t is by some called strength, durability, i.e.,
that power which gives tenacity to and sustains the nerves. Others
explain it as that quality in a man of rank and position which makes him
perceive the result of certain events (causes), and thus helps him in
being prepared to meet them. This meaning is suggestive, though we
translate it as knowledge, or foreknowledge rather, with the greatest
diffidence. The eighth word is quite clear. That inward feeling which
tells a man that he knows this or that, that he has or can do certain
things--is perception and consciousness. It is the inner conviction,
knowledge and its possession. The ninth word is again one which has
retained its meaning and has been in use up to the present day. The
reader will at once recognize that it is the origin of the modern word
Rawan. It is (metaphorically) the king, the conscious motor or agent in
man. It is that something which depends upon and is benefited or injured
by the foregoing attributes. We say depends upon, because its progress
entirely consists in the development of those attributes. If they are
neglected, it becomes weak and degenerated, and disappears. If they
ascend on the moral and spiritual scale, it gains strength and vigour
and becomes more blended than ever to the Divine essence--the seventh
principle. But how does it become attracted toward its monad? The tenth
word answers the question. This is the Divine essence in man. But this
is only the irresponsible minister (this completes the metaphor). The
real master is the king, the spiritual soul. It must have the
willingness and power to see and follow the course pointed out by the
pure spirit. The vizir's business is only to represent a point of
attraction, towards which the king should turn. It is for the king to
see and act accordingly for the glory of his own self. The minister or
spirit can neither compel nor constrain. It inspires and electrifies
into action; but to benefit by the inspiration, to take advantage of
it, is left to the option of the spiritual soul.

If, then, the Avesta contains such a passage, it must fairly be admitted
that its writers knew the whole doctrine concerning spiritual man. We
cannot suppose that the ancient Mazdiasnians, the Magi, wrote this short
passage, without inferring from it, at the same time, that they were
thoroughly conversant with the whole of the occult theory about man.
And it looks very strange indeed, that modern