the spirits through some error committed by him. The
resort to omens has wider aspects, as will presently be shown, than the
connection with prayers and offerings, and a most reasonable view is
that omens were first introduced into prayers on occasions when a
worshipper wished to ascertain the will of a deity for a certain
purpose, and to regulate his own conduct accordingly. In petitioning the
deity a sacrifice was naturally offered. Through the sacrifice, which
was rendered acceptable to the deity by the mediation of the priest, the
desired answer to a question was obtained. From being resorted to in
such instances, omens would naturally come to form part of the ritual
for almost any occasion when a deity was appealed to, both in connection
with incantations and symbolical acts when the omens would form a
supplement to the magic element in the ritual, as well as in cases where
no specific incantations are introduced. In both cases the omens would
constitute the means resorted to for ascertaining whether the petitioner
might look for a favorable reply to a request proffered or, in a more
general way, find out anything that it may be important for him to know.
The occasions for consulting the deity would be of a public or private
character. How far it became customary for the general public to secure
the mediation of a priest for securing aid from the gods in matters
appertaining to personal welfare we have no means of definitely
determining. We find, for example, a son consulting an oracle on behalf
of his father in order to ascertain what day would be favorable for
undertaking some building operation,[492] and he receives the answer
that the fourth of the month will be propitious; and so there are other
occasions on which private individuals consult the priests, but in
general it was only on occasions of real distress that an individual
would come to the sanctuary,--to seek relief from bodily ills, to ward
off blows of adversity, to pacify a deity who has manifested his or her
displeasure. The expense involved--for the worshipper was not to appear
empty-handed--would of itself act as a deterrent against too frequent
visits to a sanctuary.

The public welfare occupied a much larger share in the Babylonian
worship. In order to ensure the safety of the state, occasions
constantly arose when the deities had to be consulted. It is no accident
that so many of the prayers--the hymns and psalms--contain references to
kings a