The Dabistán, Volume 1 (of 3) - or School of manners, translated from the original Persian,

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Title: The Dabistán, Volume 1 (of 3) - or School of manners, translated from the original Persian, - with notes and illus.
Author: Shea, David, Troyer, Anthony, Fåanåi, Muòhsin
Language: English
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THE DABISTÁN,

SCHOOL OF MANNERS.

MADAME VEUVE DONDEY-DUPRÉ,

Printer to the Asiatic Societies of London, Paris, and Calcutta,

46, rue St-Louis, Paris.

THE

DABISTÁN,

SCHOOL OF MANNERS,

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL PERSIAN,

WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS,

DAVID SHEA,

OF THE ORIENTAL DEPARTMENT IN THE HONORABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY’S
COLLEGE;

AND

ANTHONY TROYER,

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, OF
CALCUTTA AND PARIS, AND OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PARIS;

EDITED, WITH A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, BY THE LATTER.

VOLUME I.

PARIS:

PRINTED FOR THE ORIENTAL TRANSLATION FUND OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

SOLD BY

BENJAMIN DUPRAT, BOOKSELLER TO THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE ROYALE,

7, RUE DU CLOITRE SAINT-BENOIT.

AND ALLEN AND CO., LEADENHALD-STREET, LONDON.

1843.

The Memory

THE RIGHT HONORABLE

THE EARL OF MUNSTER,

_Etc., etc., etc._

CONTENTS

_Of the Preliminary Discourse_.

Page

PART I.

Introduction.

Section I.――How the Dabistán first became
known――its author――the sources of
his information iii

II.――Discussion on the Desátir xix

PART II.

Synopsis of the dynasties, religions, sects, and
philosophic opinions treated of in the Dabistán.

Section I.――The first religion――the dynasties of
Mahabad, Abad Azar, Shai Abad, Shai
Giliv, Shai Mahbad, and Yasan lxvi

II.――The Peshdadian, Kayanian, Ashkanian, and
Sassanian dynasties――their religious
and political institutions lxxvii

III.――The religion of Zardusht, or
Zoroaster lxxxiii

IV.――The religion of the Hindus cv

V.――Retrospect of the Persian and Indian
religions cxx

VI.――The religion of the Tabitian (Tibetans) cxxv

VII.――The religion of the Jews _ibid._

VIII.――The religion of the Christians cxxvi

IX.――The religion of the Muselmans cxxviii

X.――The religion of the Sadakiahs cxli

XI.――The religion of the Roshenians cxlv

XII.――The religion of the Ilahiahs cxlvii

XIII.――The religion of the Philosophers cliii

XIV.――The religion of the Súfis clxix

XV.――Recapitulation of the Contents of
the Dabistán _ibid._

PART III.

Conclusion.

Section I.――General appreciation of the Dabistán
and its author clxxix

II.――Notice concerning the printed edition,
some manuscripts, and the
translations of the Dabistán clxxxviii

CONTENTS

_Of the Dabistán (vol. I.)_

Page

Introduction of the Author 1

CHAPTER I.

Of the religion of the Parsian 4

Section I.――Tenets and ceremonies observed by the
Sipasian and Parsian 5
Description of the worship rendered to
the seven planets, according to the
Sipasian faith 35

II.――Description of the Sipasian sect 87

III.――The laws of the Paiman-i-Farhang and
the Hirbed Sár 147
Descriptions of the gradations of
Paradise 150
Description of the infernal regions 152

IV.――An account of the Jamshapian sect 193

V.――The Samradian sect 195

VI.――The tenets of the Khodaiyan 201

VII.――The system of the Rádián _ibid._

VIII.――The Shidrangián creed 203

IX.――The Páikárian creed _ibid._

X.――The Milánián system 204

XI.――The system of the followers of Alár 206

XII.――The Shidanian faith 207

XIII.――The system of the Akhshiyán sect _ibid._

XIV.――The followers of Zardusht 211
Account of the precepts given by Zardusht
to the king and all mankind 260
The Sad-der, or “the hundred gates” of
Zardusht 310
Enumeration of some advantages which
arise from the enigmatical forms of
the precepts of Zardusht’s followers 351
Summary of the contents of the Mah-zend 353

XV.――An account of the tenets held by the
followers of Mazdak 372

PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.

PART I.

INTRODUCTION.

§ I.――HOW THE DABISTAN FIRST BECAME KNOWN――ITS
AUTHOR――THE SOURCES OF HIS INFORMATION.

It is generally known that sir William Jones was the first who drew
the attention of Orientalists to the Dabistán. This happened five
years after the beginning of a new era in Oriental literature, the
foundation of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta by that illustrious man.
It may not appear inopportune here to revive the grateful remembrance
of one who acquired the uncontested merit of not only exciting in Asia
and Europe a new ardor for Oriental studies, but also of directing
them to their great objects――MAN and NATURE; and of endeavoring, by
word and deed, to render the attainment of languages conducive to the
required knowledge equally easy and attractive.

Having, very early in life, gained an European reputation as a scholar
and elegant writer, sir William Jones embarked[1] for the Indian
shores with vast projects, embracing, with the extension of science,
the general improvement of mankind.[2] Four months after his arrival
in Calcutta,[3] he addressed as the first president of the Asiatic
Society, a small but select assembly, in which he found minds
responsive to his own noble sentiments. A rapid sketch of the first
labors of their incomparable leader, may not be irrelevant to our
immediate subject.

In his second anniversary discourse,[4] he proposed a general plan for
investigating Asiatic learning, history, and institutions. In his
third discourse, he traced the line of investigation, which he
faithfully followed, as long as he lived in India, in his annual
public speeches: he determined to exhibit the prominent features of
the five principal nations of Asia――the Indians, Arabs, Tartars,
Persians, and Chinese. After having treated in the two following years
of the Arabs and Tartars, he considered in his sixth discourse[5] the
Persians, and declared that he had been induced by his earliest
investigations to believe, and by his latest to conclude, that three
primitive races of men must have migrated originally from a central
country, and that this country was _Iran_, commonly called Persia.
Examining with particular care the traces of the most ancient
languages and religions which had prevailed in this country, he
rejoiced at “a fortunate discovery, for which,” he said, “he was first
indebted to Mir Muhammed Hussain, one of the most intelligent
Muselmans in India, and which has at once dissipated the cloud, and
cast a gleam of light on the primeval history of Iran and of the human
race, of which he had long despaired, and which could hardly have
dawned from any other quarter;” this was, he declared, “the rare and
interesting tract on twelve different religions, entitled the
DABISTAN.”[6]

Sir William Jones read the Dabistán for the first time in 1787. I
cannot refrain from subjoining here the opinion upon this work, which
he communicated in a private letter, dated June, 1787, to J. Shore,
esq. (afterwards lord Teignmouth); he says: “The greatest part of it
would be very interesting to a curious reader, but some of it cannot
be translated. It contains more recondite learning, more entertaining
history, more beautiful specimens of poetry, more ingenuity and wit,
more indecency and blasphemy, than I ever saw collected in a single
volume;[7] the two last are not of the author’s, but are introduced in
the chapters on the heretics and infidels of India.[8] On the whole,
it is the most amusing and instructive book I ever read in
Persian.”[9]

We may suppose it was upon the recommendation of sir William Jones,
that Francis Gladwin, one of the most distinguished members of the new
Society, translated the first chapter of _The Dabistán_, or “School of
Manners,” which title has been preserved from due regard to the
meritorious Orientalist, who first published the translation of a part
of this work. The whole of it was printed in the year 1809, in
Calcutta, and translations of some parts of it were published in _The
Asiatic Researches_.[10] It is only at present, more than half a
century after the first public notice of it by sir W. Jones, that the
version of the whole work appears, under the auspices and at the
expense of the Oriental Translation Committee of Great Britain and
Ireland.

Who was the author of the Dabistán?――Sir William Jones thought it was
composed by a Muhammedan traveller, a native of Kachmir, named
_Mohsan_, but distinguished by the assumed surname of _Fání_, “the
Perishable.”

Gladwin[11] calls him _Shaikh Muhammed Mohsin_, and says that, besides
the Dabistán, he has left behind him a collection of poems, among
which there is a moral essay, entitled _Masdur ul asas_, “the source
of signs;” he was of the philosophic sect of Súfis, and patronised by
the imperial prince _Dara Shikoh_, whom he survived; among his
disciples in philosophy is reckoned _Muhammed Tahir_, surnamed
_Ghawri_, whose poems are much admired in Hindostan. Mohsan’s death is
placed in the year of the Hejira 1081 (A. D. 1670).

William Erskine,[12] in search of the true author of the Dabistán,
discovered no other account of Mohsan Fání than that contained in the
_Gul-i-Râana_, “charming rose,” of _Lachmi Narayán_, who flourished in
Hyderabad about the end of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th
century. This author informs us, under the article of Mohsan Fání,
that “Mohsán, a native of Kachmir, was a learned man and a respectable
poet; a scholar of _Mulla Yakub_, Súfi of Kachmir; and that, after
completing his studies, he repaired to Delhi, to the court of the
emperor _Shah Jehan_, by whom, in consequence of his great reputation
and high acquirements, he was appointed _Sadder_, ‘chief judge,’ of
Allahabad; that there he became a disciple of Shaikh _Mohib ulla_, an
eminent doctor of that city, who wrote the treatise entitled
_Teswich_, ‘the golden Mean.’ Mohsan Fání enjoyed this honorable
office till Shah Jehân subdued Balkh; at which time _Nazer Muhammed
Khan_, the Wali, ‘prince,’ of Balkh, having effected his escape, all
his property was plundered. It happened that in his library there was
found a copy of Mohsan’s Diwán, or ‘poetical Collection,’ which
contained an ode in praise of the (fugitive) Wáli. This gave such
offence to the emperor, that the Sadder was disgraced and lost his
office, but was generously allowed a pension. He retired (as Lachmi
informs us) to his native country, where he passed the rest of his
days without any public employment, happy and respected. His house was
frequented by the most distinguished men of Kachmir, and among the
rest by the governors of the province. He had lectures at his house,
being accustomed to read to his audience the writings of certain
authors of eminence, on which he delivered moral and philosophical
comments. Several scholars of note, among whom were Taher Ghawri
(before mentioned) and _Haji Aslem Salem_, issued from his school.” He
died on the before mentioned date. “It is to be observed that Lachmi
does not mention the Dabistán as a production of Mohsan Fání, though,
had he written it, it must have been his most remarkable work.”

Erskine goes on to recapitulate some particulars mentioned in the
Dabistán of the author’s life, and concludes that it seems very
improbable that Mohsan Fání and the author of the Dabistán were the
same person. In this conclusion, and upon the same grounds, he
coincides with the learned Vans Kennedy.[13]

Erskine further quotes,[14] from a manuscript copy of the Dabistán
which he saw in the possession of Mulla Firuz, in Bombay, the
following marginal note annexed to the close of chapter XIV.: “In the
city of Daurse, a king of the Parsis, of the race of the imperial
Anushirván, the Shet Dawer Huryár, conversed with _Amír Zulfikar
Ali-al-Husaini_ (on whom be the grace of God!), whose poetical name
was Mobed Shah.” This Zulfikar Ali, whoever he was, the Mulla supposes
to be the author of the Dabistán. Erskine judiciously subjoins: “On so
slight an authority, I would not willingly set up an unknown author as
the compiler of that work; but it is to be remarked that many verses
of Mobed’s are quoted in the Dabistán, and there is certainly reason
to suspect that the poetical Mobed, whoever he may be, was the author
of that compilation.”

“To this let it be added, that the author of the Dabistán; in his
account of Mobed Serosh, says[15] that one Muhammed Mohsan, a man of
learning, told him that he had heard Mobed Serosh give three hundred
and sixty proofs of the existence of God. This at least makes Muhammed
Mohsan, whoever he may be, a different person from the author of the
Dabistán.”

I cannot omit adding the following notice annexed to the note quoted
above: “Between the printed copy and Mulla Firuz’s manuscript before
alluded to, a difference occurs in the very beginning of the work.
After the poetical address to the Deity and the praise of the prophet,
with which the Dabistán, like most other Muselman works, commences,
the manuscript reads: ‘Mohsan Fani says,’ and two moral couplets
succeed. In the printed copy, the words ‘Mohsan Fani says,’――which
should occur between the last word of the first page and the first
word of the second――are omitted. As no account of the author is given
in the beginning of the book, as is usual with Muselman writers, Mulla
Firuz conjectures that a careless or ignorant reader may have
considered the words ‘Mohsan Fáni says’ as forming the commencement of
the volume, and as containing the name of the author of the whole
book; whereas they merely indicate the author of the couplets that
follow, and would rather show that Mohsan Fani was not the writer of
the Dabistán. This conjecture, I confess, appears to me at once
extremely ingenious and very probable. A comparison of different
manuscripts might throw more light on the question.”

Concerning the opinion last stated, I can but remark, that in a
manuscript copy of the Dabistán, which I procured from the library of
the king of Oude, and caused to be transcribed for me, the very same
words: “Mohsan Fani says,” occur (as I have observed in vol. I. p. 6,
note 3), preceding a _rabaâ_, or quatrain, which begins:

“The world is a book full of knowledge and of justice,” etc. etc.

These lines seem well chosen as an introduction to the text itself,
which begins by a summary of the whole work, exhibiting the titles of
the twelve chapters of which it is composed. As the two copies
mentioned (the one found in Bombay, the other in Lucknow) contain the
same words, they can hardly be taken for an accidental addition of a
copyist. I found no remark upon this point in Mr. Shea’s translation,
who had two manuscript copies to refer to. Whatever it be, it must
still remain undecided, whether Mohsan Fani was there named only as
the author of the next quatrain or of the whole book, although either
hypothesis may not appear destitute of probability; nor can it be
considered strange to admit that the name of Mohsan Fani was borne by
more than one individual. I shall be permitted to continue calling the
author of the Dabistán by the presumed name of Mohsan Fani.

Dropping this point, we shall now search for information upon his
person, character, and knowledge in the work itself. Is he really a
native of Kachmir, as here before stated?

Although in the course of his book he makes frequent mention of
Kachmir, he never owns himself a native of that country. In one part
of his narrative, he expressly alludes to another home. He begins the
second chapter upon the religion of the Hindus (vol. II. p. 2) by
these words: “As inconstant fortune had torn away the author from the
shores of Persia, and made him the associate of the believers in
transmigration and those who addressed their prayers to idols and
images, and worshipped demons * * * *.” Now we know that Kachmir is
considered as a very ancient seat, nay as the very cradle, of the
doctrine of transmigration, and of Hinduism in general, with all its
tenets, rites, and customs; and that from the remotest times to the
present it was inhabited by numerous adherents of this faith; how
could the author, if a native of Kachmir, accuse inconstant fortune
for having made him elsewhere an associate of these very religionists
with whom, from his birth, he must have been accustomed to live? The
passage just quoted leaves scarce a doubt that the shores of Persia,
from which he bewails having been torn, were really his native country.

When was he born?

He no where adduces the date of his birth; the earliest period of his
life which he mentions, is the year of the Hejira 1028 (A. D.
1618):[16] in this year the Mobed Hushíar brought the author to Balik
Nátha, a great adept in the Yoga, or ascetic devotion, to receive the
blessing of that holy man, who pronounced these words over him: “This
boy shall acquire the knowledge of God.” It is not stated in what
place this happened. The next earliest date is five years later, 1033
of the Hejira (A. D. 1623).[17] He says that, in his infancy, he came
with his friends and relations from Patna to the capital Akbar-abad,
and was carried in the arms of the Mobed Hushíar to Chatur Vapah, a
famous ascetic of those days. The pious man rejoiced at it, and
bestowed his blessing on the future writer of the Dabistán; he taught
him the _mantra_, “prayer,” of the sun, and appointed one of his
disciples to remain with the boy until the age of manhood. We have
here a positive statement: in the year 1623 A. D., he was “in his
infancy,” and carried “in the arms of his protector.” Giving the
widest extension to these expressions, we can hardly think him to have
been either much older or younger than seven or eight years: not much
older, for being in some way carried in the arms of the Mobed; nor
much younger, having been taught a hymn to the sun, and he might have
been a boy of three years when he received the first-mentioned
blessing from Balik Natha. We may therefore suppose him to have been
born about the year 1615 of our era, in the tenth year of the reign of
the emperor Jehangir. We collect in his work fifty-three dates
relative to himself between the year 1618 and 1653. From 1627 to 1643,
we see him mostly in Kachmir and Lahore, travelling between these two
places; in 1643, he was at the holy sepulchre, probably at Meshhad,
which appears to be the furthermost town to the West which he reached;
from 1634 to 1649, he dwelt in several towns of the Panjab and
Guzerat; the next year he proceeded to Sikakul, the remotest town in
the East which he says he has visited; there he fell sick, and
sojourned during 1653, at which epoch, if the year of his birth be
correctly inferred, he had attained his thirty-eighth year. We have no
other date of his death than that before stated: if he died in 1670,
it was in the eleventh year of the reign of Aurengzéb, or Alemgir.
Mohsan Fani would therefore have passed his infancy, youth, and
manhood mostly in India, under the reigns of the three emperors,
Jehangír, Shah Jehan, and Aurengzeb.[18] It was the state of religion,
prevailing in those days in Hindostan that he describes.

From his earliest age he appears to have led an active life,
frequently changing his residence. Such a mode of life belongs to a
travelling merchant or philosopher, and in our author both qualities
might have been united, as is often the case in Asia. Mohsan Fani,
during his travels, collected the diversified and curious materials
for the Dabistán; he observed with his own eyes the manners and
customs of different nations and sects. He says himself at the
conclusion of his work: “After having much frequented the meetings of
the followers of the five before-said religions,” Magians, Hindus,
Jews, Nazareans, and Muselmans, “the author wished and undertook to
write this book; and whatever in this work, treating of the religions
of different countries, is stated concerning the creed of different
sects, has been taken from their books, and for the account of the
persons belonging to any particular sect, the author’s information was
imparted to him by their adherents and sincere friends, and recorded
literally, so that no trace of partiality nor aversion might be
perceived: in short, the writer of these pages performed no more than
the task of a translator.” This declaration, even to a severe critic,
may appear satisfactory. Sir William Jones called him[19] a learned
and accurate, a candid and ingenious author. A further appreciation of
Mohsan Fani’s character is reserved for subsequent pages. We can,
however, here state, that he sought the best means of information, and
gives us what he had acquired not only from personal experience, which
is always more or less confined; not only from oral instruction, which
is too often imperfectly given and received; but also from an
attentive perusal of the best works which he could procure upon the
subject of his investigation. Of the latter authorities which the
author produces, some are known in Europe, and we may judge of the
degree of accuracy and intelligence with which he has made use of
them. Of others, nothing at all, or merely the name, is known. This is
generally the case with works relative to the old Persian religion,
which is the subject of the first chapter, divided into fifteen
sections.

The authorities which he adduces for this chapter are as follow:

1. The _Amighistan_ (vol. I. pp. 15. 26. 42), without the name of
its author.

2. The _Desátir_ (vol. I. pp. 20. 21. 44. 65), an heaven-bestowed
book.

3. The _Darai Sekander_ (vol. I. pp. 34. 360), composed by Dáwir
Háryar.

4. The _Akhteristan_, “region of the stars” (vol. I. pp. 35. 42).

5. The _Jashen Sadah_, “the festival of Sadah” (the 16th night of
January) (vol. I. pp. 72. 112).

6. The _Sárud-i-mastan_, “song of the intoxicated” (vol. I. p. 76.
vol. II. p. 136): this and the preceding work composed by Mobed
Hushíar.

7. The _Jam-i-Kai Khusro_, “the cup of Kai Khusro,” a commentary
upon the poems of Azar Kaivan, composed by Mobed Khod Jai (vol.
I. pp. 76. 84. 119.)

8. The _Sharistan-i-Danish wa Gulistan-i-binish_, “the pavilion of
knowledge and rose-garden of vision” (vol. I. p. 77. 89. 109),
composed by Farzanah Bahram.

9. The _Zerdusht Afshar_ (vol. I. p. 77), work of the Mobed Serosh,
who composed also:

10. _Nosh Daru_, “sweet medicine” (vol. I. p. 114); and

11. The _Sagangubin_, “dog’s honey” (vol. I. p. 114).

12. The _Bazm-gah-i-durvishan_, “the banquetting-room of the
durvishes” (vol. I. pp. 104. 108), without the name of the author.

13. The _Arzhang Mani_, “the gallery of Mani” (vol. I. p. 131).

14. The _Tabrah-i-Mobedi_, “the sacerdotal kettle-drum” (vol. I. p.
123), by Mobed Paristar.

15. The _Dadistan Aursah_ (vol. I. p. 131).

16. The _Amízesh-i-farhang_ (vol. I. p. 145), containing the
institutes of the Abadiah durvishes.

17. The _Míhín farush_ (vol. I. p. 244).

18. The _Testament of Jamshid to Abtin_ (vol. I. p. 195), compiled
by Farhang Dostúr.

19. _Razabad_, composed by Shídab.

20. The _Sányál_, a book of the Sipasians (vol. II. p. 136),
containing an account of a particular sort of devotion.

21. The _Rama zastan_ of Zardusht (vol. I. p. 369 and vol. II. p.
136).

22. _Huz al Hayat_ (vol. II. p. 137), composed by Ambaret Kant.

23. The _Samrad Nameh_, by Kamkar (vol. I. p. 201).

Besides other writings of Zertusht, in great number, which the author
has seen.

These works are most probably of a mystical nature, and belong to a
particular sect, but may contain, however, some interesting traditions
or facts of ancient history. Of the twenty-three books just
enumerated, a part of the third only is known to us, namely, that of
the Desátir.

[1] In April, 1783.

[2] He landed at Calcutta in September, 1783.

[3] In January, 1784.

[4] Delivered in February, 1785.

[5] In February, 1789.

[6] The works of sir William Jones, with the life of the
author, by lord Teignmouth, in 13 vols. Vol. III. p. 110.
1807.

[7] I shall hereafter give some explanations upon this
subject.

[8] There appears in the printed edition no positive ground
for the opinion above expressed; we find, however, frequent
repetitions of the same subject, such as are not likely to
belong to the same author; we know, besides, that additions
and interpolations are but too common in all Oriental
manuscripts.

[9] The Persian text, with the translation of the first
chapter, appeared in the two first numbers of the _New
Asiatic Miscellany_. Calcutta, 1789. This English version
was rendered into German by Dalberg, 1809.

[10] These translations are mentioned in the notes of the
present version.

[11] New Asiatic Misc., p. 87.

[12] Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, vol.
II. p. 374.

[13] Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, vol.
II. pp. 243-244.

[14] Ibid., pp. 375-376.

[15] See the present Transl., vol. I. pp. 113-114. A mistake
is here to be pointed out: at p. 114, l. 11, the name of
Kaivan has been substituted for that of Mobed Serosh.

[16] See vol. II. p. 137.

[17] See vol. II. p. 145.

[18] Jehangír reigned from 1605 to 1628.
Shah Jehan ―――― 1628 ―――― 1659.
Aurengzeb ―――― 1659 ―――― 1707.

[19] The Works of sir W. Jones, vol. IV. pp. 16 and 105.

§ II.――DISCUSSION ON THE DESATIR.

This word was considered to be the Arabic plural of the original
Persian word _dostúr_, signifying “a note-book, pillar, canon, model,
learned man;” but, according to the Persian grammar, its plural would
be _dosturán_, or _dostúrha_, and not _desátir_. From this Arabic form
of the word an inference was drawn against the originality and
antiquity of the Desátir; but this of itself is not sufficient, as
will be shown.

Other readings of the title are _Dastánir_, in one passage,[20] and
_Wasátir_[21] in two other places of Gladwin’s Persian text, and the
last also in a passage of the printed edition.[22] The first is not
easily accounted for, and is probably erroneous; but the second is
found in the index of the printed edition,[23] under the letter و,
_vau_, and explained: “the name of the book of Mahabad;” it cannot
therefore be taken for a typographical error, and is the correct title
of the book, as I now think, although I formerly[24] preferred reading
_Desátir_. It is derivable from the Sansrcit root वाश् _wás_, “to
sound, to call,” and therefore in the form of _wasátis_ or _wasâtir_
(the _r_ and _s_ being frequently substituted for the _visarga_) it
signifies “speech, oracle, precept, command.” It is also in connection
with the old Persian word _wakshur_, “a prophet.” Considering the
frequent substitution in kindred languages of _ba_ for _va_, and _ba_
for _bha_, it may also be referred to the root भाष _bhasha_, “to
speak,”[25] which, with the prepositions _pari_ and _sam_, signifies
“to explain, expound, discourse.” Hence we read in the Commentary of
the _Desátir_ the ancient Persian word _basátir_[26] (not to be found
in modern Persian vocabularies), which is there interpreted by
“speculations,” in the following passage: “the speculations (basátir)
which I have written on the _desátir_.”

I shall nevertheless keep, in the ensuing Dissertation, the title
Desátir, because it is generally adopted. Besides, in the Mahabádian
text, the _vau_, و, frequently occurs for the Persian _dál_, د, thus
we find وادن, _wáden_, for دادن, _dáden_, “to give;” and _wárem_,
وارم, for _dárem_, دارم, “I have;” but I am aware that the two
letters, so similar in their form, may be easily confounded with each
other by the copyist or printer.

The extract from the Desátir contained in the Dabistán was thought
worthy of the greatest attention by sir William Jones, as before
mentioned; nay, appeared to him “an unexceptionable authority,” before
a part of the Desátir itself was published in Bombay, in the year
1818, that is, twenty-four years after the death of that eminent man.

The author of the Dabistán mentions the Desátir as a work well known
among the Sipasians, that is, the adherents of the most ancient
religion of Persia. According to his statement, the emperor Akbar
conversed frequently with the fire-adorers of Guzerat; he also called
from Persia a follower of Zerdusht, named _Ardeshir_, and invited
fire-worshippers from Kirman to his court, and received their
religious books from that country; we may suppose the Desátir was
among them. So much is positive, that it is quoted in the _Sharistan
chehar chemen_, a work composed by a celebrated doctor who lived under
the reigns of the emperors Akbar and Jehangír, and died A. D. 1624.
The compiler of the Burhani Kati, a Persian Dictionary, to be compared
to the Arabic _Kamus_, or “sea of language,” quotes and explains a
great number of obsolete words and philosophic terms upon the
authority of the Desátir: this evidently proves the great esteem in
which this work was held. Let it be considered that a dictionary is
not destined for the use of a sect merely, but of the whole nation
that speaks the language, and this is the Persian, considered, even by
the Arabs, as the second language in the world and in paradise.[27]

It is to be regretted that Mohsan Fani did not relate where and how he
himself became acquainted with the Desátir. I see no sufficient ground
for the supposition of Silvestre de Sacy[28] and an anonymous
critic,[29] that the author of the Dabistán never saw the Desátir. So
much is certain, that the account which he gives of the Mahabádian
religion coincides in every material point with that which is
contained in that part of the sacred book which was edited in Bombay
by _Mulla Firuz Bin-i-Kaus_.[30]

This editor says in his preface (p. vi): “The Desátir is known to have
existed for many years, and has frequently been referred to by Persian
writers, though, as it was regarded as the sacred volume of a
particular sect, it seems to have been guarded with that jealous care
and that incommunicative spirit, that have particularly distinguished
the religious sects of the East. We can only fairly expect, therefore,
that the contents should be known to the followers of the sect.” Mulla
Firuz employs here evidently the term _sect_ with respect to the
dominant religion of the Muhammedan conquerors, whose violent and
powerful intolerance reduced the still faithful followers of the
ancient national religion to undergo the fate of a persecuted sect.
But we shall see that the doctrine of the Desátir is justly entitled
to a much higher pretension than to be that of an obscure sect.

Whatever it be, Mulla Firuz possessed the only manuscript of the work
then known in Bombay. It was purchased at Isfahan by his father Kaus,
about the year 1778, from a bookseller, who sold it under the title of
a Gueber book. Brought to Bombay, it attracted the particular
attention of Mr. Duncan, then governor of Bombay, to such a degree,
that he began an English translation of the work, which was
interrupted by his return to England. The final completion of the
version was owing to the great encouragement which sir John Malcolm
gave Mulla Firuz in consequence of the high opinion which sir William
Jones had publicly expressed of the Dabistán, the author of which drew
his account of the ancient Persian dynasties and religions chiefly
from the Desátir. There is an interval of one hundred and thirty-three
years[31] between the composition of the Dabistán and the fortuitous
purchase of the manuscript copy of the Desátir, by Kaus in Isfahan; as
it would be assuming to much to suppose that the latter is the same
from which Mohsan Fani drew his information, we can but admit that the
agreement of both, in the most material points, affords a confirmation
of each respective text.

The great Orientalist Silvestre de Sacy, on reviewing the Desátir,[32]
says: “We are in a manner frightened by the multitude and gravity of
the questions which we shall have to solve, or at least to discuss;
for every thing is here a problem: What is the age of the book? Who is
its author? Is it the work of several persons; or the divers parts of
which it is composed, are they written by one and the same author,
although attributed to different individuals, who succeeded each other
at long intervals? The language in which it was written, was it, at
any epoch, that of the inhabitants of Persia, or of any of the
countries comprised in the empire of Iran? Or is it nothing but a
factitious language, invented to support an imposture? At what epoch
were made the Persian translation accompanying the original text, and
the commentary joined to this translation? Who is the author of the
one and the other? Are not this translation and this commentary
themselves pseudonymous and apocryphal books; or may not the whole be
the work of an impostor of the latter centuries? All these questions
present themselves in a crowd to my mind; and if some of them appear
to be easily answered, others offer more than common difficulties.”

Well may a person, even with far greater pretensions than mine can be,
hesitate to attempt the discussion of a subject which _frightened_ the
illustrious Silvestre de Sacy; but as the Desátir is one of the
principal sources from which the author of the Dabistán drew his
account of the Persian religion and its divers sects――a considerable
part of his work――I cannot dispense with presenting the subject in the
state in which the discussions hitherto published, by very respectable
critics, have left it. If I venture to offer a few remarks of my own
upon it, it is only in the hope of provoking further elucidations by
philologers who shall examine the Mahabadian text itself, and by
arguments drawn from its fundamentals decide the important
question――whether we shall have one language more or less to count
among the relics of antiquity?

Instead of following the order in which the questions are stated
above, I will begin by that which appears to me the most important,
namely: “the language in which the Desátir is written, is it nothing
but a factitious language invented to support an imposture?”

The forgery of a language, so bold an imposture, renders any other
fraud probable; through a false medium no truth can be expected, nor
even sought. But, in order to guard against the preconception of a
forgery having taken place, a preconception the existence of which
may, with too good a foundation, be apprehended, I shall first
examine, as a general thesis, whether the invention of a language, by
one individual or by a few individuals, is in itself probable and
credible. I shall only adduce those principles which have received the
sanction of great philologers, among whom it may be sufficient to name
baron William Humboldt, and claim the reader’s indulgence, if, in
endeavoring to be clear, I should not have sufficiently avoided trite
observations.

Tracing languages up to their first origin, it has been found that
they are derived from sounds expressive of feelings; these are
preserved in the roots, from which, in the progressive development of
the faculty of speech, verbs, nouns, and the whole language, are
formed. In every speech, even in the most simple one, the individual
feeling has a connection with the common nature of mankind; speech is
not a work of reflection: it is an instinctive creation. The
infallible presence of the word required on every occasion is
certainly not a mere act of memory; no human memory would be capable
of furnishing it, if man did not possess in himself instinctively the
key, not only for the formation of words, but also for a continued
process of association: upon this the whole system of human language
is founded. By entering into the very substance of existing languages,
it appears evident that they are intellectual creations, which do not
at all pass from one individual to others, but can only emerge from
the coexisting self-activity of all.

“―― ―― That one the names of things contrived,
And that from him their knowledge all derived,
‘Tis fond to think.”[33]

As long as the language lives in the mouth of a nation, the words are
a progressive production and reproduction of the faculty to form
words. In this manner only can we explain, without having recourse to
a supernatural cause, how millions of men can agree to use the same
words for every object, the same locution for every feeling.

Language in general is the sensible exterior vestment of thought; it
is the product of the intelligence, and the expression of the
character of mankind; in particular it may be considered as the
exterior manifestation of the genius of nations: their language is
their genius, and their genius is their language. We see of what use
the investigation of idioms may be in tracing the affinities of
nations. History and geography must be taken as guides in the
researches upon tongues; but these researches would be futile, if
languages were the irregular product of hazard. No: profound feeling
and immediate clearness of vivid intuition act with wonderful
regularity, and follow an unerring analogy. The genesis of languages
may be assimilated to that of works of genius――I mean, of that
creative faculty which gives rules to an art. Thus is it the language
which dictates the grammar. Moreover, the utmost perfection of which
an idiom is susceptible is a line like that of beauty, which, once
attained, can never be surpassed. This was the case with some ancient
tongues. Since that time, mankind appear to have lost a faculty or a
talent, inasmuch as they are no more actuated by that urgency of keen
feeling which was the very principle of the high perfection of those
languages.

Comparative philology, a new science, sprung up within the last thirty
years, but already grown to an unforeseen perfection, has fixed the
principles by which the affinities of languages may be known, even
among the apparently irregular disparities which various circumstances
and revolutions of the different nations have created. This would have
been impossible, if there did not exist a fundamental philosophy of
language, however concealed, and a certain consistency, even in the
seemingly most irregular modification of dialect, for instance, in
that of pronunciation. But, even the permutation of letters in
different and the most rude dialects, has its rules, and follows,
within its own compass, a spontaneous analogy, such as is
indispensable for the easy and common practice of a society more or
less numerous. Thus sounds, grammatical forms, and even graphical
signs of language have been subjected to analysis and comparison; the
significant radical letters have been distinguished from the merely
accidental letters, and a distinction has been established between
what is fundamental, and what is merely historical and accidental.

From these considerations I conclude:

First――That the forgery of a language is in itself highly improbable;

Secondly――That, if it had been attempted, comparative philology is
perfectly capable of detecting it.

Taking a large historical view of this subject, we cannot suppress the
following reflection: The formation of mighty and civilized states
being admitted, even by our strictest chronologers, to have taken
place at least twenty-five centuries before our era, it can but appear
extraordinary, even after taking in account violent revolutions, that
of so multitudinous and great existences, only such scanty documents
should have come down to us. But, strange to say, whenever a testimony
has escaped the destruction of time, instead of being greeted with a
benevolent although discerning curiosity, the unexpected stranger is
approached with mistrustful scrutiny, his voice is stifled with severe
rebukes, his credentials discarded with scorn, and by a predetermined
and stubborn condemnation, resuscitating antiquity is repelled into
the tomb of oblivion.

I am aware that all dialectical arguments which have been or may be
alleged against the probability of forging a language, would be of no
avail against well-proved facts, that languages have been forged, and
that works, written in them, exist. We may remember the example
adduced by Richardson[34] of a language, as he said, “sufficiently
original, copious, and regular to impose upon persons of very
extensive learning,” forged by Psalmanazar. This was the assumed name
of a an individual, whom the eminent Orientalist calls a Jew, but who,
born in 1679, in Languedoc or in Provence, of Christian parents,
received a Christian, nay theological education, as good as his first
instructors, Franciscans, Jesuits, and Dominicans could bestow. This
extraordinary person threw himself at a very early age into a career
of adventures, in the course of which, at the age of seventeen years,
he fell upon the wild project of passing for a native of the island of
Formosa, first as one who had been converted to Christianity, then, as
still a pagan, he let himself be baptized by a Scotch minister, by
whom he was recommended to an English bishop; the latter, in his pious
illusion, promoted at once the interests of the convertor, and the
fraud of the neophyte.[35] This adventurer who was bold enough, while
on the continent, to set about inventing a new character and language,
a grammar, and a division of the year into twenty months, published in
London, although not twenty years old, a translation of the catechism
into his forged language of Formosa, and a history of the island with
his own alphabetical writing, which read from right to left――a gross
fiction the temporary success of which evinces the then prevailing
ignorance in history, geography, and philology. But pious zeal and
fanaticism had changed a scientific discussion into a religious
quarrel, and for too long a time rendered vain the objections of a few
truly learned and clear-sighted men; until the impostor, either
incapable of supporting longer his pretensions or urged by his
conscience, avowed the deception, and at last became a truly learned
good and estimable man.[36] We see this example badly supports the
cause of forged languages.

In 1805, M. Rousseau, since consul-general of France at Aleppo, found
in a private library at Baghdad a dictionary of a language which is
designated by the name of _Baláibalan_, interpreted “he who vivifies,”
and written in Arabic characters called _Neshki_; it was explained in
Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. The unknown author of the dictionary
composed it for the intelligence of mysterious and occult sciences,
written in that language. The highly learned Silvestre de Sacy had
scarce been informed of this discovery, when he sought and found in
the Royal Library, at Paris, the same dictionary, and with his usual
diligence and sagacity published a short but lucid Notice of it.[37]
What he said therein was sufficient for giving an idea of the manner
in which this language participates in the grammatical forms of
Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Silvestre de Sacy, as well as M.
Rousseau, have left it uncertain whether the language be dead or
living; by whom and at what period it was formed, and what authors
have made use of it. The former adds, that some works written in
Baláibalan are likely to be found in the hands of the Súfis of Persia.

This language deserves perhaps a further examination. All that is
positive in the just-adduced statement of the two great Orientalists
may be said of any other language, which is not original but composed,
as for instance the English or the Dutch, of more than one idiom. We
can but admit that, at all times an association of men for a
particular purpose, a school of art, science, and profession may have,
has, and even must have, a particular phraseology. Any modification of
ancient, or production of new, ideas, will create a modified or a new
language; any powerful influence of particular circumstances will
produce a similar effect; this is a spontaneous reproduction, and not
the intentional forgery of a language.

Such a forgery, even if it could remain undetected, which it cannot in
our times, would but furnish a curious proof of human ingenuity, to
which no bounds can be assigned; but the true and sole object of a
language could never be attained by it; because, never would a great
number of independent men be disposed, nor could they be forced, to
adopt the vocabulary, grammar, and locutions of a single man, and
appropriate them to themselves for the perpetual expression of their
inmost mind, and for the exchange of their mutual feelings and
ideas.[38] To effect this, is a miracle ascribed to the Divinity, and
with justice; being the evident result of the Heaven-bestowed faculty
of speech, one of the perpetual miracles of the world.

Of this a prophet must avail himself who announces to the world the
important intelligence of a heavenly revelation. The great purpose of
his sacred mission implies the widest possible proclamation of his
doctrine in a language generally intelligible, which a forged language
never can be. If, as was surmised,[39] the Desátir be set up as a
rival to the Koran, it must have been written in a national language
for a nation; the Persians owned as theirs the _Mahabadian_ religion,
the identical one which history, although not under the same name,
attributes to them in remote ages, as will result from an examination
of the doctrine itself.

Considering the knowledge required, and the difficulties to be
overcome in forging a language in such a manner as to impose, even for
a time, upon the credulity of others, we shall conclude that nothing
less than direct proof is requisite for establishing such a forgery as
a real fact. Now, what arguments have been set forth for declaring the
language of the Desátir to be nothing else than “an artificial idiom
invented to support an imposture?”

Silvestre de Sacy says:[40] “It is difficult indeed, not to perceive
that the multiplied relations which exist between the _Asmáni_,
‘heavenly,’ and Persian languages are the result of a systematic
operation, and not _the effect of hazard_, nor _that of time, which
proceeds with less regularity in the alterations to which language is
subjected_.”

I must apologise for here interrupting this celebrated author, for the
purpose of referring to what nobody better than himself has
established as a peremptory condition of existence for any language,
and what he certainly never meant to deny, but may perhaps here be
supposed to forget――namely, that a language is not “the effect of
hazard,” and although “not the result of systematic combination,” yet,
as an instinctive creation, shows surprising regularity, and that an
evident rule predominates in the alterations which time produces in
languages.

Silvestre de Sacy proceeds: “The grammar of the Mahabadian language is
evidently, for the whole etymological part, and even (which is
singularly striking) in what concerns the anomalous verbs, traced from
(_calquée sur_) the Persian grammar, and as to the radical words, if
there be many of them the origin of which is unknown, there is also a
great number of them in which the Persian root, more or less altered,
may be recognised without any effort.”

Erskine examined, without the least communication with the French
critic, the Mahabadian language, and says:[41] “In its grammar it
approaches very nearly to the modern Persian, as well in the
inflection of the nouns and verbs, as in its syntax.” Norris[42] takes
the very same view of it.

These highly respectable critics published their judgment upon the
Mahabadian language before the comparison of several languages with
the Sanscrit and between each other had been made by able philologers,
creators of the new science of comparative philology. According to the
latter, the proofs of the real affinity of language, that is, the
proofs that two languages belong to the same family, are to be
principally and can be properly deduced, from their grammatical
system. Thus, for instance, the forms of the Greek and Latin languages
are in several parts nearly identical with the Sanscrit, the first
bearing a greater resemblance in one respect, the latter in another;
the Greek verbs in _mi_, the Latin declension of some nouns appear, to
use the expression of the illustrious author, “traced from each other
(_calqués l’un sur l’autre_).” These two languages seem to have
divided between them the whole system of the ancient grammar, which is
most perfectly preserved in the Sanscrit. This language itself is
probably, with the two mentioned, derived from a more ancient
language; we meet in them three sisters recognised by their striking
likeness. This, although more or less weakened and even obliterated in
some features, remains upon the whole still perceptible in a long
series of their relations: I mean in all those languages which are
distinguished by the name of _Indo-germanic_, to which the Persian
belongs.

But, in deciding upon the affinity of languages, not only the
grammatical forms are to be examined, but also the system of sounds is
to be studied, and the words must be considered in their roots and
derivations. The three critics mentioned agree that the language of
the Desátir is very similar to the Persian or Deri, not only in
grammar, but also in etymology; a great number of the verbal and
nominal roots are the same in both. This similarity would, according
to comparative philology, lead to the conclusion that either the one
is derived from the other, or that both proceed from a common parent;
but nothing hitherto here alleged can justify the supposition of
invention, forgery, or fabrication of the so-called Mahabadian
language.

We continue to quote the strictures of Silvestre de Sacy: “There is
however a yet stronger proof of the systematic operation which
produced the factitious idiom. This proof I derive from the perfect
and constant identity which prevails between the Persian phraseology
and that of the Mahabadian idiom. The one and the other are, whenever
the translation does not degenerate into paraphrase or commentary,
which frequently happens, traced from each other (_calqués l’un sur
l’autre_) in such a manner that each phrase, in both, has always the
same number of words, and these words are always arranged in the same
order. For producing such a result, we must admit two idioms, the
grammar of which should be perfectly alike, as weil with respect to
the etymological part as to the syntax, and their respective
dictionaries offering precisely the same number of words, whether
nouns, verbs, or particles: which would suppose two nations, having
precisely the same number of ideas, whether absolute or relative, and
conceiving but the same kind and the same number of relations.”

If what we have already stated be not unfounded, the last quoted
paragraph, which the author calls “a yet stronger proof of the
systematic operations which produced the factitious idiom” must be
acknowledged not to have the weight which he would attribute to it. If
the Mahabadian and Persian be languages related to each other, “a
perfect and constant identity of phraseology between them both,” if
even so great as it is said to be, is not only possible, but may be
fairly expected in the avowed translation of the Desátir into Persian.
Such identity is most religiously aimed at in versions of a sacred
text. Need I adduce modern examples of translations which, in point of
phraseological conformity with their original, may vie with the
Persian version of the Mahabadian text? The supposition that two
nations have the same number of ideas, absolute or relative, is far
from being absurd: it is really the fact with all nations who are upon
the same level of civilisation; but the present question is of the
writings of the same nation, which, possessing at all times a sort of
government and religion fundamentally the same, might easily count an
obsolete language of its own among the monuments of its antiquity.

On that account, we cannot see what the former arguments of the critic
gain in strength by the addition: “that the perfect identity of
conception falls in a very great part upon abstract and metaphysical
ideas, in which such a coincidence is infinitely more difficult than
when the question is only of objects and relations perceptible to the
senses.”――A great similarity is remarked in all forms of thinking.
Little chance of being contradicted can be incurred in saying, that
the fundamental ideas of metaphysics are common to all mankind, and
inherent in human reason. The encyclopedian contents of the Dabistán,
concerning the opinions of so many nations, would furnish a new proof
of it, were this generally acknowledged fact in need of any further
support.

Silvestre de Sacy acknowledges that the Asmáni language contains a
great number of radical words, the origin of which is not known.
Erskine says:[43] “It is certainly singular that the language in which
the Desátir is written, like that in which the Zend-Avesta is
composed, is no where else to be met with. It is not derived from the
Zend, the Pehlevi, the Sanscrit, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, or any
other known language.” * * * * * * The basis of the language, and the
great majority of words in it, belong to no known tongue. It is a
mixture of Persian and Indian words. A few Arabic words occur.”
Norris[44] also found that a great part of the language appears to
have little resemblance to any other that was ever spoken. A judgment,
so expressed, might induce an impartial mind to ascribe originality to
at least a part of the Asmáni language; which would naturally render
the other part less liable to suspicion, inasmuch as it would have
been not less difficult to execute, but less easy to conceal, a
partial than a total forgery. Nevertheless it so happens that the
dissimilarity from any other, as well as the similarity to one
particular idiom, are both equally turned against the genuineness of
the language in question: where dissimilarity exists, there is
absolute forgery――where similarity, an awkward disguise!

Erskine continues: “The Persian system it is unnecessary to
particularise; but it is worthy of attention that, among the words of
Indian origin, not only are many Sanscrit, which might happen in a
work of a remote age, but several belong to the colloquial language of
Hindustán: this is suspicious, and seems to mark a much more recent
origin. Many words indeed occur in the Desátir that are common to the
Sanscrit and to the vulgar Indian languages (the author quotes
thirty-four of them); many others might be pointed out. But the most
remarkable class of words is that which belongs to the pure Hindi;
such I imagine are the word _shet_, ‘respectable,’ prefixed to the
names of prophets and others (twenty-four are adduced). Whatever may
be thought of the words of Persian descent, it is not probable that
those from the Hindustaní are of a very remote age; they may perhaps
be regarded as considerably posterior to the settlement of the
Muselmans in India.”

Strongly supported by the opinion of respectable philologers, I do not
hesitate to draw a quite contrary conclusion from the facts stated by
Erskine. It should be remembered that, in the popular or vulgar
dialects are often found remains of ancient tongues, namely, roots of
words, locutions, nay rules of grammar which have become obsolete, or
disappeared in the cultivated idioms derived from the same original
language. It was not without reason that the illustrious William
Humboldt recommended to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and
Ireland,[45] to examine, on behalf of general Oriental philology, the
different provincial dialects of India. Even the gibberish of gypsies
is not to be neglected for that purpose.[46]

Thus, if we are not greatly mistaken, the very arguments alleged to
show that the Mahabadian language is an invention or forgery, lead
rather to a contrary conclusion. Duly sensible of the great weight of
authority which opposes the result of my inquiry, I sought an
explanation of the severe judgment passed upon the Desátir, and
venture to surmise that it was occasioned by the certainly extravagant
claim to a heavenly origin and incredible antiquity which has been
attached to this work. Such pretensions, taken in too serious a light,
can but hurt a fixed, if not religious, belief. Every nation
acknowledges but one heavenly book, and rejects every other. Hence
arises a very natural, and even respectable pre-conception against all
that appears without the limits traced by religion, or mere early
habit and adopted system. Thus a severe censure is provoked. To
annihilate at once the impertinent pretension to a divine origin, all
that ingenuity can suggest is brought forward to prove the book to be
a fraudulent forgery; to strip it of the awful dignity of antiquity,
it must by any means be represented as the work of yesterday. But
error is not fraud, and may be as ancient as mankind itself; because
credulous, a man is not the forger of a document. If the Mahabadian
language is not that primitive idiom from which the Sanscrit, the
Zend, and other languages are derived, it does not follow that it is
“a mere jargon, fabricated with no great address to support a
religious or philosophical imposture;”[47] if it was not spoken in
Iran long before the establishment of the Péshdadian monarchy, it does
not follow “that it has at no time belonged to any tribe or nation on
the face of the earth.”

However I may appear inclined in favor of the Desátir, I shall avoid
incurring the blame of unfair concealment by adding to the names of
the great critics above quoted, adverse to this work, the great one of
William von Schlegel. I must avow it; the celebrated author declares
the Desátir,[48] intimately connected with the Dabistán, to be “a
forgery still more refined (than that of the Brahman who deceived
Wilford),[49] and written in a pretended ancient language, but
fabricated at pleasure.” As he, however, presents no arguments of his
own, but only appeals in a note to the articles written by Silvestre
de Sacy and Erskine, there is no occasion here for a further
observation concerning this question. As to von Schlegel’s opinion
upon the Dabistán, I reserve some remarks upon it for another place.

General arguments, opposed to general objections, may produce
persuasion, but are not sufficient for establishing the positive truth
concerning a subject in question. It is necessary to dive into the
Mahabadian language itself for adequate proofs of its genuineness. I
might have justly hesitated to undertake this task, but found it
already most ably achieved by baron von Hammer,[50] in whom we do not
know which we ought to admire most, his vast store of Oriental
erudition, or the indefatigable activity, with which he diffuses, in
an unceasing series of useful works, the various information derived
not only from the study of the dead letter in books, but also from
converse with the living spirit of the actual Eastern world. This
sagacious reviewer of the Desátir, examining its language, finds
proofs of its authenticity in the nature of its structure and the
syllables of its formation, which, when compared to the modern pure
Persian or Derí, have the same relation to it as the Gothic to the
English; the old Persian and the old Germanic idioms exhibit in the
progress of improvement such a wonderful concordance and analogy as
can by no means be the result of an ingenious combination, nor that of
a lucky accidental coincidence. Thus, the language of the Desátir has
syllables of declension affixed to pronouns, which coincide with those
of the Gothic and Low German, but are not recognisable in the modern
form of the Persian pronouns. This is also the case with some forms of
numerical and other words. The Mahabadian language contains also a
good number of Germanic radicals which cannot be attributed to the
well-known affinity of the German and the modern Persian, because they
are no more to be found in the latter, but solely in the Desátir. This
has besides many English, Greek, and Latin words, a series of which
baron von Hammer exhibits, and――which ought to be duly noticed――a
considerable number of Mahabadian words, belonging also to the
languages enumerated, are sought in vain in any Persian dictionary of
our days! Surely, an accidental coincidence of an invented factitious
language, with Greek, Latin, and Germanic forms would be by far a
greater and more inexplicable miracle, than the great regularity of
this ancient sacred idiom of Persia, and its conformity with the
modern Deri. It is nevertheless from the latter that the forgery is
chiefly inferred.

Moreover, the acute philologer, analysing the Mahabadian language by
itself, points out its essential elements and component parts, that
is, syllables of derivation, formation, and inflexion. Thus he adduces
as syllables of derivation certain vowels, or consonants preceded by
certain vowels; he shows certain recurring terminations to be
syllables of formation for substantives, adjectives, and verbs; he
sets forth particular forms of verbs, and remarkable expressions. All
this he supports by numerous examples taken from the text of the
Desátir. Such a process enabled him to rectify in some places the
Persian translation of the Mahabadian text.

I can but repeat that my only object here is to present the question
in the same state that I found it; and am far from contesting, nay,
readily admit, the possibility of arguments which may lead to a
contrary conclusion. Until such are produced, although not presuming
to decide, I may be permitted to believe that the language of the
Desátir is no forgery; I may range myself on the side of the
celebrated Orientalist mentioned, who, ten years after the date of his
review of the Desátir (ten years which, with him, are a luminous path
of ever-increasing knowledge), had not changed his opinion upon the
language of the Desátir, and assigns to it[51] a place among the
Asiatic dialects; according to him, as it is more nearly related to
the new Persian than to the Zand and the Pehlevi, it may be considered
as a new intermediate ring in the hermetic chain which connects the
Germanic idioms with the old Asiatic languages; it is perhaps the most
ancient dialect of the Deri,[52] spoken, if not in Fars, yet in the
north-eastern countries of the Persian empire, to wit, in Sogd and
Bamian. When it ceased to be spoken, like several other languages of
by-gone ages, the Mahabádian was preserved perhaps in a single book,
or fragment of a book, similar in its solitude to the Hebrew Bible, or
the Persian Zend-Avesta.

At what epoch was the Desátir written?

The epoch assigned to it, according to different views, is the
sixth[53] or the seventh[54] century of our era, even the later time
of the Seljucides, who reigned from A. D. 1037 to 1193. The latter
epoch is adopted as the earliest assignable, by Silvestre de Sacy, who
alleges two reasons for his opinion: the one is his belief that the
new Persian language, in which the Desátir was translated and
commented by the fabricator of the original or Mahabadian text did not
exist earlier; the second reason refers to some parts of the contents
of the Desátir. I shall touch upon both these questions.

It is useless to discuss what can never be ascertained, who the author
of the Desátir was. But this work would be unintelligible without the
Persian translation and commentary. Silvestre de Sacy asks: “Are not
this translation and this commentary, themselves pseudonymous and
apocryphal books, and is not the whole, perhaps, the work of an
impostor of the last century?” In answering this, I shall be guided by
the baron von Hammer, who wrote his review of the Desátir before he
had seen that of the _Journal des Savans_, but, after having perused
the latter, declared that he had nothing to change in his opinion.
Although the commentator, to whom the honor of being the inventor of
the Mahabadian language is ascribed, follows in the main the ancient
text word for word, and substitutes commonly a new for the obsolete
form of the term, yet frequent instances occur (some of which baron
von Hammer adduces) which prove that the interpreter did not clearly
understand the old text, but in place of the true meaning gave his own
arbitrary interpretation. The proper names even are not always the
same. Besides――and this is most important――the doctrines contained in
the Desátir and in the Commentary differ from each other. In the books
of the first Mahabadian kings we find the fundamental ideas of the
Oriental philosophy, such as it was before its migration from Asia to
Europe; but in the commentary we perceive the development of the
Aristotelian scholastic, such as it formed itself among the Asiatics,
when they had, by means of translations, become acquainted with the
Stagirite. We shall revert to this subject hereafter. Whatever it
be――the discrepancies between the original text and the
interpretation, as they would certainly have been avoided by the
author of both, prove that they are the works of two different
persons, probably with the interval of a few centuries between them.

The Persian translator and commentator is said to be the fifth Sassan,
who lived in the time of the Persian king Khusro-Parviz, a
contemporary of the Roman emperor Heraclius, and died only nine years
before the destruction of the ancient Persian monarchy, or in the year
643 of our era. It must be presumed that the five Sassans, the first
of whom was a contemporary of Alexander, 323 years before Christ, were
not held to be immediate successors to each other, but only in the
same line of descent; otherwise an interval of 946 years, from
Alexander to Parviz, comprehending the reign of thirty-one Arsacides
and twenty-two Sassanian princes, would be given to no more than five
individuals, which absurdity ought not to be attributed to the
commentary of the Desátir. In general, so common is it with Asiatics
to deal with names of celebrity as if they were generic names, that it
is very frequently impossible to be positive about the true author of
a work. There appears in the present case nothing to prevent us from
placing the translator and commentator of the Desátir (whether a
Sassan or not) in the seventh century of our era.

The translation and commentary of the Desátir are written in what the
best judges consider as very pure Persian, though ancient, without any
mixture whatever of words of Arabic or Chaldean origin, and
conformable to the grammatical system of modern Persian. But when was
the latter formed?――As the opinion upon this epoch involves that upon
the age of the composition itself, I shall be permitted to take a
rather extensive historical view of this part of the question.

Setting aside the Mahabadian kings mentioned in the Desátir and
Dabistán, we know that Gilshah, Hoshang, Jamshid (true Persian names)
are proclaimed by all Orientalists as founders of the Persian empire
and builders of renowned cities in very remote times. This empire
comprised in its vast extent different nations, speaking three
principal languages, the Zand, Pehlevi, and Parsi. Among these nations
were the _Persæ_, “Persians,” properly and distinctively so called. We
are informed by Herodotus[55] that there were different races of
Persæ, of whom he enumerates eleven. Those who inhabited originally
_Fars_, _Farsistan_, _Persis_,[56] a country double the extent of
England, and gave their name to the whole empire, certainly spoke
their own idiom, the _Parsi_ or _Farsi_. A national language may vary
in its forms, but never can be destroyed as long as any part of the
nation exits; can we doubt that the Persians who, once the masters of
Asia, although afterwards shorn of their power, never ceased to be
independent and formidable, preserved their language to our days?

We may consider as remains of the oldest Persian language, the proper
and other names of persons, places and things mentioned by the most
ancient historians; now, a number of such words, which occur in the
Hebrew Bible,[57] in Herodotus, and other Greek authors, are much
better explained from modern Persian than from Zand and Pehlevi. In
the Armenian language exist words common to the Persian, none common
to the Pehlevi;[58] therefore, in very remote times Persian and not
Pehlevi was the dominant idiom of the Iranian nations with whom the
Armenians were in relation. More positive information is reserved for
posterity, when the cuneiform inscriptions upon the monumental rocks
and ruins, to be found in all directions within the greatest part of
Asia, shall be deciphered by future philologers, not perhaps
possessing greater talent, but better means of information from
all-revealing time than those of our days, who have already
successfully begun the great work――Grotefend, Rask, St. Martin,
Burnouf, Lassen, etc.

Let us now take a hasty review of a few principal epochs of the
Persian empire, with respect to language, beginning only from that
nearest the time, in which Persia was seen and described by Herodotus,
Ctesias, and Xenophon, not without reference to the then existing
national historical records. Khosru (Cyrus) the Persian King, placed
by the Occidentals in the seventh century before our era,[59] having
wrested the sceptre from the hands of the Medes, who spoke Pehlevi,
naturally produced the ascendancy of his national idiom. This did not
sink under his immediate successors, Lohrasp and Gushtasp. Although
under the reign of the latter, who received Zardusht at his court in
the sixth century B. C.,[60] the Zand might have had great currency,
yet it certainly declined after Gushtasp, as his grandson Bahman, the
son of Isfendiar, favored the cultivation of the Parsi.[61] This
language was perfected in Baktria (the original name of which country
is _Bákhter_, “East,” an old Persian word) and in the neighboring
Transoxiana; there the towns _Bamian_, the Thebes of the East, and
_Balkh_, built by Lohrasp and sanctified by Gushtasp’s famous Pyræum,
besides _Merv_ and _Bokhára_, were great seats of Persian arts and
sciences. The Parsi, thus refined, was dominant in all the royal
residences, which changed according to seasons and circumstances; it
was spoken at the court of the Second _Dara_ (Darius Codomanus), and
sounds in his own name and that of his daughters _Sitára_ (Statira),
“star,” and _Roshana_ (Roxana), “splendor,” whom the unfortunate king
resigned with his empire to Alexander.[62] This conqueror, intoxicated
with power, endeavored to exterminate the Mobeds, the guardians of the
national religion and science; he slew many, but dispersed only the
majority. From the death of Alexander (323 B. C.) to the reign of
Ardeshir Babegan (Artaxerxes), the founder of the Sassanian dynasty
(200 A. D.), a period of more than five centuries is almost a blank in
the Persian history; but when the last-mentioned king, the regenerator
of the ancient Iranian monarchy, wishing to restore its laws and
literature, convoked the Mobeds, he found forty thousand of them
before the gate of the fire-temple of Barpa.[63] Ammianus Marcellinus,
in the fourth century of our era attests, that the title of king was
in _Deri_, “court-language,” yet the Pehlevi was spoken concurrently
with it during the reigns of the first twelve Sassanian princes, until
it was proscribed by a formal edict of the thirteenth of them, _Bahram
gor_, in our fifth century. Nushirvan and Parviz, in the sixth
century, were both celebrated for the protection which they granted to
arts and sciences. We have on record a school of physic, poetry,
rhetoric, dialectics, and abstract sciences, flourishing at Gandi
sapor, a town in Khorasan: the Persian must have then been highly
cultivated. We are now in the times of Muhammed; were they not
_Persian_, those Tales, the charm of which, whether in the original or
in the translation, was such, that the Arabian legislator, to
counteract it, summoned up the power of his high-sounding
heaven-inspired eloquence, and wrote a part of the Koran against them?
If he himself had not named the Deri as the purest dialect of the
Persian, what other language could we believe he admired for its
extreme softness so much as to say, that the Almighty used it when he
wished to address the angels in a tone of mildness and beneficence,
whilst he reserved the Arabic for command?[64] Such a fact, or such a
tradition, presupposes a refined, and therefore long-spoken language.
After Muhammed’s death, his fanatic successors attempted to bury under
the ruins of the Persian empire even the memory of its ancient
religion and language――but they did not succeed: the sacred fire was
saved and preserved beyond the Oxus; it was rekindled in Baktria, that
ancient hearth of Persian splendor; there poetry and eloquence
revived, but could not raise their voices until princes of Persian
origin became lieutenants of the Mohammedan khalifs. It was under
Nasr, son of Ahmed the Samanian, in the beginning of our tenth
century, that RUDIGI rose, the first celebrated new Persian poet, but
he found, he did not create the language, more than Homer created
Greek, Dante Italian, or Spenser English. A great author, in whom the
genius of his nation is concentrated, does no more than aptly collect
into a whole the idiom which exists every where in parts, and elicit
its pre-existing resources. Thus under his pen the language can appear
to spring up with all its beauties――as Minerva, equipped in armour,
sprung forth from the head of Jupiter.

Such being the historical indications relative to the Persian
language, we cannot participate in the doubts of Silvestre de Sacy,
nor find Erskine[65] just in disdaining even to make a comment upon
the credibility of the hypothesis “that the Persian language was
completely formed in the age of the latter Sassanians.” It would be
rather a matter of wonder that the Parsi, related to the most ancient
and most cultivated language in the world, should not have been much
sooner fitted for the harmonious lays of Ferdusi!――a matter of wonder
indeed, that the Persians, who taught the Arabs so much of their
religion――heaven and hell, should have remained behind them in the
refinement of their idiom!――that they, who could scoff at the _Tazis_
as eaters of lizards, should not have possessed, in the seventh
century, a language to contend with that people, who themselves
possessed celebrated poets long before Muhammed![66]

It is for ever regrettable that overpowering Muhammedism should have
spoiled the original admirable simplicity of one of the softest
languages in the world, by the intrusion of the sonorous but harsher
words of Arabic, and imposed upon us the heavy tax of learning two
languages for understanding one; but, as the translation of the
Desátir is free from words of an Arabic or Chaldean origin, should we
not fairly conclude, that it was executed before the Muhammedan
conquest of Persia? So did Norris, and so Erskine――I can but
think――would have done, if his judgment and penetration, usually so
right and acute, had not been prepossessed by the idea of an
imposture, which he had assumed as proved or self-evident, whilst this
was the very point of contestation. Thus, “the very freedom from words
of foreign growth, which the learned natives consider as a mark of
authenticity, appeared to him the proof of an artificial and
fabricated style.”

If even there are some Arabic words to be found in the text and the
translation of the Desátir, this affords no fair inference that these
works had not been composed before the Arabs conquered Persia, because
those words might have come from Pehlevi, in which there is a mixture
of Arabic, and there are also Persian words in the Koran; most
naturally, as there subsisted from times immemorial relations between
Persia and Arabia.

What I have said will, if I am not mistaken, sufficiently justify the
conclusion, that the Persian idiom could in the seventh century have
attained the regularity and form of the present Persian, such at
least, as it appears in the Commentary of the Desátir, not without a
very perceptible tincture of obsoleteness.

I need scarce remark that the title _asmáni_, “heavenly,” belongs
exclusively to the superstitious admiration with which the Desátir is
viewed. Nor are its fifteen books to be taken for sacred works of so
many prophets who succeeded each other after such long intervals of
time; yet nothing prevents us, as I hope to show, from believing some
parts of them very ancient. Neither are these of the same antiquity.
Thus, prophecies which are certainly interpolations made after the
events, occur in them, not otherwise than in the Indian Puránas, the
fundamental parts of which are nevertheless now admitted to be as
ancient as the Vedas themselves. We find in the two last books of the
Desátir are mentioned: the contest between the Abbasides and the
descendants of Ali; the adoption of Muhammedism by almost the totality
of Iran; inimical sects, and the power of the Turcomans superseding
that of the Arabs; the latter parts must certainly have been composed
after the taking of Bagdád by Hulogu in 1258 of our era. The fifteenth
book of the Desátir is probably apocryphal.

As to the doctrine of the Desátir, Erskine says:[67] “I consider that
the whole of the peculiar doctrines, ascribed to Mahabad and Hoshang,
is borrowed from the mystical doctrines of the Persian Súfis, and from
the ascetic tenets and practices of the Yogis and Sanyasis, of India
who drew many of their opinions from the Vedanta-school.” But this
involves the great historical question, concerning the origin of
Súfism and the whole Indian philosophy, which is by some (not without
foundation) believed to have been spread throughout a great part of
Asia. It is quite gratuitous, I may say, to regard them “as having had
no existence before the time of Azar Kaivan[68] and his disciples in
the reigns of Akbar and Jehanguir, and as having been devised and
reduced into form between 200 and 300 years ago in the school of
Sipasi-philosophers.” Nor can I admit as better founded the following
insinuations of the same ingenious critic: “Nor shall I inquire
whether many of the acute metaphysical remarks that abound in the
commentary and the general style of argument which it employs have not
rather proceeded from the schoolmen of the West, than directly from
the Oriental or Aristotelian philosophy.” To this may be answered: It
is highly problematic, whether the translator of the Desátir ever knew
any schoolman of the West, but it is certain that he, as an Asiatic
and a Persian, knew the Oriental philosophy, the fundamentals of which
were preserved in the first books of the Desátir, as we have already
said; but the commentator could but participate in the modification,
which the ancient doctrine had undergone in his age, after its return
from the West to the East, in translations of Greek philosophical
works into Asiatic languages. Thus, in the Desátir and its
commentary――I borrow the words of baron von Hammer:――“We see already
germinating the double seed of reason and light, from which sprung up
the double tree of rational and ideal philosophy,”[69] which spread
its ramifications over the whole world, and lives and flourishes even
in our times.

The commentator was no ordinary man: living, as we may believe, in the
first half of the seventh century, he possessed the sciences of his
learned age; flourishing under the reign of king Khosru Parviz, who
professed the ancient Persian religion in his letter to a Roman
emperor of the East,[70] and tore to pieces Muhammed’s written
invitation to adopt Islam[71]; in this yet unshaken state of national
independence, the fifth Sassan preserved pure his creed and style from
the influence of the Arabian prophet. The translator and commentator
of the Desátir says of himself:[72] “I too have written a celebrated
book under the name of _Do giti_, ‘the two worlds’, full of admirable
wisdom, which I have derived from the most exalted intelligence, and
in the eminent book of the famous prophet, the King of Kings, Jemshid,
there is a great deal, concerning the unity which only distinguished
Asceties (_Hertasp_) can comprehend, and on the subject of this
transcendant knowledge I have also composed a great volume _Pertú
están_, ‘the mansion of light,’ which I have adorned by evidence
deduced from reason, and by texts from the _Desátir_ and _Avesta_, so
that _the soul of every man_ may derive pleasure from it. And it is
one of the books of the secrets of the great God.”

This is a most important declaration. The commentator considered the
Desátir and the Avesta as sources of delight TO ALL MEN. And he was
right. The doctrine of the former work now under consideration is
found every where, not denied either by the ancients or moderns; it is
the property of mankind. As such, “_it does not belong to any
particular tribe or nation_:” in which point, although in quite
another sense, we agree with Erskine, but we may dissent from the
learned author, when he taxes it to be “a religious or philosophical
imposture, which needed the support of a fabricated language.” After
careful examination, I must conscientiously declare, I discover no
imposture aimed at by any artifice; there was no secret to be
concealed; nothing to be disguised; the Mahabadian religion is as open
as its temple, the vault of heaven, and as clear as the lights,
flaming in their ethereal attitudes; its book is a sort of catechism
of Asiatic religion; its prayer a litany of Oriental devotion, in
which any man may join his voice.

Thus have I endeavored, to the best of my power, to exhibit faithfully
what has hitherto been alleged for and against the authenticity of the
book, which is one of the principal authorities of the Dabistán. If
the author of this latter work was, as the often-quoted ingenuous
author supposes, “in strict intimacy with the sects of enthusiasts by
whom the Desátir was venerated, and whose rule it was,” we may so much
the more rely upon the truth of his account concerning such a
religious association. If he professed the new religion, which the
emperor Akbar had endeavored to found, as this was a revival of the
ancient Persian religion, we may reasonably presume, that he would
have searched, and brought to light writings concerning it which were
concealed, neglected, or little known; he would have cautiously
scrutinized the authenticity of the documents, and conscientiously
respected the sacred sources of that faith, which, after a careful
examination of all others, deserved his preference; nothing justifies
the supposition, that he would forge any thing himself, or
countenance, or not be able to detect, the forgery of others. However
this be, Mohsan Fani’s character will be best known by the perusal of
his work; after a rapid synopsis of its contents, to which I will now
proceed, I shall be permitted to point out, as briefly as possible,
some of the merits and defects conspicuous in his composition.

[20] See note, vol. I. p. 20.

[21] Ibid., p. 44.

[22] Calcutta edition, p. 30, line 6.

[23] See vol. I. p. 534.

[24] _Ibid._, p. 65.

[25] M. Eugène Burnouf, to whose most valuable judgment I
had the pleasure to submit the question, prefers the
derivation from _bhásh_, because this word in Zend would be
_wâsh_, as the Zend _w_ represents exactly the Sanscrit
_bh_, which aspiration did not exist in the ancient idiom of
Bactrian Asia. This sagacious philologer hinted at a
comparison with the Persian _usta_, or _awesta_, upon which
in a subsequent note.

[26] See the Persian text of the Dasátir, p. 377.

[27] _Tableau de l’Empire ottoman_, by M. d’Ohson, t. II. p.
70.

[28] _Journal des Savans_, _février_ 1821, p. 74. The
Persian passage which de Sacy quotes, and in which there is
_Destánir_ for _Dasátir_, is taken from the text published
by Gladwin, and not from the printed Calcutta edition.

[29] See Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British
India and its Dependencies, vol. VIII., from July to Dec.
1819, p. 357.

[30] The _Desátir_, or sacred writings of the ancient
Persian prophets in the original tongue; with the ancient
Persian version, and commentary of the fifth Sasan;
published by Mulla Firuz Bin-i-Kaus. Bombay, 1818. Mulla
Firuz is supposed to possess the only copy of the Desátir
extant. He allowed sir John Malcolm to take a copy of it,
which, by some accident, was lost by Doctor Leyden――(See
Transact. of the Lit. Soc. of Bombay, pp. 342 and 349).

[31] Mohsan Fani marks the time of his composing the
Dabistan (vol. II. p. 50) to be the year of the Hejira 1055
(A. D. 1645).

[32] See _Journal des Savans_, No. for January, 1821, p. 16.

[33] Lucretius, book V., Transl. of Dr. Creech:
“―― ―― putare aliquem tum nomina distribuisse
Rebus, et inde homines didicisse vocabula prima
Desipere est.”

[34] Richardson’s Dictionary, preface, lxvii.

[35] This man, who never told his true name, was from the
age of fifteen to seventeen a private teacher――then passed
for an Irishman――went to Rome as a pilgrim with a habit
stolen from before an altar where it was lying as a votive
offering of another pilgrim――wandered about in Germany,
Brabant, Flanders――indolent, abject, shameless, covered with
vermin and sores――entered the military service of Holland,
which he left to become waiter in a coffee-house in
Aix-la-Chapelle――enlisted in the troops of the elector of
Cologne. He acted all these parts, with those
above-mentioned, before he was baptised under the name of
George, by a Scotch clergyman, and, having learned English,
passed over to England to be protected by Compton, the
lord-bishop of London. At the expense of the latter, he
studied at Oxford――became a preceptor――chaplain of a
regiment――fell back into indolence, and lived upon
alms.――(See A New and General Dictionary, London, 1798, vol.
XII; and _Vie de plusieurs Personnages célèbres des Temps
anciens et modernes, par C. A. Walckenaer, membre de
l’Institut, tome II._ 1830.)

[36] This change took place in his thirty-second year――he
learned Hebrew and became an honest man, esteemed by Samuel
Johnson; he wrote eleven articles in a well-known work, the
Universal History, and his own Life at the age of
seventy-three years; the latter work was published after his
death, which happened in his eighty-fourth year, in 1763.

[37] See _Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits_, vol. IX. pp.
365-396.

[38] I am here applying to the forger of a language what
Lucretius, in continuation of his above quoted verses (p.
xxx), urges against the belief that a single individual
could ever have been the inventor of human speech.

[39] By Norris, _Asiatic Journal_, vol. IX., November, 1820,
p. 430.

[40] _Journal des Savans_, February, 1821, pp. 69-70.

[41] See Transact. of the Lit. Soc. of Bombay, vol. II.: “On
the Authenticity of the Desátir, with remarks on the Account
of the Mahabadi Religion contained in the Dabistan,” by
William Erskine, esq., p. 360.

[42] The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British
India and its Dependencies, Novemb. 1820, p. 421 _et seq._

[43] The work quoted, p. 360.

[44] The Asiatic Journal, November, 1820, p. 421 _et seq._

[45] An Essay on the best means of ascertaining the
affinities of Oriental languages, by baron W. Humboldt, in
the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great
Britain and Ireland, vol. II. part I. p. 213.

[46] Colonel Harriot on the Oriental Origin of the Gypsies.
_Ibid._, 518.

[47] Erskine, _loco cit._, p. 372.

[48] See _Réflexions sur l’Étude des Langues asiatiques,
adressées à sir James Mackintosh_. Bonn, 1832, pp. 51-52.

[49] See Asiatic Researches, vol. VIII. Lond. ed. 8. p. 254.

[50] See _Heidelberger Jahrbücher der Literatar Vom Jänner
te Juni 1823_, Nᵒˢ 6. 12. 13. 18. 20.

[51] See _Journal asiatique, tome XII. juillet 1833_, pp.
24-26.

[52] _Ibidem_, pp. 20-21. Deri was spoken on the other side
of the Oxus, and at the foot of the Paropamisus in Balkh,
Meru, in the Badakhshan, in Bokhara and Bamian. The Pehlevi
was used in Media proper, in the towns of Rai, Hamadan,
Ispahan, Nehawend, and Tabriz, the capital of Azar
bíján.――Beside the Deri and Pehlevi, Persian dictionaries
reckon five other dialects, altogether twelve dialects, of
ancient and modern Persian.

[53] _Tholuck_. _Sufismus, sive Theosophia Pantheistica_, p.
111.

[54] Norris, Asiatic Journal, November, 1820, p. 430.

[55] Clio, lib. I.

[56] In the Bible it is called Paras, or Faras, and reckoned
as extensive as Great and Little Armenia, or as Hungary,
Transylvania, Slavonia, Croatia, and Dalmatia together.――(See
_Gatterer’s Weltgeschichte II^{ter} Theil, Seite 9_.)

[57] In the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

[58] See _Observations sur les Monumens historiques de
l’ancienne Perse, par Étienne Quatremère_. _Journal des
Savans_, _juin et juillet_ 1840, pp. 347-348.

[59] The Orientals place him in the tenth century B. C.

[60] According to Richardson (see the preface of his Dict.,
p. vi), the Farsi was peculiarly cultivated by the great and
learned, above 1200 years before the Muhammedan era, _i. e._
above 600 years B. C., which epoch is commonly assigned to
Gushtasp’s reign.

[61] See Hammer’s _Schöne Redekünste Persiens, Seite 3 et
seq._

[62] Strabo, who flourished in the beginning of the
Christian era, and drew his information mostly from the
historians of Alexander, refers probably to the time of the
Macedonian conquest, when he says (xv. 2, § 8, fol. 724,
edit. Cas.): that the Medians, Persians, Arians, Baktrians,
and Sogdians spoke almost the same language. This probably
was that of the then leading nation, the Persian.

[63] Hammer, _loc. cit._, p. 7.

[64] Works of sir W. Jones, vol. V. p. 426, Transactions of
the Literary Society of Bombay, vol. II. p. 297.

[65] _Loco cit._, p. 363.

[66] See the preface to the most valuable work _Le Divan
d’Amro’lkais_, par le baron Mac Guckin de Slane, Paris,
1837, pp. viii and ix. The learned author confirms that
celebrated Arabian poems existed before the introduction of
the Muhammedan religion, which, for a certain time, averted
the Arabs from the cultivation of poetry and history. We
shall here add (which would have been more appropriately
placed in the note upon Amro’lKais, in vol. III p. 65, and
will correct the same) that this poet (see _loc. cit._, p.
xvi _et seq._) flourished at an epoch anterior to Muhammed,
and died probably before the birth of that extraordinary man.

[67] _Loco citato_, p. 372.

[68] See vol. I. pp. 87 _et seq._

[69] _Heidelberger Jahrbücher, loc. cit. Seite_ 313.

[70] The Dabistán (see Pers. text, Calcutta edit., p. 69,
and English transl., vol. I. p. 145) quotes verses
containing this profession, addressed by Khosru Parviz to a
Roman emperor, whose name, however, is not mentioned. During
the reign of this Persian king, two emperors ruled in the
East, namely, Mauritius, whose daughter Parviz married,
and Heraclius, by whom he was defeated towards the end of
his life. I found it probable, but had no authority to
assert (see vol. I. p. 145, note 2), that the above-stated
profession was made to Mauritius; but those verses by
themselves deserve attention, as they establish the adherence
of Parviz to the religion of Hoshang, in contradiction to
several historians, according to whom he adopted Christianity:
this assertion seems founded upon his great attachment to
the celebrated _Mary_, or _Chirín_, his Christian wife, and
daughter of a Christian emperor, the said Mauritius.

[71] Muhammed, when informed of the ignominious reception
which the Persian king gave to his letter and ambassador,
said: “God will tear his empire, as he tore my letter, to
pieces.”――(Herbelot.)

[72] The Desátir, p. 99.

PART II.

SYNOPSIS OF THE DYNASTIES, RELIGIONS, SECTS, AND PHILOSOPHIC OPINIONS,
TREATED OF IN THE DABISTAN.

§ I.――THE FIRST RELIGION――THE DYNASTIES OF MAHABAD, ABAD AZAR, SHAI
ABAD, SHAI GILIV, SHAI MAHBUL, AND YASAN.

Mohsan Fani exhibits the remarkable notions, dogmas, customs, and
ceremonies of twelve religions, and their various sects, without
giving more of their origin and genesis than the names of their
founders. The very first principle of all religion is referred, by
some, to a primitive Divine revelation; by others, to a natural
propensity of the human mind to superstition. However this may be,
history confirms the suggestions of psychology, that admiration was
one of the principal sources of religious feelings; how should man not
be struck with the glories of the sky? Therefore, the adoration of
stars was one of the most ancient religions. It needed no prophet: it
is “_the poetry of heaven_,” imprinted in eternal characters of fire
upon the ethereal expanse. Prometheus, enumerating the benefits which
he bestowed upon untutored barbarians, says:[73]

“―― ―― ―― At random all their works
Till I instructed them to mark the stars,
Their rising, and, a harder science yet,
Their setting.”[74]

According to all traditions, astronomy was one of the first sciences
cultivated by men.[75] The stars not only occasioned the institution,
but also served to announce the regular return, of religious feasts;
thus they became, as called by Plato, “the instruments of time,” men
were at once induced and taught by religion to count months and years.
Astronomy, in her feast-calendars, consecrated upon an altar the first
fruits of her labors.

Upon the star-paved path of heaven man was conducted to the sanctuary
of the supreme Being. In general, the first feeling of “the Divine (το
θεῖον),” seizing the human mind with its own supernatural power,
elevated it at once above the material concerns of the nether world;
thus, sublime ideas of the Deity, the universe, and the immortality of
the soul preceded the invention of many arts and sciences relative to
the comforts of social life. This is confirmed by the account,
contained in the Dabistán, of the most ancient religion of the
Persians, which is founded upon transcendental ideas of the Divinity:
“Except God himself, who can comprehend his origin? Entity, unity,
identity are inseparable properties of this original essence, and are
not adventitious to Him.” So the Desátir, with which the Dabistán
generally so fully agrees, that we can scarce doubt that the author of
the latter had the former before his eyes.

No sooner has man acquired the consciousness of mental freedom, than
he endeavors to expand beyond himself the first vague feeling of the
Divine; not satisfied to admire all exterior marvel, he desires to
understand and to name its interior moving cause: this is something
immaterial; it is a soul, such as acts in himself. Among the ancient
Iranians, the “first creation of the existence-bestowing bounty” was
the intellectual principle, called _Azad Bahman_, “the first
intelligence;” he is also the first angel; from him other spirits or
angels proceed. Every star, every heavenly sphere has its particular
intelligence and spirit or angel. In the lower region, each of the
four elements owns its particular guardian; vegetables, minerals,
animals have their protecting angels; the conservative angel of
mankind is _Farun Faro Vakshur_. It is not without reason, that this
religion was called “the religion of light.” As the supreme Being

“Sow’d with stars the heav’n thick as the field.”[76]

So also he peopled the vast extent with the “sons of light, the
empyreal host of angels,” who not only moved and governed the
celestial orbs, but also descended into the elemental regions to
direct, promote, and protect his creation. Not a drop of dew fell
without an angel. The Hindus and Greeks animated universal nature; the
Persians imparadized the whole creation by making it the abode of
angels. Hence demonology in all its extent. But, “_among_ the most
resplendent, powerful, and glorious of the servants who are free from
inferior bodies and matter, there is none God’s enemy or rival, or
disobedient, or cast down, or annihilated.” This important passage of
the Desátir[77] I shall have occasion to refer to hereafter.

Human souls are eternal and infinite; they come from above, and are
spirits of the upper spheres. If distinguished for knowledge and
sanctity, while on earth, they return above, are united with the sun,
and become empyreal sovereigns; but if the proportion of their good
works bore a closer affinity to any other star, they become lords of
the place assigned to that star; their stations are in conformity with
the degrees of their virtue; perfect men attain the beatific vision of
the light of lights, and the cherubine hosts of the supreme Lord. Vice
and depravity, on the contrary, separate souls from the primitive
source of light, and chain them to the abode of the elements: they
become evil spirits. The imperfectly good migrate from one body to
another, until, by the efficacy of good words and actions, they are
finally emancipated from matter, and gain a higher rank. The
thoroughly-depraved descend from the human form to animal bodies, to
vegetable, and even to mineral substances.

So far we see the well-known dogma of transmigration ingeniously
combined with the Sidereal religion. Here is exhibited a singular
system of heavenly dominion, maintained by every star, whether fixed
or planetary, during periods of many thousand years. A fixed star
begins the revolution, and reigns alone, the king of the cycle, during
a millenium, after which, each of the fixed and planetary stars
becomes its partner or prime-minister for a thousand years; the last
of all is the moon, for a millenium. Then the sovereignty of the first
king devolves to the star which was its first associate. This second
king goes through the same course as the first, until this becomes for
a thousand years his partner, and then his period is also past. The
same is the course of all other stars. When the moon shall have been
king, and all stars associated with it and its reign too past, then
one great period shall be accomplished. The state of the revolving
world recommences, the human beings, animals, vegetables, and
minerals, which existed during the first cycle, are restored to their
former language, acts, dispositions, species, and appearances; the
world is renovated, that is to say, forms, similar to those which
passed away, reappear. This system, copied from the Desátir,[78]
expresses nothing else but the general vague idea of long heavenly
revolutions, and periodical renovations of the same order of things in
the nether world.

The Dabistán[79] adds a mode of computing as peculiar to the followers
of the ancient faith: they call one revolution of the regent Saturn a
day; thirty such days one month; twelve such months one year; a
million of such years one _fard_; a million fard one _vard_; a million
vard one _mard_; a million vard one _jad_; three thousand jads one
_vad_; and two thousand vád one _zád_. To these I must subjoin
_salam_, _shamar_, _aspar_, _radah_, _aradah_, _raz_, _araz_,
_biaraz_, that is, eight members of a geometric progression, the first
of which is 100,000, and the coefficient 100. But these years are
revolutions, called _farsals_, of thirty common years each. There are
besides farsals of Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the moon, a day of each
being the time of their respective revolution.

I thought it necessary to repeat these extravagant numbers, because it
is by them that the reigns of the first ancient dynasties are
measured.[80] The first earthly ruler of the present cycle, who with
his wife survived the great period to become the first ancestor of a
new innumerable population, was _Mahabada_. This name seems of
Sanscrit derivation.[81] In his reign we find traced the first
ground-lines of all human societies; agriculture and the arts of life
are invented; villages and cities organised; four classes of society
established――priests, warriors, agriculturists, and tradesmen. The
names of these classes are in the Dabistán much like those of the four
Hindu _castes_, but the Desátir and the Shahnamah have other
denominations, belonging to an ancient Persian dialect,[82] for these
divisions, which originated in the indispensable wants of a rising
society. This institution connects itself with the principles of
social morality: men are bound to each other by the laws of justice
and mutual kindness, which is extended even to all innoxious
creatures. To Mahabad the _Desátir_ was sent, a celestial code, and
his faith was maintained through the whole series of his fourteen
successors; the number of whom reminds us of the fourteen Indian
Manus; they are said to have reigned six hundred and six trillions of
years.

To the Mahabadians succeeded _Abad Azar_, who soon withdrew from
government, and devoted himself to solitude and piety. After him, the
hitherto fortunate state of society changed into war, confusion, and
anarchy. His son, _Jai Afram_, was called to the throne, and restored
peace and order in the world, giving his name to a new dynasty. After
this, four other princely families are named, that of _Shai Abad_,
_Shai Giliv_, _Shai Mahbul_, and _Yasan_.[83] I shall not count the
many millions of years during which they ruled; all that is said of
their reigns appears nothing but a repetition of the first; a period
of peace, order, and happiness is followed by war, disorder, and
misery, until a revolution renews the state of things. Such traditions
of a progress and regress in virtue and happiness, and of repeated
changes from one condition to another, are not destitute of general
truth. The moral is not, more than the physical world, exempt from
revolutions. These, although their date cannot be determined, have
left behind them undeniable traces, and without a reference to them,
we could not explain so much of the strangeness, incoherence, and
heterogeneity in the history of men and nature.

Thus I have slightly sketched the principal features of the religion
which prevailed among the first Persian dynasties; these, not
mentioned in other historical books, are we know peculiar to the
Desátir and Dabistán, which appeared to sir W. Jones an
unexceptionable authority for believing the Iranian monarchy “the
oldest in the world.” Upon this, W. Erskine remarked:[84] “Shall I be
forgiven for saying, that the history of letters seems to me scarcely
to afford an instance of a more perverted judgment on historical
evidence?” Silvestre de Sacy[85] too “banishes among the most absurd
fables the dynasties of the Mahabadians, and of their successors,
which sir William Jones, and after him some other Orientalists, have
too hastily adopted, and of which they would to-day blush, since their
titles have been produced.” More recently, William von Schlegel[86]
said: “It would be useless to conceal to the public that that learned
man, endowed with talents so rare, was totally deficient in historical
criticism:” This was inferred, because he had admitted, and used in
some of his considerations, as genuine, a forgery of Wilford’s Pandit.
Besides, “he received without diffidence, and even welcomed with
enthusiasm, the traditions contained in the Dabistán, a modern Persian
book, written with _the intention to claim for Persia the pre-eminence
over India with respect to the antiquity of religious revelations_.”

As to “the intention” mentioned, I hope to be able to justify Mohsan
Fani. With respect to the Mahabadian dynasties――the light recently
acquired upon the ancient history of Persia, reflect rather favorably
upon that part of sir William Jones’s opinion, that this country, in
its wide extent, was once the original seat of many nations now
settled in distant regions. So much, at least, may be considered as
established: 1. that the limits of history are to be removed further
back than those before fixed; 2. that in the earliest times primitive
nations, related by language to each other, had their origin in the
common elevated country of central Asia, and that the Iranians and
Indians were once united before their migration into Iran and
India.[87] This great fact presents itself, as it were, upon the
border of a vast abyss of unknown times.

For these a measure was sought. Hence we meet with extravagant, but
perpetually recurring chronological statements. The Mahabadian ages
are neither better nor worse, as to accuracy, than the Indian yugs,
the Chaldean,[88] or other periods. In order to reduce them to their
true value, we must consider them as nothing else than expressions of
the ideas which the ancients entertained of the antiquity of the world
and human society, in which they cannot be easily refuted, and at
least are not absurd. Such ideas originated, when man, curious after
his past, had long ceased to be a listless barbarian; but the earliest
civilisation is a late product of slow-working time, the memory of
which could have been preserved only by monuments. The most ancient of
these however are but recent in our historical knowledge, the limits
of which are far from being those of antiquity. The duration of
ante-historical empires, in printless but extensive spaces of times,
escapes research and computation. As men, however, bear with
impatience vague and loose ideas, the Persians, as well as other
nations, determined the past by numbers formed from the multiplication
of some astronomical periods known in early times, as has been
observed:[89] this appears to me at once the whole truth and falsehood
of those statements. In the utter impossibility to reconcile the
discordant data of different nations, we must content ourselves to
take up the general ideas and facts in which they all agree, whilst in
the particulars they all differ. Thus, in laying down maps of
countries little known, we are satisfied with tracing the general
direction of some rivers and mountains, and abstain from topographical
details.

[73] Προμηθευς δεσμωτης,
―― ―― ―― ―― ἄτης γνώμης τὸ πᾶν
Ἔπρασσον, ἔς τε δή σφιν ἀντολὰς ἐγὼ
Αστρων ἔδειξα, τάς τε δυσκρίτους δύσεις.
(v. 457-459).

[74] Transl. by Dr. Potter.

[75] Hyde, who did not know the Dabistán, says (p. 188):
that a year, or calendar, of Median invention was introduced
in Persia, before Jamshid, that is, according to Ferdusi’s
not irrational chronology, earlier than 3429 before our era.

[76] Milton’s Paradise Lost, b. VII. v. 358.

[77] The book of Shet Shai Kiliv, v. 59. p. 56.

[78] Bombay edit. Engl. transl., pp. 19. 20.

[79] Vol. I. p. 14. The Bombay Desátir does not mention the
revolution of Saturn, and states differently the value of
fard, mard, etc., etc.

[80] It is known that in India, and perhaps all over Asia,
the number of ciphers not followed by a significative
number, is indifferent, and indicates nothing else but
magnitude. Thus the Hindus, to determine positively
hundreds, thousands, etc., affix the required figure at the
end: for instance, to determine 100 rupees to be given, they
write 101.

[81] The word is perhaps a form of the Sanscrit _Mahábodhi_,
“a great deified teacher.” In the Burhani Kati we find six
significations attributed to the word _Abad_; these are: 1.
cultivated; 2. praise and prayer; 3. exclamation of praise;
4. the name of the Kaba; 5. the name of the first Persian
prophet; 6. good and beauteous.

[82] See vol. I. pp. 19-20.

[83] I have (see vol. I. p. 26, note 1) derived this name
from the Sanscrit _yas_, “glory, honor.” In Burhan Katii it
is interpreted by “what is convenient.”

[84] _Loco cit._, p. 342.

[85] _Journ. des Savans, février 1821_, p. 69.

[86] See _Réflexions sur l’Étude des Langues orientales_,
_loc. cit._, p. 51.

[87] See the development of these ideas in _Erdkunde von
Carl Ritter_, _VIII^{ter} Theil_; _III^{ter} Buch_, _West-asien
Seiten_ 105-109, with reference to _E. Burnouf Comment. sur
le Yacna_, pp. 461, 563.

[88] We may be here permitted to call to mind the eras of
the Chaldeans, who, according to Berosus, Epigenes, Diodorus
of Sicily, Abydenus counted 490,000, 720,000, 473,000,
463,763 years. They are said to have exhibited, before
Alexander’s conquest in Asia, historical annals for 150,000
years.

[89] See p. lxvii.

§ II.――THE PESHDADIAN, KAYANIAN, ASHKANIAN, AND
SASSANIAN DYNASTIES――THEIR RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL
INSTITUTIONS.

After the four dynasties mentioned follows the _Gilshanian_, monarchy,
founded by _Gilshah_, or _Kayomers_, “the king or form of earth.”[90]
We are now upon well-known ground, and hear familiar names of four
races: the _Péshdadian_, _Kayanian_, _Ashkaniun_, and _Sassanian_, to
which, altogether, the Dabistán attributes a period of 6024 years,
differing considerably from that of other Asiatic chronologers.[91]

Sir William Jones was right when he declared,[92] that “the annals of
the _Péshdadi_ (or Assyrian) race must be obscure and fabulous; those
of the Kayání family, or the Medes and Persians, heroic and poetic:”
annals gathered from oral traditions can be but such as the great
Orientalist characterises those of the mentioned dynasties. But it was
in his younger years, before he had enlarged his views upon the
history of mankind, that he fixed the origin of the Persian monarchy
so late as 890 years before our era;[93] afterwards, in India, he
refuted his former notions, and ranged more freely in the expanded
fields of antiquity. I shall add that Ferdusi places the beginning of
Gilshah’s reign 3529 years before Christ, an epoch which receives
synchronical confirmation from our daily-increasing knowledge of the
antiquity of China, India, Assyria, Egypt, and other states.

The fundamental religion remains the same: a celestial volume called
_Payman-i-farhang_, in perfect accord with the Mahabadian code, is
transmitted to Kayomers. So the Dabistán: but, in the Desátir, the
four books ascribed to the first four Mahabadian prophet-kings contain
the purest deism, and although the foundation of astrolatry and
demonolatry may be perceived in the cosmology of the first book, yet
these did not form a positive worship, which develops itself in the
seven planetary books of the seven subsequent Persian kings, to wit:
_Kayomers_, _Siamok_, _Hushang_, _Tahmúras_, _Jamshid_, _Feridun_, and
_Menocheher_. Under these monarchs, a particular worship was rendered
to the seven planets, as to mediators between God and men; the
description of the forms under which they have been adored, is not, to
my knowledge, found in any other book but the Dabistán.

Superstition is certainly as ancient as human nature itself; it is
impossible to fix the epoch at which particular opinions and practices
originated, such as the eighty-four sitting-postures at prayer; the
suppression of the breath for the abstraction of thought; the mystical
and fantastical notions upon vision and revelation; and particularly
the belief that a man may attain the faculty to quit and to reassume
his body, or to consider it as a loose garment, which he may put off
at pleasure for ascending to the world of light, and on his return be
reunited with the material elements. All these matters are considered
as very ancient.

We find in the Dabistán a curious account of Persian sects under
different names, such as _Abadians_, _Azur-Húshangians_,
_Jamshaspians_, _Samradians_, _Khodaiyans_, _Radians_, _Shidrangians_,
_Paikarians_, _Milanians_, _Alarians_, _Shidabians_, _Akshiyans_. The
founders of these sects are placed so far back as the reigns of
Jamshid and Zohak. Individuals professing the particular creed of each
of these sects were living in the time of the author of the Dabistán,
who was personally acquainted with several of them, and imparts the
information which he had himself received from their lips. He gives
with particular care an account of the before-mentioned Azar
Kaivan,[94] the chief of the later _Abadíans_ and _Azar-Hushangians_.
The doctrine of these sectaries contained peculiar notions about God’s
nature and attributes, and the world; the latter was to some an
illusion; God himself but an idea. To others, God was every thing, to
be served alone without a mediator between him and mankind;
the heavens and the stars were his companions. God was the
sun――fire――air――water――earth; he was the essence of the elements: from
every one of these divine principles the heavens, stars, and the whole
world proceeded. These were some of the fundamental principles of
their metaphysical religion.

Their morality appears to have consisted in the acknowledgment of all
natural virtues; piety, justice, charity, sobriety; wine and strong
drinks were forbidden; above all a tenderness towards all living
creatures was recommended; and the severity against those who slew
innoxious animals was carried to such an excess, than even sons
punished their fathers with death, and fathers their sons, for the
slaughter of a sheep or an elk.[95]

Their political constitution appears from the earliest time to have
been that of an absolute monarchy: this is the curse attached to
Asiatics. The king was to be of a noble descent, and bound to
acknowledge the _Farhang-Abad_, “code of Abad.” All dignities,
military and civil, were hereditary from father to son. The royal
court and inner apartments appear to have been regulated in much the
same manner as they are still in Asia; his cup-bearers and familiar
servants, as well as those of his sons, and other nobles, were always
females.

The interior administration of cities and villages is sufficiently
detailed in the Dabistán. An active police was established, with
numerous spies and secret reporters, for the security of government.
We are glad to find in such early times hospitals for the relief of
the suffering, and caravansaras for the convenience of travellers.
Moreover, post-stations of horses and messengers were distributed for
the rapid communication of news, from all sides of the vast empire, to
the monarch.[96]

Not a little care was bestowed upon the discipline and continual
exercise of numerous armies. The military chiefs were distinguished by
the magnificent decorations of their persons, horses, and arms, in
which they prided themselves. They were bound to treat their soldiers
kindly, nay, obliged to produce certificates, from their subordinates,
of having behaved well towards them. An order of battle was
prescribed, in which they were to encounter the enemy; no plunder
after victory was permitted; they never slew, nor treated with
violence, a man who had thrown down his arms and asked for quarter.

History may well be referred to religion, which is an ancient
intellectual monument, living in the human soul from generation to
generation. I have hitherto marked two religious periods: the first,
that of the _Desátir_, through the Mahabadian dynasty; the second,
that of _Paiman-í-Farhang_, prevailing during the Pésh-dadi-race until
the middle of the Kayanian reign; I now come to the third.

[90] The first word is pure Persian; the other may be
derived from the Sanscrit _kaya_, “body, form,” and _mrita_,
“earth.”

[91] See vol. I. p. 31, note 1.

[92] His Works, vol. III. the sixth Anniversary Discourse,
p. 108.

[93] _Ibid._, vol. XII. p. 399.

[94] See page 63.

[95] See vol. I. pp. 181. 184.

[96] _Parasang_, _Farsang_, even in our days a Persian word,
is found and determined as a lineal measure of distances in
Herodotus, lib. II. V. and VI.

§ III.――THE RELIGION OF ZARDUSHT, OR ZOROASTER.

All religions are said to have deviated from their primitive
simplicity and purity, as men advanced in knowledge and civilisation.
This is true but in a restricted and distinctive sense, and may be
explained, even without yielding to our habit of considering that
which is more remote and less known as holier than that which is
nearer and better examined. Thus, we may admit that the impressions
made upon men in the first stage of expanding reason are stronger and
more vivid, the less they are distracted by simultaneous and
correlative associations; one great idea is enough to fill their whole
mind, and admits of no rival, of no commixture with any thing else;
curiosity, versatility, luxuriancy of intellect are not yet known;
constancy is a necessity in a small compass of ideas. We have already
touched[97] upon the powerful effect which the early perception of the
_Divine_ produced upon man: but he soon circumscribed what was too
vast or his comprehension in a perceptible object――heaven, sun, fire,
to which he offered his adoration; he wanted a visible type or image
of the invisible Divinity; but, his means of formation being at first
very confined, he contented himself with the most simple
representation: he had a symbol, an idol in a grove or cavern, but not
yet a Pantheon. Simplicity may be a mere restriction to one object or
to few objects; purity, nothing else but homogeneity in good or bad,
true or false; we shall not confound them with rationality, which may
subsist with multiplicity and mixture. Thus, the adoration of one
deified man, one great serpent, one huge stone, is by no means more
rational than the worship of numerous generations of gods, the
ingenious personification sof multiform nature, ever acknowledged as
the genuine offspring of the happy marriage between intellect and
imagination. In the absence of arts and riches, worship is rude and
destitute of showy accessories. Afterwards, the development of the
understanding widens the field of reasoning, the fertility of which
may be attested more by the shoot of weeds than by the growth of
fruits: error prevails over truth; the increase of manifold resources
facilitates and prompts superfetation of exterior religion. Besides,
the impressions, by which the first legislator attached his followers
to his doctrine, are effaced by time; the first traditions, obscured,
confused, and altered; faith is weakened, and an opening made for
change in belief, practice, and morals. A change, merely as such, is
considered as a corruption by the adherents of the old creed. Finally,
revolutions, interior and exterior, deteriorate or destroy religion
and civilisation.

These reflexions, with the explanation previously given as to the
various notions of which the religions in Asia were composed, will
clearly show that, in the course of ages, a reform of astrolatry,
pyrolatry, and idolatry, the branches of Sabæism and Mezdaism, became
desirable; and _Zardusht_, or _Zoroaster_, appeared.

In the notes placed at the bottom of the pages containing Mohsan
Fani’s account of Zoroaster,[98] will be found some of the principal
results of the investigations which have been made in Europe
respecting this legislator. The name of Zoroaster was applied by some
to the founder of Magism, or Sabæism; we know also, that he has been
identified with many other prophets under different names, among whom
is _Abraham_, called “the great Zardusht,” and _Hom_, of so extensive
a celebrity, that his name is mentioned by Strabo as predecessor of
Zoroaster. No wonder that the name of the latter occurs in more or
less remote times. According to the Dabistán, he was born in Rai, a
town in the province of Jebal, or Irak Ajem, the country of the
ancient Parthians, and appeared as a reformer of religion, under the
reign of _Gushtasp_, the fifth king of the Kayanian dynasty, by the
Occidental historians generally identified with _Darius Hystaspes_.
Although variously stated, this period is less subject to
chronological difficulties than are many others; for, as Eastern and
Western historians agree in the epoch of Alexander’s death (321 B.
C.), we may from this, as from a fixed point, remount upwards to
Gushtasp; we find, according to some Orientals, five reigns in 228
years,[99] and therefore that of the said king, beginning 549 years
before our era, whilst, according to the Occidentals, there are ten
reigns within 200 years, from Alexander’s conquest of Persia to Darius
Hystaspes, whose reign commences in 521 A. D. The discrepancy of
twenty-eight years is far from being unexampled, even in more known
periods, and may in this case be most easily and plausibly
adjusted.[100]

According to a wide-spread tradition, to which I shall have occasion
to return, Gushtasp was instructed by Brahmans; pursuant to the
Dabistán, his brother Jamasp was the pupil of the Indian
_Jangran-ghachah_ (Sankara acharya)[101]. This sage, as soon as he
heard of Gushtasp’s listening to Zoroaster, wrote an epistle to
dissuade the king from the adoption of the new creed; an interview
took place at Balkh between the Persian and Indian sages, and the
latter abandoned his religion upon hearing a _nosk_, or chapter of the
_Zand-Avesta_.[102] This is the name of the work attributed to
Zoroaster himself, a part of which was brought to Europe, in the year
1761, by Anquetil du Perron.

The author of the Dabistán mentions the Zand-Avesta, and declares the
_Mah-Zand_ to be a portion of the Desátir, and the Zand books in
general conformable to the Mahabadian code. The fifth Sassan, the
translator and commentator of the Desátir, in a passage
above-quoted,[103] joins this work to the Avesta, and is said in the
Dabistán to have made a translation of the code of Zardusht.

Great was the sensation caused among the learned of Europe at the
first appearance of the works attributed to Zoroaster, published in
French by Anquetil du Perron, in 1771. In a note of this volume[104]
will be found the names of the principal authors who declared
themselves for or against the authenticity of the Zoroastrian books.
Among those who combated it, sir William Jones was most conspicuous.
Seventy years have since elapsed, and a learned controversy may now be
considered as settled, nay, entirely forgotten, in the course of a
most eventful historical period. Nevertheless, the Desátir is so
closely connected with the Zand-Avesta, that so much having been said
of the one, the other should not be lightly discarded. The value and
importance of the Dabistán rest chiefly upon the support of the two
documents mentioned; on that account I may hope to be pardoned if I
here venture to repeat whatever facts and arguments appear to me to
have some bearing upon this work. But it was sir William Jones who
then roused the whole learned public into lively attention, and, I
dare presume, that the subject may by itself at all times excite
considerable interest.

I shall quote the very words of lord Teignmouth concerning the French
author before mentioned:[105] “Anquetil had published in three quarto
volumes an account of his travels in India, the life of Zoroaster, and
some supposed works of that philosopher. To this publication he
prefixed a Discourse, in which he treated the university of Oxford,
and some of its learned members and friends of Mr. Jones, with
ridicule and disrespect. From the perusal of his works, Mr. Jones was
little disposed to agree with Monsieur du Perron in the boasted
importance of his communication; he was disgusted with his vanity and
petulance, and particularly offended by his illiberal attack upon the
university, which he respected, and upon the persons whom he esteemed
and admired. The letter which he addressed to M. du Perron was
anonymous; it was written with great force, and expresses his
indignation and contempt with a degree of asperity which the judgment
of maturer years would have disapproved.”[106]

The letter alluded to contains most severe remarks, not only upon the
Zand-Avesta, but also upon Oriental studies in general: these are
blows so much more sensible to Orientalists, as they come from a
friendly and most revered hand. Such was the ardor of a susceptible
mind under the impression of having to vindicate the honor of his
friends, that he forgot for a moment the wreath which he had already
won in the career of Oriental literature; he had already composed his
commentary upon Asiatic poetry, and translated from the original
Persian the Life of Nadir-shah; he had then no presentiment of the
glory which he was destined to acquire by collecting, under the Indian
heaven, the lore of antique Asia. As his French letter, written in a
very spirited and brilliant style, can never be read without causing a
great impression, I shall be permitted to borrow from the writings of
this celebrated author himself some reflexions, which I think
necessary for placing in a right point of view Oriental studies in
general, and in particular the contents of the Dabistán, inasmuch as
these are in some parts founded upon the Zand-Avesta, and in other
points of a nature similar to that so much ridiculed in that ingenious
satire.

If it were true, that Anquetil was wrong “to affront death for
procuring us useless lights――if the writings of Zoroaster are a
collection of galimatia――if enlightened Europe had no need of his
Zand-Avesta, which he has translated to no purpose, and upon which he
uselessly spent eighteen years, a time which ought to have been
precious to him――――”[107] then any similar attempts which have been or
shall be made to procure, in Asia, and to publish ancient historical
documents, are equally ridiculous and blamable. It is certainly not
the founder of a new era in Oriental literature whom we hear in these
words. Nobody knew better than he that, in Asia, the cradle of
mankind, we must search for the most ancient documents to restore the
lost history of mankind; and if all endeavors were to prove vain and
useless, still the merit of having attempted the attainment of a most
laudable purpose would remain. It is not unimportant to fix the limits
which researches can reach, and beyond which nothing is to be gained;
men are benefitted and enriched at once by the saving of time and
trouble which preceding attempts teach; and by all the acquisitions
which better directions render possible in a new and more profitable
career. Should the bold navigators who strive to arrive at the pole
never attain their aim, still would their endeavors be worthy of
praise; the smallest fragment of a rock, the slightest shoot of a
plant, plucked off in the desert of eternal ice, in latitude
eighty-eight, would at home be regarded with lively interest, and
navigation have not a little gained in aid of other more fortunate
undertakings.

But, who can like to read “puerile details, disgusting descriptions,
barbarous words――Zoroaster could not have written such
nonsense――either he had no common sense, or he wrote not the book
which Anquetil attributed to him.”[108]

As much has been and may be said of the books attributed to other
Asiatic legislators, who were nevertheless revered as sacred during
many ages by numerous nations. Until we properly understand the
ignorance and habitual ideas of Asiatics, we shall always remain
ignorant of what is proverbially called _the wisdom of the East_. To
appreciate the just value of the ancient codes of laws, we ought to
represent to ourselves the primitive children of the earth, as
Prometheus describes them:

“They saw, indeed, they heard; but what avail’d
Or sight, or sense of hearing, all things rolling,
Like the unreal imagery of dreams,
In wild confusion mix’d! The lightsome wall
Of finer masonry, the rafter’d roof
They knew not; but, like ants still buried, delved
Deep in the earth, and scoop’d their sunless caves.
Unmark’d the seasons chang’d, the biting winter,
The flow’r-perfumed spring, the ripening summer,
Fertile of fruits.”[109]

It will then be felt how important it was to break the savage under
the yoke of seemingly puerile practices and customs. In a state which
was not unaptly called “the infancy of man,” it was by no means absurd
to ensure health by dietetical prescriptions, cleanliness by
obligatory ablutions, and decency with convenience by a regulated
dress; the _koshti_, “the girdle,” of Zoroaster was then not so
unmeaning as it now appears to us. It was necessary to educate the
moral sense by appropriate images, and to occupy conveniently, by
fables, symbols, and mythical accounts, the first active faculty of
the soul, imagination. Although those men who, as legislators, were
elevated above their barbarous age, could in many points but partake
in the general imbecility and ignorance of an infant state of society,
they have nevertheless, among seemingly childish and absurd precepts,
promulgated most luminous truths, better than which none have hitherto
been known, even at the most advanced degree of civilisation. Any
information above the common understanding of the age is justly called
“a revelation,” and every nation has received some from their
prophets, by which we have all benefited.[110] We, the youngest sons
of science, ought to keep a grateful and reverential remembrance of
our elder brothers. Let it be a subject of regret that, by the
maintenance of ancient institutions much longer than was required for
their intended purpose, the intellectual growth of many Asiatic
nations was stopped; thus they now appear made for their laws, whilst
their laws were once made for them. After these and similar
reflexions, we shall view Zoroaster’s hundred gates, and the remains
of his twenty-one nosks, as venerable monuments of an antique
civilisation, which ought never to be profaned by derision.

Upon the Zand language, in which Zoroaster’s laws were written, I
refer to the great philologers of our days, who have examined
it――Rask,[111] Bopp, Burnouf, Lassen, and others: it is one of the
most important conquests made in archæology and philology, and this we
owe to Anquetil. When Jones[112] treated with such severity the
publication of this French author, he could not foresee that he should
one day call forth to notoriety the Dabistán, which rests in great
part upon the authority of the Desátir, and these very books to which
he refused all authenticity. Mohsan Fani, one hundred and twenty years
before Anquetil, derived his information probably from other copies of
Zoroaster’s works, and knew nothing of Western authors, yet his
statements agree with what the latter, before and after our era
related, and most particularly with what the French discoverer
published of that ancient philosopher. Can it be supposed that all
these men of different nations, whose statements have thus coincided
during the lapse of more than two thousand years, have “imposed upon
themselves, or been imposed upon by others concerning the pretended
laws of a pretended legislator?” Anquetil deserved a better name than
that of “a French adventurer, who translated the books ascribed to
Zoroaster, from the translation of a certain gypsy at Surat, and his
boldness in sending them abroad as genuine”[113] was not unsupported
by judgment. If there was some folly and foppery to deride in a young
man, who spoke of his _lilly-rosy cheeks and elegant figure_, there
was no “_imposture_” to detect, and too much acerbity shewn in
retorting thoughtless indiscretions, exaggerated into “_invectives_.”

Sir William Jones, when he published the strictures which his
antagonist, from pride or moderation, never answered, was but in his
twenty-fourth year and under the influence of youthful ardor. Eighteen
years after, in a discourse, addressed to the Asiatic Society of
Calcutta, in 1789, he spoke with more moderation of Anquetil as
“having had the merit of undertaking a voyage to India in his earliest
youth with no other view than to recover the writings of Zoroaster.”
The illustrious president of that Society was not in the position to
appreciate Anquetil’s whole character, and died too soon to become
acquainted with the brilliant reputation which the youthful voyager
acquired in his maturer years as a learned member of the French
Academy of Letters, both in his own country and abroad.[114]

The Dabistán informs us, that the Zand-books are of two kinds: the
one, perspicuous and without enigmatical forms of speech, is called
the _Mah-Zand_, “great Zand;” the second, abounding in enigmatic or
figurative language, is entitled _Kah-Zand_, “little Zand.” The first,
in most points speculative and practical, agrees with the Desátir; the
second is intended to prevent philosophy falling into the hands of the
ignorant, to whom an enigmatical veil is offered, whilst the sages
know the true purport of the pure doctrine. To king Gushtasp, his
brother Jamasp, his son Isfendiar, and to Bahman, the son of the
latter, were attributed the interpretations of Zoroaster’s religious
system, and many ingenious parables which, for their moral sense, may
be reckoned among the best specimens of this kind of popular
instruction.

This true statement, contained in the Dabistan,[115] corrects the
assertion of sir William Jones,[116] that Mohsan Fani affirms “the
work of Zartusht to “have been lost.” The learned Orientalist
evidently confounds the _Mah-zand_, which is said to be a portion of
the Desátir, with the work of Zartusht. The writer of the Dabistán
enumerates[117] the twenty-one _nosks_ or books, of which the Zand was
composed; he says:[117] “At present there are fourteen complete nosks,
possessed by the Dosturs of Karman; the other seven being incomplete,
as, through the wars and dissensions which prevailed in Iran some of
the nosks have disappeared, so that, notwithstanding the greatest
researches, the nosks have come into their hands in a defective
state.” We find it expressly declared in the Dabistán, on the
authority[118] of the Dostur who wrote the volume of the _Sad dur_,
“the hundred gates,” that “the excellent faith has been received from
the prophet Zartusht.” In a particular section, intitled _Enumeration
of some advantages which arise from the enigmatical forms of the
precepts of Zartusht’s followers_, Mohsan not only adduces examples of
Zartushtian allegories, but subjoins his own interpretations of them;
yet he never _affirms_, nor even insinuates “the place of Zoroaster’s
lost works to have been supplied by a recent compilation.” Nor can we
assent to the view, which sir W. Jones takes of the modern literature
of the Mobeds, “for whom,” he says,[119] “as they continued to profess
among themselves the religion of their forefathers, it became
expedient to supply the last or mutilated works of their legislator by
new compositions, partly from their imperfect recollection, and partly
from such moral and religious knowledge as they gleaned, most probably
among the Christians with whom they had an intercourse.”

To settle our judgment upon this subject, we ought to recollect, that
languages and precepts may be transmitted from generation to
generation by oral instruction, which indeed was once the only
possible mode during a long period of time. It was then that memory
was so much stronger, as, destitute of all artificial assistance, it
depended solely upon itself. We bought the advantage of writing by
resigning somewhat of memorial energy; this was the evil, which,
according to Plato, Thamus, the Egyptian king, predicted to Theut, the
inventor of writing. However this may be, it will appear founded upon
reason and history, that religious creeds, which had once been the
property of nations, are not easily eradicated by any force, or
forgotten under any circumstances; they become living streams of ideas
and sentiments, which run uninterruptedly through the ever-renewed
races of man, even when these separate from a parent stock. Hence we
find, in countries and among nations the most remote from each other,
so many notions and customs, the origin of which is lost in the night
of time. Shall I mention the Jews, who, throughout the whole world,
repeat to-day the same words which they learned more than thirty-three
centuries ago? With regard to the Guebres――sir W. Jones might have
safely granted a little more confidence to his friend Bahman, his
Persian reader, who always named with reverence Zartusht, whose
religion he professed, in common with many so called Guebres. For
these it was not necessary “to preserve Zoroastrian books, in sheets
of lead or copper, at the bottom of wells near Yezd:”[120] this fact,
which Bahman used to assert, shows the particular care which had once
been taken to guard these sacred documents, the veneration for which
most naturally prevented any falsification of their known contents.

We are confirmed, by the author of the Dabistán, that Zoroaster did
not change the fundamentals of the ancient religion; only the dualism
of the principles, good and bad, not existing, as I have remarked[121]
in the Mahabadian religion, was either then first introduced, or only
further developed; besides, we see the cycle of 12,000 years fixed,
and divided into four periods of 3000 years each; we hear the promise
of a Saviour to restore the empire of God promulgated, and the
destruction of the world by fire announced: this is at the same time
the epoch of the general resurrection, which is one of the most
remarkable dogmas of the Zoroastrian religion.

Although this be not destitute of religious observances, yet we find
scarce any painful austerity recommended. The twenty-fifth gate of
Zoroaster contains the remarkable precept: “Know that in thy faith
there is no fasting except that of avoiding sin: in which sense thou
must fast the whole year.”[122] The ancient Mahabadian religion,
although adulterated before, during, and after Zoroaster’s life, seems
to have never lost its grave character and solemnity. In the
Zand-books known to us, no trace of temples, altars, or religious
symbols exist. Herodotus knew of none; the fire-places were upon a
desert place, or upon mountains; the fire upon the ground. Upon the
Persian monuments which time has spared, upon the walls of the
thousand-pillared palace of Isfahan, and upon those of the Royal tombs
we see no idols, but priests and kings, performing the sacrifice of
fire before their _fervers_, “ideals of virtue and sanctity,” and
other actions rather of a political than religious character. The
pyræa, round and concave, represented the vault of heaven. Nevertheles
other accounts permit us to believe, that, by association with other
nations; most likely by the introduction of sculpture, architecture,
and painting; and, as the Dabistán expressly says, by the use of
symbolical language: a superstitious worship of sacred places and
symbolic images gained a great ascendancy.

This religion prevailed during the times of the Kayanian kings from
Gushtasp to Dara the Second, during more than two centuries. After the
conquest of Persia by Alexander, a political and religious revolution
took place in this country, and extended to Greece, where, according
to the commentary of the Desátir, the creed of the _Gushaspians_ was
introduced. This is declared to be a medium between the _Illuminated_
and the _Rationalists_, perhaps the same which the Dabistán calls the
faith of the _Beh-dinians_, “professors of the better religion.” So
much is avowed by Philo, Plinius, and others――and we have reason to
lay stress upon this avowal――that at one time the so called barbarians
were reckoned to be more wise and virtuous than the Greeks. During the
Ashkanian dynasty (from the third century B. C. to the end of the
second after our era), the people conformed to the _Kah-zand_, that
is, yielded to the superstition, which the figurative language was apt
to suggest. Ardeshir, the first Sassanian, in the beginning of the
third century A. D.; endeavored to re-establish the ancient religion;
but, after his reign of forty years, the Kah-zand took and kept the
ascendancy, until the Persian empire fell before the overwhelming
power of the Muhammedans. The Mah-zand was lost during the domination
of the intolerant invaders, Greeks, Arabs, and Turks; the Kah-zand
still remains in some of its parts, whilst many others were lost in
the successive disorders of the state.

The fifteenth and last section of the first chapter treats of
_Mazdak_, who lived in the fifth century of our era. We are informed
of the existence of a book, called _Desnak_, which the author of the
Dabistán saw, and which contains the doctrine of this reformer. This
was nothing else than the Zoroastrian system about the two principles,
_Yezed_, “God” or “light,” and _Ahriman_, “agent of evil” or
“darkness,” with a few peculiarities which did not destroy the
fundamental principles of the original religion. But, it was the
ethical part of his doctrine which at first caused a great revolution,
and at last the destruction of the teacher and his numerous disciples,
Mazdak bade all men to be partners in riches and women, just as they
are of fire, water, and grass; private property was not to exist; each
man to enjoy or to endure, in his turn, the good and bad lots of this
world. To this strange doctrine may be perhaps applied the saying of a
great bishop (Bossuet): that “every error is but an abuse of some
truth.” To prevent an excessive inequality of fortunes in society was
the object towards which celebrated ancient legislators tended, and
for which frequently wishes were expressed, reforms projected, and
politico-philosophical romances[123] composed by well-meaning and
respectable persons. It is therefore to a natural, but dangerous
propensity of the human mind, that we ought to refer Mazdak’s bold and
for some time too successful attempt, as well as all the doctrines of
the same tendency, which before and after him were and will henceforth
be proposed.

I have now terminated the general review of what the first chapter of
the Dabistán, and the first volume of the English translation contain,
concerning the most ancient dynasties, religions, and political
institutions of Persia.

[97] See page 70.

[98] See vol. I. p. 211 _et seq._

[99] See sir John Malcolm’s History of Persia. Ferdusi
counts 304 years from Alexander’s death to the beginning of
Gushtasp’s reign; but he assigns to the latter 120, and 112
to that of his successor _Bahman Arjer_, or _Ardishir diraz_
(Artaxerxes longimanus). These two reigns might have
comprised those of several others not mentioned by Ferdusi.

[100] The duration of the whole Kayanian dynasty is stated
by the Orientals (see vol. I. p. 31, note 1 of this work) to
be 704 years in 10 reigns; according to Occidental
historians, it is only 380 years in 18 reigns. The first
statement is evidently erroneous as to the small number of
kings, but it is not decided that it is equally so as to the
duration of the whole dynasty. The error is more likely to
be in the list of the kings than in the whole period of
their reigns. May I be permitted to refer to my discussion
upon the chronology of the _Rajatarangini_ (vol. II. p. 387)?

[101] Sir William Jones says (Works, vol. III. p. 128): “It
was he (Zoroaster)――not as Ammianus asserts, his protector,
Gushtasp――who travelled in India, that he might receive
information from the Brahmans in theology and ethics.” This
is not to be found in the edition of Calcutta, nor in the
manuscript of the Dabistán which D. Shea and myself have
seen.

[102] Mr. Eugène Burnouf, when he communicated to me his
opinion upon the derivation of the word _Wasátir_ (see
p. xxii), adverted incidentally to that of the term
_Zand-Avesta_, interpreted sometimes “the _Zand_ and the
_Usta_,” and said, that these words are found in perhaps a
single passage of the books of Zoroaster, to wit, _huzanth
vacha vaidhya cha_. These two words are applied to _mantras_
(prayers), and seem to signify “which will give life,” or
“which are salutary to towns and nations,” and “which are
learned.” We recognise the Sanscrit _sujantu_ and _vidya_.

[103] See page 66.

[104] See vol. I. p. 223.

[105] See Memoirs of the life, writings, and correspondence
of sir W. Jones, in his Works, vol. I. p. 190, 8vo., ed.,
1807.

[106] See works of sir W. J. vol. X. p. 403 _et seq._

[107] See Works of Sir W. J., vol. X. p. 403 _et seq._

[108] See works of sir W. J. pp. 413. 432. 437.

[109] De Potter’s Transl. of Æschylus, Prometheus chained.
In the Greek origin. v. 447-456.

[110] Voltaire, whose genius sir W. Jones knew how to
appreciate, said: “Glorifions-nous de ce que les vérités les
plus importantes sont devenues des lieux communs pour les
Européens, mais ne nous en moquons pas, et sachons avoir
quelque reconnaissance pour les anciens legislateurs qui
nous les ont, les premiers, appris.”

[111] See Transact. of the R. A. S. of Great Brit. and
Irel., vol. III. part I. p. 524 _et seq._ _Remarks on the
Zand language and the Zand-Avesta._ This able tract is
chiefly a comment upon Erskine’s Memoir _On the sacred book
and religion of the Parsis_, in the Transact. of the Lit.
Soc. of Bombay, vol. II. p. 295.

[112] Sir W. J. says (see his Works, vol. III. p. 116) that,
according to his conviction, the dialect of the Guebrs,
which they pretend to be that of Zertusht, of which Bahman,
a Guebr and his Persian reader, gave him a variety of
written specimens, is a late invention of their priests.
What language does he mean? certainly not that of the
Zand-Avesta, of which he speaks in particular, and states
(_ibid._, p. 118) “the language of the Zand was at least a
dialect of the Sanscrit, approaching, perhaps, as nearly to
it as the Prácrit, or other popular idioms, which we know to
have been spoken in India two thousand years ago.”

[113] Sir W. J.’s Works, vol. V. pp. 414-415.

[114] Anquetil composed a number of Memoirs, read to the
French Institut and preserved in their printed records. He
published, in 1771, three quarto volumes upon his voyages
to, in, and from India, and the Works of Zoroaster; in 1798,
_L’Inde en rapport avec l’Europe; in 1799, La Legislation
orientale, ou le despotisme considéré dans la Turquie, la
Perse et l’Indostane_. An epistle which he placed before his
Latin translation of _Dara Shuko’s Persian Upanishad_, and
addressed to the Brahmans of India, contained, as it were,
his religious and political testament. He declares his
nourishment to have been reduced, like that of an abstemious
ascetic, living, even in winter, without fire; and sleeping
in a bed without feathers or sheets. His juvenile boast of
“personal beauty” was expiated by total neglect of his body,
left “with linen unchanged and unwashed;” his aspirations to
“a vast extent of learning” had subsided into patient and
most persevering studies. But, disdaining to accept gifts
and pensions, even from government, he preserved his
absolute liberty, and blessed his poverty, “as the salvation
of his soul and body, the rampart of morality and of
religion; a friend of all men; victorious over the
allurements of the world” he tended towards the Supreme
Being. Well may virtues so rare efface other human failings
of Anquetil du Perron. He died, in his seventy-fourth year,
in 1805.――(See _Histoire et Mémoires de l’Institut royal de
France. Classe d’Histoire et de Littérature anciennes_, tome
III. 1818.)

[115] See Transl., vol. I. pp. 351-353.

[116] Works, vol. III. p. 115.

[117] Transl. vol. I. p. 275.

[118] _Ibid._, p. 310.

[119] _Loco cit._, p. 117.

[120] Yezd, in central Persia, is the ancient Isatichæ of
Ptolemy. It is celebrated on account of the fire-worship of
_Yezdan_ (or Ormuzd, as light), there practised, and as the
last asylum of the adherents to Zoroaster’s religion, who
fled before the Muhammedans. From thence thefire-worshippers
sought a refuge in India, and settled in Diu, Bombay, and in
the higher valleys of the Indus and the Ganges.

[121] See vol. I. p. 71.

[122] See vol. I. p. 321.

[123] For instance, the _Utopia_ of Thomas Moore, the
_Oceana_ of Harrington, the _Leviathan_ of Hobbes, etc., etc.

§ IV.――THE RELIGION OF THE HINDUS.

The theatre upon which the author of the Dabistán begins history from
the remotest times, is Persia, without limitation of its extent,
probably including Chaldæa. From thence he passes to India, he says
little of any other country; nothing at all of Egypt. The delta of
this most fertile land, as an alluvial formation of the great river
Nile, was necessarily posterior to the existence of inland regions;
still its claims to antiquity are very high and not unsupported, to a
certain extent, by the best written testimonies and architectural
monuments. If I here refer in a cursory manner to its eras,[124] it is
to strengthen what was above remarked concerning the general belief of
the great age of the world. The ancient religion of Egypt, although
connected and conformable in many points with other Asiatic religions,
is never alluded to by the author of the Dabistán, probably because in
his time the Egyptians had lost even the memory of their ancient
history, which very little attracted the curiosity of their masters,
the Muhammedans, except perhaps by the medium of the Bible of the
Jews, often quoted in their Koran.[125]

I cannot here omit briefly noticing the various opinions of several
learned men concerning the comparative antiquity of the Magi, the
Egyptian priests, and the Hindu philosophers. Aristotle[126] believed
the Magi more ancient than the Egyptians; Diodorus of Sicily[127]
believed the Hindus to have never sent nor received colonies, and
invented every art and science; Lucian, Philostratus[128], and
Eusebius[129] granted anteriority in philosophy to the Hindus over the
Egyptians. In our times the learned abbé Mignot established in three
Memoirs[130], that the Hindus owed nothing to the Egyptians, and
traced the true communications of the former with several nations of
Asia and Europe. But sir W. Jones declared in 1785[131], as not
ill-grounded, the opinion that Ethiopia and Hindostan were peopled or
colonized by the same extraordinary race, or that the Ethiopians of
Meroe were the same people as the Hindus. His opinion was reproduced
under different forms by Hennel, Wilford, Forbes, Carwithen, among the
English, and adopted by L. Langles among the French. I need not dwell
upon this opinion, as the grounds upon which it rested are now
considered as entirely destroyed. Sir W. Jones himself seems to have
abandoned it in 1789,[132] as the Dabistán appeared to him to furnish
an unexceptionable evidence, that the Iranian monarchy must have been
the oldest in the world, although, he added, it will remain dubious to
which of the three stocks, Hindu, Arabian, or Tartar, the first kings
of Iran belonged; or whether they sprang from a fourth race, distinct
from any of the others; He further states, that no country but Persia
seems likely to have sent forth colonies to all the kingdoms of Asia,
and that the three races (Indians, Arabs, Tartars) migrated from Iran
as from their common country, “the true centre of population, of
knowledge, of languages, and of arts; which, instead of travelling
westward only, as it has been fancifully supposed, or eastward, as
might with equal reason have been asserted, were expanded in all
directions to all the regions of the world, in which the Hindu race
had settled under various denominations.”

The second chapter of the Dabistán describes, in twelve sections, the
religious systems and customs of the Hindus. It is a detailed account,
given by a Persian who, as traveller and resident in India during
about thirty years, had the best opportunities to collect right
information; he shows himself acquainted with the canonical books of
this nation; he quotes their Puránas, and other works less known.[133]

The Hindus are, among all nations, most particularly distinguished by
a decided turn for metaphysics, which even tinctured the radicals of
their language; they have labored more than others to solve, exhaust,
comprehend, what is insolvible, inexhaustible, incomprehensible. To
give a general notion of their metaphysical theology, I do not say to
render it intelligible, would require an extensive treatise. We will
now give a few characteristic and leading features of their systems as
indicated in the Dabistán.

Some of their theological philosophers made incredible efforts to
steer clear of anthropomorphism in their conceptions of the Divinity:
their Brahm, in the neuter gender, has no symbol, nor image, nor
temple; they generally profess the great principle of _emanation of
all existences from a common but unknown source_. God is the producer
of the beginning and end, exhibiting himself in the mirror of pure
space. Creation is held to have proceeded from pure space and time.
Other Hindu philosophers establish: 1. a primary, subtile, universal
substance, undergoing modification through its own energy. This they
call _Mula Prakritti_, “rudimental nature,” no production but the root
of all, involving, 2. _seven principles_, which are productions and
productive (that is, intellect, egotism, and five subtile elements);
from these seven proceed: 3. _sixteen productions_ (to wit, eleven
organs and five gross elements); to these just mentioned twenty-four
(namely, Nature, seven principles and sixteen productions); add, 4.
_the soul_, which is neither a production, nor productive, and you
have the _twenty-five physical and metaphysical categories_ of the
Sankhya philosophy.[134] This strikes us as a very specious methodical
arrangement of an abstruse matter, which is not thereby in any degree
rendered more intelligible.

We seem to understand something more when, as in the Vedenta
philosophy, it is said of the truly-existing Being (God):[135] “that
he has exhibited the “world and the heavens in the field of existence,
but has nothing like an odor of being, nor taken a color of reality;
and this manifestation is called _Máya_ that is, ‘the Magic of God,’
because the universe is his playful deceit, and he is the bestower of
imitative existence, himself the unity of reality. With this pure
substance, like an imitative actor, he passes every moment into
another form. He, manifesting his being and unity in three persons,
separate from each other, formed the universe. The connexion of the
spirits with the holy Being is like the connexion of the billows with
the ocean, or that of sparks with fire.” This is pure idealism; but
man will spontaneously break through the shadowy illusion, and grasp
at some reality; the trinity of the Hindus became _creation_,
_preservation__, and _destruction_ (or renovation), the history of
nature before their eyes.

I shall here remark, without attempting to explain, the striking
contrast in the religion of the same nation between the most subtile
metaphysic theology and the grossest idolatry. In the latter, the
symbolical representation prevails; it is known, that in its
immoderate use they have entirely abandoned the normal proportions of
the human form, and by the multiplication of members banished all
fitness and beauty. Their plastic and graphic typification of an
all-mighty, all-bestowing, and all-resuming God, with its three, four,
five heads, so many and more arms, is repulsive; in their poetry he
frightens us with innumerable mouths, eyes, breasts, arms, and legs,
grinding between his teeth the generations of men, who precipitate
themselves into his mouth like rivers into the ocean, or flies into
fire.[136]

The psychology of the Hindus is not less abstruse than the rest of
their metaphysics. We have already mentioned the soul among the
twenty-five categories as neither a production nor productive. The
Indian philosophers distinguish spirit and soul, that is, a rational
soul and a mere sensitive principle. The first is supposed enveloped
with a subtile, shadowy form of the most delicate material ether. Some
hold the soul to be incased in three sheaths, the intellectual, the
mental, and the organic or vital sheath.[137] According to different
views the vital spirit is _Máya_ herself, or an emanation of Máyá, in
any case the illusive manifestation of the universe.

This ingenuous conception seems to have taken deep and complete
possession of the Hindus; it dominates in their most subtile
abstractions, and embodies itself in a thousand forms to their vivid
and luxuriant imagination. The _Saktians_, a sect wedded to sensual
materialism, represent Máyá as a _Saktí_ or energy of Siva; she is
“the mother of the universe;” “non-entity finds no access to this
creator, the garment of perishableness does not sit right upon the
body of this fascinating empress; the dust of nothingness does not
move round the circle of her dominion; the real beings and the
accidental creatures of the nether world are equally enamoured and
intoxicated with desire before her.” Above the six circles, into which
the Hindus divide the human body, is “the window of life, and the
passage of the soul, which is the top and middle of the head, and in
that place is the _flower of the back_ of one thousand leaves: this is
the residence of the glorious divinity, that is, of the
world-deceiving queen, and in this beautiful site reposes her origin.
With the splendor of one hundred thousand world-illuminating suns, she
wears, at the time of rising, manifold odoriferous herbs and various
flowers upon her head, and around her neck: her resplendent body is
penetrated with perfumes of divers precious ingredients, such as musk,
safran, sandal, and amber, and bedecked with magnificent garments; in
this manner, she is to be represented.”[138] Thus we see the poetical
imagination of the Hindus, playing, as it were, with abstruseness,
materializing what is spiritual, and spiritualizing what is material.

Characteristic of and peculiar to the Hindus, are their conceptions
relative to the states of the embodied soul, which are chiefly three:
“_waking_, _dreaming_, and _profound sleep_.”[138] In these three
conditions the soul is imprisoned, but it may, by virtue and sanctity,
break the net of illusion, that is, acquire the consciousness of the
illusion which captivates it, and know that, even when awake, man is
dreaming: this is the triumph of his perfection.

Such, and other notions, in their development and application, form a
system of metaphysics, in which excess and abuse of refined
speculations lose themselves in obscurity, contradiction, and
absurdity.

Among the Indian sectaries appear the _Charvak_, who, rejecting the
popular religion, follow their own system of philosophic opinions.

Of _Buddha_ and the _Buddhists_, we are disappointed to find so little
in the Dabistán, except the important information that Vichnu, in
order to destroy the demons and evil genii, the agents of night,
assumed the avatár of Buddha when ten years only of the Dwaparyug
remained, that is, 3112 years before Christ. In the section on the
tenets held by the followers of Buddha, these religionists are called
_Jatis_ or _Yatis_, a great number of whom are corn-traders and get
their livelihood as servants; they are divided in several classes, and
do not believe the incarnations of the deity; as to the rest, they
have tenets and customs in common with other Indian sects, only
distinguishing themselves by a great aversion to Brahmans, and an
extreme care of not hurting animal life.

In the whole account, which the Dabistán gives of the various sects
and doctrines of the Hindus, we can but remark a frequent confusion of
Indian with Muhammedan notions and stories. Indeed, this work having
been written in India at a time when, after a sojourn of more than
seven centuries, about twenty millions of Muselmans appeared, as it
were, lost in the midst of one hundred millions of Hindus, we cannot
wonder that a mutual assimilation in opinions and customs took place
among individuals of both religions. A remarkable instance of it
presents itself in the person of _Kabir_, renowned in his time for
sanctity. After his death, both the Hindus and Muhammedans claimed his
corpse for funeral honors; monuments erected to him by each party
exist in our days, with the proverbial precept which originated from
this event:

“Live so as to be claimed after death to be burnt by Hindus,
and to be buried by Muslims.”

The Indian Yogis, Sanyásis, and Vairagis are perpetually confounded
with Muhammedan Durvishes, and Sufis, of whom hereafter.

We do not fail to meet with many traces of the ancient Persian
astrolatry and pyrolatry among the Indians. Mohsan mentions the
_Surya-makhan_ (_Sauras_), “worshippers of the sun,” and periphrases,
as addressed to that luminary, a Sanscrit prayer, which seems to be
one of those called _gayátri_, the holiest verses of the Vedas, kept
as mysterious by the Brahmans, and pronounced with the deepest sense
of concentrated devotion. In our days, more than one _gayátri_ has
been made known.[139] We cannot doubt that (according to the
poet)[140]――

“That vast source of liquid light, the ethereal sun, which
perpetually laves heaven with ever-renewed brightness,”

was, from the remotest times, the object of adoration in India. The
Dabistán mentions also the _Chandra-bakhtra_, “worshippers of the
moon.” Even in our days we find the veneration for the sun, the
planets, and fire, openly practised by the Hindus. The worshippers of
the latter elements called _Sagníkas_, are very numerous at
Benares;[141] they keep many _agni-hotras_, “burnt-offerings,”
continually blazing; they kindle, with two pieces of sacred wood,
called _sámi_, a fire, never extinguished during their lives, for the
performance of solemn sacrifices, their nuptial ceremonies, the
obsequies of departed ancestors, and their own funeral pile. There are
besides particular worshippers of the wind, water, earth, and the
three kingdoms of nature. The latter are called _Tripujas_,
“trinitarians.” We find also _Manushya-bhakta_, “worshippers of
mankind,” who recognise the being of God in man, and believe nothing
to be more perfect than mankind; like _Channing_, a famous American
preacher of our days. In short, the worship of personified nature, in
its utmost extent, is most evident in what we know of the Vedas, and
never ceased to be the general religion of the Hindus.

Not without interest will be read in the Dabistán the account of
_Nanak_,[142] the founder of the Sikh religion and domination. He is
there represented as having been, in a former age, _Janaka_, sovereign
of Mithila, and father of Sitá, the wife of Rama. The revolution
effected by Nanak, in the middle of the sixteenth century, proves that
the Hindus are not quite so unchangeable in religion and customs as is
generally believed. It is however to be remarked, that the Panj-ab,
the country of the Sikhs, was always considered by the Brahmans as the
seat of heterodoxy (probably Buddhism), and blamed for irregularity of
manners. Mohsan’s account will be found to add confirmation and a few
particulars to that given of Nanak, from the best sources――the
generals sir John Malcolm, and John Briggs.

What will appear most valuable in this work is the description of
various usages, some of which have never been described elsewhere. The
most ancient customs are brought to recollection. Thus, we find
stated, on the authority of Maha bharat, that widows could formerly
take other husbands――married women, with the consent of their
husbands, maintain intercourse with other men――several individuals, of
the same race and religion, espouse one wife among them;――in ancient
times there existed no such practice as appropriation of husband and
wife; every woman being allowed to cohabit with whomsoever she liked;
conjugal fidelity was only in later times made a duty. Much of what he
describes may be seen, even in our days, in India, where all the
degrees of civilisation which the Hindus ever attained, from the
lowest to the highest, occur here and there within a small compass of
country. So constant are they in good and bad! The whole of antiquity
is still living in India, and Herodotus stands confirmed in what
appeared most incredible in his narrative by the testimonies of Mohsan
Fáni, the reverend abbe Dubois,[143] Ward, and others. The Persian
author intersperses his account with anecdotes which characterise in
the most lively manner individuals, sects, and tribes. If now and then
we must avert our eyes from disgusting scenes of human degradation,
more frequently we admire man, even in his errors, for the power and
command of the mental over the physical part of his nature. The naked
Yogi, who inflicts the most cruel tortures upon himself, wants but a
better motive for being justly extolled as a hero of fortitude; death
appears to him an habitual companion, into whose arms he sinks without
fear; overpowered by malady, he buries himself alive.

We may be astonished at the number of unbelievers among the Hindus of
whom we read, and at the licentiousness of their opinions, expressed
with a strength which we should think carried to excess.[144] We
perceive also that, in contradiction to common belief, in the midst of
the seventeenth century, when the Dabistán was composed (1645 A. D.) a
numerous class of Indians assumed the name of Muselmans, but it must
be remarked, that the Hindus neither endeavor to make, nor easily
admit, proselytes: because their religion depends much less upon
creed, in which they are latitudinarians, than upon the fixed customs
of their castes, the character of which, being derived from birth,
cannot be transferred to strangers.[145] We shall see hereafter in
what manner Hindus and Muhammedans may be confounded with each other.

So much of India being known in our days, we have the facility of
trying the veracity and correctness of the Dabistán concerning this
country. Its account will be found, I dare say, rather incomplete in
the small compass in which so extensive a subject was inclosed, but
not inaccurate in the greatest part of its various statements. Sir W.
Jones[146] bears Mohsan Fani the testimony, “that his information
concerning the Hindus is wonderfully correct.” Let us compare the
account given by him with all that has been published about India by
the best instructed Europeans before the foundation of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, and we shall regret that the Dabistán was brought
into notice so late. Whatever it be, the particular views of a
Persian, through a medium of education, religion, and custom, so
different from that through which we consider India, can but interest
us by their novelty, and by themselves add something to our
information about the character of Asiatics.

[124] According to Manetho, a high-priest of Heliopolis, the
Egyptians counted 53,525 years; they saw twice the sun set
where he now rises――they saw (as well as the Chaldeans) the
ecliptic perpendicular upon the equator before 39,710 years.
Herodotus (lib. II) attributes to them, more moderately,
15,882 historical years.

[125] The history of Joseph, Pharaoh, Moses in Egypt, is
often referred to by Muhammed and his followers; they state
that the Egyptian king professed a religion unlike that
mentioned by Greek authors, with whom the Bible also
disagrees. In general, monotheism is adverse to the
examination of polytheistical systems, and seldom accurate
in the representation of their tenets.

[126] Quoted by Diogenes Laertius, _Prœm._, p. 6.

[127] Lib. II. p. 113. edit. Wossel.

[128] Vita Apol. c. 6.

[129] _Chron. lib. post._, n. 400.

[130] _Mémoires de Littérature de l’Académie royale des
Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres_, tome XXXI.

[131] Works, vol. III. p. 41.

[132] Ibid., pp. 111. 134.

[133] Such is the Jog-Vasishta, mentioned (vol. II. pp. 28
and 256) as a very ancient book. Sir W. Jones calls it one
of the finest compositions on the philosophy of the Vedanta
school; it contains the instructions of the great Vasishta
to his pupil Rama. Lord Teignmouth says, that several
Persian versions of this work exist, and quotes some
passages of them, which, compared with the original
Sanscrit, were found substantially accurate.

[134] See the detailed table of it, vol. II. p. 122.

[135] Vol. II. pp. 91-92.

[136] See _Bhagavad-gita_, vv. 16. 23. 28. 29. Schlegel’s ed.

[137] vol. II. p. 24.

[138] See vol. II. pp. 150-151.

[139] That which sir W. Jones quotes (see Works, vol. XIII.
p. 367) is, perhaps, most to be depended upon.

[140] Lucretius, V. v. 282:
Largus item liquidi fons luminis, æthereus sol,
Irrigat assiduè cœlum candore recenti.

[141] Sir W. J., Works, vol. III. p. 127.

[142] Vol. II. pp. 246-288.

[143] See _Mœurs, Institutions et Cérémonies des Peuples de
l’Inde; par M. l’abbé J. A. Dubois, ci-devant missionnaire
dans le Meissour_. Paris, 1825. This work was first
published in the English language, London, 1816. It had been
translated from the author’s French manuscript, which lord
William Bentinck, governor of Madras, purchased on the
account of the East India Company, in 1807. This composition
received the approbation of major Wilks, resident of
Maissour, sir James Mackintosh, and William Erskine, Esq.;
to which I am happy to add the most decisive judgment of the
honorably-known Brahman, Ram Mohun Roy, whom I often heard
say: “The European who best knew the Hindus, and gave the
most faithful account of them, was the abbé Dubois.”

[144] See vol. II. p. 201.

[145] The celebrated Ram Mohun Roy had abandoned all the
tenets, but remained as much as possible attached to the
customs, of his Brahminical caste.

[146] His Works, vol. IV. p. 16.

§ V.――RETROSPECT OF THE PERSIAN AND INDIAN RELIGIONS.

I have endeavored to trace the most remarkable features of Persian and
Indian religions from among those which are contained in the Dabistán.
In them we recognise resemblances, and, in more than one point, even
coincidences, which appear not merely taken from each other in the
course of time, but rather originally inwoven in the respective
institutions. This may be explained, partly by the general probability
that nations, passing through the same stages of civilisation, might
agree in several parts of religion, politics, and philosophy, and
chiefly by the fact, now generally admitted among the learned,[147]
that in very remote times, a union of all the Arian nations, among
whom the Persians and Indians are counted, existed in the common
regions of central Asia. Sir W. Jones[148] goes so far as to say: “We
cannot doubt that the book of Mahabad, or Manu, written in a celestial
dialect, means the Veda.” William von Schlegel most ingeniously
surmises,[149] “that the name of _Zand_ may be but a corruption of the
Sanscrit word _chhandas_, one of the most usual names of the Vedas.”
The fourteen Mahabadians are to him: “Nothing else but the fourteen
Manus, past and future, of the Brahmanical mythology.”[150] Thus we
should have to thank Mohsan Fani for a confirmation of the
above-stated historical fact; the _Mahabadians_ were nothing else but
_Mahabodhis_, in good Sanscrit, “great deified teachers;” he would
have placed them, as did lately Burnouf, Lassen, and Charles Ritter,
somewhere on the highlands of Iran, and he _invented_ nothing.

From the ante-historical dynasties descending to later times, let us
consider that, according to respectable traditions,[151] there existed
friendly and hostile relations between Iran and Persia in the time of
the Iranian king _Feridun_, 1729 years before our era: he reconducted
with an army a fugitive Indian prince, and rendered India tributary.
Two other invasions took place under the Persian monarch
_Manucheher_,[152] after which the Indians recovered their liberty.
Under Kai Kobad[153] flourished Rustum, who ruled, beside other
countries, Sejistan and Kabul, conquered the Panj-áb, and carried war
into the bosom of Arya varta. This country was also attacked by
Afrasiab, a Turan prince,[154] then possessor of Persia. Ferdusi’s
Shah-namah indicates expeditions of Feramurs, a son of Rustum, to
India, under the reign of Kai Khosrú. We arrive at the epoch of
Gushtasp, who ordered the Indus to be explored, and although he had
not, as Herodotus asserts,[155] conquered the Indians, he entertained
religious relations with that nation. After Alexander’s conquest of
Persia, Sassan, the son of Dara, retired to Hind, where, devoted to
the service of God, he died.[156] After a very obscure period of
Persian history, Ardeshir, directed by a dream, brought an offspring
of Sassan from Kabulistan to Istakhar. We cannot doubt that at all
times a communication was open between Iran and India, where Bahram
Gor married an Indian princess, and whence Nushirvan received a
celebrated book and the game of chess. In our seventh century, the
Muhammedan Arabians, driven by the spirit of conquest, turned their
arms towards India, but stopped on the borders of the Indus. It was
reserved to Muhammedan Moghuls, mixed with Persians, to establish in
the midst of India an empire which, after eight hundred years,
disjoined by various disorders, fell into the hands of the English.

This rapid sketch is perhaps sufficient to explain any mixture,
fusion, and resemblance of Persian and Indian doctrines and
institutions, if even we were not disposed to seek their fountain-head
in the sacred gloom of the remotest antiquity. Whatever it be, in any
case, it will no more be said, that the Dabistán was written “with
the intention to claim for Persia the pre-eminence over India,
concerning the antiquity of religious revelations.”[157] In fact,
Mohsan Fani never explicitly alludes to a comparative antiquity
between the Persians and Indians, and implicitly acknowledges the
anteriority of the Indian religion over the Zoroastrian, in a part of
Persia at least, by relating that Gushtasp was converted from the
former to the latter by Zardusht, by whom also the Indian sage,
_Sankhara atcharya_, was vanquished.

After a more accurate examination, the resemblance between the said
religions will be found to exist certainly in particular principles
and tenets, but not at all in the general character or the spirit of
these religious systems. Nothing can be more dissimilar than the
austerity of Mezdaism and the luxuriancy of Hinduism in the
development of their respective dogmas, and particularly in their
worship, as was already observed.[158] We cannot however deny, that
not a little of the similarity in the account of different religions
belongs to the author of the Dabistán, who most naturally confounded
the ideas of his own with those of more ancient times, and used
expressions proper to his particular creed when speaking of that of
others. Thus he employs very often the term _angels_ for that of
divinities, and carries the mania of allegorising, so peculiar to the
later Muhammedan Súfis, into his description of the Indian mythology.
This sort of substitution, or these anachronisms of expression, are to
be remarked in the narrative of other authors, praised for general
correctness and veracity; I can here so much the more readily call to
mind similar inaccuracies in the accounts which Greek historians, and
in particular the philosophic Xenophon, gave of Persia, as I may add,
that in many points they agree with our Mohsan Fani.

[147] See above, p. 76.

[148] His Works, vol. IV. p. 105.

[149] _Loco cit._, p. 69.

[150] _Ibid._, p. 51. Among the Persians is even found
_Behesht-i-Gang_, and _Gang-diz_, “the Paradise,” and “the
castle of Ganga” (Hyde, p. 170).――Mr. Julius Mohl says
(_Journal asiatique, mars_ 1841, p. 281): “Zohac is the
representative of a Semitical dynasty, which in Persia took
place of the _Indian_ dynasty, and overthrew the entirely
_Brahmanical_ institutions of Jamshid.” We see the opinion
that Hinduism once resided in Iran daily gaining ground.

[151] The History of Hindostan, etc., by Alex. Dow, 1768, t.
I. p. 12 _et seq._ The same, by J. Briggs, 1829. Introd.,
ch. p. xiv. _et seq._

[152] The Mandauces of Ctesias and of Moses of Chorene. He
reigned, according to Ferdusi, B. C., from 1229-1109;
according to our chronogers, from 730-715.

[153] The Arphaxad of the Hebrews; the Dejoces of Herodotus;
the Arsæus of Ctesias; he is placed B. C. 1075 by the
Orientals; 696 years by the Occidentals.

[154] All kings of Turan were called Afrasiáb.

[155] Lib. IV.

[156] See _The Desátir_, Engl. trans., p. 185.

[157] See before, p. 75.

[158] See page 102.

§ VI.――THE RELIGION OF THE TABITIAN (TIBETANS).

The third chapter of the Dabistán treats of the religion of the _Kera
Tabitán_ (Tibitans). The author says that he received his information
from a learned man of this sect by means of an interpreter, who did
not always satisfy his inquiries; the little he says appears to belong
to a class of Buddhistic Hinduism, and not to be destitute of truth.

§ VII.――THE RELIGION OF THE JEWS.

Then follows, in the fourth chapter, a short account of the religion
of the Yahuds or Jews. The author derived his notion from a Rabbin
converted to Muhammedism, and states nothing which was not really
professed by one of the Jewish sects, which, in his summary narration,
he does not distinguish. He gives a Persian translation of the first
five chapters, and a part of the sixth chapter of the Genesis from the
Hebrew original; a comparison of it with several other translations
known in Europe, proves its general accuracy; I thought it not
altother unimportant to point out the few variations which occur.

§ VIII.――THE RELIGION OF THE CHRISTIANS.

It is not without great interest that an European Christian will
peruse the fifth chapter, in which a Persian treats of the religion of
the _Tarsas_, that is, “Christians.” Mohsan Fani declares, that he saw
several learned Christians, such as the Padre _Francis_,[159] highly
esteemed by the Portuguese in Goa and in Surat. We can scarce doubt,
that it was from that father, or some other Roman Catholic missionary,
that he received his information; as he portrays particularly the
Roman Catholic doctrine, of which, in my opinion, he exhibits a more
faithful idea than that which a great number of Protestants entertain,
and are wont to express.

Every Christian may be satisfied with the picture of his religion,
which, although contracted in a small compass, is nevertheless
faithfully drawn by a foreign but impartial hand. Mohsan Fani, in
seventeen pages of our translation, states only a few circumstances of
the life of Jesus Christ, and a few dogmas relative to him as son of
God, and the second person of the holy Trinity. In the account of
seven sacraments, the eucharist is characterised in a manner which
will not fail to attract attention.[160] Scarce any rites or
ceremonies are mentioned; the greatest part of the statement relates
to the moral precepts of Christianity, which presents an advantageous
contrast with the many absurd and superstitious duties, with which
other religions are encumbered. Thus, we find confirmed in the
Dabistán that the Pentateuch of the Jews and the Gospel of the
Christians were both sufficiently familiar to Muhammedans who had any
pretension to learning.

[159] Probably a Portuguese. From him Mohsan Fani might have
received the information (see vol. II. p. 307) that an image
of St. Veronica is preserved in a town of Spain, probably
within the year 1641, before it was known in India that
Portugal had freed itself from the domination of Spain,
which event took place on the 1st December, 1640. On that
account, the father spoke of the peninsular sovereign as
still possessor of both kingdoms, and, instead of calling
him _king of Spain_, styled him _king of Portugal_, from
fond partiality for his native country. This remark was
suggested to me by the learned viscount of Santarem.――(See
vol. II. pp. 307. 308, note 1.)

[160] See vol. II. p. 315. “The holiest of all the
sacraments, as it presents the Lord Jesus under the form of
bread, that it may become the power of the soul.” This
definition was most likely not that which Mohsan Fani heard
from father Francis, but the intelligent Persian might have
understood that a strong and lively representation of an
object is equivalent to its _real presence_, which latter
words must have been those used, as orthodox, by a Roman
Catholic priest.

§ IX.――THE RELIGION OF THE MUSELMANS.

The author of the Dabistán, after having treated of the most ancient
religions, passes to the comparatively modern religious system of
Arabia. The Arabians, although frequently attacked, were never
conquered by the Assyrians, Medians, Persians, or Romans; they
maintained their political independance, but could not avoid nor
resist the religious influence of nations with whom they were, during
ages, in various relations. The ancient history of Arabia is lost,
like that of many other nations; so much is known of their oldest
religion, that it resembled that of the Persians and Hindus: it was
the Magism or Sabæism; the stars were worshipped as idols from the
remotest times; we read of antediluvian idols. At the time, which we
now consider, that is the seventh century of our era, all the then
existing religions seemed to be far remote from their original
simplicity and purity;[161] idolatry was dominant, and Monotheism
preserved and positively professed only in Judaism and Christianity,
although likewise corrupted by various kinds of superstition.
Followers of both these religions were settled in Arabia, to which
region the Jews fled from the cruel destruction of their country by
the Romans; and the Christians, on account of the persecutions and
disorders which had arisen in the Eastern church.

We see by what facts, circumstances, and notions Muhammed was acted
upon, whilst nourishing his religious enthusiasm by solitary
contemplation in the cavern of mount Hara, to which he was wont to
retire for one month in every year. In his fortieth year, at the same
age at which Zoroaster began to teach 600 years before Christ
(according to some chronologers), Muhammed, as many years after the
Messiah, assumed the prophetic mission to reform the Arabians. He felt
the necessity of seizing some safe and essential dogmas in the chaos
of Magian, Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian notions; broke all the
figures of planets in the temple of Mecca, and declared the most
violent war against all plastic, graven, and painted idols; he left
undisturbed only the _black stone_, Saturn’s emblem before, and at the
time when the Jewish traditions claimed it for Abraham, and even
transported it to heaven. Muhammed preferred the latter to the more
ancient superstition; as to the rest, he abhorred the prevailing
idolatry of the Sabaians; and blamed the corruption of monotheism in
the Jews and Christians. He felt in himself the powerful spirit, and
undertook to re-establish the _Touhid_, “the unity and spiritualism of
God;” he preached with enthusiastic zeal the _Islam_, “devotedness und
resignation to God.”

But, in order to found and to expand the great and necessary truths,
he knew no other means, but to attach the believers to his own person,
and to accustom them to blind obedience to his dictates; he
proclaimed: “There is no God but God, and Muhammed is his prophet;” he
gave them the Koran, the only holy book, in which his precepts were as
many commands proclaimed under the penalty of eternal damnation. In
the Muhammedan all spontaneity is stifled; all desire, all attempt to
be self-convinced is interdicted; every thing becomes exterior, the
religious and civil Code but one.

Muhammed seemed not to know that religion cannot be the gift, as it is
not the property, of any single man; it belongs to mankind. Any
particular creed lives only by its inherent force, independently of
the founder, who retires and leaves nothing behind him but his name as
a mere distinction from that of another religion. Every individual
action is of little avail, if it does not proceed from the free and
pure impulse of the spirit, which must revive in all succeeding
generations. This is acknowledged in the Dabistán[162] by giving a
very philosophic explanation of the expression _prophetic seal_, or
“the last of prophets:” “That which is reared up by superior wisdom,
renders the prophet’s knowledge vain, and takes his color; that is to
say: if one hundred thousand prophets like himself realise in
themselves the person of superior wisdom, they are possessors of the
seal, the last prophets, because it is superior wisdom which is the
seal, and they know themselves to be _effaced_, and superior wisdom
existing.” Muhammed, although wise enough to connect himself with
other prophets, his predecessors, pretended however to close the
series, and to be the last of prophets, or “the seal of prophetism.”

Vain project! immediately after him violent contests arose,

“And discord, with a thousand various mouths.”

Thirty years after his death his family was dispossessed of the
Khalifat. This passed to the Moaviyahs, who, residing in Damascus,
kept it during 90 years, and then ceded it to the Abbasides, who
established their seat at Baghdad. The impulse and development of the
Islam was overwhelming during the one hundred and twenty years after
the prophet’s death; the mighty spirit of conquest had arisen and
was――I shall not say irresistible――but certainly badly resisted by the
nations assailed. The Romans and Persians were then hard pressed
themselves; on the West by the Goths, on the East by the Huns:――whilst
the Greeks had sunk into general luxury and degeneracy; all feebly
sustained the attack of hardy and active men, whose native habit of
rapine and devastation was then exalted and sanctified by the name of
religion, and continually invigorated by rich, splendid, and easy
conquests. Thus, the khalifs, who were divided into two great lines,
the before-mentioned _Abbasides_ and the _Fatimites_, extended their
empire within 600 years after Muhammed, not only over the greatest
part of Asia, but also along the western shore of Africa, Egypt,
Spain, and Sicily; threatening the rest of Europe.

After the first labors, came rest, during which the genius of the
Arabs turned to persevering study, deep speculation, and noble
ambition: this was the scientific age of the Arabs, which began in the
middle of our eighth century, and was most conspicuous in the old
seats of learning, Babylonia, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and India. But in
the numerous schools rose violent schisms and bloody contests between
philosophy and religion. In the mean time the khalifs, by becoming
worldly sovereigns, had lost their sacred character, and were in
contradiction with the principle of their origin. The crusades of the
Christians, by reviving their martial energy, maintained for some time
the vacillating power of the Khalifs, but their vast and divided
empire, assailed by Pagan nations, first in the West in 1211, and
forty-seven years afterwards in the East, fell in 1258 of our era.
Muhammedism however revived in the barbarous and energetic conquerors,
Turks, Seljuks, Albanese, Kurds, Africans, who were drawn into its
circle; and science was again cultivated in Tunis, Bulgaria, and
India.

I thought necessary to draw this rapid historical sketch, because
within its outlines is contained the account of the Muhammedan sects
as given in the text of the Dabistán.

Mohsan Fani himself lived in the age of general decline of
Muhammedism. He exhibits in the sixth chapter the religion of his own
nation: we may expect that he will be true and accurate. He divides
the chapter into two sections: the first treats of the creed of the
Sonnites; the second, of that of the Shiâhs. These are the two
principal sects of the Muhammedans, but divided into a number of
others, exceeding that of seventy-three, which Muhammed himself has
announced, and consigned, all except one, to eternal damnation. This
one was that of the _sonnah_ “the traditional law,” or _Jamaât_, “the
assembly.” The Dabistán explains this religion in a manner which, to
Muhammedans, might appear sufficiently clear, in spite of digressions
and want of order in the arrangement of the matter; but an European
reader will desire more light than is afforded in the text, and feel
himself perplexed to understand the meaning of frequent technical
terms, and to connect the various notions disseminated in an unequal
narrative――now too diffuse, now too contracted. The following are the
principal features of the long account of Muhammedism contained in the
Dabistán.

Immediately after the promulgation of the Koran, which followed
Muhammed’s death, it became necessary to fix the meaning and to
determine the bearing of its text. There was one theme in which all
agreed: the grandeur, majesty, and beneficence of one supreme Being,
the Creator, ruler, and preserver of the world, which is the
effulgence of his power. This is expressed in the Koran in such a
strain of sublimity as may unite men of all religions in one feeling
of admiration. This excellence is an inheritance of the most ancient
Asiatic religion. God can but be always the object of boundless
adoration, but never that of human reasoning. Hence the Muhammedan
sects disagreed about the attributes of God.

The residence assigned, although inconsistently with pure
spiritualism, to the supreme Being was the ninth heaven; an eighth
sphere formed the intermediate story between the uppermost heaven and
seven other spheres, distributed among so many prophets, in the same
manner as, in the Desátir, the seven prophet kings of the Péshdadian
dynasty were joined to the seven planets which they, each one in
particular, venerated. Numberless angels, among whom four principal
chiefs, fill the universe, and serve, in a thousand different ways,
the supreme Lord of creation. We recognisee the notions of the ancient
Persian religion in this, and in the whole system of divine
government.

Another subject of violent and interminable dispute was God’s action
upon the nether world, principally upon mankind, or God’s universal
and eternal judgment, commonly called _predestination_. This subject
was greatly agitated by the _Matezalas_, _Kadarians_, _Jabarians_, and
others; they disputed

“_Of providence, foreknowledge. will, and fate,
Fix’d fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute,
And found no end, in wand’ring mazes lost._”

Although this subject appears to be connected with the Zoroastrian
doctrine of the two principles, “good and bad,” yet it has never been
agitated with so much violence in so many particular ways by any
religionists as by the Muhammedans.

It has already been observed that, according to tradition, the ancient
Persian philosophy was carried in the reign of Alexander to Greece,
and from thence, after having been recast in the mould of Greek
genius, returned in translations to its original country. We find it
expressly stated in the Dabistán, that Plato and Aristotle were
acknowledge as the founders of two principal schools of Muhammedan
philosophers, to wit, those of the _Hukma ashrákín_, “Platonists,” and
the _Hukma masháyín_, “Aristotelian, or Peripatetics.” To these add
the Súfí’s _matsherâin_, “orthodox Sufis,” who took care not to
maintain any thing contrary to revelation, and exerted all their
sagacity to reconcile passages of the Koran with sound philosophy.
This was the particular profession of the _Matkalmin_, “scholastics.”
These cede to no other philosophers the palm of mastering subtilties
and acute distinctions. They had originally no other object but that
of defending their creed against the heterodox philosophers. But they
went further, and attacked the Peripatetics themselves with the
intention to substitute another philosophy for theirs. It may be here
sufficient to call to mind the works of three most celebrated men,
_Alfarabi_, _Ibn Sina_ (Avisenna), and _Ghazali_, whose works are
reckoned to be the best specimens of Arabian and Muhammedan
philosophy.[163] They contain three essential parts of orthodox
dogmatism: 1. _ontology_, _physiology_, and _psychology_; these
together are called “the science of possible things;” 2. _theology_,
that is, the discussion upon the existence, essence, and the
attributes of God; as well as his relations with the world and man in
particular; 3. _the science of prophetism_, or “revealed theology.”
All these subjects are touched upon in the Dabistán, but in a very
desultory manner. I shall add, that the author puts in evidence a sect
called _Akhbárín_, or “dogmatic traditionists,” who participate
greatly in the doctrine of the Matkalmin, and in his opinion are the
most approvable of all religious philosophers.

The contest for the khalifat between the family of Ali, Muhammed’s
son-in-law, and the three first khalifs, as well as the families of
Moaviah and Abbas, a contest which began in the seventh century, and
appears not yet terminated in our days――this contest, so much more
violent as it was at once religious and political, occasioned the rise
of a great number of sects. Much is found about Ali in the Dabistán,
and even an article of the Koran,[164] published no where else
relative to this great Muselman, which his adversaries are said to
have suppressed. The adherents of Ali are called _Shiâhs_.

The Persians, after being conquered by the Arabs, were compelled to
adopt the Muhammedan religion, but they preserved a secret adherence
to Magism, their ancient national creed, they were therefore easily
disposed to join any sect, which was more or less contrary to the
standard creed of their conquerors, and bore some slight conformity,
or had the least connection with, their former religion. They became
Shiâhs.

Among these sectaries originated the particular office of _Imám_,
whose power partook of something of a mysterious nature: the visible
presence of an Imám was not required; he could, although concealed, be
acknowledged, direct and command his believers; his name was _Mahdi_,
“the director.” This opinion originated and was spread after the
sudden disappearance of the seventh Imám, called _Ismâil_. His
followers, the Ismâilahs, maintained that he was not dead; that he
lived concealed, and directed the faithful by messages, sent by him,
and brought by his deputies; that he would one day reappear, give the
victory to his adherents over all other sects, and unite the world in
one religion. More than one Mahdi was subsequently proclaimed in
different parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe――always expected, never
appearing――so that it became a proverbial expression among the Arabs
to denote tardiness: “_as slow as a Mahdi_.” We recognize in this an
ancient idea of Zoroaster: he too was to reappear in his sons at the
end of 12,000 years; rather late,――but mankind never tire of hope and
expectation.

A creed, like that of the _Ismâilahs_, because founded upon something
mysterious, vague, and spiritual, was likely to branch out in most
extraordinary conceptions and practices. The Dabistán abounds with
curious details about them. Their doctrine bore the character of
duplicity: one part was manifest, the other concealed. Their manner of
making proselytes was not open; they acted in the dark. They first
induced the neophyte to doubt, then to despise his own creed, and at
last to exchange it for apparently more sublime truths, until, after
having sufficiently emboldened his reasoning faculty, they enabled him
to throw off every restraint of authority in religious matters. We see
in the Dabistán,[165] the degrees through which an Ismâilah was to
pass until he believed in no religion at all.

A most remarkable sect of the Ismâilahs was that of the _Almutians_,
so called from _Alamut_, a hill-fort in the Persian province of
_Ghilan_. This fort was the seat of _Hassan_, a self-created Imám, and
became the capital of an empire, perhaps unique in the history of the
world.[166] An Imám, called by Europeans “the old man of the
mountain,” without armies, or treasures, commanded the country around,
and terrified a great part of Asia by a band of devoted adherents,
whom he sent about to propagate his religion, and to execute his
commands, which were frequently the murder of his enemies. The
executioners were unknown save at the fatal moment of action; mighty
khalifs and sultans met with their murderers among their most intimate
servants, or the guardians of their doors, in the midst of crowded
public places or in the solitude of their secret bed-chambers. The
_Fedayis_, so were they called, devoted themselves not only to the
sacred service of their Imám, but hired their arm also for profane
service to foreign chiefs, such as the Christian crusaders. Among
Europeans, these Ismâilahs were known under the name of _Assassins_,
which well answered their infamous profession, but is better derived
from _Hashishah_[167], a sort of hemp, from which they extracted an
intoxicating beverage for their frequent use. During one hundred and
sixty years the Ismâilahs were the terror of the weak and the mighty,
until they fell in one promiscuous slaughter, with the khalif of
Islámism, under the swords of the ferocious invaders who, issuing from
the vast steppes of Tartary, fell upon the disordered empire of the
Muhammedans.

The Ismâilahs, and other sects connected with them, professed a great
attachment to an Imám, whose lineage was always traced up to Ali
through a series of intermediate descendants; but it belonged to the
_Ali-Ilahians_ to deify Ali himself, or to believe his having been an
incarnation of God.

Another sect, the _Ulviahs_, also devoted to Ali, maintain that he was
united with the sun, that he is now the sun, and having also been the
sun before, he was for some days only united to an elemental body.
Both these sects reject the Koran.

Here terminates the review of the second volume of the English
Dabistán.

[161] See, in what sense, pp. 83-84.

[162] See vol. III. pp. 202-203. See also _ibid._, p. 229
and note 2.

[163] See upon this subject a recent very ingenious work:
_Essai sur les Écoles philosophiques chez les Arabes, et
notamment sur la doctrine d’Algazzalí, par Auguste
Schmölders, docteur en philosophie_, Paris, 1842. Dedicated
to M. Reinaud, member of the Institute of France, and
professor of Arabic.

[164] See vol. II. p. 368.

[165] Vol. II. pp. 404-407.

[166] See vol. II. p. 433 _et seq._

[167] See _Mémoires géographiques et historiques sur
l’Égypte et sur quelques contrées voisines, par Étienne
Quatremère_, vol. II. p. 504. 1811.

§ X.――THE RELIGION OF THE SADIKIAHS.

The third volume of this work begins with the seventh chapter, upon
the religion of the _Sadikiahs_. It is generally known that, during
the life of Muhammed, another prophet, called Musaylima, arose in the
country of Yamáma, and dared offer to himself in a letter to the
former as a partner of his sacred mission, but was treated as a liar.
He had however gained a great number of followers, at the head of whom
he was defeated and himself slain in a bloody battle against Khaled, a
general of the first Khalif, the very same year as Muhammed’s death.
We find in the Dabistán, what appears less generally known, that
Musaylima’s sect, far from being entirely crushed after his fall,
existed under the name of _Sadikias_ in the seventeenth century of our
era, and conformed to a second _Faruk_, or Koran, to which they
attributed a divine origin, and a greater authority than to the
first.[168]

Another account, not frequently met with, is contained in the eighth
chapter of the Dabistán, concerning _Vahed Mahmud_, who appeared in
the beginning of our thirteenth century, and is by his adherents
placed above Muhammed and Ali. Among his tenets and opinions is to be
remarked that of an ascending refinement or perfection of elemental
matter, from the brute or mineral to that of a vegetable form; from
this to that of an animal body; and thence progressing to that of
Mahmud.[169] Further, the particular mode of transmigration of souls
by means of food into which men, after their death, are changed; such
food, _in which intelligence and action may reside_, becomes
continually the aliment and substance of new successive human beings.
We were not a little astonished to find these singular opinions
agreeing with the information, which Milton’s archangel Raphael
imparts to Adam, the father of mankind.[170]

“O Adam, one Almighty is, from whom
All things proceed, and up to him return,
If not depraved from good, created all
Such to perfection, one first matter all,
Indued with various forms, various degrees
Of substance, and in things that live, of life;
But more refin’d, more spirituous, and pure,
As nearer to him plac’d or nearer tending,
Each in their several active spheres assign’d,
_Till body up to spirit work_, in bounds
Proportioned to each kind. So from the root
Springs lighter the green stalk, from thence the leaves
More aery, last the bright consummate flower
Spirits odorous breathes: _flow’rs and their fruit,
Man’s nourishment, by gradual scale sublim’d,
To vital spirits aspire, to animal,
To intellectual_; give both life and sense,
Fancy and understanding; whence the soul
Reason receives, and reason is her being,
Discursive, or intuitive ―― ―― ――.”

This sort of hylozoism is more expanded in a particular system of
cosmogony of the same Vahed,[171] according to which the materials of
the world existed from the very beginning, which signifies from the
first appearance of _afrad_, “rudimental units.” We can never think
meanly of this opinion, when we find it coinciding with that of
_Leibnitz_ in our seventeenth century, contemporary of Mohsan Fani.
According to the celebrated German philosopher,[172] there exists
already an entirely organical preformation in the seeds of the bodies
which are born, and all souls had always pre-existed in some sort of
organized body, and shall after death remain united with an organic
whole; because in the order of nature souls are not likely to exist
entirely separated from any kind of body. In the eighteenth century
_Bonnet_, a great physiologist, maintained,[173] that all was
preformed from the beginning, nothing engendered; all organized bodies
were pre-existing in a very small compass in the germs, in which souls
may also pre-exist, these indestructible germs may sojourn in such or
such a body until the moment of its decomposition, then pass, without
the least alteration, into another body, from this into a third, and
so on; each of the germs incloses another imperishable germ, which
will be developed but in a future state of our planet, which is
destined to experience a new revolution.

We see here the very same ideas, without any mutual communication,
entertained in the East and the West, in ancient and modern times.

Vahed Mahmud combines his cosmogony with periods of 8000 years, eight
of which form a great cycle of 64,000 years, at the completion of
which the world is renovated. This sect is said to have been widely
spread in the world; in Persia the persecution of Shah Abbas forced
them to lie concealed.

[168] Vol. III. p. 1-11.

[169] The Druids, among the ancient Britons, believed the
progressive ascent of the soul, beginning with the meanest
insect, and arriving through various orders of existence at
its human stage. The soul, according to its choice during
terrestrial life, progressed, even after death, in good and
happiness, or evil and misery; the virtuous could return to
earth and become prophets among mankind: in which belief the
ancient Britons agreed with the Indian Buddhists.

[170] Paradise Lost, V. v. 470-488.

[171] The Dabistán, vol. III. p. 17.

[172] See his _Théodicée, édit. Amsterd. préface, pp._
xxviii _et seq._

[173] See _La Palingénésie philosophique, ou Idées sur
l’État passé et sur l’État futur des Êtres vivans, par C.
Bonnet, de diverses Académies, Amsterd._ 1769, vol. I. pp.
170. 198. 201. 204, etc., etc.

§ XI.――THE RELIGION OF THE ROSHENIANS.

The ninth chapter of the Dabistán introduces to us _Mian Báyezid_,
who, born in the Panjáb, flourished in the middle of the sixteenth
century under the reign of Humayún, the Emperor of India. At first a
strict observer of Muhammedism, he abandoned afterwards the exterior
practices of this religion, and, devoting his mind to contemplation,
assumed with the character of a saint the title of a “master of
light;” his followers were called _Roshenians_, or “enlightened.” His
sayings, several of which are quoted in the Dabistán, express sound
reason, pure morality, and fervent piety. In the spirit of his nation
and time, and for self-defence, he took up arms against the Moghuls.
His history and that of his sons is carried to the middle of the
seventeenth century, the time of Mohsan Fani.

Muhammed was the permanent type of a prophet, in whom the religious
and political character were united. The first Khalifs were all
military chiefs and religious men; the Koran furnished the rules of
foreign and internal policy, the final decision of every tribunal, the
inciting exclamation to combat and carnage, and a prayer for every
occasion. The founders of sects were frequently warriors, or, what in
Asia is generally the same, highwaymen and plunderers of caravans;
such was the just mentioned Miyan Bayezid, and many others. As
possessors of empires, they preserved the austere habits of ascetics:
they carried a sabre and a rosary, counted their beads and gave order
for battle; emaciated by fasts, covered with a woollen mantle, sitting
upon the bare ground, they disposed of empires and received the homage
of millions of men.

The Mohammedans preserved their religion, as long as they were
militant: because all states of mental excitement are apt to support
each other. But, in solitary retirement, and in the precincts of
schools, the doctrine of Muhammed was put to the test of reason: now
began the struggle between religion and philosophy. Fearful to part at
once with early impressions and national feelings, attempts to
reconcile faith and reason were made; religious philosophers had
recourse to allegory, in order to rationalize strange and absurd
dogmas and practices; for the literal they substituted a mystical
sense; under arbitrary acceptations and interpretations, the
foundation of the doctrine itself disappeared, or was confounded with
some old dogma renewed, if not one entirely invented: in short, the
Muhammedan religion appeared to have survived itself; its presumed
period of one thousand years was believed to be completed under the
reign of Akbar.

§ XII.――THE RELIGION OF THE ILAHIAHS.

Akbar was the greatest among the Moghul emperors of India. He began in
his fourteenth year a reign environed by war and rebellion. After
having vanquished all his enemies and established peace and security
around him, he turned his attention to religion. He soon found it
right to grant unlimited toleration to all religions in his empire.
Called the “shade of God,” he took the resolution to realise in
himself the otherwise vain title bestowed by slavish flattery upon all
sovereigns of Asia, and to imitate, according to his faculties, him
who bestows the blessings of his merciful providence on all creatures
without distinction. This he declared to his fanatic son Jehangir, who
did not conceal his discontent about the building of an Hindu temple
in Benares: “Are not,” said Akbar, “five-sixths of all mankind either
Hindus or unbelievers? If I were actuated by motives similar to those
which thou ownest, what would remain to me but to destroy them all?”

The inquisitive emperor was acquainted with the religious history of
the Persian empire; he surrounded himself with men of all
religions――Muhammedans of all sects, Hindus, Jews, and Christians, as
well as with philosophers free from superstition; he liked to question
them all, and to encourage public polemical discussions in his
presence. The Sonnites and Shiâhs reviled reciprocally the chief
personages of their adherence, the three first khalifs and Ali;
Muhammed himself was not more spared than his companions and
successors. The errors of their doctrine, the vices of their
character, and the irregularities of their conduct were freely
exposed, severely blamed, and wittily ridiculed. If Muhammedism was
treated in such a manner, other religions could not claim more
indulgence. The dramatic form, which Mohsan Fani gives to the
religious controversies, is certainly curious; we can scarce suppose
his having known the dialogues of Lucian, nor is it in the least
probable that a late French author ever saw the Dabistán and took from
this book the idea of the twenty-first chapter of his celebrated work,
entitled “Problem of religious “contradictions.”[174] The object aimed
at by these three authors was the same; but their compositions differ
from each other as much as the genius and character of the Greeks,
French, and Persians, in whose language each of them respectively
wrote. In whatsoever point Mohsan Fani may yield to the Greco-Syrian,
or to the French author, he, certainly, I will venture to say, equals
them in force, boldness, and sincerity; and perhaps surpasses either
in pointed application of truth. His objections are not vague attempts
of witticism with the intention to ridicule: they are special and
serious, directed to real and patent falsehood or prejudice; he does
not fence with imaginary shadowy adversaries, but he strikes a present
and tangible foe; his style, never tainted by affectation, is plain
and blunt, such as becomes a reformer combating popular superstition.
The controversies, the scene of which is placed before the throne, or
rather tribunal, of Akbar, obtain the imperial sanction: Muhammedism
is condemned.

Indeed, the emperor abrogated several practices of that religion to
which he had been devoted in his first years; he confined the
cultivation of science, as taken from the Arabs, to astronomy,
geography, medicine, and philosophy, and wished to prevent the waste
of life in futile and useless studies. At last, in the month of
December, A. D. 1579, twenty-six years before his death, he
substituted for the common profession of the Muhammedans the new:
“_There is no God but God, and Akbar his khalif_ (or deputy).” He
received from a great number of Amirs and distinguished persons the
voluntary agreement and consent to four conditions, namely, the
sacrifice of property, life, reputation, and religion, by entering
into the new religious pact, called _Ilahi_, “divine.” Moreover, he
introduced in lieu of the former, a new era, to begin from the death
of his father Huinayún, that is from the year of the Hejira 963, (A.
D. 1555): it was to be called _Ilahi_; the months were regulated
according to the mode of Irán, and fourteen festivals established in
concordance with those of Zoroaster’s religion. It was to this ancient
Persian creed, that he gave the preference, having been instructed in
its sacred tenets and practices by a learned fire-worshipper who had
joined him; and from books which were sent to him from Persia and
Kirmán. He received the sacred fire, and committed it to the faithful
hands of _Abu’l fazil_, his confidential minister: the holy flames of
Zardusht blazed again upon the altars of _Aria_, and, after a
separation of many centuries, Persians and Indians were reunited in a
common worship.

As a proof of Akbar’s expansive mind, directed to all subjects which
may interest mankind, I shall mention his having sequestered a number
of children, before they could speak, from all communition with the
rest of society, in order to know whether they would form a language.
After fourteen years of seclusion, it was found that they were dumb:
“which made it evident,” says Mohsan Fani, “that language and letters
are not natural to man――that language is of a long date and the world
very ancient.”[175]

In the third section of the tenth chapter, the author treats of the
influences of the stars upon the nether world, a very ancient
superstition, common to most nations. Every master of fame is said to
have worshipped particularly one of the stars; Akbar also received
divine commands with regard to them. We find, in a digression of this
section, curious historical details respecting the person of Jangis
khan, his adoration of the celestial bodies, epilepsy, and singular
superstition of combs. The great conqueror addressed to his sons the
most earnest admonitions to remain faithful to the religion of the
stars, to which their fortune was attached; but fifty-three years
after his death one of his successors and a great part of his nation
embraced Muhammedism.

The fourth section of the tenth chapter contains important information
upon the administration of India. Akbar was the first of the Moghul
emperors who considered India as his native country, and directed his
best efforts to the amelioration of its condition. Exalted to the
highest rank, not only by his birth, but also by his personal
acquirements; assisted, besides, by a train of devoted and enlightened
servants, he could promise himself duration of the new religion, which
he had fondly labored to found. In vain: it disappeared with him.
Private persons, camel-drivers, and robbers, emerging from obscurity,
such as Muhammed, and others before and after that Arabian leader,
effected more than an emperor, with every possible advantage united in
and around his person! Human intellect was perhaps then satiated with
religion; its measure was full: it could not receive any more. In
fact, after Muhammed a number of sects, but no new religion, arose: in
this sense he may, with some appearance of truth, be called the last
of prophets, or the _Khátim_, “the seal of prophetism.”

Akbar died in 1605 A. D., eight or ten years before the birth of the
author of the Dabistán. The latter passed his youth and manhood in
India, under the reigns of that emperor’s son, Jehangir, and
grand-son, Shah Jehan, and great-grandson Aurengzeb; and was in
personal connection with the latter’s brother, the religious
Darashukoh. Mohsan Fani had therefore good opportunities to be
informed of the events of their days. The religion of the _Ilahiahs_
is properly the last of which he treats; for what relates to the
religions of the philosophers and Súfis, the subjects of the two last
chapters, are rather selections of all creeds and opinions, than
particular religions. It will be remembered that sir W. Jones supposed
these two last chapters not to have been written by the author of the
rest of the Dabistán, which I dare neither affirm nor deny.[176]

[174] _Les Ruines, ou Méditations sur les Révolutions des
Empires, par M. Volney, député à l’Assemblée nationale de_
1789, _Paris_, 1791.

[175] Thus, our author coincides with lord Monboddo, who
showed that language is the slow product of necessity among
men linked in society. See his work _Of the Origin and
Progress of Language_, with the motto of Horace:

“Mutum ac turpe pecus ―― ―― ―― ――
Donec Verba quibus voces sensusque notarent
Nominaque invenere.”

[176] See note, p. 6, n. 2.

§ XIII.――THE RELIGION OF THE PHILOSOPHERS.

In the eleventh chapter, entitled “Of the religion of the Wise,” we
find it repeated that Philosophers were divided into two great
classes: “the Eastern and the Western.” The first are the
_Hushangians_, teachers of the Greeks until the time of Plato and
Aristotle; it is believed that their philosophy, modified and refined,
returned from Greece to Asia, and was received by the Muhammedan
scholars to be adapted to their own creed. Then took place a singular
mixture and confusion of Siderism, Judaism, Christianity, Muhammedism,
and all sorts of philosophic opinions. The cosmology of the
Hushangians was preserved. Seven special prophets, Ismâil, Jesus,
Joseph, Enoch, Aaron, Moses, and Abraham, inhabit the seven
heavens,[177] to begin from that of the Moon, which is the lowest, and
rising upwards. If, in general, ten spheres are assumed,[178] they are
made the dwellings of so many intelligences. These ideas, so ancient,
as we have seen, were not disowned by eminent men in much later times.
The great Kepler, and after him Reaumur, believed that intelligences
or souls directed the movements of celestial bodies. Philosophers,
struck with the marvellous order of nature, were adverse to admitting
any mechanism――the very name of which frightened them; they therefore
called all occult powers souls or spirits. The same idea is adopted in
morality: whatever is praiseworthy is _angelic_, whatever blamable,
_satanic_. _From goodness arises an angel; from badness, a Satan_: so
said the prophet. Such simple and truth-like ideas were either
originally disguised under the vest of fiction; or existing traditions
of various origin were afterwards more or less ingeniously interpreted
as allegories. Thus, the ordinary names, expressions, tenets,
traditions, and practices of the Arabian prophet received symbolic,
allegoric, mystic interpretations. The _Kabah_ (the square temple of
Mecca), the holy centre of a living, circumambulating world, becomes
an emblem of the sun; its famous _black stone_, hollowed by the kisses
of the pious, represents Venus, the bright star on the borders of
heaven; _paradise_, its milk, honey, wine, _Tuba_ (tree of beatitude),
_Hur_ and _Kasur_ (nymphs and palaces) allude to intellectual
delights; _hell_, its _Zakum_ (tree of nature), and torments, are
explained as unavoidable consequences of depravity. Such
interpretations of the Muhammedans seem often to be like their bridge
_Sirat_, which connects heaven and hell, _sharp as a razor and thin as
a hair_. _Transmigration_, or rather reproduction, is admitted,
although not easily reconciled with the resurrection of the same body.
_The blasts of the trumpet_, and the whole scene of the resurrection
lose their materialism in a sort of rational allegory. _The other
world_ is the destruction and renovation of nature at the completion
and renewal of great periods of time, one of which comprised 360,000
solar years. _Resurrection_ is “the wakening from the sleep of
heedlessness;” whenever an intellect attained that degree of
perfection, it has returned to its origin; it is restored to life;
this indubitably happens when nothing material exists: for, “where
there is no body, there is no death.”

After having treated in this way the great dogmas of religion, the
Muhammedan philosophers found it not more difficult to rationalise
every circumstance respecting their prophet, he who obeyed the voice
of an invisible speaker. Did Muhammed really _split the moon_? Not in
the least――splitting is penetrating from the exterior into the
interior; the fissure of the moon typifies nothing else but the
renunciation of the external for the internal, which is “the superior
wisdom;” who possessed it more than the prophet (the peace of God be
with him!) he, the master of the _lunar sphere_? This, with the
Orientals, is the seat of human intelligence and perfection.[179] One
of their greatest scholars, or as they say “the learned of the world,”
known to us under the name of Avisenna, undertook to give a reasonable
account of Muhammed’s _ascent to heaven_, and framed a wonderful
romance of mystic spiritualism. He terminates by explaining how the
prophet, after his return from such a journey, could find his
bed-clothes still warm: “He had travelled with his mind, and when he
had completed his mental task, returned back to himself, and in less
than an eye’s twinkling recovered his former state; whoever knows,
understands why he went; and whoever knows not, looks in vain for an
explanation.”

We may, not without interest, observe the natural process of the human
mind in reviewing and reforming conceptions, the original form of
which is not seldom entirely obliterated. The author of the Dabistán
does more than satiate the most inquisitive reader with allegoric, now
and then very fanciful, interpretations, which he continues, not
without repetitions of the same subjects, through the subsequent
chapter, upon which I am about to touch. Mohsan Fani, here as
elsewhere, fails not to adduce several philosophers of more ancient as
well as of his own times. Among the latter is _Hakim Kamran_, whose
free and sound opinions, about the origin of societies and the
prophets regulating them, will be read with some interest; as will
also the account of the books which Kamran read and explained, whence
the state of literature of those times may be inferred.

[177] See (vol. I. p. 293, note 1) the seven heavens under
particular names, as given in the Viraf-namah, and the
explanation of them. The seven prophets above-named are
somewhat differently distributed by other authorities. See
the notes to Avisenna’s explanation of Muhammed’s ascent to
heaven (vol. III. pp. 186. 189). I shall subjoin the
distribution of the seven prophet-kings, according to the
Desátir, and that of seven Jewish and Christian prophets,
according to the notes just referred to:

PLANETS: ACCORDING TO ACCORDING TO
THE DESATIR. MUHAMMEDAN AUTHORITIES.

Saturn, Inhabited by Gilshaw. Inhabited by Abraham.
Jupiter, ―― Siamok. ―― Moses.
Mars, ―― Hushang. ―― Aaron.
The Sun, ―― Tahmuras. ―― Idris.
Venus, ―― Jemshid. ―― Joseph.
Mercury, ―― Feridun. ―― Jesus, St. John.
The Moon, ―― Minocheher. ―― Adam.

[178] See the Cosmology of the Desátir, compared with that
of the modern Orientals, vol. III. p. 143, note.

[179] According to the Occidental fabulists (see Ariosto’s
_Orlando Furioso_, canto XXXIV), the moon holds, in a strait
valley between two mountains, all that mortals lose here
below: fame, tears and sighs of lovers, lost time, futile
designs, vain desires, ancient crowns, all instruments of
deceit, treaties, and conspiracies, works of false coiners
and knaves, the good sense of every body, is there bottled;
all is there except folly, which remains below, and never
quits the earth:

_Sol la Pazzia non v’è poca, nè assai,
Chè stà quaggiù, nè se ne parte mai._

§ XIV.――THE RELIGION OF THE SUFIS.

We arrive at the last chapter, “_Upon the Sufis_;” the most abstruse
of the twelve, but to which we are well enough prepared by the
contents of the former.

Súfism, according to the Dabistán, belongs to all religions; its
adherents are known, under different names among the Hindus, Persians,
and Arabians; it appears to be nothing else but the rationalism of any
sort of doctrine. It could never be the religion of a whole nation; it
remained confined to the precincts of schools and societies.

In the work before us we find it stated, that the belief of the pure
Súfis was the same as that of the Ashrakians (Platonists): we know
what the Muhammedans have made of it. According to the Imám Koshairi,
quoted by Jâmi,[180] the Muselmans, after Muhammed’s death,
distinguished the eminent men among them by no other title but that of
“the companions of God’s apostle.” These were, in the second
generation, called _Tábáyún_, “followers.” Afterwards the Islamites
were divided into divers classes; those among them who particularly
devoted themselves to the practice of religion, were named “servants
of God,” which name was, after the rise of numerous sects, claimed by
some from among all the different sectaries. It was then that the
followers of the orthodox doctrine, in order to preserve the purity of
their faith and the strength of their piety, assumed the name of
_Súfis_, which name became celebrated before the end of the second
century of the Hejira, that is, before the year 815 of our era. We may
believe one of the greatest scholars of Muhammedism, _Ghazáli_, who
ranged himself among the Súfis of his time towards the end of our
eleventh century, when he declares that in their society he found rest
in believing one God, the prophet, and the last judgment: this is the
faith of the _orthodox Súfis_.

The assumption of any particular name carries men, who so distinguish
and separate themselves from their fellows, much further than they
themselves at first intended, particularly when the distinction and
separation are founded upon vague and indeterminate notions of
metaphysics. Under the impression, that there are secrets upon which
their salvation depends, they will stretch reason and imagination to
penetrate them. The Súfis are divided, according to their own
phraseology,[181] into three classes: “_the attracted_, _the
travellers_,” and “_the attracted travellers_;” the last of whom
combine the qualities of the two former. I will class them here, with
respect to their doctrine and manners, into five orders.

1. The religious Súfis, in general, are occupied with something beyond
the limits of our natural consciousness; they exercise to the utmost
their inward organ or inner sense, and acquire a philosophic
imagination――

“The vision and the faculty divine.”[182]

Such was the prophetic gift of Muhammed, and as long as they adhere to
his sayings, they are _the orthodox Súfis_, whom I have already
mentioned.

2. Another order endeavor to comprehend, to fix, and to explain the
attributes of God; the holy object sanctifies their efforts;
unattainable, it exalts their souls above themselves;
incomprehensibility yields to the sacred power of self-intuition;
mysterious darkness to celestial light; their intellect, no more
terrestrial, “knows its own sun and its own stars;”[183] by continual
mental excitement they produce in themselves (according to their own
phraseology) a state of intoxication; in the full enjoyment of their
liberty, they approach the Supreme Being, and finally fancy an
intimate union with their Creator. These are the _mystic Sufis_.

Man, to express his most fervent adoration of the Divinity, uses the
expressions by which he is wont to address the object of his most
tender affections; he has but the fire of earth to kindle in sacrifice
to heaven; and to elevate his soul to the Supreme Being, he makes
wings of the most lively sentiments which he ever experienced, and can
excite in himself. The intensity of inward feeling breaks loose in
outward demonstrations, gesture, song, and dance――

“Mystical dance, which yonder starry sphere
Of planets, and of fix’d, in all her wheels
Resembles nearest, mazes intricate,
Eccentric, intervolv’d, yet regular,
Then most, when most irregular they seem.”[184]

Such in the poet’s eye is the dance of angels, but less refined must
be that of mortals, and really one sort of it strangely contrasts with
the usually grave deportment of bearded ample-robed Muselmans, from
Muhammed, who gave the example, down to the Durvishes of our days,
who, with frantic howls and vehement whirling motions, by ludicrous
and unseemly exhibition, destroy the whole gravity of inward
intention. Mohsan Fani adduces some instances of dancing, and quotes
throughout his work verses of mystical poetry upon Divine love, in
glowing expressions belonging to profane passion. It is known how
equivocal in their meaning they appear in the works of Jelal eddin
Rumi, Sâdi, Hafiz, and others.[185]

3. It was not always vehement enthusiasm which was nourished in the
contemplation of one Supreme Being; mysticism, in Súfis of a milder
character, became _quietism: he to whom all things are one, who
draweth all things to one, and seeth all things in one, may enjoy
peace and rest of spirit_. I have quoted the words of an English
bishop, Jeremy Taylor, and might borrow similar passages from a more
ancient Christian bishop, Synesius,[186] for expressing a sort of
purely _spiritual pantheism_. But there is another, which seems not to
exclude materialism: the great cause from which the infinite series of
all material and spiritual existences originates, is enveloped, as it
were, with the vest of the universe; never known as to its essence,
but always felt in its manifestations; it is

“All in all, and all in every part.”[187]

In short, God is all, and all is God. This appeared not more
incomprehensible, but less complicated than any other system to the
_pantheistical Súfis_.

4. After excessive efforts to transcend the limits of his nature, the
philosophic inquirer re-enters into himself, and coerces his futile
attempts by the precept: “Know thyself.” Having, as it were, recovered
himself, and feeling that every thing proceeds from the depth of his
mind, he sees himself in every thing; heaven and earth are his own;
“he demands from himself whatever he wishes;” for he is every thing;
he finds the God whom he sought in himself, in his own heart, and
says, “Who knows himself, knows God.” This is religious psychology,
the creed of the _egotist class of Súfis_.

It is a fact which appears incredible, but is too well attested for
the admission of a doubt, that Súfis believed themselves to be gods,
and adhered to their belief, amid torments, until death.[188] This
psychological fact may be explained by considering that, according to
Súfism, God is nothing else but an idea of the highest perfection;
_he_, says our author, _from whose sight both worlds vanished, who in
the steps of right faith arrived at the rank of perfect purity, from
truth to truth, became God_; that is, he became one with his own idea
of perfection, which cannot be disputed to him; his divinity is an
illusion, but nothing else to him is the world; it is all and nothing,
dependent upon his own creation and annihilation.

V. Transacting as it were directly with the Divine Being, the Súfis
throw off the shackles of the positive religion; pious rebels, they
neither fast nor make pilgrimages to the temple of Mecca, nay, they
forget their prayers; for with God there is no other but the soundless
language of the heart. From excess of religion they have no religion
at all. Thus is confirmed the trite saying that “extremes meet.” “_The
perfection of a man’s state_,” says Jami, “_and the utmost degree to
which saints may attain, is to be without an attribute, and without a
mark_.” The most fervent zeal sinks into the coldest indifference
about religion. The author of the Dabistán declares positively,[189]
that “whoever says that the Muselmans are above the Christians, does
not know the true Being.” But the whole creed of an _emancipated_
(this is the name I give to one belonging to the fifth order of Súfis)
uniting in himself the egotist, pantheistic, and mystical Súfi will be
found in the following verses of Jelal-eddin Rúmi, before mentioned:

[190]“O Moslims! what is to be done? I do not know myself; I
am neither Jew, nor Christian, nor Gueber, nor Moslim; I am
not from the East nor from the West; nor from land nor sea;
neither from the region of nature nor from that of heaven;
not from Hind nor China; not from Bulgaria nor Irak, nor
from the towns of Khorassan. I am neither water nor dust,
wind nor fire; not from the highest nor deepest, neither
self-existent nor created; I am not from the two worlds, no
son of Adam, not from hell nor from heaven, nor paradise. He
is the first, the last, the interior, the exterior; I know
but him, Yahu! Yahu! Menhu! I looked up, and saw both worlds
to be one; I see but one――I seek but one――I know but one. My
station is without space, my mark without impression; it is
not soul nor body; I am the soul of souls. If I had passed
one single day without thee, I would repent to have lived
one single hour. When one day the friend stretches out his
hand to me in solitude, I tread the worlds under my feet,
and open my hands. O Shams Tabrizi,[191] I am so intoxicated
here that, except intoxication, no other remedy remains to
me.”

We know, by the preceding, what the Súfi is not; we shall now learn
what he is.

“O Moslims! I am intoxicated by love in the world. I am a
believer――an unbeliever――a drunken monk; I am the Shaikhs
Bayazid, Shubli, Juneid, Abu Hanifa, Shafei, Hanbeli; I the
throne and tent of heaven, from the dust up to the Pleyads;
I am whatever thou seest in separation and enjoyment; I am
the distance of two bows-length[193] around the throne; I am
the Gospel, the Psalter, the Koran; I am _Usa_ and
_Lat_,[194] the cross, the _Bál_ and _Dagon_,[195] the
Kâbah, and the place of sacrifice. The world is divided into
seventy-and-two sects, but there is but one God; the
believer in him am I; I am the lie, the truth, the good, the
evil, the hard and the soft, science, solitude, virtue,
faith, the deepest pit of hell, the greatest torment of
flames, the highest paradise, Huri, Risvan,[196] am I. What
is the intent of this speech? Say it, O Shams Tabrizi! The
intended meaning is: I am the soul of the world.”

After having sounded human nature in its depth, and viewed it in its
various forms, the Muhammedan philosophers conceived a high idea of
man in general, and call him _insan kamil_, “the perfect man.” He is
the reunion of all the worlds, divine and naturaf, universal and
partial; he the book, the pure, sublime, and venerable pages of which
are not to be touched, nor can be comprehended, but by those who have
thrown off the dark veils of ignorance. His soul is to his body what
the universal soul is to the great world, which bears the name of “the
great man.”

Sir William Jones refers,[197] for a particular detail of Súfi
metaphysics and theology, to the Dabistán. These are given with a
particular phraseology, for which it is not easy to find corresponding
expressions in any European language; and which I have endeavored, to
the best of my power, to explain in my notes. A particular
signification is attached even to the most common terms, such as
state, station, time, duration, existence, non-existence, possibility,
presence, absence, testimony, sanctity, annihilation, etc., etc.
Besides, we find particular divisions and classifications: different
attributions and names of the Deity, the unity of which is to be
preserved in all; the division of spirits, prophetism, true and false
miracles, revelation, inspiration; four sorts of mankind, as many of
life and death; seven degrees of contemplative life, in each of which
degrees the Súfi sees a different color; four lights of God; four
sorts of manifestations, the sign of which is annihilation, called
“the science,” or “positive knowledge.” Further we meet with a
metempsychosis for the imperfect soul, and an _appearance_ for the
perfect; even with a geography of the invisible, the land of shades in
the towns of _Jabilkha_, _Jabilsa_, and _Barzah_, etc., etc.; and, in
addition, manifo I pinions of Asiatic philosophy.

Here should be pointed out how Muhammedan or other Súfis may be
confounded with the Hindu Yogis or Sanyásis, although in reality
distinguishable from each other. The Yajur veda, and other sacred
books of the latter inculcate the precept that a man ought to acquire
perfect indifference concerning the whole exterior world, and in all
places to lay aside the notion of diversity. This is what a Yogi or
Sanyasi endeavors to attain: he quits every thing, house, wife,
children, even his _caste_; the world has no more right upon him than
he upon the world. In this he agrees with the Súfi; but the latter
generally aspires to the divine gift of inspiration, prophetism,
mystical enthusiasm, whilst the common state of a Yogi is that of
complete impassiveness or torpor.

It is only towards the end of the Dabistán that Mohsan Fani mentions
particularly the _Sabeans_, whose religion was, from the very
beginning of the work, treated of under different names of the ancient
Persian religions, such as _Yezdanians_, Jamsaspians, etc., etc.

[180] See _Journal des Savans, décembre 1821_, pp. 721, 722,
_art. de Silvestre de Sacy_.

[181] The _Sálik_, _Mejezub_, and _Mejezub Salik_. (See A
Treatise on Sufism, or Muhammedan Mysticism, by lieutenant
J. William Graham. In the Transact. of the Lit. Soc. of
Bombay, vol. I. p. 99, 1811.

[182] Wordsworth.

[183] “―― ―― ―― Solemque suum, sua sidera norunt.”
_Æneis_, c. VI. v. 641.

[184] Milton’s Paradise Lost, V., v. 620-624.

[185] The two first give their name to the mystic and moral
age; from 1203 to 1300; the third to that of the highest
splendor of Persian lyrical poetry and rhetoric, from 1300
to 1397 of our era.――(See _Schöne Redekünste Persiens Von
Joseph Von Hammer, Wien_, 1818.)

[186] He was born in Cyrene, in Africa, towards the end of
our fourth century, and died, about 430, bishop of
Ptolemais.

[187] Cowley.

[188] See vol. III. p. 291 n. 1.

[189] See vol. III. pp. 123 n. 4; 293 n.

[190] I follow the German translation of Baron von Hammer,
_loco cit._, p. 189.

[191] Shams-eddin Tabrisi, whom Jelal-eddin names at the end
of nearly all his lyric poems, is said to have been the son
of Khuand Ala-eddin, chief of the Assassins (Ismâilahs). He
gained a great celebrity as a Súfi and a saint. From Tabriz,
from which town he took his surname, he came to Konia; there
Jelal-eddin chose him for his spiritual guide, and remained
attached to him all his life, which terminated A. D. 1262.
Shams-eddin survived him. The tombs of the master and
disciple, near each other in Konia, are even in our days
objects of veneration to pious Muselmans.

[192] _Ibid._, p. 191,

[193] The distance to which Muhammed approached God in
heaven.

[194] Two Arabian idols, the Dusares and Allitta of
Herodotus.

[195] Syrian deities.

[196] The guardian of paradise.

[197] In his Treatise on the mystical poetry of the Persians
and Hindus: vol. IV. of his Works, p. 232.

§ XV.――RECAPITULATION OF THE CONTENTS OF THE DABISTAN.

Thus I have indicated the principal contents of the Dabistán.
Considering the philosophic opinions touched upon, we may remark that
truth, although in different times and places variously colored,
veiled, sometimes mutilated, often running into falsehood, is
nevertheless widely diffused, inasmuch as it reappears in the
concurring declarations of the greatest thinkers of all times. Thus,
among the notions of the Asiatics, we find implied the sense of the
ἐντελέχεια (_entelechia_) of Aristotle, this untranslatable word,[198]
which however can but signify “some continued and perennial
motion,[199] activity, moving force, perfection, principle of
things”[200]――we find _time_ and _space_, the necessary substrata of
all our notions, as taught by the Kantians――the want of substantial
reality in the objects of senses, maintained by the sceptics in
general――the prototypes and ideas of the Pythagoreans and
Platonists――the necessary connections of all things of the Stoics――the
atomic doctrine of Moschus, Leucippus, Democritus, Empedocles,
etc.――the universality of sensation and life of the Hermetites――the
preformation and pre-existence of the soul, alleged by Synesius,
Leibnitz, and others――the successive transformation, transmigration,
gradual perfection of beings; the periodical renovation of the world
professed by many Greek schools――the palingenesis of Bonnet――the _one_
and the _all_ of Parmenides, Plotinus, Synesius, Spinoza, not to omit
the refined Egoismus of Fichte, etc., etc. I shall not proceed further
in the enumeration of opinions ascribed in the Dabistán to different
sects, and reproduced in the doctrine of celebrated ancient and modern
philosophers of Europe. Who will realize that criterion of true
philosophy indicated by the great Leibnitz, namely, that which would
at once collect and explain the fragments of truth scattered through
all, and apparently the most incongruous, systems?

This is perhaps the prize to be gained, not by one mortal, but by a
series of generations, in a laborious task, so often interrupted and
recommenced, but never abandoned. The struggle of the human mind is
without term, but not without aim. We see two principal movers of
human intellect――PHILOSOPHY and RELIGION. The one employs reason as a
sufficient power for the solution of a solvable problem, which
comprehends knowledge, morality, and civilisation. The other distrusts
reason, and relies upon a supernatural power for the revelation of a
secret, or for the word of an enigma, which relates to a destination
beyond the bounds of this world. The philosopher, self-confident, is
liable to error for various reasons; but always capable of correction
and improvement, in the only possible way, that of self-activity, the
virtuous exertions of his faculties towards attainable perfection in
his whole condition. The religionist is exposed to deception by his
gratuitous faith in superhuman guidance, and, if mistaken, is
precluded from regress and improvement by his essential virtue,
fidelity; that is, the pious surrender of his soul to a spiritual and
mystical sovereignty. The Dabistán shows us more religionists than
philosophers; it is the school of sects, or rather that of inveterate
superstition, with which, in spite of the correctives which human
nature affords to its errors, the general character of the Asiatics
remains stamped, from time immemorial to the present day.

Although the twelve chapters of the Dabistán bear the titles of as
many religions, the author says himself, at the end of his work, that
there are only _five_ great religions――those of the Hindus, Persians,
Jews, Nazareans, and Muselmans. He no where mentions the Egyptians nor
the Chinese, apparently because, in his times and long before, no
trace of the Egyptian religion existed, although it certainly had once
occupied a great circle of influence, and because the Chinese creed
was known to be Buddhism.

The five religions mentioned constitute indeed so many bases, upon
which the whole creed of mankind has been, and remains founded. They
comprise, in general, _polytheism_ and _monotheism_. In all times and
places, the religion of the “Enlightened” was distinguished from that
of the “Vulgar;” the first as interior, being the product of universal
reason, was every where nearly uniform; the second, as exterior, being
composed of particular and arbitrary rites and ceremonies, varied
according to the influence of the climate, and the character, history,
and civilisation of a people. But, in the course of time, no religion
remained entirely the same, either in principle or form. Polytheism,
by mere simplification, tended to monotheism; this itself, in its
awful incomprehensibility, was modified according as it originated, or
assumed its notions, from anthropomorphism, hylozoism, spiritualism,
or pantheism. Nor did any religion remain simple and pure, as
proceeding from only one principle; all religious ideas, elemental,
sidereal, allegorical, symbolical, mystical, philosophical, and others
were mixed, as well as all sorts of worship interwoven. It is now
impossible to range in chronological order their rise and transition
into different forms. Still the one or the other of these kinds
predominated: thus _physiolatry_, or “the adoration of personified
nature,” in India; _astrolatry_, or “the worship of stars,” in Arabia
and Iran; none of the religions entirely disclaimed _monotheism_,
which was positively and exclusively professed in Judaism,
Christianity, and Muhammedanism.

Magism and the three last-named religions were founded or modified by
holy personages, or prophets, that is, by individuals whose historical
existence in more or less remote times is positively fixed; Hinduism
alone acknowledges _Manu_ as an ideal or mythological person, whose
laws are however derived from Brahma himself. This may perhaps be
assumed as a proof of its remotest antiquity; and India, having been
less disturbed by invasions, and conquered in much later times by
foreign nations, preserved its institutes complete in their
originality. There is scarcely a tenet to be found in any other creed
which does not, at least in its germ, exist in the Hindu religion.

It is most remarkable that, although men revered as divine messengers
of religion have existed, still the works containing the heaven-sent
doctrine are, either not at all or not incontestably, ascribed to
them; and in any case devolved upon posterity in a more or less
corrupted and mutilated state; so as to entail for ever an
inexhaustible subject of dispute, a heavy task for belief, and severe
trial of faith. If the Vedas are the best preserved, it is to no
general purpose, inasmuch as they are the least known and most
obscure. These facts the author of the Dabistán has set in full light,
and says,[201] as it were to tranquillise mankind with regard to the
multifarious inheritance of their prophets: “The varieties and
multitudes of the rules of prophets proceed only from the plurality of
names; and as in names there is no mutual opposition or contradiction,
the superiority in rank among them is only the predominance of a name.
To this I subjoin another passage, although it occurs in connection
with another subject:[202] “The time of a prophet is a universal one,
having neither priority nor posteriority――neither morning nor
evening:” that is, if I understand these words: As the same sun ever
shines upon us, so shines the same wisdom of all times, incorruptible
in its divine source.

If we take a rapid comparative view of the principal features of the
five religions mentioned, we find _emanation of all beings,
intellectual and material, from one great source_, to be the
fundamental and characteristic dogma of Hinduism, established and
developed in the most explicit and positive manner. _The division of
supernatural beings in good and bad_ is adopted in the five religions,
but in Magism it is of a somewhat different origin: for Ahriman and
his host are not rebellious or fallen good genii; they are an original
creation. _A primitive innocence and posterior corruption_ is
generally believed; but by the Hindus as coming from riches and
abundance, by the other nations as caused by seduction of the bad
spirits. _The destruction of mankind by a deluge_ is no part of the
Persian creed; it occurs in the Indian as one of the past periodical
renovations of the world, which are to be followed by others, and is
also admitted by the Persians, whilst the Jews, Christians, and
Muhammedans believe a deluge not very ancient, as a punishment of
human depravity. _Incarnations of the Deity for the benefit of
mankind_, are believed only by Hindus and Christians; to the latter
belongs exclusively the dogma of _a propitiatory sacrifice. Human
souls, immaterial_, have pre-existence according to the Vedas and the
Zand-Avesta; in the first, as parts of the Divinity; in the latter, as
created in their _fervers_, or “pre-established ideals” at the
beginning of the world. _Transmigration_ is taught in the sacred books
of the Hindus and Persians. _The immortality of the soul, reserved to
future beatitude or damnation_, is maintained generally, less
positively, by the ancient Jews; the righteous are cheered by the
prospect of the same heaven, the wicked threatened by the same
punishments, which are held to be eternal by Christians and
Muhammedans; the Hindus and Persians place the future life in a long
series of purifications or _purgatories_, leading, howsoever late,
finally to heaven, to which, according to the first, the most perfect
only are admitted immediately after their terrestrial life, and are
not to be born again, except by their own choice. _The resurrection
with the same body, and the last judgment_, are among the most
essential tenets of the Magi, Christians, and Muhammedans; the other
world is vaguely represented among the ancient Hebrews. It is just to
attribute to the Persians exclusively one of the most beautiful
personifications that was ever imagined:[203] the soul of the deceased
meets at the bridge of eternity an apparition either of an attractive
or repulsive form; “Who art thou?” asks the uncertain spirit, and
hears the answer: “I am thy life.”

Although the variety and multitude of human conceptions may appear
boundless, yet they may perhaps be reduced to a few fundamental
principles. In general, there is one object common to all sorts of
religion: this is to detach man from gross sensual matters, and to
accustom him to hold converse with holy supernatural beings, guides to
salvation, _omnipresent_ witnesses of all his actions, remunerators of
good, punishers of bad deeds; the belief in such beings, one or more,
is in fact the most essential support of morality, which, being fixed
in each individual, insures the peace and happiness of all. In short,
the most important object of all religion is to ennoble, refine, and
sanctify man’s inmost thoughts and feelings, as well as his exterior
actions. No wonder, that the same virtues are recommended by all
religions.

But, if these virtues be the same as to names, there is a great
difference as to their practical application. Thus, the Hindus,
tending excessively to the extinction of sensual propensities, and a
contemplative life, destroy spontaneity, and produce apathy. The
Persians recommend more practical virtues. Both nations, however, as
well as the Jews and Muhammedans, are subject to a great number of
dietetical and ritual observances, which divert them from useful
activity, confine their practical sense, and render inert the innate
perfectibility, the most precious prerogative of mankind. Among all
the Asiatic nations, considered in this work, theocracy, that is, the
junction of the religious and civil laws, doubles the power of
despotism, and commands equally the spiritual and material, the
present and the future world. The Western Christians were in the
course of time fortunate enough to modify the _Asiatic_ morals, to
enlarge the circle of civilization, and to open to themselves a
boundless prospect of progressive knowledge, morality, and happiness.

Finally, there is one idea common as an adjunct to the five religions
of mankind. Common are their failings, common their sufferings, common
is also their consolation――hope. Always regretting a purity,
simplicity, and independence, supposed to have been lost in the past,
because not to be found any where in the present, and never exempt
from oppression, men look to the future, and listen gladly to the
promise of universal reform and restoration to one rule, which each
religionist says, will be his own, to be effected among the Hindus by
_Kalki_, an incarnation of Brahma[204], among the other nations by the
reappearance of their respective _prophet_, _Messiah_, _Mahdi_.

“And then shall come,
When the world’s dissolution shall be ripe,
With glory and pow’r to judge both quick and dead,
To judge th’ unfaithful dead, but to reward
His faithful, and receive them into bliss,
Whether in Heav’n or Earth, for then the Earth
Shall all be Paradise.”[205]

[198] Hermelaus Barbaro relates that, finding the
interpretation of that word so difficult, he one night
invoked the devil for assistance. The old scoffer did not
fail to appear, but told him a word still more unintelligible
than the Greek. Hermolaus at last brought forth the strange
term _perfectihabia_, which, I think, nobody adopted.

[199] Cicero circumscribes the word: _Quasi quandam
continuatam motionem et perennem_ (_Tusc. Quæst._, I. 10).
Budæus translates it _efficacia_.――(On this subject see
_Thesaurus Græcæ linguæ ab Henr. Stephano constructus_, new
edit., Paris, 1838.)

[200] Leibnitz (Op. t. II. p. II. p. 53; t. III. p. 321),
after having said, that to the material mass must be added
some superior principle, which may be called _formal_,
concludes: “This principle of things, whether we call it
_entelechia_, or ‘force,’ is of no matter, provided we
recollect that it can only be explained by the notion of
force.”

[201] Vol. III. p. 276.

[202] _Ibid._, p. 289.

[203] Vol. I. p. 286.

[204] Vol. II. p. 24, and _Vishnu-purana_, transl. of
Wilson, p. 484.

[205] Milton’s Paradise Lost, XII. v. 458-464.

PART III.

CONCLUSION.

§ GENERAL APPRECIATION OF THE DABISTAN AND ITS AUTHOR.

Mohsan Fáni collected in the Dabistán, as I hope to have shown by a
rapid review of its principal contents, various important information
concerning religions of different times and countries. His accounts
are generally clear, explicit, and deserving confidence; they agree in
the most material points with those of other accredited authors. Thus,
to quote one more instance, the accuracy of his topographic
information relative to the marvellous fountain in Kachmir is in the
main confirmed by that published by Bernier who had visited the
country. Our author enlivens his text by interesting quotations from
the works of famous poets and philosophers, and by frequent references
to books which deserve to be known. I beg to mention the _Tabsaret al
âvam_, “Rendering quick-sighted the Vulgar,” which he regrets not to
have before his eyes. His whole work is interspersed with anecdotes
and sayings, characteristic of individuals and sects which existed in
his times. To what he relates from personal observation or other
sources, he frequently adds reflections of his own, which evince a
sagacious and enlightened mind. Thus, he exhibits in himself an
interesting example of Asiatic erudition and philosophy.

The Dabistán adds, if I am not mistaken, not only a few ideas to our
historical knowledge, but also some features to the picture which we
hitherto possessed of the Asiatics. May I be permitted to quote a
remarkable instance relative to the latter? We are wont to speak of
the inherent apathy and stationary condition of the Muhammedans, as an
effect of their legislation. Although this general idea of their
character and state be not unfounded, yet it is carried to such an
exaggerated degree, that we think them incapable of progress. We may
therefore be astonished to find in the work before us[206] a maxim
such as this: “He who does not proceed, retrogrades,” and beside a
declaration attributed to Muhammed himself: “He whose days are alike
is deceived.” Our author, it is true, interprets it in the particular
point of view of an orthodox Súfi, who thinks that there is a degree
of mental perfection, beyond which it is impossible to rise: this was,
he says, the state of Muhammed, the prophet, always the same, from
which no ascent nor descent was possible, the perfection of unity with
God, higher than whom nothing can be: _the blackness beyond which no
color can go_. With the exception of these fits of mysticism, now and
then occurring, it is just to say that Mohsan Fani most commonly leans
to the side of progressive reform.

For the just appreciation of his work, I think it necessary to point
out another opinion, which, very generally entertained, requires to be
considerably modified: I mean that which attributes to the Muhammedans
an unrestrained intolerance in religious matters. On that account, I
beg to refer directly to the book, which to them always was the sacred
source of all rules and precepts of conduct――the Koran. In this
astonishing farrago of truth and falsehood, we find here and there a
great extent of toleration. In fact, Muhammedism was eclectic in all
the religious ideas of its time, Magian, Jewish, and Christian.
Muhammed avowed himself to be “a man like every body;”[207] he did not
pretend, that “the treasures of God were in his power,” nor did he say
“that he knew the secrets of God, neither that he was an angel; no; he
thought only to follow what was revealed to him,”[208] so much every
body else may say and think, He professed his good-will to Christians,
“as inclinable to entertain friendship for the true believers;[209] he
exhorted his followers not to dispute, but in the mildest manner,[210]
against those who have received the Scripture, and wished to come to a
just determination between both parties, that they all worshipped not
any but God.”[211]――“Abraham,” said he, “was neither a Jew nor a
Christian, but one resigned unto God (Moslim); excellence is in the
hand of God; he gives it unto whom he pleaseth.”[212]――Still more; the
prophet seems to give a general license to the professors of every
religion to observe certain rites about which he prohibits all
disputes;[213] nay, he declares: “If the Lord had pleased, verily, all
who are in the earth would have believed in general. Wilt thou
therefore forcibly compel men to be true believers? No soul can
believe but by the permission of God.”[214]

Although the Arabian prophet and his followers too often gave by their
conduct a strong denial to these principles, still the existence of
them in the Koran was a sanction to all those who were disposed to
profess them in words and actions. Such sentiments of religious
toleration are in accordance with similar ones expressed in many
Christian moral treatises, but in none of the latter do I remember to
have read: “that the diversities of religions distributed among
nations, according to the exigency of each, are manifestations of the
divine light and power, and that these various forms, by which God’s
inscrutable essence may be viewed by glimpses, are means of possessing
eternal beatitude, whilst here below the acquisition of knowledge is
sufficient to insure to mankind the enjoyment of concord, friendship,
and agreeable intercourse.”[215]

These appear to be the maxims adopted by the Súfis, and particularly
by those among them who, under Akbar, professed to be _Ilahians_. The
creed of this class exists in our days, although the name has not
survived. To these we may suppose, if to any, Mohsan Fáni belonged. If
we could agree with Erskine that “he was in strict intimacy with the
sect of enthusiasts by whom the Desátir was venerated,” we should
still be obliged to avow, that his enthusiasm had not in the least
influenced his free judgment upon religious matters. His imagination
although justly exalted by sublime notions of the Divinity, certainly
appears now and then bewildered by the mysterious action of unknown
causes; but on other occasions pointing out, in a satirical vein, so
many follies, absurdities, and extravagances prevailing among mankind,
he seems to laugh at all enthusiasm whatsoever, his own not excepted.
In general, there breathes in his words a spirit of independence,
which would command attention even among us in the accustomed circle
of long-established liberty. His boldness in religious controversy
startled even sir W. Jones so much that, in characterising it by the
harsh term of _blasphemy_, the English judge appears for a moment
ready to plead for the abettors of popular superstition, who stood
confounded before the tribunal of the philosophic Akbar.

I shall however not conceal, that Mohsan Fani sometimes paid tribute
to the prevailing ignorance and inveterate prejudices of his time, and
above all, to the sovereign power of early impressions; nor that,
although in many respects he offers in himself an honorable exception
to the general character of his countrymen, he now and then confounds
himself with them. Thus, he was far from being above all popular
superstition. The Asiatic, from the dawn of his reason, is nourished
with the marvellous, trained to credulity, and prepared for mysticism,
the bane of practical life; in short, he imbibes from his infancy a
superstition from which he never frees himself, always prone to
interpret every unusual phenomenon as a miracle. No sort of study
enables him to correct his first impressions, or to enlighten his
ignorance; natural history and experimental philosophy are not
cultivated in Asia. If not an agriculturist, mechanic, tradesman, or
soldier, he devotes himself to the intricacies of metaphysics, and
very commonly to a contemplative life; he becomes an ascetic. Thus he
knows no social life embellished by the refinement of mutual sympathy,
nor the noble vocations of a citizen who lives――with more than one
life in himself, in others, and in the whole community. Such being the
general state of Asia, let us not wonder that Mohsan Fani believed
some strange stories of miracles, and viewed with astonishment tricks
of jugglers, which he relates with serious credulity, strangely
contrasting with his usual good sense, sagacity, and judgment. Thus,
he presents to us a man standing on his head with his heels in the air
during a whole night; others restraining their breath many hours, and
remaining immoveable during two or three days; he speaks of the
miraculous effects of austerity, such as being in different places at
the same time; resuscitating the dead; understanding the language of
animals, vegetables, and minerals; walking on the surface of water,
and through fire and air; commanding the elements; leaving and
reassuming the body; and the like. But let us not forget that such
stories were told elsewhere, and in Europe, even so late as the time
in which the Dabistán was written.

Further, although generally moral and judicious in his sentences,
grave and austere in his views, fervent and exalted in devout
contemplation, our author now and then happens to use the language of
ribaldry and indecency, which deserves serious reprobation. We shall
however remark that taste, or the sense of propriety in words and
expressions among Asiatics differs, as much as their general
civilisation, from ours. From religious austerity they banished the
elegant arts, as objects of sensuality; but, as they could not stifle
this essential part of human nature, they only prevented its useful
refinement; they clipt the delicate flower, but left the brute part of
it: hence the grossness of their jokes, expressions, and images. “To
sacrifice to the graces” is, among them, not understood at all, or
thought an abomination. But they cannot be said to _violate_ laws
which they do not know; the offence which they give from want of taste
and decency, is purely unintentional, and cannot with them have that
evil effect which, among us, it would be likely to produce.

As to the general style of the Dabistán――it is only in the original
text itself, that it can be justly appreciated. It will perhaps
sufficiently appear from our translation that it distinguishes itself
favorably among other Oriental works with which it may be compared.
The diction is generally free from their usual bombast; it is commonly
clear, and when obscure to an European reader, it is so on account of
the strangeness and abstruseness of the matter treated. As to form――if
judged according to the rules of Western criticism, the work of Mohsan
Fani may be found deficient in the distribution and arrangement of
matter; there are useless repetitions, incoherences, disorder, abrupt
digressions, and excess, sonetimes of prolixity, at others of
concision. Although we have reason to praise him for generally naming
the source from which he drew his information, still we can but
regret, now and then, his not sufficiently authenticating nor
explaining the particulars which he relates. Thus we could wish him to
have been more explicit concerning the Desátir. Upon the whole, we
cannot accuse him of not having performed what, in his time and
circumstances, was hardly possible, and what hitherto no Asiatic
author has achieved. We ought to keep in mind how much, with respect
to the perfection of literary publications, we owe solely to the art
of printing, the practice of which, by its own nature, necessitates
and facilitates a manifold revision and correction of the text, which
otherwise could hardly take place. This alone sufficiently accounts
for the frequent defects even of the best manuscript works.

Striking an equitable balance between faults and excellencies, and
with particular regard to the abundance of curious, useful, and
important information, I shall not hesitate to express my sincere
persuasion, that the Dabistán was worthy of the eulogy bestowed by the
great Orientalist who first brought it into public notice.

[206] Vol. III. p. 287.

[207] The Koran, ch. XVIII. v. 100.

[208] _Ibid._, ch. VI. v. 49.

[209] _Ibid._, ch. V. vv. 86. 88.

[210] _Ibid._, ch. XXIX. v. 45.

[211] _Ibid._, ch. III. v. 57.

[212] _Ibid._, vv. 61. 66. 67.

[213] _Ibid._, ch. XX. v. 66.

[214] _Ibid._, ch. X. vv. 99. 100.

[215] See Epilogue.

§ II.――NOTICE CONCERNING THE PRINTED EDITION, SOME MANUSCRIPTS, AND
THE TRANSLATIONS OF THE DABISTAN.

It is well known, that the only printed edition of the Dabistán which
exists is due to the press of Calcutta. At the end of the work will be
found the Epilogue of the editor, _Moulavi Nazer Ushruf_, a learned
Muhammedan gentleman of the district of Juanpur, who was for many
years employed in judicial offices in the district of Burdwan, and in
the court of Sudder Diwani Adawlet, in Calcutta. These particulars
were communicated to me by the favor of the honorable gentleman whose
name the said editor mentions in his Epilogue with encomium, the
sincerity of which can certainly not be questioned: it was William
Butterworth Bayley, at present director and chairman of the Honorable
East India Company. It was he, a distinguished Persian scholar, who
directed and superintended the edition of the Dabistán. Upon the
strength of his authority I am enabled to add, that the printed copy
was the result of a careful collation of several manuscript copies of
this work. One was obtained from Delhi (as mentioned in the epilogue),
and another from Bombay; two or three were in the possession of
natives in Calcutta. Although these, as it is more or less the case
with all manuscripts, procurable in India, were defective, yet we may
believe the assurance given by the editor, that “the doubts and faults
have been as much as possible discarded, and the edition carried to a
manifest accuracy.” This is confirmed by the fact, that only a few
discrepancies from the printed edition were found in two other
manuscripts, which were in England at the disposition of the late
David Shea for the translation of the first part of the Dabistán. Nor
did I find frequent deviations from the printed text in the copy which
was transcribed for me in Calcutta from a manuscript, procured from
the library of the king of Oude. Mutilated in many places, and
imperfect as is this latter, it afforded me nevertheless a few
acceptable readings. I was obliged to content myself with the
assistance of this only manuscript for the translation, as several
circumstances, among which was the lamented death of the earl of
Munster, prevented me from obtaining the use of other manuscript
copies. All circumtances considered, I do not hesitate to say, that
the printed edition of the Dabistán is more correct than any of the
manuscript copies which can be found; we have only to regret that its
typography, owing to the then imperfect state of the Oriental press in
Calcutta, is so irregular, as to be scarce entitled to any preference
over the common sort of Persian manuscripts.

The English translation of the Dabistán was begun some time before the
year 1835, by David Shea, one of the professors of Oriental languages
at Hayleybury. He was in his early years distinguished in the
university of Dublin for his classical attainments, and remained
devoted to literature in all the various circumstances of his life. It
was not for, nor in, India――the great object and school of English
students――but in Malta, from peculiar inducement, that, by uncommon
application, he acquired the Arabic and Persian languages. After his
return to England, having been attached to the Hayleybury college――I
should not fail to add to his eulogy by saying, that he had before won
the kind interest and recommendation of sir Graves Haughton――and
having become a member of the committee of the Oriental Translation
Fund, he earned the applause of Orientalists in England, and on the
continent of Europe, by his faithful and spirited translation of
Mirkhond’s history of the early kings of Persia. Undertaking the
translation of the Dabistán, he was undoubtedly preparing to himself a
new success, the full realisation of which he was not permitted to
enjoy; the last date in his manuscript copy, in which he was wont to
mark the progress of his labor, was April 22, 1835. From this day he
appears to have withdrawn his hand from the Dabistán, and too soon
after――I shall be permitted to use the very words of the author whom
he was translating:[216]

“He sought the stores of holy liberty,
A resting place on high, and soar’d from hence
Beyond the bounds of heaven, earth, and time.”

It was in the beginning of the year 1837 that I was honored by the
earl of Munster, the vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain and Ireland, with the proposal of completing and editing
the English Dabistán. Having already several years before been
occupied with the same work whilst pursuing my Indian studies, I was
so much the more prompted to accept the proffered honor. Engaged
however as I then was in publishing my French translation of the first
six books of the _Rajatarangini_ from the Sanscrit, I could not begin
the new work before 1841. This delay was the cause of my being
deprived of the desired honor and satisfaction of presenting my
translation to the earl of Munster, who while in the full enjoyment of
life, welcomed with a benevolent interest every contribution, however
small, to the general diffusion of Oriental history and literature; he
had accepted in Paris my Dedication a short time before his death; it
remains to me to consecrate, with a profound feeling of regret and
veneration for departed worth, the English Dabistán to his memory.

I took charge of the manuscript copy of David Shea’s version, which
had been carried to page 201 of the printed Calcutta edition.[217] In
this there were only a few omissions to be supplied, and no other
rectifications to be made but those which a second review would have
suggested to my learned predecessor himself; his notes, and those
which I thought necessary to add, are marked each with the initials of
our respective names.

If I found little to change, I had much to imitate in David Shea’s
translation――his faithfulness and clearness. By faithfulness I
understand not only expressing truly the sense, but also keeping
unaltered the words, figures, images, and phrases of the original, as
it is in them that the author’s national and individual peculiarity is
manifested. This sort of faithfulness may roughen or hamper the
phrase, destroy the elegance of style, and even offend good taste, but
by it alone we shall not only know, as I have just observed, the
genius of the foreign writer, but also satisfy the exigencies of
philology, which is one of the main purposes of translations not
undertaken as mere exercises of improvable eloquence.

An author will not employ more or other words than those he thinks
necessary for being understood by readers of his own nation, religion,
school; he writes, for instance, as a Muhammedan for Muhammedans, a
Súfi for Súfis. But a translator must do his best for uniting
faithfulness with clearness, the indispensable condition of any speech
or writing; he must add what is required for illustrating the original
text, and thus submit to a charge, now and then heavier than he can
bear.

Under the necessity of expounding the translation by notes, I was not
actuated by the ambition of being new, but only by that of being as
useful as my means permitted, that is, by endeavoring to spare the
reader time and trouble to look for dates and biographical notices of
the persons, the situation of the places, and the explanation of the
technical terms which occur in the text. Orientalists know the
difficulty of rendering in a European language the phraseology of the
Asiatic theology and philosophy. The Dabistán presents, besides the
Sanscrit, a confusion of Arabic and Persian technical expressions;
some of them have a very comprehensive signification, and for the sake
of clearness must be rendered by different terms in different places;
other expressions have at times a particular sense, and are at other
times to be taken in the common acceptation; the same terms must be
translated by different words, and different terms by the same;
finally, the matter treated of is frequently so abstruse in its nature
that professed philosophers have not yet been able to agree upon some
of the most important questions. I can therefore but apprehend that I
may not have thoroughly understood, and must confess that I have not
translated, to my own satisfaction, more than one passage relative to
Indian doctrines, and to the Muhammedan scholastic philosophy.

The Sanscrit names and terms of Indian mythology, theology, and
philosophy are much corrupted by the Persian spelling; I have
endeavored to restore them to their original forms. I thought it right
to adduce in most cases the Sanscrit, Arabic, or Persian word at the
same time in Roman as well as Devanagari, or Arabic characters, with
its interpretation. I followed the rule proposed by sir William Jones
for writing oriental words in Roman characters, as often as I took
these words from a Sanscrit, Persian, or Arabic text; but from works
written in a European language, I was generally obliged to copy the
spelling of Oriental names: on which account, in my notes, a
regretable inequality of orthography could not be avoided.

The Dabistán not only touches upon most difficult points of science
and erudition, but also comprises in its allusions and references
nearly the whole history of Asia. In observing this, I am necessarily
at the same time pointing to the many deficiencies which will be found
in my attempts to comment and illustrate so comprehensive and
diversified a text. The best advantage which a man obtains at the
termination of an arduous work, is to have enabled himself to make it
better, if he could begin again; but he can but humbly submit to the
decrees of an all-ruling power, which bestows upon each mortal only a
certain measure of faculties and of time.

Desirous to fulfil my task to the best of my abilities, I did not
neglect to consult every translation of any part of the Dabistán which
had been published. I have already mentioned, in this preface,[218]
that Gladwin edited the Persian text of a part of the first chapter
with an English version which was worthy of his reputation as an
excellent Orientalist. Every thing that came from the pen of the late
doctor Leyden deserved attention. I had before my eyes his translation
of chapter IX., on the religion of the Roshenian.[219] I did not
neglect the abridged interpretation of the religious controversies
held before Akbar, given in form of a dialogue by the learned and
ingenious Vans Kennedy.[220] I perused with due regard the
explanations which the illustrious Silvestre de Sacy furnished of some
passages of the Dabistán[221] since this work became known to him in
1821, as well as the remarks cursorily made upon it by some
Orientalists.

I did not fail also to profit by the advantages which my residence in
Paris, and my connections with distinguished cultivators of Oriental
literature, could afford me on behalf of my translation. It is my duty
to acknowledge the services which I received from the kindness of M.
Garcin de Tassy, professor of Hindostanee, whose intimate acquaintance
with Arabic and Persian literature in general, and with Muhammedan
theology in particular, is attested by several esteemed works which he
has published. The many Arabic passages, disseminated in the Dabistán,
have mostly been revised, interpreted, and referred to the Koran, by
him. M. Eugène Burnouf, professor of Sanscrit, is never in vain
consulted concerning that part of ancient philology in which he has
acquired a most particular and eminent distinction. I also constantly
experienced the most friendly readiness to tender me information, when
required, in M. Julius Mohl and baron Mac Guckin de Slane, as well as
in M. Reinaud, professor of Arabic, attached to the Royal Library, a
most distinguished conservator and most complaisant communicator of
the valuable manuscripts under his special charge. I beg these
honorable gentlemen to receive my sincerest acknowledgments.

[216] See vol. I. p. 131.

[217] In the English transl. to vol. II. p. 85.

[218] P. vi.

[219] See _As. Res._, vol. XI. pp. 406-420; Calcutta quarto
edit.; and vol. III. pp. 26-42 of this work.

[220] See Transact. of the Bombay Lit. Soc., vol. II. pp.
242-270, and vol. III. of this work, p. 50 _et seq._

[221] See _Journal des Savans, février 1821_, Review of the
Desátir; and December, 1821, and January, 1822, Review of
Thulok’s work upon Súfism.

THE DABISTÁN,

SCHOOL OF MANNERS.

THE DABISTÁN,

OR,

SCHOOL OF MANNERS.

[222]In the name of the bountiful and merciful God.

Verse.[223]

“O Thou, whose name is the beginning of the book of the children
of the school,
Thy remembrance is to the adult amongst the Sages the torch of
their nightly retirement;
Without thy name the tongue fails the palate of the barbarians,
Although they know the language of Arabia;[224]
_Having_ the heart in the body _full_ of thy remembrance, the
novice, as well as the adept, in contemplation
_Becomes_ a supreme king of beatitude, and the throne of the kingdom
of gladness.
Whatever road I took, it joined the street _which leads_ to Thee;
The desire _to know_ thy being is also the life of the meditators;
He who found that there is nothing but Thee, has found the _final_
knowledge;
The móbed is the teacher of thy truth, and the world a school.”

Blessing without limit to the mighty Being, the Lord of existence, the
rider upon the sun of the celestial sphere _which is_ the eye-witness
_of his glory_; _to Him_ whose servant is Saturn, Baharam (Mars) the
messenger, Jupiter the star, _the herald of good fortune_, Venus the
slave; _to Him who is_ the ornament of the throne of the empire of the
faith, and the crown of divinity of the kingdom of truth.”

Masnavi.[225]

“The being to whom the holy God said:
If not thee, I would not have created the worlds;[226]
That primitive wisdom and that soul of the world;
That man of spirit, and that spirit of man.
Blessing be also to the Khalifs of the faithful, and to the
Lords of the Imáns of the faith.”[227]

Rabaâi (quatrain).

“The world is a book full of knowledge and of justice,
The binder of which book is destiny, and the binding the
beginning and the end;
The suture of it is the law, and the leaves are the religious
persuasions;
The whole nation is formed of its disciples, and the apostle is
the teacher.”

In this book, called “The Dabistan,” is contained something of the
knowledge and faith of past nations, of the speeches and actions of
modern people, as it has been reported by those who know what is
manifest, and see what is concealed; as well as by those who are
attached to exterior forms, and by those who discern the inward
meaning, without omission, and diminution, without hatred, envy and
scorn, and without taking a part for the one, or against the other
side of the question.

This work is composed of several chapters.

CHAPT. I. treats of the religion of the _Pársián_.
CHAPT. II. of the religion of the _Hindus_.
CHAPT. III. of the religion of the _Tabitían_.
CHAPT. IV. of the religion of the _Yahud_ (Jews).
CHAPT. V. of the religion of the _Tarasás_ (Christians).
CHAPT. VI. of the religion of the _Muselmáns_.
CHAPT. VII. of the religion of the _Sádakíah_.
CHAPT. VIII. of the religion of the _Váhadiáh_ (Unitarians).
CHAPT. IX. of the religion of the _Rósheníán_.
CHAPT. X. of the religion of the _Ilahíah_.
CHAPT. XI. of the religion of the Wise (Philosophers).
CHAPT. XII. of the religion of the _Súfiah_.

[222] The words in italic are not in the Persian text.

[223] The five distichs are in the metre called هزج,
“hazaj,” composed of the following feet: مفعول مفاعيل فاعيل
فعولن. See _M. Garcin de Tassy, author of the “Mémoire sur
le système métrique des Arabes, adapté à la langue
Hindoustani.”_ 1832.

[224] This distich contains the same idea as the following
of Nizámi:
هر که نه گويا بتوخاموش به
هر چه نه ياد تو فراموش به

“It is better not to speak than to speak of another but
thee; it is better to leave in oblivion what does not remind
of thee.” _Quoted in the “Rudimens de la langue
Hindoustani,” by the author just mentioned (p. 16 and 25)._

[225] The two distichs are in a metre, which is a variety of
the _hazaj_, before mentioned, and is composed as follows:
مفعول مفاعلن فعولن.

[226] This verse expresses the same idea as the following
hemistich of the Arabic poem, called Borda, and composed by
Sharf-eddin-al Búsíri:

لولاه لما تخرج الدنيا من العدم

“Without him the world would never have come forth from
nothingness.” This is one of the celebrated traditions
respecting Muhammed, contained in the following words:

لولاک ما حلقت الافلاک

“If it had not been for thee (Muhammed), the worlds would
never have been created.” This encomiastic expression has
been reproduced in several other poems, Arabic, Persian, and
Hindostani. _See upon this subject, “Les aventures de
Kamrup,” p. 146-147, and “Les OEuvres de Wali,” p. 51-52,
traduites de l’Hindoustani, par M. Garcin de Tassy._

[227] The manuscript of Oude has here: محسن فانی گوبه,
“Mohsen Fáni says:” which would leave no doubt upon the name
of the author of this book, if these words were not a mere
addition of the copyist.

CHAPTER I.

OF THE RELIGION OF THE PARSIÁN.

This chapter is divided into fifteen sections.

SECT. I. of the religious tenets and ceremonies of the _Sipásíán_.
SECT. II. of the distinguished men amongst the _Sipásíán_.
SECT. III. of the ordinances contained in the book revealed to _Abád_.
SECT. IV. of the _Jemsháspián_.
SECT. V. of the _Samrádíán_.
SECT. VI. of the religion of the _Khodáníán_.
SECT. VII. of the tenets of the _Rádîan_.
SECT. VIII. of the religion of the _Shídrangíán_.
SECT. IX. of the belief of the _Pykeríán_.
SECT. X. of the tenets of the _Miláníán_.
SECT. XI. of the doctrines of the _Aláríán_.
SECT. XII. of the religious opinions of the _Shídábíán_.
SECT. XIII. of the religion of the _Akhshíán_.
SECT. XIV. of the belief of the _Zerdushtián_.
SECT. XV. of the doctrine of the _Mazdakíán_.

SECTION I.

[228]Here commences the history of the tenets and ceremonies observed
by the _Sipásíán_ and _Pársíán_.

Among the _Parsíán_, called also the _Iraníán_, is a sect styled the
_Yazadíán_ or _Yazdáníán_, _Abádíán_, _Sipásíán_, _Hushián_,
_Anushkán_, _Azarhóshangíán_, and _Azaríán_. They believe it
impossible for man, by the force of intellect, or the energy of
spirit, to comprehend the exalted essence of the Almighty and Holy
Lord. Entity, unity, identity, or all his divine attributes of
knowledge and life, constitute the fountain of his holy essence. He
is, in the most comprehensive sense, the paramount, omnipotent Lord
over all things, whether considered collectively, or in the changes
incident to their component parts. All his works and operations are in
conformity to his exalted will: if he wills, he acts; if he wills not,
he acts not; but works worthy of adoration are as inseparable from his
honored essence, as his other glorious attributes of perfection.――Urfí
of Shíráz thus expresses himself:

“Thy essence is able to call into being all that is impossible,
Except to create one like thyself.”

The first creation of his existence-bestowing bounty was the precious
jewel of the intellectual principle, called _Azad Bahman_; the solar
ray which constitutes the excellence of his august existence is from
the essence of the light of lights. From the effulgence of _Bahman_,
or the “First Intelligence,” proceeded another, along with the spirit
and body of the Pure Ether or Crystalline Sphere. In like manner from
this second _Serúsh_[229] or “angel” there emanated three similar
rays; so that every star in the universe, whether in motion or at
rest, that is, every planet and fixed star, and also every one of the
heavens, has its peculiar intellect and spirit.

They also believe that the heavens exceed the compass of numbers, and
that the spheres are as many in number as the stars: also that every
star has its own firmament, but that the movements of their spheres
are in accordance with those of the zodiacal firmament.

In like manner, each of the four elements has its separate guardian,
from the _Nuristan_ (region of light), or the world of Intellects:
which angel is styled _Parvardigar_ or _Parvardigar-i-Gunah_; _Dara_
or _Dara-i-Gunah_; and in Arabic, “_Rab-un-naw”_ or “Lord of the
species;” in the same manner, all their relations, or every species,
has its peculiar regent from the _Nuristan_ or ‘region of
light.’――They regard the subsisting spirit of man, or the reasonable
human soul, as eternal and infinite. Sáid says thus:

“No sign of man or world appeared on the tablet of existence
When the soul breathed forth pursuant to thy will in the school of
love.”

It is related in some of the esteemed records of this sect, that by
_eternal souls_ are meant, the spirits of the spheres: and that human
souls are a creation, but eternal: also, that some human temperaments
are so constituted, that souls from the upper world are conferred on
them: whilst others are adapted for having attached to them souls
abstracted from matter; that such appropriation is regulated by
influence of the spheres, and is concealed from the sight of the most
profound thinkers. They also say, when this immortal spirit attains to
eminence in praise-worthy knowledge and belief, that is, pure faith
and good works, that on leaving this lower body, it succeeds in
uniting itself to the sublime uncompounded spirits: but should it not
attain to this high, emancipation-bestowing degree, it is united to
that sphere, in relation to which its acts were upright. If the
habitual language were praise-worthy and the works performed
meritorious, but it should not have attained to the rank of union with
a sphere, it being then divested of corporeal elements, remains in the
lower world with the similitude of a bodily form, and in consequence
of its praise-worthy qualities, it enjoys in appearance the view of
the nymphs, palaces, and bright rose-bowers of paradise, and becomes a
_Zamíní-Serush_, or ‘Terrestrial Angel.’ But if its words have been
reprehensible,[230] and also accompanied with evil deeds, on deserting
this material body, it obtains not another similarly constituted and
is unable to reach the _Shídastan_ or ‘the region of Light.’ Being
thus separated from the primitive source, it remains in the abode of
Elements, in the Hell of concupiscence and passion and the flames of
remorse: ultimately it becomes the prey of malady, but does not obtain
a higher mansion: the soul of such a description finally becomes an
_Ahriman_, or ‘Evil Demon.’ If in a spirit destitute of praiseworthy
conversation, the good actions preponderate,[231] but in consequence
of the attachment of the heart to matter, or through ignorance, such a
spirit attains not to the dignity of liberation, it removes from one
body to another, until by the efficacy of good words and deeds, it is
finally emancipated from body and gains a high rank. Sarábí thus says:

“The truly free, as soon as possible, disengages himself from body:
If he cannot extricate himself from skin, let him resign his
doublet.”

But if the spirit be prone to error, it descends successively from the
human frame to the animal body: such are the doctrines of their
distinguished men. Some however of this sect, in whose language all is
metaphorical and figurative, assert, that sometimes the spirit,
through excessive wickedness, becomes by insensible degrees connected
with plants and vegetables; and frequently, by progressive gradations,
becomes joined to mineral or metallic substances. According to this
class of believers, there is an uncompounded soul in each of the three
kingdoms of nature: and they acknowledge that every thing possesses a
ray of existence emanating from _Shíd Shídan_, or ‘Effulgence of
Light.’ One of the eminent men, agreeably to this view, has said:

“The soul is the marrow of certainty, the body its envelope:
In the robes of spirit contemplate the form of a friend (the
Creator).
Whatever object bears the impress of existence,
Regard it as the reflexion of light, or his very self.”

They also hold that the world bears the same affinity to the Creator,
as the solar light doth to the body of the sun; that it has existed
from all eternity and will continue to all infinity. They maintain
that, whatever exists in this world, or that of formation and
evanescence, depends on the influence of the stars; also that
astronomers and astrologers have found out some few effects of the
influence of the seven planets, but are ignorant of the natures and
influences of the slow-moving or fixed stars. The possessors of
_Fardát_ and _Fartáb_, or those who are directed by inspiration and
revelation, have laid down that every star, whether fixed or
planetary, is regent during certain periods of several thousand years:
one thousand years being assigned to each star, without the
association of any other: on the termination of which, in the
subsequent millennia, both the fixed and planetary stars are
successively associated with it――that is, in commencing the series
with a fixed star, we call the fixed star which is Lord of the Cycle,
the First King; on the termination of the millennium appropriated to
him, another fixed star becomes partner with the First King, which
partner we style First Minister: but the supremacy and dominion of the
period belong exclusively to the First King: on the termination of the
second millennium,――the period of office assigned to the First
Minister expires, and another star is associated with the First King;
and so on, until the fixed stars are all gone through: on which Saturn
becomes associated with the First King, and continues so during a
thousand years, and so with the other planets, until the period of
association with the moon arrives: then terminates the supremacy of
the fixed star, named the First King, and his authority expires. After
the First King, the star associated with him in the second millennium,
and which was called the First Minister, now attains the supremacy and
becomes Lord of the Cycle, during which cycle of sovereignty we style
him the Second King, with a thousand years appropriated to his special
rule as before stated. In the following millennium another fixed star
becomes his associate, as above mentioned, and goes through a similar
course. When the period of the moon’s association arrives, the moon
remains joined with the Second King during a millennium, on the
completion of which, that fixed star, the term of whose sovereignty
has passed away, and who commenced the cycle, under the style of First
King, is associated with the Lord of the Cycle, styled the Second
King; after which, the empire of the Second King’s star also
terminates and becomes transferred to another: thus all the fixed
stars in succession become kings, until they are all gone through, on
which the principality and supremacy come to _Shat Kaivan_, or ‘the
Lord Saturn,’ with whom in like manner the fixed stars and planets are
associated for their respective millennia,――when the dominion comes to
the _Shat Máh_, or ‘Lunar Lord,’ his period is ended as before stated,
the cycle completed, and one great circle or revolution has been
described.――On the expiration of this great period, the sovereignty
reverts to the First King; the state of the revolving world
recommences; this world of formation and evanescence is renovated; the
human beings, animals, vegetable and mineral productions which existed
during the first cycle, are restored to their former language, acts,
dispositions, species and appearance, with the same designations and
distinctions; the successive regenerations continually proceeding on
in the same manner. The prince of physicians, _Abu Alí_ (whose spirit
may God sanctify!) expresses himself to this purport:

“_Every_ form and image, which seems at present effaced,
Is securely stored up in the treasury of time――
When the same position of the heavens again recurs,
The Almighty reproduces each from behind the mysterious veil.”

It is here necessary to remark, that their meaning is not, that the
identical spirits of _Abad_, _Kaiomors_, _Siáymak_ and _Húshang_ shall
be imparted to the identical material bodies long since abandoned, or
that the scattered members of the body shall be reassembled and
reunited: such sentiments, according to them, are absurd and
extravagant: their real belief is this, that forms similar to those
which have passed away, and bodies resembling the primitive ones,
their counterpart in figure, property and shape, shall appear,
speaking and acting exactly in the same manner. How could the exalted
spirits of the perfect, which are united with angels, return back?
They also maintain that men do not arise from their own species,
without father or mother: but they affirm that, as a man and woman
were left at the commencement of the past cycle, so there shall two
remain in the present cycle, for the continuance of the human race.
For although the heavens are the sires of the three natural kingdoms
or productive principles, and the elements their mother, yet this much
only has been imparted to us, that man is born of man, and is not
produced after any other fashion.

The followers of the ancient faith call one revolution of the regent
Saturn, a day; thirty such days, one month; twelve such months, one
year; a million of such years, one _fard_;[232] a million _fard_, one
_vard_; a million _vard_, one _mard_; a million _mard_, one _jád_;
three thousand _jád_, one _vád_; and two thousand _vád_, one
_zád_.[232]――According to this mode of computation, the happiness and
splendor of the Máhábádian dynasty lasted one hundred zád of years.
They believe it impossible to ascertain the commencement of human
existence; and that it is not to be comprehended by human science:
because there is no epoch of identical persons, so that it is
absolutely impossible to form any definite ideas on the subject, which
resembles an arithmetical infinite series. Such a belief also agrees
with the philosophy and opinions of the Grecian sages.

From the authority of esteemed works, they account _Máhábád_ the first
of the present cycle; as in reality he and his wife were the survivors
of the great period, and the bounteous Lord had bestowed on them so
immense a progeny, that from their numbers, the very clefts of the
mountains were filled. The author of the _Amíghistan_ relates, that
they were acquainted only to a trifling degree with the viands, drinks
and clothing which through the bounty of God are now met with:
besides, in that cycle there existed no organization of cities,
systems of policy, conditions of supremacy, rules of authority and
power, principles of _Nushád_ or law, nor instruction in science and
philosophy, until through the aid of celestial grace, joined to the
manifold favors and bounties of God, the uncontrolled authority of
_Máhábád_ pervaded alike the cultivated region and the wild waste; the
wide expanse of land and sea. Through divine illumination, in
conjunction with his spiritual nature, the assistance of his guiding
angel and the eyes of discernment; and also what he had seen and heard
in the past cycle, he meditated on the creation of the world: he then
clearly perceived that the nine superior divisions, and the four lower
elements, the subjects of existence, are blended and associated with
distinct essences and accidents, so as to combine together opposing
movements with contrary dispositions and natures: and that the
aggregate of this whole indispensably requires a supreme bestower of
connection, a blender and creator: also that whatever this bestower of
relation wills, and this all perfect in wisdom does, cannot be
destitute of utility and wisdom: Máhábád therefore dispatched persons
to all quarters and regions of the world, to select from land and
water all productions and medicinal plants held in esteem for their
various properties; these he planted in a proper site, so that by the
aid of the terrene and aqueous particles, the influence of atmospheric
temperature, in conjunction with the sidereal energies, their powers
of vegetation, nutritious qualities, and properties might be
ascertained. At the time of promulgating this excellent purpose, the
sovereign of the starry host entered in glory the mansion of Aries;
and the rapidly-sketching painter of destiny drew forth the faces of
the brides of the gardens (blossoms and flowers): then, through the
efficacy of command, experiment, and examination, Máhábád extracted
from the various flowers, fruits, leaves and fibres, the different
alimentary substances, medicinal compounds, viands and beverages. He
next commanded all sorts of ores to be fetched from the mines and
liquified in the furnace, so that the different metals concealed in
them became visible. Out of iron, which combines hardness and
sharpness, he formed warlike weapons for the brave; jewels, gold,
silver, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and chrysolithes, in which he
observed smoothness and capability of polish, he assigned as
decorations for kings, military chieftains, and matrons. He also
ordered persons to descend into the deep waters and bring forth the
shells, pearls, corals, etc. People were commanded to shear the fleece
of sheep and other animals: by him also were invented the arts of
spinning, weaving, cutting up, sewing and clothing. He next organized
cities, villages, and streets; erected palaces and colonnades;
introduced trade and commerce; and divided mankind into four classes.
The first was composed of _Hírbeds_, _Mobeds_,[233] ascetics, and
learned men, selected for maintaining the faith and enforcing the
sentence of the laws: these are also called _Birman_ and
_Birmun_;[234] that is, they resemble the _Barínían_ or supreme
beings, the exalted angels: they also style them _Húristár_.[235] The
second class consists of kings and intrepid warriors, who devote
themselves to the cares of government and authority, to the promotion
of equity and the curbing of oppression; those they call _Chatramán_,
_Chatraman_, and _Chatrí_:[236] this word _Chatrí_ means a standard or
distinction; as people of high rank have a _Chatra_,[237] or umbrella,
to protect them with its shade, which they call _Sayah dar_ and _Sayah
ban_; the people repose under the shade of the individuals of this
class, who are also called _Núristár_.[238] The third class is
composed of husbandmen, cultivators, artisans, skilful men, and
mechanics; these are called _Bás_,[239] which is synonymous with
_Bisyár_ or numerous; as this class should far exceed in number all
the others. _Bás_ also means cultivation and improvement, results
which altogether depend on this order――they are also styled
_Suristár_.[240] The fourth class are destined for every kind of
employment and service; they are called _Súdín_, _Súdí_, and
_Súd_:[241] from them profit, indulgence, and ease accrue to society:
they are also called _Rúzistar_.[242] He instituted these four
classes,[243] the four elements of society, and the sources of
organization were completed; independence and want appeared; there
were produced the gradations of ruler and subject; of lord and
servant; discipline and authority; justice and knowledge; kindness and
severity; protection of the _Zindbar_ or kind treatment of innoxious
creatures; destruction of the _Tundbar_ or noxious animals; the
knowledge of God and the ceremonies of his worship.

God also sent _Abád_ a code called the _Dasátir_,[244] in which are
formed all languages and sciences. This work consisted of several
volumes, containing a certain number for each dialect. In it was also
the language called _Asmání_, or the Celestial, not a trace of which
has remained in any of the languages spoken by the inhabitants of this
lower world. _Abád_ also assigned a language to every nation, and
settled each in a suitable place: and thus were produced the Parsi,
Hindi, Greek and such like.

According to this sect, authentic revelation is only obtained by the
world of ecstacy or similitude, called _Mánistán_; but from the time
of _Máhábád_, all the prophets who were sent were in accordance with
his faith; not one of them being opposed to his law. After _Máhábád_,
appeared thirteen apostles who, with him, were styled the fourteen
_Máhábáds_: they were called by the common name of _Abád_, and acted
on every occasion in conformity to their ancestor and his Celestial
Code: and whatever revelation was made to them tended to corroborate
the faith of _Máhábád_.[245] After them, their sons in due succession
obtained sovereign power, after their fathers, and devoted themselves
to justice. The followers of this sect also believe that all the
prophets and kings were selected from the heads of the most
distinguished families.

Next to this dynasty, known as the Mahabadian, comes _Abád Azád_, who
withdrew from temporal power and walked in the path of devotion and
seclusion. It is recorded, that in their time, the realm was highly
cultivated; treasures were abundant; lofty palaces, ornamented with
paintings and exciting admiration; colonnades attracting the heart;
the Mobeds celebrated, profoundly learned, worshippers of God,
undefiled, equally eminent in good words and deeds; soldiers,
well-appointed and disciplined, with corresponding trains of
attendants and officers; mountain-resembling elephants; chargers like
fragments of _Alburz_,[246] rapid in their course; swift-paced animals
for riding; numerous camels and dromedaries; well-trained cavalry and
infantry, and leaders who had experience in the world; precious
stuffs; vases of gold and silver; thrones and crowns of great price;
heart-delighting tapestries and gardens with other such objects, the
like of which exists not at present, and were not recorded as being in
existence in the treasures or reigns of the _Gilsháíán_ monarchs.

However, on the mere abandonment of the crown by _Abád Azád_, every
thing went to ruin; so much blood was shed that the mills were turned
by streams of gore; all that had been accomplished by the inventions
and discoveries of this fortunate race was forgotten; men became like
savage and ferocious beasts, and as in former times resumed their
abodes in the mountain-clefts and gloomy caverns; those superior in
strength overpowered and oppressed the weaker. At last some of the
sages eminent for praise-worthy language and deeds, and who possessed
the volume of Máhábád, assembled and went into the presence of _Jai
Afrám_, the son of Abád, who, next his sire was the most undefiled and
intelligent of men, and became one of the great Apostles: he passed
his time in a mountain cave, far removed from intercourse with the
world, and was styled _Jai_ on account of his purity, as in the
_Abádí_ or _Azárí_ language, a holy person is called _Jai_:[247] the
assembled sages with one voice implored his justice, saying: “We know
of no remedy for preserving the world from ruin, excepting the
intercourse of thy noble nature with mankind.” They afterwards recited
to him the counsels, testamentary precepts, traditions and memorials
of the _Abádíán_ princes on the great merit of this undertaking. He
did not however assent, until a divine command had reached him, when
through the influence of revelation and the presence of the
decree-bearing angel, _Gabriel_, he arose and assumed the high
dignity, The realm once more flourished, and the institutes of _Abád_
resumed their former vigor. The last of the fortunate monarchs of the
_Jaí_ dynasty was _Jaí Alád_, who also retired from mankind; when the
dominion had remained in this family during one _aspár_ of years. It
is written in books of high authority that _Jaí Afrám_ was called the
son of _Abád Azád_, because next to his noble ancestor no individual
possessed such great perfections: but in reality many generations
intervened between them: besides, _Jaí Afrám_ was descended from the
sons of _Abád Azád_, so that there is a wide interval between _Sháí
Gilív_ and _Jaí Abád_: in like manner between _Sháí Mahbúl_ and
_Yásán_, and between _Yásán_ and _Gilsháhí_ there must have elapsed
multiplied and numerous generations.

Those who would understand the doctrines of this faith must know, the
process of numeration among this profoundly-thinking sect is as
follows; by tens, hundreds and thousands: one _salám_ equal to one
hundred thousand; one hundred salám, one _shamár_; one hundred
_shámar_, one _aspár_; one hundred _aspár_, one _rádah_; one hundred
_rádah_, one _arádah_; a hundred _arádah_, one _ráz_; a hundred _ráz_,
one _aráz_; and a hundred _aráz_, one _bíáraz_.

Now that their system of computation has been explained, I shall
proceed with their history. They say that when his attendants found
not the auspicious monarch _Jaí Alád_, neither amongst his courtiers,
nor in the royal apartments, or _harem_, nor in the house of praise,
or place of prayer, the affairs of the human race fell once more into
disorder: at length the sages and holy men went and represented the
state of affairs to the praise-worthy apostle _Sháí Gilív_, son of
_Jáí Alád_, who was then engaged in the worship of the Almighty. This
prince, from his great devotion and unceasing adoration rendered to
God, was called _Sháí_ and _Sháyí_, that is a god and a
God-worshipper: his sons were therefore styled _Sháyián_. When the
sages had stated the case, the first _Sháyíán_ prince, _Sháí Gilív_,
having reflected on the cruelty practised towards the animal creation,
arose, through the influence of a celestial revelation and Divine
light, and sat in his illustrious father’s throne. After this happy
dynasty came _Sháí Mahbúl_, when the _Sháíyán_ empire had lasted one
_shamár_ of years.

After these came the _Yásánián_, so called from _Yásán_, the son of
_Sháí Mahbúl_: this prince was exceeding wise, intelligent, holy and
celebrated; the apostle of the age: and being in every respect worthy
of supreme power, was therefore called _Yásán_, or the meritorious and
justly exalted.[248] His mighty sire having withdrawn from mankind,
retired into seclusion, and there giving himself entirely up to the
worship of God, the affairs of the human race again relapsed into
disorder. Tradition informs us, that when these auspicious prophets
and their successors beheld evil to prevail amongst mankind, they
invariably withdrew from among them――as they could not endure to
behold or hear wickedness; and sin had no admission to their breasts.
When the chain of worldly repose had been rent asunder, Yasán, in
obedience to a Divine revelation, seated himself on the throne of
sovereignty, and overthrew evil. Of this happy dynasty the last was
_Yásán Ajám_, when this admirable family had graced the throne during
ninety and nine _salám_ of years. The author of the _Amíghistán_ says:
“The years which I have mentioned are _farsáls_ of Saturn: one
revolution of the regent Saturn, which is allowed to be thirty years,
they call one day; thirty such days, one month; and twelve such
months, one year.” This is the rule observed by the _Yezdánián_, who
write down the various years of the seven planets after this manner:
such is the amount of the saturnian _farsál_. This same system of
computation is applied to the _farsáls_ of Mars, Venus, Mercury and
the moon, a day of each being the time of their respective
revolutions: they at the same time retain the use of the ordinary
lunar and solar months.

It is also to be observed that, according to them, the year is of two
kinds; one the _farsál_, which is after this manner: when the planet
has traversed the twelve mansions of the zodiac, they call it one day;
thirty such days, one month; and twelve such months, one year; as we
have before explained under Saturn. Similar years constitute the
_farsáls_ of the other planets, which they thus enumerate; the
_farsáls_ of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury, and the
moon: the months of the _farsál_ they call _farmáh_; the days of the
farmáh, _farróz_. The second kind of years is, when Saturn in the
period of thirty years traverses the twelve mansions, which they call
a saturnian _karsál_; the _karmáh_ is his remaining two years and a
half in each mansion,――Jupiter describes his period in twelve common
years; this time they call the _hormuzí karsál_; and the _hormuzí
karmáh_ is his remaining one year in each mansion: and so with regard
to the others. However, when we speak of years or months in the
accounts given of the _Gilsháíyán_ princes, solar and lunar years and
months are always meant; day implies the acknowledged day; and by
month is meant the residence of the Great Light in one of the zodiacal
mansions; and by year, his passing through the zodiac; a lunar month
is its complete revolution, and traversing all the signs, which year
and month are also called _Tímúr_.[249]

When Yásán Asám had abandoned this elementary body and passed away
from this abode of wickedness, the state of mankind fell into utter
ruin, as his son _Gilsháh_, who was enlightened in spirit, intelligent
in nature, adorned by good deeds, feeling no wish for sovereign power,
had given himself so entirely up to the service of God, that no one
knew the retreat of this holy personage.――Men therefore, shutting up
the eyes of social intercourse, extended the arm of oppression against
each other; at once the lofty battlements and noble edifices were
levelled to the ground; the deep fosses filled up; mankind being left
destitute of a head, the bonds of society were broken; slaughter was
carried to such excess, that numerous rivers flowed with currents of
blood, streaming from the bodies of the slain: in a short time not a
trace was left of the countless treasures and the boundless stores,
the amount of which defied the computations of imagination. Matters
even came to such an extremity, that men threw off the institutes of
humanity, and were no longer capable of distinguishing the relative
values of precious stones, wares and commodities: they left not a
vestige remaining of palaces and cities; but like ferocious and savage
beasts, took up their dwelling in the mountain caverns.――Besides this,
they fought against each other, so that the multitudes of the human
race were reduced to a scanty remnant.

On this, _Gilsháh_[250] of exalted nature, in obedience to a
revelation from heaven, and to the command of the ruler of the
universe, became the sovereign of mankind: he restored the institutes
of justice, and reassembled the members of his family, who, during his
seclusion, had totally dispersed: on this account he was styled
_Abú-l-Bashr_, or “the Father of the human race,” because with the
exception of his family, the great majority of the others having
fallen in their mutual contests, the survivors had adopted the
pursuits and habitudes of demons and of wild beasts: _Kaiomors_, or
_Gilsháh_, with his sons, then proceeded to give battle to the vile
race, and disabled their hands from inflicting cruelty on the harmless
animals: all that we find in Histories of Kaiomors, and his sons
fighting against demons, refers to this circumstance, and the systems
of faith which sanction the slaughter of animals were all invented by
this demon-like race. In short, the only true Ruler of the world
transmitted a celestial volume to Kaiomors, and also selected for the
prophetic office among his illustrious descendants, _Siyámak_,
_Húsháng_, _Tahmúras_, _Jemshíd_, _Farídún_, _Minucheher_, _Kai
Khúsró_, _Zaratúsht_, _Azár Sásán_ the first, and _Azár Sásán_ the
fifth, enjoining them to walk in conformity with the doctrines of
Máhábád and Kaiomors; so that the celestial volumes which he bestowed
on those happy princes, all their writings and records were in perfect
accord with the code of _Máhábád_: with the exception of _Zaratúsht_,
not one of this race uttered a single word against the book of Abad:
and even Zaratúsht’s words were, by the glosses of the _Yezdániáns_,
made to conform to the _Máhábádian_ code――they therefore style
Zaratúsht, “_Wakhshur-i-Simbari_,” or the parable-speaking prophet.

The Gilsháían monarchs constitute four races; namely, the
_Peshdádían_, _Kaiánián_, _Ashkánián_, and _Sásáníán_: the last of
these kings is _Yezdejird_, the son of _Sheriar_: the empire of these
auspicious sovereigns lasted six thousand and twenty-four years and
five months.[251] During their existence, the world was arrayed in
beauty: _Kaiomors_,[252] _Siyamak_,[253] _Húshang_,[254] named the
_Péshdádián_, _Tahmúras_,[255] surnamed the Enslaver of Demons, and
_Jemshid_,[256] through celestial revelations, Divine assistance, the
instruction of Almighty God, unerring prudence, and just views, having
followed in all things what we have recorded concerning Máhábád and
his illustrious children, introduced the rules of Divine worship, the
knowledge of God, virtuous deeds, purity of conduct, modes of diet,
clothing, the rites of marriage, the observance of continence, with
all kinds of science, letters, books, professions, solemn festivals,
banquets, wind and stringed musical instruments, cities, gardens,
palaces, ornaments, arms, gradations of office, the distinctions of
the two sexes with respect to exposure and privacy, the diffusion of
equity, justice, and all that was praiseworthy.

After these, the Gilsháiyán ruled, through divine inspiration and the
communication of the Almighty added to their intelligence, so that the
greater part of the splendor, pomp, and beauty we now behold in the
world is to be attributed to this happy race: many however of the
excellent institutions of this happy dynasty have fallen into disuse
and a few only remain.

The following is the sum of the _Sipásián_ creed: from the
commencement of _Máhábád’s_ empire to the end of _Yezdejird_’s reign,
the great majority, nay all the individuals of this chosen race, with
the exception of _Zokah_,[257] were models of equity, characterized by
justice and piety, perfect in words and deeds. In this holy family,
some were prophets, all were saints, righteous and God-fearing
persons, with realms and armies maintained in the highest order. They
also acknowledge the apostles and princes prior to _Gilsháh_, from
_Máhábád_ to _Yásán Ajám_, as so eminently pious, that in no degree
whatever did wickedness enter into their conversation or actions: nor
did they at any time deviate from the _Paymán-i-Farhang_, or
“Excellent Covenant,” which is the code of Máhábád, nor omit the
performance of any duty; they also held that the stars are exceedingly
exalted, and constitute the _Kiblah_[258] of the inhabitants of this
lower world.

In the time of _Dáwir Háryár_ (the author of Daraí Sekander), who was
of the _Kaíánian_ race and a follower of the _Yezdanian_ faith, some
one said: “The prophets and faith are higher in dignity than the sun.”
_Dawir_ replied: “Where are now the forms and bodies of that
description of men?” On which that person having stated the names of
the cities and burial places of the prophets, _Dawir_ rejoined:
“During their whole lifetime, the form of no prophet or saint ever
emitted light, even the distance of one day’s journey, and since they
have been committed to the earth, not a single ray has been shed from
their graves: and they are now so blended with the dust that not a
trace of them is left!” The person then said: “the spirits of the
prophets and saints are exceedingly resplendent.” _Dawir_ retorted:
“Behold what amount of light is diffused by the solar globe! whereas
the bodies of your saints are destitute of splendor; therefore rest
assured that his spirit is more resplendent than theirs.――Know
besides, that the sun is the heart of the heavens: if he existed not,
this world of formation and dissolution could not continue: he brings
forth the seasons and the productive energies of nature; moreover, the
prophets were not in the beginning, nor are they in existence now: but
the world endures, the seasons rejoice, and the people are gladdened:
this much however may be conceded, that the prophets and saints are
more exalted than the remainder of the human race.”――On hearing this,
that person was silenced. Lastly, it is stated in the _Akhtaristán_,
that the Sipásíán tenets were, that the stars and the heavens are the
shadows of the incorporeal effulgences; on this account they erected
the temples of the seven planets, and had talismans formed of metal or
stone, suitable to each star: all which talismans were placed in their
proper abode, under a suitable aspect: they also set apart a portion
of time for their worship and handed down the mode of serving them.
When they performed the rites to these holy statues, they burned
before them the suitable incense at the appointed season, and held
their power in high veneration. Their temples were called
_Paikaristan_, or “image-temples,” and _Shidistán_, or “the abodes of
the forms of the luminous bodies.”

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORSHIP RENDERED TO THE SEVEN PLANETS ACCORDING TO
THE SIPASIAN FAITH.――It is stated in the _Akhtaristán_, that the image
of the regent Saturn was cut out of black stone, in a human shape,
with an ape-like head; his body like a man’s, with a hog’s tail, and a
crown on his head; in the right hand a sieve; in the left a serpent.
His temple was also of black stone, and his officiating ministers were
negroes, Abyssinians and persons of black complexions: they wore blue
garments, and on their fingers rings of iron: they offered up storax
and such like perfumes, and generally dressed and offered up pungent
viands; they administered myrobalam, also similar gums and drugs.
Villagers and husbandmen who had left their abodes, nobles, doctors,
anchorites, mathematicians, enchanters, soothsayers and persons of
that description lived in the vicinity of this temple, where these
sciences were taught, and their maintenance allowed them: they first
paid adoration in the temple and afterwards waited on the king. All
persons ranked among the servants of the regent Saturn were presented
to the king through the medium of the chiefs and officers of this
temple, who were always selected from the greatest families in Iran.
The words _Shat_ and _Tímsar_ are appellations of honor, signifying
dignity, just as _Sri_ in Hindi, and _Hazrat_ in Arabic.

The image of the regent _Hormuzd_ (Jupiter) was of an earthy color, in
the shape of a man, with a vulture’s[259] face: on his head a crown,
on which were the faces of a cock and a dragon; in the right hand a
turban; in the left a crystal ewer. The ministers of this temple were
of a terrene hue, dressed in yellow and white; they wore rings of
silver and signets of cornelian; the incense consisted of
laurel-berries and such like; the viands prepared by them were sweet.
Learned men, judges, imans, eminent vizirs, distinguished men, nobles,
magistrates and scribes dwelt in the street attached to this temple,
where they devoted themselves to their peculiar pursuits, but
principally giving themselves up to the science of theology.

The temple of the regent _Bahram_[260] (Mars) and his image were of
red stone: he was represented in a human form, wearing on his head a
red crown: his right hand was of the same color and hanging down; his
left, yellow and raised up: in the right was a blood-stained sword,
and an iron verge in the left. The ministers of this temple were
dressed in red garments; his attendants were Turks with rings of
copper on their hands; the fumigations made before him consisted of
sandaracha and such like; the viands used here were bitter. Princes,
champions, soldiers, military men, and Turks dwelt in his street.
Persons of this description, through the agency of the directors of
the temple, were admitted to the king’s presence. The bestowers of
charity dwelt in the vicinity of this temple; capital punishments were
here inflicted, and the prison for criminals was also in that street.

The image of the world-enlightening solar regent was the largest of
the idols; his dome was built of gold-plated bricks: the interior
inlaid with rubies, diamonds, cornelian and such like. The image of
the Great Light was formed of burnished gold, in the likeness of a man
with two heads, on each of which was a precious crown set with rubies;
and in each diadem were seven _sárún_ or peaks. He was seated on a
powerful steed; his face resembling that of a man, but he had a
dragon’s tail; in the right hand a rod of gold, a collar of diamonds
around his neck. The ministers of this temple were dressed in yellow
robes of gold tissue, and a girdle set with rubies, diamonds, and
other solar stones: the fumigations consisted of sandal wood and such
like: they generally served up acid viands. In his quarter were the
families of kings and emperors, chiefs, men of might, nobles,
chieftains, governors, rulers of countries, and men of science:
visitors of this description were introduced to the king by the chiefs
of the temple.

The exterior of _Nahid’s_[261] (Venus) temple was of white marble and
the interior of crystal: the form of the idol was that of a red man,
wearing a seven-peaked crown on the head: in the right hand a flask of
oil, and in the left a comb: before him was burnt saffron and such
like; his ministers were clad in white, fine robes, and wore
pearl-studded crowns, and diamond rings on their fingers. Men were not
permitted to enter this temple at night. Matrons and their daughters
performed the necessary offices and service, except on the night of
the king’s going there, as then no females approached, but men only
had access to it. Here the ministering attendants served up rich
viands. Ladies of the highest rank, practising austerities,
worshippers of God, belonging to the place or who came from a
distance, goldsmiths, painters and musicians dwelt around this temple,
through the chiefs and directors of which they were presented to the
king: but the women and ladies of rank were introduced to the queen by
the female directresses of the temple.

The dome and image of the regent _Tir_[262] (Mercury) was of blue
stone; his body that of a fish, with a boar’s face: one arm black, the
other white; on his head a crown: he had a tail like that of a fish;
in his right hand a pen, and in the left an inkhorn. The substances
burnt in this temple were gum mastic and the like. His ministers were
clad in blue, wearing on their fingers rings of gold. At their feasts
they served up acidulous viands. Vizirs, philosophers, astrologers,
physicians, farriers, accountants, revenue-collectors, ministers,
secretaries, merchants, architects, tailors, fine writers and such
like, were stationed there, and through the agency of the directors of
the temple, had access to the king: the knowledge requisite for such
sciences and pursuits was also communicated there.

The temple of the regent _Mah_ (the moon) was of a green stone; his
image that of a man seated on a white ox: on his head a diadem in the
front of which were three peaks: on the hands were bracelets, and a
collar around the neck. In his right hand an amulet of rubies, and in
the left a branch of sweet basil: his ministers were clad in green and
white, and wore rings of silver. The substances burnt before this
image were gum arabic and such like drugs. His attendants served up
salted viands. Spies, ambassadors, couriers, news-reporters, voyagers,
and the generality of travellers, and such like persons resided in his
street, and were presented to the king through the directors of the
temple. Besides the peculiar ministers and attendants, there were
attached to each temple several royal commissioners and officers,
engaged in the execution of the king’s orders; and in such matters as
were connected with the image in that temple. In the _Khuristar_ or
“refectory of each temple,” the board was spread the whole day with
various kinds of viands and beverages always ready. No one was
repulsed, so that whoever chose partook of them. In like manner, in
the quarter adjacent to each temple, was an hospital, where the sick
under the idol’s protection were attended by the physician of that
hospital. Thus there were also places provided for travellers, who on
their arrival in the city repaired to the quarter appropriated to the
temple to which they belonged.[263]

It is to be observed, that although the planets are simple bodies of a
spherical form, yet the reason why the above-mentioned images have
been thus formed, is that the planetary spirits have appeared in the
world of imagination to certain prophets, saints, and holy sages under
such forms; and under which they are also connected with certain
influences; and as they have appeared under forms different from these
to other persons, their images have also been made after that fashion.

When the great king, his nobles, retinue and the other Yezdanian went
to the temple of Saturn, they were arrayed in robes of blue and black
hues; expressed themselves with humility, moving with a slow pace,
their hands folded on the breast. In the temple of _Hormuzd_
(Jupiter), they were dressed in his colors, as learned men and judges.
In that of _Bahram_ (Mars) they were clad in the robes peculiar to
him, and expressed themselves in an arrogant manner――but in the temple
of the Sun, in language suitable to kings and holy persons; in that of
Venus, they appeared cheerful and smiling; in the temple of Mercury
they spoke after the manner of sages and orators; and in the moon’s,
like young children and inferior officers.

In every private house there were besides images of the stars, a
minute description of which is given in the _Akhtaristan_. They had
also, in every temple, the spherical or true forms of the several
planets.

There was a city called the royal abode or _saráí_, facing which were
seven temples. On each day of the week, in the dress appropriated to
each planet, the king exhibited himself from an elevated _tabsar_ or
window, fronting the temple of the planet, whilst the people, in due
order and arrangement, offered up their prayers. For example, on
Sunday or _Yakshambah_, he shewed himself clad in a yellow kabá or
tunic of gold tissue, wearing a crown of the same metal, set with
rubies and diamonds, covered with many ornaments of gold from the
tabsar, the circumference of which was embossed with similar stones:
under this window, the several ranks of the military were drawn out in
due gradation, until the last line took post in the _kashúdzár_ or
ample area, in which were posted soldiers of the lowest order. When
the king issued forth, like the sun, from the orient of the tabsar,
all the people prostrated themselves in adoration, and the monarch
devoted himself to the concerns of mankind. The _Tábsár_ is a place of
observation in a lofty pavilion, which the princes of Hindustan call a
_jahrokah_ or lattice window: on the other days, the king appeared
with similar brilliancy from the other Tábsárs. In like manner the
king, on their great festivals, went in choice garments to the temples
of the several images: and on his return seated himself in the Tábsár,
facing the image of the planet, or, having gone to the _Rózistán_ or
_Dádistán_, devoted himself to the affairs of state. This Rozistan was
a place which had no tábsár, where the king seated himself on the
throne, his ministers standing around in due gradation.――The
_Dádistán_ was the hall of justice, where, when the king was seated,
no one was prevented from having access to him: so that the king first
came to the Tábsár, then to the rózistán, and lastly to the Dádistán.
Also on whatever day a planet moved out of one celestial house to
another, and on all great festival days, the king went to the temple
appropriate to the occasion. Each of the planetary forms had also its
peculiar Tábsár, in the same manner as we have before stated
concerning the royal Tábsár; and on a happy day, or festival, they
brought the image to its Tábsár, The king went first and offered up
prayer, standing in the Tábsár of the image, the nobles placed around
according to their gradations, whilst the people were assembled in
great multitudes in the _Kashúdzár_, offering up prayers to the
planet.

According to what is stated in the _Tímsár Dasátir_,[264] that is, in
the “Venerable Desátir,” the Almighty Creator has so formed the
celestial bodies, that from their motions there result certain effects
in this lower world, and, without doubt, all events here depend on the
movements of these elevated bodies; so that every star has relation to
some event, and every mansion possesses its peculiar nature: nay,
every degree of each sign is endued with a distinct influence:
therefore the prophets of the Lord, in conformity to his orders, and
by great experience, have ascertained the properties inherent in the
degrees of each celestial mansion, and the influences of the stars. It
is certain that whenever the agent does not agree with the passive,
the result of the affair will not be fortunate; consequently, when the
prophets and sages desired that the agency of the planet should be
manifested advantageously in the world, they carefully noted the
moment of the star’s entering the degree most suitable to the desired
event: and also to have at a distance from that point, whatever stars
were unfavorable to the issue. When all had been thus arranged,
whatever was connected with the productive cause was then completed:
they then bring together whatever is connected with causation in the
lower world: thus all the viands, perfumes, colors, forms, and all
things relating to the star, being associated, they enter on the
undertaking with firm faith and sure reliance: and whereas the spirits
possess complete influence over the events which occur in the lower
world, when therefore the celestial, terrestrial, corporeal and
spiritual causes are all united, the business is then accomplished.
But whosoever desires to be master of these powers, must be well
skilled in metaphysics; in the secrets of nature; and having his mind
well stored with the knowledge of the planetary influences, and
rendered intelligent by much experience. As the union of such
qualifications is rarely or never found, the truth of this science is
consequently hidden from men. The _Abadián_ moreover say, that the
prophets of the early faith, or the kings of _Farsistán_ and the
_Yezdánián_, held the stars to be the _Kiblah_ of prayer, and always
paid them adoration, especially when a star was in its own house or in
its ascendant, free from evil aspects; they then collected whatever
bore relation to that planet, and engaged in worship, seating
themselves in a suitable place, and suffering no one to come near
them: they practised austerities; and on the completion of their
undertaking, exhibited kindness to the animal creation.

In the year 1061 of the Hegira (A. D. 1651) the author, then in
_Sikakul of Kalang_,[265] was attacked by a disease which no
application could alleviate. An astrologer pronounced, that “the cause
of this malady arises from the overpowering force of the regent Mars;”
on which, several distinguished Brahmins assembled on the fourth of
_Zíkâdah_ (the 9th October) the same year, and having set out the
image of Bahrám and collected the suitable perfumes, with all other
things fit for the operation, employed themselves in reading prayers
and reciting names; at last, their chief, taking up with great
reverence the image of Mars, thus entreated: “O illustrious angel and
celestial leader! moderate thy heat, and be not wrathful: but be
merciful to such a one” (pointing to me). He then plunged the image
into perfumed water; immediately on the immersion of the image, the
pain was removed.

In front of each temple was a large fire-temple, so that there were
seven in all: namely, the _Kaiwan-ázar_, _Hormuz-ázar_, _Bahrám-ázar_,
_Hár-ázar_, _Nahíd-ázar_, _Tír-ázar_, and _Máh-ázar_, so that each
fire-temple was dedicated to one of the seven planets, and in these
they burnt the proper perfumes. They assert that, during the
flourishing empire of the early monarchs, several sacred structures,
such as those of the Kâbah and the holy temple of Mecca;[266]
Jerusalem; the burial-place of Muhammed; the asylum of prophecy, in
Medina; the place of repose of Alí,[267] the prince of the faithful in
Najf; the sepulchre of Imam Husain in Kerbela;[268] the tomb of Imam
Musa[269] in Baghdad;[270] the mausoleum of Imam Reza[271] in Sanábád
of Tús; and the sanctuary of Alí in Balkh,[272] were all in former
times idol and fire-temples. They say that Mahabad after having built
a fire temple, called _Haftsúr_ or seven ramparts, in Istakhar of
Persia,[273] erected a house to which he gave the name of _Abád_, and
which is at present called the _Kâbah_: and which the inhabitants of
that country were commanded to hold in reverence: among the images of
the _Kâbah_ was one of the moon, exceedingly beautiful, wherefore the
temple was called _Máhgáh_ (Moon’s place) which the Arabs generally
changed into Mekka. They also say that among the images and statues
left in the Kâbah by Mahabad and his renowned successors, one is the
black stone,[274] the emblem of Saturn. They also say that the prophet
of Arabia worshipped the seven planets, and he therefore left
undisturbed the black stone or Saturn’s emblem, which had remained
since the time of the Abadian dynasty; but that he broke or carried
away the other figures introduced by the Koreish, and which were not
formed according to the images of the stars. In most of the ancient
temples of Persia they had formed the symbol of Venus in the figure of
a _Mihrab_, or arch, like the altar of the mosques: consequently the
present _Mihrab_, or altar, is that identical symbol: which assertion
is also proved by the respect paid to Friday or the day of Venus.

Ibrahim (Abraham), the friend of God, pursued the same conduct; that
is, he rejected the idols which were not of the planetary forms: and
the reverence paid by him to the black stone, according to ancient
tradition, seems to prove that point. _Isfendiar_, the son of king
_Gushtasp_[275] conformed also to this practice; nay Socrates the
Sage, in like manner, forbad the people to worship any other forms
except those of the planets, and commanded the statues of the kings to
be removed. Moreover, the holy temple of Jerusalem, or
_Kundízh-húhkt_[276] was erected by Zohak, and Faridun[277] kindled in
it the holy fire. But long before Zohak’s time, there were several
idol and fire temples in that place. In the same manner, they say,
that when Faridoon turned his attention to the overthrow of Zohak,
during his journey his brethren having hurled a rock at him, this
revered prince, who was skilled and mighty in all the extraordinary
sciences, manifested a wonderous deed: he prayed to the Almighty that
it might remain suspended in the air, so that the stone even to this
day is known as _Kúds Khalíl_. They also say that in _Medina_,[278]
the burial place of the prophet, there was formerly an image of the
moon: the temple in which it was, they called _Mahdínah_, or the “Moon
of Religion,” as religion is the moon of truth, from which the Arabs
formed _Medinah_. They in like manner relate, that in the most noble
_Najf_, where now is the shrine of Alí, the prince of the faithful,
there was formerly a fire-temple called _Farógh pírái_ (the decoration
of splendor), and also “_Nakaf_,” or _Na akaft_ (no injury), which is
at present denominated _Najf_. Also at _Karbalá_, the place where the
Imam Husain reposes, there was formerly a fire-temple called
_Mahyársur ilm_[279] and _Kar bala_ (sublime agency), at present
called _Karbela_.

Also in Baghdad, where the Imam Musa reposes, was a fire-temple called
_Shet Piráyi_ (decoration): and in the place where rest the remains of
the great Imam _Abu Hanifah_, of Kufah, was a temple called _Húryar_
(sun’s friend): also in Kufah, on the site of the mosque, was a
fire-temple called _Roz-Azar_ (the day of fire): and in the region of
Tús, on the site of Imam Resa’s shrine, was a fire-temple called _Azar
Khirad_ (the fire of intellect)――it was also known by many other
appellations, and owes its erection to Faridún.――Also when _Tús_, the
son of _Názar_,[280] came to visit _Azar-i-Khirad_, he laid near it
the foundation of a city which was called after his name.[281]――In
Balkh, where is now the sanctuary of the Imam, formerly stood a temple
called _Mahin Azar_ (great fire), now known under the name of
_Nóbahár_. In Ardebil,[282] the ancient _Dizh-i-Bahman_[283] (Bahman’s
fort), Kai Khosrú, on reducing the citadel, constructed there a
fire-temple called _Azari-Káus_,[284] which now serves as the burial
place of the shaikh Sufi Ud-Din, the ancestor of the Safavean
princes:[285] they also assert that there were fire-temples in several
parts of India: as in _Dwaraka_,[286] was the temple of Saturn, called
_Dizh-i-Kaivan_ (Saturn’s fort), which the Hindoos turned into
_Dwaraka_: and in Gya also was an idol temple, called _Gah-i-Kaivan_,
or “Saturn’s residence,” which was turned into Gya.[287]――In Mahtra
also was an idol temple of Saturn, the name of which was _Mahetar_,
that is the chiefs or _mahetar_ resorted thither; which word by
degrees became _Mahtra_.[288]――In like manner several places among the
Christians and other nations bore names which show them to have been
idol-temples. When the _Abadian_ come to such places, they visit them
with the accustomed reverence, as, according to them holy places are
never liable to abomination or pollution, as they still remain places
of worship and adoration: both friends and foes regarding them as a
Kiblah, and sinners, notwithstanding all their perverseness, pray in
those sacred edifices. Rai Gópí Nath[289] thus expresses himself:

O Shaikh! behold the dignity of my idol-house;
Even when destroyed, it remains the house of God!

There is not on record a single word repugnant to reason from the time
of Mahabad to that of Yasan Ajam; and if they have recourse to
allegory, they then express its figurative nature. From these princes
to the Gilshaiyan there are many figurative expressions, all of which
they interpret. For example, they say that the tradition of Siamak
being slain by the hand of a demon implies, that in successive
battles, through ignorance of himself and God, he unwittingly
destroyed this elementary body; thus, wherever, in the language of
this sect, mention is made of a demon, they always understand a man of
that description, as has been explained in the _Paiman-i-ferhang_, or
“Excellent Code.” They also maintain that, in some passages, the
rendering the demons obedient, and slaying them, is a figurative mode
of expressing a victory gained over the pleasures of sense, and the
extirpation of evil propensities: in like manner, whatever is related
about the appearance of angels to virtuous and holy persons, is the
revelation and vision of good spirits, whilst in a state of sleep,
transport, recovery from excess, or abstraction from the body; which
states are truly explained in this work. They say that Zohak’s two
serpents, _do-mar_, and ten fires (vices) or _deh ak_, imply
irascibility and sensuality: the devil, his carnal soul, and in some
places his disposition――the two pieces of flesh which broke out on
Zohak’s shoulders in consequence of his evil deeds, appeared to the
human race like serpents, the pain caused by which could only be
alleviated by the application of human brains. They also say that the
celebrated _Simúrgh_[290] (griffin) was a sage, who had retired from
the world and taken up his peaceful abode in the mountains: he was
therefore called by this name, and was the instructor of _Dastan_, the
son of Sám; so that Zál, through his instruction, attained the
knowledge of the occult sciences. As to the current tradition about
Kai-Káus attempting to ascend to Heaven, and his downfall, this
occurred, according to them, during his sleep, and not when he was
awake. Kai Nishín, his brother, who had retired from all intercourse
with mankind, thus interprets the adventure of Káus: “The four eagles
are the four elements; the throne, the predominating passions; the
lance, their energy and impetuosity in the desire of sensual
gratifications; the thighs of flesh, their various pursuits of anger,
passion, lust, and envy; their ascent implies that they may be subdued
by religious austerities, and by the aid of their energy be made the
means of ascending to the world on high and the supreme Heaven; their
fall, instead of reaching Heaven’s eternal mansions, intimates that
if, even for a short period, we become careless about repressing evil
propensities, and desist from the practice of mortification, the
passions will return back to their nature, or wander from the eternal
paradise, the natural abode of souls:” the hemistich, “_during one
moment I was heedless, and he was removed from me a journey of a
hundred years_,” is applicable to such a state.

Rustam’s[291] bringing back Kai Káus to his throne from the forest
into which he had fallen, means, his bringing back intelligence into
the king’s soul, and turning him back from the desert (lit. meadow),
of natural infirmity: Kai Kaus therefore, by direction of Kai Nishin,
his younger brother, but his elder in purity of faith and good works,
remained forty days in retirement, until in the state of sleep,
through the awakening of his heart, he beheld this heavenly vision.
They also assert, whatever modern writers have declared, relative to
_Khizr_[292] and Iskander, having penetrated into the regions of
darkness, where the former discovered the fountain of life immortal,
means, that the Iskander, or the intellectual soul, through the energy
of the Khizr, or reason, discovered, whilst in the state of human
darkness, the water of life, or the knowledge of the rational
sciences, or the science which forms the proper object of
intellect――as to what they say about Iskander’s returning back
empty-handed, by that is meant, that to expect eternal duration in
this evanescent abode being altogether absurd, he consequently could
not attain that object, and therefore departed to the next world. What
they record about Khizr’s drinking of that water, means, that the
perfection of intellect exists not through the medium of body, and
that reason has no need of body, or any thing corporeal, either as
essence or attribute.

In some passages they interpret the tradition after this manner; by
Khizr is meant the intellectual soul, or rational faculty, and by
Iskander the animal soul, or natural instinct; the Khizr of the
intellectual soul, associated with the Iskander of the animal soul,
and the host (of perceptions) arrived at the fountain-head of
understanding, and obtained immortality, whilst the Iskander of the
animal soul returned back empty-handed.[293] It must be remarked, that
this sect explain after this manner, whatever transgresses the rules
of probability, or cannot be weighed in the balance of comprehension;
in short, all that is contrary to reason. They also say purification
is of two kinds; the _amighi_ or true, and the _ashkari_ or apparent:
the first consists in not defiling the heart with any thing; in not
attaching it to the concerns of this treacherous world, emancipating
it from all ties and prejudice, maintaining no connection with any
object whatever, and washing away all bias from the soul. The
_Ashkari_, or apparent, consists in removing to a distance whatever
appears unclean; consequently this purification is effected with water
which has undergone no change of color, smell, or taste: that is,
which is free from bad color, smell, or taste; if otherwise,
rose-water and such like are more to be commended. Ablution requires a
_kur_, or a measure of lustral water; that is, according to them, the
measure for a man, is that quantity into which he can immerge his
head; for an elephant, a quantity proportioned to his bulk; and for a
gnat, a single drop of water. They reckon it meritorious to recite the
prayers and texts of the _Shat Dasátír_, relative to the unity of the
self-existent Creator, the great dignity of intelligence and souls,
with the pains of the superior and inferior bodies; after which they
repeat the benedictions of the seven planets, particularly on their
days, and offer up the appropriate incense. The worshipper after this
recites the praises of the guardian of the month, and those of the
days of the month; for example, if it be the month of
_Farvardin_,[294] the believer repeats benedictions on that angel, and
then on each of the regents of the days of that month: particularly
the regent of that day called by the same name as the month: which day
is also regarded as a festival.[295] For instance, in the month of
_Farvardin_, he utters benedictions on the angel _Farvardin_, who is
one of the cherubim on whom that month is dependent; if it be the
first day of the month, called the day of _Hormuz_ (the angel who
superintends the first day of the month), the believers address their
benedictions to _Hormuz_; and act in a similar manner on the other
months and their respective days. According to them, the names of the
months are called after the names of their lords; and the appellations
of the days are according to the names of their respective regents:
consequently, as we have said, the believer adores the lord of the
month, and on festivals, pays adoration to the angel who is the lord
of the month and the day.[296] According to the Abadian, although in a
month, the name of the month and of the day be the same, this
coincidence makes not that day dependant on the month, but on the
regent who bears the same name with him, consequently it is necessary
to celebrate a festival. In the same manner, on the other days of
every month, salutations are paid every morning to the regent of the
day: also during the _Sudbar_, or the intercalary days, they offer up
praises to their angels. They also regard the angels of the days as
the ministers to the angels of the months, all of whom are subject to
the majesty of the Great Light――in like manner the other stars
(planets) have also angels dependent on them: they also believe that
the angels dependent on each star (planet) are beyond all number: and
finally, that the angelic host belonging to the solar majesty are
reckoned the highest order. Besides, on the period at which any of the
seven planets passes from one zodiacal mansion to another, they make
an entertainment on the first day, which they regard as a festival,
and call it _Shadbar_,[297] or “replete with joy.” Every month also,
on the completion of the lunar revolution, on ascertaining its
reappearance from astronomical calculation, they make great rejoicings
on the first day: there is in like manner a great festival when any
star has completed its revolution, which day they call _Dádram_,[298]
or “banquet decking.” Thus, although there is a festival every day of
the week in some idol-temple or other, as has been before stated,
relative to the day of _Nahid_, or Friday, in the temple of this idol:
yet on the day of the Sun, or _Yakshambah_ (the first day of the
week), there was a solemn festival at which all the people assembled.
In like manner they made a feast whenever a star returned to its
mansion or was in its zenith.

They believe it wrong to hold any faith or religious system in
abhorrence, as according to them, we may draw near to God in every
faith: also that no faith has been abolished by divine authority――they
hold that, on this account, there have been so many prophets, in order
to shew the various ways which lead to God. Those who carefully
investigate well know, that the ways which lead to heaven are many;
nay more than come within the compass of numbers. It is well
understood, that access to a great sovereign is more easily attained
through the aid of his numerous ministers; although one of the
prince’s commanders be on bad terms with his confidential advisers, or
even should all the chiefs not co-operate with each other; yet they
can promote the interest of their inferiors: therefore it is not
proper to say that we can get to the God of all existence by one road
only. But the insurmountable barrier in the road of approaching God is
the slaughter of the Zindíbar, that is, those animals which inflict no
injury on any person, and slay not other living creatures, such as the
cow, the sheep, the camel, and the horse: there is assuredly no
salvation to the author of cruelty towards such, nor can he obtain
final deliverance by austerities or devotions of any description.
Should we even behold many miraculous works performed by the slayer of
harmless animals, we are not even then to regard him as one redeemed;
the works witnessed in him are only the reward of his devotions, and
the result of his perseverance in the practice of religious
austerities in this world: and as he commits evil, he cannot be
perfect in his devout exercises, so that nothing but suffering can
await him in another generation (when born again): such an instance of
an ascetic endued with miraculous powers is likened in the Shat
Dasatir[299] to a vase externally covered with choice perfumes, but
filled internally with impurities. They also maintain that in no
system of faith is cruelty to innoxious animals sanctioned: and all
human sanction for such acts proceeds from their attending to the
apparent import of words, without having recourse to profound or
earnest consideration――for example, by putting a horse or cow to death
is meant, the removal or banishing from one’s self animal
propensities, and not the slaughtering or devouring of innoxious
creatures. They state the later historians to have recorded without
due discrimination that Rustam, the son of Dastan (who was one of the
perfect saints), used to slay such animals: whereas tradition informs
us, that the mighty champion pursued in the chase noxious animals
only: what they write about his hunting the wild ass, implies that the
elephant-bodied hero called the lion a wild ass; or “that a lion is no
more than a wild ass when compared to my force.” In the several
passages where he is recorded to have slaughtered harmless wild asses
and oppressed innoxious creatures, and where similar actions are
ascribed to some of the Gilsháíyán princes, there is only implied the
banishment of animal propensities and passions: thus the illustrious
Shaikh Farideddin ât´ár declares,

“In the heart of each are found a hundred swine;
You must slay the hog or hind on the Zanar.”[300]

They hold that, from the commencement to the very end, the chiefs of
the Persian Sipásíán, far from slaughtering these harmless creatures,
regarded as an incumbent duty to avoid and shun, by every precaution,
the practice of oppression or destruction towards them: nay, they
inflicted punishment on the perpetrators of such deeds. Although they
esteem the Gilsháíyán prophets, pontiffs, and princes, exceedingly
holy personages, yet in their opinion, they come not up in perfect
wisdom and works to the preceding apostles and sovereigns, who
appeared from the Yassánián to the end of the Máhábádíán race.

They assert that some innoxious animals suffer oppression in this
generation by way of retribution: for instance, an ox or a horse,
which in times long past had, through heedlessness, wantonness, or
without necessity, destroyed a man: as these creatures understand
nothing but how to eat and drink, consequently when they obtain a new
birth, they carry burdens, which is by no means to be regarded as an
act of oppression, but as a retribution or retaliation for their
previous misconduct. They are not put to death, as they are not
naturally destructive and sanguinary: their harmless nature proves
that they cannot be reckoned among the destroyers of animal life: so
that putting them to death is the same as destroying an ignorant
harmless man: therefore their slayer, though he may not receive in
this world the merited punishment from the actual ruler or governor,
appears in the next generation under the form of a ferocious beast,
and meets his deserts. A great man says on this subject:

“In every evil deed committed by thee, think not that it
Is passed over in Heaven or neglected in the resolutions of time;
Thy evil deeds are a debt, ever in the presence of fortune,
Which must be repaid, in whatever age she makes the demand.”

They also hold the eternal paradise to be the Heavens; and regard the
solar majesty as lord of the empyrean; and the other stars, fixed or
planetary, as his ministers: thus a person who, through religious
mortifications and purity of life, attains righteousness in words and
deeds, is united with the sun and becomes an empyreal sovereign: but
if the proportion of his good works bear a closer affinity to any
other star, he becomes lord of the place assigned to that star: whilst
others are joined to the firmament on high: the perfect man passes on
still farther, arriving at the æthereal sphere, or the region of pure
spirits; such men attain the beatific vision of the light of lights
and the cherubinic hosts of the Supreme Lord. Should he be a prince
during whose reign no harmless animals were slaughtered in his realms;
and who, if any were guilty of these acts, inflicted punishment on the
perpetrators of the crimes, so that no such characters departed this
world without due retribution; he is esteemed a wise, beneficent, and
virtuous king: and immediately on being separated from the elements of
body, he is united with the sun: his spirit is identified with that of
the majesty of the great light and he becomes an æthereal sovereign.
Prince Siamak, the son of Kaiomors declares: “I beheld from first to
last all the Abádíán, Jyáníán, Sháíyán, and Yassáníán monarchs: some
were cherubim in the presence of the Supreme Lord; others absorbed in
the contemplation of the Light of Lights: but I found none lower than
the sphere of the sun, the vicegerent of God.” On my asking them
concerning the means of attaining these high degrees, they said: “The
great means of acquiring this dignity consist in the protection of
harmless animals, and inflicting punishment on evil doers.”

According to this sect, labouring under insanity, suffering distress
on account of one’s children, being assailed by diseases, the
visitations of providence, these calamities are the retribution of
actions in a former state of existence. If a person should fall down
or stumble when running, even this is regarded as the retribution of
past deeds: as are also the maladies of new-born babes. But whatever
happens to a just man, which is evidently unmerited, this is not to be
looked on as retribution, but as proceeding from the oppression of the
temporal ruler, from whom, in a future generation, the Supreme Ruler
will demand an account.

According to their tenets, the drinking of wine or strong liquors to
excess, or partaking of things which impair the understanding, is by
no means to be tolerated: which may be proved by this reflexion, that
the perfection of man is understanding, and that intoxicating
beverages reduce human nature, whilst in that state, to a level with
the brute creation. If a person drink strong liquors to excess, he is
brought before the judge to receive due castigation; and should he,
during that state, do injury to another, he is held accountable for
it, and is punished also as a malefactor.

Among this sect it is permitted to kill those animals which oppress
others, such as lions, fowls, and hawks, which prey on living
creatures: but whatever animals, whether noxious or innoxious, suffer
violence from the noxious, duly receive it by way of retribution: when
they slay the former, or noxious animals, that is regarded as a
retribution, because in a former existence they were oppressive and
sanguinary creatures: and in this generation the Almighty has given
them over to other more sanguinary animals, that they might shed the
blood of the sanguinary bloodshedder: so that when noxious creatures
are slain, it is by way of retribution for having shed blood: the very
act of shedding their blood proves them to have been formerly shedders
of blood: it is not however allowed to put them to death until they
become hurtful: for example, a young sparrow cannot, whilst in that
state, commit an injury; but, when able to fly, it injures the insects
of the earth; and, although this happens to the insects by way of
retributive justice, yet their slayers become also deserving of being
slain, as in a former generation they have been shedders of blood. For
instance, a person has unwittingly slain another, for which crime he
has been thrown into prison; on which they summons one of the other
prisoners to behead the murderer: after which the judge commands one
of his officers to put the executioner to death, as, previous to this
act, he had before shed blood unjustly. But if a man slay a noxious
animal, he is not to be put to death, because that person taking into
consideration the noxious animal’s oppression, has inflicted
retribution on it: but if a brave champion or any other be slain in
fighting with a noxious creature; this was his merited retribution;
and it is the same if an innoxious animal be slain in fighting with a
noxious creature: for example, in a past generation the ox was a man
endued with many brutal propensities, who with violence and insolence
forced people into his service and imposed heavy burdens on them,
until he deprived some of them of life: therefore in this generation,
on account of his ruling propensities, he comes in the form of an ox,
that he may receive the retribution due to his former deeds, and in
return for his having shed blood, should be himself slain by a lion or
some such creature. But mankind are not permitted to kill the harmless
animals, and these are not shedders of blood: and if such an act
should be inadvertently perpetrated by any individuals, destructive
animals are then appointed to retaliate on them, as we have explained
under the head of the ox.

The best mode to be adopted by merciful men for putting to death
destructive creatures, such as fowls, sparrows, and the like, is the
following: let them open a vein, so that it may die from the effusion
of blood: there are many precepts of this kind recorded in the _Jashen
Sudah_ of the _Móbed Hoshyár_: but philosophers, eminent doctors, and
durveshes who abandon the world, never commit such acts: it is however
indispensably necessary that a king, in the course of government,
should inflict on the evildoer the retaliation due to his conduct. The
Móbed _Hoshyár_ relates, in the _Sarud-i-Mastán_, that in the time of
Kaíomors and Siamak, no animal of any kind was slain, as they were all
obedient to the commands of these princes. So that one of the
_Farjúd_, or miraculous powers possessed by the Yezdanian chiefs of
Iran, from Kaíomors to Jemshíd, was their appointing a certain class
of officers to watch over the animal creation, so that they should not
attack each other. For instance, a lion was not permitted to destroy
any animal, and if he killed one in the chase, he met with due
punishment; consequently no creature was slain or destroyed, and
carnage fell into such disuse among noxious animals, that they were
all reckoned among the innoxious. However, the skins of animals which
had died a natural death were taken off, and in the beginning used as
clothing by Kaíomors and his subjects: but they were latterly
satisfied with the leaves of trees. Those who embrace the tenets of
this holy race attribute this result to the miraculous powers of these
monarchs, and some profound thinkers regard it as effected by a
_talisman_; whilst many skilled in interpretation hold it to be an
enigmatical mode of expression: thus, the animal creation submitting
to government implies, the justice of the sovereigns; their vigilance
in extirpating corruption and evil, and producing good. In short, when
in the course of succession the Gilsháíyán crown came to Húshang, he
enjoined the people to eat the superabundant eggs of ducks, domestic
fowls, and such like, but not to such a degree that, through their
partaking of such food, the race of these creatures should become
extinct. When the throne of sovereignty was adorned by the presence of
Tahmúras, he said, “It is lawful for carnivorous and noxious creatures
to eat dead bodies:” that is, if a lion find a lifeless stag, or a
sparrow a dead worm, they may partake of them. In the same manner,
when Jemshid assumed the crown, he enacted: “If men of low caste eat
the flesh of animals which die a natural death, they commit no sin.”
The reason why people do not at present eat of animals which died in
the course of nature, is, that their flesh engenders disease, as the
animal died of some distemper: otherwise there is no sin attached to
the eating of it. When Jemshid departed to the mansions of eternity,
_Deh Ak_,[301] the Arab, slew and partook of all animals
indifferently, whether destructive or harmless, so that the detestable
practice became general. When Faridún had purged the earth from the
pollution of Zohák’s tyranny, he saw that some creatures, hawks,
lions, wolves, and others of the destructive kind, gave themselves up
to the chase in violation of the original covenant: he therefore
enjoined the slaughter of these classes. After this, Jraj permitted
men of low caste, that is the mass of the people, to partake of
destructive creatures, such as domestic fowls (which prey upon worms),
also sparrows and such like, in killing which no sin is incurred: but
the holy Yezdanians never polluted their mouths with flesh, or killed
savage animals for themselves, although they slew them for others of
the same class. For example, the hawk, lion, and other rapacious
animals of prey were kept in the houses of the great, for the purpose
of inflicting punishment on other destructive animals, and not that
men should partake of them: for eating flesh is not an innate quality
in men, as whenever they slay animals for food, ferocity settles in
their nature, and that aliment introduces habits of rapacity: whereas
the true meaning of putting destructive animals to death, is the
extirpation of wickedness. The Yezdanians also have certain viands,
which people at present confound with animals and flesh: for instance,
they give the name of _barah_, “lamb,” to a dish composed of the
_zingú_, or egg-mushroom; _gaur_, or “onager” is a dish made out of
cheese: with many others of the same kind. Although they kill
destructive animals in the chase, they never eat of them; and if in
their houses they kill one destructive animal for the food of another,
such as a sparrow for a hawk, it is done by a man styled _Dazhkím_, or
executioner, who is lower than a _Milar_, called in _Hindi_, _Juharah_
or “sweeper,” and in modern language _Hallál Khúr_, or one to whom all
food is lawful. But the dynasty preceding Gilshah, from whom the
Yezdanians derive their tenets, afforded no protection whatever to
destructive animals, as they esteemed the protection of the oppressor
most reprehensible. In the time of the Gilsháíyán princes, they
nourished hawks and such like, for the purpose of retaliating on
destructive animals; for example, they let loose the hawk on the
sparrow, which is the emblem of _Ahriman_; and when the hawk grew old,
they cut off his head and killed him for his former evil deeds. The
first race never kept any destructive creatures, as they esteemed it
criminal to afford them protection; and even their destruction never
took place in the abodes of righteous and holy persons.

Among the Sipasíyan sect were many exemplary and pious personages, the
performers of praiseworthy discipline: with them, however, voluntary
austerity implies “religious practices” or _Saluk_, and consists not
in extreme suffering, which they hold to be an evil, and a retribution
inflicted for previous wicked deeds. According to this sect, the modes
of walking in the paths of God are manifold: such as seeking God; the
society of the wise; retirement and seclusion from the world; purity
of conduct; universal kindness; benevolence; reliance on God;
patience; endurance; contentedness; resignation; and many such like
qualities――as thus recorded in the _Sarúd-i-Mustán_ of the _Móbed
Hushyar_. The _Móbed Khodá Jáí_, in the “Cup of _Kái Khusró_,” a
commentary on the text of the poem of the venerable _Azar Kaivan_,
thus relates: “He who devotes himself to walking in the path of God,
must be well-skilled in the medical sciences, so that he may rectify
whatever predominates or exceeds in the bodily humours: in the next
place, he must banish from his mind all articles of faith, systems,
opinions, ceremonials, and be at peace with all: he is to seat himself
in a small and dark cell, and gradually diminish the quantity of his
food.” The rules for the diminution of food are thus laid down in the
_Sharistan_ of the holy doctor _Ferzanah Bahram_, the son of _Farhád_:
“From his usual food, the pious recluse is every day to subtract three
direms, until he reduces it to ten direms weight: he is to sit in
perfect solitude, and give himself up to meditation.” Many of this
sect have brought themselves to one direm weight of food: their
principal devotional practice turning on these five points: namely,
fasting, silence, waking, solitude, and meditation on God. Their modes
of invoking God are manifold, but the one most generally adopted by
them is that of the _Múk Zhúp_: now in the _Azanan_ or _Pehlevi_,
_Múk_ signifies “four,” and _Zhúp_ “a blow;” this state of meditation
is also called _Char Sang_, “the four weights,” and _Char Kúb_, “the
four blows.” The next in importance is the _siyá zhúp_, “the three
weights” or “three blows.” The sitting postures among these devotees
are numerous; but the more approved and choice are limited to
eighty-four; out of these they have selected fourteen; from the
fourteen they have taken five; and out of the five two are chosen by
way of eminence: with respect to these positions, many have been
described by the _Móbud Sarúsh_ in the _Zerdúsht Afshár_: of these
two, the choice position is the following: The devotee sits on his
hams, cross-legged, passing the outside of the right foot over the
left thigh, and that of the left foot over the right thigh; he then
passes his hands behind his back, and holds in his left hand the great
toe of the right foot, and in the right hand the great toe of the left
foot, fixing his eyes intently on the point of the nose: this position
they call _Farnishin_, “the splendid seat,” but by the Hindi Jogies it
is named the _Padma ásan_,[302] or “Lotus seat.” If he then repeat the
_Zekr-i-Mukzhub_, he either lays hold of the great toes with his
hands, or if he prefer, removes his feet off the thighs, seating
himself in the ordinary position, which is quite sufficient――then,
with closed eyes, the hands placed on the thighs, the armpits open,
the back erect, the head thrown forward, and fetching up from the
navel with all his force the word _Nist_, he raises his head up: next,
in reciting the word _Hésti_, he inclines the head towards the right
breast; on reciting the word _Magar_, he holds the head erect; after
which he utters _Yezdan_, bowing the head to the left breast, the seat
of the heart. The devotee makes no pause between the words thus
recited; nay, if possible, he utters several formularies in one
breath, gradually increasing their number. The words of the formulary
(_Nist hesti magar yezdan_, “there is no existence save God”) are thus
set forth: “Nothing exists but God;” or, “There is no God, but God;”
or, “There is no adoration except for what is adorable;” or this, “He
to whom worship is due is pure and necessarily existent;” or, “He who
is without equal, form, color, or model.” It is permitted to use this
formulary publicly, but the inward meditation is most generally
adopted by priests and holy persons; as the senses become disturbed by
exclamations and clamors, and the object of retirement is to keep them
collected. In the inward meditation, the worshipper regards three
objects as present: “God, the heart, and the spirit of his Teacher;”
whilst he revolves in his heart the purport of this formulary: “There
is nothing in existence but God.” But if he proceeds to the
suppression of breath, which is called the “knowledge of _Dam_ and
_Súmrad_,” or the science of breath and imagination, he closes not the
eyes, but directs them to the tip of the nose, as we have before
explained under the first mode of sitting: this institute has also
been recorded in the _Surud-i-Mastan_, but the present does not
include all the minute details.[303]

It is thus recorded in the _Zerdúsht Afshár_; the worshipper having
closed the right nostril, enumerates the names of God from once to
sixteen times, and whilst counting draws his breath upwards; after
which he repeats it twenty-two times, and lets the breath escape out
of the right nostril, and whilst counting propels the breath aloft;
thus passing from the six Kháns or stages to the seventh; until from
the intensity of imagination he arrives to a state in which he thinks
that his soul and breath bound like the jet of a fountain to the crown
of the head: they enumerate the seven stages, or the seven degrees, in
this order: 1st, the position of sitting; 2d, the hips; 3d, the navel;
4th, the pine-heart; 5th, the windpipe; 6th, the space between the
eyebrows; and 7th, the crown of the head. As causing the breath to
mount to the crown of the head is a power peculiar to the most eminent
persons; so, whoever can convey his breath and soul together to that
part, becomes the viceregent of God. According to another institute,
the worshipper withdraws from all senseless pursuits, sits down in
retirement, giving up his heart to his original world on high, and
without moving the tongue, repeats in his heart Yezdan! Yezdan! or
God! God! which address to the Lord may be made in any language, as
Hindi, Arabic, etc. Another rule is, the idea of the Instructor: the
worshipper imagines him to be present and is never separated from that
thought, until he attains to such a degree, that the image of his
spiritual guide is never absent from the mind’s eye, and he then turns
to contemplate his heart: or he has a mirror before his sight, and
beholds his own form, until, from long practice, it is never more
separated from the heart, to which he then directs himself: or he sits
down to contemplate his heart, and reflects on it as being in
continual movement. In all these cases he regards the practices of the
suppression of the breath as profitable for the abstraction of
thought: an object which may also be effected without having recourse
to it.

Another rule is, what they call _ázád áwá_, or the “free voice;” in
Hindi _Ánahid_; and in Arabic _Sáut Mutluk_, or “the absolute sound.”
Some of the followers of Mohammed relate, that it is recorded in the
traditions, that a revelation came to the venerable prophet of Arabia
resembling “the tones of a bell,” which means the “Sáut Mutluk:” which
Hafiz of Shiraz expresses thus:

“No person knows where my beloved dwells:
This much only is known, that the sound of the bell approaches.”

The mode of hearing it is after this manner: the devotees direct the
hearing and understanding to the brain, and whether in the gloom of
night, in the house, or in the desert, hear this voice, which they
esteem as their _Zikker_, or “address to God.” Azizi[304] thus
expresses himself:

“I recognise that playful sportiveness,
And well know that amount of blandishment:
The sound of footsteps comes to my ear at night;
It was thyself; I recognise the hallowed voice!”

Then having opened the eyes and looking between the eyebrows, a form
appears. Some of those who walk in the path of religious poverty among
the followers of Mohammed (on whom be benedictions!) assert that the
expression _Kab Kausain_, “I was near two bows’ length,” alludes to
this vision. Finally, if they prefer it, having closed the eyes for
some time, they reflect on the form which appeared to them on looking
between the eyebrows; after which they meditate on the heart; or
without contemplating the form, they commence by looking into the
heart; and closing both eyes and ears, give themselves up entirely to
meditation on the heart, abandoning the external for the internal:
whoever can thus contemplate obtains all that he wants; but

“The anguish of my friend strikes at the portal of the heart;
Command them, O, Sháni! to purify the dwelling of the heart.”

Finally the searcher after the Being who is without equal or form,
without color or pattern, whom they know and comprehend in the Parsi
under the name of “_Izad_,” in Arabic by the blessed name of
“_Allah_,” and in Hindi as “_Para Brahma Náráyaran a_,”[305]
contemplates him without the intervention of Arabic, Persian, Hindi,
or any other language, keeping the heart in his presence, until he,
being rescued from the shadows of doubt, is identified with God. The
venerable _Maulaví Jami_ says on this head:

“Thou art but an atom, He, the great whole; but if for a few days
Thou meditate with care on the whole, thou becomest one with it.”

They hold that reunion with the first principle, which the Sufees
interpret by evanescence and permanence, means not, according to the
distinguished Ishrakian[306] or Platonists of Persia, that the beings
of accident or creation are blended with him whose existence is
necessary, or that created beings cease to exist; but that when the
sun of the first cause manifests himself, then apparently all created
beings, like the stars in the sun’s light, are absorbed in his divine
effulgence; and if the searcher after God should continue in this
state, he will comprehend how they become shrouded through the sun’s
overpowering splendor, or like the ecstatic Sufees he will regard them
as annihilated: but the number of Sufís who attain to this state is
exceedingly small, and the individuals themselves are but little known
to fame. This volume would not be sufficient to enumerate the amount
of those lights (precepts) which direct the pilgrim on his course, but
the venerable _Azur Kaiván_ has treated at large on this head in the
_Jám-i-Kai Khusró_.

It is, however, necessary to mention that there are four states of
vision; the first, _Núníar_,[307] or that which is seen during sleep:
by sleep is meant that state when the subtile fumes arising from the
food taken into the stomach mounting up to the brain, overpower
external perceptions at the time of repose: whatever is then beheld is
called in Farsi _Tínáb_, in Arabic _Rúyá_, and in Hindi _Svapna_.[308]
The state beyond this dignity is _Susvapna_,[309] in Arabic _Ghaib_ or
“mysterious,” and in the popular language of the Hindoos
_Sukhásváda_[310] or _Samádhi_[311] (suspending the connexion between
soul and body), which is as follows: when divine grace is communicated
from the worlds on high, and the transport arising from that grace
locks up external perceptions, whatever is beheld during that state is
called _Binab_ or “revelation:” but that state into which the senses
enter, or _Hóshwázhen_, “a trance,” which is expressed in Arabic by
_Sahú_ or “recovering from ebriety,” and in Hindi by _Jagrat_,[312]
“awaking,” and _Pratyaya_ “evidence,”[313] means that state in which
divine grace being communicated, without the senses being overpowered,
it transports the person for the time being to the world of reality:
whatever he beholds in this state is called _Bínáb_ or _Mâainah_
“reality.” The state higher than this is the power of the soul to quit
the body and to return to it, which is called in Farsi
_Nívah-i-chaminah_, in Arabic _Melkát Khalâ-baden_, and in Hindu
_prapura paroksha_.[314]

They affirm that the bodies occupied by some souls resemble a loose
garment, which may be put off at pleasure; so that they can ascend to
the world of light, and on their return become reunited with the
material elements. The difference between _Sahú_ and _Khalâ_ is this:
_Sahú_ means, being absorbed in meditation on the communication of
divine grace, so that, without a relaxation of the senses, the person
may, for the time being, actually abide in the invisible world:
whereas _Khalâ_ means, that the individual, whenever he pleases,
separates himself from the body and returns to it when he thinks
fitting. The spiritual Maulavi thus says:

“Shout aloud, my friends! for one person has separated himself
from the body;
Out of a hundred thousand bodies, one person has become
identified with God.”

According to this sect there are seven worlds: the first is absolute
existence and pure being, which they call _Arang_[315] or “divinity;”
the second is the world of intelligences, which they call _Birang_ or
“the empyreal;” the third is that of souls, called _Alrang_ or the
angelic; the fourth that of the superior bodies, or _Nirang_; the
fifth, the elementary or _Rang_; the sixth the compounds of the four
elements, or _Rang-a-Rang_: but according to the Sufís all bodies,
whether superior or inferior, are named _Málk_ or region; the seventh
is _Sarang_, which is that of man or of human beings: but in some
Parsi treatises they term these seven regions the seven true
realities: however, if the author were to describe minutely the
articles and ceremonies of this sect, their details would require so
many volumes, that contenting himself with what has been stated, he
now proceeds to describe some of their most distinguished followers of
later times.

[228] Here begins the translation of David Shea.

[229] _Serúsh_ or _Serósh_, is derived from the Zend, and
signifies properly _sí-roz_, that is “thirty days, a month.”
To the adorers of the stars, Serósh is the name of an angel
who presides over the 17th day of the month; according to
their religion, he is moreover the most active of the
celestial spirits; as king of the earth, he passes every day
and every night three times through his empire; his throne
is the summit of the world; all light, all intelligence, he
purifies and fertilizes the earth, blesses and protects
mankind, strikes the evil spirits; in short, he is adored
equal to the supreme being. (_See Zend Avesta, par Anquetil
du Perron_, _I._ 2. P. _pp._ 80, 156, 228, 404, 415; _II._
320, 330, 223, 235, 237).――A. T.

[230] The text given by Gladwin (_see the New Asiatic
Miscellany_, _vol. I. p._ 93), and the manuscript of Oude,
have no negative before خجسته; the sense would
therefore be: “if his words had been plausible, but the
deeds bad.” The edit. of Calcutta gives the sense as
above.――A. T.

[231] Gladwin translates this passage as follows (_ibid._,
_p._ 94): “If a deserving soul produces good words and
deeds,” which is in accordance with the text he followed,
and with that of the edit. of Calcutta; but Shea’s
translation is justified by the manuscript of Oude, which
has: بي پسنديده اقوال فرّخی افعال.――A. T.

[232] According to Gladwin, after باره once followed in a
series by هزار the same word is to be always understood――thus
يک هزار باره فردرا is not a thousand _fard_, but one million
_fard_. This word is not in the Burhan:――I have therefore
followed Gladwin’s authority. But in the Desátir, or “Sacred
Writings of the ancient Persian Prophets in the original
tongue,” published at Bombay in 1818, the following passage
occurs in the commentary of the Vth Sasan (English transl.
p. 36): “They call a thousand times a thousand years a
_ferd_; and a thousand _ferds_, a _werd_; and a thousand
_werds_, a _merd_; and a thousand _werds_, a _jád_; and
three thousand _jáds_, a _wád_; and two thousand _wads_, a
_zád_;” etc.――D. S.

[233] هيربد “Hirbed” (see Thomas Hyde, _Veterum Persarum et
Parthorum et Medorum Religionis Historia, Oxon ii._ 1760, p.
369-372) was called a priest of the fire-worship; according
to oriental authors, a priest of the ancient Persians was in
general, called formerly مغ, ‘magh,’ or موغ ‘mogh,’ that is
“excellent,” hence Magus, a Magian. The Magi are mentioned
by Herodotus, and, according to Aristotle, were more ancient
than the Egyptian priests. Clitarchus and Strabo, contemporaries,
the one of Alexander, the other of Augustus, speak of the
Magi. The latter says (lib. XV.): Εν δε τη Καππαδοκία, πολύ
ἐστι το τῶν Μάγων φῦλον οἱ καὶ Πύρεθοι καλοῦνται· “In
Kappadocia is a great multitude of Magi, called also
Pyrethi.” (See Selden, De Dis Syris syntagma, Lipsiæ, 1662,
p. 317, 318). An order superior to this class of priests was
the بد, ‘mógh bed,’ or وبد, ‘mobed,’ a ‘prefect, or judge of
the Magi,’ of the learned priests, or of the worshippers of
the sun, in a general sense, a wise man, adorer of the sun.
A third order of Persian priests was called تور, ‘dastur,’
or ‘superintendant.’ (See also _Zend-Avesta_, translated by
Anquetil du Perron, t. II, pp. 516, 517, 553, 555.)――A. T.

[234] ब्रह्मन् “Brahman.”

[235] Gladwin “Mahuristar.” We read in the Commentary upon
article 145 of the Desatir, English translation, p. 27: “In
Pehlevi the Huristars are called _Athurnâns_――They are the
Mobeds and Hirbuds whose duty is to guard the faith, to
confirm the knowledge and precepts of religion, and to
establish justice.”――A. T.

[236] क्षत्त्रः, क्षत्त्रियः, क्षत्त्री, ‘kshatra, kshatriya, kshatri,’
a man of the military class, from क्षद् to divide, or eat,
rather from क्षेत्रं, _kshétram_, ‘field,’ which they are to
protect. This last from क्षि, _kshi_, ‘to dwell.’

[237] छत्रं, ‘_chhatraḿ_,’ a parasol, an umbrella, from छद
‘chhada,’ to cover.――A. T.

[238] “The Núristárs in Pehlevi are named _Rehtishtáran_,
and are the princes and warriors who are called to grandeur
and superiority, and command, and worldly sway.” _Comment.
upon art. 145 of the Desatir_, p. 27.――A. T.

[239] विश, वैश्य, ‘_viś_, _vaiśya_, ‘a man of the mercantile
tribe,’ from विश, ‘viś,’ to enter.――A. T.

[240] “The Suristars in Pehlevi are denominated _Washteryû´shán_,
and are devoted to every kind of business and employment.”
_Comment. upon the Desatir_, p. 27.

[241] शुद्र, _śudra_, a man of the fourth or servile class,
from शुच, _such_, to purify.――A. T.

[242] “The Ruzistars are in Pehlevi styled Hotukhshan, and
are artisans and husbandmen.”――_Comm. upon the Des._

[243] The names _Huristar_, _Nuristar_, _Suristar_, and
_Ruzistar_, of the four classes of the people, are to be
found in the Desatir (artic. 145, English translation, p.
27), from which work the author of the Dabistan is likely to
have taken them, as various other information. As this
division of a nation is undoubtedly suggested by the natural
state of things, it has been attributed to more than one
ancient king, and by Ferdúsi, in his Shah-namah, to Jemshid,
under four denominations belonging to the ancient Persian
language. These are as follows: 1ᵒ ان, _Amuzian_; 2ᵒ
يساريان, _Nisarian_; 3ᵒ دی, _Nasudi_; 4ᵒ خوشی, _Ahnu
khushi_, corresponding to the learned, the warriors, the
husbandmen, and the mechanics. The first of these names,
_Amuzian_, is easily recognised in the Persian ختن,
_amokhten_ (Imp. اموز _amuz_), “to teach, to learn;” the
second _nisarian_ is the same with ساری, _nisari_, the
common Persian word for a warrior; the third, _nasudi_, is a
Pehlevi noun (see Hyde, p. 437); the fourth, _Ahnúkhúshí_,
appears composed of [اهنو, _ahnu_, “provisions, meat” (to be
traced to आह्निक, _ahnika_, “daily work, food”), and of
خوشی, _khushi_, “good, content,” or from ستن _khástan_, “to
ask.” Upon the four classes of the people see also _History
of the early kings of Persia, translated from the Persian of
Mirkhond, entitled the Rauza-us-safa”_ by David Shea, p.
108-113.――A. T.

[244] The text of Gladwin has انير, _destânir_, the edition
of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have _Dasátir_. The
single volume published under that name at Bombay (see note
page 14), if genuine at all, can be considered but as a very
small part of the great work, said to comprehend all
languages and sciences.――A. T.

[245] This faith is also called _Fersendáj_, and the great
Ábád himself _Ferzábád_, and _Búzúgábad_, (Dasát., Engl.
Transl., p. 27, 58, 187).――A. T.

[246] _Burz_, with the Arabic article _Al-burz_, is a
mountain in Jebal or Irak Ajemi, not far distant from, and
to the north of, the town Yezd in the province of Fars,
where, from very remote times to our days, a great number of
fire-temples existed. Alburz belongs to a fabulous region;
this name is given to several mountains, among which the
great Caucasus is distinguished from the _tirah_, or
“little,” Alburz.――A. T.

[247] This word reminds of जिन, _jina_, or जैन, _jaina_,
from जि, _ji_, ‘to conquer’ or ‘excel,’ a generic name of
distinguished persons, belonging to the Jaina sect of
Hindus.――A. T.

[248] This is evidently the Sanskrit word यशस्, _yaśas_,
“fame, glory, celebrity, splendor,” and यशस्वान, _yaśasvan_,
“famous, celebrated.”――A. T.

[249] Gladwin has مور, _nimur_; the edition of Calcutta and
the manuscript of Oude have تيمور _timur_.――A. T.

[250] Gil-shah, “Earth-King,” also “the King formed of
clay.” According to the _Mojmil-al-Tavarikh_ (see Extracts
from this work by Julius Mohl, Esq., Journ. Asiat., February
1841, p. 146), he was so called, because he governed the
then not inhabited earth. Gil-shah is one of the names given
to the first man or King; in the _Desátir_ (pp. 70, 131) he
is called Giomert, Gilshadeng; by others Kaiomars (see also
_Rauzat-us-Safa_ of Mirkhond, translated by D. Shea, p.
50).――A. T.

[251] This number differs considerably from the chronology
of other Asiatics. Here follow the periods enumerated in the
_Epitome of the ancient History of Persia, extracted and
translated from the Jehan Ara_, by Sir Wil. Ouseley (p.
71-74).

The Peshádian ruled (the mean of 4 different data) 2531 years.
Kaiánián ―― ( ―― 4 ―― ) 704 ――
Ashkánián ―― ( ―― 11 ―― ) 352 ――
Sásánian ―― ( ―― 7 ―― ) 500 ――
――――――――――――
TOTAL 4087 years.
――――――――――――

As Yezdejird’s reign terminated 651 or 653 years of our era,
the beginning of the Peshdádíán, according to the Dabistan,
is placed 6024-651=5373 years before J. C.――A. T.

[252] Adopting the just computed period of 4087 years
between Yezdegird and the 1st of the Péshdadíán, Kaiomars
would have begun to reign 3436 years before Christ;
according to the Shahnamah, it was 3529 years before our
era; Sir W. Jones places him 890 years B. C. (see his Works,
vol. XII, 8vo edit. p. 399).

[253] Síyamak the son of Gilshah or Kaiomors, was killed in
a battle against the Divs.
ACCORDING ACCORDING
TO FERDUSI: TO SIR W. JONES:
[254] Húshang began to reign 3499 years B. C.; 865 years B. C.
[255] Tehmúras ―― 3469 ―― ; 835 ――
[256] Jemshíd ―― 3429 ―― ; 800 ――

Jemshíd, also called Jermshár in the _Desátir_ (pp. 88,
89), according to Ferdusi the son of Tehmúras, according to
the _Zend-Avesta_ the son of Viverghám, brother or son of
Tahmúras. He, or rather his dynasty, ruled 700 years the
Persian empire. He is believed to have been the first who
amongst the Persians regulated the solar year, the
commencement of which he fixed at the vernal equinox, about
the 5th of April (see _Zend-Avesta_, by Anquetil du Perron,
vol. II, p. 82). He is also distinguished by the epithet
_Sad-wakhshur_, which signifies “hundred prophets;” to him
is ascribed the book _Javedan Khirad_, “eternal intelligence,”
which is said to have been translated into Greek, with other
books, by order of Alexander (see _Desátir_, English transl.
pp. 79, 153, 163).――A. T.

[257] Zohak, the son of a sister of Jemshíd, usurped the
throne of his uncle and sovereign, according to Ferdusi,
2729 years B. C.; according to Helvicus, 2248; according to
Jackson, 1964; but only 780 years B. C., according to Sir W.
Jones who, in general, fixes the ancient Persian reigns much
lower than other chronologers. Zohak is also called
_Pivar-asp_, or _Bivar-asp_, from the circumstance of his
always keeping ten thousand Arabian horses in his stables,
for _Bivar_, says Ferdusi, from the Pehlevi, in counting
means in the Dárí tongue, ten thousand (see Rauzat-us-safá,
Translat., p. 123; and also Mojmel-al-Tavarikh). The empire
which Zokah founded is identified by some historians with
the Assyrian monarchy of Semiramis, or with a Semitic
domination in general. It lasted, according to the Orientals,
1000 years; according to Ctesias, Diodorus Siculus, Justin
and Syncellus 13 or 1400, according to Herodotus only 520
years.――A. T.

[258] Kiblah signifies that part to which people direct
their face in prayer, the temple of Mecca to the devout
Muhammedans; in a general sense, it means the object of our
views or wishes.――A. T.

[259] The text has گس, _Kerges_, a bird, feeding on
carcasses, and living one hundred years.――A. T.

[260] Bahram is also called _Manishram_ (Desátir, Engl.
transl. p. 79).

[261] Nahid appears also under the name of _Ferehengíram_
(ibid., p. 90).

[262] Tir, also _Temirám_ (ibid., p. 102).――A. T.

[263] It was from time immemorial to our days the practice
of the Asiatics to refer the common affairs of life to the
stars, to which they attribute a constant and powerful
influence over the nether world. Thus Húmaiun the son of
Baber, emperor of India (see the History of Ferishta,
translated by general John Briggs, vol. II, p. 71) “caused
seven halls of audience to be built, in which he received
persons according to their rank. The first, called the
palace of the Moon, was set apart for ambassadors, messengers
and travellers. In the second, called the palace of _Utarid_
(Venus), civil officers, and persons of that description,
were received; and there were five other palaces for the
remaining five planets. In each of these buildings he gave
public audience, according to the planet of the day. The
furniture and paintings of each, as also the dresses of the
household attendants, bore some symbol emblematical of the
planet. In each of these palaces he transacted business one
day in the week.”――A. T.

[264] Gladwin has وساتير _timar Vasátir_, the manuscript of
Oude ر دسيتير _tímár dasyátir_, the edition of Calcutta ار
دساتير, _tímsár dasatir_, which is the right reading, as the
word “_timsar_” is explained in the index of obsolete or
little known terms by these words: لمهٔ تعظيم بمعنی “a word
expressing respect.”――A. T.

[265] Cicacole, a town in the northern districts of the
Coromandel coast, anciently named Kalinga, the ancient
capital of an extensive district of the same name, lat. 18°
21′ N., long. 83° 57′ E.――A. T.

[266] The Muhammedans distinguish particularly two temples,
or mosques: the first, the principal object of their
veneration, is the _Masjed al Haram_, or “the Sacred
mosque,” that is to say, the temple of Mecca, where is also
the _Kâbah_, or “the Square-edifice,” built, as they say, by
Abraham and his son Ismael. The second of the temples is the
_Masjed al Nabí_, “the mosque of the Prophet,” who preached
and is buried in it.――(_Herbelot._)――A. T.

[267] Ali, the son of _Abu Taleb_, the cousin and son in law
of Muhammed. Ali was assassinated in the mosque of Kufa, and
buried near this town, in the province of Irak, the
Babylonian, on the right bank of the Euphrates.――A. T.

[268] Kerbela is a district of Irak, the Babylonian, or of
Chaldæa, not far from Kufa, and west of the town called
Kaser Ben Hóbeirah. It is famous on account of the death and
sepulchre of Hóssáin, the son of Ali, who was killed there,
fighting against the troops of Yezid, son of Moavia, who
disputed the khalifat with him.――A. T.

[269] Músa was the seventh of the twelve Imams whom the
Shiites revere. He was born in the year of the Hegira 128
(745 A. D.), and died in 183 (799 A. D.).――A. T.

[270] Baghdad, a town in the province Irak Arabí.

[271] The Imam Reza was the eighth Imam of the race of Alí;
he was called Alí Ben Mússa al Kadhem, before he received
the title Reza or Redha (one in whom God is pleased) from
the Khalif Almamúm, when the latter appointed him his
successor, but survived the Imam, who died A. D. 818.――A. T.

[272] Balkh, a town in Khorasan, situated towards the head
of the river Oxus, in lat. N. 36° 28′; long. 65° 16′.

[273] Persepolis, in Persia proper.

[274] For the black stone, consult Dart’s Antiquities of
Westminster, vol. II, p. 12; Matthew of Westminster, p.
430.――D. S.

Stones, especially when distinguished by some particular
form or colour, were in the most ancient times venerated as
the only then possible monuments, consecrated to some
respected person, or to some Divinity. Thus the ancient
Arabians venerated a square stone as sacred (see Selden de
Dis Syris, p. 291, 292). It is known that the Muhammedans
bestow a particular veneration upon a black stone, which is
attached to the gate of their mosque at Mecca (Herbelot,
Bibl. orient. sub voce). It is evident that the followers of
Muhammed, who is the prophet of a comparatively recent
religion, appropriated to themselves more than one object
and place of the most ancient veneration by merely changing
its name, and attaching to it a legend in accordance to
their own belief.――A. T.

[275] According to Ferdusi in his Shah-namah, Gushtasp
(Darius, son of Hystaspes, 519 B. C.) was induced by
Zerdusht to adopt a reformed doctrine which prescribed the
adoration of fire, and was probably a purer sort of Sabæism,
as practised by the most enlightened magi of very ancient
times. Isfendiar, Gushtasp’s son, a zealous promoter of this
religion, erected fire-temples in all parts of his empire
(see also Rauzat-us-safa, Shea’s transl., p. 285).――A. T.

[276] The Persian text of Gladwin reads: کنکدژ “_Gangdezh._”

[277] Faridun, the son of Abtin, restored the power of the
Péshdádían according to Ferdusi, 1729 years B. C.; according
to Sir W. Jones and other chronologers, 750 years before our
era. Faridun, or rather his dynasty, reigned 500 years;
according to the Boundehesh and the Mujmel-ul-tavárikh
during the 500 years of Feridun, twelve generations intervened
between Faridun, and Manutcheher, his grandson.――A. T.

[278] Medina signifies a town in general, but in particular
that of Jatreb, in Arabia, in the province of Hajiaz, to
which town Muhammed fled when obliged to abandon Mecca, on
the 16th July, 622 of our era, which is the first year of
the _Hejira_, “flight.”――A. T.

[279] The text of Gladwin reads. تازسوز علم “_Mahtársúz
ilm._”

[280] Názar is the eighth king of the Péshdadíán, placed by
Ferdusi 1109 years B. C.; by the modern chronologers 715-708
B. C. He had two sons, Tús and Gustaham.

[281] The foundation of the town Tus, in Khorasan, is also
attributed to Jemshíd.

[282] Ardebil, a town in the province called Azerbijan,
which is a part of the ancient Media.

[283] Bahman, son of Isfendiar.

[284] Káus, the second king of the Kaían dynasty, whose
reign began, according to Ferdusi, 955 years B. C.; he is
supposed by western historians, to be Darius, the Mede, of
the Greeks, and placed by them 600, 634-594 years B. C.――A.
T.

[285] The Safavean dynasty began in 1499 A. D. by Shah-Ismail,
who derives his origin from Musa, already mentioned as the
seventh imam of the Muselmans. All his ancestors were
considered as pious men and some as saints. The first of
this family who gained a great reputation was Shaik Sufi
Ud-din, from whom this dynasty takes the name of Sufaviah.
His son was Sudder Ud-din. The monarchs of that time used to
visit his cell. Timur asked him what favour he could bestow
on him. The saint answered: “Set free all the prisoners whom
thou hast brought from Turkey.” The conqueror granted this
request, and the grateful tribes declared themselves the
disciples of the man to whom they owed their liberty. Their
children preserved the sacred obligation of their ancestors,
and placed the son of the pious Eremite upon the throne of
Persia. (_Malcolm’s Hist. of Persia._)――A. T.

[286] Dwaraka, an ancient town, built by Krichna, destroyed
by a revolution of nature; actually exists a town and
celebrated temple of that name, in the province of Guzrat,
situated at the S. W. extremity of the peninsula, lat. 22°
21′ N.; long. 69° 15′ E.

[287] “The true name is _Gáyá_, a town in the province of
Bahar, 55 miles south from Patna, lat. 24° 49′ N.; long. 85°
5′ E. It is one of the holy places of the Hindus, to which
pilgrimages are performed. It was made holy by the benediction
of Vichnu, who granted its sanctity to the piety of Gáyá the
Rájarchi; or according to another legend, to Gáyá, the
Asura, who was overwhelmed here by the deities, with rocks.
This place is also considered by some Hindus either as the
birthplace or as the residence of Buddha, from which
circumstance it is usually termed Buddha-Gáyá (Hamilt. E. I.
Gazetteer. Wilson’s Dict. sub voce).――A. T.

[288] Mathura, a town in the province of Agra, situated on
the east side of the Jumna, 30 miles N. E. by N. from the
city of Agra, lat. 27° 32′; long. 77° 37′ E. This place is
much celebrated and venerated by the Hindus, as the scene of
the birth and early adventures of Krichna (Hamilt.
Gazet.).――A. T.

[289] This is an entirely Indian name: Gópínath, “the lord
of the cowherds’ wives,” a name of Krichna.――A. T.

[290] According to oriental Romance, the Si-murgh, or Enka,
is endowed with reason. He acts a considerable part in the
Shah-namah, as tutor to Zál, the father of Rustam. In the
Kahermán Námah, this bird in a conversation with Kaherman,
the hero, states that it has existed during many revolutions
of ages and beings prior to the creation of Adam. It is
called Si-murgh, as being equal in magnitude to thirty
birds.――A. T.

[291] Rustam appears to be a personification of the heroic
times of the Persians, the Medes and the Scythes. He was
born under the reign of Manucheher, after the year 1299 B.
C., and died under that of Gústasp, after the year 625
before our era; his existence comprises therefore 604 years.
He was the lord of Sejestan, and extended his domination
over Zabulistan and Kabul; but the circle of his actions
comprehends a great part of Asia between the Indus, the
Indian and the Caspian seas.

[292] Khizar is confounded by many with the prophet Elias,
who is supposed to dwell in the Terrestrial Paradise, in the
enjoyment of immortality. According to Eastern traditions,
Khizr was the companion, vizir or general of the ancient
monarch, named _Zu-al-Kurnain_, or “the Two-horned;” a title
which was also assumed by Alexander the Great. According to
the Tárikh Muntakhab, this prophet was Abraham’s nephew, and
served as guide to Moses and the children of Israel, in
their passage of the Red sea and the desert. The same author
tells us, that Khizr lived in the time of Kai Kobad, at
which time he discovered the fountain of life.
(Herbelot).――A. T.

[293] Ferdusi in his Shah-namah narrates that: Secander was
in search of the water of life, accompanied by Khizr. The
prophet attained his purpose, but the king lost his way in
the dark. The troops of the latter followed a mare running
after her foal, until they found themselves in a place full
of pebbles sounding beneath their feet, and heard a voice
from heaven, saying: “Take, or leave, the stones; sorrow of
the heart “awaits you in any case.” And so it happened. At
day-break, the stones picked up were found to be precious
rubies; all were grieved: the one for not having taken more,
the others for not having taken any, of them.――A. T.

[294] Farvardin presides over the 19th day of the month, and
over the first month of the year (Zend-Avesta, by Anquetil
du Perron, II, p. 320-337). Hyde (p. 239) says: the first
month, March, in the Jeláli-year (or the new Persian era of
Jelaluddin) which first month was July in the old year, is
called _Farvardin_, and he endeavours to derive this word
from the modern Persian. Anquetil du Perron (I, 1^{re} part. p.
493) rejects Hyde’s etymology, and says that Farvardin
signifies in Zend “the Fervers (the souls) of the law.” Hyde
himself seems to enter into this sense, in saying (p. 240):
“Iste Angelus (Farvardin) creditur præesse Animabus quæ in
Paradiso” (this angel is believed to preside over the souls
who are in Paradise).――A. T.

[295] The Calcutta manuscript, translated by Gladwin,
differs in this passage from the printed copy of Calcutta,
1224 of the _Hejirah_, A. D. 1809, and also from two
excellent manuscripts: the Calcutta copy has been
followed.――D. S.

[296] The most ancient year of the Persians (Hyde, p. 188,
189) appears to have been vague or erratic, its commencement
varying through all the different seasons, or at least soon
gave room to the vague Persian-Median civil year, to which
was joined afterwards the fixed ecclesiastic year of
Jemshed. Both these years lasted to the time of Yezdejerd,
who made some considerable changes in the Persian calendar.
This king being killed, after an interval of time, the fixed
solar year, beginning in the middle of “pisces,” was
introduced into Persia. The names of the ancient months and
days appear to have come from the Medes, with their
denomination, to the Persians; and even those invented by
Yezdejerd were of Median origin. Here follows the order of
months called _Jelali_ (Hyde, p. 180).

I. Farvardin March.
II. Ardíbehist April.
III. Khordád May.
IV. Tir June.
V. Mardád (_Amardad_. _Anquetil du Perron_) July.
VI. Shahrívar August.
VII. Miher September.
VIII. Abán October.
IX. Azar November.
X. Dái December.
XI. Bahman January.
XII. Isfandármend February.

The old Persian month was not divided into weeks, but every
day had its particular name from the angel who presided over
that day. Here follows the order of their names, according
to Olugh Beigh (Hyde, p. 190):

I. Hormuzd.
II. Bahman.
III. Ardíbehist.
IV. Shahrívar.
V. Isfandármend.
VI. Khurdád.
VII. Murdád.
VIII. Dáíbáder.
IX. Azur.
X. Abán.
XI. Khur.
XII. Máh.
XIII. Tír.
XIV. Júsh or Gúsh.
XV. Dáíbamiher.
XVI. Miher.
XVII. Surúsh.
XVIII. Resh.
XIX. Farvardin.
XX. Bahrám.
XXI. Rám.
XXII. Bád.
XXIII. Dáíbadín.
XXIV. Din.
XXV. Ird, or Ard.
XXVI. Ashtád.
XXVII. Asamán.
XXVIII. Zámíád.
XXIX. Márásfand.
XXX. Anírán.

The names of the five additional days were as follows:

I. Ahnud-jah.
II. Ashnud-jah.
III. Isfandamaz-jah.
IV. Akhshater-jah.
V. Vahashtusht-jah.

Room is wanted for entering into further developments of
this extensive subject.――A. T.

[297] The text of Gladwin has نيديار which has the same
meaning.――A. T.

[298] The text of Gladwin has اورام _Orám_. The name is
properly Uráman, a peculiar manner of chanting or reading
Pahlavi poetry, which derives its name from a village in the
dependencies of Kushgun, where its inventor lived.――D. S.

[299] Gladwin and Shea read Wasatir, but I cannot forbear
from thinking, the right reading is dasátir; the و and the د
being easily confounded with each other. The simile above
quoted is not to be found in the Bombay edition of the
Desátír, although the same precepts are stated therein (pp.
12, 13, 14). Here follows the passage (English transl.
Comment. p. 45) about the Desátír itself: “There are two
books of Yezdán. The name of the first is _Dógítí_, ‘two
worlds,’ and this they call the ‘Great Book,’ or in the
language of Heaven _Ferz-Desatir_, or the ‘Great Desátir,’
which is the great volume of Yezdán. And the other book
is called Desátir, the doctrines of which Máhábád, and
the other prophets from Màhábád down to me, have revealed.
* * * * And in the heavenly tongue this is called _Derick
Desatir_, ‘the Little Desátir,’ as being the Little Book of
God.”――A. T.

[300] Zanar is called in India the brahminical, or in
general, a religious thread; here is meant the mark of any
unbeliever.――A. T.

[301] Zohak.

[302] पद्मासन

[303] These practices are evidently the same as those used
among the Hindu devotees. The chapter upon the Hindus, which
follows, will set forth the great conformity, nay, identity
of Indian religions with the tenets and customs here
ascribed to Persian sects. In the Desátir (English transl.
Comment. pp. 66, 67) is a curious account of the postures to
be taken standing, or lying, or sitting, on the ground
before any thing that burns, and reciting the _Ferz-zemiar_,
“great prayer,” to Yezdán, or another to _Shesh-kákh_, that
is to say, to the stars and to the fire which yield
light.”――A. T.

[304] عزيزی Azizi is supposed, by Mr. Tholuck (Sufismus,
sive Theosophia Persarum Pantheistica) to be the name of the
so long unknown author of Gulshen-raz, “the rose-bower of
mystery.” Silvestre de Sacy (see Journal des Savants,
décembre 1821, p. 719, 720), without absolutely rejecting
this supposition, explains the word Azizi by “homme
vertueux” in the verse upon which Mr. Tholuck founded his
opinion. The true author of Gulshen-raz is now known to be
Mahmud Shabisterí. See the Persian text with a German
metrical translation of this poem, published in 1838 by the
baron Hammer-Purgstall.――A. T.

[305] पर ब्रह्म नारायणः

[306] For Ishrakian, see pages 31 and 86 ad refutationem
Alcorani.――D. S.

[307] In Gladwin’s Persian text, it is توتيار _Tutiar_; in
the manuscripts consulted by Shea, in the edition of
Calcutta, and in the manuscript of Oude نونيار _nuniar_.

[308] स्वप्न.

[309] सुस्वप्न, “good sleep.”

[310] सुखास्वाद, _sukhásváda_, “enjoyment.”

[311] समाधि, _samádhi_, “deep and devout meditation.”

[312] जाग्रत्, _jagrat_, “watching, being awake.”――A. T.

[313] प्रत्यय, _pratyaya_, “certainty.”――A. T.

[314] प्रपुरपरोक्ष, _prapura-paròksha_, “absent from the
former body.”――A. T.

[315] The text of Gladwin has زارک “_záreng_;” the edition
of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude ارنک _Arang_; in the
Desatir we find _Lareng_ for the name of a divinity.――A. T.

SECTION II.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SÍPÁSIÁN SECT.

Among the moderns, the chief of the Abadian and _Azúrhúshangíán_ sects
was _Azar Kaiván_, whose lineage is as follows: _Azar Kaívan_, the son
of _Azar Zerdusht_, the son of _Azar Barzín_, the son of _Azar
Khurín_, the son of _Azar Ayin_, the son of _Azar Bahram_, the son of
_Azar Nosh_, the son of _Azar Mihtar_, the younger son of _Azar
Sásán_, styled the fifth _Sásán_, the elder son of _Azar Sásán_, the
fourth of that name, the younger son of _Azar Sásán_, the third of
that name, the eldest son of _Azar Sásán_, or the second _Sásán_, the
mighty son of _Azar Sásán_, or the first _Sásán_, the son of _Darab_
the less, the son of _Darab_ the great, the son of _Bahmán_, the son
of _Isfendiar_, the son of _Gushtasp_, the son of _Lohrasp_, the son
of _Arvand_, the son of _Kai Nishin_, the son of _Kai Kobad_, the son
of _Zab_, the son of _Nauder_, the son of _Minuchehr_, the son of
_Iraj_, who was of the lineage of Feridun, the son of _Abtin_, who was
of the lineage of _Jamshid_, the son of _Tahmúras_, the son of
_Húsheng_, the son of _Siamak_, the son of _Kaiomors_, the son of
_Yásán Ajam_, of the lineage of _Yásán_, the son of _Shai Mohbul_, of
the lineage _Shai Giliv_, the son of _Jaí Alad_, of the lineage of
_Jai Afram_, the son of _Abád Azád_, of the lineage of _Mah Abád_, who
appeared with splendor in the beginning of the great cycle. The mother
of _Kaiván_ was named _Shirín_, a fortunate and illustrious dame
descended from the lineage of the just monarch Nushirvan. Through
eternal aid and almighty grace _Azar Kaiván_, from his fifth year,
devoted himself to great abstinence in food, and watching by night.
_Salím_ thus expresses himself:

“Innate essence has no need of instruction;
How could an artist produce the image in the mirror?”

In the progress of his admirable voluntary mortification, the quantity
of his daily food was reduced to one direm weight. On this point, the
divine sage Sunái observes:

“If thou eat to excess, thou becomest an unwieldy elephant;
But if with moderation, thou becomest another Gabriel;
If any person should give way to excess in eating,
Rest assured that he is also vile to excess.”

He abode in Khum during twenty-eight years, but removed in his latter
days from the land of Iran into India: he remained some time in Patna,
where, in the year of the Hegira 1027 (A. D. 1673), he took his flight
from this lower elementary abode to the sphere of the mansions on
high. Azízí observes:

“Whoever is wise, esteems this mortal coil the obstacle to union
with God:
This life is the death of Durvishes: look on (the world of) reality
as a friend.”

He continued eighty-five years united to the elements of body, during
which time he never desisted from the practice of austerities. On this
subject Hafiz of Shiraz observes:

“O! my heart, if thou once become acquainted with the lustre of
austerity,
Like those who strike the smiling taper, thou canst give up thy
head――
But thou longest after thy beloved and sparkling wine-bowl:
Abstain from such desire, for thou canst accomplish better things.”

_Farzánah Bahrám_ relates in the _Sharistan_, that from the very
commencement of his religious career, Azar Kaiván, having resolved on
learning thoroughly the science and systems of the eminent sages of
antiquity, on this, the distinguished philosophers of Hindustan,
Greece, and Persia, having appeared to him in a vision, communicated
all kinds of knowledge. He went one day to a college, where he
answered every question that was proposed, and gave the solution of
every difficulty: he was therefore entitled _Zu-l-ulum_, or “the
Master of Sciences.” Ali Sani Amir Saiyid Ali of Hamadan observes:

“If thou advance even one step from this abode of vain desire,
Thou mayest repose in the sanctuary of omnipotence;
And if thou perform ablution with the water of religious austerity,
Thou canst convert all the uncleanness of thy heart into purity;
This path however is only traversed by the active pilgrim,
How canst thou, the world’s idol, perform such a task?”

It is reported that Saiyid Hasan of Shiraz, who was styled “the sage,
the embellishment of pure faith and works,” one day said thus: “On a
certain day, two followers of the Sufís came into the presence of Azar
Kaiván, and pursuing the path of opposition to the Master of Sciences,
treated him not as one possessed of perfection. Their teacher, a man
equally eminent in theoretical and practical science, who by dominion
over the external world had established the relation of spiritual
intercourse with the holy prophet, fell one night into a state of
ecstasy, and beheld in his trance the effulgent perfection of the
prophet, who said to him: ‘My son! tell thy disciples that through the
assistance of the Only Wise and the Omnipotent, who is independent of
all, Ali Kaiván is a completely perfect man, who has attained to the
different degrees of spiritual dominion, by the practice of the seven
cordial ejaculations, and varied mysterious illuminations, visions,
revelations, spiritual realities in his acts and attributes: moreover
his evanescent existence, through grace predestined from eternity, has
received the boon of divine nature; equally versed in special and
general providence; unique in the true knowledge of things from
inspection, not contented with the illumination of tradition; the most
perfect master of the seekers after truth in matters of worship,
seclusion, social intercourse, and whatever is meet and suitable to
their state in all kinds of institutes and religious austerities. He
is the true philosopher; the physician of the human race; the
discipline of religion; the institute of the devout; the interpreter
of events; the instructor of worship; the director of those who seek
God, labouring diligently in the purification of souls; co-operating
in the cleansing of hearts; the spiritual champion of the law;
fighting the good fight of faith; the principle of truth; confirmed in
the knowledge, source, and evidence of certainty; supported by divine
aid in the fundamental points and collateral inductions. Let not thy
disciples calumniate him, but esteem him a holy personage, and regard
attendance on him as pregnant with happiness: do thou also approach
his presence, and use every effort to conciliate his affection.’ The
teacher having during his ecstacy repeated this panegyric several
times, I committed the words to writing, and on the holy man’s arising
from his ecstatic trance, he summoned me and said: ‘Who in this city
is Azar Kaiván? The prophet hath praised him exceedingly, and ordered
me to go into his presence.’ I answered: ‘He has lately come hither
from the direction of Istakhar:’ on which he replied: ‘Conduct me near
him.’ I therefore accompanied him, but was ignorant of Kaiván’s
residence. When we had proceeded some time, one of Kaiván’s disciples,
by name Farhad, came near him and said: ‘The master (that is Kaiván)
invites you, and has sent me to be your guide.’ When we came into his
presence, my teacher had determined in his mind to salute him first,
but was unable to obtain the priority, as Azar Kaiván had much sooner
anticipated him in salutations in the Persian language, and afterwards
addressed him in Arabic. We were struck with astonishment. My teacher
then repeated what he had communicated to me concerning the vision, on
which Kaiván commanded him ‘not to remove the veil of this mystery.’”
The teacher, on his return, having called before him his two misguided
disciples, recounted the perfections of Kaiván, and enjoined them to
abstain from censuring the holy man. For as Sadi says:

“Respecting the thicket, imagine it not unoccupied,
A tiger may probably be couched there.”

Azar Kaiván mixed little with the people of the world; he shunned with
horror all public admirers; and seldom gave audience to any but his
disciples and the searchers after truth; never exposing himself to the
public gaze. According to Shaikh Baha Uddin Muhammad of Amil,

“If thou have not guards in front and rear to keep off the crowd,
Aversion to mixing with crowds will be a sufficient safeguard to thee.”

Farzanah Bahrám relates in the _Sharistan_, that Kaiván expressed
himself after this manner: “The connexion of my spirit with this body,
formed of the elements, resembles the relation of the body to a loose
robe; whenever I wish I can separate myself from it, and resume it at
my desire.” The same author also thus relates of him, in the text of
the _Jam-i-Kai Khusró_, wherein are recounted some of his revelations
and spiritual communications:

“When I passed in rapid flight from material bodies,
I drew near a pure and happy spirit;
With the eye of spirit I beheld spirits:
My spirit was moving amidst kindred spirits:
In every sphere and star I beheld a spirit;
Each sphere and star possessed its peculiar spirit;
Thus in the three kingdoms of nature I beheld a common spirit,
As their spirit was mutually communicated to each other.
I attained the knowledge of all existences.
And was associated with the great Serósh Ramah.
[316]But when I reached a great elevation,
Splendor from the Almighty gave me light;
As the radiance increased this individuality departed;
[317]Even the angelic nature and the principle of evil disappeared:
God only existed, there was no sign of me
(or of my individual existence):
[318]I no longer retained intellect or recollection of spirit:
[319]I discovered all my secrets to be but shadows;
I then returned to the angelic intelligences,
And from these intelligences I came back to the spirit;
And thus at last to bodies also summoning me.
In this manner I became powerful, wise, and sublime,
Until I descended from that high degree――
Upon the road by which I had gone up, I returned to my body
With a hundred divine favours[320] deriving splendor from that
assemblage;
The dignity of the Supreme Lord is too exalted
For intercourse with his servants to be worthy of him.
By his effulgence intellect becomes (illumined) like the earth or sun;
He is elevated too high for his servants to hold intercourse with him:
If the spirit receives illumination from him,
It becomes beside itself, and its speech is ‘I am without intellect’――
The world is a drop which proceeds from the ocean of his existence;[321]
What is the dropping dew? it is Himself (God);
Thou art not the dropping dew, but only a drop among the drops of it.
I know not what to say, as the result of all is deficiency:
Through love he confers bounties on his servants;
As it is proper to raise up the down-fallen
His love renders the mendicant a man of power.
The world is but a ray emanating from the sun of his face:
The just Creator addressed me in kind words,
And conferred on me the splendor of an Ized;
None but He can duly praise Himself,
As He cannot become the object of speech or hearing.”

Kaivan was master of noble demonstrations and subtile distinctions:
one of the Moslem lawyers having asked him: “Why dost thou forbid thy
followers from eating flesh, slaying animals, and injuring living
creatures?” He thus replied: “The seekers of God are named the
peculiar people of the heart; and the heart itself, the true Kâabah:
therefore, what is an abomination in the sanctuary formed of water and
clay cannot a fortiori be suitable to the true Kâabah: that is, the
eating of animals and the slaughter of living creatures. A great man
says:

“I have heard that a sheep once thus addressed the butcher,
At the moment he prepared to cut off her head with his sword:
‘I now behold the retribution of every bush and bramble of which I
tasted;
What then shall that person not experience who eats my fatted loin?’”

Kaivan also said: “If you think proper, keep your tenets secret
wherever you happen to be, concealing them even from your brethren in
the faith; as they, for the confirmation of their system, will make
you publicly known.” Azizi also says:

“As long as thou canst, communicate not thy secret to thy friend;
For that friend has another; beware therefore of thy friend’s
friend?”

Some one asked him: “In the schism of Abad Ansari, which faith shall I
adopt, and whose arguments must I regard as true?” Azar Kaiván
replied: “Remain in the same faith that, until the present time, God
doeth as seemeth good to him; and for the time to come he will do
whatever he thinks proper.” Urfi of Shiraz says,[322]

“Thy essence is able to call into being all that is impossible,
Except to create one like thyself!”

He once said to a holy man: “The knowledge of evanescent objects is
not properly knowledge, but bears the same relation to reality as the
mirage of the desert to water: the searcher after which obtains
nothing but an increase of thirst.” Shah Subhan says:

“Men favoured by fortune drink the wine of true knowledge;
They do not, like fools, quaff the dregs of infidelity;
The science acquired in colleges and by human capacity
Is like water drawn out of the well by a sieve.”

They once observed to Kaivan: “Notwithstanding the great exertions
made by his highness the sincere and faithful Akbar, and the grand
justiciary, the caliph Omar, and the possessor of the two lights,
Osman, in the way of the faith proved by miracles, and their mighty
labors in diffusing its institutes, the Shee-ites are opposed to these
great personages?” He replied: “The mass of mankind are acted upon by
time and place, in opposition to the seekers after truth. It is also
to be observed that the people of Iran have adopted the Shee-ite
faith; and as the above-mentioned great personages destroyed the
fire-temples of that nation, and overturned their ancient religion,
therefore rebellion and envy have remained in their hearts.”

Two learned men having a dispute concerning the superiority of the
chosen Alí, “the Elect” (whose face may God honor), over the two
Shaikhs and the _Lord of the two lights_ (Osmar), (upon all of whom be
the mercy of the Almighty) having referred the dispute to Kaivan, he
observed:

“All four are the four perfections of the prophetic edifice;
All four are the four elements of the prophets’ souls.”

“The distinction between the two exalted parties is difficult, as two
of them claim supremacy on the celebrity (drum) of being
fathers-in-law to the Arab founder of religion; and the other two are
fitted for dignity, by being sons-in-law to the apostle of the Arabs.
But whereas all things are objects of the Almighty’s regard, the
excellent Alí, ‘the Lion of God,’ was esteemed so pre-eminent an
object of divine favor among the Moslems, that want of faith and
ignorance induced many to worship him as the true God, until this
great personage openly disclaimed such a pretension. Also during the
pontificate and caliphat of _Sadik_, ‘the faithful witness,’ the
powerful _Abubeker_, ‘the separator,’ the grand _Omar_, and that of
_Zu-l-Narain_, ‘the Lord of the two Lights,’ error misled many to such
a degree, that they denied their authority, until these legitimate
directors asserted their claims to that dignity.”[323]

He returned an answer of a similar description in a dispute between a
Jew, a Christian, and a Muselman, who were arguing about the
superiority of their respective prophets; some acknowledging Jesus as
God, the others as the Son of God. One day as a Christian and Muselman
were disputing with each other, the former allowing the death of
Jesus, and the latter believing him to be alive, Azar Kaivan said: “If
a person who knew not the direction of a road which formed his
destination, should in the course of his journey come to a dead body
lying down, and a living person seated, from which of the two ought he
to inquire his way?” As the disputants both replied, “from the living
person;” he then said to the Muselman: “Adopt thou the faith of Jesus,
as according to thy belief he is living.” He then added: “By life is
meant the life of the rational soul: in this Mohammed and Jesus are on
an equality; call your prophets the ‘eternal living:’ for life means
not the perpetuity of this body fashioned out of the elements, which
cannot accompany us beyond a hundred or a hundred and twenty natural
stages (years).” Azizi says:

“If the domestic fowl should fly along with the fowls of the air,
It could not proceed in flight beyond the summit of the wall.”

A hermit once came into _Zu-l-Ulum_’s[324] presence; he pronounced a
panegyric on the opposition to sensual passions exhibited by pious
Moslem believers: and then added: “There is no limit to the opposition
to these passions: even the unbeliever through the practice of
austerities finally becomes a Moslem.” He also added: “An exemplary
unbeliever had become able to work miracles: a Shaikh went to him one
day and asked: ‘By what route hast thou attained to this dignity?’ He
replied, ‘By opposing the suggestions of the passions.’ On which the
Shaikh answered: ‘Now turn to Islamism, as thy soul has admitted
infidelity.’ On hearing which the unbeliever became a follower of
Islamism.” Kaivan observed: “The Shaikh must have been an infidel, as
his soul was still seeking after Islamism, or the true religion.” Urfi
says:

“Lay aside the recollection of (these words) belief and unbelief,
as they excite great disputes;
For according to our (supposed) bad doctrines, all persons think
aright.”

A person once came to Zu-l-Ulum, and said: “I propose embracing the
profession of a durvesh, and breaking asunder the chains which bind me
to the world.” Kaivan replied, “It is well.” Some days after, he
returned to Kaivan, and said: “I am at present engaged in procuring
the patched tunic, cap, wallet, and other things necessary for my
profession.” Zu-l-Ulum observed: “The profession of a durvesh consists
in resigning every thing and abandoning all manner of preparations,
and not in accumulation of any kind.”

A merchant through penury having assumed the dress of hypocrisy,
appeared in a Shaikh’s garb, and many persons devoutly regarded him as
a holy man. He one day came before Kaivan and said: “Often have
wretches plundered me on the road: it was however for a good purpose,
in order that by embracing the life of a durvesh I might attain the
great object of salvation.” Azar Kaivan replied: “Be not grieved, as
thou art now plundering mankind by way of retaliation.”

“The society of Urfi pleases not the superior of our monastery;
Because the superior is a foe to the intelligent and Urfi to the
stupid.”

At present some of Kaivan’s disciples, as far as the author’s
acquaintance extends, are about to be enumerated.

_Farzanah Kharrád_, of the family of Mahbud, who had been the _khan
salar_ (royal table-decker or taster) to the equitable monarch
_Nushirvan_,[325] and put to death through the sorcery of a Jew and
the calumnies of a chamberlain, as recorded in the Shah Namah of the
king of poets, Ferdúsi, and in other histories: Kharrad joined himself
to Kaivan in the bazar of Shiraz, and practised religious austerities
for many years. Farzanah Khushi has often mentioned in conversation,
and has also frequently repeated in the _Bazm-gah-i-Durvéshán_, “the
Durvesh’s banquetting-room,” the following circumstance: “I one day
beheld _Kharrad_ and _Ardeshir_ (a descendant of _Ardeshir
Babegan_,[326] and one of Kaivan’s disciples), standing face to face
and mutually opposing each other: whenever Ardeshir wished to smite
Kharrád with a sword, he appeared like a stone, so that when the sword
came into contact with his body, it was instantly broken to
pieces.”――In the year 1029 of the Hejirah (1620 A. D.) he became
reunited to the pure uncompounded spirit. _Buzurgi_ says:

“What is the soul? the seminal principle from the loins of destiny:
This world is the womb: the body its enveloping membrane:
The bitterness of dissolution, dame Fortune’s pangs of childbirth.
What is death? to be born again an angel of eternity.”

_Farzanah Farshid wird_ was one of the Parsi village chieftains: his
pedigree ascended to _Farzanah Shedosh_, who was one of the fifth
_Sassan_’s[327] disciples. He also became attached to Azar Kaivan in
the same place as Kharrad, and devoted himself to the service of the
Almighty. Khushi relates as follows: “Farshid wird and Bahman used to
stand facing each other; every arrow which Bahman discharged against
Farshid wird, he used to cut in two with his sword: and whenever the
latter let fly an arrow, Bahman with activity and address threw
himself to one side and avoided it. But this is still more wonderful:
whenever Bahman shot off a musket, Farshid let fly one at the same
instant, and ball met ball, so that they both remained unhurt:
sometimes also when Farshid Wird shot off his musket, Bahman used to
move rapidly on one side.” In the year 1029 of the Hejirah (A. D.
1619) he hurried away from this abode of the elements to the skies.
The Khajah Hafiz speaking on this subject, says:

“He never dies whose heart is quickened with love divine;
But remains for ever stamped on the records of our eternal world.”

_Farzanah Khíradmand_ was descended from Sám, the son of Narimán: he
joined _Zu-l-Ulum_ and gave himself up to religious austerities.
Khushi thus relates: “I once beheld Khiradmand while standing face to
face to _Rustam_ (who was descended from _Bahram Gur_,[328] and was
one of Kaivan’s distinguished disciples), assume the form of a dragon,
and shower out fire from his mouth, to such a degree that a strong
palm was consumed by its violence.”

In three months after Bahman’s death, Khiradmand was restored to his
original place. _Buzurgi_ says:

The skilful and intelligent artist
Should have in this world two successive lives:
So that in one he might acquire experience,
Which he could carry into effect by another experiment.

Of these illustrious personages they have recorded many miraculous and
mysterious deeds; such as, in the upper world, hiding the sun’s disk;
causing him to appear at night; making the stars visible in the
day-time: and in this lower world, walking on the surface of water;
making trees productive out of season; restoring verdure to dried-up
wood; causing trees to bow down their heads; also showing themselves
between heaven and earth in the form of lightning; and such like: and,
in the animated world, metamorphosing animals; rendering themselves
invisible to men; appearing under various shapes and forms: some of
which wonders have been recorded in the _Bazmgah-i-Durveshi Khushí_.
They relate that these great personages were to such a degree enabled
to divest themselves of corporeal elements, that they quitted the body
at pleasure: also that they had acquired from the court of Heaven the
knowledge of all sciences whether known or occult, and _consequently_
had the power of exhibiting such wonderful works; having rendered, by
the efficacy of their austerities, elementary matter subject to
themselves. The author of these pages beheld these four holy
personages, Kharrad, Farshid wird, Bahman, and Khiradmand, in Patna,
on which occasion they bestowed their benedictions, and imparted to
him the glad tidings of the means of obtaining the great object, or
final salvation. Shaikh Saadi says:

“It becomes the truly wise to pass every day in the exercise of
holy zeal,
And to offer up prayers for the prosperity of durveshes.”

_Farzanah Bahram_, the son of Farhad, was descended from _Gudarz_, the
son of Hashwád. When Azar Kaivan had proceeded to Patna, in this
sage’s latter days, Farzanah Bahram came from Shiraz and devoted
himself to the practice of religious austerities. He was a man who had
attained the highest degree of knowledge in logic, natural philosophy,
the abstract sciences, and theology, which he had most attentively
studied as far as set forth and expounded by sound reasoning in the
Parsi, Pehlevi, and Arabic: in practical and theoretical science he
was unequalled; being profoundly skilled and a perfect philosopher in
all the objects of science and morality: among the Moslem doctors, he
had established the relations of external tuition with _Khajah
Jumál-Uddin Mahmúd_, one of the disciples of the _Mulla Jalál Dawani_.
Farzánah Bahrám is the polished author and compiler of the book
entitled _Sharístán-í-Dánish, wa Gulístán-í-Binish_, “the pavilion of
knowledge and the rose-garden of vision.” In the _Sharistan_, he thus
tells us: “Through the aid of Azar Kaivan, I reached the invisible,
the angelic, the empyrean worlds, and the seat of the Divinity, and
attained to union with him through revelations of the fourfold
kind――_impressive_, _operative_, _attributive_, and _essential_.” The
Mobed _Hoshyar_ relates: “I have heard Farzánah Bahrám relate as
follows: I was one day standing in the presence of Azar Kaivan, and
conceived in my heart the wish that he should tell me what occupied my
secret thoughts. The venerable personage unfolded the secret thoughts
of my heart, and afterwards said: ‘O, Farzanah! it is an easy matter
for me to know the secrets of the soul; but then what purpose does thy
tongue answer? in order that thy tongue may not be useless, I shall
for the future suffer thee to speak.’” He assumed the dress of a
merchant, but people imagined it was for the purpose of concealment,
and that he gave himself up to alchymy. In the year of the Hejirah
1034 (A. D. 1624), he ascended from this lower abode of darkness to
the pavilions of light. The sage Sunái says:

“Wherever intellect and divine knowledge are found,
The death of body is the birth of soul.”

The Mobed Hoshyar is the author of the _Sarúd-i-Mastán_, “the songs of
the intoxicated.” He was born at the port of Surat; he traced his
pedigree to the invincible champion Rustam, the son of Zál, and was a
man of exceeding bravery, heroism, and experience; perfect in
generosity, sagacity, the termination of disputes, right reason, and
sound experience. If his history were detailed at full length, it
would become necessary to write another Shah Namah concerning his
victory at Girdun, his defeat of Alí Yakah, and such like.[329]

In short he entered the service of the great philosopher Azar Kaivan
and his eminent disciples, being associated with them in the doctrine
of self-knowledge; from the commencement of night to the rise of the
world-illuminating sun, he slept in the attitude of _Murdah Khasp_.
Now the terms _Muráah Khab_, _Murdap Khasp_, and _Sáónós_, are terms
applied by the Sipásían to the following mode of sleeping: the devotee
rests (having thrown his legs beneath him) on his knees, pressing to
the ground both heels as far as the great toe: and applying the
extremities of the knees to the earth, he keeps his seat on the same;
he is then to lie on his back, keeping the points of his fingers on
his head; after this, he is to look intently between the eye-brows,
and carry into practice the _Habs-i-dam_, or imprisonment of the
breath. The Durvesh Subahani, one of the great Sufees, used to say:
“Such was the sleep of the prophets.” They also say: “The prophets of
old used to sleep on their backs, with their faces directed towards
the Heavens:” which is the same as the position before described.
Hoshyar had attained to the power of suppressing the breath for one
watch (three hours). Shaikh Saadi says:

“They who restrain the soul from sensual pleasures
Surpass in heroism both Rustam and Zál.”

Hoshyar was not scrupulous about what he ate; never turning away his
face from whatever was set before him: he however most diligently
shunned the practice of cruelty to living creatures, and avoided
superfluities and excess of every description. Hafiz of Shiraz on this
head says:

“Addict not thyself to cruel pursuits, and do whatever else thou
pleasest;
As in our law there is no sin except that of cruelty.”

In the year of the Hejirah 1050 (A. D. 1640) he was delivered from the
bondage of body in the capital named _Akbar Abad_.[330] The Mobed says:

“Truly the body is a narrow sepulchre which entombs every spirit,
When that tomb is entombed, thou beholdest a wall, that _really_
is no wall;
When the tomb is entombed, the living spirit is freed from its
prison.
Alas! O Mobed, the sovereign of the body knows of no restriction.”

The Mobed Hoshyar, who was conversant with the visible and invisible
worlds, master of the esoteric and exoteric doctrines, was the
interpreter of the _Jashn-i-Sadah_ (the festival of Sadah),[331] from
which work his superior talents are evident: he derived his descent
from the sage _Jamasp_.[332] In the year of the Hejirah 1036 (A. D.
1626) the author of this work met him in the delightful region of
Kashnim. He used to support himself on the extremities of his fingers,
so that his body came not into contact with the ground, in which
position he continued from midnight until dawn. On the subject of
penance Hafiz says:

“O, my heart! couldst thou but acquire a knowledge of religious
austerity,
Thou wouldst be able to abandon women like smiling torches.”

The Mobed _Sarósh_, the son of Kaiván, the son of Kamkar, who was
styled _Namdár_, or “the illustrious,” on account of the celebrity of
his knowledge. The Mobed carried his lineage on the father’s side to
the venerable prophet _Zardúsht_, and on his mother’s, to _Jamásp_ the
Sage. He was equally conversant with the theoretical and practical
sciences; and was master of the languages of Arabia, Persia, and
Hindustan; he had travelled over most of the habitable world; his
nights were passed in prayer; his conduct was always pure. On coming
into attendance on Kaiván, he was illuminated by the sun of his
knowledge, and during his attendance on Farzanah Bahrám, the son of
Farhád, he acquired the Arabic language. His age reached to sixty
years; in short he was a saint elect, who in the course of his life
never looked on a woman; his mouth was never polluted with animal food
of any description; he sought seclusion from the world, and limited
himself to a small quantity of food.

“If thou didst but know the pleasure of abandoning pleasure,
Thou wouldst never more talk about the pleasures of sense.”

He is the author of many admired literary works and compilations; such
as the _Nosh Dárú_, “sweet medicine;” the _Sagangubín_, “dog’s honey,”
and the _Zerdúsht Afshar_, “the companion of Zerdúsht,” and such like.
It was heard from an eminent doctor, named _Muhammed Mahsan_, who said
thus: “I heard from him (Kaiván) three hundred and sixty proofs
confirmatory of the existence of the Deity: but when I wished to
commit them to writing, it was no longer in my power.” People relate
all manner of miraculous stories about him; such as his creating what
was not previously in existence; revealing secret matters, and
concealing what was evident; the acceptance or fulfilment of his
prayers; his performing a long journey in a short space of time; his
knowledge of things hidden from the senses; and his giving a
description of the same; his appearing at the same time in places far
distant from each other; bringing the dead to life, and depriving the
living of vitality; his being enabled to hear and understand the
language of animals, vegetables, minerals, etc.; to produce food and
wine without any visible means; to walk on the surface of water, also
through fire and air; and such like. The author met him in Kashmir in
the year of the Hejirah 1036 (A. D. 1627).

_Firrah Kárí_, the attendant on the venerable _Shídósh_ (an account of
whom shall be soon given) was a person, whose essence was adorned with
science and decorated by purity; the possessor of extraordinary
probity and sound understanding, said thus: “I once received some
injury from the peasantry of Achán, a district bordering on the public
and sacred place of Kashmír: speaking of this to _Yazdán Silái_, a
disciple attached to the Móbed Sarósh, I said ‘the people of Achán
have grievously afflicted me,’ and stated to him the criminal conduct
of this wicked set of men. He answered: ‘Do you wish that the Almighty
should overwhelm with floods the cultivated grounds of these
wretches?’ I replied ‘Certainly.’ It then began to rain so
exceedingly, the loftiest and strongest-built houses were overthrown;
from the overwhelming deluge ruin fell on their buildings and tilled
grounds; and the fields of these men themselves were nearly destroyed
by the waters at the very commencement.” The Maulavi Mânevi says:

“As long as the heart of the righteous comes not to affliction,
God never brings calamity on any people.”

The rains still continued, which Sarósh having observed, he was
exceedingly wroth with his disciple and reproved him; and that same
day the rain ceased. Firrah-Kári used to say, “Mobed Sarósh was
acquainted with the desires of my heart, and possessed power over
men’s minds.” He also related the following story concerning him: “At
the time of arriving in the caravanserai of Bálik, in the city of
Tarkhan, the men of that place wished to act wickedly towards us, and
practise oppression. I explained the nature of their conduct to the
Mobed, on which he retired into a corner. That same night there
appeared in the air men whose heads reached to the heavens, whilst
their feet touched the earth. The people of the city were seized with
consternation and desisted from oppressing us, and the merchants at
the same time bestowed freedom on those who had been captives for many
years.” The Mobed Húshyár relates: “Being in want of a few direms, I
went to Yazdán Sitái, the disciple of the Mobed Sarósh; on this he
stretched forth his hand, and taking up some broken pottery, formed
twenty heaps of it: having breathed on these a few times, they all
became gold Mohurs: these he put into my hands, and I disbursed them
in the course of my ordinary expenses.” He also relates: “Yazdán Sitái
constructed a house of such a kind that, when any one entered, he
beheld the sun; and when the holy man sat with his friends, he
appeared as a crocodile coming to the river-bank, which was about to
snatch away all present. He sometimes threw into the fire towels on
which the flames had no effect: he frequently repeated something,
stirring his lips, and so rendered himself invisible; he used
sometimes to appear in the air, and used to say: ‘I am actually at
rest, although I appear otherwise.’” _Shidosh_, the son of _Anosh_,
said: “We were once seated near him when he placed a taper in a basin
of water; there immediately appeared some peacocks turning towards the
water, plunging their heads into it, and displaying all their beauty,
whilst we remained in utter astonishment.” Shidosh also says: “I once
beheld him disporting in the midst of a blazing fire.” Nay, the writer
of these pages has seen him swallow fire. The Mobed Húshyár says: “He
once exhibited a sight, so as to make a house appear filled with
serpents and scorpions.” He used also to lay on the breast of a person
plunged in sleep, something of such a nature as to make him return an
answer to every question proposed to him. The Mobed Húshyár also
relates: “I once beheld the Hakim (the Sage) Kamran of Shiraz, in the
feast of joy and hospitality made for the reception of an Iraki
friend, light a match: on this, all the Lulees[333] then in the house
stripped themselves naked and began to dance, whilst we looked on at a
distance. The sage said: ‘This we have learnt from Yazdan Sitái: as I
give no invitation to Lulees, and no others can be prevailed on to
commit such indecency, I therefore tried the experiment on the party
of them assembled in this place.’” Many other things of a similar
nature are related concerning Yazdan Sitái.

_Khoda Jói_ was a native of Herat, who had passed many years in the
service of exemplary and holy men; he relates: “I once saw in a vision
holy personages come around me and say: ‘Depart and seek a spiritual
guide free from prejudice.’ During many years’ search I was unable to
discover such a character; but having once seen in a dream, ‘that Azar
Kaiván of Istakhar was one of that description:’ I went near him in
company with _Farzanah Khushi_.”

Khoda Jói excelled in the knowledge of Parsi and Arabic; he avoided
altogether animal food of every description; he could suppress his
breath during four watches (twelve hours), and was in the habit of
practising the Hubs-i-dam; he never slept at night, nor ate more than
fifty direms weight of food. He never gave utterance to a lie, and
whatever he stated had reference to exalted objects and pursuits: even
these were uttered only at the solicitation of his friends. He is the
author of the volume entitled _Jám-i-Kai Khusró_, “the cup of Kai
Khusró,” an admirable commentary on the poetic compositions of Azar
Kaiván, and also containing his visions. He arrived in the delightful
regions of Kashmir in the year of the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1631), where
the author met him: in that same year this distinguished personage
hastened from this abode of evanescence to the mansions of eternity.
Hafiz of Shiraz says:

“O joyous day, when I depart from this abode of desolation;
I then seek my soul’s repose and follow the adored object:[334]
Fluttering about like a solar mote in the _atmosphere_ of that lip,
Until I attain at last to the fountain-head of the radiant sun.”

The Mobed Khushi is the author of the _Bazm-Gah_ (or “banqueting
house”), in which treatise when describing the stations of Azar
Kaiván’s illustrious disciples and most eminent followers, who are
twelve in number; he enumerates them in this order: _Ardashír_,
_Kharad_, _Shiroíyah_, _Khiradmand_, _Farhad_, _Suhrab_, _Azádah_,
_Bizhen_, _Isfendiar_, _Farshidwird_, _Bahman_ and _Rustam_: the daily
food of each of these individuals was much below ten direms weight:
and they carried the austerities recommended by Kaiván to the utmost
limit, so that no others of his disciples attained to the same rank as
these twelve persons. Of Farhád, Farshídwird, and Bahman, some account
has been given in the preceding part of this work.

In the _Bazm-gah_, Khushi thus states respecting himself: “In the days
of my youth, it was my anxious desire to find _a spiritual guide_. I
therefore had recourse to the eminent doctors of Iran, Turan, Room,
and Hindustan; that is, to Moslems, Hindoos, Guebers, Christians, and
Jews. They all said to me: ‘Quit thy present faith and pass over to
us:’ but my heart felt no inclination to change of religion, to
adopting another, and abandoning opinions, as they did not afford me
sufficient light in the object of my pursuit.

“Whilst a person beholds not the water, why pull off his slippers?”

“Such is the language of the prejudiced; although each of these
doctors praised himself as being free from its influence: I afterwards
beheld, in a vision, a mighty river from which streams and canals
issued forth, all of which after many windings returned back into the
same great river, and were confined within its two banks. I abandoned
the great water, and in order to allay my thirst, directed my steps
towards the rivulets in search of water: but as the banks of their
channels were difficult of access through slime and mud, and carrying
a bowl,[335] I could not reach the stream, and remained in great
perplexity. At length my father came up and said: ‘Entreat God to
conduct thee to the water.’ A voice then reached my ear: ‘This man has
abandoned the river, and directed his face towards the rivulets.’ On
my directing my steps towards the river, a blessed Angel said to me:
‘The great river is Azar Kaiván; the small rivulets are the doctors.’
I then knew that the slime and mud of the banks, the bowl, and the
rivulets refer to prejudice and envy: therefore, being accompanied by
Khoda Jói, I joined myself to Azar Kaiván, and discovered the object
of my inquiries.” Hafiz of Shiraz observes:

“Whither can we turn our face from the high-priest’s threshold?
Happiness dwells in his abode, and salvation within that portal.”

_Farzanah Bahram_, the son of Farhád, was called Bahram the Less: the
_Arzhang Máni_ (the gallery of Máni) is the production of his genius:
he was in attendance on Zu-al-Ulum, but attained to communion with God
and to perfection, in the service of Farzanah Bahram, the son of
Farhad. In the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1638) the compiler of
these pages met with Bahram the Less, the son of Farhad, in the
imperial city of Lahore, in perfect health, but in the same year that
sage bade adieu to this world. He was a man who found repose in God,
and avoided all intercourse with society: he was learned in all the
theoretical and practical sciences, and eminently conversant with the
languages of Arabia, Persia, Hindustan, and Europe: by him were
translated into Persian, that is, into Parsi mixed with Arabic, the
works of the Shaikh _Ishrák Shuháb ud dín Maktúl_, which treated of
the Ishrakian tenets; his time was employed in transcribing books,
from which source he was obliged to derive his scanty support. He
never slept at night; in the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1638) the
author beheld him with Húshyár at Lahore; during the entire night, the
writer of these pages sat in his presence, and from morn until evening
Húshyár remained before him; whilst the above-mentioned Farzanah,
seated on both knees, with his face to the east, never moved: people
have witnessed in him many things of this description. They say that
he used to remain seated two or three days after this fashion, neither
eating bread nor drinking water; he never laid his back on the ground;
his food consisted of a small quantity of cow’s milk; his lips were
never polluted with any other substance, and even this he swallowed at
intervals of two or three days.

“Be thou as a goblet, free from the contamination of body,
Be thou earth in the footsteps of the pure.
As from this earth thou mayst come to dust,
Break through the dust, and attain the human nature.”

The Mobed Paristár, the son of Khurshíd, who was originally of
Isfashán, assumed the elements of body in Patna; the Mobed, when a
youth, was accepted by divine favour, and through the aid of the
Almighty became one of the _Yekánah Bín_, or “seers of unity.” Having
in his early years entered into the service of Azar Kaiván, he
obtained a perfect sanctity through the society of his holy master’s
disciples. He however devoted himself chiefly to the Mobed Sarósh: he
was the author of the _Taprah-i-Mobedi_, or “the Sacerdotal
Kettledrum.” In the year of the Hejirah 1049 (A. D. 1640) he came to
Kashmir, where the author of this work was admitted into his society.
From the nightfal until sunrise, the Mobed Paristár gave himself up to
the Saráíst, which in the celestial language, or the _Desatir_, they
call _Faró_, or “downward:” this rite, according to them, consists in
elevating the feet in the air, and standing on the head; which
position is called in Hindi _Kapal Asan_[336] or “head-seat.” He of a
sudden quitted the body and entered the bowers of Paradise. A Mobed
has said:

“If thou be a wanderer upon the path of spirituality,
Fix not on the (external) robe, the motion of thy heart,
For nothingness will be the dwelling of thy body:
Although in reality thou continuest to move.”

The Mobed Peshkár, the son of Khurshíd, was also born in Patna, and
one year younger than Perishtar (his brother). He became unrivalled
during his age, in the Hindi chaunts and poems of that sect. He was
the _servant of the leader_ Azar Kaiván and his disciples, and whilst
in the service of the Mobed Sarósh he attained the knowledge of God,
and of himself, and he became eminently divested of prejudice and
exempted from human infirmities: being totally unfettered by the bonds
or chains of any sect whatever, and studiously shunning the polemic
domains of prejudice: in short, the eulogium of one creed and the
abhorrence of another, entered not into his system. He came to Kashmir
with his elder brother, with the purpose of departing from thence to
Kathay: he was noted for the imprisonment of the breath, concerning
which the Mobed Húshíyár said: “He once suppressed his breath and
plunged into the water, where he remained immersed during two watches
(six hours), after which interval he again raised his head above the
surface.”

HEMISTICH: “Wherever he may be, O God, guard him in safety!”

_Shídosh_, the son of Anosh, descended from the prophet Zardusht by
his father Anósh, who was styled _Farhosh_, “the splendor of
intellect,” was one of the sincerely devoted disciples of Azar Kaiván:
_Zarbád_ was also descended from the same divine apostle Zardúsht, and
finally became a man of opulence, although at the beginning of his
career he only possessed the pangs of destitution. They both came one
day into the presence of Azar Kaiván, and lamented the hardship of
their forlorn state; on this Azar replied: “Proceed with a small stock
to the quarter of sunrise, traverse the eastern borders, and dispose
of it with speed towards the descending sun, as your condition,
through this depressed site of difficulty will be changed into the
means of affluence.” Nearly at the period of giving these
instructions, Azar Kaiván having withdrawn from this earthly
tabernacle, hastened to the resting-place of the spheres, and these
two Jupiter-like stars, the unrivalled splendor of the world, set out
as directed. At length, through the efficacy of Kaiván’s enlightened
spirit, the state of these pilgrims continued to obtain an ascendancy,
until they became possessed of great opulence. Hafiz says thus:

“They who by a look convert clay into the philosopher’s stone,
What great matter if they bestow a single glance on me.”

After this, _Zarbádí_ sent to Patna an ancient servant, Farrah Kari by
name, to conduct his daughter to the musk-scented pavilion of Shídósh,
the illustrious son of Anósh. After this event, Farrah Kari and
Shídósh, proceeded from Patna on a commercial adventure, and formed
the plan of setting out from Kashmir to Kashgar: they were however
obliged to remain some time in Kashmir: but on the first moment of
moving from Patna, there arose in the breast of Shídósh an anxious
wish for attaining the knowledge of himself, the investigation of his
ancient abode, ascertaining his natural light, and exploring the march
of the invisible world: as from the very first, this bright Jupiter,
through the entreaty of Kaivan (Saturn) had directed his steps to the
region of atoms and the abode of elements of the celestial and
terrestrial parents: consequently, when Kaivan had abandoned this
bodily frame, he sat down with his disciples,

“Choose thou companions who are better than thyself,
In order that thy understanding and faith may increase.”

He consequently devoted himself to religious exercises, listening in
the first place to the voice called in Persian _âzád ává_ “the
independent voice,” in Arabic, _saut-i-mutluk_, or “the absolute
sound;” and in Hindi, _anáhid_. When he had duly practised this rite,
he directed his eyes, opened wide between the eyebrows, which in Hindi
they call _terátuk_, until the blessed form of Kaiván was clearly
manifested: he next contemplated that form, until it actually was
never more separated from him; he at last reached the region of
intellect, and having passed through the six worlds, arrived in the
seventh, and in this state of entrancement obtained admittance to the
Almighty presence; so that, during this abstraction from self, the
annihilation (of every thing human) and the eternity (of the
spiritual) was joined to his existence. Sâdi says:

“O youth! enter thou this very day into the path of obedience,
For to-morrow the vigor of youth comes not from the aged man.”

One morning at the dawn of day he said thus to the author of the
Dabistan: “Yesterday in the gloom of night, directed by the light of
spirit, I departed from this external body, and arrived at the
mysterious illumination ever replete with effulgence: the chamberlain
of truth removed from before me the curtains, so that on quitting this
mortal nature and leaving the visible world, I traversed the angelic
sphere. The supreme independently-existing light of lights became
revealed in all the impressive, operative, attributive, and essential
radiance of glory: this state of imaginary being disappeared, actual
existence was clearly witnessed.” Hafiz says:

“The perfect beauty of my beloved is not concealed by an interposing
veil;
O Hafiz, thou art the curtain of the road: remove away.”

Shidósh, though far removed from receiving pleasure by dainty food,
still appeared always in magnificent dresses: his audience always
diffused the fragrance of perfume; he even clad in handsome dresses
his head domestic servants, and other dependents, nay his very porter
and doorkeeper. He used to say: “My state proceeds from the splendor
of Azar Kaiván’s aid: to feel contempt for such a capital would be
highly improper; and not to make use of it would be an abomination
before my benefactor; for otherwise, I derive no pleasure from fine
raiment.” As to his abstinence in point of food, and his shunning of
female society, what has been mentioned is sufficient on these heads.
Shidosh Bihin was a youth of a finely proportioned person, and
beautiful countenance; the following was the rule observed by him: he
never attached merit to any strange creed, but endeavoured to divest
himself altogether of prejudice, and maintained very little
intercourse with the generality of mankind: when he formed an
intimacy, on the first day he testified only a small degree of warmth;
he exhibited greater attention on the second; so that he daily made
greater advances in the path of friendship; progressively increasing
his love and affection: as to what has been stated relative to his
displaying no great degree of warmth on the first interview, the same
proportion obtained when he shewed a decrease of warmth to some; that
same would be reckoned very great in any other. He always asserted,
that in the society of friends, their intercourse must not be
separated from meditation on God, as whatever is, is but a radiancy
emanating from the sun of his essence: the visible and invisible of
the world being only forms of that existence. Rafiah says:

“If angels and demons be formed from one principle,
The husbandman, the spring, the seed, and the field must be the
same:
What has his unity to dread from the plurality of the human race?
Although you tie the knot a hundred-fold, there is only a single
cord.”

Shidosh was seized with so severe an illness in Kashmir, that his case
surpassed the art of the physician: as Urfi says:

“What physician can there be, if the Messiah himself be taken ill?”

All the people about Shidosh were disconsolate, but he remained
cheerful of heart, and in proportion as the symptoms became more
aggravated, his cheerfulness increased, and he frequently recited
these couplets from Hafiz:

“O joyous day, when I depart from this abode of desolation,
Seeking the repose of my soul, and setting out in search of my
beloved:
Dancing like a solar mote around the atmosphere of her lips,
Until I reach the fountain-head of the radiant sun.”[337]

On the day of his departure from this temporary halting-place to the
eternal mansion of repose and the exalted seat of happiness, his
disconsolate friends and affectionate domestics were deeply afflicted;
but Shidosh retained his cheerfulness and thus addressed them with an
expression of delight: “I am not grieved at this disease of body, why
then do you grieve? nay ought you not to wish that I, having quitted
this gloomy abode of phantasy, should hasten to one beyond the
confines of space, and the mansions of intellect may become united to
the truly existent and independent (first cause).” The Maulavi Mânavi
says thus:

“If death be a human being, say to him, ‘draw near,’
That I may closely fold him in a fond embrace.
From him I extort by force eternal life,
Whilst he but snatches from me the Durvish’s party-colored dress.”

He then lifted up his hands and directing his face to heaven, the
Kiblah of prayer, recited the following blessed couplets front the
_Sahifah al Auliya_, “volume of the Saints,” written by the Imam
_Muhammed Nur Baksh_.

“Whether we are directors or guides[338]
Still do we want to be guided, on account of the infancy of our steps.
We are but solitary drops from the ocean of existence,
However much we possess of divine revelation and proof.
I am far from the great reservoir of drops,
Convey me, O God, to the boundless ocean of light!”

On reciting these lines he closed his eyes. The Shaikh Abúlfaiz
Faiyazi says on this subject:

“The drop became a fountain, and the fountain grew into a river,
Which river became reunited to the ocean of eternity.”

This event occurred in the year of the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1629): his
affectionate friends expressed their grief in the following manner:

“Thy brilliant hues still exist in the parterre,
Thy fragrance still survives in the jessamine;
The sight of thee is put off to the day of resurrection;
It is well: but it forms the theme of many a tale.”

The author also in his elegy on Shídósh thus expresses his grief:

“Since Shídósh departed from my sight
That which was a receptacle of eyes became a receptacle of rivers;
Had my eyes been a channel, they would have become a river-bed:
The resting place of the bird was the paradisian sphere:
From this lowly nest he departed to the nest on high.
He was truly free and sought no stores except those of holy freedom.
He abandoned his body to corporeal matter, and his spirit joined
the spiritual region.
His soul was united to the sublime being, the creator of souls,
Soaring beyond the limits of heaven, earth, and time.”

If the author attempted to describe the learned and pious Abádíyán who
were seen in the _Dadistan Aursah_,[339] this treatise would never be
brought to a conclusion; he now therefore proceeds to mention some
others, who though professing a faith different from the Yezdánián or
Abadíyán, yet walked according to the institutes of Kaiván’s
disciples, and attained their great object, the knowledge of God: and
although this class is too numerous to be fully described, a few of
the eminent personages are now about to be mentioned.

_Mahummed Alí_, of Shiraz was the fellow-student of Shah Futtah Allah,
and he traced his family to Azar Kaiván: he however attained
perfection through the society of Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhád,
and had also traversed the seven climes. A thief came to his house one
night, on perceiving whom Muhammed Alí pretended to fall asleep on his
carpet, so that the robber might not suppose him to be awake, and
continue his pursuits without apprehension. The robber searched the
house carefully, but as all the effects were concealed in a secure
place, he was unable to get at them. On this Muhammed raising his
head, said to him: “I laid myself down to sleep, that thou mightst
accomplish thy desires, whereas thou art in despair: be no longer
uneasy.” He then arose and pointed out the place where all the things
were stored away: in consequence of this generous proceeding, the
robber abandoned his infamous profession, and became a virtuous
character.

_Muhammed Said_ of Isfahan was a Saiyid descended from Husain, who
attained his great object through Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhad.
He once said to the author: “The first time I obtained the honor of
admittance to the audience of the distinguished Farzanah, he rose up
on seeing me, and showed the proper respect due to an honorable
person, directing me to be seated on the most distinguished couch.
Some time after, entered a naked Fakir, but Farzanah Bahram moved not
from his place, but pointed him to a seat in the slipper-repository. I
felt this scruple; surely the highest distinction is due to the
Durvish. Farzanah then turning his face to the wall, which was
ornamented with paintings, said: ‘O, lifeless figure, thou art seated
on high; but external form confers not distinction; but Durvishes
enjoy a rank, when their bodies are under the control of their
souls,[340] and their souls united with the supreme object of love;
even in this assembly they are seated with me in my heart.’ On hearing
this, I turned into the right road.” In the year of the Hejirah 1045
(A. D. 1634), he abandoned this elemental frame in Lahore.

_Ashur Beg Karamanlu_ is also one of those who obtained the gift of
spiritual intelligence through Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhad,
notwithstanding the total absence of regular studies: by the exertion
of his innate powers, he, like the other Yekanah Bin “seers of one
God,” attained communion with God. In the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A.
D. 1636) the author conversed with him in Kashmir, and inquired into
the nature of his intercourse with Bahram. He answered: “I went by way
of experiment to Farzanah, and he thus directed me: ‘Whether alone or
in a crowd, in retirement or in public, every breathing which issues
forth must proceed from the head; and on this point there must be no
inattention.’ He also said: ‘Guard the internal breath as long as thou
canst, directing thy face to the pine-formed heart, until the
invocation be performed by the heart in the stomach; also thy
invocation should be thus: ‘God! God!’ Meditate also on this
sentiment: ‘O Lord! none but thou forms the object of my desire!’ When
I had duly practised this, and found its impressive influence, then
from the bottom of my heart I sincerely sought God. After some time he
enjoined me to practise the _Tawajjah-i-Talkín_, ‘turning to
instruction:’ that is: ‘keep thy soul in the presence of God, divested
of letters and sounds, whether Arabic or Persian, never removing thy
mind from the ‘pine-formed heart.’ By conforming to these
instructions, I have come at last to such a state, that the world and
its inhabitants are but as a shadow before me; and their very
existence as the appearance of the vapor of the desert.’”

He was truly a man who had entirely withdrawn from all external
employments and concerns; never mixing with the people of the world.
If a person deposited food before him, he took only the quantity he
thought proper, and gave away the remainder; he never polluted his
hand with money in gold, silver, or copper; and he frequently passed
two or three days altogether without food and never requested any
thing.

_Mahmud Beg Timan_, so called from the Timan tribe of Arang in Lahore,
joined himself also to Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhad, and as the
precepts of that sage were entirely congenial to his mind, he
commenced his religious profession under him, and became one of the
Yekanah Bin, “seer of one God,” and “knowing God:” thus without the
aid of books he attained to the knowledge of the Lord, and
notwithstanding the absence of written volumes, discovered the actual
road. In the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1637), whilst in Kashmir,
coming out of his cell one day, he saw before him a wounded dog,
moaning piteously; as the animal was unable to move, he therefore sold
the only two objects he possessed, his carpet for prayer and his
rosary, with the proceeds of which he purchased remedies for the dog.
That same year, he said to the author: “On the first day of turning my
heart to the mental invocation of God, I had scarcely performed it ten
times, when an evident influence was manifested: at the moment of the
first part, called _nafi_, of the sentence, my human existence
disappeared; at the time of the second, called _asbat_, a determined
sign of divine grace became visible: my sentence was this: ‘There is
no God, but God.’”[341] After this manner, several of this sect, by
the diligent practice of faith, attained to the knowledge of God.

_Musa_ and _Harun_ were two Jews, to whom Farzanah Bahram, the son of
Farhad, gave these names: they were distinguished by a profound
knowledge of their own faith, and highly celebrated among the Rabbins,
who are a particular sect of Jewish teachers. On their introduction
into Bahram’s society, they were fascinated by his manners, and
through his system of faith acquired the knowledge of themselves. They
applied themselves to commerce, and neither in buying or selling did a
falsehood proceed from their lips, as is the custom of merchants. They
have thus recorded: “To whomsoever Bahram, the son of Farhad, uttered
a single word about the path of religion, he became immediately
fascinated by his manner: also whoever beheld him felt an attachment
to him; even the hardened infidel who approached him, humbled himself,
and we have often witnessed such events: for example, the _Mulla
Muhammed Sáid_ of Samarkand, who was our intimate friend, through
excess of prejudice hurried once to revile him: at that moment, Bahram
had retired from Lahore into a burying-ground: when the Mulla
approached, he found himself irresistibly impelled to run forward and
laid his face on Bahram’s feet: and on Bahram’s addressing a few words
to him, immediately embraced his faith. I afterwards questioned the
Mulla about the exact nature of this conversion from infidelity, and
he replied: ‘I no sooner beheld him than I fell at his feet; and when
he addressed a few words to me, I became enraptured with him.’ The
Mullah always styled Bahram ‘the plunderer of hearts.’”

One day the author asked Musa, “is Kasun thy brother?” he replied,
“people say so.” I then asked, “who is your father?” he answered, “our
mother knows that.”

_Antun Bushuyah Wávaraj_[342] was a Frank, zealous in the Christian
faith, and also possessed of great property; through divine aid, he
conceived an attachment to the society of Durvishes, and for the
purpose of acquiring knowledge held frequent conferences with them:
through his having discovered the path pointed out by the son of
Furhad, he altogether resigned his worldly concerns, assumed the
profession of a _Kalander_,[343] and denied himself the use of
clothes: Farzanah always called him “Messiah.” He used to appear
perfectly naked, and never wore clothes either summer or winter: he
abstained altogether from animals of every description: he never
solicited any thing, but if a person brought food or drink before him,
if it were not animal food, he would eat part of it. One day, although
an evil-disposed person smote him so that his limbs were wounded, yet
he never even looked at his oppressor; when his persecutor had
departed, I, the author, came up as the people were speaking of the
injury inflicted on him; on my enquiring the particulars from himself,
he replied: “I am not distressed for my own bodily suffering, but that
person’s hands and fists must have suffered so much.” The Imam _Kali
Warastah_, “the humble,” says:

“If the thorn break in my body, how trifling the pain!
But how acutely I feel for the hapless broken thorn!”

_Ram Bhót_, a Hindu, was a learned Brahmin of Benares; on joining the
son of Farhad, he desisted altogether from his former rites, and began
to follow the path pointed out by Bahrám. The Mobed Hoshyar says: “I
have often heard wonderful stories concerning him; a person named
Muhammed Yakub was so ill, that the physicians having given up all
hopes of his cure, his relations, in their affliction, had recourse to
an ignorant woman who reckoned herself a skilful personage: I went one
day near Ram Bhót, and found him reposing his head on his knee, on
which this reflection passed across my mind: ‘if Ram Bhót be one of
the elect, he can tell whether Muhammed Yakub is to remain or pass
away.’ He raised up his head, and looking on me with a smile, said:
‘God only knows the hidden secrets; however, Muhammed Yakub is not to
depart: in another week he will be restored to health.’ And truly the
thing came to pass as he had declared.” Through his guidance _Ram
Chand_, a Kshatri, one of the chiefs of the _Sahan Sakal_, adopted the
faith: and through the instruction of these two individuals, many of
their tribe embraced the independent faith as promulgated by the son
of Farhad. The word _Sah_[344] in Hindi is applied to “a possessor or
powerful person,” and the _Sahkal_[345] are a division of the Kshatri,
an Indian cast or tribe. In reality, if the writer attempted to
enumerate the numbers of different nations who zealously adopted the
doctrines and ritual of Bahram, this work would become exceedingly
prolix; he must therefore resist from such an undertaking. The author
of these pages has heard from Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhad, as
stated on the authority of Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhad, that
one day the Shaikh _Bahá-ud-din Mohammed Amali_, who was a _Mujtahad_,
“a champion,” of the sectaries of Alí, came near Kaiván and obtained
an interview: having thus become acquainted with Kaiván’s perfection
and wisdom, he was exceedingly rejoiced and happy, and recited this
tetrastich:

“In the kâbah and the firetemple the perfect saint performed his
rounds,
And found no trace of any existence (save that of God);
As the splendor of the Almighty sheds its rays in every place,
Knock thou either at the door of the kâbah or the portals of the
temple.”

After this interview, he became the diligent follower of Kaiván, and
resorted to the disciples of the Master of all Sciences.

_Mir Abulkasim Fandaraski_ also, through his intercourse with Kaiván’s
disciples, became an adorer of the sun, refraining from cruelty
towards all living creatures. It is well known that being once asked:
“Why dost not thou in obedience to the law go on the pilgrimage to
Mecca?” He replied: “I go not on this account, as I must there
slaughter a sheep with my own hand.” At present the author proceeds to
describe with the pen of truth a summary of the institutes of the
_Amézish_, “intercourse,” held by the Abadian Durveshes with society.
Those who adopt this rule call it the _Amèzish-i-Farhang_, or “the
intercourse of science,” and _Mèzchar_, or “Stranger’s remedy.” When a
stranger to their faith is introduced to one of their assemblies, far
from addressing harsh observations to him, they pass eulogiums on his
tenets, approve whatever he says, and do not omit to lavish on him
every mark of attention and respect: this conduct proceeds from the
fundamental article of their creed, as they are convinced that in
every mode of belief, its followers may come to God: nay, if those of
a different faith should present them a request respecting some object
about which they disagree, that is, solicit some act by which they may
approach God, they do not withhold their compliance. They do not
enjoin a person to abandon his actual profession of faith, as they
account it unnecessary to give him useless pain of mind. Moreover when
any one is engaged in concerns with them, they withhold not their aid
from his society and support, but practise towards him to the utmost
extent of their ability, whatever is most praiseworthy in this world
and the next: they are also on their guard against indulging in
sentiments of prejudice, hatred, envy, malice, giving pre-eminence to
one faith above another, or adopting one creed in preference to
another. They also esteem the learned, the Durvishes, the pure of
life, the worshippers of God in every religion, as their trusty
friends; neither styling the generality of mankind wicked, nor holding
worldly-minded persons in abhorrence: they observe, “what business has
he who desires not this world’s goods to abhor the world?” for the
sentiment of abhorrence can proceed from the envious alone. They
neither communicate their secrets to strangers, nor reveal what
another communicates to them.

A person named _Mihráb_ was among the disciples who followed the son
of Farhad, in the year of the Hejirah 1047 (A. D. 1637); the author,
who was then in Kashmir, thus heard from Muhammad Fál Hasîrî: “I once
beheld Mihráb standing in the high road, at the moment when a
Khorasánian, seizing on an old man by force, obliged him to labor for
him without recompense, and placed a heavy burden on his head: at this
Mihráb’s heart so burned within him, that he said to the Khorasánian,
‘Withdraw thy hand from this old man, that I may bear the burden
whithersoever thou desirest.’ The Khorasánian was astonished, but
Mihráb, without paying any farther attention to this, took the poor
man’s load on his head, and went along with his unjust oppressor, and
on his return from that person’s house showed no symptoms of fatigue.
On my observing to him, ‘This oppressor has heaped affliction on a
holy priest and judge like thee!’ he replied, ‘What could a helpless
person do? the load must be conveyed to his house, and he was unable
to place it on his shoulders, as it was unbecoming for him; nor was he
able to give money (which is difficult to be procured) in payment of
his labour: he of course seized on some one to perform his work. I
applaud him for granting my request, and feel grateful to the old man
for complying with my wishes, suffering me to take his place, and
transferring his employment to myself.’”

Hafiz of Shiraz thus expresses himself:

“The heavens themselves cannot remove the weight confided to us;
The lot of labour fell to my hapless name.”

_Máh Ab_, the younger brother of the above _Mihráb_, was seen by the
compiler of this work in attendance on the son of Farhad, and in the
year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1638) he thus heard from the Mulla
_Mahdi_ of Lahóre: “Bahram having one day sent him on some errand to
the bazar, he happened to pass by the house of a person in the service
of _Alim Uddin_ of Halsub, styled _Wazir Khan_; the soldier was then
chastising his slave, saying: ‘Thou hast fraudulently sold one of my
captives.’ Máháb coming near the soldier, said to him: ‘Withdraw thy
hand from this slave, and accept me in place of him who has run away.’
Nay, this request was so importunately urged, that the soldier finally
accepted the offer and desisted from beating his slave. However, when
the soldier had discovered Máháb’s spiritual gifts, he permitted him
to return home, but Máháb would not quit him. A week after this event,
Farhad said in my presence, ‘I know not where Máháb is;’ on which,
resting his head on his knees, he directed his heaven-contemplating
attention to the subject, and the instant after, raising up his head,
said: ‘Máháb is in the service of a certain soldier, and has
voluntarily resigned his person to servitude.’ He forthwith proceeded
to the soldier’s abode and brought back Máháb.” Many similar
transactions are recorded of these sectaries. _Muhammed Shariz_,
styled _Amir ul Umra_,[346] a Shirazi by descent, thus says:

“Through auspicious love we make perfect peace in both worlds,
Be thou an antagonist, but experience nothing but love from us.”

It is to be observed that Halsub is a place in one of the districts of
the _Parjab_.

A short notice of the _Amîzesh-i Farhang_, or institute of the
Abadíyah Durveshes, having been thus given, we next proceed to
describe with the pen of truth the chiefs and rulers of that religion.
But it is always to be borne in mind that the faith of the princes of
Persia, whether of the _Abadian_, _Jaian_, _Shaian_, _Yesani-an_, nay
of the _Peshdadian_, _Kaianian_, _Ashkanian_, and _Sassanian_
dynasties was such as has been described; and although the system of
Zardusht obtained the pre-eminence, yet they have by means of glosses
reconciled his faith with that professed by _Abad_, _Kaiomars_, and
the system of _Húshang_, called the _Farhang Kesh_ or “excellent
faith;”[347] they regarded with horror whatever was contrary to the
code of Abád, which they extolled by all means in their power, as
_Parviz_ the son of _Hormuz_,[348] in his answer to the Roman emperor,
thus expresses himself:

“We feel no shame in professing our ancient faith,
No other creed in this world can compete with that of Húshang.
The whole object of this code consists in promoting justice and love:
And contemplating the numbers of the celestial spheres.”

They give _Máhábád_ the names of _Azar Húshang_, _A Húshang_,
_Húshang_, and _A Hosh_. It is also recorded, that the Almighty
bestowed on the princes of _Ajam_[349] prudence, sagacity, and
perfection of intellect, whereby their theories were connected with
practical results, and their words quite in harmony with their deeds,
so that their rule over this revolving world for so many thousand
years was entirely owing to the efficacy of the above-mentioned
principles and covenants.

[316] Edit. of Calcutta: در و چون بسی برتری يافتم In one
manuscript: وچون بسی برتری يافتم. In the manuscript of Oude:
درون چون بسی برتری يافتم. The first is best.

[317] Edit. of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have:
سروشی بتابيد آهرمنی. Two other manuscripts: سروشی نپايدء و
آهرمنی. The latter seems to be the better reading.

[318] Edit. of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude: فراموش;
two other manuscripts, مرا هوش――the better reading by far.

[319] Two manuscripts have ز between ساخود and سايه; the
edit. of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have خود سايه.

[320] The text has:
بدان ره که رفتم شدم سوی تن
بعد ايزدی فره زان انجمن
_Izedi_ means any thing given for God’s sake, or as one’s
due; here it seems to signify a divine gift. يزد, ايزد,
_ized_, also يزدان, _yezdan_, is the name of God, and may be
derived from ईश, _ísa_, “to possess power,” ईष, _ísha_, “to
give,” इष, _isha_, to wish, or according to Hyde (p. 159),
from يشتن, _ishten_, “supplicare, intercedere.” _Ized_ is
also light, purity; it is the name of good spirits, created
for the good of the world, and appointed to protect
individuals.――A. T.

[321] In the Gulshen raz, a poem quoted in our note p. 82,
this idea is expressed in several verses, of which the
following:
جهان از عقل و نفس و چرخ و اجرام
جون يک قطره دان زاغاز و انجام

“The world, which is composed of intellect, soul, heavens,
and bodies,
Know them to be as a drop from beginning to end.”

Room is wanted for quoting, as a curious coincidence with
this image, four beautiful strophes of Klopstock, from his
ode “_Die Frühlingsfeyer_,” the Festivity of Spring.――A. T.

[322] This verse has already been quoted, page 6.

[323] Allusion is here made to the four immediate successors
of Mohammed; these were _Abubeker_, _Omár_, _Osman_, and
_Alí_.

The first who took the title of _khalif_, that is
“lieutenant of the Prophet,” was _Abdallah_, better known by
the name of ابو بِکْر, _Abúbeker_, “Father of the Virgin,”
so called because Aíshá, his daughter, was the only one of
Mohammed’s wives who had not been before married to another
man. He was also distinguished by the title of صديق _sadik_,
or “the faithful witness,” given to him because he, the
first Muselman after Mohammed’s preaching, attested the
miracle of the Prophet’s ascension to heaven. It was he who
collected the verses of the Koran, which were written upon
separate leaves, into one volume, called _Almoshaf_, “the
book by excellence,” the original text of which was
deposited in the hands of Hafsat, daughter of Omar and widow
of Mohammed. After a reign of two years and three months, he
died in the year 13 of the Hejira, 634 A. D., not without
having named his successor.

This was _Omar Ben al-Khetab_, known under the title of
فاروق, _fárúk´_, “the separator,” so called by Mohammed,
because he had separated the head from the body of a
Muselman who, not satisfied with the decision which the
Prophet had given in a law-suit, came to submit the case to
Omar’s revision. Under Abubeker’s khalifat, Omar acted as
chief of justice, or chancellor. As khalif he was the first
who took the title of امير ألمومنين, _Emir al-Múmením_,
“prince or commander of the faithful,” which title devolved
to all his successors. He conquered Syria, Chaldæa,
Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt, and built the town of
Bassora at the mouth of the Tigris, in order to prevent the
Persians from taking the route to India by the gulph of
Persia. After a reign of ten years he was killed by the hand
of a Persian slave, who, having complained of his master’s
cruelty to him, did not receive the expected redress. Omar,
a judge cruel but just, would not fix the right of
succession upon his son, but wishing to keep the khalifat
elective, named six persons, called اهل الشوري, _ahel
al-shurah_, “people of council,” who should choose a khalif
among themselves.

Among these were _Osman_ and _Ali_. After a hard contest
between these two competitors, the former, supported by his
four colleagues, was proclaimed khalif at the end of the
year 23, or the beginning of 24 of the Hejira, 643 or 644 A.
D. Osman Ben Affan was called by his partisans ذو النورين,
_zo ul naráin_, “the possessor of two lights,” because he
had married Rakíah and Omm al Kachúm, both daughters of
Mohammed, whose prophecy was supposed to be the source of
light diffused over his whole posterity. Osman published the
Koran such as it was in the original text, deposited (as was
before said) in the hands of Hafsat, one of Mohammed’s
widows, and he caused all copies, differing from this one,
to be suppressed. The domination of the Mohammedans was
established and extended, to the east, in Khorassen and in
Upper Asia; to the west, over the whole northern coast of
Africa and even a part of Spain, during this khalif’s reign,
which, after eleven years, terminated by his violent death
in an insurrection which took place against him in Egypt.

The Egyptians offered the government to Ali. As before
mentioned, he was one of the six persons named by Omar as
fit for the khalifat, which Ali claimed as his right, being
the cousin-german and son-in-law (husband of Fatima, the
eldest daughter) of Mohammed, and thus the head of the
family of the Hashemites, who were distinguished by the name
of “the house of the Prophet.” After Osman’s death, Ali was
by his party proclaimed the head of the Muselmans. His title
was اسد الله الغالب, _assad allah al-ghaleb_, “the lion of
God, the victorious.” Possessed of great learning, he
composed several celebrated works in prose and in verse,
although he had to sustain a continual struggle with the
adverse party. He was assassinated in Kufa, in the year 40
of the Hejira, 660 A. D. After him, his sons Hassan and
Hossain (see note 3, pp. 47-48) fell victims to Moavia, a
relation of Osman, and the mortal enemy of the whole race of
Ali. The contest between these two parties was, after the
death of their chiefs, carried on by their numerous
adherents, and, connected as it is with some difference in
their religious opinions and rites, continues to our days.
Ali is acknowledged the head of the شيعة, _Shiâts_, which
word means in general “a troop, a party,” but is
particularly applied to those who believe that the _Imamat_,
or the supreme dignity over the Muselmans, belongs by right
to Alí and his descendants, who call themselves
_Aladiliats_, or “the party of the just.” Opposed to them
are the _Sonnites_, so called from the Arabic word _sonnat_,
which signifies “precept, rule,” or the orthodox faith of
Muselmans, comprehending the traditional laws relative to
whatever has not been written by the great legislator (see
Herbelot, _sub voc._).――A. T.

[324] Zu-l-Ulum, “master of sciences,” was a title of Kaiván.

[325] Nushirvan, called by the Arabs _Kesra_, by the
Persians _Khosru_, is reckoned by some authors the 19th (by
others the 20th) Persian king of the Sassáníán dynasty,
which, according to different opinions, was composed of 31,
30, or 29 princes, and lasted 527, 500, or 431 years.
Nushirvan reigned from 531 to 579 after J. C. He was called
“the just:” from the outside of his palace to his room was
drawn a chain, by the motion of which he could have notice
of any complainant who wanted redress. He was victorious in
the east and west of Asia; he destroyed the prophet _Mazdak_
(of whom see hereafter, section XV); he brought from India
to Persia the fables of _Pilpay_, called _Anvarí Sohíli_,
“the Canopian lights,” and a game similar to chess. During
his reign Mohammed was born. Nushirvan’s favorite minister,
_Buzerg-Mihr_, called also _Buzer-Jmihr_, was famous for
virtue and wisdom; about both these personages a great
number of marvellous and fabulous accounts forms the matter
of favorite poems in the East.――A. T.

[326] Ardeshir Babegan was the first king, and founder of
the IVth dynasty of Persian kings, called the _Sasssáníáns_,
or the _Khosroes_. His father was _Sassan_, a descendant of
another _Sassan_, the son of _Bahman Isfendiar_, the 6th
king of the IId Persian dynasty, called the _Kayánian_. The
latter Sassan was reduced to a low station, having become
the shepherd of _Babek_, a wealthy man, whose daughter he
married;――he had by her a son named Ardeshir, who took the
name of his maternal grandfather (which is to be noted as an
Indian custom): hence he was called _Babegan_. He is
identified with the Artaxerxes of the Greeks, a contemporary
of the Roman emperor Commodus (A. D. 180-193). The epoch of
his reign is one of the most uncertain points of Persian
history. It may be fixed from the year 200 to 240 of the
Christian era.――A. T.

[327] The 5th Sassan, above mentioned, is said to be the
last of fifteen Persian prophets, the first of whom was
Mahábad, and the 13th Zoroaster. The fifth Sassan lived in
the time of Khosru Parviz, who reigned, the 21st or 22nd
king of the Sassáníáns, from 591 to 628 of the Christian
era. We read in the Persian preface of the Desatir, that
five years after the death of Khosru Parviz (that is in the
year 634), the Persian empire being shaken by the conquests
of the Arabs, the fifth Sassan translated the Desatir. The
English preface of the same work states, that “he died only
nine years before the destruction of the ancient Persian
monarchy,” or nine years before 652, which would be in the
year 643 of our era. It appears from the Desatir (English
transl. p. 192), that the fifth Sassan, not less than his
father, the fourth Sassan, was attached to the king Parviz,
of whom he says (ibid. p. 202): “From the wickedness of
mankind did it arise that such an angel-tempered king was
taken from the Hirtasis (Persia).”――A. T.

[328] Bahrám Gur (Varanes V), the son of Yezdejird _badkar_
(the iniquitous), was educated out of Persia. After the
death of his father, the throne having been given to Kisra,
a stranger, Bahram came to dispute the crown, which he
proposed should be placed between two famished lions, and
belong to him who should seize it there. Kisra accepted the
proposal, but would not attempt the first to snatch what he
already possessed. Bahram then, after having killed the
fierce animals, took and kept the prize with universal
applause. He was the 13th (or 14th) king of the Sássáníans.
After having repulsed an invasion of the Turks, and secured
his empire, he left Persia, and travelled in disguise to
India in search of adventures; by a series of daring
actions, he gained a great reputation, and the hand of an
Indian princess, with whom, after two years of absence, he
returned to Persia. Fortunate in war against Greeks and
Arabians, he lost his life in a hunting party, after a reign
of 23 (some say 18) years, which is placed from 420 to 438
of our era.――A. T.

[329] This passage is very obscure――the occurrences here
mentioned must have been local.――D. S.

[330] Akbar Abad (Akbar’s town) was Agra.

[331] Sadah is the name of the 16th night of the Persian
month Bahman (the 11th of the year, January). This night is
solemnized by fires lighted in towns and in the fields
(Herbelot).――A. T.

[332] Jamasp, a great priest of the religion of Zoroaster,
and supposed author of a Persian work upon the great
conjunctions of the planets, and upon the events which they
produce. This work was translated into Arabic by Lalí, in
the year 1280 of our era. According to the Shah-namah and to
some historians, Jamasp was the brother of Gustasp, the Vth
Persian king of the Péshdadían dynasty (Herbelot). In the
book Múgjizat Farsi (see Hyde, Prefatio), Jamasp is the VIth
of ten Persian prophets, who are enumerated as follows: I.
Feridun; II. Alexander; III. Anushirvan; IV. Baheramgor; V.
Rustam; VI. Jamasp; VII. Buzurgjmihr; VIII. Barbud; IX. an
anonymous sculptor of the beautiful horse Shabdiz, which had
belonged to king Parviz; X. Ferhad, a celebrated architect,
enamoured of Shírín, the wife of Parviz.――A. T.

[333] The Lulees in Persia and in other parts of Asia are
women of the same description as the dancing girls in India,
devoted to pleasure, and exercising their art of pleasing at
all festivals, public and private.――A. T.

[334] These verses of Hafiz, p. 56, edit. of Calcutta, are
again quoted, p. 6, of the same edit.; but instead of ازپی
جانام; which occur in the first of these pages, we find in
the last درپی جانام; which last reading was adopted.――A. T.

[335] چمچمہ _chamchamah_, “a skull,” answers to कपाल
_kapála_, which signifies skull, and a skull-like bowl, in
which beggars receive alms.――A. T.

[336] कपाल आसन.

[337] These verses have been quoted before, page 119.

[338] Mahdí, “guide,” in the original is perhaps an allusion
to the name of the twelfth and last Imam of the race of Alí.
The Persians believe that he is still living, and will
appear with the prophet Elias at the second coming of Jesus
Christ, and will be one of the two witnesses mentioned in
the Apocalypse (Herbelot).――A. T.

[339] The printed copy reads داد ستان اورسه, and the manuscripts
داد ستان داورشه and داد ستان داورسه, the MS. of Oude has
داد ستان سُه داور.

[340] The printed copy reads درپای جان, the MSS., with that
of Oude, have درپای ما جان.

[341] This corresponds to the Arabic: _la ila hah illilla_;
the first part of which, _la ila hah_, “there is no God,” is
called _nafi_, “negation;” the other part, _illi la_, “but
God,” is called _asbát_, “confirmation.” To which is added:
_Mohammed resul ulla_, “Muhammed is his prophet.”――A. T.

[342] The two MSS. read _Antun pashutah dakardaj_; the MS.
of Oude, _Anton pashuyah_.

[343] A Kalander is a person of religious pretensions, a
sort of durvish not generally approved by the
Muhammedans――(_Herbelot_).

[344] Perhaps सहस् _sahas_, “strength, power, light.”――A. T.

[345] Perhaps सकुल _sakula_, “having a family.”――A. T.

[346] _Amir_ signifies “commander, chief, prince.” This
title was once borne by sovereigns, but in the course of
time was changed for that of Sultan, it remained a title
given only to princes, their sons. _Amir ul Omra_ signifies
“the commander of commanders” (_Herbelot_).――A. T.

[347] The Persians pretend to have (see my note, p. 32, and
Hyde, _Prefatio_) a book more ancient than the writings of
Zoroaster, called _Jávídán Khirid_, “the eternal wisdom,”
which treats of practical philosophy, and the author of
which is supposed to have been Húshang.――A. T.

[348] Khosro Parviz was the grandson of Nushirvan, mentioned
in our note, page 105, as contemporary of the fifth Sasan,
the translator and commentator of the Desatir. Parviz, soon
after having taken possession of his father’s throne, was
driven out of Persia by a fortunate usurper, called _Bahram
Júbín_, and took refuge in the court of the Greek emperor
Mauritius, from whom he obtained not only protection, but
also the hand of his daughter named _Mary_ by some, and by
others Shírin, and a powerful army to recover the kingdom of
Persia. According to _Eben Batrik_ (see _Herbelot_), it was
after having been restored to his sovereignty, that he sued
for marriage with the daughter of Mauritius, who answered
that he could not grant his daughter, unless the Persian
monarch adopted the Christian faith. The verses in the text
seem to refer to this circumstance, but express at the same
time a strong attachment of Parviz to the ancient religion
of his country, whilst, according to the Arabian author just
quoted, this prince apostatised, in spite of his opposing
grandees, for the sake of the beautiful Shirín, for whom he
had conceived an irresistible passion. Mauritius, his
father-in-law, having been put to death, with all his
children except one son, Parviz endeavoured to replace this
remaining son upon the throne of his father. At first
successful against Phocas, he was defeated by Heraclius, the
successor of the Greek emperor; he lost all his conquests,
his reputation, his liberty, and at last his life, by a
parricide, his son and successor, Shiruyah or Sirocs.――A. T.

[349] Ajem includes all Asia except Arabia. The Arabians, as
formerly the Greeks, call the inhabitants of all countries
except their own, Barbarians; but here, and elsewhere, the
author takes Ajem for Persia.――A. T.

SECTION III.

THE THIRD SECTION OF THE DABISTAN explains the laws of the
Paímán-i-Farhang (excellent covenant) and the Hirbed Sár (the pure
Highpriest).

The _Paiman-i-Farhang_ is the code of Máhábád, of which many
translations have been made; one of them is that made by _Faridun_,
the son of _Abtin_: another; that of _Buzurg-Mihr_[350] for the use of
_Nushirvan_, the son of _Kobad_; some extracts from these have been
given in the present work. The _Yazdanian_, “godly,” who are also
called _Sahi Kesh_, “flourishing faith,” and _Sipásî_, “adorers,”
maintain that the most exalted of the prophets, the mightiest of
kings, and the sire of the human race which exists in this cycle was
_Máhábád_, whom they also call _Azar Hushang_, “the fire of wisdom.”
They also say that it is thus recorded in the code of this venerable
personage, which is the word of God; and that moreover, this mighty
prince has himself expressly announced that the Divine Essence, which
has no equal, is totally devoid and divested of all form and figure;
incapable of being the object of conception or similitude: also that
the tropes of the most eloquent orators, the illustrations of the most
enlightened and profound geniuses, are utterly unable to convey a
clear idea of the light, which has neither perceptible color nor sign:
the sublime speculations of the learned and the discriminating
understandings of the sage are too feeble to comprehend the substance
of the pure essence of that light, which is without equal, quality,
color, or model: also that all existences have proceeded from the
bounty and wisdom of the Almighty, and are consequently his creation:
that not a single atom in this world, nor even the motion of a hair on
the body of a living creature escapes his knowledge: all which
propositions are proved by evident demonstrations deduced from various
premises, and accompanied by excellent commentaries, the enumeration
of which this abridged treatise cannot admit. Also that the cognizance
of the self-existent God extends alike to the most minute particles of
matter and the entire universe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT ANGELS OF THE FIRST ORDER.――In the code of
the great apostle Máhábád it is thus stated; the work of God is above
the power of the tongue, and infinitely exceeds the calculations to
which the inhabitants of this lower elemental world have recourse: the
operations of the Eternal are from eternity to eternity: they assign
the name of _Bahman_[351] to the first Angel whom the Almighty
invested with the mantle of existence, and through the medium of whom
it was communicated to others. The planets, fixed stars, and heavens
have each their peculiar conservative Angel; also the four elements
below the lunar sphere have four conservative Angels, and in like
manner all productions connected with them: for example, in minerals
there are many precious stones, such as rubies, sapphires, and
emeralds of every kind, which are under the dominion of their good,
munificent, protecting Angel: and so on with respect to all species of
vegetable and animal productions. The name given to the conservative
angel of mankind is _Farun Faro Vakhshúr_.[352]

DESCRIPTION OF THE SECOND ORDER OF ANGELS.――The code of Máhábád states
that the second rank is assigned to the Angels connected with bodies:
that is, every heaven and every star has a simple uncompounded spirit,
bare of matter, as it is neither a body nor material: also that all
living beings in the world have an uncompounded soul.

DESCRIPTION OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ANGELS.――It is stated in the code of
Máhábád, that angelic beings of the third rank are the same as the
superior and inferior bodies. The superior bodies are those of the
sphere and the stars; and the inferior the four (_guhar_) elements.
The most noble of all bodies are those of the sphere.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GRADATIONS OF PARADISE.――The code of Máhábád states
thus: “In the _Mînú_ or ‘azure heaven’ there are many gradations, we
shall first enumerate the gradations of Paradise in this lower world.
The first gradation consists of minerals, such as rubies, sapphires,
emeralds, and the like; the second of vegetation, such as plane trees,
cypress, gardens, etc.; the third of animals, such as the Arab horse,
the camel, and such like; the fourth consisting of selected
individuals amongst men, such as princes and those connected with that
class, persons in the enjoyment of health, the contented, and such
like; all which gradations they call _Mînú Sár_, ‘celestial abode,’
and _Bîst Lád_,[353] that is, _Feróden feró_, ‘the low foundation.’”
In these states there is a retrospect; for example, there is one man
who in relation to his deeds gradually descends to the animal state;
whilst the terrene particles of virtuous men’s bodies change either to
the vegetable state or that of the choicest minerals, however without
the existence of an incorporeal soul in either of them. On ascending
from this state, the change is called _Lim Sar_, or “dwelling on
high;” the first is the lunar step; for in the soul of the exalted
moon are the forms of all those beings into which the elements enter.
A person on arriving there remains in it, becoming the regent of all
the lower world, and in proportion to his knowledge and the habits
resulting from his laudable qualities, assumes a better form. On
arriving at a higher rank than this, he finds augmented delight as far
as the solar step; for the sun is the _Pirah-i-Yazdan_, or “the
ornament of God,” that is, the viceroy of the Lord and sovereign of
the stars, whose gracious influence pervades both high and low. On
leaving this and passing through the various gradations to the
empyreal heaven, every step becomes more delightful and excellent. On
ascending beyond the great sphere, he arrives at the curtain[354] of
the great Angels and contemplates the Lord of the light of lights
surrounded by angels: no state can surpass the beatitude and glory of
this gradation, which is called the _Mînúiván Mînú_, or “heaven of
heavens.”

DESCRIPTION OF THE INFERNAL REGIONS.――The code of Máhábád states thus:
Hell is situated under the sphere of _the moon_:[355] the first step
consisting of minerals in mis-shapen masses, or stones without worth;
of plants, thorny and vile and poisonous herbage; of living creatures,
such as ants, serpents, and scorpions; and of men labouring under
indigence, sickness, feebleness, ignorance, and disgrace: in this step
man is punished for whatever evil actions he has committed, and
escapes not without due retribution. However, the severest gradation
of the infernal regions is that of mental anguish, which is
appropriated to the irreligious philosophers, for when his elemental
body is dissolved, they do not assign him another; so that he finds
not his way to heaven, but remains in the lower elemental world,
consumed by the flames of anguish: besides, in consequence of his
detestable qualities, his tormentors pounce upon him in the shape of
serpents, scorpions, and other such plagues. This state they
denominate _Puchán-i-Púch_, or “the hell of hells.”

The code of Máhábád also states, that whatever occurs in this
elemental world proceeds entirely from the planets; so that their
adoration, next to that of the Almighty, becomes an indispensable
duty: for these luminaries approach near the palace of the Almighty,
and the chiefs of the court of eternity. In this world, whoever draws
near the seat of grandeur, must have a friend to sound his praise,
which is a measure much to be commended. The person who undertakes a
journey cannot do without a guide, and he who goes to a city where he
has no friend, meets with difficulty: consequently, the worship
tendered to these dignities is much to be commended. The stars are
truly many in number, but amidst these multitudes, the influences of
the seven planets are the most evident: also of all the starry hosts
the sun is the sovereign lord. It is therefore necessary to form seven
images, and to raise that of the sun above the others; the temples
built by the Abadîán princes were open on all sides, so that when the
sun shone they were exceedingly bright in the interior; not like the
Hindoo idol-temples, in which they walk about with lamps, even in the
day time: the roofs of the Abadîán temples were also rather elevated.
The emperors and princes are individuals of the most select
description, on which account the king should find repose in the
fourth sphere, which is one of the solar regions. As it is evident
that the stars are set by God for the due government of the world, in
like manner it is clear that it is not every individual
indiscriminately who attains to the regal dignity, but only a royal
personage, not opposed to the _Farhang-Abád_, or the law of _Azar
Húshang_: as otherwise he would be undeserving of the supreme power.
Of the qualifications indispensably requisite in a monarch, the first
is conformity to the faith above described, and firmness in adhering
to it. In the next place, if on the side of both parents, which means
_Hasab va Nasab_, “accomplishments and genealogy,” he were of royal
descent, it would be more advantageous: the meaning of royal birth is
to be the possessor of the kingdom of justice; if every external
qualification be united with the supreme power, it is much more
agreeable, so that the king should not say, “I am more excellent than
my father, and he than his ancestors:” on the contrary, he styles his
father “highly distinguished,” and his grandfather “far superior.”
Moreover, if any one should praise him on this account, he should
order that person to be chastised. _Azizi_, “a distinguished
man,”[356] has said: “The following is what we mean by this principle;
that as one sire is superior to another, if a son should imagine
himself the greater, then each child would reckon himself superior to
his father, and there would then be no acknowledged ruler.”

A king must also be provided with a distinguished mathematician as
prime minister, to whom the calculators and astronomers should be
subject; in every city there should be an astronomer or surveyor; and
an _Arshiya_,[357] or accountant, should act as vizir, one well versed
in the amount of rents paid by the Rayas; he must also have
commissaries; and as there are attached to every city many villages
and hamlets, the king’s private property, to which the local director
attends, that officer is called the _Vizhak_. Also with every vizir,
whether absent or present, there should be two _Ustuwars_ or
supervisors, and two _Shudahbands_, or recorders of occurrences; the
same rule is to be observed with all administrators, and the _Samán
Sálár_, or head steward, the chief reporters and inspectors should
also be each accompanied by two Ustuwars and two Shudahbands.
_Dustoor_, or prime minister, means the person to whose department the
public revenue is attached: the copies of the registers of all the
vizirs should be regularly kept at the seat of government, as well as
the papers of the Shudahbands.

The king also requires military commanders, in order that they may
keep the soldiers in due discipline. The first dignity consists of the
chiefs of a hundred thousand cavalry; the second, of the commanders of
thousands; the third, of the commanders of hundreds; the fourth, of
the rulers over tens; and the fifth, of those accompanied by two,
three, four, or five persons. Thus in this assemblage every ten
persons have an officer and every hundred a Sipahdar, called in the
popular language of Hindustan _Bakhshi_, “pay-master,” in that of
Iran, _Lashkar Navîs_, or “army-registrar,” and in Arabic, _Ariz_, or
“notary:” a similar arrangement must be observed in the infantry. In
like manner, when the military in regular succession are in attendance
on the king, there is at court a _Bárnîgárî_, or “registrar,” to set
down those who are absent as well as those present; in the popular
language of India this officer is styled _Chauki Navîs_, or “register
keeper;” they are accompanied by a _Shudahband_, an _Ustuwar_, and
sentinels, so that they may not go to their homes nor give way to
sleep until their period of duty is terminated: there are also
different sentinels for day and night. It is also so arranged that
there should be always four persons together on each watch, two of
whom may indulge in sleep whilst the other two remain awake. In every
city where the king is present there ought to be a _Shudahband_, to
report to the king whatever occurs in the city: the same rule should
be observed in the other cities also: this functionary they call, in
India, _Wakia-Navis_, “news-writer.” There should also be a _Shahnah_,
or “intendant of police,” styled _Farhang-i-roz_, “registrar of the
day,” who is to conduct all affairs with due prudence, and not suffer
people to inflict injury on each other. He is to have two
_Shudahbands_ and an _Ustuwar_ or “confidential secretary.” In like
manner, among the troops of the great nobles there must be two
_Shudahbands_; and in all provinces a _Shahrdar_, or governor; and in
every city a _Bud-andoz_, or collector-general, a _Sipah-dar_, that is
a Bakhshi, and an intendant of police, or _Shahnah_; it is to be noted
that among the Yezdánían, a _Kázî_ and _Shuhnah_ were the same, as the
people practised no oppression towards each other. The _Shudahband_,
the _Návand_ (writer), and the _Rávand_ (courier), or those who
conveyed intelligence to the king, had many spies set over them
secretly by his majesty, and all those officers wrote him an account
of whatever occurred in the city. If the _Sipahdars_ did not give the
men their just dues, these officers called them to account: also if a
superior noble acted in a similar manner towards his inferiors, they
instituted an inquiry into his conduct: they also took note of the
spies; so that if any secret agent made himself known as such, he was
immediately dismissed. If any one kept the due of the soldier or of
the cultivator, in the name of the king, and did not account for it,
they inflicted chastisement on him. The officers were obliged to
delineate the features of every one employed in the cavalry or
infantry, and also to furnish a representation of his horse, and to
give the men their regular pay with punctuality. Previous to the
Gilsháhian dynasty, no one ever branded the king’s horses, as this was
regarded as an act of cruelty towards the animal: most of the soldiers
also were furnished with horses by the king, as the sovereigns of Ajem
had many studs. On the death of a horse, the testimony of the
collectors and inspectors was requisite. Every soldier who received
not a horse from the king, brought his own with him: they also took
one out of twenty from the Rayas. However, under the Sassanian
princes, the Rayas requested “to take from them one out of ten:” and
as this proposition was accepted, it was therefore called
_Baj-i-hamdastani_, or voluntary contribution, as having been settled
by the consent of the Rayas.

The Omras and the great of the kingdom, near and far, had not the
power to put a guilty man to death; but when the _Shadahband_,
“recorder,” brought a case before the king, his majesty acted
according to the prescriptions of the _Ferhang-abad_, unless in the
case of executing a dangerous rebel, when, from sparing him until
receiving the king’s will, a great evil would arise to the country.

They laid down this royal ordinance: that if the king sent even a
single person, he was to bring back the head of the commander of a
hundred thousand; nay, that person never turned aside from the
punishment. For example, when such a commander in the time of Shah
_Máhbúl_ had put an innocent man to death, the prince sent a person
who was to behead the criminal on a day on which the nobles were all
assembled: and of this there are innumerable examples. Also in the
time of Shah _Faridún_, the son of _Abtin_, the son of _Farshad_, the
son of _Shá-î Gilîv_, a general named _Máhlád_ was governor of
_Khorosan_: and he having put to death one of the village chiefs, the
Shudahbands reported to the king all the public and private details of
the fact, on receiving which the king thus wrote to Máhlád: “Thou hast
acted contrary to the Farhang Abad.” When Mahlád had perused the
king’s letter, he assembled the chief men of the province, and sending
for the village chieftain’s son, put a sword in his hand that he might
cut off his head: the son replied: “I consent to pass over my father’s
blood.” Máhlád, however, would not agree to this, and insisted so
earnestly, that the young man cut off his head, which was sent to the
court. The king greatly commended this conduct, and according to his
usual practice conferred Máhlád’s office on his son. In the same
manner, the Moghúls submitted implicitly to the commands of the Lord
strengthened by the Almighty, that is, to _Jenghiz Khan_;[358] and the
tribes of _Kazl-Básh_[359] were equally obedient to _Ismail Safavi_
during his reign. But the kings of Ajem were averse to the infliction
of capital punishments, so that until a criminal had been declared
deserving of death, according to the Abádían code, the order for his
execution was not issued.

The kings and chieftains of Iran never addressed harsh language to any
one; but whenever a person deserved chastisement or death, they
summoned the _Farhangdar_, or “judge,” and the _Dad-sitani_, or
“mufti;” on which, whatever the code of _Farhang-abad_ enjoined in the
case, whether beating with rods or confinement, was carried into
effect: but the beating and imprisonment were never executed by low
persons. Whatever intelligence was communicated by spies was submitted
to a careful examination, in which they took great pains; and that
unless reports made by two or more spies coincided, they carried
nothing into execution. The princes and young nobles, like all others,
began by personal attendance on the king: for example, the routine of
_Hash-o-bash_, or “presence and absence” at court, was enjoined them
in rotation, that they might better understand the state of humbler
individuals: they even attended on foot, that they might more easily
conceive the toils of the foot-soldier.

_Bahzad_ the Yasanian, in one of his marches having proceeded a short
distance, alighted from his horse,[360] on which a distinguished
noble, named _Naubar_, thus remarked: “On a march it is not proper to
remain satisfied with so short a journey.” On this, _Bahzad_ Shah,
leaving the army in that place, said to the commander _Naubar_, “Let
us two make a short excursion.” He himself mounted on horseback, and
obliged the other to advance on foot. They thus traversed mountain and
plain, until _Naubar_ became overpowered by fatigue, on which _Bahzad_
said: “Exert thyself, for our halting place is near;” but he having
replied, “I am no longer able to move,” the king rejoined; “O
oppressor! as thou art no longer able to proceed, dost thou not
perceive that those who are on foot experience similar distress from
performing too long a march?”

“Thou, who feelest not for the distress of others,
Meritest not to be called by the name of man.”

The military, in proportion to their respective ranks, had assigned to
them costly dresses, vigorous steeds with trappings and saddles inlaid
with precious stones, equipments, some of solid gold and silver, and
others plated with gold or silver, and helmets. The distinguished men
were equally remote from parsimony and profuseness. The nobles of Ajem
wore a crown worth a hundred thousand dinars of gold: the regal diadem
being appropriated to the king. All the great Amirs wore helmets and
zones of gold; they also had trappings and sandals of the same. When
the soldiers set out on an expedition, they took with them arms of
every description, a flag and a poignard;[361] they were habituated to
privations, and entered on long expeditions with scanty supplies: they
were never confined within the enclosure of tents and pavilions, but
braved alike the extremes of heat and cold. In the day of battle, as
long as the king or his lieutenant stood at his post, if any one
turned his back on the foe, no person would join him in eating or
drinking, or contract alliance with him, except those who like himself
had consigned their persons to infamy and degradation. Lunatics,
buffoons, and depraved characters found no access to the king or
chieftains.

On the death of a person who had been raised to dignity, his post was
conferred on his son, or some one of his legitimate connections
adequate to its duties; thus no innocent person was ever deprived of
office, so that their noble families continued from the time of _Sháî
Kilîv_ to that of _Sháî Mahbul_. When king _Khusró_, the son of
_Faridún_, the son of _Abtin_, the son of _Forzad_, the son of _Shái
Kiliv_, had sent _Gurgin_[362] the son of _Lás_ to a certain post,
that dignity remained in his family more than a thousand years; and
when, in the reign of the resplendent sovereign, king _Ardeshir_,
_Madhur_ the descendant of Gurgin had become a lunatic, the king
confined him to his house, and promoted his son _Mábzád_ to the
government; and similar to this was the system of Shah _Ismail
Safavi_. But if an Amir’s son were unfit for governing, he was
dismissed from office, and had a suitable pension assigned him. Nay,
animals, such as the cow, ass, and horse, which were made to labor
when young, were maintained by their masters in a state of ease when
they grew old; the quantity of burden which each animal was to carry
was defined, and whoever exceeded that limit received due
chastisement. In like manner, when any of the infantry or cavalry grew
feeble, infirm, or old, although he might not have performed effective
service, they appointed his son to succeed him; and if the latter was
not yet of mature age, they settled on him a daily allowance from the
royal treasury. But if he had no son, they assigned him during his
life such an allowance as would keep him from distress, which
allowance was continued after his decease to his wife, daughter, or
other survivors. Whatever constitutes the duty of a parent was all
performed by the king; if, in the day of battle, a soldier’s horse
fell, they bestowed on him a better and finer one. It has already been
said that most of the cavalry horses were supplied by the king, and
the military were at no expense save that of forage. If a soldier fell
in battle, they appointed the son with great distinction to his
father’s post, and also conferred many favors on his surviving family;
they also greatly exerted themselves in teaching them the duties of
their class, and in guarding their domestic honor inviolate: as, in
reality, the king is the father, and the kingdom the common mother. In
like manner, when a soldier was wounded, he received the greatest
attentions. Similar notice was taken of workers in gold and of
merchants who had failed and become impoverished, their children being
adopted by the government: so that, within the circuit of their
dominions, there was not found a single destitute person. The Sardár
of each city took cognizance of every stranger who entered it: in the
same way, all friendless travellers were received into the royal
hospital, where physicians gave themselves up to the curing of the
sick: in these there were also Shudahbands to take care that none of
those employed should be backward in their respective offices. The
blind, the paralytic, the feeble, and destitute were admitted into the
royal hospital, where they passed their time free from anxiety. Now
the royal _Bîmárastán_, or hospital was a place in which they gave a
daily allowance to the feeble and indigent: thus there were no
religious mendicants or beggars in their dominions; whoever wished,
embraced a Durvesh’s life and practised religious austerities in a
monastery, a place adapted for every description of pious
mortifications: a slothful person, or one of ill repute, was not
permitted to become a Durvesh, lest he might do it for the purpose of
indulging in food and sleep: to such a character they enjoined the
religious exercises suitable to a Durvesh, which, if he performed with
zeal, it was all well; but, otherwise, he was obliged to follow his
inclinations in some other place.

The king had also confidential courtiers, well skilled in the
histories of the righteous men of olden time, which they recited to
his majesty. There was also an abundance of astrologers and
physicians, so that, both in the capital and in the provinces, one of
each, agreeably to the royal order, should attend on every governor;
and their number was such in every city, that men might consult them
on the favorable and unfavorable moments for every undertaking.

In every city was a royal hospital, in which were stationed physicians
appointed by the king; there were separate hospitals for women, where
they were attended by skilful female physicians, so that the hospitals
for men and women were quite distinct. In addition to all this, the
king stands in need of wise _Farhangs_, “judges,” well versed in the
decisions of law and the articles of faith, so that, aided by the
royal influence and power, they may restrain men from evil deeds, and
deliver the institutes of Farhang, “the true faith,” to them.[363] The
king also requires writers to be always in his presence. A great Mobed
must be acquainted with all sciences; a confidential courtier,
conversant with the narratives and histories of kings; a physician,
profound in medical science; an astrologer in his calculations of the
stars; an accountant, accurate in his accounts; and a _Farhangí_, or
lawyer, well versed in points of law: moreover, the study of that
portion of the code contained in the _Páiman-i-Farhang_, or in the
“covenant of the Farhang,” is incumbent on all, both soldiers, Rayas,
and those who practise the mechanic arts, and on other people. In like
manner, persons of one rank were not wont to intermeddle with the
pursuits of another: for example, that a soldier should engage in
commerce, or a merchant in the military profession: on the contrary,
the two employments should not be confounded, so that one should at
the same time be a military man and a servant, or in any employment;
and having become a commander, should again take up the trade.

They also permitted in every city such a number of artificers,
conductors of amusements, merchants, and soldiers as was strictly
necessary; to the remainder, or surplus, they assigned agricultural
occupations; so that, although many people may know these arts, yet no
more than is required may be occupied with them, but apply themselves
wholly to the cultivation of the soil. If any officer made even a
trifling addition to the import on any business which brought in a
revenue to the king, so far from its being acceptable, they, on the
contrary, ordered that ill-disposed person to be severely punished.

The king gave audience every day: but on one day of the week in
particular, he acted as _Dádsitán_, or “Mufti,” when every person who
was wronged had access to the sovereign; also, once a year, he gave a
general audience, when everyone who pleased came into his presence; on
this occasion, the king sat down at table with the Ráyás, who
represented to him, without the intervention of another, whatever they
thought proper.

The sovereign had two places of audience; one the _Rózistán_, or
“day-station,” in which he was seated on an elevated seat; which place
they also called the _Tábsár_, or “place of splendor;” around which
the nobles and champions stood in their respective ranks; the other
was the _Shabistán_, or “night station,” which had also an elevation,
on which the king took his seat. Men of distinction stood on the
outside; those of royal dignity were at the door; and next the king
was a company standing with weapons of war in their hands. Every one,
indiscriminately, had not the privilege of laying his hand on the
royal feet; some only kissed the slipper and walked around it; others,
the sleeve of the royal mantle which fell on the throne: that person
must be in high favor at court who was permitted to kiss the king’s
feet, or the throne, or perform a circuit around it.

As a brief account has been given of the exterior place of reception,
and of the _Rózistán_, or “day station,” we now proceed to write a few
particulars concerning the interior place of reception, or the secret
night station, or the _Harem_, which is also called the “golden
musk-perfumed pavilion.” In the code of _Azar Húshang_, or _Máhábád_,
it has been thus laid down: whatever be the number of the king’s
women, there must be one superior in dignity to all the rest: her they
style “the Great Lady;” but she possessed not such absolute power that
the right of loosing or binding, inflicting the bastinado, or putting
to death within the night station should be conferred on her: or that
she could put to death whomsoever she pleased without the king’s
consent, a power quite opposed to law.

The _Shudahbands_ also report to the royal presence all the
transactions of the Great Princess and of the night station, just as
they transmit accounts of those persons who live out of its precincts.
If the king’s mother be alive, the supremacy is of course vested in
her, and not in the Great Princess. _Salárbárs_, or “ushers with
silver maces,” _Jádárs_, or “superintendants of police,” _Gáhnumás_ or
_Shudahbands_, astrologers and such like professions, were also met
with in the interior residence.

Of these women and princesses not one had the smallest degree of
authority over the rest of their sex who lived outside of the
precincts, nor did they possess the power of issuing any order
whatever; nay they seldom made mention of them in the royal
_Rozistan_; neither were they called by any fixed title; nor, without
urgent necessity, did they ride out in public.

The king also, on visiting the interior apartment, is not wont to
remain long with the women; nor do they ever entertain any wishes
which have not reference to themselves; such as the mode of speaking
when enjoining an officer to perform some service, or increasing the
dignity of the great warriors. The same system was followed by every
Amir in his own house; but in the dwelling of every Amir, whether near
or remote, there was an aged matron or _Atuni_, deputed on the king’s
part, with the office of Shudahband, to report the exact state of
affairs to the Great Princess, or to send from a distance a written
report for being brought before the king.

To the king’s Harem, or to that of an Amir, no males had access,
except boys not come to maturity, or eunuchs; but criminals only were
qualified for the latter class, who were never after admitted to any
confidential intimacy; and no individual in their empire was allowed
from motives of gain to have recourse to that operation.[364]

Every year, on certain occasions, on some great festivals, the wives
of the Amirs waited on the Great Princess, and the women of the city
came to the general levee; but the king never saw these women, as on
such days he did not enter the musk-perfumed pavilion, but departed to
some other place, so that his eyes might not fall on a strange female.
The motives of the ladies’ visit to the king was this: that if any
were oppressed by their husbands, it might be reported to the king,
who after proper investigation was to enjoin the punishment awarded by
the court of justice.

The great king partook not of reason-subduing strong drinks, as he was
a guardian, and as such should not be in a state of helplessness; on
which account not one of those kings who were styled guardians ever
polluted his lips with wine or other intoxicating beverage before the
Gilshaiyan dynasty. The cup-bearers of the king’s sons and other
nobles were always females, and these were called _Bádeks_:[365] no
beardless males were admitted to the feast: even eunuchs were excluded
from the banquets of the Gilshaiyan princes, and they were waited on
by beardless youths under ten years of age; and at the time of taking
wine even they were not allowed to be present. The ancients, or those
previous to the Gilshaiyan dynasty, had appointed seasons for drinking
wine, which occurred when the physicians prescribed it for the removal
of some infirmity, on which occasions they conformed to the
above-mentioned rules. If any one, and the king in particular, labored
under a malady the cure of which could only be effected by wine, and
the invalid should be altogether reluctant to the drinking of it, in
that case, as the cure was confined to the use of wine, the patient
was obliged to comply with the prescription: for things forbidden
under other circumstances, become lawful when taken for medicinal
purposes: but with this reservation, that no injury should accrue to
any innoxious animal.

Along the roads frequented by travellers in this realm, there were
many caravansaries, between every two of which were posted sentinels,
so that the voice of a person reached from one to the next. In every
halting-place was a _Shudahband_, a physician, and a _Tîmárî_; and the
inns were also constructed near each other. Now a _Tîmárî_ is one
appointed by the king to protect the helpless, such as persons of
tender years and the infirm. Aged women brought out from the Haram all
the requisite supplies (for these establishments), which they
transferred to aged men, by whom they were conveyed to the attendants.

The soldiers’ wives were not without employment, such as spinning,
sewing, and in various works, the making of house-furniture, riding,
and in the management of the bow they were as able as men; they were
all formed by discipline and inured to toil.

It is evident to all the world that, notwithstanding the extent of
their realms was so exceedingly great and spacious, yet in consequence
of these arrangements, the kings were necessarily informed of every
event which occurred: in addition to what has been stated, pursuant to
decrees influential as those of Heaven, villages were erected at every
stage and halting-place, at each of which the king’s horses were
picketted, and men appointed whom they called _Ravand_, or “couriers.”
When the _Shudahband_ day by day delivered the report of whatever had
occurred into the hand of a courier, the one near the city delivered
it into the custody of another, and so on, from the couriers of the
stage to those of the villages, until the report reached the capital.
The king observed the same system in corresponding with the Umras; at
one time appointing an individual who was with great caution to
communicate the royal despatches without entrusting them into the
hands of another; a courier of this description mounted at every stage
the king’s post-horses which were picketted at the different
halting-places until he completed his object: this description of
courier they call _Nuwand_; the Umras also despatched _Nuwands_ to the
king’s court; but the couriers belonging to royalty or the nobility
were not empowered to seize any individual’s horse, or practise
oppression, as they would in that case meet with due retaliation:
there were besides, at the different villages, persons stationed as
guards, who were liable to be called to account if a traveller
suffered oppressive treatment from any quarter. _Shadahbands_ also
were there. _Azar Húsháng_, that is, _Máhábád_, thus enjoined: “Let
there be no exactions practised towards the Rayas: let him afford what
he well can, and nothing more;” they therefore only took such an
amount as maintained both soldiers and rayas in tranquillity.

All the king’s devoted servants entertained this belief, that the
performance of whatever was agreeable to the king was attended with
advantage in both worlds; also that the royal command was the
interpretation of the word of God, and that it was highly praiseworthy
to meet death in the path of obedience to the Great King: nay, they
accounted death, with the prospect of royal approbation, which is the
bestower of paradise, as far superior to life; but he must be a king
who acts in conformity with the _Paiman-i-Farhang_, or “excellent
code.” In short, the system of inquiry was such, that the inspectors
used to question the soldiers, whether they were satisfied or not with
their chief.

With respect to keeping guard, it was thus settled; that out of the
four persons acting in concert with each other, two went to sleep and
the other two stood up armed; again, when the sleepers arose the
others went to rest; and on the expiration of the night, other troops
came to keep watch: the night sentinels, however, did not depart but
by order of their officer. These inspected the men three times during
the night. In that manner each person had, every week, one day’s
watch: and when they retired from keeping guard, proclamation was made
to this purport by the king’s command: “If any have cause of complaint
against their inspector or chief, let them not keep it concealed.”

In like manner every month the inspectors, whether near or remote,
looked into the state of the military; if they found any individual,
without sufficient cause, deficient in the requisites for service,
they ordered him to be punished, unless he adduced a satisfactory
excuse and testimony; in which case they accepted his reasons: and if
they proceeded from overpowering necessity, they had regard to it.

To whomsover they had assigned land, _Jaghir_ or _Mukásá_, they gave
daily or monthly pay with the greatest punctuality, never permitting
any deficiency to occur.

If any were deficient in the performance of duty, for example, being
absent one watch without sufficient cause, besides inflicting the due
punishment, they deducted the pay of that watch, but not of the whole
day. When, for some good reason, he applied for a furlough, he
obtained it.

The prime minister was obliged to institute an inquiry into any affair
of which he got the necessary information. The _Rais sufid_,
“chieftain,” must produce a Khushnúdí namah, or “a certificate,”
purporting that he had given the due to his people, and that they were
satisfied with him; also that whatever revenue had been received was
delivered over to the inspector, in the presence of the Anim and
Shudahband: the inspectors also produced, in the royal presence,
certificates stating that they had practised no oppression towards the
military: and although the spies made a report of all particulars
every week, still the king inquired besides of the soldiers, as to the
truth of this approbation.

The Yazdaníans never attempted a thing mentioned with abhorrence in
the Farhang code, in which every fault had its fixed punishment. When
any one was convicted of a crime, the king’s near attendants never
made intercession for him: for example, pursuant to this code, and by
the king’s command, the son inflicted punishment on the father, and
the father on his son, so that even princes of the blood had not the
power of breaking this law; if they were guilty of injustice, the
kings themselves inflicted the allotted punishment: for example, _Jai
Alád_ had a son called _Húdah_, whom he himself beheaded for having
put to death the son of a villager. The king’s devoted servants raised
themselves to distinction by their excellence and exertions to obtain
praise and titles: whoever swore falsely by the royal family was
expelled from all intercourse with them.

There were peculiar places assigned for the combat of elephants,
lions, and other wild beasts, the backs and sides of which places were
so elevated, that people might behold from every part, without the
possibility of sustaining injury from the elephants and other wild
animals: the king being all the while seated on a lofty throne. They
never created embarrassments in bazars or populous places with furious
elephants or fierce lions, but kept them in remote situations and
secure places such as before-mentioned, from whence they could easily
remove them. It is recorded that, in the time of Shírzád Shah, the
Yassánian, an elephant having broken out of the place where he was
tied up, killed some one; on which the king, in retaliation for the
deed, put the elephant to death, and also inflicted capital punishment
on the elephant-keepers and the door-keepers of the elephant-stables,
who had left the door open. The king never listened to tales of
fiction, but solely to true statements: the military and the rayas
also never averted their necks from executing the king’s commands: and
if a traveller invoked the king’s name and entered into any house, the
inmates not only washed his feet, but even drank the water in which
they performed the operation, as a sovereign remedy, and sedulously
showed all due attentions to their guest.

On the day of battle, the soldiers were drawn up in right, centre, and
left columns, an arrangement which they never violated in any
engagement: as when once dissolved, the restoration of that combined
order would be impossible: when the troops had been arrayed in this
manner, they gave the enemy battle; and in proportion to the
necessity, the bazar, or “market” of assistance followed them: even
after victory they observed the same arrangement.

On the day of triumph, when the enemy fled and the foe dispersed, the
entire army did not give themselves up to plunder; but the king
appointed for the service a certain detachment, accompanied by
_Shudahbands_ and _Binandahs_, or inspectors and supervisors, whilst
the rest of the army remained prepared for battle and ready to renew
the engagement; not one of them raising the dust of plunder or
departing to their homes, lest the enemy, on discovering their
dispersion in pursuit of plunder, might return and gain the victory.
When they had made themselves masters of the spoil, the king ordered
them to set apart the choicest portion for the indigent and the
erection of religious foundations: he next distributed an ample share
to the men proportioned to their exertions; after which he gave each
of his courtiers a portion; and he lastly conferred a suitable portion
on the great officers; but no part of this division entered into the
account of the allowances settled on the military class: last of all,
the king drew the pen of approbation over whatever was worthy of the
royal majesty. Some of the ancient kings and all the princes of the
remote ages, far from taking any part of the spoil to their own share,
even made good every injury which happened to the army in executing
the royal orders, as the loss of horses and such like.

After the victory, they never oppressed the helpless, the indigent,
merchants, travellers, or the generality of the inhabitants, and the
Rayas. Those who were guilty of such acts were, after conviction,
punished. They divided among them whatever the enemy had in their
flight left on the field of battle: but whatever in the different
realms belonged to the conquered prince and his near connexions, they
submitted to the royal pleasure. They never slew or offered violence
to the person who threw down his arms and asked for quarter.

This class of the obedient followers of the _Azar Hushang_ code were
styled _Farishtah_, “angelic;” _Surúsh_, “seraphic;” _Farishtah
manish_, “angel-hearted;” _Surúsh manish_, “seraph-hearted;” _Sipásí_,
“adorers;” _Sahí dín_, “upright in faith;” and _Zanádil_, “the
benevolent;” opposed to whom are the _Ahriman_, the _Dîvs_, and the
_Tunádil_, or “fierce demons.”

The Divs are of two kinds; the one class subject to the king of the
angels, who, through fear of that prince, have been compelled to
desist from injuring animated beings; the second kind consists of Dîvs
in the realms of other kings, who break through the covenants of the
law, and slay animals: these in truth are no other than wolves,
tigers, scorpions, and serpents.

They record that in the time of _Ardeshír_, the son of _Azád_, the son
of _Babegán_, the son of _Nushirván_, there was a Jaiyanian champion
by name _Farhád_, the son of _Alád_, who were both ranked among the
distinguished leaders: Alád, when in a state of intoxication, having
slain a sheep with his sword, his son Farhád, on ascertaining this,
made him pass under the sharp-edged scimitar; the people held him in
detestation, and said: “Thou shouldst have sent thy father to the
king.” He replied, “My father had committed two criminal actions; the
first, in taking so much wine as to lose his senses; the second in
destroying a sheep. Although it would have been proper to send him to
the king, I could not suffer any delay to intervene in punishing his
crimes: at present I confess myself guilty of transgressing the
Abadián code, for not submitting the details of this affair to the
king.” He then ordered himself to be put in chains, and brought in
that state before the king: but his majesty drew the pen of
forgiveness over his crime, and elevated the apex of his dignity.

Moreover it was necessary to drink wine in a secret place, as they
inflicted due punishment on whoever was found intoxicated in the
public bazar. In truth, permission to drink wine was only given in
cases of malady, as from the time of the very ancient sovereigns of
the Mahabad dynasty, until that of _Yássán Ajam_, no person partook of
wine or strong drinks, except the invalids who were ordered by the
physicians to have recourse to them; and even they partook of them
according to the established rules: but among the ancient kings, _i.
e._ from Kaiomars’ to Yezdagird, they at first indulged secretly in
wine for the purpose of sensual enjoyment, under color of conforming
to medical ordinances. At last matters terminated in this, that wine
was openly produced at the banquets, and the champions in attendance
on the king partook of it; but it was not permitted to be drunk openly
in the bazars or streets.

The king gave audience every day, being seated on an elevation, that
is a _Tábsár_, or elevated window: in the same manner he took his seat
in the _Roz-Gáh_, which is a place where, on his rising from the
_Tábsár_, he seated himself on a throne: on which occasion the nobles
in attendance were drawn out in their proper gradations: note, that by
giving audience is meant, turning his attention to the concerns of
mankind. Every decree issued by the king from the _rozistán_ or
_shabistán_ of the interior or exterior, was transcribed by the
Shudahband and again submitted to the royal presence, and when its
promulgation was ratified, it was laid before his majesty a second
time.

Whenever a traveller entered a caravanserai or city, the secretaries
of the place, in the presence of witnesses and notaries, made out a
statement of his wealth and effects, which they gave him; and the same
at the time of sale; so that if he should afterwards declare that his
stock had been diminished or some part had been abstracted, they could
ascertain its value and quantity: there was also a fixed price
assigned to every commodity and article, and also a certain rate of
profit prescribed to each vendor.

The following was their mode of hunting: the army being drawn out in
array, in right, centre, and left columns, the nobles and eminent
warriors took their several posts according to rank, and during a
period of forty or fifty days formed a circle around both mountains
and plains. If the country abounded in wood, they formed the whole of
it into well secured piles: the king then directed his steps towards
that quarter, and his train by degrees drove in the game, keeping up a
strict watch that no beast of prey should escape out of the circle: on
this the king, his sons, and relations dispatched with arrows as many
as they could; after this the king, surrounded by the most
distinguished courtiers, sat on a throne placed on an eminence, formed
of strong timbers so fastened together that no animal could get up
there: the generals, and then the whole of the soldiery charged into
the centre, so that not a trace remained of ferocious animals, that
is, of lions and such noxious creatures: they next counted the numbers
of the slain, and having piled them in one place, formed a hillock of
their carcases. If they discovered a harmless animal amongst the
slain, they ordered vengeance to be inflicted on its destroyer, and
cast his body among those of the ferocious animals.

They record that in the reign of Yássán, the son of Sháh Mahbúl, an
elk had been slain by some tyrannically-inclined person, on beholding
which the father of the insane criminal, with the ruthless sword,
immediately dissevered his son’s head from his shoulders. Also in the
reign of Núshirvan, the fortunate descendant from the _Sháíyán_
dynasty, at one time whilst in the pursuit of game, an arrow shot
intentionally from the bow of a noble champion named _Fartúsh_,
wounded a deer so that it fell dead: his son, _Ayín Túsh_, was
perfectly horror-struck, and in retaliation with an arrow pinned his
father’s body to that of the slaughtered deer; so that, in future,
there should be no infringement of the Farhang law.

As soon as a lofty mound had been formed of slaughtered noxious
creatures, which either walk, fly, or graze, then by the king’s
command a Mobid ascended the eminence and said: “Such is the
recompense of all who slay harmless creatures; such the retribution
which awaits the destroyers of animals free from crimes.” He then said
to the harmless creatures: “The equitable king of kings, in order to
destroy the noxious animals which cause you so many calamities, has
come forward in his own precious person, and taken vengeance for the
misdeeds of these wicked creatures: now depart in peace; behold the
vengeance inflicted on your sanguinary foes; and commit no sin before
the protector of your species.” They then left a road open for the
innoxious animals to escape and hasten to their mountains and deserts.
This kind of hunting they called _Shikár-i-dád_ or _Dád-shikár_; i.
e.: “the hunt of equity,” or “the equity-hunt.” The royal governors
also in their respective provinces adopted a chase of the like
description. Whenever the sovereign was of such a character as not to
deviate from the Farhang code, if any person declined rendering
allegiance to the prince chosen by him for his successor, that person
was immediately destroyed by the people.

In the reign of _Sháh Gilív_, a champion having beheld in a vision,
that the king had raised to the throne one of the princes who met not
his approbation, immediately on awaking put himself to death. Sháh
Gilív, on hearing this, said to the son of the deceased: “When a
person is awake, rebellion is to be abhorred; but not in a state of
sleep, as it is then involuntary.”

Also in the reign of _Bahman_, the son of Isfendiar, the son of
_Ardashír_, the son of _Azad Shai_,[366] one of the generals, _Bahram_
by name, governor of Khorasan, having made arrangements for revolt and
rebellion, the soldiers on learning his designs put him to death, and
offering up his flesh after the manner of the Moslem sacrifice,
divided it and ate of it, saying, “He is a noxious animal.”

In the same reign, a champion, by name _Gilshásp_, saw in a trance
that he had rebelled against Bahman: on relating the dream to his
soldiers, they for answer drew forth their swords and shed his blood,
saying: “Although there is no blame to be attached to the vision, yet
he is the genius of evil for publishing it abroad.”

_Ayín Shakíb_, a Móbed, who saw in a vision that he was uttering
imprecations against _Ardíshír_, the son of _Babagán_, the son of
_Azád_ the Jaiyánían, immediately on awaking cut out his tongue: such
was their devotedness to their kings.

They moreover say, in the case of every prince who was adorned with
sound doctrine, good works, and noble descent; who promoted the
interests of the military and the happiness of the Ráyás, and who
never deviated from the covenant of the law; that when any one proved
refractory to his commands, that person’s life and property were
confiscated with justice. The kings made trials of their sons’
capacities, and conferred the royal dignity on whichever was found the
most deserving; not making the one king whom they regarded with the
greatest natural affection. They also said: “Sovereign power becomes
not the monarch who transgresses this blessed law; neither should any
prince give way to the disposition to deviate in the slightest degree
from any of its covenants, lest from their esteeming one branch of the
law as of no importance, they might regard the whole as of trifling
obligation.” The adorable and almighty God so gave his aid to these
praise-worthy sovereigns that they decked the bride of dominion with
the ornaments of equity, benevolence, and impartial justice.
Merchants, travellers, and scholars moved about in perfect security;
during their reigns there existed no annoyance from the payment of
tolls, customs, and other exactions; and in the caravanserais was
neither rent nor hire.

The kings had the covenants of the law transcribed, which they always
kept near them, and had read over to them daily by some confidential
courtier: on great festivals they were communicated to the military
and the rayas, with strong injunctions to store them up in their
recollection. The Umras also pursued the same system, and recited the
law to their dependants. In like manner, the princesses of the
_Shabistán_, “night-apartment,” observed the same rule.

They moreover say that every prince who, through the suggestions of
his own mind or of his minister’s, adopted any measures except in
conformity to this law, bitterly repented of it.――_Jai Alad_ has said:
“Whoever in the king’s presence utters a word contrary to the
covenants of the law, or persuades him to do so; the king may rest
assured that the object of that person is to throw the kingdom into
confusion.”

When the Yezdáníán princes and rulers gave audience, there lay before
them a book, a scourge, and a sword; the book contained the covenants
of the law; and every affair which was submitted to them being
considered according to the view taken of it in the book, they then
gave a decision.

In the royal dynasty which preceded the Gilsháíán kings, there was no
violation whatever of this code; but under later princes some disorder
crept into its observance. They also say, that whenever they violated
the commands, decrees, maxims, rules, and decisions of this covenant,
they became associated with regret and repentance. Whenever a
sovereign sustained any injury, it arose principally from inattention
to this standard; and whenever a monarch lived in prosperity, it
proceeded from his scrupulous observance of the most minute details of
this code. The ancient sovereigns, that is, the _Abádíán_, the
_Jaiyán_, the _Shaiyán_ and the _Yassánían_, who are the most renowned
of kings, never lost sight of the Farhang Abád, that is, they did
every thing according to its dictates: this code they also called
_Hirbud Sár_, or “sacerdotal purity.” During this period no enemy
arose, and no foe obtained the supremacy; the military and the rayas
enjoyed undisturbed repose. Amongst the _Gilsháíyán_ kings, _Hushang_,
_Tahmúras_, _Faridun_, _Minuchahar_, _Kaikobád_, _Kaikhusró_,
_Lohorasp_, _Bahman_, _Ardashir Babágán_, and the others, had this
code transcribed in secret characters, which they employed as mental
amulets and spiritual charms. _Náshirván_ also, having procured a
transcript of this law, kept it by him. Although all the sovereigns
conformed to this rule, yet none observed it in so high a degree as
the ancient sovereigns of the _Abádíán_, _Jaiyán_, _Shaiyán_, and
_Yassáníán_ dynasties: as in the belief held by the _Yazdanians_, or
“theists,” their dignity so far transcends that of the Gilsháíyáns,
that we can institute no comparison between them. The Gilsháíyán
princes also exerted themselves to prevent the slaughter of harmless
animals; although the people did not pay the same respect to their
orders as to those of the ancient sovereigns, yet, as compared with
their successors, people were more exact in the performance of duty
than in later periods.

They say that _Rustam_,[367] the son of _Zaul_, at the moment of
abandoning the robes of mortality, having heaved a deep sigh, the king
of Kabúl said to him: “O Rustam! art thou alarmed at death?” the hero
replied: “God forbid! for the death of the body is to the spirit the
bestowing of life; and the issuing forth under the sphere is the being
born from the maternal womb; when the cloud of the body is removed,
the sun of spirit shines more resplendently: but my grief proceeded
from this reflection, that when Kaús commanded Tús to put me to the
ignominious death of the gibbet,[368] I refused to submit to the
punishment. Although Kaús, in violation of the Farhang code, had
passed a sentence opposed to the decisions of Mahabád, and even the
interests of Kaús were ultimately advanced by my rebellious conduct, I
am at present afflicted on that account, lest, perhaps, any thing
opposed to the Farhang code may have proceeded from me. In like manner
Isfendiar was slain by my hand,[369] and I refused to be put in
chains; although it became him not to exact compliance, nor was it in
accordance with the Farhang code.” Dastan (Zaul) also lived in regret,
saying: “Why did I utter a word in opposition to Kai Khusran, on the
day when he chose Lohorasp as his successor, although my sentiments
were expressed by way of counsel?”[370] When Bahman, the son of
Isfendiar, made preparations for laying waste Sistan, notwithstanding
the people urged Dastan to give the invaders battle, he approved not
of it, but said: “Never more will I break through the Farhang code.”
He then came on foot into the presence of Bahman, by whose orders he
was thrown into chains: but he finally attained the king’s unbounded
esteem, and was released; whilst his son Faramarz, contrary to the
Farhang code, gave the king battle, and, being taken prisoner,
suffered the ignominious death of the gibbet:[371] his son was also
put to death on the same account. The implicit obedience of the son
_Minufarad_ to Kobad,[372] the father of Nushirvan, is also well
known; although that prince was not strictly entitled to obedience
according to the Farhang covenant, yet the devotedness of his subjects
is highly celebrated.

[350] Buzurg-Mihr was the celebrated minister of Nushirvan
(see note, p. 104).

[351] Azad Bahman is called by the Sipasian (see p. 6) the
precious jewel of the intellectual principle. In the
Zand-books and in the Bun-Dehesh, he is invoked as created
by Ormuzd, and as one who is to conduct the heavens; he
presides over the eleventh month of the year and the second
day of the month; he is the king of the luminous world; the
other angels repose under his guard; he is the principle of
the intelligence of the ear, given by Ormuzd; the father of
the purity of the heart; the Ized of peace who watches over
the people; he aids in the distribution of the waters, and
in the production of herds and other riches; it is he who
receives the souls of the just at their entrance into
heaven, congratulates them on their happy arrival, and
clothes them with robes of gold.――_Zend-Avesta_, I, pp. 81,
134, 416, 418; II, pp. 75, 100, 144, 152, 316, and
elsewhere. According to the Desátir (English transl. p. 63)
Bahman is the first of the numberless created angels.――A. T.

[352] Vakhshúr signifies “prophet” in the old Persian
language. According to the Desátir (edit. of Bombay, English
transl., p. 79), _Sadvakhshúr_ is an epithet of Hoshang,
signifying “one hundred prophets.” by a mistake ascribed, as
well as the work _Javidan Khirid_, to Jemshid, in my note,
pp. 31 and 32.――A. T.

[353] The manuscripts read نيالاد, the manuscript of Oude
reads: تلبہ لا; neither word is found in any dictionary.

[354] The manuscripts read پرده, which appears the best
reading; the manuscript of Oude has, like the edit. of
Calcutta, برده.

[355] The manuscripts, with that of Oude, read ماه, the
edition of Calcutta, باد.

[356] It is not decided whether “Azizi” here and elsewhere
is a proper name, or the attribute of a person.

[357] “Arshiya”――the manuscripts read “Arsmai;” the
manuscript of Oude has از سمای.

[358] Jenghis Khan, “the king of kings,” was the name
assumed by Temuz Khin, a Moghul, when he had succeeded in
uniting under his own and sole domination the various tribes
of the Turks. He was born in the year 1162 and died in 1228
of our era. His history is sufficiently known and belongs
not to this place.――A. T.

[359] Kazl-básh signifies in the Turkish language “red
head,” a name given by the Turks to the Persians, since they
began to wear a cap of that colour enveloped by a turban
with twelve folds in honour of the twelve Imams. This
happened in the year 1501, under the reign of their king
Ismáil Sûfi, already mentioned, note 6, pp. 52, 53.――A. T.

[360] Intending to put an end to the march.

[361] درفش و سوزن signify also a bodkin and a needle.

[362] Gurgin, in the Shahnamah, is called the son of Mélad,
and was one of the principal chieftains under the reign of
Khusro. Gurgin’s character does not figure advantageously in
the history of Pézshen and Munizshá, one of the most
interesting episodes of Ferdusi’s historical poem.――A. T.

[363] The manuscript translation of D. Shea reads in this
place: “These officers are called _Sámór_, or the _Char Ayín
Farangi_, “the four institutes of law:” which words are not
in the printed edition of Calcutta, but are probably in the
two manuscripts which he had before his eyes.――A. T.

[364] It cannot be denied that the Persians, in very remote
times, practised castration, and especially upon youths
distinguished by their beauty (Herod. lib. VI). They are
even accused of having been the first among whom this
infamous practice and the name of eunuchs originated (Steph.
de urbibus. Donat. in Eunuchum, act. I, scen. 2). Ammian.
Marcell. (lib. XIV) attributes it, however, to Semiramis.
(See upon this subject Brissonius, de Regio Persarum
principatu, p. 294, 295.) The passage in the text permits us
to believe that this cruel operation was a dishonouring
punishment, generally abhorred, and particularly restricted
by severe laws among the Persians.――A. T.

[365] It may be recollected that the interior service in the
palace of an Indian king was of old always performed by
females.――A. T.

[366] Bahman, son of Isfendiar and successor of Gustasp, is
also named Kái Ardashír, diraz-dost and identified with the
Artaxerxes μακροχειρ (longimanus) of the Greeks. He is
placed 505 years before our era. He reigned 112 years,
according to the Shah-namah.――A. T.

[367] Rustam, who in the Shah-namah, during a period of six
centuries, appears rather a generic name, or a representative
of the Medo-Persian heroism than a particular individual,
Rustam is reckoned the fifth of the ten Persian philosophers
enumerated in our note, page 112. Hence Rustam’s
philosophical reflexions. In general, we see frequently in
the Persian historical accounts the characters of kings,
heroes, ascetics, and philosophers confusedly blended in the
same persons.――A. T.

[368] At the time that a great army of Turanians commanded
by Sohrab overrun Persia, Rustam, the ruler of Sistan, was
summoned by Káús, his liege, to repulse the invaders.
Rustam, although willing to obey, having spent some days in
feasting, appeared later than his sovereign expected, who,
in a fit of rage, after having severely rebuked him for his
tardiness, condemned him to an ignominious death. Gív, one
of the principal chiefs, and friend of Rustam, was charged
with the execution, but, refusing to do what he felt
impossible, he was sentenced to share the fate of the great
hero, and Tus, a chief mentioned in the text, received the
order to execute the mandate upon both. A reconciliation
however took place between the king and his powerful
vassals, whose united efforts were required against the
Turanians. It was in the course of this war that Rustam slew
his son Sohrab, without knowing him, and without supposing
him at the head of the Turanian army: this is the subject of
one of the most celebrated episodes of Ferdusi’s
Shah-namah.――A. T.

[369] Isfendiar, the son of Gushtasp, several times
mentioned in the course of this work, adopted, like his
father, and zealously propagated, Zoroaster’s religion,
which caused a new war between the Persians and Turanians.
Arjasp, the sovereign of Túr, having invaded Persia,
Isfendiar was called to the assistance of his father, who
promised the throne to him if he repulsed the invaders; but,
delivered from danger by his son’s successful exertions,
Gushtasp, unwilling to fulfil his promise, readily listened
to suggestions about the treacherous designs of Isfendiar
whom he emprisoned. Arjasp, profiting by this event, marched
to Balkh, killed Lohrasp, the father of Gushtasp, carried
off the two daughters of the latter, whom he defeated in a
battle and pent up in a fortress. Isfendiar, called out from
his prison, routed the Turanian army and released his
father. Moreover, he rescued his two sisters (one of whom
was his wife) from captivity, by taking the strong residence
of Arjasp, whom he killed with his own hand. He was not even
then to enjoy the well-deserved reward, but charged with the
most perilous expedition to bring Rustam in chains before
the throne of his discontented liege. In vain did the hero
just mentioned proffer his willingness to submit to any
terms of submission except that of being enchained; nothing
less than this was insisted upon: a combat became necessary,
in which Isfendiar reduced his great antagonist to have
recourse to the miraculous aid of Simurgh (see note, p. 55);
by this alone Rustam was enabled to kill Isfendiar in a
renewed combat.――A. T.

[370] Káí Khusró, after a glorious reign of sixty years,
resolved to resign the crown. He assembled in a plain all
his chiefs and the people of Iran. After a magnificent
festival of seven days, he proclaimed his final determination;
divided the empire among several chiefs, and appointed
Lohrasp the successor of his sovereignty. This choice met
with some opposition on the part of the aged Zaul (see
Rauzat-us-Safa, Shea’s transl., p. 263), and although this
chief yielded to the sovereign will, yet he never paid
homage to the new king; and a pernicious misunderstanding
remained between the descendants of both parties. It may be
remarked that Káí Khusró’s abdication is quite Indian.
According to Ferdúsi, it was towards the mountains of India,
called Amajal, that Káí Khusró bent his steps, accompanied
by a number of his chiefs, the most ancient of whom he soon
dismissed, whilst others followed him further, although
warned by him of an impending storm of snow which was to
bury them all. He suddenly disappeared, and they were never
heard of. This reminds of more than one similar event in
Indian history.――A. T.

[371] This account agrees with the Shah-namah, according to
which Bahman, in order to revenge the death of his father
(see note last but one), invaded Sistan and took Zaul with
all his treasures. It was then that Farámars, the son of
Rustam, encountered the Persians in a battle: he was
defeated, taken prisoner, and hanged. According to the
Rauzat-us-Safa (see Shea’s transl., p. 340), Bahman, on
reaching Zabulistan, heard of Rustam’s death; his son
Farámans fell, and Zaul was taken prisoner.――A. T.

[372] Kobad, the Cabades or Cavades of the Greeks, the
eighteenth king of the Sassanians, ruled 43 years in Persia
from 488 to 531, A. D., not ingloriously within and without
his empire, from which he was however driven on account of
the support which he gave to the new and dangerous doctrine
of the prophet Mazdak, about whom see section XV of this
chapter. Kobad recovered the throne by the assistance of the
Tartar prince Hestial (see Ferdusi’s Shah-namah), or (see
Herbelot) by that of the nations, called Haïathelah, who
inhabit the countries of Kandahar, Thibet, and
Barantolah.――A. T.

THE FOURTH SECTION OF THE DABISTAN contains an account of the
Jamshaspian sect. The _Yekanah-binan_, “seers of unity,” also called
the Jamshaí, who form another great body of the Parsees, are the
followers of _Jamshasp_, the son of _Jemshid_, the son of _Tahmúras_:
in their speech there is much that is enigmatical, and endless
subtilty. Jamshasp never invited any one to follow his tenets, but he
was of such exemplary life and so great a sage, that the people bore
him great affection, and wrote down his sayings, until by degrees
great numbers voluntarily adopted them as articles of faith. According
to them, the world has no external existence; they hold that whatever
exists is God, and that naught exists besides him: a holy man has said:

“Every eye which is directed to the primitive nature,
Unless tinged with the collyrium of divine light,
Whatever it beholds in the world, except thy face,
Is but the second image of distorted vision.”

They hold that all the intelligences, souls, angels, heavens, stars,
elements, the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms exist within his
knowledge, and are not external to it: which sentiment king Jamshid
explained to Abtin, saying: “Know, O Abtin, that the Almighty
conceived in idea the first intelligence; in like manner the first
intelligence conceived three objects, namely, the second intelligence,
the soul of the upper sphere, and the body of the same heaven: in like
manner, the second intelligence conceived three objects, and so on in
succession to the elements and their combinations: and this is exactly
as when we form an idea of a city, with its palaces, gardens, and
inhabitants, which in reality have no existence external to our
imagination; so that, consequently, the existence of this world is of
the same description.” The Abadian regard these sayings as
enigmatical, although Jamshid composed many philosophical works, which
the Yekanah Binan admit without any commentary: many of the Parsees
adopt this creed, and particularly the ascetics of that class. The
belief of these sectaries is illustrated by the following tetrastich
from Subahani:

“The sophist, who has no knowledge of intellect,
Asserts that this world is altogether an optical illusion,
In truth, the world is an illusion; however,
Certainty is for ever displaying her effulgence there.”

On this subject they have composed various works, the most celebrated
of which is, the “Testament of Jamshid addressed to Abtin,” compiled
by _Farhang Dostoor_. _Shídah_, _Suhráb_, _Mízan_, and _Jamshásp_,
who, under the profession of mercantile pursuits, travelled along with
_Shídósh_, the son of _Anósh_, were of the Yekanah Binan sect.

THE FIFTH SECTION OF THE DABISTAN describes the Samrádián sect.――In
common language Samrád means imagination and thought; and the sects
thus named are of many descriptions; the first is that of the
followers of _Fartósh_, who lived about the commencement of the
Serpent-shouldered _Zohak_’s reign: _Fartósh_ followed mercantile
pursuits, and his faith was as follows: this elemental world is merely
idea; the remainder, the heavens, the stars, and the simple
uncompounded beings actually exist. The holders of this opinion are
called the _Fartoshíán_.

The second are the _Farshídíyah_, so called from _Farshíd_, the son of
_Fartósh_: he asserted that the heavens and the stars are also ideal,
and that the simple uncompounded beings only have actual existence.

The next are the _Farírajíyah_, so called from _Faríraj_, the son of
_Farshid_: his opinion was that the simple uncompounded beings, that
is, intelligences and souls, also have no existence, which is the
attribute of the necessarily self-existent God alone, and that all
besides is ideal, appearing only to exist in consequence of the
essence of that sole existence.

The next are the _Faramandíyah_, thus named from _Faramand_, the
disciple of _Faríraj_: he says, if any person exists, that person
knows that the elements, heavens, stars, intelligences, and souls are
the Almighty; and what people call the necessarily self-existent God
has no being, although we, through imagination (idea), suppose him to
exist; which he certainly does not. According to the testimony of the
sage _Amr Khaiam_:

“The Creator in this aged world is as a vase,
Which is internally water and externally ice;
Resign to children this trifling about infidelity and faith;
Remove from the place where God is only a letter.”

They said to him: “How dost thou prove this idea?” he answered:

“By means of the solar light we can see: but where is the sun?”

Thus, according to them, the Almighty is only an idea of the
imagination: the people of this sect are now mixed up with the
Moslems, and go about in the garb of the faithful: according to them a
person named _Kámkár_, one of the ascetics of this sect, who lived in
the reign of sultan _Mahmud of Ghiznah_,[373] composed a poetical
treatise, and compiled narratives, proofs, and revelations conformable
to his tenets; assigning to his faith a superiority over all other
systems, after this manner: that, whatever devout persons have
recorded in their respective creeds concerning the existence of God,
the greatness of the empyreal sphere, the extent of the angelic world,
or concerning paradise, hell, the bridge of judgment, the resurrection
of the dead, the interrogatory and reply,[374] the appearing before
God, the rejection of tradition, eternity, and the creation of the
world, is all correct in this creed; as all becomes evident to the
idea of their professor through the existence of idea; with respect to
which they thus express themselves: “by means of idea, they behold the
ideal.” In proof of his system, he farther says: “Self cannot be
ignorant of self.” But in truth they are ignorant of their own
identity, and understand not in what “self” consists: some of them
maintain, that the being called man and endowed with voice and speech,
is an incorporeal essence joined to the body; the relations of thought
and action resulting merely from its entrance or descent into body:
notwithstanding this principle, they differ greatly among themselves
respecting the eternity and creation of their own souls. In like
manner, some have also denied the simple uncompoundedness of the
intellectual soul, and have spoken largely against that doctrine;
consequently, as they are unacquainted with their own identity, what
can they know about the heavens, stars, intelligences, and God? and it
becomes not that one should know nothing about himself, but that he
exists not. Kámkár, in his treatise, has collected many amusing
anecdotes respecting the Samrádián sect, of which the following is an
instance: a Samradian once said to his steward: “The world and its
inhabitants have no actual existence; they merely have an ideal
being.” The servant, on hearing this, took the first favorable
opportunity to conceal his master’s horse, and when he was about to
ride, brought him an ass with the horse’s saddle. When the Samrádián
asked, “Where is the horse?” the servant replied, “Thou hast been
thinking of an idea: there was no horse in being.” The master
answered, “It is true:” he then mounted the ass, and having rode for
some time, he suddenly dismounted, and taking the saddle off the ass’s
back, placed it on the servant’s, drawing the girths on tightly; and
having forced the bridle into his mouth, he mounted him and flogged
him along vigorously. The servant, in piteous accents, having
exclaimed: “What is the meaning of this conduct?” the Samrádián
replied: “There is no such thing as a whip; it is merely ideal; thou
art only thinking of some illusion:” after which the steward repented
and restored the horse.

In another tale it is recorded that a Samrádián, having obtained in
marriage the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, she, on finding out her
husband’s creed, proposed to have some amusement at his expense. One
day the Samradian brought in a bottle of pure wine, which during his
absence she emptied of its contents and filled it up with water; when
the time for taking wine came round, she poured out water instead of
wine into a gold cup which was her own property. The Samrádián having
observed, “Thou hast given me water instead of wine,” she answered,
“It is only ideal; there was no wine in existence.” The husband then
said: “Thou hast spoken well; present me the cup, that I may go to a
neighbour’s house and bring it back full of wine.” He therefore took
out the gold cup, which he sold, and concealing the money, instead of
the gold vase brought back an earthen vessel full of wine. The wife,
on seeing this, said, “What hast thou done with the golden cup?” he
replied, “Thou art surely thinking about some ideal golden cup:” on
which the woman greatly regretted her witticism.

As to those sectaries who assert that the world exists only in idea,
the author of this work saw several in Lahore, in the year of the
Hejirah 1048, A. D. 1637. The first was _Kám Jóí_, who composed the
following distichs on _Faríraj_:

“Thou knowest that every thing is ideal,
If the Almighty has given thee illumination!
The mention even of ideality proceeds from idea;
The very idea itself is nothing more than ideal.”

It is to be noted that _Samrád_ and _Samwád_ are applied to fancy or
idea. _Ismail Sufi_, of _Ardistan_[375] has poetically expressed
himself to the same purport in what is styled the mixed Persian:

“I am about to mention something although remote from reason;
Listen carefully: but if not, mercy still awaits thee:
This world is ideal; and ideality itself is but idea:
This existence which I call ideal, that likewise is idea.”

The second person treated of in the Samrad Namah of Kámkár was _Nék
Khoy_; the third was _Shád Késh_; and the fourth, _Máhyár_: they were
all engaged in commercial pursuits, and styled Moslem or true
believers.

[373] Mahmud, the son of Sebekteghin, was the first monarch
of the dynasty of Ghiznah, the foundation of which had been
laid by his father. During a reign of 33 years (from 997 to
1030, A. D.) he made twelve expeditions to India, and
established his domination in the western part of this
country, out of which he possessed a still greater empire,
which to the north-west extended over the whole of Persia,
and was limited on the north-east by the river Oxus.――A. T.

[374] See about it hereafter the sixth chapter, which treats
of the religion of the Musulmans.

[375] Upon Ismail Sofi, see note p. 52, 53. Ardistan or
Ardastan is a town of the province called Icbal, or Persian
Irak, 36 leagues distant from Ispahan.――A. T.

THE SIXTH SECTION OF THE DABISTAN describes the tenets of the
_Khodaiyan_.――This sect are followers of _Khodádád_, a Mobed, who
lived during the decline of Jemshid’s power and the usurpation of
Zohak. Khodádád held intelligences and souls to be simple uncompounded
beings, and the stars and heavens to be the companions of God; each of
which, in proportion to its proximity to the Almighty beyond other
created beings, is so much more elevated in dignity: notwithstanding
which we are not to account any being, whether the simple uncompounded
or material, as a mediator or promoter between us and God; neither is
there any occasion for prophets, because through the medium of
reliance, the seeking out of God is attained, and we are to serve God
alone. Among those who held these opinions in Lahore, in the year of
the Hejirah 1049 (A. D. 1639) were seen _Kamus_ and _Fartúsh_, both
merchants.

THE SEVENTH SECTION OF THE DABISTAN describes the system of the
Rádíán.――The chief of this sect was _Rád Gúnah_, one of the eminently
brave, a lion-like hero, who, to beneficent acts and abstinence from
cruelty to animals, joined the dignity of knowledge; he enjoyed
distinguished honor and rank about the end of Jamshíd’s reign and the
commencement of Zohák’s usurpation: his opinion is, that God is the
same as the sun, whose bounty extends to all beings; and that the
fourth heaven, by reason of its constituting the true centre of the
seven heavens, is the seat of his glory and as his essence is pure
good, his place must also be regarded as a proof of his goodness:
besides this, his grace extends alike to all bodies, whether superior
or inferior: moreover, as the heart, which is the sovereign of the
body, is settled in the midst of the breast, such is also the rule and
custom observed by renowned princes to fix the seat of government in
the centre of their realms, so that their bounty as well as severity
may be equally extended over the whole community; and, by such a
measure, the repose of the people and the due regulations of the Rayas
may be promoted. He asserted that the spirit of the heavens, the
stars, and the three kingdoms of nature proceed from the solar spirit,
and that their bodies return to the light of his body; that is, the
virtuous return to him or some of the stars approximating to his
glory, whilst sinners remain in the elemental world. He at first
communicated these opinions secretly to his friends, but promulgated
them fearlessly during the reign of Zohák. In the year of the Hejirah
1052 (A. D. 1642), the author, whilst journeying from Panjab to Kabul,
met at the station of _Ráwal Bundí_ two persons of this creed, and
whose names were _Hormuzd_ and _Tírah Késh_, who were skilled in all
arts, abstinent, and remote from hurting any living being.

THE EIGHTH SECTION OF THE DABISTAN treats of the _Shídrangíán_
creed.――_Shídrang_, a champion of Iran, who in battle was regarded as
the acknowledged chief of the marshallers of armies, and joined
profound knowledge in science to bravery in the field, always turned
away most studiously from doing injury to the creatures of God. He
appeared about the middle of Zohák’s reign, and soothed the serpents
between the usurper’s shoulders. Shídrang unceasingly invited the
people to adopt his faith, and had many followers: he maintained that
_Khoy_ and _Manish_, “disposition and constitution” or nature, to be
God; according to his system, the state of man and other animals
resembles that of herbage, which, when scattered about or dissolved,
grows up again. A merchant, named _Píl Ázár_, who belonged to this
sect, was met by the author in Kashmir in the year of the Hejirah 1040
(A. D. 1631).

THE NINTH SECTION explains the _Paikárián_ creed.――_Paikár_ was a
virtuous sage from Iran, who appeared about the middle of Zohák’s
reign. He thus addressed his disciples: “The Almighty is the same as
fire, from the effulgence of which stars have been formed, and the
heavens from its smoke; as fire is both hot and dry, from its heat
proceeded the air, which is hot and humid; and from the humidity of
the air came water, which is cold and humid; also from the coldness of
water proceeded the earth, which is cold and dry; and from these
conjointly came the compound productions, both perfect and imperfect.”
Two individuals of this sect, _Paikár Pazhuh_ and _Jahan Navard_, who
were unequalled in drawing out astronomical tables, painting, and
inlaying, were met by the writer in the year 1059 (A. D. 1649) in
Gujarát, in the district of Panjab.

THE TENTH SECTION OF THE DABISTAN explains the _Míláníán_
system.――_Mílán_ was one of the brave champions of Iran and
contemporary with Paikár; he exhorted many people to adopt his faith,
which was as follows: “The air is the truly self-existent God, as it
is both hot and humid; from its heat proceeded fire, and from its
humidity, water; from the effulgence of fire came forth the stars;
from its smoke the heavens (as before mentioned); and from the
frigidity of water proceeded the earth.”[376] One of this sect was
_Rohám_, who passed under the designation of a draughtsman; he was in
truth a painter possessed of European skill; the hand of Bahzad[377]
and the finger of Mani,[378] who never remained long in one place. In
the year of the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1630) the author beheld him in
Kashmir, in the house of _Shídosh_.

[376] Vitruvius (who lived shortly before J. C.) says (I.
iv. Præf.): Thales Milesius omnium rerum principium Aquam
est professus, Heraclitus Ignem, Magorum sacerdotes, Aquam
et Ignem. As to the earth proceeding from the frigidity of
water, we read in Macrobius (In Somno Scip. I. 1) what
follows: “Terra est sicca et frigida: aqua vero frigida et
humecta est; hæc duo elementa, licet sibi et per siccum
humectumque contraria sint, per frigidum tamen commune
junguntur.”――A. T.

[377] Bahzad was a celebrated painter.

[378] In the Desátír (English transl., pp. 188, 1889) it is
stated that Mani came into Iran during the reign of
Ardeshir, and made himself notorious by curious paintings
and a new doctrine which he exhibited: he permitted the
killing of harmless animals, and forbade all intercourse
with women. After a controversy upon these two points with
the king Shapur, he was driven out of the court, and then
lapidated and torn to pieces by the people of the town.
According to Sharistani, Mani was the son of Fáten or Fater;
according to Mohammed Ben Ishak, his father was Fettak Ben
Ebi Berdsâm. He was born about the year 240 of our era, but
his birthplace is differently stated to have been in Persia,
in Babylonia, in Nishapúr, in Khorossan. He is reputed as a
learned man, as will be shewn in a subsequent note. He
appeared at the court of king Shápur, the son of Ardeshir
Babegan, but inhabited chiefly Turkistan. As a painter, he
exhibited a set of pictures, called تنگ, _artang_; or رژنگ,
_arzhank_; or ارچنگ مانی, _archang Máni_, which he said he
had brought from heaven, where he pretended to have dwelt,
whilst in reality he was concealed in a cavern during one
year. The baron Hammer Purgstal suggests that the _artang_
might have been a banner or ensign, upon which astronomical
or cabalistical figures were represented, and which the
Mongols and Buddhists used to call _Máni_ (see Jahrb. der
Lit., for April, May, June, 1840, p. 28). Máni was besides a
skilful musician, and inventor of a musical instrument,
called _âúd_ by the Arabs, _chelys_ by the Greeks. He was
put to death by order of king Bahram, the son of Hormuz,
about the year 278; by some authors his life and death are
placed later.――See about Máni, _Hyde_, pp. 282, 290, and
_Beausobre_, _Histoire critique de Manichée_.――A. T.

THE ELEVENTH SECTION describes the system of the followers of
_Álár_.――_Alar_ was a native of Iran, celebrated for his extensive
knowledge, who lived in reputation and dignity about the end of
Zohák’s reign, under whose command he distinguished himself in the
erection of forts and other architectural works. His belief was, that
God is the same as water, from the ebullition of which proceeded fire;
from the fire came forth the heavens and the stars (as before stated);
from the humidity of water proceeded the air, and from its frigidity,
the earth. To this sect belonged _Andarímán_, who was well skilled in
the management of the bow, archery, wielding the lance, horsemanship,
and other military accomplishments; he gave instructions in these
sciences to the sons of great men, in which occupation he passed his
life. In the year of the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1630) the author met him
in Kashmir at the house of _Shidosh_. To this sect also belonged
_Mílád_, who possessed consummate skill in writing, and was held in
great respect by men of high station: he was in truth unequalled in
the recitation of histories, the narration of stories and romantic
tales. The author enjoyed his society also in Kashmir.

THE TWELFTH SECTION treats concerning the _Shidabian_ faith.――_Shádíb_
who lived about the end of _Zohák_’s reign, was an eminent physician
of Iran, held in great estimation by nobles and princes. He maintained
that the self-existent lord is the same with the earth, from the dry
propensity of which was produced fire; and from fire the heavens and
stars, as before mentioned; from its frigidity proceeded water; from
the humidity of which was formed the air; and when the four elements
were mixed together, the three kingdoms of nature were then
manifested. The physician _Mihrán_ was also of this sect. In the year
1018 of the Hejirah (A. D. 1638) the author joined him, and travelled
in his society from Lahore to Kashmir. Among those who held these
tenets was one named _Khákí_, who followed the profession of a
merchant and possessed great wealth: him the author met in Lahore. In
that same year and in the same place, he became acquainted with a
young man named _Shír_, who excelled in writing the Nishki and Taalik
characters, and was one of the chosen followers of _Shídáb_.

THE THIRTEENTH SECTION describes the system of the _Akhshíyán_
sect.――The Mobed _Akhshí_ was by origin a Persian, possessed of great
knowledge, and full of kindness towards the creatures of God; he was
contemporary with _Shídáb_, and promulgated his sentiments openly,
inviting all men to embrace his faith: he maintained God to be the
essence of the elements; so that when people say, “God is not
visible,” this implies the elemental essence, which presents no form
to the sight; when they assert the ubiquity of God, they style that
the essence, as he is every where under his fourfold form; their
proposition of all things excepting God being perishable, means that
the elements admit of change, but that their essence remains for ever
in the same state. They hold the sun to be the source of fire and of
the other stars, such as the falling and shooting stars, comets with
tails, etc. One of those sectaries was a person named _Shídáb_, whom
the author met in the costume of a merchant, in Kashmir in the year of
the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1631), and from whom he heard what has now
been written, and which was partly recited out of the book of _Akshí_.
The same _Shídáb_, called also _Shams-ud-dîn_, or “the sun of faith,”
composed a treatise entitled _Rázábád_ in proof of his system, which
he demonstrated by texts of the Koran and the traditions. According to
these sectaries, which became known after the _Radiyán_, there is no
resurrection nor return to life but after this manner: the seminal
principle being derived from food, when the body of a living creature
is dissolved, it becomes grass and constitutes the food of some other
animal: as to future rewards and punishments, they enter not into the
faith or practice of this sect: their paradise consists in having fine
raiment, in carousing, riding, sensual enjoyments, and such like
pleasures, which alone they esteem the chief good; torment, according
to them, consists in being separated from such objects: however, the
founders and followers of this faith carefully avoid all kind of
cruelty towards living creatures.

According to them, intercourse with daughters, sisters, mothers,
maternal aunts, and their children is allowable;[379] as there can
exist no antipathy between the source and what is derived from it: no
degree of relationship in their opinion should be a bar to the
intercourse of the sexes: nay, on the contrary, it is highly to be
commended, as the nearer the degree of consanguinity, the greater will
be the friendship between the parties.[380] They however regard
adultery as highly criminal, unless the husband should willingly
sacrifice his wife’s honor. They in fact maintain that marriage
between any two parties, however nearly related, is perfectly
allowable if the parties agree among themselves. They also regard the
ceremonial ablutions enjoined by the law as absurd and
unnecessary.[381] They also say, that men assume a particular nature
by means of laws and institutions, and on that account regard good as
evil, and evil as good. When they desire to make a sacrificial
offering, they kill some harmless animal and count it not a foul
crime. Nay, some religionists who partake of swine’s flesh,
scrupulously avoid that of cows, and _vice versâ_. Whoever shall
appeal to the intelligence, which is the gift of God, will be
convinced that our discourse is true; that is, all we have narrated
from the fifth chapter to the present. The professors of this belief
are mixed up with the Muhammedans, and travel about under that mask,
assuming the name of true believers, but having a distinct appellation
for their peculiar creed; they are scattered over Iran and Turan,
remote from and averse to the fire-worshippers.

[379] According to Philo and to Diogenes Laertius, the
Persians used to marry their mothers and sisters. Alexander
abolished these incestuous marriages (see _Brisson_, p.
290). We know from Herodotus (I: 111) that Cambyses married
his sister Atossa. According to Strabo, the law permitted
the Magians union with their mothers. Plutarch, in the life
of Artaxerxes, relates that this king took to wife his two
daughters Atossa and Amestris; but his mother Parysatis
(_Pari-dokht_, “daughter of a fairy”), at the very time she
was engaging him to marry the first of his daughters, said
that he must, in doing so, place himself above the laws of
the country. Zoroaster, in the Zand books, recommends but
the marriages between the children of brothers and sisters
as actions deserving heaven. We observe that the author of
the Dabistan speaks here only of a particular sect, the
custom of which might have been attributed to the whole
nation of the Persians, but without sufficient foundation.
This is confirmed by the ancient tradition mentioned by
Agathius (l. 11), who says, that Ninus killed his own mother
Semiramis, because she had proposed to him an unnatural
connection with her. For this same reason, according to the
author just quoted, Artaxerxes is said to have discarded
from him with great indignation his mother Parysatis,
although he did not decline the marriage with his two
daughters.――(See _Hyde_, p. 421.)――A. T.

[380] The translation of this passage of the original text
is not, and ought not to be, literal, as the author’s
expressions are here such as an European reader would hardly
think suitable to common decency.――A. T.

[381] The same observation is also applicable to this
passage.――A. T.

THE FOURTEENTH SECTION of this chapter of the Dabistán treats of the
followers of _Zardúsht_.[382]――_Farzanah Bahram_, the son of
_Farhad_, the Yazdanian, thus relates in the _Sharistan_: The _Behdín_
sages relate, that the Almighty, on creating the holy spirit of
Zardúsht, attached it to a tree, when he commenced the creation of
contingent beings in the highest starry heavens: this signifies the
primary intellect, which is as a tree, the leaves and fruits of which
are all contingent existences; and their assertion concerning the
spirit of Zardúsht being attached to it, means that his intellectual
soul is a ray of the primary intellect, the perfections of Zardúsht
being also an effulgence proceeding from that same tree. The Mobed
_Sarúsh_, the Yazdánián, relates: “The teachers of the _Behdín_ faith
have thus said: The father of Zardúsht had a cow which went forth
every morning to the pasture: having one day come accidentally to some
trees, the fallen leaves of which had become dried up, she partook of
them, and after that occurrence, never fed on any other provender
except the withered leaves of that grove. Zardúsht’s father partook of
the milk supplied by this cow, and the influence of it being
communicated to his wife Dughduyah, she conceived _Zardúsht_.”[383]
The object of the above narrative is to show, that by eating the green
foliage, the vegetable spirit is afflicted; for which reason the cow
fed only on dry leaves, so that no injury could result to any spirit
whatever: although, in fact, the vegetable spirit is incapable of
receiving either pleasure or pain, it also shows, that unless a cow be
milked, she feels great pain in the udder, whilst, at the time of
milking, no pain ensues from the operation; also, that the Almighty
formed his prophet’s body out of milk, which in its essence implies no
injury to any living creature. This much being premised, _Zaratusht
Bahram_, a Mobed of the religion of Zardusht,[384] says: When the
world had been thrown into confusion by the wicked, and was entirely
at the mercy of the demon, God willed to raise up a prophet of an
exalted dignity, which the family of Faridun was alone worthy of
filling. In those days lived a man, by name _Purshásp_, the son of
_Patirásp_, descended from Faridun;[385] and his wife’s name was
_Doghduyah_, a virtuous matron, who was also of the family of Faridun.
These two persons were selected by the Almighty as the shells for
enclosing the pearl of Zardusht. When five months of Doghduyah’s
pregnancy had elapsed, she one night beheld in a dream her house
enveloped in a dark cloud, which concealed the splendor of the sun and
moon; and from this cloud were raining down the noxious and rapacious
creatures of earth and air; the boldest of these animals having rent
open Doghduyah’s womb, took out the infant, which he held in his
talons, and the other wild beasts gathered around him. Doghduyah in
her alarm wished to cry out, but Zardusht prevented her, saying: “the
just God befriends me; entertain no apprehensions.” She consequently
held her peace. That instant she beheld a shining mountain which
descended from heaven and rent the black cloud asunder; on which the
noxious animals began to fly away. When the mountain approached
nearer, there came forth from it a youth shining all over, bearing in
one hand a luminous branch, and in the other the volume sent by the
just God. He next hurled that volume towards the beasts, on which they
all departed from the house, excepting three; a wolf, a lion, and a
tiger: the youth then smote these with the luminous branch, so that
they were consumed by fire; after this, taking Zardusht, he restored
him to his mother’s belly, and said to her: “Fear not! grieve not! for
God himself is thy son’s guardian: this honored child shall be the
prophet of the just God!” The youth then disappeared, and Doghduyah
awaking, rose up that gloomy night, and hastening to a neighbouring
seer who was skilled in the interpretation of dreams, related her
vision.[386] The interpreter answered: “Through this sun-resembling
child, the world shall be filled with thy fame; depart, and bring
hither the calculation of thy nativity for my inspection.” She
performed his command; and the interpreter on examining it said:
“During three days keep this secret concealed from all; return hither
on the fourth day, and receive the answer to thy demands.” She did so;
and on the fourth day came to the astrologer, who smiled on beholding
her, and having carefully considered the sidereal influences, turned
to the interpretation of the dream, saying: “The night on which thou
beheldest that vision, the unborn child had completed five months and
twenty-three days; on his issuing forth to the couch of existence, his
illustrious name shall be Zardusht; by him shall the enemies of the
faith be destroyed; but they will previously oppose him in battle, and
put in practice every hostile measure; from the evil doers thou shalt
feel much affliction, such as thou didst witness from the wild beasts
of the vision.

At last victorious and rejoiced in heart thou shalt become,
And through this unborn child feel all a mother’s joy.

Next thou beheldest a youth descending from the sixth heaven with the
glittering branch of a tree; that was _Farrah-i-Izad_, ‘the splendor
of God,’ the warder of evils from thy son; the written volume in his
hand is the emblem of the prophetic office, by which he is to obtain
the victory over all foes; the three wild beasts which remained behind
are the type of a powerful evil-disposed enemy, who by wiles will
endeavour to destroy Zardusht, but who shall be finally discomfited;
and there shall be a prince to promulgate the faith: through his might
shall Zardusht become sovereign of this world and the next. O
Doghduyah! paradise is the recompense of obedience to Zardusht, and
hell is the reward of those who avert the face from him. Would to
heaven that I could live in the days of his mission, to exhibit my
zeal for his eminent dignity.” Doghduyah then said to the interpreter
and astrologer: “How hast thou found out the circumstance of the exact
period of my pregnancy?” To this he replied: “Through the power of
knowledge of the stars, and the perusal of ancient records, which give
an account of his auspicious existence.” Doghduyah, on her return
home, told this event to _Purshasp_, that he might communicate it to
_Patírasp_; on which both parents joined in praising the Almighty.
Zaradusht, on issuing forth into the abode of existence, laughed aloud
at the moment of his birth,[387] so that the women of the
neighbourhood who were there assembled heard the sound of his laugh,
and even his father, _Purshasp_,

“Said to himself, he must surely be an emanation of God,
All, with the exception of him, weep on coming into the world.”

He then gave him the name of Zaratusht,[388]

“Thus the dream-interpreter’s word was verified.”

All the women became jealous at the laugh of Zaradusht, and this
wonderful occurrence was spread abroad, until it came to the hearing
of _Darán Sarún_, the king of that region, who gloried in the practice
of magic and the worship of Ahriman. He had information of the
appearance of Zaratusht, and it was known from the historians and
astronomers that he will reveal a better religion and destroy that of
Ahriman. He therefore hastened to the pillow of Zaradusht, and
commanding him to be taken out of the cradle, and putting his hand to
his sword, prepared to cut off the child’s head; but that instant his
hand was dried up, so that he left the house in pain and affliction;
on which all the magicians and worshippers of Ahriman (the only
worship which prevailed at that time) became quite alarmed. The
magicians then formed a mountain of wood, naphtha, and sulphur, and
having set it on fire, threw into the midst of it Zaradusht, whom they
had by force taken from his father, and hastened with this
intelligence to their king: but, through the aid of God,

“The devouring flame became as water,
In the midst of which slumbered the pearl of Zardusht.”

On learning this, Zaradusht’s mother hurried to the desert, and taking
her honored son out of the embers, bore him secretly home. After many
days, when the account of his deliverance was published abroad, the
magicians, evil spirits, and demons again bore Zardusht away, and
threw him into a narrow place, a thoroughfare for the passage of oxen,
that he should be exposed to be bruised and trampled under foot.
Through the goodness of God, a powerful cow came in front, and,
standing still, took Zardusht between her fore feet, and drove off
with her horns whatever cow came in that direction: when the whole had
passed, she also went to join them; and Doghduyah, after great search,
having discovered her honored son, took him home: when this
intelligence came to Dúransarún, he commanded them to expose Zardusht
in a far narrower defile through which horses were to pass; but, owing
to divine aid, a mare advanced before the others, and standing at the
child’s head kept a strict watch over him, and Doghduyah, after
encountering great hardship, bore her fortunate offspring home. On
learning this occurrence, Dúransarún ordered persons to repair to the
dens of the ravening wolves, and having slaughtered their cubs, then
expose Zardusht in the same place, in order that the dams out of
revenge might tear him to pieces. At night, when the troop of wolves
returned to their lairs, they beheld their cubs slaughtered and
weltering in blood, and at the same time finding an infant crying out,
they all hurried towards him; the chief wolf and the boldest of them,
having rushed on to devour Zardusht, his mouth became as sewn up: at
this miracle the wolves were altogether alarmed, and seated themselves
like so many nurses around the infant’s head; at the same time there
also came two sheep from the mountain region, which applied their
teats filled with milk to the lips of Zardusht: thus the sheep and the
wolf lay down in one place. With the morning dawn, his mother, after
anxious seeking and searching, came to that frightful place, raised up
the exalted prophet, and having poured out her gratitude to God,
proceeded with exultation to her home.[389] The magicians, on hearing
this miracle, became quite despondent; they assembled to devise some
remedy, and formed a council for the purpose of deliberating, when a
celebrated magician named _Purtarúsh_ and _Parantarúsh_[390] said to
them: “Zardusht is not to be destroyed by your plans, for God
befriends him, and the angel _Far-i-Izad_ ‘the splendor of God,’ is
ever with him. Bahman (who is the same as Jabriîl) has borne Zardusht
to the presence of the Almighty; and God having imparted to him the
knowledge of all the secrets of existence, sends him forth as a
prophet. A just sovereign will co-operate with him in promulgating his
faith, and every vestige of enchanters and Deeves shall be cut off
from the earth.” The father of Zardusht said one day to _Partarúsh_:
“Give me some account of Zardusht’s star and its rise; tell me also
why he laughed at the time of his birth”. _Partarúsh_ replied: “Thy
son Zardusht is to be a chief, as all the happy spheres afford him
aid; this offspring of auspicious career will conduct the creatures of
God in the true way; promulgate the _Zandavasta_;[391] destroy the
demon and enchanters, and finally king Gushtasp shall embrace his
faith.” This announcement gave great delight to Purshasp.

At this time there lived an aged saint named _Barzinkaroos_, of
profound experience and clear discernment; this sage having come to
the house of Purshasp, entreated that he might be allowed to bring up
Zardusht, and acquire glory by his education. Purshasp consented to
this proposal, and entrusted the infant to the holy sage.

When Zardusht had attained his seventh year, Purtarush, the chief of
the magicians, came along with Duransanun to the child’s abode; and
made so great a display of enchantments, terrific, and fearful sights,
that all the people fled out of the house; but Zardusht, through the
aid of God, felt no alarm and moved not, so that the magicians went
away filled with affright and disappointment. After some time Zardusht
became ill, at which news all the magicians were greatly delighted;
their chief Partarósh came, with enchantments and medicine mixed up
with _mina_,[392] to Zardusht’s pillow and said: “The swallowing of
this medicine will render thy body tranquil and deliver thee from
pain.” The illuminated mind of Zardusht saw through the machination,
and taking the medicine from him, poured it on the ground, and at the
same time telling him about the _mina_ mixed up with the portion, said:

“Shouldst thou in a different guise conceal thy violence,
I can again recognise thee, O thou full of deceit!
Thy description is furnished to me by that God
Through whose command the world is preserved.”

The magicians consequently again returned back mortified at the
results of their wicked plot. They say that in those times they
accounted no system superior to that of magic, and that the demon held
public intercourse with persons of that class so that they obtained it
from Iblis without the intervention of enchantment.

“Mankind then praised the foul demon,
As they now do the God of purity.”

Nay, Purshásp, the father of Zardusht, followed that path; one day
having invited Duránsarún, Párántárúsh, and many more magicians to a
feast, he made the suitable arrangements, and when the repast was
ended, he said to Párántárúsh, the chief of the magicians: “Through
the excellence of enchantment, whereby our hearts are gladdened and
our necks exalted, thy noble person at this period is the spiritual
guide of all magicians.” Zardusht, being indignant at this speech,
said to his father: “Abandon this erroneous way, and turn to the faith
of God: hell must finally be the abode of magicians and enchanters.”
These words greatly incensed Purtarúsh, who replied: “Of what
consequence art thou before thy father! The intelligent of the earth,
and the great men of the habitable world dare not address such
insolence to me! Art thou not afraid of me? Dost thou not know me? For
this thy insolence I shall spread amongst mankind such calumnies and
lies respecting thy creed, that thou must remain in obscurity. What is
thy power that, without courtesy, thou darest slight my dignity!

“May thy name be more degraded than that of all other men!
May no desire of thy heart be ever accomplished!”

Zardusht replied: “O son of earth! the lie thou utterest respecting my
creed will render thyself before God and man the butt of censure: in
retaliation I shall tell, nothing but truth concerning thee, and
overpower thee by just arguments and proofs.

“By order of the righteous God’s messenger,
I shall turn thy empire upside down.”

All who were present, as well as the magicians, remained in
astonishment at such a stripling’s great intellect, so that
Párántárúsh left the house and hastened home, covered with confusion
and disgrace: that night he fell sick, and his people also being
attacked by illness at the same time, were hurried along with him to
the house of retribution.[393]

When the honored age of Zardusht had reached the fifteenth year, he
attached not his heart to this place of sojourn, neither did he set
any value on the world or its concerns: but fleeing away from wrath
and the pleasures of sense, he with pious fear labored night and day
in the service of God; wherever he found any one hungry, thirsty,
naked, or helpless, he bestowed on them food, raiment, and the needful
supplies; his piety and sincerity were consequently renowned amongst
all people, although he withdrew from the public gaze.

When he had reached the age of thirty, he directed his face towards
Iran, in company with several men and women and some of his own
relations; in the course of this journey, they came to a large expanse
of water, on which there was not a boat to be found:[394] as it is not
meet for women to expose their persons, particularly before strangers,
he became anxious about the means of taking them over in the presence
of their fellow travellers; he therefore poured out his distress
before the God of justice, entreating from him a passage over that
wide expanse of water; after which, by the order of the Almighty, he
crossed over, with his companions and relations, in such guise that
the soles of their feet only were moistened by the water; finally, in
the end of _Isfandarmaz_,[395] on the day of _Anírán_, which is the
last day of every solar month, he reached the confines of Iran. At
that period the people of Iran held a great festival at which were
assembled both high and low, and therefore Zartusht took his course to
that quarter. At night, whilst alone in some halting place, through
his enlightened spirit he beheld, in a vision, a mighty army[396]
advancing from Bactria, or the West, which from hostile motives
blocked up his road on every side; in the same place he beheld another
army coming from _Nimroz_, or “mid day,” and when both armies came to
close quarters with the sword, the Bactrian or Western troops were put
to the rout. The examiner of the vision thus interpreted it: “When
Zardusht, having been taken into the presence of God, should discover
all the mysteries of creation, that afterwards, on his return from
heaven, to promulgate the _Dínbahí_, or ‘true faith,’ the Dîvs and
Magicians, having found out his intentions, would with all expedition
make war against him. _Mizumah_,[397] the angel who attends the
servants of God, on learning this will promote the better faith, and
in consequence the _Asta va zand_ will be read with a loud voice, and
through this the demons and magicians shall be dispersed and flee
away.” On the interpretation of the dream, he hastened to the
festival, inspired with great delight.

When he had returned from the banqueting-place, he set out about the
middle of _Ardíbihist_,[398] on the _Dímihr_, the fifteenth day of
every solar month, and came to a deep, broad, and extensive water,
named _Dábatí_,[399] in the _Astawasta_; there recommending himself to
the Lord, he stepped into the water, which at first rose up to the
calf of his legs, then to his knees, waist, and finally to his neck;
which event was thus interpreted; “the division of the water into
these four portions signifies, that in nine thousand years the
_Dínbahí_, ‘the true faith,’ shall be four times renewed; the first
time by the agency of Zardusht, who was sent to promulgate the
_Bahdín_; the second by _Hushídar_; the third by _Hushídarmáh_; and
the fourth by _Sarsásh_; all four descendants from Zardusht.”

When the prophet had gained the opposite shore, he washed his person
as pure as his soul, and putting on undefiled garments, engaged in
prayer.[400] That very day, Bahman, the mightiest of the angels, (whom
the Muhammedans call Jabriel) came robed in light to Zardusht, and
having asked his name, said: “What dost thou most desire in this
world?” Zardusht having answered, “I have no desire but that of
pleasing God; my heart seeks after nothing but righteousness; and my
belief is that thou wilt guide me to do what is good:” then Bahram
replied “Arise! that thou mayest appear before God; entreat from his
Majesty whatever thou desirest, from his bounty he will return thee a
profitable answer.” Zardusht then arose, and according to Bahram’s
order shut his eyes for an instant; on opening them he found himself
in the bright empyreal, where he beheld an assemblage through whose
effulgence his shadow became visible: from that assemblage to the
next, was a distance of twenty-four paces; and also another assemblage
of beings formed of light waited on by virgins of paradise. The angels
gathered around Zardusht and warmly greeted him, pointing him out to
each other, until the honored son of Espintaman[401] came before God,
to whom with joyous heart and trembling body he addressed the prayers
of supplication. It is necessary to observe here, that the
_Báhidínian_, “believers of the eternal doctrine,” unanimously
maintain that Bahman assumed the human figure, and that Zardusht
ascended to the heavens in his elemental body; but, according to the
creed of the intelligent Abádián, the matter is thus stated: “By the
coming of Bahman in the human form and his speaking like a mortal, is
meant that the true essence of man is uncompounded and simple, not a
body nor any thing material; and that, under such a quality, that is,
uncompoundedness, he manifested himself to Zardusht; and his saying
‘close thy eyes,’ is figurative, and implies the eradication of the
attachments and darkness of the elemental body; when he thus became a
simple uncompounded existence, he arrived at the heavens styled the
‘eternal empyrean;’ the first company of angels signifies the souls on
high, and the second, the existence of the celestial intelligences;
the interrogatories addressed to him by the angels imply, that when
the soul leaves the upper world, it descends into this lower abode to
encounter wanderings and calamity; but when, by the attractive
influence of Bahman and through the energy of intelligence, it returns
on high, the angels feel delight on the occasion. He next ascended to
the world of simple uncompounded beings, and came near God; the
delight experienced by Zardusht signifies, the freedom from alarm and
fear enjoyed in that pure world; and his bodily tremor is emblematic
of the effulgence of the divine Majesty.” He then asked of the God of
justice: “Which of thy servants on earth is superior to the rest?” God
thus answered: “The righteous professor of righteousness; secondly, he
who to righteousness joins generosity and liberality, walking
unceasingly in the way of righteousness and withdrawing from evil;
thirdly, he who is friendly to fire and water, to all living and
animated beings; for man, by the knowledge and practice of this
precept, delivers himself from hell and attains to union with the
eternal paradise. O, Zardusht! whichever of my servants in this
transitory sojourn of existence practises oppression and cruelty
towards my creatures, and averts his head from obedience to my
commands, repeat thou to such this warning: that unless he desist from
rebellion, he shall dwell in hell to all eternity.” Zardusht again
asked: “O most just God, impart to me the names of the
_Amshásfands_,[402] that is, of the angels the most acceptable in thy
presence; gladden me by their names and sight; cause me to hear their
discourse; and graciously enable me to discern the impious
Ahriman,[403] who turns not to good through his evil nature; give me
power to behold the good and evil of this world, and its termination;
the effect of the revolving sphere, with the successive production of
modes or the reappearance of things.” When he had thus laid before the
Almighty the secret wishes of his heart, he received this answer: “I
am the author of good; the benevolent and the beneficent; I neither do
evil, nor enjoin it to be committed. I consent not to wickedness,
neither do I bring calamity on my creatures: evil and wickedness
belong exclusively to Ahriman. It is, however, incumbent on me to keep
in hell to all eternity the troops of Ahriman in reward for their
deeds: the ignorant only assert that I am the “author of evil.”[404]
The Almighty then made Zardusht acquainted with the celestial
revolutions and the motions of the stars, and their good and evil
influences; he also showed him paradise filled with light, angelic
nymphs, palaces, and _Amshásfands_; communicating to him at the same
time the knowledge of all mysteries, and teaching him all sciences, so
that he knew every thing from the commencement of existence to the end
of time; he likewise showed him Ahriman in the gloom of hell, who, on
beholding Zardusht cried aloud: “Turn away from the faith of God, that
thou mayest obtain all thy desires in this world.”[405]

When the Lord had thus instructed Zardusht, he beheld a mountain of
flaming fire, which at the command of God he traversed without any
injury to his person; they next poured molten brass on his guileless,
silver-like bosom, and not a single hair of his body was touched; they
next opened his stomach, and taking out all the intestines again
replaced them, on which the wound immediately closed without leaving a
vestige of the incision behind. The just God then said to Zardusht:
“Thou hast passed over the mountain of fire, and hadst thy stomach
rent open; therefore tell mankind whoever turns away from the
_Dínbahí_, ‘pure faith,’ and passes over to Ahriman, in the same
manner shall the blood of his body be poured out; he shall dwell in
the fire, and never attain to the joys of paradise. Again, the molten
brass, which on contact with thy breast became congealed like ice,
causing thee no injury, is a sign that the nation, at the suggestion
of Ahriman, will turn away from the faith; and also that when the
_Dínbahí_ shall be promulgated in the world, the high Mobed shall gird
his loins to give them battle.

“The heart of mankind was harassed with doubt,
However thou knowest this brass was but a sign;
It is therefore meet that Azarbád, the son of Márasfand,
Should impart to each individual counsel of every kind;
This molten brass he should pour on his breast,
From which no injury shall result to him.

“So that, on beholding this miracle, all mankind with heart and soul
will follow the right true road.”

After this, Zardusht asked of the God of justice: “In what manner
shall thy worshippers celebrate thy praise and what is to be their
Kiblah?” The Lord answered: “Tell all mankind that every bright and
luminous object is the effulgence of my light; at the time of
worshipping me, let them turn to that side, in order that Ahriman may
flee from them; in the world there is no existence superior to light,
out of which I have created paradise, the angelic nymphs, and all that
is pleasant, whilst hell was produced out of darkness.

“Wherever thou art, and in whichever of the two abodes,
Dost thou not perceive that either place is formed out of my light?”

Having thus taught Zardusht the _Avesta_ and the _Zand_, he said to
him: “Recite this celebrated volume to king Gushtasp, that through it
he may obtain wisdom; tell him also to attain a perfect knowledge of
me; no one should ever call me the worker of injustice; command the
Mobeds and all mankind to separate themselves from demons and
magicians.”

“Zardusht then enlarged on the praises of the Almighty Lord.”

When the prophet’s desires and purpose had been thus completely
attained, he was met on his return by the Amshásfand Bahman, the
protector and chief of the sheep, who said to him: “To thee I deliver
the sheep and all herds; tell the Mobeds, sages, and all men to guard
them well; prohibit them from putting to death calf, lamb, young
sheep, or any other quadruped, as men derive great benefits from them:

“We must never be guilty of excess in slaughter.”

“I received these flocks from the Almighty, and now accept them from
me; account not my words as unimportant, but inculcate obedience to
them on young and old:” on which Zardusht accepted the trust. The
Mobed Sarush used to say: “The Yezdanians maintain that, when Bahman
forbade the killing of young quadrupeds, he well knew it to be equally
wrong to slay the old; first, because in their youth, although they
rendered many services, they received no wages for their labor; and
secondly, in old age they produce young animals; consequently, where
Zardusht in some passages holds it lawful to slay animals, but without
committing excess; by the precept is meant, the expulsion of animal
qualities from our existence; and by avoiding excess is meant, that we
should gradually banish all vile propensities from ourselves, such as
eating to excess, which is an animal quality, but which cannot be
discontinued at once; it therefore becomes necessary to lessen the
quantity of food gradually, as stated by us under the head of the
_Sáhí Keshán_.”

After Bahman, the Amshásfand _Ardebihist_[406] coming forward, said to
Zardusht: “O accepted of God! bear from me this message to king
Gushtasp, and say to him: ‘To thee have I delivered whatever relates
to fire. Let there be suitable places of great splendor in every city
for the general worship; appoint stated times and _Hirbuds_, or
‘ministers’ for the purpose of adoration; because that light is an
emanation of the divine effulgence. Dost thou not perceive how every
thing stands in need of fire, which requires only wood from the human
race?’

“Its body apprehends not death nor the decrepitude of age,
When thou layest wood within the influence of its sphere.

“Such is its property to indicate the truth, that if thou burn
perfumes it diffuses fragrance among the assembled people: from
unpleasant odors a correspondent effect ensues; it also banishes the
affliction of cold. As fully as God hath delivered it to me, do I now
give it in charge to thee! Whoever turns away from my counsel and
advice becomes the captive of hell, and incurs the displeasure of
God.”

When Zardusht had departed from Bahman, the Amshásfand _Shahrivar_
came forward and said to him: “On thy arrival from the upper to the
lower world, tell men to furbish and polish up their arms, and always
to keep them in good order and readiness; in the day of battle let
them not quit their posts, but display heroic exertion and not resign
their post to any other.”

_Asfandármaz_ then coming forward, after many benedictions said to
Zardusht: “This is the command of the Almighty to mankind, let them
keep the earth pure, and remove blood, pollution, and dead bodies to
some uncultivated place.

“Among princes, that sovereign is by far the best
Who exerts himself to improve the face of the earth.”

When Zardusht had departed thence, _Khúrdád_ advanced, and with
benedictions thus addressed him: “To thy charge I assign all waters of
running streams, rivers, water-courses, rivulets, wells, and all
besides; say thou to mankind:

“Through water is the body of every creature maintained in life;
Through it the face of every tract and region is kept in bloom.

“Let them keep dead bodies far removed from it, and let them not
defile it with blood or any dead carcass, as the food dressed with
such water furnishes an unwholesome repast.”

_Murdád_ next came forward and said to Zardusht: “Let not men
heedlessly destroy the vegetable productions of the earth or pluck
them from their place:

“As these form the delight of both man and beast.

“Also, O prophet of God! send Mobeds around the whole country, and
appoint a wise person in every city to communicate these tidings to
all men: let them understand the _Avesta_, and bind around their waist
the zone, which is a sign of the pure faith and constancy in it, and
let them endeavor to keep the four substances (elements) undefiled:

“Out of the four elements has the body of every animal
Been composed by the supreme and just Lord:
It is therefore necessary to keep them undefiled,
Accounting them among the choice blessings of God.”

It is to be remembered that the conference of all these angels with
Zardusht was a revelation and message from God; but there was a more
transcendent dignity in this fact, that the Almighty himself addressed
Zardusht without the intervention of angels, and imparted to him the
mysteries of all that exists.[407]

Zardusht having thus obtained from God the accurate knowledge of all
mysteries, drew near this elemental world, whilst the magicians and
demons, with a dreadful host, blocked up his road; after which the
chief enchanter and the head of the demons and his host thus addressed
Zardusht: “Keep the _Avesta_ and _Zand_ concealed; thy incantation,
fraud, and artifice make no impression on us: if thou knowest us, thou
wilt turn away from such practices.” On hearing this, Zardusht recited
aloud one chapter of the _Avesta_ and _Zand_; when these sounds
reached the demons, they hid themselves under ground, and the
magicians trembled; a part of the enchanters died on the spot, and the
remainder implored for mercy.

The Mobed _Surúsh_, the Yezdánian, has been heard to say: “It is
recorded in the treatise of _Míhín Farúsh_ that, according to the
doctors of the pure faith, when Zardusht had thus obtained the victory
over the demons, and was proceeding to an interview with the great
king Gushtasp, there happened to be two oppressive and infidel kings
in his road; these Zardusht invited to adopt the pure faith and turn
away from their evil practices; but they heeded not his words, he
therefore prayed to God, and there began to blow a mighty wind, which
lifted up these two kings on high and kept them suspended in the air;
the people who came around were astonished on beholding this sight;
the birds also from every quarter of the sky flocked around the two
kings, and with beaks and talons tore off their flesh until their
bones fell to the ground.[408]

Zaratusht, the son of Bahram, says, that when Zardusht after his
victory arrived at the court of the great king Gushtasp, he called on
the name God, and then sought access to the sovereign.[409] He beheld
the first rank, composed of the grandees and champions of Iran and
other regions, standing around; and above these two ranks of sages,
philosophers, and learned men, who took precedence of each other in
proportion to their knowledge, for this great king was exceedingly
attached to men of science; he next beheld the monarch of the world
seated on a lofty throne, and his brows encircled with a costly crown:
on which Zardusht in eloquent language recited the praises of the
king.

Farzánah Bahram, the son of Farhad, of the Yazdanian sect, relates
thus in the _Sháristán_: “The doctors of the pure faith say, that when
Zardusht entered into king Gushtasp’s assembly, he held in his hand a
blazing fire which caused him no injury; he then transferred that fire
to the king’s hands, which in like manner remained unhurt; he
afterwards gave it into the hands of others and still no trace of
burning appeared; he next lay down, and ordered molten brass to be
poured on his bosom four different times: although the molten metal
came on his breast, no bodily injury resulted from it.”[410]
Zaratusht, the son of Bahram, adds: The sovereign of Iran having thus
ascertained the dignity of the prophet of the human race, addressed
him with terms of earnest affection, and ordering a chair to be
brought, placed him in front of the royal throne, above the two ranks
of the philosophers. Zardusht, agreeably to the king’s command, having
taken this seat, manifested to all the assembly the precious diamonds
of his intellectual stores. The sages and eminent men of the exterior
circles on his right and left entered on the path of controversy, but
were finally refuted, one after another. They say that on this day
thirty of the sages seated on his right, being unable to withstand the
arguments of Zardusht, bore testimony to his knowledge and truth; and
in like manner thirty of the wise men on his left were overpowered and
convinced. When such sages, who had not their equals in the seven
climates, had been thus confuted, the illustrious prince called the
prophet of the Lord into his presence, and for further conviction
questioned him on various sciences and the traditions of old; and
having received conclusive answers on all these points he was struck
with amazement. The great king therefore assigned to the prophet of
the just Lord a dwelling adjacent to his own palace, and the
philosophers departed home with afflicted hearts. During the whole
night they read over books with each other, and concerted with each
other how they might, the following morning, conduct the argument and
controversy with Zardusht; whilst the prophet of the Lord on coming to
his house, according to his custom, desisted not until morning from
acts of worship and praise. The following day, when Zardusht and the
philosophers assembled around the king, whatever the sages advanced
which was not strictly conformable to truth, Zardusht produced a
hundred arguments, both theoretical and practical, to invalidate the
assertion; and if they demanded a proof of whatever he himself
advanced, he adduced a hundred convincing demonstrations. Gushtasp
accordingly increased the dignity of the Lord’s prophet, and inquired
his name, lineage, and native city; to which questions Zardusht
returned the meet answer, and said: “O great king, to-morrow is the
day of Hormuz, or the first of the month; command the chiefs of the
military to assemble and all the philosophers to appear, that I may
reduce all to silence, as I have done this assembly, and give answers
which will dumbfound them; after which I shall execute the commission
with which I am entrusted.”

Gushtasp issued the requisite order, and they all returned home with
this agreement. Zardusht, from inclination and habit, continued in
supplication to the Lord; and the wise men said to each other: “This
stranger has twice degraded us wise men, taken away our reputation,
and obtained favor with the king:” they therefore conferred with each
other how they could most effectually oppose Zardusht and refute his
arguments.

“With this understanding each retired to his own abode,
And through anxiety not one of them slept all that night.”

On the third day, the nobles, doctors, and wise men assembled around
the king, and Zardusht also advanced into the company: although the
sages and learned men had mutually combined to confound him by
argument, they were all finally refuted. When the philosophers were no
longer able to utter a word, the superior personages gave place to
Zardusht, on which the prophet of the Lord loosed his tongue and said
to Gushtasp: “I am the envoy of the Lord the Creator of the heavens,
earth, and stars; the disinterested bestower of daily food to his
servant: he who has brought thee from non-existence into being and
made kings thy servants, has sent me to thee.” Then taking the
_Avesta_ and _Zand_ out of a case, he added: “This volume God has
given to me, and sent me forth to the human race with the commandments
named _Astawazand_, which require implicit obedience; if thou wilt
conform to the commands of God, in like manner as he has made thee
sovereign of the world, he will also make thee eternally happy in
futurity and paradise; but if thou avert the head from his command,
thou incurrest the displeasure of the just God; the foundation of thy
greatness shall be rent, and thou shalt finally become a denizen of
hell.

“Adopt no line of conduct through the suggestion of a Div.
From this time forward listen to my commands.”

The great king replied: “What proof dost thou adduce, and what miracle
dost thou perform? exhibit them, that I may instantly diffuse thy
faith over all the world.” Zardusht said: “One of my decisive proofs
and miraculous works is this volume, on once listening to which thou
shalt never more behold demon or magician: this volume contains the
mysteries of both worlds, and clearly expounds the revolutions of the
stars: there is no being in existence an account of which is not found
in this book.” The king then commanded: “Read me a section of this
heavenly volume.” Zardusht having read one chapter, Gushtasp not
feeling a full conviction, said to him: “Thou hast urged a bold suit;
but precipitancy in such an affair is by no means proper; I shall
devote some days to exploring the nature of the _Zand-Avesta_: but in
the mean time come thou hither as usual.” Zardusht then

“Returned to the house assigned him by the king.”

The enraged philosophers also came out and took counsel with each
other about slaying Zardusht. The following morning, when Zardusht
left the house to go to the king’s palace, he delivered the key of his
apartment to the king’s porter; but the philosophers so deluded this
man, that he gave up the key secretly to them; on which they opened
the door of the prophet’s apartment, and having put into bags unclean
things which they had collected, such as blood, hair, a cat’s head, a
dog’s head, dead men’s bones and the like, placed them under his
pillow, and having locked the door, gave the key back to the porter,
previously obliging him to swear to keep the matter altogether secret;
after this they went to the palace, where they beheld Zardusht seated
near the king, who was engaged in reading the _Zand-Avesta_,

“Lost in amazement at the characters and words.”

The philosophers said: “The _Zand-Avesta_ is altogether magic, and
this man is a wizard, who by force of spells has produced an
impression on thy heart, in order to bring evil and confusion all over
the world; but be not thou the wizard’s ally.” On hearing this,
Gushtasp ordered persons to repair to Zardusht’s house and make a
careful examination; they went and immediately brought before the king
whatever they found in the house, whether eatables, carpets, dresses,
clothes-bags, etc., all which they opened in the king’s presence; on
this, the talons, hair, and such like impurities, which had been
hidden there by the philosophers, were exposed to view. The king was
greatly enraged, and said to Zardusht: “This is thy magic practice.”
The prophet of the Lord being quite astonished, replied: “I have no
knowledge of these things; let his majesty inquire the particulars
from the porter.” The porter on being summoned, said: “Zardusht closed
his door, and not even wind had access to it.” The king became quite
indignant and said to Zardusht: “They have not brought these sacks
from heaven and hid them under the pillow.” In his rage he threw away
the _Avesta-Zand_, and sent Zardusht in chains to prison: there was
also a porter appointed to give him a fixed allowance and keep strict
watch. Zardusht remained in chains both day and night, the porter
bringing him daily a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water; and one
whole week passed in that manner.

They relate that Gushtasp had a royal steed called the “Black
Charger,” which the great king mounted on the day of battle:

“When, mounted on this charger’s back, he advanced to the fight,
The result of the combat terminated in victory.”

One morning at dawn, the master of the horse beheld the Black Charger
without fore or hind feet, which he saw were drawn up into his belly;
in great haste he announced this event to the sovereign of the world.
Gushtasp in great affliction hurried to the stable, summoning thither
the veterinary surgeons, physicians, and learned men, all of whom
exerted themselves in remedies and applications without any benefit
resulting from their exertions. Through grief the king partook not of
food that day, and the military were sorely afflicted. Zardusht, who
in consequence of the general mourning had not received his allowance
before evening, became hungry; when the evening had passed, the porter
came and brought the provisions, stating at the same time what had
befallen the Black Charger; on this the prophet of the Lord said to
him: “To-morrow tell the king that I can set this affair to rights.”
The next morning the porter conveyed the prophet’s message to the
king, on which orders were given to bring Zardusht into the royal
presence. This favorable intelligence having been communicated to
Zardusht, the prophet entered into a warm bath, and after ablution, on
appearing before the king, he uttered benedictions on the sovereign of
the world. Gushtasp then assigned him a place near himself, and having
explained the state of the horse, added:

“If thou be truly a prophet sent from the Lord,
Thou canst easily restore this horse to perfect health.”

Zardusht replied: “If thou wilt, O king, engage to perform four
things, thou shalt again behold the charger’s fore and hind legs.” The
king said: “I accept the conditions: what is the first?” Zardusht
replied: “Let us all repair to the Black Charger’s bed.” On arriving
there he said to the king: “Make thy heart and tongue of one accord:
utter with thy tongue and repeat with thy heart, that without doubt,
suspicion, or equivocation, I am a prophet and apostle sent from God.”
The king having agreed to this, the prophet of the Lord addressed his
petitions to the God of justice, and then rubbing with his hand the
horse’s right forefoot, it straightway came out, on which the king and
the soldiery loudly applauded the holy man.

After this, he said to the king: “Command the heroic Isfendiar to
enter into a covenant with me that he will gird up his loins to
promulgate the faith of the Lord.” The prince was not averse, and
entered into a solemn engagement; on which the apostle prayed to the
Lord until the right hind leg came out.

He then said to the great king: “Send an _Ustawar_ and an _Amin_ along
with me to the great queen _Kitábún_, in order that she may enter into
the true faith.” The king having assented, Zardusht on coming into the
king’s golden apartment thus addressed queen Kitábún: “Mighty
princess! the Lord has expressly selected thee to share the couch of
Gushtasp and to be the mother of Isfendiar. I am the Lord’s prophet
sent by him to the king: therefore adopt the pure faith.” On this the
great queen with heart and soul attached herself in sincerity to the
prophet: after which Zardusht prayed, so that the other hind leg came
out.

He then said to the king: “Now send for the porter; it is proper to
inquire of him who it was that conveyed this stuff of magical
preparation to my house.” The king summoned the chamberlain and
questioned him in a threatening tone, saying: “If thou wilt confess
the truth, thou savest thy life; but otherwise, thou shalt have thy
head under thy feet.” The treacherous chamberlain implored pardon, and
related all the particulars of the bribery and delusion practised by
the philosophers’ friends. Gushtasp was exceedingly indignant, and
ordered the four philosophers to be hanged. Zardusht then recited the
prayers taught him by the Almighty, so that the other forefoot came
out, and the swift charger stood on his legs. The sovereign of Iran
kissed the prophet’s head and face, and leading him to the throne,
seated him near himself; he also requested pardon for his sin and gave
back the prophet’s goods.[411]

The doctors of the pure faith also record, that king _Lohrasp_ and
_Zerir_, brother to Gushtasp having fallen into so violent a malady,
that the physicians in despair desisted from all attendance on them,
but having been restored to health through the prayers of Zardusht,
they adopted the pure faith.[412]

Zaratusht the son of Bahram relates: One day Zardusht, having come
into the king’s presence, he thus addressed the prophet of the Lord:
“I desire to obtain four things from God; it is therefore meet that
the prophet should request them: first, that I should behold my own
state in the next world; secondly, that in the time of conflict no
blow should make any impression on me, so that I may be able to
diffuse the true faith; thirdly, that I may know thoroughly the
mysteries of good and evil in this world; fourthly, that until the day
of judgment my spirit may remain united to my body.” Zardusht replied:
“I will entreat the Lord to grant these four wishes:

“But it is necessary that out of these four wishes
Thou shouldst implore one only for thyself:
Choose three wishes for three different persons:
That I may entreat them from the righteous Creator;
He will not confer on any one person these four gifts,
Because that person might say: ‘I am the supreme Creator.’”

The king having agreed to this, Zaratusht at the time of evening
prayer went to his house, repeated the praises of the Almighty,
entreating from him the accomplishment of the king’s desires, and lay
down in the act of adoration: in this state God showed him in a vision
that the king’s petition was granted. At dawn of day the king was
seated on his throne; Zardusht appeared in the royal presence and came
to his place; in a moment after, the king’s chamberlain entering in
great trepidation, said: “There are four terror-striking,
awe-inspiring horsemen at the door:

“Never before have I beheld horsemen of such a kind.”

The king asked of Zardusht: “Who are these persons?” but he had
scarcely done speaking before all the four horsemen dressed in green,
completely armed, of majestic port, drew near the throne; these four
cavaliers were of the number of those angels who are nearest the just
God, and are of the great Amshasfands, namely, _Bahman_,[413]
_Ardibahist_,[414] _Azarkhurdad_,[415] and _Azargushtásp_,[416] who
thus addressed the king: “We are angels and the envoys of God. The
Dispenser of justice thus declares: ‘Zardusht is my prophet, whom I
have sent to all the inhabitants of the earth; attend well to him; if
thou devote thyself to his way, thou art delivered from hell. Never
inflict pain on him; and when thou obtainest thy desires, avert not
thy head from his commands.’”

King Gushtasp, although in magnanimity immovable as mount _Alburz_,
yet through the majesty of the angels and their awful presence, fell
senseless from his throne: on recovering himself he thus addressed the
righteous Lord:

“I am the lowest of all thy servants,
And have girt up my loins to execute thy orders.”

When the Amshásfands heard this answer, they departed; and the
military, on learning this wonderful occurrence, were all assembled:
the king also, trembling all over, apologized to Zardusht:

“Thy command sits upon my soul;
My spirit is like the son of the Lord;
My body, soul, and wealth are all to thee devoted,
By order of the just and glorious Creator.”

The prophet of the Lord replied: “May good tidings ever attend thee! I
have entreated from the Almighty the completion of thy desires, and my
prayer has been granted.” Zardusht then ordered that for the purpose
of the _Yashtan-i-darún_,[417] that is, “the recitation and breathing
out of prayer,” they should make ready in an inner apartment wine,
sweet perfumes, milk, and a pomegranate; and over these he performed
_Yasht_, or “the recitation of prayers,” in a low voice, out of the
_Avesta_ and _Zand_; after this ceremony they gave Gushtasp some of
the hallowed wine, on the mere tasting of which he became insensible
and rose not up for three days: in that interval his spirit ascended
to heaven, and there beheld the celestial nymphs, their palaces,
progeny, and attendants; the blessings of paradise; the different
gradations of rank among the virtuous, and the grade reserved for
himself.

The prophet next presented to _Bishutan_[418] some of that hallowed
milk, on drinking of which he was delivered from the pangs of death
and obtained eternal life. Some of the Yezdánian doctors hold, that by
eternal life is implied the knowledge of one’s own essence and soul,
which never admit of decay; milk is also mentioned, as it constitutes
the food of children, and science is the food of spirit; on which
account they have likened science to consecrated milk. He next gave
_Jamasp_[419] some of the hallowed perfume, through the efficacy of
which universal science shed its lustre on his heart; so that, from
that very day of his existence, whatever was to come to pass until the
day of judgment was clearly comprehended by him in all its details. He
then gave one grain of the hallowed pomegranate to _Isfendiar_, who on
eating it instantly became brazen-bodied, and his frame grew so hard
that no blow could make an impression on it.

When the great king awoke from his vision, he broke out into praise
and adoration; after which he called for Zardusht, to whom he related
what he had witnessed, and commanded all men to receive the pure
faith; then, being seated on his throne, he ordered the prophet of the
Lord to recite some sections of the _Zand_ in his presence. On hearing
the _Avesta_, the demons fled and concealed themselves under the
earth. The great king next commanded that in every city the Mobeds
should attend to the observance of fire, erecting domes over it, and
keeping stated festivals and times.

ACCOUNT OF THE PRECEPTS GIVEN BY ZARDUSHT TO THE KING AND TO ALL
MANKIND.――The prophet Zardusht, having read to the king some sections
concerning the greatness and majesty of the Almighty, said to him: “As
thou hast adopted the ways of God, the joy of paradise is to be thy
portion; but he who abandons that way is hurried off to hell by
Ahriman, who feels delighted, and on making the capture says to his
victim: ‘Because thou hast abandoned the ways of God, therefore art
thou fallen into hell.’ But the just God is liberal to his servants,
and has sent me to them, saying: ‘Communicate my covenant to all
created beings, that they may abandon their perverse ways.’ I am his
prophet, sent to thee that thou mayst guide mankind to the right road;
as the final result of persevering in the way of God is the attainment
of paradise; and the retribution of devotedness to Ahriman is hell. He
moreover commanded me: ‘Say thou to mankind, if ye adopt the pure
faith, then shall paradise be your place; but if ye receive it not,
you follow the institutes of Ahriman, and hell shall be your abode.’
The several demonstrations of Zardusht and his wondrous works are to
you an abundant proof of the truth of his faith. Know also that at
first he sought the world; but finally regarded wife, children, and
relations as strangers to himself; he has moreover attained to such
perfect faith, that the king and the mendicant are the same in his
sight. He has enjoined me nothing more than this: neither has he given
me permission to be your intercessor or to entreat from him remission
of your sins: for protection extended to the evil doer is itself
criminal, and the chastisement of evil deeds is true religion: he
enjoined me also to entertain hope of his favor from my words and
deeds.”

“Look to your acts and words, for they produce their sure effect,
The same seed that people sow, such the harvest they shall reap.”

It is also expressly stated in the glorious Koran to the same
purport:[420] “On the very day when the spirit (Gabriel) and the
angels shall be ranged in their order, nobody shall speak except him
to whom the Merciful will permit it, and who will say nothing but what
is just.” In another place it is declared:[421] “Truly thou canst not
direct whomsoever thou lovest; but God will direct whomsoever he
pleases.” It is also recorded in the traditions, that the asylum of
prophecy (on whom be blessings!) said to the beautiful Fatima: “O
Fatima! fear nothing, for thou art the prophet’s daughter; perform
good works! again I say, perform good works!” He also proposed this
additional proof! “Not one of the eminent, eloquent, learned, or wise
men of the world can produce a composition which in the least
resembles the volume I have sent down; if they are able let them
declare it; but as they are unable, let them confess that this is the
voice of God: a similar statement has also been made in the divine
words of the Koran: ‘produce ye a chapter resembling it.’ Again of the
many prophets who appeared on earth, all were ignorant of future
events except Zardusht, who, in the _Zend-Avesta_, clearly expounded
whatever was to come to pass until the day of judgment, whether good
or evil.”

“Concerning kings inspired by truth, religion, and justice,
There are minute details if thou wilt call them to mind:
The names of all he has consigned to lasting fame,
Their every act and deed, whether just or unjust alike.”

Moreover no prophet, save Zardusht, bestowed in the presence of God
benedictions on the military class whose hearts were rightly affected
towards him.

“To the follower of his faith he said, if to the true believers
Thou doest good, then good shall result to thee.”

But above all he has said: “God has commanded me: ‘Say thou to mankind
they are not to abide in hell for ever; when their sins are expiated,
they are delivered out of it.’”

It is generally reported that Zardusht was of _Azarbadgán_[422] or
_Tabruz_; but those who are not _Beh-dinians_, or “true believers,”
assert, and the writer of this work has also heard from the Mobed
_Torru_ of _Busáwári_, in Gujurat, that the birth-place and
distinguished ancestors of the prophet belong to the city of
_Rai_.[423]

A Mobed has transcribed as follows from the _Avesta_ and _Zand_,[424]
when the Amshásfand Báhmán, pursuant to God’s command, had borne the
prophet Zardusht to heaven, he thus entreated of the Almighty: “Close
the door of death against me: let that be my miracle.” But the
righteous Lord replied: “If I close the gates of death against thee,
thou wilt not be satisfied; nay, thou wouldst entreat death from me.”
He then gave Zardusht something like honey, on tasting of which he
became insensible; like one in a profound sleep has visions, he became
acquainted with the mysteries of existence, clearly perceiving the
good and evil of whatever is in being; nay, he knew the number of
hairs on the sheep, and the sum of the leaves on a tree. When his
senses were restored, the Almighty asked him: “What hast thou seen?”
He answered: O supreme ruler! I beheld in hell, along with Ahriman,
many wealthy persons who had been ungrateful in this world; and I
found in the supreme paradise many persons, rich in gold and silver,
who had worshipped the Lord and been grateful to him. I moreover saw
in hell many who were eminent for wealth, but who were childless; and
many an indigent Durvesh, the father of many children, in the
enjoyment of paradise. I saw moreover a tree with seven branches,[425]
the shadow of which extended far and wide; one branch of gold, the
second of silver, the third of copper, the fourth of brass, the fifth
of tin (or lead), the sixth of steel, the seventh of mixed iron.” The
Lord then said to his prophet: “The tree with seven branches is the
series of events in the world, in which agitation arises from seven
sources through the revolution of the spheres; the first or golden
branch typifies the way and attraction by which thou hast come to my
presence and attained the prophet’s office; the second or silver
branch signifies that the great sovereign of the age shall receive thy
system of faith, and that the demons shall hide themselves in dismay;
the third or copper branch is the period of the Ashkanian kings.

“He who is not a true believer
Holds in abhorrence the pure in faith.
The great stock of fortune shall at this time
Be torn piecemeal and scattered all over the world.

“The fourth, or the branch of brass, typifies the reign of Ardashir,
the son of Sássán, who shall adorn the universe with the true faith
and reestablish the pure institutes; the people will embrace the faith
through the force of demonstration: they will pour molten copper and
brass on the breast of Arzabad, and his person shall receive no
injury. The fifth, or leaden branch is the reign of Báhrám Gor, during
which mankind will enjoy repose.

“When mankind are in the enjoyment of happiness,
Ahriman is grieved beforehand at this prosperous state.

“The sixth branch, or that of steel, is the reign of Nushirwan,
through whose equity the aged world shall be restored to youth; and
although _Mazdak_ of corrupt heart shall pursue his designs, yet will
he be unable to do any injury to the pure faith. The seventh branch,
or that of mixed iron, is emblematic of the time when the period of a
thousand years verges to its end,[426] and the royal dignity falls to
_Mazdakin_, and no respect remains to the pure faith; then a people
clothed in black, oppressors of the poor, without title, reputation,
or merit, friends to tumult and wickedness, fraudulent, hypocritical,
and deceitful, bitter of heart like aloes, with honied tongue,
traitors to bread and salt, ungrateful, speakers of falsehood, alike
building the most magnificent mansions and fond of ruined
caravansarais, seeking the ways of hell, having conspired together
will destroy the fire-temples, and turn to themselves the spirit of
the inhabitants of Iran. The sons and daughters of the nobles shall
fall into their hands, and the children of the virtuous and mighty
become their attendants: nay, this race shall make a covenant-breaker
king over them:

“That person among them obtains both power and rank,
Whose career is directed to the production of misery.

“When this millennium comes to a termination, the clouds shall mostly
appear unattended by rain; the rains not fall in their season; heats
predominate; the water of rivers be lessened; few cows or sheep be
left remaining; and men despicable in figure, small of stature, weak
in form, shall then be met with.

“The speed of the horse and the rider shall suffer diminution,
And no productive energy remain in the bosom of the sown field.”

“Men shall gird the sacred zone in secrecy, and drag on a dishonored
existence, forgetting altogether the _Náúroz_ and _the festival of
Farvardin_.[427]

“The mouth of Safandármuz shall be opened wide,
And the hidden treasures cast forth and exposed to view.”

“An evil-disposed rapacious host of Turks shall come to Iran, and
force away the crown and throne from its chieftains. O, Zardusht!
communicate these tidings to the Mobeds, that they may impart them to
the people.” Zardusht replied: “How shall the professors of the true
faith be able to perform their worship?” to which this answer was
given: “When the second millennium commences, mankind shall behold
more calamity than was witnessed in the times of Zohák and Afrasiáb;
and when that period is terminated, there will not be found any one of
the least merit among the professors of the true faith.

“From every quarter they shall prepare to assail Iran,
With their chargers’ hoofs they shall lay it waste.”

Zardusht said: “O righteous Ormuzd! after so much toil, abridgment of
life and long-protracted suffering shall not the professors of the
true faith find some intercessor; and how can discomfiture overtake
those clothed in black vestments?” The Almighty answered thus: “Pain
is not to last for ever; when the black ensign is displayed, a host
arrayed in red vestments and helmets shall come forth from the
formidable room; and the land of Khorasan be desolate by flood and
vapor; the earth shall tremble and the cultivated fields be laid
waste; Turk, Rúmite, and Arab encounter each other; and the borders of
Turan be made a wilderness by Turks, Persians, and Hindoos; the sacred
fire be borne to _Dushkhargar_, or ‘the mountainous region;’ and,
through invasions, Iran become one scene of desolation.” The prophet
then said: “O, Lord! however short the duration of this people may be,
they will surely destroy life; how then shall these wicked be
exterminated?” To which he received this answer: “The standard of an
army arises out of Khorasan, and then Hoshidar is separated from his
mother; when he arrives at the age of thirty, he will follow the
ancient mode of faith, and become sovereign of Hindustan and China; he
shall have a son of the Kaianian race, named Bahram and entitled
Hamawand, but whom his nation will call Shapur: on the birth of that
illustrious child, the stars shall drop down from heaven; and his
father pass away from this world in the month of _Aban_ and the day of
_Baud_.[428] When this son has attained twenty-one years of age, he
shall march in every direction with a numerous host, and proceeding
with his troops to Balkh and Bokhara, advance into Iran with the
armies of India and China. A man professing the good faith in the
mountain region will then exert himself, and bringing up an army from
Khorasan and Sistan, come to the aid of Iran:

“From Kishtí Duwál, Roome, and Firingstan,
From demons clothed in black, like piebald wolves.”

“Three mighty battles shall then ensue, which will render Persia the
land of mourning; after which will arise an exalted avenging prince
who shall obtain the victory. In those days a thousand women shall not
be able to find one man; and if they should perchance behold one, they
shall be filled with astonishment. When those times are come to an
end, I shall send Serósh towards Jerusalem and summon Bishutan, who
will issue forth with a company of one hundred and fifty virtuous men,
and duly perform _Yasht_, or ‘prayer,’ on which Ahriman will engage in
battle with them; but, on hearing the sound of the _Hadokht_ and the
_Ashtawazand_, the partizans of Ahriman shall flee out of Iran. A
prince, Báhrám by name, shall then ascend the throne, bring back the
sacred fire, and restore the institutions of ancient times, and the
seed of the wicked shall then be exterminated: finally, when Bishutan
beholds every thing duly arranged, he will return with royal pomp to
his own palace.”

The Mobed _Azar Khirad_ relates in his book that the _Zand_ contains
twenty-one _Nosks_, or “parts,” every _Nosk_ having a particular name
in Zand and Parsi according to the following list:[429] _Yathá_,
_Ita_, _Ahu_, _Wíría_, _Alartúsh_, _Nadar_, which they call in Arabic
_Búfastál_, and in Parsi _Favaímasíhan_. This Nosk treats of the
stars, constellations, order of the heavens, the aspects, the good and
evil influences of the heavenly bodies, and such like topics. The
other Nosks are: the _Ashád_, _Chíd_, _Hashú_, _Wankawísh_, _Wazda_,
_Mankahú_, _Sítanú_, _Nan_, _Ankahísh_, _Marzái_, _Khashar_, _Machá_,
_Ahrá_, _Ayám_, _Darkúbíú_ and _Astarám_: all the sciences are
contained in the Zand, but some are mentioned enigmatically and by way
of allusion. At present there are fourteen complete Nosks possessed by
the Dostúrs of Karman, the other seven being incomplete, as through
the wars and dissensions which prevailed in Iran some of the Nosks
have disappeared, so that, notwithstanding the greatest researches,
the Nosks have come into their hands in a defective state.

Zaratusht Báhrám, the son of _Pazhdú_, relates that, at the time of
the promulgation of the pure faith in Iran, there lived in India a
sage of profound learning, named _Jangrangháchah_,[430] whose pupil
_Jamasp_[431] had been during many years, a circumstance which
procured him great distinction. On being informed of Gushtasp’s
conversion, he wrote an epistle to the great king, to dissuade him
from the profession of the pure faith. By the king’s command, this
sage came to Iran to hold a disputation with Zardusht, who said to
him: “Listen to one Nosk of this Asta which I have received from God,
and attend to its interpretation.” Upon this, at the illustrious
prophet’s command, one of his disciples read a Nosk in which God said
thus to Zardusht: “On the promulgation of the pure faith, there shall
come from Hindustan a wise man, named _Jangrangháchah_, who will ask
thee questions, after such and such guise, the answers to which are
after this manner, thus answering all his questions:

“By this same Nosk his condition was improved,
And the answer to each question was correctly given.”

When he heard the solutions of his questions he fell from his chair,
and on recovering his senses adopted the pure faith. The prophet Sásán
the Fifth, in his select commentary on the _Dasátir_ and the
interpretation of the code of Zardusht, relates, that when Isfendiar
had promulgated the pure faith, the eminent sages of Greece dispatched
a learned man, named _Niyátús_,[432] to interrogate the prophet of the
Lord concerning the exact nature of his tenets. Gushtasp, having
assigned him an audience on a most auspicious day. this distinguished
Greek, on beholding the face of Zardusht, said: “From this face,
knowledge, sagacity, and science are manifest as the properties of a
mind so formed; and this is not the physiognomy of one who utters
falsehoods.” He then asked him concerning the moment, day, month, and
year of his birth, which being communicated by Zardusht, Niyátús
observed: “Under such a horoscope, a person of weak intellects cannot
be born.” He next questioned him concerning his food, sleep, and mode
of life, which being also explained, Niyátús added: “From this rule of
life he cannot be an impostor.” The prophet of the Lord then said to
him: “Keep in thy heart whatever thou desirest to inquire about, and
utter it not with thy tongue; as the Almighty has acquainted me with
it, and for my sake has sent me his word in this chapter relative to
these matters.” On this, one of the prophet’s disciples read to
Niyátús, out of a single chapter, all that was laid up in the noble
envoy’s breast, and whatever he was commissioned to enquire about, at
the desire of the eminent men of Greece.

The Fifth Sásán, in like manner, relates that when the report of
Jangrangháchah’s having adopted the faith was published abroad, a
sage, by name _Byásá_,[433] came from India to Iran; and the sages of
every country being assembled, pursuant to the great king’s command,
Biyása thus addressed the prophet of the Lord in the presence of all:
“O, Zardusht! in consequence of thy answers and unfolding of mysteries
to the wise Jangrangháchah, thou art accounted a true prophet. I have
besides heard of innumerable miracles performed by thee. Know that I
also, in my own country, am reckoned as one who is unequalled both in
the theoretical and practical sciences. I now hope that thou wilt
disclose the secrets which I have kept pent up in my bosom, and have
never in any manner transferred from the page of my heart to the lip:
some people tell us that the genii impart knowledge of this kind to
the worshippers of Ahriman: however if thou canst unfold all these
secrets, I shall turn to thy faith.” The prophet of the Lord said:
“Long before thy arrival, the God of purity made all known to me.” He
then recited a _Simnad_, “chapter,” which the Lord had sent down on
those subjects; in which was specified whatever was in Byása’s heart,
with the answer attached to it; after which Byása listened to the word
of God, and having made profession of the pure faith, returned to
Hindustan. It is to be remarked that the two Simnad which contain the
answers to the eminent envoy of the Greeks and the sage Byasa do not
form a part of the Astawazand, but constitute a portion of the
Desátir,[434] or of the celestial volume, in the language of which a
chapter is styled a Simnad.

Moreover, Zaratusht Báhrám thus relates concerning the account of
heaven and hell given by _Ardaiviráf_.[435] It is recorded that, when
the power of _Ardeshir Babagan_ was firmly established, he assembled
around him forty thousand virtuous Mobeds and Dustars, out of which
number he selected four thousand; of those thus selected he set apart
four hundred, who knew by heart the greater part of the Asta; of these
four hundred he again chose out forty learned doctors; and from these
he selected seven unblemished sages, equally free from mortal and
venial sins, whom he thus addressed: “Let whichever of you is able
divest himself of body, and bring us intelligence concerning heaven
and hell.” These righteous men made answer: “For such a purpose there
is required a man who from the age of seven upwards has not committed
sin.” After which these sages selected from amongst them one, named
_Ardai Viráf_,[436] whom they knew to be possessed of this excellence,
and, accompanied by the great king, they all repaired to _Azar
Khúrdád_, which was a fire-temple; having there prepared a golden
throne for _Ardai Viráf_, the forty thousand professors of the faith
performed _Yazash_, that is, recited prayers according to the
prescribed mode. Ardáiviráf, having drunk a cup of hallowed wine which
he received from the Dustur, lay down on his couch and did not arise
before the expiration of a week; his spirit, through the efficacy of
the divine word, having been separated from the body, those six
Dustúrs all the while standing around his pillow. On the eighth day
Ardáí, arising from sleep, ordered a scribe to be brought, who should
commit to writing all his words; and he thus spoke:[437] “When I fell
asleep, _Sirushi_, who is called also _Surúsh Ashú_, or _Ashú_ simply,
or ‘the Angel of paradise,’ came near. Having made my salám, I
explained the motives of my coming to the other world. He took my hand
and said: ‘Ascend three steps.’ I obeyed, and arrived at the _Chanyud
Pul_, or ‘the straight bridge of judgment’ (the sarát of the
Muhammedans). The accompanying Angel pointed me out the road, when I
beheld a bridge finer than a hair and sharper than a razor, and
strong, and its length was seven-and-thirty _rasans_, or cords.[438] I
beheld a spirit just parted from the body in a state of tranquillity;
on its arrival at the bridge of judgment, a fragrant gale came from
mid-day or the east, out of which issued forth a beautiful nymph-like
form, the like of which I never before beheld. The spirit asked her:
‘Who art thou of such surpassing beauty?’ She replied: ‘I am the
personification of thy good deeds.’

“I then saw _Mihr Ized_,[439] at whose side were standing _Rash
Rast_[440] and _Sarúsh Ized_ holding a balance in his hand, and angels
assembled around them. Now Mihr Ized is the angel whose province it is
to number and estimate people in regard to rewards and punishments.
Rash is his minister of justice and the lord of equity; and Sarúsh is
the lord of messages and the master of announcements. To these I made
my salam which they returned, and I passed over the bridge.[441]
Several spirits then appeared who addressed me affectionately; Báhmán
next appeared and said to me: ‘Come on, that I may show thee the
_Gah-i-zarin’_ (or golden place, which is the same as the celestial
throne). I proceeded with him to a beautiful throne, where I beheld
the spirit before mentioned, whose deeds were personified by a
beauteous form, with the _Ashwan_, or ‘pure spirits,’ and the
inhabitants of paradise around him, with the spirits of his relations
rejoicing as on the arrival of a long-absent traveller from his abode;
then Báhmán took his hand and brought him to a place worthy of him.
When I had proceeded a little onwards, I beheld a lofty portico, where
by order of Surúsh I addressed my prayers towards the place of God,
and my sight became darkened through the effulgence of light. Surúsh
again brought me back to the bridge of judgment, around which I beheld
a number of persons standing with folded hands. I asked: ‘Who are
those persons?’ Surúsh answered: ‘These are the weak in faith, who
remain in this state until the day of judgment: if they possessed an
additional particle of virtue, equal in weight to one of the hairs of
the eyelash, they would be relieved from this calamity.’ I then beheld
another assemblage like unto shining stars. Surush said: ‘This is the
_Satra Payah_,[442] (or the sphere of the fixed stars); in these are a
people who with all their wealth observed not the _Gítí Kharíd_[443]
(the purchase of the other world) and the _Naú Roz_ (or the festival
of the new year.)’ He next brought me to the _Máh Páyah_ (or lunar
sphere), where I beheld spirits resplendent as the moon. The angel
said: ‘this _Máh Páyah_ is also one of the spheres of paradise, in which
are those who have performed every kind of meritorious act and deed,
except observing the _Naú Roz_.’ He then conducted me to the _Khúrshíd
Páyah_ (or solar sphere) where I beheld spirits exceedingly bright,
radiant as the sun. The angel said: ‘In the solar sphere are the
persons who have observed the _Gítí Kharíd_ and the _Naú Roz_.’ At his
command, I then addressed my prayers to the _Warakt_ and
_Khurah-i-Yazdan_, or ‘light of the Almighty:’ perception and
intellect, through the effects of terror and overpowering awe, began
to flee from me; a voice, however, from which I obtained renovated
energy, came to my hearing: there was then some oil[444] given me to
drink out of a golden cup: I partook of it and found it of an
incomparable taste: they told me that it was the food of the people of
paradise. I next beheld _Ardi Behést_,[445] to whom I made my salam.
He said to me: ‘Place on the sacred fire wood free from moisture.’
Surush then bore me off to _Kurutaman_, or ‘paradise,’[446] in the
light of which I became bewildered in astonishment: I knew none of the
precious stones of which it was composed. The angels, by the command
of the Almighty, took me round every part of it. I next came to a
place where I beheld an illustrious assemblage enveloped in _Khurah_,
that is, ‘radiance and pomp.’ _Surúsh Ashir_ said: ‘These are the
spirits of the munificent and noble-minded.’ After this I saw a great
multitude in all magnificence. Surúsh explained to me: ‘These are the
spirits of all who have observed the _Naú Roz_.’ Next them I beheld an
assemblage in the enjoyment of all magnificence and happiness. Surúsh
observed: ‘These are the spirits of just princes.’ After this I beheld
blessed spirits in boundless joy and power. Surush explained: ‘These
are the Dustúrs and Mobeds: my duty is to convey that class to this
honor.’ I next beheld a company of women rejoicing in the midst of
great pomp. Surúsh Ashú and Ardibahést observed: ‘These are the
spirits of women who were obedient to their husbands.’ I then beheld a
multitude of majestic and beautiful persons, seated along with angels.
Surúsh said: ‘this class consists of Hírbuds and Mobeds, the
attendants on fire-temples, and the observers of the _Yasht_ and
_Yazisht_ of the Amshasfands.’ After these I saw an armed assemblage
in a state of the highest joy. Surúsh informed me: ‘These are the
spirits of the champions who fought in the ways of God, maintaining
their country and the husbandmen in a state of prosperity and
tranquillity.’ I next beheld a great assemblage in the enjoyment of
all delight and gladness. Surúsh observed: ‘These are the spirits of
the slayers of the _Khurástár_ (or noxious animals).’[447] After this,
I witnessed a people given up to sporting and happiness. Surush
observed: ‘These are the spirits of the husbandmen, over whom
_Safándarmuz_ is set; he consequently presides over this class, as
they have propitiated him by their acts.’ I next beheld a great
company surrounded by all the appliances of enjoyment. Surúsh said:
‘These are the spirits of shepherds.’ After this, I beheld great
numbers in a state of repose and joy, and the elemental principles of
paradise standing before them. Surúsh observed: ‘These are the heads
of families, friends to building, who have improved the world by
gardens and water-courses, and held the elements in reverence.’ I next
came to another class, endowed with prophet-like radiance, of whom
Surúsh remarked: ‘These are the spirits of _Jádóngóis_.’ By
_Jádóngóis_ is meant one who solicits money from the wealthy to
promote the way of the Lord, and who expends it on noble foundations
and holy indigent persons.

“What can I say concerning the black-eyed nymphs――the palaces,
offspring, and attendants――the drinks and viands?――any thing like
which I know not of in this elemental world.[448]

“After this Surúsh and Ardibehést, taking me out of paradise, bore me
off to behold the punishments inflicted on those in hell. First of
all, I beheld a black and gloomy river of fetid water, with weeping
multitudes falling in and drowning. Surúsh said: ‘This water is
collected from the tears shed by relatives on the death of a person;
and those who are drowning are they whose relatives, after their
death, break out into mourning, weeping, and tears.’ I next proceeded
towards the bridge of judgment, where I beheld a spirit rent from the
body, and mourning for its separation: there arose a fetid gale, out
of which issued a gloomy figure, with red eye-balls, hooked nose,
hideous lips, teeth like columns, a head like the kettle of a
minaret,[449] long talons, spear-like fangs, snaky locks, and vomiting
out smoke. The alarmed spirit having asked, ‘Who art thou?’ he
answered, ‘I am the personification of thy acts and deeds.’ On saying
this, he threw his hands around the spirit’s neck, so that his
lamentations came to the bridge of judgment, which is sharper than a
razor: on this the spirit having gone a little way with great
difficulty, at last fell into the infernal regions. I then followed
him, accompanied by Súrush and Ardibehest: our road lay through snow,
ice, storms, intense cold, mephitic exhalations, and obscurity, along
a region full of pits: into these I looked, and there beheld countless
myriads of spirits suffering tortures. They all wailed bitterly, and
the darkness was so thick that one was unable to perceive the other,
or to distinguish his lamentation: three days such punishment is equal
to nine thousand years, and the same calculation applies to the other
pits, in all of which were serpents, scorpions, stinging and noxious
creatures: whatever spirit falls into them

“Was stung by one and torn by another,
Was bit by this, and pierced by that.”

“Surúsh having taken me below, I there beheld a spirit with a human
head and serpent-like body, surrounded by many demons who were
applying the torture to his feet, and smiting him in every direction
with hatchets, daggers, and maces, whilst noxious creatures were
biting him on all sides. Surúsh observed: ‘This was a man of vile
passions.’ I next saw a woman who held in her hand a cup filled with
blood and corrupted matter; demons kept striking her with clubs and
spears until she swallowed the nauseous draught, on which they
instantly replaced a similar bowl in her hands. Surúsh remarked: ‘This
woman, whilst laboring under periodical illness, approached the
elements, of fire and water.’ I then beheld a man wailing piteously,
whose head they were scalping with a poniard: Surúsh said: ‘This was a
shedder of innocent blood.’ I next saw a man who was forced to swallow
blood and corrupted matter, with which they were continually supplying
him. The demons in the mean time tortured him, and placed a heavy
mountain on his breast: Surúsh stated this to be ‘The spirit of a
dissolute man, who seduced the wives of other men.’ After this, I
beheld a spirit weeping through hunger and thirst; so intense was his
craving, that he drank his own blood and devoured his own flesh.
Surúsh stated: ‘This is the spirit of one who observed not the
_Báj_[450] when partaking of food,’” (Báj is a rite practised by
orthodox Parsees before meat, as has been explained under the head of
banquet) “‘and who on the day of Aban[451] partook of water, fruit,
and bread, so that the angels _Khurdád_ and _Murdád_ were displeased
with him.’ I next beheld a woman suspended by her breasts and noxious
creatures falling on her. Surúsh said: ‘this is a woman who deserted
her husband and went after another man.’ I then saw a great multitude
of spirits, furiously assailed by rapacious animals and noxious
creatures. Surúsh stated thus: ‘These are persons who adopted not the
_Kashti_[452] or sacred cincture as worn by professors of the
excellent faith.’ I next beheld a woman hung up, with her tongue
protruding from the hind part of the neck. Surúsh observed: ‘This is a
woman who obeyed not her husband, and replied to him with harsh
answers and opposition.’ I then saw a man eating with a ladle the most
noxious things, of which if he took too small a portion, demons smote
him with wooden clubs. Surúsh observed: ‘this is the spirit of one who
betrayed his trust.’ I after this beheld a man hung up, surrounded by
seventy demons, who were lashing him with serpents instead of
scourges; and meanwhile the serpents kept gnawing his flesh with their
fangs. Surúsh Ashú said: ‘This is a king who extorted money from his
subjects by torture.’ I next beheld a man with wide-opened mouth and
protruding tongue,

“With serpents and scorpions covered all over,
The one lacerating with fangs, the others lashing with their tails.

“Surúsh said: ‘This was a tale-bearer, who by his lies caused
dissension and strife among mankind.’ After this I saw a man, every
ligature and joint of whose body they were tearing asunder. Surúsh
said: ‘This person has slain many four-footed animals.’ I next beheld
a man exposed to body-rending torture, concerning whom Surúsh said:
‘This was a wealthy, avaricious man, who employed not his riches for
the useful purposes of either world.’ I then saw a person to whom were
offered all sorts of noxious creatures, whilst one foot was free from
all kind of suffering. Surúsh said concerning him: ‘This is the spirit
of a negligent person, who did not in the least attend to the concerns
of the world or the world to come. As he once passed along the road,
he observed a goat tied up in such a manner that it was unable to get
at its food: with that foot he tossed the forage towards the animal,
in recompense of which good act that foot is exempt from suffering.’ I
next beheld a person whose tongue was laid on a stone, and demons kept
beating it with another. Concerning him Surúsh observed: ‘This person
was an habitual slanderer and liar, through whose words people fell
into mischief.’ I then saw a woman whose breasts the demons were
grinding under a millstone. About her Surúsh observed: ‘This woman
produced abortion by means of drugs.’ I next beheld a man in whose
seven members worms had fixed themselves. Concerning him Surúsh said:
‘This person gave false witness for money, and derived his support
from that resource.’ After this I saw a man devouring the flesh of a
corpse and drinking human gore. Surúsh observed: ‘This is the spirit
of one who amassed wealth by unlawful means.’ I afterwards beheld a
great multitude with pallid faces, fetid bodies, and limbs covered
with worms. About these Surúsh Ashú observed: ‘These are hypocrites of
satanic qualities, whose hearts were not in accordance with their
words, and who led astray the professors of the excellent faith,
divesting themselves of all respect for religion and morality.’ I next
saw a man the members of whose body hell-hounds were rending asunder.
Concerning him Surúsh said: ‘This man was in the habit of slaughtering
water and land dogs.’ I next beheld a woman hurled into snow and
smitten by the guardians of fire. About her Surúsh said: ‘When this
woman combed herself, her hairs fell into the fire.’ After this I
beheld another woman tearing off with a poniard the flesh of her own
body and devouring it. Surush said: ‘This is an enchantress who used
to fascinate men.’ Next her I saw a man whom the demons forced by
blows to swallow blood, corrupted matter, and human flesh. Concerning
him Surúsh said: ‘This man was in the habit of casting dead bodies,
corrupted matter, nails, and hair into fire and water.’ I afterwards
beheld a person devouring the flesh and skin of a dead body. Surúsh
said: ‘This person defrauded the labourers of their hire.’ I next
beheld a man with a mountain on his back, whom with his load they
forced through terror into the midst of snows and ice. Surúsh
observed: ‘This was an adulterer, who took the wife from her husband.’
I afterwards saw a number of ill-fated persons up to their necks in
ice and snow, before each of whom was a cup filled with gore, and
hair, and impurities, which, through terror of blows and clubs, they
were obliged to swallow. Surúsh observed: ‘These are persons who used
warm bathing along with the _Batardeen_ (or the enemies of the faith)
washing their bodies and heads in such unclean and polluted baths.’ I
then beheld a person groaning under the weight of a mountain.
Concerning him Surúsh said: ‘This man laid heavy taxes on the people,
established evil ordinances, and oppressed mankind.’ Next him I beheld
one digging up a mountain with his fingers and nails, whilst the
superintendent kept smiting him with a viper. Surúsh said: ‘This is a
man who by violence seized on the lands of others:’

“As long as this earth and place continue to exist,
So long, by way of retribution, shall this spirit be thus employed.

I afterwards saw a man the flesh of whose shoulders and body they were
scraping off with a comb of iron. Concerning him Surúsh said: ‘This
man was an egregious violator of promises and breaker of engagements.’
I then beheld a great multitude whose hands and feet they were smiting
with bludgeons, iron maces, and such like. Concerning these Surúsh
observed: ‘This class is composed of promise-breakers and the
violators of covenants, who maintained friendship with
_Darwands_,[453] or those hostile to the faith.’ Surúsh, Ashú, and
Ardibehest then led me from that abode of misery to _Girutuman_, ‘the
seat of supreme bliss,’ or ‘paradise on high,’ which is called ‘the
heaven of heavens.’ On beholding the light and splendor of the
righteous Lord, I became entranced, and this spirit-reviving voice
reached my ears: ‘Through thy virtuous words and actions, which have
been conformable to the excellent faith, joined to the co-operation
and energy of intellect, though hast resisted all the demons which
infest the body, and hast therefore attained to this rank.’ Surúsh
then taking me by the hand, said: ‘Communicate to mankind all thou
hast heard.’ He next took me down to paradise, where several spirits
received me and said: ‘Reveal these mysteries to our relations, that
they may beware of sin.’ I next came to the lunar mansion, where they
addressed me in the same manner. I afterwards reached the starry
mansion with the same two companions, and here also the spirits
advanced to receive me, saying: ‘Counsel our relations to make _Yasht_
and _Yazisht_ (to pray in a low murmuring tone at meal-time) and to
cleave firmly to the festival of the _Naú Roz_, and the girding of the
cincture; had we observed these rites, we should not have remained in
this mansion, but gone on to Paradise.’ It appears to follow from what
has been stated, that the starry mansion or zodiacal sphere is below
that of the moon; the Yezdanians however say, that the starry mansion
signifies the mansion of the spirits who below the lunar sphere are
not exempted from sufferings, but are attached to the bodies of the
virtuous by means of the zodiacal signs.[454]

“I next came to _Chínawad Pul_ (the bridge of judgment) where many
spirits thus addressed me: ‘Tell men to leave sons behind them in the
world, or otherwise they must, like us, remain here.’

“We behold paradise in distant perspective,
But are far removed from its enjoyment.

“Another company of spirits said: ‘Let not men look at the wife or
mate of another; and let them hold up none to suspicion: otherwise
they must remain here like us, until our injured enemy comes hither
from the world: if he be propitiated, we may be delivered.’

“Surúsh and Ardibehest then brought me to the lower world and bade me
adieu.”[455]

When the scribe had written down all the words of Ardi Viraf, he read
them over to the great king, who thereupon duly promulgated the
excellent faith, and sent Mobeds to all the borders of Iran.

After (the death of Ardashir) appeared the Mobed _Azarbad_,[456] the
son of _Marasfand_ (whose lineage by the father ascended to the
prophet Zardusht, and by his mother to king Gushtasp), from whom king
Shapur (the son of Ardeshir) and the military having demanded a
miracle in proof of the faith, the forty thousand wise men were again
assembled.[457] Azarbad, having performed his ablutions, lay down
before this great assemblage, whereupon they poured nine mans of
melted brass upon his bared breast, but, through the divine glory, his
person received no injury. On beholding this, all those who before had
been unbelievers, embraced the faith. From the time of Azarbád the
Dustúrs of all succeeding kings were of his lineage.[458]

The professors of the excellent faith and the Moslem historians agree,
that in Kashmir or Kashmar,[459] a place celebrated for female beauty,
a dependency of Naishapur, there was formerly a cypress[460] planted
by Zardusht for king Gushtasp, the like of which was never seen before
or since, for beauty, height, or straightness: mention of this tree
having been made at the court of Mutawakkal[461] when he was engaged
in building the _Sarman raï_, or _Samarah_[462] palace in the
Jâafriyah,[463] the Khalif felt a great desire to behold it: and as it
was not in his power to go to Khorasan, he wrote to _Abdallah Táhir
Zavalimin_, “possessor of happiness,” to have the tree cut down,
fastened on rollers, and sent to Baghdád. When intelligence of this
came to the people of the district and the inhabitants of Khorasan,
they assembled at the foot of the tree, imploring for mercy with tears
and lamentations, and exhibiting a scene of general desolation. The
professors of the excellent faith offered the governor fifty thousand
dinars to spare the tree, but the offer was refused. When the cypress
was felled, it caused great detriment to the buildings and
water-courses of the country; the birds of different kinds which had
built their nests on it issued forth in such countless myriads as to
darken the air, screaming out in agony with various tones of distress:
the very oxen, sheep, and other animals which reposed under its
sheltering shade, commenced such piteous moans of woe that it was
impossible to listen to them. The expense of conveying the trunk to
Baghdad was five hundred thousand dinars; the very branches loaded one
thousand and three hundred camels. When the tree had reached one
station from the Jaafriyah quarter, on that same night, Mutawakkal the
Abasside was cut in pieces by his own guards,[464] so that he never
beheld the tree. Some Muhammedan writers state the circumference of
the trunk at twenty-seven _táziáynah_, each a cubit and a quarter
long, and also that fourteen hundred and fifty years had elapsed from
the time of its being planted to the year 232 of the Hejirah (846, A.
D.).[465] The Behdínians say that Zardusht brought with him from
paradise a branch which he planted at the gate of the fire temple of
Kashmir, and which grew up into this tree: but some sages maintain
that, according to the intelligent, this tradition signifies: 1. that
there is in vegetables a simple uncompounded soul; and 2. that
paradise is the world of beings of that class. Some Yezdanians say
that Zardusht prayed the superintending lord of cypress-trees, whom
they call _Azrawán_, to nourish carefully the offspring of this shoot.
They also relate, on the authority of a holy _Hakim_, “doctor,”[466]
who said: “I saw the Lord of the cypress, and he declared: ‘I have
given orders to slay Mutawakkal for the crime of cutting down this
tree.’” Muhammed Kuli Salim also says:

“No person wishes to see his own nursling enfeebled.
Water and fire are ever at enmity with chips and leaves.”

The Behdínians maintain that Ahriman is the production of Time; and
that the angels, heavens, and stars (always) were, and will (for ever)
be: but that the three kingdoms of nature are a creation. Also that
the period of the present creation is twelve thousand years, at the
expiration of which comes the resurrection, when God will raise up all
mankind and render this elemental world a glorious paradise, and
annihilate Ahriman, his worshippers, and hell itself. The Dustúr Shah
Zadáh says, in the volume of the _Sad Der_, or “the hundred
gates,”[467] the excellent faith has been received from the prophet
Zardusht, the son of Purshasp, the son of Khajarasp, the son of
Hujjús, the son of Asfantaman: on him the Almighty graciously bestowed
the _Avesta_ and _Zand_, and through divine knowledge he comprehended
all things from eternity to infinity. This is the hundred-gated city
constructed from the world of truth, that is, the celestial volume.

“The mighty, through means of the Asta, Zand, and Pazand,
Have constructed on its outside a hundred gates.
Behold what a system of belief Zardusht has introduced,
In which a hundred gates give admission to his city of Faith.”

GATE THE FIRST is the belief and acknowledgment of Zardusht’s
prophetic character; for when the spirit on the fourth night (after
quitting the body) comes to the bridge of Chinavad, where _Mihr Ized_
and _Rash Ized_ take account of its actions, in the _Kirfah_, or “good
deeds” exceed the sins by one hair’s point, they bear the spirit off
to paradise, but always on the condition of having professed the faith
of Zardusht.

GATE THE SECOND. It is necessary to be ever vigilant, and always
looking on a trifling sin as one of magnitude, to flee far from it;
because, if the virtuous deeds exceed the sinful acts by even the
point of one of the hairs of the eye-lashes, the spirit goes to
paradise; but should the contrary be the case, it descends to hell.

GATE THE THIRD. The pursuits of a man should be of a virtuous
tendency; because, whilst thus engaged, if he be overpowered by
robbers or foes, he shall receive fourfold in paradise; but if he be
slain in any vain pursuit, it is the retribution due to his acts, and
hell is his abode.

GATE THE FOURTH. A man must not despair of God’s mercy; for Zardusht
says: “I beheld one whose body, with the exception of one foot, was
entirely in hell; but that foot was outside. The Lord said: ‘This
person, who ruled over thirty-three cities, never performed good
deeds; but having one day observed a sheep tied up at a distance from
her food, he with this foot pushed the grass near her.’”[468]

GATE THE FIFTH. Let all men exert themselves to observe the rites of
_Yasht_,[469] and the _Naú Roz_,[470] and if they cannot themselves
perform these duties, let them purchase the agency of another.

GATE THE SIXTH. Let men know that the meritorious works are six in
number: 1. the observance of the _Gahambara_, or “six periods of
creation;” 2. that of the _Favardigan_, or “five supplementary days of
the year,” with that of _Yashtan_, “or praying in a low murmuring
voice at meals;” 3. propitiating the spirits of thy father, mother,
and other relations; 4. offering up supplications to the sun three
times every day; 5. offering up prayers to the moon three times every
month, that is, the beginning, middle, and last day of the moon; 6.
offering up supplications in due form every year.

GATE THE SEVENTH. When sneezing comes on, repeat the entire of the
forms called _Ita ahu virio_,[471] and the _Ashem Vuhu_.

GATE THE EIGHTH. Be obedient to the Dustúrs and give them one-tenth of
thy wealth; as that is a most meritorious work, or _Kirfah_.[472]

GATE THE NINTH. A person should avoid all practices not sanctioned by
the laws of nature, and must look on them as accursed: let all those
found guilty of such deeds be put to death. This description of
criminals are equally guilty with the usurper Zohak, and Alkus,[473]
and Sarúrak,[474] and Afrasiab, and Turbaraturas.[475]

GATE THE TENTH. It is incumbent on every man and woman to tie on the
_Kashti_.[476] By Kashti is meant a woollen cincture girded round the
waist, in which they make four knots: the first to signify the unity
of God; the second, the certainty of the faith; the third, that
Zardusht was the prophet of God; the fourth to imply, “that I will to
the utmost of my power ever do what is good.”

GATE THE ELEVENTH. Keep the fire burning, and let it not consume any
thing impure.

GATE THE TWELFTH. Let not the shroud of the deceased be new, but let
it be clean and old.

GATE THE THIRTEENTH. The good man gives joy to the spirits of his
father and mother, by celebrating the _Darun miezd_[477] and the
_Afernigán_,[478] or “funereal “repasts.” The Darun is a prayer
recited in praise of the Almighty and of Azar: when they breathe out
prayers in a murmuring tone over viands, they are said to be Yeshtah.
Afrinigan also means one of the twenty Nosks of the Zand.

GATE THE FOURTEENTH. Let them repeat the Ita Ahu three times over the
collected nail-parings, and having each time drawn a circular line
around them, let earth be poured on them with the shears, or let them
be taken to some mountain.[479]

GATE THE FIFTEENTH. Whatever pleasing object meets the true believer’s
sight, he repeats over it the name of God.

GATE THE SIXTEENTH. In the house of a pregnant woman keep the fire in
without ceasing; and when the child is born, let not the lamp be
extinguished during three days and nights.

They say that, on the birth of the prophet Zardusht, there came fifty
demons with the design of slaying him; but they were unable to do him
any injury as there was a fire kept up in the house.

GATE THE SEVENTEENTH. On arising from sleep, bind the Kashti, without
doing which enter upon no pursuit whatever.

GATE THE EIGHTEENTH. Let the tooth-pick, after having been used, be
concealed in a wall.

GATE THE NINETEENTH. They give their son and daughter in marriage at
an early period; as the person who has no son cannot pass over the
bridge of _Chinavad_; let whoever is in that state adopts some one; if
he should not find it feasible, it will then be incumbent on his
relations and the Dustúr to fix on a son for him.

GATE THE TWENTIETH. They esteem husbandry the best of all professions,
and regard the husbandman with respect and honor.

GATE THE TWENTY-FIRST. It is meet to give good viands to the
professors of the pure faith.

GATE THE TWENTY-SECOND. At the time of eating bread it is necessary to
perform _Váj_:[480] and at the time of _Maizad_ and _Afrinigán_ to
keep the lips closed; the true believer repeats the entire of the
_Esha âad avizmidi_ three times, and then eats bread; and when he
washes his mouth, he repeats _Ashem Vuhu_ four times, and the _Ita ahu
virio_ twice. It is to be remarked, that _Wáj_ or _Váj_ is the
_Barsom_,[481] which consists of small twigs of the same length,
without knots, taken from the pomegranate, tamarisk, or _Hum_; these
they cut with a _Barsomchin_, or knife with an iron handle. Having
first washed the knife carefully, they recite the appointed prayers,
after which, having cut off the Barsom with the Barsomchin, they wash
the Barsomdan, or Barsom-holder, into which they put these small
twigs. At the time of worship, whilst reading the Zand, and during
ablution or eating, they hold in their hand a few of these twigs,
according to the number required in each of these actions.

GATE THE TWENTY-THIRD. The wealthy man bestows alms on the indigent
Durvesh; he also practises _Jadongoi_, which consists in this,
whatever donations the Behdínians make to the fire-temples, or to
deserving objects, are by that person caused to be expended in the
manner desired.

GATE THE TWENTY-FOURTH. Beware of sin, particularly the day on which
thou eatest flesh, as flesh-meat is the nutriment of Ahriman. If,
after partaking of meat thou committest sin, whatever sins the animal
has committed in this world shall be imputed to thee: for example, the
kick of the horse, and the goring of the ox with his horns.

GATE THE TWENTY-FIFTH. Know that in thy faith there is no fasting,
except that of avoiding sin:[483] in which sense thou must fast the
whole year, and not remain hungry from morn until night, and style
that fasting. Thou must endeavor to keep thy members free from sin,
and there will be then no occasion to keep the lips closed against
meat and drink; but it is altogether necessary to keep them closed
against uttering any evil speech.

GATE THE TWENTY-SIXTH. As soon as a child is born let them cause it to
taste milk.

GATE THE TWENTY-SEVENTH. When going to bed, repeat the forms which
commence with the Ita; that is, repeat to the end the _Itá Ahu
Viríyo_, the _Eshim Vahu_, etc., etc.; repenting of thy sins of sight
and hearing, known and unknown, committed or meditated, and imploring
forgiveness; also, when thou turnest from one side to the other,
repeat the whole of the Eshim.

GATE THE TWENTY-EIGHTH. When thou enterest into a covenant either with
one of the pure faith or an unbeliever (_Durwand_), break it not, but
maintain it inviolate.

GATE THE TWENTY-NINTH. When the believer’s son attains the age of
fifteen, the father appoints a Dustúr for his guidance, without whose
direction and counsel he does nothing; for no good work is acceptable
to God, unless the Dustúr be satisfied; he truly possesses such
dignity in the sight of God, that he can remit one-third of any
person’s sins. Note, that the title of Dustúr is given to a spiritual
director, or one skilled in the faith of Zaratusht.

GATE THE THIRTIETH. When any undertaking occurs, and thou knowest not
whether engaging in it be good or sinful, desist, and defer the
enterprise until thou hast consulted the Dustúr.

GATE THE THIRTY-FIRST. The believer undertakes nothing on his own
experience merely, without previously investigating its nature through
his Dustúr, his relation, and the experience of the intelligent.

GATE THE THIRTY-SECOND. Whoever studies the Avesta must learn to read
it in the exact words: he must also meditate on it continually; for
should it depart from his memory, he is guilty of sin. In ancient
times, whoever had learned the Avesta and forgotten it, was not
permitted to join the congregation, until he had again made himself
master of it: nay, they threw bread before him as they would to dogs.

GATE THE THIRTY-THIRD. It behoves a man to be liberal, showing favor
to the Arzan, or deserving objects, for this only is profitable.

GATE THE THIRTY-FOURTH. The religious pour not out water at night,
particularly towards the _Wakhtar_, or “east;” but should it be
indispensable, the believer, at the time of throwing it out, repeats
the form of words commencing with the _Ita_, as far as enjoined.
Neither does he draw water from the well at night; but when there is
an inevitable necessity for it, he recites the formula of the Ita, as
enjoined in their books. They seldom drink water at night; but if it
be unavoidably necessary to drink, they fetch water from the well:
moreover, they never pour out much water.

GATE THE THIRTY-FIFTH. When they eat bread, they lay by three morsels
for the dogs, and never ill use these animals.

GATE THE THIRTY-SIXTH. When a cock crows out of season, they kill him
not, but bring another to his aid, for the fowl having seen a _Darji_
(demon) or some approaching calamity, gives notice of it.[484]

GATE THE THIRTY-SEVENTH. If in any place a person who is destitute of
fear should deposit a _Nisa_, or “carcase” under ground, expose and
bring it forth.

GATE THE THIRTY-EIGHTH. It is by no means meet to slay animals in
profusion, as every hair of theirs will in the other world be as a
sword to the destroyer’s body: but the slaughter of sheep is by far
the most criminal; for they are of the _Sardah_,[485] or “primary
genus.” This prohibition includes the goat, the kid, and the lamb; the
cow and the horse; also the crowing cock, which during that time is as
a drum: nay, it is equally improper to slay the cock which crows not;
but should it be indispensably necessary to kill him, it will be
proper to tie his head (that is, to perform the rite of Yashtan over
his head).[486]

GATE THE THIRTY-NINTH. When thou art about to wash the face, join thy
lips, and recite once the formula of the _Ashim Vuhu_ as far as is
prescribed; then wash thy face; and when thou shavest, recite the
prayer of the _Kimna_ and _Mazda_[487] as far as the appointed place.

GATE THE FORTIETH. Whoever performs _Barashnom_[488] must be good in
word and deed, for otherwise he is deserving of death. Whoever comes
to the age of fifteen and performs not this rite, renders whatever he
lays his hand on impure like himself. Note, that _Barashnom_ signifies
the purification of one’s self by prayer.

GATE THE FORTY-FIRST. On the arrival of the Farvardigán, the believer
performs the _Darún Yezd_, _Yazish_, and _Afrín_ during ten days. The
Farvardigán are five damsels which spin, weave, and sew celestial
garments: their names are _Ahnavad_, _Ashnavad_, _Isfintamad_,
_Kukhashatar_, _Vahshúshpúsh_.[489] Farvardigan[490] is the name of
the five supplementary or intercalary days of the Persian year. When
the spirit quits this world it is naked; but whoever has duly
performed the Farvardigán obtains from them royal robes and celestial
ornaments.

According to the Yezdánián, these five damsels signify wisdom,
heroism, continence, justice, and intellect;[491] and in other
passages they call them the five senses.

GATE THE FORTY-SECOND. The true believer must beware of associating
with those of a different faith; let him not drink out of the same cup
with them. If an unbeliever pollute a cup made of brass, it must be
washed three times: but if it be of earth, it cannot become pure.

GATE THE FORTY-THIRD. Keep up the fire in thy house, and at night
light it up.

GATE THE FORTY-FOURTH. Shew honor to thy instructor, father, and
mother; as otherwise in this world distress shall be thy portion; and
in the next, hell.

GATE THE FORTY-FIFTH. A woman, in her periodical illness, must not
direct her eyes to the heaven or the stars; to running water or a
Mindáshú; that is, a pure or celestial man. She is to drink water out
of any vessel except one of earth. When she eats bread, her hand is to
be folded in the sleeve of her dress,[492] and she is to wear a veil
on her head.

GATE THE FORTY-SIXTH. Refrain from Hamiyál, which means calumny,
treachery, and adultery: for if the woman’s husband forgive not the
adulterer, he cannot, whatever may be his good works, behold the face
of paradise.

GATE THE FORTY-SEVENTH. The believer must slay the _Kharástár_, or
“noxious creatures.” Of these it is most meritorious to destroy
water-frogs, serpents, scorpions, flies, and ants. According to the
tenets professed by the true believers, that is, the _Yazdáníán_ and
_Abadián_, it is a meritorious work to destroy any creature which is
injurious to animal life or oppressive to the animal creation: but the
destruction of any creature which is not injurious to animal life, is
not only improper, but the unjust oppressor draws down retribution on
himself. The Yezdáníán maintain, that whenever in ancient records the
slaughter of a harmless animal is mentioned, the expression is used in
an enigmatical sense.

GATE THE FORTY-EIGHTH. It is not proper to walk barefooted.

GATE THE FORTY-NINTH. Repent without ceasing: for unless attention be
paid to this, thy sin accumulates every year, and becomes more
aggravated. If, which God forbid! thou commit a sin, go before the
Dustúr; and if thou find him not, to the Hírbud (or minister attending
on the sacred fire); and if thou meet him not, repair to some
professor of the pure faith; and if thou find not such a one, declare
thy repentance before the majesty of the great light. In like manner,
at the moment of departing from this world, let a man declare his
contrition, and if he be unable, let his son, relative, or those
present, perform this rite of penance at that time.

GATE THE FIFTIETH. When a son or daughter attains the age of fifteen,
it becomes necessary to bind the sacred cincture about the waist, as
this forms the bond of duty.

GATE THE FIFTY-FIRST. If a child should die, from the first day of its
decease during a space of seven years, “without the expression of
grief, recite the Darún of its angel.” On the fourth night after its
decease, it is necessary to recite with _Yasht_, the Darún, or prayer
of the angel Surúsh. Note, Yasht is the name given to one of the
twenty-one Nosks of the Zand,[493] which is recited for the souls of
the deceased: this they also repeat in the _Gahanbars: Nosk_ also
signifies a part or section.

GATE THE FIFTY-SECOND. When thou placest on the fire a cauldron for
dressing food, it must be of a large size, and two thirds of it
without water, so that when it boils, the water may not fall over on
the fire.

GATE THE FIFTY-THIRD.[494] When they remove fire from one place to
another, they lay it apart for a short time, until its place becomes
cool; having taken care not to leave it heated, they bear the fire to
its destined place.

GATE THE FIFTY-FOURTH.[495] The true believers wash the face every
morning with the _Ab-í-zúr_, or “water of power,” and afterwards with
pure water.[496] After this they recite the formula of the _Kimna va
Mazda_,[497] and then wash the hands; this rite they call _Pavaj_; but
if they wash not the hands in the _Ab-í-zúr_, their recitation is not
accepted.

GATE THE FIFTY-FIFTH. The faithful instruct their sons in the
knowledge of religion, and hold in high honor the Kirbud who teaches
them.

GATE THE FIFTY-SIXTH. On the return of the day of _Khurdád_ in the
month of Farvardín (the 6th of March), they collect in one place a
portion of all the fruits they can find. The true believers then
continue to offer them up and to pray over them, repeating the praises
of the Lord, in order that their condition may be improved that year;
as on this day the angels give nutriment to mankind. When any one has
thus prayed, the Amshaspand Khurdád makes intercession for him: this
prayer is synonymous with _Khusnuman_.[498]

GATE THE FIFTY-SEVENTH. Whenever any one sets out on a journey, he
must celebrate once the _Darún Yeshté_. In ancient times, when they
set out on an excursion of even twelve parasangs, they performed the
same ceremony.[499]

GATE THE FIFTY-EIGHTH. If any one have not a son, let him adopt one;
and let the adopted son regard him as a father.

GATE THE FIFTY-NINTH. Whoever has performed the rites of Yasht and
Naú-Roz, cannot immediately after celebrate the Darún Yeshté: he first
prays mentally to Ormuzd, and eats bread; and then performs the rites
of mental prayer and the Darun.

GATE THE SIXTIETH. It is improper, whilst in an erect posture, to make
water; it is therefore necessary to sit down (stoop) and force it to
some distance, repeating the Avesta mentally. The religious man is
then to advance three paces, and repeat once the formula of the _Yethá
áhú viríyo_ and the _Eshem Vahu_, as far as prescribed. On coming out,
he is to repeat the Eshem once; the formula of the Homoctanne twice;
that of the _Hokhshéthrôtemâé_ three times, and that of the _Yethá_,
etc., four times; and to repeat to the end the formula of the _Etha
aad iezmede_.[500]

GATE THE SIXTY-FIRST. Slay not the _Hujjah_ or weasel, for it is the
destroyer of serpents.

GATE THE SIXTY-SECOND. Kill not the water-dog, or otter, but if thou
perceive him far out of the water, take him back to his river.[501]

GATE THE SIXTY-THIRD. The believer performs during his life the rites
which ensure his salvation: the propitiation of the Ized Surúsh is a
sacred duty; it is therefore advisable that every person should
perform it duly in his own life-time.[502]

GATE THE SIXTY-FOURTH. When any one departs from this world, the
survivors during three days propitiate Surúsh, light a fire for the
deceased, and recite the Avesta: as the spirit of the deceased remains
there three days, it is therefore necessary to offer up three Darúns
to Surúsh Ized. On the fourth night, recite one of them to propitiate
Rash and Astad (the angels of the 18th and 26th days of every month);
another for that of the other heavenly beings; along with the fourth
Darún produce complete dresses, the best and most splendid in thy
power. These they style _Ashudád_, or heaven-bestowed.[503]

GATE THE SIXTY-FIFTH. Women are not enjoined to perform any of these
Niyayish, except that they should go three times into their husband’s
presence, and inquire what his wishes may be. They must never, either
by night or day, avert the face from their husband’s command: which
obedience on their part is serving God.[504]

GATE THE SIXTY-SIXTH. The pure faith springs from this belief, that
God has delivered us from affliction (in the world to come): and
should circumstances occur to any believer which would necessarily
lead him to apostatize from the true faith, let all exert themselves
to the utmost to aid him, so that he may remain unshaken in the true
religion.

GATE THE SIXTY-SEVENTH. Believers never utter a falsehood, although
through it they might attain to worldly eminence.

GATE THE SIXTY-EIGHTH. They make truth their profession, and remain
free from the degradation of _Goyastah_ (or _Gogestah_).[505]

GATE THE SIXTY-NINTH. The believers beware of any intercourse with a
courtesan or unchaste woman, also of voluntary degradation
(connivance) and adultery. For when a libertine engages in improper
correspondence with a woman, she becomes an abomination to her
husband; and if, after proof of her misconduct, the husband resume his
intimacy with such a wife, he then becomes a _Rúspi_, or utterly
contemptible.

GATE THE SEVENTIETH. If any one steal property to the amount of one
direm, they take from the thief two direms, cut off the lobes of his
ears, inflict on him ten blows of a stick, and dismiss him after one
hour’s imprisonment. Should he a second time commit a similar act, and
steal to the amount of a direm, they make him refund two, cut off his
ears, inflict twenty blows, and detain him in prison two hours: should
he after that steal three direms or two dangs, they cut off his right
hand; and if he steal five hundred direms, they put him to death.

GATE THE SEVENTY-FIRST. Beware of open and secret sin: abstain from
bad sights and thoughts. Offer up thy grateful prayers to the Lord,
the most just and pure Ormuzd, the supreme and adorable God, who thus
declared to his prophet Zardusht: “Hold it not meet to do unto others
what thou wouldst not have done to thyself: do that unto the people
which, when done to thyself, proves not disagreeable to thyself.”

GATE THE SEVENTY-SECOND. Direct the Hirbud to sanctify for thee an
oblation or Darún once every day: if not he, then thyself. It is to be
observed that Yazish has the sense of _Yashtan_; also that _Darún_
(the first letter with _Zemma_) means a prayer in praise of the Lord
and of fire, which being recited by the professors of the pure faith,
they breathe over the viands; whatever has been thus breathed over
they call _Yashtah_: for _Yashtan_ signifies the reciting of a prayer.

GATE THE SEVENTY-THIRD. Let women perform the rites of oblation in the
month of Aban (the 8th month), so that they may be purified from their
illness and attain paradise.

GATE THE SEVENTY-FOURTH. Beware of committing adultery; for when the
wife of a stranger has been four times visited by a strange man, she
becomes accursed to her husband: to put such a woman to death is more
meritorious than slaying beasts of prey.

GATE THE SEVENTY-FIFTH. A woman during her illness is not to look at
the fire, to sit in water, behold the sun, or hold conversation with a
man. Two women, during their illness, are not to sleep in the same
bed, or look up to heaven. Women in this state are to drink out of
leaden vessels, and not to lay their (bare) hands on bread. The
drinking-vessel is to be half-filled with water, and not filled up to
the brim. They are to fold their hand in the sleeve of their mantle
and then lay hold of the vessel: they must not sit in the sun. On the
birth of a child, the infant is to undergo ablution along with the
mother.

GATE THE SEVENTY-SIXTH. A fire is not to be lighted in a situation
exposed to the sun’s rays: also place not over the fire any thing
through the interstices of which the sun may shine. But before the
time of Mah Abád it was held praiseworthy to light a fire in face of
the great luminary for the purpose of making fumigations.

GATE THE SEVENTY-SEVENTH. They show the Nisa or dead body to a dog, at
the moment the person gives up the soul:[506] and again when they
convey it to the burial-place. When removing the body, the bearers
fasten their hands together with a cord, so that it comes to all their
hands and keeps them close to each other; they bear the body along in
perfect silence; and if the deceased be a woman advanced in her
pregnancy, there are then four bearers instead of two. According to
the precepts of Mah Abád, if the woman be pregnant, they are to
extract the fœtus and bring it up: the same holds good respecting all
animals. Finally, when the professors of the pure faith have conveyed
the corpse to the _Dad Gah_, or “place for depositing the dead,” the
bearers wash themselves and put on fresh garments.

GATE THE SEVENTY-EIGHTH. It is necessary to beware of (contact with)
the wooden frame on which the dead body has been carried or washed;
also of that on which any one has been hung; or one touched by a woman
during her illness.

GATE THE SEVENTY-NINTH. If, during a malady, the physician prescribe
the eating of any dead animal, let the patient comply without
repugnance and partake of it.

GATE THE EIGHTIETH. A dead body is not to be committed to water or
fire.[507]

GATE THE EIGHTY-FIRST. If any one force a professor of the pure faith
to partake of the flesh of a dead body, or even throw it at him, he
must perform the Barashnom and recite the _Patet Iran_. Note: that is,
he must repent, and implore pardon, and exert himself in good works,
that he may escape going to hell.[508]

GATE THE EIGHTY-SECOND. If any animal partake of a dead body, it
continues unclean during a whole year.[509]

GATE THE EIGHTY-THIRD. Nothing should be given (to the unworthy)
unless through dread of the oppressor: that is, if believers apprehend
not danger from the sinner, and do not entertain alarm at his power of
doing them injury, they are not to give him any thing.

GATE THE EIGHTY-FOURTH. In the morning, on arising from sleep, rub thy
hands with something, then thrice wash thy face, thy arms from the
wrist to the elbow, and thy foot as far as the leg; reciting the
_Avesta_ at the same time. If the believer cannot find water, he is
then permitted to use dust.

GATE THE EIGHTY-FIFTH. When the husbandman introduces water for the
irrigation of his own fields, he carefully observes that there be not
a dead body in the stream.

GATE THE EIGHTY-SIXTH. A woman after parturition must during forty
days beware of using vessels of wood or earth, and is not to cross the
threshold of the house. She is then to wash her head: during all this
time her husband is not to approach her.

GATE THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH. If a woman be delivered of a dead child
previous to four months’ gestation, as it is without a soul, it is not
to be regarded as a dead body; but should this occur after the term of
four months, it is then to be looked on as a dead body, and to be
conveyed to burial with the usual ceremonies.

GATE THE EIGHTY-EIGHTH. When a death occurs, the people of the house
and the relatives of the deceased are to abstain from meat during
three days.

GATE THE EIGHTY-NINTH. It is incumbent on the professors of the true
faith to be liberal, generous, and munificent; for God hath declared:
“Paradise is the abode of the liberal.”

GATE THE NINETIETH. Reciting the Eshem Vehu[510] is attended with
countless merits: it is necessary to do this at the time of eating
bread, of going to sleep, at midnight, on turning from one side to the
other, and at the time of rising up in the morning.

GATE THE NINETY-FIRST. You must not put off the good work of to-day
until the morrow, for God declared thus to Zardusht: “Putting off the
duties of this day until the following, brings with it cause of
regret. O Zardusht! no one in the world is superior to thee in my
sight. For thy sake I have even created it;[511] and princes earnestly
desire to diffuse the true faith in thy life-time. From the age of
Kaíomars to thine, three thousand years have elapsed;[512] and from
thee to the resurrection is a period of three thousand years: thus I
have created thee in the middle, as that point is most worthy of
admiration. Moreover I have rendered obedient to thee king Gushtasp,
the wisest and most prudent sovereign of the age; whose eminence
arises from science and perfect morals, not merely from high birth and
lineage. I have also given thee a volume such as the _Avesta_, and in
like manner a perspicuous commentary on it. Expect not that, after
thou hast passed away, others will perform good works for thee. Know
that Gokhastah or Ahriman has expressly appointed two demons, named
Tardiness and Procrastination, for putting off the performance of good
works to a remote and future period.”

GATE THE NINETY-SECOND. Whatever is polluted by a dead body must be
purified by _Pávyáb_ water according to this rule: gold once; silver
twice; tin and copper thrice; steel four times; stone six times;
earthen and wooden vessels must be thrown away. _Pávyáb_ signifies to
wash with certain forms of prayer.[513]

GATE THE NINETY-THIRD. Shew vigilant attention to the fire of _Adar
Behrám_, and to his attendant (genii); light up the fire every night
and cast perfumes into it.

Note: Var (Adar) Behrám[514] is the name of the angel, the lord of
victory, and the bestower of triumph.[515]

GATE THE NINETY-FOURTH. The _Gáhámbars_, which are six in number, must
be observed, because the Almighty created the world in six periods or
times, the commencement of each period having a particular name; in
order to celebrate each of which commencements, they pass five days in
festivity and rejoicing. According to the statement in the _Zand_, the
righteous Hormuzd created the whole world in the space of one year.

_The first Gáhámbar_ is called _Mídúyzaram_, as on the day _Khúr_ (the
11th of the month) _Ardibehisht_, God commenced the creation of the
heavens, which was terminated in forty-five days.

_The second Gáhambár_, called _Midyúshaham_, began on the day of
_Khúr_, in the old month of _Tir_, in sixty days from which God
completed the creation of the waters.

_The third Gáhambár, Pitishahím_, commences on the day of _Ashtád_
(the 26th) of the old _Shahrivár_, in seventy-five days from which God
terminated the creation of the earth.

_The fourth Gáhambár_, called _Ayad sahrím_, begins on the _Ashtád_ of
the old month of _Mihr_, in thirty days from which the creation of all
plants and trees was completed.

_The fifth Gahambar_, named _Mídyárím_, begins on the _Miher_ of the
old month _Ardí_ (November); God created from this day, in eighty
days, all the animals.

_The sixth Gahambar, Hamshpata mihdim_,[516] beginning on the day of
_Ahnavad_, the first of the five intercalary or surreptitious days,
reckoning from which the Almighty terminated the creation of the human
race in seventy-five days. Tradition thus ascribes to Jemshid the
origin of the festival of the Gáhambár. In the _Sad-Dár_ we find it
recorded, that the demon one day came to Jemshid’s palace, and the
king, as usual, sent him to the kitchen to satisfy his hunger. The
demon having devoured all that was there, and also swallowed up
whatever they brought him beside, was still unsatisfied. On beholding
this, Jemshid cried out to the Lord, and the most righteous God sent
the angel Behrám (or Jabrael) to say thus to the king: “Slaughter the
red ox, on which pour vinegar, rue, and garlic; take it when boiled
out of the cauldron, and serve it up to the demon.” When they had done
thus, the demon having tasted one morsel of it, fled and disappeared,
from which day they instituted the festival of the _Gáhambár_.

The Abádiyán say, with respect to the creation, that the actions of
God are not circumscribed by time. It must however be acknowledged
that Jemshid first established this festival. In the first Gáhambár,
Jemshid, by the command of the Almighty, began to depict on the
ceiling of his palace the representation of the heavens, which
undertaking was finished in forty-five days. Secondly, on the _Khúr_
of _Tír_ he was commanded by the Lord to introduce water into his
palace, gardens, city, and cultivated grounds, which work was
completed in the course of sixty days. Thirdly, on the _Ashtád_ of
_Shahrivár_, by order of the Almighty (whose name be glorified!) he
cleared the surface of the grounds and palace, and embellished them
exceedingly; he levelled the place of exercise in front of his palace,
built houses, and laid out in due order the city and its streets; all
which was completed in seventy-five days. Fourthly, on the _Ashtád_ of
_Mihr_, he began to ascertain the properties of all vegetable
productions, and completed the embellishment of his garden, and
terminated the entire in thirty days. He next, on the day of _Mihr_ in
the month of _Dáí_, collected all species of animals in his garden and
assigned their suitable employments to each: to the ox and the ass to
carry burdens; to the horse to serve for riding, and so forth; which
arrangements were completed in seventy days. Lastly, on the day of
_Ahnavad_, he summoned mankind to appear in his presence, and assigned
them their respective occupations; the details of which were finished
in the course of seventy days. He then proclaimed: “The Lord has
created all these things through me;” and commanded five days to be
set apart for rejoicing at the beginning of each Gáhambár. As to the
tradition of the demon’s appearing and eating up whatever he found, it
is thus explained: by the demon is meant, the depraved sensual
appetite, which loves to eat, sleep, shed blood, and such like, and is
never satiated with such pursuits; but when the spiritual Jemshid
prayed to the Lord, the Jabriel of intellect came with this divine
communication: “Slay the sensual appetite (which is typified by the
ox), that is, indulge it not in the excesses it demands; next apply to
the cauldron of the body the vinegar of abstinence, the garlic of
reflection, and the rue of silence; then serve up a portion of this
food to the Satan-like propensities, that the demon may flee away.” On
doing this, he was delivered from the presence of the evil one. Such
was the enigma propounded to the people by Zardusht respecting the
Gáhambár, and such the solution of it as given by the Abádián
professors, who have interpreted in a similar manner the whole of
Zardusht’s discourses, which were couched under this enigmatical form.

GATE THE NINETY-FIFTH. When any one does good to another, the latter
should not forget his benefactor’s goodness.

GATE THE NINETY-SIXTH. The believers make _Níyáyish_ to the sun three
times every day: they also perform the same to the moon and to fire.

GATE THE NINETY-SEVENTH. They weep not after the deceased, as the
tears thus shed are collected and form a barrier before the bridge of
_Chinavad_, or “of judgment,” and prevent the deceased from passing:
but, on reading the _Vasta_ and _Zend_, they can pass over.[517]

GATE THE NINETY-EIGHTH. Whoever comes into the presence of the
Dustúrs, Mobeds, or Kirbuds, listens to what they say, and rejects it
not although painful to him.

GATE THE NINETY-NINTH. The professor of the true religion ought to
understand thoroughly the characters of the _Avesta_ and the _Zend_.

GATE THE HUNDREDTH. The Mobeds must not instruct a stranger in the
Pehlevi language; for the Lord commanded Zardusht, saying: “Teach this
science to thy children.”

* * * * * * *

ENUMERATION OF SOME ADVANTAGES WHICH ARISE FROM THE ENIGMATICAL FORMS
OF THE PRECEPTS OF ZARDUSHT’S FOLLOWERS.――The substance of the
venerable Zardusht’s precepts is contained in enigmas and parables,
because with the mass of society, fabulous narrations, though
revolting to reason, excite stronger impressions. In the next place,
if it were proposed to communicate to an ignorant person the idea of
the existence of the necessarily existing God, independent of cause,
he could not understand the proposition; and if we speak to him
concerning the uncompoundedness of intelligences, the immateriality of
souls, the excellence of the sphere and stars, he becomes overwhelmed
in perplexity and amazement; being utterly unable to comprehend
spiritual delights or tortures, or discover the exact truth; whilst
the precepts enforced by the figurative expressions of the law come
within the understanding of high and low, so that they are profited
thereby, and the explanation of the law is attended with a good
reputation both in this world and the next. The select few undoubtedly
comprehend the nature of certainty, religious abstraction, and
philosophy, although the vulgar, in general, hold these in abhorrence:
it therefore becomes necessary to clothe the maxims of philosophy in
the vestments of law, in order that all classes of society may derive
their appropriate advantages from that source: these observations
being premised, it is to be remarked, that some Yazdanian professors
express themselves after this manner:――The book of the _Zend_ is of
two kinds; the one perspicuous and without enigmatical forms of
speech, which they call the _Mah Zand_, or “Great Zand;” the second,
abounding in enigmatical and figurative forms of speech, is called the
_Kah Zand_, or “Little Zand.” The Mah Zand contained the precepts of
the law promulgated by the venerable Máhábád, such as the volume of
Azar Sassán, and the Mah Zand was lost during the domination of
strangers, particularly the Turks and Greeks: the Kah Zand still
remained, but much of it was also lost in other subsequent invasions.

SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS OF THE MAH ZEND.――It entitles the supreme
Lord, Aharmuz, and acknowledges the existence, immateriality, and
uncompoundedness of his essence; accounting _Bahmán_ the Great, the
first-created being, who is also called _Farvardín_ the Great, and
looked upon and styled pure and uncompounded; from him was derived
_Ardibehesht_ the Great, along with the sublime soul and body of the
empyrean heaven; from _Ardibehesht_ the Great proceeded _Khurdád_ the
Great; from him _Tír_ the Great; from him _Murdád_ the Great; from him
_Shahrívar_ the Great; from him _Mihr_ the Great; from him _Abán_ the
Great; from him _Azar_ the Great; and from him _Dai_ the Great; these
are the lords of the heavens, and after _Farvardin_ the Great, are
accounted as the months as well as the heavens collectively. In all
other points, speculative and practical, such as the protection of
harmless creatures and the destruction of noxious animals, it agrees
with the _Dasátir_. During the Ashkanian dynasty, the people conformed
to the _Kah Zend_, but as Ardeshir was obedient to the second Sasán,
he, in compliance with the _Dasátir_ and _Mah Zend_, studiously
avoided the destruction of harmless animals: for the _Mah Zand_ is a
portion of the _Dasátir_. After him, others adopted the _Kah Zand_.
But Nushirvan, under the guidance of the contemporary _Azar Sasán_,
although conforming to the _Dasátir_ and _Mah Zand_, was during the
whole of his life innocent of the crime of slaying harmless animals;
his successors however followed the precepts of the _Kah Zend_, until
the fifth Sasán,[518] having uttered imprecations against the people
of Iran, they became the victims of privation and wretchedness.

The professors of the Abadíán faith say that Ahriman was produced by
Time: they also say that the angels and the heavens have existed,
exist, and will continue to exist.[519] Moreover the belief of the
_Azar Húshengíáns_ or _Yazdaníáns_ is, that although the faith of
Zardusht prevailed universally from the time of Gushtasp to that of
Yezdejird, yet that the different intervening princes glossed it over
and made it agree with the _Azar Hushengíán_ or _Mahabadíán_ system,
so as never to sanction the destruction of animal life; and as they
held the words of Zardusht to be figurative, they never put them in
practice literally when they contradicted the _Azar Hushengíán_ faith,
but invariably glossed them over.

This statement proves that _Ardeshir Babegan_ and the other Sasáníán
princes showed great reverence to the _Azar Sasáníán_ family and paid
them implicit obedience, as being truly the ministers and worshippers
of the Lord; they besides accounted them as the legitimate sovereigns,
regarding themselves merely as their lieutenants: in short, when the
_Azar Sasáníáns_ ceased to reign, they exercised the government in
their stead. However the _Azar Sasáníáns_ followed no faith except
that of Máhábád, receiving no other without the requisite glosses, and
attaching no esteem whatever to the external import of Zardusht’s
precepts: that is, regarding his words as true, but holding their
external import as figurative. The Behdiníáns also maintain that such
was the system adopted by the kings of old, particularly by _Dárá_,
_Dáráb_, _Bahmán_, _Isfendiár_, and _Lohrásp_.

The present seems the proper time for stating some of the enigmatical
sayings ascribed to the Magians or followers of Zardusht, as
philosophy is guarded by such expressions from falling into the hands
of the ignorant, whilst the sages thereby attain their object.

It is well known that according to their system the world had two
creators, _Yazdan_ (the Lord), and _Ahriman_: but the Lord having
entertained this evil thought, “Perhaps an antagonist may rise up to
oppose me,” Ahriman was produced, from that thought.[520] In some
places it is mentioned that God was alone, and gloom having come over
him, he entertained an evil suspicion, on which Ahriman was produced.
They say that Ahriman, who was outside the world, on looking through a
small aperture, and beholding the Lord surrounded with glory and
majesty, bore him envy and raised up wickedness and corruption. God
then created the angels to be his host, and with them fought against
Ahriman; but being unable to destroy him, they made peace with each
other on this condition; that Ahriman should remain in the world
during a definite period; and on his departure it should become the
abode of unalloyed good.[521] Jamásp, the venerable sage, says thus:
“It is to be remarked that ‘_world_’ is a metaphorical expression for
body; and ‘_God_,’ for the aspiration of the spirit; ‘_Ahriman_,’ for
the physical temperament; ‘_the evil thought_,’ the habitual bias of
the soul to material objects; by ‘_the wickedness and corruption of
Ahriman, and his war_,’ are implied the domination of the sensual
passions over spirit; and what they said of ‘_the terrestrial world_,’
means the same; by ‘_the creation of angels_,’ the existence of
praiseworthy qualities and perseverance in pure morals, with the
subjugation of the senses by means of religious austerities, for the
senses constitute the gratuitous foes of the heart; by ‘_peace_,’ is
signified the impossibility of expelling by one effort the evil
propensities which are the armies of Iblis; that is, excess and
extravagance are to be avoided, and the path of moderation followed;
the circumstance of ‘_Ahriman’s remaining in the world for a definite
period_,’ means the ascendancy and supremacy of the bodily passions,
particularly in early years, and before arriving at mature reflection,
and even during other periods of this mortal life, in certain
constitutions; ‘_the departure of Ahriman from the world_’ implies
voluntary death, or religious austerities, or compulsory death, which
is the natural decease; when the soul has by such means been
emancipated, it finds itself adorned with perfections and attains to
its particular sphere or bliss without alloy.”

They have said: “Darkness besieged Light and imprisoned it; on which
event the angels having come to the assistance of Light, Darkness
demanded help from Ahriman, its source; but the angels having overcome
the prince of Darkness, gave him a respite until the appointed hour
and the predestined death.” As to Darkness having arisen from the evil
thought of Light, the venerable sage Jamasp says: “The interpretation
of this tradition is the same as that of the preceding; as thus: The
soul is a precious substance, formed from light; its darkness, the
bodily passions; its confinement and imprisonment, the dominion of the
passions over that luminous essence, which drag down the souls of the
wicked to the desolation of the lower world; the assistance of angels,
is the obtaining of grace and power through elevation of mind,
proceeding from illumination from on high, and the ascent of the
spirit to the world of intellect; delay or respite implies the
continuance of the passions until the period of natural death; and the
corrupt thought the bias of the soul to material objects.”

Dáwar Haryár, the author of the _Dáráí Sekandur_, having once
questioned the author concerning the enigmatical meanings attached to
the words God and Ahriman, received this answer: “Light is the same as
existence, and darkness signifies non-existence; God is therefore
light or existence, and Ahriman is darkness or non-existence. When it
is said that Ahriman is opposed to God, the meaning is, that God is
existence, the opposite to which is non-existence.”

They say that the creation and production of diseases, serpents,
scorpions, and such like is an abominable act, originating with
Ahriman, which Jamásp thus explains: “It is evident that diseases,
such as ignorance, folly, pride, negligence, noxious creatures, (such
as) anger, lust, strong passions, concupiscence, calumny, envy,
malignity, covetousness, treachery, fraud, and the like, arise not
from spirit, but from the elemental constitution.” They have also
said: “An angel is the agent of good, and Ahriman the agent of evil;
and that God is exempt from both these acts; which the celebrated sage
Jamásp thus explains:――By angel is implied spirit and the agent of
good; which, if it overcome the senses, engages man in virtuous words
and acts, which are styled ‘good.’ Ahriman, or Satan, in this place
means the desires inherent in the constitution of the senses, which,
on obtaining the victory over spirit, attract it towards the pleasures
of sense, thus making it forget its original abode; which is
denominated ‘evil:’ and as the Almighty has given his creatures free
will, neither are their good or evil deeds to be imputed to him.” This
saying: That the soul of him who has done evil, having determined on
flight through fear of divine wrath, plunges downwards, is thus
explained by the sage Jamasp: “By ‘_sinner_’ is understood one whose
essence is defective; by ‘_descent_,’ turning away from the superior
to corporeal attachments; by ‘_resolving on flight_,’ the strong
desires of passion, through the suggestion of body, until the entire
departure of divine grace.”

Thus far extend the illustrations of the sage Jamásp. But that the
scope of Zardusht is couched under allegories agrees with the
declaration made by the great Bahman, the son of Isfendiár, the son of
king Gushtásp, who says: “Zardusht once said to me: ‘My father and
mother delivered me to nurses, who dwelt in a place far remote from
the city of my birth; with these I remained many a long year, until I
quite forgot my father, mother, and native town. Suddenly this thought
came over my mind――Who are my parents, and where the place of my
birth?――I struggled hard until I returned naked and bare the way by
which I had come; and having gained my house and beheld my father and
mother, I returned again to the place where my nurses dwelt. As the
dress worn by the people of this country was on my person, I shall
therefore remain here until this dress is worn out, and then depart,
in order that it may not be said――He was unable to perform his office
and has run away, leaving our despised garments.’”

Bahman, the son of Isfendiár, thus says: “All that Zardusht uttered
was enigmatical: the ‘_city and native place_’ are the angelic world;
by ‘_father_,’ is meant the primary intelligence; and by ‘_mother_,’
the universal soul; ‘_the nurses_,’ this lower world and junction with
body; ‘_forgetting the original abode_,’ attachment to the elements of
body; ‘_recalling it to memory_,’ implies the struggle towards that
direction; ‘_the arriving there_,’ means religious austerities; ‘_the
state of nakedness_,’ the divesting one’s self of bodily attachments;
‘_the returning back to the nurses_,’ means resuming the body; ‘_that
it may not be said that he was alarmed at the performance of duty, and
ran off, leaving his clothes behind; I shall not therefore depart from
hence, until these clothes be worn out_;――_the performance of duty_,’
signifies the amassing of the capital of knowledge, true faith, and
good works; by ‘_the clothes being worn out_,’ is implied the
separation of the bodily members; that is, I will remain here as long
as the body lasts, and after its dissolution return to my native
place.”

Prince Isfendiár, the son of king Gushtásp, also tells us: “Zardusht
once said to me: ‘A number of persons once left their native place for
the purpose of acquiring wealth, that on their return they might pass
their time in pleasure and enjoyment. On arriving at the city of their
destination, some of them amassed wealth; some devoted themselves to
wandering about the place and contemplating the beauties with which it
abounded; whilst others remained altogether inactive. When the time of
packing up came, the king of that people said――Depart from hence, that
another set may arrive, and obtain their portion, as you have
done.――On which all these people went out, some provided with stores
for the journey; some without any provision; a few on horseback; a
multitude on foot; a wide desert lay before, and a toilsome road,
through rocks and prickly thorns, devoid of cultivation, destitute of
water and shade. Those who were on horseback and furnished with
provisions passed over, and having reached their native city, gave
themselves up to joy and gladness; those who were on foot, and had
provided stores for the journey, after experiencing many ups and
downs, at last, with extreme difficulty, reached their halting place,
where they passed their time in a state of happiness proportioned to
their gains, although, on instituting a comparison between themselves
and those inhabitants and dignified persons who had acquired opulence
by commercial pursuits, they feel pangs of regret; but those who came
out of the city without any kind of conveyance or stores, and thinking
that without supplies they could reach their native place, when they
had gone some little distance, became wearied and unable to proceed
through weakness, and fatigue from walking, want of provisions, the
difficulties of the road, distress, the sun’s overpowering heat, and
the gloom of night; they were forced by necessity to turn back to the
city, where they had been; but other merchants had in the meantime
taken possession of the houses, dwellings, shops, and apartments which
they formerly occupied: they were thus reduced to a state of
destitution, and had no resource left but that of working for hire or
turning mendicants, pursuits which they adopted.’”

Isfendiar says: “‘_The city from which they departed for the purposes
of commerce_’ is the angelic world; _that to which they came with the
design of accumulating wealth_’ is the lower world; ‘_the houses,
shops, etc._,’ signify the human body; ‘_the people of the city_’ are
the animals, vegetables, and minerals; ‘_the king_,’ the elemental
nature; ‘_what the merchants have amassed_’ are their words and deeds;
‘_what others have collected_’ is devotion without knowledge; ‘_the
inactive_’ are those whose only “pursuits were sleep, sensual
gratification, etc.; ‘_the exclamation of the king_’ is Death, who
expels them from the mansions of body; ‘_the deserts and mountains_,’
the extremes of heat and cold; ‘_the equestrians_’ are those who unite
the speculative and practical; ‘_the pedestrians, who were furnished
with some provisions_’ are those who adore God, but neither knew
themselves nor the Lord; ‘_they who are without provisions or
conveyance_’ are those destitute of knowledge and good works, who
being unable to reach the angelic world, return in despair to the
elemental world, forfeiting the rank they once possessed.”

The sage _Shah Nasir Khusran_ says on this head:

“When any one travels this road for that important purpose,
He takes at least a loaf of bread under his arm:
How then canst thou, who hast no store, proceed up the mount,
From the centre of darkness to the zenith of Saturn?”

In some other parables of Zardusht, which are here noticed, he speaks
thus: “When the travellers, in consequence of the want of stores and
fatigue of walking, return back to the king’s city, not finding their
former beautiful mansions, they settle themselves in caverns or lanes,
hiring themselves as labourers or subsisting on alms.”

Esfendiar says: “By this is understood, that when they quit this
mortal frame, they cannot reach the world on high, owing to their want
of knowledge and good works; being thus rejected, on their return to
the elemental world, they cannot obtain human bodies, but are invested
with the forms of the brute creation.” As this parable nearly
resembles what has been heretofore mentioned, it is unnecessary to
describe it more in detail.

“When thou departest from the inn of the body, there is no other
storehouse;
Why dost thou not therefore procure supplies for the road in this
place of sojourn?”

Isfendiar also records: “Zardusht once said: ‘Two persons of one house
were partners, and were both possessed of great capital; they
said:――We have gained a sufficient stock of wealth in the world, and
live and dress in a manner suitable to our great riches; we now only
want some beloved object, that our existence may be more blissful:
therefore, to attain our desire, it will be necessary to undertake a
journey. They directed their course to a city, the inhabitants of
which were famed for beauty and gracefulness; on arriving there with
the caravan, one of the partners gave himself up to traversing the
gardens, and was so absorbed in admiring the beauties of the city,
that he attended to no business whatever, whilst the other partner
obtained a mistress of exquisite beauty. All of a sudden the
garden-door was closed.’”

Isfendiar says “_Záíd_ and _Amru_[522] may serve as an example of the
two friends; ‘_the capital and stock_,’ the original world; ‘_the city
of beauteous persons_,’ this world; ‘_the desirable beloved object_,’
good works; ‘_the rapacious animals, reptiles, and beasts_’ are anger,
lust, excessive desire, hatred, envy, concupiscence, malignity, and
avarice; ‘_the herbage and gardens_’ are sloth and pride; ‘_the
garden-door_,’ the dakhmah (or sepulchral vault); ‘_the urn_,’ the
grave, or the place of burying the dead; ‘_shutting the garden-door_’
the moment of death.”

His reasons for enumerating the urn, dakhmah, and grave are, that
according to the faith of Azur Húshang, or Máhábád, they sometimes put
the body of the deceased into a jar of aqua-fortis, as among them the
body is deposited indifferently either in the dakhmah or the jar: but
the sepulchre is in use among the people of Room, and the funeral pile
among those of Hindustan.

King Gushtásp also relates the following parable of Zardusht: “A
certain man delivered his son to a preceptor, saying: ‘Within such a
time teach this boy the accomplishments necessary for a courtier.’ The
boy, however, through a fondness for pleasure, sport, and amusements,
was unwilling to give himself any trouble, and was slow in learning
any thing; he however every day secretly brought from home sweetmeats
and agreeable objects, as his tutor had a great inclination for such
enjoyments. When the preceptor’s time had passed in this manner, and
his pupil had become habituated to revelling, sensual pleasures, and
enjoyments, the tutor at last fell dangerously indisposed through
these excesses, and laid himself down on the bed of death. His pupil
well knew he had no other place left, and that he must return to his
parents, so that when his master fell sick, he became sensible of his
own state. Through dread of his father, shame of his mother, the
disgrace of ignorance, and a sense of contrition, he went not near
them, but pined in melancholy and wandered about in obscurity.”

This parable has been thus explained by Gushtásp: “‘_The preceptor_’
signifies the five senses; ‘_the son_,’ the immortal spirit; ‘_the
father_,’ the universal intelligence; ‘_the mother_,’ the universal
soul; ‘_the sweetmeats and mistresses_,’ worldly enjoyments; ‘_the
indispensable necessity of the immortal spirit_,’ that it should,
through the senses and the common reflection which is their
instructor, attain the objects of intellect and amass provisions for
its return, so that it may become the associate of the only true king.
If this purpose be not effected, it of course feels terror at the
death of the body. When it has become thus biassed to sensual
pleasures and devoid of all goodness, on being separated from the
body, although still possessed of sufficient energy for mounting on
high, yet through shame and confusion, it feels no desire of arriving
there and beholding its parents, soul and intellect.”

The venerable Húryár once said to the author: “I have seen the
following narrative in the _Ramazastán_ of Zardusht: ‘The prime
minister to the sovereign of the world had so many sons, that their
number surpassed all computation; these he first sent to a place of
education, where, along with the children of Rayas (cultivators), they
might attain knowledge. If the minister’s sons became intelligent, the
Dustúr summoned them to his presence, and enrolled them among the
king’s confidential servants; but if they remained without science,
they were not regarded as the Vizir’s sons, but classed among the
Rayas; were not permitted to come into his presence; and were cut off
from all share in their father’s inheritance.”

The author replied: “It occurs to me that, by ‘_the king of the
world_,’ is meant the supreme God without equal; by ‘_vizir_,’ the
primary intelligence; and by ‘_the sons of the vizir_,’ the souls
endowed with reason; by ‘_school_,’ the elemental world, and the
bodies formed of the elements; and by ‘_the children of the common
people_’ the corporeal senses and passions.”

When the immortal spirits have acquired knowledge in this place of
education, their father, “Universal Intelligence,” brings them near
himself, and advances them to the rank of holding intercourse with the
Lord of Eternity: but the souls which do not acquire knowledge in this
school are not allowed access to the world of uncompounded beings, the
abode of the Universal Intelligence, and remain banished from the
presence of the Creator of the world; so that they make no advance
from the material bodies of this abode of the elements, which hold the
rank of Rayas, but are excluded from all share in the inheritance of
the primary intelligence or the acquisition of knowledge.

Zardusht has also said: “In the upper regions there exists a mighty
ocean, from the vapors of which a great mirage appears in this lower
world: so that nothing save that illusion subsists here; exactly as
nothing besides that ocean exists in the world on high.”

The revered ruler of Húryár, having asked the author the meaning of
this parable, received this answer: “‘_The mighty ocean_’ means the
absolute essence and pure existence of God; ‘_the mirage_’ implies
contingent existences, which in truth exist not, but appear to do so,
through the inherent property of God’s absolute existence; according
to this view, he has said: ‘From the vapors of that ocean has arisen
the mirage.’”

It is recorded in the books composed by Zardusht’s followers, and also
in the ancient histories of Iran, that at the period of Arjásp’s
second invasion of Balkh, king Gushtasp was partaking of the
hospitality of Zál, in Sistan, and Isfendiar was a prisoner in Dazh
Gambadán; and that Lohorásp, notwithstanding the religious austerities
he performed through divine favor, laid aside the robes of mortality
in battle, after which the Turks took the city. A Turk named
_Turbaratur_, or _Turbaraturhash_, having entered Zardusht’s oratory,
the prophet received martyrdom by his sword. Zardusht, however, having
thrown at him the rosary (_Shumar Afin_, or _Yád Afráz_) which he held
in his hand, there proceeded from it such effulgent splendor, that its
fire fell on Turburatur and consumed him.[523]

[382] If the claims to originality and antiquity of the
language in which the Desátir is written were admitted, we
should have (pp. 146, 147, Engl. transl.) _Hertushád_ or
_Hertúrásh_, as the first and true name of the Persian
prophet who followed immediately Kái Khusro. In Zand, upon
which language we are now better informed, the true name of
this legislator of the Persians is _Zerethoshtró_, or
_Zarathustra_, which signifies “star of gold;” of this was
formed in the Pehlevi language the name of _Zaratesht_ or
_Zaratosht_, and in Farsi that of _Zardúsht_ or _Zaradusht_.
The Greeks have changed the original Zand name, either by
removing the “th” in the middle of it, and thus making it
_Zereoshtró_, _Zoroastrés_; or by omitting the final
syllable “tro,” whence it became _Zaratos_, _Zabratos_,
_Zaradas_, _Zarasdés_, _Zathraustés_; we find, moreover,
_Zoromasdrès_, _Azonaces_, and _Nazaratús_. The most ancient
mention of the name of Zoroastrès, in Greek books, is to be
found in the works of Plato, and dates therefore from the
fourth century before our era. The original word has been
translated by ἀστροδύτης, “he who sacrifices to the stars;”
by ἀστροδέατης “he who contemplates the stars;” and by
“living star.” These interpretations relate to the character
of a priest and of an astronomer, generally attributed to
Zoroaster, who is also believed to have been the inventor of
_magic_; this word was originally taken in a sense very
different from that which has been given to it in later
times, and can be referred to the name of _Magi_, or
_Mobeds_ (see note, p. 17), well known to Herodotus in the
fifth century B. C. These Magi are represented as the
teachers and priests of a most pure philosophy and religion,
the origin of which is placed by the Desátir and the
Dabistán in the most remote and ante-historical times of the
Máhábádiáns. It may therefore appear less surprising to find
in Pliny’s Natural History (I. xxx. c. 1. 2.) Zoroaster
placed, pursuant to the authority of Aristotle and Eudoxus,
6000 years before the death of Plato, and, conformably to
Hermippus, 5000 years before the Trojan war. The last date
is repeated by Plutarch (lib. de Is. et Osir.). Diogenes
Laertius says: “Hermodoros, a Platonic philosopher, counts
5000 years from the establishment of the Magi to the
destruction of Troy.” According to Suidas, a Zoroaster lived
500 years before the Trojan war; if the number 500 had been
erroneously substituted for 5000, which is admissible (see
M. de Fortia d’Urban, _Mathématiciens illustres_, p. 354),
we should have the agreement of all these creditable authors
just mentioned, from the fourth century before, to the
twelfth century after, our era, in fixing the age of
Zoroaster and the establishment of the Magi, 6352 or 6194
years B. C.

The epocha of the Magi (putting aside that of the Máhábádiáns)
has also been taken for that of Tahmuras and Jemshid, that
is, 3460 or 3429 years B. C. According to other accounts
(collected in the Hist. Diction. of Moreri, Bayle, etc.,
etc.), a Zoroaster ruled the Bactrian empire in the times of
Ninus, the Assyrian king, 2200 years B. C.; vanquished by
the latter, he desired to be consumed by the fire of heaven,
and exhorted the Assyrians to preserve his ashes as a
palladium of their empire; after he had been killed by
lightning, his last will was executed. Some historians (see
Herbelot _sub voce_) admit a Zerdúsht in the age of Feridún,
1729 years B. C. Several other learned men concur in placing
him much later, few below the sixth century before our era.

In the utter impossibility to decide upon so many conflicting
statements, there is perhaps no better means of reconciling
them all, than concluding that Zoroaster having, in the
course of ages, become a generic or appellative name for
sages, prophets, and kings professing and promoting a
certain religion or philosophy, this name could be applied
to several individuals who appeared at different times, and
in different countries of Asia. Hence we explain in the
various accounts a plurality of Zoroasters, and an identity
of several personages with one Zoroaster; he has indeed been
supposed to be the same with _Japhet_, _Ham_ (_Heemo_),
_Zohak_, _Nimrod_, _Buddha_, _Abraham_, _Moses_, _Ezekiel_,
_Balâam_, etc., etc. Whatever it be, the Dabistán treats in
this chapter of the Zardúsht, who appeared under the reign
of Gushtasp, king of Persia, upon whose epocha too our
chronologers are not unanimous.

Independently of the Dasátir, written originally in a
particular language, the Persians have Zand books which they
attribute to the last Zoroaster himself. Except these works,
the age of which is a subject of dispute, they have no
written records of their great legislator prior to the ninth
or tenth century of our era, and these are the poems of
Dakiki and Ferdusi. The latter narrates, in his Shah-nameh,
the history of Zerdúsht under the reign of Gushtasp. We have
besides a Shah nameh _naser_, or a Shah-nameh in prose,
composed by some one of the Magi (_Hyde_, p. 324). The
_Zardusht-nameh_, and the _Changragatcha-nameh_ are Persian
poems, the epocha of which, according to Anquetil du Perron
(_Zend-Avesta_, t. I. pp. 6, can scarcely be fixed farther
back than the fifteenth century.――A. T.

[383] This is also related in Mirkhond’s _Runzat-us-Safa_
(Shea’s transl., p. 286).――A. T.

[384] Zaratúsht-Bahram is the author of the Zaratúsht-namah
before-mentioned (see _Hyde_, p. 332). The epoch of this
work is uncertain, according to the opinion of the dostúrs
of India; yet the author of it informs us, in the 2nd
chapter, that he has translated it into Persian from the
Pehlvi under the dictation of a Mobed skilled in this
language; and in the last chapter in which he names himself
he says that he composed the Zaratusht-namah in the year 647
of Yezdegerd, which answers to 1276 of our era (see
_Zend-Avesta_, t. I. 2. P. p. 6).――A. T.

[385] According to Cedrenus, an author of the eleventh
century, Zoroaster descended from Belus or Nimrod: this king
is, by some authors, identified with Zohák, who married two
daughters of Djemchid, from whom also Faridun descended; on
account of this relationship, Zoroaster’s origin may without
contradiction be referred to Belus and to Faridun. In the
Desâtir, the name of his father is _Heresfetmád_. According
to the authority of the book Sad-der (see _Hyde_, p. 316),
_Patirásp_, the grandfather of Zoroaster, descended from
_Hitcherasp_, who sprung from _Tchechshúnesh_, and this from
_Espintaman_, or _Sad-yuman_; who is therefore the third
ancestor of the prophet: nevertheless this last is often
called simply _Espintaman_, or also _Sapetman_; which word,
according to Anquetil du Perron (t. I. 2. p. 9), signifies
“excellent.”――A. T.

[386] The same dream is related in the _Zardusht-namah_ (c.
3 and 4), as well as in the work of Henry Lord (p. 451),
quoted by Anquetil du Perron (_Zend-Avesta_, t. I. 2. P. p.
11).――A. T.

[387] The tradition of this appears to be widely spread, not
only in the East but also in the West, as it is mentioned
by Pliny (H. N. I. vii. c. 16), with the addition of one
wonderful particular, namely, that Zartusht’s brain
palpitated so much as to repel the hand laid upon his head,
a presage of future science. Solinus (c. 1) relates the same
fact. Zoroaster is proverbially known as the first child who
laughed on being born.――A. T.

[388] See note, p. 211. This name has also been supposed a
mere corruption of ازر دوست, _azer dóst_, that is, “a
friend of fire” (see Hyde, who rejects it, p. 314).――A. T.

[389] The same circumstances of the child’s dangers and
miraculous escapes are related in the _Zardusht-namah_ (c.
7-11), and in _Changrégatha-namah_ (c. 2).――A. T.

[390] In the _Zardusht-nameh_, the name of the magician is
Turberatorsh.――A. T.

[391] The edition of Calcutta reads generally ژند, _zhand_;
we shall keep the more familiar name, زند, _zand_. We find
also _Avesta-zand_, and simply _Asta_ and _zand_.

Herbelot has interpreted this name of Zoroaster’s writings
by “the book of life.” Hyde thought (p. 336) that _Zand
Avesta_ was properly _Zand va Esta_, or _Zand u Esta_, and
_Zand_, an Arabic word signifying “igniarium, focile, pixis
ignaria,” joined to the Hebrew-Chaldaic word _Eshta_, or
_Esta_, “ignis,” and explained the whole name by “igniarium”
and “ignis,” or “tinder and fire.” According to Anquetil du
Perron (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II. p. 423), _zand_ signifies
“living,” and _Avesta_, “word;” therefore _Zand-Avesta_,
“the living word;” which was anciently the law of the
countries limited by the Euphrates, the Oxus, and the Indian
ocean (_ibid._, t. I. p. xiv). This law or religion is still
professed by the descendants of the Persians who, conquered
by the Muhammedans, have not submitted to the Koran; they
partly inhabit Kirman, and partly the western coast of
India, to the north and south of Surat. It is besides now
decided by the investigations of the above-named author, and
by those of Kleuker, Rask, as well as by those of Messrs.
Eugene Burnouf, Bopp, Lassen, and other philologers, that
Zand was an ancient language derived from the same source as
the Sanskrit; it was spoken before the Christian era,
particularly in the countries situated to the west of the
Caspian sea, namely in Georgia, Iran proper, and Azerbijan
(the northern Media). Moreover the _Pa-zand_ denotes a
dialect derived from the Zand, or a mixed Zand, similar to
the Rabbinic language of the Jews (_Z.-Av._, t. II. pp. 67,
68).

It is generally known that Anquetil du Perron brought, in
the year 1762, from Surat in India, and deposited in the
Royal library of Paris, several Zand, Pehlvi, and Persian
works, which, according to his opinion, were partly the
original works written by Zoroaster himself, partly
translated, or at least derived from original works of the
Persian prophet. These writings, namely _The Vendidad_, in
Zand and Pehlvi, were brought about the year 1276, by the
Dostur Ardeshir, from Sistan to Guzerat, and there
communicated to the Parsees, who made two copies of them;
from these come all the _Vendidads_, Zand and Pehlvi, of
Guzerat. These works, parts of which only existed in
England, were then for the first time translated into an
European language, and published in French by Anquetil.
Examined as monuments of an ancient religion and literature
of the Persians, they have been differently appreciated by
learned men, and their authenticity denied by some, among
whom the most conspicuous are sir William Jones, Richardson,
and Meiners, and defended by others, by none with more zeal
than John Frederic Kleuker, who not only translated
Anquetil’s _Zand-Avesta_ into German, in three volumes, but
in an appendix of two volumes (all in quarto) commented and
discussed with great judgment, sagacity, and erudition, all
that relates to the Zand-books attributed to Zoroaster. Here
follow, as shortly as possible, the principal results of his
laborious investigations:――testimonies of the existence of
works attributed to Zoroaster are found in Greek authors who
lived before our era. It was in the sixth century B. C. that
the Persian religion and philosophy became known in Europe
by Hostanes, the Archimagus who accompanied Xerxes in his
expedition against Greece. In the fourth century B. C.,
Plato, Aristotle, and Theopompus show a knowledge of
Zoroaster’s works. In the third century B. C., Hermippus
treats expressly of them, as containing not less than
120,000 distichs. Soon after the beginning of the Christian
era, works attributed to Zoroaster are mentioned under
different names by Nicolaus of Damascus, Strabo, Pausanius,
Pliny, and Dion Chrysostomus. St. Clement of Alexandria, in
the third century, was not unacquainted with them. Later,
the Gnostics made a great use of the oriental cosmogony and
psychology as derived from Zoroaster. The testimony of
Eusebius establishes that, in the fourth century, there
existed a collection of sacred works respecting the theology
and religion of the Persians. It was mostly the liturgical
part of them that was spread about, mixed with notions
relative to the magical art. The empress Eudokia of the
fifth, and Suidas of the twelfth, century, attribute to
Zoroaster several books, four of which treat of nature, one
of precious stones, and five of astrology and prognostics.
So much and more can be gathered from Greek and Latin works
about the writings of the Persian legislator.

The records of the Muhammedans concerning them begin only in
the ninth century, by Muhammed Abu Jafar Ebn Jerir el Tabari
(Hyde, 317-319), according to whom Zoroaster wrote his
revelations upon 12,000 cow-skins (or parchment folios). Abu
Muhammed Mustapha, in his life of Gushtasp, says: “Zoroaster
wrote the just-mentioned work in 12 tomes, each of which
formed a bullock’s load.” Both authors say that the Persian
king deposited these books, magnificently ornamented, in
Istakhar. By several other authors, from the ninth to the
seventeenth century, it is positively established that the
books of the Zand-Avesta existed in all the centuries in
which the Muhammedans had intercourse with the disciples of
Zartusht. Works composed by the latter are: the _Bun-Dehesh_,
the _Viraf-nameh_, the _Sad-der Bun-Dehesh_, the _Ulemai-Islam_,
the _Ravacts_ (that is, the correspondence between the
Dosturs of Persia and India since the fifteenth century),
the _Zaratusht nameh_, the _Changragachah namah_, and the
history of the flight of the Parsees to India. In all these
works breathes the spirit of the strongest conviction that
authentic works of Zartusht have, although not entirely, yet
partly, been preserved to later days. This conviction is
common to a numerous nation, who adhere to their sacred
books as to the inappreciable inheritance of their
forefathers. The generality of this sentiment is attested by
several respectable and intelligent European travellers in
the East, such as Henry Lord, Gabriel de Chinon, J. B.
Tavernier, D. Sanson, the chevalier Chardin, and others.

The name of _Zand-Avesta_ belongs, among the books published
by Anquetil, exclusively to those the original of which is
truly Zand; these alone are canonical; they are five in
number, all theological, for the most part liturgical,
namely: 1. the _Izechné_, “elevation of the soul, praise,
devotion;” called also _the little Avesta_; 2. the _Vispered_,
“the chiefs of the beings there named;” 3. the _Vendidad_,
which is considered as the foundation of the law (these
three are called together the _Vendidad Sadé_, “to combat
Ahriman”) 4. the _Yeshts Sades_, or “a collection of
compositions and of fragments, more or less ancient;” 5. the
book _Siroz_, “thirty days,” containing praises addressed to
the Genius of each day: it is a sort of liturgical calendar.
These are the Zand-books existing in our days; the originals
of them are said by the learned Foucher to have been
composed under the reign of Gushtasp, whom he places before
the time assigned to Darius Hystaspes, whilst Anquetil and
other modern authors identify under these names a king of
Persia, who lived about the middle of the sixth century
before our era. We may reasonably believe that the Zand-books
were written at a time when the Zand was a living, nay the
dominant language, in those countries where these books
first appeared; that is, in Georgia, in Iran, and in
Azerbijan. Now, if it be admitted that the Zand was in these
countries quite a dead language already, under the Ashkanian
dynasty of Persia (the Arsacides), the first of whom,
_Aghush_, began to reign 310 years B. C., it will follow,
that the Zand-books were written long before that time, that
is, most likely at least, so early so the sixth century
before the Christian era.

Besides the original Zand-books, Anquetil translated also
from the modern Persian the _Bun-Dehesh_. This is a
collection of treatises upon several points, ranged under 34
sections――a sort of encyclopædia, theological, cosmological,
historical, and political. This work is written in Pehlvi,
and believed to be the translation of a Zand original no
more to be found in India. It is the most ancient of the
modern works of the Parsees, and was written probably about
the seventh century of our era.

What may confirm us in the opinion that these books, still
in the hands of the Parsees, are truly derived from much
more ancient works is, that their contents agree in a great
number of principal points with the doctrine attributed to
the Magi and to Zoroaster by ancient Greek authors, of whom
the later Parsees had certainly not the least knowledge,
whilst their Zand-books contain the names of the first and
most ancient kings of the Medes and Persians, and no other
but those, of whom the Greeks knew nothing. No king and no
private person, after Gushtasp and Zoroaster, are mentioned
in the Zand-books.

Sixty years had elapsed since the publication of the
Zand-Avesta by Anquetil, when M. Eugène Burnouf undertook a
revision and commentary of that part of the Zand-works which
the first had translated and published, under the Pehlvi
name of _Iseshné_, and which, in Zand, is entitled _Yasna_.
Among the manuscripts which Anquetil had brought from India
was a Sanskrit translation, made towards the end of the
fifteenth century by a Dostur called Neriosengh, probably
from a Pehlvi version of a Zand original. M. Eugène Burnouf,
to give a better interpretation of the Zand text, not only
availed himself of the double translation, executed by
Neriosengh and Anquetil, but also, independently of both,
applied the principles of comparative philology to the
analysis of many Zand-words, the true signification of which
he fixed, and by various judicious observations, interspersed
in his commentary, threw light upon the geography, history,
and religion of ancient Persia. He published in 1833 the
first volume of his work, under the title “Commentaire sur
le Yasna:” he had before (1829) published the lithographed
Zand text of it in one folio volume. In 1836 appeared, at
Bombay, a lithographed edition of the same Zand text.”――A.
T.

[392] Mina, semen virile.

[393] The quarrel between Zartusht and his father, and the
death of the head magician, as well as what preceded――these
facts are related nearly in the same manner in the _Zerd.
Nam._, ch. 12-15.――A. T.

[394] Anquetil du Perron states that this expanse of water
was the river Araxes (t. 1. 2. P. p. 19).

[395] The month of February, the last month of the year.――A.
T.

[396] Anquetil du Perron, quoting the _Zerd. Nam._, c. 18,
says, an army of serpents, perhaps tribes of Nâgas, which
came from the North.――A. T.

[397] Mediomah, cousin to Zardusht, the first who embraced
the law; he meditated on it profoundly, published and
practised it: he confers happiness on cities.――D. S.

[398] April, the second month of the year.――A. T.

[399] Dabati, the name given, in Parsi works, to the Caspian
sea.――D. S.] Anquetil du Peron says (t. 1. 2. P. p. 21) that
he passed the Cyrus on his way to the Caspian sea.――A. T.

[400] Anquetil du Peron says here, quoting H. Lord, that
Zardusht retired to the mountains for consulting the Supreme
Being, and adds in a note that, according to the Vendidad,
it was upon the mount Alborz that he consulted Hormuzd (t.
1. 2. P. p. 22). The geographical situation of this mountain
has been indicated in the note at p. 22; but by the religion
of the Parsees it is placed in the supernatural world, to
which Zoroaster was transported, as related above. The
sacred Alborz is the first of mountains; it attained its
first elevation in fifteen years, and took eight hundred
years to complete its growth; it rose up from the middle of
the earth to the region of the first light, the delightful
abode of Mithra, of whom hereafter; the sun and the moon
depart from and return to this mountain every day (see
_Zend-Av._, t. II. pp. 206, 207, 214, 357, 361, 364, and
elsewhere).――A. T.

[401] See note, p. 215. Zardusht is called the son of
Espintaman. The edition of Calcutta reads Askiman; the
manuscript of Oude, Askatamán.――A. T.

[402] The Amshásfands are the six first celestial spirits
after Ormuzd. Their name is derived from the Zand-words
_emeshe_, “immortal,” and _sepente_, “excellent,
perfect.”――A. T.

[403] It is generally acknowledged that Ahriman was the
author of evil, opposed to Ormuzd, the creator and promoter
of every good; but different opinions are entertained upon
the origin of these two mighty beings. According to the most
ancient doctrine, both were the productions of a primordial
cause, which is called _Zaruam akarenê_, “the boundless
time.” The Zand-books, as well as Shahristani and the Ulemi
Islam, make Ahriman anterior to Ormuzd, that is to say, in
plain language, “the evil was before the good.” These two
were, however, not distinguished from each other before
Ahriman had become jealous of Ormuzd, for which he was
condemned by the great creator Time to dwell in the abode of
darkness for twelve thousand years. It was then only that
Ormuzd saw with horror his deformed and frightful adversary,
and to oppose the effects of his existence created, within
three thousand years, a celestial region and a celestial
people. Ahriman, long time ignorant of what was preparing
against him, had scarce perceived the light of Ormuzd, when
he ran to destroy it, but, amazed at its beauty, fled back
to hell, where he hastened to produce a host of evil beings.
In vain did Ormuzd offer reconciliation to Ahriman, and even
a partnership in the priesthood of the boundless time; the
fiend rejected all terms of peace, and war began to rage
between them (see _Zend-Av._, t. II. pp. 345, 347.)

According to the books of the Parsees and of the Muhammedans
who give an account of their doctrine, Ahriman is bad by
nature: nor do the more ancient Zand-books say that he ever
was good; yet the explanation given about this mysterious
being can but involve contradictions in more than one
respect. He alone is able to resist Ormuzd, of whom his
existence is entirely independent; he is the king of the
beings which he has created, and which Ormuzd cannot
annihilate; nor can the latter prevent the effects of the
power by which his enemy destroys the people of the just,
and banishes the moral good from the earth.

An account of Ahriman’s origin, somewhat different from
this, will be seen hereafter in the Dabistán.――A. T.

[404] These sentiments agree singularly with the following
passage of Plato: Των μεν αγαδων αλλον ουδενα αιτιατεον, των
δὲ κακων αλλ’ αττα δει ζητειν τα αιτια, αλλ’ ου τον Θεον (De
Republica). “The author of good is God alone; but the author
of evil any thing else rather than God.”――A. T.

[405] According to the Zardusht-nameh quoted by Anquetil (t.
I. 2. P. p. 24) Zardusht delivered from hell a person who
had done good and evil. This person, believe some Parsees,
was Jamshid who, towards the end of his life, wished to be
adored as a God. Others say it was Gersh-asp, a famous
warrior, who suffered in hell for having struck the sacred
fire.――A. T.

[406] Ardibehest (see pp. 61. 62.) presides over the second
month of the year, and the 3d, 8th, 15th, and 23d day of the
month; he is pure, beneficent, endowed by Ormuzd with great
and holy eyes; he grants health, and eloquence to men,
productions to the earth, and grandeur to the world; he
drives away the Dívs and all evils (_Zend-Av._, II, pp. 69.
153. 154. 159. 316. and elsewhere).――A. T.

[407] Zoroaster, according to the concurring account of
several authors, retired from the world and lived in a
cavern of the mountain Alborz, or in the mountains of
Balkhan. According to the Rauzat us Sufa (Shea’s transl., p.
286) it was in the mountains near Ardebil, a city of
Azarbijan (the ancient Media). This cavern is said to have
been consecrated by him to Mithra. Pliny states (H. N. l.
xi. c. 42), the prophet lived 20 years in deserts, upon
cheese so tempered that he should not feel the effects of
age. This was probably before he appeared at the court of
Gushtasp.――A. T.

[408] This miracle is not recorded in Anquetil’s life of
Zoroaster.――A. T.

[409] Not receiving immediate access to the king, the
prophet split the upper part of the apartment where Gushtasp
was, and descended through the opening (Anquet., _Vie de
Zoroastre_, p. 29). This was in the year 549 B. C. (_ibidem_),
after the 30th year of Gushtasp’s reign (_Hyde_, p. 323).――A. T.

[410] To these miracles add that related in the _Shah nameh
naser_, quoted by Hyde (p. 324): Zoroaster planted before
the king’s palace a cypress-tree, which in a few days grew
to the height and thickness of ten _rasons_ (measure
undetermined), and upon the top of it he built a
summer-palace.――A. T.

[411] All those particulars about Zoroaster’s imprisonment,
and about his release after the cure effected by him upon
the king’s charger are, with little variation, related in
the _Shah-nameh naser_ (see Hyde, 325, 327), and in the
_Zerdusht nâmah_ (Anq. du Peron, t. I, 2. P. p. 325-327).――A. T.

[412] This cure of Lohrasp is touched upon by Anquetil in
his life of Zoroaster (p. 53), but not that of Zerir; Hyde
mentions neither; but the conversion of king Lohrasp and of
his relations is generally admitted.――A. T.

[413] See p. 149. note.

[414] See pp. 61. 62. 241. note.

[415] See pp. 61. 62. Khordad is the sixth Amscháspand; he
presides over the third month of the year and the sixth day
of the month; he is a chief of years, months, days, and of
time in general; he grants and aids intelligence; he causes
pure water to run through the world if man lives holily; he
is taken for water itself; he gives what is sweet to eat
(_Zand-Avesta_, I. 2. P. pp. 81. 103. II. pp. 69. 97. 153.
157. and elsewhere).――A. T.

[416] See pp. 61. 62. The name of the angel is simply Azar.

[417] _Yasht_, a Zand word, may be referred to the Sanskrit
इष्त्व _ishtva_, the participle of यज् _yaj_, “to venerate.”

The _Darun_ is an office celebrated particularly for the
sake of a king, or of the Dostur of Dosturs, in honor of
celestial beings of different names and classes (_Zend-Av._,
t. II. p. 73). Darun is also a little cake in the shape of a
crown piece, which the priest offers to the Ized-Dahman, who
blesses the creatures, the just man, and having received
from the hands of the Serosh the souls of the just, conducts
them to heaven (_ibid._, t. I. 2. pp. 86. 172).――A. T.

[418] _Bishutan_, according to some authors was the brother,
according to the _Shah-nameh_, a confidential friend, of
Isfendiar.――A. T.

[419] _Jamasp_, the brother and minister of Gushtasp.――A. T.

[420] Chapt. LXXVIII. v. 38.

[421] Chapt. XXVIII. v. 56.

[422] According to Abulfeda, quoted by Hyde (p. 315),
Zoroaster was born in ارمی or ارميه, in Armi or Armia, the
most western town of Azarbijan (the Media of the Greeks), in
the Gordian mountains, which accounts for the surname of
Median, or Persian, or Perso-Median, which different authors
have given to him. Other historians affirm that he came from
Palestina.――A. T.

[423] Raí is the most northern town of the province Jebal,
or Irak Ajem, the country of the ancient Parthians.――A. T.

[424] Anquetil says (_Zend-Av._, 2 P. p. xviii.): “The
Bahman Yesht Pehlvi, rather the epitome than the translation
of the true Báhmán Zand, may be called the Apocalypse of the
Parsees. It presents, in the form of a prophecy, an abridged
history of the empire and of the religion of the Persians,
from Gushtasp to the end of the world.” That part of the
Dabistán which follows, said to be transcribed from the Zand
Avesta by a Mobed, may be presumed to be taken from the true
Báhmán Yesht Zand; still these prophecies are undoubtedly
compositions of later times interpolated in the original
works.――A. T.

[425] It is mentioned in the Situd gher (the 2nd Nosk of the
Zend-Avesta) that Zoroaster, having demanded immortality,
Ormuzd showed him a tree of four branches: the first of
gold, this indicated the reign of Gushtasp; the second of
silver, that of Ardeshir Babegan; the third of brass, that
of Nushirvan, and the troubles excited by Mazdak; the fourth
of iron mixed with other metals, the destruction of the
Persian empire. According to the Báhmán Jesht Zand, Ormuzd
refusing a second demand of immortality made by Zoroaster,
pours into his hands a few drops of water, after the
drinking of which he is during seven days and nights filled
with divine intelligence, and sees all that passes upon the
seven _kechvars_, or “districts of the earth.” He sees a
second tree, having seven branches of metal, which indicate
seven epochas and the events belonging to them; the first
branch, which is of gold, designates the reign of Gushtasp.
Zoroaster then no more desires immortality. Ormuzd announces
to him, moreover, the war which Arjasp will make upon
Gushtasp.――(_Zend-Av._, t. I. 2. P. note, pp. xviii.
xix)――A. T.

[426] The author of the Báhmán Yasht (_ibid._, Notices, p.
xix) describes in copious details the woes which are to
afflict the world, during the influence of the iron branch:,
he speaks of the march of armies, of physical convulsions,
of the diminished productions of nature, of the conquests
made by Arabs, Greeks, Turks, Chinese, and Christians. All
this misery is to end on the arrival of king Báhrám
Varjavand, who is to re-establish the ancient Persian
empire: by the successive mission of the three sons of
Zoroaster, who are to convert the world and confirm their
divine mission by working miracles. Sosiosh is to restore
purity to the world: during this prophet’s millennium the
resurrection is to take place.――D. S.

[427] The _Náúroz_, is the first day of the year, a great
festival, the institution of which is ascribed to the
earliest times. It lasts six days, beginning on the day of
Ormuzd of the month Farvardin (March); this is _the little
Náúroz_, and it ends on the day of _Khordad_ (an Amshasfand
who presides over the sixth day of the month), called _the
great Náúroz_. It was on this day, they relate, that Ormuzd
created the world and what it contains; that Káiomers
triumphed over Eshem, the demon of envy, wrath, and
violence, the enemy of Serósh, and the most powerful of the
Dívs; that Mashia and Mashiáná, the first man and woman,
came forth from the earth, and that several great events of
the ancient history of the Persians took place, such as
Gushtasp’s embracing Zoroaster’s faith: it is finally on
that day that the general resurrection is to follow
(_Zend-Av._, t. II. p. 574.)――A. T.

[428] The month of _Aban_ is the month of October, and the
angel of that name, who is the Ized of the water, presides
over the tenth day of the month.

_Baud_ is the twenty-second day of the month.――A. T.

[429] This list is incorrect; it should begin by stating
that the Nosks are twenty-one in number, according to the
number of words in the _Yatha ahu virio_――but the ignorance
of the transcriber has converted the three first words of a
short prayer into the three first Nosks of the
_Zend-Avesta_.――D. S.

According to several Parsee doctors, seven of these Nosks,
or rather _náskas_, treated of the first principle, of the
origin of beings, of the history of the human race, etc.;
seven treated of morals and of civil and religious duties;
and seven of medicine and astronomy. The Pehlvi books and
some Persian works mention three other Nosks, which are to
complete the _Avesta_ at the end of this world (_Zand-Av._,
t. I. 1. P. p. 479).

Here follows a list of the Nosks according to a translation
made by Anquetil from the Persian Ravaet of Kamah Berch (see
_Mémoires de l’Acad. des Inscript. et des B.-L._, t.
xxxviii. p. 239-254.) I have abridged the explanation of
each Nosk; the contents of several of them are much alike,
and the miscellaneous matters in them all confusedly stated.

I.――The first Nosk, called _Setud-yesht_, “Nosk of prayer or
praise,” has 33 chapters.

II.――The second, named _Setud-gher_, “Nosk of prayer and
praise,” has 22 chapters, and treats of the purity of
actions, of collections for the poor, of the concord which
is to subsist between relations.

III.――_Vehest Mantsre_, “heavenly word,” has 22 chapters. It
discourses on faith, on the strict observation of the law,
and on the propensities of the heart. Mention is made of the
qualities of Zardusht, and of the pure people and pure
actions which have existed before him.

IV.――_Bagh_, “happiness, light, or garden,” in 21 chapters,
states the substance and the true meaning of the law, God’s
commands with respect to obedience, fidelity, justice,
purity of actions, the means of guarding against Satan, and
of going into the other world.

V.――_Dóazdah Hamast_, the twelve Hamasts, that is, “means or
things produced at the same time.” This book, in 32
chapters, speaks of the bad people of the upper and nether
world, of the nature of all beings, of the whole creation of
God, of the resurrection, of the bridge Chinavad, and of the
fate after death.

VI.――_Nader_, “the excellent, the rare.” This book of 35
chapters is assigned to astronomy, to the influences of the
stars upon the actions of men; it corresponds with the
Arabic work _Buftal_ (_Bufastál_); its Persian name is
_Favameshian_ (_Favaímasíhan_); that is, by means of this
science future events are known.

VII.――_Pajem_ means perhaps “small animal, or retribution.”
This book, in 22 chapters, gives an account of quadrupeds;
of actions permitted or not; what animals may be killed or
eat, what not; what may be killed for the use of the
_Gahanbars_, that is, the six festivals in the year
instituted in commemoration of the first creation of the
world in 365 days; and about regulations relative to these
festivals, to meritorious acts and gifts.

VIII.――_Reteshtai_, “the Nosk of warriors or of chiefs.” The
subjects of this book form 50 chapters, 13 of which only
have survived the time of Alexander; they are: the orders
of the king, the obedience of the subjects, the conduct of
the judges, the foundation of towns, and the various
things and animals created by God.

IX.――_Beresht_, “execution of orders, or supremacy.” This
book, of 60 chapters, 12 of which only remain after
Alexander, treats of kings and judges; of the reciprocal
relations of the governors and the governed; of the
occupations prescribed to the different classes and
professions of men; of useful knowledge; of the vices of
men; and such like things.

X.――_Kesesrob_, perhaps “agreeable word.” This book, at
first of 60 chapters, of 15 only after Alexander’s
conquest, discourses upon the soul, science, intellect,
natural and acquired; upon morality, and the consequences
of its being observed or violated.

XI.――_Veshtasp_, _Veshap_, once of 60, but after Alexander
of 10 chapters only, contains an eulogy upon the
government of Veshtasp (Gushtasp), upon his having
adopted, observed, and propagated Zardusht’s laws.

XII.――_Khesht_, “brick, or little lance, or agriculture.”
This book, in 22 chapters, discusses six subjects relative
to religion, policy, morals, cultivation, political
economy, and administration of justice. In the fifth part
are stated the four venerable classes of men, which are
the kings and chiefs, the warriors, the cultivators, and
the tradesmen.

XIII.――_Sefand_, “excellent,” inculcates in 60 chapters the
observation of moral and religious duties, and the faith
in the miracles of Zardusht.

XIV.――_Jeresht_, “he does;” this book, of 22 chapters,
treats of the birth and the destination of man.

XV.――_Baghantast_, “the Yesht of the fortunate,” contains in
17 chapters the praise of God, of the angels, and of the
man who approaches God and is thankful for the benefits
which he receives from above.

XVI.――_Niaram_ means, perhaps, “I do not seek my advantage.”
This book, of 54 chapters, teaches the good employ of
one’s fortune, and the advantages of a good behaviour
towards God and men.

XVII.――_Asparam_, may signify “the ties, the book by
excellence, the dawn, the heaven, perfect, plant, leaf.”
It treats in 64 chapters of the _Nerengs_, that is of the
powers, faculties in different acceptations; here of the
powers of good actions, and of liturgical ceremonies.

XVIII.――_Davaserujed_, “he who offers the extreme expedient,
or who speaks of it,” of 65 chapters, shows the knowledge
of men and animals; how the latter are to be taken care
of; how travellers and captives are to be treated.

XIX.――_Askaram_, “I discover, explain, make known, teach
publicly,” in 53 chapters, explains the obligation, the
best establishment and limitation of laws and regulations.

XX.――_Vendidad_, “given for the repulsion of the Dîvs,” of
22 chapters, forbids all sorts of bad, impure, and violent
actions.

XXI.――_Hadokht_, “the powerful _Has_,” that is, “words of
phrases of the _Avesta_,” in 30 chapters, exhibits the
manner of always performing many miracles, pure works, and
admirable things.

* * * * *

Of all these Nosks, not one, except the _Vendidad_, has been
preserved complete, and the names of three only, namely, the
_Setud-yesht_, the _Vendidad_, and the _Hadokht_, are
mentioned in the different Zand-books still extant. This
shows that, at different times, changes in the forms of the
written liturgy have taken place, and that the names,
superscriptions, and divisions of the writings have been
arbitrarily treated by different Dostúrs, without any change
in the contents.

The names of the Nosks given by Hyde (343, 345), partly from
the dictionary _Farhang Ichangiri_, partly from other
sources not mentioned, are not correct nor rightly explained.

Three additional Nosks are to be brought into the world by
three posthumous sons of Zoroaster. See in a subsequent note
their miraculous origin and actions.

The Persian text of another Notice upon the Nosks, somewhat
more complete than that published by Anquetil in Roman
letters, has been edited by Messrs. Julius Mohl and
Olshausen, of Kiel (see _Fragmens relatifs à la Religion de
Zoroastre, extraits des manuscrits persans de la
Bibliothèque du Roi_, 1829).――A. T.

[430] शङ्कराचर्य “_Sankara acharya_,” upon whose age different
opinions are entertained.

[431] According to another tradition Gushtasp himself had
travelled in India, and had been instructed by the Brahmans.
In the Desátir (English transl., Comment, pp. 185, 186), we
read that, when Sekander conquered Iran, Sásán, the son of
Darab, went to India, where he practised the worship of
Yezdan in a cavern, and where he died. He left a son named
Jivánasp, who is known as the second Sásán, equal to his
father, and who took his abode in Kabulistan. Ardeshir (the
son of another Sásán, of the Kayanián race, a relative of
the Saint), admonished by a dream, went to Kabulistan, and
by his entreaties prevailed upon the second Sásán to follow
him to Istakhar, where Ardeshir erected, for the habitation
of the saint, an immense monastery adorned with figures of
the stars, and having fire-temples on its different sides.
These and other traditions afford the inference that, in
early times, a religious intercourse had taken place between
India and Persia.――A. T.

[432] In the Desátir (English translat., p. 120) the Greek
philosopher is called _Tútíanush_. We are at a loss even to
guess at the Greek to whom these names may be applied. We
may however remember that St. Clement of Alexandria places
Pythagoras about the 62nd Olympiad, or about 528 years B.
C., and says that he was a zealous follower of Zoroaster,
and had consulted the Magi. Jamblicus, in his life of
Pythagoras (cap. 4) states, that this philosopher was taken
prisoner by Cambyses and carried to Babylon, where, in his
intercourse with the Magi, he was instructed in their modes
of worship, perhaps by Zoroaster himself, if _Zabratus_ and
_Nazaratus_, mentioned as his instructors by Diogenes and
Alexander, can be identified with the Persian prophet. Now,
the long reign of Lohrasp (of 120 years) is supposed by some
chronologers to comprehend the reigns of Cambyses and of
Smerdis. Upon this uncertain chronological ground, Pythagoras
may be placed in the times of Gushtasp, to whom, as was
before said, Foucher with others assigns an epocha more
remote than that of Darius Hystaspes of the Greeks. It is
known that Alexander, by the conquest of Persia, accomplished,
to a certain degree and for a certain time, his glorious
project to connect the East with the West; an open
intercourse took place between the Asiatics and the Greeks,
whose language was widely spread in Asia. The Macedonian
conqueror is there generally believed to have been the son
of Darab (Darius), and the brother of Báhmán Isfendiar. He
received, says the Desátir (p. 123), from the hands of his
Persian spouse Pari-dokht Roshenak (Parysatis Roxana), “the
bright daughter of the fairy,” a book of Zardusht addressed
to him, and forming a part of the Desátir. Alexander ordered
the Persian books to be translated into Greek, called the
_Nurakhi_ language, in the Desatir, in which is also said
(p. 124): “Hence the sect of Internal Illumination will
arise among the _Nurakhis_, as well as that of Reason.” To
this passage the Commentary subjoins: “The sect of
Gúshtaspians of Iran and Yunán is a medium between the
Illuminated and the Rationalist. When Sekander came to Iran,
he found that the Gúshtaspians of Iran were the better and
wiser; and he found that they had such power that, when they
pleased, they left the body, which they treated as a
garment. And besides them he saw another class of men in
Irán, who, by means of reason and meditation (_nurnúd_)
discovered the real nature of things as they actually exist;
and there was no such class of men in Yunán. Having
collected all their books, he translated them into the
Yunáni and Rúmi tongues. He then gave his prime minister
(Dostur) and teacher the title of the chief Mobéd and Sage,
and made him the head of the Nirnúdis. From this time
forward the sect of Rationalists prevailed among the Yunanis
and Rúmis.” Alexander’s prime minister is supposed by the
Asiatics to have been Aristotle; we know that this philosopher
had an accurate knowledge of Zoroaster’s doctrine. Although
the history, religion, and science of the Asiatics have
certainly not been neglected by the inquisitive Greeks,
Alexander’s companions, among whom was Callisthenes, a
relation of Aristotle, yet we find in the western histories
no particular notice corroborating the account just quoted
of the Desátir. Unfortunately we may be more positive about
the destruction of ancient monumental works in Persia by the
son of Philip; it is for having burnt the Nosks that he is
said by the Persians to be burning in hell (see Anquetil,
vol. II. p. 338).――A. T.

[433] व्यास, “_Vyasa_,” a sage of that name occurs in the
chapter upon the Hindus and elsewhere.

In the Desátir, published at Bombay, there is “the book of
Shet the prophet _Zirtúsht_” (Engl. transl., pp. 116-145),
in which the interview between _Hertushád_, son of _Hereofetmad_
(_Zortúsht_), the Yúnan philosopher and the Indian sages is
related.

Here ends the principal part of the historical account which
the Dabistán gives of Zoroaster’s life. I shall add,
according to Anquetil (_Zend-Av._, t. I. 2. P. pp. 60-62), a
summary account of its principal events in chronological
order.

Anquetil supposes Zoroaster born 589 years B. C. At the age
of 30 years he goes to Irán, through which country he only
passes. He disappears then to the eyes of the Persians
during ten years. His followers say that he was transported
before the throne of God. It was in this interval of time
that he terminated several works which he had perhaps
already begun upon mount Alborz, or in Chaldæa. The mountains
afforded him retirement. The twenty years which he is said
to have passed in the deserts were, probably, from his
twentieth to his fortieth year.

At this age he appeared before Gushtasp, in Balkh, and at
this very time Hystaspes, father of Darius, may have reigned
in Bactria. Zoroaster performed miracles during ten years:
this is the period of his mission. After his first miracles,
his reputation having spread afar, Changragháchah came to
meet him. This Brahman treats him in his letter to Gushtasp
as a young man, and well might an old man, such as Changragháchah
was, have so called a man of forty years. It is also to this
time that Anquetil refers what is said about the
cypress-tree which Zoroaster planted before the
_Atesh-gadah_, or the fire-temple, of Kichmar in Khorassan.
Isfendiár was then very young, because about twenty-eight
years later his elder son was not yet married; and Darius,
540 years B. C., might have been ten years old.

At the age of sixty-five years, Zoroaster delivered in
Babylon lessons of philosophy, and counted Pythagoras among
his disciples; Cambyses, according to the Greeks, filled
then the throne of Persia. Three years afterwards, the
legislator returned from Chaldæa for establishing the
worship of the cypress, which lasted eight years. Persia had
then acknowledged Darius, the son of Hystaspes, as king.

After these eight years, Zoroaster advised the war against
Turan. He was very old. The Shahnamah calls him _pír_,
“old.” Gushtasp, victorious over the Turaniáns, heaps every
honor upon him, and he dies, some time after, at the age of
seventy-seven years, in the interval of time which elapsed
between the expedition of Gushtasp and the invasion of the
Turaniáns. Báhmán, the eldest son of Isfendiar, was able to
carry arms, and Darius, 512 B. C., might have been
thirty-eight years old.

As to the posterity of Zoroaster――he had been successively
married to three wives. With the first he had one son and
three daughters; with the second two sons; it is not certain
whether he had any offspring with his third wife, called
Húó, the niece of Jamasp――the Zand-books however say, that
she brought him three sons, who are to appear about the end
of the world.――A. T.

According to Zand and Parsee writings, the birth and actions
of these sons will be equally miraculous. Zoroaster, having
visited Húó three times on her going to bathe, the germs
remained in the water. The Izeds (or genii) Nerioseng and
Anahid were charged with their custody, until the period
when three virgins bathing in the same water, should receive
these germs in succession, and bring into the world the
three sons of Zoroaster.

The first is named _Oshederbámi_. He is to appear at the
commencement of the last millennium of the world, and to
arrest the sun’s course during ten days and nights; and as
Zoroaster converted one of the four portions of the human
race, he is to convert the second to the law, and give them
the 22nd Nosk.

The second posthumous son is _Oshedermáh_. He is to appear
four hundred years after Oshederbámi, and to arrest the
sun’s course during ten days and nights; he is also to bring
the 23rd Nosk of the law, and to convert the third portion
of the human race.

The third is named _Sosiosh_. He shall appear at the end of
ages, arrest the sun’s course during thirty days and nights,
bring the 24th Nosk of the law, and the whole world is to
embrace the faith of Zoroaster: after this comes on the
resurrection.――(_Zend.-Av._, t. I. 2. P. pp. 45, 46).――D. S.

[434] In the Desátir (English transl. p. 126) he is called
_Biras_.――A. T.

[435] Ardai Viráf or Arda Viráf or Virasp, also simply
called Viraf or Virasp, was, about the year 200 of our era,
one of the most zealous followers and defenders of Zoroaster’s
religion, which, under Alexander the Great and the other
kings of Persia, had lost its first authority (see Hyde, pp.
278, 279). Arda Viraf is mentioned in one of the _Yeshts
Sades_, or prayers called _Dup Néreng_, which are recited
when perfumes are thrown into the fire (_Zend-Av._, t. II,
p. 53).――A. T.

[436] In the _Shah nameh Naser_ it is stated, in the life of
Ardashir Babegan (see Hyde, p. 280) that this king,
abolishing several regulations of Alexander the Great,
granted toleration to followers of the faith professed by
Gushtasp, and wishing to re-establish Zoroaster’s religion,
demanded from its Mobeds miracles, which they performed. The
king, satisfied by these proofs, not only adopted their
tenets himself, but obliged all others to do the same. In
the life of Shapur it is said, in the book quoted, that,
when Ardashir was inaugurated in the government, he demanded
from the chiefs of the Magi miracles, after the performance
of which Ardai Viráf, during a whole week, supporting by
arguments the truth of his religion, brought also forward
all that relates to hell and heaven. Some believed; others
doubted or denied: the number of the last was 80,000.――A. T.

[437] The Revelations of Ardái Viraf are said to have been
originally written in Zand. There exists a Viraf nameh in
Pehlvi, probably of the fourth century of our era; works of
this name are found in modern Persian in prose and in verse.
Anquetil mentions a Viraf nameh in verse, composed A. D.
1532, by Káús, Herbed of Náusari, and another by Zardusht,
son of Báhrám (_Zend-Av._, t. I. 2. P. not. pp. ix. x. xxx.
xxxii). Translations of this work have also been made into
Sanskrit and the Hindu language of Guzerat. An English
translation of the Ardai-Viraf Nameh, by T. A. Pope,
appeared in 1816. The translator says in his preface (p.
xiii): that the Revelations of Ardai Viraf appear to be the
same work that is mentioned by Richardson as the work of
Ardeshir Babegan, which having been improved by Nushirvan
the Just, in the sixth century, was sent by him to all the
governors of provinces, as the invariable rule of their
conduct. Pope examined for his work three versions in the
modern Persian: the first in prose, by Nushirvan Kermani;
the second in verse, by Zardusht Biram (Báhrám); the third
in prose, by the same (_ibid._, p. xiv).――A. T.

[438] رسن, _rasan_ is a linear measure, the exact value of
which could not be ascertained. According to common belief
of the Muhammedans, this bridge appears of different shapes;
to the good, a straight and pleasant road of thirty-seven
fathoms in breadth; but to the wicked it is like the edge of
a sword, on which they totter and fall into the abyss below.
According to the translation of Pope (p. 11), when Ardai
Viráf found himself close to the bridge, it appeared to him
to be a broad and good road.――A. T.

[439] Mihr Ized is the same as Mithra. He is the most active
champion against Ahriman and the host of evil genii; he has
one thousand ears and ten thousand eyes; a club, a bow,
arrows, and a golden poniard in his hand; he traverses the
space between heaven and earth; he gives light, that is the
sun, to the earth; he directs the course of water, and
blesses mankind with progeny and the fruits of the field:
the earth receives from him its warriors and virtuous kings;
he watches over the law, and maintains the harmony of the
world. After death, he not only grants protection against
the attacks of the impure spirits, but assigns heaven to the
souls of the just. It is there that he appears in the
celestial assembly of holy Fervers surrounding the throne of
Ormuzd (see _Zend-Av._, t. II. pp. 204. 205. 222. 223. 256.
and in other places).

Mithra is by some authors identified with Ormuzd himself,
and with the sun; but it results from Anquetil’s investigations
that, in the religion of the Persians, he is distinct from
both and subordinate to Ormuzd.

He occupies a much higher rank in the religious system of
the Chaldæans and the Arabs, who first venerated Mithra. It
is now established beyond any doubt, by a good number of
authentic monuments, that in later times the religion and
worship of Mithra has been greatly developed in dogmas,
symbols, and a system of mysteries relating to cosmology,
astronomy, and physiology: in the first centuries of the
Christian era, this religion appears to have been spread,
not only over Asia, but also over a great part of Europe.
This subject has been very learnedly treated at great length
in modern works of too great celebrity to require mentioning
here.――A. T.

[440] Rashné-rast, an Ized, who presides over the 18th day
of the month; he is the Ized of righteousness, which he
bestows; he sees every thing from afar, destroys the thief
and the violent, and takes care of the earth; it is he to
whom Ormuzd has given a thousand forces and ten thousand
eyes, and who weighs the actions of men upon the bridge
which separates the earth from heaven.――(_Zend-Av._, t. I.
2. P. pp. 82. 131.; II. pp. 218. 219. 223).――A. T.

[441] In Pope’s translation of the Viráf-nameh we find (pp.
13-15) what follows: “When Serósh Ized laid hold of my arm,
we proceeded to the top of the bridge, one side of which
appeared in full splendor of light and the other in total
darkness, when I heard a strong and extraordinary noise
which, on looking forwards, I perceived to come from a dog,
that was chained with a collar and chain of gold, near the
light side of the bridge.――I asked the angels: ‘Why is the
dog here?’――to which Serósh Izad replied: ‘He makes this
noise to frighten Ahriman, and keeps watch here to prevent
his approach; his name is _Zering Goash_ (Cerberus?) and the
devils shake at his voice; and any soul that has, during its
residence in the lower world, hurt or ill used or destroyed
any of these animals, is prevented by Zering Goash from
proceeding any further across the bridge; and, Ardai Viraf,
when you return again to the world, as one of the first
duties, enjoin the taking care of these animals.” According
to the _Vendidad Sadé_ (_Zend-Av._, t. I. 2. P. p. 418), the
souls, strong and holy, who have done good works, shall, at
their passage over the bridge Chanivad, be protected by the
dog of the herds. On that account the Persian kings had (see
_Brissonii de Reg. Pers. princip. libri tres_, l. I. p. 157)
at their table a particular meal prepared for the dog. The
Parsees in our days have great regard for dogs. Immense
numbers of these animals are fed by those people, though not
admitted into their houses.――A. T.

[442] Printed copy reads تير پايه, _tir páyah_.

[443] The Gítí Kharíd is called the gift of two rupees,
which a man is obliged to give once in his life to a Mobed
or a priest, in order that he may perform, during five or
eight days, a religious ceremony for the sake of the donor,
who is purified by it. This purification is substituted for
another more expensive rite, called the Náuzódí, which a
Parsee is bound to perform when fifteen years old, and
which, on the part of the Neophyte, requires a considerable
knowledge of religious doctrine, prayers, and ceremonies. He
who during his life has not made Yesht, nor the Gítí Kharíd,
nor the present of a dress to the Pure, shall, after the
resurrection, appear naked (_Zend-Av._, t. II. pp. 34. 553.
554).――A. T.

[444] The Parsees mention in their books a very agreeable
oil, called _Mediozerem_, which is the beverage of the
blessed in heaven, and it is, they say, from the name of
this oil that one of the six yearly festivals sacred to the
memory of the creation is called _Gáhamber Mediozerem_
(_Zend-Av._, t. II. p. 394. note).――A. T.

According to the Ardai Viraf Nameh, translated by Pope,
Lond., 1816 (p. 22) Ardai received a lozenge to eat, which
buried in oblivion all that had passed in the other world,
and turned his thoughts to God alone.――D. S.

[445] Ardibehest, see p. 241, note.

[446] In the manuscript, Garjishman; in the Ardai Viráf
Nameh, Geroosman.――D. S.

[447] We might almost imagine this tenet as the origin of
accounting the Grecian Hercules a God, from this ancient
testimony of veneration for the destroyers of lions, hydras,
etc.――D. S.

[448] The Viraf-nameh, a sort of Persian “Divina Commedia,”
contains, in Pope’s translation, a description much more
detailed than here, and even prolix, of Viraf’s journey in
the other world. We there read of seven heavens, namely: the
_Hamestan_, the _Sitar-payah_, the _Mah-payah_, the
_Khordad-payah_, the _Gerúshman_, the _Azar Róshní_, and the
_Ana Gurra Roshní_. In the last (pp. 38-39), in the centre
of a building, on a throne was seated Zartusht, and by his
side were standing his three sons, named _Assad Avaster_,
_Ozvar túr_, and _Khurshid chehár_; attending on the prophet
were Jemshid and other kings, among whom was Gushtasp and
some sages, not without Changragácha, the converted Brahman.
These seven heavens have been very ingeniously referred by
M. Felix Lajard (see _Mémoire sur les deux bas-reliefs
mithriaques qui ont été découverts en Transylvanie_, pp. 49
_et seq._) to a passage which Origenes has preserved to us,
from a treatise of Celsus against the Christians. This
philosopher, speaking of certain mysteries among the
Persians, mentions seven doors, which are of lead, tin,
brass, iron, mixed metal, silver, and gold, corresponding in
their order to the heavenly bodies, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter,
Mercury, Mars, the moon, and the sun; above the last is an
eighth door, most likely the heavenly Alborz, “the region of
the primordial light (see note, p. 232).” We learn from the
Boun-Dehesh, the Zardúsht-nameh, and other works, that the
ascension of the souls was effected through the five planets
which, in the mysterious ladder of Celsus, are placed before
the moon and the sun, who himself rests upon mount Alborz.
M. F. Lajard makes use with great sagacity of the passage of
Celsus, in support of his explanation of the mithriacal
monuments which are the subjects of his learned Memoir.――A.
T.

[449] In which food is given to the poor.――A. T.

[450] Báj, or Váj, signifies in general religious silence,
or an inarticulate murmuring of prayers. This is practised
before eating, and is to be followed by an inviolable
silence during the repast. See Hyde, p. 352, and Anquetil du
Peron, II. p. 598.

[451] Aban is the Ized of water, and presides over the tenth
day of the month. Anq. du Per., I. 2. P. p. 132; II. 318.
328.――A. T.

[452] _Kashti_ is a girdle commonly of wool or of camel’s
hair, consisting of seventy-two threads, to go at least
twice round the body, say, about ten feet in length. The
breadth depends upon the thickness of the threads. It is
tied about the _saderé_, which is a sort of white shirt,
worn immediately upon the skin, with short sleeves, open
above and commonly not passing the hips. This girdle was
worn by the Parsees from time immemorial. They pretend that
Jemshid, being instructed by Hom, the primitive legislator,
invented the Kashti. Before the time of Zoroaster, it was
worn indifferently as a scarf, or wrapped round the head.
The monuments of Persepolis exhibit persons wearing the
Kashti. Not to wear it in the fifteenth year is a great sin;
the day on which it is taken for the first time is a
festival, and daily prayers are prescribed before putting it
on, and frequent ceremonies are connected with it (_Zend-Av._,
t. II. pp. 529). Nothing can be right or good that is done
without the Kashti: “ungirt, unblessed” (Hyde, p. 376). We
have here a striking example how a custom originally
suggested by simple convenience, to be girt, or to be ready,
_accingere se_, acquires by religious prescription an
importance far beyond its intended use and purpose.――A. T.

[453] Darwands, the production of Ahriman: this word means:
1. the _Darong_, or “evil spirits, who appear under the
human form;” 2. the worshippers of Ahriman; 3. the spirits
of the damned. After the resurrection, they shall be anew
precipitated into hell, to be punished there during three
days and nights; after which the great and small mountains
of the earth shall be dissolved and flow over its surface in
rivers of metal; the Durwands will be forced to pass through
this molten ocean, and being thus purified from all sin
become eternally blessed.――D. S.

[454] In this sentence D. Shea found the manuscripts and the
printed copy to differ greatly, but the manuscript of Oude
agrees with the latter, which therefore the editor thinks
himself justified in following, although there must remain a
doubt about the author’s meaning having been perfectly
expressed.――A. T.

[455] The account of Ardai Viraf’s vision of the other world
can but remind us of what Plato relates (Respubl., t. x) of
Hero, the son of Armenius, a Pamphilian by origin: viz.,
when this man had been killed in battle, and when, on the
tenth day, the dead bodies were in a state of decomposition,
he alone was preserved and carried home to be buried, and on
the twelfth day, being placed upon the funeral pyre, he gave
signs of life, and, resuscitated, he related what he had
seen in the other world. Upon this we may reflect, that the
name of _Arda_, which occurs as a part of many Persian
names, may be referred to the Sanskrit ऊर्ध _ûrdha_,
“elevated;” Ardashir is perhaps ऊर्ध शिरः _úrdhaśiras_,
“elevated head;” ऊर्द्दर _úrddara_, signifies “a hero, a
champion; from ऊर्ज _úrja_, to be strong: which would give
nearly the sense of Plato’s αλκιμου του ανδρος, “of the
strong man,” as he characterises Hero. This observation
gains perhaps some relief, by connecting it with a passage
of St. Clement of Alexandria (Strom. I. V. sect. xiv.), in
which he interprets by Zoroaster the name of Hero, and
quotes a passage from a work in which this supposed
Zoroaster relates of himself what Plato states of Hero. The
work mentioned by St. Clement, much known in the first
centuries of our era, might have been composed by a
Neo-platonic who transposed the fable from Hero to Zoroaster.
Hero, certainly not Zoroaster, may with more probability be
assimilated to one of his zealous followers, Ardai Viraf,
who lived in the second century of our era.――A. T.

[456] According to the concurrent testimony of Persian
records, _Azarbad_, the son of _Maresfand_, was the
thirtieth descendant from Zoroaster. Twenty-nine generations,
at four to a century, make 725 years; to this add forty for
the probable age of Azarbad at the time of his assuming the
prophetic mission: if from the sum 765 we subtract 240, that
is, the epocha of king Shapúr, under whom Azarbad lived,
there will remain 525, the time of Zoroaster before Christ.
Four generations are here assigned to a century, because,
according to Zoroaster’s law, marriage is an act of
religion, and children are the steps or ladders for
ascending to heaven: the observance of this precept must
have tended to multiply the generations in the legislator’s
family (Rauzet-us Safa, Shea’s transl., p. 280).

The following quotation from the Shah-nameh naser (Hyde, p.
280) may here find place, in addition to my note, p. 284:
When king Shapúr heard of the great uncertainty still
prevailing among a considerable number of men about the
truth of Zoroaster’s religion, he demanded a solution of the
great question from the principal priests, among whom
Azarbad rose and offered to satisfy him: “I will,” said he,
“further develop Ardai Viraf’s account of hell and heaven,
and sit naked from head to foot, whilst eighteen pounds of
melted brass are poured upon my body; if the least particle
of it be hurt, the prophet’s words are false; they are true,
if I receive not the least injury.” No harm ensued to him
from the trial made upon his person, and all believed.――A. T.

[457] The reading of the manuscript and printed copy is
exceedingly defective in this passage: it has been restored
according to historical notices: Pope’s translation has (p.
99) “forty thousand souls have seceded from our holy faith,”
instead of “the forty thousand wise men were again
assembled.”――D. S.

[458] The Viraf nameh terminates by these words: “The
Masdian religion became more firmly established than ever,
and continued in all its purity until the Mahomedan conquest
dispersed its votaries, and forced those who persevered in
it to abandon the tombs of their ancestors, and to fly for
refuge to distant countries. A small number fled to, and
were kindly received on, the shores of western India, and
the present Parsees of Bombay and Surat are their descendants.”
That is to say, it was a short time after Yezdejerd’s death
that, persecuted by the Muhammedans, a number of Persians,
to preserve their ancient religion, fled to Kohistan, from
whence after a century they descended to Ormuz on the
Persian gulf, and after a stay there of fifteen years landed
at Diu on the Indian coast. Nineteen years later they
established themselves in the Guzerat; thence, after the
lapse of three hundred years, they dispersed to the north
and south of Surat. They had been five centuries in India
when they fought with the Indians against the Muhammedans,
and were again obliged to fly before the enemies of their
faith. They maintained themselves, however, in different
places of the province of Aurungabad. Having gradually
increased in numbers to about 150,000 families (in 1816),
they live dispersed in villages from Diu to Bombay, in which
place about 24,000 of them reside (_Zend Av._, t. I. 1. P.
p. cccxviii; and Pope’s Engl. transl. of the Viraf-nameh, p.
118).――A. T.

[459] Káshmar, Kishmar is the name of a town in the country
of Tirshez, in Khorasan or in Bactria (Hyde, p. 332).

[460] Upon the cypress, see notes pp. 236, 280. According to
the Ferhang Jehangiri and the Burhani Kati, Zardusht planted
two cypress-trees; one in the town just mentioned, and the
other in the town of _Farúmad_, or _Ferúyad_, or _Ferdíd_,
which is in the country of _Tus_. The Magi believe, he
planted these trees by means of two shoots brought by him
from paradise.――A. T.

[461] He was the tenth Khalif of the Abbassides, and began
to reign in the year of the Hejira 232, A. D. 846.――A. T.

[462] Samarah is a town in Chaldæa, from which the Samaritan
Jews have their name, and which was for some time the seat
of the Muselman empire (Herbelot).――A. T.

[463] Jâafriyah is a town in the Arabian Irak, so called
from its builder, _Jâfar_, the original name of the khalif
who assumed the title of _Matavakhel al Allah_, “he who
confides in God.”――A. T.

[464] He had then reigned fourteen years and two months.
The Turks were excited to murder him by his own son
_Montassar_, in the town of Makhuriah, on the very spot
where Khosru Parviz had been put to death by his son
Shiruyah (Siroes)――(Herbelot).――A. T.

[465] According to the above statement, the tree would have
been planted 604 years before our era, that is, about the
time of Gushtasp, king of Persia, if the years above stated
be taken for solar years; but if for lunar (that is for only
1408 solar) years, the epoch of the plantation of the
cypress would be 562 years B. C., and 548, if the computation
be referred to the end of Mutawakhal’s life.――A. T.

[466] Hakim Mirtas, in the text, may be a proper name.――A. T.

[467] The Sad-der naser (in prose) is an abridgment of
practical and ceremonial theology, called Sad-der, or “one
hundred doors,” because the hundred chapters of which it is
composed are like so many doors leading to heaven. Some
Parsees think that the original was written in Pehlvi. It is
positively said in the beginning of this treatise that it
has been drawn from the law: which proves that it makes no
part of the Zend-Avesta (_Zend-Av._, t. I. 2. P. Notices,
pp. xxix. xxx).

The Sad-der nazem (in verse) was versified by a Persian
called _Shahmard_, the son of _Malek Shah_, and terminated
in the month of Isfendermad (February) of the year 864 from
the installation of Yezdejerd, 1495 A. D., and brought from
Kirman to India by the Dustúr Pashutan Daji. This work has
been translated into Latin by the learned Hyde (_ibid._, p.
xxxiv). The Dabistan gives only a short abstract of it.――A.
T.

[468] See p. 298, where the same tale occurs.

[469] Yasht (see note, p. 258) signifies with the Parsees in
general prayers accompanied by efficacious benedictions, but
is here used to imply the panegyrics of several celestial
spirits, in which are enumerated their principal attributes
and their relation to Ormuzd and his productions, as
distributors of the blessings which this secondary principle
spreads over nature, and as declared enemies of Ahriman and
his ministers. According to the Parsees, each Amshasfand and
Ized had a peculiar Yasht; but of all these compositions
there only remain in the Zand eighteen which are authentic,
and a small part of the Yasht of Bahman.――D. S.

[470] Upon the Naú Roz, see note, p. 268.

[471] These are two short forms of prayer, like our
collects, which are frequently repeated in the Parsee
litanies. The _Ita ahu virio_, as translated by Anq. du
Peron, runs thus: “It is the desire of Ormuzd that the chief
of the law should perform pure and holy works: Bahman
bestows abundance on him who acts with holiness in this
world. O, Ormuzd! thou establishest as king whoever consoles
and nourishes the poor.” The _Ashem Vuhu_ thus: “Abundance
and paradise are reserved for him who is just and pure: he
is truly pure who is holy and performs holy works.”――D. S.

[472] _Kirfah_ means: 1. a good work; 2. a merit which
absolves from sin. The author of the Dabistán has so
abridged this Der that it is deemed proper to give it at
length according to Hyde’s translation: “It is manifest,
from the principles of religion, that we must concede due
authority to the Dustúr and must not deviate from his
commands, as he is the ornament and splendor of the faith.
Although thy good works may be countless as the leaves of
the trees, the grains of sand, the drops of rain, or the
stars in the heavens, thou canst gain nothing by them,
unless they be acceptable in the sight of the Dustúr: if he
be not content with thee, thou shalt have no praise in this
world: therefore, my son, thou shalt pay to the Dustúr who
teaches thee the tithe of all thou possessest (wealth and
property of every kind, gold and silver). Therefore thou,
who desirest to enjoy paradise to all eternity, pay tithes
to the Dustúr; for if he be satisfied with thee, know that
paradise is thine; but if he be not content with thee, thou
canst derive no portion of benefit from thy good works; thy
soul shalt not find its way to paradise; thou shalt have no
place along with angels; thy soul can never be delivered
from the fiends of hell, which is to be thy eternal abode:
but pay the tithes, and the Dustúrs will be pleased with
thee, and thy soul shall get to paradise without delay.
Truly the Dustúrs know the religion of all men, understand
all things, and deliver all (faithful) men.”――D. S.

[473] Hyde (p. 454) has “_Malkus_, whose enchantments
brought on the deluge.”

[474] _Sarúregh_, according to Hyde (_ibid._), “by whom (in
the time of Sâm) the world suffered oppression and injury.”

[475] “_Túr-Brátur_ (otherwise _Túri-Brátrush_ or _tresh_),
that villanous and obscene man, who destroyed Zardusht in
that religion which he supported by his zeal.”――(Hyde,
_ibid._). This name is perhaps a variation of _Parántárush_
(see p. 228).――A. T.

[476] See note, p. 297.

[477] The terms Miezd and Darun require some farther
illustration: the following is from the Zend-Avesta, vol.
II. p. 534. The Miezd, that is, meats previously blessed and
then eaten, either during or after the service; flowers,
fruits, especially pomegranates and dates; rice, fragrant
seeds, and perfumes; milk; the small cakes called Darun; the
branches of the Hom and its juice, called Perahom; the roots
of trees, particularly the pomegranate tree. The roots are
cut, the milk, and in general all these offerings, are
prepared with ceremonies described at great length in the
_Ravaets_, or “ritual treatises.” These offerings, and the
sacred implements, which are twenty-six in number, constitute
the thirty-three objects as specified by Zoroaster in the
latter part of the first Ha of the Izechné, vol. I. P. II.
p. 87: “I invoke and laud all the mighty, the pure Dustúrs
who have thirty-three objects around and near the Havan (the
vase for holding the Perahom): they are pure, according to
the ordinance of Zaradusht, who was instructed by the
Supreme Lord himself.” The Daruns are small cakes of
unleavened bread, nearly the form and thickness of a crown
piece: there are two or four of these offered, according to
the nature of the service. The Darun on which they place a
little dressed meat is called _Darun Fusesté_, or “offered
bread.”――D. S.

[478] The Afirgans, or Afernigáns, are the prayers and
benedictions recited during the Gahanbar or the last ten
days of the year, and on the anniversary of deceased parents
or relations: but the service on the third night after the
decease is not to be neglected, as in that case the soul of
the deceased would remain without protection until the
resurrection. On the third night, at the Oshen Gah, or
midnight, there are four services; one for each of the
angels, Rashin Rast, Ram Izad, and Surush, the fourth in
honor of the Ferouers of holy personages. In this last
service are recited nine Kardés, or portions of the
_Vispared_, and four dresses, fruits, and cheese are laid by
for the officiating priest, along with the Darun.

The word _Vispered_ admits of two meanings: 1. “the
knowledge of “every thing,” _Vispé Khirad_;” 2. “all the
chiefs,” _Vispé Rad_. The latter meaning seems more
analogous to the Vispered, as it begins by invoking the
chiefs of all beings――such as the first of the heavens, the
first of the earth, the first of aquatic creatures, etc.
Zoroaster is supposed to have repeated to the Brahmin
Chingégratch this Vispered, which begins thus: “I invoke and
laud the first of the heavens, the first of the earth, the
first of aquatic beings, the first of terrestrial beings,
the first of brilliant and intelligent beings, the holy,
pure, and great Chingégrâtchás;” and it ends with “I invoke
and laud the bull exalted on high, who makes the herbage to
grow in abundance; this bull, the pure gift, who has given
(being) to the pure man.” The Vispered is divided into
twenty-seven _Kardés_, or “sections,” and probably formed
part of the Baghantást of the fifteenth Nosk of the Avesta.
It is recited by day, as well as the Izeshneh (Yazishnah),
and with a Barsom, or “bundle, of thirty-five branches of
trees.

Izeshné (Yazishnah) means a prayer setting forth the
greatness of the personage thus addressed. It is composed of
seventy-two Há, which the Parsees divide into two parts: the
first part contains twenty-seven Há, addressed to Ormuzd and
his creation; the second contains prayers addressed to the
Supreme Being; it speaks of man, of his wants, of the
several genii charged to protect him, etc. The word Há,
which signifies a portion of the Izeshné, is derived from
the Zend Hâetîm, or Hâtarim, portions. From Hâtaum is also
formed “Had,” which signifies “measure, limit.” The Izeshné
probably formed part of the Setud-yesht, the first Nosk of
the Avesta, or of the Setud-gher, the second Nosk. The
Izeshné is performed at the _Gah Havan_, or “sunrise;” when,
recited by itself without other prayers, the Izeshnéh Sadah
is read with the same ceremonies as the Vendidad Sâdeh,
excepting that the _Barsom_, or “sacred bundle of twigs”
[see hereafter, p. 319], consists then of only twenty-three
branches. The Vendidad and Vispered cannot be recited
without the Izeshné, and the Barsom for these two offices
consists of thirty-five branches.

The term _Sâde_ means “pure,” or the text without a
translation.

The two works, the Izeshné and Vispered, joined to the
Vendidad, the twentieth Nosk of the Avesta, form the
Vendidad Sadé, which the Mobeds are obliged to recite every
day, commencing at the _Gâh Oshen_, or “midnight,” or before
day-break, so that it may be finished before sunrise.

Purifications, ordinances, marriages, in short all the
ceremonies of the law, depend on the due celebration of this
office.――D. S.

[479] Lest demons or wizards should take them away and use
them in their enchantments.――D. S.

[480] Upon Váj, see note, p. 296.

In this translation, the reading of the manuscript has been
followed as being the most simple: there seems however
something omitted. Annexed is the form of prayer recited in
Váj, which means mental recitation: it is taken from
Anquetil du Perron:

THE PRAYERS RECITED BY PARSEES BEFORE MEAT.

_Etha aad avirmede._――“Ormuzd is king: now I make Izeshné to
Ormuzd the giver of pure flocks, the giver of pure waters,
of pure trees, the giver of light, of earth, and of every
kind of good.” This is to be recited once.

_Eshem Trihu._――“Abundance and paradise are reserved for the
just and undefiled person; he who does heavenly and pure
works.” To be recited three times.

PRAYERS AFTER MEAT.

_Ethu ahu Virio._――“It is the desire of Ormuzd that the
chief (of the law) should perform pure and holy works.
Bahman gives (abundance) to him who acts with holiness in
the world. O Ormuzd! thou establishest as king whoever
comforts and nourishes the poor.” To be repeated twice.

_Eshem vuhu._――“Abundance and paradise, etc.” To be repeated
once.

_Ehmarestchi._――“Mayest thou remain always effulgent with
light! may thy body be always in good condition! may thy
body ever increase! may thy body be ever victorious! may thy
desires, when accomplished, ever render thee happy! mayest
thou always have distinguished children! mayest thou live
for ever! for length of time! for length of years! and
mayest thou be received for ever into the celestial abodes
of the holy, all radiant with light and happiness! enjoy a
thousand healths, ten thousand healths.”

_Kereba mezada._――This form of prayer shall be quoted
hereafter.

_Eshem Vuhu._――“Abundance and paradise, etc.” To be repeated
once.

The commentator on this gate has evidently confounded Váj or
Váz with the Barsum; this mistake is not to be attributed to
the author of the Dabistán.――D. S.

[481] Strabo, observes Anquetil (_Zand-Avesta_, p. 532),
alludes to the Barsom, where he says of the Magi: τὰς δὲ
ἀπωδὰς ποιουνται πολὺν ῥαβδων μυρικίνων λεπτων δέσμην
κατέχοντες· “They make their prayers a long time, holding a
bundle of slender twigs of tamarisk in their hands”
(_Geog._, lib. XV. p. 733).――D. S.

[482] See pp. 292-3.

[483] Anquetil du Perron says (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II. p.
601): “Of all the religions known, that of the Parsís is
perhaps the only one in which fasting be neither meritorious
nor even permitted. The Parsí, on the contrary, believes to
honor Ormuzd by nourishing himself well: because the body,
fresh and vigorous, renders the soul stronger against the
bad genii; because the man, feeling less want, reads the
word with more attention, and feels more courage for
performing good works; consequently several celestial
spirits are especially charged with watching over the
welfare of man: Rameshné, Kharom, Khordád, and Amerdád give
abundance and pleasures to him, and it is the last of the
Izeds mentioned who produces in the fruits the taste and
flavor which lead men to apply them to that use for which
Ormuzd has created them.”――A. T.

[484] The cock is an animal held in great esteem by the
Parsees, who are enjoined to keep one in their houses;
Bahrám (Mars) appears under this form (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II.
pp. 290. 602). The cock is called a Persian bird, and,
according to Athenæus, cocks came first from Persia (see
Hyde, p. 412).――A. T.

[485] In the fifth period of eighty days were created the
282 Sardah, or genera of birds and animals, viz.: 110 of
birds and 172 of animals (Hyde, _Rel. Vet. Pers._, p.
164).――D. S.

[486] According to Hyde’s translation of the _Sad-der_ (p.
471): _caput ejus expiare oportet_, “an expiation is to be
performed over his head.”――A. T.

[487] _Mezda_ or _Maz-dao_, in Zand, according to Rask,
means “God;” Bohlen and Mr. Bopp believe that this word is
of the same family as the Sanskrit _mahat_, “great;” M.
Eugene Burnouf, in a learned discussion, justifies the
interpretation “_multiscius_” given of this word by
Neriosengh (see _Commentaire sur le Yacna_, pp. 70-77).――A. T.

The form of prayer called _Kimna va Mazda_ is probably the
same as the Kereba Mazda (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II. p. 6), which
is as follows: “Grant, O Ormuzd, that my good works may
efface my sins; grant joy and content to my purified soul!
give me a share in all the good works and holy words of the
seven regions of the earth! May the earth enlarge itself!
may the rivers extend their courses! may the sun ever rise
on high! may such be the portion of the pure in life,
according to the wishes which I make.”――D. S.

[488] For _yarshanom_, which is in the manuscripts and in
the edition of Calcutta, read _Barashnom_. This is the name
of one of the four sorts of purifications prescribed to the
Parsees; that called the _Barashnom of nine nights_, is
believed the most efficacious. It is performed in a garden
or in a retired place, where a piece of ground 90 feet in
length and 16 feet in breadth is chosen for it, and, after
having been cleaned and surrounded by a narrow ditch and a
hedge, covered with sand. Therein, after the celebration of
ceremonies during one or three days, a Mobed traces a number
of furrows or trenches, called _Keishs_, and forms several
heaps of stones according to prescribed rules; he prepares a
beverage of ox’s urine and water mixed with other sacred
liquids: this the person to be purified drinks in sacred
vases, then enters into the _Keishs_, accompanied by Mobeds
and a dog; there he strips, and receives on his body wine
poured over him, and washes himself with that given him by
the Mobed. During prayers recited by the purificator and
himself, he passes over several heaps of stones, his right
hand on his head and his left upon the dog, and is then
rubbed with dust; in his progress over other heaps of
stones, he washes himself several times with water. This
done, the purified person goes out of the trenches, and
performs other ablutions with water before he dresses and
puts on the _Koshti_, or “girdle.” The individual who takes
the _Barashnom_ remains separated from other men during nine
days, and at the end of the third, sixth, and ninth night,
he washes himself with a prescribed quantity of wine and
water, and is subject to other ceremonies. This is a very
short abstract of the ceremonies practised in our days; in
the _Vendidad Sadé_, other very minute particulars and
prayers are given for the performance of purification, the
usages of which have in the course of time undergone some
changes. See a completely detailed account of these rites of
purification in Anquetil’s elaborate work, _Zend-Avesta_, t.
I. 2. P. pp. 353-367, and t. II. pp. 545-548, with a plan of
the place upon which the Barashnom is performed.――A. T.

[489] According to Olugh Beigh (Hyde, p. 190), the name of
the five supplementary days of the Persian year of 360 days
are as follows: Ahnavád, Ashnavád, Isfendamád or Máz,
Vahshat or Vahást, and Hashúnesh or Hashtuvish (see also p.
62. n.).――A. T.

[490] According to Anquetil (_Zend-Avesta_, II. p. 575) the
name of the five supplementary days is _Farvardians_, that
is, “the days of the Fervers of the law:” on these days, as
the Persians believe, the souls of the blessed and those of
the damned come to visit their relations, who receive them
with the greatest magnificence in their houses, purified and
adorned for the occasion.

In the composition of the name Farvardigán, appears to have
entered the word Gáhs, which denotes also the Epagomenes,
and five female Izeds, or angels, who have formed, and
preserve, the bodies, and are occupied in heaven to weave
garments for the just (_Zand-Avesta_, I. 2. P. p. 221).――A. T.

[491] It may be recollected that, during the short period of
the French Republic, the year was of twelve months, each of
thirty days, with the addition of five supplementary days,
called by some _Sansculotides_; these were festivals,
consecrated, the 1st, to Virtue; the 2nd, to Genius; the
3rd, to Labour; the 4th, to Opinion; and the 5th, to
Recompense; every fourth or leap-year, there was a 6th day,
devoted to the Revolution.――A. T.

[492] The manuscript reads: “Let her eat bread at night,
having wrapped up the hand in her sleeve and over that a
towel.”――D. S.

[493] _Yasht_ is not found among the names of the Nosks
enumerated in the note, pp. 272-275.――A. T.

[494] Every city and village must have the tree called
_Aderán_, or _Aderán Sháh_, or “the chief of fires.”
_Ader_ is the Pá-zend of Ateré, which signifies fire; which
word, in Parsee writings, means the several fires which
showed themselves to mankind under different forms, and also
their presiding genii; whilst Atesh signifies the common
fire. When a kitchen fire has been used three times, the
Parsees are bound to take it to the Aderán: the other fires
must be taken thither on the expiration of seven days, on
the day of Ader and those of his co-operating genii. The
fire Aderán itself is taken once every year, or at least
every three years, to the fire _Behram_, which is the result
of one thousand and one fires, taken from fifteen different
kinds of fire. In strictness there should be an Ader Behrám
in every province, and according to some Dustúrs, in every
city. On the expiration of a certain period, they take the
ashes of the Behrám, Aderán, and other fires into the
fields, and strew them over the cultivated grounds. It
requires a ceremonial of thirty days to prepare the Behrám
fire (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II. p. 531).――D. S.

[495] The Parsees use for their purifications seven things:
plain water; _Padiav_ water; water of power, or _ab-í-zúr_
(according to Hyde, golden water) _Yeshtí_ water; earth;
_Noreng gomez_, or ox’s urine; and _Noreng gomez yeshtá_.
They must take care to have the plain water and the earth
free from all kind of impurity.――D. S.

[496] _Padiav_ means “what renders or is rendered (pure)
like water.” To impart this quality to water, the officiating
priest puts it in a large vase, out of which he fills a
smaller vessel; he afterwards pours out some of the water
three times from the smaller into the larger vessel,
accompanying each act with certain forms of prayer, on which
the water becomes Padiav.――D. S.

[497] See note, p. 325.

[498] According to Anquetil Du Perron, _Khushnuman_
signifies one who is pleased or favorable: this name is
given to a short prayer, or collect, which contains the
principal attributes of the being to whom it is addressed:
there are two kinds of it, the greater and the less: in the
former, after every attribute they repeat: “I offer thee
Izechné,” or “I praise and magnify thee;” in the latter form
this is only repeated after the enumeration of all the
attributes.――D. S.

[499] See note, p. 315, Hyde translates _Darún yeshtén_, by
“expiatory banquet:” but according to Anquetil (_Zend-Avesta_,
t. I. 2. P. p. 237) the Darún Yeshté is a Parsi office,
which begins thus:

“With the Barsom raised over the Zúr, I address in prayer
the great Ormuzd, brilliant in light and glory; also the
Amshaspands; and thee, O Fire! son of Ormuzd!
I address in prayer the wood and the perfumes!
. . . . thee, O Fire, son of Ormuzd!
. . . . the pure, the chiefs who walk in dignity
in this world!
I make Khushnuman; I address my prayer to Ormuzd, to the
Amshaspands, to the pure Surúsh, to the Fire of Ormuzd, the
great, the exalted, the holy!
I pray to the holy, pure, and great Vendidad given to Zoroaster!
. . . . . . . . Gahs.
. . . . . . . . Gahanbars, or the six
periods of creation.――
. . . . . . . . Years and laud them.”

_Darun yeshté_ also signifies “Festival Darúns,” or banquets
preceded by the recitation of the Izeshné, the Vendidad, and
the Darun, for which the officiating priest receives a new
dress. This bears out Hyde’s translation.――D. S.

[500] The forms Jethá ahú viríyo, Eshem Vehu, and Jetha âúd
Jezmídé have been given under GATE 22.――The Homoctenaum is a
short prayer: “To think with purity, to act with purity, to
perform and execute it, to teach others the same, such is my
undertaking. I teach the same to men: may it turn to my
good!” The Hockhshéthrôtemâé: “The king who is pure and
elevated as I am, I will give him his desires; of him I,
Ormuzd the holy and heavenly, will take peculiar care.――”
The printed copy reads for Jétha âad Jezmédé, the words
اهم بريم يزمندی ايتا اهو. But as one manuscript reads Jétha âád
Jezmédé, it has been retained. The Hemoctaum and Hokhshéthrôtemâé
are also conjectural, as the two manuscripts and printed
copy present different readings. In the latter these are
read Homesham and Hochastar.――D. S.

[501] In the Vendidad Sadé (_Zend-Avesta_, t. I. 2. P. p.
386) we find: “The world is engendered from water; and at
present there are in the water two primeval aquatic dogs and
thousands of their females which produce by copulation
thousands of their species. To smite these aquatic dogs
causes all good things to be parched up; from that city or
place shall depart all that is sweet to the taste: wholesome
viands, health, longevity, abundance, rain, the source of
good, the profusion of temporal blessings; also whatever
grows on the earth, such as grain and pasturage.”――D. S.

[502] In page 564, _Zend-Avesta_, t. II. we find: “The
Parsees who are desirous of leading happy lives, and of
having children who do them honor, must employ four priests
to repeat the Izeshné during three consecutive days and
nights: this rite is called the _Zindeh Ravan_, or ‘verifier
of the soul (at the moment of death).’”

Surúsh, or Surúsh Ized, performs a most important part in
Parsee mythology (see note, p. 7).――D. S.

[503] According to Anquetil du Perron, the following are
some of the ceremonies practised on such occasions. On the
approaching departure of the soul from the body, they
perform the _Sag-díd_ (the dog-saw) by presenting a dog
before the dying person, and that the animal may be induced
to look at him, they throw some bits of bread or meat near
the person. Without doubt Bardesanes, in _Euseb. præp. Evan.
lib._, p. 277, alludes to this custom where he says: “All
the Medes expose the dying, whilst yet breathing, to dogs
which have been carefully trained for that purpose;” and in
like manner (_Euseb. præp. Evang._, l. I. p. 11-12), where
he says: “Among the Hyrcanians and Caspians, some exposed
persons whilst yet alive to birds of prey and dogs; others
only the deceased: but the Bactrians exposed old people
whilst yet alive to dogs.” (See hereafter the note to GATE
77.)

The Parsees believe that, immediately after death, the soul,
like a feeble new-born infant, flutters during the first day
around the place where the person died; on the second,
around the Keshé, or place in the Dakhmé where the body is
deposited; and on the third around the Dakhmé or Parsi
burying-place; on the fourth, near the bridge of Chinavad,
where he is interrogated by Mithra and Rashné Rast, who also
weigh his actions. During the three first days, they
celebrate the Surúsh Yasht, the Surúsh Darún, the Patet
Mokhtat (of souls), and the Surúsh Afergan. Patet signifies
a general confession of all sins a person may have committed.
Afergáns and Afrins are prayers in the form of thanksgivings
accompanied with supplications and benedictions. On the
third night, at the Gah Oshen, they celebrate four Daruns:
the first in honor of Rashné Rast; the second of Raon Ized;
the third of Surúsh, with six Darúns, three large and three
small; and the fourth in honor of the Ferouers of the
Saints: with this last they place four dresses, along with
fruits and cheese, all of which are for the officiating
priest.――D. S.

[504] The Niyayish is an humble and submissive form of
prayer, of which there are five, addressed to five Izeds,
and containing their panegyrics: the sun, Mithra, the moon,
the female Ardouisur, and the fire Behrám. Amongst the
attributes of Ardouisur are: making females prolific, pure,
giving them happy child-births, supplying milk, etc. The
great Vorôokeshé makes every thing grow and exist in those
places where it flows, and whither it bears the element of
water, from the source Ardouisur of a thousand channels and
a thousand arms, each of which extends to a journey of forty
days as performed by a well-mounted horseman.――D. S.

[505] According to Hyde’s version Gojestah, or Gosakhtah,
became the devil, because he lapsed from the truth and
lessened it. When he saw he had to contend against the
truth, he fell prostrate in astonishment during a thousand
years, and dared not venture to approach the world, but
remained groaning and trembling in his own place. I cannot
find this tradition in the _Zend-Avesta_, according to
which, Bomasp is the demon of falsehood. On the authority of
GATE 91, I prefer reading Gokhastah to Kusastah, or “the
broken.” Hyde (p. 180) mentions that the Indo-Persians
reckon Gegjesta Ghanáminu the immediate minister of
Ahriman.――D. S.

[506] According to an ancient custom which is observed even
in our days, the mouth of a dying Parsí is applied to that
of a dog, who is to receive the man’s last breath. This
custom may have occasioned the belief that the Persians let
dogs devour their sick and dying. So says Herodotus (l.
III.); Strabo (l. XI.) names the Bactrians and Sogdians as
feeding for this purpose certain dogs, whom they call
“buriers of the dead;” Cicero (Tusc., l. XLV) mentions the
same of the Hyrcanians. Certainly, different customs
prevailed in different times among the numerous nations who
inhabited the vast empire of Persia: hence may be explained
the various and sometimes contradictory accounts of ancient
authors whose affirmation, denial, and silence, with respect
to a particular fact, may however, in many instances, with
equal truth but with due restriction, be applied to
particular places and epochs.――A. T.

[507] The Parsis, from the most ancient to our times,
neither bury nor burn their dead, but expose them to be
devoured by birds and wild beasts. They fear to pollute the
earth and the fire, which they hold sacred. It is, however,
well established that they built formerly very magnificent
sepulchres for kings and eminent men, to whom probably the
privilege of such monumental graves was confined.――A. T.

[508] The readings in the manuscript and printed copy are
both erroneous; therefore Yarshanom, Pituft Irash, and Tipat
Barash have, on the authority of Anquetil Du Perron, been
changed into Barashnom, and Patet Iran.

[509] Among the animals, cows, sheep, and fowls are
particularly specified.――D. S.

[510] For Eshem Vehu, see GATE 22.

[511] The same is said of Mohammed, see note, p. 3.

[512] If the epoch of Kaíomars be adopted according to
Ferdusi, 3529 B. C., that of Zoroaster would be = 529 years
before our era. In the Mojmel al Tavarikh (IVth chapter,
upon the chronology of the philosophers and some kings of
Rúm) it is stated that, since Zoroaster appeared, 1700 years
had elapsed to the time of the author, who wrote in the year
1530 of the Hejira, or A. D. 1126; therefore Zoroaster would
have lived 574 years B. C. If the 1700 years be taken for
lunar years, the epoch would answer to 522 before the
Christian era.――A. T.

[513] For _Pávyáb_, or according to Anquetil du Perron,
_Padiav_ water, see GATE 54. This word may perhaps be
derived from the Sanskrit पू _pú_, “to purify;” पवित्र
_pavitra_, “pure;” पवित्रं _pavitram_, “water, rain,
cleansing in general, a sacrificial implement.”――A. T.

[514] For Adar Behrám, or the fire of Behram, see note on
GATE 53. Instead of Var Behrám and Vār Behrām of the
manuscript, and Varcháram of the edit. of Calcutta, Adar
Behrám has been adopted on Hyde’s authority.――D. S.

[515] Bahrám is the most active of the Izeds, the king of
all the beings; with a celestial body, receiving his glory
and splendor from Ormuzd, he presides over the 20th day of
the month; he bestows health and victory, and combats the
Dívs. He appears under the form of a young man of fifteen
years, and under those of different animals; that of a cock
has already been mentioned (see note, p. 324); he appears
besides as a bull, a horse, a camel, a ram, a he-goat, a
lamb. He is also identified with the planet Mars, and acts a
great part in the ancient history of Persia. See _Zand-Avesta_,
t. I. 2. P. pp. 83. 86. 91; t. II. pp. 98. 287. 289. 290.
294. 321. 356. and in other places.――A. T.

[516] The Calcutta edition reads _Pímasídím_; the above
agrees nearly with the name given by Anquetil, which is
_Hamespethmédem_. The other names of the Gahambars,
according to the spelling of that author, are, from the
first to the fifth, as follow: _Medïozerem_, _Medïoshem_,
_Peteschem_, _Eïathrem_, and _Médïarem_. The statement
relative to these six festivals, as contained in the Afrín
of the Gahambar _Zend-Avesta_, t. II. pp. 82-87) coincides
with that of the Dabistán. Ormuzd himself holds out
remunerations to those who rightly celebrate each of these
days, and condign punishments to those who neglect the
prescribed observances.――A. T.

[517] In the _Ardi Viraf nameh_ we read, that the river of
hell, most black and frigid, is made of the tears of those
who mourn for the dead; to the surviving friends silence and
pious mussitation in remembering the merits of the dead are
recommended.――A. T.

[518] See note, p. 105.

[519] Nothing existed before the first principle began the
work of creation; this principle is called in the
_Bun-Dehesh Zaruam akarené_, “the boundless time;” that is,
“sine extremitatibus anterioribus et posterioribus.”
Distinct from it is “the long time,” which is said to be
created by God, and not “self-existing” as the first. Among
the productions of this first principle, some are “self-creating,”
such as Ormuzd and Ahriman (see note, pp. 235-236); others
act only upon what exists already, such as the three
substances――the primordial light, the primordial water, and
the primordial fire. This is the doctrine expressed in Zand,
Pehlvi, and the most ancient Persian books. The above
statement about the eternal existence of the heavens seems
therefore not in accordance with it. The Abádians or the
Kaiomarsiáns acknowledged the good principle under the name
of _Yezdan_, and the bad principle under that of _Ahriman_;
but they believed that the first only was from eternity, and
not the last; or in other terms, that light only was eternal
and darkness created. The cosmogony of this sect was the
same as that related in the _Bun-Dehesh_, or as that of
Zoroaster; it is briefly as follows: The primordial bull was
the principle of all irrational creatures as well as of the
human race. According to the _Izeshné_ and the _Bun-Dehesh_,
the primitive man came forth from the side of the bull; he
was called in Zand _gaya mereta_, and in Pehlvi _gayo mard_;
a word compounded of _gaya_, “bull or life,” and of
_mĕrĕta_, “mortal,” or “man;” hence came _Gayomars_, or
_Kaïomars_, the name of a most ancient Persian king (see
note, p. 29). From the seed of Gayomard sprung a tree which
was shaped like two men, and the fruit of which comprised
ten different species of men; from these two bodies came the
twins Meshia and Meshiané, man and woman, the ancestors of
mankind. Although created for happiness, they were seduced
by Ahriman, and averted from the adoration of Ormuzd; they
wandered in the wilderness, were addicted to hunting, clad
in skins of animals, and their posterity peopled the earth.

But Ormuzd did not forsake his creatures. In order to
emancipate them from the rule of Ahriman, he destined to
them his word, the law of Zartusht, who always existed, but
his _feruer_, that is, “the ideal of his perfection,” was to
be produced by Zardusht’s fire.

He was to be preceded by _Hom_, the first apostle of the
law, whom Jemshid followed. This king and prophet erected
but few fire-temples; mankind venerated the elements and the
stars, not without a number of evil genii, and a gross
superstition began to prevail. For opposing this and
renewing the primitive law, Zardusht appeared.――A. T.

[520] It appears quite conformable with true psychology to
derive the origin of the evil spirit from jealousy, as was
said in the note at p. 236, or from apprehension, doubt,
suspicion, or envy, as above.――A. T.

[521] According to the _Boun Dehesh_ (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II.
pp. 347-348), Ormuzd will during three thousand years move
alone; during three other thousand years, his operations
will be blended with those of his adversary; the subsequent
three thousand years will belong to Ahriman; and in the last
three, completing the period of twelve thousand years, the
author of evil shall disappear; and at the resurrection of
the dead and the renewal of the bodies――previous to which
event are to appear the three posthumous sons of Zoroaster
(see note, pp. 281-282)――the world shall be without evil
during all ages.

The ultimate fate of Ahriman is stated in the _Vendidad Sadé
Izeshné_ and _Vispered_, as follows (_Zend-Avesta_, t. I. 2.
P. p. 169): “That unjust, that impure being, who is a Div
but in his thoughts; that dark king of the Darwands, who
understands nothing but evil; he shall, at the resurrection,
recite the Avesta, and not only himself practise the law of
Ormuzd, but establish it even in the habitations of the
Darwands.” Moreover it is said (_Zend-Avesta_, t. II. pp.
415-416), that Ahriman, that lying serpent, shall at the end
of ages be purified by fire, as well as the earth be freed
from the dark abode of hell; Ormuzd and Ahriman, accompanied
by all the good and evil genii, shall sing the praises of
the author of all good.”――A. T.

[522] Záíd and Amru are two names which grammarians use in
giving an example for any two individuals, such as may be
said A. and B.――A. T.

[523] The author of the _Dabistán_ names no other famous
teachers or sectaries of Magism, after the death of
Zoroaster, besides Ardai Viraf, Azarbád, and Mazdak: he
treats of this last in particular in the subsequent section,
previously to which we cannot omit adverting to Mani or
Manes, whose name occurs in this book but once occasionally,
as that of a painter (see note, p. 205). He is however much
more reputed as the founder of a new doctrine, called from
him _Manichæism_, which spread its ramifications widely
through the Christian world. According to several authors,
Mani was a Christian priest, and pretended to act the part
of Paraclet, the announced successor to Jesus Christ;
according to Khondemir, he endeavored to substitute himself
for Mohammed, to whom that prophecy respecting a Paraclet
was applied by the Muselmans. However it be, Mani’s
Enghelion, or Gospel, has not been preserved, nor any other
work written by himself; the books of his followers too,
such as could be found, were burnt. His religion is stated
to have been a mixture of Magism, Brahmanism or Buddhism,
Judaism, and Christianism; Shahristani, often quoted in this
work, and Mohammed Ibn el Nedim el Werrak, author of the
Fehrist (a history of literature), agree in representing his
doctrine as a branch of Magism with some Christianism
ingrafted upon it.

The two points attributed to Mani by the commentator of the
Desátir, namely, the permission to kill harmless animals,
and the prohibition of sexual intercourse, belong rather to
the ethical or practical, than to the theological, part of
his religion, which distinguished itself by particular
dogmas and opinions relative to the duality of principle,
good and bad, light and darkness, involving other metaphysical
questions. These, we know, were common to other religions in
all times. Before Manes, Christian sects combined the said
principles with the dogmas of their religion: so did the
followers of Basilides, Marcion, Bardesanes, Valentius, and
others. These, as well as after them the disciples of Manes,
happen to be not seldom confounded with the Gnostics, which
name was applied to different sectaries, chiefly Neo-platonics,
from the earliest to later times of Christianism. The
Manichæans rejected the Old Testament entirely, and partly
the New, which they interpreted according to their opinion.
They disputed about the nature of Jesus, and modified
Christian theology; they believed a region inhabited by God
and the pure spirits, prior to the creation; a world,
created of an eternal and self-existing matter; ten heavens
and eight earths; two empires, the one of light and the
other of darkness; the last, ruled by the great Lord, called
“matter;” demons with material souls and bodies; the soul no
part of the divinty, but united with the body to govern it;
two souls in every man; the propagation of souls; a
transmigration of souls into animals; the stars, and every
thing in nature, even the stones, animated; the rotundity of
heaven and of the earth; antipodes; and other theses too
many to be all enumerated in this place. They had besides
particular rites of worship, from which the veneration of
the sun, the moon, and other stars, was not excluded; they
were averse to matrimony, and generally austere in their
manners. See about this extensive subject the _Mémoires_ of
the learned Abbé Foucher, in the _Hist. de l’Acad. Royale
des Insc. et Belles-Lett._, t. xxix, and the work quoted,
_Hist. crit. de Manichée_, by Beausobre.――A. T.

THE FIFTEENTH SECTION GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF THE TENETS HELD BY THE
FOLLOWERS OF MAZDAK.――Mazdak was a holy and learned man,
contemporary with king Kobad; his religion was extensively
diffused, but he was at last put to death by the illustrious
Nushirvan; his tenets were as follow: from the commencement
without beginning, the world had two creators; the agent of good,
_Yazdan_, “God,” or “light;” and the agent of evil, _Ahriman_, or
“darkness.” The supreme God is the author of good, and from him
proceeds nothing but good; consequently, intelligences, souls,
heavens, and stars are his creation, in all which Ahriman has no
share whatever; the elements and their combinations are, in like
manner, the productions of the Lord; the influence of fire
imparts warmth to those stricken with cold; the breathing of the
winds gives coolness and ease to those consumed by heat; the
water satisfies those parched with thirst; the earth is the place
of ambulation. In like manner, their combinations, such as gold
and silver among minerals; the fruit-bearing trees among
vegetables; the ox, horse, sheep, and camel, of animals; the
pious and beneficent among mankind, are his creation: but the
consuming of animals by fire; the destruction of living creatures
by the sultry simoom (wind); the foundering of ships in floods;
the cutting bodies asunder by iron, or their being pricked by
thorns; rapacious and noxious animals, such as lions, tigers,
scorpions, serpents, and the like, are all the works of Ahriman;
and as he has no share in the empyreal heaven, they style it
_Behisht_; but as he possesses a joint authority in the elemental
world, opposition has consequently arisen, and no form subsisting
in it is possessed of permanent duration. For example: the
Almighty bestows life, and Ahriman puts to death; life is the
creation of God, death that of Ahriman; God produced health,
Ahriman, pain and disease; the Bestower of blessings created
paradise, Ahriman, hell; the worship of the Lord is therefore
most meet, as his kingdom is immense; and Ahriman has no power,
except in the elemental world; in the next place, the spirit of
every one devoted to God ascends on high, but that of Ahriman’s
servants abides in hell. Wisdom therefore requires the man of
intelligence to separate himself from the Ahrimans; for although
the author of evil may afflict such a person, yet on being
delivered from the body, his soul ascends to Heaven, whither
Ahriman has not the power of coming.

In some parts of the _Desnad_,[524] Mazdak says: “Existence
arises from two principles or sources, _Shíd_ and _Tár_,” _i.
e._: ‘light’ and ‘darkness,’ which he afterwards interprets to
mean God and Ahriman. He afterwards says: “The works of light
result from choice, but those of darkness from accident; light is
endued with knowledge and sensation, darkness is ignorant; the
mixture of light and darkness is accidental, and the
disengagement of light from darkness is also accidental, and not
the result of choice; whatever is good in this world is an
advantage emanating from light, whilst evil and corruption arise
from darkness; when the parts of light are separated from
darkness, the compound becomes dissolved, which means
resurrection.” Again, he says in the same volume: “There are
three roots, or principles: water, fire, and earth; when these
are blended together, the tendency to good or evil arising from
their mixture is also accidental; whatever results from their
purest parts tends to good, and whatever is derived from their
grosser parts tends to evil.” He says in the same volume: “God is
seated on a throne in the world, the source of all things, just
as kings are on the throne of sovereignty in the lower world. In
his presence are the four energies, namely, _Bázkushá_, or ‘power
of discrimination;’ _Yáddah_, or ‘power of memory;’ _Dáná_, or
‘faculty of comprehension;’ and _Surá_, or ‘gladness;’ in like
manner as the affairs of royalty turn on four persons: “the
Supreme Pontiff, the principal Hirbud, the commander in chief of
the forces, and the master of the revels. And these four persons
conduct the affairs of the world through the agency of seven
others, inferior to them in rank, namely, chieftain,
administrator, _Banúr_,[525] _Dairván_ (head of a monastery),
agent, _Dostúr_, and slave; which seven characters comprehend
under them the twelve _Rawání_, or ‘orbits’ of spirits, namely:
the speaker, giver, taker, bearer, eater, runner, grazer, slayer,
smiter, comer, goer, and abider. Whatever man unites in himself
the four energies, the seven agents, and the twelve qualities,
becomes in this lower world like a creator or protector, and is
delivered from all kinds of embarrassment.”

It is also stated in the same volume: “Whatever is not according
with the light and agrees with darkness, becomes wrath,
destruction, and discord. And whereas almost all contentions
among mankind have been caused by riches and women, it is
therefore necessary to emancipate the female sex and have wealth
in common: he therefore made all men partners in riches and
women; just as they are of fire, water, and grass,” In the same
volume we find: “It is a great injustice that one man’s wife
should be altogether beautiful, whilst another’s is quite the
contrary; it therefore becomes imperative, on the score of
justice and true religion, for a good man to resign his lovely
wife for a short time to his neighbour, who has one both evil and
ugly; and also take to himself for a short time his neighbour’s
deformed consort.”

Mazdak has also said: “It is altogether reprehensible and
improper that one man should hold a distinguished rank, and
another remain poor and destitute of resources: it is therefore
incumbent on the believer to divide his wealth with his
coreligionist; and so taught the religion of Zardusht, that he
should even send his wife to visit him, that he may not be
deprived of female society. But if his coreligionist should prove
unable to acquire wealth, or show proofs of extravagance,
infatuation, or insanity, he is to be confined to the house, and
measures adopted to provide him with food, clothing, and all
things requisite: whoever assents not to these arrangements is
consequently a follower of Ahriman’s, and they get contributions
from him by compulsion.”

_Farhád_, _Shíráb_, and _Ayin Hoshpúyár_ adopted this creed;
besides these, _Muhammed Kúlí_ the Kurd, _Ismail Bég_, the
Georgian, and _Ahmadai of Tiran_ (a village near Ispahan)
possessed this faith. From them it has been ascertained, that the
followers of Mazdak do not at present assume the dress of Gebers,
but practise their religion secretly among the Muhammedans. They
also showed the author the volume of Mazdak, called the _Desnad_,
written in old Persian, which _Ayin Shakib_, the grandfather of
_Ayin Hosh_, translated into popular Persian. _Farhod_ was a man
of great intelligence, and assumed the name of _Muhammed Said
Beg_ among the Muhammedans: Shirab went under the name of _Shir
Muhammed_, and _Ayin Hosh_ under that of _Muhammed Akil_; and as
they were eminent in their peculiar science, they possessed the
volume called the _Desnád_. Such is the detailed account of the
Parsi systems, agreeably to the promise made in the beginning of
this work, into which not a single one has been admitted which
has not either been taken from their own books, or heard from the
followers of the respective creeds, as their enemies have, from
hostile motives, falsely ascribed to them various erroneous
doctrines.[526]

[524] Desnad, the volume which contains the doctrines of
Mazdak.――D. S.

[525] A word not in the dictionaries; if derivable from बाण
_bána_, “an arrow,” it may signify “an archer, head-archer;”
if from बाणी _bání_, “speech,” it may be “a speaker, an
orator.”――A. T.

[526] This first chapter of the Dabistán, here finished,
represents the Sabæismus, or the worship of the heavenly
bodies, and the formation of society by a race of kings,
called the Máhábádiáns, who were succeeded by the Péshdádiáns,
and other known dynasties of the Persian kings. We see laid
down the principal features of Asiatic monarchies which have
been preserved from times immemorial to our days. The
Dabistán, it is true, blends the ideas of more recent epochs
with those of the highest antiquity, and introduces sects of
later times, the origin of which he traces back to the times
of Abád, Húshang, and Zohák. It is however clear, that a
very ancient religion prevailed in Asia, consisting of two
principal points: the first was the adoration of the Creator
of all good, whose unity was acknowledged very early by the
enlightened class of men; the second point was the detestation
of the author of all physical and moral evil. This religion
inculcated purity of thoughts, words, and actions, and a
tender regard for animal life; not without a great number of
liturgical rites, dietetical observances, and other
regulating customs in private and public. We may comprise
under the general name of “Magismus” the fourteen religions
mentioned in this chapter, the last but one of which,
namely, that of Zardusht, appears to have been but a new
systematic arrangement, not without a partial reform, of the
old general religion of Asia, which has also been attributed
to a more ancient Zardusht.

The duality of principle (good and bad) seems to come home
to the common feeling of mankind; but it implies metaphysical
questions about the creation, anteriority, posteriority,
derivation and duration of light and darkness, about which
the different sects are divided by their dogmas and
opinions. That of the Zardushtiáns derived from God light
and darkness, and considered the last as a shadow inseparable
from the body. Zardusht was a dualist, inasmuch as he
adopted light and darkness, as two eternal principles
opposed to each other, and also inasmuch as he taught two
immediate authors of good and evil, who were independent of,
and absolutely contrary to, each other: but he was an
unitarian, inasmuch as he subordinated these authors to the
eternal decrees of the Supreme Being, who to him was the
only principle of the universe, with respect not only to its
original creation, but also to all its physical and moral
accidents.

Although subdivided into sects, Zardusht’s religion appears
to have been dominant, until the forcible introduction of
Muhammedanism among the Persians, and zealously supported by
the preaching of four wise men, called Sásán, who lived from
240 to 643 of the Christian era.

Here follow the principal epochs of the Zardushtián religion
from the time of Gushtasp to the end of the ancient Persian
monarchy:

THE REIGNS OF ACCORDING TO FERDUSI.

I. GUSHTASP _from_ 652 _to_ 505 B. C. Then lived Zardusht.

II. ALEXANDER ―― 337-323 id. The First Sásan (Desátir,
pp. 185. 186).

III. ARDESHIR BABEGAN ―― 200-240 A. D. Arda Viraf.

IV. SHAPUR II ―― 240-271 id. } Arzabad, the son of
} Marasfand, Sásan II.
} (Desát, p. 188.)
V. BAHRAM, the son of } Mani.
Hormuzd ―― 272-276 id. }

VI. KOBAD ―― 488-531 id. Sásan III. Mazdak.

VII. KHOSRU PARVIS ―― 591-628 id. } The Fourth and the
VIII. YEZDEJERD ―― 632-652 id. } Fifth Sásan.
――A. T.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

ERRATA.

P. 31 (note) last line. Instead of “He,” read “Hushang.” This
part of the note, to begin from “Hushang,” ought to have been
placed higher up, at the beginning of the last paragraph,
before “Jemshid,” also called “Jemshar.”

P. 57 (note) l. 5. Instead of “assumed by,” read “given to.”

PARIS:

Printed by Madame V^{e} DONDEY-DUPRÉ,

46, rue St-Louis, au Marais.

Transcriber Note:

This book was written in a period when many words had not become
standardized in their spelling. Words and names have multiple spelling
variations, inconsistent hyphenation and inconsistent accent marks.
Misspelled words in English, Greek, Persian and Sanskrit were left
unchanged. Accent marks for transliterations of Persian and Sandskrit
were standardized with accents placed above vowels, and letters d, t,
and s; a high comma precedes aspirated consonants, such as h, d, t,
and s. Words in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_.
Superscripts are within braces, preceded by a carat, e. g. 1^{er}.

Duplicate words were removed. Obvious printing errors, such as upside
down, backwards, or missing letters, and letters in the wrong order,
were corrected. Spaces were added or removed between words, as
appropriate. Quotation marks and parentheses were adjusted to standard
usage. Missing stops were added to abbreviations and ends of
sentences. Missing commas were added between items in lists. Commas
were changed to stops at ends of sentences.

Footnotes were numbered sequentially and were moved to the end of the
section in which they occurred. Anchors for Footnotes 69, 85, 192, 364,
479, 482, 489 are missing in the original; for 69, 85, 364, 489,
anchors were added where they likely belonged. Location for anchors
192 and 482 could not be determined. There are two anchors to
Footnotes 117, 138, and 232.

Noted, not changed:

The word “ibid” occasionally is not in italics.
III^{ter} Buch, should be des III^{ten} Buches, footnote 87.
For consistency, paragraph number V., should be 5., on page clxiv.
The word “sir” is occasionally lower case as a title.
Dots were used instead of ditto marks in footnote 499.
Page cite in footnote 105 should be 134, not 190, as printed.
In the errata at the end of the book, P. 31 (note) refers to footnote 256,
and P. 57 (note) refers to footnote 292.

Other changes:

Removed extraneous comma between “latter formed,” page lii.
Changed semicolon to full stop after “East India Company,” page clxxxix.
Changed colon to semicolon after the word “completed,” page 20.
Changed colon to semicolon in series of phrases in the quotation on page 150.
Changed stop to colon, third paragraph, page 196.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Dabistán, Volume 1 (of 3) - or School of manners, translated from the original Persian, - with notes and illus." ***

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