Chapter XLV

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

CHAPTER XLV.

1. The sage asked the spirit of wisdom (2) thus: 'By what does Aharman most deceive and lead people to hell? 3. And from what is his pleasure most? 4. Where is the place he has a foundation?

p. 88

[paragraph continues] 5. Where, also, is his coming, together with the demons, most? 6. And from what is his food?'

7. The spirit of wisdom answered (8) thus: Aharman deceives people most by prosperity and adversity ¹, the fiend of apostasy, scepticism, and covetousness. 9. His pleasure, also, is most from the discord of men. 10. And his food is from the impenitence ² and reticence of men. 11. He has a foundation in the malicious ³. 12. And his coming and going are most with the wrathful.'

Footnotes

88:1 Or 'superfluity and scarcity.'

88:2 Assuming that apatôtakîh stands for apatîtakîh, 'non-renunciation of sin.' L19 has 'immoderate eating.'

88:3 L19 has 'in the slanderous and malicious.'