the
problem of death are attempted in the Gilgamesh epic as finally put
together under the influence of the Babylonian schools of thought,[1595]
but the leaders shared with the people the sense of hopelessness when
picturing the life in the great hollow Aralu. It is in the hymns and
prayers, rather than in the cosmology and eschatology, that the
spiritual aspirations of the priests (and to a limited degree of the
masses) manifest themselves. In these productions, whether existing
independently or incorporated into incantation rituals, we see the
religion of Babylonia at its best. A strong emphasis is placed upon the
doctrine that misfortunes and ills come as a punishment for sins of
commission or omission. It is true that no distinction is drawn between
ceremonial errors and real misdeeds, but the sense of guilt is aroused
by the priests in the minds of those who come to the temples, seeking
relief from the attacks of the evil spirits, or the bewitchment of
sorcerers.

It is in this doctrine of guilt, as revealed through the magical texts,
that we must seek both for the starting-point of the development of an
ethical system (so far as such a system existed among the Babylonians),
and also for the limitations of this system. The aim of the priests to
observe the right ceremonies, to pronounce the right words in order to
accomplish their aim, reacted on rulers and subjects, and led them to
make the pleasure of the gods the goal of life. With fear of the gods,
upon which stress is always laid,[1596] there is thus associated an
equally strong love[1597] of the divine powers. Obedience to the gods is
primarily inculcated as a means of securing their protection and
blessing; but the fear of the gods, we are told, is the cause of
joy;[1598] and the Babylonians passed far beyond the stage of making the
satisfaction of one's own desires the standard of right and wrong. A
penitential psalm declares[1599] that what is pleasing to oneself may be
sinful in the eyes of a god.

The kings pride themselves upon being the promoters of justice. Even the
Assyrian rulers, who impress one while conducting their wars as bereft
of all softer emotions, declare that their highest aim is to spread
plenty and happiness.[1600] Sennacherib calls himself a king who 'loves
righteousness,'[1601] and he, as well as his predecessors and
successors, busies himself with actually restoring the rights of those
of his subjects who have been wrongfully depr