bridge of the gatherer" (chinvatperetu). This was
a narrow road conducting to heaven or paradise, over which the souls of
the pious alone could pass, while the wicked fell from it into the gulf
below, where they found themselves in the place of punishment. The good
soul was assisted across the bridge by the angel Serosh--"the happy,
well-formed, swift, tall Serosh"--who met the weary wayfarer and
sustained his steps as he effected the difficult passage. The prayers
of his friends in this world were of much avail to the deceased,
and greatly, helped him on his journey. As he entered, the archangel
Vohu-mano or Bahman rose from his throne and greeted him with the words,
"How happy art thou who hast come here to us from the mortality to the
immortality!" Then the pious soul went joyfully onward to Ahura-mazda,
to the immortal saints, to the golden throne, to Paradise. As for the
wicked, when they fell into the gulf, they found themselves in outer
darkness, in the kingdom of Angro-mainyus, where they were forced to
remain and to feed upon poisoned banquets.

It is believed by some that the doctrine of the resurrection of the
body was also part of the Zoroastrian creed. Theopompus assigned this
doctrine to the Magi; and there is no reason to doubt that it was
held by the priestly caste of the Arian nations in his day. We find it
plainly stated in portions of the Zendavesta, which, if not among the
earliest, are at any rate of very considerable antiquity, as in the
eighteenth chapter of the Vendidad. It is argued that even in the
Gathas there is an expression used which shows the doctrine to have
been already held when they were composed; but the phrase adduced is so
obscure that its true meaning must be pronounced in the highest degree
uncertain. The absence of any plain allusion to the resurrection from
the earlier portions of the sacred volume is a strong argument against
its having formed any part of the original Arian creed--an argument
which is far from outweighed by the occurrence of a more possible
reference to it in a single ambiguous passage.

Around and about this nucleus of religious belief there grew up in
course of time a number of legends, some of which possess considerable
interest. Like other thoughtful races, the Iranians speculated upon the
early condition of mankind, and conceived a golden age, and a king
then reigning over a perfectly happy people, whom they called King
Yima--Yima-khshaeta--the modern Pe