ns might be explained as due to the lack of a fixed ritual in the Ea
temples outside of the incantation texts.[442] Ea's position, like that
of Nusku, was too marked in the magical texts to encourage a conception
of them entirely independent of their power to release victims from the
grasp of the demons.

A hymn to Nebo, which unfortunately is preserved only in part,
illustrates the extent to which polytheistic conceptions may be
spiritualized:[443]

... Lord of Borsippa,
... son of E-sagila.[444]
O Lord! To thy power there is no rival power,
O Nebo! To thy power, there is no rival,
To thy house, E-zida, there is no rival,
To thy city, Borsippa, there is no rival,
To thy district, Babylon, there is no rival.
Thy weapon is U-sum-gallu,[445] from whose mouth the breath does not
issue, blood does not flow.[446]
Thy command is unchangeable like the heavens.
In heaven thou art supreme.

There are still plenty of mythological allusions in this hymn that take
us back to a primitive period of thought, but it is a hymn prompted by
the love and reverence that Nebo inspired. Its direct connection with
the Nebo cult is shown again by the complementary character of each two
lines. The whole hymn was probably adapted in this way to public
worship.

Marduk, by virtue of his relationship to Ea, and by his independent
position as the supreme god of Babylon, occupies a middle ground between
Shamash, Ea, and Nusku on the one side, and such gods as Sin and Nebo on
the other. Some of the hymns addressed to him end in incantations;
others form part of the cult arranged for solemn occasions, when the
praises of the god were sung in connection with sacrificial offerings.

In confirmation of the theory as to the relationship between magical
texts and hymns above advanced, we find scarcely any difference in the
grade of religious thought between these two classes of Marduk hymns.
Both are equally distinguished by their fine diction. A hymn which
celebrates Marduk as the restorer of the dead to life, and yet forms
part of an incantation text, reads:[447]

O merciful one among the gods!
O merciful one who loveth to give life to the dead!
Marduk, king of heaven and earth,
King of Babylon, lord of E-sagila,
King of E-zida, lord of E-makh-tila,
Heaven and earth are thine.
The whole of heaven and earth are thine,
The spell affording life is thine,
The breath of life is thine,
The pure incantat