The civilization of Babylonia and Assyria

Its remains, language, history, religion, commerce, law, art, and literature

by Morris Jastrow | 1915 | 168,585 words

This work attempts to present a study of the unprecedented civilizations that flourished in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley many thousands of years ago. Spreading northward into present-day Turkey and Iran, the land known by the Greeks as Mesopotamia flourished until just before the Christian era....

In a text of this character we read: [1]

"Thou shalt not slander speak what is pure!
Thou shalt not speak evil speak kindly !
He who slanders and speaks evil,
Shamash [2] will visit it on thy head.
Do not speak boastfully guard thy lip;
If in anger do not speak out.
Speaking in anger, thou shalt regret it later;
And in silence nurse thy sadness.
Approach thy god daily,
(Offering) sacrifice and prayer with pure incense,
Before thy god have a pure heart!
Prayer, request and prostration,
Render him each morning,
So that with the help of (thy) god thou wilt flourish.
Learn wisdom from the tablet. [3]
Fear (of god) begets favor,
Offering increases life,
Prayer brings forgiveness of sin.
He who fears the gods will not cry (in vain [?]).
He who fears the Anunnaki [4] will lengthen his days.
Speak not evil of thy friend and companion,
Do not speak meanly speak what is kindly!
If thou promisest (give what thou hast promised [?])
. . . . .
Do not oppress them [5] tyranically;
His god will be angry with one for this;

It is not pleasing to Shamash he will requite with evil.
Give food to eat, wine to drink,
Seek what is right, avoid (what is wrong [?])
This is pleasing to one's god,
Pleasing to Shamash he will requite it.
Be helpful and kind (to the servant [?])
The maid in the house (do thou protect [?])."

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Cuneiform Texts, XIII, PL 29-30, and Macmillan, Some Cuneiform Tablets Bearing on the Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, No. II (Beitrage ziir Assyriologie, Vol. V, pp. 531-712).

[2]:

The god of Justice. Above, p. 204, seq.

[3]:

As we would say "learn from books".

[4]:

Here used as a synonym for the gods in general, though more commonly designating a group of minor deities. See p. 451, note 76.

[5]:

Perhaps the members of the household are meant. The preceding lines being defective, the context naturally is not altogether clear.

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