Chapter XII: Part 12

"If thou failest, follow a successful man; let all thy conduct be good before God. When thou knowest that a little man hath advanced, let not thine heart be proud towards him by reason of what thou knowest of him; a man who hath advanced, be respectful to him in proportion to what hath arrived to him; for behold, possessions do not come of themselves, it is their [the gods'] law for those whom they love: verily he who hath risen, he hath been prudent for himself, and it is God that maketh his success; and he would punish him for it if he were indolent."

11. [Take reasonable recreation.]

"Follow thy heart the time that thou hast; do not more than is commanded; diminish not the time of following the heart; that is abomination to the soul, that its moment[292] should be disregarded. Spend not [on labor] the time of each day beyond what [is necessary] for furnishing thy house. When possessions are obtained, follow the heart; for possessions are not made full use of if [the owner] is _weary_."

12. [Treatment of a son.]

"If thou art a successful man and thou makest a son by God's grace [?], if he is accurate, goeth again in thy way and attendeth to thy business on the proper occasion, do unto him every good thing: he is thy son to whom it belongeth, that thy _Ka_ begat: estrange not thy heart from him; _inheritance_ [?] _maketh quarrels_. [?] If he err and transgress thy way, and refuseth [?] everything said while his mouth babbleth vain words...."

13. [Be patient in the law court.]

"If thou art in the council hall, standing and sitting until thy going [forward], that hath been commanded for thee on the earliest day: go not away if thou art kept back, while the face is attentive to him who entereth and reporteth, and the place of him who is summoned is broad.[293] The council hall is according to rule, and all its method according to measure. It is God that promoteth position; it is not done to those who are ready of elbows."

14. [Make friends with all men.]

15. [Report progress, whether good or evil, to your chief.]

16. [A leader with wide instructions should pursue a far-sighted policy.]

17. [A leader should listen to complaints.]

18. [Beware of women.]

"If thou wishest to prolong friendship in a house into which thou enterest as master, as brother, or as friend, [in fact in] any place that thou enterest, beware of approaching the women: no place in which that is done prospereth. The face is not watchful in attaining it. A thousand men are injured in order to be profited for a little moment, like a dream, by tasting which death is reached."...

19. [Keep from injustice or covetousness.]

"If thou desirest thy procedure to be good, take thyself from all evil: beware of any covetous aim. That is as the painful disease of colic. He who entereth on it is not successful. It embroileth fathers and mothers with the mother's brothers, it separateth wife and husband. It is a thing that taketh to itself all evils, a bundle of all wickedness. A man liveth long whose rule is justice, who goeth according to its [the rule's] movements. He maketh a property thereby, while a covetous man hath no house."

20. [Be satisfied with a fair share.]

"Let not thine heart be extortionate about shares, in grasping at what is not thy portion. Let not thy heart be extortionate towards thy neighbors: greater is the prayer to a kindly person than force. Poor is he that carrieth off his neighbors [by violence] without the persuasion of words. A little for which there hath been extortion maketh remorse when the blood[294] is cool."

21. [Pay attention to thy wife when thou hast attained a competence.]

"If thou art successful and hast furnished thine house, and lovest the wife of thy bosom, fill her belly, clothe her back. The medicine for her body is oil. Make glad her heart during the time that thou hast. She is a field profitable to its owner."...

22. [Entertain visitors with thy means.]

23. [Do not repeat scandal [?].]

24. [Talk not of unfamiliar things in the council.]

25. [Advice to an able speaker.]

"If thou art strong, inspiring awe by knowledge or by pleasing, speak in first command; that is to say, not according to [another's] lead. The weak man [?] entereth into error. Raise not thine heart, lest it be cast down. Be not silent. Beware of interruption and of answering words with heat [?].... The flames of a fiery heart sweep away the mild man, when a fighter treadeth on his path. He who doth accounts all day long hath not a pleasant moment; he who enjoyeth himself all day long doth not provide his house. The archer will hit his mark even as he that worketh the rudder, at one time letting it alone, at another pulling; he that obeyeth his heart [conscience?] shall _command_."

26. [Do not add to others' burdens.]

27. [Teach a noble what will profit him.]

28. [Deliver an official message straightforwardly.]

29. [Call not to remembrance favors that you have bestowed, when the recipient has ceased to thank you.]

30. [Advice to one that has risen in the world.]

"If thou gainest great after small things and makest wealth after poverty, so that thou art an example thereof in thy city, thou art known in thy nome and thou art become prominent: do not wrap up [?] thy heart in thy riches that have come to thee by the gift of God,... another like unto thee to whom the like hath fallen."

31. [Obedience to chief.]

"Bend thy back to thy chief, thy superior of the king's house, on whose property thine house dependeth, and thy payments[295] in their proper place. It is ill to be at variance with the chief. One liveth [only] while he is gracious."...

32. [Against lewdness.]

33. [Judge a friend's character at first hand.]

"If thou seekest the character of a friend, mind thou, do not ask; go to him, occupy thyself with him alone so as not to interfere with his business. Argue with him after a season, test [?] his heart with an instance of speech."...

34. [Be cheerful to friends.]

"Let thy face be shining the time that thou hast: verily that which cometh out of the store doth not enter again; but bread is for apportionment, and he that is niggardly is an accuser, empty of his belly. It befalleth that a quarrelsome man is a spoiler of things; do it not unto him who cometh unto thee. The remembrance of a man is of his kindliness in the years after the staff [of power?]."[296]

35. [Importance of credit.]

"Know[297] thy tradesman when thy affairs are unsuccessful; thy good reputation with thy friend is a channel well filled; it is more important than a man's wealth. The property of one belongeth to another. A profitable thing is the good reputation of a man's son to him. The nature is better than the memory."[?]

36. [Punish for an example, instruct for the principle.]

37. [Treat kindly a seduced woman.]

"If thou makest a woman ashamed, wanton of heart, whom her fellow townspeople know to be under two laws,[298] be kind to her a season; send her not away, let her have food to eat. The wantonness of her heart _appreciateth guidance_."

38. [Advantage of obedience to rule.]

"If thou hearkenest to these things that I tell thee, and all thy behavior is according to what precedeth,[299] verily they have a true course. They are precious, their memory goeth in the mouth of men by reason of the excellence of their phrasing; and each saying is carried on; it is not destroyed out of this land ever; it maketh a rule to advantage by which the nobles may speak. It is a teaching for a man that he may speak to the future. He that heareth them becometh an expert. A good hearer speaketh to the future of what he hath heard. If good fortune befalleth by reason of him who is at the head of affairs, it is to him good forever, and all his satisfactoriness remaineth to eternity. It is he who knoweth that blesseth his soul[300] in establishing his excellence upon earth: he who knoweth hath satisfaction of his knowledge. A noble[301] taketh his right course in what his heart and his tongue provide; his lips are correct when he speaketh, his eyes in seeing, his ears just in hearing; a profitable thing for his son is doing right, free from wrong.

"It is a profitable thing for the son of one who hath hearkened [to instruction] to hearken [to his father], entering and listening to a hearkener. A hearkener becometh a person hearkened to, good in hearkening and good in speech; a hearkener possesseth what is profitable: profitable to the hearkener is hearkening. Hearkening is better than anything: it befalleth indeed that love is good, but twice good is it when a son receiveth what his father saith: old age cometh to him therewith. He who loveth God hearkeneth, he who hateth God doth not hearken: it is the heart that maketh its possessor hearken or not hearken, and the Life, Prosperity, and Health[302] of a man is his heart. The hearkener heareth what is said. He that loveth to hear doeth according to what is said. Twice good is it for a son to hearken to his father. How happy is he to whom these things are told! A son, he shineth as possessing the quality of hearkening. The hearkener to whom they are told, he is excellent in body. He that is pious-and-well-pleasing[303] to his father, his memory is in the mouth of the living who are upon earth, whoever they shall be."

39. [The docile son.]

"If the son of a man receive what his father saith, no plan of his shall fail. [He whom] thou teachest as thy son, or the listener that is successful in the heart of the nobles, he guideth his mouth according to what he hath been told. _He that beholdeth is as he that obeyeth_, i. e., _a son_[304]; his ways are distinguished. He faileth that entereth without hearing. He that knoweth, on the next day is established; he who is ignorant is crushed."[305]

40. [The ignorant and unteachable man is a miserable failure.]

41. [The handing down of good precepts.]

"The son of a hearkener is as an Attendant of Horus[306]: there is good for him when he hath hearkened; he groweth old, he reacheth _Amakh_[307]; he telleth the like to his children, renewing the teaching of his father. Every man teacheth as he hath performed; he telleth the like to his sons, that they may tell again to their children.[308] Do what is admirable; cause not thyself to be mocked;[?] establish truth that thy children may live. If virtue entereth, vice departeth: then men who shall see such-like shall say, 'Behold, that man spoke to one who hearkened!' and they shall do the like; or 'Behold, that man was observant.' All shall say, 'They pacify the multitude; riches are not complete without them.'[309] Add not a word, nor take one away; put not one in the place of another. Guard thyself against opening the lacunae[?] that are in thee. Guard thyself against being told, 'One who knoweth is listening; mark thou. Thou desirest to be established in the mouth of those who hear[310] when thou speakest. But thou hast entered on the business of an expert; thou speakest of matters that belong to us, and thy way is not in its proper place.'"

42. [Speak with consideration.]

"Let thy heart be overflowing, let thy mouth be restrained: consider how thou shalt behave among the nobles. Be exact in practice with thy master: act so that he may say, 'The son of that man shall speak to those that shall hearken. Praiseworthy also is he who formed him.'

"Apply thine heart while thou art speaking, that thou mayest speak things of distinction; then the nobles who shall hear will say, 'How good is that which proceedeth out of his mouth!'"

43. [Obedience to the master.]

"Do according to that thy master telleth thee. How excellent [to a man] is the teaching of his father, out of whom he hath come, out of his very body, and who spake unto him while he was yet altogether in his loins! Greater is what hath been done unto him than what hath been said unto him. Behold, a good son that God giveth doeth beyond what he is told for his master; he doeth right, doing heartily [?] in his goings even as thou hast come unto me, that thy body may be sound, that the King may be well pleased with all that is done, that thou mayest spend years of life. It is no small thing that I have done on earth; I have spent 110 years[311] of life while the King gave me praises as among the ancestors, by my doing uprightly to the King until the state of Amakh.[312]"

_This is its arrival
like that which was found in the writing._

Translation of F. Ll. Griffith.

Letter of Dioscorides to Dorian, from a Manuscript on papyrus,
found in a sealed clay vessel in an Egyptian tomb. Written in
the IIIrd century B.C.]

[The following extracts are reproduced from the German of
Professor Erman's translation.]

FROM THE 'MAXIMS OF ANY'

"Keep thyself from the strange woman who is not known in her city. Look not upon her when she cometh, and know her not. She is like unto a whirlpool in deep water, the whirling vortex of which is not known. The woman whose husband is afar writeth unto thee daily. When none is there to see her, she standeth up and spreadeth her snare; sin unto death is it to hearken thereto." Hence he who is wise will renounce her company and take to himself a wife in his youth. A man's own house is "the best thing," and also "she will give unto thee a son who shall be as the image of thyself."...

[Thy debt to thy mother.]

Thou shalt never forget thy mother and what she hath done for thee, "that she bore thee, and nurtured thee in all ways." Wert thou to forget her then might she blame thee, "lifting up her arms unto God, and he would hearken unto her complaint. For she carried thee long beneath her heart as a heavy burden, and after thy months were accomplished she bore thee. Three long years she carried thee upon her shoulder and gave thee her breast to thy mouth." She nurtured thee, nor knew offense from thine uncleanness. "And when thou didst enter the school and wast instructed in the writings, daily she stood by the master with bread and beer from her house."

[Be not drunken with beer.]

Drink not beer to excess! That which cometh forth from thy mouth thou canst no longer speak. Thou fallest down, thou breakest thy limbs, and none stretcheth out a hand to thee. Thy companions drink on; they arise and say, "Away with this one who hath drunken." When one cometh to seek thee, to seek counsel of thee, he findeth thee lying in the dust like a little child.

[Of inward piety.]

"Clamor is abhorrent to the sanctuary of God; let thy prayers for thyself come forth out of a loving heart, whose words remain secret, that he may grant thee thy needs, may hear thy prayer, and accept thine offering."

[Of diligence and discretion.]

Be diligent; "let thine eye be open that thou mayest not go forth as a beggar, for the man who is idle cometh not to honor." Be not officious and indiscreet, and "enter not [uninvited] into the house of another; if thou enter at his bidding thou art honored. Look not around thee, look not around thee in the house of another. What thine eye seeth, keep silence concerning it, and tell it not without to another, that it be not in thee a crime to be punished by death when it is heard." Speak not overmuch, "for men are deaf to him who maketh many words; but if thou art silent thou art pleasing, therefore speak not." Above all be cautious in speech, for "the ruin of a man is on his tongue. The body of a man is a storehouse, which is full of all manner of answers. Wherefore choose thou the good and speak good, while the evil remaineth shut up within thy body."

[Of manners.]

Behave with propriety at table and "be not greedy to fill thy body." And "eat not bread while another standeth by and thou placest not thy hand on the bread for him. The one is rich and the other is poor, and bread remaineth with him who is open-handed. He who was prosperous last year, even in this may be a vagrant.[?]" Never forget to show respect, "and sit not down while another is standing who is older than thou, or who is higher than thou in his office."

Revised from the German of Adolf Erman.

INSTRUCTION OF DAUF

When Dauf the sage of Sebennytus went up to the Royal Residence with his son Pepy to take him to the "Court Writing-School," he admonished him "to set his heart upon writing, to love it as his mother, for there is naught that surpasseth it." He thereupon composes a poem in praise of _the_ profession, to the disparagement of all other callings:--

"Behold, there is no profession that is not under rule;
Only the man of learning himself ruleth."

And then,

"Never have I seen the engraver an ambassador,
Or the goldsmith with an embassy;
But I have seen the smith at his work
At the mouth of his furnace;
His fingers were as crocodile [hide],
He stank more than fish-roe.

"A craftsman who plieth the chisel
Is wearied more than he who tilleth the soil;
Wood is his field, and bronze his implement;
At night--is he released?
He worketh more than his arms are able;
At night he lighteth a light."

Etc., etc.

[The praise of learning was a favorite subject with pedagogue and parent. According to other sages] "the unlearned whose name no man knoweth, is like unto a heavy-laden ass, driven by the scribe," while "he who hath set learning in his heart" is exempt from labor "and becometh a wise noble." "The rank of a scribe is princely; his writing outfit and his papyrus roll bring comfort and wealth." "The scribe alone guideth the labor of all men; but if labor in writing is hateful to him, then the goddess of good fortune is not with him."

"O scribe, be not lazy, be not lazy, else thou shalt be soundly chastised; give not thy heart to vain desires, or thou wilt come to ruin. Book in hand, read with thy mouth, and take the advice of those who know more than thyself. Prepare for thyself the office of a noble, that thou mayest attain thereto when thou art become old. Happy is the scribe clever in all his offices. Be strong and diligent in daily work. Pass no day idly, or thou wilt be flogged, for the ears of a boy are on his back, and he heareth when he is flogged. Let thine heart hear what I say; it will bring thee to fortune. Be strong in asking advice; do not overlook it in writing; be not disgusted at it. Therefore let thine heart hear my words; thou shalt find fortune thereby."

Revised from the German of Adolf Erman.

CONTRASTED LOTS OF SCRIBE AND FELLAH

[The following is a sample of the warnings to young men to
stick to the business of the scribe and not be led away by the
charms of out-door life, always so dear to the Egyptian.--Date
XIXth Dynasty, or earlier.]

It is told to me that thou hast cast aside learning, and givest thyself to dancing; thou turnest thy face to the work in the fields, and castest the divine words behind thee.

Behold, thou rememberest not the condition of the fellah, when the harvest is taken over. The worms carry off half the corn, and the hippopotamus devours the rest; mice abound in the fields, and locusts arrive; the cattle devour, the sparrows steal. How miserable is the lot of the fellah! What remains on the threshing-floor, robbers finish it up. The bronze ... are worn out, the horses [oxen?] die with threshing and plowing. Then the scribe moors at the bank who is to take over the harvest;[313] the attendants[314] bear staves, the negroes carry palmsticks. They say, "Give corn!" But there is none. They beat [the fellah] prostrate; they bind him and cast him into the canal, throwing him headlong. His wife is bound before him, his children are swung off; his neighbors let them go, and flee to look after their corn.

But the scribe is the leader of labor for all; he reckons to himself the produce in winter, and there is none that appoints him his tale of produce. Behold, now thou knowest!

Translation of F. M. Griffith.

REPROACHES TO A DISSIPATED STUDENT

XIXTH DYNASTY

They tell me that thou forsakest books,
And givest thyself up to pleasure.
Thou goest from street to street;
Every evening the smell of beer,
The smell of beer, frightens people away from thee,
It bringeth thy soul to ruin.

Thou art like a broken helm,
That obeyeth on neither side.
Thou art as a shrine without its god,
As a house without bread.

Thou art met climbing the walls,
And breaking through the paling:
People flee from thee,
Thou strikest them until they are wounded.

Oh that thou didst know that wine is an abomination,
And that thou wouldst forswear the _Shedeh_ drink!
That thou wouldst not put cool drinks within thy heart,
That thou wouldst forget the _Tenreku_.

But now thou art taught to sing to the flute,
To recite [?] to the pipe,
To intone to the lyre,
To sing to the harp,

[and generally to lead a life of dissipation.]

Revised from the German of Adolf Erman.

FOOTNOTES

[1] The italicized phrases represent the principal names of the
King.

[2] The temple of Karnak.

[3] Horus as the winged disk of the sun, so often figured as a
protecting symbol over the doors of temples.

[4] The coloration or configuration of his limbs indicated to the
learned in such matters his victorious career. Mentu was the
god of war.

[5] The southern boundary of the Egyptian empire.

[6] Baka, Meama, Buhen were in Nubia.

[7] The castor-oil plant (_Ricinus communis_).

[8] The underworld.

[9] The fellahin herdsmen of the time seem to have clubbed together
into gangs, each of which was represented by a ganger, and the
whole body by a superintendent of the gangs.

[10] Corvee work for the government.

[11] _I. e._, he did not impress men (wrongfully?) for the
government works, such as irrigation or road-making.

[12] An asterisk (*) attached to the title of a text indicates that
a translation of part or all of it is printed in the following
pages.

[13] Lower Nubia.

[14] District about the first cataract.

[15] A name often applied to the great river Nile.

[16] The usual Egyptian attitude of respect to a superior was to
stand bent slightly forward, holding the arms downward.

[17] The polytheistic Egyptians frequently used the term "God"
without specifying any particular deity; perhaps, too, in
their own minds they did not define the idea, but applied
it simply to some general notion of Divinity.

[18] Punt was the "land of spices" to the Egyptian, and thence,
too, the finest incense was brought for the temple services.
It included Somaliland in Africa, and the south of Arabia.

[19] This paragraph is very difficult to restore and very doubtful.

[20] _I. e._, the King Sehetepabra Amenemhat I., whose death is
recorded in the next clause.

[21] The king's city, and so throughout the story.

[22] The land of the Temehu was in the Libyan desert on the west of
Egypt.

[23] Usertesen I., the son and heir of Amenemhat I., reigned ten
years jointly with his father.

[24] _I. e._, the western edge of Lower Egypt.

[25] Perhaps this refers to the death of the king, or to the
deliberations of the royal councilors.

[26] Apparently a term for the king.

[27] Sanehat, accidentally hearing the news of the old king's death,
which was kept secret even from the members of the royal
family, was overcome with agitation and fled.

[28] It was of course night-time.

[29] The Royal Residence called Athet-taui lay on the boundary of
Upper and Lower Egypt, between Memphis and the entrance to the
Faiyum, and so in the direction which Sanehat at first took in
his flight from the western edge of the Delta. One might prefer
the word Capital to Residence, but it can hardly be doubted
that Thebes and Memphis were then the real capitals of Egypt.

[30] Perhaps the meaning is that Sanehat did not imagine life
possible "after the king's death," or it may be "outside
the Residence." The pronoun for "it" is masculine, and may
refer either to the palace or to the king.

[31] Or possibly "I turned my course," turning now northward.

[32] Or possibly "the next day."

[33] Here the MS. is injured, and some of the words are doubtful.
The quarries are those still worked for hard quartzite at Jebel
Ahmar (Red Mountain), northeast of Cairo. The positions of
most of the places mentioned in the narrative are uncertain.
Doubtless Sanehat crossed the Nile just above the fork of the
Delta and landed in the neighborhood of the quarries. The
"Mistress" (_Heryt_), must be a goddess, or the queen.

[34] Asiatics and Bedawin.

[35] Kemur was one of the Bitter Lakes in the line of the present
Suez Canal.

[36] Possibly one of the three persons proposed as hostages to Egypt
below, p. 5246. The word translated "alien" is uncertain. It
may mean a kind of consul or mediator between the tribes for
the purposes of trade, etc., or simply a "sheikh." Sanehat
himself, returned from Egypt in his old age, is called by the
same title, p. 5248.

[37] Or possibly Adim, _i. e._, Edom; and so throughout.

[38] Later called Upper Retenu: they were the inhabitants of the
high lands of Palestine. Ammi was a divine name in Ancient
Arabia, and the name Ammi-anshi, found in South-Arabian
inscriptions, perhaps of 1000 B.C., is almost identical with
that of the king who befriended Sanehat.

[39] These words appear to have been omitted by the scribe.

[40] _I. e._, What does Egypt do without the king?

[41] The goddess of destruction.

[42] Lit, "stick."

[43] A metaphor for the "policy," "will," of a king or god.

[44] Meaning "reeds" (?).

[45] _I. e._, of Pharaoh; see above, p. 5238.

[46] A difficult passage.

[47] Without any pause or introduction Sanehat begins to quote from
his petition to the King of Egypt. It is difficult to say
whether this arrangement is due to an oversight of the scribe,
or is intended to heighten the picturesqueness of the narrative
by sudden contrast. The formal introduction might well be
omitted as uninteresting. The end of the document with the
salutations is preserved.

[48] A phrase for the queen.

[49] The narrator.

[50] The scribe has written Amenemhat by mistake for Usertesen.

[51] Or Adim; see above, p. 5239, note.

[52] The queen, his exalted mistress.

[53] Taking part in the councils of the king and in the
administration of the kingdom.

[54] This seems to refer to the so-called false door, representing
the entrance to the underworld. All that precedes refers to
burial with great ceremony.

[55] _I. e._, of the king's command. The absence of any concluding
salutation is noticeable.

[56] The Ka or "double" was one of the spiritual constituents of
man; but "thy Ka" is merely a mode of address to the exalted
Pharaoh.

[57] _I. e._, the uraeus or cobra.

[58] In this long array of gods, Mentu and Amen rank next to Ra.
They were both worshiped at Thebes, which was then probably
capital of the whole country. It certainly was so in the next
dynasty, during which this tale was presumably written down.
It is curious that Ptah the god of Memphis does not appear.

[59] The place of the dead.

[60] As dogs do the bidding of their master and spare his property.

[61] As a man of Natho (the marshes in the north of the Delta)
dreams that he is at Elephantine (the rocky southern frontier).

[62] The second is the name of the southernmost nome of Egypt, that
of Elephantine, which has practically no corn-land. It was
probably made fruitful by artificial irrigation, with culture
of plants, trees, and vines.

[63] So the MS., and it conveys a fair meaning; but perhaps the
original ran, "Behold, _thou_ art in the palace and I am in
this place yet," etc.

[64] Or, "Now thy servant hath finished."

[65] Sanehat's own territory; see p. 5241.

[66] A frequent phrase for the writer or narrator, especially common
in letters.

[67] "Nodding and touching my forehead" is perhaps the real
translation of some difficult words here paraphrased.

[68] Probably the Residence; more commonly called Athet-taui, but
here abbreviated in name.

[69] Or perhaps "very early."

[70] This probably means "four men behind me and the same number in
front," either conducting Sanehat or more probably carrying him
in a litter.

[71] Instead of Egyptian priests.

[72] These instruments rattled or clattered as they were waved or
beaten together.

[73] A form of Hathor.

[74] Samehit "son of the north," is a play on the name Sanehat, "son
of the sycamore."

[75] The treasury containing silver, gold, clothing, wine, and
valuables of all kinds.

[76] Meaning "wanderers on the Sand," Bedawin.

[77] The Hathors were seven goddesses who attended the birth of a
child in order to tell its fate. They somewhat correspond to
the fairy godmothers of later fairy tales.

[78] Syria.

[79] The Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs, as a matter of
cleanliness in a hot climate.

[80] The sun.

[81] Ra Harakhti was the chief of this Ennead. Khnumu, one of his
companion gods, was the craftsman, sometimes represented as
fashioning mankind upon the potter's wheel.

[82] _I. e._, in the matter of the trees.

[83] "To make a good day"--to keep holiday, to hold festival.

[84] This apparently means that he was enrolled as one to be
educated as a learned scribe.

[85] _I. e._, as we should say, "he did nothing in the world but
walk in the cemetery of Memphis," etc.

[86] The realm of Osiris as god of the dead.

[87] It is difficult to locate this lake in accordance with the
actual geography of Egypt.

[88] A frequent phrase for extreme delight or amazement.

[89] There seems to be some reference to past history in this.

[90] An idiomatic phrase like "he caused his hand to go after the
roll" for "put out his hand to take the roll," p. 5272.

[91] Wax was the regular material used for the manufacture of models
which were intended to be used in the practice of magic.

[92] The place of embalmment.

[93] A similar method is still employed by Arab doctors and wizards.
To heal a disease a formula is written out and then washed off
the paper in a bowl of water, which is given to the patient to
drink.

[94] Cf. Job i., 12.

[95] _I. e._, above him.

[96] An expression for death, like our "gone home."

[97] _I. e._, "May he live as long as the Sun god."

[98] The presence of names compounded with the name of Anher, god
of Sebennytus, indicates that the story was written during or
after the supremacy of that city, at the end of the native
rule.

[99] Setna Kha-em-uast was high priest of Ptah.

[100] Evidently a strong expression, to show the instantaneous and
powerful effect of the amulets in drawing him out of the
ground.

[101] This choice of symbols of submission is not yet explained.

[102] Compare the expression noted on p. 5265.

[103] The first month of the inundation season and of the Egyptian
year. This is the date of the first events recorded, not of
the dedication of the stela: the "command" is parenthetical.

[104] The same expression occurs further on, and evidently refers
to the personal activity of the king.

[105] Neter was probably Iseum in the centre of the Delta, and so a
nomarchship quite separate from Tafnekht's extensive territory
in the west. The list following the name of Tafnekht seems to
name localities representative of the VIIth(?), VIth, Vth,
IVth(?), IIId(?), and Ist nomes in Lower Egypt, in their
proper order; the last, Mennefer, being Memphis. These would
form literally the whole western side of Lower Egypt "from the
coast to Athet-taui." Athet-taui (Lisht?) was a city marking
the boundary of Upper and Lower Egypt.

[106] Medum, El Lahun, Crocodilopolis in the Faiyum, Oxyrhynkhos,
Diknash, all--except perhaps the last--in order from north
to south.

[107] He crossed over to the east bank and went northward, the
cities on his road throwing open their gates to him. With
the exception of the last, Per-nebt-tep-ah [Aphroditopolis],
the modern Atfih opposite Medum, they are difficult to
identify positively.

[108] _I. e._, Heracleopolis Magna, a very powerful city on the
edge of the western desert, left in the rear on Tafnekht's
expedition up the river. Its king was named Pefaui Bast. Its
modern name is Ahnas.

[109] _Lit._, "he hath made himself into a tail-in-the-mouth." [!]

[110] The precise extent of Piankhy's dominion at this time is
uncertain.

[111] Hur, opposite Beni Hasan.

[112] The notion intended to be conveyed is that of a dog at heel.

[113] Oxyrhynkhos itself was already in the hands of Tafnekht; the
Hermopolite nome, including Hur, Nefrus, etc., lay immediately
south of it.

[114] The pronoun "he" is used much too freely in this inscription:
occasionally it is impossible to decide to whom it refers.

[115] Hermopolis.

[116] Libyans, mercenaries or otherwise. The XXIId Dynasty was
probably Libyan, and as will be seen from subsequent notes,
Libyan influence was still strong in the time of Piankhy.

[117] This would seem to be a quotation taken from some address to
an earlier king. Thothmes III., for instance, attributed his
successes to Amen.

[118] The great temple of Amen at Karnak.

[119] Our equivalent term would be "sheet-anchor."

[120] In Ethiopia.

[121] The title "chief of the Me" seems to mean "captain of the
Libyan troops." The list contains the names of princes of
Lower Egypt only, with the exception of Nemart of Hermopolis
Magna, in Upper Egypt.

[122] The feather was a Libyan badge of rank.

[123] Tafnekht is here given most of his principal titles, including
the sacerdotal ones of high priest of Neith in Sais, and of
Ptah in Memphis. With the rise of Sais, Neith had become the
leading deity of Lower Egypt, ranking even above Ptah. The
priests at Gebel Barkal doubtless took a special pride in the
overthrow of the protege of Neith and Ptah by Piankhy, the
worshiper of Amen.

[124] Or "beaten sorely and grievously."

[125] Here should be the numbers of the slain.

[126] "Khmenu," "Unu," "Hare-city," are all names of Hermopolis
Magna, the capital of Nemart's petty kingdom.

[127] Evidently a torchlight procession from Karnak to Luxor
(Southern Apt).

[128] The return procession to Karnak.

[129] The third month of the season of inundation. Of course a year
would then have elapsed, since the date given in the first
line of the inscription.

[130] Oxyrhynkhos.

[131] Tehneh(?)

[132] Tafnekht, stripped of his grandeur after his defeat at
Heracleopolis, is reduced to the rank of "Chief of the Me
in Sais."

[133] The first month of the season of inundation, and of the
Egyptian year.

[134] Hermopolis.

[135] To be taken of course in a general sense, referring to the
majestic and terrible aspect of the King.

[136] _I. e._, "It has taken a full year," etc.

[137] Or, "They were sorely and grievously beaten with blows."

[138] _I. e._, the King.

[139] Here there is a lacuna of sixteen short lines in the
inscription.

[140] Apparently Piankhy is addressing Nemart.

[141] The meaning is not clear; but there seems to be a reference to
the diminution of the adult population by prolonged wars.

[142] _Khmenu_ means eight. Thoth, in late times at any rate,
combined the powers of the eight gods who accompanied him.
He was sometimes called "twice great," sometimes "eight times
great" = 2^3, an arithmetical term especially indicated by
the Greek name [Greek: Hermes Trismhegistos].

[143] A "jubilee" after a thirty-years' reign; the expression is
therefore equivalent to wishing the King a thirty-years'
reign. The soldiers represent the King as the god Horus come
to claim his own land.

[144] Music, dancing, etc.

[145] An oath.

[146] Karnak.

[147] The underworld.

[148] The stars of the northern hemisphere; see Maspero's 'Dawn of
Civilization' p. 94. By Harakhti, the sun is probably meant.

[149] The mouth of the barrier, _i. e._, the entrance into the
Faiyum. The name El Lahun is derived from Rahent; and the city
Per-sekhem-kheper-ra, "The house of Usorkon I.," must have
been at or close to the modern village of El Lahun.

[150] Set, the god of physical strength.

[151] Athet-taui (Lisht?) was the boundary of Upper and Lower Egypt,
and probably lay in both of them. "The gods who are in this
city" of the next paragraph are doubtless kings of the XIIth
Dynasty as presiding deities of the place, this royal
Residence having apparently been founded by Amenenhat I.
Compare p. 5238.

[152] Ra, the first King of Egypt, was fabled to have resided at
Heliopolis; Shu his son and successor at Memphis. The city is
called sometimes Anbuhez, "white wall," sometimes Men-nefer,
after the pyramid of Pepy I.

[153] "South of his wall," an epithet of Ptah, god of Memphis.

[154] It is difficult to see what is meant by this. Possibly
Tafnekht was proposing to bribe the Northern chiefs into
continuing the war, by giving up his recently acquired
claims as suzerain.

[155] Or "very early."

[156] Perhaps "Let us put these things at intervals."

[157] The boats were floating on a level with the top of the quay.

[158] _I. e._, no single one of the assailants was injured in the
slightest degree.

[159] Meaning of course "at the boundary between Upper and Lower
Egypt."

[160] By waving the wand of sanctification therein.

[161] The sacred name of Memphis, supposed to be the origin of the
name [Greek: hAiguptos]--"Egypt."

[162] _I. e._, to re-establish the order of the temple services,
etc.

[163] A chamber set apart for the sacred toilet; see also below,
p. 5290.

[164] Or "very early."

[165] Kheraha was on the site of old Cairo, known to the classical
authors as Babylon. The cave mentioned is not now known.

[166] On, Heliopolis. Here was a sacred well of water ("The Cool
Pool"), supposed to spring from Nu, the primeval waters in
heaven and earth, and not to be derived from Hapi or the Nile.
Tradition relates that it was at this same well, still pointed
out at Matariyeh, that the Blessed Virgin washed the Child on
her arrival in Egypt.

[167] Or "mishaps." This seems to have been a sort of Te Deum.

[168] The Benben was a pyramidal stone, sacred to Ra or
representing him. It was shaped like the top of an obelisk.

[169] The boats in which the Sun god traversed the heavens during
forenoon and afternoon respectively.

[170] _I. e._, the King.

[171] Or "very early."

[172] Athribis.

[173] The land was divided among kings, nomarchs, and, apparently,
Libyan chiefs entitled to wear a feather. The kings had their
viziers; the nomarchs and chiefs had their subordinate chiefs,
etc. "Royal acquaintances" were persons related to the royal
families.

[174] _I. e._ the linen was of various degrees of fineness, or as we
also say technically, of various "counts"; meaning that there
are so many threads more or less in any given square of stuff.

[175] An oath.

[176] First we have two kings, six nomarchs and high Libyan chiefs;
after these, two under-chiefs are mentioned, and then four
nomarchs in the first and second nomes of Lower Egypt, which
are separated as having belonged to Tafnekht's kingdom.

[177] Site unknown.

[178] Tafnekht was on an island in the Mediterranean, and therefore
heard the news of the surrender of the Northern princes only
after some time had elapsed.

[179] Nubti-Set, the god of valor. Mentu was the god of battle.

[180] "_Kedt_-weight," really 140 grains.

[181] _Lit._, "beer-room."

[182] Or "on the second day."

[183] As symbols of regal power.

[184] Perhaps this means ceremonially unclean.

[185] The first words are lost. The girdle was probably assumed at
about the age of twelve.

[186] As a rule, each king seems to have built his pyramid in the
desert behind his principal residence. The latter was often
founded by the king, but might serve for some of his
successors, who would then build their pyramids near his.
The pyramid field of Memphis is very ancient, and many of the
earlier kings must have resided there; but curiously enough
the name _Mennefer_, Memphis, is taken from that of the
pyramid of Pepy I., here referred to.

[187] Perhaps schools of law, etc.

[188] These quarries, at the modern Turra, have been the source
of fine white limestone down to the present day. They were
exactly opposite Memphis in the eastern hills.

[189] Probably this means the arrangement of a body-guard or
performance of the ritual for the King's amuletic and
religious protection.

[190] "The Asiatics who dwell upon the sand" _i. e._, Bedawin.

[191] Elephantine.

[192] The Eastern and Western borders of Lower Egypt.

[193] These names probably mean "the halting-station for the night,"
and "the bedchamber of halting-station for the night";
evidently garrisoned posts on the main desert routes.

[194] Arertet, Meza, Aam, Wawat, Kaau, were all in Nubia, and at no
great distance from Egypt. The Meza were afterwards regularly
drawn upon for soldiers and police. The Kaau are more
generally called Setu.

[195] _I. e._, the land of the Libyans.

[196] "Horus Lord of Truth" was the _Ka_ name of King Sneferu [the
first king of the IVth Dynasty, not much less than 4000 B.C.].
Probably this expedition went toward the Sinaitic peninsula.

[197] Sea-coast, perhaps of the Red Sea.

[198] _Lit._ "made the officership making the standard."

[199] Or "for the mistress of the pyramid"; _i. e._, for the queen
buried in her husband's pyramid.

[200] Elephantine.

[201] The month Epiphi.

[202] The Nile being low.

[203] Apparently the passage of the Nile was blocked for boats at
five different places about the first cataract, and Una had
cleared the channel at his own expense as a free service to
the King.

[204] "Loose," _i. e._, take the bird out of the snare to carry home
to her mother.

[205] _Kha-kau-ra_, "Glory of the _Kas_ of the Sun," was the
principal name that Usertesen III., following the custom of
the Pharaohs, adopted on his accession to the throne. "Horus,
Divine of Beings," was the separate name for his royal _Ka_
assumed at the same time. The _Ka_ of a person was his ghostly
Double, before and after death, and to the Egyptian this
shadowy constituent of the whole being had a very distinct
existence.

[206] _I. e._, Upper and Lower Egypt.

[207] To the Egyptian the world was inhabited by nine races of men.

[208] Sekhemt, a goddess represented with the head of a lioness, the
embodiment of the devastating power of the Sun and of the
wrath of Ra. See p. 5240.

[209] "Pat" seems to be a name for mankind, or perhaps for the
inhabitants of Egypt.

[210] We speak of the "head" as the seat of the intellect; to the
Egyptians it was the "heart."

[211] Ancestor worship being universal in Egypt, the endowments for
funerary services and offerings for the deceased kings must
have been very large.

[212] The "Double Crown" was that of Upper and Lower Egypt.

[213] The Reed and the Hornet were the symbols of Upper and Lower
Egypt respectively.

[214] The "Black Land" is the alluvial of Egypt, the "Red Land" is
its sandy border.

[215] "Rekhyt," like "Pat," seems to be a designation of the
Egyptians. To "open the throat" of a man is to give him life
by enabling him to breathe.

[216] A "good burial" after a "long old age" was a characteristic
wish of the Egyptians.

[217] The Aten is the name of the visible sun rather than of an
abstract Sun god. It is pictured as a radiant disk, the rays
terminating in human hands, often resting beneficently on the
figure of the worshiper, bestowing upon him symbols of life,
or graciously accepting his offerings.

[218] See note, p. 5303. The word occurs in these translations
often, but not with any very definite meaning.

[219] The Nile here stands for the main sources of water: that in
heaven giving rain on the mountains and fields, that in the
"deep" or "underworld" giving rise to springs, wells, and
rivers.

[220] "Fairest of the Forms of Ra, the Only One of Ra," is the title
which Akhenaten took when first he ascended the throne, and
which he continued to bear all through his reign,
notwithstanding his reform.

[221] Amen was god of Thebes; and under the XVIIIth Dynasty, when
Thebes was the capital of the whole country and Egypt was at
the height of her power, Amen took the first place in the
national pantheon. He was then identified with Ra the Sun god,
perhaps to make him more acceptable to the nation at large.
Hence a hymn to Amen Ra was practically a hymn to the supreme
Sun god.

[222] Compare the seven-line stanza in the inscription of Una,
above, p. 5298.

[223] Mezau and Punt were on and about the east coast of Africa,
in Nubia and Somaliland.

[224] The supreme god was surrounded by eight other gods, and
together they formed an Ennead, or group of nine.

[225] Ptah was the great god of Memphis, the ancient capital of
the country.

[226] Or the "Land of the Gods," a name for the lands of the East,
and especially for "Punt."

[227] _I. e.,_ the kings, who were always reckoned divine, and as
ruling by divine right.

[228] _I. e._, "make holiday."

[229] Title of a priest of Amen.

[230] God of the setting sun.

[231] An expression of utter bewilderment; _lit._, "I know not the
estate which is upon me."

[232] To these thinkers, thirst (since the presence of water would
induce putrefaction of the body) and suffocation were the
chief material sufferings of the dead.

[233] From this curious expression it is evident that the Egyptians
considered it necessary that a deity should be visibly
represented by statue or animal, in order that he should
receive the offerings presented to him. They never personified
a god of Death, only a god of the Dead.

[234] The sunshine may be taken for granted in Egypt.

[235] Our "on the verge of intoxication" is an almost identical
expression, but without a poetical significance.

[236] A slight correction of the original would give "in captivity"
(kidnapped).

[237] The advantages of the life beyond seem to consist in being
like gods and in full communion with the greatest of them, Ra.

[238] This closing speech of the soul is barely intelligible.

[239] Or perhaps "my kindred."

[240] Or what is "unprofitable" or "treason."

[241] This and the two following asseverations seem rather to read:
"I have not caught animals by a bait of their herbage."
"I have not trapped birds by a bait of 'gods' bones.'"
"I have not caught fish by a bait of fishes' bodies."

[242] _Lit._, "in its moment."

[243] _I. e._, "I am not hot of speech."

[244] Compare the story of Sanehat (above, p. 5237 _seq._) for an
indication of the place which Amenemhat retained for himself
in the government of the kingdom during the joint rule. "He
[Usertesen] curbs the nations while his father remains in his
palace, and he [Usertesen] accomplisheth for him what is
commanded him."

[245] Compare 2 Timothy ii. 15.

[246] "To exist" often means to have a solid position.

[247] A proverbial word for nullity, worthlessness.

[248] Egypt, the lassoed ox, helpless in the hands of its
oppressors, is now free, but fails to appreciate its
good fortune.

[249] Perhaps this means that Amenemhat lay still but ready to rise
instantly and fight.

[250] "_Me voila!_"--after drawing the picture of his helpless
state, surprised alone in the night.

[251] _I. e._, "be thy counselor."

[252] A difficult passage.

[253] Meaning doubtful.

[254] _I. e._, upon others in consequence of me.

[255] Elephantine and Natho are often named as the extreme north and
south points of Egypt; compare the Biblical "from Dan even
unto Beersheba."

[256] Or perhaps "its centre."

[257] _I. e._, "surpassed the record," or perhaps "reached the
boundaries."

[258] The kings of the XIIth dynasty paid much attention to
agriculture and irrigation. Barley was the representative
cereal, Nepra was the Corn goddess. In the following clause
the Nile is represented as a prisoner in the King's power:
or possibly as begging him "_for_ every hollow" to enter
and inundate it.

[259] _I. e._, "obedient to his commands," a common figure. The
Wawat and Mezay were in Nubia, the Setiu in the Northeast
to Syria.

[260] The rendering of this section is very doubtful.

[261] Or, "and the seal to its proper place, even as the
acclamations in the bark of Ra ordain for thee." Ra the
Sun god was the royal god essentially, and his approval
was doubtless required to establish a claim to the throne.
He was believed to travel through the sky in a boat.

[262] _I. e._, "Tell us thy name, thou who dost not answer
when spoken to," or "Let thy name be henceforth
'Mum-when-spoken-to.'"

[263] _I. e._, the proverbs; but possibly this expression may mean
"on his death-bed."

[264] _I. e._, obey them strictly.

[265] _I. e._, they were pleasing to them.

[266] Arrived at his destination; _i. e._, died.

[267] =Our "Finis."

[268] From the last paragraph of the book, we learn that he had
reached the Egyptian limit of long life, viz., 110 years:
the figure is doubtless to be taken in a general sense.

[269] _I. e._, the speaker or writer.

[270] The word for successor seems to read, "staff of old age"; but
this is not quite certain. Very likely the son would take over
the active work of the viziership, while his father gave him
counsel: this was frequently done in the sovereignty.

[271] Or those who are listened to.

[272] _I. e._, that the ancient rules may be observed by the present
generation of the King's subjects. The first kings of Egypt
were supposed to have been the gods.

[273] This high title occurs also in the Inscription of Una, and
frequently in the Piankhy Stela, where it has been translated
"nomarch."

[274] "The god" is probably here the King. The curious title "father
of the god" is well known; it would seem to represent a person
who stood ceremonially in the relation of father to a god or
person. Thus in later times we have "fathers" of the god Amen,
etc. But at this period "the god" seems to have meant the
King, and the "father of the god" may have been the guardian
or tutor of the King. Some may even see in it the expression
of an actual paternal relationship, as the principles of the
succession to the Egyptian throne are not understood.

[275] Rather, green feldspar, which was largely used as an ornament.

[276] Perhaps a professional orator, sophist, or the like.

[277] _I. e._, when he is at his occupation; in the heat of
argument.

[278] Perhaps "bold of heart."

[279] Or, "it shall not hurt thee."

[280] This is very uncertain. Its morality hardly accords with that
of the rest of the book. Perhaps the youth is recommended to
wait, even when he is called ignorant, until his heart has
obtained full command of his knowledge and can successfully
employ it in his argument.

[281] As we speak of "the education of a gentleman."

[282] Flatter (?).

[283] A frequent phrase, but the meaning of it is obscure.

[284] _I. e._, "in a gentlemanly manner"; but the last half of this
section is obscure.

[285] A remarkable word used here in regard to the contest between
justice and injustice; in the next phrase there is a reference
to the myth of Osiris and Set, in which good, in the persons
of Osiris and Horus, survives evil in the person of Set.

[286] This seems to refer to the profession of brigand and pillager.

[287] By God's favor.

[288] Perhaps a gesture expressing humble acquiescence.

[289] _Lit._, _Ka_ in Egyptian.

[290] As uncertain as groping in the dark.

[291] Be not sure of the childless man's estate. He can take a
second wife and disappoint you.

[292] The time appointed to it for its own activity, or as we should
say, its "day."