ple, the gods will not enlarge the land.

If a white dog enters a temple, the foundation of that temple
will be firm.

If a black dog enters a temple, the foundation of that temple
will not be firm.

If a brown[663] dog enters a temple, that temple will witness
justice.

If a yellow dog enters a temple, that temple will[664] witness
justice.

If a speckled dog enters a temple, the gods will show favor to
that temple.

If dogs gather together and enter a temple, the city's peace
will be disturbed.

The juxtaposition of palace and temple is an indication that a large
measure of sanctity was attached to the former as the dwelling-place of
one who stood near to the gods. The omens, accordingly, in the case of
both palace and temple are again concerned with public affairs. But from
the same tablet we learn that an equal degree of significance was
attached to the actions of dogs when they entered private dwellings.
Precautions must have been taken against the presence of dogs in that
part of the house which was reserved for a man's family, for we are
told:[665]

A dog entering a man's house was an omen that the ultimate fate
of that house would be destruction by fire.

Care had to be taken lest dogs defiled a person or any part of the
house. The omens varied again according to the color of the dog.

If a white dog defiles[666] a man, destruction will seize him.

If a black dog defiles a man, sickness will seize him.

If a brown dog defiles a man, that man will perish.

If a dog defiles a man's couch, a severe sickness will seize
that man.

If a dog defiles a man's chair, the man will not survive the
year.

If a dog defiles a man's bowl,[667] a deity will show anger
towards the man.

On the other hand, dogs were not to be driven out of the streets. Their
presence in the roads was essential to the welfare of the place. Hence
an omen reads:

If dogs do not enter the highway,[668] destruction from an enemy
will visit the city.

Through Diodorus, Jamblichus, and other ancient writers we know that the
Babylonians and Assyrians attached importance to the movements of other
animals, notably serpents, birds, and certain insects. The symbols on
the boundary stones which have been referred to[669] are based on this
belief. The serpent figures prominently among these symbols. In the
Babylonian deluge story, the do