Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-03-10
! For the Ellsworth American.
The Parsees.
BY X. 6, ,. CANpAGE.

There resides in India small remnant
Of once powerful and numerous peo.
pie, the followers of Zoroaster, or fire.
worshipers, who went thither from Pars.
ancient Persia W ho are called Parsees They
are part Of the great Aryan family. from
whom We also are descended. and in their
annals they are said to date back a thous
and years more remote than even that OF
Greek tradition. Profs Miller and Whit
ney say Of them: They are descented
from the primitive Aryan people from
whom are descended the nations aud
tongues of Europe and Southwestern
,ia
Six hundred years before the christian
era, Thales, the most ancient of European
philosophers, was trying 10 persuade the
people of Greece that water WAS the origin
Of all things, the soul of the world; Con
fucius was endeavoring TO teach the Chi
nese that they ought TO offer sacrifices To
the spirits of their ancestors: Nebuchad-
nezzar had erected his golden image on the
plains of Dura, with the command that all
people under his authority should tall
down and worshipit, OF 10 be put TO death
Daniel was laboring in Babylon for the
restoration and re-establishment of the
worship Of Jehovah in Judea; and Zoroas-
ter was laS1rng in Persia to reform the
morals and religion of that ancient people,
and In systematziug the worship of
the Mali.
In the Zend-Avesta. the sacred book of
the fire worsbipers, "a translated copy the
writer of this paper owns Zoroaster is
represented a. having received from Ahura-
Mazda, the Supreme Being, the truths he
was to make known to men.
His system of religion consists of purity
of faith sincerity aud becomngness OF
language, and sanctity Of conduct-all of
which the christian church can heartily
and consistently endorse.
1t acknowledged but one God, the Crea-
tor and Sovereign Disposer of the world
and forbade the worship of any other. 1t
that there are two abodes for the souls OF
the dead one the house of the angels, the
other the place of evil spirits. Between
the two abodes Is the Bridge of the Gath.
erer or Judge. over which the souls of the
righteous alone can pass. 1t teaches that
there will be general resurrection of the
dead, to be preceded by the last judgment
to foretell which. Sosiosh, the spiritually
begotten son of Zoroaster, will be sent to
earth by Ahura- Mazda, the Supreme Be
ing.
The world at that time will be steepeC
in wretchedness and sin, but will then bt
purged and purified death, tie arch fend
will be slain, and existence thereafter will
be everlasting and holy. Such in briei
were the outlines of this strange religion
down TO the time of Alexander the Great
when there was a falling away from the
purity of Its practice.
| 1t was re-established A. D. 25l, ant
| 1ourished until A. d. Col, period Of 40t
years, when the Persian army under Yez
dezird was routed and overthrown at tn,
battle Of Nahavand, near Ecbatana by Ca
| lif Omar.
| After the conquest of Persia by Alexan
der Of Macedon. the religion of Zoroastel
declined and became corrupted. Kine
Ardeshire Barbekan reformed it In A. d
226; he collected the sacred books and hac
them translated from the Zend languag,
toto that of Persia, and built temples fo
the preservation Of the sacred fire. said tt
have been handed down from heaven t.
| Zoroaster.
Authorities are not agreed as to whethe
the religion of the Mail was established
among the Persians at the time of Zoroas
ter's birth, or that idolatry was practicet
by them. The present century, however
has established the fact that Darius
Xerxes and Artaxerxes, ancient rulers o.
Persia, were fre-worshipers and not idol
aters in the sense that other nations were
at that time.
Inscriptions upon the walls of the palac,
of Darius at Persepolis, Persia, the an
cient Persis, have been deciphered anl
read as follows:-
Darius, the king. king of kings. son o
Hystaspes, successor of the Ruler of thu
world, Djunchid -
"Xerxes, the king, king of kings, son o
Darius the king, successor of the Ruler o.
the world -
"Ahura- Mazda is q mighty God, wht
has created the earth, the heaven and men
who has given glory to men; who mad
Xerxes king, the ruler Of many. l, Xerxes
king of kings, king of the earth near ant
far. son of Darius, an Achaemenid. Wha
1 have done here, and what have dom
elsewhere, have done by the grace o
Ahura- Mazda -
"Artaxerxes, the king. has declared tha
this great work is done by me. Ma
Ahura- Mazda and Mithra protect me, M
building and my people"
Here. then. was the palace Of Dariu
and his successors, Xerxes and Artaxerxes
famous for their conquests. who carries
their victorious arms into India on tn
east, Syria and Asia Minor on the wesi