In search of the soul and the mechanism of thought, emotion, and conduct ..

Front matter

(IJotticll UtttoBtsUg SIthrarg

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE

SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND

Preface

This is not a mysticaljor speculative work, as a superficial glance at the title might lead some to suppose, but a strictly scientific treatise. For more than two thousand years philosophers and scientists were seeking for the soul, tr3mig to discover its nature and seat within the body or brain. It was only with the dawn of the XlXth century and the advancement of science that the search was given up and psychologists and physiologists confined themselves to the study of the origin and nature of " mental activities " and their physical basis. It is in this wider sense — as comprising intellectual capacities, emotions, and instinctive impulses — indeed, all that appertains to the mind and character of man — that the term " soul " is used in this work when not otherwise indicated.

VOLUME I. contains the history — ^from ancient times to the present day — of the philosophical speculations and scientific researches to discover the nature of the soul, mind, and character dispositions of man, and their relation to the physical organisation ; together with an account of the growth of human knowledge in general, and of such discoveries and inventions as affected human beliefs and ' widened the outlook of mankind. Part I. of this volume is introductory to the main purpose of the work, and contains the history of human thought and research up to the end of the XVIIIth century ; Part II. contains the history of the XlXth century to date. The former will be more or less famiUdr, at least to experts ; while the latter is to a large extent original and critical, and contains much hitherto unpublished or neglected material. Apart from the aims in view. Volume I. should prove valuable as a reference work for both physicians and psychologists.

VOLUME II. contains a re-statement of the problems involved and a mass of new facts and arguments based on some novel investigations. A distinction is drawn between psychology, which deals with the problems of the soul, consciousness, and the processes of the intellect, and ETHOLOGY (so named by John Stuart Mill), which deals with the natural history of the mental capacities and character dispositions of man ; and an attempt is made to lay the foundation for a science Of character and conduct, of interest and usefulness to all classes of mankind. The innate abilities, emotional tendencies, and instinctive impulses of man and animals are anal3rsed, a task which has already been begun by several other authors, and the elements of these mental powers are traced to their probable cerebral origin. Next, the principles of this new science are shown in their practical appUcation to various problems, especially to mental and moral education, and to the study and treatment of disordered mental manifestation.

But Volume II. deals not only with the material aspect of the mental characteristics of man ; it furnishes also evidence — derived from the author's extensive personal experience in the application of suggestion treatment, and other forms of psychotherapy— of the purely spiritual power of mind, when directed to the re-education of character, the teaching of self-control and mental discipUne, and the awakening of new ideals to conquer morbid tendencies ; next, the results of some unusual experiments in hypnotism are shown, pointing to higher capacities being

A* vi PREFACE

inherent in man than have been hitherto admitted. This leads to the consideration of the nature of Life, Mind, Consciousness, and of the problems of the Soul and man's ReUgious Faith, in the hght of present-day knowledge, and the examination of psychical research into Supernormal and Spirit Phenomena— the same problems which, as stated in Chapter I., engaged the attention of primitive man, and which are now shown, in the concluding chapter, notwithstanding over two thousand years' investigation and reflection, to be still far from solution.

It will be admitted that the task which the author has set himself to accomplish is a gigantic one, and it is inevitable— however carefully such a comprehensive treatise may have been prepared— that there will be some omissions and a number of mistakes. These, however, should not detract from the value of the work, which is not written dogmatically, but primarily with the object to convey inlormation and subject-matter for thought and inquiry, and by the exposure of the failures of the past to initiate new and more successful methods of investigation. The work should appeal not only to physicians, psychologists, and the clergy, but to everjr educated man.

Medical Experts will be interested in (i) the history of the slowly accumulating knowledge of the structure and functions of the brain, from the most ancient records to the most recient experimental investigations ; (2) the account of the stiU unknown and highly interesting life and doctrines of that much maligned and misrepresented genius, the great naturalist and philosopher, FRANCIS JOSEPH GALL, and of the vast and extraordinary influence which he exercised on subsequent research and philosophical teaching — with most liberal quotations from his own works, to enable the reader to form his own opinion ; (3) the history of psychiatry and the treatment of the insane ; (4) the author's own attempt to add to the knowledge of the motor and sensory functions of the brain (derived from the results of experiments on animals), the knowledge of mental functions which Nature herself furnishes in circumscribed lesions of the brain from injury, the growth of tumours, and other causes. The mass of evidence collected throws new light on the uses of the brain and gives rise to a whole series of theories, which will, no doubt, be subjected to searching criticism ; but a proof of their probable correctness is already furnished by the large number of cases quoted in which surgical operation in certain • forms of mental derangement led to recovery.

To Psychologists the work should appeal because the history of psychology is brought into relation with the progress of biology and brain research, and because of the elaborate treatment of the emotions and character dispositions of man, and the principles of the new science of Ethology, which gives a deeper insight into the mental constitution of man than has hitherto been obtained, and discloses the primary motives of conduct, a knowledge of which is of the utmost utility to human intercourse.

The Clergy wiU probably be interested in the historical and other evidence of the failure of science and philosophy to account for the chief problems of life and mind, in the records of their conflict with theology, and the result of the whole inquiry as it affects religious beliefs. Being a scientific treatise, rehgious doctrines are of course referred to only when necessary, and then with that respect which is due to them.

The work, as a whole, is written as much as possible in popular non-technical language, so that it may be understood and appreciated by the educated Layman, to whom the problems of the soul, mind, and character, and the history of the intellectual progress of mankind are not less fascinating than to the expert.

BERNARD HOLLANDER, M.D.

57, Wimpole Street, London, W.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I

Part I Introductory

THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE END OF THE XVIIIth CENTURY

Section I

CONCEPTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE SOUL FROM PREHISTORIC TIMES TO THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY

PAGE CHAPTER I— PREHISTORIC RELIGIONS ----- i

Primitive Man. His Conception of the Universe. Primitive Medicine. The Babylonians. The Ancient Egyptians. The Jews. The Hindoos. Buddhism. Persian Religion. Mithraism. Chinese Religion. Ancient Mexico and Peru. The Early Greeks. The Early Romans. The Gauls. The Wends and Letto-Slavs. The Teutons.

Chapter Iii.— Later Greek Philosophy - - - - 41

Aristotle and the Peripatetics. The Sceptics. The Epicureans. The Stoics. The Neo-Platonics.

Chapter Iv.— Medical Views Of Mind And Brain In Ancient Greece And Rome . - - : - - . 59

Early Greek Medicine. Hippocrates and His School^ The Dogmatic School. The Alexandrian School. The Empirical School. Medicine in Rome. The Methodical School. The Pneumatic School. Galen and the Eclectic School. The Pneuma and the Humoral Theory. Localisation of Mental Functions in the Brain by Eminent Greek Physicians. Knowledge of Insanity and the Treatment of the Insane in Ancient Greece and Rome.

CHAPTER v.— CHRISTIANITY AND THE EARLY SCHOLASTICS 79

Essence of Christianity. Social Conditions and Intellectual Life OF the Period. Patristic Philosophers and Early Scholastics : their Views on Soul, Mind, and Brain.

viii CONTENTS

PAGE CHAPTER VI.— ARAB PHILOSOPHY AND LATER SCHOLASTICS - - 94

Mohammed and Islam. Arabian Culture. Arabian Physicians and Philosophers : their Views of the Brain and Mental Functions. Jewish Physicians and Philosophers. Later Scholastics : their Views of Mind and Character. The Universities of Salerno and MontPellier.

CHAPTER VII.— THE RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION - - - in

State of Culture : Literature, Science, and Art. Factors of Enlightenment. Religious Dissent. Astronomical and Geographical Discoveries. The Philosophers of the Period. Epidemics, Witchcraft, and Mediaeval Medicine. Anatomy in the Middle Ages. Knowledge of the Brain and its Functions. Knowledge and Treatment of Insanity.

SECTION HI

VIEWS OF THE SOUL, MIND, AND BRAIN IN THE XVIItll AND XVIIIth

CENTURIES

THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE IN THE XlXth

CENTURY

SECTION I

Chapter Xi— Francis Joseph Gall: A Great Anatomist And Physiologist - - - - - - -199

Evolution of the Brain. His Dissection of the Brain. His Discovery of the Structure of the Brain and the Origin of the Cranial Nerves. Functions of the Brain. Motor and Sensory Centres. Mental Centres. Expression of the Emotions. Growth of the Brain. Size and Quality of Brain. Effects of Injuries. Supposed Materialism. Knowledge of his Contemporaries.

CHAPTER Xll.— FRANCIS JOSEPH GALL : A GREAT PSYCHOLOGIST - 230

His Doctrines Based on Animal, Infant, and Social Psychology. Natural History Method. His Opposition to Current Metaphysics AND to Faculty Psychology. Inequality of Organisation : Nature and Nurture. The Science of Behaviour. Knowledge of his Contemporaries.

CONTENTS ix

PAGE

Chapter Xiii.— Gall's Method 257

Gall's Localisation Method ; including Median and Under Surfaces OF Brain. Guided by Observation, not by a Preconceived System. Cranio-Cerebral Relations. Irregularities c f the Skull. Frontal Sinus. Traction of Muscles. Gall Opposed to Character-Reading. Comparison with Contemporary and Modern Knowledge.

Chapter Xiv.— Ball's Classification And Localisation Of Mental Functions - - - 283

Evolution of Mind. Unity of Mind. What Constitutes a Primitive Mental Power ? What Constitutes a Brain Centre ? Arrangement of Brain Centres. His Classification and Location OF Mental Functions. Memory not a Single Faculty. Colour Blindness. Tone Centre. Moral Sense.

Chapter Xv.— Gall On Insanity, Imbecility, And Crime, And

THEIR TREATMENT. A PICTURE OF THE PERIOD - - 300

Gall on Insanity. Contemporary Knowledge and Treatment. The Effect of His Teaching in France, in England, and other Countries. Gall on Idiocy. Contemporary Knowledge and Subsequent Reforms. Gall on Crime and Criminals. State of Prisons of the Time. Modern Confirmation of his Views. History of Criminal Anthropology. Famous Criminologists.

SECTION II THE RECEPTION OF GALL'S DOCTRINE

Chapter Xvi.— Gall's Biography And Eminent French Disciples - 324

Gall's Education. His Life in Vienna. His Lecture Tour round European Universities. His Reception in Germany. His Life in Paris. The Academie Fran^aise. Gall and Napoleon. His Great Work on the Brain. His Scientific Collection. Recent Attempts to obtain Justice for Gall. Renowned French Disciples.

Contents

PAGE

CHAPTER XX— HISTORY OF MODERN EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN PHYSI- OLOGY. THE DISCOVERY OF BRAIN CENTRES FOR MOTION AND SENSATION - - - - - - 403

HuGHLiNGS Jackson. History of Hitzig's Discoveries. History of Ferrier's Discoveries. Subsequent Discoveries. Eminent Experimenters AND their CONtRADICTORY RESULTS. PhYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY. FlECHSIG'S THEORIES. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND

CHAPTER XXIV —H ISTORY OF BIOLOGY AND THE GENERAL PROGRESS OF SCIENCE IN THE XlXth CENTURY - - 494

Progress of Physiology. Progress of Embryology. The Mechanistic AND ViTALISTIC DOCTRINES. HISTORY OF THE EVOLUTION THEORY.

Modern Theories of Heredity. Bacteriology and the Advance of Surgery. History of Anthropology. Other Progress : Inventions AND Discoveries.

PART I

THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE from Ancient Times to the end of the XVIIIth Century

PART I

THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE from ancient times to the end of the XVIIIth century

Section I

CONCEPTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE SOUL from pre-historic times to the beginning of Christianity

Chapter I

The history of the study of the soul presents three aspects : the theological, the metaphysical, and the scientific ; but it must not be assumed that they were ever so distinct. Theology was often mixed with metaphysical speculations, metaphysics with either theology or science ; and the scientific view was hardly ever altogether free from either theology or metaphysical speculation. Only the most ancient study of the soul was purely theological. With the advent of the Greek philosophers it became metaphysical. With the rise of Christianity theology again predominated, with a large admixture of metaphysical doctrine. It is only with the tremendous strides of science during the past three hundred years that the soul — and more particularly its attributes and activities and the mechanism of their manifestation — was studied more and more from a strictly scientific point of view, leaving theology and metaphysics to follow their own paths. In the course of recent years theological doctrines have been differently* interpreted with the increase of knowledge, and metaphysical speculations gradually adapted to the results of scientific research, while it has had to be admitted that science, too, has its Umitations.

Pre-historic man imagined that in his dreams sometliing left his body, and that this same something returned to his body before he awoice. He noticed that in his dreams he appeared often to be far away, or other people seemed to come to him, and since he knew by experience that his body never moved, his perfectly natural explanation was that it was something which inhabited his body — a spirit, a natural shadowy imagfe of himself — which could go out and return again. This spirit he at first identified with the breath of the body, since the dead man no longer breathes. It was also natural that he should think that this spirit does not die with the body, but lives on after quitting it ; for, although a man may be dead and buried, his phantom-figure may continue to appear to the survivors in dreams and visions. This spiritual entity in time was regarded as the soul, dweUing in the body of Vol. i.] B man and presiding over its functions. It was in no way absolutely attached to t e organism, but had a life of its own, independent of its attachments. It haa power of separating itself, if it so willed, from the entire organisation.

In the early days of mankind, it is obvious that death would ^^-^^^^^J^^^l majority of instances, violent and premature. Such death occurring in the v^o of manhood, when its bounding energies are most active, would almost of necessrcy lead to the conclusion that thi unfinished life would be '^^^''fj}^^J^^I^^i„f^^ thus probably originated the more or less general expectation a""" ,^«''% '" "J"'"!! life. Just as later, when man lived in civiUsed communities he ^f *° ^""^^.^ many injustices and unequal hardships, that he found comfort m t^f J^^JJ^^^ man's personaUty does not cease with the grave ; and such behef m immortahty was probably fostered for the influence it had on the conduct of men.

When a man died, the surviving principle was supposed to remain confined in the grave beside the corpse ; hence the custom of elaborate bunai ceremomes. Later, the mind of man rose to a conception less purely material, and the souls of the dead were imagined to congregate in places of their own, somewhere whence they can visit the living, especially at night time. StiU later, the idea arose that this new existence must be influenced by the deeds of the previous Ufe, for which it is either the reward or the punishment. Two soul places are then distinguishable. Others beheved that the soul, for its puriacation, could enter other organisms not necessarily human. Thus the spiritual part ol man was believed to have a life of its own, continuing to exist after the body had returned to its elements, and even affirmed to have previously existed before the period of its organic birth.

From the fact that man in his dream-adventures uses his dress and weapons arose the behef that even these things have their shadowy duphcates or ghost souls, which can be carried away by the departing soul and used by it as the real objects were used by the living man. Moreover, primitive man, having discovered in himself a double being, the one corporeal and the other spiritual, transferred the new notions regarding himself to objects without himself. Whatever seemed to move or act spontaneously, like the winds and streams and echoes, the sun, moon, and planets, were felt as spiritual agencies, especially if a sound were connected with them. The sighing of the breeze, the moan of the wave upon the shore, the babbling of the brook, the roaring of the sea, and the pealing of the thunder were nothing less than sad, joyous, or angry living voices. Being surrounded by elemehts and forces of nature which he could neither comprehend nor control, primitive man saw spirits everywhere. They constituted his interpretation of nature for the time being. They were symbols of the unknown and mighty powers with which he was surrounded, and before which he stood unprotected, helpless and trembling. As destructive storms and the beneficent rain that makes the grass grow seem to descend from the sky, he pictured a Heaven-Father ; and as the earth makes the food grow and has other mysterious powers, he imagined an Earth-Mother. But he also fancied a Sun-God and a Moon-Goddess, and other divine personaUties representing other great powers of nature. Similarly he thought the stars, mountains, forests, and rocks animated and haunted by spirits. Indeed, until accidents and experiments led to the discovery of laws of nature, the causes of phenomena in nature were sought in the action of powerful but invisible beings. It is easier for man to think of personal powers at work in the universe than of impersonal ones. Even when man has discovered the laws which govern the universe and creation, he still asks himself who made these laws. The natural was to primitive man the supernatural as it still is to many of us. He therefore worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars trees, rivers, springs, fire, winds, -and even serpents, dogs, apes, and oxen ; and as he came to set up carved sticks and stones to represent these, he passed from natureworship to fetish- worship.

Uncritical observation of the aspect of nature persuaded primitive man that the earth is an extended level surface which sustains the dome of the sky, a firmament dividing the waters above from the waters beneath ; that the heavenly bodies — the sun, the moon, the stars — pursue their way, moving from east to west, their insignificant size and motion round the motionless earth proclaiming their inferiority. Of the various organic forms surrounding man, none rival him in dignity, and he seems justified in concluding that everything has been created for his use — the sun for the purpose of giving him light by day, the moon and stars by night. Comparative theology shows us that this is the conception of nature universally adopted in the early phase of intellectual life. It is the belief of aU nations in all parts of the world in the beginning of their civilisation : geocentric, for it makes the earth the centre of the universe ; anthropocentric, for it makes man the central object of the eaxth. And not only is this the conclusion spontaneously come to from inconsiderate glimpses of the world, it is also the philosophical basis of various reUgious revelations, vouchsafed to man from time to time.

Not being able (0 see beyond the sky, man assumed a region above it where the gods dwell, and whither those are going who in their earthly life made themselves worthy of such bUss. And thus he pictured to himself a heaven shut oft from earth, with all its sins and cares, by the untroubled and impenetrable sky — -a. place of peace, of light and repose, but also a place of power. On the other hand, there are forces in nature, and there are visions in dreams, which caused him to be terror-stricken, which made him assume malignant spirits, whose habitation he thought was in the dark regions beneath the ground, far away from the realms of Ught — a region from which, through the volcano, smoke and burning sulphur are cast into this upper world — a place of everlasting fire and darkness, whose portals are in caves and soUtudes of unutterable gloom. Placed between the boundaries of such opposing powers, he felt himself the sport of circumstances, sustained by beings who seek his happiness, and tempted by those who desire his destruction. Guided by such obvious thoughts and simple reasonings, he threw a longing look to the good beings who protect him, and sought to invoke their aid by entreaties and to propitiate their help by sacrifices.

It is only natural that primitive man should associate these conclusions with others, expecting that in a future life good men would enjoy the society of good beings like himself, the evil being dismissed to the realm of darkness and despair. And, as human experience teaches us that a final allotment can only be made by some superior power, he expected that He who was his creator would also be his judge, and that there was an appointed time and a bar at which the final destination of all who have lived should be ascertained, and eternal justice measure out its punishments and rewards.

Primitive man considered the gods like himself, only mightier than he, possessing qualities like his own quaUties, and motives Uke his own motives ; hence he beUeved their favour could be courted and their wrath appeased by magic, the singing of praises, gifts and sacrifices. To ensure their presence at such ceremonies, special holy places were selected and temples and altars erected, where he could communicate with them ; and gradually a body of men, who study the will of God or the gods and who may mediate for him, were set apart. Some sacrifices were thankofferings, given as an expression of gratitude for benefits received ; other sacrifices were ofEered to the gods as supplications for help desired.

Each tribe and each nation established its own set of gods, which partook of its own character and were the embodiment of its own pecuUar form of life, under whose exclusive protection its members beUeved themselves to live ; and who stood ready to smite its enemies or to deUver its weaker neighbours into their hands. The legends of the gods Vrere handed down from father to son, and became changed in course of time or else new meanings were invented. With advancing civilisation the real origin of the gods was forgotten, their quahty improved/the conceptioiW became more spiritual and their number diminished, untU the monotheistic vi became paramount. . f-gm

Primitive rehgion had little or no connection with human welfare, apart k the action of supernatural beings. Its chief or only object was to guard the w shipper from injuries which came from the spirit world, or to procure him beoentb from the same origin. It sacrificed human hfe and property on the ^S^^ propitiation of fictitious deities. Later on, religion was largely the outcome ot mythical prophetic revelations. Individuals appeared with the capacity tor tne highest inspiration, and these become the prophets and inspired leaders of the race. Thus arose the prophetic religions, tending towards monotheism, as those of Zoroaster, Buddha, and Moses. Of another kind were the ethnic religions, arising out of a national tendency, such as those of Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome All rehgious truths are largely based on myths. They were originally embodied or tangly in poetry, the natural speech of religion, whose Uteral truth is unutterable, and whose loftiest teachings are as symbolic as the popular legend. There is a similarity in the myths ol all nations, yet they possess distinctive features, in harmony with the distinctive character of the nations. It will be seen that in one respect aU the sacred books of the East, where most reUgions sprang from, are ahke. They are all full of subhme teaching and of precepts as lofty as any which European nations are in the habit of practising. Tliis is a fact which many Christian missionaries are apt to forget.

Man's intellect, even in the most remote ages, must have been greatly superior to the understanding of animals ; for it led him to the discovery and utilisation of the secrets of nature. Whereas animals that build habitations for themselves or their young continue to do so in the same way for generation after generation, man progressed in knowledge, until at length he reached that stage which we call civiUsation. Animals devour the food as they find it ; man's progress led to the management of fire and — the art of cooking his food. Whereas animals are provided with means of attack and defence, human beings are unprotected, but the progressive growth of their intellect led them to fashion weapons of attack and defence. By his intellect, prehistoric man attained command of his environment — that is, the capacity for making out of the inorganic, to some extent even out of the organic, world, instruments for the satisfaction of his wants, fire and clothes to keep him warm, a home to keep him dry, fishing rods and arrows to procure him food.

In his lowest — the savage — state, man probably subsisted on wild plants and animals, neither tilling the soil nor domesticating creatures for his food. He may be considered to have risen into the next, the barbaric state, when he took to agriculture. With the certain supply of food which could be stored till next harvest, settled village and town life was established, with immense results in the improvement of arts, knowledge, manners, and government. Lastly, civilised life may be taken as beginning with the art of writing, which by recording history, law, knowledge, and rehgion, for the service of ages to come, binds together the past and the future in an unbroken chain of intellectual and moral progress.

Primitive man beliering himself surrounded by evil spirits, we need not wonder that he attributed disease to demonic power, which only a magician or witch doctor could expel. At a later stage, when disease was regarded as a punishment by an angry deity, the conceptions of sacrifice, propitiation, purification, fumigation, fasting, etc., made their appearance, and the doctor became identical with the priest. As knowledge advanced, there were joined with these measures others more rational, such as baths, massage, and dieting, besides various hypnotic and suggestive devices. This combination of medical and sacerdotal functions had a wide range and a long vogue.

Diseases of which the cause was not visible being attributed to magic or the operation of evil spirits, there arose from this general concept the notion that there were specific spirits which caused difierent diseases. Sometimes it was thought that the disease was caused by possession— that is, by the occupation of the sick man's body by spirits of dead men or of demoniacal animals. Tliis led to surgical practice consistent with such belief, for there is evidence that the skulls of epileptics were trephined to afiord incarcerated evil spirits a chance of escape. In other cases treatment would be directed to combating the evil spirits by spells, angry deities by p^bpitiatory rites and sacrifice, and maleficent magic by counter magic. Hence the witch doctors were looked upon not only as healers of disease, but as prophets having power to influence the elements, to ensure success in battle, and to foretell the future. With all this superstition it is not a little remarkable that amongst many races of very low civiUsation natural causes of diseases were admitted, such as unhealthy winds, unsuitable food, over-exertion of body, even heredity and infection in some cases. The probability is that only those diseases were ascribed to demons for which no natural causes could be found and no remedies were known. Madness, in early antiquity, was regarded as due to divine influence, but later it was looked upon as due to an evil spirit sent as a divine punishment for neglect of carrying out God's instructions, as is put very clearly in the case of Saul, King of Israel (1097-1058 b.c). The records of Egypt, Persia, Assyria, and Greece all supply evidence of the same sort. The treatment seems to have consisted of magic, incantations, prayers, sacrifices, and of exorcisms, sometimes of a violent sort. But in the case of Saul the evU spirit was often dislodged by the music of David's harp. He seems to have suffered from what is now called manic-depressive insanity, a form of mental derangement in whifh mania, melancholia, and lucidity foUow one another at periods.

THE BABYLONIANS

The most ancient civihsation is beheved to be that of the Sumerian race, about 4000 B.C., before the advent of the Babylonians and Assyrians, their Semitic conquerors. In any case Mesopotamia was the starting-point of Oriental civilisation, of which the Babylonians and Assyrians were undoubtedly the principal foimders. They borrowed from the Sumerians the elements of morals, learning, and the arts, and brought them to perfection.

The Babylonians were skilled in mathematics and astronomy, originated the decimal system of notation, weights and measures, made the divisions of time into twelve months in the year, seven days in the week, sixty minutes and seconds in the hour and minute respectively, and divided the circle, as we do, in 360 degrees. They invented the cuneiform inscriptions, reading from left to right; they knew much about military tactics and the art of war, and were variously skilled in music, architecture, pottery, glass-blowing, weaving, and carpet-making.

The great gods of Babylonia belonged to the elements and the heavenly bodies. We

find at first different cities and districts worshipping different gods : one, the god of the sea ; another, the god of the earth ; another, the god of heaven, regarded above heaven, and above all created things. In addition, the sun and the moon are worshipped everywhere, each city having its own sun-god and moon-god ; the latter being the older and greater being. The home of the sun-god is Eden. There was also a wind-god. The stars were also worshipped ; and the temples were built so that their principal axes should point in a definite direction and form an astronomical guide.