a history of science-4-第52节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


nd　cared　for　by　an　official　librarian。　　If　you　would　see　some　of　the　documents　of　this　marvellous　library　you　have　but　to　step　past　the　winged　lions　of　Asurnazirpal　and　enter　the　Assyrian　hall　just　around　the　corner　from　the　Rosetta　Stone。　　Indeed；　the　great　slabs　of　stone　from　which　the　lions　themselves　are　carved　are　in　a　sense　books；　inasmuch　as　there　are　written　records　inscribed　on　their　surface。　A　glance　reveals　the　strange　characters　in　which　these　records　are　written；　graven　neatly　in　straight　lines　across　the　stone；　and　looking　to　casual　inspection　like　nothing　so　much　as　random　flights　of　arrow…heads。　The　resemblance　is　so　striking　that　this　is　sometimes　called　the　arrow…head　character；　though　it　is　more　generally　known　as　the　wedge　or　cuneiform　character。　The　inscriptions　on　the　flanks　of　the　lions　are；　however；　only　makeshift　books。　　But　the　veritable　books　are　no　farther　away　than　the　next　room　beyond　the　hall　of　Asurnazirpal。　　They　occupy　part　of　a　series　of　cases　placed　down　the　centre　of　this　room。　Perhaps　it　is　not　too　much　to　speak　of　this　collection　as　the　most　extraordinary　set　of　documents　of　all　the　rare　treasures　of　the　British　Museum；　for　it　includes　not　books　alone；　but　public　and　private　letters；　business　announcements；　marriage　contractsin　a　word；　all　the　species　of　written　records　that　enter　into　the　every…day　life　of　an　intelligent　and　cultured　community。

But　by　what　miracle　have　such　documents　been　preserved　through　all　these　centuries？　　A　glance　makes　the　secret　evident。　It　is　simply　a　case　of　time…defying　materials。　　Each　one　of　these　Assyrian　documents　appears　to　be；　and　in　reality　is；　nothing　more　or　less　than　an　inscribed　fragment　of　brick；　having　much　the　color　and　texture　of　a　weathered　terra…cotta　tile　of　modern　manufacture。　　These　slabs　are　usually　oval　or　oblong　in　shape；　and　from　two　or　three　to　six　or　eight　inches　in　length　and　an　inch　or　so　in　thickness。　　Each　of　them　was　originally　a　portion　of　brick…clay；　on　which　the　scribe　indented　the　flights　of　arrowheads　with　some　sharp…cornered　instrument；　after　which　the　document　was　made　permanent　by　baking。　They　are　somewhat　fragile；　of　course；　as　all　bricks　are；　and　many　of　them　have　been　more　or　less　crumbled　in　the　destruction　of　the　palace　at　Nineveh；　but　to　the　ravages　of　mere　time　they　are　as　nearly　invulnerable　as　almost　anything　in　nature。　Hence　it　is　that　these　records　of　a　remote　civilization　have　been　preserved　to　us；　while　the　similar　records　of　such　later　civilizations　as　the　Grecian　have　utterly　perished；　much　as　the　flint　implements　of　the　cave…dweller　come　to　us　unchanged；　while　the　iron　implements　of　a　far　more　recent　age　have　crumbled　away。


HOW　THE　RECORDS　WERE　READ

After　all；　then；　granted　the　choice　of　materials；　there　is　nothing　so　very　extraordinary　in　the　mere　fact　of　preservation　of　these　ancient　records。　To　be　sure；　it　is　vastly　to　the　credit　of　nineteenth…century　enterprise　to　have　searched　them　out　and　brought　them　back　to　light。　But　the　real　marvel　in　connection　with　them　is　the　fact　that　nineteenth…century　scholarship　should　have　given　us；　not　the　material　documents　themselves；　but　a　knowledge　of　their　actual　contents。　The　flight　of　arrow…heads　on　wall　or　slab　or　tiny　brick　have　surely　a　meaning；　but　how　shall　we　guess　that　meaning？　　These　must　be　words；　but　what　words？　　The　hieroglyphics　of　the　Egyptians　were　mysterious　enough　in　all　conscience；　yet；　after　all；　their　symbols　have　a　certain　suggestiveness；　whereas　there　is　nothing　that　seems　to　promise　a　mental　leverage　in　the　unbroken　succession　of　these　cuneiform　dashes。　Yet　the　Assyrian　scholar　of　to…day　can　interpret　these　strange　records　almost　as　readily　and　as　surely　as　the　classical　scholar　interprets　a　Greek　manuscript。　　And　this　evidences　one　of　the　greatest　triumphs　of　nineteenth…century　scholarship；　for　within　almost　two　thousand　years　no　man　has　lived；　prior　to　our　century；　to　whom　these　strange　inscriptions　would　not　have　been　as　meaningless　as　they　are　to　the　most　casual　stroller　who　looks　on　them　with　vague　wonderment　here　in　the　museum　to…day。　For　the　Assyrian　language；　like　the　Egyptian；　was　veritably　a　dead　language；　not；　like　Greek　and　Latin；　merely　passed　from　practical　every…day　use　to　the　closet　of　the　scholar；　but　utterly　and　absolutely　forgotten　by　all　the　world。　Such　being　the　case；　it　is　nothing　less　than　marvellous　that　it　should　have　been　restored。

It　is　but　fair　to　add　that　this　restoration　probably　never　would　have　been　effected；　with　Assyrian　or　with　Egyptian；　had　the　language　in　dying　left　no　cognate　successor；　for　the　powers　of　modern　linguistry；　though　great；　are　not　actually　miraculous。　　But；　fortunately；　a　language　once　developed　is　not　blotted　out　in　toto；　it　merely　outlives　its　usefulness　and　is　gradually　supplanted；　its　successor　retaining　many　traces　of　its　origin。　　So；　just　as　Latin；　for　example；　has　its　living　representatives　in　Italian　and　the　other　Romance　tongues；　the　language　of　Assyria　is　represented　by　cognate　Semitic　languages。　As　it　chances；　however；　these　have　been　of　aid　rather　in　the　later　stages　of　Assyrian　study　than　at　the　very　outset；　and　the　first　clew　to　the　message　of　the　cuneiform　writing　came　through　a　slightly　different　channel。

Curiously　enough；　it　was　a　trilingual　inscription　that　gave　the　clew；　as　in　the　case　of　the　Rosetta　Stone；　though　with　very　striking　difference　withal。　The　trilingual　inscription　now　in　question；　instead　of　being　a　small；　portable　monument；　covers　the　surface　of　a　massive　bluff　at　Behistun　in　western　Persia。　　Moreover；　all　three　of　its　inscriptions　are　in　cuneiform　characters；　and　all　three　are　in　languages　that　at　the　beginning　of　our　century　were　absolutely　unknown。　　This　inscription　itself；　as　a　striking　monument　of　unknown　import；　had　been　seen　by　successive　generations。　Tradition　ascribed　it；　as　we　learn　from　Ctesias；　through　Diodorus；　to　the　fabled　Assyrian　queen　Semiramis。　　Tradition　was　quite　at　fault　in　this；　but　it　is　only　recently　that　knowledge　has　availed　to　set　it　right。　The　inscription；　as　is　now　known；　was　really　written　about　the　year　515　B。C。；　at　the　instance　of　Darius　I。；　King　of　Persia；　some　of　whose　deeds　it　recounts　in　the　three　chief　languages　of　his　widely　scattered　subjects。

The　man　who　at　actual　risk　of　life　and　limb　copied　this　wonderful　inscription；　and　through　interpreting　it　became　the　veritable　〃father　of　Assyriology；〃　was　the　English　general　Sir　Henry　Rawlinson。　　His　feat　was　another　British　triumph　over　the　same　rivals　who　had　competed　for　the　Rosetta　Stone；　for　some　French　explorers　had　been　sent　by　their　government；　some　years　earlier；　expressly　to　copy　this　strange　record；　and　had　reported　that　it　was　impossible　to　reach　the　inscription。　But　British　courage　did　not　find　it　so；　and　in　1835　Rawlinson　scaled　the　dangerous　height　and　made　a　paper　cast　of　about　half　the　inscription。　Diplomatic　duties　called　him　away　from　the　task　for　some　years；　but　in　1848　he　returned　to　it　and　completed　the　copy　of　all　parts　of　the　inscription　that　have　escaped　the　ravages　of　time。　And　now　the　material　was　in　hand　for　a　new　science；　which　General　Rawlinson　himself　soon；　assisted　by　a　host　of　others；　proceeded　to　elaborate。

The　key　to　the　value　of　this　unique　inscription　lies　in　the　fact　that　its　third　language　is　ancient　Persian。　　It　appears　that　the　ancient　Persians　had　adopted　the　cuneiform　character　from　their　western　neighbors；　the　Assyrians；　but　in　so　doing　had　made　one　of　those　essential　modifications　and　improvements　which　are　scarcely　possible　to　accomplish　except　in　the　transition　from　one　race　to　another。　　Instead　of　building　with　the　arrow…head　a　multitude　of　syllabic　characters；　including　many　homophones；　as　had　been　and　continued　to　be　the　custom　with　the　Assyrians；　the　Persians　selected　a　few　of　these　characters　and　ascribed　to　them　phonetic　values　that　were　almost　purely　alphabetic。　In　a　word；　while　retaining　the　wedge　as　the　basal　stroke　of　their　script；　they　developed　an　alphabet；　making　the　last　wonderful　analysis　of　phonetic　sounds　which　even　to　this　day　has　escaped　the　Chinese；　which　the　Egyptians　had　only　partially　effected；　and　which　the　Phoenicians　were　accredited　by　the　Greeks　with　having　introduced　to　the　Western　world。　In　addition　to　this　all…essential　step；　the　Persians　had　introduced　the　minor　but　highly　convenient　custom　of　separating　the　words　of　a　sentence　from　one　another　by　a　particular　mark；　differing　in　this　regard　not　only　from　the　Assyrians　and　Egyptians；　but　from　the　early　Greek　scribes　as　well。

Thanks　to　these　simplifications；　the　old　Persian　language　had　been　practically　restored　about　the　beginning　of　the　nineteenth　century；　through　the　efforts　of　the　German　Grotefend；　and　further　advances　in　it　were　made　just　at　this　time　by　Renouf；　in　France；　and　by　Lassen；　in　Germany；　as　well　as　by　Rawlinson　himself；　who　largely　solved　the　problem　of　the　Persian　alphabet　independently。　So　the　Persian　portion　of　the　Behistun　inscription　could　be　at　least　partially　deciphered。　　This　in　itself；　however；　would　have　been　no　very　great　aid　towards　the　restoration　of　the　languages　of　the　other　portions　had　it　not　chanced；　fortunately；　that　the　inscription　is　sprinkled　with　proper　names。　　Now　proper　names；　generally　speaking；