Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet I — The Tyranny of Gilgamish and the Creation of Enkidu · 1 of 6 · tr. R. Campbell Thompson
Tablet I, Section 1a
THE EPIC OF GILGAMISH.
THE FIRST TABLET OF THE TYRANNY OF GILGAMISH, AND THE CREATION OF ENKIDU.
.
He who (the heart of) all matters hath proven let him [teach] the nation, [He who all] knowledge possesseth, therein shall he [school] all the people, [He shall his wisdom impart (?)] and (so) shall they ]share it] together.
[Gilgamish(?)] —he was the [Master] of wisdom, with [knowledge of all things, 5.
He ’twas discovered the secret concealed .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Aye), handed down the tradition relating to (things) prediluvian, Went on a journey afar, (all) aweary and [worn with his toiling(?)], 10.
[Graved] on a table of stone all the travail.
Of Erech, the high-wall’d, He (it was) built up the ramparts; (and) he (it was) clamp’d the foundation, Like unto brass, of [E]-Anna , the sacred, the treasury hallow’d, [Strengthen’d] its base to grant wayleave to no [one] .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
the threshold which from [of old (?)] .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[E]-Anna .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
15 .
.
.
.
.
to grant wayleave [to no one (?)] .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Two-thirds of him are divine, and [one-third of him human,] .
.
.
The form of his body .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
He hath forced to take .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
7.
".
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
of Erech ’tis he who hath [taken], .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(while) tow’reth [his] crest like an aurochs, 10.
Ne’er hath the shock of [his] weapons (its) [peer]; are driven [his] fellows Into the toils , while cow’d are the heroes of Erech un- .
.
.
.
.
Gilgamish leaveth no son to [his] father, [his] arrogance swelling (Each) day and [night]; [aye, he] is the shepherd of Erech, the high-[wall’d], 15.
He is [our(?)] shepherd .
.
.
.
[masterful, dominant, subtle] .
.
.
[Gilgamish] leaveth no [maid to her mother, nor] daughter to [hero], [(Nay), nor a spouse to a husband]" (And so), to (th’ appeal of) their wailing [Gave ear th’ Immortals]: the gods of high heaven address’d the god Anu], 20.
(Him who was) Seigneur of Erech: "’Tis thou a son hast begotten, (Aye, in sooth, all) tyrannous, [while tow’reth his crest like an aurochs], Ne’er hath [the shock of his weapons] (its) peer; are driven [his fellows] Into the toils, awhile cow’d are the heroes of Erech un- .
.
.
.] .
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The gods are depicted with human faculties such as hearing wailing, speaking to one another, and having familial relationships like fatherhood.
All passages →Divine Providencetheology
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The gods actively order human affairs by responding to tyranny with a plan to restore balance through the creation of Enkidu.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The deities actively intervene in human affairs by listening to the people's suffering and deciding to create a counterbalance to Gilgamesh.
All passages →Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
The citizens of Erech offer wailing appeals to the Immortals, which are heard and addressed by the divine council.
All passages →Related passages · 11 parallels
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 3)
“This other will is the sensitivity and conceivability of the primordial will, by means of which that which is nothing finds itself to be something.
By so doing the inconceivable causeless will issues by means of that which it has eternally…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1k
“and all things are moved by a longing for the Beautiful and Good, to accomplish every outward work and form every act of will.
And true reasoning will also dare to affirm that even the Creator of all things Himself yearneth after all thing…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIX
“But neither does the cause [of the energies] of more excellent natures subsist as a certain middle instrument, nor does he who invokes operate through him who prophesies; for to assert these things is impious. And it is much more true to sa…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 161
“Section 5 5. Still more unreasonably: There are men, bound to human bodies and subject to desire, grief, anger, who think so generously of their own faculty that they declare themselves in contact with the Intelligible World, but deny that…”
Shared concept: Divine Providence — Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXVII-a
“Moreover, neither is it sufficient to assert, “ that nature, art, and the sympathy of things in the universe, as if they were the parts of one animal, contain premanifestations of certain 188 things with reference to each other; nor that bo…”
Shared concept: Divine Providence — Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 203 (part 1)
“Section 16 16.
But if all this is true, what room is left for evil?
Where are we to place wrong-doing and sin?
How explain that in a world organized in good, the efficient agents [human beings] behave unjustly, commit sin?
And how comes…”
Shared concept: Divine Providence — Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter I-a
“Wheat is the Divine Gloom.
T rinty, which exceedeth all Being, Deity, and Goodness!
514 514 Lit.
“Super-Essential, Supra-Divine, Super-Excellent.” Thou that instructeth Christians in Thy heavenly wisdom!
Guide us to that topmost height…”
Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (derived)
platonism|Plato: Phaedrus|Section 1r
“But he whose initiation is recent, and who has been the spectator of many glories in the other world, is amazed when he sees any one having a godlike face or form, which is the expression of divine beauty; and at first a shudder runs throug…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 9, Section 1c
“For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus)|Chapter XIV (part 6)
“The second, symbolized by Eye, is the origin of feminine Grace, of Authority.
We have seen that Power and Authority find their equilibrium in Love.
Each man, a reflected molecule of humanity made in its image, contains in himself an Adam,…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat|Section 1a
“The Secret Sermon on the Mountain <This dialogue is in many ways the culmination of the whole Corpus, summing up the theory of the Hermetic system at the same time as it provides an intriguing glimpse at the practice.
The focus of the dial…”
Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (derived)