Page:Next-of-kin Marriages in Old Iran.djvu/83

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
68
NEXT-OF-KIN MARRIAGES.

spiritual conceptions mentioned in the above citations. I need only say that the moral excellence of Khvêtûk-dasih is parallel to truth and sanctity; that its attainment, according to the Yasna and Bahman Yasht, is by the intermediary of the Zoroastrian religion of Ahura Mazda; and that the approximation to the condition of Khvêtûk-dasih is well nigh a participation in spiritual conference with the Almighty and the archangels. Consequently, it is a gift or power that must be by far higher and nobler than any abominable idea of marriage between the next-of-kin.

Referring to the eight Pahlavi passages under inquiry, it is with some hesitation that I find myself differing from the English literal translations of two of them, viz., the 80th Chapter in the 3rd Book of the Dinkard, and the 21st Fargard of the Bagân Nask.

The difficulties of interpreting the often highly enigmatic and ambiguous Pahlavi are multifarious[1]; and one is often astonished at the totally

  1. ↑ Comp. S. B. E., Vol. V., Introduction pp. XVI–XVII.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.