or
twenty-four equal parts. Smith discovered, in the palace of
Sennacherib at Koyunjik, a portion of an astrolabe, which is
now in the British Museum.

All these discoveries, which constitute in our eyes the scientific
patrimony of the Chaldaeans, were regarded by themselves as the least
important results of their investigations. Did they not know, thanks to
these investigations, that the stars shone for other purposes than to
lighten up the nights--to rule, in fact, the destinies of men and kings,
and, in ruling that of kings, to determine the fortune of empires? Their
earliest astronomers, by their assiduous contemplation of the nightly
heavens, had come to the conclusion that the vicissitudes of the
heavenly bodies were in fixed relations with mundane phenomena and
events. If Mercury, for instance, displayed an unusual brilliancy at
his rising, and his disk appeared as a two-edged sword, riches and
abundance, due to the position of the luminous halo which surrounded
him, would be scattered over Chaldaea, while discords would cease
therein, and justice would triumph over iniquity. The first observer who
was struck by this coincidence noted it down; his successors confirmed
his observations, and at length deduced, in the process of the years,
from their accumulated knowledge, a general law. Henceforward, each time
that Mercury assumed the same aspect it was of favourable augury, and
kings and their subjects became the recipients of his bounty. As long as
he maintained this appearance no foreign ruler could install himself in
Chaldaea, tyranny would be divided against itself, equity would prevail,
and a strong monarch bear sway; while the landholders and the king
would be confirmed in their privileges, and obedience, together with
tranquillity, would rule everywhere in the land. The number of these
observations increased to such a degree that it was found necessary to
classify them methodically to avoid confusion. Tables of them were drawn
up, in which the reader could see at one and the same moment the aspect
of the heavens on such and such a night and hour, and the corresponding
events either then happening, or about to happen, in Chaldaean, Syria,
or some foreign land. If, for instance, the moon displayed the same
appearance on the 1st and 27th of the month, Elam was threatened; but
"if the sun, at his setting, appears double his usual size, with
three groups of bluish rays, the King of Chaldaea is rui