The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria Part 24

Grant that the name[421] of the king whom thou lovest, Whose name thou hast mentioned,[422] may flourish as seems good to thee.

Guide him on the right path.

I am the ruler who obeys thee, the creation of thy hand.

It is thou who hast created me, And thou hast entrusted to me sovereignty over mankind.

According to thy mercy, O lord, which thou bestowest upon all, Cause me to love thy supreme rule.

Implant the fear of thy divinity in my heart, Grant to me whatsoever may seem good before thee, Since it is thou that dost control my life.

The curses also with which so many of the historical texts of Babylonia and a.s.syria close may be regarded as prayers. We are also justified in a.s.suming that the offering of sacrifices, which formed at all times an essential feature of the cult, both in Babylonia and a.s.syria, was always accompanied by some form of prayer addressed to some deity or to a group of deities. In view of all this, no sharp chronological line, any more than a logical one, can be drawn marking off the incantation formulas from the hymns and prayers pure and simple. The conceptions formed of the G.o.ds in the incantation texts are precisely those which we have found to be characteristic of them in the period when this phase of the religion reached its highest development. Ea is the protector of humanity, Shamash the lord of justice; and, if certain ideas that in the prayers are attached to the G.o.ds--as wisdom to Sin--are absent from the incantations, it may be regarded rather as an accident than as an indication of any difference of conception. The pantheon too, barring the omission of certain G.o.ds, is the same that we find it to be in the historical texts, and the order in which the G.o.ds are enumerated corresponds quite closely with the rank accorded to them in the inscriptions of the kings. What variations there are are not sufficiently p.r.o.nounced to warrant any conclusions. All this points, as has been emphasized several times, to the subsequent remodeling of the texts in question. It is true that we find more traces of earlier and purely mythological notions in the incantations than in the hymns and prayers, but such notions are by no means foreign to the latter. Even in those religious productions of Babylonia which represent the flower of religious thought, we meet with views that reflect a most primitive mode of thought. The proper view, therefore, to take of the prayers and hymns is to regard them as twin productions to the magical texts, due to the same conceptions of the power of the G.o.ds, an emanation of the same religious spirit, and produced at the same time that the incantation rituals enjoyed popular favor and esteem, and without in any way interfering with the practice of the rites that these rituals involved.

This position does not of course preclude that among the prayers and hymns that have been preserved there are some betraying a loftier spirit, a higher level of religious thought, and more p.r.o.nounced ethical tendencies than others. Indeed, the one important result of the dissociation of the address to the G.o.ds from the purely practical magic rites was to produce the conditions favorable to a development of higher religious thought. An offering of praise to the G.o.ds, whether it was for victory granted or for a favor shown, called forth the best and purest sentiments of which the individual was capable. Freed from all lower a.s.sociations, such an act proved an incentive to view the deity addressed from his most favorable side, to emphasize those phases which ill.u.s.trated his affection for his wors.h.i.+ppers, his concern for their needs, his discrimination, and not merely his power and strength. In short, the softer and the more humane aspects of the religion would thus be brought out. The individual would address his G.o.d in terms betraying his affection, and would couple with him attributes that would reflect the wors.h.i.+pper's rather than the G.o.d's view of the purpose and aim of existence. Whatever powers of idealization there lay in the wors.h.i.+pper's nature would be brought into the foreground by the intellectual effort involved in giving expression to his best thoughts, when aiming to come into close communion with a power upon which he felt himself dependent.

For an understanding, therefore, of the ethical tendencies of the Babylonian religion, an appreciation of the prayers and hymns is of prime importance; and we shall presently see that, as a matter of fact, the highest level of ethical and religious thought is reached in some of these hymns.

The prayers of Nebuchadnezzar represent, perhaps, the best that has been attained in this branch of religious literature. Returning, for a moment, to the dedication prayer to Marduk, addressed by the king on the occasion of his mounting the throne,[423] one cannot fail to be struck by the high sense of the importance of his station with which the king is inspired. Sovereignty is not a right that he can claim--it is a trust granted to him by Marduk. He holds his great office not for purposes of self-glorification, but for the benefit of his subjects. In profound humility he confesses that what he has he owes entirely to Marduk. He asks to be guided so that he may follow the path of righteousness.

Neither riches nor power const.i.tute his ambition, but to have the fear of his lord in his heart. Such a plane of thought is never reached in the incantation texts. For all that, the original dependence of the prayers and hymns upon incantation formulas, tinges even the best productions. Some of the finest hymns, in which elevated thoughts are elaborated with considerable skill, reveal their origin by having incantations attached to them. Again, others which are entirely independent productions are full of allusions to sickness, demons, and sorcerers, that show the outgrowth of the hymns from the incantations; and none are entirely free from traces of the conceptions that are characteristic of the incantation texts. The essential difference between these two cla.s.ses of closely related texts may be summed up in the proposition that the religious thought which produced them both is carried to a higher point of elaboration in the hymns. The prayers and hymns represent the attempt of the Babylonian mind to free itself from a superst.i.tious view of the relations.h.i.+p of man to the powers around him; an attempt, but--it must be added--an unsuccessful one.

It is rather unfortunate that many of the hymns found in the library of Ashurbanabal are in so fragmentary a condition. As a consequence we are frequently unable to determine more than their general contents. The colophons generally are missing,--at least in those hymns. .h.i.therto published,[424]--so that we are left in the dark as to the special occasion for which the hymn was composed. Without this knowledge it is quite impossible to a.s.sign to it any definite date except upon internal evidence. In the course of time, the hymnal literature of the great temples of Babylonia must have grown to large proportions, and, in collecting them, some system was certainly followed by the priests engaged in this work. There is evidence of a collection having been made at some time of hymns addressed to Shamash. Some of these were intended as a salute upon the sun's rising, others celebrated his setting. These hymns convey the impression of having been composed for the wors.h.i.+p of the G.o.d in one of his great temples--perhaps in E-babbara, at Sippar. We have several hymns also addressed to Marduk, and one can well suppose that at the great temple E-sagila, in Babylon, a collection of Marduk hymns must have been prepared, and so for others of the great G.o.ds. But, again, many of the hymns convey the impression of being merely sporadic productions--composed for certain occasions, and without any reference to a possible position in a ritual.

Of the hymns so far published, those to Shamash are probably the finest.

The conception of the sun-G.o.d as the judge of mankind lent itself readily to an ethical elaboration. Accordingly, we find in these hymns justice and righteousness as the two prominent themes. A striking pa.s.sage in one of these hymns reads:[425]

The law of mankind dost thou direct, Eternally just in the heavens art thou, Of faithful judgment towards all the world art thou.

Thou knowest what is right, thou knowest what is wrong.

O Shamas.h.!.+ Righteousness has lifted up its neck(?); O Shamas.h.!.+ Wrong like a ---- has been cut(?); O Shamas.h.!.+ The support of Anu and Bel art thou; O Shamas.h.!.+ Supreme judge of heaven and earth art thou.

After a break in the tablet, the hymn continues:

O Shamas.h.!.+ Supreme judge, great lord of all the world art thou; Lord of creation, merciful one of the world art thou.

The following lines now reveal the purpose of the hymn. It is a prayer for the life of the king:

O Shamas.h.!.+ on this day purify and cleanse the king, the son of his G.o.d.

Whatever is evil within him, let it be taken out.

The next few lines are a distinct echo of the incantation formulas, and show how readily prayer pa.s.ses from a higher to a lower stage of thought:

Cleanse him like a vessel ----[426]

Illumine him like a vessel of ----[426]

Like the copper of a polished tablet,[427] let him be bright.

Release him from the ban.

The same incantation occurs at the close of another hymn to Shamash, addressed to the sun upon his rising.[428] The colophon furnishes the opening line of the next tablet, which also begins with an address to Shamash. We have here a clear indication of a kind of Shamash ritual extending, perhaps, over a number of tablets, and to which, in all probability, the hymn just quoted also belongs.

The opening lines of the second hymn read:

O Shamas.h.!.+ out of the horizon of heaven thou issuest forth, The bolt of the bright heavens thou openest, The door of heaven thou dost open.

O Shamas.h.!.+ over the world dost thou raise thy head.

O Shamas.h.!.+ with the glory of heaven thou coverest the world.

It would be difficult to believe, but for the express testimony furnished by the hymn itself, that a production giving evidence of such a lofty view of the sun-G.o.d should, after all, be no more than an incantation. The same is the case, however, with all the Shamash hymns so far published. They either expressly or by implication form part of an incantation ritual. Evidently, then, such addresses to Shamash are to be viewed in no other light than the exaltation of Nusku in the 'Maklu'

series,[429] and which we have found were in many cases elaborate, beautiful in diction, and elevated in thought. So--to give one more example--a hymn addressed to the sun-G.o.d at the setting, and which is especially interesting because of the metaphors chosen to describe the sun's course, is proved by the colophon to be again an incantation. It belongs to a series--perhaps, indeed, to the same as the specimens furnished:[430]

O sun-G.o.d in the midst[431] of heaven at thy setting, May the enclosure of the pure heaven greet thee,[432]

May the gate of heaven approach thee, May the directing G.o.d, the messenger who loves thee, direct thy way.

In E-babbara, the seat of thy sovereignty, thy supremacy rises like the dawn.

May a, the wife whom thou lovest, come before thee with joy; May thy heart be at rest,[433]

May the glory of thy divinity be established for thee.

O Shamas.h.!.+ warrior hero, mayest thou be exalted; O lord of E-babbara, as thou marchest, may thy course be directed, Direct thy path, march along the path fixed for thy course (?).

O Shamas.h.!.+ judge of the world, director of its laws art thou.

In the previous chapter, the hymns addressed to the moon-G.o.d in connection with eclipses have been referred to and short specimens given. A more elaborate hymn to Sin will further ill.u.s.trate the conceptions current about this deity:[434]

O lord, chief of the G.o.ds, who on earth and in heaven alone is exalted.

Father Nannar,[435] lord of increase, chief of the G.o.ds, Father Nannar, heavenly lord, Father Nannar, moon-G.o.d, chief of the G.o.ds, Father Nannar, lord of Ur, chief of the G.o.ds, Father Nannar, lord of E-gish-s.h.i.+r-gal,[436] chief of the G.o.ds, Father Nannar, lord of the brilliant crescent, chief of the G.o.ds, Father Nannar, whose sovereignty is brought to perfection, chief of the G.o.ds, Father Nannar, who pa.s.ses along in great majesty, O strong Bull,[437] great of horns, perfect in form, with long flowing beard[438] of the color of lapus-lazuli.

Powerful one, self-created, a product (?) beautiful to look upon, whose fullness has not been brought forth,[439]

Merciful one, begetter of everything, who among living things occupies a lofty seat, Father, merciful one and restorer, whose weapon (?) maintains the life of the whole world.

Lord, thy divinity, like the distant heaven and the wide ocean, is full (?) of fear.

Ruler of the land, protector of sanctuaries, proclaimer of their name.

Father, begetter of the G.o.ds and of men, establis.h.i.+ng dwellings and granting gifts, Calling to sovereignty, giving the sceptre, who decreest destinies for distant days.

Strong chief, whose wide heart embraces in mercy all that exists, ... beautiful, whose knees do not grow weary, who opens the road (?) for the G.o.ds, his brothers, ... who, from the foundation of heaven till the zenith, Pa.s.ses along in brilliancy (?), opening the door of heaven, Preparing the fate (?) of humanity.

Father, begetter of everything, ...

Lord, proclaiming the decisions of heaven and earth, Whose command is not set aside, ... and granting water[440] for all that has life.

No G.o.d reaches to thy fullness.

In heaven who is exalted? Thou alone art exalted.

On earth who is exalted? Thou alone art exalted.

Thy strong command is proclaimed in heaven, and the Igigi prostrate themselves.

Thy strong command is proclaimed on earth, and the Anunnaki kiss the ground.

Thy strong command on high, like a storm in the darkness, pa.s.ses along, and nourishment streams forth.

When thy strong command is established on the earth, vegetation sprouts forth.

Thy strong command stretches over meadows and heights, and life is increased.

Thy strong command produces right and proclaims justice to mankind.

Thy strong command, through the distant heavens and the wide earth, extends to whatever there is.

Thy strong command, who can grasp it? Who can rival it?

Lord, in heaven is [thy] sovereignty, on earth is thy sovereignty.

Among the G.o.ds, thy brothers, there is none like thee.

O King of Kings, who has no judge superior to him, whose divinity is not surpa.s.sed by any other![441]

A more perfect idealization of the mythological notions connected with the moon-G.o.d can hardly be imagined. The old metaphors are retained, but interpreted in a manner that reflects higher spiritual tendencies. The moon is still figured as a bull, but it is the idea of strength that is extracted from the picture and dwelt upon. The writer still thinks of the moon as an old man with flowing beard, but he uses the figure to convey the impression of the brilliancy of the great orb. The influence of the moon upon the change of seasons, upon vegetation,--a belief which the Babylonians shared with other nations,--leads the writer to extol the benign feelings of the G.o.d towards mankind. The sun-G.o.d, through the glowing heat that he develops, becomes, as we have seen, the warrior and even the destroyer, the consuming force. The moon-G.o.d is the benefactor of mankind who restores the energies of man weakened from the heat of the day. Nannar-Sin becomes the giver of life, whose mercies are extended to all. The G.o.ds and the spirits follow the example of mankind in prostrating themselves before the great orb of night. The independence of the course that he pursues in the heavens places him beyond the control of the great judge of the world, the mighty Shamash.

There is no one superior to Sin, no one to whose command he must bend.

With all this, there is a total absence of any allusion to his power of removing the influence of demons and witches. We have here a hymn purified from all a.s.sociation with the incantation texts, and there is every reason to believe that it was composed for use in the great temple at Ur, which is mentioned in the opening lines.

In the alternating question and answer we have also a valuable indication of the manner in which the hymn was to be recited or sung.

The whole production appears to be arranged in a dialogue form, the lines to be alternately read by the reciting priest and the chorus of priests or wors.h.i.+ppers. The same method is followed in other productions, while in some, as we shall see, the dialogue does not proceed in alternate lines, but is distributed among a varying number of sections. We may see in this style of composition one of the natural outcomes of the method pursued in the incantation texts, where, as will be remembered, the priest first recites the formulas, and then calls upon the individual before him to repeat it once, twice, or oftener, as the case may be. Such a custom leads to recital and responses in the hymns.

Not many of the hymns rise to such a height as the one just quoted.

There were certain G.o.ds only, and after all not many, whose nature was such as to make an ethical development of the conceptions formed of them possible. Besides Shamash and Sin, Ea as the G.o.d of humanity and Nebo as the G.o.d of wisdom belong to this cla.s.s. Of Ea, however, no hymns have as yet been found. This may of course be accidental, and still, if one bears in mind that in the later periods of Babylonian history Ea enjoyed a theoretical popularity rather than a practical one, the absence of Ea hymns might be explained as due to the lack of a fixed ritual in the Ea temples outside of the incantation texts.[442] Ea's position, like that of Nusku, was too marked in the magical texts to encourage a conception of them entirely independent of their power to release victims from the grasp of the demons.

A hymn to Nebo, which unfortunately is preserved only in part, ill.u.s.trates the extent to which polytheistic conceptions may be spiritualized:[443]

... Lord of Borsippa, ... son of E-sagila.[444]

O Lord! To thy power there is no rival power, O Nebo! To thy power, there is no rival, To thy house, E-zida, there is no rival, To thy city, Borsippa, there is no rival, To thy district, Babylon, there is no rival.