The beginnings of many of the sentences and para-
graphs are written in red: this is specially the case when a sentence com-
mences with an indication of time, usually expressed in a fixed formula.
graphs are written in red: this is specially the case when a sentence com-
mences with an indication of time, usually expressed in a fixed formula.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v09 - Dra to Eme
Known is it to thy Ka that this
flight of thy servant was made in innocence. Thou the Good
God, Lord of both Lands, Beloved of Ra, Favored of Mentu,
lord of Uast, and of Amen, lord of the Thrones of the Two
Lands, of Sebek, Ra, Horus, Hathor, Atmu and his Ennead, of
Sepdu, Neferbiu, Semsetu, Horus of the east, and of the Mistress
of the Cave? who resteth on thy head, of the chief circle of the
gods of the waters, Min, Horus of the desert, Urert mistress of
Punt, Nut, Harur-Ra, all the gods of the land of Egypt and of
the isles of the sea. 3 May they put life and strength to thy
nostril, may they present thee with their gifts, may they give to
thee eternity without end, everlastingness without bound. May
the fear of thee be doubled in the lands and in the foreign coun-
tries, mayest thou subdue the circuit of the sun. This is the
prayer of the servant for his master, who hath delivered him
from Amenti.
« The possessor of understanding understandeth the higher
order of men, and the servant recognizeth the majesty of
Pharaoh. But thy servant feareth to speak it: it is a weighty
matter to tell of. The great God, like unto Ra, knoweth well
the work which he himself hath wrought. Who is thy servant
1 The Ka or double » was one of the spiritual constituents of man; but
«thy Ka” is merely a mode of address to the exalted Pharaoh.
21. e. , the uræus or cobra.
3 In this long array of gods, Mentu and Amen rank next to Ra. They
were both worshiped at Thebes, which was then probably capital of the whole
country. It certainly was so in the next dynasty, during which this tale was
presumably written down. It is curious that Ptah the god of Memphis does
not appear.
* The place of the dead.
## p. 5246 (#418) ###########################################
5246
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
that he should be considered, that words should be spent upon
him? Thy majesty is as Horus, and the strength of thy arms
extendeth to all lands.
« Then let his Majesty command that there be brought to
him Meki of Kedem, Khentiu-aaush of Khent-keshu, and Menus
of the Two Lands of the Fenkhu; these are chiefs as hostages
that the Tenu act according to the desire of thy Ka, and that
Tenu will not covet what belongeth to thee in it, like thy
dogs. 1 Behold this flight that thy servant made: I did not desire
it, it was not in my heart; I do not boast of it; I know not what
took me away from my place; it was like the leading of a
dream, as a man of Adhu sees himself in Abu,' as a man of the
Corn-land sees himself in the Land of Gardens. There was no
fear, none was hastening in pursuit of me; I did not listen to an
evil plot, my name was not heard in the mouth of the informer;
but my limbs went, my feet wandered, my heart drew me; a
god ordained this flight, and led me on. But I am not stiff-
necked; a man feareth if he knoweth [? ], for Ra hath spread thy
fear over the land, thy terrors in every foreign country. Behold
me in thy palace or behold me in this place,* still thou art he
who doth clothe this horizon. The sun riseth at thy pleasure,
the water in the rivers is drunk at thy will, the wind in heaven
is breathed at thy saying.
“Thy servant will leave to a successor the viziership which thy
servant hath held in this land. And when thy servant shall ar-
rives let thy Majesty do as pleaseth him, for one liveth by the
breath that thou givest. O thou who art beloved of Ra, of
Horus, and of Hathor! It is thy august rostril that Mentu, lord
of Uast, desireth should live for ever. ”
.
1
It was granted that I should spend a day in Iaa, to pass over
my goods to my children, my eldest son leading my tribe, and
1 As dogs do the bidding of their master and spare his property.
2 As a man of Natho (the marshes in the north of the Delta) dreams that
he is at Elephantine (the rocky southern frontier).
3 The second is the name of the southernmost nome of Egypt, that of
Elephantine, which has practically no corn-land. It was probably made fruit-
ful by artificial irrigation, with culture of plants, trees, and vines.
* So the MS. , and it conveys a fair meaning; but perhaps the original ran,
“Behold, thou art in the palace and I am in this place yet, etc.
5 Or, "Now thy servant hath finished. ”
6 Sanebat's own territory; see p. 5241.
## p. 5247 (#419) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5247
all my goods in his hand, my people and all my cattle, my fruit,
and all my pleasant trees. When thy humble servant' journeyed
to the south, and arrived at the Roads of Horus, the officer who
was over the frontier-patrol sent a report to the Residence to
give notice. His Majesty sent the good overseer of the peasants
of the king's domains, and ships with him laden with presents
from the king for the Sati who had come with me to convey me
to the Roads of Horus. I spoke to each one by his name, each
officer according to his rank. I received and I returned the salu-
tation, and I continued thus? until I reached Athtu. "
When the land was lightened, and the second day came,
there came some to summon me, four men in coining, four
men in going to carry [? ] me to the palace. I alighted on the
ground between the gates of reception [? ]; the royal children
stood at the platform to greet [? ] me; the Companions and those
who ushered to the hall brought me on the way to the royal
chamber.
I found his Majesty on the great throne on a platform of pale
gold. Then I threw myself on my belly; this god, in whose
presence I was, knew me not while he questioned me graciously;
but I was as one caught in the night; my spirit fainted, my
limbs shook, my heart was no longer in my bosom, and I knew
the difference between life and death. His Majesty said to one
of the Companions, “Lift him up; let him speak to me. ” And
his Majesty said:-“Behold, thou hast come; thou hast trodden the
deserts; thou hast played the wanderer. Decay falleth on thee,
old age hath reached thee; it is no small thing that thy body
should be embalmed, that thou shalt not be buried by foreign
soldiers. Do not, do not, be silent and speechless; tell thy
name; is it fear that preventeth thee ? » I answered with the
answer of one terrified, “What is it that my lord hath said ? 0
that I might answer it! It was not my act: it was the hand of
God; it was a terror that was in my body, as it were causing a
1A frequent phrase for the writer or narrator, especially common in letters.
2 «Nodding and touching my forehead” is perhaps the real translation of
some difficult words here paraphrased.
3 Probably the Residence; more commonly called Athet-taui, but here ab-
breviated in name.
* Or perhaps
very early. ”
5 This probably means “four men behind me and the same number in
front, either conducting Sanehat or more probably carrying him in a litter.
6 Instead of Egyptian priests.
## p. 5248 (#420) ###########################################
5248
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
the queen,
flight that had been foreordained. Behold I am before thee; thou
art life; let thy Majesty do what pleaseth him. ”
The royal children were brought in, and his Majesty said to
“Behold thou, Sanehat hath come as an Amu, whom
the Sati have produced. ”
She shrieked aloud, and the royal children joined in one cry,
and said before his Majesty, “Verily it is not he, o king, my
lord. ” Said his Majesty, “It is verily he. ” Then they brought
their tinkling bead-strings, their wands, and their sistra in their
hands, and waved them before his Majesty [and they sang]:-
"May thy hands prosper, O King;
May the graces of the Lady of Heaven continue.
May the goddess Nub? give life to thy nostril;
May the mistress of the stars favor thee, that which is north
of her going south and that which is south of her going
north.
A11 wisdom is in the mouth of thy Majesty;
The staff [? ] is put upon thy forehead, driving away from
thee the beggarly [? ]
Thou art pacified, O Ra, lord of the lands;
They call on thee as on the Mistress of all.
Strong is thy horn; let fall thine arrow.
Grant the breath of life to him who is without it;
Grant thy favor to this alien Samehit,” the foreign soldier
born in the land of Egypt,
Who fled away from fear of thee,
And left the land from thy terrors.
The face shall not grow pale, of him who beholdeth thy
countenance;
The eye shall not fear which looketh upon thee. ”
Said his Majesty:—“He shall not fear; let him be freed from
terror. He shall be a Companion amongst the nobles; he shall
be put within the circle of the courtiers. Go ye to the chamber
of praise to seek wealth for him. ”
When I went out from the Audience Chamber, the royal
children offered their hands to me; and we walked afterwards to
i These instruments rattled or clattered as they were waved or beaten
together.
2 A form of Hathor.
3 Samehit, “son of the north,” is a play on the name Sanebat, (son of the
Sycamore. »
## p. 5249 (#421) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5249
the Great Portals. I was placed in a house of a king's son, in
which were fine things; there was a cool bower therein, fruits of
the granary, treasures of the White House,' clothes of the king's
guard-robe, frankincense, the finest perfumes of the king and the
nobles whom he loves, in every chamber; and every kind of
servitor in his proper office. Years were removed from my
limbs: I was shaved, and my locks of hair were combed; the
foulness was cast to the desert, with the garments of the Nemau-
sha. I clothed me in fine linen, and anointed myself with the
best oil; I laid me on a bed. I gave up the sand to those who
lie on it; the oil of wood to him who would anoint himself
therewith.
There was given to me the house of Neb-mer [? ], which had
belonged to a Companion. There were many craftsmen build-
ing it; all its woodwork was strengthened anew. Portions were
brought to me from the palace thrice and four times a day,
besides the gifts of the royal children; there was not a moment's
ceasing from them. There was built for me a pyramid of stone
amongst the pyramids. The overseer of the architects measured
its ground; the chief treasurer drew it; the sacred masons did
the sculpture; the chief of the laborers in the necropolis brought
the bricks; and all the instruments applied to a tomb were there
employed. There were given to me fields; there was made for
me a necropolis garden, the land in it better than a farm estate;
even as is done for the chief Companion. My statue was over-
laid with gold, its girdle with pale gold; his Majesty caused it to
be made. Such is not done to a man of low degree.
Thus am I in the favor of the king until the day of death
shall come.
This is finished from beginning to end, as was found in the
writing
Translation of F. LI. Griffith.
1 The treasury containing silver, gold, clothing, wine, and valuables of all
kinds.
2 Meaning “wanderers on the Sand,) Bedawîn.
IX-329
## p. 5250 (#422) ###########################################
5250
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
THE DOOMED PRINCE
['The Story of the Doomed Prince) was written at some time during the
XVIIIth Dynasty (about 1450 B. C. ). The papyrus on which it has been pre-
served to us, and which is in the British Museum, is much mutilated, and the
end is entirely lost. ]
T"
HERE was once a king to whom no male child was born; he
prayed for himself unto the gods whom he worshiped for
a son. They decreed to cause that there should be born
to him one. And his wife, after her time was fulfilled, gave
birth to a male child. Came the Hathors' to decree for him a
destiny; they said, “He dies by the crocodile, or by the serpent,
or by the dog. " Then the people who stood by the child heard
this; they went to tell it to his Majesty. Then his Majesty's
heart was exceeding sad. His Majesty caused a house to be
built upon the desert, furnished with people and with all good
things of the royal house, out of which the child should not go.
Now when the child was grown he went up upon its roof and
saw a greyhound; it was following a man walking on the road.
He said to his page who was with him, "What is this that goeth
behind the man coming along the road? He said to him, "It
is a greyhound. ” The child said to him, "Let there be brought
to me
one like it. » The page went and reported it to his
Majesty. His Majesty said, “Let there be brought to him a little
trotter, lest his heart be sad. ” Then they brought to him the
greyhound.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the
child grew up in all his limbs, he sent a message to his father
saying, “Wherefore should I remain here? Behold, I am destined
to three dooms, and if I do according to my desire God will still
do what is in his heart. ” They hearkened to all he said, and
gave him all kinds of weapons, and also his greyhound to follow
him, and they conveyed him over to the east side and said
to him, “Go thou whither thou wilt. ” His greyhound was
with him; he traveled northward following his heart in the desert:
he lived on the best of all the game of the desert. He came to
the chief of Naharaina.
1 The Hathors were seven goddesses who attended the birth of a child in
order to tell its fate. They somewhat correspond to the fairy godmothers of
later fairy tales.
## p. 5251 (#423) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5251
Behold, there was no child born to the prince of Naharaina
except one daughter. Behold, he built for her a house; its win-
dow was seventy cubits from the ground, and he caused to be
brought all the sons of all the chiefs of the land of Kharu,1 and
said to them, “He who shall reach the window of my daughter,
she shall be to him for a wife. ”
Now when the days had multiplied after these things, as they
were in their daily task, the youth came by them. They took
the youth to their house, they bathed him, they gave provender
to his horse, they did every kind of thing for the youth; they
anointed him, they bound up his feet, they gave him portions of
their own food; they spake to him in the manner of conversa-
tion, “Whence comest thou, good youth? ” He said to them:-“I
am the son of an officer of the land of Egypt; my mother is
dead, my father has taken another wife. When she bore children,
she began to hate me, and I have come as a fugitive from
before her. ” They embraced him and kissed him.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, he said
to the youths, “What is it that ye do here? ” And they said to
him, “We spend our time in this: we climb up, and he who
shall reach the window of the daughter of the prince of Naha-
raina, to him she will be given to wife. ” He said to them, "Lo!
I desire to try, I shall go to climb with you. " They went to
climb, as was their daily wont: the youth stood afar off to
behold; and the face of the daughter of the prince of Naharaina
was turned to him. Now when the days were multiplied after
these things, the youth came to climb with the sons of the chiefs.
He climbed, he reached the window of the daughter of the
prince of Naharaina. She kissed him, she embraced him.
One went to rejoice the heart of her father, and said to him,
A man has reached the window of thy daughter. ” The prince
spake of it, saying, “The son of which of the princes is it ? »
He said to him, “It is the son of an officer, who has come as a
fugitive from the land of Egypt, fleeing from before his step-
mother when she had children. ” Then the prince of Naharaina
was exceeding angry; he said, “Shall I indeed give my daughter
to the Egyptian fugitive ? Let him go back. ” One came to tell
the youth, “Go back to the place from which thou hast come. ”
But the maiden took hold of him; she swore an oath by God,
saying, "By the life of Ra Harakhti, if one taketh him from me,
1 Syria.
## p. 5252 (#424) ###########################################
5252
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
.
I will not eat, I will not drink, I shall die in that same hour. ”
The messenger went to tell unto her father all that she said.
Then the prince sent men to slay him, while he was in his
house. But the maiden said, "By the life of Ra, if one slay him
I shall be dead ere the sun goeth down. I will not pass an
hour of life if I am parted from him. ” One went to tell her
father. Then
the prince came; he embraced him, he
kissed him all over, and said, “Tell me who thou art; behold,
thou art to me as a son. ” He said to him:-“I am a son of an
officer of the land of Egypt; my mother died, my father took to
him a second wife; she came to hate me, and I fled from before
her. ” He gave to him his daughter to wife; he gave also to
him people and fields, also cattle and all manner of good things.
Now when time had passed over these things, the youth said
to his wife, "I am destined to three dooms. a crocodile, a
serpent, and a dog. ” She said to him, “Let one kill the dog
that runs before thee. ” He said to her, “I will not let my dog
be killed, which I have brought up from when it was small. ”
And she feared greatly for her husband, and would not let him
go alone abroad.
One did
the land of Egypt, to travel. Behold, the
crocodile,
he came opposite the city in which the youth
was.
Behold, there was a mighty man therein; the
mighty man would not suffer the crocodile to go out,
the crocodile. The mighty man went out to walk when the sun
every day, during two months of days.
Now when the days passed after this, the youth sat mak-
ing a good day in his house. When the evening came he lay
down on his bed; sleep seized upon his limbs; his wife filled a
bowl of milk and placed it by his side. There came out a
serpent from his hole, to bite the youth; behold, his wife was sit-
ting by him; she lay not down. Thereupon the servants gave
milk to the serpent; it drank and became drunk, and lay down,
upside down; his wife cut it in pieces with her hatchet. They
woke her husband;
she said to him, “Behold, thy god
hath given one of thy dooms into thy hand; he shall give
And he sacrificed to God, adoring him, and praising
his mighty spirit from day to day.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the
youth went to walk in the pathway in his enclosure, for he went
not outside alone; behold, his dog was behind him.
His dog put
.
## p. 5253 (#425) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5253
his nose to the ground [to pursue some game), and he ran after
him. He came to the sea, and entered the sea behind his dog.
The crocodile came out, he took him to the place where the
mighty man was.
The crocodile, he said to the youth,
"I am thy doom, following after thee.
[Here the papyrus breaks off. ]
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
THE STORY OF THE TWO BROTHERS
['The Story of the Two Brothers) is in places incoherent, but charms
throughout by beautiful and natural touches. The copy in which it has been
preserved to us is practically complete, but is full of errors of writing and of
composition, whole sentences having crept in that are useless, or contra-
dictory to the context. The style is however absolutely simple and narra-
tive, and the language entirely free from archaisms.
The papyrus, which bears the name of Seti II. as crown prince, dates
from the XIXth Dynasty.
The beginnings of many of the sentences and para-
graphs are written in red: this is specially the case when a sentence com-
mences with an indication of time, usually expressed in a fixed formula. In
such cases the translation of the passage written in red is here printed in
italics. ]
O
a
NCE there were two brothers, of one mother and one father;
Anpu was the name of the elder, and Bata was the name
of the younger. Now, as for Anpu, he had a house and
he had a wife. His younger brother was to him as it were
son; he it was who made for him his clothes, while he walked
behind his oxen to the fields; he it was who did the plowing;
he it was who harvested the corn; he it was who did for him all
the work of the fields. Behold, his younger brother grew to be
an excellent worker; there was not his equal in the whole land;
behold, the strain of a god was in him.
Now when the days multiplied after these things, his younger
brother followed his oxen as his manner was, daily; every even-
ing he turned again to the house, laden with all the herbs of the
field, with milk and with wood, and with all things of the field.
He put them down before his elder brother, who was sitting
with his wife; he drank and ate; he lay down in his stable with
the cattle.
Now when the earth lighted and the second day came, he
took bread which he had baked, and laid it before his elder
brother; and he took with him his bread to the field, and he
## p. 5254 (#426) ###########################################
5254
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
drave his cattle to pasture them in the fields. And he used to
walk behind his cattle, they saying to him, “Good is the herbage
which is in such a place;” and he hearkened to all that they
said, and he took them to the good pasture which they desired.
And the cattle which were before him became exceeding excel-
lent, and they became prolific greatly.
Now at the time of plowing, his elder brother said unto
him, "Let us make ready for ourselves a yoke of oxen for
plowing; for the land hath come out from the water; it is good
for plowing in this state; and do thou come to the field with
corn, for we will begin the plowing in the morrow morning. ”
Thus said he to him; and his younger brother did everything
that his elder brother had bidden him, to the end.
Now when the carth lighted and the second day came, they
went to the fields with their yoke of oxen; and their hearts were
pleased exceedingly with that which they accomplished in the
beginning of their work.
Now when the days were multiplicd after these things, they
were in the field; they stopped for seed corn, and he sent his
younger brother, saying, “Haste thou, bring to us corn from the
farm. ” And the younger brother found the wife of his elder
brother; (some one was sitting arranging her hair. He said to
her [the wife], "Get up, and give to me seed corn, that I may
run to the field, for my elder brother hastened me; be not slow. ”
She said to him, “Go, open the store, and thou shalt take for
thyself what is in thy heart; do not interrupt the course of my
hair-dressing
The youth went into his stable; he took a large measure, for
he desired to take much corn; he loaded it with barley and
spelt; and he went out carrying them. She said to him, “How
much of the corn that is wanted, is that which is on thy shoul-
der ? » He said to her, “Three bushels of spelt, and two of
barley, in all five; these are what are upon my shoulder; ” thus
said he to her. And she spake with him, saying, “There is great
strength in thee, for I see thy might every day. ” And her desire
was to know him with the knowledge of youth. She arose and
took hold of him, and said to him, "Come, lie with me; behold, ,
this shall be to thine advantage, for I will make for thee beautiful
garments. ”
Then the youth became like a leopard of the south
in fury at the evil speech which she had made to him; and she
feared greatly. He spake with her, saying, “Behold, thou art to
1
## p. 5255 (#427) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5255
me as
a mother; thy husband is to me as a father; for he who
is elder than I hath brought me up. What is this great wicked-
ness that thou hast said ? Say it not to me again. For I will
not tell it to any man, that it should go forth by the mouth of
all men. ” He lifted up his burden, and he went to the field and
came to his elder brother; and they took up their work, to labor
at their task.
Now afterwards, at the time of evening, his elder brother was
returning to his house; the younger brother was following after
his oxen; he loaded himself with all the things of the field; he
brought his oxen before him, to make them lie down in their
stable which was in the farm. Behold, the wife of the elder
brother was afraid for the words which she had said. She took
a pot of fat; she made herself as one who had been beaten by
miscreants, in order that she might say to her husband, "It is
thy younger brother who hath done this wrong. ” Her husband
returned in the even, as his manner was every day; he came
unto his house; he found his wife lying down, ill of violence; she
did not put water upon his hands as his manner was; she did not
make a light before him; his house was in darkness, and she was
lying vomiting. Her husband said to her, “Who hath spoken
with thee? ” Behold, she said, “No one hath spoken with me
except thy younger brother. When he came to take for thee
seed corn he found me sitting alone; he said to me, Come, let
us lie together; put on thy wig? ;' thus spake he to me. I would
not hearken to him: Behold, am I not thy mother, is not thy
elder brother to thee as a father? ' Thus spake I to him, and he
feared, and he beat me to stop me from making report to thee,
and if thou lettest him live I shall kill myself. Now behold,
when he cometh to-morrow, seize upon him; I will accuse him of
this wicked thing which he would have done the day before. ”
The elder brother became as a leopard of the south; he
sharpened his knife; he took it in his hand; he stood behind the
door of his stable to slay his younger brother as he came in the
evening to let his cattle into the stable.
Now the sun went down, and he loaded himself with all the
herbs of the field in his manner of every day. He came; his
leading cow entered the stable; she said to her keeper, Be-
hold, thy elder brother is standing before thee with his knife to
1 The Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs, as a matter of clean-
liness in a hot climate.
## p. 5256 (#428) ###########################################
5256
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
slay thee; flee from before him. ” He heard what his leading
cow had said; the next entered and said likewise. He looked
beneath the door of the stable; he saw the feet of his elder
brother standing behind the door with his knife in his hand.
He put down his load on the ground, he set out to flee swiftly;
his elder brother pursued after him with his knife. Then the
younger brother cried out unto Ra Harakhti, saying, "My good
Lord! Thou art he who distinguishest wrong from right. ” Ra
hearkened to all his complaint; Ra caused to be made a great
water between him and his elder brother, full of crocodiles; the
one brother was on one bank, the other on the other bank; and
the elder brother smote twice on his hands at not slaying him.
Thus did he. The younger brother called to the elder on the
bank, saying, "Stand still until the dawn of day; when Ra
ariseth I shall argue with thee before him, and he giveth the
wrong to the right. For I shall not be with thee unto eternity.
I shall not be in the place in which thou art; I shall go to the
Valley of the Acacia. ”
Now when the carth lighted and the second day came, Ra
Harakhti' shone out, and each of them saw the other. The youth
spake with his elder brother, saying: -«Wherefore camest thou
after me to slay me wrongfully, when thou hadst not heard my
mouth speak ? For I am thy younger brother in truth; thou art
to me as a father; thy wife is to me even as a mother: is it not
so ? Verily, when I was sent to bring for us seed corn, thy wife
said to me, Come lie with me. ' Behold, this has been turned
over to thee upside down. ” He caused him to understand all
that happened with him and his wife. He swore an oath by Ra
Harakhti, saying, “Thy coming to slay me wrongfully, having
thy spear, was the instigation of a wicked and filthy one. ” He
took a reed knife and mutilated himself; he cast the flesh into
the water, and the silurus swallowed it. He sank; he became
faint; his elder brother chided his heart greatly; he stood weep-
ing for him loudly, that he could not cross to where his younger
brother was, because of the crocodiles. The younger brother
called unto him, saying, “Whereas thou hast devised an evil
thing, wilt thou not also devise a good thing, or such a thing as
I would do unto thee? When thou goest to thy house thou must
look to thy cattle; for I stay not in the place where thou art, I
am going to the Valley of the Acacia. Now as to what thou
i The sun.
## p. 5257 (#429) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5257
shalt do for me: verily, understand this, that things shall happen
unto me; namely, that I shall draw out my soul, that I shall put
it upon the top of the flowers of the acacia; the acacia-tree will
be cut down, it shall fall to the ground, and thou shalt come to
seek for it, and if thou passest seven years searching for it, let
not thy heart sicken. Thou shalt find it; thou must put it in a
cup of cold water that I may live again, that I may make
answer to what hath been done wrong. Thou shalt understand
this; namely, that things are happening to me, when one shall
give to thee a pot of beer in thy hand and it shall foam up:
stay not then, for verily it shall come to pass with thee. ”
He went to the Valley of the Acacia; his elder brother went
to his house; his hand was laid on his head; he cast dust on
his head; he came to his house, he slew his wife, he cast her
to the dogs, and he sat in mourning for his younger brother.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
younger brother was in the Valley of the Acacia; there was none
with him; he spent the day hunting the game of the desert, he
came back in the even to lie down under the acacia, the top-
most flower of which was his soul.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, he built
himself a tower with his hand, in the Valley of the Acacia; it
was full of all good things, that he might provide for himself a
home.
He went out from his tower, he met the Ennead of the gods,
who were going forth to arrange the affairs of their whole land.
The Nine Gods talked one with another, they said unto him:
“Ho! Bata, Bull of the Ennead of the gods, art thou remaining
alone, having fled thy village from before the wife of Anpu
thy elder brother? Behold, his wife is slain. Thou hast given
him an answer to all that was transgressed against thee. ” Their
hearts were sad for him exceedingly. Ra Harakhti said to
Khnumu,' « Behold, frame thou a wife for Bata, that he may not
sit alone. ” Khnumu made for him a mate to dwell with him.
She was more beautiful in her limbs than any woman who is in
the whole land. Every god was in her. The seven Hathors
i Ra Harakhti was the chief of this Ennead. Khnumu, one of his com-
panion gods, was the craftsman, sometimes represented as fashioning mankind
upon the potter's wheel.
## p. 5258 (#430) ###########################################
5258
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
a
was.
sea
came to see her: they said with one mouth, «She will die a
sharp death. ”
He loved her very exceedingly, and she dwelt in his house;
he passed his time in hunting the game of the desert, and
brought what he took before her, He said, "Go not outside,
lest the sea seize thee; for I cannot rescue thee from it, for I
am woman like thee: my soul is placed on the top of the
flower of the acacia; and if another find it, I shall be vanquished
by him. ” He explained to her all about his soul.
Vow when the day's were multiplied after these things, Bata
went to hunt as his daily manner The girl went to
walk under the acacia which was by the side of her house; the
saw her, and cast its waves up after her. She set out to
run away from it; she entered her house. The sea called unto
the acacia, saying, “Oh, catch hold of her for me! ” The acacia
brought a lock from her hair, the sea carried it to Egypt, and
dropped it in the place of the washers of Pharaoh's linen. The
smell of the lock of hair entered into the clothes of Pharaoh.
They were wroth with Pharaoh's washers, saying, “The smell of
ointment is in the clothes of Pharaoh. ” The men were rebuked
every day; they knew not what they should do. The chief of
the washers of Pharaoh went down to the seaside; his soul was
black within him because of the chiding with him daily. He
stopped and stood upon the sandy shore opposite to the lock of
hair, which was in the water; he made one go in, and it was
brought to him; there was found in it a smell, exceeding sweet.
He took it to Pharaoh; the scribes and the wise were
brought to Pharaoh; they said unto Pharaoh:-“This lock of hair
belongs to a daughter of Ra Harakhti; the strain of every god is
in her; it is a tribute to thee from a strange land.
Let mes-
sengers go to every foreign land to seek her: as for the messen-
ger who shall go to the Valley of the Acacia, let many men
go with him to bring her. ” Then said his Majesty, “Excellent
exceedingly is what we have said; and the men were sent.
Ilhen the days were multiplied after these things, the people
who went abroad came to give report unto the king: but there
came not those who went to the Valley of the Acacia, for Bata
had slain them; he spared one of them to give a report to the
king His Majesty sent many men and soldiers as well as horse-
men, to bring her back. There was a woman among them, into
whose hand was put every kind of beautiful ornaments for a
men
>>>
## p. 5259 (#431) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5259
woman. The girl came back with her; there were rejoicings for
her in the whole land.
His Majesty loved her exceedingly, and raised her to be a
princess of high rank; he spake with her that she should tell
concerning her husband. She said to his Majesty, “Let the
acacia be cut down, and let one chop it up. ” They sent men
and soldiers with their weapons to cut down the acacia; they
came to the acacia, they cut the flower upon which was the soul
of Bata, and he fell dead upon the instant.
Now when the earth lighted and the second day came, the
acacia was cut down. And Anpu, the elder brother of Bata, en-
tered his house; he sat down and washed his hands: one gave
him a pot of beer, it foamed up; another was given him of
wine, it became foul. He took his staff, his sandals, likewise
his clothes, with his weapons of war; he set out to walk to the
Valley of the Acacia. He entered the tower of his younger
brother; he found his younger brother lying on his bed; he was
dead. He wept when he saw his younger brother verily lying
dead. He went out to seek the soul of his younger brother un-
der the acacia tree, under which his younger brother used to lie
in the evening. He spent three years in seeking for it, but
found it not. When he began the fourth year, he desired in his
heart to return into Egypt; he said, “I will go to-morrow;”
thus spake he in his heart.
When the earth lighted and the second day came, he went out
under the acacia, and set to work to seek it again. He found a
seed-pod. He returned with it. Behold, this was the soul of his
younger brother.
He brought a cup of cold water, he dropped
it into it: he sat down, as his manner of every day was. Now
when the night came his [Bata's] soul absorbed the water; Bata
shuddered in all his limbs, he looked on his elder brother; his
soul was in the cup. Then Anpu took the cup of cold water in
which the soul of his younger brother was; he [Bata] drank it,
his soul stood again in its place, he became as he had been.
They embraced each other, and they spake with one another.
Bata said to his elder brother, “Behold, I am to become as a
great bull, with all the right markings; no one knoweth its his-
tory, and thou must sit upon his back. When the sun arises we
will go to that place where my wife is, that I may return answer
to her; and thou must take me to the place where the king is.
For all good things shall be done for thee, and one shall lade
## p. 5260 (#432) ###########################################
5260
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
thee with silver and gold, because thou bringest me to Pharaoh;
for I become a great marvel, they shall rejoice for me in all the
land. And thou shalt go to thy village. ”
When the rarth lighted and the second day came, Bata became
in the form which he had told to his elder brother. And Anpu
his elder brother sat upon his back until the dawn. He came
to the place where the king was; they made his Majesty to know
of him; he saw him, and he rejoiced exceedingly. He made for
him great offerings, saying, “This is a great wonder which has
come to pass. There were rejoicings over him in the whole
land. They loaded him with silver and gold for his elder
brother, who went and settled in his village. They gave to the
bull many men and many things, and Pharaoh loved him exceed-
ingly above all men that are in this land.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the bull
entered the place of purifying; he stood in the place where the
princess was; he began to speak with her, saying, "Behold, I am
alive indeed. ” She said to him, “Who then art thou ? ” He said
to her: "I am Bata. Thou knewest well when thou causedst that
they should cut down the acacia for Pharaoh, that it was to my
hurt, that I might not be suffered to live. Behold, I am alive
indeed, being as an ox. ” Then the princess feared exceedingly
for the words that her husband had spoken to her. And he
went out from the place of purifying.
His Majesty was sitting, making a good day with her: she
was at the table of his Majesty, and the king was exceeding
pleased with her. She said to his Majesty, “Swear to me by
God, saying, What thou shalt say, I will obey it for thy sake. ) »
He hearkened unto all that she said. And she said, “Let me eat
of the liver of this bull, because he will do nothing;” thus spake
she to him. He was exceedingly vexed at that which she said,
the heart of Pharaoh was grieved exceedingly.
Now when the carth lighted and the second day came, there
was proclaimed a great feast with offerings to the ox. The
king sent one of the chief butchers of his Majesty, to have the
ox sacrificed. Afterwards it was caused to be sacrificed, and
when it was in the hands of the men, it shook its neck, and
threw two drops of blood over against the double door of his
Majesty One fell upon the one side of the great door of
Pharaoh, and the other upon the other side. They grew as two
great Persea trees; each of them was excellent.
## p. 5261 (#433) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5261
One went to tell unto his Majesty, “Two great Persea trees
have grown, as a great marvel for his Majesty, in the night, by
the side of the great gate of his Majesty. ” There was rejoicing
for them in all the land, and there were offerings made to them.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
Majesty was adorned with a blue crown, with garlands of flowers
on his neck; he was upon the chariot of electrum; he went out
from the palace to behold the Persea trees: the princess also
went out with horses behind Pharaoh. His Majesty sat beneath
one of the Persea trees, and it spake thus with his wife:—“Oh
thou deceitful one, I am Bata; I am alive, though I have suffered
violence. Thou knewest well that the causing of the acacia to
be cut down for Pharaoh was to my hurt. I then became an
ox, and thou hadst me slain. ”
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the
princess stood at the table of Pharaoh, and the king was pleased
with her. She said to his Majesty, “Swear to me by God,
saying, “That which the princess shall say to me I will obey it
for her. ' Thus do thou. ” And he hearkened unto all that she
said. She said, “Let these two Persea trees be cut down, and
let them be made into goodly timber. ” He hearkened unto all
that she said.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
Majesty sent skillful craftsmen, and they cut down the Persea
trees of Pharaoh, while the princess, the royal wife, stood by and
saw it.
A chip flew up and entered into the mouth of the
princess; and she perceived that she had conceived, and while
her days were being fulfilled Pharaoh did all that was in her
heart therein. 1
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, she
bore a male child. One went to tell his Majesty, “There is born
to thee a son. ” They brought him [i. €. , the child, to the king),
and gave to him a nurse and servants; there were rejoicings in
the whole land. The king sat making a good day; they per-
formed the naming of him, his Majesty loved him exceedingly on
the instant, the king raised him to be the royal son of Kush.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
Majesty made him heir of all the land.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, when
he had fulfilled many years as heir of the whole land, his
11. e. , in the matter of the trees.
## p. 5262 (#434) ###########################################
5262
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Majesty few up to heaven. There was command given, Let
my great nobles of his Majesty be brought before me, that I
may make them to know all that has happened to me. ”
they brought to him his wife, and he argued with her before
them, and their case was decided They brought to him his
elder brother; he made him hereditary prince in all his land.
He was thirty years King of Egypt, and he died, and his elder
brother stood in his place on the day of burial.
Excellently finished in peace, for the Ka of the scribe of the
treasury, kagabu, of the treasury of Pharaoh, and for the scribe
Hora, and the scribe Meremapt. Written by the scribe Anena,
the owner of this roll. He who speaks against this roll, may
Tahuti be his opponent.
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
THE STORY OF SETNA
[The beginning of this tale is lost, but it is clear from what remains of
it that Setna Kha-em-uast, son of a Pharaoh who may be identified with
Rameses II. , of the XIXth Dynasty (about 1300 B. C. ), was a diligent student
of the ancient writings, chiefly for the sake of the occult knowledge which
they were supposed to contain. He discovered, or was told of, the existence
of a book which Thoth, the god of letters, science and magic, had written
with his own hand, and learned that this book was to be found in the ceme-
tery of Memphis, in the tomb of Na-nefer-ka-ptah, the only son of some
earlier Pharaoh. Setna evidently succeeded in finding and entering this
tomb, and there he saw the kas or ghosts of Na-nefer-ka-ptah, his wife (and
sister) Ahura, and their little boy Merab; and with them was the book. To
dissuade Setna from abstracting the book, Ahura tells him how they had
become possessed of it, and had paid for it with their earthly lives; and it
is with her tale that the papyrus begins. Setna, however, insists upon tak-
ing the book; but Na-nefer-ka-ptah challenges him, as a good scribe and a
learned man, to a trial of skill in a game, and in the imposition of magical
penalties on the loser. Setna agrees; but being worsted, he calls in outside
help and succeeds in carrying off the book.
flight of thy servant was made in innocence. Thou the Good
God, Lord of both Lands, Beloved of Ra, Favored of Mentu,
lord of Uast, and of Amen, lord of the Thrones of the Two
Lands, of Sebek, Ra, Horus, Hathor, Atmu and his Ennead, of
Sepdu, Neferbiu, Semsetu, Horus of the east, and of the Mistress
of the Cave? who resteth on thy head, of the chief circle of the
gods of the waters, Min, Horus of the desert, Urert mistress of
Punt, Nut, Harur-Ra, all the gods of the land of Egypt and of
the isles of the sea. 3 May they put life and strength to thy
nostril, may they present thee with their gifts, may they give to
thee eternity without end, everlastingness without bound. May
the fear of thee be doubled in the lands and in the foreign coun-
tries, mayest thou subdue the circuit of the sun. This is the
prayer of the servant for his master, who hath delivered him
from Amenti.
« The possessor of understanding understandeth the higher
order of men, and the servant recognizeth the majesty of
Pharaoh. But thy servant feareth to speak it: it is a weighty
matter to tell of. The great God, like unto Ra, knoweth well
the work which he himself hath wrought. Who is thy servant
1 The Ka or double » was one of the spiritual constituents of man; but
«thy Ka” is merely a mode of address to the exalted Pharaoh.
21. e. , the uræus or cobra.
3 In this long array of gods, Mentu and Amen rank next to Ra. They
were both worshiped at Thebes, which was then probably capital of the whole
country. It certainly was so in the next dynasty, during which this tale was
presumably written down. It is curious that Ptah the god of Memphis does
not appear.
* The place of the dead.
## p. 5246 (#418) ###########################################
5246
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
that he should be considered, that words should be spent upon
him? Thy majesty is as Horus, and the strength of thy arms
extendeth to all lands.
« Then let his Majesty command that there be brought to
him Meki of Kedem, Khentiu-aaush of Khent-keshu, and Menus
of the Two Lands of the Fenkhu; these are chiefs as hostages
that the Tenu act according to the desire of thy Ka, and that
Tenu will not covet what belongeth to thee in it, like thy
dogs. 1 Behold this flight that thy servant made: I did not desire
it, it was not in my heart; I do not boast of it; I know not what
took me away from my place; it was like the leading of a
dream, as a man of Adhu sees himself in Abu,' as a man of the
Corn-land sees himself in the Land of Gardens. There was no
fear, none was hastening in pursuit of me; I did not listen to an
evil plot, my name was not heard in the mouth of the informer;
but my limbs went, my feet wandered, my heart drew me; a
god ordained this flight, and led me on. But I am not stiff-
necked; a man feareth if he knoweth [? ], for Ra hath spread thy
fear over the land, thy terrors in every foreign country. Behold
me in thy palace or behold me in this place,* still thou art he
who doth clothe this horizon. The sun riseth at thy pleasure,
the water in the rivers is drunk at thy will, the wind in heaven
is breathed at thy saying.
“Thy servant will leave to a successor the viziership which thy
servant hath held in this land. And when thy servant shall ar-
rives let thy Majesty do as pleaseth him, for one liveth by the
breath that thou givest. O thou who art beloved of Ra, of
Horus, and of Hathor! It is thy august rostril that Mentu, lord
of Uast, desireth should live for ever. ”
.
1
It was granted that I should spend a day in Iaa, to pass over
my goods to my children, my eldest son leading my tribe, and
1 As dogs do the bidding of their master and spare his property.
2 As a man of Natho (the marshes in the north of the Delta) dreams that
he is at Elephantine (the rocky southern frontier).
3 The second is the name of the southernmost nome of Egypt, that of
Elephantine, which has practically no corn-land. It was probably made fruit-
ful by artificial irrigation, with culture of plants, trees, and vines.
* So the MS. , and it conveys a fair meaning; but perhaps the original ran,
“Behold, thou art in the palace and I am in this place yet, etc.
5 Or, "Now thy servant hath finished. ”
6 Sanebat's own territory; see p. 5241.
## p. 5247 (#419) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5247
all my goods in his hand, my people and all my cattle, my fruit,
and all my pleasant trees. When thy humble servant' journeyed
to the south, and arrived at the Roads of Horus, the officer who
was over the frontier-patrol sent a report to the Residence to
give notice. His Majesty sent the good overseer of the peasants
of the king's domains, and ships with him laden with presents
from the king for the Sati who had come with me to convey me
to the Roads of Horus. I spoke to each one by his name, each
officer according to his rank. I received and I returned the salu-
tation, and I continued thus? until I reached Athtu. "
When the land was lightened, and the second day came,
there came some to summon me, four men in coining, four
men in going to carry [? ] me to the palace. I alighted on the
ground between the gates of reception [? ]; the royal children
stood at the platform to greet [? ] me; the Companions and those
who ushered to the hall brought me on the way to the royal
chamber.
I found his Majesty on the great throne on a platform of pale
gold. Then I threw myself on my belly; this god, in whose
presence I was, knew me not while he questioned me graciously;
but I was as one caught in the night; my spirit fainted, my
limbs shook, my heart was no longer in my bosom, and I knew
the difference between life and death. His Majesty said to one
of the Companions, “Lift him up; let him speak to me. ” And
his Majesty said:-“Behold, thou hast come; thou hast trodden the
deserts; thou hast played the wanderer. Decay falleth on thee,
old age hath reached thee; it is no small thing that thy body
should be embalmed, that thou shalt not be buried by foreign
soldiers. Do not, do not, be silent and speechless; tell thy
name; is it fear that preventeth thee ? » I answered with the
answer of one terrified, “What is it that my lord hath said ? 0
that I might answer it! It was not my act: it was the hand of
God; it was a terror that was in my body, as it were causing a
1A frequent phrase for the writer or narrator, especially common in letters.
2 «Nodding and touching my forehead” is perhaps the real translation of
some difficult words here paraphrased.
3 Probably the Residence; more commonly called Athet-taui, but here ab-
breviated in name.
* Or perhaps
very early. ”
5 This probably means “four men behind me and the same number in
front, either conducting Sanehat or more probably carrying him in a litter.
6 Instead of Egyptian priests.
## p. 5248 (#420) ###########################################
5248
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
the queen,
flight that had been foreordained. Behold I am before thee; thou
art life; let thy Majesty do what pleaseth him. ”
The royal children were brought in, and his Majesty said to
“Behold thou, Sanehat hath come as an Amu, whom
the Sati have produced. ”
She shrieked aloud, and the royal children joined in one cry,
and said before his Majesty, “Verily it is not he, o king, my
lord. ” Said his Majesty, “It is verily he. ” Then they brought
their tinkling bead-strings, their wands, and their sistra in their
hands, and waved them before his Majesty [and they sang]:-
"May thy hands prosper, O King;
May the graces of the Lady of Heaven continue.
May the goddess Nub? give life to thy nostril;
May the mistress of the stars favor thee, that which is north
of her going south and that which is south of her going
north.
A11 wisdom is in the mouth of thy Majesty;
The staff [? ] is put upon thy forehead, driving away from
thee the beggarly [? ]
Thou art pacified, O Ra, lord of the lands;
They call on thee as on the Mistress of all.
Strong is thy horn; let fall thine arrow.
Grant the breath of life to him who is without it;
Grant thy favor to this alien Samehit,” the foreign soldier
born in the land of Egypt,
Who fled away from fear of thee,
And left the land from thy terrors.
The face shall not grow pale, of him who beholdeth thy
countenance;
The eye shall not fear which looketh upon thee. ”
Said his Majesty:—“He shall not fear; let him be freed from
terror. He shall be a Companion amongst the nobles; he shall
be put within the circle of the courtiers. Go ye to the chamber
of praise to seek wealth for him. ”
When I went out from the Audience Chamber, the royal
children offered their hands to me; and we walked afterwards to
i These instruments rattled or clattered as they were waved or beaten
together.
2 A form of Hathor.
3 Samehit, “son of the north,” is a play on the name Sanebat, (son of the
Sycamore. »
## p. 5249 (#421) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5249
the Great Portals. I was placed in a house of a king's son, in
which were fine things; there was a cool bower therein, fruits of
the granary, treasures of the White House,' clothes of the king's
guard-robe, frankincense, the finest perfumes of the king and the
nobles whom he loves, in every chamber; and every kind of
servitor in his proper office. Years were removed from my
limbs: I was shaved, and my locks of hair were combed; the
foulness was cast to the desert, with the garments of the Nemau-
sha. I clothed me in fine linen, and anointed myself with the
best oil; I laid me on a bed. I gave up the sand to those who
lie on it; the oil of wood to him who would anoint himself
therewith.
There was given to me the house of Neb-mer [? ], which had
belonged to a Companion. There were many craftsmen build-
ing it; all its woodwork was strengthened anew. Portions were
brought to me from the palace thrice and four times a day,
besides the gifts of the royal children; there was not a moment's
ceasing from them. There was built for me a pyramid of stone
amongst the pyramids. The overseer of the architects measured
its ground; the chief treasurer drew it; the sacred masons did
the sculpture; the chief of the laborers in the necropolis brought
the bricks; and all the instruments applied to a tomb were there
employed. There were given to me fields; there was made for
me a necropolis garden, the land in it better than a farm estate;
even as is done for the chief Companion. My statue was over-
laid with gold, its girdle with pale gold; his Majesty caused it to
be made. Such is not done to a man of low degree.
Thus am I in the favor of the king until the day of death
shall come.
This is finished from beginning to end, as was found in the
writing
Translation of F. LI. Griffith.
1 The treasury containing silver, gold, clothing, wine, and valuables of all
kinds.
2 Meaning “wanderers on the Sand,) Bedawîn.
IX-329
## p. 5250 (#422) ###########################################
5250
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
THE DOOMED PRINCE
['The Story of the Doomed Prince) was written at some time during the
XVIIIth Dynasty (about 1450 B. C. ). The papyrus on which it has been pre-
served to us, and which is in the British Museum, is much mutilated, and the
end is entirely lost. ]
T"
HERE was once a king to whom no male child was born; he
prayed for himself unto the gods whom he worshiped for
a son. They decreed to cause that there should be born
to him one. And his wife, after her time was fulfilled, gave
birth to a male child. Came the Hathors' to decree for him a
destiny; they said, “He dies by the crocodile, or by the serpent,
or by the dog. " Then the people who stood by the child heard
this; they went to tell it to his Majesty. Then his Majesty's
heart was exceeding sad. His Majesty caused a house to be
built upon the desert, furnished with people and with all good
things of the royal house, out of which the child should not go.
Now when the child was grown he went up upon its roof and
saw a greyhound; it was following a man walking on the road.
He said to his page who was with him, "What is this that goeth
behind the man coming along the road? He said to him, "It
is a greyhound. ” The child said to him, "Let there be brought
to me
one like it. » The page went and reported it to his
Majesty. His Majesty said, “Let there be brought to him a little
trotter, lest his heart be sad. ” Then they brought to him the
greyhound.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the
child grew up in all his limbs, he sent a message to his father
saying, “Wherefore should I remain here? Behold, I am destined
to three dooms, and if I do according to my desire God will still
do what is in his heart. ” They hearkened to all he said, and
gave him all kinds of weapons, and also his greyhound to follow
him, and they conveyed him over to the east side and said
to him, “Go thou whither thou wilt. ” His greyhound was
with him; he traveled northward following his heart in the desert:
he lived on the best of all the game of the desert. He came to
the chief of Naharaina.
1 The Hathors were seven goddesses who attended the birth of a child in
order to tell its fate. They somewhat correspond to the fairy godmothers of
later fairy tales.
## p. 5251 (#423) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5251
Behold, there was no child born to the prince of Naharaina
except one daughter. Behold, he built for her a house; its win-
dow was seventy cubits from the ground, and he caused to be
brought all the sons of all the chiefs of the land of Kharu,1 and
said to them, “He who shall reach the window of my daughter,
she shall be to him for a wife. ”
Now when the days had multiplied after these things, as they
were in their daily task, the youth came by them. They took
the youth to their house, they bathed him, they gave provender
to his horse, they did every kind of thing for the youth; they
anointed him, they bound up his feet, they gave him portions of
their own food; they spake to him in the manner of conversa-
tion, “Whence comest thou, good youth? ” He said to them:-“I
am the son of an officer of the land of Egypt; my mother is
dead, my father has taken another wife. When she bore children,
she began to hate me, and I have come as a fugitive from
before her. ” They embraced him and kissed him.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, he said
to the youths, “What is it that ye do here? ” And they said to
him, “We spend our time in this: we climb up, and he who
shall reach the window of the daughter of the prince of Naha-
raina, to him she will be given to wife. ” He said to them, "Lo!
I desire to try, I shall go to climb with you. " They went to
climb, as was their daily wont: the youth stood afar off to
behold; and the face of the daughter of the prince of Naharaina
was turned to him. Now when the days were multiplied after
these things, the youth came to climb with the sons of the chiefs.
He climbed, he reached the window of the daughter of the
prince of Naharaina. She kissed him, she embraced him.
One went to rejoice the heart of her father, and said to him,
A man has reached the window of thy daughter. ” The prince
spake of it, saying, “The son of which of the princes is it ? »
He said to him, “It is the son of an officer, who has come as a
fugitive from the land of Egypt, fleeing from before his step-
mother when she had children. ” Then the prince of Naharaina
was exceeding angry; he said, “Shall I indeed give my daughter
to the Egyptian fugitive ? Let him go back. ” One came to tell
the youth, “Go back to the place from which thou hast come. ”
But the maiden took hold of him; she swore an oath by God,
saying, "By the life of Ra Harakhti, if one taketh him from me,
1 Syria.
## p. 5252 (#424) ###########################################
5252
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
.
I will not eat, I will not drink, I shall die in that same hour. ”
The messenger went to tell unto her father all that she said.
Then the prince sent men to slay him, while he was in his
house. But the maiden said, "By the life of Ra, if one slay him
I shall be dead ere the sun goeth down. I will not pass an
hour of life if I am parted from him. ” One went to tell her
father. Then
the prince came; he embraced him, he
kissed him all over, and said, “Tell me who thou art; behold,
thou art to me as a son. ” He said to him:-“I am a son of an
officer of the land of Egypt; my mother died, my father took to
him a second wife; she came to hate me, and I fled from before
her. ” He gave to him his daughter to wife; he gave also to
him people and fields, also cattle and all manner of good things.
Now when time had passed over these things, the youth said
to his wife, "I am destined to three dooms. a crocodile, a
serpent, and a dog. ” She said to him, “Let one kill the dog
that runs before thee. ” He said to her, “I will not let my dog
be killed, which I have brought up from when it was small. ”
And she feared greatly for her husband, and would not let him
go alone abroad.
One did
the land of Egypt, to travel. Behold, the
crocodile,
he came opposite the city in which the youth
was.
Behold, there was a mighty man therein; the
mighty man would not suffer the crocodile to go out,
the crocodile. The mighty man went out to walk when the sun
every day, during two months of days.
Now when the days passed after this, the youth sat mak-
ing a good day in his house. When the evening came he lay
down on his bed; sleep seized upon his limbs; his wife filled a
bowl of milk and placed it by his side. There came out a
serpent from his hole, to bite the youth; behold, his wife was sit-
ting by him; she lay not down. Thereupon the servants gave
milk to the serpent; it drank and became drunk, and lay down,
upside down; his wife cut it in pieces with her hatchet. They
woke her husband;
she said to him, “Behold, thy god
hath given one of thy dooms into thy hand; he shall give
And he sacrificed to God, adoring him, and praising
his mighty spirit from day to day.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the
youth went to walk in the pathway in his enclosure, for he went
not outside alone; behold, his dog was behind him.
His dog put
.
## p. 5253 (#425) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5253
his nose to the ground [to pursue some game), and he ran after
him. He came to the sea, and entered the sea behind his dog.
The crocodile came out, he took him to the place where the
mighty man was.
The crocodile, he said to the youth,
"I am thy doom, following after thee.
[Here the papyrus breaks off. ]
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
THE STORY OF THE TWO BROTHERS
['The Story of the Two Brothers) is in places incoherent, but charms
throughout by beautiful and natural touches. The copy in which it has been
preserved to us is practically complete, but is full of errors of writing and of
composition, whole sentences having crept in that are useless, or contra-
dictory to the context. The style is however absolutely simple and narra-
tive, and the language entirely free from archaisms.
The papyrus, which bears the name of Seti II. as crown prince, dates
from the XIXth Dynasty.
The beginnings of many of the sentences and para-
graphs are written in red: this is specially the case when a sentence com-
mences with an indication of time, usually expressed in a fixed formula. In
such cases the translation of the passage written in red is here printed in
italics. ]
O
a
NCE there were two brothers, of one mother and one father;
Anpu was the name of the elder, and Bata was the name
of the younger. Now, as for Anpu, he had a house and
he had a wife. His younger brother was to him as it were
son; he it was who made for him his clothes, while he walked
behind his oxen to the fields; he it was who did the plowing;
he it was who harvested the corn; he it was who did for him all
the work of the fields. Behold, his younger brother grew to be
an excellent worker; there was not his equal in the whole land;
behold, the strain of a god was in him.
Now when the days multiplied after these things, his younger
brother followed his oxen as his manner was, daily; every even-
ing he turned again to the house, laden with all the herbs of the
field, with milk and with wood, and with all things of the field.
He put them down before his elder brother, who was sitting
with his wife; he drank and ate; he lay down in his stable with
the cattle.
Now when the earth lighted and the second day came, he
took bread which he had baked, and laid it before his elder
brother; and he took with him his bread to the field, and he
## p. 5254 (#426) ###########################################
5254
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
drave his cattle to pasture them in the fields. And he used to
walk behind his cattle, they saying to him, “Good is the herbage
which is in such a place;” and he hearkened to all that they
said, and he took them to the good pasture which they desired.
And the cattle which were before him became exceeding excel-
lent, and they became prolific greatly.
Now at the time of plowing, his elder brother said unto
him, "Let us make ready for ourselves a yoke of oxen for
plowing; for the land hath come out from the water; it is good
for plowing in this state; and do thou come to the field with
corn, for we will begin the plowing in the morrow morning. ”
Thus said he to him; and his younger brother did everything
that his elder brother had bidden him, to the end.
Now when the carth lighted and the second day came, they
went to the fields with their yoke of oxen; and their hearts were
pleased exceedingly with that which they accomplished in the
beginning of their work.
Now when the days were multiplicd after these things, they
were in the field; they stopped for seed corn, and he sent his
younger brother, saying, “Haste thou, bring to us corn from the
farm. ” And the younger brother found the wife of his elder
brother; (some one was sitting arranging her hair. He said to
her [the wife], "Get up, and give to me seed corn, that I may
run to the field, for my elder brother hastened me; be not slow. ”
She said to him, “Go, open the store, and thou shalt take for
thyself what is in thy heart; do not interrupt the course of my
hair-dressing
The youth went into his stable; he took a large measure, for
he desired to take much corn; he loaded it with barley and
spelt; and he went out carrying them. She said to him, “How
much of the corn that is wanted, is that which is on thy shoul-
der ? » He said to her, “Three bushels of spelt, and two of
barley, in all five; these are what are upon my shoulder; ” thus
said he to her. And she spake with him, saying, “There is great
strength in thee, for I see thy might every day. ” And her desire
was to know him with the knowledge of youth. She arose and
took hold of him, and said to him, "Come, lie with me; behold, ,
this shall be to thine advantage, for I will make for thee beautiful
garments. ”
Then the youth became like a leopard of the south
in fury at the evil speech which she had made to him; and she
feared greatly. He spake with her, saying, “Behold, thou art to
1
## p. 5255 (#427) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5255
me as
a mother; thy husband is to me as a father; for he who
is elder than I hath brought me up. What is this great wicked-
ness that thou hast said ? Say it not to me again. For I will
not tell it to any man, that it should go forth by the mouth of
all men. ” He lifted up his burden, and he went to the field and
came to his elder brother; and they took up their work, to labor
at their task.
Now afterwards, at the time of evening, his elder brother was
returning to his house; the younger brother was following after
his oxen; he loaded himself with all the things of the field; he
brought his oxen before him, to make them lie down in their
stable which was in the farm. Behold, the wife of the elder
brother was afraid for the words which she had said. She took
a pot of fat; she made herself as one who had been beaten by
miscreants, in order that she might say to her husband, "It is
thy younger brother who hath done this wrong. ” Her husband
returned in the even, as his manner was every day; he came
unto his house; he found his wife lying down, ill of violence; she
did not put water upon his hands as his manner was; she did not
make a light before him; his house was in darkness, and she was
lying vomiting. Her husband said to her, “Who hath spoken
with thee? ” Behold, she said, “No one hath spoken with me
except thy younger brother. When he came to take for thee
seed corn he found me sitting alone; he said to me, Come, let
us lie together; put on thy wig? ;' thus spake he to me. I would
not hearken to him: Behold, am I not thy mother, is not thy
elder brother to thee as a father? ' Thus spake I to him, and he
feared, and he beat me to stop me from making report to thee,
and if thou lettest him live I shall kill myself. Now behold,
when he cometh to-morrow, seize upon him; I will accuse him of
this wicked thing which he would have done the day before. ”
The elder brother became as a leopard of the south; he
sharpened his knife; he took it in his hand; he stood behind the
door of his stable to slay his younger brother as he came in the
evening to let his cattle into the stable.
Now the sun went down, and he loaded himself with all the
herbs of the field in his manner of every day. He came; his
leading cow entered the stable; she said to her keeper, Be-
hold, thy elder brother is standing before thee with his knife to
1 The Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs, as a matter of clean-
liness in a hot climate.
## p. 5256 (#428) ###########################################
5256
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
slay thee; flee from before him. ” He heard what his leading
cow had said; the next entered and said likewise. He looked
beneath the door of the stable; he saw the feet of his elder
brother standing behind the door with his knife in his hand.
He put down his load on the ground, he set out to flee swiftly;
his elder brother pursued after him with his knife. Then the
younger brother cried out unto Ra Harakhti, saying, "My good
Lord! Thou art he who distinguishest wrong from right. ” Ra
hearkened to all his complaint; Ra caused to be made a great
water between him and his elder brother, full of crocodiles; the
one brother was on one bank, the other on the other bank; and
the elder brother smote twice on his hands at not slaying him.
Thus did he. The younger brother called to the elder on the
bank, saying, "Stand still until the dawn of day; when Ra
ariseth I shall argue with thee before him, and he giveth the
wrong to the right. For I shall not be with thee unto eternity.
I shall not be in the place in which thou art; I shall go to the
Valley of the Acacia. ”
Now when the carth lighted and the second day came, Ra
Harakhti' shone out, and each of them saw the other. The youth
spake with his elder brother, saying: -«Wherefore camest thou
after me to slay me wrongfully, when thou hadst not heard my
mouth speak ? For I am thy younger brother in truth; thou art
to me as a father; thy wife is to me even as a mother: is it not
so ? Verily, when I was sent to bring for us seed corn, thy wife
said to me, Come lie with me. ' Behold, this has been turned
over to thee upside down. ” He caused him to understand all
that happened with him and his wife. He swore an oath by Ra
Harakhti, saying, “Thy coming to slay me wrongfully, having
thy spear, was the instigation of a wicked and filthy one. ” He
took a reed knife and mutilated himself; he cast the flesh into
the water, and the silurus swallowed it. He sank; he became
faint; his elder brother chided his heart greatly; he stood weep-
ing for him loudly, that he could not cross to where his younger
brother was, because of the crocodiles. The younger brother
called unto him, saying, “Whereas thou hast devised an evil
thing, wilt thou not also devise a good thing, or such a thing as
I would do unto thee? When thou goest to thy house thou must
look to thy cattle; for I stay not in the place where thou art, I
am going to the Valley of the Acacia. Now as to what thou
i The sun.
## p. 5257 (#429) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5257
shalt do for me: verily, understand this, that things shall happen
unto me; namely, that I shall draw out my soul, that I shall put
it upon the top of the flowers of the acacia; the acacia-tree will
be cut down, it shall fall to the ground, and thou shalt come to
seek for it, and if thou passest seven years searching for it, let
not thy heart sicken. Thou shalt find it; thou must put it in a
cup of cold water that I may live again, that I may make
answer to what hath been done wrong. Thou shalt understand
this; namely, that things are happening to me, when one shall
give to thee a pot of beer in thy hand and it shall foam up:
stay not then, for verily it shall come to pass with thee. ”
He went to the Valley of the Acacia; his elder brother went
to his house; his hand was laid on his head; he cast dust on
his head; he came to his house, he slew his wife, he cast her
to the dogs, and he sat in mourning for his younger brother.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
younger brother was in the Valley of the Acacia; there was none
with him; he spent the day hunting the game of the desert, he
came back in the even to lie down under the acacia, the top-
most flower of which was his soul.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, he built
himself a tower with his hand, in the Valley of the Acacia; it
was full of all good things, that he might provide for himself a
home.
He went out from his tower, he met the Ennead of the gods,
who were going forth to arrange the affairs of their whole land.
The Nine Gods talked one with another, they said unto him:
“Ho! Bata, Bull of the Ennead of the gods, art thou remaining
alone, having fled thy village from before the wife of Anpu
thy elder brother? Behold, his wife is slain. Thou hast given
him an answer to all that was transgressed against thee. ” Their
hearts were sad for him exceedingly. Ra Harakhti said to
Khnumu,' « Behold, frame thou a wife for Bata, that he may not
sit alone. ” Khnumu made for him a mate to dwell with him.
She was more beautiful in her limbs than any woman who is in
the whole land. Every god was in her. The seven Hathors
i Ra Harakhti was the chief of this Ennead. Khnumu, one of his com-
panion gods, was the craftsman, sometimes represented as fashioning mankind
upon the potter's wheel.
## p. 5258 (#430) ###########################################
5258
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
a
was.
sea
came to see her: they said with one mouth, «She will die a
sharp death. ”
He loved her very exceedingly, and she dwelt in his house;
he passed his time in hunting the game of the desert, and
brought what he took before her, He said, "Go not outside,
lest the sea seize thee; for I cannot rescue thee from it, for I
am woman like thee: my soul is placed on the top of the
flower of the acacia; and if another find it, I shall be vanquished
by him. ” He explained to her all about his soul.
Vow when the day's were multiplied after these things, Bata
went to hunt as his daily manner The girl went to
walk under the acacia which was by the side of her house; the
saw her, and cast its waves up after her. She set out to
run away from it; she entered her house. The sea called unto
the acacia, saying, “Oh, catch hold of her for me! ” The acacia
brought a lock from her hair, the sea carried it to Egypt, and
dropped it in the place of the washers of Pharaoh's linen. The
smell of the lock of hair entered into the clothes of Pharaoh.
They were wroth with Pharaoh's washers, saying, “The smell of
ointment is in the clothes of Pharaoh. ” The men were rebuked
every day; they knew not what they should do. The chief of
the washers of Pharaoh went down to the seaside; his soul was
black within him because of the chiding with him daily. He
stopped and stood upon the sandy shore opposite to the lock of
hair, which was in the water; he made one go in, and it was
brought to him; there was found in it a smell, exceeding sweet.
He took it to Pharaoh; the scribes and the wise were
brought to Pharaoh; they said unto Pharaoh:-“This lock of hair
belongs to a daughter of Ra Harakhti; the strain of every god is
in her; it is a tribute to thee from a strange land.
Let mes-
sengers go to every foreign land to seek her: as for the messen-
ger who shall go to the Valley of the Acacia, let many men
go with him to bring her. ” Then said his Majesty, “Excellent
exceedingly is what we have said; and the men were sent.
Ilhen the days were multiplied after these things, the people
who went abroad came to give report unto the king: but there
came not those who went to the Valley of the Acacia, for Bata
had slain them; he spared one of them to give a report to the
king His Majesty sent many men and soldiers as well as horse-
men, to bring her back. There was a woman among them, into
whose hand was put every kind of beautiful ornaments for a
men
>>>
## p. 5259 (#431) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5259
woman. The girl came back with her; there were rejoicings for
her in the whole land.
His Majesty loved her exceedingly, and raised her to be a
princess of high rank; he spake with her that she should tell
concerning her husband. She said to his Majesty, “Let the
acacia be cut down, and let one chop it up. ” They sent men
and soldiers with their weapons to cut down the acacia; they
came to the acacia, they cut the flower upon which was the soul
of Bata, and he fell dead upon the instant.
Now when the earth lighted and the second day came, the
acacia was cut down. And Anpu, the elder brother of Bata, en-
tered his house; he sat down and washed his hands: one gave
him a pot of beer, it foamed up; another was given him of
wine, it became foul. He took his staff, his sandals, likewise
his clothes, with his weapons of war; he set out to walk to the
Valley of the Acacia. He entered the tower of his younger
brother; he found his younger brother lying on his bed; he was
dead. He wept when he saw his younger brother verily lying
dead. He went out to seek the soul of his younger brother un-
der the acacia tree, under which his younger brother used to lie
in the evening. He spent three years in seeking for it, but
found it not. When he began the fourth year, he desired in his
heart to return into Egypt; he said, “I will go to-morrow;”
thus spake he in his heart.
When the earth lighted and the second day came, he went out
under the acacia, and set to work to seek it again. He found a
seed-pod. He returned with it. Behold, this was the soul of his
younger brother.
He brought a cup of cold water, he dropped
it into it: he sat down, as his manner of every day was. Now
when the night came his [Bata's] soul absorbed the water; Bata
shuddered in all his limbs, he looked on his elder brother; his
soul was in the cup. Then Anpu took the cup of cold water in
which the soul of his younger brother was; he [Bata] drank it,
his soul stood again in its place, he became as he had been.
They embraced each other, and they spake with one another.
Bata said to his elder brother, “Behold, I am to become as a
great bull, with all the right markings; no one knoweth its his-
tory, and thou must sit upon his back. When the sun arises we
will go to that place where my wife is, that I may return answer
to her; and thou must take me to the place where the king is.
For all good things shall be done for thee, and one shall lade
## p. 5260 (#432) ###########################################
5260
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
thee with silver and gold, because thou bringest me to Pharaoh;
for I become a great marvel, they shall rejoice for me in all the
land. And thou shalt go to thy village. ”
When the rarth lighted and the second day came, Bata became
in the form which he had told to his elder brother. And Anpu
his elder brother sat upon his back until the dawn. He came
to the place where the king was; they made his Majesty to know
of him; he saw him, and he rejoiced exceedingly. He made for
him great offerings, saying, “This is a great wonder which has
come to pass. There were rejoicings over him in the whole
land. They loaded him with silver and gold for his elder
brother, who went and settled in his village. They gave to the
bull many men and many things, and Pharaoh loved him exceed-
ingly above all men that are in this land.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the bull
entered the place of purifying; he stood in the place where the
princess was; he began to speak with her, saying, "Behold, I am
alive indeed. ” She said to him, “Who then art thou ? ” He said
to her: "I am Bata. Thou knewest well when thou causedst that
they should cut down the acacia for Pharaoh, that it was to my
hurt, that I might not be suffered to live. Behold, I am alive
indeed, being as an ox. ” Then the princess feared exceedingly
for the words that her husband had spoken to her. And he
went out from the place of purifying.
His Majesty was sitting, making a good day with her: she
was at the table of his Majesty, and the king was exceeding
pleased with her. She said to his Majesty, “Swear to me by
God, saying, What thou shalt say, I will obey it for thy sake. ) »
He hearkened unto all that she said. And she said, “Let me eat
of the liver of this bull, because he will do nothing;” thus spake
she to him. He was exceedingly vexed at that which she said,
the heart of Pharaoh was grieved exceedingly.
Now when the carth lighted and the second day came, there
was proclaimed a great feast with offerings to the ox. The
king sent one of the chief butchers of his Majesty, to have the
ox sacrificed. Afterwards it was caused to be sacrificed, and
when it was in the hands of the men, it shook its neck, and
threw two drops of blood over against the double door of his
Majesty One fell upon the one side of the great door of
Pharaoh, and the other upon the other side. They grew as two
great Persea trees; each of them was excellent.
## p. 5261 (#433) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5261
One went to tell unto his Majesty, “Two great Persea trees
have grown, as a great marvel for his Majesty, in the night, by
the side of the great gate of his Majesty. ” There was rejoicing
for them in all the land, and there were offerings made to them.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
Majesty was adorned with a blue crown, with garlands of flowers
on his neck; he was upon the chariot of electrum; he went out
from the palace to behold the Persea trees: the princess also
went out with horses behind Pharaoh. His Majesty sat beneath
one of the Persea trees, and it spake thus with his wife:—“Oh
thou deceitful one, I am Bata; I am alive, though I have suffered
violence. Thou knewest well that the causing of the acacia to
be cut down for Pharaoh was to my hurt. I then became an
ox, and thou hadst me slain. ”
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, the
princess stood at the table of Pharaoh, and the king was pleased
with her. She said to his Majesty, “Swear to me by God,
saying, “That which the princess shall say to me I will obey it
for her. ' Thus do thou. ” And he hearkened unto all that she
said. She said, “Let these two Persea trees be cut down, and
let them be made into goodly timber. ” He hearkened unto all
that she said.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
Majesty sent skillful craftsmen, and they cut down the Persea
trees of Pharaoh, while the princess, the royal wife, stood by and
saw it.
A chip flew up and entered into the mouth of the
princess; and she perceived that she had conceived, and while
her days were being fulfilled Pharaoh did all that was in her
heart therein. 1
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, she
bore a male child. One went to tell his Majesty, “There is born
to thee a son. ” They brought him [i. €. , the child, to the king),
and gave to him a nurse and servants; there were rejoicings in
the whole land. The king sat making a good day; they per-
formed the naming of him, his Majesty loved him exceedingly on
the instant, the king raised him to be the royal son of Kush.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, his
Majesty made him heir of all the land.
Now when the days were multiplied after these things, when
he had fulfilled many years as heir of the whole land, his
11. e. , in the matter of the trees.
## p. 5262 (#434) ###########################################
5262
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Majesty few up to heaven. There was command given, Let
my great nobles of his Majesty be brought before me, that I
may make them to know all that has happened to me. ”
they brought to him his wife, and he argued with her before
them, and their case was decided They brought to him his
elder brother; he made him hereditary prince in all his land.
He was thirty years King of Egypt, and he died, and his elder
brother stood in his place on the day of burial.
Excellently finished in peace, for the Ka of the scribe of the
treasury, kagabu, of the treasury of Pharaoh, and for the scribe
Hora, and the scribe Meremapt. Written by the scribe Anena,
the owner of this roll. He who speaks against this roll, may
Tahuti be his opponent.
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
THE STORY OF SETNA
[The beginning of this tale is lost, but it is clear from what remains of
it that Setna Kha-em-uast, son of a Pharaoh who may be identified with
Rameses II. , of the XIXth Dynasty (about 1300 B. C. ), was a diligent student
of the ancient writings, chiefly for the sake of the occult knowledge which
they were supposed to contain. He discovered, or was told of, the existence
of a book which Thoth, the god of letters, science and magic, had written
with his own hand, and learned that this book was to be found in the ceme-
tery of Memphis, in the tomb of Na-nefer-ka-ptah, the only son of some
earlier Pharaoh. Setna evidently succeeded in finding and entering this
tomb, and there he saw the kas or ghosts of Na-nefer-ka-ptah, his wife (and
sister) Ahura, and their little boy Merab; and with them was the book. To
dissuade Setna from abstracting the book, Ahura tells him how they had
become possessed of it, and had paid for it with their earthly lives; and it
is with her tale that the papyrus begins. Setna, however, insists upon tak-
ing the book; but Na-nefer-ka-ptah challenges him, as a good scribe and a
learned man, to a trial of skill in a game, and in the imposition of magical
penalties on the loser. Setna agrees; but being worsted, he calls in outside
help and succeeds in carrying off the book.
