Essay on the Sacred Fire and on the Vestals

"not to be offended: and this man has
"offended you. You wished for him to be good: and he has
"done evil. You required that he honor you with the
"worship that is your due: and he has neglected your worship.
"Now, O God, whose mercy equals
"your power, forgive him his offenses, his
"faults, his negligences, and deign to receive him
"into your bosom."

Such was the worship of the ancient Persians, before
time and error had altered it; such it
was, after it had been restored by Zoroaster The Greek name for the Persian prophet Zarathustra, founder of Zoroastrianism..
One can hardly, when speaking of the Sacred Fire,
dispense with mentioning this
celebrated man; I shall present some features of his mo-
rality and of his life.

Of Zoroaster or Zerdust original: "Zerduft" — a variant of Zardusht, the Persian form of the name Zoroaster..

THERE are few men about whom there have been opi-
nions more singular than of Zoroaster or
Zerdust; he has been made alternately a Pro-
phet, a Philosopher, an Impostor. These
different ideas have been based on what is re-
ported of him. We have not sufficiently examined the
motives of those who have given the history of his
life. His followers were enthusiasts,
and consequently they have peddled a thousand fables
on his account. Others, attached to a

different Religion, let themselves be carried away by
their zeal and did not believe that a man, who
did not think as they did, could be anything but
a scoundrel. Few have spoken of him with impar-
tiality. It is therefore not in his Biographers
that one must seek to know him; he must be
seen in his morality: it is recorded in
his writings.

Before examining what one should think
of him, it is good to say a word about the time
in which he lived.

Opinions have varied greatly on this subject; the Greeks,
without realizing it, have multiplied Zoroaster
and did not take the trouble to in-
form us when he existed; their Commentators,
persuaded that this man was the foun-
der of Magism The religion of the Magi, the priestly caste of ancient Persia., tried to discover
the century and the country where he was born, through
the clouds and lies with which their guides
had shrouded his origin. As they agreed
that the worship of Fire was ancient in
Chaldea An ancient region in Mesopotamia, often associated with early astronomy and mysticism., and that it had preceded Abraham,
they pushed back the birth of Zoroaster; this
was easy enough since the Greeks seemed
to indicate several of them; one could detach
one, to carry him to the era that was
needed.

Later, it occurred to people to cast their eyes
upon the Oriental Writers, whom they had neg-
lected; they found that they spoke in a
precise manner of the time when this famous man appeared;