The Commentary of Father Monserrate 2.2.1

2.2.1

But though these people are bound by so many Jewish religious usages, still they worship Fire and the Sun, and build temples to Fire. They appoint priests, temple-guardians and soothsayers, and feed the sacred fire with fresh ghi or with precious sweet-smelling oil. If they are compelled to establish some statement by oath, they make water upon burning coals, which they regard as the most sacred form of oath. If they refuse to do this, no faith can be put in their word. On their feast days they pray in the morning, with a very loud voice and in a strange tongue. They have their own writing script. The scriptures of their religion are contained in a single volume, which only those who know the language in which it is written can understand. This volume has three parts, dealing with religious observances, the wisdom and legal enactments of the ancients, and the lore of the Magi (who are regarded by the Persians as a class of sages) regarding prophecy and divination. The diet of these people consists of milk, ghi, oil, vegetables, pulse and fruit. They drink no wine. They are allowed to divorce their wives at will. They cut off the noses of unchaste women, and permit them to become prostitutes. In conclusion, their character is so wild and savage that they seem to differ not at all from other heathen. For if any disaster happens to them they commit suicide in a horrible fashion. These are the customs of these Persians.