s, and these standards, once
acknowledged, the natural conservatism attaching to religious customs
was sufficient to maintain their continuance. The uniformity of doctrine
was thus offset by variations in the cult; and the policy adopted by
both Babylonian and Assyrian rulers, in permitting each center to remain
undisturbed, and in freely recognizing the religious independence of
each, prevented the Babylonian and Assyrian religion from falling into
the state of stagnation which would otherwise have been its fate.

In the views taken of the relationship between the gods and men, no
notable advances were made when once the ethical spirit was infused into
the religious beliefs. The problem of good and evil was solved in a
simple fashion. By the side of the great gods there existed a large,
almost infinite number of spirits and demons, who were generally held
responsible for the evils affecting mankind.[1594] These demons and
spirits were in many cases gods 'fallen from grace,'--minor local
deities who, unable to maintain themselves in the face of the growing
popularity of the great gods, sank to an inferior position as
messengers, forced to do the will of their masters and who could be
controlled by the latter. But the intercession of the priests was
essential to obtaining divine help against the mischievous workings of
the spirits. Even the kings, though originally standing very close to
the gods, could not dispense with the services of the priests, and by
virtue of their conspicuous position had to exercise greater precautions
than the masses not to offend the gods, by errors of commission or
omission in the cult. The priests held the secret that could secure
freedom from ills and promote the comparative well-being of rulers and
subjects. They alone knew what incantations to use for each case that
was brought before them, in what way the sacrifices were to be brought,
when the deity should be approached, and why divine anger had manifested
itself. The intellectual leadership thus acquired by the priests, in
addition to their control of religious affairs, was an additional factor
in maintaining orthodox standards of belief when once they had become
fixed. In the doctrines of life after death, this influence of the
priesthood is distinctly seen. The popular notions were systematized,
but the priests, true to their rule as conservators, did not pass beyond
primitive conceptions. Some weak attempts at a philosophical view of