Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-07-27
PROGRESS OF EGYpTOLOGY.
DISCOVERY OF AN ASSYRIAN LIBRARY
$500 YEARS OLD.
closure of the Present
Century.

The Victoria Institute of London held
Its annual meeting at Adelphi Terrace on
July LIST. An immen-e audience crowded
the hall in every part. The President, Sir
George Stokes, Bart, President of the
Royal Society. took the chair. The pro-
ceedings were commenced by mentioning
that the Emperor of Brazil had sent
message expressing special interest in the
Institutes Journal, and desired to obtain it
regularly for translation The report for
the past year was then read by Captain
Francis Petrie, the honorary Secretary, by
which it appeared that the number of
home, foreign and Colonial members had
Increased to over 1900, and there had
been an important advance In the practical
work of the Institute in investigating
philosophical and scientific questions,
especially any questions used by those
who Nnhappily sought to attack religion
in the name of science.
The adoption of the report was moved
] by Sir Henry Barkly, G. c. B., F. r. s.,
aud seconded by Admiral Sir Leopold Me-
Clintocl, F. r. s., after which it was an
nounced that family matters, consequent
on the death Of his father, prevented Pro-
fessor Sayce's presence, and he had chosen
the Rev. Or. Wright, author of " The Hit
ties" to read the address. 1t gave & his
torical description of what has become
known in regard to the conquests of Amen
ophiS Ill, as shown by the archives Of his
palace, which have only lately been dis
covered, and which the professor went last
winter 10 investigate on the spot before
writing the address for the Victoria In
stitute. OF the tablets and inscriptions, he
said From them we learn that in the
fifteenth century before our era-a century
before the exodus-aCtive literary inter
course was going on throughout the civil
ICED world Of western Asia, between Baby
Ion and Egypt and the smaller States of
Palestine, of Syria, of Mesopotamia and
! even of eastern Kappadokia, Aud this
/ intercourse was carried on by means Of the
! Babylonian language and the complicated
, Babylonian script. This implies that all
| over the civilized East there were libraries
and schools where the Babylonian language
/ and literature were taught and learned.
Babylonian appeared TO have been as much
/ the Language of diplomacy and cultivated
! society as French has become in modern
/ times with the difference that, whereas il
/ does not take long to learn to read French,
/ the cuneiform syllabary required years Of
| hard labor and attention before it could be
acquired.
We can now understand the meaning of
the name of the Canaanitish city which
stood near Hebron, and which seems to
have been one of the most important of the
towns Of Southern Palestine. kiriath-
/ Sepher, or 'Book-town," must have been
the seat of famous library, consisting
mainly, if, not altogether, as the Tel Ell
Amarna tablets inform US, of clay tablets
inscribed with cuneiform characters As
the city also bore the name of Debir or
Sanctuary" we may conclude that the
tablets were stored in Its chief temple, like
the libraries Of Assyria and Babylonia. It
may be that they are still lying under the
soil, awaiting the day when the spade of
the excavator shall restore them to the
light. The literary influence of BabyIona
in the age before the Israelitish conquest
Of Palestine explains the occurrence Of
the names of Babylonian deities among
the iShabitants of the West. Moses died
on the summit of Mount Nebo which re-
ceived its name from the Babylonian god
of literature, to whom the great temple of
Borsippa was dedicated; and Sinai itself,
the mountain ''of Sin" testifes to a wor-
ship of the Babylonian Aoon-god, Sin,
amid the solitudes of the desert Moloch
or Malik, was Babylonian divinity like
( RImmon, the Air-god, after whom more
than one locality in Palestine was named,
and Anat the wife of Anu, the Sky-god,
gave her name to the Palestinian Anah,
as well as to Aanthoth, the city of "the
-goddesses."
In a careful reading Of the tablets Canon
Sayce came upon many ancient names and
incidents known up to the present only
a from their appearance in the Bible. All
Il these he carefully described, as well as
several references in the tablets to the
Hittites.
In regard to another point, he said
Ever since the progress of Egyptology
made it clear that Rameses H. was the
Pharaoh of the oppression, it was difficult
to understand how so long an interval of
time as the whole period of the eighteenth
Dynasty could lie between him and the
new king whose rise seems to have been
followed almost Immediately by the servi-
tude and oppression of the Hebrews. The
tablets of Tel el-Amarna now show that
the difficulty does not exist. Up to the
death of Khu-en-Aten, the Semitic had
greater influence than the native in the
land of Mizraim."
Referring to those who have formed
opinions as to the non-historical character
: of the Pentateuch, Professor Said: "The
Tel el-Amarna tablets have already over
thrown the primary foundation on which
much Of this criticism has been built"
: Professor Sayce closed his paper with d
peroration of passing eloquence as to the
duty of searching for the rich Libraries
: that must lie buried beneath the sands Of
Syria and Palestine, matter the impor-
lance of which has been urged in the Vic
torla Institutes Journal more than once,
especially In the last volume, presented to
all its supporters. vote of thanks was
: passed to. Professor Sayce for his splendid
, address, and to DR.. Wright for reading it.
: This was moved by the Lord Chancellor
IN speech of great interest, in which he
said there was nothing more interesting in
, the literary history of mankind than such
discoveries as those alluded to in the adj
dress, which he considered perfect mine
: OF wealth. M. Nayide, the Egyptian dis
: coverer, having expressed his admiration
: of the labors of Professor Sayce and de-
clared the discovery the greatest one of
the present century, vote of thanks to
J the President was then moved by Sir Ris-
don Bennett, f. r. S., seconded by Admit
raj Sir Erasmus Ommanney, F. r. S., and
J conveyed to the President by Captain
Creak, F. r. S. This closed the proceed
ings, and the members and their guests
adjourned to the Museum, where refresh
ments were served