The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-03
ANOTHER DOUBTS HTLPRECHT
On WARD THINkS NE CSED
roo NUGH IMAGINATION.

Some years ago Prof Hermann v. Hll-
prNcht Of the University Of Pennsylvania
had a dream 4 tall thin priest came TO
hin IN the night and guided him to tho
treasure chamber % the temple Of Nip
pIr ana he saw ~ a. u was 500 years
~ 90 ago Il VAS . small room with a
very low ceihng and what light there vas
rare from nowhere in particular. b.
oanse the Toorn didn't have any vim
lows Ihere were ribbed treasure chests
IN the corners and agate and lapis laEuli
iay scattered on the noor The priest
then took the professor into his conidsncs
aud told him th,, history Of two fragments
81 agate which thu professor had bssn
trying 10 una Se sense Olt oG. Then the
tall thin priest vanished. When the
professor woke up ha translated the in
acriptsonS on the Fragments. which later
he gave 10 the world
Two weeks ago Prof Hilpr~cht read =
paper before the Acorn club in Philadel-
phis m which he announced the finding
~ cake of hardened clay which told the
Rabylonian story % Noah flood. II WAS
asserted { hat this lump 81 clay dated
back IN 'he DAYS vi Abraham and that
rs inscription waz ther~fore several cen
'uTiee old when Moses got his tablets IN
the ton ~ sinai. A. Prof Hil2recht
translated II II bore much the same legend
AZ that given in ihe did Testament
Or William Hayes Ward OF the IHdc
p.rden' said yesterday that Prof Hill
nrecht used good deal 1T imagination
where he attempted to NIL IN gRps in the
,nscri ption and that his find didn't have
much II any hearing On Biblical questions
anyhow
Or Ward had Just come back from
Baltimore where he presided at the meet
ing II the american Oriental Society
last FrfdRy. II was ~ that TnssttnR
that Prof Torrey of Vale read the paper
n Prof George 4 BARTON u Bryn Mawr
IN which Dr Barton declared that any
body who know DR.. Hilprecht didn't
have to he told that the Interpretation
~ the inscription was faulty.
= was sorry said DR.. Ward yesterday,
'for the personal animus tirat cropped
out against DIR. Hiprecht and told the
members ~ the society about u at the
time. Or. Hilprecht's fragment isn't
nearly a. important as he represented
70 20 he. hut is not a fake
DR.. BARTON. who had most of the mems
herr OF the Oriental Society with him
N his attack upon Dir. Hilprecht's lind.
the twenty first century b. e.. a. Hi
precht declared. but that IL belonged 70
n good deal later period. He added
thai IL was only the imagination Of the
translator which made IL appear 20 he
an account of Soah's food anyhow.
Or. Ward dD~snt go quite 50 last "a
DIR. BARTON. tits queer that pr Hill
precht should have given hts discovery
fret TO a club like th. Acorn Club. said
he, instead Of Offering u 80 "A capable
body of scientists. As a matter Of fact
" has no important hearing as a con-
Nrmation ~ Scriptures. u doesn begin
80 ~ an important as what we had al
ready. He used his Imagination in sup
plying the missing lines and consequently
hle Interpretation N con lectural. But u
Isrt unreasonable to make II a Baby !
Innian version or the Biblical story OF the |
food
There are IN existence two known fTaR-
rnenis - au older Bahylonian version of
the AOOd story. One 10 in the Berlin !
Museum and the other "a Ia the J Pier !
pont Morgan library. The latter - dated I
N the reign of q Rabylonian king whom /
scholars assign Ia the twenty-secund cen I
pIrv 4. (.
-Foth ~ then, says Dr Ward ~ re- Z
gently printed commentary IN lT Hill /
ihly assigned hv Dr Hilprecht To his new I
fragment. 50 that 20 lar a. ag. - con I
s~rned this one simply adds evidence TO /
"onnrm What wa previously certain \
" - past all question that A. carly a. the .
time of NbTaham the people Of Ne-ppp-
tania had "a familiar legend ~ the fooi
Dr Ward thin, > that What purport- To b-
nov in Nv Hiiprccht'= story - open 10
AsrinI- Question
1t ~ easy To make too much adds
~. Ward -of re-emblanoes or COinci-
'lence- ~ the comparison % pagan and
ScTipiural myths or legend We know
rsrfectlv well that there never has been
any such food as that which Genesis
Describes as having taken place at httle
over 100 x. 4. There has been no such
hood since the glacial period and then
not one that covered all the mountains
- that the ark could rest on Mount AraTat
II il good Biblical story, with good
religious drIfi 10 u, and u il well worth
heing ~ our Bible hut confirmation ~
impossible. A. an anthrOpolOgical fact
" - very Interesting To- learn that it was
familiar IN Babylon long before Genesis
or Moses, and IN all probability IN Canaan
also. but whether or not the G~nssis
writer got " from Babvionia or Canaan
ue do not know. hut probably from the
latter. TherS u noihing against IL
Charges were brought against DIR.
Hllprecht's scholarship IA 1895 and one
~ The chief witnesses against him was the
Rev Or. ,LOhn y. P-tsrs Of ~. Michael'S
and forth warmed into the so-cAlled
Peters Hiiprsschf controversy. Hill
precht's published statements. bearing
the imprint 81 the University % Penasyl.
vania. gave the impression that certain
important tablets bad been dug zap in
Nippur by hilprechHs own fourth Ell
petition. and he used them as evideDces
IN establishing m" existence of the
Nlppur temple library. II vas shown by
Hilprechts accuSer- that one OF the
fragments was bought from Daniel H.
Noorian. dealer in antiquities IN New
York. and that u came from RUNS "a good
many miles from Nppur. The other was
found ~ Nippur. not ~ Dr Hilprecht
hut nv the Rev. Or Peters and AZ "A point
acme distance from where HilDrecht
located hrs library
Or HiiDr"cht WAS investigated by
committee appointed by the trustees 81
the University ~ Pennsylvania and their
nndinRs weT" labell.i AT the time white
Washing ~ HilpreCht The Professor
later came ont with 3JD page book in
which n" reviewed the controversy and
said that he didn't mean 10 convey the
'tea that he had found the fragments
himself Tn. whole matter ~ the Nippur
'sTuTi~ ihrary wa- left ~ the air a. not
established HIlpr"rht'S friends declared
rim 70 -. ~ "raruhi'Ious but neverth el..ss
an able ant havdwOrkinR scholar who
had got together - lot ~ ancient frag-
r~ntE ~ great archaeological value
br. PciaTE 'g't 81 story - hun when
ths report cam" that Hilprechi mad been
whts~ashed. -He WIS always 4 uectI-
tarly dnRmaftr and vtsiouarv t.srzop !