. Babel and Bible;. Fig. 50. Winged Cherub, with Body of Bull and Human Head (After Layard.) bim and seraphim and of the guardian angels that watchover the ways of men had its- origin in Bab3don. TheBabylonian rulers stood in need of hosts of messengersto bear their behests into all quarters of their dominions;and so also their gods were obliged to have at their beck 54 BABEL AND BIBLE. and call legions of messengers or angels,—messengerswith the intelligence of men, and therefore having theform of men, bnt at the same time equipped with wings,in order to be able to carry through the winds of
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. Babel and Bible;. Fig. 50. Winged Cherub, with Body of Bull and Human Head (After Layard.) bim and seraphim and of the guardian angels that watchover the ways of men had its- origin in Bab3don. TheBabylonian rulers stood in need of hosts of messengersto bear their behests into all quarters of their dominions;and so also their gods were obliged to have at their beck 54 BABEL AND BIBLE. and call legions of messengers or angels, —messengerswith the intelligence of men, and therefore having theform of men, bnt at the same time equipped with wings, in order to be able to carry through the winds of heaventhe commands of the gods to the inhabitants of earth; inaddition, these angels were invested with the keenness ofvision and the rapidity of flight of the eagle ; and to those. Fig. 50a. Winged Cherub, with Body of Lion and Human Head (After Layard.) whose chief office it was to guard the entrance to theirdivine masters was imparted the unconquerable strengthof the bull, or the awe-inspiring majesty of the lion.(Figs. 48, 49, 50, and 50a.) The Babylonian and Assyrian angels, like those inEzekiels vision, are very often of hybrid shape. Take, for example, the cherubim of which a type is given in BABEL AND BIBLE. 55 Fig. 50, with their wings, their bulls bodies, and theirhonest, serious human countenances. Then again wefind types like that discovered in the palace of Ashurna-zirpal (Fig. 51), which bears the closest possible resem-blance to our conception of angels. These noble andradiant figures, which art has rendered so attractive andfamiliar in our eyes, will always retain a kindly place inour hearts.