Inscription on the Monument of Kabar Hadra in Lebanaon

Transcribed by Norwit during his trip to Lebanon.

   [Written in Greek]

   It has long been my fortune to study not only the art of swordplay but also letters and 
   lore, to the extent that the Romans have given me the name of Palamedes. Much have I 
   learned, and not all of it auspicious. And now it is said by pilgrims that a king of the 
   north has come south even to Rome, whose understanding of things is much in line with my 
   own. Since I have met with naught but ridicule in my own land, I leave to consult or join 
   with him, either there or in his island home.

   Because I may never return, I leave, briefly, the following conclusions I have drawn from 
   my researches: That there exists a cruel and vile people in some remote corner of the 
   earth, That they in ancient times raided Egypt, Anatolia, and Crete, before returning 
   undefeated and unbowed to their obscure or distant home; That they are marked from other 
   men by the presence of tails like monkeys', a symbol of their subhuman nature; That they 
   are nevertheless crafty and remorseless in war, That they have resolved to return to 
   effect the utter annihilation not only of the Roman Empire, whose passing I would scarcely 
   mom but also all of all humanity, Roman and Arab and Persian and Abyssinian alike.

   This King Bear has voyaged to a land far to the west, beyond the so-called Pillars of 
   Hercules, over the River Ocean, near those distant shores to which elves go when they hear 
   the call. There, he claims, he has fought against this race, and had the worse of it. The 
   patriarch of Rome has called him mad, but his beliefs so align with mine that I cannot let 
   him go unheeded. Therefore, let me take up arms and entrust my soul to the gods. For the 
   sake of humanity, let us succeed.

   Kabar Hadra