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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Saturday, July 16, 2011

the 8 characters of the dog

Words on that sacred creature we call dog, from the Zoroastrian scripture the Zend-Avesta:
* **
A dog has the characters of eight different sorts of people:--
He has the character of a priest,
He has the character of a warrior,
He has the character of a husbandman,
He has the character of a strolling singer,
He has the character of a thief,
He has the character of a wild beast,
He has the character of a courtezan,
He has the character of a child.
He eats broken food, like a priest; he is grateful, like a priest; he is easily satisfied, like a priest; he wants only a small piece of bread, like a priest; in these things he is like unto a priest.
He marches in front, like a warrior; he fights for the beneficent cow, like a warrior; he goes first out of the house, like a warrior; in these things he is like unto a warrior.
He is watchful and sleeps lightly, like a husbandman; he goes first out of the house, like a husbandman; he returns last into the house, like a husbandman; in these things he is like unto a husbandman.
He sings like a strolling singer; he is intrusive, like a strolling singer; he is meagre, like a strolling singer; he is poor, like a strolling singer; in these things he is like unto a strolling singer.
He likes darkness, like a thief; he prowls about in darkness, like a thief; he is a shameless eater, like a thief; he is an unfaithful keeper, like a thief; in these things he is like unto a thief.
He likes darkness, like a wild beast; he prowls about in darkness, like a wild beast; he is a shameless eater, like a wild beast; he is an unfaithful keeper, like a wild beast; in these things he is like unto a wild beast.
He sings, like a courtezan; he is intrusive, like a courtezan; he walks about the roads, like a courtezan; he is meagre, like a courtezan; he is poor, like a courtezan; in these things he is like unto a courtezan.
He likes sleeping, like a child; he is apt to run away, like a child; he is full of tongue, like a child; he goes on all fours, like a child; in these things he is like unto a child.
***
Found in James Darmeister's 1898 translation of the Zend-Avesta for The Christian Literature Company.

1 comment:

Rowdy and Bette said...

Ooohhh. Love it!