th, who
propagate everywhere lies and mischief, and heap up vengeance for
themselves against the final judgment. For the good there is nothing
better than to aid,--for they can aid, in bringing on the renovation,
dwelling with Ahura even now, and by his attributes which work in
them as well as in him, reinforcing the righteous order, and
preparing themselves to dwell where wisdom has her home. In the end
the Demon of the Lie will be rendered harmless and delivered up to
Righteousness as a captive.

Inconsistencies.--As it happens in every such reform, the new
teaching is not quite consistent with itself; old views are taken up
into the new teaching, although they do not harmonise with it; the
spiritual way of looking at things alternates with a more worldly
way. The following are some examples of this:--The great doctrine of
Heaven and Hell as inner states, as being simply the best and the
worst state of mind, is clearly announced; but the traditional view
of future abodes of happiness and misery also appears. The
Kinvat-bridge is mentioned several times in the Gathas, over which
Iran conceived that the individual had to pass after death. If he was
righteous the bridge bore him safely over to the sacred mountain,
where the good lived again; if he was wicked, he fell off the bridge
and found himself in the place of torment. It is another
inconsistency that Zarathustra expects, on the one hand, to convert
the world by his preaching, while on the other hand his sense of the
antagonism between the good and the evil spirits and their followers
often hurries him into violent methods. One hymn concludes with a
summons to his adherents to fall on the unbelievers with the halberd,
and he is constantly predicting their sudden overthrow. Along with
this, we may mention that he sought to ally himself with powerful
families for the sake of the support they would bring the cause. The
name of Vishtaspa, king we know not of what realm, is always
associated with the prophet as that of his royal patron; other
influential friends are also mentioned. Another point, in which we
notice accommodation to existing usage, is that of sacrifice. The
Gathas have several noble passages describing the true sacrifice man
has to offer to God for his goodness, as consisting simply in the
offering of self, in the devotion to the deity of all a man is, and
all he can do. At the same time Zarathustra has not a word to say in
disparagement of the sacrific