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133 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
Inhis article Sur les pl'éfixes du verbe sumérien, Fr. THUREAU­
DANGIN has discussed thcse local distinctions of the preflxes so far as they
concern the subject, distinctions which seem to have been observed
in the early reriod only and even then chiefly in business documents
whereclearness was espeeially necessary. 1 have been able to aecept
his theory only in part '.
e denotes a subject dwelling at the plaee "vhere the doeument in
question was written, termed by TH.-D. the 'eentre'. mu denotesasub­
jeet dwelling in the 'exterior'. Thus in NIK. no. 97 the seeretary (nu­
banda) of the royal granary delivers grain to the overseer of slaves (pa
arad-dé-ge'-ne); the form employed is e-ne-bal. But in no. 98 the over­
se3r (pa) of a fleld (outside the eity) delivers grain to the secretary (nu­
banda); the form is mu-na-baI2• In TSA. no. 29 the seeretary gives
provisions to the mule-herd; é ki-Isa-Ia-ta en-ig-gal nu-banda lugal-slg-e
sib-dun-ra e-na-SllIn, 'from the house ¡(llsala, Eniggal the secretar)',
has given to Lugalsige the mule-herd'. Gn the other hand, NIK. no. 14fi,
the nubancla, the priests of difierent gods and others bring sheep, wines,
grain ete. to the palaee; ezen el·ba-Ú-Jw 3 ság-Ság clam uru-ka-,gina lu,gal
sil'-bur-la "-(Já)-ka-ra e-gal-la mu-na-túm, 'At the feast of Bau unto
Sag.§ag wifo of Urukagina, king of Lagash, in the palaco they have
brougbt'. Jnir-X '-(ki)-ta ur-d·en-JÚ clam)wr X O-tn/' dam pa-te-si-kara
mu-na-túm-ám, 'From J{u/'-X Ur-Enki tbe merchant unto X-tUl',
wife of the patesi, has brought' 7. 'vVe may regard this point as sufficiently
ovident.
1. The theory that a particle has in itsel! the power 01 denoting the elirection
01 an action and the beautilul hypothesis 01action Ira m the centre (e) and towarL!
the centre (mu), and hom the exterior bacle to the exterior (iJa) and from the centre
bacle to the centre (ni) iB linguistically too mechanical.
2. CL ALLOTTE !lE LA FUYE, fhlprecht AnniL'. Vol. 134.
3. Notice the oblique genitive al time, v. § 13;1.
4. vVritten la-iJur; 1 havo transcribed everywbere as above. As a matter 01
fact wo should read lagas, and not transcribe the signs phonetically.
5. REC. 325.
6. REC. 290.
7. RTC. no. 26. Tho text in which e and IIW are most clearly contrasted is
RTC. 19 analysed by TH.-DANGJN, ZA. XX 396,
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