The Sacred Books of Chaldea (Analecta Gorgiana)

This fifth extract from Sayce's Origin and Growth of Religion, the topic turns to the "sacred books" of the Babylonians. Beginning with the "Chaldean Rig-Veda," collections of hymns identified from the earliest days of Assyriology, Sayce also considers the earlier, less developed magical texts. Future considerations - sin, the status of heaven and Hades, and cosmology finish out the essay.