And he is One Alone, the essence
of God; this land rejoiceth in his government.
of God; this land rejoiceth in his government.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v09 - Dra to Eme
As for me, I sized a piece of wood;
but those who were in the vessel perished, without one remain-
ing. A wave threw me on an island, after that I had been three
I Lower Nubia.
2 District about the first cataract.
3 A name often applied to the great river Nile.
IX-328
## p. 5234 (#406) ###########################################
5234
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
near.
1
days alone, without a companion beside my own heart. I laid me
in a thicket and the shadow covered me. Then stretched I my
limbs to try to find something for my mouth. I found there figs
and grapes, all manner of good herbs, berries and grain, melons
of all kinds, fishes and birds. Nothing was lacking. And I sat-
isfied myself, and left on the ground that which was over, of what
my arms had been filled withal. I dug a pit, I lighted a fire, and
I made a burnt-offering unto the gods.
“Suddenly I heard a noise as of thunder, which I thought to
be that of a wave of the sea. The trees shook and the earth
was moved.
I uncovered my face, and I saw that a serpent drew
He was thirty cubits long, and his beard greater than two
cubits; his body was overlaid with gold, and his color as that
of true lazuli. He coiled himself before me.
“Then he opened his mouth, while that I lay on my face
before him, and he said to me, What has brought thee, what
has brought thee, little one, what has brought thee? If thou
sayest not speedily what has brought thee to this isle, I will
make thee know thyself; as a flame thou shalt vanish, if thou
tellest me not something I have not heard, or which I knew not
before thee. '
« Then he took me in his mouth and carried me to his resting-
place, and laid me down without any hurt. I was whole and
sound, and nothing was gone from me. Then he opened his
mouth against me, while that I lay on my face before him, and
he said, “What has brought thee, what has brought thee, little
one, what has brought thee to this isle which is in the sea, and
of which the shores are in the midst of the waves ? )
"Then I replied to him, and holding my arms low before
him,' I said to him:- 'I was embarked for the mines by the
order of the Majesty, in a ship; 150 cubits was its length, and
the width of it 40 cubits. It had 150 sailors of the best of Egypt,
who had seen heaven and earth, and the hearts of whom were
stronger than lions. They said that the wind would not be con-
trary, or that there would be none. Each of them exceeded his
companion in the prudence of his heart and the strength of his
arm, and I was not beneath any of them. A storm came upon
us while we were on the sea. Hardly could we reach to the
shore when the wind waxed yet greater, and the waves rose even
1 The usual Egyptian attitude of respect to a superior was to stand bent
slightly forward, holding the arms downward.
## p. 5235 (#407) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5235
eight cubits.
As for me, I seized a piece of wood, while those
who were in the boat perished without one being left with me
for three days. Behold me now before thee, for I was brought
to this isle by a wave of the sea! !
« Then said he to me, Fear not, fear not, little one, and
make not thy face sad. If thou hast come to me, it is God? who
has let thee live. For it is he who has brought thee to this isle
of the blest, where nothing is lacking, and which is filled with
all good things. See now thou shalt pass one month after
another, until thou shalt be four months in this isle. Then a
ship shall come from thy land with sailors, and thou shalt leave
with them and go to thy country, and thou shalt die in thy town.
Converse is pleasing, and he who tastes of it passes over his
misery I will therefore tell thee of that which is in this isle.
I am here with my brethren and my children around me; we are
seventy-five serpents, children, and kindred; without naming a
young girl who was brought unto me by chance, and on whom
the fire of heaven fell and burnt her to ashes. As for thee, if
thou art strong, and if thy heart waits patiently, thou shalt press
thy infants to thy bosom and embrace thy wife. Thou shalt
return to thy house which is full of all good things, thou shalt
see thy land, where thou shalt dwell in the midst of thy kin-
dred! )
« Then I bowed in my obeisance, and I touched the ground
before him. “Behold now that which I have told thee before. I
shall tell of thy presence unto Pharaoh, I shall make him to
know of thy greatness, and I will bring to thee of the sacred
oils and perfumes, and of incense of the temples with which all
gods are honored. I shall tell moreover of that which I do
see (thanks to him), and there shall be rendered to thee
praises before the fullness of all the land. I shall slay asses for
thee in sacrifice, I shall pluck for thee the birds, and I shall
bring for thee ships full of all kinds of the treasures of Egypt,
as is comely to do unto a god, a friend of men in a far country,
of which men know not. '
“Then he smiled at my speech, because of that which was in
his heart, for he said to me, Thou art not rich in perfumes, for
all that thou hast is but common incense. As for me, I am
1 The polytheistic Egyptians frequently used the term “God” without speci-
fying any particular deity: perhaps, too, in their own minds they did not
define the idea, but applied it simply to some general notion of Divinity.
now
## p. 5236 (#408) ###########################################
5236
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
prince of the land of Punt,' and I have perfumes. Only the oil
which thou saidst thou wouldst bring is not common in this isle.
But when thou shalt depart from this place, thou shalt never
more see this isle; it shall be changed into waves. '
"And behold, when the ship drew near, attending to all that
he had told me before, I got me up into an high tree, to strive
to see those who were within it. Then I came and told to him
this matter; but it was already known unto him before. Then
he said to me, Farewell, farewell; go to thy house, little one,
see again thy children, and let thy name be good in thy town;
these are my wishes for thee! !
« Then I bowed myself before him, and held my arms low
before him, and he, he gave me gifts of precious perfumes, of
cassia, of sweet woods, of kohl, of cypress, an abundance of
incense, of ivory tusks, of baboons, of apes, and all kinds of
precious things. I embarked all in the ship which was come,
and bowing myself, I prayed God for him.
« Then he said to me, Behold, thou shalt come to thy country
in two months, thou shalt press to thy bosom thy children, and
thou shalt rest in thy tomb! ! After this I went down to the
shore unto the ship, and I called to the sailors who were there.
Then on the shore I rendered adoration to the master of this
isle and to those who dwelt therein.
“When we shall come, in our return, to the house of Pha-
raoh, in the second month, according to all that the serpent
has said, we shall approach unto the palace. And I shall go in
before Pharaoh, I shall bring the gifts which I have brought
from this isle into the country. Then he shall thank me before
the fullness of all the land. Grant then unto me a follower, and
lead me to the courtiers of the king. Cast thine eye upon me
after that I am come to land again, after that I have both seen
and proved this. Hear my prayer, for it is good to listen to
people. It was said unto me, “Become a wise man, and thou
shalt come to honor,' and behold I have become such. ”
This is finished from its beginning unto its end, even as it was
found in a writing. It is written by the scribe of cunning fingers,
Amenia menaa; may he live in life, wealth, and health.
1 Punt was the land of spices » to the Egyptian, and thence, too, the
finest incense was brought for the temple services. It included Somaliland in
Africa, and the south of Arabia.
## p. 5237 (#409) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5237
THE STORY OF SANEHAT
[The story of Sanehat is practically complete. A papyrus at Berlin con-
tains all the text except about twenty lines at the beginning, the whole being
written in about three hundred and thirty short lines. Scraps of the missing
portion were found in the collection of Lord Amherst of Hackney; and these,
added to a complete but very corrupt text of about the first fifty lines, enable
one to restore the whole with tolerable certainty. The story was written
about the time of the XIIth or XIIIth Dynasty, but was known at a much
later period: one extract from the beginning of the tale and one from the
end have been found written in ink on limestone flakes or (ostraca) of about
the XXth Dynasty (about 1150 B. C. ). It seems to be a straightforward rela-
tion of actual occurrences, a real piece of biography. At any rate, it is most
instructive as showing the kind of intercourse that was possible between
Egypt and Palestine about 2500 B. C. ]
keeper of the gate
He hereditary prince, royal seal-bearer, trusty companion,
of the foreigners, true and
beloved royal acquaintance, the attendant Sanehat says:-
I attended my lord as a servant of the king, of the house-
hold of the hereditary princess, the greatly favored, the royal
wife, Ankhet-Usertesen [? ], holding a place at Kanefer, the pyra-
mid of King Amenemhat. '
In the thirtieth year, the month Paophi, the seventh day, the
god’ entered his horizon, the King Sehetepabra flew up to heaven;
he joined the sun's disk, he attended the god, he joined his
Maker. The Residences was silenced, the hearts were weakened,
the Great Portals were closed, the courtiers crouching on the
ground, the people in hushed mourning.
Now his Majesty had sent a great army with the nobles to
the land of the Temehu,“ his son and heir as their commander,
the good King Usertesen. And now he was returning, and had
brought away captives and all kinds of cattle without end. The
Companions of the Court sent to the West Side to let the king
know the state of affairs that had come about in the Audience
1 This paragraph is very difficult to restore and very doubtful.
? 1. e. , the King Sehetepabra Amenemhat I. , whose death is recorded in the
nest clause.
3 The king's city, and so throughout the story.
* The land of the Temehu was in the Libyan desert on the west of Egypt.
5 Usertesen I. , the son and heir of Amenemhat I. , reigned ten years
jointly with his father.
61. e. , the western edge of Lower Egypt.
## p. 5238 (#410) ###########################################
5238
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Chamber. ' The messenger found him on the road; he reached
him at the time of evening. “It was a time for him to hasten
greatly (was the message]: Let the Hawk' fly [hither with his
attendants, without allowing the army to know of it. ” And when
the royal sons who commanded in that army sent messages, not
one of them was summoned to audience. Behold, I was standing
(near]; I heard his voice while he was speaking. ' I fled far away,
my heart beating, my arms outspread; trembling had fallen on
all my limbs. I ran hither and thither to seek a place to hide
me, I threw myself amongst the bushes: and when I found a
road that went forward, I set out southward, not indeed thinking
to come to this Residence. I expected that there would be dis-
turbance. I spake not of life after it. ® I wandered across my
estate' [? ] in the neighborhood of Nehat; I reached the island [or
lake] of Seneferu, and spent the day [resting ? ] on the open field.
I started again while it was yet day,* and came to a man stand-
ing at the side of the road. He asked of me mercy, for he
feared me. By supper-time I drew near to the town of Negau.
I crossed the river on a raft without a rudder, by the aid of a
west wind, and landed at the quay [? ] of the quarrymen of the
Mistress at the Red Mountain. ' Then I fled on foot northward,
1
Perhaps this refers to the death of the king, or to the deliberations of
the royal councilors.
? Apparently a term for the king.
8 Sanehat, accidentally hearing the news of the old king's death, which
was kept secret even from the members of the royal family, was overcome
with agitation and fled.
* It was of course night-time.
5 The Royal Residence called Athet-taui lay on the boundary of Upper and
Lower Egypt, between Memphis and the entrance to the Faiyûm, and so in the
direction which Sanehat at first took in his flight from the western edge of the
Delta. One might prefer the word Capital to Residence, but it can hardly be
doubted that Thebes and Memphis were then the real capitals of Egypt.
6 Perhaps the meaning is that Sanehat did not imagine life possible after
the king's death, or it may be “outside the Residence. ” The pronoun for
“it is masculine, and may refer either to the palace or to the king.
? Or possibly «I turned my course,” turning now northward.
8 Or possibly «the next day. ”
. Here the MS. is injured, and some of the words are doubtful. The
quarries are those still worked for hard quartzite at Jebel Ahmar (Red Mount-
ain), northeast of Cairo. The positions of most of the places mentioned in
the narrative are uncertain. Doubtless Sanehat crossed the Nile just above
the fork of the Delta and landed in the neighborhood of the quarries. The
«Mistress) (Heryt), must be a goddess, or the queen.
## p. 5239 (#411) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5239
and reached the Walls of the Ruler, built to repel the Sati. ' I
crouched in a bush for fear, seeing the day-patrol at its duty on
the top of the fortress. At nightfall I set forth, and at dawn
reached Peten, and skirted the lake of Kemur. ? Then thirst
hasted me on; I was parched, my throat was stopped, and I said,
« This is the taste of death. ” When I lifted up my heart and
gathered strength, I heard a voice and the lowing of cattle. I
saw men of the Sati; and an alien amongst them — he who is
[now? ] in Egypt —— recognized me. Behold, he gave me water,
and boiled me milk, and I went with him to his camp, — may a
blessing be their portion! One tribe passed me on to another: I
departed to Sun ], and came to Kedem. "
There I spent a year and a month [? ]. But Ammui-nen-sha,
Ruler of the Upper Tenu, took me and said to me:-“Comfort
thyself with me, that thou mayest hear the speech of Egypt. ”
He said thus, for that he knew my character, and had heard of
my worth; for men of Egypt who were there with him bore
witness of me. Then he said to me:-“For what hast thou come
hither ? what is it ? Hath a matter come to pass in the Resi-
dence? The King of the Two Lands, Sehetepabra, hath gone to
heaven, and one knoweth not what may have happened thereon. ”
But I answered with concealment and said:-“I returned with
an expedition from the land of the Temehu; my desire was
redoubled, my heart leaped, there was no satisfaction within me.
This drove me to the ways of a fugitive. I have not failed in
my duty, my mouth hath not uttered any bitter words, I have
not hearkened to any evil plot, my name hath not been heard in
the mouth of the informer. I know not what hath brought me
into this country. ” [And the Ruler Ammui-nen-sha said:]ø «This
1 Asiatics and Bedawîn.
Kemur was one of the Bitter Lakes in the line of the present Suez Canal.
* Possibly one of the three persons proposed as hostages to Egypt below,
p. 5246. The word translated «alien” is uncertain. It may mean a kind of
consul or mediator between the tribes for the purposes of trade, etc. , or sim-
ply a «sheikh. ” Sanebat himself, returned from Egypt in his old age, is
called by the same title, p. 5248.
*Or possibly Adim, i. e. , Edom; and so throughout.
6 Later called Upper Retenu: they were the inhabitants of the high lands
of Palestine. Ammi was a divine name in Ancient Arabia, and the name
Ammi-anshi, found in South-Arabian inscriptions, perhaps of 1000 B. C. , is
almost identical with that of the king who befriended Sanehat.
6 These words appear to have been omitted by the scribe.
## p. 5240 (#412) ###########################################
5240
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
is like the disposition of God. And now what is that land like if
it know not that excellent god,' of whom the dread was over the
nations like Sekhemt? in a year of pestilence? ” I spake [thus]
to him, and replied to him:—“Nay, but his son hath entered the
palace, and taken the heritage of his father, and he is a god
without an equal, nor was there any other before him [like unto
him]. He is a master of wisdom, prudent in his designs, excel-
lent in his decrees; coming out and going in is at his command.
It was he that curbed the nations while his father remained within
the palace, and he reported the execution of that which was laid
upon him [to perform]. He is a mighty man also, working with
his strong arm; a valiant one, who hath not his equal. See him
when he springeth upon the barbarians, and throweth himself on
the spoilers; he breaketh the horns and weakeneth the hands; his
enemies cannot wield their weapons. He is fearless and dasheth
heads to pieces; none can stand before him. He is swift of going,
to destroy him who fleeth; and none turning his back to him
reacheth his home. He is sturdy of heart in the moment [of
stress); he is a lion that striketh with the claw; never hath he
turned his back. He is stout of heart when he seeth multitudes,
he letteth none repose beyond what his desire would spare. He
is bold of face when he seeth hesitation: his joy is to fall on the
barbarians. He seizeth the buckler, and leapeth forward; he re-
peateth not his stroke, he slayeth, and none can turn his lance;
without his bow being drawn the barbarians flee from his arms
like dogs; for the great goddess hath granted him to war against
those who know not his name; he is thorough, he spareth not
and leaveth naught behind. He is full of grace and sweetness, a
love-winner; his city loveth him more than itself, it rejoiceth in
him more than in its own god; men and women go their ways,
calling their children by his name. For he is a king that took
the kingdom while he was in the egg, and ruled from his birth.
He is a multiplier of offspring.
And he is One Alone, the essence
of God; this land rejoiceth in his government. He is one that
enlargeth his borders; he will take the lands of the South, but he
will not design to hold the countries of the North: yet he pre-
pareth to smite the Sati, to crush the Wanderers of the Sand.
When he cometh here, let him know thy name; dispute not, but
11. e. , What does Egypt do without the king ?
2 The goddess of destruction.
## p. 5241 (#413) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5241
go over to his command? : for he will not fail to treat well the
country that floateth with his stream. ”
Said he, agreeing to me:- “Verily, Egypt is excellent in its
stream? beyond anything, and it flourisheth; behold, as long as
thou art with me I will do good unto thee. ” He placed me at
the head of his children, he married me with his eldest daughter.
He allowed me to choose for myself from his land, and from the
choicest of what he possessed on the border of the next land. It
was a goodly land; IaaS is its name. Therein were figs and
grapes; its wine was more plentiful than water; abundant was
its honey, many were its oil-trees, and all fruits were upon its
trees; there too was barley and spelt, and cattle of all kinds with-
out end. Great honors also were granted to me, flowing from
his love to me; he set me as sheikh of a tribe in a choice portion
of his country. There were made for me rations of bread, wine
from day to day, cooked meat and roasted fowl, besides wild game
snared for me or brought to me, as well as what my hunting
dogs caught. They made me many dainties, and milk food
cooked in all manner of ways. Thus I passed many years; my
children became valiant men, each one the conqueror of a tribe.
When a messenger came north or went south to the Residence,
he tarried with me; for I gave all men gifts; I gave water to
the thirsty, I set the strayed wanderer on his road, and I
rescued those who were carried off captive. The Sati who went
to war or to repel the kings of the nations, I commanded their
expeditions; for this Ruler of the Tenu made me to spend
many years as captain of his army. Every land to which I
turned I overcame. I destroyed its green fields and its wells, I
captured its cattle, I took captive its inhabitants, I deprived
them of their provisions, and I slew much people of them by
my sword, my bow, my marchings, and my good devices. Thus
my excellence was in his heart; he loved me and he knew my
valor; until he set me at the head of his sons, when he saw the
success of my handiwork.
There came a champion of the Tenu to defy me in my tent;
a bold man without equal, for he had vanquished all his rivals.
He said, “Let Sanehat fight with me. ” He thought to overcome
1 Lit. , «stick. )
? A metaphor for the policy,» «will,” of a king or god.
3 Meaning «reeds » (? ).
4 1. e. , of Pharaoh; see above, p. 5238.
## p. 5242 (#414) ###########################################
5242
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
1
me; he designed to take my cattle, being thus counseled by his
tribe. This ruler [Ammui-nen-sha) conferred with me.
I said: -
“I know him not. I assuredly am no associate of his; I hold me
far from his place. Have I ever opened his door, or leaped over
his fence? It is perverseness of heart from seeing me doing his
work. Forsooth, I am as it were a stranger bull among the cows,
which the bull of the herd charges, and the strong bull catches!
But shall a wretched beggar desire to attain to my fortune ? A
common soldier cannot take part as a counselor. Then what
pray shall establish the assembly ? ! But is there a bull that
loveth battle, a courageous bull that loveth to repeat the charge
in terrifying him whose strength he hath measured ? If he hath
stomach to fight, let him speak what he pleaseth. Will God for-
get what is ordained for him ? How shall fate be known ? ” The
night long I strung my bow, I made ready my arrows; I made
keen my dagger, I furbished my arms. At daybreak the Tenu
came together; it had gathered its tribes and collected the neigh-
boring peoples. Its thoughts were on this combat; every bosom
burned for me, men and women crying out; every heart was
troubled for me; they said, "Is there yet another champion
to fight with him ? » Then [he took] his buckler, his battle-axe,
and an armful of javelins. But thereon I avoided his weapons,
and turned aside his arrows to the ground, useless. One drew
near to the other and he rushed upon me. I shot at him and my
arrow stuck in his neck; he cried out, and fell upon his nose: I
brought down upon him his own battle-axe, and raised my shout
of victory on his back. All the Asiatics roared, and I and his
vassals whom he had oppressed gave thanks unto Mentu; this
Ruler, Ammui-nen-sha, took me to his embrace. Then I took
his goods, I seized his cattle. What he had thought to do to
me, I did it unto him; I seized that which was in his tent, I
spoiled his dwelling. I grew great thereby, I increased in my
possessions. I abounded in cattle.
May’ the god be disposed to pardon him in whom he had
trusted, and who deserted to a foreign country. Now is his
1 A difficult passage.
? Without any pause or introduction Sanehat begins to quote from his peti-
tion to the King of Egypt. It is difficult to say whether this arrangement is
due to an oversight of the scribe, or is intended to heighten the picturesque-
ness of the narrative by sudden contrast. The formal introduction might well
be omitted as uninteresting. The end of the document with the salutations
is preserved.
## p. 5243 (#415) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5243
anger quenched. I who at one time fled away a fugitive, my
guarantee is now in the Residence. Having wandered a starved
wanderer, now I give bread to those around. Having left my
land in rags, now I shine in fine linen. Having been a fugi-
tive without followers, now I possess many serfs. My house is
fair, my dwelling large, I am spoken of in the palace. All the
gods destined me this flight. Mayest thou be gracious; may I be
restored to the Residence; favor me that I may see the place in
which my heart dwelleth. Behold how great a thing is it that
my body should be embalmed in the land where I was born!
Come; if afterwards there be good fortune, I will give an offer-
ing to God that he may work to make good the end of his sup-
pliant, whose heart is heavy at long absence in a strange land.
May he be gracious; may he hear the prayer of him who is afar
off, that he may revisit the place of his birth, and the place
from which he removed.
"May the King of Egypt be gracious to me, by whose favor
men live. I salute the mistress of the land, who is in his palace;
may I hear the news of her children, and may my body renew
its vigor thereby. But old age cometh, weakness hasteneth me
on, the eyes are heavy, my arms are failing, my feet have
ceased to follow the heart. Weariness of going on approacheth
me; may they convey me to the cities of eternity. May I serve
the mistress of all. i Oh that she may tell me the beauties of her
children; may she bring eternity to me. ”
Now the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Kheper-ka-ra, justified, spake concerning this condition in which
His Majesty sent unto me with presents from before the
king, that he might make glad the heart of your servant,' as he
would unto the Ruler of any country; and the royal sons who
were in his palace caused me to hear their news.
I was.
Copy of the command which was brought to the humble servant
to bring him back to Egypt.
« THE HORUS, LIFE OF Births, LORD OF THE CROWNS, LIFE OF
Births, KING OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT, KHEPER-KA-RA, SON
The Sun, USERTESENS Ever Living UNTO ETERNITY. Royal
Command for the attendant, Sanehat.
OF
A phrase for the queen.
2 The narrator.
3 The scribe has written Amenemhat by mistake for Usertesen.
## p. 5244 (#416) ###########################################
5244
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
"Behold, this command of the king is sent to thee to give thee
information: Whereas thou didst go round strange lands from
Kedem' to Tenu, one country passed thee on to another as thy
heart devised for thee. Behold, what thou hast done hath been
done unto thee: Thou hast not blasphemed, so also the accusa-
tion against thee hath been repelled. So also thy sayings have
been respected; thou hast not spoken against the Council of the
Nobles. But this matter carried away thy heart; it was not
[devised] in thy heart.
« This thy Heaven? who is in the palace is stablished and
flourishing even now: she herself shareth in the rule of the
land, and her children are in the Audience Chamber. 3
« Leave the riches that thou hast, and in the abundance of
which thou livest. When thou comest to Egypt thou shalt
visit the Residence in which thou wast, thou shalt kiss the
ground before the Great Portals, thou shalt assume authority
amongst the Companions. But day by day, behold, thou growest
old; thy vigor is lost; thou thinkest on thy day of burial. Thou
shalt be conducted to the blessed state; there shall be assigned
to thee a night of sacred oils and wrappings from the hands of
the goddess Tayt. There shall be held for thee a procession [be-
hind thy statues] and a visit [to the temple) on the day of burial,
the mummy case gilded, the head blue, the canopy above thee;
the putting in the skin-frame, oxen to draw thee, singers going
before thee, the answering chant, and mourners crouching at the
door of thy tomb-chapel. Prayers for offerings shall be recited
for thee, victims shall be slaughtered at the door portrayed upon
thy tablet"; and thy mastaba shall be built of white stone, in the
company of the royal children. Thou shalt not die in a strange
land, nor be buried by the Amu; thou shalt not be put in a
sheepskin, thou shalt be well regarded. It is vain [? ] to beat
the ground and think on troubles.
« Thou hast reached the end. 5))
3
1 Or Adim; see above, p. 5239, note.
2 The queen, his exalted mistress.
Taking part in the councils of the king and in the administration of the
kingdom.
* This seems to refer to the so-called false door, representing the entrance
to the underworld. All that precedes refers to burial with great ceremony.
5 1. e. , of the king's command. The absence of any concluding salutation
is noticeable.
## p. 5245 (#417) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5245
When this order came to me, I stood in the midst of my
tribe, and when it was read unto me, I threw me on my belly; I
bowed to the ground and let the dust spread upon my breast. I
strode around my tent rejoicing and saying: -"How is this done
to the servant, whose heart had transgressed to a strange country
of babbling tongue? But verily good is compassion, that I should
be saved from death. Thy Kai it is that will cause me to pass
the end of my days in the Residence. ”
Copy of the acknowledgment of this command.
« The servant of the royal house [? ], Sanehat, says:-
«In most excellent peace! 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.
but those who were in the vessel perished, without one remain-
ing. A wave threw me on an island, after that I had been three
I Lower Nubia.
2 District about the first cataract.
3 A name often applied to the great river Nile.
IX-328
## p. 5234 (#406) ###########################################
5234
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
near.
1
days alone, without a companion beside my own heart. I laid me
in a thicket and the shadow covered me. Then stretched I my
limbs to try to find something for my mouth. I found there figs
and grapes, all manner of good herbs, berries and grain, melons
of all kinds, fishes and birds. Nothing was lacking. And I sat-
isfied myself, and left on the ground that which was over, of what
my arms had been filled withal. I dug a pit, I lighted a fire, and
I made a burnt-offering unto the gods.
“Suddenly I heard a noise as of thunder, which I thought to
be that of a wave of the sea. The trees shook and the earth
was moved.
I uncovered my face, and I saw that a serpent drew
He was thirty cubits long, and his beard greater than two
cubits; his body was overlaid with gold, and his color as that
of true lazuli. He coiled himself before me.
“Then he opened his mouth, while that I lay on my face
before him, and he said to me, What has brought thee, what
has brought thee, little one, what has brought thee? If thou
sayest not speedily what has brought thee to this isle, I will
make thee know thyself; as a flame thou shalt vanish, if thou
tellest me not something I have not heard, or which I knew not
before thee. '
« Then he took me in his mouth and carried me to his resting-
place, and laid me down without any hurt. I was whole and
sound, and nothing was gone from me. Then he opened his
mouth against me, while that I lay on my face before him, and
he said, “What has brought thee, what has brought thee, little
one, what has brought thee to this isle which is in the sea, and
of which the shores are in the midst of the waves ? )
"Then I replied to him, and holding my arms low before
him,' I said to him:- 'I was embarked for the mines by the
order of the Majesty, in a ship; 150 cubits was its length, and
the width of it 40 cubits. It had 150 sailors of the best of Egypt,
who had seen heaven and earth, and the hearts of whom were
stronger than lions. They said that the wind would not be con-
trary, or that there would be none. Each of them exceeded his
companion in the prudence of his heart and the strength of his
arm, and I was not beneath any of them. A storm came upon
us while we were on the sea. Hardly could we reach to the
shore when the wind waxed yet greater, and the waves rose even
1 The usual Egyptian attitude of respect to a superior was to stand bent
slightly forward, holding the arms downward.
## p. 5235 (#407) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5235
eight cubits.
As for me, I seized a piece of wood, while those
who were in the boat perished without one being left with me
for three days. Behold me now before thee, for I was brought
to this isle by a wave of the sea! !
« Then said he to me, Fear not, fear not, little one, and
make not thy face sad. If thou hast come to me, it is God? who
has let thee live. For it is he who has brought thee to this isle
of the blest, where nothing is lacking, and which is filled with
all good things. See now thou shalt pass one month after
another, until thou shalt be four months in this isle. Then a
ship shall come from thy land with sailors, and thou shalt leave
with them and go to thy country, and thou shalt die in thy town.
Converse is pleasing, and he who tastes of it passes over his
misery I will therefore tell thee of that which is in this isle.
I am here with my brethren and my children around me; we are
seventy-five serpents, children, and kindred; without naming a
young girl who was brought unto me by chance, and on whom
the fire of heaven fell and burnt her to ashes. As for thee, if
thou art strong, and if thy heart waits patiently, thou shalt press
thy infants to thy bosom and embrace thy wife. Thou shalt
return to thy house which is full of all good things, thou shalt
see thy land, where thou shalt dwell in the midst of thy kin-
dred! )
« Then I bowed in my obeisance, and I touched the ground
before him. “Behold now that which I have told thee before. I
shall tell of thy presence unto Pharaoh, I shall make him to
know of thy greatness, and I will bring to thee of the sacred
oils and perfumes, and of incense of the temples with which all
gods are honored. I shall tell moreover of that which I do
see (thanks to him), and there shall be rendered to thee
praises before the fullness of all the land. I shall slay asses for
thee in sacrifice, I shall pluck for thee the birds, and I shall
bring for thee ships full of all kinds of the treasures of Egypt,
as is comely to do unto a god, a friend of men in a far country,
of which men know not. '
“Then he smiled at my speech, because of that which was in
his heart, for he said to me, Thou art not rich in perfumes, for
all that thou hast is but common incense. As for me, I am
1 The polytheistic Egyptians frequently used the term “God” without speci-
fying any particular deity: perhaps, too, in their own minds they did not
define the idea, but applied it simply to some general notion of Divinity.
now
## p. 5236 (#408) ###########################################
5236
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
prince of the land of Punt,' and I have perfumes. Only the oil
which thou saidst thou wouldst bring is not common in this isle.
But when thou shalt depart from this place, thou shalt never
more see this isle; it shall be changed into waves. '
"And behold, when the ship drew near, attending to all that
he had told me before, I got me up into an high tree, to strive
to see those who were within it. Then I came and told to him
this matter; but it was already known unto him before. Then
he said to me, Farewell, farewell; go to thy house, little one,
see again thy children, and let thy name be good in thy town;
these are my wishes for thee! !
« Then I bowed myself before him, and held my arms low
before him, and he, he gave me gifts of precious perfumes, of
cassia, of sweet woods, of kohl, of cypress, an abundance of
incense, of ivory tusks, of baboons, of apes, and all kinds of
precious things. I embarked all in the ship which was come,
and bowing myself, I prayed God for him.
« Then he said to me, Behold, thou shalt come to thy country
in two months, thou shalt press to thy bosom thy children, and
thou shalt rest in thy tomb! ! After this I went down to the
shore unto the ship, and I called to the sailors who were there.
Then on the shore I rendered adoration to the master of this
isle and to those who dwelt therein.
“When we shall come, in our return, to the house of Pha-
raoh, in the second month, according to all that the serpent
has said, we shall approach unto the palace. And I shall go in
before Pharaoh, I shall bring the gifts which I have brought
from this isle into the country. Then he shall thank me before
the fullness of all the land. Grant then unto me a follower, and
lead me to the courtiers of the king. Cast thine eye upon me
after that I am come to land again, after that I have both seen
and proved this. Hear my prayer, for it is good to listen to
people. It was said unto me, “Become a wise man, and thou
shalt come to honor,' and behold I have become such. ”
This is finished from its beginning unto its end, even as it was
found in a writing. It is written by the scribe of cunning fingers,
Amenia menaa; may he live in life, wealth, and health.
1 Punt was the land of spices » to the Egyptian, and thence, too, the
finest incense was brought for the temple services. It included Somaliland in
Africa, and the south of Arabia.
## p. 5237 (#409) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5237
THE STORY OF SANEHAT
[The story of Sanehat is practically complete. A papyrus at Berlin con-
tains all the text except about twenty lines at the beginning, the whole being
written in about three hundred and thirty short lines. Scraps of the missing
portion were found in the collection of Lord Amherst of Hackney; and these,
added to a complete but very corrupt text of about the first fifty lines, enable
one to restore the whole with tolerable certainty. The story was written
about the time of the XIIth or XIIIth Dynasty, but was known at a much
later period: one extract from the beginning of the tale and one from the
end have been found written in ink on limestone flakes or (ostraca) of about
the XXth Dynasty (about 1150 B. C. ). It seems to be a straightforward rela-
tion of actual occurrences, a real piece of biography. At any rate, it is most
instructive as showing the kind of intercourse that was possible between
Egypt and Palestine about 2500 B. C. ]
keeper of the gate
He hereditary prince, royal seal-bearer, trusty companion,
of the foreigners, true and
beloved royal acquaintance, the attendant Sanehat says:-
I attended my lord as a servant of the king, of the house-
hold of the hereditary princess, the greatly favored, the royal
wife, Ankhet-Usertesen [? ], holding a place at Kanefer, the pyra-
mid of King Amenemhat. '
In the thirtieth year, the month Paophi, the seventh day, the
god’ entered his horizon, the King Sehetepabra flew up to heaven;
he joined the sun's disk, he attended the god, he joined his
Maker. The Residences was silenced, the hearts were weakened,
the Great Portals were closed, the courtiers crouching on the
ground, the people in hushed mourning.
Now his Majesty had sent a great army with the nobles to
the land of the Temehu,“ his son and heir as their commander,
the good King Usertesen. And now he was returning, and had
brought away captives and all kinds of cattle without end. The
Companions of the Court sent to the West Side to let the king
know the state of affairs that had come about in the Audience
1 This paragraph is very difficult to restore and very doubtful.
? 1. e. , the King Sehetepabra Amenemhat I. , whose death is recorded in the
nest clause.
3 The king's city, and so throughout the story.
* The land of the Temehu was in the Libyan desert on the west of Egypt.
5 Usertesen I. , the son and heir of Amenemhat I. , reigned ten years
jointly with his father.
61. e. , the western edge of Lower Egypt.
## p. 5238 (#410) ###########################################
5238
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Chamber. ' The messenger found him on the road; he reached
him at the time of evening. “It was a time for him to hasten
greatly (was the message]: Let the Hawk' fly [hither with his
attendants, without allowing the army to know of it. ” And when
the royal sons who commanded in that army sent messages, not
one of them was summoned to audience. Behold, I was standing
(near]; I heard his voice while he was speaking. ' I fled far away,
my heart beating, my arms outspread; trembling had fallen on
all my limbs. I ran hither and thither to seek a place to hide
me, I threw myself amongst the bushes: and when I found a
road that went forward, I set out southward, not indeed thinking
to come to this Residence. I expected that there would be dis-
turbance. I spake not of life after it. ® I wandered across my
estate' [? ] in the neighborhood of Nehat; I reached the island [or
lake] of Seneferu, and spent the day [resting ? ] on the open field.
I started again while it was yet day,* and came to a man stand-
ing at the side of the road. He asked of me mercy, for he
feared me. By supper-time I drew near to the town of Negau.
I crossed the river on a raft without a rudder, by the aid of a
west wind, and landed at the quay [? ] of the quarrymen of the
Mistress at the Red Mountain. ' Then I fled on foot northward,
1
Perhaps this refers to the death of the king, or to the deliberations of
the royal councilors.
? Apparently a term for the king.
8 Sanehat, accidentally hearing the news of the old king's death, which
was kept secret even from the members of the royal family, was overcome
with agitation and fled.
* It was of course night-time.
5 The Royal Residence called Athet-taui lay on the boundary of Upper and
Lower Egypt, between Memphis and the entrance to the Faiyûm, and so in the
direction which Sanehat at first took in his flight from the western edge of the
Delta. One might prefer the word Capital to Residence, but it can hardly be
doubted that Thebes and Memphis were then the real capitals of Egypt.
6 Perhaps the meaning is that Sanehat did not imagine life possible after
the king's death, or it may be “outside the Residence. ” The pronoun for
“it is masculine, and may refer either to the palace or to the king.
? Or possibly «I turned my course,” turning now northward.
8 Or possibly «the next day. ”
. Here the MS. is injured, and some of the words are doubtful. The
quarries are those still worked for hard quartzite at Jebel Ahmar (Red Mount-
ain), northeast of Cairo. The positions of most of the places mentioned in
the narrative are uncertain. Doubtless Sanehat crossed the Nile just above
the fork of the Delta and landed in the neighborhood of the quarries. The
«Mistress) (Heryt), must be a goddess, or the queen.
## p. 5239 (#411) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5239
and reached the Walls of the Ruler, built to repel the Sati. ' I
crouched in a bush for fear, seeing the day-patrol at its duty on
the top of the fortress. At nightfall I set forth, and at dawn
reached Peten, and skirted the lake of Kemur. ? Then thirst
hasted me on; I was parched, my throat was stopped, and I said,
« This is the taste of death. ” When I lifted up my heart and
gathered strength, I heard a voice and the lowing of cattle. I
saw men of the Sati; and an alien amongst them — he who is
[now? ] in Egypt —— recognized me. Behold, he gave me water,
and boiled me milk, and I went with him to his camp, — may a
blessing be their portion! One tribe passed me on to another: I
departed to Sun ], and came to Kedem. "
There I spent a year and a month [? ]. But Ammui-nen-sha,
Ruler of the Upper Tenu, took me and said to me:-“Comfort
thyself with me, that thou mayest hear the speech of Egypt. ”
He said thus, for that he knew my character, and had heard of
my worth; for men of Egypt who were there with him bore
witness of me. Then he said to me:-“For what hast thou come
hither ? what is it ? Hath a matter come to pass in the Resi-
dence? The King of the Two Lands, Sehetepabra, hath gone to
heaven, and one knoweth not what may have happened thereon. ”
But I answered with concealment and said:-“I returned with
an expedition from the land of the Temehu; my desire was
redoubled, my heart leaped, there was no satisfaction within me.
This drove me to the ways of a fugitive. I have not failed in
my duty, my mouth hath not uttered any bitter words, I have
not hearkened to any evil plot, my name hath not been heard in
the mouth of the informer. I know not what hath brought me
into this country. ” [And the Ruler Ammui-nen-sha said:]ø «This
1 Asiatics and Bedawîn.
Kemur was one of the Bitter Lakes in the line of the present Suez Canal.
* Possibly one of the three persons proposed as hostages to Egypt below,
p. 5246. The word translated «alien” is uncertain. It may mean a kind of
consul or mediator between the tribes for the purposes of trade, etc. , or sim-
ply a «sheikh. ” Sanebat himself, returned from Egypt in his old age, is
called by the same title, p. 5248.
*Or possibly Adim, i. e. , Edom; and so throughout.
6 Later called Upper Retenu: they were the inhabitants of the high lands
of Palestine. Ammi was a divine name in Ancient Arabia, and the name
Ammi-anshi, found in South-Arabian inscriptions, perhaps of 1000 B. C. , is
almost identical with that of the king who befriended Sanehat.
6 These words appear to have been omitted by the scribe.
## p. 5240 (#412) ###########################################
5240
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
is like the disposition of God. And now what is that land like if
it know not that excellent god,' of whom the dread was over the
nations like Sekhemt? in a year of pestilence? ” I spake [thus]
to him, and replied to him:—“Nay, but his son hath entered the
palace, and taken the heritage of his father, and he is a god
without an equal, nor was there any other before him [like unto
him]. He is a master of wisdom, prudent in his designs, excel-
lent in his decrees; coming out and going in is at his command.
It was he that curbed the nations while his father remained within
the palace, and he reported the execution of that which was laid
upon him [to perform]. He is a mighty man also, working with
his strong arm; a valiant one, who hath not his equal. See him
when he springeth upon the barbarians, and throweth himself on
the spoilers; he breaketh the horns and weakeneth the hands; his
enemies cannot wield their weapons. He is fearless and dasheth
heads to pieces; none can stand before him. He is swift of going,
to destroy him who fleeth; and none turning his back to him
reacheth his home. He is sturdy of heart in the moment [of
stress); he is a lion that striketh with the claw; never hath he
turned his back. He is stout of heart when he seeth multitudes,
he letteth none repose beyond what his desire would spare. He
is bold of face when he seeth hesitation: his joy is to fall on the
barbarians. He seizeth the buckler, and leapeth forward; he re-
peateth not his stroke, he slayeth, and none can turn his lance;
without his bow being drawn the barbarians flee from his arms
like dogs; for the great goddess hath granted him to war against
those who know not his name; he is thorough, he spareth not
and leaveth naught behind. He is full of grace and sweetness, a
love-winner; his city loveth him more than itself, it rejoiceth in
him more than in its own god; men and women go their ways,
calling their children by his name. For he is a king that took
the kingdom while he was in the egg, and ruled from his birth.
He is a multiplier of offspring.
And he is One Alone, the essence
of God; this land rejoiceth in his government. He is one that
enlargeth his borders; he will take the lands of the South, but he
will not design to hold the countries of the North: yet he pre-
pareth to smite the Sati, to crush the Wanderers of the Sand.
When he cometh here, let him know thy name; dispute not, but
11. e. , What does Egypt do without the king ?
2 The goddess of destruction.
## p. 5241 (#413) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5241
go over to his command? : for he will not fail to treat well the
country that floateth with his stream. ”
Said he, agreeing to me:- “Verily, Egypt is excellent in its
stream? beyond anything, and it flourisheth; behold, as long as
thou art with me I will do good unto thee. ” He placed me at
the head of his children, he married me with his eldest daughter.
He allowed me to choose for myself from his land, and from the
choicest of what he possessed on the border of the next land. It
was a goodly land; IaaS is its name. Therein were figs and
grapes; its wine was more plentiful than water; abundant was
its honey, many were its oil-trees, and all fruits were upon its
trees; there too was barley and spelt, and cattle of all kinds with-
out end. Great honors also were granted to me, flowing from
his love to me; he set me as sheikh of a tribe in a choice portion
of his country. There were made for me rations of bread, wine
from day to day, cooked meat and roasted fowl, besides wild game
snared for me or brought to me, as well as what my hunting
dogs caught. They made me many dainties, and milk food
cooked in all manner of ways. Thus I passed many years; my
children became valiant men, each one the conqueror of a tribe.
When a messenger came north or went south to the Residence,
he tarried with me; for I gave all men gifts; I gave water to
the thirsty, I set the strayed wanderer on his road, and I
rescued those who were carried off captive. The Sati who went
to war or to repel the kings of the nations, I commanded their
expeditions; for this Ruler of the Tenu made me to spend
many years as captain of his army. Every land to which I
turned I overcame. I destroyed its green fields and its wells, I
captured its cattle, I took captive its inhabitants, I deprived
them of their provisions, and I slew much people of them by
my sword, my bow, my marchings, and my good devices. Thus
my excellence was in his heart; he loved me and he knew my
valor; until he set me at the head of his sons, when he saw the
success of my handiwork.
There came a champion of the Tenu to defy me in my tent;
a bold man without equal, for he had vanquished all his rivals.
He said, “Let Sanehat fight with me. ” He thought to overcome
1 Lit. , «stick. )
? A metaphor for the policy,» «will,” of a king or god.
3 Meaning «reeds » (? ).
4 1. e. , of Pharaoh; see above, p. 5238.
## p. 5242 (#414) ###########################################
5242
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
1
me; he designed to take my cattle, being thus counseled by his
tribe. This ruler [Ammui-nen-sha) conferred with me.
I said: -
“I know him not. I assuredly am no associate of his; I hold me
far from his place. Have I ever opened his door, or leaped over
his fence? It is perverseness of heart from seeing me doing his
work. Forsooth, I am as it were a stranger bull among the cows,
which the bull of the herd charges, and the strong bull catches!
But shall a wretched beggar desire to attain to my fortune ? A
common soldier cannot take part as a counselor. Then what
pray shall establish the assembly ? ! But is there a bull that
loveth battle, a courageous bull that loveth to repeat the charge
in terrifying him whose strength he hath measured ? If he hath
stomach to fight, let him speak what he pleaseth. Will God for-
get what is ordained for him ? How shall fate be known ? ” The
night long I strung my bow, I made ready my arrows; I made
keen my dagger, I furbished my arms. At daybreak the Tenu
came together; it had gathered its tribes and collected the neigh-
boring peoples. Its thoughts were on this combat; every bosom
burned for me, men and women crying out; every heart was
troubled for me; they said, "Is there yet another champion
to fight with him ? » Then [he took] his buckler, his battle-axe,
and an armful of javelins. But thereon I avoided his weapons,
and turned aside his arrows to the ground, useless. One drew
near to the other and he rushed upon me. I shot at him and my
arrow stuck in his neck; he cried out, and fell upon his nose: I
brought down upon him his own battle-axe, and raised my shout
of victory on his back. All the Asiatics roared, and I and his
vassals whom he had oppressed gave thanks unto Mentu; this
Ruler, Ammui-nen-sha, took me to his embrace. Then I took
his goods, I seized his cattle. What he had thought to do to
me, I did it unto him; I seized that which was in his tent, I
spoiled his dwelling. I grew great thereby, I increased in my
possessions. I abounded in cattle.
May’ the god be disposed to pardon him in whom he had
trusted, and who deserted to a foreign country. Now is his
1 A difficult passage.
? Without any pause or introduction Sanehat begins to quote from his peti-
tion to the King of Egypt. It is difficult to say whether this arrangement is
due to an oversight of the scribe, or is intended to heighten the picturesque-
ness of the narrative by sudden contrast. The formal introduction might well
be omitted as uninteresting. The end of the document with the salutations
is preserved.
## p. 5243 (#415) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5243
anger quenched. I who at one time fled away a fugitive, my
guarantee is now in the Residence. Having wandered a starved
wanderer, now I give bread to those around. Having left my
land in rags, now I shine in fine linen. Having been a fugi-
tive without followers, now I possess many serfs. My house is
fair, my dwelling large, I am spoken of in the palace. All the
gods destined me this flight. Mayest thou be gracious; may I be
restored to the Residence; favor me that I may see the place in
which my heart dwelleth. Behold how great a thing is it that
my body should be embalmed in the land where I was born!
Come; if afterwards there be good fortune, I will give an offer-
ing to God that he may work to make good the end of his sup-
pliant, whose heart is heavy at long absence in a strange land.
May he be gracious; may he hear the prayer of him who is afar
off, that he may revisit the place of his birth, and the place
from which he removed.
"May the King of Egypt be gracious to me, by whose favor
men live. I salute the mistress of the land, who is in his palace;
may I hear the news of her children, and may my body renew
its vigor thereby. But old age cometh, weakness hasteneth me
on, the eyes are heavy, my arms are failing, my feet have
ceased to follow the heart. Weariness of going on approacheth
me; may they convey me to the cities of eternity. May I serve
the mistress of all. i Oh that she may tell me the beauties of her
children; may she bring eternity to me. ”
Now the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Kheper-ka-ra, justified, spake concerning this condition in which
His Majesty sent unto me with presents from before the
king, that he might make glad the heart of your servant,' as he
would unto the Ruler of any country; and the royal sons who
were in his palace caused me to hear their news.
I was.
Copy of the command which was brought to the humble servant
to bring him back to Egypt.
« THE HORUS, LIFE OF Births, LORD OF THE CROWNS, LIFE OF
Births, KING OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT, KHEPER-KA-RA, SON
The Sun, USERTESENS Ever Living UNTO ETERNITY. Royal
Command for the attendant, Sanehat.
OF
A phrase for the queen.
2 The narrator.
3 The scribe has written Amenemhat by mistake for Usertesen.
## p. 5244 (#416) ###########################################
5244
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
"Behold, this command of the king is sent to thee to give thee
information: Whereas thou didst go round strange lands from
Kedem' to Tenu, one country passed thee on to another as thy
heart devised for thee. Behold, what thou hast done hath been
done unto thee: Thou hast not blasphemed, so also the accusa-
tion against thee hath been repelled. So also thy sayings have
been respected; thou hast not spoken against the Council of the
Nobles. But this matter carried away thy heart; it was not
[devised] in thy heart.
« This thy Heaven? who is in the palace is stablished and
flourishing even now: she herself shareth in the rule of the
land, and her children are in the Audience Chamber. 3
« Leave the riches that thou hast, and in the abundance of
which thou livest. When thou comest to Egypt thou shalt
visit the Residence in which thou wast, thou shalt kiss the
ground before the Great Portals, thou shalt assume authority
amongst the Companions. But day by day, behold, thou growest
old; thy vigor is lost; thou thinkest on thy day of burial. Thou
shalt be conducted to the blessed state; there shall be assigned
to thee a night of sacred oils and wrappings from the hands of
the goddess Tayt. There shall be held for thee a procession [be-
hind thy statues] and a visit [to the temple) on the day of burial,
the mummy case gilded, the head blue, the canopy above thee;
the putting in the skin-frame, oxen to draw thee, singers going
before thee, the answering chant, and mourners crouching at the
door of thy tomb-chapel. Prayers for offerings shall be recited
for thee, victims shall be slaughtered at the door portrayed upon
thy tablet"; and thy mastaba shall be built of white stone, in the
company of the royal children. Thou shalt not die in a strange
land, nor be buried by the Amu; thou shalt not be put in a
sheepskin, thou shalt be well regarded. It is vain [? ] to beat
the ground and think on troubles.
« Thou hast reached the end. 5))
3
1 Or Adim; see above, p. 5239, note.
2 The queen, his exalted mistress.
Taking part in the councils of the king and in the administration of the
kingdom.
* This seems to refer to the so-called false door, representing the entrance
to the underworld. All that precedes refers to burial with great ceremony.
5 1. e. , of the king's command. The absence of any concluding salutation
is noticeable.
## p. 5245 (#417) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5245
When this order came to me, I stood in the midst of my
tribe, and when it was read unto me, I threw me on my belly; I
bowed to the ground and let the dust spread upon my breast. I
strode around my tent rejoicing and saying: -"How is this done
to the servant, whose heart had transgressed to a strange country
of babbling tongue? But verily good is compassion, that I should
be saved from death. Thy Kai it is that will cause me to pass
the end of my days in the Residence. ”
Copy of the acknowledgment of this command.
« The servant of the royal house [? ], Sanehat, says:-
«In most excellent peace! 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.
