Dr Birch. Br. Museum
Lacock Abbey
Feb. 27. 1873
My Dear Sir
The historical inscriptions are much more easy to translate than some of the tablets; the former are straightforward narratives, the latter often impassioned and mystical –
But the historical inscriptions have been so well examined that not much more can be extracted out of them –
Nevertheless if the Society desires their publication I shall be very willing to take a share in it.
The Nebuchadnezzar inscriptions have been translated and published. That which belonged to Sir T. Phillips <sic> I translated with a commentary in the Transactns of the R. Society of Literature some years ago. There is nothing historical in any of the Nebuchadnezzar inscriptions
They all related to the donations he made to Temples and similar matters of religion. I am surprised to hear that the printing of part 2 cost so much as £87, because I thought that Mr Bosanquet had contributed the printing of his long and curious paper on the second Cyrus – I shall be very curious to see Sir H. Rawlinson’s paper on the Babylonian Paradise – it cannot fail to be very interesting.
What is much wanted now is the publication of more texts well lithographed in Mr Bowler’s style – Has Bowler lithographd the Chaldæan deluge tablets? At present I have only seen photographs, & those, however interesting are insufficient to work from.
I have not seen Lenormant’s work on the Accadian – I have studied that difficult language to some extent, do you think the Society would like a paper upon it? Of course it would be dry, lists of roots and monograms with their meaning, as ascertaind by a careful analysis of texts. Can you give me the full title of the book you call “the Mélanges recently published at Paris” If I knew it I would order it. Thanks for your news of Mr Smith – I now hope for a good result of his expedition.
I remain Yours faithfully
H. F. Talbot