Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet III — The Expedition against Humbaba · 3 of 5 · tr. R. Campbell Thompson
Tablet III, Section 1c
I (forsooth) dread him, and (yet) to [(the depths of the) Forest] I'll take [me] .
." .
" .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
may thy god (so) [protect] thee, Bringing thee back [(safe and)] sound to the walls of [broad-marketed] Erech." 35.
Gilgamish knelt [before Shamash] a word [in his presence] to utter: "Here I present myself, Shamash, [to lift up] my hands (in entreaty), O that hereafter my life may be spared, to the ramparts of [Erech] 40.
Bring me again: spread thine aegis [upon me] ." And Shamash made answer, [Speaking] his oracle .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Tears adown Gilgamish’ [cheeks were (now)] streaming: "A road I have never Traversed [I go, on a passage(?)] I know not, (but if) I be spared 5.
(So) in content [will I] come [and will pay thee(?)] due meed (?) of thy homage." 10.
Monstrous [the axes they brought(?)], they deliver’d [the bow] and the quiver [Into] (his) hand; (so) taking a celt, [he slung on (?)] his quiver, 15.
[Grasping] another [celt(?) he fasten’d his glaive] to his baldrick.
[But, or ever the twain] had set forth on their journey, they offer’d [Gifts] to the Sun-god, that home he might bring them to Erech (in safety).
.
20.
(Now) do the [Elders] farewell him with blessings, to Gilgamish giving Counsel [concerning] the road: "O Gilgamish, to thine own power Trust not (alone); (but at least) let thy [road] be traversed [before] thee, Guard thou thy person; let Enkidu go before thee (as vaward).
(Aye, for) ’twas he hath discover’d the [way], the road he hath travell’d.
25.
(Sooth), of the Forest the passes are all under sway (?) [of] Humbaba, [(Yea), he who goeth] as vaward is (able) to safeguard a comrade, O that the Sun-god [may grant] thee [success to attain] thine [ambition], 30.
0 that he grant that thine eyes see (consummate) the words of thy utt’rance O that he level the path that is block’d, cleave a road for thy treading, 35.
Cleave, too, the berg for thy foot!
May the god Lugal-banda Bring in thy night-time a message to thee, with which shalt be gladden’d, So that it help thine ambition , (for), like a boy thine ambition On the o’erthrow of Humbaba thou fixest, as thou hast settled.
40.
Wash, (then), thy feet : when thou haltest , shalt hollow a pool, so that ever Pure be the water within thy skin-bottle, (aye), cool be the water Unto the Sun-god thou pourest, (and thus) shalt remind Lugal-banda." 45.
Enkidu open’d his mouth, and spake unto Gilgamish, (saying): "[Gilgamish], art (?) thou (in truth) full equal to making (this) foray?
Let [not] thy heart be afraid; trust me." On (his) shoulder his mantle 50.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Animismcosmology
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The Forest is described as being under the sway of Humbaba, a guardian spirit embodying the landscape.
All passages →Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
Shamash is depicted speaking, wearing an aegis, and interacting physically with Gilgamesh who kneels before him.
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 passage requests the Sun-god to order the path, grant success, and bring them home safely.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Shamash is portrayed as an active, responsive deity who answers oracles and protects the travelers.
All passages →Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
Gilgamesh kneels before Shamash to lift his hands in entreaty, and the Elders offer blessings for safe return.
All passages →Ritual Puritypraxis
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
Specific instructions are given to wash feet and keep water pure within the skin-bottle for pouring to the Sun-god.
All passages →Related passages · 10 parallels
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 53 (part 11)
“They are never erring, perpetually recurring numbers, unveiling, to him who studies the secrets of Nature, a truly divine System, an intelligent plan in Cosmogony, which results in natural cosmic divisions of times, seasons, invisible influ…”
Shared concept: Animism — The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. (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|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)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 71 (part 10)
“There reside mankind along with Daityas and Danavas, as well as with spirits of Heaven ( Gandharvas, Yakshas, Kimpurushas, etc .) and gods.
" ( Chapter iv.
) There is but one exception in the case of King Priyavrata, the son of the first…”
Shared concept: Animism — The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. (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)
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)
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)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 67
“Section 6 6. For, as the ancient teaching was, moral-discipline and courage and every virtue, not even excepting Wisdom itself, all is purification. Hence the Mysteries with good reason adumbrate the immersion of the unpurified in filth, ev…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite)|Page 38 (part 1)
“Click to view DEVIL FROM HEARNE'S PRINT OF THE "DESCENT INTO HELL." Engraved by Michael Burghers , c.
1676.
CHAPTER I The Preparation of the Operator § 1.
Concerning the Love of God THE rites of so-called Transcendental Magic are, ex hyp…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)