INTRODUCTION. 



The whole spiritual existence of the Assyrians, 

 and others before them, seems to have been 

 involved in what mio-ht be called "Hornism" — 

 a superstition, which still largely exists, either 

 actually, or in some legendary and traditional 

 form. In ancient Assyrian times we find their 

 gods horned ; their sacred trees were horned ; 

 their bidents, their tridents, their ' fleur-de-lys,' etc., 

 were nothing but modifications of horns. Count 

 d'Alviella, in his 'Migration des Symboles,' p. i6i, 

 says that "horns, among the Assyrians, were the 

 distinctive sign of the Divinity." It is probable 

 they may have been the symbol of poivcr. Indeed, 

 when we begin to search for the genesis of an idea, 

 such as this, it is not difficult to see that a wild 

 infuriated bull is not a thing to be trifled with. "A 

 right murderous bull — stubborn, aggressive, blood- 

 thirsty, enduring " — would exact reverence from 

 any hunter. A mad wild bull must have been an 

 astonishing phenomenon to the Assyrians.* 



* Sir Samuel Baker in 'Wild Beasts and their Ways,' Vol. II, 

 p. 46, writes thus : — " In the savage regions of Central Africa, where 

 the worship of the Deity is unknown, the bull is regarded with a 

 respect that is not bestowed upon any other animal. Vast strength, 



