Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

PREFACE
vii
this great and gifted woman by resolving
unanimously that
the famous collections of tablets from the temple library at
Nippur shall be known henceforth by her name. In view
of her very extensive contributions to the present book, it
was my desire to have her name associated with
mine on its
title-page. But when I asked for her consent the day previous
to her final departure, — immediately after she had
completed her last task, and had arranged with me for the
next twenty years the details of the scientific publications of
the American Expedition to Nuffar, — I
received the memorable
reply :
" Why should the world learn to discriminate
between your work and my work, your person and my
person ? Was not your God my God, your country my
country, vour labor my labor, vour sorrow my sorrow, your
name my name ? Let it remain so even at my coffin and
tomb." In the light of this sacred legacy, my reviewers
will pardon me for appearing to appropriate more than is
due to me.
More rapidly than I could have anticipated I was placed
in a position to carry out my wife's lofty ideas with regard
It seems therefore eminently proper for me in this
connection to express publicly my deep gratitude to Messrs.
Edward W. and Clarence H. Clark of Philadelphia, the two
widely known patrons of American explorations in
to the strictly scientific publications of the Philadelphia expedition.
Babylonia,
who by their recent munificent gift of $100,000 have
enabled the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
to establish the " Clark Research Professorship of
Assyriologv," the only chair of its kind in existence. As
its first incumbent I am authorized to devote the rest of
my life to the study and deciphering of those remarkable
results which through the generosity and energy of a few