The Zend Avesta And Masonry.

THE ZEND AVESTA AND MASONRY .

BY W . R . MURRAY . WHILE we are of the opinion that Masonry rests on its divine principles , and not on its antiquity , we are willing and happy to investigateas far as lies in our

, power , and all things that will give us light concerning its origin , symbols , and history . We do this not to strengthen our faith in its teachings and good effects , but that we may acquire knowledge , and be able to speak intelligently concerning itand thus

, impart light , whenever required , to those who have not the time or inclination for research . We were an attentive listener at the lecture given by III . Bro . Pike , in Kane Lodge , and were under the impression that he wished to convey the idea

that a Mason mi ght obtain li ght in the Zend Avesta concerning our symbolism and faith . The Avesta ( scripture ) and Zend ( commentary ) translated into the Persian idiom by the Magi or Priests of Zoroaster , is not , in my opinion , to be relied on . Its origin and that of its reputed author , is buried in obscurity , and

we do not see how we can discover things hidden from those who claimed to be wise men four thousand years ago . The prophet Jeremiah mentions a chief of Magi among the retinue of Nebuchadnezzar . The earliest accounts we have from the Greeks are from HerodotusPlinyand

, , Strabo ; after these come Armenian writers , of the 5 th century . With many of the ancient Magi , Zoroaster was not a real personage , but an idea—the word , after many changes in its translation , meaning a speaker or teacherwhich might

, be one person or one thousand . These teachers , or Magi , consolidated the spirits of good into one Grand Ruler , to whom they gave the name of Ohuramazda . The original Zend Avesta was said b y Pliny to consist of 12 , 000 , 000 verses , and an Arabic

authorsays 12 , 000 cowskins or parchments , all destroyed by Alexander the Great . The modern nations of Europe came in contact with Zoroastrianism in India , and in 1700 some ancient manuscripts were brought to England ; but Mr . Hyde , the great Oxford scholar , failed to read them ,

m fact had no key to them . Here is where the sceptical find strength . In 1751 , Anquetil Dupperon , a young Frenchman , sailed in one of the French India company ' s ships for Bombay , in search of a key to a language that had been lost for more than a thousand yearsincited thereto

, by s few leaves of manuscript found in the Bodleian Library . The French government came to his assistance by furnishing him with money to buy manuscrips , and a pension that he might devote his time to study . He prevailed upon the dustanes

or priests , to incroduce him to the hol y mysteries or rites , and sell him one hundred and twenty of their sacred manuscripts . He translated into French the Zend Avesta , and on his return to Europe compared his manuscripts with those at

Oxford , and claimed they were identical . The English scholars treated the whole thing as an imposture , Sir Wm . Jones ridiculed it , and Richardson , the Persian lexicographer , declared the whole thing a spurious fabrication . Later aDane and some German writers sustained Dupperon . The Honovar of Zoroaster is said to contain

the following : " I believe thee , O God ! to be the best thing of all—the source of light for the world . Thee , Thee , Holy Spirit of Mazda ! " and more in the flowery language peculiar to Orientals . The Vohu mano ( the good mind ) led the people to good deedsand to worship the Holy

, Mazda , who gave the sun , moon , and stars their path . The Akem Mano ( the naught mind ) gave bad men to perdition , bodily and mentally—thus we have a dualism in the Ahuramazda . The Ahuramazda had as his angelsor ministerssix beings

, , , representing different agents , by whom he governed the world . One of the books of the Zend contain prayers to be said over food prepared for an angel . We give but a faint idea of the books or chapters of the Zend , some of which relate to

Astronomy , and rules for the conduct of man , many of them excellent , no doubt . Where is our light in all this ? Take us from the Bible , and the system of Masonry founded upon it , and we lose our footing , and sink into a maze suitable to Magi and

superstition , but at variance with the faith which has sustained the craft from the time of our first Grand Master , who arranged the brethren in such manner by