BABYLON AND PERSIA

I40MEDLA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA.made by Ahura, but for those two dogs of mine, the shepherd's dogand the house-dog."It is because of his dependence on man and hisdisinterested service, -^ " watching goods none ofwhich he receives "that the dog should be tendedand fed with "milk and fat with meat," and givingbad food to a dog is accounted as great a sin as serv¬ing bad food to a guest ; nay, it is a sin of the firstmagnitude to give a dog too hard bones or too hotfood, so that the bones stick in his teeth or throatand the food burns his mouth or his tongue. And" if a man shall smite a house-dog or a shepherd'sdog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul partsfrom the body," not only will that man be severelypunished for the deed, but his soul shall not in theother world be defended from the howling and pur¬suing daevas by the dogs that guard the ChinvatBridge. If there is in a house a scentless dog or amad dog, " they shall attend to heal him in tlie samemanner as they would do one of the faithful," and ifthey fail, they shall put a wooden collar round hisneck and tie him to a post, lest he come to harmand the owners of the house be held responsible forhis death or wound. In like manner a dog-mothermust be looked after exactly as a woman ; she andher litter must be supported by the man on whoseproperty the whelps were borUi until they are capableof self-defence and self-subsistence, and if he fails inthis, he shall pay the penalty as for wilful murder."Young dogs," it is explained, " ought to be sup¬ported for six months; children for seven years."Lastly