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(UNITFISIIT
INTRODUCTION.
1. The Dinâ-i MainÔG-I KHIRAD. The Pahlavi phrase Dîna- Maînôg-î Khirad, 'Opinions of the Spirit of Wisdom,' is a name applied to sixty-two enquiries, or series of enquiries, on subjects connected with the religion of the Mazda-worshippers, made by an anonymous wise man and answered by the Spirit of Wisdom. But, as this name is only found prefixed to a manuscript, written in A. D. 1569, in which the first part of the work is missing?, it is doubtful whether it be the original name of the book, or not, although it is very suitable to the general character of the work.
Regarding the reading of this name, here adopted, it must · be observed that the correct pronunciation of the Pahlavi word maînôg, 'spirit,' is uncertain; the traditional reading is madônad, which is a possible pronunciation of its letters, but is otherwise inexplicable; Haug proposed to read mainivad or mînavad, but, in that case, the word ought to end with d=t, or with nd; some of the present Dastars read mînôê, but this would be written m înôêk in Pahlavi; the Pâzand writers have mainyô, but this is evidently an imitation of Av. mainyavô, and does not correspond with the Pahlavi letters. As the word is manû or minô in the Sasanian inscriptions, and mînd in Persian, to which words a final k would be added in Pahlavi, it seems probable that the final letter of the Pahlavi word is not d or e, but g, a corruption of k, and that we ought to read mînôg or ma înôg. At the same time it should be noticed that a very old copy of the Pahlavi Farhang, in the library of Dastûr Jâmâspji Minochiharji in Bombay, has the word written with an extra medial stroke, so that it might be
See p. 3, note 1.
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