Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-02
BABYLONIAN LORE
SOCIAL PRECEPTS RECALL PART
OF HEBREW DECALoGUE.
Light on Mystical Topic by Code of
Khammurabi-The Penalties
for WitchcIaft.


From the Chicago Chronicle.
The wonderful recovery OF oriental litera-
ture during recent years has caused
great change in ideas not only of science.
but also of many of the so-called pseudo
sciences. and III no case has this been more
remarkable than in the case of magic. To
most oriental nations magic an intense
reality and entered largely into every phase
of their lives, and was to a great extent.
the religious pabuum of the common peo-
pie.
1t lay at the basis of their religions, for
the enchanter, the exorcist, the wise man,
long preceded the priest. Such venerable
works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead"
the Magical Litanes of the Old Sumerian
Population of Babylonia" and the 'ka!e-
valia of the Firms were collections of mag
zeal formulate and songs which long pre-
coded and long survived the more canonical
religious books.
Students are no longer dependent on
works of late date for study of magic; both
in Egypt and Chaldea they have access to
works of great antiquity. Some new and
important light has been thrown upon mag
ic and withcraft by the discovery of the
wonderful code of laws formulated by
Khammurabi, the great Babylonian law
giver, about $3.50 b. c. The code opens
with two clauses directed against witch
craft The first read: IF man cast a
spell or place a ban upon another man. and
does not justify himself. the one weaving a
spell shall be put to death"
Penalty for the Subject.
The second clause is more curious and at
first difficult to explain. IF man cast
an enchantment upon another man and
has not justified himself, the one on whom
the enchantment is placed shall plunge
into riN ha l,.l,
tains or browns him he who cast the spell
shall take his house. on the contrary if
the man survives the ordeal and is thereby
declared innocent, he takes the property
or the one VINO cast the SPELL who is put to
death.
Here at the outset. is found parallel
to the Hebrew legislation which did not
permit witch to live The, ordeal by
water survived in the ducking of witches in
England The dread of being under a spell
or ban was ever before the mind of the
Babylonan, and he was forever on the
lookout for signs of witchcraft. He wore
amulets against the evil eye against NUT
tered entertainments and spells. The person
on whom han was put was constantly in
misery; he was a social pariah a moral
contagion, and a curious series of magical
lltanies in the British Museum throws great
hght upon this interesting subject.
Here IT Is learned that it entailed magical
possession and the terrible bans to eat or
drink with such one. To sleep in the bed
OF one under a spell, to drink water, to
doqch MIN, caused impurity which could
10 be looked upon by bewitched person
carried with it contagion. The one under
a spell was on par with the sinner the
iTper' the Iallen woman. Hence the terri
bic crime of placing spell upon another
ana not being able to clear oneself of .he
Charge of witchcraft.
Acts That Are Forbidden.
In these tablets may be noted many Curl
Gus social customs which carried evil re-
sults-to invoke the personal god, or god
uess' OF one under spell; to take an oath
before God with unclean hands, to drink
lfom an unclean cup to spit in running
water. Another serious offense was to talk
scandal or point the finger of scorn or
scandal at another. There is a clause deal
ing with this offense in the code. IF a man
cause the finger of scorn to be pointed at
the wife of another and has not justified
himself they shall take that man before the
Judges and brand him on the forehead"
To point the finger was a serious offense
and is constantly rebuked, as is also speak
ing eVll of superior or even of ones own
city.
Some of the offenses which entaiIed a So
clal ban are interesting as showing a deep
spirit of charity. ITO refuse one a DAYS
alic vance of water or to deny water rights,
TO pull up or damage crops, to cut an irri-
CATION channel" One curious superstition
which survives to this day is the magical
power attached to the seventh son of a
In these ancient social precepts all the
essential restrictions of the Hebrew deca-
logue are found. 1t was serious offense
To draw near to a neighbours wife, to shed
his blood, to steal his garment.
Covetousness is Rebuked.
Even although 1t does not appear to
have been recognized by many of the com
mentators on these laws, the sin of covet-
BUSINESS is rebuked for if a man lifted his
eyes to his neighbours property he was to
be put to death. Here, then, In this an
cient magical literature is found a wonder
full treasure-house of Babylonian ethics
The dread of enchantment was only equaled
by the dread of the spirits of the dead, who
were uncared for and constituted a terri
BILE army ever at war with men. Having
no food or drink, they prOwled about the
cities at night, drinking the putrid water
from the pools and feeding on the refuse
in the gullies, and woe betide the benghted
citizen who met them
1t is interesting to find that it is this
form of Chaldean possession that is found
in the New Testament. These evil spirits
and those of whom they had taken posses
sion haunted the graveyards and tombs-
they usually were In groups of seven, like
the seven devils of Mary Magdalene or the
seven evil spirits of the possessed man.
The desert was their true home, and there
they waylaid and tempted men as Satan
tempted Jesus. One of the principal
charms TO expel them was the slaughter
of a pig. which reminds one of the Gader-
enc swine. They could be expelled by the
loud voice of the pure magician, Christ
expelled them, and demons of disease could
be exercised by the use of spittle mingled
with dust. The demonology of the New
Testament is that of the post captivity
Jews. and one can see how valuable an adj
dition to knowledge of magic these ancient
clay books are.
Currency Reform in China.