When Allat saw the flaming herald come,And his bright light dispelling all her gloom,She beat her breast; and at him furious foamsIn rage, and stamping shakes all Hades' domes,Thus cursed the herald, At-su-su-namir:"Away! thou herald! or I'll chain thee hereIn my dark vaults, and throw thee for thy foodThe city's garbage, which has stagnant stood,With impure waters for thy daily drink,And lodge thee in my prison till you sinkFrom life impaled in yonder dismal roomOf torture; to thy fate so thou hast come?Thine offspring with starvation I will strike!"
At last obedient doth Allat speak:"Go, Namtar! and the iron palace strike!O'er Asherim[1] adorned let the dawn break!And seat the spirits on their thrones of gold!Let Ishtar Life's bright waters then behold,And drink her fill, and bring her then to me;From her imprisonment, I send her free."And Namtar then goes through the palace walls,And flings the light through all the darkened halls,And places all the spirits on their thrones,Leads Ishtar to the waters near the cones.She drinks the sparkling water now with joy,Which all her form doth cleanse and purify.And he at the first gate her robe returns,And leads her through the second; where he turns,And gives her bracelets back;—thus at each doorReturns to her her girdle, gems; then o'erHer queenly brow he placed her shining crown.With all her ornaments that were her own,She stands with pride before the seventh gate,And Namtar bows to her in solemn state:
"Thou hast no ransom to our queen here paidFor thy deliverance, yet thou hast saidThy Tammuz thou didst seek within our walls,Turn back! and thou wilt find him in these halls.To bring him back to life the waters pourUpon him; they thy Tammuz will restore;With robes thou mayst adorn him and a crownOf jewels, and thy maid with thee aloneShall give thee comfort and appease thy grief.Kharimtu, Samkha come to thy relief!"
Now Ishtar lifts her eyes within a roomPrepared for her, and sees her maidens come,Before a weird procession wrapped in palls,That soundless glide within and fills the halls.Before her now they place a sable bierBeside the fount; and Ishtar, drawing near,Raised the white pall from Tammuz's perfect form.The clay unconscious, had that mystic charmOf Beauty sleeping sweetly on his face,—Of agony or sorrow left no trace:But, oh! that awful wound of death was thereWith its deep mark;—the wound, and not the scar.
When Ishtar's eyes beheld it, all her griefBroke forth afresh, refusing all relief;She smote her breast in woe, and moaning cried,Nor the bright waters to his wound applied:"O Tammuz! Tammuz! turn thine eyes on me!Thy queen thou didst adorn, before thee see!Behold the emeralds and diamond crownThou gavest me when I became thine own!Alas! he answers not: and must I mournForever o'er my love within this bourne?But, oh! the waters from this glowing stream!Perhaps those eyes on me with love will beam,And I shall hear again his song of love.Oh, quickly let these waters to me proveTheir claim to banish death with magic power!"
Then with her maids, she o'er his form doth pourThe sparkling drops of life—"He moves! he lives!What happiness is this my heart receives?O come, my Tammuz! to my loving arms!"
And on breast his breathing form she warms;With wondering eyes he stares upon his queen,And nestling closed his eyes in bliss again.
[Footnote 1: "Asherim," literally "stone stakes" or "cones," the symbols of the goddess Asherah or Ishtar (Sayce), but Calmet says that the god Ashima is a deity of very uncertain origin, and that the name "Ashima" may be very well compared with the Persian "asuman" ("heaven"); in "Zend," "acmano," so Gesenius in his Man. Lex., 1832. This also, according to the magi, is the name of the angel of death, who separates the souls of men from their bodies, Cal. Dic., p. 106. Cones are to be seen in the British Museum which are probably of the character which represented Elah-Gabalah, the sun-god, adored in Rome during the reign of Heliogabalus. The symbol and worship came from Hamath in Syria.]
The nectared cup the queen placed to his lips,And o'er his heaving breast the nectar drips,And now his arms are folded round his queen,And her fond kisses he returns again;And see! they bring to him his harp of gold,And from its strings, sweet music as of oldHis skilful hands wake through the sounding domes;Oh, how his Song of Love wakes those dark rooms!
"My Queen of Love comes to my arms!Her faithful eyes have sought for me,My Love comes to me with her charms;Let all the world now happy be!My queen has come again!
Forever, dearest, let me restUpon the bosom of my queen!Thy lips of love are honeyed best;Come! let us fly to bowering green!To our sweet bower again.
O Love on Earth! O Love in Heaven!That dearest gift which gods have given,Through all my soul let it be driven,And make my heart its dearest haven,For Love returns the kiss!
Oh! let me pillow there withinThy breast, and, oh, so sweetly rest,My life anew shall there begin;On thy sweet charms, oh, let me feast!Life knows no sweeter bliss.
Oh, let me feast upon thy lips,As honey-bird the nectar sips,And drink new rapture through my lips,As honey-bee its head thus dripsIn nectarine abyss!
O Love, sweet queen! my heart is thine!My Life I clasp within mine arms!My fondest charmer, queen divine!My soul surrenders to thy charms,In bliss would fly away.
No dearer joy than this I want;If love is banished from that lifeThere bodyless, my soul would pant,And pine away in hopeless grief,If love be fled away.
If Love should hide and fold her wingsIn bowers of yonder gleaming skies,Unmeaning then each bard oft singsOf bliss that lives on earth and dies,—I want such love as this.
I want thy form, thy loving breast,Mine arms of love surrounding thee,And on thy bosom sweetly rest,Or else that world were dead to me.No other life is bliss.
If it is thus, my queen, I goWith joy to yonder blissful clime;But if not so, then let me flowTo soil and streams through changing time,To me would be more bliss.
For then, in blooming flowerets, ICould earth adorn, my soul delight,And never thus on earth could die;For though I should be hid from sight,Would spring again with joy!
And sing as some sweet warbling bird,Or in the breezes wave as grain,As yellow sun-birds there have whirredOn earth, could I thus live again,That beauteous world enjoy!
'Mid safflower-fields or waving cane,Or in the honeysuckles lie,In forms of life would breathe again,Enjoy Earth's sweetest revelry,And ever spring again!
Each life to me new joys would bring,In breast of beast or bird or flower,In each new form new joys would spring,And happy, ever, Love would soar!Triumphant filled with joy!
In jujube or tamariskPerhaps would come to life again,Or in the form of fawns would frisk'Mid violets upon the plain;But I should live again!
And throb beneath the glistening dew,In bamboo tufts, or mango-trees,In lotus bloom, and spring anew,In rose-tree bud, or such as theseOn Earth return again!
And I should learn to love my mate,In beast or singing bird or flower,For kiss of love in hope could wait;Perhaps I then would come that hour,In form I have again!
And love you say, my queen, is there,Where I can breathe with life anew?But is it so? My Love, beware!For some things oft are false, some true,But I thee trust again!
We fly away! from gates away!Oh, life of bliss! Oh, breath of balm!With wings we tread the Silver Way,To trailing vines and feathery palm,To bower of love again."
But see! they pass from those dark gates and walls,And fly upon the breeze from Hades' halls,Hark! hark! the sounding harp is stilled! it fallsFrom Tammuz's hands! Oh, how its wailing callsTo you brightzi-ni[1] flying through the skies,See! one sweet spirit of the wind swift fliesAnd grasps the wailing harp before it endsIts wail of woe, and now beneath it bends,With silent pinions listening to its strings,Wild sobbing on the winds;—with wailing ringsThe conscious harp, and trembles in her hands.A rush of pinions comes from myriad lands,With moanings sends afar the awful tale,And mourners brings with every whispering gale.And see! the queen's companion fainting sinks!She lays him on that cloud with fleecy brinks!And oh! his life is ebbing fast away!She wildly falls upon his breast, and grayHer face becomes with bitter agony.She tearless kneels, wrapt in her miseryAnd now upon his breast she lays her head,With tears that gods, alas! with men must shed;She turning, sobs to her sweet waiting maids,Who weeping o'er her stand with bended heads:"Assemble, oh, my maids, in mourning here,The gods! and spirits of the earth bring near!"
They come! they come! three hundred spirits high,The heavenly spirits come! the I-gi-gi!From Heaven's streams and mouths and plains and vales,And gods by thousands on the wings of gales.The spirits of the earth, An-un-na-ci,Now join around their sisters of the sky.Hark! hear her weeping to the heavenly throng,Imploring them to chant their mournful song:
"With your gold lyres, the dirge, oh, sing with me!And moan with me, with your sweet melody;With swelling notes, as zephyrs softly wail,And cry with me as sobbing of the gale.O Earth! dear Earth! oh, wail with thy dead trees!With sounds of mountain torrents, moaning seas!And spirits of the lakes, and streams, and vales,And Zi-ku-ri of mountains' trackless trail,Join our bright legions with your queen! Oh, weepWith your sad tears, dear spirits of the deep!Let all the mournful sounds of earth be heard,The breeze hath carried stored from beast and bird;Join the sweet notes of doves for their lost loveTo the wild moans of hours,—wailing move;Let choirs of Heaven and of the earth then peal,All living beings my dread sorrow feel!Oh, come with saddest, weirdest melody,Join earth and sky in one sweet threnody!"
Ten thousand times ten thousand now in line,In all the panoplies of gods divine;A million crowns are shining in the light,A million sceptres, robes of purest white!Ten thousand harps and lutes and golden lyresAre waiting now to start the Heavenly choirs.
And lo! a chariot from Heaven comes,While halves rise from yonder sapphire domes;A chariot incrusted with bright gems,A blaze of glory shines from diadems.See! in the car the queen o'er Tammuz bends,And nearer the procession slowly wends,Her regal diadem with tears is dimmed;And her bright form by sorrow is redeemedTo sweeter, holier beauty in her woe;Her tears a halo form and brighter flow.
Caparisoned with pearls, ten milk-white steedsAre harnessed to her chariot that leads;On snow-white swans beside her ride her maids,They come! through yonder silver cloudy glades!Behind her chariot ten sovereigns ride;Behind them comes all Heaven's lofty pride,On pale white steeds, the chargers of the skies.The clouds of snowy pinions rustling rise!But hark! what is that strain of melodyThat fills our souls with grandest euphony?Hear how it swells and dies upon the breeze!To softest whisper of the leaves of trees;Then sweeter, grander, nobler, sweeping comes,Like myriad lyres that peal through Heaven's domes.But, oh! how sad and sweet the notes now come!Like music of the spheres that softly hum;It rises, falls, with measured melody,With saddest notes and mournful symphony.From all the universe sad notes repeatWith doleful strains of woe transcendent, sweet;Hush! hear the song! my throbbing heart be still!The songs of gods above the heavens fill!
"Oh, weep with your sweet tears, and mourning chant,O'er this dread loss of Heaven's queen.With her, O sisters, join your sweetest plaintO'er our dear Tammuz, Tammuz slain.Come, all ye spirits, with your drooping wings,No more to us sweet joy he brings;Ah, me, my brother![2]
Oh, weep! oh, weep! ye spirits of the air,Oh, weep! oh, weep! An-un-na-ci!Our own dear queen is filled with dread despair.Oh, pour your tears, dear earth and sky,Oh, weep with bitter tears, O dear Sedu,O'er fearful deeds of Nin-azu;Ah, me, my brother!
Let joy be stilled! and every hope be dead!And tears alone our hearts distil.My love has gone!—to darkness he has fled;Dread sorrow's cup for us, oh, fill!And weep for Tammuz we have held so dear,Sweet sisters of the earth and air;Ah, me, my sister!
Oh, come ye, dearest, dearest Zi-re-nu,With grace and mercy help us bearOur loss and hers; our weeping queen, oh, see!And drop with us a sister's tear.Before your eyes our brother slain! oh, view;Oh, weep with us o'er him so true;Ah, me, his sister!
The sky is dead; its beauty all is gone,Oh, weep, ye clouds, for my dead love!Your queen in her dread sorrow now is prone.O rocks and hills in tears, oh, move!And all my heavenly flowerets for me weep,O'er him who now in death doth sleep;Ah, me, my Tammuz!
Oh, drop o'er him your fragrant dewy tears,For your own queen who brings you joy,For Love, the Queen of Love, no longer cheers,Upon my heart it all doth cloy.Alas! I give you love, nor can receive,O all my children for me grieve;Ah, me, my Tammuz!
Alas! alas! my heart is dying—dead!With all these bitter pangs of griefDespair hath fallen on my queenly head,Oh, is there, sisters, no relief?Hath Tammuz from me ever, ever, gone?My heart is dead, and turned to stone;Ah, me, his queen!
My sister spirits, O my brothers dear,My sorrow strikes me to the earth;Oh, let me die! I now no fate can fear,My heart is left a fearful dearth.Alas, from me all joy! all joy! hath gone;Oh, Ninazu, what hast thou done?Ah, me, his queen!"
To Hades' world beyond our sight they go,And leave upon the skies Mar-gid-da's[3] glow,That shines eternally along the sky,The road where souls redeemed shall ever fly.Prince Tammuz now again to life restored,Is crowned in Hades as its King and Lord,[4]And Ishtar's sorrow thus appeased, she fliesTo earth, and fills with light and love the skies.
[Footnote 1: "Zi-ni," pronounced "Zee-nee," spirits of the wind.]
[Footnote 2: "Ah, me, my brother, and, ah, me, my sister! Ah, me, Adonis (or Tammuz), and ah, me, his lady (or queen)!" is the wailing cry uttered by the worshippers of Tammuz or Adonis when celebrating his untimely death. It is referred to in Jer. xxii. 18, and in Ezek. viii. 14, and Amos viii. 10, and Zech. xii. 10, 11. See Smith's revised edition of "Chal. Acc. of Genesis," by Sayce, pp. 247, 248.]
[Footnote 3: "Mar-gid-da," "the Long Road." We have also given the Accadian name for "The Milky Way." It was also called by them the "River of Night."]
[Footnote 4: "Lord of Hades" is one of the titles given to Tammuz in an Accadian hymn found in "C.I.W.A.," vol. iv. 27, 1, 2. See also translation in "Records of the Past," vol. xi. p. 131.]
"The dream, my seer, which I beheld last nightWithin our tent, may bring to us delight.I saw a mountain summit flash with fire,That like a royal robe or god's attireIllumined all its sides. The omen mightSome joy us bring, for it was shining bright."And thus the Sar revealed to him his dream.
Heabani said, "My friend, though it did seemPropitious, yet, deceptive was it all,And came in memory of Elam's fall.The mountain burning was Khumbaba's hallsWe fired, when all his soldiers from the wallsHad fled;—theni-takh-garri,[1]—on that morn,Of such deceptive dreams, I would thee warn!"
Some twentykasputhey have passed this day,At thirtykasputhey dismount to prayAnd raise an altar, Samas to beseechThat they their journey's end may safely reach.The tent now raised, their evening meal prepareBeneath the forest in the open air;And Izdubar brought from the tent the dreamHe dreamed the festal night when Ishtar cameTo him;—he reads it from a written scroll:"Upon my sight a vision thus did fall:I saw two men that night beside a god;One man a turban wore, and fearless trod.The god reached forth his hand and struck him downLike mountains hurled on fields of corn, thus proneHe lay; and Izdubar then saw the godWas Anatu,[2] who struck him to the sod.The troubler of all men, Samu's fierce queen,Thus struck the turbaned man upon the plain.He ceased his struggling, to his friend thus said:'My friend, thou askest not why I am laidHere naked, nor my low condition heed.Accursèd thus I lie upon the mead;The god has crushed me, burned my limbs with fire.'
"The vision from mine eyes did then expire.A third dream came to me, which I yet fear,The first beyond my sight doth disappear.A fire-god thundering o'er the earth doth ride;The door of darkness burning flew aside;Like a fierce stream of lightning, blazing fire,Beside me roared the god with fury dire,And hurled wide death on earth on every side;And quickly from my sight it thus did glide,And in its track I saw a palm-tree greenUpon a waste, naught else by me was seen."
Heabani pondering, thus explained the dream:"My friend, the god was Samas, who doth gleamWith his bright glory, power, our God and Lord,Our great Creator King, whose thunders roaredBy thee, as through yon sky he takes his way;For his great favor we should ever pray.The man thou sawest lying on the plainWas thee, O King,—to fight such power is vain.Thus Anatu will strike thee with disease,Unless thou soon her anger shalt appease;And if thou warrest with such foes divine,The fires of death shall o'er thy kingdom shine.The palm-tree green upon the desert leftDoth show that we of hope are not bereft;The gods for us their snares have surely weft,[3]One shall be taken, and the other left."
[Footnote 1: "Ni-takh-garri," "the helpers," or soldiers of Khumbaba.]
[Footnote 2: "Anatu," the consort of Anu.]
[Footnote 3: "Weft," weaved.]
[1]"O Mam-mitu, thou god of fate and death!Thou spirit of fierce hate and parting breath,Thou banisher of joy! O ghastly Law,That gathers countless forces in thy maw!A phantom! curse! and oft a blessing, joy!All Heaven and earth thy hands shall e'er employ.With blessings come, or curses to us bring,The god who fails not with her hovering wing;Nor god, nor man thy coming e'er may ken,O mystery! thy ways none can explain."
If thou must come in earthquakes, fire, and flood,Or pestilence and eftsoons cry for blood,Thou comest oft with voice of sweetest love,Our dearest, fondest passions, hopes, to move;And men have worshipped thee in every form,In fear have praised thee, sought thy feet to charm.We reck not if you blessings, curses bring,For men oft change thy noiseless, ghoulish wing.And yet, thou comest, goddess Mam-mitu,To bring with thee the feet of Nin-a-zu,Two sister ghouls, remorseless, tearless, wan,We fear ye not; yebu'i-du,[2] begone!
Sweet life renews itself in holy love,Your victory is naught! Ye vainly roveAcross our pathway with yours forms inane,For somewhere, though we die, we live again.[3]The soul departed shall in glory shine,As burnished gold its form shall glow divine,And Samas there shall grant to us new life;And Merodac, the eldest son, all strifeShall end in peace in yonder Blest Abode,Where happiness doth crown our glorious God.
[4]The sacred waters there shall ever flow,To Anat's arms shall all the righteous go;The queen of Anu, Heaven's king, our handsOutstretched will clasp, and through the glorious landsWill lead us to the place of sweet delights;The land that glows on yonder blessed heightsWhere milk and honey from bright fountains flow.And nectar to our lips, all sorrows, woe,Shall end in happiness beside the StreamOf Life, and Joy for us shall ever gleam;Our hearts with thankfulness shall sweetly singAnd grander blissfulness each day will bring.
And if we do not reach that spirit realm,Where bodyless each soul may ages whelmWith joy unutterable; still we live,With bodies knew upon dear Earth, and giveOur newer life to children with our blood.Or if these blessings we should miss; in wood,Or glen, or garden, field, or emerald seas,Our forms shall spring again; in such as theseWe see around us throbbing with sweet life,In trees or flowerets.
This needs no beliefOn which to base the fabric of a dream,For Earth her children from death doth redeem,And each contributes to continuous bloom;So go your way! ye sisters, to your gloom!
Far on their road have come the king of fameAnd seer, within the land of Mas[5] they came,Nor knew that Fate was hovering o'er their way,In gentle converse they have passed the day.Some twentykaspuo'er the hills and plain,They a wild forest in the mountain gain,In a deep gorge they rode through thickets wild,Beneath the pines; now to a pass they filed,And lo! two dragons[6] near a cave contendTheir path! with backs upreared their coils unbend,Extend their ravenous jaws with a loud roarThat harshly comes from mouths of clotted gore.
The sky overhead with lowering clouds is cast,Which Anu in his rage above them massed.Dark tempests fly above from Rimmon's breath,Who hovers o'er them with the gods of death;The wicked seven winds howl wildly round,And crashing cedars falling shake the ground.Now Tsil-lattu her black wings spreads o'er all,Dark shrouding all the forest with her pall,And from his steed for safety each dismounts,And o'er their heads now break the ebon founts.But hark! what is that dreadful roaring noise?The dragons come! Their flaming crests they poiseAbove, and nearer blaze their eyes of fire,And see! upon them rush the monsters dire.
The largest springs upon the giant Sar,Who parrying with the sword he used in war,With many wounds it pierces, drives it back;Again it comes, renews its fierce attack,With fangs outspread its victims to devour,High o'er the monarch's head its crest doth tower,Its fiery breath upon his helm doth glow.
Exposed its breast! he strikes! his blade drives throughIts vitals! Dying now it shakes the ground,And furious lashes all the forest round.But hark! what is that awful lingering shriekAnd cries of woe, that on his ears wild break?A blinding flash, see! all the land reveals,With dreadful roars, and darkness quick concealsThe fearful sight, to ever after comeBefore his eyes, wherever he may roam.The King, alas! too late Heabani dragsFrom the beast's fangs, that dies beneath the cragsOverhanging near the cave. And now a dinLoud comes fromdalkhithat around them spinIn fierce delight, while hellish voices riseIn harsh and awful mockery; the criesOf agony return with taunting groans,And mock with their fell hate those piteous moans.
Amazed stands Izdubar above his seer,Nor hears the screams, nor the fiercedalkhi'sjeer;Beneath the flashing lightnings he soon foundThe cave, and lays the seer upon the ground.His breaking heart now cries in agony,"Heabani! O my seer, thou must not die!Alas! dread Mam-mitu hath led us here,Awake for me! arouse! my noble seer!I would to gods of Erech I had diedFor thee! my seer! my strength! my kingdom's pride!"
The seer at last revives and turns his faceWith love that death touched not, his hand doth placeWith friendly clasp in that of his dear king,And says:"Grieve not, beloved friend, this thingCalled death at last must come, why should we fear?'Tis Hades' mist that opens for thy seer!
"The gods us brought, nor asked consent, and lifeThey give and take away from all this strifeThat must be here, my life I end on earth;Both joy and sorrow I have seen from birth;To Hades' awful land, whence none return,Heabani's face in sorrow now must turn.My love for thee, mine only pang reveals,For this alone I grieve."
A teardrop stealsAcross his features, shining 'neath the lightThe King has lit to make the cavern bright."But oh, friend Izdubar, my King, when IFrom this dear earth to waiting Hades fly,Grieve not; and when to Erech you return,Thou shalt in glory reign, and Zaidu learnAs thy companion all that thine own heartDesires, thy throne thou wilt to him impart.The female, Samkha, whom he brought to meIs false, in league with thine own enemy.And she will cause thee mischief, seek to driveThee from thy throne; but do not let her liveWithin the walls of Erech, for the godsHave not been worshipped in their high abodes.When thou returnest, to the temple go,And pray the gods to turn from thee the blowOf Anu's fury, the strong god, who reignsAbove, and sent these woes upon the plains.His anger raised against thee, even thee,Must be allayed, or thy goods thou shalt see,And kingdom, all destroyed by his dread power.But Khasisadra will to thee give moreAdvice when thou shalt meet the ancient seer,For from thy side must I soon disappear."The seer now ceased, and on his couch asleepSpoke not, and Izdubar alone doth weep.
And thus twelve days were past, and now the seerOf the great change he saw was drawing nearInformed his King, who read to him the prayers,And for the end each friendly act prepares,Then said: "O my Heabani, dearest friend,I would that I thy body could defendFrom thy fierce foe that brings the end to thee.My friend in battle I may never seeAgain, when thou didst nobly stand besideMe; with my seer and friend I then defiedAll foes; and must thou leave thy friend, my seer?""Alas! my King, I soon shall leave thee here."
[Footnote 1: We have here quoted an Accadian hymn to the goddess of fate.("Trans. Soc. of Bib. Arch.," vol. ii. p. 39.)]
[Footnote 2: "Bu'i-du," ghosts.]
[Footnote 3: Accadian hymn on the future of the just. ("Trans. Soc. ofBib. Arch.," vol. ii. p. 32.)]
[Footnote 4: Assyrian fragmentary hymn ("W.A.I.," iv. 25, col. v.), translated in "Records of the Past," vol. xi. pp. 161, 162.]
[Footnote 5: The land of Mas, Mr. Sayce supposes, was situated west of theEuphrates Valley.]
[Footnote 6: "Dragons." The word for this animal is "tammabuk-ku." It was probably one of the monsters portrayed on the Babylonian cylinders now in the British Museum.]
"But, oh, my King! to thee I now revealA secret that my heart would yet conceal,To thee, my friend, two visions I reveal:The first I oft have dreamed beneath some spellOf night, when I enwrapped from all the world,With Self alone communed.Unconscious hurledBy winged thought beyond this present life,I seeming woke in a Dark World where rifeWas Nothingness,—a darksome mist it seemed,All eke was naught;—no light for me there gleamed;And floating 'lone, which way I turned, saw naught;Nor felt of substance 'neath my feet, nor fraughtWith light was Space around; nor cheerful rayOf single star. The sun was quenched; or dayOr night, knew not. No hands had I, nor feet,Nor head, nor body, all was void. No heatOr cold I felt, no form could feel or see;And naught I knew but conscious entity.No boundary my being felt, or had;And speechless, deaf, and blind, and formless, sad,I floated through dark space,—a conscious blank!No breath of air my spirit moved; I sankI knew not where, till motionless I ceasedAt last to move, and yet I could not rest,Around me spread the Limitless, and Vast.My cheerless, conscious spirit,—fixed and fastIn some lone spot in space was moveless, stark!An atom chained by forces stern and dark,With naught around me. Comfortless I livedIn my dread loneliness! Oh, how I grieved!And thus, man's fate in Life and Death is solvedWith naught but consciousness, and thus involvedAll men in hopes that no fruition have?And this alone was all that death me gave?That all had vanished, gone from me that lifeCould give, and left me but a blank, with strifeOf rising thoughts, and vain regrets, to float;—Away from life and light, be chained remote!
"Oh, how my spirit longed for some lone cragTo part the gloom beneath, and rudely dragMy senses back! or with its shock to endMy dire existence;—to oblivion sendMe quickly! How I strove to curse, and breakThat soundless Void, with shrieks or cries, to wakeThat awful silence which around me spread!In vain! in vain! all but my soul was dead.And then my spirit soundless cried within:'Oh, take me! take me back to Earth again!'For tortures of the flesh were bliss and joyTo such existence! Pain can never cloyThe smallest thrill of earthly happiness!'Twas joy to live on earth in pain! I'll blessThee, gods, if I may see its fields I've trodTo kiss its fragrant flowers, and clasp the sodOf mother Earth, that grand and beauteous world!From all its happiness, alas! was hurledMy spirit,—then in frenzy—I awoke!Great Bel! a dream it was! as vanished smokeIt sped! and I sprang from my couch and prayedTo all the gods, and thus my soul allayed.And then with blessings on my lips, I soughtMy couch, and dropped away in blissful thoughtIn dream the second:
"Then the Silver SkyCame to me. Near the Stream of Life I lie:My couch the rarest flowers; and music thrillsMy soul! How soft and sweet it sounds from rillsAnd streams, and feathered songsters in the treesOf Heaven's fruits!—e'en all that here doth pleaseThe heart of man was there. In a dear spotI lay, 'mid olives, spices, where was wroughtA beauteous grotto; and beside me near,Were friends I loved; and one both near and dearWith me reclined, in blissful converse, sweetWith tender thoughts.Our joy was full, complete!The ministering spirits there had spreadBefore us all a banquet on the mead,With Heaven's food and nectar for our feast;And oh, so happy! How our joy increasedAs moments flew, to years without an end!To Courts Refulgent there we oft did wend.
"Beside a silver lake, a holy faneThere stood within the centre of the plain,High built on terraces, with walls of gold,Where palaces and mansions there enfoldA temple of the gods, that stands within'Mid feathery palms andgesdin[1] bowers green,The city rises to a dizzy height,With jewelled turrets flashing in the light,Grand mansions piled on mansions rising highUntil the glowing summits reach the sky.A cloud of myriad wings, e'er fills the sky,As doves around their nests on earth here fly;The countless millions of the souls on earth,The gods have brought to light from mortal birth,Are carried there from the dark world of doom;For countless numbers more there still is room.Through trailing vines my Love and I oft wind,With arms of love around each other twined.This day, we passed along the Stream of Life,Through blooming gardens, with sweet odors rife;Beneath the ever-ripening fruits we walk,Along dear paths, and sweetly sing, or talk,While warbling birds around us fly in view,From bloom to bloom with wings of every hue;And large-eyed deer, no longer wild, us pass,With young gazelles, and kiss each other's face.
"We now have reached the stately stairs of gold,The city of the gods, here built of old.The pearled pillars rise inlaid divine,With lotus delicately traced with vineIn gold and diamonds, pearls, and unknown gems,That wind to capital with blooming stemsOf lilies, honeysuckles, and the rose.An avenue of columns in long rowsOf varied splendor, leads to shining courtsWhere skilful spirit hands with perfect artsHave chiselled glorious forms magnificent,With ornate skill and sweet embellishment.Their golden sculpture view on every hand,Or carvèd images in pearl that standIn clusters on the floor, or in long rows;And on the walls of purest pearl there glowsThe painting of each act of kindest deedEach soul performs on earth;—is there portrayed.
"The scenes of tenderness and holy love,There stand and never end, but onward move,And fill the galleries of Heaven with joy,And ever spirit artist hands employ.The holiest deeds are carved in purest gold,Or richest gems, and there are stored of old;Within the inner court a fountain stood,Of purest diamond moulded, whence there flowedInto a golden chalice,—trickling cool,The nectar of the gods,—a sparkling pool,That murmuring sank beneath an emerald vaseThat rested underneath;—the fountain's base.
"We entered then an arcade arching longThrough saph'rine galleries, and heard the songThat swelling came from temples hyaline;And passed through lazite courts and halls divine,While dazzling glories brighter round us shone.How sweet then came the strains! with grander tone!And, oh, my King! I reached the gates of pearlThat stood ajar, and heard the joyous whirlThat thrilled the sounding domes and lofty halls,And echoed from the shining jasper walls.I stood within the gate, and, oh, my friend,Before that holy sight I prone did bend,And hid my face upon the jacinth stairs.A shining god raised me, and bade my fearsBe flown, and I beheld the glorious throneOf crystaled light; with rays by man unknown.The awful god there sat with brows sublime,With robes of woven gold, and diademThat beamed with blazing splendor o'er his head.I thus beheld the god with presence dread,The King of Kings, the Ancient of the Days,While music rose around with joyous praise.With awful thunders how they all rejoice!And sing aloud with one commingled voice!
"What happiness it was to me, my King!From bower to temple I went oft to sing,Or spread my wings above the mount divine,And viewed the fields from heights cerulean.Those songs still linger on dear memory's ear,And tireless rest upon me, ever cheer.But from the Happy Fields, alas! I woke,And from my sight the Heavenly vision broke;But, oh, my King, it all was but a dream!I hope the truth is such, as it did seem;If it is true that such a Heavenly LandExists with happiness so glorious, grand,Within that haven I would happy be!But it, alas! is now denied to me.For, oh, my King, to Hades I must go,My wings unfold to fly to Realms of Woe;In darkness to that other world unknown,Alas! from joyous earth my life has flown.
"Farewell, my King, my love thou knowest well;I go the road; in Hades soon shall dwell;To dwelling of the god Irkalla fierce,To walls where light for me can never pierce,The road from which no soul may e'er return,Where dust shall wrap me round, my body urn,Where sateless ravens float upon the air,Where light is never seen, or enters there,Where I in darkness shall be crowned with gloom;With crownèd heads of earth who there shall comeTo reign with Anu's favor or great Bel's,Then sceptreless are chained in their dark cellsWith naught to drink but Hades' waters there,And dream of all the past with blank despair.Within that world, I too shall ceaseless moan,Where dwell the lord and the unconquered one,And seers and great men dwell within that deep,With dragons of those realms we all shall sleep;Where King Etana[2] and god Ner doth reignWith Allat, the dark Under-World's great queen,Who reigns o'er all within her regions lone,The Mistress of the Fields, her mother, proneBefore her falls, and none her face withstands;But I will her approach, and take her hands,And she will comfort me in my dread woe.Alas! through yonder void I now must go!My hands I spread! as birds with wings I fly!Descend! descend! beneath that awful sky!"The seer falls in the arms of Izdubar,And he is gone;—'tis clay remaineth here.
[Footnote 1:"Gesdin," the Tree of Life and Immortality.]
[Footnote 2: "Etana," Lord or King of Hades. He is mentioned in theCreation series of Legends as having reigned before the flood.]
The King weeps bitterly with flowing tearsAbove his seer when from him disappearsThe last faint breath; and then in deepest woeHe cries: "And through that desert must I go?Heabani, thou to me wast like the gods;Oh, how I loved thee! must thou turn to clods?Through that dread desert must I ride alone;And leave thee here, Heabani, lying prone?Alas, I leave thee in this awful place,To find our Khasisadra, seek his face,The son of Ubara-tutu, the seer;Oh, how can I, my friend, thus leave thee here?This night through those dark mountains I must go,I can no longer bear this awful woe:If I shall tarry here, I cannot sleep.O Sin, bright moon-god, of yon awful deep!I pray to thee upon my face, oh, hearMy prayer! my supplications bring thou nearTo all the gods! grant thou to me,—e'en me,A heart of strength and will to worship thee.
"Oh, is this death like that the seer hath dreamed?Perhaps the truth then on his spirit gleamed!If Land of Silver Sky is but a myth,The other dream is true! e'en all he saith!Oh, tell me, all ye sparkling stars,That wing above thy glorious flight,And feel not Nature's jars;But grandly, sweetly fling thy lightTo our bright world beneath serene,Hath mortals on thee knownOr viewed beyond,—that great Unseen,Their future fate by gods been shown?
"Oh, hear me, all ye gods on high!To gods who love mankind I pray,Despairing, oh, I cry!Oh, drive these doubts and fears away!And yet—and yet, what truths have we?O wondrous mortal, must thou die?Beyond this end thou canst not see,O Life! O Death! O mystery!
"The body still is here, with feeling dead!And sight is gone!—and hearing from his head,Nor taste, nor smell, nor warmth, nor breath of life!Where is my seer? Perhaps, his spirit rifeE'en now in nothingness doth wander lone!In agony his thoughts! with spirit prone!In dread despair!—If conscious then, O gods!He spake the truth!—His body to the clodsHath turned! By this we feel, or hear, or see,And when 'tis gone,—exist?—in agony!To Hades hath he gone? as he hath thought!Alas, the thought is torture, where have wroughtThe gods their fearful curse! Ah, let me think!The Silver Sky? Alas, its shining brinkHe hath not crossed. The wrathful gods denyHim entrance! Where, oh, where do spirits flyWhom gods have cursed? Alas, he is condemnedTo wander lone in that dark world, contemnedAnd from the Light of Happy Fields is barred!Oh, why do gods thus send a fate so hard,And cruel? O dear moon-god, moon-god Sin!My seer hath erred. Receive his soul withinTo joys prepared for gods and men! Though seerHe was, he immortality did fear,As some unknown awakening in space.Oh, turn upon him thy bright blessed face!He was my friend! O moon-god, hear my prayer!Imploring thee, doth pray thine Izdubar!"
And lo! a vision breaks before his eyes!The moon-god hides the shadows of the skies,And sweeps above with his soft, soothing lightThat streams around his face; he drives the nightBefore his rays, and with his hands sweet peaceHe spreads through all the skies; and Strife doth cease!A girdle spans the Heavens with pure lightThat shines around the River of the Night,Within the circling rays a host appears!The singers of the skies, as blazing spheres!Hark! Hear their harps and lyres that sweetly sound!They sing! Oh, how the glowing skies resound!
"O King of Light and Joy and Peace,Supreme thy love shall ever reign;Oh, can our songs of bliss here cease?Our souls for joy cannot restrain,Sweep! Sweep thy lyres again!
The former things[1] are passed away,Which we on earth once knew below;And in this bright eternal dayWe happiness alone can knowWhere bliss doth ever flow."
[Footnote 1: Literally, "the former names," which appears on a fragment of the epic translated by Mr. Sayce. See Smith's "C.A. of Gen.," p. 259, which he has rendered "the former name, the new name."]
The King within the cave his seer entombs,And mourning sadly from the cavern comes;The entrance closes with the rocks around,Again upon his journey he is bound.But soon within the mountains he is lostWithin the darkness,—as some vessel tostUpon the trackless waves of unknown seas,But further from the awful cavern flees.The morning breaks o'er crags and lonely glens,And he dismayed, the awful wild now scans.He reins his steed and wondering looks around,And sees of every side a mystic ground.Before him stands the peak of Mount Masu,[1]The cliffs and crags forlorn his eyes swift view,And cedars, pines, among the rocks amassed,That weirdly rise within the mountain fast.Hark! hear that dreadful roaring all around!What nameless horror thrills the shaking ground?
The King in terror stares! and see! his steedSprings back! wild snorting,—trembling in his dread.Behold! behold those forms there blazing bright!Fierce flying by the earth with lurid light;Two awful spirits, demons, or fierce gods,With roaring thunders spring from their abodes!From depths beneath the earth the monsters fly,And upward lift their awful bodies high,Yet higher!—higher! till their crests are crownedBy Heaven's gates; thus reaching from the groundTo heights empyrean, while downward fallsEach form, extending far 'neath Hades' walls.And see! each god as molten metal gleams,While sulphurous flame from hell each monster climbs!Two fiery horrors reaching to the skies,While wrathful lightning from each monster flies!
Hell's gate they guard with Death's remorseless face,And hurl the sun around the realms of spaceE'en swifter than the lightning, while it goesAlong its orbit, guided by their blows.Dire tempests rise above from their dread blows,And ever round a starry whirlwind glows;The countless stars thus driven whirl around,With all the circling planets circling round.
The King astounded lifts his staring eyes,Into his face gray fear, with terror flies;As they approach, his thoughts the King collects,Thus over him one of the gods reflects."Who cometh yonder with the form of gods?"The second says: "He comes from man's abodes,But with a mortal's feebleness he walks;Behold upon the ground alone he stalks."
One lifts his mighty arm across the sky,And strikes the sun as it goes roaring by;The fiery world with whiter heat now glows,While a vast flood of flame behind it flows,That curling, forms bright comets, meteors,And planets multiplies, and blazing stars;The robe of flames spreads vast across the sky,Adorned with starry gems that sparkling flyUpon the ambient ether forming sunsThat through new orbits sing their orisons;Their pealing thunders rend the trembling sky,The endless anthem of eternity.
The monster turning to the King then says,When nearer now his awful form doth blaze:"So thus you see, my son, the gods are strong,And to provoke great power, is foolish, wrong;But whither goest thou, thou sad-eyed King,What message hast thou;—to us here would bring?"
The King now prostrate to the monsters prayed:"Ye gods or demons, I within your gladeOf horrors, have unwilling come to seekOur Khasisadra, who a spell can makeTo turn the anger of the gods away.Immortal lives the seer beside the sea,He knoweth death and life, all secret things;And this alone your servant to you brings.The goddess sought my hand, which I denied,And Anu's fury thus I have defied;This all my troubles caused, show me the wayTo Khasisadra, this I ask and pray."
The god's vast face broke out with wondrous smiles,And laughing, ripples rolled along for miles;His mouth wide opened its abyss and yawned,As earthquake gulf, far spreading through the ground.His roaring laughter shakes the earth around,"Ho! ho! my son! so you at last have foundThe Queen can hate, as well as love her friends,And on thy journey Ishtar's love thee sends?A mortal wise thou wast, to her refuse,For she can do with man what she may choose.A mortal's love, in truth, is wondrous strong,A glorious thing it is, Life's ceaseless song!Within a cave upon the mountain side,Thou there thy footsteps must to Hades guide,Twelvekaspugo to yonder mountain gates,A heart like thine may well defy the fates.A darkness deep profound doth ever spreadWithin those regions black,—Home of the Dead.Go, Izdubar! within this land of Mas,Thy road doth lead, and to the west[2] doth pass,And may the maidens sitting by the wallsRefresh thee, lead thee to the Happy Halls."
The path they take behind the rising sunThe setting sun they pass,—with wings have flownThe scorpion men,[3] within wide space have gone,Thus from his sight the monsters far have flown.
[Footnote 1: "Mount Masu," the Mountains of Masius, or "Mons Masius" ofStrabo (vi. 12, §§ 4, 14, 2, etc.), may be referred to by the author ofthe epic. These mountains are now known to the Turks as Jebel Tur andKaraiah Dag.—Rawlinson's "Ancient Monarchies," vol. ii. pp. 9 and 25.]
[Footnote 2: Mr. Sayce translates thus: "the path of the sun."]
[Footnote 3: He also names the monsters "the scorpion men," and refers to an Assyrian cylinder on which two composite winged monsters are carved, with the winged emblem of the supreme god in the centre above them. The monsters have the feet of lions and the tails of scorpions. See illustration in Smith's revised edition, by Sayce, "Chald. Acc. of Gen.," p. 276. The monsters were supposed to fly ahead of the sun, and as it passed guide it along its orbit.]
In a weird passage to the Under-World,Where demon shades sit with their pinions furledAlong the cavern's walls with poisonous breath,In rows here mark the labyrinths of Death.The King with torch upraised, the pathway finds,Along the way of mortal souls he winds,Where shades sepulchral, soundless rise amidDark gulfs that yawn, and in the blackness hideTheir depths beneath the waves of gloomy lakesAnd streams that sleep beneath the sulphurous flakesThat drift o'er waters bottomless, and chasms;Where moveless depths receive Life's dying spasms.Here Silence sits supreme on a drear throneOf ebon hue, and joyless reigns aloneO'er a wide waste of blackness,—solitudeBlack, at her feet, there sleeps the awful floodOf mystery which grasps all mortal souls,Where grisly horrors sit with crests of ghouls,And hateless welcome with their eyes of fireEach soul;—remorseless lead to terrors dire;And ever, ever crown the god of Fate;And there, upon her ebon throne she sateThe awful fiend, dark goddess Mam-mitu,Who reigns through all these realms of La-Atzu.[1]
But hark! what are these sounds within the gloom?And see! long lines of torches nearer come!And now within a recess they have gone;The King must pass their door! perhaps some oneOf them may see him! turn the hags of gloomUpon him, as he goes by yonder room!He nearer comes, and peers within; and see!A greenish glare fills all the cave! and heBeholds a blaze beneath a cauldron there;Coiled, yonder lie the Dragons of Despair;And lo! from every recess springs a formOf shapeless horror! now with dread alarmHe sees the flitting forms wild whirling there,And awful wailings come of wild despair:But hark! thedal-khis'song rings on the air!With groans and cries they shriek their mad despair:
Oh, fling on earth, ye demons dark,Your madness, hate, and fell despair,And fling your darts at each we mark,That we may welcome victims here.
Then sing your song of hate, ye fiends,And hurl your pestilential breath,Till every soul before us bends,And worship here the god of Death.
In error still for e'er and aye,They see not, hear not many things;The unseen forces do not weigh,And each an unknown mystery brings.
In error still for e'er and aye,They delve for phantom shapes that rideAcross their minds alone,—and theyBut mock the folly of man's pride.
In error still for e'er and aye!They learn but little all their lives,And Wisdom ever wings her way,Evading ever,—while man strives!
But hark! another song rings through the gloom,And, oh, how sweet the music far doth come!Oh, hear it, all ye souls in your despair,For joy it brings to sorrowing ones e'en here!
"There is a Deep Unknown beyond,That all things hidden well doth weigh!On man's blind vision rests the bondOf error still for e'er and aye!
"But to the mighty gods, oh, turnFor truth to lead you on your way,And wisdom from their tablets learn,And ever hope for e'er and aye!"
And see! the hags disperse within the gloom,As those sweet sounds resound within the room;And now a glorious light doth shine around,Their rays of peace glide o'er the gloomy ground.And lo! 'tis Papsukul, our god of Hope,—With cheerful face comes down the fearful slopeOf rugged crags, and blithely strides to whereOur hero stands, amid the poisonous air,And says:"Behold, my King, that glorious LightThat shines beyond! and eye no more this sightOf dreariness, that only brings despair,For phantasy of madness reigneth here!"The King in wonder carefully now eyesThe messenger divine with great surprise,And says:"But why, thou god of Hope, do IThus find thee in these realms of agony?This World around me banishes thy feetFrom paths that welcome here the god of FateAnd blank despair, and loss irreparable.Why comest thou to woe immeasurable?"
"You err, my King, for hope oft rules despair;I ofttimes come to reign with darkness here;When I am gone, the god of Fate doth reign;When I return, I soothe these souls again.""So thus you visit all these realms of woe,To torture them with hopes they ne'er can know?Avaunt! If this thy mission is on EarthOr Hell, thou leavest after thee but dearth!""Not so, my King! behold yon glorious sphere,Where gods at last take all these souls from here!Adieu! thou soon shalt see the World of Light,Where joy alone these souls will e'er delight."
The god now vanishes away from sight,The hero turns his face toward the light;Ninekaspuwalks, till weird the rays now gleam,Aszi-mu-ribehind the shadows stream.He sees beyond, umbrageous grots and caves,Where odorous plants entwine their glistening leaves.And lo! the trees bright flashing gems here bear!And trailing vines and flowers do now appear,That spread before his eyes a welcome sight,Like a sweet dream of some mild summer night.But, oh! his path leads o'er that awful stream,Across a dizzy arch 'mid sulphurous steamThat covers all the grimy bridge with slime.He stands perplexed beside the waters grime,Which sluggish move adown the limbo black,With murky waves that writhe demoniac,—As ebon serpents curling through the gloomAnd hurl their inky crests, that silent comeToward the yawning gulf, a tide of hate;And sweep their dingy waters to Realms of Fate.
He cautious climbs the slippery walls of gloom,And dares not look beneath, lest Fate should come;He enters now the stifling clouds that creepAround the causeway, while its shadows sleepUpon the stream that sullen moves below,—
He slips!—and drops his torch! it far doth glowBeneath him on the rocks! Alas, in vainHe seeks a path to bring it back again.It moves! snatched by adal-khu'shand it fliesAway within the gloom, then falling diesWithin those waters black with a loud hissThat breaks the silence of that dread abyss.
He turns again, amid the darkness gropes,And careful climbs the cragged, slimy slopes,And now he sees, oh, joy! the light beyond!He springs! he flies along the glowing ground,And joyous dashes through the waving greenThat lustrous meets his sight with rays serene,Where trees pure amber from their trunks distil,Where sweet perfumes the groves and arbors fill,Where zephyrs murmur odors from the trees,And sweep across the flowers, carrying beesWith honey laden for their nectar store;Where humming sun-birds upward flitting soarO'er groves that bear rich jewels as their fruit,That sparkling tingle from each youngling shoot,And fill the garden with a glorious blazeOf chastened light and tender thrilling rays.He glides through that enchanted mystic world,O'er streams with beds of gold that sweetly twirledWith woven splendor 'neath the blaze of gemsThat crown each tree with glistening diadems.The sounds of streams are weft with breezes, chantTheir arias with trembling leaves,—the hauntOf gods! O how the tinkling chorus rings!—With rhythms of the unseen rustling wingsOf souls that hover here where joy redeemsThem with a happiness that ever gleams.
The hero stands upon a damasked bedOf flowers that glow beneath his welcome tread,And softly sink with 'luring odors round,And beckon him to them upon the ground.Amid rare pinks and violets he lies,And one sweet pink low bending near, he eyes.With tender petals thrilling on its stem,It lifts its fragrant face and says to him,"Dear King, wilt thou love me as I do thee?We love mankind, and when a mortal seeWe give our fragrance to them with our love,Their love for us our inmost heart doth move."The King leans down his head, it kissing, says,"Sweet beauty, I love thee? with thy sweet face?My heart is filled with love for all thy kind.I would that every heart thy love should find."The fragrant floweret thrills with tenderness,With richer fragrance answers his caress.He kisses it again and lifts his eyes,And rises from the ground with glad surprise.
And see! the glorious spirits clustering round!They welcome him with sweet melodious sound.We hear their golden instruments of praise,As they around him whirl a threading maze;In great delight he views their beckoning arms,And lustrous eyes, and perfect, moving forms.And see! he seizes one bright, charming girl,As the enchanting ring doth nearer whirl;He grasps her in his arms, and she doth yieldThe treasure of her lips, where sweets distilledGive him a joy without a taint of guilt.It thrills his heart-strings till his soul doth melt,A kiss of chastity, and love, and fire,A joy that few can dare to here aspire.The beauteous spirit has her joy, and fleesWith all her sister spirits 'neath the trees.And lo! thegesdin[2] shining stands,With crystal branches in the golden sands,In this immortal garden stands the tree,With trunk of gold, and beautiful to see.Beside a sacred fount the tree is placed,With emeralds and unknown gems is graced,Thus stands, the prince of emeralds,[3] Elam's tree,As once it stood, gave ImmortalityTo man, and bearing fruit, there sacred grew,Till Heaven claimed again Fair Eridu.[4]
The hero now the wondrous fountain eyes;Its beryl base to ruby stem doth rise,To emerald and sapphire bands that glow,Where the bright curvings graceful outward flow;Around the fountain to its widest part,The wondrous lazite bands now curling startAnd mingle with bright amethyst that glows,To a broad diamond band,—contracting growsTouk-nistone, turquoise, and clustering pearls,Inlaid with gold in many curious curlsOf twining vines and tendrils bearing birds,Among the leaves and blooming flowers, that wordsMay not reveal, such loveliness in art,With fancies spirit hands can only startFrom plastic elements before the eye,And mingle there the charms of empery.Beneath two diamond doves that shining glowUpon the summit, the bright waters flow,With aromatic splendors to the skies,While glistening colors of the rainbow rise.
Here ends the tablet,[5] "When the hero viewedThe fountain which within the garden stood."
[Footnote 1: "La-Atzu," Hades, hell, the spirit-world.]
[Footnote 2: "Gesdin," the Tree of Life and Immortality.]
[Footnote 3: See Sayce's edition Smith's "Chald. Acc. of Gen.," p. 264.]
[Footntoe 4: "Eridu," the Garden of Eden. Idem, pp. 84-86.]
[Footnote 5: "Tablet of the series; when the hero Izdubar saw the fountain."—Sayce's edition Smith's "Chald. Acc. of Gen.," p. 264, l. 14.]
A gate half opened shows the silvery seaYet distant shining lambent on his way.And now he sees young Siduri,[1] whose breastInfuses life; all nature she hath blest,Whose lips are flames, her arms are walls of fire,Whose love yields pleasures that can never tire,She to the souls who joy on earth here miss,Grants them above a holier, purer bliss.The maiden sits within a holy shrineBeside the gate with lustrous eyes divine,And beckons to the King, who nearer comes,And near her glows the Happy Palace domes.
And lo! 'tis she his lips have fondly kissedWithin the garden, when like fleeing mistShe disappeared with the bright spirit Seven,[2]The Sabit, who oft glide from earth to Heaven.And lo! one of the Seven, Sabitu,Emerging from the gate doth jealous viewThe coming hero who hath kissed her mate,She angry springs within to close the gate,And bars it, enters then the inner halls,And Izdubar to her now loudly calls,"O Sabitu! what see-est thou, my maid?Of Izdubar is Sabitu afraid?Thy gate thou barrest thus before my face.Quick, open for me! or I'll force the brass!"The maid now frightened opens wide the door.The Sar and Siduri now tread the floorOf the bright palace where sweet joy doth reign.Through crystal halls 'neath golden roofs the twainNext go within a lofty ceilinged hall,With shining pearled columns, golden wall,And purple silken hangings at each door,With precious gems inlaid upon the floor;Where couches grand are spread for one to restBeneath the softened rays that sweet investThe senses with a thrill of happiness;Where Siduri with joy all souls doth bless.The maid sits on a couch and turns her faceToward the King with that immortal graceThat love to gods and men will e'er bestow.Their eyes now mingling with a happy glow,The maiden sweetly says: "Where wouldst thou go?Within these Happy Halls we joy but know,And if thou wilt, my King, my heart is thine!Our love will ever bring us bliss divine."
"Alas, my maid, thy love to me is dear,And sad am I that I must go from here.I came from Erech by advice from oneI loved more than thou canst e'er know, but goneFrom me is my Heabani, faithful seer.Across a desert waste have I come here,And he has there to dust returned,—to dust—O how the love of my friend I did trust!I would that we had never started here,I now must find the great immortal seer."
The maiden turns her glowing eyes on him,Replies: "My King, thou knowest joy may gleam,Take courage, weary heart, and sing a song!The hour of sorrow can never be long;The day will break, and flood thy soul with joy,And happiness thy heart will then employ!Each day must end with all its sorrow, woe,Oh, sing with me, dear heart! I love thee so!"And lo! the curtains flung aside, now comesThe joyous Sabitu from yonder rooms,And gathering round, a song they gayly sing,Oh, how with music the bright walls now ring!If evil thou hast done, my King,
Oh, pray! oh, pray!And to the gods thy offerings bring,And pray! and pray!The sea is roaring at thy feet,The storms are coming, rain and sleet;To all the gods,Oh, pray to them! oh, pray!
Chorus
To all the gods,Oh, pray to them! oh, pray!
Thy city we will bless, O Sar!With joy, with joy!And prosper thee in peace and warWith joy, with joy!And bless thee every day and night,Thy kingly robes keep pure and bright;Give thee bright dreams,O glorious king of war!
Chorus
Give thee bright dreams,O glorious king of war!
And if thy hand would slay thy foesIn war, in war!With thee returning victory goesIn war, in war!We grant thee victory, my King;Like marshes swept by storms, we bringOur power to theeWith victory in war!
Chorus
Our power to theeWith victory in war!
And if thou wouldst the waters pass,The sea, the sea!We'll go with thee in every place,With thee, with thee!To Hea's halls and glorious throne,Where he unrivalled reigns alone,To Hea goUpon his throne of snow.
Chorus
To Hea goUpon his throne of snow.