Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/466

 COSMOGONY

408

COSMOGONY

Iranian. — In considering these cosmogonies we must distinguish a threefold phase of development: (a) The ancient Iranian phase, as given in the Avesta, the Yasnas, and the Vendidads. Without entering into the much-disputed question of the date of the Avesta, it may be safely said that these oldest cosmogonies go back to about 1000 b. c. (b) The later Iranian or early Persian phase, as contained in orthodox Pahlavi litera- ture, the Bimdahis and the Mainochired. (c) Hetero- dox Iranian opinions amongst schismatical sects, as the Zervanites, Gayoniarthiya, Rivayets, and others. We shall find the dualism, which is the great charac- teristic of Iranian thought, showing a gradual tendency towards monism, and its primeval simplicity trans- formed into fanciful intricacy -nathout, however, alto- gether losing the loftiness of its first ideas.

Although we possess no full systematic expositions of the views of the ancient Iranians on the origin of the universe, yet scattered passages in the Avesta leave no doubt that at the beginning of all things they postu- lated a twofold principle: good and evil. At the head indeed of all creation stands Ahura Mazda, a purely spiritual being, who is distinctly and expressly styled Creator of the World" of spirit and of matter. Yet in the older books the idea of the unity of origin of the universe is far from having come to maturity ; so in the Gathas a distinct dualism of origin is taught. At the end of Yasna, xxviii, Zarathustra asks: "Do thou, Ahura Mazda, teach me from thyself, that I may de- clare it forth, through what the primeval world arose." And in Yasna, xxx, conies the answer: " Thus are the primeval spirits, who as a pair — yet each independent in his action — have been famed of old. They are [these two spiritual principles] a better thing and a worse thing as to thought, word, and deed. When the two spirits came together at the first to make life and non-life, and to determine how the world at last should be made, [then there was] for the wicked the worst life and for the holy the best state of mind. He who was the evil one chose the evil, but the bountiful spirit chose righteousness." Ahura Mazda, or, as the name later became abbreviated, Onnuzd, the Wise Lord, is the good spirit or Spento Mainyu; the Evil One is Anro Mainyu, the destroying spirit later known as Ahrinian. The absolute dualism of the above passage is unmistakable: in the beginning was Good and Evil; the good became as it were incarnate in Ormuzd, the evil in .\hriman. The name Ahriman, however, does not actually occur in this Yasna. This dualism gradually softened as centuries went on, and Ormuzd wjis repeatedly and emphatically designated as the Creator. Thus Yasna, i, 1 (which is of consid- erably later date than Yasna, xxx): "I confess and proclaim Ahura Mazda, the creator, the radiant, the glorious, who sends his joy-creating grace afar, who made us and who fashioned us, who has nourished us and protected us, who is the Spento Mainyu." But whenever Ormuzd, the source of all good, produces what is good, the Evil One produces its opposite, there- with to destroy Ormuzd's creation. Ahriman, there- fore, becomes only a secondary, or coimter-creator. This is thus expressed in Fargard i of the Vendidad: "The first of good lands which I, Ahura Mazda, cre- ated was Iran- Veg, thereupon came Ahro Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created the serpent in the river, and the winter, the work of demons. The second of good lands which I created was the jjlain of Sogdiana. Thereupon came Anro JIainyu, who is all death, and ho counter-created the locust, bringing death inito cattle and plants." No less than sixteen such creations and coimter-creations are thus enunu^rated: Ahriman ccvmtcr-creates plunder, .sin, ants and ant- hills, unbelief, tears and wailing, idolatry, pride, im- purity, burial of the dead, the c<ioking of corp.ses, .ab- normal issues, excessive lieat, and l)itter cold. From this enunieratinu of Alirimaii's work one gathers (liat he and his good adversary were originally personified

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principles, and this personification led to their being; accounted real spiritual beings. Sometimes this per- sonification was so materialized as to lead to the as-| cription of a body to Ormuzd, but this was of some aerial substance invisible even to the celestials. Be- sides these two world-creators we meet in the Avesta four elementary beings, or rather attributes of Ormuzd, called Thwasha or Infinite Space, Zrvan Akarana or Endess Time, .\naghra raocao and Teniao or Begin- ningless Light and Darkness. These personified ab- ^' stractions — Space, Time, Light, and Darkness — are '^ co-eternal with Ormuzd and Ahriman; they do not create, but they constitute the receptacle, the source, and the twofold material of creation.

Later Parthian speculations on the origin of the uni- verse are found in the Bundahis, a Pahlavi conimen- tarj' on the Avesta, which may date from the Sassa- nids, but in its present form cannot be earlier than the seventh century of the Christian Era. Ormuzd is here described as in endless light and all-wise ; but Ahriman in endless darkness and lacking in knowledge. Light and darkness seem to have been identified with Or- muzd and Ahriman at an earlier period, according to Porphyrins and Plutarch. Ormuzd and Ahriman both produced their own creatures, which remain apart in a spiritual or ideal state for 3000 years; for Ahriman is unaware of the existence of Ormuzd and his good creation. After this begins Ahriman's oppo- sition to the work of Onnuzd, with the understanding, however, that the period of the evil influence would not exceed 9000 years, and onlj- the middle 3000 years were to see Ahriman successful. By pronouncing a mysterious spell Ormuzd throws .-Uiriman into a state of confusion for a second 3000 years. Meanwhile, Or- muzd creates the archangels and the material imiverse with sun, moon, and stars; Ahriman produces the de- vas, or evil spirits, and, helped by them, he throws him- self upon the good creation to destroy it. The six di- visions of creation — the sky, water, earth, plants, and animals, and men — suffer the attacks of the devas. The primeval ox, symbolizing the later animal world, is slain, and so is Gayomard, representing humanity. Yet, though Gayomard dies, his offspring lives. After many purifications by archangels, the Rivas plant, be-. gotten of him, grows up. This plant contains both *'™! man and woman ; when their bodies have sufficiently *' * developed they receive "the breath spiritually intoP*' them, which is the soul"; for Ahura Mazda said that' "the soul is created before and the body after, for hiiu' who was created". And Ahura Mazda said to them,,, , " You are man, you are the ancestry of the •« orld ". A-i:."^' story is told of the first pair, whether Mashya andr'" Mashyana or, as elsewhere given, Yima and his wife,"'?-" similar to that of Adam's sin in paradi.se; a like simil- arity can also be found in Ahura Mazda creating the world in six stages, but there is nothing to show that the Biljle is the borrower, in fact the contrary is most probable. In the Mainochired a further stage in Per- sian cosmogonies is reached. There the light is tlis- tinctly named as the matter out of which the univcrsf is created and zrvan, or entlless time, is no longer con- sidered an attribute of Ormuzd, but is an independent! fimdamental being, which pronounces its blessing and ' '^a joy over the creation which Ormuzd produces. Sd chapter viii: "The creator .\hura produced these crea- tures and creation, the archangels and the spirit ol '^ wisdom from that which is his own splendour and with ■- the blessing of endless time. For this reason unlim- ited time is undecaying and immortal, painless and hungerless, thirstlcss and imdisturbeil; for ever and -•' ever no one will be able to overpower it or to make it not all-over-ruling in his own affairs. And -Mirinian, the wicked, counter-created the ilevtis and tlrmjs [de- mons and fieiiils] and the rest of the things of corrup- tion." He made .a treaty with Ormuzd forOOOOyears. during which things nuist remain as they are. Bui after 9000 years .-\liriman will be utterly impotent

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