His philosophy is dualistic. There are two spirits or principles that rule the universe. These are Ormuzd, the principle of light, and Ahriman, the principle of darkness. These two opposing principles are in constant conflict, each striving for the mastery. Man is the center of the conflict, but Ormuzd as his creator has the greater power over him. All influences are summoned to bring about the success of the good, and in the end it will surely prevail. No remission of sin is taught, but judgment is represented as a bridge over which those whose good deeds outweigh their evil deeds are allowed to pass to paradise: in case the evil deeds outweigh the good, the person is cast off forever; in case of a balance of good and evil deeds, there is another period of probation.
This dualism shows itself in nature as well as in the spiritual world. Order is opposed to lawlessness, truth to falsehood, life to death, good to evil. It is a religion in which the ideas of guilt and merit are carried out to the extreme. Zoroaster believed that he was the prophet chosen to promulgate these doctrines, and his influence as a teacher upon the Persian nation was unquestionably great. Persia is now a Mohammedan country.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] North American Review, Vol. 172, p. 132.
CHAPTER V
THE JEWS
Literature.—Hosmer, Story of the Jews; Clarke, Ten Great Religions; Durrell, New Life in Education; Myers, Ancient History; Stoddard's Lectures; Lord, Beacon Lights of History; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews; Morrison, The Jews under Roman Rule; Larned, History for Ready Reference; Hegel, Philosophy of History; Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1895; Peters, Justice to the Jew.