<a href="/node/582">Babylonian Theodicy</a>

<a href="/node/582">Babylonian Theodicy</a> by W. G. Lambert Sufferer I 1~O sage [.......] come, [let] me tell you. 2~[............ let] me inform you. 3~[.....]......[.....]... you, 4~I [....] the suffering, will not cease to reverence you. 5~Where is the wise man of your calibre? 6~Where is the scholar who can compete with you? 7~Where is the counsellor to whom I can relate my grief? 8~I am finished. Anguish has come upon me. 9~I was a youngest child; fate took my father; 10~My mother who bore me departed to the Land of No Return. 11~My father and mother left me without a guardian. Friend II 12~Respected friend, what you say is gloomy. 13~You let your mind dwell on evil, my dear fellow. 14~You make your fine discretion like an imbecile’s; 15~You have reduced your beaming face to scowls. 16~Our fathers in fact give up and go the way of death. 17~It is an old saying that they cross the river Ḫubur. 18~When you consider mankind as a whole, 19~... it is not ... that has made the impoverished first-born rich. 20~Whose favourite is the fattened rich man? 21~He who waits on his god has a protecting angel, 22~The humble man who fears his goddess accumulates wealth. Sufferer III 23~My friend, your mind is a river whose spring never fails, 24~he accumulated mass of the sea, which knows no decrease. 25~I will ask you a question; listen to what I say. 26~Pay attention for a moment; hear my words. 27~My body is a wreck, emaciation darkens [me,] 28~My success has vanished, my stability has gone. 29~My strength is enfeebled, my prosperity has ended, 30~Moaning and grief have blackened my features. 31~he corn of my fields is far from satisfying [me,] 32~My wine, the life of mankind, is too little for satiety. 33~Can a life of bliss be assured? I wish I knew how! Friend IV 34~What I say is restrained ....[..] 35~But you [...] your balanced reason like a madman. 36~You make [your ....] diffuse and irrational, 37~You [turn] your select .. blind. 38~As to your persistent unending desire for ..[..] 39~[The former] security ..[..] by prayers. 40~The appeased goddess returns by .[..] 41~[....]. who did not uphold takes pity on .[..] 42~Ever seek the [correct standards] of justice. 43~Your .., the mighty one, will show kindness, 44~[..........] will grant mercy. Sufferer V 45~I bow to you, my comrade, I grasp your wisdom. 46~[.........].. the utterance of [your words.] 47~[.........].. come, let me [say something to you.] 48~The onager, the wild ass, who filled itself with ..[.] 49~Did it pay attention to the giver of assured divine oracles? 50~The savage lion who devoured the choicest flesh, 51~Did it bring its flour offering to appease the goddess’s anger? 52~[..]. the nouveau riche who has multiplied his wealth, 53~Did he weigh out precious gold for the goddess Mami? 54~[Have I] held back offerings? I have prayed to my god, 55~[I have] pronounced the blessing over the goddess’s regular sacrifices, ....[...] Friend VI 56~O palm, tree of wealth, my precious brother, 57~Endowed with all wisdom, jewel of [gold,] 58~You are as stable as the earth, but the plan of the gods is remote. 59~Look at the superb wild ass on the [plain;] 60~The arrow will follow the gorer who trampled down the fields. 61~Come, consider the lion that you mentioned, the enemy of cattle. 62~For the crime which the lion committed the pit awaits him. 63~The opulent nouveau riche who heaps up goods 64~Will be burnt at the stake by the king before his time. 65~Do you wish to go the way these have gone? 66~Rather seek the lasting reward of (your) god! Sufferer VII 67~Your mind is a north wind, a pleasant breeze for the peoples. 68~Choice friend, your advice is fine. 69~Just one word would I put before you. 70~Those who neglect the god go the way of prosperity, 71~While those who pray to the goddess are impoverished and dispossessed. 72~In my youth I sought the will of my god; 73~With prostration and prayer I followed my goddess. 74~But I was bearing a profitless corvée as a yoke. 75~My god decreed instead of wealth destitution. 76~A cripple is my superior, a lunatic outstrips me. 77~The rogue has been promoted, but I have been brought low. Friend VIII 78~My reliable fellow, holder of knowledge, your thoughts are perverse. 79~You have forsaken right and blaspheme against your god’s designs. 80~In your mind you have an urge to disregard the divine ordinances. 81~[.........] the sound rules of your goddess. 82~The plans of the god [........] like the centre of heaven, 83~The decrees of the goddess are not [.............] 84~To understand properly .[................] 85~Their ideas [.............] to mankind; 86~To grasp the way of a goddess [............] 87~Their reason is close at hand [............] 88~..[.........................] Friend XII 125~[I] ..[.. 126~[I] made white ..[... 127~[I] cared for ..[... 128~[I] looked after the young [ones ... 129~[I] made the people prosperous [... 130~[I] gathered ..[... 131~[I] gave heed to the god [... 132~[I] sought that which was necessary [... Sufferer XIII 133~I will abandon my home .[.............] 134~I will desire no property .[............] 135~I will ignore my god’s regulations and trample on his rites. 136~I will slaughter a calf and .... food, 137~I will take the road and go to distant parts. 138~I will bore a well and let loose a flood, 139~Like a robber I will roam over the vast open country. 140~I will go from house to house and ward off hunger; 141~Famished I will walk around and patrol the streets. 142~Like a beggar I will [....] inwards [...........] 143~Bliss is far away ..[ ...............] Friend XIV 144~My friend, [your mind] dwells on [........] 145~Human activity, which you do not want [.........] 146~In [your] mind there are [...........] 147~Your reason has left you [...........] Sufferer XV 159~The daughter speaks [......] to her mother. 160~The fowler who cast [his net] is fallen. 161~Taking everything, which one [......] luck? 162~The many wild creatures which ..[........] 163~Which among them has [....?] 164~Should I seek a son and daughter [......] 165~May I not lose what I find ..[........] Friend XVI 166~Humble and submissive one ...[......] 167~Your will ever submits [......] precious. 168~[..]. your mind ....[.......] Sufferer XVII 181~The crown prince is clothed in [....,] 182~The son of the destitute and naked is robed in .[.....] 183~The watchman of malt..[.] gold, 184~While he who counted his shining gold in a bushel measure is carrying ..[...] 185~The vegetarian [devours] a noble’s banquet, 186~While the son of the notable and the rich [subsists] on carob. 187~The owner of wealth is fallen. [His ....]. is far away. Sufferer XIX 199~.[...............] wisdom. 200~You embrace the totality of wisdom, you counsel the peoples. ~~ * * * * * Friend XX 212~You have let your subtle mind go astray. 213~[.........]. you have ousted wisdom, 214~You despise propriety, you profane ordinances. 215~[........] head a mitre, the carrying-hood is far away from him. 216~[.........]. is made a person of influence. 217~[..........] is called a savant; 218~He is looked after and obtains his wishes. 219~Follow in the way of the god, observe his rites, 220~[.........]. is counted as righteousness. Sufferer XXI 221~[..............].... rogues, 222~[..............]. all are cheats. 223~They amass goods ................. Friend XXII 235~As for the rogue whose favour you seek, 236~His ....... soon vanishes. 237~The godless cheat who has wealth, 238~A death-dealing weapon pursues him. 239~Unless you seek the will of the god, what luck have you? 240~He that bears his god’s yoke never lacks food, though it be sparse. 241~Seek the kindly wind of the god, 242~What you have lost over a year you will make up in a moment. Sufferer XXIII 243~I have looked around society, but the evidence is contrary. 244~The god does not impede the way of a devil. 245~A father drags a boat along the canal, 246~While his first-born lies in bed. 247~The first-born son pursues his way like a lion, 248~The second son is happy to be a mule driver. 249~The heir stalks along the road like a bully, 250~The younger son will give food to the destitute. 251~How have I profited that I have bowed down to my god? 252~I have to bow beneath the base fellow that meets me; 253~The dregs of humanity, like the rich and opulent, treat me with contempt. Friend XXIV 254~O wise one, O savant, who masters knowledge, 255~In your anguish you blaspheme the god. 256~The divine mind, like the centre of the heavens, is remote; 257~Knowledge of it is difficult; the masses do not know it. 258~Among all the creatures whom Aruru formed 259~The prime offspring is altogether ... 260~In the case of a cow, the first calf is lowly, 261~The later offspring is twice as big. 262~A first child is born a weakling, 263~But the second is called an heroic warrior. 264~Though a man may observe what the will of the god is, the masses do not know it. Sufferer XXV 265~Pay attention, my friend, understand my ideas. 266~Heed the choice expression of my words. 267~People extol the word of a strong man who is trained in murder, 268~But bring down the powerless who has done no wrong. 269~They confirm the wicked whose crime is .[...,] 270~Yet suppress the honest man who heeds the will of his god. 271~They fill the [store house] of the oppressor with gold, 272~But empty the larder of the beggar of its provisions. 273~They support the powerful, whose ... is guilt, 274~But destroy the weak and drive away the powerless. 275~And as for me, the penurious, a nouveau riche is persecuting me. Friend XXVI 276~Narru, king of the gods, who created mankind, 277~And majestic Zulummar, who dug out their clay, 278~And mistress Mami, the queen who fashioned them, 279~Gave perverse speech to the human race. 280~With lies, and not truth, they endowed them for ever. 281~Solemnly they speak in favour of a rich man, 282~"He is a king," they say, "riches go at his side." 283~But they harm a poor man like a thief, 284~They lavish slander upon him and plot his murder, 285~Making him suffer every evil like a criminal, because he has no protection. 286~Terrifyingly they bring him to his end, and extinguish him like a flame. Sufferer XXVII 287~You are kind, my friend; behold my grief. 288~Help me; look on my distress; know it. 289~I, though humble, wise, and a suppliant, 290~Have not seen help and succour for one moment. 291~I have trodden the square of my city unobtrusively, 292~My voice was not raised, my speech was kept low. 293~I did not raise my head, but looked at the ground, 294~I did not worship even as a slave in the company of my associates. 295~May the god who has thrown me off give help, 296~May the goddess who has [abandoned me] show mercy, 297~For the shepherd Šamaš guides the peoples like a god. This acrostic poem of 27 stanzas is a very original composition in both form and content. Each stanza has 11 lines; 19 stanzas are sufficiently preserved to yield a meaningful translation. The acrostic itself can be restored and reads: “I, Saggil-kīnam-ubbib, the incantation priest, am adorant of the god and the king.” The poem probably was written about 1000 BC and received much attention until the late periods, as a fair number of manuscripts have turned up from different places in Babylonia and Assyria. W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature. Winona Lake:Eisenbrauns 1996 (2nd ed.), p. 63-89. <a href="http://www.eisenbrauns.com/ECOM/_2H20RF6AX.HTM" target="_blank">http://www.eisenbrauns.com/ECOM/_2H20RF6AX.HTM</a> several Ms., see W.G. Lambert, BWL [full reference below] , p. 69 for details c. 1000 BC Middle-Babylonian clay tablet manuscripts from several Assyrian and Babylonian sites <a href="/taxonomy/term/57">Didactic and Wisdom Literature</a>