this counter-claim? Sin, repentance, and forgiveness are all recognized in the sacred books of the Persians. This is evinced by a devout disciple, when he says, in prayer, "I repent, O Lord, of my wicked deeds in thought and words. Forgive, O Lord: I repent of my sins." A writer says, "Upon the really fundamental duties of man, the Zenda Avesta upholds a high standard of morality and honesty, and seeks to inculcate the immense importance of leading an upright and virtuous life,--such a life alone as can be pleasing to God and useful to man." A text in this sacred book reads, "You can not be a worshiper of the one true God and of many gods at the same time;" which is a very explicit avowal of the belief in but one God. This Persian Bible declares, that one way to advance God's kingdom on earth is to confer benefit upon the poor. Its spirit of kindness and sympathetic regard for suffering extends even to the brute creation. It forbids cruelty to any class of beings, and enjoins kindness to all. Its psalms, hymns, and liturgies breathe forth a spirit of deep piety. A compliance with the divine law is urged as a means of saving the sinner from future punishment. The stern moral fortitude of the great teacher and moral exemplar Zoroaster, in resisting, like Christ, the temptations of the Evil One, evinces a high appreciation of true virtue. As a whole, the sacred books of the Persians, like those of other nations, contain a considerable amount of golden truth mixed with much rubbish and superstition. ANALOGY OF THE PERSIAN AND JEWISH RELIGIONS. Doctor Pocoke says, "Many things taught in the sacred books of the Persians are the same as those taught in the Pentateuch of Moses, and other parts of the Bible. They also contain many of the psalms erroneously called by the Jews and Christians the Psalms of David." Sir William Jones, in his "Asiatic Researches," says, "The primeval religion of Iran (Persia) is called by Newton the oldest, and it may justly be called the noblest, of all religions." It teaches "a firm belief that one supreme God made the world by his power, and governs it by his providence. It inculcates a pious fear, love, and adoration for God; also a due reverence for parents and aged persons, fraternal affection for the whole human species, and a compassionate tenderness even for the brute creation." Can as much as this be said of the Christian religion? Mr. Goodrich, after stating that the ancient Hebrews evidently had no idea of astronomy as a science, says, "The Chaldeans appear to have made observations on eclipses earlier than the commencement of written history" ("History of All Nations," p. 25).