1893.] Legends of the Sumiro-Accadians of Chaldea. 19 
humbles himself before the Lord. I have space but for a few 
verses of the Sumiro-Accadian psalm called “The complaint 
of the repentant heart.” 
“O my God, my transgressions are very great; very great 
are my sins. I transgress and know it not. I wander in 
wrong paths and know it not. The Lord in the wrath of His 
heart has overwhelmed me with confusion. I lie on the 
ground and none reaches a hand to me. I cry out and there 
is none hears me. . . . My God, who knowest the unknown 
be merciful. . . . How long, O my God? . . . Lord 
Thou wilt not repulse Thy servant. In the midst of the 
stormy waters, come to my help, take me by the hand.” 
Since the key to the cuneiform inscriptions has been discov- 
ered, it has been evident that many legends of Genesis are 
varients of Sumiro-Accadian originals, and that from this 
source too was drawn the Jewish belief in magic, witchcraft, 
dreams, supernatural serpents, sacred trees, etc.; whilst the 
pure Monotheism of later times was fighting hard to establish 
itself in the hearts and minds of a people, who came from a 
cradleland of many gods. For in those palmy days of the 
Yellow Race, when it was at the head of human progress, the 
Semites are seen as nomad tribes dwelling amongst the Acca- 
dians, and in one most noted instance wandering from Ur of 
the Chaldees, till they finally reached Egypt and the Nile. And 
the legends, the superstitions, the forms of prayer of Accad 
are faithfully reflected in the earliest traditions of Israel. 
(To be continued.) 
