8 Some change the text here to another which corresponds to some of the terms better. It should, however, first be rendered as it stands; the obscurities may well be owing to idiosyncrasy in the composer; possibly also to an affectation of obscurity (or 4 dark speech 7 ). How can Mazda be said to ‘know Himself? 7 or how could ^any but Ahura be spoken of as c the Father of Vohu Manah and Aramaiti? 7 He recognised Himself as having generated V, M. and A. He was conscious of the completed relation.
YASNA XLV.
daughter through good deeds (our) Piety. Not to be deceived is. the all-viewing 1 Lord.
5. Yea, thus I will declare that which the most bountiful One told- me, that word which is the best to be heeded by mortals. They who therein grant me obedient 2 attention, upon them cometh Weal to bless, and the Immortal being, and in the deeds of His Good Mind cometh the Lord.
6. Aye, thus I will declare forth Him who is 3 of all the greatest, praising through 'my Righteousness, I who do aright, those who (dispose of all as well aright). Let Ahura Mazda hear with His bounteous spirit, in whose homage (what I asked) was asked 4 with the Good Mind. Aye, let Him exhort me through His wisdom (which is ever) the best.
7. (Yea, I will declare Him) whose blessings the offerers will seek for, those who are living now, as well as those who have lived (aforetime), as will they 1 Hishas looks irresistibly like a nom. sing., but may it not be a nom. actoris from the redup. root? Compare hlshasa/ (although the Pahlavi renders with a different cast of meaning). What Indian word to compare here is hard to say. I prefer Bartholomae’s earlier view (as to the meaning) with the Pahlavi harvispo niktrh/ar. By dropping'the later glosses, the sense of the Pahlavi comes out as usual, much closer to the Gatha.
s Observe the vigour possessed by ‘ Sraosha.’ It designates the angel of Obedience; and at the same time it is the only word which can here bring out the sense when it is understood in its actual meaning; so continually with the words Vohu Manah, Asha, &c.
* Lit. ‘Him who I, doing aright, (praising Him with His im- mortals) who (all likewise) are (beneficent).’ Or it may be ‘that which.’
* So with many who hold the least to the hints of the Pahlavi. Otherwise I would render ‘there is furtherance,’ comparing afrashi- ma»t6.
THE GATHAS.
also who are coming 1 * (hereafter. Y ea, even) the soul(s) of the righteous (will desire) them in the eternal 8 Immortality. (Those things they will desire which are blessings to the righteous) but woes to the wicked. And these hath Ahura Mazda (established) through His kingdom, He, the creator (of all).
8. Him in our hymns of homage and of praise would I faithfully serve, for - now with (mine) eye, I see Him clearly, Lord of the good spirit 3, of word, and action, I knowing through my Righteousness Him who is Ahura Mazda. And to Him (not here alone but) in His home of song 4, His praise we 5 shall bear.
9. Yea,. Him with our better Mind we seek to honour, who desiring (good), shall come to us (to bless) in weal and sorrow 6. May He, Ahura Mazda, make us 7 vigorous through Khshathra’s royal power, 1 BvabztiM (sic) seems, as elsewhere, to express 1 those who are becoming.’
s The Pahlavi uniformly errs, or is strangely free, with this word. The sense ‘continuous’ is here admirably adapted.
3 This word seems evidently used almost in a modern sense of character, ‘ disposition. Elsewhere we are in doubt whether to refer it to the Spenirta Mainyu of Ahura, or to Ahura Himself.
* Paradise; possibly ‘ home of sublimity.’
3 The change from singular to plural is frequent. Ner. varies from the Pahlavi in the last verse, improving upon it: Evam. tasmai pra»amam antar Garothmane nidadamahe. This was probably an intentional improvement, as the Persian MS. follows our Pahlavi text. His MS. of the Pahlavi probably read bard yehabund.
Or, who has created weal and sorrow for us with good inten- tion, (and as our discipline);’ but this is hardly probable. Ahura did not originate evil. Sp«»&, aspente are used adverbially (see Y. XXXIV, j).
7 I hardly agree to reading verezmyau (sic) here in the sense of ' homes.’. The meaning is ‘ endow us with efficiency’ in the pursuit of the objects mentioned in the context. Or ‘ the propitiation and YASNA XLV.
I2Q our flocks and men in thrift to further, from the good support and bearing 1 of His Good Mind, (itself born in us) by His Righteousness.
10. Him in the Yasnas of our Piety we seek to praise with homage, who in His persistent energy 2 'was famed to be (in truth) the Lord Ahura Mazda, for He hath appointed in His kingdom, through His holy Order and His Good Mind, both Weal and Immortality, to grant 3 the eternal mighty pair to this our land (and the creation).
i i. (Him would we magnify and praise) who hath despised the Daeva-gods and alien men, them who before held Him in their derision. Far different are (these) from him who gave Him honour. This latter one is through the Saoshyawt’s bounteous Faith, who likewise is the Lord of saving power 4 reverential honour’ may have been more directly in the com- poser’s mind; ‘may He endow our (worship), with efficiency that it may accomplish its desired result.’ See the positions of the words.
The Pahlavi translation also bears witness to the rendering above, with its erroneous or free varzWar avo lanman.
1 As it is impossible for those who have studied the subject to believe that the Pahlavi translator did not know the meaning of amavandih in Zend, we must suppose him to have had some form like hazah before him instead of huza(thw&/).
1 The Pahlavi translator, rendering this word in the two other places by pavan astfibih, had evidendy some reason for seeing a form of naman here. The natural conclusion is that his MS. read differ- endy in this place. Ner. renders him appropriately.
s Dan looks like an accusative infinitive here (Bartholomae); otherwise the two verbs must be regarded as having indefinite pronouns understood, ‘ one assigns,’ and ‘ they grant.’
4 I cannot see the applicability of Agni’s tide ‘ house-lord’ here; compare diwsupatni as adj. referring to pdti., THE GATHAS.
a friend, brother, or a father to us Mazda YASNA XLVL Personal Sufferings, Hopes, and Appeals.
In treating this most valuable section, we can as usual presuppose that the several verses were not originally composed in the order in which they now appear. Verses 1-3 seem like a cry ‘ from the depths/ In verse 4 animosity appears; and an appeal to the energy of some of his warlike adherents seems to prove that, with verses 5 and 6, the composer addressed it to an assembly; 7-10 are questions and appeals to Ahura, but, as a matter of course, they are none the less really intended to impress the hearers, as well as to animate the mind of the reciter. Verses 11 and 12 were again intended to be delivered to adherents.
Verse 13 is addressed to them in terms. Verse 14 would be regarded by some as little suited to the connection, and the rest seem spoken to an assembly of chiefs. However different they may be as to the particular time or circumstances of their origin, they are in general so homogeneous even as to pitch of intensity, that, with a little exercise of the mind, we. can as usual see the reasons why they were put together, or were consecutively com- posed; and in poetic diction sudden changes neither displease nor surprise us. 1. Beyond a doubt the leading prophet is the figure in the first and second verses; and. those verses are so free from imagery that we hold them as describing beyond any reasonable 1 He who despised the Daevas, they returning the contempt is probably the same person expressed by the two h6i in the previous verse. It is therefore Ahura, but the words which mean friend, brotner, father, are grammatically connected with ye — mainyata, the one who reverenced Ahura. The expression £ father ' gives a strong impression that Ahura is referred to, notwithstanding the vocative. Particularly as we have father in verse 4. The word * brother/ however, inclines one to the more v closely grammatical view.
YASNA XLVL question, together with many other passages in the G&thas, the afflictions and discouragements of Zarathurtra himself. He knows not whither to turn, although he speaks as a public person and in command of forces which are scanty indeed (verse 2), but yet still able to take the field (Y. XLIV, 15, 16); and his movements also concern large districts (‘ lands'). He is not driven from his house, but from his country. It is superfluous to say that religion, although blended with a natural ambition, is his leading motive. How he shall satisfy Ahura is the one problem which he aims to solve; but his case at this particular juncture shows every discouragement.
2. Not supposing that his ya=ydna is merely lost in the meaning ‘ that/ we see that in relieving his burdened mind he exclaims, not that he knows that he is poor in means and troops, but that he knows why it is thus. It is the dregva«t’s work, whom we may also well understand as the drugvarct, the accursed' enemy, who holds back (verse 4) the bearers of the Holy Order from all success in their efforts to gain a righteous livelihood from the favoured cattle culture (Y. XXIX, 2), and who, as he with grief long since foresaw, should he attain to power, would deliver up home, village, district, and province to ruin and death (Y. XXXI, 18). He there** fore cries to Ahura in common with the Kine herself (Y. XXIX, 9), and his ‘behold' is only a changed expression for her exclama- tions (Y. XXIX, 1).
As a friend, he would have the good Mazda to regard him as seeking an especial form of grace; and he would beseech Him to fill up his need (Y. XXVIII, 11) in his extremity, teaching him, not the value of flocks and followers alone, but of that isti which lay deeper than the material wealth which he yet lamented, even the blessings of the Holy Order in every home. 3. And therefore he continues: Teach me and tell me of those great thoughts, the khratavo, the salvation-schemes of the Saviours, elsewhere also spoken of as the khratu of life (Y. XXXII. 9); for these saving helpers would, through a severe conflict and after many a reverse, at last bring on ‘ Completed Progress ’ 4. But he must arouse himself from the relief and indulgence of his grief, he therefore springs to action, and with a cry which we hear elsewhere (Y. LIII, 9), and which was in all probability often uttered in hymns now lost to us, he urges the reward for the chief, who at the head of his retainers, shall expel the world- destroyer, the dujsasti (Y. XLV, 1), from power and from life. And what is that reward? It seems to be merely the recognition and confirmation of merit among the faithful. The man who shall THE GATHAS.
expel, or destroy, the heretical tyrant shall be eminent in the recog- nition of his services in the support of the people and their sacred agricultural civilisation.
That was to be reward enough, and even that prestige (pourva- t&tem) was to be given back to God in offering for still further service (Y. XXXIII, x 4).
5. And every righteous official is urged to repeat the proclama- tion as a warning to every polluted Daeva-worshipper whom he can discover, or to whom his voice can reach, as well as to those secret adherents who would seem to need encouragement. The charged official is to assail the destructive opponent (Y. XXXII, 6-8), only after careful discrimination. He is to approach the evil chief, the hostile hvzJbM (of the blood), as distinct from the inferior noble, or the peasant clansman, and he is to tell him fully of the price set on his head. 6. ‘ And the superintendent who has ‘the power, and does not thus carry out these instructions, shall himself be delivered over to the bonds of that Lie-demon whom the evil “ kinsman " serves. For there is no compromise in the dualistic moral creed. The man who favours the evil is as the evil, and the friend of the good is as the good himself; So had the Lord ordained/ 7. Then, as so often elsewhere, he turns his thoughts to the outward emblem as the sign of inward grace, the sacramental Fire without which the masses would have had no help to fix the eye, or draw prostrations, and he asks with the question of profound devotion: Whom have they (Thy Saoshyawts, verse 3) set -me, as strengthener in these storms, save Thee and Thy symbolic flames? Yet even here he names the Good Mind with them, and the Order.
8 1 But/ he continues, ‘ may he who would destroy my settlement find every, influence and power combined to form his min; may all things keep him back from prosperity, and may nothing keep him back from harm/ 9. He calls, then, for a leading helper who may help him magnify Ahura, not merely in religious celebrations, but in that universal advance of the sacred ‘cause/ which follows Ahura’s ‘ conciliation ' (verse 1).
10. As if to hinder the discouragement of those who hear his own unburdenings of grief, he declares that he will never leave the faithful few who follow him; he will go with them to the ‘dread assize' itself, as if to help them pass the last of tests.
xi. But the ‘ wicked/ open or concealed, should not share these hopes; their conscience, ever the remorseless executioner, shall curse them, as they try to pass the Judgment Bridge; and hurled YASNA XL VI.
from that narrow path (it becomes narrow to the faithless), they shall fall to ‘ eternal ’ Hell.
>12t Their destruction is not, however, yet decided; there is not only hope for the tribesmen of Ahura, but for the pagan, and not for the ‘ alien’ only, but for the Turanian enemy, whose very name had been a synonym for suffering. If these even shall repent, they may be blest; and some had already turned. The converted tribe Fryana offered many pious proselytes. These would help on the righteous order together with the holy people, and God would dwell with them as well 13. Rhetorically referring to himself as in the third person, or else representing some second speaker who names his name, he can still offer his reward to any prince who will yet come up with his re tain ers to his cause, not kept back by the many refusals which he had met (verse 1), nor discouraged by the scant numbers of his bands; and that reward is one whfch might yet be efficacious to induce self-sacrificing succour, for in addition to what had been said (see verse 4) he could declare spiritual life from Ahura to be the portion of every faithful follower, and with it future temporal wealth. And he should declare this true recruit the £ good mate 9 in the service, the first helper (verse 9) of the tribes.
14. Here we have what seems a question conceived as uttered by some one in the throng, or else simply rhetorically thrown in: ‘Who is that friend, that powerful coadjutor who is thus offered this reward, and for such a service?’ Zarathmtra names the king. But he diverts the minds of hearers from a pernicious trust in individuals.
He would appeal, so he implies, not to one man only, although that one be Vutaspa, the heroic, but to all whom Ahura would recognise in His assembly, through the inspired suffrage of the mass.
15. And first he addresses the group made up chiefly of his family, the Spitfimas; they were, as he implied, enlightened in the sacred lore, and among the foremost therefore of the Ar(e)dra.
16. He then calls on Frashaojtra, with the Hvogvas, exhorting all to continue in their righteous course, in harmony with those whom they wish for as Saviours for the land, assuring them that they will reach at* last that sacred scene where the ‘ Immortals dwell with God. 17. ‘That scene,’ he further adds, ‘where the faithful sing their praises in perfection, using the true. metres * (as sacred as the Vedk). And he declares that Ahura, who discerns the truth infallibly, will heed and answer; for the praises sung there will be those of obedient men who offer to the cause. 18. He once THE GATHAS.
THE GATHAS.
more holds out his spiritual rewards as the best gifts of the inspired revelation s threatening as usual commensurate visitation upon the oppressing dans, while both promises and threats are in harmony with Ahura's will, for that alone has been his guide in every state- ment. 19. After all complaints, and threats, and stern injunctions, he closes with the once more repeated word ‘ reward/ and that for every man who shall aid in * his great affair * (Y. XXX, 2), and he appeals to God Himself, asserting His inspiration for all that he has said.
Translation.
r. To what land to turn 1; aye, whither turning shall I go? On the part of 2 a kinsman (prince), or allied peer, none, to conciliate, give 3 (offerings) to me (to help my cause), nor yet the throngs of labour, (not) even such as these 4, nor yet (still less) the evil 1 The Pahlavi translator sees the usual meaning in nem6i and nemo. He also accepts kam zam adverbially after the constant Greek usage. ‘ In what land shall I establish my religion (as it is here rejected); whither with my praises (of the true God) shall I go?’ The rendering is so much richer that I turn from it with great reluctance.
2 It is to be regretted that able scholars should so hastily change the Gathic text here without first trying to render it as it is. This is all the more necessary, as each independent writer disputes emendations. Pair! I think ought to stand. The ^z^aetu, airyaman, and verezmem are also elsewhere alluded to, as appertaining to the hostile party sometimes, and therefore not among those from among whom (para?) the prophet would be expelled.
3 Dadaiti as a third plural has long been suggested with the eagerness of discovery. Its subjects would then be khshniur, and that implied in ya verezma. But the construction is difficult thus, and it may be greatly doubted whether we had not better alter our discovery back into the singular with the Pahlavi. I am greatly confirmed in my view of the grammatical form of khshnauj by Bartholomae’s decision for a nominal form. Otherwise it would he a third singular, with loss of the final dental.
4 IMa seems to be an irregular form (see Y. LVIII, 4). I can YASNA XLVI, 135 tyrants of the province. How then shall I (establish well the Faith, and thus) conciliate Thy (grace), O Ford?
2. This know I, Mazda! wherefore I am thus unable to attain my wish 1, and why my flocks are so reduced in number, and why my following is likewise scant. Therefore I cry to Thee; behold it, Lord! desiring helpful grace for me, as friend bestows on friend. (Therefore to meet my spirit’s need, and this as well) declare and teach 2 to me the Good Mind’s wealth.
3. When come, Great Giver! they who are the day’s enlighteners 3, to hold the Righteous Order of the world upright, and forward pressing? When are only make an exclamatory isque=talisque of it. The Pahlavi renders freely as if some form of hi=to bind were before him (recall how?), or perhaps he read ha/£a, rendering as=these all together, hamsayakW; Ner. ye svarre»ayo.
1 So the Kine complained of him in Y. XXIX, 9 as anaSsha; so also the Pahlavi, explaining akhvistar [aigham denman atft- bdnikih maman r&i khavithnam]. He proceeds li amat kam ramak va amatht kam-gabri hdmanam, explaining analshS as not being an ishi-khshathra. Ma=sma notwithstanding position (?)..
1 ‘ Nim wahr ’ has long since circulated as a rendering for &khs6; and with irtim in the sense of ‘ prayer,’ it has afforded the admirable sense ‘ observe, take heed of the desire of the pious. But we have a positive proof of the meaning ‘ teach,’ ‘ declare tor khsa; see Y. LXV, 9 (Wg.). So also in Y. XXVIII, 5. That Ahura possessed an frti is clear from Y. XXXIV, 5. And if the sage could' ask, ‘What is your irti (wealth)? what is yoiu king- dom (power over possessions)?’ it is certainly not strained to suppose that he could say here; ‘tell me concerning your wealth,’ especially as he bewails his poverty, irti is in antithesis to the idea expressed in kamnafshvi and kamnanL So also the Pahlavi as translated by the Persian 'hezSnah.
» Ukshino would seem to be an ancient error for ushano, as the Pahlavi translator renders as if reading usha in Y.L, 10, and THE GATHAS.
the schemes of the saviour Saoshyawts with (their) lofty revelations (to appear)? To whom for help does he (their chief) approach, who has Thy Good Mind (as his fellow-worker 1 )? Thee, for mine exhorter and commander, Living Lord! I choose.
4. (But e’er these helpers come to me, all rests as yet in gloom.) The evil man is holding back 2 those who are the bearers of the Righteous Order from progress 3 with the Kine, (from progress with the sacred cause) within the region, or the province* he, the evil governor, endowed with evil might®, con- suming 6 life with evil deeds. Wherefore, whoever hurls him from his power, O Mazda! or from life, stores for the Kine in sacred wisdom shall he make T.
not ukhshl Otherwise 1 increasers of the days ’ is a fine expression but suspicious in view -of the Pahlavi rendering in Y. L, 10. Ner.'s *viklrayitryo (sic) is striking, but I cannot claim for it all that it seems to offer, as Ner. elsewhere renders forms of vakhsh by those of kas. The Persian follows the Pahlavi.
1 Comp. Y. XLIV, 1.
Pa in the sense of ‘ keeping back from welfare ’ as well as in that of 1 protection,’ a sense first taught us by the Pahlavi writers, is now at last generally acknowledged. It now, like many other suggestions of the Pahlavi, actually casts light in the ren- dering of the analogous Vedic word.
5 So the mass of MSS. with the Pahl. min fravlmirno; Persian az raftan. The expression might refer to the ‘going of the kine,’ as representing the people in her ‘ path.’
5 PahL zak i pavan duj-stahamak; Ner. dush/o balatkari. The elements seem to be duz + hazo + bao( = vSo).
* Ush 111 Iranian seems to have the sense of. destruction com- bined with it sometimes; hence aoshah, aoshimo.
.far can well mean ‘attain to.' Pathme«g as = paths (so I formerly rendered) gives a far feebler sense than that indicated by e rst Zendist, the Pahlavi writer. The 4 wisdom 5 of preparing stores for the kine, even if we suppose an animal only to be meant YASNA XLVI.
5. (Yea), he who, as ruler, treats no coming appli- cant with injury 1, as a good citizen (or nobly wise) in’ sacred vow and duty, and living righteously in every covenant, who, as an uncorrupted judge, dis- cerns the wicked (that leader who, rejecting me, would keep back those who propagate the Faith), let him, (this righteous judge,) declare (the vengeance) to that (hostile 2 ) lord, (my) kinsman. Yea, let him crush him when he sallies forth 3 (to approach us for our harm)!
6. (And he who leaves him in his guilty error has my curse.) Yea, hewho has the power 4, and will not thus (with stern reproof 5 ) approach him, shall go to is obvious. The Iranian winter was something very different from that in India.. But the kine is not alluded to without a certain figurative meaning: she represents the people, and as such she cried aloud; and Zarathmtra received the commission to relieve her sufferings as such. That the word hu&rtdif stands in the genitive should not disturb us. The 1 care for the kine ’ was a matter of national importance, and ‘ wisdom ’ could not better be exercised than in this direction.
1 Or we may render ‘ he who as ruler does not bestow favours upon him who approaches with injury/ The hint of the Pahlavi favours this.
» Zfoaetave is here, as in Y. XXXIII, 4; Y. XXXII, 1, and the first verse of this chapter, the hostile chieftain called ‘kinsman in an aristocratic sense by Zarathurtra and his group.
3 I compare uzfiithyaus^a which is used of the breaking forth of water. The Pahlavi translator seems to have had some such idea ‘mfin lala hen^Mo,’ but with him the entire line, which divides all writers, favours the sense ‘ in saving him from his impiety/ Khrftn- yaJ is a verbal form (with Bartholomae).
4 The Pahlavi translator sees the root is=to wish in ismand, ‘ who does not willingly approach him; ’ or ‘ who does not approach desiring (and seeking?) him/ 3 I am gratified to see that another takes nearly this view of this line. He has ‘ verfolgt/ THE GATHAS.
the abode of the Lie, (and) the enchainer 1. For he is evil who is the best one to the evil, and he is holy who is friendly to the righteous, as Thou didst fix the moral laws 2 3, O Lord!
7. Whom, then, as guard, O Mazda! hast Thou a set me 4 5 then when that wicked one still held 6 me for his hate? Whom (had I) then but Thee, Thy Fire and Mind, Ahura! by deeds performed in which Thy Righteous rule is saved and nurtured? There- fore that spiritual power 0 (vouchsafing me) for the (holy) Faith (its truths) declare.
8. And as to him who (now by evil power) de- livers up my settlements to harm, let not his burning (wrath) in deeds attain 7 me. But bearing back 8 the (evil will and evil influence of such), let these things come (back) to him in anger. Let that to his body come which holds from 9 welfare; but let no (help) 1 Haethahya, as a masculine, is awkward, as would be baethahya, so the Pahl. (of the terrifier). A loc. of haithya may be correct, taking daman also as a loc. Otherwise ‘ to the creatures of the Lie, and the enchainer (or terrifier)/ 2 Or, ‘ as Thou didst make the souls at first/ 4 Some render ‘ me * here, who seem elsewhere loath to translate thwavarct as = like thee, thee. Khshmavato, thwavas, and mavaitS, in Y. XLIV, 1, may be rendered, £ of you/ ‘ thou/ and * to me/ 5 So the Pahlavi indicates. I have, however, elsewhere, as against tradition, rendered as if the root were dar(e)s; ‘has set his eye on me for vengeance/ 6 One might be tempted to read ta/ moi das tvem; ‘that granting me, do Thou speak forth for the faith/ 7 The Pahlavi translator indicates the root sa by his r&sh; so read as alternative, ‘ let him not wound us/ 8 The meaning ‘ but contrariwise ' has been ventured on. The indication of the Pahlavi is ‘in opposing;' pavan pa^irak yam- t&nimo.
9 The Pahlavi hete misses the point, and taking p&y£/ in its usual YASNA XLVI.
at all (approach him, which may) keep him back from misery. (And let this happen as I speak) from (venge- ful) hate, O Lord!
9. But who is the freely helping one who will teach me foremost 1 how we may adore Thee, Thou the well to be invoked 2 as in Thy deeds, the holy 3, bountiful Ahura? What (words) the Kine’s creator 4 spake for Thee by aid of, and to aid, the Righteous ritual Order, these words of Thine, (Thy people coming) with Thy Good Mind, are seeking 3 now (to gain and learn from) me 6, O Mazda Lord!
sense, falls into confusion. The ancient scholars, like some of their successors, could not always believe that pi could mean ‘to hold back from good * as well as from evil. They recognised it sometimes, giving us our instruction on the subject, but not here.
1 Did the composer appeal to some powerful coadjutor here, oi does he rhetorically express his perplexity?
2 Zevfatim must equal forms of h ft; but from the constant evidence of the Pahlavi to the meaning £ endearing/ one is much inclined to suggest a reading as if from zush.
3 Ashavanem is applied to Ahura, and cannot so well mean 4 righteous 5 here. ‘ Holy 5 is the more proper term in this con- nection, while spe^tem is necessarily excluded from that meaning by its occurrence with ashavanem in immediate connection.
4 Notice that the word tashl occurs here with no mention of wounding in the connection (see note 6 on page 6).
5 I am here recalled to the Pahlavi by some who rarely name it. I had rendered, { these words are inciting me (in duty) through Thy Good Mind;* so ish often in the Yeda. The Pahlavi trans- lator, like his successors, scandalised at the difficult forms, also anticipated his successors (as elsewhere often) in getting free from the difficulty. He did what is exactly equivalent to what is now practised by scholars (sometimes too often). He rendered the text as if changed from what he could not understand to what he could understand, adhering to the right roots however, which I now. follow. He knew that ishewtf ma did not mean, ‘I am seeking/ but he could not credit the words before him.
6 We have now a suggestion which must often have presented itself to those who read the 7?fg-veda constantly, and that is (so THE GATHAS.
10. Whoever, man or woman, shall give to me those (gifts) of life which Thou hast known 1 as best' O Mazda! and as a holy blessing through (Thy) Righteous Order, a throne (established) with (Thy) Good Mind, (with these I shall go forth; yea, those) whom I shall (accompany and so) incite 2, to the homage of such as You 3 (on earth), forth to the Judge’s Bridge (itself) with all of them shall I lead on 4 (at last).
11. (And they and I have every need for help, for now) the Karpan and the Kavi will join in govern- ments 6 to slay the life of man with evil deeds, they whom their own souls and their own conscience will beery 6. And when they approach there where the Judge’s Bridge (extends, unlike the believing Ones of God, who go so firmly forth with me as guide and helper, these shall miss their path and fall’), and Bartholomae) that ma may equal smfi here and often elsewhere. It is well possible, as the ‘s' often disappears.
1 Notice once more the expression, ‘Thou hast known;' so in Y. XXVIII, n, the composer confides the very direction of his petitions to the discrimination of the Deity. We gain from this the true sense of peresa nan ya t6i «hma pantfi; Ahura’s question and prayer are mighty when repeated by us, because He has known what is best, and what are' the true dath#*g for which we should ask.
* This sense corresponds admirably with the connection; Ner. utthtpaySmi.
3 Such as you = you as in the plural of majesty, or as referring' to Ahura and His Bountiful Immortals (so often') 4 ‘Go forth.’
Or, with kings; ’ but the Pahlavi has, avo khihfayih ayfiffind mfm Kik va Karapo.
6 So the Pahlavi indicates. Otherwise ‘ will harden,’ or, if khrao- dat is read, * will rage (against).’
1 Inserted to shed 'light on the last line; so the later Parsism.
YASNA XLVI.
Hi in the Lie’s abode for ever shall their habita- tion 1 be.
12. (But for the penitent there is yet hope; for all our former foes shall not thus fall, as from the I< inva/ Bridge to woe, for) when from among the tribes and kith of the Turanian, even among the more powerful ones of the Fryana, those shall arise 2 who further on the settlements of Piety with energy and zeal, with these shall Ahura dwell together through His Good Mind (in them), and to them for joyful grace deliver His commands 3.
13. Yea, he who will propitiate Zarathurtra Spit&ma 4 with gifts midst men, this man is fitted for the proclamation, and to him Ahura Mazda will give the (prospered) life. And he will likewise cause the settlements to thrive in mental goodness. We think 5 him, therefore, Your good companion to (further and maintain) Your Righteousness (and meet for Your approach).
1 I am; again brought back to the Pahlavi, having formerly rendered ‘ bodies,’ which I would now put in the second place.
2 The Pahlavi, although as usual free or erroneous as to forms, gives us the valuable hint of hen^i-ait for u zgen (sic=^ayen).
s Here we have the clear evidence of the conversion of a border tribe. The Zarathurtrians had saved some Turanian clan from plunder or annihilation, and so secured their friendship. These became known as the ‘ friendly people.’ That true Zarathurtrian piety may have arisen among them is of course possible.
4 It need hardly be said that this reference to Z. in the third person, does not prove that the composer was not Z. himself. One might even say that his authorship was even not less probable on this account.
5 Let it be noted that the Pahlavi translator gives us our first critical knowledge as to the true writing. and meaning of mdimaidi; or will scholars object that he renders in the singular? Valman pavan zak i Lekfim AharSyih hamishak miij&m khfip hamkhak. Ner. dhy£yihni ruddha-sakMyam.
THE GATHAS.
(A voice from among the Chiefs.)
14. (But where is such an one?) Whom hast thou Zarathu-rtra 1! thus a holy friend for the great (effort of the) cause? Who is it who thus desires to speak it forth? (Zarathustra answers. Aye, such an one I have.) It is our Kavi VLtclspa 2, the heroic; (and not he alone, but all) whom thou shalt (as in Thy prophet) meet 3 in the assembly, O Ahura Mazda! these likewise will I call (to my attempt), and with Thy Good Mind’s words.
15. O ye Ha&£a/-aspas, Spit&mas! to you will I now address my words, since ye discern the things unlawful, and the lawful, for these your actions to establish 4 * (firmly on its base) for you the Righteous Order through those which are the Lord’s primeval laws.
16. (And to the Hvdgvas would I likewise speak.) Thou F rashao.rtra Hvogva (whom I see) 6 * 8; go thou 1 Shall we regard this verse as misplaced because the subject is in the second person? It is probable (as of very many verses) that it was often recited by the composer, or others, in a different connection, and perhaps originally so; but it was a happy thought for the effect to introduce it here. Let it be supposed that this and the previous verse were. arranged to be spoken by another voice during the public recital. We see that the interest is much increased by the intruding strophe.
8 This passage may be regarded as recording the call of Vu- t&spa to the holy work. Zu=hft need not always express the invocation of the gods.
8 Others, ‘unite.’
* Or, ‘ ye take to you the righteous character to yourselves,’ as the infinitive is difficult; but in that case Khshmaibya becomes awkward. The translation of dft as ‘ take ’ has long been familiar.
0 Obviously composed for an occasion when the several parties would be present.
YASNA XLVL H3 (forth) with the generous helpers 1, with those whom we.are praying for as for salvation to the land. Go thou where Piety joins hand in hand with the Righteous Order, where are the wished-for Realms of Good Mind, where Mazda in His most honoured 2 home abides, 1 7. Where in your measured verse 3 I will declare aloud (the praises), not in unmeasured lines, Gamaspa Hvogva! but songs of homage (will I weave) with ever gained Obedience in offering. (And unto Mazda) will I chant them, yea, to Him who will discern aright what things are lawful (or) unlawful 4 (which I thus do, or utter), and with His wonder-working thoughts 5 of Righteousness (attend).
18. (For) whosoever (offers) sanctity 6 * * to me, to him shall be the best gifts whatsoever. Yea, of my 1 Ar(e)dra seems to be especially applied, and might be left un- rendered.
2 I see no impossibility whatever in such a rendering, literally in ‘his choice-abode; ’ so also the Pahlavi indicates: tamman aigh Afaharmazd pavan kcimak den demand ketrhne^/. The question is of * going 9 and ‘ dwelling,’ and the meaning ‘ abode ’ is quite in point. As to var, see uta khshathra; and compare mazd&vara. Aside from this, vardmam=in blessing.
3 The Pahlavi again, with its followers, gives us our first hint at the general meaning here. What else can his pa^/man and apadmanik mean, but the regularity, that is, the rhythm and Cadence of the words?
4 D&them^i adathemia would be ‘ the truth and the heresy ’ in general.
6 If mawth is taken as an instrumental, (can it be an act. imper.?) vista might occupy the place of a preterit, but it looks far more like a participle, and might be regarded as forming a compositum with vahm<?/zg. Supply the dat. (?) pers. pron. understood before ye.
6 The alteration to yaur, considered as an aorist, has long circulated, but seems now, like so many of the bolder conceptions, to be given up. Yaox is the sister word of the Vedic yds, and THE GATHAS.