Lacock Abbey Chippenham
December 1856
Dear Sir
I beg your acceptance of a copy of the 1st number of my new publication on the cuneiform inscriptions.<1> I could have wished to have added a commentary explanatory of the text and supporting my translation by the necessary arguments, but finding that this would delay indefinitely the publication, I thought I should be doing more real service to the science by publishing a little at a time – I have been perusing the journals of the German scientific societies to see what they have been doing in the way of cuneiform discovery during the last 2 or 3 years – It is surprising how very little I can find nor is that little, very instructive. I have read Brandis's work but though it appears the production of a man of sound judgment in many things, it is evidently premature–<2> If he had read and considered what has been published in England he would have seen that many things are quite plain and clear, which to him appear still enveloped in the greatest obscurity –
In the department of hieroglyphic literature on the contrary, there are some writers of brilliant talent such as Brugsch and Lepsius and de Rougé in France.<3>
Before publishing in the Journal of S. Litre on the Assyrian verb, did you publish on the pronouns also? If so, can you favor me with a reference to the volume where published, as I have not seen it.<4>
Believe me Yours vy Truly
H F. Talbot
Notes:
1. WHFT, "On the Assyrian Inscriptions" [no. 1, dated October 1855], Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record, s. 2, v. 2, no. 4, January 1856, pp. 414-425.
2. Johannes Von Brandis, Uber den historischen gewinn aus der entzifferung der assyrischen Inschriften. Nebst einer übersicht über die grundzüge des assyrich-babylonischen keilschriftsystems (Berlin: W. Hertz, 1856).
3. Heinrich Karl Brugsch (also Brugsch-Pasha, 1827-1894), German Egyptologist. Dr Karl Richard Lepsius (1810-1884), German Egyptologist. Le vicomte Olivier-Charles-Camille-Emmanuel de Rougé 1811-1872, French Egyptologist and philologist, member of La Maison de Rougé.
4. This establishes this letter as having been written before 20 December - see Doc. No: 07335