Rules vs principles

Here is a little gem from Hymns of Athravan Zarathushtra by Jatindra Chatterji which readers might like to read: "For over and above the teaching the most correct method of God-realization, it taught the lesson of national solidarity (as the enemies were surrounded on all sides). The trouble persists, and so the utility of the Gathas has not ceased... It is only when the Sasanians took to paying more attention to the rules of the Vendidad than the principles of the Gathas that the downfall started.”
DARA M. KHODAIJI
dara_mk@hotmail.com