ed in Pahlavi text which have come down to
us, contain twenty-one Nasks or books. These existed, in a more or less
incomplete state, down to the ninth century of our era, to which century
the Pahlavi work "Dindard" belongs.

The Avesta which exists to-day may be divided thus:--

I. The strictly canonical parts, including the following, which will be
more fully described in connection with the summaries.

1. Yasnas, including the Gathas.
2. Vispereds.
3. Vendidads.

II. The Apocryphal Avesta usually called the Khorda Avesta, or the short
Avesta. This is much less esteemed than the Avesta proper. It comprises,

1. Yashts (invocation).
2. Minor Prayers.

The language of the Avesta can be correctly described only as Avestan,
for no other literature in the same language exists. It resembles the
Pahlavi, or Ancient Persian, but it is identical with no language. The
Zend, or commentary, is written in the Pahlavi language.

The present writer wishes to express his obligation to the translation
of the Avesta by Spiegel (in German); Hang in his "Essays on Sacred
Language, Writing, and Religion of the Parsees "; and also to those by
Darmesteter and L.H. Mills in the "Sacred Books of the East," volumes
iv, xxiii, xxxiii. On the question whether or not the Achaemenian kings
of Persia, Cyrus I., and so forth, were Zarathustrians, see "Century
Bible,"--Ezra--Nehemiah--Esther.

_I.--YASNAS, OR SACRIFICIAL PRAYERS AND SONGS_

[This section of the Avesta constitutes the principal liturgical
text-book of the great Yasna ceremony, which is made up chiefly of the
preparation and offering of the Parahoma (the juice of the homa or soma
plant mixed with milk and aromatic ingredients). There are seventy-two
chapters in the Yasnas, though they contain a good number of
repetitions. It is in this main part of the Avesta that the five
metrical Gathas are to be found, these being the oldest and by far the
most important of the Avesta.]

CHAPTER I. THE PROCLAMATION OF SALVATION. I (Zarathustra) make known to
Ahura-Mazda the Great God, that I am about to offer him my prayers and
sacrifices. (Yasnas.) He is the greatest and best, the most powerful and
wise. I pay homage, also, to the bountiful immortals (the
Amensha-Spentas), the guardians of the world. And to the body of the
sacred cow and its soul; (i) to Ahura (Jupiter), Mithra the sun, to the
star Sirius; and to the Fravashis (guardian angels of the saints). I