Egyptian Literature: Comprising Egyptian tales, hymns, litanies, invocations, the Book of the Dead, and cuneiform writings
Religion
Egyptian Literature: Comprising Egyptian tales, hymns, litanies, invocations, the Book of the Dead, and cuneiform writings
Egyptian literature -- Translations into English
Now when the days passed after this, the youth sat making a good day in
his house. And when the evening came he lay down on his bed, sleep seized
upon his limbs; and his wife filled a bowl of milk, and placed it by his
side. Then came out a serpent from his hole, to bite the youth; behold his
wife was sitting by him, she lay not down. Thereupon the servants gave
milk to the serpent, and he drank, and was drunk, and lay upside down.
Then his wife made it to perish with the blows of her dagger. And they
woke her husband, who was astonished; and she said unto him: “Behold thy
God has given one of thy dooms into thy hand; he will also give thee the
others.” And he sacrificed to God, adoring him, and praising his spirits
from day to day.
And when the days were passed after these things, the youth went to walk
in the fields of his domain. He went not alone, behold his dog was
following him. And his dog ran aside after the wild game, and he followed
the dog. He came to the river, and entered the river behind his dog. Then
came out the crocodile, and took him to the place where the mighty man
was. And the crocodile said to the youth, “I am thy doom, following after
thee....”
(_Here the papyrus breaks off._)
Anpu And Bata
Once there were two brethren, of one mother and one father; Anpu was the
name of the elder, and Bata was the name of the younger. Now, as for Anpu
he had a house, and he had a wife. But his little brother was to him as it
were a son; he it was who made for him his clothes; he it was who followed
behind his oxen to the fields; he it was who did the ploughing; he it was
who harvested the corn; he it was who did for him all the matters that
were in the field. Behold, his younger brother grew to be an excellent
worker, there was not his equal in the whole land; behold, the spirit of a
god was in him.
Now after this the younger brother followed his oxen in his daily manner;
and every evening he turned again to the house, laden with all the herbs
of the field, with milk and with wood, and with all things of the field.
And he put them down before his elder brother, who was sitting with his
wife; and he drank and ate, and he lay down in his stable with the cattle.
And at the dawn of day he took bread which he had baked, and laid it
before his elder brother; and he took with him his bread to the field, and
he drave his cattle to pasture in the fields. And as he walked behind his
cattle, they said to him, “Good is the herbage which is in that place”;
and he listened to all that they said, and he took them to the good place
which they desired. And the cattle which were before him became exceeding
excellent, and they multiplied greatly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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