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
"The ninth day of the fourth month [2] of the season Akhet of the ninth
year under the Majesty of the King of the Two Lands, the god Philopator,
Philadelphus, Osiris the Young, the Son of Rā, the lord of the Crowns of
the South and of the North, Ptolemy, the ever living, beloved of Ptah
and Isis, 6. [was] the day whereon I was born.
"On the ... day of the third month [3] of the season Shemu of the
twenty-third year under the Majesty of this same Lord of the Two Lands,
my father gave me to wife to the priest of Ptah, the scribe of the
library of divine books, the priest of the Tuat Chamber, [4] the
libationer of the gods of the Wall, the superintendent of the priests of
the gods and goddesses of the North and South, the two eyes of the King
of Upper Egypt, the two ears of the King of Lower Egypt, the second of
the king in raising up the Tet pillar, [5] the staff of the king [when]
brought into the temples, 7. the Erpā in the throne chamber of Keb, the
Kher-heb (precentor) in the seat of Thoth, the repeater (or herald) of
the tillage of the Ram-god, who turneth aside the Utchat (sacred eye),
who approacheth the Utchat by the great Ram of gold (?), who seeth the
setting of the great god [who] is born when it is fettered, the
Ur-kherp-hem,[6] Pa-sher-en-Ptah, the son of a man who held like
offices, Peta-Bast, whose word (or voice) is truth, born of 8. the great
decorated sistrum bearer and tambourine woman of Ptah, the great one of
his South Wall, the Lord of Ānkh-taui, whose word (or voice) is truth.
"And the heart of the Ur-kherp-hem rejoiced in her exceedingly. I bore
to him a child three times, but I did not bear a man child besides these
three daughters. And I and the Ur-kherp-hem prayed to 9. the Majesty of
this holy god, who [worketh] great wonders and bestoweth happiness (?),
who giveth a son to him that hath one not, and Imhetep, the son of Ptah,
hearkened unto our words, and he accepted his prayers. And the Majesty
of this god came unto this Ur-kherp-hem during [his] sleep, and said
unto him, 10. 'Let there be built a great building in the form of a
large hall [for the lord of] Ānkh-taui, in the place where his body is
wrapped up (or concealed), and in return for this I will give thee a man
child.' And the Ur-kherp-hem woke up out of his sleep after these
[words], and he smelt the ground before this holy god. And he laid them
(_i.e._ the words) before the priests, 11. and the chief of the
mysteries, and the libationers, and the artisans of the House of Gold,
at one time, and he despatched them to make the building perfect in the
form of a large, splendid funerary hall. And they did everything
according as he had said. And he performed the ceremony of 'Opening the
Mouth' for this holy god, and he made to him a great offering of the
beautiful offerings of every kind, and he bestowed upon him sculptured
images 12. for the sake of this god, and he made happy their hearts with
offerings of all kinds in return for this [promise].
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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