Whilst the people are becoming tipsy outside, Asshurbanipal feasts the leading chiefs and the ministers of state within the palace. Unlike the common people, the nobles eat but little, so that few dishes of meat are set before them, but cakes and fruits of different kinds, grapes, dates, apples, pears, and figs are brought in continual relays, by long lines of slaves. On the other hand, they drink a great deal--with more refinement, perhaps, than the common people, but with equal avidity. The only persons who do not drink, or who drink little, through the necessity of retaining their sobriety, are the guards, the servants and the musicians. No festival is complete without the presence of singers, and the king's musicians conscientiously perform their finest melodies. Perhaps some one listened to them at the beginning of the feast, but now that the great silver bowls have been filled and emptied several times, their music is literally wasted. They may sing out of tune, or remain silent, just as they please, no one will listen or care. The court poet has placed the recital of the hero's life and exploits, from the hour of his birth until the day of his triumph, in his own mouth. He concluded by saying: "'I am a strong warrior, beloved of Asshur and Ishtar, the child of royalty. The gods have been gracious to me. The wheat has grown to five cubits, and its ears of corn are always one cubit long; during my reign, abundance has overflowed; during all the years of my reign, the divine blessing has been poured out upon me like a heavy dew. The gods have raised me higher than any king ever ascended before me. Whilst Asshur and Ishtar support me, who can prevail against me? My power is everlastingly founded by their hands, the duration of my race is established; they shall reign for many days, and for everlasting years.'"[2] [Illustration: ASSYRIAN KING IN ROYAL ROBES.] FOOTNOTES: [1] Maspero: Ancient Egypt and Assyria, 260. [2] Maspero: Ancient Egypt and Assyria, 368, ff. CHAPTER XIV. ARCHITECTURE AND DECORATION. Architecture is evolved from religion as well as from nature. Generally speaking, we find temples of worship to be the first buildings erected by every people. Because the Babylonians were limited by lack of other material to sun or kiln-dried brick, and the Assyrians, devoid of originality, limited themselves to the same baked clay, we would scarcely expect to find pleasing or artistic buildings in either state. Even in the dwellings of rich and poor, the great difference was one of size. It was impossible to make a clay wall very ornate, but the wealthy could have more walls and broader expanse of bricks. Size, or hugeness, then, signified superiority. It naturally followed that the temple, the noblest structure attempted by the Mesopotamians, was especially large, being called by a word which meant "mountain house."