I don't think I ever expected when I chose this career path that I would be dabbling in Babylonian studies. But I guess that's what happens when you work on Borges. I've been writing a book chapter about Borges's story, "The Lottery in Babylon," so I've been up to my eyeballs in Babylonian history and culture. Here's a couplet from a long poem, which, like many Babylonian literary texts, deals with the problem of theodicy in a particularly vivid way. Consider yourself warned.ina ru-ub-si-ia a-bit ki-ial-pi
ub-tal-lil ki-i immeri (udu.nitá) ina ta-ba-ás-ta-ni-ia
Translation:
I spend the night in my dung like an ox,
And wallow in my excrement like a sheep.
Any questions?
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