A conflict that he (Gilgameš) knoweth not he will meet,
A road that he knoweth not he will ride,
As long as he goeth and returneth,
Until he reach the forest of cedars,
Until the mighty Ḫumbaba he subdueth,
And whatever is evil, what ye hate, he shall destroy in the l(and).”
Evidently, from the extent of the record in this place, many adventures befell them, but the fragmentary [pg 095] lines and the numerous lacunæ make a connected narrative absolutely impossible, and it is not until we reach the first column of what Mr. G. Smith regarded as the fifth tablet that we get something more satisfactory than this. The hero has apparently come within measurable distance of his goal—
“They stood and looked on the forest,
They regarded the height of the cedar,
They regarded the depth of the forest,