Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AR'I-MAN, or AR'I-MA, n. [or AH'RI-MAN; Per. ahriman; Sans. ari, a foe.]

The evil genius or demon of the Persians; opposed to yezad, yezdan, ormozd, or hormizda, the good demon. The ancient magi held, that there are two deities or principles; one the author of all good, eternally absorbed in light; the other, the author of all evil, forever buried in darkness; or the one represented by light; the other by darkness. The latter answers to the loke of the Scandinavians, whose Celtic name lock, signifies darkness. Originally, the Persians held these demons or principles to be equal, and from all eternity; but the moderns maintain that the evil principle is an inferior being. So the devil is called the prince of darkness. – Encyc. Gibbon. As. Researches.