babylonian fables.

fables.—common in the east.—description.—power of speech in animals.—story of the eagle.—serpent.—samas.—the eagle caught.—eats the serpent.—anger of birds.—etana.—seven gods.—third tablet.—speech of eagle.—story of the fox.—his cunning.—judgment of samas.—his show of sorrow.—his punishment.—speech of fox.—fable of the horse and ox.—they consort together.—speech of the ox.—his good fortune.—contrast with the horse.—hunting the ox.—speech of the horse.—offers to recount story.—story of istar.—further tablets.

ombined with these stories of the gods, traditions of the early history of man, and accounts of the creation, are fragments of a series in which various animals speak and act. as these resemble the beast-fables of other races, more especially the african, they may be conveniently classed under the general heading of “fables.” the idea that animals can speak, or have spoken in some former age of the world, even occurs in genesis, where we have a speaking serpent; in numbers, where balaam’s ass reproves his master; and in the stories of jotham and joash, where the trees are made to talk; as also in the izdubar legends, where the trees answer hea-bani.

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four fables have been preserved among the fragmentary records of assur-bani-pal’s library.

the first contained at least four tablets each having four columns of writing. two of the acting animals in it are the eagle and the serpent.

the second is similar in character, the leading animal being the fox or jackal, but there are only four fragments of it; it may belong to the same series as the fable of the eagle.

the third is a single tablet with two columns of writing, and contains a discussion between the horse and ox.

the fourth is a single fragment in which a calf speaks, but there is nothing to show the nature of the story.

i. the story of the eagle.

this story appears to be the longest and most curious of the fables, but the very mutilated condition of the various fragments gives as usual considerable difficulty in attempting a translation of it. one of the actors in the story is an ancient monarch named etana, who, like ner, ruled over babylon in the mythical period that followed the deluge, and whose phantom was believed to sit, crowned, on a throne in hades along with the shades of the other heroes of old time. the story of etana was supposed to have been written by an early poet named nis-sin.

it is impossible to determine the proper order of142 the fragments of the story owing to their mutilated condition; they must therefore be translated as they come.

k 2527.

many lines lost at the commencement.

1. the serpent in ...

2. i gave a command (?) .....

3. to the eagle .....

4. again the nest .....

5. my nest i have left in .....

6. the assembly? of my people .....

7. i went down and entered:

8. the sentence which samas has pronounced on me .....

9. the ear of corn (?) which samas thy field the earth ....

10. this thy fruit ....

11. in thy field let me not ....

12. the doing of evil the goddess bahu (gula) ....

13. the sorrow of the serpent [samas saw and]

14. samas opened his mouth and a word he spoke:

15. go, along the way pass ....

16. he covered thee ....

17. open also his heart ....

18. .... he placed (?) ....

19. .... birds of heaven ....

reverse.

1. the eagle with them ....

2. the god? had known ....

3. he descended, the flesh he ....

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4. to cover the ....

5. to the midst at his entering ....

6. the cutting off of the feathers of his wings ....

7. his claws? and his pinions to ....

8. death by hunger and thirst ....

9. for the work of samas the warrior, the serpent ....

10. he took also the serpent ....

11. he opened also his heart ....

12. seat he placed ....

13. peace the birds of heaven ....

14. may the eagle ....

15. with the young of the birds ....

16. the eagle opened his mouth ....

five other mutilated lines.

on another fragment are the following few words:—

obverse.

1. .... fierce to him also ....

2. .... the god (?) my father ....

3. like etana thy death ....

4. like thee ....

5. the god etana the king ....

6. they stripped him in ....

reverse.

1. within the gate of anu, bel (and hea)

2. they are established ....

3. within the gate of sin, samas, rimmon, and ....

4. .... i opened ....

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5. its ... i devastated ....

6. .... in the midst ....

7. the king ....

8. the god also ....

9. i overshadowed the throne ....

10. i took (?) also ....

11. to the great one also i have explained (?) ....

12. the eagle to him also even to etana ....

13. his .... the mouth ....

14. may thy city submit ....

the next fragment, k 2606, is curious, as containing an account of some early legendary story in babylonian history. this tablet formed the third in the series, and from it we gain part of the title of the tablets.

k 2606.

1. ....... the god had placed ....

2. of the city he had fixed its brickwork ....

3. he had shepherded them ....

4. etana gave them ....

5. .... corn ....

6. the seven spirits of earth ....

7. .... they took their counsel ....

8. .... the world ....

9. .... all of them the angels ....

10. .... they ....

11. in those days also ....

12. and a sceptre of crystal ....

13. the bowing down of the world ....

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14. the seven gods over the people raised ....

15. over the men they raised ....

16. the city of the angels surippak

17. istar the streets ....

18. and the king flew ....

19. the god inninna the streets ....

20. and the king flew ....

21. bel encircled (?) the sanctuary of the god ....

22. he worshipped also ....

23. in the wide country ....

24. the kingdom ....

25. he brought and ....

26. the gods of the country ....

reverse.

many lines lost.

1. from of old he caused him to wait ....

—–———–———–———–

2. third tablet of “the city he left (?) ....”

—–———–———–———–

3. the eagle his mouth opened and to samas his lord he spake.

the next fragment is a small portion probably of the fourth tablet.

1. the eagle his mouth (opened) ....

2. ..........

3. the people of the birds ....

4. ..........

5. peace he speaks ....

6. peace i speak ....

7. in the mouth of samas the warrior ....

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8. the people of the birds ....

9. the eagle his mouth opened and ....

10. why do i go ....

11. the god etana his mouth opened and ....

such are the principal fragments of this curious legend. according to the fragment k 2527, the serpent had committed some sin for which it was condemned by the god samas to be eaten by the eagle; but the eagle declined the repast.

after this, some one, whose name is lost, baits a trap for the eagle, and the bird going to get the meat, falls into the trap and is caught. now the eagle is left, until dying for want of food it is glad to eat the serpent, which it takes and tears open. the other birds then interfere, but the tablet is too mutilated to allow us to discover for what purpose.

the other fragments concern the building of some city, etana being king, and in these relations the eagle again appears; there are seven spirits or angels principal actors in the matter, but the whole story is obscure at present, and a connected plot cannot be made out.

this fable has evidently some direct connection with the mythical history of babylonia, for etana is mentioned as an ancient babylonian monarch in the izdubar legends. he seems to be the titan of the greek writers, who lived after the deluge and made war against kronos or hea shortly after the confusion of tongues. the city built by etana may be the city147 mentioned in gen. xi. 4 as built at the same time as the tower of babel. if the sibyl can be trusted titan was a contemporary of prometheus, in whom we may perhaps see the inninna of the cuneiform inscription. that etana was closely associated with the story of the deluge appears plain from the fact that he ruled at surippak, the home and kingdom of the chaldean noah. the legend of etana seems in the fable to be put into the mouth of the eagle.

ii. story of the fox.

the next fable, that of the fox, was ascribed to an author called lal-merodach, the son of eri-turnunna, but the fragments are so disconnected that they must be given without any attempt at arrangement.

k 3641.

column i.

1. he had raised life ....

2. thou in that day also didst establish ....

3. thou knowest plots (and) the making of snares ....

4. of .... chains, his command he ....

5. from the time the fox approaches he urged me; let not ....

6. in treading down .... he had established on my feet,

7. again by command is the fecundity of life.

8. samas by thy judgment is ruler; never may he go forth;

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9. if need be, with the making of snares let them put to death the fox.

—–———–———–———–

10. the fox on hearing this, raised his head in the presence of samas and weeps.

11. to the presence of the splendour of samas his tears went:

12. by this judgment o samas thou dost not make me fecund.

(columns ii. and iii. lost.)

column iv.

1. i went to my forest, i turned not back after him

2. and in peace i came not forth, and the sun sees not.

3. as for thee, never may man imprison (thee),

4. since in the pride of my heart and the strength of my face thou goest straight before (me).

5. may i confine thee and not send (thee) away.

6. may i take hold of thee and thou lacerate not ....

7. may i seize thee and not tear (thee) to pieces.

8. may i tear thy limbs to pieces and (not) ....

9. the fox weeps ....

10. he bowed his face ....

11. i went and ....

five other mutilated lines.

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the next fragment has lost the commencements and ends of all the lines.

1. .... he carries (?) in the mouth ....

2. .... the face of his ....

3. .... thou knowest wisdom all ....

4. .... in the pathway the fox they are ....

5. .... in the field the fox a combatant ....

6. .... was decided under the ruler ....

7. .... all (?), the lying down of his feet at dawn ....

8. .... a sign he set up and he fled ....

9. .... no one ....

10. .... may it become old to thee .... and take ....

11. .... in those days also the fox carried ....

12. .... to the people he spoke. why ....

13. .... the dog is removed and ....

the following fragment is in a similar condition.

1. .... the limbs i did not ....

2. .... i did not weave and against the unclothed (?) i did not ....

3. .... a stranger i cover ....

4. .... i caught and i surrounded (?) ....

5. .... from of old also the dog was my brother ....

6. .... he begot me, a firm place ....

7. .... of the city of nisin; i of bel ....

8. .... limbs and the bodies did not stand ...

9. .... life i did not end (?) ....

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the fourth fragment contains only five legible lines.

1. .... was placed also right (and left) ....

2. .... their shepherd was prostrate ....

3. .... let it not be ....

4. .... they guarded and did not throw down his spoil ...

—–———–———–———–

5. ...... the fox in the trap (?) ....

the last fragment is a small scrap, at the end of which the fox petitions samas to spare him.

the incidental allusions in these fragments show that the fox was even then considered cunning, and the animal in the story was evidently a watery specimen, as he brings tears to his assistance whenever anything is to be gained by it. he had offended samas by some means and the god sentenced him to death, a sentence which he escaped through powerful pleading on his own behalf.

iii. fable of the horse and ox.

the next fable, that of the horse and the ox, is a single tablet with only two columns of text. the date of the tablet is in the reign of assur-bani-pal, and there is no statement that it is copied from an earlier text. there are altogether four portions of the text, but only one is perfect enough to be worth translating. this largest fragment, k 3456, contains about one-third of the story.

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k 3456.

(several lines are lost at the commencement.)

1. ..... the river ....

2. of food (?) .... rest ....

3. full flood .... the tigris ....

4. they restrained .... they had the face ...

5. the water-lily .... not in the neighbourhood

6. the high place .... appearance

7. the valley .... the mountain (was perishing),

8. at the appearance .... the timid fled (not),

9. a boundless place .... he turned

10. in the side ....

11. of the waste .... earth was free within it;

12. the tribes of cattle rejoiced in companionship and friendship,

13. the ox and the horse made friendship,

14. their maw rejoiced when to friendship

15. it inclined, and their heart was glad; they made agreement together.

—–———–———–———–

16. the ox opened his mouth, and speaks; he says to the horse glorious in war:

17. i am pondering now upon the good fortune at my hand.

18. at the beginning of the year and the end of the year i dream (or ponder) of fodder.

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19. the abundant floods had been dried up, the waters of the canals were reduced,

20. the water-lily had drooped, it was suffering the summer-heat,

21. the valleys were stony, my mountain was perishing,

22. the high places had perished, the zambatu languished,

23. at the sight of my horn the timid fled not.

24. a boundless place is portioned for his ....

25. the man .... who knew ceased ....

26. he smote the ropes (?) and waited ....

27. and the horse ....

28. cut off thyself thy ....

29. he ascends also ....

—–———–———–———–

here the ox describes the state of the country during the drought of summer, and makes a league with the horse, apparently for the purpose of sharing with him the same pastures. most of the speeches, however, made by the two animals are lost or only present in small fragments, and the story recommences on the reverse with the end of a speech from the horse.

1. fate ....

2. strong brass? ....

3. as with a cloak i am clothed ....

4. over me a child not suited ....

5. king, high priest, lord and prince do not seek the plain ....

—–———–———–———– 153

6. the ox opened his mouth and spake and says to the horse glorious (in war):

7. thee they strike and thou alliest ....

8. in thy fighting why ....

9. the lord of the chariot ....

10. in my body firmness ....

11. in my inside firmness ....

12. the warrior draws out the quiver ....

13. strength carries a curse ....

14. the weapon (?) of thy masters over ....

15. he causes to see servitude like ....

16. shudder and in thee is not ....

17. he causes to go on the path over (the marsh) ..

—–———–———–———–

18. the horse opened his mouth and spake (and said to the ox) ....

19. in my hearing ....

20. the weapon (?) ....

21. the swords ....

22. ......

23. strength? of the heart which ....

24. in crossing that river ....

25. in the path of thy mountains ....

26. i reveal? and the ox the story ....

27. in thy appearance, it is not ....

28. thy offspring is subdued? ....

29. when thou runnest, o horse ....

—–———–———–———–

30. the ox opened his mouth and spake and says to (the horse glorious in war) .... 154

31. in addition to the stories which thou hast told

32. open first (that of) “behold istar the noble ....” (colophon)

palace of assur-bani-pal, king of nations, king (of assyria).

it appears from these fragments that the story described a time when the animals associated together, and the ox and horse fell into a friendly conversation. the ox, commencing the discussion, praised himself; the answer of the horse is lost, but where the story recommences it appears that the ox objects to the horse drawing the chariot from which he himself is hunted, and the horse ultimately offers to tell the ox a story, the ox choosing the story called “behold istar,” probably some story of the same character as that of istar’s descent into hades.

it is uncertain if any other tablet followed this; it is, however, probable that there was one containing the story told by the horse. although there is no indication to show the date of this fable, the fact that it is not stated to have been copied from an older document seems to show that it is not earlier than the time of assur-bani-pal. the loss of the tablet containing the story of istar, told by the horse to the ox, is unfortunate. the last fable is a mere fragment similar to the others, containing a story in which the calf speaks. there is not enough of it to make it worth translation.