Page:Next-of-kin Marriages in Old Iran.djvu/121

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
104

passages in which an ambiguous phrase seems to countenance the notion that incest is recommended. I venture to suggest, as I have been able to do in my conversation with my learned friend, Mr. Sanjana, that a sense akin to that of srayamdatha in Sanskrit—an idea of self-devotion, varying according to the context in its precise intention—would satisfy the exigencies of all or nearly all the doubtful passages. This, however, is no more than a speculation: I cannot judge its worth. I can only thank Mr. Sanjana on behalf of the Society, and most sincerely, for the very valuable addition he has contributed to our transactions. I trust it will form a new starting-point in history and criticism by the view it presents to European scholars.