HISTORY OF THE RESEARCHES INTO THE SACRED WRITINGS AND RELIGION

OF THE PARSIS.

I. THE REPORTS OF THE GREEKS, ROMANS, ARMENIANS, AND MOHAMMEDANS.

In this Essay it is intended to give a brief outline of the gradual acquaintance of the Western nations with the Zoroastrian religion (now professed only by the small Parsi community in India, and by a very insignificant number which remain in their ancient fatherland in Persia), and to trace the history of the scientific researches of Europeans into the original records of this ancient creed, where the true doctrine of the great Zoroaster and his successors, buried for thousands of years, is to be found.

To the whole ancient world Zoroaster's lore was best known by the name of the doctrine of the Magi, which denomination was commonly applied to the priests of India, Persia, and Babylonia.

The earliest mention of them is made by the Prophet Jeremiah (xxxix. 3), who enumerated among the retinue of King Nebuchadnezzar at his entry into Jerusalem, the

"Chief of the Magi" (rab mag in Hebrew), from which statement we may distinctly gather, that the Magi exercised a great influence at the court of Babylonia 600 years B.C. They were, however, foreigners, and are not to be confounded with the indigenous priests. In the Old Testament no account of their religion is given, and only once (Ezekiel viii. 16, 17) it is hinted at.1 The Persians, however, whose priests the Magi appear to have been, are never spoken of as adherents to idolatry; and the Persian kings, especially Cyrus (called Koresh in Hebrew, Kurush in the cuneiform inscriptions), favoured the Jews. In Isaiah this great king is called "the anointed (mashiakh in Hebrew) of the Lord" (xlv. 1), “the shepherd who carries out the Lord's decrees" (xliv. 28); he is the "eagle 2 called from the orient, the man appointed by the Lord's counsel" (xlvi. 11); he is "strengthened by the Lord to subdue the heathens" (xlv. 1).3 From these high terms, in which King Cyrus, who professed the religion of the Magi, is spoken of, we are entitled to infer that this religion was not so diametrically opposed to the Mosaic as the other ancient religions were; that Cyrus, at all events, was no idol-worshipper; a supposition we shall find confirmed by Herodotus, and by the sacred books of the Parsis themselves. The Zoroastrian religion exhibits even a very close affinity to, or rather identity with, several important doctrines of the Mosaic religion and Christianity, such as the personality and attributes of the devil,

1 The religious custom alluded to in Ezekiel undoubtedly refers to the religion of the Magi. The prophet complains that some of the Jews worship the sun, holding towards their face certain twigs. Exactly the same custom of holding a bundle of twigs in the hands is reported by Strabo (xv. 3, 14), as being observed by the Magi when engaged in prayer. It is the so-called Barsom (Beresma in the Avesta), still used by the Parsi priests when engaged in worship.

In Eschylus's celebrated play "The Persians" the eagle is the symbol of the Persian empire (verses 205-10). The eagle was, as Xenophon reports (Cyropodia, vii. 1, 2), the ensign of the ancient Persians.

3 The Hebrew word goyim (literally "people"), used in the plural, as it is here, denotes the heathenish nations, the idol worshippers, in their strictest opposition to the Israelites.

and the resurrection of the dead, which are both ascribed to the religion of the Magi, and are really to be found in the present scriptures of the Parsis. It is not ascertained whether these doctrines were borrowed by the Parsis from the Jews, or by the Jews from the Parsis; very likely neither is the case, and in both these religions they seem to have sprung up independently. In the Zend-Avesta we meet with only two words 1 which can be traced to the Semitic languages, neither of them referring to religious subjects. In the later books of the Old Testament we find several Persian words and many names, but they have nothing to do with religion. The most famous of these Persian words in the Old Testament, now spread over the whole civilised world, is the word "paradise," which means originally a park, a beautiful garden fenced in.2

The name Magi occurs even in the New Testament. In the Gospel according to St. Matthew (ii. 1), the Magi (Greek magoi, translated in the English Bible by "wise men") came from the East to Jerusalem, to worship the new-born child Jesus at Bethlehem. That these Magi were priests of the Zoroastrian religion, we know from Greek writers.

The earliest account of the religion of the Magi among the Greeks is to be found in HERODOTUS, the father of history (B.C. 450). In his first book (chap. cxxxi., cxxxii.) we read the following report on the Persian religion:

:

'I know that the Persians observe these customs. It ' is not customary among them to have idols made, temples

1 These are tanúra, "an oven;" and hara, "a mountain," found only in the name Harô berezaiti, "high mountain," considered to be the chief of all mountains; preserved now-adays in the name Alborz. Tanára is evidently the same with the Hebrew tanûr (Gen. xv. 17; Isa. xxxi. 9), "an oven or furnace;" hara is identical with har in Hebrew, "a mountain."

pairi-daêza (in the Zend - Avesta), "circumvallation or enclosure;" in Hebrew we find it in the form pardes; in Greek as paradeisos. Pairi is peri in Greek; daêza corresponds to deha in Sanskrit-i.e., enclosure, generally applied to the body. Of the same root is the English thick (very likely identical with S. digdha, past participle of the root dih, to besmear, pollute," in a more compre2 The original form of the word is hensive sense to surround."

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built, and altars erected; they even upbraid with folly those who do so. I can account for that, only from their 'not believing that the gods are like men, as the Hellenes do. They are accustomed to offer sacrifices to Zeus on the 'summits of mountains; they call the whole celestial circle Zeus. They offer sacrifices to the sun, moon, earth, fire, 'water, and winds, these elements originally being the only objects of worship; but they accepted from the Assyrians and Arabs the worship of Aphrodite, the Queen of 'Heaven, whom the Assyrians call Mylitta, the Arabs Alitta, the Persians Mitra.' 1

The Persians offer sacrifices to the aforesaid gods in the following manner. They neither erect altars nor 'kindle fires when they are about to offer a sacrifice; they

neither use libations, nor flutes, nor wreaths, nor barley; 'but when any one is willing to offer a sacrifice, he then carries the sacrificial beast to a pure spot, and after 'having twined round his turban a great many wreaths of 'myrtle, in preference to any other leaf, he invokes the deity. The sacrificer ought not to pray only for his own 'prosperity; he must also pray for the welfare of all the Persians, and for the king, because he is included among 'them. When he has cut the animal into pieces, he then 'boils its flesh, spreads the softest grass he can get, espe'cially preferring clover, and places the pieces of flesh on it. After having made this arrangement, one of the Magi who is present sings a theogony,2 as they call the incan

1 Here Herodotus has committed a mistake; not as to the matter, but as to the name. The Persians, in later times, worshipped a great female deity, who might be compared with the Mylitta of the Babylonians (the Ashtaroth or Astarte of the Old Testament), but she was called ANAHITA (in the Zend-Avesta and cuneiform inscriptions), and was known to the Arab and Greek writers by the name of ANAITIS. She represented the beneficial influence of water.

Mitra is the well-known sun-god of the Persians and a male deity.

* Herodotus, who exhibits throughout the whole report an intimate knowledge of the Persian sacrifices, means by theogony here, those sections of the sacred books which are called Yashts or invocations, containing the praises of all the feats achieved by the deity in whose honor the sacrifice is to be offered. See the third Essay.

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'tation (which is used); without one of the Magi no 'sacrifice can be offered. After waiting a short time, the 'sacrificer takes off the pieces of flesh, and uses them as ' he likes.'1

In the 138th chapter of the same book, the father of history says: Lying is regarded as the most discreditable thing by them; next to it is the incurring of debt, chiefly for this reason, that the debtor is often compelled 'to tell lies. If any one of the inhabitants of a town be affected with leprosy, or white spots (another kind of leprosy), he cannot enter the town, nor have any inter'course with the other Persians; they believe him to have that disease in consequence of having sinned in one way or other against the sun.2 All foreigners affected with 'these diseases are driven out of the country; for the same reason many expel even white pigeons. They neither make water, nor spit, nor wash their hands, in a river; nor will they allow any one else to do so; for they pay a high reverence to rivers.'

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In another passage (iii. 16) Herodotus reports that the Persians believe Fire to be a god; wherefore Cambyses committed a great sin, as he says, in burning the corpse of King Amasis.

The chief Greek writers on the manners and religion of the Persians were KTESIAS (B.C. 400), the well-known physician to King Artaxerxes II., DEINON (B.C. 350), who is looked upon as a great authority in Persian matters by Cornelius Nepos (in the life of Konon), THEOPOMPOS of Chios (B.C. 300), and HERMIPPOS, the philosopher of Smyrna (B.C. 250). The books of all these writers being lost, save some fragments preserved by later authors, such

1 This custom is still maintained by the Parsis. The flesh (or any other sacrifice) to be offered is first consecrated by the priest, then for a short time left near the fire, and finally taken off by the sacrificer, to

be used by him; but it is never thrown into the fire.

2 The name given to sinners against the sun is mithrô-drukhsh, i.e., one who has belied Mithra (the sun). Such diseases were believed to be the consequence of lying.