All things had come to pass
according
to
the command which the Majesty of my lord had given me.
the command which the Majesty of my lord had given me.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v06 to v10 - Cal to Fro
] inlaid with minerals,
amulets for every limb, chaplets for the head, rings for the ears,
all the apparel of a king, every vessel of royal purification in
gold, and every sort of mineral; all these things I have offered
1 The land was divided among kings, nomarchs, and, apparently, Libyan
chiefs entitled to wear a feather. The kings had their viziers; the nom-
archs and chiefs bad their subordinate chiefs, etc. “Royal acquaintances »
were persons related to the royal families.
? 1. e. , the linen was of various degrees of fineness, or as we also say
technically, of various counts »; meaning that there are so many threads
more or less in any given square of stuff.
3 An oath.
## p. 5292 (#464) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5292
So.
1
1
before the king, stuffs and clothes in thousands of all the best of
my looms. I know by what thou wilt be appeased. Go to the
stable, choose thou what thou wilt of all the horses that thou
desirest. ” Then his Majesty did so.
[The princes of Lower Egypt return to their cities to fetch further tribute.
A revolt at Mesed is promptly suppressed and the city given as a re-
ward to Pediast. )
Said these kings and nomarchs before his Majesty, “Let us
go to our cities, let us open our treasuries, let us select accord-
ing to the desire of thy heart, let us bring to thee the best of
our stables, the chief of our horses. ” Then his Majesty did even
List of their names :
The King Usorkon in Per Bast and the territory of Ranefer;
The King Auapeth in Tentremu and Taanta [? ];
The nomarch Zedamenafankh in Mendes and the Granary
of Ra;
His son and heir, the captain of the host in Hermopolis
Parva, Ankhhor;
The nomarch Akanesh in Thebneter, in Perhebyt, and in
Smabehed;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Pathenf in Per-Sepd and
in the Granary of Anbuhez;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Pamai in Busiris;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Nesnakedy in Heseb-ka;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Nekhthornashenut in Per-
gerer;1
The chief of the Me, Pentuart;
The chief of the Me, Pentabekhent;
The priest of Horus, lord of Letopolis, Pedihorsmataui;
The nomarch Hurobasa in the house of Sekhemt mistress of
Sa, and the house of Sekhemt mistress of Rohesaut;
The nomarch Zedkhiau in Khentnefer;
The nomarch Pabas in Kheraha and the house of Hapi.
With all their good tribute [consisting of] gold, silver, [lapis
lazuli], maſlachite), [couches] covered with fine linen, frankin-
cense in jars, [and all things that pertain to a man great] in
wealth, rich in horses.
1 First we have two kings, six nomarchs and high Libyan chiefs; after
these, two under-chiefs are mentioned, and then four nomarchs in the first
and second nomes of Lower Egypt, which are separated as having belonged
to Tafnekht's kingdom.
## p. 5293 (#465) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5293
one
.
[After] these things came to say to his Majesty:
[“Whereas the nomarch and captain of the] host [
hath
thrown down] the wall (of
and] set fire to his treasury,
[and Aed away] upon the river, he hath fortified Mesed' with
soldiers, and hath
Then his Majesty caused his warriors to go to see what took
place therein, as an ally of the erpa Pediast. One came to report
to his Majesty saying, “We have slain all the people that we found
there. ” His Majesty gave it as a present to the erpa Pediast.
[Lastly, Tafnekht begs for mercy: ambassadors receive his presents and sub-
mission to the King, and he is pardoned. ]
Then the chief of the Me, Tafnekht, heard it;? he caused a
messenger to go to the place where his Majesty was, begging his
mercy, saying:—“Be gracious! I have not seen thy face in the
days of shåme; I cannot stand before thy flame; I am terrified
at thy awe. Behold, thou art Nubti in the Land of the South,
Mentu, the mighty bull. In all these matters to which thou hast
given thy attention thou hast not found thy humble servant
until I reached the island of the sea. I am afraid of thy mighty
spirit according to that saying, “The flame is my enemy. Doth
not the heart of thy Majesty cool with these things that thou
hast done unto me? Verily I am in misery. I am not smitten
according to the account of the wickedness. Having weighed
with the balance, having reckoned by the ounce, thou multipliest
it unto me thrice; having carried away the seed, thou sweepest up
[the remnant) at the same time. Do not cut down the grove
to its root. As thy Ka endureth, thy terror is in my body, thy
fear in my bones; I have not sat in the room of carousal,” the
harp hath not been brought to me. Behold, I eat the bread of
hunger, I drink water in thirst, since the day that thou learnedst
my name. Pain is in my bones, my head is unshaven, my
clothes in rags, in order that Neith may be made gracious unto
me. Long is the course that thou hast brought to me; turn thy
1 Site unknown.
2 Tafnekht was on an island in the Mediterranean, and therefore heard
the news of the surrender of the Northern princes only after some time bad
elapsed.
3 Nubti=Set, the god of valor. Mentu was the god of battle.
* « Kedt-weight,” really 140 grains.
5 Lit. , «beer-room. ”
## p. 5294 (#466) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5294
now.
face unto me A year hath cleansed my Ka and purified
thy servant from his wickedness. Let my goods be taken to the
Treasury, consisting of gold with every sort of mineral, and the
best of the horses accoutred with everything. Let a messenger
come to me in haste, that he may drive fear from my heart.
Let me go out to the temple in his sight, let me clear myself
with an oath by God. ”
His Majesty caused to go the Chief Lector Pediamennestaui,
and the captain of the host Puarma. He [Tafnekht] presented
him [Piankhy] with silver, gold, stuffs, every valuable mineral.
He went out to the temple, he praised God, he cleared him-
self with an oath by God, saying: "I will not transgress the
command of the King. I will not reject the words of his
Majesty; I will not sin against a nomarch without thy knowledge;
I will act according to the words of the King; I will not trans-
gress what he hath commanded. ” Then his Majesty was satisfied
therewith.
[Crocodilopolis and Aphroditopolis having submitted, the whole country is at
the feet of the conqueror, who loads his ships with the tribute and de-
parts homeward. ]
One came to say to his Majesty: "The temple of Sebek, they
have opened its fort, Metnu hath cast itself upon its belly, there
is not a nome that is shut against his Majesty in the nomes
of the South, North, West, or East. The islands in the midst
are upon their bellies with fear of him, and are causing their
goods to be brought to the place where his Majesty is, like the
serfs of the palace. "
When the land lightened, very early? came these two rulers
of the South and two rulers of the North, wearing uræi, to
smell the ground to the mighty spirit of his Majesty. Behold,
moreover, these kings and nomarchs of the North land came to
see the beauties of his Majesty; their feet were as the feet of
women, they entered not to the King's house, for that they were
impure and eaters of fishes, which is an abomination to the
King's house. Behold, the King Nemart, he entered to the King's
palace, for that he was pure, he ate not fishes. They stood upon
their feet, but the one of them entered the palace.
1 Or on the second day. ”
2 As symbols of regal power.
Perhaps this means ceremonially unclean.
3
## p. 5295 (#467) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5295
Then the ships were loaded with silver, gold, bronze, stuffs,
all things of the North land, all products of Kharu, all woods of
the Divine Land.
His Majesty went up-stream, his heart enlarged, all about him
were rejoicing; West and East, they rose high, rejoicing around
his Majesty, singing and rejoicing; they said:-“O mighty King!
O mighty King! Piankhy!
Piankhy! O mighty King!
O mighty King! Thou hast come,
thou hast ruled the North land. Thou makest bulls into women.
Happy is the heart of the mother that bore a male child, that
was impregnated with thee amongst the mountains. Praises be
given unto her! the cow that hath borne a bull! Thou shalt be
to eternity, thy victory remaineth, O Ruler, loving Thebes. "
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
INSCRIPTION OF UNA
[It is interesting to compare the inscription of Piankhy with an example
of the historical texts of the Old Kingdom. Only two are known of any con-
siderable length, and the following is one of them. The biographical inscrip-
tion of Una, administrator of Upper Egypt, takes one back to 3000 B. C. ,
when almost the only great monuments in Egypt were the pyramids, to the
number of which each successive king added.
The inscription was found on a slab in the great cemetery of Abydos, and
is now in the Gizeh Museum. The style is somewhat arid, but attracts by its
primitive and simple character. ]
[Una's youth under King Teta, founder of the Vith Dynasty. ]
[Una saith] I was tying the girdle,' under the majesty of
Teta. My grade was that of superintendent of stores, and I
acted as overseer of the garden of Pharaoh.
[Una appointed pyramid priest and then judge by Pepy I. He assists at
trials in the royal harîm. ]
[I was] chief of the debat [? ] city
under the maj-
esty of Pepy: his Majesty put me into the position of royal
friend and superintendent of the priests of his pyramid city. ”
i The first words are lost. The girdle was probably assumed at about
the age of twelve.
? As a rule, each king seems to have built his pyramid in the desert behind
his principal residence. The latter was often founded by the king, but might
serve for some of his successors, who would then build their pyramids near
his. The pyramid field of Memphis is very ancient, and many of the earlier
kings must have resided there; but curiously enough the name Mennefer,
Memphis, is taken from that of the pyramid of Pepy I. , here referred to.
## p. 5296 (#468) ###########################################
5296
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Behold I was
and his Majesty appointed me judge,
and his heart was satisfied with me more than with any of his
servants: I heard cases alone with the chief justice and vizier in
every secret proceeding [of the palace ? ]
in the name
of the King, of the royal harîm and of the six great houses,'
because the King's heart was satisfied with me more than with
any of his officers, of his nobles, or of his servants.
(Royal present of a sarcophagus, etc. , from the limestone quarries of Turra. }
[Command was given] by the Majesty of my lord to bring
for me a sarcophagus of white stone from Ra-au, and his Maj-
esty caused the divine treasurer to cross over [the river) with a
band (of soldiers and artificers] under him to bring for me this
sarcophagus from Ra-au. ? He returned with it in the great
transport ship of the Residence, together with its lid, and a false
door with the lintel, jambs, and foundation block: never was this
or the like done to any servant. But I was successful in the
heart of his Majesty, I was rooted in the heart of his Majesty;
and the heart of his Majesty was satisfied with me.
[Appointment as principal judge in the trial of the queen. )
Now when I was judge, his Majesty made me a sole friend
and superintendent of the garden of Pharaoh, and I instructed [? ]
four [? ] of the superintendents of Pharaoh's gardens who were
there. I acted according to his Majesty's desire in performing
the choosing of the guard [? ] and making the way of the king
and marshaling the nobles (at the court]; I acted altogether so
that his Majesty praised me for it more than anything.
When an accusation was brought in the royal harîm against
the chief royal wife Aamtesi as a a secret affair, his Majesty
caused me to enter to it and hear the case alone, without there
being any chief justice and vizier, or any officer there but me
only, on account of my success and rooting in the heart of his
Majesty and of his heart being satisfied with me.
[the report] in writing, alone with one judge. Behold, my office
I drew up
"Perhaps schools of law, etc.
? These quarries, at the modern Turra, have been the source of fine white
limestone down to the present day. They were exactly opposite Memphis in
the eastern hills.
3 Probably this means the arrangement of a body-guard or performance of
the ritual for the King's amuletic and religious protection.
## p. 5297 (#469) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5297
was that of superintendent of Pharaoh's garden: never before
did one of my grade hear a secret process of the royal harim;
but his Majesty caused me to hear it, because of my success in
the heart of his Majesty above any officer and any noble and any
servant of his.
[Una commander-in-chief of all the native and foreign forces in an expedition
against the Eastern Bedawîn. ]
When his Majesty chastised the Aamu-Herusha' and his Maj-
esty made an army of many tens of thousands out of the whole
of the Upper Country, from Abu? in the south to Aphroditopo-
lis [? ] in the north, and out of the Lower Country, from the
whole of the two sides,s out of Sezer and Khen-sezeru,“ negroes
from Arertet,» negroes from Meza, negroes from Aam, negroes
from Wawat, negroes from Kaau, and foreigners from the land
of Temehº; his Majesty sent me at the head of this host.
Behold, even the ha-princes, even the royal chancellors, even
the royal friends of the court, even the nomarchs and governors
of fortresses of the Upper Country and the Lower Country, the
royal friends superintending the frontier, the superintendents of
priests of the Upper and Lower Countries, and the superin-
tendents of domain lands, in command of the contingents from
the Upper and Lower Countries, and from the fortresses [? ] and
cities that they ruled, and of the negroes of these tribes — I it
was who planned their procedure, although my grade was that
of superintendent of the garden of Pharaoh, on account of the
preciseness of my disposition: in such a way that no one of them
encroached on any of his fellows, that no one of them took bread
or sandals from the wayfarer, that no one of them stole dough
from any village, and that no one of them took a goat from any
people. I directed them to the Island of the North, the Gate of
1 « The Asiatics who dwell upon the sand - i. e. , Bedawîn.
2 Elephantine.
3 The Eastern and Western borders of Lower Egypt.
* These names probably mean the halting-station for the night,” and “the
bedchamber of halting-station for the night »; evidently garrisoned posts on
the main desert routes.
• Arertet, Meza, Aam, Wawat, Kaau, were all in Nubia, and at no great dis-
tance from Egypt. The Meza were afterwards regularly drawn upon for
soldiers and police. The Kaau are more generally called Setu.
6 1. e. , the land of the Libyans.
IX-332
## p. 5298 (#470) ###########################################
5298
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
I-hetep, the Uart [? ] of Horus Lord' of Truth. And behold,
although I was of this grade
I reviewed the number of
these troops which had never been reviewed by any servant.
This host returned in peace: it had harried the land of the Her-
usha;
this host returned in peace: it had trampled on the land of the
Herusha;
this host returned in peace: it had overthrown its inclosures.
this host returned in peace: it had cut down its figs and vines.
this host returned in peace: it had set fire to all its (camps ? ];
this host returned in peace: it had slain the troops in it in many
tens of thousands;
this host returned in peace: it had (carried off people] from it,
very numerous, as prisoners alive:
and his Majesty praised me for it more than anything.
His Majesty sent me to direct [this] host five times, and to
smite the land of the Herusha at each of the revolts with these
troops, and I acted so that his Majesty praised me for it more
than anything. And when it was reported that there were war-
riors of this tribe in the Wild-Goat's Nose, I crossed over in
boats with these troops, and landed on the coast of Thest, on
the north of the land of the Herusha: and behold, when this
host had marched by land, I came and smote them all down,
and slew every warrior of them.
[Una made governor of the whole of Upper Egypt by the next king,
Merenra Mehti-em-saf. ]
I was carrier of the chair and sandals at the court, and the
king Merenra my lord, who lives (for ever], appointed me ha-
prince, governor of the Upper Country, from Abu in the south
to Aphroditopolis [? ] in the north, because of my success in the
heart of his Majesty, and my rooting in the heart of his
Majesty, and because the heart of his Majesty was satisfied (with
me]. And while I was carrier of the chair and sandals, his
Majesty praised me for my watchfulness and body-guardianship
which I displayed in ushering in nobles [? ], which exceeded that
of any officer, noble, or servant of his. Never before was this
function discharged by any servant.
1 «Horus Lord of Truth ) was the Ka name of King Sneferu (the first king
of the IVth Dynasty, not much less than 4000 B. C. ]. Probably this expedition
went toward the Sinaitic peninsula.
2 Sea-coast, perhaps of the Red Sea.
## p. 5299 (#471) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5299
I performed for him the office of governor of the Upper
Country to satisfaction, so that no one there encroached upon
his fellow for any work: I paid [? ] everything that is paid to the
Residence from this Upper Country twice over, and every hour's
service that is given to the palace in this Upper Country twice
over; and discharged my office in such a way that it established
a standard of duty' in this Upper Country. Never was the like
done in this Upper Country before. I acted altogether so that
his Majesty praised me for it.
(Una commissioned to obtain monuments for Merenra's pyramid from
Abhat, and granite from the region of Elephantine. )
His Majesty sent me to Abhat to bring the sarcophagus
called “Box of the Living Ones,” with its cover, and an obelisk,
and the costly furniture for my mistress? [? ] the pyramid Kha-
nefer of Merenra. His Majesty sent me to Abu' to bring the
granite stela and its base, and the granite doors and jambs, and
the granite doors and bases of the over-ground temple of my
mistress [? ] the pyramid Kha-nefer of Merenra. I came down
the river with them to the pyramid Kha-nefer of Merenra with
six broad boats, three transports, three eight-oars, in one expedi-
tion: never was this done, Abhat and Abu [done] in one expedi-
tion, in the time of any of the kings. Everything that his
Majesty had commanded me came verily to pass just as his
Majesty ordered me.
(An altar from the alabaster quarry of Het-nub. ]
His Majesty sent me to Het-nub to bring a great table of
offerings of the alabaster of Het-nub. I brought him down this
table of offerings in seventeen days, quarrying it in Het-nub,
and causing it to float down in this broad boat. For I had cut
for it a broad boat of acacia-wood, sixty cubits long, thirty cubits
broad, and built it all this [? ] in seventeen days, in the third
month of harv t,' when behold there was no water on the junc-
tions [? ] of the channel," and I moored at the pyramid Kha-nefer
1 Lit. «made the officership making the standard. "
? Or «for the mistress of the pyramid ”; i. e. , for the queen buried in her
husband's pyramid.
3 Elephantine.
4 The month Epiphi.
5 The Nile being low.
## p. 5300 (#472) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5300
of Merenra in peace.
All things had come to pass according to
the command which the Majesty of my lord had given me.
1
[A commission to ease the navigation in the region of the cataract, and
increase the facilities for procuring granite. ]
His Majesty sent me to cut five channels in the South, and
make three broad boats and four transports of the acacia of
Wawat. Behold, the rulers of Arertet, Wawat, Aam, and Meza
were bringing wood for it. All were made in one year, floated,
and laden with very great blocks of granite for the pyramid
Kha-nefer of Merenra; moreover, I myself gave service to the
palace in the whole work of these five channels,' on account of
my abundance and my wealth (? ), and of the loftiness of the
mighty spirit of King Merenra, living for ever, beyond that of
any god, and because all things came to pass according to the
command which his Ka ordained.
Translation of F. Li. Griffith.
SONGS OF LABORERS
He reapers, represented cutting corn in the tomb of Paheri (XVIIIth
T**Dynasty, are supposed to be chanting a little song, the words of
which are engraved above their figures. Such songs are very
common among the fellâhîn of the present day, who thus mark time
for their work in the fields or on the river. This song is introduced
by a phrase which seems to speak of it as being “in answering
chant”; and this perhaps gives us the technical Egyptian term for
antiphonal singing.
In answering chant they say :-
This is a good day! to the land come out | The north wind is out.
The sky works according to our heart | Let us work, binding firm our
heart.
The following transcription of the original Egyptian may give
some idea of the assonances of words and ordered repetitions which
marked the poetical style; the main repetitions are here italicized.
Khen en usheb, zet-sen :-
Hru pen nefer, per em ta | Ta mehyt perta.
Ta pet her art en àb-en | Bek-en mert àb-en.
1 Apparently the passage of the Nile was blocked for boats at five differ-
ent places about the first cataract, and Una had cleared the channel at his
own expense as a free service to the King.
## p. 5301 (#473) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5301
In the same tomb there is another song, already well known but
less noticeable in form than the above. It is sung to the oxen on
the threshing-floor.
Thresh for yourselves. Thresh for yourselves.
Thresh for yourselves. Thresh for yourselves.
Straw to eat; corn for your masters;
Let not your hearts be weary, your lord is pleased.
Translation of F. LI. Griffith.
LOVE SONGS
Sot
OME of the prettiest Egyptian poetry is contained in a papyrus of
the XVIIIth Dynasty at the British Museum. The verses are
written in hieratic, and are extremely difficult to translate, but
their beauty is apparent to the translator even when he cannot fix
the sense. A new edition of these and other poems of a kindred
nature is being prepared by Professor W. Max Müller of Philadelphia,
who kindly permits us to make some extracts from the advance
sheets of his publication.
The songs are collected in small groups, generally entitled (Songs
of Entertainment. ” The lover and his mistress call each other
“brother” and “sister. » In one song the girl addresses her lover in
successive stanzas under the names of different plants in a garden,
and plays on these names. Others are as follows:-
LOVE-SICKNESS
I will lie down within,
Behold, I am sick with wrongs.
Then my neighbors come in
To visit me.
This sister of mine cometh with them;
She will make a laughing-stock of the physicians;
She knoweth mine illness.
THE LUCKY DOORKEEPER
The villa of my sister
Hath its gates in the midst of the estate;
(So often as] its doors are opened,
[So often as] the bolt is withdrawn,
My beloved is angry.
## p. 5302 (#474) ###########################################
5302
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
If I were set as the gatekeeper,
I should cause her to chide me;
Then should I hear her voice [when she is] angry:
A child before her!
Love's DOUBTS
[MY BROTHER] hath come forth [from mine house];
[He careth not for] my love;
My heart standeth still within me.
Behold, honeyed cakes in my mouth,
They are turned into salt;
Even must, that sweet thing,
In my mouth is as the gall of a bird !
The breath of thy nostrils alone
Is that which maketh my heart live.
I found thee! Amen grant thee unto me,
Eternally and for ever!
THE UNSUCCESSFUL BIRD-CATCHER
The voice of the wild goose crieth,
For she hath taken her bait;
[But] thy love restraineth me,
I cannot loose it. '
So I must gather my net together.
What then shall I say to my mother,
To whom I come daily
Laden with wild-fowl ?
I have not laid my net to-day,
For thy love hath seized me.
1 « Loose,” i. e. , take the bird out of the snare to carry home to her mother.
Translation of W. Max Müller.
## p. 5303 (#475) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5303
us.
HYMN TO USERPESEN III.
[This hymn is the most remarkable example of Egyptian poetry known to
It was found by Mr. Petrie near the pyramid and temple of Usertesen II. ,
in the town which was founded there for the accommodation of the workmen
employed upon these buildings, and for the priestly staff who performed the
services for the dead Pharaoh in his chapel. The hymn is addressed to the
son and successor of that king,– to Usertesen III. ,— an active and warlike
prince, who, as the poet also testifies, used his power for the benefit of his
country and the pious support of its institutions. It is a marvel that the
delicate papyrus on which the hymn is written should have been preserved for
nearly 5,000 years. It has not, however, resisted the attacks of time without
suffering injury; and the lacunæ, together with the peculiar language em-
ployed by the scribe, are baffling to the decipherer. Four stanzas only can be
read with comparative completeness and certainty.
The parallelism of the sentences, the rhythm, the balancing of the lines of
verse, and the pause in each, recall the style of the Hebrew Psalms. The
choice of metaphors, too, is in a similar direction. Unfortunately our limited
knowledge of the ancient language does not permit us to analyze closely the
structure of the verses, nor to attempt any scansion of them. The radicals
only of Egyptian words are known to us; of the pronunciation of the lan-
guage at the time of the XIIth Dynasty we are entirely ignorant. ]
I
OMAGE to thee, Kha-kau-ra: our “Horus Divine of Beings. ” I
Hº Safeguarding the Band and widening his boundariese restrain-
arrow
ing the foreign nations by his kingly crown.
Inclosing the two lands? within the compass of his arms: seizing the
nations in his grip.
Slaying the Pedti without stroke of the club: shooting an
without drawing the bowstring.
Dread of him hath smitten the Anu in their plain: his terror hath
slain the Nine Races of Men. %
His warrant hath caused the death of thousands of the Pedti who had
reached his frontier: shooting the arrow as doth Sekhemt," he
overthroweth thousands of those who knew not his mighty spirit.
* Kha-kau-ra, «Glory of the Kas of the Sun,” was the principal name that
Usertesen III. , following the custom of the Pharaohs, adopted on his accession
to the throne. «Horus, Divine of Beings,) was the separate name for his royal
Ka assumed at the same time. The ka of a person was his ghostly Double,
before and after death, and to the Egyptian this shadowy constituent of the
whole being had a very distinct existence.
? 1. e. , Upper and Lower Egypt.
3 To the Egyptian the world was inhabited by nine races of men.
* Sekhemt, a goddess represented with the head of a lioness, the embodiment
of the devastating power of the Sun and of the wrath of Ra. See p. 5240.
## p. 5304 (#476) ###########################################
5304
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
The tongue of his Majesty bindeth Nubia in fetters: his utterances
put to flight the Setiu.
Sole One of youthful vigor, guarding his frontier: suffering not his
subjects to faint, but causing the Pat? to repose unto full daylight.
As to his timid youth in their slumbers: his heart? is their protec-
tion.
His decrees have formed his boundaries: his word hath armored the
two regions.
II
Twice jubilant are the gods: thou hast established their offerings,
Twice jubilant are thy children: thou hast made their boundaries.
Twice jubilant are thy forefathers: thou hast increased their por-
tions. 3
Twice jubilant is Egypt in thy strong arm: thou hast guarded the
ancient order.
Twice jubilant are the Pat in thine administration: thy mighty spirit
hath taken upon itself their provisionment.
Twice jubilant are the two regions in thy valor: thou hast widened
their possessions.
Twice jubilant are thy paid young troops: thou hast made them to
prosper.
Twice jubilant are thy veterans: thou hast made them to renew their
youth.
Twice jubilant are the two lands in thy might: thou hast guarded
their walls.
Twice jubilant be thou, O Horus, who hast widened his boundary:
thou art from everlasting to everlasting.
III
Twice great is the lord of his city, above a million arms: as for other
rulers of men, they are but common folk.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a dyke, damming
the stream in its water flood.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a cool lodge,
letting every man repose unto full daylight.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a bulwark, with
walls built of the sharp stones of Kesem.
1 « Pat» seems to be a name for mankind, or perhaps for the inhabitants
of Egypt.
? We speak of the head » as the seat of the intellect; to the Egyptians
it was the “heart. »
3 Ancestor worship being universal in Egypt, the endowments for funerary
services and offerings for the deceased kings must have been very large.
## p. 5305 (#477) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5305
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a place of refuge,
excluding the marauder.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were an asylum, shield-
ing the terrified from his foe.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a shade, the cool
vegetation of the food-time in the season of harvest.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a corner warm
and dry in time of winter.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a rock barring
the blast in time of tempest.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were Sekhemt to foes
who tread upon his boundary.
IV
He hath come to us, that he may take the land of the South Coun-
try: the Double Crown hath been placed upon his head.
He hath come, he hath united the two lands: he hath joined the
Reed to the Hornet. ?
He hath come, he hath ruled the people of the Black Land: he hath
placed the Red Land in his power. :
He hath come, he hath protected the two lands: he hath tranquillized
the two regions.
He hath come, he hath made the people of Egypt to live: he hath
destroyed its afflictions.
He hath come, he hath made the Pat to live: he hath opened the
throat of the Rekhyt. *
He hath come, he hath trampled on the nations: he hath smitten the
Anu who knew not his terror.
He hath come, he hath secured his frontier: he hath delivered him
who was stolen away.
He hath come:
he granteth reward-in-old-age by what his
mighty arm bringeth to us.
He hath come, we nurture our children: we bury our aged ones: by
his good favor.
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
slation . .
(Translat
.
1 The «Double Crown) was that of Upper and Lower Egypt.
2 The Reed and the Hornet were the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt
respectively.
3 The Black Land” is the alluvial of Egypt, the “Red Land” is its sandy
border.
4 «Rekhyt,” like “Pat," seems to be a designation of the Egyptians. Το
open the throat) of a man is to give him life by enabling him to breathe.
5 A "good burial» after a «long old age › was a characteristic wish of the
Egyptians.
## p. 5306 (#478) ###########################################
5306
1
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
HYMN TO THE ATENI
THE
1
1
He following hymn addressed by King Akhenaten (B. C. 1450) to
his one god, the visible Sun itself, was perhaps originally writ-
ten in ten-line stanzas like the (Hymn to Usertesen III. ,' but
the known texts of it are all too mutilated and uncertain for us to
attempt any thorough restoration of the composition at present. A
good edition of the hymn has been published by Professor Breasted
of Chicago, and his text is here followed.
King Akhenaten was one of the most original minds known to us
in Egyptian history. His bringing up was probably far more favor-
able to awakening powers of thought than was usually the case with
the Pharaohs. Through his mother, Queen Tiy, he had been in
close contact with the religions of Mesopotamia, perhaps even with
Israelite monotheism; suddenly he cast off the traditions of his own
country and all its multitudinous deities of heaven, earth, and the
underworld, and devoted himself to the worship of one god, visible
and exalted, before whom all else seemed either petty, gross, or
unreal. His inotto, as Professor Petrie has remarked, was living in
truth”; and according to his lights he lived up to it. Fervently he
adored his god; and we may well believe that the words of this
hymn are those which flowed from his own heart as he contemplated
the mighty and beneficent power of the Sun.
This heretical doctrine roused the passions of the orthodox, who,
triumphing over Akhenaten's reform, condemned his monuments to
systematic destruction.
Beautiful is thy resplendent appearing on the horizon of
heaven,
O living Aten, thou who art the beginning of life.
When thou ascendest in the eastern horizon thou fillest every
land with thy beauties;
Thou art fair and great, radiant, high above the earth;
Thy beams encompass the lands to the sum of all that thou
hast created.
Thou art the Sun; thou catchest them according to their sum;
Thou subduest them with thy love.
Though thou art afar, thy beams are on the earth;
Thou art in the sky, and day followeth thy steps.
i The Aten is the name of the visible sun rather than of an abstract Sun
god. It is pictured as a radiant disk, the rays terminating in human bands,
often resting beneficently on the figure of the worshiper, bestowing upon
him symbols of life, or graciously accepting his offerings.
## p. 5307 (#479) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5307
When thou settest on the western horizon of heaven,
The land is in darkness like unto death;
They sleep in their chambers;
Their heads are covered, their nostrils are closed, the eye seeth
not his fellow;
All their goods are stolen from under their heads, and they
know it not.
Every lion cometh forth out of its cave,
All creeping things bite.
The earth is silent, and he that made them resteth on his
horizon.
At dawn of day thou risest on the horizon and shinest as Aten
by day.
Darkness flees, thou givest forth thy rays, the two lands are in
festival day by day:
They wake and stand upon their feet, for thou hast raised
them up;
Their limbs are purified, they clothe themselves with their
garments;
Their hands are uplifted in adoration at thy rising.
The whole land goeth about its several labors.
Flocks rest in their pastures;
Trees and plants grow green;
Birds fly forth from their nests, –
Their wings are adoring thy Ka. '
All flocks leap upon their feet;
All flying things and all hovering things, they live when thou
risest upon them.
Ships pass down-stream, and pass up-stream likewise,
Every way is open at thy rising.
The fishes on the river leap up before thee;
Thy rays are within the great waters.
It is thou who causest women to be fruitful, men to beget.
Thou quickenest the child in its mother's womb;
Thou soothest it that it cry not;
Thou dost nurture it within its mother's womb,
Thou givest breath to give life to all its functions.
It cometh forth from the womb upon the day of its birth.
Thou openest its mouth, that it may speak;
Thou providest for its wants.
* See note, p. 5303. The word occurs in these translations often, but not
with any very definite meaning.
## p. 5308 (#480) ###########################################
5303
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
When there is a chick within an egg, cheeping as it were
within a stone,
Thou givest it breath therein to cause thy handiwork to live;
It is full-formed when it breaketh through the shell.
It cometh out of the egg when it cheepeth and is full-formed;
It runneth on its feet when it cometh out thence.
How manifold are thy works,
O one god who hast no fellow!
Thou createdst the earth according to thy will, when thou
wast alone,--
(Its) people, its herds, and all flocks;
All that is upon earth going upon feet,
All that is on high and flieth with wings,
The countries of Syria, of Ethiopia, of Egypt.
Thou settest each person in his place,
Thou providest for their wants,
Each one his circumstances and the duration of his life,
Tongues distinct in their speech,
Their kinds according to their complexions -
O distinguisher who distinguishest the races of mankind.
Thou makest the Nile in the deep,
Thou bringest it at thy pleasure,
[for thyself -
That it may give life to men, even as thou hast made them
O Lord of them all who art outwearied for them!
O Lord of earth who risest for them!
O Aten of day that awest all distant countries!
Thou makest their life;
Thou placest the Nile in heaven, that it may descend to them,
That it may rise in waves upon the rocks like the sea,
Watering their fields in their villages.
How excellent are thy ways, O Lord of Eternity!
A Nile in heaven poureth down for nations,
For all manner of animals that walk upon feet.
[But] the Nile cometh from the deep to the land of Egypt.
Thy rays nourish every field;
Thou risest and they live for thee. ?
Thou makest the seasons to bring into existence all that thou
hast made:
The winter season to refresh them, the heat [to warm them).
The Nile here stands for the main sources of water: that in heaven give
ing rain on the mountains and fields, that in the deep” or “underworld »
giving rise to springs, wells, and rivers.
## p. 5309 (#481) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5309
Thou madest the heaven afar off, that thou mightest rise
therein,
That thou mightest see all thou didst make when thou wast
alone,
When thou risest in thy form as the living Aten,
Splendid, radiant, afar, beauteous-
(Thou createdst all things by thyself ]
Cities, villages, camps, by whatsoever river they be watered.
Every eye beholdeth thee before it;
Thou art the Aten of day above the earth.
amulets for every limb, chaplets for the head, rings for the ears,
all the apparel of a king, every vessel of royal purification in
gold, and every sort of mineral; all these things I have offered
1 The land was divided among kings, nomarchs, and, apparently, Libyan
chiefs entitled to wear a feather. The kings had their viziers; the nom-
archs and chiefs bad their subordinate chiefs, etc. “Royal acquaintances »
were persons related to the royal families.
? 1. e. , the linen was of various degrees of fineness, or as we also say
technically, of various counts »; meaning that there are so many threads
more or less in any given square of stuff.
3 An oath.
## p. 5292 (#464) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5292
So.
1
1
before the king, stuffs and clothes in thousands of all the best of
my looms. I know by what thou wilt be appeased. Go to the
stable, choose thou what thou wilt of all the horses that thou
desirest. ” Then his Majesty did so.
[The princes of Lower Egypt return to their cities to fetch further tribute.
A revolt at Mesed is promptly suppressed and the city given as a re-
ward to Pediast. )
Said these kings and nomarchs before his Majesty, “Let us
go to our cities, let us open our treasuries, let us select accord-
ing to the desire of thy heart, let us bring to thee the best of
our stables, the chief of our horses. ” Then his Majesty did even
List of their names :
The King Usorkon in Per Bast and the territory of Ranefer;
The King Auapeth in Tentremu and Taanta [? ];
The nomarch Zedamenafankh in Mendes and the Granary
of Ra;
His son and heir, the captain of the host in Hermopolis
Parva, Ankhhor;
The nomarch Akanesh in Thebneter, in Perhebyt, and in
Smabehed;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Pathenf in Per-Sepd and
in the Granary of Anbuhez;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Pamai in Busiris;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Nesnakedy in Heseb-ka;
The nomarch and chief of the Me, Nekhthornashenut in Per-
gerer;1
The chief of the Me, Pentuart;
The chief of the Me, Pentabekhent;
The priest of Horus, lord of Letopolis, Pedihorsmataui;
The nomarch Hurobasa in the house of Sekhemt mistress of
Sa, and the house of Sekhemt mistress of Rohesaut;
The nomarch Zedkhiau in Khentnefer;
The nomarch Pabas in Kheraha and the house of Hapi.
With all their good tribute [consisting of] gold, silver, [lapis
lazuli], maſlachite), [couches] covered with fine linen, frankin-
cense in jars, [and all things that pertain to a man great] in
wealth, rich in horses.
1 First we have two kings, six nomarchs and high Libyan chiefs; after
these, two under-chiefs are mentioned, and then four nomarchs in the first
and second nomes of Lower Egypt, which are separated as having belonged
to Tafnekht's kingdom.
## p. 5293 (#465) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5293
one
.
[After] these things came to say to his Majesty:
[“Whereas the nomarch and captain of the] host [
hath
thrown down] the wall (of
and] set fire to his treasury,
[and Aed away] upon the river, he hath fortified Mesed' with
soldiers, and hath
Then his Majesty caused his warriors to go to see what took
place therein, as an ally of the erpa Pediast. One came to report
to his Majesty saying, “We have slain all the people that we found
there. ” His Majesty gave it as a present to the erpa Pediast.
[Lastly, Tafnekht begs for mercy: ambassadors receive his presents and sub-
mission to the King, and he is pardoned. ]
Then the chief of the Me, Tafnekht, heard it;? he caused a
messenger to go to the place where his Majesty was, begging his
mercy, saying:—“Be gracious! I have not seen thy face in the
days of shåme; I cannot stand before thy flame; I am terrified
at thy awe. Behold, thou art Nubti in the Land of the South,
Mentu, the mighty bull. In all these matters to which thou hast
given thy attention thou hast not found thy humble servant
until I reached the island of the sea. I am afraid of thy mighty
spirit according to that saying, “The flame is my enemy. Doth
not the heart of thy Majesty cool with these things that thou
hast done unto me? Verily I am in misery. I am not smitten
according to the account of the wickedness. Having weighed
with the balance, having reckoned by the ounce, thou multipliest
it unto me thrice; having carried away the seed, thou sweepest up
[the remnant) at the same time. Do not cut down the grove
to its root. As thy Ka endureth, thy terror is in my body, thy
fear in my bones; I have not sat in the room of carousal,” the
harp hath not been brought to me. Behold, I eat the bread of
hunger, I drink water in thirst, since the day that thou learnedst
my name. Pain is in my bones, my head is unshaven, my
clothes in rags, in order that Neith may be made gracious unto
me. Long is the course that thou hast brought to me; turn thy
1 Site unknown.
2 Tafnekht was on an island in the Mediterranean, and therefore heard
the news of the surrender of the Northern princes only after some time bad
elapsed.
3 Nubti=Set, the god of valor. Mentu was the god of battle.
* « Kedt-weight,” really 140 grains.
5 Lit. , «beer-room. ”
## p. 5294 (#466) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5294
now.
face unto me A year hath cleansed my Ka and purified
thy servant from his wickedness. Let my goods be taken to the
Treasury, consisting of gold with every sort of mineral, and the
best of the horses accoutred with everything. Let a messenger
come to me in haste, that he may drive fear from my heart.
Let me go out to the temple in his sight, let me clear myself
with an oath by God. ”
His Majesty caused to go the Chief Lector Pediamennestaui,
and the captain of the host Puarma. He [Tafnekht] presented
him [Piankhy] with silver, gold, stuffs, every valuable mineral.
He went out to the temple, he praised God, he cleared him-
self with an oath by God, saying: "I will not transgress the
command of the King. I will not reject the words of his
Majesty; I will not sin against a nomarch without thy knowledge;
I will act according to the words of the King; I will not trans-
gress what he hath commanded. ” Then his Majesty was satisfied
therewith.
[Crocodilopolis and Aphroditopolis having submitted, the whole country is at
the feet of the conqueror, who loads his ships with the tribute and de-
parts homeward. ]
One came to say to his Majesty: "The temple of Sebek, they
have opened its fort, Metnu hath cast itself upon its belly, there
is not a nome that is shut against his Majesty in the nomes
of the South, North, West, or East. The islands in the midst
are upon their bellies with fear of him, and are causing their
goods to be brought to the place where his Majesty is, like the
serfs of the palace. "
When the land lightened, very early? came these two rulers
of the South and two rulers of the North, wearing uræi, to
smell the ground to the mighty spirit of his Majesty. Behold,
moreover, these kings and nomarchs of the North land came to
see the beauties of his Majesty; their feet were as the feet of
women, they entered not to the King's house, for that they were
impure and eaters of fishes, which is an abomination to the
King's house. Behold, the King Nemart, he entered to the King's
palace, for that he was pure, he ate not fishes. They stood upon
their feet, but the one of them entered the palace.
1 Or on the second day. ”
2 As symbols of regal power.
Perhaps this means ceremonially unclean.
3
## p. 5295 (#467) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5295
Then the ships were loaded with silver, gold, bronze, stuffs,
all things of the North land, all products of Kharu, all woods of
the Divine Land.
His Majesty went up-stream, his heart enlarged, all about him
were rejoicing; West and East, they rose high, rejoicing around
his Majesty, singing and rejoicing; they said:-“O mighty King!
O mighty King! Piankhy!
Piankhy! O mighty King!
O mighty King! Thou hast come,
thou hast ruled the North land. Thou makest bulls into women.
Happy is the heart of the mother that bore a male child, that
was impregnated with thee amongst the mountains. Praises be
given unto her! the cow that hath borne a bull! Thou shalt be
to eternity, thy victory remaineth, O Ruler, loving Thebes. "
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
INSCRIPTION OF UNA
[It is interesting to compare the inscription of Piankhy with an example
of the historical texts of the Old Kingdom. Only two are known of any con-
siderable length, and the following is one of them. The biographical inscrip-
tion of Una, administrator of Upper Egypt, takes one back to 3000 B. C. ,
when almost the only great monuments in Egypt were the pyramids, to the
number of which each successive king added.
The inscription was found on a slab in the great cemetery of Abydos, and
is now in the Gizeh Museum. The style is somewhat arid, but attracts by its
primitive and simple character. ]
[Una's youth under King Teta, founder of the Vith Dynasty. ]
[Una saith] I was tying the girdle,' under the majesty of
Teta. My grade was that of superintendent of stores, and I
acted as overseer of the garden of Pharaoh.
[Una appointed pyramid priest and then judge by Pepy I. He assists at
trials in the royal harîm. ]
[I was] chief of the debat [? ] city
under the maj-
esty of Pepy: his Majesty put me into the position of royal
friend and superintendent of the priests of his pyramid city. ”
i The first words are lost. The girdle was probably assumed at about
the age of twelve.
? As a rule, each king seems to have built his pyramid in the desert behind
his principal residence. The latter was often founded by the king, but might
serve for some of his successors, who would then build their pyramids near
his. The pyramid field of Memphis is very ancient, and many of the earlier
kings must have resided there; but curiously enough the name Mennefer,
Memphis, is taken from that of the pyramid of Pepy I. , here referred to.
## p. 5296 (#468) ###########################################
5296
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Behold I was
and his Majesty appointed me judge,
and his heart was satisfied with me more than with any of his
servants: I heard cases alone with the chief justice and vizier in
every secret proceeding [of the palace ? ]
in the name
of the King, of the royal harîm and of the six great houses,'
because the King's heart was satisfied with me more than with
any of his officers, of his nobles, or of his servants.
(Royal present of a sarcophagus, etc. , from the limestone quarries of Turra. }
[Command was given] by the Majesty of my lord to bring
for me a sarcophagus of white stone from Ra-au, and his Maj-
esty caused the divine treasurer to cross over [the river) with a
band (of soldiers and artificers] under him to bring for me this
sarcophagus from Ra-au. ? He returned with it in the great
transport ship of the Residence, together with its lid, and a false
door with the lintel, jambs, and foundation block: never was this
or the like done to any servant. But I was successful in the
heart of his Majesty, I was rooted in the heart of his Majesty;
and the heart of his Majesty was satisfied with me.
[Appointment as principal judge in the trial of the queen. )
Now when I was judge, his Majesty made me a sole friend
and superintendent of the garden of Pharaoh, and I instructed [? ]
four [? ] of the superintendents of Pharaoh's gardens who were
there. I acted according to his Majesty's desire in performing
the choosing of the guard [? ] and making the way of the king
and marshaling the nobles (at the court]; I acted altogether so
that his Majesty praised me for it more than anything.
When an accusation was brought in the royal harîm against
the chief royal wife Aamtesi as a a secret affair, his Majesty
caused me to enter to it and hear the case alone, without there
being any chief justice and vizier, or any officer there but me
only, on account of my success and rooting in the heart of his
Majesty and of his heart being satisfied with me.
[the report] in writing, alone with one judge. Behold, my office
I drew up
"Perhaps schools of law, etc.
? These quarries, at the modern Turra, have been the source of fine white
limestone down to the present day. They were exactly opposite Memphis in
the eastern hills.
3 Probably this means the arrangement of a body-guard or performance of
the ritual for the King's amuletic and religious protection.
## p. 5297 (#469) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5297
was that of superintendent of Pharaoh's garden: never before
did one of my grade hear a secret process of the royal harim;
but his Majesty caused me to hear it, because of my success in
the heart of his Majesty above any officer and any noble and any
servant of his.
[Una commander-in-chief of all the native and foreign forces in an expedition
against the Eastern Bedawîn. ]
When his Majesty chastised the Aamu-Herusha' and his Maj-
esty made an army of many tens of thousands out of the whole
of the Upper Country, from Abu? in the south to Aphroditopo-
lis [? ] in the north, and out of the Lower Country, from the
whole of the two sides,s out of Sezer and Khen-sezeru,“ negroes
from Arertet,» negroes from Meza, negroes from Aam, negroes
from Wawat, negroes from Kaau, and foreigners from the land
of Temehº; his Majesty sent me at the head of this host.
Behold, even the ha-princes, even the royal chancellors, even
the royal friends of the court, even the nomarchs and governors
of fortresses of the Upper Country and the Lower Country, the
royal friends superintending the frontier, the superintendents of
priests of the Upper and Lower Countries, and the superin-
tendents of domain lands, in command of the contingents from
the Upper and Lower Countries, and from the fortresses [? ] and
cities that they ruled, and of the negroes of these tribes — I it
was who planned their procedure, although my grade was that
of superintendent of the garden of Pharaoh, on account of the
preciseness of my disposition: in such a way that no one of them
encroached on any of his fellows, that no one of them took bread
or sandals from the wayfarer, that no one of them stole dough
from any village, and that no one of them took a goat from any
people. I directed them to the Island of the North, the Gate of
1 « The Asiatics who dwell upon the sand - i. e. , Bedawîn.
2 Elephantine.
3 The Eastern and Western borders of Lower Egypt.
* These names probably mean the halting-station for the night,” and “the
bedchamber of halting-station for the night »; evidently garrisoned posts on
the main desert routes.
• Arertet, Meza, Aam, Wawat, Kaau, were all in Nubia, and at no great dis-
tance from Egypt. The Meza were afterwards regularly drawn upon for
soldiers and police. The Kaau are more generally called Setu.
6 1. e. , the land of the Libyans.
IX-332
## p. 5298 (#470) ###########################################
5298
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
I-hetep, the Uart [? ] of Horus Lord' of Truth. And behold,
although I was of this grade
I reviewed the number of
these troops which had never been reviewed by any servant.
This host returned in peace: it had harried the land of the Her-
usha;
this host returned in peace: it had trampled on the land of the
Herusha;
this host returned in peace: it had overthrown its inclosures.
this host returned in peace: it had cut down its figs and vines.
this host returned in peace: it had set fire to all its (camps ? ];
this host returned in peace: it had slain the troops in it in many
tens of thousands;
this host returned in peace: it had (carried off people] from it,
very numerous, as prisoners alive:
and his Majesty praised me for it more than anything.
His Majesty sent me to direct [this] host five times, and to
smite the land of the Herusha at each of the revolts with these
troops, and I acted so that his Majesty praised me for it more
than anything. And when it was reported that there were war-
riors of this tribe in the Wild-Goat's Nose, I crossed over in
boats with these troops, and landed on the coast of Thest, on
the north of the land of the Herusha: and behold, when this
host had marched by land, I came and smote them all down,
and slew every warrior of them.
[Una made governor of the whole of Upper Egypt by the next king,
Merenra Mehti-em-saf. ]
I was carrier of the chair and sandals at the court, and the
king Merenra my lord, who lives (for ever], appointed me ha-
prince, governor of the Upper Country, from Abu in the south
to Aphroditopolis [? ] in the north, because of my success in the
heart of his Majesty, and my rooting in the heart of his
Majesty, and because the heart of his Majesty was satisfied (with
me]. And while I was carrier of the chair and sandals, his
Majesty praised me for my watchfulness and body-guardianship
which I displayed in ushering in nobles [? ], which exceeded that
of any officer, noble, or servant of his. Never before was this
function discharged by any servant.
1 «Horus Lord of Truth ) was the Ka name of King Sneferu (the first king
of the IVth Dynasty, not much less than 4000 B. C. ]. Probably this expedition
went toward the Sinaitic peninsula.
2 Sea-coast, perhaps of the Red Sea.
## p. 5299 (#471) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5299
I performed for him the office of governor of the Upper
Country to satisfaction, so that no one there encroached upon
his fellow for any work: I paid [? ] everything that is paid to the
Residence from this Upper Country twice over, and every hour's
service that is given to the palace in this Upper Country twice
over; and discharged my office in such a way that it established
a standard of duty' in this Upper Country. Never was the like
done in this Upper Country before. I acted altogether so that
his Majesty praised me for it.
(Una commissioned to obtain monuments for Merenra's pyramid from
Abhat, and granite from the region of Elephantine. )
His Majesty sent me to Abhat to bring the sarcophagus
called “Box of the Living Ones,” with its cover, and an obelisk,
and the costly furniture for my mistress? [? ] the pyramid Kha-
nefer of Merenra. His Majesty sent me to Abu' to bring the
granite stela and its base, and the granite doors and jambs, and
the granite doors and bases of the over-ground temple of my
mistress [? ] the pyramid Kha-nefer of Merenra. I came down
the river with them to the pyramid Kha-nefer of Merenra with
six broad boats, three transports, three eight-oars, in one expedi-
tion: never was this done, Abhat and Abu [done] in one expedi-
tion, in the time of any of the kings. Everything that his
Majesty had commanded me came verily to pass just as his
Majesty ordered me.
(An altar from the alabaster quarry of Het-nub. ]
His Majesty sent me to Het-nub to bring a great table of
offerings of the alabaster of Het-nub. I brought him down this
table of offerings in seventeen days, quarrying it in Het-nub,
and causing it to float down in this broad boat. For I had cut
for it a broad boat of acacia-wood, sixty cubits long, thirty cubits
broad, and built it all this [? ] in seventeen days, in the third
month of harv t,' when behold there was no water on the junc-
tions [? ] of the channel," and I moored at the pyramid Kha-nefer
1 Lit. «made the officership making the standard. "
? Or «for the mistress of the pyramid ”; i. e. , for the queen buried in her
husband's pyramid.
3 Elephantine.
4 The month Epiphi.
5 The Nile being low.
## p. 5300 (#472) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5300
of Merenra in peace.
All things had come to pass according to
the command which the Majesty of my lord had given me.
1
[A commission to ease the navigation in the region of the cataract, and
increase the facilities for procuring granite. ]
His Majesty sent me to cut five channels in the South, and
make three broad boats and four transports of the acacia of
Wawat. Behold, the rulers of Arertet, Wawat, Aam, and Meza
were bringing wood for it. All were made in one year, floated,
and laden with very great blocks of granite for the pyramid
Kha-nefer of Merenra; moreover, I myself gave service to the
palace in the whole work of these five channels,' on account of
my abundance and my wealth (? ), and of the loftiness of the
mighty spirit of King Merenra, living for ever, beyond that of
any god, and because all things came to pass according to the
command which his Ka ordained.
Translation of F. Li. Griffith.
SONGS OF LABORERS
He reapers, represented cutting corn in the tomb of Paheri (XVIIIth
T**Dynasty, are supposed to be chanting a little song, the words of
which are engraved above their figures. Such songs are very
common among the fellâhîn of the present day, who thus mark time
for their work in the fields or on the river. This song is introduced
by a phrase which seems to speak of it as being “in answering
chant”; and this perhaps gives us the technical Egyptian term for
antiphonal singing.
In answering chant they say :-
This is a good day! to the land come out | The north wind is out.
The sky works according to our heart | Let us work, binding firm our
heart.
The following transcription of the original Egyptian may give
some idea of the assonances of words and ordered repetitions which
marked the poetical style; the main repetitions are here italicized.
Khen en usheb, zet-sen :-
Hru pen nefer, per em ta | Ta mehyt perta.
Ta pet her art en àb-en | Bek-en mert àb-en.
1 Apparently the passage of the Nile was blocked for boats at five differ-
ent places about the first cataract, and Una had cleared the channel at his
own expense as a free service to the King.
## p. 5301 (#473) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5301
In the same tomb there is another song, already well known but
less noticeable in form than the above. It is sung to the oxen on
the threshing-floor.
Thresh for yourselves. Thresh for yourselves.
Thresh for yourselves. Thresh for yourselves.
Straw to eat; corn for your masters;
Let not your hearts be weary, your lord is pleased.
Translation of F. LI. Griffith.
LOVE SONGS
Sot
OME of the prettiest Egyptian poetry is contained in a papyrus of
the XVIIIth Dynasty at the British Museum. The verses are
written in hieratic, and are extremely difficult to translate, but
their beauty is apparent to the translator even when he cannot fix
the sense. A new edition of these and other poems of a kindred
nature is being prepared by Professor W. Max Müller of Philadelphia,
who kindly permits us to make some extracts from the advance
sheets of his publication.
The songs are collected in small groups, generally entitled (Songs
of Entertainment. ” The lover and his mistress call each other
“brother” and “sister. » In one song the girl addresses her lover in
successive stanzas under the names of different plants in a garden,
and plays on these names. Others are as follows:-
LOVE-SICKNESS
I will lie down within,
Behold, I am sick with wrongs.
Then my neighbors come in
To visit me.
This sister of mine cometh with them;
She will make a laughing-stock of the physicians;
She knoweth mine illness.
THE LUCKY DOORKEEPER
The villa of my sister
Hath its gates in the midst of the estate;
(So often as] its doors are opened,
[So often as] the bolt is withdrawn,
My beloved is angry.
## p. 5302 (#474) ###########################################
5302
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
If I were set as the gatekeeper,
I should cause her to chide me;
Then should I hear her voice [when she is] angry:
A child before her!
Love's DOUBTS
[MY BROTHER] hath come forth [from mine house];
[He careth not for] my love;
My heart standeth still within me.
Behold, honeyed cakes in my mouth,
They are turned into salt;
Even must, that sweet thing,
In my mouth is as the gall of a bird !
The breath of thy nostrils alone
Is that which maketh my heart live.
I found thee! Amen grant thee unto me,
Eternally and for ever!
THE UNSUCCESSFUL BIRD-CATCHER
The voice of the wild goose crieth,
For she hath taken her bait;
[But] thy love restraineth me,
I cannot loose it. '
So I must gather my net together.
What then shall I say to my mother,
To whom I come daily
Laden with wild-fowl ?
I have not laid my net to-day,
For thy love hath seized me.
1 « Loose,” i. e. , take the bird out of the snare to carry home to her mother.
Translation of W. Max Müller.
## p. 5303 (#475) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5303
us.
HYMN TO USERPESEN III.
[This hymn is the most remarkable example of Egyptian poetry known to
It was found by Mr. Petrie near the pyramid and temple of Usertesen II. ,
in the town which was founded there for the accommodation of the workmen
employed upon these buildings, and for the priestly staff who performed the
services for the dead Pharaoh in his chapel. The hymn is addressed to the
son and successor of that king,– to Usertesen III. ,— an active and warlike
prince, who, as the poet also testifies, used his power for the benefit of his
country and the pious support of its institutions. It is a marvel that the
delicate papyrus on which the hymn is written should have been preserved for
nearly 5,000 years. It has not, however, resisted the attacks of time without
suffering injury; and the lacunæ, together with the peculiar language em-
ployed by the scribe, are baffling to the decipherer. Four stanzas only can be
read with comparative completeness and certainty.
The parallelism of the sentences, the rhythm, the balancing of the lines of
verse, and the pause in each, recall the style of the Hebrew Psalms. The
choice of metaphors, too, is in a similar direction. Unfortunately our limited
knowledge of the ancient language does not permit us to analyze closely the
structure of the verses, nor to attempt any scansion of them. The radicals
only of Egyptian words are known to us; of the pronunciation of the lan-
guage at the time of the XIIth Dynasty we are entirely ignorant. ]
I
OMAGE to thee, Kha-kau-ra: our “Horus Divine of Beings. ” I
Hº Safeguarding the Band and widening his boundariese restrain-
arrow
ing the foreign nations by his kingly crown.
Inclosing the two lands? within the compass of his arms: seizing the
nations in his grip.
Slaying the Pedti without stroke of the club: shooting an
without drawing the bowstring.
Dread of him hath smitten the Anu in their plain: his terror hath
slain the Nine Races of Men. %
His warrant hath caused the death of thousands of the Pedti who had
reached his frontier: shooting the arrow as doth Sekhemt," he
overthroweth thousands of those who knew not his mighty spirit.
* Kha-kau-ra, «Glory of the Kas of the Sun,” was the principal name that
Usertesen III. , following the custom of the Pharaohs, adopted on his accession
to the throne. «Horus, Divine of Beings,) was the separate name for his royal
Ka assumed at the same time. The ka of a person was his ghostly Double,
before and after death, and to the Egyptian this shadowy constituent of the
whole being had a very distinct existence.
? 1. e. , Upper and Lower Egypt.
3 To the Egyptian the world was inhabited by nine races of men.
* Sekhemt, a goddess represented with the head of a lioness, the embodiment
of the devastating power of the Sun and of the wrath of Ra. See p. 5240.
## p. 5304 (#476) ###########################################
5304
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
The tongue of his Majesty bindeth Nubia in fetters: his utterances
put to flight the Setiu.
Sole One of youthful vigor, guarding his frontier: suffering not his
subjects to faint, but causing the Pat? to repose unto full daylight.
As to his timid youth in their slumbers: his heart? is their protec-
tion.
His decrees have formed his boundaries: his word hath armored the
two regions.
II
Twice jubilant are the gods: thou hast established their offerings,
Twice jubilant are thy children: thou hast made their boundaries.
Twice jubilant are thy forefathers: thou hast increased their por-
tions. 3
Twice jubilant is Egypt in thy strong arm: thou hast guarded the
ancient order.
Twice jubilant are the Pat in thine administration: thy mighty spirit
hath taken upon itself their provisionment.
Twice jubilant are the two regions in thy valor: thou hast widened
their possessions.
Twice jubilant are thy paid young troops: thou hast made them to
prosper.
Twice jubilant are thy veterans: thou hast made them to renew their
youth.
Twice jubilant are the two lands in thy might: thou hast guarded
their walls.
Twice jubilant be thou, O Horus, who hast widened his boundary:
thou art from everlasting to everlasting.
III
Twice great is the lord of his city, above a million arms: as for other
rulers of men, they are but common folk.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a dyke, damming
the stream in its water flood.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a cool lodge,
letting every man repose unto full daylight.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a bulwark, with
walls built of the sharp stones of Kesem.
1 « Pat» seems to be a name for mankind, or perhaps for the inhabitants
of Egypt.
? We speak of the head » as the seat of the intellect; to the Egyptians
it was the “heart. »
3 Ancestor worship being universal in Egypt, the endowments for funerary
services and offerings for the deceased kings must have been very large.
## p. 5305 (#477) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5305
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a place of refuge,
excluding the marauder.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were an asylum, shield-
ing the terrified from his foe.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a shade, the cool
vegetation of the food-time in the season of harvest.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a corner warm
and dry in time of winter.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were a rock barring
the blast in time of tempest.
Twice great is the lord of his city: he is as it were Sekhemt to foes
who tread upon his boundary.
IV
He hath come to us, that he may take the land of the South Coun-
try: the Double Crown hath been placed upon his head.
He hath come, he hath united the two lands: he hath joined the
Reed to the Hornet. ?
He hath come, he hath ruled the people of the Black Land: he hath
placed the Red Land in his power. :
He hath come, he hath protected the two lands: he hath tranquillized
the two regions.
He hath come, he hath made the people of Egypt to live: he hath
destroyed its afflictions.
He hath come, he hath made the Pat to live: he hath opened the
throat of the Rekhyt. *
He hath come, he hath trampled on the nations: he hath smitten the
Anu who knew not his terror.
He hath come, he hath secured his frontier: he hath delivered him
who was stolen away.
He hath come:
he granteth reward-in-old-age by what his
mighty arm bringeth to us.
He hath come, we nurture our children: we bury our aged ones: by
his good favor.
Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.
slation . .
(Translat
.
1 The «Double Crown) was that of Upper and Lower Egypt.
2 The Reed and the Hornet were the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt
respectively.
3 The Black Land” is the alluvial of Egypt, the “Red Land” is its sandy
border.
4 «Rekhyt,” like “Pat," seems to be a designation of the Egyptians. Το
open the throat) of a man is to give him life by enabling him to breathe.
5 A "good burial» after a «long old age › was a characteristic wish of the
Egyptians.
## p. 5306 (#478) ###########################################
5306
1
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
HYMN TO THE ATENI
THE
1
1
He following hymn addressed by King Akhenaten (B. C. 1450) to
his one god, the visible Sun itself, was perhaps originally writ-
ten in ten-line stanzas like the (Hymn to Usertesen III. ,' but
the known texts of it are all too mutilated and uncertain for us to
attempt any thorough restoration of the composition at present. A
good edition of the hymn has been published by Professor Breasted
of Chicago, and his text is here followed.
King Akhenaten was one of the most original minds known to us
in Egyptian history. His bringing up was probably far more favor-
able to awakening powers of thought than was usually the case with
the Pharaohs. Through his mother, Queen Tiy, he had been in
close contact with the religions of Mesopotamia, perhaps even with
Israelite monotheism; suddenly he cast off the traditions of his own
country and all its multitudinous deities of heaven, earth, and the
underworld, and devoted himself to the worship of one god, visible
and exalted, before whom all else seemed either petty, gross, or
unreal. His inotto, as Professor Petrie has remarked, was living in
truth”; and according to his lights he lived up to it. Fervently he
adored his god; and we may well believe that the words of this
hymn are those which flowed from his own heart as he contemplated
the mighty and beneficent power of the Sun.
This heretical doctrine roused the passions of the orthodox, who,
triumphing over Akhenaten's reform, condemned his monuments to
systematic destruction.
Beautiful is thy resplendent appearing on the horizon of
heaven,
O living Aten, thou who art the beginning of life.
When thou ascendest in the eastern horizon thou fillest every
land with thy beauties;
Thou art fair and great, radiant, high above the earth;
Thy beams encompass the lands to the sum of all that thou
hast created.
Thou art the Sun; thou catchest them according to their sum;
Thou subduest them with thy love.
Though thou art afar, thy beams are on the earth;
Thou art in the sky, and day followeth thy steps.
i The Aten is the name of the visible sun rather than of an abstract Sun
god. It is pictured as a radiant disk, the rays terminating in human bands,
often resting beneficently on the figure of the worshiper, bestowing upon
him symbols of life, or graciously accepting his offerings.
## p. 5307 (#479) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5307
When thou settest on the western horizon of heaven,
The land is in darkness like unto death;
They sleep in their chambers;
Their heads are covered, their nostrils are closed, the eye seeth
not his fellow;
All their goods are stolen from under their heads, and they
know it not.
Every lion cometh forth out of its cave,
All creeping things bite.
The earth is silent, and he that made them resteth on his
horizon.
At dawn of day thou risest on the horizon and shinest as Aten
by day.
Darkness flees, thou givest forth thy rays, the two lands are in
festival day by day:
They wake and stand upon their feet, for thou hast raised
them up;
Their limbs are purified, they clothe themselves with their
garments;
Their hands are uplifted in adoration at thy rising.
The whole land goeth about its several labors.
Flocks rest in their pastures;
Trees and plants grow green;
Birds fly forth from their nests, –
Their wings are adoring thy Ka. '
All flocks leap upon their feet;
All flying things and all hovering things, they live when thou
risest upon them.
Ships pass down-stream, and pass up-stream likewise,
Every way is open at thy rising.
The fishes on the river leap up before thee;
Thy rays are within the great waters.
It is thou who causest women to be fruitful, men to beget.
Thou quickenest the child in its mother's womb;
Thou soothest it that it cry not;
Thou dost nurture it within its mother's womb,
Thou givest breath to give life to all its functions.
It cometh forth from the womb upon the day of its birth.
Thou openest its mouth, that it may speak;
Thou providest for its wants.
* See note, p. 5303. The word occurs in these translations often, but not
with any very definite meaning.
## p. 5308 (#480) ###########################################
5303
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
When there is a chick within an egg, cheeping as it were
within a stone,
Thou givest it breath therein to cause thy handiwork to live;
It is full-formed when it breaketh through the shell.
It cometh out of the egg when it cheepeth and is full-formed;
It runneth on its feet when it cometh out thence.
How manifold are thy works,
O one god who hast no fellow!
Thou createdst the earth according to thy will, when thou
wast alone,--
(Its) people, its herds, and all flocks;
All that is upon earth going upon feet,
All that is on high and flieth with wings,
The countries of Syria, of Ethiopia, of Egypt.
Thou settest each person in his place,
Thou providest for their wants,
Each one his circumstances and the duration of his life,
Tongues distinct in their speech,
Their kinds according to their complexions -
O distinguisher who distinguishest the races of mankind.
Thou makest the Nile in the deep,
Thou bringest it at thy pleasure,
[for thyself -
That it may give life to men, even as thou hast made them
O Lord of them all who art outwearied for them!
O Lord of earth who risest for them!
O Aten of day that awest all distant countries!
Thou makest their life;
Thou placest the Nile in heaven, that it may descend to them,
That it may rise in waves upon the rocks like the sea,
Watering their fields in their villages.
How excellent are thy ways, O Lord of Eternity!
A Nile in heaven poureth down for nations,
For all manner of animals that walk upon feet.
[But] the Nile cometh from the deep to the land of Egypt.
Thy rays nourish every field;
Thou risest and they live for thee. ?
Thou makest the seasons to bring into existence all that thou
hast made:
The winter season to refresh them, the heat [to warm them).
The Nile here stands for the main sources of water: that in heaven give
ing rain on the mountains and fields, that in the deep” or “underworld »
giving rise to springs, wells, and rivers.
## p. 5309 (#481) ###########################################
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
5309
Thou madest the heaven afar off, that thou mightest rise
therein,
That thou mightest see all thou didst make when thou wast
alone,
When thou risest in thy form as the living Aten,
Splendid, radiant, afar, beauteous-
(Thou createdst all things by thyself ]
Cities, villages, camps, by whatsoever river they be watered.
Every eye beholdeth thee before it;
Thou art the Aten of day above the earth.
