Selected Sumerian Proverbs Section One
A source of this Sumerian Literature is
Who can compete with the righteousness? It creates life.
If wickedness exerts itself, how will Utu succeed?
You should not cut the throat of that which has already had its throat cut.
What has been destroyed belongs to a God. No one is able to take it away.
Though I still have bread left over, I will eat your bread!” Will this endear a man to the household of his friend?
If bread is left over, the mongoose eats it. If I have any bread left over, then a stranger will eat it.
My things changed things.
You don’t speak of that which you have found. You talk only about what you have lost.
Something which has never occurred since time immemorial: a young woman did not fart in her husband’s embrace.
It is a thing of short duration.
Whatever it is that hurts you, dont talk to anyone about it.
Wealth is far away, poverty is close at hand.
He who possesses many things is constantly close at hand.
Possessions are flying birds, they never find a place to settle.
Good fortune is embedded in organization and wisdom.
To be wealthy and insist on demanding more is abominable.
One does not return borrowed bread.
Dont pick things now; they will bear fruit later.
To a Curse that is uttered, a curse is not reciprocated. A Curse which is reciprocated will be retaliated against with yet another curse. The curse with which I would respond would cause another curse to be uttered.
It is an insult resulting from an insult. It is a curse resulting from a curse. It is the constant renewal of destiny.
To accept a verdict is possible. To accept a curse is impossible.
When a trustworthy boat is sailing, Utu seeks out a trustworthy harbour for it.
When a dishonest boat is sailing, it runs aground.
Who can reveal the heart that is made for me?
In my heart you are a human being, but in my eyes you are not a “man.”
He is at ease, he is pleased, he makes a living, he offers a prayer.
A heart never created hatred; speech created hatred.
Across the heavens, across the earth, litter is distributed over the earth.
A trough for kneading dough, not kept clean.
A trough from which the pigs eat.
A plant as sweet as a husband does not grow in the steepe.
The brothers in anger destroyed their father’s estate.
Oh my sister, if there were no outdoor shrines, and, oh my mother, if there were no river as well, I would be dying of hunger.
Thus my mother and my younger sister act toward me; am I so deficient in judgement that I should offer my cheek to her?
May Inana make a hot-limbed wife lie with you! May she bestow upon you broad-shouldered sons! May she seek out for you a happy place!
Girl, your brother cannot choose for you; whom do you choose?
When I married a malicious husband, when I bore a malicious son, an unhappy heart was assigned to me.
He who does not support a wife, he who does not support a child, has no cause for celebration.
A malicious wife living in the house is worse than all diseases.
My wife said “unfaithful!” to me – shal I go chasing after women’s genitals?
An unfaithful penis matches an unfaithful vagina.
Marrying is human. Having children is divine.
A chattering girl is silenced by her mother. A chattering boy is not silenced by his mother.
To be sick is acceptable; to be pregnant is painful; but to be pregnant and sick is just too much.
She has risen high, but cannot go on. She is low, but cannot rise.