Chapter XXVI

Pahlavi Texts, Part III (SBE24), E.W. West, tr. [1885], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER XXVI.

1. The sage asked the spirit of wisdom (2) thus: 'Is a blind eye worse, or a blind mind (dîl)? 3. Is the ill-informed worse, or the bad-tempered?'

4. The spirit of wisdom answered (5) thus: 'He who is blind-eyed, when he has understanding in anything, and accomplishes learning, is to be considered as sound-eyed. 6. And he who is sound-eyed, when he has no knowledge and understanding ¹, and even that which they teach him he does not accept, then that is worse than even a blind eye.

7. 'The ill-tempered is less evil ² than the ill-informed; (8) because the ill-tempered, except by a decree, is not able to seize anything away from any one; (9) and as to the ill-informed man, his desire of every kind is then ³ for oppression and plunder. 10. Concerning him who is ill-informed it is declared that, apart from predestination, he is born free from fresh understanding ⁴'

Footnotes

56:1 L19 has 'when he has no knowledge of anything.'

56:2 L19 has 'is better.'

56:3 That is, when he has a decree in his favour.

56:4 § 10 is found only in TD2. It probably means that an ill-informed man is not likely to acquire any knowledge beyond that which is unavoidable.