Sacred Books of the East. Томас Карлейль

with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, unto him thus says the Earth: 'O thou man! who dost not till me with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, ever shalt thou stand at the door of the stranger, among those who beg for bread; the refuse and the crumbs of the bread are brought unto thee, brought by those who have profusion of wealth.'"

      O maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the food that fills the Religion of Mazda?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "It is sowing corn again and again, O Spitama Zarathustra! He who sows corn, sows righteousness: he makes the Religion of Mazda walk, he suckles the Religion of Mazda; as well as he could do with a hundred man's feet, with a thousand woman's breasts, with ten thousand sacrificial formulas. When barley was created, the Devas started up; when it grew, then fainted the Devas' hearts; when the knots came, the Devas groaned; when the ear came, the Devas flew away. In that house the Devas stay, wherein wheat perishes. It is as though red hot iron were turned about in their throats, when there is plenty of corn. Then let people learn by heart this holy saying: 'No one who does not eat, has strength to do heavy works of holiness, strength to do works of husbandry, strength to beget children. By eating every material creature lives, by not eating it dies away.'"

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the fifth that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "It is he who kindly and piously gives to one of the faithful who tills the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! He who would not kindly and piously give to one of the faithful who tills the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! Spenta Ârmaiti will throw him down into darkness, down into the world of woe, the world of hell, down into the deep abyss."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within half a year, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "Five hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, five hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within a year, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within the second year, what is the penalty for it? What is the atonement for it? What is the cleansing from it?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, forever and ever."

      When is it so?

      "It is so, if the sinner be a professor of the Religion of Mazda, or one who has been taught in it. But if he be not a professor of the Religion of Mazda, nor one who has been taught in it, then his sin is taken from him, if he makes confession of the Religion of Mazda and resolves never to commit again such forbidden deeds.

      "The Religion of Mazda indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! takes away from him who makes confession of it the bonds of his sin; it takes away the sin of breach of trust; it takes away the sin of murdering one of the faithful; it takes away the sin of burying a corpse; it takes away the sin of deeds for which there is no atonement; it takes away the worst sin of usury; it takes away any sin that may be sinned. In the same way the Religion of Mazda, O Spitama Zarathustra! cleanses the faithful from every evil thought, word, and deed, as a swift-rushing mighty wind cleanses the plain. So let all the deeds he doeth be henceforth good, O Zarathustra! a full atonement for his sin is effected by means of the Religion of Mazda."

       CONTRACTS AND OUTRAGES 11

      "He that does not restore a loan to the man who lent it, steals the thing and robs the man. This he doeth every day, every night, as long as he keep in his house his neighbor's property, as though it were his own."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How many in number are thy contracts, O Ahura Mazda?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "They are six in number, O holy Zarathustra. The first is the word-contract; the second is the hand-contract; the third is the contract to the amount of a sheep; the fourth is the contract to the amount of an ox; the fifth is the contract to the amount of a man; the sixth is the contract to the amount of a field, a field in good land, a fruitful one, in good bearing. The word-contract is fulfilled by words of mouth. It is cancelled by the hand-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the hand-contract. The hand-contract is cancelled by the sheep-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the sheep-contract. The sheep-contract is cancelled by the ox-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the ox-contract. The ox-contract is cancelled by the man-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the man-contract. The man-contract is cancelled by the field-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the field-contract."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the word-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for three hundred years."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the hand-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for six hundred years."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the sheep-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for seven hundred years."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the ox-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for eight hundred years."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the man-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for nine hundred years."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the field-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for a thousand years."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the word-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "Three hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, three hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the hand-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the sheep-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."

      O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the ox-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

      Ahura Mazda answered:—

      "Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes

11

This chapter is the only one in the Vendîdâd that deals with legal subjects.