The Proverb
Earthy, ironic, four thousand years old — the everyday wit and worry of an ancient people, saying by saying.
Mesopotamia produced thousands of proverbs, gathered into large Sumerian collections that were copied by students in the scribal schools. They are pithy, earthy, and frequently sly: observations about money and poverty, fools and the wise, dogs and foxes, women and men, fate and luck. Some are moral, many simply shrewd, and a good number are wry to the point of comedy. As a window onto the everyday outlook of an ancient people — their humor, anxieties, and hard-won common sense — the proverb collections are without equal.
Key passages(20)
Who can compete with righteousness? It creates life. If wickedness exerts itself, how will Utu succeed? You should not cut the throat of that which has already had its throat cut. You should not sa
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The king …… not having questioned ……. When a fattened pig is about to be slaughtered ……, one says Let me replace what I am about to eat. As the piglet snuffles around, it says ……. A man's daughter-
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I pick the bones from the fish ……. My husband picks the bones from the fish for me. A plant as sweet as a husband does not grow in the desert. A pig ……. Where is my husband? it said. When it realis
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My husband picks the bones from the fish for me. …… is not in the desert. A …… shepherd's sex appeal is his testicles (?); a gardener's is his hair. …… a waterskin. He who does not support a wife, an
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When a fattened pig is about to be slaughtered, one says I must replace what I eat. As the piglet snuffles around, it says I can no longer take pleasure in eating. He who annihilates a house destroys
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The palace bows down, but only of its own accord. Income ……. Expenditures never cease. Violent cursing and chasing away a son from his father's house are abominations to Ninurta. To spit without co
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In those places which have been destroyed, let more places be destroyed. And in those places which have not been destroyed, let a breach be made there. Let his place become like chopped-up turnips! --
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The elephant spoke to himself: There is nothing like me among all the creatures of Šakkan! The wren (?) answered him: But I, in my own small way, was created just as you were! The elephant spoke to hi
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To stand and to sit, to spur on the donkeys, to support (?) the prince: who has the breath for that? You are peering out from the parapet like the prince's nurse. Because you draw water, the swamp m
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In those places which have been destroyed, let more places be destroyed. In those places which have not been destroyed, let a breach be made there. Let his place become like chopped-up turnips. Their
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The battle-club does not find out his name, it just finds his flesh. The city may change its name, but let my name stand! The mongoose does not know fear of god. Accept your lot and make your mothe
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A pig digging in the house. A pig which was about to be slaughtered by the pig-butcher squealed. (The butcher said:) Your ancestors and forebears walked this road, and now you too are walking it, so
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Unique: a tall pot and a shouting statue. What is placed in the fire has a valuable role to play but leaves nothing behind when it's gone. Half a shekel is half a shekel wherever you go (?); discard
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It became cloudy, but it did not rain. It rained, but no one undid their belt. Although the Tigris was on its high tide, no water reached the arable lands. It rained on the riverbank, but the dry land
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The rich man's heart is sick, it is very sick indeed (?) -- the man with a troubled heart is sick, he is very sick indeed (?). Why are the interest payments so small? He who carries a light burden c
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Whatever the man in authority said, it was not pleasant. Whatever the man in authority said, it was not right. When the authorities are wise, and the poor are loyal, it is the effect of the blessing
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…… the storehouse ……. As long as you live you should not increase evil by lying; for if you do, to succumb will be your lot. To collect firewood is a job for the strong man. The weak man sits waitin
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A robber was coming out, a liar ……. They are thieves, these men who took the turnips. Why do you not …… them? The thief, out of fear of facing a lion, becomes a man driven by fear of facing a lion c
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The master …… kneading dough …… does not eat. The master …… his servant ……. The master knows. The steward does not know. May the master sleep at your side, and may the mistress slap your face. The
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You should get rid of the shepherd, so his sheep will not come back into his charge. The wise shepherd has become confused, and his sheep will not come back into his charge. A shepherd's sex appeal
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