Page:Avesta, the Bible of Zoroaster.djvu/13

 would be psalms, or even collects and gospel; the metrical parts of the Yasna might supply hymns. The epic and narrative parts of the great metrical Yashts might perhaps find a parallel in the apocryphal books, or in the legends of the saints which were not wanting in the old Anglo-Saxon church.

Let us remember that the faith of Zoroaster lingers even until to-day; the Avesta is yet chanted in solemn tones by the white-robed priest in the temples at Bombay; the spark of the sacred fire is still cherished; most of the old rites, ceremonies and customs are preserved as of yore; and the followers of the Prophet of Ancient Iran, though they now number hardly 90,000 brethren, still form a united community, upright, honest, thrifty, prosperous, and faithful to the teachings of their Master. What the nature of those teachings is, must be reserved for discussion elsewhere.