Part IV

Gilgamesh in the course of his wanderings to seek healing from a fatal disease with which he has been smitten by the goddess Ishtar ^[1] comes to a maiden, Sabitu, ^[2] pictured as dwelling by the sea. In the tenth tablet of the Epic he is described as arriving at the sea with

"his strength exhausted and his countenance fallen."

Sabitu asks him as to the cause of his dejection, and in reply Gilgamesh speaks of his exploits with Enkidu, how they together overcame the tyrant Khumbaba, and how they offended Ishtar by killing the divine bull, ^[3] and how in revenge Enkidu had been snatched away, while Gilgamesh himself is obliged to go in search of life, which he feels to be ebbing away. According to one version, Gilgamesh addresses Sabitu as follows: ^[4]

"Enkidu ^[5] whom I deeply loved,
Who with me undertook all kinds of different (tasks),
Has gone to the fate of mankind,
Day and night I weep for him,
I did not (want to) destine him for the grave.
A god saw (him) and came at my cry. ^[6]
Seven days and seven nights,
Like a worm he lay on his face,
After which he was no more,
(And) I like a vagabond wander about in the wilderness.
Now that I see thy face, Sabitu,
The death that I feared I do not see." ^[7]

Gilgamesh's hope is revived for the moment, now that he has at last reached the dwelling-place of Sabitu, from whom he expects aid and consolation. He is doomed to disappointment.

"Sabitu speaks to him, to Gilgamesh.

'O Gilgamesh, why dost thou run in all directions!
The life that thou seekest thou wilt not find.
When the gods created mankind,
They determined death for mankind;
Life they kept in their hands.
Thou, O Gilgamesh, fill thy belly,
Day and night be thou merry.
Daily arrange a merry-making,
Day and night be joyous and content!
Let thy garments be pure, ^[8]
Thy head be washed, wash thyself with water!
Regard the little one ^[9] who takes hold of thy hand,
Enjoy the wife (lying) in thy bosom.'"

The advice is not unlike some of the utterances in the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, the resemblance extending even to a similarity of phrases, as, for example, ^[10]

"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. Let thy garments be always white, let thy head not lack ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest"

It was a natural philosophy of life for a people who looked forward not to extinction of life as the Nirvana of Buddha, but to a continuation of consciousness after death under most depressing conditions imprisoned in a dark and gloomy cave, there to lie forever deprived of all activity and of all joys.

Despite this materialistic view or perhaps in consequence of it the Babylonians and Assyrians did not fail to emphasize also the higher aspects of life, duties towards one's fellows, a proper consideration for the weak and helpless; and from this level they rose still higher to an appreciation of such virtues as purity of heart, self-restraint in anger, and the obligations of piety. ^[11]

It may be proper to add, by way of illustration, a specimen from a collection of moral maxims of which we have a number in the library of Ashurbanapal.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See above, p. 444, seq. It is Gilgamesh, the personification of the sun-god, who thus appears in the role of Tammuz stricken by Ishtar, the goddess of vegetation ; he is the waning sun, approaching the period when nature lies down to winter's sleep.

[2]:

Sabitu appears to be an appellative, perhaps "the maid of Sabu"; another name is Siduri, which likewise has the force of "maid." The locality described in Sabitu is regarded by some scholars as southern Arabia.

[3]:

This address and Sabitu 's answer are found in a fragment, of Mithraism. See Cumont, Mysteries of Mithra (Chicago, 1910).

[4]:

This address and Sabitu 's answer is found in a fragment, dating from the Hammurapi period (c. 2100 B. C.) published by Meissner, Ein Altbabylorvisches Fragment des Gilgameschepos (Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gessellschaft VII, No. 1, Leipzig, 1902). In this version both the name of Gilgamesh and of his companion are written in different fashion from the forms in which they appear in the main version.

[5]:

Enkidu is stricken, and despite Gilgamesh's hope that his friend may not be taken away and his appeal to a god, the friend languishes for a week and then dies.

[6]:

i.e., "at my appeal," but though the god comes, he affords no help.

[7]:

According to the main version of the Epic in the form as found in the fragments of Ashurbanapal 's library, Gilgamesh asks Sabitu to help him sail across the sea in order to reach Utnapishtim.

[8]:

 Clean garments are a sign of joy, as soiled garments (above, p. 457) are a symbol of mourning.

[9]:

i.e., your child.

[10]:

Ecc. 9, 7-9.

[11]:

See further Jastrow, Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria (New York, 1911), p. 375 seq; and on the relation between Hebrew and Babylonian Ethics, the author's Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions (New York, 1914), Chapter V.