seize upon his head; against his life may he not break forth. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth remember. TABLET X On the sick man by the sacrifice of mercy may perfect health shine like bronze; may the Sun-god give this man life; may Marduk, the eldest son of the deep, give him strength, prosperity, and health. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth remember. A HYMN TO THE STORM-GOD, ISHKAR1 "Ishkar the glorious," is thy name, exalted god; "Lord of Ishkar, mighty bull and glorious," is thy name, exalted god; "Ishkar, child of heaven, mighty bull and glorious," is thy name, exalted god; "Lord of Karkar,2 mighty bull and glorious," is thy name, exalted god; 5 "Ishkar, lord of plenty, mighty bull and glorious," is thy name, exalted god; "Companion of the lord Ea, mighty bull and glorious," is thy name, exalted god; "Father Ishkar, lord that rideth the storm," is thy name, exalted god; Father Ishkar, that rideth the great storm," is thy name, exalted god; "Father Ishkar, that rideth the great lion," is thy name, exalted god; 10 “Ishkar, lion of heaven, mighty bull and glorious," is thy name, exalted god; Thy name doth enthrall the land, Thy splendor covers the land like a garment. 1 The original of this hymn is in Sumerian, though possibly of late date. It is reprinted from "Sumerian and Babylonian Psalms," by S. Langdon. ? Karkar was the city of Ishkaṛ. At thy thunder the great mountain father Mullil is shaken. At thy rumbling the great mother Ninlil trembles. 15 Enlil sent forth his son Ishkar: Who, oh my son, directeth the storm, sendeth forth the storm? Ishkar directeth the storm, sendeth forth the storm. The storm like the seven demons flieth; he sendeth forth the storm. Spirit, may thy sonorous voice give forth its utterance; he sendeth forth the storm. 20 The lightning, thy messenger, goeth before thee; he sendeth forth the storm. Who, my son, beareth splendor, who that cometh can strive with thee? If the foe do evil thy father is by thee; who can strive The little hail thou holdest, who can strive with thee? 25 Thy little and great hail-stones let be upon him. Let thy right hand destroy the foe, thy left arm pluck him away. Ishkar gave ear to the words of the father, his creator. The father Ishkar went out of the house, spirit of sonorous voice, Out of the house, out of the city went he up, the youthful lion, 30 Out of the city took his way, the spirit of thunderous voice. (3200-2100 B.C.) SARGON, THE FIRST WORLD-CONQUEROR "The fruit of death And yet the fruit of life May he achieve." OLD AKKADIAN SONG. THE EARLY TEXTS OF AKKAD (INTRODUCTION) EXCEPT for the religious songs, or temple hymns, which Akka the later Assyrian and Babylonian priests preserved in their ancient archaic form, our texts of the older Akkadian, of the days preceding Hammurapi, are not numerous. dian, as already explained, is a name given to the first-known Semitic peoples who invaded the Euphrates valley. They were apparently a much less cultured people than the Sumerians and possessed no form of writing. Hence the invaders wrote their first inscriptions in the Sumerian tongue. Indeed, the oldest Akkadian text yet found is the fragment of a quaint temple record, which opens with Sumerian words, but occasionally drifts into the Akkadian with which the scribe was doubtless more familiar. It is given here that the reader may note how the Sumerian temple-offerings of grain are changed to offerings of domestic animals, and how from bronze money men passed to the use of gold. The early Akkadians were nomads, rather than agriculturists; they reckoned their wealth in flocks and herds. As the later generations became more settled they built up an elaborate agricultural system. This is partly preserved in our second text, which is only a late Assyrian transcript, but must, from its obscurity, have been originally of early date. It supplies us with our earliest details of farming processes and of manmade laws. From the same source, an old Akkadian text, preserved with a late Assyrian translation, comes our next text, a very ancient philosophy, a long-forgotten king's vague musings on the worth of kingship and of life. Following this we give the genuine old Akkadian inscriptions, read from the statues and tablets of the ancient kings, the materials from which we have built up our knowledge of |