598 A SKETCH OF BABYLONIAN SOCIETY. 



don which had been laid upon a piece of linen, so that even now the 

 position of the threads and the excellence of the fabric to which they 

 belonged can be estimated. 



The tanner's trade, moreover, was highly developed. This, too, can 

 be judged of only through pictorial representations. According to 

 these, shoes and the harness and saddles of horses were elaborately 

 worked. 



Those who carried on industry were partly free, partly slaves ; the 

 former received wages, the latter were hired or rented. The owners of 

 the slaves received from the latter, if they were skilled laborers, a fixed 

 income. This must be clearly recognized in the picture of the social 

 relations in Babylon. It is a matter of course, that here the interests 

 of the owners and those of the laborers must have been diverse, 

 and that, therefore, in spite of the immense population of Babylon, its 

 political conditions must have been very unstable, because oDly the 

 rich — that is, the dwindling minority — had an interest in the mainte- 

 nance of order. Babylon had never been able to attain the position of 

 Borne, where the Plebs constantly obtained more rights. 



As for the instruments of labor in Old Babylon, they were not highly 

 developed. On the other hand, a high degree of technical perfection 

 was wrought out with these poor instruments. Among us the reverse 

 is the case. The tools are very good, but the skill of the human hand 

 has greatly diminished.. Whether a division of labor in the modern 

 sense existed in Babylon can not b3 yet made clear. There are, never- 

 theless, a number of facts which would point to it. 



According to the representations in the reliefs, the citizens attended 

 public gatherings on state occasions and temple ceremonies, richly 

 adorned and with the insignia which distinguished them as citizens; 

 that is, in flowing garments, with large and artistically made head- 

 dresses, with a seal ring upon the finger, with staff in hand, with girdle 

 and beautifully embroidered leather shoes. In everyday work, on the 

 contrary, we see the same citizens carrying on their business in shirt 

 and apron. Unfortunately, the remains which are at hand come mostly 

 from temples and palaces, and therefore we can form a clear picture only 

 of great state functions. 



Several scholars maintain that in Babylon only the temples and 

 palaces are to be considered as great buildings, while the inhabitants 

 lived in primitive huts. This is an untenable view. Portions of foun- 

 dation walls which belonged to private houses have been discovered, 

 and we are justified in the assumption that Babylon, so long as it 

 existed, made, with its houses, the impression of a great city. One 

 must not forget, withal, that it was an oriental city which required 

 another kind of architecture than that of our great cities. Upon the 

 main streets, which were paved with stone, little outbuildings, such as 

 we still see in oriental cities, which must have served as booths or 



