Roving Moderator

BARTLET :

You know, I was watching a television program before with a sort of a roving moderator who spoke to a seated panel of young women who are having some sort of problems with their boyfriends. 

Apparently, because the boyfriends have all slept with the girlfriend's mothers. 

Then they brought all the boyfriends out and they fought, right there on television.

Toby, tell me — These people don't vote, do they?

TOBY :

I wouldn't think so. No sir.

REAL

What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. This is the world that you know. The world as it was at the end of the twentieth century. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation that we call the Matrix. You’ve been living in a dream world, Neo. This is the world as it exists today… Welcome.. to the desert.. of the real. We have only bits and pieces of information but what we know for certain is that at some point in the early twenty-first century all of mankind was united in celebration. We marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI.

A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines. We don’t know who struck first, us or them. But we know that it was us that scorched the sky. At the time they were dependent on solar power and it was believed that they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun. Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. The human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTUs of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines have found all the energy they would ever need. There are fields, endless fields, where human beings are no longer born. We are grown. For the longest time I wouldn’t believe it, and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watch them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living. And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth. What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.

real (adj.)

early 14c., "actually existing, true;" mid-15c., "relating to things" (especially property), from Old French reel "real, actual," from Late Latin realis "actual," in Medieval Latin "belonging to the thing itself," from Latin res "property, goods, matter, thing, affair," which de Vaan traces to a PIE *Hreh-i- "wealth, goods," source also of Sanskrit rayim, rayah "property, goods," Avestan raii-i- "wealth."

 

The meaning "genuine" is recorded from 1550s; the sense of "unaffected, no-nonsense" is from 1847.

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. [Margery Williams, "The Velveteen Rabbit"]

Real estate, the exact term, is recorded from 1660s, but in Middle English real was used in law in reference to immovable property, paired with, and distinguished from, personal. Noun phrase real time is early 19c. as a term in logic and philosophy, 1953 as an adjectival phrase; get real, usually an interjection, was U.S. college slang in 1960s, reached wide popularity c. 1987.

real (n.)

"small Spanish silver coin," 1580s, from Spanish real, noun use of real (adj.) "regal," from Latin regalis "regal" (see regal). Especially in reference to the real de plata, which circulated in the U.S. till c. 1850 and in Mexico until 1897. The same word was used in Middle English in reference to various coins, from Old French real, cognate of the Spanish word.

 

The old system of reckoning by shillings and pence is continued by retail dealers generally; and will continue, as long as the Spanish coins remain in circulation. [Bartlett, "Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]

He adds that, due to different exchange rates of metal to paper money in the different states, the Spanish money had varying names from place to place. The Spanish real of one-eighth of a dollar or 12 and a half cents was a ninepence in New England, one shilling in New York, elevenpence or a levy in Pennsylvania, "and in many of the Southern States, a bit." The half-real was in New York a sixpence, in New England a fourpence, in Pennsylvania a fip, in the South a picayune.

Just Like Starting Overlook

“There's a thing in AA, something they read in a lot of meetings, The Promises. 

Most of those promises have come true in my life: 

We'll come to know a new freedom and new happiness, that's True. 

But it also says in there: 

We will not regret The Past nor wish to shut The Door on it.

And I have no wish to shut The Door on The Past. 

I have been pretty upfront about my past. 

But do I regret? I do. I do. 

I regret the necessity."

Leo walks towards the agents. 

As Bartlet waits, we hear the sound of several heavy doors closing. 

Bartlet turns back towards the altar.

BARTLET :

[tired] 

You're a real Son of a Bitch, you know that? 

He slowly walks up the center aisle.

She bought her first new car and you hit her with a drunk driver. 

What? Was that supposed to be funny? 

"You cannot conceive, nor can I, 

The Appalling Strangeness of The Mercy of God," 

says Graham Greene. 

I don't know who's ass he was kissing there 'cause --

I think you're just vindictive.

Still, he feels pretty lucky, not least after a near-death experience in 1999. 

King was walking down a road near his house when he was hit by a truck and thrown 14ft in the air. 

There were no white lights, but it did get him thinking seriously about death. 

"Our body knows things, and our brain knows things that don't have anything to do with conscious thought. 

And I think that it's possible, when you die, that there is a final Exit Programme that goes into effect. 

And that's what people are seeing when they see their relatives or a White Light or whatever it is. 

In that sense, there may really be a heaven if you believe there's a Heaven, and a Hell if you believe there is one. 

But there's some kind of transitional moment. 

That idea that your whole life flashes before your eyes." 

He smiles. 

"Of course, they say about co-dependents – people who grow up around alcoholics – that somebody else's life does."

It is this moment of transition that Doctor Sleep deals with and the idea, like so many of King's, came from an incidental story in a newspaper. 

This one was about 

"a cat in a hospice that knows when people are going to die. 

He would go into that patient's room and curl up next to them. 

And I thought, that's a good advertisement for Death, for the emissary of death. I thought, 

'I can make Dan the human equivalent of that cat, and call him Doctor Sleep.'

There was the book."

The idea of codependency may have its roots in the theories of German psychoanalyst Karen Horney. In 1941, she proposed that some people adopt what she termed a “Moving Toward” personality style to overcome their basic anxiety. 

Essentially, these people move toward others by gaining their approval and affection, and subconsciously control them through their dependent style. 

They are unselfish, virtuous, martyr-like, faithful, and turn the other cheek despite personal humiliation. 

Approval from others is more important than respecting themselves.

The term codependency is most often identified with Alcoholics Anonymous and the realization that the Alcoholism was not solely about the addict but also about the family and friends who constitute a network for the alcoholic.

"The term “codependent” is used to describe how family members and friends might actually interfere with recovery by overhelping.”

The application of this term was very much driven by the self-help community. 

Janet G. Woititz’s Adult Children of Alcoholics had come out in 1983 and sold two million copies while being on the New York Times bestseller list for 48 weeks. 

Robin Norwood’s Women Who Love Too Much, 1985, sold two and a half million copies and spawned Twelve Step groups across the country for women “addicted” to men. 

Melody Beattie popularized the concept of codependency in 1986 with the book Codependent No More which sold eight million copies. 

In 1986, Timmen Cermak, M.D. wrote Diagnosing and Treating Co-Dependence: A Guide for Professionals. 

In the book and an article published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (Volume 18, Issue 1, 1986), Cermak argued (unsuccessfully) for the inclusion of codependency as a separate personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987). 

Cermak’s book paved the way for a Twelve-step take-off program, called Co-Dependents Anonymous. 

The first Co-Dependents Anonymous meeting was held October 22, 1986.

LEIA: 

Luke. 

LUKE: 

Leia. 

REY: 

I'd rather not do this now. 

KYLO REN: 

Yeah, me too. 

REY: 

Why did you hate your father? 

Do you have something, a cowl or something you can put on?

Why did you hate your father? 

Give me an honest answer. 

You had a father who loved you, he gave a damn about you. 

KYLO REN: 

I didn't hate him. 

REY: 

Then why? 

KYLO REN: 

Why, what? 

Why, what? 

Say it. 

REY: 

Why did you... 

Why did you kill him? 

I don't understand. 

KYLO REN: 

No? Your parents threw you away like garbage. 

REY: 

They didn't! 

KYLO REN: 
They did. 

But you can't stop needing them. 

It's your greatest weakness. Looking for them everywhere.... in Han Solo.... now in Skywalker. 

Did he tell you what happened that night? 

REY: 

Yes. 

KYLO REN: 

No. He had sensed my power, as he senses yours. 

And he feared it. 

REY: 

Liar. 

KYLO REN: 

Let the past die. 

Kill it if you have to. 

That's the only way to become what you were meant to be. 

REY: 

No! No! 

FEMALE VOICE: 

Rey? 

REY: 

I should have felt trapped or panicked. But I didn't. 
This didn't go on forever, I knew it was leading somewhere. 
And that, at the end, it would show me what I came to see. 

FEMALE VOICE: 
Rey. 

REY: 
Let me see them. My parents... please. 

I thought I'd find answers here. 
I was wrong. I've never felt so alone 

KYLO REN: 
You're not alone. 

REY: 
Neither are you. 

LUKE: 
Rey? 

REY: 
It isn't too late. 

LUKE: 
Stop! 

REY: 
It is True? 
 Did you try to murder him? 

LUKE: 
Leave this island now! 

REY: 

Stop. Stop! Did you do it? 

Did you create Kylo Ren? 

Tell me The Truth. 

LUKE: 
I saw darkness. I'd sensed it building in him. 
I'd see it at moments during his training. 
But then I looked inside... 
and it was beyond what I ever imagined.

 Snoke had already turned his heart. 
He would bring destruction, and pain, and death... 
and the end of everything I love because of what he will become. 

And for the briefest moment of pure instinct... I thought I could stop it. 
It passed like a fleeting shadow. 

And I was left with shame... and with consequence. 
And the last thing I saw... were the eyes of a frightened boy whose master had failed him. 

Ben, no! 

REY: 

You failed him by thinking his choice was made.

It wasn't.

There is still conflict in him.
If he turned from the dark side, that could shift the tide. 

This could be how we win. 

LUKE: 

This is not going to go the way you think. 

REY: 

It is. Just now, when we touched hands... 

I saw his future. As solid as I'm seeing you. 

If I go to him, Ben Solo will turn. 

LUKE: 

Rey... don't do this. 

REY: 

Then he is Our Last Hope.

LUKE: 

Master Yoda. 

YODA: 

Young Skywalker. 

LUKE: 

I'm ending all of this. 

The tree, the text, the Jedi. 

I'm going to burn it down. 

YODA: 
Hmm. (laughs) 

Ah, Skywalker, missed you, have I. 

LUKE: 

So it is time for the Jedi Order to end. 

YODA: 

Time it is. 

For you to look at a pile of old books, hmmm? 

LUKE: 

The sacred Jedi texts! 

YODA: 

Oh. Read them, have you? 

LUKE: 

Well, I... 

YODA: 

Page-turners they were not. 

Yes, yes, yes. 
Wisdom they held, but that library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess. 
Skywalker, still looking to The Horizon. 
Never here, now, hmmm? 

(pokes Luke with his walking stick) 

The need in front of your nose. Hmmm? 

LUKE: 

I was weak. Unwise. 

YODA: 

Lost Ben Solo, you did. 

Lose Rey, we must not. 

LUKE: 

I can't be what she needs me to be. 

YODA: 

Heeded my words not, did you? 

Pass on what you have learned. Strength, Mastery. 

But Weakness, Folly, Failure, also. 

Yes, failure most of all. 

The greatest teacher, failure is. 

Luke, we are What They Brow Beyond. 
 That is The True Burden of All Masters.

You Need Darth Vader

JOEY [KENNY]

All this attention on the leak story, it's magnifying the inevitable “Mommy Problem."

RONNA

Mommy Problem?

JOSH [VO]

When voters want a National Daddy, someone to be Tough and Strong and defend the country, they vote Republican. 

When they want a Mommy, someone to give them jobs, health care, the policy equivalent of motzah ball soup, they vote Democratic.

JOEY [KENNY]

On domestic issues, we're three points up.

EDIE

We're better than Vinick on military issues, plus the Congressman was a Marine pilot flying off carriers in the Gulf. Vinick never even served.

JOSH [VO]

Democrats don't beat Republicans on security issues. I know it's phony. I know it's frustrating. But we have to stay in the box that we can win.

JOEY [KENNY]

That's why Vinick attacked Bartlet: 

to force us back on security.

SANTOS

So we avoid the press and give them no choice but to cover our economic message.

JOSH

That's right.

SANTOS [VO]

One sentence, and he boxes me into a corner. 

Doesn't even mention my name.

DIO MATT :

Say, are you familiar with The Mommy Problem? 

LOU :

I am.

DIO MATT :

Do you think I •have• one? 

LOU :

That's something you're going to have to answer for yourself, 

Because right now, 

• Beltway Arnie is kicking you all around the electoral math, 

• The White House is treating you like a fly on their governmental windshield.

• And I wonder if it's just Josh, 

or do you have what it takes to come out of the Candidate Protection Program 

and start kicking back.

HAN

"There's a Korean word, Han, I looked it up. 

There is no literal English translation; 
It's a State of Mind; of Soul, really. 

A Sadness; a Sadness so deep no tears will come. 

And yet still, there's Hope. "

Imperial Recruitment Officer :

What's your name, son? 

Han :

Han. 

What's your name, son?
Han.
Han what?
Who are your people?
I don't have people.
I'm alone.
Han...
(TYPING)
Solo.
Approved.
Proceed to transport ID 83 for
the Naval Academy at Carida.
Good luck, Han Solo.
We'll have you flying
in no time.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=solo-a-star-wars-story

Imperial Recruitment Officer : 

'Han' what? Who are Your People? 

Han :

I don't have people. I'm alone. 

Imperial Recruitment Officer :

Han... (TYPING) 

Solo. Approved. 

Proceed to transport ID 83 for the Naval Academy at Carida. 

Good luck, Han Solo. 

We'll have you flying in no time.

BARTLET [to Jai] 

I'm sorry to say I cannot let you defect. 

Do you understand me? 

[Jai's playing slows right down] 

You have to keep playing. 

[Bartlet now sits on the piano stool next to Jai] 

There's an important nuclear agreement being worked out. 

Do you understand my English?

JAI

I try to stay, you arrest me?

BARTLET

No.

JAI

You give me back to them. 

BARTLET [emphatically] 

No. Freedom means choice. 

You must decide which is the most responsible course. 

JAI 

You know Korean word 'Han'? 

BARTLET 

No. 

[the Korean handlers walk over to Jai and Bartlet] 

I could practise the fingering every day for the rest of my life, I'd never be able to play it like that. 

 JAI 

It is... this. 

 Jai begins playing softly and mournfully.

CHESS

Chess is a Game of War

We’re Not Friends — We’re Family.

We Leave No-one Behind.

Margaret :
You're all set for lunch.

Claudia-Jean :

You sure he's up to it? 

Margaret :

He said so.

Claudia-Jean :

He's not being polite? 

Margaret :

I'm sorry.

Leo? 

Claudia-Jean :

He has a courtly side.

Margaret :

Not with me.

Claudia-Jean :

I don't wanna overtax him.

Margaret :

He would've said.

A car will pick up the food, then swing by to take you to his hotel at 1.

Claudia-Jean :

Great.

Margaret :

He asked if you play chess.

Claudia-Jean :

Chess? 
Not really.

Margaret :

I'll let him know.

*******

Charlie :

Leo e-mailed me something about reminding the president to play Chess.

He and Leo played weekly chess games.

Claudia-Jean :

Okay.

What did Leo say about it? 

Charlie :

Just to remind him.

Claudia-Jean :

Guess that's just it, then.

Charlie :

Yeah.

*******

President Josiah Bartlett :

We done? 

Claudia-Jean :

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Oh, sir, I'm sorry.

Leo mentioned to remind you to play chess.

President Josiah Bartlett :

Please tell Leo when he's healthy enough to give me a game, I'll be glad to school him at chess.

Claudia-Jean :
Thank you, sir.

*******

Claudia-Jean :

How in the world did you manage it for seven years? 

Leo :
I had a heart attack.

You remind The President about playing Chess? 

Claudia-Jean :

He pretty much blew me off.

Leo :

You need to insist.


Claudia-Jean :

I obviously don't know the president as well as you but already, I can tell when something's a no-go.

Leo :

You have to insist.

The President gets regular physicals and because of the MS, rather more regular MRIs and neurophysical tests.

But MS is a disease of the central nervous system.

It can affect cognition, perception, reasoning, judgment.

What the doctors actually term.

"Executive Function."

As President of the United States, this needs to be monitored on a weekly basis.

You need to get the president to play Chess.

Finish Your Lunch.

*******

President Josiah Bartlett :

What was it you wanted? 

Claudia-Jean :
Sir, if you'll follow me.

Mr. President.

Sir, this is Roger Quast from HUD.

He was on the Stanford chess team.

He's here to play a game with you.


President Josiah Bartlett :

Roger, unfortunately, you've been dragged here for nothing.


Claudia-Jean :

I've cleared your schedule for the hour.

I spoke with Leo.

You're going to play chess, Mr.President.

President Josiah Bartlett :
You heard the lady.

Where do you think you're going? 

Claudia-Jean :

Sir? 

President Josiah Bartlett :

You're gonna play me.

Claudia-Jean :

Sir, I don't really-- 

President Josiah Bartlett :

Stanford here is gonna stay and help you.

Sit down.

Chess team, huh? 

Stamford :

Yes, sir.

Claudia-Jean :

I'm trying to imagine the cheer - 

Check them to the left 

To the right 

Stand up, sit down 

President Josiah Bartlett :

I was on the chess team.

Claudia-Jean :

Right.

I really have no clue.

President Josiah Bartlett :

He's gonna help you.

And I'll know if you're holding back, Young Man.

You are hereby directed by Presidential fiat to try your damnedest to kick your commander in chief's ass.

Stamford :

King's pawn over two spaces.

Good.

HARLOT

CUT TO: EXT. A TREE LINED STREET - NIGHT

Laurie and Janeane are walking, laughing, and drunk. Sam is waiting nearby on a set of stairs.

SAM

You are both drunk and disorderly.

LAURIE

Oh my God.

SAM

Happy graduation.

LAURIE

How did you...?

JANEANE

Surprise!

LAURIE

Janeane?

SAM

We worked in cahoots.

JANEANE

We did.

LAURIE

You planned this? 

This is why you dragged me back to your apartment.

JANEANE

Oh, are you glad that I dragged you back to my apartment?

LAURIE

Yes.

JANEANE

Well then, be quiet, and I'll be upstairs.

Janeane takes a champagne bottle from Laurie and heads up the steps to her door.

SAM

Good night, Janeane.

LAURIE

Good night, Janeane. 

[to Sam] 

What'd you get me?

SAM

A graduation gift.

LAURIE

Is it a briefcase? 

Did I just ruin it? 

I only asked because a briefcase is the typical

law school graduation gift, and when I said 'typical', I don't mean boring. 

I just mean basic, and when I say basic, I don't mean boring, either.

Sam hands her a small long box.

SAM

Open the box.

LAURIE

You bought me a pen?

SAM

It's a good one. 

It writes upside down and you can use that pen in outer space.

Laurie chuckles and closes the box.

LAURIE

Where's my present?

Sam reaches into a bag on the steps and pulls out a briefcase. Laurie is stunned.

SAM

Happy graduation, counselor.

LAURIE

Thank you.

Sam hugs Laurie.

SAM

Way to go, Laurie.

LAURIE

Thank you.

We cut to a view through a camera viewfinder as someone takes a couple pictures of Sam and Laurie hugging each other.

SAM

I have to go. 

You spending the night here, or are you going to take off?

LAURIE

No, I'm going to go upstairs to Janeane's. She's got a...

A car starts up and squeals away.

SAM

Did you see anybody get into that car?

Laurie and Sam stare down the empty street.

FADE OUT.

END ACT THREE

* * *

ACT FOUR

FADE IN: EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE - DAY

WEDNESDAY MORNING

36 HOURS INTO POLLING

CUT TO: INT. C.J.'S OFFICE AREA - DAY

Sam is waiting outside. Toby comes out of C.J.'s office. Toby and Sam head

to see

the President.

TOBY

He's ready to see us.

SAM

What'd he say?

TOBY

He said, "Get your ass over here."

SAM

I've drafted a letter of resignation.

TOBY

Well you're not going to give it to him, Sam, because that would deny me the pleasure of throwing you out through a plate glass window.

SAM

You have every right to say that.

TOBY

Thank you for acknowledging that right.

SAM

Toby...

TOBY

I should keep you on a leash, you know that?

They run into Leo.

SAM

Leo...

LEO

I'm talking to C.J., then I'm talking to you.

TOBY

Ten-foot chain around your neck. 

I bolt you to your desk and have someone come in and

feed you.

CUT TO: INT. C.J.'S OFFICE - DAY

C.J. is at her desk on the phone.

C.J.

[into phone] 

I'm going to check, but I'm almost certain the President was

referring to the NASDAQ composite and not the 30-year Treasury yield.

[listens] 

Not the DOW Industrials, the NASDAQ composite.

Leo barges into C.J.'s office and slams the door, startling C.J.

C.J.

[into phone] 

Okay, someone here is going to get back to you. [hangs up]

LEO

How do you not tell me until this morning?

C.J.

Leo...

LEO

How do you not call me last night?

C.J.

We didn't know anything last night. 

[stands up]

LEO

Sam called you.

C.J.

That's right. 

He met the girl and saw a suspicious car. 

I'm not going to call up the

White House Chief of Staff in the middle of the night because someone started a car.

LEO

C.J., if it was...

C.J.

I was handling it, Leo. 

It took me three hours to confirm there was a picture,

and another hour to find out who has it.

LEO

Who has it?

C.J.

The London Daily Mirror. 

They paid a waitress friend of hers $50,000 to set it up and confirm that she was a call girl.

LEO

When is it running?

C.J.

It'll run later today. 

American Press has it tomorrow morning.

LEO

He was giving her a graduation present?

C.J.

Yeah.

LEO

Work the Post and the Times.

C.J.

Yeah.

Leo leaves as C.J. sits back down in her chair in relief.

CUT TO: INT. THE WHITE HOUSE PORTICO - DAY

Sam, Toby, and Bartlet are walking and enter through one of the glass doors.

BARTLET

You never paid this girl to have sex?

SAM

No sir.

TOBY

They didn't have that kind of relationship, sir. 

Except once, and that time he didn't know what was happening.

BARTLET

Well, that makes two of us.

TOBY

Mr. President, Sam has always been completely above board about his relationship with Laurie.

BARTLET

Laurie's the girl?

SAM

Yes, sir.

TOBY

He told us about it right after his first contact with her nine months ago. 

The fact that she was putting herself through law school, under circumstances that were less than good, has to mean something, as is the fact that Sam's word is unimpeachable.

BARTLET

Toby, are you in here sticking up for Sam?

TOBY

I know it's strange, sir. But I'm feeling a-a... certain big brotherly connection right now. 

You know, obviously, I'd like that feeling to go away as soon as possible. 

But for the moment, I think there's no danger in the White House standing by Sam and aggressively going after the people who set him up.

Sam looks at Toby a bit stunned.

BARTLET

[big sigh] Sam, you're going to spend the morning in the White House Counsel's office finding out if you've broke any laws.

SAM

Yes, sir.

BARTLET

You should also call the girl... what's her name?

SAM

Laurie.

BARTLET

You should call her and tell her the White House deeply regrets the phenomenal inconvenience she's about to experience.

SAM

Yes, sir.

BARTLET

You might also want to point out to her that she probably has a cause of action against the paper.

SAM

Yes, sir.

BARTLET

And you should tell her that if she passes her Bar exam, the U.S. Attorney General will personally see to it that she's admitted to the Bar.

SAM

Yes, sir.

BARTLET

Tell her the President of the United States says congratulations on getting her degree.

SAM

Yes, sir.

BARTLET

That's all.

SAM

Thank you, Mr. President.

Sam, still stunned beyond belief, leaves THE OVAL OFFICE.

BARTLET

It's nice when we can do something for prostitutes once in a while, isn't it?

GILGAMESH KING IN URUK

I WILL proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story.

When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man.

In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal. Touch the threshold, it is ancient. Approach Eanna the dwelling of Ishtar, our lady of love and war, the like of which no latter-day king, no man alive can equal. Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the. masonry: is it not burnt brick and good? The seven sages laid the foundations.



1

THE COMING OF ENKIDU

GILGAMESH went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till be came to Uruk. But the men of Uruk muttered in their houses, 'Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute.'

The gods heard their lament, the gods of heaven cried to the Lord of Uruk, to Anu the god of Uruk: 'A goddess made him, strong as a savage bull, none can withstand his arms. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all; and is this the king, the shepherd of his people? His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble. When Anu had heard their lamentation the gods cried to Aruru, the goddess of creation, 'You made him, O Aruru; now create his equal; let it be as like him as his own reflection, his second self; stormy heart for stormy heart. Let them contend together and leave Uruk in quiet.'

So the goddess conceived an image in her mind, and it was of the stuff of Anu of the firmament. She dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, she let it fall in the wilderness, and noble Enkidu was created. There was virtue in him of the god of war, of Ninurta himself. His body was rough, he had long hair like a woman's; it waved like the hair of Nisaba, the goddess of corn. His body was covered with matted hair like Samugan's, the god of cattle. He was innocent of mankind; he knew nothing of the cultivated land.

Enkidu ate grass in the hills with the gazelle and lurked with wild beasts at the water-holes; he had joy of the water with the herds of wild game. But there was a trapper who met him one day face to face at the drinking-hole, for the wild game had entered his territory. On three days he met him face to face, and the trapper was frozen with fear. He went back to his house with the game that he had caught, and he was dumb, benumbed with terror. His face was altered like that of one who has made a long journey. With awe in his heart he spoke to his father: 'Father, there is a man, unlike any other, who comes down from the hills. He is the strongest in the world, he is like an immortal from heaven. He ranges over the hills with wild beasts and eats grass; the ranges through your land and comes down to the wells. I am afraid and dare not go near him. He fills in the pits which I dig and tears up-my traps set for the game; he helps the beasts to escape and now they slip through my fingers.'

His father opened his mouth and said to the trapper, 'My son, in Uruk lives Gilgamesh; no one has ever prevailed against him, he is strong as a star from heaven. Go to Uruk, find Gilgamesh, extol the strength of this wild man. Ask him to give you a harlot, a wanton from the temple of love; return with her, and let her woman's power overpower this man. When next he comes down to drink at the wells she will be there, stripped naked; and when he sees her beckoning he will embrace her, and then the wild beasts will reject him.'

So the trapper set out on his journey to Uruk and addressed himself to Gilgamesh saying, 'A man unlike any other is roaming now in the pastures; he is as strong as a star from heaven and I am afraid to approach him. He helps the wild game to escape; he fills in my pits and pulls up my traps.' Gilgamesh said, 'Trapper, go back, take with you a harlot, a child of pleasure. At the drinking hole she will strip, and when, he sees her beckoning he will embrace her and the game of the wilderness will. surely reject him.'

Now the trapper returned, taking the harlot with him. After a three days' journey they came to the drinking hole, and there they sat down; the harlot and the trapper sat . facing one another and waited for the game to come. For the first day and for the second day the two sat waiting, but on the third day the herds came; they came down to drink and Enkidu was with them. The small wild creatures of the plains were glad of the water, and Enkidu with them, who ate grass with the gazelle and was born in the hills; and she saw him, the savage man, come from far-off in the hills. The trapper spoke to her: 'There he is. Now, woman, make your breasts bare, have no shame, do not delay but welcome his love. Let him see you naked, let him possess your body. When he comes near uncover yourself and lie with him; teach him, the savage man, your woman's art, for when he murmurs love to you the wild' beasts that shared his life in the hills will reject him.'

She was not ashamed to take him, she made herself naked and welcomed his eagerness; as he lay on her murmuring love she taught him the woman's art For six days and seven nights they lay together, for Enkidu had forgotten his home in the hills; but when he was satisfied he went back to the wild beasts. Then, when the gazelle saw him, they bolted away; when the wild creatures saw him they fled. Enkidu would have followed, but his body was bound as though with a cord, his knees gave way when he started to run, his swiftness was gone. And now the wild creatures had all fled away; Enkidu was grown weak, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart. So he returned and sat down at the woman's feet, and listened intently to what she said. 'You are wise, Enkidu, and now you have become like a god. Why do you want to run wild with the beasts in the hills? Come with me. I will take you to strong-walled Uruk, to the blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu, of love and of heaven there Gilgamesh lives, who is very strong, and like a wild bull he lords it over men.'

When she had spoken Enkidu was pleased; he longed for a comrade, for one who would understand his heart. 'Come, woman, and take me to that holy temple, to the house of Anu and of Ishtar, and to the place where Gilgamesh lords it over the people. I will challenge him boldly, I will cry out aloud in Uruk, "I am the strongest here, I have come to change the old order, I am he who was born in the hills, I am he who is strongest of all."'

She said, 'Let us go, and let him see your face. I know very well where Gilgamesh is in great Uruk. O Enkidu, there all the people are dressed in their gorgeous robes, every day is holiday, the young men and the girls are wonderful to see. How sweet they smell! All the great ones are roused from their beds. O Enkidu, you who love life, I will show you Gilgamesh, a man of many moods; you shall look at him well in his radiant manhood. His body is perfect in strength and maturity; he never rests by night or day. He is stronger than you, so leave your boasting. Shamash the glorious sun has given favours to Gilgamesh, and Anu of the heavens, and Enlil, and Ea the wise has given him deep understanding. f tell you, even before you have left the wilderness, Gilgamesh will know in his dreams that you are coming.'

Now Gilgamesh got up to tell his dream to his mother; Ninsun, one of the wise gods. 'Mother, last night I had a dream. I was full of joy, the young heroes were round me and I walked through the night under the stars of the firmament, and one, a meteor of the stuff of Anu, fell down from heaven. I tried to lift it but it proved too heavy. All the people of Uruk came round to see it, the common people jostled and the nobles thronged to kiss its feet; and to me its attraction was like the love of woman. They helped me, I braced my forehead and I raised it with thongs and brought it to you, and you yourself pronounced it my brother.'

Then Ninsun, who is well-beloved and wise, said to Gilgamesh, 'This star of heaven which descended like a meteor from the sky; which you tried to lift,- but found too heavy, when you tried to move it it would not budge, and so you brought it to my feet; I made it for you, a goad and spur, and you were drawn as though to a woman. This is the strong comrade, the one who brings help to his friend in his need. He is the strongest of wild creatures, the stuff of Anu; born in the grass-lands and the wild hills reared him; when you see him you will be glad; you will love him as a woman and he will never forsake you. This is the meaning of the dream.'

Gilgamesh said, 'Mother, I dreamed a second dream. In the streets of strong-walled Uruk there lay an axe; the shape of it was strange and the people thronged round. I saw it and was glad. I bent down, deeply drawn towards it; I loved it like a woman and wore it at my side.' Ninsun answered, 'That axe, which you saw, which drew you so powerfully like love of a woman, that is the comrade whom I give you, and he will come in his strength like one of the host of heaven. He is the brave companion who rescues his friend in necessity.' Gilgamesh said to his mother, 'A friend, a counsellor has come to me from Enlil, and now I shall befriend and counsel him.' So Gilgamesh told his dreams; and the harlot retold them to Enkidu.

And now she said to Enkidu, 'When I look at you you have become like a god. Why do you yearn to run wild again with the beasts in the hills? Get up from the ground, the bed of a shepherd.' He listened to her words with care. It was good advice that she gave. She divided her clothing in two and with the one half she clothed him and with the other herself, and holding his hand she led him like a child to the sheepfolds, into the shepherds' tents. There all the shepherds crowded round to see him, they put down bread in front of him, but Enkidu could only suck the milk of wild animals. He fumbled and gaped, at a loss what to do or how he should eat the bread and drink the strong wine. Then the woman said, 'Enkidu, eat bread, it is the staff of life; drink the wine, it is the custom of the land.' So he ate till he was full and drank strong wine, seven goblets. He became merry, his heart exulted and his face shone. He rubbed down the matted hair of his body and anointed himself with oil. Enkidu had become a man; but when he had put on man's clothing he appeared like a bridegroom. He took arms to hunt the lion so that the shepherds could rest at night. He caught wolves and lions and the herdsmen lay down in peace; for Enkidu was their watchman, that strong man who had no rival.

He was merry living with the shepherds, till one day lifting his eyes he saw a man approaching. He said to the harlot, 'Woman, fetch that man here. Why has he come? I wish to know his name.' She went and called the man saying, 'Sir, where are you going on this weary journey?' The man answered, saying to Enkidu, 'Gilgamesh has gone into the marriage-house and shut out the people. He does strange things in Uruk, the city of great streets. At the roll of the drum work begins for the men, and work for the women. Gilgamesh the king is about to celebrate marriage with the Queen of Love, and he still demands to be first with the bride, the king to be first and the husband to follow, for that was ordained by the gods from his birth, from the time the umbilical cord was cut. But now the drums roll for the choice of the bride and the city groans.' At these words Enkidu turned white in the face. 'I will go to the place where Gilgamesh lords it over the people, I will challenge him boldly, and I will cry aloud in Uruk, "I have come to change the old order, for I am the strongest here."

Now Enkidu strode in front and the woman followed behind. He entered Uruk, that great market, and all the folk thronged round him where he stood in the street in strong-walled Uruk. The people jostled; speaking of him they said, 'He is the spit of Gilgamesh. 'He is shorter.' 'He is bigger of bone.' This is the one who was reared on the milk of wild beasts. His is the greatest strength.' The men rejoiced: 'Now Gilgamesh has met his match. This great-one, this hero whose beauty is like a god, he is a match even for Gilgamesh.'

In Uruk the bridal bed was made, fit for the goddess of love. The bride waited for the bridegroom, but in the night Gilgamesh got up and came to the house. Then Enkidu stepped out, he stood in the street and blocked the way. Mighty Gilgamesh came on and Enkidu met him at the gate. He put out his foot and prevented Gilgamesh from entering the house, so they grappled, holding each other like bulls. They broke the doorposts and the walls shook, they snorted like bulls locked together. They shattered the doorposts and the walls shook. Gilgamesh bent his knee with his foot planted on the ground and with a turn Enkidu was thrown. Then immediately his fury died. When Enkidu was thrown he said to Gilgamesh, 'There is not another like you in the world. Ninsun, who is as strong as a wild ox in the byre, she was the mother who bore you, and now you are raised above all men, and Enlil has given you the kingship, for your strength surpasses the strength of men.' So Enkidu and Gilgamesh embraced and their friendship was sealed.