ency of his zeal,-" Ah !" replied the Jesuit missionary, "you have no idea of the pleasure a man enjoys in making himself heard by twenty thousand men, and in persuading them of what he does not himself believe." It is frightful to observe how many abuses and disorders arise from the profound ignorance in which Europe has been so long plunged. Those monarchs who are at last sensible of the importance of enlightenment, become the benefactors of mankind in favouring the progress of knowledge, which is the foundation of the tranquillity and happiness of nations, and the finest bulwark against the inroads of fanaticism. ZOROASTER. If it is Zoroaster who first announced to mankind that fine maxim,-"In the doubt whether an action be good or bad, abstain from it,"-Zoroaster was the first of men after Confucius. If this beautiful lesson of morality is found only in the hundred gates of the Sadder, let us bless the author of the Sadder. There may be very ridiculous dogmas and rites united with an excellent morality. ford, has given us a hundred times more without leaving home. Living in the west of England, he must have conjectured the language which the Persians spoke in the time of Cyrus, and must have compared it with the modern language of the worshippers of fire. It is to him, moreover, that we owe those hundred gates of the Sadder, which contain all the principal precepts of the pious fire-worshippers. For my own part, I confess I have found nothing in their ancient rites more curious than the two Persian verses of Sadi, as given by Hyde; signifying, that although a person may preserve the sacred fire for a hundred years, he is burned when he falls into it. The learned researches of Hyde kindled, a few years ago, in the breast of a young Frenchman, the desire to learn for himself the dogmas of the Guebres. He traversed the Great Indies, in order to learn at Surat, among the poor modern Persees, the language of the ancient Persians, and to read in that language the books of the so-much celebrated Zoroaster, supposing that he has in fact written any. The Pythagorases, the Platos, the Appolloniuses of Thyana, went in former Who was this Zoroaster? The name times to seek in the east wisdom that was has something of Greek in it, and it is not there; but no one has run after this said he was a Mede. The Persees of the hidden_divinity through so many sufferpresent day call him Zerdust, or Zerdast, ings and perils, as this new French transor Zaradast, or Zarathrust. He is not lator of the books attributed to Zoroaster. reckoned to have been the first of the Neither disease nor war, nor obstacles rename. We are told of two other Zoro-newed at every step, nor poverty itself, asters, the former of whom has an anti-the first and greatest of obstacles, could quity of nine thousand years-which is repel his courage. much for us, but may be very little for the world. We are acquainted with only the latest Zoroaster. The French travellers, Chardin and Tavernier, have given us some information respecting this great prophet, by means of the Guebres or Persees, who are still scattered through India and Persia, and who are excessively ignorant. Doctor Hyde, Arabic professor of Ox It is glorious for Zoroaster, that an Englishman wrote his life, at the end of so many centuries, and that afterwards a Frenchman wrote it in an entirely different manner. But it is still finer, that among the ancient biographers of the poet we have two principal Arabian authors, each of whom had previously writ{ten his history; and all these four histories contradict one another marvellously. This is not done by concert; and nothing is more conducive to the knowledge of the king's finest horse falls ill; his four the truth legs enter his body, so as to be no longer The first Arabian historian, Abu-Mo-visible. Zoroaster hears of it; he prohammed Mustapha, allows, that the fa-mises to cure the horse, provided they ther of Zoroaster was called Espintaman; will not hang him. The bargain being but he also says, that Espintaman was made, he causes one leg to issue out of not his father, but his great-great-grand- the belly, and he says,-"Sire, I will father. In regard to his mother, there not restore you the second leg, unless are not two opinions: she was named you embrace my religion." "Let it be Dogdu, or Dodo, or Dodu—that is, aso," says the monarch. The prophet, very fine turkey-hen she is very well pourtrayed in Doctor Hyde. Bundari, the second historian, relates that Zoroaster was a Jew, and that he had been valet to Jeremiah; that he told lies to his master; that, in order to punish him, Jeremiah gave him the leprosy; that the valet, to purify himself, went to preach a new religion in Persia, and caused the sun to be adored instead of the stars. Attend now to what the third historian relates, and what the Englishman Hyde has recorded somewhat at length. The prophet Zoroaster having come from Paradise to preach his religion to the King of Persia, Gustaph, the king said to the prophet,-Give me a sign. Upon this, the prophet caused a cedar to grow before the gate of the palace, so large and so tall, that no cord could either go round it or reach its top. Upon the cedar he placed a fine cabinet, to which no man could ascend. Struck with this miracle, Gustaph believed in Zoroaster. Four magi, or four sages (it is the same thing), envious and wicked persons, borrowed from the royal porter the key of the prophet's chamber during his absence, and threw among his books the bones of dogs and cats, the nails and hair of dead bodies-such being, as is well known, the drugs with which magicians at all times have operated. Afterwards, they went and accused the prophet of being a sorcerer and a poisoner; and the king, causing the chamber to be opened by his porter, the instruments of witchcraft were found there-and behold the envoy from heaven condemned to be hanged! As they are going to hang Zoroaster, after having made the second leg appear, wished the king's children to become Zoroastrians, and they became so. The other legs made proselytes of the whole court. The four envious sages were hanged in place of the prophet, and all Persia received the faith. The French traveller relates nearly the same miracles, supported and embellished however by many others. For instance, the infancy of Zoroaster could not fail to be miraculous: Zoroaster fell to laughing as soon as he was born, at least according to Pliny and Solinus. There were, in those days, as all the world knows, a great number of very powerful magicians; they were well aware, that one day Zoroaster would be greater than themselves, and that he would triumph over their magic. The prince of magicians caused the infant to be brought to him, and tried to cut him in two; but his hand instantly withered. They threw him into the fire, which was turned for him into a bath of rose-water. They wished to have him trampled upon by the feet of wild bulls; but a still more powerful bull protected him. He was cast among the wolves : these wolves went incontinently and sought two ewes, who gave him suck all night. At last, he was restored to his mother Dogdu, or Dodo, or Dodu, a wife excellent above all wives, or a daughter above all daughters. Such, throughout the world, have been all the histories of ancient times. It proves what we have often remarked, that Fable is the elder sister of History. I could wish that, for our amusement and instruction, all these great prophets of antiquity, the Zoroasters, the Mercurys Trismegistus, the Abarises, and even the Numas, &c. &c. &c., should now return to the earth, and converse with Locke, Newton, Bacon, Shaftesbury, Pascal, Arnaud, Bayle-What do I say ?-even with those philosophers of our day who are the least learned, provided they are not the less rational. I ask pardon of antiquity, but I think they would cut a sorry figure. DECLARATION OF THE AMA- WHO HAVE AMUSED THEMSELVES WITH Alas, poor charlatans! they could not We declare to the learned, that being, sell their drugs on the Pont-neuf. In like themselves, prodigiously ignorant of the meantime, however, their morality is the first principles of all things, and of still good, because morality is not a drug. { the natural, typical, mystical, allegorical How could it be, that Zoroaster joined sense of many things, we acquiesce, in so many egregious fooleries to the fine regard to them, in the infallible decision precept of "abstaining when it is doubt-of the holy Inquisition of Rome, Milan, ful whether one is about to do right or Florence, Madrid, Lisbon, and in the wrong?" It is because men are always decrees of the Sorbonne, the perpetual compounded of contradictions. council of the French. It is added, that Zoroaster, having established his religion, became a persecutor. Alas! there is not a sexton, or a sweeper of a church, who would not persecute, if he had the power. Our errors not proceeding from malice, but being the natural consequence of human weakness, we hope we shall be pardoned for them both in this world and the next. One cannot read two pages of the abo- We entreat the small number of celesminable trash attributed to Zoroaster, tial spirits who are still shut up in mortal without pitying human nature. Nostra- bodies in France, and who thence endamus and the urine-doctor are reason-lighten the universe at thirty sous per able compared with this inspired person-sheet, to communicate their gifts to us for age; and yet he still is and will continue the next volume, which we calculate on to be talked of. publishing at the end of the Lent of 1772, or in the Advent of 1773; and we will pay forty sous per sheet for their lucubrations. What appears singular is, that there existed, in the time of the Zoroaster with whom we are acquainted, and probably before, prescribed formulas of public and private prayer. We are indebted to the French traveller for a translation of them. There were such formulas in India: we know of none such in the Pentateuch. What is still stranger, the magi, as well as the bramins, admitted a paradise, a hell, a resurrection, and a devil. It is demonstrated, that the law of the Jews knew nothing of all this: they were behindhand with everything:-a truth of which we are convinced, however little the progress we have made in Oriental knowledge. We entreat the few great men who still remain to us,-such as the author of the Ecclesiastical Gazette; the Abbé Guyon; with the Abbé de Caveirac, author of the Apology for St. Bartholomew; and he i who took the name of Chiniac; and the agreeable Larcher; and the virtuous, wise, and learned Langleviel, called La Beaumelle; the profound and exact Nonotte; and the moderate, the compassionate, the tender Patouillet ;—to assist us in our undertaking. We shall profit by their instructive criticisms, and we shall experience a real pleasure in rendering to all these gentlemen the justice which is their due. |