It caused them to fight for the sole possession of this Paradise upon
Earth.

It forced them to exercise their highest power of inventiveness and
their noblest courage to defend their homes and farms and their wives
and children against the newcomers, who century after century were
attracted by the fame of this pleasant spot.

This constant rivalry was the cause of an everlasting struggle between
the old and established tribes and the others who clamored for their
share of the soil.

Those who were weak and those who did not have a great deal of energy
had little chance of success.

Only the most intelligent and the bravest survived. That will explain to
you why Mesopotamia became the home of a strong race of men, capable of
creating that state of civilization which was to be of such enormous
benefit to all later generations.



THE SUMERIAN NAIL WRITERS

In the year 1472, a short time before Columbus discovered America, a
certain Venetian, by the name of Josaphat Barbaro, traveling through
Persia, crossed the hills near Shiraz and saw something which puzzled
him. The hills of Shiraz were covered with old temples which had been
cut into the rock of the mountainside. The ancient worshippers had
disappeared centuries before and the temples were in a state of great