a history of science-1-第12章

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eeks　and　Romans　themselves。　To　refer　at　length　to　this　would　be　to　anticipate　our　purpose；　what　now　concerns　us　is　to　recall　that　all　along　there　was　another　nation；　or　group　of　nations；　that　disputed　the　palm　for　scientific　attainments。　This　group　of　nations　found　a　home　in　the　valley　of　the　Tigris　and　Euphrates。　Their　land　was　named　Mesopotamia　by　the　Greeks；　because　a　large　part　of　it　lay　between　the　two　rivers　just　mentioned。　The　peoples　themselves　are　familiar　to　every　one　as　the　Babylonians　and　the　Assyrians。　These　peoples　were　of　Semitic　stockallied；　therefore；　to　the　ancient　Hebrews　and　Phoenicians　and　of　the　same　racial　stem　with　the　Arameans　and　Arabs。　The　great　capital　of　the　Babylonians　during　the　later　period　of　their　history　was　the　famed　city　of　Babylon　itself；　the　most　famous　capital　of　the　Assyrians　was　Nineveh；　that　city　to　which；　as　every　Bible…　student　will　recall；　the　prophet　Jonah　was　journeying　when　he　had　a　much…exploited　experience；　the　record　of　which　forms　no　part　of　scientific　annals。　It　was　the　kings　of　Assyria；　issuing　from　their　palaces　in　Nineveh；　who　dominated　the　civilization　of　Western　Asia　during　the　heyday　of　Hebrew　history；　and　whose　deeds　are　so　frequently　mentioned　in　the　Hebrew　chronicles。　Later　on；　in　the　year　606　B。C。；　Nineveh　was　overthrown　by　the　Medes＇1＇　and　Babylonians。　The　famous　city　was　completely　destroyed；　never　to　be　rebuilt。　Babylon；　however；　though　conquered　subsequently　by　Cyrus　and　held　in　subjection　by　Darius；＇2＇　the　Persian　kings；　continued　to　hold　sway　as　a　great　world…capital　for　some　centuries。　The　last　great　historical　event　that　occurred　within　its　walls　was　the　death　of　Alexander　the　Great；　which　took　place　there　in　the　year　322　B。C。　In　the　time　of　Herodotus　the　fame　of　Babylon　was　at　its　height；　and　the　father　of　history　has　left　us　a　most　entertaining　account　of　what　he　saw　when　he　visited　the　wonderful　capital。　Unfortunately；　Herodotus　was　not　a　scholar　in　the　proper　acceptance　of　the　term。　He　probably　had　no　inkling　of　the　Babylonian　language；　so　the　voluminous　records　of　its　literature　were　entirely　shut　off　from　his　observation。　He　therefore　enlightens　us　but　little　regarding　the　science　of　the　Babylonians；　though　his　observations　on　their　practical　civilization　give　us　incidental　references　of　no　small　importance。　Somewhat　more　detailed　references　to　the　scientific　attainments　of　the　Babylonians　are　found　in　the　fragments　that　have　come　down　to　us　of　the　writings　of　the　great　Babylonian　historian；　Berosus；＇3＇　who　was　born　in　Babylon　about　330　B。C。；　and　who　was；　therefore；　a　contemporary　of　Alexander　the　Great。　But　the　writings　of　Berosus　also；　or　at　least　such　parts　of　them　as　have　come　down　to　us；　leave　very　much　to　be　desired　in　point　of　explicitness。　They　give　some　glimpses　of　Babylonian　history；　and　they　detail　at　some　length　the　strange　mythical　tales　of　creation　that　entered　into　the　Babylonian　conception　of　cosmogonydetails　which　find　their　counterpart　in　the　allied　recitals　of　the　Hebrews。　But　taken　all　in　all；　the　glimpses　of　the　actual　state　of　Chaldean＇4＇　learning；　as　it　was　commonly　called；　amounted　to　scarcely　more　than　vague　wonder…tales。　No　one　really　knew　just　what　interpretation　to　put　upon　these　tales　until　the　explorers　of　the　nineteenth　century　had　excavated　the　ruins　of　the　Babylonian　and　Assyrian　cities；　bringing　to　light　the　relics　of　their　wonderful　civilization。　But　these　relics　fortunately　included　vast　numbers　of　written　documents；　inscribed　on　tablets；　prisms；　and　cylinders　of　terra…cotta。　When　nineteenth…century　scholarship　had　penetrated　the　mysteries　of　the　strange　script；　and　ferreted　out　the　secrets　of　an　unknown　tongue；　the　world　at　last　was　in　possession　of　authentic　records　by　which　the　traditions　regarding　the　Babylonians　and　Assyrians　could　be　tested。　Thanks　to　these　materials；　a　new　science　commonly　spoken　of　as　Assyriology　came　into　being；　and　a　most　important　chapter　of　human　history　was　brought　to　light。　It　became　apparent　that　the　Greek　ideas　concerning　Mesopotamia；　though　vague　in　the　extreme；　were　founded　on　fact。　No　one　any　longer　questions　that　the　Mesopotamian　civilization　was　fully　on　a　par　with　that　of　Egypt；　indeed；　it　is　rather　held　that　superiority　lay　with　the　Asiatics。　Certainly；　in　point　of　purely　scientific　attainments；　the　Babylonians　passed　somewhat　beyond　their　Egyptian　competitors。　All　the　evidence　seems　to　suggest　also　that　the　Babylonian　civilization　was　even　more　ancient　than　that　of　Egypt。　The　precise　dates　are　here　in　dispute；　nor　for　our　present　purpose　need　they　greatly　concern　us。　But　the　Assyrio…Babylonian　records　have　much　greater　historical　accuracy　as　regards　matters　of　chronology　than　have　the　Egyptian；　and　it　is　believed　that　our　knowledge　of　the　early　Babylonian　history　is　carried　back；　with　some　certainty；　to　King　Sargon　of　Agade；＇5＇　for　whom　the　date　3800　B。C。　is　generally　accepted；　while　somewhat　vaguer　records　give　us　glimpses　of　periods　as　remote　as　the　sixth；　perhaps　even　the　seventh　or　eighth　millenniums　before　our　era。　At　a　very　early　period　Babylon　itself　was　not　a　capital　and　Nineveh　had　not　come　into　existence。　The　important　cities；　such　as　Nippur　and　Shirpurla；　were　situated　farther　to　the　south。　It　is　on　the　site　of　these　cities　that　the　recent　excavations　have　been　made；　such　as　those　of　the　University　of　Pennsylvania　expeditions　at　Nippur；＇6＇　which　are　giving　us　glimpses　into　remoter　recesses　of　the　historical　period。　Even　if　we　disregard　the　more　problematical　early　dates；　we　are　still　concerned　with　the　records　of　a　civilization　extending　unbroken　throughout　a　period　of　about　four　thousand　years；　the　actual　period　is　in　all　probability　twice　or　thrice　that。　Naturally　enough；　the　current　of　history　is　not　an　unbroken　stream　throughout　this　long　epoch。　It　appears　that　at　least　two　utterly　different　ethnic　elements　are　involved。　A　preponderance　of　evidence　seems　to　show　that　the　earliest　civilized　inhabitants　of　Mesopotamia　were　not　Semitic；　but　an　alien　race；　which　is　now　commonly　spoken　of　as　Sumerian。　This　people；　of　whom　we　catch　glimpses　chiefly　through　the　records　of　its　successors；　appears　to　have　been　subjugated　or　overthrown　by　Semitic　invaders；　who；　coming　perhaps　from　Arabia　（their　origin　is　in　dispute）；　took　possession　of　the　region　of　the　Tigris　and　Euphrates；　learned　from　the　Sumerians　many　of　the　useful　arts；　and；　partly　perhaps　because　of　their　mixed　lineage；　were　enabled　to　develop　the　most　wonderful　civilization　of　antiquity。　Could　we　analyze　the　details　of　this　civilization　from　its　earliest　to　its　latest　period　we　should　of　course　find　the　same　changes　which　always　attend　racial　progress　and　decay。　We　should　then　be　able；　no　doubt；　to　speak　of　certain　golden　epochs　and　their　periods　of　decline。　To　a　certain　meagre　extent　we　are　able　to　do　this　now。　We　know；　for　example；　that　King　Khammurabi；　who　lived　about　2200　B。C。；　was　a　great　law…giver；　the　ancient　prototype　of　Justinian；　and　the　epochs　of　such　Assyrian　kings　as　Sargon　II。；　Asshurnazirpal；　Sennacherib；　and　Asshurbanapal　stand　out　with　much　distinctness。　Yet；　as　a　whole；　the　record　does　not　enable　us　to　trace　with　clearness　the　progress　of　scientific　thought。　At　best　we　can　gain　fewer　glimpses　in　this　direction　than　in　almost　any　other；　for　it　is　the　record　of　war　and　conquest　rather　than　of　the　peaceful　arts　that　commanded　the　attention　of　the　ancient　scribe。　So　in　dealing　with　the　scientific　achievements　of　these　peoples；　we　shall　perforce　consider　their　varied　civilizations　as　a　unity；　and　attempt；　as　best　we　may；　to　summarize　their　achievements　as　a　whole。　For　the　most　part；　we　shall　not　attempt　to　discriminate　as　to　what　share　in　the　final　product　was　due　to　Sumerian；　what　to　Babylonian；　and　what　to　Assyrian。　We　shall　speak　of　Babylonian　science　as　including　all　these　elements；　and　drawing　our　information　chiefly　from　the　relatively　late　Assyrian　and　Babylonian　sources；　which；　therefore；　represent　the　culminating　achievements　of　all　these　ages　of　effort；　we　shall　attempt　to　discover　what　was　the　actual　status　of　Mesopotamian　science　at　its　climax。　In　so　far　as　we　succeed；　we　shall　be　able　to　judge　what　scientific　heritage　Europe　received　from　the　Orient；　for　in　the　records　of　Babylonian　science　we