[415] For details as to the manner in which this editing was done, see King's admirable remarks in the Introduction to his Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, pp. xx-xxiv.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE PRAYERS AND HYMNS.
From what has just been said, it follows that the step from magical formulas to prayers and hymns is but a small one, and does not, indeed, carry with it the implication of changed or higher religious conceptions. While the incantation texts in their entirety may be regarded as the oldest fixed ritual of the Babylonian-Assyrian religion, there were occasions even in the oldest period of Babylonian history when the gods were approached in prayer without the accompaniment of magic formulas. Such occasions were the celebration of festivals in honor of the gods, the dedication of temples or of sacred statues, and the completion of such purely secular undertakings as the building of a canal. Gudea, we are told, upon completing a statue to his god Nin-girsu, prayed: 'O King, whose great strength the land cannot endure (?); Nin-girsu! grant to Gudea, who has built this house, a good fate.'[416] As in the earliest, so in the latest, period, the Babylonian kings approach the gods in prayer upon completing their great sacred edifices. The prayers of Nebuchadnezzar are particularly fine—remarkable, indeed, for their diction and elevation of thought. Upon completing the restoration of a temple to Nin-karrak or Gula in Sippar, he prays:[417]
Nin-karrak, lofty goddess, look with favor upon the work of my hands,
Mercy towards me be the command of thy lips,
Long life, abundance of strength,
Health, and joy, grant to me as a gift.
In the presence of Shamash and Marduk cause my deeds to be regarded with favor,
Command grace for me.