I will lie down within, Behold, I am sick with wrongs. Then my neighbors come in To visit me. This sister of mine cometh with them; She will make a laughing-stock of the physicians; She knoweth mine illness. THE LUCKY DOORKEEPER The villa of my sister Hath its gates in the midst of the estate; [So often as] its doors are opened, [So often as] the bolt is withdrawn, My beloved is angry. If I were set as the gatekeeper, I should cause her to chide me; Then should I hear her voice [when she is] angry: A child before her! LOVE'S DOUBTS [My Brother] hath come forth [from mine house]; [He careth not for] my love; My heart standeth still within me. Behold, honeyed cakes in my mouth. They are turned into salt; Even must, that sweet thing, In my mouth is as the gall of a bird! The breath of thy nostrils alone Is that which maketh my heart live. I found thee! Amen grant thee unto me, Eternally and for ever! THE UNSUCCESSFUL BIRD-CATCHER The voice of the wild goose crieth, For she hath taken her bait; [But] thy love restraineth me, I cannot loose it.[204] So I must gather my net together. What then shall I say to my mother, To whom I come daily Laden with wild-fowl? I have not laid my net to-day, For thy love hath seized me. Translation of W. Max Mueller. HYMN TO USERTESEN III. [This hymn is the most remarkable example of Egyptian poetry known to us. It was found by Mr. Petrie near the pyramid and temple of Usertesen II., in the town which was founded there for the accommodation of the workmen employed upon these buildings, and for the priestly staff who performed the services for the dead Pharaoh in his chapel. The hymn is addressed to the son and successor of that king,--to Usertesen III.,--an active and warlike prince, who, as the poet also testifies, used his power for the benefit of his country and the pious support of its institutions. It is a marvel that the delicate papyrus on which the hymn is written should have been preserved for nearly 5,000 years. It has not, however, resisted the attacks of time without suffering injury; and the lacunae, together with the peculiar language employed by the scribe, are baffling to the decipherer. Four stanzas only can be read with comparative completeness and certainty. The parallelism of the sentences, the rhythm, the balancing of the lines of verse, and the pause in each, recall the style of the Hebrew Psalms. The choice of metaphors, too, is in a similar direction. Unfortunately our limited knowledge of the ancient language does not permit us to analyze closely the structure of the verses, nor to attempt any scansion of them. The radicals only of Egyptian words are known to us; of the pronunciation of the language at the time of the XIIth Dynasty we are entirely ignorant.] I