Egyptian Literature Part 38

26.2 They sink in the sand. Thou must have recourse to prayers, and thou gettest puzzled in thy address. Give me victuals and water, and I

26.3 shall reach my safety. They pretend to be deaf, they do not listen: they do not consent. Thou orderest:

26.4 "Pa.s.s to the forge! Pa.s.s through the workshops!" Workmen in wood and metals and workmen in leather come before thee: they do

26.5 all thou wishest. They repair thy car, leaving aside all unserviceable pieces: they nail on again

26.6 a new pole: they replace the fittings: they replace the leathers of the harness, and at the back

26.7 they consolidate thy yoke: they replace the metallic ornaments: they incrust the marquetry:

26.8 they put on the handle of thy whip and arrange the thongs. Thou leavest very hastily

26.9 to fight at the perilous post; to perform valiant deeds.

_Section 5_

27.1 Mapou, O chosen scribe! Mohar, who knows his hand, conductor of the Arunas, chief of Tsebaou, explorer of the most distant limits of the land of Pa ... thou dost not

27.2 answer me anyhow: thou givest me no account; come let me tell all that happened to thee at the end of thy road. I begin

27.3 for thee at the dwelling of Sestsou (Rameses): hast thou not forced thy way therein? Hast thou not eaten fishes of...?

27.4 Hast thou not bathed therein? Oh, come, let us describe Atsion to thee: where is its fortress?

27.5 Come to the house of Ouati; to Sestsou-em-paif-nakhtou-ousormara;(461) to Sats ... aal,

27.6 also to Aksakaba? I have pictured to you Anini. Knowest thou not its customs? Nekhai,

27.7 and Rehoboth, hast thou not seen them since thy birth, O eminent Mohar? Raphia,

27.8 how about its entrenchment? It covers the s.p.a.ce of an _aour_ going toward Gaza.

27.9 Answer quickly, and speak to me of what I have said of a Mohar concerning thee. I have thunderstruck

28.1 the strangers at thy name of Marina: I have told them of thy fierce humor, according to which word thou saidst: "I am fit for all works; I have been taught by my father, who had verified his judgment millions of times. I

28.2 can hold the reins, and also am skilful in action. Courage never forsakes my limbs; I am of the race Mentou."

All that issues from thy tongue is very thwarting: thy phrases

28.3 are very puzzling: thou comest to me enveloped in difficulties charged with recrimination. Thou cuttest off the discourse of those who come in thy presence; thou dost not disgust thyself with fumbling, and

28.4 with a stern face sayest: "Hasten ye: and desist not! How to do not to be able to succeed in it, and how to do to succeed in it?"(462) No! I stop not, for I arrive; let thy preoccupation get calmed:

28.5 tranquillize thy heart: prepare not privations for him who offerest himself to eat. I have mutilated the end of thy book, and I send it to thee back, as thou didst request; thy orders acc.u.mulate on my tongue, they rest on my lips:

28.6 but they are difficult to understand; an unskilful man could not distinguish them; they are like the words of a man of Athou with a man of Abou. Yet thou art a scribe of Pharaoh; whose goodness reveals the essence of the universe.

28.7 Be gracious when seeing this work, and say not, "Thou hast made my name repugnant to the rabble, to all men." See I have made for thee the portrait of the Mohar: I have travelled for thee through foreign provinces. I have collected

28.8 for thee nations and cities after their customs. Be gracious to us: behold them calmly: find words to speak of them when thou wilt be with the prince Ouah.

Dirge Of Menephtah

Translated by S. Birch, LL.D.

The following short poetical eulogium of a king, apparently of Menephtah or Seti II of the nineteenth dynasty, is found in Papyrus Anastasi 4 of the British Museum. It is published in "Select Papyri," pl. lx.x.xiv, l.

2-9; lx.x.xv, l. 1. Although not divided by red dots it is clearly poetic in style, and is accordingly given in paragraphs. From the final line it appears to be addressed to the monarch after his death. Although the t.i.tles do not exactly correspond with those of Rameses II, or Menephtah, it appears to relate to him, as the papyrus is of his reign and that of Seti II of the same dynasty. It may indeed refer to this later monarch; but as no cartouche is given and the t.i.tles after the palatial or so-called Horus ones are doubtful, it is uncertain whom the monarch is to whom it refers. It has been translated by M. Chabas ("_L'Egypt aux temps de l'exode_," Chalons, 1873, p. 118).

DIRGE OF MENEPHTAH

1 Amen gave thy heart pleasure, 2 he gave thee a good old age, 3 a lifetime of pleasure followed thee 4 blessed was thy lip, sound thy arm 5 strong thy eye to see afar 6 thou hast been clothed in linen.(463) 7 Thou hast guided thy horse and chariot 8 of gold with thy hand 9 the whip in thy hand, yoked were the steeds 10 the Xaru,(464) and Nahsi,(465) marched before thee 11 a proof of what thou hadst done 12 thou hast proceeded to thy boat of _as_(466) wood 13 a boat made of it before and behind 14 thou hast approached the beautiful tower which 15 thou thyself made 16 thy mouth was full of wine, beer, bread and flesh 17 were slaughtered cattle and wine opened: 18 the sweet song was made before thee 19 thy head anointer anointed thee with _kami_(467) 20 the chief of thy garden pools brought crown 21 the superintendent of thy fields brought birds 22 thy fisherman brought fish 23 thy galley came from Xaru(468) laden with good things 24 thy stable was full of horses(469) 25 thy female slaves were strong(470) 26 thy enemies were placed fallen 27 thy word no one opposed 28 Thou hast gone before the G.o.ds the victor the justified!(471)

Hymn To The Nile

Translated by Rev. F. C. Cook

This hymn is important as bearing witness to the state of religious thought in Egypt in the time of Merneptah, the son of Rameses II, nineteenth dynasty, according to the generality of Egyptologers, contemporary with Moses. It is extant in two papyri, "Sallier," ii, p. 11, "Select Papyri," pls. xx-xxiii, and "Anastasi," vii. "Select Papyri," pls.

cx.x.xiv-cx.x.xix, published by the trustees of the British Museum.

The name of the author Enna is well known. He wrote the "Romance of the Two Brothers" and other works preserved in the "Select Papyri," and partially translated by Mr. Goodwin, in "Cambridge Essays," 1858, p. 257, and M. G. Maspero, in "_Genre epistolaire chez les anciens Egyptiens_,"

Paris, 1872.

A translation of this hymn was published by Maspero ("_Hymne au Nil_"), in 1868, with an introduction and critical notes of great value.

The attention of the reader is specially called to the metrical structure of this poem. The stanzas, containing upon an average ten couplets, are distinctly marked in the original, the first word in each being written in red letters; hence the origin of rubricated MSS. Each clause also has a red point at the close. The resemblance with the earliest Hebrew poems has been pointed out by the translator in the "Introduction to the Book of Psalms," and in the "Notes on Exodus," in the "Speaker's Commentary on the Bible."

HYMN TO THE NILE

I. _Strophe_ _Adoration of the Nile_

1 Hail to thee O Nile!

2 Thou showest thyself in this land, 3 Coming in peace, giving life to Egypt: 4 O Ammon, (thou) leadest night unto day,(472) 5 A leading that rejoices the heart!

6 Overflowing the gardens created by Ra.(473) 7 Giving life to all animals; 8 Watering the land without ceasing: 9 The way of heaven descending:(474) 10 Lover of _food_, bestower of corn, 11 Giving light to every home, O Ptah!