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50.

Enemies shall come upon us from the East,

Asiatics have descended into Egypt!

The Prophecy of Neferty CHAPTER THREE

Divisions 51-75

PROPHECY OF NEFERTY

51.

The border fort is stormed, the next one on,

nevermore their garrisons be heard from!

52.

They shall climb the ladders in the night,

enter the fortresses and council chambers!

53.

And they shall banish slumber from my eyes whether I would be sleeping or awake!

54.

Wild desert beasts shall come to drink the water down by Egypt’s River;

55.

so shall they be at ease upon the riverbanks made theirs for lack of those to tame them.

56.

This land is seized by savages, who come untaught,

and the fruits of what shall happen hide from speech!

57.

Seeing and hearing shall be blurred and deafened,

and now silence is in sight.

58.

Let me offer you a land like sickness where what should not happen does.

59.

They shall take weapons of war so that the land is alive with tumult.

59.

They shall make arrows of copper,

bread shall be paid for in blood.

60.

Let them laugh with the laughter of pain,

no tears shall be spared for the dead,

61.

One cannot assuage the wants of the dying,

the heart of a man first looks to himself.

62.

There are none who show sorrow these days,

and the heart is wholly bewildered because of it.

63.

A man sits down, turning his back,

while another murders a third.

64.

Let me give you the son as an enemy,

the brother as foe, a man killing his father.

65.

Each mouth is full of love, of love,

yet all the loveliness is gone.

66.

Lawless the land which instituted law,

67.

destroyed is like created, lost like found,

and what is done and what is not done are the same.

68.

A man’s property is stolen from him, and handed to some outsider.

69.

I give you the owner grieving,

the stranger content;

70.

him who does not take his own gets nothing.

71.

They relinquish their goods in wordless anger

to silence the tongue of the slanderer.

72.

They answer the letter sent by authority,

they answer by killing the messenger.

73.

Words fall on the heart like fire;

yet men will not suffer a man who speaks out.

74.

Meager is the land and many are its overlords,

that wasted the wealth of its revenues;

75.

Little is the grain and large is the accounting

so that one abandons the field as it greens.

The Prophecy of Neferty CHAPTER FOUR

Divisions 76-100

PROPHECY OF NEFERTY

76.

‘‘Rê withdraws himself from mankind so that he shines down only fitfully

77.

One never knows when midday happens,

one cannot distinguish shadows,

78.

There is no splendor to see by,

eyes cannot stream with tears.

79.

He shall move in the sky like the moon,

the rhythms of whose waning cannot be delayed;

80.

His beams shine in the living face

no brighter than for those who have passed on.

81.

Let me give you the land as a picture of sickness:

weak-armed and strong fare the same,

one bows to him who should offer greeting.

82.

Let me give you the lower raised above higher:

82.

he who followed before leads the pack,

one might as well be at rest in the graveyard.

83.

The poor man shall mass riches while the great shall struggle to live;

84.

It is the destitute,

they eat the white bread while the workers work and mourn.

85.

For our homeland no more,

Heliopolis, that birthplace of every god.

86.

Yet a king shall come from the South,

Ameny, blessé d, his name,

87.

Son of a girl of Ta-Sety, that is, the Southland,

a child of the palace at Hieraconpolis.

88.

And he shall seize the White Crown of the South,

and he shall raise up the Red of the North,

89.

And he shall unite the Two Mighty Ones,

let Horus and Seth be at peace, and their fellows;

90.

And he shall gather the lands in his grasp,

strong since the days of his swaddling clothes!

91.

Joy shall be to the people of his time,

that is, for a worthy son who shall make his name to endure forever and forever.

92.

Those fallen to evil, those plotting rebellion,

they have silenced their mouths in fear of him;

93.

Asiatics shall fall to his sword,

Libyans shall fall to his fire.

94.

Rebels shall be given to him for instruction,

the disaffected made to respect him again,

95.

And the serpent-goddess going before him shall soothe surviving antagonists.

96.

They shall build Walls-of-the-Ruler, the fortress,

no more Asiatics to come down into Egypt!

97.

Let them beg for water according to custom to let their cattle drink.

98.

Justice shall rise to her throne;

wrongdoing be utterly driven away!

99.

How fortunate those who shall see him,

who shall swell the train of that king!

100.

The wise man shall pour a thank-offering to me

when he sees what I have said happen. ’’

The Testament of Amenemhat CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-25

This instructionof a royal father to his son from the kingdoms of Amenemhat I and Senusert I of the 12th Dynasty in the first half of 1900s BC.

The last king, Amenemhat, has been slain in a palace coup, and returns as a ghost, similar to Hamlet’s father, to explain to his royal son Senusert and his followers just what had happened in their absence. In the course of his appearance he gives some realistic and sometimes bitter advice to his son, at the same time offering an apologia for his life. The vocabulary and poetry of this piece are vivid; and Amenemhat’s affection for Senusert shines through the forty centuries since the poem was composed.

THE TESTAMENT OF AMENEMHAT

Here begins the testament made by the Majesty of Egypt, King Sehetepibrê,

Son of the Sun, Amenemhat, true of voice,

that which he uttered as an accurate accounting to his royal son, the lord of all,

and which he uttered risen as a god.

‘‘Hear what I have to say,

that you be sovereign of the Land indeed,

and rule the riverbanks of all the world, and reap abundance of good fortune.

Be on your guard with underlings who never prove to be loyal hearts,

who do not true their hearts with following through wuth their intentions;

do not be near them when you walk alone.

Fill not your heart with love of them like brothers,

do not know a friend without proving their loyalty and trustworthiness,

and nurture no intimates (that have not been proven)

for there is [no good] [vulnerability? ] in these things.

At rest, trust in your watching heart alone;

for none are there to help a man when the day of trouble dawns.

I gave to the poor and raised the humble,

I advanced the man from nowhere like the man of means;

10.

Yet it was he who ate my food who mustered troops,

the one I circled with my arms hatched plots therein,

11.

those clothed with my fine linen thought me dressed in weeds,

and those perfumed with myrrh spilled out my water.

12.

‘Still-living likenesses of me,

my heirs among mankind,

made for me such outcry as the world has not yet heard,

such fighting as has never yet been seen!

13.

Yet do not take to battle not knowing the history of yesterday;

good never comes to one without the truth:

14.

It was after dinner, night was come,

and I had sought an hour of relaxation;

15.

I rested on my bed, I drowsed,

my mind began to follow after sleep,

16.

and then there seemed a brandishing of swords,

an asking for me, and I was furtive like a snake among the tombs.

17.

I woke to fighting, once my mind was back,

and found it an assault upon the guard.

18.

If I had quickly taken weapons in my hand,

I would have sent the reptiles packing to their holes;

19.

Yet there is no man brave at night,

none that can fight alone,

20.

nor can good fortune fall, when you are wanting for a defender.

21.

And see what happened!

22.

Foul murder, while I was without you,

before the courtiers could hear what I bequeathed you.

23.

Now I shall never mount the throne beside you,

furthering your counsel.

24.

I was not steeled for this!

25.

I did not think it,

nor could my heart conceive default by trusted servants. ”

The Testament of Amenemhat CHAPTER TWO

Divisions 26-50

TESTAMENT OF AMENEMHAT

26.

“Can it be that women marshal armies?

27.

And does one nurture vipers in the home?

28.

Or do women loose the torrent which destroys the fields

when one can only hurt the poor who work them?

29.

Harm never reared behind me since my birth,

nor was my twin in bravery ever born!

30.

I traveled the far South, turned back to Delta marshes,

stood on the edges of the world and saw its contours,

31.

attained the outer limits of this mighty Egypt with my strong arm

and in my many incarnations.

32.

It was I who brought forth grain, the grain god loved me,

the Nile adored me from his every source;

33.

One did not hunger during my years, did not thirst;

34.

they sat content with all my deeds, remembering me fondly;

and I set each thing firmly in its place.

35.

I stopped lions, captured crocodiles;

36.

I conquered Nubians and brought back Medjai,

and I made Asiatics crawl like dogs.

37.

I reared myself a dwelling chased with gold:

its ceilings lapis lazuli,

its walls of silver,

38.

its flooring sycamore,

its doors of copper,

the doorbolts were of bronze

39.

made for eternity, made ready for all time;

and now I am sole Lord, world without end.

40.

Many of the royal Family live here still,

the wise affirm my words,

41.

the ignorant demur because they did not understand without your presence.

42.

Senusert, royal Son, my feet are leaving;

43.

yet would my heart draw near,

and my eyes still gaze upon you.

44.

The family now enjoy peace and good fortune,

and those among the sunfolk give you praise.

45.

All that I did at first I interwove at last for you,

I brought to harbor what was in my heart,

46.

The gods are worshipped,

the White Crown worn by offspring of the god,

and all is well that I began for you.

47.

I have descended to the Barque of Rê,

48.

Rise to the kingship which has been since time began;

49.

and do not act in my stead faithlessly,

yet raise the godly Images, furnish your final home,

50.

and shield the wisdom of an upright heart

because you always loved to have it by your side. ’’

Prayer of King Rameses the 2nd CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-

King Ramses the 2nd is _______before an enemy army, after leading his troops against the Hittites at the battle of Kadesh (in ____) circa 1285 BC.

This passage is his prayer to his divine father, Amun, to give him aid. The poem is an nminor epic in form, presenting Rameses a warrior-hero. The scenario recalls the prayers and converse of the prince of India and the god Krishna in the Bhagavid Gita, that translates to 'The Song Celestial'.

RAMSES AT KADESH

[The first lines are unavailable]

Then said his Majesty King Ramses,

‘‘What is this with you, my Father Amun?

What sort of father ignores his son?

My plans collapse without you.

Have I not gone and listened for your voice

that I might not disobey the counsel which you gave?

How great he is, the mighty Lord of Egypt,

letting foreigners encroach upon his lands!

What is on your mind? [What are you thinking? ]

These Asiatics are hiding scoundrels ignorant of God!

Have I not constructed for you many towering monuments?

10.

Did I not fill your temples with my spoils of war?

Did I not build for you my House of Millions of Years

and give you all my goods as legacy?

12.

Did I not govern for you each land entire in order to provide your offerings?

13.

Did I not present to you some 30, 000 oxen

along with many plants and flowers of sweet aroma?

14.

Did I not turn from the good that would be mine

in order to complete the buildings in your courtyard?

15.

Did I not raise you mighty gates of stone

and set their flagstones myself?

16.

Did I not bring you obelisks from Abu?

17.

and it was I who furnished workers skilled in stone!

18.

Did I not bring over ships from the Great Green Sea

in order to convey to you the work of foreign lands?

19.

Might one consider then a small good deed

in favor of the one who trusts himself to your good counsel?

20.

Do good to him who counts on you;

then he obeys you with a heart of love!

21.

I have cried out to you, my Father Amun,

amidst a multitude of enemies I do not know.

22.

The foreign lands assembled fight against me,

I am alone, there is no other with me.

23.

My host of infantry has gone,

nor did a single charioteer look back at me as I cried out to them;

24.

not one ear heard me as I called to them.

25.

Yet then I found Amun mighty for me above a million soldiers,

a hundred thousand charioteers,

26.

More than ten thousand men,

comrades and children, united in singleness of heart.

27.

No, not the work of multitudes of people—

Amun is mightier than they!

28.

I learned these things from your own mouth, O Amun;

and I did not exceed your counsel. ”

29.

So, I prayed at the far end of the world,

and my voice echoed through Thebes;

30.

And I found that Amun would come once I cried out to him.

31.

He put his hand in mine, and I was happy.

32.

And he called as if behind me,

“Go forward!

I am with you!

33.

I am your Father,

my hand is in yours!

34.

I am stronger than hundreds of thousands of men!

35.

I am the Lord of Battle, Lover of Victory! ”

36.

And I found that my heart was steadied,

and my mind was filled with joy;

37.

All I was doing turned out well,

and I attacked like Montu!... ”

38.

39.

40.

How Great is the Lord of His City CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-20

From a set of poems celebrating the power of Senusert the 3rd, of the 12th Dynasty. Praises of the god-king are a major types of ancient Egyptian literature.

HOW GREAT IS THE KING OF HIS CITY