before them. Nevertheless they challenged his passage and asked the purpose of his coming. Gilgamesh told them that he was on his way to Utnapishtim, to learn the secret of eternal life. "That," replied their captain, "is a thing which none has ever learned, 5 nor was there ever a mortal who succeeded in reaching that ageless sage. For the path which we guard is the path of the sun, a gloomy tunnel twelve leagues long, a road where the foot of man may not tread." "Be it never so long," rejoined the hero, "and never so dark, be the pains and the perils never so great, be the heat never so searing and the cold 10 never so sharp, I am resolved to tread it!" At the sound of these words the sentinels knew for certain that one who was more than a mortal was standing before them, and at once they threw open the gate. Boldly and fearlessly Gilgamesh entered the tunnel, but with every step 15 he took the path became darker and darker, until at last he could see neither before nor behind. Yet still he strode forward, and just when it seemed that the road would never end, a gust of wind fanned his face and a thin streak of light pierced the gloom. When he came out into the sunlight a wondrous sight met his eyes, for 20 he found himself in the midst of a faery garden, the trees of which were hung with jewels. And even as he stood rapt in wonder the voice of the sungod came to him from heaven. "Gilgamesh," it said, "go no farther. This is the garden of delights. Stay awhile and enjoy it. Never before have the gods granted such a boon to a 25 mortal, and for more you must not hope. The eternal life which you seek you will never find." But even these words could not divert the hero from his course and, leaving the earthly paradise behind him, he proceeded on his way. Presently, footsore and weary, he saw before him a large house which 30 had all the appearance of being a hospice. Trudging slowly toward it, he sought admission. But the alewife, whose name was Siduri, had seen his approach from afar and, judging by his grimy appearance that he was simply a tramp, she had ordered the postern barred in his face. 35 Gilgamesh was at first outraged and threatened to break down the door, but when the lady called from the window and explained to him the cause of her alarm his anger cooled, and he reassured her, telling her who he was and the nature of his journey and the reason he was so disheveled. Thereupon she raised the latch and bade him welcome. 40 Later in the evening they fell to talking, and the alewife attempted to dissuade him from his quest. "Gilgamesh," she said, "that which you seek you will never find. For when the gods created man they gave him death for his portion; life they kept for themselves. Therefore enjoy your lot. Eat, drink, and be merry; for that were you born!" 45 But still the hero would not be swerved, and at once he proceeded to inquire of the alewife the way to Utnapishtim.
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