* It is doubtful whether this last clause be a portion of the quota- tion, or not.
* This name is corrupted into Hé-Férvag in the MSS., but Atdr- Frébag is probably intended. He was the compiler of a great part of the Dinkard, and is also mentioned in Dd. LXXXVIII, 8, The names Atfir and Hér are synonymous, both meaning ‘fire.’ The passage quoted in the text has the same form (beginning with the word h6mand, ‘it is’) as nearly all the sections of the third book of the Dinkard, but it has not yet been discovered among them.
* Here written Kis-vidarg (see Dd. XX, 3).
* So written in J, but K35 and BK have the syllable dn some- what corrupted. The person meant, both here and in Chap. VII, 5, was probably the author’s father, though Bd. XXXIII, 11 seems to make Yfiidan-Yim the son of Vahram-sh4d.
® Reading ham-g6k6, but J has ham-dfidaké, ‘of the safne family;’ it also omits several other words by mistake.
290 EPISTLES OF MANUSKIHAR.
11. That was through my instigation, alone and
with little assistance, in the beginning; and, on
account of the deficiency of warriors 1, the abundance
of opponents, the very rapid arrival of disturbance,
and the fourfold supplication for keeping away the
ruin or hasty unlawful maintenance of the fires of
the Mazda-worshippers, my constant distress is such
that most of my time speaks of the same subject *.
12. They may leave the abundance of despondency
and thoughtfulness of the bodily existence to such
remedial writing of his, unto whom the pleasantly
comfortable thought of an evaded (virikht6) seizure
is requisite, but ¢here is little worldly leisure for me
for writing more zz this direction (han4-runtar).
13. And specially in this passing ¢2#e—when, alike
limited by the coming of the period of giving daily
supplies to the performers of worship, azd dy the
ever-triumphant fire and z¢s produce *, it was neces-
sary for me to go to Shirdz* on account of some
indispensable provision of means—the work was
much azd the leisure little.
* From this and Ep. II, v, 14 it would appear that the priests at that time maintained a body of troops for the protection of their followers.
* That is, regarding the proper maintenance of the priesthood, which had already engaged his anxious attention during the life- time of his father.
* The word var may either mean ‘ashes’ (see Sls. II, 49), alluding to clearing out the fire, or it may mean ‘ordeal’ (see Sls. Peek phe yay .
* See Dd. I, 17. This name is written Shirazd once, Sirazd thrice, and Siraz6 four times in K35. Méants&ihar appears to have come to Shiraz on this occasion to hold a general assembly of the — priests and leading members of the community, and he wrote this epistle from that city (see Ep. IJ, i, 11;.v, ro).
EPISTLE 1, CHAPTER III, 11-17. agi
14. The fifth is this, that the custom of providing
for all the duties even of the sacred fire (Attiv) by
me, and my own desire}, trained hand ?, unhardened
mind, and unhardened heart for managing many
things should have become the joy of my mind.
15. Lhen, too, from saving read such writing and
such news the healer of distress would be thoroughly
connected with my heart and mind, owzxg to which
my intellect would have become quickly fatigued
(mandak6) by a.limited preparation of phrases.
16. The sixth is this, that even he who is a
rescued ° and better-operating (hi-dagtar) man—
when, owing to the writing of a learned man of the
realm who is desiring the truth, Ze is so perplexed *
on account of a doubt of increasing the after-tearing
of the same perplexity—/as no doubt of the falsity
and little training existent in the worldly.
17. [The seventh is this, that if none of these six
of which I have written should exist, even then your
approved cleverness (sivagdarth), extolled freedom
from strife, hereafter-discerning and complete mind-
? Reading kamak6, instead of the unintelligible kam fin.
? The MSS. omit the last letter of yadman.
® That is, delivered from contamination or sin; virikht6 is probably to be traced to Av. vit+irikhta, rather than to vi+ rikhta (Pers. gurékht).
* K35 has a blank space here, and again a few words further on, but it is doubtful if any words be missing. ‘The spaces are filled up in J and BK, apparently by guess, as follows: J has ‘he sees so perplexing a chance, concerning which, owing to the increase of after-tearing of the same perplexity and the arrival of evil, 4e is doubtful, Aas no doubt,’ &c. And BK has ‘ %e is so perplexed on account of no doubt of the falsity and little training /Aat existed in the worldly for increasing the after-tearing of the same perplexity, has no doubt, &c.’
292 EPISTLES OF MANUSKIHAR.
fulness, practised? attention to the good, and much
affection ? for the faithful—so kindly regarding, truly
judging, azd with a liking for praising (sridan6), as
regards whatever I write truly azd with true con-
viction—are, I consider, to make provision, and ave
realised a preparation striven for.
CHAPTER IV.
1. I fave also seen the spiritual life? in the writing
which is in such statements of incompleteness +, and
owing to the same reason they should not cease
from the operation® of washing you—whom may the
angels protect!—with the Bareshnim ceremony®.
2. Because the ancients have said that, when it
shall be discarded from use, every water, fire, plant,
righteous man, azd animal, and all the creatures of
Attharmazd are afflicted, diminished, and made to
leap away. 3. As it is said in revelation that, as zo
him who stands dy a dead body upon which the
Nastis’ has rushed’, ‘anus6 zi, Spitama Zara-
ON RT Le PE
* J has barztdak6, ‘extolled, instead of varzidaké, ‘practised.’
* Reading dikhsharmih asin J; the other MSS. have m instead of fi.
* Reading did ahvéth; but it can also be read stihanoth, in which case the translation would be:—‘And my worldly condition.’
* Meaning the incomplete kind of purification which their state- ments complained of, or his referred to.
° K35 and BK omit the 7 in kardak6.
ST DOOe AD ays
" The fiend of corruption (see Dd. XVII, 7).
* The three Avesta passages here quoted, with their Zand (Pah- lavi translation), are from Vend. 1X, 161—1 63, and are freely trans- lated (trans. D) thus:—‘It grieves the sun, indeed, O Spitama
Epistle I, Chapter Iv, I—3. 293
Zarathustra! to shine upon a man defiled by the dead; it grieves the moon, it grieves the stars. That man delights them, O Spitama Zarathustra! who cleanses from the Nasu those whom she has defiled ; he delights the fire, he delights the water, he delights the earth, he delights the cow, he delights the trees, he delights the faithful, both men and women.’ The Avesta text is given according to the standard edition of Westergaard (1X, 41, 42), and all variants of any importance, in the three MSS. here used, are mentioned in the notes. These passages are also referred to in Ep. II, iii, 5.
1 K35 and BK insert the last three words, anus6 Ava staré, here.
2 J inserts ya here.
* J has 4-tapayaéta, but K35 and BK omit the word.
* K35 and BK have khshathré-chinanghd, ‘of a desire of authority ’ (which occurs in Fravardin Yt. 112 as the name of a man) instead of avé staré, which they have inserted earlier. They also leave a blank space for the words maman akhtirsandtha, ‘moreover, discontentedly’ (which begin the Pahlavi translation), as if they were descended from a damaged original.
® All three MSS. omit the words in brackets, which are neces- sary to complete the Pahlavi version.
6 K35 and BK omit aétem.
7 J has ‘who has become polluted,’ which separation from the sacred twigs (see Dd. XLIII, 5), or other ceremonial apparatus, implies. ‘The phrase is omitted in Pahl. Vend. IX, 162.
2904 EPISTLES OF MANOSKIHAR.
water, he propitiates animals avd plants', he pro-
_pitiates the righteous man?, he propitiates the
righteous woman, both of ¢hem, as zm the Avesta®
of it:—khshnavayéiti 4tarem, &c.
4. When ¢here is no purifier all the angels of the
worldly existence become afflicted and dissatisfied ;
and religious purifiers who are intelligent are even
now not to keep backward the work of purification,
just as z¢ has come to them by practice from those
of the primitive faith, and are not to diminish it.
5. To change a good work properly appointed they
shall not accept a law which is not right, a good
work not properly appointed‘; not to do the work
thereof is accounted very sagacious and perfectly
wise; and through your freedom from inferiority ®
the glorifying, commendation, praise, and blessing
are yourown. 6. For it is said that in all the work
of forming and maintaining the law (dAdistan6d)
those of the primitive faith weve very greatly parti-
cular about every single thing; and as ¢o the whole
operation of that proceeding into which they have
entered, those of the primitive faith have become
aware of the power which veszdes in true authority.
7. But, otherwise®, the routine which is brought out
1 J has ‘he propitiates plants,’ as in Pahl. Vend. IX, 163.
2 Literally ‘male.’
* The initial words of which here follow their Pahlavi translation, instead of preceding it.
* J omits these six words.
° Reading afrétarih, as in BK; K35 had originally avartarih, ‘pre-eminence, as in J, but the copyist wrote afré (=aparva) over the avarta, as a correction, leaving it doubtful whether he meant afrétarth or aparvarth, ‘want of education.’
® That is, unless confirmed by the decisions of the ancients.
Epistle I, Chapter Iv, 4-9. 295
from revelation! and the teaching of the high-priests
is then not authorisedly changed by that priestly man
whose decree of the fifteen? washzngs is written in
your epistle*; because, on account of the whole and
any perversion (gastakih) of the same writing, not
of similar utterance with revelation, before which
the custom did not exist, I am without doubt as to
that decree. |
8. And in it*, moreover, is written, declared, axd
contained (vangidd) that once washing is men-
tioned®, until a purifier comes who is acquainted
with the ritual, who washes just as declared in reve-
lation. 9. Zo de so washed I consider just as a
thing for which he is even now as z¢ were a purifier
who is a good washer, that of which z¢ is written
below and clearly realised that it should not be
decreed ; aud through the scanty deliverance written
therein’ z¢ is manifest it would not be the statement
above ®.
1 J has ‘which is brought out with knowledge of the purifving cup (tastik), with preservation of faith, azd with manifestation from revelation.’
2 All three MSS. have ‘sixteen’ in ciphers, but it is evident that Zad-sparam and his erroneous teaching of the sufficiency of fifteen washings (see Ep. III, 1, 2) are here referred to.
* Reading semag, a Huz. hybrid for nadmak.
* The decree of Zad-sparam, apparently.
® Referring probably to Vend. VIII, 299, which provides a washing for the polluted person by himself, if he can find no one willing to purify him (see App. V).
* That is, for such a purpose any ordinary washer would be sufficient.
7 In Pahl. Vend. VIII, 299, which states that, although pure enough for ordinary purposes, he must still abstain from engaging in ceremonies for others (see App. V).
* That is, it is very different from the propitiation mentioned in § 3.
296 EPISTLES OF MANOSKIHAR.
eee oases bce. has es eee ee ee
10. If learned knowledge, relating both to that
about inferior matters (agirtariha) and that about
superior matters, Je! true authority praised and de-
clared by the great primitive faith, former high-priests
and those newly arisen (navakgandakan6) would
be and would have been similarly forward; then,
too, it would exist not so much with the priestly
men of the time as with the learned officiating
priests (magépatan) of Athaymazd who have been
before. 11. And when, moreover, all the Avesta
and Zand are easy /o a priest®, pre-eminently
acquainted with the liturgy azd a supreme Zarattst,
he has attained uno, and should remain with, Athar-
mazd and* the officiating priestship of Atharmazd,
and the supreme, world-managing, religion-observing
(hd-din-nikah) sovereignty as to velzgzous trea-
tises*. 12. To change then their practice in the
law would be entirely an outcry apart from deliber-
ation, and a like violation of the unanimity of the
spirits who are the heads azd guardians® of the
religion, axd of the unanimity of the source of
opinion of the good themselves, for the sake of
what zs not acceptable.
13. But the statement above ® is, was, azd w7ll Bs
that which remains a good idea well considered by
them with the centre of thought, as to z¢s well-
