He who has seen everything, I will make known to the lands.
I will teach about him who experienced all things.
Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all. the sky god
He saw the Secret, discovered the Hidden,
he brought information of the time before the Flood.
He went on a distant journey, pushing himself to exhaustion,
but then was brought to peace.—The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs
Compare this to Homer’s opening of The Illiad and The Odyssey which I highlighted in TBS 6. They were doing Saving Private Ryan openings before it was cool. In medias res before centuries before the term was even invented.
Last week: Naguib Mahfouz condenses beauty upon us.
Next week: Douglas Adams says eff it.
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