a history of science-4-第58章

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to　the　character　of　their　monuments；　are　assured　a　permanency　of　fame　that　can　almost　defy　time　itself。　It　would　be　nothing　strange；　but　rather　in　keeping　with　their　previous　mutations　of　fortune；　if　the　names　of　Asurnazirpal　and　Asurbanipal　should　be　familiar　as　household　words　to　future　generations　that　have　forgotten　the　existence　of　an　Alexander；　a　Caesar；　and　a　Napoleon。　　For　when　Macaulay's　prospective　New　Zealander　explores　the　ruins　of　the　British　Museum　the　records　of　the　ancient　Assyrians　will　presumably　still　be　there　unscathed；　to　tell　their　story　as　they　have　told　it　to　our　generation；　though　every　manuscript　and　printed　book　may　have　gone　the　way　of　fragile　textures。

But　the　past　of　the　Assyrian　sculptures　is　quite　necromantic　enough　without　conjuring　for　them　a　necromantic　future。　The　story　of　their　restoration　is　like　a　brilliant　romance　of　history。　　Prior　to　the　middle　of　this　century　the　inquiring　student　could　learn　in　an　hour　or　so　all　that　was　known　in　fact　and　in　fable　of　the　renowned　city　of　Nineveh。　　He　had　but　to　read　a　few　chapters　of　the　Bible　and　a　few　pages　of　Diodorus　to　exhaust　the　important　literature　on　the　subject。　If　he　turned　also　to　the　pages　of　Herodotus　and　Xenophon；　of　Justin　and　Aelian；　these　served　chiefly　to　confirm　the　suspicion　that　the　Greeks　themselves　knew　almost　nothing　more　of　the　history　of　their　famed　Oriental　forerunners。　The　current　fables　told　of　a　first　King　Ninus　and　his　wonderful　queen　Semiramis；　of　Sennacherib　the　conqueror；　of　the　effeminate　Sardanapalus；　who　neglected　the　warlike　ways　of　his　ancestors　but　perished　gloriously　at　the　last；　with　Nineveh　itself；　in　a　self…imposed　holocaust。　　And　that　was　all。　How　much　of　this　was　history；　how　much　myth；　no　man　could　say；　and　for　all　any　one　suspected　to　the　contrary；　no　man　could　ever　know。　And　to…day　the　contemporary　records　of　the　city　are　before　us　in　such　profusion　as　no　other　nation　of　antiquity；　save　Egypt　alone；　can　at　all　rival。　　Whole　libraries　of　Assyrian　books　are　at　hand　that　were　written　in　the　seventh　century　before　our　era。　These；　be　it　understood；　are　the　original　books　themselves；　not　copies。　　The　author　of　that　remote　time　appeals　to　us　directly；　hand　to　eye；　without　intermediary　transcriber。　And　there　is　not　a　line　of　any　Hebrew　or　Greek　manuscript　of　a　like　age　that　has　been　preserved　to　us；　there　is　little　enough　that　can　match　these　ancient　books　by　a　thousand　years。　When　one　reads　Moses　or　Isaiah；　Homer；　Hesiod；　or　Herodotus；　he　is　but　following　the　transcriptionoften　unquestionably　faulty　and　probably　never　in　all　parts　perfectof　successive　copyists　of　later　generations。　　The　oldest　known　copy　of　the　Bible；　for　example；　dates　probably　from　the　fourth　century　A。D。；　a　thousand　years　or　more　after　the　last　Assyrian　records　were　made　and　read　and　buried　and　forgotten。

There　was　at　least　one　king　of　Assyrianamely；　Asurbanipal；　whose　palace　boasted　a　library　of　some　ten　thousand　volumesa　library；　if　you　please；　in　which　the　books　were　numbered　and　shelved　systematically；　and　classified　and　cared　for　by　an　official　librarian。　　If　you　would　see　some　of　the　documents　of　this　marvellous　library　you　have　but　to　step　past　the　winged　lions　of　Asurnazirpal　and　enter　the　Assyrian　hall　just　around　the　corner　from　the　Rosetta　Stone。　　Indeed；　the　great　slabs　of　stone　from　which　the　lions　themselves　are　carved　are　in　a　sense　books；　inasmuch　as　there　are　written　records　inscribed　on　their　surface。　A　glance　reveals　the　strange　characters　in　which　these　records　are　written；　graven　neatly　in　straight　lines　across　the　stone；　and　looking　to　casual　inspection　like　nothing　so　much　as　random　flights　of　arrow…heads。　The　resemblance　is　so　striking　that　this　is　sometimes　called　the　arrow…head　character；　though　it　is　more　generally　known　as　the　wedge　or　cuneiform　character。　The　inscriptions　on　the　flanks　of　the　lions　are；　however；　only　makeshift　books。　　But　the　veritable　books　are　no　farther　away　than　the　next　room　beyond　the　hall　of　Asurnazirpal。　　They　occupy　part　of　a　series　of　cases　placed　down　the　centre　of　this　room。　Perhaps　it　is　not　too　much　to　speak　of　this　collection　as　the　most　extraordinary　set　of　documents　of　all　the　rare　treasures　of　the　British　Museum；　for　it　includes　not　books　alone；　but　public　and　private　letters；　business　announcements；　marriage　contractsin　a　word；　all　the　species　of　written　records　that　enter　into　the　every…day　life　of　an　intelligent　and　cultured　community。

But　by　what　miracle　have　such　documents　been　preserved　through　all　these　centuries？　　A　glance　makes　the　secret　evident。　It　is　simply　a　case　of　time…defying　materials。　　Each　one　of　these　Assyrian　documents　appears　to　be；　and　in　reality　is；　nothing　more　or　less　than　an　inscribed　fragment　of　brick；　having　much　the　color　and　texture　of　a　weathered　terra…cotta　tile　of　modern　manufacture。　　These　slabs　are　usually　oval　or　oblong　in　shape；　and　from　two　or　three　to　six　or　eight　inches　in　length　and　an　inch　or　so　in　thickness。　　Each　of　them　was　originally　a　portion　of　brick…clay；　on　which　the　scribe　indented　the　flights　of　arrowheads　with　some　sharp…cornered　instrument；　after　which　the　document　was　made　permanent　by　baking。　They　are　somewhat　fragile；　of　course；　as　all　bricks　are；　and　many　of　them　have　been　more　or　less　crumbled　in　the　destruction　of　the　palace　at　Nineveh；　but　to　the　ravages　of　mere　time　they　are　as　nearly　invulnerable　as　almost　anything　in　nature。　Hence　it　is　that　these　records　of　a　remote　civilization　have　been　preserved　to　us；　while　the　similar　records　of　such　later　civilizations　as　the　Grecian　have　utterly　perished；　much　as　the　flint　implements　of　the　cave…dweller　come　to　us　unchanged；　while　the　iron　implements　of　a　far　more　recent　age　have　crumbled　away。


HOW　THE　RECORDS　WERE　READ

After　all；　then；　granted　the　choice　of　materials；　there　is　nothing　so　very　extraordinary　in　the　mere　fact　of　preservation　of　these　ancient　records。　To　be　sure；　it　is　vastly　to　the　credit　of　nineteenth…century　enterprise　to　have　searched　them　out　and　brought　them　back　to　light。　But　the　real　marvel　in　connection　with　them　is　the　fact　that　nineteenth…century　scholarship　should　have　given　us；　not　the　material　documents　themselves；　but　a　knowledge　of　their　actual　contents。　The　flight　of　arrow…heads　on　wall　or　slab　or　tiny　brick　have　surely　a　meaning；　but　how　shall　we　guess　that　meaning？　　These　must　be　words；　but　what　words？　　The　hieroglyphics　of　the　Egyptians　were　mysterious　enough　in　all　conscience；　yet；　after　all；　their　symbols　have　a　certain　suggestiveness；　whereas　there　is　nothing　that　seems　to　promise　a　mental　leverage　in　the　unbroken　succession　of　these　cuneiform　dashes。　Yet　the　Assyrian　scholar　of　to…day　can　interpret　these　strange　records　almost　as　readily　and　as　surely　as　the　classical　scholar　interprets　a　Greek　manuscript。　　And　this　evidences　one　of　the　greatest　triumphs　of　nineteenth…century　scholarship；　for　within　almost　two　thousand　years　no　man　has　lived；　prior　to　our　century；　to　whom　these　strange　inscriptions　would　not　have　been　as　meaningless　as　they　are　to　the　most　casual　stroller　who　looks　on　them　with　vague　wonderment　here　in　the　museum　to…day。　For　the　Assyrian　language；　like　the　Egyptian；　was　veritably　a　dead　language；　not；　like　Greek　and　Latin；　merely　passed　from　practical　every…day　use　to　the　closet　of　the　scholar；　but　utterly　and　absolutely　forgotten　by　all　the　world。　Such　being　the　case；　it　is　nothing　less　than　marvellous　that　it　should　have　been　restored。

It　is　but　fair　to　add　that　this　restoration　probably　never　would　have　been　effected；　with　Assyrian　or　with　Egyptian；　had　the　language　in　dying　left　no　cognate　successor；　for　the　powers　of　modern　linguistry；　though　great；　are　not　actually　miraculous。　　But；　fortunately；　a　language　once　developed　is　not　blotted　out　in　toto；　it　merely　outlives　its　usefulness　and　is　gradually　supplanted；　its　successor　retaining　many　traces　of　its　origin。　　So；　just　as　Latin；　for　example；　has　its　living　representatives　in　Italian　and　the　other　Romance　tongues；　the　language　of　Assyria　is　represented　by　cognate　Semitic　languages。　As　it　chances；　however；　these　have　been　of　aid　rather　in　the　later　stages　of　Assyrian　study　than　at　the　very　outset；　and　the　first　clew　to　the　message　of　the　cuneiform　wr