the gods from the purely practical magic
rites was to produce the conditions favorable to a development of higher
religious thought. An offering of praise to the gods, whether it was for
victory granted or for a favor shown, called forth the best and purest
sentiments of which the individual was capable. Freed from all lower
associations, such an act proved an incentive to view the deity
addressed from his most favorable side, to emphasize those phases which
illustrated his affection for his worshippers, his concern for their
needs, his discrimination, and not merely his power and strength. In
short, the softer and the more humane aspects of the religion would thus
be brought out. The individual would address his god in terms betraying
his affection, and would couple with him attributes that would reflect
the worshipper's rather than the god's view of the purpose and aim of
existence. Whatever powers of idealization there lay in the worshipper's
nature would be brought into the foreground by the intellectual effort
involved in giving expression to his best thoughts, when aiming to come
into close communion with a power upon which he felt himself dependent.
For an understanding, therefore, of the ethical tendencies of the
Babylonian religion, an appreciation of the prayers and hymns is of
prime importance; and we shall presently see that, as a matter of fact,
the highest level of ethical and religious thought is reached in some of
these hymns.

The prayers of Nebuchadnezzar represent, perhaps, the best that has been
attained in this branch of religious literature. Returning, for a
moment, to the dedication prayer to Marduk, addressed by the king on the
occasion of his mounting the throne,[423] one cannot fail to be struck
by the high sense of the importance of his station with which the king
is inspired. Sovereignty is not a right that he can claim--it is a trust
granted to him by Marduk. He holds his great office not for purposes of
self-glorification, but for the benefit of his subjects. In profound
humility he confesses that what he has he owes entirely to Marduk. He
asks to be guided so that he may follow the path of righteousness.
Neither riches nor power constitute his ambition, but to have the fear
of his lord in his heart. Such a plane of thought is never reached in
the incantation texts. For all that, the original dependence of the
prayers and hymns upon incantation formulas, tinges even the best
productions. So