A large corpus of Sumerian proverbial sayings preserving observations about work, wealth, poverty, family, social relationships, authority, judgment, fortune, and the uncertainties of everyday life. Copied by generations of scribes, these collections preserve one of the world's earliest extensive traditions of proverbial wisdom.
Original language: Sumerian
ORIGINAL WORK: Public Domain
IMAGE: CDLI photograph identified by Source Library (not imported) · Reuse terms unverified
Translation history: Source Library identifies earlier English translations for some collections; Collection 1 identifies Bendt Alster's 1997 English translation.
Verification: Source Library identifies photographs of the clay tablet on which Collection 25 survives via CDLI. The photograph's reuse terms were not verified, so the existing placeholder is retained. (accessed 2026-09-14)
Provenance: Curated Babel Nexus collection linking Source Library editions; AI-generated English renderings credited to Source Library AI where applicable.
Citation: Anonymous Sumerian — Sumerian Proverb Collections (Ur III / Old Babylonian, c. 2100–1600 BCE). Sumerian. Original works: Public Domain. Curated Babel Nexus umbrella record linking Source Library editions. Source Library AI-generated English renderings are identified individually and attributed to Source Library under CC BY-SA 4.0 where applicable. https://sourcelibrary.org/author/anonymous-sumerian. Accessed 2026-09-14.
Image note: Placeholder image: a Source Library/CDLI proverb-tablet photograph is not displayed because its image-reuse terms remain unverified. This is not a generic cuneiform image.
Collection thread: Proverbial Wisdom / Sayings
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Sources for Anonymous Sumerian — Sumerian Proverb Collections
- View Source Library Collection
- AI TRANSLATION Read AI Translation — Proverbs: collection 25
- EARLIER HUMAN TRANSLATION NOTED View Source Library record — Proverbs: collection 1 (earlier human translation noted)