Excerps of Egyptian Texts

Page 1

The Instruction addressed to Kagemni Kagemni was, according to his Instruction, vizier of the 4th dynasty pharaoh Snofru (2613-2589), father of Khufu, but is otherwise unknown and should not be confused with the 6th dynasty vizier of the same name, who served under Teti I and whose mastaba at Saqqara is famous for its reliefs [1]. It may be doubted that–even if there was such a vizier– the Instruction would have been addressed to him, as, apparently, it was composed under the sixth dynasty. The only surviving part of the Instruction for Kagemni, its last two pages, is contained in the Papyrus Prisse together with a complete copy of the Instruction of Ptahhotep.

The humble man flourishes, and he who deals uprightly is praised. The innermost chamber is opened to the man of silence. Wide is the seat of the man cautious of speech, but the knife is sharp against the one who forces a path, that he advance not, save in due season. If you sit with a company of people, desire not the food, even if you want it; it takes only a brief moment to restrain the heart, and it is disgraceful to be greedy. A handful of water quenches the thirst, and a mouthful of melon supports the heart. A good thing takes the place of what is good, and just a little takes the place of much. .......... If you sit with a glutton, eat when he is finished; if you sit with a drunkard accept a drink, and his heart will be satisfied. Rage not against the meat in the presence of a glutton; take what he gives you and refuse it not, thinking it will be a courteous thing. If a man be lacking in good fellowship, no speech has any influence upon him. He is sour of face to the glad-hearted who are kindly to him. He is a grief to his mother and his friends. All men say: "Let your name be known! You are silent in your mouth when you are addressed!" Be not boastful of your strength in the midst of young soldiers. Beware of making strife; one knows not what may chance, what the god will do when it punishes. The vizier had his sons and daughters called, when he completed his writings on the ways of mankind and on their character as encountered by him. And he said to them: "All that is in this book, hearken to it as if I said it." Then they placed themselves upon their bellies. They read it as it stood in writing, and it was better in their heart than anything that was in the entire land. They stood and they sat in accordance therewith.


The majesty of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Huni, came to the landing place (i.e., died), and the majesty of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Snefru, was raised up as a beneficient king in this entire land. Then was Kagemni made governor of the capital and vizier. Joseph Kaster, The Wisdom of Ancient Egypt

Bibliography: M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I, pp.59f. Helmut Brunner, Gerhard Fecht, Hermann Kees, Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf, Siegfried Morenz, Hermann Grapow, Siegfried Schott, Joachim Spiegel, Hartwig Altenmueller, Literatur, Brill Leiden/Kön 1970, p.124 Dr Maulana Karenga, Maat, the Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics, Routledge 2004, p.50 John Gwyn Griffiths, The Origins of Osiris and His Cult, Brill 1980, p.229

The Pleasures of Fishing and Fowling What are [the activities] of my [beloved] like?

Something big has begun in her. One has said

[/// /// /// ///] emerging from [the /// ///] of my brothers (?), who was in decay and lack

[///////////], set afire (?) for me and emerging

[///////////]. On a beautiful day we are on our way to the marshes (in order to) catch fowl and

[in]numerable fish in the two waters. A fisher and

fowler and a harpooner join us, so that we are able to draw tight the ropes (of the trap). [////] our

papyrus boat. By a shrub we land (in order) to place (offerings) on the fire for Sobek, lord of the Lake, [/////], the ruler l.p.h. (It is) a beautiful day on

which we offer to everyone. Our field goddess is satisfied, we shall bring (back prey). We shall

Middle Kingdom The 18th dynasty copy of this text translated here is very fragmentary and often difficult to make sense of. I have dropped many of the smaller fragments, which add little or nothing to the understanding of the text. beautiful day: or holiday fisher and fowler: wHa, written with the hieroglyph of the fishing boat and of a man. I have sometimes rendered it either as "fowler" or as "fisher". wHa, fishing and fowling, contains both the bird and the fish hieroglyph. draw tight the ropes (of the trap): cf. trapping fowl field goddess: Sekhet

[/////]. We shall trap (prey) among the thousands Sobek: crocodile god, cult centre in


of fowl. We shall make a brazier for Sobek, made wider and longer [than before (?)]. Roast is on it,

consisting of wDj-fish and sr-geese. sr-geese are

lying in the fire (and) dSr-fish are lying in [////// as a] real [offering] of feathers and fish scales.

the Fayum. wDj-fish ... sr-geese etc: untranslated words have unknown or doubtful meaning. On Transliteration and pronunciation of ancient Egyptian feathers and fish scales: fowl and fish

There is no one who would think of food after

descending [to the marsh land]. [I am content with] that on which I lived yesterday: a meal which I have

brought with me. I live on eggs and honey. [After a

eggs: eggs are only rarely mentioned to as food.

successful hunt I shall have] fish from my harpoon

and fowl from my net. ///////////// We spend

the night fishing [////////] the meal which we have

brought with us //////////. How beautiful is your face, O Iniseni! We receive ////////// live in the

nooks. There we live among the grasses ///////// grass, alone by my country-house, empty

nooks: qaH.w bends, corners etc. Hnj: The Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae suggests "a plant of the marshes (a sedge ?)"

[/// /// /// ///]-water. When you journey downriver your heart is glad. Your crew has

approached (?) [///////////] the papyrus boat in which we drift downriver to my country-

house. ///////-plants. There is no opening.

(They ?) spend the night in hiding. ////// people who are courageous ///////. We spend our summer there; drinking /////// fish scales.

My head is covered with a lock of hair. I shall make

myself a wreath of ///////////////. I build my

cabin with juniper wood. I roof it over with coniferous wood. [I ///////] foreign land //// at the

entrance of the marshland, (so that) I may watch the

children from House-of-the-Cattle throwing (throw

sticks) at the wjA.t-birds. Every woman estimates by sight her fowls before they have dropped down.

I sit down in a clearing. I prepare for myself a shelter,

after I have fastened my bait. I am in the cool; my fish

are in the sun. I can see whatever is in my field of view (?), (but) it cannot see me. The fish is before the

spear. I kill again and again, there being no end for my (harpoon) shaft. I shall fill bags with white Nile perch.

House-of-the-Cattle: town in 3rd nome of Lower Egypt I kill again and again: The Egyptians thought of hunting in terms of slaughter, see also below: thousands [of birds] (will) fall or the great royal hunts.


The gutting (of fish) is not agreeable to me. My [?] of the food [///] as meal for our [////].

My lord, my lord, spend the night under the

shelter. Success is granted to him who hauls in the net [on the island] of the middle when the

land grows bright. The goddess of the fields has favoured you, your (throw) sticks have favoured you. All the marshes are green, so that the

marshland can nourish you. Moored on the

islands, it was difficult for you there. After we

have done away with one problem and fettered

another, all fowlers of the older generation say:

"Would that I were with him, this capable fowler."

Then your god will be delighted because of you, (when) you appear and throw light on The-

Ones-Being-in-their-Hills (snakes). Then you will see the fastening (?) of the doors of the

Snakes-with-the-Tail-in-the-Mouth. [I (?)] am sitting on beams (?) in the middle of the water.

[The] top [is ////// made of plants (?)]. Both

sides are nstjw-plants. Reeds are behind me as a wall of mats. My lower part is covered (?)

[/// /// /// ///]. A flock of birds passes by, (and) there is no end to it. The birds startled

into rising [//////////] his pintail ducks. The

only one of the bird marshes which is in the canal [///////] I witness her voice.

The fowler belonging [//////////] for his fowl. He who gives resin (?) to him who is rich in birds

[////////////] rope. I have fastened my tptj-part of the boat [////////////] knowledgeable in the marshes as well. My own heart has blinked (?)

[//////] far from [/////////] my poles for the weights (at the bottom of a net) [////////] lets approach ///// I am remote. The sun is

[////////] The evening makes me come close. I

Snakes-with-the-Tail-in-the-Mouth: snakes coiled up with their tails in their mouths were symbols for eternity. The meaning of the whole sentence is unclear.


spend the day calling him who is in the marsh.

[////////] hesitate [/////] I grasp my rope

wound around my shoulder. I have come [/////]

defies [//////] Grey geese by the entrance (?) of the [///]-hill. I spend the day tying (knots of the

net), thousands [of birds] (will) fall [////] before me. The mistress will weave (a net ?) for me as

[///////]. Have you seen [///////] gifts.

Great(er) is he who repeats gifts than [////////] of the marsh. He does not know the number which [he] has brought [////////] and white-fronted geese.

A beautiful day, my rope is on the path. The shelter [/////////] catch. [////] cannot become [//////]. We [walk through (?)] the

marshland /////////////////////// He is

sitting together with his crew inside the shelter [and has] success (?). Where the fowler and fisher is

concerned who does not move to the town, he lives in

plenty. Would that I still lived in [the country.] [Then I could do] things which my heart desires, just as it was when the marshland was my abode, when the summit (?) of the marsh was [my residence]. lit.town.

abode:

[I can]not [remain far from] the people after whom my heart hankers, my friends. I would like to spend the day in the place of [my] yearnings (?). [I would

like ///// in the pa]pyrus. When day breaks I would like to eat, to be far away, to go to my favourite place.

[But] on the second and on the fifteenth day of the month I go to the river, I go down to the lake. The

props are on my shoulder, my poles on the back of my arm (?), two cubits and five hands (of rope ?) are in my armpit. My attention is (concentrated on) pulling the

five cubits of the cord which is in my hand. The water is flowing slowly (?). The thick cloth (used for

signalling) held in the hand (pointing) towards the

pond, we see it fall. We have heard the clamour of its

The Egyptians knew a number of methods for catching fish: angling with single and multiple lines, harpooning, the use of nets and weir-baskets. (Cf. Fishing) thousands [of birds] (will) fall: see above


flock of birds, we trap it in the net. After a transliteration and German translation on the Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website P. Dils ed., Altägyptisches Wörterbuch, Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leipzig => 2. Reden und Dialoge => The Pleasures of Fishing and Fowling => pMoskau o.Nr. (Pleasures of Fishing) Love songs

Love Songs (Woman:) Come, my brother, swim to me! The water is deep in my love Which carries me to you. We are in the midst of the stream, I clasp the flowers to my breast Which is naked and drips with water. But the moon makes them bloom like the lotus. I give you my flowers because they are beautiful, And you are holding my hand In the middle of the water.


(Man:) The little sycamore That she planted with her own hand Opens its mouth to speak. Its rustling is as sweet As a draught of honey. How beautiful its graceful branches In their greenness. On it hangs young fruit and fruit that is ripe, Redder than the blood-red jasper. The love of my loved one is on the other shore. An arm of the river lies between us, And crocodiles lurk on the sand-banks. But I enter the water, I plunge into the flood; My eager heart carries me swiftly over the waves; I swim as surely as though I were walking on solid ground. Love, it is love that gives me strength, Averting the perils of the river. 18th Dynasty [1]

After Hermann A. Schlögl Gärten der Liebe , 2000

Seven days to yesterday I have not seen the sister, And a sickness has invaded me My body has become heavy, Forgetful of my own self, If the chief of physicans come to me, my heart is not content with their remedies; the lector priests, no way out is in themMy sickness will not be probed. To say to me: "Here she is!" is what will revive me; Her name is what will lift me up; The going in and out of her messengers is what will revive my heart. More beneficial to me is the sister


than any remedies; She is more to me than collected writings My health is her coming in from outside When I see her, then I am well. If she opens her eye, my body is young again If she speaks, then I am strong again When I embrace her, she drives evil away from me But she has been gone forth from me for seven days! Chester Beatty papyrus


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