Praise of King Uruk-agina
1.
Since time immemorial, since life began, in those days,
the head boatman appropriated boats, the livestock official appropriated asses,
the livestock official appropriated sheep, and the fisheries inspector appropriated [fish].
2.
The shepherds of wool sheep paid a duty in silver on account of white sheep,
and the surveyor, chief lamentation-singer, supervisor, brewer and foremen
paid a duty in silver on account of young lambs.
3.
These were the conventions of former times!
4.
When Ningirsu, warrior of Enlil, granted the kingship of Lagash to Urukagina,
selecting him from among the myriad people,
he replaced the customs of former times,
carrying out the command that Ningirsu, his master, had given him.
5.
He removed the head boatman from control over the boats,
he removed the livestock official from control over asses and sheep,
he removed the fisheries inspector from control [over the fisheries]
6.
He removed the silo supervisor from control over the grain taxes of the guda-priests,
he removed the bureaucrat responsible for the paying of duties in silver on account of white sheep and young lambs,
and he removed the bureaucrat responsible for the delivery of duties by the temple administrators to the palace.
7.
The administrators no longer plunder the orchards of the poor.
8.
When a high quality ass is born to a shublugal, and his foreman says to him,
"I want to buy it from you";
whether he lets him buy it from him and says to him "Pay me the price I want!,"
or whether he does not let him buy it from him,
the foreman must not strike at him in anger.
9.
When the house of an aristocrat adjoins the house of a shublugal, and the aristocrat says to him,
"I want to buy it from you";
whether he lets him buy it from him, having said to him, "Pay me the price I want!
My house is a large container, fill it with barley for me!,"
or whether he does not let him buy it from him,
that aristocrat must not strike at him in anger.
10.
He cleared and cancelled obligations for those indentured families,
citizens of Lagash living as debtors because of grain taxes, barley payments, theft or murder.
Urukagina solemnly promised Ningirsu
that he would never subjugate the waif [orphan] and the widow to the powerful.
Praise of King Gudea
11.
I had debts remitted and washed all hands.
For seven days no grain was ground.
12.
The slave-woman was allowed to be equal to her mistress,
the slave was allowed to walk side by side with his master.
In my city, the one [that was] unclean to someone was permitted to sleep outside.
13.
I paid attention to the justice ordained by Nanse and Ningirsu;
I did not expose the orphan to the wealthy person
nor did I expose the widow to the influential one.
In a house having no male child, I let the daughter become its heir.
14.
He purified the holy city and encircled it with fires.
He collected clay in a very pure place;
in a pure place he made silt into the bricks and put the bricks into the mould.
15.
He followed the rites in all their splendor:
he purified the foundations of the temple,
surrounded it with fires, anointed the platforms with an aromatic balm.
16.
From Elam came the Elamites, from Susa the Susians.
Magan and Muluhha collected timber from their mountains,
and Gudea brought them together in his town Girsu.
17.
Gudea, the great en-priest of Ningirsu,
made a path into the Cedar mountains which nobody had entered before;
he cut its cedars with great axes.
Like giant snakes, cedars were floating down the river
18.
In the quarries that nobody had entered before, Gudea, the great en-priest of Ningirsu,
made a path and then the stones were delivered in large blocks.
19.
Many other precious metals were carried to the ensi.
From the copper mountians of Kimash, its mountains as dust.
20.
For Gudea, the mined silver from its mountains delivered red stone from Meluhha in great amount.
Praises of the Beneficient Kings CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 21-40