'lord’s discovery op the banians and persees. 561

God had made good; next, becaufe men had received no laws or good inftitutions, inthofe parts, to reftrain them from fin, but every man lived according to his own devife,liberty, and liking, whether it were evil or good.

Hereof Zertoolt more ferioufly confidering, defired God to give him fome revelationfor the world’s better government, and the eftablilhment of religion amongft men ;and conceiving the public place where he w'as not fit for fuch excellent communica-tions, he went out further till he came to the point of a valley where two mountainsjoined together, when fuddenly there defcended before him, as his face was benttowards the earth, an angel whofe wings had glorious pinions, and whofe face gliftenedas the beams of the fun, faying, “ Hail, Zertoolt, beloved of God , what is it thourequired: ?” Zertoolt replied, that he defired to enter into God ’s prefence to receivefome divine laws to deliver to the nations, that fo they might live in a better obfervanceof his fear.

So the angel adminiftering fomethingto him to cleanfe and purify his body, to makeit capable of entrance into fo pure a place, bade him clofe up his eyes, and he wouldtranfume and carry him up into that place of glory, where he Ihould come into God ’sprefence; whither being carried by the angel, he beheld fuch joys as were too mightyfor his feeble fenfes ; fo that unable to fifflain them, he fell into a trance, till God gavehim power to endure the height of thofe pleafures; and being returned to himfelf,beheld the glory thereof, and heard the Almighty fpeaking as one encompalfed withflames of fire, and revealing to him the fecret works of the creation, in what order hemade his creatures ; and revealed to him things to come, fltewing him that he Ihouldreceive laws for the world’s better government, and the eftablilhment of religion, withmany other things not fit to be uttered, neither by Zertooft ever publifhed.

Then Zertoolt, ready and willing to publilh to all people what might be needful tobring them to God’s better worlhip, did defire of God that he might live fo long as theworld Ihould endure, a publilher of that religion which the Lord had promifed todivulge by him, till he Ihould make all nations believe the contents of that book. Butthe Lord anfwercd, that if he Ihould live ever fo long, Lucifer would do more harmthan ever he Ihould do good ; but if upon better confideration he would defire to livefo long, his requeft Ihould be granted.

So the Lord prefented to Zertooft, in a vifion, the ft ate of all things paft, prefent andto come, where he faw the troubles, fickneffes, and afflictions of man, more particularly,the ftate of the Perfian monarchy, how Ouchang was flain by a ftone ; how Thamiilldied of a peftilence ; how Timlhed was flain by one of his own Captains; how menfollowed divers religions, and raoft their own ways, overlabouring themfelves in theWorks of vanity. Over and above, God prefented to his eyes the feven ages, or timesof the Perfian monarchy; the firft was the golden age, that was in the days ofGuiomaras ; the fecond the filver age, that was in the days of Fraydhun ; the third thebrazen age, in the time of Kaykobad ; the fourth the tin age, in the time of Lorafp ;the fifth the leaden age, in the time of Bahaman ; the fixth the fteel age, in the daysof Darab Segner; the feventh the iron age, in the reign of Yesdegerd. So Zertooftperceiving time to render every thing worfe and worfe, defired to live no longer thantill he fhould difcharge the meflfage about which the Lord fhould fend him, and thatthen he might be tranflated to the fame place of glory again. So God reduced him tohis own proper fenfe, from which he was ravilhed to godlike fpeculations.

Being thus, as he was before, of human capacity, after he had remained in heavenmany days, the Lord delivered to him the book before mentioned, containing in it theform of good government, and the laws of religion that the Perfians fhould follow;

vol. viii. 4 c conferring