52 
MITHRATIC 
things by his mercy; and that he makes his will known to man 
by seven divine intelligences, or agents, each of whom has his 
especial office in the economy of the universe. Man is the pe¬ 
culiar care of the first in dignity; the second presides over the 
animals of the earth; the third over the earth itself; the fourth 
over fire; the fifth over the waters ; the sixth has every kind of 
plant and vegetation in charge; and the seventh preserves all 
nature from whatever might defile it. Subordinate to these 
super-eminent deities, are an infinity of minor gods who attend 
mankind, administering to their necessities, or governing their 
passions. The Guebre faith also admits a malign spirit with his 
demons, who busy themselves in thwarting the benevolent pur¬ 
poses of the seven protectors ; but likewise believing that the 
power of goodness is always stronger than that of evil, prayers, 
and a firm dependance on Ormuzc^ and his heavenly agents, are 
deemed fully sufficient talismans against all the powers of dark¬ 
ness. To this end, the pious have particular days in every 
month, dedicated to the adoration of the Supreme Deity, on whom 
they call in the presence of his sacred emblem, their secretly 
cherished fire ; which, they continue to affirm, is the purest, and 
therefore most proper type of the divinity. But how far their 
general doctrine accords with that of the ancient magi, may in 
some measure be judged, by reading the books of their faith, 
said to have been compiled from the oral records of the Dus- 
toors, or priests of the Guebres, several ages after the Maho- 
medan destruction of the sacred parchments at Persepolis. 
Doubtless, in these documents some part of the original Mith- 
ratic system may be traced; but much more is to be found of 
the polytheistical innovations which degraded the once spiritual¬ 
ized religion of Persia, into the grossness of general idolatry. 
