The Two Babylons root "*aus-", meaning "dawn," potentially by way of . "Ishtar" is a Semitic name of uncertain etymology, possibly taken from the same root as Assyria, or from a semitic word meaning "to irrigate." Hislop ultimately claimed to trace Catholic doctrines back to the worship of Nimrod, asserting that the Roman Catholic Church represented Whore of Babylon of the Book of Revelation and that "the Pope himself is truly and properly the lineal representative of Belshazzar". He claimed that the Christogram IHS, the first three Greek letters in the name of Jesus, represented Latin characters standing for Isis, Horus and Seb.
Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way imperial iconography and is regarded as a symbol of American exceptionalism and the realization of Manifest Destiny, ultimately leading to the evolution of the American Empire. The painting takes its inspiration from the closing lines of George Berkeley's "Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America: <poem> Westward the course of empire takes its way; The first four Acts already past, A fifth shall close the Drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last. </poem> The imagery of the pilgrim gesturing on a high rock is very similar to the 5 cent postage stamp, "Fremont