520 



NATURE 



[September 28, 1893 



Babylonia ! This Jensen, by his wonderful analysis 

 (would that I could completely follow it in its marvellous 

 philological twistings, pp. 73-81) puts beyond question, 

 and clinches the argument by showing that our "tropic 

 of Capricorn " of to-day, the goat still represented on 

 our globes of to-day with a fish's tail ! was called by the 

 Babylonians "the path followed by la ''or in relation 

 to ia. 



The myth, then, has to do with the fact that the 

 winter sun worship of Eridu was conquered by the spring 

 sun worship of the north. 



If we accept this we can compare the Egyptian and 

 Babylonian myths from the astronomical point of view 

 in the following manner, and a wonderful difference 

 in the astronomical observations made as well as 

 in the form, though not in the basis, of astro- 

 nomical mythology in Egypt and Babylonia is before 

 our eyes. 



Astronomically in both countries we are dealing with 

 the dawn preceding sunrise on new year's day, and the 

 accompanying extinction of the stars. 



But which stars ? In Egypt there is no question that 

 the stars thus fading were thought of as being chiefly 

 represented by the stars which never set, that is the 

 circumpolar ones, and among them the Hippopotamus 

 chiefly. 



The southern cult had conquered the northern one, the 

 southern Horus had conquered Set. 



We now learn that in Babylonia the chief change had 

 been in the sun-god. Here the northern cult had con- 

 quered. The exotic worship of the winter constellations 

 had been abolished, and they were pictured as destroyed 

 under the form of Tiamat,! although they were once as 

 prominent as Set in Egypt. 



Now I believe that it is generally recognised that 

 Marduk was relatively a late intruder into the Baby- 

 lonian pantheon. If he were a god brought from the 

 north by a conquering race (whether conquering by craft 

 or kraft does not matter), and his worship replaced that 

 of la, have we not mutatis mutandis the exact counter- 

 part of the Egyptian myth of Horus? In the one case 

 we have a southern sun-worshipping race ousting north- 

 star worshippers, in the other a northern equinoctial sun- 

 worshipping race oustingthecult of the wintersolstitial sun. 

 In the one case we have Horus, the rising sun of every 

 day slaying the Hippopotamus (that is the modern 

 Draco) the regent of night ; in the other Marduk, the 

 Spring sun-god slaying the animals of Tiamat, that is 

 apparently the origins of the Scorpion, Capricorrus, and 

 Pisces, the constellations of the winter months which 

 formed a belt across the s.ky from east to west at the 

 vernal equinox. 



J. Norman Lockyer. 

 {To be continued^ 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIA TION. 



Nottingham, Septembf;r 22. 

 'T'HE bright and pleasant weather universally hoped 

 ■*■ for, but very generally unexpected, has favoured 

 the meeting of the' Association after all ; it had been the 

 one uncertain element for which the local committee 

 could make no provision. The fine weather hao made the 

 success of the gathering complete. By midday on 

 Monday, the nth, the reception room was in readiness 

 for the multifarious purposes to which it had been ap- 

 plied, and shortly after that time the booking clerks were 

 kept fully employed for some hours in enrolling local 

 members. The arrival of members was less noticeable 

 on Tuesday, but throughout Wednesday the booking 



1 There seems to be no qviestion that Sit, Tiamat, and the "Great 

 Dragon of the Apocalypse,- represent the same idea. See Sayce, p. jo2. 



NO. 1248, VOL. 48] 



clerks, lodging and hotel clerks, the postal department 

 and the various excursion, garden party, and recreatioi 

 counters were constantly besieged. The admirablt 

 writing-room also came largely into use, while the ladies 

 found their way to their own special suite of elegantlj 

 furnished apartments. Later on the ladies obtained th( 

 privilege of entertaining gentlemen to afternoon te: 

 in their capacious drawing-room, a privilege whicf 

 became rapidly so popular that the accommodation was 

 inadequate to the demand. 



Following the strictly business meetings in the earh 

 part of the day, came the first general meeting in the 

 Albert Hall, to hear the President's address. The large 

 hall was comfortably filled with an attentive audience, 

 the decorations consisting of little else than the long 

 series of banners bearing the name, coat-of-arms, and 

 year of service of each of the distinguished Presidents 

 who has passed the chair during the sixty-two years of the 

 Association's existence, the banner of this year's Presi- 

 dent being suspended in front of his reading-desk. The 

 President's address, which was easily heard throughout 

 the hall, was received with applause, the Mayor ol 

 Nottingham and the Bishop of Southwell, respectively, 

 proposing and seconding the vote of thanks at its 

 conclusion. 



On Thursday (14th) sectional business began in earnest 

 by the delivery of the presidential addresses in the dif- 

 ferent sections, followed by the reading of papers and re- 

 ports. The workers of the Association easily found their 

 appointed quarters, and reached them in every case in a 

 few minutes after leaving the reception room, since all 

 the sectional rooms were within easy distance. Five 

 sections met in the University College itself; one in the 

 Poor Law Offices, opposite the College ; another in 

 the Central Hall, nearly facing the college ; while the 

 geographers had only to pass from the large hall of the 

 Mechanics' Institution (the reception room) to the lecture 

 hall of the same institution. Each of these sectional 

 rooms was completely fitted with all that was requisite to 

 illustrate the papers which were communicated, the equip- 

 ment ranging from the blackboard and chalk only, to the 

 supply of dark blinds, and lantern supplemented by large 

 diagram frames, electric current, gas, water, compressed 

 gases, and the many other requisites for the experi- 

 mental sciences. Bearing in mind the difficulty which 

 hard-working members have found at previous meetings 

 in staving off starvation at the luncheon hour, a large 

 luncheon buffet had been provided in the University 

 College ; this was accessible to all members, and entailed 

 only a few minutes' absence for luncheon from the business 

 of any section. In the afternoon, Sir John Turner, a 

 local vice-president of the Association, entertained a lai^ 

 party of visitors, with their hosts, in his beautiful grounds 

 at Mapperley ; and in the evening the Mayor received 

 the members in the Castle Museum building, where the 

 extensive galleries had been hung with a specially 

 selected series of pictures, and music and refreshment; 

 were provided. 



Friday (15th) was perhaps specially noticeable for the 

 brilliant demonstration given m Section B by Dr. Mes- 

 lans, assistant to M. Moissan. The section was crowded, 

 and the audience included a considerable number of the 

 leading British chemists. Dr. Meslans, who had care- 

 fully rehearsed his experiments in the laboratory on the 

 previous day, proceeded to prepare gaseous fluorine, and 

 amidst the greatest enthusiasm, both of the experimenter 

 and of his audience, sulphur, phosphorus, silicon, and 

 charcoal were ignited in the stream of the element. Several 

 chemists who entered the room sceptical of the true isola- 

 tion having been effected, rose and gave their entire 

 assent, and at the suggestion of Sir Henry Roscoe, the 

 President, immediately dispatched a congratulatory tele- 

 gram to M. Moissan, who had been detained in Paris 

 by indisposition. In the afternoon one party of members 



