appeals in its sweet simplicity to every heart, and that it requires of the believer
to present himself before the altar with the innocence and trustfulness of a little
child; that it seeks not to confuse by a multiplicity of minute observances, and
even sums up its leading tenets in two brief and easily intelligible
commandments; Magianism, conscious of its inherent defects, unable to fall
back on the redeeming sacrifice of a SAVIOUR, deficient in any enduring principle
of vitality, sought to build up its structure on a foundation of ceremonies and
formalities. And when it could not feed the soul with the bread of truth, it
dazzled the senses by imposing spectacles, and confused the imagination with a
cumbrous code of the most complicated ritualistic frivolities; so that the Persian
worship, with its incantations and devices, laid the foundation of the later Magic.
Turning our attention now to that portion of the Zendavesta which is called the
Vendidad, we find that it is divided into twenty-two Fargards, or chapters.
In the first of these we find an account of the creation by Ahura-Mazda, of
sixteen holy regions, sinless spotless Edens, localities of perfect bliss; each of
which is destroyed in succession by Ahriman, the Spirit of Evil,—a fable
evidently suggested by the Mosaic history of Paradise. The second treats of a
certain king, Yimo Vivaugham, who introduced agriculture into the land of Iran.
The third sets forth the various means by which Zoma, or the Earth, may be
rendered happy. You must beware of excavating deep holes in it, for through
these the devs, or demons, pass to and fro between hell and earth; nor must you
bury within it the dead bodies of men or dogs, or other animals. The fourth
chapter enumerates six categories of crime, and the several punishments
connected with them. The fifth and sixth are occupied with a description of
various kinds of impurity. The seventh and eighth contain liturgical directions in
reference to the disposal of the carcases of men and dogs;[19] and it is stated that
whoever eats of flesh so unclean can never be purified, but that hell will
undoubtedly be his portion. Even the house in which a man or a dog dies must
immediately be purified by the use of incense or sweet-smelling odours; a
sanitary precaution of some importance in hot climates. In the ninth occurs an
elaborate detail of the rite of purification denominated the Barathium, to be
performed by, and on behalf of a person who shall have been unwittingly defiled
by touching the dead. The tenth and eleventh are not less minute in their
directions what word must be repeated twice, and thrice, and four times at the