nd to events that transpired during their reigns. In these
references the occasions for the prayers are to be sought. Remarkable as
is the expression which the consciousness of individual guilt finds in
the religious literature of Babylonia, the anger of the deity against
his land is much more prominently dwelt upon than the manifestation of
his wrath towards an individual. It could not be otherwise, since the
welfare of the state conditioned to so large an extent the happiness of
the individual. The startling phenomena of nature, such as an eclipse, a
flood, a storm, while affecting individuals were not aimed directly at
them, but at the country viewed as the domain of a certain god or of
certain gods. Blighted crops, famine, and pestilence had likewise a
public as well as a private aspect. On all such occasions the rulers
would proceed to the sanctuaries in order, with the assistance of the
priests, to pacify the angered god. It was not sufficient at such times
to pronounce sacred formulas, to make fervent appeals, but some
assurances had to be given that the words and the symbolical acts would
have the desired effect. Omens were sought for from the animals offered.
There were other occasions besides those stated, when for the sake of
the public welfare oracles were sought at the sanctuaries. If a public
improvement was to be undertaken, such as the building of a palace, or
of a temple, of a canal, or a dam, it was of the utmost importance to
know whether the enterprise was acceptable to the deity. A day had to be
carefully chosen for laying the foundations, when the god would be
favorably disposed towards his subjects,--the kings under whose auspices
such work was carried on. Similar precautions had to be taken to select
a favorable day for the dedication. This again was determined by means
of omens either derived from offerings or in some other way. The
Babylonians and Assyrians believed, as did the Jews upon their return
from the Babylonian exile, that 'unless the lord assists, the builders
work in vain.' When we come to military campaigns where the individual
disappears altogether in the presence of the majestic figure of the
state, the will and disposition of the gods had to be consulted at every
step,--regarding the plans of the enemy, at the enemy's approach, before
the battle, in the midst of the fray, and at its termination.

The frequency with which the gods were approached in the interests of
the state and t