Special Introduction.

The wonders of Egyptian archæology are the latest and most precious harvest of scholars and explorers. From Belzoni to Flinders Petrie there has been a succession of discoveries in the valley of the Nile with which it is hard for ordinary students to keep pace. Our knowledge of Egyptian life to-day is far clearer and more complete than Bentley's or Porson's acquaintance with the antiquities of Greece and Rome, and we have far more complete access to the treasures of Egyptian literature than Dante or Thomas Aquinas had to the remains of Attic poets and mystics. We know exactly how an Egyptian of the twelfth dynasty dressed; what was the position of women in Egypt; and what uniform was worn by the Egyptian soldiers who took part in the campaign against Khitasis. We can see Rameses II riding in his war-chariot; we know the very names of the horses by whose side his tame lion is running and thirsting for the blood of his master's foes. We know all about the domestic animals, the funeral customs, the trades, the gods, the agriculture of

the Nile valley thirty centuries ago. We see the whole many-sided civilization portrayed in the brightest colors in the poetry, the books of ritual, the hieratic inscriptions, the tablets, papyri, and hieroglyphics which day by day come to light in exhaustless abundance from the mounds and ruins of that fertile plain that stretches from Thebes to the Mareotic lake.

For instance, we can learn exact particulars about the mode in which Rameses II made war, from the poem of Penta-Our, a Theban writer of the fourteenth century b.c. It is only by a figure of speech that this poem can be called an epic; it is rather a historical narrative couched in terms of poetic exaggeration with the object of flattering the royal vanity of Pharaoh.

The campaign in which Rameses then engaged was directed [pg iv] against Kadesh, a city built on an island in the Orontes. It is, according to Penta-Our, inhabited by a people known as Khita, whose spies are brought into the tent of Rameses and questioned as to the whereabouts of the King of Kadesh. The spies are forced by blows to answer, and they tell the Egyptian monarch that the King of the Khita “is powerful with many soldiers, and with chariot soldiers, and with their harness, as many as the sand of the seashore, and they are ready to fight behind Kadesh.”

The King is very angry; for he had been deceived by false news to the effect that his enemy had fled in terror to Khilibu. “The fault is great,” he cries, “that the governors of the land and the vassal princes of Pharaoh have committed, in neglecting to watch the movements of the Khita.” He sends to bring back the legions he had sent away, and meanwhile the approach of the enemy is announced. The camp of Rameses is surprised by the Asiatics; many foot-soldiers are killed before they can seize their weapons, but a faithful band rallies in front of the royal quarters. Suddenly a cry is heard; Rameses has quickly put on his armor, seized his lance, ordered his war lion to be loosed, and dashed into the fight. Pharaoh with his master of the horse, Menni, is soon hemmed in by foes. “My Lord, O generous King!” cries Menni, “Egypt's great protector in the day of battle! behold we stand alone in the midst of the enemy, for the archers and the chariots have left us. Let us return, that our lives may be saved. Save us, O my Lord, Rameses Miamun!” Then Rameses called upon

Amen, his god, and under his protection charged the enemy, and “his hand devoured them in the space of an instant.” Five times he rushed upon them, and five times they repulsed him. The sixth time he breaks their ranks and regains his own lines. Then the legions of Ptah, which had returned to the camp, join the battle, and the Asiatics are routed. The first care of Rameses is to refresh his brave horses, Victory-in-Thebes and Maut-is-Satisfied. Neither they nor Rameses and his lion are wounded, though all stained with blood and dust, while the head-plumes of the team are torn and tattered and their caparison broken.

This is a brief account of the main incident in this Egyptian epic, which is written with life-like detail and animation. The [pg v] war concludes with a treaty, and the marriage of Rameses with the daughter of the King of Kadesh, so that henceforth “the people of Egypt were of one mind with the princes of Khita, which had not been the case since the god Rā.”

The Egyptians have always been deeply impressed by the fact of human mortality, and much of their religious belief and religious ritual is taken up with the rites of burial, and detailed doctrines as to the experience of the soul after parting from the body. Their elaborate embalming of the dead springs from the desire to keep the mortal tenement prepared for the soul's return to it. In their Book of the Dead is a full series of prayers, songs, and incantations to be employed at funerals, and by the individual in his journey beyond the tomb. The funeral procession was a very noisy company; lamentations were heard through its whole length, but the burden of the hymns was always, “To the West.” This was enlarged upon, “To the West, the dwelling of Osiris; O Chief, as thou goest to the West, the Gods themselves lament, as thou goest to the West.”

Osiris is the judge who weighs the souls, and allots them happiness or misery, according to their deserts. “The Book of the Dead” is interesting because it teaches how clearly and dogmatically the solemn and precise Egyptian stated his views and held his convictions concerning the unknown country. Four parts of man, it was said, survive after death, namely, the soul, the spirit, the shadow, and the double. The double remains in the tomb, and only leaves it in search of food. Sometimes it feels its loneliness and avenges itself upon near relations who have forsaken it. But the soul hurries to the bar of Osiris, where Thoth weighs the heart in the scales, and the innocent are admitted into the Field of Beans, a realm of fertility, where wheat grows seven cubits high. Immortality is spent in feasting, singing, conversation, and games. But the whole of this wonderful book is well worth studying. It shows how what Addison calls “this longing after immortality” led an ancient and deeply religious people to attempt in their burial rites to rob even the grave of its terrors,

and conjured up out of the shadows of the tomb a clear and distinct vision of future life, wherein man in his complete individuality survived to all eternity.

Among the most important results of recent Egyptian exploration must be reckoned the discovery of the tablets of Tell Amarna. Tell Amarna is a village in Upper Egypt, and in a pit at the foot of the mountain, at the base of which it stands, were discovered hundreds of these relics, which have since been distributed among the museums of London, Berlin, and Gizeh. The writing on these tablets is cuneiform, and the matter is of profound historic importance, illustrating, as it does, the relations between Egypt and western Asia in the fifteenth century b.c. While the existence of these tablets proves that cuneiform writing was common to Palestine and Syria as well as the Euphrates Valley, yet curiously enough the manuscripts of Tell Amarna are different from any of the same kind that have been found elsewhere, and the language resembles somewhat the Hebrew of the Old Testament.

While most of these tablets are letters and despatches from friendly powers in Syria, and from vassal princes in Palestine, others contain interesting legends. The letters are addressed to the Pharaohs known as Amenophis III and Amenophis IV, who reigned in the sixteenth and fifteenth centuries b.c.

The Egyptians employed what practically were three alphabets—the hieroglyphic, the hieratic, and the demotic. The hieroglyph is a symbol, denoting something without letters or syllables; as, pictures of a bee stand for king. The hieratic handwriting was a transition from symbols to primitive letters; the papyrus reed, cut in slices and gummed together, was used as paper for this writing, much of which is very beautifully executed in black and red inks. These papyri are constantly being discovered, but perhaps the earliest “find” of importance was that at Thebes in 1846, when a number of literary compositions were brought to light which must have been executed during the twelfth dynasty, about twenty-five centuries b.c.

The Egyptian Tales are works written in a lighter vein than the literature we have already described. They will be read with delight, and none the less so because they show that the Egyptians, who are the Chinese of the Mediterranean, possess that saving quality in literary and political life, namely, a sense of humor.

(signed) Epiphanius Wilson

A Hymn To The Setting Sun

A Hymn of Praise to Ra when he riseth upon the horizon, and when he setteth in the land of life. Osiris, the scribe Ani, saith:

“Homage to thee, O Rā, when thou risest [as] Tem-Heru-khuti (Tem-Harmachis). Thou art adored [by me when] thy beauties are before mine eyes, and [when thy] radiance [falleth] upon [my] body. Thou goest forth to thy setting in the Sektet boat with [fair] winds, and thy heart is glad; the heart of the Mātet boat rejoiceth. Thou stridest over the heavens in peace, and all thy foes are cast down; the never-resting stars sing hymns of praise unto thee, and the stars which rest, and the stars which never fail glorify thee as thou sinkest to rest in the horizon of Manu,1 O thou who art beautiful at morn and at eve, O thou lord who livest and art established, O my lord!

“Homage to thee, O thou who art Rā when thou risest, and Tem when thou settest [in] beauty. Thou risest and shinest on the back of thy mother [Nut], O thou who art crowned king of the gods! Nut doeth homage unto thee, and everlasting and never-changing order2 embraceth thee at morn and at eve. Thou stridest over the heaven, being glad of heart, and the Lake of Testes is content [thereat]. The Sebau Fiend hath fallen to the ground; his arms and his hands have been hacked off, and the knife hath severed the joints of his body. Rā hath a fair wind; the Sektet boat goeth forth and sailing along it cometh into port. The gods of the south and of the north, of the west and of the east, praise thee, O thou divine substance, from whom all forms of life come into being. Thou sendest forth the word, and the earth [pg 004] is flooded with silence, O thou only One, who didst dwell in heaven before ever the earth and the mountains came into existence. O Runner, O Lord, O only One, thou maker of things which are, thou hast fashioned the tongue of the company

of the gods, thou hast produced whatsoever cometh forth from the waters, and thou springest up from them over the flooded land of the Lake of Horus. Let me snuff the air which cometh forth from thy nostrils, and the north wind which cometh forth from thy mother [Nut]. Oh, make thou to be glorious my shining form (khu), O Osiris, make thou to be divine my soul (ba)! Thou art worshipped [in] peace (or [in] setting), O lord of the gods, thou art exalted by reason of thy wondrous works. Shine thou with thy rays of light upon my body day by day, [upon me], Osiris the scribe, the teller of the divine offerings of all the gods, the overseer of the granary of the lords of Abtu (Abydos), the royal scribe in truth who loveth thee; Ani, victorious in peace.”

Hymn And Litany To Osiris

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 19).]

“Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of eternity, Unnefer, Heru-khuti (Harmachis), whose forms are manifold, and whose attributes are majestic, Ptah-Seker-Tem in Annu (Heliopolis), the lord of the hidden place, and the creator of Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis) and of the gods [therein], the guide of the underworld, whom [the gods] glorify when thou settest in Nut. Isis embraceth thee in peace, and she driveth away the fiends from the mouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face upon Amentet, and thou makest the earth to shine as with refined copper. Those who have lain down (i.e., the dead) rise up to see thee, they breathe the air and they look upon thy face when the Disk riseth on its horizon; their hearts are at peace inasmuch as they behold thee, O thou who art Eternity and Everlastingness!”

Litany

“Homage to thee, [O lord of] starry deities in Annu, and of heavenly beings in Kher-āba; thou god Unti, who art more glorious than the gods who are hidden in Annu; oh grant3 thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O An in Antes, (?) Heru-khuti (Harmachis), with long strides thou stridest over heaven, O Heru-khuti. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O Soul of everlastingness, thou Soul who dwellest in Tattu, Unnefer, son of Nut; thou art lord of Akert. Oh, grant thou unto me a path wherein I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee in thy dominion over Tattu; the Ureret crown is established upon thy head; thou art the One who maketh the strength which protecteth himself, and thou dwellest in peace in Tattu. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O lord of the Acacia tree, the Seker boat is set upon its sledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil, and thou causest the Utchat to rest upon its seat. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O thou who art mighty in thine hour, thou great and mighty Prince, dweller in An-rut-f,4 lord of eternity and creator of everlastingness, thou art the lord of Suten-henen (Heracleopolis Magna). Oh, grant thou unto [pg 006] me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Right and Truth, thou art the lord of Abtu (Abydos), and thy limbs are joined unto Ta-tchesertet; thou art he to whom fraud and guile are hateful. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O thou who art within thy boat, thou bringest Hāpi (i.e., the Nile) forth from his source; the light shineth upon thy body and thou art the dweller in Nekhen.5 Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O creator of the gods, thou King of the North and of the South, O Osiris, victorious one, ruler of the world in thy gracious seasons; thou art the lord of the celestial world.6 Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

Hymn To Rā

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 20).]

A Hymn of Praise to Rā when he riseth in the eastern part of heaven. Those who are in his train rejoice, and lo! Osiris Ani, victorious, saith:

“Hail, thou Disk, thou lord of rays, who risest on the horizon day by day! Shine thou with thy beams of light upon the face of Osiris Ani, who is victorious; for he singeth hymns of praise unto thee at dawn, and he maketh thee to set at eventide with words of adoration. May the soul of Osiris Ani, the triumphant one, come forth with thee into heaven, may he go forth in the Mātet boat. May he come into port in the Sektet boat, and may he cleave his path among the never-resting stars in the heavens.”

Osiris Ani, being in peace and in triumph, adoreth his lord, the lord of eternity, saying: “Homage to thee, O Heru-khuti (Harmachis), who art the god Khepera, the self-created; when thou risest on the horizon and sheddest thy beams of light upon the lands of the North and of the South, thou art beautiful, yea beautiful, and all the gods rejoice when they behold thee, the King of heaven. The goddess Nebt-Unnut is stablished upon thy head; and her uræi of the South and of the North are upon thy brow; she taketh up her place before thee. The god Thoth is stablished in the bows of thy boat to destroy utterly all thy foes. Those who are in the Tuat (underworld) come forth to meet thee, and they bow in homage as they come toward thee, to behold [thy] beautiful Image. And I have come before thee that I may be with thee to behold thy Disk every day. May I not be shut up in [the tomb], may I not be turned back, may the limbs of my body be made new again when I view thy beauties, even as [are those of] all thy favored ones, because I am one of those

who worshipped thee [whilst I lived] upon earth. May I come in unto the land of eternity, may I come even unto the everlasting land, for behold, O my lord, this hast thou ordained for me.”

And lo, Osiris Ani triumphant in peace, the triumphant one, saith: “Homage to thee, O thou who risest in thy horizon as Rā, thou reposest upon law [which changeth not nor can it be altered]. Thou passest over the sky, and every face watcheth thee and thy course, for thou hast been hidden from their gaze. Thou dost shew thyself at dawn and at eventide day by day. The Sektet boat, wherein is thy Majesty, goeth forth with might; thy beams [shine] upon [all] faces; [the number] of thy red and yellow rays cannot be known, nor can thy bright beams be told. The lands of the gods, and the eastern lands of Punt7 must be seen, ere that which is hidden [in thee] may be measured. Alone and by thyself thou dost manifest thyself [when] thou comest into being above Nu (i.e., the sky). May Ani advance, even as thou dost advance; may he never cease [to go forward], even as thy Majesty ceaseth not [to go forward], even though it be for a moment; for with strides dost thou in one little moment pass [pg 008] over the spaces which would need hundreds of thousands and

millions of years [for man to pass over; this] thou doest, and then dost thou sink to rest. Thou puttest an end to the hours of the night, and thou dost count them, even thou; thou endest them in thine own appointed season, and the earth becometh light. Thou settest thyself before thy handiwork in the likeness of Rā; thou risest in the horizon.”

Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant, declareth his praise of thee when thou shinest, and when thou risest at dawn he crieth in his joy at thy birth: “Thou art crowned with the majesty of thy beauties; thou mouldest thy limbs as thou dost advance, and thou bringest them forth without birth-pangs in the form of Rā, as thou dost rise up into the upper air. Grant thou that I may come unto the heaven which is everlasting, and unto the mountain where dwell thy favored ones. May I be joined unto those shining beings, holy and perfect, who are in the underworld; and may I come forth with them to behold thy beauties when thou shinest at eventide and goest to thy mother Nu. Thou dost place thyself in the west, and my two hands are [raised] in adoration [of thee] when thou settest as a living being. Behold, thou art the maker of eternity, and thou art adored [when] thou settest in the heavens. I have given my heart unto thee without wavering, O thou who art mightier than the gods.”