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262 ZOROASTER AND THE ZEND-AVESTA. accord with the sun, in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart; they longed for him, as the lord and master of the world, as the praiser of the most great, most good, and most fair Asha; in whose birth and growth the waters and the plants rejoiced; and whose birth and growth all the creatures of the good creations cried out,
Hail !” (S.E. vol. xxiii.) Here we see, as if in process, the deification of a human being.
The conflict between good and evil was represented as universal in its extent. Every power or being or The universal material thing was engaged on one side or the
nflict. other. All animals and plants belong to one or the other, or are forced into their service. Sometimes the gods and fiends are seen under the guise of dogs, snakes, otters, frogs, etc.; and it was held a crime to kill the creatures of Ormuzd, while a man might atone for evil by killing the creatures of Ahriman. Darmesteter, speculating on this aspect of the Avesta, says, “Persia was on the brink of zoolatry.”
Of course mankind were shared between Ormuzd and Ahriman. The servant of Ahriman and of Asha (fire) The good
he cosa offers sacrifice to them with libations of haoma and the juice (the Vedic Soma), the great healing and
wicked. invigorating plant, which when drunk by the faithful benefits the gods; sacrifices of consecrated meat and libations of holy water. He aids Ormuzd and the holy spirits by every good thought, word, and deed, and by increasing the number of and protecting the creatures of Ormuzd. The priest, or Atharvan, who drives away fiends and diseases by his spells: the warrior who destroys the impious, the husbandman who produces good harvests, are all workers for Ormuzd, and those who do the contrary, for Ahriman. The former will have a seat near Ormuzd in heaven, and at the end of time the dead will rise and live happily on the earth, which will then be free from all evil. In this connection we may note the belief in the exist
The ence of a spirit (Fravashi) distinct from the Fravashis. body originally, separated from it by death, and believed to be simply the spirit of ancestors; but this
