{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_15932/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_15932","id":"gutenberg_15932","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15932","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Egypt","Egyptian literature -- History and criticism","Egyptian literature -- Translations into English"],"text":"Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Peter Barozzi and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n THE\n\n LITERATURE\n\n OF THE\n\n ANCIENT EGYPTIANS\n\n\n BY\n\n E.A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A., LITT.D.\n\n\n _Sometime Scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Tyrwhitt_\n _Hebrew Scholar; Keeper of the Department of Egyptian_\n _and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum_\n\n\n 1914\n\n\n LONDON\n J.M. DENT & SONS LIMITED\n Aldine House, Bedford Street, W.C.\n\n\n\n[Frontispiece:\n The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Ani.\n 1. Ani adoring the gods of Sekhet-Aaru.\n 2. Ani reaping in the Other World.\n 3. Ani ploughing in the Other World.\n 4. The abode of the perfect spirits, and the magical boats.]\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE\n\n\nThis little book is intended to serve as an elementary introduction to\nthe study of Egyptian Literature. Its object is to present a short\nseries of specimens of Egyptian compositions, which represent all the\ngreat periods of literary activity in Egypt under the Pharaohs, to all\nwho are interested in the study of the mental development of ancient\nnations. It is not addressed to the Egyptological specialist, to whom,\nas a matter of course, its contents are well known, and therefore its\npages are not loaded with elaborate notes and copious references. It\nrepresents, I believe, the first attempt made to place before the public\na summary of the principal contents of Egyptian Literature in a handy\nand popular form.\n\nThe specimens of native Egyptian Literature printed herein are taken\nfrom tombs, papyri, stel\u00e6, and other monuments, and, with few\nexceptions, each specimen is complete in itself. Translations of most of\nthe texts have appeared in learned works written by Egyptologists in\nEnglish, French, German, and Italian, but some appear in English for the\nfirst time. In every case I have collated my own translations with the\ntexts, and, thanks to the accurate editions of texts which have appeared\nin recent years, it has been found possible to make many hitherto\ndifficult passages clear. The translations are as literal as the\ndifference between the Egyptian and English idioms will permit, but it\nhas been necessary to insert particles and often to invert the order of\nthe words in the original works in order to produce a connected meaning\nin English. The result of this has been in many cases to break up the\nshort abrupt sentences in which the Egyptian author delighted, and\nwhich he used frequently with dramatic effect. Extraordinarily concise\nphrases have been paraphrased, but the meanings given to several unknown\nwords often represent guess-work.\n\nIn selecting the texts for translation in this book an attempt has been\nmade to include compositions that are not only the best of their kind,\nbut that also illustrate the most important branches of Egyptian\nLiterature. Among these religious, mythological, and moral works bulk\nlargely, and in many respects these represent the peculiar bias of the\nmind of the ancient Egyptian better than compositions of a purely\nhistorical character. No man was more alive to his own material\ninterests, but no man has ever valued the things of this world less in\ncomparison with the salvation of his soul and the preservation of his\nphysical body. The immediate result of this was a perpetual demand on\nhis part for information concerning the Other World, and for guidance\nduring his life in this world. The priests attempted to satisfy his\ncraving for information by composing the Books of the Dead and the other\nfunerary works with which we are acquainted, and the popularity of these\nworks seems to show that they succeeded. From the earliest times the\nEgyptians regarded a life of moral excellence upon earth as a necessary\nintroduction to the life which he hoped to live with the blessed in\nheaven. And even in pyramid times he conceived the idea of the existence\nof a God Who judged rightly, and Who set \"right in the place of wrong.\"\nThis fact accounts for the reverence in which he held the Precepts of\nPtah-hetep, Kaqemna, Herutataf, Amenemhat I, Ani, Tuauf, Amen-hetep, and\nother sages. To him, as to all Africans, the Other World was a very real\nthing, and death and the Last Judgment were common subjects of his daily\nthoughts. The great antiquity of this characteristic of the Egyptian is\nproved by a passage in a Book of Precepts, which was written by a king\nof the ninth or tenth dynasty for his son, who reigned under the name of\nMerikara. The royal writer in it reminds his son that the Chiefs [of\nOsiris] who judge sinners perform their duty with merciless justice on\nthe Day of Judgment. It is useless to assume that length of years will\nbe accepted by them as a plea of justification. With them the lifetime\nof a man is only regarded as a moment. After death these Chiefs must be\nfaced, and the only things that they will consider will be his works.\nLife in the Other World is for ever, and only the reckless fool forgets\nthis fact. The man who has led a life free from lies and deceit shall\nlive after death like a god.\n\nThe reader who wishes to continue his studies of Egyptian Literature\nwill find abundant material in the list of works given on pp. 256-8.\n\n E.A. WALLIS BUDGE.\n\n BRITISH MUSEUM,\n_April_ 17, 1914.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\nCHAP. PAGE\n I. THOTH, THE AUTHOR OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE. WRITING MATERIALS,\n PAPYRUS, INK AND INK-POT, PALETTE, &c. 1\n\n II. THE PYRAMID TEXTS: 9\n The Book of Opening the Mouth 13\n The Liturgy of Funerary Offerings 16\n Hymns to the Sky-goddess and Sun-god 18\n The King in Heaven 20\n The Hunting and Slaughter of the Gods by the King 21\n\n III. STORIES OF MAGICIANS WHO LIVED UNDER THE ANCIENT EMPIRE: 25\n Ubaaner and the Wax Crocodile 25\n The Magician Tchatchamankh and the Gold Ornament 27\n Teta, who restored Life to Dead Animals, &c. 29\n Rut-tetet and the Three Sons of Ra 33\n\n IV. THE BOOK OF THE DEAD: 37\n Summary of Chapters 42\n Hymns, Litany, and Extracts from the Book of the Dead 44\n The Great Judgment 51\n\n V. BOOKS OF THE DEAD OF THE GR\u00c6CO-ROMAN PERIOD: 59\n Book of Breathings 59\n Book of Traversing Eternity 61\n The Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys 62\n The Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys 64\n The Book of Making Splendid the Spirit of Osiris 64\n\n VI. THE EGYPTIAN STORY OF THE CREATION 67\n\n VII. LEGENDS OF THE GODS: 71\n The Destruction of Mankind 71\n The Legend of Ra and Isis 74\n The Legend of Horus of Behutet 77\n The Legend of Khnemu and the Seven Years' Famine 83\n The Legend of the Wanderings of Isis 87\n The Legend of the Princess of Bekhten 92\n\nVIII. HISTORICAL LITERATURE: 98\n Extract from the Palermo Stone 100\n Edict against the Blacks 101\n Inscription of Usertsen III at Semnah 101\n Campaign of Thothmes II in the Sudan 102\n Capture of Megiddo by Thothmes III 103\n The Conquests of Thothmes III summarised by Amen-Ra 106\n Summary of the Reign of Rameses III 110\n The Invasion and Conquest of Egypt by Piankhi 116\n\n IX. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE: 126\n The Autobiography of Una 127\n The Autobiography of Herkhuf 131\n The Autobiography of Ameni Amenemhat 135\n The Autobiography of Thetha 137\n The Autobiography of Amasis, the Naval Officer 140\n The Autobiography of Amasis, surnamed Pen-Nekheb 143\n The Autobiography of Tehuti, the Erpa 145\n The Autobiography of Thaiemhetep 149\n\n X. TALES OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE: 155\n The Story of Sanehat 155\n The Story of the Educated Peasant Khuenanpu 169\n The Journey of the Priest Unu-Amen into Syria 185\n\n XI. FAIRY TALES: 196\n The Tale of the Two Brothers 196\n The Story of the Shipwrecked Traveller 207\n\n XII. EGYPTIAN HYMNS TO THE GODS: 214\n Hymn to Amen-Ra 214\n Hymn to Amen 219\n Hymn to the Sun-god 220\n Hymn to Osiris 221\n Hymn to Shu 222\n\nXIII. MORAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE: 224\n The Precepts of Ptah-hetep 225\n The Maxims of Ani 228\n The Talk of a Man who was tired of Life with His Soul 231\n The Lament of Khakhepersenb, surnamed Ankhu 235\n The Lament of Apuur 236\n\n XIV. EGYPTIAN POETICAL COMPOSITIONS: 241\n The Poem in the Tomb of Antuf 242\n\n XV. MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE: 244\n The Book of Two Ways 244\n The Book \"Am Tuat\" 244\n The Book of Gates 246\n The Ritual of Embalmment 247\n The Ritual of the Divine Cult 248\n The Book \"May My Name Flourish\" 250\n The Book of Aapep 250\n The Instructions of Tuauf 250\n Medical Papyri 252\n Magical Papyri 252\n Legal Documents 253\n Historical Romances 254\n Mathematical Papyri 254\n\n EDITIONS OF EGYPTIAN TEXTS, TRANSLATIONS, &c. 256\n\n INDEX 259\n\n\n\n\n ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n PAGE\nTHE ELYSIAN FIELDS OF THE EGYPTIANS _Frontispiece_\n\nTHOTH, THE SCRIBE OF THE GODS 3\n\nTHOTH AND AMEN-RA SUCCOURING ISIS 5\n\nEGYPTIAN WRITING PALETTES _To face_ 6\n\nVIGNETTE FROM THE BOOK OF THE DEAD (Chapter XCII) _To face_ 42\n\nHER-HERU AND QUEEN NETCHEMET RECITING A HYMN _To face_ 44\n\nHER-HERU AND QUEEN NETCHEMET STANDING IN THE\n HALL OF OSIRIS _To face_ 52\n\nSTELE RELATING THE STORY OF THE HEALING OF BENTRESHT 94\n\nSTELE ON WHICH IS CUT THE SPEECH OF AMEN-RA 107\n\nA PAGE FROM THE GREAT HARRIS PAPYRUS _To face_ 110\n\nSTELE ON WHICH IS CUT THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THAIEMHETEP 150\n\nA PAGE OF THE TALE OF THE TWO BROTHERS _To face_ 196\n\n\n\n\n THE LITERATURE OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS\n\n CHAPTER I\n\n THOTH, THE AUTHOR OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.\n WRITING MATERIALS, ETC.\n\n\nThe Literature of ancient Egypt is the product of a period of about four\nthousand years, and it was written in three kinds of writing, which are\ncalled hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic. In the first of these the\ncharacters were pictures of objects, in the second the forms of the\ncharacters were made as simple as possible so that they might be written\nquickly, and in the third many of them lost their picture form\naltogether and became mere symbols. Egyptian writing was believed to\nhave been invented by the god Tehuti, or Thoth, and as this god was\nthought to be a form of the mind and intellect and wisdom of the God who\ncreated the heavens and the earth, the picture characters, or\nhieroglyphs as they are called, were held to be holy, or divine, or\nsacred. Certain religious texts were thought to possess special virtue\nwhen written in hieroglyphs, and the chapters and sections of books that\nwere considered to have been composed by Thoth himself were believed to\npossess very great power, and to be of the utmost benefit to the dead\nwhen they were written out for them in hieroglyphs, and buried with them\nin their coffins. Thoth also invented the science of numbers, and as he\nfixed the courses of the sun, moon, and stars, and ordered the seasons,\nhe was thought to be the first astronomer. He was the lord of wisdom,\nand the possessor of all knowledge, both heavenly and earthly, divine\nand human; and he was the author of every attempt made by man to draw,\npaint, and carve. As the lord and maker of books, and as the skilled\nscribe, he was the clerk of the gods, and kept the registers wherein the\ndeeds of men were written down. The deep knowledge of Thoth enabled him\nto find out the truth at all times, and this ability caused the\nEgyptians to assign to him the position of Chief Judge of the dead. A\nvery ancient legend states that Thoth acted in this capacity in the\ngreat trial that took place in heaven when Osiris was accused of certain\ncrimes by his twin-brother Set, the god of evil. Thoth examined the\nevidence, and proved to the gods that the charges made by Set were\nuntrue, and that Osiris had spoken the truth and that Set was a liar.\nFor this reason every Egyptian prayed that Thoth might act for him as he\ndid for Osiris, and that on the day of the Great Judgment Thoth might\npreside over the weighing of his heart in the Balance. All the important\nreligious works in all periods were believed to have been composed\neither by himself, or by holy scribes who were inspired by him. They\nwere believed to be sources of the deepest wisdom, the like of which\nexisted in no other books in the world. And it is probably to these\nbooks that Egypt owed her fame for learning and wisdom, which spread\nthroughout all the civilised world. The \"Books of Thoth,\" which late\npopular tradition in Egypt declared to be as many as 36,525 in number,\nwere revered by both natives and foreigners in a way which it is\ndifficult for us in these days to realise. The scribes who studied and\ncopied these books were also specially honoured, for it was believed\nthat the spirit of Thoth, the twice-great and thrice-great god, dwelt in\nthem. The profession of the scribe was considered to be most honourable,\nand its rewards were great, for no rank and no dignity were too high for\nthe educated scribe. Thoth appears in the papyri and on the monuments as\nan ibis-headed man, and his companion is usually a dog-headed ape called\n\"Asten.\" In the Hall of the Great Judgment he is seen holding in one\nhand a reed with which he is writing on a palette the result of the\nweighing of the heart of the dead man in the Balance. The gods accepted\nthe report of Thoth without question, and rewarded the good soul and\npunished the bad according to his statement. From the beginning to the\nend of the history of Egypt the position of Thoth as the \"righteous\njudge,\" and framer of the laws by which heaven and earth, and men and\ngods were governed, remained unchanged.\n\n[Illustration: Thoth, the Scribe of the Gods.]\n\nThe substances used by the Egyptians for writing upon were very\nnumerous, but the commonest were stone of various kinds, wood, skin, and\npapyrus. The earliest writings were probably traced upon these\nsubstances with some fluid, coloured black or red, which served as ink.\nWhen the Egyptians became acquainted with the use of the metals they\nbegan to cut their writings in stone. The text of one of the oldest\nchapters of the Book of the Dead (LXIV) is said in the Rubric to the\nchapter to have been \"found\" cut upon a block of \"alabaster of the\nsouth\" during the reign of Menkaura, a king of the fourth dynasty, about\n3700 B.C. As time went on and men wanted to write long texts or\ninscriptions, they made great use of wood as a writing material, partly\non account of the labour and expense of cutting in stone. In the British\nMuseum many wooden coffins may be seen with their insides covered with\nreligious texts, which were written with ink as on paper. Sheepskin, or\ngoatskin, was used as a writing material, but its use was never general;\nancient Egyptian documents written on skin or, as we should say, on\nparchment, are very few. At a very early period the Egyptians learned\nhow to make a sort of paper, which is now universally known by the name\nof \"papyrus.\" When they made this discovery cannot be said, but the\nhieroglyphic inscriptions of the early dynasties contain the picture of\na roll of papyrus, and the antiquity of the use of papyrus must\ntherefore be very great. Among the oldest dated examples of inscribed\npapyrus may be noted some accounts which were written in the reign of\nKing Assa (fourth dynasty, 3400 B.C.), and which were found at Sakkarah,\nabout 20 miles to the south of Cairo.\n\nPapyrus was made from the papyrus plant that grew and flourished in the\nswamps and marshes of Lower Egypt, and in the shallow pools that were\nformed by the annual Nile flood. It no longer grows in Egypt, but it is\nfound in the swamps of the Egyptian Sudan, where it grows sometimes to\na height of 25 feet. The roots and the stem, which is often thicker than\na man's arm, are used as fuel, and the head, which is large and rounded,\nis in some districts boiled and eaten as a vegetable. The Egyptian\nvariety of the papyrus plant was smaller than that found in the Sudan,\nand the Egyptians made their paper from it by cutting the inner part of\nthe stem into thin strips, the width of which depended upon the\nthickness of the stem; the length of these varied, of course, with the\nlength of the stem. To make a sheet of papyrus several of these strips\nwere laid side by side lengthwise, and several others were laid over\nthem crosswise. Thus each sheet of papyrus contained two layers, which\nwere joined together by means of glue and water or gum. Pliny, a Roman\nwriter, states (Bohn's edition, vol. iii. p. 189) that Nile water,\nwhich, when in a muddy state, has the peculiar qualities of glue, was\nused in fastening the two layers of strips together, but traces of gum\nhave actually been found on papyri. The sheets were next pressed and\nthen dried in the sun, and when rubbed with a hard polisher in order to\nremove roughnesses, were ready for use.[1] By adding sheet to sheet,\nrolls of papyrus of almost any length could be made. The longest roll in\nthe British Museum is 133 feet long by 16-1/2 inches high (Harris\nPapyrus, No. 1), and the second in length is a copy of the Book of the\nDead, which is 123 feet long and 18-1/2 inches high; the latter contains\n2666 lines of writing arranged in 172 columns. The rolls on which\nordinary compositions were written were much shorter and not so high,\nfor they are rarely more than 20 feet long, and are only from 8 to 10\ninches in height.\n\n[Illustration: Thoth and Amen-Ra Succouring Isis in the Papyrus Swamps.]\n\nThe scribe mixed on his palette the paints which he used. This palette\nusually consisted of a piece of alabaster, wood, ivory, or slate, from 8\nto 16 inches in length and from 2 to 3-1/2 inches in width; all four\ncorners were square. At one end of the palette a number of oval or\ncircular hollows were sunk to hold ink or paint. Down the middle was cut\na groove, square at one end and sloping at the other, in which the\nwriting reeds were placed. These were kept in position by a piece of\nwood glued across the middle of the palette, or by a sliding cover,\nwhich also served to protect the reeds from injury. On the sides of this\ngroove are often found inscriptions that give the name of the owner of\nthe palette, and that contain prayers to the gods for funerary\nofferings, or invocations to Thoth, the inventor of the art of writing.\nThe black ink used by the scribes was made of lamp-black or of\nfinely-powdered charcoal mixed with water, to which a very small\nquantity of gum was probably added. Red and yellow paint were made from\nmineral earths or ochres, blue paint was made from lapis-lazuli powder,\ngreen paint from sulphate of copper, and white paint from lime-white.\nSometimes the ink was placed in small wide-mouthed pots made of Egyptian\nporcelain or alabaster. The scribe rubbed down his colours on a stone\nslab with a small stone muller. The writing reed, which served as a pen,\nwas from 8 to 10 inches long, and from one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an\ninch in diameter; the end used in writing was bruised and not cut. In\nlate times a very much thicker reed was used, and then the end was cut\nlike a quill or steel pen. Writing reeds of this kind were carried in\nboxes of wood and metal specially made for the purpose. Many specimens\nof all kinds of Egyptian writing materials are to be seen in the\nEgyptian Rooms of the British Museum.\n\n[Footnote 1: In some parts of Mesopotamia where scribes at the present\nday use rough paper made in Russia, each sheet before being written upon\nis laid upon a board and polished by means of a glass bottle.]\n\n[Illustration: Wooden Palette of Rameri, an official of Thothmes IV.\n1470 B.C. Wooden Palette of Aahmes I, King of Egypt 1600 B.C.]\n\nAs papyrus was expensive the pupils in the schools attached to the great\ntemples of Egypt wrote their exercises and copies of standard literary\ncompositions on slices of white limestone of fine texture, or upon\nboards, in the shape of modern slates used in schools, whitened with\nlime. The \"copies\" from which they worked were written by the teacher on\nlimestone slabs of somewhat larger size. Copies of the texts that masons\ncut upon the walls of temples and other monuments were also written on\nslabs of this kind, and when figures of kings or gods were to be\nsculptured on the walls their proportions were indicated by\nperpendicular and horizontal lines drawn to scale. Portions of broken\nearthen-ware pots were also used for practising writing upon, and in the\nPtolemaic and Roman Periods lists of goods, and business letters, and\nthe receipts given by the tax-gatherers, were written upon potsherds. In\nstill later times, when skin or parchment was as expensive as papyrus,\nthe Copts, or Egyptian Christians, used slices of limestone and\npotsherds for drafts of portions of the Scriptures and letters in much\nthe same way as did their ancestors.\n\nA roll of papyrus when not in use was kept in shape by a string or piece\nof papyrus cord, which was tied in a bow; sometimes, especially in the\ncase of legal documents, a clay seal bearing the owner's name was\nstamped on the cord. Valuable rolls were kept in wooden cases or \"book\nboxes,\" which were deposited in a chamber or \"house\" set apart for the\npurpose, which was commonly called the \"house of books,\" _i.e._ the\nlibrary. Having now described the principal writing materials used by\nthe ancient Egyptians, we may pass on to consider briefly the various\nclasses of Egyptian Literature that have come down to us.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II\n\n THE PYRAMID TEXTS\n\n\n\"Pyramid Texts\" is the name now commonly given to the long hieroglyphic\ninscriptions that are cut upon the walls of the chambers and corridors\nof five pyramids at Sakkarah. The oldest of them was built for Unas, a\nking of the fifth dynasty, and the four others were built for Teta, Pepi\nI, Merenra, and Pepi II, kings of the sixth dynasty. According to the\ncalculation of Dr. Brugsch, they were all built between 3300 and 3150\nB.C., but more recent theories assign them to a period about 700 years\nlater. These Texts represent the oldest religious literature known to\nus, for they contain beliefs, dogmas, and ideas that must be thousands\nof years older than the period of the sixth dynasty when the bulk of\nthem was drafted for the use of the masons who cut them inside the\npyramids. It is probable that certain sections of them were composed by\nthe priests for the benefit of the dead in very primitive times in\nEgypt, when the art of writing was unknown, and that they were repeated\neach time a king died. They were first learned by heart by the funerary\npriests, and then handed on from mouth to mouth, generation after\ngeneration, and at length after the Egyptians had learned to write, and\nthere was danger of their being forgotten, they were committed to\nwriting. And just as these certain sections were absorbed into the great\nbody of Pyramid Texts of the sixth dynasty, so portions of the Texts of\nthe sixth dynasty were incorporated into the great Theban Book of the\nDead, and they appear in papyri that were written more than 2000 years\nlater. The Pyramid Texts supply us with much information concerning the\nreligious beliefs of the primitive Egyptians, and also with many\nisolated facts of history that are to be found nowhere else, but of the\nmeaning of a very large number of passages we must always remain\nignorant, because they describe states of civilisation, and conditions\nof life and climate, of which no modern person can form any true\nconception. Besides this the meanings of many words are unknown, the\nspelling is strange and often inexplicable, the construction of the\nsentence is frequently unlike anything known in later texts, and the\nideas that they express are wholly foreign to the minds of students of\nto-day, who are in every way aliens to the primitive Egyptian African\nwhose beliefs these words represent. The pyramids at Sakkarah in which\nthe Pyramid Texts are found were discovered by the Frenchman, Mariette,\nin 1880. Paper casts of the inscriptions, which are deeply cut in the\nwalls and painted green, were made for Professor Maspero, the Director\nof the Service of Antiquities in Egypt, and from these he printed an\nedition in hieroglyphic type of all five texts, and added a French\ntranslation of the greater part of them. Professor Maspero correctly\nrecognised the true character of these old-world documents, and his\ntranslation displayed an unrivalled insight into the true meaning of\nmany sections of them. The discovery and study of other texts and the\nlabours of recent workers have cleared up passages that offered\ndifficulties to him, but his work will remain for a very long time the\nbase of all investigations.\n\nThe Pyramid Texts, and the older texts quoted or embodied in them, were\nwritten, like every religious funerary work in Egypt, for the benefit of\nthe king, that is to say, to effect his glorious resurrection and to\nsecure for him happiness in the Other World, and life everlasting. They\nwere intended to make him become a king in the Other World as he had\nbeen a king upon earth; in other words, he was to reign over the gods,\nand to have control of all the powers of heaven, and to have the power\nto command the spirits and souls of the righteous, as his ancestors the\nkings of Egypt had ruled their bodies when they lived on earth. The\nEgyptians found that their king, who was an incarnation of the \"Great\nGod,\" died like other men, and they feared that, even if they succeeded\nin effecting his resurrection by means of the Pyramid Texts, he might\ndie a second time in the Other World. They spared no effort and left no\nmeans untried to make him not only a \"living soul\" in the Tuat, or Other\nWorld, but to keep him alive there. The object of every prayer, every\nspell, every hymn, and every incantation contained in these Texts, was\nto preserve the king's life. This might be done in many ways. In the\nfirst place it was necessary to provide a daily supply of offerings,\nwhich were offered up in the funerary temple that was attached to every\npyramid. The carefully selected and duly appointed priest offered these\none by one, and as he presented each to the spirit of the king he\nuttered a formula that was believed to convert the material food into a\nsubstance possessing a spiritual character and fit to form the food of\nthe _ka_, or \"double,\" or \"vital power,\" of the dead king. The offerings\nassisted in renewing his life, and any failure to perform this service\nwas counted a sin against the dead king's spirit. It was also necessary\nto perform another set of ceremonies, the object of which was to \"open\nthe mouth\" of the dead king, _i.e._ to restore to him the power to\nbreathe, think, speak, taste, smell, and walk. At the performance of\nthese ceremonies it was all-important to present articles of food,\nwearing apparel, scents and unguents, and, in short, every object that\nthe king was likely to require in the Other World. The spirits of all\nthese objects passed into the Other World ready for use by the spirit of\nthe king. It follows as a matter of course that the king in the Other\nWorld needed a retinue, and a bodyguard, and a host of servants, just as\nhe needed slaves upon earth. In primitive times a large number of\nslaves, both male and female, were slain when a king died, and their\nbodies were buried in his tomb, whilst their spirits passed into the\nOther World to serve the spirit of the king, just as their bodies had\nserved his body upon earth. As the king had enemies in this world, so it\nwas thought he would have enemies in the Other World, and men feared\nthat he would be attacked or molested by evilly-disposed gods and\nspirits, and by deadly animals and serpents, and other noxious reptiles.\nTo ward off the attacks of these from his tomb, and his mummified body,\nand his spirit, the priest composed spells of various kinds, and the\nutterance of such, in a proper manner, was believed to render him immune\nfrom the attacks of foes of all kinds. Very often such spells took the\nform of prayers. Many of the spells were exceedingly ancient, even in\nthe Pyramid Period; they were, in fact, so old that they were\nunintelligible to the scribes of the day. They date from the time when\nthe Egyptians believed more in magic than religion; it is possible that\nwhen they were composed, religion, in our sense of the word, was still\nundeveloped among the Egyptians.\n\nWhen the Pyramid Texts were written men believed that the welfare of\nsouls and spirits in the Other World could be secured by the prayers of\nthe living. Hence we find in them numerous prayers for the dead, and\nhymns addressed to the gods on their behalf, and extracts from many\nkinds of ancient religious books. When these were recited, and offerings\nmade both to the gods and to the dead, it was confidently believed that\nthe souls of the dead received special consideration and help from the\ngods, and from all the good spirits who formed their train. These\nprayers are very important from many points of view, but specially so\nfrom the fact that they prove that the Egyptians who lived under the\nsixth dynasty attached more importance to them than to magical spells\nand incantations. In other words, the Egyptians had begun to reject\ntheir belief in the efficacy of magic, and to develop a belief of a more\nspiritual character. There were many reasons for this development, but\nthe most important was the extraordinary growth of the influence of the\nreligion of Osiris, which had before the close of the period of the\nsixth dynasty spread all over Egypt. This religion promised to all who\nfollowed it, high or low, rich or poor, a life in the world beyond the\ngrave, after a resurrection that was made certain to them through the\nsufferings, death, and resurrection of Osiris, who was the incarnation\nof the great primeval god who created the heavens and the earth. A few\nextracts illustrating the general contents of the Pyramid Texts may now\nbe given.\n\nI. Mention has already been made of the \"opening of the mouth\" of the\ndead king: under the earliest dynasties this ceremony was performed on a\nstatue of the king. Water was sprinkled before it, and incense was\nburnt, and the statue was anointed with seven kinds of unguents, and its\neyes smeared with eye paint. After the statue had been washed and\ndressed a meal of sepulchral offerings was set before it. The essential\nceremony consisted in applying to the lips of the statue a curiously\nshaped instrument called the PESH KEF, with which the bandages that\ncovered the mouth of the dead king in his tomb were supposed to be cut\nand the mouth set free to open. In later times the Liturgy of Opening\nthe Mouth was greatly enlarged and was called the Book of Opening the\nMouth. The ceremonies were performed by the Kher-heb priest, the son of\nthe deceased, and the priests and ministrants called Sameref, Sem, Smer,\nAm-as, Am-khent, and the assistants called Mesentiu. First of all\nincense was burnt, and the priest said, \"Thou art pure,\" four times.\nWater was then sprinkled over the statue and the priest said, \"Thou art\npure. Thou art pure. Thy purifications are the purifications of\nHorus,[1] and the purifications of Horus are thy purifications.\" This\nformula was repeated three times, once with the name of Set,[2] once\nwith the name of Thoth,[3] and once with the name of Sep. The priest\nthen said, \"Thou hast received thy head, and thy bones have been brought\nunto thee before Keb.\"[4] During the performance of the next five\nceremonies, in which incense of various kinds was offered, the priest\nsaid: \"Thou art pure (four times). That which is in the two eyes of\nHorus hath been presented unto thee with the two vases of Thoth, and\nthey purify thee so that there may not exist in thee the power of\ndestruction that belongeth unto thee. Thou art pure. Thou art pure. Pure\nis the _seman_ incense that openeth thy mouth. Taste the taste thereof\nin the divine dwelling. _Seman_ incense is the emission of Horus; it\nstablisheth the heart of Horus-Set, it purifieth the gods who are in the\nfollowing of Horus. Thou art censed with natron. Thou art established\namong the gods thy brethren. Thy mouth is like that of a sucking calf on\nthe day of its birth. Thou art censed. Thou art censed. Thou art pure.\nThou art pure. Thou art established among thy brethren the gods. Thy\nhead is censed. Thy mouth is censed. Thy bones are purified. [Decay]\nthat is inherent in thee shall not touch thee. I have given thee the Eye\nof Horus,[5] and thy face is filled therewith. Thou art shrouded in\nincense (say twice).\"[6]\n\n[Footnote 1: A form of the Sun-god.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Originally a benevolent god: later the great god of evil.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The scribe of the gods, lord of wisdom: see pp. 1,2.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The Earth-god.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Horus gave his eye to Osiris, and thereby restored life to\nhim.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Repetitions are omitted.]\n\nThe next ceremony, the ninth, represented the re-birth of the king, who\nwas personified by a priest. The priest, wrapped in the skin of a bull,\nlay on a small bed and feigned death. When the chief priest had said, \"O\nmy father,\" four times, the priest representing the king came forth from\nthe bull's skin, and sat up; this act symbolized the resurrection of the\nking in the form of a spirit-body (_sahu_). The chief priest then\nasserted that the king was alive, and that he should never be removed,\nand that he was similar in every way to Horus. The priest personifying\nthe king then put on a special garment, and taking a staff or sceptre in\nhis hand, said, \"I love my father and his transformation. I have made my\nfather, I have made a statue of him, a large statue. Horus loveth those\nwho love him.\" He then pressed the lips of the statue, and said, \"I have\ncome to embrace thee. I am thy son. I am Horus. I have pressed for thee\nthy mouth.... I am thy beloved son.\" The words then said by the chief\npriest, \"I have delivered this mine eye from his mouth, I have cut off\nhis leg,\" mean that the king was delivered from the jaws of death, and\nthat a grievous wound had been inflicted on the god of death, _i.e._\nSet.\n\nWhilst these ceremonies were being performed the animals brought to be\nsacrificed were slain. Chief of these were two bulls, gazelle, geese,\n&c., and their slaughter typified the conquest and death of the enemies\nof the dead king. The heart and a fore-leg of each bull were presented\nto the statue of the king, and the priest said: \"Hail, Osiris! I have\ncome to embrace thee. I am Horus. I have pressed for thee thy mouth. I\nam thy beloved Son. I have opened thy mouth. Thy mouth hath been made\nfirm. I have made thy mouth and thy teeth to be in their proper places.\nHail, Osiris![1] I have opened thy mouth with the Eye of Horus.\" Then\ntaking two instruments made of metal the priest went through the motion\nof cutting open the mouth and eyes of the statue, and said: \"I have\nopened thy mouth. I have opened thy two eyes. I have opened thy mouth\nwith the instrument of Anpu.[2] I have opened thy mouth with the Meskha\ninstrument wherewith the mouth of the gods was opened. Horus openeth the\nmouth and eyes of the Osiris. Horus openeth the mouth of the Osiris even\nas he opened the mouth of his father. As he opened the mouth of the god\nOsiris so shall he open the mouth of my father with the iron that cometh\nforth from Set, with the Meskha instrument of iron wherewith he opened\nthe mouth of the gods shall the mouth of the Osiris be opened. And the\nOsiris shall walk and shall talk, and his body shall be with the Great\nCompany of the Gods who dwell in the Great House of the Aged One (_i.e._\nthe Sun-god) who dwelleth in Anu.[3] And he shall take possession of the\nUrrt Crown therein before Horus, the Lord of mankind. Hail, Osiris!\nHorus hath opened thy mouth and thine eyes with the instruments Sebur\nand An, wherewith the mouths of the gods of the South were opened....\nAll the gods bring words of power. They recite them for thee. They make\nthee to live by them. Thou becomest the possessor of twofold strength.\nThou makest the passes that give thee the fluid of life, and their life\nfluid is about thee. Thou art protected, and thou shalt not die. Thou\nshalt change thy form [at pleasure] among the Doubles[4] of the gods.\nThou shalt rise up as a king of the South. Thou shalt rise up as a king\nof the North. Thou art endowed with strength like all the gods and their\nDoubles. Shu[5] hath equipped thee. He hath exalted thee to the height\nof heaven. He hath made thee to be a wonder. He hath endowed thee with\nstrength.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: It was assumed that the king after death became a being\nwith the nature of Osiris, and he was therefore addressed as \"Osiris.\"]\n\n[Footnote 2: Or Anubis, a very ancient god who presided over embalming;\nhe appears in the form of a man with the head of a dog or jackal.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The On of the Bible, the Heliopolis of the Greeks. This\ncity lay a few miles to the east of the modern city of Cairo.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Every living thing possessed a KA or \"double,\" which was\nthe vital power of the heart and could live after the death of the\nbody.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The Air-god, the son of Keb and Nut.]\n\nThe ceremonies that followed concerned the dressing of the statue of the\nking and his food. Various kinds of bandlets and a collar were\npresented, and the gift of each endowed the king in the Other World with\nspecial qualities. The words recited by the priest as he offered these\nand other gifts were highly symbolic, and were believed to possess great\npower, for they brought the Double of the king back to this earth to\nlive in the statue, and each time they were repeated they renewed the\nlife of the king in the Other World.\n\n\nII. The _Liturgy of Funerary Offerings_ was another all-important work.\nThe oldest form of it, which is found in the Pyramid Texts, proves that\neven under the earliest dynasties the belief in the efficacy of\nsacrifices and offerings was an essential of the Egyptian religion. The\nopening ceremonies had for their object the purification of the deceased\nby means of sprinkling with water in which salt, natron, and other\ncleansing substances had been dissolved, and burning of incense. Then\nfollowed the presentation of about one hundred and fifty offerings of\nfood of all kinds, fruit, flowers, vegetables, various kinds of wine,\nseven kinds of precious ointments, wearing apparel of the kind suitable\nfor a king, &c. As each object was presented to the spirit of the king,\nwhich was present in his statue in the Tuat Chamber of the tomb, the\npriest recited a form of words, which had the effect of transmuting the\nsubstance of the object into something which, when used or absorbed by\nthe king's spirit, renewed the king's life and maintained his existence\nin the Other World. Every object was called the \"Eye of Horus,\" in\nallusion to its life-giving qualities. The following extracts illustrate\nthe Liturgy of Funerary Offerings:\n\n32. This libation is for thee, Osiris, this libation is for thee,\nUnas.[1] (_Here offer cold water of the North._) It cometh forth before\nthy son, cometh forth before Horus. I have come, I have brought unto\nthee the Eye of Horus, that thy heart may be refreshed thereby. I have\nbrought it and have set it under thy sandals, and I present unto thee\nthat which flowed forth from thee. There shall be no stoppage to thy\nheart whilst it is with thee, and the offerings that appear at the\ncommand[2] shall appear at thy word of command. (_Recite four times._)\n\n[Footnote 1: The king who is identified with Osiris.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The deceased who possessed the words of power uttered in\nthe tomb the names of the offerings he required, and the offerings\nappeared forthwith.]\n\n37. Thou hast taken possession of the two Eyes of Horus, the White and\nthe Black, and when they are in thy face they illumine it. (_Here offer\ntwo jugs of wine, one white, one black._)\n\n38. Day hath made an offering unto thee in the sky. The South and the\nNorth have given offerings unto thee. Night hath made an offering unto\nthee. The South and the North have made an offering unto thee. An\noffering is brought unto thee, look upon it; an offering, hear it. There\nis an offering before thee, there is an offering behind thee, there is\nan offering with thee. (_Here offer a cake for the journey._)\n\n41. Osiris Unas, the white teeth of Horus are presented unto thee so\nthat they may fill thy mouth. (_Here offer five bunches of onions._)\n\n47. O Ra, the worship that is paid to thee, the worship of every kind,\nshall be paid [also] to Unas. Everything that is offered to thy body\nshall be offered to the Double of Unas also, and everything that is\noffered to his body shall be thine. (_Here offer the table of holy\nofferings._)\n\n61. O ye oils, ye oils, which are on the forehead of Horus, set ye\nyourselves on the forehead of Unas, and make him to smell sweet through\nyou. (_Here offer oil of cedar of the finest quality._)\n\n62. Make ye him to be a spirit-soul (_khu_) through possession of you,\nand grant ye him to have the mastery over his body, let his eyes be\nopened, and let all the spirit-souls see him, and let them hear his\nname. Behold, Osiris Unas, the Eye of Horus hath been brought unto thee,\nfor it hath been seized for thee that it may be before thee. (_Here\noffer the finest Thehenu oil._)\n\n\nIII. As specimens of the hymns in the Pyramid Texts may be quoted the\nfollowing: the first is a hymn to Nut, the Sky-goddess, and the second\nis a hymn to Ra, the Sun-god.\n\n[O] Nut, thou hast extended thyself over thy son the Osiris Pepi,\nThou hast snatched him out of the hand of Set; join him to thyself, Nut.\nThou comest, snatch thy son; behold, thou comest, form this great\n one [like] unto thyself.\n[O] Nut, cast thyself upon thy son the Osiris Pepi.\n[O] Nut, cast thyself upon thy son the Osiris Pepi.\nForm thou him, O Great Fashioner; this great one is among thy children.\nForm thou him, O Great Fashioner; this great one is among thy children.\nKeb [was to] Nut. Thou didst become a spirit.\nThou wast a mighty goddess in the womb of thy mother Tefnut\n when thou wast not born.\nForm thou Pepi with life and well-being; he shall not die.\nStrong was thy heart,\nThou didst leap in the womb of thy mother in thy name of \"Nut.\"\n[O] perfect daughter, mighty one in thy mother, who art crowned\n like a king of the North,\nMake this Pepi a spirit-soul in thee, let him not die.\n[O] Great Lady, who didst come into being in the sky, who art mighty.\nWho dost make happy, and dost fill every place (or being), with thy\n beauty,\nThe whole earth is under thee, thou hast taken possession of it.\nThou hast encompassed the earth, everything is in thy two hands,\nGrant thou that this Pepi may be in thee like an imperishable star.\nThou hast associated with Keb in thy name of \"Pet\" (_i.e._ Sky).\nThou hast united the earth in every place.\n[O] mistress over the earth, thou art above thy father Shu, thou hast\n the mastery over him.\nHe hath loved thee so much that he setteth himself under thee in\n everything.\nThou hast taken possession of every god for thyself with his boat (?).\nThou hast made them shine like lamps,\nAssuredly they shall not cease from thee like the stars.\nLet not this Pepi depart from thee in thy name of \"Hert\" (ll. 61-64).\n\n\nThe Hymn to the Sun-god is as follows:\n\nHail to thee, Tem! Hail to thee, Kheprer, who created himself.\nThou art the High, in this thy name of \"Height.\"\nThou camest into being in this thy name of \"Kheprer.\"\nHail to thee, Eye of Horus,[1] which he furnisheth with his hands\n completely.\nHe permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the West;\nHe permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the East;\nHe permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the South;\nHe permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the North;\nHe permitteth not thee to be obedient to those who are in the earth;\n[For] thou art obedient to Horus.\nHe it is who hath furnished thee, he it is who hath builded thee,\n he it is who hath made thee to be dwelt in.\nThou doest for him whatsoever he saith unto thee, in every place\n whither he goeth.\nThou liftest up to him the water-fowl that are in thee.\nThou liftest up to him the water-fowl that are about to be in thee.\nThou liftest up to him every tree that is in thee.\nThou liftest up to him every tree that is about to be in thee.\nThou liftest up to him the cakes and ale that are in thee.\nThou liftest up to him the cakes and ale that are about to be in thee.\nThou liftest up to him the gifts that are in thee.\nThou liftest up to him the gifts that are about to be in thee.\nThou liftest up to him everything that is in thee.\nThou liftest up to him everything that is about to be in thee.\nThou takest them to him in every place wherein it pleaseth him to be.\nThe doors upon thee stand fast [shut] like the god Anmutef,[2]\nThey open not to those who are in the West;\nThey open not to those who are in the East;\nThey open not to those who are in the North;\nThey open not to those who are in the South;\nThey open not to those who are in the middle of the earth;\nBut they open to Horus.\n\nHe it was who made them, he it was who made them stand [firm], he it was\nwho delivered them from every evil attack which the god Set made upon\nthem. He it was who made thee to be a settled country in this thy name\nof \"Kerkut.\" He it was who passed bowing after thee in thy name of\n\"Nut.\" He it was who delivered thee from every evil attack which Set\nmade upon thee (Pepi II, ll. 767-774.)\n\n[Footnote 1: Here a name of Egypt.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The god who was \"the pillar of his mother.\"]\n\n\nIV. The following passages describe the power of the king in heaven, and\nhis felicity there:\n\n\"The sky hath withdrawn the life of the star Septet (Sothis, the\nDog-star); behold Unas a living being, the son of Septet. The Eighteen\nGods have purified him in Meskha (the Great Bear), [he is] an\nimperishable star. The house of Unas perisheth not in the sky, the\nthrone of Unas perisheth not on the earth. Men make supplication\n[there], the gods fly [thither]. Septet hath made Unas fly to heaven to\nbe with his brethren the gods. Nut,[1] the Great Lady, hath unfolded her\narms to Unas. She hath made them into two divine souls at the head of\nthe Souls of Anu, under the head of Ra. She made them two weeping women\nwhen thou wast on thy bier (?). The throne of Unas is by thee, Ra, he\nyieldeth it not up to anyone else. Unas cometh forth into heaven by\nthee, Ra. The face of Unas is like the [faces of the] Hawks. The wings\nof Unas are like [those of] geese. The nails of Unas are like the claws\nof the god Tuf. There is no [evil] word concerning Unas on earth among\nmen. There is no hostile speech about him with the gods. Unas hath\ndestroyed his word, he hath ascended to heaven. Upuatu hath made Unas\nfly up to heaven among his brethren the gods. Unas hath drawn together\nhis arms like the Smen goose, he striketh his wings like a falcon,\nflying, flying. O men, Unas flieth up into heaven.\n\n[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess.]\n\n\"O ye gods of the West, O ye gods of the East, O ye gods of the South, O\nye gods of the North, ye four groups who embrace the holy lands, devote\nye yourselves to Osiris when he appeareth in heaven. He shall sail into\nthe Sky, with his son Horus by his fingers. He shall announce him, he\nshall make him rise up like the Great God in the Sky. They shall cry out\nconcerning Unas: Behold Horus, the son of Osiris! Behold Unas, the\nfirstborn son of Hathor! Behold the seed of Keb! Osiris hath commanded\nthat Unas shall rise as a second Horus, and these Four Spirit-souls in\nAnu have written an edict to the two great gods in the Sky. Ra set up\nthe Ladder[1] in front of Osiris, Horus set up the Ladder in front of\nhis father Osiris when he went to his spirit, one on this side [and] one\non the other side; Unas is between them. Behold, he is the god of the\npure seats coming forth from the bath (?). Unas standeth up, lo Horus;\nUnas sitteth down, lo Set. Ra graspeth his hand, spirit to heaven, body\nto earth.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The Ladder by which souls ascended to heaven. A picture of\nthe Ladder is given in the Papyrus of Ani, Plate XXII.]\n\nThe power of the king in heaven was almost as absolute as it was upon\nearth, and in a very remarkable passage in the text of Unas, which is\nrepeated in the text of Teta, we have a graphic description of the king\nas a mighty hunter, who chases the gods and lassoes them, and then kills\nand eats them in order that he may absorb their strength and wisdom, and\nall their divine attributes, and their power of living eternally. The\npassage reads:\n\n\"The skies lower, the Star-gods tremble, the Archers[1] quake, the bones\nof the Akeru[1] gods tremble, and those who are with them are struck\ndumb when they see Unas rising up as a soul, in the form of the god who\nliveth upon his fathers, and who turneth his mothers into his food. Unas\nis the lord of wisdom, and his mother knoweth not his name. The\nadoration of Unas is in heaven, he hath become mighty in the horizon\nlike Temu, the father that gave him birth, and after Temu had given him\nbirth Unas became stronger than his father. The Doubles (_i.e._ vital\nstrength) of Unas are behind him, the soles of his feet are beneath his\nfeet, his gods are over him, his serpents are [seated] upon his brow,\nthe serpent-guides of Unas are in front of him, and the spirit of the\nflame looketh upon [his] soul. The powers of Unas protect him. Unas is a\nbull in heaven. He directeth his steps where he willeth. He liveth upon\nthe form which each god taketh upon himself, and he eateth the flesh of\nthose who come to fill their bellies with the magical charms in the Lake\nof Fire. Unas is equipped with power against the spirit-souls thereof,\nand he riseth in the form of the mighty one, the lord of those who dwell\nin power (?). Unas hath taken his seat with his back turned towards Keb\n(the Earth-god). Unas hath weighed his words[2] with the hidden god (?)\nwho hath no name, on the day of hacking in pieces the firstborn. Unas is\nthe lord of offerings, the untier of the knot, and he himself maketh\nabundant the offerings of meat and drink. Unas devoureth men, and liveth\nupon the gods, he is the lord of envoys whom he sendeth forth on his\nmissions. 'He who cutteth off hairy scalps,' who dwelleth in the fields,\ntieth the gods with ropes. Tcheser-tep shepherdeth them for Unas and\ndriveth them unto him; and the Cord-master hath bound them for\nslaughter. Khensu, the slayer of the wicked, cutteth their throats, and\ndraweth out their intestines, for it is he whom Unas sendeth to\nslaughter [them], and Shesmu[3] cutteth them in pieces, and boileth\ntheir members in his blazing caldrons of the night. Unas eateth their\nmagical powers, and he swalloweth their spirit-souls. The great ones\namong them serve for his meal at daybreak, the lesser serve for his\nmeal at eventide, and the least among them serve for his meal in the\nnight. The old gods and the old goddesses become fuel for his furnace.\nThe mighty ones in heaven light the fire under the caldrons wherein are\nheaped up the thighs of the firstborn; and he who maketh those who live\nin heaven to go about for Unas lighteth the fire under the caldrons with\nthe thighs of their women; he goeth about the Two Heavens in their\nentirety, and he goeth round about the two banks of the Celestial Nile.\nUnas is the Great Power, the Power of Powers, and Unas is the Chief of\nthe gods in visible forms. Whatsoever he findeth upon his path he eateth\nforthwith, and the magical might of Unas is before that of all the\nspirit-bodies who dwell in the horizon. Unas is the firstborn of the\nfirstborn gods. Unas is surrounded by thousands, and oblations are made\nunto him by hundreds; he is made manifest as the Great Power by Saah\n(Orion), the father of the gods. Unas repeateth his rising in heaven,\nand he is crowned lord of the horizon. He hath reckoned up the bandlets\nand the arm-rings [of his captives], he hath taken possession of the\nhearts of the gods. Unas hath eaten the Red Crown, and he hath swallowed\nthe White Crown; the food of Unas is the intestines, and his meat is\nhearts and their words of power. Behold, Unas eateth of that which the\nRed Crown sendeth forth, he increaseth, and the words of power of the\ngods are in his belly; his attributes are not removed from him. Unas\nhath eaten the whole of the knowledge of every god, and the period of\nhis life is eternity, and the duration of his existence is\neverlastingness. He is in the form of one who doeth what he wisheth, and\nwho doth not do what he hateth, and he abideth on the horizon for ever\nand ever and ever. The Soul of the gods is in Unas, their spirit-souls\nare with Unas, and the offerings made unto him are more than those that\nare made unto the gods. The fire of Unas is in their bones, for their\nsoul is in Unas, and their shades are with those who belong unto them.\nUnas hath been with the two hidden (?) Kha (?) gods, ...; the seat of\nthe heart of Unas is among those who live upon this earth for ever and\never and ever.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: These are names of groups of stars.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _i.e._ entered into judgment.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The executioner of Osiris.]\n\nThe following extract is from one of the later Pyramid Texts:\n\n\"Pepi was brought forth by the god Nu, when there was no heaven, when\nthere was no earth, when nothing had been established, when there was no\nfighting, and when the fear of the Eye of Horus did not exist. This Pepi\nis one of the Great Offspring who were brought forth in Anu\n(Heliopolis), who have never been conquered by a king or ruled by\nchiefs, who are irresistible, whose words cannot be gainsaid. Therefore\nthis Pepi is irresistible; he can neither be conquered by a king nor\nruled by chiefs. The enemies of Pepi cannot triumph. Pepi lacketh\nnothing. His nails do not grow long [for want of prey]. No debt is\nreckoned against Pepi. If Pepi falleth into the water Osiris will lift\nhim out, and the Two Companies of the Gods will bear him up on their\nshoulders, and Ra, wheresoever he may be, will give him his hand. If\nPepi falleth on the earth the Earth-god (Keb) will lift him up, and the\nTwo Companies of the Gods will bear him up on their shoulders, and Ra,\nwheresoever he may be, will give him his hand.... Pepi appeareth in\nheaven among the imperishable stars. His sister the star Sothis (the\nDog-star), his guide the Morning Star (Venus) lead him by the hand to\nthe Field of Offerings. He taketh his seat on the crystal throne, which\nhath faces of fierce lions and feet in the form of the hoofs of the Bull\nSma-ur. He standeth up in his place between the Two Great Gods, and his\nsceptre and staff are in his hands. He lifteth up his hand to the\nHenmemet spirits, and the gods come to him with bowings. The Two Great\nGods look on in their places, and they find Pepi acting as judge of the\ngods. The word of every spirit-soul is in him, and they make offerings\nto him among the Two Companies of the Gods.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III\n\n STORIES OF MAGICIANS WHO LIVED UNDER THE ANCIENT EMPIRE\n\n\nThe short stories of the wonderful deeds of ancient Egyptian magicians\nhere given are found in the Westcar Papyrus, which is preserved in the\nRoyal Museum in Berlin, where it is numbered P. 3033. This papyrus was\nthe property of Miss Westcar of Whitchurch, who gave it to the eminent\nGerman Egyptologist, Richard Lepsius, in 1839; it was written probably\nat some period between the twelfth and eighteenth dynasties. The texts\nwere first edited and translated by Professor Erman.\n\n\n THE MAGICIAN UBAANER AND THE WAX CROCODILE\n\nThe first story describes an event which happened in the reign of Nebka,\na king of the third dynasty. It was told by Prince Khafra to King Khufu\n(Cheops). The magician was called Ubaaner,[1] and he was the chief\nKher-heb in the temple of Ptah of Memphis, and a very learned man. He\nwas a married man, but his wife loved a young man who worked in the\nfields, and she sent him by the hands of one of her maids a box\ncontaining a supply of very fine clothes. Soon after receiving this gift\nthe young man proposed to the magician's wife that they should meet and\ntalk in a certain booth or lodge in her garden, and she instructed the\nsteward to have the lodge made ready for her to receive her friend in\nit. When this was done, she went to the lodge, and she sat there with\nthe young man and drank beer with him until the evening, when he went\nhis way. The steward, knowing what had happened, made up his mind to\nreport the matter to his master, and as soon as the morning had come, he\nwent to Ubaaner and informed him that his wife had spent the previous\nday drinking beer with such and such a young man. Ubaaner then told the\nsteward to fetch him his casket made of ebony and silver-gold, which\ncontained materials and instruments used in working magic, and when it\nwas brought him, he took out some wax, and fashioned a figure of a\ncrocodile seven spans long. He then recited certain magical words over\nthe crocodile, and said to it, \"When the young man comes to bathe in my\nlake thou shalt seize him.\" Then giving the wax crocodile to the\nsteward, Ubaaner said to him, \"When the young man goes down to the lake\nto bathe according to his daily habit, thou shalt throw the crocodile\ninto the water after him.\" Having taken the crocodile from his master\nthe steward departed.\n\n[Footnote 1: This name means \"splitter of stones.\" It will be remembered\nthat the late Sir H.M. Stanley was called the \"stone-splitter,\" because\nof his great strength of deed and word.]\n\nThen the wife of Ubaaner told the steward to set the little lodge in the\ngarden in order, because she was going to spend some time there. When\nthe steward had furnished the lodge, she went there, and the young\npeasant paid her a visit. After leaving the lodge he went and bathed in\nthe lake, and the steward followed him and threw the wax crocodile into\nthe water; it immediately turned into a large crocodile 7 cubits (about\n11 feet) long and seized the young man and swallowed him up. When this\ntook place the magician Ubaaner was with the king, and he remained in\nattendance upon him for seven days, during which time the young man was\nin the lake, with no air to breathe. When the seven days were ended King\nNebka proposed to take a walk with the magician. Whilst they were going\nalong Ubaaner asked the king if he would care to see a wonderful thing\nthat had happened to a young peasant, and the king said he would, and\nforthwith walked to the place to which the magician led him. When they\narrived at the lake Ubaaner uttered a spell over the crocodile, and\ncommanded it to come up out of the water bringing the young man with\nhim; and the crocodile did so. When the king saw the beast he exclaimed\nat its hideousness, and seemed to be afraid of it, but the magician\nstooped down fearlessly, and took the crocodile up in his hand, and lo,\nthe living crocodile had disappeared, and only a crocodile of wax\nremained in its place. Then Ubaaner told King Nebka the story of how the\nyoung man had spent days in the lodge in the garden talking and drinking\nbeer with his wife, and His Majesty said to the wax crocodile, \"Get thee\ngone, and take what is thine with thee.\" And the wax crocodile leaped\nout of the magician's hand into the lake, and once more became a large,\nliving crocodile. And it swam away with the young man, and no one ever\nknew what became of it afterwards. Then the king made his servants seize\nUbaaner's wife, and they carried her off to the ground on the north side\nof the royal palace, and there they burned her, and they scattered her\nashes in the river. When King Khufu had heard the story he ordered many\nofferings to be made in the tomb of his predecessor Nebka, and gifts to\nbe presented to the magician Ubaaner.\n\n\n THE MAGICIAN TCHATCHAMANKH AND THE GOLD ORNAMENT\n\nThe Prince Baiufra stood up and offered to relate to King Khufu (Cheops)\na story of a magician called Tchatchamankh, who flourished in the reign\nof Seneferu, the king's father. The offer having been accepted, Baiufra\nproceeded to relate the following: On one occasion it happened that\nSeneferu was in a perplexed and gloomy state of mind, and he wandered\ndistractedly about the rooms and courts of his palace seeking to find\nsomething wherewith to amuse himself, but he failed to do so. Then he\nbethought himself of the court magician Tchatchamankh, and he ordered\nhis servants to summon him to the presence. When the great Kher-heb and\nscribe arrived, he addressed him as \"my brother,\" and told him that he\nhad been wandering about in his palace seeking for amusement, and had\nfailed to find it. The magician promptly suggested to the king that he\nshould have a boat got ready, decorated with pretty things that would\ngive pleasure, and should go for a row on the lake. The motions of the\nrowers as they rowed the boat about would interest him, and the sight of\nthe depths of the waters, and the pretty fields and gardens round about\nthe lake, would give him great pleasure. \"Let me,\" said the magician,\n\"arrange the matter. Give me twenty ebony paddles inlaid with gold and\nsilver, and twenty pretty maidens with flowing hair, and twenty network\ngarments wherein to dress them.\" The king gave orders for all these\nthings to be provided, and when the boat was ready, and the maidens who\nwere to row had taken their places, he entered the boat and sat in his\nlittle pavilion and was rowed about on the lake. The magician's views\nproved to be correct, for the king enjoyed himself, and was greatly\namused in watching the maidens row. Presently the handle of the paddle\nof one of the maidens caught in her long hair, and in trying to free it\na malachite ornament which she was wearing in her hair fell into the\nwater and disappeared. The maiden was much troubled over her loss, and\nstopped rowing, and as her stopping threw out of order the strokes of\nthe maidens who were sitting on the same seat as she was, they also\nstopped rowing. Thereupon the king asked why the rowing had ceased, and\none of the maidens told him what had happened; and when he promised that\nthe ornament should be recovered, the maiden said words which seem to\nmean that she had no doubt that she should recover it. On this Seneferu\ncaused Tchatchamankh to be summoned into the presence, and when he came\nthe king told him all that had happened. Then the magician began to\nrecite certain spells, the effect of which was to cause the water of the\nlake first to divide into two parts, and then the water on one side to\nrise up and place itself on the water on the other side. The boat,\npresumably, sank down gently on the ground of the lake, for the\nmalachite ornament was seen lying there, and the magician fetched it,\nand returned it to its owner. The depth of the water in the middle of\nthe lake where the ornament dropped was 12 cubits (between 18 and 19\nfeet), and when the water from one side was piled up on that on the\nother, the total depth of the two sections taken together was, we are\ntold, 24 cubits. As soon as the ornament was restored to the maiden, the\nmagician recited further spells, and the water lowered itself, and\nspread over the ground of the lake, and so regained its normal level.\nHis Majesty, King Seneferu, assembled his nobles, and having discussed\nthe matter with them, made a handsome gift to his clever magician. When\nKing Khufu had heard the story he ordered a large supply of funerary\nofferings to be sent to the tomb of Seneferu, and bread, beer, flesh,\nand incense to the tomb of Tchatchamankh.\n\n\n THE MAGICIAN TETA WHO RESTORED LIFE TO DEAD ANIMALS, ETC.\n\nWhen Baiufra had finished the story given above, Prince Herutataf, the\nson of King Khufu, and a very wise man, with whose name Egyptian\ntradition associated the discovery of certain chapters of the Book of\nthe Dead, stood up before his father to speak, and said to him, \"Up to\nthe present thou hast only heard tales about the wisdom of magicians who\nare dead and gone, concerning which it is quite impossible to know\nwhether they be true or not. Now, I want Thy Majesty to see a certain\nsage who is actually alive during thy lifetime, whom thou knowest not.\"\nHis Majesty Khufu said, \"Who is it, Herutataf?\" And Prince Herutataf\nreplied, \"He is a certain peasant who is called Teta, and he lives in\nTet-Seneferu. He is one hundred and ten years old, and up to this very\nday he eats five hundred bread-cakes (_sic_), and a leg of beef, and\ndrinks one hundred pots of beer. He knows how to reunite to its body a\nhead which has been cut off, he knows how to make a lion follow him\nwhilst the rope with which he is tied drags behind him on the ground,\nand he knows the numbers of the Apet chambers (?) of the shrine (?) of\nThoth.\" Now His Majesty had been seeking for a long time past for the\nnumber of the Apet chambers (?) of Thoth, for he had wished to make\nsomething like it for his \"horizon.\"[1] And King Khufu said to his son\nHerutataf, \"My son, thou thyself shalt go and bring the sage to me\";\nthereupon a boat was made ready for Prince Herutataf, who forthwith set\nout on his journey to Tet-Seneferu, the home of the sage. When the\nprince came to the spot on the river bank that was nearest to the\nvillage of Teta, he had the boat tied up, and he continued his journey\noverland seated in a sort of sedan chair made of ebony, which was\ncarried or slung on bearing poles made of costly _sesentchem_ wood\ninlaid or decorated with gold. When Herutataf arrived at the village,\nthe chair was set down on the ground, and he got out of it and stood up\nready to greet the old man, whom he found lying upon a bed, with the\ndoor of his house lying on the ground. One servant stood by the bed\nholding the sage's head and fanning him, and another was engaged in\nrubbing his feet. Herutataf addressed a highly poetical speech to Teta,\nthe gist of which was that the old man seemed to be able to defy the\nusual effects of old age, and to be like one who had obtained the secret\nof everlasting youth, and then expressed the hope that he was well.\nHaving paid these compliments, which were couched in dignified and\narchaic language, Herutataf went on to say that he had come with a\nmessage from his father Khufu, who hereby summoned Teta to his presence.\n\"I have come,\" he said, \"a long way to invite thee, so that thou mayest\neat the food, and enjoy the good things which the king bestows on those\nwho follow him, and so that he may conduct thee after a happy life to\nthy fathers who rest in the grave.\" The sage replied, \"Welcome, Prince\nHerutataf, welcome, O thou who lovest thy father. Thy father shall\nreward thee with gifts, and he shall promote thee to the rank of the\nsenior officials of his court. Thy Ka[2] shall fight successfully\nagainst thine enemy, thy soul knows the ways of the Other World, and\nthou shalt arrive at the door of those who are apparelled in ... I\nsalute thee, O Prince Herutataf.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: These were probably books and instruments which the\nmagicians of the day used in making astrological calculations, or in\nworking magic.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The \"double,\" or the vital force.]\n\nHerutataf then held out his hands to the sage and helped him to rise\nfrom the bed, and he went with him to the river bank, Teta leaning on\nhis arm. When they arrived there Teta asked for a boat wherein his\nchildren and his books might be placed, and the prince put at his\ndisposal two boats, with crews complete; Teta himself, however, was\naccommodated in the prince's boat and sailed with him. When they came to\nthe palace, Prince Herutataf went into the presence of the king to\nannounce their arrival, and said to him, \"O king my lord, I have brought\nTeta\"; and His Majesty replied, \"Bring him in quickly.\" Then the king\nwent out into the large hall of his palace, and Teta was led into the\npresence. His Majesty said, \"How is it, Teta, that I have never seen\nthee?\" And Teta answered, \"Only the man who is summoned to the presence\ncomes; so soon as the king summoned me I came.\" His Majesty asked him,\nsaying, \"Is it indeed true, as is asserted, that thou knowest how to\nrejoin to its body the head which hath been cut off?\" Teta answered,\n\"Most assuredly do I know how to do this, O king my lord.\" His Majesty\nsaid, \"Let them bring in from the prison a prisoner, so that his\ndeath-sentence may be carried out.\" Then Teta said, \"Let them not bring\na man, O king my lord. Perhaps it may be ordered that the head shall be\ncut off some other living creature.\" So a goose was brought to him, and\nhe cut off its head, and laid the body of the goose on the west side of\nthe hall, and its head on the east side. Then Teta recited certain\nmagical spells, and the goose stood up and waddled towards its head, and\nits head moved towards its body. When the body and the head came close\ntogether, the head leaped on to the body, and the goose stood up on its\nlegs and cackled.\n\nThen a goose of another kind called _khet\u00e2a_ was brought to Teta, and he\ndid with it as he had done with the other goose. His Majesty next caused\nan ox to be taken to Teta, and when he had cut off its head, and recited\nmagical spells over the head and the body, the head rejoined itself to\nthe body, and the ox stood up on its feet. A lion was next brought to\nTeta, and when he had recited spells over it, the lion went behind him,\nand followed him [like a dog], and the rope with which he had been tied\nup trailed on the ground behind the animal.\n\nKing Khufu then said to Teta, \"Is it true what they say that thou\nknowest the numbers of the Apet chambers (?) of the shrine (?) of\nThoth?\" Teta replied, \"No. I do not know their number, O king my lord,\nbut I do know the place where they are to be found.\" His Majesty asked,\n\"Where is that?\" Teta replied, \"There is a box made of flint in a house\ncalled Sapti in Heliopolis.\" The king asked, \"Who will bring me this\nbox?\" Teta replied, \"Behold, O king my lord, I shall not bring the box\nto thee.\" His Majesty asked, \"Who then shall bring it to me?\" Teta\nanswered, \"The oldest of the three children of Rut-tetet shall bring it\nunto thee.\" His Majesty said, \"It is my will that thou shalt tell me who\nthis Rut-tetet is.\" Teta answered, \"This Rut-tetet is the wife of a\npriest of Ra of Sakhabu,[1] who is about to give birth to three children\nof Ra. He told her that these children should attain to the highest\ndignities in the whole country, and that the oldest of them should\nbecome high priest[2] of Heliopolis.\" On hearing these words the heart\nof the king became sad; and Teta said, \"Wherefore art thou so sad, O\nking my lord? Is it because of the three children? I say unto thee,\nVerily thy son, verily his son, verily one of them.\" His Majesty asked,\n\"When will these three children be born?\" Teta answered, \"Rut-tetet will\ngive them birth on the fifteenth day of the first month of Pert.\"[3] The\nking then made a remark the exact meaning of which it is difficult to\nfollow, but from one part of it it is clear that he expressed his\ndetermination to go and visit the temple of Ra of Sakhabu, which seems\nto have been situated on or near the great canal of the Letopolite\nnome. In reply Teta declared that he would take care that the water in\nthe canal should be 4 cubits (about 6 feet) deep, _i.e._ that the water\nshould be deep enough for the royal barge to sail on the canal without\ndifficulty. The king then returned to his palace and gave orders that\nTeta should have lodgings given him in the house of Prince Herutataf,\nthat he should live with him, and that he should be provided with one\nthousand bread-cakes, one hundred pots of beer, one ox, and one hundred\nbundles of vegetables. And all that the king commanded concerning Teta\nwas done.\n\n[Footnote 1: A town which seems to have been situated in the second nome\nor \"county\" of Lower Egypt; the Greeks called the nome Letopolites.]\n\n[Footnote 2: His official title was \"Ur-mau.\"]\n\n[Footnote 3: The season Pert = November 15 - March 15.]\n\n\n THE STORY OF RUT-TETET AND THE THREE SONS OF RA\n\nThe last section of the Westcar Papyrus deals with the birth of the\nthree sons of Ra, who have been mentioned above. When the day drew nigh\nin which the three sons were to be born, Ra, the Sun-god, ordered the\nfour goddesses, Isis, Nephthys,[1] Meskhenet,[2] and Heqet,[3] and the\ngod Khnemu,[4] to go and superintend the birth of the three children, so\nthat when they grew up, and were exercising the functions of rule\nthroughout all Egypt, they should build temples to them, and furnish the\naltars in them with offerings of meat and drink in abundance. Then the\nfour goddesses changed themselves into the forms of dancing women, and\nwent to the house wherein the lady Rut-tetet lay ill, and finding her\nhusband, the priest of Ra, who was called Rauser, outside, they clashed\ntheir cymbals together, and rattled their sistra, and tried to make him\nmerry. When Rauser objected to this and told them that his wife lay ill\ninside the house, they replied, \"Let us see her, for we know how to\nhelp her\"; so he said to them and to Khnemu who was with them, \"Enter\nin,\" and they did so, and they went to the room wherein Rut-tetet lay.\nIsis, Nephthys, and Heqet assisted in bringing the three boys into the\nworld. Meskhenet prophesied for each of them sovereignty over the land,\nand Khnemu bestowed health upon their bodies. After the birth of the\nthree boys, the four goddesses and Khnemu went outside the house, and\ntold Rauser to rejoice because his wife Rut-tetet had given him three\nchildren. Rauser said, \"My Ladies, what can I do for you in return for\nthis?\" Having apparently nothing else to give them, he begged them to\nhave barley brought from his granary, so that they might take it away as\na gift to their own granaries; they agreed, and the god Khnemu brought\nthe barley. So the goddesses set out to go to the place whence they had\ncome.\n\n[Footnote 1: Isis and Nephthys were the daughters of Keb and Nut, and\nsisters of Osiris and Set; the former was the mother of Horus, and the\nlatter of Anubis.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A goddess who presided over the birth of children.]\n\n[Footnote 3: A very ancient Frog-goddess, who was associated with\ngeneration and birth.]\n\n[Footnote 4: A god who assisted at the creation of the world, and who\nfashioned the bodies of men and women.]\n\nWhen they had arrived there Isis said to her companions: \"How is it that\nwe who went to Rut-tetet [by the command of Ra] have worked no wonder\nfor the children which we could have announced to their father, who\nallowed us to depart [without begging a boon]?\" So they made divine\ncrowns such as belonged to the Lord (_i.e._ King), life, strength,\nhealth [be to him!], and they hid them in the barley. Then they sent\nrain and storm through the heavens, and they went back to the house of\nRauser, apparently carrying the barley with them, and said to him, \"Let\nthe barley abide in a sealed room until we dance our way back to the\nnorth.\" So they put the barley in a sealed room. After Rut-tetet had\nkept herself secluded for fourteen days, she said to one of her\nhandmaidens, \"Is the house all ready?\" and the handmaiden told her that\nit was provided with everything except jars of barley drink, which had\nnot been brought. Rut-tetet then asked why they had not been brought,\nand the handmaiden replied in words that seem to mean that there was no\nbarley in the house except that which belonged to the dancing goddesses,\nand that that was in a chamber which had been sealed with their seal.\nRut-tetet then told her to go and fetch some of the barley, for she was\nquite certain that when her husband Rauser returned he would make good\nwhat she took. Thereupon the handmaiden went to the chamber, and broke\nit open, and she heard in it loud cries and shouts, and the sounds of\nmusic and singing and dancing, and all the noises which men make in\nhonour of the birth of a king, and she went back and told Rut-tetet what\nshe had heard. Then Rut-tetet herself went through the room, and could\nnot find the place where the noises came from, but when she laid her\ntemple against a box, she perceived that the noises were inside it. She\nthen took this box, which cannot have been of any great size, and put it\nin another box, which in turn she put in another box, which she sealed,\nand then wrapping this in a leather covering, she laid it in a chamber\ncontaining her jar of barley beer or barley wine, and sealed the door.\nWhen Rauser returned from the fields, Rut-tetet related to him\neverything that had happened, and his heart was exceedingly glad, and he\nand his wife sat down and enjoyed themselves.\n\nA few days after these events Rut-tetet had a quarrel with her\nhandmaiden, and she slapped her well. The handmaiden was very angry, and\nin the presence of the household she said words to this effect: Dost\nthou dare to treat me in this way? I who can destroy thee? She has given\nbirth to three kings, and I will go and tell the Majesty of King Khufu\nof this fact. The handmaiden thought that, if Khufu knew of the views of\nRauser and Rut-tetet about the future of their three sons, and the\nprophecies of the goddesses, he would kill the children and perhaps\ntheir parents also. With the object in her mind of telling the king the\nhandmaiden went to her maternal uncle, whom she found weaving flax on\nthe walk, and told him what had happened, and said she was going to tell\nthe king about the three children. From her uncle she obtained neither\nsupport nor sympathy; on the contrary, gathering together several\nstrands of flax into a thick rope he gave her a good beating with the\nsame. A little later the handmaiden went to the river or canal to fetch\nsome water, and whilst she was filling her pot a crocodile seized her\nand carried her away and, presumably, ate her. Then the uncle went to\nthe house of Rut-tetet to tell her what had happened, and he found her\nsitting down, with her head bowed over her breast, and exceedingly sad\nand miserable. He asked her, saying, \"O Lady, wherefore art thou so\nsad?\" And she told him that the cause of her sorrow was the handmaiden,\nwho had been born in the house and had grown up in it, and who had just\nleft it, threatening that she would go and tell the king about the birth\nof the three kings. The uncle of the handmaiden nodded his head in a\nconsoling manner, and told Rut-tetet how she had come to him and\ninformed him what she was going to do, and how he had given her a good\nbeating with a rope of flax, and how she had gone to the river to fetch\nsome water, and how a crocodile had carried her off.\n\nThere is reason to think that the three sons of Rut-tetet became the\nthree kings of the fifth dynasty who were known by the names of Khafra,\nMenkaura, and Userkaf. The stories given above are valuable because they\ncontain elements of history, for it is now well known that the immediate\nsuccessors of the fourth dynasty, of which Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura,\nthe builders of the three great pyramids at Gizah, were the most\nimportant kings, were kings who delighted to call themselves sons of Ra,\nand who spared no effort to make the form of worship of the Sun-god that\nwas practised at Anu, or Heliopolis, universal in Egypt. It is probable\nthat the three magicians, Ubaaner, Tchatchamankh, and Teta were\nhistorical personages, whose abilities and skill in working magic\nappealed to the imagination of the Egyptians under all dynasties, and\ncaused their names to be venerated to a remote posterity.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV\n\n THE BOOK OF THE DEAD\n\n\n\"Book of the Dead\" is the name that is now generally given to the large\ncollection of \"Chapters,\" or compositions, both short and long, which\nthe ancient Egyptians cut upon the walls of the corridors and chambers\nin pyramids and rock-hewn tombs, and cut or painted upon the insides and\noutsides of coffins and sarcophagi, and wrote upon papyri, etc., which\nwere buried with the dead in their tombs. The first modern scholar to\nstudy these Chapters was the eminent Frenchman, J. Fran\u00e7ois Champollion;\nhe rightly concluded that all of them were of a religious character, but\nhe was wrong in calling the collection as a whole \"Funerary Ritual.\" The\nname \"Book of the Dead\" is a translation of the title \"Todtenbuch,\"\ngiven by Dr. R. Lepsius to his edition of a papyrus at Turin, containing\na very long selection of the Chapters,[1] which he published in 1842.\n\"Book of the Dead\" is on the whole a very satisfactory general\ndescription of these Chapters, for they deal almost entirely with the\ndead, and they were written entirely for the dead. They have nothing to\ndo with the worship of the gods by those who live on the earth, and such\nprayers and hymns as are incorporated with them were supposed to be said\nand sung by the dead for their own benefit. The author of the Chapters\nof the Book of the Dead was the god Thoth, whose greatness has already\nbeen described in Chapter I of this book. Thus they were considered to\nbe of divine origin, and were held in the greatest reverence by the\nEgyptians at all periods of their long history. They do not all belong\nto the same period, for many of them allude to the dismemberment and\nburning of the dead, customs that, though common enough in very\nprimitive times, were abandoned soon after royal dynasties became\nestablished in Egypt.\n\n[Footnote 1: The actual number of Chapters in this papyrus is 165.]\n\nIt is probable that in one form or another many of the Chapters were in\nexistence in the predynastic period,[1] but no copies of such primitive\nversions, if they ever existed, have come down to us. One Egyptian\ntradition, which is at least as old as the early part of the eighteenth\ndynasty (1600 B.C.), states that Chapters XXXB and LXIV were\n\"discovered\" during the reign of Semti, a king of the first dynasty, and\nanother tradition assigns their discovery to the reign of Menkaura (the\nMycerinus of classical writers), a king of the fourth dynasty. It is\ncertain, however, that the Egyptians possessed a Book of the Dead which\nwas used for kings and royal personages, at least, early under the first\ndynasty, and that, in a form more or less complete, it was in use down\nto the time of the coming of Christianity into Egypt. The tombs of the\nofficials of the third and fourth dynasties prove that the Book of\nOpening the Mouth and the Liturgy of Funerary Offerings (see pp. 13-18)\nwere in use when they were made, and this being so it follows as a\nmatter of course that at this period the Egyptians believed in the\nresurrection of the dead and in their immortality, that the religion of\nOsiris was generally accepted, that the efficacy of funerary offerings\nwas unquestioned by the religious, and that men died believing that\nthose who were righteous on earth would be rewarded in heaven, and that\nthe evil-doer would be punished. The Pyramid Texts also prove that a\nBook of the Dead divided into chapters was in existence when they were\nwritten, for they mention the \"Chapter of those who come forth (_i.e._\nappear in heaven),\" and the \"Chapter of those who rise up\" (Pepi I, l.\n463), and the \"Chapter of the _betu_ incense,\" and the \"Chapter of the\nnatron incense\" (Pepi I, 469). Whether these Chapters formed parts of\nthe Pyramid Texts, or whether both they and the Pyramid Texts belonged\nto the Book of the Dead cannot be said, but it seems clear that the four\nChapters mentioned above formed part of a work belonging to a Book of\nthe Dead that was older than the Pyramid Texts. This Book of the Dead\nwas no doubt based upon the beliefs of the followers of the religion of\nOsiris, which began in the Delta and spread southwards into Upper Egypt.\nIts doctrines must have differed in many important particulars from\nthose of the worshippers of the Sun-god of Heliopolis, whose priests\npreached the existence of a heaven of a solar character, and taught\ntheir followers to believe in the Sun-god Ra, and not in Temu, the\nancient native god of Heliopolis, and not in the divine man Osiris. The\nexposition of the Heliopolitan creed is found in the Pyramid Texts,\nwhich also contain the proofs that before the close of the sixth dynasty\nthe cult of Osiris had vanquished the cult of Ra, and that the religion\nof Osiris had triumphed.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ before Menes became king of both Upper and Lower\nEgypt.]\n\nCertain of the Chapters of the Book of the Dead (_e.g._ XXXB and LXIV)\nwere written in the city of Thoth, or Khemenu, others were written in\nAnu, or Heliopolis, and others in Busiris and other towns of the Delta.\nOf the Book of the Dead that was in use under the fifth and sixth\ndynasties we have no copies, but many Chapters of the Recension in use\nunder the eleventh and twelfth dynasties are found written in cursive\nhieroglyphs upon wooden sarcophagi, many of which may be seen in the\nBritish Museum. With the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty the Book of\nthe Dead enters a new phase of its existence, and it became the custom\nto write it on rolls of papyrus, which were laid with the dead in their\ncoffins, instead of on the coffins themselves. As the greater number of\nsuch rolls have been found in the tombs of priests and others at Thebes,\nthe Recension that was in use from the eighteenth to the twenty-first\ndynasty (1600-900 B.C.) is commonly called the THEBAN RECENSION. This\nRecension, in its earliest form, is usually written with black ink in\nvertical columns of hieroglyphs, which are separated by black lines; the\ntitles of the Chapters, the opening words of each section, and the\nRubrics are written with red ink. About the middle of the eighteenth\ndynasty pictures painted in bright colours, \"vignettes,\" were added to\nthe Chapters; these are very valuable, because they sometimes explain or\ngive a clue to the meaning of parts of the texts that are obscure. Under\nthe twentieth and twenty-first dynasties the writing of copies of the\nBook of the Dead in hieroglyphs went out of fashion, and copies written\nin the hieratic, or cursive, character took their place. These were\nornamented with vignettes drawn in outline with black ink, and although\nthe scribes who made them wrote certain sections in hieroglyphs, it is\nclear that they did not possess the skill of the great scribes who\nflourished between 1600 and 1050 B.C. The last Recension of the Book of\nthe Dead known to us in a complete form is the SAITE RECENSION, which\ncame into existence about 600 B.C., and continued in use from that time\nto the Roman Period. In the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods the priests\ncomposed several small works such as the \"Book of Breathings\" and the\n\"Book of Traversing Eternity,\" which were based upon the Book of the\nDead, and were supposed to contain in a highly condensed form all the\ntexts that were necessary for salvation. At a still later period even\nmore abbreviated texts came into use, and the Book of the Dead ended its\nexistence in the form of a series of almost illegible scrawls traced\nupon scraps of papyrus only a few inches square.\n\nRolls of papyrus containing the Book of the Dead were placed: (1) In a\nniche in the wall of the mummy chamber; (2) in the coffin by the side of\nthe deceased, or laid between the thighs or just above the ankles; (3)\nin hollow wooden figures of the god Osiris, or Ptah-Seker-Osiris, or in\nthe hollow pedestals on which such figures stood.\n\nThe Egyptians believed that the souls of the dead on leaving this world\nhad to traverse a vast and difficult region called the Tuat, which was\ninhabited by gods, devils, fiends, demons, good spirits, bad spirits,\nand the souls of the wicked, to say nothing of snakes, serpents, savage\nanimals, and monsters, before they could reach the Elysian Fields, and\nappear in the presence of Osiris. The Tuat was like the African \"bush,\"\nand had no roads through it. In primitive times the Egyptians thought\nthat only those souls that were provided with spells, incantations,\nprayers, charms, words of power, and amulets could ever hope to reach\nthe Kingdom of Osiris. The spells and incantations were needed for the\nbewitchment of hostile beings of every kind; the prayers, charms, and\nwords of power were necessary for making other kinds of beings that\npossessed great powers to help the soul on its journey, and to deliver\nit from foes; and the amulets gave the soul that was equipped with them\nstrength, power, will, and knowledge to employ successfully every means\nof assistance that presented itself.\n\nThe OBJECT OF THE BOOK OF THE DEAD was to provide the dead man with all\nthese spells, prayers, amulets, &c., and to enable him to overcome all\nthe dangers and difficulties of the Tuat, and to reach Sekhet Aaru and\nSekhet Hetep (the Elysian Fields), and to take his place among the\nsubjects of Osiris in the Land of Everlasting Life. As time went on the\nbeliefs of the Egyptians changed considerably about many important\nmatters, but they never attempted to alter the Chapters of the Book of\nthe Dead so as to bring them, if we may use the expression, \"up to\ndate.\" The religion of the eighteenth dynasty was far higher in its\nspiritual character generally than that of the twelfth dynasty, but the\nChapters that were used under the twelfth dynasty were used under the\neighteenth, and even under the twenty-sixth dynasty. In religion the\nEgyptian forgot nothing and abandoned nothing; what was good enough for\nhis ancestors was good enough for him, and he was content to go into the\nnext world relying for his salvation on the texts which he thought had\nprocured their salvation. Thus the Book of the Dead as a whole is a work\nthat reflects all the religious beliefs of the Egyptians from the time\nwhen they were half savages to the period of the final downfall of their\npower.\n\n[Illustration: Vignette and Part of the XCIInd Chapter of the Book of\nthe Dead. (Ani and his Soul are leaving the Tomb) _From the Papyrus of\nthe Ani in the British Museum._]\n\nThe Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead contains about one hundred\nand ninety Chapters, many of which have Rubrics stating what effects\nwill be produced by their recital, and describing ceremonies that must\nbe performed whilst they are being recited. It is impossible to describe\nthe contents of all the Chapters in our limited space, but in the\nfollowing brief summary the most important are enumerated. Chap. 1\ncontains the formulas that were recited on the day of the funeral. Chap.\n151 gives a picture of the arrangement of the mummy chamber, and the\ntexts to be said in it. Chap. 137 describes certain magical ceremonies\nthat were performed in the mummy chamber, and describes the objects of\nmagical power that were placed in niches in the four walls. Chap. 125\ngives a picture of the Judgment Hall of Osiris, and supplies the\ndeclarations of innocence that the deceased made before the Forty-two\nJudges. Chaps. 144-147, 149, and 150 describe the Halls, Pylons, and\nDivisions of the Kingdom of Osiris, and supply the name of the gods who\nguard them, and the formulas to be said by the deceased as he comes to\neach. Chap. 110 gives a picture of the Elysian Fields and a text\ndescribing all the towns and places in them. Chap. 5 is a spell by the\nuse of which the deceased avoided doing work, and Chap. 6 is another,\nthe recital of which made a figure to work for him. Chap. 15 contains\nhymns to the rising and to the setting sun, and a Litany of Osiris; and\nChap. 183 is a hymn to Osiris. Chaps. 2, 3, 12, 13, and others enabled a\nman to move about freely in the Other World; Chap. 9 secured his free\npassage in and out of the tomb; and Chap. 11 overthrew his enemies.\nChap. 17 deals with important beliefs as to the origin of God and the\ngods, and of the heavens and the earth, and states the different\nopinions which Egyptian theologians held about many divine and\nmythological beings. The reason for including it in the Book of the Dead\nis not quite clear, but that it was a most important Chapter is beyond\nall doubt. Chaps. 21 and 22 restored his mouth to the deceased, and\nChap. 23 enabled him to open it. Chap. 24 supplied him with words of\npower, and Chap. 25 restored to him his memory. Chaps. 26-30B gave to\nthe deceased his heart, and supplied the spells that prevented the\nstealers of hearts from carrying it off, or from injuring it in any way.\nTwo of these Chapters (29 and 30B) were cut upon amulets made in the\nform of a human heart. Chaps. 31 and 32 are spells for driving away\ncrocodiles, and Chaps. 33-38, and 40 are spells against snakes and\nserpents. Chaps. 41 and 42 preserved a man from slaughter in the Other\nWorld, Chap. 43 enabled him to avoid decapitation, and Chap. 44\npreserved him from the second death. Chaps. 45, 46, and 154 protected\nthe body from rot or decay and worms in the tomb. Chap. 50 saved the\ndeceased from the headsman in the Tuat, and Chap. 51 enabled him to\navoid stumbling. Chaps. 38, 52-60, and 62 ensured for him a supply of\nair and water in the Tuat, and Chap. 63 protected him from drinking\nboiling water there. Chaps. 64-74 gave him the power to leave the tomb,\nto overthrow enemies, and to \"come forth by day.\" Chaps. 76-89 enabled a\nman to transform himself into the Light-god, the primeval soul of God,\nthe gods Ptah and Osiris, a golden hawk, a divine hawk, a lotus, a\n_benu_ bird, a heron, a swallow, a serpent, a crocodile, and into any\nbeing or thing he pleased. Chap. 89 enabled the soul of the deceased to\nrejoin its body at pleasure, and Chaps. 91 and 92 secured the egress of\nhis soul and spirit from the tomb. Chaps. 94-97 made the deceased an\nassociate of Thoth, and Chaps. 98 and 99 secured for him the use of the\nmagical boat, and the services of the celestial ferryman, who would\nferry him across the river in the Tuat to the Island of Fire, in which\nOsiris lived. Chaps. 101 and 102 provided access for him to the Boat of\nRa. Chaps. 108, 109, 112, and 116 enabled him to know the Souls (_i.e._\ngods) of the East and West, and of the towns of Pe,[1] Nekhen,[2]\nKhemenu,[3] and Anu.[4] Chaps. 117-119 enabled him to find his way\nthrough Rastau, a part of the kingdom of Seker, the god of Death. Chap.\n152 enabled him to build a house, and Chap. 132 gave him power to return\nto the earth and see it. Chap. 153 provided for his escape from the\nfiend who went about to take souls in a net. Chaps. 155-160, 166, and\n167 formed the spells that were engraved on amulets, _i.e._ the Tet\n(male), the Tet (female), the Vulture, the Collar, the Sceptre, the\nPillow, the Pectoral, &c., and gave to the deceased the power of Osiris\nand Isis and other gods, and restored to him his heart, and lifted up\nhis head. Chap. 162 kept heat in the body until the day of the\nresurrection. Chaps. 175 and 176 gave the deceased everlasting life and\nenabled him to escape the second death. Chap. 177 raised up the dead\nbody, and Chap. 178 raised up the spirit-soul. The remaining Chapters\nperfected the spirit-soul, and gave it celestial powers, and enabled it\nto enjoy intercourse with the gods as an equal, and enabled it to\nparticipate in all their occupations and pleasures. We may now give a\nfew extracts that will give an idea of the contents of some of the most\nimportant passages.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ Pe Tep, or Buto.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Eileithyiaspolis.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Hermopolis.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Heliopolis.]\n\n[Illustration: Her-Heru, the first Priest-King, and Queen Netchemet\nreciting a Hymn to the Rising Sun. The Apes represent the Spirits of the\nDawn. _From a papyrus (about 1050 B.C.) in the British Museum._]\n\n\nThe following is the opening hymn to Osiris in the Papyrus of Ani:\n\n\"Glory be to Osiris Un-Nefer, the great god who dwelleth in Abydos, king\nof eternity, lord of everlastingness, whose existence endureth for\nmillions of years. Eldest son of the womb of Nut,[1] begotten by Keb,[2]\nthe Erpat,[3] lord of the crowns of the South and North, lord of the\nlofty white crown, prince of gods and men: he hath received the sceptre,\nand the whip, and the rank of his divine fathers. Let thy heart in\nSemt-Ament[4] be content, for thy son Horus is established on thy\nthrone. Thou art crowned lord of Tatu[5] and ruler in Abydos.[6] Through\nthee the world flourisheth in triumph before the power of Nebertcher.[7]\nHe leadeth on that which is and that which is not yet, in his name of\n'Taherstanef.' He toweth along the earth by Maat[8] in his name of\n'Seker'; he is exceedingly mighty and most terrible in his name of\n'Osiris'; he endureth for ever and ever in his name of 'Un-Nefer.'\nHomage to thee, O King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince of princes, who\nfrom the womb of Nut hast ruled the world and Akert.[9] Thy body is\n[like] bright and shining metal, thy head is of azure blue, and the\nbrilliance of the turquoise encircleth thee. O thou god An of millions\nof years, whose body pervadeth all things, whose face is beautiful in\nTa-Tchesert,[10] grant thou to the Ka of the Osiris the scribe Ani\nsplendour in heaven, power upon earth, and triumph in the Other World.\nGrant that I may sail down to Tatu in the form of a living soul, and\nsail up to Abydos in the form of the Benu bird;[11] that I may go in and\ncome out without being stopped at the pylons of the Lords of the Other\nWorld. May there be given unto me bread-cakes in the house of coolness,\nand offerings of food in Anu (Heliopolis), and a homestead for ever in\nSekhet Aru,[12] with wheat and barley therefor.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The Earth-god.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The hereditary chief of the gods.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The other world.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The town of Busiris on the Delta.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Abydos in Upper Egypt.]\n\n[Footnote 7: The Lord to the uttermost limit, _i.e._ Almighty God.]\n\n[Footnote 8: The goddess of physical and moral law, and the\npersonification of the conscience.]\n\n[Footnote 9: A name of the Other World.]\n\n[Footnote 10: The Holy Land, _i.e._ the Kingdom of Osiris.]\n\n[Footnote 11: A bird which has been identified with the phoenix. The soul\nof Ra was incarnate in it.]\n\n[Footnote 12: A name of the realm of Osiris, or the Elysian Fields.]\n\nIn another Hymn to Osiris, which is found in the Papyrus of Hunefer, we\nhave the following: \"The gods come unto thee, bowing low before thee,\nand they hold thee in fear. They withdraw and depart when they see thee\nendued with the terror of Ra, and the victory of Thy Majesty is over\ntheir hearts. Life is with thee, and offerings of meat and drink follow\nthee, and that which is thy due is offered before thy face. I have come\nunto thee holding in my hands truth, and my heart hath in it no cunning\n(or deceit). I offer unto thee that which is thy due, and I know that\nwhereon thou livest. I have not committed any kind of sin in the land; I\nhave defrauded no man of what is his. I am Thoth, the perfect scribe,\nwhose hands are pure. I am the lord of purity, the destroyer of evil,\nthe scribe of truth; what I abominate is sin.\"\n\nHere is an address, followed by a short Litany, which forms a kind of\nintroduction to Chapter 15 in the Papyrus of Ani:\n\n\"Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of eternity, Un-Nefer, Heru-Khuti,\nwhose forms are manifold, whose attributes are majesty, [thou who art]\nPtah-Seker-Tem in Heliopolis, lord of the Sheta shrine, creator of\nHet-ka-Ptah (Memphis) and of the gods who dwell therein, thou Guide of\nthe Other World, whom the gods praise when thou settest in the sky. Isis\nembraceth thee contentedly, and she driveth away the fiends from the\nmouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face towards Amentet,[1] and thou\nmakest the earth to shine like refined copper. The dead rise up to look\nupon thee, they breathe the air, and they behold thy face when [thy]\ndisk riseth on the horizon. Their hearts are at peace, inasmuch as they\nbehold thee, O thou who art Eternity and Everlastingness.\n\n[Footnote 1: The \"hidden\" land, the West, the Other World.]\n\n\n LITANY\n\n\"1. Homage to thee, O [Lord of] the Dekans[1] in Heliopolis and of the\nheavenly beings in Kheraha,[2] thou god Unti, who art the most glorious\nof the gods hidden in Heliopolis.\n\n\"_Grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just\nand true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with\ndeceit_.[3]\n\n\"2. Homage to thee, O An[4] in Antes, Heru-Khuti,[5] with long strides\ndost thou stride over heaven, O Heru-Khuti.\n\n\"3. Homage to thee, O Everlasting Soul, who dwellest in Tatu (Busiris),\nUn-Nefer,[6] son of Nut, who art the Lord of Akert.\n\n\"4. Homage to thee in thy rule over Tatu. The Urrt Crown is fixed upon\nthy head. Thou art One, thou createst thy protection, thou dwellest in\npeace in Tatu.\n\n\"5. Homage to thee, O Lord of the Acacia. The Seker Boat[7] is on its\nsledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil; thou makest the\nEye of the Sun-god to rest upon its throne.\n\n\"6. Homage to thee, mighty one in thine hour, Prince great and mighty,\ndweller in Anrutef,[8] lord of eternity, creator of everlastingness.\nThou art the lord of Hensu.[9]\n\n\"7. Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Truth. Thou art the Lord of\nAbydos; thy body is joined to Ta-Tchesert. Thou art he to whom fraud and\ndeceit are abominable.\n\n\"8. Homage to thee, O dweller in thy boat. Thou leadest the Nile from\nhis source, the light shineth upon thy body; thou art the dweller in\nNekhen.[10]\n\n\"9. Homage to thee, O Creator of the gods, King of the South, King of\nthe North, Osiris, Conqueror, Governor of the world in thy gracious\nseasons! Thou art the Lord of the heaven of Egypt (Atebui).\"\n\n[Footnote 1: A group of thirty-six Star-gods.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A town that stood on the site of Old Cairo.]\n\n[Footnote 3: This response was to be repeated after each petition.]\n\n[Footnote 4: A Light-god.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Harmakhis of the Greeks.]\n\n[Footnote 6: A form of Osiris.]\n\n[Footnote 7: The Henu Boat of Seker was drawn round the sanctuary of\nSeker each morning.]\n\n[Footnote 8: A district of Hensu.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Herakleopolis in Upper Egypt.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Eileithyiaspolis in Upper Egypt.]\n\n\nThe following passage illustrates the general character of a funerary\nhymn to Ra: \"Homage to thee, O thou who art in the form of Khepera,\nKhepera the creator of the gods. Thou risest, thou shinest, thou\nilluminest thy mother [the sky]. Thou art crowned King of the Gods.\nMother Nut[1] welcometh thee with bowings. The Land of Sunset (Manu)\nreceiveth thee with satisfaction, and the goddess Maat[2] embraceth thee\nat morn and at eve. Hail, ye gods of the Temple of the Soul (_i.e._\nheaven), who weigh heaven and earth in a balance, who provide celestial\nfood! And hail, Tatunen,[3] One, Creator of man, Maker of the gods of\nthe south and of the north, of the west and of the east! Come ye and\nacclaim Ra, the Lord of heaven, the Prince--life, health, strength be to\nhim!--the Creator of the gods, and adore ye him in his beautiful form as\nhe riseth in his Morning Boat (Antchet).\n\n\"Those who dwell in the heights and those who dwell in the depths\nworship thee. Thoth and the goddess Maat have laid down thy course for\nthee daily for ever. Thine Enemy the Serpent hath been cast into the\nfire, the fiend hath fallen down into it headlong. His arms have been\nbound in chains, and Ra hath hacked off his legs; the Mesu Betshet[4]\nshall never more rise up. The Temple of the Aged God [in Anu] keepeth\nfestival, and the sound of those who rejoice is in the Great House. The\ngods shout for joy when they see Ra rising, and when his beams are\nfilling the world with light. The Majesty of the Holy God goeth forth\nand advanceth even unto the Land of Sunset (Manu). He maketh bright the\nearth at his birth daily, he journeyeth to the place where he was\nyesterday. O be thou at peace with me, and let me behold thy beauties!\nLet me appear on the earth. Let me smite [the Eater of] the Ass.[5] Let\nme crush the Serpent Seba.[6] Let me destroy Aapep[7] when he is most\nstrong. Let me see the Abtu Fish in its season and the Ant Fish[8] in\nits lake. Let me see Horus steering thy boat, with Thoth and Maat\nstanding one on each side of him. Let me have hold of the bows of [thy]\nEvening Boat and the stern of thy Morning Boat.[9] Grant thou unto the\nKa of me, the Osiris the scribe Ani, to behold the disk of the Sun, and\nto see the Moon-god regularly and daily. Let my soul come forth and walk\nhither and thither and whithersoever it pleaseth. Let my name be read\nfrom the list of those who are to receive offerings, and may offerings\nbe set before me, even as they are set before the Followers of Horus.\nLet there be prepared for me a seat in the Boat of Ra on the day when\nthe god goeth forth. Let me be received into the presence of Osiris, in\nthe Land where Truth is spoken.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Goddess of Law.]\n\n[Footnote 3: An ancient Earth-god.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The associates of Set, the god of Evil.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The Ass was a form of the Sun-god, and its eater was a\nmythological monster-serpent.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Another mythological serpent.]\n\n[Footnote 7: The serpent that tried to swallow the sun each morning, but\nthe Sun-god cast a spell on it and rendered it powerless.]\n\n[Footnote 8: The Abtu and the Ant were two fishes that swam before the\nboat of the sun to warn the god of danger.]\n\n[Footnote 9: _i.e._, Ani wishes to be sure of a seat in both boats.]\n\n\nThe prayers of the Book of the Dead consist usually of a string of\npetitions for sepulchral offerings to be offered in the tombs of the\npetitioners, and the fundamental idea underlying them is that by their\ntransmutation, which was effected by the words of the priests, the\nspirits of the offerings became available as the food of the dead. Many\nprayers contain requests for the things that tend to the comfort and\ngeneral well-being of the dead, but here and there we find a prayer for\nforgiveness of sins committed in the body. The best example of such is\nthe prayer that forms Chapter CXXVI. It reads: \"Hail, ye four Ape-gods\nwho sit in the bows of the Boat of Ra, who convey truth to Nebertchet,\nwho sit in judgment on my weakness and on my strength, who make the gods\nto rest contented by means of the flame of your mouths, who offer holy\nofferings to the gods, and sepulchral meals to the spirit-souls, who\nlive upon truth, who feed upon truth of heart, who are without deceit\nand fraud, and to whom wickedness is an abomination, do ye away with my\nevil deeds, and put ye away my sin, which deserved stripes upon earth,\nand destroy ye every evil thing whatsoever that clingeth to me, and let\nthere be no bar whatsoever on my part towards you. Grant ye that I may\nmake my way through the Amhet[1] chamber, let me enter into Rastau,[2]\nand let me pass through the secret places of Amentet. Grant that cakes,\nand ale, and sweetmeats may be given to me as they are given to the\nspirit-souls, and grant that I may enter in and come forth from Rastau.\"\nThe four Ape-gods reply: \"Come, for we have done away with thy\nwickedness, and we have put away thy sin, which deserved stripes, which\nthou didst commit upon earth, and we have destroyed all the evil that\nclung to thee. Enter, therefore, into Rastau, and pass in through the\nsecret gates of Amentet, and cakes, and ale, and sweetmeats shall be\ngiven unto thee, and thou shalt go in and come out at thy desire, even\nas do those whose spirit-souls are praised [by the god], and [thy name]\nshall be proclaimed each day in the horizon.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: A chamber in the kingdom of Seker in which the dead were\nexamined.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The corridors in the kingdom of Seker.]\n\nAnother prayer of special interest is that which forms Chapter XXXB.\nThis is put into the mouth of the deceased when he is standing in the\nHall of Judgment watching the weighing of his heart in the Great Scales\nby Anubis and Thoth, in the presence of the Great Company of the gods\nand Osiris. He says: \"My heart, my mother. My heart, my mother. My heart\nwhereby I came into being. Let none stand up to oppose me at my\njudgment. May there be no opposition to me in the presence of the\nTchatchau.[1] Mayest thou not be separated from me in the presence of\nthe Keeper of the Balance. Thou art my Ka (_i.e._ Double, or vital\npower), that dwelleth in my body; the god Khnemu who knitteth together\nand strengthened my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place of\nhappiness whither we go. May the Shenit officers who decide the\ndestinies of the lives of men not cause my name to stink [before\nOsiris]. Let it (_i.e._ the weighing) be satisfactory unto us, and let\nthere be joy of heart to us at the weighing of words (_i.e._ the Great\nJudgment). Let not that which is false be uttered against me before the\nGreat God, the Lord of Amentet (_i.e._ Osiris). Verily thou shalt be\ngreat when thou risest up [having been declared] a speaker of the\ntruth.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The chief officers of Osiris, the divine Taskmasters.]\n\nIn many papyri this prayer is followed by a Rubric, which orders that it\nis to be said over a green stone scarab set in a band of _tchamu_ metal\n(_i.e._ silver-gold), which is to be hung by a ring from the neck of the\ndeceased. Some Rubrics order it to be placed in the breast of a mummy,\nwhere it is to take the place of the heart, and say that it will \"open\nthe mouth\" of the deceased. A tradition which is as old as the twelfth\ndynasty says that the Chapter was discovered in the town of Khemenu\n(Hermopolis Magna) by Herutataf, the son of Khufu, in the reign of\nMenkaura, a king of the fourth dynasty. It was cut in hieroglyphs,\ninlaid with lapis-lazuli on a block of alabaster, which was set under\nthe feet of Thoth, and was therefore believed to be a most powerful\nprayer. We know that this prayer was recited by the Egyptians in the\nPtolemaic Period, and thus it is clear that it was in common use for a\nperiod of nearly four thousand years. It may well be the oldest prayer\nin the world. Under the Middle and New Empires this prayer was cut upon\nhard green stone scarabs, but the versions of it found on scarabs are\noften incomplete and full of mistakes. It is quite clear that the prayer\nwas turned into a spell, and that it was used merely as a \"word of\npower,\" and that the hard stone scarabs were regarded merely as amulets.\nOn many of them spaces are found that have been left blank to receive\nthe names of those with whom they were to be buried; this proves that\nsuch scarabs once formed part of some undertaker's stock-in-trade, and\nthat they were kept ready for those who were obliged to buy \"heart\nscarabs\" in a hurry.\n\nAnother remarkable composition in the Book of the Dead is the first part\nof Chapter CXXV, which well illustrates the lofty moral conceptions of\nthe Egyptians of the eighteenth dynasty. The deceased is supposed to be\nstanding in the \"Usekht Maati,\" or Hall of the Two Maati goddesses, one\nfor Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt, wherein Osiris and his\nForty-two Judges judge the souls of the dead. Before judgment is given\nthe deceased is allowed to make a declaration, which in form closely\nresembles that made in many parts of Africa at the present day by a man\nwho is condemned to undergo the ordeal of drinking \"red water,\" and in\nit he states that he has not committed offences against the moral and\nreligious laws of his country. He says:\n\n\"Homage to thee, O Great God, thou Lord of Maati. I have come to thee, O\nmy Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thy\nbeauties. I know thee. I know thy name. I know the names of the\nForty-two[1] gods who live with thee in this Hall of Truth, who keep\nward over sinners, and who feed upon their blood on the day when the\nlives of men are taken into account in the presence of Un-Nefer (_i.e._\nthe Good Being or Osiris).... Verily, I have come unto thee, I have\nbrought truth unto thee. I have destroyed wickedness for thee. I have\nnot done evil to men. I have not oppressed (or wronged) my family. I\nhave not done wrong instead of right. I have not been a friend of\nworthless men. I have not wrought evil. I have not tried to make myself\nover-righteous. I have not put forward my name for exalted positions. I\nhave not entreated servants evilly. I have not defrauded the man who was\nin trouble. I have not done what is hateful (or taboo) to the gods. I\nhave not caused a servant to be ill-treated by his master. I have not\ncaused pain [to any man]. I have not permitted any man to go hungry. I\nhave made none to weep. I have not committed murder. I have not ordered\nany man to commit murder for me. I have inflicted pain on no man. I have\nnot robbed the temples of their offerings. I have not stolen the cakes\nof the gods. I have not carried off the cakes offered to the spirits. I\nhave not committed fornication. I have not committed acts of impurity in\nthe holy places of the god of my town. I have not diminished the bushel.\nI have not added to or filched away land. I have not encroached upon the\nfields [of my neighbours]. I have not added to the weights of the\nscales. I have not falsified the pointer of the scales. I have not taken\nmilk from the mouths of children. I have not driven away the cattle that\nwere upon their pastures. I have not snared the feathered fowl in the\npreserves of the gods. I have not caught fish [with bait made of] fish\nof their kind. I have not stopped water at the time [when it should\nflow]. I have not breached a canal of running water. I have not\nextinguished a fire when it should burn. I have not violated the times\n[of offering] chosen meat-offerings. I have not driven off the cattle\nfrom the property of the gods. I have not repulsed the god in his\nmanifestations. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The Forty-two gods represent the forty-two nomes, or\ncounties, into which Egypt was divided.]\n\n[Illustration: Her-Heru and Queen Netchemet standing in the Hall of\nOsiris and praying to the God, whilst the Heart of the Queen is being\nweighed in the Balance. _From a papyrus (about 1050 B.C.) in the British\nMuseum._]\n\nIn the second part of the Chapter the deceased repeats many of the above\ndeclarations of his innocence, but with each declaration the name of one\nof the Forty-two Judges is coupled. Thus we have:\n\n 1. \"Hail, thou of the long strides, who comest forth from\n Heliopolis, I have not committed sin.\n\n 2. \"Hail, thou who art embraced by flame, who comest forth from\n Kheraha, I have not robbed with violence.\n\n 3. \"Hail, Nose, who comest forth from Hermopolis, I have not done\n violence [to any man].\n\n 4. \"Hail, Eater of shadows, who comest forth from the Qerti, I have\n not thieved.\n\n 5. \"Hail, Stinking Face, who comest forth from Rastau, I have not\n slain man or woman.\n\n 9. \"Hail, Crusher of bones, who comest forth from Hensu, I have not\n lied.\"\n\nNothing is known of the greater number of these Forty-two gods, but it\nis probable that they were local gods or spirits, each one representing\na nome, whose names were added to the declarations with the view of\nmaking the Forty-two Judges represent all Egypt.\n\nIn the third part of the Chapter we find that the religious ideas\nexpressed by the deceased have a far more personal character than those\nof the first and second parts. Thus, having declared his innocence of\nthe forty-two sins or offences, \"the heart which is righteous and\nsinless\" says:\n\n\"Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in your Hall of Maati! I know you\nand I know your names. Let me not fall under your knives, and bring ye\nnot before the god whom ye follow my wickedness, and let not evil come\nupon me through you. Declare ye me innocent in the presence of\nNebertcher,[1] because I have done that which is right in Tamera\n(Egypt), neither blaspheming God, nor imputing evil (?) to the king in\nhis day. Homage to you, O ye gods, who live in your Hall of Maati, who\nhave no taint of sin in you, who live upon truth, who feed upon truth\nbefore Horus, the dweller in his disk. Deliver me from Baba, who liveth\nupon the entrails of the mighty ones, on the day of the Great Judgment.\nLet me come to you, for I have not committed offences [against you]; I\nhave not done evil, I have not borne false witness; therefore let\nnothing [evil] be done unto me. I live upon truth. I feed upon truth. I\nhave performed the commandments of men, and the things which make the\ngods contented. I have made the god to be at peace [with me by doing]\nthat which is his will. I have given bread to the hungry man, and water\nto the thirsty man, and apparel to the naked man, and a ferry boat to\nhim that had none. I have made offerings to the gods, and given funerary\nmeals to the spirits. Therefore be ye my deliverers, be ye my\nprotectors; make ye no accusations against me in the presence [of the\nGreat God]. I am clean of mouth and clean of hands; therefore let be\nsaid unto me by those who shall see me: 'Come in peace, come in peace'\n(_i.e._ Welcome! Welcome!).... I have testified before Herfhaf,[2] and\nhe hath approved me. I have seen the things over which the Persea tree\nspreadeth [its branches] in Rastau. I offer up my prayers to the gods,\nand I know their persons. I have come and have advanced to declare the\ntruth and to set up the Balance[3] on its stand in Aukert.\"[4]\n\n[Footnote 1: The Lord to the uttermost limit, _i.e._ Almighty God.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The celestial ferryman who ferried the souls of the\nrighteous to the Island of Osiris. None but the righteous could enter\nhis boat, and none but the righteous was allowed to land on the Island\nof Osiris.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The balance in which the heart was weighed.]\n\n[Footnote 4: A name of a part of the Other World near Heliopolis.]\n\nThen addressing the god Osiris the deceased says: \"Hail, thou who art\nexalted upon thy standard, thou lord of the Atef crown, whose name is\n'Lord of the Winds,' deliver me from thine envoys who inflict evils, who\ndo harm, whose faces are uncovered, for I have done the right for the\nLord of Truth. I have purified myself and my fore parts with holy water,\nand my hinder parts with the things that make clean, and my inward parts\nhave been [immersed] in the Lake of Truth. There is not one member of\nmine wherein truth is lacking. I purified myself in the Pool of the\nSouth. I rested in the northern town in the Field of the Grasshoppers,\nwherein the sailors of Ra bathe at the second hour of the night and at\nthe third hour of the day.\" One would think that the moral worth of the\ndeceased was such that he might then pass without delay into the most\nholy part of the Hall of Truth where Osiris was enthroned. But this is\nnot the case, for before he went further he was obliged to repeat the\nmagical names of various parts of the Hall of Truth; thus we find that\nthe priest thrust his magic into the most sacred of texts. At length\nThoth, the great Recorder of Egypt, being satisfied as to the good faith\nand veracity of the deceased, came to him and asked why he had come to\nthe Hall of Truth, and the deceased replied that he had come in order to\nbe \"mentioned\" to the god. Thoth then asked him, \"Who is he whose heaven\nis fire, whose walls are serpents, and the floor of whose house is a\nstream of water?\" The deceased replied, \"Osiris\"; and he was then bidden\nto advance so that he might be introduced to Osiris. As a reward for his\nrighteous life sacred food, which proceeded from the Eye of Ra, was\nallotted to him, and, living on the food of the god, he became a\ncounterpart of the god.\n\nFrom first to last the Book of the Dead is filled with spells and\nprayers for the preservation of the mummy and for everlasting life. As\ninstances of these the following passages are quoted from Chapters 154\nand 175. \"Homage to thee, O my divine father Osiris, thou livest with\nthy members. Thou didst not decay. Thou didst not turn into worms. Thou\ndidst not waste away. Thou didst not suffer corruption. Thou didst not\nputrefy. I am the god Khepera, and my members shall have an everlasting\nexistence. I shall not decay. I shall not rot. I shall not putrefy. I\nshall not turn into worms. I shall not see corruption before the eye of\nthe god Shu. I shall have my being, I shall have my being. I shall live,\nI shall live. I shall flourish, I shall flourish. I shall wake up in\npeace. I shall not putrefy. My inward parts shall not perish. I shall\nnot suffer injury. Mine eye shall not decay. The form of my visage shall\nnot disappear. Mine ear shall not become deaf. My head shall not be\nseparated from my neck. My tongue shall not be carried away. My hair\nshall not be cut off. Mine eyebrows shall not be shaved off. No baleful\ninjury shall come upon me. My body shall be established, and it shall\nneither crumble away nor be destroyed on this earth.\" The passage that\nrefers to everlasting life occurs in Chapter 175, wherein the scribe\nAni is made to converse with Thoth and Temu in the Tuat, or Other World.\nAni, who is supposed to have recently arrived there, says: \"What manner\nof country is this to which I have come? There is no water in it. There\nis no air. It is depth unfathomable, it is black as the blackest night,\nand men wander helplessly therein. In it a man may not live in quietness\nof heart; nor may the affections be gratified therein.\" After a short\naddress to Osiris, the deceased asks the god, \"How long shall I live?\"\nAnd the god says, \"It is decreed that thou shalt live for millions of\nmillions of years, a life of millions of years.\"\n\nAs a specimen of a spell that was used in connection with an amulet may\nbe quoted Chapter 156. The amulet was the _tet_, which represented a\nportion of the body of Isis. The spell reads: \"The blood of Isis, the\npower of Isis, the words of power of Isis shall be strong to protect\nthis mighty one (_i.e._ the mummy), and to guard him from him that would\ndo unto him anything which he abominateth (or, is taboo to him).\" The\nobject of the spell is explained in the Rubric, which reads: \"[This\nspell] shall be said over a _tet_ made of carnelian, which hath been\nsteeped in water of _ankham_ flowers, and set in a frame of sycamore\nwood, and placed on the neck of the deceased on the day of the funeral.\nIf these things be done for him the powers of Isis shall protect his\nbody, and Horus, the son of Isis, shall rejoice in him when he seeth\nhim. And there shall be no places hidden from him as he journeyeth. And\none hand of his shall be towards heaven and the other towards earth,\nregularly and continually. Thou shalt not let any person who is with\nthee see it [a few words broken away].\" Of the spells written in the\nBook of the Dead to make crocodiles, serpents, and other reptiles\npowerless, the following are specimens: \"Away with thee! Retreat! Get\nback, O thou accursed Crocodile Sui. Thou shalt not come nigh me, for I\nhave life through the words of power that are in me. If I utter thy name\nto the Great God he will make thee to come before the two divine\nmessengers Betti and Herkemmaat. Heaven ruleth its seasons, and the\nspell hath power over what it mastereth, and my mouth ruleth the spell\nthat is inside it. My teeth which bite are like flint knives, and my\nteeth which grind are like unto those of the Wolf-god. O thou who\nsittest spellbound with thine eyes fixed through my spell, thou shalt\nnot carry off my spell, thou Crocodile that livest on spells\" (Chap.\nXXXI).\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the West, that livest on the\n never-resting stars. That which is thy taboo is in me. I have eaten\n the brow (or, skull) of Osiris. I am set.\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the West. The serpent Nau is\n inside me. I will set it on thee, thy flame shall not approach me.\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the East, that feedest upon the\n eaters of filth. That which is thy taboo is in me. I advance. I am\n Osiris.\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the East. The serpent Nau is\n inside me. I will set it on thee; thy flame shall not approach me.\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the South, that feedest upon\n waste, garbage, and filth. That which is thy taboo is in me.... I\n am Sept.[1]\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the South. I will fetter thee. My\n charm is among the reeds (?). I will not yield unto thee.\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the North, that feedest upon what\n is left by the hours. That which is thy taboo is in me. The\n emissions shall [not] fall upon my head. I am Tem.[2]\n\n \"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the North, for the\n Scorpion-goddess[3] is inside me, unborn (?). I am Uatch-Merti\n (?).[4]\n\n \"Created things are in the hollow of my hand, and the things that\n are not yet made are inside me. I am clothed in and supplied with\n thy spells, O Ra, which are above me and beneath me.... I am Ra,\n the self-protected, no evil thing whatsoever shall overthrow me\"\n (Chap. XXXII).\n\n[Footnote 1: A god of the Eastern Delta and a local form of the Sun-god\nearly in the day.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The primeval god, a form of Pautti, the oldest Egyptian\ngod.]\n\n[Footnote 3: She was called \"Serqet.\"]\n\n[Footnote 4: A green-eyed serpent-god, or goddess, equipped with great\npower to destroy.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V\n\n BOOKS OF THE DEAD OF THE GR\u00c6CO-ROMAN PERIOD\n\n\nFrom what has been said in the preceding chapter it will be clear that\nonly wealthy people could afford to bury copies of the great Book of the\nDead with their deceased relatives. Whether the chapters that formed it\nwere written on coffins or on papyrus the cost of copying the work by a\ncompetent scribe must have been relatively very great. Towards the close\nof the twenty-sixth dynasty a feeling spread among the Egyptians that\nonly certain parts of the Book of the Dead were essential for the\nresurrection of the body and for the salvation of the soul, and men\nbegan to bury with their dead copies of the most important chapters of\nit in a very much abridged form. A little later the scribes produced a\nnumber of works, in which they included only such portions of the most\nimportant chapters as were considered necessary to effect the\nresurrection of the body. In other words, they rejected all the old\nmagical elements in the Book of the Dead, and preserved only the texts\nand formul\u00e6 that appertained to the cult of Osiris, the first man who\nhad risen from the dead. One of the oldest of these later substitutes\nfor the Book of the Dead is the _Shai en Sensen_, or \"Book of\nBreathings.\" Several copies of this work are extant in the funerary\npapyri, and the following sections, translated from a papyrus in the\nBritish Museum, will give an idea of the character of the Book:\n\n\"Hail, Osiris[1] Kersher, son of Tashenatit! Thou art pure, thy heart is\npure. Thy fore parts are pure, thy hind parts are cleansed; thy interior\nis cleansed with incense and natron, and no member of thine hath any\ndefect in it whatsoever. Kersher is washed in the waters of the Field of\nOfferings, that lieth to the north of the Field of the Grasshoppers. The\ngoddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet purify thee at the eighth hour of the\nnight and at the eighth hour of the day. Come then, enter the Hall of\nTruth, for thou art free from all offence and from every defect, and\n'Stone of Truth' is thy name. Thou enterest the Tuat (Other World) as\none exceedingly pure. Thou art purified by the Goddesses of Truth in the\nGreat Hall. Holy water hath been poured over thee in the Hall of Keb\n(_i.e._ the earth), and thy body hath been made pure in the Hall of Shu\n(heaven). Thou lookest upon Ra when he setteth in the form of Tem at\neventide. Amen is nigh unto thee and giveth thee air, and Ptah likewise,\nwho fashioned thy members for thee; thou enterest the horizon with Ra.\nThy soul is received in the Neshem Boat of Osiris, thy soul is made\ndivine in the House of Keb, and thou art made to be triumphant for ever\nand ever.\"\n\n\"Hail, Osiris Kersher! Thy name flourisheth, thy earthly body is\nstablished, thy spirit body germinateth, and thou art not repulsed\neither in heaven or on earth. Thy face shineth before Ra, thy soul\nliveth before Amen, and thy earthly body is renewed before Osiris. Thou\nbreathest the breath of life for ever and ever. Thy soul maketh\nofferings unto thee in the course of each day.... Thy flesh is collected\non thy bones, and thy form is even as it was upon earth. Thou takest\ndrink into thy body, thou eatest with thy mouth, and thou receivest thy\nrations in company with the souls of the gods. Anubis protecteth thee;\nhe is thy protector, and thou art not turned away from the Gates of the\nTuat. Thoth, the most mighty god, the Lord of Khemenu (Hermopolis),\ncometh to thee, and he writeth the 'Book of Breathings' with his own\nfingers. Then doth thy soul breathe for ever and ever, and thy form is\nrenewed with life upon earth; thou art made divine with the souls of the\ngods, thy heart is the heart of Ra, and thy limbs are the limbs of the\ngreat god. Amen is nigh unto thee to make thee to live again. Upuat\nopeneth a prosperous road for thee. Thou seest with thine eyes, thou\nhearest with thine ears, thou speakest with thy mouth, thou walkest with\nthy legs. Thy soul hath been made divine in the Tuat, so that it may\nchange itself into any form it pleaseth. Thou canst snuff at will the\nodours of the holy Acacia of Anu (An, or Heliopolis). Thou wakest each\nday and seest the light of Ra; thou appearest upon the earth each day,\nand the 'Book of Breathings' of Thoth is thy protection, for through it\ndost thou draw thy breath each day, and through it do thine eyes behold\nthe beams of the Sun-god Aten. The Goddess of Truth vindicateth thee\nbefore Osiris, and her writings are upon thy tongue. Ra vivifieth thy\nsoul, the Soul of Shu is in thy nostrils. Thou art even as Osiris, and\n'Osiris Khenti Amenti' is thy name. Thy body liveth in Tatu (Busiris),\nand thy soul liveth in heaven.... Thy odour is that of the holy gods in\nAmentet, and thy name is magnified like the names of the Spirits of\nheaven. Thy soul liveth through the 'Book of Breathings,' and it is\nrejoined to thy body by the 'Book of Breathings.' These fine extracts\nare followed in the British Museum papyrus by the praises of Kersher by\nthe gods, a prayer of Kersher himself for offerings, and an extract from\nthe so-called Negative Confession, which has been already described. The\nwork is closed by an address to the gods, in which it is said that\nKersher is sinless, that he feeds and lives upon Truth, that his deeds\nhave satisfied the hearts of the gods, and that he has fed the hungry\nand given water to the thirsty and clothes to the naked.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: The deceased is always supposed to be identified with\nOsiris.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A papyrus at Florence contains a copy of Part II. of The\nBook of Breathings. The fundamental ideas are the same as those in Part\nI., but the forms in which they are expressed are different. The\ndeceased is made to address several gods by name, and to declare that he\nhimself is those gods. \"I am Ra, I am Atem, I am Osiris, I am Horus, I\nam Thoth,\" &c.]\n\nAnother late work of considerable interest is the \"Book of Traversing\nEternity,\" the fullest known form of which is found on a papyrus at\nVienna. This work describes how the soul of the deceased, when armed\nwith the power which the Book of Traversing Eternity will give it, shall\nbe able to travel from one end of Egypt to the other, and to visit all\nthe holy places, and to assist at the festivals, and to enjoy communion\nnot only with the gods and spirits who assemble there, but also with its\nkinsfolk and acquaintances whom it left behind alive on the earth. The\nobject of the book was to secure for the deceased the resurrection of\nhis body; it opens with the following words: \"Thy soul liveth in heaven\nin the presence of Ra. Thy Ka hath acquired the divine nature of the\ngods. Thy body remaineth in the deep house (_i.e._ tomb) in the presence\nof Osiris. Thy spirit-body becometh glorious among the living. Thy\ndescendants flourish upon the earth, in the presence of Keb, upon thy\nseat among the living, and thy name is stablished by the utterance of\nthose who have their being through the 'Book of Traversing Eternity.'\nThou comest forth by day, thou art joined to the Sun-god Aten.\" The text\ngoes on to state that the deceased breathes, speaks, eats, drinks, sees,\nhears, and walks, and that all the organs of his body are in their\nproper places, and that each is performing its proper functions. He\nfloats in the air, hovers in the shadow, rises in the sky, follows the\ngods, travels with the stars, dekans, and planets, and moves about by\nnight and by day on earth and in heaven at will.\n\nOf the works that were originally composed for recitation on the days of\nthe festivals of Osiris, and were specially connected with the cult of\nthis god, three, which became very popular in the Graeco-Roman period,\nmay be mentioned. These are: (1) The Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys;\n(2) The Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys; (3) The Book of making\nsplendid the Spirit of Osiris. The first of these works was recited on\nthe twenty-fifth day of the fourth month of the season Akhet\n(October-November) by two \"fair women,\" who personified Isis and\nNephthys. One of these had the name of Isis on her shoulder, and the\nother the name of Nephthys, and each held a vessel of water in her right\nhand, and a \"Memphis cake of bread\" in her left. The object of the\nrecital was to commemorate the resurrection of Osiris, and if the book\nwere recited on behalf of any deceased person it would make his spirit\nto be glorious, and stablish his body, and cause his Ka to rejoice, and\ngive breath to his nostrils and air to his throat. The two \"fair women\"\nsang the sections alternately in the presence of the Kher-heb and Setem\npriests. The two first sections, as they are found on a papyrus in\nBerlin, read thus:--ISIS SAITH: \"Come to thy house, come to thy house, O\nAn, come to thy house. Thine enemy [Set] hath perished. O beautiful\nyouth, come to thy house. Look thou upon me. I am the sister who loveth\nthee, go not far from me. O Beautiful Boy, come to thy house,\nstraightway, straightway. I cannot see thee, and my heart weepeth for\nthee; my eyes follow thee about. I am following thee about so that I may\nsee thee. Lo, I wait to see thee, I wait to see thee; behold, Prince, I\nwait to see thee. It is good to see thee, it is good to see thee; O An,\nit is good to see thee. Come to thy beloved one, come to thy beloved\none, O Un-Nefer, whose word is truth. Come to thy wife, O thou whose\nheart is still. Come to the lady of thy house; I am thy sister from thy\nmother's [womb]. Go not thou far from me. The faces of gods and men are\nturned towards thee, they all weep for thee together. As soon as I saw\nthee I cried out to thee, weeping with a loud voice which pierced the\nheavens, and thou didst not hear my voice. I am thy sister who loved\nthee upon earth; none other loved thee more than [thy] sister, thy\nsister.\"\n\nNEPHTHYS SAITH: \"O Beautiful Prince, come to thy house. Let thy heart\nrejoice and be glad, for thine enemies have ceased to be. Thy two\nSisters are nigh unto thee; they guard thy bier, they address thee with\nwords [full of] tears as thou liest prone on thy bier. Look thou at the\nyoung women; speak to us, O our Sovereign Lord. Destroy thou all the\nmisery that is in our hearts; the chiefs among gods and men look upon\nthee. Turn thou towards us thy face, O our Sovereign Lord. At the sight\nof thy face life cometh to our faces; turn not thou thy face from us.\nThe joy of our heart is in the sight of thee. O Beautiful Sovereign, our\nhearts would see thee. I am thy sister Nephthys who loveth thee. The\nfiend Seba hath fallen, he hath not being. I am with thee, and I act as\nthe protectress of thy members for ever and ever.\"\n\nThe second work, the \"Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys,\" was sung\nduring the great festival of Osiris, which took place in the fourth\nmonth of the Season of Akhet and lasted five days (from the\ntwenty-second to the twenty-sixth day). It was sung by two virgins who\nwore fillets of sheep's wool on their heads, and held tambourines in\ntheir hands; one was called Isis and the other Nephthys. According to\nthe rubrical directions given in the British Museum papyrus, the\nsections were sung by both women together. The following passage will\nillustrate the contents of the work:\n\n\"Come, come, run to me, O strong heart! Let me see thy divine face, for\nI do not see thee, and make thou clear the path that we may see thee as\nwe see Ra in heaven, when the heavens unite with the earth, and cause\ndarkness to fall upon the earth each day. My heart burneth as with fire\nat thy escape from the Fiend, even as my heart burneth with fire when\nthou turnest thy side to me; O that thou wouldst never remove it from\nme! O thou who unitest the Two Domains (_i.e._ Egypt, North and South),\nand who turnest back those who are on the roads, I seek to see thee\nbecause of my love for thee.... Thou fliest like a living being, O\nEverlasting King; thou hast destroyed the fiend Anrekh. Thou art the\nKing of the South and of the North, and thou goest forth from\nTatchesert. May there never be a moment in thy life when I do not fill\nthy heart, O my divine brother, my lord who goest forth from Aqert....\nMy arms are raised to protect thee, O thou whom I love. I love thee, O\nHusband, Brother, lord of love; come thou in peace into thy house....\nThy hair is like turquoise as thou comest forth from the Fields of\nTurquoise, thy hair is like unto the finest lapis-lazuli, and thou\nthyself art more blue than thy hair. Thy skin and body are like southern\nalabaster, and thy bones are of silver. The perfume of thy hair is like\nunto new myrrh, and thy skull is of lapis-lazuli.\"\n\nThe third work, \"The Book of making splendid the Spirit of Osiris,\" was\nalso sung at the great festival of Osiris that took place during the\nNovember-December at Abydos and other great towns in Egypt, and if it\nwere sung on behalf of any man, the resurrection and life, constantly\nrenewed, of that man were secured for his soul and spirit. This Book,\nwritten in hieratic, is found in a papyrus in Paris, and the following\nextract will illustrate its contents: \"Come to thy house, come to thy\nhouse, O An. Come to thy house, O Beautiful Bull, lord of men and women,\nthe beloved one, the lord of women. O Beautiful Face, Chief of Akert,\nPrince, Khenti Amentiu, are not all hearts drunk through the love of\nthee, O Un-Nefer, whose word is truth? The hands of men and gods are\nlifted up and seek thee, even as the hands of a babe are stretched out\nto his mother. Come thou to them, for their hearts are sad, and make\nthem to rejoice. The lands of Horus exult, the domains of Set are\noverthrown because of their fear of thee. Hail, Osiris Khenti Amentiu! I\nam thy sister Isis. No god and no goddess have done for thee what I have\ndone. I, a woman, made a man child for thee, because of my desire to\nmake thy name to live upon the earth. Thy divine essence was in my body,\nI brought him forth on the ground. He pleaded thy case, he healed thy\nsuffering, he decreed the destruction of him that caused it. Set fell\nunder his knife, and the Smamiu fiends of Set followed him. The throne\nof the Earth-god is thine, O thou who art his beloved son.... There is\nhealth in thy members, thy wounds are healed, thy sufferings are\nrelieved, thou shalt never groan again in pain. Come to us thy sisters,\ncome to us; our hearts will live when thou comest. Men shall cry out to\nthee, and women shall weep glad tears, at thy coming to them.... The\nNile appeareth at the command of thy mouth; thou makest men to live on\nthe effluxes that proceed from thy members, and thou makest every field\nto flourish. When thou comest that which is dead springeth into life,\nand the plants in the marshes put forth blossoms. Thou art the Lord of\nmillions of years, the sustainer of wild creatures, and the lord of\ncattle; every created thing hath its existence from thee. What is in the\nearth is thine. What is in the heavens is thine. What is in the waters\nis thine. Thou art the Lord of Truth, the hater of sinners, whom thou\noverthrowest in their sins. The Goddesses of Truth are with thee; they\nnever leave thee. No sinful man can approach thee in the place where\nthou art. Whatsoever appertaineth to life and to death belongeth to\nthee, and to thee belongeth everything that concerneth man.\"\n\nDuring the period of the occupation of Egypt by the Romans, the three\nlast-named works were still further abridged, and eventually the texts\nthat were considered essential for salvation were written upon small\nsheets of papyrus from 9 to 12 inches high, and from 5 to 10 inches\nwide.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI\n\n THE EGYPTIAN STORY OF THE CREATION\n\n\nIf we consider for a moment the vast amount of thought which the\nEgyptian gave to the problems of the future life, and their deep-seated\nbelief in resurrection and immortality, we cannot fail to conclude that\nhe must have theorised deeply about the constitution of the heaven in\nwhich he hoped to live everlastingly, and about its Maker. The\ntranslations given in the preceding pages prove that the theologians of\nEgypt were ready enough to describe heaven, and the life led by the\nblessed there, and the powers and the attributes of the gods, but they\nappear to have shrunk from writing down in a connected form their\nbeliefs concerning the Creation and the origin of the Creator. The\nworshippers of each great god proclaimed him to be the Creator of All,\nand every great town had its own local belief on the subject. According\nto the Heliopolitans, Atem, or Tem, and at a later period Ra, was the\nCreator; according to Memphite theology he was Ptah; according to the\nHermopolitans he was Thoth; and according to the Thebans he was Amen\n(Ammon). In only one native Egyptian work up to the present has there\nbeen discovered any connected account of the Creation, and the means by\nwhich it was effected, namely, the British Museum Papyrus, No. 10,188.\nThis papyrus was written about 305 B.C., and is therefore of a\ncomparatively late date, but the subject matter of the works contained\nin it is thousands of years older, and it is only _their_ forms which\nare of a late date. The Story of the Creation is found in the last work\nin the papyrus, which is called the \"Book of overthrowing Aapep, the\nEnemy of Ra, the Enemy of Un-Nefer\" (_i.e._ Osiris). This work is a\nliturgy, which was said at certain times of the day and night in the\ngreat temple of Amen-Ra at Thebes, with the view of preventing the\nmonster Aapep from obstructing the sunrise. Aapep was supposed to lie in\nwait for the sun daily just before sunrise, with the view of doing\nbattle with him and overthrowing him. When the Sun-god arrived at the\nplace where Aapep was, he first of all cast a spell upon the monster,\nwhich rendered him helpless, and then he cast his fiery rays upon him,\nwhich shrivelled him up, and the fire of the god consumed him entirely.\nIn the temple of Amen-Ra the priests recited the spells that were\nsupposed to help the Sun-god to burn up Aapep, and they burnt waxen\nfigures of the monster in specially prepared fires, and, uttering\ncurses, they trampled them under foot and defiled them. These spells and\nburnings were also believed to break up rain clouds, and to scatter fog\nand mist and to dissipate thunder-storms, and to help the sun to rise on\nthis world in a cloudless sky. Aapep was a form of Set, the god of evil\nof every kind, and his allies were the \"Red Fiends\" and the \"Black\nFiends,\" and every power of darkness. In the midst of the magical spells\nof this papyrus we find two copies of the \"Book of knowing how Ra came\ninto being, and of overthrowing Aapep.\" One copy is a little fuller than\nthe other, but they agree substantially. The words of this book are said\nin the opening line to have been spoken by the god Nebertcher, _i.e._\nthe \"Lord to the uttermost limit,\" or God Himself. The Egyptian\nChristians, or Copts, in their religious writings use this name as an\nequivalent of God Almighty, the Lord of All, the God of the Universe.\nNebertcher says: \"I am the creator of what hath come into being. I\nmyself came into being under the form of the god Khepera. I came into\nbeing under the form of Pautti (or, in primeval time), I formed myself\nout of the primeval matter, I made myself out of the substance that was\nin primeval time.\"[1] Nothing existed at that time except the great\nprimeval watery mass called NU, but in this there were the germs of\neverything that came into being subsequently. There was no heaven, and\nno earth, and the god found no place on which to stand; nothing, in\nfact, existed except the god. He says, \"I was alone.\" He first created\nhimself by uttering his own name as a word of power, and when this was\nuttered his visible form appeared. He then uttered another kind of word\nof power, and as a result of this his soul (_ba_) came into being, and\nit worked in connection with his heart or mind (_ab_). Before every act\nof creation Nebertcher, or his visible form Khepera, thought out what\nform the thing to be created was to take, and when he had uttered its\nname the thing itself appeared in heaven or earth. To fill the heaven,\nor place where he lived, the god next produced from his body and its\nshadow the two gods Shu and Tefnut. These with Nebertcher, or Khepera,\nformed the first triad of gods, and the \"one god became three,\" or, as\nwe should say, the one god had three aspects, each of which was quite\ndistinct from the other. The tradition of the begetting of Shu and\nTefnut is as old as the time of the pyramids, for it is mentioned in the\ntext of Pepi I, l. 466. The next act of creation resulted in the\nemerging of the Eye of Nebertcher (later identified with Ra) from the\nwatery mass (NU), and light shone upon its waters. Shu and Tefnut then\nunited and they produced Keb, the Earth-god, and Nut, the Sky-goddess.\nThe text then refers to some calamity which befell the Eye of Nebertcher\nor of Khepera, but what it was is not clear; at all events the Eye\nbecame obscured, and it ceased to give light. This period of darkness\nis, of course, the night, and to obviate the inconvenience caused by\nthis recurring period of darkness, the god made a second Eye, _i.e._ the\nMoon, and set it in the heavens. The greater Eye ruled the day, and the\nlesser Eye the night. One of the results of the daily darkness was the\ndescent of the Sky-goddess Nut to the Earth-god Keb each evening.\n\n[Footnote 1: The second version here states that the name of Nebertcher\nis Ausares (Osiris), who is the oldest god of all.]\n\nThe gods and goddesses next created were five, namely, Osiris, Horus,\nSet, Isis, and Nephthys. Osiris married Isis, and their son was called\nHorus; Set married Nephthys, but their son Anpu, or Anubis, is not\nmentioned in our text. Osiris became the great Ancestor-god of Egypt,\nand was a reincarnation of his great-grandfather. Men and women were\nfirst formed from the tears that fell from the Eye of Khepera, or the\nSun-god, upon his body; the old Egyptian word for \"men\" very closely\nresembles in form and sound the word for \"tears.\" Plants, vegetables,\nherbs, and trees owe their origin to the light of the moon falling upon\nthe earth. Our text contains no mention of a special creation of the\n\"beasts of the field,\" but the god states distinctly that he created the\nchildren of the earth, or creeping things of all kinds, and among this\nclass quadrupeds are probably included. The men and women, and all the\nother living creatures that were made at that time by Nebertcher, or\nKhepera, reproduced their species, each in his own way, and thus the\nearth became filled with their descendants as we see at the present\ntime. The elements of this Creation legend are very, very old, and the\nform in which they are grouped in our text suggests the influence of the\npriests of Heliopolis. It is interesting to note that only very ancient\ngods appear as Powers of creation, and these were certainly worshipped\nfor many centuries before the priests of Heliopolis invented their cult\nof the Sun-god, and identified their god with the older gods of the\ncountry. We may note, too, that gods like Ptah and Amen, whose\nreputation was so great in later times, and even when our text was\ncopied in 305 B.C., find no mention at all.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII\n\n LEGENDS OF THE GODS\n\n\nThe Egyptians believed that at one time all the great gods and goddesses\nlived upon earth, and that they ruled Egypt in much the same way as the\nPharaohs with whom they were more or less acquainted. They went about\namong men and took a real personal interest in their affairs, and,\naccording to tradition, they spared no pains in promoting their wishes\nand well-being. Their rule was on the whole beneficent, chiefly because\nin addition to their divine attributes they possessed natures, and\napparently bodily constitutions that were similar to those of men. Like\nmen also they were supposed to feel emotions and passions, and to be\nliable to the accidents that befell men, and to grow old, and even to\ndie. The greatest of all the gods was Ra, and he reigned over Egypt for\nvery many years. His reign was marked by justice and righteousness, and\nhe was in all periods of Egyptian history regarded as the type of what a\nking should be. When men instead of gods reigned over Egypt they all\ndelighted to call themselves sons of Ra, and every king believed that Ra\nwas his true father, and regarded his mother's husband as his father\nonly in name. This belief was always common in Egypt, and even Alexander\nthe Great found it expedient to adopt it, for he made a journey to the\nsanctuary of Amen (Ammon) in the Oasis of Siwah in order to be\nofficially acknowledged by the god. Having obtained this recognition, he\nbecame the rightful lord of Egypt.\n\n\n THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND\n\nThis Legend is cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of a small chamber in the\ntomb of Seti I about 1350 B.C. When Ra, the self-begotten and\nself-formed god, had been ruling gods and men for some time, men began\nto complain about him, saying, \"His Majesty hath become old. His bones\nhave turned into silver, his flesh into gold, and his hair into real\nlapis-lazuli.\" His Majesty heard these murmurings and commanded his\nfollowers to summon to his presence his Eye (_i.e._ the goddess Hathor),\nShu, Tefnut, Keb, Nut, and the father and mother gods and goddesses who\nwere with him in the watery abyss of NU, and also the god of this water,\nNU. They were to come to him with all their followers secretly, so that\nmen should not suspect the reason for their coming, and take flight, and\nthey were to assemble in the Great House in Heliopolis, where Ra would\ntake counsel with them. In due course all the gods assembled in the\nGreat House, and they ranged themselves down the sides of the House, and\nthey bowed down in homage before Ra until their heads touched the\nground, and said, \"Speak, for we are listening.\" Then Ra addresing Nu,\nthe father of the first-born gods, told him to give heed to what men\nwere doing, for they whom he had created were murmuring against him. And\nhe said, \"Tell me what ye would do. Consider the matter, invent a plan\nfor me, and I will not slay them until I have heard what ye shall say\nconcerning this thing.\" Nu replied, \"Thou, O my son Ra, art greater than\nthe god who made thee (_i.e._ Nu himself), thou art the king of those\nwho were created with thee, thy throne is established, and the fear of\nthee is great. Let thine Eye (Hathor) attack those who blaspheme thee.\"\nAnd Ra said, \"Lo, they have fled to the mountains, for their hearts are\nafraid because of what they have said.\" The gods replied, \"Let thine Eye\ngo forth and destroy those who blasphemed thee, for no eye can resist\nthine when it goeth forth in the form of Hathor.\" Thereupon the Eye of\nRa, or Hathor, went in pursuit of the blasphemers in the mountains, and\nslew them all. On her return Ra welcomed her, and the goddess said that\nthe work of vanquishing men was dear to her heart. Ra then said that he\nwould be the master of men as their king, and that he would destroy\nthem. For three nights the goddess Hathor-Sekhmet waded about in the\nblood of men, the slaughter beginning at Hensu (Herakleopolis Magna).\n\nThen the Majesty of Ra ordered that messengers should be sent to Abu, a\ntown at the foot of the First Cataract, to fetch mandrakes (?), and when\nthey were brought he gave them to the god Sekti to crush. When the women\nslaves were bruising grain for making beer, the crushed mandrakes (?)\nwere placed in the vessels that were to hold the beer, together with\nsome of the blood of those who had been slain by Hathor. The beer was\nthen made, and seven thousand vessels were filled with it. When Ra saw\nthe beer he ordered it to be taken to the scene of slaughter, and poured\nout on the meadows of the four quarters of heaven. The object of putting\nmandrakes (?) in the beer was to make those who drank fall asleep\nquickly, and when the goddess Hathor came and drank the beer mixed with\nblood and mandrakes (?) she became very merry, and, the sleepy stage of\ndrunkenness coming on her, she forgot all about men, and slew no more.\nAt every festival of Hathor ever after \"sleepy beer\" was made, and it\nwas drunk by those who celebrated the feast.\n\nNow, although the blasphemers of Ra had been put to death, the heart of\nthe god was not satisfied, and he complained to the gods that he was\nsmitten with the \"pain of the fire of sickness.\" He said, \"My heart is\nweary because I have to live with men; I have slain some of them, but\nworthless men still live, and I did not slay as many as I ought to have\ndone considering my power.\" To this the gods replied, \"Trouble not about\nthy lack of action, for thy power is in proportion to thy will.\" Here\nthe text becomes fragmentary, but it seems that the goddess Nut took the\nform of a cow, and that the other gods lifted Ra on to her back. When\nmen saw that Ra was leaving the earth, they repented of their\nmurmurings, and the next morning they went out with bows and arrows to\nfight the enemies of the Sun-god. As a reward for this Ra forgave those\nmen their former blasphemies, but persisted in his intention of retiring\nfrom the earth. He ascended into the heights of heaven, being still on\nthe back of the Cow-goddess Nut, and he created there Sekhet-hetep and\nSekhet-Aaru as abodes for the blessed, and the flowers that blossomed\ntherein he turned into stars. He also created the millions of beings who\nlived there in order that they might praise him. The height to which Ra\nhad ascended was now so great that the legs of the Cow-goddess on which\nhe was enthroned trembled, and to give her strength he ordained that Nut\nshould be held up in her position by the godhead and upraised arms of\nthe god Shu. This is why we see pictures of the body of Nut being\nsupported by Shu. The legs of the Cow-goddess were supported by the\nvarious gods, and thus the seat of the throne of Ra became stable. When\nthis was done Ra caused the Earth-god Keb to be summoned to his\npresence, and when he came he spake to him about the venomous reptiles\nthat lived in the earth and were hostile to him. Then turning to Thoth,\nhe bade him to prepare a series of spells and words of power, which\nwould enable those who knew them to overcome snakes and serpents and\ndeadly reptiles of all kinds. Thoth did so, and the spells which he\nwrote under the direction of Ra served as a protection of the servants\nof Ra ever after, and secured for them the help of Keb, who became sole\nlord of all the beings that lived and moved on and in his body, the\nearth. Before finally relinquishing his active rule on earth, Ra\nsummoned Thoth and told him of his desire to create a Light-soul in the\nTuat and in the Land of the Caves. Over this region he appointed Thoth\nto rule, and he ordered him to keep a register of those who were there,\nand to mete out just punishments to them. In fact, Thoth was to be ever\nafter the representative of Ra in the Other World.\n\n\n THE LEGEND OF RA AND ISIS\n\nThis Legend is found written in the hieratic character upon a papyrus\npreserved in Turin, and it illustrates a portion of the preceding\nLegend. We have seen that Ra instructed Thoth to draw up a series of\nspells to be used against venomous reptiles of all kinds, and the reader\nwill perceive from the following summary that Ra had good reason for\ndoing this. The Legend opens with a list of the titles of Ra, the\n\"self-created god,\" creator of heaven, earth, breath of life, fire,\ngods, men, beasts, cattle, reptiles, feathered fowl, and fish, the King\nof gods and men, to whom cycles of 120 years are as years, whose\nmanifold names are unknown even by the gods. The text continues: \"Isis\nhad the form of a woman, and knew words of power, but she was disgusted\nwith men, and she yearned for the companionship of the gods and the\nspirits, and she meditated and asked herself whether, supposing she had\nthe knowledge of the Name of Ra, it was not possible to make herself as\ngreat as Ra was in heaven and on the earth? Meanwhile Ra appeared in\nheaven each day upon his throne, but he had become old, and he dribbled\nat the mouth, and his spittle fell on the ground. One day Isis took some\nof the spittle and kneaded up dust in it, and made this paste into the\nform of a serpent with a forked tongue, so that if it struck anyone the\nperson struck would find it impossible to escape death. This figure she\nplaced on the path on which Ra walked as he came into heaven after his\ndaily survey of the Two Lands (_i.e._ Egypt). Soon after this Ra rose\nup, and attended by his gods he came into heaven, but as he went along\nthe serpent drove its fangs into him. As soon as he was bitten Ra felt\nthe living fire leaving his body, and he cried out so loudly that his\nvoice reached the uttermost parts of heaven. The gods rushed to him in\ngreat alarm, saying, \"What is the matter?\" At first Ra was speechless,\nand found himself unable to answer, for his jaws shook, his lips\ntrembled, and the poison continued to run through every part of his\nbody. When he was able to regain a little strength, he told the gods\nthat some deadly creature had bitten him, something the like of which he\nhad never seen, something which his hand had never made. He said, \"Never\nbefore have I felt such pain; there is no pain worse than this.\" Ra then\nwent on to describe his greatness and power, and told the listening gods\nthat his father and mother had hidden his name in his body so that no\none might be able to master him by means of any spell or word of power.\nIn spite of this something had struck him, and he knew not what it was.\n\"Is it fire?\" he asked. \"Is it water? My heart is full of burning fire,\nmy limbs are shivering, shooting pains are in all my members.\" All the\ngods round about him uttered cries of lamentation, and at this moment\nIsis appeared. Going to Ra she said, \"What is this, O divine father?\nWhat is this? Hath a serpent bitten thee? Hath something made by thee\nlifted up its head against thee? Verily my words of power shall\noverthrow it; I will make it depart in the sight of thy light.\" Ra then\nrepeated to Isis the story of the incident, adding, \"I am colder than\nwater, I am hotter than fire. All my members sweat. My body quaketh.\nMine eye is unsteady. I cannot look on the sky, and my face is bedewed\nwith water as in the time of the Inundation.\"[1] Then Isis said,\n\"Father, tell me thy name, for he who can utter his own name liveth.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ in the period of summer. The season Shemmu began in\nApril and ended about July 15.]\n\nRa replied, \"I am the maker of heaven and earth. I knit together the\nmountains and whatsoever liveth on them. I made the waters. I made\nMehturit[1] to come into being. I made Kamutef.[2] I made heaven, and\nthe two hidden gods of the horizon, and put souls into the gods. I open\nmy eyes, and there is light; I shut my eyes, and there is darkness. I\nspeak the word[s], and the waters of the Nile appear. I am he whom the\ngods know not. I make the hours. I create the days. I open the year. I\nmake the river [Nile]. I create the living fire whereby works in the\nfoundries and workshops are carried out. I am Khepera in the morning, Ra\nat noon, and Temu in the evening.\" Meanwhile the poison of the serpent\nwas coursing through the veins of Ra, and the enumeration of his works\nafforded the god no relief from it. Then Isis said to Ra, \"Among all the\nthings which thou hast named to me thou hast not named thy name. Tell me\nthy name, and the poison shall come forth from thee.\" Ra still\nhesitated, but the poison was burning in his blood, and the heat thereof\nwas stronger than that of a fierce fire. At length he said, \"Isis shall\nsearch me through, and my name shall come forth from my body and pass\ninto hers.\" Then Ra hid himself from the gods, and for a season his\nthrone in the Boat of Millions of Years was empty. When the time came\nfor the heart of the god to pass into Isis, the goddess said to Horus,\nher son, \"The great god shall bind himself by an oath to give us his two\neyes (_i.e._ the sun and the moon).\" When the great god had yielded up\nhis name Isis pronounced the following spell: \"Flow poison, come out of\nRa. Eye of Horus, come out of the god, and sparkle as thou comest\nthrough his mouth. I am the worker. I make the poison to fall on the\nground. The poison is conquered. Truly the name of the great god hath\nbeen taken from him. Ra liveth! The poison dieth! If the poison live Ra\nshall die.\" These were the words which Isis spoke, Isis the great lady,\nthe Queen of the gods, who knew Ra by his own name.\n\n[Footnote 1: An ancient Cow-goddess of heaven.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A form of Amen-Ra.]\n\nIn late times magicians used to write the above Legend on papyrus above\nfigures of Temu and Heru-Hekenu, who gave Ra his secret name, and over\nfigures of Isis and Horus, and sell the rolls as charms against snake\nbites.\n\n\n THE LEGEND OF HORUS OF BEHUTET AND THE WINGED DISK\n\nThe text of this Legend is cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of the temple\nof Edfu, in Upper Egypt, and some of the incidents described in it are\nillustrated by large bas-reliefs. The form of the Legend here given\ndates from the Ptolemaic Period, but the subject matter is some\nthousands of years older. The great historical fact underlying the\nLegend is the Conquest of Egypt by some very early king who invaded\nEgypt from the south, and who succeeded in conquering every part of it,\neven the northern part of the Delta. The events described are supposed\nto have taken place whilst Ra was still reigning on the earth. The\nLegend states that in the three hundred and sixty-third year of the\nreign of Ra-Harmakhis, the ever living, His Majesty was in Ta-sti\n(_i.e._ the Land of the Bow, or Nubia) with his soldiers; the enemy had\nreviled him, and for this reason the land is called \"Uauatet\" to this\nday. From Nubia Ra sailed down the river to Apollinopolis (Edfu), and\nHeru-Behutet, or Horus of Edfu, was with him. On arriving there Horus\ntold Ra that the enemy were plotting against him, and Ra told him to go\nout and slay them. Horus took the form of a great winged disk, which\nflew up into the air and pursued the enemy, and it attacked them with\nsuch terrific force that they could neither see nor hear, and they fell\nupon each other, and slew each other, and in a moment not a single foe\nwas left alive. Then Horus returned to the Boat of Ra-Harmakhis, in the\nform of the winged disk which shone with many colours, and said,\n\"Advance, O Ra, and look upon thine enemies who are lying under thee in\nthis land.\" Ra set out on the journey, taking with him the goddess\nAshtoreth, and he saw his enemies lying on the ground, each of them\nbeing fettered. After looking upon his slaughtered foes Ra said to the\ngods who were with him, \"Behold, let us sail in our boat on the water,\nfor our hearts are glad because our enemies have been overthrown on the\nearth.\" So the Boat of Ra moved onwards towards the north, and the\nenemies of the god who were on the banks took the form of crocodiles and\nhippopotami, and tried to frighten the god, for as his boat came near\nthem they opened their jaws wide, intending to swallow it up together\nwith the gods who were in it. Among the crew were the Followers of Horus\nof Edfu, who were skilled workers in metal, and each of these had in his\nhands an iron spear and a chain. These \"Blacksmiths\" threw out their\nchains into the river and allowed the crocodiles and hippopotami to\nentangle their legs in them, and then they dragged the beasts towards\nthe bows of the Boat, and driving their spears into their bodies, slew\nthem there. After the slaughter the bodies of six hundred and fifty-one\ncrocodiles were brought and laid out before the town of Edfu. When Thoth\nsaw these he said, \"Let your hearts rejoice, O gods of heaven, Let your\nhearts rejoice, O ye gods who dwell on the earth. The Young Horus cometh\nin peace. On his way he hath made manifest deeds of valour, according to\nthe Book of slaying the Hippopotamus.\" And from that day they made\nfigures of Horus in metal.\n\nThen Horus of Edfu took the form of the winged disk, and set himself on\nthe prow of the Boat of Ra. He took with him Nekhebet, goddess of the\nSouth, and Uatchet, goddess of the North, in the form of serpents, so\nthat they might make all the enemies of the Sun-god to quake in the\nSouth and in the North. His foes who had fled to the north doubled back\ntowards the south, for they were in deadly fear of the god. Horus\npursued and overtook them, and he and his blacksmiths had in their hands\nspears and chains, and they slew large numbers of them to the south-east\nof the town of Thebes in Upper Egypt. Many succeeded in escaping towards\nthe north once more, but after pursuing them for a whole day Horus\novertook them, and made a great slaughter among them. Meanwhile the\nother foes of the god, who had heard of the defeats of their allies,\nfled into Lower Egypt, and took refuge among the swamps of the Delta.\nHorus set out after them, and came up with them, and spent four days in\nthe water slaying his foes, who tried to escape in the forms of\ncrocodiles and hippopotami. He captured one hundred and forty-two of the\nenemy and a male hippopotamus, and took them to the fore part of the\nBoat of Ra. There he hacked them in pieces, and gave their inward parts\nto his followers, and their mutilated bodies to the gods and goddesses\nwho were in the Boat of Ra and on the river banks in the town of Heben.\n\nThen the remnant of the enemy turned their faces towards the Lake of the\nNorth, and they attempted to sail to the Mediterranean in boats; but the\nterror of Horus filled their hearts, and they left their boats and fled\nto the district of Mertet-Ament, where they joined themselves to the\nworshippers of Set, the god of evil, who dwelt in the Western Delta.\nHorus pursued them in his boat for one day and one night without seeing\nthem, and he arrived at the town of Per-Rehui. At length he discovered\nthe position of the enemy, and he and his followers fell upon them, and\nslew a large number of them; he captured three hundred and eighty-one of\nthem alive, and these he took to the Boat of Ra, then, having slain\nthem, he gave their carcases to his followers or bodyguard, who\npresumably devoured them. The custom of eating the bodies of enemies is\nvery old in Egypt, and survives in some parts of Africa to this day.\n\nThen Set, the great antagonist of Horus, came out and cursed him for the\nslaughter of his people, using most shameful words of abuse. Horus stood\nup and fought a duel with Set, the \"Stinking Face,\" as the text calls\nhim, and Horus succeeded in throwing him to the ground and spearing him.\nHorus smashed his mouth with a blow of his mace, and having fettered him\nwith his chain, he brought him into the presence of Ra, who ordered that\nhe was to be handed over to Isis and her son Horus, that they might work\ntheir will on him. Here we must note that the ancient editor of the\nLegend has confounded Horus the ancient Sun-god with Horus, son of Isis,\nson of Osiris. Then Horus, the son of Isis, cut off the heads of Set and\nhis followers in the presence of Ra, and dragged Set by his feet round\nabout throughout the district with his spear driven through his head and\nback, according to the order of Ra. The form which Horus of Edfu had at\nthat time was that of a man of great strength, with the face and back of\na hawk; on his head he wore the Double Crown, with feathers and serpents\nattached, and in his hands he held a metal spear and a metal chain. And\nHorus, the son of Isis, took upon himself a similar form, and the two\nHoruses slew all the enemies on the bank of the river to the west of the\ntown of Per-Rehui. This slaughter took place on the seventh day of the\nfirst month of the season Pert,[1] which was ever afterwards called the\n\"Day of the Festival of Sailing.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: About the middle of November.]\n\nNow, although Set in the form of a man had been slain, he reappeared in\nthe form of a great hissing serpent, and took up his abode in a hole in\nthe ground without being noticed by Horus. Ra, however, saw him, and\ngave orders that Horus, the son of Isis, in the form of a hawk-headed\nstaff, should set himself at the mouth of the hole, so that the monster\nmight never reappear among men. This Horus did, and Isis his mother\nlived there with him. Once again it became known to Ra that a remnant of\nthe followers of Set had escaped, and that under the direction of the\nSmait fiends, and of Set, who had reappeared, they were hiding in the\nswamps of the Eastern Delta. Horus of Edfu, the winged disk, pursued\nthem, speared them, and finally slew them in the presence of Ra. For the\nmoment there were no more enemies of Ra to be found in the district on\nland, although Horus passed six days and six nights in looking for them;\nbut it seems that several of the followers of Set in the forms of water\nreptiles were lying on the ground under water, and that Horus saw them\nthere. At this time Horus had strict guard kept over the tomb of Osiris\nin Anrutef,[1] because he learned that the Smait fiends wanted to come\nand wreck both it and the body of the god. Isis, too, never ceased to\nrecite spells and incantations in order to keep away her husband's foes\nfrom his body. Meanwhile the \"blacksmiths\" of Horus, who were in charge\nof the \"middle regions\" of Egypt, found a body of the enemy, and\nattacked them fiercely, slew many of them, and took one hundred and six\nof them prisoners. The \"blacksmiths\" of the west also took one hundred\nand six prisoners, and both groups of prisoners were slain before Ra. In\nreturn for their services Ra bestowed dwelling-places upon the\n\"blacksmiths,\" and allowed them to have temples with images of their\ngods in them, and arranged for offerings and libations to be made to\nthem by properly appointed priests of various classes.\n\n[Footnote 1: A district of Herakleopolis.]\n\nShortly after these events Ra discovered that a number of his enemies\nwere still at large, and that they had sailed in boats to the swamps\nthat lay round about the town of Tchal, or Tchar, better known as Zoan\nor Tanis. Once more Horus unmoored the Boat of Ra, and set out against\nthem; some took refuge in the waters, and others landed and escaped to\nthe hilly land on the east. For some reason, which is not quite\napparent, Horus took the form of a mighty lion with a man's face, and he\nwore on his head the triple crown. His claws were like flints, and he\npursued the enemy on the hills, and chased them hither and thither, and\ncaptured one hundred and forty-two of them. He tore out their tongues,\nand ripped their bodies into strips with his claws, and gave them over\nto his allies in the mountains, who, no doubt, ate them. This was the\nlast fight in the north of Egypt, and Ra proposed that they should sail\nup the river and return to the south. They had traversed all Egypt, and\nsailed over the lakes in the Delta, and down the arms of the Nile to the\nMediterranean, and as no more of the enemy were to be seen the prow of\nthe boat of Ra was turned southwards. Thoth recited the spells that\nproduced fair weather, and said the words of power that prevented storms\nfrom rising, and in due course the Boat reached Nubia. When it arrived\nHorus found in the country of Uauatet men who were conspiring against\nhim and cursing him, just as they had at one time blasphemed Ra. Horus,\ntaking the form of the winged disk, and accompanied by the two\nserpent-goddesses, Nekhebet and Uatchet, attacked the rebels, but there\nwas no fierce fighting this time, for the hearts of the enemy melted\nthrough fear of him. His foes cast themselves before him on the ground\nin submission, they offered no resistance, and they died straightway.\nHorus then returned to the town of Behutet (Edfu), and the gods\nacclaimed him, and praised his prowess. Ra was so pleased with him that\nhe ordered Thoth to have a winged disk, with a serpent on each side of\nit, placed in every temple in Egypt in which he (_i.e._ Ra) was\nworshipped, so that it might act as a protector of the building, and\ndrive away any and every fiend and devil that might wish to attack it.\nThis is the reason why we find the winged disk, with a serpent on each\nside of it, above the doors of temples and religious buildings\nthroughout the length and breadth of Egypt.\n\nIn many places in the text that contains the above Legend there are\nshort passages in which attempts are made to explain the origins of the\nnames of certain towns and gods. All these are interpolations in the\nnarrative made by scribes at a late period of Egyptian history. As it\nwould be quite useless to reproduce them without many explanatory notes,\nfor which there is no room in this little book, they have been omitted.\n\n\n THE LEGEND OF KHNEMU AND A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE\n\nThis Legend is cut in hieroglyphs on a large rounded block of granite,\nwhich stands on the south-east portion of Sahal, a little island in the\nFirst Cataract in Upper Egypt, two or three miles to the south of the\nmodern town of Aswan, the ancient Syene. The form of the Legend, and the\nshapes of the hieroglyphs, and the late spelling of the words, prove\nthat the inscription is the work of the Ptolemaic Period, though it is\npossible that the Legend in its simplest form is as old as the period to\nwhich it is ascribed in the Sahal text, namely, the third dynasty, about\n4100 B.C. The subject of the Legend is a terrible famine, which lasted\nfor seven years, in the reign of King Tcheser, and which recalls the\nseven years' famine that took place in Egypt when Joseph was there. This\nfamine was believed to have been caused by the king's neglect to worship\nproperly the god Khnemu, who was supposed to control the springs of the\nNile, which were asserted by the sages to be situated between two great\nrocks on the Island of Elephantine. The Legend sets forth that the\nViceroy of Nubia, in the reign of Tcheser, was a nobleman called Meter,\nwho was also the overseer of all the temple properties in the South. His\nresidence was in Abu, or Elephantine, and in the eighteenth year of his\nreign the king sent him a despatch in which it was written thus: \"This\nis to inform thee that misery hath laid hold upon me as I sit upon the\ngreat throne, and I grieve for those who dwell in the Great House.[1] My\nheart is grievously afflicted by reason of a very great calamity, which\nis due to the fact that the waters of the Nile have not risen to their\nproper height for seven years. Grain is exceedingly scarce, there are no\ngarden herbs and vegetables to be had at all, and everything which men\nuse for food hath come to an end. Every man robbeth his neighbour. The\npeople wish to walk about, but are unable to move. The baby waileth, the\nyoung man shuffleth along on his feet through weakness. The hearts of\nthe old men are broken down with despair, their legs give way under\nthem, they sink down exhausted on the ground, and they lay their hands\non their bellies [in pain]. The officials are powerless and have no\ncounsel to give, and when the public granaries, which ought to contain\nsupplies, are opened, there cometh forth from them nothing but wind.\nEverything is in a state of ruin. I go back in my mind to the time when\nI had an adviser, to the time of the gods, to the Ibis-god [Thoth], and\nto the chief Kher-heb priest Imhetep (Imouthis),[2] the son of Ptah of\nhis South Wall.[3] [Tell me, I pray thee], Where is the birthplace of\nthe Nile? What god or what goddess presideth over it? What kind of form\nhath the god? For it is he that maketh my revenue, and who filleth the\ngranaries with grain. I wish to go to [consult] the Chief of\nHet-Sekhmet,[4] whose beneficence strengtheneth all men in their works.\nI wish to go into the House of Life,[5] and to take the rolls of the\nbooks in my own hands, so that I may examine them [and find out these\nthings].\"\n\n[Footnote 1: An allusion to the royal title of Pharaoh, in Egyptian\nPER-AA, the \"Great House,\" in whom and by whom all the Egyptians were\nsupposed to live.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A famous priest and magician of Memphis, who was\nsubsequently deified.]\n\n[Footnote 3: A part of Memphis.]\n\n[Footnote 4: _i.e._ Hermopolis, the town of Thoth.]\n\n[Footnote 5: _i.e._ the library of the temple.]\n\nHaving read the royal despatch the Viceroy Meter set out to go to the\nking, and when he came to him he proceeded to instruct the king in the\nmatters about which he had asked questions. The text makes the king say:\n\"[Meter] gave me information about the rise of the Nile, and he told me\nall that men had written concerning it; and he made clear to me all the\ndifficult passages [in the books], which my ancestors had consulted\nhastily, and which had never before been explained to any king since the\ntime when Ra [reigned]. And he said to me: There is a town in the river\nwherefrom the Nile maketh his appearance. 'Abu' was its name in the\nbeginning: it is the City of the Beginning, it is the Name of the City\nof the Beginning. It reacheth to Uauatet, which is the first land [on\nthe south]. There is a long flight of steps there (a nilometer?), on\nwhich Ra resteth when he determineth to prolong life to mankind. It is\ncalled 'Netchemtchem ankh.' Here are the 'Two Qerti,'[1] which are the\ntwo breasts wherefrom every good thing cometh. Here is the bed of the\nNile, here the Nile-god reneweth his youth, and here he sendeth out the\nflood on the land. Here his waters rise to a height of twenty-eight\ncubits; at Hermopolis (in the Delta) their height is seven cubits. Here\nthe Nile-god smiteth the ground with his sandals, and here he draweth\nthe bolts and throweth open the two doors through which the water\npoureth forth. In this town the Nile-god dwelleth in the form of Shu,\nand he keepeth the account of the products of all Egypt, in order to\ngive to each his due. Here are kept the cord for measuring land and the\nregister of the estates. Here the god liveth in a wooden house with a\ndoor made of reeds, and branches of trees form the roof; its entrance is\nto the south-east. Round about it are mountains of stone to which\nquarrymen come with their tools when they want stone to build temples to\nthe gods, shrines for sacred animals, and pyramids for kings, or to make\nstatues. Here they offer sacrifices of all kinds in the sanctuary, and\nhere their sweet-smelling gifts are presented before the face of the god\nKhnemu. In the quarries on the river bank is granite, which is called\nthe 'stone of Abu.' The names of its gods are: Sept (Sothis, the\ndog-star), Anqet, Hep (the Nile-god), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus,\nIsis, and Nephthys. Here are found precious stones (a list is given),\ngold, silver, copper, iron, lapis-lazuli, emerald, crystal, ruby, &c.,\nalabaster, mother-of-emerald, and seeds of plants that are used in\nmaking incense. These were the things which I learned from Meter [the\nViceroy].\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The two caverns which contained the springs of the Nile.]\n\nHaving informed the king concerning the rise of the Nile and the other\nmatters mentioned in his despatch, Meter made arrangements for the king\nto visit the temple of Khnemu in person. This he did, and the Legend\ngives us the king's own description of his visit. He says: I entered the\ntemple, and the keepers of the rolls untied them and showed them to me.\nI was purified by the sprinkling of holy water, and I passed through the\nplaces that were prohibited to ordinary folk, and a great offering of\ncakes, ale, geese, oxen, &c., was offered up on my behalf to the gods\nand goddesses of Abu. Then I found the god [Khnemu] standing in front of\nme, and I propitiated him with the offerings that I made unto him, and I\nmade prayer and supplication before him. Then he opened his eyes,[1] and\nhis heart inclined to me, and in a majestic manner he said unto me: \"I\nam Khnemu who fashioned thee. My two hands grasped thee and knitted\ntogether thy body; I made thy members sound, and I gave thee thy heart.\nYet the stones have been lying under the ground for ages, and no man\nhath worked them in order to build a god-house, to repair the [sacred]\nbuildings which are in ruins, or to make shrines for the gods of the\nSouth and North, or to do what he ought to do for his lord, even though\nI am the Lord [the Creator]. I am Nu, the self-created, the Great God,\nwho came into being in the beginning. [I am] Hep [the Nile-god] who\nriseth at will to give health to him that worketh for me. I am the\nGovernor and Guide of all men, in all their periods, the Most Great, the\nFather of the gods, Shu, the Great One, the Chief of the earth. The two\nhalves of heaven are my abode. The Nile is poured out in a stream by me,\nand it goeth round about the tilled lands, and its embrace produceth\nlife for every one that breatheth, according to the extent of its\nembrace.... I will make the Nile to rise for thee, and in no year shall\nit fail, and it shall spread its water out and cover every land\nsatisfactorily. Plants, herbs, and trees shall bend beneath [the weight\nof] their produce. The goddess Rennet (the Harvest goddess) shall be at\nthe head of everything, and every product shall increase a hundred\nthousandfold, according to the cubit of the year.[2] The people shall be\nfilled, verily to their hearts' desire, yea, everyone. Want shall cease,\nand the emptiness of the granaries shall come to an end. The Land of\nMera (_i.e._ Egypt) shall be one cultivated land, the districts shall\nbe yellow with crops of grain, and the grain shall be good. The\nfertility of the land shall be according to the desire [of the\nhusbandman], and it shall be greater than it hath ever been before.\" At\nthe sound of the word \"crops\" the king awoke, and the courage that then\nfilled his heart was as great as his former despair had been.\n\n[Footnote 1: The king was standing before a statue with movable eyes.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _i.e._ the number of the cubits which the waters of the\nNile shall rise.]\n\nHaving left the chamber of the god the king made a decree by which he\nendowed the temple of Khnemu with lands and gifts, and he drew up a code\nof laws under which every farmer was compelled to pay certain dues to\nit. Every fisherman and hunter had to pay a tithe. Of the calves cast\none tenth were to be sent to the temple to be offered up as the daily\noffering. Gold, ivory, ebony, spices, precious stones, and woods were\ntithed, whether their owners were Egyptians or not, but no local tribe\nwas to levy duty on these things on their road to Abu. Every artisan\nalso was to pay tithe, with the exception of those who were employed in\nthe foundry attached to the temple, and whose occupation consisted in\nmaking the images of the gods. The king further ordered that a copy of\nthis decree, the original of which was cut in wood, should be engraved\non a stele to be set up in the sanctuary, with figures of Khnemu and his\ncompanion gods cut above it. The man who spat upon the stele [if\ndiscovered] was to be \"admonished with a rope.\"\n\n\n THE LEGEND OF THE WANDERINGS OF ISIS\n\nThe god Osiris, as we have seen in the chapter on the Egyptian Religion\nin the accompanying volume, lived and reigned at one time upon earth in\nthe form of a man. His twin-brother Set was jealous of his popularity,\nand hated him to such a degree that he contrived a plan whereby he\nsucceeded in putting Osiris to death. Set then tried to usurp his\nbrother's kingdom and to make himself sole lord of Egypt, and, although\nno text states it distinctly, it is clear that he seized his brother's\nwife, Isis, and shut her up in his house. Isis was, however, under the\nprotection of the god Thoth, and she escaped with her unborn child, and\nthe following Legend describes the incidents that befell her, and the\ndeath and revivification of Horus. It is cut in hieroglyphs upon a large\nstone stele which was made for Ankh-Psemthek, a prophet of Nebun in the\nreign of Nectanebus I, who reigned from 373 B.C. to 360 B.C. The stele\nwas dug up in 1828 at Alexandria, and was given to Prince Metternich by\nMuhammad Ali Pasha; it is now commonly known as the \"Metternich Stele.\"\nThe Legend is narrated by the goddess herself, who says:\n\nI am Isis. I escaped from the dwelling wherein my brother Set placed me.\nThoth, the great god, the Prince of Truth in heaven and on earth, said\nunto me: \"Come, O goddess Isis [hearken thou], it is a good thing to\nhearken, for he who is guided by another liveth. Hide thyself with thy\nchild, and these things shall happen unto him. His body shall grow and\nflourish, and strength of every kind shall be in him. He shall sit upon\nhis father's throne, he shall avenge him, and he shall hold the exalted\nposition of 'Governor of the Two Lands.'\" I left the house of Set in the\nevening, and there accompanied me Seven Scorpions, that were to travel\nwith me, and sting with their stings on my behalf. Two of them, Tefen\nand Befen, followed behind me, two of them, Mestet and Mestetef, went\none on each side of me, and three, Petet, Thetet, and Maatet, prepared\nthe way for me. I charged them very carefully and adjured them to make\nno acquaintance with any one, to speak to none of the Red Fiends, to pay\nno heed to a servant (?), and to keep their gaze towards the ground so\nthat they might show me the way. And their leader brought me to Pa-Sui,\nthe town of the Sacred Sandals,[1] at the head of the district of the\nPapyrus Swamps. When I arrived at Teb I came to a quarter of the town\nwhere women dwelt. And a certain woman of quality spied me as I was\njourneying along the road, and she shut her door in my face, for she was\nafraid because of the Seven Scorpions that were with me. Then they took\ncounsel concerning her, and they shot out their poison on the tail of\nTefen. As for me, a peasant woman called Taha opened her door, and I\nwent into the house of this humble woman. Then the scorpion Tefen\ncrawled in under the door of the woman Usert [who had shut it in my\nface], and stung her son, and a fire broke out in it; there was no water\nto put it out, but the sky sent down rain, though it was not the time of\nrain. And the heart of Usert was sore within her, and she was very sad,\nfor she knew not whether her son would live or die; and she went through\nthe town shrieking for help, but none came out at the sound of her\nvoice. And I was sad for the child's sake, and I wished the innocent one\nto live again. So I cried out to her, saying, Come to me! Come to me!\nThere is life in my mouth. I am a woman well known in her town. I can\ndestroy the devil of death by a spell which my father taught me. I am\nhis daughter, his beloved one.\n\n[Footnote 1: These places were in the seventh nome of Lower Egypt\n(Metelites).]\n\nThen Isis laid her hands on the child and recited this spell:\n\n\"O poison of Tefent, come forth, fall on the ground; go no further. O\npoison of Befent, come forth, fall on the ground. I am Isis, the\ngoddess, the mistress of words of power. I am a weaver of spells, I know\nhow to utter words so that they take effect. Hearken to me, O every\nreptile that biteth (or stingeth), and fall on the ground. O poison of\nMestet, go no further. O poison of Mestetef, rise not up in his body. O\npoison of Petet and Thetet, enter not his body. O poison of Maatet, fall\non the ground. Ascend not into heaven, I command you by the beloved of\nRa, the egg of the goose which appeareth from the sycamore. My words\nindeed rule to the uttermost limit of the night. I speak to you, O\nscorpions. I am alone and in sorrow, and our names will stink throughout\nthe nomes.... The child shall live! The poison shall die! For Ra liveth\nand the poison dieth. Horus shall be saved through his mother Isis, and\nhe who is stricken shall likewise be saved.\" Meanwhile the fire in the\nhouse of Usert was extinguished, and heaven was content with the\nutterance of Isis. Then the lady Usert was filled with sorrow because\nshe had shut her door in the face of Isis, and she brought to the house\nof the peasant woman gifts for the goddess, whom she had apparently not\nrecognised. The spells of the goddess produced, of course, the desired\neffect on the poison, and we may assume that the life of the child was\nrestored to him. The second lot of gifts made to Isis represented his\nmother's gratitude.\n\nExactly when and how Isis made her way to a hiding place cannot be said,\nbut she reached it in safety, and her son Horus was born there. The\nstory of the death of Horus she tells in the following words: \"I am\nIsis. I conceived a child, Horus, and I brought him forth in a cluster\nof papyrus plants (or, bulrushes). I rejoiced exceedingly, for in him I\nsaw one who would make answer for his father. I hid him, and I covered\nhim up carefully, being afraid of that foul one [Set], and then I went\nto the town of Am, where the people gave thanks for me because they knew\nI could cause them trouble. I passed the day in collecting food for the\nchild, and when I returned and took Horus into my arms, I found him,\nHorus, the beautiful one of gold, the boy, the child, lifeless! He had\nbedewed the ground with the water of his eye and with the foam of his\nlips. His body was motionless, his heart did not beat, and his muscles\nwere relaxed.\" Then Isis sent forth a bitter cry, and lamented loudly\nher misfortune, for now that Horus was dead she had none to protect her,\nor to take vengeance on Set. When the people heard her voice they went\nout to her, and they bewailed with her the greatness of her affliction.\nBut though all lamented on her behalf there was none who could bring\nback Horus to life. Then a \"woman who was well known in her town, a lady\nwho was the mistress of property in her own right,\" went out to Isis,\nand consoled her, and assured her that the child should live through his\nmother. And she said, \"A scorpion hath stung him, the reptile Aunab hath\nwounded him.\" Then Isis bent her face over the child to find out if he\nbreathed, and she examined the wound, and found that there was poison in\nit, and then taking him in her arms, \"she leaped about with him like a\nfish that is put upon hot coals,\" uttering loud cries of lamentation.\nDuring this outburst of grief the goddess Nephthys, her sister, arrived,\nand she too lamented and cried bitterly over her sister's loss; with\nher came the Scorpion-goddess Serqet. Nephthys at once advised Isis to\ncry out for help to Ra, for, said she, it is wholly impossible for the\nBoat of Ra to travel across the sky whilst Horus is lying dead. Then\nIsis cried out, and made supplication to the Boat of Millions of Years,\nand the Sun-god stopped the Boat. Out of it came down Thoth, who was\nprovided with powerful spells, and, going to Isis, he inquired\nconcerning her trouble. \"What is it, what is it, O Isis, thou goddess of\nspells, whose mouth hath skill to utter them with supreme effect? Surely\nno evil thing hath befallen Horus, for the Boat of Ra hath him under its\nprotection. I have come from the Boat of the Disk to heal Horus.\" Then\nThoth told Isis not to fear, but to put away all anxiety from her heart,\nfor he had come to heal her child, and he told her that Horus was fully\nprotected because he was the Dweller in his disk, and the firstborn son\nof heaven, and the Great Dwarf, and the Mighty Ram, and the Great Hawk,\nand the Holy Beetle, and the Hidden Body, and the Governor of the Other\nWorld, and the Holy Benu Bird, and by the spells of Isis and the names\nof Osiris and the weeping of his mother and brethren, and by his own\nname and heart. Turning towards the child Thoth began to recite his\nspells and said, \"Wake up, Horus! Thy protection is established. Make\nthou happy the heart of thy mother Isis. The words of Horus bind up\nhearts and he comforteth him that is in affliction. Let your hearts\nrejoice, O ye dwellers in the heavens. Horus who avenged his father\nshall make the poison to retreat. That which is in the mouth of Ra shall\ncirculate, and the tongue of the Great God shall overcome [opposition].\nThe Boat of Ra standeth still and moveth not, and the Disk (_i.e._ the\nSun-god) is in the place where it was yesterday to heal Horus for his\nmother Isis. Come to earth, draw nigh, O Boat of Ra, O ye mariners of\nRa; make the boat to move and convey food of the town of Sekhem (_i.e._\nLetopolis) hither, to heal Horus for his mother Isis.... Come to earth,\nO poison! I am Thoth, the firstborn son, the son of Ra. Tem and the\ncompany of the gods have commanded me to heal Horus for his mother Isis.\nO Horus, O Horus, thy Ka protecteth thee, and thy Image worketh\nprotection for thee. The poison is as the daughter of its own flame; it\nis destroyed because it smote the strong son. Your temples are safe, for\nHorus liveth for his mother.\" Then the child Horus returned to life, to\nthe great joy of his mother, and Thoth went back to the Boat of Millions\nof Years, which at once proceeded on its majestic course, and all the\ngods from one end of heaven to the other rejoiced. Isis entreated either\nRa or Thoth that Horus might be nursed and brought up by the goddesses\nof the town of Pe-Tep, or Buto, in the Delta, and at once Thoth\ncommitted the child to their care, and instructed them about his future.\nHorus grew up in Buto under their protection, and in due course fought a\nduel with Set, and vanquished him, and so avenged the wrong done to his\nfather by Set.\n\n\n THE LEGEND OF KHENSU-NEFER-HETEP\n AND THE PRINCESS OF BEKHTEN\n\nHere for convenience' sake may be inserted the story of the Possessed\nPrincess of Bekhten and the driving out of the evil spirit that was in\nher by Khensu-Nefer-hetep. The text of the Legend is cut in hieroglyphs\non a large sandstone tablet which was discovered by J.F. Champollion in\nthe temple of Khensu at Thebes, and was removed by Prisse d'Avennes in\n1846 to Paris, where it is now preserved in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale.\nThe form of the Legend which we have is probably the work of the priests\nof Khensu, about 1000 B.C., who wished to magnify their god, but the\nincidents recorded are supposed to have taken place at the end of the\nfourteenth century B.C., and there may indeed be historical facts\nunderlying the Legend. The text states that the king of Egypt,\nUsermaatra-setepenra Rameses-meri-Amen, _i.e._ Rameses II, a king of the\nnineteenth dynasty about 1300 B.C., was in the country of Nehern, or\nMesopotamia, according to his yearly custom, and that the chiefs of the\ncountry, even those of the remotest districts from Egypt, came to do\nhomage to him, and to bring him gifts, _i.e._ to pay tribute. Their\ngifts consisted of gold, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and costly woods from\nthe land of the god,[1] and each chief tried to outdo his neighbour in\nthe magnificence of his gifts. Among these tributary chiefs was the\nPrince of Bekhten, who, in addition to his usual gift, presented to the\nking his eldest daughter, and he spake words of praise to the king, and\nprayed for his life. His daughter was beautiful, and the king thought\nher the most beautiful maiden in the world, and he gave her the name of\nNeferu-Ra and the rank of \"chief royal wife,\" _i.e._ the chief wife of\nPharaoh. When His Majesty brought her to Egypt she was treated as the\nQueen of Egypt.\n\n[Footnote: 1: _i.e._ Southern Arabia and a portion of the east coast of\nAfrica near Somaliland.]\n\nOne day in the late summer, in the fifteenth year of his reign, his\nMajesty was in Thebes celebrating a festival in honour of Father Amen,\nthe King of the gods, in the temple now known as the Temple of Luxor,\nwhen an official came and informed the king that \"an ambassador of the\nPrince of Bekhten had arrived bearing many gifts for the Royal Wife.\"\nThe ambassador was brought into the presence with his gifts, and having\naddressed the king in suitable words of honour, and smelt the ground\nbefore His Majesty, he told him that he had come to present a petition\nto him on behalf of the Queen's sister, who was called Bentresht (_i.e._\ndaughter of joy). The princess had been attacked by a disease, and the\nPrince of Bekhten asked His Majesty to send a skilled physician to see\nher. Straightway the king ordered his magicians (or medicine men) to\nappear before him, and also his nobles, and when they came he told them\nthat he had sent for them to come and hear the ambassador's request.\nAnd, he added, choose one of your number who is both wise and skilful;\ntheir choice fell upon the royal scribe Tehuti-em-heb, and the king\nordered him to depart to Bekhten to heal the princess. When the magician\narrived in Bekhten he found that Princess Bentresht was under the\ninfluence of a malignant spirit, and that this spirit refused to be\ninfluenced in any way by him; in fact all his wisdom and skill availed\nnothing, for the spirit was hostile to him.\n\n[Illustration: Stele relating the Story of the Healing of Bentresht,\nPrincess of Bekhten.]\n\nThen the Prince of Bekhten sent a second messenger to His Majesty,\nbeseeching him to send a god to Bekhten to overcome the evil spirit, and\nhe arrived in Egypt nine years after the arrival of the first\nambassador. Again the king was celebrating a festival of Amen, and when\nhe heard of the request of the Prince of Bekhten he went and stood\nbefore the statue of Khensu, called \"Nefer-hetep,\" and he said, \"O my\nfair lord, I present myself a second time before thee on behalf of the\ndaughter of the Prince of Bekhten.\" He then went on to ask the god to\ntransmit his power to Khensu, \"Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast,\" the god who\ndrives out the evil spirits which attack men, and to permit him to go to\nBekhten and release the Princess from the power of the evil spirit. And\nthe statue of Khensu Nefer-hetep bowed its head twice at each part of\nthe petition, and this god bestowed a fourfold portion of his spirit and\npower on Khensu Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast. Then the king ordered that the\ngod should set out on his journey to Bekhten carried in a boat, which\nwas accompanied by five smaller boats and by chariots and horses. The\njourney occupied seventeen months, and the god was welcomed on his\narrival by the Prince of Bekhten and his nobles with suitable homage and\nmany cries of joy. The god was taken to the place where Princess\nBentresht was, and he used his magical power upon her with such good\neffect that she was made whole at once. The evil spirit who had\npossessed her came out of her and said to Khensu: \"Welcome, welcome, O\ngreat god, who dost drive away the spirits who attack men. Bekhten is\nthine; its people, both men and women, are thy servants, and I myself am\nthy servant. I am going to depart to the place whence I came, so that\nthy heart may be content concerning the matter about which thou hast\ncome. I beseech Thy Majesty to give the order that thou and I and the\nPrince of Bekhten may celebrate a festival together.\" The god Khensu\nbowed his head as a sign that he approved of the proposal, and told his\npriest to make arrangements with the Prince of Bekhten for offering up\na great offering. Whilst this conversation was passing between the evil\nspirit and the god the soldiers stood by in a state of great fear. The\nPrince of Bekhten made the great offering before Khensu and the evil\nspirit, and the Prince and the god and the spirit rejoiced greatly. When\nthe festival was ended the evil spirit, by the command of Khensu,\n\"departed to the place which he loved.\" The Prince and all his people\nwere immeasurably glad at the happy result, and he decided that he would\nconsider the god to be a gift to him, and that he would not let him\nreturn to Egypt. So the god Khensu stayed for three years and nine\nmonths in Bekhten, but one day, whilst the Prince was sleeping on his\nbed, he had a vision in which he saw Khensu in the form of a hawk leave\nhis shrine and mount up into the air, and then depart to Egypt. When he\nawoke he said to the priest of Khensu, \"The god who was staying with us\nhath departed to Egypt; let his chariot also depart.\" And the Prince\nsent off the statue of the god to Egypt, with rich gifts of all kinds\nand a large escort of soldiers and horses. In due course the party\narrived in Egypt, and ascended to Thebes, and the god Khensu\nPa-ari-sekher-em-Uast went into the temple of Khensu Nefer-hetep, and\nlaid all the gifts which he had received from the Prince of Bekhten\nbefore him, and kept nothing for his own temple. This he did as a proper\nact of gratitude to Khensu Nefer-hetep, whose gift of a fourfold portion\nof his spirit had enabled him to overcome the power of the evil spirit\nthat possessed the Princess of Bekhten. Thus Khensu returned from\nBekhten in safety, and he re-entered his temple in the winter, in the\nthirty-third year of the reign of Rameses II. The situation of Bekhten\nis unknown, but the name is probably not imaginary, and the country was\nperhaps a part of Western Asia. The time occupied by the god Khensu in\ngetting there does not necessarily indicate that Bekhten was a very long\nway off, for a mission of the kind moved slowly in those leisurely days,\nand the priest of the god would probably be much delayed by the people\nin the towns and villages on the way, who would entreat him to ask the\ngod to work cures on the diseased and afflicted that were brought to\nhim. We must remember that when the Nubians made a treaty with\nDiocletian they stipulated that the goddess Isis should be allowed to\nleave her temple once a year, and to make a progress through the country\nso that men and women might ask her for boons, and receive them.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII\n\n HISTORICAL LITERATURE\n\n\nThe historical period of Egyptian history, that is to say, the period\nduring which Egypt was ruled by kings, each one calling himself\nNESU-BATI, or \"King of the South, King of the North,\" covers about 4400\nyears according to some Egyptologists, and 3300 years according to\nothers. Of the kings of All Egypt who reigned during the period we know\nthe names of about two hundred, but only about one hundred and fifty\nhave left behind them monuments that enable us to judge of their power\nand greatness. There is no evidence to show that the Egyptians ever\nwrote history in our sense of the word, and there is not in existence\nany native work that can be regarded as a history of Egypt. The only\nknown attempt in ancient times to write a history of Egypt was that made\nby Manetho, a skilled scribe and learned man, who, in the reign of\nPtolemy II Philadelphus (289-246 B.C.), undertook to write a history of\nthe country, which was to be placed in the Great Library at Alexandria.\nThe only portion of this History that has come down to us is the List of\nKings, which formed a section of it; this List, in a form more or less\naccurate, is extant in the works of Africanus and Eusebius. According to\nthe former 553 or 554 kings ruled over Egypt in 5380 years, and\naccording to the latter 421 or 423 kings ruled over Egypt in 4547 or\n4939 years. It is quite certain that the principal acts and wars of each\nking were recorded by the court scribes, or official \"remembrancer\" or\n\"recorder\" of the day, and there is no doubt that such records were\npreserved in the \"House of Books,\" or Library, of the local temple for\nreference if necessary. If this were not so it would have been\nimpossible for the scribes of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties to\ncompile the lists of kings found on the Palermo Stone, and in the Turin\nPapyrus, and on the Tablets set up by Seti I and Rameses II at Abydos,\nand on the Tablet of Ancestors at Karnak. These Lists, however, seem to\nshow that the learned scribes of the later period were not always sure\nof the true sequence of the names, and that when they were dealing with\nthe names of the kings of the first two dynasties they were not always\ncertain even about the correct spelling and reading of their names. The\nreason why the Egyptians did not write the history of their country from\na general point of view is easily explained. Each king wished to be\nthought as great as possible, and each king's courtiers lost no\nopportunity of showing that they believed him to be the greatest king\nwho had sat on the throne of Egypt. To magnify the deeds of his\nancestors was neither politic nor safe, nor did it lead to favours or\npromotion. In no inscription of their descendants do we find the mighty\ndeeds and great conquests of Amenemhat III, or of Usertsen III, or of\nThothmes III, praised or described, and no court scribe ever dared to\ndraft a text stating that these were truly three of the greatest kings\nof Egypt. When a local chief succeeded in making himself king of All\nEgypt he did not concern himself with preserving records of the great\ndeeds of the king whose throne he had seized. When foreign foes invaded\nEgypt and conquered it their followers raided the towns, burnt and\ndestroyed all that could be got rid of, and smashed the monuments\nrecording the prowess of the king they had overthrown. The net result of\nall this is that the history of Egypt can only be partially constructed,\nand that the sources of our information are a series of texts that were\nwritten to glorify individual kings, and not to describe the history of\na dynasty, or the general development of the country, or the working out\nof a policy. In attempting to draw up a connected account of a reign or\nperiod the funerary inscriptions of high officials are often more useful\nthan the royal inscriptions. In the following pages are given extracts\nfrom annals, building inscriptions, narratives of conquests, and\n\"triumph inscriptions\" of an official character; specimens of the\nfunerary inscriptions that describe military expeditions, and supply\nvaluable information about the general history of events, will be given\nin the chapter on Biographical Inscriptions.\n\nThe earliest known annals are found on a stone which is preserved in the\nMuseum at Palermo, and which for this reason is called \"The Palermo\nStone\"; the Egyptian text was first published by Signor A. Pellegrini in\n1896. How the principal events of certain years of the reigns of kings\nfrom the Predynastic Period to the middle of the fifth dynasty are noted\nis shown by the following:\n\n [Reign of] SENEFERU. Year ...\n\n The building of Tuataua ships of _mer_ wood of a hundred capacity,\n and 60 royal boats of sixteen capacity.\n\n Raid in the Land of the Blacks (_i.e._ the Sudan), and the bringing\n in of seven thousand prisoners, men and women, and twenty thousand\n cattle, sheep, and goats.\n\n Building of the Wall of the South and North [called] House of\n Seneferu.\n\n The bringing of forty ships of cedar wood (or perhaps \"laden with\n cedar wood\").\n\n [Height of the Nile.] Two cubits, two fingers.\n\n\n [Reign of Seneferu.] Year ...\n\n The making of thirty-five ... 122 cattle\n\n The construction of one Tuataua ship of cedar wood of a hundred\n capacity, and two ships of _mer_ wood of a hundred capacity.\n\n The numbering for the seventh time.\n\n [Height of the Nile.] Five cubits, one hand, one finger.\n\nThe royal historical inscriptions of the first eleven dynasties are very\nfew, and their contents are meagre and unimportant. As specimens of\nhistorical documents of the twelfth dynasty the following may be quoted:\n\n\n EDICT AGAINST THE BLACKS\n\nThis short inscription is dated in the eighth year of the reign of\nUsertsen III. \"The southern frontier in the eighth year under the\nMajesty of the King of the South and North, Khakaura (Usertsen III),\nendowed with life for ever. No Black whatsoever shall be permitted to\npass [this stone] going down stream, whether travelling by land or\nsailing in a boat, with cattle, asses, goats, &c., belonging to the\nBlacks, with the exception of such as cometh to do business in the\ncountry of Aqen[1] or on an embassy. Such, however, shall be well\nentreated in every way. No boats belonging to the Blacks shall in future\nbe permitted to pass down the river by the region of Heh.\"[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: This district has not been identified.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The district of Semnah and Kummah, about 40 miles south of\nWadi Halfah.]\n\nThe methods of Usertsen III and his opinions of the Sudani folk are\nillustrated by the following inscription which he set up at Semnah, a\nfort built by him at the foot of the Second Cataract.\n\n\"In the third month[1] of the season Pert His Majesty fixed the boundary\nof Egypt on the south at Heh (Semnah). I made my boundary and went\nfurther up the river than my fathers. I added greatly to it. I give\ncommands [therein]. I am the king, and what is said by me is done. What\nmy heart conceiveth my hand bringeth to pass. I am [like] the crocodile\nwhich seizeth, carrieth off, and destroyeth without mercy. Words (or\nmatters) do not remain dormant in my heart. To the coward soft talk\nsuggesteth longsuffering; this I give not to my enemies. Him who\nattacketh me I attack. I am silent in the matter that is for silence; I\nanswer as the matter demandeth. Silence after an attack maketh the heart\nof the enemy bold. The attack must be sudden like that of a crocodile.\nThe man who hesitateth is a coward, and a wretched creature is he who is\ndefeated on his own territory and turned into a slave. The Black\nunderstandeth talk only. Speak to him and he falleth prostrate. He\nfleeth before a pursuer, and he pursueth only him that fleeth. The\nBlacks are not bold men; on the contrary, they are timid and weak, and\ntheir hearts are cowed. My Majesty hath seen them, and [what I say] is\nno lie.\n\n[Footnote 1: = January-February.]\n\n\"I seized their women, I carried off their workers in the fields, I came\nto their wells, I slew their bulls, I cut their corn and I burnt it.\nThis I swear by the life of my father. I speak the truth; there is no\ndoubt about the matter, and that which cometh forth from my mouth cannot\nbe gainsaid. Furthermore, every son of mine who shall keep intact this\nboundary which My Majesty hath made, is indeed my son; he is the son who\nprotecteth his father, if he keep intact the boundary of him that begot\nhim. He who shall allow this boundary to be removed, and shall not fight\nfor it, is not my son, and he hath not been begotten by me. Moreover, My\nMajesty hath caused to be made a statue of My Majesty on this my\nboundary, not only with the desire that ye should prosper thereby, but\nthat ye should do battle for it.\"\n\n\n CAMPAIGN OF THOTHMES II IN THE SUDAN\n\nThe following extract illustrates the inscriptions in which the king\ndescribes an expedition into a hostile country which he has conducted\nwith success. It is taken from an inscription of Thothmes II, which is\ncut in hieroglyphs on a rock by the side of the old road leading from\nElephantine to Phil\u00e6, and is dated in the first year of the king's\nreign. The opening lines enumerate the names and titles of the king, and\nproclaim his sovereignty over the Haunebu, or the dwellers in the\nnorthern Delta and on the sea coast, Upper and Lower Egypt, Nubia and\nthe Eastern Desert, including Sinai, Syria, the lands of the Fenkhu, and\nthe countries that lie to the south of the modern town of Khartum. The\nnext section states: \"A messenger came in and saluted His Majesty and\nsaid: The vile people of Kash (_i.e._ Cush, Northern Nubia) are in\nrevolt. The subjects of the Lord of the Two Lands (_i.e._ the King of\nEgypt) have become hostile to him, and they have begun to fight. The\nEgyptians [in Nubia] are driving down their cattle from the shelter of\nthe stronghold which thy father Thothmes [I] built to keep back the\ntribes of the South and the tribes of the Eastern Desert.\" The last part\nof the envoy's message seems to contain a statement that some of the\nEgyptians who had settled in Nubia had thrown in their lot with the\nSudani folk who were in revolt. The text continues: \"When His Majesty\nheard these words he became furious like a panther (or leopard), and he\nsaid: I swear by Ra, who loveth me, and by my father Amen, king of the\ngods, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, that I will not leave any\nmale alive among them. Then His Majesty sent a multitude of soldiers\ninto Nubia, now this was his first war, to effect the overthrow of all\nthose who had rebelled against the Lord of the Two Lands, and of all\nthose who were disaffected towards His Majesty. And the soldiers of His\nMajesty arrived in the miserable land of Kash, and overthrew these\nsavages, and according to the command of His Majesty they left no male\nalive, except one of the sons of the miserable Prince of Kash, who was\ncarried away alive with some of their servants to the place where His\nMajesty was. His Majesty took his seat on his throne, and when the\nprisoners whom his soldiers had captured were brought to him they were\nplaced under the feet of the good god. Their land was reduced to its\nformer state of subjection, and the people rejoiced and their chiefs\nwere glad. They ascribed praise to the Lord of the Two Lands, and they\nglorified the god for his divine beneficence. This took place because of\nthe bravery of His Majesty, whom his father Amen loved more than any\nother king of Egypt from the very beginning, the King of the South and\nNorth, Aakheperenra, the son of Ra, Thothmes (II), whose crowns are\nglorious, endowed with life, stability, and serenity, like Ra for ever.\"\n\n\n CAPTURE OF MEGIDDO BY THOTHMES III\n\nThe following is the official account of the Battle of Megiddo in Syria,\nwhich was won by Thothmes III in the twenty-third year of his reign. The\nnarrative is taken from the Annals of Thothmes III. The king set out\nfrom Thebes and marched into Syria, and received the submission of\nseveral small towns, and having made his way with difficulty through the\nhilly region to the south of the city of Megiddo, he camped there to\nprepare for the battle. \"Then the tents of His Majesty were pitched, and\norders were sent out to the whole army, saying, Arm yourselves, get your\nweapons ready, for we shall set out to do battle with the miserable\nenemy at daybreak. The king sat in his tent, the officers made their\npreparations, and the rations of the servants were provided. The\nmilitary sentries went about crying, Be firm of heart. Be firm of heart.\nKeep watch, keep watch. Keep watch over the life of the king in his\ntent. And a report was brought to His Majesty that the country was\nquiet, and that the foot soldiers of the south and north were ready. On\nthe twenty-first day of the first month of the season Shemu\n(March-April) of the twenty-third year of the reign of His Majesty, and\nthe day of the festival of the new moon, which was also the anniversary\nof the king's coronation, at dawn, behold, the order was given to set\nthe whole army in motion. His Majesty set out in his chariot of\nsilver-gold, and he had girded on himself the weapons of battle, like\nHorus the Slayer, the lord of might, and he was like unto Menthu [the\nWar-god] of Thebes, and Amen his father gave strength to his arms. The\nsouthern half of the army was stationed on a hill to the south of the\nstream Kina, and the northern half lay to the south-west of Megiddo; His\nMajesty was between them, and Amen was protecting him and giving\nstrength to his body. His Majesty at the head of his army attacked his\nenemies, and broke their line, and when they saw that he was\noverwhelming them they broke and fled to Megiddo in a panic, leaving\ntheir horses and their gold and silver chariots on the field. [The\nfugitives] were pulled up by the people over the walls into the city;\nnow they let down their clothes by which to pull them up. If the\nsoldiers of His Majesty had not devoted themselves to securing loot of\nthe enemy, they would have been able to capture the city of Megiddo at\nthe moment when the vile foes from Kadesh and the vile foes from this\ncity were being dragged up hurriedly over the walls into this city; for\nthe terror of His Majesty had entered into them, and their arms dropped\nhelplessly, and the serpent on his crown overthrew them. Their horses\nand their chariots [which were decorated] with gold and silver were\nseized as spoil, and their mighty men of war lay stretched out dead upon\nthe ground like fishes, and the conquering soldiers of His Majesty went\nabout counting their shares. And behold, the tent of the vile chief of\nthe enemy, wherein was his son, was also captured. Then all the soldiers\nrejoiced greatly, and they glorified Amen, because he had made his son\n(_i.e._ the king) victorious on that day, and they praised His Majesty\ngreatly, and acclaimed his triumph. And they collected the loot which\nthey had taken, viz. hands [cut off the dead], prisoners, horses,\nchariots [decorated with] gold and silver,\" etc.\n\nIn spite of the joy of the army Thothmes was angry with his troops for\nhaving failed to capture the city. Every rebel chief was in Megiddo, and\nits capture would have been worth more than the capture of a thousand\nother cities, for he could have slain all the rebel chiefs, and the\nrevolt would have collapsed completely. Thothmes then laid siege to the\ncity, and he threw up a strong wall round about it, through which none\nmight pass, and the daily progress of the siege was recorded on a\nleather roll, which was subsequently preserved in the temple of Amen at\nThebes. After a time the chiefs in Megiddo left their city and advanced\nto the gate in the siege-wall and reported that they had come to tender\ntheir submission to His Majesty, and it was accepted. They brought to\nhim rich gifts of gold, silver, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, wheat, wine,\ncattle, sheep, goats, &c., and he reappointed many of the penitent\nchiefs to their former towns as vassals of Egypt. Among the gifts were\n340 prisoners, 83 hands, 2041 mares, 191 foals, 6 stallions, a royal\nchariot with a golden pole, a second royal chariot, 892 chariots, total\n924 chariots; 2 royal coats of mail, 200 ordinary coats of mail, 502\nbows, 7 tent poles inlaid with gold, 1929 cattle, 2000 goats, and 20,500\nsheep.\n\n\n THE CONQUESTS OF THOTHMES III SUMMARISED BY\n AMEN-RA, KING OF THE GODS\n\nThe conquests of Thothmes III were indeed splendid achievements, and the\nscribes of his time summarised them very skilfully in a fine text which\nthey had cut in hieroglyphs on a large stele at Karnak. The treatment\nis, of course, somewhat poetical, but there are enough historical facts\nunderlying the statements to justify a rendering of it being given in\nthis chapter. The text is supposed to be a speech of Amen-Ra, the lord\nof the thrones of the Two Lands, to the king. He says:\n\n\"Thou hast come to me, thou hast rejoiced in beholding my beneficence, O\nmy son, my advocate, Menkheperra, living for ever! I rise upon thee\nthrough my love for thee. My heart rejoiceth at thy auspicious comings\nto my temple. My hands knit together thy limbs with the fluid of life;\nsweet unto me are thy gracious acts towards my person. I have stablished\nthee in my sanctuary. I have made thee to be a source of wonder [to\nmen]. I have given unto thee strength and conquests over all lands. I\nhave set thy Souls and the fear of thee in all lands. The terror of thee\nhath penetrated to the four pillars of the sky. I have made great the\nawe of thee in all bodies. I have set the roar of Thy Majesty everywhere\n[in the lands of] the Nine Bows (_i.e._ Nubia). The Chiefs of all lands\nare grouped in a bunch within thy fist. I put out my two hands; I tied\nthem in a bundle for thee. I collected the Antiu of Ta-sti[1] in tens of\nthousands and thousands, and I made captives by the hundred thousand of\nthe Northern Nations. I have cast down thy foes under thy sandals, thou\nhast trampled upon the hateful and vile-hearted foes even as I commanded\nthee. The length and breadth of the earth are thine, and those who dwell\nin the East and the West are vassals unto thee. Thou hast trodden upon\nall countries, thy heart is expanded (_i.e._ glad). No one dareth to\napproach Thy Majesty with hostility, because I am thy guide to conduct\nthee to them. Thou didst sail over the Great Circuit of water (the\nEuphrates) of Nehren (Aram Naharayim, or Mesopotamia) with strength and\npower. I have commanded for thee that they should hear thy roarings, and\nrun away into holes in the ground. I stopped up their nostrils [shutting\nout] the breath of life. I have set the victories of Thy Majesty in\ntheir minds. The fiery serpent Khut which is on thy forehead burnt them\nup. It made thee to grasp as an easy prey the Ketu peoples, it burnt up\nthe dwellers in their marshes with its fire. The Princes of the Aamu\n(Asiatics) have been slaughtered, not one of them remains, and the sons\nof the mighty men have fallen. I have made thy mighty deeds to go\nthroughout all lands, the serpent on my crown hath illumined thy\nterritory, nothing that is an abomination unto thee existeth in all the\nwide heaven, and the people come bearing offerings upon their backs,\nbowing to the ground before Thy Majesty, in accordance with my decree. I\nmade impotent those who dared to attack thee, their hearts melted and\ntheir limbs quaked.\n\n[Footnote 1: The natives of the Eastern Desert of Nubia.]\n\n[Illustration: Stele on which is cut the Speech of Amen-Ra, summarising\nthe Conquests of Thothmes III.]\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the Chief of Tchah\n(Syria), I have cast them down under thy feet in all the lands, I have\nmade them to behold Thy Majesty as the 'lord of beams' (_i.e._ the\nSun-god), thou hast shone on their faces as the image of me.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the people of Asia, thou\nhast led away captive the Chiefs of the Aamu of Retenu, I have made them\nto behold Thy Majesty arrayed in thy decorations, grasping the weapons\nfor battle, [mounted] on thy chariot.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the land of the East,\nthou hast trodden upon those who dwell in the districts of the Land of\nthe God, I have made them to see thee as the brilliant star that\nshooteth out light and fire and scattereth its dew.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the land of the West,\nKefti (Phoenicia) and Asi (Cyprus) are in awe of thee. I have made them\nto see Thy Majesty as a young bull, steady-hearted, with horns ready to\nstrike, invincible.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot those who are in their\nmarshes, the Lands of Methen (Mitani) quake through their fear of thee.\nI have made them to see Thy Majesty as the crocodile, the lord of terror\nin the water, unassailable.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot those who dwell in the\nIslands, those who live in the Great Green (Mediterranean) hear thy\nroarings, I have made them to see Thy Majesty as the slayer when he\nmounteth on the back of his sacrificial animal.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the Thehenu (Libyans),\nthe Islands of the Uthentiu [have submitted to] the power of thy Souls.\nI have made them to see Thy Majesty as a savage lion, which hath\nscattered the dead bodies of the people throughout their valleys.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the uttermost ends of\nthe earth, the Circuit of the Great Circuit is in thy grasp, I have made\nthem to see Thy Majesty as the hawk, which seizeth what it seeth when it\npleaseth.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample upon those who are on their\nfrontiers(?), thou hast smitten 'those on their sand' (_i.e._ the desert\ndwellers), making them living captives. I have made them to see Thy\nMajesty as a jackal of the south, moving fleetly and stealthily, and\ntraversing the Two Lands.\n\n\"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the Antiu of Ta-sti, as\nfar as ... they are in thy grasp. I have made them to see Thy Majesty as\nthe Two Brothers (Set and Horus), I have gathered together their arms\nabout thee with [strength].\n\n\"I have placed thy Two Sisters (Isis and Nephthys) near thee as\nprotectresses for thee, the arms of Thy Majesty are [lifted] upwards to\ndrive away evil. I have made thee strong and glorious, O my beloved Son,\nthou Mighty Bull, crowned in Thebes, begotten by me ..., Thothmes, the\neverliving, who hast performed for me all that my Ka wished. Thou hast\nset up my sanctuary with work that shall endure for ever, thou hast\nlengthened it and broadened it more than ever was done before. The great\npylon ... Thou hast celebrated the festival of the beauties of Amen-Ra,\nthy monuments are greater than those of any king who hath existed, I\ncommanded thee to do it. I am satisfied with it. I have stablished thee\nupon the throne of Horus for hundreds of thousands of years. Thou shalt\nguide life ...\"\n\n[Illustration: A Page of the Hieratic Text, from the Great Harris\nPapyrus in the British Museum, describing the great Works carried out by\nRameses III about 1200 B.C.]\n\n\n SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF RAMESES III\n\nThe reign of Rameses III is remarkable in the annals of the New Empire,\nand the great works which this king carried out, and his princely\nbenefactions to the temples of Egypt, are described at great length in\nhis famous papyrus in the British Museum (Harris, No. 1, No. 9999). The\nlast section of the papyrus contains an excellent historical summary of\nthe reign of Rameses III, and as it is one of the finest examples of\nthis class of literature a translation of it is here given. The text is\nwritten in the hieratic character and reads:\n\nKing Usermaatra-meri-Amen (Rameses III), life, strength, health [be to\nhim!] the great god, said unto the princes, and the chiefs of the land,\nand the soldiers, and the charioteers, and the Shartanau soldiers, and\nthe multitudes of the bowmen, and all those who lived in the land of\nTa-mera (Egypt), Hearken ye, and I will cause you to know the splendid\ndeeds which I did when I was king of men. The land of Kamt was laid open\nto the foreigner, every man [was ejected] from his rightful holding,\nthere was no \"chief mouth\" (_i.e._ ruler) for many years in olden times\nuntil the new period [came]. The land of Egypt [was divided among]\nchiefs and governors of towns, each one slew his neighbour. ... Another\nperiod followed with years of nothingness (famine?). Arsu, a certain\nSyrian, was with them as governor, he made the whole land to be one\nholding before him. He collected his vassals, and mulcted them of their\npossessions heavily. They treated the gods as if they were men, and they\noffered up no propitiatory offerings in their temples. Now when the gods\nturned themselves back to peace, and to the restoration of what was\nright in the land, according to its accustomed and proper form, they\nestablished their son who proceeded from their body to be Governor,\nlife, strength, health [be to him!], of every land, upon their great\nthrone, namely, Userkhara-setep-en-Amen-meri-Amen, life strength, health\n[be to him!], the son of Ra, Set-nekht-merr-Ra-meri-Amen, life,\nstrength, health [be to him!]. He was like Khepra-Set when he is wroth.\nHe quieted the whole country which had been in rebellion. He slew the\nevil-hearted ones who were in Ta-mera (Egypt). He purified the great\nthrone of Egypt. He was the Governor, life, strength, health [be to\nhim!], of the Two Lands, on the throne of Amen. He made to appear the\nfaces that had withdrawn themselves. Of those who had been behind walls\nevery man recognised his fellow. He endowed the temples with offerings\nto offer as was right to the Nine Gods, according to use and wont. He\nmade me by a decree to be the Hereditary Chief in the seat of Keb. I\nbecame the \"Great High Mouth\" of the lands of Egypt, I directed the\naffairs of the whole land, which had been made one. He set on his double\nhorizon (_i.e._ he died) like the Nine Gods. There was performed for him\nwhat was performed for Osiris; sailing in his royal boat on the river,\nand resting [finally] in his house of eternity (_i.e._ the tomb) in\nWestern Thebes.\n\nMy father Amen, the lord of the gods, Ra, Tem, and Ptah of the Beautiful\nFace made me to be crowned lord of the Two Lands in the place of my\nbegetter. I received the rank of my father with cries of joy. The land\nhad peace, being fed with offerings, and men rejoiced in seeing me,\nGovernor, life, strength, health [be to him!], of the Two Lands, like\nHorus when he was made to be Governor of the Two Lands on the throne of\nOsiris. I was crowned with the Atef crown with the serpents, I bound on\nthe crown with plumes, like Tatenn. I sat on the throne of Heru-Khuti\n(Harmakhis). I was arrayed in the ornaments [of sovereignty] like Tem. I\nmade Ta-mera to possess many [different] kinds of men, the officers of\nthe palace, the great chiefs, large numbers of horse and chariot\nsoldiers, hundreds of thousands of them, the Shartanau and the Qehequ,\nwho were numberless, soldiers of the bodyguard in tens of thousands, and\nthe peasants belonging to Ta-mera.\n\nI enlarged all the frontiers of Egypt, I conquered those who crossed\nover them in their [own] lands. I slaughtered the Tanauna in their\nislands; the Thakra and the Purastau were made into a holocaust. The\nShartanau and the Uasheshu of the sea were made non-existent; they were\nseized [by me] at one time, and were brought as captives to Egypt, like\nthe sand in the furrows. I provided fortresses for them to dwell in, and\nthey were kept in check by my name. Their companies were very numerous,\nlike hundreds of thousands. I assessed every one of them for taxes\nyearly, in apparel and wheat from the stores and granaries. I crushed\nthe Saara and the tribes of the Shasu (nomad shepherds). I carried off\ntheir tents from their men, and the equipment thereof, and their flocks\nand herds likewise, which were without number. They were put in fetters\nand brought along as captives, as offerings to Egypt, and I gave them to\nthe Nine Gods as slaves for their temples.\n\nBehold, I will also make you to know concerning the other schemes that\nhave been carried out in Ta-mera during my reign. The Labu (Libyans) and\nthe Mashuashau had made their dwelling in Egypt, for they had captured\nthe towns on the west bank of the Nile from Hetkaptah (Memphis) to\nQarabana. They had occupied also both banks of the \"Great River,\" and\nthey had been in possession of the towns (or villages) of Kutut[1] for\nvery, very many years whilst they were [lords] over Egypt. Behold, I\ncrushed them and slaughtered them at one time (_i.e._ in one\nengagement). I overthrew the Mashuashau, the Libyans, the Asbatau, the\nQaiqashau, the Shaiu, the Hasau, and the Baqanau. [I] slaughtered them\nin their blood, and they became piles of dead bodies. [Thus] I drove\nthem away from marching over the border of Egypt. The rest of them I\ncarried away, a vast multitude of prisoners, trussed like geese in front\nof my horses, their women and their children in tens of thousands, and\ntheir flocks and herds in hundreds of thousands. I allotted to their\nchiefs fortresses, and they lived there under my name. I made them\nofficers of the bowmen, and captains of the tribes; they were branded\nwith my name and became my slaves; their wives and their children were\nlikewise turned into slaves. Their flocks and herds I brought into the\nHouse of Amen, and they became his live-stock for ever.\n\n[Footnote 1: Perhaps the district of Canopus.]\n\nI made a very large well in the desert of Aina. It had a girdle wall\nlike a mountain of basalt(?), with twenty buttresses(?) in the\nfoundation [on] the ground, and its height was thirty cubits, and it had\nbastions. The frame-work and the doors were cut out of cedar, and the\nbolts thereof and their sockets were of copper. I cut out large\nsea-going boats, with smaller boats before them, and they were manned\nwith large crews, and large numbers of serving-men. With them were the\nofficers of the bowmen of the boats, and there were trained captains and\nmates to inspect them. They were loaded with the products of Egypt which\nwere without number, and they were in very large numbers, like tens of\nthousands. These were despatched to the Great Sea of the water of Qett\n(_i.e._ the Red Sea), they arrived at the lands of Punt, no disaster\nfollowed them, and they were in an effective state and were\nawe-inspiring. Both the large boats and the little boats were laden with\nthe products of the Land of the God, and with all kinds of wonderful and\nmysterious things which are produced in those lands, and with vast\nquantities of the _anti_ (myrrh) of Punt, which was loaded on to them by\ntens of thousands [of measures] that were without number. The sons of\nthe chief of the Land of the God went in front of their offerings, their\nfaces towards Egypt. They arrived and were sound and well at the\nmountain of Qebtit (Coptos),[1] they moored their boats in peace, with\nthe things which they had brought as offerings. To cross the desert they\nwere loaded upon asses and on [the backs of] men, and they were\n[re]loaded into river-barges at the quay of Coptos. They were despatched\ndown the river, they arrived during a festival, and some of the most\nwonderful of the offerings were carried into the presence of [My\nMajesty]. The children of their chiefs adored my face, they smelt the\nearth before my face, and rolled on the ground. I gave them to all the\ngods of this land to propitiate the two gods in front of me every\nmorning.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ the part at the Red Sea end of the Valley of\nHammamat.]\n\nI despatched my envoys to the desert of Aataka to the great copper\nworkings that are in this place. Their sea-going boats were laden with\n[some of] them, whilst those who went through the desert rode on asses.\nSuch a thing as this was never heard of before, from the time when kings\nbegan to reign. Their copper workings were found, and they were full of\ncopper, and the metal was loaded by ten thousands [of measures] into\ntheir sea-going boats. They were despatched with their faces towards\nEgypt, and they arrived safely. The metal was lifted out and piled up\nunder the veranda in the form of blocks (or ingots) of copper, vast\nnumbers of them, as it were tens of thousands. They were in colour like\ngold of three refinings. I allowed everybody to see them, as they were\nwonderful things.\n\nI despatched inspectors and overseers to the turquoise desert (_i.e._\nSinai) of my mother, the goddess Hathor, the lady of the turquoise.\n[They] carried to her silver, gold, byssus, fine (?) linen, and many\nthings as numerous as the sand-grains, and laid them before her. And\nthere were brought unto me most wonderfully fine turquoises, real\nstones, in large numbers of bags, and laid out before me. The like had\nnever been seen before--since kings began to reign.\n\nI caused the whole country to be planted with groves of trees and with\nflowering shrubs, and I made the people to sit under the shade thereof.\nI made it possible for an Egyptian woman to walk with a bold step to the\nplace whither she wished to go; no strange man attacked her, and no one\non the road. I made the foot-soldiers and the charioteers sit down in my\ntime, and the Shartanau and the Qehequ were in their towns lying at full\nlength on their backs; they were unafraid, for there was no fighting man\n[to come] from Kash (Nubia), [and no] enemy from Syria. Their bows and\ntheir weapons of war lay idle in their barracks, and they ate their\nfill and drank their fill with shouts of joy. Their wives were with\nthem, [their] children were by their side; there was no need to keep\ntheir eyes looking about them, their hearts were bold, for I was with\nthem as strength and protection for their bodies. I kept alive (_i.e._\nfed) the whole country, aliens, artisans, gentle and simple, men and\nwomen. I delivered a man from his foe and I gave him air. I rescued him\nfrom the strong man, him who was more honourable than the strong man. I\nmade all men to have their rightful positions in their towns. Some I\nmade to live [taking them] in the very chamber of the Tuat.[1] Where the\nland was bare I covered it over again; the land was well filled during\nmy reign. I performed deeds of beneficence towards the gods as well as\ntowards men; I had no property that belonged to the people. I served my\noffice of king upon earth, as Governor of the Two Lands, and ye were\nslaves under my feet without [complaint ?]. Ye were satisfactory to my\nheart, as were your good actions, and ye performed my decrees and my\nwords.\n\n[Footnote 1: The sick and needy who were at death's door.]\n\nBehold, I have set in Akert (the Other World) like my father Ra. I am\namong the Great Companies of the gods of heaven, earth, and the Tuat.\nAmen-Ra hath stablished my son upon my throne, he hath received my rank\nin peace, as Governor of the Two Lands, and he is sitting upon the\nthrone of Horus as Lord of the Two Nile-banks. He hath put on himself\nthe Atef crown like Ta-Tenn, Usermaatra-setep-en-Amen, life, strength,\nhealth [be to him!], the eldest-born son of Ra, the self-begotten,\nRameses (IV)-heqmaat-meri-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!], the\ndivine child, the son of Amen, who came forth from his body, rising as\nthe Lord of the Two Lands, like Ta-Tenn. He is like a real son, favoured\nfor his father's sake. Tie ye yourselves to his sandals. Smell the earth\nbefore him. Do homage to him. Follow him at every moment. Praise him.\nWorship him. Magnify his beneficent actions as ye do those of Ra every\nmorning. Present ye before him your offerings [in] his Great House\n(_i.e._ palace), which is holy. Carry ye to him the \"blessings\" (?) of\nthe [tilled] lands and the deserts. Be strong to fulfil his words and\nthe decrees that are uttered among you. Follow (?) his utterances, and\nye shall be safe under his Souls. Work all together for him in every\nwork. Haul monuments for him, excavate canals for him, work for him in\nthe work of your hands, and there will accrue unto you his favour as\nwell as his food daily. Amen hath decreed for him his sovereignty upon\nearth, he hath made this period of his life twice as long as that of any\nother king, the King of the South and North, the Lord of the Two Lands,\nUsermaatra-setep-en-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!], the son\nof Ra, the lord of crowns, Rameses (IV)-heqmaat-meri-Amen, life,\nstrength, health [be to him!], who is endowed with life for ever.\n\n\n THE INVASION AND CONQUEST OF EGYPT\n BY PIANKHI, KING OF NUBIA\n\nThe text describing the invasion and conquest of Egypt by Piankhi, King\nof Nubia, is cut in hieroglyphs upon a massive stone stele which was\nfound among the ruins of Piankhi's temple at Gebel Barkal, near the foot\nof the Fourth Cataract, and which is now preserved in the Egyptian\nMuseum, Cairo. Although this composition does not belong to the best\nperiod of Egyptian Literature, it is a very fine work. The narrative is\nvivid, and the aim of the writer was rather to state the facts of this\nsplendid expedition than to heap up empty compliments on the king; both\nthe subject-matter and the dress in which it appears are well worthy of\nreproduction in an English form. The inscription is dated in the\ntwenty-first year of Piankhi's reign, and the king says:\n\n\"Hearken ye to [the account of] what I have done more than my ancestors.\nI am a king, the emanation of the god, the living offspring of the god\nTem, who at birth was ordained the Governor whom princes were to fear.\"\nHis mother knew before his birth that he was to be the Governor, he the\nbeneficent god, the beloved of the gods, the son of Ra who was made by\nhis (the god's) hands, Piankhi-meri-Amen. One came and reported to His\nMajesty that the great prince Tafnekht had taken possession of all the\ncountry on the west bank of the Nile in the Delta, from the swamps even\nto Athi-taui[1], that he had sailed up the river with a large force,\nthat all the people on both sides of the river had attached themselves\nto him, and that all the princes and governors and heads of temple-towns\nhad flocked to him, and that they were \"about his feet like dogs.\" No\ncity had shut its gates before him, on the contrary, Mer-Tem,\nPer-sekhem-kheper-Ra, Het-neter-Sebek, Per-Metchet, Thekansh, and all\nthe towns in the west had opened their gates to him. In the east\nHet-benu, Taiutchait, Het-suten, and Pernebtepahet had opened to him,\nand he had besieged Hensu (Herakleopolis) and closely invested it. He\nhad enclosed it like a serpent with its tail in its mouth. \"Those who\nwould come out he will not allow to come out, and those who would go in\nhe will not allow to go in, by reason of the fighting that taketh place\nevery day. He hath thrown soldiers round about it everywhere.\" Piankhi\nlistened to the report undismayed, and he smiled, for his heart was\nglad. Presently further reports of the uprising came, and the king\nlearned that Nemart, another great prince, had joined his forces to\nthose of Tafnekht. Nemart had thrown down the fortifications of Nefrus,\nhe had laid waste his own town, and had thrown off his allegiance to\nPiankhi completely.\n\n[Footnote 1: A fortress a few miles south of Memphis.]\n\nThen Piankhi sent orders to Puarma and Las(?)-mer-sekni, the Nubian\ngenerals stationed in Egypt, and told them to assemble the troops, to\nseize the territory of Hermopolis, to besiege the city itself, to seize\nall the people, and cattle, and the boats on the river, and to stop all\nthe agricultural operations that were going on; these orders were\nobeyed. At the same time he despatched a body of troops to Egypt, with\ncareful instructions as to the way in which they were to fight, and he\nbade them remember that they were fighting under the protection of Amen.\nHe added, \"When ye arrive at Thebes, opposite the Apts,[1] go into the\nwaters of the river and wash yourselves, then array yourselves in your\nfinest apparel, unstring your bows, and lay down your spears. Let no\nchief imagine that he is as strong as the Lord of strength (_i.e._\nAmen), for without him there is no strength. The weak of arm he maketh\nstrong of arm. Though the enemy be many they shall turn their backs in\nflight before the weak man, and one shall take captive a thousand. Wet\nyourselves with the water of his altars, smell the earth before him, and\nsay: O make a way for us! Let us fight under the shadow of thy sword,\nfor a child, if he be but sent forth by thee, shall vanquish multitudes\nwhen he attacketh.\" Then the soldiers threw themselves flat on their\nfaces before His Majesty, saying, \"Behold, thy name breedeth strength in\nus. Thy counsel guideth thy soldiers into port (_i.e._ to success). Thy\nbread is in our bodies on every road, thy beer quencheth our thirst.\nBehold, thy bravery hath given us strength, and at the mere mention of\nthy name there shall be victory. The soldiers who are led by a coward\ncannot stand firm. Who is like unto thee? Thou art the mighty king who\nworkest with thy hands, thou art a master of the operations of war.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ the temples of Karnak and Luxor.]\n\n\"Then the soldiers set out on their journey, and they sailed down the\nriver and arrived at Thebes, and they did everything according to His\nMajesty's commands. And again they set out, and they sailed down the\nriver, and they met many large boats sailing up the river, and they were\nfull of soldiers and sailors, and mighty captains from the North land,\nevery one fully armed to fight, and the soldiers of His Majesty\ninflicted a great defeat on them; they killed a very large but unknown\nnumber, they captured the boats, made the soldiers prisoners, whom they\nbrought alive to the place where His Majesty was.\" This done they\nproceeded on their way to the region opposite Herakleopolis, to continue\nthe battle. Again the soldiers of Piankhi attacked the troops of the\nallies, and defeated and routed them utterly, and captured their boats\non the river. A large number of the enemy succeeded in escaping, and\nlanded on the west bank of the river at Per-pek. At dawn these were\nattacked by Piankhi's troops, who slew large numbers of them, and\n[captured] many horses; the remainder, utterly terror-stricken, fled\nnorthwards, carrying with them the news of the worst defeat which they\nhad ever experienced.\n\nNemart, one of the rebel princes, fled up the river in a boat, and\nlanded near the town of Un (Hermopolis), wherein he took refuge. The\nNubians promptly beleaguered the town with such rigour that no one could\ngo out of it or come in. Then they reported their action to Piankhi, and\nwhen he had read their report, he growled like a panther, and said, \"Is\nit possible that they have permitted any of the Northmen to live and\nescape to tell the tale of his flight, and have not killed them to the\nvery last man? I swear by my life, and by my love for Ra, and by the\ngrace which Father Amen hath bestowed upon me, that I will myself sail\ndown the river, and destroy what the enemy hath done, and I will make\nhim to retreat from the fight for ever.\" Piankhi also declared his\nintention of stopping at Thebes on his way down the river, so that he\nmight assist at the Festival of the New Year, and might look upon the\nface of the god Amen in his shrine at Karnak and, said he, \"After that I\nwill make the Lands of the North to taste my fingers.\" When the soldiers\nin Egypt heard of their lord's wrath, they attacked Per-Metchet\n(Oxyrrhynchus), and they \"overran it like a water-flood\"; a report of\nthe success was sent to Piankhi, but he was not satisfied. Then they\nattacked Ta-tehen (Tehnah?), which was filled with northern soldiers.\nThe Nubians built a tower with a battering ram and breached the walls,\nand they poured into the town and slew every one they found. Among the\ndead was the son of the rebel prince Tafnekht. This success was also\nreported to Piankhi, but still he was not satisfied. Het-Benu was also\ncaptured, and still he was not satisfied.\n\nIn the middle of the summer Piankhi left Napata (Gebel Barkal) and\nsailed down to Thebes, where he celebrated the New Year Festival. From\nthere he went down the river to Un (Hermopolis), where he landed and\nmounted his war chariot; he was furiously angry because his troops had\nnot destroyed the enemy utterly, and he growled at them like a panther.\nHaving pitched his camp to the south-west of the city, he began to\nbesiege it. He threw up a mound round about the city, he built wooden\nstages on it which he filled with archers and slingers, and these\nsucceeded in killing the people of the city daily. After three days \"the\ncity stank,\" and envoys came bearing rich gifts to sue for peace. With\nthe envoys came the wife of Nemart and her ladies, who cast themselves\nflat on their faces before the ladies of Piankhi's palace, saying, \"We\ncome to you, O ye royal wives, ye royal daughters, and royal sisters.\nPacify ye for us Horus (_i.e._ the King), the Lord of the Palace, whose\nSouls are mighty, and whose word of truth is great.\" A break of fifteen\nlines occurs in the text here, and the words that immediately follow the\nbreak indicate that Piankhi is upbraiding Nemart for his folly and\nwickedness in destroying his country, wherein \"not a full-grown son is\nseen with his father, all the districts round about being filled with\nchildren.\" Nemart acknowledged his folly, and then swore fealty to\nPiankhi, promising to give him more gifts than any other prince in the\ncountry. Gold, silver, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, copper, and precious\nstones of all kinds were then presented, and Nemart himself led a horse\nwith his right hand, and held a sistrum made of gold and lapis-lazuli in\nhis left.\n\nPiankhi then arose and went into the temple of Thoth, and offered up\noxen, and calves, and geese to the god, and to the Eight Gods of the\ncity. After this he went through Nemart's palace, and then visited the\nstables \"where the horses were, and the stalls of the young horses, and\nhe perceived that they had been suffering from hunger. And he said, 'I\nswear by my own life, and by the love which I have for Ra, who reneweth\nthe breath of life in my nostrils, that, in my opinion, to have allowed\nmy horses to suffer hunger is the worst of all the evil things which\nthou hast done in the perversity of thy heart.'\" A list was made of the\ngoods that were handed over to Piankhi, and a portion of them was\nreserved for the temple of Amen at Thebes.\n\nThe next prince to submit was the Governor of Herakleopolis, and when\nhe had laid before Piankhi his gifts he said: \"Homage to thee, Horus,\nmighty king, Bull, conqueror of bulls. I was in a pit in hell. I was\nsunk deep in the depths of darkness, but now light shineth on me. I had\nno friend in the evil day, and none to support me in the day of battle.\nThou only, O mighty king, who hast rolled away the darkness that was on\nme [art my friend]. Henceforward I am thy servant, and all my\npossessions are thine. The city of Hensu shall pay tribute to thee. Thou\nart the image of Ra, and art the master of the imperishable stars. He\nwas a king, and thou art a king; he perished not, and thou shalt not\nperish.\" From Hensu Piankhi went down to the canal leading to the Fayyum\nand to Illahun and found the town gates shut in his face. The\ninhabitants, however, speedily changed their minds, and opened the gates\nto Piankhi, who entered with his troops, and received tribute, and slew\nno one. Town after town submitted as Piankhi advanced northwards, and\nnone barred his progress until he reached Memphis, the gates of which\nwere shut fast. When Piankhi saw this he sent a message to the\nMemphites, saying: \"Shut not your gates, and fight not in the city that\nhath belonged to Shu[1] for ever. He who wisheth to enter may do so, he\nwho wisheth to come out may do so, and he who wisheth to travel about\nmay do so. I will make an offering to Ptah and the gods of White Wall\n(Memphis). I will perform the ceremonies of Seker in the Hidden Shrine.\nI will look upon the god of his South Wall (_i.e._ Ptah), and I will\nsail down the river in peace. No man of Memphis shall be harmed, not a\nchild shall cry out in distress. Look at the homes of the South! None\nhath been slain except those who blasphemed the face of the god, and\nonly the rebels have suffered at the block.\" These pacific words of\nPiankhi were not believed, and the people of Memphis not only kept their\ngates shut, but manned the city walls with soldiers, and they were\nfoolish enough to slay a small company of Nubian artisans and boatmen\nwhom they found on the quay of Memphis. Tafnekht, the rebel prince of\nSais, entered Memphis by night, and addressed eight thousand of his\ntroops who were there, and encouraged them to resist Piankhi. He said to\nthem: \"Memphis is filled with the bravest men of war in all the\nNorthland, and its granaries are filled with wheat, barley, and grain of\nall kinds. The arsenal is full of weapons. A wall goeth round the city,\nand the great fort is as strong as the mason could make it. The river\nfloweth along the east side, and no attack can be made there. The byres\nare full of cattle, and the treasury is well filled with gold, silver,\ncopper, apparel, incense, honey, and unguents.... Defend ye the city\ntill I return.\" Tafnekht mounted a horse and rode away to the north.\n\n[Footnote 1: The son of Khepera, or Tem, or Nebertcher.]\n\nAt daybreak Piankhi went forth to reconnoitre, and he found that the\nwaters of the Nile were lapping the city walls on the north side of the\ncity, where the sailing craft were tied up. He also saw that the city\nwas extremely well fortified, and that there was no means whereby he\ncould effect an entrance into the city through the walls. Some of his\nofficers advised him to throw up a mound of earth about the city, but\nthis counsel was rejected angrily by Piankhi, for he had thought out a\nsimpler plan. He ordered all his boats and barges to be taken to the\nquay of Memphis, with their bows towards the city wall; as the water\nlapped the foot of the wall, the boats were able to come quite close to\nit, and their bows were nearly on a level with the top of the wall. Then\nPiankhi's men crowded into the boats, and, when the word of command was\ngiven, they jumped from the bows of the boats on to the wall, entered\nthe houses built near it, and then poured into the city. They rushed\nthrough the city like a waterflood, and large numbers of the natives\nwere slain, and large numbers taken prisoners. Next morning Piankhi set\nguards over the temples to protect the property of the gods, then he\nwent into the great temple of Ptah and reinstated the priests, and they\npurified the holy place with natron and incense, and offered up many\nofferings. When the report of the capture of Memphis spread abroad,\nnumerous local chiefs came to Piankhi, and did homage, and gave him\ntribute.\n\nFrom Memphis he passed over to the east bank of the Nile to make an\noffering to Temu of Heliopolis. He bathed his face in the water of the\nfamous \"Fountain of the Sun,\" he offered white bulls to Ra at\nShaiqaem-Anu, and he went into the great temple of the Sun-god. The\nchief priest welcomed him and blessed him; \"he performed the ceremonies\nof the Tuat chamber, he girded on the _seteb_ garment, he censed\nhimself, he was sprinkled with holy water, and he offered (?) flowers in\nthe chamber in which the stone, wherein the spirit of the Sun-god abode\nat certain times, was preserved. He went up the step leading to the\nshrine to look upon Ra, and stood there. He broke the seal, unbolted and\nopened the doors of the shrine, and looked upon Father Ra in Het-benben.\nHe paid adoration to the two Boats of Ra. (Matet and Sektet), and then\nclosed the doors of the shrine and sealed them with his own seal.\"\nPiankhi returned to the west bank of the Nile, and pitched his camp at\nKaheni, whither came a number of princes to tender their submission and\noffer gifts to him. After a time it was reported to Piankhi that\nTafnekht, the head of the rebellion, had laid waste his town, burnt his\ntreasury and his boats, and had entrenched himself at Mest with the\nremainder of his army. Thereupon Piankhi sent troops to Mest, and they\nslew all its inhabitants. Then Tafnekht sent an envoy to Piankhi asking\nfor peace, and he said, \"Be at peace [with me]. I have not seen thy face\nduring the days of shame. I cannot resist thy fire, the terror of thee\nhath conquered me. Behold, thou art Nubti,[1] the Governor of the South,\nand Menth,[2] the Bull with strong arms. Thou didst not find thy servant\nin any town towards which thou hast turned thy face. I went as far as\nthe swamps of the Great Green (_i.e._ the Mediterranean), because I was\nafraid of thy Souls, and because thy word is a fire that worketh evil\nfor me. Is not the heart of Thy Majesty cooled by reason of what thou\nhast done unto me? Behold, I am indeed a most wretched man. Punish me\nnot according to my abominable deeds, weigh them not in a balance as\nagainst weights; thy punishment of me is already threefold. Leave the\nseed, and thou shalt find it again in due season. Dig not up the young\nroot which is about to put forth shoots. Thy Ka and the terror of thee\nare in my body, and the fear of thee is in my bones. I have not sat in\nthe house of drinking beer, and no one hath brought to me the harp. I\nhave only eaten the bread which hunger demanded, and I have only drunk\nthe water needed [to slake] my thirst. From the day in which thou didst\nhear my name misery hath been in my bones, and my head hath lost its\nhair. My apparel shall be rags until Neith[3] is at peace with me. Thou\nhast brought on me the full weight of misery; O turn thou thy face\ntowards me, for, behold, this year hath separated my Ka from me. Purge\nthy servant of his rebellion. Let my goods be received into thy\ntreasury, gold, precious stones of all kinds, and the finest of my\nhorses, and let these be my indemnity to thee for everything. I beseech\nthee to send an envoy to me quickly, so that he may make an end of the\nfear that is in my heart. Verily I will go into the temple, and in his\npresence I will purge myself, and swear an oath of allegiance to thee by\nthe God.\" And Piankhi sent to him General Puarma and General\nPetamennebnesttaui, and Tafnekht loaded them with gold, and silver, and\nraiment, and precious stones, and he went into the temple and took an\noath by the God that he would never again disobey the king, or make war\non a neighbour, or invade his territory without Piankhi's knowledge. So\nPiankhi was satisfied and forgave him. After this the town of\nCrocodilopolis tendered its submission, and Piankhi was master of all\nEgypt. Then two Governors of the South and two Governors of the North\ncame and smelt the ground before Piankhi, and these were followed by all\nthe kings and princes of the North, \"and their legs were [weak] like\nthose of women.\" As they were uncircumcised and were eaters of fish they\ncould not enter the king's palace; only one, Nemart, who was\nceremonially pure, entered the palace. Piankhi was now tired of\nconquests, and he had all the loot which he had collected loaded on his\nbarges, together with goods from Syria and the Land of the God, and he\nsailed up the river towards Nubia. The people on both banks rejoiced at\nthe sight of His Majesty, and they sang hymns of praise to him as he\njourneyed southwards, and acclaimed him as the Conqueror of Egypt. They\nalso invoked blessings on his father and mother, and wished him long\nlife. When he returned to Gebel Barkal (Napata) he had the account of\nhis invasion and conquest of Egypt cut upon a large grey granite stele\nabout 6 feet high and 4 feet 8 inches wide, and set up in his temple,\namong the ruins of which it was discovered accidentally by an Egyptian\nofficer who was serving in the Egyptian Sudan in 1862.\n\n[Footnote 1: The war-god of Ombos in Upper Egypt.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The war-god of Hermonthis in Upper Epypt.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The chief goddess of Sa\u00efs, the city of Tafnekht.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IX\n\n AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE\n\n\nAttention has already been called to the very great importance of the\nautobiographies of the military and administrative officials of the\nPharaohs, and a selection of them must now be given. They are, in many\ncases, the only sources of information which we possess about certain\nwars and about the social conditions of the periods during which they\nwere composed, and they often describe events about which official\nEgyptian history is altogether silent. Most of these autobiographies are\nfound cut upon the walls of tombs, and, though according to modern\nnotions their writers may seem to have been very conceited, and their\nlanguage exaggerated and bombastic, the inscriptions bear throughout the\nimpress of truth, and the facts recorded in them have therefore especial\nvalue. The narratives are usually simple and clear, and as long as they\ndeal with matters of fact they are easily understood, but when the\nwriters describe their own personal characters and their moral\nexcellences their meaning is sometimes not plain. Such autobiographies\nare sometimes very useful in settling the chronology of a doubtful\nperiod of history, and as an example of such may be quoted the\nautobiography of Ptah-shepses, preserved in the British Museum. This\ndistinguished man was born in the reign of Menkaura, the builder of the\nThird Pyramid at Gizah, and he was educated with the king's children,\nbeing a great favourite of the king himself. The next king, Shepseskaf,\ngave him to wife Maatkha, his eldest daughter, in order to keep him\nabout the Court. Under the succeeding kings Userkaf and Sahura he was\nadvanced to great honour, and he became so great a favourite of the\nnext king, Neferari-kara, that he was allowed to kiss the king's foot\ninstead of the ground on which it rested when he did homage. He was\npromoted to further honours by the next king, Neferefra, and he lived to\nsee Userenra ascend the throne. Thus Ptah-shepses lived under eight\nkings, and his inscription makes it possible to arrange their reigns in\ncorrect chronological order.\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF UNA\n\nThis inscription was found cut in hieroglyphs upon a slab of limestone\nfixed in Una's tomb at Abydos; it is now in the Egyptian Museum in\nCairo. It reads:\n\nThe Duke, the Governor of the South, the judge belonging to Nekhen,\nprince of Nekheb, the _smer uat_ vassal of Osiris Khenti Amenti, Una,\nsaith: \"I was a child girded with a girdle under the Majesty of King\nTeta. My rank was that of overseer of tillage (?), and I was deputy\ninspector of the estates of Pharaoh.... I was chief of the _teb_ chamber\nunder the Majesty of Pepi. His Majesty gave me the rank of _smer_ and\ndeputy priest of his pyramid--town. Whilst I held the rank of ... His\nMajesty made me a 'judge belonging to Nekhen.' His heart was more\nsatisfied with me than with any other of his servants. Alone I heard\nevery kind of private case, there being with me only the Chief Justice\nand the Governor of the town ... in the name of the king, of the royal\nhousehold, and of the Six Great Houses. The heart of the king was more\nsatisfied with me than with any other of his high officials, or any of\nhis nobles, or any of his servants. I asked the Majesty of [my] Lord to\npermit a white stone sarcophagus to be brought for me from Raau.[1] His\nMajesty made the keeper of the royal seal, assisted by a body of\nworkmen, bring this sarcophagus over from Raau in a barge, and he came\nbringing with it in a large boat, which was the property of the king,\nthe cover of the sarcophagus, the slabs for the door, and the slabs for\nthe setting of the stele, and a pair of stands for censers (?), and a\ntablet for offerings. Never before was the like of this done for any\nservant. [He did this for me] because I was perfect in the heart of His\nMajesty, because I was acceptable to the heart of His Majesty, and\nbecause the heart of His Majesty was satisfied with me.\n\n[Footnote 1: On the east bank, opposite Memphis,]\n\n\"Behold, I was 'judge belonging to Nekhen' when His Majesty made me a\n_smer uat_, and overseer of the estates of Pharaoh, and ... of the four\noverseers of the estate of Pharaoh who were there. I performed my duties\nin such a way as to secure His Majesty's approval, both when the Court\nwas in residence and when it was travelling, and in appointing officials\nfor duty. I acted in such a way that His Majesty praised me for my work\nabove everything. During the secret inquiry which was made in the king's\nhousehold concerning the Chief Wife Amtes, His Majesty made me enter to\nhear the case by myself. There was no Chief Justice there, and no Town\nGovernor, and no nobleman, only myself, and this was because I was able\nand acceptable to the heart of His Majesty, and because the heart of His\nMajesty was filled with me. I did the case into writing, I alone, with\nonly one judge belonging to Nekhen, and yet my rank was only that of\noverseer of the estates of Pharaoh. Never before did a man of my rank\nhear the case of a secret of the royal household, and His Majesty only\nmade me hear it because I was more perfect to the heart of His Majesty\nthan any officer of his, or any nobleman of his, or any servant of his.\n\n\"His Majesty had to put down a revolt of the Aamu dwellers on the\nsand.[1] His Majesty collected an army of many thousands strong in the\nSouth everywhere, beyond Abu (Elephantine) and northwards of\nAphroditopolis, in the Northland (Delta) everywhere, in both halves of\nthe region, in Setcher, and in the towns like Setcher, in Arthet of the\nBlacks, in Matcha of the Blacks, in Amam of the Blacks, in Uauat of the\nBlacks, in Kaau of the Blacks, and in the Land of Themeh. His Majesty\nsent me at the head of this army. Behold, the dukes, the royal\nseal-bearers, the _smer uats_ of the palace, the chiefs, the governors\nof the forts (?) of the South and the North, the _smeru_, the masters of\ncaravans, the overseers of the priests of the South and North, and the\noverseers of the stewards, were commanding companies of the South and\nthe North, and of the forts and towns which they ruled, and of the\nBlacks of these countries, but it was I who planned tactics for them,\nalthough my rank was only that of an overseer of the estates of Pharaoh\nof.... No one quarrelled with his fellow, no one stole the food or the\nsandals of the man on the road, no one stole bread from any town, and no\none stole a goat from any encampment of people. I despatched them from\nNorth Island, the gate of Ihetep, the Uart of Heru-neb-Maat. Having this\nrank ... I investigated (?) each of these companies (or regiments);\nnever had any servant investigated (?) companies in this way before.\nThis army returned in peace, having raided the Land of the dwellers on\nsand. This army returned in peace, having thrown down the fortresses\nthereof. This army returned in peace, having cut down its fig-trees and\nvines. This army returned in peace, having set fire [to the temples] of\nall its gods. This army returned in peace, having slain the soldiers\nthere in many tens of thousands. This army returned in peace, bringing\nback with it vast numbers of the fighting men thereof as living\nprisoners. His Majesty praised me for this exceedingly. His Majesty sent\nme to lead this army five times, to raid the Land of the dwellers on\nsand, whensoever they rebelled with these companies. I acted in such a\nway that His Majesty praised me exceedingly. When it was reported that\nthere was a revolt among the wild desert tribes of the Land of Shert[2]\n... I set out with these warriors in large transports, and sailed until\nI reached the end of the high land of Thest, to the north of the Land of\nthe dwellers on sand, and when I had led the army up I advanced and\nattacked the whole body of them, and I slew every rebel among them.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ the nomads on the Marches of the Eastern Desert.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A part of Syria (?).]\n\n\"I was the ... of the Palace, and bearer of the [royal] sandals, when\nHis Majesty the King of the South and North, Merenra, my ever living\nLord, made me Duke and Governor of the South land beyond Abu\n(Elephantine) and of the district north of Aphroditopolis, because I was\nperfect to the heart of His Majesty, because I was acceptable to the\nheart of His Majesty, and because the heart of His Majesty was satisfied\nwith me. I was ... [of the Palace], and sandal-bearer when His Majesty\npraised me for displaying more watchfulness (or attention) at Court in\nrespect of the appointment of officials for duty than any of his\nprinces, or nobles, or servants. Never before was this rank bestowed on\nany servant. I performed the duties of Governor of the South to the\nsatisfaction [of every one]. No one complained of (or quarrelled with)\nhis neighbour; I carried out work of every kind. I counted everything\nthat was due to the Palace in the South twice, and all the labour that\nwas due to the Palace in the South I counted twice. I served the office\nof Prince, ruling as a Prince ought to rule in the South; the like of\nthis was never before done in the South. I acted in such a way that His\nMajesty praised me for it. His Majesty sent me to the Land of Abhat to\nbring back a sarcophagus, \"the lord of the living one,\" with its cover,\nand a beautiful and magnificent pyramidion for the Queen's pyramid\n[which is called] Khanefer Merenra. His Majesty sent me to Abu to bring\nback a granite door and its table for offerings, with slabs of granite\nfor the stele door and its framework, and to bring back granite doors\nand tables for offerings for the upper room in the Queen's pyramid,\nKhanefer Merenra. I sailed down the Nile to the pyramid Khanefer Merenra\nwith six lighters, and three barges, and three floats(?), accompanied by\none war boat. Never before had any [official] visited Abhat and Abu with\n[only] one war boat since kings have reigned. Whensoever His Majesty\ngave an order for anything to be done I carried it out thoroughly\naccording to the order which His Majesty gave concerning it.\n\n\"His Majesty sent me to Het-nub to bring back a great table for\nofferings of _rutt_ stone (quartzite sandstone?) of Het-nub. I made this\ntable for offerings reach him in seventeen days. It was quarried in\nHet-nub, and I caused it to float down the river in a lighter. I cut out\nthe planks for him in acacia wood, sixty cubits long and thirty cubits\nbroad; they were put together in seventeen days in the third month\n(May-June) of the Summer Season. Behold, though there was no water in\nthe basins (?) it arrived at the pyramid Khanefer Merenra in peace. I\nperformed the work throughout in accordance with the order which the\nMajesty of my Lord had given to me. His Majesty sent me to excavate five\ncanals in the South, and to make three lighters, and four barges of the\nacacia wood of Uauat. Behold, the governors of Arthet, Uauat, and Matcha\nbrought the wood for them, and I finished the whole of the work in one\nyear. [When] they were floated they were loaded with huge slabs of\ngranite for the pyramid Khanefer Merenra; moreover, all of them were\npassed through these five canals ... because I ascribed more majesty,\nand praise (?), and worship to the Souls of the King of the South and\nNorth, Merenra, the ever living, than to any of the gods.... I carried\nout everything according to the order which his divine Ka gave me.\n\n\"I was a person who was beloved by his father, and praised by his\nmother, and gracious to his brethren, I the Duke, a real Governor[1] of\nthe South, the vassal of Osiris, Una.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ his title was not honorary.]\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HERKHUF\n\nThis inscription is cut in hieroglyphs upon a slab of stone, which was\noriginally in the tomb of Herkhuf at Asw\u00e2n, and is now in the Egyptian\nMuseum in Cairo and upon parts of the walls of his tomb. Herkhuf was a\nDuke, a _smer uat_, a Kher-heb priest, a judge belonging to Nekhen, the\nLord of Nekheb, a bearer of the royal seal, the shekh of the caravans,\nand an administrator of very high rank in the South. All these titles,\nand the following lines, together with prayers for offerings, are cut\nabove the door of his tomb. He says:\n\n\"I came this day from my town. I descended from my nome. I builded a\nhouse and set up doors. I dug a lake and I planted sycamore trees. The\nKing praised me. My father made a will in my favour. I am perfect.... [I\nam a person] who is beloved by his father, praised by his mother, whom\nall his brethren loved. I gave bread to the hungry man, raiment to the\nnaked, and him who had no boat I ferried over the river. O ye living men\nand women who are on the earth, who shall pass by this tomb in sailing\ndown or up the river, and who shall say, 'A thousand bread-cakes and a\nthousand vessels of beer to the lord of this tomb,' I will offer them\nfor you in Khert Nefer (the Other World). I am a perfect spirit,\nequipped [with spells], and a Kher-heb priest whose mouth hath\nknowledge. If any young man shall come into this tomb as if it were his\nown property I will seize him like a goose, and the Great God shall pass\njudgment on him for it. I was a man who spoke what was good, and\nrepeated what was loved. I never uttered any evil word concerning\nservants to a man of power, for I wished that I might stand well with\nthe Great God. I never gave a decision in a dispute between brothers\nwhich had the effect of robbing a son of the property of his father.\"\n\nHerkhuf, the Duke, the _smer uat_, the chamberlain, the Judge belonging\nto Nekhen, the Lord of Nekheb, bearer of the royal seal, the _smer uat_,\nthe Kher-heb priest, the governor of the caravans, the member of council\nfor the affairs of the South, the beloved of his Lord, Herkhuf,[1] who\nbringeth the things of every desert to his Lord, who bringeth the\noffering of royal apparel, governor of the countries of the South, who\nsetteth the fear of Horus in the lands, who doeth what his lord\napplaudeth, the vassal of Ptah-seker, saith:\n\n[Footnote 1: Some titles are here repeated.]\n\n\"His Majesty Merenra, my Lord, sent me with my father Ara, the _smer\nuat_ and Kher-heb priest, to the land of Amam to open up a road into\nthis country. I performed the journey in seven months. I brought back\ngifts of all kinds from that place, making beautiful the region (?);\nthere was very great praise to me for it. His Majesty sent me a second\ntime by myself. I started on the road of Abu (Elephantine), I came back\nfrom Arthet, Mekher, Terres, Artheth, in a period of eight months. I\ncame back and I brought very large quantities of offerings from this\ncountry. Never were brought such things to this land. I came back from\nthe house of the Chief of Setu and Arthet, having opened up these\ncountries. Never before had any _smer_ or governor of the caravan who\nhad appeared in the country of Amam opened up a road. Moreover, His\nMajesty sent me a third time to Amam. I started from ... on the Uhat\nroad, and I found the Governor of Amam was then marching against the\nLand of Themeh, to fight the Themeh, in the western corner of the sky. I\nset out after him to the Land of Themeh, and made him to keep the peace,\nwhereupon he praised all the gods for the King (of Egypt). [Here follow\nsome broken lines.] I came back from Amam with three hundred asses laden\nwith incense, ebony, _heknu_, grain, panther skins, ivory, ...\nboomerangs, and valuable products of every kind. When the Chief of\nArthet, Setu, and Uauat saw the strength and great number of the\nwarriors of Amam who had come back with me to the Palace, and the\nsoldiers who had been sent with me, this chief brought out and gave to\nme bulls, and sheep, and goats. And he guided me on the roads of the\nplains of Arthet, because I was more perfect, and more watchful (or\nalert) than any other _smer_ or governor of a caravan who had ever been\ndespatched to Amam. And when the servant (_i.e._ Herkhuf) was sailing\ndown the river to the capital (or Court) the king made the duke, the\n_smer uat,_ the overseer of the bath, Khuna (or Una) sail up the river\nwith boats loaded with date wine, _mesuq_ cakes, bread-cakes, and\nbeer.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Herkhuf's titles are here repeated.]\n\nHerkhuf made a fourth journey into the Sudan, and when he came back he\nreported his successes to the new king, Pepi II, and told him that among\nother remarkable things he had brought back from Amam a dancing dwarf,\nor pygmy. The king then wrote a letter to Herkhuf and asked him to send\nthe dwarf to him in Memphis. The text of this letter Herkhuf had cut on\nthe front of his tomb, and it reads thus: Royal seal. The fifteenth day\nof the third month of the Season Akhet (Sept.-Oct.) of the second year.\nRoyal despatch to the _smer uat_, the Kher-heb priest, the governor of\nthe caravan, Herkhuf. I have understood the words of this letter which\nthou hast made to the king in his chamber to make him to know that thou\nhast returned in peace from Amam, together with the soldiers who were\nwith thee. Thou sayest in this thy letter that there have been brought\nback by thee great and beautiful offerings of all kinds, which Hathor,\nthe Lady of Ammaau, hath given to the divine Ka of the King of the South\nand North, Neferkara, the everliving, for ever. Thou sayest in this thy\nletter that there hath been brought back by thee [also] a pygmy (or\ndwarf) who can dance the dance of the god, from the Land of the Spirits,\nlike the pygmy whom the seal-bearer of the god Baurtet brought back from\nPunt in the time of Assa. Thou sayest to [my] Majesty, \"The like of him\nhath never been brought back by any other person who hath visited Amam.\"\nBehold, every year thou performest what thy Lord wisheth and praiseth.\nBehold, thou passest thy days and thy nights meditating about doing what\nthy Lord ordereth, and wisheth, and praiseth. And His Majesty will\nconfer on thee so many splendid honours, which shall give renown to thy\ngrandson for ever, that all the people shall say when they have heard\nwhat [my] Majesty hath done for thee, \"Was there ever anything like this\nthat hath been done for the _smer uat_ Herkhuf when he came back from\nAmam because of the sagacity (or attention) which he displayed in doing\nwhat his Lord commanded, and wished for, and praised?\" Come down the\nriver at once to the Capital. Bring with thee this pygmy whom thou hast\nbrought from the Land of the Spirits, alive, strong, and healthy, to\ndance the dance of the god, and to cheer and gratify the heart of the\nKing of the South and North, Neferkara, the everliving. When he cometh\ndown with thee in the boat, cause trustworthy men to be about him on\nboth sides of the boat, to prevent him from falling into the water. When\nhe is asleep at night cause trustworthy men to sleep by his side on his\nbedding. See [that he is there] ten times [each] night. [My] Majesty\nwisheth to see this pygmy more than any offering of the countries of Ba\nand Punt. If when thou arrivest at the Capital, this pygmy who is with\nthee is alive, and strong, and in good health, [My] Majesty will confer\nupon thee a greater honour than that which was conferred upon the bearer\nof the seal Baurtet in the time of Assa, and as great is the wish of\n[My] Majesty to see this pygmy orders have been brought to the _smer_,\nthe overseer of the priests, the governor of the town ... to arrange\nthat rations for him shall be drawn from every station of supply, and\nfrom every temple without....\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AMENI AMENEMHAT\n\nThis inscription is cut in hieroglyphs on the doorposts of the tomb of\nAmeni at Beni-hasan in Upper Egypt. It is dated in the forty-third year\nof the reign of Usertsen I, a king of the twelfth dynasty, about 2400\nB.C. After giving the date and a list of his titles, Ameni says:\n\n\"I followed my Lord when he sailed to the South to overthrow his enemies\nin the four countries of Nubia. I sailed to the south as the son of a\nduke, and as a bearer of the royal seal, and as a captain of the troops\nof the Nome of Mehetch, and as a man who took the place of his aged\nfather, according to the favour which he enjoyed in the king's house and\nthe love that was his at Court. I passed through Kash in sailing to the\nSouth. I set the frontier of Egypt further southwards, I brought back\nofferings, and the praise of me reached the skies. His Majesty set out\nand overthrew his enemies in the vile land of Kash. I returned,\nfollowing him as an alert official. There was no loss among my soldiers.\n[And again] I sailed to the South to fetch gold ore for the Majesty of\nthe King of the South, the King of the North, Kheperkara (Usertsen I),\nthe ever living. I sailed to the south with the Erpa and Duke, the\neldest son of the king, of his body Ameni.[1] I sailed to the south with\na company of four hundred chosen men from my troops; they returned in\nsafety, none of them having been lost. I brought back the gold which I\nwas expected to bring, and I was praised for it in the house of the\nking; the prince [Ameni] praised God for me. [And again] I sailed to the\nsouth to bring back gold ore to the town of Qebti (Coptos) with the\nErpa, the Duke, the governor of the town, and the chief officer of the\nGovernment, Usertsen, life, strength, health [be to him!]. I sailed to\nthe south with a company of six hundred men, every one being a mighty\nman of war of the Nome of Mehetch. I returned in peace, with all my\nsoldiers in good health (or safe), having performed everything which I\nhad been commanded to do. I was a man who was of a conciliatory\ndisposition, one whose love [for his fellows] was abundant, and I was a\ngovernor who loved his town. I passed [many] years as governor of the\nMehetch Nome. All the works (_i.e._ the forced labour) due to the palace\nwere performed under my direction. The overseers of the chiefs of the\ndistricts of the herdsmen of the Nome of Mehetch gave me three thousand\nbulls, together with their gear for ploughing, and I was praised because\nof it in the king's house every year of making [count] of the cattle. I\ntook over all the products of their works to the king's house, and there\nwere no liabilities against me in any house of the king. I worked the\nNome of Mehetch to its farthest limit, travelling frequently [through\nit]. No peasant's daughter did I harm, no widow did I wrong, no field\nlabourer did I oppress, no herdsman did I repulse. I did not seize the\nmen of any master of five field labourers for the forced labour\n(corv\u00e9e). There was no man in abject want during the period of my rule,\nand there was no man hungry in my time. When years of hunger came, I\nrose up and had ploughed all the fields of the Nome of Mehetch, as far\nas it extended to the south and to the north, [thus] keeping alive its\npeople, and providing the food thereof, and there was no hungry man\ntherein. I gave to the widow as to the woman who possessed a husband. I\nmade no distinction between the elder and the younger in whatsoever I\ngave. When years of high Nile floods came, the lords (_i.e._ the\nproducers) of wheat and barley, the lords of products of every kind, I\ndid not cut off (or deduct) what was due on the land [from the years of\nlow Nile floods], I Ameni, the vassal of Horus, the Smiter of the\nRekhti,[2] generous of hand, stable of feet, lacking avarice because of\nhis love for his town, learned in traditions (?), who appeareth at the\nright moment, without thought of guile, the vassal of Khnemu, highly\nfavoured in the king's house, who boweth before ambassadors, who\nperformeth the behests of the nobles, speaker of the truth, who judgeth\nrighteously between two litigants, free from the word of deceit, skilled\nin the methods of the council chamber, who discovereth the solution of a\ndifficult question, Ameni.\n\n[Footnote 1: He afterwards reigned as Amenemhat II.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Titles of Ameni repeated.]\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THETHA\n\nThis inscription is cut in hieroglyphs upon a large rectangular slab of\nlimestone now preserved in the British Museum (No. 100). It belongs to\nthe period of the eleventh dynasty, when texts of the kind are very\nrare, and was made in the reign of Uahankh, or Antef. It reads:\n\nThetha, the servant in truth of the Horus Uahankh, the King of the\nSouth, the King of the North, the son of Ra, Antef, the doer of\nbeneficent acts, living like Ra for ever, beloved by him from the bottom\nof his heart, holder of the chief place in the house of his lord, the\ngreat noble of his heart, who knoweth the matters of the heart of his\nlord, who attendeth him in all his goings, one in heart with His Majesty\nin very truth, the leader of the great men of the house of the king, the\nbearer of the royal seal in the seat of confidential affairs, keeping\nclose the counsel of his lord more than the chiefs, who maketh to\nrejoice the Horus (_i.e._ the king) through what he wisheth, the\nfavourite of his Lord, beloved by him as the mouth of the seal, the\npresident of the place of confidential affairs, whom his lord loveth,\nthe mouth of the seal, the chief after the king, the vassal, saith:\n\nI was the beloved one of his Lord, I was he with whom he was well\npleased all day and every day. I passed a long period of my life [that\nis] years, under the Majesty of my Lord, the Horus, Uahankh, the King of\nthe South and North, the son of the Sun, Antef. Behold, this country was\nsubject unto him in the south as far as Thes, and in the north as far as\nAbtu of Then (Abydos of This). Behold, I was in the position of body\nservant of his, and was an actual chief under him. He magnified me, and\nhe made my position to be one of great prominence, and he set me in the\nplace beloved (?) for the affairs of his heart, in his palace. Because\nof the singleness [of my heart] he appointed me to be a bearer of the\nroyal seal, and the deputy of the registrary (?). [I] selected the good\nthings of all kinds of the offerings brought to the Majesty of my Lord,\nfrom the South and from the North land whensoever a taxing was made, and\nI made him to rejoice at the assessment which was made everywhere\nthroughout the country. Now His Majesty had been afraid that the\ntribute, which was brought to His Majesty, my Lord, from the princes who\nwere the overlords of the Red Country (Lower Egypt), would dwindle away\nin this country, and he had been afraid that the same would be the case\nin the other countries also. He committed to me these matters, for he\nknew that my administration was able. I rendered to him information\nabout them, and because of my great knowledge of affairs never did\nanything escape that was not replaced. I was one who lived in the heart\nof his Lord, in very truth, and I was a great noble after his own heart.\nI was as cool water and fire in the house of my Lord. The shoulders of\nthe great ones bent [before me]. I did not thrust myself in the train of\nthe wicked, for which men are hated. I was a lover of what was good, and\na hater of what was evil. My disposition was that of one beloved in the\nhouse of my Lord. I carried out every course of action in accordance\nwith the urgency that was in the heart of my Lord. Moreover, in the\nmatter of every affair which His Majesty caused me to follow out, if any\nofficial obstructed me in truth I overthrew his opposition. I neither\nresisted his order, nor hesitated, but I carried it out in very truth.\nIn making any computation which he ordered, I made no mistake. I did\nnot set one thing in the place of another. I did not increase the flame\nof his wrath in its strength. I did not filch property from an\ninheritance. Moreover, as concerning all that His Majesty commanded to\nset before him in respect of the royal household (or _harim_), I kept\naccounts of everything which His Majesty desired, and I gave them unto\nhim, and I made satisfactory all their statements. Because of the\ngreatness of my knowledge nothing ever escaped me.\n\nI made a _mekha_ boat for my town, and a _sehi_ boat, so that I might\nattend in the train of my Lord, and I was one of the number of the great\nones on every occasion when travel or journeying had to be performed,\nand I was held in great esteem, and entreated most honourably. I\nprovided my own equipment from the possessions which His Majesty, the\nHorus Uahankh, the King of the South, the King of the North, the son of\nthe Sun, Antef, who liveth like Ra for ever, gave unto me because of the\ngreatness of his love for me, until he departed in peace to his horizon\n(_i.e._ the tomb). And when his son, that is to say, the Horus\nNekhtneb-Tepnefer, the King of the South, the King of the North, the son\nof Ra, Antef, the producer of beneficent acts, who liveth for ever like\nRa, entered his house, I followed him as his body-companion into all his\nbeautiful places that rejoiced [his] heart, and because of the greatness\nof my knowledge there was never anything wanting (?). He committed to me\nand gave into my hand every duty that had been mine in the time of his\nfather, and I performed it effectively under His Majesty; no matter\nconnected with any duty escaped me. I lived the [remainder] of my days\non the earth near the King, and was the chief of his body-companions. I\nwas great and strong under His Majesty, and I performed everything which\nhe decreed. I was one who was pleasing to his Lord all day and every\nday.\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AAHMES (AMASIS),\n THE NAVAL OFFICER\n\nThis inscription is cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of the tomb of\nAahmes at Al-Kab in Upper Egypt; this distinguished marine flourished in\nthe reigns of the first kings of the eighteenth dynasty, about 1600 B.C.\nThe text reads:\n\nThe captain of the transport men, Aahmes, the son of Abana, the\ntruth-speaker, saith: O all men, I will declare unto you, and will\ninform you concerning the favours that were conferred upon me. Seven\ntimes was I given gold in the sight of the whole land, and likewise\nslaves, both male and female, and grants of land for estates to be held\nby me in perpetuity were also made to me. Thus the name of a man bold\nand brave in his deeds shall not be extinguished in this land for ever!\nHe saith:\n\nI passed my childhood in the town of Nekheb (Eileithyiaspolis, Al-Kab).\nMy father was a soldier in the army of the King of the South, the King\nof the North, Seqenn-Ra, whose word is truth; Baba was his name, and he\nwas the son of Reant. I performed military service as his substitute in\nthe ship called the _Bull_ in the reign of the Lord of the Two Lands,\nNebpehtira (Amasis I), whose word is truth. I was at that time a youth,\nand was unmarried, and I slept in the _shennu_. Afterwards I got a house\n(_i.e._ wife) for myself, and I was drafted off to a ship, the \"North\"\n(?), because of my bravery. Then it became my lot to follow after the\nking, life, strength, health [be to him!], on my feet whensoever he made\na journey in his chariot. The king sat down (_i.e._ besieged) before the\ncity of Hetuart (Avaris), and it was my lot whilst I was on my two feet\nto do a deed of bravery in the presence of His Majesty, whereupon I was\nmade an officer in the vessel [called] _Kha-em-Mennefer._ The king was\nfighting on the arm of the river of Avaris [called] Patchetku, and I\nrose up and engaged in the fight, and I brought back a hand.[1] The\nroyal herald proclaimed the matter, and the king gave me the gift of\ngold [which was awarded] for bravery. The fighting was renewed at this\nplace (_i.e._ Avaris), and I again joined in the fight, and I brought\nback a hand; and the king gave me the gift of gold [which was awarded]\nfor bravery a second time.\n\n[Footnote 1: He had cut it off from a vanquished foe.]\n\nThen the king fought a battle in Egypt, to the south of this place, and\nI made prisoner a man and brought him back alive; I went down into the\nwater[1] and brought him along on the road to the town, being firmly\nbound, and I crossed the water with him in a boat. The royal herald\nproclaimed [this act], and indeed I was rewarded with a double portion\nof the gold [which is awarded] for bravery. Then the king captured\nAvaris, and I brought back prisoners from the town, one man and three\nwomen, in all four persons. His Majesty gave these to me for slaves.\nThen His Majesty sat down before (_i.e._ besieged) Sharhana[2] in the\nfifth year, and captured it. I brought back from thence two persons,\nwomen, and one hand. And the king gave me the gift of gold [awarded] for\nbravery, as well as the two prisoners for slaves.\n\n[Footnote 1: The water of the arm of the Nile.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The Syrian town mentioned in Joshua xix. 6.]\n\nNow after His Majesty had smitten the Mentiu of Satet[1], he sailed up\nthe river to Khenthennefer to crush the Antiu of Sti[2], and His Majesty\noverthrew them completely, and slew very many of them. I rose up and\nmade three prisoners, viz. two men, alive, and three hands. And the king\nrewarded me with a double portion of gold, and he gave me the two\nprisoners to be my slaves. Returning His Majesty sailed down the river.\nHis heart was expanded with the bravery of strength, for he had [now]\nconquered the Lands of the South [as well as] the Lands of the North.\n[Then as for] Aatti, the accursed one, who came from the South, his\ndestiny came upon him, and he perished. The gods of the South laid their\nhands upon him, and His Majesty found him in Thenttaamu (?). His Majesty\nbrought him back bound alive, and with him were all his people loaded\nwith fetters. I captured two of the soldiers of the enemy, and I\nbrought them back, firmly fettered, from the boat of the foe Aatti. And\nthe king gave me five men and parcels of land, five _stat_ [in area] in\nmy city. This was likewise done for the sailors, one and all. Then that\nvanquished foe came, Tetaan (the accursed one!) was his name, and he had\ngathered together round about himself men with hearts hostile [to the\nking]. His Majesty smote him and his accursed servants, and they ceased\nto exist. His Majesty gave me three men and a parcel of land five _stat_\n[in area] in my town.\n\n[Footnote 1: Tribes of the Eastern Desert (?).]\n\n[Footnote 2: The tribes of the Nubian Desert.]\n\nI transported the King of the South, the King of the North, Tcheserkara\n(Amenhetep I), whose word is truth, when he sailed up the river to Kash\n(Cush, Nubia) to extend towards the south the frontiers of Egypt. His\nMajesty captured that accursed Anti of Nubia in the midst of his\naccursed bowmen; he was brought back, fettered by the neck, and they\ncould not escape. [They were] deported, and were not allowed [to remain]\nupon [their] own land, and they became as if they existed not. And\nbehold, I was at the head of our bowmen! I fought with all my strength\nand might, and His Majesty saw my bravery. I brought back two hands and\ncarried them to His Majesty. And the king went and raided men, women,\nand cattle, and I rose up and captured a prisoner and brought him alive\nto His Majesty. I brought back His Majesty from Khnemet-heru,[1] and the\nking gave me a gift of gold. I brought back alive two women whom I had\ncaptured in addition to those I had already carried to His Majesty, and\nthe king appointed me to be \"Ahatiu-en-Heq\" (_i.e._ \"Warrior of the\nPrinces,\" or \"Crown-warrior\"). I transported the King of the South, the\nKing of the North, Aakheperkara, whose word is truth, when he sailed up\nthe river to Khent-hen-nefer, to put down the rebellion in Khet land,\nand to put an end to the incursions of the people of Asemt. I fought\nwith great bravery in his presence in the troubled water during the\ntowing (?) of the fighting barges over the rapids(?), and the king made\nme the \"Captain of the Transport.\" His Majesty, life, strength, health\n[be to him!] ... raged like a panther, he shot his first arrow, [which]\nremained in the neck of the vanquished foe ... [the enemies] were\nhelpless before the flaming serpent on his crown; [thus] were they made\nin the hour of defeat and slaughter, and their slaves were brought back\nprisoners alive. Returning His Majesty sailed down the river having all\nthe mountains and deserts in his hand. And that accursed Anti of Nubia\nwas hung up head downwards, at the prow of the boat of His Majesty, and\n[then] placed on the ground in the Apts (_i.e._ Karnak). After these\nthings the king set out on an expedition against Rethenu (Northern\nSyria), to avenge himself on foreign lands. His Majesty went forth\nagainst Neharina, where he found that the wretched enemy had set his\nwarriors in battle array. His Majesty defeated them with great\nslaughter, and those who were captured alive and brought back by him\nfrom his wars could not be counted. And behold, I was the captain of our\nsoldiers, and His Majesty saw my deeds of might. I brought out of the\nfight a chariot with its horses, and he who had been driving it was\nfettered prisoner inside it, and I carried them to His Majesty, who gave\nme a gift of gold, a twofold portion. Then I waxed old, and I arrived at\na great age, and the favours [bestowed upon] me were as [many as those]\nat the beginning [of my life] ... a tomb in the mountain which I myself\nhave made.\n\n[Footnote 1: The \"Upper Pool,\" site unknown.]\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AAHMES (AMASIS),\n SURNAMED PEN-NEKHEB\n\nThis inscription is cut in hieroglyphs upon the walls of the tomb of\nAahmes at Al-Kab in Upper Egypt. Aahmes was a contemporary of Aahmes the\ntransport officer, and served under several of the early kings of the\neighteenth dynasty. The text reads:\n\nThe Erpa, the Duke, the bearer of the seal, the man who took prisoners\nwith his own hands, Aahmes, saith: I accompanied the King of the South,\nthe King of the North, Nebpehtira (Amasis I), whose word is truth, and I\ncaptured for him in Tchah (Syria) one prisoner alive and one hand. I\naccompanied the King of the South, the King of the North, Tcheserkara,\nwhose word is truth, and I captured for him in Kash (Nubia) one prisoner\nalive. On another occasion I captured for him three hands to the north\nof Aukehek. I accompanied the King of the South, the King of the North,\nwhose word is truth, and I captured for him two prisoners alive, in\naddition to the three other prisoners who were alive, and who escaped\n(?) from me in Kash, and were not counted by me. And on another occasion\nI laboured for him, and I captured for him in the country of Neherina\n(Mesopotamia) twenty-one hands, one horse, and one chariot. I\naccompanied the King of the South, the King of the North, Aakheperenra,\nwhose word is law, and I brought away as tribute a very large number of\nthe Shasu[1] alive, but I did not count them. I accompanied the Kings of\nthe South, the Kings of the North, [those great] gods, and I was with\nthem in the countries of the South and North, and in every place where\nthey went, namely, King Nebpehtira (Amasis I), King Tcheserkara\n(Amenhetep I), Aakheperkara (Thothmes I), Aakheperenra (Thothmes II),\nand this beneficent god Menkheperra[2] (Thothmes III), who is endowed\nwith life for ever. I have reached a good old age, I have lived with\nkings, I have enjoyed favours under their Majesties, and affection hath\nbeen shown to me in the Palace, life, strength, health [be to them!].\nThe divine wife, the chief royal wife Maatkara, whose word is truth,\nshowed several favours to me. I held in my arms her eldest daughter, the\nPrincess Neferura, whose word is law, when she was a nursling, I the\nbearer of the royal seal, who captured my prisoners, Aahmes, who am\nsurnamed Pen-Nekheb, did this. I was never absent from the king at the\ntime of fighting, beginning with Nebpehtira (Amasis I), and continuing\nuntil the reign of Menkheperra (Thothmes III). Tcheserkara (Amenhetep I)\ngave me in gold two rings, two collars, one armlet, one dagger, one\nfan, and one pectoral (?). Aakheperkara (Thothmes I) gave me in gold\nfour hand rings, four collars, one armlet, six flies, three lions, two\naxe-heads. Aakheperenra gave me in gold four hand rings, six collars,\nthree armlets (?), one plaque, and in silver two axe-heads.\n\n[Footnote 1: The nomads of the Syrian desert.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The titles, King of the North, King of the South, and the\nwords, \"whose word is truth\" occur with each name; they are omitted in\nthe translation.]\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF TEHUTI, THE ERPA\n\nThe autobiographies given hitherto are those of soldiers, sailors, and\nofficials who in the performance of their duties travelled in Nubia, the\nEgyptian Sudan, the Eastern Sudan, the Red Sea Littoral, Sinai, and\nWestern Asia. The following autobiography is that of one of the great\nnobles, who in the eighteenth dynasty assisted in carrying out the great\nbuilding schemes of Queen Hatshepset and Thothmes III. Tehuti was an\nhereditary chief (_erpa_), and a Duke, and the Director of the\nDepartment of the Government in which all the gold and silver that were\nbrought to Thebes as tribute were kept, and he controlled the\ndistribution of the same in connection with the Public Works Department.\nThe text begins with the words of praise to Amen-Ra for the life of\nHatshepset and of Thothmes III, thus: \"Thanks be to Amen-[Ra, the King\nof the Gods], and praise be to His Majesty when he riseth in the eastern\nsky for the life, strength, and health of the King of the South, the\nKing of the North, Maatkara (Hatshepset), and of the King of the South,\nthe King of the North, Menkheperra (Thothmes III), who are endowed with\nlife, stability, serenity, and health like Ra for ever. I performed the\noffice of chief mouth (_i.e._ director), giving orders. I directed the\nartificers who were engaged on the work of the great boat of the head of\nthe river [called] Userhatamen. It was inlaid (or overlaid) with the\nvery best gold of the mountains, the splendour of which illumined all\nEgypt, and it was made by the King of the South, the King of the North,\nMaatkara,[1] in connection with the monuments which he made for his\nfather Amen-Ra, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, who is endowed\nwith life like Ra for ever. I performed the office of chief mouth,\ngiving orders. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the work of\nthe God-house, the horizon of the god, and on the work of the great\nthrone, which was [made] of the very best silver-gold[2] of the\nmountains, and of perfect work to last for ever, which was made by\nMaatkara in connection with the monuments which he made for his father\nAmen-Ra, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I\ndirected the artificers who were engaged on the work of the shrine (?)\nof Truth, the framework of the doors of which was of silver-gold, made\nby Maatkara, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I\ndirected the artificers who were engaged on the works of\nTcheser-Tcheseru,[3] the Temple of Millions of Years, the great doors of\nwhich were made of copper inlaid with figures in silver-gold, which was\nmade by Maatkara, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving\norders. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the work of\nKhakhut, the great sanctuary of Amen, his horizon in Amen-tet, whereof\nall the doors [were made] of real cedar wood inlaid (or overlaid) with\nbronze, made by Maatkara, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth,\ngiving orders. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the works\nof the House of Amen, it shall flourish to all eternity! whereof the\npavement was inlaid with blocks of gold and silver, and its beauties\nwere like unto those of the horizon of heaven, made by Maatkara, &c. I\nperformed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed the\nartificers who were engaged on the work of the great shrine, which was\nmade of ebony from Kenset (Nubia), with a broad, high base, having\nsteps, made of translucent alabaster [from the quarry] of Het-nub, made\nby Maatkara, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I\ndirected the artificers who were engaged on the works of the Great House\nof the god, which was plated with silver in which figures were inlaid\nin gold--its splendour lighted up the faces of all who beheld it--made\nby Maatkara, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I\ndirected the artificers who were engaged on the work of the great broad,\nhigh doors of the temple of Karnak, which were covered with plates of\ncopper inlaid with figures in silver-gold, made by Maatkara, &c. I\nperformed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed the\nartificers who were engaged on the work of the holy necklaces and\npectorals, and on the large talismans of the great sanctuary, which were\nmade of silver-gold and many different kinds of precious stones, made by\nMaatkara, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I\ndirected the artificers who were engaged on the works in connection with\nthe two great obelisks, [each of which] was one hundred and eight cubits\nin height (about 162 feet) and was plated with silver-gold, the\nbrilliance whereof filled all Egypt, made by Maatkara, &c. I performed\nthe office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed the artificers who\nwere engaged on the work of the holy gate [called] \"Amen-shefit,\" which\nwas made of a single slab of copper, and of the images (?) that belonged\nthereto, made by Maatkara, &c. I directed the artificers who were\nengaged on the work of the altar-stands of Amen. These were made of an\nincalculable quantity of silver-gold, set with precious stones, by\nMaatkara, &c. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the work of\nthe store-chests, which were plated with copper and silver-gold and\ninlaid with precious stones, made by Maatkara, &c. I directed the\nartificers who were engaged on the works of the Great Throne, and the\nGod-house, which is built of granite and shall last like the firmly\nfixed pillars of the sky, made by Maatkara, &c.\n\n[Footnote 1: This queen frequently ascribed to herself male attributes.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _i.e._ that kind of gold which is found in its natural\nstate alloyed with silver.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The \"Holy of Holies,\" the name of Hatshepset's temple at\nDer al-Bahari.]\n\nAnd as for the wonderful things, and all the products of all the\ncountries, and the best of the wonderful products of Punt, which His\nMajesty presented to Amen, Lord of the Apts, for the life, strength, and\nhealth of His Majesty, and with which he filled the house of this holy\ngod, for Amen had given him Egypt because he knew that he would rule it\nwisely (?), behold, it was I who registered them, because I was of\nstrict integrity. My favour was permanent before [His Majesty], it never\ndiminished, and he conferred more distinctions on me than on any other\nofficial about him, for he knew my integrity in respect of him. He knew\nthat I carried out works, and that I covered my mouth (_i.e._ held my\ntongue) concerning the affairs of his palace. He made me the director of\nhis palace, knowing that I was experienced in affairs. I held the seal\nof the Two Treasuries, and of the store of all the precious stones of\nevery kind that were in the God-house of Amen in the Apts,[1] which were\nfilled up to their roofs with the tribute paid to the god. Such a thing\nnever happened before, even from the time of the primeval god. His\nMajesty commanded to be made a silver-gold ... for the Great Hall of the\nfestivals. [The metal] was weighed by the _heqet_ measure for Amen,\nbefore all the people, and it was estimated to contain 88-1/2 _heqet_\nmeasures, which were equal to 8592-1/2 _teben_.[2] It was offered to the\ngod for the life, strength, and health of Maatkara, the ever living. I\nreceived the _sennu_ offerings which were made to Amen-Ra, Lord of the\nApts; these things, all of them, took place in very truth, and I\nexaggerate not. I was vigilant, and my heart was perfect in respect of\nmy lord, for I wish to rest in peace in the mountain of the\nspirit-bodies who are in the Other World (Khert-Neter). I wish my memory\nto be perpetuated on the earth. I wish my soul to live before the Lord\nof Eternity. I wish that the doorkeepers of the gates of the Tuat (Other\nWorld) may not repulse my soul, and that it may come forth at the call\nof him that shall lay offerings in my tomb, that it may have bread in\nabundance and ale in full measure, and that it may drink of the water\nfrom the source of the river. I would go in and come out like the\nSpirits who do what the gods wish, that my name may be held in good\nrepute by the people who shall come in after years, and that they may\npraise me at the two seasons (morning and evening) when they praise the\ngod of my city.\n\n[Footnote 1: The temples of Karnak and Luxor.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The _teben_ = 90.959 grammes.]\n\n\n THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THAIEMHETEP,\n THE DAUGHTER OF HERANKH\n\nThis remarkable inscription is found on a stele which is preserved in\nthe British Museum (No. 1027), and which was made in the ninth year of\nKing Ptolemy Philopator Philadelphus (71 B.C.). The text opens with a\nprayer to all the great gods of Memphis for funerary offerings, and\nafter a brief address to her husband's colleagues, Thaiemhetep describes\nin detail the principal incidents of her life, and gives the dates of\nher birth, death, &c., which are rarely found on the funerary stel\u00e6 of\nthe older period. Thaiemhetep was an important member of the semi-royal,\ngreat high-priestly family of Memphis, and her funerary inscription\nthrows much light on the theology of the Ptolemaic Period.\n\n[Illustration: The Autobiography of Thaiemhetep, the daughter of\nHerankh.]\n\n1. SUTEN-TA-HETEP,[1] may Seker-Osiris, at the head of the House of the\nKA of Seker, the great god in Raqet; and Hap-Asar (Serapis), at the head\nof Amentet, the king of the gods, King of Eternity and Governor of\neverlastingness; and Isis, the great Lady, the mother of the god, the\neye of Ra, the Lady of heaven, the mistress of all the gods; and\nNephthys, the divine sister of Horus, the 2. avenger of his father, the\ngreat god in Raqetit; and Anubis, who is on his hill, the dweller in the\nchamber of embalmment, at the head of the divine hall; and all the gods\nand goddesses who dwell in the mountain of Amentet the beautiful of\nHetkaptah (Memphis), give the offerings that come forth at the word,\nbeer, and bread, and oxen, and geese, and incense, and unguents, and\nsuits of apparel, and good things of all kinds upon their altars, to the\nKA of 3. the Osiris, the great princess, the one who is adorned, the\nwoman who is in the highest favour, the possessor of pleasantness,\nbeautiful of body, sweet of love in the mouth of every man, who is\ngreatly praised by her kinsfolk, the youthful one, excellent of\ndisposition, always ready to speak her words of sweetness, whose counsel\nis excellent, Thaiemhetep, whose word (or voice) is truth, the beloved\ndaughter of the royal kinsman, the priest of Ptah, libationer of the\ngods of 4. White Wall (Memphis), priest of Menu (or Amsu), the Lord of\nSenut (Panopolis), and of Khnemu, the Lord of Smen-Heru (Ptolemais),\npriest of Horus, the Lord of Sekhem (Letopolis), chief of the mysteries\nin Aat-Beqt, chief of the mysteries in Sekhem, and in It, and in\nKha-Hap; the daughter of the beautiful sistrum bearer of Ptah, the great\none of his South Wall, the Lord of Ankh-taui, Herankh, 5. she saith:\n\n\"Hail, all ye judges and all ye men of learning, and all ye high\nofficials, and all ye nobles, and all ye people, when ye enter into this\ntomb, come ye, I pray, and hearken unto what befell me.\n\n\"The ninth day of the fourth month [2] of the season Akhet of the ninth\nyear under the Majesty of the King of the Two Lands, the god Philopator,\nPhiladelphus, Osiris the Young, the Son of Ra, the lord of the Crowns of\nthe South and of the North, Ptolemy, the ever living, beloved of Ptah\nand Isis, 6. [was] the day whereon I was born.\n\n\"On the ... day of the third month [3] of the season Shemu of the\ntwenty-third year under the Majesty of this same Lord of the Two Lands,\nmy father gave me to wife to the priest of Ptah, the scribe of the\nlibrary of divine books, the priest of the Tuat Chamber, [4] the\nlibationer of the gods of the Wall, the superintendent of the priests of\nthe gods and goddesses of the North and South, the two eyes of the King\nof Upper Egypt, the two ears of the King of Lower Egypt, the second of\nthe king in raising up the Tet pillar, [5] the staff of the king [when]\nbrought into the temples, 7. the Erpa in the throne chamber of Keb, the\nKher-heb (precentor) in the seat of Thoth, the repeater (or herald) of\nthe tillage of the Ram-god, who turneth aside the Utchat (sacred eye),\nwho approacheth the Utchat by the great Ram of gold (?), who seeth the\nsetting of the great god [who] is born when it is fettered, the\nUr-kherp-hem,[6] Pa-sher-en-Ptah, the son of a man who held like\noffices, Peta-Bast, whose word (or voice) is truth, born of 8. the great\ndecorated sistrum bearer and tambourine woman of Ptah, the great one of\nhis South Wall, the Lord of Ankh-taui, whose word (or voice) is truth.\n\n\"And the heart of the Ur-kherp-hem rejoiced in her exceedingly. I bore\nto him a child three times, but I did not bear a man child besides these\nthree daughters. And I and the Ur-kherp-hem prayed to 9. the Majesty of\nthis holy god, who [worketh] great wonders and bestoweth happiness (?),\nwho giveth a son to him that hath one not, and Imhetep, the son of Ptah,\nhearkened unto our words, and he accepted his prayers. And the Majesty\nof this god came unto this Ur-kherp-hem during [his] sleep, and said\nunto him, 10. 'Let there be built a great building in the form of a\nlarge hall [for the lord of] Ankh-taui, in the place where his body is\nwrapped up (or concealed), and in return for this I will give thee a man\nchild.' And the Ur-kherp-hem woke up out of his sleep after these\n[words], and he smelt the ground before this holy god. And he laid them\n(_i.e._ the words) before the priests, 11. and the chief of the\nmysteries, and the libationers, and the artisans of the House of Gold,\nat one time, and he despatched them to make the building perfect in the\nform of a large, splendid funerary hall. And they did everything\naccording as he had said. And he performed the ceremony of 'Opening the\nMouth' for this holy god, and he made to him a great offering of the\nbeautiful offerings of every kind, and he bestowed upon him sculptured\nimages 12. for the sake of this god, and he made happy their hearts with\nofferings of all kinds in return for this [promise].\n\n\"Then I conceived a man child, and I brought him forth on the fifteenth\nday of the third month[7] of the season Shemu of the sixth year, at the\neighth hour of the day, under the Majesty of the Queen, the Lady of the\nTwo Lands, Cleopatra, Life, Strength, Health [be to her!], 13. [the day]\nof the festival of 'things on the altar' of this holy god, Imhetep, the\nson of Ptah, his form being like unto that of the son of Him that is\nsouth of his wall (_i.e._ Ptah), great rejoicings on account of him were\nmade by the inhabitants of White Wall (Memphis), and there were given to\nhim his name of Imhetep and the surname of Peta-Bast, and all the people\nrejoiced in him. 14.\n\n\"The sixteenth day of the second month[8] of the season Pert of the\ntenth year was the day on which I died. My husband, the priest and\ndivine father of Ptah, the priest of Osiris, Lord of Rastau, the priest\nof the King of the South, the King of the North, the Lord of the Two\nLands, Ptolemy, whose word is truth, the chief of the mysteries of the\nHouse of Ptah, the chief of the mysteries of heaven, earth, and the\nOther World, the chief of the mysteries of Rastau, the chief of the\nmysteries of Raqet, the Ur-kherp-hem, Pa-sher-en-Ptah, placed me in\nAm-urtet, 15. he performed for me all the rites and ceremonies which are\n[performed] for the dead who are buried in a fitting manner, he had me\nmade into a beautiful mummy, and caused me to be laid to rest in his\ntomb behind Raqet.\n\n\"Hail, brother, husband, friend! O Ur-kherp-hem, cease not to drink, to\neat, to drink wine, 16. to enjoy the love of women, and to pass thy days\nhappily; follow thy heart (or desire) day and night. Set not sorrow in\nthy heart, for oh, are the years [which we pass] so many on the earth\n[that we should do this]? For Amentet is a land where black darkness\ncannot be pierced by the eye, and it is a place of restraint (or misery)\nfor him that dwelleth therein. The holy ones [who are there] sleep in\ntheir forms. They wake not 17. up to look upon their friends, they see\nnot their fathers [and] their mothers, and their heart hath no desire\nfor their wives [and] their children. The living water of the earth is\nfor those who are on it, stagnant water is for me. It cometh 18. to him\nthat is upon the earth. Stagnant is the water which is for me. I know\nnot the place wherein I am. Since I arrived at this valley of the dead I\nlong for running water. I say, 'Let not my attendant remove the pitcher\nfrom the stream.' 19. O that one would turn my face to the north wind on\nthe bank of the stream, and I cry out for it to cool the pain that is in\nmy heart. He whose name is 'Arniau'[9] calleth everyone to him, and they\ncome to him with quaking hearts, and they are terrified through their\nfear of him. 20. By him is no distinction made between gods and men,\nwith him princes are even as men of no account. His hand is not turned\naway from all those who love him, for he snatcheth away the babe from\nhis mother's [breast] even as he doth the aged man. He goeth about on\nhis way, and all men fear him, and [though] they make supplication\nbefore him, he turneth not his face away from them. Useless is it to\nmake entreaty to him, 21. for he hearkeneth not unto him that maketh\nsupplication unto him, and even though he shall present unto him\nofferings and funerary gifts of all kinds, he will not regard them.\n\n\"Hail, all ye who arrive in this funeral mountain, present ye unto me\nofferings, cast incense into the flame and pour out libations at every\nfestival of Amentet.\"\n\nThe scribe and sculptor, the councillor, the chief of the mysteries of\nthe House of Shent in Tenen, the priest of Horus, Imhetep, the son of\nthe priest Kha-Hap, whose word (or voice) is truth, cut this\ninscription.\n\n[Footnote 1: These words mean, \"The king gives an offering,\" and the\nformula is as old at least as the fourth dynasty. It is obvious that the\nking could not make a funerary gift to every one who died, but the words\nare always found in funerary texts down to the latest times.]\n\n[Footnote 2: October-November.]\n\n[Footnote 3: May-June.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The Hall of Offerings in the tomb.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The raising of the Tet pillar was an important ceremony,\nwhich was performed at the annual miracle-play of Osiris; it symbolised\nresurrection.]\n\n[Footnote 6: This was the official title of the high-priest of Memphis.]\n\n[Footnote 7: May-June.]\n\n[Footnote 8: December--January.]\n\n[Footnote 9: The great Death-god.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER X\n\n TALES OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE\n\n\n THE STORY OF SANEHAT\n\nThe text of this very interesting story is found written in the hieratic\ncharacter upon papyri which are preserved in Berlin. The narrative\ndescribes events which are said to have taken place under one of the\nkings of the twelfth dynasty, and it is very possible that the\nfoundation of this story is historical. The hero is himself supposed to\nrelate his own adventures thus:\n\nThe Erpa, the Duke, the Chancellor of the King of the North, the _smer\nuati_, the judge, the Antchmer of the marches, the King in the lands of\nthe Nubians, the veritable royal kinsman loving him, the member of the\nroyal bodyguard, Sanehat, saith: I am a member of the bodyguard of his\nlord, the servant of the King, and of the house of Neferit, the feudal\nchieftainess, the Erpat princess, the highly favoured lady, the royal\nwife of Usertsen, whose word is truth in Khnemetast, the royal daughter\nof Amenemhat, whose word is truth in Qanefer. On the seventh day of the\nthird month of the season Akhet, in the thirtieth year [of his reign],\nthe god drew nigh to his horizon, and the King of the South, the King of\nthe North, Sehetepabra,[1] ascended into heaven, and was invited to the\nDisk, and his divine members mingled with those of him that made him.\nThe King's House was in silence, hearts were bowed down in sorrow, the\ntwo Great Gates were shut fast, the officials sat motionless, and the\npeople mourned.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ Amenemhat II.]\n\nNow behold [before his death] His Majesty had despatched an army to the\nLand of the Themehu, under the command of his eldest son, the beautiful\ngod Usertsen. And he went and raided the desert lands in the south, and\ncaptured slaves from the Thehenu (Libyans), and he was at that moment\nreturning and bringing back Libyan slaves and innumerable beasts of\nevery kind. And the high officers of the Palace sent messengers into the\nwestern country to inform the King's son concerning what had taken place\nin the royal abode. And the messengers found him on the road, and they\ncame to him by night and asked him if it was not the proper time for him\nto hasten his return, and to set out with his bodyguard without letting\nhis army in general know of his departure. They also told him that a\nmessage had been sent to the princes who were in command of the soldiers\nin his train not to proclaim [the matter of the King's death] to any one\nelse.\n\nSanehat continues: When I heard his voice speaking I rose up and fled.\nMy heart was cleft in twain, my arms dropped by my side, and trembling\nseized all my limbs. I ran about distractedly, hither and thither,\nseeking a hiding-place. I went into the thickets in order to find a\nplace wherein I could travel without being seen. I made my way upstream,\nand I decided not to appear in the Palace, for I did not know but that\ndeeds of violence were taking place there. And I did not say, \"Let life\nfollow it,\" but I went on my way to the district of the Sycamore. Then I\ncame to the Lake (or Island) of Seneferu, and I passed the whole day\nthere on the edge of the plain. On the following morning I continued my\njourney, and a man rose up immediately in front of me on the road, and\nhe cried for mercy; he was afraid of me. When the night fell I walked\ninto the village of Nekau, and I crossed the river in an _usekht_ boat\nwithout a rudder, by the help of the wind from the west. And I travelled\neastwards of the district of Aku, by the pass of the goddess Herit, the\nLady of the Red Mountain. Then I allowed my feet to take the road\ndownstream, and I travelled on to Anebuheq, the fortress that had been\nbuilt to drive back the Satiu (nomad marauders), and to hold in check\nthe tribes that roamed the desert. I crouched down in the scrub during\nthe day to avoid being seen by the watchmen on the top of the fortress.\nI set out again on the march, when the night fell, and when daylight\nfell on the earth I arrived at Peten, and I rested myself by the Lake of\nKamur. Then thirst came upon me and overwhelmed me. I suffered torture.\nMy throat was burnt up, and I said, \"This indeed is the taste of death.\"\nBut I took courage, and collected my members (_i.e._ myself), for I\nheard the sounds that are made by flocks and herds. Then the Satiu of\nthe desert saw me, and the master of the caravan who had been in Egypt\nrecognised me. And he rose up and gave me some water, and he warmed milk\n[for me], and I travelled with the men of his caravan, and thus I passed\nthrough one country after the other [in safety]. I avoided the land of\nSunu and I journeyed to the land of Qetem, where I stayed for a year and\na half.\n\nAnd Ammuiansha, the Shekh of Upper Thennu, took me aside and said unto\nme, \"Thou wilt be happy with me, for thou wilt hear the language of\nEgypt.\" Now he said this because he knew what manner of man I was, for\nhe had heard the people of Egypt who were there with him bear testimony\nconcerning my character. And he said unto me, \"Why and wherefore hast\nthou come hither? Is it because the departure of King Sehetepabra from\nthe Palace to the horizon hath taken place, and thou didst not know what\nwould be the result of it?\" Then I spake unto him with words of deceit,\nsaying, \"I was among the soldiers who had gone to the land of Themeh. My\nheart cried out, my courage failed me utterly, it made me follow the\nways over which I fled. I hesitated, but felt no regret. I did not\nhearken unto any evil counsel, and my name was not heard on the mouth of\nthe herald. How I came to be brought into this country I know not; it\nwas, perhaps, by the Providence of God.\"\n\nAnd Ammuiansha said unto me, \"What will become of the land without that\nbeneficent god the terror of whom passed through the lands like the\ngoddess Sekhmet in a year of pestilence?\" Then I made answer unto him,\nsaying, \"His son shall save us. He hath entered the Palace, and hath\ntaken possession of the heritage of his father. Moreover, he is the god\nwho hath no equal, and no other can exist beside him, the lord of\nwisdom, perfect in his plans, of good will when he passeth decrees, and\none cometh forth and goeth in according to his ordinance. He reduced\nforeign lands to submission whilst his father [sat] in the Palace\ndirecting him in the matters which had to be carried out. He is mighty\nof valour, he slayeth with his sword, and in bravery he hath no compeer.\nOne should see him attacking the nomads of the desert, and pouncing upon\nthe robbers of the highway! He beateth down opposition, he smiteth arms\nhelpless, his enemies cannot be made to resist him. He taketh vengeance,\nhe cleaveth skulls, none can stand up before him. His strides are long,\nhe slayeth him that fleeth, and he who turneth his back upon him in\nflight never reacheth his goal. When attacked his courage standeth firm.\nHe attacketh again and again, and he never yieldeth. His heart is bold\nwhen he seeth the battle array, he permitteth none to sit down behind.\nHis face is fierce [as] he rusheth on the attacker. He rejoiceth when he\ntaketh captive the chief of a band of desert robbers. He seizeth his\nshield, he raineth blows upon him, but he hath no need to repeat his\nattack, for he slayeth his foe before he can hurl his spear at him.\nBefore he draweth his bow the nomads have fled, his arms are like the\nsouls of the Great Goddess. He fighteth, and if he reacheth his object\nof attack he spareth not, and he leaveth no remnant. He is beloved, his\npleasantness is great, he is the conqueror, and his town loveth him more\nthan herself; she rejoiceth in him more than in her god, and men throng\nabout him with rejoicings. He was king and conqueror before his birth,\nand he hath worn his crowns since he was born. He hath multiplied\nbirths, and he it is whom God hath made to be the joy of this land,\nwhich he hath ruled, and the boundaries of which he hath enlarged. He\nhath conquered the Lands of the South, shall he not conquer the Lands of\nthe North? He hath been created to smite the hunters of the desert, and\nto crush the tribes that roam the sandy waste....\" Then the Shekh of\nUpper Thennu said unto me, \"Assuredly Egypt is a happy country in that\nit knoweth his vigour. Verily, as long as thou tarriest with me I will\ndo good unto thee.\"\n\nAnd he set me before his children, and he gave me his eldest daughter to\nwife, and he made me to choose for myself a very fine territory which\nbelonged to him, and which lay on the border of a neighbouring country,\nand this beautiful region was called Aa. In it there are figs, and wine\nis more abundant than water. Honey is plentiful, oil existeth in large\nquantities, and fruits of every kind are on the trees thereof. Wheat,\nbarley, herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats are there in\nuntold numbers. And the Shekh showed me very great favour, and his\naffection for me was so great that he made me Shekh of one of the best\ntribes in his country. Bread-cakes were made for me each day, and each\nday wine was brought to me with roasted flesh and wild fowl, and the\nwild creatures of the plain that were caught were laid before me, in\naddition to the game which my hunting dogs brought in. Food of all kinds\nwas made for me, and milk was prepared for me in various ways. I passed\nmany years in this manner, and my children grew up into fine strong men,\nand each one of them ruled his tribe. Every ambassador on his journey to\nand from Egypt visited me. I was kind to people of every class. I gave\nwater to the thirsty man. I suppressed the highway robber. I directed\nthe operations of the bowmen of the desert, who marched long distances\nto suppress the hostile Shekhs, and to reduce their power, for the Shekh\nof Thennu had appointed me General of his soldiers many years before\nthis. Every country against which I marched I terrified into submission.\nI seized the crops by the wells, I looted the flocks and herds, I\ncarried away the people and their slaves who ate their bread, I slew the\nmen there. Through my sword and bow, and through my well-organised\ncampaigns, I was highly esteemed in the mind of the Shekh, and he loved\nme, for he knew my bravery, and he set me before his children when he\nsaw the bravery of my arms.\n\nThen a certain mighty man of valour of Thennu came and reviled me in my\ntent; he was greatly renowned as a man of war, and he was unequalled in\nthe whole country, which he had conquered. He challenged me to combat,\nbeing urged to fight by the men of his tribe, and he believed that he\ncould conquer me, and he determined to take my flocks and herds as\nspoil. And the Shekh took counsel with me about the challenge, and I\nsaid, \"I am not an acquaintance of his, and I am by no means a friend of\nhis. Have I ever visited him in his domain or entered his door, or\npassed through his compound? [Never!] He is a man whose heart becometh\nfull of evil thoughts, whensoever he seeth me, and he wisheth to carry\nout his fell design and plunder me. He is like a wild bull seeking to\nslay the bull of a herd of tame cattle so that he may make the cows his\nown. Or rather he is a mere braggart who wisheth to seize the property\nwhich I have collected by my prudence, and not an experienced warrior.\nOr rather he is a bull that loveth to fight, and that loveth to make\nattacks repeatedly, fearing that otherwise some other animal will prove\nto be his equal. If, however, his heart be set upon fighting, let him\ndeclare [to me] his intention. Is God, Who knoweth everything, ignorant\nof what he hath decided to do?\"\n\nAnd I passed the night in stringing my bow, I made ready my arrows of\nwar, I unsheathed my dagger, and I put all my weapons in order. At\ndaybreak the tribes of the land of Thennu came, and the people who lived\non both sides of it gathered themselves together, for they were greatly\nconcerned about the combat, and they came and stood up round about me\nwhere I stood. Every heart burned for my success, and both men and women\nuttered cries (or exclamations), and every heart suffered anxiety on my\nbehalf, saying, \"Can there exist possibly any man who is a mightier\nfighter and more doughty as a man of war than he?\" Then mine adversary\ngrasped his shield, and his battle-axe, and his spears, and after he had\nhurled his weapons at me, and I had succeeded in avoiding his short\nspears, which arrived harmlessly one after the other, he became filled\nwith fury, and making up his mind to attack me at close quarters he\nthrew himself upon me. And I hurled my javelin at him, which remained\nfast in his neck, and he uttered a long cry and fell on his face, and I\nslew him with his own weapons. And as I stood upon his back I shouted\nthe cry of victory, and every Aamu man (_i.e._ Asiatic) applauded me,\nand I gave thanks to Menthu;[1] and the slaves of my opponent mourned\nfor their lord. And the Shekh Ammuiansha took me in his arms and\nembraced me. I carried off his (_i.e._ the opponent's) property. I\nseized his cattle as spoil, and what he meditated doing to me I did unto\nhim. I took possession of the contents of his tent, I stripped his\ncompound, I became rich, I increased my store of goods, and I added\ngreatly to the number of my cattle.\n\n[Footnote 1: The War-god of Thebes.]\n\nThus did God prosper the man who made Him his support. Thus that day was\nwashed (_i.e._ satisfied) the heart of the man who was compelled to make\nhis escape from his own into another country. Thus that day the\nintegrity of the man who was once obliged to take to flight as a\nmiserable fugitive was proven in the sight of all the Court. Once I was\na wanderer wandering about hungry, and now I can give bread to my\nneighbours. Once I had to flee naked from my country, and now I am the\npossessor of splendid raiment, and of apparel made of the finest byssus.\nOnce I was obliged to do my own errands and to fetch and carry for\nmyself, and now I am the master of troops of servants. My house is\nbeautiful, my estate is spacious, and my name is repeated in the Great\nHouse. O Lord of the gods, who hath ordered my goings, I will offer\npropitiatory offerings unto Thee: I beseech Thee to restore me to Egypt,\nand O be Thou pleased most graciously to let me once again look upon the\nspot where my mind dwelleth for hours [at a time]! How great a boon\nwould it be for me to cleanse my body in the land of my birth! Let, I\npray, a period of happiness attend me, and may God give me peace. May He\ndispose events in such a way that the close of the career of the man who\nhath suffered misery, whose heart hath seen sorrow, who hath wandered\ninto a strange land, may be happy. Is He not at peace with me this day?\nSurely He shall hearken to him that is afar off.... Let the King of\nEgypt be at peace with me, and may I live upon his offerings. Let me\nsalute the Mistress of the Land (_i.e._ the Queen) who is in his palace,\nand let me hear the greetings of her children. O would that my members\ncould become young again! For now old age is stealing on me. Infirmity\novertaketh me. Mine eyes refuse to see, my hands fall helpless, my knees\nshake, my heart standeth still, the funerary mourners approach and they\nwill bear me away to the City of Eternity, wherein I shall become a\nfollower of Nebertcher. She will declare to me the beauties of her\nchildren, and they shall traverse it with me.\n\nBehold now, the Majesty of the King of Egypt, Kheperkara, whose word is\ntruth, having spoken concerning the various things that had happened to\nme, sent a messenger to me bearing royal gifts, such as he would send to\nthe king of a foreign land, with the intention of making glad the heart\nof thy servant now [speaking], and the princes of his palace made me to\nhear their salutations. And here is a copy of the document, which was\nbrought to thy servant [from the King] instructing him to return to\nEgypt.\n\n\"The royal command of the Horus, Ankh-mestu, Lord of Nekhebet and\nUatchet, Ankh-mestu, King of the South, King of the North, Kheperkara,\nthe son of Ra, Amenemhat, the everliving, to my follower Sanehat. This\nroyal order is despatched unto thee to inform thee. Thou hast travelled\nabout everywhere, in one country after another, having set out from\nQetem and reached Thennu, and thou hast journeyed from place to place at\nthine own will and pleasure. Observe now, what thou hast done [unto\nothers, making them to obey thee], shall be done unto thee. Make no\nexcuses, for they shall be set aside; argue not with [my] officials, for\nthy arguments shall be refuted. Thy heart shall not reject the plans\nwhich thy mind hath formulated. Thy Heaven (_i.e._ the Queen), who is in\nthe Palace, is stable and flourishing at this present time, her head is\ncrowned with the sovereignty of the earth, and her children are in the\nroyal chambers of the Palace. Lay aside the honours which thou hast,\nand thy life of abundance (or luxury), and journey to Egypt. Come and\nlook upon thy native land, the land where thou wast born, smell the\nearth (_i.e._ do homage) before the Great Gate, and associate with the\nnobles thereof. For at this time thou art beginning to be an old man,\nand thou canst no longer produce sons, and thou hast [ever] in thy mind\nthe day of [thy] burial, when thou wilt assume the form of a servant [of\nOsiris]. The unguents for thine embalmment on the night [of\nmummification] have been set apart for thee, together with thy mummy\nswathings, which are the work of the hands of the goddess Tait. Thy\nfunerary procession, which will march on the day of thy union with the\nearth, hath been arranged, and there are prepared for thee a gilded\nmummy-case, the head whereof is painted blue, and a canopy made of\n_mesket_ wood. Oxen shall draw thee [to the tomb], the wailing women\nshall precede thee, the funerary dances shall be performed, those who\nmourn thee shall be at the door of thy tomb, the funerary offerings\ndedicated to thee shall be proclaimed, sacrifices shall be offered for\nthee with thy oblations, and thy funerary edifice shall be built in\nwhite stone, side by side with those of the princes and princesses. Thy\ndeath must not take place in a foreign land, the Aamu folk shall not\nescort thee [to thy grave], thou shalt not be placed in the skin of a\nram when thy burial is effected; but at thy burial there shall be ...\nand the smiting of the earth, and when thou departest lamentations shall\nbe made over thy body.\"\n\nWhen this royal letter reached me I was standing among the people of my\ntribe, and when it had been read to me I threw myself face downwards on\nthe ground, and bowed until my head touched the dust, and I clasped the\ndocument reverently to my breast. Then [I rose up] and walked to and fro\nin my abode, rejoicing and saying, \"How can these things possibly be\ndone to thy servant who is now speaking, whose heart made him to fly\ninto foreign lands [where dwell] peoples who stammer in their speech?\nAssuredly it is a good and gracious thought [of the King] to deliver me\nfrom death [here], for thy Ka (_i.e._ double) will make my body to end\n[its existence] in my native land.\"\n\nHere is a copy of the reply that was made by the servant of the Palace,\nSanehat, to the above royal document:\n\n\"In peace the most beautiful and greatest! Thy KA knoweth of the flight\nwhich thy servant, who is now speaking, made when he was in a state of\nignorance, O thou beautiful god, Lord of Egypt, beloved of Ra, favoured\nof Menthu, the Lord of Thebes. May Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the\nTwo Lands, and Sebek, and Ra, and Horus, and Hathor, and Tem and his\nCompany of the Gods, and Neferbaiu, and Semsuu, and Horus of the East,\nand Nebt-Amehet, the goddess who is joined to thy head, and the\nTchatchau gods who preside over the Nile flood, and Menu, and\nHeru-khenti-semti, and Urrit, the Lady of Punt, and Nut, and Heru-ur\n(Haroeris), and Ra, and all the gods of Tamera (Egypt), and of the\nIslands of the Great Green Sea (_i.e._ Mediterranean), bestow upon thee\na full measure of their good gifts, and grant life and serenity to thy\nnostrils, and may they grant unto thee an eternity which hath no limit,\nand everlastingness which hath no bounds! May thy fear penetrate and\nextend into all countries and mountains, and mayest thou be the\npossessor of all the region which the sun encircleth in his course. This\nis the prayer which thy servant who now speaketh maketh on behalf of his\nlord who hath delivered him from Ament.\n\n\"The lord of knowledge who knoweth men, the Majesty of the Setepsa abode\n(_i.e._ the Palace), knoweth well that his servant who is now speaking\nwas afraid to declare the matter, and that to repeat it was a great\nthing. The great god (_i.e._ the King), who is the counterpart of Ra,\nhath done wisely in what he hath done, and thy servant who now speaketh\nhath meditated upon it in his mind, and hath made himself to conform to\nhis plans. Thy Majesty is like unto Horus, and the victorious might of\nthine arms hath conquered the whole world. Let thy Majesty command that\nMaka [chief of] the country of Qetma, and Khentiaaush [chief of]\nKhent-Keshu, and Menus [chief of] the lands of the Fenkhu, be brought\nhither, and these Governors will testify that these things have come to\npass at the desire of thy KA (_i.e._ double), and that Thenu doth not\nspeak words of overboldness to thee, and that she is as [obedient as]\nthy hunting dogs. Behold, the flight, which thy servant who is now\nspeaking made, was made by him as the result of ignorance; it was not\nwilful, and I did not decide upon it after careful meditation. I cannot\nunderstand how I could ever have separated myself from my country. It\nseemeth to me now to have been the product of a dream wherein a man who\nis in the swamps of the Delta imagineth himself to be in Abu\n(Elephantine, or Syene), or of a man who whilst standing in fertile\nfields imagineth himself to be in the deserts of the Sudan. I fear\nnothing and no man can make with truth [accusations] against me. I have\nnever turned my ear to disloyal plottings, and my name hath never been\nin the mouth of the crier [of the names of proscribed folk]; though my\nmembers quaked, and my legs shook, my heart guided me, and the God who\nordained this flight of mine led me on. Behold, I am not a stiff-necked\nman (or rebel), nay, I held in honour [the King], for I knew the land of\nEgypt and that Ra hath made thy fear to exist everywhere in Egypt, and\nthe awe of thee to permeate every foreign land. I beseech thee to let me\nenter my native land. I beseech thee to let me return to Egypt. Thou art\nthe apparel of the horizon. The Disk (_i.e._ the Sun) shineth at thy\nwish. One drinketh the water of the river Nile at thy pleasure. One\nbreatheth the air of heaven when thou givest the word of command. Thy\nservant who now speaketh will transfer the possessions which he hath\ngotten in this land to his kinsfolk. And as for the embassy of thy\nMajesty which hath been despatched to the servant who now speaketh, I\nwill do according to thy Majesty's desire, for I live by the breath\nwhich thou givest, O thou beloved of Ra, Horus, and Hathor, and thy holy\nnostrils are beloved of Menthu, Lord of Thebes; mayest thou live for\never!\"\n\nAnd I tarried one day in the country of Aa in order to transfer my\npossessions to my children. My eldest son attended to the affairs of the\npeople of my settlement, and the men and women thereof (_i.e._ the\nslaves), and all my possessions were in his hand, and all my children,\nand all my cattle, and all my fruit trees, and all my palm plantations\nand groves. Then thy servant who is now speaking set out on his journey\nand travelled towards the South. When I arrived at Heruuatu, the captain\nof the frontier patrol sent a messenger to inform the Court of my\narrival. His Majesty sent a courteous overseer of the servants of the\nPalace, and following him came large boats laden with gifts from the\nKing for the soldiers of the desert who had escorted me and guided me to\nthe town of Heruuatu. I addressed each man among them by name and every\ntoiler had that which belonged to him. I continued my journey, the wind\nbore me along, food was prepared for me and drink made ready for me, and\nthe best of apparel (?), until I arrived at Athettaui.[1] On the morning\nof the day following my arrival, five officials came to me, and they\nbore me to the Great House, and I bowed low until my forehead touched\nthe ground before him. And the princes and princesses were standing\nwaiting for me in the _umtet_ chamber, and they advanced to meet me and\nto receive me, and the _smeru_ officials conducted me into the hall, and\nled me to the privy chamber of the King, where I found His Majesty\n[seated] upon the Great Throne in the _umtet_ chamber of silver-gold. I\narrived there, I raised myself up after my prostrations, and I knew not\nthat I was in his presence. Then this god (_i.e._ the King) spake unto\nme harshly, and I became like unto a man who is confounded in the\ndarkness; my intelligence left me, my limbs quaked, my heart was no\nlonger in my body, and I knew not whether I was dead or alive. Then His\nMajesty said unto one of his high officials, \"Raise him, and let him\nspeak unto me.\" And His Majesty said unto me, \"Thou hast come then! Thou\nhast smitten foreign lands and thou hast travelled, but now weakness\nhath vanquished thee, thou hast become old, and the infirmities of thy\nbody are many. The warriors of the desert shall not escort thee [to thy\ngrave] ... wilt thou not speak and declare thy name?\" And I was afraid\nto contradict him, and I answered him about these matters like a man\nwho was stricken with fear. Thus did my Lord speak to me.\n\n[Footnote: 1 A fortified town a little to the south of Memphis.]\n\nAnd I answered and said, \"The matter was not of my doing, for, behold,\nit was done by the hand of God; bodily terror made me to flee according\nto what was ordained. But, behold, I am here in thy presence! Thou art\nlife. Thy Majesty doeth as thou pleasest.\" And the King dismissed the\nroyal children, and His Majesty said unto the Queen, \"Look now, this is\nSanehat who cometh in the guise of an Asiatic, and who hath turned\nhimself into a nomad warrior of the desert.\" And the Queen laughed a\nloud hearty laugh, and the royal children cried out with one voice\nbefore His Majesty, saying, \"O Lord King, this man cannot really be\nSanehat\"; and His Majesty said, \"It is indeed!\"\n\nThen the royal children brought their instruments of music, their\n_menats_ and their sistra, and they rattled their sistra, and they\npassed backwards and forwards before His Majesty, saying, \"Thy hands\nperform beneficent acts, O King. The graces of the Lady of Heaven rest\n[upon thee]. The goddess Nubt giveth life to thy nostrils, and the Lady\nof the Stars joineth herself to thee, as thou sailest to the South\nwearing the Crown of the North, and to the North wearing the Crown of\nthe South. Wisdom is stablished in the mouth of Thy Majesty, and health\nis on thy brow. Thou strikest terror into the miserable wretches who\nentreat thy mercy. Men propitiate thee, O Lord of Egypt, [as they do]\nRa, and thou art acclaimed with cries of joy like Nebertcher. Thy horn\nconquereth, thine arrow slayeth, [but] thou givest breath to him that is\nafflicted. For our sakes graciously give a boon to this traveller\nSanehat, this desert warrior who was born in Tamera (Egypt). He fled\nthrough fear of thee, and he departed to a far country because of his\nterror of thee. Doth not the face that gazeth on thine blench? Doth not\nthe eye that gazeth into thine feel terrified?\" Then His Majesty said,\n\"Let him fear not, and let him not utter a sound of fear. He shall be a\n_smer_ official among the princes of the palace, he shall be a member of\nthe company of the _shenit_ officials. Get ye gone to the refectory of\nthe palace, and see to it that rations are provided for him.\"\n\nThereupon I came forth from the privy chamber of the King, and the royal\nchildren clasped my hands, and we passed on to the Great Door, and I was\nlodged in the house of one of the King's sons, which was beautifully\nfurnished. In it there was a bath, and it contained representations of\nthe heavens and objects from the Treasury. And there [I found] apparel\nmade of royal linen, and myrrh of the finest quality which was used by\nthe King, and every chamber was in charge of officials who were\nfavourites of the King, and every officer had his own appointed duties.\nAnd [there] the years were made to slide off my members. I cut and\ncombed my hair, I cast from me the dirt of a foreign land, together with\nthe apparel of the nomads who live in the desert. I arrayed myself in\napparel made of fine linen, I anointed my body with costly ointments, I\nslept upon a bedstead [instead of on the ground], I left the sand to\nthose who dwelt on it, and the crude oil of wood wherewith they anoint\nthemselves. I was allotted the house of a nobleman who had the title of\n_smer_, and many workmen laboured upon it, and its garden and its groves\nof trees were replanted with plants and trees. Rations were brought to\nme from the palace three or four times each day, in additions to the\ngifts which the royal children gave me unceasingly. And the site of a\nstone pyramid among the pyramids was marked out for me. The\nsurveyor-in-chief to His Majesty chose the site for it, the director of\nthe funerary designers drafted the designs and inscriptions which were\nto be cut upon it, the chief of the masons of the necropolis cut the\ninscriptions, and the clerk of the works in the necropolis went about\nthe country collecting the necessary funerary furniture. I made the\nbuilding to flourish, and provided everything that was necessary for its\nupkeep. I acquired land round about it. I made a lake for the\nperformance of funerary ceremonies, and the land about it contained\ngardens, and groves of trees, and I provided a place where the people on\nthe estate might dwell similar to that which is provided for a _smeru_\nnobleman of the first rank. My statue, which was made for me by His\nMajesty, was plated with gold, and the tunic thereof was of silver-gold.\nNot for any ordinary person did he do such things. May I enjoy the\nfavour of the King until the day of my death shall come!\n\nHere endeth the book; [given] from its beginning to its end, as it hath\nbeen found in writing.\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE EDUCATED PEASANT KHUENANPU\n\nThe text of this most interesting story is written in the hieratic\ncharacter on papyri which are preserved in the British Museum and in the\nRoyal Library at Berlin. It is generally thought that the story is the\nproduct of the period that immediately followed the twelfth dynasty.\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man whose name was Khuenanpu, a peasant\nof Sekhet-hemat,[1] and he had a wife whose name was Nefert. This\npeasant said to this wife of his, \"Behold, I am going down into Egypt in\norder to bring back food for my children. Go thou and measure up the\ngrain which remaineth in the granary, [and see how many] measures [there\nare].\" Then she measured it, and there were eight measures. Then this\npeasant said unto this wife of his, \"Behold, two measures of grain shall\nbe for the support of thyself and thy children, but of the other six\nthou shalt make bread and beer whereon I am to live during the days on\nwhich I shall be travelling.\" And this peasant went down into Egypt,\nhaving laden his asses with _aaa_ plants, and _retmet_ plants, and soda\nand salt, and wood of the district of ..., and _aunt_ wood of the Land\nof Oxen,[2] and skins of panthers and wolves, and _neshau_ plants, and\n_anu_ stones, and _tenem_ plants, and _kheperur_ plants, and _sahut_,\nand _saksut_ seeds (?), and _masut_ plants, and _sent_ and _abu_ stones,\nand _absa_ and _anba_ plants, and doves and _naru_ and _ukes_ birds, and\n_tebu, uben_ and _tebsu_ plants, and _kenkent_ seeds, and the plant\n\"hair of the earth,\" and _anset_ seeds, and all kinds of beautiful\nproducts of the land of Sekhet-hemat. And when this peasant had marched\nto the south, to Hensu,[3] and had arrived at the region of Perfefa, to\nthe north of Metnat, he found a man standing on the river bank whose\nname was Tehutinekht, who was the son of a man whose name was Asri; both\nfather and son were serfs of Rensi, the son of Meru the steward. When\nthis man Tehutinekht saw the asses of this peasant, of which his heart\napproved greatly, he said, \"Would that I had any kind of god with me to\nhelp me to seize for myself the goods of this peasant!\" Now the house of\nthis Tehutinekht stood upon the upper edge of a sloping path along the\nriver bank, which was narrow and not wide. It was about as wide as a\nsheet of linen cloth, and upon one side of it was the water of the\nstream, and on the other was a growing crop. Then this Tehutinekht said\nunto his slave, \"Run and bring me a sheet of linen out of my house\"; and\nit was brought to him immediately. Then he shook out the sheet of linen\nover the narrow sloping path in such a way that its upper edge touched\nthe water, and the fringed edge the growing crop. And when this peasant\nwas going along the public path, this Tehutinekht said unto him, \"Be\ncareful, peasant, wouldst thou walk upon my clothes?\" And this peasant\nsaid, \"I will do as thou pleasest; my way is good.\" And when he turned\nto the upper part of the path, this Tehutinekht said, \"Is my corn to\nserve as a road for thee, O peasant?\" Then this peasant said, \"My way is\ngood. The river-bank is steep, and the road is covered up with thy corn,\nand thou hast blocked up the path with thy linen garment. Dost thou\nreally intend not to let us pass? Hath it come to pass that he dareth to\nsay such a thing?\" [At that moment] one of the asses bit off a large\nmouthful of the growing corn, and this Tehutinekht said, \"Behold, thy\nass is eating my corn! Behold, he shall come and tread it out.\" Then\nthis peasant said, \"My way is good. Because one side of the road was\nmade impassable [by thee], I led my ass to the other side (?), and now\nthou hast seized my ass because he bit off a large mouthful of the\ngrowing corn. However, I know the master of this estate, which belongeth\nto Rensi, the son of Meru. There is no doubt that he hath driven every\nrobber out of the whole country, and shall I be robbed on his estate?\"\nAnd this Tehutinekht said, \"Is not this an illustration of the proverb\nwhich the people use, 'The name of the poor man is only mentioned\nbecause of his master?' It is I who speak to thee, but it is the steward\n[Rensi, the son of Meru] of whom thou art thinking.\" Then Tehutinekht\nseized a cudgel of green tamarisk wood, and beat cruelly with it every\npart of the peasant's body, and took his asses from him and carried them\noff into his compound. And this peasant wept and uttered loud shrieks of\npain because of what was done to him. And this Tehutinekht said, \"Howl\nnot so loudly, peasant, or verily [thou shalt depart] to the domain of\nthe Lord of Silence.\"[4] Then this peasant said, \"Thou hast beaten me,\nand robbed me of my possessions, and now thou wishest to steal even the\nvery complaint that cometh out of my mouth! Lord of Silence indeed! Give\nme back my goods. Do not make me to utter complaints about thy fearsome\ncharacter.\"\n\nAnd this peasant spent ten whole days in making entreaties to this\nTehutinekht [for the restoration of his goods], but Tehutinekht paid no\nattention to them whatsoever. At the end of this time this peasant set\nout on a journey to the south, to the city of Hensu, in order to lay his\ncomplaint before Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, and he found him\njust as he was coming forth from the door in the courtyard of his house\nwhich opened on the river bank, to embark in his official boat on the\nriver. And this peasant said, \"I earnestly wish that it may happen that\nI may make glad thy heart with the words which I am going to say!\nPeradventure thou wilt allow some one to call thy confidential servant\nto me, in order that I may send him back to thee thoroughly well\ninformed as to my business.\" Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward,\ncaused his confidential servant to go to this peasant, who sent him back\nto him thoroughly well informed as to his business. And Rensi, the son\nof Meru, the steward, made inquiries about this Tehutinekht from the\nofficials who were immediately connected with him, and they said unto\nhim, \"Lord, the matter is indeed only one that concerneth one of the\npeasants of Tehutinekht who went [to do business] with another man near\nhim instead of with him. And, as a matter of fact, [officials like\nTehutinekht] always treat their peasants in this manner whensoever they\ngo to do business with other people instead of with them. Wouldst thou\ntrouble thyself to inflict punishment upon Tehutinekht for the sake of a\nlittle soda and a little salt? [It is unthinkable.] Just let Tehutinekht\nbe ordered to restore the soda and the salt and he will do so\n[immediately].\" And Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, held his peace;\nhe made no answer to the words of these officials, and to this peasant\nhe made no reply whatsoever.\n\nAnd this peasant came to make his complaint to Rensi, the son of Meru,\nthe steward, and on the first occasion he said, \"O my lord steward,\ngreatest one of the great ones, guide of the things that are not and of\nthese that are, when thou goest down into the Sea of Truth,[5] and dost\nsail thereon, may the attachment (?) of thy sail not tear away, may thy\nboat not drift (?), may no accident befall thy mast, may the poles of\nthy boat not be broken, mayest thou not run aground when thou wouldst\nwalk on the land, may the current not carry thee away, mayest thou not\ntaste the calamities of the stream, mayest thou never see a face of\nfear, may the timid fish come to thee, and mayest thou obtain fine, fat\nwaterfowl. O thou who art the father of the orphan, the husband of the\nwidow, the brother of the woman who hath been put away by her husband,\nand the clother of the motherless, grant that I may place thy name in\nthis land in connection with all good law. Guide in whom there is no\navarice, great man in whom there is no meanness, who destroyest\nfalsehood and makest what is true to exist, who comest to the word of my\nmouth, I speak that thou mayest hear. Perform justice, O thou who art\npraised, to whom those who are most worthy of praise give praise. Do\naway the oppression that weigheth me down. Behold, I am weighted with\nsorrow, behold, I am sorely wronged. Try me, for behold, I suffer\ngreatly.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: A district to the west of Cairo now known as Wadi\nan-Natrun.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The Oasis of Farafrah.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The Khanes of the Hebrews and Herakleopolis of the Greeks,\nthe modern Ahnas al-Madinah.]\n\n[Footnote 4: _i.e._ Osiris. This was a threat to kill the peasant.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The name of a lake in the Other World; see _Book of the\nDead_, Chap. 17, l. 24.]\n\nNow this peasant spake these words in the time of the King of the South,\nthe King of the North, Nebkaura, whose word is truth. And Rensi, the son\nof Meru, the steward, went into the presence of His Majesty, and said,\n\"My Lord, I have found one of these peasants who can really speak with\ntrue eloquence. His goods have been stolen from him by an official who\nis in my service, and behold, he hath come to lay before me a complaint\nconcerning this.\" His Majesty said unto Rensi, the son of Meru, the\nsteward, \"If thou wouldst see me in a good state of health, keep him\nhere, and do not make any answer at all to anything which he shall say,\nso that he may continue to speak. Then let that which he shall say be\ndone into writing, and brought unto us, so that we may hear it. Take\ncare that his wife and his children have food to live upon, and see that\none of these peasants goeth to remove want from his house. Provide food\nfor the peasant himself to live upon, but thou shalt make the provision\nin such a way that the food may be given to him without letting him know\nthat it is thou who hast given it to him. Let the food be given to his\nfriends and let them give it to him.\" So there were given unto him four\nbread-cakes and two pots of beer daily. These were provided by Rensi,\nthe son of Meru, the steward, and he gave them to a friend, and it was\nthis friend who gave them to the peasant. And Rensi, the son of Meru,\nthe steward, sent instructions to the governor of [the Oasis of]\nSekhet-hemat to supply the wife of the peasant with daily rations, and\nthere were given unto her regularly the bread-cakes that were made from\nthree measures of corn.\n\nThen this peasant came a second time to lay his complaint [before\nRensi], and he found him as he was coming out from the ..., and he said,\n\"O steward, my lord, the greatest of the great, thou richest of the\nrich, whose greatness is true greatness, whose riches are true riches,\nthou rudder of heaven, thou pole of the earth, thou measuring rope for\nheavy weights (?)! O rudder, slip not, O pole, topple not, O measuring\nrope, make no mistake in measuring! The great lord taketh away from her\nthat hath no master (or owner), and stealeth from him that is alone [in\nthe world]. Thy rations are in thy house--a pot of beer and three\nbread-cakes. What dost thou spend in satisfying those who depend upon\nthee? Shall he who must die die with his people? Wilt thou be a man of\neternity (_i.e._ wilt thou live for ever?) Behold, are not these things\nevils, namely, the balance that leaneth side-ways, the pointer of the\nbalance that doth not show the correct weight, and an upright and just\nman who departeth from his path of integrity? Observe! the truth goeth\nbadly with thee, being driven out of her proper place, and the officials\ncommit acts of injustice. He who ought to estimate a case correctly\ngiveth a wrong decision. He who ought to keep himself from stealing\ncommitteth an act of robbery. He who should be strenuous to arrest the\nman who breaketh the word (_i.e._ Law) in its smallest point, is himself\nguilty of departing therefrom. He who should give breath stifleth him\nthat could breathe. The land that ought to give repose driveth repose\naway. He who should divide in fairness hath become a robber. He who\nshould blot out the oppressor giveth him the command to turn the town\ninto a waste of water. He who should drive away evil himself committeth\nacts of injustice.\"\n\nThen Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, said [to the peasant], \"Doth\nthy case appear in thy heart so serious that I must have my servant\n[Tchutinekht] seized on thy account?\" This peasant said, \"He who\nmeasureth the heaps of corn filcheth from them for himself, and he who\nfilleth [the measure] for others robbeth his neighbours. Since he who\nshould carry out the behests of the Law giveth the order to rob, who is\nto repress crime? He who should do away with offences against the Law\nhimself committeth them. He who should act with integrity behaveth\ncrookedly. He who doeth acts of injustice is applauded. When wilt thou\nfind thyself able to resist and to put down acts of injustice? [When]\nthe ... cometh to his place of yesterday the command cometh: 'Do a\n[good] deed in order that one may do a [good] deed [to thee],' that is\nto say, 'Give thanks unto everyone for what he doeth.' This is to drive\nback the bolt before it is shot, and to give a command to the man who is\nalready overburdened with orders. Would that a moment of destruction\nmight come, wherein thy vines should be laid low, and thy geese\ndiminished, and thy waterfowl be made few in number! [Thus] it cometh\nthat the man who ought to see clearly hath become blind, and he who\nought to hear distinctly hath become deaf, and he who ought to be a just\nguide hath become one who leadeth into error. Observe! thou art strong\nand powerful. Thine arm is able to do deeds of might, and [yet] thy\nheart is avaricious. Compassion hath removed itself from thee. The\nwretched man whom thou hast destroyed crieth aloud in his anguish. Thou\nart like unto the messenger of the god Henti (the Crocodile-god). Set\nnot out [to do evil] for the Lady of the Plague (_i.e._ Sekhmet).... As\nthere is nothing between thee and her for a certain purpose, so there is\nnothing against thee and her. If thou wilt not do it [then] she will not\nshow compassion. The beggar hath the powerful owner of possessions (or\nrevenues) robbed, and the man who hath nothing hath the man who hath\nsecreted [much] stolen goods. To steal anything at all from the beggar\nis an absolute crime on the part of the man who is not in want, and [if\nhe doth this] shall his action not be inquired into? Thou art filled\nfull with thy bread, and art drunken with thy beer, and thou art rich\n[beyond count]. When the face of the steersman is directed to what is in\nfront of him, the boat falleth out of its course, and saileth\nwhithersoever it pleaseth. When the King [remaineth] in his house, and\nwhen thou workest the rudder, acts of injustice take place round about\nthee, complaints are widespread, and the loss (?) is very serious. And\none saith, 'What is taking place?' Thou shouldst make thyself a place of\nrefuge [for the needy]. Thy quay should be safe. But observe! Thy town\nis in commotion. Thy tongue is righteous, make no mistake [in judgment].\nThe abominable behaviour of a man is, as it were, [one of] his members.\nSpeak no lies thyself, and take good heed that thy high officials do\nnot do so. Those who assess the dues on the crops are like unto a ...,\nand to tell lies is very dear to their hearts. Thou who hast knowledge\nof the affairs of all the people, dost thou not understand my\ncircumstances? Observe, thou who relievest the wants of all who have\nsuffered by water, I am on the path of him that hath no boat. O thou who\nbringest every drowning man to land, and who savest the man whose boat\nhath foundered, art thou going to let me perish?\"\n\nAnd this peasant came a third time to lay his complaint [before Rensi],\nand he said, \"O my Lord Rensi, the steward! Thou art Ra, the lord of\nheaven with thy great chiefs. The affairs of all men [are ruled by\nthee]. Thou art like the water-flood. Thou art Hep (the Nile-god) who\nmaketh green the fields, and who maketh the islands that are deserts to\nbecome productive. Exterminate the robber, be thou the advocate of those\nwho are in misery, and be not towards the petitioner like the\nwater-flood that sweepeth him away. Take heed to thyself likewise, for\neternity cometh, and behave in such a way that the proverb,\n'Righteousness (or truth) is the breath of the nostrils,' may be\napplicable unto thee. Punish those who are deserving of punishment, and\nthen these shall be like unto thee in dispensing justice. Do not the\nsmall scales weigh incorrectly? Doth not the large balance incline to\none side? In such cases is not Thoth merciful? When thou doest acts of\ninjustice thou becomest the second of these three, and if these be\nmerciful thou also mayest be merciful. Answer not good with evil, and do\nnot set one thing in the place of another. Speech flourisheth more than\nthe _senmit_ plants, and groweth stronger than the smell of the same.\nMake no answer to it whilst thou pourest out acts of injustice, to make\nto grow apparel, which three ... will cause him to make. [If] thou\nworkest the steering pole against the sail (?), the flood shall gather\nstrength against the doing of what is right. Take good heed to thyself\nand set thyself on the mat (?) on the look-out place. The equilibrium of\nthe earth is maintained by the doing of what is right. Tell not lies,\nfor thou art a great man. Act not in a light manner, for thou art a man\nof solid worth. Tell not lies, for thou art a pair of scales. Make no\nmistake [in thy weighing], for thou art a correct reckoner (?). Observe!\nThou art all of a piece with the pair of scales. If they weigh\nincorrectly, thou also shalt act falsely. Let not the boat run aground\nwhen thou art working the steering pole ... the look-out place. When\nthou hast to proceed against one who hath carried off something, take\nthou nothing, for behold, the great man ceaseth to be a great man when\nhe is avaricious. Thy tongue is the pointer of the scales; thy heart is\nthe weight; thy lips are the two arms of the scales. If thou coverest\nthy face so as not to see the doer of violent deeds, who is there [left]\nto repress lawless deeds? Observe! Thou art like a poor man for the man\nwho washeth clothes, who is avaricious and destroyeth kindly feeling\n(?). He who forsaketh the friend who endoweth him for the sake of his\nclient is his brother, who hath come and brought him a gift. Observe!\nThou art a ferryman who ferriest over the stream only the man who\npossesseth the proper fare, whose integrity is well attested (?).\nObserve! Thou art like the overseer of a granary who doth not at once\npermit to pass him that cometh empty. Observe! Thou art among men like a\nbird of prey that liveth upon weak little birds. Observe! Thou art like\nthe cook whose sole joy is to kill, whom no creature escapeth. Observe!\nThou art like a shepherd who is careless about the loss of his sheep\nthrough the rapacious crocodile; thou never countest [thy sheep]. Would\nthat thou wouldst make evil and rapacious men to be fewer! Safety hath\ndeparted from [every] town throughout the land. Thou shouldst hear, but\nmost assuredly thou hearest not! Why hast thou not heard that I have\nthis day driven back the rapacious man? When the crocodile pursueth....\nHow long is this condition of thine to last? Truth which is concealed\nshall be found, and falsehood shall perish. Do not imagine that thou art\nmaster of to-morrow, which hath not yet come, for the evils which it may\nbring with it are unknown.\"\n\nAnd behold, when this peasant had said these things to Rensi, the son\nof Meru, the steward, at the entrance to the hall of the palace, Rensi\ncaused two men with leather whips to seize him, and they beat him in\nevery member of his body. Then this peasant said: \"The son of Meru hath\nmade a mistake. His face is blind in respect of what he seeth, he is\ndeaf in respect of what he heareth, and he is forgetting that which he\nought to remember. Observe! Thou art like unto a town that hath no\ngovernor, and a community that hath no chief, and a ship that hath no\ncaptain, and a body of men who have no guide. Observe! Thou art like a\nhigh official who is a thief, a governor of a town who taketh [bribes],\nand the overseer of a province who hath been appointed to suppress\nrobbery, but who hath become the captain of those who practise it.\"\n\nAnd this peasant came a fourth time to lay his complaint before Rensi,\nand he met him as he was coming out from the door of the temple of the\ngod Herushefit, and said, \"O thou who art praised, the god Herushefit,\nfrom whose house thou comest forth, praiseth thee. When well-doing\nperisheth, and there is none who seeketh to prevent its destruction,\nfalsehood maketh itself seen boldly in the land. If it happen that the\nferry-boat is not brought for thee to cross the stream in, how wilt thou\nbe able to cross the stream? If thou hast to cross the stream in thy\nsandals, is thy crossing pleasant? Assuredly it is not! What man is\nthere who continueth to sleep until it is broad daylight? [This habit]\ndestroyeth the marching by night, and the travelling by day, and the\npossibility of a man profiting by his good luck, in very truth. Observe!\nOne cannot tell thee sufficiently often that 'Compassion hath departed\nfrom thee.' And behold, how the oppressed man whom thou hast destroyed\ncomplaineth! Observe! Thou art like unto a man of the chase who would\nsatisfy his craving for bold deeds, who determineth to do what he\nwisheth, to spear the hippopotamus, to shoot the wild bull, to catch\nfish, and to catch birds in his nets. He who is without hastiness will\nnot speak without due thought. He whose habit is to ponder deeply will\nnot be light-minded. Apply thy heart earnestly and thou shalt know the\ntruth. Pursue diligently the course which thou hast chosen, and let him\nthat heareth the plaintiff act rightly. He who followeth a right course\nof action will not treat a plaintiff wrongly. When the arm is brought,\nand when the two eyes see, and when the heart is of good courage, boast\nnot loudly in proportion to thy strength, in order that calamity may not\ncome unto thee. He who passeth by [his] fate halteth between two\nopinions. The man who eateth tasteth [his food], the man who is spoken\nto answereth, the man who sleepeth seeth visions, but nothing can resist\nthe presiding judge when he is the pilot of the doer [of evil]. Observe,\nO stupid man, thou art apprehended. Observe, O ignorant man, thou art\nfreely discussed. Observe, too, that men intrude upon thy most private\nmoments. Steersman, let not thy boat run aground. Nourisher [of men],\nlet not men die. Destroyer [of men], let not men perish. Shadow, let not\nmen perish through the burning heat. Place of refuge, let not the\ncrocodile commit ravages. It is now four times that I have laid my\ncomplaint before thee. How much more time shall I spend in doing this?\"\n\nThis peasant came a fifth time to make his complaint, and said, \"O my\nlord steward, the fisherman with a _khut_ instrument ..., the fisherman\nwith a ... killeth _i_-fish, the fisherman with a harpoon speareth the\n_aubbu_ fish, the fisherman with a _tchabhu_ instrument catcheth the\n_paqru_ fish, and the common fishermen are always drawing fish from the\nriver. Observe! Thou art even as they. Wrest not the goods of the poor\nman from him. The helpless man thou knowest him. The goods of the poor\nman are the breath of his life; to seize them and carry them off from\nhim is to block up his nostrils. Thou art committed to the hearing of a\ncase and to the judging between two parties at law, so that thou mayest\nsuppress the robber; but, verily, what thou doest is to support the\nthief. The people love thee, and yet thou art a law-breaker. Thou hast\nbeen set as a dam before the man of misery, take heed that he is not\ndrowned. Verily, thou art like a lake to him, O thou who flowest\nquickly.\"\n\nThis peasant came the sixth time to lay his complaint [before Rensi],\nand said, \"O my lord steward ... who makest truth to be, who makest\nhappiness (or, what is good) to be, who destroyest [all evil]; thou art\nlike unto the satiety that cometh to put an end to hunger, thou art like\nunto the raiment that cometh to do away nakedness; thou art like unto\nthe heavens that become calm after a violent storm and refresh with\nwarmth those who are cold; thou art like unto the fire that cooketh that\nwhich is raw, and thou art like unto the water that quencheth the\nthirst. Yet look round about thee! He who ought to make a division\nfairly is a robber. He who ought to make everyone to be satisfied hath\nbeen the cause of the trouble. He who ought to be the source of healing\nis one of those who cause sicknesses. The transgressor diminisheth the\ntruth. He who filleth well the right measure acteth rightly, provided\nthat he giveth neither too little nor too much. If an offering be\nbrought unto thee, do thou share it with thy brother (or neighbour), for\nthat which is given in charity is free from after-thought (?). The man\nwho is dissatisfied induceth separation, and the man who hath been\ncondemned bringeth on schisms, even before one can know what is in his\nmind. When thou hast arrived at a decision delay not in declaring it.\nWho keepeth within him that which he can eject?... When a boat cometh\ninto port it is unloaded, and the freight thereof is landed everywhere\non the quay. It is [well] known that thou hast been educated, and\ntrained, and experienced, but behold, it is not that thou mayest rob\n[the people]. Nevertheless thou dost [rob them] just as other people do,\nand those who are found about thee are thieves (?). Thou who shouldst be\nthe most upright man of all the people art the greatest transgressor in\nthe whole country. [Thou art] the wicked gardener who watereth his plot\nof ground with evil deeds in order to make his plot to tell lies, so\nthat he may flood the town (or estate) with evil deeds (or calamities).\"\n\nThis peasant came the seventh time in order to lay his complaint [before\nRensi], and said, \"O my lord steward, thou art the steering pole of the\nwhole land, and the land saileth according to thy command. Thou art the\nsecond (or counterpart) of Thoth, who judgeth impartially. My lord,\npermit thou a man to appeal to thee in respect of his cause which is\nrighteous. Let not thy heart fight against it, for it is unseemly for\nthee to do so; [if thou doest this] thou of the broad face wilt become\nevil-hearted. Curse not the thing that hath not yet taken place, and\nrejoice not over that which hath not yet come to pass. The tolerant\njudge rejoiceth in showing kindness, and he withholdeth all action\nconcerning a decision that hath been given, when he knoweth not what\nplan was in the heart. In the case of the judge who breaketh the Law,\nand overthroweth uprightness, the poor man cannot live [before him], for\nthe judge plundereth him, and the truth saluteth him not. But my body is\nfull, and my heart is overloaded, and the expression thereof cometh\nforth from my body by reason of the condition of the same. [When] there\nis a breach in the dam the water poureth out through it: even so is my\nmouth opened and it uttereth speech. I have now emptied myself, I have\npoured out what I had to pour out, I have unburdened my body, I have\nfinished washing my linen. What I had to say before thee is said, my\nmisery hath been fully set out before thee; now what hast thou to say in\nexcuse (or apology)? Thy lazy cowardice hath been the cause of thy sin,\nthine avarice hath rendered thee stupid, and thy gluttony hath been\nthine enemy. Thinkest thou that thou wilt never find another peasant\nlike unto me? If he hath a complaint to make thinkest thou that he will\nnot stand, if he is a lazy man, at the door of his house? He whom thou\nforcest to speak will not remain silent. He whom thou forcest to wake up\nwill not remain asleep. The faces which thou makest keen will not remain\nstupid. The mouth which thou openest will not remain closed. He whom\nthou makest intelligent will not remain ignorant. He whom thou\ninstructest will not remain a fool. These are they who destroy evils.\nThese are the officials, the lords of what is good. These are the\ncrafts-folk who make what existeth. These are they who put on their\nbodies again the heads that have been cut off.\"\n\nThis peasant came the eighth time to lay his complaint [before Rensi],\nand said, \"O my lord steward, a man falleth because of covetousness. The\navaricious man hath no aim, for his aim is frustrated. Thy heart is\navaricious, which befitteth thee not. Thou plunderest, and thy plunder\nis no use to thee. And yet formerly thou didst permit a man to enjoy\nthat to which he had good right! Thy daily bread is in thy house, thy\nbelly is filled, grain overfloweth [in thy granaries], and the overflow\nperisheth and is wasted. The officials who have been appointed to\nsuppress acts of injustice have been rapacious robbers, and the\nofficials who have been appointed to stamp out falsehood have become\nhiding-places for those who work iniquity. It is not fear of thee that\nhath driven me to make my complaint to thee, for thou dost not\nunderstand my mind (or heart). The man who is silent and who turneth\nback in order to bring his miserable state [before thee] is not afraid\nto place it before thee, and his brother doth not bring [gifts] from the\ninterior of [his quarter]. Thy estates are in the fields, thy food is on\n[thy] territory, and thy bread is in the storehouse, yet the officials\nmake gifts to thee and thou seizest them. Art thou not then a robber?\nWill not the men who plunder hasten with thee to the divisions of the\nfields? Perform the truth for the Lord of Truth, who possesseth the real\ntruth. Thou writing reed, thou roll of papyrus, thou palette, thou\nThoth, thou art remote from acts of justice. O Good One, thou art still\ngoodness. O Good One, thou art truly good. Truth endureth for ever. It\ngoeth down to the grave with those who perform truth, it is laid in the\ncoffin and is buried in the earth; its name is never removed from the\nearth, and its name is remembered on earth for good (or blessing). That\nis the ordinance of the word of God. If it be a matter of a hand-balance\nit never goeth askew; if it be a matter of a large pair of scales, the\nstandard thereof never inclineth to one side. Whether it be I who come,\nor another, verily thou must make speech, but do not answer whether thou\nspeakest to one who ought to hold his peace, or whether thou seizest one\nwho cannot seize thee. Thou art not merciful, thou art not considerate.\nThou hast not withdrawn thyself, thou hast not gone afar off. But thou\nhast not in any way given in respect of me any judgment in accordance\nwith the command, which came forth from the mouth of Ra himself, saying,\n'Speak the truth, perform the truth, for truth is great, mighty, and\neverlasting. When thou performest the truth thou wilt find its virtues\n(?), and it will lead thee to the state of being blessed (?). If the\nhand-balance is askew, the pans of the balance, which perform the\nweighing, hang crookedly, and a correct weighing cannot be carried out,\nand the result is a false one; even so the result of wickedness is\nwickedness.'\"\n\nThis peasant came the ninth time to lay his complaint [before Rensi],\nand said, \"The great balance of men is their tongues, and all the rest\nis put to the test by the hand balance. When thou punishest the man who\nought to be punished, the act telleth in thy favour. [When he doeth not\nthis] falsehood becometh his possession, truth turneth away from before\nhim, his goods are falsehood, truth forsaketh him, and supporteth him\nnot. If falsehood advanceth, she maketh a mistake, and goeth not over\nwith the ferry-boat [to the Island of Osiris]. The man with whom\nfalsehood prevaileth hath no children and no heirs upon the earth. The\nman in whose boat falsehood saileth never reacheth land, and his boat\nnever cometh into port. Be not heavy, but at the same time do not be too\nlight. Be not slow, but at the same time be not too quick. Rage not at\nthe man who is listening to thee. Cover not over thy face before the man\nwith whom thou art acquainted. Make not blind thy face towards the man\nwho is looking at thee. Thrust not aside the suppliant as thou goest\ndown. Be not indolent in making known thy decision. Do [good] unto him\nthat will do [good] unto thee. Hearken not unto the cry of the mob, who\nsay, 'A man will assuredly cry out when his case is really righteous.'\nThere is no yesterday for the indolent man, there is no friend for the\nman who is deaf to [the words of] truth, and there is no day of\nrejoicing for the avaricious man. The informer becometh a poor man, and\nthe poor man becometh a beggar, and the unfriendly man becometh a dead\nperson. Observe now, I have laid my complaint before thee, but thou wilt\nnot hearken unto it; I shall now depart, and make my complaint against\nthee to Anubis.\"\n\nThen Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, caused two of his servants to\ngo and bring back the peasant. Now this peasant was afraid, for he\nbelieved that he would be beaten severely because of the words which he\nhad spoken to him. And this peasant said, \"This is [like] the coming of\nthe thirsty man to salt tears, and the taking of the mouth of the\nsuckling child to the breast of the woman that is dry. That the sight of\nwhich is longed for cometh not, and only death approacheth.\"\n\nThen Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, said, \"Be not afraid, O\npeasant, for behold, thou shalt dwell with me.\" Then this peasant swore\nan oath, saying, \"Assuredly I will eat of thy bread, and drink of thy\nbeer for ever.\" Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, said, \"Come\nhither, however, so that thou mayest hear thy petitions\"; and he caused\nto be [written] on a roll of new papyrus all the complaints which this\npeasant had made, each complaint according to its day. And Rensi, the\nson of Meru, the steward, sent the papyrus to the King of the South, the\nKing of the North, Nebkaura, whose word is truth, and it pleased the\nheart of His Majesty more than anything else in the whole land. And His\nMajesty said, \"Pass judgment on thyself, O son of Meru.\" And Rensi, the\nson of Meru, the steward, despatched two men to bring him back. And he\nwas brought back, and an embassy was despatched to Sekhet Hemat.... Six\npersons, besides ... his grain, and his millet, and his asses, and his\ndogs.... [The remaining lines are mutilated, but the words which are\nvisible make it certain that Tehutinekht the thief was punished, and\nthat he was made to restore to the peasant everything which he had\nstolen from him.]\n\n\n THE JOURNEY OF THE PRIEST UNU-AMEN INTO SYRIA\n TO BUY CEDAR WOOD TO MAKE A NEW BOAT FOR AMEN-RA\n\nThe text of this narrative is written in the hieratic character upon a\npapyrus preserved in St. Petersburg; it gives an excellent description\nof the troubles that befell the priest Unu-Amen during his journey into\nSyria in the second half of the eleventh century before Christ. The text\nreads:\n\nOn the eighteenth day of the third month of the season of the\nInundation, of the fifth year, Unu-Amen, the senior priest of the Hait\nchamber of the house of Amen, the Lord of the thrones of the Two Lands,\nset out on his journey to bring back wood for the great and holy Boat of\nAmen-Ra, the King of the Gods, which is called \"User-hat,\" and floateth\non the canal of Amen. On the day wherein I arrived at Tchan (Tanis or\nZoan), the territory of Nessubanebtet (_i.e._ King Smendes) and\nThent-Amen, I delivered unto them the credentials which I had received\nfrom Amen-Ra, the King of the Gods, and when they had had my letters\nread before them, they said, \"We will certainly do whatsoever Amen-Ra,\nthe King of the Gods, our Lord, commandeth.\" And I lived in that place\nuntil the fourth month of the season of the Inundation, and I abode in\nthe palace at Zoan. Then Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen despatched me with\nthe captain of the large ship called Menkabuta, and I set sail on the\nsea of Kharu (Syria) on the first day of the fourth month of the Season\nof the Inundation. I arrived at Dhir, a city of Tchakaru, and Badhilu,\nits prince, made his servants bring me bread-cakes by the ten thousand,\nand a large jar of wine, and a leg of beef. And a man who belonged to\nthe crew of my boat ran away, having stolen vessels of gold that weighed\nfive _teben_, and four vessels of silver that weighed twenty _teben_,\nand silver in a leather bag that weighed eleven _teben_; thus he stole\nfive _teben_ of gold and thirty-one _teben_ of silver.\n\nOn the following morning I rose up, and I went to the place where the\nprince of the country was, and I said unto him, \"I have been robbed in\nthy port. Since thou art the prince of this land, and the leader\nthereof, thou must make search and find out what hath become of my\nmoney. I swear unto thee that the money [once] belonged to Amen-Ra, King\nof the Gods, the Lord of the Two Lands; it belonged to Nessubanebtet, it\nbelonged to my lord Her-Heru, and to the other great kings of Egypt, but\nit now belongeth to Uartha, and to Makamaru, and to Tchakar-Bal, Prince\nof Kepuna (Byblos).\" And he said unto me, \"Be angry or be pleased, [as\nthou likest], but, behold, I know absolutely nothing about the matter of\nwhich thou speakest unto me. Had the thief been a man who was a subject\nof mine, who had gone down into thy ship and stolen thy money, I would\nin that case have made good thy loss from the moneys in my own treasury,\nuntil such time as it had been found out who it was that robbed thee,\nand what his name was, but the thief who hath robbed thee belongeth to\nthine own ship. Yet tarry here for a few days, and stay with me, so that\nI may seek him out.\" So I tarried there for nine days, and my ship lay\nat anchor in his port. And I went to him and I said unto him, \"Verily\nthou hast not found my money, [but I must depart] with the captain of\nthe ship and with those who are travelling with him.\" ... [The text here\nis mutilated, but from the fragments of the lines that remain it seems\nclear that Unu-Amen left the port of Dhir, and proceeded in his ship to\nTyre. After a short stay there he left Tyre very early one morning and\nsailed to Kepuna (Byblos), so that he might have an interview with the\ngovernor of that town, who was called Tchakar-Bal. During his interview\nwith Tchakar-Bal the governor of Tyre produced a bag containing thirty\n_teben_ of silver, and Unu-Amen promptly seized it, and declared that he\nintended to keep it until his own money which had been stolen was\nreturned to him. Whilst Unu-Amen was at Byblos he buried in some secret\nplace the image of the god Amen and the amulets belonging to it, which\nhe had brought with him to protect him and to guide him on his way. The\nname of this image was \"Amen-ta-mat.\" The text then proceeds in a\nconnected form thus:]\n\nAnd I passed nineteen days in the port of Byblos, and the governor\npassed his days in sending messages to me each day, saying, \"Get thee\ngone out of my harbour.\" Now on one occasion when he was making an\noffering to his gods, the god took possession of a certain young chief\nof his chiefs, and he caused him to fall into a fit of frenzy, and the\nyoung man said, \"Bring up the god.[1] Bring the messenger who hath\npossession of him. Make him to set out on his way. Make him to depart\nimmediately.\" Now the man who had been seized with the fit of divine\nfrenzy continued to be moved by the same during the night. And I found a\ncertain ship, which was bound for Egypt, and when I had transferred to\nit all my property, I cast a glance at the darkness, saying, \"If the\ndarkness increaseth I will transfer the god to the ship also, and not\npermit any other eye whatsoever to look upon him.\" Then the\nsuperintendent of the harbour came unto me, saying, \"Tarry thou here\nuntil to-morrow morning, according to the orders of the governor.\" And I\nsaid unto him, \"Art not thou thyself he who hath passed his days in\ncoming to me daily and saying, 'Get thee gone out of my harbour?' Dost\nthou not say, 'Tarry here,' so that I may let the ship which I have\nfound [bound for Egypt] depart, when thou wilt again come and say,\n'Haste thee to be gone'?\"\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ the figure of Amen-ta-mat.]\n\nAnd the superintendent of the harbour turned away and departed, and told\nthe governor what I had said. And the governor sent a message to the\ncaptain of the ship bound for Egypt, saying, \"Tarry till the morning;\nthese are the orders of the governor.\" And when the morning had come,\nthe governor sent a messenger, who took me to the place where offerings\nwere being made to the god in the fortress wherein the governor lived on\nthe sea coast. And I found him seated in his upper chamber, and he was\nreclining with his back towards an opening in the wall, and the waves of\nthe great Syrian sea were rolling in from seawards and breaking on the\nshore behind him. And I said unto him, \"The grace of Amen [be with\nthee]!\" And he said unto me, \"Including this day, how long is it since\nthou camest from the place where Amen is?\" And I said unto him, \"Five\nmonths and one day, including to-day.\" And he said unto me, \"Verily if\nthat which thou sayest is true, where are the letters of Amen which\nought to be in thy hand? Where are the letters of the high priest of\nAmen which ought to be in thy hand?\"\n\nAnd I said unto him, \"I gave them to Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen.\" Then\nwas he very angry indeed, and he said unto me, \"Verily, there are\nneither letters nor writings in thy hands for us! Where is the ship made\nof acacia wood which Nessubanebtet gave unto thee? Where are his Syrian\nsailors? Did he not hand thee over to the captain of the ship so that\nafter thou hadst started on thy journey they might kill thee and cast\nthee into the sea? Whose permission did they seek to attack the god? And\nindeed whose permission were they seeking before they attacked thee?\"\nThis is what he said unto me.\n\nAnd I said unto him, \"The ship [wherein I sailed] was in very truth an\nEgyptian ship, and it had a crew of Egyptian sailors who sailed it on\nbehalf of Nessubanebtet. There were no Syrian sailors placed on board of\nit by him.\" He said unto me, \"I swear that there are twenty ships lying\nin my harbour, the captains of which are in partnership with\nNessubanebtet. And as for the city of Sidon, whereto thou wishest to\ntravel, I swear that there are there ten thousand other ships, the\ncaptains of which are in partnership with Uarkathar, and they are sailed\nfor the benefit of his house.\" At this grave moment I held my peace. And\nhe answered and said unto me, \"On what matter of business hast thou come\nhither?\" And I said unto him, \"The matter concerning which I have come\nis wood for the great and holy Boat of Amen-Ra, the King of the Gods.\nWhat thy father did [for the god], and what thy father's father did for\nhim, do thou also.\" That was what I said unto him. And he said unto me,\n\"They certainly did do work for it (_i.e._ the boat). Give me a gift for\nmy work for the boat, and then I also will work for it. Assuredly my\nfather and my grandfather did do the work that was demanded of them,\nand Pharaoh, life, strength, and health be to him! caused six ships\nladen with the products of Egypt to come hither, and the contents\nthereof were unloaded into their storehouses. Now, thou must most\ncertainly cause some goods to be brought and given to me for myself.\"\n\nThen he caused to be brought the books which his father had kept day by\nday, and he had them read out before me, and it was found that one\nthousand _teben_ of silver of all kinds were [entered] in his books. And\nhe said unto me, \"If the Ruler of Egypt had been the lord of my\npossessions, and if I had indeed been his servant, he would never have\nhad silver and gold brought [to pay my father and my father's father]\nwhen he told them to carry out the commands of Amen. The instructions\nwhich they (_i.e._ Pharaoh) gave to my father were by no means the\ncommand of one who was their king. As for me, I am assuredly not thy\nservant, and indeed I am not the servant of him that made thee to set\nout on thy way. If I were to cry out now, and to shout to the cedars of\nLebanon, the heavens would open, and the trees would be lying spread out\non the sea-shore. I ask thee now to show me the sails which thou hast\nbrought to carry thy ships which shall be loaded with thy timber to\nEgypt. And show me also the tackle with which thou wilt transfer to thy\nships the trees which I shall cut down for thee for.... [Unless I make\nfor thee the tackle] and the sails of thy ships, the tops will be too\nheavy, and they will snap off, and thou wilt perish in the midst of the\nsea, [especially if] Amen uttereth his voice in the sky,[1] and he\nunfettereth Sutekh[2] at the moment when he rageth. Now Amen hath\nassumed the overlordship of all lands, and he hath made himself their\nmaster, but first and foremost he is the overlord of Egypt, whence thou\nhast come. Excellent things have come forth from Egypt, and have reached\neven unto this place wherein I am; and moreover, knowledge (or learning)\nhath come forth therefrom, and hath reached even unto this place\nwherein I am. But of what use is this beggarly journey of thine which\nthou hast been made to take?\"\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ if there is thunder.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Here the Storm-god.]\n\nAnd I said unto him, \"What a shameful thing [to say]! It is not a\nbeggarly journey whereon I have been despatched by those among whom I\nlive. And besides, assuredly there is not a single boat that floateth\nthat doth not belong to Amen. To him belong the sea and the cedars of\nLebanon, concerning which thou sayest, 'They are my property.' In\nLebanon groweth [the wood] for the Boat Amen-userhat, the lord of boats.\nAmen-Ra, the King of the Gods, spake and told Her-Heru, my lord, to send\nme forth; and therefore he caused me to set out on my journey together\nwith this great god.[1] Now behold, thou hast caused this great god to\npass nine and twenty days here in a boat that is lying at anchor in thy\nharbour, for most assuredly thou didst know that he was resting here.\nAmen is now what he hath always been, and yet thou wouldst dare to stand\nup and haggle about the [cedars of] Lebanon with the god who is their\nlord! And as concerning what thou hast spoken, saying, 'The kings of\nEgypt in former times caused silver and gold to be brought [to my father\nand father's father, thou art mistaken].' Since they had bestowed upon\nthem life and health, they would never have caused gold and silver to be\nbrought to them; but they might have caused gold and silver to be\nbrought to thy fathers instead of life and health. And Amen-Ra, the King\nof the Gods, is the Lord of life and health. He was the god of thy\nfathers, and they served him all their lives, and made offerings unto\nhim, and indeed thou thyself art a servant of Amen. If now thou wilt say\nunto Amen, 'I will perform thy commands, I will perform thy commands,'\nand wilt bring this business to a prosperous ending, thou shalt live,\nthou shalt be strong, thou shalt be healthy, and thou shalt rule thy\ncountry to its uttermost limits wisely and well, and thou shalt do good\nto thy people. But take good heed that thou lovest not the possessions\nof Amen-Ra, the King of the Gods, for the lion loveth the things that\nbelong unto him. And now, I pray thee to allow my scribe to be summoned\nto me, and I will send him to Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen, the local\ngovernors whom Amen hath appointed to rule the northern portion of his\nland, and they will send to me everything which I shall tell them to\nsend to me, saying, 'Let such and such a thing be brought,' until such\ntime as I can make the journey to the South (_i.e._ to Egypt), when I\nwill have thy miserable dross brought to thee, even to the uttermost\nportion thereof, in very truth.\" That was what I said unto him.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ the figure of Amen already referred to.]\n\nAnd he gave my letter into the hand of his ambassador. And he loaded up\non a ship wood for the fore part and wood for the hind part [of the Boat\nof Amen], and four other trunks of cedar trees which had been cut down,\nin all seven trunks, and he despatched them to Egypt. And his ambassador\ndeparted to Egypt, and he returned to me in Syria in the first month of\nthe winter season (November-December). And Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen\nsent to me five vessels of gold, five vessels of silver, ten pieces of\nbyssus, each sufficiently large to make a suit of raiment, five hundred\nrolls of fine papyrus, five hundred hides of oxen, five hundred ropes,\ntwenty sacks of lentils, and thirty vessels full of dried fish. And for\nmy personal use they sent to me five pieces of byssus, each sufficiently\nlarge to make a suit of raiment, a sack of lentils, and five vessels\nfull of dried fish. Then the Governor was exceedingly glad and rejoiced\ngreatly, and he sent three hundred men and three hundred oxen [to\nLebanon] to cut down the cedar trees, and he appointed overseers to\ndirect them. And they cut down the trees, the trunks of which lay there\nduring the whole of the winter season. And when the third month of the\nsummer season had come, they dragged the tree trunks down to the\nsea-shore. And the Governor came out of his palace, and took up his\nstand before the trunks, and he sent a message to me, saying, \"Come.\"\nNow as I was passing close by him, the shadow of his umbrella fell upon\nme, whereupon Pen-Amen, an officer of his bodyguard, placed himself\nbetween him and me, saying, \"The shadow of Pharaoh, life, strength, and\nhealth, be to him! thy Lord, falleth upon thee.\"[1] And the Governor\nwas wroth with Pen-Amen, and he said, \"Let him alone.\" Therefore I\nwalked close to him.\n\n[Footnote 1: Pen-Amen means to say that as the shadow of the Governor\nhad fallen upon the Egyptian, Unu-Amen was henceforth his servant. The\nshadow of a man was supposed to carry with it some of the vital power\nand authority of the man.]\n\nAnd the Governor answered and said unto me, \"Behold, the orders [of\nPharaoh] which my fathers carried out in times of old, I also have\ncarried out, notwithstanding the fact that thou hast not done for me\nwhat thy fathers were wont to do for me. However, look for thyself, and\ntake note that the last of the cedar trunks hath arrived, and here it\nlieth. Do now whatsoever thou pleaseth with them, and take steps to load\nthem into ships, for assuredly they are given to thee as a gift. I beg\nthee to pay no heed to the terror of the sea voyage, but if thou\npersistest in contemplating [with fear] the sea voyage, thou must also\ncontemplate [with fear] the terror of me [if thou tarriest here].\nCertainly I have not treated thee as the envoys of Kha-em-Uast[1] were\ntreated here, for they were made to pass seventeen (or fifteen) years in\nthis country, and they died here.\"[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Otherwise known as Rameses IX, a king of the twentieth\ndynasty.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _i.e._ they were kept prisoners in Syria until their\ndeath.]\n\nThen the Governor spake to the officer of his bodyguard, saying, \"Lay\nhands on him, and take him to see the tombs wherein they lie.\" And I\nsaid unto him, \"Far be it from me to look upon such [ill-omened] things!\nAs concerning the messengers of Kha-em-Uast, the men whom he sent unto\nthee as ambassadors were merely [officials] of his, and there was no god\nwith his ambassadors, and so thou sayest, 'Make haste to look upon thy\ncolleagues.' Behold, wouldst thou not have greater pleasure, and\nshouldst thou not [instead of saying such things] cause to be made a\nstele whereon should be said by thee:\n\n\"Amen-Ra, the King of the Gods, sent to me Amen-ta-mat, his divine\nambassador, together with Unu-Amen, his human ambassador, in quest of\ntrunks of cedar wood for the Great and Holy Boat of Amen-Ra, the King\nof the Gods. And I cut down cedar trees, and I loaded them into ships. I\nprovided the ships myself, and I manned them with my own sailors, and I\nmade them to arrive in Egypt that they might bespeak [from the god for\nme] ten thousand years of life, in addition to the span of life which\nwas decreed for me. And this petition hath been granted.\n\n\"[And wouldst thou not rather] that, after the lapse of time, when\nanother ambassador came from the land of Egypt who understood this\nwriting, he should utter thy name which should be on the stele, and pray\nthat thou shouldst receive water in Amentet, even like the gods who\nsubsist?\"\n\nAnd he said unto me, \"These words which thou hast spoken unto me are of\na certainty a great testimony.\" And I said unto him, \"Now, as concerning\nthe multitude of words which thou hast spoken unto me: As soon as I\narrive at the place where the First Prophet (_i.e._ Her-Heru) of Amen\ndwelleth, and he knoweth [how thou hast] performed the commands of the\nGod [Amen], he will cause to be conveyed to thee [a gift of] certain\nthings.\" Then I walked down to the beach, to the place where the trunks\nof cedar had been lying, and I saw eleven ships [ready] to put out to\nsea; and they belonged to Tchakar-Bal. [And the governor sent out an\norder] saying, \"Stop him, and do not let any ship with him on board\n[depart] to the land of Egypt.\" Then I sat myself down and wept. And the\nscribe of the Governor came out to me, and said unto me, \"What aileth\nthee?\" And I said unto him, \"Consider the _kashu_ birds that fly to\nEgypt again and again! And consider how they flock to the cool water\nbrooks! Until the coming of whom must I remain cast aside hither?\nAssuredly thou seest those who have come to prevent my departure a\nsecond time.\"\n\nThen [the scribe] went away and told the Governor what I had said; and\nthe Governor shed tears because of the words that had been repeated to\nhim, for they were full of pain. And he caused the scribe to come out to\nme again, and he brought with him two skins [full] of wine and a goat.\nAnd he caused to be brought out to me Thentmut, an Egyptian singing\nwoman who lived in his house, and he said to her, \"Sing to him, and let\nnot the cares of his business lay hold upon his heart.\" And to me he\nsent a message, saying, \"Eat and drink, and let not business lay hold\nupon thy heart. Thou shalt hear everything which I have to say unto thee\nto-morrow morning.\"\n\nAnd when the morning had come, he caused [the inhabitants of the town]\nto be assembled on the quay, and having stood up in their midst, he said\nto the Tchakaru, \"For what purpose have ye come hither?\" And they said\nunto him, \"We have come hither seeking for the ships which have been\nbroken and dashed to pieces, that is to say, the ships which thou didst\ndespatch to Egypt, with our unfortunate fellow-sailors in them.\" And he\nsaid unto them, \"I know not how to detain the ambassador of Amen in my\ncountry any longer. I beg of you to let me send him away, and then do ye\npursue him, and prevent him [from escaping].\" And he made me embark in a\nship, and sent me forth from the sea-coast, and the winds drove me\nashore to the land of Alasu (Cyprus?). And the people of the city came\nforth to slay me, and I was dragged along in their midst to the place\nwhere their queen Hathaba lived; and I met her when she was coming forth\nfrom one house to go into another. Then I cried out in entreaty to her,\nand I said unto the people who were standing about her, \"Surely there\nmust be among you someone who understandeth the language of Egypt.\" And\none of them said, \"I understand the speech [of Egypt].\" Then I said unto\nhim, \"Tell my Lady these words: I have heard it said far from here, even\nin the city of [Thebes], the place where Amen dwelleth, that wrong is\ndone in every city, and that only in the land of Alasu (Cyprus?) is\nright done. And yet wrong is done here every day!\" And she said, \"What\nis it that thou really wishest to say?\" I said unto her, \"Now that the\nangry sea and the winds have cast me up on the land wherein thou\ndwellest, thou wilt surely not permit these men who have received me to\nslay me! Moreover, I am an ambassador of Amen. And consider carefully,\nfor I am a man who will be searched for every day. And as for the\nsailors of Byblos whom they wish to kill, if their lord findeth ten of\nthy sailors he will assuredly slay them.\" Then she caused her people to\nbe called off me, and they were made to stand still, and she said unto\nme, \"Lie down and sleep....\" [The rest of the narrative is wanting].\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XI\n\n FAIRY TALES\n\n\nOne of the most interesting tales that have come down to us in Egyptian\ndress is the tale commonly called the \"Tale of the Two Brothers.\" It is\nfound written in the hieratic character upon a papyrus preserved in the\nBritish Museum (D'Orbiney, No. 10,183), and the form which the story has\nthere is that which was current under the nineteenth dynasty, about 1300\nB.C. The two principal male characters in the story, Anpu and Bata, were\noriginally gods, but in the hands of the Egyptian story-teller they\nbecame men, and their deeds were treated in such a way as to form an\ninteresting fairy story. It is beyond the scope of this little book to\ntreat of the mythological ideas that underlie certain parts of the\nnarrative, and we therefore proceed to give a rendering of this very\ncurious and important \"fairy tale.\"\n\n[Illustration: A Page of the Hieratic Text of the Tale of Two Brothers.]\n\nIt is said that there were two brothers, [the children] of one mother\nand of one father; the name of the elder was Anpu, and Bata was the name\nof the younger. Anpu had a house and a wife, and Bata lived with him\nlike a younger brother. It was Bata who made the clothes; he tended and\nherded his cattle in the fields, he ploughed the land, he did the hard\nwork during the time of harvest, and he kept the account of everything\nthat related to the fields. And Bata was a most excellent farmer, and\nhis like there was not in the whole country-side; and behold, the power\nof the God was in him. And very many days passed during which Anpu's\nyoung brother tended his flocks and herds daily, and he returned to his\nhouse each evening loaded with field produce of every kind. And when he\nhad returned from the fields, he set [food] before his elder brother,\nwho sat with his wife drinking and eating, and then Bata went out to the\nbyre and [slept] with the cattle. On the following morning as soon as it\nwas day, Bata took bread-cakes newly baked, and set them before Anpu,\nwho gave him food to take with him to the fields. Then Bata drove out\nhis cattle into the fields to feed, and [as] he walked behind them they\nsaid unto him, \"The pasturage is good in such and such a place,\" and he\nlistened to their voices, and took them where they wished to go. Thus\nthe cattle in Bata's charge became exceedingly fine, and their calves\ndoubled in number, and they multiplied exceedingly. And when it was the\nseason for ploughing Anpu said unto Bata, \"Come, let us get our teams\nready for ploughing the fields, and our implements, for the ground hath\nappeared,[1] and it is in the proper condition for the plough. Go to the\nfields and take the seed-corn with thee to-day, and at daybreak\nto-morrow we will do the ploughing\"; this is what he said to him. And\nBata did everything which Anpu had told him to do. The next morning, as\nsoon as it was daylight, the two brothers went into the fields with\ntheir teams and their ploughs, and they ploughed the land, and they were\nexceedingly happy as they ploughed, from the beginning of their work to\nthe very end thereof.\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ the waters of the Inundation had subsided, leaving\nthe ground visible.]\n\nNow when the two brothers had been living in this way for a considerable\ntime, they were in the fields one day [ploughing], and Anpu said to\nBata, \"Run back to the farm and fetch some [more] seed corn.\" And Bata\ndid so, and when he arrived there he found his brother's wife seated\ndressing her hair. And he said to her, \"Get up and give me some seed\ncorn that I may hurry back to the fields, for Anpu ordered me not to\nloiter on the way.\" Anpu's wife said to him, \"Go thyself to the grain\nshed, and open the bin, and take out from it as much corn as thou\nwishest; I could fetch it for thee myself, only I am afraid that my hair\nwould fall down on the way.\" Then the young man went to the bin, and\nfilled a very large jar full of grain, for it was his desire to carry\noff a large quantity of seed corn, and he lifted up on his shoulders the\npot, which was filled full of wheat and barley, and came out of the shed\nwith it. And Anpu's wife said to him, \"How much grain hast thou on thy\nshoulders?\" And Bata said to her, \"Three measures of barley and two\nmeasures of wheat, in all five measures of grain; that is what I have on\nmy shoulders.\" These were the words which he spake to her. And she said\nto him, \"How strong thou art! I have been observing thy vigorousness day\nby day.\" And her heart inclined to him, and she entreated him to stay\nwith her, promising to give him beautiful apparel if he would do so.\nThen the young man became filled with fury like a panther of the south\nbecause of her words, and when she saw how angry he was she became\nterribly afraid. And he said to her, \"Verily thou art to me as my\nmother, and thy husband is as my father, and being my elder brother he\nhath provided me with the means of living. Thou hast said unto me what\nought not to have been said, and I pray thee not to repeat it. On my\npart I shall tell no man of it, and on thine thou must never declare the\nmatter to man or woman.\" Then Bata took up his load on his shoulders,\nand departed to the fields. And when he arrived at the place where his\nelder brother was they continued their ploughing and laboured diligently\nat their work.\n\nAnd when the evening was come the elder brother returned to his house.\nAnd having loaded himself with the products of the fields, Bata drove\nhis flocks and herds back to the farm and put them in their enclosures.\n\nAnd behold, Anpu's wife was smitten with fear, because of the words\nwhich she had spoken to Bata, and she took some grease and a piece of\nlinen, and she made herself to appear like a woman who had been\nassaulted, and who had been violently beaten by her assailant, for she\nwished to say to her husband, \"Thy young brother hath beaten me sorely.\"\nAnd when Anpu returned in the evening according to his daily custom, and\narrived at his house, he found his wife lying on the ground in the\ncondition of one who had been assaulted with violence. She did not\n[appear to] pour water over his hands according to custom, she did not\nlight a light before him; his house was in darkness, and she was lying\nprostrate and sick. And her husband said unto her, \"Who hath been\ntalking to thee?\" And she said unto him, \"No one hath been talking to me\nexcept thy young brother. When he came to fetch the seed corn he found\nme sitting alone, and he spake words of love to me, and he told me to\ntie up my hair. But I would not listen to him, and I said to him, 'Am I\nnot like thy mother? Is not thy elder brother like thy father?' Then he\nwas greatly afraid, and he beat me to prevent me from telling thee about\nthis matter. Now, if thou dost not kill him I shall kill myself, for\nsince I have complained to thee about his words, when he cometh back in\nthe evening what he will do [to me] is manifest.\"\n\nThen the elder brother became like a panther of the southern desert with\nwrath. And he seized his dagger, and sharpened it, and went and stood\nbehind the stable door, so that he might slay Bata when he returned in\nthe evening and came to the byre to bring in his cattle. And when the\nsun was about to set Bata loaded himself with products of the field of\nevery kind, according to his custom, [and returned to the farm]. And as\nhe was coming back the cow that led the herd said to Bata as she was\nentering the byre, \"Verily thy elder brother is waiting with his dagger\nto slay thee; flee thou from before him\"; and Bata hearkened to the\nwords of the leading cow. And when the second cow as she was about to\nenter into the byre spake unto him even as did the first cow, Bata\nlooked under the door of the byre, and saw the feet of his elder brother\nas he stood behind the door with his dagger in his hand. Then he set\ndown his load upon the ground, and he ran away as fast as he could run,\nand Anpu followed him grasping his dagger. And Bata cried out to\nRa-Harmakhis (the Sun-god) and said, \"O my fair Lord, thou art he who\njudgeth between the wrong and the right.\" And the god Ra hearkened unto\nall his words, and he caused a great stream to come into being, and to\nseparate the two brothers, and the water was filled with crocodiles. Now\nAnpu was on one side of the stream and Bata on the other, and Anpu\nwrung his hands together in bitter wrath because he could not kill his\nbrother. Then Bata cried out to Anpu on the other bank, saying, \"Stay\nwhere thou art until daylight, and until the Disk (_i.e._ the Sun-god)\nriseth. I will enter into judgment with thee in his presence, for it is\nhe who setteth right what is wrong. I shall never more live with thee,\nand I shall never again dwell in the place where thou art. I am going to\nthe Valley of the Acacia.\"\n\nAnd when the day dawned, and there was light on the earth, and\nRa-Harmakhis was shining, the two brothers looked at each other. And\nBata spake unto Anpu, saying, \"Why hast thou pursued me in this\ntreacherous way, wishing to slay me without first hearing what I had to\nsay? I am thy brother, younger than thou art, and thou art as a father\nand thy wife is as a mother to me. Is it not so? When thou didst send me\nto fetch seed corn for our work, it was thy wife who said, 'I pray thee\nto stay with me,' but behold, the facts have been misrepresented to\nthee, and the reverse of what happened hath been put before thee.\" Then\nBata explained everything to Anpu, and made him to understand exactly\nwhat had taken place between him and his brother's wife. And Bata swore\nan oath by Ra-Harmakhis, saying, \"By Ra-Harmakhis, to lie in wait for me\nand to pursue me, with thy knife in thy hand ready to slay me, was a\nwicked and abominable thing to do.\" And Bata took [from his side] the\nknife which he used in cutting reeds, and drove it into his body, and he\nsank down fainting upon the ground. Then Anpu cursed himself with bitter\ncurses, and he lifted up his voice and wept; and he did not know how to\ncross over the stream to the bank where Bata was because of the\ncrocodiles. And Bata cried out to him, saying, \"Behold, thou art ready\nto remember against me one bad deed of mine, but thou dost not remember\nmy good deeds, or even one of the many things that have been done for\nthee by me. Shame on thee! Get thee back to thy house and tend thine own\ncattle, for I will no longer stay with thee. I will depart to the Valley\nof the Acacia. But thou shalt come to minister to me, therefore take\nheed to what I say. Now know that certain things are about to happen to\nme. I am going to cast a spell on my heart, so that I may be able to\nplace it on a flower of the Acacia tree. When this Acacia is cut down my\nheart shall fall to the ground, and thou shalt come to seek for it. Thou\nshalt pass seven years in seeking for it, but let not thy heart be sick\nwith disappointment, for thou shalt find it. When thou findest it, place\nit in a vessel of cold water, and verily my heart shall live again, and\nshall make answer to him that attacketh me. And thou shalt know what\nhath happened to me [by the following sign]. A vessel of beer shall be\nplaced in thy hand, and it shall froth and run over; and another vessel\nwith wine in it shall be placed [in thy hand], and it shall become sour.\nThen make no tarrying, for indeed these things shall happen to thee.\" So\nthe younger brother departed to the Valley of the Acacia, and the elder\nbrother departed to his house. And Anpu's hand was laid upon his head,\nand he cast dust upon himself [in grief for Bata], and when he arrived\nat his house he slew his wife, and threw her to the dogs, and he sat\ndown and mourned for his young brother.\n\nAnd when many days had passed, Bata was living alone in the Valley of\nthe Acacia, and he spent his days in hunting the wild animals of the\ndesert; and at night he slept under the Acacia, on the top of the\nflowers of which rested his heart. And after many days he built himself,\nwith his own hand, a large house in the Valley of the Acacia, and it was\nfilled with beautiful things of every kind, for he delighted in the\npossession of a house. And as he came forth [one day] from his house, he\nmet the Company of the Gods, and they were on their way to work out\ntheir plans in their realm. And one of them said unto him, \"Hail, Bata,\nthou Bull of the gods, hast thou not been living here alone since the\ntime when thou didst forsake thy town through the wife of thy elder\nbrother Anpu? Behold, his wife hath been slain [by him], and moreover\nthou hast made an adequate answer to the attack which he made upon\nthee\"; and their hearts were very sore indeed for Bata. Then\nRa-Harmakhis said unto Khnemu,[1] \"Fashion a wife for Bata, so that\nthou, O Bata, mayest not dwell alone.\" And Khnemu made a wife to live\nwith Bata, and her body was more beautiful than the body of any other\nwoman in the whole country, and the essence of every god was in her; and\nthe Seven Hathor Goddesses came to her, and they said, \"She shall die by\nthe sword.\" And Bata loved her most dearly, and she lived in his house,\nand he passed all his days in hunting the wild animals of the desert so\nthat he might bring them and lay them before her. And he said to her,\n\"Go not out of the house lest the River carry thee off, for I know not\nhow to deliver thee from it. My heart is set upon the flower of the\nAcacia, and if any man find it I must do battle with him for it\"; and he\ntold her everything that had happened concerning his heart.\n\n[Footnote 1: The god who fashioned the bodies of men.]\n\nAnd many days afterwards, when Bata had gone out hunting as usual, the\nyoung woman went out of the house and walked under the Acacia tree,\nwhich was close by, and the River saw her, and sent its waters rolling\nafter her; and she fled before them and ran away into her house. And the\nRiver said, \"I love her,\" and the Acacia took to the River a lock of her\nhair, and the River carried it to Egypt, and cast it up on the bank at\nthe place where the washermen washed the clothes of Pharaoh, life,\nstrength, health [be to him]! And the odour of the lock of hair passed\ninto the clothing of Pharaoh. Then the washermen of Pharaoh quarrelled\namong themselves, saying, \"There is an odour [as of] perfumed oil in the\nclothes of Pharaoh.\" And quarrels among them went on daily, and at\nlength they did not know what they were doing. And the overseer of the\nwashermen of Pharaoh walked to the river bank, being exceedingly angry\nbecause of the quarrels that came before him daily, and he stood still\non the spot that was exactly opposite to the lock of hair as it lay in\nthe water. Then he sent a certain man into the water to fetch it, and\nwhen he brought it back, the overseer, finding that it had an\nexceedingly sweet odour, took it to Pharaoh. And the scribes and the\nmagicians were summoned into the presence of Pharaoh, and they said to\nhim, \"This lock of hair belongeth to a maiden of Ra-Harmakhis, and the\nessence of every god is in her. It cometh to thee from a strange land\nas a salutation of praise to thee. We therefore pray thee send\nambassadors into every land to seek her out. And as concerning the\nambassador to the Valley of the Acacia, we beg thee to send a strong\nescort with him to fetch her.\" And His Majesty said unto them, \"What we\nhave decided is very good,\" and he despatched the ambassadors.\n\nAnd when many days had passed by, the ambassadors who had been\ndespatched to foreign lands returned to make a report to His Majesty,\nbut those who had gone to the Valley of the Acacia did not come back,\nfor Bata had slain them, with the exception of one who returned to tell\nthe matter to His Majesty. Then His Majesty despatched foot-soldiers and\nhorsemen and charioteers to bring back the young woman, and there was\nalso with them a woman who had in her hands beautiful trinkets of all\nkinds, such as are suitable for maidens, to give to the young woman. And\nthis woman returned to Egypt with the young woman, and everyone in all\nparts of the country rejoiced at her arrival. And His Majesty loved her\nexceedingly, and he paid her homage as the Great August One, the Chief\nWife. And he spake to her and made her tell him what had become of her\nhusband, and she said to His Majesty, \"I pray thee to cut down the\nAcacia Tree and then to destroy it.\" Then the King caused men and bowmen\nto set out with axes to cut down the Acacia, and when they arrived in\nthe Valley of the Acacia, they cut down the flower on which was the\nheart of Bata, and he fell down dead at that very moment of evil.\n\nAnd on the following morning when the light had come upon the earth, and\nthe Acacia had been cut down, Anpu, Bata's elder brother, went into his\nhouse and sat down, and he washed his hands; and one gave him a vessel\nof beer, and it frothed up, and the froth ran over, and one gave him\nanother vessel containing wine, and it was sour. Then he grasped his\nstaff, and [taking] his sandals, and his apparel, and his weapons which\nhe used in fighting and hunting, he set out to march to the Valley of\nthe Acacia. And when he arrived there he went into Bata's house, and he\nfound his young brother there lying dead on his bed; and when he looked\nupon his young brother he wept on seeing that he was dead. Then he set\nout to seek for the heart of Bata, under the Acacia where he was wont to\nsleep at night, and he passed three years in seeking for it but found it\nnot. And when the fourth year of his search had begun, his heart craved\nto return to Egypt, and he said, \"I will depart thither to-morrow\nmorning\"; that was what he said to himself. And on the following day he\nwalked about under the Acacia all day long looking for Bata's heart, and\nas he was returning [to the house] in the evening, and was looking about\nhim still searching for it, he found a seed, which he took back with\nhim, and behold, it was Bata's heart. Then he fetched a vessel of cold\nwater, and having placed the seed in it, he sat down according to his\ncustom. And when the night came, the heart had absorbed all the water;\nand Bata [on his bed] trembled in all his members, and he looked at\nAnpu, whilst his heart remained in the vessel of water. And Anpu took up\nthe vessel wherein was his brother's heart, which had absorbed the\nwater. And Bata's heart ascended its throne [in his body], and Bata\nbecame as he had been aforetime, and the two brothers embraced each\nother, and each spake to the other.\n\nAnd Bata said to Anpu, \"Behold, I am about to take the form of a great\nbull, with beautiful hair, and a disposition (?) which is unknown. When\nthe sun riseth, do thou mount on my back, and we will go to the place\nwhere my wife is, and I will make answer [for myself]. Then shalt thou\ntake me to the place where the King is, for he will bestow great favours\nupon thee, and he will heap gold and silver upon thee because thou wilt\nhave brought me to him. For I am going to become a great and wonderful\nthing, and men and women shall rejoice because of me throughout the\ncountry.\" And on the following day Bata changed himself into the form of\nwhich he had spoken to his brother. Then Anpu seated himself on his back\nearly in the morning, and when he had come to the place where the King\nwas, and His Majesty had been informed concerning him, he looked at him,\nand he had very great joy in him. And he made a great festival, saying,\n\"This is a very great wonder which hath happened\"; and the people\nrejoiced everywhere throughout the whole country. And Pharaoh loaded\nAnpu with silver and gold, and he dwelt in his native town, and the King\ngave him large numbers of slaves, and very many possessions, for Pharaoh\nloved him very much, far more than any other person in the whole land.\n\nAnd when many days had passed by the bull went into the house of\npurification, and he stood up in the place where the August Lady was,\nand said unto her, \"Look upon me, I am alive in very truth.\" And she\nsaid unto him, \"Who art thou?\" And he said unto her, \"I am Bata. When\nthou didst cause the Acacia which held my heart to be destroyed by\nPharaoh, well didst thou know that thou wouldst kill me. Nevertheless, I\nam alive indeed, in the form of a bull. Look at me!\" And the August Lady\nwas greatly afraid because of what she had said concerning her husband\n[to the King]; and the bull departed from the place of purification. And\nHis Majesty went to tarry in her house and to rejoice with her, and she\nate and drank with him; and the King was exceedingly happy. And the\nAugust Lady said to His Majesty, \"Say these words: 'Whatsoever she saith\nI will hearken unto for her sake,' and swear an oath by God that thou\nwilt do them.\" And the King hearkened unto everything which she spake,\nsaying, \"I beseech thee to give me the liver of this bull to eat, for he\nis wholly useless for any kind of work.\" And the King cursed many, many\ntimes the request which she had uttered, and Pharaoh's heart was\nexceedingly sore thereat.\n\nOn the following morning, when it was day, the King proclaimed a great\nfeast, and he ordered the bull to be offered up as an offering, and one\nof the chief royal slaughterers of His Majesty was brought to slay the\nbull. And after the knife had been driven into him, and whilst he was\nstill on the shoulders of the men, the bull shook his neck, and two\ndrops of blood from it fell by the jambs of the doorway of His Majesty,\none by one jamb of Pharaoh's door, and the other by the other, and they\nbecame immediately two mighty acacia trees, and each was of the greatest\nmagnificence. Then one went and reported to His Majesty, saying, \"Two\nmighty acacia trees, whereat His Majesty will marvel exceedingly, have\nsprung up during the night by the Great Door of His Majesty.\" And men\nand women rejoiced in them everywhere in the country, and the King made\nofferings unto them. And many days after this His Majesty put on his\ntiara of lapis-lazuli, and hung a wreath of flowers of every kind about\nhis neck, and he mounted his chariot of silver-gold, and went forth from\nthe Palace to see the two acacia trees. And the August Lady came\nfollowing after Pharaoh [in a chariot drawn by] horses, and His Majesty\nsat down under one acacia, and the August Lady sat under the other. And\nwhen she had seated herself the Acacia spake unto his wife, saying, \"O\nwoman, who art full of guile, I am Bata, and I am alive even though thou\nhast entreated me evilly. Well didst thou know when thou didst make\nPharaoh to cut down the Acacia that held my heart that thou wouldst kill\nme, and when I transformed myself into a bull thou didst cause me to be\nslain.\"\n\nAnd several days after this the August Lady was eating and drinking at\nthe table of His Majesty, and the King was enjoying her society greatly,\nand she said unto His Majesty, \"Swear to me an oath by God, saying, I\nwill hearken unto whatsoever the August Lady shall say unto me for her\nsake; let her say on.\" And he hearkened unto everything which she said,\nand she said, \"I entreat thee to cut down these two acacia trees, and to\nlet them be made into great beams\"; and the King hearkened unto\neverything which she said. And several days after this His Majesty made\ncunning wood-men to go and cut down the acacia trees of Pharaoh, and\nwhilst the August Lady was standing and watching their being cut down, a\nsplinter flew from one of them into her mouth, and she knew that she had\nconceived, and the King did for her everything which her heart desired.\nAnd many days after this happened she brought forth a man child, and one\nsaid to His Majesty, \"A man child hath been born unto thee\"; and a nurse\nwas found for him and women to watch over him and tend him, and the\npeople rejoiced throughout the whole land. And the King sat down to\nenjoy a feast, and he began to call the child by his name, and he loved\nhim very dearly, and at that same time the King gave him the title of\n\"Royal son of Kash.\"[1] Some time after this His Majesty appointed him\n\"Erpa\"[2] of the whole country. And when he had served the office of\nErpa for many years, His Majesty flew up to heaven (_i.e._ he died). And\nthe King (_i.e._ Bata) said, \"Let all the chief princes be summoned\nbefore me, so that I may inform them about everything which hath\nhappened unto me.\" And they brought his wife, and he entered into\njudgment with her, and the sentence which he passed upon her was carried\nout. And Anpu, the brother of the King, was brought unto His Majesty,\nand the King made him Erpa of the whole country. When His Majesty had\nreigned over Egypt for twenty years, he departed to life (_i.e._ he\ndied), and his brother Anpu took his place on the day in which he was\nburied.\n\nHere endeth the book happily [in] peace.[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ Prince of Kash, or Viceroy of the Sudan.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _i.e._ hereditary chief, or heir.]\n\n[Footnote 3: According to the colophon, the papyrus was written for an\nofficer of Pharaoh's treasury, called Qakabu, and the scribes Herua and\nMeremaptu by Annana, the scribe, the lord of books. The man who shall\nspeak [against] this book shall have Thoth for a foe!]\n\nUnder the heading of this chapter may well be included the Story of the\nShipwrecked Traveller. The text of this remarkable story is written in\nthe hieratic character upon a roll of papyrus, which is preserved in the\nImperial Library at St. Petersburg. It is probable that a layer of facts\nunderlies the story, but the form in which we have it justifies us in\nassigning to it a place among the fairy stories of Ancient Egypt.\nPrefixed to the narrative of the shipwrecked traveller is the following:\n\n\"A certain servant of wise understanding hath said, Let thy heart be of\ngood cheer, O prince. Verily we have arrived at [our] homes. The mallet\nhath been grasped, and the anchor-post hath been driven into the ground,\nand the bow of the boat hath grounded on the bank. Thanksgivings have\nbeen offered up to God, and every man hath embraced his neighbour. Our\nsailors have returned in peace and safety, and our fighting men have\nlost none of their comrades, even though we travelled to the uttermost\nparts of Uauat (Nubia), and through the country of Senmut (Northern\nNubia). Verily we have arrived in peace, and we have reached our own\nland [again]. Hearken, O prince, unto me, even though I be a poor man.\nWash thyself, and let water run over thy fingers. I would that thou\nshouldst be ready to return an answer to the man who addresseth thee,\nand to speak to the King [from] thy heart, and assuredly thou must give\nthine answer promptly and without hesitation. The mouth of a man\ndelivereth him, and his words provide a covering for [his] face. Act\nthou according to the promptings of thine heart, and when thou hast\nspoken [thou wilt have made him] to be at rest.\" The shipwrecked\ntraveller then narrates his experiences in the following words: I will\nnow speak and give thee a description of the things that [once] happened\nto me myself [when] I was journeying to the copper mines of the king. I\nwent down into the sea[1] in a ship that was one hundred and fifty\ncubits (225 feet) in length, and forty cubits (60 feet) in breadth, and\nit was manned by one hundred and fifty sailors who were chosen from\namong the best sailors of Egypt. They had looked upon the sky, they had\nlooked upon the land, and their hearts were more understanding than the\nhearts of lions. Now although they were able to say beforehand when a\ntempest was coming, and could tell when a squall was going to rise\nbefore it broke upon them, a storm actually overtook us when we were\nstill on the sea. Before we could make the land the wind blew with\nredoubled violence, and it drove before it upon us a wave that was eight\ncubits (12 feet) [high]. A plank was driven towards me by it, and I\nseized it; and as for the ship, those who were therein perished, and not\none of them escaped.\n\n[Footnote 1: The sea was the Red Sea, and the narrator must have been on\nhis way to Wadi Magharah or Sarabit al-Khadim in the Peninsula of\nSinai.]\n\nThen a wave of the sea bore me along and cast me up upon an island, and\nI passed three days there by myself, with none but mine own heart for a\ncompanion; I laid me down and slept in a hollow in a thicket, and I\nhugged the shade. And I lifted up my legs (_i.e._ I walked about), so\nthat I might find out what to put in my mouth, and I found there figs\nand grapes, and all kinds of fine large berries; and there were there\ngourds, and melons, and pumpkins as large as barrels (?), and there were\nalso there fish and water-fowl. There was no [food] of any sort or kind\nthat did not grow in this island. And when I had eaten all I could eat,\nI laid the remainder of the food upon the ground, for it was too much\nfor me [to carry] in my arms. I then dug a hole in the ground and made a\nfire, and I prepared pieces of wood and a burnt-offering for the gods.\n\nAnd I heard a sound [as of] thunder, which I thought to be [caused by] a\nwave of the sea, and the trees rocked and the earth quaked, and I\ncovered my face. And I found [that the sound was caused by] a serpent\nthat was coming towards me. It was thirty cubits (45 feet) in length,\nand its beard was more than two cubits in length, and its body was\ncovered with [scales of] gold, and the two ridges over its eyes were of\npure lapis-lazuli (_i.e._ they were blue); and it coiled its whole\nlength up before me. And it opened its mouth to me, now I was lying flat\non my stomach in front of it, and it said unto me, \"Who hath brought\nthee hither? Who hath brought thee hither, O miserable one? Who hath\nbrought thee hither? If thou dost not immediately declare unto me who\nhath brought thee to this island, I will make thee to know what it is to\nbe burnt with fire, and thou wilt become a thing that is invisible. Thou\nspeakest to me, but I cannot hear what thou sayest; I am before thee,\ndost thou not know me?\" Then the serpent took me in its mouth, and\ncarried me off to the place where it was wont to rest, and it set me\ndown there, having done me no harm whatsoever; I was sound and whole,\nand it had not carried away any portion of my body. And it opened its\nmouth to me whilst I was lying flat on my stomach, and it said unto me,\n\"Who hath brought thee thither? Who hath brought thee hither, O\nmiserable one? Who hath brought thee to this island of the sea, the two\nsides of which are in the waves?\"\n\nThen I made answer to the serpent, my two hands being folded humbly\nbefore it, and I said unto it, \"I am one who was travelling to the mines\non a mission of the king in a ship that was one hundred and fifty cubits\nlong, and fifty cubits in breadth, and it was manned by a crew of one\nhundred and fifty men, who were chosen from among the best sailors of\nEgypt. They had looked upon the sky, they had looked upon the earth, and\ntheir hearts were more understanding than the hearts of lions. They were\nable to say beforehand when a tempest was coming, and to tell when a\nsquall was about to rise before it broke. The heart of every man among\nthem was wiser than that of his neighbour, and the arm of each was\nstronger than that of his neighbour; there was not one weak man among\nthem. Nevertheless it blew a gale of wind whilst we were still on the\nsea and before we could make the land. A gale rose, which continued to\nincrease in violence, and with it there came upon [us] a wave eight\ncubits [high]. A plank of wood was driven towards me by this wave, and I\nseized it; and as for the ship, those who were therein perished and not\none of them escaped alive [except] myself. And now behold me by thy\nside! It was a wave of the sea that brought me to this island.\"\n\nAnd the serpent said unto me, \"Have no fear, have no fear, O little one,\nand let not thy face be sad, now that thou hast arrived at the place\nwhere I am. Verily, God hath spared thy life, and thou hast been brought\nto this island where there is food. There is no kind of food that is not\nhere, and it is filled with good things of every kind. Verily, thou\nshalt pass month after month on this island, until thou hast come to the\nend of four months, and then a ship shall come, and there shall be\ntherein sailors who are acquaintances of thine, and thou shalt go with\nthem to thy country, and thou shalt die in thy native town.\" [And the\nserpent continued,] \"What a joyful thing it is for the man who hath\nexperienced evil fortunes, and hath passed safely through them, to\ndeclare them! I will now describe unto thee some of the things that have\nhappened unto me on this island. I used to live here with my brethren,\nand with my children who dwelt among them; now my children and my\nbrethren together numbered seventy-five. I do not make mention of a\nlittle maiden who had been brought to me by fate. And a star fell [from\nheaven], and these (_i.e._ his children, and his brethren, and the\nmaiden) came into the fire which fell with it. I myself was not with\nthose who were burnt in the fire, and I was not in their midst, but I\n[well-nigh] died [of grief] for them. And I found a place wherein I\nburied them all together. Now, if thou art strong, and thy heart\nflourisheth, thou shalt fill both thy arms (_i.e._ embrace) with thy\nchildren, and thou shalt kiss thy wife, and thou shalt see thine own\nhouse, which is the most beautiful thing of all, and thou shalt reach\nthy country, and thou shalt live therein again together with thy\nbrethren, and dwell therein.\"\n\nThen I cast myself down flat upon my stomach, and I pressed the ground\nbefore the serpent with my forehead, saying, \"I will describe thy power\nto the King, and I will make him to understand thy greatness. I will\ncause to be brought unto thee the unguent and spices called _aba_, and\n_hekenu_, and _inteneb_, and _khasait_, and the incense that is offered\nup in the temples, whereby every god is propitiated. I will relate [unto\nhim] the things that have happened unto me, and declare the things that\nhave been seen by me through thy power, and praise and thanksgiving\nshall be made unto thee in my city in the presence of all the nobles of\nthe country. I will slaughter bulls for thee, and will offer them up as\nburnt-offerings, and I will pluck feathered fowl in thine [honour]. And\nI will cause to come to thee boats laden with all the most costly\nproducts of the land of Egypt, even according to what is done for a god\nwho is beloved by men and women in a land far away, whom they know not.\"\nThen the serpent smiled at me, and the things which I had said to it\nwere regarded by it in its heart as nonsense, for it said unto me, \"Thou\nhast not a very great store of myrrh [in Egypt], and all that thou hast\nis incense. Behold, I am the Prince of Punt, and the myrrh which is\ntherein belongeth to me. And as for the _heken_ which thou hast said\nthou wilt cause to be brought to me, is it not one of the chief\n[products] of this island? And behold, it shall come to pass that when\nthou hast once departed from this place, thou shalt never more see this\nisland, for it shall disappear into the waves.\"\n\nAnd in due course, even as the serpent had predicted, a ship arrived,\nand I climbed up to the top of a high tree, and I recognised those who\nwere in it. Then I went to announce the matter to the serpent, but I\nfound that it had knowledge thereof already. And the serpent said unto\nme, \"A safe [journey], a safe [journey], O little one, to thy house.\nThou shalt see thy children [again]. I beseech thee that my name may be\nheld in fair repute in thy city, for verily this is the thing which I\ndesire of thee.\" Then I threw myself flat upon my stomach, and my two\nhands were folded humbly before the serpent. And the serpent gave me a\n[ship-] load of things, namely, myrrh, _heken, inteneb, khasait,\nthsheps_ and _shaas_ spices, eye-paint (antimony), skins of panthers,\ngreat balls of incense, tusks of elephants, greyhounds, apes, monkeys,\nand beautiful and costly products of all sorts and kinds. And when I had\nloaded these things into the ship, and had thrown myself flat upon my\nstomach in order to give thanks unto it for the same, it spake unto me,\nsaying, \"Verily thou shalt travel to [thy] country in two months, and\nthou shalt fill both thy arms with thy children, and thou shalt renew\nthy youth in thy coffin.\" Then I went down to the place on the sea-shore\nwhere the ship was, and I hailed the bowmen who were in the ship, and I\nspake words of thanksgiving to the lord of this island, and those who\nwere in the ship did the same. Then we set sail, and we journeyed on and\nreturned to the country of the King, and we arrived there at the end of\ntwo months, according to all that the serpent had said. And I entered\ninto the presence of the King, and I took with me for him the offerings\nwhich I had brought out of the island. And the King praised me and\nthanked me in the presence of the nobles of all his country, and he\nappointed me to be one of his bodyguard, and I received my wages along\nwith those who were his [regular] servants.\n\nCast thou thy glance then upon me [O Prince], now that I have set my\nfeet on my native land once more, having seen and experienced what I\nhave seen and experienced. Hearken thou unto me, for verily it is a\ngood thing to hearken unto men. And the Prince said unto me, \"Make not\nthyself out to be perfect, my friend! Doth a man give water to a fowl at\ndaybreak which he is going to kill during the day?\"\n\nHere endeth [The Story of the Shipwrecked Traveller], which hath been\nwritten from the beginning to the end thereof according to the text that\nhath been found written in an [ancient] book. It hath been written\n(_i.e._ copied) by Ameni-Amen-aa, a scribe with skilful fingers. Life,\nstrength, and health be to him!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XII\n\n EGYPTIAN HYMNS TO THE GODS\n\n\nIn this chapter are given translations of Hymns that were sung in the\ntemples in honour of the great gods of Egypt between 1600 B.C. and 900\nB.C., and of Hymns that were used by kings and private individuals. The\nfollowing Hymn to Amen-Ra is found in a papyrus preserved in the\nEgyptian Museum in Cairo; the asterisk marks groups of words which are\nequivalent to our lines in poetical compositions.\n\nI. A Hymn to Amen-Ra,* the Bull, dweller in Anu, chief of all the gods,*\nthe beneficent god, beloved one,* giving the warmth of life to all*\nbeautiful cattle.*\n\nII. Homage to thee, Amen-Ra, Lord of the throne of Egypt.* Master of the\nApts (Karnak).* Kamutef at the head of his fields.* The long-strider,\nMaster of the Land of the South.* Lord of the Matchau (Nubians),\nGovernor of Punt,* King of heaven, first-born son of earth,* Lord of\nthings that are, stablisher of things (_i.e._ the universe), stablisher\nof all things.*\n\nIII. One in his actions, as with the gods,* Beneficent Bull of the\nCompany of the Gods (or of the Nine Gods),* Chief of all the gods,* Lord\nof Truth, father of the gods,* maker of men, creator of all animals,*\nLord of things that are, creator of the staff of life,* Maker of the\nherbage that sustaineth the life of cattle.*\n\nIV. Power made by Ptah,* Beautiful child of love.* The gods ascribe\npraises to him.* Maker of things celestial [and] of things terrestrial,\nhe illumineth Egypt,* Traverser of the celestial heights in peace.* King\nof the South, King of the North, Ra, whose word is truth, Chief of\nEgypt.* Mighty in power, lord of awe-inspiring terror,* Chief, creator\nof everything on earth,* Whose dispensations are greater than those of\nevery other god.*\n\nV. The gods rejoice in his beautiful acts.* They acclaim him in the\nGreat House (_i.e._ the sky).* They crown him with crowns in the House\nof Fire.* They love the odour of him,* when he cometh from Punt.*[1]\nPrince of the dew, he traverseth the lands of the Nubians.* Beautiful of\nface, [he] cometh from the Land of the God.*[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: The Southern and Eastern Sudan.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Somaliland and Southern Arabia.]\n\nVI. The gods fall down awestruck at his feet,* when they recognise His\nMajesty their Lord.* Lord of terror, great one of victory,* Great one of\nSouls, mighty one of crowns.* He maketh offerings abundant, [and]\ncreateth food.* Praise be unto thee, creator of the gods.* Suspender of\nthe sky, who hammered out the earth.*\n\nVII. Strong Watcher, Menu-Amen,* Lord of eternity, creator of\neverlastingness,* Lord of praises, chief of the Apts (Karnak and Luxor),\nfirm of horns, beautiful of faces.*\n\nVIII. Lord of the Urrt Crown, with lofty plumes,* Whose diadem is\nbeautiful, whose White Crown is high.* Mehen and the Uatchti serpents\nbelong to his face.* His apparel (?) is in the Great House,* the double\ncrown, the _nemes_ bandlet, and the helmet.* Beautiful of face, he\nreceiveth the Atef crown.* Beloved of the South and North.* Master of\nthe double crown he receiveth the _ames_ sceptre.* He is the Lord of the\nMekes sceptre and the whip.*\n\nIX. Beautiful Governor, crowned with the White Crown,* Lord of light,\ncreator of splendour,* The gods ascribe to him praises.* He giveth his\nhand to him that loveth him.* The flame destroyeth his enemies.* His eye\noverthroweth the Seba devil.* It casteth forth its spear, which pierceth\nthe sky, and maketh Nak to vomit (?) what it hath swallowed.*\n\nX. Homage to thee, Ra, Lord of Truth.* Hidden is the shrine of the Lord\nof the gods.* Khepera in his boat* giveth the order, and the gods come\ninto being.* [He is] Tem, maker of the Rekhit beings,* however many be\ntheir forms he maketh them to live,* distinguishing one kind from\nanother.*\n\nXI. He heareth the cry of him that is oppressed.* He is gracious of\nheart to him that appealeth to him.* He delivereth the timid man from\nthe man of violence.* He regardeth the poor man and considereth [his]\nmisery.*\n\nXII. He is the lord Sa (_i.e._ Taste); abundance is his utterance.* The\nNile cometh at his will.* He is the lord of graciousness, who is greatly\nbeloved.* He cometh and sustaineth mankind.* He setteth in motion\neverything that is made.* He worketh in the Celestial Water,* making to\nbe the pleasantness of the light.* The gods rejoice in [his] beauties,*\nand their hearts live when they see him.*\n\nXIII. He is Ra who is worshipped in the Apts.* He is the one of many\ncrowns in the House of the Benben[1] Stone.* He is the god Ani, the lord\nof the ninth-day festival.* The festival of the sixth day and the Tenat\nfestival are kept for him.* He is KING, life, strength, and health be to\nhim! and the Lord of all the gods.* He maketh himself to be seen in the\nhorizon,* Chief of the beings of the Other World.* His name is hidden\nfrom the gods who are his children,* in his name of \"Amen.\"*[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: The Benben was the abode of the Spirit of Ra at times.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Amen_ means \"hidden.\"]\n\nXIV. Homage to thee, dweller in peace. Lord of joy of heart, mighty one\nof crowns,* lord of the Urrt Crown with the lofty plumes,* with a\nbeautiful tiara and a lofty White Crown.* The gods love to behold thee.*\nThe double crown is stablished on thy head.* Thy love passeth throughout\nEgypt.* Thou sendest out light, thou risest with [thy] two beautiful\neyes.* The Pat beings [faint] when thou appearest in the sky,* animals\nbecome helpless under thy rays.* Thy loveliness is in the southern sky,*\nthy graciousness is in the northern sky.* Thy beauties seize upon\nhearts,* thy loveliness maketh the arms weak,* thy beautiful operations\nmake the hands idle,* hearts become weak at the sight of thee.*\n\nXV. [He is] the Form One, the creator of everything that is.* The One\nonly, the creator of things that shall be.* Men and women proceeded from\nhis two eyes. His utterance became the gods.* He is the creator of the\npasturage wherein herds and flocks live,* [and] the staff of life for\nmankind.* He maketh to live the fish in the river,* and the geese and\nthe feathered fowl of the sky.* He giveth air to the creature that is in\nthe egg. He nourisheth the geese in their pens.* He maketh to live the\nwater-fowl,* and the reptiles and every insect that flieth.* He\nprovideth food for the mice in their holes,* he nourisheth the flying\ncreatures on every bough.*\n\nXVI. Homage to thee, O creator of every one of these creatures,* the One\nonly whose hands are many.* He watcheth over all those who lie down to\nsleep,* he seeketh the well-being of his animal creation,* Amen,\nestablisher of every thing,* Temu-Herukhuti.* They all praise thee with\ntheir words,* adorations be to thee because thou restest among us,* we\nsmell the earth before thee because thou hast fashioned us.*\n\nXVII. All the animals cry out, \"Homage to thee.\"* Every country adoreth\nthee,* to the height of heaven, to the breadth of the earth,* to the\ndepths of the Great Green Sea.* The gods bend their backs in homage to\nthy Majesty,* to exalt the Souls of their Creator,* they rejoice when\nthey meet their begetter.* They say unto thee, \"Welcome, O father of the\nfathers of all the gods,* suspender of the sky, beater out of the\nearth,* maker of things that are, creator of things that shall be,*\nKING, life, strength, and health be to thee! Chief of the gods, we\npraise thy Souls,* inasmuch as thou hast created us. Thou workest for us\nthy children,* we adore thee because thou restest among us.\"*\n\nXVIII. Homage to thee, O maker of everything that is.* Lord of Truth,\nfather of the gods,* maker of men, creator of animals,* lord of the\ndivine grain, making to live the wild animals of the mountains.* Amen,\nBull, Beautiful Face,* Beloved one in the Apts,* great one of diadems in\nthe House of the Benben Stone,* binding on the tiara in Anu (On),*\njudge of the Two Men (_i.e._ Horus and Set) in the Great Hall.*\n\nXIX. Chief of the Great Company of the gods,* One only, who hath no\nsecond,* President of the Apts,* Ani, President of his Company of the\ngods,* living by Truth every day,* Khuti, Horus of the East.* He hath\ncreated the mountains, the gold* [and] the real lapis-lazuli by his\nwill,* the incense and the natron that are mixed by the Nubians,* and\nfresh myrrh for thy nostrils.* Beautiful Face, coming from the Nubians,*\nAmen-Ra, lord of the throne of Egypt,* President of the Apts,* Ani,\nPresident of his palace.*\n\nXX. King, One among the gods.* [His] names are so many, how many cannot\nbe known.* He riseth in the eastern horizon, he setteth in the western\nhorizon.*\n\nXXI. He overthroweth his enemies at dawn, when he is born each day.*\nThoth exalteth his two eyes.* When he setteth in his splendour the gods\nrejoice in his beauties,* and the Apes _(i.e._ dawn spirits) exalt him.*\nLord of the Sektet Boat and of the Antet Boat,* they transport thee\n[over] Nu in peace.* Thy sailors rejoice* when they see thee\noverthrowing the Seba fiend,* [and] stabbing his limbs with the knife.*\nThe flame devoureth him, his soul is torn out of his body,* the feet (?)\nof this serpent Nak are carried off.*\n\nXXII. The gods rejoice, the sailors of Ra are satisfied.* Anu\nrejoiceth,* the enemies of Temu are overthrown.* The Apts are in peace.*\nThe heart of the goddess Nebt-ankh is happy,* [for] the enemies of her\nLord are overthrown.* The gods of Kher-aha make adorations [to him].*\nThose who are in their hidden shrines smell the earth before him,* when\nthey see him mighty in his power.*\n\nXXIII. [O] Power of the gods,* [lord of] Truth, lord of the Apts,* in\nthy name of \"Maker of Truth.\"* Lord of food, bull of offerings,* in thy\nname of \"Amen-Ka-mutef,\"* Maker of human beings,* maker to be of ...,\ncreator of everything that is* in thy name of \"Temu Khepera.\"*\n\nXXIV. Great Hawk, making the body festal.* Beautiful Face, making the\nbreast festal,* Image ... with the lofty Mehen crown.* The two\nserpent-goddesses fly before him.* The hearts of the Pat beings leap\ntowards him.* The Hememet beings turn to him.* Egypt rejoiceth at his\nappearances.* Homage to thee, Amen-Ra, Lord of the throne of Egypt.* His\ntown [Thebes] loveth him when he riseth.*\n HERE ENDETH * [THE HYMN] IN PEACE,*\n ACCORDING TO AN ANCIENT COPY.*\n\n\nThe following extract is taken from a work in which the power and glory\nof Amen are described in a long series of Chapters; the papyrus in which\nit is written is in Leyden.\n\n\"[He, _i.e._ Amen], driveth away evils and scattereth diseases. He is\nthe physician who healeth the eye without [the use of] medicaments. He\nopeneth the eyes, he driveth away inflammation (?)... He delivereth whom\nhe pleaseth, even from the Tuat (the Other World). He saveth a man from\nwhat is ordained for him at the dictates of his heart. To him belong\nboth eyes and ears, [he is] on every path of him whom he loveth. He\nheareth the petitions of him that appealeth to him. He cometh from afar\nto him that calleth [before] a moment hath passed. He maketh high\n(_i.e._ long) the life [of a man], he cutteth it short. To him whom he\nloveth he giveth more than hath been fated for him. [When] Amen casteth\na spell on the water, and his name is on the waters, if this name of his\nbe uttered the crocodile (?) hath no power. The winds are driven back,\nthe hurricane is repulsed. At the remembrance of him the wrath of the\nangry man dieth down. He speaketh the gentle word at the moment of\nstrife. He is a pleasant breeze to him that appealeth to him. He\ndelivereth the helpless one. He is the wise (?) god whose plans are\nbeneficent.... He is more helpful than millions to the man who hath set\nhim in his heart. One warrior [who fighteth] under his name is better\nthan hundreds of thousands. Indeed he is the beneficent strong one. He\nis perfect [and] seizeth his moment; he is irresistible.... All the gods\nare three, Amen, Ra and Ptah, and there are none like unto them. He\nwhose name is hidden is Amen. Ra belongeth to him as his face, and his\nbody is Ptah. Their cities are established upon the earth for ever,\n[namely,] Thebes, Anu (Heliopolis), and Hetkaptah (Memphis). When a\nmessage is sent from heaven it is heard in Anu, and is repeated in\nMemphis to the Beautiful Face (_i.e._ Ptah). It is done into writing, in\nthe letters of Thoth (_i.e._ hieroglyphs), and despatched to the City of\nAmen (_i.e._ Thebes), with their things. The matters are answered in\nThebes.... His heart is Understanding, his lips are Taste, his Ka is all\nthe things that are in his mouth. He entereth, the two caverns are\nbeneath his feet. The Nile appeareth from the hollow beneath his\nsandals. His soul is Shu, his heart is Tefnut. He is Heru-Khuti in the\nupper heaven. His right eye is day. His left eye is night. He is the\nleader of faces on every path. His body is Nu. The dweller in it is the\nNile, producing everything that is, nourishing all that is. He breatheth\nbreath into all nostrils. The Luck and the Destiny of every man are with\nhim. His wife is the earth, he uniteth with her, his seed is the tree of\nlife, his emanations are the grain.\"\n\n\n HYMNS TO THE SUN-GOD\n\nThe following extracts from Hymns to the Sun-god and Osiris are written\nin the hieratic character upon slices of limestone now preserved in the\nEgyptian Museum in Cairo.\n\n\"Well dost thou watch, O Horus, who sailest over the sky, thou child who\nproceedest from the divine father, thou child of fire, who shinest like\ncrystal, who destroyest the darkness and the night. Thou child who\ngrowest rapidly, with gracious form, who restest in thine eye. Thou\nwakest up men who are asleep on their beds, and the reptiles in their\nnests. Thy boat saileth on the fiery Lake Neserser, and thou traversest\nthe upper sky by means of the winds thereof. The two daughters of the\nNile-god crush for thee the fiend Neka, Nubti (_i.e._ Set) pierceth him\nwith his arrows. Keb seizeth (?) him by the joint of his back, Serqet\ngrippeth him at his throat. The flame of this serpent that is over the\ndoor of thy house burneth him up. The Great Company of the Gods are\nwroth with him, and they rejoice because he is cut to pieces. The\nChildren of Horus grasp their knives, and inflict very many gashes in\nhim. Hail! Thine enemy hath fallen, and Truth standeth firm before thee.\nWhen thou again transformest thyself into Tem, thou givest thy hand to\nthe Lords of Akert (_i.e._ the dead), those who lie in death give thanks\nfor thy beauties when thy light falleth upon them. They declare unto\nthee what is their hearts' wish, which is that they may see thee again.\nWhen thou hast passed them by, the darkness covereth them, each one in\nhis coffin. Thou art the lord of those who cry out (?) to thee, the god\nwho is beneficent for ever. Thou art the Judge of words and deeds, the\nChief of chief judges, who stablishest truth, and doest away sin. May he\nwho attacketh me be judged rightly, behold, he is stronger than I am; he\nhath seized upon my office, and hath carried it off with falsehood. May\nit be restored to me.\"\n\n\n HYMN TO OSIRIS\n\n\"[Praise be] unto thee, O thou who extendest thine arms, who liest\nasleep on thy side, who liest on the sand, the Lord of the earth, the\ndivine mummy.... Thou art the Child of the Earth Serpent, of great age.\nThy head ... and goeth round over thy feet. Ra-Khepera shineth upon thy\nbody, when thou liest on thy bed in the form of Seker, so that he may\ndrive away the darkness that shroudeth thee, and may infuse light in thy\ntwo eyes. He passeth a long period of time shining upon thee, and\nsheddeth tears over thee. The earth resteth upon thy shoulders, and its\ncorners rest upon thee as far as the four pillars of heaven. If thou\nmovest thyself, the earth quaketh, for thou art greater than.... [The\nNile] appeareth out of the sweat of thy two hands. Thou breathest forth\nthe air that is in thy throat into the nostrils of men; divine is that\nthing whereon they live. Through thy nostrils (?) subsist the flowers,\nthe herbage, the reeds, the flags (?), the barley, the wheat, and the\nplants whereon men live. If canals are dug ... and houses and temples\nare built, and great statues are dragged along, and lands are ploughed\nup, and tombs and funerary monuments are made, they [all] rest upon\nthee. It is thou who makest them. They are upon thy back. They are more\nthan can be done into writing (_i.e._ described). There is no vacant\nspace on thy back, they all lie on thy back, and yet [thou sayest] not,\n\"I am [over] weighted therewith. Thou art the father and mother of men\nand women, they live by thy breath, they eat the flesh of thy members.\n'Pautti' (_i.e._ Primeval God) is thy name.\" The writer of this hymn\nsays in the four broken lines that remain that he is unable to\nunderstand the nature (?) of Osiris, which is hidden (?), and his\nattributes, which are sublime.\n\n\n HYMN TO SHU\n\nThe following Hymn is found in the Magical Papyrus (Harris, No. 501),\nwhich is preserved in the British Museum. The text is written in the\nhieratic character, and reads:\n\n\"Homage to thee, O flesh and bone of Ra, thou first-born son who didst\nproceed from his members, who wast chosen to be the chief of those who\nwere brought forth, thou mighty one, thou divine form, who art endowed\nwith strength as the lord of transformations. Thou overthrowest the Seba\nfiends each day. The divine boat hath the wind [behind it], thy heart is\nglad. Those who are in the Antti Boat utter loud cries of joy when they\nsee Shu, the son of Ra, triumphant, [and] driving his spear into the\nserpent fiend Nekau. Ra setteth out to sail over the heavens at dawn\ndaily. The goddess Tefnut is seated on thy head, she hurleth her flames\nof fire against thy enemies, and maketh them to be destroyed utterly.\nThou art equipped by Ra, thou art mighty through his words of power,\nthou art the heir of thy father upon his throne, and thy Doubles rest in\nthe Doubles of Ra, even as the taste of what hath been in the mouth\nremaineth therein. A will hath been done into writing by the lord of\nKhemenu (Thoth), the scribe of the library of Ra-Harmakhis, in the hall\nof the divine house (or temple) of Anu (Heliopolis), stablished,\nperfected, and made permanent in hieroglyphs under the feet of\nRa-Harmakhis, and he shall transmit it to the son of his son for ever\nand ever. Homage to thee, O son of Ra, who wast begotten by Temu\nhimself. Thou didst create thyself, and thou hadst no mother. Thou art\nTruth, the lord of Truth, thou art the Power, the ruling power of the\ngods. Thou dost conduct the Eye of thy father Ra. They give gifts unto\nthee into thine own hands. Thou makest to be at peace the Great Goddess,\nwhen storms are passing over her. Thou dost stretch out the heavens on\nhigh, and dost establish them with thine own hands. Every god boweth in\nhomage before thee, the King of the South, the King of the North, Shu,\nthe son of RA, life, strength and health be to thee! Thou, O great god\nPautti, art furnished with the brilliance of the Eye [of Ra] in\nHeliopolis, to overthrow the Seba fiends on behalf of thy father. Thou\nmakest the divine Boat to sail onwards in peace. The mariners who are\ntherein exult, and all the gods shout for joy when they hear thy divine\nname. Greater, yea greater (_i.e._ twice great) art thou than the gods\nin thy name of Shu, son of Ra.\"\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII\n\n MORAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE\n\n\nSide by side with the great mass of literature of a magical and\nreligious character that flourished in Egypt under the Ancient Empire,\nwe find that there existed also a class of writings that are remarkably\nlike those contained in the Book of Proverbs, which is attributed to\nSolomon, the King of Israel, and in \"Ecclesiasticus,\" and the \"Book of\nWisdom.\" The priests of Egypt took the greatest trouble to compose Books\nof the Dead and Guides to the Other World in order to help the souls of\nthe dead to traverse in safety the region that lay between this world\nand the next, or Dead Land, and the high officials who flourished under\nthe Pharaohs of the early dynasties drew up works, the object of which\nwas to enable the living man to conduct himself in such a way as to\nsatisfy his social superiors, to please his equals, and to content his\ninferiors, and at the same time to advance to honours and wealth\nhimself. These works represent the experience, and shrewdness, and\nknowledge which their writers had gained at the Court of the Pharaohs,\nand are full of sound worldly wisdom and high moral excellence. They\nwere written to teach young men of the royal and aristocratic classes to\nfear God, to honour the king, to do their duty efficiently, to lead\nstrictly moral, if not exactly religious, lives, to treat every man with\nthe respect due to his position in life, to cultivate home life, and to\ndo their duty to their neighbours, both to those who were rich and those\nwho were poor. The oldest Egyptian book of Moral Precepts, or Maxims, or\nAdmonitions, is that of Ptah-hetep, governor of the town of Memphis, and\nhigh confidential adviser of the king; he flourished in the reign of\nAssa, a king of the fifth dynasty, about 3500 B.C. His work is found,\nmore or less complete, in several papyri, which are preserved in the\nBritish Museum and in the National Library in Paris, and extracts from\nit, which were used by Egyptian pupils in the schools attached to the\ntemples, and which are written upon slices of limestone, are to be seen\nin the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and elsewhere. The oldest copy of the\nwork contains many mistakes, and in some places the text is\nunintelligible, but many parts of it can be translated, and the\nfollowing extracts will illustrate the piety and moral worth, and the\nsagacity and experience of the shrewd but kindly \"man of the world\" who\nundertook to guide the young prince of his day. The sage begins his work\nwith a lament about the evil effects that follow old age in a man--\n\n\"Depression seizeth upon him every day, his eyesight faileth, his ears\nbecome deaf, his strength declineth, his heart hath no rest, the mouth\nbecometh silent and speaketh not, the intelligence diminisheth, and it\nis impossible to remember to-day what happened yesterday. The bones are\nfull of pain, the pursuit that was formerly attended with pleasure is\nnow fraught with pain, and the sense of taste departeth. Old age is the\nworst of all the miseries that can befall a man. The nose becometh\nstopped up and one cannot smell at all.\" At this point Ptah-hetep asks,\nrhetorically, \"Who will give me authority to speak? Who is it that will\nauthorise me to repeat to the prince the Precepts of those who had\nknowledge of the wise counsels of the learned men of old? \"In answer to\nthese questions the king replies to Ptah-hetep, \"Instruct thou my son in\nthe words of wisdom of olden time. It is instruction of this kind alone\nthat formeth the character of the sons of noblemen, and the youth who\nhearkeneth to such instruction will acquire a right understanding and\nthe faculty of judging justly, and he will not feel weary of his\nduties.\" Immediately following these words come the \"Precepts of\nbeautiful speech\" of Ptah-hetep, whose full titles are given, viz. the\nErpa, the Duke, the father of the god _(i.e._ the king), the friend of\nGod, the son of the king. Governor of Memphis, confidential servant of\nthe king. These Precepts instruct the ignorant, and teach them to\nunderstand fine speech; among them are the following:\n\n\"Be not haughty because of thy knowledge. Converse with the ignorant man\nas well as with him that is educated.\n\n\"Do not terrify the people, for if thou dost, God will punish thee. If\nany man saith that he is going to live by these means, God will make his\nmouth empty of food. If a man saith that he is going to make himself\npowerful (or rich) thereby, saying, 'I shall reap advantage, having\nknowledge,' and if he saith, 'I will beat down the other man,' he will\narrive at the result of being able to do nothing. Let no man terrify the\npeople, for the command of God is that they shall enjoy rest.\n\n\"If thou art one of a company seated to eat in the house of a man who is\ngreater than thyself, take what he giveth thee [without remark]. Set it\nbefore thee. Look at what is before thee, but not too closely, and do\nnot look at it too often. The man who rejecteth it is an ill-mannered\nperson. Do not speak to interrupt when he is speaking, for one knoweth\nnot when he may disapprove. Speak when he addresseth thee, and then thy\nwords shall be acceptable. When a man hath wealth he ordereth his\nactions according to his own dictates. He doeth what he willeth.... The\ngreat man can effect by the mere lifting up of his hand what a [poor]\nman cannot. Since the eating of bread is according to the dispensation\nof God, a man cannot object thereto.\n\n\"If thou art a man whose duty it is to enter into the presence of a\nnobleman with a message from another nobleman, take care to say\ncorrectly and in the correct way what thou art sent to say; give the\nmessage exactly as he said it. Take great care not to spoil it in\ndelivery and so to set one nobleman against another. He who wresteth the\ntruth in transmitting the message, and only repeateth it in words that\ngive pleasure to all men, gentleman or common man, is an abominable\nperson.\n\n\"If thou art a farmer, till the field which the great God hath given\nthee. Eat not too much when thou art near thy neighbours.... The\nchildren of the man who, being a man of substance, seizeth [prey] like\nthe crocodile in the presence of the field labourers, are cursed because\nof his behaviour, his father suffereth poignant grief, and as for the\nmother who bore him, every other woman is happier than she. A man who is\nthe leader of a clan (or tribe) that trusteth him and followeth him\nbecometh a god.\n\n\"If thou dost humble thyself and dost obey a wise man, thy behaviour\nwill be held to be good before God. Since thou knowest who are to serve,\nand who are to command, let not thy heart magnify itself against the\nlatter. Since thou knowest who hath the power, hold in fear him that\nhath it....\n\n\"Be diligent at all times. Do more than is commanded. Waste not the time\nwherein thou canst labour; he is an abominable man who maketh a bad use\nof his time. Lose no chance day by day in adding to the riches of thy\nhouse. Work produceth wealth, and wealth endureth not when work is\nabandoned.\n\n\"If thou art a wise man, beget a son who shall be pleasing unto God.\n\n\"If thou art a wise man, be master of thy house. Love thy wife\nabsolutely, give her food in abundance, and raiment for her back; these\nare the medicines for her body. Anoint her with unguents, and make her\nhappy as long as thou livest. She is thy field, and she reflecteth\ncredit on her possessor. Be not harsh in thy house, for she will be more\neasily moved by persuasion than by violence. Satisfy her wish, observe\nwhat she expecteth, and take note of that whereon she hath fixed her\ngaze. This is the treatment that will keep her in her house; if thou\nrepel her advances, it is ruin for thee. Embrace her, call her by fond\nnames, and treat her lovingly.\n\n\"Treat thy dependants as well as thou art able, for this is the duty of\nthose whom God hath blessed.\n\n\"If thou art a wise man, and if thou hast a seat in the council chamber\nof thy lord, concentrate thy mind on the business [so as to arrive at] a\nwise decision. Keep silence, for this is better than to talk overmuch.\nWhen thou speakest thou must know what can be urged against thy words.\nTo speak in the council chamber [needeth] skill and experience.\n\n\"If thou hast become a great man having once been a poor man, and hast\nattained to the headship of the city, study not to take the fullest\nadvantage of thy situation. Be not harsh in respect of the grain, for\nthou art only an overseer of the food of God.\n\n\"Think much, but keep thy mouth closed; if thou dost not how canst thou\nconsult with the nobles? Let thy opinion coincide with that of thy lord.\nDo what he saith, and then he shall say of thee to those who are\nlistening, 'This is my son.'\"\n\nThe above and all the other Precepts of Ptah-hetep were drawn up for the\nguidance of highly-placed young men, and have little to do with\npractical, every-day morality. But whilst the Egyptian scribes who lived\nunder the Middle and New Empires were ready to pay all honour to the\nwritings of an earlier age, they were not slow to perceive that the\nolder Precepts did not supply advice on every important subject, and\nthey therefore proceeded to write supplementary Precepts. A very\ninteresting collection of such Precepts is found in a papyrus preserved\nin the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. They are generally known as the \"Maxims\nof Ani,\" and the following examples will illustrate their scope and\ncharacter:\n\n\"Celebrate thou the festival of thy God, and repeat the celebration\nthereof in its appointed season. God is wroth with the transgressor of\nthis law. Bear testimony [to Him] after thy offering....\n\n\"The opportunity having passed, one seeketh [in vain] to seize another.\n\n\"God will magnify the name of the man who exalteth His Souls, who\nsingeth His praises, and boweth before Him, who offereth incense, and\ndoeth homage [to Him] in his work.\n\n\"Enter not into the presence of the drunkard, even if his acquaintance\nbe an honour to thee.\n\n\"Beware of the woman in the street who is not known in her native town.\nFollow her not, nor any woman who is like her. Do not make her\nacquaintance. She is like a deep stream the windings of which are\nunknown.\n\n\"Go not with common men, lest thy name be made to stink.\"\n\n\"When an inquiry is held, and thou art present, multiply not speech;\nthou wilt do better if thou holdest thy peace. Act not the part of the\nchatterer.\n\n\"The sanctuary of God abhorreth noisy demonstrations. Pray thou with a\nloving heart, and let thy words be hidden (or secret). Do this, and He\nwill do thy business for thee. He will hearken unto thy words, and He\nwill receive thy offering.\n\n\"Place water before thy father and thy mother who rest in their\ntombs.... Forget not to do this when thou art outside thy house, and as\nthou doest for them so shall thy son do for thee.\"\n\n\"Frequent not the house where men drink beer, for the words that fall\nfrom thy mouth will be repeated, and it is a bad thing for thee not to\nknow what thou didst really say. Thou wilt fall down, thy bones may be\nbroken, and there will be no one to give thee a hand [to help thee]. Thy\nboon companions who are drinking with thee will say, 'Throw this drunken\nman out of the door.' When thy friends come to look for thee, they will\nfind thee lying on the ground as helpless as a babe.\n\n\"When the messenger of [death] cometh to carry thee away, let him find\nthee prepared. Alas, thou wilt have no opportunity for speech, for\nverily his terror will be before thee. Say not, 'Thou art carrying me\noff in my youth.' Thou knowest not when thy death will take place. Death\ncometh, and he seizeth the babe at the breast of his mother, as well as\nthe man who hath arrived at a ripe old age. Observe this, for I speak\nunto thee good advice which thou shalt meditate upon in thy heart. Do\nthese things, and thou wilt be a good man, and evils of all kinds shall\nremove themselves from thee.\"\n\n\"Remain not seated whilst another is standing, especially if he be an\nold man, even though thy social position (or rank) be higher than his.\n\n\"The man who uttereth ill-natured words must not expect to receive\ngood-natured deeds.\n\n\"If thou journeyest on a road [made by] thy hands each day, thou wilt\narrive at the place where thou wouldst be.\n\n\"What ought people to talk about every day? Administrators of high rank\nshould discuss the laws, women should talk about their husbands, and\nevery man should speak about his own affairs.\n\n\"Never speak an ill-natured word to any visitor; a word dropped some day\nwhen thou art gossiping may overturn thy house.\n\n\"If thou art well-versed in books, and hast gone into them, set them in\nthy heart; whatsoever thou then utterest will be good. If the scribe be\nappointed to any position, he will converse about his documents. The\ndirector of the treasury hath no son, and the overseer of the seal hath\nno heir. High officials esteem the scribe, whose hand is his position of\nhonour, which they do not give to children....\n\n\"The ruin of a man resteth on his tongue; take heed that thou harmest\nnot thyself.\n\n\"The heart of a man is [like] the store-chamber of a granary that is\nfull of answers of every kind; choose thou those that are good, and\nutter them, and keep those that are bad closely confined within thee. To\nanswer roughly is like the brandishing of weapons, but if thou wilt\nspeak kindly and quietly thou wilt always [be loved].\n\n\"When thou offerest up offerings to thy God, beware lest thou offer the\nthings that are an abomination [to Him]. Chatter not [during] his\njourneyings (or processions), seek not to prolong (?) his appearance,\ndisturb not those who carry him, chant not his offices too loudly, and\nbeware lest thou.... Let thine eye observe his dispensations. Devote\nthyself to the adoration of his name. It is he who giveth souls to\nmillions of forms, and he magnifieth the man who magnifieth him....\n\n\"I gave thee thy mother who bore thee, and in bearing thee she took upon\nherself a great burden, which she bore without help from me. When after\nsome months thou wast born, she placed herself under a yoke, for three\nyears she suckled thee.... When thou wast sent to school to be educated,\nshe brought bread and beer for thee from her house to thy master\nregularly each day. Thou art now grown up, and thou hast a wife and a\nhouse of thy own. Keep thine eye on thy child, and bring him up as thy\nmother brought thee up. Do nothing whatsoever that will cause her\n(_i.e._ thy mother) to suffer, lest she lift up her hands to God, and He\nhear her complaint, [and punish thee].\n\n\"Eat not bread, whilst another standeth by, without pointing out to him\nthe bread with thy hand....\n\n\"Devote thyself to God, take heed to thyself daily for the sake of God,\nand let to-morrow be as to-day. Work thou [for him]. God seeth him that\nworketh for Him, and He esteemeth lightly the man who esteemeth Him\nlightly.\n\n\"Follow not after a woman, and let her not take possession of thy heart.\n\n\"Answer not a man when he is wroth, but remove thyself from him. Speak\ngently to him that hath spoken in anger, for soft words are the medicine\nfor his heart.\n\n\"Seek silence for thyself.\"\n\n\nFor the study of the moral character of the ancient Egyptian, a\ndocument, of which a mutilated copy is found on a papyrus preserved in\nthe Royal Library in Berlin, is of peculiar importance. As the opening\nlines are wanting it is impossible to know what the title of the work\nwas, but because the text records a conversation that took place between\na man who had suffered grievous misfortunes, and was weary of the world\nand of all in it, and wished to kill himself, it is generally called the\n\"TALK OF A MAN WHO WAS TIRED OF LIFE WITH HIS SOUL.\" The general meaning\nof the document is clear. The man weary of life discusses with his soul,\nas if it were a being wholly distinct from himself, whether he shall\nkill himself or not. He is willing to do so, but is only kept from his\npurpose by his soul's observation that if he does there will be no one\nto bury him properly, and to see that the funerary ceremonies are duly\nperformed. This shows that the man who was tired of life was alone in\nthe world, and that all his relations and friends had either forsaken\nhim, or had been driven away by him. His soul then advised him to\ndestroy himself by means of fire, probably, as has been suggested,\nbecause the ashes of a burnt body would need no further care. The man\naccepted the advice of his soul, and was about to follow it literally,\nwhen the soul itself drew back, being afraid to undergo the sufferings\ninherent in such a death for the body. The man then asked his soul to\nperform for him the last rites, but it absolutely refused to do so, and\ntold him that it objected to death in any form, and that it had no\ndesire at all to depart to the kingdom of the dead. The soul supports\nits objection to suffer by telling the man who is tired of life that the\nmere remembrance of burial is fraught with mourning, and tears, and\nsorrow. It means that a man is torn away from his house and thrown out\nupon a hill, and that he will never go up again to see the sun. And\nafter all, what is the good of burial? Take the case of those who have\nhad granite tombs, and funerary monuments in the form of pyramids made\nfor them, and who lie in them in great state and dignity. If we look at\nthe slabs in their tombs, which have been placed there on purpose to\nreceive offerings from the kinsfolk and friends of the deceased, we\nshall find that they are just as bare as are the tablets for offerings\nof the wretched people who belong to the Corv\u00e9e, of whom some die on the\nbanks of the canals, leaving one part of their bodies on the land and\nthe other in the water, and some fall into the water altogether and are\neaten by the fish, and others under the burning heat of the sun become\nbloated and loathsome objects. Because men receive fine burials it does\nnot follow that offerings of food, which will enable them to continue\ntheir existence, will be made by their kinsfolk. Finally the soul ends\nits speech with the advice that represented the view of the average\nEgyptian in all ages, \"Follow after the day of happiness, and banish\ncare,\" that is to say, spare no pains in making thyself happy at all\ntimes, and let nothing that concerns the present or the future trouble\nthee.\n\nThis advice, which is well expressed by the words which the rich man\nspake to his soul, \"Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry\" (St. Luke\nxii. 19), was not acceptable to the man who was tired of life, and he at\nonce addressed to his soul a series of remarks, couched in rhythmical\nlanguage, in which he made it clear that, so far as he was concerned,\ndeath would be preferable to life. He begins by saying that his name is\nmore detested than the smell of birds on a summer's day when the heavens\nare hot, and the smell of a handler of fish newly caught when the\nheavens are hot, and the smell of water-fowl in a bed of willows wherein\ngeese collect, and the smell of fishermen in the marshes where fishing\nhath been carried on, and the stench of crocodiles, and the place where\ncrocodiles do congregate. In a second group of rhythmical passages the\nman who was tired of life goes on to describe the unsatisfactory and\ncorrupt condition of society, and his wholesale condemnation of it\nincludes his own kinsfolk. Each passage begins with the words, \"Unto\nwhom do I speak this day?\" and he says, \"Brothers are bad, and the\nfriends of to-day lack love. Hearts are shameless, and every man seizeth\nthe goods of his neighbour. The meek man goeth to ground (_i.e._ is\ndestroyed), and the audacious man maketh his way into all places. The\nman of gracious countenance is wretched, and the good are everywhere\ntreated as contemptible. When a man stirreth thee up to wrath by his\nwickedness, his evil acts make all people laugh. One robbeth, and\neveryone stealeth the possessions of his neighbour. Disease is\ncontinual, and the brother who is with it becometh an enemy. One\nremembereth not yesterday, and one doeth nothing ... in this hour.\nBrothers are bad.... Faces disappear, and each hath a worse aspect than\nthat of his brother. Hearts are shameless, and the man upon whom one\nleaneth hath no heart. There are no righteous men left, the earth is an\nexample of those who do evil. There is no true man left, and each is\nignorant of what he hath learnt. No man is content with what he hath; go\nwith the man [you believe to be contented], and he is not [to be found].\nI am heavily laden with misery, and I have no true friend. Evil hath\nsmitten the land, and there is no end to it.\"\n\nThe state of the world being thus, the man who was tired of life is\ndriven to think that there is nothing left for him but death; it is\nhopeless to expect the whole state of society to change for the better,\ntherefore death must be his deliverer. To his soul he says, \"Death\nstandeth before me this day, [and is to me as] the restoration to health\nof a man who hath been sick, and as the coming out into the fresh air\nafter sickness. Death standeth before me this day like the smell of\nmyrrh, and the sitting under the sail of a boat on a day with a fresh\nbreeze. Death standeth before me this day like the smell of lotus\nflowers, and like one who is sitting on the bank of drunkenness.[1]\nDeath standeth before me this day like a brook filled with rain water,\nand like the return of a man to his own house from the ship of war.\nDeath standeth before me this day like the brightening of the sky after\na storm, and like one.... Death standeth before me this day as a man who\nwisheth to see his home once again, having passed many years as a\nprisoner.\" The three rhythmical passages that follow show that the man\nwho was tired of life looked beyond death to a happier state of\nexistence, in which wrong would be righted, and he who had suffered on\nthis earth would be abundantly rewarded. The place where justice reigned\nsupreme was ruled over by Ra, and the man does not call it \"heaven,\" but\nmerely \"there.\"[2] He says, \"He who is there shall indeed be like unto a\nloving god, and he shall punish him that doeth wickedness. He who is\nthere shall certainly stand in the Boat of the Sun, and shall bestow\nupon the temples the best [offerings]. He who is there shall indeed\nbecome a man of understanding who cannot be resisted, and who prayeth to\nRa when he speaketh.\" The arguments in favour of death of the man who\nwas tired of life are superior to those of the soul in favour of life,\nfor he saw beyond death the \"there\" which the soul apparently had not\nsufficiently considered. The value of the discussion between the man and\nhis soul was great in the opinion of the ancient Egyptian because it\nshowed, with almost logical emphasis, that the incomprehensible things\nof \"here\" would be made clear \"there.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: _i.e._ sitting on a seat in a tavern built on the river\nbank.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Compare,\n \"There the tears of earth are dried;\n There its hidden things are clear;\n There the work of life is tried\n By a juster judge than here.\"\n --_Hymns Ancient and Modern_, No. 401.]\n\nThe man who was tired of life did not stand alone in his discontent with\nthe surroundings in which he lived, and with his fellow-man, for from a\nboard inscribed in hieratic in the British Museum (No. 5645) we find\nthat a priest of Heliopolis called Khakhepersenb, who was surnamed\nAnkhu, shared his discontent, and was filled with disgust at the\nwidespread corruption and decadence of all classes of society that were\neverywhere in the land. In the introduction to this description of\nsociety as he saw it, he says that he wishes he possessed new language\nin which to express himself, and that he could find phrases that were\nnot trite in which to utter his experience. He says that men of one\ngeneration are very much like those of another, and have all done and\nsaid the same kind of things. He wishes to unburden his mind, and to\nremove his moral sickness by stating what he has to say in words that\nhave not before been used. He then goes on to say, \"I ponder on the\nthings that have taken place, and the events that have occurred\nthroughout the land. Things have happened, and they are different from\nthose of last year. Each year is more wearisome than the last. The whole\ncountry is disturbed and is going to destruction. Justice (or right) is\nthrust out, injustice (or sin) is in the council hall, the plans of the\ngods are upset, and their behests are set aside. The country is in a\nmiserable state, grief is in every place, and both towns and provinces\nlament. Every one is suffering through wrong-doing. All respect of\npersons is banished. The lords of quiet are set in commotion. When\ndaylight cometh each day [every] face turneth away from the sight of\nwhat hath happened [during the night].... I ponder on the things that\nhave taken place. Troubles flow in to-day, and to-morrow [tribulations]\nwill not cease. Though all the country is full of unrest, none will\nspeak about it. There is no innocent man [left], every one worketh\nwickedness. Hearts are bowed in grief. He who giveth orders is like unto\nthe man to whom orders are given, and their hearts are well pleased. Men\nwake daily [and find it so], yet they do not abate it. The things of\nyesterday are like those of to-day, and in many respects both days are\nalike. Men's faces are stupid, and there is none capable of\nunderstanding, and none is driven to speak by his anger.... My pain is\nkeen and protracted. The poor man hath not the strength to protect\nhimself against the man who is stronger than he. To hold the tongue\nabout what one heareth is agony, but to reply to the man who doth not\nunderstand causeth suffering. If one protesteth against what is said,\nthe result is hatred; for the truth is not understood, and every protest\nis resented. The only words which any man will now listen to are his\nown. Every one believes in his own.... Truth hath forsaken speech\naltogether.\"\n\nWhether the copy of the work from which the above extracts is taken be\ncomplete or not cannot be said, but in any case there is no suggestion\non the board in the British Museum that the author of the work had any\nremedy in his mind for the lamentable state of things which he\ndescribes. Another Egyptian writer, called Apuur, who probably\nflourished a little before the rule of the kings of the twelfth dynasty,\ndepicts the terrible state of misery and corruption into which Egypt had\nfallen in his time, but his despair is not so deep as that of the man\nwho was tired of his life or that of the priest Khakhepersenb. On the\ncontrary, he has sufficient hope of his country to believe that the day\nwill come when society shall be reformed, and when wickedness and\ncorruption shall be done away, and when the land shall be ruled by a\njust ruler. It is difficult to say, but it seems as if he thought this\nruler would be a king who would govern Egypt with righteousness, as did\nRa in the remote ages, and that his advent was not far off. The Papyrus\nin which the text on which these observations are based is preserved in\nLeyden, No. 1344. It has been discussed carefully by several scholars,\nsome of whom believe that its contents prove that the expectation of the\ncoming of a Messiah was current in Egypt some forty-five centuries ago.\nThe following extracts will give an idea of the character of the\nindictment which Apuur drew up against the Government and society of his\nday, and which he had the temerity to proclaim in the presence of the\nreigning king and his court. He says: \"The guardians of houses say, 'Let\nus go and steal.' The snarers of birds have formed themselves into armed\nbands. The peasants of the Delta have provided themselves with bucklers.\nA man regardeth his son as his enemy. The righteous man grieveth because\nof what hath taken place in the country. A man goeth out with his shield\nto plough. The man with a bow is ready [to shoot], the wrongdoer is in\nevery place. The inundation of the Nile cometh, yet no one goeth out to\nplough. Poor men have gotten costly goods, and the man who was unable to\nmake his own sandals is a possessor of wealth. The hearts of slaves are\nsad, and the nobles no longer participate in the rejoicings of their\npeople. Men's hearts are violent, there is plague everywhere, blood is\nin every place, death is common, and the mummy wrappings call to people\nbefore they are used. Multitudes are buried in the river, the stream is\na tomb, and the place of mummification is a canal. The gentle folk weep,\nthe simple folk are glad, and the people of every town say, 'Come, let\nus blot out these who have power and possessions among us.' Men resemble\nthe mud-birds, filth is everywhere, and every one is clad in dirty\ngarments. The land spinneth round like the wheel of the potter. The\nrobber is a rich man, and [the rich man] is a robber. The poor man\ngroaneth and saith, 'This is calamity indeed, but what can I do?' The\nriver is blood, and men drink it; they cease to be men who thirst for\nwater. Gates and their buildings are consumed with fire, yet the palace\nis stable and nourishing. The boats of the peoples of the South have\nfailed to arrive, the towns are destroyed, and Upper Egypt is desert.\nThe crocodiles are sated with their prey, for men willingly go to them.\nThe desert hath covered the land, the Nomes are destroyed, and there\nare foreign troops in Egypt. People come hither [from everywhere], there\nare no Egyptians left in the land. On the necks of the women slaves\n[hang ornaments of] gold, lapis-lazuli, silver, turquoise, carnelian,\nbronze, and _abhet_ stone. There is good food everywhere, and yet\nmistresses of houses say, 'Would that we had something to eat.' The\nskilled masons who build pyramids have become hinds on farms, and those\nwho tended the Boat of the god are yoked together [in ploughing]. Men do\nnot go on voyages to Kepuna (Byblos in Syria) to-day. What shall we do\nfor cedar wood for our mummies, in coffins of which priests are buried,\nand with the oil of which men are embalmed? They come no longer. There\nis no gold, the handicrafts languish. What is the good of a treasury if\nwe have nothing to put in it? Everything is in ruins. Laughter is dead,\nno one can laugh. Groaning and lamentation are everywhere in the land.\nEgyptians have turned into foreigners. The hair hath fallen out of the\nhead of every man. A gentleman cannot be distinguished from a nobody.\nEvery man saith, 'I would that I were dead,' and children say, '[My\nfather] ought not to have begotten me.' Children of princes are dashed\nagainst the walls, the children of desire are cast out into the desert,\nand Khnemu[1] groaneth in sheer exhaustion. The Asiatics have become\nworkmen in the Delta. Noble ladies and slave girls suffer alike. The\nwomen who used to sing songs now sing dirges. Female slaves speak as\nthey like, and when their mistress commandeth they are aggrieved.\nPrinces go hungry and weep. The hasty man saith, 'If I only knew where\nGod was I would make offerings to Him.' The hearts of the flocks weep,\nand the cattle groan because of the condition of the land. A man\nstriketh his own brother. What is to be done? The roads are watched by\nrobbers, who hide in the bushes until a benighted traveller cometh, when\nthey rob him. They seize his goods, and beat him to death with cudgels.\nWould that the human race might perish, and there be no more conceiving\nor bringing to the birth! If only the earth could be quiet, and revolts\ncease! Men eat herbs and drink water, and there is no food for the\nbirds, and even the swill is taken from the mouths of the swine. There\nis no grain anywhere, and people lack clothes, unguents, and oil. Every\nman saith, 'There is none.' The storehouse is destroyed, and its keeper\nlieth prone on the ground. The documents have been filched from their\naugust chambers, and the shrine is desecrated. Words of power are\nunravelled, and spells made powerless. The public offices are broken\nopen and their documents stolen, and serfs have become their own\nmasters. The laws of the court-house are rejected, men trample on them\nin public, and the poor break them in the street. Things are now done\nthat have never been done before, for a party of miserable men have\nremoved the king. The secrets of the Kings of the South and of the North\nhave been revealed. The man who could not make a coffin for himself hath\na large tomb. The occupants of tombs have been cast out into the desert,\nand the man who could not make a coffin for himself hath now a treasury.\nHe who could not build a hut for himself is now master of a habitation\nwith walls. The rich man spendeth his night athirst, and he who begged\nfor the leavings in the pots hath now brimming bowls. Men who had fine\nraiment are now in rags, and he who never wore a garment at all now\ndresseth in fine linen. The poor have become rich, and the rich poor.\nNoble ladies sell their children for beds. Those who once had beds now\nsleep on the ground. Noble ladies go hungry, whilst butchers are sated\nwith what was once prepared for them. A man is slain by his brother's\nside, and that brother fleeth to save his own life.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The god who fashioned the bodies of men.]\n\nApuur next, in a series of five short exhortations, entreats his bearers\nto take action of some sort; each exhortation begins with the words,\n\"Destroy the enemies of the sacred palace (or Court).\" These are\nfollowed by a series of sentences, each of which begins with the word\n\"Remember,\" and contains one exhortation to his hearers to perform\ncertain duties in connection with the service of the gods. Thus they are\ntold to burn incense and to pour out libations each morning, to offer\nvarious kinds of geese to the gods, to eat natron, to make white bread,\nto set up poles on the temples and stel\u00e6 inside them, to make the priest\nto purify the temples, to remove from his office the priest who is\nunclean, &c. After many breaks in the text we come to the passage in\nwhich Apuur seems to foretell the coming of the king who is to restore\norder and prosperity to the land. He is to make cool that which is hot.\nHe is to be the \"shepherd of mankind,\" having no evil in his heart. When\nhis herds are few [and scattered], he will devote his time to bringing\nthem together, their hearts being inflamed. The passage continues,\n\"Would that he had perceived their nature in the first generation (of\nmen), then he would have repressed evils, he would have stretched forth\n(his) arm against it, he would have destroyed their seed (?) and their\ninheritance.... A fighter (?) goeth forth, that (he?) may destroy the\nwrongs that (?) have been wrought. There is no pilot (?) in their\nmoment. Where is he (?) to-day? Is he sleeping? Behold, his might is not\nseen.\" [1] Many of the passages in the indictment of Apuur resemble the\ndescriptions of the state of the land of Israel and her people which are\nfound in the writings of the Hebrew Prophets, and the \"shepherd of\nmankind,\" _i.e._ of the Egyptians, forcibly reminds us of the appeal to\nthe \"Shepherd of Israel\" in Psalm lxxx. 1.\n\n[Footnote 1: See A.H. Gardiner, _Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage_,\nLeipzic, 1909, p. 78.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV\n\n EGYPTIAN POETICAL COMPOSITIONS\n\n\nThe poetry of the Egyptians is wholly unlike that of western nations,\nbut closely resembles the rhythmical compositions of the Hebrews, with\ntheir parallelism of members, with which we are all familiar in the Book\nof Psalms, the Song of Solomon, &c. The most important collection of\nEgyptian Songs known to us is contained in the famous papyrus in the\nBritish Museum, No. 10,060, more commonly known as \"Harris 500.\" This\npapyrus was probably written in the thirteenth century B.C., but many of\nthe songs belong to a far earlier date. Though dealing with a variety of\nsubjects, there is no doubt that all of them must be classed under the\nheading of \"Love Songs.\" In them the lover compares the lady of his\nchoice to many beautiful flowers and plants, and describes at\nconsiderable length the pain and grief which her absence causes him. The\nlines of the strophes are short, and the construction is simple, and it\nseems certain that the words owed their effect chiefly to the voice of\nthe singer, who then, as now, employed many semitones and thirds of\ntones, and to the skill with which he played the accompaniment on his\nharp. A papyrus at Leyden, which was written a little later than the\n\"Love Songs,\" contains three very curious compositions. The first is a\nsort of lament of a pomegranate tree, which, in spite of the service\nwhich it has rendered to the \"sister and her brother,\" is not included\namong trees of the first class. In the second a fig tree expresses its\ngratitude and its readiness to do the will of its mistress, and to allow\nits branches to be cut off to make a bed for her. In the third a\nsycamore tree invites the lady of the land on which it stands to come\nunder the shadow of its branches, and to enjoy a happy time with her\nlover, and promises her that it will never speak about what it sees.\n\nMore interesting than any of the above songs is the so-called \"Song of\nthe Harper,\" of which two copies are known: the first is found in the\npapyrus Harris 500, already mentioned, and the second in a papyrus at\nLeyden. Extracts of this poem are also found on the walls of the tomb of\nNefer-hetep at Thebes. The copy in the papyrus reads:\n\n\nTHE POEM THAT IS IN THE HALL OF THE TOMB OF [THE KING OF THE SOUTH, THE\n KING OF THE NORTH], ANTUF,[1] WHOSE WORD IS TRUTH, [AND IS CUT] IN\n FRONT OF THE HARPER.\n\nO good prince, it is a decree,\nAnd what hath been ordained thereby is well,\nThat the bodies of men shall pass away and disappear,\nWhilst others remain.\n\nSince the time of the oldest ancestors,\nThe gods who lived in olden time,\nWho lie at rest in their sepulchres,\nThe Masters and also the Shining Ones,\nWho have been buried in their splendid tombs,\nWho have built sacrificial halls in their tombs,\nTheir place is no more.\nConsider what hath become of them!\n\nI have heard the words of Imhetep [2] and Herutataf,[3]\nWhich are treasured above everything because they uttered them.\nConsider what hath become of their tombs!\nTheir walls have been thrown down;\nTheir places are no more;\nThey are just as if they had never existed.\n\nNot one [of them] cometh from where they are.\nWho can describe to us their form (or, condition),\nWho can describe to us their surroundings,\nWho can give comfort to our hearts,\nAnd can act as our guide\nTo the place whereunto they have departed?\n\nGive comfort to thy heart,\nAnd let thy heart forget these things;\nWhat is best for thee to do is\nTo follow thy heart's desire as long as thou livest.\n\nAnoint thy head with scented unguents.\nLet thine apparel be of byssus\nDipped in costly [perfumes],\nIn the veritable products (?) of the gods.\n\nEnjoy thyself more than thou hast ever done before,\nAnd let not thy heart pine for lack of pleasure.\n\nPursue thy heart's desire and thine own happiness.\nOrder thy surroundings on earth in such a way\nThat they may minister to the desire of thy heart;\n[For] at length that day of lamentation shall come,\nWherein he whose heart is still shall not hear the lamentation.\nNever shall cries of grief cause\nTo beat [again] the heart of a man who is in the grave.\n\nTherefore occupy thyself with thy pleasure daily,\nAnd never cease to enjoy thyself.\n\nBehold, a man is not permitted\nTo carry his possessions away with him.\nBehold, there never was any one who, having departed,\nWas able to come back again.\n\n[Footnote 1: He was one of the kings of the eleventh dynasty, about 2700\nB.C.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A high official of Tcheser, a king of the third dynasty.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Son of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid (fourth\ndynasty.)]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XV\n\n MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE\n\n\nIn this chapter are given short notices of a series of works which the\nlimits of this book make it impossible to describe at greater length.\n\nI. The BOOK OF THE TWO WAYS.--This is a very ancient funerary work,\nwhich is found written in cursive hieroglyphs upon coffins of the\neleventh and twelfth dynasties, of which many fine examples are to be\nseen in the British Museum. The object of the work is to provide the\nsouls of the dead with a guide that will enable them, when they leave\nthis world, to make a successful journey across the Tuat, _i.e._ the\nOther World or Dead Land, to the region where Osiris lived and ruled\nover the blessed dead. The work describes the roads that must be\ntravelled over, and names the places where opposition is to be expected,\nand supplies the deceased with the words of power which he is to utter\nwhen in difficulties. The abode of the blessed dead could be reached\neither by water or by land, and the book affords the information\nnecessary for journeying thither by either route. The sections of the\nbook are often accompanied by coloured vignettes, which illustrate them,\nand serve as maps of the various regions of the Other World, and\ndescribe the exact positions of the streams and canals that have to be\ncrossed, and the Islands of the Blest, and the awful country of blazing\nfire and boiling water in which the bodies, souls, and spirits of the\nwicked were destroyed.\n\nII. The BOOK \"AM TUAT,\" or Guide to him that is in the Tuat.--This Book\nhas much in common with the Book of the Two Ways. According to it, the\nregion that lay between this world and the realm of Osiris was divided\ninto ten parts, which were traversed, once each night, by the Sun-god\nin the form which he took during the night. At the western end was a\nsort of vestibule, through which the god passed from the day sky into\nthe Tuat, and at the eastern end was another vestibule, through which he\npassed on leaving the Tuat to re-enter the day sky. The two vestibules\nwere places of gloom and semi-darkness, and the ten divisions of the\nTuat were covered by black night. When the Sun-god set in the west in\nthe evening he was obliged to travel through the Tuat to the eastern\nsky, in order to rise again on this earth on the following day. He\nentered the Tuat at or near Thebes, proceeded northwards, through the\nunder-worlds of Thebes, Abydos, Herakleopolis, Memphis, and Sais, then\nturned towards the east and crossed the Delta, and, having passed\nthrough the underworld of Heliopolis, appeared in the eastern sky to\nresume his daily course from east to west. His journey so far as Memphis\nhe made in a boat, which sailed on the river of the Tuat. At Memphis he\nleft the boat on the river, and entered a magical boat formed of a\nserpent's body, and so passed under the mountainous district round about\nSakkarah. At or near Sais he returned to his river boat, and sailing\nover the great marine lakes of the Delta reached Heliopolis. The sun-god\nwas guided through each section of the Tuat by a goddess who belonged to\nthe district, and for the sake of uniformity the journey through each\nsection was supposed to occupy an hour; the guiding goddess left the\ngod's boat at the end of her hour, and the goddess of the next section\ntook her place. The path of the god was lighted by fire, which the\nbeings who lived in the various sections poured out of their mouths, and\nthe attendant gods who were with them in his boat spake words of power,\nwhich overcame all opposition and removed every obstacle. As he passed\nthrough each section it was temporarily lighted up by the fire already\nmentioned, and he uttered words of power, the effect of which was to\nsupply the inhabitants of the section with air, food, and drink,\nsufficient to last until the next night, when he would renew the supply.\nMany parts of the Tuat were filled with hideous monsters in human and\nanimal forms, and with evil spirits of every kind, but they were all\nrendered powerless by the spells uttered by the gods who were in\nattendance on the Sun-god in his boat. At one time in the history of\nEgypt it became the earnest wish of every pious man to make the journey\nfrom this world to the next in the Boat of the Sun. Armed with words of\npower and amulets of all kinds, and relying on their lives of moral\nrectitude, and the effect of the offerings which they had made to the\ndead, their souls entered the Boat, and set out on their journey. When\nthey reached Abydos their credentials were examined, and those who were\nfound to be speakers of the truth and upright in their actions were\nallowed to continue their journey with the Sun-god, and to live with him\never after. Some souls preferred to remain at Abydos and to live with\nOsiris, and those who were found righteous in the Judgment were allowed\nto do so, and were granted estates in perpetuity in the kingdom of this\ngod. The Book \"AM TUAT\" describes the sections of the Tuat and their\ninhabitants, and supplies all the information which the soul was\nsupposed to require in passing from this world to the next. Many copies\nof certain sections of it are known, and some of these are in the\nBritish Museum;[1] the most complete copy of it is in the tomb of Seti I\nat Thebes.\n\n[Footnote 1: See the massive stone sarcophagi of Nectonebus exhibited in\nthe Southern Egyptian Gallery of the British Museum.]\n\nIII. The BOOK OF GATES.--This book was also written to be a Guide to the\nTuat, and has much in common with the Book of the Two Ways and with the\nBook Am Tuat. In it also the Tuat is divided into ten sections and has\ntwo vestibules, the Eastern and the Western, but at the entrance to each\nsection is a strongly fortified Gate, guarded by a monster serpent-god\nand by the gods of the section. The Sun-god of night, as in the Book Am\nTuat, makes his journey in a boat, and is attended by a number of gods,\nwho remove all opposition from his path by the use of words of power. As\nhe approaches each Gate, its doors are thrown open by the gods who guard\nthem, and he passes into the section of the Tuat behind it, carrying\nwith him light, air, and food for its inhabitants. The Book of Gates\nembodies the teaching of the priests of the cult of Osiris, and the Book\nAm Tuat represents the modified form of it that was promulgated by the\npriests of Amen. From the Book of Gates we derive much information about\nthe realm of Osiris, and the Great Judgment of souls, which took place\nin his Hall of Judgment once a day at midnight. Then all the souls that\nhad collected during the past twenty-four hours from all parts of Egypt\nwere weighed in the Balance; the righteous were allotted estates in\nperpetuity in the \"land of souls,\" and the wicked were destroyed by\nShesmu, the executioner of the god, and by his assistants. The texts\nthat describe the various \"Gates\" of the Book of Gates, explain who are\nthe beings represented in the pictures, and state why they were there.\nAnd the Book proves conclusively that the Egyptians believed in the\nefficacy of sacrifices and offerings, and in the doctrine of righteous\nretribution; liars and deceivers were condemned, and their bodies,\nsouls, spirits, doubles, and names destroyed, and the righteous were\nrewarded for their upright lives and integrity upon earth by the gift of\neverlasting life and happiness. The most complete copy of this\ninteresting work in England is cut on the alabaster sarcophagus of Seti\nI, about 1350 B.C. This unique sepulchral monument is exhibited gratis\nin Sir John Soane's Museum at 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, and every student\nof the religion of the Egyptians should examine it.\n\nIV. The RITUAL OF EMBALMMENT.--Two important fragments of a copy of this\nwork are preserved in the Museum of the Louvre (No. 5158), and a part of\nanother in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo (No. 3); the former copy was\nwritten for a priest of Amen called Heru, and the latter for a priest\ncalled Hetra. These fragments of the work describe minutely the process\nof mummifying certain parts of a human body, and state what materials\nwere employed by the embalmer. Moreover, it gives the texts of the\nmagical and religious spells that were ordered to be recited by the\npriest who superintended the embalmment, the effect of which was to\n\"make divine\" each member of the body, and to secure for it the\nprotecting influence of the god or goddess who presided over it. The\nfollowing extract refers to the embalming of the head: \"Then anoint the\nhead of the deceased and all his mouth with oil, both the head and the\nface, and wrap it in the bandages of Harmakhis in Hebit. The bandage of\nthe goddess Nekhebet shall be put on the forehead, the bandage of Hathor\nin Heliopolis on the face, the bandage of Thoth on the ears, and the\nbandage of Nebt-hetepet on the back of the neck. All the coverings of\nthe head and all the strips of linen used in fastening them shall be\ntaken from sheets of linen that have been examined as to quality and\ntexture in the presence of the inspector of the mysteries. On the head\nof the deceased shall be the bandage of Sekhmet, beloved of Ptah, in two\npieces. On the two ears two bandages called the \"Complete.\" On the\nnostrils two bandages called \"Nehai\" and \"Smen.\" On the cheeks two\nbandages called \"He shall live.\" On the forehead four pieces of linen\ncalled the \"shining ones.\" On the skull two pieces called \"The two Eyes\nof Ra in their fullness.\" On the two sides of the face and ears\ntwenty-two pieces. As to the mouth two inside, and two out. On the chin\ntwo pieces. On the back of the neck four large pieces. Then tie the\nwhole head firmly with a strip of linen two fingers wide, and anoint a\nsecond time, and then fill up all the crevices with the oil already\nmentioned. Then say, \"O august goddess, Lady of the East, Mistress of\nthe West, come and enter into the two ears of Osiris. O mighty goddess,\nwho art ever young, O great one, Lady of the East, Mistress of the West,\nlet there be breathing in the head of the deceased in the Tuat. Let him\nsee with his eyes, hear with his ears, breathe with his nose, pronounce\nwith his mouth, and speak with his tongue in the Tuat. Accept his voice\nin the Hall of Truth, and let him be proved to have been a speaker of\nthe truth in the Hall of Keb, in the presence of the Great God, the Lord\nof Amenti.\"\n\nV. The RITUAL OF THE DIVINE CULT.--This title is commonly given to a\nwork consisting of sixty-six chapters, which were recited daily by the\nhigh priest of Amen-Ra, the King of the Gods, in his temple at Thebes,\nduring the performance of a series of ceremonies of a highly important\nand symbolical character. The text of this Ritual is found cut in\nhieroglyphs on the walls of the temple of Seti I at Abydos, and written\nin hieratic upon papyri preserved in the Imperial Museum in Berlin. The\nwork was originally intended to be recited by the king himself daily,\nbut it was soon found that the Lord of Egypt could not spare the time\nnecessary for its recital each day, and he therefore was personified by\nthe high priest of each temple in which the Ritual was performed. The\nobject of the Ritual was to place the king in direct contact with his\ngod Amen-Ra once a day. The king was an incarnation of Amen-Ra, and\nruled Egypt as the representative upon earth of the god. He drew his\npower and wisdom direct from the god, and it was believed that these\nrequired renewal daily. To bring about this renewal of the divine spirit\nin the god's vicegerent upon earth, the king entered the temple in the\nearly morning, and performed ceremonies and recited formul\u00e6 that\npurified both the sanctuary and himself. He then advanced to the shrine,\nwhich contained a small gilded wooden figure of the god, inlaid with\nprecious stones and provided with a movable head, arms, and legs, and\nopened it and knelt down before the figure. He performed further\nceremonies of purification, and finally took the figure of the god in\nhis arms and embraced it. During this embrace the divine power of\nAmen-Ra, which was in the gilded figure at that moment, passed into the\nbody of the king, and the divine power and wisdom, which were in the\nking as the god's representative, were renewed. The king then closed the\ndoors of the shrine and left the sanctuary for a short time. When he\nreturned he opened the shrine again, and made adoration to the god, and\npresented a series of offerings that symbolised Truth. After this the\nking dressed the figure of the god in sacred apparel, and decorated it.\nThen, having performed further acts of worship before it, he closed the\ndoors of the shrine, sealed them with mud seals, and left the sanctuary.\n\nVI. The BOOK \"MAY MY NAME FLOURISH.\"--This was a very popular funerary\nwork in the Roman Period. It is a development of a long prayer that is\nfound in the Pyramid Texts, and was written by the priests and used as a\nspell to make the name of the deceased flourish eternally in heaven and\non the earth. Many copies of it, written on narrow strips of papyrus,\nare preserved in the British Museum.\n\nVII. The BOOK OF AAPEP, the great enemy of the Sun-god.--Aapep was the\ngod of evil, who became incarnate in many forms, especially in wild and\nsavage animals and in monster serpents and venomous reptiles of every\nkind. He was supposed to take the form of a huge serpent and to lie in\nwait near the portals of the dawn daily, so that he might swallow up the\nsun as he was about to rise in the eastern sky. He was accompanied by\nlegions of devils and fiends, red and black, and by all the powers of\nstorm, tempest, hurricane, whirlwind, thunder and lightning, and he was\nthe deadly foe of all order, both physical and moral, and of all good in\nheaven and in earth. At certain times during the day and night the\npriests in the temple of Amen-Ra recited a series of chapters, and\nperformed a number of magical ceremonies, which were intended to\nstrengthen the arms of the Sun-god, and give him power to overcome the\nresistance of Aapep. These chapters acted on Aapep as spells, and they\nparalysed the monster just as he was about to attack the Sun-god. The\ngod then approached and shot his fiery darts into him, and his attendant\ngods hacked the monster's body to pieces, which shrivelled up under the\nburning heat of the rays of the Sun-god, and all the devils and fiends\nof darkness fled shrieking in terror at their leader's fate. The sun\nthen rose on this world, and all the stars and spirits of the morning\nand all the gods of heaven sang for joy. The complete text of this book\nis found in a long papyrus dated in the reign of Alexander II in the\nBritish Museum (No. 10,188).\n\nVIII. The INSTRUCTIONS, OR PRECEPTS OF TUAUF to his son Pepi.--Two\ncopies of this work, which has also been called a \"Hymn in praise of\nlearning,\" are contained in a papyri preserved in the British Museum\n(Sallier II and Anastasi VII). These \"Instructions\" in reality represent\nthe advice of a father to his son, whom he was sending to school to be\ntrained for the profession of the scribe. Whether the boy was merely\nsorry to leave his home, or whether he disliked the profession which his\nfather had chosen for him, is not clear, but from first to last the\nfather urges him to apply himself to the pursuit of learning, which, in\nhis opinion, is the foundation of all great and lasting success. He\nsays, \"I have compared the people who are artisans and handicraftsmen\n[with the scribe], and indeed I am convinced that there is nothing\nsuperior to letters. Plunge into the study of Egyptian Learning, as thou\nwouldst plunge into the river, and thou wilt find that this is so. I\nwould that thou wouldst love Learning as thou lovest thy mother. I wish\nI were able to make thee to see how beautiful Learning is. It is more\nimportant than any trade in the world. Learning is not a mere phrase,\nfor the man who devoteth himself thereto from his youth is honoured, and\nhe is despatched on missions. I have watched the blacksmith at the door\nof his furnace. His hands are like crocodiles' hide, and he stinketh\nworse than fishes' eggs. The metal worker hath no more rest than the\npeasant on the farm. The stone mason--at the end of the day his arms are\npowerless; he sitteth huddled up together until the morning, and his\nknees and back are broken. The barber shaveth until far into the night,\nhe only resteth when he eateth. He goeth from one street to another\nlooking for work. He breaketh his arms to fill his belly, and, like the\nbees, he eateth his own labour. The builder of houses doeth his work\nwith difficulty; he is exposed to all weathers, and he must cling to the\nwalls which he is building like a creeping plant. His clothes are in a\nhorrible state, and he washeth his body only once a day. The farmer\nweareth always the same clothes. His voice is like the croak of a bird,\nhis skin is cracked by the wind; if he is healthy his health is that of\nthe beasts. If he be ill he lieth down among them, and he sleepeth on\nthe damp irrigated land. The envoy to foreign lands bequeatheth his\nproperty to his children before he setteth out, being afraid that he\nwill be killed either by wild beasts of the desert or by the nomads\ntherein. When he is in Egypt, what then? No sooner hath he arrived at\nhome than he is sent off on another mission. As for the dyer, his\nfingers stink like rotten fish, and his clothes are absolutely horrors.\nThe shoemaker is a miserable wretch. He is always asking for work, and\nhis health is that of a dying fish. The washerman is neighbour to the\ncrocodile. His food is mixed up with his clothes, and every member of\nhim is unclean. The catcher of water-fowl, even though he dive in the\nNile, may catch nothing. The trade of the fisherman is the worst of all.\nHe is in blind terror of the crocodile, and falleth among crocodiles.\"\nThe text continues with a few further remarks on the honourable\ncharacter of the profession of the scribe, and ends with a series of\nPrecepts of the same character as those found in the works of Ptah-hetep\nand the scribe Ani, from which extracts have already been given.\n\nIX. MEDICAL PAPYRI.--The Egyptians possessed a good practical knowledge\nof the anatomy of certain parts of the human body, but there is no\nevidence that they practised dissection before the arrival of the Greeks\nin Egypt. The medical papyri that have come down to us contain a large\nnumber of short, rough-and-ready descriptions of certain diseases, and\nprescriptions of very great interest. The most important medical papyrus\nknown is that which was bought at Luxor by the late Professor Ebers in\n1872-3, and which is now preserved in Leipzig. This papyrus is about 65\nfeet long, and the text is written in the hieratic character. It was\nwritten in the ninth year of the reign of a king who is not yet\nsatisfactorily identified, but who probably lived before the period of\nthe rule of the eighteenth dynasty, perhaps about 1800 B.C. A short\npapyrus in the British Museum contains extracts from it, and other\npapyri with somewhat similar contents are preserved in the Museums of\nParis, Leyden, Berlin, and California.\n\nX. MAGICAL PAPYRI.--The widespread use of magic in Egypt in all ages\nsuggests that the magical literature of Egypt must have been very\nlarge. Much of it was incorporated at a very early period into the\nReligious Literature of the country, and was used for legitimate\npurposes, in fact for the working of what we call \"white magic.\" The\nEgyptian saw no wrong in the working of magic, and it was only condemned\nby him when the magician wished to produce evil results. The gods\nthemselves were supposed to use spells and incantations, and every\ntraveller by land or water carried with him magical formul\u00e6 which he\nrecited when he was in danger from the wild beasts of the desert or the\ncrocodile of the river and its canals. Specimens of these will be found\nin the famous magical papyri in the British Museum, _e.g._ the Salt\nPapyrus, the Rhind Papyrus, and the Harris Papyrus. Under this heading\nmay be mentioned Papyrus Sallier IV in the British Museum, which\ncontains a list of lucky and unlucky days. Here is a specimen of its\ncontents:\n\n 1st day of Hathor. The whole day is lucky. There is festival in\n heaven with Ra and Hathor.\n\n 2nd day of Hathor. The whole day is lucky. The gods go out. The\n goddess Uatchet comes from Tep to the gods who are in the shrine of\n the bull, in order to protect the divine members.\n\n 3rd day of Hathor. The whole day is lucky.\n\n 4th day of Hathor. The whole day is unlucky. The house of the man\n who goes on a voyage on that day comes to ruin.\n\n 6th day of Hathor. The whole day is unlucky. Do not light a fire in\n thy house on this day, and do not look at one.\n\n 18th day of Pharmuthi. The whole day is unlucky. Do not bathe on\n this day.\n\n 20th day of Pharmuthi. The whole day is unlucky. Do not work on this\n day.\n\n 22nd day of Pharmuthi. The whole day is unlucky. He who is born on\n this day will die on this day.\n\n 23rd day of Pharmuthi. The first two-thirds of the day are unlucky,\n and the last third lucky.\n\nXI. LEGAL DOCUMENTS.--The first legal document written in Egypt was the\nwill of Ra, in which he bequeathed all his property and the inheritance\nof the throne of Egypt to his first-born son Horus. Tradition asserted\nthat this Will was preserved in the Library of the Sun-god in\nHeliopolis. The inscriptions contain many allusions to the Laws of\nEgypt, but no document containing any connected statement of them has\ncome down to us. In the great inscription of Heruemheb, the last king of\nthe eighteenth dynasty, a large number of good laws are given, but it\nmust be confessed that as a whole the administration of the Law in many\nparts of Egypt must always have been very lax. Texts relating to\nbequests, endowments, grants of land, &c., are very difficult to\ntranslate, because it is well-nigh impossible to find equivalents for\nEgyptian legal terms. In the British Museum are two documents in\nhieratic that were drawn up in connection with prosecutions which the\nGovernment of Egypt undertook of certain thieves who had broken into\nsome of the royal tombs at Thebes and robbed them, and of certain other\nthieves who had robbed the royal treasury and made away with a large\namount of silver (Nos. 10,221, 10,052, 10,053, and 10,054). Equally\ninteresting is the roll that describes the prosecution of certain highly\nplaced officials and relations of Rameses III who had conspired against\nhim and wanted to kill him. Several of the conspirators were compelled\nto commit suicide. The text is written in hieratic on papyrus, and is\npreserved in the Royal Museum, Leyden.\n\nXII. HISTORICAL ROMANCES.--Examples of these are the narrative of the\ncapture of the town of Joppa in Palestine by an officer of Thothmes III,\nand the history of the dispute that broke out between Seqenenra, King of\nUpper Egypt, and Aapepi, King of Avaris in the Delta. These are written\nin hieratic and are preserved in the British Museum, in Harris Papyrus\n500, and Sallier No. 1 (10,185).\n\nXIII. MATHEMATICS.--The chief source of our knowledge of the Mathematics\nof the Egyptians is the Rhind Papyrus in the British Museum (No.\n10,057), which was written before 1700 B.C., probably during the reign\nof one of the Hyksos kings. The papyrus contains a number of simple\narithmetical examples and several geometrical problems. The workings\nout of these prove that the Egyptian spared himself no trouble in making\nhis calculations, and that he worked out both his arithmetical examples\nand problems in the most cumbrous and laborious way possible. He never\nstudied mathematics in order to make progress in his knowledge of the\nscience, but simply for purely practical everyday work; as long as his\nknowledge enabled him to obtain results which he knew from experience\nwere substantially correct he was content.\n\n\n\n\n EDITIONS OF EGYPTIAN TEXTS,\n TRANSLATIONS, &c.\n\n\nAM\u00c9LINEAU, E.--Morale \u00c9gyptien. Paris, 1892. 8vo.\n\nBERGMANN, E.--Das Buch vom Durchwandeln der Ewigkeit. Vienna, 1877.\n\nBIRCH, S.--Egyptian Texts from the Coffin of Amamu. London, 1886.\n Egyptian Hieratic Papyrus of Rameses III. London, 1876.\n\nBREASTED, J.H.--Ancient Records--Egypt. Chicago, 1906.\n\nBRUGSCH, H.--Sieben Jahre der Hungersnoth. Leipzig, 1891.\n Inscriptio Rosettana. Berlin, 1851.\n Neue Weltordnung. Berlin, 1881.\n Reise nach der grossen Oase. Leipzig, 1878.\n Rhind's zwei Bilingue Papyri. Leipzig, 1865.\n Shai an Sinsin. Berlin, 1851.\n\nBUDGE, E.A. WALLIS.--Book of the Dead, Egyptian Texts,\n Translation and Vocabulary, 2nd ed. London, 1909.\n Papyrus of Ani. London, 1913.\n Papyri of Hunefer, Anhai, Netchemet, Kersher, and Nu. London, 1899.\n Hieratic Papyri. Texts and translations. London, 1910.\n Book of Opening the Mouth, Liturgy of Funerary Offerings,\n The Book of Am-Tuat, The Book of Gates. London, 1906-1909.\n Legends of the Gods. London, 1912.\n Annals of Nubian Kings. London, 1912.\n Greenfield Papyrus. 1912.\n\nDE HORRACK, P.J.--Les Lamentations d'Isis. Paris, 1866.\n\nERMAN, A.--Gespr\u00e4ch eines Lebensm\u00fcden. Berlin, 1896.\n Die M\u00e4rchen des Papyrus Westcar. Berlin, 1890.\n\nGARDINER, A.H.--Egyptian Hieratic Texts, Part I. Leipzig, 1911.\n The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage. Leipzig, 1909.\n Die Erz\u00e4hlung des Sinuhe. Leipzig, 1904.\n Die Klagen des Bauern. Leipzig, 1908.\n\nGR\u00c9BAUT, E.--Hymne \u00e0 Ammon-Ra. Paris, 1874.\n\nGRIFFITH, F. Ll.--Stories of the High Priests of Memphis. Oxford, 1900.\n\nGOLENISCHEFF, W.--Die Metternichstele. Leipzig, 1877.\n Le Conte du Naufrag\u00e9. Cairo, 1912.\n Les Papyrus Hi\u00e9ratiques. St. Petersburg, 1913.\n\nJOACHIM, H.--Papyros Ebers. Berlin, 1890.\n\nLEF\u00c9BURE, E.--Le Mythe Osirien. Paris, 1874.\n Traduction compar\u00e9e des Hymnes. Paris, 1868.\n\nLEGRAIN, G.--Livre des Transformations. Paris, 1890.\n\nLIEBLEIN, J.--Le livre \u00c9gyptien, Que mon nom. Leipzig, 1895.\n\nMASPERO, G.--Contes Populaires. Paris, 1912.\n Une enqu\u00eate judiciaire. Paris, 1872.\n \u00c9tudes \u00c9gyptiennes. Tomm. I, II. Paris, 1883.\n Du Genre \u00c9pistolaire. Paris, 1872.\n Hymne au Nil. Paris, 1868, and Cairo, 1912.\n Inscriptions des Pyramides de Saqqarah. Paris, 1894.\n M\u00e9moire sur quelques Papyrus. Paris, 1875.\n Les M\u00e9moires de Sinouhit. Cairo, 1908.\n\nM\u00d6LLER, G.--Die beiden Totenpapyrus Rhind. Leipzig, 1913.\n\nMORET, A.--Le Rituel du Culte Divin. Paris, 1902.\n\nM\u00dcLLER, W.M.--Die Liebespoesie der alten \u00c4gypter. Leipzig, 1899.\n\nNAVILLE, E.--Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch. Berlin, 1886.\n La Litanie du Soleil. Leipzig, 1875.\n Papyrus Fun\u00e9raires de la XXIe dynastie. Paris, 1912.\n Textes relatifs an Mythe Horus. Geneva, 1870.\n\nSCHACK-SCHACKENBURG, H.--Das Buch von den zwei Wegen. Leipzig, 1903.\n\nSCH\u00c4FER, H.--Die Aethiopische K\u00f6niginschrift. Leipzig, 1901.\n Ein Bruchst\u00fcck alt\u00e4gyptischer Annalen. Berlin, 1902.\n\nSCHIAPARELLI.--Libro dei Funerali. Turin, 1882.\n\nSPIEGELBERG, W.--Der Sagenkreis des K\u00f6nigs Petubastis. Leipzig, 1910.\n Das Demotische Totenbuch. Leipzig, 1910.\n Der Papyrus Libbey. Strassburg, 1907.\n Rechnungen aus der Zeit Setis I. Strassburg, 1896.\n\nVIREY, PH.--\u00c9tudes sur le Papyrus Prisse. Paris, 1887.\n\nVOGELSANG, F.--Die Klagen des Bauern. Leipzig, 1913.\n\nWIEDEMANN, A.--Hieratische Texte aus den Museen zu Berlin\n und Paris. Leipzig, 1879.\n Magie und Zauberei. Leipzig, 1905.\n Die Unterhaltung's Litteratur der alten Aegypter. Leipzig, 1902.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX\n\nAa, 159, 165\nAakheperenra, 103, 144\nAakheperkara, 142, 145\nAamu, 108, 128, 161, 163\nAapep, 48, 68\nAapepi, 254\nAataka, 114\nAat-Beqt, 151\nAatti, 141, 142\nAbana, 140\nAbhat, 136\nAbtu Fish, 48\nAbu, 73, 83, 86, 87, 128, 130, 132, 165\n --products of, 85\nAbydos, 44, 45, 47, 65, 99, 127, 138, 245, 246, 249\n valley of, 200\nAcacia, 46, 61, 201\n and river, 202\n cut down, 203, 206\nAcacias, the two, 205\nAfricanus, 98\nAged God, 15, 48\nAhnas al-Madinah, 170\nAina, 113\nAir-god, 16\n air supply, 43\nAkert, 44, 46, 65, 115, 221\nAkeru, 21\nAkhet, 62, 64, 134, 151, 155\nAku, 156\nAlasa, 194\nAle, 19\nAlexander the Great, 71\n --II, 250\nAlexandria, 88\n Library of, 98\nAl-Kab, 140, 143\nAltar stands, 147\nAm, 90\nAmam, 128, 132, 133, 134\nAm-as, 13\nAmasis I, 140, 143\n --the naval officer, 140 ff.\nAmasis Pen-Nekheb, 143 ff.\nAmen, 60, 67, 70, 93, 103, 104, 105, 111, 117, 146, 147, 185, 187,\n 188, 189, 193, 194, 216, 217, 219, 220, 247\n --Father, 119\n --of Siwah, 71\nAmenemhat I, 155, 162\n --II, 155\n --III, 99\nAmen-hetep I, 142, 144\nAmeni Amen-aa, 213\n --Amenemhat, 135 ff\nAmen-ka-mutef, 218\nAmen-Ra; 68, 76, 106, 110, 115, 145, 148, 164, 185, 186, 189, 190,\n 192, 193, 218, 219, 249, 250\n Hymn to, 214 ff.\nAmen-shefit, 147\nAmentamat, 186, 187, 192\nAmentet, 46, 49, 50, 61, 149, 153, 164\nAmenti, 248\nAmenuserhat, 190\nAmes sceptre, 215\nAmhet, 49\nAm-khent, 13\nAmmaau, 134\nAmmon, 67, 71\nAmmuiansha, 157, 161\nAmsu, 151\nAmtes, 128\nAmulets, 41, 43, 246\nAm-urtet, 153\nAn, 45, 46, 63, 65\nAn instrument, 15\nAnatomy, 252\nAncestor-god, 70\nAnebuheq, 156\nAni; 216, 218\n Maxims of, 228\n papyrus of, 44, 45\nAnkh Psemthek, 88\nAnkh-taui, 151, 152\nAnkhu, 238\nAnmutef, 20\nAnnals of Thothmes III, 104\nAnnana, 207\nAnointing, 13\nAnpu, 15, 69, 196, 197 ff.\nAnqet, 85\nAnrekh, 64\nAnrutef, 47, 81\nAnt Fish, 48\nAntchmer, 155\nAntef, 137, 138\nAntes, 46\nAntet Boat, 218\nAnti, 142, 143\nAntiu, 106, 109, 141\nAntti Boat, 222\nAntuf, 242\nAnu (Heliopolis), 15, 20, 24, 36, 37, 43, 45, 48, 61, 214, 217,\n 218, 220, 222\nAnubis, 15, 33, 50, 60, 69, 149\nApe-gods, 49\nApes, 212\n spirits of dawn, 218\nApet, 29, 30, 32\nAphroditopolis, 128, 130\nApollinopolis, 78\nApts, 118, 143, 147, 148, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218\nApuur, 236, 239, 240\nAqen, 101\nAqert, 64\nAra, 132\nArabia, 93, 215\nAram Naharayim, 109\nArchers (stars), 21\nArm rings, 23\nArniau, 154\nAroeris, 164\nArsu, 110\nArthet, 128, 131, 133\nArtheth, 133\nAsbatau, 112\nAsemt, 142\nAshtoreth, 78\nAsi, 108\nAsia, 108\nAsiatics, 108, 238\nAsri, 170\nAss, eater of, 48\nAssa, 4, 134, 135, 224\nAsten, 2\nAstronomy, 1\nAswan, 83, 131\nAtef Crown, 54, 111, 115, 215\nAtem, 61, 67\nAten, 61, 62\nAthettaui, 166\nAthi-taui, 117\nAukehek, 144\nAukert, 54\nAunab, 90\nAusares, 68\nAvaris, 140, 141, 256\n\n\nBaba, 53\nBadhilu, 185\nBaiufra, 27, 29\nBalance; 23, 54\n heaven weighed in; 47\n keeper of, 50\n --of Truth, 247\nBandlets, 16, 23\nBaqanau, 112\nBarber, 251\nBarley, 34, 45\nBata, 196, 197, 204, 205\nBaurtet, 134, 135\nBeautiful Face, 218, 220\nBeer, 203\n drinking of, 229\n --of Hathor, 73\nBees, 251\nBeetle, sacred, 91\nBefen, 88\nBefent, 89\nBehutet, 82\nBekhten, Princess of, 92 ff.\nBenben Stone, 216, 217\nBeni-hasan, 135\nBentresht, 93, 95\nBenu bird, 43, 45, 91\nBequests, 254\nBetti, 56\nBetu incense, 28\nBirds, sacred, 52\nBlack Fiends, 68\nBlacks, 128, 129\n character of, 102\n edict against, 101, 102\n hand of, 110\nBlacksmiths, 78, 81, 251\nBlasphemy, 53, 72\nBlood in beer, 73\n of Isis, 56\nBoat, magical, 43\n --of Amen, 191\n --of Amen-Ra, 185, 193\nBoat of Millions of Years, 77, 91, 92\n --of Ra; 123\n two Boats of Ra, 123\n --of Ra-Harmakhis, 78\n --of the Sun, 234, 246\nBook, Am Tuat, 244\n --boxes, 7\n --\"May my name,\" 250\n --of Aapep, 250\n --of Breathings, 40, 59 ff.\n --of Gates, 246\n --of knowing how Ra, 68\n --of making splendid, 64 ff.\n --of Opening the Mouth, 13, 38\n --of overthrowing Aapepi, 67 ff.\n --of Proverbs, 224\n --of Psalms, 241\n --of slaying the Hippopotamus, 78\n --of the Dead; 4, 6, 29, 37 ff. 41\n the Recensions of, 39 ff.\n summary of Chapters of, 42 ff.\n Gr\u00e6co-Roman Books, 59 ff.\n hieratic, 4\n hieroglyphic, 40\n --of the Two Ways, 244\n --of Traversing Eternity, 40, 61\n --of Wisdom, 224\nBooks, 2\n magical, 30\n --of Thoth, 2\n study of, 230\nBread cakes, 45\nBronze, 238\nBrugsch, Dr. H., 9\nBuilder, 251\nBull, the ship, 140\n --skin of, 14\nBulls, sacrifice of, 15\nBurial, 232\nBushel, 52\nBusiris, 39, 44, 46, 61\nButo, 92\nByblos, 186, 187, 195, 238\nByssus, 191, 243\n\n\nCairo, 4, 15, 169\nCake for journey, 17\nCakes, 19\nCalf, sucking, 14\nCanopus, 112\nCaravans, 119\nCarnelian, 238\nCataract, first, 73, 83, 116\nCedar, oil of, 18\n wood of, 185\nChampollion, J.F., 37, 92\nCharcoal, 6\nCharms, 41\nChattering, 229\nCheops, 25, 27\nChildren of Horus, 220\nChristianity in Egypt, 39\nChristians, Egyptian, 7, 68\nCircuit of Great Circuit, 109\nCity of Amen, 220\n --Eternity, 161\nCleopatra, 183\nCoffins, inscribed, 4\nCollar, 16\n amulet of, 43\nComing forth by day, 43\nCompany of gods, the great, 218\nConspiracy, 254\nCopper, 114\n sulphate of, 6\nCoptos, 113, 136\nCopts, 7, 68\nCord for land measuring, 85\nCord-master, 22\nCow-goddess, 73, 74\nCow, the celestial, 74\nCreation, story of, 67 ff.\nCrocodile-god, 175\nCrocodile of W.E.S. and N., 57\n --waxen, 25-7\n seizes a servant, 35, 36\n transformation into, 43\n spells against, 42\nCrocodilopolis, 124\nCrown, the Double, 80\n the Red, 23\n the White, 23, 215, 216\nCrusher of bones, 53\nCush, 102, 142\nCymbals, 33\nCyprus, 108, 194\n\n\nDance, 134\nDancing women, 33\nDarkness, 68\nDaughters of Nile-god, 220\nDay, 17\n right eye of Ra, 220\nDays, lucky and unlucky, 253\nDead hand, 224, 244\n --the blessed, 244\nDeath, 234\n god of, 14, 43, 154\n messenger of, 229\n the second, 43, 44\nDecapitation, 43\nDeceit, 46, 47\nDeeds, good, 230\nDekans, the Thirty-Six, 46, 62\nDelta, 39, 44, 57, 77, 79, 81, 82, 92, 102, 105, 117, 128, 237,\n 245, 254\nDemotic writing, 1\nDer al-Bahari, 146\nDestiny, 220\nDhir, 185, 186\nDiligence, 227\nDiocletian, 97\nDisk, 165, 200\nDissection, 252\nDocuments, legal, 7\nDog-god, 15\nDog-star, 20, 24\nD'Orbiney, 196\nDouble, the, 11, 16\nDrafts, 7\nDrunkard, 228, 229\nDwarf, 91\n dancing, 133\nDyer,252\n\n\nEarth-god, 22, 24, 44, 47, 69\nEarth Serpent, 221\n --the wife of Ra, 220\nEast, Souls of, 43\nEbers, Dr. G., 252\nEbony box, 26\n --paddles, 28\nEcclesiasticus, 224\nEdfu, 77, 78, 82\nEgypt, invasion of, 116 ff.\n wisdom of, 2\nEight gods, 120\nEileithyiaspolis, 43, 47, 140\nElephantine, 83, 102, 128, 130, 132, 165\nElephants' tusks, 212\nElysian Fields, 40, 41, 42, 45\nEmbalmment, ritual of, 247\nEndowments, 254\nEnemies in Tuat, 42\nEnemy, Serpent, 47\nEnvoy, 251\nErman, Prof. E., 25\nEuphrates, 108\nEusebius, 98\nEvening Boat, 48\nEvil, god of, 2\nExecutioner of Osiris, 43\nEye of Horus, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24,\n the two eyes, 17\n --of Khepera, 70\n --of Ra, 46, 55, 72, 223\n --of Nebertcher, 69\nEye paint, 13, 212\nEyes of Ra, 248\n\n\nFalcon, 21\nFamine, the Seven Years', 83\nFarafrah, 169\nFarmer, 226, 251\nFather Ra, 123\nFayyum, 121\nFenkhu, 102, 164\nFerryman, the celestial, 43\nFestival Songs of Isis and Nephthys, 62\nFestivals, duty of keeping, 228\nField of Offerings, 24, 60\n --grasshoppers, 54, 60\nFields of Turquoise, 64\nFig tree, 241\nFire, 232, 245\n --House of, 215\n --Island of, 43\n --Lake of, 22\nFlint, box of, 32\nFog-fiend, 68\nFollowers of Horus, 48, 78\nFood celestial, 47\nFoods, 11\nFountain of the Sun, 123\nFowler, 252\nFrog-goddess, 33\nFuneral, Chapter of, 42\nFunerary Ritual, 37\n\n\nGardiner, Mr. A.H., 240\nGates of Tuat, 60\nGazelle, 15\nGebel Barkal, 116, 119, 125\nGeese, 15, 20\nGizah, 126\nGlue for papyrus, 6\nGoatskin, 4\nGod, 238\n devotion to, 231\n origin of, 42\nGods, Great Company of, 15\n --Legends of; 71 ff.\n of cardinal points, 21\n origin of, 217\n the Eighteen, 20\n the Forty-two, 51\n the Two Great, 24\nGod-house, 147, 148\nGold, 48\n from Sudan; 135\n of valour, 140, 141\nGoose, 89\n a dead, restored, 31\nGourds, 209\nGrain, an emanation of Ra, 220\nGranite, 85, 131\nGrants of land, 254\nGreat Bear, 20\n --Circuit, 108\n --Door, 188, 206\n --Gate, 163\n --God, 50\n --Judgment, 50, 53, 247\n --Green, 109, 113, 123, 217\n --Hall, 60, 218\n --Hawk, 218\n --High Mouth, 111\n --House, 15, 83, 161, 166, 215\n --River, 112\n --Scales, 50\n --Throne, 147\nGreyhounds, 212\nGum, 6\n\n\nHair of Bata's wife, 202\nHait, 185\nHall of Keb, 60, 248\n --of Judgment, 50, 247\n --of Maati, 51, 53\n --of Shu, 60\n --of Truth, 55, 60, 248\n --of Tuat, 42\nHammamat, 113\nHap-Asar, 149\nHappiness, 232\nHarmakhis, 46, 248\nHarper, Song of, 242\nHarris Papyrus, No. 1, 110\n --No. 500, 241, 242, 254\nHasau, 112\nHathaba, 194\nHathor, 21, 72, 73, 114, 134, 164, 165, 248, 253\n --month of, 253\n --Sekhmet, 72\nHathors, the Seven, 202\nHatshepset, 145\nHaughtiness, 226\nHaunebu, 102\nHawk, golden; 43\n divine, 43\n the Great, 91\nHawks, 20\nHead, lifting up of, 44\nHeadsman of Osiris, 43\nHeart, 50\n amulet of the, 42\n of Bata, 201\n of bull, 15\n Chapters of, 42\n of a man, 230\n restoration of, 44\nHeart-scarabs, 51\nHeat in body, 44\nHeaven, solar, 39\nHeavens, the Two, 23\nHeben, 79\nHebit, 248\nHebrews, 241\nHeh, 101\nHeight, 19\nHeliopolis, 15, 24, 32, 36, 39, 43, 46, 48, 52, 61, 70, 72, 123,\n 220, 222, 235, 245, 248\nHeliopolitans, 67\nHememet, 219\nHensu, 47, 53, 73, 117, 121, 170, 171, 175\nHenu Boat, 46\nHep, 85, 86, 176\nHeqet, 33, 34\nHerakleopolis, 47, 73, 81, 117, 121, 170, 171, 175\nHerankh, 149, 150, 151\nHerfhaf, 54\nHer-Heru, 186, 190, 193\nHerit, 156\nHerkemmaat, 56\nHerkhuf, autobiography of, 131 ff.\nHermonthis, 123\nHermopolis, 39, 43, 50, 53, 60, 84, 117, 119\n Parva, 85\nHermopolitans, 67\nHeron, 43\nHert, 19\nHerua, 207\nHeru-Behutet, Legend of, 78 ff.\nHeru-uatu, 166\nHeruemheb, 254\nHeru-Hekenu, 77\nHerukhentisemti, 114\nHeru-Khuti, 45, 46, 111, 220\nHerushefit, 178\nHerutataf, 29, 30, 31, 33, 50, 242\nHeru-ur, 164\nHet Benben, 123\n --Benu, 117-19\nHetkaptah, 45, 112, 149, 220\nHet-neter-Sebek, 117\nHet Nub, 130, 131, 146\nHetra, 247\nHet Sekhmet, 34\n --Suten, 117\nHet Uart, 140\nHieratic writing, 1\nHieroglyphic writing, 1\nHieroglyphs, 220\nHippopotami, 78\nHoly Land, 45\n --of Holies, 146\nHoney, 159\nHorizon, 30\nHorus, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 33, 44, 48, 53, 56, 65, 69,\n 77, 80, 85, 88, 91, 110, 111, 137, 149, 151, 162, 164, 165,\n 218, 220, 254,\n birth of, 90\n children of, 221\n --of Behutet, Legend of, 77 ff.\n --of the East, 164, 218\n --stung and restored to life, 90, 92\nHorus-Set, 14\nHorus the Slayer, 104\nHouse, building of, 43\n --of Amen, 113\n --of Benben, 216\n --of Books, 98\n --of Fire, 215\n --of Ka of Seker, 149\n --of Life, 84\n --of Seneferu, 100\n --of Shent, 154\nHumility, 227\nHunefer, Papyrus of, 45\nHyksos, 254\nHymn, funerary, 47\n in praise of learning, 250\n --to Nut, 18\n to Ra, 18\nHymns to gods, 12, 214-21\n\n\nIbis-god, 84\nIllahun, 121\nImhetep, 84, 129, 242\nImmortality, 38\nImouthis, 84\nIncantations, 41\nIncarnation, 11, 13, 249\nIncense, 13, 218\nInk, 6\n red and black, 4\nInk-pots, 7\nIron, 15\n spear and chain, 78\nIsis, 33, 34, 43, 46, 65, 69, 75, 80, 81, 85, 88, 89, 91, 92, 97,\n 109, 149\n --and Ra, Legend of, 74 ff.\nIsis, blood of, 56\n --speech of, 63\n --wanderings of, 87 ff.\nIsland of Elephantine, 83\n --of Fire, 43\n --of Osiris, 54\nIslands of the Blest, 244\n --Mediterranean, 164\nIsrael, 224, 240\nIt, 151\n\n\nJackal-God, 15\nJoppa, capture of, 254\nJoseph, 83\nJudge of the dead, 2\nJudges, the Forty-two, 42, 52 ff.\nJudgment Hall of Osiris, 42\n --the Great, 2\n\n\nKA, 11, 16\n of Osiris, 45\nKaau, 128\nKadesh, 104\nKaheni, 123\nKamur, 157\nKamutef, 76, 214\nKarnak, 118, 147, 148, 214, 215\nKash, 102, 103, 114, 135, 142, 144, 207\nKeb, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 33, 44, 60, 62, 72, 74, 85, 111,\n 151, 220\nKeeper of the Balance, 50\nKefti, 108\nKenset, 146\nKepuna, 186, 238\nKerkut, 20\nKersher, 59\nKetu, 108\nKhaemennefer, 140\nKhaemuast, 192\nKhafra, 25, 36\nKhahap, 151, 154\nKhakaura, 101\nKhakhepersenb, 235, 236\nKhakhut, 146\nKhanefer Merenra, 130, 131\nKhanes, 170\nKhartum, 102\nKharu, 185\nKhemenu, 22, 92, 95\nKhensu-nefer-hetep, Legend of, 92 ff.\nKhensu-paari-sekherenuast, 95 ff.\nKhenthennefer, 141, 142\nKhentiaaush, 164\nKhent Keshu, 164\nKhenti Amentiu, 65\nKhepera, 47, 55, 68, 69, 70, 76, 121, 215\nKheperkara, 135, 162\nKhepra-Set, 111\nKheprer, 19\nKheraha, 46, 53, 218\nKher-Heb priest, 13, 25, 27, 63, 84, 131, 132, 151\nKhert Nefer, 132, 148\nKhet, 142\nKhnemetast, 155\nKhnemet-heru, 142\nKhnemu; 33, 34, 39, 43, 50, 60, 137, 151, 201, 202, 222, 238\n Legend of, 83 ff.\nKhuenanpu, story of, 169 ff.\nKhufu, 25, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 50, 242\nKhuna, 133\nKhut serpent, 108\nKhuti, 218\nKina, 104\nKing an incarnation of God, 11\nKingdom of Osiris, 42, 45\nKummah, 101\nKutut, 112\n\n\nLabu, 112\nLadder, 21\nLady of Plague, 175\n --of the Stars, 167\nLake of Fire, 22\n --of Kamur, 157\n --of Neserser, 220\n --of the North, 79\n --of Seneferu, 156\n --of Truth, 54\nLamentations; 238\n of Isis and Nephthys, 62\nLand of the Blacks, 100\n --of everlasting Life, 41\n --of Oxen, 169\n --of Souls, 247\n --of Spirits, 134\n --of the God, 108, 113, 125\nLapis-lazuli, 50, 64, 218, 238\n powdered, 6\nLasmersekni, 117\nLaughter, 238\nLaw, the, 254\nLaw-goddess, 47\nLepsius, Dr. R., 28, 37\nLetopolis, 91, 151\nLetopolites, 32\nLetters, business, 7\nLeyden, 237, 242\nLearning, value of, 250\nLebanon, 189, 190, 191\nLibrary, 8\n of Heliopolis, 154\nLibyans, 109, 112, 156\nLies, 40\nLife, everlasting, 44, 55\n --fluid of, 16\nLight-god, 43, 46\nLight-soul, 74\nLightning, 250\nLime, white, 6\nLimestone, slabs of, for writing upon, 7\nLion, 32\nLists, 7\nLitany, 45\n of Osiris, 42\nLiturgy of Funerary Offerings, 16, 17, 38\n --of Opening the Mouth, 13\nLord of Silence, 171\n --of Truth, 183\n --of Winds, 54\nLotus, 43\nLouvre, 247\nLove Songs, 241\nLuck, 220\nLuxor, 118, 148, 215, 252\n temple of, 93\n\n\nMaat, 44, 47, 48\nMaatet, 88, 89\nMaati, the Two, 51\nMaatka, 126\nMaatkara, 144, 145, 146\nMagic, 26, 252, 253\nMagical papyri, 252\nMagicians, stories of, 25 ff.\nMaka, 164\nMakamaru, 186\nMaker of Truth, 218\nMalachite, 27\nMandrakes, 73\nManetho, 98\nMankind, destruction of, 71\nManu, Land of, 47, 48\nMariette, A., 10\nMashuashau, 112\nMaspero, Prof. G., 10\nMatcha, 128, 131\nMatchau, 214\nMatet, 123\nMathematics, 254\nMaxims of Ani, 228\nMedicine, 252\nMediterranean, 79, 83, 109\nMegiddo, Conquest of, 103\nMehen, 215, 218\nMehetch, 135, 136\nMehturit, 76\nMekes, 215\nMekher, 133\nMelons, 209\nMemory, 42\nMemphis, 25, 45, 84, 112, 121, 122, 127, 133, 149, 151, 152, 153,\n 220, 224, 225, 245\n capture of, 122\n cakes of, 62\nMen, creation of, 74, 217\nMenats, 167\nMenes, 38\nMenkabuta, 185\nMenkaura, 4, 36, 38, 50, 126\nMenkheperra, 144, 145\nMenth, 123\nMenthu, 104, 161, 164, 165\nMentiu, 141\nMenu, 151, 164\nMenu-Amen, 215\nMenus, 164\nMera, 86\nMeremaptu, 207\nMerenra, 9, 130, 131, 132\nMernat, 170\nMer-Tem, 117\nMertet-Ament, 79\nMeru, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 178, 184\nMesentiu, 13\nMeskha, 23\n instrument, 15\nMeskhenet, 33, 34\nMesopotamia, 6, 92, 106, 144\nMessiah, 237\nMest, 123\nMestet, 88, 89\nMestetef, 88, 89\nMesu Betshet, 48\nMetal workers, 251\nMeter, 83, 84 ff.\nMethen, 109\nMetternich Stele, 88\nMist, 68\nMitani, 109\nMonkeys, 212\nMonsters, 246\nMoon, creation of, 69\nMoon-god, 48\nMoral character, 231\n --rectitude, 246\nMorning Boat, 47, 48\n --Star, 24\nMother, duty to, 230\nMouth, Opening the, 11, 13, 42\nMuhammad Ali, 88\nMuller, 7\nMummification, 247\nMummy, 55\n chamber, 40, 42\nMurder, 52\nMycerinus, 38\nMyrrh, 168, 211, 218\n\n\nNak serpent, 215\nName, a word of power, 69\n --of Ra, 75\nNapata, 119, 125\nNatron, 14, 218\n incense of, 38\nNau, 57\nNebertcher, 44, 49, 53, 68, 69, 70, 121, 162, 167\nNebka, 25, 26, 27\nNebkaura, 173, 184\nNebpehtira, 140, 144\nNebt Amehet, 164\n --Ankh, 218\n --hetepet, 248\nNebun, 88\nNecklaces, 147\nNectanebus I, 88, 246\nNeferbaiu, 164\nNeferefra, 127\nNefer-hetep, 242\nNeferit, 155\nNeferkara, 134\nNefert, 169\nNefert-ari-kara, 127\nNeferu Ra, 93-144\nNefrus, 117\nNegative Confession, 61\nNehai, 248\nNeharina, 143, 144\nNehern, 92, 106\nNeith, 124\nNeka, 220\nNekau, 156, 222\nNekheb, 127, 131, 140\nNekhebet, 60, 79, 82, 162, 248\nNekhen, 43, 47, 127, 128, 131\nNekhtnebtepnefer, 139\nNemart, 117, 119, 120\nNemes, 215\nNephthys, 33, 34, 69, 85, 90, 91, 109, 149\n speech of, 63\nNeserser, 220\nNeshem Boat, 60\nNessubanebtet, 185, 186, 188, 191\nNet to snare souls, 43\nNetchemtchemankh, 85\nNight, 17\n left eye of Ra, 220\nNile, 47, 65, 76, 82, 84, 85, 112, 122, 123, 165, 216, 220, 221, 237\n the celestial, 23\n floods of, 136, 137\n god of, 86, 176, 220\n heights of, 100\n springs of, 83\n water of, 5\nNine Bows, 106\n --Gods, 111, 214\nNomes, 238\n the Forty-two, 51\nNorth Island, 129\nNose, 53\nNu, 24, 68, 69, 72, 86, 220\nNubia, 77, 78, 82, 83, 97, 102, 103, 106, 114, 116, 125, 135, 142,\n 144, 145, 146, 208\nNubians, 119, 155, 214, 215, 218\nNubt, 167\nNubti, 123, 220\nNumbers, invention of, 1\nNut, 16, 18, 20, 33, 44, 46, 47, 69, 72, 74, 85, 164\n as a cow, 73\n\n\nOasis of Farafrah, 169\n --of Siwah, 71\nObedience, 227\nObelisks, 147\nOchre, 6\nOfferings, efficacy of, 38, 247\n to God, 230\nOils, 18\nOmbos, 123\nOn (_see_ Anu), 15, 217\nOne, 217\nOnions, 17\nOpening of the Mouth, 152\nOpportunity, 228\nOrion, 23\nOsiris, 14, 15, 21, 22, 24, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 50, 54,\n 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 67, 69, 85, 111, 151, 153,\n 163, 171, 244, 246\n accused by Set, 2\n death and resurrection of, 12\n Hymn to, 42, 44, 45, 221\n Island of, 54\n Khenti Amenti, 61, 127\n Litany to, 42\n murder of, 87\n mummy of, 91\n tomb of, 81\n Un-Nefer, 44\nOther World, 10, 11, 16, 17, 42, 45, 216, 219, 244\n guides to, 224\nOxyrrhynchus, 119\n\n\nPaints, 6\nPalermo Stone, 99\nPalestine, 254\nPalette, 2, 6\nPanopolis, 151\nPanther skins, 212\nPaper, Egyptian, 4\nPapyrus, 4, 191\n how made into paper, 5\n swamps, 88\nParchment, 4, 7\nPasherenptah, 152\nPa-Sui, 88\nPat beings, 206, 218\nPatchetku, 140\nPautti, 57, 68, 222, 223\nPectoral amulet, 147\nPellegrini, 100\nPe, 43\nPen, quill, or steel, 7\nPen-Amen, 191, 192\nPepi I, 9, 18, 19, 24, 127\n --II, 9, 133\nPerfefa, 170\nPerfumer, 243\nPer-Metchet, 117-19\nPernebtepahet, 117\nPer-pek, 119\nPer-Rehu, 79\nPersea Tree, 54\nPer Sekhem Kheper Ra, 117\nPerseverance, 230\nPert, 32, 80, 101, 153\nPesh-Kef, 13\nPet, 19\nPe-Tep, 43, 92\nPeta-Bast, 152, 153\nPetamennebtnesttaui, 124\nPeten, 157\nPetet, 88, 89\nPharaoh, 93, 127, 189, 202\nPharaohs, 71\nPharmuthi, 253\nPhilae, 102\nPhoenicia, 108\nPhoenix, 45\nPiankhi invades Egypt, 116 ff.\nPicture writing, 1\nPillow amulet, 43\nPlanets, 62\nPleasure, 243\nPloughing, 197\nPoetical compositions, 241\nPolisher, 6\nPomegranate, 241\nPool of the South, 54\nPotsherds, 7\nPower of Powers, 23\nPrayers, 41\n for the dead, 12\nPriests, funerary, 9\nPrisse d'Avennes, 92\nProphets, Hebrew, 200\nPtah, 25, 43, 60, 67, 70, 84, 111, 121, 151, 152, 153, 214, 219,\n 220, 248\nPtah-hetep, 225, 228\n Precepts of, 224\nPtah-Seker-Osiris, 40\nPtah-Seker-Tem, 45\nPtah-Shepses, 126\nPtolema\u00efs, 151\nPtolemy II, 98\n --Philopator, 149\nPuarma, 117, 224\nPumpkins, 209\nPunt, 113, 134, 135, 147, 164, 211, 214, 215\nPurastau, 112\nPygmy, 133, 134\nPylons of Tuat, 42\nPyramid, the Great, 242\n --Texts, 9, 38\nPyramids, 36, 238\n futility of, 232\n\n\nQaiqashau, 112\nQakabu, 207\nQanefer, 155\nQarabana, 112\nQebti, 136\nQebtit, 113\nQehequ, 112, 114\nQerti, 53, 85\nQetem, 157, 162\nQetma, 164\nQett, 113\n\n\nRa, 18, 20, 21, 24, 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 47, 48, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62,\n 64, 67, 69, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 84, 85, 89, 91, 92, 103,\n 111, 115, 116, 123, 146, 149, 162, 164, 165, 167, 176, 199, 214,\n 215, 216, 218, 219, 222, 234, 236, 253\n titles of, 75\nRa and Isis, Legend of, 74\n --three sons of, 33-6\n --Will of, 253\nRaau, 127\nRa Harmakhis, 77, 199, 200, 201, 202, 222\nRain clouds, 68\nRa-Khepera, 221\nRam, 91\nRam-god, 152\nRameses II, 92, 96, 99\n --III, 254\n summary of reign of, 110 ff.\n --IV, 115, 116\n --IX, 192\nRaqet, 149, 153\nRaqetit, 149\nRastau, 43, 49, 53, 54, 153\nRauser, 33, 34, 35\nReant, 140\nRe-birth, 14\nReceipts, 7\nRecensions of Book of the Dead, 39\nRed Country, 138\n --Fiends, 68\n --Mountain, 156\n --Sea, 113, 208\n --water, 51\nReed for writing, 2, 7, 6\nRegister, 85\n of heaven, 2\nReincarnation, 70\nRekhit, 216\nRekhti, 137\nRennet, 86\nRensi, 170-84\nRespect for elders, 229\nResurrection, 59, 62, 88\nRetenu, 108\nRethenu, 143\nRhind Papyrus, 253, 254\nRitual of Divine Cult, 248, 249\n --of Embalmment, 247\nRiver and Acacia, 202\nRobbery of temples, 51\nRomances, 254\nRubric, 56\nRut-tetet, 32-6\n\n\nSa, 216\nSacrifices, 247\nSaah, 23\nSaara, 112\nSahal, 83\nSahu, 14\nSahura, 126\nSa\u00efs, 122, 124, 245\nSakhabu, 32\nSakkarah, 4, 9, 10, 245\nSalt Papyrus, 253\nSalvation, 59\nSameref, 13\nSanctuary of God, 229\nSandals, town of, 88\nSanehat, travels of, 155 ff.\nSapti, 32\nSarabit al-Khadim, 208\nSatet, 141\nSatiu, 156, 157\nScarab, the heart, 50\nScents, 11\nSceptre; 14\n amulet of, 43\nSchool, 231\n schools, 7\nScorpions, the Seven, 88\nScribe, 2, 230, 257\nScriptures, 7\nSeal, clay, 7\nSeasons, 1\nSea of Truth, 172\nSeba, a devil, 48, 63, 215, 223\nSebek, 164\nSebur, 15\nSehetepabra, 155, 157\nSeker, 43, 44, 46, 49, 221\n --Boat, 46\n --Osiris, 149\nSekhem, 91, 151\nSekhet Aaru, 41, 45, 74\n --Hemat, 169, 170, 184\n --Hetep, 41, 74\nSekhmet, 157, 175, 248\nSektet, 123\n --Boat, 218\nSekti, 73\nSem, 13\nSeman, 14\nSemnah, 101\nSemsuu, 164\nSemt Ament, 44\nSemti, 38\nSeneferu, 27, 28, 29, 100, 156\nSenmut, 208\nSenut, 151\nSep, 13\nSept, 57, 85\nSeptet, 20\nSeqenenra, 140, 254\nSerapis, 149\nSerpent 30 cubits long, 209\nSerpents, spells against, 43\nSerqet, 57, 91, 220\nSet, 13, 15, 18, 20, 21, 33, 48, 65, 68, 69, 79, 80, 81, 87, 88, 90,\n 92, 218, 220\n --vilifies Osiris, 2\nSetcher, 128\nSetem, 63\nSeti I, 71, 99, 246, 247, 249\nSet-nekht, 111\nSetu, 133\nShadow, 192\nShaiqaemanu, 123\nShaiu, 112\nSharhana, 141\nShartanau, 110, 112, 114\nShasu, 112, 144\nSheepskin, 4\nShekh of caravans, 131\nShemmu, 76, 151, 152\nShemit, 50\nShent, 154\nShepherd of Israel, 240\nShepseskaf, 126\nShert, 129\nShesmu, 22\nShip, 208\n wreck of, 208\nShipwrecked traveller, story of, 207 ff.\nShoemaker, 252\nShu, 16, 60, 61, 69, 72, 74, 85, 86, 220\n --Hymn to, 222\nSidon, 189\nSilence, 227, 231\nSilver-gold, 146\nSinai, 102, 114, 145, 208\nSistra, 33, 167\nSiwah, 71\nSix Great Houses, 127\nSkin for writing, 4, 7\nSky-goddess, 18, 20, 44, 47, 69\nSlaughter, 43\nSmait fiends, 81\nSmamiu, 65\nSmaur, 24\nSmen, 21, 248\nSmen Heru, 151\nSmendes, 185\nSmer, 13\nSnakes, 43\nSoane Museum, 247\nSolomon, 224\nSomaliland, 93, 215\nSong of Solomon, 241\n --the Harper, 242\nSothis, 20, 24, 85\nSoul, 46\n of God, 43\n of Ra, 45\n of Shu, 61\n rejoining body, 43\n talk with, 231\nSouls of Anu, 20, 43\n of East, 43\n of Khemenu, 43\n of Nekhen, 43\n of Pe, 43\n of West, 43\nSpells, 12, 41, 250\n against crocodiles, 57\n engraved, 43\nSpirit-soul, 18, 44\nSpirit-souls, 22\n the Four, 21\nSpirits, evil, 246\n of heaven, 61\n --of offerings, 11\nStanley, Sir H.M., 25\nStar-gods, 21, 46\nStars, 62\n imperishable, 24\nSti, 141\nStinking Face, 53, 80\nStone for writing upon, 4\nStonemason, 251\nStone of Abu, 85\n of Truth, 60\nStone-splitter, 25\nStorm, 208\nStorm-god, 189\nStumbling in Tuat, 43\nSudan, 4, 100, 133, 145, 165, 207, 215\nSin, 49\nSui, 56\nSun-god, 15, 18, 19, 39, 57, 68, 70, 199, 200, 245, 250\n Hymn to, 42, 220\nSutekh, 189\nSuten ta hetep, 149\nSwallow, 43\nSycamore, 89, 241\nSyene, 165\nSymbols, writing, 1\nSyria, 102, 108, 114, 125, 129, 143, 185, 192, 238\n\n\nTable of Offerings, 18\nTaboo, 51, 56, 57\nTafnekht, 117, 119, 121, 123, 124\nTaha, 88\nTaherstanef, 44\nTait, 113\nTaiutchait, 117\nTale of Two Brothers, 196 ff.\nTalismans, 147\nTalk, subjects of, 230\nTamera, 53, 110, 111, 112, 164, 167\nTambourines, 64\n women, 152\nTanauna, 112\nTanis, 81, 185\nTashenatit, 59\nTaskmasters, 50\nTaste, 220\nTa-sti, 77, 106, 109\nTa-tchesert, 47, 48, 64\nTa-tehen, 119\nTa-Tenn, 115\nTatu (Busiris), 44, 45, 46, 61\nTatunen, 47\nTax gatherers, 7\nTchah, 108, 144\nTchakar-Bal, 186, 193\nTchakaru, 185, 194\nTchal, 81\nTchan, 185\nTchar, 81\nTchatchamankh, 27, 28, 29, 34, 36\nTchatchau, 50, 164\nTcheser, 242\n and famine, 183\nTcheserkara, 142, 144\nTcheser tcheseru, 146\nTcheser-tep, 22\nTefen, 88, 89\nTefnut, 18, 69, 72, 89, 220, 222\nTehnah, 119\nTehuti (god), 1\n --autobiography of, 145 ff.\n --em heb, 93\n --Nekht, 170-4\nTem, Temu, 19, 22, 39, 56, 57, 60, 67, 76, 77, 91, 111, 116, 121,\n 123, 164, 215, 218, 221, 223\nTemple of Aged One, 48\n --of Millions of Years, 146\nTemple of the Soul, 47\nTemu-Heru-Khuti, 217\nTemu Khepera, 218\nTenen, 154\nTep, 253\nTerres, 133\nTet amulet of Isis, 43, 56\n --pillar, 43, 151\nTeta, 9, 127\n --the magician, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36\nTetaan, 142\nTet-Seneferu, 29, 30\nThaiemhetep, 149 ff.\nThakra, 112\nThebans, 67\nThebes, 68, 79, 92, 93, 104, 109,\n 118, 119, 161, 165, 194, 219,\n 220, 241, 242, 245, 249\nThehenu, 109, 156;\n oil of, 18\nThekansh, 117\nThemeh, 128, 133, 157\nThemehu, 156\nThenn, 165\nThennu, 159, 160, 162\nThent Amen, 185, 188, 191\n --Mut, 194\nThenttaamu, 141\nThes, 138\nThest, 129\nThetet, 88, 89\nThetha, Autobiography of, 137 ff.\nThieves, prosecution of, 254\nThis, 138\nThoth, 1-4, 13, 29, 30, 32, 37, 43,\n 45, 47, 48, 50, 55, 56, 60, 61, 67,\n 78, 82, 84, 87, 88, 91, 92, 120,\n 151, 176, 207, 218, 220, 222, 248\n city of, 39\nThothmes I, 103, 144, 145\n --II, 102, 103, 144\n --III, 99, 103, 106, 144, 145, 154\nThrone, crystal, 24\nThunders, 250\nThunderstorm, 18\nTomb, 42, 242\nTongue, 230\nTransformations, 43\nTransmutation of offerings, 17, 49\nTree of Life, 220\nTriad, 69\nTruth, 47, 48, 66, 218, 221, 236, 249\nTruth, goddess of, 61\n --Hall of, 60\n --Lake of, 54\n --Stone of, 60\nTuat, 11, 41, 43, 60, 61, 115, 219, 244, 245, 247\n chamber, 17, 123, 151\n described, 40, 56\nTuataua ships, 100\nTuauf, Precepts of, 250\nTuf, 20\nTurin Papyri, 37, 99\nTurquoise, 238\nTwo Brothers, the, 109, 196\n --ears of king, 151\n --eyes of king, 151\n --Lands, 115\n --Men, 218\n --Sisters, 109\n --Treasuries, 148\nTyre, 186\n\n\nUahankh, 137, 138, 139\nUarkathar, 189\nUart, 129\nUartha, 186\nUasheshu, 112\nUatchet, 60, 79, 82, 162\nUatch-merti, 57\nUatchti, 215\nUauat, 128, 131, 208\nUauatet, 77, 82, 84\nUbaaner, 25, 26, 27, 36\nUhat, 133\nUn, 119\nUna, Autobiography of, 127 ff.\nUnas, 9, 18, 20, 21, 22\nUnderstanding, 220\nUnguents, the Seven, 13, 243\nUn-Nefer, 44, 45, 46, 51, 63, 65, 67\nUnti, 40\nUnuamen, Travels of, 185 ff.\nUpuatu, 21\nUr-kherp-hem, 152, 153\nUrmau, 32\nUrrit, 164\nUrrt Crown, 15, 46, 215, 216\nUserhat, 185\nUserkaf, 36, 126\nUserenra, 127\nUsert, 89\nUsertsen I, 135, 155\n --III, 99, 101, 152\nUthentiu, 109\n\n\nValley of Acacia, 200, 201, 203\nVegetation, 70\nVenus, 24\nVignettes of Book of the Dead, 39\nVital power, 11\nVulture amulet, 43\n\n\nWadi an-Natrun, 169\nWadi Halfah, 101\n --Magharah, 208\nWasherman, 252\nWater, boiling, 43\n celestial, 216\n holy, 60, 66\n offering, 229\n supply, 43\n fowl, 19\nWax figures, 68\nWeighing of words, 22\nWest, souls of, 43\nWestcar Papyrus, 25\nWheat, 45\nWhip, 215\nWhirlwind, 250\nWhite Wall, 121, 151, 153\nWife, burning of a, 27\n duties to, 227\nWine, 17\nWinged Disk, 77\nWisdom, 227\nWolf-god, 57\nWoman, the strange, 228\nWood for writing upon, 4\nWords, ill-natured, 230\n of power, 41, 42, 75, 246\nWork, importance of, 227\n to avoid, 42\nWorms in tomb, 43\nWriting, boards for, 7\n exercises in, 7\n three kinds of, 1 ff.\n sacred, 1\n materials, 4\n\n\nZoan, 81, 185\n\n\n\n\n Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co.\n at Paul's Work, Edinburgh","title":"The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":101608}