An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic

“Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man.””

— Morris Jastrow

“Hold my hand in yours, and we will not fear what hands like ours can do.””

— Morris Jastrow

“As for man, his days are numbered, whatever he might do, it is but wind.””

— Morris Jastrow

“Strange things have been spoken, why does your heart speak strangely? The dream was marvellous but the terror was great; we must treasure the dream whatever the terror.””

— Morris Jastrow

“How can I keep silent? How can I stay quiet?My friend, whom I loved, has turned to clay,my friend Enkidu, whom I loved has turned to clay.Shall I not be like him, and also lie down,never to rise again, through all eternity?””

— Morris Jastrow

“Gilgamesh was called a god and a man; Enkidu was an animal and a man. It is the story of their becoming human together.””

— Morris Jastrow

“How long does a building stand before it falls?How long does a contract last? How long will brothersshare the inheritance before they quarrel?How long does hatred, for that matter, last?Time after time the river has risen and flooded.The insect leaves the cocoon to live but a minute.How long is the eye able to look at the sun?From the very beginning nothing at all has lasted.See how the dead and the sleeping resemble each other.Seen together, they are the image of death.The simple man and the ruler resemble each other.The face of the one will darken like that of the other.””

— Morris Jastrow

“The dream was marvellous but the terror was great; we must treasure the dream whatever the terror; for the dream has shown that misery comes at last to the healthy man, the end of his life is sorrow.””

— Morris Jastrow

“There is the house whose people sit in darkness; dust is their food and clay is their meat. They are clothed like birds with wings for covering, they see no light, they sit in darkness. I entered the house of dust and I saw the kings of the earth, their crowns put away for ever...””

— Morris Jastrow