share of that ove of the sons, oy even the wife of a son, who is blind in both eyes, or crippled ® in both feet, or maimed in both his hands, is twice as much as that of ove who is sound.
5. And z¢ is needful ¢ha¢ he who was in the father’s guardianship sa// remain in guardianship, as when a father or mother is decrepit and causing awe (éagartn), or of a nurture different from that of the guardian ’—or a child of his brother or sister, or a father, or ovze® without nurture apart from him, is descends until it meets with an obstruction to its downward progress in the shape of the nearest descendants, but, when once in their possession, it can again ascend (like the dammed stream) for the support of the survivors of an older generation (see § 5).
1 Or, it may be ‘in the provisions (viyag4n) of the will;’ or, by omitting two strokes, we have simply ‘otherwise (h4n) in the will.’
* That is, they have a share of the property when there are other next of kin. M14 adds, ‘and they should provide a living son as father and husband unless privileged,’ referring to the necessity of adoption when there is no son and the wife is not a privileged one.
* It being assumed that the will provides as much as is intended for any one whom it mentions.
* Reading amat, ‘when,’ instead of mfin, ‘who,’ which words are often confounded because their P4z. equivalents are nearly identical.
5 Mr4 has ‘ daughters.’
* Armést probably means literally ‘ most immovable.’
7 M14 omits this last clause. ® Mr4 has ‘ mother.’
O 2
196 pApisTAn-{ DiNtk.
without a guardian—the ready guardianship of a capable man, and the shelter avd nourishment ¢hat have become inadequate? are as indispensably forthcoming * from the possessors of wealth, of those who have taken the property, as that faking was indispensable *.
6. If there be no son of that man, but there be a daughter or wife of his, and if some of the affairs* of the man are such as render a woman not suitable for the guardianship, it is necessary to appoint a family guardian; if there be, moreover, no wife or daughter of his it is necessary to appoint an adopted son. 7. This—that is, when it is necessary to appoint a family guardian and who is the fittest, and when it is necessary to appoint an adopted son and which is the fittest—is written in the chapters on the question 5
CuapTer LXIII.
1. The sixty-second question is that which you ask thus: Would they authorisedly carry off any property whatever from foreigners and infidels, or not ?
2. The reply is this, that wealth and property and anything that foreigners (an-atr4nd) possess and is carried off by them from the good with violence, and which through obstinacy they do not give back
’ Literally ‘not issuing.’
* Mrq has ‘are thus forthcoming,
* Mrq has ‘or fave become indispensable to it.’
‘ Or, it may be ‘dependents,’ the text is merely va hatd min zak-f gabra,
5 See Chaps. LVI-LIX.
CHAPTER LXII, 6—LXIV, 3. 197
LVI-LIX.
CHAPTER LXII, 6—LXIV, 3. 197
when it is proper, it is well allowable in that case that they should seize from the foreigners. 3. So long as z¢ is the lawful order of the procurator of its owners’ z¢ is allowable for a just decider to consider properly, and to demand authoritatively the sending of interest (sd) thereon for himself. 4. But zf they proceed in their obstinacy 4e is sent to come up with them in obstinacy, not to dissemble with them 2, 5. Zé zs the custom to give an infidel (ak-dtn6), who is not a foreigner, food, clothing, axd medicine, when his renunciation (v4z) has come, for keeping away matters (4is4n6) of death and sickness owing to hunger avd thirst, cold and heat; but wealth, horses, accoutrements, wine, avd land are not given authorisedly, it is said, unto foreigners and idolators®.
CuaPteR LXIV.
1. As ¢o the sixty-third question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Whence was the first creation of mankind, and how was the formation of the original race of men? 2. What issued from Gayémard‘, and what did it really become; and from what have Mashyaih axd Mashyayéth® arisen ?
3. The reply is this, that Adharmazd, the all-
1 Reading vad zak amatas khfiday4n ay4zvf-aftar farm4n-f d&dik. The form of ayAot-aftar has not yet been met with elsewhere, but it seems to mean ‘one who holds the obtainment,’ though whether as agent or officer of justice is uncertain.
3 Mr4 has merely ‘ but should they proceed in their obstinacy, to come with them is not to dissemble.’
5 Literally ‘ demon-worshippers.’ * See Chap. II, ro.
5 The same as the Marhay4 and Marhtyéih of Chap. XXXVII, 82.
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ruling, produced from the endless light the shape of a fire-priest (4srQk6) whose name was that of Adharmazd, and z¢s brilliance that of fire; z¢s incombustibility was like ¢/at inside the light, and z¢s expansion like the western (khfrbarag) land. 4. And in the shape of the fire-priest was created by him the material existence (stih) ¢ha¢ is called man, and for three thousand years?, when it did not progress and did not eat, it did not speak; likewise, it did not utter, but it thought of, the righteousness of the perfect and true religion, the desire for the pure glorification of the creator.
5. Afterwards, the contentious promise-breaker? injured the life of it, aad produced a burdensome mortality ; and the mortality is c/ear from the appellation, GAyémard@, of the nature produced. 6. The seed which was the essence of the life of the leader (mtrak6) of life, who was G4yémard, flowed forth on 47s passing away, came on to the earth of the beneficent angel‘, avd is preserved in the earth until, through the protection of the angels, a brother and
6. The seed which was the essence of the life of the leader (mtrak6) of life, who was G4yémard, flowed forth on 47s passing away, came on to the earth of the beneficent angel‘, avd is preserved in the earth until, through the protection of the angels, a brother and
' This is the second of the four periods of three thousand years of which time is said to be composed (see Chap. XXXVII, r1n). The ‘shape of the fire-priest’ is one of the spiritual creations of the first period, in which shape man was created during the second period, and this primeval man became GAyémard (that is, ‘a living mortal’) through the persecution of the evil spirit (see § 5) at the commencement of the third period. The first two steps of this creation are not described in the text of the Bundahis known to Europeans.
* The evil spirit, who is said to be the origin of falsehood (see Chap. XXXVII, 11).
’ Which means ‘the living mortal,’ or ‘the mortal living one.’
* The female archangel Spendarmad, who has special charge of the earth. Or the phrase may be ‘came on to the earth which the beneficent spirit produced.’
CHAPTER LXIV, 4—-LXV, I. 199
sister of mankind’, connected together, have grown from it, fave attained to movement axd walking upon the earth, azd have advanced even to intercourse and also procreation.
7. The ground where the life of Gayémard departed is gold, avd from the other land, where the dissolution of Azs various members occurred, as many kinds of decorative metals flowed forth it is said?,
CuaptTer LXV.
1. As to the sixty-fourth question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Where and from what did the origin of race, which they say was next-of-kin marriage (khvétQd4d6)§, arise; and from what place did it arise ?
1 The Mashy4ih and Mashy4yéth, or man and woman, of § 2, who are said to have grown up, in the course of forty years, connected together in the shape of a plant; but, after a breathing soul had entered them, they became human beings, and fifty years later they began to be the progenitors of mankind (see Bd. XV, 1-30).
* Zs. X, 2 states that eight kinds of metal arose from the various members of the dead GAyémard, namely, gold, silver, iron, brass, tin, lead, quicksilver, and adamant.
> Usually written khvétQk-das (Av. vaétvadatha, ‘a giving of, or to, one’s own’). It is a term applied to marriages between near relations, and is extolled as specially meritorious. For centuries past the Parsis have understood it to refer to marriages between first cousins, and all allusions to marriage between nearer relations they attribute to the practices of heretics (see Sls. XVIII, 4n); though, like the professors of all other religions, they must admit the necessity of such a practice in the first family of mankind, as detailed in the text. Translations of other passages relating to the subject will be found in Appendix III, and it is also mentioned in Chaps. XXXVII, 82, LXXVII, 6, and LXXVIIT, rg.
200 DADISTAN-t DINIK.
Translations of other passages relating to the subject will be found in Appendix III, and it is also mentioned in Chaps. XXXVII, 82, LXXVII, 6, and LXXVIIT, rg.
200 DADISTAN-t DINIK.
2. The reply is this, that the first consummation of next-of-kin marriage was owing to that which Mashyath aud Mashydyéih! did, who were brother and sister together, and their consummation of intercourse produced a son? as a consummation of the first next-of-kin marriage. 3. So that they effected the first intercourse of man with woman, and the entire progress of the races of every kind of lineage of men arose from that, avd all the men of the world are of that race.
4. It is truly said, that it was the joy of the lord and creator after the creation of the creatures, and, owing to that, its consummation, which was his complete accomplishment of the existence of the creatures (dAmAnth), was owing to him. 5. And its occurrence, too, is in evidence that the creator, who is so with unflinching (atér4k) will, is as much the cause of the begetting and entire progress of his own perfect creatures?, in whom begetting is by destiny, as Héshéng* by whom two-thirds® of the demons were smitten, Takhmérup® who overturned Aharman through the power of the angels, Yim by
1 See Chap. LXIV,2. The names are here written Mashyéth and Mashyéyéth.
2 Twins, according to Bd. XV, 22, 24.
* That is, he is not only the original creator, but also the perpetual promoter of the increase and progress of the creation, as much as those who appear to be such promoters, though merely acting as his agents.
‘ Here written Héshyang. For the Av. names of these four primeval monarchs, see Chap. II, ron.
’ K3e has ‘three-thirds,’ but see Aban Yt. 22, Ram Yt. 8, Zamyad Yt. 26.
* He is said to have subjugated the evil spirit, and to have used him as a steed for thirty years (see Chaps. II, 10, XXXVII, 35).
CHAPTER LXV, 2—LXVI, 3. 20!
whom order was arranged and death was driven away (avak4ld6)!, Frédin who fettered Az-t Dahak? and stripped his blaspheming (ntrang4k) from the world, and the many princes (kay4n) and highpriests of grave spirit who were, and are, and will be.
CuapTer LXVI.
1. As ¢o the sixty-fifth question axd reply, that which you ask is thus: Zherve ts a man of wealth of the good religion who fully intends to order a cedebration of all the rites of his religion; and a priest of it, to whom the five chapters (fragardé) of the Avesta (‘text’) of the correct law of the Nirangistan (‘ religious-formula code’) are easy through the Zand (‘commentary ), is ever progressing in priestly manhood (magéi-gabv4th). 2. And he (the man) goes unto him, and he (the priest) speaks thus: ‘All the religious rites are performed for 350 airhams*, as a gift always given beforehand by them who give the order unto me, so that I may come to them.’
3. A man of the disciples’, to whom the five
2. And he (the man) goes unto him, and he (the priest) speaks thus: ‘All the religious rites are performed for 350 airhams*, as a gift always given beforehand by them who give the order unto me, so that I may come to them.’
3. A man of the disciples’, to whom the five
1 He is said to have kept away cold and heat, decay and death, and other evils from the earth (see Ram Yt. 16, ZamyAd Yt. 33).
® See Chap. XXXVII, 97.
3 This was the name of one of the first thirty sections of the HOsp4rfim Nask (see Chap. LXI, 3), and a portion of it, containing the Pahlavi commentary (or Zand) of three chapters, with many Avesta quotations, is still extant.
* The word giganéd, ‘dirham,’ is here omitted, but occurs in §§ 16, 20. The sum of 350 dirhams would be about 1224 rfipts (see Chap. LII, 1 n).
5 That is, those who are still learning their priestly duties (see Chap. XLV).
202 DADISTAN-t DINIK.
sections (vidag) of the Avesta are easy, and nothing whatever of its Zand is easy’, then says unto him—unto that man who intends to order all the religious rites—thus: ‘For this gift I will conduct all the religious rites for thee twice, with the appliances in the land of P4rs?, shouldst thou give the order unto me. 4. For it is quite possible for me to pray so many sections through my own exertion (dastd), du¢ for him? it is necessary to order again of an officiating priest (pavan z6tak5), who is himself not able to pray any section, 07 does not himself pray; and it is not necessary for him to go for the control (parv4r)* of all the religious rites when a stipend (bahar) is the one consideration within him, and the matter is that he® may receive again. 5. He who has always himself prayed is better than he who shall accept readily azd orders the work again, and is not able to pray it himself, when a fulfilment is tedious to him; when z¢ is I who® receive, I always pray myself better than he who would accept readily and orders again, and it brings on my business to a closing point.’
6. The priestly man speaks thus : ‘ The considera-
1 It being far easier to learn the Avesta by heart than to understand its meaning by aid of the Pahlavi commentary ; a competent knowledge of the latter being sought only by advanced disciples, and rarely attained by any but the most learned priests.
* Reading pavan bfim-i P4rs, as in § 15; K35 has here pavan bfin-fras, ‘for opening the beginning,’ which might be understood to refer to the preliminary ceremonies for preparing the ceremonial apparatus, if the phrase were not otherwise written elsewhere. In § 21 K35 has pavan bfn-f Pfrs,
5 K35 omits the last letter of valman.
* Or, it may be ‘to the precincts.’ 5 Literally ‘I.’
* Reading li mfn, instead of lanman, ‘we.’
CHAPTER LXVI, 4—I0. 203
In § 21 K35 has pavan bfn-f Pfrs,
5 K35 omits the last letter of valman.
* Or, it may be ‘to the precincts.’ 5 Literally ‘I.’
* Reading li mfn, instead of lanman, ‘we.’
CHAPTER LXVI, 4—I0. 203
tion of stipend is more necessary to arise with me than! other men, owing to the position of religion, not the other portion (s4n6) of all religious rites; therefore, it is more authorisedly received and conducted by me when I accept readily and again intrust the work; but I direct so that they pray thoroughly, and it brings on much business to its c/ostng point ; moreover, 2f I seize upon it, even then I should be authorised, for this is the stipend of religion.’
7. Should they seize this that is authorisedly theirs, or not? Azd is zt the custom of a man who is frequently ordering all the religious rites to reduce his gift for the ceremonial, or not ?
8. Order some one to decide for us clearly, when they do not dispute the gift for the ceremonial, or when they do dispute z¢, how is then its great advantage ; and the harmfulness that exists therein, in many ways and many modes, when they give an insufficient gift for the ceremonial. 9. Is the property which is given up as a gift for the ceremonial— so long as it thus becomes the remuneration which one gives to a receiver of remuneration (mozdé6bar)—that property which they can seize? 10. And is the work which is done, ov deputed, and its great advantage, more than they would perform when, in the period of the evil millenniums 2, they diminish the gift for the ceremonial; avd in how many modes
* Reading li min, instead of the imperfect word lanm.
2 Of the twelve millenniums of time, mentioned in Chap.XXXVII, 11 n, the most evil one is said to have been that in which the author lived, the millennium of Hashédar (about a.p. 600-1600 according to the chronology of Bund. and Byt.), for ‘mankind become most perplexed in that perplexing time’ (see Byt. II, 62, 63), a period of great tribulation for the religion of the Masda-worshippers.
204 DADISTAN-! DiNfK.
does its harm then proceed therefrom? 11. Of whom are all the religious rites always more authorisedly ordered, of that priestly man, or of that disciple? 12. For what reason, also, is it proper to diminish the gift for all the religious rites of him who is a priestly man, or to give z¢ in excess? 13. When they do not diminish the gift for the ceremonial, and z¢ is given in excess, in what manner does its great advantage then arise therefrom ; and why azd through what source (békh) is it possible for advantage to arise therefrom? 14. When they diminish the gift what harm to it (the ceremonial) is then possible to arise therefrom, amd how is z¢ better when they give the gift for the ceremonial ?
14. When they diminish the gift what harm to it (the ceremonial) is then possible to arise therefrom, amd how is z¢ better when they give the gift for the ceremonial ?
15. For when the family householders, with those of the good religion of Iran, are early (pés) weth every single celebration of all the religious rites with holy-water, in the land of PArs, unless they are in distress, their gift is then 4oo dirhams’; and we have given more than this, eve 450 dirhams ?, for it.
16. And now should it be needful, when we diminish anything from the 400 dirhams, or from the 450° dirhams, of their gift, they would then not accept z¢ from us, azd they speak thus: ‘For 400 dirhams, or at least for 350 dirhams‘; nothing less do we
? About 140 rfipts (see Chap. LII, 1 n). Mrq has 300 dirhams.
® About 157} rfipis. M14 has 350 dirhams. The actual value of all these sums depends upon the cost of the necessaries of life in P4rs in the ninth century.
5 M14 has ‘350.’
* About 1224 rfipis. K35 has 4ngfn, ‘so,’ instead of gigand, ‘dirham’ (the two words being nearly alike in Pahl. letters) ; this would alter the phrase as follows :—‘ or less; as to 350, so paltry a thing we do not accept.’
CHAPTER LXVI, II-20. 205
accept. 17. Bué there are needy men! who always come to us and speak thus: ‘For 350 dirhams we will twice conduct all the religious rites with holywater ?, as you have always ordered us before for 400 dirhams; order z¢ only of us, for shouldst thou have z¢ managed by priestly men, they always say that they should always perform a curtailment (k4starih) of the religious rites and ceremonies of the sacred beings, ad that all the religious rites are not authorisedly ordered except of them.’
18, Although a priest (aérpatd) who becomes a ruler of the ceremonial should be doubly a decider, yet order some one to explain to us clearly concerning these questions, as asked by us.
19. The reply is this, that the max of the good religion who intended to order all the religious rites is he whose desire is goodness, and he should be a decider of questions about it.
20. As to the priest who spoke thus :—‘ Thou shouldst order z¢ of me for 350° dirhams, as you have always given before your business was arranged ; and it becomes your own non-religious share of the duty, to be authorisedly given, because you have proceeded with the alleged demeanour of the country and for the purpose of intercession; and all the
' The disciples, who are represented as applicants for employment.
2 That is, in the most solemn manner, and with all appliances. It appears from Chap. LXXXVIII, 9, that the religious rites without holy-water were then performed for 120 to 150 dirhams, or little more than one-third the fee demanded for those with holy-water ; whereas the merit of some rites with holy-water is said to be a hundred times as great as that of the same rites without holy-water (see Sls. XVI, 6).
5 Mrgq has ‘400’ here, but see § 2.
p. 206
XVI, 6).
5 Mrgq has ‘400’ here, but see § 2.
p. 206
religious rites with holy-water are such as they solemnize repeatedly (pavan dér), among which there are many in which! I act and am very well performing’—the gift of 350 dirhams is then not excessive remuneration for him.
21. As to the disciple who spoke thus :—‘ For 350 dirhams I will ¢wzce? conduct all the religious rites in the land? of Paérs’—such of them as they then conduct repeatedly are not many in the aggregate (£inak6), and they certainly damage his (the man’s) property, and all the religious rites of fire, through that deficiency. 22. And they would accept it on this account, that through a love of righteousness they might cause an advantage (khangtnak6d) unto all those religious rites by their own inferior eminence*, 23. And he extends and impels the ceremonial of the sacred beings into much progress who promotes it through that eminence which is owing to his own wealth, azd which is thus more possessed of a share (bén) of the ceremonial of the sacred beings and of the good work of praise—except, indeed, a like good work of praise of his—when they shall cause that manifestation of eminence’, 24. So that the orderer of the good work understands that that which is diminished by him® is the eminence
1 Reading mfin, ‘which,’ instead of amat, ‘when’ (see Chap. LXII, 4n).
2 The cipher ‘2’ is omitted in the Pahl. text here, but see §§ 3,17.
5 K35 has bfin, instead of bfim (see § 3).
* Or, it may be ‘by the eminence of their own wealth,’ as afr, ‘inferior,’ and khél, ‘ wealth, property,’ are alike in Pahlavi; but neither reading is quite satisfactory here.
® By a proper disbursement of wealth.
* When he diminishes his payment.
CHAPTER LXVI, 21-27. 207
of the disciple, which his own wealth as to order for those who are not able to give wealth which is their own property for it; azd he makes no curtailment (bangisn6) of those scanty remunerations.
25. And if that disciple should accept as remuneration less than is the custom for all the religious rites, ¢he orderer is not undiminished in wealth }, for the reason that the good effect owing to the advantage of holy-water is such as when they conduct them repeatedly, unless it be necessary to conduct them in a manner as 2f unpaid (pavan agaztd).
26. That curtailment of the good effect is not afterwards demandable (pasin-sakhuntk8), if it Aas to be accepted by him; and if that acceptance of less remuneration by him be an opposing of him to the malice and ill-temper (vush4t) of the priests, this also is not ¢he way that they should cause progress as regards their own duszness.
27. And the proximity (nazdth) of a master of the house? who keeps away from all the religious rites requested and accepted—more particularly when the accepter accepts all the religious rites of the requester for that remuneration —is itself necessary ; he may not be of a religious disposition, but it is yet requisite for 42m to be where this is requested
1 Mrq4 has ‘7 is not eminence in wealth;’ but the meaning is evidently that there is no real saving when the expenditure is re- duced, because the good effect of the rites is also diminished when they are insufficiently paid for.
* Or, khandp4nd may mean ‘a keeper of the sacred table,’ or low stone platform on which the ceremonial vessels are placed, which is often called khan. In either case the orderer of the ceremony is meant, and the author evidently contemplates the probability of the order being given as a mere formal matter of duty, without any really religious feeling.
208 DADISTAN-! DiNfK.
and accepted for that scanty remuneration of his, owing to the extent and impetus of Azs share of the duty.
28. Moreover, it is perceived by us in Pars ¢hat they who would accept the work for half the remuneration which was requisite as profit for it formerly would seize the remuneration. 29. And the reason of it is this :—The peasants relied upon the corn of the field (kh4n6) which has not come, and they said : ‘We are hurried ; we never obtain azything even on a single one of various debts, and by this payment we shall save our lives for the time; so we calculate that whatever we seize in the manner of a debt or two, when the corn arrives and we sell the corn, we shall make as profit on that business!;’—and it seemed to me very desirable for such a man.
30. If, also, they should approve that scanty remuneration of that disciple, it is an injury of all the religious rites, of which the forgivers* ave to cast the consideration of the unequally-shared advantage out of the body*®. 31. All the religious rites ordered of him who is a better performer, owing to not diminishing the proper remuneration, having proceeded unaltered, the remuneration of righteousness ove does not approve is important as regards such as they solemnize and conduct in the period *.
1 This parable justifies the taking of religious stipends by force, in cases of necessity, by a practical appeal to the sympathies of the enquirers ; but it really evades the question proposed in § 7, which refers to seizures not justified by necessity.
* Probably the priests who appoint atonements for sins confessed and renounced (see Sls. VIII, 1, 2, 5, 6).
® Of those who have obtained a disproportionate share of the profit of the good works by not paying properly for them.
* There are several doubtful points in the construction of this section.
CHAPTER LXVI, 28-34. 209
VIII, 1, 2, 5, 6).
® Of those who have obtained a disproportionate share of the profit of the good works by not paying properly for them.
* There are several doubtful points in the construction of this section.
CHAPTER LXVI, 28-34. 209
32. Since, for the 350 dirhams, all the religious rites which they conduct once with holy-water are, it is affirmed, all the religious rites caused to be conducted twice with holy-water in that same place and with the same good effect, it is more important to order of ¢Zem who shall allow all the religious rites twice; for, with as much wealth, as much efficiency, and as much good effect, more ceremonial is good.
33. The worthiness of the disciple, which is owing to himself, is the preparation; azd the priest is worthy, of whose performance in the religion you have spoken’; therefore, supreme worthiness is unattainable by either of them; so it is more significant when the disciple is the preparer, avd the priest, as director, becomes a demander of good effect; both strive for good progress, and through many kinds of participation they may be worthy. 34. And both of them, praising together—whereby the participation is brought ¢o an end—may authorisedly seize?; but that worthiness of theirs is owing to the duty and the praise therein—this oe in preparing, and this one in superintendence (avar-madth) of the recital— and the after discourse and petitioning, avd other good done.
1 See § 1.
* Probably the remuneration, if it be withheld; provided always they do their duty thoroughly, as mentioned in the concluding clause.
[18] P
p. 210
CuarTerR LXVII. .
1. As ¢o the sixty-sixth question avd reply, that which you ask is thus: What is this appearance? which is girded on the sky ?
2. The reply is this, that z¢ zs a mingling of the brilliance of the sun with mist and cloud that is seen, of which z¢ is a¢ all times and seasons, moreover, a characteristic appearance, whereby z¢ as become their sign above from spiritual to earthly beings.
3. That which is earthly is the water above to which its brilliance is acceptable; and the many brilliant colours (gunak4n) which are formed from that much mingling? of brilliance and water, and are depicted (man4kt-att), are the one portion for appearing *.
Cuarpter LXVIII.
1. As ¢o the sixty-seventh question and reply, that which you ask is thus: What is this which, when the sun and moon ave both come up, is something *
1 Reading didandth; but the word can also be read sad-vanth, which might stand for sad-gfinth, ‘a hundred-coloured existence,’ a possible term for the rainbow, but the Persian dictionaries give no nearer term than sadkas, or sadkés.
* M14 has ‘that mingling of many portions and few portions.’
* Reading didandk6; but it can also be read sad-vanaké, a similar alternative to that in § 1.
* M14 has ‘that mingling of many portions and few portions.’
* Reading didandk6; but it can also be read sad-vanaké, a similar alternative to that in § 1.
* The only probable reading for this word is mindavam, ‘a thing ;’ it occurs three times in this question, but is a very vague term for the phases of the moon, probably referring to a supposed body covering the dark part of the moon’s disc.
CHAPTER LXVII, I-LXVIII, 6. 211
come, and comes on as z¢ were anew when it (the moon) becomes new, axd@ men want the thing to go down from the place where z¢ is becoming apparent ? 2. When it Aas been several times, what is then the thing whzch comes up and exists, and how is its motion by night and day ?
3. The reply is this, that the sun and moon are always seen! there where they stand, and they exist for men and the creatures. 4. The sun is swiftermoving? than the moon, awd every day becomes a little in advance ; at the new moon the sun is shining, and the moon owing to diminution backwards, on account of the slenderness of the moon by much travelling *, and on account of the brilliance of the sun, is not apparent. 5. As the sun goes down a light which fs not very apparent is the moon, and not Aaving gone down the moon is seen‘; and each day the moon increases, comes up more behind the sun, and goes down more behind, azd is, therefore, more seen. 6. When increased to the utmost, which is approaching a likeness of the sun, it comes spherical (aspiharak®), and is seen the whole night; to diminish anew it comes back to the companionship of the sun, and goes into the splendour of the sun.
1 The MSS. have astf-hénd, ‘have remained,’ instead of khadftunf-hénd, ‘are seen;’ but the difference between these words in Pahlavi letters is merely a medial stroke.
* Apparently so, as the moon rises and sets about 48 minutes later every day, on the average.
> A very anthropomorphic mode of accounting for the waning of the moon into a slender crescent.
* Most Orientals consider the day of the new moon to be that in the evening of which it is first possible to see the moon ; this is usually the first, but sometimes the second, day after the actual change of the moon according to European ideas.
P 2
212 DADISTAN-? DiNfK.
CuarTeR LXIX.
1. As to the sixty-eighth question ad reply, that which you ask is thus: When something takes hold of the moon oy sun what is then its residence (khan), and whence does it always seize upon z¢?
P 2
212 DADISTAN-? DiNfK.
CuarTeR LXIX.
1. As to the sixty-eighth question ad reply, that which you ask is thus: When something takes hold of the moon oy sun what is then its residence (khan), and whence does it always seize upon z¢?
2. The reply is this, that two dark progeny of the primeval ox) move and are made to revolve from far below the sun and moon, and whenever, during the revolution of the celestial sphere, they make one pass below the sun, or below the moon, it becomes a covering which is spun (tad) over the sun, and it is so when the sun or moon is not seen. 3. Of each of those two progeny of the primeval ox—one of which is called ‘the head,’ and one ‘the tail’—the motion is specified among astronomers?; but 27 remaining upon those luminaries, and producing that covering, they do not attain unto those luminaries
1 Supposing the reading should be 2-4n géfihar-f tar here, and 2-4n gé4thar4n in § 3. Gdsihar is a supposed planetary (and, therefore, malevolent) body, connected with the sun and moon and having a head and tail, which falls on to the earth at the resurrection (see Bd. V, 1, XXVIII, 44, XXX, 18), and is here described as the cause of eclipses. Its name implies that it sprang from, or contained, the seed of the primeval ox, the supposed source of animal life (see Bd. XIV, 3), and in its Av. form, gao- Aithra, it is a common epithet of the moon; in Pers. it has become gézihr or gavazihr. As the words stand in K35 they look more like 2 andég d4lan-f tar, ‘two dark store-lobbies,’ or 2 and6g g4l-i tar, ‘two clusters of dark spiders;’ and in § 3 the word han&tnd is substituted for the nearly synonymous andég. In Mrq the words seem to be 2 4ngfin 4iharAn6-f tar, ‘two such dark faces.’
* Mrgq has ‘in the calculations of astronomers,’
CHAPTER LXIX, 1—-LXX, 3. 213
within that covering. 4. Zhere occurs no difference whatever of the descending vays! from those luminaries into a place of purity and freedom from disturbance far below those luminaries, except this, that the light which they divert to the world, and their activity as regards the celestial spheres are not complete for so much time, zor the coming ? of the light to the earth.
CyapTer LXX.
1. As to the sixty-ninth question and reply, that which you ask is thus: What are these river-beds’, and what is the cause of them; whence do they always arise, and why is ¢here not a river-bed everywhere and zn every place where ¢here is no mountain?
2. The reply is this, that any place where a mountain is not discernible and a river-bed exists 7¢ is a fissure (askfp5); and it is declared as clear that, even before the growth of the mountains, when the earth was all a plain, dy the shaking of the world the whole world became rent (zandak5)‘. 3. Even
1 Literally ‘ fallers.’
* Assuming that m4d&rth stands for mad&rth. The meaning is that an eclipse produces no harm beyond a short interruption of the descent of the sun’s or moon’s rays to the earth.
3. Even
1 Literally ‘ fallers.’
* Assuming that m4d&rth stands for mad&rth. The meaning is that an eclipse produces no harm beyond a short interruption of the descent of the sun’s or moon’s rays to the earth.
’ There is some doubt as to whether the word should be read z6gak6 (comp. Pers. z6g4, ‘a river’), or zandaké (comp. Pers. zandah, ‘ fissured’), but the meaning is tolerably certain from the context.
‘ When the evil spirit rushed into the earth it is said to have shaken, and the mountains began to grow (see Bd. VIII, 1-5); and at the resurrection it is expected that the earth will recover its original perfect state of a level plain (see Bd. XXX, 33).
p. 214
Frdsty4v of Tar! was specially mighty by causing the construction of channels (vidarg) there where z¢ is mountainous, and also zz low-lands?, in which there is no mountain, and the shaking in its creation was the formation of great sunken? springs and river-beds. 4. And if it Aas been prepared zm, or if it de in a ravine (sikaft5) of, the mountains, the cause, too, of the contraction, thundering, and tearing of a river, if zs confinement ée in the earth, is the resistance which it mee¢s in seeking a passage; and as it is a spring of the waters of the earth, so also it is in the earth, whose contraction and panting are mighty avd full of strength. 5. And when z¢ zs a time that they would make a constructed channel at the outside of its ravine, as regards the contraction which is within it, the resistance by which it is contracted at the outside of the ravine is the ground *.
CuarpterR LXXI.
1. As to the seventieth question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Is anything which happens
’ Frangrasyan, the Tfryan, in the Avesta; called Afrasiy4b in the Shahn4mah (see Bd. XXXI, 14). He is often mentioned as constructing canals (see Bd. XX, 17, 34, XXI, 6), but being a foreign conqueror he was considered as specially wicked by the Iranians.
* Assuming that sftan is a miswriting of stp6d4n, occasioned by joining two of the letters, just as harvispé, ‘all,’ is often written harvist.
* Or, perhaps, ‘ hidden.’
“ That is, a watercourse which is confined by its natural rocky channel in the mountains, when carried across the plain in a canal, is confined only by softer soil.
CHAPTER LXX, 4—LXXI, 4. 215
unto men through fate or through action, is exertion destiny or without destiny, avd does anything devoid of destiny happen unto men, or what way is it? 2. As ¢o that which they say, that, when a man turns unto sinfulness, they ordain anew a new death!; as to that which they say, ¢#a¢ anything which happens unto men is a work of the moon ?, and every benefit is connected with the moon, and the moon bestows z¢ upon worldly beings; and as to what way the moon does this, and bestows all benefits, order some one to decide the literal explanation of how and what way it is, by the will of the sacred beings.
3. The reply is this, that the high-priests* have said thus, that there are some things through destiny, and there are some through action; and 2? is thus fully decided by them, that life, wife, and child, authority and wealth are through destiny, and the righteousness and wickedness of priesthood, warfare, and husbandry are through action. 4. And this, too, is thus said by them, that that which is notp. 216 destined for a man in the world does not happen; and that which is destined, be it owing to exertion, will come forward, be it through sinfulness ov slothfulness he is injured by it. 5. That which will come forward owing to exertion is such as 4zs who goes to a meeting of happiness, or the sickness of a mortal who, owing to sickness, dies early’; and he who through sinfulness and slothfulness is thereby injured is such as e who would wed no wife, and is certain that no child of his is born, ov such as he who gives zs body unto slaughter, and life is injured by his living.
1 This reference is to a phrase in the Pahl. commentary on Vend. V, 33, which commentary contains a good many of the statements made in this chapter, excepting those relating to the moon. The reading aésh, ‘death,’ given by K35, is probably more correct than afibas, ‘ for him,’ given by our modern MSS. of the Vendidad; but M14 has amended it, and states ‘then many new /hings are ordained by it for him.’
2 Assuming that vidan4g, ‘time,’ stands for bidan4g, the Huz. of m4h, which means both ‘ month’ and ‘ moon.’ In the following phrases the word m4h is used.
* It may be noted that most Pahlavi writers, when quoting the Pahlavi commentaries on the Vendid4d (as the author is doing here) or any other Nask, speak of them merely as the utterances of the high-priests, and reserve the term din6, ‘revelation,’ for the Avesta itself; thus showing that belief in the inspiration of the Pahlavi translations of the Avesta is a very modern idea.
CuapterR LXXII.
1. As to the seventy-first question azd reply, that which you ask is thus: What are the heinous sins of committing unnatural intercourse, is it proper to order or perform the sacred ceremony for him who shall commit unnatural intercourse, amd is it then proper to practise sitting together and eating together with him who shall commit z¢, and shall commit z¢ with a longing for it, or not ?
2. The reply is this, that of the evil Mazdaworshippers*—who were the seven evil-doers of sin of a heinous kind, whose practice of Aharman’s will was as much as an approximation to ¢hat of
1 Mrgq has ‘ which comes forward owing to sickness.’
2 M14 has ‘of a like evil practice, in inclination for sins, were the very heinous in the religion of the Masda-worshippers.’
® Reading giraf van vin4s, and assuming that van is a miswriting of gfn.
CHAPTER LXXI, 5—LXXII, 6. 217
CHAPTER LXXI, 5—LXXII, 6. 217
Aharman imself—two are those whom you have mentioned, who are defiled with mutual sin. 3. For, of those seven evil-doers, one was Az-t Dahak', by whom witchcraft was first glorified; he exercised the sovereignty of misgovernment, and desired a life of the unintellectual (ahangd4n khay4) for the world. 4. One was Azt Sruvar?, by whom infesting the highway zz terrible modes, frightful watchfulness (vimag-btd@4rth)® of the road, and devouring of horse and man were perpetrated. 5. One was Vadak‘ the mother of Dahak, by whom adultery was first committed, and by it all lineage is disturbed, control is put an end to, and without the authority of the husband an intermingling of son with son® occurs. 6. One was the Viptak® (‘pathic’)
1 See Chap. XXXVII, 97.
® A personification of Av. asi srvara, a serpent or dragon thus described in the Hém Yt. (Yas. IX, 34-39) :—‘ (Keres4spa) who slew the serpent Srvara which devoured horses and men, which was poisonous and yellow, over which yellow poison flowed a hand’sbreadth (spear’s-length?) high. On which Keresdspa cooked a beverage in a caldron at the mid-day hour, and the serpent scorched, hissed, sprang forth, away from the caldron, and upset the boiling water; Kereséspa Naremanau fled aside frightened’ (see Haug’s Essays, pp. 178,179). “The same account is given in Zamy4d Yt. 40.
* Mrg has bfminfdarth, ‘terrifying.’
* See Chap. LXXVIII, 2. There is possibly some connection between this name and the Av. epithet, Vadhaghana, which is thus mentioned by the evil spirit, speaking to Zaratfst, in Vend. XIX, 23 :—‘ Curse the good Mazda-worshipping religion! and thou shalt obtain fortune such as the Vadhaghana sovereign obtained ;’ and Mkh. LVII, 25 calls him ‘the Vadagan sovereign Dahak.’ The Pahlavi writers seem to have taken this epithet as a matronymic, owing to its form, but whether the mother’s name be really traditional, or merely manufactured from the epithet, is doubtful.
® Av. vipté (p. p. of vip, ‘to sow, to fecundate’), used in the
218 DADISTAN-{ DINiK.
zn the intercourse of males, the infecundity of which is the desire of men; and by him the intercourse of males ad the way of destroying the seed were first shown unto males. 7. One was the Vipintdak? (‘ pederast’), the male by whom the use of females was first brought among the errors (khazdag) of the male, and was despised (dikhtd) by him; he who is a cherisher of seed is delivering z¢ to females, and that which is destroying the seed is the flowing of stenches into the prescribed vessels® for it, the delivering z¢ to males by a demoniacal process, and carrying on a practice which effaces (Ahangéd5) and conceals the race of the living. 8. One was Tar-t Bradar-vakhsh*, the Karap and heterodox wizard, by whom the best of men was put to death. g. And one was he by whom the religions of apostates § were preferred—through the deceitfulness of the perverted text and interpretation ® which they themselves utter—to the law which the righteous sense of ‘a pathic’ in Vend. VIII, 102. This name, as well as the next one, is used here more as representing a class than an individual.
1 The p. p. of the causal form of vfiptand, ‘to fecundate,’ used as an equivalent of the Av. vaépay6d of Vend. VIII, roz.
7 Assuming that pavan pavan mfidrag4n®6 stands for pavan farmfid rag4né ; but there is some doubt as to the correct reading of several words in this section.
5 Or ‘seed.’ -
* The eldest of five brothers who were wizards of the Karap race or caste, and deadly enemies of Zarathst (see Byt. II, 3). He is said to have slain Zaratfist in the end.
5 Aharméké6, Av. ashemaogha, means literally ‘disturbing the right,’ and is a term applied to an ungodly man specially under the influence of the evil spirit, as an apostate is naturally supposed to be.
® The Avesta and Zand.
em Ae ow oe
CHAPTER LXXII, 7-12. 219
has praised, that existence which would have procured a complete remedy, amd would have become the eternity of the records which bestow salvation, through the good righteousness which is owing to the pure religion, the best of knowledge.
em Ae ow oe
CHAPTER LXXII, 7-12. 219
has praised, that existence which would have procured a complete remedy, amd would have become the eternity of the records which bestow salvation, through the good righteousness which is owing to the pure religion, the best of knowledge.
to. And they who are defiled by a propensity to stench are thereby welcoming the demons and fiends’, and are far from good thought? through vexing 2? ; and a distance from them is ¢o de maintained of necessity in sitting and eating with ‘hem, except so far as z¢ may be opportune for the giving of incitement 4y words for withdrawing (pad@4lisnd) from their sinfulness, while converting ¢hem from that propensity. 11. Should one die, to order a ceremonial for him is indecorous, and to perform z¢ would be unauthorised; but if 4e were to do so penitently one would then be authorised to perform his ceremonial after the three mzghts*, for it is the remedy for atonement of sin. 12. And so long as fe is living Ze is in the contingencies (vakhtag4nd) owing to the sickness through which Ae is in that way an infamous ove (akhamid4r), and ¢here are no preventives (b6ndag4n6) and medicinal powder for it; these are teachings also for the duty and good works of a ceremonial for the soul *.
1 Who are supposed to seize upon them and pervade them ; hence the necessity of shunning such men, to avoid contamination from the demons who possess them.
2 That is, from what is personified in the archangel Vohiman.
* During which the soul is supposed to remain on earth, hovering about the body, after death (see Chaps. XX, 2, XXIV, 2, XXV, 2).
“ That is, they are warnings to him to repent.
p. 220
CuapTer LXXIII.
1. As to the seventy-second question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Does the stench of him, stinking withal, who commits unnatural intercourse proceed to the sky, or not; and to what place does the wind of that stench go when it goes anywhere ?
2. The reply is this, that the material stench goes as far and in such proportion as there are filthiness and fetidness in the stinking existences, and the spiritual stench goes unto there where there are appliances (s4m4n6) for acquiring stench , a miserable place ; on account of the separation (gard@th) of the sky, everywhere where it goes in the direction of the sky it does not reach to the undisturbed existences!, 3. Information about the stench is manifest in the omniscient creator, whose omniscience is among the luminaries, du¢ that persistent creator and the primeval angels and archangels are free from its attack; and zs information about the deception which is practised upon that labourer for hell and mind a//ed with the demons ? is certain.
1 The sky being divided into three parts, and the uppermost part being inaccessible to evil (see Chap. XXXVII, 24, 25).
is certain.
1 The sky being divided into three parts, and the uppermost part being inaccessible to evil (see Chap. XXXVII, 24, 25).
® Reading ava-séd4-mfnisndth, but it is possible that av& may have originally been khavdak, for the Av. khavz6, ‘male paramour,’ of Vend. VIII, 99, 103 (trans. D.).
CHAPTER LXXIII, I-LXXIV, 3. 221
CuapTer LXXIV.
1. As to the seventy-third question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Is ¢here any discomfiture (vanid@4rth) of the archangels from that stench, or not ?
2. The reply is this, that the archangels are immortal and undistressed ; their place, also, is in that best existence of light, all-glorious, all-delightful, and undisturbed; and the strength of the stench due to the demons! does not reach unto anything pertaining to the archangels. 3. The archangels are omniscient?’, friendly to the creatures, persistent, and procure forgiveness; they know that heinous practice which is the heinous practice? of that wretched dupe (friftak5) who as become defiled in that most filthy manner (zisttQm 4rang), which is like that which is provided azd which is applied to him even in the terrible punishment‘ that Aas come upon him from the demons; and then, on account of ¢heiy friendliness to the creatures, it Las
1 Reading as-sédaik6, but it may be 4a-séd4fké, ‘of the demon of greediness,’ or it may stand for khavdak-sédafké, ‘of a male paramour of the demons,’ as mentioned in the last note.
2 Omniscience with regard to what is taking place in the world being an indispensable characteristic of any being to whom prayers are addressed, or whose intercession is implored.
* These words are thus repeated in K35, and the repetition may be correct.
* Referring probably to the punishment of such a sinner, detailed in AV. XIX, 1-3, as follows:—‘I saw the soul of a man, through the fundament of which soul, as it were, a snake, like a beam, went in, and came forth out of the mouth; and many other snakes ever seized all the limbs.’
222 DADISTAN-f DINK.
seemed to them severe, and thereby arises their forgiveness which is according to whatever anguish is owing to the torment which galls him.
CuapTer LXXV.
1. As to the seventy-fourth question azd reply, that which you ask is thus: Do the angels have Azs dead dody restored, or not?
seemed to them severe, and thereby arises their forgiveness which is according to whatever anguish is owing to the torment which galls him.
CuapTer LXXV.
1. As to the seventy-fourth question azd reply, that which you ask is thus: Do the angels have Azs dead dody restored, or not?
2. The reply is this, that there was a high-priest who said that the angels do not have zs dead ody restored, because of the sin of the mutually-polluting, full of stench, and inglorious victims (khv4pidé4n)', the terrible kind of means for the exculpation of creatures *, and that practice when males keep specially imperfect in ¢hetr duty; it deeng then suitable for mankind to become /vee from him who— like Az-t Dahak *, who wanted many most powerful demons—resists and struggles, and is not possessing the perception to extract (patkasistan6) a pardon, owing to the course of many demoniacal causes.
3. But innumerable multitudes (amarak4nth4), happily persevering‘ in diligence, have with united observation, unanimously, azd with mutual assistance (ham-bangisnth4) insisted upon this, that they have the dead dodzes of all men restored; for
1 Victims of the deceptions practised by the demons (see Chaps. LXXIII, 3, LXXIV, 3); but the reading is uncertain.
2 Probably the punishment of the wicked in hell.
® See Chap. XXXVI, 97. ;
‘ Reading farukhvd-tfishisn, but it may be perkhdntd dahisn, ‘having begged the boon;’ and Mrq has péryédkesh4n6, ‘of those of the primitive faith.’
CHAPTER LXXV, I-LXXVI, 2. 223
the good creator, granting forgiveness and full of goodness, would not abandon any creature to the fiend’, 4. In revelation (din6) it is said that every dead Jody is raised up, both of the righteous and of the wicked*; there is none whom they shall abandon to the fiend.
5. And this, also, is thus decided by them , that even as ¢o him who is most grievously sinful, when he becomes mentally seekeng pardon and repentant of the sin, azd, beceng as much an atoner as “e is well able, as delivered up zs body and wealth for retribution azd punishment, in reliance upon the atonement for sin of the good religion, then it is possible for his soul, also, to come to the place of the righteous +.
CuaPTtER LXXVI.
1. As to the seventy-fifth question avd reply, that which you ask is thus: As Zo him who shall slay those who shall commit unnatural intercourse, how is then his account as to good works and crime ?
2. The reply is this, that the high-priests, in ¢hezr decision, Aave thus specially said, that all worthy of death are so by the decision of judges and the
1 Except for temporary punishment in hell. All ideas of the vindictiveness of implacable justice are foreign to the Mazdaworshipper’s notion of the good creator.
7 Compare Bd. XXX, 7.
* Probably by the ‘multitudes’ of § 3.
All ideas of the vindictiveness of implacable justice are foreign to the Mazdaworshipper’s notion of the good creator.
7 Compare Bd. XXX, 7.
* Probably by the ‘multitudes’ of § 3.
* By delivering up his body and wealth to the will of the highpriest, as an atonement, and mentally renouncing his sins, he is saved from hell, and the beneficial effect of any good works he may have performed returns to him (see Sls.VIII, 5).
224 DApIsTAN-f pintk.
command of kings, whose business is execution. 3. Whoever shall slay him who /as heinous sins! after controversies three times with him, about the decision of those acquainted with the religion and about the command of kings, when he as thus remained in the sin in defiance of his own relations—and not inimically to the man azd injuriously to the religion, but inimically to the sin avd in order to keep away intercourse with demons—is to consider z¢ as a great good work. 4. No command is given about the decision of what one is to do 7m the same matter, more heedfully and more authorisedly in cases of doubtful attention, for the good work exists undoubtedly more amd more abundantly *.
CuarpTteR LX XVII.
1. As to the seventy-sixth question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Will you direct some one then to make the heinousness of this sin of unnatural intercourse clear to us?
2. The reply is this, that the first material creature was the righteous man, the smiter of the fiend, the righteous propitiator ; so, also, in the world 4e is more recognising the sacred beings, more completely (ham4ktar) for the production of creatures,
1 Reading vinas4né6, as in Mr4, instead of the doubtful word vashkisn, which might perhaps be compared with Pers. buzhis, ‘ opposition.’
* The meaning is that no one is bound to put such sinners to death until they are condemned by the authorities, but should one do so upon his own responsibility, entirely for the good of the faith, and certain of the impenitence of the sinners, he is not only free from blame, but has done a meritorious deed.
oe
CHAPTER LXXVI, 3—LXXVII, 7. 225
and with more provision for the creatures’. 3. And with the manifestation of knowledge the best duty is that which exists in lawfully practising procreation, axd the complete progression of righteous men arose therefrom.