A literary history of Persia

THE ISMAfll DOCTRINE 415but by his ability to construct and impose on mnnkind a system atonce political, social, religious, and philosophical a doctrine whichImyself have heard enunciated amongst the Babis in Persia, one ofwhom said to me that just as the architect proved himself to besuch by building a house, or the physician by healing sickness, sothe prophet proved his mission by founding a durable religion. 1He is further taught to understand allegorically the end of theworld, the Resurrection, Future Rewards and Punishments, andother eschatological doctrines.Ninth Degree. In this, the last degree of initiation, every vestigeof dogmatic religion has been practically cast aside, and the initiateis become a philosopher pure and simple, free to adopt such systemor admixture of systems as may be most to his"taste. Often," saysNuwayri, " he embraces the views of Manes or Bardesanes ;sometimeshe adopts the Magian system, sometimes that of Plato orAristotle : most frequently he borrows from each of these systemscertain notions which he combines together, as commonly happensto these men, who, abandoning the Truth, fall into a sort of bewilderment."Space does not permit us to cite the pledge or covenantwhereby the proselyte bound himself to obey the dfrl^ nor toenlarge on the methods whereby the latter sought to approachthe adherents of different sects and creeds in order to gaintheir allegiance. For these and other most interesting matterswe must refer the reader to de Sacy's Expose, vol.cxxxviii-clxiiieti, pp.passim, Guyard's Fragments relatifs a laDoctrine des Ismaelis and Un Grand maitre des Assassins ,andother monographs alluded to in the notes to this chapter.The further developments of this sect will be discussed inanother portion of this work.1Cf. my Year amongst the Persians, pp. 303-306, 367-8, &c.