Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-07-24
A GREAT DISCOVERY.
Professor Saycc's Description Of an As
syrian Library $500 Years Old.

syrian Library $500 Years Old.
The Victoria Institute Of London held
its annual meeting at Adclphi Terrace on
July 1st. An immense audience crowded
the hall in every part, the president, sir
George Stokes, Bart. president on the
ROYAL Society. took the chair. The pro-
cecdings were commenced hy mentioning
that the Emperor of Brazil had sent q
message expressing special interest in the
Institutes journal. and desired 70 obtain
II regularly for translation. The report
for the past wear WAS then read bv Captain
Francis Petrie. the honorary secretary, toy
which ii appeared that the number of
home. foreign, and colonial members had
increased to over 800 and there had been
an important advance IN the practical
work Of the institute IN investigating PM
losophical and scientific questions, c-pe-
cially any questions used by those VINO
uuhappilv sought to attack religion III the
name of science.
The adoption Of the report was moved
bv Sir Henry Buklv, G.. G.. B., +. x. y,
and seconded by Admiral SIT Leopold Nc
CliutOck. f. X. s.. after which ii WAS an
nounc,d that family matters. consequent
ON the death of his father, vented ITO
fcssor Sauces. presence and ne hat chosen
Rev. DIR. Wright. author Of " The hltutee.
10 read the address. II gave an historical
regard 10 the conquests Of Amenophs Ill,
as shown by the archives of his palace,
which have only lately been discovered,
and which the Professor went last winter
10 investigate ON the spot before writing
the address for the Victoria Institute. OF
the tablets and inscriptions he SAID
From them We learn that IN the fifteenth
century before our era-a century before
the exodus-actiVel literary intercourse was
]. las 4 a II
Western Asia between Babylon ana
Egypt and the smaller States of Paies-
tine. of SYRIA, of MesOpotanla. and even ot
Eastern kappadOkla. And this intercourse
WAS carried on hy means of the Baby onldn
Language and the complicated Baby louian
SCRIPT. This implies that all over the owl
lied East there were Libraries and schools
where the Babvlonian language and ltera-
ture were taught and learned. baDylonlan
appearcd TO have been as much the IAN
suago of diplomacy and Guilty. ted society
n, French has become in modern times.
with the difference that. Vl 'rcas II does
NOT take long to learn to read French the
cuueiform svllahary required wears OF
hard labor and attention before It could oe
ACQUIRED. We can now understand tue
meaning Of the name OF the Canaaulilsh
citv which stood near Hebron and winch
seems ID have been one Ot the most I'M
kiriath- Sepher. or "Book-towu,' must
have been the seat of a famous library. con-
s.sting mainly. il not altO-ot thor, as the Tel
ell Amarna tablets inform Us, OF clay tablets
inscribed with cUucifOrm characters. As
the city also bore the name OF Denr. or
Sanctuary we may conclude that the
tablets were stored IN It's chief temple, Ike
the libraries of Assyria and Babyl0ula. 1t
may be that they are still lying under the
soil awaiting the day when be spade OF
the cxCayator shall restore them to the
lsht. The literary influence OF baht Iona
in the age before the lsraelitlsh conquest OK
Palestine explains the occurrence OF the
names of Bahylouan delties among tine
inhabitants OF the West. Moses ded on
the summit of Mt. Nebo, which received
its name from the Rahyloman 200 or lteTa-
ture. 10 whom the great temple OF borslppa
Was dedicated: and Sinai itself, the noun
tain "of SIN" testliics TO 4 worship OF the
Bahvlonian MoOn-gOd, Sin. amid the soh-
fudcg of the desert MOloch or Mllik was
a Babylonjan divinity like Rimmon. the
Air-rod. after whom more than one locality
in Palestine was named, and Anat, the VIE
of Anu. the Sky-god, gave her name 10 the
Palestinian Anah, rs well as 10 Anathoth,
the city Of "thc Anat-goddesses.
In careful reading OF the tablets canon
Savce came upon many ancient names ana
incidents known up TO the present only
from their appearance in the Bible. All
these he carefully described, rs well as
several references in the tablets TO tho
I'm regard TO another point he said;
Ever since the progress OF Egyptoiogy
made il clear that Rameses Ill. was the
Pharoah OF 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 seryi-
tude and oppression Of the Hebrews. The
tablets of 1el-el-Amarna now show that
the difficulty does not exist. Up to the