I have not
oppressed
those beneath me.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v09 - Dra to Eme
Prince of the dew, he entereth the land of the Mezau !
Fair of face, coming to the Divine Land 1!
The gods gather as dogs at his feet,
Even as they recognize his majesty as their lord.
Lord of fear, great one of terror,
Great of soul, lordly in manifestations,
Flourishing of offerings, maker of plenty,
Acclamations to thee, maker of the gods,
Thou who dost upraise the sky, and press down the ground!
II
Wake in health, Min-Amen!
Lord of the everlasting, maker of eternity,
Lord of adorations, dwelling in [Khemmis),
Established of two horns, fair of face,
Lord of the uræus crown with lofty double plume,
Beautiful of diadem, with lofty white crown,
The kingly coif with the two uræi are on his forehead.
He is adorned within the palace,
With the Sekhet crown, the Nemes cap, and the Khepersh
helmet.
Fair of face, he taketh the Atef crown,
Loving its south and its north.
Lord of the Sekhemt sceptre, receiving the Ames sceptre,
Lord of the Meks sceptre, holding the Nekhekh,
Beautiful Ruler, crowned with the white crown!
Lord of rays, making light!
The gods give praises unto him
Who giveth his two hands [for aid] to him that loveth him,
1 Or the Land of the Gods. ) a name for the lands of the East, and
especially for “Punt. »
## p. 5312 (#484) ###########################################
5312
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Who casteth his enemies in the fire;
His eye it is which overthroweth the wicked;
It casteth its lance at the devourer of Nu;
It causeth the serpent Nak to cast up that which it swal-
lowed.
Hail to thee, Ra, lord of truth,
Whose sanctuary is hidden! lord of the gods,
Khepera in the midst of his bark,
He gave command, and the gods were created.
Tum, maker of the Rekhyt,
Distinguishing their kinds, making their lives,
Distinguishing their complexions one from another.
Hearing the complaint of him who is oppressed,
Kindly of heart when called upon.
He delivereth the timid from him who is of a froward
heart,
He judgeth the cause of the weak and the oppressed.
Lord of Understanding, Taste is on his lips,
The Nile cometh at his desire.
Lord of sweetness, great one of love,
He maketh the Rekhyt to live,
He giveth keenness to every eye.
He is made out of Nu,
Creating the rays of light.
The gods rejoice in his beauties,
Their hearts live when they behold him.
III
Ra, exalted in Karnak!
Great of splendor in the House of the Obelisk
Ani, lord of the New Moon festival,
To whom are celebrated the festival of the sixth day and
of the quarter month.
Liege lord, to whom Life, Prosperity, Health! lord of all
the gods,
Who see him [? ] in the midst of the horizon,
Chief over the Pat and Hades,
His name is more hidden * than his birth,
In his name of Amen,* the hidden One.
Hail to thee who art in peace!
Lord of enlargement of heart, lordly in manifestations,
Lord of the uræus crown, with lofty double plume;
Fair of diadem, with lofty white crown!
The gods love the sight of thee,
## p. 5313 (#485) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5313
The Sekhemt* crown is established upon thy forehead.
Thy loveliness is shed * abroad over the two lands;
Thy rays shine forth in the eyes of men; fair for the Pat
and the Rekhyt is thy rising,
Weary are the flocks when thou art radiant.
Thy loveliness is in the southern sky, thy sweetness in the
northern sky,
Thy beauties conquer hearts,
Thy loveliness maketh arms to droop,
Thy beautiful form maketh hands to fail,
Hearts faint at the sight of thee.
Sole figure, who didst make all that is!
One and only one, maker of all that are,
From whose eyes mankind issued,
By whose mouth the gods were created,
Who makest the herbage, and makest to live the cattle,
goats, swine, and sheep,
The fruit-trees for the Henememt.
He maketh the life of fishes in the river,
The fowl of the air,
Giving breath to that which is in the egg;
Making the offspring of the serpent to live;
Making to live therewith the flies,
The creeping things, and the leaping things, and the like.
Making provision for the mice in their holes;
Making to live the birds in every tree,
Hail to thee, maker of all these!
One and only one, with many arms!
At night wakeful while all sleep,
Seeking good for his flock.
Amen,* who * establishest all things!
Tum Horus of the horizon!
Praises be to thee in that all say,
"Acclamations to thee, for that thou outweariest thyself
with us!
Obeisance to thee for that thou didst make us ! »
Hail to thee, from all animals!
Acclamations to thee from every land,
To the height of heaven, to the breadth of earth,
To the depth of the great waters!
The gods bow before thy majesty,
Exalting the mighty spirit that formed them;
They rejoice at the coming of him who begat them;
They say unto thee:-“Come, come in peace!
IX-333
## p. 5314 (#486) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5314
Father of the fathers of all the gods,
Thou who dost upraise the sky and press down the ground. “
Maker of that which is, former of those which have being,
Liege lord - to whom Life, Prosperity, Health! - chief of
the gods,
We adore thy mighty spirit even as thou madest us;
Who were made for thee when thou fashionedst us.
We give praises unto thee for that thou outweariest thyself
with us.
Hail to thee who didst make all that is!
Lord of truth, father of the gods,
Maker of men, fashioner of animals,
Lord of corn,
Making to live the animals of the desert.
Amen, bull fair of face,
Beloved in Thebes,
Great one of splendors in the House of the Obelisk,
Twice crowned in Heliopolis,
Thou who judgest between the twain in the Great Hall!
Chief of the great Ennead of the gods,
One and only one, without his peer,
Dwelling in Thebes,
Ani in his divine Ennead,
He liveth on truth every day.
God of the horizon, Horus of the East,
Who hath made the hills that have silver, gold,
Real lapis lazuli, at his pleasure:
Gums and incense are mingled for the Mezau,
Fresh incense for thy nostrils.
Fair of face he cometh to the Mezau,
Amen Ra, lord of the throne of the two lands,
He who dwelleth in Thebes,
Ani in his sanctuary.
IV
Sole King is he, even in the midst of the gods;
Many are his names, none knoweth their number.
He riseth on the horizon of the east, he is laid to rest on
the horizon of the west.
He overthroweth his enemies
In the daily task of every day;
In the morning he is born each day;
Thoth raiseth his eyes,
And propitiateth him with his benefits;
## p. 5315 (#487) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5315
The gods rejoice in his beauties,
Exalting him who is in the midst of adorers !
Lord of the Sekti and of the Madet bark,
Which traverse for thee Nu in peace!
Thy crew rejoice
When they see the overthrow of the wicked one,
Whose members taste the knife;
The flame devoureth him;
His soul is more punished than his body;
That Nak serpent, he is deprived of movement.
The gods are in exultation,
The crew of Ra are in peace,
Heliopolis is in exultation,
The enemies of Tum are overthrown.
Karnak is in peace, Heliopolis is in exultation.
The heart of the uræus goddess is glad,
The enemies of her lord are overthrown;
The gods of Kheraha are in acclamation,
The dwellers in the sanctuaries are in obeisance;
They behold him mighty in his power,
Mighty prince of the gods!
Great one of Justice *, lord of Karnak,
In this thy name, «Doer of Justice *,”
Lord of Plenty, Peaceful Bull*;
In this thy name, «Amen, Bull of his Mother,"
Making mankind *, creating * all that is,
In this thy name of “Tum * Khepera *,)
Great hawk, adorning the breast !
Fair of face adorning the bosom.
Figure lofty of diadem.
The two uræi fly on wings before him,
The hearts of men run up to him [like dogs),
The illuminated ones turn towards him.
Adorning the two lands by his coming forth,
Hail to thee, Amen Ra, lord of the throne of the two
lands!
His city loveth his rising.
This is the end,
in peace,
as it was found.
Translation of F. Li. Griffith.
:)
);
## p. 5316 (#488) ###########################################
5316
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
SONGS TO THE HARP
[Frequently in the tombs is figured a scene in which a harper plays before
the deceased. His song is ever on the same theme: Enjoy life while it lasts,
for all things pass away, and are succeeded by others which also perish in
their turn. Such were the encouragements to conviviality which the Egyp-
tians put into the mouths of their minstrels.
One of these songs was apparently engraved in front of the figure of a
harper in the tomb or pyramid of King Antef (of the XIth or perhaps XIIIth
Dynasty, not less than 2000 B. C. ), and a copy of it has been handed down
to us on a papyrus of the XVIIIth Dynasty: fragments of the same song
are moreover preserved at Leyden on slabs from a tomb of the same period.
Part of another song of the same kind may be read on the walls of the
fine tomb of Neferhetep at Thebes (temp. XVIIIth Dynasty).
was a long one, but the latter part of it is now mutilated and hopelessly de.
stroyed; yet enough of the sequel remains to show that it rose to a somewhat
higher level of teaching than the first song, and counseled men to feed the
poor and to win a good name to leave behind them after death.
The songs seem to fall naturally into stanzas of ten lines each, though
the inscriptions and papyri on which they are preserved to us are not punctu-
ated to indicate these divisions. In the first song the ten lines fall readily
into pairs, thus producing five-line stanzas. ]
This song
I
Songs which are in the tomb of King Antef, justified, which are in
front of the singer on the harp
H
APPY is this good lord! | A goodly fate is spoiled.
One body passeth | and others are set up since the time of the
ancestors.
The gods? who were aforetime | rest in their sepulchres,
So also the nobles glorified buried in their sepulchres.
Palaces are built and their places are not | behold what hath been
done with them!
I have heard the words of Imhetep and Herdedef / who spake thus
continually in their sayings:
« Behold their places, their walls are ruined | their places are not, as
though they had not been.
None cometh thence to tell their lot | to tell their estate,
To strengthen our hearts | until ye approach the place to which they
have gone. ”
Be thou of good cheer thereat | [as for me) my heart faileth me in
singing thy dirge.
11. e. , the kings, who were always reckoned divine, and as ruling by divine
right.
## p. 5317 (#489) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5317
Follow thy heart so long as thou existest | put frankincense on thy
head;
Be clothed in fine n, be anointed with pure ben oil | things fit for
a god.
Enjoy thyself beyond measure | let not thy heart faint.
Follow thy desire and thy happiness while thou art on earth | fret
not thy heart till cometh to thee that day of lamenta-
tions.
The Still-of-Heart heareth not their lamentations | the heart of a man
in the pit taketh no part in mourning.
With radiant face, make a good day,'
And rest not on it.
Behold, it is not given to a man to carry his goods
with him!
Behold, there is none who hath gone,
And cometh back hither again!
II
[Saith the player on the harp who is in the tomb of the Osirian, the divine
father of Amen, Neferhetep, Justified, he saith :-)
O how weary! Truly a prince was he!
That good fate hath come to pass.
Bodies pass away since the time of God,
The youthful come in their place.
Ra presenteth himself every morning,
Tum 3 setteth in the Mountain of the West,
Men beget and women conceive;
Every nostril tasteth the breath of sunrise;
Those whom they bring forth all of them
They come in their stead.
Make holiday, O divine father!
Set gums and choice unguents of every kind for thy nose,
Garlands of lotuses on the shoulders,
And on the breast of thy sister, who is in thy heart,
Who sitteth at thy side.
Set singing and music before thy face,
Put all sorrow behind thee,
Bethink thyself of joys,
1
1. e. ,
« make holiday. ”
2 Title of a priest of Amen.
3 God of the setting sun.
## p. 5318 (#490) ###########################################
5318
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Until there cometh that day on which thou moorest at the land that
loveth silence,
Before the heart of the son whom thou lovest is still.
Make holiday, O Neferhetep, Justified! | the excellent divine father,
pure of hands!
There are heard all the things | that have happened to the ancestors
who were aforetime;
Their walls are ruined | their places are not;
They are as though they had never been | since the time of the god.
May thy walls be established | may thy trees flourish on the bank of
thy pond!
May thy soul sit beneath them, that it drink their waters!
Follow thy heart greatly | while thou art on earth.
Give bread to him, who is without plot of land.
Mayest thou gain a good name | for the eternal future!
Mayest thou
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
FROM AN EPITAPH
[In the British Museum there is a memorial tablet of Ptolemaic date for a
lady of highest sacerdotal descent, on her mother's side as well as on her
father's. She was married to the chief priest of Ptah, and on her death she
addresses her male relations and friends among the priests of chief rank with
words and sentiments very different from the orthodox prayers and formulæ
which cover the funerary stelæ of Pharaonic times; though much the same
line of thought found utterance in the songs of the harpers. ]
O
BROTHER, husband, friend, thy desire to drink and to eat
hath not ceased, [therefore] be drunken, enjoy the love of
women, make holiday. Follow thy desire by night and by
day. Put not care within thine heart. Lo! are not these the
years of thy life upon earth? For as for Amenti, it is a land of
slumber and of heavy darkness, a resting-place for those who
have passed within it. Each sleepeth (there] in his own form;
they never more awake to see their fellows, they behold not
their fathers nor their mothers, their heart is careless of their
wives and children.
The water of life with which every mouth is moistened is
corruption to me, the water that is by me corrupteth me; I know
not what to do? since I came into this valley. Give me running
1 An expression of utter bewilderment; lit. , I know not the estate which
is upon me. »
## p. 5319 (#491) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5319
water; say to me: “Water shall not cease to be brought to thee. ”
Turn my face to the north wind upon the edge of the water.
Verily thus shall my heart be cooled, refreshed from its pain. '
Verily I think on him whose name is “Come! ” All who are
called of him come to him instantly, their hearts terrified with
fear of him. There is none whom he regardeth among gods or
men; with him the great are as the small. His hand cannot
be held back from aught that he desireth; he snatcheth the child
from its mother, as well as the aged who are continually meeting
him on his way. All men fear and pray before him, but he
heedeth them not. None cometh to gaze on him in wonder; he
hearkeneth not unto them who adore him. He is not seen 2 that
propitiatory offerings of any kind should be made to him.
Translation of F. LI. Griffith.
FROM A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A MAN AND HIS SOUL
D*
[The following is found on a papyrus of the XIIth ynasty, preserved
at Berlin. After some obscure arguments the man apparently admits that the
present life is full of dissatisfaction, and proceeds. )
EATH is ever before me [? ] like the healing of a sick man, or
like a rise in life after a fall.
Death is ever before me like the smell of frankincense, or like
sitting under an awning on a day of cool breeze, 3
Death is ever before me like the scent of lotuses, like sitting on the
bank of the Land of Intoxication. *
Death is ever before me like a road watered (? ), or as when a man
cometh from a campaign to his home.
Death is ever before me like the unveiling of the sky, or as when a
man attaineth to unexpected fortune.
Death is ever before me like as man desireth to see his house
when he hath spent many years in pulling [the oars ? ]. 5
1 To these thinkers, thirst (since the presence of water would induce putre-
faction of the body) and suffocation were the chief material sufferings of the
dead.
2 From this curious expression it is evident that the Egyptians considered
it necessary that a deity should be visibly represented by statue or animal, in
order that he should receive the offerings presented to him. They never per-
sonified a god of Death, only a god of the Dead.
3 The sunshine may be taken for granted in Egypt.
*Our “on the verge of intoxication” is an almost identical expression,
but without a poetical significance.
5 A slight correction of the original would give in captivity » (kidnapped).
a
## p. 5320 (#492) ###########################################
5320
1
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
i
1
Verily he that is therein is as a living god punishing the error of the
evil-doer.
Verily he that is therein standeth in the boat of Ra and causeth
choice viands to be given thence to the temples. '
Verily he that is therein is as a wizard; he is not prevented from
complaining to Ra even as he would speak.
My soul said unto me: “Lay aside [? ] mourning, O Nessu my
brother, that thou mayest offer upon the altar even as thou fightest
for life, as thou sayest, ‘Love me continually. ' Thou hast refused
the grave; desire then that thou mayest reach the grave, that thy
body may join the earth, that I may hover (over thee) after thou art
weary. Let us then make a dwelling together. ”
Translation of F. Li. Griffith.
(THE NEGATIVE CONFESSION)
[It may be thought that the fundamental ideas of Egyptian morality
would be most succinctly expressed in the so-called Negative Confession)
contained in the Book of the Dead. When the deceased appeared before
Osiris he was supposed to recite this confession, in which he alleged his free-
dom from a long catalogue of sins: he repeated it in two forms. After the
XVIIIth Dynasty, B. C. 1500, it was considered as perhaps the most essential
of all the texts deposited in the tomb with the mummy, for the guidance of
the deceased person before his fate was finally settled. It is therefore to be
found in thousands of copies, but unfortunately this much-worn text is as
corrupt as most of the other sections of the Book of the Dead. The hack
scribes and calligraphists were content to copy without understanding it, often
bungling or wresting the sense according to their very imperfect lights. It is
seldom that different copies agree precisely in their readings: often the differ-
ences are very material and leave the true sense altogether uncertain. Again,
where the reading seems comparatively sure, the meaning remains
obscure, owing to the occurrence of rare words or expressions. All the
phrases begin with the negative (not. ”]
even
FIRST CONFESSION
I
HAVE not done injury to men.
I have not oppressed those beneath me. 3
I have not acted perversely (prevaricated ? ), instead of
straightforwardly.
1 The advantages of the life beyond seem to consist in being like gods
and in full communion with the greatest of them, Ra.
? This closing speech of the soul is barely intelligible.
3 Or perhaps my kindred. ”
## p. 5321 (#493) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5321
I have not known vanity. '
I have not been a doer of mischief.
I have not done what the gods abominate.
I have not turned the servant against his master.
I have not caused hunger.
I have not caused weeping.
I have not inurdered.
I have not commanded murder.
I have not caused suffering to men.
I have not cut short the rations of the temples.
I have not diminished the offerings of the gods.
I have not taken the provisions of the blessed dead.
I have not committed fornication nor impurity in what was
sacred to the god of my city.
I have not added to nor diminished the measures of grain.
I have not diminished the palm measure.
I have not falsified the cubit of land.
I have not added to the weights of the balance.
I have not nullified the plummet of the scales.
I have not taken milk from the mouth of babes.
I have not driven cattle from their herbage. ?
I have not trapped birds, the bones of the gods.
I have not caught fish in their pools. [? ]
I have not stopped water in its season.
I have not dammed running water.
I have not quenched fire when burning: 3
I have not disturbed the cycle of gods when at their choice
meats.
I have not driven off the cattle of the sacred estate.
I have not stopped a god in his comings forth.
SECOND CONFESSION
I have not done injustice.
I have not robbed.
1 Or what is “unprofitable » or "treason. ”
2 This and the two following asseverations seem rather to read: “I have
not caught animals by a bait of their herbage. " "I have not trapped birds
by a bait of (gods' bones. ) » «I have not caught fish by a bait of fishes'
bodies. »
3 Lit. , «in its moment. )
## p. 5322 (#494) ###########################################
5322
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
I have not coveted. [? ]
I have not stolen.
I have not slain men.
I have not diminished the corn measure.
I have not acted crookedly.
I have not stolen the property of the gods.
I have not spoken falsehood.
I have not taken food away.
I have not been lazy. [? ]
I have not trespassed.
I have not slain a sacred animal.
I have not been niggardly in grain.
I have not stolen.
I have not been a pilferer.
My mouth hath not run on.
I have not been a talebearer in business not mine own.
I have not committed adultery with another man's wife.
I have not been impure.
I have not made disturbance.
I have not transgressed.
My mouth hath not been hot.
I have not been deaf to the words of truth.
I have not made confusion.
I have not caused weeping.
I am not given to unnatural lust.
I have not borne a grudge.
I have not quarreled.
I am not of aggressive hand.
I am not of inconstant mind.
I have not spoiled the color of him who washeth the
god. (? ? )
My voice has not been too voluble in my speech.
I have not deceived nor done ill.
I have not cursed the king.
1
My voice is not loud.
I have not cursed God.
I have not made bubbles. [? ]
I have not made [unjust] preferences.
I have not acted the rich man except in my own things.
I have not offended the god of my city.
Translation of F. LI. Griffith.
11. e. , «I am not hot of speech. ”
## p. 5323 (#495) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5323
THE TEACHING OF AMENEMHAT
assas-
[The advice given by Amenemhat I. , the founder of the XIIth Dynasty,
to his son and successor Usertesen I. (about B. C. 2500), is a short composi-
tion that was much in vogue during the New Kingdom as an exercise for
schoolboys. Six copies of portions or of the whole have survived to our
day; but with one exception all are very corrupt, and the text is extremely
difficult to translate. Our oldest copies appear to date from the middle of
the XIXth Dynasty (about B. C. 1300). But the composition itself must be
older than this; indeed, it may be a true record of the great King's charge
to his son.
The following seems to be the purpose and argument of the work. Amen-
embat, who has already virtually associated Usertesen with himself in the
kingdom, determines in consequence of a plot against his life to insure his
son's succession by announcing it in a formal manner.
He has labored stren-
uously and successfully for his own glory and for the good of his people, but
in return he is scarcely saved from ignominious dethronement or
sination through a conspiracy formed in his own household. The moral to
be drawn from this is pointed out to his son with considerable bitterness and
scorn in the “Teaching,' in which, however, Usertesen is promised a brilliant
reign if he will attend to his father's instructions.
It is perhaps worth while noticing that there is no expression of piety or
reference to the worship of divinities either in the precepts themselves or in
the narrative. The personified Nile is spoken of in a manner that would be
likely to offend its worshipers; but in the last section, the interpretation of
which is extremely doubtful, Amenemhat seems to acquiesce in the orthodox
views concerning the god Ra.
Usertesen's reign dates from Amenemhat's XXth year, and that his asso-
ciation was then no secret but already formally acknowledged, is amply
proved. The King seems to feel already the approach of old age and death,
and though he lived on to assist his son with his counsel for no less than
ten years, it was apparently in retirement from public life. I The work has
been considered as a posthumous charge to Usertesen, but although certain
expressions seem to support this view, on the whole I think its correctness
improbable.
In several copies the text is divided by rubrics into fifteen paragraphs, and
the phrases are punctuated by dots placed above the lines. In the following
rendering the paragraphs are preserved, and summarized where they are too
difficult to translate. The incompleteness of the best text leaves the last two
paragraphs in almost hopeless confusion. ]
1 Compare the story of Sanehat (above, p. 5237 seq. ) for an indication of the
place which Amenemhat retained for himself in the government of the king-
dom during the joint rule. He (Usertesen) curbs the nations while his father
remains in his palace, and he [Usertesen) accomplisheth for him what is com-
manded him. ”
## p. 5324 (#496) ###########################################
5324
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
CO
1. [Title and introduction. ]
OMMENCEMENT in the teaching made by the majesty of the
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Sehetepabra, Son of the
Sun, Amenemhat, justified, which he spake as a dividing
of truth' to his Son, the Universal Lord. Said he:-
“Shine forth as a God! Hearken to that I say to thee, that
thou mayest be king of the land and rule the territories, that
thou mayest excel in all wealth.
2. [Exhortation to caution in associating with subjects. ]
"Let one be armored against his associates as a whole; it
befalleth that mankind turn their heart to him who inspireth
them with fear. Enter not to them singly; fill not thy heart
with a brother; know not an honored friend; make not to thy-
self free-and-easy visitors, by which nothing is accomplished.
3. [Trust not to the aid of friends. ]
“When thou liest down, keep to thyself thine own heart; for
friends exist not for a man on the day of troubles. I gave to
the beggar, and I made the orphan to exist? ; I caused the man
of no position to obtain his purpose even as the man of position.
4. [Continuation of 3: Reward of his beneficence. ]
“It was the eater of my food that made insurrection; he
to whom I gave a helping hand produced terror therewith; they
who put on my fine linen looked on me as shadows"; they who
were anointed with my frankincense defiled me while using it.
5. [Men forget the heroism of his achievements on their be-
half, though their happy condition speaks loudly of it; by for-
getting they lose much of the advantages he has procured them. ]
"My portraits are among the living, my achievements among
men, making for me dirges that none heed, a great feat of
combat that none see. Behold, one fighteth for a lassoed ox,
that forgetteth yesterday. Good fortune is not complete for one
who cannot know it. *
1
Compare 2 Timothy ii. 15.
? « To exist) often means to have a solid position.
3 A proverbial word for nullity, worthlessness.
* Egypt, the lassoed ox, helpless in the hands of its oppressors, is now
free, but fails to appreciate its good fortune.
## p. 5325 (#497) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5325
on.
6. [An attempt upon his life: circumstances of the attack. ]
“It was after supper, and night was come I took an
hour of heart pleasure; I lay down upon my diwán; I sank-in-
rest, my heart began to follow slumber. Behold! weapons were
brandished [? ], and there was conversation concerning me; while
I acted like the serpent of the desert. 1
7. [Taken by surprise, he could not defend himself. ]
"I awoke to fight; I was alone. I found that it was the
stroke of an ally. If I had taken swiftly the arms from his
hand I should have caused the cowards to retreat, by dint of
smiting round. But there is not a man of valor at night; there
is no fighting single-handed; there happens not a successful bout
in ignorance. Behold thou me. ?
8. [Usertesen's association the only safeguard. Amenemhat
is not stern enough to rule Egypt longer, but he offers to assist
with his counsel. ]
“Behold thou, [then ? ] abominable things came to pass when I
was without thee, because the courtiers had not heard that I had
handed on to thee [the kingdom), because I had not sat with
thee [on the throne]. Let me (then) make thy arrangements,
for I do not confound them. I am not ignorant of them, but
my heart does not remember the slackness of servants.
3
9. [The conspiracy was hatched in the palace itself; the com-
mons were hoodwinked; there was no ground for discontent. ]
"Is it the function of women to captain assassins ? Is the
interior of a house the nursery of insurgents ? Is mining done
by dint of cutting through the snow? 5 The underlings were kept
ignorant of what they were doing. I11 fortunes have not come
behind me since my birth; there has not been success like
mine in working to the measure of my ability.
1
Perhaps this means that Amenemhat lay still but ready to rise instantly
and fight.
2 Me voilà ! ) -- after drawing the picture of his helpless state, surprised
alone in the night.
3 1. e. , «be thy counselor. »
4 A difficult passage.
5 Meaning doubtful.
61. e. , upon others in consequence of me.
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10. [Amenemhat's activity. ]
"I pushed up to Elephantine and I turned back to Natho;? I
stood upon the ends of the earth and saw its edge. I carried
forward the boundaries of strength-of-arm by my valor and by
my feats.
11. [His beneficent rule.
