History of the Parsis : including their manners, customs, religion and present position : with coloured and other illustrations : in two volumes

214 HISTORY OF THE PARSTS. [CHAP. V.

The fires brought from other places of manufacture are treated in a similar manner. These purified fires are all collected together upon a large vase, which is then put in its proper place in a separate chamber.

Now what does a fire so prepared signify to a Parsi? He thinks to himself: “ When this fire on this vase before me, though pure in itself, though the noblest of the creations of God, and though the best symbol of the Divinity, had to undergo certain processes of purification, had to draw out as if it were its essence —nay, its quintessence—of purity, to enable itself to be worthy of occupying this exalted position, how much more necessary, more essential, and more important is it for me—a poor mortal who is liable to commit sins and crimes, and who comes into contact with hundreds of evils, both physical and mental—to undergo the process of purity and piety, by making my manashni, gavashni, and kunashni (thoughts, words, and actions) pass as if it were through a sieve of piety and purity, virtue and morality, and to separate by that means my humata, hukhta, and hvarshta (good thoughts, good words, and good actions) from dushmata, duzukhta, and duzvarshta (bad thoughts, bad words, and bad actions), so that I may, in my turn, be enabled to acquire an exalted position in the next world!” We ask, therefore, Is the reverence paid to such a sacred