Babylonian and Assyrian Literature Part 24

COLUMN V

THE KING BURIES HIS SEER IN THE CAVE, AND CONTINUING HIS JOURNEY, HE MEETS TWO FIERY GIANTS WHO GUIDE THE SUN IN THE HEAVENS--THEY MAKE MERRY OVER THE KING, AND DIRECT HIM ON HIS WAY

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 lost Within the darkness,--as some vessel tost Upon 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 ama.s.sed, 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 steed Springs 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 G.o.ds, 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 crowned By Heaven's gates; thus reaching from the ground To heights empyrean, while downward falls Each form, extending far 'neath Hades' walls.

And see! each G.o.d as molten metal gleams, While sulphurous flame from h.e.l.l each monster climbs!

Two fiery horrors reaching to the skies, While wrathful lightning from each monster flies!

h.e.l.l's gate they guard with Death's remorseless face, And hurl the sun around the realms of s.p.a.ce E'en swifter than the lightning, while it goes Along its...o...b..t, 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 G.o.ds reflects.

"Who cometh yonder with the form of G.o.ds?"

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 fly Upon the ambient ether forming suns That 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 G.o.ds 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 G.o.ds or demons, I within your glade Of horrors, have unwilling come to seek Our Khasisadra, who a spell can make To turn the anger of the G.o.ds 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 G.o.ddess sought my hand, which I denied, And Anu's fury thus I have defied; This all my troubles caused, show me the way To Khasisadra, this I ask and pray."

The G.o.d'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 found The 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, Twelve _kaspu_ go to yonder mountain gates, A heart like thine may well defy the fates.

A darkness deep profound doth ever spread Within those regions black,--Home of the Dead.

Go, Izdubar! within this land of Mas, Thy road doth lead, and to the west[2] doth pa.s.s, And may the maidens sitting by the walls Refresh thee, lead thee to the Happy Halls."

The path they take behind the rising sun The setting sun they pa.s.s,--with wings have flown The scorpion men,[3] within wide s.p.a.ce have gone, Thus from his sight the monsters far have flown.

[Footnote 1: "Mount Masu," the Mountains of Masius, or "Mons Masius" of Strabo (vi. 12, ---- 4, 14, 2, etc.), may be referred to by the author of the epic. These mountains are now known to the Turks as Jebel Tur and Karaiah 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 a.s.syrian cylinder on which two composite winged monsters are carved, with the winged emblem of the supreme G.o.d in the centre above them. The monsters have the feet of lions and the tails of scorpions. See ill.u.s.tration 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 pa.s.sed guide it along its...o...b..t.]

COLUMN VI

IZDUBAR ENTERS HADES--THE SONG OF THE DALKHI IN THE CAVERN OF HORRORS--THE KING Pa.s.sES THROUGH HADES TO THE GARDEN OF THE G.o.dS, AND SEES THE WONDERFUL FOUNTAIN OF LIFE'S WATERS

In a weird pa.s.sage to the Under-World, Where demon shades sit with their pinions furled Along 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 amid Dark gulfs that yawn, and in the blackness hide Their depths beneath the waves of gloomy lakes And streams that sleep beneath the sulphurous flakes That drift o'er waters bottomless, and chasms; Where moveless depths receive Life's dying spasms.

Here Silence sits supreme on a drear throne Of ebon hue, and joyless reigns alone O'er a wide waste of blackness,--solitude Black, at her feet, there sleeps the awful flood Of mystery which grasps all mortal souls, Where grisly horrors sit with crests of ghouls, And hateless welcome with their eyes of fire Each soul;--remorseless lead to terrors dire; And ever, ever crown the G.o.d of Fate; And there, upon her ebon throne she sate The awful fiend, dark G.o.ddess 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 pa.s.s their door! perhaps some one Of them may see him! turn the hags of gloom Upon him, as he goes by yonder room!

He nearer comes, and peers within; and see!

A greenish glare fills all the cave! and he Beholds a blaze beneath a cauldron there; Coiled, yonder lie the Dragons of Despair; And lo! from every recess springs a form Of shapeless horror! now with dread alarm He sees the flitting forms wild whirling there, And awful wailings come of wild despair: But hark! the _dal-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 G.o.d 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 ride Across their minds alone,--and they But 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 bond Of error still for e'er and aye!

"But to the mighty G.o.ds, oh, turn For 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 G.o.d of Hope,-- With cheerful face comes down the fearful slope Of rugged crags, and blithely strides to where Our hero stands, amid the poisonous air, And says: "Behold, my King, that glorious Light That shines beyond! and eye no more this sight Of dreariness, that only brings despair, For phantasy of madness reigneth here!"

The King in wonder carefully now eyes The messenger divine with great surprise, And says: "But why, thou G.o.d of Hope, do I Thus find thee in these realms of agony?

This World around me banishes thy feet From paths that welcome here the G.o.d of Fate And 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 G.o.d of Fate doth reign; When I return, I soothe these souls again."