Nebo was also the patron of agriculture, who taught the husbandmen when to plant, the best time for irrigating, and a favourable time for the harvest. Being the messenger from heaven to earth, one of his symbols was the lightning. This emblem is preserved on the Japanese cards, although it is probably accidental. A hymn to Nebo attests his having lightning as an attribute, and the tablet upon which it was transcribed in cuneiform characters has been translated as follows: "Lord of Borsippa, Son of E-Sagila! Oh, Lord, to thy power There is no rival. Oh, Nebo, to thy Temple E-Zida there is no rival, Or to thy home, Babylon. Thy weapon is the lightning, From the mouth of which no breath does issue or blood flow. Thy commands are as unchangeable as the Heavens, Where thou art Supreme." The chief temple of Nebo was at Borsippa, on the opposite side of the Euphrates to Babylon; the town was sometimes called Babylon II. Nebo's temple was styled E-Zida, the true house, and E-Sagila signified the lofty house, which was the temple of his father, Marduk. The connection with lightning is too marked to be overlooked when studying the derivation of Mercury's attributes from those of Nebo. The mighty king Ashur-banapal invokes Nebo on thousands of tablets that have been found in his great library. Nebo is called "the opener of the ears to understanding," "he who gives the sceptre of sovereignty to kings, that they may rule over all lands," "the upholder of the world," "the general overlord and the seer." All these attributes were combined with the scientific attainments of Nebo, and he was proclaimed as the inventor of language and the art of writing, together with being the great teacher and encourager of learning and scientific investigations. This is all emphasised by his numerous titles, such as "Speaker," which is said to be derived from his name, signifying "to speak," or "one who announces the fate of mankind," which was another inheritance of Mercury's when he was called the "Messenger of the Gods." The attribute, then, in both cases, was the emblematic Sceptre of the ruler, the caduceus. The Sceptre was also named by the Assyrians "the Proclaimer," and was variously represented, sometimes by the Staff with twisted serpents, although in earlier times it was generally pictured as stylus, which was closely copied in the representations of Thoth. The entwining serpents of the caduceus sacred to Mercury were directly inherited from votive emblems peculiar to the Babylonians, and they received force and significance after the rods of the Egyptian magi were turned into serpents and swallowed by the rod of Aaron.