ER
ZOROASTER.
ARISTO.


Edgar A. Blockley.


IV:
60
R.Fhililf





ZOROASTER.





ZOROASTER:
PHILOSOPHER, TEACHER, HERMIT.
A DAY AT THE MOUNTAIN CAVE.
A Fragment in Rbyme.
BY
ARISTO.
A waif borne on the tide of Time
From far away.
WATTS & Co.,
17, JOHNSON'S COURT, FLEET STREET, LONDON, E.C.
NEW YORK: THE TRUTHSEEKER CO., 28, Lafayette Place.
1900.





PREFATORY NOTE.
THERE has been much diversity of opinion among Oriental
scholars regarding the date of the birth of Spitâma
Zarathustra, better known as Zoroaster-some placing the
event as recently as 500 years B.C., others supposing that
he lived before the Flood, even at so remote a date as
6,000 B.C.; while a few are inclined to class him among
imaginary beings. But the most reliable testimony seems
to leave little doubt that he lived, and lived, probably,
between 1,000 and 2,000 years B.C.; that much of his life
was passed in solitude-it is supposed in Bactria-that he
was acquainted with astronomy, and acquired some know-
edge of electricity; and, after many years of meditation,
taught a religion which, for pure and lofty humanitarianism,
seems unsurpassed.
It was in the hope that something might be shown, how-
ever inadequately, of the teaching of the great Reformer, in
its noble simplicity, and sharp contrast to the superstition-
laden, cunningly devised creeds around him-and, indeed,
around us now-that "Zoroaster " was written.
Various notes and references were to have been added;
but, unhappily, the hand of the author was, too soon, still
for ever.
L. L.





A gentle life, vowed to good doing—
A figure, God-like, sublime-
A man, on Earth but once appearing,
In cycles untold, of time.
When Wisdom's voice Mankind is heeding,
When Truth is the Law alone;
When Love the wide world is encircling,
And Science ascends her throne;
Then what now seems strange and confounding
The haze will no longer hide;
And Light will, on golden wings flying,
The glad news spread far and wide.
Reason cannot know what sense can neither feel nor thought
conceive.-Shelley.
Every noble life leaves the fibre of it woven forever in the work
of the world.-RUSKIN.
Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.-Zoroaster.





Introductory
The Song of the Bards of the Hills to Light -
Zoroaster's Hymn to the Sun
The Student
The Astrologers
The Young Poetess
The Black Priest
·
-
-
The Sage
The Sibyl
The Chief Priest who Denounced Zoroaster
Anonymous Questions
The Enchantress
The First Magian
The Second Magian-
·
The Seven Negroes -
The Veiled Princess -
CONTENTS.
-
Song by the Court Poet
The Demon-Worshippers
The Dwarf
The Chief of a Mountain Band
The Priestess
The Maiden's Song
The Rich Pilgrim
-
·
·
PAGE
II
17
18
21
26
29
31
34
35
40
45
55
58
60
88858
62
65
68
71
74
75
81
83
86


10
CONTENTS.
The Three Wise Men
The God-Maker
The Blind Man
·
Zoroaster's Reply to the Blind Man
Zoroaster's Comment on the Seers
-
Zoroaster's Replies to Some Questions as to the Sun
Zoroaster Replies to Some Other Questions -
Zoroaster Tells what the Ancients Said About Creation
The Song of the Bards of the Hills
-
PAGE
90
98
104
106
109
III
113
119
125


INTRODUCTORY.
A HERMIT of old, time defying,
Had seen long, long years pass by;
And oft 'neath night's veil had gone wand'ring
In thought through the starry sky.
The great Zoroaster, forsaking
A world of strife and deceit,
'Mid solitude wild and alluring
Had found a serene retreat.
A cave was his dwelling, whose ending
To none but himself was known;
Far up in a mountain high towering
Within an inviting zone.
And simple his faith, and unchanging
Among the contending creeds;
Through all his long life illustrating
Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.


12
ZOROASTER.
The shepherds the great Sage supplying,
Each morning before him spread,
Wild honey, and nuts, and dates clustering,
And mountain goat-milk and bread.
The herdsmen ofttime were heard saying
That, when the great Sage at night
Stood on the high mountain-top watching
The stars then all shining bright,
They oft saw him with his staff tracing
Strange figures upon the ground,
That soon, with a flash, began forming
A blaze of light all around.
And ofttime the Sage upward gazing
Long after the midnight time,
Within his bright ring was seen standing,
As if in a dream sublime.
Then sounds seemed far, far away floating,
As waves to an unknown shore,
Each moment still more and more less'ning,
Until they were heard no more.
Some thought that he then was conversing
With spirits that dwell on high;
That voices were heard as responding
From out of the arching sky.


INTRODUCTORY.
13
The wild beasts a moment stood staring,
Then turned and fled fast away;
And strangers, who chanced to be passing,
In terror knelt down to pray.
From far the loved bulbul came flying-
It sang on a bough near by-
But frightened, the screech-owl upstarting,
Flew off with a fearful cry.
They said that at times he sat musing
Through all the long hours of night,
While mystic scenes near him were passing
Beneath an unearthly light.
Some said that one night he saw floating
A vision, far, far away;
While all Nature's realm seemed enlarging,
And night had become like day.
He saw, in his vision, a painting,
That seemed to come from on high,
In letters of gold, brightly blazing
Across the grand, arching sky.
To Earth's nations they were proclaiming
Away with the myth-grown creeds!
But practise the Love-laws unceasing :
"Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds."


14
ZOROASTER.
When blooms on the boughs began smiling
At Spring's loved return each year,
The pilgrims the Hermit came seeking
In throngs from afar and near.
He told of great floods ere their coming;
He knew when the storms were nigh;
Eclipses and earthquakes foretelling,
Through signs that came from on high.
The mountaineers with their flocks straying,
The shepherds adown the plain,
Each morn and eve, all Eastward turning,
The Hermit's name blessed again.
And with the full moon brightly beaming,
The Hermit, his staff in hand,
With kindly voice stood forth, proclaiming
His wisdom to all the land.
He taught all to cast away, scorning,
Their ancient and cruel creeds;
And led them to practise, while living,
Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
The wise men and prophets, lore-loving,
Oft came from far, far away,
With questions to them all perplexing,
To hear all the Sage might say.


INTRODUCTORY.
15
The rich gifts, of gratitude telling,
That came from afar and near;
The Hermit, to all those aid needing,
Distributed through the year.
Three months ere the great Spring-time gathering-
A custom repeated o'er-
Some who, their own names while withholding,
Addressed the great Sage once more.
Strange caskets, a half-score oft counting,
Laid near the great cave at night,
Their questions, in writing, enclosing,
Were found with the morning light.
Some thought that stray pilgrims were hiding
Their fears in this novel way,
Who shrank from the gaze of crowds, listening
To all that they wished to say.
'Twas Spring, and throngs came once more, seeking
The cave of the veteran Sage,
Whose fame to strange lands oft went flying,
Who seemed never old with age.
Among all the pilgrims, now gathering,
Were young and old, bent and grey;
Strange tribes, castes, and creeds representing,
With something to ask or say.


16
ZOROASTER.
Outside of the cave were seen, wondering,
Strange groups, at eve, sitting round;
All waiting the golden dawn coming,
On mats spread out on the ground.
At last came the first gleam of dawning-
The crowds hailed it loud and long-
While bards of the hills began singing,
With joy, now, their morning song.
All Nature awoke then from slumb'ring,
Glad zephyrs woo'd stream and plain,
While mountain and sky seemed repeating
The song o'er and o'er again.


17
THE SONG OF THE BARDS OF THE
HILLS TO LIGHT.
O LIGHT! O Light!
Thou beautiful, sweet Light!
On golden wings
Descending from on high;
While still star-crowned,
Night softly steals away;
Away, far in the Western sky.
O Light! O Light!
Thou hope-inspiring Light!
With thy glad smile
Of greeting once again,
A silent world
From mystic slumber wakes
To hail, with joy, thy glorious reign.
O Light! O Light!
Thou loved celestial Light!
While ever thou
Dost speed in flight sublime;
Be still, O Light,
The messenger to earth
Of life and love through endless time.
B


18
ZOROASTER.
66
The Hermit was now soon seen standing
Beneath the cave's arching span ;
He then, the great throng first saluting,
His hymn to the sun began.
He stood near an urn, with myrrh burning,
Its vestal rays flashed on high,
As if to the sun they were bearing
His words through the quiet sky.
ZOROASTER'S HYMN TO THE SUN.
"STUPENDOUS Power! Parent creating
All things within Nature's bound;
Thy infinite force, self-supplying,
Where is it not ever found?
Stupendous Power! Source of all being!
What mind may measure thy might?
Who may reveal, now on earth living,
The mystery of thy light?
"The light that is ever pervading
The universe, everywhere,
The worlds, from the Far Unknown, causing
To take their place in the air.


ZOROASTER'S HYMN TO THE SUN.
19
66
"Stupendous Power! Time, in its counting,
What is it to-day to thee?
A breath that is lost in its passing,
And nought in eternity!
66
Stupendous Power! past human reckoning!
Though secrets remain untold,
Thy measureless glory, astounding,
In Nature, wide, we behold.
"Stupendous Power! far on high reigning,
'Mid fathomless depths of space,
For ever to endless worlds sending
The life and light to each race.
"Stupendous Power! Power never-ending,
The universe owns thy might;
Mankind alone blindly ignoring
The true meaning of thy light.
The human ants o'er the earth plodding,
Absorbed with but things below,
Thy power supreme, o'er all now ruling,
O, will they here ever know?
"The mortals, who talk without thinking,
With eyes, but who never see,
Stupendous Power, in glory shining,
What can they, then, know of thee?


20
ZOROASTER.
66
Stupendous Power! from thy height ruling
The universe, far and wide;
What countless orbs, by thy law shining,
Salute thee on every side!
"Stupendous Power! we, too, remembering
Thy blest light received of yore,
Again, 'neath thy bright rays descending,
Salute thee with joy once more."
The Hermit then, to his seat turning,
His place took up for the day;
While to the great throngs intimating
He'd hear all each had to say.


21
THE STUDENT.
A STUDENT, gaunt, pallid, and bending,
A man of an aspect grave;
A strong staff his frail form supporting,
Came slowly towards the cave.
"Great Master," he said, gently speaking,
"Some questions pass through my mind,
While lessons in Nature I'm reading,
Whose answers I cannot find.
"A wise man, 'tis said, once went teaching,
Now many long moons ago;
Though millions of years have been passing,
Yet little of earth we know.
"He taught from strange jelly, once floating
Within a great inland stream,
That life at the first began forming,
While earth was still in a dream.
"When millions of years, in Time's counting,
Had on their way mutely passed;
A sun-breath then over it hovering,
Life woke in man's form at last.


22
ZOROASTER.
66
He said that, long after Time's dawning,
Man went through the woods all wild,
On hands and feet constantly roving,
Without more sense than a child.
"He could not then pass five in counting ;
His language, sign-words alone;
And branches of trees, torn in twisting,
Were all the arms he could own.
"From place to place, on ever moving,
But seeking his food by day;
And up the great trees at eve scrambling,
To sleep or watch night away.
"He said that man first began living
Within a far Eastern clime;
That then he was feeble and faltering,
Till changed by the aid of Time.
"He said that Time all things was altering,
That kings and rulers that day,
And kingdoms, however imposing,
In time would all pass away.
"That new nations still would be coming,
New people replace the old,
And earth everywhere go on changing,
Through ages to come untold.


THE STUDENT.
23
"He said too that with all this changing
Of earth, and of man, and clime,
Great wonders beyond man's conceiving
Would happen from time to time.
"That man in those ages forthcoming,
So bound with earth's future fate,
Would not be, as now, the same being,
But changed to another state.
"Some look with surprise and with doubting
On what seems so strange a view,
And cannot conceive Nature working
From nothing to something new.
"Thou Sage of the mountain, whose learning
Is known now afar and near,
Whose power from the clouds draws the lightning,
Turn not from me now thine ear.
"I would know of all this foretelling,
Would know of the first man's birth;
And if men at last, with this changing,
Would grow into Gods on earth;
"If, in the far future time coming,
The earth changed to heav'n will be,
And if mankind then, without dying,
Will live through eternity."


24
ZOROASTER.
The Hermit the student well heeding,
With care seemed each word to weigh,
And then, in a tone reassuring,
Responded without delay:
"If from jelly, found at large floating,
The first germs of life began,
Until, through a thousand forms passing,
It passed to the form of man ;
66
And then the man-savage went wand'ring
Through many a changing clime,
Went on through the ages progressing,
Till reaching the present time;
"The change from the first germ found floating,
Through ages long passed away,
Would seem a wide gulf when comparing
The man then and man to-day.
"If we from the future time coming
Compare all with what is past,
With Nature's proofs so overwhelming,
We come near the truth at last.
"The mind thus through all the past teaching
The future may apprehend,
And learn, through vast Nature's transforming,
The possible has no end."


THE ASTROLOGERS.
25
1315
The Hermit his converse thus ending,
The student was now not long
In giving his thanks, then retiring
Among the great pilgrim throng.


26
66
66
THE ASTROLOGERS.
A GROUP of astrologers, rising-
All men of a middle age-
Approached now the cave, while saluting
The long-revered hermit Sage.
"Great Sage, a wise seer once was living
Afar in a mountain land,
Who all the stars long had been counting,
And maps of them all had planned.
Their speaker, a man of fine bearing,
With voice melodious and clear,
A gesture calm with his hand making,
Said, while he drew still more near :--
Although the seer long has been sleeping,
And lost are the maps he drew,
Old mountaineers, still his words guarding,
Repeat them to-day as true.
They tell that ofttime he went saying
That all the stars seen on high
Were worlds, like our earth, though appearing
But glitt❜ring sparks in the sky;


THE ASTROLOGERS.
27
"6
And that these star-worlds were unending,
And peopled as ours to-day;
And that they were not, although seeming,
So far, as we thought, away.
"If stars are all worlds, as seen shining,
Which we cannot well conceive,
We should, through the great Sage assuring,
More firmly indeed believe.
"If stars are worlds in the sky hanging,
Some large and others but small,
How can they be on nothing floating?
Their weight would force them to fall."
The next said: "Though stars we go reading,
And know what they say full well,
The source of their power, so astounding,
We, till to-day, cannot tell.
"And whence came they, with their force shining-
Some lower, and some more high-
And where go they, when disappearing,
As oft they do, from the sky?
"Some stars in their movements seem differing
From other stars near them found,
And often, though cautiously watching,
They baffle our quest profound.


28
ZOROASTER.
"And whence come the comets, when starting
Upon their wild, wayward race?
To what wondrous goal are they speeding,
Afar in the endless space?
"And would a time come at last, bringing
The earth and the stars more near ;
When all that seems now so confusing
Might be evermore made clear ?"
New questions from each seemed unending,
But one and all wished to know
Why stars stopped that seemed to earth falling,
And where, at last, did they go?
The great Sage, with interest, seemed list'ning,
And, when silence reigned once more,
Awhile still he sat, without speaking,
To ponder their questions o'er.
And then, with their wishes complying,
To all he made clear his view;
When, after some mutual discoursing,
The group, all content, withdrew.


29
66
THE YOUNG POETESS.
A POETESS, at the cave standing,
Was now by the Hermit seen;
Her turban was white, her robe flowing-
A maiden of gentle mien.
She said: "O, great Sage, I come craving
For light through thy words alone-
The light that may lead to securing
The treasures I long to own.
"No riches of earth am I craving,
Nor longing for earthly power;
On earth, as a mortal, while dwelling,
I seek for a nobler dower.
Nor splendour nor pomp am I craving,
That still win dupes as of old;
A treasure to-day I am seeking
More precious than pomp and gold.
"Nor crave I for fame in my seeking-
A breath gone with flying time;
While here on the earth I am lingering
I crave something more sublime.


30
ZOROASTER.
"No favour of king am I seeking,
Nor from an unknown above.
I seek to be blessed, through life changing,
Alone with wisdom and love."
The great Sage, with sympathy hearing
All that the young speaker told,
To find what she now had come seeking,
His plan began to unfold.
The poetess weighed well, while wondering,
The wise words now made so clear,
And learnt how to gain, all rejoicing,
The treasures she held so dear.


31
THE BLACK PRIEST.
AND now a black man was seen rising,
A priest from a far-off land;
And, before the great Sage salaaming,
He said, with an outstretched hand :
"O'er mountains ten moons from here travelling,
Once people were taught each day,
To worship mounds, trees, and streams flowing,
And to their king-priest to pray.
"My tribe on lands near by were living,
These rites we all left undone ;
We all in our tribe but adoring
The will supreme in the sun.
"But soon the king-priest began chasing
With troops our tribe up and down ;
And, after a time, through their burning,
We had neither land nor town.
"The remnant then of our tribe living
Were scattered o'er hill and plain ;
And, when they were found in their hiding,
Were slaughtered there with disdain.


32
ZOROASTER.
"But time passed, and, with all its changing,
Our tribe had grown strong and grand;
Once more with brave hearts and hands taking
Our former homes and our land.
66
And then, for long moons, we went prospering,
Till new sects began to grow ;
Some 'Yea' and some 'Nay' ever saying,
On questions that few might know.
"Some seers of old time had been teaching
The will supreme still must be
Unknown, and that, while on earth living,
No mortal that form might see.
"While others said, in the beginning,
When light was from earth concealed,
The will supreme, through the sun's coming,
In glory itself revealed.
"O thou, earth's great Sage, all things knowing,
Illumine my mind with light;
The truth for my tribe I am seeking,
We long to know but the right.
"The sun in all glory there shining,
Do we in it now behold
The will supreme o'er all things ruling,
From out of an arc of gold;


THE BLACK PRIEST.
33
"Or do we, when we go forth greeting
The sun's first appearing ray,
But see in the arc on high floating
Its place of rest for each day."
The great Sage began now expounding,
The black priest his words well weighed ;
At times he appeared as believing,
But often grave doubts betrayed.
He led him through all the deep teaching,
Then stored up for many years,
The light that was then in the keeping
Of all the great wisdom-seers.
His converse the Sage at last ending,
The black priest his name blessed o'er ;
Then homeward, with joy his steps turning,
He sped with his new-found lore.
с


34
C
THE SAGE.
A SAGE to the cave next came nearing
In sandals and white robe drest;
Erect, with a manner imposing,
A lore-seeker from the West.
He wanted to know, humbly asking,
If, when the first man had birth,
He had till now lived through all changing,
A dweller upon the earth;
Would not that first man be enjoying
More knowledge of earth and sky
Than those who are wisest now living,
And, if not, the reason why?
As was his wont, ofttime reflecting,
The Hermit the words thought o'er ;
And then, to the Sage kindly speaking,
The question asked still once more.
And now, in a converse long lasting,
The Hermit gave forth his view,
And, after all carefully weighing,
The Sage, well content, withdrew.


35
THE SIBYL.
A SIBYL was next seen approaching,
A golden crown on her head,
Her pearl fan of seven stars displaying ;
She to the old Hermit said:
66
I come from a land with palms towering,
It looks o'er a clear blue sea,
Where queens, by law, may be but reigning,
Ordained by fate's first decree.
"An old legend has come down saying,
And still held to in our land,
That woman was first made a being,
And later man came to hand.
"The legend says, from the beginning,
That woman was formed for love,
And has in her nature commingling
A bulbul, gazelle, and dove.
"And that the first man was found grazing
Afar, near a lonesome lake,
And had in his nature commingling
A tiger, a hawk, and snake.


36
ZOROASTER.
"But, for a time, some have been saying,
The legend might be untrue;
Or that the reverse was the meaning,
Though most still oppose this view.
"Some say that a seer, long since living,
A master of art and light,
Had heard them as symbols, while wand'ring,
Called wisdom, and strength, and flight.
“And some in the tribe have been saying
That woman and man were made
Within the same hour, one bright evening,
Beneath a great banyan shade.
""
'But others are ever recounting
That man was made years before
A woman was thought worth creating-
A myth they repeat oft o'er.
"And others are daily contending
That man, though first made on earth,
In good deeds so often was wanting
That Nature grieved o'er his birth
"So woman was called into being,
To take the bad taste away
From out of the mouth of long-suffering
Creation at last, they say.
"


THE SIBYL.
337
"Though many the stories are doubting,
'Tis still told afar and near,
A sorceress heard it, while dreaming,
One night whispered in her ear.
66
She on a small islet was living
Alone, 'neath a great green shade;
A plank to the mainland securing
A road she herself had made.
"A king of a tribe near by living
Had sworn a great oath to slay
The sorceress, for her foretelling;
And so set watch on his prey.
"The king went one night, with guards, hasting-
'Twas now the moon she should die-
When down went the plank in their crossing,
And vain was their drowning cry.
"The sorceress lived long, foretelling,
And, as she could never die,
A great silvery ark came descending,
And bore her one day on high.
"The witnesses, pious and trusting,
In days of good saints of old,
As others since then have been doing,
This true account oft have told.


38
ZOROASTER.
"But all these strange views, so conflicting,
Have raised a terrible din ;
A conflict of arms, some are dreading,
From day to day may begin.
66
Some came to my cavern in hiding—
They wished that I might decide;
I sought still, a hundred times trying,
But fate my magic denied.
"I told them, six moons of time passing,
That they might come back again ;
But, though the stars I've been consulting,
All effort, as yet, is vain.
"Some now go so far, boldly saying
The queendom upturned may be,
And male malcontents take to ruling,
Upsetting fate's first decree.
"All eyes are now anxiously watching
The Amazons of the queen,
Who daily in arms are awaiting
The next move upon the scene.
"The contest grows fierce, and the wrangling
Continues from moon to moon ;
And, as the seers are now sides taking,
The war may come but too soon.
4
⋅


THE SIBYL.
39
"And so, O great master of learning,
The prompter of each good deed,
Thy kind aid I seek, all believing
Thou wilt to my prayer accede.”
The great Sage began now conversing :
Her story he heard thrice o'er ;
But questions he still went propounding—
He would of the strife know more.
Then slowly he went on commenting;
His words all she weighed full well.
The sibyl then, grateful, departing,
Knew now what she ought to tell.


40
THE CHIEF PRIEST WHO DENOUNCED
ZOROASTER.
A KING was announced as next coming-
A giant of stature high-
His chief priest and priests followed, chanting,
And soon to the cave drew nigh.
The king then, a few feet retiring,
Stood where he might see and hear;
While all the crowd now began moving
Towards the chief priest more near.
The chief priest began, then, sign-making;
His thoughts seemed far, far away;
To North and South, East and West, turning,
Then, kneeling, began to pray.
And while he was still prostrate, praying,
A priest, with a spear, walked round,
And with it went on slowly tracing
A circle upon the ground.
Then other priests followed, while guarding
Something that one held from view,
While all round the ring he went, pouring
A liquid of oily hue.


THE CHIEF PRIEST WHO DENOUNCED ZOROASTER. 41
The chief priest then rose at once, speaking;
He waved his hand up and down;
His manner was bold and defying,
His brow seemed but one great frown.
"And thou call'st thyself," he said, shouting,
"The teacher without a peer!
To-day, Zoroaster, here standing,
I'll prove thee but a false seer!
"Our seers, thou hast said, are wolves, prowling ;
Our teaching nought but for gain;
Our prophecies were all deceiving;
Our miracles all were vain!
"But first of all come to the proving,
And stand in this circle made;
And then all the eyes that are looking
Will see thy power quickly fade.
"I challenge thee, in the light shining,
Before the witnesses here,
To prove, first and last, thy false teaching,
If thou art not held by fear!
""
'To-day I defy all thy boasting;
Thy poor creed-six words, no more—
I'll prove to be idle sounds, floating
Along a wild desert shore."


42
ZOROASTER.
A pause, a long pause, now ensuing,
The chief priest waited to hear,
Or see, as effect of his thundering,
Some sign of the Hermit's fear.
The Sage sat unmoved, as if thinking
On all that the chief priest said :
Some people, expectant, watched wond'ring,
While others seemed filled with dread.
The great Sage at last came forth bowing,
And stood in the circle made;
While fear through the crowd, now retiring,
The faces of all betrayed.
The priests walked around, with hands clapping,
The chief priest began to sing ;
While, with a spear in his hand holding,
He touched, with great show, the ring.
A spark here and there seemed appearing,
The priests juggled still again,
The flame would not come that was wanting,
Their efforts were all in vain.
The priests then retired, all consulting ;
The crowd began surging near;
The people all anxiously wondering
What next would they see and hear.


THE CHIEF PRIEST WHO DENOUNCED ZOROASTER. 43
The Sage, now a circle describing
With staff, loosely held in hand,
Then called the chief priest, by hand signing,
Within it to take his stand.
The chief priest stood still, as if doubting
The course he ought to pursue ;
But, seeing the king on him frowning,
No more doubted what to do,
He now forward came, without faltering,
Within the ring took his stand;
While, with an air proud and defying,
He waved on high oft his hand.
The great Sage, beyond the ring standing,
Now touched it, and lo! a fire,
That seemed shoulder-high to all looking,
Blazed up like a funeral pyre.
The chief priest, prostrate, was heard shouting-
Aloud rose cry
after cry-
The air with his screams seemed resounding,
Imploring he might not die.
The great Sage, no longer delaying,
Now caused the encircling flame
To disappear, without word speaking,
As rapidly as it came.


44
ZOROASTER.
The chief priest at once now escaping,
Each obstacle pushing o'er,
Ran with all his priests forward speeding,
And there was seen nevermore.
Some said that the king, before leaving,
With proffer of order grand,
Invited the Sage in words pressing,
In vain, to dwell in his land.
The people, the great Sage surrounding,
His name many times blessed o'er,
While, silently, with humble bearing,
He took his own seat once more.


45
ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS.
[NOTE. Of the many anonymous questions and observations,
as previously stated, placed in caskets and found at the mouth of
the cave at each pilgrim spring meeting, only a limited number
may be given in the present edition.]
Question No. I.
WE
see the sun, with our eyes, rising
In glory enrobed each day;
And who the world now is directing
With more than a kingly sway;
If, then, our eyes are not deceiving,
Is not the sun, to our sight,
The greatest power over all ruling,
The maker of day and night?
Question No. 2.
What tyrant is all things directing?
Will man on earth ever know
Who limited acting and thinking
To all on the earth below?


46
ZOROASTER.
Question No. 3.
If bird or dog had, at time's starting,
Been born with a mind like man,
Would either have made, proudly boasting,
Their heaven on the human plan?
Would either have said their God ruling
Was made like their forms alone;
Or would they, their self-pride condemning,
Their littleness duly own?
Question No. 4.
Is not the sun-spirit now living,
The spirit o'er all supreme;
Or are human senses deceiving,
And is it all but a dream?
Question No. 5.
What does the sun-power mean by keeping
So far in the distant sky?
Must actual fact be depending
Alone on the naked eye?
Question No. 6.
Does not the sun-god give us being?
Through light we move and we live ;
For all the light, life-giving blessing,
What back to it do we give?


ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS.
47
Question No. 7.
Why does man's mind venture in seeking
To measure time's gulf so wide ?
And why do some dream they are drawing
Eternity's veil aside ?
Has not man's mind, however daring,
Its limit through all time found—
The limit that ever seems saying:
"6 'Stray not o'er the human bound ?"
Question No. 8.
If time, then, is truly unending,
How small man's life seems to be !
A drop in an ocean, tost swirling
On, on through eternity.
Question No. 9.
How far is our universe stretching,
Above, below, and around?
And are there still others, extending
Afar, beyond each last bound?
Question No. 10.
Yon sun, Nature's laws all decreeing-
O canst thou tell, mortal man,
Where that vast force now has its ending,
Or know where it first began ?


48
ZOROASTER.
Question No. II.
O Sun, who all light art producing,
Sole ruler within the sky,
Is life and death not in thy ordering?
If thou art not God, then why?
Question No. 12.
Had time, then, in truth, no beginning?
The thought leaves a void behind.
Eternity, having no ending!—
The thought but dethrones the mind.
Question No. 13.
O, where was the human mind lingering
Before the first man had birth?
A breath was it, then, through air floating?
And who brought it down to earth?
Question No. 14.
Why is the sun-power to-day ruling
A universe all its own;
And, though through long centuries passing,
By light to man only known?


ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS.
49
Question No. 15.
Are men not new gods ever seeking,
Each fashioned to suit some view;
A story but changed in the telling—
And told to the child as new?
Question No. 16.
O, Sun-God, our God, without ending,
O when and where had'st thou birth?
Eternal Light, life to all giving,
When first did'st thou gaze on earth?
Question No. 17.
Has, then, the great Sage been yet thinking
What, if the sun fled away,
Would come to the earth, and all living,
Upon that eventful day?
Would still all things go on, unchanging?
Would then the stars make the light?
Or would Nature veil her face, grieving
For earth, in eternal night?
Question No. 20.
Of dreams I seek, great Sage, the meaning.
Who is it that takes the mind
Afar o'er strange lands and seas roaming,
The body still left behind?


50
ZOROASTER.
Has each man, then, two minds existing :
The one outside and unknown,
And one that man's life is now guarding—
The one that he calls his own?
Question No. 21.
Thou endless Power, silently shining
O'er earth, can it, then, be true
Thou art but a tyrant-God, killing
Alike all, the old and new?
Question No. 22.
Some say that, conditions occurring,
Mankind would degenerate,
While all other animals breathing
Would still maintain their own state.
If this be true, by what cause acting
Can this strange arrangement be—
This difference in Nature's law working?
The reason we cannot see.
Question No. 23.
The beasts, on mankind war now waging,
Ferocious and wild from birth;
The beasts in all forms, born for murdering-
Who forced them upon the earth?


ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS.
51
The tiger, the wolf, and hawk, watching
For what on their path may stray;
The babe, lamb, and dove, unsuspecting,
By chance may become their prey.
Beside all this fierce outside warring
From elements all around,
On land or on sea, through life's changing,
O, where is not anguish found?
What grief and what pain come oppressing,
In greater or less degree,
Those even most favoured here living,
On every side one may see.
Then what does it all mean-this torturing?
Can anyone living tell,
Apart from the seers and their dreaming?
Is earth, indeed, but a hell?
Question No. 24.
Is not the sun-spirit, then, ruling
The earth from its ark on high?
Is not the world ever proclaiming
The God of the mystic sky?
And is it not now in grief looking
On feeble minds, who alone
Their self-made gods still are adoring
In pictures of wood and stone?
And is it not good ever doing,
For ever o'erlooking all;


52
ZOROASTER.
Without it, what would be existing
On earth, either great or small?
The rivers and woods earth adorning,
Have they to the sun brought aid?
Without the sun's power of creating,
Could they ever have been made?
Is not the sun-spirit now filling
The universe with delight,
To millions of worlds ever sending
Its ever life-giving light?
Question No. 25.
Are there not on earth still those living
Who went through an unknown change;
Who reached an end, while still unthinking,
By life-laws unknown and strange?
Then are there not forces directing
The lives of men here below-
In manner mysterious, perplexing,
By laws that we do not know?
Question No. 26.
Great Sage, they say now, sects are teaching
That there is a great unknown,
Beyond a far golden cloud hiding,
And living there all alone.


ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS.
53
Now, what is our minds sore perplexing,
And what our minds cannot see,
Is how, at the same time, by reasoning,
The unknown and known can be?
Question No. 27.
Is not the sunlight a power living?
Is not all life in its care?
Is not its all-good power pervading
The universe everywhere?
Great sun, thou who art everlasting,
O what is then time to thee?
Are days and years not one in counting
In thy long eternity?
Question No. 28.
Great master, we come to thee greeting,
And from thee we now would know
What sages, they say, oft went telling,
In days of the long ago.
They taught that time had no beginning;
That time was without a bound,
While on to eternity rushing;
But proof for this who has found?
How can what is have no beginning,
No bound, yet a thing defined?
This strange contradiction so puzzling,
Great Sage, make clear to our mind.


54
ZOROASTER.
We sought light from seers known for learning,
But one answer came alone;
They said that the light we were seeking
To mortals might not be known.
Then how can seers give out the saying,
That time is without a bound,
And that time had never beginning,
While no one the proof has found?
They state that time had no beginning;
Thus far they all firmly go,
The first of our questions ignoring ;
How do they, then, this far know?
1


55
66
THE ENCHANTRESS.
AND now an enchantress came nearing ;
She asked: "Would the world end soon?
Who painted the rainbow so charming,
And why oft rings round the moon?
"And what say the night-winds, while sighing
Ofttime in the leafy bowers?
And who made the perfumes ascending
From out of the sweet wild flowers?
From where came the birds when first flying,
Arrayed in their feathers light?
Who taught them the songs they are singing,
And gave them the power of flight?
"When birds to the earth first came flying,
From where came their power to tell
The seasons, supreme Nature's ordering,
That one and all know so well?
"For do we not see the birds seeking,
As if by word of command,
When seasons each year begin changing,
A home in another land?


56
ZOROASTER.
"And when the springtime is returning
The absent birds come again,
Their joy through the woodlands proclaiming
In many a gladsome strain.
"And then, their rich plumes all displaying,
The paradise birds are seen
Upon the tree-boughs, in flocks, dancing-
Each one to attract his queen.
"And where had the fairies been living
Before the first night and day?
Some said their first home clouds were hiding
Within the sky, far away.
"And then the seven stars, closely clustering,
So thought of at each new birth;
From where came their power of protecting
Their favoured ones on the earth?
"And what are the stars at night hanging
So scattered along the sky?
How large were the hands used in placing
Each one in its frame on high ?"
The Hermit, her questions regarding,
Now quoted from hidden lore,
On many things new light revealing,
Unknown in her life before.


THE ENCHANTRESS.
57
And now the enchantress, retiring,
Well pleased with the answers made,
Gave place to two magians, long waiting,
With looks all solemn and staid.


58
THE FIRST MAGIAN.
THE first magian forward came bowing;
This speaker, an age-worn man,
Accustomed for years to debating,
With tremulous voice began :
"Great Sage, I would know, by moon's counting,
How long had the earth been made;
And when the first sun began shining;
And whence had the young winds strayed.
"Who made the sun, with its power ruling,
And who its foundation laid;
And why was it rounded in forming,
And out of what was it made?
"And whence came the heat and light flowing,
From out of the sun so high?
And where was the place of its dwelling
Before it rolled into the sky?
The place whence it came by our reckoning--
Then, is it so far away?
And when was the time of its coming,
And would it for ever stay?


THE FIRST MAGIAN.
59
"From where came the stars before shining?
And at what far distant day?
Who moulded their forms at their making,
And would they now always stay?
"How far did the sky go up mounting,
And what was beyond the bound?
If human sight passed the blue ceiling,
Would wonders not there be found?
"The yesterdays gone from earth hasting—
Where, then, were they all to-day?
66
"And when would the earth cease existing?
What would come after its end?
From where came they, thus the earth greeting,
And why did they haste away?
And, 'neath the wide earth downward pointing,
How far did the void extend?
And which was the first earth-race living,
And was it known by a name?
And when and where was its first dwelling,
And was it known whence it came ?
"And of the great sun, life now sending
Each day upon earth below,
All known to the Sage, in his seeing,
We plead, one and all, to know."


60
THE SECOND MAGIAN.
THOUGH magian the second, approaching,
Seemed proudly to hold his head,
His manner was easy and pleasing
As he to the great Sage said :-
"I wanted to find, in my seeking,
If knowledge on earth might say
That man and creation surrounding
Came forth on a certain day;
"And whence came the earth, so far spreading,
With mountains and rocks and land,
With lakes and with streams afar flowing,
And with the salt sea so grand;
"And where was man's mind first existing
Before the first man was made-
Before the foundation, so puzzling,
Of earth itself had been laid?
"Was it with the orbs on high shining,
Or with secrets that, some say,
The centuries past are still hiding
From all of the present day?


THE SECOND MAGIAN.
61
"Has anyone yet, on earth living,
The substance seen of the mind;
Its form, shape, and colour revealing,
Outside of dreams, to mankind?
"When man dies does mind go on living?
If yea, tell the reason why.
As one into life they came starting ;
Will not they together die?
"Were mankind in twilight all dwelling-
All else being still the same—
The sun but one day each year shining,
What would it be called by name?
"Would man then remain unreflecting,
As heedless still as to-day,
Who sees the sun hourly, not caring
What it is that lights his way?
"Or would this appearance astounding
Awaken the thoughts of men ;
And would the sun, twilight thus changing,
Reveal its true nature then?
"Would power then, itself thus proclaiming,
Convincing be to mankind?
Were force all-supreme not its meaning,
What name would men for it find?"


62
THE SEVEN NEGROES.
SEVEN negroes were now beheld, forming
A line in front of the cave-
A palm-leaf each in his hand bearing-
All old, all careworn and grave.
Long since they, from pilgrims oft straying,
Had heard of the Sage so wise;
Away in their land they were saying
His wisdom came from the skies.
The elder then said: "We came seeking
A ray of light from the sky,
And if the great Sage will give heeding,
We'll tell him the reason why.
"All wool our hair, crisp and curling ;
Our skin as black as can be ;
Why we were thus cursed in our making
Our wisest still cannot see.
"We live on an earth with whites scorning
Our race for not being fair;
Now, why did the Maker, first making,
Thus curse our race everywhere?


THE SEVEN NEGROES.
63
"The Good God goes far ofttime straying,
The Bad God seems ever near;
If we are the Good God's own making,
Then why did he bring us here?
66
On ancestors we cease not calling-
Alone to them do we pray;
But, spirits of evil preventing,
They hear not all that we say.
"Of villains, all harsh and unfeeling,
Are we not always the prey,
All over the earth, without ceasing,
Wherever the whites have sway?
"And if we resist their encroaching,
They deem us as game to kill ;
All prisoners they treat as rebelling,
And make them their slaves at will.
"We come, with our simple thoughts, knowing
Here at thy cave all are free ;
The great or small, wherever straying,
All, all, are alike with thee.
"Our sect is but small and hard-working;
We dwelt on a mountain plain,
Apart from the world and its wrangling;
And riches we all disdain.


64
ZOROASTER.
66
But lately strong tribes have sent, spying—
They covet our flocks and trees;
They call themselves wise and all-loving ;
They came across distant seas.
"But now they our land are dividing-
Their seers say 'tis for our good;
But shelter they send us all seeking
To find in a distant wood.
"And so, O great Sage, upon hearing
Thy name, brought from far away,
We've crossed hill and vale, and flood flowing,
To ask thy advice to-day.
"As now o'er the earth we go seeking,
Our sect would fain know from thee
A spot, far from white men's intruding,
Where we might be safe and free."
The Hermit the negroes heard, wond'ring-
He felt for their painful state-
And long at the cave held them talking
About their near future fate.
Whatever was said while conversing,
It now was plainly to see
The negroes, while from the cave parting,
Seemed from their distress all free.


65
THE VEILED PRINCESS.
A PRINCESS was now announced coming-
Her state palkee gilt all o'er ;
Her beauty from view she was hiding
Beneath the rich veil she wore.
Her harpers first came, proudly marching;
Her bearers wore trappings gay;
A squadron of Amazons, riding,
Were seen behind, far away.
Her name a silk flag was revealing,
The veiled princess, Lhumie Lhuv,
Who dwelt amid scenes all-entrancing,
The land of bulbul and dove,
Where gold mohurs in glory were reigning,
Where banyan-trees rose on high,
Where odours from champaks were floating
Along the unclouded sky;
The land that song-birds were enchanting,
That winds from the spice-groves fanned,
Where roses forever were blooming-
Some called it a fairyland.
E


66
ZOROASTER.
Rare presents her servants were bearing;
Her harpers sang soft, sweet songs;
While round her train, now, there came trooping
From hill and dale wond'ring throngs.
The princess, with four maidens walking,
Now to the great cave drew near ;
And, with a grace regal inclining,
Said, in a voice sweet and clear :-
--
"I come, O great master, beseeching
To know if thou can'st recall
Who, for their acts here, at life's ending,
Will be valued most of all."
The Hermit a moment seemed musing,
Then slowly he raised his head,
And, in a voice all reassuring,
Now to the veiled princess said :-
"First, those who to all creatures living
Have done the most constant good;
And those who, though powerless while living,
Would good have done if they could."
The princess, with joy her thanks telling,
Her rich veil aside now drew,
When lo! to all eyes then beholding,
A goddess amazed their view.


THE VEILED PRINCESS.
67
Again, the veiled princess commanding,
The harpers appeared anew;
And, while the cortège formed for parting,
Her flag waved a last adieu.
And then, the princess homeward turning,
The train moved slowly away,
While, from hill and valley resounding,
Was long heard the harpers' lay.


68
SONG BY THE COURT POET.
Sung by the harpers and chant-maidens of the veiled princess
when starting on their homeward route from the mountain cave.
THE HARPERS.
A CHANT for the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv !
A chant, O a chant, that the four winds know,
The four winds that came with the birth of time,
The four winds that first on fast-flying wings
To mountain and sea their glad greeting bore.
THE CHANT-MAIDENS.
A chant for the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv !
The goddess whose beauty in many a land
The minstrels by moonlight proclaim in song;
A chant that the sons of the kings may hear,
May hear as they sigh in a golden dream.
THE HARPERS.
A chant for the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv!
A chant that air-harpers far away chant,
A chant from the depths of the universe
That floats on the flowing folds of the sky,
A chant that resounds to the march of time.


SONG BY THE COURT POET.
69
THE CHANT-MAIDENS.
O, where are the sons of the kings to-day?
O, why are they lured in a golden dream?
The sons of the kings from East and from West
Are sighing and saying day and night long.
O, why does the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv
For ever seem hiding in silken folds—
The heedless, the veiled, Princess Lhumie Lhuv!
THE HARPERS.
O when, in all time, has the wisest heard
The bulbul's loved song in a stormy sky?
O when, in all time, has the wisest seen
The shining rainbow at the midnight hour?
O when, in all time, has the wisest found
A sting on the sweet-scented champak bloom?
The sons of the kings, then, how may they tell,
While lured and while lost in a golden dream,
The mind of the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv,
Or why still enveiled in her silken folds ?
THE CHANT-MAIDENS.
The sons of the kings, O they have not heard
Her bright eyes might dim the light of the sun :
The sons of the kings, O they have not heard
Her bright eyes might darken the sparkling stars.
THE HARPERS.
A chant for the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv!
A chant, O a chant, from Time's mystic bowers,


70
ZOROASTER.
Where melodies sweet from the air-harps flow;
A chant that all Nature is listening to
As on the soft, mystical music strays
O'er pathways of long-vanished centuries,
'Mid millions and millions of stars afar.
A chant, O a chant, that the four winds know,
A chant for the veiled Princess Lhumie Lhuv !


71
THE DEMON-WORSHIPPERS.
A SEER of a strange tribe, then living
Far off, amid rocky hills,
Whose orchards and grain, yearly ripening,
Were watered by rippling rills,
Was seen, with a group, now approaching-
All swarthy, stalwart, and brave-
And soon they all found themselves standing
Before the great mountain cave.
Their Seer at last said, loudly speaking :
"Our land is far, far away;
As pilgrims we come, footsore, seeking
The light for our tribe to-day.
There has been for long, long years passing
A firm belief, in our land,
Three sky-giants o'er earth are watching,
All murderous, proud, and grand.
•
"They call them 'Storm,' 'Thunder,' and 'Lightning'-
They come oft by night or day,
From out of their cloud-covered dwelling,
Rapacious for earthly prey.


72
ZOROASTER.
"For ages our tribe, at the dawning,
And with the sun's farewell ray,
To each of the demons now ruling,
All humbly, low bowing, pray.
"But in these last moons seers came, saying
Our creed must always be vain,
And all our heartfelt, anxious praying
Unanswered will long remain ;
"And that we should, from demons turning,
Alone to the All-Good' pray,
"
Who, mighty, is able and willing
From evil to save, they say.
"We know but too well tribes thus thinking
Are scourged by storm, wind, and rain;
And earthquakes, and thunder, and lightning
Destroy them again and again.
"We know full well, too, without telling,
An All-Good' can do no harm;
"
And that, with an All-Good' but reigning,
We'd nevermore feel alarm.
"But demons, with power never-ending,
Who ravage our crops and land,
Who come, unseen, oft from their hiding,
And strike with a murderous hand—


THE DEMON-WORSHIPPERS.
73
"As they are made but for destroying,
6
Ought we not to them to pray,
And not to an All-Good,' not harming?
We crave the great Sage to say."
Now, after a time long conversing,
And list'ning to thoughts all new,
In demons no longer believing,
The Seer and his group withdrew.


74
THE DWARF.
A WOMAN, a dwarf, slowly rising,
Now to the great cave drew near--
One who was famed far for her learning,
And said, in tones sweet and clear :-
"O Sage, whom the world is extolling,
Give heed to my words, I pray,
And what I am now humbly seeking
Reveal to me, if you may.
"Whose Will made all things now existing,
And sounded life's starting hour?
And when had that Will its beginning,
And who gave that Will all power ?”


75
THE CHIEF OF A MOUNTAIN BAND.
ALL eyes turned to see, now advancing,
With rich feathered staff in hand,
A figure full tall and commanding—
The chief of a mountain band.
Six under-chiefs followed, close marching,
And gay were the plumes they wore;
And each, with an air all-exulting,
Rare gifts for the great Sage bore.
The under-chiefs signs seemed obeying,
As into line all were led ;
Then, bowing, and on his staff kneeling,
Their chief to the Hermit said :
"We come from a mountain-land, towering
O'er valley, and hill, and stream;
And simple and frugal our living,
While Truth is our All-Supreme.
"And when the fierce tribes come invading
Our land, by night or by day,
With eagle and dove high displaying,
We march in battle array.


76
ZOROASTER.
66
'Some sects to a demon turn, praying—
The author of earthly woe;
But this monster grand, ever raging,
We seek not by prayer to know.
66
'We seek in our lives, while here living,
Alone our tribe's earthly good;
Upon our good acts but relying—
A law by us understood.
"We bow to the earth in the morning—
It gives us grass, fruit, and grain ;
We bow to the clouds in the evening―
They bring us the welcome rain
66
66
We bow to the full moon, when gleaming-
We call her Mother of Love;
As emblems of power and peace joining,
We bow to eagle and dove.
We bow to the sun at the nooning-
It brings to us light all day;
We bow to the stars at night wand'ring,
For by them we make our way.
"We bow to the wind that comes blessing
Our tribe on the mountain-land;
We bow to the lakes, our boats bearing
In safety from strand to strand.


THE CHIEF OF A MOUNTAIN BAND.
77
"We bow to the mines, ever yielding
The metal for all our arms-
The arms that, by night or day needing,
Are ready for all alarms.
"We bow to the fire at night burning,
In lieu of the light of day,
That scatters the foes oft in hiding
To drive all our flocks away.
"We bow to the flowers, richly blooming,
For joy to our tents they bring ;
We bow to the birds for delighting
Our hearts with the songs they sing.
"We bow to the cascade, down-streaming
Along on its silvery way;
Our maidens oft linger there, singing;
Our children around it play.
"Our tribe was all happy and prospering-
United through long, long years;
A life of bliss tribes rarely blessing-
We knew then no foreign seers.
"Of late some strange seers came invading
Our land, who to us now tell
Their faith we must follow, undoubting,
Or burn in a place called Hell.


78
ZOROASTER.
"Our tribe begins now all dividing,
Their fears are upraising strife;
Their time is now used in disputing,
And quarrels, alas! are rife.
"We want to hear, great Sage, all-knowing,
The way we should now pursue,
If we to these seers should give heeding,
And if all they say is true."
The Hermit Sage, o'er the group glancing,
Began, with extended hand,
In forceful and grave tones, addressing
The chief of the mountain band.
"Believe not the seers, ever working,
Through cunning, for their own gain;
The torture-threats they are proclaiming
The wise will treat with disdain.
46
"Their saints they invent, as saints living
Afar in the long ago!
Their miracles with time increasing
By modes that they so well know !
They scorn simple truth in their teaching ;
To their own-made gods they kneel;
While from them they ever are seeking
What they can never reveal.


THE CHIEF OF A MOUNTAIN BAND.
79
66
Their symbols, their charms, and their chanting,
The fear-struck lead all astray ;
Their doll-gods, on thrones in robes glittering,
Demand and receive their pay!
"These mouthpieces, on men's fears counting,
Talk loud of a Great Unknown,
Whose mind they are ever revealing,
Although they know not their own.
"Believe not their myths and their dreaming,
Or what they pretend and say;
Nor prophecies made by their ordering,
And placed in the far-away.
"Of fables that they are upholding,
Full proof let them show to you ;
Beware of their long-practised cunning-
Believe what alone is true.
"And ye, without fear, the false scorning,
The good do, for good alone;
And turn from the seers who are teaching
Your conscience is not your own.
"As good seeds sown bring their rich yielding,
So good thoughts are seen again
In good deeds, and ofttime producing
A harvest of golden grain.


80
ZOROASTER.
"For truth's sake, then, cease not repelling
The craft of the sects and creeds;
And let your life's light go on shining
In good thoughts, good words, good deeds."
The Hermit Sage, thus his words ending,
Content with their interview,
The chief and his aids, their host blessing,
Then reverently all withdrew.


81
THE PRIESTESS.
A PRIESTESS, with servants attending,
Approached now with banners gay;
Her camels had slowly been seeking
The cave for full many a day.
She came from a far region lying
Beneath a bright Southern sky,
Where temples the land were adorning,
And pyramids towered on high.
Her mystical wand she was bearing;
A robe, woven white and gold,
Fell softly, her graceful form draping,
In many a gleaming fold.
Her creed, only women including,
Existed for ages long,
A creed that its votaries lauding
Called Music and love and song.'
""
Her lute-maidens now were seen pausing,
Each with a white dove in hand,
The birds all long trained through caressing
Away in their far-off land.


82
ZOROASTER.
While full freedom ever enjoying,
The sound of a silver bell
Arrested their flight, and, all turning,
They sought those they loved so well.
The maidens' rich gems ever glittering
Around them a lustre shed,
While jasmine and roses entwining
Encircled each graceful head.
The priestess now near the cave standing,
A sign soon made through her page;
Her maidens joined then all in singing
To honour the Hermit Sage.


83
l
1.
THE MAIDENS' SONG.
LIST! O'tis Nature
Singing around us,
Singing in carols—
Carols of birdlings-
List to her anthem
Whispered by zephyrs,
Leaflets repeating
The sweet strain o'er!
Hymns all supernal
Nature is breathing
In the bright streamlet
Gliding along ;
But O far sweeter
Voices of Nature
Heard in the accents
Of those we love!
See how sweet Nature
On us is smiling,
Smiling in sunbeams-
Soft yellow sunbeams;


84
ZOROASTER.
See the sky golden,
Golden with bright smiles,
Smiles of sweet Nature
Telling of joy!
Smiles all-transcendent
Hallow the roses
Laden with odours
Brought from on high ;
But O far sweeter
Smiles of sweet Nature
Seen in the glances
Of those we love!
The priestess now asked: "At Time's starting,
If women had all been made,
In size and brain, twice the men measuring,
By Nature's all potent aid,
"Would not the world be, fairly judging,
For each mortal then, from birth,
A place, in all things now so differing,
For all then a heaven on earth?"
The great Sage, the priestess well heeding,
A moment inclined his head,
As if his mind something went seeking ;
Then, turning, he gently said:


THE MAIDENS' SONG.
85
"If truths from the world kept in hiding—
Truths long barred from being free-
Went with the wide wings of Time speeding,
The world would far better be."
And now, the brief interview ending,
A moment she paused to pray,
And then, all delighted, retiring,
The priestess went on her way.
Her lute-maidens now were heard singing
A melody, sweet, sublime—
A farewell sent back in their parting,
That told of a far-off clime.


86
THE RICH PILGRIM.
A RICH man, a pilgrim, appearing,
Drew near to the mountain cave;
Deep wrinkles his broad brow were marking,
His manner was cold and grave.
All eyes in the crowd soon were turning
In wonder to see one there,
Whose riches they knew without counting
Were wholly beyond compare.
Without pomp or splendour displaying,
He came but in humble guise,
On foot, as a poor pilgrim travelling,
To seek the words of the wise.
32
"Great Sage," he said, "I have come bearing
A question to thee to-day;
A gleam of truth I am now seeking
To light up my future way.
"My kindred reproach me for breaking
What they call the rich man's rule ;
In sorrow they go on bewailing,
And term me now but a fool.


THE RICH PILGRIM.
81
"My question, though one in propounding,
Includes in it many more;
But now, in its plain, simple setting,
With leave I will tell it o'er.
"The rich, through their wealth power commanding,
What should their full duty be
To those who seem placed in their keeping
On earth by their destiny ?"
'Twas all that he said. He stood waiting-
His thoughts having now voice found;
Awhile not a whisper sought hearing
Amid the silence profound.
The Sage seemed a moment considering;
The crowd bent, anxious to hear;
And when he, at last, began speaking
They forced themselves still more near.
-
He said: "Thou hast come from far, seeking
The light for a new life's day;
'Twas Wisdom that went to thee, whispering
The thought of a better way.
"In those that have world-wealth in keeping,
With mortals at beck and call,
True kindness should mark all their ruling,
With justice to one and all.


888
ZOROASTER.
"Be just to all in thy world-dealing,
Nor turn thou from the just way ;
O'erburden not those who are serving,
With labour, thy will to-day.
""Tis not the fair burden that's pressing-
Each one has his nature's can;
'Tis greed's overburden that's crushing
The life out of beast and man.
"The doing of good to all living
Our duty should ever be ;
The strong the weak ever uplifting
Towards their true destiny.
"Look round thee for those who are suffering—
Distress is not far to seek-
And, when thy gains thou art rememb'ring,
Remember the poor and weak.
"Permit not distress to come strangling
The honest poor of the land;
To orphan and widow, help needing,
Withhold not an aiding hand.
"Each act done, a blessing conferring,
Gives back to those who bestow
A blessing heart-felt, beyond telling,
That only themselves may know.


THE RICH PILGRIM.
89
"The words of those thoughtlessly scorning
Thou can'st afford to disdain ;
The light of truth, on thy work shining,
Will turn them all back again.
"One day of man's life on earth dwelling,
With wisdom and love his rule,
Is worth more to mankind's well-being
Than all the life of a fool.
"The doing of good to all living
Bestows on thee here new birth,
And makes thee, whatever thy calling,
A god 'mid the fools of earth."


90
THE THREE WISE MEN.
THE Hermit now paused to give heeding
To heralds who came to say
Three wise men had come late that morning
From lands very far away;
And were of a sect all believing
That things were not as they seem—
That man and earth, with their surrounding,
Were but, after all, a dream.
The three wise men light came now seeking
About some things they would know—
Strange things of time past and time coming
Unknown on the earth below.
They came from the land of the morning,
To seek the Sage known to fame ;
And they had for long days been marching,
Attracted by his great fame.
1


THE THREE WISE MEN.
91
66
'Long we and our sect have been wondering
If Sage might ever be found
Who had the great gift of revealing
The mysteries that abound.
THE FIRST WISE MAN.
The first wise man seemed with years bending,
And near the end of life's span;
He now, to the Sage near approaching,
In gentle low tones began:
"I ask, first, are not all now living
Within this strange world to-day
But life-slaves of earth, their time serving,
Whatever else one may say?
66
"Yea, are not all things that are breathing,
On land, in air, and in sea,
But slaves, like mankind, their turn serving,
All differing but in degree?
66
What earth-man is more in life's reckoning
Than tiniest insect here,
From life to death forced on unceasing,
Each cast in a given sphere ?
Why all this through life to death forcing?
Who can with truth answer, why
The man, horse, and mite alike treating,
All forced to live and to die?


92
ZOROASTER.
"Why thus are all earthly things changing,
And by what unknown command
Are life and growth everywhere dying,
In air, in sea, and on land?
"What purpose is served by this slaughtering?
The demon of death with glee
For ever goes on with the murdering.—
Who issued the vile decree?
(
"Can what is All-Good' be decreeing
Such evil each night and day?
A devil, alone, in such gloating
Could pass thus his time away."
THE SECOND WISE MAN.
The next wise man now began speaking,
His voice arose clear and loud,
And soon what he said seemed attracting
Attention among the crowd.
He said: "O great Sage, seers are spreading,
As if by divine command,
Their doctrines, through arts all persuading,
Afar and near through the land.
"The creeds that they now are proclaiming
They say have come from the skies,
Their idols great throngs are revering,
Stone gods with dead hands and eyes.


THE THREE WISE MEN.
93
"They set up their home-made gods, threat'ning
All those who dare disobey
The precepts and customs they're teaching
With terrible pains one day.
"While ever imposture repeating,
Till terrors belief compel,
And crucified reason, expiring,
To truth sighs a last farewell.
"While loudly announcing their calling,
Their prayers they sell through the land;
With fables the poor sheep they're feeding
And fleece them on every hand.
"New seers through the land are now roving,
New sects now yearly arise;
And new and old sects are now quarrelling
Because of the human prize.
66
They tell of some one ever hiding-
Some one that they only know—
Who from a thick cloudland is ruling
All things on the earth below.
"The fraud-god, man's own manufacturing,
That story we've heard before ;
"Twill do for the slave with fear trembling,
But we will not hear it more.


94
ZOROASTER.
"They tell of a life after dying,
They tell of a land on high,
Where all in full bliss may be basking,
Where man nevermore will die.
"And when we these seers begin asking
For proof of what are but lies,
They say they were told so in dreaming,
And solemnly close their eyes.
"We want no more fables or canting,
Though fools we know must be fed;
But we defy all their loud threatening;
We will not by knaves be led.
"We want no more creeds based on dreaming—
The schemes of the cunning knaves-
To serve as a plea for despoiling
The terror-struck, abject slaves.
"A part of our tribe is now threat'ning
To meet, with their arms in hand,
Those seers, when our bound they are crossing,
And drive them far from the land.
"While others propose calmly waiting
To hear all they have to say,
And meet with truth all their false teaching,
And so turn them from their way.


THE THREE WISE MEN.
95
"But others
among them are doubting
What course they ought to pursue,
And now are in council debating
The question of what to do.
"O Sage, these false seers ever marching
Upon their unhallowed way,
If they to our land come invading,
What should we to them, then, say?"
66
THE THIRD WISE MAN.
The third wise man now advanced, bowing-
His words seemed full fast to flow;
Some things that his mind seemed confounding
He from the great Sage would know.
First, what is earth worth in time's counting?
The thunderbolt falls upon
The dead and alive, alike striking;
A straw and man count as one!
"The floods, and the storms, and the lightning
Come day or night, with surprise,
The innocent earth devastating!
Do demons dwell in the skies ?
"Who made, then, these forces destroying?
Who gave them the right to slay?
Could they have been made as all aiding
To keep evil far away?


96
ZOROASTER.
"The earth is but one scene of slaughtering,
A tyrant law to fulfil ;
From birth to death all ever forcing,
Without their consent or will.
"With tree, man, or frog does the lightning
A line of distinction draw;
Or does the fierce flash, in its murdering,
Destroy them all by one law?
"If man could flash death like the lightning,
And thus a fellow-man slew,
To punish a crime so appalling
What course would the law pursue?
"The one is left free in its murdering-
Redress for it none dare claim-
The other death's penalty paying,
And yet both crimes are the same.
"Who, then, is this murderer, using
The power of the lightning's flash;
The horror of murder augmenting
Ofttime by the thunder's crash?
"Is, then, there a demon commanding
Behind Nature's wall, unseen,
Whose glory is ever in slaying?
What does it, great Sage, all mean?


THE THREE WISE MEN.
97
"Does all this not go to the proving
Men are but as grass and flowers,
Whose brief span of life flies on passing,
By years some, and some by hours?
"If this be true, can one help thinking
That things are not as they seem-
That life on earth, with its surrounding,
Is but, after all, a dream?
"Suppose, O great Sage, through time changing,
That thou the Supreme should be;
As tyrant, and all wrong unheeding,
Could we ever dream of thee?
"Could'st thou, saint or man, in thy ruling,
Be deaf to suffering and pain ?
Would'st thou be a god, all good ordering,
Or would'st thou as devil reign?
"We know thy good life and good doing ;
Thy justice we all adore :
That twice two make not five in counting,
But that, with thee, they make four."
U


98
66
THE GOD-MAKER.
AND now the throng turned, all observing
A man that some there knew well;
He looked all cast down, as if grieving;
What sorrow had he to tell?
The god-maker, always so cheering,
Now seeming so sad and strange-
His laugh once a joy to all hearing-
What, then, could have caused this change?
Unknown by the Sage, he came, bowing,
Then slowly he raised his head,
And, after still nearer approaching,
He, in a subdued voice, said:
"Great master, I come to thee, praying
To listen while I tell o'er
All that my life now is beclouding,
And making my heart full sore.
They name me 'Ra-Ra,' and my calling
Is known in the country round;
I make all my gods at seers' bidding;
At work I am ever found.


THE GOD-MAKER.
99
"For one sect I long had been working-
A sect ruled but by one Seer-
Who live in a country all-prospering,
Full ten days' long march from here.
"By chance a new sect that is dwelling
In lands still further away,
Who heard of my skill in god-making,
Brought me an order one day.
"So pleased were they with my god-making,
They brought me still orders new,
And gods for them I have been melting—
Some red, some brown, and some blue.
"The last god made by their commanding
Five years ago I began ;
A year of work saw its completing-
In size thrice that of a man.
"The Seer then saw soon, in his dreaming,
An angel, who came to find
The god, who still stood, without thinking,
And gave him a prophet's mind.
"The Seer dreamt the dream three times running ;
The angel then upward flew
Toward the night stars, brightly beaming,
Until lost at last from view.


100
ZOROASTER.
"A peasant girl, by the god standing,
The angel saw drawing near;
Before the bright sight, so o'erpowering,
She fell to the earth with fear.
"The angel the girl now consoling,
Assisting, then took her hand,
And told her to go, with a blessing,
And spread the news through the land.
"The people, who everywhere hearing
The news that so quickly flew,
Saw soon, in the blessed girl's revealing,
The Seer's dream confirmed anew.
"Ram-Ram' this god now they are calling-
Great wonders he works all day;
The miracles he is performing
Are known now far, far away.
"Full fierce are his looks, and expressing
A savage disdain for all ;
The people, awe-stricken and trembling,
In hundreds before him fall.
"The Seer gave out, sadly lamenting,
Ram-Ram would angry remain
Till people, with gifts, should come seeking
Their pardon, bought through his name.


THE GOD-MAKER.
ΙΟΙ
"The crowds in vast numbers keep flocking,
They come from afar and near,
To know what my savage god's saying,
But through the mouth of the Seer.
"The people's sins were beyond numbering;
The Seer said he knew full well
Their only hope was in adoring
Ram-Ram, who could save from hell.
"But this monster-god, my own making,
Has caused a religious strife;
The first sect, aroused, sent now threatening
To damn me in after life,
"If I to the sect, lately coming
Within their new lands to stay,
Did not, when new gods they came ordering,
Turn from them at once away;
"But promised, beyond any doubting,
My sins would be all passed o'er,
If I would renounce all god-making,
Except for them, evermore.
"To all that the first sect went saying
I lent a most willing ear,
And so I again went on living
Without any future fear.


102
ZOROASTER.
"(
But now, the new sect at last hearing
The threats that had come to me,
Have damn'd me for giving them heeding
Through all long eternity.
"They've damn'd me, also, while here living,
And foretell a frightful end,
That I may be little expecting,
One day my steps will attend.
"The two sects have thus in denouncing,
My peace of mind torn away,
If I should consent, and go making
A god for either to-day.
"I was at my wits' end, not knowing
Which way would be right to turn,
To save myself from this decreeing
That I should hereafter burn;
"When I met a wise man, who, hearing
All that I had then to say,
Besought me to come to thee seeking
Thy wisdom without delay."
The great Sage, with sympathy list'ning,
The griefs of Ra-Ra well knew,
And now, in a converse long lasting,
Revealed all that he might do.


THE GOD-MAKER.
103
The frauds of the seers oft recurring,
The Hermit knew but too well,
And when a dupe showed signs of faltering,
Their threat was for ever "hell."
While still the Sage went on explaining,
The crowd could not fail to see
The god-maker's manner was changing,
His form grew erect and free.
Whatever was said, in conversing,
Between them, no one might say ;
But all saw the god-maker, smiling,
Depart, at last, on his way.


104
THE BLIND MAN.
A BLIND man, decrepit and halting,
Now turned on his straw-mat bed;
All paused, while attentively listening,
To what he so feebly said.
"Of all sects and creeds now prevailing
Throughout the world everywhere,
Can'st thou the heav'n most deserving
To me, O great Sage, declare ?
66
"Of heav'n can'st thou tell me the meaning?
Can man see it in his mind?
And what may I do while here living,
That I, at last, heav'n may find?
"Ofttime on my mat I lie listening
To strange things friends round me say;
They ask if the world, in time coming,
Will wiser be than to-day.
They talk of the stars and clouds passing,
They talk of a mystic sky,
And ask when will come the revealing
Of secrets still held on high.


THE BLIND MAN.
105
"And why, O great Sage, some are whispering,
Hast thou thy face turned aside,
And left, thus, the great world, preferring
A home on the mountain side ?"
This ended, from all those there gathering,
What each and all wished to know
Of things on high, far, far extending,
And things on the earth below.
Their questions were many and differing,
Some simple and some profound,
And some seemed beyond understanding,
Or crossing the reason's bound.
But to one and all who came seeking
His cave in the mountain side,
And who still were patiently waiting,
The Hermit at last replied.


106
ZOROASTER'S REPLY TO THE BLIND MAN.
66
OF sects and of creeds now existing
Within our strange world below,
The one to-day heaven most deserving,
An aged blind man would know.
"All thought may for ever go differing—
Vain, old, or new sects or creeds-
If still in each life-day are lacking
Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
"All things on earth ever are changing—
Behold the long-past worn 'Yea,'
As if by some mystic ordaining,
Becomes to-day's cherished 'Nay.'
"And so with beliefs now existing,
Though hallowed from days of old,
When new light of truth is arising,
They die with their weight of mould.
"Good thoughts be thy law each day living,
Regardless of sects and creeds;
Good words will then follow unfailing,
And wedded to them good deeds.
i pa n


ZOROASTER'S REPLY TO THE BLIND MAN. 107
"While power and the will, co-existing,
Are thine on the earth below,
All joy to impart to the living,
No other heav'n need'st thou know.
"The blind man would know, too, while speaking,
Why I should have turned aside
Afar from the great world, preferring
My home in the mountain-side.
"Heartsick of the world's cruel warring-
Of men turned to beasts of prey-
While prayers from their lips are invoking
The aid of their God to slay.
"Heartsick of the long persecuting
Of all that was just and true;
Heartsick of the myths and false teaching,
Which stronger and stronger grew ;
"Heartsick of corruption and plundering,
Through force and lawless decrees;
Of demons in human form ruling;
Of men, as serfs, on their knees;
"Heartsick of the slaves who, through bribing,
Or fearing their master's frown,
The gold and the rank are upholding,
While pressing the down more down.


108
ZOROASTER.
"Heartsick of a world but adjudging
The weak forever is wrong;
Of laws with two sides, one declaring
The right alone is the strong.
"For these and like reasons impelling
I've turned from the world aside,
And made, where all nature is blessing,
My home in the mountain-side."


109
ZOROASTER'S COMMENT ON THE SEERS.
"SOME ask as to Seers and their working-
The Seers who pollute their name;
If mankind is bound to give heeding
To all that they now proclaim.
"What sense, the great power in man dwelling,
Can't feel on the earth below,
What thought ever fails in conceiving
The reason can never know.
"But Seers place their yoke, with words luring,
Around the necks of the weak;
And, once in a grasp unrelaxing,
The victims they ever keep.
"The door of truth, with heavy barring,
Is shut to them evermore;
The dupes yield themselves, unreflecting,
And then their true lives are o'er.
"The true faith of mortals here dwelling,
Ignoring all sects and creeds,
Should be all their days, without ceasing,
Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.


110
ZOROASTER.
"When Wisdom's voice mankind is heeding,
When Truth is the law alone,
When Love the wide world is encircling,
And Science ascends her throne;
"Then what now seems strange and confounding
The haze will no longer hide,
And Light will, on golden wings flying,
The glad news spread far and wide.
"The nations of earth then, rejoicing,
Will clasp hands o'er land and sea,
The War-God and Greed-God dethroning;
All earth then a heav'n will be.
66
"Turn, then, from those subtle Seers, working
And plotting for their own gain;
These wolves, after prey ever prowling,
Turn from them with all disdain.
Opinions, with men, are not wanting—
Opinions all have, we know;
But O, how few think to-day, passing
Along their life-road below!"


III
ZOROASTER'S REPLIES TO SOME QUESTIONS
AS TO THE SUN.
"AND questions are asked still concerning
That Power of all most sublime,
66
Who o'er all is from the sky reigning,
And when was its birth in time.
And some ask if off it went speeding
Beyond the skies far away,
Again to us no more returning,
Would not the stars make our day?
"If far the sun-force went off floating,
Beyond the reach of the earth,
The earth, with its all, would be nothing,
As if it had never birth.
"The sun in full power has been shining
From Time's first all-fateful hour;
And mortals think little while living
Of that omnipotent Power.
"That great force in glory now shining
On wondering worlds below,
And on worlds unseen beyond counting,
What mortal as yet may know?


112
ZOROASTER.
"What millions beyond human reckoning,
All through the sun's constant care,
Their tenure of life are now holding
On land, in sea, and in air?
"The endless stores now in its keeping,
Its treasures of untold wealth,
The least, as the greatest, endowing
With life and light, food and health;
"Thus daily our world still reminding
Our Guardian of Good on high,
For all our wants ever is caring,
As ruler of earth and sky.
"How few on earth yet are considering
The mystic tie now between
The sun and the earth it is ruling,
As by human eyes now seen!
"O few now are those yet divining
The meaning to man of light,
The might of that sun o'er all ruling,
The maker of day and night!
"With glad hearts, then, hail the sun rising
In glory and power each day,
Who, through universal law ruling,
Still gives, or takes, life away!"


113
ZOROASTER REPLIES TO SOME OTHER
QUESTIONS.
SOME say that the lives we are living
May not be all that they seem,
And that we, with all our surrounding,
May be, after all, a dream.
66
"What Will, one asks, made things existing,
And sounded Time's starting hour;
And when had that Will its beginning,
And who gave that Will its power ?
" All Nature a language is speaking
In mystic tones night and day;
But who may delve out the deep meaning
Of aught Nature has to say?
"Each shadow, however fast fleeting,
Reflects a substance behind,
A substance, though still perhaps hiding,
The searchlight of thought may find.
"The Sages, we know, without telling—
All who are known everywhere
To have minds of thought-have been seeking
For paths still unknown with care.
H


114
ZOROASTER.
"But what have they found in their searching,
A grain from a mountain grand-
A grain, after oft overturning,
To fall at last from the hand!
"How many go patiently seeking
The thoughts of a former day;
The thoughts cruel centuries passing
Have hid on their heedless way!
"The pilgrims now on the earth marching,
The millions that passed before,
The millions that still are advancing,
'Tis but the same step marched o'er.
"The nations now on the earth dying,
The nations that died before:
The nations that still will be dying,
'Tis death but repeated o'er.
"All things on earth ever are changing,
All animal, plant, and Man;
From birth to death on they go changing,
All end with a life's brief span.
"The yesterdays since earth's beginning
Have gone, like sparks from a flame;
Some ask where they went in their hasting,
And some would know whence they came.


ZOROASTER REPLIES TO SOME OTHER QUESTIONS. 115
"And so the to-days, still obeying
A law that may know no change;
And so the to-morrows, still taking
A course that to us seems strange.
"They sought the dark void; but in parting
They left on the earth behind
No trace of their coming or going,
To lighten the magian mind.
"When o'er the vast universe looking,
How little life seems to be !
A drop in an ocean far-spreading—
A breath in eternity!
66
The mind of man oft has been striving
To measure Time's gulf so wide;
Eternity's mystic veil seeking
To draw, by some scheme, aside.
"But human mind, however daring,
A limit has here below-
A limit that ever seems saying:
'So far, but no farther, go.'
"While Time, without limit, is bearing
All life in its mystic train,
The problems, alas! so bewildering,
Man struggles to solve in vain!


116
ZOROASTER.
"Behold the skilled ants, their mounds building-
All hurrying to and fro;
Of nations now o'er the earth spreading
What do they, what can they, know?
"The snail to the green stem now clinging,
Its home a few feet of ground—
Do visions float by, in its dreaming,
Of all the vast world around?
"The moles, underground ever delving-
What know they of those to-day
Who come to this mountain-cave, gathering
From lands apart, far away?
"Yon tiny fly, here and there darting,
Who came with the morning sun;
A few short hours, then, with day's ending,
Its life-work on earth is done!
"That tiny fly, coming and going,
Did ever it have a mind
To fathom the motives oft causing
The mad wars among mankind?
66
The snail, ant, and mole, and fly, living
Each in its restricted sphere-
Each but its own tiny world knowing,
While life-tenure holding here.
S


ZOROASTER REPLIES TO SOME OTHER QUESTIONS. 117
""
And so with the human race, dwelling
Within its restricted bound;
The limit of space, by its measuring,
When can it be ever found?
"What man could now count, who is living,
The grains of sand from the seas;
Or count all the blades of grass growing,
Or stars, or leaves on the trees?
"Mankind might unite in the building
A stairway up to the skies,
And, after long years of hard toiling,
How far would the structure rise?
"How many on earth are still craving
The Far-beyond here to know,
Whose creeds all earth's races are rending,
Though brief man's term here below!
"But ye, let your creed be unchanging-
The right to all 'neath the sun;
And strong be your voice in demanding
The wrong evermore to none.
"The world be your country, while living-
The world nature first made free;
Let but to do good to all breathing
Your life-long religion be.


118
ZOROASTER.
"With wisdom and love ever guiding,
Man, marching, smiles on life's way;
His head high above the clouds towering,
His earth-home a heav'n each day."


119
ZOROASTER TELLS WHAT THE ANCIENTS
SAID ABOUT CREATION,
66
AND some would know now in their seeking
How came the first race on earth;
And how long ago, by moon's counting,
The world we live in had birth.
"When first the still earth began waking
From out of its long night's spell,
When first the bright light began beaming,
No Sage, to this day, may tell.
"But day and night came, with them bringing
The bright and the dark'ning hours;
In time the earth filled with things living,
With trees, and with streams, and flowers.
"Old Sages once said near the dawning
There rose monster mountains high,
The mountains that went so far towering
Their peaks were lost in the sky.
"They told that the first race were living
For long on those mountains grand,
Until storm and lightning came chasing
The people from land to land.


120
ZOROASTER.
66
'They said heav'n to earth was there whispering,
In dreamy sounds, weird and low,
The secrets some magians are seeking
All vainly to-day to know.
"They said the Lore-king was there dreaming,
And that since the days of old
Strange phantoms were jealously guarding
Vast treasures of thought and gold;
"That there the ravines have been list'ning
To sounds echoed down from high,
As if unknown voices were calling
From worlds in the far-off sky.
""Twas there, through a mystic force moving,
Old Seers say, the light had birth;
And there song and music descending,
Twin sisters from heav'n, blessed earth.
"And then a time came all things changing,
The earth's first race passed from light,
But leaving three Seers with wives grieving
For many a day and night.
"The first race were blessed with vast learning,
All gentle, but giants grand,
Their treasures of thought, beyond counting,
Were swept with them from the land.


WHAT THE ANCIENTS SAID ABOUT CREATION.
121
"Some crumbs from these stores of thought hiding
Within the minds of old Seers
Have come down to us, as waifs straying,
Through all the long changing years.
"Strange tongues through time's mists still seem
calling
From that first and far-off day;
And from the beyond, through the gloaming,
They to us in whispers say:
"Once sun, moon, and stars were not shining,
And time was as yet unknown;
All now that is then was as nothing,
And darkness held sway alone.
"Then time at last came with its changing,
While silence reigned all supreme;
And earth, as if spellbound, reposing,
Seemed wrapt in a mystic dream.
"When sun, moon, and stars began forming
Within the wide womb of time,
The universe round all expanding
Raised o'er them a dome sublime.
"A city of light everlasting,
Within a vast space on high,
Revealed in a radiance o'erwhelming
The Monarch of all the sky.


122
ZOROASTER.
"The first day, then, had a beginning;
The splendour of light, before
Unknown, through all space went proclaiming
Its matchless force evermore.
"Then night next her place came forth seeking,
Unlocked from the mystic dream,
And first gazed on space never ending
Amid the stillness supreme.
'Her millions of star-lamps then twinkling
To each other came in view;
The vast panorama extending
Across the concave of blue.
66 6 Arrayed in a power new and startling,
She held 'neath the sky full sway;
All Nature entranced mutely wondering
Until the return of day.
"Then people on earth were first dwelling,
O'erjoyed with their home new found,
'Mid wild flowers, and woods, and streams flowing
And songs of the birds around.
"Then time with joy flew on unchanging,
Nor days were they counted o'er;
All thought in a bliss never ending
Of life on earth evermore.
¿


WHAT THE ANCIENTS SAID ABOUT CREATION. 123
"But soon the first cloud was seen rising ;
It grew, dark'ning all the sky;
All paused, in a deep silence wondering
What caused this weird change on high.
"""'Twas then the earth heard, alas! trembling,
Across Time's high rampart wall,
Fate, out of eternity, voicing
The mandate of death to all.'"
The great Zoroaster, thus ending,
A moment paused now, to tell
His joy at the great pilgrim meeting,
His sorrow to say farewell.
With reverence the groups, ere retir❜ng,
Their grateful salaams made o'er ;
Upon the loved Hermit invoking
All blessings for evermore.
Disciples of his, through all changing,
They now had resolved to be,
Wherever in life they went wandering
Henceforth, over land or sea.
And now, while the throngs were retiring
Beneath the fast-fading light,
The bards of the hills, their lutes touching,
Sang softly to coming night.


124
ZOROASTER.
The hills the lute-sounds were heard bearing,
In faint echoes, far away;
While through eve's soft veil, now descending,
Night heard the receding lay.


125
THE SONG OF THE BARDS OF THE HILLS.
GONE is the golden sun,
Far in the West away;
And twilight sighs to earth
The last farewell of day.
On outspread, starry wings,
Swift in thy mystic flight,
Thou com'st to bless the world,
O sweet, O silent night.
With thy mute lullaby
The weary rest again ;
On earth, in sea, in air,
All toil, and strife, and care
A truce find in thy reign.
Queen of the sunless realm,
Returning in thy flight,
Our world bless o'er again,
O sweet, O silent night.








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