mselves off from their fellow-men to pursue esoteric studies and
to acquire knowledge beyond the reach of common humanity, must
necessarily forget humanity itself in their effort to escape from it.
The only possible scheme upon which a religion for the world could be
based--especially for such a world as the empire of Darius--must be one
where the broad principle of common good living stood foremost, and
where the good of all humanity should be the good of each man's soul.

The vast influence of Zoroaster's name grew day by day, as from the
palace of Stakhar he sent forth priests to the various provinces, full
of his own ideas, bearing with them a simple form of worship and a rigid
rule of life, which the iron laws of Darius began at once to enforce to
the letter. The vast body of existing hymns, of which many were by no
means distinctly Mazdayashnian, were reduced to a limited number
containing the best and purest; and the multifarious mass of conflicting
caste practices, partly imported from India, and partly inherited by the
pure Persians from the Aryan home in Sogdiana, was simplified and
reduced to a plain rule. The endless rules of purification were cut down
to simple measures of health; the varying practices in regard to the
disposal of the dead were all done away with by a great royal edict
commanding the building of Dakhmas, or towers of death, all over the
kingdom; within which the dead were laid by persons appointed for the
purpose, and which were cleansed by them, at stated intervals. Severe
measures were taken to prevent the destruction of cattle, for there were
evident signs of the decrease of the beasts of the field in consequence
of the many internal wars that had waged of late; and special laws were
provided for the safety of dogs, which were regarded, for all reasons,
as the most valuable companions of men in those times, as a means of
protection to the flocks in the wilderness, and as the scavengers and
cleansers of the great cities. Human life was protected by the most
rigorous laws, and the utmost attention was given to providing for the
treatment of women of all classes. It would have been impossible to
conceive a system better fitted to develop the resources of a
semi-pastoral country, to preserve peace and to provide for the
increasing wants and the public health of a multiplying people.

As for the religious rites, they assumed a form and a character which
made them seem like simplicity itself b