has its ears on one side, and its head is twisted
(?), and it has no mouth, the ruler will cut off the supply of
water from his enemy.

In this instance the 'twisting' and the absence of the mouth appear to
suggest the act of turning a canal into a different direction, so as to
isolate a besieged city. When the text goes on to declare that

If the young one has its ears at its neck,[647] the ruler will
be without judgment,

it is the association of ideas between 'ears' and 'judgment,'[648] that
supplies the link. A misplaced ear is equivalent to misdirected
judgment.

Consistent with this interpretation, the next line informs us that

If the young one has its ears below the neck,[649] the union of
the country is weakened.

Such glimpses into the peculiar thought controlling these omens are
perhaps all that we will be able to obtain at least for a long time to
come. For the rest, comparative studies with the omens of the other
nations will alone serve to determine the multitudinous factors involved
in the interpretations of the signs.

Before leaving the subject, however, a few more illustrations may be
offered. Another portion of the same tablet--the eleventh--continues the
omens derived from peculiarities in the ears of lambkins:

If the young one has no right ear, the rule of the king will
come to an end, his palace will be uprooted, and the population
of the city will be swept away, the king will lose judgment, ...
the produce of the country will be small, the enemy will cut off
the supply of water.

If the left ear of the young one is missing, the deity will hear
the prayer of the king, the king will capture his enemy's land,
and the palace of the enemy will be destroyed, the enemy will
lack judgment, the produce of the enemy's land will be taken
away and everything will be plundered (?).

If the right ear of the young one falls off, the stall[650] will
be destroyed.

If the left ear of the young one falls off, the stall will be
increased, the stall[651] of the enemy will be destroyed.

If the right ear of the young one is split (?), that stall will
be destroyed, the enemy (?) will advance against the city.

If the left ear of the young one is split (?), that stall will
be increased, the king[652] will advance against the enemy's
land.

In all these cases it will be observed that a defect in the righ