THE

 LITERATURE

 OF THE

 ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

 BY

 E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M. A. , LITT. D. 

 _Sometime Scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Tyrwhitt_ _Hebrew Scholar; Keeper of the Department of Egyptian_ _and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum_

 1914

 LONDON J. M. DENT & SONS LIMITED Aldine House, Bedford Street, W. C. 

[Frontispiece: The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Ani. 1. Ani adoring the gods of Sekhet-Aaru. 2. Ani reaping in the Other World. 3. Ani ploughing in the Other World. 4. The abode of the perfect spirits, and the magical boats. ]

 PREFACE

This little book is intended to serve as an elementary introduction tothe study of Egyptian Literature. Its object is to present a shortseries of specimens of Egyptian compositions, which represent all thegreat periods of literary activity in Egypt under the Pharaohs, to allwho are interested in the study of the mental development of ancientnations. It is not addressed to the Egyptological specialist, to whom, as a matter of course, its contents are well known, and therefore itspages are not loaded with elaborate notes and copious references. Itrepresents, I believe, the first attempt made to place before the publica summary of the principal contents of Egyptian Literature in a handyand popular form. 

The specimens of native Egyptian Literature printed herein are takenfrom tombs, papyri, stelæ, and other monuments, and, with fewexceptions, each specimen is complete in itself. Translations of most ofthe texts have appeared in learned works written by Egyptologists inEnglish, French, German, and Italian, but some appear in English for thefirst time. In every case I have collated my own translations with thetexts, and, thanks to the accurate editions of texts which have appearedin recent years, it has been found possible to make many hithertodifficult passages clear. The translations are as literal as thedifference between the Egyptian and English idioms will permit, but ithas been necessary to insert particles and often to invert the order ofthe words in the original works in order to produce a connected meaningin English. The result of this has been in many cases to break up theshort abrupt sentences in which the Egyptian author delighted, andwhich he used frequently with dramatic effect. Extraordinarily concisephrases have been paraphrased, but the meanings given to several unknownwords often represent guess-work. 

In selecting the texts for translation in this book an attempt has beenmade to include compositions that are not only the best of their kind, but that also illustrate the most important branches of EgyptianLiterature. Among these religious, mythological, and moral works bulklargely, and in many respects these represent the peculiar bias of themind of the ancient Egyptian better than compositions of a purelyhistorical character. No man was more alive to his own materialinterests, but no man has ever valued the things of this world less incomparison with the salvation of his soul and the preservation of hisphysical body. The immediate result of this was a perpetual demand onhis part for information concerning the Other World, and for guidanceduring his life in this world. The priests attempted to satisfy hiscraving for information by composing the Books of the Dead and the otherfunerary works with which we are acquainted, and the popularity of theseworks seems to show that they succeeded. From the earliest times theEgyptians regarded a life of moral excellence upon earth as a necessaryintroduction to the life which he hoped to live with the blessed inheaven. And even in pyramid times he conceived the idea of the existenceof a God Who judged rightly, and Who set "right in the place of wrong. "This fact accounts for the reverence in which he held the Precepts ofPtah-hetep, Kaqemna, Herutataf, Amenemhāt I, Ani, Tuauf, Amen-hetep, andother sages. To him, as to all Africans, the Other World was a very realthing, and death and the Last Judgment were common subjects of his dailythoughts. The great antiquity of this characteristic of the Egyptian isproved by a passage in a Book of Precepts, which was written by a kingof the ninth or tenth dynasty for his son, who reigned under the name ofMerikarā. The royal writer in it reminds his son that the Chiefs [ofOsiris] who judge sinners perform their duty with merciless justice onthe Day of Judgment. It is useless to assume that length of years willbe accepted by them as a plea of justification. With them the lifetimeof a man is only regarded as a moment. After death these Chiefs must befaced, and the only things that they will consider will be his works. Life in the Other World is for ever, and only the reckless fool forgetsthis fact. The man who has led a life free from lies and deceit shalllive after death like a god. 

The reader who wishes to continue his studies of Egyptian Literaturewill find abundant material in the list of works given on pp. 256-8. 

 E. A. WALLIS BUDGE. 

 BRITISH MUSEUM, _April_ 17, 1914. 

 CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE I. THOTH, THE AUTHOR OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE. WRITING MATERIALS, PAPYRUS, INK AND INK-POT, PALETTE, &c. 1

 II. THE PYRAMID TEXTS: 9 The Book of Opening the Mouth 13 The Liturgy of Funerary Offerings 16 Hymns to the Sky-goddess and Sun-god 18 The King in Heaven 20 The Hunting and Slaughter of the Gods by the King 21

 III. STORIES OF MAGICIANS WHO LIVED UNDER THE ANCIENT EMPIRE: 25 Ubaaner and the Wax Crocodile 25 The Magician Tchatchamānkh and the Gold Ornament 27 Teta, who restored Life to Dead Animals, &c. 29 Rut-tetet and the Three Sons of Rā 33

 IV. THE BOOK OF THE DEAD: 37 Summary of Chapters 42 Hymns, Litany, and Extracts from the Book of the Dead 44 The Great Judgment 51

 V. BOOKS OF THE DEAD OF THE GRÆCO-ROMAN PERIOD: 59 Book of Breathings 59 Book of Traversing Eternity 61 The Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys 62 The Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys 64 The Book of Making Splendid the Spirit of Osiris 64

 VI. THE EGYPTIAN STORY OF THE CREATION 67

 VII. LEGENDS OF THE GODS: 71 The Destruction of Mankind 71 The Legend of Rā and Isis 74 The Legend of Horus of Behutet 77 The Legend of Khnemu and the Seven Years' Famine 83 The Legend of the Wanderings of Isis 87 The Legend of the Princess of Bekhten 92

VIII. HISTORICAL LITERATURE: 98 Extract from the Palermo Stone 100 Edict against the Blacks 101 Inscription of Usertsen III at Semnah 101 Campaign of Thothmes II in the Sūdān 102 Capture of Megiddo by Thothmes III 103 The Conquests of Thothmes III summarised by Amen-Rā 106 Summary of the Reign of Rameses III 110 The Invasion and Conquest of Egypt by Piānkhi 116

 IX. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE: 126 The Autobiography of Una 127 The Autobiography of Herkhuf 131 The Autobiography of Ameni Amenemhāt 135 The Autobiography of Thetha 137 The Autobiography of Amasis, the Naval Officer 140 The Autobiography of Amasis, surnamed Pen-Nekheb 143 The Autobiography of Tehuti, the Erpā 145 The Autobiography of Thaiemhetep 149

 X. TALES OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE: 155 The Story of Sanehat 155 The Story of the Educated Peasant Khuenanpu 169 The Journey of the Priest Unu-Amen into Syria 185

 XI. FAIRY TALES: 196 The Tale of the Two Brothers 196 The Story of the Shipwrecked Traveller 207

 XII. EGYPTIAN HYMNS TO THE GODS: 214 Hymn to Amen-Rā 214 Hymn to Amen 219 Hymn to the Sun-god 220 Hymn to Osiris 221 Hymn to Shu 222

XIII. MORAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE: 224 The Precepts of Ptah-hetep 225 The Maxims of Ani 228 The Talk of a Man who was tired of Life with His Soul 231 The Lament of Khakhepersenb, surnamed Ankhu 235 The Lament of Apuur 236

 XIV. EGYPTIAN POETICAL COMPOSITIONS: 241 The Poem in the Tomb of Antuf 242

 XV. MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE: 244 The Book of Two Ways 244 The Book "Am Tuat" 244 The Book of Gates 246 The Ritual of Embalmment 247 The Ritual of the Divine Cult 248 The Book "May My Name Flourish" 250 The Book of Āapep 250 The Instructions of Tuauf 250 Medical Papyri 252 Magical Papyri 252 Legal Documents 253 Historical Romances 254 Mathematical Papyri 254

 EDITIONS OF EGYPTIAN TEXTS, TRANSLATIONS, &c. 256

 INDEX 259

 ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGETHE ELYSIAN FIELDS OF THE EGYPTIANS _Frontispiece_

THOTH, THE SCRIBE OF THE GODS 3

THOTH AND AMEN-RĀ SUCCOURING ISIS 5

EGYPTIAN WRITING PALETTES _To face_ 6

VIGNETTE FROM THE BOOK OF THE DEAD (Chapter XCII) _To face_ 42

HER-HERU AND QUEEN NETCHEMET RECITING A HYMN _To face_ 44

HER-HERU AND QUEEN NETCHEMET STANDING IN THE HALL OF OSIRIS _To face_ 52

STELE RELATING THE STORY OF THE HEALING OF BENTRESHT 94

STELE ON WHICH IS CUT THE SPEECH OF AMEN-RĀ 107

A PAGE FROM THE GREAT HARRIS PAPYRUS _To face_ 110

STELE ON WHICH IS CUT THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THAIEMHETEP 150

A PAGE OF THE TALE OF THE TWO BROTHERS _To face_ 196

 THE LITERATURE OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

 CHAPTER I

 THOTH, THE AUTHOR OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE. WRITING MATERIALS, ETC. 

The Literature of ancient Egypt is the product of a period of about fourthousand years, and it was written in three kinds of writing, which arecalled hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic. In the first of these thecharacters were pictures of objects, in the second the forms of thecharacters were made as simple as possible so that they might be writtenquickly, and in the third many of them lost their picture formaltogether and became mere symbols. Egyptian writing was believed tohave been invented by the god Tehuti, or Thoth, and as this god wasthought to be a form of the mind and intellect and wisdom of the God whocreated the heavens and the earth, the picture characters, orhieroglyphs as they are called, were held to be holy, or divine, orsacred. Certain religious texts were thought to possess special virtuewhen written in hieroglyphs, and the chapters and sections of books thatwere considered to have been composed by Thoth himself were believed topossess very great power, and to be of the utmost benefit to the deadwhen they were written out for them in hieroglyphs, and buried with themin their coffins. Thoth also invented the science of numbers, and as hefixed the courses of the sun, moon, and stars, and ordered the seasons, he was thought to be the first astronomer. He was the lord of wisdom, and the possessor of all knowledge, both heavenly and earthly, divineand human; and he was the author of every attempt made by man to draw, paint, and carve. As the lord and maker of books, and as the skilledscribe, he was the clerk of the gods, and kept the registers wherein thedeeds of men were written down. The deep knowledge of Thoth enabled himto find out the truth at all times, and this ability caused theEgyptians to assign to him the position of Chief Judge of the dead. Avery ancient legend states that Thoth acted in this capacity in thegreat trial that took place in heaven when Osiris was accused of certaincrimes by his twin-brother Set, the god of evil. Thoth examined theevidence, and proved to the gods that the charges made by Set wereuntrue, and that Osiris had spoken the truth and that Set was a liar. For this reason every Egyptian prayed that Thoth might act for him as hedid for Osiris, and that on the day of the Great Judgment Thoth mightpreside over the weighing of his heart in the Balance. All the importantreligious works in all periods were believed to have been composedeither by himself, or by holy scribes who were inspired by him. Theywere believed to be sources of the deepest wisdom, the like of whichexisted in no other books in the world. And it is probably to thesebooks that Egypt owed her fame for learning and wisdom, which spreadthroughout all the civilised world. The "Books of Thoth, " which latepopular tradition in Egypt declared to be as many as 36, 525 in number, were revered by both natives and foreigners in a way which it isdifficult for us in these days to realise. The scribes who studied andcopied these books were also specially honoured, for it was believedthat the spirit of Thoth, the twice-great and thrice-great god, dwelt inthem. The profession of the scribe was considered to be most honourable, and its rewards were great, for no rank and no dignity were too high forthe educated scribe. Thoth appears in the papyri and on the monuments asan ibis-headed man, and his companion is usually a dog-headed ape called"Asten. " In the Hall of the Great Judgment he is seen holding in onehand a reed with which he is writing on a palette the result of theweighing of the heart of the dead man in the Balance. The gods acceptedthe report of Thoth without question, and rewarded the good soul andpunished the bad according to his statement. From the beginning to theend of the history of Egypt the position of Thoth as the "righteousjudge, " and framer of the laws by which heaven and earth, and men andgods were governed, remained unchanged. 

[Illustration: Thoth, the Scribe of the Gods. ]

The substances used by the Egyptians for writing upon were verynumerous, but the commonest were stone of various kinds, wood, skin, andpapyrus. The earliest writings were probably traced upon thesesubstances with some fluid, coloured black or red, which served as ink. When the Egyptians became acquainted with the use of the metals theybegan to cut their writings in stone. The text of one of the oldestchapters of the Book of the Dead (LXIV) is said in the Rubric to thechapter to have been "found" cut upon a block of "alabaster of thesouth" during the reign of Menkaurā, a king of the fourth dynasty, about3700 B. C. As time went on and men wanted to write long texts orinscriptions, they made great use of wood as a writing material, partlyon account of the labour and expense of cutting in stone. In the BritishMuseum many wooden coffins may be seen with their insides covered withreligious texts, which were written with ink as on paper. Sheepskin, orgoatskin, was used as a writing material, but its use was never general;ancient Egyptian documents written on skin or, as we should say, onparchment, are very few. At a very early period the Egyptians learnedhow to make a sort of paper, which is now universally known by the nameof "papyrus. " When they made this discovery cannot be said, but thehieroglyphic inscriptions of the early dynasties contain the picture ofa roll of papyrus, and the antiquity of the use of papyrus musttherefore be very great. Among the oldest dated examples of inscribedpapyrus may be noted some accounts which were written in the reign ofKing Assa (fourth dynasty, 3400 B. C. ), and which were found at Sakkārah, about 20 miles to the south of Cairo. 

Papyrus was made from the papyrus plant that grew and flourished in theswamps and marshes of Lower Egypt, and in the shallow pools that wereformed by the annual Nile flood. It no longer grows in Egypt, but it isfound in the swamps of the Egyptian Sūdān, where it grows sometimes toa height of 25 feet. The roots and the stem, which is often thicker thana man's arm, are used as fuel, and the head, which is large and rounded, is in some districts boiled and eaten as a vegetable. The Egyptianvariety of the papyrus plant was smaller than that found in the Sūdān, and the Egyptians made their paper from it by cutting the inner part ofthe stem into thin strips, the width of which depended upon thethickness of the stem; the length of these varied, of course, with thelength of the stem. To make a sheet of papyrus several of these stripswere laid side by side lengthwise, and several others were laid overthem crosswise. Thus each sheet of papyrus contained two layers, whichwere joined together by means of glue and water or gum. Pliny, a Romanwriter, states (Bohn's edition, vol. Iii. P. 189) that Nile water, which, when in a muddy state, has the peculiar qualities of glue, wasused in fastening the two layers of strips together, but traces of gumhave actually been found on papyri. The sheets were next pressed andthen dried in the sun, and when rubbed with a hard polisher in order toremove roughnesses, were ready for use. [1] By adding sheet to sheet, rolls of papyrus of almost any length could be made. The longest roll inthe British Museum is 133 feet long by 16-1/2 inches high (HarrisPapyrus, No. 1), and the second in length is a copy of the Book of theDead, which is 123 feet long and 18-1/2 inches high; the latter contains2666 lines of writing arranged in 172 columns. The rolls on whichordinary compositions were written were much shorter and not so high, for they are rarely more than 20 feet long, and are only from 8 to 10inches in height. 

[Illustration: Thoth and Amen-Rā Succouring Isis in the Papyrus Swamps. ]

The scribe mixed on his palette the paints which he used. This paletteusually consisted of a piece of alabaster, wood, ivory, or slate, from 8to 16 inches in length and from 2 to 3-1/2 inches in width; all fourcorners were square. At one end of the palette a number of oval orcircular hollows were sunk to hold ink or paint. Down the middle was cuta groove, square at one end and sloping at the other, in which thewriting reeds were placed. These were kept in position by a piece ofwood glued across the middle of the palette, or by a sliding cover, which also served to protect the reeds from injury. On the sides of thisgroove are often found inscriptions that give the name of the owner ofthe palette, and that contain prayers to the gods for funeraryofferings, or invocations to Thoth, the inventor of the art of writing. The black ink used by the scribes was made of lamp-black or offinely-powdered charcoal mixed with water, to which a very smallquantity of gum was probably added. Red and yellow paint were made frommineral earths or ochres, blue paint was made from lapis-lazuli powder, green paint from sulphate of copper, and white paint from lime-white. Sometimes the ink was placed in small wide-mouthed pots made of Egyptianporcelain or alabaster. The scribe rubbed down his colours on a stoneslab with a small stone muller. The writing reed, which served as a pen, was from 8 to 10 inches long, and from one-sixteenth to one-eighth of aninch in diameter; the end used in writing was bruised and not cut. Inlate times a very much thicker reed was used, and then the end was cutlike a quill or steel pen. Writing reeds of this kind were carried inboxes of wood and metal specially made for the purpose. Many specimensof all kinds of Egyptian writing materials are to be seen in theEgyptian Rooms of the British Museum. 

[Footnote 1: In some parts of Mesopotamia where scribes at the presentday use rough paper made in Russia, each sheet before being written uponis laid upon a board and polished by means of a glass bottle. ]

[Illustration: Wooden Palette of Rāmeri, an official of Thothmes IV. 1470 B. C. Wooden Palette of Aāhmes I, King of Egypt 1600 B. C. ]

As papyrus was expensive the pupils in the schools attached to the greattemples of Egypt wrote their exercises and copies of standard literarycompositions on slices of white limestone of fine texture, or uponboards, in the shape of modern slates used in schools, whitened withlime. The "copies" from which they worked were written by the teacher onlimestone slabs of somewhat larger size. Copies of the texts that masonscut upon the walls of temples and other monuments were also written onslabs of this kind, and when figures of kings or gods were to besculptured on the walls their proportions were indicated byperpendicular and horizontal lines drawn to scale. Portions of brokenearthen-ware pots were also used for practising writing upon, and in thePtolemaic and Roman Periods lists of goods, and business letters, andthe receipts given by the tax-gatherers, were written upon potsherds. Instill later times, when skin or parchment was as expensive as papyrus, the Copts, or Egyptian Christians, used slices of limestone andpotsherds for drafts of portions of the Scriptures and letters in muchthe same way as did their ancestors. 

A roll of papyrus when not in use was kept in shape by a string or pieceof papyrus cord, which was tied in a bow; sometimes, especially in thecase of legal documents, a clay seal bearing the owner's name wasstamped on the cord. Valuable rolls were kept in wooden cases or "bookboxes, " which were deposited in a chamber or "house" set apart for thepurpose, which was commonly called the "house of books, " _i. E. _ thelibrary. Having now described the principal writing materials used bythe ancient Egyptians, we may pass on to consider briefly the variousclasses of Egyptian Literature that have come down to us. 

 CHAPTER II

 THE PYRAMID TEXTS

"Pyramid Texts" is the name now commonly given to the long hieroglyphicinscriptions that are cut upon the walls of the chambers and corridorsof five pyramids at Sakkārah. The oldest of them was built for Unas, aking of the fifth dynasty, and the four others were built for Teta, PepiI, Merenrā, and Pepi II, kings of the sixth dynasty. According to thecalculation of Dr. Brugsch, they were all built between 3300 and 3150B. C. , but more recent theories assign them to a period about 700 yearslater. These Texts represent the oldest religious literature known tous, for they contain beliefs, dogmas, and ideas that must be thousandsof years older than the period of the sixth dynasty when the bulk ofthem was drafted for the use of the masons who cut them inside thepyramids. It is probable that certain sections of them were composed bythe priests for the benefit of the dead in very primitive times inEgypt, when the art of writing was unknown, and that they were repeatedeach time a king died. They were first learned by heart by the funerarypriests, and then handed on from mouth to mouth, generation aftergeneration, and at length after the Egyptians had learned to write, andthere was danger of their being forgotten, they were committed towriting. And just as these certain sections were absorbed into the greatbody of Pyramid Texts of the sixth dynasty, so portions of the Texts ofthe sixth dynasty were incorporated into the great Theban Book of theDead, and they appear in papyri that were written more than 2000 yearslater. The Pyramid Texts supply us with much information concerning thereligious beliefs of the primitive Egyptians, and also with manyisolated facts of history that are to be found nowhere else, but of themeaning of a very large number of passages we must always remainignorant, because they describe states of civilisation, and conditionsof life and climate, of which no modern person can form any trueconception. Besides this the meanings of many words are unknown, thespelling is strange and often inexplicable, the construction of thesentence is frequently unlike anything known in later texts, and theideas that they express are wholly foreign to the minds of students ofto-day, who are in every way aliens to the primitive Egyptian Africanwhose beliefs these words represent. The pyramids at Sakkārah in whichthe Pyramid Texts are found were discovered by the Frenchman, Mariette, in 1880. Paper casts of the inscriptions, which are deeply cut in thewalls and painted green, were made for Professor Maspero, the Directorof the Service of Antiquities in Egypt, and from these he printed anedition in hieroglyphic type of all five texts, and added a Frenchtranslation of the greater part of them. Professor Maspero correctlyrecognised the true character of these old-world documents, and histranslation displayed an unrivalled insight into the true meaning ofmany sections of them. The discovery and study of other texts and thelabours of recent workers have cleared up passages that offereddifficulties to him, but his work will remain for a very long time thebase of all investigations. 

The Pyramid Texts, and the older texts quoted or embodied in them, werewritten, like every religious funerary work in Egypt, for the benefit ofthe king, that is to say, to effect his glorious resurrection and tosecure for him happiness in the Other World, and life everlasting. Theywere intended to make him become a king in the Other World as he hadbeen a king upon earth; in other words, he was to reign over the gods, and to have control of all the powers of heaven, and to have the powerto command the spirits and souls of the righteous, as his ancestors thekings of Egypt had ruled their bodies when they lived on earth. TheEgyptians found that their king, who was an incarnation of the "GreatGod, " died like other men, and they feared that, even if they succeededin effecting his resurrection by means of the Pyramid Texts, he mightdie a second time in the Other World. They spared no effort and left nomeans untried to make him not only a "living soul" in the Tuat, or OtherWorld, but to keep him alive there. The object of every prayer, everyspell, every hymn, and every incantation contained in these Texts, wasto preserve the king's life. This might be done in many ways. In thefirst place it was necessary to provide a daily supply of offerings, which were offered up in the funerary temple that was attached to everypyramid. The carefully selected and duly appointed priest offered theseone by one, and as he presented each to the spirit of the king heuttered a formula that was believed to convert the material food into asubstance possessing a spiritual character and fit to form the food ofthe _ka_, or "double, " or "vital power, " of the dead king. The offeringsassisted in renewing his life, and any failure to perform this servicewas counted a sin against the dead king's spirit. It was also necessaryto perform another set of ceremonies, the object of which was to "openthe mouth" of the dead king, _i. E. _ to restore to him the power tobreathe, think, speak, taste, smell, and walk. At the performance ofthese ceremonies it was all-important to present articles of food, wearing apparel, scents and unguents, and, in short, every object thatthe king was likely to require in the Other World. The spirits of allthese objects passed into the Other World ready for use by the spirit ofthe king. It follows as a matter of course that the king in the OtherWorld needed a retinue, and a bodyguard, and a host of servants, just ashe needed slaves upon earth. In primitive times a large number ofslaves, both male and female, were slain when a king died, and theirbodies were buried in his tomb, whilst their spirits passed into theOther World to serve the spirit of the king, just as their bodies hadserved his body upon earth. As the king had enemies in this world, so itwas thought he would have enemies in the Other World, and men fearedthat he would be attacked or molested by evilly-disposed gods andspirits, and by deadly animals and serpents, and other noxious reptiles. To ward off the attacks of these from his tomb, and his mummified body, and his spirit, the priest composed spells of various kinds, and theutterance of such, in a proper manner, was believed to render him immunefrom the attacks of foes of all kinds. Very often such spells took theform of prayers. Many of the spells were exceedingly ancient, even inthe Pyramid Period; they were, in fact, so old that they wereunintelligible to the scribes of the day. They date from the time whenthe Egyptians believed more in magic than religion; it is possible thatwhen they were composed, religion, in our sense of the word, was stillundeveloped among the Egyptians. 

When the Pyramid Texts were written men believed that the welfare ofsouls and spirits in the Other World could be secured by the prayers ofthe living. Hence we find in them numerous prayers for the dead, andhymns addressed to the gods on their behalf, and extracts from manykinds of ancient religious books. When these were recited, and offeringsmade both to the gods and to the dead, it was confidently believed thatthe souls of the dead received special consideration and help from thegods, and from all the good spirits who formed their train. Theseprayers are very important from many points of view, but specially sofrom the fact that they prove that the Egyptians who lived under thesixth dynasty attached more importance to them than to magical spellsand incantations. In other words, the Egyptians had begun to rejecttheir belief in the efficacy of magic, and to develop a belief of a morespiritual character. There were many reasons for this development, butthe most important was the extraordinary growth of the influence of thereligion of Osiris, which had before the close of the period of thesixth dynasty spread all over Egypt. This religion promised to all whofollowed it, high or low, rich or poor, a life in the world beyond thegrave, after a resurrection that was made certain to them through thesufferings, death, and resurrection of Osiris, who was the incarnationof the great primeval god who created the heavens and the earth. A fewextracts illustrating the general contents of the Pyramid Texts may nowbe given. 

I. Mention has already been made of the "opening of the mouth" of thedead king: under the earliest dynasties this ceremony was performed on astatue of the king. Water was sprinkled before it, and incense wasburnt, and the statue was anointed with seven kinds of unguents, and itseyes smeared with eye paint. After the statue had been washed anddressed a meal of sepulchral offerings was set before it. The essentialceremony consisted in applying to the lips of the statue a curiouslyshaped instrument called the PESH KEF, with which the bandages thatcovered the mouth of the dead king in his tomb were supposed to be cutand the mouth set free to open. In later times the Liturgy of Openingthe Mouth was greatly enlarged and was called the Book of Opening theMouth. The ceremonies were performed by the Kher-heb priest, the son ofthe deceased, and the priests and ministrants called Sameref, Sem, Smer, Am-as, Am-khent, and the assistants called Mesentiu. First of allincense was burnt, and the priest said, "Thou art pure, " four times. Water was then sprinkled over the statue and the priest said, "Thou artpure. Thou art pure. Thy purifications are the purifications ofHorus, [1] and the purifications of Horus are thy purifications. " Thisformula was repeated three times, once with the name of Set, [2] oncewith the name of Thoth, [3] and once with the name of Sep. The priestthen said, "Thou hast received thy head, and thy bones have been broughtunto thee before Keb. "[4] During the performance of the next fiveceremonies, in which incense of various kinds was offered, the priestsaid: "Thou art pure (four times). That which is in the two eyes ofHorus hath been presented unto thee with the two vases of Thoth, andthey purify thee so that there may not exist in thee the power ofdestruction that belongeth unto thee. Thou art pure. Thou art pure. Pureis the _seman_ incense that openeth thy mouth. Taste the taste thereofin the divine dwelling. _Seman_ incense is the emission of Horus; itstablisheth the heart of Horus-Set, it purifieth the gods who are in thefollowing of Horus. Thou art censed with natron. Thou art establishedamong the gods thy brethren. Thy mouth is like that of a sucking calf onthe day of its birth. Thou art censed. Thou art censed. Thou art pure. Thou art pure. Thou art established among thy brethren the gods. Thyhead is censed. Thy mouth is censed. Thy bones are purified. [Decay]that is inherent in thee shall not touch thee. I have given thee the Eyeof Horus, [5] and thy face is filled therewith. Thou art shrouded inincense (say twice). "[6]

[Footnote 1: A form of the Sun-god. ]

[Footnote 2: Originally a benevolent god: later the great god of evil. ]

[Footnote 3: The scribe of the gods, lord of wisdom: see pp. 1, 2. ]

[Footnote 4: The Earth-god. ]

[Footnote 5: Horus gave his eye to Osiris, and thereby restored life tohim. ]

[Footnote 6: Repetitions are omitted. ]

The next ceremony, the ninth, represented the re-birth of the king, whowas personified by a priest. The priest, wrapped in the skin of a bull, lay on a small bed and feigned death. When the chief priest had said, "Omy father, " four times, the priest representing the king came forth fromthe bull's skin, and sat up; this act symbolized the resurrection of theking in the form of a spirit-body (_sāhu_). The chief priest thenasserted that the king was alive, and that he should never be removed, and that he was similar in every way to Horus. The priest personifyingthe king then put on a special garment, and taking a staff or sceptre inhis hand, said, "I love my father and his transformation. I have made myfather, I have made a statue of him, a large statue. Horus loveth thosewho love him. " He then pressed the lips of the statue, and said, "I havecome to embrace thee. I am thy son. I am Horus. I have pressed for theethy mouth.... I am thy beloved son. " The words then said by the chiefpriest, "I have delivered this mine eye from his mouth, I have cut offhis leg, " mean that the king was delivered from the jaws of death, andthat a grievous wound had been inflicted on the god of death, _i. E. _Set. 

Whilst these ceremonies were being performed the animals brought to besacrificed were slain. Chief of these were two bulls, gazelle, geese, &c. , and their slaughter typified the conquest and death of the enemiesof the dead king. The heart and a fore-leg of each bull were presentedto the statue of the king, and the priest said: "Hail, Osiris! I havecome to embrace thee. I am Horus. I have pressed for thee thy mouth. Iam thy beloved Son. I have opened thy mouth. Thy mouth hath been madefirm. I have made thy mouth and thy teeth to be in their proper places. Hail, Osiris![1] I have opened thy mouth with the Eye of Horus. " Thentaking two instruments made of metal the priest went through the motionof cutting open the mouth and eyes of the statue, and said: "I haveopened thy mouth. I have opened thy two eyes. I have opened thy mouthwith the instrument of Anpu. [2] I have opened thy mouth with the Meskhainstrument wherewith the mouth of the gods was opened. Horus openeth themouth and eyes of the Osiris. Horus openeth the mouth of the Osiris evenas he opened the mouth of his father. As he opened the mouth of the godOsiris so shall he open the mouth of my father with the iron that comethforth from Set, with the Meskha instrument of iron wherewith he openedthe mouth of the gods shall the mouth of the Osiris be opened. And theOsiris shall walk and shall talk, and his body shall be with the GreatCompany of the Gods who dwell in the Great House of the Aged One (_i. E. _the Sun-god) who dwelleth in Anu. [3] And he shall take possession of theUrrt Crown therein before Horus, the Lord of mankind. Hail, Osiris!Horus hath opened thy mouth and thine eyes with the instruments Seburand An, wherewith the mouths of the gods of the South were opened.... All the gods bring words of power. They recite them for thee. They makethee to live by them. Thou becomest the possessor of twofold strength. Thou makest the passes that give thee the fluid of life, and their lifefluid is about thee. Thou art protected, and thou shalt not die. Thoushalt change thy form [at pleasure] among the Doubles[4] of the gods. Thou shalt rise up as a king of the South. Thou shalt rise up as a kingof the North. Thou art endowed with strength like all the gods and theirDoubles. Shu[5] hath equipped thee. He hath exalted thee to the heightof heaven. He hath made thee to be a wonder. He hath endowed thee withstrength. "

[Footnote 1: It was assumed that the king after death became a beingwith the nature of Osiris, and he was therefore addressed as "Osiris. "]

[Footnote 2: Or Anubis, a very ancient god who presided over embalming;he appears in the form of a man with the head of a dog or jackal. ]

[Footnote 3: The On of the Bible, the Heliopolis of the Greeks. Thiscity lay a few miles to the east of the modern city of Cairo. ]

[Footnote 4: Every living thing possessed a KA or "double, " which wasthe vital power of the heart and could live after the death of thebody. ]

[Footnote 5: The Air-god, the son of Keb and Nut. ]

The ceremonies that followed concerned the dressing of the statue of theking and his food. Various kinds of bandlets and a collar werepresented, and the gift of each endowed the king in the Other World withspecial qualities. The words recited by the priest as he offered theseand other gifts were highly symbolic, and were believed to possess greatpower, for they brought the Double of the king back to this earth tolive in the statue, and each time they were repeated they renewed thelife of the king in the Other World. 

II. The _Liturgy of Funerary Offerings_ was another all-important work. The oldest form of it, which is found in the Pyramid Texts, proves thateven under the earliest dynasties the belief in the efficacy ofsacrifices and offerings was an essential of the Egyptian religion. Theopening ceremonies had for their object the purification of the deceasedby means of sprinkling with water in which salt, natron, and othercleansing substances had been dissolved, and burning of incense. Thenfollowed the presentation of about one hundred and fifty offerings offood of all kinds, fruit, flowers, vegetables, various kinds of wine, seven kinds of precious ointments, wearing apparel of the kind suitablefor a king, &c. As each object was presented to the spirit of the king, which was present in his statue in the Tuat Chamber of the tomb, thepriest recited a form of words, which had the effect of transmuting thesubstance of the object into something which, when used or absorbed bythe king's spirit, renewed the king's life and maintained his existencein the Other World. Every object was called the "Eye of Horus, " inallusion to its life-giving qualities. The following extracts illustratethe Liturgy of Funerary Offerings:

32. This libation is for thee, Osiris, this libation is for thee, Unas. [1] (_Here offer cold water of the North. _) It cometh forth beforethy son, cometh forth before Horus. I have come, I have brought untothee the Eye of Horus, that thy heart may be refreshed thereby. I havebrought it and have set it under thy sandals, and I present unto theethat which flowed forth from thee. There shall be no stoppage to thyheart whilst it is with thee, and the offerings that appear at thecommand[2] shall appear at thy word of command. (_Recite four times. _)

[Footnote 1: The king who is identified with Osiris. ]

[Footnote 2: The deceased who possessed the words of power uttered inthe tomb the names of the offerings he required, and the offeringsappeared forthwith. ]

37. Thou hast taken possession of the two Eyes of Horus, the White andthe Black, and when they are in thy face they illumine it. (_Here offertwo jugs of wine, one white, one black. _)

38. Day hath made an offering unto thee in the sky. The South and theNorth have given offerings unto thee. Night hath made an offering untothee. The South and the North have made an offering unto thee. Anoffering is brought unto thee, look upon it; an offering, hear it. Thereis an offering before thee, there is an offering behind thee, there isan offering with thee. (_Here offer a cake for the journey. _)

41. Osiris Unas, the white teeth of Horus are presented unto thee sothat they may fill thy mouth. (_Here offer five bunches of onions. _)

47. O Rā, the worship that is paid to thee, the worship of every kind, shall be paid [also] to Unas. Everything that is offered to thy bodyshall be offered to the Double of Unas also, and everything that isoffered to his body shall be thine. (_Here offer the table of holyofferings. _)

61. O ye oils, ye oils, which are on the forehead of Horus, set yeyourselves on the forehead of Unas, and make him to smell sweet throughyou. (_Here offer oil of cedar of the finest quality. _)

62. Make ye him to be a spirit-soul (_khu_) through possession of you, and grant ye him to have the mastery over his body, let his eyes beopened, and let all the spirit-souls see him, and let them hear hisname. Behold, Osiris Unas, the Eye of Horus hath been brought unto thee, for it hath been seized for thee that it may be before thee. (_Hereoffer the finest Thehenu oil. _)

III. As specimens of the hymns in the Pyramid Texts may be quoted thefollowing: the first is a hymn to Nut, the Sky-goddess, and the secondis a hymn to Rā, the Sun-god. 

[O] Nut, thou hast extended thyself over thy son the Osiris Pepi, Thou hast snatched him out of the hand of Set; join him to thyself, Nut. Thou comest, snatch thy son; behold, thou comest, form this great one [like] unto thyself. [O] Nut, cast thyself upon thy son the Osiris Pepi. [O] Nut, cast thyself upon thy son the Osiris Pepi. Form thou him, O Great Fashioner; this great one is among thy children. Form thou him, O Great Fashioner; this great one is among thy children. Keb [was to] Nut. Thou didst become a spirit. Thou wast a mighty goddess in the womb of thy mother Tefnut when thou wast not born. Form thou Pepi with life and well-being; he shall not die. Strong was thy heart, Thou didst leap in the womb of thy mother in thy name of "Nut. "[O] perfect daughter, mighty one in thy mother, who art crowned like a king of the North, Make this Pepi a spirit-soul in thee, let him not die. [O] Great Lady, who didst come into being in the sky, who art mighty. Who dost make happy, and dost fill every place (or being), with thy beauty, The whole earth is under thee, thou hast taken possession of it. Thou hast encompassed the earth, everything is in thy two hands, Grant thou that this Pepi may be in thee like an imperishable star. Thou hast associated with Keb in thy name of "Pet" (_i. E. _ Sky). Thou hast united the earth in every place. [O] mistress over the earth, thou art above thy father Shu, thou hast the mastery over him. He hath loved thee so much that he setteth himself under thee in everything. Thou hast taken possession of every god for thyself with his boat (?). Thou hast made them shine like lamps, Assuredly they shall not cease from thee like the stars. Let not this Pepi depart from thee in thy name of "Hert" (ll. 61-64). 

The Hymn to the Sun-god is as follows:

Hail to thee, Tem! Hail to thee, Kheprer, who created himself. Thou art the High, in this thy name of "Height. "Thou camest into being in this thy name of "Kheprer. "Hail to thee, Eye of Horus, [1] which he furnisheth with his hands completely. He permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the West;He permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the East;He permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the South;He permitteth not thee to be obedient to those of the North;He permitteth not thee to be obedient to those who are in the earth;[For] thou art obedient to Horus. He it is who hath furnished thee, he it is who hath builded thee, he it is who hath made thee to be dwelt in. Thou doest for him whatsoever he saith unto thee, in every place whither he goeth. Thou liftest up to him the water-fowl that are in thee. Thou liftest up to him the water-fowl that are about to be in thee. Thou liftest up to him every tree that is in thee. Thou liftest up to him every tree that is about to be in thee. Thou liftest up to him the cakes and ale that are in thee. Thou liftest up to him the cakes and ale that are about to be in thee. Thou liftest up to him the gifts that are in thee. Thou liftest up to him the gifts that are about to be in thee. Thou liftest up to him everything that is in thee. Thou liftest up to him everything that is about to be in thee. Thou takest them to him in every place wherein it pleaseth him to be. The doors upon thee stand fast [shut] like the god Anmutef, [2]They open not to those who are in the West;They open not to those who are in the East;They open not to those who are in the North;They open not to those who are in the South;They open not to those who are in the middle of the earth;But they open to Horus. 

He it was who made them, he it was who made them stand [firm], he it waswho delivered them from every evil attack which the god Set made uponthem. He it was who made thee to be a settled country in this thy nameof "Kerkut. " He it was who passed bowing after thee in thy name of"Nut. " He it was who delivered thee from every evil attack which Setmade upon thee (Pepi II, ll. 767-774. )

[Footnote 1: Here a name of Egypt. ]

[Footnote 2: The god who was "the pillar of his mother. "]

IV. The following passages describe the power of the king in heaven, andhis felicity there:

"The sky hath withdrawn the life of the star Septet (Sothis, theDog-star); behold Unas a living being, the son of Septet. The EighteenGods have purified him in Meskha (the Great Bear), [he is] animperishable star. The house of Unas perisheth not in the sky, thethrone of Unas perisheth not on the earth. Men make supplication[there], the gods fly [thither]. Septet hath made Unas fly to heaven tobe with his brethren the gods. Nut, [1] the Great Lady, hath unfolded herarms to Unas. She hath made them into two divine souls at the head ofthe Souls of Anu, under the head of Rā. She made them two weeping womenwhen thou wast on thy bier (?). The throne of Unas is by thee, Rā, heyieldeth it not up to anyone else. Unas cometh forth into heaven bythee, Rā. The face of Unas is like the [faces of the] Hawks. The wingsof Unas are like [those of] geese. The nails of Unas are like the clawsof the god Tuf. There is no [evil] word concerning Unas on earth amongmen. There is no hostile speech about him with the gods. Unas hathdestroyed his word, he hath ascended to heaven. Upuatu hath made Unasfly up to heaven among his brethren the gods. Unas hath drawn togetherhis arms like the Smen goose, he striketh his wings like a falcon, flying, flying. O men, Unas flieth up into heaven. 

[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess. ]

"O ye gods of the West, O ye gods of the East, O ye gods of the South, Oye gods of the North, ye four groups who embrace the holy lands, devoteye yourselves to Osiris when he appeareth in heaven. He shall sail intothe Sky, with his son Horus by his fingers. He shall announce him, heshall make him rise up like the Great God in the Sky. They shall cry outconcerning Unas: Behold Horus, the son of Osiris! Behold Unas, thefirstborn son of Hathor! Behold the seed of Keb! Osiris hath commandedthat Unas shall rise as a second Horus, and these Four Spirit-souls inAnu have written an edict to the two great gods in the Sky. Rā set upthe Ladder[1] in front of Osiris, Horus set up the Ladder in front ofhis father Osiris when he went to his spirit, one on this side [and] oneon the other side; Unas is between them. Behold, he is the god of thepure seats coming forth from the bath (?). Unas standeth up, lo Horus;Unas sitteth down, lo Set. Rā graspeth his hand, spirit to heaven, bodyto earth. "

[Footnote 1: The Ladder by which souls ascended to heaven. A picture ofthe Ladder is given in the Papyrus of Ani, Plate XXII. ]

The power of the king in heaven was almost as absolute as it was uponearth, and in a very remarkable passage in the text of Unas, which isrepeated in the text of Teta, we have a graphic description of the kingas a mighty hunter, who chases the gods and lassoes them, and then killsand eats them in order that he may absorb their strength and wisdom, andall their divine attributes, and their power of living eternally. Thepassage reads:

"The skies lower, the Star-gods tremble, the Archers[1] quake, the bonesof the Akeru[1] gods tremble, and those who are with them are struckdumb when they see Unas rising up as a soul, in the form of the god wholiveth upon his fathers, and who turneth his mothers into his food. Unasis the lord of wisdom, and his mother knoweth not his name. Theadoration of Unas is in heaven, he hath become mighty in the horizonlike Temu, the father that gave him birth, and after Temu had given himbirth Unas became stronger than his father. The Doubles (_i. E. _ vitalstrength) of Unas are behind him, the soles of his feet are beneath hisfeet, his gods are over him, his serpents are [seated] upon his brow, the serpent-guides of Unas are in front of him, and the spirit of theflame looketh upon [his] soul. The powers of Unas protect him. Unas is abull in heaven. He directeth his steps where he willeth. He liveth uponthe form which each god taketh upon himself, and he eateth the flesh ofthose who come to fill their bellies with the magical charms in the Lakeof Fire. Unas is equipped with power against the spirit-souls thereof, and he riseth in the form of the mighty one, the lord of those who dwellin power (?). Unas hath taken his seat with his back turned towards Keb(the Earth-god). Unas hath weighed his words[2] with the hidden god (?)who hath no name, on the day of hacking in pieces the firstborn. Unas isthe lord of offerings, the untier of the knot, and he himself makethabundant the offerings of meat and drink. Unas devoureth men, and livethupon the gods, he is the lord of envoys whom he sendeth forth on hismissions. 'He who cutteth off hairy scalps, ' who dwelleth in the fields, tieth the gods with ropes. Tcheser-tep shepherdeth them for Unas anddriveth them unto him; and the Cord-master hath bound them forslaughter. Khensu, the slayer of the wicked, cutteth their throats, anddraweth out their intestines, for it is he whom Unas sendeth toslaughter [them], and Shesmu[3] cutteth them in pieces, and boileththeir members in his blazing caldrons of the night. Unas eateth theirmagical powers, and he swalloweth their spirit-souls. The great onesamong them serve for his meal at daybreak, the lesser serve for hismeal at eventide, and the least among them serve for his meal in thenight. The old gods and the old goddesses become fuel for his furnace. The mighty ones in heaven light the fire under the caldrons wherein areheaped up the thighs of the firstborn; and he who maketh those who livein heaven to go about for Unas lighteth the fire under the caldrons withthe thighs of their women; he goeth about the Two Heavens in theirentirety, and he goeth round about the two banks of the Celestial Nile. Unas is the Great Power, the Power of Powers, and Unas is the Chief ofthe gods in visible forms. Whatsoever he findeth upon his path he eatethforthwith, and the magical might of Unas is before that of all thespirit-bodies who dwell in the horizon. Unas is the firstborn of thefirstborn gods. Unas is surrounded by thousands, and oblations are madeunto him by hundreds; he is made manifest as the Great Power by Saah(Orion), the father of the gods. Unas repeateth his rising in heaven, and he is crowned lord of the horizon. He hath reckoned up the bandletsand the arm-rings [of his captives], he hath taken possession of thehearts of the gods. Unas hath eaten the Red Crown, and he hath swallowedthe White Crown; the food of Unas is the intestines, and his meat ishearts and their words of power. Behold, Unas eateth of that which theRed Crown sendeth forth, he increaseth, and the words of power of thegods are in his belly; his attributes are not removed from him. Unashath eaten the whole of the knowledge of every god, and the period ofhis life is eternity, and the duration of his existence iseverlastingness. He is in the form of one who doeth what he wisheth, andwho doth not do what he hateth, and he abideth on the horizon for everand ever and ever. The Soul of the gods is in Unas, their spirit-soulsare with Unas, and the offerings made unto him are more than those thatare made unto the gods. The fire of Unas is in their bones, for theirsoul is in Unas, and their shades are with those who belong unto them. Unas hath been with the two hidden (?) Kha (?) gods, ... ; the seat ofthe heart of Unas is among those who live upon this earth for ever andever and ever. "

[Footnote 1: These are names of groups of stars. ]

[Footnote 2: _i. E. _ entered into judgment. ]

[Footnote 3: The executioner of Osiris. ]

The following extract is from one of the later Pyramid Texts:

"Pepi was brought forth by the god Nu, when there was no heaven, whenthere was no earth, when nothing had been established, when there was nofighting, and when the fear of the Eye of Horus did not exist. This Pepiis one of the Great Offspring who were brought forth in Anu(Heliopolis), who have never been conquered by a king or ruled bychiefs, who are irresistible, whose words cannot be gainsaid. Thereforethis Pepi is irresistible; he can neither be conquered by a king norruled by chiefs. The enemies of Pepi cannot triumph. Pepi lackethnothing. His nails do not grow long [for want of prey]. No debt isreckoned against Pepi. If Pepi falleth into the water Osiris will lifthim out, and the Two Companies of the Gods will bear him up on theirshoulders, and Rā, wheresoever he may be, will give him his hand. IfPepi falleth on the earth the Earth-god (Keb) will lift him up, and theTwo Companies of the Gods will bear him up on their shoulders, and Rā, wheresoever he may be, will give him his hand.... Pepi appeareth inheaven among the imperishable stars. His sister the star Sothis (theDog-star), his guide the Morning Star (Venus) lead him by the hand tothe Field of Offerings. He taketh his seat on the crystal throne, whichhath faces of fierce lions and feet in the form of the hoofs of the BullSma-ur. He standeth up in his place between the Two Great Gods, and hissceptre and staff are in his hands. He lifteth up his hand to theHenmemet spirits, and the gods come to him with bowings. The Two GreatGods look on in their places, and they find Pepi acting as judge of thegods. The word of every spirit-soul is in him, and they make offeringsto him among the Two Companies of the Gods. 

 CHAPTER III

 STORIES OF MAGICIANS WHO LIVED UNDER THE ANCIENT EMPIRE

The short stories of the wonderful deeds of ancient Egyptian magicianshere given are found in the Westcar Papyrus, which is preserved in theRoyal Museum in Berlin, where it is numbered P. 3033. This papyrus wasthe property of Miss Westcar of Whitchurch, who gave it to the eminentGerman Egyptologist, Richard Lepsius, in 1839; it was written probablyat some period between the twelfth and eighteenth dynasties. The textswere first edited and translated by Professor Erman. 

 THE MAGICIAN UBAANER AND THE WAX CROCODILE

The first story describes an event which happened in the reign of Nebka, a king of the third dynasty. It was told by Prince Khāfrā to King Khufu(Cheops). The magician was called Ubaaner, [1] and he was the chiefKher-heb in the temple of Ptah of Memphis, and a very learned man. Hewas a married man, but his wife loved a young man who worked in thefields, and she sent him by the hands of one of her maids a boxcontaining a supply of very fine clothes. Soon after receiving this giftthe young man proposed to the magician's wife that they should meet andtalk in a certain booth or lodge in her garden, and she instructed thesteward to have the lodge made ready for her to receive her friend init. When this was done, she went to the lodge, and she sat there withthe young man and drank beer with him until the evening, when he wenthis way. The steward, knowing what had happened, made up his mind toreport the matter to his master, and as soon as the morning had come, hewent to Ubaaner and informed him that his wife had spent the previousday drinking beer with such and such a young man. Ubaaner then told thesteward to fetch him his casket made of ebony and silver-gold, whichcontained materials and instruments used in working magic, and when itwas brought him, he took out some wax, and fashioned a figure of acrocodile seven spans long. He then recited certain magical words overthe crocodile, and said to it, "When the young man comes to bathe in mylake thou shalt seize him. " Then giving the wax crocodile to thesteward, Ubaaner said to him, "When the young man goes down to the laketo bathe according to his daily habit, thou shalt throw the crocodileinto the water after him. " Having taken the crocodile from his masterthe steward departed. 

[Footnote 1: This name means "splitter of stones. " It will be rememberedthat the late Sir H. M. Stanley was called the "stone-splitter, " becauseof his great strength of deed and word. ]

Then the wife of Ubaaner told the steward to set the little lodge in thegarden in order, because she was going to spend some time there. Whenthe steward had furnished the lodge, she went there, and the youngpeasant paid her a visit. After leaving the lodge he went and bathed inthe lake, and the steward followed him and threw the wax crocodile intothe water; it immediately turned into a large crocodile 7 cubits (about11 feet) long and seized the young man and swallowed him up. When thistook place the magician Ubaaner was with the king, and he remained inattendance upon him for seven days, during which time the young man wasin the lake, with no air to breathe. When the seven days were ended KingNebka proposed to take a walk with the magician. Whilst they were goingalong Ubaaner asked the king if he would care to see a wonderful thingthat had happened to a young peasant, and the king said he would, andforthwith walked to the place to which the magician led him. When theyarrived at the lake Ubaaner uttered a spell over the crocodile, andcommanded it to come up out of the water bringing the young man withhim; and the crocodile did so. When the king saw the beast he exclaimedat its hideousness, and seemed to be afraid of it, but the magicianstooped down fearlessly, and took the crocodile up in his hand, and lo, the living crocodile had disappeared, and only a crocodile of waxremained in its place. Then Ubaaner told King Nebka the story of how theyoung man had spent days in the lodge in the garden talking and drinkingbeer with his wife, and His Majesty said to the wax crocodile, "Get theegone, and take what is thine with thee. " And the wax crocodile leapedout of the magician's hand into the lake, and once more became a large, living crocodile. And it swam away with the young man, and no one everknew what became of it afterwards. Then the king made his servants seizeUbaaner's wife, and they carried her off to the ground on the north sideof the royal palace, and there they burned her, and they scattered herashes in the river. When King Khufu had heard the story he ordered manyofferings to be made in the tomb of his predecessor Nebka, and gifts tobe presented to the magician Ubaaner. 

 THE MAGICIAN TCHATCHAMĀNKH AND THE GOLD ORNAMENT

The Prince Baiufrā stood up and offered to relate to King Khufu (Cheops)a story of a magician called Tchatchamānkh, who flourished in the reignof Seneferu, the king's father. The offer having been accepted, Baiufrāproceeded to relate the following: On one occasion it happened thatSeneferu was in a perplexed and gloomy state of mind, and he wandereddistractedly about the rooms and courts of his palace seeking to findsomething wherewith to amuse himself, but he failed to do so. Then hebethought himself of the court magician Tchatchamānkh, and he orderedhis servants to summon him to the presence. When the great Kher-heb andscribe arrived, he addressed him as "my brother, " and told him that hehad been wandering about in his palace seeking for amusement, and hadfailed to find it. The magician promptly suggested to the king that heshould have a boat got ready, decorated with pretty things that wouldgive pleasure, and should go for a row on the lake. The motions of therowers as they rowed the boat about would interest him, and the sight ofthe depths of the waters, and the pretty fields and gardens round aboutthe lake, would give him great pleasure. "Let me, " said the magician, "arrange the matter. Give me twenty ebony paddles inlaid with gold andsilver, and twenty pretty maidens with flowing hair, and twenty networkgarments wherein to dress them. " The king gave orders for all thesethings to be provided, and when the boat was ready, and the maidens whowere to row had taken their places, he entered the boat and sat in hislittle pavilion and was rowed about on the lake. The magician's viewsproved to be correct, for the king enjoyed himself, and was greatlyamused in watching the maidens row. Presently the handle of the paddleof one of the maidens caught in her long hair, and in trying to free ita malachite ornament which she was wearing in her hair fell into thewater and disappeared. The maiden was much troubled over her loss, andstopped rowing, and as her stopping threw out of order the strokes ofthe maidens who were sitting on the same seat as she was, they alsostopped rowing. Thereupon the king asked why the rowing had ceased, andone of the maidens told him what had happened; and when he promised thatthe ornament should be recovered, the maiden said words which seem tomean that she had no doubt that she should recover it. On this Seneferucaused Tchatchamānkh to be summoned into the presence, and when he camethe king told him all that had happened. Then the magician began torecite certain spells, the effect of which was to cause the water of thelake first to divide into two parts, and then the water on one side torise up and place itself on the water on the other side. The boat, presumably, sank down gently on the ground of the lake, for themalachite ornament was seen lying there, and the magician fetched it, and returned it to its owner. The depth of the water in the middle ofthe lake where the ornament dropped was 12 cubits (between 18 and 19feet), and when the water from one side was piled up on that on theother, the total depth of the two sections taken together was, we aretold, 24 cubits. As soon as the ornament was restored to the maiden, themagician recited further spells, and the water lowered itself, andspread over the ground of the lake, and so regained its normal level. His Majesty, King Seneferu, assembled his nobles, and having discussedthe matter with them, made a handsome gift to his clever magician. WhenKing Khufu had heard the story he ordered a large supply of funeraryofferings to be sent to the tomb of Seneferu, and bread, beer, flesh, and incense to the tomb of Tchatchamānkh. 

 THE MAGICIAN TETA WHO RESTORED LIFE TO DEAD ANIMALS, ETC. 

When Baiufrā had finished the story given above, Prince Herutataf, theson of King Khufu, and a very wise man, with whose name Egyptiantradition associated the discovery of certain chapters of the Book ofthe Dead, stood up before his father to speak, and said to him, "Up tothe present thou hast only heard tales about the wisdom of magicians whoare dead and gone, concerning which it is quite impossible to knowwhether they be true or not. Now, I want Thy Majesty to see a certainsage who is actually alive during thy lifetime, whom thou knowest not. "His Majesty Khufu said, "Who is it, Herutataf?" And Prince Herutatafreplied, "He is a certain peasant who is called Teta, and he lives inTet-Seneferu. He is one hundred and ten years old, and up to this veryday he eats five hundred bread-cakes (_sic_), and a leg of beef, anddrinks one hundred pots of beer. He knows how to reunite to its body ahead which has been cut off, he knows how to make a lion follow himwhilst the rope with which he is tied drags behind him on the ground, and he knows the numbers of the Apet chambers (?) of the shrine (?) ofThoth. " Now His Majesty had been seeking for a long time past for thenumber of the Apet chambers (?) of Thoth, for he had wished to makesomething like it for his "horizon. "[1] And King Khufu said to his sonHerutataf, "My son, thou thyself shalt go and bring the sage to me";thereupon a boat was made ready for Prince Herutataf, who forthwith setout on his journey to Tet-Seneferu, the home of the sage. When theprince came to the spot on the river bank that was nearest to thevillage of Teta, he had the boat tied up, and he continued his journeyoverland seated in a sort of sedan chair made of ebony, which wascarried or slung on bearing poles made of costly _sesentchem_ woodinlaid or decorated with gold. When Herutataf arrived at the village, the chair was set down on the ground, and he got out of it and stood upready to greet the old man, whom he found lying upon a bed, with thedoor of his house lying on the ground. One servant stood by the bedholding the sage's head and fanning him, and another was engaged inrubbing his feet. Herutataf addressed a highly poetical speech to Teta, the gist of which was that the old man seemed to be able to defy theusual effects of old age, and to be like one who had obtained the secretof everlasting youth, and then expressed the hope that he was well. Having paid these compliments, which were couched in dignified andarchaic language, Herutataf went on to say that he had come with amessage from his father Khufu, who hereby summoned Teta to his presence. "I have come, " he said, "a long way to invite thee, so that thou mayesteat the food, and enjoy the good things which the king bestows on thosewho follow him, and so that he may conduct thee after a happy life tothy fathers who rest in the grave. " The sage replied, "Welcome, PrinceHerutataf, welcome, O thou who lovest thy father. Thy father shallreward thee with gifts, and he shall promote thee to the rank of thesenior officials of his court. Thy Ka[2] shall fight successfullyagainst thine enemy, thy soul knows the ways of the Other World, andthou shalt arrive at the door of those who are apparelled in ... Isalute thee, O Prince Herutataf. "

[Footnote 1: These were probably books and instruments which themagicians of the day used in making astrological calculations, or inworking magic. ]

[Footnote 2: The "double, " or the vital force. ]

Herutataf then held out his hands to the sage and helped him to risefrom the bed, and he went with him to the river bank, Teta leaning onhis arm. When they arrived there Teta asked for a boat wherein hischildren and his books might be placed, and the prince put at hisdisposal two boats, with crews complete; Teta himself, however, wasaccommodated in the prince's boat and sailed with him. When they came tothe palace, Prince Herutataf went into the presence of the king toannounce their arrival, and said to him, "O king my lord, I have broughtTeta"; and His Majesty replied, "Bring him in quickly. " Then the kingwent out into the large hall of his palace, and Teta was led into thepresence. His Majesty said, "How is it, Teta, that I have never seenthee?" And Teta answered, "Only the man who is summoned to the presencecomes; so soon as the king summoned me I came. " His Majesty asked him, saying, "Is it indeed true, as is asserted, that thou knowest how torejoin to its body the head which hath been cut off?" Teta answered, "Most assuredly do I know how to do this, O king my lord. " His Majestysaid, "Let them bring in from the prison a prisoner, so that hisdeath-sentence may be carried out. " Then Teta said, "Let them not bringa man, O king my lord. Perhaps it may be ordered that the head shall becut off some other living creature. " So a goose was brought to him, andhe cut off its head, and laid the body of the goose on the west side ofthe hall, and its head on the east side. Then Teta recited certainmagical spells, and the goose stood up and waddled towards its head, andits head moved towards its body. When the body and the head came closetogether, the head leaped on to the body, and the goose stood up on itslegs and cackled. 

Then a goose of another kind called _khetâa_ was brought to Teta, and hedid with it as he had done with the other goose. His Majesty next causedan ox to be taken to Teta, and when he had cut off its head, and recitedmagical spells over the head and the body, the head rejoined itself tothe body, and the ox stood up on its feet. A lion was next brought toTeta, and when he had recited spells over it, the lion went behind him, and followed him [like a dog], and the rope with which he had been tiedup trailed on the ground behind the animal. 

King Khufu then said to Teta, "Is it true what they say that thouknowest the numbers of the Apet chambers (?) of the shrine (?) ofThoth?" Teta replied, "No. I do not know their number, O king my lord, but I do know the place where they are to be found. " His Majesty asked, "Where is that?" Teta replied, "There is a box made of flint in a housecalled Sapti in Heliopolis. " The king asked, "Who will bring me thisbox?" Teta replied, "Behold, O king my lord, I shall not bring the boxto thee. " His Majesty asked, "Who then shall bring it to me?" Tetaanswered, "The oldest of the three children of Rut-tetet shall bring itunto thee. " His Majesty said, "It is my will that thou shalt tell me whothis Rut-tetet is. " Teta answered, "This Rut-tetet is the wife of apriest of Rā of Sakhabu, [1] who is about to give birth to three childrenof Rā. He told her that these children should attain to the highestdignities in the whole country, and that the oldest of them shouldbecome high priest[2] of Heliopolis. " On hearing these words the heartof the king became sad; and Teta said, "Wherefore art thou so sad, Oking my lord? Is it because of the three children? I say unto thee, Verily thy son, verily his son, verily one of them. " His Majesty asked, "When will these three children be born?" Teta answered, "Rut-tetet willgive them birth on the fifteenth day of the first month of Pert. "[3] Theking then made a remark the exact meaning of which it is difficult tofollow, but from one part of it it is clear that he expressed hisdetermination to go and visit the temple of Rā of Sakhabu, which seemsto have been situated on or near the great canal of the Letopolitenome. In reply Teta declared that he would take care that the water inthe canal should be 4 cubits (about 6 feet) deep, _i. E. _ that the watershould be deep enough for the royal barge to sail on the canal withoutdifficulty. The king then returned to his palace and gave orders thatTeta should have lodgings given him in the house of Prince Herutataf, that he should live with him, and that he should be provided with onethousand bread-cakes, one hundred pots of beer, one ox, and one hundredbundles of vegetables. And all that the king commanded concerning Tetawas done. 

[Footnote 1: A town which seems to have been situated in the second nomeor "county" of Lower Egypt; the Greeks called the nome Letopolites. ]

[Footnote 2: His official title was "Ur-mau. "]

[Footnote 3: The season Pert = November 15 - March 15. ]

 THE STORY OF RUT-TETET AND THE THREE SONS OF RĀ

The last section of the Westcar Papyrus deals with the birth of thethree sons of Rā, who have been mentioned above. When the day drew nighin which the three sons were to be born, Rā, the Sun-god, ordered thefour goddesses, Isis, Nephthys, [1] Meskhenet, [2] and Heqet, [3] and thegod Khnemu, [4] to go and superintend the birth of the three children, sothat when they grew up, and were exercising the functions of rulethroughout all Egypt, they should build temples to them, and furnish thealtars in them with offerings of meat and drink in abundance. Then thefour goddesses changed themselves into the forms of dancing women, andwent to the house wherein the lady Rut-tetet lay ill, and finding herhusband, the priest of Rā, who was called Rāuser, outside, they clashedtheir cymbals together, and rattled their sistra, and tried to make himmerry. When Rāuser objected to this and told them that his wife lay illinside the house, they replied, "Let us see her, for we know how tohelp her"; so he said to them and to Khnemu who was with them, "Enterin, " and they did so, and they went to the room wherein Rut-tetet lay. Isis, Nephthys, and Heqet assisted in bringing the three boys into theworld. Meskhenet prophesied for each of them sovereignty over the land, and Khnemu bestowed health upon their bodies. After the birth of thethree boys, the four goddesses and Khnemu went outside the house, andtold Rāuser to rejoice because his wife Rut-tetet had given him threechildren. Rāuser said, "My Ladies, what can I do for you in return forthis?" Having apparently nothing else to give them, he begged them tohave barley brought from his granary, so that they might take it away asa gift to their own granaries; they agreed, and the god Khnemu broughtthe barley. So the goddesses set out to go to the place whence they hadcome. 

[Footnote 1: Isis and Nephthys were the daughters of Keb and Nut, andsisters of Osiris and Set; the former was the mother of Horus, and thelatter of Anubis. ]

[Footnote 2: A goddess who presided over the birth of children. ]

[Footnote 3: A very ancient Frog-goddess, who was associated withgeneration and birth. ]

[Footnote 4: A god who assisted at the creation of the world, and whofashioned the bodies of men and women. ]

When they had arrived there Isis said to her companions: "How is it thatwe who went to Rut-tetet [by the command of Rā] have worked no wonderfor the children which we could have announced to their father, whoallowed us to depart [without begging a boon]?" So they made divinecrowns such as belonged to the Lord (_i. E. _ King), life, strength, health [be to him!], and they hid them in the barley. Then they sentrain and storm through the heavens, and they went back to the house ofRāuser, apparently carrying the barley with them, and said to him, "Letthe barley abide in a sealed room until we dance our way back to thenorth. " So they put the barley in a sealed room. After Rut-tetet hadkept herself secluded for fourteen days, she said to one of herhandmaidens, "Is the house all ready?" and the handmaiden told her thatit was provided with everything except jars of barley drink, which hadnot been brought. Rut-tetet then asked why they had not been brought, and the handmaiden replied in words that seem to mean that there was nobarley in the house except that which belonged to the dancing goddesses, and that that was in a chamber which had been sealed with their seal. Rut-tetet then told her to go and fetch some of the barley, for she wasquite certain that when her husband Rāuser returned he would make goodwhat she took. Thereupon the handmaiden went to the chamber, and brokeit open, and she heard in it loud cries and shouts, and the sounds ofmusic and singing and dancing, and all the noises which men make inhonour of the birth of a king, and she went back and told Rut-tetet whatshe had heard. Then Rut-tetet herself went through the room, and couldnot find the place where the noises came from, but when she laid hertemple against a box, she perceived that the noises were inside it. Shethen took this box, which cannot have been of any great size, and put itin another box, which in turn she put in another box, which she sealed, and then wrapping this in a leather covering, she laid it in a chambercontaining her jar of barley beer or barley wine, and sealed the door. When Rāuser returned from the fields, Rut-tetet related to himeverything that had happened, and his heart was exceedingly glad, and heand his wife sat down and enjoyed themselves. 

A few days after these events Rut-tetet had a quarrel with herhandmaiden, and she slapped her well. The handmaiden was very angry, andin the presence of the household she said words to this effect: Dostthou dare to treat me in this way? I who can destroy thee? She has givenbirth to three kings, and I will go and tell the Majesty of King Khufuof this fact. The handmaiden thought that, if Khufu knew of the views ofRāuser and Rut-tetet about the future of their three sons, and theprophecies of the goddesses, he would kill the children and perhapstheir parents also. With the object in her mind of telling the king thehandmaiden went to her maternal uncle, whom she found weaving flax onthe walk, and told him what had happened, and said she was going to tellthe king about the three children. From her uncle she obtained neithersupport nor sympathy; on the contrary, gathering together severalstrands of flax into a thick rope he gave her a good beating with thesame. A little later the handmaiden went to the river or canal to fetchsome water, and whilst she was filling her pot a crocodile seized herand carried her away and, presumably, ate her. Then the uncle went tothe house of Rut-tetet to tell her what had happened, and he found hersitting down, with her head bowed over her breast, and exceedingly sadand miserable. He asked her, saying, "O Lady, wherefore art thou sosad?" And she told him that the cause of her sorrow was the handmaiden, who had been born in the house and had grown up in it, and who had justleft it, threatening that she would go and tell the king about the birthof the three kings. The uncle of the handmaiden nodded his head in aconsoling manner, and told Rut-tetet how she had come to him andinformed him what she was going to do, and how he had given her a goodbeating with a rope of flax, and how she had gone to the river to fetchsome water, and how a crocodile had carried her off. 

There is reason to think that the three sons of Rut-tetet became thethree kings of the fifth dynasty who were known by the names of Khāfrā, Menkaurā, and Userkaf. The stories given above are valuable because theycontain elements of history, for it is now well known that the immediatesuccessors of the fourth dynasty, of which Khufu, Khāfrā, and Menkaurā, the builders of the three great pyramids at Gīzah, were the mostimportant kings, were kings who delighted to call themselves sons of Rā, and who spared no effort to make the form of worship of the Sun-god thatwas practised at Anu, or Heliopolis, universal in Egypt. It is probablethat the three magicians, Ubaaner, Tchatchamānkh, and Teta werehistorical personages, whose abilities and skill in working magicappealed to the imagination of the Egyptians under all dynasties, andcaused their names to be venerated to a remote posterity. 

 CHAPTER IV

 THE BOOK OF THE DEAD

"Book of the Dead" is the name that is now generally given to the largecollection of "Chapters, " or compositions, both short and long, whichthe ancient Egyptians cut upon the walls of the corridors and chambersin pyramids and rock-hewn tombs, and cut or painted upon the insides andoutsides of coffins and sarcophagi, and wrote upon papyri, etc. , whichwere buried with the dead in their tombs. The first modern scholar tostudy these Chapters was the eminent Frenchman, J. François Champollion;he rightly concluded that all of them were of a religious character, buthe was wrong in calling the collection as a whole "Funerary Ritual. " Thename "Book of the Dead" is a translation of the title "Todtenbuch, "given by Dr. R. Lepsius to his edition of a papyrus at Turin, containinga very long selection of the Chapters, [1] which he published in 1842. "Book of the Dead" is on the whole a very satisfactory generaldescription of these Chapters, for they deal almost entirely with thedead, and they were written entirely for the dead. They have nothing todo with the worship of the gods by those who live on the earth, and suchprayers and hymns as are incorporated with them were supposed to be saidand sung by the dead for their own benefit. The author of the Chaptersof the Book of the Dead was the god Thoth, whose greatness has alreadybeen described in Chapter I of this book. Thus they were considered tobe of divine origin, and were held in the greatest reverence by theEgyptians at all periods of their long history. They do not all belongto the same period, for many of them allude to the dismemberment andburning of the dead, customs that, though common enough in veryprimitive times, were abandoned soon after royal dynasties becameestablished in Egypt. 

[Footnote 1: The actual number of Chapters in this papyrus is 165. ]

It is probable that in one form or another many of the Chapters were inexistence in the predynastic period, [1] but no copies of such primitiveversions, if they ever existed, have come down to us. One Egyptiantradition, which is at least as old as the early part of the eighteenthdynasty (1600 B. C. ), states that Chapters XXXB and LXIV were"discovered" during the reign of Semti, a king of the first dynasty, andanother tradition assigns their discovery to the reign of Menkaurā (theMycerinus of classical writers), a king of the fourth dynasty. It iscertain, however, that the Egyptians possessed a Book of the Dead whichwas used for kings and royal personages, at least, early under the firstdynasty, and that, in a form more or less complete, it was in use downto the time of the coming of Christianity into Egypt. The tombs of theofficials of the third and fourth dynasties prove that the Book ofOpening the Mouth and the Liturgy of Funerary Offerings (see pp. 13-18)were in use when they were made, and this being so it follows as amatter of course that at this period the Egyptians believed in theresurrection of the dead and in their immortality, that the religion ofOsiris was generally accepted, that the efficacy of funerary offeringswas unquestioned by the religious, and that men died believing thatthose who were righteous on earth would be rewarded in heaven, and thatthe evil-doer would be punished. The Pyramid Texts also prove that aBook of the Dead divided into chapters was in existence when they werewritten, for they mention the "Chapter of those who come forth (_i. E. _appear in heaven), " and the "Chapter of those who rise up" (Pepi I, l. 463), and the "Chapter of the _betu_ incense, " and the "Chapter of thenatron incense" (Pepi I, 469). Whether these Chapters formed parts ofthe Pyramid Texts, or whether both they and the Pyramid Texts belongedto the Book of the Dead cannot be said, but it seems clear that the fourChapters mentioned above formed part of a work belonging to a Book ofthe Dead that was older than the Pyramid Texts. This Book of the Deadwas no doubt based upon the beliefs of the followers of the religion ofOsiris, which began in the Delta and spread southwards into Upper Egypt. Its doctrines must have differed in many important particulars fromthose of the worshippers of the Sun-god of Heliopolis, whose priestspreached the existence of a heaven of a solar character, and taughttheir followers to believe in the Sun-god Rā, and not in Temu, theancient native god of Heliopolis, and not in the divine man Osiris. Theexposition of the Heliopolitan creed is found in the Pyramid Texts, which also contain the proofs that before the close of the sixth dynastythe cult of Osiris had vanquished the cult of Rā, and that the religionof Osiris had triumphed. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ before Menes became king of both Upper and LowerEgypt. ]

Certain of the Chapters of the Book of the Dead (_e. G. _ XXXB and LXIV)were written in the city of Thoth, or Khemenu, others were written inAnu, or Heliopolis, and others in Busiris and other towns of the Delta. Of the Book of the Dead that was in use under the fifth and sixthdynasties we have no copies, but many Chapters of the Recension in useunder the eleventh and twelfth dynasties are found written in cursivehieroglyphs upon wooden sarcophagi, many of which may be seen in theBritish Museum. With the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty the Book ofthe Dead enters a new phase of its existence, and it became the customto write it on rolls of papyrus, which were laid with the dead in theircoffins, instead of on the coffins themselves. As the greater number ofsuch rolls have been found in the tombs of priests and others at Thebes, the Recension that was in use from the eighteenth to the twenty-firstdynasty (1600-900 B. C. ) is commonly called the THEBAN RECENSION. ThisRecension, in its earliest form, is usually written with black ink invertical columns of hieroglyphs, which are separated by black lines; thetitles of the Chapters, the opening words of each section, and theRubrics are written with red ink. About the middle of the eighteenthdynasty pictures painted in bright colours, "vignettes, " were added tothe Chapters; these are very valuable, because they sometimes explain orgive a clue to the meaning of parts of the texts that are obscure. Underthe twentieth and twenty-first dynasties the writing of copies of theBook of the Dead in hieroglyphs went out of fashion, and copies writtenin the hieratic, or cursive, character took their place. These wereornamented with vignettes drawn in outline with black ink, and althoughthe scribes who made them wrote certain sections in hieroglyphs, it isclear that they did not possess the skill of the great scribes whoflourished between 1600 and 1050 B. C. The last Recension of the Book ofthe Dead known to us in a complete form is the SAĪTE RECENSION, whichcame into existence about 600 B. C. , and continued in use from that timeto the Roman Period. In the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods the priestscomposed several small works such as the "Book of Breathings" and the"Book of Traversing Eternity, " which were based upon the Book of theDead, and were supposed to contain in a highly condensed form all thetexts that were necessary for salvation. At a still later period evenmore abbreviated texts came into use, and the Book of the Dead ended itsexistence in the form of a series of almost illegible scrawls tracedupon scraps of papyrus only a few inches square. 

Rolls of papyrus containing the Book of the Dead were placed: (1) In aniche in the wall of the mummy chamber; (2) in the coffin by the side ofthe deceased, or laid between the thighs or just above the ankles; (3)in hollow wooden figures of the god Osiris, or Ptah-Seker-Osiris, or inthe hollow pedestals on which such figures stood. 

The Egyptians believed that the souls of the dead on leaving this worldhad to traverse a vast and difficult region called the Tuat, which wasinhabited by gods, devils, fiends, demons, good spirits, bad spirits, and the souls of the wicked, to say nothing of snakes, serpents, savageanimals, and monsters, before they could reach the Elysian Fields, andappear in the presence of Osiris. The Tuat was like the African "bush, "and had no roads through it. In primitive times the Egyptians thoughtthat only those souls that were provided with spells, incantations, prayers, charms, words of power, and amulets could ever hope to reachthe Kingdom of Osiris. The spells and incantations were needed for thebewitchment of hostile beings of every kind; the prayers, charms, andwords of power were necessary for making other kinds of beings thatpossessed great powers to help the soul on its journey, and to deliverit from foes; and the amulets gave the soul that was equipped with themstrength, power, will, and knowledge to employ successfully every meansof assistance that presented itself. 

The OBJECT OF THE BOOK OF THE DEAD was to provide the dead man with allthese spells, prayers, amulets, &c. , and to enable him to overcome allthe dangers and difficulties of the Tuat, and to reach Sekhet Aaru andSekhet Hetep (the Elysian Fields), and to take his place among thesubjects of Osiris in the Land of Everlasting Life. As time went on thebeliefs of the Egyptians changed considerably about many importantmatters, but they never attempted to alter the Chapters of the Book ofthe Dead so as to bring them, if we may use the expression, "up todate. " The religion of the eighteenth dynasty was far higher in itsspiritual character generally than that of the twelfth dynasty, but theChapters that were used under the twelfth dynasty were used under theeighteenth, and even under the twenty-sixth dynasty. In religion theEgyptian forgot nothing and abandoned nothing; what was good enough forhis ancestors was good enough for him, and he was content to go into thenext world relying for his salvation on the texts which he thought hadprocured their salvation. Thus the Book of the Dead as a whole is a workthat reflects all the religious beliefs of the Egyptians from the timewhen they were half savages to the period of the final downfall of theirpower. 

[Illustration: Vignette and Part of the XCIInd Chapter of the Book ofthe Dead. (Ani and his Soul are leaving the Tomb) _From the Papyrus ofthe Ani in the British Museum. _]

The Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead contains about one hundredand ninety Chapters, many of which have Rubrics stating what effectswill be produced by their recital, and describing ceremonies that mustbe performed whilst they are being recited. It is impossible to describethe contents of all the Chapters in our limited space, but in thefollowing brief summary the most important are enumerated. Chap. 1contains the formulas that were recited on the day of the funeral. Chap. 151 gives a picture of the arrangement of the mummy chamber, and thetexts to be said in it. Chap. 137 describes certain magical ceremoniesthat were performed in the mummy chamber, and describes the objects ofmagical power that were placed in niches in the four walls. Chap. 125gives a picture of the Judgment Hall of Osiris, and supplies thedeclarations of innocence that the deceased made before the Forty-twoJudges. Chaps. 144-147, 149, and 150 describe the Halls, Pylons, andDivisions of the Kingdom of Osiris, and supply the name of the gods whoguard them, and the formulas to be said by the deceased as he comes toeach. Chap. 110 gives a picture of the Elysian Fields and a textdescribing all the towns and places in them. Chap. 5 is a spell by theuse of which the deceased avoided doing work, and Chap. 6 is another, the recital of which made a figure to work for him. Chap. 15 containshymns to the rising and to the setting sun, and a Litany of Osiris; andChap. 183 is a hymn to Osiris. Chaps. 2, 3, 12, 13, and others enabled aman to move about freely in the Other World; Chap. 9 secured his freepassage in and out of the tomb; and Chap. 11 overthrew his enemies. Chap. 17 deals with important beliefs as to the origin of God and thegods, and of the heavens and the earth, and states the differentopinions which Egyptian theologians held about many divine andmythological beings. The reason for including it in the Book of the Deadis not quite clear, but that it was a most important Chapter is beyondall doubt. Chaps. 21 and 22 restored his mouth to the deceased, andChap. 23 enabled him to open it. Chap. 24 supplied him with words ofpower, and Chap. 25 restored to him his memory. Chaps. 26-30B gave tothe deceased his heart, and supplied the spells that prevented thestealers of hearts from carrying it off, or from injuring it in any way. Two of these Chapters (29 and 30B) were cut upon amulets made in theform of a human heart. Chaps. 31 and 32 are spells for driving awaycrocodiles, and Chaps. 33-38, and 40 are spells against snakes andserpents. Chaps. 41 and 42 preserved a man from slaughter in the OtherWorld, Chap. 43 enabled him to avoid decapitation, and Chap. 44preserved him from the second death. Chaps. 45, 46, and 154 protectedthe body from rot or decay and worms in the tomb. Chap. 50 saved thedeceased from the headsman in the Tuat, and Chap. 51 enabled him toavoid stumbling. Chaps. 38, 52-60, and 62 ensured for him a supply ofair and water in the Tuat, and Chap. 63 protected him from drinkingboiling water there. Chaps. 64-74 gave him the power to leave the tomb, to overthrow enemies, and to "come forth by day. " Chaps. 76-89 enabled aman to transform himself into the Light-god, the primeval soul of God, the gods Ptah and Osiris, a golden hawk, a divine hawk, a lotus, a_benu_ bird, a heron, a swallow, a serpent, a crocodile, and into anybeing or thing he pleased. Chap. 89 enabled the soul of the deceased torejoin its body at pleasure, and Chaps. 91 and 92 secured the egress ofhis soul and spirit from the tomb. Chaps. 94-97 made the deceased anassociate of Thoth, and Chaps. 98 and 99 secured for him the use of themagical boat, and the services of the celestial ferryman, who wouldferry him across the river in the Tuat to the Island of Fire, in whichOsiris lived. Chaps. 101 and 102 provided access for him to the Boat ofRā. Chaps. 108, 109, 112, and 116 enabled him to know the Souls (_i. E. _gods) of the East and West, and of the towns of Pe, [1] Nekhen, [2]Khemenu, [3] and Anu. [4] Chaps. 117-119 enabled him to find his waythrough Rastau, a part of the kingdom of Seker, the god of Death. Chap. 152 enabled him to build a house, and Chap. 132 gave him power to returnto the earth and see it. Chap. 153 provided for his escape from thefiend who went about to take souls in a net. Chaps. 155-160, 166, and167 formed the spells that were engraved on amulets, _i. E. _ the Tet(male), the Tet (female), the Vulture, the Collar, the Sceptre, thePillow, the Pectoral, &c. , and gave to the deceased the power of Osirisand Isis and other gods, and restored to him his heart, and lifted uphis head. Chap. 162 kept heat in the body until the day of theresurrection. Chaps. 175 and 176 gave the deceased everlasting life andenabled him to escape the second death. Chap. 177 raised up the deadbody, and Chap. 178 raised up the spirit-soul. The remaining Chaptersperfected the spirit-soul, and gave it celestial powers, and enabled itto enjoy intercourse with the gods as an equal, and enabled it toparticipate in all their occupations and pleasures. We may now give afew extracts that will give an idea of the contents of some of the mostimportant passages. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ Pe Tep, or Buto. ]

[Footnote 2: Eileithyiaspolis. ]

[Footnote 3: Hermopolis. ]

[Footnote 4: Heliopolis. ]

[Illustration: Her-Heru, the first Priest-King, and Queen Netchemetreciting a Hymn to the Rising Sun. The Apes represent the Spirits of theDawn. _From a papyrus (about 1050 B. C. ) in the British Museum. _]

The following is the opening hymn to Osiris in the Papyrus of Ani:

"Glory be to Osiris Un-Nefer, the great god who dwelleth in Abydos, kingof eternity, lord of everlastingness, whose existence endureth formillions of years. Eldest son of the womb of Nut, [1] begotten by Keb, [2]the Erpāt, [3] lord of the crowns of the South and North, lord of thelofty white crown, prince of gods and men: he hath received the sceptre, and the whip, and the rank of his divine fathers. Let thy heart inSemt-Ament[4] be content, for thy son Horus is established on thythrone. Thou art crowned lord of Tatu[5] and ruler in Abydos. [6] Throughthee the world flourisheth in triumph before the power of Nebertcher. [7]He leadeth on that which is and that which is not yet, in his name of'Taherstanef. ' He toweth along the earth by Maāt[8] in his name of'Seker'; he is exceedingly mighty and most terrible in his name of'Osiris'; he endureth for ever and ever in his name of 'Un-Nefer. 'Homage to thee, O King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince of princes, whofrom the womb of Nut hast ruled the world and Akert. [9] Thy body is[like] bright and shining metal, thy head is of azure blue, and thebrilliance of the turquoise encircleth thee. O thou god An of millionsof years, whose body pervadeth all things, whose face is beautiful inTa-Tchesert, [10] grant thou to the Ka of the Osiris the scribe Anisplendour in heaven, power upon earth, and triumph in the Other World. Grant that I may sail down to Tatu in the form of a living soul, andsail up to Abydos in the form of the Benu bird;[11] that I may go in andcome out without being stopped at the pylons of the Lords of the OtherWorld. May there be given unto me bread-cakes in the house of coolness, and offerings of food in Anu (Heliopolis), and a homestead for ever inSekhet Aru, [12] with wheat and barley therefor. "

[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess. ]

[Footnote 2: The Earth-god. ]

[Footnote 3: The hereditary chief of the gods. ]

[Footnote 4: The other world. ]

[Footnote 5: The town of Busiris on the Delta. ]

[Footnote 6: Abydos in Upper Egypt. ]

[Footnote 7: The Lord to the uttermost limit, _i. E. _ Almighty God. ]

[Footnote 8: The goddess of physical and moral law, and thepersonification of the conscience. ]

[Footnote 9: A name of the Other World. ]

[Footnote 10: The Holy Land, _i. E. _ the Kingdom of Osiris. ]

[Footnote 11: A bird which has been identified with the phœnix. The soulof Rā was incarnate in it. ]

[Footnote 12: A name of the realm of Osiris, or the Elysian Fields. ]

In another Hymn to Osiris, which is found in the Papyrus of Hunefer, wehave the following: "The gods come unto thee, bowing low before thee, and they hold thee in fear. They withdraw and depart when they see theeendued with the terror of Rā, and the victory of Thy Majesty is overtheir hearts. Life is with thee, and offerings of meat and drink followthee, and that which is thy due is offered before thy face. I have comeunto thee holding in my hands truth, and my heart hath in it no cunning(or deceit). I offer unto thee that which is thy due, and I know thatwhereon thou livest. I have not committed any kind of sin in the land; Ihave defrauded no man of what is his. I am Thoth, the perfect scribe, whose hands are pure. I am the lord of purity, the destroyer of evil, the scribe of truth; what I abominate is sin. "

Here is an address, followed by a short Litany, which forms a kind ofintroduction to Chapter 15 in the Papyrus of Ani:

"Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of eternity, Un-Nefer, Heru-Khuti, whose forms are manifold, whose attributes are majesty, [thou who art]Ptah-Seker-Tem in Heliopolis, lord of the Sheta shrine, creator ofHet-ka-Ptah (Memphis) and of the gods who dwell therein, thou Guide ofthe Other World, whom the gods praise when thou settest in the sky. Isisembraceth thee contentedly, and she driveth away the fiends from themouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face towards Amentet, [1] and thoumakest the earth to shine like refined copper. The dead rise up to lookupon thee, they breathe the air, and they behold thy face when [thy]disk riseth on the horizon. Their hearts are at peace, inasmuch as theybehold thee, O thou who art Eternity and Everlastingness. 

[Footnote 1: The "hidden" land, the West, the Other World. ]

 LITANY

"1. Homage to thee, O [Lord of] the Dekans[1] in Heliopolis and of theheavenly beings in Kherāha, [2] thou god Unti, who art the most gloriousof the gods hidden in Heliopolis. 

"_Grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am justand true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught withdeceit_. [3]

"2. Homage to thee, O An[4] in Antes, Heru-Khuti, [5] with long stridesdost thou stride over heaven, O Heru-Khuti. 

"3. Homage to thee, O Everlasting Soul, who dwellest in Tatu (Busiris), Un-Nefer, [6] son of Nut, who art the Lord of Akert. 

"4. Homage to thee in thy rule over Tatu. The Urrt Crown is fixed uponthy head. Thou art One, thou createst thy protection, thou dwellest inpeace in Tatu. 

"5. Homage to thee, O Lord of the Acacia. The Seker Boat[7] is on itssledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil; thou makest theEye of the Sun-god to rest upon its throne. 

"6. Homage to thee, mighty one in thine hour, Prince great and mighty, dweller in Anrutef, [8] lord of eternity, creator of everlastingness. Thou art the lord of Hensu. [9]

"7. Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Truth. Thou art the Lord ofAbydos; thy body is joined to Ta-Tchesert. Thou art he to whom fraud anddeceit are abominable. 

"8. Homage to thee, O dweller in thy boat. Thou leadest the Nile fromhis source, the light shineth upon thy body; thou art the dweller inNekhen. [10]

"9. Homage to thee, O Creator of the gods, King of the South, King ofthe North, Osiris, Conqueror, Governor of the world in thy graciousseasons! Thou art the Lord of the heaven of Egypt (Atebui). "

[Footnote 1: A group of thirty-six Star-gods. ]

[Footnote 2: A town that stood on the site of Old Cairo. ]

[Footnote 3: This response was to be repeated after each petition. ]

[Footnote 4: A Light-god. ]

[Footnote 5: Harmakhis of the Greeks. ]

[Footnote 6: A form of Osiris. ]

[Footnote 7: The Henu Boat of Seker was drawn round the sanctuary ofSeker each morning. ]

[Footnote 8: A district of Hensu. ]

[Footnote 9: Herakleopolis in Upper Egypt. ]

[Footnote 10: Eileithyiaspolis in Upper Egypt. ]

The following passage illustrates the general character of a funeraryhymn to Rā: "Homage to thee, O thou who art in the form of Khepera, Khepera the creator of the gods. Thou risest, thou shinest, thouilluminest thy mother [the sky]. Thou art crowned King of the Gods. Mother Nut[1] welcometh thee with bowings. The Land of Sunset (Manu)receiveth thee with satisfaction, and the goddess Maāt[2] embraceth theeat morn and at eve. Hail, ye gods of the Temple of the Soul (_i. E. _heaven), who weigh heaven and earth in a balance, who provide celestialfood! And hail, Tatunen, [3] One, Creator of man, Maker of the gods ofthe south and of the north, of the west and of the east! Come ye andacclaim Rā, the Lord of heaven, the Prince--life, health, strength be tohim!--the Creator of the gods, and adore ye him in his beautiful form ashe riseth in his Morning Boat (Āntchet). 

"Those who dwell in the heights and those who dwell in the depthsworship thee. Thoth and the goddess Maāt have laid down thy course forthee daily for ever. Thine Enemy the Serpent hath been cast into thefire, the fiend hath fallen down into it headlong. His arms have beenbound in chains, and Rā hath hacked off his legs; the Mesu Betshet[4]shall never more rise up. The Temple of the Aged God [in Anu] keepethfestival, and the sound of those who rejoice is in the Great House. Thegods shout for joy when they see Rā rising, and when his beams arefilling the world with light. The Majesty of the Holy God goeth forthand advanceth even unto the Land of Sunset (Manu). He maketh bright theearth at his birth daily, he journeyeth to the place where he wasyesterday. O be thou at peace with me, and let me behold thy beauties!Let me appear on the earth. Let me smite [the Eater of] the Ass. [5] Letme crush the Serpent Seba. [6] Let me destroy Āapep[7] when he is moststrong. Let me see the Abtu Fish in its season and the Ant Fish[8] inits lake. Let me see Horus steering thy boat, with Thoth and Maātstanding one on each side of him. Let me have hold of the bows of [thy]Evening Boat and the stern of thy Morning Boat. [9] Grant thou unto theKa of me, the Osiris the scribe Ani, to behold the disk of the Sun, andto see the Moon-god regularly and daily. Let my soul come forth and walkhither and thither and whithersoever it pleaseth. Let my name be readfrom the list of those who are to receive offerings, and may offeringsbe set before me, even as they are set before the Followers of Horus. Let there be prepared for me a seat in the Boat of Rā on the day whenthe god goeth forth. Let me be received into the presence of Osiris, inthe Land where Truth is spoken. "

[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess. ]

[Footnote 2: Goddess of Law. ]

[Footnote 3: An ancient Earth-god. ]

[Footnote 4: The associates of Set, the god of Evil. ]

[Footnote 5: The Ass was a form of the Sun-god, and its eater was amythological monster-serpent. ]

[Footnote 6: Another mythological serpent. ]

[Footnote 7: The serpent that tried to swallow the sun each morning, butthe Sun-god cast a spell on it and rendered it powerless. ]

[Footnote 8: The Abtu and the Ant were two fishes that swam before theboat of the sun to warn the god of danger. ]

[Footnote 9: _i. E. _, Ani wishes to be sure of a seat in both boats. ]

The prayers of the Book of the Dead consist usually of a string ofpetitions for sepulchral offerings to be offered in the tombs of thepetitioners, and the fundamental idea underlying them is that by theirtransmutation, which was effected by the words of the priests, thespirits of the offerings became available as the food of the dead. Manyprayers contain requests for the things that tend to the comfort andgeneral well-being of the dead, but here and there we find a prayer forforgiveness of sins committed in the body. The best example of such isthe prayer that forms Chapter CXXVI. It reads: "Hail, ye four Ape-godswho sit in the bows of the Boat of Rā, who convey truth to Nebertchet, who sit in judgment on my weakness and on my strength, who make the godsto rest contented by means of the flame of your mouths, who offer holyofferings to the gods, and sepulchral meals to the spirit-souls, wholive upon truth, who feed upon truth of heart, who are without deceitand fraud, and to whom wickedness is an abomination, do ye away with myevil deeds, and put ye away my sin, which deserved stripes upon earth, and destroy ye every evil thing whatsoever that clingeth to me, and letthere be no bar whatsoever on my part towards you. Grant ye that I maymake my way through the Amhet[1] chamber, let me enter into Rastau, [2]and let me pass through the secret places of Amentet. Grant that cakes, and ale, and sweetmeats may be given to me as they are given to thespirit-souls, and grant that I may enter in and come forth from Rastau. "The four Ape-gods reply: "Come, for we have done away with thywickedness, and we have put away thy sin, which deserved stripes, whichthou didst commit upon earth, and we have destroyed all the evil thatclung to thee. Enter, therefore, into Rastau, and pass in through thesecret gates of Amentet, and cakes, and ale, and sweetmeats shall begiven unto thee, and thou shalt go in and come out at thy desire, evenas do those whose spirit-souls are praised [by the god], and [thy name]shall be proclaimed each day in the horizon. "

[Footnote 1: A chamber in the kingdom of Seker in which the dead wereexamined. ]

[Footnote 2: The corridors in the kingdom of Seker. ]

Another prayer of special interest is that which forms Chapter XXXB. This is put into the mouth of the deceased when he is standing in theHall of Judgment watching the weighing of his heart in the Great Scalesby Anubis and Thoth, in the presence of the Great Company of the godsand Osiris. He says: "My heart, my mother. My heart, my mother. My heartwhereby I came into being. Let none stand up to oppose me at myjudgment. May there be no opposition to me in the presence of theTchatchau. [1] Mayest thou not be separated from me in the presence ofthe Keeper of the Balance. Thou art my Ka (_i. E. _ Double, or vitalpower), that dwelleth in my body; the god Khnemu who knitteth togetherand strengthened my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place ofhappiness whither we go. May the Shenit officers who decide thedestinies of the lives of men not cause my name to stink [beforeOsiris]. Let it (_i. E. _ the weighing) be satisfactory unto us, and letthere be joy of heart to us at the weighing of words (_i. E. _ the GreatJudgment). Let not that which is false be uttered against me before theGreat God, the Lord of Amentet (_i. E. _ Osiris). Verily thou shalt begreat when thou risest up [having been declared] a speaker of thetruth. "

[Footnote 1: The chief officers of Osiris, the divine Taskmasters. ]

In many papyri this prayer is followed by a Rubric, which orders that itis to be said over a green stone scarab set in a band of _tchamu_ metal(_i. E. _ silver-gold), which is to be hung by a ring from the neck of thedeceased. Some Rubrics order it to be placed in the breast of a mummy, where it is to take the place of the heart, and say that it will "openthe mouth" of the deceased. A tradition which is as old as the twelfthdynasty says that the Chapter was discovered in the town of Khemenu(Hermopolis Magna) by Herutataf, the son of Khufu, in the reign ofMenkaurā, a king of the fourth dynasty. It was cut in hieroglyphs, inlaid with lapis-lazuli on a block of alabaster, which was set underthe feet of Thoth, and was therefore believed to be a most powerfulprayer. We know that this prayer was recited by the Egyptians in thePtolemaic Period, and thus it is clear that it was in common use for aperiod of nearly four thousand years. It may well be the oldest prayerin the world. Under the Middle and New Empires this prayer was cut uponhard green stone scarabs, but the versions of it found on scarabs areoften incomplete and full of mistakes. It is quite clear that the prayerwas turned into a spell, and that it was used merely as a "word ofpower, " and that the hard stone scarabs were regarded merely as amulets. On many of them spaces are found that have been left blank to receivethe names of those with whom they were to be buried; this proves thatsuch scarabs once formed part of some undertaker's stock-in-trade, andthat they were kept ready for those who were obliged to buy "heartscarabs" in a hurry. 

Another remarkable composition in the Book of the Dead is the first partof Chapter CXXV, which well illustrates the lofty moral conceptions ofthe Egyptians of the eighteenth dynasty. The deceased is supposed to bestanding in the "Usekht Maāti, " or Hall of the Two Maāti goddesses, onefor Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt, wherein Osiris and hisForty-two Judges judge the souls of the dead. Before judgment is giventhe deceased is allowed to make a declaration, which in form closelyresembles that made in many parts of Africa at the present day by a manwho is condemned to undergo the ordeal of drinking "red water, " and init he states that he has not committed offences against the moral andreligious laws of his country. He says:

"Homage to thee, O Great God, thou Lord of Maāti. I have come to thee, Omy Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thybeauties. I know thee. I know thy name. I know the names of theForty-two[1] gods who live with thee in this Hall of Truth, who keepward over sinners, and who feed upon their blood on the day when thelives of men are taken into account in the presence of Un-Nefer (_i. E. _the Good Being or Osiris).... Verily, I have come unto thee, I havebrought truth unto thee. I have destroyed wickedness for thee. I havenot done evil to men. I have not oppressed (or wronged) my family. Ihave not done wrong instead of right. I have not been a friend ofworthless men. I have not wrought evil. I have not tried to make myselfover-righteous. I have not put forward my name for exalted positions. Ihave not entreated servants evilly. I have not defrauded the man who wasin trouble. I have not done what is hateful (or taboo) to the gods. Ihave not caused a servant to be ill-treated by his master. I have notcaused pain [to any man]. I have not permitted any man to go hungry. Ihave made none to weep. I have not committed murder. I have not orderedany man to commit murder for me. I have inflicted pain on no man. I havenot robbed the temples of their offerings. I have not stolen the cakesof the gods. I have not carried off the cakes offered to the spirits. Ihave not committed fornication. I have not committed acts of impurity inthe holy places of the god of my town. I have not diminished the bushel. I have not added to or filched away land. I have not encroached upon thefields [of my neighbours]. I have not added to the weights of thescales. I have not falsified the pointer of the scales. I have not takenmilk from the mouths of children. I have not driven away the cattle thatwere upon their pastures. I have not snared the feathered fowl in thepreserves of the gods. I have not caught fish [with bait made of] fishof their kind. I have not stopped water at the time [when it shouldflow]. I have not breached a canal of running water. I have notextinguished a fire when it should burn. I have not violated the times[of offering] chosen meat-offerings. I have not driven off the cattlefrom the property of the gods. I have not repulsed the god in hismanifestations. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. "

[Footnote 1: The Forty-two gods represent the forty-two nomes, orcounties, into which Egypt was divided. ]

[Illustration: Her-Heru and Queen Netchemet standing in the Hall ofOsiris and praying to the God, whilst the Heart of the Queen is beingweighed in the Balance. _From a papyrus (about 1050 B. C. ) in the BritishMuseum. _]

In the second part of the Chapter the deceased repeats many of the abovedeclarations of his innocence, but with each declaration the name of oneof the Forty-two Judges is coupled. Thus we have:

 1. "Hail, thou of the long strides, who comest forth from Heliopolis, I have not committed sin. 

 2. "Hail, thou who art embraced by flame, who comest forth from Kherāha, I have not robbed with violence. 

 3. "Hail, Nose, who comest forth from Hermopolis, I have not done violence [to any man]. 

 4. "Hail, Eater of shadows, who comest forth from the Qerti, I have not thieved. 

 5. "Hail, Stinking Face, who comest forth from Rastau, I have not slain man or woman. 

 9. "Hail, Crusher of bones, who comest forth from Hensu, I have not lied. "

Nothing is known of the greater number of these Forty-two gods, but itis probable that they were local gods or spirits, each one representinga nome, whose names were added to the declarations with the view ofmaking the Forty-two Judges represent all Egypt. 

In the third part of the Chapter we find that the religious ideasexpressed by the deceased have a far more personal character than thoseof the first and second parts. Thus, having declared his innocence ofthe forty-two sins or offences, "the heart which is righteous andsinless" says:

"Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in your Hall of Maāti! I know youand I know your names. Let me not fall under your knives, and bring yenot before the god whom ye follow my wickedness, and let not evil comeupon me through you. Declare ye me innocent in the presence ofNebertcher, [1] because I have done that which is right in Tamera(Egypt), neither blaspheming God, nor imputing evil (?) to the king inhis day. Homage to you, O ye gods, who live in your Hall of Maāti, whohave no taint of sin in you, who live upon truth, who feed upon truthbefore Horus, the dweller in his disk. Deliver me from Baba, who livethupon the entrails of the mighty ones, on the day of the Great Judgment. Let me come to you, for I have not committed offences [against you]; Ihave not done evil, I have not borne false witness; therefore letnothing [evil] be done unto me. I live upon truth. I feed upon truth. Ihave performed the commandments of men, and the things which make thegods contented. I have made the god to be at peace [with me by doing]that which is his will. I have given bread to the hungry man, and waterto the thirsty man, and apparel to the naked man, and a ferry boat tohim that had none. I have made offerings to the gods, and given funerarymeals to the spirits. Therefore be ye my deliverers, be ye myprotectors; make ye no accusations against me in the presence [of theGreat God]. I am clean of mouth and clean of hands; therefore let besaid unto me by those who shall see me: 'Come in peace, come in peace'(_i. E. _ Welcome! Welcome!).... I have testified before Herfhaf, [2] andhe hath approved me. I have seen the things over which the Persea treespreadeth [its branches] in Rastau. I offer up my prayers to the gods, and I know their persons. I have come and have advanced to declare thetruth and to set up the Balance[3] on its stand in Aukert. "[4]

[Footnote 1: The Lord to the uttermost limit, _i. E. _ Almighty God. ]

[Footnote 2: The celestial ferryman who ferried the souls of therighteous to the Island of Osiris. None but the righteous could enterhis boat, and none but the righteous was allowed to land on the Islandof Osiris. ]

[Footnote 3: The balance in which the heart was weighed. ]

[Footnote 4: A name of a part of the Other World near Heliopolis. ]

Then addressing the god Osiris the deceased says: "Hail, thou who artexalted upon thy standard, thou lord of the Atef crown, whose name is'Lord of the Winds, ' deliver me from thine envoys who inflict evils, whodo harm, whose faces are uncovered, for I have done the right for theLord of Truth. I have purified myself and my fore parts with holy water, and my hinder parts with the things that make clean, and my inward partshave been [immersed] in the Lake of Truth. There is not one member ofmine wherein truth is lacking. I purified myself in the Pool of theSouth. I rested in the northern town in the Field of the Grasshoppers, wherein the sailors of Rā bathe at the second hour of the night and atthe third hour of the day. " One would think that the moral worth of thedeceased was such that he might then pass without delay into the mostholy part of the Hall of Truth where Osiris was enthroned. But this isnot the case, for before he went further he was obliged to repeat themagical names of various parts of the Hall of Truth; thus we find thatthe priest thrust his magic into the most sacred of texts. At lengthThoth, the great Recorder of Egypt, being satisfied as to the good faithand veracity of the deceased, came to him and asked why he had come tothe Hall of Truth, and the deceased replied that he had come in order tobe "mentioned" to the god. Thoth then asked him, "Who is he whose heavenis fire, whose walls are serpents, and the floor of whose house is astream of water?" The deceased replied, "Osiris"; and he was then biddento advance so that he might be introduced to Osiris. As a reward for hisrighteous life sacred food, which proceeded from the Eye of Rā, wasallotted to him, and, living on the food of the god, he became acounterpart of the god. 

From first to last the Book of the Dead is filled with spells andprayers for the preservation of the mummy and for everlasting life. Asinstances of these the following passages are quoted from Chapters 154and 175. "Homage to thee, O my divine father Osiris, thou livest withthy members. Thou didst not decay. Thou didst not turn into worms. Thoudidst not waste away. Thou didst not suffer corruption. Thou didst notputrefy. I am the god Khepera, and my members shall have an everlastingexistence. I shall not decay. I shall not rot. I shall not putrefy. Ishall not turn into worms. I shall not see corruption before the eye ofthe god Shu. I shall have my being, I shall have my being. I shall live, I shall live. I shall flourish, I shall flourish. I shall wake up inpeace. I shall not putrefy. My inward parts shall not perish. I shallnot suffer injury. Mine eye shall not decay. The form of my visage shallnot disappear. Mine ear shall not become deaf. My head shall not beseparated from my neck. My tongue shall not be carried away. My hairshall not be cut off. Mine eyebrows shall not be shaved off. No balefulinjury shall come upon me. My body shall be established, and it shallneither crumble away nor be destroyed on this earth. " The passage thatrefers to everlasting life occurs in Chapter 175, wherein the scribeAni is made to converse with Thoth and Temu in the Tuat, or Other World. Ani, who is supposed to have recently arrived there, says: "What mannerof country is this to which I have come? There is no water in it. Thereis no air. It is depth unfathomable, it is black as the blackest night, and men wander helplessly therein. In it a man may not live in quietnessof heart; nor may the affections be gratified therein. " After a shortaddress to Osiris, the deceased asks the god, "How long shall I live?"And the god says, "It is decreed that thou shalt live for millions ofmillions of years, a life of millions of years. "

As a specimen of a spell that was used in connection with an amulet maybe quoted Chapter 156. The amulet was the _tet_, which represented aportion of the body of Isis. The spell reads: "The blood of Isis, thepower of Isis, the words of power of Isis shall be strong to protectthis mighty one (_i. E. _ the mummy), and to guard him from him that woulddo unto him anything which he abominateth (or, is taboo to him). " Theobject of the spell is explained in the Rubric, which reads: "[Thisspell] shall be said over a _tet_ made of carnelian, which hath beensteeped in water of _ankham_ flowers, and set in a frame of sycamorewood, and placed on the neck of the deceased on the day of the funeral. If these things be done for him the powers of Isis shall protect hisbody, and Horus, the son of Isis, shall rejoice in him when he seethhim. And there shall be no places hidden from him as he journeyeth. Andone hand of his shall be towards heaven and the other towards earth, regularly and continually. Thou shalt not let any person who is withthee see it [a few words broken away]. " Of the spells written in theBook of the Dead to make crocodiles, serpents, and other reptilespowerless, the following are specimens: "Away with thee! Retreat! Getback, O thou accursed Crocodile Sui. Thou shalt not come nigh me, for Ihave life through the words of power that are in me. If I utter thy nameto the Great God he will make thee to come before the two divinemessengers Betti and Herkemmaāt. Heaven ruleth its seasons, and thespell hath power over what it mastereth, and my mouth ruleth the spellthat is inside it. My teeth which bite are like flint knives, and myteeth which grind are like unto those of the Wolf-god. O thou whosittest spellbound with thine eyes fixed through my spell, thou shaltnot carry off my spell, thou Crocodile that livest on spells" (Chap. XXXI). 

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the West, that livest on the never-resting stars. That which is thy taboo is in me. I have eaten the brow (or, skull) of Osiris. I am set. 

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the West. The serpent Nāu is inside me. I will set it on thee, thy flame shall not approach me. 

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the East, that feedest upon the eaters of filth. That which is thy taboo is in me. I advance. I am Osiris. 

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the East. The serpent Nāu is inside me. I will set it on thee; thy flame shall not approach me. 

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the South, that feedest upon waste, garbage, and filth. That which is thy taboo is in me.... I am Sept. [1]

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the South. I will fetter thee. My charm is among the reeds (?). I will not yield unto thee. 

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the North, that feedest upon what is left by the hours. That which is thy taboo is in me. The emissions shall [not] fall upon my head. I am Tem. [2]

 "Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the North, for the Scorpion-goddess[3] is inside me, unborn (?). I am Uatch-Merti (?). [4]

 "Created things are in the hollow of my hand, and the things that are not yet made are inside me. I am clothed in and supplied with thy spells, O Rā, which are above me and beneath me.... I am Rā, the self-protected, no evil thing whatsoever shall overthrow me" (Chap. XXXII). 

[Footnote 1: A god of the Eastern Delta and a local form of the Sun-godearly in the day. ]

[Footnote 2: The primeval god, a form of Pautti, the oldest Egyptiangod. ]

[Footnote 3: She was called "Serqet. "]

[Footnote 4: A green-eyed serpent-god, or goddess, equipped with greatpower to destroy. ]

 CHAPTER V

 BOOKS OF THE DEAD OF THE GRÆCO-ROMAN PERIOD

From what has been said in the preceding chapter it will be clear thatonly wealthy people could afford to bury copies of the great Book of theDead with their deceased relatives. Whether the chapters that formed itwere written on coffins or on papyrus the cost of copying the work by acompetent scribe must have been relatively very great. Towards the closeof the twenty-sixth dynasty a feeling spread among the Egyptians thatonly certain parts of the Book of the Dead were essential for theresurrection of the body and for the salvation of the soul, and menbegan to bury with their dead copies of the most important chapters ofit in a very much abridged form. A little later the scribes produced anumber of works, in which they included only such portions of the mostimportant chapters as were considered necessary to effect theresurrection of the body. In other words, they rejected all the oldmagical elements in the Book of the Dead, and preserved only the textsand formulæ that appertained to the cult of Osiris, the first man whohad risen from the dead. One of the oldest of these later substitutesfor the Book of the Dead is the _Shai en Sensen_, or "Book ofBreathings. " Several copies of this work are extant in the funerarypapyri, and the following sections, translated from a papyrus in theBritish Museum, will give an idea of the character of the Book:

"Hail, Osiris[1] Kersher, son of Tashenatit! Thou art pure, thy heart ispure. Thy fore parts are pure, thy hind parts are cleansed; thy interioris cleansed with incense and natron, and no member of thine hath anydefect in it whatsoever. Kersher is washed in the waters of the Field ofOfferings, that lieth to the north of the Field of the Grasshoppers. Thegoddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet purify thee at the eighth hour of thenight and at the eighth hour of the day. Come then, enter the Hall ofTruth, for thou art free from all offence and from every defect, and'Stone of Truth' is thy name. Thou enterest the Tuat (Other World) asone exceedingly pure. Thou art purified by the Goddesses of Truth in theGreat Hall. Holy water hath been poured over thee in the Hall of Keb(_i. E. _ the earth), and thy body hath been made pure in the Hall of Shu(heaven). Thou lookest upon Rā when he setteth in the form of Tem ateventide. Amen is nigh unto thee and giveth thee air, and Ptah likewise, who fashioned thy members for thee; thou enterest the horizon with Rā. Thy soul is received in the Neshem Boat of Osiris, thy soul is madedivine in the House of Keb, and thou art made to be triumphant for everand ever. "

"Hail, Osiris Kersher! Thy name flourisheth, thy earthly body isstablished, thy spirit body germinateth, and thou art not repulsedeither in heaven or on earth. Thy face shineth before Rā, thy soulliveth before Amen, and thy earthly body is renewed before Osiris. Thoubreathest the breath of life for ever and ever. Thy soul makethofferings unto thee in the course of each day.... Thy flesh is collectedon thy bones, and thy form is even as it was upon earth. Thou takestdrink into thy body, thou eatest with thy mouth, and thou receivest thyrations in company with the souls of the gods. Anubis protecteth thee;he is thy protector, and thou art not turned away from the Gates of theTuat. Thoth, the most mighty god, the Lord of Khemenu (Hermopolis), cometh to thee, and he writeth the 'Book of Breathings' with his ownfingers. Then doth thy soul breathe for ever and ever, and thy form isrenewed with life upon earth; thou art made divine with the souls of thegods, thy heart is the heart of Rā, and thy limbs are the limbs of thegreat god. Amen is nigh unto thee to make thee to live again. Upuatopeneth a prosperous road for thee. Thou seest with thine eyes, thouhearest with thine ears, thou speakest with thy mouth, thou walkest withthy legs. Thy soul hath been made divine in the Tuat, so that it maychange itself into any form it pleaseth. Thou canst snuff at will theodours of the holy Acacia of Anu (An, or Heliopolis). Thou wakest eachday and seest the light of Rā; thou appearest upon the earth each day, and the 'Book of Breathings' of Thoth is thy protection, for through itdost thou draw thy breath each day, and through it do thine eyes beholdthe beams of the Sun-god Aten. The Goddess of Truth vindicateth theebefore Osiris, and her writings are upon thy tongue. Rā vivifieth thysoul, the Soul of Shu is in thy nostrils. Thou art even as Osiris, and'Osiris Khenti Amenti' is thy name. Thy body liveth in Tatu (Busiris), and thy soul liveth in heaven.... Thy odour is that of the holy gods inAmentet, and thy name is magnified like the names of the Spirits ofheaven. Thy soul liveth through the 'Book of Breathings, ' and it isrejoined to thy body by the 'Book of Breathings. ' These fine extractsare followed in the British Museum papyrus by the praises of Kersher bythe gods, a prayer of Kersher himself for offerings, and an extract fromthe so-called Negative Confession, which has been already described. Thework is closed by an address to the gods, in which it is said thatKersher is sinless, that he feeds and lives upon Truth, that his deedshave satisfied the hearts of the gods, and that he has fed the hungryand given water to the thirsty and clothes to the naked. [2]

[Footnote 1: The deceased is always supposed to be identified withOsiris. ]

[Footnote 2: A papyrus at Florence contains a copy of Part II. Of TheBook of Breathings. The fundamental ideas are the same as those in PartI. , but the forms in which they are expressed are different. Thedeceased is made to address several gods by name, and to declare that hehimself is those gods. "I am Rā, I am Atem, I am Osiris, I am Horus, Iam Thoth, " &c. ]

Another late work of considerable interest is the "Book of TraversingEternity, " the fullest known form of which is found on a papyrus atVienna. This work describes how the soul of the deceased, when armedwith the power which the Book of Traversing Eternity will give it, shallbe able to travel from one end of Egypt to the other, and to visit allthe holy places, and to assist at the festivals, and to enjoy communionnot only with the gods and spirits who assemble there, but also with itskinsfolk and acquaintances whom it left behind alive on the earth. Theobject of the book was to secure for the deceased the resurrection ofhis body; it opens with the following words: "Thy soul liveth in heavenin the presence of Rā. Thy Ka hath acquired the divine nature of thegods. Thy body remaineth in the deep house (_i. E. _ tomb) in the presenceof Osiris. Thy spirit-body becometh glorious among the living. Thydescendants flourish upon the earth, in the presence of Keb, upon thyseat among the living, and thy name is stablished by the utterance ofthose who have their being through the 'Book of Traversing Eternity. 'Thou comest forth by day, thou art joined to the Sun-god Aten. " The textgoes on to state that the deceased breathes, speaks, eats, drinks, sees, hears, and walks, and that all the organs of his body are in theirproper places, and that each is performing its proper functions. Hefloats in the air, hovers in the shadow, rises in the sky, follows thegods, travels with the stars, dekans, and planets, and moves about bynight and by day on earth and in heaven at will. 

Of the works that were originally composed for recitation on the days ofthe festivals of Osiris, and were specially connected with the cult ofthis god, three, which became very popular in the Graeco-Roman period, may be mentioned. These are: (1) The Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys;(2) The Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys; (3) The Book of makingsplendid the Spirit of Osiris. The first of these works was recited onthe twenty-fifth day of the fourth month of the season Akhet(October-November) by two "fair women, " who personified Isis andNephthys. One of these had the name of Isis on her shoulder, and theother the name of Nephthys, and each held a vessel of water in her righthand, and a "Memphis cake of bread" in her left. The object of therecital was to commemorate the resurrection of Osiris, and if the bookwere recited on behalf of any deceased person it would make his spiritto be glorious, and stablish his body, and cause his Ka to rejoice, andgive breath to his nostrils and air to his throat. The two "fair women"sang the sections alternately in the presence of the Kher-heb and Setempriests. The two first sections, as they are found on a papyrus inBerlin, read thus:--ISIS SAITH: "Come to thy house, come to thy house, OAn, come to thy house. Thine enemy [Set] hath perished. O beautifulyouth, come to thy house. Look thou upon me. I am the sister who loveththee, go not far from me. O Beautiful Boy, come to thy house, straightway, straightway. I cannot see thee, and my heart weepeth forthee; my eyes follow thee about. I am following thee about so that I maysee thee. Lo, I wait to see thee, I wait to see thee; behold, Prince, Iwait to see thee. It is good to see thee, it is good to see thee; O An, it is good to see thee. Come to thy beloved one, come to thy belovedone, O Un-Nefer, whose word is truth. Come to thy wife, O thou whoseheart is still. Come to the lady of thy house; I am thy sister from thymother's [womb]. Go not thou far from me. The faces of gods and men areturned towards thee, they all weep for thee together. As soon as I sawthee I cried out to thee, weeping with a loud voice which pierced theheavens, and thou didst not hear my voice. I am thy sister who lovedthee upon earth; none other loved thee more than [thy] sister, thysister. "

NEPHTHYS SAITH: "O Beautiful Prince, come to thy house. Let thy heartrejoice and be glad, for thine enemies have ceased to be. Thy twoSisters are nigh unto thee; they guard thy bier, they address thee withwords [full of] tears as thou liest prone on thy bier. Look thou at theyoung women; speak to us, O our Sovereign Lord. Destroy thou all themisery that is in our hearts; the chiefs among gods and men look uponthee. Turn thou towards us thy face, O our Sovereign Lord. At the sightof thy face life cometh to our faces; turn not thou thy face from us. The joy of our heart is in the sight of thee. O Beautiful Sovereign, ourhearts would see thee. I am thy sister Nephthys who loveth thee. Thefiend Seba hath fallen, he hath not being. I am with thee, and I act asthe protectress of thy members for ever and ever. "

The second work, the "Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys, " was sungduring the great festival of Osiris, which took place in the fourthmonth of the Season of Akhet and lasted five days (from thetwenty-second to the twenty-sixth day). It was sung by two virgins whowore fillets of sheep's wool on their heads, and held tambourines intheir hands; one was called Isis and the other Nephthys. According tothe rubrical directions given in the British Museum papyrus, thesections were sung by both women together. The following passage willillustrate the contents of the work:

"Come, come, run to me, O strong heart! Let me see thy divine face, forI do not see thee, and make thou clear the path that we may see thee aswe see Rā in heaven, when the heavens unite with the earth, and causedarkness to fall upon the earth each day. My heart burneth as with fireat thy escape from the Fiend, even as my heart burneth with fire whenthou turnest thy side to me; O that thou wouldst never remove it fromme! O thou who unitest the Two Domains (_i. E. _ Egypt, North and South), and who turnest back those who are on the roads, I seek to see theebecause of my love for thee.... Thou fliest like a living being, OEverlasting King; thou hast destroyed the fiend Anrekh. Thou art theKing of the South and of the North, and thou goest forth fromTatchesert. May there never be a moment in thy life when I do not fillthy heart, O my divine brother, my lord who goest forth from Aqert.... My arms are raised to protect thee, O thou whom I love. I love thee, OHusband, Brother, lord of love; come thou in peace into thy house.... Thy hair is like turquoise as thou comest forth from the Fields ofTurquoise, thy hair is like unto the finest lapis-lazuli, and thouthyself art more blue than thy hair. Thy skin and body are like southernalabaster, and thy bones are of silver. The perfume of thy hair is likeunto new myrrh, and thy skull is of lapis-lazuli. "

The third work, "The Book of making splendid the Spirit of Osiris, " wasalso sung at the great festival of Osiris that took place during theNovember-December at Abydos and other great towns in Egypt, and if itwere sung on behalf of any man, the resurrection and life, constantlyrenewed, of that man were secured for his soul and spirit. This Book, written in hieratic, is found in a papyrus in Paris, and the followingextract will illustrate its contents: "Come to thy house, come to thyhouse, O An. Come to thy house, O Beautiful Bull, lord of men and women, the beloved one, the lord of women. O Beautiful Face, Chief of Akert, Prince, Khenti Amentiu, are not all hearts drunk through the love ofthee, O Un-Nefer, whose word is truth? The hands of men and gods arelifted up and seek thee, even as the hands of a babe are stretched outto his mother. Come thou to them, for their hearts are sad, and makethem to rejoice. The lands of Horus exult, the domains of Set areoverthrown because of their fear of thee. Hail, Osiris Khenti Amentiu! Iam thy sister Isis. No god and no goddess have done for thee what I havedone. I, a woman, made a man child for thee, because of my desire tomake thy name to live upon the earth. Thy divine essence was in my body, I brought him forth on the ground. He pleaded thy case, he healed thysuffering, he decreed the destruction of him that caused it. Set fellunder his knife, and the Smamiu fiends of Set followed him. The throneof the Earth-god is thine, O thou who art his beloved son.... There ishealth in thy members, thy wounds are healed, thy sufferings arerelieved, thou shalt never groan again in pain. Come to us thy sisters, come to us; our hearts will live when thou comest. Men shall cry out tothee, and women shall weep glad tears, at thy coming to them.... TheNile appeareth at the command of thy mouth; thou makest men to live onthe effluxes that proceed from thy members, and thou makest every fieldto flourish. When thou comest that which is dead springeth into life, and the plants in the marshes put forth blossoms. Thou art the Lord ofmillions of years, the sustainer of wild creatures, and the lord ofcattle; every created thing hath its existence from thee. What is in theearth is thine. What is in the heavens is thine. What is in the watersis thine. Thou art the Lord of Truth, the hater of sinners, whom thouoverthrowest in their sins. The Goddesses of Truth are with thee; theynever leave thee. No sinful man can approach thee in the place wherethou art. Whatsoever appertaineth to life and to death belongeth tothee, and to thee belongeth everything that concerneth man. "

During the period of the occupation of Egypt by the Romans, the threelast-named works were still further abridged, and eventually the textsthat were considered essential for salvation were written upon smallsheets of papyrus from 9 to 12 inches high, and from 5 to 10 incheswide. 

 CHAPTER VI

 THE EGYPTIAN STORY OF THE CREATION

If we consider for a moment the vast amount of thought which theEgyptian gave to the problems of the future life, and their deep-seatedbelief in resurrection and immortality, we cannot fail to conclude thathe must have theorised deeply about the constitution of the heaven inwhich he hoped to live everlastingly, and about its Maker. Thetranslations given in the preceding pages prove that the theologians ofEgypt were ready enough to describe heaven, and the life led by theblessed there, and the powers and the attributes of the gods, but theyappear to have shrunk from writing down in a connected form theirbeliefs concerning the Creation and the origin of the Creator. Theworshippers of each great god proclaimed him to be the Creator of All, and every great town had its own local belief on the subject. Accordingto the Heliopolitans, Atem, or Tem, and at a later period Rā, was theCreator; according to Memphite theology he was Ptah; according to theHermopolitans he was Thoth; and according to the Thebans he was Amen(Ammon). In only one native Egyptian work up to the present has therebeen discovered any connected account of the Creation, and the means bywhich it was effected, namely, the British Museum Papyrus, No. 10, 188. This papyrus was written about 305 B. C. , and is therefore of acomparatively late date, but the subject matter of the works containedin it is thousands of years older, and it is only _their_ forms whichare of a late date. The Story of the Creation is found in the last workin the papyrus, which is called the "Book of overthrowing Āapep, theEnemy of Rā, the Enemy of Un-Nefer" (_i. E. _ Osiris). This work is aliturgy, which was said at certain times of the day and night in thegreat temple of Amen-Rā at Thebes, with the view of preventing themonster Āapep from obstructing the sunrise. Āapep was supposed to lie inwait for the sun daily just before sunrise, with the view of doingbattle with him and overthrowing him. When the Sun-god arrived at theplace where Āapep was, he first of all cast a spell upon the monster, which rendered him helpless, and then he cast his fiery rays upon him, which shrivelled him up, and the fire of the god consumed him entirely. In the temple of Amen-Rā the priests recited the spells that weresupposed to help the Sun-god to burn up Āapep, and they burnt waxenfigures of the monster in specially prepared fires, and, utteringcurses, they trampled them under foot and defiled them. These spells andburnings were also believed to break up rain clouds, and to scatter fogand mist and to dissipate thunder-storms, and to help the sun to rise onthis world in a cloudless sky. Āapep was a form of Set, the god of evilof every kind, and his allies were the "Red Fiends" and the "BlackFiends, " and every power of darkness. In the midst of the magical spellsof this papyrus we find two copies of the "Book of knowing how Rā cameinto being, and of overthrowing Āapep. " One copy is a little fuller thanthe other, but they agree substantially. The words of this book are saidin the opening line to have been spoken by the god Nebertcher, _i. E. _the "Lord to the uttermost limit, " or God Himself. The EgyptianChristians, or Copts, in their religious writings use this name as anequivalent of God Almighty, the Lord of All, the God of the Universe. Nebertcher says: "I am the creator of what hath come into being. Imyself came into being under the form of the god Khepera. I came intobeing under the form of Pautti (or, in primeval time), I formed myselfout of the primeval matter, I made myself out of the substance that wasin primeval time. "[1] Nothing existed at that time except the greatprimeval watery mass called NU, but in this there were the germs ofeverything that came into being subsequently. There was no heaven, andno earth, and the god found no place on which to stand; nothing, infact, existed except the god. He says, "I was alone. " He first createdhimself by uttering his own name as a word of power, and when this wasuttered his visible form appeared. He then uttered another kind of wordof power, and as a result of this his soul (_ba_) came into being, andit worked in connection with his heart or mind (_ab_). Before every actof creation Nebertcher, or his visible form Khepera, thought out whatform the thing to be created was to take, and when he had uttered itsname the thing itself appeared in heaven or earth. To fill the heaven, or place where he lived, the god next produced from his body and itsshadow the two gods Shu and Tefnut. These with Nebertcher, or Khepera, formed the first triad of gods, and the "one god became three, " or, aswe should say, the one god had three aspects, each of which was quitedistinct from the other. The tradition of the begetting of Shu andTefnut is as old as the time of the pyramids, for it is mentioned in thetext of Pepi I, l. 466. The next act of creation resulted in theemerging of the Eye of Nebertcher (later identified with Rā) from thewatery mass (NU), and light shone upon its waters. Shu and Tefnut thenunited and they produced Keb, the Earth-god, and Nut, the Sky-goddess. The text then refers to some calamity which befell the Eye of Nebertcheror of Khepera, but what it was is not clear; at all events the Eyebecame obscured, and it ceased to give light. This period of darknessis, of course, the night, and to obviate the inconvenience caused bythis recurring period of darkness, the god made a second Eye, _i. E. _ theMoon, and set it in the heavens. The greater Eye ruled the day, and thelesser Eye the night. One of the results of the daily darkness was thedescent of the Sky-goddess Nut to the Earth-god Keb each evening. 

[Footnote 1: The second version here states that the name of Nebertcheris Ausares (Osiris), who is the oldest god of all. ]

The gods and goddesses next created were five, namely, Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. Osiris married Isis, and their son was calledHorus; Set married Nephthys, but their son Anpu, or Anubis, is notmentioned in our text. Osiris became the great Ancestor-god of Egypt, and was a reincarnation of his great-grandfather. Men and women werefirst formed from the tears that fell from the Eye of Khepera, or theSun-god, upon his body; the old Egyptian word for "men" very closelyresembles in form and sound the word for "tears. " Plants, vegetables, herbs, and trees owe their origin to the light of the moon falling uponthe earth. Our text contains no mention of a special creation of the"beasts of the field, " but the god states distinctly that he created thechildren of the earth, or creeping things of all kinds, and among thisclass quadrupeds are probably included. The men and women, and all theother living creatures that were made at that time by Nebertcher, orKhepera, reproduced their species, each in his own way, and thus theearth became filled with their descendants as we see at the presenttime. The elements of this Creation legend are very, very old, and theform in which they are grouped in our text suggests the influence of thepriests of Heliopolis. It is interesting to note that only very ancientgods appear as Powers of creation, and these were certainly worshippedfor many centuries before the priests of Heliopolis invented their cultof the Sun-god, and identified their god with the older gods of thecountry. We may note, too, that gods like Ptah and Amen, whosereputation was so great in later times, and even when our text wascopied in 305 B. C. , find no mention at all. 

 CHAPTER VII

 LEGENDS OF THE GODS

The Egyptians believed that at one time all the great gods and goddesseslived upon earth, and that they ruled Egypt in much the same way as thePharaohs with whom they were more or less acquainted. They went aboutamong men and took a real personal interest in their affairs, and, according to tradition, they spared no pains in promoting their wishesand well-being. Their rule was on the whole beneficent, chiefly becausein addition to their divine attributes they possessed natures, andapparently bodily constitutions that were similar to those of men. Likemen also they were supposed to feel emotions and passions, and to beliable to the accidents that befell men, and to grow old, and even todie. The greatest of all the gods was Rā, and he reigned over Egypt forvery many years. His reign was marked by justice and righteousness, andhe was in all periods of Egyptian history regarded as the type of what aking should be. When men instead of gods reigned over Egypt they alldelighted to call themselves sons of Rā, and every king believed that Rāwas his true father, and regarded his mother's husband as his fatheronly in name. This belief was always common in Egypt, and even Alexanderthe Great found it expedient to adopt it, for he made a journey to thesanctuary of Amen (Ammon) in the Oasis of Sīwāh in order to beofficially acknowledged by the god. Having obtained this recognition, hebecame the rightful lord of Egypt. 

 THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND

This Legend is cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of a small chamber in thetomb of Seti I about 1350 B. C. When Rā, the self-begotten andself-formed god, had been ruling gods and men for some time, men beganto complain about him, saying, "His Majesty hath become old. His boneshave turned into silver, his flesh into gold, and his hair into reallapis-lazuli. " His Majesty heard these murmurings and commanded hisfollowers to summon to his presence his Eye (_i. E. _ the goddess Hathor), Shu, Tefnut, Keb, Nut, and the father and mother gods and goddesses whowere with him in the watery abyss of NU, and also the god of this water, NU. They were to come to him with all their followers secretly, so thatmen should not suspect the reason for their coming, and take flight, andthey were to assemble in the Great House in Heliopolis, where Rā wouldtake counsel with them. In due course all the gods assembled in theGreat House, and they ranged themselves down the sides of the House, andthey bowed down in homage before Rā until their heads touched theground, and said, "Speak, for we are listening. " Then Rā addresing Nu, the father of the first-born gods, told him to give heed to what menwere doing, for they whom he had created were murmuring against him. Andhe said, "Tell me what ye would do. Consider the matter, invent a planfor me, and I will not slay them until I have heard what ye shall sayconcerning this thing. " Nu replied, "Thou, O my son Rā, art greater thanthe god who made thee (_i. E. _ Nu himself), thou art the king of thosewho were created with thee, thy throne is established, and the fear ofthee is great. Let thine Eye (Hathor) attack those who blaspheme thee. "And Rā said, "Lo, they have fled to the mountains, for their hearts areafraid because of what they have said. " The gods replied, "Let thine Eyego forth and destroy those who blasphemed thee, for no eye can resistthine when it goeth forth in the form of Hathor. " Thereupon the Eye ofRā, or Hathor, went in pursuit of the blasphemers in the mountains, andslew them all. On her return Rā welcomed her, and the goddess said thatthe work of vanquishing men was dear to her heart. Rā then said that hewould be the master of men as their king, and that he would destroythem. For three nights the goddess Hathor-Sekhmet waded about in theblood of men, the slaughter beginning at Hensu (Herakleopolis Magna). 

Then the Majesty of Rā ordered that messengers should be sent to Abu, atown at the foot of the First Cataract, to fetch mandrakes (?), and whenthey were brought he gave them to the god Sekti to crush. When the womenslaves were bruising grain for making beer, the crushed mandrakes (?)were placed in the vessels that were to hold the beer, together withsome of the blood of those who had been slain by Hathor. The beer wasthen made, and seven thousand vessels were filled with it. When Rā sawthe beer he ordered it to be taken to the scene of slaughter, and pouredout on the meadows of the four quarters of heaven. The object of puttingmandrakes (?) in the beer was to make those who drank fall asleepquickly, and when the goddess Hathor came and drank the beer mixed withblood and mandrakes (?) she became very merry, and, the sleepy stage ofdrunkenness coming on her, she forgot all about men, and slew no more. At every festival of Hathor ever after "sleepy beer" was made, and itwas drunk by those who celebrated the feast. 

Now, although the blasphemers of Rā had been put to death, the heart ofthe god was not satisfied, and he complained to the gods that he wassmitten with the "pain of the fire of sickness. " He said, "My heart isweary because I have to live with men; I have slain some of them, butworthless men still live, and I did not slay as many as I ought to havedone considering my power. " To this the gods replied, "Trouble not aboutthy lack of action, for thy power is in proportion to thy will. " Herethe text becomes fragmentary, but it seems that the goddess Nut took theform of a cow, and that the other gods lifted Rā on to her back. Whenmen saw that Rā was leaving the earth, they repented of theirmurmurings, and the next morning they went out with bows and arrows tofight the enemies of the Sun-god. As a reward for this Rā forgave thosemen their former blasphemies, but persisted in his intention of retiringfrom the earth. He ascended into the heights of heaven, being still onthe back of the Cow-goddess Nut, and he created there Sekhet-hetep andSekhet-Aaru as abodes for the blessed, and the flowers that blossomedtherein he turned into stars. He also created the millions of beings wholived there in order that they might praise him. The height to which Rāhad ascended was now so great that the legs of the Cow-goddess on whichhe was enthroned trembled, and to give her strength he ordained that Nutshould be held up in her position by the godhead and upraised arms ofthe god Shu. This is why we see pictures of the body of Nut beingsupported by Shu. The legs of the Cow-goddess were supported by thevarious gods, and thus the seat of the throne of Rā became stable. Whenthis was done Rā caused the Earth-god Keb to be summoned to hispresence, and when he came he spake to him about the venomous reptilesthat lived in the earth and were hostile to him. Then turning to Thoth, he bade him to prepare a series of spells and words of power, whichwould enable those who knew them to overcome snakes and serpents anddeadly reptiles of all kinds. Thoth did so, and the spells which hewrote under the direction of Rā served as a protection of the servantsof Rā ever after, and secured for them the help of Keb, who became solelord of all the beings that lived and moved on and in his body, theearth. Before finally relinquishing his active rule on earth, Rāsummoned Thoth and told him of his desire to create a Light-soul in theTuat and in the Land of the Caves. Over this region he appointed Thothto rule, and he ordered him to keep a register of those who were there, and to mete out just punishments to them. In fact, Thoth was to be everafter the representative of Rā in the Other World. 

 THE LEGEND OF RĀ AND ISIS

This Legend is found written in the hieratic character upon a papyruspreserved in Turin, and it illustrates a portion of the precedingLegend. We have seen that Rā instructed Thoth to draw up a series ofspells to be used against venomous reptiles of all kinds, and the readerwill perceive from the following summary that Rā had good reason fordoing this. The Legend opens with a list of the titles of Rā, the"self-created god, " creator of heaven, earth, breath of life, fire, gods, men, beasts, cattle, reptiles, feathered fowl, and fish, the Kingof gods and men, to whom cycles of 120 years are as years, whosemanifold names are unknown even by the gods. The text continues: "Isishad the form of a woman, and knew words of power, but she was disgustedwith men, and she yearned for the companionship of the gods and thespirits, and she meditated and asked herself whether, supposing she hadthe knowledge of the Name of Rā, it was not possible to make herself asgreat as Rā was in heaven and on the earth? Meanwhile Rā appeared inheaven each day upon his throne, but he had become old, and he dribbledat the mouth, and his spittle fell on the ground. One day Isis took someof the spittle and kneaded up dust in it, and made this paste into theform of a serpent with a forked tongue, so that if it struck anyone theperson struck would find it impossible to escape death. This figure sheplaced on the path on which Rā walked as he came into heaven after hisdaily survey of the Two Lands (_i. E. _ Egypt). Soon after this Rā roseup, and attended by his gods he came into heaven, but as he went alongthe serpent drove its fangs into him. As soon as he was bitten Rā feltthe living fire leaving his body, and he cried out so loudly that hisvoice reached the uttermost parts of heaven. The gods rushed to him ingreat alarm, saying, "What is the matter?" At first Rā was speechless, and found himself unable to answer, for his jaws shook, his lipstrembled, and the poison continued to run through every part of hisbody. When he was able to regain a little strength, he told the godsthat some deadly creature had bitten him, something the like of which hehad never seen, something which his hand had never made. He said, "Neverbefore have I felt such pain; there is no pain worse than this. " Rā thenwent on to describe his greatness and power, and told the listening godsthat his father and mother had hidden his name in his body so that noone might be able to master him by means of any spell or word of power. In spite of this something had struck him, and he knew not what it was. "Is it fire?" he asked. "Is it water? My heart is full of burning fire, my limbs are shivering, shooting pains are in all my members. " All thegods round about him uttered cries of lamentation, and at this momentIsis appeared. Going to Rā she said, "What is this, O divine father?What is this? Hath a serpent bitten thee? Hath something made by theelifted up its head against thee? Verily my words of power shalloverthrow it; I will make it depart in the sight of thy light. " Rā thenrepeated to Isis the story of the incident, adding, "I am colder thanwater, I am hotter than fire. All my members sweat. My body quaketh. Mine eye is unsteady. I cannot look on the sky, and my face is bedewedwith water as in the time of the Inundation. "[1] Then Isis said, "Father, tell me thy name, for he who can utter his own name liveth. "

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ in the period of summer. The season Shemmu began inApril and ended about July 15. ]

Rā replied, "I am the maker of heaven and earth. I knit together themountains and whatsoever liveth on them. I made the waters. I madeMehturit[1] to come into being. I made Kamutef. [2] I made heaven, andthe two hidden gods of the horizon, and put souls into the gods. I openmy eyes, and there is light; I shut my eyes, and there is darkness. Ispeak the word[s], and the waters of the Nile appear. I am he whom thegods know not. I make the hours. I create the days. I open the year. Imake the river [Nile]. I create the living fire whereby works in thefoundries and workshops are carried out. I am Khepera in the morning, Rāat noon, and Temu in the evening. " Meanwhile the poison of the serpentwas coursing through the veins of Rā, and the enumeration of his worksafforded the god no relief from it. Then Isis said to Rā, "Among all thethings which thou hast named to me thou hast not named thy name. Tell methy name, and the poison shall come forth from thee. " Rā stillhesitated, but the poison was burning in his blood, and the heat thereofwas stronger than that of a fierce fire. At length he said, "Isis shallsearch me through, and my name shall come forth from my body and passinto hers. " Then Rā hid himself from the gods, and for a season histhrone in the Boat of Millions of Years was empty. When the time camefor the heart of the god to pass into Isis, the goddess said to Horus, her son, "The great god shall bind himself by an oath to give us his twoeyes (_i. E. _ the sun and the moon). " When the great god had yielded uphis name Isis pronounced the following spell: "Flow poison, come out ofRā. Eye of Horus, come out of the god, and sparkle as thou comestthrough his mouth. I am the worker. I make the poison to fall on theground. The poison is conquered. Truly the name of the great god hathbeen taken from him. Rā liveth! The poison dieth! If the poison live Rāshall die. " These were the words which Isis spoke, Isis the great lady, the Queen of the gods, who knew Rā by his own name. 

[Footnote 1: An ancient Cow-goddess of heaven. ]

[Footnote 2: A form of Amen-Rā. ]

In late times magicians used to write the above Legend on papyrus abovefigures of Temu and Heru-Hekenu, who gave Rā his secret name, and overfigures of Isis and Horus, and sell the rolls as charms against snakebites. 

 THE LEGEND OF HORUS OF BEHUTET AND THE WINGED DISK

The text of this Legend is cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of the templeof Edfu, in Upper Egypt, and some of the incidents described in it areillustrated by large bas-reliefs. The form of the Legend here givendates from the Ptolemaic Period, but the subject matter is somethousands of years older. The great historical fact underlying theLegend is the Conquest of Egypt by some very early king who invadedEgypt from the south, and who succeeded in conquering every part of it, even the northern part of the Delta. The events described are supposedto have taken place whilst Rā was still reigning on the earth. TheLegend states that in the three hundred and sixty-third year of thereign of Rā-Harmakhis, the ever living, His Majesty was in Ta-sti(_i. E. _ the Land of the Bow, or Nubia) with his soldiers; the enemy hadreviled him, and for this reason the land is called "Uauatet" to thisday. From Nubia Rā sailed down the river to Apollinopolis (Edfu), andHeru-Behutet, or Horus of Edfu, was with him. On arriving there Horustold Rā that the enemy were plotting against him, and Rā told him to goout and slay them. Horus took the form of a great winged disk, whichflew up into the air and pursued the enemy, and it attacked them withsuch terrific force that they could neither see nor hear, and they fellupon each other, and slew each other, and in a moment not a single foewas left alive. Then Horus returned to the Boat of Rā-Harmakhis, in theform of the winged disk which shone with many colours, and said, "Advance, O Rā, and look upon thine enemies who are lying under thee inthis land. " Rā set out on the journey, taking with him the goddessAshtoreth, and he saw his enemies lying on the ground, each of thembeing fettered. After looking upon his slaughtered foes Rā said to thegods who were with him, "Behold, let us sail in our boat on the water, for our hearts are glad because our enemies have been overthrown on theearth. " So the Boat of Rā moved onwards towards the north, and theenemies of the god who were on the banks took the form of crocodiles andhippopotami, and tried to frighten the god, for as his boat came nearthem they opened their jaws wide, intending to swallow it up togetherwith the gods who were in it. Among the crew were the Followers of Horusof Edfu, who were skilled workers in metal, and each of these had in hishands an iron spear and a chain. These "Blacksmiths" threw out theirchains into the river and allowed the crocodiles and hippopotami toentangle their legs in them, and then they dragged the beasts towardsthe bows of the Boat, and driving their spears into their bodies, slewthem there. After the slaughter the bodies of six hundred and fifty-onecrocodiles were brought and laid out before the town of Edfu. When Thothsaw these he said, "Let your hearts rejoice, O gods of heaven, Let yourhearts rejoice, O ye gods who dwell on the earth. The Young Horus comethin peace. On his way he hath made manifest deeds of valour, according tothe Book of slaying the Hippopotamus. " And from that day they madefigures of Horus in metal. 

Then Horus of Edfu took the form of the winged disk, and set himself onthe prow of the Boat of Rā. He took with him Nekhebet, goddess of theSouth, and Uatchet, goddess of the North, in the form of serpents, sothat they might make all the enemies of the Sun-god to quake in theSouth and in the North. His foes who had fled to the north doubled backtowards the south, for they were in deadly fear of the god. Horuspursued and overtook them, and he and his blacksmiths had in their handsspears and chains, and they slew large numbers of them to the south-eastof the town of Thebes in Upper Egypt. Many succeeded in escaping towardsthe north once more, but after pursuing them for a whole day Horusovertook them, and made a great slaughter among them. Meanwhile theother foes of the god, who had heard of the defeats of their allies, fled into Lower Egypt, and took refuge among the swamps of the Delta. Horus set out after them, and came up with them, and spent four days inthe water slaying his foes, who tried to escape in the forms ofcrocodiles and hippopotami. He captured one hundred and forty-two of theenemy and a male hippopotamus, and took them to the fore part of theBoat of Rā. There he hacked them in pieces, and gave their inward partsto his followers, and their mutilated bodies to the gods and goddesseswho were in the Boat of Rā and on the river banks in the town of Heben. 

Then the remnant of the enemy turned their faces towards the Lake of theNorth, and they attempted to sail to the Mediterranean in boats; but theterror of Horus filled their hearts, and they left their boats and fledto the district of Mertet-Ament, where they joined themselves to theworshippers of Set, the god of evil, who dwelt in the Western Delta. Horus pursued them in his boat for one day and one night without seeingthem, and he arrived at the town of Per-Rehui. At length he discoveredthe position of the enemy, and he and his followers fell upon them, andslew a large number of them; he captured three hundred and eighty-one ofthem alive, and these he took to the Boat of Rā, then, having slainthem, he gave their carcases to his followers or bodyguard, whopresumably devoured them. The custom of eating the bodies of enemies isvery old in Egypt, and survives in some parts of Africa to this day. 

Then Set, the great antagonist of Horus, came out and cursed him for theslaughter of his people, using most shameful words of abuse. Horus stoodup and fought a duel with Set, the "Stinking Face, " as the text callshim, and Horus succeeded in throwing him to the ground and spearing him. Horus smashed his mouth with a blow of his mace, and having fettered himwith his chain, he brought him into the presence of Rā, who ordered thathe was to be handed over to Isis and her son Horus, that they might worktheir will on him. Here we must note that the ancient editor of theLegend has confounded Horus the ancient Sun-god with Horus, son of Isis, son of Osiris. Then Horus, the son of Isis, cut off the heads of Set andhis followers in the presence of Rā, and dragged Set by his feet roundabout throughout the district with his spear driven through his head andback, according to the order of Rā. The form which Horus of Edfu had atthat time was that of a man of great strength, with the face and back ofa hawk; on his head he wore the Double Crown, with feathers and serpentsattached, and in his hands he held a metal spear and a metal chain. AndHorus, the son of Isis, took upon himself a similar form, and the twoHoruses slew all the enemies on the bank of the river to the west of thetown of Per-Rehui. This slaughter took place on the seventh day of thefirst month of the season Pert, [1] which was ever afterwards called the"Day of the Festival of Sailing. "

[Footnote 1: About the middle of November. ]

Now, although Set in the form of a man had been slain, he reappeared inthe form of a great hissing serpent, and took up his abode in a hole inthe ground without being noticed by Horus. Rā, however, saw him, andgave orders that Horus, the son of Isis, in the form of a hawk-headedstaff, should set himself at the mouth of the hole, so that the monstermight never reappear among men. This Horus did, and Isis his motherlived there with him. Once again it became known to Rā that a remnant ofthe followers of Set had escaped, and that under the direction of theSmait fiends, and of Set, who had reappeared, they were hiding in theswamps of the Eastern Delta. Horus of Edfu, the winged disk, pursuedthem, speared them, and finally slew them in the presence of Rā. For themoment there were no more enemies of Rā to be found in the district onland, although Horus passed six days and six nights in looking for them;but it seems that several of the followers of Set in the forms of waterreptiles were lying on the ground under water, and that Horus saw themthere. At this time Horus had strict guard kept over the tomb of Osirisin Anrutef, [1] because he learned that the Smait fiends wanted to comeand wreck both it and the body of the god. Isis, too, never ceased torecite spells and incantations in order to keep away her husband's foesfrom his body. Meanwhile the "blacksmiths" of Horus, who were in chargeof the "middle regions" of Egypt, found a body of the enemy, andattacked them fiercely, slew many of them, and took one hundred and sixof them prisoners. The "blacksmiths" of the west also took one hundredand six prisoners, and both groups of prisoners were slain before Rā. Inreturn for their services Rā bestowed dwelling-places upon the"blacksmiths, " and allowed them to have temples with images of theirgods in them, and arranged for offerings and libations to be made tothem by properly appointed priests of various classes. 

[Footnote 1: A district of Herakleopolis. ]

Shortly after these events Rā discovered that a number of his enemieswere still at large, and that they had sailed in boats to the swampsthat lay round about the town of Tchal, or Tchar, better known as Zoanor Tanis. Once more Horus unmoored the Boat of Rā, and set out againstthem; some took refuge in the waters, and others landed and escaped tothe hilly land on the east. For some reason, which is not quiteapparent, Horus took the form of a mighty lion with a man's face, and hewore on his head the triple crown. His claws were like flints, and hepursued the enemy on the hills, and chased them hither and thither, andcaptured one hundred and forty-two of them. He tore out their tongues, and ripped their bodies into strips with his claws, and gave them overto his allies in the mountains, who, no doubt, ate them. This was thelast fight in the north of Egypt, and Rā proposed that they should sailup the river and return to the south. They had traversed all Egypt, andsailed over the lakes in the Delta, and down the arms of the Nile to theMediterranean, and as no more of the enemy were to be seen the prow ofthe boat of Rā was turned southwards. Thoth recited the spells thatproduced fair weather, and said the words of power that prevented stormsfrom rising, and in due course the Boat reached Nubia. When it arrivedHorus found in the country of Uauatet men who were conspiring againsthim and cursing him, just as they had at one time blasphemed Rā. Horus, taking the form of the winged disk, and accompanied by the twoserpent-goddesses, Nekhebet and Uatchet, attacked the rebels, but therewas no fierce fighting this time, for the hearts of the enemy meltedthrough fear of him. His foes cast themselves before him on the groundin submission, they offered no resistance, and they died straightway. Horus then returned to the town of Behutet (Edfu), and the godsacclaimed him, and praised his prowess. Rā was so pleased with him thathe ordered Thoth to have a winged disk, with a serpent on each side ofit, placed in every temple in Egypt in which he (_i. E. _ Rā) wasworshipped, so that it might act as a protector of the building, anddrive away any and every fiend and devil that might wish to attack it. This is the reason why we find the winged disk, with a serpent on eachside of it, above the doors of temples and religious buildingsthroughout the length and breadth of Egypt. 

In many places in the text that contains the above Legend there areshort passages in which attempts are made to explain the origins of thenames of certain towns and gods. All these are interpolations in thenarrative made by scribes at a late period of Egyptian history. As itwould be quite useless to reproduce them without many explanatory notes, for which there is no room in this little book, they have been omitted. 

 THE LEGEND OF KHNEMU AND A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE

This Legend is cut in hieroglyphs on a large rounded block of granite, which stands on the south-east portion of Sāhal, a little island in theFirst Cataract in Upper Egypt, two or three miles to the south of themodern town of Aswān, the ancient Syene. The form of the Legend, and theshapes of the hieroglyphs, and the late spelling of the words, provethat the inscription is the work of the Ptolemaic Period, though it ispossible that the Legend in its simplest form is as old as the period towhich it is ascribed in the Sāhal text, namely, the third dynasty, about4100 B. C. The subject of the Legend is a terrible famine, which lastedfor seven years, in the reign of King Tcheser, and which recalls theseven years' famine that took place in Egypt when Joseph was there. Thisfamine was believed to have been caused by the king's neglect to worshipproperly the god Khnemu, who was supposed to control the springs of theNile, which were asserted by the sages to be situated between two greatrocks on the Island of Elephantine. The Legend sets forth that theViceroy of Nubia, in the reign of Tcheser, was a nobleman called Meter, who was also the overseer of all the temple properties in the South. Hisresidence was in Abu, or Elephantine, and in the eighteenth year of hisreign the king sent him a despatch in which it was written thus: "Thisis to inform thee that misery hath laid hold upon me as I sit upon thegreat throne, and I grieve for those who dwell in the Great House. [1] Myheart is grievously afflicted by reason of a very great calamity, whichis due to the fact that the waters of the Nile have not risen to theirproper height for seven years. Grain is exceedingly scarce, there are nogarden herbs and vegetables to be had at all, and everything which menuse for food hath come to an end. Every man robbeth his neighbour. Thepeople wish to walk about, but are unable to move. The baby waileth, theyoung man shuffleth along on his feet through weakness. The hearts ofthe old men are broken down with despair, their legs give way underthem, they sink down exhausted on the ground, and they lay their handson their bellies [in pain]. The officials are powerless and have nocounsel to give, and when the public granaries, which ought to containsupplies, are opened, there cometh forth from them nothing but wind. Everything is in a state of ruin. I go back in my mind to the time whenI had an adviser, to the time of the gods, to the Ibis-god [Thoth], andto the chief Kher-heb priest Imhetep (Imouthis), [2] the son of Ptah ofhis South Wall. [3] [Tell me, I pray thee], Where is the birthplace ofthe Nile? What god or what goddess presideth over it? What kind of formhath the god? For it is he that maketh my revenue, and who filleth thegranaries with grain. I wish to go to [consult] the Chief ofHet-Sekhmet, [4] whose beneficence strengtheneth all men in their works. I wish to go into the House of Life, [5] and to take the rolls of thebooks in my own hands, so that I may examine them [and find out thesethings]. "

[Footnote 1: An allusion to the royal title of Pharaoh, in EgyptianPER-AA, the "Great House, " in whom and by whom all the Egyptians weresupposed to live. ]

[Footnote 2: A famous priest and magician of Memphis, who wassubsequently deified. ]

[Footnote 3: A part of Memphis. ]

[Footnote 4: _i. E. _ Hermopolis, the town of Thoth. ]

[Footnote 5: _i. E. _ the library of the temple. ]

Having read the royal despatch the Viceroy Meter set out to go to theking, and when he came to him he proceeded to instruct the king in thematters about which he had asked questions. The text makes the king say:"[Meter] gave me information about the rise of the Nile, and he told meall that men had written concerning it; and he made clear to me all thedifficult passages [in the books], which my ancestors had consultedhastily, and which had never before been explained to any king since thetime when Rā [reigned]. And he said to me: There is a town in the riverwherefrom the Nile maketh his appearance. 'Abu' was its name in thebeginning: it is the City of the Beginning, it is the Name of the Cityof the Beginning. It reacheth to Uauatet, which is the first land [onthe south]. There is a long flight of steps there (a nilometer?), onwhich Rā resteth when he determineth to prolong life to mankind. It iscalled 'Netchemtchem ānkh. ' Here are the 'Two Qerti, '[1] which are thetwo breasts wherefrom every good thing cometh. Here is the bed of theNile, here the Nile-god reneweth his youth, and here he sendeth out theflood on the land. Here his waters rise to a height of twenty-eightcubits; at Hermopolis (in the Delta) their height is seven cubits. Herethe Nile-god smiteth the ground with his sandals, and here he draweththe bolts and throweth open the two doors through which the waterpoureth forth. In this town the Nile-god dwelleth in the form of Shu, and he keepeth the account of the products of all Egypt, in order togive to each his due. Here are kept the cord for measuring land and theregister of the estates. Here the god liveth in a wooden house with adoor made of reeds, and branches of trees form the roof; its entrance isto the south-east. Round about it are mountains of stone to whichquarrymen come with their tools when they want stone to build temples tothe gods, shrines for sacred animals, and pyramids for kings, or to makestatues. Here they offer sacrifices of all kinds in the sanctuary, andhere their sweet-smelling gifts are presented before the face of the godKhnemu. In the quarries on the river bank is granite, which is calledthe 'stone of Abu. ' The names of its gods are: Sept (Sothis, thedog-star), Ānqet, Hep (the Nile-god), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Nephthys. Here are found precious stones (a list is given), gold, silver, copper, iron, lapis-lazuli, emerald, crystal, ruby, &c. , alabaster, mother-of-emerald, and seeds of plants that are used inmaking incense. These were the things which I learned from Meter [theViceroy]. "

[Footnote 1: The two caverns which contained the springs of the Nile. ]

Having informed the king concerning the rise of the Nile and the othermatters mentioned in his despatch, Meter made arrangements for the kingto visit the temple of Khnemu in person. This he did, and the Legendgives us the king's own description of his visit. He says: I entered thetemple, and the keepers of the rolls untied them and showed them to me. I was purified by the sprinkling of holy water, and I passed through theplaces that were prohibited to ordinary folk, and a great offering ofcakes, ale, geese, oxen, &c. , was offered up on my behalf to the godsand goddesses of Abu. Then I found the god [Khnemu] standing in front ofme, and I propitiated him with the offerings that I made unto him, and Imade prayer and supplication before him. Then he opened his eyes, [1] andhis heart inclined to me, and in a majestic manner he said unto me: "Iam Khnemu who fashioned thee. My two hands grasped thee and knittedtogether thy body; I made thy members sound, and I gave thee thy heart. Yet the stones have been lying under the ground for ages, and no manhath worked them in order to build a god-house, to repair the [sacred]buildings which are in ruins, or to make shrines for the gods of theSouth and North, or to do what he ought to do for his lord, even thoughI am the Lord [the Creator]. I am Nu, the self-created, the Great God, who came into being in the beginning. [I am] Hep [the Nile-god] whoriseth at will to give health to him that worketh for me. I am theGovernor and Guide of all men, in all their periods, the Most Great, theFather of the gods, Shu, the Great One, the Chief of the earth. The twohalves of heaven are my abode. The Nile is poured out in a stream by me, and it goeth round about the tilled lands, and its embrace producethlife for every one that breatheth, according to the extent of itsembrace.... I will make the Nile to rise for thee, and in no year shallit fail, and it shall spread its water out and cover every landsatisfactorily. Plants, herbs, and trees shall bend beneath [the weightof] their produce. The goddess Rennet (the Harvest goddess) shall be atthe head of everything, and every product shall increase a hundredthousandfold, according to the cubit of the year. [2] The people shall befilled, verily to their hearts' desire, yea, everyone. Want shall cease, and the emptiness of the granaries shall come to an end. The Land ofMera (_i. E. _ Egypt) shall be one cultivated land, the districts shallbe yellow with crops of grain, and the grain shall be good. Thefertility of the land shall be according to the desire [of thehusbandman], and it shall be greater than it hath ever been before. " Atthe sound of the word "crops" the king awoke, and the courage that thenfilled his heart was as great as his former despair had been. 

[Footnote 1: The king was standing before a statue with movable eyes. ]

[Footnote 2: _i. E. _ the number of the cubits which the waters of theNile shall rise. ]

Having left the chamber of the god the king made a decree by which heendowed the temple of Khnemu with lands and gifts, and he drew up a codeof laws under which every farmer was compelled to pay certain dues toit. Every fisherman and hunter had to pay a tithe. Of the calves castone tenth were to be sent to the temple to be offered up as the dailyoffering. Gold, ivory, ebony, spices, precious stones, and woods weretithed, whether their owners were Egyptians or not, but no local tribewas to levy duty on these things on their road to Abu. Every artisanalso was to pay tithe, with the exception of those who were employed inthe foundry attached to the temple, and whose occupation consisted inmaking the images of the gods. The king further ordered that a copy ofthis decree, the original of which was cut in wood, should be engravedon a stele to be set up in the sanctuary, with figures of Khnemu and hiscompanion gods cut above it. The man who spat upon the stele [ifdiscovered] was to be "admonished with a rope. "

 THE LEGEND OF THE WANDERINGS OF ISIS

The god Osiris, as we have seen in the chapter on the Egyptian Religionin the accompanying volume, lived and reigned at one time upon earth inthe form of a man. His twin-brother Set was jealous of his popularity, and hated him to such a degree that he contrived a plan whereby hesucceeded in putting Osiris to death. Set then tried to usurp hisbrother's kingdom and to make himself sole lord of Egypt, and, althoughno text states it distinctly, it is clear that he seized his brother'swife, Isis, and shut her up in his house. Isis was, however, under theprotection of the god Thoth, and she escaped with her unborn child, andthe following Legend describes the incidents that befell her, and thedeath and revivification of Horus. It is cut in hieroglyphs upon a largestone stele which was made for Ānkh-Psemthek, a prophet of Nebun in thereign of Nectanebus I, who reigned from 373 B. C. To 360 B. C. The stelewas dug up in 1828 at Alexandria, and was given to Prince Metternich byMuhammad Alī Pāsha; it is now commonly known as the "Metternich Stele. "The Legend is narrated by the goddess herself, who says:

I am Isis. I escaped from the dwelling wherein my brother Set placed me. Thoth, the great god, the Prince of Truth in heaven and on earth, saidunto me: "Come, O goddess Isis [hearken thou], it is a good thing tohearken, for he who is guided by another liveth. Hide thyself with thychild, and these things shall happen unto him. His body shall grow andflourish, and strength of every kind shall be in him. He shall sit uponhis father's throne, he shall avenge him, and he shall hold the exaltedposition of 'Governor of the Two Lands. '" I left the house of Set in theevening, and there accompanied me Seven Scorpions, that were to travelwith me, and sting with their stings on my behalf. Two of them, Tefenand Befen, followed behind me, two of them, Mestet and Mestetef, wentone on each side of me, and three, Petet, Thetet, and Maatet, preparedthe way for me. I charged them very carefully and adjured them to makeno acquaintance with any one, to speak to none of the Red Fiends, to payno heed to a servant (?), and to keep their gaze towards the ground sothat they might show me the way. And their leader brought me to Pa-Sui, the town of the Sacred Sandals, [1] at the head of the district of thePapyrus Swamps. When I arrived at Teb I came to a quarter of the townwhere women dwelt. And a certain woman of quality spied me as I wasjourneying along the road, and she shut her door in my face, for she wasafraid because of the Seven Scorpions that were with me. Then they tookcounsel concerning her, and they shot out their poison on the tail ofTefen. As for me, a peasant woman called Taha opened her door, and Iwent into the house of this humble woman. Then the scorpion Tefencrawled in under the door of the woman Usert [who had shut it in myface], and stung her son, and a fire broke out in it; there was no waterto put it out, but the sky sent down rain, though it was not the time ofrain. And the heart of Usert was sore within her, and she was very sad, for she knew not whether her son would live or die; and she went throughthe town shrieking for help, but none came out at the sound of hervoice. And I was sad for the child's sake, and I wished the innocent oneto live again. So I cried out to her, saying, Come to me! Come to me!There is life in my mouth. I am a woman well known in her town. I candestroy the devil of death by a spell which my father taught me. I amhis daughter, his beloved one. 

[Footnote 1: These places were in the seventh nome of Lower Egypt(Metelites). ]

Then Isis laid her hands on the child and recited this spell:

"O poison of Tefent, come forth, fall on the ground; go no further. Opoison of Befent, come forth, fall on the ground. I am Isis, thegoddess, the mistress of words of power. I am a weaver of spells, I knowhow to utter words so that they take effect. Hearken to me, O everyreptile that biteth (or stingeth), and fall on the ground. O poison ofMestet, go no further. O poison of Mestetef, rise not up in his body. Opoison of Petet and Thetet, enter not his body. O poison of Maatet, fallon the ground. Ascend not into heaven, I command you by the beloved ofRā, the egg of the goose which appeareth from the sycamore. My wordsindeed rule to the uttermost limit of the night. I speak to you, Oscorpions. I am alone and in sorrow, and our names will stink throughoutthe nomes.... The child shall live! The poison shall die! For Rā livethand the poison dieth. Horus shall be saved through his mother Isis, andhe who is stricken shall likewise be saved. " Meanwhile the fire in thehouse of Usert was extinguished, and heaven was content with theutterance of Isis. Then the lady Usert was filled with sorrow becauseshe had shut her door in the face of Isis, and she brought to the houseof the peasant woman gifts for the goddess, whom she had apparently notrecognised. The spells of the goddess produced, of course, the desiredeffect on the poison, and we may assume that the life of the child wasrestored to him. The second lot of gifts made to Isis represented hismother's gratitude. 

Exactly when and how Isis made her way to a hiding place cannot be said, but she reached it in safety, and her son Horus was born there. Thestory of the death of Horus she tells in the following words: "I amIsis. I conceived a child, Horus, and I brought him forth in a clusterof papyrus plants (or, bulrushes). I rejoiced exceedingly, for in him Isaw one who would make answer for his father. I hid him, and I coveredhim up carefully, being afraid of that foul one [Set], and then I wentto the town of Am, where the people gave thanks for me because they knewI could cause them trouble. I passed the day in collecting food for thechild, and when I returned and took Horus into my arms, I found him, Horus, the beautiful one of gold, the boy, the child, lifeless! He hadbedewed the ground with the water of his eye and with the foam of hislips. His body was motionless, his heart did not beat, and his muscleswere relaxed. " Then Isis sent forth a bitter cry, and lamented loudlyher misfortune, for now that Horus was dead she had none to protect her, or to take vengeance on Set. When the people heard her voice they wentout to her, and they bewailed with her the greatness of her affliction. But though all lamented on her behalf there was none who could bringback Horus to life. Then a "woman who was well known in her town, a ladywho was the mistress of property in her own right, " went out to Isis, and consoled her, and assured her that the child should live through hismother. And she said, "A scorpion hath stung him, the reptile Āunab hathwounded him. " Then Isis bent her face over the child to find out if hebreathed, and she examined the wound, and found that there was poison init, and then taking him in her arms, "she leaped about with him like afish that is put upon hot coals, " uttering loud cries of lamentation. During this outburst of grief the goddess Nephthys, her sister, arrived, and she too lamented and cried bitterly over her sister's loss; withher came the Scorpion-goddess Serqet. Nephthys at once advised Isis tocry out for help to Rā, for, said she, it is wholly impossible for theBoat of Rā to travel across the sky whilst Horus is lying dead. ThenIsis cried out, and made supplication to the Boat of Millions of Years, and the Sun-god stopped the Boat. Out of it came down Thoth, who wasprovided with powerful spells, and, going to Isis, he inquiredconcerning her trouble. "What is it, what is it, O Isis, thou goddess ofspells, whose mouth hath skill to utter them with supreme effect? Surelyno evil thing hath befallen Horus, for the Boat of Rā hath him under itsprotection. I have come from the Boat of the Disk to heal Horus. " ThenThoth told Isis not to fear, but to put away all anxiety from her heart, for he had come to heal her child, and he told her that Horus was fullyprotected because he was the Dweller in his disk, and the firstborn sonof heaven, and the Great Dwarf, and the Mighty Ram, and the Great Hawk, and the Holy Beetle, and the Hidden Body, and the Governor of the OtherWorld, and the Holy Benu Bird, and by the spells of Isis and the namesof Osiris and the weeping of his mother and brethren, and by his ownname and heart. Turning towards the child Thoth began to recite hisspells and said, "Wake up, Horus! Thy protection is established. Makethou happy the heart of thy mother Isis. The words of Horus bind uphearts and he comforteth him that is in affliction. Let your heartsrejoice, O ye dwellers in the heavens. Horus who avenged his fathershall make the poison to retreat. That which is in the mouth of Rā shallcirculate, and the tongue of the Great God shall overcome [opposition]. The Boat of Rā standeth still and moveth not, and the Disk (_i. E. _ theSun-god) is in the place where it was yesterday to heal Horus for hismother Isis. Come to earth, draw nigh, O Boat of Rā, O ye mariners ofRā; make the boat to move and convey food of the town of Sekhem (_i. E. _Letopolis) hither, to heal Horus for his mother Isis.... Come to earth, O poison! I am Thoth, the firstborn son, the son of Rā. Tem and thecompany of the gods have commanded me to heal Horus for his mother Isis. O Horus, O Horus, thy Ka protecteth thee, and thy Image workethprotection for thee. The poison is as the daughter of its own flame; itis destroyed because it smote the strong son. Your temples are safe, forHorus liveth for his mother. " Then the child Horus returned to life, tothe great joy of his mother, and Thoth went back to the Boat of Millionsof Years, which at once proceeded on its majestic course, and all thegods from one end of heaven to the other rejoiced. Isis entreated eitherRā or Thoth that Horus might be nursed and brought up by the goddessesof the town of Pe-Tep, or Buto, in the Delta, and at once Thothcommitted the child to their care, and instructed them about his future. Horus grew up in Buto under their protection, and in due course fought aduel with Set, and vanquished him, and so avenged the wrong done to hisfather by Set. 

 THE LEGEND OF KHENSU-NEFER-HETEP AND THE PRINCESS OF BEKHTEN

Here for convenience' sake may be inserted the story of the PossessedPrincess of Bekhten and the driving out of the evil spirit that was inher by Khensu-Nefer-hetep. The text of the Legend is cut in hieroglyphson a large sandstone tablet which was discovered by J. F. Champollion inthe temple of Khensu at Thebes, and was removed by Prisse d'Avennes in1846 to Paris, where it is now preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale. The form of the Legend which we have is probably the work of the priestsof Khensu, about 1000 B. C. , who wished to magnify their god, but theincidents recorded are supposed to have taken place at the end of thefourteenth century B. C. , and there may indeed be historical factsunderlying the Legend. The text states that the king of Egypt, Usermaātrā-setepenrā Rāmeses-meri-Amen, _i. E. _ Rameses II, a king of thenineteenth dynasty about 1300 B. C. , was in the country of Nehern, orMesopotamia, according to his yearly custom, and that the chiefs of thecountry, even those of the remotest districts from Egypt, came to dohomage to him, and to bring him gifts, _i. E. _ to pay tribute. Theirgifts consisted of gold, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and costly woods fromthe land of the god, [1] and each chief tried to outdo his neighbour inthe magnificence of his gifts. Among these tributary chiefs was thePrince of Bekhten, who, in addition to his usual gift, presented to theking his eldest daughter, and he spake words of praise to the king, andprayed for his life. His daughter was beautiful, and the king thoughther the most beautiful maiden in the world, and he gave her the name ofNeferu-Rā and the rank of "chief royal wife, " _i. E. _ the chief wife ofPharaoh. When His Majesty brought her to Egypt she was treated as theQueen of Egypt. 

[Footnote: 1: _i. E. _ Southern Arabia and a portion of the east coast ofAfrica near Somaliland. ]

One day in the late summer, in the fifteenth year of his reign, hisMajesty was in Thebes celebrating a festival in honour of Father Amen, the King of the gods, in the temple now known as the Temple of Luxor, when an official came and informed the king that "an ambassador of thePrince of Bekhten had arrived bearing many gifts for the Royal Wife. "The ambassador was brought into the presence with his gifts, and havingaddressed the king in suitable words of honour, and smelt the groundbefore His Majesty, he told him that he had come to present a petitionto him on behalf of the Queen's sister, who was called Bentresht (_i. E. _daughter of joy). The princess had been attacked by a disease, and thePrince of Bekhten asked His Majesty to send a skilled physician to seeher. Straightway the king ordered his magicians (or medicine men) toappear before him, and also his nobles, and when they came he told themthat he had sent for them to come and hear the ambassador's request. And, he added, choose one of your number who is both wise and skilful;their choice fell upon the royal scribe Tehuti-em-heb, and the kingordered him to depart to Bekhten to heal the princess. When the magicianarrived in Bekhten he found that Princess Bentresht was under theinfluence of a malignant spirit, and that this spirit refused to beinfluenced in any way by him; in fact all his wisdom and skill availednothing, for the spirit was hostile to him. 

[Illustration: Stele relating the Story of the Healing of Bentresht, Princess of Bekhten. ]

Then the Prince of Bekhten sent a second messenger to His Majesty, beseeching him to send a god to Bekhten to overcome the evil spirit, andhe arrived in Egypt nine years after the arrival of the firstambassador. Again the king was celebrating a festival of Amen, and whenhe heard of the request of the Prince of Bekhten he went and stoodbefore the statue of Khensu, called "Nefer-hetep, " and he said, "O myfair lord, I present myself a second time before thee on behalf of thedaughter of the Prince of Bekhten. " He then went on to ask the god totransmit his power to Khensu, "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast, " the god whodrives out the evil spirits which attack men, and to permit him to go toBekhten and release the Princess from the power of the evil spirit. Andthe statue of Khensu Nefer-hetep bowed its head twice at each part ofthe petition, and this god bestowed a fourfold portion of his spirit andpower on Khensu Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast. Then the king ordered that thegod should set out on his journey to Bekhten carried in a boat, whichwas accompanied by five smaller boats and by chariots and horses. Thejourney occupied seventeen months, and the god was welcomed on hisarrival by the Prince of Bekhten and his nobles with suitable homage andmany cries of joy. The god was taken to the place where PrincessBentresht was, and he used his magical power upon her with such goodeffect that she was made whole at once. The evil spirit who hadpossessed her came out of her and said to Khensu: "Welcome, welcome, Ogreat god, who dost drive away the spirits who attack men. Bekhten isthine; its people, both men and women, are thy servants, and I myself amthy servant. I am going to depart to the place whence I came, so thatthy heart may be content concerning the matter about which thou hastcome. I beseech Thy Majesty to give the order that thou and I and thePrince of Bekhten may celebrate a festival together. " The god Khensubowed his head as a sign that he approved of the proposal, and told hispriest to make arrangements with the Prince of Bekhten for offering upa great offering. Whilst this conversation was passing between the evilspirit and the god the soldiers stood by in a state of great fear. ThePrince of Bekhten made the great offering before Khensu and the evilspirit, and the Prince and the god and the spirit rejoiced greatly. Whenthe festival was ended the evil spirit, by the command of Khensu, "departed to the place which he loved. " The Prince and all his peoplewere immeasurably glad at the happy result, and he decided that he wouldconsider the god to be a gift to him, and that he would not let himreturn to Egypt. So the god Khensu stayed for three years and ninemonths in Bekhten, but one day, whilst the Prince was sleeping on hisbed, he had a vision in which he saw Khensu in the form of a hawk leavehis shrine and mount up into the air, and then depart to Egypt. When heawoke he said to the priest of Khensu, "The god who was staying with ushath departed to Egypt; let his chariot also depart. " And the Princesent off the statue of the god to Egypt, with rich gifts of all kindsand a large escort of soldiers and horses. In due course the partyarrived in Egypt, and ascended to Thebes, and the god KhensuPa-ari-sekher-em-Uast went into the temple of Khensu Nefer-hetep, andlaid all the gifts which he had received from the Prince of Bekhtenbefore him, and kept nothing for his own temple. This he did as a properact of gratitude to Khensu Nefer-hetep, whose gift of a fourfold portionof his spirit had enabled him to overcome the power of the evil spiritthat possessed the Princess of Bekhten. Thus Khensu returned fromBekhten in safety, and he re-entered his temple in the winter, in thethirty-third year of the reign of Rameses II. The situation of Bekhtenis unknown, but the name is probably not imaginary, and the country wasperhaps a part of Western Asia. The time occupied by the god Khensu ingetting there does not necessarily indicate that Bekhten was a very longway off, for a mission of the kind moved slowly in those leisurely days, and the priest of the god would probably be much delayed by the peoplein the towns and villages on the way, who would entreat him to ask thegod to work cures on the diseased and afflicted that were brought tohim. We must remember that when the Nubians made a treaty withDiocletian they stipulated that the goddess Isis should be allowed toleave her temple once a year, and to make a progress through the countryso that men and women might ask her for boons, and receive them. 

 CHAPTER VIII

 HISTORICAL LITERATURE

The historical period of Egyptian history, that is to say, the periodduring which Egypt was ruled by kings, each one calling himselfNESU-BATI, or "King of the South, King of the North, " covers about 4400years according to some Egyptologists, and 3300 years according toothers. Of the kings of All Egypt who reigned during the period we knowthe names of about two hundred, but only about one hundred and fiftyhave left behind them monuments that enable us to judge of their powerand greatness. There is no evidence to show that the Egyptians everwrote history in our sense of the word, and there is not in existenceany native work that can be regarded as a history of Egypt. The onlyknown attempt in ancient times to write a history of Egypt was that madeby Manetho, a skilled scribe and learned man, who, in the reign ofPtolemy II Philadelphus (289-246 B. C. ), undertook to write a history ofthe country, which was to be placed in the Great Library at Alexandria. The only portion of this History that has come down to us is the List ofKings, which formed a section of it; this List, in a form more or lessaccurate, is extant in the works of Africanus and Eusebius. According tothe former 553 or 554 kings ruled over Egypt in 5380 years, andaccording to the latter 421 or 423 kings ruled over Egypt in 4547 or4939 years. It is quite certain that the principal acts and wars of eachking were recorded by the court scribes, or official "remembrancer" or"recorder" of the day, and there is no doubt that such records werepreserved in the "House of Books, " or Library, of the local temple forreference if necessary. If this were not so it would have beenimpossible for the scribes of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties tocompile the lists of kings found on the Palermo Stone, and in the TurinPapyrus, and on the Tablets set up by Seti I and Rameses II at Abydos, and on the Tablet of Ancestors at Karnak. These Lists, however, seem toshow that the learned scribes of the later period were not always sureof the true sequence of the names, and that when they were dealing withthe names of the kings of the first two dynasties they were not alwayscertain even about the correct spelling and reading of their names. Thereason why the Egyptians did not write the history of their country froma general point of view is easily explained. Each king wished to bethought as great as possible, and each king's courtiers lost noopportunity of showing that they believed him to be the greatest kingwho had sat on the throne of Egypt. To magnify the deeds of hisancestors was neither politic nor safe, nor did it lead to favours orpromotion. In no inscription of their descendants do we find the mightydeeds and great conquests of Amenemhāt III, or of Usertsen III, or ofThothmes III, praised or described, and no court scribe ever dared todraft a text stating that these were truly three of the greatest kingsof Egypt. When a local chief succeeded in making himself king of AllEgypt he did not concern himself with preserving records of the greatdeeds of the king whose throne he had seized. When foreign foes invadedEgypt and conquered it their followers raided the towns, burnt anddestroyed all that could be got rid of, and smashed the monumentsrecording the prowess of the king they had overthrown. The net result ofall this is that the history of Egypt can only be partially constructed, and that the sources of our information are a series of texts that werewritten to glorify individual kings, and not to describe the history ofa dynasty, or the general development of the country, or the working outof a policy. In attempting to draw up a connected account of a reign orperiod the funerary inscriptions of high officials are often more usefulthan the royal inscriptions. In the following pages are given extractsfrom annals, building inscriptions, narratives of conquests, and"triumph inscriptions" of an official character; specimens of thefunerary inscriptions that describe military expeditions, and supplyvaluable information about the general history of events, will be givenin the chapter on Biographical Inscriptions. 

The earliest known annals are found on a stone which is preserved in theMuseum at Palermo, and which for this reason is called "The PalermoStone"; the Egyptian text was first published by Signor A. Pellegrini in1896. How the principal events of certain years of the reigns of kingsfrom the Predynastic Period to the middle of the fifth dynasty are notedis shown by the following:

 [Reign of] SENEFERU. Year ... 

 The building of Tuataua ships of _mer_ wood of a hundred capacity, and 60 royal boats of sixteen capacity. 

 Raid in the Land of the Blacks (_i. E. _ the Sūdān), and the bringing in of seven thousand prisoners, men and women, and twenty thousand cattle, sheep, and goats. 

 Building of the Wall of the South and North [called] House of Seneferu. 

 The bringing of forty ships of cedar wood (or perhaps "laden with cedar wood"). 

 [Height of the Nile. ] Two cubits, two fingers. 

 [Reign of Seneferu. ] Year ... 

 The making of thirty-five ... 122 cattle

 The construction of one Tuataua ship of cedar wood of a hundred capacity, and two ships of _mer_ wood of a hundred capacity. 

 The numbering for the seventh time. 

 [Height of the Nile. ] Five cubits, one hand, one finger. 

The royal historical inscriptions of the first eleven dynasties are veryfew, and their contents are meagre and unimportant. As specimens ofhistorical documents of the twelfth dynasty the following may be quoted:

 EDICT AGAINST THE BLACKS

This short inscription is dated in the eighth year of the reign ofUsertsen III. "The southern frontier in the eighth year under theMajesty of the King of the South and North, Khākaurā (Usertsen III), endowed with life for ever. No Black whatsoever shall be permitted topass [this stone] going down stream, whether travelling by land orsailing in a boat, with cattle, asses, goats, &c. , belonging to theBlacks, with the exception of such as cometh to do business in thecountry of Aqen[1] or on an embassy. Such, however, shall be wellentreated in every way. No boats belonging to the Blacks shall in futurebe permitted to pass down the river by the region of Heh. "[2]

[Footnote 1: This district has not been identified. ]

[Footnote 2: The district of Semnah and Kummah, about 40 miles south ofWādī Halfah. ]

The methods of Usertsen III and his opinions of the Sūdānī folk areillustrated by the following inscription which he set up at Semnah, afort built by him at the foot of the Second Cataract. 

"In the third month[1] of the season Pert His Majesty fixed the boundaryof Egypt on the south at Heh (Semnah). I made my boundary and wentfurther up the river than my fathers. I added greatly to it. I givecommands [therein]. I am the king, and what is said by me is done. Whatmy heart conceiveth my hand bringeth to pass. I am [like] the crocodilewhich seizeth, carrieth off, and destroyeth without mercy. Words (ormatters) do not remain dormant in my heart. To the coward soft talksuggesteth longsuffering; this I give not to my enemies. Him whoattacketh me I attack. I am silent in the matter that is for silence; Ianswer as the matter demandeth. Silence after an attack maketh the heartof the enemy bold. The attack must be sudden like that of a crocodile. The man who hesitateth is a coward, and a wretched creature is he who isdefeated on his own territory and turned into a slave. The Blackunderstandeth talk only. Speak to him and he falleth prostrate. Hefleeth before a pursuer, and he pursueth only him that fleeth. TheBlacks are not bold men; on the contrary, they are timid and weak, andtheir hearts are cowed. My Majesty hath seen them, and [what I say] isno lie. 

[Footnote 1: = January-February. ]

"I seized their women, I carried off their workers in the fields, I cameto their wells, I slew their bulls, I cut their corn and I burnt it. This I swear by the life of my father. I speak the truth; there is nodoubt about the matter, and that which cometh forth from my mouth cannotbe gainsaid. Furthermore, every son of mine who shall keep intact thisboundary which My Majesty hath made, is indeed my son; he is the son whoprotecteth his father, if he keep intact the boundary of him that begothim. He who shall allow this boundary to be removed, and shall not fightfor it, is not my son, and he hath not been begotten by me. Moreover, MyMajesty hath caused to be made a statue of My Majesty on this myboundary, not only with the desire that ye should prosper thereby, butthat ye should do battle for it. "

 CAMPAIGN OF THOTHMES II IN THE SŪDĀN

The following extract illustrates the inscriptions in which the kingdescribes an expedition into a hostile country which he has conductedwith success. It is taken from an inscription of Thothmes II, which iscut in hieroglyphs on a rock by the side of the old road leading fromElephantine to Philæ, and is dated in the first year of the king'sreign. The opening lines enumerate the names and titles of the king, andproclaim his sovereignty over the Haunebu, or the dwellers in thenorthern Delta and on the sea coast, Upper and Lower Egypt, Nubia andthe Eastern Desert, including Sinai, Syria, the lands of the Fenkhu, andthe countries that lie to the south of the modern town of Khartum. Thenext section states: "A messenger came in and saluted His Majesty andsaid: The vile people of Kash (_i. E. _ Cush, Northern Nubia) are inrevolt. The subjects of the Lord of the Two Lands (_i. E. _ the King ofEgypt) have become hostile to him, and they have begun to fight. TheEgyptians [in Nubia] are driving down their cattle from the shelter ofthe stronghold which thy father Thothmes [I] built to keep back thetribes of the South and the tribes of the Eastern Desert. " The last partof the envoy's message seems to contain a statement that some of theEgyptians who had settled in Nubia had thrown in their lot with theSūdānī folk who were in revolt. The text continues: "When His Majestyheard these words he became furious like a panther (or leopard), and hesaid: I swear by Rā, who loveth me, and by my father Amen, king of thegods, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, that I will not leave anymale alive among them. Then His Majesty sent a multitude of soldiersinto Nubia, now this was his first war, to effect the overthrow of allthose who had rebelled against the Lord of the Two Lands, and of allthose who were disaffected towards His Majesty. And the soldiers of HisMajesty arrived in the miserable land of Kash, and overthrew thesesavages, and according to the command of His Majesty they left no malealive, except one of the sons of the miserable Prince of Kash, who wascarried away alive with some of their servants to the place where HisMajesty was. His Majesty took his seat on his throne, and when theprisoners whom his soldiers had captured were brought to him they wereplaced under the feet of the good god. Their land was reduced to itsformer state of subjection, and the people rejoiced and their chiefswere glad. They ascribed praise to the Lord of the Two Lands, and theyglorified the god for his divine beneficence. This took place because ofthe bravery of His Majesty, whom his father Amen loved more than anyother king of Egypt from the very beginning, the King of the South andNorth, Āakheperenrā, the son of Rā, Thothmes (II), whose crowns areglorious, endowed with life, stability, and serenity, like Rā for ever. "

 CAPTURE OF MEGIDDO BY THOTHMES III

The following is the official account of the Battle of Megiddo in Syria, which was won by Thothmes III in the twenty-third year of his reign. Thenarrative is taken from the Annals of Thothmes III. The king set outfrom Thebes and marched into Syria, and received the submission ofseveral small towns, and having made his way with difficulty through thehilly region to the south of the city of Megiddo, he camped there toprepare for the battle. "Then the tents of His Majesty were pitched, andorders were sent out to the whole army, saying, Arm yourselves, get yourweapons ready, for we shall set out to do battle with the miserableenemy at daybreak. The king sat in his tent, the officers made theirpreparations, and the rations of the servants were provided. Themilitary sentries went about crying, Be firm of heart. Be firm of heart. Keep watch, keep watch. Keep watch over the life of the king in histent. And a report was brought to His Majesty that the country wasquiet, and that the foot soldiers of the south and north were ready. Onthe twenty-first day of the first month of the season Shemu(March-April) of the twenty-third year of the reign of His Majesty, andthe day of the festival of the new moon, which was also the anniversaryof the king's coronation, at dawn, behold, the order was given to setthe whole army in motion. His Majesty set out in his chariot ofsilver-gold, and he had girded on himself the weapons of battle, likeHorus the Slayer, the lord of might, and he was like unto Menthu [theWar-god] of Thebes, and Amen his father gave strength to his arms. Thesouthern half of the army was stationed on a hill to the south of thestream Kīnā, and the northern half lay to the south-west of Megiddo; HisMajesty was between them, and Amen was protecting him and givingstrength to his body. His Majesty at the head of his army attacked hisenemies, and broke their line, and when they saw that he wasoverwhelming them they broke and fled to Megiddo in a panic, leavingtheir horses and their gold and silver chariots on the field. [Thefugitives] were pulled up by the people over the walls into the city;now they let down their clothes by which to pull them up. If thesoldiers of His Majesty had not devoted themselves to securing loot ofthe enemy, they would have been able to capture the city of Megiddo atthe moment when the vile foes from Kadesh and the vile foes from thiscity were being dragged up hurriedly over the walls into this city; forthe terror of His Majesty had entered into them, and their arms droppedhelplessly, and the serpent on his crown overthrew them. Their horsesand their chariots [which were decorated] with gold and silver wereseized as spoil, and their mighty men of war lay stretched out dead uponthe ground like fishes, and the conquering soldiers of His Majesty wentabout counting their shares. And behold, the tent of the vile chief ofthe enemy, wherein was his son, was also captured. Then all the soldiersrejoiced greatly, and they glorified Amen, because he had made his son(_i. E. _ the king) victorious on that day, and they praised His Majestygreatly, and acclaimed his triumph. And they collected the loot whichthey had taken, viz. Hands [cut off the dead], prisoners, horses, chariots [decorated with] gold and silver, " etc. 

In spite of the joy of the army Thothmes was angry with his troops forhaving failed to capture the city. Every rebel chief was in Megiddo, andits capture would have been worth more than the capture of a thousandother cities, for he could have slain all the rebel chiefs, and therevolt would have collapsed completely. Thothmes then laid siege to thecity, and he threw up a strong wall round about it, through which nonemight pass, and the daily progress of the siege was recorded on aleather roll, which was subsequently preserved in the temple of Amen atThebes. After a time the chiefs in Megiddo left their city and advancedto the gate in the siege-wall and reported that they had come to tendertheir submission to His Majesty, and it was accepted. They brought tohim rich gifts of gold, silver, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, wheat, wine, cattle, sheep, goats, &c. , and he reappointed many of the penitentchiefs to their former towns as vassals of Egypt. Among the gifts were340 prisoners, 83 hands, 2041 mares, 191 foals, 6 stallions, a royalchariot with a golden pole, a second royal chariot, 892 chariots, total924 chariots; 2 royal coats of mail, 200 ordinary coats of mail, 502bows, 7 tent poles inlaid with gold, 1929 cattle, 2000 goats, and 20, 500sheep. 

 THE CONQUESTS OF THOTHMES III SUMMARISED BY AMEN-RĀ, KING OF THE GODS

The conquests of Thothmes III were indeed splendid achievements, and thescribes of his time summarised them very skilfully in a fine text whichthey had cut in hieroglyphs on a large stele at Karnak. The treatmentis, of course, somewhat poetical, but there are enough historical factsunderlying the statements to justify a rendering of it being given inthis chapter. The text is supposed to be a speech of Amen-Rā, the lordof the thrones of the Two Lands, to the king. He says:

"Thou hast come to me, thou hast rejoiced in beholding my beneficence, Omy son, my advocate, Menkheperrā, living for ever! I rise upon theethrough my love for thee. My heart rejoiceth at thy auspicious comingsto my temple. My hands knit together thy limbs with the fluid of life;sweet unto me are thy gracious acts towards my person. I have stablishedthee in my sanctuary. I have made thee to be a source of wonder [tomen]. I have given unto thee strength and conquests over all lands. Ihave set thy Souls and the fear of thee in all lands. The terror of theehath penetrated to the four pillars of the sky. I have made great theawe of thee in all bodies. I have set the roar of Thy Majesty everywhere[in the lands of] the Nine Bows (_i. E. _ Nubia). The Chiefs of all landsare grouped in a bunch within thy fist. I put out my two hands; I tiedthem in a bundle for thee. I collected the Antiu of Ta-sti[1] in tens ofthousands and thousands, and I made captives by the hundred thousand ofthe Northern Nations. I have cast down thy foes under thy sandals, thouhast trampled upon the hateful and vile-hearted foes even as I commandedthee. The length and breadth of the earth are thine, and those who dwellin the East and the West are vassals unto thee. Thou hast trodden uponall countries, thy heart is expanded (_i. E. _ glad). No one dareth toapproach Thy Majesty with hostility, because I am thy guide to conductthee to them. Thou didst sail over the Great Circuit of water (theEuphrates) of Nehren (Aram Naharayim, or Mesopotamia) with strength andpower. I have commanded for thee that they should hear thy roarings, andrun away into holes in the ground. I stopped up their nostrils [shuttingout] the breath of life. I have set the victories of Thy Majesty intheir minds. The fiery serpent Khut which is on thy forehead burnt themup. It made thee to grasp as an easy prey the Ketu peoples, it burnt upthe dwellers in their marshes with its fire. The Princes of the Āamu(Asiatics) have been slaughtered, not one of them remains, and the sonsof the mighty men have fallen. I have made thy mighty deeds to gothroughout all lands, the serpent on my crown hath illumined thyterritory, nothing that is an abomination unto thee existeth in all thewide heaven, and the people come bearing offerings upon their backs, bowing to the ground before Thy Majesty, in accordance with my decree. Imade impotent those who dared to attack thee, their hearts melted andtheir limbs quaked. 

[Footnote 1: The natives of the Eastern Desert of Nubia. ]

[Illustration: Stele on which is cut the Speech of Amen-Rā, summarisingthe Conquests of Thothmes III. ]

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the Chief of Tchah(Syria), I have cast them down under thy feet in all the lands, I havemade them to behold Thy Majesty as the 'lord of beams' (_i. E. _ theSun-god), thou hast shone on their faces as the image of me. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the people of Asia, thouhast led away captive the Chiefs of the Āamu of Retenu, I have made themto behold Thy Majesty arrayed in thy decorations, grasping the weaponsfor battle, [mounted] on thy chariot. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the land of the East, thou hast trodden upon those who dwell in the districts of the Land ofthe God, I have made them to see thee as the brilliant star thatshooteth out light and fire and scattereth its dew. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the land of the West, Kefti (Phœnicia) and Asi (Cyprus) are in awe of thee. I have made themto see Thy Majesty as a young bull, steady-hearted, with horns ready tostrike, invincible. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot those who are in theirmarshes, the Lands of Methen (Mitani) quake through their fear of thee. I have made them to see Thy Majesty as the crocodile, the lord of terrorin the water, unassailable. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot those who dwell in theIslands, those who live in the Great Green (Mediterranean) hear thyroarings, I have made them to see Thy Majesty as the slayer when hemounteth on the back of his sacrificial animal. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the Thehenu (Libyans), the Islands of the Uthentiu [have submitted to] the power of thy Souls. I have made them to see Thy Majesty as a savage lion, which hathscattered the dead bodies of the people throughout their valleys. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the uttermost ends ofthe earth, the Circuit of the Great Circuit is in thy grasp, I have madethem to see Thy Majesty as the hawk, which seizeth what it seeth when itpleaseth. 

"I have come, making thee to trample upon those who are on theirfrontiers(?), thou hast smitten 'those on their sand' (_i. E. _ the desertdwellers), making them living captives. I have made them to see ThyMajesty as a jackal of the south, moving fleetly and stealthily, andtraversing the Two Lands. 

"I have come, making thee to trample under foot the Antiu of Ta-sti, asfar as ... They are in thy grasp. I have made them to see Thy Majesty asthe Two Brothers (Set and Horus), I have gathered together their armsabout thee with [strength]. 

"I have placed thy Two Sisters (Isis and Nephthys) near thee asprotectresses for thee, the arms of Thy Majesty are [lifted] upwards todrive away evil. I have made thee strong and glorious, O my beloved Son, thou Mighty Bull, crowned in Thebes, begotten by me ... , Thothmes, theeverliving, who hast performed for me all that my Ka wished. Thou hastset up my sanctuary with work that shall endure for ever, thou hastlengthened it and broadened it more than ever was done before. The greatpylon ... Thou hast celebrated the festival of the beauties of Amen-Rā, thy monuments are greater than those of any king who hath existed, Icommanded thee to do it. I am satisfied with it. I have stablished theeupon the throne of Horus for hundreds of thousands of years. Thou shaltguide life ... "

[Illustration: A Page of the Hieratic Text, from the Great HarrisPapyrus in the British Museum, describing the great Works carried out byRameses III about 1200 B. C. ]

 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF RAMESES III

The reign of Rameses III is remarkable in the annals of the New Empire, and the great works which this king carried out, and his princelybenefactions to the temples of Egypt, are described at great length inhis famous papyrus in the British Museum (Harris, No. 1, No. 9999). Thelast section of the papyrus contains an excellent historical summary ofthe reign of Rameses III, and as it is one of the finest examples ofthis class of literature a translation of it is here given. The text iswritten in the hieratic character and reads:

King Usermaātrā-meri-Amen (Rameses III), life, strength, health [be tohim!] the great god, said unto the princes, and the chiefs of the land, and the soldiers, and the charioteers, and the Shartanau soldiers, andthe multitudes of the bowmen, and all those who lived in the land ofTa-mera (Egypt), Hearken ye, and I will cause you to know the splendiddeeds which I did when I was king of men. The land of Kamt was laid opento the foreigner, every man [was ejected] from his rightful holding, there was no "chief mouth" (_i. E. _ ruler) for many years in olden timesuntil the new period [came]. The land of Egypt [was divided among]chiefs and governors of towns, each one slew his neighbour. ... Anotherperiod followed with years of nothingness (famine?). Arsu, a certainSyrian, was with them as governor, he made the whole land to be oneholding before him. He collected his vassals, and mulcted them of theirpossessions heavily. They treated the gods as if they were men, and theyoffered up no propitiatory offerings in their temples. Now when the godsturned themselves back to peace, and to the restoration of what wasright in the land, according to its accustomed and proper form, theyestablished their son who proceeded from their body to be Governor, life, strength, health [be to him!], of every land, upon their greatthrone, namely, Userkhārā-setep-en-Amen-meri-Amen, life strength, health[be to him!], the son of Rā, Set-nekht-merr-Rā-meri-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!]. He was like Khepra-Set when he is wroth. He quieted the whole country which had been in rebellion. He slew theevil-hearted ones who were in Ta-mera (Egypt). He purified the greatthrone of Egypt. He was the Governor, life, strength, health [be tohim!], of the Two Lands, on the throne of Amen. He made to appear thefaces that had withdrawn themselves. Of those who had been behind wallsevery man recognised his fellow. He endowed the temples with offeringsto offer as was right to the Nine Gods, according to use and wont. Hemade me by a decree to be the Hereditary Chief in the seat of Keb. Ibecame the "Great High Mouth" of the lands of Egypt, I directed theaffairs of the whole land, which had been made one. He set on his doublehorizon (_i. E. _ he died) like the Nine Gods. There was performed for himwhat was performed for Osiris; sailing in his royal boat on the river, and resting [finally] in his house of eternity (_i. E. _ the tomb) inWestern Thebes. 

My father Amen, the lord of the gods, Rā, Tem, and Ptah of the BeautifulFace made me to be crowned lord of the Two Lands in the place of mybegetter. I received the rank of my father with cries of joy. The landhad peace, being fed with offerings, and men rejoiced in seeing me, Governor, life, strength, health [be to him!], of the Two Lands, likeHorus when he was made to be Governor of the Two Lands on the throne ofOsiris. I was crowned with the Atef crown with the serpents, I bound onthe crown with plumes, like Tatenn. I sat on the throne of Heru-Khuti(Harmakhis). I was arrayed in the ornaments [of sovereignty] like Tem. Imade Ta-mera to possess many [different] kinds of men, the officers ofthe palace, the great chiefs, large numbers of horse and chariotsoldiers, hundreds of thousands of them, the Shartanau and the Qehequ, who were numberless, soldiers of the bodyguard in tens of thousands, andthe peasants belonging to Ta-mera. 

I enlarged all the frontiers of Egypt, I conquered those who crossedover them in their [own] lands. I slaughtered the Tanauna in theirislands; the Thakra and the Purastau were made into a holocaust. TheShartanau and the Uasheshu of the sea were made non-existent; they wereseized [by me] at one time, and were brought as captives to Egypt, likethe sand in the furrows. I provided fortresses for them to dwell in, andthey were kept in check by my name. Their companies were very numerous, like hundreds of thousands. I assessed every one of them for taxesyearly, in apparel and wheat from the stores and granaries. I crushedthe Sāara and the tribes of the Shasu (nomad shepherds). I carried offtheir tents from their men, and the equipment thereof, and their flocksand herds likewise, which were without number. They were put in fettersand brought along as captives, as offerings to Egypt, and I gave them tothe Nine Gods as slaves for their temples. 

Behold, I will also make you to know concerning the other schemes thathave been carried out in Ta-mera during my reign. The Labu (Libyans) andthe Mashuashau had made their dwelling in Egypt, for they had capturedthe towns on the west bank of the Nile from Hetkaptah (Memphis) toQarabana. They had occupied also both banks of the "Great River, " andthey had been in possession of the towns (or villages) of Kutut[1] forvery, very many years whilst they were [lords] over Egypt. Behold, Icrushed them and slaughtered them at one time (_i. E. _ in oneengagement). I overthrew the Mashuashau, the Libyans, the Asbatau, theQaiqashau, the Shaiu, the Hasau, and the Baqanau. [I] slaughtered themin their blood, and they became piles of dead bodies. [Thus] I drovethem away from marching over the border of Egypt. The rest of them Icarried away, a vast multitude of prisoners, trussed like geese in frontof my horses, their women and their children in tens of thousands, andtheir flocks and herds in hundreds of thousands. I allotted to theirchiefs fortresses, and they lived there under my name. I made themofficers of the bowmen, and captains of the tribes; they were brandedwith my name and became my slaves; their wives and their children werelikewise turned into slaves. Their flocks and herds I brought into theHouse of Amen, and they became his live-stock for ever. 

[Footnote 1: Perhaps the district of Canopus. ]

I made a very large well in the desert of Āina. It had a girdle walllike a mountain of basalt(?), with twenty buttresses(?) in thefoundation [on] the ground, and its height was thirty cubits, and it hadbastions. The frame-work and the doors were cut out of cedar, and thebolts thereof and their sockets were of copper. I cut out largesea-going boats, with smaller boats before them, and they were mannedwith large crews, and large numbers of serving-men. With them were theofficers of the bowmen of the boats, and there were trained captains andmates to inspect them. They were loaded with the products of Egypt whichwere without number, and they were in very large numbers, like tens ofthousands. These were despatched to the Great Sea of the water of Qett(_i. E. _ the Red Sea), they arrived at the lands of Punt, no disasterfollowed them, and they were in an effective state and wereawe-inspiring. Both the large boats and the little boats were laden withthe products of the Land of the God, and with all kinds of wonderful andmysterious things which are produced in those lands, and with vastquantities of the _ānti_ (myrrh) of Punt, which was loaded on to them bytens of thousands [of measures] that were without number. The sons ofthe chief of the Land of the God went in front of their offerings, theirfaces towards Egypt. They arrived and were sound and well at themountain of Qebtit (Coptos), [1] they moored their boats in peace, withthe things which they had brought as offerings. To cross the desert theywere loaded upon asses and on [the backs of] men, and they were[re]loaded into river-barges at the quay of Coptos. They were despatcheddown the river, they arrived during a festival, and some of the mostwonderful of the offerings were carried into the presence of [MyMajesty]. The children of their chiefs adored my face, they smelt theearth before my face, and rolled on the ground. I gave them to all thegods of this land to propitiate the two gods in front of me everymorning. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ the part at the Red Sea end of the Valley ofHammāmāt. ]

I despatched my envoys to the desert of Āataka to the great copperworkings that are in this place. Their sea-going boats were laden with[some of] them, whilst those who went through the desert rode on asses. Such a thing as this was never heard of before, from the time when kingsbegan to reign. Their copper workings were found, and they were full ofcopper, and the metal was loaded by ten thousands [of measures] intotheir sea-going boats. They were despatched with their faces towardsEgypt, and they arrived safely. The metal was lifted out and piled upunder the veranda in the form of blocks (or ingots) of copper, vastnumbers of them, as it were tens of thousands. They were in colour likegold of three refinings. I allowed everybody to see them, as they werewonderful things. 

I despatched inspectors and overseers to the turquoise desert (_i. E. _Sinai) of my mother, the goddess Hathor, the lady of the turquoise. [They] carried to her silver, gold, byssus, fine (?) linen, and manythings as numerous as the sand-grains, and laid them before her. Andthere were brought unto me most wonderfully fine turquoises, realstones, in large numbers of bags, and laid out before me. The like hadnever been seen before--since kings began to reign. 

I caused the whole country to be planted with groves of trees and withflowering shrubs, and I made the people to sit under the shade thereof. I made it possible for an Egyptian woman to walk with a bold step to theplace whither she wished to go; no strange man attacked her, and no oneon the road. I made the foot-soldiers and the charioteers sit down in mytime, and the Shartanau and the Qehequ were in their towns lying at fulllength on their backs; they were unafraid, for there was no fighting man[to come] from Kash (Nubia), [and no] enemy from Syria. Their bows andtheir weapons of war lay idle in their barracks, and they ate theirfill and drank their fill with shouts of joy. Their wives were withthem, [their] children were by their side; there was no need to keeptheir eyes looking about them, their hearts were bold, for I was withthem as strength and protection for their bodies. I kept alive (_i. E. _fed) the whole country, aliens, artisans, gentle and simple, men andwomen. I delivered a man from his foe and I gave him air. I rescued himfrom the strong man, him who was more honourable than the strong man. Imade all men to have their rightful positions in their towns. Some Imade to live [taking them] in the very chamber of the Tuat. [1] Where theland was bare I covered it over again; the land was well filled duringmy reign. I performed deeds of beneficence towards the gods as well astowards men; I had no property that belonged to the people. I served myoffice of king upon earth, as Governor of the Two Lands, and ye wereslaves under my feet without [complaint ?]. Ye were satisfactory to myheart, as were your good actions, and ye performed my decrees and mywords. 

[Footnote 1: The sick and needy who were at death's door. ]

Behold, I have set in Akert (the Other World) like my father Rā. I amamong the Great Companies of the gods of heaven, earth, and the Tuat. Amen-Rā hath stablished my son upon my throne, he hath received my rankin peace, as Governor of the Two Lands, and he is sitting upon thethrone of Horus as Lord of the Two Nile-banks. He hath put on himselfthe Atef crown like Ta-Tenn, Usermaātrā-setep-en-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!], the eldest-born son of Rā, the self-begotten, Rameses (IV)-heqmaāt-meri-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!], thedivine child, the son of Amen, who came forth from his body, rising asthe Lord of the Two Lands, like Ta-Tenn. He is like a real son, favouredfor his father's sake. Tie ye yourselves to his sandals. Smell the earthbefore him. Do homage to him. Follow him at every moment. Praise him. Worship him. Magnify his beneficent actions as ye do those of Rā everymorning. Present ye before him your offerings [in] his Great House(_i. E. _ palace), which is holy. Carry ye to him the "blessings" (?) ofthe [tilled] lands and the deserts. Be strong to fulfil his words andthe decrees that are uttered among you. Follow (?) his utterances, andye shall be safe under his Souls. Work all together for him in everywork. Haul monuments for him, excavate canals for him, work for him inthe work of your hands, and there will accrue unto you his favour aswell as his food daily. Amen hath decreed for him his sovereignty uponearth, he hath made this period of his life twice as long as that of anyother king, the King of the South and North, the Lord of the Two Lands, Usermaātrā-setep-en-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!], the sonof Rā, the lord of crowns, Rameses (IV)-heqmaāt-meri-Amen, life, strength, health [be to him!], who is endowed with life for ever. 

 THE INVASION AND CONQUEST OF EGYPT BY PIĀNKHI, KING OF NUBIA

The text describing the invasion and conquest of Egypt by Piānkhi, Kingof Nubia, is cut in hieroglyphs upon a massive stone stele which wasfound among the ruins of Piānkhi's temple at Gebel Barkal, near the footof the Fourth Cataract, and which is now preserved in the EgyptianMuseum, Cairo. Although this composition does not belong to the bestperiod of Egyptian Literature, it is a very fine work. The narrative isvivid, and the aim of the writer was rather to state the facts of thissplendid expedition than to heap up empty compliments on the king; boththe subject-matter and the dress in which it appears are well worthy ofreproduction in an English form. The inscription is dated in thetwenty-first year of Piānkhi's reign, and the king says:

"Hearken ye to [the account of] what I have done more than my ancestors. I am a king, the emanation of the god, the living offspring of the godTem, who at birth was ordained the Governor whom princes were to fear. "His mother knew before his birth that he was to be the Governor, he thebeneficent god, the beloved of the gods, the son of Rā who was made byhis (the god's) hands, Piānkhi-meri-Amen. One came and reported to HisMajesty that the great prince Tafnekht had taken possession of all thecountry on the west bank of the Nile in the Delta, from the swamps evento Athi-taui[1], that he had sailed up the river with a large force, that all the people on both sides of the river had attached themselvesto him, and that all the princes and governors and heads of temple-townshad flocked to him, and that they were "about his feet like dogs. " Nocity had shut its gates before him, on the contrary, Mer-Tem, Per-sekhem-kheper-Rā, Het-neter-Sebek, Per-Metchet, Thekansh, and allthe towns in the west had opened their gates to him. In the eastHet-benu, Taiutchait, Het-suten, and Pernebtepahet had opened to him, and he had besieged Hensu (Herakleopolis) and closely invested it. Hehad enclosed it like a serpent with its tail in its mouth. "Those whowould come out he will not allow to come out, and those who would go inhe will not allow to go in, by reason of the fighting that taketh placeevery day. He hath thrown soldiers round about it everywhere. " Piānkhilistened to the report undismayed, and he smiled, for his heart wasglad. Presently further reports of the uprising came, and the kinglearned that Nemart, another great prince, had joined his forces tothose of Tafnekht. Nemart had thrown down the fortifications of Nefrus, he had laid waste his own town, and had thrown off his allegiance toPiānkhi completely. 

[Footnote 1: A fortress a few miles south of Memphis. ]

Then Piānkhi sent orders to Puarma and Las(?)-mer-sekni, the Nubiangenerals stationed in Egypt, and told them to assemble the troops, toseize the territory of Hermopolis, to besiege the city itself, to seizeall the people, and cattle, and the boats on the river, and to stop allthe agricultural operations that were going on; these orders wereobeyed. At the same time he despatched a body of troops to Egypt, withcareful instructions as to the way in which they were to fight, and hebade them remember that they were fighting under the protection of Amen. He added, "When ye arrive at Thebes, opposite the Apts, [1] go into thewaters of the river and wash yourselves, then array yourselves in yourfinest apparel, unstring your bows, and lay down your spears. Let nochief imagine that he is as strong as the Lord of strength (_i. E. _Amen), for without him there is no strength. The weak of arm he makethstrong of arm. Though the enemy be many they shall turn their backs inflight before the weak man, and one shall take captive a thousand. Wetyourselves with the water of his altars, smell the earth before him, andsay: O make a way for us! Let us fight under the shadow of thy sword, for a child, if he be but sent forth by thee, shall vanquish multitudeswhen he attacketh. " Then the soldiers threw themselves flat on theirfaces before His Majesty, saying, "Behold, thy name breedeth strength inus. Thy counsel guideth thy soldiers into port (_i. E. _ to success). Thybread is in our bodies on every road, thy beer quencheth our thirst. Behold, thy bravery hath given us strength, and at the mere mention ofthy name there shall be victory. The soldiers who are led by a cowardcannot stand firm. Who is like unto thee? Thou art the mighty king whoworkest with thy hands, thou art a master of the operations of war. "

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ the temples of Karnak and Luxor. ]

"Then the soldiers set out on their journey, and they sailed down theriver and arrived at Thebes, and they did everything according to HisMajesty's commands. And again they set out, and they sailed down theriver, and they met many large boats sailing up the river, and they werefull of soldiers and sailors, and mighty captains from the North land, every one fully armed to fight, and the soldiers of His Majestyinflicted a great defeat on them; they killed a very large but unknownnumber, they captured the boats, made the soldiers prisoners, whom theybrought alive to the place where His Majesty was. " This done theyproceeded on their way to the region opposite Herakleopolis, to continuethe battle. Again the soldiers of Piānkhi attacked the troops of theallies, and defeated and routed them utterly, and captured their boatson the river. A large number of the enemy succeeded in escaping, andlanded on the west bank of the river at Per-pek. At dawn these wereattacked by Piānkhi's troops, who slew large numbers of them, and[captured] many horses; the remainder, utterly terror-stricken, flednorthwards, carrying with them the news of the worst defeat which theyhad ever experienced. 

Nemart, one of the rebel princes, fled up the river in a boat, andlanded near the town of Un (Hermopolis), wherein he took refuge. TheNubians promptly beleaguered the town with such rigour that no one couldgo out of it or come in. Then they reported their action to Piānkhi, andwhen he had read their report, he growled like a panther, and said, "Isit possible that they have permitted any of the Northmen to live andescape to tell the tale of his flight, and have not killed them to thevery last man? I swear by my life, and by my love for Rā, and by thegrace which Father Amen hath bestowed upon me, that I will myself saildown the river, and destroy what the enemy hath done, and I will makehim to retreat from the fight for ever. " Piānkhi also declared hisintention of stopping at Thebes on his way down the river, so that hemight assist at the Festival of the New Year, and might look upon theface of the god Amen in his shrine at Karnak and, said he, "After that Iwill make the Lands of the North to taste my fingers. " When the soldiersin Egypt heard of their lord's wrath, they attacked Per-Metchet(Oxyrrhynchus), and they "overran it like a water-flood"; a report ofthe success was sent to Piānkhi, but he was not satisfied. Then theyattacked Ta-tehen (Tehnah?), which was filled with northern soldiers. The Nubians built a tower with a battering ram and breached the walls, and they poured into the town and slew every one they found. Among thedead was the son of the rebel prince Tafnekht. This success was alsoreported to Piānkhi, but still he was not satisfied. Het-Benu was alsocaptured, and still he was not satisfied. 

In the middle of the summer Piānkhi left Napata (Gebel Barkal) andsailed down to Thebes, where he celebrated the New Year Festival. Fromthere he went down the river to Un (Hermopolis), where he landed andmounted his war chariot; he was furiously angry because his troops hadnot destroyed the enemy utterly, and he growled at them like a panther. Having pitched his camp to the south-west of the city, he began tobesiege it. He threw up a mound round about the city, he built woodenstages on it which he filled with archers and slingers, and thesesucceeded in killing the people of the city daily. After three days "thecity stank, " and envoys came bearing rich gifts to sue for peace. Withthe envoys came the wife of Nemart and her ladies, who cast themselvesflat on their faces before the ladies of Piānkhi's palace, saying, "Wecome to you, O ye royal wives, ye royal daughters, and royal sisters. Pacify ye for us Horus (_i. E. _ the King), the Lord of the Palace, whoseSouls are mighty, and whose word of truth is great. " A break of fifteenlines occurs in the text here, and the words that immediately follow thebreak indicate that Piānkhi is upbraiding Nemart for his folly andwickedness in destroying his country, wherein "not a full-grown son isseen with his father, all the districts round about being filled withchildren. " Nemart acknowledged his folly, and then swore fealty toPiānkhi, promising to give him more gifts than any other prince in thecountry. Gold, silver, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, copper, and preciousstones of all kinds were then presented, and Nemart himself led a horsewith his right hand, and held a sistrum made of gold and lapis-lazuli inhis left. 

Piānkhi then arose and went into the temple of Thoth, and offered upoxen, and calves, and geese to the god, and to the Eight Gods of thecity. After this he went through Nemart's palace, and then visited thestables "where the horses were, and the stalls of the young horses, andhe perceived that they had been suffering from hunger. And he said, 'Iswear by my own life, and by the love which I have for Rā, who reneweththe breath of life in my nostrils, that, in my opinion, to have allowedmy horses to suffer hunger is the worst of all the evil things whichthou hast done in the perversity of thy heart. '" A list was made of thegoods that were handed over to Piānkhi, and a portion of them wasreserved for the temple of Amen at Thebes. 

The next prince to submit was the Governor of Herakleopolis, and whenhe had laid before Piānkhi his gifts he said: "Homage to thee, Horus, mighty king, Bull, conqueror of bulls. I was in a pit in hell. I wassunk deep in the depths of darkness, but now light shineth on me. I hadno friend in the evil day, and none to support me in the day of battle. Thou only, O mighty king, who hast rolled away the darkness that was onme [art my friend]. Henceforward I am thy servant, and all mypossessions are thine. The city of Hensu shall pay tribute to thee. Thouart the image of Rā, and art the master of the imperishable stars. Hewas a king, and thou art a king; he perished not, and thou shalt notperish. " From Hensu Piānkhi went down to the canal leading to the Fayyūmand to Illahūn and found the town gates shut in his face. Theinhabitants, however, speedily changed their minds, and opened the gatesto Piānkhi, who entered with his troops, and received tribute, and slewno one. Town after town submitted as Piānkhi advanced northwards, andnone barred his progress until he reached Memphis, the gates of whichwere shut fast. When Piānkhi saw this he sent a message to theMemphites, saying: "Shut not your gates, and fight not in the city thathath belonged to Shu[1] for ever. He who wisheth to enter may do so, hewho wisheth to come out may do so, and he who wisheth to travel aboutmay do so. I will make an offering to Ptah and the gods of White Wall(Memphis). I will perform the ceremonies of Seker in the Hidden Shrine. I will look upon the god of his South Wall (_i. E. _ Ptah), and I willsail down the river in peace. No man of Memphis shall be harmed, not achild shall cry out in distress. Look at the homes of the South! Nonehath been slain except those who blasphemed the face of the god, andonly the rebels have suffered at the block. " These pacific words ofPiānkhi were not believed, and the people of Memphis not only kept theirgates shut, but manned the city walls with soldiers, and they werefoolish enough to slay a small company of Nubian artisans and boatmenwhom they found on the quay of Memphis. Tafnekht, the rebel prince ofSaīs, entered Memphis by night, and addressed eight thousand of histroops who were there, and encouraged them to resist Piānkhi. He said tothem: "Memphis is filled with the bravest men of war in all theNorthland, and its granaries are filled with wheat, barley, and grain ofall kinds. The arsenal is full of weapons. A wall goeth round the city, and the great fort is as strong as the mason could make it. The riverfloweth along the east side, and no attack can be made there. The byresare full of cattle, and the treasury is well filled with gold, silver, copper, apparel, incense, honey, and unguents.... Defend ye the citytill I return. " Tafnekht mounted a horse and rode away to the north. 

[Footnote 1: The son of Khepera, or Tem, or Nebertcher. ]

At daybreak Piānkhi went forth to reconnoitre, and he found that thewaters of the Nile were lapping the city walls on the north side of thecity, where the sailing craft were tied up. He also saw that the citywas extremely well fortified, and that there was no means whereby hecould effect an entrance into the city through the walls. Some of hisofficers advised him to throw up a mound of earth about the city, butthis counsel was rejected angrily by Piānkhi, for he had thought out asimpler plan. He ordered all his boats and barges to be taken to thequay of Memphis, with their bows towards the city wall; as the waterlapped the foot of the wall, the boats were able to come quite close toit, and their bows were nearly on a level with the top of the wall. ThenPiānkhi's men crowded into the boats, and, when the word of command wasgiven, they jumped from the bows of the boats on to the wall, enteredthe houses built near it, and then poured into the city. They rushedthrough the city like a waterflood, and large numbers of the nativeswere slain, and large numbers taken prisoners. Next morning Piānkhi setguards over the temples to protect the property of the gods, then hewent into the great temple of Ptah and reinstated the priests, and theypurified the holy place with natron and incense, and offered up manyofferings. When the report of the capture of Memphis spread abroad, numerous local chiefs came to Piānkhi, and did homage, and gave himtribute. 

From Memphis he passed over to the east bank of the Nile to make anoffering to Temu of Heliopolis. He bathed his face in the water of thefamous "Fountain of the Sun, " he offered white bulls to Rā atShaiqaem-Anu, and he went into the great temple of the Sun-god. Thechief priest welcomed him and blessed him; "he performed the ceremoniesof the Tuat chamber, he girded on the _seteb_ garment, he censedhimself, he was sprinkled with holy water, and he offered (?) flowers inthe chamber in which the stone, wherein the spirit of the Sun-god abodeat certain times, was preserved. He went up the step leading to theshrine to look upon Rā, and stood there. He broke the seal, unbolted andopened the doors of the shrine, and looked upon Father Rā in Het-benben. He paid adoration to the two Boats of Rā. (Mātet and Sektet), and thenclosed the doors of the shrine and sealed them with his own seal. "Piānkhi returned to the west bank of the Nile, and pitched his camp atKaheni, whither came a number of princes to tender their submission andoffer gifts to him. After a time it was reported to Piānkhi thatTafnekht, the head of the rebellion, had laid waste his town, burnt histreasury and his boats, and had entrenched himself at Mest with theremainder of his army. Thereupon Piānkhi sent troops to Mest, and theyslew all its inhabitants. Then Tafnekht sent an envoy to Piānkhi askingfor peace, and he said, "Be at peace [with me]. I have not seen thy faceduring the days of shame. I cannot resist thy fire, the terror of theehath conquered me. Behold, thou art Nubti, [1] the Governor of the South, and Menth, [2] the Bull with strong arms. Thou didst not find thy servantin any town towards which thou hast turned thy face. I went as far asthe swamps of the Great Green (_i. E. _ the Mediterranean), because I wasafraid of thy Souls, and because thy word is a fire that worketh evilfor me. Is not the heart of Thy Majesty cooled by reason of what thouhast done unto me? Behold, I am indeed a most wretched man. Punish menot according to my abominable deeds, weigh them not in a balance asagainst weights; thy punishment of me is already threefold. Leave theseed, and thou shalt find it again in due season. Dig not up the youngroot which is about to put forth shoots. Thy Ka and the terror of theeare in my body, and the fear of thee is in my bones. I have not sat inthe house of drinking beer, and no one hath brought to me the harp. Ihave only eaten the bread which hunger demanded, and I have only drunkthe water needed [to slake] my thirst. From the day in which thou didsthear my name misery hath been in my bones, and my head hath lost itshair. My apparel shall be rags until Neith[3] is at peace with me. Thouhast brought on me the full weight of misery; O turn thou thy facetowards me, for, behold, this year hath separated my Ka from me. Purgethy servant of his rebellion. Let my goods be received into thytreasury, gold, precious stones of all kinds, and the finest of myhorses, and let these be my indemnity to thee for everything. I beseechthee to send an envoy to me quickly, so that he may make an end of thefear that is in my heart. Verily I will go into the temple, and in hispresence I will purge myself, and swear an oath of allegiance to thee bythe God. " And Piānkhi sent to him General Puarma and GeneralPetamennebnesttaui, and Tafnekht loaded them with gold, and silver, andraiment, and precious stones, and he went into the temple and took anoath by the God that he would never again disobey the king, or make waron a neighbour, or invade his territory without Piānkhi's knowledge. SoPiānkhi was satisfied and forgave him. After this the town ofCrocodilopolis tendered its submission, and Piānkhi was master of allEgypt. Then two Governors of the South and two Governors of the Northcame and smelt the ground before Piānkhi, and these were followed by allthe kings and princes of the North, "and their legs were [weak] likethose of women. " As they were uncircumcised and were eaters of fish theycould not enter the king's palace; only one, Nemart, who wasceremonially pure, entered the palace. Piānkhi was now tired ofconquests, and he had all the loot which he had collected loaded on hisbarges, together with goods from Syria and the Land of the God, and hesailed up the river towards Nubia. The people on both banks rejoiced atthe sight of His Majesty, and they sang hymns of praise to him as hejourneyed southwards, and acclaimed him as the Conqueror of Egypt. Theyalso invoked blessings on his father and mother, and wished him longlife. When he returned to Gebel Barkal (Napata) he had the account ofhis invasion and conquest of Egypt cut upon a large grey granite steleabout 6 feet high and 4 feet 8 inches wide, and set up in his temple, among the ruins of which it was discovered accidentally by an Egyptianofficer who was serving in the Egyptian Sūdān in 1862. 

[Footnote 1: The war-god of Ombos in Upper Egypt. ]

[Footnote 2: The war-god of Hermonthis in Upper Epypt. ]

[Footnote 3: The chief goddess of Saïs, the city of Tafnekht. ]

 CHAPTER IX

 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE

Attention has already been called to the very great importance of theautobiographies of the military and administrative officials of thePharaohs, and a selection of them must now be given. They are, in manycases, the only sources of information which we possess about certainwars and about the social conditions of the periods during which theywere composed, and they often describe events about which officialEgyptian history is altogether silent. Most of these autobiographies arefound cut upon the walls of tombs, and, though according to modernnotions their writers may seem to have been very conceited, and theirlanguage exaggerated and bombastic, the inscriptions bear throughout theimpress of truth, and the facts recorded in them have therefore especialvalue. The narratives are usually simple and clear, and as long as theydeal with matters of fact they are easily understood, but when thewriters describe their own personal characters and their moralexcellences their meaning is sometimes not plain. Such autobiographiesare sometimes very useful in settling the chronology of a doubtfulperiod of history, and as an example of such may be quoted theautobiography of Ptah-shepses, preserved in the British Museum. Thisdistinguished man was born in the reign of Menkaurā, the builder of theThird Pyramid at Gīzah, and he was educated with the king's children, being a great favourite of the king himself. The next king, Shepseskaf, gave him to wife Maātkhā, his eldest daughter, in order to keep himabout the Court. Under the succeeding kings Userkaf and Sahurā he wasadvanced to great honour, and he became so great a favourite of thenext king, Neferari-karā, that he was allowed to kiss the king's footinstead of the ground on which it rested when he did homage. He waspromoted to further honours by the next king, Neferefrā, and he lived tosee Userenrā ascend the throne. Thus Ptah-shepses lived under eightkings, and his inscription makes it possible to arrange their reigns incorrect chronological order. 

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF UNA

This inscription was found cut in hieroglyphs upon a slab of limestonefixed in Una's tomb at Abydos; it is now in the Egyptian Museum inCairo. It reads:

The Duke, the Governor of the South, the judge belonging to Nekhen, prince of Nekheb, the _smer uat_ vassal of Osiris Khenti Amenti, Una, saith: "I was a child girded with a girdle under the Majesty of KingTeta. My rank was that of overseer of tillage (?), and I was deputyinspector of the estates of Pharaoh.... I was chief of the _teb_ chamberunder the Majesty of Pepi. His Majesty gave me the rank of _smer_ anddeputy priest of his pyramid--town. Whilst I held the rank of ... HisMajesty made me a 'judge belonging to Nekhen. ' His heart was moresatisfied with me than with any other of his servants. Alone I heardevery kind of private case, there being with me only the Chief Justiceand the Governor of the town ... In the name of the king, of the royalhousehold, and of the Six Great Houses. The heart of the king was moresatisfied with me than with any other of his high officials, or any ofhis nobles, or any of his servants. I asked the Majesty of [my] Lord topermit a white stone sarcophagus to be brought for me from Raau. [1] HisMajesty made the keeper of the royal seal, assisted by a body ofworkmen, bring this sarcophagus over from Raau in a barge, and he camebringing with it in a large boat, which was the property of the king, the cover of the sarcophagus, the slabs for the door, and the slabs forthe setting of the stele, and a pair of stands for censers (?), and atablet for offerings. Never before was the like of this done for anyservant. [He did this for me] because I was perfect in the heart of HisMajesty, because I was acceptable to the heart of His Majesty, andbecause the heart of His Majesty was satisfied with me. 

[Footnote 1: On the east bank, opposite Memphis, ]

"Behold, I was 'judge belonging to Nekhen' when His Majesty made me a_smer uāt_, and overseer of the estates of Pharaoh, and ... Of the fouroverseers of the estate of Pharaoh who were there. I performed my dutiesin such a way as to secure His Majesty's approval, both when the Courtwas in residence and when it was travelling, and in appointing officialsfor duty. I acted in such a way that His Majesty praised me for my workabove everything. During the secret inquiry which was made in the king'shousehold concerning the Chief Wife Amtes, His Majesty made me enter tohear the case by myself. There was no Chief Justice there, and no TownGovernor, and no nobleman, only myself, and this was because I was ableand acceptable to the heart of His Majesty, and because the heart of HisMajesty was filled with me. I did the case into writing, I alone, withonly one judge belonging to Nekhen, and yet my rank was only that ofoverseer of the estates of Pharaoh. Never before did a man of my rankhear the case of a secret of the royal household, and His Majesty onlymade me hear it because I was more perfect to the heart of His Majestythan any officer of his, or any nobleman of his, or any servant of his. 

"His Majesty had to put down a revolt of the Āamu dwellers on thesand. [1] His Majesty collected an army of many thousands strong in theSouth everywhere, beyond Abu (Elephantine) and northwards ofAphroditopolis, in the Northland (Delta) everywhere, in both halves ofthe region, in Setcher, and in the towns like Setcher, in Arthet of theBlacks, in Matcha of the Blacks, in Amam of the Blacks, in Uauat of theBlacks, in Kaau of the Blacks, and in the Land of Themeh. His Majestysent me at the head of this army. Behold, the dukes, the royalseal-bearers, the _smer uats_ of the palace, the chiefs, the governorsof the forts (?) of the South and the North, the _smeru_, the masters ofcaravans, the overseers of the priests of the South and North, and theoverseers of the stewards, were commanding companies of the South andthe North, and of the forts and towns which they ruled, and of theBlacks of these countries, but it was I who planned tactics for them, although my rank was only that of an overseer of the estates of Pharaohof.... No one quarrelled with his fellow, no one stole the food or thesandals of the man on the road, no one stole bread from any town, and noone stole a goat from any encampment of people. I despatched them fromNorth Island, the gate of Ihetep, the Uārt of Heru-neb-Maāt. Having thisrank ... I investigated (?) each of these companies (or regiments);never had any servant investigated (?) companies in this way before. This army returned in peace, having raided the Land of the dwellers onsand. This army returned in peace, having thrown down the fortressesthereof. This army returned in peace, having cut down its fig-trees andvines. This army returned in peace, having set fire [to the temples] ofall its gods. This army returned in peace, having slain the soldiersthere in many tens of thousands. This army returned in peace, bringingback with it vast numbers of the fighting men thereof as livingprisoners. His Majesty praised me for this exceedingly. His Majesty sentme to lead this army five times, to raid the Land of the dwellers onsand, whensoever they rebelled with these companies. I acted in such away that His Majesty praised me exceedingly. When it was reported thatthere was a revolt among the wild desert tribes of the Land of Shert[2]... I set out with these warriors in large transports, and sailed untilI reached the end of the high land of Thest, to the north of the Land ofthe dwellers on sand, and when I had led the army up I advanced andattacked the whole body of them, and I slew every rebel among them. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ the nomads on the Marches of the Eastern Desert. ]

[Footnote 2: A part of Syria (?). ]

"I was the ... Of the Palace, and bearer of the [royal] sandals, whenHis Majesty the King of the South and North, Merenrā, my ever livingLord, made me Duke and Governor of the South land beyond Abu(Elephantine) and of the district north of Aphroditopolis, because I wasperfect to the heart of His Majesty, because I was acceptable to theheart of His Majesty, and because the heart of His Majesty was satisfiedwith me. I was ... [of the Palace], and sandal-bearer when His Majestypraised me for displaying more watchfulness (or attention) at Court inrespect of the appointment of officials for duty than any of hisprinces, or nobles, or servants. Never before was this rank bestowed onany servant. I performed the duties of Governor of the South to thesatisfaction [of every one]. No one complained of (or quarrelled with)his neighbour; I carried out work of every kind. I counted everythingthat was due to the Palace in the South twice, and all the labour thatwas due to the Palace in the South I counted twice. I served the officeof Prince, ruling as a Prince ought to rule in the South; the like ofthis was never before done in the South. I acted in such a way that HisMajesty praised me for it. His Majesty sent me to the Land of Abhat tobring back a sarcophagus, "the lord of the living one, " with its cover, and a beautiful and magnificent pyramidion for the Queen's pyramid[which is called] Khānefer Merenrā. His Majesty sent me to Abu to bringback a granite door and its table for offerings, with slabs of granitefor the stele door and its framework, and to bring back granite doorsand tables for offerings for the upper room in the Queen's pyramid, Khānefer Merenrā. I sailed down the Nile to the pyramid Khānefer Merenrāwith six lighters, and three barges, and three floats(?), accompanied byone war boat. Never before had any [official] visited Abhat and Abu with[only] one war boat since kings have reigned. Whensoever His Majestygave an order for anything to be done I carried it out thoroughlyaccording to the order which His Majesty gave concerning it. 

"His Majesty sent me to Het-nub to bring back a great table forofferings of _rutt_ stone (quartzite sandstone?) of Het-nub. I made thistable for offerings reach him in seventeen days. It was quarried inHet-nub, and I caused it to float down the river in a lighter. I cut outthe planks for him in acacia wood, sixty cubits long and thirty cubitsbroad; they were put together in seventeen days in the third month(May-June) of the Summer Season. Behold, though there was no water inthe basins (?) it arrived at the pyramid Khānefer Merenrā in peace. Iperformed the work throughout in accordance with the order which theMajesty of my Lord had given to me. His Majesty sent me to excavate fivecanals in the South, and to make three lighters, and four barges of theacacia wood of Uauat. Behold, the governors of Arthet, Uauat, and Matchabrought the wood for them, and I finished the whole of the work in oneyear. [When] they were floated they were loaded with huge slabs ofgranite for the pyramid Khānefer Merenrā; moreover, all of them werepassed through these five canals ... Because I ascribed more majesty, and praise (?), and worship to the Souls of the King of the South andNorth, Merenrā, the ever living, than to any of the gods.... I carriedout everything according to the order which his divine Ka gave me. 

"I was a person who was beloved by his father, and praised by hismother, and gracious to his brethren, I the Duke, a real Governor[1] ofthe South, the vassal of Osiris, Una. "

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ his title was not honorary. ]

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HERKHUF

This inscription is cut in hieroglyphs upon a slab of stone, which wasoriginally in the tomb of Herkhuf at Aswân, and is now in the EgyptianMuseum in Cairo and upon parts of the walls of his tomb. Herkhuf was aDuke, a _smer uat_, a Kher-heb priest, a judge belonging to Nekhen, theLord of Nekheb, a bearer of the royal seal, the shēkh of the caravans, and an administrator of very high rank in the South. All these titles, and the following lines, together with prayers for offerings, are cutabove the door of his tomb. He says:

"I came this day from my town. I descended from my nome. I builded ahouse and set up doors. I dug a lake and I planted sycamore trees. TheKing praised me. My father made a will in my favour. I am perfect.... [Iam a person] who is beloved by his father, praised by his mother, whomall his brethren loved. I gave bread to the hungry man, raiment to thenaked, and him who had no boat I ferried over the river. O ye living menand women who are on the earth, who shall pass by this tomb in sailingdown or up the river, and who shall say, 'A thousand bread-cakes and athousand vessels of beer to the lord of this tomb, ' I will offer themfor you in Khert Nefer (the Other World). I am a perfect spirit, equipped [with spells], and a Kher-heb priest whose mouth hathknowledge. If any young man shall come into this tomb as if it were hisown property I will seize him like a goose, and the Great God shall passjudgment on him for it. I was a man who spoke what was good, andrepeated what was loved. I never uttered any evil word concerningservants to a man of power, for I wished that I might stand well withthe Great God. I never gave a decision in a dispute between brotherswhich had the effect of robbing a son of the property of his father. "

Herkhuf, the Duke, the _smer uat_, the chamberlain, the Judge belongingto Nekhen, the Lord of Nekheb, bearer of the royal seal, the _smer uat_, the Kher-heb priest, the governor of the caravans, the member of councilfor the affairs of the South, the beloved of his Lord, Herkhuf, [1] whobringeth the things of every desert to his Lord, who bringeth theoffering of royal apparel, governor of the countries of the South, whosetteth the fear of Horus in the lands, who doeth what his lordapplaudeth, the vassal of Ptah-seker, saith:

[Footnote 1: Some titles are here repeated. ]

"His Majesty Merenrā, my Lord, sent me with my father Ara, the _smeruat_ and Kher-heb priest, to the land of Amam to open up a road intothis country. I performed the journey in seven months. I brought backgifts of all kinds from that place, making beautiful the region (?);there was very great praise to me for it. His Majesty sent me a secondtime by myself. I started on the road of Abu (Elephantine), I came backfrom Arthet, Mekher, Terres, Artheth, in a period of eight months. Icame back and I brought very large quantities of offerings from thiscountry. Never were brought such things to this land. I came back fromthe house of the Chief of Setu and Arthet, having opened up thesecountries. Never before had any _smer_ or governor of the caravan whohad appeared in the country of Amam opened up a road. Moreover, HisMajesty sent me a third time to Amam. I started from ... On the Uhatroad, and I found the Governor of Amam was then marching against theLand of Themeh, to fight the Themeh, in the western corner of the sky. Iset out after him to the Land of Themeh, and made him to keep the peace, whereupon he praised all the gods for the King (of Egypt). [Here followsome broken lines. ] I came back from Amam with three hundred asses ladenwith incense, ebony, _heknu_, grain, panther skins, ivory, ... Boomerangs, and valuable products of every kind. When the Chief ofArthet, Setu, and Uauat saw the strength and great number of thewarriors of Amam who had come back with me to the Palace, and thesoldiers who had been sent with me, this chief brought out and gave tome bulls, and sheep, and goats. And he guided me on the roads of theplains of Arthet, because I was more perfect, and more watchful (oralert) than any other _smer_ or governor of a caravan who had ever beendespatched to Amam. And when the servant (_i. E. _ Herkhuf) was sailingdown the river to the capital (or Court) the king made the duke, the_smer uat, _ the overseer of the bath, Khuna (or Una) sail up the riverwith boats loaded with date wine, _mesuq_ cakes, bread-cakes, andbeer. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Herkhuf's titles are here repeated. ]

Herkhuf made a fourth journey into the Sūdān, and when he came back hereported his successes to the new king, Pepi II, and told him that amongother remarkable things he had brought back from Amam a dancing dwarf, or pygmy. The king then wrote a letter to Herkhuf and asked him to sendthe dwarf to him in Memphis. The text of this letter Herkhuf had cut onthe front of his tomb, and it reads thus: Royal seal. The fifteenth dayof the third month of the Season Akhet (Sept. -Oct. ) of the second year. Royal despatch to the _smer uat_, the Kher-heb priest, the governor ofthe caravan, Herkhuf. I have understood the words of this letter whichthou hast made to the king in his chamber to make him to know that thouhast returned in peace from Amam, together with the soldiers who werewith thee. Thou sayest in this thy letter that there have been broughtback by thee great and beautiful offerings of all kinds, which Hathor, the Lady of Ammaau, hath given to the divine Ka of the King of the Southand North, Neferkarā, the everliving, for ever. Thou sayest in this thyletter that there hath been brought back by thee [also] a pygmy (ordwarf) who can dance the dance of the god, from the Land of the Spirits, like the pygmy whom the seal-bearer of the god Baurtet brought back fromPunt in the time of Assa. Thou sayest to [my] Majesty, "The like of himhath never been brought back by any other person who hath visited Amam. "Behold, every year thou performest what thy Lord wisheth and praiseth. Behold, thou passest thy days and thy nights meditating about doing whatthy Lord ordereth, and wisheth, and praiseth. And His Majesty willconfer on thee so many splendid honours, which shall give renown to thygrandson for ever, that all the people shall say when they have heardwhat [my] Majesty hath done for thee, "Was there ever anything like thisthat hath been done for the _smer uat_ Herkhuf when he came back fromAmam because of the sagacity (or attention) which he displayed in doingwhat his Lord commanded, and wished for, and praised?" Come down theriver at once to the Capital. Bring with thee this pygmy whom thou hastbrought from the Land of the Spirits, alive, strong, and healthy, todance the dance of the god, and to cheer and gratify the heart of theKing of the South and North, Neferkarā, the everliving. When he comethdown with thee in the boat, cause trustworthy men to be about him onboth sides of the boat, to prevent him from falling into the water. Whenhe is asleep at night cause trustworthy men to sleep by his side on hisbedding. See [that he is there] ten times [each] night. [My] Majestywisheth to see this pygmy more than any offering of the countries of Baand Punt. If when thou arrivest at the Capital, this pygmy who is withthee is alive, and strong, and in good health, [My] Majesty will conferupon thee a greater honour than that which was conferred upon the bearerof the seal Baurtet in the time of Assa, and as great is the wish of[My] Majesty to see this pygmy orders have been brought to the _smer_, the overseer of the priests, the governor of the town ... To arrangethat rations for him shall be drawn from every station of supply, andfrom every temple without.... 

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AMENI AMENEMHĀT

This inscription is cut in hieroglyphs on the doorposts of the tomb ofAmeni at Beni-hasan in Upper Egypt. It is dated in the forty-third yearof the reign of Usertsen I, a king of the twelfth dynasty, about 2400B. C. After giving the date and a list of his titles, Ameni says:

"I followed my Lord when he sailed to the South to overthrow his enemiesin the four countries of Nubia. I sailed to the south as the son of aduke, and as a bearer of the royal seal, and as a captain of the troopsof the Nome of Mehetch, and as a man who took the place of his agedfather, according to the favour which he enjoyed in the king's house andthe love that was his at Court. I passed through Kash in sailing to theSouth. I set the frontier of Egypt further southwards, I brought backofferings, and the praise of me reached the skies. His Majesty set outand overthrew his enemies in the vile land of Kash. I returned, following him as an alert official. There was no loss among my soldiers. [And again] I sailed to the South to fetch gold ore for the Majesty ofthe King of the South, the King of the North, Kheperkarā (Usertsen I), the ever living. I sailed to the south with the Erpā and Duke, theeldest son of the king, of his body Ameni. [1] I sailed to the south witha company of four hundred chosen men from my troops; they returned insafety, none of them having been lost. I brought back the gold which Iwas expected to bring, and I was praised for it in the house of theking; the prince [Ameni] praised God for me. [And again] I sailed to thesouth to bring back gold ore to the town of Qebti (Coptos) with theErpā, the Duke, the governor of the town, and the chief officer of theGovernment, Usertsen, life, strength, health [be to him!]. I sailed tothe south with a company of six hundred men, every one being a mightyman of war of the Nome of Mehetch. I returned in peace, with all mysoldiers in good health (or safe), having performed everything which Ihad been commanded to do. I was a man who was of a conciliatorydisposition, one whose love [for his fellows] was abundant, and I was agovernor who loved his town. I passed [many] years as governor of theMehetch Nome. All the works (_i. E. _ the forced labour) due to the palacewere performed under my direction. The overseers of the chiefs of thedistricts of the herdsmen of the Nome of Mehetch gave me three thousandbulls, together with their gear for ploughing, and I was praised becauseof it in the king's house every year of making [count] of the cattle. Itook over all the products of their works to the king's house, and therewere no liabilities against me in any house of the king. I worked theNome of Mehetch to its farthest limit, travelling frequently [throughit]. No peasant's daughter did I harm, no widow did I wrong, no fieldlabourer did I oppress, no herdsman did I repulse. I did not seize themen of any master of five field labourers for the forced labour(corvée). There was no man in abject want during the period of my rule, and there was no man hungry in my time. When years of hunger came, Irose up and had ploughed all the fields of the Nome of Mehetch, as faras it extended to the south and to the north, [thus] keeping alive itspeople, and providing the food thereof, and there was no hungry mantherein. I gave to the widow as to the woman who possessed a husband. Imade no distinction between the elder and the younger in whatsoever Igave. When years of high Nile floods came, the lords (_i. E. _ theproducers) of wheat and barley, the lords of products of every kind, Idid not cut off (or deduct) what was due on the land [from the years oflow Nile floods], I Ameni, the vassal of Horus, the Smiter of theRekhti, [2] generous of hand, stable of feet, lacking avarice because ofhis love for his town, learned in traditions (?), who appeareth at theright moment, without thought of guile, the vassal of Khnemu, highlyfavoured in the king's house, who boweth before ambassadors, whoperformeth the behests of the nobles, speaker of the truth, who judgethrighteously between two litigants, free from the word of deceit, skilledin the methods of the council chamber, who discovereth the solution of adifficult question, Ameni. 

[Footnote 1: He afterwards reigned as Amenemhāt II. ]

[Footnote 2: Titles of Ameni repeated. ]

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THETHA

This inscription is cut in hieroglyphs upon a large rectangular slab oflimestone now preserved in the British Museum (No. 100). It belongs tothe period of the eleventh dynasty, when texts of the kind are veryrare, and was made in the reign of Uahānkh, or Antef. It reads:

Thetha, the servant in truth of the Horus Uahānkh, the King of theSouth, the King of the North, the son of Rā, Antef, the doer ofbeneficent acts, living like Rā for ever, beloved by him from the bottomof his heart, holder of the chief place in the house of his lord, thegreat noble of his heart, who knoweth the matters of the heart of hislord, who attendeth him in all his goings, one in heart with His Majestyin very truth, the leader of the great men of the house of the king, thebearer of the royal seal in the seat of confidential affairs, keepingclose the counsel of his lord more than the chiefs, who maketh torejoice the Horus (_i. E. _ the king) through what he wisheth, thefavourite of his Lord, beloved by him as the mouth of the seal, thepresident of the place of confidential affairs, whom his lord loveth, the mouth of the seal, the chief after the king, the vassal, saith:

I was the beloved one of his Lord, I was he with whom he was wellpleased all day and every day. I passed a long period of my life [thatis] years, under the Majesty of my Lord, the Horus, Uahānkh, the King ofthe South and North, the son of the Sun, Antef. Behold, this country wassubject unto him in the south as far as Thes, and in the north as far asAbtu of Then (Abydos of This). Behold, I was in the position of bodyservant of his, and was an actual chief under him. He magnified me, andhe made my position to be one of great prominence, and he set me in theplace beloved (?) for the affairs of his heart, in his palace. Becauseof the singleness [of my heart] he appointed me to be a bearer of theroyal seal, and the deputy of the registrary (?). [I] selected the goodthings of all kinds of the offerings brought to the Majesty of my Lord, from the South and from the North land whensoever a taxing was made, andI made him to rejoice at the assessment which was made everywherethroughout the country. Now His Majesty had been afraid that thetribute, which was brought to His Majesty, my Lord, from the princes whowere the overlords of the Red Country (Lower Egypt), would dwindle awayin this country, and he had been afraid that the same would be the casein the other countries also. He committed to me these matters, for heknew that my administration was able. I rendered to him informationabout them, and because of my great knowledge of affairs never didanything escape that was not replaced. I was one who lived in the heartof his Lord, in very truth, and I was a great noble after his own heart. I was as cool water and fire in the house of my Lord. The shoulders ofthe great ones bent [before me]. I did not thrust myself in the train ofthe wicked, for which men are hated. I was a lover of what was good, anda hater of what was evil. My disposition was that of one beloved in thehouse of my Lord. I carried out every course of action in accordancewith the urgency that was in the heart of my Lord. Moreover, in thematter of every affair which His Majesty caused me to follow out, if anyofficial obstructed me in truth I overthrew his opposition. I neitherresisted his order, nor hesitated, but I carried it out in very truth. In making any computation which he ordered, I made no mistake. I didnot set one thing in the place of another. I did not increase the flameof his wrath in its strength. I did not filch property from aninheritance. Moreover, as concerning all that His Majesty commanded toset before him in respect of the royal household (or _harim_), I keptaccounts of everything which His Majesty desired, and I gave them untohim, and I made satisfactory all their statements. Because of thegreatness of my knowledge nothing ever escaped me. 

I made a _mekha_ boat for my town, and a _sehi_ boat, so that I mightattend in the train of my Lord, and I was one of the number of the greatones on every occasion when travel or journeying had to be performed, and I was held in great esteem, and entreated most honourably. Iprovided my own equipment from the possessions which His Majesty, theHorus Uahānkh, the King of the South, the King of the North, the son ofthe Sun, Antef, who liveth like Rā for ever, gave unto me because of thegreatness of his love for me, until he departed in peace to his horizon(_i. E. _ the tomb). And when his son, that is to say, the HorusNekhtneb-Tepnefer, the King of the South, the King of the North, the sonof Rā, Antef, the producer of beneficent acts, who liveth for ever likeRā, entered his house, I followed him as his body-companion into all hisbeautiful places that rejoiced [his] heart, and because of the greatnessof my knowledge there was never anything wanting (?). He committed to meand gave into my hand every duty that had been mine in the time of hisfather, and I performed it effectively under His Majesty; no matterconnected with any duty escaped me. I lived the [remainder] of my dayson the earth near the King, and was the chief of his body-companions. Iwas great and strong under His Majesty, and I performed everything whichhe decreed. I was one who was pleasing to his Lord all day and everyday. 

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AAHMES (AMASIS), THE NAVAL OFFICER

This inscription is cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of the tomb ofAahmes at Al-Kāb in Upper Egypt; this distinguished marine flourished inthe reigns of the first kings of the eighteenth dynasty, about 1600 B. C. The text reads:

The captain of the transport men, Aahmes, the son of Abana, thetruth-speaker, saith: O all men, I will declare unto you, and willinform you concerning the favours that were conferred upon me. Seventimes was I given gold in the sight of the whole land, and likewiseslaves, both male and female, and grants of land for estates to be heldby me in perpetuity were also made to me. Thus the name of a man boldand brave in his deeds shall not be extinguished in this land for ever!He saith:

I passed my childhood in the town of Nekheb (Eileithyiaspolis, Al-Kāb). My father was a soldier in the army of the King of the South, the Kingof the North, Seqenn-Rā, whose word is truth; Baba was his name, and hewas the son of Reant. I performed military service as his substitute inthe ship called the _Bull_ in the reign of the Lord of the Two Lands, Nebpehtirā (Amasis I), whose word is truth. I was at that time a youth, and was unmarried, and I slept in the _shennu_. Afterwards I got a house(_i. E. _ wife) for myself, and I was drafted off to a ship, the "North"(?), because of my bravery. Then it became my lot to follow after theking, life, strength, health [be to him!], on my feet whensoever he madea journey in his chariot. The king sat down (_i. E. _ besieged) before thecity of Hetuārt (Avaris), and it was my lot whilst I was on my two feetto do a deed of bravery in the presence of His Majesty, whereupon I wasmade an officer in the vessel [called] _Khā-em-Mennefer. _ The king wasfighting on the arm of the river of Avaris [called] Patchetku, and Irose up and engaged in the fight, and I brought back a hand. [1] Theroyal herald proclaimed the matter, and the king gave me the gift ofgold [which was awarded] for bravery. The fighting was renewed at thisplace (_i. E. _ Avaris), and I again joined in the fight, and I broughtback a hand; and the king gave me the gift of gold [which was awarded]for bravery a second time. 

[Footnote 1: He had cut it off from a vanquished foe. ]

Then the king fought a battle in Egypt, to the south of this place, andI made prisoner a man and brought him back alive; I went down into thewater[1] and brought him along on the road to the town, being firmlybound, and I crossed the water with him in a boat. The royal heraldproclaimed [this act], and indeed I was rewarded with a double portionof the gold [which is awarded] for bravery. Then the king capturedAvaris, and I brought back prisoners from the town, one man and threewomen, in all four persons. His Majesty gave these to me for slaves. Then His Majesty sat down before (_i. E. _ besieged) Sharhana[2] in thefifth year, and captured it. I brought back from thence two persons, women, and one hand. And the king gave me the gift of gold [awarded] forbravery, as well as the two prisoners for slaves. 

[Footnote 1: The water of the arm of the Nile. ]

[Footnote 2: The Syrian town mentioned in Joshua xix. 6. ]

Now after His Majesty had smitten the Mentiu of Satet[1], he sailed upthe river to Khenthennefer to crush the Antiu of Sti[2], and His Majestyoverthrew them completely, and slew very many of them. I rose up andmade three prisoners, viz. Two men, alive, and three hands. And the kingrewarded me with a double portion of gold, and he gave me the twoprisoners to be my slaves. Returning His Majesty sailed down the river. His heart was expanded with the bravery of strength, for he had [now]conquered the Lands of the South [as well as] the Lands of the North. [Then as for] Aatti, the accursed one, who came from the South, hisdestiny came upon him, and he perished. The gods of the South laid theirhands upon him, and His Majesty found him in Thenttaāmu (?). His Majestybrought him back bound alive, and with him were all his people loadedwith fetters. I captured two of the soldiers of the enemy, and Ibrought them back, firmly fettered, from the boat of the foe Aatti. Andthe king gave me five men and parcels of land, five _stat_ [in area] inmy city. This was likewise done for the sailors, one and all. Then thatvanquished foe came, Tetaān (the accursed one!) was his name, and he hadgathered together round about himself men with hearts hostile [to theking]. His Majesty smote him and his accursed servants, and they ceasedto exist. His Majesty gave me three men and a parcel of land five _stat_[in area] in my town. 

[Footnote 1: Tribes of the Eastern Desert (?). ]

[Footnote 2: The tribes of the Nubian Desert. ]

I transported the King of the South, the King of the North, Tcheserkarā(Amenhetep I), whose word is truth, when he sailed up the river to Kash(Cush, Nubia) to extend towards the south the frontiers of Egypt. HisMajesty captured that accursed Anti of Nubia in the midst of hisaccursed bowmen; he was brought back, fettered by the neck, and theycould not escape. [They were] deported, and were not allowed [to remain]upon [their] own land, and they became as if they existed not. Andbehold, I was at the head of our bowmen! I fought with all my strengthand might, and His Majesty saw my bravery. I brought back two hands andcarried them to His Majesty. And the king went and raided men, women, and cattle, and I rose up and captured a prisoner and brought him aliveto His Majesty. I brought back His Majesty from Khnemet-heru, [1] and theking gave me a gift of gold. I brought back alive two women whom I hadcaptured in addition to those I had already carried to His Majesty, andthe king appointed me to be "Āhatiu-en-Heq" (_i. E. _ "Warrior of thePrinces, " or "Crown-warrior"). I transported the King of the South, theKing of the North, Āakheperkarā, whose word is truth, when he sailed upthe river to Khent-hen-nefer, to put down the rebellion in Khet land, and to put an end to the incursions of the people of Asemt. I foughtwith great bravery in his presence in the troubled water during thetowing (?) of the fighting barges over the rapids(?), and the king mademe the "Captain of the Transport. " His Majesty, life, strength, health[be to him!] ... Raged like a panther, he shot his first arrow, [which]remained in the neck of the vanquished foe ... [the enemies] werehelpless before the flaming serpent on his crown; [thus] were they madein the hour of defeat and slaughter, and their slaves were brought backprisoners alive. Returning His Majesty sailed down the river having allthe mountains and deserts in his hand. And that accursed Anti of Nubiawas hung up head downwards, at the prow of the boat of His Majesty, and[then] placed on the ground in the Apts (_i. E. _ Karnak). After thesethings the king set out on an expedition against Rethenu (NorthernSyria), to avenge himself on foreign lands. His Majesty went forthagainst Neharina, where he found that the wretched enemy had set hiswarriors in battle array. His Majesty defeated them with greatslaughter, and those who were captured alive and brought back by himfrom his wars could not be counted. And behold, I was the captain of oursoldiers, and His Majesty saw my deeds of might. I brought out of thefight a chariot with its horses, and he who had been driving it wasfettered prisoner inside it, and I carried them to His Majesty, who gaveme a gift of gold, a twofold portion. Then I waxed old, and I arrived ata great age, and the favours [bestowed upon] me were as [many as those]at the beginning [of my life] ... A tomb in the mountain which I myselfhave made. 

[Footnote 1: The "Upper Pool, " site unknown. ]

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AAHMES (AMASIS), SURNAMED PEN-NEKHEB

This inscription is cut in hieroglyphs upon the walls of the tomb ofAahmes at Al-Kāb in Upper Egypt. Aahmes was a contemporary of Aahmes thetransport officer, and served under several of the early kings of theeighteenth dynasty. The text reads:

The Erpā, the Duke, the bearer of the seal, the man who took prisonerswith his own hands, Aahmes, saith: I accompanied the King of the South, the King of the North, Nebpehtirā (Amasis I), whose word is truth, and Icaptured for him in Tchah (Syria) one prisoner alive and one hand. Iaccompanied the King of the South, the King of the North, Tcheserkarā, whose word is truth, and I captured for him in Kash (Nubia) one prisoneralive. On another occasion I captured for him three hands to the northof Aukehek. I accompanied the King of the South, the King of the North, whose word is truth, and I captured for him two prisoners alive, inaddition to the three other prisoners who were alive, and who escaped(?) from me in Kash, and were not counted by me. And on another occasionI laboured for him, and I captured for him in the country of Neherina(Mesopotamia) twenty-one hands, one horse, and one chariot. Iaccompanied the King of the South, the King of the North, Āakheperenrā, whose word is law, and I brought away as tribute a very large number ofthe Shasu[1] alive, but I did not count them. I accompanied the Kings ofthe South, the Kings of the North, [those great] gods, and I was withthem in the countries of the South and North, and in every place wherethey went, namely, King Nebpehtirā (Amasis I), King Tcheserkarā(Amenhetep I), Āakheperkarā (Thothmes I), Āakheperenrā (Thothmes II), and this beneficent god Menkheperrā[2] (Thothmes III), who is endowedwith life for ever. I have reached a good old age, I have lived withkings, I have enjoyed favours under their Majesties, and affection hathbeen shown to me in the Palace, life, strength, health [be to them!]. The divine wife, the chief royal wife Maātkarā, whose word is truth, showed several favours to me. I held in my arms her eldest daughter, thePrincess Neferurā, whose word is law, when she was a nursling, I thebearer of the royal seal, who captured my prisoners, Aahmes, who amsurnamed Pen-Nekheb, did this. I was never absent from the king at thetime of fighting, beginning with Nebpehtirā (Amasis I), and continuinguntil the reign of Menkheperrā (Thothmes III). Tcheserkarā (Amenhetep I)gave me in gold two rings, two collars, one armlet, one dagger, onefan, and one pectoral (?). Āakheperkarā (Thothmes I) gave me in goldfour hand rings, four collars, one armlet, six flies, three lions, twoaxe-heads. Āakheperenrā gave me in gold four hand rings, six collars, three armlets (?), one plaque, and in silver two axe-heads. 

[Footnote 1: The nomads of the Syrian desert. ]

[Footnote 2: The titles, King of the North, King of the South, and thewords, "whose word is truth" occur with each name; they are omitted inthe translation. ]

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF TEHUTI, THE ERPĀ

The autobiographies given hitherto are those of soldiers, sailors, andofficials who in the performance of their duties travelled in Nubia, theEgyptian Sūdān, the Eastern Sūdān, the Red Sea Littoral, Sinai, andWestern Asia. The following autobiography is that of one of the greatnobles, who in the eighteenth dynasty assisted in carrying out the greatbuilding schemes of Queen Hātshepset and Thothmes III. Tehuti was anhereditary chief (_erpā_), and a Duke, and the Director of theDepartment of the Government in which all the gold and silver that werebrought to Thebes as tribute were kept, and he controlled thedistribution of the same in connection with the Public Works Department. The text begins with the words of praise to Amen-Rā for the life ofHātshepset and of Thothmes III, thus: "Thanks be to Amen-[Rā, the Kingof the Gods], and praise be to His Majesty when he riseth in the easternsky for the life, strength, and health of the King of the South, theKing of the North, Maātkarā (Hātshepset), and of the King of the South, the King of the North, Menkheperrā (Thothmes III), who are endowed withlife, stability, serenity, and health like Rā for ever. I performed theoffice of chief mouth (_i. E. _ director), giving orders. I directed theartificers who were engaged on the work of the great boat of the head ofthe river [called] Userhatamen. It was inlaid (or overlaid) with thevery best gold of the mountains, the splendour of which illumined allEgypt, and it was made by the King of the South, the King of the North, Maātkarā, [1] in connection with the monuments which he made for hisfather Amen-Rā, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, who is endowedwith life like Rā for ever. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the work ofthe God-house, the horizon of the god, and on the work of the greatthrone, which was [made] of the very best silver-gold[2] of themountains, and of perfect work to last for ever, which was made byMaātkarā in connection with the monuments which he made for his fatherAmen-Rā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. Idirected the artificers who were engaged on the work of the shrine (?)of Truth, the framework of the doors of which was of silver-gold, madeby Maātkarā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. Idirected the artificers who were engaged on the works ofTcheser-Tcheseru, [3] the Temple of Millions of Years, the great doors ofwhich were made of copper inlaid with figures in silver-gold, which wasmade by Maātkarā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, givingorders. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the work ofKhākhut, the great sanctuary of Amen, his horizon in Amen-tet, whereofall the doors [were made] of real cedar wood inlaid (or overlaid) withbronze, made by Maātkarā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the worksof the House of Amen, it shall flourish to all eternity! whereof thepavement was inlaid with blocks of gold and silver, and its beautieswere like unto those of the horizon of heaven, made by Maātkarā, &c. Iperformed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed theartificers who were engaged on the work of the great shrine, which wasmade of ebony from Kenset (Nubia), with a broad, high base, havingsteps, made of translucent alabaster [from the quarry] of Het-nub, madeby Maātkarā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. Idirected the artificers who were engaged on the works of the Great Houseof the god, which was plated with silver in which figures were inlaidin gold--its splendour lighted up the faces of all who beheld it--madeby Maātkarā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. Idirected the artificers who were engaged on the work of the great broad, high doors of the temple of Karnak, which were covered with plates ofcopper inlaid with figures in silver-gold, made by Maātkarā, &c. Iperformed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed theartificers who were engaged on the work of the holy necklaces andpectorals, and on the large talismans of the great sanctuary, which weremade of silver-gold and many different kinds of precious stones, made byMaātkarā, &c. I performed the office of chief mouth, giving orders. Idirected the artificers who were engaged on the works in connection withthe two great obelisks, [each of which] was one hundred and eight cubitsin height (about 162 feet) and was plated with silver-gold, thebrilliance whereof filled all Egypt, made by Maātkarā, &c. I performedthe office of chief mouth, giving orders. I directed the artificers whowere engaged on the work of the holy gate [called] "Amen-shefit, " whichwas made of a single slab of copper, and of the images (?) that belongedthereto, made by Maātkarā, &c. I directed the artificers who wereengaged on the work of the altar-stands of Amen. These were made of anincalculable quantity of silver-gold, set with precious stones, byMaātkarā, &c. I directed the artificers who were engaged on the work ofthe store-chests, which were plated with copper and silver-gold andinlaid with precious stones, made by Maātkarā, &c. I directed theartificers who were engaged on the works of the Great Throne, and theGod-house, which is built of granite and shall last like the firmlyfixed pillars of the sky, made by Maātkarā, &c. 

[Footnote 1: This queen frequently ascribed to herself male attributes. ]

[Footnote 2: _i. E. _ that kind of gold which is found in its naturalstate alloyed with silver. ]

[Footnote 3: The "Holy of Holies, " the name of Hātshepset's temple atDēr al-Baharī. ]

And as for the wonderful things, and all the products of all thecountries, and the best of the wonderful products of Punt, which HisMajesty presented to Amen, Lord of the Apts, for the life, strength, andhealth of His Majesty, and with which he filled the house of this holygod, for Amen had given him Egypt because he knew that he would rule itwisely (?), behold, it was I who registered them, because I was ofstrict integrity. My favour was permanent before [His Majesty], it neverdiminished, and he conferred more distinctions on me than on any otherofficial about him, for he knew my integrity in respect of him. He knewthat I carried out works, and that I covered my mouth (_i. E. _ held mytongue) concerning the affairs of his palace. He made me the director ofhis palace, knowing that I was experienced in affairs. I held the sealof the Two Treasuries, and of the store of all the precious stones ofevery kind that were in the God-house of Amen in the Apts, [1] which werefilled up to their roofs with the tribute paid to the god. Such a thingnever happened before, even from the time of the primeval god. HisMajesty commanded to be made a silver-gold ... For the Great Hall of thefestivals. [The metal] was weighed by the _heqet_ measure for Amen, before all the people, and it was estimated to contain 88-1/2 _heqet_measures, which were equal to 8592-1/2 _teben_. [2] It was offered to thegod for the life, strength, and health of Maātkarā, the ever living. Ireceived the _sennu_ offerings which were made to Amen-Rā, Lord of theApts; these things, all of them, took place in very truth, and Iexaggerate not. I was vigilant, and my heart was perfect in respect ofmy lord, for I wish to rest in peace in the mountain of thespirit-bodies who are in the Other World (Khert-Neter). I wish my memoryto be perpetuated on the earth. I wish my soul to live before the Lordof Eternity. I wish that the doorkeepers of the gates of the Tuat (OtherWorld) may not repulse my soul, and that it may come forth at the callof him that shall lay offerings in my tomb, that it may have bread inabundance and ale in full measure, and that it may drink of the waterfrom the source of the river. I would go in and come out like theSpirits who do what the gods wish, that my name may be held in goodrepute by the people who shall come in after years, and that they maypraise me at the two seasons (morning and evening) when they praise thegod of my city. 

[Footnote 1: The temples of Karnak and Luxor. ]

[Footnote 2: The _teben_ = 90. 959 grammes. ]

 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THAIEMHETEP, THE DAUGHTER OF HERĀNKH

This remarkable inscription is found on a stele which is preserved inthe British Museum (No. 1027), and which was made in the ninth year ofKing Ptolemy Philopator Philadelphus (71 B. C. ). The text opens with aprayer to all the great gods of Memphis for funerary offerings, andafter a brief address to her husband's colleagues, Thaiemhetep describesin detail the principal incidents of her life, and gives the dates ofher birth, death, &c. , which are rarely found on the funerary stelæ ofthe older period. Thaiemhetep was an important member of the semi-royal, great high-priestly family of Memphis, and her funerary inscriptionthrows much light on the theology of the Ptolemaic Period. 

[Illustration: The Autobiography of Thaiemhetep, the daughter ofHerānkh. ]

1. SUTEN-TA-HETEP, [1] may Seker-Osiris, at the head of the House of theKA of Seker, the great god in Rāqet; and Hap-Asar (Serapis), at the headof Amentet, the king of the gods, King of Eternity and Governor ofeverlastingness; and Isis, the great Lady, the mother of the god, theeye of Rā, the Lady of heaven, the mistress of all the gods; andNephthys, the divine sister of Horus, the 2. Avenger of his father, thegreat god in Rāqetit; and Anubis, who is on his hill, the dweller in thechamber of embalmment, at the head of the divine hall; and all the godsand goddesses who dwell in the mountain of Amentet the beautiful ofHetkaptah (Memphis), give the offerings that come forth at the word, beer, and bread, and oxen, and geese, and incense, and unguents, andsuits of apparel, and good things of all kinds upon their altars, to theKA of 3. The Osiris, the great princess, the one who is adorned, thewoman who is in the highest favour, the possessor of pleasantness, beautiful of body, sweet of love in the mouth of every man, who isgreatly praised by her kinsfolk, the youthful one, excellent ofdisposition, always ready to speak her words of sweetness, whose counselis excellent, Thaiemhetep, whose word (or voice) is truth, the beloveddaughter of the royal kinsman, the priest of Ptah, libationer of thegods of 4. White Wall (Memphis), priest of Menu (or Amsu), the Lord ofSenut (Panopolis), and of Khnemu, the Lord of Smen-Heru (Ptolemaīs), priest of Horus, the Lord of Sekhem (Letopolis), chief of the mysteriesin Aat-Beqt, chief of the mysteries in Sekhem, and in It, and inKhā-Hap; the daughter of the beautiful sistrum bearer of Ptah, the greatone of his South Wall, the Lord of Ānkh-taui, Herānkh, 5. She saith:

"Hail, all ye judges and all ye men of learning, and all ye highofficials, and all ye nobles, and all ye people, when ye enter into thistomb, come ye, I pray, and hearken unto what befell me. 

"The ninth day of the fourth month [2] of the season Akhet of the ninthyear under the Majesty of the King of the Two Lands, the god Philopator, Philadelphus, Osiris the Young, the Son of Rā, the lord of the Crowns ofthe South and of the North, Ptolemy, the ever living, beloved of Ptahand Isis, 6. [was] the day whereon I was born. 

"On the ... Day of the third month [3] of the season Shemu of thetwenty-third year under the Majesty of this same Lord of the Two Lands, my father gave me to wife to the priest of Ptah, the scribe of thelibrary of divine books, the priest of the Tuat Chamber, [4] thelibationer of the gods of the Wall, the superintendent of the priests ofthe gods and goddesses of the North and South, the two eyes of the Kingof Upper Egypt, the two ears of the King of Lower Egypt, the second ofthe king in raising up the Tet pillar, [5] the staff of the king [when]brought into the temples, 7. The Erpā in the throne chamber of Keb, theKher-heb (precentor) in the seat of Thoth, the repeater (or herald) ofthe tillage of the Ram-god, who turneth aside the Utchat (sacred eye), who approacheth the Utchat by the great Ram of gold (?), who seeth thesetting of the great god [who] is born when it is fettered, theUr-kherp-hem, [6] Pa-sher-en-Ptah, the son of a man who held likeoffices, Peta-Bast, whose word (or voice) is truth, born of 8. The greatdecorated sistrum bearer and tambourine woman of Ptah, the great one ofhis South Wall, the Lord of Ānkh-taui, whose word (or voice) is truth. 

"And the heart of the Ur-kherp-hem rejoiced in her exceedingly. I boreto him a child three times, but I did not bear a man child besides thesethree daughters. And I and the Ur-kherp-hem prayed to 9. The Majesty ofthis holy god, who [worketh] great wonders and bestoweth happiness (?), who giveth a son to him that hath one not, and Imhetep, the son of Ptah, hearkened unto our words, and he accepted his prayers. And the Majestyof this god came unto this Ur-kherp-hem during [his] sleep, and saidunto him, 10. 'Let there be built a great building in the form of alarge hall [for the lord of] Ānkh-taui, in the place where his body iswrapped up (or concealed), and in return for this I will give thee a manchild. ' And the Ur-kherp-hem woke up out of his sleep after these[words], and he smelt the ground before this holy god. And he laid them(_i. E. _ the words) before the priests, 11. And the chief of themysteries, and the libationers, and the artisans of the House of Gold, at one time, and he despatched them to make the building perfect in theform of a large, splendid funerary hall. And they did everythingaccording as he had said. And he performed the ceremony of 'Opening theMouth' for this holy god, and he made to him a great offering of thebeautiful offerings of every kind, and he bestowed upon him sculpturedimages 12. For the sake of this god, and he made happy their hearts withofferings of all kinds in return for this [promise]. 

"Then I conceived a man child, and I brought him forth on the fifteenthday of the third month[7] of the season Shemu of the sixth year, at theeighth hour of the day, under the Majesty of the Queen, the Lady of theTwo Lands, Cleopatra, Life, Strength, Health [be to her!], 13. [the day]of the festival of 'things on the altar' of this holy god, Imhetep, theson of Ptah, his form being like unto that of the son of Him that issouth of his wall (_i. E. _ Ptah), great rejoicings on account of him weremade by the inhabitants of White Wall (Memphis), and there were given tohim his name of Imhetep and the surname of Peta-Bast, and all the peoplerejoiced in him. 14. 

"The sixteenth day of the second month[8] of the season Pert of thetenth year was the day on which I died. My husband, the priest anddivine father of Ptah, the priest of Osiris, Lord of Rastau, the priestof the King of the South, the King of the North, the Lord of the TwoLands, Ptolemy, whose word is truth, the chief of the mysteries of theHouse of Ptah, the chief of the mysteries of heaven, earth, and theOther World, the chief of the mysteries of Rastau, the chief of themysteries of Rāqet, the Ur-kherp-hem, Pa-sher-en-Ptah, placed me inAm-urtet, 15. He performed for me all the rites and ceremonies which are[performed] for the dead who are buried in a fitting manner, he had memade into a beautiful mummy, and caused me to be laid to rest in histomb behind Rāqet. 

"Hail, brother, husband, friend! O Ur-kherp-hem, cease not to drink, toeat, to drink wine, 16. To enjoy the love of women, and to pass thy dayshappily; follow thy heart (or desire) day and night. Set not sorrow inthy heart, for oh, are the years [which we pass] so many on the earth[that we should do this]? For Amentet is a land where black darknesscannot be pierced by the eye, and it is a place of restraint (or misery)for him that dwelleth therein. The holy ones [who are there] sleep intheir forms. They wake not 17. Up to look upon their friends, they seenot their fathers [and] their mothers, and their heart hath no desirefor their wives [and] their children. The living water of the earth isfor those who are on it, stagnant water is for me. It cometh 18. To himthat is upon the earth. Stagnant is the water which is for me. I knownot the place wherein I am. Since I arrived at this valley of the dead Ilong for running water. I say, 'Let not my attendant remove the pitcherfrom the stream. ' 19. O that one would turn my face to the north wind onthe bank of the stream, and I cry out for it to cool the pain that is inmy heart. He whose name is 'Arniau'[9] calleth everyone to him, and theycome to him with quaking hearts, and they are terrified through theirfear of him. 20. By him is no distinction made between gods and men, with him princes are even as men of no account. His hand is not turnedaway from all those who love him, for he snatcheth away the babe fromhis mother's [breast] even as he doth the aged man. He goeth about onhis way, and all men fear him, and [though] they make supplicationbefore him, he turneth not his face away from them. Useless is it tomake entreaty to him, 21. For he hearkeneth not unto him that makethsupplication unto him, and even though he shall present unto himofferings and funerary gifts of all kinds, he will not regard them. 

"Hail, all ye who arrive in this funeral mountain, present ye unto meofferings, cast incense into the flame and pour out libations at everyfestival of Amentet. "

The scribe and sculptor, the councillor, the chief of the mysteries ofthe House of Shent in Tenen, the priest of Horus, Imhetep, the son ofthe priest Khā-Hap, whose word (or voice) is truth, cut thisinscription. 

[Footnote 1: These words mean, "The king gives an offering, " and theformula is as old at least as the fourth dynasty. It is obvious that theking could not make a funerary gift to every one who died, but the wordsare always found in funerary texts down to the latest times. ]

[Footnote 2: October-November. ]

[Footnote 3: May-June. ]

[Footnote 4: The Hall of Offerings in the tomb. ]

[Footnote 5: The raising of the Tet pillar was an important ceremony, which was performed at the annual miracle-play of Osiris; it symbolisedresurrection. ]

[Footnote 6: This was the official title of the high-priest of Memphis. ]

[Footnote 7: May-June. ]

[Footnote 8: December--January. ]

[Footnote 9: The great Death-god. ]

 CHAPTER X

 TALES OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE

 THE STORY OF SANEHAT

The text of this very interesting story is found written in the hieraticcharacter upon papyri which are preserved in Berlin. The narrativedescribes events which are said to have taken place under one of thekings of the twelfth dynasty, and it is very possible that thefoundation of this story is historical. The hero is himself supposed torelate his own adventures thus:

The Erpā, the Duke, the Chancellor of the King of the North, the _smeruati_, the judge, the Āntchmer of the marches, the King in the lands ofthe Nubians, the veritable royal kinsman loving him, the member of theroyal bodyguard, Sanehat, saith: I am a member of the bodyguard of hislord, the servant of the King, and of the house of Neferit, the feudalchieftainess, the Erpāt princess, the highly favoured lady, the royalwife of Usertsen, whose word is truth in Khnemetast, the royal daughterof Amenemhāt, whose word is truth in Qanefer. On the seventh day of thethird month of the season Akhet, in the thirtieth year [of his reign], the god drew nigh to his horizon, and the King of the South, the King ofthe North, Sehetepabrā, [1] ascended into heaven, and was invited to theDisk, and his divine members mingled with those of him that made him. The King's House was in silence, hearts were bowed down in sorrow, thetwo Great Gates were shut fast, the officials sat motionless, and thepeople mourned. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ Amenemhāt II. ]

Now behold [before his death] His Majesty had despatched an army to theLand of the Themehu, under the command of his eldest son, the beautifulgod Usertsen. And he went and raided the desert lands in the south, andcaptured slaves from the Thehenu (Libyans), and he was at that momentreturning and bringing back Libyan slaves and innumerable beasts ofevery kind. And the high officers of the Palace sent messengers into thewestern country to inform the King's son concerning what had taken placein the royal abode. And the messengers found him on the road, and theycame to him by night and asked him if it was not the proper time for himto hasten his return, and to set out with his bodyguard without lettinghis army in general know of his departure. They also told him that amessage had been sent to the princes who were in command of the soldiersin his train not to proclaim [the matter of the King's death] to any oneelse. 

Sanehat continues: When I heard his voice speaking I rose up and fled. My heart was cleft in twain, my arms dropped by my side, and tremblingseized all my limbs. I ran about distractedly, hither and thither, seeking a hiding-place. I went into the thickets in order to find aplace wherein I could travel without being seen. I made my way upstream, and I decided not to appear in the Palace, for I did not know but thatdeeds of violence were taking place there. And I did not say, "Let lifefollow it, " but I went on my way to the district of the Sycamore. Then Icame to the Lake (or Island) of Seneferu, and I passed the whole daythere on the edge of the plain. On the following morning I continued myjourney, and a man rose up immediately in front of me on the road, andhe cried for mercy; he was afraid of me. When the night fell I walkedinto the village of Nekau, and I crossed the river in an _usekht_ boatwithout a rudder, by the help of the wind from the west. And I travelledeastwards of the district of Aku, by the pass of the goddess Herit, theLady of the Red Mountain. Then I allowed my feet to take the roaddownstream, and I travelled on to Anebuheq, the fortress that had beenbuilt to drive back the Satiu (nomad marauders), and to hold in checkthe tribes that roamed the desert. I crouched down in the scrub duringthe day to avoid being seen by the watchmen on the top of the fortress. I set out again on the march, when the night fell, and when daylightfell on the earth I arrived at Peten, and I rested myself by the Lake ofKamur. Then thirst came upon me and overwhelmed me. I suffered torture. My throat was burnt up, and I said, "This indeed is the taste of death. "But I took courage, and collected my members (_i. E. _ myself), for Iheard the sounds that are made by flocks and herds. Then the Satiu ofthe desert saw me, and the master of the caravan who had been in Egyptrecognised me. And he rose up and gave me some water, and he warmed milk[for me], and I travelled with the men of his caravan, and thus I passedthrough one country after the other [in safety]. I avoided the land ofSunu and I journeyed to the land of Qetem, where I stayed for a year anda half. 

And Āmmuiansha, the Shēkh of Upper Thennu, took me aside and said untome, "Thou wilt be happy with me, for thou wilt hear the language ofEgypt. " Now he said this because he knew what manner of man I was, forhe had heard the people of Egypt who were there with him bear testimonyconcerning my character. And he said unto me, "Why and wherefore hastthou come hither? Is it because the departure of King Sehetepabrā fromthe Palace to the horizon hath taken place, and thou didst not know whatwould be the result of it?" Then I spake unto him with words of deceit, saying, "I was among the soldiers who had gone to the land of Themeh. Myheart cried out, my courage failed me utterly, it made me follow theways over which I fled. I hesitated, but felt no regret. I did nothearken unto any evil counsel, and my name was not heard on the mouth ofthe herald. How I came to be brought into this country I know not; itwas, perhaps, by the Providence of God. "

And Āmmuiansha said unto me, "What will become of the land without thatbeneficent god the terror of whom passed through the lands like thegoddess Sekhmet in a year of pestilence?" Then I made answer unto him, saying, "His son shall save us. He hath entered the Palace, and hathtaken possession of the heritage of his father. Moreover, he is the godwho hath no equal, and no other can exist beside him, the lord ofwisdom, perfect in his plans, of good will when he passeth decrees, andone cometh forth and goeth in according to his ordinance. He reducedforeign lands to submission whilst his father [sat] in the Palacedirecting him in the matters which had to be carried out. He is mightyof valour, he slayeth with his sword, and in bravery he hath no compeer. One should see him attacking the nomads of the desert, and pouncing uponthe robbers of the highway! He beateth down opposition, he smiteth armshelpless, his enemies cannot be made to resist him. He taketh vengeance, he cleaveth skulls, none can stand up before him. His strides are long, he slayeth him that fleeth, and he who turneth his back upon him inflight never reacheth his goal. When attacked his courage standeth firm. He attacketh again and again, and he never yieldeth. His heart is boldwhen he seeth the battle array, he permitteth none to sit down behind. His face is fierce [as] he rusheth on the attacker. He rejoiceth when hetaketh captive the chief of a band of desert robbers. He seizeth hisshield, he raineth blows upon him, but he hath no need to repeat hisattack, for he slayeth his foe before he can hurl his spear at him. Before he draweth his bow the nomads have fled, his arms are like thesouls of the Great Goddess. He fighteth, and if he reacheth his objectof attack he spareth not, and he leaveth no remnant. He is beloved, hispleasantness is great, he is the conqueror, and his town loveth him morethan herself; she rejoiceth in him more than in her god, and men throngabout him with rejoicings. He was king and conqueror before his birth, and he hath worn his crowns since he was born. He hath multipliedbirths, and he it is whom God hath made to be the joy of this land, which he hath ruled, and the boundaries of which he hath enlarged. Hehath conquered the Lands of the South, shall he not conquer the Lands ofthe North? He hath been created to smite the hunters of the desert, andto crush the tribes that roam the sandy waste.... " Then the Shēkh ofUpper Thennu said unto me, "Assuredly Egypt is a happy country in thatit knoweth his vigour. Verily, as long as thou tarriest with me I willdo good unto thee. "

And he set me before his children, and he gave me his eldest daughter towife, and he made me to choose for myself a very fine territory whichbelonged to him, and which lay on the border of a neighbouring country, and this beautiful region was called Aa. In it there are figs, and wineis more abundant than water. Honey is plentiful, oil existeth in largequantities, and fruits of every kind are on the trees thereof. Wheat, barley, herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats are there inuntold numbers. And the Shēkh showed me very great favour, and hisaffection for me was so great that he made me Shēkh of one of the besttribes in his country. Bread-cakes were made for me each day, and eachday wine was brought to me with roasted flesh and wild fowl, and thewild creatures of the plain that were caught were laid before me, inaddition to the game which my hunting dogs brought in. Food of all kindswas made for me, and milk was prepared for me in various ways. I passedmany years in this manner, and my children grew up into fine strong men, and each one of them ruled his tribe. Every ambassador on his journey toand from Egypt visited me. I was kind to people of every class. I gavewater to the thirsty man. I suppressed the highway robber. I directedthe operations of the bowmen of the desert, who marched long distancesto suppress the hostile Shēkhs, and to reduce their power, for the Shēkhof Thennu had appointed me General of his soldiers many years beforethis. Every country against which I marched I terrified into submission. I seized the crops by the wells, I looted the flocks and herds, Icarried away the people and their slaves who ate their bread, I slew themen there. Through my sword and bow, and through my well-organisedcampaigns, I was highly esteemed in the mind of the Shēkh, and he lovedme, for he knew my bravery, and he set me before his children when hesaw the bravery of my arms. 

Then a certain mighty man of valour of Thennu came and reviled me in mytent; he was greatly renowned as a man of war, and he was unequalled inthe whole country, which he had conquered. He challenged me to combat, being urged to fight by the men of his tribe, and he believed that hecould conquer me, and he determined to take my flocks and herds asspoil. And the Shēkh took counsel with me about the challenge, and Isaid, "I am not an acquaintance of his, and I am by no means a friend ofhis. Have I ever visited him in his domain or entered his door, orpassed through his compound? [Never!] He is a man whose heart becomethfull of evil thoughts, whensoever he seeth me, and he wisheth to carryout his fell design and plunder me. He is like a wild bull seeking toslay the bull of a herd of tame cattle so that he may make the cows hisown. Or rather he is a mere braggart who wisheth to seize the propertywhich I have collected by my prudence, and not an experienced warrior. Or rather he is a bull that loveth to fight, and that loveth to makeattacks repeatedly, fearing that otherwise some other animal will proveto be his equal. If, however, his heart be set upon fighting, let himdeclare [to me] his intention. Is God, Who knoweth everything, ignorantof what he hath decided to do?"

And I passed the night in stringing my bow, I made ready my arrows ofwar, I unsheathed my dagger, and I put all my weapons in order. Atdaybreak the tribes of the land of Thennu came, and the people who livedon both sides of it gathered themselves together, for they were greatlyconcerned about the combat, and they came and stood up round about mewhere I stood. Every heart burned for my success, and both men and womenuttered cries (or exclamations), and every heart suffered anxiety on mybehalf, saying, "Can there exist possibly any man who is a mightierfighter and more doughty as a man of war than he?" Then mine adversarygrasped his shield, and his battle-axe, and his spears, and after he hadhurled his weapons at me, and I had succeeded in avoiding his shortspears, which arrived harmlessly one after the other, he became filledwith fury, and making up his mind to attack me at close quarters hethrew himself upon me. And I hurled my javelin at him, which remainedfast in his neck, and he uttered a long cry and fell on his face, and Islew him with his own weapons. And as I stood upon his back I shoutedthe cry of victory, and every Āamu man (_i. E. _ Asiatic) applauded me, and I gave thanks to Menthu;[1] and the slaves of my opponent mournedfor their lord. And the Shēkh Āmmuiansha took me in his arms andembraced me. I carried off his (_i. E. _ the opponent's) property. Iseized his cattle as spoil, and what he meditated doing to me I did untohim. I took possession of the contents of his tent, I stripped hiscompound, I became rich, I increased my store of goods, and I addedgreatly to the number of my cattle. 

[Footnote 1: The War-god of Thebes. ]

Thus did God prosper the man who made Him his support. Thus that day waswashed (_i. E. _ satisfied) the heart of the man who was compelled to makehis escape from his own into another country. Thus that day theintegrity of the man who was once obliged to take to flight as amiserable fugitive was proven in the sight of all the Court. Once I wasa wanderer wandering about hungry, and now I can give bread to myneighbours. Once I had to flee naked from my country, and now I am thepossessor of splendid raiment, and of apparel made of the finest byssus. Once I was obliged to do my own errands and to fetch and carry formyself, and now I am the master of troops of servants. My house isbeautiful, my estate is spacious, and my name is repeated in the GreatHouse. O Lord of the gods, who hath ordered my goings, I will offerpropitiatory offerings unto Thee: I beseech Thee to restore me to Egypt, and O be Thou pleased most graciously to let me once again look upon thespot where my mind dwelleth for hours [at a time]! How great a boonwould it be for me to cleanse my body in the land of my birth! Let, Ipray, a period of happiness attend me, and may God give me peace. May Hedispose events in such a way that the close of the career of the man whohath suffered misery, whose heart hath seen sorrow, who hath wanderedinto a strange land, may be happy. Is He not at peace with me this day?Surely He shall hearken to him that is afar off.... Let the King ofEgypt be at peace with me, and may I live upon his offerings. Let mesalute the Mistress of the Land (_i. E. _ the Queen) who is in his palace, and let me hear the greetings of her children. O would that my memberscould become young again! For now old age is stealing on me. Infirmityovertaketh me. Mine eyes refuse to see, my hands fall helpless, my kneesshake, my heart standeth still, the funerary mourners approach and theywill bear me away to the City of Eternity, wherein I shall become afollower of Nebertcher. She will declare to me the beauties of herchildren, and they shall traverse it with me. 

Behold now, the Majesty of the King of Egypt, Kheperkarā, whose word istruth, having spoken concerning the various things that had happened tome, sent a messenger to me bearing royal gifts, such as he would send tothe king of a foreign land, with the intention of making glad the heartof thy servant now [speaking], and the princes of his palace made me tohear their salutations. And here is a copy of the document, which wasbrought to thy servant [from the King] instructing him to return toEgypt. 

"The royal command of the Horus, Ānkh-mestu, Lord of Nekhebet andUatchet, Ānkh-mestu, King of the South, King of the North, Kheperkarā, the son of Rā, Amenemhāt, the everliving, to my follower Sanehat. Thisroyal order is despatched unto thee to inform thee. Thou hast travelledabout everywhere, in one country after another, having set out fromQetem and reached Thennu, and thou hast journeyed from place to place atthine own will and pleasure. Observe now, what thou hast done [untoothers, making them to obey thee], shall be done unto thee. Make noexcuses, for they shall be set aside; argue not with [my] officials, forthy arguments shall be refuted. Thy heart shall not reject the planswhich thy mind hath formulated. Thy Heaven (_i. E. _ the Queen), who is inthe Palace, is stable and flourishing at this present time, her head iscrowned with the sovereignty of the earth, and her children are in theroyal chambers of the Palace. Lay aside the honours which thou hast, and thy life of abundance (or luxury), and journey to Egypt. Come andlook upon thy native land, the land where thou wast born, smell theearth (_i. E. _ do homage) before the Great Gate, and associate with thenobles thereof. For at this time thou art beginning to be an old man, and thou canst no longer produce sons, and thou hast [ever] in thy mindthe day of [thy] burial, when thou wilt assume the form of a servant [ofOsiris]. The unguents for thine embalmment on the night [ofmummification] have been set apart for thee, together with thy mummyswathings, which are the work of the hands of the goddess Tait. Thyfunerary procession, which will march on the day of thy union with theearth, hath been arranged, and there are prepared for thee a gildedmummy-case, the head whereof is painted blue, and a canopy made of_mesket_ wood. Oxen shall draw thee [to the tomb], the wailing womenshall precede thee, the funerary dances shall be performed, those whomourn thee shall be at the door of thy tomb, the funerary offeringsdedicated to thee shall be proclaimed, sacrifices shall be offered forthee with thy oblations, and thy funerary edifice shall be built inwhite stone, side by side with those of the princes and princesses. Thydeath must not take place in a foreign land, the Āamu folk shall notescort thee [to thy grave], thou shalt not be placed in the skin of aram when thy burial is effected; but at thy burial there shall be ... And the smiting of the earth, and when thou departest lamentations shallbe made over thy body. "

When this royal letter reached me I was standing among the people of mytribe, and when it had been read to me I threw myself face downwards onthe ground, and bowed until my head touched the dust, and I clasped thedocument reverently to my breast. Then [I rose up] and walked to and froin my abode, rejoicing and saying, "How can these things possibly bedone to thy servant who is now speaking, whose heart made him to flyinto foreign lands [where dwell] peoples who stammer in their speech?Assuredly it is a good and gracious thought [of the King] to deliver mefrom death [here], for thy Ka (_i. E. _ double) will make my body to end[its existence] in my native land. "

Here is a copy of the reply that was made by the servant of the Palace, Sanehat, to the above royal document:

"In peace the most beautiful and greatest! Thy KA knoweth of the flightwhich thy servant, who is now speaking, made when he was in a state ofignorance, O thou beautiful god, Lord of Egypt, beloved of Rā, favouredof Menthu, the Lord of Thebes. May Amen-Rā, lord of the thrones of theTwo Lands, and Sebek, and Rā, and Horus, and Hathor, and Tem and hisCompany of the Gods, and Neferbaiu, and Semsuu, and Horus of the East, and Nebt-Amehet, the goddess who is joined to thy head, and theTchatchau gods who preside over the Nile flood, and Menu, andHeru-khenti-semti, and Urrit, the Lady of Punt, and Nut, and Heru-ur(Haroeris), and Rā, and all the gods of Tamera (Egypt), and of theIslands of the Great Green Sea (_i. E. _ Mediterranean), bestow upon theea full measure of their good gifts, and grant life and serenity to thynostrils, and may they grant unto thee an eternity which hath no limit, and everlastingness which hath no bounds! May thy fear penetrate andextend into all countries and mountains, and mayest thou be thepossessor of all the region which the sun encircleth in his course. Thisis the prayer which thy servant who now speaketh maketh on behalf of hislord who hath delivered him from Ament. 

"The lord of knowledge who knoweth men, the Majesty of the Setepsa abode(_i. E. _ the Palace), knoweth well that his servant who is now speakingwas afraid to declare the matter, and that to repeat it was a greatthing. The great god (_i. E. _ the King), who is the counterpart of Rā, hath done wisely in what he hath done, and thy servant who now speakethhath meditated upon it in his mind, and hath made himself to conform tohis plans. Thy Majesty is like unto Horus, and the victorious might ofthine arms hath conquered the whole world. Let thy Majesty command thatMaka [chief of] the country of Qetma, and Khentiaaush [chief of]Khent-Keshu, and Menus [chief of] the lands of the Fenkhu, be broughthither, and these Governors will testify that these things have come topass at the desire of thy KA (_i. E. _ double), and that Thenu doth notspeak words of overboldness to thee, and that she is as [obedient as]thy hunting dogs. Behold, the flight, which thy servant who is nowspeaking made, was made by him as the result of ignorance; it was notwilful, and I did not decide upon it after careful meditation. I cannotunderstand how I could ever have separated myself from my country. Itseemeth to me now to have been the product of a dream wherein a man whois in the swamps of the Delta imagineth himself to be in Abu(Elephantine, or Syene), or of a man who whilst standing in fertilefields imagineth himself to be in the deserts of the Sūdān. I fearnothing and no man can make with truth [accusations] against me. I havenever turned my ear to disloyal plottings, and my name hath never beenin the mouth of the crier [of the names of proscribed folk]; though mymembers quaked, and my legs shook, my heart guided me, and the God whoordained this flight of mine led me on. Behold, I am not a stiff-neckedman (or rebel), nay, I held in honour [the King], for I knew the land ofEgypt and that Rā hath made thy fear to exist everywhere in Egypt, andthe awe of thee to permeate every foreign land. I beseech thee to let meenter my native land. I beseech thee to let me return to Egypt. Thou artthe apparel of the horizon. The Disk (_i. E. _ the Sun) shineth at thywish. One drinketh the water of the river Nile at thy pleasure. Onebreatheth the air of heaven when thou givest the word of command. Thyservant who now speaketh will transfer the possessions which he hathgotten in this land to his kinsfolk. And as for the embassy of thyMajesty which hath been despatched to the servant who now speaketh, Iwill do according to thy Majesty's desire, for I live by the breathwhich thou givest, O thou beloved of Rā, Horus, and Hathor, and thy holynostrils are beloved of Menthu, Lord of Thebes; mayest thou live forever!"

And I tarried one day in the country of Aa in order to transfer mypossessions to my children. My eldest son attended to the affairs of thepeople of my settlement, and the men and women thereof (_i. E. _ theslaves), and all my possessions were in his hand, and all my children, and all my cattle, and all my fruit trees, and all my palm plantationsand groves. Then thy servant who is now speaking set out on his journeyand travelled towards the South. When I arrived at Heruuatu, the captainof the frontier patrol sent a messenger to inform the Court of myarrival. His Majesty sent a courteous overseer of the servants of thePalace, and following him came large boats laden with gifts from theKing for the soldiers of the desert who had escorted me and guided me tothe town of Heruuatu. I addressed each man among them by name and everytoiler had that which belonged to him. I continued my journey, the windbore me along, food was prepared for me and drink made ready for me, andthe best of apparel (?), until I arrived at Athettaui. [1] On the morningof the day following my arrival, five officials came to me, and theybore me to the Great House, and I bowed low until my forehead touchedthe ground before him. And the princes and princesses were standingwaiting for me in the _umtet_ chamber, and they advanced to meet me andto receive me, and the _smeru_ officials conducted me into the hall, andled me to the privy chamber of the King, where I found His Majesty[seated] upon the Great Throne in the _umtet_ chamber of silver-gold. Iarrived there, I raised myself up after my prostrations, and I knew notthat I was in his presence. Then this god (_i. E. _ the King) spake untome harshly, and I became like unto a man who is confounded in thedarkness; my intelligence left me, my limbs quaked, my heart was nolonger in my body, and I knew not whether I was dead or alive. Then HisMajesty said unto one of his high officials, "Raise him, and let himspeak unto me. " And His Majesty said unto me, "Thou hast come then! Thouhast smitten foreign lands and thou hast travelled, but now weaknesshath vanquished thee, thou hast become old, and the infirmities of thybody are many. The warriors of the desert shall not escort thee [to thygrave] ... Wilt thou not speak and declare thy name?" And I was afraidto contradict him, and I answered him about these matters like a manwho was stricken with fear. Thus did my Lord speak to me. 

[Footnote: 1 A fortified town a little to the south of Memphis. ]

And I answered and said, "The matter was not of my doing, for, behold, it was done by the hand of God; bodily terror made me to flee accordingto what was ordained. But, behold, I am here in thy presence! Thou artlife. Thy Majesty doeth as thou pleasest. " And the King dismissed theroyal children, and His Majesty said unto the Queen, "Look now, this isSanehat who cometh in the guise of an Asiatic, and who hath turnedhimself into a nomad warrior of the desert. " And the Queen laughed aloud hearty laugh, and the royal children cried out with one voicebefore His Majesty, saying, "O Lord King, this man cannot really beSanehat"; and His Majesty said, "It is indeed!"

Then the royal children brought their instruments of music, their_menats_ and their sistra, and they rattled their sistra, and theypassed backwards and forwards before His Majesty, saying, "Thy handsperform beneficent acts, O King. The graces of the Lady of Heaven rest[upon thee]. The goddess Nubt giveth life to thy nostrils, and the Ladyof the Stars joineth herself to thee, as thou sailest to the Southwearing the Crown of the North, and to the North wearing the Crown ofthe South. Wisdom is stablished in the mouth of Thy Majesty, and healthis on thy brow. Thou strikest terror into the miserable wretches whoentreat thy mercy. Men propitiate thee, O Lord of Egypt, [as they do]Rā, and thou art acclaimed with cries of joy like Nebertcher. Thy hornconquereth, thine arrow slayeth, [but] thou givest breath to him that isafflicted. For our sakes graciously give a boon to this travellerSanehat, this desert warrior who was born in Tamera (Egypt). He fledthrough fear of thee, and he departed to a far country because of histerror of thee. Doth not the face that gazeth on thine blench? Doth notthe eye that gazeth into thine feel terrified?" Then His Majesty said, "Let him fear not, and let him not utter a sound of fear. He shall be a_smer_ official among the princes of the palace, he shall be a member ofthe company of the _shenit_ officials. Get ye gone to the refectory ofthe palace, and see to it that rations are provided for him. "

Thereupon I came forth from the privy chamber of the King, and the royalchildren clasped my hands, and we passed on to the Great Door, and I waslodged in the house of one of the King's sons, which was beautifullyfurnished. In it there was a bath, and it contained representations ofthe heavens and objects from the Treasury. And there [I found] apparelmade of royal linen, and myrrh of the finest quality which was used bythe King, and every chamber was in charge of officials who werefavourites of the King, and every officer had his own appointed duties. And [there] the years were made to slide off my members. I cut andcombed my hair, I cast from me the dirt of a foreign land, together withthe apparel of the nomads who live in the desert. I arrayed myself inapparel made of fine linen, I anointed my body with costly ointments, Islept upon a bedstead [instead of on the ground], I left the sand tothose who dwelt on it, and the crude oil of wood wherewith they anointthemselves. I was allotted the house of a nobleman who had the title of_smer_, and many workmen laboured upon it, and its garden and its grovesof trees were replanted with plants and trees. Rations were brought tome from the palace three or four times each day, in additions to thegifts which the royal children gave me unceasingly. And the site of astone pyramid among the pyramids was marked out for me. Thesurveyor-in-chief to His Majesty chose the site for it, the director ofthe funerary designers drafted the designs and inscriptions which wereto be cut upon it, the chief of the masons of the necropolis cut theinscriptions, and the clerk of the works in the necropolis went aboutthe country collecting the necessary funerary furniture. I made thebuilding to flourish, and provided everything that was necessary for itsupkeep. I acquired land round about it. I made a lake for theperformance of funerary ceremonies, and the land about it containedgardens, and groves of trees, and I provided a place where the people onthe estate might dwell similar to that which is provided for a _smeru_nobleman of the first rank. My statue, which was made for me by HisMajesty, was plated with gold, and the tunic thereof was of silver-gold. Not for any ordinary person did he do such things. May I enjoy thefavour of the King until the day of my death shall come!

Here endeth the book; [given] from its beginning to its end, as it hathbeen found in writing. 

 THE STORY OF THE EDUCATED PEASANT KHUENANPU

The text of this most interesting story is written in the hieraticcharacter on papyri which are preserved in the British Museum and in theRoyal Library at Berlin. It is generally thought that the story is theproduct of the period that immediately followed the twelfth dynasty. 

Once upon a time there lived a man whose name was Khuenanpu, a peasantof Sekhet-hemat, [1] and he had a wife whose name was Nefert. Thispeasant said to this wife of his, "Behold, I am going down into Egypt inorder to bring back food for my children. Go thou and measure up thegrain which remaineth in the granary, [and see how many] measures [thereare]. " Then she measured it, and there were eight measures. Then thispeasant said unto this wife of his, "Behold, two measures of grain shallbe for the support of thyself and thy children, but of the other sixthou shalt make bread and beer whereon I am to live during the days onwhich I shall be travelling. " And this peasant went down into Egypt, having laden his asses with _aaa_ plants, and _retmet_ plants, and sodaand salt, and wood of the district of ... , and _aunt_ wood of the Landof Oxen, [2] and skins of panthers and wolves, and _neshau_ plants, and_anu_ stones, and _tenem_ plants, and _kheperur_ plants, and _sahut_, and _saksut_ seeds (?), and _masut_ plants, and _sent_ and _abu_ stones, and _absa_ and _anba_ plants, and doves and _naru_ and _ukes_ birds, and_tebu, uben_ and _tebsu_ plants, and _kenkent_ seeds, and the plant"hair of the earth, " and _anset_ seeds, and all kinds of beautifulproducts of the land of Sekhet-hemat. And when this peasant had marchedto the south, to Hensu, [3] and had arrived at the region of Perfefa, tothe north of Metnat, he found a man standing on the river bank whosename was Tehutinekht, who was the son of a man whose name was Asri; bothfather and son were serfs of Rensi, the son of Meru the steward. Whenthis man Tehutinekht saw the asses of this peasant, of which his heartapproved greatly, he said, "Would that I had any kind of god with me tohelp me to seize for myself the goods of this peasant!" Now the house ofthis Tehutinekht stood upon the upper edge of a sloping path along theriver bank, which was narrow and not wide. It was about as wide as asheet of linen cloth, and upon one side of it was the water of thestream, and on the other was a growing crop. Then this Tehutinekht saidunto his slave, "Run and bring me a sheet of linen out of my house"; andit was brought to him immediately. Then he shook out the sheet of linenover the narrow sloping path in such a way that its upper edge touchedthe water, and the fringed edge the growing crop. And when this peasantwas going along the public path, this Tehutinekht said unto him, "Becareful, peasant, wouldst thou walk upon my clothes?" And this peasantsaid, "I will do as thou pleasest; my way is good. " And when he turnedto the upper part of the path, this Tehutinekht said, "Is my corn toserve as a road for thee, O peasant?" Then this peasant said, "My way isgood. The river-bank is steep, and the road is covered up with thy corn, and thou hast blocked up the path with thy linen garment. Dost thoureally intend not to let us pass? Hath it come to pass that he dareth tosay such a thing?" [At that moment] one of the asses bit off a largemouthful of the growing corn, and this Tehutinekht said, "Behold, thyass is eating my corn! Behold, he shall come and tread it out. " Thenthis peasant said, "My way is good. Because one side of the road wasmade impassable [by thee], I led my ass to the other side (?), and nowthou hast seized my ass because he bit off a large mouthful of thegrowing corn. However, I know the master of this estate, which belongethto Rensi, the son of Meru. There is no doubt that he hath driven everyrobber out of the whole country, and shall I be robbed on his estate?"And this Tehutinekht said, "Is not this an illustration of the proverbwhich the people use, 'The name of the poor man is only mentionedbecause of his master?' It is I who speak to thee, but it is the steward[Rensi, the son of Meru] of whom thou art thinking. " Then Tehutinekhtseized a cudgel of green tamarisk wood, and beat cruelly with it everypart of the peasant's body, and took his asses from him and carried themoff into his compound. And this peasant wept and uttered loud shrieks ofpain because of what was done to him. And this Tehutinekht said, "Howlnot so loudly, peasant, or verily [thou shalt depart] to the domain ofthe Lord of Silence. "[4] Then this peasant said, "Thou hast beaten me, and robbed me of my possessions, and now thou wishest to steal even thevery complaint that cometh out of my mouth! Lord of Silence indeed! Giveme back my goods. Do not make me to utter complaints about thy fearsomecharacter. "

And this peasant spent ten whole days in making entreaties to thisTehutinekht [for the restoration of his goods], but Tehutinekht paid noattention to them whatsoever. At the end of this time this peasant setout on a journey to the south, to the city of Hensu, in order to lay hiscomplaint before Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, and he found himjust as he was coming forth from the door in the courtyard of his housewhich opened on the river bank, to embark in his official boat on theriver. And this peasant said, "I earnestly wish that it may happen thatI may make glad thy heart with the words which I am going to say!Peradventure thou wilt allow some one to call thy confidential servantto me, in order that I may send him back to thee thoroughly wellinformed as to my business. " Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, caused his confidential servant to go to this peasant, who sent him backto him thoroughly well informed as to his business. And Rensi, the sonof Meru, the steward, made inquiries about this Tehutinekht from theofficials who were immediately connected with him, and they said untohim, "Lord, the matter is indeed only one that concerneth one of thepeasants of Tehutinekht who went [to do business] with another man nearhim instead of with him. And, as a matter of fact, [officials likeTehutinekht] always treat their peasants in this manner whensoever theygo to do business with other people instead of with them. Wouldst thoutrouble thyself to inflict punishment upon Tehutinekht for the sake of alittle soda and a little salt? [It is unthinkable. ] Just let Tehutinekhtbe ordered to restore the soda and the salt and he will do so[immediately]. " And Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, held his peace;he made no answer to the words of these officials, and to this peasanthe made no reply whatsoever. 

And this peasant came to make his complaint to Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, and on the first occasion he said, "O my lord steward, greatest one of the great ones, guide of the things that are not and ofthese that are, when thou goest down into the Sea of Truth, [5] and dostsail thereon, may the attachment (?) of thy sail not tear away, may thyboat not drift (?), may no accident befall thy mast, may the poles ofthy boat not be broken, mayest thou not run aground when thou wouldstwalk on the land, may the current not carry thee away, mayest thou nottaste the calamities of the stream, mayest thou never see a face offear, may the timid fish come to thee, and mayest thou obtain fine, fatwaterfowl. O thou who art the father of the orphan, the husband of thewidow, the brother of the woman who hath been put away by her husband, and the clother of the motherless, grant that I may place thy name inthis land in connection with all good law. Guide in whom there is noavarice, great man in whom there is no meanness, who destroyestfalsehood and makest what is true to exist, who comest to the word of mymouth, I speak that thou mayest hear. Perform justice, O thou who artpraised, to whom those who are most worthy of praise give praise. Doaway the oppression that weigheth me down. Behold, I am weighted withsorrow, behold, I am sorely wronged. Try me, for behold, I suffergreatly. "

[Footnote 1: A district to the west of Cairo now known as Wādian-Natrūn. ]

[Footnote 2: The Oasis of Farāfrah. ]

[Footnote 3: The Khānēs of the Hebrews and Herakleopolis of the Greeks, the modern Ahnās al-Madīnah. ]

[Footnote 4: _i. E. _ Osiris. This was a threat to kill the peasant. ]

[Footnote 5: The name of a lake in the Other World; see _Book of theDead_, Chap. 17, l. 24. ]

Now this peasant spake these words in the time of the King of the South, the King of the North, Nebkaurā, whose word is truth. And Rensi, the sonof Meru, the steward, went into the presence of His Majesty, and said, "My Lord, I have found one of these peasants who can really speak withtrue eloquence. His goods have been stolen from him by an official whois in my service, and behold, he hath come to lay before me a complaintconcerning this. " His Majesty said unto Rensi, the son of Meru, thesteward, "If thou wouldst see me in a good state of health, keep himhere, and do not make any answer at all to anything which he shall say, so that he may continue to speak. Then let that which he shall say bedone into writing, and brought unto us, so that we may hear it. Takecare that his wife and his children have food to live upon, and see thatone of these peasants goeth to remove want from his house. Provide foodfor the peasant himself to live upon, but thou shalt make the provisionin such a way that the food may be given to him without letting him knowthat it is thou who hast given it to him. Let the food be given to hisfriends and let them give it to him. " So there were given unto him fourbread-cakes and two pots of beer daily. These were provided by Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, and he gave them to a friend, and it wasthis friend who gave them to the peasant. And Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, sent instructions to the governor of [the Oasis of]Sekhet-hemat to supply the wife of the peasant with daily rations, andthere were given unto her regularly the bread-cakes that were made fromthree measures of corn. 

Then this peasant came a second time to lay his complaint [beforeRensi], and he found him as he was coming out from the ... , and he said, "O steward, my lord, the greatest of the great, thou richest of therich, whose greatness is true greatness, whose riches are true riches, thou rudder of heaven, thou pole of the earth, thou measuring rope forheavy weights (?)! O rudder, slip not, O pole, topple not, O measuringrope, make no mistake in measuring! The great lord taketh away from herthat hath no master (or owner), and stealeth from him that is alone [inthe world]. Thy rations are in thy house--a pot of beer and threebread-cakes. What dost thou spend in satisfying those who depend uponthee? Shall he who must die die with his people? Wilt thou be a man ofeternity (_i. E. _ wilt thou live for ever?) Behold, are not these thingsevils, namely, the balance that leaneth side-ways, the pointer of thebalance that doth not show the correct weight, and an upright and justman who departeth from his path of integrity? Observe! the truth goethbadly with thee, being driven out of her proper place, and the officialscommit acts of injustice. He who ought to estimate a case correctlygiveth a wrong decision. He who ought to keep himself from stealingcommitteth an act of robbery. He who should be strenuous to arrest theman who breaketh the word (_i. E. _ Law) in its smallest point, is himselfguilty of departing therefrom. He who should give breath stifleth himthat could breathe. The land that ought to give repose driveth reposeaway. He who should divide in fairness hath become a robber. He whoshould blot out the oppressor giveth him the command to turn the towninto a waste of water. He who should drive away evil himself committethacts of injustice. "

Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, said [to the peasant], "Doththy case appear in thy heart so serious that I must have my servant[Tchutinekht] seized on thy account?" This peasant said, "He whomeasureth the heaps of corn filcheth from them for himself, and he whofilleth [the measure] for others robbeth his neighbours. Since he whoshould carry out the behests of the Law giveth the order to rob, who isto repress crime? He who should do away with offences against the Lawhimself committeth them. He who should act with integrity behavethcrookedly. He who doeth acts of injustice is applauded. When wilt thoufind thyself able to resist and to put down acts of injustice? [When]the ... Cometh to his place of yesterday the command cometh: 'Do a[good] deed in order that one may do a [good] deed [to thee], ' that isto say, 'Give thanks unto everyone for what he doeth. ' This is to driveback the bolt before it is shot, and to give a command to the man who isalready overburdened with orders. Would that a moment of destructionmight come, wherein thy vines should be laid low, and thy geesediminished, and thy waterfowl be made few in number! [Thus] it comeththat the man who ought to see clearly hath become blind, and he whoought to hear distinctly hath become deaf, and he who ought to be a justguide hath become one who leadeth into error. Observe! thou art strongand powerful. Thine arm is able to do deeds of might, and [yet] thyheart is avaricious. Compassion hath removed itself from thee. Thewretched man whom thou hast destroyed crieth aloud in his anguish. Thouart like unto the messenger of the god Henti (the Crocodile-god). Setnot out [to do evil] for the Lady of the Plague (_i. E. _ Sekhmet).... Asthere is nothing between thee and her for a certain purpose, so there isnothing against thee and her. If thou wilt not do it [then] she will notshow compassion. The beggar hath the powerful owner of possessions (orrevenues) robbed, and the man who hath nothing hath the man who hathsecreted [much] stolen goods. To steal anything at all from the beggaris an absolute crime on the part of the man who is not in want, and [ifhe doth this] shall his action not be inquired into? Thou art filledfull with thy bread, and art drunken with thy beer, and thou art rich[beyond count]. When the face of the steersman is directed to what is infront of him, the boat falleth out of its course, and sailethwhithersoever it pleaseth. When the King [remaineth] in his house, andwhen thou workest the rudder, acts of injustice take place round aboutthee, complaints are widespread, and the loss (?) is very serious. Andone saith, 'What is taking place?' Thou shouldst make thyself a place ofrefuge [for the needy]. Thy quay should be safe. But observe! Thy townis in commotion. Thy tongue is righteous, make no mistake [in judgment]. The abominable behaviour of a man is, as it were, [one of] his members. Speak no lies thyself, and take good heed that thy high officials donot do so. Those who assess the dues on the crops are like unto a ... , and to tell lies is very dear to their hearts. Thou who hast knowledgeof the affairs of all the people, dost thou not understand mycircumstances? Observe, thou who relievest the wants of all who havesuffered by water, I am on the path of him that hath no boat. O thou whobringest every drowning man to land, and who savest the man whose boathath foundered, art thou going to let me perish?"

And this peasant came a third time to lay his complaint [before Rensi], and he said, "O my Lord Rensi, the steward! Thou art Rā, the lord ofheaven with thy great chiefs. The affairs of all men [are ruled bythee]. Thou art like the water-flood. Thou art Hep (the Nile-god) whomaketh green the fields, and who maketh the islands that are deserts tobecome productive. Exterminate the robber, be thou the advocate of thosewho are in misery, and be not towards the petitioner like thewater-flood that sweepeth him away. Take heed to thyself likewise, foreternity cometh, and behave in such a way that the proverb, 'Righteousness (or truth) is the breath of the nostrils, ' may beapplicable unto thee. Punish those who are deserving of punishment, andthen these shall be like unto thee in dispensing justice. Do not thesmall scales weigh incorrectly? Doth not the large balance incline toone side? In such cases is not Thoth merciful? When thou doest acts ofinjustice thou becomest the second of these three, and if these bemerciful thou also mayest be merciful. Answer not good with evil, and donot set one thing in the place of another. Speech flourisheth more thanthe _senmit_ plants, and groweth stronger than the smell of the same. Make no answer to it whilst thou pourest out acts of injustice, to maketo grow apparel, which three ... Will cause him to make. [If] thouworkest the steering pole against the sail (?), the flood shall gatherstrength against the doing of what is right. Take good heed to thyselfand set thyself on the mat (?) on the look-out place. The equilibrium ofthe earth is maintained by the doing of what is right. Tell not lies, for thou art a great man. Act not in a light manner, for thou art a manof solid worth. Tell not lies, for thou art a pair of scales. Make nomistake [in thy weighing], for thou art a correct reckoner (?). Observe!Thou art all of a piece with the pair of scales. If they weighincorrectly, thou also shalt act falsely. Let not the boat run agroundwhen thou art working the steering pole ... The look-out place. Whenthou hast to proceed against one who hath carried off something, takethou nothing, for behold, the great man ceaseth to be a great man whenhe is avaricious. Thy tongue is the pointer of the scales; thy heart isthe weight; thy lips are the two arms of the scales. If thou coverestthy face so as not to see the doer of violent deeds, who is there [left]to repress lawless deeds? Observe! Thou art like a poor man for the manwho washeth clothes, who is avaricious and destroyeth kindly feeling(?). He who forsaketh the friend who endoweth him for the sake of hisclient is his brother, who hath come and brought him a gift. Observe!Thou art a ferryman who ferriest over the stream only the man whopossesseth the proper fare, whose integrity is well attested (?). Observe! Thou art like the overseer of a granary who doth not at oncepermit to pass him that cometh empty. Observe! Thou art among men like abird of prey that liveth upon weak little birds. Observe! Thou art likethe cook whose sole joy is to kill, whom no creature escapeth. Observe!Thou art like a shepherd who is careless about the loss of his sheepthrough the rapacious crocodile; thou never countest [thy sheep]. Wouldthat thou wouldst make evil and rapacious men to be fewer! Safety hathdeparted from [every] town throughout the land. Thou shouldst hear, butmost assuredly thou hearest not! Why hast thou not heard that I havethis day driven back the rapacious man? When the crocodile pursueth.... How long is this condition of thine to last? Truth which is concealedshall be found, and falsehood shall perish. Do not imagine that thou artmaster of to-morrow, which hath not yet come, for the evils which it maybring with it are unknown. "

And behold, when this peasant had said these things to Rensi, the sonof Meru, the steward, at the entrance to the hall of the palace, Rensicaused two men with leather whips to seize him, and they beat him inevery member of his body. Then this peasant said: "The son of Meru hathmade a mistake. His face is blind in respect of what he seeth, he isdeaf in respect of what he heareth, and he is forgetting that which heought to remember. Observe! Thou art like unto a town that hath nogovernor, and a community that hath no chief, and a ship that hath nocaptain, and a body of men who have no guide. Observe! Thou art like ahigh official who is a thief, a governor of a town who taketh [bribes], and the overseer of a province who hath been appointed to suppressrobbery, but who hath become the captain of those who practise it. "

And this peasant came a fourth time to lay his complaint before Rensi, and he met him as he was coming out from the door of the temple of thegod Herushefit, and said, "O thou who art praised, the god Herushefit, from whose house thou comest forth, praiseth thee. When well-doingperisheth, and there is none who seeketh to prevent its destruction, falsehood maketh itself seen boldly in the land. If it happen that theferry-boat is not brought for thee to cross the stream in, how wilt thoube able to cross the stream? If thou hast to cross the stream in thysandals, is thy crossing pleasant? Assuredly it is not! What man isthere who continueth to sleep until it is broad daylight? [This habit]destroyeth the marching by night, and the travelling by day, and thepossibility of a man profiting by his good luck, in very truth. Observe!One cannot tell thee sufficiently often that 'Compassion hath departedfrom thee. ' And behold, how the oppressed man whom thou hast destroyedcomplaineth! Observe! Thou art like unto a man of the chase who wouldsatisfy his craving for bold deeds, who determineth to do what hewisheth, to spear the hippopotamus, to shoot the wild bull, to catchfish, and to catch birds in his nets. He who is without hastiness willnot speak without due thought. He whose habit is to ponder deeply willnot be light-minded. Apply thy heart earnestly and thou shalt know thetruth. Pursue diligently the course which thou hast chosen, and let himthat heareth the plaintiff act rightly. He who followeth a right courseof action will not treat a plaintiff wrongly. When the arm is brought, and when the two eyes see, and when the heart is of good courage, boastnot loudly in proportion to thy strength, in order that calamity may notcome unto thee. He who passeth by [his] fate halteth between twoopinions. The man who eateth tasteth [his food], the man who is spokento answereth, the man who sleepeth seeth visions, but nothing can resistthe presiding judge when he is the pilot of the doer [of evil]. Observe, O stupid man, thou art apprehended. Observe, O ignorant man, thou artfreely discussed. Observe, too, that men intrude upon thy most privatemoments. Steersman, let not thy boat run aground. Nourisher [of men], let not men die. Destroyer [of men], let not men perish. Shadow, let notmen perish through the burning heat. Place of refuge, let not thecrocodile commit ravages. It is now four times that I have laid mycomplaint before thee. How much more time shall I spend in doing this?"

This peasant came a fifth time to make his complaint, and said, "O mylord steward, the fisherman with a _khut_ instrument ... , the fishermanwith a ... Killeth _i_-fish, the fisherman with a harpoon speareth the_āubbu_ fish, the fisherman with a _tchabhu_ instrument catcheth the_paqru_ fish, and the common fishermen are always drawing fish from theriver. Observe! Thou art even as they. Wrest not the goods of the poorman from him. The helpless man thou knowest him. The goods of the poorman are the breath of his life; to seize them and carry them off fromhim is to block up his nostrils. Thou art committed to the hearing of acase and to the judging between two parties at law, so that thou mayestsuppress the robber; but, verily, what thou doest is to support thethief. The people love thee, and yet thou art a law-breaker. Thou hastbeen set as a dam before the man of misery, take heed that he is notdrowned. Verily, thou art like a lake to him, O thou who flowestquickly. "

This peasant came the sixth time to lay his complaint [before Rensi], and said, "O my lord steward ... Who makest truth to be, who makesthappiness (or, what is good) to be, who destroyest [all evil]; thou artlike unto the satiety that cometh to put an end to hunger, thou art likeunto the raiment that cometh to do away nakedness; thou art like untothe heavens that become calm after a violent storm and refresh withwarmth those who are cold; thou art like unto the fire that cooketh thatwhich is raw, and thou art like unto the water that quencheth thethirst. Yet look round about thee! He who ought to make a divisionfairly is a robber. He who ought to make everyone to be satisfied hathbeen the cause of the trouble. He who ought to be the source of healingis one of those who cause sicknesses. The transgressor diminisheth thetruth. He who filleth well the right measure acteth rightly, providedthat he giveth neither too little nor too much. If an offering bebrought unto thee, do thou share it with thy brother (or neighbour), forthat which is given in charity is free from after-thought (?). The manwho is dissatisfied induceth separation, and the man who hath beencondemned bringeth on schisms, even before one can know what is in hismind. When thou hast arrived at a decision delay not in declaring it. Who keepeth within him that which he can eject?... When a boat comethinto port it is unloaded, and the freight thereof is landed everywhereon the quay. It is [well] known that thou hast been educated, andtrained, and experienced, but behold, it is not that thou mayest rob[the people]. Nevertheless thou dost [rob them] just as other people do, and those who are found about thee are thieves (?). Thou who shouldst bethe most upright man of all the people art the greatest transgressor inthe whole country. [Thou art] the wicked gardener who watereth his plotof ground with evil deeds in order to make his plot to tell lies, sothat he may flood the town (or estate) with evil deeds (or calamities). "

This peasant came the seventh time in order to lay his complaint [beforeRensi], and said, "O my lord steward, thou art the steering pole of thewhole land, and the land saileth according to thy command. Thou art thesecond (or counterpart) of Thoth, who judgeth impartially. My lord, permit thou a man to appeal to thee in respect of his cause which isrighteous. Let not thy heart fight against it, for it is unseemly forthee to do so; [if thou doest this] thou of the broad face wilt becomeevil-hearted. Curse not the thing that hath not yet taken place, andrejoice not over that which hath not yet come to pass. The tolerantjudge rejoiceth in showing kindness, and he withholdeth all actionconcerning a decision that hath been given, when he knoweth not whatplan was in the heart. In the case of the judge who breaketh the Law, and overthroweth uprightness, the poor man cannot live [before him], forthe judge plundereth him, and the truth saluteth him not. But my body isfull, and my heart is overloaded, and the expression thereof comethforth from my body by reason of the condition of the same. [When] thereis a breach in the dam the water poureth out through it: even so is mymouth opened and it uttereth speech. I have now emptied myself, I havepoured out what I had to pour out, I have unburdened my body, I havefinished washing my linen. What I had to say before thee is said, mymisery hath been fully set out before thee; now what hast thou to say inexcuse (or apology)? Thy lazy cowardice hath been the cause of thy sin, thine avarice hath rendered thee stupid, and thy gluttony hath beenthine enemy. Thinkest thou that thou wilt never find another peasantlike unto me? If he hath a complaint to make thinkest thou that he willnot stand, if he is a lazy man, at the door of his house? He whom thouforcest to speak will not remain silent. He whom thou forcest to wake upwill not remain asleep. The faces which thou makest keen will not remainstupid. The mouth which thou openest will not remain closed. He whomthou makest intelligent will not remain ignorant. He whom thouinstructest will not remain a fool. These are they who destroy evils. These are the officials, the lords of what is good. These are thecrafts-folk who make what existeth. These are they who put on theirbodies again the heads that have been cut off. "

This peasant came the eighth time to lay his complaint [before Rensi], and said, "O my lord steward, a man falleth because of covetousness. Theavaricious man hath no aim, for his aim is frustrated. Thy heart isavaricious, which befitteth thee not. Thou plunderest, and thy plunderis no use to thee. And yet formerly thou didst permit a man to enjoythat to which he had good right! Thy daily bread is in thy house, thybelly is filled, grain overfloweth [in thy granaries], and the overflowperisheth and is wasted. The officials who have been appointed tosuppress acts of injustice have been rapacious robbers, and theofficials who have been appointed to stamp out falsehood have becomehiding-places for those who work iniquity. It is not fear of thee thathath driven me to make my complaint to thee, for thou dost notunderstand my mind (or heart). The man who is silent and who turnethback in order to bring his miserable state [before thee] is not afraidto place it before thee, and his brother doth not bring [gifts] from theinterior of [his quarter]. Thy estates are in the fields, thy food is on[thy] territory, and thy bread is in the storehouse, yet the officialsmake gifts to thee and thou seizest them. Art thou not then a robber?Will not the men who plunder hasten with thee to the divisions of thefields? Perform the truth for the Lord of Truth, who possesseth the realtruth. Thou writing reed, thou roll of papyrus, thou palette, thouThoth, thou art remote from acts of justice. O Good One, thou art stillgoodness. O Good One, thou art truly good. Truth endureth for ever. Itgoeth down to the grave with those who perform truth, it is laid in thecoffin and is buried in the earth; its name is never removed from theearth, and its name is remembered on earth for good (or blessing). Thatis the ordinance of the word of God. If it be a matter of a hand-balanceit never goeth askew; if it be a matter of a large pair of scales, thestandard thereof never inclineth to one side. Whether it be I who come, or another, verily thou must make speech, but do not answer whether thouspeakest to one who ought to hold his peace, or whether thou seizest onewho cannot seize thee. Thou art not merciful, thou art not considerate. Thou hast not withdrawn thyself, thou hast not gone afar off. But thouhast not in any way given in respect of me any judgment in accordancewith the command, which came forth from the mouth of Rā himself, saying, 'Speak the truth, perform the truth, for truth is great, mighty, andeverlasting. When thou performest the truth thou wilt find its virtues(?), and it will lead thee to the state of being blessed (?). If thehand-balance is askew, the pans of the balance, which perform theweighing, hang crookedly, and a correct weighing cannot be carried out, and the result is a false one; even so the result of wickedness iswickedness. '"

This peasant came the ninth time to lay his complaint [before Rensi], and said, "The great balance of men is their tongues, and all the restis put to the test by the hand balance. When thou punishest the man whoought to be punished, the act telleth in thy favour. [When he doeth notthis] falsehood becometh his possession, truth turneth away from beforehim, his goods are falsehood, truth forsaketh him, and supporteth himnot. If falsehood advanceth, she maketh a mistake, and goeth not overwith the ferry-boat [to the Island of Osiris]. The man with whomfalsehood prevaileth hath no children and no heirs upon the earth. Theman in whose boat falsehood saileth never reacheth land, and his boatnever cometh into port. Be not heavy, but at the same time do not be toolight. Be not slow, but at the same time be not too quick. Rage not atthe man who is listening to thee. Cover not over thy face before the manwith whom thou art acquainted. Make not blind thy face towards the manwho is looking at thee. Thrust not aside the suppliant as thou goestdown. Be not indolent in making known thy decision. Do [good] unto himthat will do [good] unto thee. Hearken not unto the cry of the mob, whosay, 'A man will assuredly cry out when his case is really righteous. 'There is no yesterday for the indolent man, there is no friend for theman who is deaf to [the words of] truth, and there is no day ofrejoicing for the avaricious man. The informer becometh a poor man, andthe poor man becometh a beggar, and the unfriendly man becometh a deadperson. Observe now, I have laid my complaint before thee, but thou wiltnot hearken unto it; I shall now depart, and make my complaint againstthee to Anubis. "

Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, caused two of his servants togo and bring back the peasant. Now this peasant was afraid, for hebelieved that he would be beaten severely because of the words which hehad spoken to him. And this peasant said, "This is [like] the coming ofthe thirsty man to salt tears, and the taking of the mouth of thesuckling child to the breast of the woman that is dry. That the sight ofwhich is longed for cometh not, and only death approacheth. "

Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, said, "Be not afraid, Opeasant, for behold, thou shalt dwell with me. " Then this peasant sworean oath, saying, "Assuredly I will eat of thy bread, and drink of thybeer for ever. " Then Rensi, the son of Meru, the steward, said, "Comehither, however, so that thou mayest hear thy petitions"; and he causedto be [written] on a roll of new papyrus all the complaints which thispeasant had made, each complaint according to its day. And Rensi, theson of Meru, the steward, sent the papyrus to the King of the South, theKing of the North, Nebkaurā, whose word is truth, and it pleased theheart of His Majesty more than anything else in the whole land. And HisMajesty said, "Pass judgment on thyself, O son of Meru. " And Rensi, theson of Meru, the steward, despatched two men to bring him back. And hewas brought back, and an embassy was despatched to Sekhet Hemat.... Sixpersons, besides ... His grain, and his millet, and his asses, and hisdogs.... [The remaining lines are mutilated, but the words which arevisible make it certain that Tehutinekht the thief was punished, andthat he was made to restore to the peasant everything which he hadstolen from him. ]

 THE JOURNEY OF THE PRIEST UNU-AMEN INTO SYRIA TO BUY CEDAR WOOD TO MAKE A NEW BOAT FOR AMEN-RĀ

The text of this narrative is written in the hieratic character upon apapyrus preserved in St. Petersburg; it gives an excellent descriptionof the troubles that befell the priest Unu-Amen during his journey intoSyria in the second half of the eleventh century before Christ. The textreads:

On the eighteenth day of the third month of the season of theInundation, of the fifth year, Unu-Amen, the senior priest of the Haitchamber of the house of Amen, the Lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, set out on his journey to bring back wood for the great and holy Boat ofAmen-Rā, the King of the Gods, which is called "User-hat, " and floatethon the canal of Amen. On the day wherein I arrived at Tchān (Tanis orZoan), the territory of Nessubanebtet (_i. E. _ King Smendes) andThent-Amen, I delivered unto them the credentials which I had receivedfrom Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods, and when they had had my lettersread before them, they said, "We will certainly do whatsoever Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods, our Lord, commandeth. " And I lived in that placeuntil the fourth month of the season of the Inundation, and I abode inthe palace at Zoan. Then Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen despatched me withthe captain of the large ship called Menkabuta, and I set sail on thesea of Kharu (Syria) on the first day of the fourth month of the Seasonof the Inundation. I arrived at Dhir, a city of Tchakaru, and Badhilu, its prince, made his servants bring me bread-cakes by the ten thousand, and a large jar of wine, and a leg of beef. And a man who belonged tothe crew of my boat ran away, having stolen vessels of gold that weighedfive _teben_, and four vessels of silver that weighed twenty _teben_, and silver in a leather bag that weighed eleven _teben_; thus he stolefive _teben_ of gold and thirty-one _teben_ of silver. 

On the following morning I rose up, and I went to the place where theprince of the country was, and I said unto him, "I have been robbed inthy port. Since thou art the prince of this land, and the leaderthereof, thou must make search and find out what hath become of mymoney. I swear unto thee that the money [once] belonged to Amen-Rā, Kingof the Gods, the Lord of the Two Lands; it belonged to Nessubanebtet, itbelonged to my lord Her-Heru, and to the other great kings of Egypt, butit now belongeth to Uartha, and to Makamāru, and to Tchakar-Bāl, Princeof Kepuna (Byblos). " And he said unto me, "Be angry or be pleased, [asthou likest], but, behold, I know absolutely nothing about the matter ofwhich thou speakest unto me. Had the thief been a man who was a subjectof mine, who had gone down into thy ship and stolen thy money, I wouldin that case have made good thy loss from the moneys in my own treasury, until such time as it had been found out who it was that robbed thee, and what his name was, but the thief who hath robbed thee belongeth tothine own ship. Yet tarry here for a few days, and stay with me, so thatI may seek him out. " So I tarried there for nine days, and my ship layat anchor in his port. And I went to him and I said unto him, "Verilythou hast not found my money, [but I must depart] with the captain ofthe ship and with those who are travelling with him. " ... [The text hereis mutilated, but from the fragments of the lines that remain it seemsclear that Unu-Amen left the port of Dhir, and proceeded in his ship toTyre. After a short stay there he left Tyre very early one morning andsailed to Kepuna (Byblos), so that he might have an interview with thegovernor of that town, who was called Tchakar-Bāl. During his interviewwith Tchakar-Bāl the governor of Tyre produced a bag containing thirty_teben_ of silver, and Unu-Amen promptly seized it, and declared that heintended to keep it until his own money which had been stolen wasreturned to him. Whilst Unu-Amen was at Byblos he buried in some secretplace the image of the god Amen and the amulets belonging to it, whichhe had brought with him to protect him and to guide him on his way. Thename of this image was "Amen-ta-mat. " The text then proceeds in aconnected form thus:]

And I passed nineteen days in the port of Byblos, and the governorpassed his days in sending messages to me each day, saying, "Get theegone out of my harbour. " Now on one occasion when he was making anoffering to his gods, the god took possession of a certain young chiefof his chiefs, and he caused him to fall into a fit of frenzy, and theyoung man said, "Bring up the god. [1] Bring the messenger who hathpossession of him. Make him to set out on his way. Make him to departimmediately. " Now the man who had been seized with the fit of divinefrenzy continued to be moved by the same during the night. And I found acertain ship, which was bound for Egypt, and when I had transferred toit all my property, I cast a glance at the darkness, saying, "If thedarkness increaseth I will transfer the god to the ship also, and notpermit any other eye whatsoever to look upon him. " Then thesuperintendent of the harbour came unto me, saying, "Tarry thou hereuntil to-morrow morning, according to the orders of the governor. " And Isaid unto him, "Art not thou thyself he who hath passed his days incoming to me daily and saying, 'Get thee gone out of my harbour?' Dostthou not say, 'Tarry here, ' so that I may let the ship which I havefound [bound for Egypt] depart, when thou wilt again come and say, 'Haste thee to be gone'?"

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ the figure of Amen-ta-mat. ]

And the superintendent of the harbour turned away and departed, and toldthe governor what I had said. And the governor sent a message to thecaptain of the ship bound for Egypt, saying, "Tarry till the morning;these are the orders of the governor. " And when the morning had come, the governor sent a messenger, who took me to the place where offeringswere being made to the god in the fortress wherein the governor lived onthe sea coast. And I found him seated in his upper chamber, and he wasreclining with his back towards an opening in the wall, and the waves ofthe great Syrian sea were rolling in from seawards and breaking on theshore behind him. And I said unto him, "The grace of Amen [be withthee]!" And he said unto me, "Including this day, how long is it sincethou camest from the place where Amen is?" And I said unto him, "Fivemonths and one day, including to-day. " And he said unto me, "Verily ifthat which thou sayest is true, where are the letters of Amen whichought to be in thy hand? Where are the letters of the high priest ofAmen which ought to be in thy hand?"

And I said unto him, "I gave them to Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen. " Thenwas he very angry indeed, and he said unto me, "Verily, there areneither letters nor writings in thy hands for us! Where is the ship madeof acacia wood which Nessubanebtet gave unto thee? Where are his Syriansailors? Did he not hand thee over to the captain of the ship so thatafter thou hadst started on thy journey they might kill thee and castthee into the sea? Whose permission did they seek to attack the god? Andindeed whose permission were they seeking before they attacked thee?"This is what he said unto me. 

And I said unto him, "The ship [wherein I sailed] was in very truth anEgyptian ship, and it had a crew of Egyptian sailors who sailed it onbehalf of Nessubanebtet. There were no Syrian sailors placed on board ofit by him. " He said unto me, "I swear that there are twenty ships lyingin my harbour, the captains of which are in partnership withNessubanebtet. And as for the city of Sidon, whereto thou wishest totravel, I swear that there are there ten thousand other ships, thecaptains of which are in partnership with Uarkathar, and they are sailedfor the benefit of his house. " At this grave moment I held my peace. Andhe answered and said unto me, "On what matter of business hast thou comehither?" And I said unto him, "The matter concerning which I have comeis wood for the great and holy Boat of Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods. What thy father did [for the god], and what thy father's father did forhim, do thou also. " That was what I said unto him. And he said unto me, "They certainly did do work for it (_i. E. _ the boat). Give me a gift formy work for the boat, and then I also will work for it. Assuredly myfather and my grandfather did do the work that was demanded of them, and Pharaoh, life, strength, and health be to him! caused six shipsladen with the products of Egypt to come hither, and the contentsthereof were unloaded into their storehouses. Now, thou must mostcertainly cause some goods to be brought and given to me for myself. "

Then he caused to be brought the books which his father had kept day byday, and he had them read out before me, and it was found that onethousand _teben_ of silver of all kinds were [entered] in his books. Andhe said unto me, "If the Ruler of Egypt had been the lord of mypossessions, and if I had indeed been his servant, he would never havehad silver and gold brought [to pay my father and my father's father]when he told them to carry out the commands of Amen. The instructionswhich they (_i. E. _ Pharaoh) gave to my father were by no means thecommand of one who was their king. As for me, I am assuredly not thyservant, and indeed I am not the servant of him that made thee to setout on thy way. If I were to cry out now, and to shout to the cedars ofLebanon, the heavens would open, and the trees would be lying spread outon the sea-shore. I ask thee now to show me the sails which thou hastbrought to carry thy ships which shall be loaded with thy timber toEgypt. And show me also the tackle with which thou wilt transfer to thyships the trees which I shall cut down for thee for.... [Unless I makefor thee the tackle] and the sails of thy ships, the tops will be tooheavy, and they will snap off, and thou wilt perish in the midst of thesea, [especially if] Amen uttereth his voice in the sky, [1] and heunfettereth Sutekh[2] at the moment when he rageth. Now Amen hathassumed the overlordship of all lands, and he hath made himself theirmaster, but first and foremost he is the overlord of Egypt, whence thouhast come. Excellent things have come forth from Egypt, and have reachedeven unto this place wherein I am; and moreover, knowledge (or learning)hath come forth therefrom, and hath reached even unto this placewherein I am. But of what use is this beggarly journey of thine whichthou hast been made to take?"

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ if there is thunder. ]

[Footnote 2: Here the Storm-god. ]

And I said unto him, "What a shameful thing [to say]! It is not abeggarly journey whereon I have been despatched by those among whom Ilive. And besides, assuredly there is not a single boat that floateththat doth not belong to Amen. To him belong the sea and the cedars ofLebanon, concerning which thou sayest, 'They are my property. ' InLebanon groweth [the wood] for the Boat Amen-userhat, the lord of boats. Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods, spake and told Her-Heru, my lord, to sendme forth; and therefore he caused me to set out on my journey togetherwith this great god. [1] Now behold, thou hast caused this great god topass nine and twenty days here in a boat that is lying at anchor in thyharbour, for most assuredly thou didst know that he was resting here. Amen is now what he hath always been, and yet thou wouldst dare to standup and haggle about the [cedars of] Lebanon with the god who is theirlord! And as concerning what thou hast spoken, saying, 'The kings ofEgypt in former times caused silver and gold to be brought [to my fatherand father's father, thou art mistaken]. ' Since they had bestowed uponthem life and health, they would never have caused gold and silver to bebrought to them; but they might have caused gold and silver to bebrought to thy fathers instead of life and health. And Amen-Rā, the Kingof the Gods, is the Lord of life and health. He was the god of thyfathers, and they served him all their lives, and made offerings untohim, and indeed thou thyself art a servant of Amen. If now thou wilt sayunto Amen, 'I will perform thy commands, I will perform thy commands, 'and wilt bring this business to a prosperous ending, thou shalt live, thou shalt be strong, thou shalt be healthy, and thou shalt rule thycountry to its uttermost limits wisely and well, and thou shalt do goodto thy people. But take good heed that thou lovest not the possessionsof Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods, for the lion loveth the things thatbelong unto him. And now, I pray thee to allow my scribe to be summonedto me, and I will send him to Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amen, the localgovernors whom Amen hath appointed to rule the northern portion of hisland, and they will send to me everything which I shall tell them tosend to me, saying, 'Let such and such a thing be brought, ' until suchtime as I can make the journey to the South (_i. E. _ to Egypt), when Iwill have thy miserable dross brought to thee, even to the uttermostportion thereof, in very truth. " That was what I said unto him. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ the figure of Amen already referred to. ]

And he gave my letter into the hand of his ambassador. And he loaded upon a ship wood for the fore part and wood for the hind part [of the Boatof Amen], and four other trunks of cedar trees which had been cut down, in all seven trunks, and he despatched them to Egypt. And his ambassadordeparted to Egypt, and he returned to me in Syria in the first month ofthe winter season (November-December). And Nessubanebtet and Thent-Amensent to me five vessels of gold, five vessels of silver, ten pieces ofbyssus, each sufficiently large to make a suit of raiment, five hundredrolls of fine papyrus, five hundred hides of oxen, five hundred ropes, twenty sacks of lentils, and thirty vessels full of dried fish. And formy personal use they sent to me five pieces of byssus, each sufficientlylarge to make a suit of raiment, a sack of lentils, and five vesselsfull of dried fish. Then the Governor was exceedingly glad and rejoicedgreatly, and he sent three hundred men and three hundred oxen [toLebanon] to cut down the cedar trees, and he appointed overseers todirect them. And they cut down the trees, the trunks of which lay thereduring the whole of the winter season. And when the third month of thesummer season had come, they dragged the tree trunks down to thesea-shore. And the Governor came out of his palace, and took up hisstand before the trunks, and he sent a message to me, saying, "Come. "Now as I was passing close by him, the shadow of his umbrella fell uponme, whereupon Pen-Amen, an officer of his bodyguard, placed himselfbetween him and me, saying, "The shadow of Pharaoh, life, strength, andhealth, be to him! thy Lord, falleth upon thee. "[1] And the Governorwas wroth with Pen-Amen, and he said, "Let him alone. " Therefore Iwalked close to him. 

[Footnote 1: Pen-Amen means to say that as the shadow of the Governorhad fallen upon the Egyptian, Unu-Amen was henceforth his servant. Theshadow of a man was supposed to carry with it some of the vital powerand authority of the man. ]

And the Governor answered and said unto me, "Behold, the orders [ofPharaoh] which my fathers carried out in times of old, I also havecarried out, notwithstanding the fact that thou hast not done for mewhat thy fathers were wont to do for me. However, look for thyself, andtake note that the last of the cedar trunks hath arrived, and here itlieth. Do now whatsoever thou pleaseth with them, and take steps to loadthem into ships, for assuredly they are given to thee as a gift. I begthee to pay no heed to the terror of the sea voyage, but if thoupersistest in contemplating [with fear] the sea voyage, thou must alsocontemplate [with fear] the terror of me [if thou tarriest here]. Certainly I have not treated thee as the envoys of Khā-em-Uast[1] weretreated here, for they were made to pass seventeen (or fifteen) years inthis country, and they died here. "[2]

[Footnote 1: Otherwise known as Rameses IX, a king of the twentiethdynasty. ]

[Footnote 2: _i. E. _ they were kept prisoners in Syria until theirdeath. ]

Then the Governor spake to the officer of his bodyguard, saying, "Layhands on him, and take him to see the tombs wherein they lie. " And Isaid unto him, "Far be it from me to look upon such [ill-omened] things!As concerning the messengers of Khā-em-Uast, the men whom he sent untothee as ambassadors were merely [officials] of his, and there was no godwith his ambassadors, and so thou sayest, 'Make haste to look upon thycolleagues. ' Behold, wouldst thou not have greater pleasure, andshouldst thou not [instead of saying such things] cause to be made astele whereon should be said by thee:

"Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods, sent to me Amen-ta-mat, his divineambassador, together with Unu-Amen, his human ambassador, in quest oftrunks of cedar wood for the Great and Holy Boat of Amen-Rā, the Kingof the Gods. And I cut down cedar trees, and I loaded them into ships. Iprovided the ships myself, and I manned them with my own sailors, and Imade them to arrive in Egypt that they might bespeak [from the god forme] ten thousand years of life, in addition to the span of life whichwas decreed for me. And this petition hath been granted. 

"[And wouldst thou not rather] that, after the lapse of time, whenanother ambassador came from the land of Egypt who understood thiswriting, he should utter thy name which should be on the stele, and praythat thou shouldst receive water in Amentet, even like the gods whosubsist?"

And he said unto me, "These words which thou hast spoken unto me are ofa certainty a great testimony. " And I said unto him, "Now, as concerningthe multitude of words which thou hast spoken unto me: As soon as Iarrive at the place where the First Prophet (_i. E. _ Her-Heru) of Amendwelleth, and he knoweth [how thou hast] performed the commands of theGod [Amen], he will cause to be conveyed to thee [a gift of] certainthings. " Then I walked down to the beach, to the place where the trunksof cedar had been lying, and I saw eleven ships [ready] to put out tosea; and they belonged to Tchakar-Bāl. [And the governor sent out anorder] saying, "Stop him, and do not let any ship with him on board[depart] to the land of Egypt. " Then I sat myself down and wept. And thescribe of the Governor came out to me, and said unto me, "What aileththee?" And I said unto him, "Consider the _kashu_ birds that fly toEgypt again and again! And consider how they flock to the cool waterbrooks! Until the coming of whom must I remain cast aside hither?Assuredly thou seest those who have come to prevent my departure asecond time. "

Then [the scribe] went away and told the Governor what I had said; andthe Governor shed tears because of the words that had been repeated tohim, for they were full of pain. And he caused the scribe to come out tome again, and he brought with him two skins [full] of wine and a goat. And he caused to be brought out to me Thentmut, an Egyptian singingwoman who lived in his house, and he said to her, "Sing to him, and letnot the cares of his business lay hold upon his heart. " And to me hesent a message, saying, "Eat and drink, and let not business lay holdupon thy heart. Thou shalt hear everything which I have to say unto theeto-morrow morning. "

And when the morning had come, he caused [the inhabitants of the town]to be assembled on the quay, and having stood up in their midst, he saidto the Tchakaru, "For what purpose have ye come hither?" And they saidunto him, "We have come hither seeking for the ships which have beenbroken and dashed to pieces, that is to say, the ships which thou didstdespatch to Egypt, with our unfortunate fellow-sailors in them. " And hesaid unto them, "I know not how to detain the ambassador of Amen in mycountry any longer. I beg of you to let me send him away, and then do yepursue him, and prevent him [from escaping]. " And he made me embark in aship, and sent me forth from the sea-coast, and the winds drove meashore to the land of Alasu (Cyprus?). And the people of the city cameforth to slay me, and I was dragged along in their midst to the placewhere their queen Hathaba lived; and I met her when she was coming forthfrom one house to go into another. Then I cried out in entreaty to her, and I said unto the people who were standing about her, "Surely theremust be among you someone who understandeth the language of Egypt. " Andone of them said, "I understand the speech [of Egypt]. " Then I said untohim, "Tell my Lady these words: I have heard it said far from here, evenin the city of [Thebes], the place where Amen dwelleth, that wrong isdone in every city, and that only in the land of Alasu (Cyprus?) isright done. And yet wrong is done here every day!" And she said, "Whatis it that thou really wishest to say?" I said unto her, "Now that theangry sea and the winds have cast me up on the land wherein thoudwellest, thou wilt surely not permit these men who have received me toslay me! Moreover, I am an ambassador of Amen. And consider carefully, for I am a man who will be searched for every day. And as for thesailors of Byblos whom they wish to kill, if their lord findeth ten ofthy sailors he will assuredly slay them. " Then she caused her people tobe called off me, and they were made to stand still, and she said untome, "Lie down and sleep.... " [The rest of the narrative is wanting]. 

 CHAPTER XI

 FAIRY TALES

One of the most interesting tales that have come down to us in Egyptiandress is the tale commonly called the "Tale of the Two Brothers. " It isfound written in the hieratic character upon a papyrus preserved in theBritish Museum (D'Orbiney, No. 10, 183), and the form which the story hasthere is that which was current under the nineteenth dynasty, about 1300B. C. The two principal male characters in the story, Anpu and Bata, wereoriginally gods, but in the hands of the Egyptian story-teller theybecame men, and their deeds were treated in such a way as to form aninteresting fairy story. It is beyond the scope of this little book totreat of the mythological ideas that underlie certain parts of thenarrative, and we therefore proceed to give a rendering of this verycurious and important "fairy tale. "

[Illustration: A Page of the Hieratic Text of the Tale of Two Brothers. ]

It is said that there were two brothers, [the children] of one motherand of one father; the name of the elder was Anpu, and Bata was the nameof the younger. Anpu had a house and a wife, and Bata lived with himlike a younger brother. It was Bata who made the clothes; he tended andherded his cattle in the fields, he ploughed the land, he did the hardwork during the time of harvest, and he kept the account of everythingthat related to the fields. And Bata was a most excellent farmer, andhis like there was not in the whole country-side; and behold, the powerof the God was in him. And very many days passed during which Anpu'syoung brother tended his flocks and herds daily, and he returned to hishouse each evening loaded with field produce of every kind. And when hehad returned from the fields, he set [food] before his elder brother, who sat with his wife drinking and eating, and then Bata went out to thebyre and [slept] with the cattle. On the following morning as soon as itwas day, Bata took bread-cakes newly baked, and set them before Anpu, who gave him food to take with him to the fields. Then Bata drove outhis cattle into the fields to feed, and [as] he walked behind them theysaid unto him, "The pasturage is good in such and such a place, " and helistened to their voices, and took them where they wished to go. Thusthe cattle in Bata's charge became exceedingly fine, and their calvesdoubled in number, and they multiplied exceedingly. And when it was theseason for ploughing Anpu said unto Bata, "Come, let us get our teamsready for ploughing the fields, and our implements, for the ground hathappeared, [1] and it is in the proper condition for the plough. Go to thefields and take the seed-corn with thee to-day, and at daybreakto-morrow we will do the ploughing"; this is what he said to him. AndBata did everything which Anpu had told him to do. The next morning, assoon as it was daylight, the two brothers went into the fields withtheir teams and their ploughs, and they ploughed the land, and they wereexceedingly happy as they ploughed, from the beginning of their work tothe very end thereof. 

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ the waters of the Inundation had subsided, leavingthe ground visible. ]

Now when the two brothers had been living in this way for a considerabletime, they were in the fields one day [ploughing], and Anpu said toBata, "Run back to the farm and fetch some [more] seed corn. " And Batadid so, and when he arrived there he found his brother's wife seateddressing her hair. And he said to her, "Get up and give me some seedcorn that I may hurry back to the fields, for Anpu ordered me not toloiter on the way. " Anpu's wife said to him, "Go thyself to the grainshed, and open the bin, and take out from it as much corn as thouwishest; I could fetch it for thee myself, only I am afraid that my hairwould fall down on the way. " Then the young man went to the bin, andfilled a very large jar full of grain, for it was his desire to carryoff a large quantity of seed corn, and he lifted up on his shoulders thepot, which was filled full of wheat and barley, and came out of the shedwith it. And Anpu's wife said to him, "How much grain hast thou on thyshoulders?" And Bata said to her, "Three measures of barley and twomeasures of wheat, in all five measures of grain; that is what I have onmy shoulders. " These were the words which he spake to her. And she saidto him, "How strong thou art! I have been observing thy vigorousness dayby day. " And her heart inclined to him, and she entreated him to staywith her, promising to give him beautiful apparel if he would do so. Then the young man became filled with fury like a panther of the southbecause of her words, and when she saw how angry he was she becameterribly afraid. And he said to her, "Verily thou art to me as mymother, and thy husband is as my father, and being my elder brother hehath provided me with the means of living. Thou hast said unto me whatought not to have been said, and I pray thee not to repeat it. On mypart I shall tell no man of it, and on thine thou must never declare thematter to man or woman. " Then Bata took up his load on his shoulders, and departed to the fields. And when he arrived at the place where hiselder brother was they continued their ploughing and laboured diligentlyat their work. 

And when the evening was come the elder brother returned to his house. And having loaded himself with the products of the fields, Bata drovehis flocks and herds back to the farm and put them in their enclosures. 

And behold, Anpu's wife was smitten with fear, because of the wordswhich she had spoken to Bata, and she took some grease and a piece oflinen, and she made herself to appear like a woman who had beenassaulted, and who had been violently beaten by her assailant, for shewished to say to her husband, "Thy young brother hath beaten me sorely. "And when Anpu returned in the evening according to his daily custom, andarrived at his house, he found his wife lying on the ground in thecondition of one who had been assaulted with violence. She did not[appear to] pour water over his hands according to custom, she did notlight a light before him; his house was in darkness, and she was lyingprostrate and sick. And her husband said unto her, "Who hath beentalking to thee?" And she said unto him, "No one hath been talking to meexcept thy young brother. When he came to fetch the seed corn he foundme sitting alone, and he spake words of love to me, and he told me totie up my hair. But I would not listen to him, and I said to him, 'Am Inot like thy mother? Is not thy elder brother like thy father?' Then hewas greatly afraid, and he beat me to prevent me from telling thee aboutthis matter. Now, if thou dost not kill him I shall kill myself, forsince I have complained to thee about his words, when he cometh back inthe evening what he will do [to me] is manifest. "

Then the elder brother became like a panther of the southern desert withwrath. And he seized his dagger, and sharpened it, and went and stoodbehind the stable door, so that he might slay Bata when he returned inthe evening and came to the byre to bring in his cattle. And when thesun was about to set Bata loaded himself with products of the field ofevery kind, according to his custom, [and returned to the farm]. And ashe was coming back the cow that led the herd said to Bata as she wasentering the byre, "Verily thy elder brother is waiting with his daggerto slay thee; flee thou from before him"; and Bata hearkened to thewords of the leading cow. And when the second cow as she was about toenter into the byre spake unto him even as did the first cow, Batalooked under the door of the byre, and saw the feet of his elder brotheras he stood behind the door with his dagger in his hand. Then he setdown his load upon the ground, and he ran away as fast as he could run, and Anpu followed him grasping his dagger. And Bata cried out toRā-Harmakhis (the Sun-god) and said, "O my fair Lord, thou art he whojudgeth between the wrong and the right. " And the god Rā hearkened untoall his words, and he caused a great stream to come into being, and toseparate the two brothers, and the water was filled with crocodiles. NowAnpu was on one side of the stream and Bata on the other, and Anpuwrung his hands together in bitter wrath because he could not kill hisbrother. Then Bata cried out to Anpu on the other bank, saying, "Staywhere thou art until daylight, and until the Disk (_i. E. _ the Sun-god)riseth. I will enter into judgment with thee in his presence, for it ishe who setteth right what is wrong. I shall never more live with thee, and I shall never again dwell in the place where thou art. I am going tothe Valley of the Acacia. "

And when the day dawned, and there was light on the earth, andRā-Harmakhis was shining, the two brothers looked at each other. AndBata spake unto Anpu, saying, "Why hast thou pursued me in thistreacherous way, wishing to slay me without first hearing what I had tosay? I am thy brother, younger than thou art, and thou art as a fatherand thy wife is as a mother to me. Is it not so? When thou didst send meto fetch seed corn for our work, it was thy wife who said, 'I pray theeto stay with me, ' but behold, the facts have been misrepresented tothee, and the reverse of what happened hath been put before thee. " ThenBata explained everything to Anpu, and made him to understand exactlywhat had taken place between him and his brother's wife. And Bata sworean oath by Rā-Harmakhis, saying, "By Rā-Harmakhis, to lie in wait for meand to pursue me, with thy knife in thy hand ready to slay me, was awicked and abominable thing to do. " And Bata took [from his side] theknife which he used in cutting reeds, and drove it into his body, and hesank down fainting upon the ground. Then Anpu cursed himself with bittercurses, and he lifted up his voice and wept; and he did not know how tocross over the stream to the bank where Bata was because of thecrocodiles. And Bata cried out to him, saying, "Behold, thou art readyto remember against me one bad deed of mine, but thou dost not remembermy good deeds, or even one of the many things that have been done forthee by me. Shame on thee! Get thee back to thy house and tend thine owncattle, for I will no longer stay with thee. I will depart to the Valleyof the Acacia. But thou shalt come to minister to me, therefore takeheed to what I say. Now know that certain things are about to happen tome. I am going to cast a spell on my heart, so that I may be able toplace it on a flower of the Acacia tree. When this Acacia is cut down myheart shall fall to the ground, and thou shalt come to seek for it. Thoushalt pass seven years in seeking for it, but let not thy heart be sickwith disappointment, for thou shalt find it. When thou findest it, placeit in a vessel of cold water, and verily my heart shall live again, andshall make answer to him that attacketh me. And thou shalt know whathath happened to me [by the following sign]. A vessel of beer shall beplaced in thy hand, and it shall froth and run over; and another vesselwith wine in it shall be placed [in thy hand], and it shall become sour. Then make no tarrying, for indeed these things shall happen to thee. " Sothe younger brother departed to the Valley of the Acacia, and the elderbrother departed to his house. And Anpu's hand was laid upon his head, and he cast dust upon himself [in grief for Bata], and when he arrivedat his house he slew his wife, and threw her to the dogs, and he satdown and mourned for his young brother. 

And when many days had passed, Bata was living alone in the Valley ofthe Acacia, and he spent his days in hunting the wild animals of thedesert; and at night he slept under the Acacia, on the top of theflowers of which rested his heart. And after many days he built himself, with his own hand, a large house in the Valley of the Acacia, and it wasfilled with beautiful things of every kind, for he delighted in thepossession of a house. And as he came forth [one day] from his house, hemet the Company of the Gods, and they were on their way to work outtheir plans in their realm. And one of them said unto him, "Hail, Bata, thou Bull of the gods, hast thou not been living here alone since thetime when thou didst forsake thy town through the wife of thy elderbrother Anpu? Behold, his wife hath been slain [by him], and moreoverthou hast made an adequate answer to the attack which he made uponthee"; and their hearts were very sore indeed for Bata. ThenRā-Harmakhis said unto Khnemu, [1] "Fashion a wife for Bata, so thatthou, O Bata, mayest not dwell alone. " And Khnemu made a wife to livewith Bata, and her body was more beautiful than the body of any otherwoman in the whole country, and the essence of every god was in her; andthe Seven Hathor Goddesses came to her, and they said, "She shall die bythe sword. " And Bata loved her most dearly, and she lived in his house, and he passed all his days in hunting the wild animals of the desert sothat he might bring them and lay them before her. And he said to her, "Go not out of the house lest the River carry thee off, for I know nothow to deliver thee from it. My heart is set upon the flower of theAcacia, and if any man find it I must do battle with him for it"; and hetold her everything that had happened concerning his heart. 

[Footnote 1: The god who fashioned the bodies of men. ]

And many days afterwards, when Bata had gone out hunting as usual, theyoung woman went out of the house and walked under the Acacia tree, which was close by, and the River saw her, and sent its waters rollingafter her; and she fled before them and ran away into her house. And theRiver said, "I love her, " and the Acacia took to the River a lock of herhair, and the River carried it to Egypt, and cast it up on the bank atthe place where the washermen washed the clothes of Pharaoh, life, strength, health [be to him]! And the odour of the lock of hair passedinto the clothing of Pharaoh. Then the washermen of Pharaoh quarrelledamong themselves, saying, "There is an odour [as of] perfumed oil in theclothes of Pharaoh. " And quarrels among them went on daily, and atlength they did not know what they were doing. And the overseer of thewashermen of Pharaoh walked to the river bank, being exceedingly angrybecause of the quarrels that came before him daily, and he stood stillon the spot that was exactly opposite to the lock of hair as it lay inthe water. Then he sent a certain man into the water to fetch it, andwhen he brought it back, the overseer, finding that it had anexceedingly sweet odour, took it to Pharaoh. And the scribes and themagicians were summoned into the presence of Pharaoh, and they said tohim, "This lock of hair belongeth to a maiden of Rā-Harmakhis, and theessence of every god is in her. It cometh to thee from a strange landas a salutation of praise to thee. We therefore pray thee sendambassadors into every land to seek her out. And as concerning theambassador to the Valley of the Acacia, we beg thee to send a strongescort with him to fetch her. " And His Majesty said unto them, "What wehave decided is very good, " and he despatched the ambassadors. 

And when many days had passed by, the ambassadors who had beendespatched to foreign lands returned to make a report to His Majesty, but those who had gone to the Valley of the Acacia did not come back, for Bata had slain them, with the exception of one who returned to tellthe matter to His Majesty. Then His Majesty despatched foot-soldiers andhorsemen and charioteers to bring back the young woman, and there wasalso with them a woman who had in her hands beautiful trinkets of allkinds, such as are suitable for maidens, to give to the young woman. Andthis woman returned to Egypt with the young woman, and everyone in allparts of the country rejoiced at her arrival. And His Majesty loved herexceedingly, and he paid her homage as the Great August One, the ChiefWife. And he spake to her and made her tell him what had become of herhusband, and she said to His Majesty, "I pray thee to cut down theAcacia Tree and then to destroy it. " Then the King caused men and bowmento set out with axes to cut down the Acacia, and when they arrived inthe Valley of the Acacia, they cut down the flower on which was theheart of Bata, and he fell down dead at that very moment of evil. 

And on the following morning when the light had come upon the earth, andthe Acacia had been cut down, Anpu, Bata's elder brother, went into hishouse and sat down, and he washed his hands; and one gave him a vesselof beer, and it frothed up, and the froth ran over, and one gave himanother vessel containing wine, and it was sour. Then he grasped hisstaff, and [taking] his sandals, and his apparel, and his weapons whichhe used in fighting and hunting, he set out to march to the Valley ofthe Acacia. And when he arrived there he went into Bata's house, and hefound his young brother there lying dead on his bed; and when he lookedupon his young brother he wept on seeing that he was dead. Then he setout to seek for the heart of Bata, under the Acacia where he was wont tosleep at night, and he passed three years in seeking for it but found itnot. And when the fourth year of his search had begun, his heart cravedto return to Egypt, and he said, "I will depart thither to-morrowmorning"; that was what he said to himself. And on the following day hewalked about under the Acacia all day long looking for Bata's heart, andas he was returning [to the house] in the evening, and was looking abouthim still searching for it, he found a seed, which he took back withhim, and behold, it was Bata's heart. Then he fetched a vessel of coldwater, and having placed the seed in it, he sat down according to hiscustom. And when the night came, the heart had absorbed all the water;and Bata [on his bed] trembled in all his members, and he looked atAnpu, whilst his heart remained in the vessel of water. And Anpu took upthe vessel wherein was his brother's heart, which had absorbed thewater. And Bata's heart ascended its throne [in his body], and Batabecame as he had been aforetime, and the two brothers embraced eachother, and each spake to the other. 

And Bata said to Anpu, "Behold, I am about to take the form of a greatbull, with beautiful hair, and a disposition (?) which is unknown. Whenthe sun riseth, do thou mount on my back, and we will go to the placewhere my wife is, and I will make answer [for myself]. Then shalt thoutake me to the place where the King is, for he will bestow great favoursupon thee, and he will heap gold and silver upon thee because thou wilthave brought me to him. For I am going to become a great and wonderfulthing, and men and women shall rejoice because of me throughout thecountry. " And on the following day Bata changed himself into the form ofwhich he had spoken to his brother. Then Anpu seated himself on his backearly in the morning, and when he had come to the place where the Kingwas, and His Majesty had been informed concerning him, he looked at him, and he had very great joy in him. And he made a great festival, saying, "This is a very great wonder which hath happened"; and the peoplerejoiced everywhere throughout the whole country. And Pharaoh loadedAnpu with silver and gold, and he dwelt in his native town, and the Kinggave him large numbers of slaves, and very many possessions, for Pharaohloved him very much, far more than any other person in the whole land. 

And when many days had passed by the bull went into the house ofpurification, and he stood up in the place where the August Lady was, and said unto her, "Look upon me, I am alive in very truth. " And shesaid unto him, "Who art thou?" And he said unto her, "I am Bata. Whenthou didst cause the Acacia which held my heart to be destroyed byPharaoh, well didst thou know that thou wouldst kill me. Nevertheless, Iam alive indeed, in the form of a bull. Look at me!" And the August Ladywas greatly afraid because of what she had said concerning her husband[to the King]; and the bull departed from the place of purification. AndHis Majesty went to tarry in her house and to rejoice with her, and sheate and drank with him; and the King was exceedingly happy. And theAugust Lady said to His Majesty, "Say these words: 'Whatsoever she saithI will hearken unto for her sake, ' and swear an oath by God that thouwilt do them. " And the King hearkened unto everything which she spake, saying, "I beseech thee to give me the liver of this bull to eat, for heis wholly useless for any kind of work. " And the King cursed many, manytimes the request which she had uttered, and Pharaoh's heart wasexceedingly sore thereat. 

On the following morning, when it was day, the King proclaimed a greatfeast, and he ordered the bull to be offered up as an offering, and oneof the chief royal slaughterers of His Majesty was brought to slay thebull. And after the knife had been driven into him, and whilst he wasstill on the shoulders of the men, the bull shook his neck, and twodrops of blood from it fell by the jambs of the doorway of His Majesty, one by one jamb of Pharaoh's door, and the other by the other, and theybecame immediately two mighty acacia trees, and each was of the greatestmagnificence. Then one went and reported to His Majesty, saying, "Twomighty acacia trees, whereat His Majesty will marvel exceedingly, havesprung up during the night by the Great Door of His Majesty. " And menand women rejoiced in them everywhere in the country, and the King madeofferings unto them. And many days after this His Majesty put on histiara of lapis-lazuli, and hung a wreath of flowers of every kind abouthis neck, and he mounted his chariot of silver-gold, and went forth fromthe Palace to see the two acacia trees. And the August Lady camefollowing after Pharaoh [in a chariot drawn by] horses, and His Majestysat down under one acacia, and the August Lady sat under the other. Andwhen she had seated herself the Acacia spake unto his wife, saying, "Owoman, who art full of guile, I am Bata, and I am alive even though thouhast entreated me evilly. Well didst thou know when thou didst makePharaoh to cut down the Acacia that held my heart that thou wouldst killme, and when I transformed myself into a bull thou didst cause me to beslain. "

And several days after this the August Lady was eating and drinking atthe table of His Majesty, and the King was enjoying her society greatly, and she said unto His Majesty, "Swear to me an oath by God, saying, Iwill hearken unto whatsoever the August Lady shall say unto me for hersake; let her say on. " And he hearkened unto everything which she said, and she said, "I entreat thee to cut down these two acacia trees, and tolet them be made into great beams"; and the King hearkened untoeverything which she said. And several days after this His Majesty madecunning wood-men to go and cut down the acacia trees of Pharaoh, andwhilst the August Lady was standing and watching their being cut down, asplinter flew from one of them into her mouth, and she knew that she hadconceived, and the King did for her everything which her heart desired. And many days after this happened she brought forth a man child, and onesaid to His Majesty, "A man child hath been born unto thee"; and a nursewas found for him and women to watch over him and tend him, and thepeople rejoiced throughout the whole land. And the King sat down toenjoy a feast, and he began to call the child by his name, and he lovedhim very dearly, and at that same time the King gave him the title of"Royal son of Kash. "[1] Some time after this His Majesty appointed him"Erpā"[2] of the whole country. And when he had served the office ofErpā for many years, His Majesty flew up to heaven (_i. E. _ he died). Andthe King (_i. E. _ Bata) said, "Let all the chief princes be summonedbefore me, so that I may inform them about everything which hathhappened unto me. " And they brought his wife, and he entered intojudgment with her, and the sentence which he passed upon her was carriedout. And Anpu, the brother of the King, was brought unto His Majesty, and the King made him Erpā of the whole country. When His Majesty hadreigned over Egypt for twenty years, he departed to life (_i. E. _ hedied), and his brother Anpu took his place on the day in which he wasburied. 

Here endeth the book happily [in] peace. [3]

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ Prince of Kash, or Viceroy of the Sūdān. ]

[Footnote 2: _i. E. _ hereditary chief, or heir. ]

[Footnote 3: According to the colophon, the papyrus was written for anofficer of Pharaoh's treasury, called Qakabu, and the scribes Herua andMeremaptu by Annana, the scribe, the lord of books. The man who shallspeak [against] this book shall have Thoth for a foe!]

Under the heading of this chapter may well be included the Story of theShipwrecked Traveller. The text of this remarkable story is written inthe hieratic character upon a roll of papyrus, which is preserved in theImperial Library at St. Petersburg. It is probable that a layer of factsunderlies the story, but the form in which we have it justifies us inassigning to it a place among the fairy stories of Ancient Egypt. Prefixed to the narrative of the shipwrecked traveller is the following:

"A certain servant of wise understanding hath said, Let thy heart be ofgood cheer, O prince. Verily we have arrived at [our] homes. The mallethath been grasped, and the anchor-post hath been driven into the ground, and the bow of the boat hath grounded on the bank. Thanksgivings havebeen offered up to God, and every man hath embraced his neighbour. Oursailors have returned in peace and safety, and our fighting men havelost none of their comrades, even though we travelled to the uttermostparts of Uauat (Nubia), and through the country of Senmut (NorthernNubia). Verily we have arrived in peace, and we have reached our ownland [again]. Hearken, O prince, unto me, even though I be a poor man. Wash thyself, and let water run over thy fingers. I would that thoushouldst be ready to return an answer to the man who addresseth thee, and to speak to the King [from] thy heart, and assuredly thou must givethine answer promptly and without hesitation. The mouth of a mandelivereth him, and his words provide a covering for [his] face. Actthou according to the promptings of thine heart, and when thou hastspoken [thou wilt have made him] to be at rest. " The shipwreckedtraveller then narrates his experiences in the following words: I willnow speak and give thee a description of the things that [once] happenedto me myself [when] I was journeying to the copper mines of the king. Iwent down into the sea[1] in a ship that was one hundred and fiftycubits (225 feet) in length, and forty cubits (60 feet) in breadth, andit was manned by one hundred and fifty sailors who were chosen fromamong the best sailors of Egypt. They had looked upon the sky, they hadlooked upon the land, and their hearts were more understanding than thehearts of lions. Now although they were able to say beforehand when atempest was coming, and could tell when a squall was going to risebefore it broke upon them, a storm actually overtook us when we werestill on the sea. Before we could make the land the wind blew withredoubled violence, and it drove before it upon us a wave that was eightcubits (12 feet) [high]. A plank was driven towards me by it, and Iseized it; and as for the ship, those who were therein perished, and notone of them escaped. 

[Footnote 1: The sea was the Red Sea, and the narrator must have been onhis way to Wādī Maghārah or Sarābīt al-Khādim in the Peninsula ofSinai. ]

Then a wave of the sea bore me along and cast me up upon an island, andI passed three days there by myself, with none but mine own heart for acompanion; I laid me down and slept in a hollow in a thicket, and Ihugged the shade. And I lifted up my legs (_i. E. _ I walked about), sothat I might find out what to put in my mouth, and I found there figsand grapes, and all kinds of fine large berries; and there were theregourds, and melons, and pumpkins as large as barrels (?), and there werealso there fish and water-fowl. There was no [food] of any sort or kindthat did not grow in this island. And when I had eaten all I could eat, I laid the remainder of the food upon the ground, for it was too muchfor me [to carry] in my arms. I then dug a hole in the ground and made afire, and I prepared pieces of wood and a burnt-offering for the gods. 

And I heard a sound [as of] thunder, which I thought to be [caused by] awave of the sea, and the trees rocked and the earth quaked, and Icovered my face. And I found [that the sound was caused by] a serpentthat was coming towards me. It was thirty cubits (45 feet) in length, and its beard was more than two cubits in length, and its body wascovered with [scales of] gold, and the two ridges over its eyes were ofpure lapis-lazuli (_i. E. _ they were blue); and it coiled its wholelength up before me. And it opened its mouth to me, now I was lying flaton my stomach in front of it, and it said unto me, "Who hath broughtthee hither? Who hath brought thee hither, O miserable one? Who hathbrought thee hither? If thou dost not immediately declare unto me whohath brought thee to this island, I will make thee to know what it is tobe burnt with fire, and thou wilt become a thing that is invisible. Thouspeakest to me, but I cannot hear what thou sayest; I am before thee, dost thou not know me?" Then the serpent took me in its mouth, andcarried me off to the place where it was wont to rest, and it set medown there, having done me no harm whatsoever; I was sound and whole, and it had not carried away any portion of my body. And it opened itsmouth to me whilst I was lying flat on my stomach, and it said unto me, "Who hath brought thee thither? Who hath brought thee hither, Omiserable one? Who hath brought thee to this island of the sea, the twosides of which are in the waves?"

Then I made answer to the serpent, my two hands being folded humblybefore it, and I said unto it, "I am one who was travelling to the mineson a mission of the king in a ship that was one hundred and fifty cubitslong, and fifty cubits in breadth, and it was manned by a crew of onehundred and fifty men, who were chosen from among the best sailors ofEgypt. They had looked upon the sky, they had looked upon the earth, andtheir hearts were more understanding than the hearts of lions. They wereable to say beforehand when a tempest was coming, and to tell when asquall was about to rise before it broke. The heart of every man amongthem was wiser than that of his neighbour, and the arm of each wasstronger than that of his neighbour; there was not one weak man amongthem. Nevertheless it blew a gale of wind whilst we were still on thesea and before we could make the land. A gale rose, which continued toincrease in violence, and with it there came upon [us] a wave eightcubits [high]. A plank of wood was driven towards me by this wave, and Iseized it; and as for the ship, those who were therein perished and notone of them escaped alive [except] myself. And now behold me by thyside! It was a wave of the sea that brought me to this island. "

And the serpent said unto me, "Have no fear, have no fear, O little one, and let not thy face be sad, now that thou hast arrived at the placewhere I am. Verily, God hath spared thy life, and thou hast been broughtto this island where there is food. There is no kind of food that is nothere, and it is filled with good things of every kind. Verily, thoushalt pass month after month on this island, until thou hast come to theend of four months, and then a ship shall come, and there shall betherein sailors who are acquaintances of thine, and thou shalt go withthem to thy country, and thou shalt die in thy native town. " [And theserpent continued, ] "What a joyful thing it is for the man who hathexperienced evil fortunes, and hath passed safely through them, todeclare them! I will now describe unto thee some of the things that havehappened unto me on this island. I used to live here with my brethren, and with my children who dwelt among them; now my children and mybrethren together numbered seventy-five. I do not make mention of alittle maiden who had been brought to me by fate. And a star fell [fromheaven], and these (_i. E. _ his children, and his brethren, and themaiden) came into the fire which fell with it. I myself was not withthose who were burnt in the fire, and I was not in their midst, but I[well-nigh] died [of grief] for them. And I found a place wherein Iburied them all together. Now, if thou art strong, and thy heartflourisheth, thou shalt fill both thy arms (_i. E. _ embrace) with thychildren, and thou shalt kiss thy wife, and thou shalt see thine ownhouse, which is the most beautiful thing of all, and thou shalt reachthy country, and thou shalt live therein again together with thybrethren, and dwell therein. "

Then I cast myself down flat upon my stomach, and I pressed the groundbefore the serpent with my forehead, saying, "I will describe thy powerto the King, and I will make him to understand thy greatness. I willcause to be brought unto thee the unguent and spices called _aba_, and_hekenu_, and _inteneb_, and _khasait_, and the incense that is offeredup in the temples, whereby every god is propitiated. I will relate [untohim] the things that have happened unto me, and declare the things thathave been seen by me through thy power, and praise and thanksgivingshall be made unto thee in my city in the presence of all the nobles ofthe country. I will slaughter bulls for thee, and will offer them up asburnt-offerings, and I will pluck feathered fowl in thine [honour]. AndI will cause to come to thee boats laden with all the most costlyproducts of the land of Egypt, even according to what is done for a godwho is beloved by men and women in a land far away, whom they know not. "Then the serpent smiled at me, and the things which I had said to itwere regarded by it in its heart as nonsense, for it said unto me, "Thouhast not a very great store of myrrh [in Egypt], and all that thou hastis incense. Behold, I am the Prince of Punt, and the myrrh which istherein belongeth to me. And as for the _heken_ which thou hast saidthou wilt cause to be brought to me, is it not one of the chief[products] of this island? And behold, it shall come to pass that whenthou hast once departed from this place, thou shalt never more see thisisland, for it shall disappear into the waves. "

And in due course, even as the serpent had predicted, a ship arrived, and I climbed up to the top of a high tree, and I recognised those whowere in it. Then I went to announce the matter to the serpent, but Ifound that it had knowledge thereof already. And the serpent said untome, "A safe [journey], a safe [journey], O little one, to thy house. Thou shalt see thy children [again]. I beseech thee that my name may beheld in fair repute in thy city, for verily this is the thing which Idesire of thee. " Then I threw myself flat upon my stomach, and my twohands were folded humbly before the serpent. And the serpent gave me a[ship-] load of things, namely, myrrh, _heken, inteneb, khasait, thsheps_ and _shaas_ spices, eye-paint (antimony), skins of panthers, great balls of incense, tusks of elephants, greyhounds, apes, monkeys, and beautiful and costly products of all sorts and kinds. And when I hadloaded these things into the ship, and had thrown myself flat upon mystomach in order to give thanks unto it for the same, it spake unto me, saying, "Verily thou shalt travel to [thy] country in two months, andthou shalt fill both thy arms with thy children, and thou shalt renewthy youth in thy coffin. " Then I went down to the place on the sea-shorewhere the ship was, and I hailed the bowmen who were in the ship, and Ispake words of thanksgiving to the lord of this island, and those whowere in the ship did the same. Then we set sail, and we journeyed on andreturned to the country of the King, and we arrived there at the end oftwo months, according to all that the serpent had said. And I enteredinto the presence of the King, and I took with me for him the offeringswhich I had brought out of the island. And the King praised me andthanked me in the presence of the nobles of all his country, and heappointed me to be one of his bodyguard, and I received my wages alongwith those who were his [regular] servants. 

Cast thou thy glance then upon me [O Prince], now that I have set myfeet on my native land once more, having seen and experienced what Ihave seen and experienced. Hearken thou unto me, for verily it is agood thing to hearken unto men. And the Prince said unto me, "Make notthyself out to be perfect, my friend! Doth a man give water to a fowl atdaybreak which he is going to kill during the day?"

Here endeth [The Story of the Shipwrecked Traveller], which hath beenwritten from the beginning to the end thereof according to the text thathath been found written in an [ancient] book. It hath been written(_i. E. _ copied) by Ameni-Amen-āa, a scribe with skilful fingers. Life, strength, and health be to him!

 CHAPTER XII

 EGYPTIAN HYMNS TO THE GODS

In this chapter are given translations of Hymns that were sung in thetemples in honour of the great gods of Egypt between 1600 B. C. And 900B. C. , and of Hymns that were used by kings and private individuals. Thefollowing Hymn to Amen-Rā is found in a papyrus preserved in theEgyptian Museum in Cairo; the asterisk marks groups of words which areequivalent to our lines in poetical compositions. 

I. A Hymn to Amen-Rā, * the Bull, dweller in Anu, chief of all the gods, *the beneficent god, beloved one, * giving the warmth of life to all*beautiful cattle. *

II. Homage to thee, Amen-Rā, Lord of the throne of Egypt. * Master of theApts (Karnak). * Kamutef at the head of his fields. * The long-strider, Master of the Land of the South. * Lord of the Matchau (Nubians), Governor of Punt, * King of heaven, first-born son of earth, * Lord ofthings that are, stablisher of things (_i. E. _ the universe), stablisherof all things. *

III. One in his actions, as with the gods, * Beneficent Bull of theCompany of the Gods (or of the Nine Gods), * Chief of all the gods, * Lordof Truth, father of the gods, * maker of men, creator of all animals, *Lord of things that are, creator of the staff of life, * Maker of theherbage that sustaineth the life of cattle. *

IV. Power made by Ptah, * Beautiful child of love. * The gods ascribepraises to him. * Maker of things celestial [and] of things terrestrial, he illumineth Egypt, * Traverser of the celestial heights in peace. * Kingof the South, King of the North, Rā, whose word is truth, Chief ofEgypt. * Mighty in power, lord of awe-inspiring terror, * Chief, creatorof everything on earth, * Whose dispensations are greater than those ofevery other god. *

V. The gods rejoice in his beautiful acts. * They acclaim him in theGreat House (_i. E. _ the sky). * They crown him with crowns in the Houseof Fire. * They love the odour of him, * when he cometh from Punt. *[1]Prince of the dew, he traverseth the lands of the Nubians. * Beautiful offace, [he] cometh from the Land of the God. *[2]

[Footnote 1: The Southern and Eastern Sūdān. ]

[Footnote 2: Somaliland and Southern Arabia. ]

VI. The gods fall down awestruck at his feet, * when they recognise HisMajesty their Lord. * Lord of terror, great one of victory, * Great one ofSouls, mighty one of crowns. * He maketh offerings abundant, [and]createth food. * Praise be unto thee, creator of the gods. * Suspender ofthe sky, who hammered out the earth. *

VII. Strong Watcher, Menu-Amen, * Lord of eternity, creator ofeverlastingness, * Lord of praises, chief of the Apts (Karnak and Luxor), firm of horns, beautiful of faces. *

VIII. Lord of the Urrt Crown, with lofty plumes, * Whose diadem isbeautiful, whose White Crown is high. * Mehen and the Uatchti serpentsbelong to his face. * His apparel (?) is in the Great House, * the doublecrown, the _nemes_ bandlet, and the helmet. * Beautiful of face, hereceiveth the Atef crown. * Beloved of the South and North. * Master ofthe double crown he receiveth the _ames_ sceptre. * He is the Lord of theMekes sceptre and the whip. *

IX. Beautiful Governor, crowned with the White Crown, * Lord of light, creator of splendour, * The gods ascribe to him praises. * He giveth hishand to him that loveth him. * The flame destroyeth his enemies. * His eyeoverthroweth the Seba devil. * It casteth forth its spear, which pierceththe sky, and maketh Nak to vomit (?) what it hath swallowed. *

X. Homage to thee, Rā, Lord of Truth. * Hidden is the shrine of the Lordof the gods. * Khepera in his boat* giveth the order, and the gods comeinto being. * [He is] Tem, maker of the Rekhit beings, * however many betheir forms he maketh them to live, * distinguishing one kind fromanother. *

XI. He heareth the cry of him that is oppressed. * He is gracious ofheart to him that appealeth to him. * He delivereth the timid man fromthe man of violence. * He regardeth the poor man and considereth [his]misery. *

XII. He is the lord Sa (_i. E. _ Taste); abundance is his utterance. * TheNile cometh at his will. * He is the lord of graciousness, who is greatlybeloved. * He cometh and sustaineth mankind. * He setteth in motioneverything that is made. * He worketh in the Celestial Water, * making tobe the pleasantness of the light. * The gods rejoice in [his] beauties, *and their hearts live when they see him. *

XIII. He is Rā who is worshipped in the Apts. * He is the one of manycrowns in the House of the Benben[1] Stone. * He is the god Ani, the lordof the ninth-day festival. * The festival of the sixth day and the Tenatfestival are kept for him. * He is KING, life, strength, and health be tohim! and the Lord of all the gods. * He maketh himself to be seen in thehorizon, * Chief of the beings of the Other World. * His name is hiddenfrom the gods who are his children, * in his name of "Amen. "*[2]

[Footnote 1: The Benben was the abode of the Spirit of Rā at times. ]

[Footnote 2: _Amen_ means "hidden. "]

XIV. Homage to thee, dweller in peace. Lord of joy of heart, mighty oneof crowns, * lord of the Urrt Crown with the lofty plumes, * with abeautiful tiara and a lofty White Crown. * The gods love to behold thee. *The double crown is stablished on thy head. * Thy love passeth throughoutEgypt. * Thou sendest out light, thou risest with [thy] two beautifuleyes. * The Pāt beings [faint] when thou appearest in the sky, * animalsbecome helpless under thy rays. * Thy loveliness is in the southern sky, *thy graciousness is in the northern sky. * Thy beauties seize uponhearts, * thy loveliness maketh the arms weak, * thy beautiful operationsmake the hands idle, * hearts become weak at the sight of thee. *

XV. [He is] the Form One, the creator of everything that is. * The Oneonly, the creator of things that shall be. * Men and women proceeded fromhis two eyes. His utterance became the gods. * He is the creator of thepasturage wherein herds and flocks live, * [and] the staff of life formankind. * He maketh to live the fish in the river, * and the geese andthe feathered fowl of the sky. * He giveth air to the creature that is inthe egg. He nourisheth the geese in their pens. * He maketh to live thewater-fowl, * and the reptiles and every insect that flieth. * Heprovideth food for the mice in their holes, * he nourisheth the flyingcreatures on every bough. *

XVI. Homage to thee, O creator of every one of these creatures, * the Oneonly whose hands are many. * He watcheth over all those who lie down tosleep, * he seeketh the well-being of his animal creation, * Amen, establisher of every thing, * Temu-Herukhuti. * They all praise thee withtheir words, * adorations be to thee because thou restest among us, * wesmell the earth before thee because thou hast fashioned us. *

XVII. All the animals cry out, "Homage to thee. "* Every country adoreththee, * to the height of heaven, to the breadth of the earth, * to thedepths of the Great Green Sea. * The gods bend their backs in homage tothy Majesty, * to exalt the Souls of their Creator, * they rejoice whenthey meet their begetter. * They say unto thee, "Welcome, O father of thefathers of all the gods, * suspender of the sky, beater out of theearth, * maker of things that are, creator of things that shall be, *KING, life, strength, and health be to thee! Chief of the gods, wepraise thy Souls, * inasmuch as thou hast created us. Thou workest for usthy children, * we adore thee because thou restest among us. "*

XVIII. Homage to thee, O maker of everything that is. * Lord of Truth, father of the gods, * maker of men, creator of animals, * lord of thedivine grain, making to live the wild animals of the mountains. * Amen, Bull, Beautiful Face, * Beloved one in the Apts, * great one of diadems inthe House of the Benben Stone, * binding on the tiara in Anu (On), *judge of the Two Men (_i. E. _ Horus and Set) in the Great Hall. *

XIX. Chief of the Great Company of the gods, * One only, who hath nosecond, * President of the Apts, * Ani, President of his Company of thegods, * living by Truth every day, * Khuti, Horus of the East. * He hathcreated the mountains, the gold* [and] the real lapis-lazuli by hiswill, * the incense and the natron that are mixed by the Nubians, * andfresh myrrh for thy nostrils. * Beautiful Face, coming from the Nubians, *Amen-Rā, lord of the throne of Egypt, * President of the Apts, * Ani, President of his palace. *

XX. King, One among the gods. * [His] names are so many, how many cannotbe known. * He riseth in the eastern horizon, he setteth in the westernhorizon. *

XXI. He overthroweth his enemies at dawn, when he is born each day. *Thoth exalteth his two eyes. * When he setteth in his splendour the godsrejoice in his beauties, * and the Apes _(i. E. _ dawn spirits) exalt him. *Lord of the Sektet Boat and of the Āntet Boat, * they transport thee[over] Nu in peace. * Thy sailors rejoice* when they see theeoverthrowing the Seba fiend, * [and] stabbing his limbs with the knife. *The flame devoureth him, his soul is torn out of his body, * the feet (?)of this serpent Nak are carried off. *

XXII. The gods rejoice, the sailors of Rā are satisfied. * Anurejoiceth, * the enemies of Temu are overthrown. * The Apts are in peace. *The heart of the goddess Nebt-ānkh is happy, * [for] the enemies of herLord are overthrown. * The gods of Kher-āha make adorations [to him]. *Those who are in their hidden shrines smell the earth before him, * whenthey see him mighty in his power. *

XXIII. [O] Power of the gods, * [lord of] Truth, lord of the Apts, * inthy name of "Maker of Truth. "* Lord of food, bull of offerings, * in thyname of "Amen-Ka-mutef, "* Maker of human beings, * maker to be of ... , creator of everything that is* in thy name of "Temu Khepera. "*

XXIV. Great Hawk, making the body festal. * Beautiful Face, making thebreast festal, * Image ... With the lofty Mehen crown. * The twoserpent-goddesses fly before him. * The hearts of the Pāt beings leaptowards him. * The Hememet beings turn to him. * Egypt rejoiceth at hisappearances. * Homage to thee, Amen-Rā, Lord of the throne of Egypt. * Histown [Thebes] loveth him when he riseth. * HERE ENDETH * [THE HYMN] IN PEACE, * ACCORDING TO AN ANCIENT COPY. *

The following extract is taken from a work in which the power and gloryof Amen are described in a long series of Chapters; the papyrus in whichit is written is in Leyden. 

"[He, _i. E. _ Amen], driveth away evils and scattereth diseases. He isthe physician who healeth the eye without [the use of] medicaments. Heopeneth the eyes, he driveth away inflammation (?)... He delivereth whomhe pleaseth, even from the Tuat (the Other World). He saveth a man fromwhat is ordained for him at the dictates of his heart. To him belongboth eyes and ears, [he is] on every path of him whom he loveth. Heheareth the petitions of him that appealeth to him. He cometh from afarto him that calleth [before] a moment hath passed. He maketh high(_i. E. _ long) the life [of a man], he cutteth it short. To him whom heloveth he giveth more than hath been fated for him. [When] Amen castetha spell on the water, and his name is on the waters, if this name of hisbe uttered the crocodile (?) hath no power. The winds are driven back, the hurricane is repulsed. At the remembrance of him the wrath of theangry man dieth down. He speaketh the gentle word at the moment ofstrife. He is a pleasant breeze to him that appealeth to him. Hedelivereth the helpless one. He is the wise (?) god whose plans arebeneficent.... He is more helpful than millions to the man who hath sethim in his heart. One warrior [who fighteth] under his name is betterthan hundreds of thousands. Indeed he is the beneficent strong one. Heis perfect [and] seizeth his moment; he is irresistible.... All the godsare three, Amen, Rā and Ptah, and there are none like unto them. Hewhose name is hidden is Amen. Rā belongeth to him as his face, and hisbody is Ptah. Their cities are established upon the earth for ever, [namely, ] Thebes, Anu (Heliopolis), and Hetkaptah (Memphis). When amessage is sent from heaven it is heard in Anu, and is repeated inMemphis to the Beautiful Face (_i. E. _ Ptah). It is done into writing, inthe letters of Thoth (_i. E. _ hieroglyphs), and despatched to the City ofAmen (_i. E. _ Thebes), with their things. The matters are answered inThebes.... His heart is Understanding, his lips are Taste, his Ka is allthe things that are in his mouth. He entereth, the two caverns arebeneath his feet. The Nile appeareth from the hollow beneath hissandals. His soul is Shu, his heart is Tefnut. He is Heru-Khuti in theupper heaven. His right eye is day. His left eye is night. He is theleader of faces on every path. His body is Nu. The dweller in it is theNile, producing everything that is, nourishing all that is. He breathethbreath into all nostrils. The Luck and the Destiny of every man are withhim. His wife is the earth, he uniteth with her, his seed is the tree oflife, his emanations are the grain. "

 HYMNS TO THE SUN-GOD

The following extracts from Hymns to the Sun-god and Osiris are writtenin the hieratic character upon slices of limestone now preserved in theEgyptian Museum in Cairo. 

"Well dost thou watch, O Horus, who sailest over the sky, thou child whoproceedest from the divine father, thou child of fire, who shinest likecrystal, who destroyest the darkness and the night. Thou child whogrowest rapidly, with gracious form, who restest in thine eye. Thouwakest up men who are asleep on their beds, and the reptiles in theirnests. Thy boat saileth on the fiery Lake Neserser, and thou traversestthe upper sky by means of the winds thereof. The two daughters of theNile-god crush for thee the fiend Neka, Nubti (_i. E. _ Set) pierceth himwith his arrows. Keb seizeth (?) him by the joint of his back, Serqetgrippeth him at his throat. The flame of this serpent that is over thedoor of thy house burneth him up. The Great Company of the Gods arewroth with him, and they rejoice because he is cut to pieces. TheChildren of Horus grasp their knives, and inflict very many gashes inhim. Hail! Thine enemy hath fallen, and Truth standeth firm before thee. When thou again transformest thyself into Tem, thou givest thy hand tothe Lords of Akert (_i. E. _ the dead), those who lie in death give thanksfor thy beauties when thy light falleth upon them. They declare untothee what is their hearts' wish, which is that they may see thee again. When thou hast passed them by, the darkness covereth them, each one inhis coffin. Thou art the lord of those who cry out (?) to thee, the godwho is beneficent for ever. Thou art the Judge of words and deeds, theChief of chief judges, who stablishest truth, and doest away sin. May hewho attacketh me be judged rightly, behold, he is stronger than I am; hehath seized upon my office, and hath carried it off with falsehood. Mayit be restored to me. "

 HYMN TO OSIRIS

"[Praise be] unto thee, O thou who extendest thine arms, who liestasleep on thy side, who liest on the sand, the Lord of the earth, thedivine mummy.... Thou art the Child of the Earth Serpent, of great age. Thy head ... And goeth round over thy feet. Rā-Khepera shineth upon thybody, when thou liest on thy bed in the form of Seker, so that he maydrive away the darkness that shroudeth thee, and may infuse light in thytwo eyes. He passeth a long period of time shining upon thee, andsheddeth tears over thee. The earth resteth upon thy shoulders, and itscorners rest upon thee as far as the four pillars of heaven. If thoumovest thyself, the earth quaketh, for thou art greater than.... [TheNile] appeareth out of the sweat of thy two hands. Thou breathest forththe air that is in thy throat into the nostrils of men; divine is thatthing whereon they live. Through thy nostrils (?) subsist the flowers, the herbage, the reeds, the flags (?), the barley, the wheat, and theplants whereon men live. If canals are dug ... And houses and templesare built, and great statues are dragged along, and lands are ploughedup, and tombs and funerary monuments are made, they [all] rest uponthee. It is thou who makest them. They are upon thy back. They are morethan can be done into writing (_i. E. _ described). There is no vacantspace on thy back, they all lie on thy back, and yet [thou sayest] not, "I am [over] weighted therewith. Thou art the father and mother of menand women, they live by thy breath, they eat the flesh of thy members. 'Pautti' (_i. E. _ Primeval God) is thy name. " The writer of this hymnsays in the four broken lines that remain that he is unable tounderstand the nature (?) of Osiris, which is hidden (?), and hisattributes, which are sublime. 

 HYMN TO SHU

The following Hymn is found in the Magical Papyrus (Harris, No. 501), which is preserved in the British Museum. The text is written in thehieratic character, and reads:

"Homage to thee, O flesh and bone of Rā, thou first-born son who didstproceed from his members, who wast chosen to be the chief of those whowere brought forth, thou mighty one, thou divine form, who art endowedwith strength as the lord of transformations. Thou overthrowest the Sebafiends each day. The divine boat hath the wind [behind it], thy heart isglad. Those who are in the Āntti Boat utter loud cries of joy when theysee Shu, the son of Rā, triumphant, [and] driving his spear into theserpent fiend Nekau. Rā setteth out to sail over the heavens at dawndaily. The goddess Tefnut is seated on thy head, she hurleth her flamesof fire against thy enemies, and maketh them to be destroyed utterly. Thou art equipped by Rā, thou art mighty through his words of power, thou art the heir of thy father upon his throne, and thy Doubles rest inthe Doubles of Rā, even as the taste of what hath been in the mouthremaineth therein. A will hath been done into writing by the lord ofKhemenu (Thoth), the scribe of the library of Rā-Harmakhis, in the hallof the divine house (or temple) of Anu (Heliopolis), stablished, perfected, and made permanent in hieroglyphs under the feet ofRā-Harmakhis, and he shall transmit it to the son of his son for everand ever. Homage to thee, O son of Rā, who wast begotten by Temuhimself. Thou didst create thyself, and thou hadst no mother. Thou artTruth, the lord of Truth, thou art the Power, the ruling power of thegods. Thou dost conduct the Eye of thy father Rā. They give gifts untothee into thine own hands. Thou makest to be at peace the Great Goddess, when storms are passing over her. Thou dost stretch out the heavens onhigh, and dost establish them with thine own hands. Every god boweth inhomage before thee, the King of the South, the King of the North, Shu, the son of RĀ, life, strength and health be to thee! Thou, O great godPautti, art furnished with the brilliance of the Eye [of Rā] inHeliopolis, to overthrow the Seba fiends on behalf of thy father. Thoumakest the divine Boat to sail onwards in peace. The mariners who aretherein exult, and all the gods shout for joy when they hear thy divinename. Greater, yea greater (_i. E. _ twice great) art thou than the godsin thy name of Shu, son of Rā. "

 CHAPTER XIII

 MORAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE

Side by side with the great mass of literature of a magical andreligious character that flourished in Egypt under the Ancient Empire, we find that there existed also a class of writings that are remarkablylike those contained in the Book of Proverbs, which is attributed toSolomon, the King of Israel, and in "Ecclesiasticus, " and the "Book ofWisdom. " The priests of Egypt took the greatest trouble to compose Booksof the Dead and Guides to the Other World in order to help the souls ofthe dead to traverse in safety the region that lay between this worldand the next, or Dead Land, and the high officials who flourished underthe Pharaohs of the early dynasties drew up works, the object of whichwas to enable the living man to conduct himself in such a way as tosatisfy his social superiors, to please his equals, and to content hisinferiors, and at the same time to advance to honours and wealthhimself. These works represent the experience, and shrewdness, andknowledge which their writers had gained at the Court of the Pharaohs, and are full of sound worldly wisdom and high moral excellence. Theywere written to teach young men of the royal and aristocratic classes tofear God, to honour the king, to do their duty efficiently, to leadstrictly moral, if not exactly religious, lives, to treat every man withthe respect due to his position in life, to cultivate home life, and todo their duty to their neighbours, both to those who were rich and thosewho were poor. The oldest Egyptian book of Moral Precepts, or Maxims, orAdmonitions, is that of Ptah-hetep, governor of the town of Memphis, andhigh confidential adviser of the king; he flourished in the reign ofAssa, a king of the fifth dynasty, about 3500 B. C. His work is found, more or less complete, in several papyri, which are preserved in theBritish Museum and in the National Library in Paris, and extracts fromit, which were used by Egyptian pupils in the schools attached to thetemples, and which are written upon slices of limestone, are to be seenin the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and elsewhere. The oldest copy of thework contains many mistakes, and in some places the text isunintelligible, but many parts of it can be translated, and thefollowing extracts will illustrate the piety and moral worth, and thesagacity and experience of the shrewd but kindly "man of the world" whoundertook to guide the young prince of his day. The sage begins his workwith a lament about the evil effects that follow old age in a man--

"Depression seizeth upon him every day, his eyesight faileth, his earsbecome deaf, his strength declineth, his heart hath no rest, the mouthbecometh silent and speaketh not, the intelligence diminisheth, and itis impossible to remember to-day what happened yesterday. The bones arefull of pain, the pursuit that was formerly attended with pleasure isnow fraught with pain, and the sense of taste departeth. Old age is theworst of all the miseries that can befall a man. The nose becomethstopped up and one cannot smell at all. " At this point Ptah-hetep asks, rhetorically, "Who will give me authority to speak? Who is it that willauthorise me to repeat to the prince the Precepts of those who hadknowledge of the wise counsels of the learned men of old? "In answer tothese questions the king replies to Ptah-hetep, "Instruct thou my son inthe words of wisdom of olden time. It is instruction of this kind alonethat formeth the character of the sons of noblemen, and the youth whohearkeneth to such instruction will acquire a right understanding andthe faculty of judging justly, and he will not feel weary of hisduties. " Immediately following these words come the "Precepts ofbeautiful speech" of Ptah-hetep, whose full titles are given, viz. TheErpā, the Duke, the father of the god _(i. E. _ the king), the friend ofGod, the son of the king. Governor of Memphis, confidential servant ofthe king. These Precepts instruct the ignorant, and teach them tounderstand fine speech; among them are the following:

"Be not haughty because of thy knowledge. Converse with the ignorant manas well as with him that is educated. 

"Do not terrify the people, for if thou dost, God will punish thee. Ifany man saith that he is going to live by these means, God will make hismouth empty of food. If a man saith that he is going to make himselfpowerful (or rich) thereby, saying, 'I shall reap advantage, havingknowledge, ' and if he saith, 'I will beat down the other man, ' he willarrive at the result of being able to do nothing. Let no man terrify thepeople, for the command of God is that they shall enjoy rest. 

"If thou art one of a company seated to eat in the house of a man who isgreater than thyself, take what he giveth thee [without remark]. Set itbefore thee. Look at what is before thee, but not too closely, and donot look at it too often. The man who rejecteth it is an ill-manneredperson. Do not speak to interrupt when he is speaking, for one knowethnot when he may disapprove. Speak when he addresseth thee, and then thywords shall be acceptable. When a man hath wealth he ordereth hisactions according to his own dictates. He doeth what he willeth.... Thegreat man can effect by the mere lifting up of his hand what a [poor]man cannot. Since the eating of bread is according to the dispensationof God, a man cannot object thereto. 

"If thou art a man whose duty it is to enter into the presence of anobleman with a message from another nobleman, take care to saycorrectly and in the correct way what thou art sent to say; give themessage exactly as he said it. Take great care not to spoil it indelivery and so to set one nobleman against another. He who wresteth thetruth in transmitting the message, and only repeateth it in words thatgive pleasure to all men, gentleman or common man, is an abominableperson. 

"If thou art a farmer, till the field which the great God hath giventhee. Eat not too much when thou art near thy neighbours.... Thechildren of the man who, being a man of substance, seizeth [prey] likethe crocodile in the presence of the field labourers, are cursed becauseof his behaviour, his father suffereth poignant grief, and as for themother who bore him, every other woman is happier than she. A man who isthe leader of a clan (or tribe) that trusteth him and followeth himbecometh a god. 

"If thou dost humble thyself and dost obey a wise man, thy behaviourwill be held to be good before God. Since thou knowest who are to serve, and who are to command, let not thy heart magnify itself against thelatter. Since thou knowest who hath the power, hold in fear him thathath it.... 

"Be diligent at all times. Do more than is commanded. Waste not the timewherein thou canst labour; he is an abominable man who maketh a bad useof his time. Lose no chance day by day in adding to the riches of thyhouse. Work produceth wealth, and wealth endureth not when work isabandoned. 

"If thou art a wise man, beget a son who shall be pleasing unto God. 

"If thou art a wise man, be master of thy house. Love thy wifeabsolutely, give her food in abundance, and raiment for her back; theseare the medicines for her body. Anoint her with unguents, and make herhappy as long as thou livest. She is thy field, and she reflectethcredit on her possessor. Be not harsh in thy house, for she will be moreeasily moved by persuasion than by violence. Satisfy her wish, observewhat she expecteth, and take note of that whereon she hath fixed hergaze. This is the treatment that will keep her in her house; if thourepel her advances, it is ruin for thee. Embrace her, call her by fondnames, and treat her lovingly. 

"Treat thy dependants as well as thou art able, for this is the duty ofthose whom God hath blessed. 

"If thou art a wise man, and if thou hast a seat in the council chamberof thy lord, concentrate thy mind on the business [so as to arrive at] awise decision. Keep silence, for this is better than to talk overmuch. When thou speakest thou must know what can be urged against thy words. To speak in the council chamber [needeth] skill and experience. 

"If thou hast become a great man having once been a poor man, and hastattained to the headship of the city, study not to take the fullestadvantage of thy situation. Be not harsh in respect of the grain, forthou art only an overseer of the food of God. 

"Think much, but keep thy mouth closed; if thou dost not how canst thouconsult with the nobles? Let thy opinion coincide with that of thy lord. Do what he saith, and then he shall say of thee to those who arelistening, 'This is my son. '"

The above and all the other Precepts of Ptah-hetep were drawn up for theguidance of highly-placed young men, and have little to do withpractical, every-day morality. But whilst the Egyptian scribes who livedunder the Middle and New Empires were ready to pay all honour to thewritings of an earlier age, they were not slow to perceive that theolder Precepts did not supply advice on every important subject, andthey therefore proceeded to write supplementary Precepts. A veryinteresting collection of such Precepts is found in a papyrus preservedin the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. They are generally known as the "Maximsof Ani, " and the following examples will illustrate their scope andcharacter:

"Celebrate thou the festival of thy God, and repeat the celebrationthereof in its appointed season. God is wroth with the transgressor ofthis law. Bear testimony [to Him] after thy offering.... 

"The opportunity having passed, one seeketh [in vain] to seize another. 

"God will magnify the name of the man who exalteth His Souls, whosingeth His praises, and boweth before Him, who offereth incense, anddoeth homage [to Him] in his work. 

"Enter not into the presence of the drunkard, even if his acquaintancebe an honour to thee. 

"Beware of the woman in the street who is not known in her native town. Follow her not, nor any woman who is like her. Do not make heracquaintance. She is like a deep stream the windings of which areunknown. 

"Go not with common men, lest thy name be made to stink. "

"When an inquiry is held, and thou art present, multiply not speech;thou wilt do better if thou holdest thy peace. Act not the part of thechatterer. 

"The sanctuary of God abhorreth noisy demonstrations. Pray thou with aloving heart, and let thy words be hidden (or secret). Do this, and Hewill do thy business for thee. He will hearken unto thy words, and Hewill receive thy offering. 

"Place water before thy father and thy mother who rest in theirtombs.... Forget not to do this when thou art outside thy house, and asthou doest for them so shall thy son do for thee. "

"Frequent not the house where men drink beer, for the words that fallfrom thy mouth will be repeated, and it is a bad thing for thee not toknow what thou didst really say. Thou wilt fall down, thy bones may bebroken, and there will be no one to give thee a hand [to help thee]. Thyboon companions who are drinking with thee will say, 'Throw this drunkenman out of the door. ' When thy friends come to look for thee, they willfind thee lying on the ground as helpless as a babe. 

"When the messenger of [death] cometh to carry thee away, let him findthee prepared. Alas, thou wilt have no opportunity for speech, forverily his terror will be before thee. Say not, 'Thou art carrying meoff in my youth. ' Thou knowest not when thy death will take place. Deathcometh, and he seizeth the babe at the breast of his mother, as well asthe man who hath arrived at a ripe old age. Observe this, for I speakunto thee good advice which thou shalt meditate upon in thy heart. Dothese things, and thou wilt be a good man, and evils of all kinds shallremove themselves from thee. "

"Remain not seated whilst another is standing, especially if he be anold man, even though thy social position (or rank) be higher than his. 

"The man who uttereth ill-natured words must not expect to receivegood-natured deeds. 

"If thou journeyest on a road [made by] thy hands each day, thou wiltarrive at the place where thou wouldst be. 

"What ought people to talk about every day? Administrators of high rankshould discuss the laws, women should talk about their husbands, andevery man should speak about his own affairs. 

"Never speak an ill-natured word to any visitor; a word dropped some daywhen thou art gossiping may overturn thy house. 

"If thou art well-versed in books, and hast gone into them, set them inthy heart; whatsoever thou then utterest will be good. If the scribe beappointed to any position, he will converse about his documents. Thedirector of the treasury hath no son, and the overseer of the seal hathno heir. High officials esteem the scribe, whose hand is his position ofhonour, which they do not give to children.... 

"The ruin of a man resteth on his tongue; take heed that thou harmestnot thyself. 

"The heart of a man is [like] the store-chamber of a granary that isfull of answers of every kind; choose thou those that are good, andutter them, and keep those that are bad closely confined within thee. Toanswer roughly is like the brandishing of weapons, but if thou wiltspeak kindly and quietly thou wilt always [be loved]. 

"When thou offerest up offerings to thy God, beware lest thou offer thethings that are an abomination [to Him]. Chatter not [during] hisjourneyings (or processions), seek not to prolong (?) his appearance, disturb not those who carry him, chant not his offices too loudly, andbeware lest thou.... Let thine eye observe his dispensations. Devotethyself to the adoration of his name. It is he who giveth souls tomillions of forms, and he magnifieth the man who magnifieth him.... 

"I gave thee thy mother who bore thee, and in bearing thee she took uponherself a great burden, which she bore without help from me. When aftersome months thou wast born, she placed herself under a yoke, for threeyears she suckled thee.... When thou wast sent to school to be educated, she brought bread and beer for thee from her house to thy masterregularly each day. Thou art now grown up, and thou hast a wife and ahouse of thy own. Keep thine eye on thy child, and bring him up as thymother brought thee up. Do nothing whatsoever that will cause her(_i. E. _ thy mother) to suffer, lest she lift up her hands to God, and Hehear her complaint, [and punish thee]. 

"Eat not bread, whilst another standeth by, without pointing out to himthe bread with thy hand.... 

"Devote thyself to God, take heed to thyself daily for the sake of God, and let to-morrow be as to-day. Work thou [for him]. God seeth him thatworketh for Him, and He esteemeth lightly the man who esteemeth Himlightly. 

"Follow not after a woman, and let her not take possession of thy heart. 

"Answer not a man when he is wroth, but remove thyself from him. Speakgently to him that hath spoken in anger, for soft words are the medicinefor his heart. 

"Seek silence for thyself. "

For the study of the moral character of the ancient Egyptian, adocument, of which a mutilated copy is found on a papyrus preserved inthe Royal Library in Berlin, is of peculiar importance. As the openinglines are wanting it is impossible to know what the title of the workwas, but because the text records a conversation that took place betweena man who had suffered grievous misfortunes, and was weary of the worldand of all in it, and wished to kill himself, it is generally called the"TALK OF A MAN WHO WAS TIRED OF LIFE WITH HIS SOUL. " The general meaningof the document is clear. The man weary of life discusses with his soul, as if it were a being wholly distinct from himself, whether he shallkill himself or not. He is willing to do so, but is only kept from hispurpose by his soul's observation that if he does there will be no oneto bury him properly, and to see that the funerary ceremonies are dulyperformed. This shows that the man who was tired of life was alone inthe world, and that all his relations and friends had either forsakenhim, or had been driven away by him. His soul then advised him todestroy himself by means of fire, probably, as has been suggested, because the ashes of a burnt body would need no further care. The manaccepted the advice of his soul, and was about to follow it literally, when the soul itself drew back, being afraid to undergo the sufferingsinherent in such a death for the body. The man then asked his soul toperform for him the last rites, but it absolutely refused to do so, andtold him that it objected to death in any form, and that it had nodesire at all to depart to the kingdom of the dead. The soul supportsits objection to suffer by telling the man who is tired of life that themere remembrance of burial is fraught with mourning, and tears, andsorrow. It means that a man is torn away from his house and thrown outupon a hill, and that he will never go up again to see the sun. Andafter all, what is the good of burial? Take the case of those who havehad granite tombs, and funerary monuments in the form of pyramids madefor them, and who lie in them in great state and dignity. If we look atthe slabs in their tombs, which have been placed there on purpose toreceive offerings from the kinsfolk and friends of the deceased, weshall find that they are just as bare as are the tablets for offeringsof the wretched people who belong to the Corvée, of whom some die on thebanks of the canals, leaving one part of their bodies on the land andthe other in the water, and some fall into the water altogether and areeaten by the fish, and others under the burning heat of the sun becomebloated and loathsome objects. Because men receive fine burials it doesnot follow that offerings of food, which will enable them to continuetheir existence, will be made by their kinsfolk. Finally the soul endsits speech with the advice that represented the view of the averageEgyptian in all ages, "Follow after the day of happiness, and banishcare, " that is to say, spare no pains in making thyself happy at alltimes, and let nothing that concerns the present or the future troublethee. 

This advice, which is well expressed by the words which the rich manspake to his soul, "Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry" (St. Lukexii. 19), was not acceptable to the man who was tired of life, and he atonce addressed to his soul a series of remarks, couched in rhythmicallanguage, in which he made it clear that, so far as he was concerned, death would be preferable to life. He begins by saying that his name ismore detested than the smell of birds on a summer's day when the heavensare hot, and the smell of a handler of fish newly caught when theheavens are hot, and the smell of water-fowl in a bed of willows whereingeese collect, and the smell of fishermen in the marshes where fishinghath been carried on, and the stench of crocodiles, and the place wherecrocodiles do congregate. In a second group of rhythmical passages theman who was tired of life goes on to describe the unsatisfactory andcorrupt condition of society, and his wholesale condemnation of itincludes his own kinsfolk. Each passage begins with the words, "Untowhom do I speak this day?" and he says, "Brothers are bad, and thefriends of to-day lack love. Hearts are shameless, and every man seizeththe goods of his neighbour. The meek man goeth to ground (_i. E. _ isdestroyed), and the audacious man maketh his way into all places. Theman of gracious countenance is wretched, and the good are everywheretreated as contemptible. When a man stirreth thee up to wrath by hiswickedness, his evil acts make all people laugh. One robbeth, andeveryone stealeth the possessions of his neighbour. Disease iscontinual, and the brother who is with it becometh an enemy. Oneremembereth not yesterday, and one doeth nothing ... In this hour. Brothers are bad.... Faces disappear, and each hath a worse aspect thanthat of his brother. Hearts are shameless, and the man upon whom oneleaneth hath no heart. There are no righteous men left, the earth is anexample of those who do evil. There is no true man left, and each isignorant of what he hath learnt. No man is content with what he hath; gowith the man [you believe to be contented], and he is not [to be found]. I am heavily laden with misery, and I have no true friend. Evil hathsmitten the land, and there is no end to it. "

The state of the world being thus, the man who was tired of life isdriven to think that there is nothing left for him but death; it ishopeless to expect the whole state of society to change for the better, therefore death must be his deliverer. To his soul he says, "Deathstandeth before me this day, [and is to me as] the restoration to healthof a man who hath been sick, and as the coming out into the fresh airafter sickness. Death standeth before me this day like the smell ofmyrrh, and the sitting under the sail of a boat on a day with a freshbreeze. Death standeth before me this day like the smell of lotusflowers, and like one who is sitting on the bank of drunkenness. [1]Death standeth before me this day like a brook filled with rain water, and like the return of a man to his own house from the ship of war. Death standeth before me this day like the brightening of the sky aftera storm, and like one.... Death standeth before me this day as a man whowisheth to see his home once again, having passed many years as aprisoner. " The three rhythmical passages that follow show that the manwho was tired of life looked beyond death to a happier state ofexistence, in which wrong would be righted, and he who had suffered onthis earth would be abundantly rewarded. The place where justice reignedsupreme was ruled over by Rā, and the man does not call it "heaven, " butmerely "there. "[2] He says, "He who is there shall indeed be like unto aloving god, and he shall punish him that doeth wickedness. He who isthere shall certainly stand in the Boat of the Sun, and shall bestowupon the temples the best [offerings]. He who is there shall indeedbecome a man of understanding who cannot be resisted, and who prayeth toRā when he speaketh. " The arguments in favour of death of the man whowas tired of life are superior to those of the soul in favour of life, for he saw beyond death the "there" which the soul apparently had notsufficiently considered. The value of the discussion between the man andhis soul was great in the opinion of the ancient Egyptian because itshowed, with almost logical emphasis, that the incomprehensible thingsof "here" would be made clear "there. "

[Footnote 1: _i. E. _ sitting on a seat in a tavern built on the riverbank. ]

[Footnote 2: Compare, "There the tears of earth are dried; There its hidden things are clear; There the work of life is tried By a juster judge than here. " --_Hymns Ancient and Modern_, No. 401. ]

The man who was tired of life did not stand alone in his discontent withthe surroundings in which he lived, and with his fellow-man, for from aboard inscribed in hieratic in the British Museum (No. 5645) we findthat a priest of Heliopolis called Khakhepersenb, who was surnamedĀnkhu, shared his discontent, and was filled with disgust at thewidespread corruption and decadence of all classes of society that wereeverywhere in the land. In the introduction to this description ofsociety as he saw it, he says that he wishes he possessed new languagein which to express himself, and that he could find phrases that werenot trite in which to utter his experience. He says that men of onegeneration are very much like those of another, and have all done andsaid the same kind of things. He wishes to unburden his mind, and toremove his moral sickness by stating what he has to say in words thathave not before been used. He then goes on to say, "I ponder on thethings that have taken place, and the events that have occurredthroughout the land. Things have happened, and they are different fromthose of last year. Each year is more wearisome than the last. The wholecountry is disturbed and is going to destruction. Justice (or right) isthrust out, injustice (or sin) is in the council hall, the plans of thegods are upset, and their behests are set aside. The country is in amiserable state, grief is in every place, and both towns and provinceslament. Every one is suffering through wrong-doing. All respect ofpersons is banished. The lords of quiet are set in commotion. Whendaylight cometh each day [every] face turneth away from the sight ofwhat hath happened [during the night].... I ponder on the things thathave taken place. Troubles flow in to-day, and to-morrow [tribulations]will not cease. Though all the country is full of unrest, none willspeak about it. There is no innocent man [left], every one workethwickedness. Hearts are bowed in grief. He who giveth orders is like untothe man to whom orders are given, and their hearts are well pleased. Menwake daily [and find it so], yet they do not abate it. The things ofyesterday are like those of to-day, and in many respects both days arealike. Men's faces are stupid, and there is none capable ofunderstanding, and none is driven to speak by his anger.... My pain iskeen and protracted. The poor man hath not the strength to protecthimself against the man who is stronger than he. To hold the tongueabout what one heareth is agony, but to reply to the man who doth notunderstand causeth suffering. If one protesteth against what is said, the result is hatred; for the truth is not understood, and every protestis resented. The only words which any man will now listen to are hisown. Every one believes in his own.... Truth hath forsaken speechaltogether. "

Whether the copy of the work from which the above extracts is taken becomplete or not cannot be said, but in any case there is no suggestionon the board in the British Museum that the author of the work had anyremedy in his mind for the lamentable state of things which hedescribes. Another Egyptian writer, called Apuur, who probablyflourished a little before the rule of the kings of the twelfth dynasty, depicts the terrible state of misery and corruption into which Egypt hadfallen in his time, but his despair is not so deep as that of the manwho was tired of his life or that of the priest Khakhepersenb. On thecontrary, he has sufficient hope of his country to believe that the daywill come when society shall be reformed, and when wickedness andcorruption shall be done away, and when the land shall be ruled by ajust ruler. It is difficult to say, but it seems as if he thought thisruler would be a king who would govern Egypt with righteousness, as didRā in the remote ages, and that his advent was not far off. The Papyrusin which the text on which these observations are based is preserved inLeyden, No. 1344. It has been discussed carefully by several scholars, some of whom believe that its contents prove that the expectation of thecoming of a Messiah was current in Egypt some forty-five centuries ago. The following extracts will give an idea of the character of theindictment which Apuur drew up against the Government and society of hisday, and which he had the temerity to proclaim in the presence of thereigning king and his court. He says: "The guardians of houses say, 'Letus go and steal. ' The snarers of birds have formed themselves into armedbands. The peasants of the Delta have provided themselves with bucklers. A man regardeth his son as his enemy. The righteous man grieveth becauseof what hath taken place in the country. A man goeth out with his shieldto plough. The man with a bow is ready [to shoot], the wrongdoer is inevery place. The inundation of the Nile cometh, yet no one goeth out toplough. Poor men have gotten costly goods, and the man who was unable tomake his own sandals is a possessor of wealth. The hearts of slaves aresad, and the nobles no longer participate in the rejoicings of theirpeople. Men's hearts are violent, there is plague everywhere, blood isin every place, death is common, and the mummy wrappings call to peoplebefore they are used. Multitudes are buried in the river, the stream isa tomb, and the place of mummification is a canal. The gentle folk weep, the simple folk are glad, and the people of every town say, 'Come, letus blot out these who have power and possessions among us. ' Men resemblethe mud-birds, filth is everywhere, and every one is clad in dirtygarments. The land spinneth round like the wheel of the potter. Therobber is a rich man, and [the rich man] is a robber. The poor mangroaneth and saith, 'This is calamity indeed, but what can I do?' Theriver is blood, and men drink it; they cease to be men who thirst forwater. Gates and their buildings are consumed with fire, yet the palaceis stable and nourishing. The boats of the peoples of the South havefailed to arrive, the towns are destroyed, and Upper Egypt is desert. The crocodiles are sated with their prey, for men willingly go to them. The desert hath covered the land, the Nomes are destroyed, and thereare foreign troops in Egypt. People come hither [from everywhere], thereare no Egyptians left in the land. On the necks of the women slaves[hang ornaments of] gold, lapis-lazuli, silver, turquoise, carnelian, bronze, and _abhet_ stone. There is good food everywhere, and yetmistresses of houses say, 'Would that we had something to eat. ' Theskilled masons who build pyramids have become hinds on farms, and thosewho tended the Boat of the god are yoked together [in ploughing]. Men donot go on voyages to Kepuna (Byblos in Syria) to-day. What shall we dofor cedar wood for our mummies, in coffins of which priests are buried, and with the oil of which men are embalmed? They come no longer. Thereis no gold, the handicrafts languish. What is the good of a treasury ifwe have nothing to put in it? Everything is in ruins. Laughter is dead, no one can laugh. Groaning and lamentation are everywhere in the land. Egyptians have turned into foreigners. The hair hath fallen out of thehead of every man. A gentleman cannot be distinguished from a nobody. Every man saith, 'I would that I were dead, ' and children say, '[Myfather] ought not to have begotten me. ' Children of princes are dashedagainst the walls, the children of desire are cast out into the desert, and Khnemu[1] groaneth in sheer exhaustion. The Asiatics have becomeworkmen in the Delta. Noble ladies and slave girls suffer alike. Thewomen who used to sing songs now sing dirges. Female slaves speak asthey like, and when their mistress commandeth they are aggrieved. Princes go hungry and weep. The hasty man saith, 'If I only knew whereGod was I would make offerings to Him. ' The hearts of the flocks weep, and the cattle groan because of the condition of the land. A manstriketh his own brother. What is to be done? The roads are watched byrobbers, who hide in the bushes until a benighted traveller cometh, whenthey rob him. They seize his goods, and beat him to death with cudgels. Would that the human race might perish, and there be no more conceivingor bringing to the birth! If only the earth could be quiet, and revoltscease! Men eat herbs and drink water, and there is no food for thebirds, and even the swill is taken from the mouths of the swine. Thereis no grain anywhere, and people lack clothes, unguents, and oil. Everyman saith, 'There is none. ' The storehouse is destroyed, and its keeperlieth prone on the ground. The documents have been filched from theiraugust chambers, and the shrine is desecrated. Words of power areunravelled, and spells made powerless. The public offices are brokenopen and their documents stolen, and serfs have become their ownmasters. The laws of the court-house are rejected, men trample on themin public, and the poor break them in the street. Things are now donethat have never been done before, for a party of miserable men haveremoved the king. The secrets of the Kings of the South and of the Northhave been revealed. The man who could not make a coffin for himself hatha large tomb. The occupants of tombs have been cast out into the desert, and the man who could not make a coffin for himself hath now a treasury. He who could not build a hut for himself is now master of a habitationwith walls. The rich man spendeth his night athirst, and he who beggedfor the leavings in the pots hath now brimming bowls. Men who had fineraiment are now in rags, and he who never wore a garment at all nowdresseth in fine linen. The poor have become rich, and the rich poor. Noble ladies sell their children for beds. Those who once had beds nowsleep on the ground. Noble ladies go hungry, whilst butchers are satedwith what was once prepared for them. A man is slain by his brother'sside, and that brother fleeth to save his own life. "

[Footnote 1: The god who fashioned the bodies of men. ]

Apuur next, in a series of five short exhortations, entreats his bearersto take action of some sort; each exhortation begins with the words, "Destroy the enemies of the sacred palace (or Court). " These arefollowed by a series of sentences, each of which begins with the word"Remember, " and contains one exhortation to his hearers to performcertain duties in connection with the service of the gods. Thus they aretold to burn incense and to pour out libations each morning, to offervarious kinds of geese to the gods, to eat natron, to make white bread, to set up poles on the temples and stelæ inside them, to make the priestto purify the temples, to remove from his office the priest who isunclean, &c. After many breaks in the text we come to the passage inwhich Apuur seems to foretell the coming of the king who is to restoreorder and prosperity to the land. He is to make cool that which is hot. He is to be the "shepherd of mankind, " having no evil in his heart. Whenhis herds are few [and scattered], he will devote his time to bringingthem together, their hearts being inflamed. The passage continues, "Would that he had perceived their nature in the first generation (ofmen), then he would have repressed evils, he would have stretched forth(his) arm against it, he would have destroyed their seed (?) and theirinheritance.... A fighter (?) goeth forth, that (he?) may destroy thewrongs that (?) have been wrought. There is no pilot (?) in theirmoment. Where is he (?) to-day? Is he sleeping? Behold, his might is notseen. " [1] Many of the passages in the indictment of Apuur resemble thedescriptions of the state of the land of Israel and her people which arefound in the writings of the Hebrew Prophets, and the "shepherd ofmankind, " _i. E. _ of the Egyptians, forcibly reminds us of the appeal tothe "Shepherd of Israel" in Psalm lxxx. 1. 

[Footnote 1: See A. H. Gardiner, _Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage_, Leipzic, 1909, p. 78. ]

 CHAPTER XIV

 EGYPTIAN POETICAL COMPOSITIONS

The poetry of the Egyptians is wholly unlike that of western nations, but closely resembles the rhythmical compositions of the Hebrews, withtheir parallelism of members, with which we are all familiar in the Bookof Psalms, the Song of Solomon, &c. The most important collection ofEgyptian Songs known to us is contained in the famous papyrus in theBritish Museum, No. 10, 060, more commonly known as "Harris 500. " Thispapyrus was probably written in the thirteenth century B. C. , but many ofthe songs belong to a far earlier date. Though dealing with a variety ofsubjects, there is no doubt that all of them must be classed under theheading of "Love Songs. " In them the lover compares the lady of hischoice to many beautiful flowers and plants, and describes atconsiderable length the pain and grief which her absence causes him. Thelines of the strophes are short, and the construction is simple, and itseems certain that the words owed their effect chiefly to the voice ofthe singer, who then, as now, employed many semitones and thirds oftones, and to the skill with which he played the accompaniment on hisharp. A papyrus at Leyden, which was written a little later than the"Love Songs, " contains three very curious compositions. The first is asort of lament of a pomegranate tree, which, in spite of the servicewhich it has rendered to the "sister and her brother, " is not includedamong trees of the first class. In the second a fig tree expresses itsgratitude and its readiness to do the will of its mistress, and to allowits branches to be cut off to make a bed for her. In the third asycamore tree invites the lady of the land on which it stands to comeunder the shadow of its branches, and to enjoy a happy time with herlover, and promises her that it will never speak about what it sees. 

More interesting than any of the above songs is the so-called "Song ofthe Harper, " of which two copies are known: the first is found in thepapyrus Harris 500, already mentioned, and the second in a papyrus atLeyden. Extracts of this poem are also found on the walls of the tomb ofNefer-hetep at Thebes. The copy in the papyrus reads:

THE POEM THAT IS IN THE HALL OF THE TOMB OF [THE KING OF THE SOUTH, THE KING OF THE NORTH], ANTUF, [1] WHOSE WORD IS TRUTH, [AND IS CUT] IN FRONT OF THE HARPER. 

O good prince, it is a decree, And what hath been ordained thereby is well, That the bodies of men shall pass away and disappear, Whilst others remain. 

Since the time of the oldest ancestors, The gods who lived in olden time, Who lie at rest in their sepulchres, The Masters and also the Shining Ones, Who have been buried in their splendid tombs, Who have built sacrificial halls in their tombs, Their place is no more. Consider what hath become of them!

I have heard the words of Imhetep [2] and Herutataf, [3]Which are treasured above everything because they uttered them. Consider what hath become of their tombs!Their walls have been thrown down;Their places are no more;They are just as if they had never existed. 

Not one [of them] cometh from where they are. Who can describe to us their form (or, condition), Who can describe to us their surroundings, Who can give comfort to our hearts, And can act as our guideTo the place whereunto they have departed?

Give comfort to thy heart, And let thy heart forget these things;What is best for thee to do isTo follow thy heart's desire as long as thou livest. 

Anoint thy head with scented unguents. Let thine apparel be of byssusDipped in costly [perfumes], In the veritable products (?) of the gods. 

Enjoy thyself more than thou hast ever done before, And let not thy heart pine for lack of pleasure. 

Pursue thy heart's desire and thine own happiness. Order thy surroundings on earth in such a wayThat they may minister to the desire of thy heart;[For] at length that day of lamentation shall come, Wherein he whose heart is still shall not hear the lamentation. Never shall cries of grief causeTo beat [again] the heart of a man who is in the grave. 

Therefore occupy thyself with thy pleasure daily, And never cease to enjoy thyself. 

Behold, a man is not permittedTo carry his possessions away with him. Behold, there never was any one who, having departed, Was able to come back again. 

[Footnote 1: He was one of the kings of the eleventh dynasty, about 2700B. C. ]

[Footnote 2: A high official of Tcheser, a king of the third dynasty. ]

[Footnote 3: Son of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid (fourthdynasty. )]

 CHAPTER XV

 MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE

In this chapter are given short notices of a series of works which thelimits of this book make it impossible to describe at greater length. 

I. The BOOK OF THE TWO WAYS. --This is a very ancient funerary work, which is found written in cursive hieroglyphs upon coffins of theeleventh and twelfth dynasties, of which many fine examples are to beseen in the British Museum. The object of the work is to provide thesouls of the dead with a guide that will enable them, when they leavethis world, to make a successful journey across the Tuat, _i. E. _ theOther World or Dead Land, to the region where Osiris lived and ruledover the blessed dead. The work describes the roads that must betravelled over, and names the places where opposition is to be expected, and supplies the deceased with the words of power which he is to utterwhen in difficulties. The abode of the blessed dead could be reachedeither by water or by land, and the book affords the informationnecessary for journeying thither by either route. The sections of thebook are often accompanied by coloured vignettes, which illustrate them, and serve as maps of the various regions of the Other World, anddescribe the exact positions of the streams and canals that have to becrossed, and the Islands of the Blest, and the awful country of blazingfire and boiling water in which the bodies, souls, and spirits of thewicked were destroyed. 

II. The BOOK "AM TUAT, " or Guide to him that is in the Tuat. --This Bookhas much in common with the Book of the Two Ways. According to it, theregion that lay between this world and the realm of Osiris was dividedinto ten parts, which were traversed, once each night, by the Sun-godin the form which he took during the night. At the western end was asort of vestibule, through which the god passed from the day sky intothe Tuat, and at the eastern end was another vestibule, through which hepassed on leaving the Tuat to re-enter the day sky. The two vestibuleswere places of gloom and semi-darkness, and the ten divisions of theTuat were covered by black night. When the Sun-god set in the west inthe evening he was obliged to travel through the Tuat to the easternsky, in order to rise again on this earth on the following day. Heentered the Tuat at or near Thebes, proceeded northwards, through theunder-worlds of Thebes, Abydos, Herakleopolis, Memphis, and Saīs, thenturned towards the east and crossed the Delta, and, having passedthrough the underworld of Heliopolis, appeared in the eastern sky toresume his daily course from east to west. His journey so far as Memphishe made in a boat, which sailed on the river of the Tuat. At Memphis heleft the boat on the river, and entered a magical boat formed of aserpent's body, and so passed under the mountainous district round aboutSakkārah. At or near Saīs he returned to his river boat, and sailingover the great marine lakes of the Delta reached Heliopolis. The sun-godwas guided through each section of the Tuat by a goddess who belonged tothe district, and for the sake of uniformity the journey through eachsection was supposed to occupy an hour; the guiding goddess left thegod's boat at the end of her hour, and the goddess of the next sectiontook her place. The path of the god was lighted by fire, which thebeings who lived in the various sections poured out of their mouths, andthe attendant gods who were with them in his boat spake words of power, which overcame all opposition and removed every obstacle. As he passedthrough each section it was temporarily lighted up by the fire alreadymentioned, and he uttered words of power, the effect of which was tosupply the inhabitants of the section with air, food, and drink, sufficient to last until the next night, when he would renew the supply. Many parts of the Tuat were filled with hideous monsters in human andanimal forms, and with evil spirits of every kind, but they were allrendered powerless by the spells uttered by the gods who were inattendance on the Sun-god in his boat. At one time in the history ofEgypt it became the earnest wish of every pious man to make the journeyfrom this world to the next in the Boat of the Sun. Armed with words ofpower and amulets of all kinds, and relying on their lives of moralrectitude, and the effect of the offerings which they had made to thedead, their souls entered the Boat, and set out on their journey. Whenthey reached Abydos their credentials were examined, and those who werefound to be speakers of the truth and upright in their actions wereallowed to continue their journey with the Sun-god, and to live with himever after. Some souls preferred to remain at Abydos and to live withOsiris, and those who were found righteous in the Judgment were allowedto do so, and were granted estates in perpetuity in the kingdom of thisgod. The Book "AM TUAT" describes the sections of the Tuat and theirinhabitants, and supplies all the information which the soul wassupposed to require in passing from this world to the next. Many copiesof certain sections of it are known, and some of these are in theBritish Museum;[1] the most complete copy of it is in the tomb of Seti Iat Thebes. 

[Footnote 1: See the massive stone sarcophagi of Nectonebus exhibited inthe Southern Egyptian Gallery of the British Museum. ]

III. The BOOK OF GATES. --This book was also written to be a Guide to theTuat, and has much in common with the Book of the Two Ways and with theBook Am Tuat. In it also the Tuat is divided into ten sections and hastwo vestibules, the Eastern and the Western, but at the entrance to eachsection is a strongly fortified Gate, guarded by a monster serpent-godand by the gods of the section. The Sun-god of night, as in the Book AmTuat, makes his journey in a boat, and is attended by a number of gods, who remove all opposition from his path by the use of words of power. Ashe approaches each Gate, its doors are thrown open by the gods who guardthem, and he passes into the section of the Tuat behind it, carryingwith him light, air, and food for its inhabitants. The Book of Gatesembodies the teaching of the priests of the cult of Osiris, and the BookAm Tuat represents the modified form of it that was promulgated by thepriests of Amen. From the Book of Gates we derive much information aboutthe realm of Osiris, and the Great Judgment of souls, which took placein his Hall of Judgment once a day at midnight. Then all the souls thathad collected during the past twenty-four hours from all parts of Egyptwere weighed in the Balance; the righteous were allotted estates inperpetuity in the "land of souls, " and the wicked were destroyed byShesmu, the executioner of the god, and by his assistants. The textsthat describe the various "Gates" of the Book of Gates, explain who arethe beings represented in the pictures, and state why they were there. And the Book proves conclusively that the Egyptians believed in theefficacy of sacrifices and offerings, and in the doctrine of righteousretribution; liars and deceivers were condemned, and their bodies, souls, spirits, doubles, and names destroyed, and the righteous wererewarded for their upright lives and integrity upon earth by the gift ofeverlasting life and happiness. The most complete copy of thisinteresting work in England is cut on the alabaster sarcophagus of SetiI, about 1350 B. C. This unique sepulchral monument is exhibited gratisin Sir John Soane's Museum at 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, and every studentof the religion of the Egyptians should examine it. 

IV. The RITUAL OF EMBALMMENT. --Two important fragments of a copy of thiswork are preserved in the Museum of the Louvre (No. 5158), and a part ofanother in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo (No. 3); the former copy waswritten for a priest of Amen called Heru, and the latter for a priestcalled Hetra. These fragments of the work describe minutely the processof mummifying certain parts of a human body, and state what materialswere employed by the embalmer. Moreover, it gives the texts of themagical and religious spells that were ordered to be recited by thepriest who superintended the embalmment, the effect of which was to"make divine" each member of the body, and to secure for it theprotecting influence of the god or goddess who presided over it. Thefollowing extract refers to the embalming of the head: "Then anoint thehead of the deceased and all his mouth with oil, both the head and theface, and wrap it in the bandages of Harmakhis in Hebit. The bandage ofthe goddess Nekhebet shall be put on the forehead, the bandage of Hathorin Heliopolis on the face, the bandage of Thoth on the ears, and thebandage of Nebt-hetepet on the back of the neck. All the coverings ofthe head and all the strips of linen used in fastening them shall betaken from sheets of linen that have been examined as to quality andtexture in the presence of the inspector of the mysteries. On the headof the deceased shall be the bandage of Sekhmet, beloved of Ptah, in twopieces. On the two ears two bandages called the "Complete. " On thenostrils two bandages called "Nehai" and "Smen. " On the cheeks twobandages called "He shall live. " On the forehead four pieces of linencalled the "shining ones. " On the skull two pieces called "The two Eyesof Rā in their fullness. " On the two sides of the face and earstwenty-two pieces. As to the mouth two inside, and two out. On the chintwo pieces. On the back of the neck four large pieces. Then tie thewhole head firmly with a strip of linen two fingers wide, and anoint asecond time, and then fill up all the crevices with the oil alreadymentioned. Then say, "O august goddess, Lady of the East, Mistress ofthe West, come and enter into the two ears of Osiris. O mighty goddess, who art ever young, O great one, Lady of the East, Mistress of the West, let there be breathing in the head of the deceased in the Tuat. Let himsee with his eyes, hear with his ears, breathe with his nose, pronouncewith his mouth, and speak with his tongue in the Tuat. Accept his voicein the Hall of Truth, and let him be proved to have been a speaker ofthe truth in the Hall of Keb, in the presence of the Great God, the Lordof Amenti. "

V. The RITUAL OF THE DIVINE CULT. --This title is commonly given to awork consisting of sixty-six chapters, which were recited daily by thehigh priest of Amen-Rā, the King of the Gods, in his temple at Thebes, during the performance of a series of ceremonies of a highly importantand symbolical character. The text of this Ritual is found cut inhieroglyphs on the walls of the temple of Seti I at Abydos, and writtenin hieratic upon papyri preserved in the Imperial Museum in Berlin. Thework was originally intended to be recited by the king himself daily, but it was soon found that the Lord of Egypt could not spare the timenecessary for its recital each day, and he therefore was personified bythe high priest of each temple in which the Ritual was performed. Theobject of the Ritual was to place the king in direct contact with hisgod Amen-Rā once a day. The king was an incarnation of Amen-Rā, andruled Egypt as the representative upon earth of the god. He drew hispower and wisdom direct from the god, and it was believed that theserequired renewal daily. To bring about this renewal of the divine spiritin the god's vicegerent upon earth, the king entered the temple in theearly morning, and performed ceremonies and recited formulæ thatpurified both the sanctuary and himself. He then advanced to the shrine, which contained a small gilded wooden figure of the god, inlaid withprecious stones and provided with a movable head, arms, and legs, andopened it and knelt down before the figure. He performed furtherceremonies of purification, and finally took the figure of the god inhis arms and embraced it. During this embrace the divine power ofAmen-Rā, which was in the gilded figure at that moment, passed into thebody of the king, and the divine power and wisdom, which were in theking as the god's representative, were renewed. The king then closed thedoors of the shrine and left the sanctuary for a short time. When hereturned he opened the shrine again, and made adoration to the god, andpresented a series of offerings that symbolised Truth. After this theking dressed the figure of the god in sacred apparel, and decorated it. Then, having performed further acts of worship before it, he closed thedoors of the shrine, sealed them with mud seals, and left the sanctuary. 

VI. The BOOK "MAY MY NAME FLOURISH. "--This was a very popular funerarywork in the Roman Period. It is a development of a long prayer that isfound in the Pyramid Texts, and was written by the priests and used as aspell to make the name of the deceased flourish eternally in heaven andon the earth. Many copies of it, written on narrow strips of papyrus, are preserved in the British Museum. 

VII. The BOOK OF ĀAPEP, the great enemy of the Sun-god. --Āapep was thegod of evil, who became incarnate in many forms, especially in wild andsavage animals and in monster serpents and venomous reptiles of everykind. He was supposed to take the form of a huge serpent and to lie inwait near the portals of the dawn daily, so that he might swallow up thesun as he was about to rise in the eastern sky. He was accompanied bylegions of devils and fiends, red and black, and by all the powers ofstorm, tempest, hurricane, whirlwind, thunder and lightning, and he wasthe deadly foe of all order, both physical and moral, and of all good inheaven and in earth. At certain times during the day and night thepriests in the temple of Amen-Rā recited a series of chapters, andperformed a number of magical ceremonies, which were intended tostrengthen the arms of the Sun-god, and give him power to overcome theresistance of Āapep. These chapters acted on Āapep as spells, and theyparalysed the monster just as he was about to attack the Sun-god. Thegod then approached and shot his fiery darts into him, and his attendantgods hacked the monster's body to pieces, which shrivelled up under theburning heat of the rays of the Sun-god, and all the devils and fiendsof darkness fled shrieking in terror at their leader's fate. The sunthen rose on this world, and all the stars and spirits of the morningand all the gods of heaven sang for joy. The complete text of this bookis found in a long papyrus dated in the reign of Alexander II in theBritish Museum (No. 10, 188). 

VIII. The INSTRUCTIONS, OR PRECEPTS OF TUAUF to his son Pepi. --Twocopies of this work, which has also been called a "Hymn in praise oflearning, " are contained in a papyri preserved in the British Museum(Sallier II and Anastasi VII). These "Instructions" in reality representthe advice of a father to his son, whom he was sending to school to betrained for the profession of the scribe. Whether the boy was merelysorry to leave his home, or whether he disliked the profession which hisfather had chosen for him, is not clear, but from first to last thefather urges him to apply himself to the pursuit of learning, which, inhis opinion, is the foundation of all great and lasting success. Hesays, "I have compared the people who are artisans and handicraftsmen[with the scribe], and indeed I am convinced that there is nothingsuperior to letters. Plunge into the study of Egyptian Learning, as thouwouldst plunge into the river, and thou wilt find that this is so. Iwould that thou wouldst love Learning as thou lovest thy mother. I wishI were able to make thee to see how beautiful Learning is. It is moreimportant than any trade in the world. Learning is not a mere phrase, for the man who devoteth himself thereto from his youth is honoured, andhe is despatched on missions. I have watched the blacksmith at the doorof his furnace. His hands are like crocodiles' hide, and he stinkethworse than fishes' eggs. The metal worker hath no more rest than thepeasant on the farm. The stone mason--at the end of the day his arms arepowerless; he sitteth huddled up together until the morning, and hisknees and back are broken. The barber shaveth until far into the night, he only resteth when he eateth. He goeth from one street to anotherlooking for work. He breaketh his arms to fill his belly, and, like thebees, he eateth his own labour. The builder of houses doeth his workwith difficulty; he is exposed to all weathers, and he must cling to thewalls which he is building like a creeping plant. His clothes are in ahorrible state, and he washeth his body only once a day. The farmerweareth always the same clothes. His voice is like the croak of a bird, his skin is cracked by the wind; if he is healthy his health is that ofthe beasts. If he be ill he lieth down among them, and he sleepeth onthe damp irrigated land. The envoy to foreign lands bequeatheth hisproperty to his children before he setteth out, being afraid that hewill be killed either by wild beasts of the desert or by the nomadstherein. When he is in Egypt, what then? No sooner hath he arrived athome than he is sent off on another mission. As for the dyer, hisfingers stink like rotten fish, and his clothes are absolutely horrors. The shoemaker is a miserable wretch. He is always asking for work, andhis health is that of a dying fish. The washerman is neighbour to thecrocodile. His food is mixed up with his clothes, and every member ofhim is unclean. The catcher of water-fowl, even though he dive in theNile, may catch nothing. The trade of the fisherman is the worst of all. He is in blind terror of the crocodile, and falleth among crocodiles. "The text continues with a few further remarks on the honourablecharacter of the profession of the scribe, and ends with a series ofPrecepts of the same character as those found in the works of Ptah-hetepand the scribe Ani, from which extracts have already been given. 

IX. MEDICAL PAPYRI. --The Egyptians possessed a good practical knowledgeof the anatomy of certain parts of the human body, but there is noevidence that they practised dissection before the arrival of the Greeksin Egypt. The medical papyri that have come down to us contain a largenumber of short, rough-and-ready descriptions of certain diseases, andprescriptions of very great interest. The most important medical papyrusknown is that which was bought at Luxor by the late Professor Ebers in1872-3, and which is now preserved in Leipzig. This papyrus is about 65feet long, and the text is written in the hieratic character. It waswritten in the ninth year of the reign of a king who is not yetsatisfactorily identified, but who probably lived before the period ofthe rule of the eighteenth dynasty, perhaps about 1800 B. C. A shortpapyrus in the British Museum contains extracts from it, and otherpapyri with somewhat similar contents are preserved in the Museums ofParis, Leyden, Berlin, and California. 

X. MAGICAL PAPYRI. --The widespread use of magic in Egypt in all agessuggests that the magical literature of Egypt must have been verylarge. Much of it was incorporated at a very early period into theReligious Literature of the country, and was used for legitimatepurposes, in fact for the working of what we call "white magic. " TheEgyptian saw no wrong in the working of magic, and it was only condemnedby him when the magician wished to produce evil results. The godsthemselves were supposed to use spells and incantations, and everytraveller by land or water carried with him magical formulæ which herecited when he was in danger from the wild beasts of the desert or thecrocodile of the river and its canals. Specimens of these will be foundin the famous magical papyri in the British Museum, _e. G. _ the SaltPapyrus, the Rhind Papyrus, and the Harris Papyrus. Under this headingmay be mentioned Papyrus Sallier IV in the British Museum, whichcontains a list of lucky and unlucky days. Here is a specimen of itscontents:

 1st day of Hathor. The whole day is lucky. There is festival in heaven with Rā and Hathor. 

 2nd day of Hathor. The whole day is lucky. The gods go out. The goddess Uatchet comes from Tep to the gods who are in the shrine of the bull, in order to protect the divine members. 

 3rd day of Hathor. The whole day is lucky. 

 4th day of Hathor. The whole day is unlucky. The house of the man who goes on a voyage on that day comes to ruin. 

 6th day of Hathor. The whole day is unlucky. Do not light a fire in thy house on this day, and do not look at one. 

 18th day of Pharmuthi. The whole day is unlucky. Do not bathe on this day. 

 20th day of Pharmuthi. The whole day is unlucky. Do not work on this day. 

 22nd day of Pharmuthi. The whole day is unlucky. He who is born on this day will die on this day. 

 23rd day of Pharmuthi. The first two-thirds of the day are unlucky, and the last third lucky. 

XI. LEGAL DOCUMENTS. --The first legal document written in Egypt was thewill of Rā, in which he bequeathed all his property and the inheritanceof the throne of Egypt to his first-born son Horus. Tradition assertedthat this Will was preserved in the Library of the Sun-god inHeliopolis. The inscriptions contain many allusions to the Laws ofEgypt, but no document containing any connected statement of them hascome down to us. In the great inscription of Heruemheb, the last king ofthe eighteenth dynasty, a large number of good laws are given, but itmust be confessed that as a whole the administration of the Law in manyparts of Egypt must always have been very lax. Texts relating tobequests, endowments, grants of land, &c. , are very difficult totranslate, because it is well-nigh impossible to find equivalents forEgyptian legal terms. In the British Museum are two documents inhieratic that were drawn up in connection with prosecutions which theGovernment of Egypt undertook of certain thieves who had broken intosome of the royal tombs at Thebes and robbed them, and of certain otherthieves who had robbed the royal treasury and made away with a largeamount of silver (Nos. 10, 221, 10, 052, 10, 053, and 10, 054). Equallyinteresting is the roll that describes the prosecution of certain highlyplaced officials and relations of Rameses III who had conspired againsthim and wanted to kill him. Several of the conspirators were compelledto commit suicide. The text is written in hieratic on papyrus, and ispreserved in the Royal Museum, Leyden. 

XII. HISTORICAL ROMANCES. --Examples of these are the narrative of thecapture of the town of Joppa in Palestine by an officer of Thothmes III, and the history of the dispute that broke out between Seqenenrā, King ofUpper Egypt, and Āapepi, King of Avaris in the Delta. These are writtenin hieratic and are preserved in the British Museum, in Harris Papyrus500, and Sallier No. 1 (10, 185). 

XIII. MATHEMATICS. --The chief source of our knowledge of the Mathematicsof the Egyptians is the Rhind Papyrus in the British Museum (No. 10, 057), which was written before 1700 B. C. , probably during the reignof one of the Hyksos kings. The papyrus contains a number of simplearithmetical examples and several geometrical problems. The workingsout of these prove that the Egyptian spared himself no trouble in makinghis calculations, and that he worked out both his arithmetical examplesand problems in the most cumbrous and laborious way possible. He neverstudied mathematics in order to make progress in his knowledge of thescience, but simply for purely practical everyday work; as long as hisknowledge enabled him to obtain results which he knew from experiencewere substantially correct he was content. 

 EDITIONS OF EGYPTIAN TEXTS, TRANSLATIONS, &c. 

AMÉLINEAU, E. --Morale Égyptien. Paris, 1892. 8vo. 

BERGMANN, E. --Das Buch vom Durchwandeln der Ewigkeit. Vienna, 1877. 

BIRCH, S. --Egyptian Texts from the Coffin of Amamu. London, 1886. Egyptian Hieratic Papyrus of Rameses III. London, 1876. 

BREASTED, J. H. --Ancient Records--Egypt. Chicago, 1906. 

BRUGSCH, H. --Sieben Jahre der Hungersnoth. Leipzig, 1891. Inscriptio Rosettana. Berlin, 1851. Neue Weltordnung. Berlin, 1881. Reise nach der grossen Oase. Leipzig, 1878. Rhind's zwei Bilingue Papyri. Leipzig, 1865. Shai an Sinsin. Berlin, 1851. 

BUDGE, E. A. WALLIS. --Book of the Dead, Egyptian Texts, Translation and Vocabulary, 2nd ed. London, 1909. Papyrus of Ani. London, 1913. Papyri of Hunefer, Anhai, Netchemet, Kersher, and Nu. London, 1899. Hieratic Papyri. Texts and translations. London, 1910. Book of Opening the Mouth, Liturgy of Funerary Offerings, The Book of Am-Tuat, The Book of Gates. London, 1906-1909. Legends of the Gods. London, 1912. Annals of Nubian Kings. London, 1912. Greenfield Papyrus. 1912. 

DE HORRACK, P. J. --Les Lamentations d'Isis. Paris, 1866. 

ERMAN, A. --Gespräch eines Lebensmüden. Berlin, 1896. Die Märchen des Papyrus Westcar. Berlin, 1890. 

GARDINER, A. H. --Egyptian Hieratic Texts, Part I. Leipzig, 1911. The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage. Leipzig, 1909. Die Erzählung des Sinuhe. Leipzig, 1904. Die Klagen des Bauern. Leipzig, 1908. 

GRÉBAUT, E. --Hymne à Ammon-Rā. Paris, 1874. 

GRIFFITH, F. Ll. --Stories of the High Priests of Memphis. Oxford, 1900. 

GOLENISCHEFF, W. --Die Metternichstele. Leipzig, 1877. Le Conte du Naufragé. Cairo, 1912. Les Papyrus Hiératiques. St. Petersburg, 1913. 

JOACHIM, H. --Papyros Ebers. Berlin, 1890. 

LEFÉBURE, E. --Le Mythe Osirien. Paris, 1874. Traduction comparée des Hymnes. Paris, 1868. 

LEGRAIN, G. --Livre des Transformations. Paris, 1890. 

LIEBLEIN, J. --Le livre Égyptien, Que mon nom. Leipzig, 1895. 

MASPERO, G. --Contes Populaires. Paris, 1912. Une enquête judiciaire. Paris, 1872. Études Égyptiennes. Tomm. I, II. Paris, 1883. Du Genre Épistolaire. Paris, 1872. Hymne au Nil. Paris, 1868, and Cairo, 1912. Inscriptions des Pyramides de Saqqarah. Paris, 1894. Mémoire sur quelques Papyrus. Paris, 1875. Les Mémoires de Sinouhit. Cairo, 1908. 

MÖLLER, G. --Die beiden Totenpapyrus Rhind. Leipzig, 1913. 

MORET, A. --Le Rituel du Culte Divin. Paris, 1902. 

MÜLLER, W. M. --Die Liebespoesie der alten Ägypter. Leipzig, 1899. 

NAVILLE, E. --Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch. Berlin, 1886. La Litanie du Soleil. Leipzig, 1875. Papyrus Funéraires de la XXIe dynastie. Paris, 1912. Textes relatifs an Mythe Horus. Geneva, 1870. 

SCHACK-SCHACKENBURG, H. --Das Buch von den zwei Wegen. Leipzig, 1903. 

SCHÄFER, H. --Die Aethiopische Königinschrift. Leipzig, 1901. Ein Bruchstück altägyptischer Annalen. Berlin, 1902. 

SCHIAPARELLI. --Libro dei Funerali. Turin, 1882. 

SPIEGELBERG, W. --Der Sagenkreis des Königs Petubastis. Leipzig, 1910. Das Demotische Totenbuch. Leipzig, 1910. Der Papyrus Libbey. Strassburg, 1907. Rechnungen aus der Zeit Setis I. Strassburg, 1896. 

VIREY, PH. --Études sur le Papyrus Prisse. Paris, 1887. 

VOGELSANG, F. --Die Klagen des Bauern. Leipzig, 1913. 

WIEDEMANN, A. --Hieratische Texte aus den Museen zu Berlin und Paris. Leipzig, 1879. Magie und Zauberei. Leipzig, 1905. Die Unterhaltung's Litteratur der alten Aegypter. Leipzig, 1902. 

 INDEX

Aa, 159, 165Āakheperenrā, 103, 144Āakheperkarā, 142, 145Āamu, 108, 128, 161, 163Āapep, 48, 68Āapepi, 254Āataka, 114Aat-Beqt, 151Aatti, 141, 142Abana, 140Abhat, 136Abtu Fish, 48Abu, 73, 83, 86, 87, 128, 130, 132, 165 --products of, 85Abydos, 44, 45, 47, 65, 99, 127, 138, 245, 246, 249 valley of, 200Acacia, 46, 61, 201 and river, 202 cut down, 203, 206Acacias, the two, 205Africanus, 98Aged God, 15, 48Ahnas al-Madīnah, 170Āina, 113Air-god, 16 air supply, 43Akert, 44, 46, 65, 115, 221Akeru, 21Akhet, 62, 64, 134, 151, 155Aku, 156Alasa, 194Ale, 19Alexander the Great, 71 --II, 250Alexandria, 88 Library of, 98Al-Kab, 140, 143Altar stands, 147Am, 90Amam, 128, 132, 133, 134Am-as, 13Amasis I, 140, 143 --the naval officer, 140 ff. Amasis Pen-Nekheb, 143 ff. Amen, 60, 67, 70, 93, 103, 104, 105, 111, 117, 146, 147, 185, 187, 188, 189, 193, 194, 216, 217, 219, 220, 247 --Father, 119 --of Sīwah, 71Amenemhat I, 155, 162 --II, 155 --III, 99Amen-hetep I, 142, 144Ameni Amen-āa, 213 --Amenemhat, 135 ffAmen-ka-mutef, 218Amen-Rā; 68, 76, 106, 110, 115, 145, 148, 164, 185, 186, 189, 190, 192, 193, 218, 219, 249, 250 Hymn to, 214 ff. Amen-shefit, 147Amentamat, 186, 187, 192Amentet, 46, 49, 50, 61, 149, 153, 164Amenti, 248Amenuserhat, 190Ames sceptre, 215Amhet, 49Am-khent, 13Ammaau, 134Ammon, 67, 71Ammuiansha, 157, 161Amsu, 151Amtes, 128Amulets, 41, 43, 246Am-urtet, 153An, 45, 46, 63, 65An instrument, 15Anatomy, 252Ancestor-god, 70Anebuheq, 156Ani; 216, 218 Maxims of, 228 papyrus of, 44, 45Ānkh Psemthek, 88Ānkh-taui, 151, 152Ānkhu, 238Anmutef, 20Annals of Thothmes III, 104Annana, 207Anointing, 13Anpu, 15, 69, 196, 197 ff. Anqet, 85Anrekh, 64Anrutef, 47, 81Ant Fish, 48Āntchmer, 155Antef, 137, 138Antes, 46Āntet Boat, 218Anti, 142, 143Antiu, 106, 109, 141Āntti Boat, 222Antuf, 242Anu (Heliopolis), 15, 20, 24, 36, 37, 43, 45, 48, 61, 214, 217, 218, 220, 222Anubis, 15, 33, 50, 60, 69, 149Ape-gods, 49Apes, 212 spirits of dawn, 218Apet, 29, 30, 32Aphroditopolis, 128, 130Apollinopolis, 78Apts, 118, 143, 147, 148, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218Apuur, 236, 239, 240Aqen, 101Aqert, 64Ara, 132Arabia, 93, 215Aram Naharayim, 109Archers (stars), 21Arm rings, 23Arniau, 154Aroeris, 164Arsu, 110Arthet, 128, 131, 133Artheth, 133Asbatau, 112Asemt, 142Ashtoreth, 78Asi, 108Asia, 108Asiatics, 108, 238Asri, 170Ass, eater of, 48Assa, 4, 134, 135, 224Asten, 2Astronomy, 1Aswān, 83, 131Atef Crown, 54, 111, 115, 215Atem, 61, 67Aten, 61, 62Athettaui, 166Athi-taui, 117Aukehek, 144Aukert, 54Aunab, 90Ausares, 68Avaris, 140, 141, 256

Baba, 53Badhilu, 185Baiufrā, 27, 29Balance; 23, 54 heaven weighed in; 47 keeper of, 50 --of Truth, 247Bandlets, 16, 23Baqanau, 112Barber, 251Barley, 34, 45Bata, 196, 197, 204, 205Baurtet, 134, 135Beautiful Face, 218, 220Beer, 203 drinking of, 229 --of Hathor, 73Bees, 251Beetle, sacred, 91Befen, 88Befent, 89Behutet, 82Bekhten, Princess of, 92 ff. Benben Stone, 216, 217Beni-hasan, 135Bentresht, 93, 95Benu bird, 43, 45, 91Bequests, 254Betti, 56Betu incense, 28Birds, sacred, 52Black Fiends, 68Blacks, 128, 129 character of, 102 edict against, 101, 102 hand of, 110Blacksmiths, 78, 81, 251Blasphemy, 53, 72Blood in beer, 73 of Isis, 56Boat, magical, 43 --of Amen, 191 --of Amen-Rā, 185, 193Boat of Millions of Years, 77, 91, 92 --of Rā; 123 two Boats of Rā, 123 --of Rā-Harmakhis, 78 --of the Sun, 234, 246Book, Am Tuat, 244 --boxes, 7 --"May my name, " 250 --of Āapep, 250 --of Breathings, 40, 59 ff. --of Gates, 246 --of knowing how Rā, 68 --of making splendid, 64 ff. --of Opening the Mouth, 13, 38 --of overthrowing Āapepi, 67 ff. --of Proverbs, 224 --of Psalms, 241 --of slaying the Hippopotamus, 78 --of the Dead; 4, 6, 29, 37 ff. 41 the Recensions of, 39 ff. Summary of Chapters of, 42 ff. Græco-Roman Books, 59 ff. Hieratic, 4 hieroglyphic, 40 --of the Two Ways, 244 --of Traversing Eternity, 40, 61 --of Wisdom, 224Books, 2 magical, 30 --of Thoth, 2 study of, 230Bread cakes, 45Bronze, 238Brugsch, Dr. H. , 9Builder, 251Bull, the ship, 140 --skin of, 14Bulls, sacrifice of, 15Burial, 232Bushel, 52Busiris, 39, 44, 46, 61Buto, 92Byblos, 186, 187, 195, 238Byssus, 191, 243

Cairo, 4, 15, 169Cake for journey, 17Cakes, 19Calf, sucking, 14Canopus, 112Caravans, 119Carnelian, 238Cataract, first, 73, 83, 116Cedar, oil of, 18 wood of, 185Champollion, J. F. , 37, 92Charcoal, 6Charms, 41Chattering, 229Cheops, 25, 27Children of Horus, 220Christianity in Egypt, 39Christians, Egyptian, 7, 68Circuit of Great Circuit, 109City of Amen, 220 --Eternity, 161Cleopatra, 183Coffins, inscribed, 4Collar, 16 amulet of, 43Coming forth by day, 43Company of gods, the great, 218Conspiracy, 254Copper, 114 sulphate of, 6Coptos, 113, 136Copts, 7, 68Cord for land measuring, 85Cord-master, 22Cow-goddess, 73, 74Cow, the celestial, 74Creation, story of, 67 ff. Crocodile-god, 175Crocodile of W. E. S. And N. , 57 --waxen, 25-7 seizes a servant, 35, 36 transformation into, 43 spells against, 42Crocodilopolis, 124Crown, the Double, 80 the Red, 23 the White, 23, 215, 216Crusher of bones, 53Cush, 102, 142Cymbals, 33Cyprus, 108, 194

Dance, 134Dancing women, 33Darkness, 68Daughters of Nile-god, 220Day, 17 right eye of Rā, 220Days, lucky and unlucky, 253Dead hand, 224, 244 --the blessed, 244Death, 234 god of, 14, 43, 154 messenger of, 229 the second, 43, 44Decapitation, 43Deceit, 46, 47Deeds, good, 230Dekans, the Thirty-Six, 46, 62Delta, 39, 44, 57, 77, 79, 81, 82, 92, 102, 105, 117, 128, 237, 245, 254Demotic writing, 1Dēr al-Baharī, 146Destiny, 220Dhir, 185, 186Diligence, 227Diocletian, 97Disk, 165, 200Dissection, 252Documents, legal, 7Dog-god, 15Dog-star, 20, 24D'Orbiney, 196Double, the, 11, 16Drafts, 7Drunkard, 228, 229Dwarf, 91 dancing, 133Dyer, 252

Earth-god, 22, 24, 44, 47, 69Earth Serpent, 221 --the wife of Rā, 220East, Souls of, 43Ebers, Dr. G. , 252Ebony box, 26 --paddles, 28Ecclesiasticus, 224Edfū, 77, 78, 82Egypt, invasion of, 116 ff. Wisdom of, 2Eight gods, 120Eileithyiaspolis, 43, 47, 140Elephantine, 83, 102, 128, 130, 132, 165Elephants' tusks, 212Elysian Fields, 40, 41, 42, 45Embalmment, ritual of, 247Endowments, 254Enemies in Tuat, 42Enemy, Serpent, 47Envoy, 251Erman, Prof. E. , 25Euphrates, 108Eusebius, 98Evening Boat, 48Evil, god of, 2Executioner of Osiris, 43Eye of Horus, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, the two eyes, 17 --of Khepera, 70 --of Rā, 46, 55, 72, 223 --of Nebertcher, 69Eye paint, 13, 212Eyes of Rā, 248

Falcon, 21Famine, the Seven Years', 83Farāfrah, 169Farmer, 226, 251Father Rā, 123Fayyūm, 121Fenkhu, 102, 164Ferryman, the celestial, 43Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys, 62Festivals, duty of keeping, 228Field of Offerings, 24, 60 --grasshoppers, 54, 60Fields of Turquoise, 64Fig tree, 241Fire, 232, 245 --House of, 215 --Island of, 43 --Lake of, 22Flint, box of, 32Fog-fiend, 68Followers of Horus, 48, 78Food celestial, 47Foods, 11Fountain of the Sun, 123Fowler, 252Frog-goddess, 33Funeral, Chapter of, 42Funerary Ritual, 37

Gardiner, Mr. A. H. , 240Gates of Tuat, 60Gazelle, 15Gebel Barkal, 116, 119, 125Geese, 15, 20Gīzah, 126Glue for papyrus, 6Goatskin, 4God, 238 devotion to, 231 origin of, 42Gods, Great Company of, 15 --Legends of; 71 ff. Of cardinal points, 21 origin of, 217 the Eighteen, 20 the Forty-two, 51 the Two Great, 24God-house, 147, 148Gold, 48 from Sūdān; 135 of valour, 140, 141Goose, 89 a dead, restored, 31Gourds, 209Grain, an emanation of Rā, 220Granite, 85, 131Grants of land, 254Great Bear, 20 --Circuit, 108 --Door, 188, 206 --Gate, 163 --God, 50 --Judgment, 50, 53, 247 --Green, 109, 113, 123, 217 --Hall, 60, 218 --Hawk, 218 --High Mouth, 111 --House, 15, 83, 161, 166, 215 --River, 112 --Scales, 50 --Throne, 147Greyhounds, 212Gum, 6

Hair of Bata's wife, 202Hait, 185Hall of Keb, 60, 248 --of Judgment, 50, 247 --of Maāti, 51, 53 --of Shu, 60 --of Truth, 55, 60, 248 --of Tuat, 42Hammāmāt, 113Hap-Asar, 149Happiness, 232Harmakhis, 46, 248Harper, Song of, 242Harris Papyrus, No. 1, 110 --No. 500, 241, 242, 254Hasau, 112Hathaba, 194Hathor, 21, 72, 73, 114, 134, 164, 165, 248, 253 --month of, 253 --Sekhmet, 72Hathors, the Seven, 202Hatshepset, 145Haughtiness, 226Haunebu, 102Hawk, golden; 43 divine, 43 the Great, 91Hawks, 20Head, lifting up of, 44Headsman of Osiris, 43Heart, 50 amulet of the, 42 of Bata, 201 of bull, 15 Chapters of, 42 of a man, 230 restoration of, 44Heart-scarabs, 51Heat in body, 44Heaven, solar, 39Heavens, the Two, 23Heben, 79Hebit, 248Hebrews, 241Heh, 101Height, 19Heliopolis, 15, 24, 32, 36, 39, 43, 46, 48, 52, 61, 70, 72, 123, 220, 222, 235, 245, 248Heliopolitans, 67Hememet, 219Hensu, 47, 53, 73, 117, 121, 170, 171, 175Henu Boat, 46Hep, 85, 86, 176Heqet, 33, 34Herakleopolis, 47, 73, 81, 117, 121, 170, 171, 175Herānkh, 149, 150, 151Herfhaf, 54Her-Heru, 186, 190, 193Herit, 156Herkemmaāt, 56Herkhuf, autobiography of, 131 ff. Hermonthis, 123Hermopolis, 39, 43, 50, 53, 60, 84, 117, 119 Parva, 85Hermopolitans, 67Heron, 43Hert, 19Herua, 207Heru-Behutet, Legend of, 78 ff. Heru-uatu, 166Heruemheb, 254Heru-Hekenu, 77Herukhentisemti, 114Heru-Khuti, 45, 46, 111, 220Herushefit, 178Herutataf, 29, 30, 31, 33, 50, 242Heru-ur, 164Het Benben, 123 --Benu, 117-19Hetkaptah, 45, 112, 149, 220Het-neter-Sebek, 117Het Nub, 130, 131, 146Hetra, 247Het Sekhmet, 34 --Suten, 117Het Uārt, 140Hieratic writing, 1Hieroglyphic writing, 1Hieroglyphs, 220Hippopotami, 78Holy Land, 45 --of Holies, 146Honey, 159Horizon, 30Horus, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 33, 44, 48, 53, 56, 65, 69, 77, 80, 85, 88, 91, 110, 111, 137, 149, 151, 162, 164, 165, 218, 220, 254, birth of, 90 children of, 221 --of Behutet, Legend of, 77 ff. --of the East, 164, 218 --stung and restored to life, 90, 92Horus-Set, 14Horus the Slayer, 104House, building of, 43 --of Amen, 113 --of Benben, 216 --of Books, 98 --of Fire, 215 --of Ka of Seker, 149 --of Life, 84 --of Seneferu, 100 --of Shent, 154Humility, 227Hunefer, Papyrus of, 45Hyksos, 254Hymn, funerary, 47 in praise of learning, 250 --to Nut, 18 to Rā, 18Hymns to gods, 12, 214-21

Ibis-god, 84Illahūn, 121Imhetep, 84, 129, 242Immortality, 38Imouthis, 84Incantations, 41Incarnation, 11, 13, 249Incense, 13, 218Ink, 6 red and black, 4Ink-pots, 7Iron, 15 spear and chain, 78Isis, 33, 34, 43, 46, 65, 69, 75, 80, 81, 85, 88, 89, 91, 92, 97, 109, 149 --and Rā, Legend of, 74 ff. Isis, blood of, 56 --speech of, 63 --wanderings of, 87 ff. Island of Elephantine, 83 --of Fire, 43 --of Osiris, 54Islands of the Blest, 244 --Mediterranean, 164Israel, 224, 240It, 151

Jackal-God, 15Joppa, capture of, 254Joseph, 83Judge of the dead, 2Judges, the Forty-two, 42, 52 ff. Judgment Hall of Osiris, 42 --the Great, 2

KA, 11, 16 of Osiris, 45Kaau, 128Kadesh, 104Kaheni, 123Kamur, 157Kamutef, 76, 214Karnak, 118, 147, 148, 214, 215Kash, 102, 103, 114, 135, 142, 144, 207Keb, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 33, 44, 60, 62, 72, 74, 85, 111, 151, 220Keeper of the Balance, 50Kefti, 108Kenset, 146Kepuna, 186, 238Kerkut, 20Kersher, 59Ketu, 108Khāemennefer, 140Khāemuast, 192Khāfrā, 25, 36Khāhap, 151, 154Khākaurā, 101Khākhepersenb, 235, 236Khākhut, 146Khānefer Merenrā, 130, 131Khānēs, 170Khartūm, 102Kharu, 185Khemenu, 22, 92, 95Khensu-nefer-hetep, Legend of, 92 ff. Khensu-paari-sekherenuast, 95 ff. Khenthennefer, 141, 142Khentiaaush, 164Khent Keshu, 164Khenti Amentiu, 65Khepera, 47, 55, 68, 69, 70, 76, 121, 215Kheperkarā, 135, 162Khepra-Set, 111Kheprer, 19Kherāha, 46, 53, 218Kher-Heb priest, 13, 25, 27, 63, 84, 131, 132, 151Khert Nefer, 132, 148Khet, 142Khnemetast, 155Khnemet-heru, 142Khnemu; 33, 34, 39, 43, 50, 60, 137, 151, 201, 202, 222, 238 Legend of, 83 ff. Khuenanpu, story of, 169 ff. Khufu, 25, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 50, 242Khuna, 133Khut serpent, 108Khuti, 218Kīnā, 104King an incarnation of God, 11Kingdom of Osiris, 42, 45Kummah, 101Kutut, 112

Labu, 112Ladder, 21Lady of Plague, 175 --of the Stars, 167Lake of Fire, 22 --of Kamur, 157 --of Neserser, 220 --of the North, 79 --of Seneferu, 156 --of Truth, 54Lamentations; 238 of Isis and Nephthys, 62Land of the Blacks, 100 --of everlasting Life, 41 --of Oxen, 169 --of Souls, 247 --of Spirits, 134 --of the God, 108, 113, 125Lapis-lazuli, 50, 64, 218, 238 powdered, 6Lasmersekni, 117Laughter, 238Law, the, 254Law-goddess, 47Lepsius, Dr. R. , 28, 37Letopolis, 91, 151Letopolites, 32Letters, business, 7Leyden, 237, 242Learning, value of, 250Lebanon, 189, 190, 191Library, 8 of Heliopolis, 154Libyans, 109, 112, 156Lies, 40Life, everlasting, 44, 55 --fluid of, 16Light-god, 43, 46Light-soul, 74Lightning, 250Lime, white, 6Limestone, slabs of, for writing upon, 7Lion, 32Lists, 7Litany, 45 of Osiris, 42Liturgy of Funerary Offerings, 16, 17, 38 --of Opening the Mouth, 13Lord of Silence, 171 --of Truth, 183 --of Winds, 54Lotus, 43Louvre, 247Love Songs, 241Luck, 220Luxor, 118, 148, 215, 252 temple of, 93

Maāt, 44, 47, 48Maātet, 88, 89Maāti, the Two, 51Maātka, 126Maātkarā, 144, 145, 146Magic, 26, 252, 253Magical papyri, 252Magicians, stories of, 25 ff. Maka, 164Makamāru, 186Maker of Truth, 218Malachite, 27Mandrakes, 73Manetho, 98Mankind, destruction of, 71Manu, Land of, 47, 48Mariette, A. , 10Mashuashau, 112Maspero, Prof. G. , 10Matcha, 128, 131Matchau, 214Mātet, 123Mathematics, 254Maxims of Ani, 228Medicine, 252Mediterranean, 79, 83, 109Megiddo, Conquest of, 103Mehen, 215, 218Mehetch, 135, 136Mehturit, 76Mekes, 215Mekher, 133Melons, 209Memory, 42Memphis, 25, 45, 84, 112, 121, 122, 127, 133, 149, 151, 152, 153, 220, 224, 225, 245 capture of, 122 cakes of, 62Men, creation of, 74, 217Menats, 167Menes, 38Menkabuta, 185Menkaurā, 4, 36, 38, 50, 126Menkheperrā, 144, 145Menth, 123Menthu, 104, 161, 164, 165Mentiu, 141Menu, 151, 164Menu-Amen, 215Menus, 164Mera, 86Meremaptu, 207Merenrā, 9, 130, 131, 132Mernat, 170Mer-Tem, 117Mertet-Ament, 79Meru, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 178, 184Mesentiu, 13Meskha, 23 instrument, 15Meskhenet, 33, 34Mesopotamia, 6, 92, 106, 144Messiah, 237Mest, 123Mestet, 88, 89Mestetef, 88, 89Mesu Betshet, 48Metal workers, 251Meter, 83, 84 ff. Methen, 109Metternich Stele, 88Mist, 68Mitani, 109Monkeys, 212Monsters, 246Moon, creation of, 69Moon-god, 48Moral character, 231 --rectitude, 246Morning Boat, 47, 48 --Star, 24Mother, duty to, 230Mouth, Opening the, 11, 13, 42Muhammad Āli, 88Muller, 7Mummification, 247Mummy, 55 chamber, 40, 42Murder, 52Mycerinus, 38Myrrh, 168, 211, 218

Nak serpent, 215Name, a word of power, 69 --of Rā, 75Napata, 119, 125Natron, 14, 218 incense of, 38Nāu, 57Nebertcher, 44, 49, 53, 68, 69, 70, 121, 162, 167Nebka, 25, 26, 27Nebkaurā, 173, 184Nebpehtirā, 140, 144Nebt Amehet, 164 --Ānkh, 218 --hetepet, 248Nebun, 88Necklaces, 147Nectanebus I, 88, 246Neferbaiu, 164Neferefrā, 127Nefer-hetep, 242Neferit, 155Neferkarā, 134Nefert, 169Nefert-ari-karā, 127Neferu Rā, 93-144Nefrus, 117Negative Confession, 61Nehai, 248Neharina, 143, 144Nehern, 92, 106Neith, 124Neka, 220Nekau, 156, 222Nekheb, 127, 131, 140Nekhebet, 60, 79, 82, 162, 248Nekhen, 43, 47, 127, 128, 131Nekhtnebtepnefer, 139Nemart, 117, 119, 120Nemes, 215Nephthys, 33, 34, 69, 85, 90, 91, 109, 149 speech of, 63Neserser, 220Neshem Boat, 60Nessubanebtet, 185, 186, 188, 191Net to snare souls, 43Netchemtchemānkh, 85Night, 17 left eye of Rā, 220Nile, 47, 65, 76, 82, 84, 85, 112, 122, 123, 165, 216, 220, 221, 237 the celestial, 23 floods of, 136, 137 god of, 86, 176, 220 heights of, 100 springs of, 83 water of, 5Nine Bows, 106 --Gods, 111, 214Nomes, 238 the Forty-two, 51North Island, 129Nose, 53Nu, 24, 68, 69, 72, 86, 220Nubia, 77, 78, 82, 83, 97, 102, 103, 106, 114, 116, 125, 135, 142, 144, 145, 146, 208Nubians, 119, 155, 214, 215, 218Nubt, 167Nubti, 123, 220Numbers, invention of, 1Nut, 16, 18, 20, 33, 44, 46, 47, 69, 72, 74, 85, 164 as a cow, 73

Oasis of Farāfrah, 169 --of Sīwah, 71Obedience, 227Obelisks, 147Ochre, 6Offerings, efficacy of, 38, 247 to God, 230Oils, 18Ombos, 123On (_see_ Anu), 15, 217One, 217Onions, 17Opening of the Mouth, 152Opportunity, 228Orion, 23Osiris, 14, 15, 21, 22, 24, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 50, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 67, 69, 85, 111, 151, 153, 163, 171, 244, 246 accused by Set, 2 death and resurrection of, 12 Hymn to, 42, 44, 45, 221 Island of, 54 Khenti Amenti, 61, 127 Litany to, 42 murder of, 87 mummy of, 91 tomb of, 81 Un-Nefer, 44Other World, 10, 11, 16, 17, 42, 45, 216, 219, 244 guides to, 224Oxyrrhynchus, 119

Paints, 6Palermo Stone, 99Palestine, 254Palette, 2, 6Panopolis, 151Panther skins, 212Paper, Egyptian, 4Papyrus, 4, 191 how made into paper, 5 swamps, 88Parchment, 4, 7Pasherenptah, 152Pa-Sui, 88Pāt beings, 206, 218Patchetku, 140Pautti, 57, 68, 222, 223Pectoral amulet, 147Pellegrini, 100Pe, 43Pen, quill, or steel, 7Pen-Amen, 191, 192Pepi I, 9, 18, 19, 24, 127 --II, 9, 133Perfefa, 170Perfumer, 243Per-Metchet, 117-19Pernebtepahet, 117Per-pek, 119Per-Rehu, 79Persea Tree, 54Per Sekhem Kheper Rā, 117Perseverance, 230Pert, 32, 80, 101, 153Pesh-Kef, 13Pet, 19Pe-Tep, 43, 92Peta-Bast, 152, 153Petamennebtnesttaui, 124Peten, 157Petet, 88, 89Pharaoh, 93, 127, 189, 202Pharaohs, 71Pharmuthi, 253Philae, 102Phœnicia, 108Phœnix, 45Piānkhi invades Egypt, 116 ff. Picture writing, 1Pillow amulet, 43Planets, 62Pleasure, 243Ploughing, 197Poetical compositions, 241Polisher, 6Pomegranate, 241Pool of the South, 54Potsherds, 7Power of Powers, 23Prayers, 41 for the dead, 12Priests, funerary, 9Prisse d'Avennes, 92Prophets, Hebrew, 200Ptah, 25, 43, 60, 67, 70, 84, 111, 121, 151, 152, 153, 214, 219, 220, 248Ptah-hetep, 225, 228 Precepts of, 224Ptah-Seker-Osiris, 40Ptah-Seker-Tem, 45Ptah-Shepses, 126Ptolemaïs, 151Ptolemy II, 98 --Philopator, 149Puarma, 117, 224Pumpkins, 209Punt, 113, 134, 135, 147, 164, 211, 214, 215Purastau, 112Pygmy, 133, 134Pylons of Tuat, 42Pyramid, the Great, 242 --Texts, 9, 38Pyramids, 36, 238 futility of, 232

Qaiqashau, 112Qakabu, 207Qanefer, 155Qarabana, 112Qebti, 136Qebtit, 113Qehequ, 112, 114Qerti, 53, 85Qetem, 157, 162Qetma, 164Qett, 113

Rā, 18, 20, 21, 24, 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 47, 48, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 64, 67, 69, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 84, 85, 89, 91, 92, 103, 111, 115, 116, 123, 146, 149, 162, 164, 165, 167, 176, 199, 214, 215, 216, 218, 219, 222, 234, 236, 253 titles of, 75Rā and Isis, Legend of, 74 --three sons of, 33-6 --Will of, 253Raau, 127Rā Harmakhis, 77, 199, 200, 201, 202, 222Rain clouds, 68Rā-Khepera, 221Ram, 91Ram-god, 152Rameses II, 92, 96, 99 --III, 254 summary of reign of, 110 ff. --IV, 115, 116 --IX, 192Rāqet, 149, 153Rāqetit, 149Rastau, 43, 49, 53, 54, 153Rāuser, 33, 34, 35Reant, 140Re-birth, 14Receipts, 7Recensions of Book of the Dead, 39Red Country, 138 --Fiends, 68 --Mountain, 156 --Sea, 113, 208 --water, 51Reed for writing, 2, 7, 6Register, 85 of heaven, 2Reincarnation, 70Rekhit, 216Rekhti, 137Rennet, 86Rensi, 170-84Respect for elders, 229Resurrection, 59, 62, 88Retenu, 108Rethenu, 143Rhind Papyrus, 253, 254Ritual of Divine Cult, 248, 249 --of Embalmment, 247River and Acacia, 202Robbery of temples, 51Romances, 254Rubric, 56Rut-tetet, 32-6

Sa, 216Sacrifices, 247Saah, 23Sāara, 112Sāhal, 83Sāhu, 14Sahurā, 126Saïs, 122, 124, 245Sakhabu, 32Sakkārah, 4, 9, 10, 245Salt Papyrus, 253Salvation, 59Sameref, 13Sanctuary of God, 229Sandals, town of, 88Sanehat, travels of, 155 ff. Sapti, 32Sarābit al-Khādim, 208Satet, 141Satiu, 156, 157Scarab, the heart, 50Scents, 11Sceptre; 14 amulet of, 43School, 231 schools, 7Scorpions, the Seven, 88Scribe, 2, 230, 257Scriptures, 7Seal, clay, 7Seasons, 1Sea of Truth, 172Seba, a devil, 48, 63, 215, 223Sebek, 164Sebur, 15Sehetepabrā, 155, 157Seker, 43, 44, 46, 49, 221 --Boat, 46 --Osiris, 149Sekhem, 91, 151Sekhet Aaru, 41, 45, 74 --Hemat, 169, 170, 184 --Hetep, 41, 74Sekhmet, 157, 175, 248Sektet, 123 --Boat, 218Sekti, 73Sem, 13Seman, 14Semnah, 101Semsuu, 164Semt Ament, 44Semti, 38Seneferu, 27, 28, 29, 100, 156Senmut, 208Senut, 151Sep, 13Sept, 57, 85Septet, 20Seqenenrā, 140, 254Serapis, 149Serpent 30 cubits long, 209Serpents, spells against, 43Serqet, 57, 91, 220Set, 13, 15, 18, 20, 21, 33, 48, 65, 68, 69, 79, 80, 81, 87, 88, 90, 92, 218, 220 --vilifies Osiris, 2Setcher, 128Setem, 63Seti I, 71, 99, 246, 247, 249Set-nekht, 111Setu, 133Shadow, 192Shaiqaemanu, 123Shaiu, 112Sharhana, 141Shartanau, 110, 112, 114Shasu, 112, 144Sheepskin, 4Shēkh of caravans, 131Shemmu, 76, 151, 152Shemit, 50Shent, 154Shepherd of Israel, 240Shepseskaf, 126Shert, 129Shesmu, 22Ship, 208 wreck of, 208Shipwrecked traveller, story of, 207 ff. Shoemaker, 252Shu, 16, 60, 61, 69, 72, 74, 85, 86, 220 --Hymn to, 222Sidon, 189Silence, 227, 231Silver-gold, 146Sinai, 102, 114, 145, 208Sistra, 33, 167Sīwah, 71Six Great Houses, 127Skin for writing, 4, 7Sky-goddess, 18, 20, 44, 47, 69Slaughter, 43Smait fiends, 81Smamiu, 65Smaur, 24Smen, 21, 248Smen Heru, 151Smendes, 185Smer, 13Snakes, 43Soane Museum, 247Solomon, 224Somaliland, 93, 215Song of Solomon, 241 --the Harper, 242Sothis, 20, 24, 85Soul, 46 of God, 43 of Rā, 45 of Shu, 61 rejoining body, 43 talk with, 231Souls of Anu, 20, 43 of East, 43 of Khemenu, 43 of Nekhen, 43 of Pe, 43 of West, 43Spells, 12, 41, 250 against crocodiles, 57 engraved, 43Spirit-soul, 18, 44Spirit-souls, 22 the Four, 21Spirits, evil, 246 of heaven, 61 --of offerings, 11Stanley, Sir H. M. , 25Star-gods, 21, 46Stars, 62 imperishable, 24Sti, 141Stinking Face, 53, 80Stone for writing upon, 4Stonemason, 251Stone of Abu, 85 of Truth, 60Stone-splitter, 25Storm, 208Storm-god, 189Stumbling in Tuat, 43Sūdān, 4, 100, 133, 145, 165, 207, 215Sin, 49Sui, 56Sun-god, 15, 18, 19, 39, 57, 68, 70, 199, 200, 245, 250 Hymn to, 42, 220Sutekh, 189Suten ta hetep, 149Swallow, 43Sycamore, 89, 241Syene, 165Symbols, writing, 1Syria, 102, 108, 114, 125, 129, 143, 185, 192, 238

Table of Offerings, 18Taboo, 51, 56, 57Tafnekht, 117, 119, 121, 123, 124Taha, 88Taherstanef, 44Tait, 113Taiutchait, 117Tale of Two Brothers, 196 ff. Talismans, 147Talk, subjects of, 230Tamera, 53, 110, 111, 112, 164, 167Tambourines, 64 women, 152Tanauna, 112Tanis, 81, 185Tashenatit, 59Taskmasters, 50Taste, 220Ta-sti, 77, 106, 109Ta-tchesert, 47, 48, 64Ta-tehen, 119Ta-Tenn, 115Tatu (Busiris), 44, 45, 46, 61Tatunen, 47Tax gatherers, 7Tchah, 108, 144Tchakar-Bāl, 186, 193Tchakaru, 185, 194Tchal, 81Tchān, 185Tchār, 81Tchatchamānkh, 27, 28, 29, 34, 36Tchatchau, 50, 164Tcheser, 242 and famine, 183Tcheserkarā, 142, 144Tcheser tcheseru, 146Tcheser-tep, 22Tefen, 88, 89Tefnut, 18, 69, 72, 89, 220, 222Tehnah, 119Tehuti (god), 1 --autobiography of, 145 ff. --em heb, 93 --Nekht, 170-4Tem, Temu, 19, 22, 39, 56, 57, 60, 67, 76, 77, 91, 111, 116, 121, 123, 164, 215, 218, 221, 223Temple of Aged One, 48 --of Millions of Years, 146Temple of the Soul, 47Temu-Heru-Khuti, 217Temu Khepera, 218Tenen, 154Tep, 253Terres, 133Tet amulet of Isis, 43, 56 --pillar, 43, 151Teta, 9, 127 --the magician, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36Tetaān, 142Tet-Seneferu, 29, 30Thaiemhetep, 149 ff. Thakra, 112Thebans, 67Thebes, 68, 79, 92, 93, 104, 109, 118, 119, 161, 165, 194, 219, 220, 241, 242, 245, 249Thehenu, 109, 156; oil of, 18Thekansh, 117Themeh, 128, 133, 157Themehu, 156Thenn, 165Thennu, 159, 160, 162Thent Amen, 185, 188, 191 --Mut, 194Thenttaāmu, 141Thes, 138Thest, 129Thetet, 88, 89Thetha, Autobiography of, 137 ff. Thieves, prosecution of, 254This, 138Thoth, 1-4, 13, 29, 30, 32, 37, 43, 45, 47, 48, 50, 55, 56, 60, 61, 67, 78, 82, 84, 87, 88, 91, 92, 120, 151, 176, 207, 218, 220, 222, 248 city of, 39Thothmes I, 103, 144, 145 --II, 102, 103, 144 --III, 99, 103, 106, 144, 145, 154Throne, crystal, 24Thunders, 250Thunderstorm, 18Tomb, 42, 242Tongue, 230Transformations, 43Transmutation of offerings, 17, 49Tree of Life, 220Triad, 69Truth, 47, 48, 66, 218, 221, 236, 249Truth, goddess of, 61 --Hall of, 60 --Lake of, 54 --Stone of, 60Tuat, 11, 41, 43, 60, 61, 115, 219, 244, 245, 247 chamber, 17, 123, 151 described, 40, 56Tuataua ships, 100Tuauf, Precepts of, 250Tuf, 20Turin Papyri, 37, 99Turquoise, 238Two Brothers, the, 109, 196 --ears of king, 151 --eyes of king, 151 --Lands, 115 --Men, 218 --Sisters, 109 --Treasuries, 148Tyre, 186

Uahānkh, 137, 138, 139Uarkathar, 189Uārt, 129Uartha, 186Uasheshu, 112Uatchet, 60, 79, 82, 162Uatch-merti, 57Uatchti, 215Uauat, 128, 131, 208Uauatet, 77, 82, 84Ubaaner, 25, 26, 27, 36Uhat, 133Un, 119Una, Autobiography of, 127 ff. Unas, 9, 18, 20, 21, 22Understanding, 220Unguents, the Seven, 13, 243Un-Nefer, 44, 45, 46, 51, 63, 65, 67Unti, 40Unuamen, Travels of, 185 ff. Upuatu, 21Ur-kherp-hem, 152, 153Urmau, 32Urrit, 164Urrt Crown, 15, 46, 215, 216Userhat, 185Userkaf, 36, 126Userenrā, 127Usert, 89Usertsen I, 135, 155 --III, 99, 101, 152Uthentiu, 109

Valley of Acacia, 200, 201, 203Vegetation, 70Venus, 24Vignettes of Book of the Dead, 39Vital power, 11Vulture amulet, 43

Wādī an-Natrūn, 169Wādī Halfah, 101 --Maghārah, 208Washerman, 252Water, boiling, 43 celestial, 216 holy, 60, 66 offering, 229 supply, 43 fowl, 19Wax figures, 68Weighing of words, 22West, souls of, 43Westcar Papyrus, 25Wheat, 45Whip, 215Whirlwind, 250White Wall, 121, 151, 153Wife, burning of a, 27 duties to, 227Wine, 17Winged Disk, 77Wisdom, 227Wolf-god, 57Woman, the strange, 228Wood for writing upon, 4Words, ill-natured, 230 of power, 41, 42, 75, 246Work, importance of, 227 to avoid, 42Worms in tomb, 43Writing, boards for, 7 exercises in, 7 three kinds of, 1 ff. Sacred, 1 materials, 4

Zoan, 81, 185

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