The Nam-shub of Enki
Once upon a time, there was no
snake, there was no
scorpion,
There was no
hyena, there was no
lion,
There was no
wild dog, no
wolf,
There was no
fear, no
terror,
Man had no
rival.
In those days, the land
Shubur-Hamazi,
Harmony-tongued
Sumer, the great land of the
me of
princeship,
Uri, the land having all that is appropriate,
The land
Martu, resting in
security,
The whole
universe, the people well cared for,
To
Enlil in one tongue gave speech.
Then the
lord defiant, the
prince defiant, the king defiant,
Enki, the lord of
abundance, whose
commands are trustworthy,
The lord of
wisdom, who
scans the land,
The
leader of the
gods,
The lord of
Eridu, endowed with wisdom,
Changed the
speech in their mouths, put
contention into it,
Into the
speech of
man that had been
one.