Lacock Janry 8/57
Dr Sir
I send you by todays post another little pamphlet of mine on the Assyrn inscriptns<1>
I have received from Williams and Norgate<2> a copy of the lithograph of your Cylinder (the same as what Rawlinson<3> lent to you). It is contained in the 4th vol of the Transactns of the Royal Society of Gottingen. I purchased the whole volume - It is rather an expensive one (24 shillings) but it contains in addition to your Cylinder an excellent lithograph of in facsimile of Bellino's<4> Cylinder in the British Museum (the same I have translated in my new pamphlet) - so that on the whole the volume is worth the money, & I recommend you to procure a copy -
In order to be quite sure that this lithograph represents your Cylinder & not another one I should like you to send me a tracing from the cylinder itself of the first line of the second Column, which if it agrees will be sufficient proof, the number of lines also corresponding.
It seems that your cylinder was also found by Bellino, in the year 1819 and he executed the facsimiles of both, and sent them from Babylon to Grotefend in Germany to publish, which was not done till 1850 or thirty years after they were copied - The facsimile is most excellent, in fact Bellino must have had a special sharpness of eyesight and truth of judgement to enable him to copy so accurately such a multitude of unknown characters - I read on your Cylinder that Nebuchadnezzar in his piety augmented the religious worship of his god Marduk on a scale it had never reached before, and that every day he sacrificed to him a ....... ox, probably a fat ox, while to certain other divinities he sacrificed every day 8 sheep and 16 ...... perhaps lambs? or only pigeons?
I remain Dr Sir yours vy truly
H. F. Talbot
Your cylinder is the most perfect monument of Nebedchanner's reign which has reached us, next after the great inscription of the India House -
[separate leaf, annotated in pencil by TP:]
Observations on a Babylonian Cylinder belonging to Sir Thomas Phillipps - by H. F. Talbot.
This Inscription is of the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and is an account by that monarch of the numerous temples which he built restored or embellished, at Babylon and elsewhere in his dominions.
The King's name is found column 1 line 1, with a title following - But in col 2 line 60 last line it occupies the whole of a line to itself.
In column 3 line 36, there is an interesting notice of the Cedars of Lebanon (which were brought to Babylon for the repairs of the Temples.
The inscription ends with a very curious prayer for the prosperity of the city - It prays apparently that a race of prosperous kings may flourish there forever.
[this letter was privately reprinted by Phillipps at his Middle Hill Press as a three page pamphlet - printed version:]
To
Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart.
Middle Hill.
Lacock Jan. 8, 1857
Dr Sir
I send you by to day's post another little pamphlet of mine on the Assyrian inscriptions.
I have received from Williams and Norgate a copy of the lithograph of your Cylinder, (the same as what Rawlinson lent you). It is contained in the 4th vol. of the Transactions of the Royal Society of Gottingen. I purchased the whole volume. It is rather an expensive one (24 shillings) but it contains, in addition to your Cylinder, an excellent lithograph, in facsimile, of Bellino's Cylinder in the British Museum, (the same I have translated in my new pamphlet,) so that on the whole the volume is worth the money, and I recommend you to procure a copy.
In order to be quite sure that this lithograph represents your Cylinder, and not another one, I should like you to send me a tracing from the Cylinder itself, of the first line of the Second Column, which, if it agrees, will be sufficient proof, the number of lines also corresponding.
2.
It seems that your Cylinder was also found by Bellino, in the year 1819 and he executed the facsimiles of both, and sent them from Babylon to Grotefend in Germany to publish; which was not done till 1850, or thirty years after they were copied.
The facsimile is most excellent; in fact Bellino must have had a special sharpness of eyesight, and truth of judgment, to enable him to copy so accurately such a multitude of unknown characters.
I read on your Cylinder, that Nebuchadnezzar, in his piety, augmented the religious worship of his god Marduk, on a scale it had never reached before, and that every day he sacrificed to him a ....... ox, (probably a fat ox,) while to certain other divinities he sacrificed every day 8 sheep, and 16 ...... (lambs? or only pigeons?-)
I remain Dr Sir
yours very truly,
H. F. Talbot
P.S.
Your Cylinder is the most perfect monument of Nebedchanner's reign which has reached us, next after the great Inscription of the India House.
3.
Observations on a Babylonian Cylinder, belonging to Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. by H. F. Talbot.
This Inscription is of the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and is an account, by that monarch, of the numerous temples which he built, restored, or embellished, at Babylon, and elsewhere in his dominions.
The King's name is found at column 1. line 1. with a title following. But in column 2, last line, it occupies the whole line of it self.
In column 3, line 36, there is an interesting notice of the Cedars of Lebanon, which were brought to Babylon for repairs of the Temples.
The inscription ends with a very curious prayer for the prosperity of the city. - It prays, (apparently,) that a race of prosperous kings may flourish there for ever.
Notes:
1. WHFT, Assyrian Texts Translated. No. 1. (London: Printed by Harrisons and Sons for private distribution, 1856). 32 pp.
2. Williams & Norgate, Henrietta Street, London, booksellers and printers.
3. Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1st Baronet (1810-1895), orientalist.
4. Karl Bellino (1791-1820), German Assyriologist.