Yet it would seem not improbable that the Chaldæan magic had a good result. The use of magical herbs gradually led to a discovery of the real medical properties of some among them, and so, as Chaldæan astrology finally brought into existence the science of astronomy, in the same way Chaldæan magic brought into existence the science of medicine. Some of the cuneiform inscriptions already appear to contain partly medical prescriptions mixed up with magical practices.

This ancient sorcery of the Accadians and Babylonians was, like the other branches of their lore, the property of the priests, and closely connected with religion. It is another example of the connection of religion in the earliest times with all the manifestations of social energy and all the efforts of civilization. In a society in which the king was high priest, and war was undertaken solely in the service of the gods, we cannot be surprised to find all branches of learning also in the hands of the priesthood, and all branches of art proceeding from a religious motive.

The library of Sardanapalus also contains many specimens of purely religious literature in the form of prayers and hymns which were repeated during the religious solemnities; and one or two specimens of these have been given above. But the branch of Assyrian and Babylonian literature which still interests us most is the historical branch-the records of the kings, of which such a number have been found. The principal historical documents are the inscribed slabs which lined

the walls of the palaces in parts, including the basreliefs partly covered with inscriptions, of which we have spoken, and the clay cylinders.

The latter are a remarkable phenomenon among literary documents, for it is quite clear that they were not written, as history is written now, simply for the purpose of recording events for the instruction of later times. They were not put up on the walls or stored in libraries, but they were buried in cavities made for them at the corners of palaces or temples; and they contained careful instructions to those who, in the event of the ruin or restoration of the temple, might find them to restore them to their places with religious rites, sacrificing victims and pouring out oil. They were therefore intended to be read only in case of the restoration of the building; and if the latter took place, they gave to the restorer full information about the original builder, with details of his campaigns and hunting expeditions, and an account of his erection of the structure in question. In this way they ensured full credit for the builder, and removed the possibility of the restorer's taking to himself credit which did not rightfully belong to him. Fearful curses were invoked on those who should fail to preserve the record of the true builder; and, accordingly, the restorer not only obeyed the instructions to place the cylinder back in its place, but also scrupulously named the original builder in his own records, and took no more credit to himself than was due to him for his restorations. These rules of architectural etiquette are seen to have been observed

by Nabonidus* in particular, and are illustrated by passages in his annals, as well as in those of former kings. Thus architecture was undertaken in the service and under the sanction of religion, like the other branches of art. This is true not only, as we might expect, in the case of the erection of temples, but also in the construction of royal palaces, fortresses, and city walls. The king was the servant and representative of the gods, and his city and his house were protected and favoured by them, as well as their own dwellings, the temples.

We know hardly anything of Assyrian or Babylonian music, as, from the nature of the case, it might be expected. Only in some of the bas-reliefs we see musicians, with various stringed and wind instruments" harps and organs "+-who came out to welcome the conqueror at the head of his army, and who took part in religious rites. When Sardanapalus offered to the gods the lions that he had slain in his hunting expeditions, and poured oil and wine over them, musicians accompanied the rite with their music, and probably hymns in Accadian were sung. Quintus Curtius speaks of the Babylonian priests singing hymns when they went out to meet Alexander. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the pomp of the king of Babylon and of the "noise of his viols." And the well-known passage of Daniel gives an enumeration of the instruments employed in honour of the golden image, when the sounds of "all kinds of music were the signal for the worshippers to fall upon their knees.

See page 143 ff.

Genesis iv. 21.

1 See page 18.

An immense number of the Babylonian inscriptions brought to England are commercial and legal documents, and have already have already been spoken of.* These bear witness to the great wealth of the country, to its commercial activity and its financial developments, to the riches of its priesthood, to the high development of its laws concerning property, and the care with which they were enforced; and, in fact, point to an exceedingly high state of social organisation, under Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, such as in some points was, perhaps, hardly realized by any other nation of antiquity, not excepting the Romans. All this illustrates what is said by the prophets about Babylon, which, according to them, was only ruined by its false system of religion. Babylon was the "glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency." The allusions of the prophets to its wealth and prosperity, and the greatness of its buildings, have already been quoted. But all this only served to increase the astonishment and awe felt by men when the news at last arrived that Babylon was fallen.

*See Chapter XI.

CHAPTER XVII.

ASSYRIAN AND BABYLONIAN RELIGION.*

THE Babylonians, as well as the Assyrians, who held the same religious beliefs as the former, believed that the earth had the form of a vast mountain rising out of the ocean, or "deep," which entirely surrounded it. The earth was not, however, according to the Chaldæan philosophers, a solid body, but was hollow; and under the vast subterranean vault lay the region of the dead, which they named Aralu. The earth was divided into seven concentric zones; and, corresponding to these, there were seven circles of Hades, divided from one another by walls and gates. Besides this division of the earth into zones, it was also marked off into four equal quarters, which were denominated the "Four Regions"; and over these the Assyrian and Babylonian princes, in their pride, often claimed the right of dominion; for it will be remembered that "King of the Four Regions" is one of their most frequently recurring titles.

Above the earth was set the firmament of heaven,

*For all that is known of Assyrian and Babylonian religion and cosmology, see Professor Sayce's "Hibbert Lectures," and Jensen, Kosmologie der Babylonier,