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Document number: 9662
Date: 11 Jun 1870
Recipient: TALBOT William Henry Fox
Author: NORRIS Edwin
Collection: British Library, London, Manuscripts - Fox Talbot Collection
Last updated: 1st September 2003

6 Michaels Grove

11 June 1870 SW

My dear Sir

Many thanks for the loan of Ménant, which arrived last night. I gallopped through 50 pages, but saw nothing new, except the word <cuneiform> which proves the reading Kurrigalzer, for which I have read Durrigalzar: but I wish he had quoted the passage where the word is found, for I suspect Oppert’s evidence sometimes.

I have just now received and carefully read your letter of yesterday. L.34 of Oppert’s addition to Sargon you will find printed in p.604 of my dictionary, together with much explanation as I could make of it. <cuneiform> occurs as an <epithem?> of <cuneiform> in Tig. ii.23. In your version it is rendered by <Nnu?> only Schroder’s paper I read with interest, but with some surprise at the paucity of material he must <had?> before him. He made a good hit at Rénan’s argument that such a word as epus “to make,” disproved the Semitism of Assyrian. “because such a common verb as make must necessarily be the same in all Semitic Tongues” – by shewing that the verb make is rendered in Hebrew, Syrian, Ethiopian, and Arabian by totally different words.

Smith has written a paper upon Ashurbanipal’s inscriptions, in which he informs me he has given the complete text, with interlineary version. He tells me it will occupy 200 pages of the same sizi as those of my dictionary. He says Bosanquant offers fifty pounds towards printing it; but he is unwilling to begin printing till he can get names of person’s who will take copies at £2 each. I have put down my name for one, and Smith will probably apply to you. The expense will be about £160 or £170, for yo 250 copies, to judge of the cost of my work. I shall be glad to see it printed

Ewald did me the honour to review the first part of my dictionary in the Göttingen Gelehrte Angergen for 7h October, 1868. Eward’s style is difficult to read, and sometimes I think I must misunderstand him: he appears to say that I have done wrong by pre-determining that the language is Semitic and the roots triliteral, inasmuch as I set down three letters “z.B. ABB, ABG, ABD; BLR<,> BLS, BLT,” as my guide letters. If that be his meaning, he must impute the same offence to all lexicographers, latin, French and German, who put usually three letters as the heads of the columns of their dictionaries without dreaming of Semitism, he admits however that he must see more of the work before deciding, I really believe he had not read a dozen lines of it before writing his notice; I have not heard any thing more of him.

I must apologise for the length of this scrawl,

Believe me my dear Sir Yours faithfully

Edwin Norris

H. Fox Talbot, Esq

&c &c &c

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