An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature/Babylonian Inscription
Babylonian Inscription
I had for mother a princess; my father
I wist not of. My father’s brother dwelt
In distant mountain-lands. At Az, my city,
The which is set upon Euphrates’ banks,
My mother, the princess, bare me in secret.
She laid me down within an osier basket,
Firmly with asphalt closed the orifice,
And to the stream committed me. The stream
Carried me unto Akki, the water-bearer.
Akki, the water-bearer, kindly-hearted,
Lifted me out. Akki, the water-bearer,
Fostered me as his son and nurtured me.
And Akki, the water-bearer, trained me as
His gardener. To me, the gardener,
The goddess Istar lavish was of grace:
I became king. For five and forty years
I ruled in glory. Of the dark-haired people
I was the lord. And upon bronzen chariots
Thrice did I fare unto the distant mountains.
E’en to their summits thrice did I ascend.
And thrice I ranged to Nitukk, which is set
Hard by the very ocean-waves. I made
Earth pay me tribute far and wide; its kings
I humbled, and destroyed the rebel cities.
Over the dark-haired people, and who thrice
On bronzen chariots fares to distant mountains,
And to their summits if he thrice ascend
And thrice doth range to Nitukk, which is set
Hard by the very ocean-waves, and make
Earth pay him tribute far and wide, its kings
Then humbles, and destroyeth rebel cities,—
Then let him tarry here and con this tablet,
Mindful that I achieved it all before him,
I Sharruk-inu, the strong king of Agan.
Mindful that he is now what I have been,
And that he soon shall be what I am now.—
’Mid piles of other stones and it is mute.
And in the desert sand the ruins lie,
Which desert stretches onward far and wide
And it is mute. Mute the hot sky above it,
And ages journey there with silent tread. . . .
In the Gleam of Hellenic Sun (1906)
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
| Original: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930. The longest-living author of this work died in 1942, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 82 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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| Translation: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930. The longest-living author of this work died in 1970, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 54 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
