Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
14. I apprize your priestly lordship that in this certain whether a man or a city is alluded to. The text, as it stands in the MSS., is as follows:—‘N&maké zitand dén bidana Av4nd mon NivshahpOhar nipistand farmidd va madd.’ This can be translated as in our text, if the word va be omitted; but, if this word be retained and mfin be changed into min, the translation would be as follows :—‘ The epistle which some one was ordered by you to write in the month Avan from Nivshahpthar, and which came.’ Now it is evident from Ep. I that Z4d-sparam must have been in Sirkan for some time previous to the date of that epistle, 15th March 881, and, therefore, probably in the previous November; but, at the same time, it must be noticed that there are allusions in this second epistle (see Chaps. I, 12, V, 3) to his having been formerly at Sarakhs and among the Tughazghuz, that is, in the extreme east of Khurds4n; it is, therefore, just possible that he may have been at Nivshahpflhar, on his way to Sirk4n in the south, in November. 1 J and BK attempt to fill up the blank with the words késhvar arg, ‘the value of the realm;’ but the original text probably stood thus :—‘ and was received by me from so and so, the names having been torn off in some intermediate MS. EPISTLE IJ, CHAPTER I, 3-8. 327 interval (tahtk6)! a written statement has come unto me that the good people of Strkan are, indeed, so enveloped by you 2x distress, despondency, and trouble that its counterpart was when ‘here was a liberation of our glorified fathers from the state of material existence. 5. For such as the insufficiency of the whole life of such was then to me, so even is the wounding and damage which comes zow to my understanding and intellect. 6. The whole life of such is on the confines of the pure existence, a contest with the complete incorrectness that remains contaminating the liturgy by which the greatest intelligence of the religion of the Mazda-worshippers is aided; a little also, finally, of sagacity and observance of the apportionment of the more grievous impostures and more frightful delusions. 7. And, first of all, as to when your completely vile idea first destroyed your own enlightenment, and quite subdued your seconding of me, is inopportune (avidan4) for me; and that ordinance *, which though it be also right, is then even grandeur, because 7¢ is a law of the realm and an opinion of the world. 8. When even in the mansion of various thoughts, the residence of the assembly of Pars, and many other conventions to deliberate, and the united opinions of a thousand priestly men (magavég) of the good religion thereon, it could remain unaltered, then, also, the various good thoughts and opposing considerations that, a/ong with me, the 1 Since he heard from his correspondent. The word cannot be ttsgak6, ‘nine days,’ as that would not tally with the dates of Eps. I and III. * Referring probably to the Bareshnfim ceremony which Z4dsparam wished to dispense with in many cases.
2The word cannot be ttsgak6, ‘nine days,’ as that would not tally with the dates of Eps. I and III. * Referring probably to the Bareshnfim ceremony which Z4dsparam wished to dispense with in many cases. 328 EPISTLES OF MANOSK{HAR. minds of other heads of the religion Aave promoted, and shaped or altered decisions thereon, and settled and issued orders thereon, could not have seen a grievance (seg) therein. 9. And this, too, should be observed among your requirements}, that when the fattiness? of the body is in wrinkles (41n), so that four perfect ones of the period are provided, even then the opinion of a high-priest of the religion is greater than every opinion, du¢ the law of the realm of vartous kinds*® is only through the deliberation of the same perfect ones; to make him decide then is not proper ‘. 10. And it would be desirable for you to take account of that which is said thus: ‘ Thou shouldst not practise that, O Zaratdst! when thou and three or four companions, in the village of a thanksgiver of the assembly, shall say this: “Such is an evil notion.”’ 11. These words of his are then not taken into account by you; and 2¢ is firmly and wth acute observation determined by you, and thought preservative for yourself, that even the sin be not privately (andarg) declared by me unto the assembly which has deliberated at Shiraz’. 12. You order this, and 1 J omits this phrase. * Reading mésakh or miskh4&; but it may be masagfh, ‘squeezing.’ * J has merely the words, ‘even then the opinion of the highpriest for the realm,’ which gives a reverse meaning to the text. « It appears from this, that when a supreme high-priest became very old, his worldly duties were put in commission, by being intrusted to a committee of four of the most learned priests; but the opinion of the superannuated high-priest was still supreme in spiritual matters, though not to be trusted in worldly affairs. ® Whither M4ndséihar had specially gone to hold this assembly before writing Ep. I (see Ep. I, iii, 13). EPISTLE II, CHAPTER I, 9-14. 329 z¢ is known that if it were a statement of yours in the assembly of the Tughazghuz'!, you would have been still less a speaker in private. 13. I consider that you are as much under-hand (atr) about this, as regards yourself, as Zaratist? the club-footed (apafrébd) when he arranged his garments (vakhshakth4), and his club-foot is itself overspread thereby even to himself, so that he was then approved as good® by some of those of Kirman* when they heard of z¢, and those of Rat® (R4zik4n6) wrote a reply that, if Ze should be appointed by you also at a distance, 4e would then be approved by them likewise as good. 14. This idea of yours is more heinous than that act of his, the reply from vartous sides is more mischievous, the disgrace among the people is more unslumberable, the load upon the soul is more consumingly heavy, and the
314. This idea of yours is more heinous than that act of his, the reply from vartous sides is more mischievous, the disgrace among the people is more unslumberable, the load upon the soul is more consumingly heavy, and the * The MSS. have Tughzghuz in Pazand. Mas’dudi states (a.p. 943) that the Zaghazghaz were a powerful Turkish tribe who dwelt between Khurf4sin and China, in and around the town of Kfisan, and not very far from the supposed sources of the Ganges. They had become Manicheans, having been converted from idolatry to the heretical form of Mazda-worship taught by Mazdak (see Mas’audi, ed. Barbier de Meynard, vol. i, pp. 214, 288, 299, quoted at length in a note to Sis. VI, 7). It would seem from the allusion in our text that Z4d-sparam had recently been among these Zaghazghaz, and might have imbibed some of their heretical opinions, so as to lead to this controversy with his brother and the orthodox people of Sirkén. That he had recently been in the extreme north-east of Khur4s4n is further shown by the allusion to Sarakhs in Chap. V, 3. * Evidently some recent pretender to the supreme high-priesthood, who had endeavoured to conceal the deformity that disqualified him for that office. * That is, fit for the dignity he aspired to. * Here written Girm4n (see Dd. XCIV, 13). ® Near Teheran. 330 EPISTLES OF MANOsKfHAR. severance from, and contest with, Aihaymazd and Zaratdst become more incalculably perplexing. 15. And this, too, is my summing up (khaptr)!—when your own acquaintance with the religion and salvation of soul are 7% such force—by the parable (4ngunt-attak6) of that physician of the body who, when they asked about destroying the toothache, thereupon gave his reply thus: ‘ Dig z¢ out!’ and they rejoined thus: ‘He is always wanted as our physician, so that he may cure even a tooth which is diseased ;’ I woudd extract its teeth? more plentifully and wz¢k more suspicion than he. 16. And if, also, those of the good religion in the country of Iran be, therefore, always in want of the learning and acquaintance with religion of 42s priestly lordship, so that he disperses the profession and the preparation and management of the remedy® of many diseases, then he throws it away as a profession, and there is not much of a necessity for the wisdom and learning of Azs priestly lordship. 17. For ¢here are some of the present time would never vouchsafe approval of a presiding fire*, which is in many modes an advance of foreign habits; azd of many things which are in writing, of a nature easier and more comfortable in a worldly sense, they offer and 1 J converts the phrase into ‘very heinous to me,’ by reading avir and adding giran. 2 That is, he would drive the morbid ideas from his brother’s mind. * Meaning the practice of the Bareshnfim ceremony, for which the priests were specially required.
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.
14. I apprize your priestly lordship that in this certain whether a man or a city is alluded to. The text, as it stands in the MSS., is as follows:—‘N&maké zitand dén bidana Av4nd mon NivshahpOhar nipistand farmidd va madd.’ This can be translated as in our text, if the word va be omitted; but, if this word be retained and mfin be changed into min, the translation would be as follows :—‘ The epistle which some one was ordered by you to write in the month Avan from Nivshahpthar, and which came.’ Now it is evident from Ep. I that Z4d-sparam must have been in Sirkan for some time previous to the date of that epistle, 15th March 881, and, therefore, probably in the previous November; but, at the same time, it must be noticed that there are allusions in this second epistle (see Chaps. I, 12, V, 3) to his having been formerly at Sarakhs and among the Tughazghuz, that is, in the extreme east of Khurds4n; it is, therefore, just possible that he may have been at Nivshahpflhar, on his way to Sirk4n in the south, in November. 1 J and BK attempt to fill up the blank with the words késhvar arg, ‘the value of the realm;’ but the original text probably stood thus :—‘ and was received by me from so and so, the names having been torn off in some intermediate MS. EPISTLE IJ, CHAPTER I, 3-8. 327 interval (tahtk6)! a written statement has come unto me that the good people of Strkan are, indeed, so enveloped by you 2x distress, despondency, and trouble that its counterpart was when ‘here was a liberation of our glorified fathers from the state of material existence. 5. For such as the insufficiency of the whole life of such was then to me, so even is the wounding and damage which comes zow to my understanding and intellect. 6. The whole life of such is on the confines of the pure existence, a contest with the complete incorrectness that remains contaminating the liturgy by which the greatest intelligence of the religion of the Mazda-worshippers is aided; a little also, finally, of sagacity and observance of the apportionment of the more grievous impostures and more frightful delusions. 7. And, first of all, as to when your completely vile idea first destroyed your own enlightenment, and quite subdued your seconding of me, is inopportune (avidan4) for me; and that ordinance *, which though it be also right, is then even grandeur, because 7¢ is a law of the realm and an opinion of the world. 8. When even in the mansion of various thoughts, the residence of the assembly of Pars, and many other conventions to deliberate, and the united opinions of a thousand priestly men (magavég) of the good religion thereon, it could remain unaltered, then, also, the various good thoughts and opposing considerations that, a/ong with me, the 1 Since he heard from his correspondent. The word cannot be ttsgak6, ‘nine days,’ as that would not tally with the dates of Eps. I and III. * Referring probably to the Bareshnfim ceremony which Z4dsparam wished to dispense with in many cases.
2The word cannot be ttsgak6, ‘nine days,’ as that would not tally with the dates of Eps. I and III. * Referring probably to the Bareshnfim ceremony which Z4dsparam wished to dispense with in many cases. 328 EPISTLES OF MANOSK{HAR. minds of other heads of the religion Aave promoted, and shaped or altered decisions thereon, and settled and issued orders thereon, could not have seen a grievance (seg) therein. 9. And this, too, should be observed among your requirements}, that when the fattiness? of the body is in wrinkles (41n), so that four perfect ones of the period are provided, even then the opinion of a high-priest of the religion is greater than every opinion, du¢ the law of the realm of vartous kinds*® is only through the deliberation of the same perfect ones; to make him decide then is not proper ‘. 10. And it would be desirable for you to take account of that which is said thus: ‘ Thou shouldst not practise that, O Zaratdst! when thou and three or four companions, in the village of a thanksgiver of the assembly, shall say this: “Such is an evil notion.”’ 11. These words of his are then not taken into account by you; and 2¢ is firmly and wth acute observation determined by you, and thought preservative for yourself, that even the sin be not privately (andarg) declared by me unto the assembly which has deliberated at Shiraz’. 12. You order this, and 1 J omits this phrase. * Reading mésakh or miskh4&; but it may be masagfh, ‘squeezing.’ * J has merely the words, ‘even then the opinion of the highpriest for the realm,’ which gives a reverse meaning to the text. « It appears from this, that when a supreme high-priest became very old, his worldly duties were put in commission, by being intrusted to a committee of four of the most learned priests; but the opinion of the superannuated high-priest was still supreme in spiritual matters, though not to be trusted in worldly affairs. ® Whither M4ndséihar had specially gone to hold this assembly before writing Ep. I (see Ep. I, iii, 13). EPISTLE II, CHAPTER I, 9-14. 329 z¢ is known that if it were a statement of yours in the assembly of the Tughazghuz'!, you would have been still less a speaker in private. 13. I consider that you are as much under-hand (atr) about this, as regards yourself, as Zaratist? the club-footed (apafrébd) when he arranged his garments (vakhshakth4), and his club-foot is itself overspread thereby even to himself, so that he was then approved as good® by some of those of Kirman* when they heard of z¢, and those of Rat® (R4zik4n6) wrote a reply that, if Ze should be appointed by you also at a distance, 4e would then be approved by them likewise as good. 14. This idea of yours is more heinous than that act of his, the reply from vartous sides is more mischievous, the disgrace among the people is more unslumberable, the load upon the soul is more consumingly heavy, and the
314. This idea of yours is more heinous than that act of his, the reply from vartous sides is more mischievous, the disgrace among the people is more unslumberable, the load upon the soul is more consumingly heavy, and the * The MSS. have Tughzghuz in Pazand. Mas’dudi states (a.p. 943) that the Zaghazghaz were a powerful Turkish tribe who dwelt between Khurf4sin and China, in and around the town of Kfisan, and not very far from the supposed sources of the Ganges. They had become Manicheans, having been converted from idolatry to the heretical form of Mazda-worship taught by Mazdak (see Mas’audi, ed. Barbier de Meynard, vol. i, pp. 214, 288, 299, quoted at length in a note to Sis. VI, 7). It would seem from the allusion in our text that Z4d-sparam had recently been among these Zaghazghaz, and might have imbibed some of their heretical opinions, so as to lead to this controversy with his brother and the orthodox people of Sirkén. That he had recently been in the extreme north-east of Khur4s4n is further shown by the allusion to Sarakhs in Chap. V, 3. * Evidently some recent pretender to the supreme high-priesthood, who had endeavoured to conceal the deformity that disqualified him for that office. * That is, fit for the dignity he aspired to. * Here written Girm4n (see Dd. XCIV, 13). ® Near Teheran. 330 EPISTLES OF MANOsKfHAR. severance from, and contest with, Aihaymazd and Zaratdst become more incalculably perplexing. 15. And this, too, is my summing up (khaptr)!—when your own acquaintance with the religion and salvation of soul are 7% such force—by the parable (4ngunt-attak6) of that physician of the body who, when they asked about destroying the toothache, thereupon gave his reply thus: ‘ Dig z¢ out!’ and they rejoined thus: ‘He is always wanted as our physician, so that he may cure even a tooth which is diseased ;’ I woudd extract its teeth? more plentifully and wz¢k more suspicion than he. 16. And if, also, those of the good religion in the country of Iran be, therefore, always in want of the learning and acquaintance with religion of 42s priestly lordship, so that he disperses the profession and the preparation and management of the remedy® of many diseases, then he throws it away as a profession, and there is not much of a necessity for the wisdom and learning of Azs priestly lordship. 17. For ¢here are some of the present time would never vouchsafe approval of a presiding fire*, which is in many modes an advance of foreign habits; azd of many things which are in writing, of a nature easier and more comfortable in a worldly sense, they offer and 1 J converts the phrase into ‘very heinous to me,’ by reading avir and adding giran. 2 That is, he would drive the morbid ideas from his brother’s mind. * Meaning the practice of the Bareshnfim ceremony, for which the priests were specially required.
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.
No commentary for this page.