in the chains of their infernal enemy, the faithful Persian alone
reserves his religious adoration for his friend and protector Ormusd,
and fights under his banner of light, in the full confidence that he
shall, in the last day, share the glory of his triumph. At that decisive
period, the enlightened wisdom of goodness will render the power of
Ormusd superior to the furious malice of his rival. Ahriman and his
followers, disarmed and subdued, will sink into their native darkness;
and virtue will maintain the eternal peace and harmony of the universe.

Chapter VIII: State Of Persion And Restoration Of The Monarchy.--Part
II.

The theology of Zoroaster was darkly comprehended by foreigners, and
even by the far greater number of his disciples; but the most careless
observers were struck with the philosophic simplicity of the Persian
worship. "That people," said Herodotus, "rejects the use of temples,
of altars, and of statues, and smiles at the folly of those nations who
imagine that the gods are sprung from, or bear any affinity with, the
human nature. The tops of the highest mountains are the places chosen
for sacrifices. Hymns and prayers are the principal worship; the Supreme
God, who fills the wide circle of heaven, is the object to whom they are
addressed." Yet, at the same time, in the true spirit of a polytheist,
he accuseth them of adoring Earth, Water, Fire, the Winds, and the Sun
and Moon. But the Persians of every age have denied the charge, and
explained the equivocal conduct, which might appear to give a color to
it. The elements, and more particularly Fire, Light, and the Sun, whom
they called Mithra, were the objects of their religious reverence,
because they considered them as the purest symbols, the noblest
productions, and the most powerful agents of the Divine Power and
Nature.

Every mode of religion, to make a deep and lasting impression on the
human mind, must exercise our obedience, by enjoining practices of
devotion, for which we can assign no reason; and must acquire our
esteem, by inculcating moral duties analogous to the dictates of our
own hearts. The religion of Zoroaster was abundantly provided with the
former and possessed a sufficient portion of the latter. At the age of
puberty, the faithful Persian was invested with a mysterious girdle, the
badge of the divine protection; and from that moment all the actions
of his life, even the most indifferent, or the most necessary, were
sanct