Texts From Academic Sites

General Discussion
1

I found 2 sites offering free and legal downloads of some classic ancient texts in translation, there are some gems in here - #1, University of Chicago:

The Electronic Publications Initiative of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

Publication of research is a central tenet of the mission of the Oriental Institute. Of equal importance is the widespread accessibility of the Institute’s publications to scholars and interested individuals throughout the world. Towards that end, on October 27, 2004, the Oriental Institute established the Electronic Publications Initiative (EPI), by which all publications of the Oriental Institute are simultaneously published both in print and electronically on the Internet, electronic distribution is complimentary.

Terms of Use: The electronic files are only to be distributed from the Oriental Institute’s Web site. Individuals, libraries, institutions, and others may download one complimentary copy for their own personal use. ©The University of Chicago. Links to the Institute’s Web site are welcomed.

Rights-Access Restrictions: May not be used for commercial purposes.

Source: The Electronic Publications Initiative of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Lots of great stuff, here’s the catalogue: Catalog of Publications | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Includes “The Book Of Going Forth By Day” or “Egyptian Book Of The Dead” as it’s better known, here: SAOC 37. The Book of the Dead or Going Forth by Day: Ideas of the Ancient Egyptians Concerning the Hereafter as Expressed in Their Own Terms | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

#2: University of Oxford

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), a project of the University of Oxford, comprises a selection of nearly 400 literary compositions recorded on sources which come from ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and date to the late third and early second millennia BCE.

The corpus contains Sumerian texts in transliteration, English prose translations and bibliographical information for each composition. The transliterations and the translations can be searched, browsed and read online using the tools of the website.

Source: http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ (links to index of texts available)

2

I’m fortunate enough to have visited The Oriental Institute a few times (I live near Chicago). Small compared to the Field Museum, but if you dig Mesopotamian stuff, it’s very cool. Thanks for this.

3

Forgottenbooks.com is another great website. At one time, you could get an unlimited access to their books for a week before they charged you. Even then, the price is about 7-10 dollars (US). I ended up with a copy of the Book of the Dead but not the same one from Chicago. Also, you can get a copy of the Sepher Yetzirah from Stanford University Press. I think it’s 9 books in total for about $55.00 a piece… which is expensive. However, much better than the retard Kabbalah Center in America that we, unfortunately, have.