come to assist, sings a
theogony,[7] as they call the accompanying hymn; no sacrifice is
allowed to be offered without one of the Magi being present. After a
short pause the sacrificer takes up the pieces of flesh and does with
them whatever he likes."

[Footnote 5: These two religions, Kuenen says, were more like each
other than any other two religions of antiquity.--_Religion of
Israel_, iii. 33.]

[Footnote 6: Herodotus says Mitra; but this is a mistake, whether of
the father of history or of a transcriber.]

[Footnote 7: One of the Yashts in praise of the particular deity.]

In other passages Herodotus tells us of the extreme sanctity
attributed by the Persians to waters, to fire, and to the sun. He
also tells us that they regarded lying as the worst possible offence,
and next to it falling into debt, since the debtor is tempted to tell
lies.

Plutarch writes as follows, quoting from an earlier Greek writer of
the third century B.C.: "Zoroaster the Magician,[8] who was 5000
years before the war of Troy, named the good god Oromazes and the
other Arimonius ... Oromazes is engendered of the clearest and purest
light, Arimonius of deep darkness; and they war one upon another. The
former of these created six other gods (here follow the Amshaspands),
but the latter produceth as many other in number, of adverse
operation to the former.... There will come a time when this
Arimonius, who brings into the world plague and famine, shall of
necessity be rooted out and utterly destroyed for ever ... then shall
men be all in happy estate, they shall need no more food, nor cast
any shadow from them; and that god who hath effected all this shall
repose himself for a time, and rest in quiet."

[Footnote 8: Holland's translation.]

The Vendidad: Laws of Parity.--These extracts show the growth of
certain ideas which we have not noticed before. The dualism is being
worked out more in detail, other gods are coming in, and the doctrine
of the sanctity of the elements has made its appearance. That
doctrine is the basis of a new set of ideas and practices which we
have now to consider, those namely which are contained in the
Vendidad, one of the later works of the Persian canon. To pass from
the Gathas to the Vendidad is like passing from Isaiah to Leviticus,
and the laws of purity of Persian religion bear a strong analogy to
those of Judaism. The Vendidad[9] is composed principally of laws and
rules designed to direct the faithfu