It was in the use that was made of them, and not in their essential nature, that the hymn to the god and the incantation differed from one another. And as animism preceded the official religion of Babylonia, and the belief in spirits preceded the worship of the gods, so too did the incantation precede the hymn. The sacredness that was acquired by the hymn was originally reflected from the incantation; it was not the contents of the hymn, but the actual words of which it was composed, that gave it its sacred and authoritative character, and consecrated its employment by the priestly caste. It is accordingly with good reason that I have described the hymns, like the incantations proper, as verbally inspired. The inspiration lay in the words more than in the sense they conveyed; an error of pronunciation was more fatal than a misunderstanding of their meaning. As long as the words were recited correctly, it mattered little whether either priest or people understood precisely what they meant. I have already in an earlier lecture quoted some lines from the hymn to the moon-god which was probably composed for the services in the great temple of Ur. The hymns in honour of the sun-god are much more numerous, and formed part of a collection which seems to have been made by the priests of Bit-Uri, the temple of the sun-god at Sippara. The sun-god they celebrate is the incorruptible “judge of mankind,” the rewarder of the innocent and the punisher of the guilty, who sees all that is done on earth, and acts towards those who call upon him with justice and mercy. “O lord, we read in one of them,(322) “illuminator of the darkness, opener of the sickly face,” merciful god, who setteth up the fallen, who helpeth the weak, unto thy light look the great gods, the spirits of earth all gaze upon thy face. Tongues in unison like a single word thou directest, smiting their heads they look to the light of the mid-day sun. Like a wife thou standest, glad and gladdening. Thou art their light in the vault of the far-off heaven. Thou art the object of their gaze in the broad earth. Men far and near behold thee and rejoice!” The language of another hymn is in a similar strain— “Direct the law of the multitudes of mankind! Thou art eternal righteousness in the heavens! Thou art of faithful judgment towards all the world! Thou knowest what is right, thou knowest what is wrong. O sun-god, righteousness hath lifted up its foot! O sun-god, wickedness hath been cut down as with a knife! O sun-god, the minister of Anu and Bel art thou! O sun-god, the judge supreme of heaven and earth art thou!