The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1896-11-11
TWAS EVER THUS.
How 0 Princess Called Down Another
Woman $500 Years Ago.

How . Princess Called Down Another
Woman $500 Years Ago.
Twenty five hundred years ago q
princess of the royal family of As
syria wrote letter to lady of the
imperial court, in which the latter
was haughtily rebuked for presum-
ing to use the familiar title Of isis.
ter" in addressing the royal lady.
In Baltimore an English translation
of this letter was published by the
Johns Hopkins university. DR..
Christopher Johnston has been
working for some time to puzzle out
the dignified terms in which one
woman of those ancient days re-
buked another.
The letter was not written with
ink upon sheet of tinted paper, as
would be done by fair dame today,
but was inscribed in cuneiform char
aoters upon a tablet of baked clay.
It is in 10 lines, and the royal lady
did not waste words to express her
contempt at the others imperti.
hence. The tablet was written only
few years before the destruction
of Nineyeh and the overthrow of
the Assyrian empire, which is gen.
orally placed by historians as hay
ing occurred in 606 B. G. 1t is one
of tho few remains of that period
which havo come down to the schol-
ars of the present day. It was dis
covered score or more years ago,
and many Assyriologists have tried
their hand at translation. DR..
Johnston, in working upon it, did
not have the original tablet, but a
picture Of it. The royal lady who
wrote the letter, or who probably
dictated it to her scribe, was the
Princess Sheruaoterat, q grand
daughter of tho famous Assyrian
monarch Assurbanipal, called Sar-
danapalus by Greek writer's, who,
in addition to being a great con-
queror, was the founder of an OK.
tersive public library and patron
of literature and the arts. The let.
ter is translated by Johnston:
Message OF the king S daughter tc
Asshur- Sharrat. Thou dost not prop
erly address thy letter to me, mol
use the title to me BETTING my sta
ton. People might say, Is she the
sister Of Sheruaeterat, the oldes
daughter of Observation-Disclosures
the great king, the mighty king
king of hosts, king of Assyria?
But thou art only the daughter O.
the daughter-in law of the wife O
Assurbanipal, eldest son of Esarnad
don, king Of Assyria. :"
DR.. Johnston suggests that Thu
, sentence WAS probably crushing
blow for the recipient Of tho letter
{ as the peculiar expression "daugh
ter of the daughter-in-law of Assur
banipal's wife, was most likely
reference to some delectable bit o
court scandal in the famous Assyrial
!, empire. The doctor also said tina
the rebuke was a perfectly prope
one from what is known today Q
8 Assyrian etiquette in letter writing
S eff the lady, Asshur -Shar1at, ad
t dressed the princess as sister Will
out being SO related" said he, Ssh
< certainly committed gross breac
of etiquette and was guilty OF a
b impertinence which richly merite
n rebuke. Even if she was actual
g her sister, it is doubtful whethe
I she could have SO addressed the eli
r est daughter of the sovereign fam
@ ly. We find prince speaking OF b:
father as the king, my lord, BIT
d never as my father And anon
d private individuals, except in tt
@ case Of near relatives, it was tt
X invariab!e rule to address each pc
9 son by his proper title, with the az
n dition Of the words my lord. -
Baltimore Sun.