D^r Hincks

Lacock 16 Jan^y – 59

D^r Sir

I thank you for sending me a copy of your essay, on the Priest-Kings of Babylon – Have you seen the work published by the Comte de Gobineau entitled Lecture des Textes Cunéiformes – an octavo of 200 pages – If you have not seen it I sh^d have great pleasure in lending it to you, but I do not think you would derive much instruction from the perusal. He informs us, that we are fundamentally wrong in our System of interpretation. You speak of the Birs Nimroud Cylinder as “unpublished” but I understand it has been published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Paris, tome IX. See the numbers of that journal from Feb^ry to Sept^r 1857 with a translation by Oppert on which he states that he expended “a twelvemonths“ labour. The Comte de Gobineau quotes this, and then says that he himself succeeded “in a few hours”, in producing an entirely different version.

However, as he gives us the Cuneiform text, we may judge for ourselves. You refer to another document in the B. Mus^m as B.M. Cyl^r This I have not seen, and shall enquire for it when I am next in Town – I suppose I shall have no difficulty in identifying it – I have only seen the first part of Oppert’s great work – I regret to see that he assumes to himself, by implication at least, all the principal Cuneiform discoveries of late years. I am very willing to render him justice & yet I should be at a loss to point out even one cuneiform group whose value was first ascertained by him. I gave him credit at one time for the determination <cuneiform> pat. but am assured it was previously published. In one place of his work he withdraws at once a dozen or more values of characters.

I remain D^r Sir Yours Truly

H. F. Talbot