equals of Ahura-Mazda, who is still supreme. The beings thus addressed are portions of the "good creation," or of the things created by the good power, Ahura-Mazda; and they are either subjects of his spiritual kingdom, such as the Amesha-çpentas (seven very important spirits), or they are simply portions of the material universe treated as semi-divine, and exalted to objects of religious worship. Thus in the last chapter of this section, the author directs his laudations to the following, among other, genii and powers: the dwelling of the waters, the parting of the Ways, mountains, the wind, the earth, the pure ass in Lake Vouru-Kasha, this lake itself, the Soma, the flowing of the waters, the flying of the birds. It is plain from this enumeration that we are already a step beyond the simple adoration of Ahura-Mazda so conspicuous in the Gâthâs, and that the door is opened to the multitude of spirits and divinities that make their appearance in other parts of the Parsee ritual.
This section of the Yaçna opens, however, with a striking address to Ahura-Mazda:[1]—
xxxv. 1. "We worship Ahura-Mazda the pure, the master of purity. We worship the Amesha-çpentas (the archangels), the possesors of good, the givers of good. We worship the whole creation of the true spirit, both the spiritual and terrestrial, all that supports (raises) the welfare of the good creation, and the spread of the good Mazdayaçna religion.
2. "We praise all good thoughts, all good words, all good deeds,
- ↑ It is a satisfaction to find that Spiegel's translation does not differ so widely from Haug's after we leave the territory of the Gathas. As a specimen, I quote the following verses from his Avesta, vol. ii. p. 135, which the reader may compare with the English rendering of the same passage in the text:— Yacna Haptaghatihâiti xxxv 1. 1. "(Racpi). Den Ahura-Mazda, den reinen Herrn des Reinen, preisen wir. Die Ameshc-cpenta, die guten Herrscher, die weisen, preisen wir. 2. Die ganze Welt des Reinen preisen wir, die himmlische wie die irdische, 3. mit Verlangen nach der guten Reinheit, mit Verlangen nach dem guten mazdayacnischen Gesetze. 4. (Zuota.) Der guten Gedanken, Worte und Werke, die hier und anderswo 5. gethan worden sind odor noch gethan werden, 6. Lobpreiser und Verbreiter sind wir, damit wir zu den Guten gehoren mogen. 7. Das glauben wir, Ahura-Mazda, Reiner, Schoner, 8. Das wollen wir denken, sagen und thun: 9. was das Beste ist unter den Handlungen der Menschen fur beide Welten. 10. Durch diese Thaten nun erbitten wir, dass fur das Vieh 11. Annehmlichkeit und Futter gespendet werden moge 12. den Gelehrten wie den Ungelehrten, den Machtigen wieden Unmachtigen."
