lord’s discovery of the banians and persees. 559

to agree punctually, both in matter and order, with that tranflation of Mr. Grimftone’s,called Eftates and Empires, &c. in the chronicle of the Kings of Perfia, to whom I referthofe that defire information therein.

What religion this people had in the reigns of Guiomaras, Syameck, Ouchang,Thamull, Jimlhed, Zoack, Traydhun, and Manoucher, unto Lorafph, which wastheir fifteenth king, is not the fcope of this prefent work, though then they had apeculiar kind of worfhip. But the religion that is the fubjeft of this book, is a religionthat was received in the reign of Guftafph, the fon of Lorafph, their fixteenth kingin fucceffion, concerning the worfhip of fire: in the defence of which religionGuftafph was fo zealous, that he made war againft Ariafeph, King of Turron, for thathe reprehended him in a letter about this worlhip.

Having then limited this book to its proper fubject, three things in general are to betreated of in this work : firft, to declare who was their lawgiver, how their law wasdelivered, and came to be received of Guftafph, King of Perfia. Next, to fliow thefubftance of their law. Laftly, to proceed to other ceremonies obferved by them, notimproper to this prefent tract.

Chap. III. — Concerning Zertoojl, the Lawgiver of the Perfees ; his Parents ; the Omens '

that did forerun his Nativity ; their Interpretation ; his Perils in his Birth-place ; his

Efcape into Perfia, and the Accidents happening in his Travels thither.

CONCERNING the lawgiver of this people, it is left recorded in their old writings,that there lived in China two poor people, of honeft fame and reputation, marriedtogether as man and wife ; the man was called Efpintaman, the woman Dodoo ; thefetwo having long lived in the ftate of marriage without iffue, the woman earneftlyprayed that God would give her a fon ; her requeft was heard, and much time pallednot ere Ihe conceived and grew pregnant.

About the time of this woman’s conception, Ihe faw a vifion prefented to her in adream, that filled her with great fear and terror ; for Ihe conceived that the heavenswere of a light fire over her head, and that a flaming rednefs had overfpread the firma-ment, which drove her into a great agony ; when on a fudden there rulhed into herfight four griffins, of grim and horrid appearance, who, feizing on her body, did fromher womb feem cruelly to tear out the child Ihe had conceived, to her great fear anddefpair of life ; when on a fudden ftepped in a man, of perfon goodly, and of warlikeafpeft, with a truncheon in his hand, in refcue of her, who with fury and refolutionvindicated and recovered the child from the griffins, that would have torn it in pieces,and with gentle hand putting the child into the womb of his mother, did by fovereignart clofe up the rupture, that was by the griffins torn and dilacerated ; whofeagony thus mitigated by this worthy perfon, the griffins were driven away, the fierinefsof the heavens altered, and Dodoo awaked out of her dream and flumber.

But the paffion fhe fuffered in this vifion fixing the forepaft occurrences more ftronglyin her mind, ffie related to her hufband the particulars of her dream, the paflages ofwhich being fo remarkable, fhe conceived it to be an omen either for good or evil,touching the child in her womb ; whereof being defirous to be fatisfied, fhe with herhufband repaired to one that was a foothfayer, to be informed touching the fignificanceof this vifion. The diviner informed them, that this vifion partly foretold good, partlyevil, that fliould happen to the child that was in her womb ; that by the fire which gavelight was imported fome ftrange reyeladon that fliould be fhewed to the child, even tothe enlightening of the whole world, which in that it did fhine in heaven, the relation

fliould