Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-12-27
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A BABYLONIAN LAW.


Among the important discoveries Of
recent times Is that Of document
containing a code OF laws IN force in
Babylona long before the time OF Mo-
SEES. II Is said to have been unearthed
somewhere In Persia by a French ex-
pedition Of scientists. 1t Is supposed
TO have been brought to Persia with
other trophies
The document has picture OF King
Hammurabi. who II supposed to be the
Amraphel, king OF shlnar, OF Genesis,
the leader OF the allies that captured
the cities Of the plains in the days OF
Abraham. He made Babylonia q great
empire, extending from the Mediter-
ranean TO Persia, The text OF that
law is now published,
According 10 an article In the inde-
pendent, Il was quite elaborate, and
severe. Legal cases were tried before
court OF judges, at the head Of whom
was a president The facts In the case
were learned through witnesses and
written documents The care taken In
this regard is evident from the follow
ing example, III anybody has bought
or received as a deposit silver. OF gold
or 4 male slave or female slave, or
n steer, or a sheep. or an ass, on any
thing else from free man or a slave
without witnesses or written docu-
ments, he is to be treated as a thief
and shall be killed"
The death penalty was the punish
ment for a number OF offenses, and
among others for witchcraft and for
robbing temnlo or royal possessions.
Any person who permitted a slave to
escape, or harbored an escaped slave,
was punished by death, as was an OH
clal who failed to attend TO his duties
himself but lntrusted these TO a sub
stitute. The death penalty was In
flicted either by fire, or drowning. or
impalng
The old maxim, AN eye for an eye
and a tooth for tooth" was carried
out literally. In this way an adopted
daughter or adopted son who said TO
his foster-father and mother that they
were not his parents should lose his
or her tongue The code provides that
III a man knock out an eye of a free
man, his own eye shall be forfeited. II
he break one of the members OF a man,
his own member shall be removed III
the suffering party We're slave, pay
ment of money could make good the
wrong, the same was true OF a freed
man. on the other hand, II an inferior
struck a superior, he was punished with
fifty ashes, and If he was slave his
ear was cut off. If surgeon was un-
successful in performing an operation,
he was not entitled to any pay II
the patient died under the hand of the
surgeon, the latter lost his hands, in
case the patient was free man. II
slave died under his hand, he must buy
another. In case builder made
failure Of a structure he was also pun
ished with death. He who falsely
claimed that another was indebted to
him must pay one-thrd Of a nina.
Freemen fighting were fined one nina.
Theft Of an animal was punishable by
a fine Of thirty times its value.
A closer study Of this remarkable law
code would probably disclose how much
superior was the Mosaic law-how
much more advanced. notwithstanding
its severity as compared to the laws
of later ages. For mankind Is steadi-
ly progressing In civilization, notwith-
standing the temporary backsets that
history seems to record.