Zoroastrian Morality Author:Andrew Thomas Weaver Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: According to the great orientalist, L.H.?iills, one of the greatest services of Zoroaster to the human race was that he gave us the first conception of the doctr... more »ine of subjective recompense. The Avesta, according to Mills, teaches that Blessedness as well as the opposite condition of the Soul is subjective. This is a significant conception in an age of belief in the objectivity of reward and punishment. Section III.- Marriage and iamily Life. Let us consider the marriage customs and family life ¿r set forth in the Avesta.The ancient Iranians believed L— that it was impossible to obtain happiness in a future life unless one left in this world descendants who should continue to remember him in their prayers and who should keep the domestic fires burning and make the family offer-J ings. In view of these facts it is not surprising to find the Avesta commanding every father to compel and arrange for the marriage of his children. In every way the Avesta presents marriage as a religious, moral, and r civil obligation./Of course Zoroaster and his followers, fired with a desire to see the worshippers of Ahura Mazda increased upon earth, saw in marriage, under proper regula- tions, a sure way of accomplishing this. In marriage there is present a danger to the religion, for the cult might ?? weakened through the marriage of the faithful with some of the people who were foes of righteousness. This gives rise to the command which we should consider an infringement of moral law today. In several places in the Vendidad Zoroaster specifically states that a man is to marry either his sister or his daughter. In evidence of this we have the following statement,"He shall godly and piously give to a godly man a virgin maid. " Vhen Zoroaster inquires as to what p...« less