MORE LIGHT ON THE PAST

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2187, 27 June 1914, Page 4

MORE LIGHT ON THE PAST

Tbe aHnofiii.oe-m.en-t M Uw 'diseowry m a Bafiyloniaii t-aUefe at Nijipitr cofltainwt m aeco-Uiifc of the-- Dekgp is of great interest, but H is, of Wyttse, imppmMo io estimate its full value until il has _ec_ etthnjitted to fciae test.of exflett ci-itMsra, Ste cablegram announfting the find, whkh a.)>;peare4' ia a .recent issuej states th-fc the ■ac-count fe sappesed to to tU. erigiaoJ of Cn.e Flood aamfcve «hich- is preserved i_ tko Bosk of Ge.-n.esis, a-H-d that its r-efoj'Gii.ce to Mm fall, of Wan is the fjrsfe montioii pi tka* cv-out yet discov«*e_ in Baby, leniaia lifef-attti-e. Tliis latter .-stn-tc-■ment is at least d&abthtl.. Scholars ■fell Uβ tfa)& Jl : aii>'ioui-_ had ytafihwl a high state of ejviHsatioH before the days of AajjAttaji, und some years ii-go Pn. Pejebs foam! clay tablets at Mijipiii- dating feck as far as the ;raa> SDOO b.c. Tlje museums of EurtTpft contain tboitsatids of day t-a-Mcts or st-OHc eylimlers on wliici are ciigfavecl pert-iofts of the his-tory nM literijturc , of ancient Babylonia, w|.ieh hare 13-rovc.d Wry Jmlpfuf in Ik intei'f>rfrt4-tion of tho early history oi the Hebrews wviteißcdl. ifl the 'BsfeH--c&\ wtitihg-a. Jβ t-hfe course of -Mifio ■ the Babylonians and Assyrians losl ■tllfiir power, -and their civiHsa-tiens Ware ffri-gotteiii Tbci-i" ritics erttm- , bled- into dsist ufitil neibiag was left ■of thoni but a mwab&i of gmss-cov- ■, cred mou-ds, Dufieg the Ltsi fifty ■ ■oi 1 sixty yett-rs these monads been more or Jess systematically ex-: cava-te-d, aftd writings have been dis-' coveretl which- throw a wonderful light oh the life- of these a-peient ■peoples. _he wifitiiig materia) in ■general use was a very fine oLty,. on which the diiiTafiterS were impressed by a- isfcybis. After a -tablet had. heoii dried or traketl • the writing oft iis bo> feirae flx-ftd for .fiver, or until the tab' let was smashed irate fraginents. These rdcorels W-β intcftsely inteirosit ing, and one authority 'tells u$ that '■the history oi Israel till the I'ctern fVOBj captivity can be to a .vefnai'ia-bk* exfont in ths lighicl tho tablets.." Tbo? a.-ho provide striking parallels to some of the Creation and flood ftttrratires of the 800-k of Genoas. Tlw Miylofeian Story of the Creation is written its rhythmical form, teing a sort of hymn in honour of the God Makbltk. TiwDrfugß story tews tn»_y resdifliblawes to the Biblical account, aiid tho thmuter, ■ liglitiaing, and stovn'i, tegotki , with th<) terrov of Rods and laeti, are vividly portrayed. But the ttiffcvcneiis betwee ft the Bnliylonina records and tfen Book ftf Genesis nxt- ew»» more s.trikirtc than the reEeffiblaaccS. and

after reading the story t,i the tablets one is nil the more toply imp-fossed with the simple dignity of the Biblical narrative.