Babylonian and Assyrian Literature
SPECIAL INTRODUCTION The great nation which dwelt in the seventh century before our era on the banks of Tigris and Euphrates flourished in literature as well as in the plastic arts, and had an alphabet of its own. The Assyrians sometimes wrote with a sharp reed, for a pen, upon skins, wooden tablets, or papyrus brought from Egypt. In this case they used cursive letters of a Phoenician character. But when they wished to preserve their written documents, they employed clay tablets, and a stylus whose bevelled point made an impression like a narrow elongated wedge, or arrow-head. By a combination of these wedges, letters and words were formed by the skilled and practised scribe, who would thus rapidly turn off a vast amount of "copy." All works of history, poetry, and law were thus written in the cuneiform or old Chaldean characters, and on a substance which could withstand the ravages of time, fire, or water. Hence we have authentic monuments of Assyrian literature in their original form, unglossed, unaltered, and ungarbled, and in this respect Chaldean records are actually superior to those of the Greeks, the Hebrews, or the Romans. The literature of the Chaldeans is very varied in its forms. The hymns to
fourteen holes played, and I will admit that it was far from a straight
line. I will wager that I can place my hand on every place where her
club tore up the turf, and can locate the exact spots where she drove
out of bounds.
The day was beautiful, the weather perfect. A few fleecy clouds drifted
across a deep sky. The rich green of the slopes blended into the darker
shades of the encompassing forests. As a rule, the only thing I can
recall after a golf game, so far as weather is concerned, is whether it
rained or if a high wind were blowing. It was different to-day.
I noted that the breeze was just strong enough to ruffle the lace at her
throat, and that the blue of her gown matched perfectly with cloud, sky,
and the dominating tones of the undulating carpet on which she tread.
I might play with Marshall or Chilvers a thousand times and not know or
care if the links were garbed in green or yellow, or if the clouds were
pink or Van Dyke brown, but as I said before, the only sentiment aroused
by association with these vindictive golf fiends is a wild and
unreasoning desire to beat the life out of them at their own game. I
dislike to say it, but they have never inspired in me one sentiment of
which I am proud.
At my suggestion we decided to start at the third tee. The first one
requires a long drive to carry the lane, and on the second it is
necessary to negotiate the old graveyard, and I disliked to put Miss
SPECIAL INTRODUCTION The great nation which dwelt in the seventh century before our era on the banks of Tigris and Euphrates flourished in literature as well as in the plastic arts, and had an alphabet of its own. The Assyrians sometimes wrote with a sharp reed, for a pen, upon skins, wooden tablets, or papyrus brought from Egypt. In this case they used cursive letters of a Phoenician character. But when they wished to preserve their written documents, they employed clay tablets, and a stylus whose bevelled point made an impression like a narrow elongated wedge, or arrow-head. By a combination of these wedges, letters and words were formed by the skilled and practised scribe, who would thus rapidly turn off a vast amount of "copy." All works of history, poetry, and law were thus written in the cuneiform or old Chaldean characters, and on a substance which could withstand the ravages of time, fire, or water. Hence we have authentic monuments of Assyrian literature in their original form, unglossed, unaltered, and ungarbled, and in this respect Chaldean records are actually superior to those of the Greeks, the Hebrews, or the Romans. The literature of the Chaldeans is very varied in its forms. The hymns to