Preface.

adding anything of his own; nevertheless,
this fidelity in an extract—where one does not
copy word-for-word—does not yet protect against every
danger: specifically, whether the guide has penetrated
deeply enough into the spirit of this religion to depict
its true form. This is an objection
that is always significant; but it must also not
be pushed so far that it makes it
doubtful: whether Anquetil: Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (1731–1805), the French orientalist who famously traveled to India to bring the first Zoroastrian texts, the Zend-Avesta, to Europe., who handed down these
writings and made them known to us in a European
tongue, understood the original languages and
the instruction of the Desturs: Zoroastrian high priests and learned experts who maintained the sacred oral and written traditions.,
which he enjoyed, so well that
his transmission does not lead us astray? This
would be the case if, among the teachings—
I will not say: contradiction—if even just
a lack of coherence and connection,
as far as they are known to Europeans, should be re-