BABYLON AND PERSIA

THE VENDIDAD. TIIE LESSER AVESTA. I 55touch of anthromorphism, is .easy, the proceedingfamiliar and thoroughly Aryan.But when, in thesamehymn (Yesht XIIL), we find a long string- ofinvocations to the Fravashis of the living, of thoseto be born, nay, of animals and inanimate objects,when, indeed, Ahura-Mazda and the Amesha-Spentasare said to have their own respective Fravashis, weare no longer in an Aryan worid.Here are some ofthe passages :"Of all those .incient Fravashis, we worship the Fravashi ofAhura-Mazda, who is the greatest, the best, the fairest, etc. ...We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravasliis of the Amesha-Spentas, the bright ones, etc. ... We worship the souls ; thoseof the taiiie animals ; those of the wild animals ; those of the animalsthat live in the waters ; those of the animals that live under theground ; those of the flying ones ; those of the running ones : thoseof the grazing ones ; we worship their Fravashis.* . . . We wor¬ship the good, strong, beneficent, Fravashis ... of the mostrejoicing Fire, ... of the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the in¬carnate Word, a mighty-speared and lordly god, . . . that ofMithra, the lord of wide pastures ; that of the Holy Word (Manthra-Spenla) ; that of Ihe sky ; that of'the waters ; that of the earth ; thatof the plants ; that of the Bull ; ... We sacrifice unto theFravashis of those that have been ; of those that will be ; all theFravashis of all nations, and most friendly to those of the friendlynations."" The most powerful amongst the Fravashis of the faithful, OSpitama ! are those of the men of the primitive law, or those of theSaviours not yet born, who are to restore the worid.f Of the others,the Fnavashis of the living are more powerful than those of thedead."We see here in the Avesta the beginning of a de-* The soul is to be imagined as distinct from the Fravashi.f In the fulness of time three prophets, or " Saviours," miracu¬lously born from Zarathushtra are to appear on earth, to prepare theworld for final regeneration.