THE LITERATURE OF ANCIENT EGYPT THE LITERATURE OF ANCIENT EGYPT AN ANTHOLOGY OF STORIES, INSTRUCTIONS, STELAE, AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, AND POETRY Third Edition Edited and with an introduction by WILLIAM KELLY SIMPSON With translations by Robert K. Ritner, William Kelly Simpson, Vincent A. Tobin, and Edward F. Wente, Jr. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS / NEW HAVEN & LONDON Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Published with assistance from the William K. and Marilyn M. Simpson Endowment for Egyptology at Yale University. Copyright ∫ 2003 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by Mary Valencia. Set in Simoncini Garamond and Michelangelo types by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Printed in the United States of America by Vail-Ballou Press. ISBN: 0-300-09920-7 A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To the memory of sages of our own time who have made outstanding contributions to the study and appreciation of the literature of ancient Egypt RAYMOND O. FAULKNER (1894–1982) WOLFGANG HELCK (1914–1993) GEORGES POSENER (1906–1988) CONTENTS List of Abbreviations xi Introduction by William Kelly Simpson 1 PART I NARRATIVES AND TALES OF MIDDLE EGYPTIAN LITERATURE 11 King Cheops and the Magicians 13 The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant 25 The Shipwrecked Sailor 45 The Story of Sinuhe 54 PART II 67 LATE EGYPTIAN STORIES The Quarrel of Apophis and Seknenre 69 The Capture of Joppa 72 The Tale of the Doomed Prince 75 The Tale of the Two Brothers 80 vii CONTENTS The Contendings of Horus and Seth 91 The Blinding of Truth by Falsehood 104 Astarte and the Insatiable Sea 108 A Ghost Story 112 The Report of Wenamon 116 PART III INSTRUCTIONS, LAMENTATIONS, AND DIALOGUES 125 The Instruction of Hardedef (First Part) 127 The Maxims of Ptahhotep 129 The Teaching for the Vizier Kagemni 149 The Teaching for King Merikare 152 The Teaching of King Amenemhet I for His Son Senwosret 166 The Loyalist Instruction from the Sehetepibre Stela 172 The Instruction of a Man for His Son 175 The Man Who Was Weary of Life 178 The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage 188 The Lamentations of Khakheperre-sonbe 211 The Prophecies of Neferty 214 The Instruction of Amunnakhte 221 The Instruction of Amenemope 223 PART IV 245 FROM THE RELIGIOUS LITERATURE Selections from the Pyramid Texts 247 Selections from the Coffin Texts 263 Book of the Dead 125: ‘‘The Negative Confession’’ 267 viii CONTENTS The Hymn to the Aten 278 Penitential Hymns 284 The Book of the Heavenly Cow 289 PART V 299 SONGS AND ROYAL HYMNS Cycle of Songs in Honor of Senwosret III 301 The Love Songs and The Song of the Harper 307 PART VI 335 ROYAL STELAE The Semna Stela 337 The Neferhotep Stela 339 The Kamose Texts 345 The Poetical Stela of Thutmose III 351 The Israel Stela 356 The Bentresh Stela 361 The Victory Stela of Piye 367 The Famine Stela 386 The Satrap Stela 392 PART VII 399 AUTOBIOGRAPHIES Three Autobiographies of the Old Kingdom 401 The Stela of Tjetji 414 Amenemhet and Khnumhotep II at Beni Hasan 418 The Stela of Iykhernofret 425 ix CONTENTS PART VIII SCRIBAL TRADITIONS 429 The Satire on the Trades: The Instruction of Dua-Khety 431 The Scribal Traditions in the Schools 438 PART IX 443 DEMOTIC LITERATURE The Prophecy of the Lamb 445 The Tale of Amasis and the Skipper 450 The Romance of Setna Khaemuas and the Mummies (Setna I) 453 The Adventures of Setna and Si-Osire (Setna II) 470 The Childhood of Si-Osire 490 The Magician Hihor 492 The Fable of the Swallow and the Sea 494 The Instruction of ¿Onchsheshonqy 497 Bibliography 531 Illustrations follow page XIV x ABBREVIATIONS ÄAbh ADAW AEL ÄF ANET ÄUAT BAR BdE BEHE BES BIE BIFAO BiOr BSEG BSFE Ägyptologische Abhandlungen Abhandlungen der Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Philosophisch-historische Klasse Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1: The Old and Middle Kingdoms; vol. 2: The New Kingdom; vol. 3: The Late Period, Berkeley, 1973, 1976, 1980 Ägyptologische Forschungen J. B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 3d ed., Princeton, 1969 Ägypten und Altes Testament James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, 5 vols., repr. London, 1988 Bibliothèque d’Etude IFAOC Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes, IVe section, Sciences historiques et philologiques Bulletin Egyptological Seminar Bulletin de l’Institut d’Egypte Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale Bibliotheca Orientalis Bulletin de la Société d’Egyptologie Genève Bulletin de la Société Française d’Egyptologie xi ABBREVIATIONS CD CdE CNI CRIPEL DAIK DE DFIFAO GM HÄB IFAO JAOS JARCE JEA JEOL JESHO JNES JSSEA LÄ MÄS MÄU MIFAO MIO MDAIK OBO OLA OLZ OMRO Or RdE RevEq RSO SAGA SÄK SAOC C. E. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary, Oxford, 1939 Chronique d’Égypte Carsten Niebuhr Institute, Copenhagen Cahier de Recherches de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Egyptologie de Lille Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Kairo Discussions in Egyptology Documents de Fouilles de IFAO Göttinger Miszellen Hildesheimer Ägyptologischge Beiträge l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, Cairo Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Journal of Near Eastern Studies Journal of the Society of the Study of Egyptian Antiquities W. Helck et al., eds., Lexikon der Ägyptologie I–VII, Wiesbaden, 1972–92 Münchner Ägyptologische Studien Münchner Ägyptologische Untersuchungen Mémoirs IFAO Mitteilungen des Instituts für Orientforschung Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Institut, Abteilung Kairo Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta Orientalistische Literaturzeitung Oudheidkundige Mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden Orientalia Revue d’Egyptologie Revue Egyptologique Rivista degli Studi Orientali Studien zur Archäologie und Geschichte Altägyptens Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations xii ABBREVIATIONS SBAW SSEA StudAeg TUAT UGAÄ Urk. VA Wb. WdO WZKM ZÄS ZDMG ZPE Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaft, Phil.-hist. Abt., Munich Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities Studia Aegyptiaca, Budapest Otto Kaiser, ed., Texte aus dem Umwelt des Alten Testament Untersuchungen zur Geschichte und Altertumskunde Ägyptens K. Sethe, ed., Urkunden Varia Aegyptiaca, San Antonio A. Erman and H. Grapow, Wörterbuch der Aegyptischen Sprache Die Welt des Orients Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Vienna Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik xiii Image not available 1. Papyrus Chester Beatty I before unrolling. Courtesy Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. 2. Prince Khuenre, eldest son of King Mycerinus, as a scribe. Giza, Dynasty 4. Museum Expedition. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum No. 13.3140. Image not available snnw.i ¢nhw psš.i m rmt, irw n.i kmdt a n sdm.tw.f bw ¢0 n [¢h0] ≠ n m0n.tw.f, ist ¢h0 ≠ tw hr ≠ mtwn, smh sf, nn km n bw nfr n hm rh.f;r-s0 msyt pw, h0w hpr s0k.tw a r smdt rf tmt hpr, tmmt rdi ib m-s0 hr(y)t.s ≠ m tk[n] im.sn [m] w¢w.k, m mh ib.k m sn, m rh hnms, m shpr n.k a[w] Oh you living images of me, my heirs among men, make for me a funeral oration which has not been heard (before), a great deed of [battle] which has not been seen, for men fight in the arena and the past is forgotten; goodness cannot profit one who does not know him whom he should know. It was after supper and night had fallen . . . (Corresponding to Pap. Millingen I, 9–11) Be on your guard against all who are subordinate to you when there occurs something to whose terrors no thought has been given; do not approach them [in] your solitude, trust no brother, know no friend, make no intimates. (Corresponding to Pap. Millingen I, 3–5) 3. Reverse of wooden writing board, with parts of The Teaching of King Amenemhet I, transcription into hieroglyphic, transliteration in standard form, and translation. Courtesy The Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Estate of Charles Edwin Wilbour. Museum No. 16.119. Image not available 4. Detail of scribe with papyrus roll, pen, and shell for black and red ink. From the tomb chapel of Nofer at Giza. Harvard University—Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum No. 07.1002. 5. Front and back of a scribe’s palette, Dynasty 13, with reed pens, inkwell, ink, and miscellaneous notations. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Hay Collection, Gift of C. Granville Way. Museum No. 72.4295. Length 38 cm., width 5 cm. Image not available 6. Relief from a tomb wall at Sakkara, Dynasty 19, with figures of famous men of the past. These include the sages Iyemhotep, Kaires, Khety, and Khakheperre-sonbe. Photographs courtesy M. Z. Ghoneim and Henry G. Fischer. Image not available Image not available INTRODUCTION s for those learned scribes from the time of the successors of the gods, those who foretold the future, it has come to pass that their names will endure forever, although they are gone, having completed their lives, and although their offspring are forgotten. . . . They did not know how to leave heirs who were children who could pronounce their names, but they made heirs for themselves of the writings and books of instruction which they made. . . . Their mortuary servants are gone, and their memorial tablets covered with dust, their chapels forgotten. But their names are pronounced because of these books of theirs which they made. . . . More profitable is a book than a graven tablet, than a chapel-wall [?] well built. . . . A man has perished, and his corpse has become dust. . . . But writings cause him to be remembered in the mouth of the story-teller. Is there any here like Hardedef? Is there another like Iyemhotep? There have been none among our kindred like Neferty and Khety, that foremost among them. I recall to you the names of Ptahemdjehuty and Khakheperresonbe. Is there another like Ptahhotep or Kaires? Those sages who foretold the future, that which came forth from their mouths took place. . . . They are gone, their names are forgotten. But writings cause them to be remembered. A From Papyrus Chester Beatty IV, translated after A. H. Gardiner 1 INTRODUCTION We are reasonably familiar with the art and architecture of ancient Egypt, with the pyramids and sphinx, the great temples of Karnak, Luxor, Edfu, Dendereh, and the wall reliefs and paintings in the chapels of the mastabas of the Old Kingdom and in the tombs of the nobles of the New Kingdom at Thebes. The tomb equipment of Tutankhamun and the head of Queen Nefertiti are well known and can be appreciated through color photography. The visual aspects of Egypt of the pharaohs have now become part of our heritage. Yet its no less remarkable literature is still relatively unknown except to specialists. The culture of Egypt was not expressed in epics or drama, nor did it produce authors to rival Homer or Virgil, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, thinkers to match Plato and Aristotle, or lyric poets on a level with Sappho and Catullus. Yet the minute fraction of its literature which has survived deserves a wider audience, and the sages cited in the quotation above should not be entirely unfamiliar. The lack of easily available translations in English is partly responsible.1 When the Egyptian language was gradually deciphered in the first decades of the nineteenth century, the texts proved to be of an extremely heterogeneous nature. They included ledgers, inventories, payrolls, distribution lists of foodstuffs and equipment, and letters—all the usual components of a busy economy. Not unexpectedly, many of the inscriptions belong to the category of religious texts: hymns, prayers, rituals, and guidebooks to the underworld and the hereafter. On the temple walls are illustrated manuals of temple service and illustrated chronicles of the kings: their battles, conquests, and lists of tribute. In the tomb chapels of the officials are formulas relating to the provisioning of the funerary cult, a sort of perpetual care, and texts of a biographical nature relating their careers and describing in often stereotyped phrases their ethical probity. The texts from ancient Egypt include matters as diverse as the accounts of lawsuits, trials of thieves, medical and veterinary manuals, and magical spells against scorpions and other creatures. Within the mass of material studied by several generations of Egyptologists there has emerged a series of compositions which can unquestionably be regarded as literature in our sense. The closest parallels are to be found in other parts of the ancient Near East in the literatures of Mesopotamia and the people of the Old Testament.2 These compositions are narratives and tales, teachings (instructions), and poetry. Their identification, study, and analysis is a scholarly endeavor in its early stages, yet progressing rap- 2 INTRODUCTION idly; scholars of many countries are constantly contributing the results of their studies.3 For some of these texts a single, complete papyrus has survived.4 For others a few poor copies can be eked out with the help of numerous fragmentary excerpts on potsherds and limestone flakes.5 Still others lack the beginning or end, or both.6 Not a few compositions are known by title or a few sentences only, and there remains the slim chance that luck or excavation will produce more of the text. The compositions in the anthology at hand have been selected on the basis of literary merit or pretensions thereto, with a few additions. The selections from the pyramid texts, the hymns in honor of Senwosret III, the selections from the coffin texts, the Book of the Dead, and the great hymn to the sun of Akhenaten belong strictly speaking to the religious literature. Similarly, the poem of victory in the stela of Thutmose III has parallels in the historical texts and is not literary in itself. But the literary merit and interest of these selections warrant their inclusion. There are other literary texts which we would have wished to include and which may be added in future editions, notably The Plaintiff of Memphis (the tale of King Neferkare and the General), The Instruction of Ani, and The Satirical Letter of Hori to Amenemope, as well as several fragmentary compositions of various periods. Yet R. O. Faulkner, one of the first collaborators in this enterprise, remarked that Erman in his anthology cast his net far too wide. The compositions have been arranged mainly by type rather than by date. The first section, the narratives and tales of the Middle Kingdom, consists of King Cheops and the Magicians, The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, The Shipwrecked Sailor, and The Story of Sinuhe. These were probably set down in Dynasty 12 (1991–1786 b.c.), although the first relates events of the Old Kingdom and the foundation of Dynasty 5 (2494– 2345 b.c.), and The Eloquent Peasant is set in Dynasty 9/10. The second section comprises the narratives of the New Kingdom, Dynasties 18–20 (1554–1085 b.c.), which are known as the Late Egyptian Stories. This section is the work of Wente and incorporates many new ideas on his part. The tales included are The Quarrel of Apophis and Seknenre, The Capture of Joppa, The Tale of the Doomed Prince, The Tale of the Two Brothers, The Contendings of Horus and Seth, The Blinding of Truth by Falsehood, Astarte and the Insatiable Sea, A Ghost Story, and The Report of Wenamon. The last is a literary report relating events in the first years of Dynasty 21. 3 INTRODUCTION The third section, comprising wisdom or instruction literature and the lamentations and dialogues, encompasses a wide chronological range. The Maxims of Ptahhopet, The Teaching for King Merikare, The Teaching of King Amenemhet I to His Son Senwosret, The Man Who Was Weary of Life, The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage, and The Prophecies of Neferty are presented in translations with notes by Tobin. The Teaching of Hardedef, The Teaching for Kagemni, The Lamentations of Khakheperresonbe, The Loyalist Instruction, and The Instruction of Amenemope, as well as The Instruction of a Man for His Son and The Instruction of Amennakhte, are the work of Simpson. In the fourth section are selected texts from the religious literature translated by all four collaborators. The fifth section includes the Cycle of Songs in Honor of Senwosret III, translated by Simpson, and the Love Poems and Song of the Harper, now translated by Tobin. The sixth section includes several royal stelae translated by all four collaborators, only one of which was included in the earlier editions. The seventh section is again a new inclusion consistings of ‘‘autobiographies’’ from stelae and tombs, since they exhibit marked literary features. The translators are Tobin and Simpson. The eighth section includes the two texts added to the revised edition of 1973, again in translations by Simpson. The ninth section is a most welcome addition on texts in demotic, translated by Ritner. Of the genres included, the most comprehensive is narrative. The term includes a wide variety of elements, purposes, and aspects. The Sailor and Sinuhe are ostensibly straightforward tales. Both have been explained, however, as ‘‘lehrhafte Stücke,’’ instructions or teachings in the guise of narratives, with the protagonists, the unnamed sailor and Sinuhe, as models for the man of the times, expressions of the cultural virtues of self-reliance, adaptation to new circumstances, and love of home.7 It is perhaps significant that there is no Egyptian term for narrative or story as such. A term mdt nfrt is usually rendered as belles lettres or fine speech. Otherwise, the terms for writings or sayings are employed. King Cheops and the Magicians is cast in the form of a cycle of stories, the recitation before the king of the marvels performed by the great magicians of the past, yet it concludes with a politically oriented folk tale of the birth of the first three kings of Dynasty 5. The narrative of the Peasant is a 4 INTRODUCTION framework for an exhibition of eloquent speech in which injustice is denounced. In the Late Egyptian Stories the protagonists are frequently the gods, and the worlds of myth, religion, and folk history mingle. The one genre for which the Egyptians had a specific term, sboyet, is the instruction or teaching. In almost every case these compositions begin with the heading, ‘‘the instruction which X made for Y.’’ The practicality and pragmaticism of the advice given by Ptahhotep and the author of the Instruction for Kagemni are frequently contrasted with the piety expressed in the later Instruction of Amenemope. The two earlier instructions are set in the form of advice given to a son by the vizier. The two royal instructions, Merikare and Amenemhet, are of a different nature; they are political pieces cast in instruction form. A third genre is lamentation and dialogue, of which The Lamentations of Khakheperre-sonbe, The Admonitions, and The Man Weary of Life are the main compositions. The Prophecies of Neferty was a popular text, to judge by the frequent Ramesside copies. Of similar nature are the nine speeches of the Peasant, although we have classified it under narrative. As a last category one can isolate the love poems and banquet songs. The love songs have survived only from the New Kingdom, but it is likely that the lyric was represented in the classical literature also. There are traces of songs in the tomb reliefs of the Old Kingdom. Recent study has singled out two not mutually exclusive aspects for special attention: a literature of propaganda and a literature of pessimism.8 Under the former are grouped those compositions which have in common the theme of extolling the king or royal dynasty. The Loyalist Instruction is a prime example, and the theme is also developed in its most unadulterated form in the cycle of Hymns in Honor of Senwosret III. Three compositions relate to the beginning of Dynasty 12. The Prophecies of Neferty, although ostensibly set in Dynasty 4, foretell the dire straits of the land and the restoration of Egypt under a savior king, Amenemhet I. The same king’s Instruction is an apologia for his life and a manifesto in favor of his son Senwosret I. The third composition is Sinuhe, a narrative beginning with the death of Amenemhet I and presenting a highly favorable view of his successor, Senwosret I. All three compositions were recopied extensively in Ramesside times. The literature of pessimism comprises those compositions in which the land is described in great disorder, such as the just cited Prophecies of Neferty, the Lamentations, and the Admonitions. Here the theme is associated 5 INTRODUCTION with the ideas of social and religious change. On a personal, psychological level The Man Who Was Weary of Life belongs to this category; it expresses most poignantly the man’s distress and his necessary reorientation of values: To whom can I speak today? Brothers are evil, And the friends of today unlovable. To whom can I speak today? Gentleness has perished, And the violent man has come down on everyone. Portions of the royal instructions and The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant reflect elements of the same pessimistic background. With a few exceptions the texts in this anthology are translated from manuscripts written in hieratic in ink on papyrus.9 Hieratic is the cursive form of hieroglyphic and bears roughly the same relation to the latter as our handwriting does to the type set in books or typewritten material. Texts are written horizontally from right to left or vertically, with the first column on the right. Papyrus is a vegetable precursor of paper which was rolled for safekeeping; over a period of years it becomes extremely brittle and is always subject to insect damage. Hence many of these texts have large sections missing as well as frequent damages within an otherwise wellpreserved sheet. Use was also made of writing boards, wooden tablets coated with stucco to receive the ink. A very common writing material is the limestone flake (ostracon) or potsherd, and extensive texts written in ink have survived on these unlikely materials. Black ink and a reed pen were the scribe’s mainstays; he also used red ink for contrast in headings, corrections, and account totals. The problems of translation are considerable. The older stages of the language lack conjunctions and specific indications of tense. A sentence can be translated in several ways: When the sun rises, the peasant ploughs his field. The sun rises when the peasant ploughs his field. The past, present, or future tense can be used in either part of this example, and the word ‘‘if’’ substituted for ‘‘when.’’ Common sense indicates the first sentence of the pair is the correct translation. It is sometimes difficult to 6 INTRODUCTION determine if a dependent clause between two main clauses belongs to the first or second main clause. Contrast: When the sun rose, the peasant ploughed his field. He saw a man approach . . . The sun rose. Now when the peasant ploughed his field, he saw a man approach. . . . In poetry it is not always clear if a line belongs to the end of one stanza or the beginning of the next. The exact meaning of many words is still unknown and may remain so. Frequently, a translation is little more than an informed guess. In the Ramesside period certain texts were so carelessly copied that one has the distinct impression that the respective scribes did not understand them. In such cases it is hopeless for the modern scholar to be certain of the meaning or to make much sense out of the words and phrases garbled by the ancient copiest. There is prose, poetry, and symmetrically structured speech, although the dividing line is not necessarily sharp.10 A few texts are written in short lines, as is modern poetry. Yet the same composition may be found written continuously.11 The latter is the usual practice. Only a few of the texts set as poetry in this volume were written in short lines in the manuscript. As studies in Egyptian metrics have progressed, one increasingly finds translations rendered in verse instead of prose. In New Kingdom texts large dots above the line serve as a sort of punctuation, and these help in ascertaining divisions. Red ink was used for headings, a device equivalent to our paragraphing. Some translators set these rubrics in small capitals. In our volume we have not used them except as a guide for paragraphing. The translators have agreed that the use of archaic diction (e.g. thou, thee, ye, shouldst, saith) is artificial and distracting. They are indebted to several generations of scholars who have studied and translated the texts into English, French, and German in monographs, journal articles, and brief communications on specific words, sentences, or passages. For each composition the reader is referred to sources for bibliographies; the most recent articles are usually cited. The volume is addressed to the general reader, the student, and the specialist. The student and specialist are advised, however, that free translations are often used for passages which are difficult or offer the possibility of alternative translations. The translation does not always reflect the final 7 INTRODUCTION judgment of the translator; he cannot have consistently chosen the right alternative. In journal articles or monographs it is not uncommon to find a sentence discussed at length, with an equal number of pages devoted to the same passage several years later by another scholar. The translator of a text of some length for the general reader cannot burden it with extensive notes and investigations. The few conventions used require identification. Brackets are employed for text which has been restored when there is a gap in the manuscript, and sometimes half brackets when the word or phrase is uncertain or imperfectly understood; three dots are used when the gap cannot be filled with any degree of certainty and represent an omission of indeterminate length: ‘‘Then the [wife] of the man 4wept5, and she said, [...].’’ Parentheses are used for phrases not in the original added as an aid to the reader; angle brackets are used for words which the copyist erroneously omitted: ‘‘His henchmen returned (to the house), and he went »into… the room.’’ For convenience in reference the line or column numbers for many of the texts are provided in the margin. When the passage is set in prose a slash is used to indicate the change of line: ‘‘I went down to the shore / in the vicinity of the ship.’’ The tag, ‘‘may he live, prosper, and be in health,’’ frequently follows a royal name; following the usual custom, it is usually rendered in our texts as ‘‘l.p.h.’’ A word should be said on the language of the translations. In many cases the translator attempts to render an Egyptian sentence in such a way that its characteristics are retained in English. This often makes for a rather artificial diction, a kind of language not represented in everyday speech. Through this device the translator can indicate that the passive voice is used instead of the active, and so forth: ‘‘He was ferried across the river’’ is not as smooth a translation as ‘‘They ferried him across the river,’’ yet the former may render the original more closely. Similarly, a passage is translated thus: ‘‘Now after many days had elapsed upon this and while they were (engaged) in their daily practice, presently the boy passed by them.’’ The sentence is equivalent to ‘‘After some time, while they were busy with their daily affairs, the boy happened to come upon them.’’ In the second version an attempt has been made to render the sense, in the first the Egyptian sequence of words. Another example is, ‘‘Is it while the son of the male is still living that the cattle are to be given to the stranger?’’ A smoother translation would be: ‘‘Is it customary to give the cattle to the stranger while the son of the man of 8 INTRODUCTION the house is still alive?’’ The original, however, employs a verbal form which places emphasis on the clause, ‘‘while the son of the male is still living.’’ The first of the two alternatives brings out this emphasis more closely. Our translations attempt to strike a compromise between these two poles. To opt consistently for the smoother translation results in a paraphrase and leads to an interpretative retelling. Yet to retain the artificiality of Egyptian phrasing in English makes for a clumsiness foreign to the Egyptian text itself. A greatly expanded bibliography is included for those whom we hope to have interested in the study and appreciation of ancient Egyptian literature. NOTES 1. For many years the standard anthology for English readers has been A. Erman, The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, trans. A. M. Blackman (London, 1927), a translation of Erman’s Die Literatur der Aegypter (1923). A paperback reprint appeared under the title, A. Erman, The Ancient Egyptians: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, trans. A. M. Blackman, with new introduction by W. K. Simpson (New York, 1966). There is also Gaston Maspero, Popular Stories of Ancient Egypt, trans. A. S. Johns (New York, 1915, rpt. 1967) and Joseph Kaster, Wings of the Falcon (New York, 1968). The most reliable translations are those selections translated by John A. Wilson in James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, 1950 and subsequent editions), hereafter cited as ANET. Other than these anthologies and, of course, monographs and journal articles on individual texts, the reader has had to rely on the anthologies in French, German, and Italian. In many ways the most useful is G. Lefebvre, Romans et contes égyptiens de l’époque pharaonique (Paris, 1949). This includes the narratives but omits the instructions and poetry; Lefebvre’s notes and introductions are extremely useful. Next there is E. BrunnerTraut, Altägyptische Märchen (Düsseldorf, 1963 and later editions). This includes all the narratives, a reconstruction of myths and fables, and also the demotic and Christian narratives; it omits the instructions and poetry. There is E. Bresciani, Letteratura e poesia dell’antico Egitto (Turin, 1969). After the first edition of the present work, there appeared the excellent threevolume anthology by Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: vol. 1: The Old and Middle Kingdoms; vol. 2: The New Kingdom; and vol. 3: The Late Period (Berkeley, 1973, 1976, 1980); see also ‘‘Some Corrections to My Ancient Egyptian Literature I–III,’’ GM 41 (1980): 67–74. Other anthologies of note include R. B. Parkinson, Voices from Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Middle Kingdom Writings (London, 1991) and John L. Foster, Echoes of Egyptian Voices: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Poetry (Norman, Okla., 1992); K. A. Kitchen, Poetry of Ancient Egypt ( Jonsered, 1999); and R. B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems (Oxford, 1997). 9 INTRODUCTION 2. See in particular the texts in Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts; and T. Eric Peet, A Comparative Study of the Literatures of Egypt, Palestine, and Mesopotamia (London, 1931). 3. Antonio Loprieno, ed., Ancient Egyptian Literature: History and Forms (Leiden, 1996), 39–58. 4. For example, The Shipwrecked Sailor, The Tale of Two Brothers, and The Contendings of Horus and Seth. 5. The Teaching of King Amenemhet I and The Prophecies of Neferty. 6. The beginning is missing for King Cheops and the Magicians, The Teaching for the Vizier Kagemni, and The Man Who Was Weary of Life. The end is missing for The Tale of the Doomed Prince and The Report of Wenamon. 7. E. Otto, in ZÄS 93 (1966): 100–11. 8. The pioneering and seminal work on literature as propaganda is Georges Posener, Littérature et politique dans l’Egypte de la XIIe dynastie (Paris, 1956). Posener began a systematic catalogue of Egyptian literary compositions, even the fragmentary pieces, in a series of articles in RdE 6 (1951): 27–48; 7 (1950): 71–84; 8 (1951): 171– 89; 9 (1952): 109–20; 10 (1955): 61–72; 11 (1957): 119–37; and 12 (1960): 75–82. An introduction to Egyptian literature (without translations) is Altenmüller et al., Literatur (zweite, verbesserte und erweiterte Auflage), in the series Handbuch der Orientalistik (ed. B. Spuler), Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten (ed. B. Spuler), Erster Band Ägyptologie (Leiden, 1970). This comprises sections on many types of text not included in the present volume: religious and ritual texts, magical texts, medical, mathematical, and astronomical literature, historical annals, biographies. It presents fuller discussions and references than we have attempted in head notes to our texts. See also G. Posener, ‘‘Literature,’’ in J. R. Harris, The Legacy of Egypt, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 1971), 220–56. 9. A lucid, informative, and highly interesting account of the subject is provided by Jaroslav C̆erný, Paper and Books in Ancient Egypt (London, 1952). 10. See general bibliography Burkard 1983; Fecht 1963, 1964, 1965, 1993; Lichtheim 1971; and Schenkel 1972; and Sinuhe bibliography Foster 1980, 1993. 11. See Amenemope bibliography Petersen 1966. Hardedef, p. 340. The latter text with the various copies is studied by Wolfgang Helck, Die Lehre des Djedefhor und Die Lehre eines Vaters an seinen Son (Wiesbaden, 1984). 10 I NARRATIVES AND TALES OF MIDDLE EGYPTIAN LITERATURE KING CHEOPS AND THE MAGICIANS his cycle of stories about the marvels performed by the lector priests is cast in the form of a series of tales told at the court of Cheops by his sons. The name of the first son is missing together with most of his story. The second son, Khaefre, later became king and is known as the builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza. The third son, Bauefre, is known from other sources; a later text indicates that he may have also become king for a short time. The fourth son, Hardedef, is known as one of the sages of the past, and part of his instruction has survived. The text derives from a single manuscript of which the beginning and conclusion are missing. The papyrus was inscribed in the Hyksos period before Dynasty 18, but the composition appears to belong to Dynasty 12; the events described are set in the Old Kingdom. The last story is a prophecy of the end of Cheops’s line through the birth of the three kings who founded Dynasty 5. The story of their actual birth is presented as a sort of annex. Elements of the miraculous royal birth are represented in later Egyptian and Near Eastern literature and even are reflected in the biblical accounts. The device of providing stories for the diversion of the king is also represented in The Prophecies of Neferty, The Admonitions, and The Eloquent Peasant, as well as several later compositions. The real substance of the composition is certainly the prophecy of the birth of the kings, and the other tales merely lead up to it. For bibliography and commentary on King T 13 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES Cheops and the Magicians (Papyrus Westcar), see Lefebvre, Romans et contes, 70–90, and Erman, The Ancient Egyptians (New York, 1966), xxiv, lxviii– lxix, 36–49. The standard hieroglyphic text with photographs of the papyrus is now A. M. Blackman (ed. W. V. Davies), The Story of King Kheops and the Magicians Transcribed from Papyrus Westcar (Berlin Papyrus 3033) (Reading, Berks, 1988). W.K.S. [FIRST TALE: END OF THE MARVEL IN THE TIME OF KING DJOSER] 1,12 [... His Majesty] / the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu (Cheops), the vindicated, [said: Let there be given...], one hundred jugs of beer, an ox, [... to] the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Djoser, the vindicated, [and may there be given...], a haunch of beef, [... to the lector priest...]. [For I] have seen an example of his wisdom. And [they] did according to [everything which His Majesty] commanded.1 [SECOND TALE: THE MARVEL WHICH HAPPENED IN THE TIME OF KING NEBKA] 1,20 2,1 The king’s son Khaefre (Chephren) arose [to speak, and he said: I should like to relate to Your Majesty] another marvel, one which happened in the time of [your] father, [the King of Upper and Lower Egypt] Nebka, the vindicated, as he proceeded to the temple of [Ptah,/Lord of ] Ankhtowy.2 Now when his Majesty went to [...], His Majesty made an [appeal? ... to] the chief [lector] Webaoner [...]. But the wife of Webaoner [... was enamored / of a townsman. She caused to be brought(?)] to him a chest filled with garments [...], and he returned with [the] housemaid.3 [Now 1. This is the conclusion of a tale of which the entire narrative section is missing. It concerns a marvel performed by a lector priest in the reign of Djoser, the builder of the Step Pyramid. Perhaps the lector was Iyemhotep himself. There is no way of knowing how much of the composition was lost at the beginning. 2. Nebka of Dynasty 3 is a predecessor of Cheops. Ankh-towy is a designation for Memphis or a part thereof. 3. Evidently the adulterous wife makes a present to the goodlooking townsman and he returns to thank her. 14 KING CHEOPS AND THE MAGICIANS 2,10 2,20 3,1 3,10 3,20 several] days [passed by ...]. There was a pavilion4 [on the estate] of Webaoner. The townsman [said to the wife of Weba]oner: Is there a pavilion [...]? [Come], let us pass time in it. [Then said the wife of ] Webaoner to the caretaker who [cared for the estate]: Let the pavilion be prepared, [...] and she spent the day there drinking / [with the townsman ... and] 4resting5 [...]. Now after [evening came ...] he [went to the Lake] and [the] housemaid [...]. [When day broke, and the second day came, the caretaker informed Webaoner of ] this matter [...]. He gave it to his / [...] of the water. Then [he(?)] lit [a fire]. [Then Webaoner said]: Bring me [... my chest] of ebony and electrum [and he made ... and he opened ... and made] a crocodile [of wax ...] seven [fingers long ...]. He read out his [magic words saying ...]: [If anyone] comes [to bathe in my lake ...] the townsman. / Then he gave it to [the caretaker], and he said to him: After the townsman goes down to the pool, as is his daily fashion, you shall cast [the] crocodile after him. The [caretaker] went forth and he took the crocodile of wax with him. Now the [wife] of Webaoner sent to the caretaker who was in charge of the [garden] saying: Let the pavilion which is in the garden be prepared for I have come to stay in it. The pavilion was prepared [with] every good thing. [They] (the wife and the maid servant?) went forth, and they (spent) / a pleasant day with the townsman. After night fell, the townsman returned as was his daily fashion, and the caretaker threw the crocodile of wax behind him into the water. [At once it grew] into a crocodile of seven cubits,5 and it took hold of the townsman [...]. Webaoner tarried with His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebka, the vindicated, for seven days, all the while the townsman was in the [lake without] breathing. After the seventh day came, His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebka, the vindicated came forth, and the chief lector Webaoner placed himself in »his… presence and [he] said [to him]: May Your Majesty / come and see the marvel which has taken place in Your Majesty’s time. [His Majesty went with] Webaoner. [He called out to the] crocodile and said: Bring back [the] townsman. [The crocodile] came [out of the water ...]. Then the [chief ] lector [Webaoner] said: [Open up]! And he [opened up]. Then he placed [...]. Said 4. A sort of garden pavilion. 5. The cubit measures 20.6 inches, hence the crocodile was now about 12 feet long. 15 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 4,1 4,10 His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, / Nebka, the vindicated: this crocodile is indeed 4fearful5! But Webaoner bent down, and he caught it and it became a crocodile of wax in his hand. The chief lector Webaoner told His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebka, the vindicated, about this affair which the townsman had in his house with his wife. And his Majesty said to the crocodile: Take what belongs to you! The crocodile then went down to the [depths] of the lake, and no one knew the place where he went with him. His [Majesty the King of Upper] and Lower Egypt, Nebka, the vindicated, had the wife of Webaoner taken to a plot north of the capital, and he set / fire to her [and threw her in] the river. 4Such5 is a marvel which happened [in] the time of your father, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebka, one which the chief lector Webaoner performed. His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu, the vindicated, said: Let there be offered to the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebka, the vindicated, one thousand loaves of bread, one hundred jugs of beer, an ox, and two cones of incense, and let there be offered to the chief lector Webaoner one large cake, one jug of beer, one joint of meat, and one cone of incense, for I have [seen] an example of his skill. And it was done according to all His Majesty commanded. [THIRD TALE: THE MARVEL WHICH HAPPENED IN THE REIGN OF KING SNEFRU] 4,20 5,1 Bauefre arose to speak, and he said: Let me have [Your] Majesty hear a marvel which took place in the time of your (own) father King Snefru, the vindicated, [one] which the chief lector / Djadjaemonkh [made] and which had not taken place [before] ... [Now His Majesty had searched out all the chambers] of the palace, l.p.h., to seek for him [some diversion ... and he said]: Hasten, bring me the chief [lector] and scribe, [... Djadjaem] onkh! He was brought to him immediately. [His Majesty] said to him: [I have looked through the chambers of the] palace, l.p.h., to seek for myself / some refreshing matter, but I cannot find any. Djadjaemonkh said to him: Let Your Majesty proceed to the lake of the palace, l.p.h., and equip for yourself a boat with all the beauties who are in your palace chamber. The heart of Your Majesty shall be refreshed at the sight of their rowing as they row up and down. You can see the beautiful fish pools of your lake, and you can see its beautiful fields around it. Your heart will be refreshed at this. 16 KING CHEOPS AND THE MAGICIANS 5,10 5,20 6,1 »His Majesty said…: I will indeed fit out my rowing excursion. Let there be brought to me twenty oars made of ebony, fitted with gold, with the butts of sandalwood(?) fitted with electrum. Let there be brought to me twenty women, / the most beautiful in form, with 4firm5 breasts, with hair well braided, not yet having opened up to give birth. Let there be brought to me twenty nets, and let these nets be given to these women when they have taken off their clothes. Then it was done according to all that His Majesty commanded, and they rowed up and down. The heart of His Majesty was pleased at the sight of their rowing.6 Now one of the strokes combed her tresses, and a fish-shaped charm of new turquoise fell in the water. She became silent and did not row, and her side of the boat became silent and did not row. His Majesty said: Are you not rowing? And they said: Our stroke / is silent and does not row. Then [His] Majesty said to her: [Why] do [you] not row? She said: A fish-shaped charm of new [turquoise] fell into the water. And [His Majesty said to her]: Would you like one to replace [it]? But [she said]: I [prefer] my own [to a look-alike].7 [His Majesty] said: [Let there be brought again] the [chief ] lector [Djadjaemonkh, and he was brought at once]. / His Majesty said: Djadjaemonkh, my brother,8 I have done as you have said, and the heart of His Majesty was refreshed at the sight of their rowing. But a fish-shaped charm of new turquoise, belonging to one of the leaders, fell into the water. She was silent and did not row. And it came to pass that she ruined her side. I said to her: Why have you stopped rowing? She said to me: It is a fishshaped charm of new turquoise which has fallen into the water. I said to her: Row! I will replace it! She said to me: I prefer my own to its look-alike. Then said the chief lector Djadjaemonkh his magic sayings. He placed one side of the water of the lake upon the other, and lying upon a potsherd he 6. Philippe Derchain, in RdE 21 (1969), 19–25, calls attention to the parallel of the maidens rowing and the goddess Hathor as a rower. The sense of the outing in his view is that of a sort of parody, with the king taking the place of the sun god Re navigating the heavens with the Hathors. The author of our tale would then have stressed the importance of the rulers of Dynasty 5 as the real adherents of Re, in distinction to Snefru as a ruler who merely parodied the god. See H. G. Fischer, in Jan Assmann, Erika Feucht, and Reinhard Grieshammer, eds., Fragen an die altägyptische Literatur, Studien zum Gedenken an Eberhard Otto, (Wiesbaden, 1977), 161–65. 7. Evidently a proverb with the sense that she wants the full account of the same thing. See Wm. Spiegelberg, in ZÄS 64 (1929): 90–91. 8. This familiar form of address places Snefru in a good light. 17 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 6,10 6,20 found the fish-shaped charm. Then he brought it back and it was given to its owner. Now as for the water, it was twelve cubits deep, and it amounted to twenty-four cubits after it was folded back. He said his magic sayings, and he brought back the water of the lake to its position. His Majesty passed a holiday with the entire palace, l.p.h. When he came forth, he rewarded the chief lector Djadjaemonkh with all good things. Such is a marvel which took place in the time of your father, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Snefru, the vindicated, something done by the chief lector, scribe of the document, Djadjaemonkh. And His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu, the vindicated, said: Let there be an offering made to His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Snefru, the vindicated, / consisting of one thousand loaves of bread, one hundred jugs of beer, an ox, and two cones of incense, and let there be given a large cake, a jug of beer, and one cone of incense to the chief lector, scribe of the document, Djadjaemonkh. For I have seen an example of his skill. It was done according to all His Majesty commanded. [THE FOURTH TALE: A MARVEL IN THE TIME OF KING KHUFU HIMSELF] 7,1 7,10 The king’s son Hardedef arose to speak, and he said: [You have heard examples of ] the skill of those who have passed away, but there one cannot know truth from falsehood. [But there is with] Your Majesty, in your own time, one who is not known [to you ...]. His Majesty said: What is this, Har[dedef, my son? Then said Har]dedef: There is a townsman / named Dedi. He lives in Ded-Snefru, the vindicated. He is a townsman of 110 years, and he eats 500 loaves, a shoulder of beef as meat, and as drink 100 jugs up to this day.9 He knows how to reattach a head which has been cut off, and he knows how to make a lion go behind him, its tether on the ground. He knows the number of the 4shrines5 of the enclosure of Thot. Now His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu, the vindicated, had spent much time in seeking for himself these shrines of the enclosure of Thot to fashion for himself their likeness for his horizon. His Majesty said: You yourself, Hardedef, my son, you shall bring him to me. Boats were prepared for the king’s son, Hardedef, / and he sailed south to Ded-Snefru, the vindicated. 9. The Egyptians often wished for 110 years as an ideal life span. 18 KING CHEOPS AND THE MAGICIANS 7,20 8,1 8,10 After these boats were moored at the river bank, he went by land. He sat in a carrying chair of ebony, the poles made of sesnedjem-wood and sheathed in gold (leaf ).10 When he reached Dedi, the carrying chair was put down, and he proceeded to address him. It was lying down on a mat at the threshold of his house that he found him, a servant at his head massaging him and another wiping his feet. The king’s son Hardedef said: Your condition is like a life before old age, although senility [has come], the time of mooring, burial, and interment. (Yet you) sleep until dawn, free from ailments, and there is no coughing in your throat. Greetings, / O honored one! It is to summon you on the business of my father, King Khufu, the vindicated, that I have come here, and that you may eat the delicacies of the king’s giving, the food of those who are in his following, and that he may send you in good time to your fathers who are in the cemetery. And this Dedi said: In peace, in peace, Hardedef, king’s son, beloved by his father! May your father King Khufu, the vindicated, favor you! May he advance your station among the venerables. May your Ka contend with your enemy, and may your Ba learn the ways leading to the Portal of the One Who Clothes the Weary One.11 Greetings, / O king’s son! The king’s son Hardedef stretched out his hands to him and raised him 12 up. He went with him to the riverbank, giving him his arm. Dedi said. Let me have a kakau-boat that it may bring me (my) students and my writings. There were made to attend him two boats and their crews. Dedi went northward in the barge in which the king’s son Hardedef was. After he reached the capital, the king’s son Hardedef entered to report to His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu, the vindicated. The king’s son Hardedef said: Sovereign, l.p.h., my lord, I have brought Dedi. His Majesty said: Hasten, bring him to me. His Majesty proceeded to the pillared hall / of the palace, l.p.h., and Dedi was ushered in to him. His Majesty said: What is this, Dedi, my not having seen you (before)? And Dedi said: It is (only) the one who is summoned who comes, Sovereign, 10. Nobles are sometimes shown in such carrying chairs in relief sculpture in the Old Kingdom. A carrying chair much like this one was found in the tomb of Snefru’s queen Hetepheres, the mother of Cheops. The chair is now in the Cairo Museum, with a replica in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. 11. Formal greetings are exchanged on both sides. The Ka and Ba are spirits of the dead man and manifestations of his personality. The One Who Clothes the Weary One is the embalmer. 12. Again a signal favor in that a prince condescends to raise up a commoner. 19 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 8,20 9,1 9,10 l.p.h. I have been summoned and see I have come. His Majesty said: Is it true, the saying that you know how to reattach a head which has been cut off? Dedi said: Yes, I do know how, Sovereign, l.p.h., my lord. His Majesty said: Let there be brought to me a prisoner who is in confinement, that his punishment may be inflicted. And Dedi said: But not indeed to a man, Sovereign, l.p.h., my lord. For the doing of the like is not commanded unto the august cattle. So there was brought to him a goose, and its head was severed. Then the goose was placed on the western side of the pillared court, and its head on the / eastern side of the pillared court. Dedi said his say of magic words. The goose arose and waddled and likewise its head. After the one (part) reached the other, the goose stood up and cackled. Next he caused a waterfowl to be brought to him, and the like was done with it. Then His Majesty caused that there be brought him an ox, and its head was felled to the ground. Dedi said his say of magic words, and the ox stood up behind him with his tether fallen / to the ground. »The scribe has obviously omitted the recovery of the ox and a paragraph dealing with the lion.… Then King Khufu, the vindicated, said: Now as for the rumor that you know the number of the 4shrines5 of the enclosure of [Thot]? Dedi said: By your favor, I do not know their 4number5, Sovereign, l.p.h., my lord, but I do know the place where they are. His Majesty said: Where are they? And Dedi said: There is a chest for flint knives in a chamber called the Inventory in Heliopolis: in that chest.13 [His Majesty said: Hasten, Bring it to me!] Dedi said: Sovereign, l.p.h., my lord, it is not I who can bring it to you. His Majesty said: Who then can bring it to me? Dedi said: It is the eldest of the three children who are in the womb of Reddedet; he will bring it to you. His Majesty said: I desire this indeed. But [as for] what you say, who is this Reddedet? Dedi said: She is the wife of a wab-priest of Re, Lord of Sakhbu, / giving birth to three children of Re, Lord of Sakhbu, of whom it is said that they shall exercise this magisterial office in the entire land. The eldest of them will be chief seer in Heliopolis.14 13. The sense of the arrangement or number of the secret chambers is entirely unclear. Possibly they were the architectural plan for a part of the pyramid complex of Cheops, as suggested by the text. In any case, the question of the chambers serves to introduce the matter of Reddedet. E. Hornung, in ZÄS 100 (1973): 33–35. 14. In Dynasty 5 a particular emphasis is placed on the sun god Re as the dynastic god. His chief place of worship was On (Greek Heliopolis); Re, Lord of Sakhbu, is a local variant. Sakhbu is in Lower Egyptian Nome II. 20 KING CHEOPS AND THE MAGICIANS 9,20 As for His Majesty, his heart became very sad at this, and Dedi said: What now is this mood, Sovereign, l.p.h., my lord? Is it because of the three children? I say: First your son, then his son, then one of them.15 His Majesty said: When shall she give birth, Reddedet? She shall give birth in the month of Proyet on the fifteenth day. His Majesty said: Then the sandbanks of the Two Fishes Canal will be cut off, my servant, (otherwise) I myself could visit it and then I could see the temple of Re, Lord of Sakhbu. Dedi said: I shall cause there to be water four cubits deep on the sandbanks of the Two Fishes Canal. His Majesty proceeded to his palace, and His Majesty said: Let it be commanded to Dedi to (go to) the house of the king’s son Hardedef that he may dwell there / with him. Fix his rations at one thousand loaves of bread, one hundred jugs of beer, an ox, and one hundred bundles of greens. And one did according to all His Majesty had commanded. [THE BIRTH OF THE KINGS] 10,1 One of these days it happened that Reddedet took sick and it was with difficulty that she gave birth. The Majesty of Re, Lord of Sakhbu, said to Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, Heket, and Khnum:16 May you proceed that you may deliver Reddedet of the three children who are in her womb; they who shall exercise this magisterial office in the entire land. For they shall build the shrines in your towns, they shall provision your altars, they shall renew your offering tables, and they shall increase your divine offerings.17 These goddesses proceeded, and they transformed themselves / into musicians, with Khnum accompanying them carrying the birthing-stool. When they reached the house of Rewosre, they found him standing with his apron untied.18 They proffered to him their necklaces and (their) rattles. But he said to them: My ladies, see, there is a woman in labor, and her bearing is 15. Evidently an abbreviated version of history in which only the builders of the Giza pyramids, Chephren and Mycerinus, are considered as coming between Cheops and the first king of Dynasty 5, Weserkaf. 16. Four goddesses associated with childbirth and the ram god Khnum, regarded as the creator of man on a potter’s wheel in one myth. 17. A graphic list of the usefulness of the kings to the gods. 18. Lit. ‘‘upside down.’’ E. Staehelin, in ZÄS 96 (1970): 125–39, discusses this passage at length. In her view, Rewosre has his apron untied (unknotted) and hanging down as a sort of sympathetic parallel to the untied garments of his wife during childbirth; parallels in other cultures are cited. 21 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 10,10 10,20 11,1 difficult. They said to him: Let [us] see her, for we are knowledgeable about childbirth. So he said to them: Proceed! And they entered into the presence of Reddedet. Then they locked the room on her and on themselves. Isis placed herself in front of her, Nephthys behind her, and Hekert hastened the childbirth. Isis then said: Do not be strong (wsr) in her womb in this your name of Wosref (wsr rf ).19 / This child slipped forth upon her hands as a child one cubit long, whose bones were firm, the covering of whose limbs was of gold, and whose headdress was of real20 lapis lazuli. They washed him, his umbilical cord was cut, and he was placed upon a cushion on bricks. Then Meskhenet approached him, and she said: A king who will exercise the kingship in this entire land! Khnum caused his limbs to move. Next Isis placed herself in front of her (Reddedet), Nephthys behind her, and Heket hastened the childbirth. Isis said: Do not kick (sah) in her womb in this your name of Sahure (sāhu-Re). And this child slipped out on her hands as a child one cubit long, whose bones were firm, the covering of whose limbs were »of gold…, and whose headdress was of real lapis lazuli. They washed him, his umbilical cord was cut, and he was placed / on a cushion on bricks. Then Meskhenet approached him and she said: A king who will exercise the kingship in this entire land! Khnum caused his limbs to move. Then Isis placed herself before her, Nephthys behind her, and Heket hastened the childbirth. Isis said: Do not be dark (kkw) in her womb in this your name of Keku. And this child slipped forth upon her hands as a child one cubit long, whose bones were firm, the covering of whose limbs was of gold, and whose headdress was of real lapis lazuli. Then Meskhenet approached him, / and she said: A king who will exercise the kingship in this entire land! Khnum caused his limbs to move. They washed him, his umbilical cord was cut, and he was placed on a cushion on bricks. 19. As each child is born, Isis makes a pronouncement involving a pun on the king’s name. Weserkaf means ‘‘his Ka is strong’’; Sahu-Re probably means ‘‘one whom Re has well endowed,’’ but there is a pun on sahu, ‘‘to kick.’’ In Neuserre Kakai there is a pun involving Kakai and Keku, ‘‘darkness.’’ H. Altenmüller, in Chronique d’Egypte 45 (1970): 223–35, suggested that Reddedet is a pseudonym for Khentkaus, a queen of the end of Dynasty 4, and that she was the mother of the first three kings of Dynasty 5. He further suggests that she may have been the daughter of the same prince Hardedef who introduces the tale. Hence she and her sons would have been descendants of Cheops through a junior branch of the family. 20. As opposed to faience or glass with this color. 22 KING CHEOPS AND THE MAGICIANS 11,10 11,20 12,1 12,10 Now these goddesses came forth after they had delivered this Reddedet of the three children, and they said: May you be pleased, Rewosre, for there have been born to you three children. And he said to them: My ladies, what can I do for you? Please give this corn to your birthing-stool bearer, and take it as a payment for 4making beer5. And Khnum placed the sack on his back. So they proceeded to the place / from which they came. But Isis said to these goddesses: What is this, that we are returning without performing a marvel for these children and can report to our father who sent us? So they fashioned three royal crowns, l.p.h., and they placed them in the corn. Then they caused the heavens to turn into a storm and rain, and they turned back to the house and said: Would you please put the corn here in a locked room until we can come back on our northward journey? So they placed the corn in a locked room.21 Reddedet cleansed herself in a purification of fourteen days, and she said to her maidservant: Is the house / prepared? She replied: It is outfitted with everything except for jars (for beer-making), for they have not been brought. Reddedet said: Why haven’t the jars been brought? The servant replied: There is not anything here for 4(beer-) making5, except for some corn of these musicians, which is in the room with their seal. So Reddedet said: Go and bring some of it, for Rewosre will give them its equivalent when he returns. The servant went / and she opened the room. And she heard the sound of singing, music, dancing, and exultations— everything which is done for a king—in the room. She returned and she repeated everything that she had heard to Reddedet. So she (too) went around the room but could not find the place in which it was being done. Then she put her forehead to the bin and discovered it was being done in it. Then she placed (it) in a chest which was (in turn) placed in another sealed box tied with leather thongs, and she put it in a room with her stores and she sealed it off. When Rewosre came back, returning from the fields, Reddedet related this business to him, and his heart was more pleased than anything. They sat down and celebrated. After some days had passed, Reddedet had an argument with the maidservant, and she had her punished with a beating. So the maidservant said / to the people who were in the house: Shall this be done to me? She has given birth to three kings, and I am going and I will tell it to His Majesty the 21. The goddesses leave magical tokens of the kingship for the children in the sack of grain. They invent the storm as an excuse to return. 23 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 12,20 King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu, the vindicated! So she started out, and she came upon her eldest brother, on her mother’s side, tying flax yarn on the threshing floor. He said to her: Where are you off to, little girl? And she told him about this business. Her brother said to her: Is this indeed something to be done, your coming to me thus? And am I to agree to [this] denunciation? Then he took a whip of flax to her, and he gave her a real beating. The maidservant ran to get herself a drink of water and a crocodile caught her. Her brother went to tell it to Reddedet, / and he found her sitting with her head on her knee,22 her heart very sad. He said to her: My lady, why are you so sad? She said: That little girl who grew up in this house, see, she has gone away saying: I am going and I will denounce. Then he put his head down and said: My lady, she stopped by, to tell me [...] that she might go off with me. And I gave her a sound beating, and she went to draw some water, and a crocodile caught her ... (Here the papyrus breaks off.) 22. An attitude of mourning or sorrow. 24 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT his text, dating from the Middle Kingdom, combines the format of the short story with that of a poetic meditation on the need for justice. The narrative of the text is straightforward: a peasant, robbed of his goods, makes appeal to the Chief Steward of the crown. He makes nine separate petitions which constitute the poetic section of the composition. After his first appeal, the Chief Steward is so impressed with the eloquence of the peasant that, following the order of the king, he refuses to help the petitioner. The peasant is thus forced to return time and again, demonstrating each time his ability with rhetoric, and each time his words are recorded for the entertainment of the king. Eventually the peasant receives justice and, in recompense, is given the property of the rich man who had robbed him. The appeal of the text is not so much in its actual content as in the artistic manner in which that content is expressed, for it says nothing new or significant on its subject. The subject of the peasant’s speeches is the Egyptian concept of Ma’at. This in itself presents a problem of translation: should we understand the peasant to be speaking about Ma’at, the personalized goddess and abstract concept of order and righteousness? Or is he speaking simply in terms of practical justice? For the purpose of the present translation, I have preferred to retain the Egyptian ‘‘Ma’at,’’ as this term, I believe, conveys a better impression of the Egyptian original. The text has been published several times, but the most recent and most convenient edition is: T 25 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES R. B. Parkinson, The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, (Oxford, 1991). It is this edition which I have used for the preparation of the present translation. However, for the convenience of readers who may wish to make comparison with other translations, I have retained the older system of line numbering. Other modern translations may be found in M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1 (Berkeley, 1973), 169–84, and R. B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940–1640 bc (Oxford, 1997), 54–88. The translation of R. O. Faulkner in the earlier edition of this book should also be noted as it shows a number of variations in the interpretation of various passages of the text. V.A.T. R1 R5 R10 R15 R20 R25 There was once a man whose name was Khunanup. He was a peasant of Sekhet-Hemat,1 and he had a wife named Merit. Now this peasant said to his wife, ‘‘Behold, I am going down to Egypt in order to bring provisions from there for my children. Go and measure for me the barley which is in the storehouse, that which remains from last year’s barley.’’ (His wife did as he had requested),2 and then he set out for her six measures of barley. / Then the peasant said to his wife, ‘‘Behold, (there are) twenty measures of barley as food (for you) and your children. Now make these six measures of barley into bread and beer for me as daily rations, that I may live on them.’’ So the peasant then set out for Egypt, having loaded his donkeys with3 reeds, herbs, / natron, salt, wood from [...] tyu,4 staves of Ta-Menment,5 / leopard skins, jackal hides, nesha-plants, anu-plants, tenem-plants, kheprurplants, / sahut, saskut, misut-plants, senet-stones, aba-stones, / ibsa-plants, inbi-plants, pigeons, naru-birds, weges-birds, tebu, / weben-plants, tebes1. Field of Salt: the modern Wadi Natrun. 2. This sentence is not in the Egyptian, but one must assume that at this point the wife followed her husband’s instructions, for what follows makes it evident that the peasant gave to his wife an amount of barley which he had taken from the total amount which she had measured. 3. Many of the items in the list which follows are unidentifiable, although the plants mentioned are probably medicinal. 4. An unidentified locality. Faulkner, in the previous edition of this book, suggests ‘‘[Hes]-tiu country.’’ 5. Ta-Menment: ‘‘Cattle Country,’’ the modern Farafra Oasis. 26 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT R30 R35 R40 R45 R50 B1,1 B1,5 B1,10 plants, gengent, berries (?), and inset-seeds, a full / abundance of all the finest products of Sekhet-Hemat. The peasant continued on his way, traveling southward in the direction Neni-nesut, and arrived at the district of Per-Fefi to the north of Medenit.6 There he encountered a man standing on the river bank whose name was Nemtynakhte. He was the son of a man / whose name was Isry, / and he was a subordinate of the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru. Then this Nemtynakhte, when he had seen the peasant’s donkeys which greatly delighted his heart, spoke saying, ‘‘Would that I had some kind of charm endowed with power through which I might confiscate the possessions of this peasant!’’ Now the house of this Nemtynakhte was at the juncture / of the beginning of a narrow path, one which was not broad enough to exceed the width of a loincloth. One side of it was bounded by the water, and the other side by the barley. Then Nemtynakhte said to his servant, ‘‘Go and bring me a piece of clothing from my house.’’ Immediately it was brought to him, and he stretched it out over the juncture of the beginning of the path, / so that its fringe touched the water, and its hem the barley. Now the peasant was traveling along the public road, / and Nemtynakhte said, ‘‘Watch out, peasant! Do not tread on my clothing.’’ Then the peasant said, ‘‘I shall do what pleases you, for my path is good.’’7 So he went toward the higher ground. Then Nemtynakhte said, / ‘‘Is my barley to be a path for you?’’ Then the peasant said, ‘‘My path is good, but the bank is steep, so my way (must be) through the barley, for you are obstructing the road with your clothing. Will you not let us pass on the road?’’ He had just finished speaking these words, when one of the donkeys filled / his mouth with an ear of barley. Then Nemtynakhte said, ‘‘So now, I shall confiscate your donkey, peasant, because he is eating my barley. Behold, he will tread grain because of his crime.’’ But the peasant replied, ‘‘My path is good, and only one (ear of barley) has been harmed. Could I buy 6. Neni-nesut is the Egyptian name of Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt, the capital of Egypt during the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties, the time, presumably, when the story takes place. The location of Per-Fefi is unknown, and Medenit refers to the twentysecond nome of Upper Egypt. 7. ‘‘My path is good’’: The peasant perhaps means either that he wishes to cause no inconvenience to anyone during his journey or that his general way and conduct of life is good and in accordance with what is required by the values of religion and Ma’at. A freer translation might render the line as ‘‘I am a peaceful man.’’ 27 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES B1,15 B1,20 B1,25 B1,30 B1,35 B1,40 B1,45 B1,50 back my donkey for its value, if you should seize him / for filling his mouth with an ear of barley? Moreover, I know the owner of this estate: it is the property of the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, and he curbs every thief in this entire district. Am I to be robbed on his estate?’’ Then Nemtynakhte retorted, ‘‘Is there not a well-known proverb:/ ‘A poor man’s name is pronounced (only) for the sake of his master’?8 I am speaking to you, and do you dare to invoke the Chief Steward?’’ Then he took for himself a switch of green tamarisk, beat his whole body with it, confiscated his donkeys, and drove them to his estate. Then the peasant / lamented exceedingly through grief for what had been done to him. But Nemtynakhte said, ‘‘Do not raise your voice, peasant! Behold, you will go to the domain of the Lord of Silence.’’9 Then the peasant replied, ‘‘You whip me, you take away my property, and you even take the very lament out of my mouth. By the Lord of Silence, give me back / my property! Only then will I desist from my wailing which so disturbs you.’’ So the peasant spent a period of ten days pleading with Nemtynakhte, but he paid no attention to it. So the peasant made his way to Neni-nesut in order to petition the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru. He met him just as he was coming out of the door / of his house to board his official barge. Then the peasant said, ‘‘I would like to be permitted to inform you about this situation of mine. There is good reason that a faithful assistant of yours should be charged to come (to me), so that I may send him back to you (to tell you) about it.’’ Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, ordered / a faithful assistant of his to come to him,10 and the peasant sent him back (to him) concerning the matter in its every detail. Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, laid a charge against Nemtynakhte to the magistrates who were under his jurisdiction. They, however, said to him, ‘‘In all likelihood, this is one of his peasants who has gone over to someone other than him. / After all, this is the way they usually deal with peasants who go to the jurisdiction of someone else. Yes, this is the way they handle (such things). Is there any reason to punish Nemtynakhte on account of a few scraps of natron and a bit of salt? He will 8. I.e., a commoner has no value or rights except in relationship to his master. 9. The Lord of Silence is Osiris. Perhaps Nemtynakhte means this as a threat that he will kill the peasant if the latter does not keep quiet. 10. I.e., to the peasant. 28 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT be ordered to return it, and return it he will.’’ / Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, kept silent, neither replying to the magistrates nor giving answer to the peasant. 1. Then the peasant came to make petition to the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, saying: ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord, greatest of the great, arbiter of everything, both that which is yet to be and that which (now) is:11 B1,55 B1,60 B1,65 If you descend to the Lake of / Ma’at, You will sail thereon in the breeze. The fabric of your sail will not be torn, Nor will your boat be driven ashore. There will be no damage to your mast, Nor will your yards be broken. You will not founder when you come to land, Nor will the waves bear you away. You will not taste the perils / of the river, Nor will you gaze upon the face of fear. The swiftly swimming fish will come to you, And you will catch (many) fatted fowl; For you are a father to the orphan, A husband to the widow, A brother to her who has been cast out, The clothing of him who has no mother. Permit me to exalt your name in / this land In accordance with every good law: A leader untainted by greed, a noble unpolluted by vice, One who obliterates deceit, one who nurtures Ma’at, One who answers the plea of him who raises his voice. I shall speak and (surely) you will hearken: Fulfill Ma’at, O exalted one, Exalted even by those who are themselves exalted. 11. Here follows a series of nine appeals made by the peasant to the Chief Steward Rensi, much of which is written in poetry or poetic prose. 29 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES B1,70 B1,75 B1,80 B1,85 Relieve / my distress, for lo, I am afflicted; Take heed to me, for lo, I am in anguish.’’ Now the peasant spoke these words during the time of his Majesty, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebkaure the justified.12 Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, went before his Majesty and said, ‘‘My Lord, / I have found someone among the peasants who is exceedingly eloquent of speech. His property was stolen by a man who is in my service, and behold, he has come to petition me about it.’’ Then his Majesty said, ‘‘As you desire to see me healthy, cause him to remain here, without replying to anything which he says. And so that he may keep on / speaking, remain silent. Then let his words be brought to us in writing, that we may hear them. However, provide the means so that his wife and his children may live, for behold, one of these peasants comes to the city13 only when there is nothing in his house. And furthermore, provide the means so that this peasant himself may live: you will see that food be supplied to him without letting him know that it is you who is giving it to him.’’ So there was apportioned to him ten loaves of bread and two jugs of beer / every day. The one who supplied them was the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru. He would give them to a friend of his, and he would give them to (the peasant). Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, wrote to the governor of Sekhet-Hemat about the issuing of provisions for the peasant’s wife, three measures of barley every day. 2. B1,90 Then the peasant came to petition him a second time, saying, ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord, greatest of the great, wealthiest of the wealthy, in you those who are great (know) one who is greater, and those who are wealthy (know) / one who is wealthier: O helm of heaven, support-beam of the earth, O plumb line which carries the weight: Helm, do not steer off course, 12. The Nebkaure mentioned here may be King Nebkaure Akhtoy who ruled from Neni-nesut (Herakleopolis) during Dynasties 9/10. 13. ‘‘To the city’’: lit. ‘‘to the land.’’ 30 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT Support-beam, do not list, Plumb line, do not vacillate. B1,95 A mighty lord should recover that which its owner has lost14 and defend the desolate. What you require is (already) in your house, a jar of beer and three loaves of bread. What will it cost you to recompense / those who appeal to you? One who is mortal perishes along with those who are under him. Do you expect to live forever?15 B1, 100 Surely these things are wrong: A balance which tilts, A plummet which errs, A precise and honest man who becomes a deceiver. Behold, Ma’at flees from you, Driven from her throne. Nobles perpetrate crimes, And rectitude of speech is overturned. Judges steal what has already been stolen, And he who can twist a matter in just the right way / Can make a mockery of it. He who supplies the winds languishes on the ground, He who refreshes the nostrils (now) causes men to gasp.16 The arbiter is (now) a thief, And he who should quell distress is one who creates its origin. The town is flooded (with wrong),17 And he who should punish evil (now) perpetrates crimes.’’ Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, said: ‘‘Is your obstinacy greater than (the fear) that my servant might seize you?’’ But the peasant continued: B1, 105 ‘‘He who measures / the tax allotment embezzles for himself; He who administers on behalf of another steals his goods; He who should rule in accordance with the laws condones thievery. 14. Lit. ‘‘that which is without its owner.’’ 15. Lit. ‘‘Will you be a man of eternity?’’ 16. These two lines are a reference to Osiris as the giver of the winds and of breath. The reference is used as a symbol of the confusion of justice which the peasant laments. 17. Lit. ‘‘The town is in its flood.’’ 31 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES B1, 110 Then who is there to redress evil? He who should dispel crime commits transgressions? One is meticulous in perversity, And another gains respect because he commits crimes. Do you see herein anything referring to yourself? Punishment (now) is short, but iniquity is extensive. Yet a good deed will bring its own reward,18 For there is a proverb: ‘Do for one who may do for you, That you may cause him thus to do.’19 This is like thanking him for what he will do, It is like warding off something rather than attacking (it), It is like entrusting something to a skilled artisan. Would that (you might know) a moment of destruction, Devastation in your vineyard, Dearth among your birds, Destruction among your water birds! Let him who sees (now) become blind; Let him who hears (now) become deaf, For he who used to guide now guides but to confusion. B1, 115 B1, 120 / [...]20 Behold you are mighty and powerful, Yet your hand is stretched out, your heart is greedy, And compassion has passed far beyond you. How destitute is the wretch whom you destroy! You are like unto a messenger of Khenty!21 You exceed (even) the / Lady of Pestilence!22 If it is not your concern, it is not her concern; If something does not affect her, it does not affect you; If you have not done something, she has not done it. He who is well provided should be compassionate, 18. Lit. ‘‘A good deed will return to its place of yesterday.’’ 19. Lit. ‘‘Do for the doer in order to cause him to do’’ (ir n ir r rdit iri.f ). 20. The sense of the Egyptian here is virtually unintelligible. However, the peasant appears to be asking the Chief Steward what he would do if he were confronted with a certain difficult situation. 21. A crocodile deity. 22. The goddess Sekhmet. 32 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT For force belongs (only) to the desperate, And theft is natural (only) for him who has nothing of his own; That which is theft (when done) by the criminal Is (only) a misdemeanor (when done by) him who is in want. One cannot be wrathful with him on account of it, For it is only a (means of ) seeking (something) for himself. B1, 125 B1, 130 B1, 135 You, however, are satisfied / with your bread And contented with your beer; You abound in all manner of clothing. The gaze of the steersman is directed forward, But the ship drifts of its own will. The king is in the palace, And the tiller is in your hand, But evil is done all around you. Lengthy is my petition, and heavy is my lot. People will say, ‘What business does that fellow have?’ Construct a refuge, keep your riverbank hale, For behold, your abode reeks of crocodiles. Be meticulous with your tongue so as not to let it wander, For the power23 which is in it is the abomination of a man. Do not utter falsehood; keep prudent the magistrates. The judges are an insatiable belly,24 The speaking of falsehood is like (fine) herbs for them, For such poison is pleasant to their hearts. You who know the affairs of / all men, Can you ignore my plight? You who can extinguish the peril of all waters, Behold, I am on a voyage without a boat. You who are safe harbour for all who are drowning, Rescue one who has been shipwrecked. Deliver me from my plight, for you are mighty.’’ 23. ‘‘Power’’: lit. ‘‘limb,’’ ‘‘member.’’ 24. ‘‘Insatiable belly’’: lit. ‘‘a basket of fat things,’’ i.e., always ready to swallow rich bribes. 33 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 3. B1, 140 B1, 145 B1, 150 B1, 155 B1, Then the peasant came to petition him a third time, saying: / ‘‘Chief Steward, my lord: You are Re, the lord of heaven, with your attendants; The provisions of all mankind are from you as from the flood. You are Hapy25 who makes verdant the fields and revives the desert. Punisher of the thief, defender of the distressed, Become not / a raging torrent against the supplicant. Be vigilant against the approach of eternity, Cherish length of life, for, as is the saying, ‘To do Ma’at is the breath of the nostrils.’ Inflict punishment on him who merits punishment, And none will resemble you in your integrity. Will the balance be off? Will the scale tilt to one side? Will Thoth / be merciful, and then you do wrong? You must show yourself the equal of these three; As these three are benign, so you must be benign. Neither answer good with evil, Nor put one thing in the place of another, For speech grows more (rapidly) than weeds To find the breath for its answer.26 Then wrong will pour forth / more (readily) than one spreads out garments. This is my third attempt to make you act!27 You must steer your course by minding the sail; Ride the waves so as to do Ma’at. Be on guard, for you could run aground through the tiller rope, But the stability of the land is to do Ma’at. Do not utter falsehood, for you are noble; Do not be petty, / for you are distinguished; 25. The god Hapy was the personification of the Nile flood and hence symbolic of the prosperity and well-being of Egypt. 26. I.e., be careful of what you say, for it is very easy to make a sudden wrong remark. 27. The peasant makes an aside reference to the fact that he is now trying for the third time to arouse the Chief Steward to action on his behalf. The Egyptian text has here the third person singular pronoun with the verb iri, but I emend it to the second person singular. 34 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT 160 B1, 165 B1, 170 B1, 175 B1, 180 Do not utter falsehood, for you are a balance; Do not go off course, for you are impartiality. Behold, you are the sole one with the balance; If it wavers, then you will waver. Do not drift; steer your course; pull on the tiller rope. Do not rob, but take action against the robber; / He is not truly great who is great (only) in greed. Your tongue is the plummet, Your heart is the weight, And your two lips are its arms. If you veil your face against brutality, Who then will reprove evil? Behold, you are a despicable scrubman, One so grasping as to abuse / a friend, One who would abandon his friend in favor of a fawner, One whose brother is he who comes and brings him (a bribe). Behold, you are a ferryman who transports only him who has the fare, An honest man whose honesty has been truncated. Behold, you are the supervisor of a storehouse Who does not permit a poor man to buy on credit. Behold, you are / a hawk to the commoners, One who lives on the most worthless of the birds. Behold, you are a butcher whose delight is slaughter, And the mutilation thereof means nothing to him. Behold, you are a poor shepherd of the flock, for you take no heed.28 Act, therefore, less like a gluttonous crocodile, For there is no safety in any town of this entire land. / Hearer, you do not hear! Yet why do you not hear? Have I today repulsed the marauder? Does the crocodile recoil? What profit is in it for you? For the truth which was hidden has now been found, And deceit is thrown backwards upon the earth. Do not dispose tomorrow when it has not yet arrived, For no one knows the evil thereof.’’ 28. The meaning of this line is highly uncertain. 35 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES B1,185 Now the peasant had spoken this speech / to the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, at the entrance to the court. Then (Rensi) caused two attendants to set upon him with whips, and they thrashed his every limb. Then the peasant said, ‘‘The son of Meru is in error, for his face is blind to what he should see and deaf to what he should hear, and his heart neglects what has been brought to his attention. B1, 190 Behold you are (like) a city / without a governor, Like a people without a ruler, Like a ship on which there is no captain, (Like) a crowd without a leader. Behold, you are a constable who steals, A governor who takes bribes, A district administrator responsible for suppressing crime But who has become the archetype of the perpetrator.’’ 4. B1,195 B1, 200 Then the peasant came to petition him a fourth time. He found him / coming out from the gate of the temple of Herishef, and he said: ‘‘O gracious one! May Herishef be gracious to you, he from whose temple you have just come. Goodness is annihilated, for there is no fidelity to it, (No desire) to fling deceit backwards upon the earth. If the ferry has been beached, then how can one cross (the river)? Success is attained (only) in abomination. To cross / the river on foot29 —is this a feasible way to cross? Such cannot be done!30 Who now can sleep peacefully until the dawn? Vanished (now) is walking during the night, Or even traveling by day, Or permitting a man to stand up for his own cause, Even though it be truly excellent. 29. ‘‘On foot’’: lit. ‘‘on sandals.’’ 30. Lit.: ‘‘it does not exist’’ (Eg.: nn). 36 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT But behold, there is no gain for him who tells you these things, For compassion has passed far beyond you. How destitute is the wretch / whom you destroy! Behold, you are a fisherman31 who (fully) satisfies himself, One who is determined to do what he desires, One who harpoons hippopotami, shoots wild bulls, Catches fish, and snares birds. But he who is hasty of speech is not free from indiscreet talk, And he who is light of heart is not serious of mind. Be patient, so that you may learn Ma’at; Control your own preference, so that the humble petitioner may gain. There is no impetuous man who attains to excellence, There is no impatient man to whom authority is given. B1, 205 B1, 210 Let your eyes see! Let your heart be instructed! Do not be tyrannical in your power, That evil may not overtake you. If you ignore one incident, it will become two. It is the eater who tastes, It is he who is questioned who answers, And it is the sleeper who sees the dream. As for the judge who merits punishment, He is an archetype for him who does wrong. B1, 215 B1, 220 B1,225 Idiot! Behold, you are struck! You know nothing! And behold, you are questioned! You are an empty vessel! And behold, you are exposed!32 Helmsman, do not let your ship veer off course; Giver of life, do not let men die; Provider, do not let men perish; Sunshade, do not attract (the heat of ) the sun; Refuge, do not let the crocodile carry (me) off. This is the fourth time I appeal to you. / Must I spend all my time at it?’’ 31. The Egyptian term mhw can also be used of a hunter of game. 32. Lit. ‘‘Pourer of water, behold you are entered.’’ The meaning of this statement, however, is obscure, and I offer the above translation as a suggestion of its possible significance. 37 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 5. Then the peasant came to petition him a fifth time, saying, ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord: B1, 230 B1, 235 The khudu-fisherman [...] kills the iy-fish, The spearer of fish harpoons the aubeb-fish, The djabhu-fisherman spears / the paqer-fish, And the uha-fisherman plunders the river. Behold, you are much the same as them. Do not deprive a pauper of his goods, One known to you as a lowly man. His possessions are the very breath of a pauper, And stealing them is (like) plugging his nose. You were appointed to judge complaints, To judge between two (disputants), and / to curb the thief when he steals. But behold, your actions are a support of the thief; Men trust you, but you have become a transgressor. You were appointed as a dam for the destitute That he might not drown, But behold, you are a torrent raging against him.’’ 6. B1,240 B1, 245 B1, 250 Then the peasant came / to petition him a sixth time, saying, ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord: He who fosters Ma’at diminishes falsehood ( grg), And he who fosters goodness is a destroyer of evil (bw), As when satisfaction comes and ends hunger, As when clothing ends nakedness, As when the sky is calm after a / high wind and warms all who are cold, As when fire cooks what is raw, As when water quenches thirst. Look right before your face: The arbiter is a despoiler, He who should make peace (now) creates misery, / He who should create calm (now) causes trouble; But he who deceives diminishes Ma’at. 38 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT So fulfill (your duty) well, That Ma’at may be neither defrauded nor made extreme. B1, 255 B1, 260 B1, 265 If you receive something, share it with your companion, For to devour (something) selfishly is a lack of righteousness. But my misery leads (only) to / my departing,33 My complaint brings (only) my dismissal. No one knows what is in the heart. Do not be idle, but attend to my accusation, For if you destroy (something), who will restore it? The sounding-pole is in your hand like an unused pole, For by chance the water happens to be deep; But if the boat should run aground, it will be ransacked, And its cargo cast onto the land / on every shore. You are educated, you are intelligent, you are proficient— But certainly not in order to steal— But look at yourself! You make yourself just like everyone else! Your deeds are perverse, And the example for all men is now the deceiver of the entire land. He who tends the garden of evil waters his field with corruption And cultivates his plot / with falsehood, So as to irrigate iniquity for ever.’’ 7. Then the peasant came / to petition him a seventh time, saying, ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord: B1, 270 You are the rudder of the entire land, And the land voyages in accordance with your guidance. You are the equal of Thoth, One who judges without discrimination. My lord, be patient, That a man may entreat you / about his righteous cause. Be not vexed, for it does not suit you. 33. I.e., I will leave here unsatisfied. 39 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES B1, 275 B1, 280 B1, 285 He who looks too far ahead will become disquieted, So do not dwell on what has not yet befallen, And do not rejoice about what has not yet happened. Patience prolongs friendship, But as for him who neglects a fault which has been committed, There is no one who knows what is in his heart. If law is subverted and integrity destroyed, There is no poor man / who will be able to live, For he will be cheated, and Ma’at will not support him. Now my body was full, my heart was burdened, And it has poured from my body of its own accord; There was a break in the dam, its water gushed out, And my mouth opened to speak. Then I plied my sounding pole and drained off the flood (within me). I have unburdened what was in my body, I have washed my soiled linen. / My harangue is (now) completed; My misery is fully in your sight. What (now) do you lack? Your indolence will mislead you, Your greed will deceive you, And your cupidity will increase your foes. But will you (ever again) encounter another peasant like myself? As for one who is indolent, will a petitioner remain at the door of his house? / There is no one who was silent whom you caused to speak, There is no one who was sleeping whom you caused to wake, There are none who were exhausted whom you have revived, There is no one who was closemouthed whom you have opened, There is no one who was ignorant whom you have made wise, There is no one who was unlearned whom you have taught. But magistrates are responsible for driving out evil; They are masters of goodness; They are artisans who bring into being that which exists, (They are) responsible for joining the head which has been cut off.’’ 40 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT 8. B1,290 B1, 295 B1, 300 B1, 305 / Then the peasant came to petition him an eighth time, saying, ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord: Men flounder because of selfishness; The greedy man lacks success, For his (only) success is failure. You are greedy, but it (gains) you nothing; You steal, but it is no profit to you. Now, permit a man to stand up for his cause which is truly good. You have your provisions in your house, and your belly is full. Your grain is excessive and even overflows, / And what issues forth perishes on the earth. (You are) a rogue, a thief, an extortioner! Yet magistrates are commissioned to suppress evil, As safeguards against the aggressor; Magistrates are empowered to fight falsehood. It is not fear of you which causes me to petition you. You do not know my heart: A lowly man who turns again and again to make complaint to you, One who does not fear him to whom he makes his petition, / One whose equal will not be brought to you from any quarter (of town). You have a plantation in the country, You have a salary in the administration, You have provisions in the storehouse, The officials pay you, and still you steal. Are you an extortioner? Do men bring (bribes) to you And to the henchmen with you at the allotment of the farmlands? Perform Ma’at for the sake of the Lord of Ma’at, For the constancy of his Ma’at is absolute. / (You are) the pen, papyrus and palette of Thoth, So keep far from the doing of wrong. That goodness should be potent is excellent indeed,34 34. The text here has a wordplay on the Egyptian term nfr: nfr nfrt nfr rf. 41 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES B1, 310 For Ma’at will endure unto eternity And go down to the grave with him who performs it. He will be buried, and the earth will enfold him, / But his name will never vanish upon the earth, For he will be remembered because of his goodness. Such is the integrity of the decree of God: It is a balance, and it does not tilt; It is a scale, and it does not lean to the side. Whether it is I or another who comes (before you), You must acknowledge (him). / Do not give back (to him) the reply of a silent man. Do not abuse one who himself has done no abuse. B1, 315 B1, 320 But you show no compassion! You are neither concerned nor perturbed! You do not give me due recompense for this fine speech Which comes from the mouth of Re himself. Speak Ma’at! Perform Ma’at! For it is great, it is exalted, it is enduring, Its integrity is evident, And it will cause (you) to attain the state of veneration. Can a balance tilt? It is its scale-pans which bear things, And there must be no / exceeding the measure. A criminal action does not reach safe harbor, But he who is humble will reach land.’’ B1, 325 9. B2,91 / Then the peasant came to petition him a ninth time, saying, ‘‘O Chief Steward, my lord: B2,95 Men’s balance is their tongue; It is the scale which determines what is lacking. Inflict punishment on him to whom punishment is due, So that men may conform to your integrity. / [...] As for falsehood, its deeds may flourish, But Ma’at will turn herself to balance it. 42 THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT B2, 100 B2, 105 B2, 110 B2,115 120 Ma’at is the final end of falsehood, And (falsehood) will diminish and be seen no more. If falsehood walks, it goes astray; It does not cross in the ferry, and it makes no headway. / As for him who prospers through it, He will have no children, he will have no heirs upon earth. As for him who sails with it, he does not reach land, And his boat does not arrive at its mooring-place. Do not be ponderous, but do not be frivolous; Do not be tardy, but do not hurry; Do not be partial, and do not give in to / a whim; Do not cover your face against one whom you know; Do not blind your sight against one whom you have seen; Do not spurn one who entreats you. Turn away from this slothfulness, And let your decision be pronounced. Act on behalf of the one who has been active (in appealing) to you. Do not listen to everyone, But respond to a man in accordance with his righteous cause. An idle man has no past;35 / One who is deaf to Ma’at has no friend; He who is grasping never has a joyful day. He who suffers will become wretched, And he who is wretched will become a plaintiff, But an enemy may become a killer. Behold, I appeal to you, but you do not hear it. I shall now depart and appeal about you to Anubis.’’ Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, had two attendants go to bring him back. Then the peasant was frightened, for he assumed that punishment would be inflicted upon him because of this speech which he had made. Then the peasant said, ‘‘(Like) a thirsty man’s approach to water, (like) the reaching out of the mouth / of the child of a nursing woman for milk, such is death for one who seeks (it), when he sees it coming, when his death, long delayed, finally comes.’’ Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the 35. I.e., has accomplished nothing. 43 MIDDLE EGYPTIAN NARRATIVE TALES 125 130 135 son of Meru, said, ‘‘Have no fear, peasant. Behold, you will act in accordance with what is done on my part.’’ Then the peasant swore an oath, saying, / ‘‘On my life! Shall I eat of your bread and drink of your beer forever?’’ Then the Chief Steward Rensi, the son of Meru, said, ‘‘Now wait here, and you will...
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