he king
or lord, or priestking or commoner, whoever he may be, may the great
god, the father of the gods, who has ordained my reign, take from him
the glory of his sovereignty, may he break his scepter and curse his
fate!"

Between the prologue and the epilogue is the law code proper.
Originally there appear to have been 282 separate enactments (this is
the estimate of the French Assyriologist, Father Scheil, who first
edited the code, and is commonly accepted as correct); of these 66-99
are now missing as a result of the erasure to which reference has been
made. The code covers a variety of topics. Laws dealing with the same
subject are ordinarily grouped together; sometimes the principle of
arrangement is the class or profession concerned. {193} A brief
outline will give at least a general notion of its contents: 1, 2,
False accusation of a crime; 3, 4, False witness and bribery; 5,
Alteration of judgment by a judge; 6-8, Theft; 9-13, Concealing of
stolen property; 14, Kidnapping; 15-20, Assisting in the escape of
slaves; 21-25, Burglary and brigandage; 26-41, Rights and duties of
officers, constables, and taxgatherers; 42-52, Renting of fields for
cultivation; 53-56, Care of dykes and canals; 57, 58, Shepherds
allowing their sheep to pasture on the fields of another; 59, Unlawful
cutting down of trees; 60-65, Duties of gardeners; 66-99, (lost);
100-107, Relation of merchants to their agents; 108-111, Regulations
concerning wine-sellers, always women. It may be interesting to note
that with them the law was very severe. Of the three crimes
condemned--minor crimes at that--one is to be punished by throwing the
wine-seller into the water, the second by putting her to death, the
third by burning her. 112, Loss of goods intrusted for transportation;
113-119, Securing settlement for debts; 120-126, Liability for
deposits; 127, Slander; 128, Marriage contract; 129-132, Adultery,
rape, and suspected unchastity; 133-143, Separation and divorce;
144-149, Concubines; 150-152, Marriage dowry; 153, Murder of husband
for the sake of another; 154-158, Illegitimate sexual intercourse;
159-161, Breach of promise; 162-164, Disposition of dowry after the
{194} death of the wife; 165-177, Inheritance of sons in polygamous
relations; 178-182, Inheritance of priestesses; 183, 184, Inheritance
of daughters of concubines; 185-194, Treatment of adopted children;
195-214, Offenses against limb and life; 215-225, Operations by doctors