er, spirit of
earth remember.

TABLET VII

The poisonous spittle of the mouth[1] which is noxious to the voice, the
phlegm which is destructive to the ..., the pustules of the _lungs_, the
pustule of the body, the loss of the nails, the removal (and) dissolving
of old _excrement_, the _skin_ which is _stripped off_, the recurrent ague
of the body, the food which hardens in a man's body, the food which
returns after being eaten, the drink which distends after drinking, death
by poison, from the swallowing of the mouth which distends, the
unreturning wind from the desert. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of
earth remember.

[Footnote 1: That would be consumption.]

TABLET VIII

May Nin-cigal,[1] the wife of Nin-a'su, turn her face toward another place;
may the noxious spirit go forth and seize another; may the propitious
cherub and the propitious genie settle upon his body. Spirit of heaven
remember, spirit of earth remember.

[Footnote 1: "Nin-cigal" ("The Lady of the Mighty Earth") was Queen of
Hades and a form of "Allat" or "Istar." She is also identified with Gula
or Bahu (the Bohu or "Chaos" of Gen. i. 2), "The Lady of the House of
Death," and wife of Hea or Nin-a'su.]

TABLET IX

May Nebo, the great steward, the recliner (or _incubus_) supreme among the
gods, like the god who has begotten him, seize upon his head; against his
life may he not break forth. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth
remember.

TABLET X

(On) the sick man by the sacrifice of mercy may perfect health shine like
bronze; may the Sun-god give this man life; may Merodach, the eldest son
of the deep (give him) strength, prosperity, (and) health. Spirit of
heaven remember, spirit of earth remember.

ACCADIAN HYMN TO ISTAR

TRANSLATED BY REV. A.H. SAYCE, M.A.

The following is one of the many early Chaldean hymns that were
incorporated into a collection which M. Lenormant has aptly compared with
the Rig-Veda of India. The concluding lines show that it originally
belonged to the city of Erech (now Warka). The date of its composition
must be exceedingly remote, and this increases the interest of the
astronomical allusions contained in it. The original Accadian text is
given, with an interlinear Assyrian translation, as is usually the case
with hymns of this kind. The terra-cotta tablet on which it is found is
numbered S, 954, being one of those that have been recently brought back
from Assyria b