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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1There is also a Persian treatise called ShAyast na-sh4yast, which gives a good deal of information obtained from the Persian Rivayats, and copies of which are contained in the MSS. Nos. 56 and 116 of the Ouseley collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. - INTRODUCTION. Ixi caused by a serpent. It next describes the proper size and materials of the sacred thread-girdle and shirt, giving some details about the sins of running about uncovered and walking with one boot, and thence proceeding to the sin of unseasonable chatter. Details are then given about good works, and those who can and cannot perform them; in which reference is made to Christians, Jews, and those of other persuasions (Chap. VI, 7). The next subjects treated of are reverencing the sun and fire, the sin of extinguishing fire, confession and renunciation of sin, atonement for sins, especially mortal sins, both those affecting others and those only affecting one’s own soul ; with a digression (Chap. VIII, 3) prohibiting the rich from hunting. The remainder of this first treatise is of a miscellaneous character, referring to the following subjects :—The Hasar of time, priests passing away in idolatry, the discussion of religion, ceremonies not done aright, throwing a corpse into the sea, evil of eating in the dark, the four kinds of worship, when the angels should be invoked in worship, the ephemeral nature of life, proper looseness for a girdle, when the sacred cake set aside for the guardian spirits can be used, maintaining a fire where awoman is pregnant, providing a tank for ablution, the Gathas not to be recited over the dead, food and drink not to be thrown away to the north at night, unlawful slaughter of animals, how the corpse of a pregnant woman should be carried, forgiveness of trespasses, evil of walking without boots, when the sacred girdle is to be assumed, breaking the spell of an inward prayer, ten women wanted at childbirth, and how the infant is to be treated, sin of beating an innocent person, evil of a false judge, men and women who do not marry, a toothpick must be free from bark, acknowledging the children of a handmaid, advantage of offspring and of excess in almsgiving, prayer on lying down and getting up, Avesta not to be mumbled, doubtful actions to be avoided or consulted about, evil of laughing during prayer, crowing of a hen, treatment of a hedgehog, after a violent death corruption does not set in immediately, necessity of a dog's gaze, putrid meat and hairy cakes or butter unfit for ceremonies, when a woman can do priestly duty, &c. Ixii PAHLAVI TEXTS,
2Ixii PAHLAVI TEXTS, The second part also commences with the names and amounts of the various degrees of sin, followed by the proper meat-offerings for various angels and guardian spirits. Next come miscellaneous observations on the following subjects :—The simplest form of worship, necessity of submitting to a high-priest, advantage of a fire in the house, sin of clothing the dead, presentation of holy-water to the nearest fire after a death, nail-parings to be prayed over, advantage of light at childbirth, offerings to the angels, maintaining a fire where a woman is pregnant and a child is born, a toothpick must be free from bark, acknowledging the children of a handmaid, advantage of offspring and of excess in almsgiving, evil of drawing well-water at night, food not to be thrown away to the north at night, advantage of prayer at feasts, treatment of a hedgehog, praying when washing the face, the proper choice of a purifying priest, no one should be hopeless of heaven, necessity of a wife being religious as well as her husband, the ceremonies which are good works, and the cause of sneezing, yawning, and sighing. These are followed by a long account of the mystic signification of the Gathas, with some information as to the errors which may be committed in consecrating the sacred cakes, and how the beginning of the morning watch is to be determined. The third part, or appendix, commences with an account of how each of the archangels can be best propitiated, by a proper regard for the particular worldly existence which he specially protects. This is followed by a statement of the various degrees of sin, and of the amount of good works attributed to various ceremonies. Then come some account of the ceremonies after a death, particulars of those who have no part in the resurrection, the duty of submission to the priesthood, whether evil may be done for the sake of good, the place where people will rise from the dead, Aéshm’s complaint to Aharman of the three things he could not injure in the world, the occasions on which the Ahunavar formula should be recited, and the number of recitals that are requisite, &c. And, finally, statements of the lengths of midday and afternoon shadows, blessings invoked INTRODUCTION. Lxiii from the thirty angels and archangels who preside over the days of the month, and the special epithets of the same.
3And, finally, statements of the lengths of midday and afternoon shadows, blessings invoked INTRODUCTION. Lxiii from the thirty angels and archangels who preside over the days of the month, and the special epithets of the same. With regard to the age of this treatise we have no precise information. All three parts are found in a MS. (M6) which was written in A.D. 1397 (see p. xxix), and nearly the whole is also found in the MS. K20, which may be a few years older (see p. xxvii), and in which the first part of the Sh4yast l4-sh4yast is followed by a Persian colophon dated A.Y. 700 (A.D. 1331), copied probably from an older MS. The text in both these old MSS. seems to have been derived almost direct from the same original, which must have been so old when M6 was written that the copyist found some words illegible (see notes on Chaps. VIII, 19, X, 34, XII, 14, 15, &c.) Now it is known from a colophon that a portion of M6, containing the book of Ard4-Viraf and the tale of Gést-i Fry4né, was copied from a MS. written in A.D. 1249; and we may safely conclude that the Sh4yast 1l4-sh4yast was copied, either from the same MS., or from one fully as old. So far, therefore, as external evidence goes, there is every reason to suppose that the whole of the Shayast 14-shayast, with its appendix’, was existing in a MS. written about 630 years ago. But internal evidence points to a far higher antiquity for the first two parts, as the compilers of those treatises evidently had access, not only to several old commentaries, but also to many of the Nasks, which have long been lost. Thus, the first treatise contains quotations from the commentaries of Afarg, Gégésasp, Kdshtand-bigéd, Méddkmah, Réshan, and Séshyans, which are all frequently quoted in the Pahlavi translation of the Vendidad (see Sls. I, 3, 4, notes); besides mentioning the opinions of Mardbad, Néryésang, Nés4t Barz-Mitré, and Vand-Adharmazd, who are rarely or never mentioned in the Pahlavi Vendidad. It also quotes no less than eleven of the twenty Nasks or books of the complete Mazdayasnian literature which are no longer extant, besides the Vendidad, the only Nask that still survives in the full extent it had in Sasanian times. ‘ Except Chaps. XXII, XXIII (see the note on the heading of Chap. XXII). - lxiv PAHLAVI TEXTS.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1There is also a Persian treatise called ShAyast na-sh4yast, which gives a good deal of information obtained from the Persian Rivayats, and copies of which are contained in the MSS. Nos. 56 and 116 of the Ouseley collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. - INTRODUCTION. Ixi caused by a serpent. It next describes the proper size and materials of the sacred thread-girdle and shirt, giving some details about the sins of running about uncovered and walking with one boot, and thence proceeding to the sin of unseasonable chatter. Details are then given about good works, and those who can and cannot perform them; in which reference is made to Christians, Jews, and those of other persuasions (Chap. VI, 7). The next subjects treated of are reverencing the sun and fire, the sin of extinguishing fire, confession and renunciation of sin, atonement for sins, especially mortal sins, both those affecting others and those only affecting one’s own soul ; with a digression (Chap. VIII, 3) prohibiting the rich from hunting. The remainder of this first treatise is of a miscellaneous character, referring to the following subjects :—The Hasar of time, priests passing away in idolatry, the discussion of religion, ceremonies not done aright, throwing a corpse into the sea, evil of eating in the dark, the four kinds of worship, when the angels should be invoked in worship, the ephemeral nature of life, proper looseness for a girdle, when the sacred cake set aside for the guardian spirits can be used, maintaining a fire where awoman is pregnant, providing a tank for ablution, the Gathas not to be recited over the dead, food and drink not to be thrown away to the north at night, unlawful slaughter of animals, how the corpse of a pregnant woman should be carried, forgiveness of trespasses, evil of walking without boots, when the sacred girdle is to be assumed, breaking the spell of an inward prayer, ten women wanted at childbirth, and how the infant is to be treated, sin of beating an innocent person, evil of a false judge, men and women who do not marry, a toothpick must be free from bark, acknowledging the children of a handmaid, advantage of offspring and of excess in almsgiving, prayer on lying down and getting up, Avesta not to be mumbled, doubtful actions to be avoided or consulted about, evil of laughing during prayer, crowing of a hen, treatment of a hedgehog, after a violent death corruption does not set in immediately, necessity of a dog's gaze, putrid meat and hairy cakes or butter unfit for ceremonies, when a woman can do priestly duty, &c. Ixii PAHLAVI TEXTS,
2Ixii PAHLAVI TEXTS, The second part also commences with the names and amounts of the various degrees of sin, followed by the proper meat-offerings for various angels and guardian spirits. Next come miscellaneous observations on the following subjects :—The simplest form of worship, necessity of submitting to a high-priest, advantage of a fire in the house, sin of clothing the dead, presentation of holy-water to the nearest fire after a death, nail-parings to be prayed over, advantage of light at childbirth, offerings to the angels, maintaining a fire where a woman is pregnant and a child is born, a toothpick must be free from bark, acknowledging the children of a handmaid, advantage of offspring and of excess in almsgiving, evil of drawing well-water at night, food not to be thrown away to the north at night, advantage of prayer at feasts, treatment of a hedgehog, praying when washing the face, the proper choice of a purifying priest, no one should be hopeless of heaven, necessity of a wife being religious as well as her husband, the ceremonies which are good works, and the cause of sneezing, yawning, and sighing. These are followed by a long account of the mystic signification of the Gathas, with some information as to the errors which may be committed in consecrating the sacred cakes, and how the beginning of the morning watch is to be determined. The third part, or appendix, commences with an account of how each of the archangels can be best propitiated, by a proper regard for the particular worldly existence which he specially protects. This is followed by a statement of the various degrees of sin, and of the amount of good works attributed to various ceremonies. Then come some account of the ceremonies after a death, particulars of those who have no part in the resurrection, the duty of submission to the priesthood, whether evil may be done for the sake of good, the place where people will rise from the dead, Aéshm’s complaint to Aharman of the three things he could not injure in the world, the occasions on which the Ahunavar formula should be recited, and the number of recitals that are requisite, &c. And, finally, statements of the lengths of midday and afternoon shadows, blessings invoked INTRODUCTION. Lxiii from the thirty angels and archangels who preside over the days of the month, and the special epithets of the same.
3And, finally, statements of the lengths of midday and afternoon shadows, blessings invoked INTRODUCTION. Lxiii from the thirty angels and archangels who preside over the days of the month, and the special epithets of the same. With regard to the age of this treatise we have no precise information. All three parts are found in a MS. (M6) which was written in A.D. 1397 (see p. xxix), and nearly the whole is also found in the MS. K20, which may be a few years older (see p. xxvii), and in which the first part of the Sh4yast l4-sh4yast is followed by a Persian colophon dated A.Y. 700 (A.D. 1331), copied probably from an older MS. The text in both these old MSS. seems to have been derived almost direct from the same original, which must have been so old when M6 was written that the copyist found some words illegible (see notes on Chaps. VIII, 19, X, 34, XII, 14, 15, &c.) Now it is known from a colophon that a portion of M6, containing the book of Ard4-Viraf and the tale of Gést-i Fry4né, was copied from a MS. written in A.D. 1249; and we may safely conclude that the Sh4yast 1l4-sh4yast was copied, either from the same MS., or from one fully as old. So far, therefore, as external evidence goes, there is every reason to suppose that the whole of the Shayast 14-shayast, with its appendix’, was existing in a MS. written about 630 years ago. But internal evidence points to a far higher antiquity for the first two parts, as the compilers of those treatises evidently had access, not only to several old commentaries, but also to many of the Nasks, which have long been lost. Thus, the first treatise contains quotations from the commentaries of Afarg, Gégésasp, Kdshtand-bigéd, Méddkmah, Réshan, and Séshyans, which are all frequently quoted in the Pahlavi translation of the Vendidad (see Sls. I, 3, 4, notes); besides mentioning the opinions of Mardbad, Néryésang, Nés4t Barz-Mitré, and Vand-Adharmazd, who are rarely or never mentioned in the Pahlavi Vendidad. It also quotes no less than eleven of the twenty Nasks or books of the complete Mazdayasnian literature which are no longer extant, besides the Vendidad, the only Nask that still survives in the full extent it had in Sasanian times. ‘ Except Chaps. XXII, XXIII (see the note on the heading of Chap. XXII). - lxiv PAHLAVI TEXTS.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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