The Yashts are succeeded by various pieces, of which one relates to Parsee eschatology, and the others, celebrating numerous supernatural objects of worship, do not call for any special remark. After these we come to the so-called Patets, which belong to the most recent portions of the book, and indicate a highly developed consciousness of sin, and of the need of divine forgiveness. They correspond in tone and character to the General Confession which has been placed by the Church of England in the forefront of her Liturgy, except that they contain long enumerations of the several classes of offenses for which pardon is to be entreated. One of them, after such a catalogue, thus addresses the Deity:—
"Whatever was the wish of the Creator Ormazd, and I ought to
have thought and did not think, whatever I ought to have said and did
not say, whatever I ought to have done and did not do.—I repent of
these sins, with thoughts, words, and works, both the corporeal and
the spiritual, the earthly and the heavenly sin, with the three words
(that is, with thoughts, words, and works). Forgive, O Lord; I repent
of the sin.
"Whatever was the wish of Ahriman, and I ought to have thought and yet did think, whatever I ought not to have said and yet did say, whatever I ought not to have done and yet did,—I repent of these sins with thoughts, words, and works, both the corporeal and the spiritual, the earthly and the heavenly sins, with the three words. Forgive, O Lord; I repent of the sin" (Av., vol. iii. p. 211.—Khorda-Avesta, xlv. 8, 9).
Another of these Patets contains the following comprehensive
formula:—
"In whatever way I may have sinned, against whomsoever I may
have sinned, howsoever I may have sinned, I repent of it with thoughts,
words, and works; forgive!" (Av., vol. iii. p. 216.—Khorda-Avesta,
xlv. 1.
The same Patet contains a confession of faith, which, as it
alludes to the several dogmas that were held to be of first-rate
importance in the creed of the true disciple of Zarathustra, may
be worth quoting before we quit the subject:—
