Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-03-11
LUME NI BRISTOL VIRGINIA TENNESSEE TISDN MARCH 1879

from the tablets in Greek bv Berosus
in the third century before the Chris
tian era. but the greater part of his
work is lost.
Descending to later but still very
ancient times there remain numerous
questions to be determined. Among
these we may notice the great prob
lens as to the chronology and history
of the Books of Kings. Such ques-
tions have for many years been the
subjects of speculations and disputes
among divineS and historians. The
discovery OF the remainder of the
Assyrian annals, parts of which are
already in our hands, will decide the
and similar pcrplexities. The whole
Of the history and almost all the lit
erature CT the age of Nebuchadnezzar
now lies buried at Babylon, and would
form the most important prize of an
expedition to the MesOpotamia coun>
tries. Here are the records of the ca,
pacity of the Jews. and from this
storehouse they brought to the Per-
sian monarch the copy Of the famous
decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of
the temple. Again. the excavations
OF former explorers have shown that
it was the custom of the Assyrians
and Babylonians to place in the four
corners of the foundations of their
buildings memorial cylinders of baked
clay, inscribed with records cf the
kings who raised the buildings. Ma
ny of these memorial cylinders have
yet to be found, and, with our present
knowledge. their position can be easi-
ly ascertained.
In the Royal Libraries we're also
preserved, besides historical records,
various works on scientific and other
subjects. Among these may be named |
several classes of tablets on grammar,
natural history, geography, and the
useful arts. the Importance of which |
it would be difficult to exagerate. II
There were, moreover. many copies
of the great Chaldean standard work |
on astronomy and astrology. This
work. from the fragments now in the
Museum. appears to have covered
more than seventy tablets. and to
have contained about eight thousand
lines of writing. Complete copies of
the precious munimen may be reason
ably expected, and the subject is mo-
mentous for US as connected wsth the
early history of astronomy. Few
people know when they look at the
curious figures on the celestial globe,
and mark the division of the stars in
to consultations. that this rudimenta-
ry task was accomplished by the
Chaldeans, our own astronomy and
mathematics being thus built on
foundation laid I'D Babylonia ages
ago. There were also working
records af astronomical observations
and celestial phenomena, which will
be very valuable. Only a few of these
have yet been found. Again the
slight researches made in some of the
BabylOnian mounds have shown the
existance of a curious class of tablets I
on mathematical subjects, including
multiplication tablets, lists of square
and cube roots, DC. 1t would be de-
cidedly important to obtain represen-
tative specimens of these for mathe-
maticians.
Besides such and many other scien-
tihc relics, the Assyrians possessed
some works in Il lighter style of liter
ature. Ofthese one has been brought
to Eng land 1t is fable in which the
horse and the OK discourse together,
comparing their respective fatcs -
1Esop and Babrius are moderns of
yesterday compared to those old au-
thors. Once more the tablets con-
tanning catalogues of works. and the
notices of the inscriptions, show us
that there are many other most valu-
able records of literary sort still in
the ruins and among these is GER
tainly one devoted to the history of
comets, which puzzled the ancients as
well as the moderns. Scatter
ed through the ruins of Assyrian
buildings must also lie hidden many |
smaller tablets, consisting of copies
of proclamation, dispatches, letters.
reports Of law cases, of sales, and SIM
liar matters. Those we possess
throw already curious light on the
manners and customs of the country
and fresh memoranda Of this class are |
from time to time found by the ma
tives and sold to Europeans.
These are some of the principal
subjects on which we may expect nc-
cession to our knowledge; but the |
literature of Assyria has already |
thrown a remarkable light on the BIZ
bic story, and with renewed discov-
cry must still largely and usefully il
lustrate and explain it. In effect.
many questions as to the religious
arts and sciences of antiquity, and
and the early history. of the human
race, can be solved only by renewed |
researches in the vast mines of the
Euphrates valley.