he "took
him by the hands" to do homage to him. From thenceforth, he officiated
for Merodach here below, and the scrupulously minute devotions, which
daily occupied hours of his time, were so many acts of allegiance which
his fealty as a vassal constrained him to perform to his suzerain. They
were, in fact, analogous to the daily audiences demanded of a great
lord by his steward, for the purpose of rendering his accounts and of
informing him of current business: any interruption not justified by a
matter of supreme importance would be liable to be interpreted as a want
of respect or as revealing an inclination to rebel. By neglecting the
slightest ceremonial detail the king would arouse the suspicions of
the gods, and excite their anger against himself and his subjects: the
people had, therefore, a direct interest in his careful fulfilment of
the priestly functions, and his piety was not the least of his virtues
in their eyes. All other virtues--bravery, equity, justice--depended on
it, and were only valuable from the divine aid which piety obtained for
them. The gods and heroes of the earliest ages had taken upon themselves
the task of protecting the faithful from all their enemies, whether men
or beasts. If a lion decimated their flocks, or a urus of gigantic size
devastated their crops, it was the king's duty to follow the example
of his fabulous predecessors and to set out and overcome them. The
enterprise demanded all the more courage and supernatural help, since
these beasts were believed to be no mere ordinary animals, but were
looked on as instruments of divine wrath the cause of which was often
unknown, and whoever assailed these monsters, provoked not only them but
the god who instigated them. Piety and confidence in the patron of the
city alone sustained the king when he set forth to drive the animal back
to its lair; he engaged in close combat with it, and no sooner had he
pierced it with his arrows or his lance, or felled it with axe and
dagger, than he hastened to pour a libation upon it, and to dedicate it
as a trophy in one of the temples. His exalted position entailed on him
no less perils in time of war: if he did not personally direct the first
attacking column, he placed himself at the head of the band composed of
the flower of the army, whose charge at an opportune moment was wont to
secure the victory.

What would have been the use of his valour, if the dread of the gods had
not preceded his march,