228 



OLD BABYLONIAN INSCRIPTIONS CHIEFLY FROM NIPPUR. 



and money spent in its excavation. Though now in ruins, the vast walls of this most 

 ancient sanctuary of Shumer and Akkad still testify to the lofty aspirations of a by- 

 gone race, and even in their dreary desolation they seem to reecho the ancient hymn 

 once chanted in their shadow : 



Shadu rabu iCu Bel lmharsag 



ska res7iashu shamami shanna 

 aphu ellim -ihurshudu ushshushu 



ma matati kima rimi ekdu rabsu 

 karnashu kima sharur ilu Shamas7i shittananbitu 



kima kakkab shame nalu malu sihali. 



(IV R. 27, No. 2, 15-24.) 



O great mountain of Bel, Imkharsag, 



whose summit rivals the heavens, 

 whose foundations are laid in the bright abysmal sea, 



resting in the lands as a mighty steer, 

 whose horns are gleaming like the radiant sun, 



as the stars of heaven are filled with lustre. 



H. V. HlLPEECIIT. 



February 15, 



