This writing, known as cuneiform, dates from 3500 B.C. It developed in the Tigris-Euphrates valley from picture writing (pictographs) and—pressed into moist clay—represented either words or syllables. The fragment above gives an account of the Flood known as the Gilgamesh Epic. Imagine how difficult and time-consuming it would be to write this way. What changes the world has seen since then! What a pity that our English spelling became cast in concrete seemingly harder than any clay at a time when it was in incredibly horrible shape. Oh,, deliver us from having it remain unchanged forever.

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