The Literature of the Ancient EgyptiansBudge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
History
The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians
Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
Egyptian literature -- History and criticism; Egyptian literature -- Translations into English
I cannot resist thy fire, the terror of thee
hath conquered me. Behold, thou art Nubti,[1] the Governor of the South,
and Menth,[2] the Bull with strong arms. Thou didst not find thy servant
in any town towards which thou hast turned thy face. I went as far as
the swamps of the Great Green (_i.e._ the Mediterranean), because I was
afraid of thy Souls, and because thy word is a fire that worketh evil
for me. Is not the heart of Thy Majesty cooled by reason of what thou
hast done unto me? Behold, I am indeed a most wretched man. Punish me
not according to my abominable deeds, weigh them not in a balance as
against weights; thy punishment of me is already threefold. Leave the
seed, and thou shalt find it again in due season. Dig not up the young
root which is about to put forth shoots. Thy Ka and the terror of thee
are in my body, and the fear of thee is in my bones. I have not sat in
the house of drinking beer, and no one hath brought to me the harp. I
have only eaten the bread which hunger demanded, and I have only drunk
the water needed [to slake] my thirst. From the day in which thou didst
hear my name misery hath been in my bones, and my head hath lost its
hair. My apparel shall be rags until Neith[3] is at peace with me. Thou
hast brought on me the full weight of misery; O turn thou thy face
towards me, for, behold, this year hath separated my Ka from me. Purge
thy servant of his rebellion. Let my goods be received into thy
treasury, gold, precious stones of all kinds, and the finest of my
horses, and let these be my indemnity to thee for everything. I beseech
thee to send an envoy to me quickly, so that he may make an end of the
fear that is in my heart. Verily I will go into the temple, and in his
presence I will purge myself, and swear an oath of allegiance to thee by
the God." And Piānkhi sent to him General Puarma and General
Petamennebnesttaui, and Tafnekht loaded them with gold, and silver, and
raiment, and precious stones, and he went into the temple and took an
oath by the God that he would never again disobey the king, or make war
on a neighbour, or invade his territory without Piānkhi's knowledge. So
Piānkhi was satisfied and forgave him. After this the town of
Crocodilopolis tendered its submission, and Piānkhi was master of all
Egypt. Then two Governors of the South and two Governors of the North
came and smelt the ground before Piānkhi, and these were followed by all
the kings and princes of the North, "and their legs were [weak] like
those of women." As they were uncircumcised and were eaters of fish they
could not enter the king's palace; only one, Nemart, who was
ceremonially pure, entered the palace. Piānkhi was now tired of
conquests, and he had all the loot which he had collected loaded on his
barges, together with goods from Syria and the Land of the God, and he
sailed up the river towards Nubia. The people on both banks rejoiced at
the sight of His Majesty, and they sang hymns of praise to him as he
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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