of direct contact with an immortal.  The statues hidden in the recesses of the temples or erected on the summits of the “ziggurats” became imbued, by virtue of their consecration, with the actual body of the god whom they represented, and whose name was written either on the base or garment of the statue.** The sovereign who dedicated them, summoned them to speak in the days to come, and from thenceforth they spoke:  when they were interrogated according to the rite instituted specially for each one, that part of the celestial soul, which by means of the prayers had been attracted to and held captive by the statue, could not refuse to reply.** Were there for this purpose special images, as in Egypt, which were cleverly contrived so as to emit sounds by the pulling of a string by the hidden prophet?  Voices resounded at night in the darkness of the sanctuaries, and particularly when a king came there to prostrate himself for the purpose of learning the future:  his rank alone, which raised him halfway to heaven, prepared him to receive the word from on high by the mouth of the image.

* A prophetic dream is mentioned upon, one of the statues of Telloh.  In the records of Assurbanipal we find mention of several “seers”—­shabru—­one of whom predicts the general triumph of the king over his enemies, and of whom another announces in the name of Ishtar the victory over the Elamites and encourages the Assyrian army to cross a torrent swollen by rains, while a third sees in a dream the defeat and death of the King of Elam.  These “seers” are mentioned in the texts of Gudea with the prophetesses “who tell the message” of the gods.

** In a formula drawn up against evil spirits, for the purpose of making talismanic figures for the protection of houses, it is said of Merodach that he “inhabits the image” —­ashibu salam—­which has been made of him by the magician.

** This is what Gudea says, when, describing his own statue which he had placed in the temple of Telloh, he adds that “he gave the order to the statue:  ’To the statue of my king, speak!’” The statue of the king, inspired by that of the god, would thenceforth speak when interrogated according to the formularies.  Cf. what is said of the divine or royal statues dedicated in the temples of Egypt, vol. i. pp. 169, 170.  A number of oracles regularly obtained in the time of Asarhaddon and Assurbanabal have been published by Knudtzon.

[Illustration:  152.jpg THE ADORATION OF THE MACE AND THE WHIP.]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the Chaldaean intaglio
     reproduced in Heuzey-Sarzec, Decouvertes en Chaldee, pl.
     30bis, No. 13b.