Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 15.djvu/453

PARSIS. the priests of Navsari and the original clerical leaders of Saiijau. Early in the eighleentli cen- tury anotlicr dispute arose with reyard to the dating of the calendar, which in India gradually fell a uionth behind the Persian Zoroastrian calendar, because of failure properly to introtluce the intercalary month. This resulted in dividing the Parsi comnuinity into two sects, .Shenshahis and Kadniis. The Shenshahis adhered' to their customary Indian reckoning of months, without the intercalation, but the Kadrais adi)tcd the Persian reckoning with the month duly inserted; thus the Shenshahi calendar remains still a month behind the Kadnii. They are gener- ally united on the main tenets with regard to their god Ormazd (q.v.), their prophet Zarathushtra (see Zoroaster), and a belief in angels and archangels. They follow the same general rites, feasts, fasts, manners, and customs. In theology they are strongly monotheistic to- day. At present, however, a belief in the resur- rection of the body seems less pronounced among them than their sacred texts would appear to warrant. As to the doctrine of spiritual au- thority, the infallibility of their Dasturs is unhesitatingly questioned by the less strict conformists, but all unite in acknowledging the religious leader.shi[) of those priestly heads.

If we may judge from the old Greek accounts of the Persian faith, the Parsis, from time im- memorial, have kept up the idea of ceremonial purification. Scrupulous care is taken to pre- serve the elements, earth, fire, and water, from defilement, especially from dead matter. Nor would a strictly orthodox Parsi to-day spit into the fire or blow out a light, any more than in the days of Cyrus, although in "practical matters they often have to make concessions, and Parsis may even serve in the fire department of Bom- bay. Many who are less strict have taken to smoking tobacco, although this is not in keep- ing with the tenets of their faith. To the desig- nation Fire-worshipers,' which is so often ap- plied to them, they strongly object, for their religion teaches the presence" of Ormazd behind the fire, which stands merely as one of the em- blems of his power. As in the days of the Avesta, they still wear the sacred shirt "and girdle (now called sudrah and ktisti), and their priest- ly class are conspicuous for their white flowing robes.

Some of the present Parsi observances con- nected with birth and marriage mav show slight traces of inlluence from the Hindus, but the Parsi rites connected with death have remained most individual and striking. As is well known, they expose the bodies of their dead on DaKh- tnas, or Towers of Silence, to be devoured by vultures. In this they adhere strictly to the precepts of the Avesta, although through force of circumstances, or otherwise^ they are occa- sionally obliged to forego this manner of dis- posing of the dead. As a community, their moral status is ranked very high. In matters of edu- cation, especially female education, they are very advanced for Orientals. In all that 'relates t'o progress and civilization they are inclined large- ly to follow European examples. There is a growing tendency among them to spread a knowl- edge of their ancient sacred literature, and nu- merous editions or reprints of Avesta and Pah- lavi texts and translations are yearly published

A rosaceous plant. See by them. For acts of charity, benevolence, and generosity they are conspicuous. On the Parsis. of Persia, see Giiebek.s.

Consult: Karaka, History of the Parsis (Lon- don, 1884) ; Haug and West, Essays on the Par- sis (3d ed., ib., 1884); Jlodi. "The Religious System of the Parsis," in The World's Parlia- ment of Religions, vol. ii. (Chicago, 1893) ; Bharucha, Zoroastrian Religion and Customs (Bombay, 1893); Seervai and Patel. Gujarat Parsis from Their Earliest Settlemrnt to the Present Time (ib., 1898); Jlenant, Les Parsis, Histoire des communaules Zoroastriennes de Vhule (Paris, 1898).

PARSLEY (dialectic parsil, from OF. pcr- sil, pierre essil. Ft. persil. It. pelrosello, pelro- sellino, parsley, from Lat. petroselinum, from Ok. irerpoafKivov. rock-parsley, from Tr^rpoi. pet- ros, rock -|- (riXivov, srlinoii, sort of parsley), Ciirnm. Annual ur biennial smooth branching, tripinnate-leaved herbs of the natural onlei- Umbellifera;. Common parsley (Varum Pel- rosrlinnm), a native of the soiith of Europe, is grown from seed sown in good garden soil, and is used for flavoring soups, garnishing meats, etc. Varieties with curled leaflets are generally preferred to those with plain leaflets. Hamburg parsley is a variety with large white carrot- like roots which are used in much the same way as the carrot or parsnip.

PARSLEY FAMILY. A popular name for the natural order L'mbellifenE (q.v.).

PARSLEY PIERT. L.i)y's-M.xtle.

PARSNIP (ME. parsenip, pasnepe, from OF. pastenaque, pastenade, Fr. pa-stenade, panais, Sp., Port., It. pastinaca, from Lat. pastinaca, parsnip, from paslinum, sort of two-tined dib- ble), Pcuerdanum. A genus of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs of the natural order Um- bellifene, with carrot-like fleshy roots and pin- nate leaves. The common parsnip (Peueedanuin sativum), a native of Europe and Northern Asia, is a biennial, with angular-furrowed stems two to three feet high, ovate leaflets, white roots, which are aromatic, mucilaginous, sweet, but slightly acrid. Cultivation has greatly modified the qualities of the roots, rendering them much more bland, and greatly increasing their size and lloshiness, thus improving their edible qualities. The parsnip delights in a very open rich soil, but will succeed in clayey soils' far too stifl' for the carrot. The mode "of cultivation of the parsnip scarcely dillers from that of the carrot. The parsnip is used chiefly in winter, whether for the table or for feeding cattle, for which it is highly valued, especially in Europe. It is im- proved rather than injured by frosi : but is apt to become rusty if allowed toremain too long in the ground, and to become acrid after it has begim to grow again in the sprinsr. Another species, the cut-leaved parsnip or sekakul (Pas- linaea Sekakul). or Malabaila pumila of some botanists, with pinnatifid cut leaflets, a native of India, Syria, and Egypt, cultivated in the Levant, is very similar in its uses to the eonnnon parsnip. See Plate of Oxio.xs, Oy.steb Pla.t, etc.

PARSON (OF. persone. Fr. personne, from ML. persona, person, curate, parson, Lat. persona, person, actor's mask). Strictly, one who