Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume II: The New Kingdom (Near Eastern Center, UCLA)

125 Pages·1978·6.21 MB·English

by  Miriam Lichtheim

Contents
BriefChronologyofthe New Kingdom
X
AbbreviationsandSymbols
Xt
Introduction
Continuityand Change 3
PART ONE: Monumental Inscriptions
I. Inscriptions from PrivateTombs II
The Autobiography ofAhmose Son ofAbana 12
The Prayersof Paheri 15
The Installation ofthe Vizier Rekhmire 21
II. Inscriptions from Royal Monuments 25
Obelisk Inscriptions ofQueen Hatshepsut 25
From the Annals ofThutmose III 29
The Poetical Stela ofThutmose III 35
The Great Sphinx Stela of Amenhotep II at Giza 39
Stela of Amenhotep III 43
The Later Boundary Stelae ofAmenhotep IV
Akhenaten 4R
Dedication Inscriptions ofSeti I 52
The Kadesh Battle Inscriptions of Ramses II 57
The Poetical Stela of Merneptah (Israel Stela) 73
PART TWO: Hymns, Prayers, and a Harper's Song
The Great Hymn to Osiris 81
Two Hymns to the Sun-God 86
Hymns and Prayers from El-Arnarna 89
The Short Hymn to the Aten 90
Two Hymns and a Prayer in the Tomb of Ay 92
The Great Hymn to the Aten 96
A Prayer and a Hymn ofGeneral Haremhab 100
VII
viii CONTENTS CONTENTS ix
Three Penitential Hymns from Deir el-Medina 104 Indexes
Votive Stela of Nebre with Hymn to Amen-Re 105 1. Divinities 233
Votive Stela of Neferabu with Hymn to Mertseger 107 II. Kings and Queens 234
Votive Stela of Neferabu with Hymn to Ptah 109 III. Personal Names 235
Prayers Used as School Texts 110 IV, Geographical and Ethnical Terms 236
Praise of Amen-Re III V, Egyptian Words 238
Prayer to Amun III VI. Some Major Concepts 239
Prayer to Amun 112
Prayer to Thoth 113
Prayer to Thoth 114
A Harper's Song from the Tomb of Neferhotep 115
PART THREE: From the Book ofthe Dead 119
Chapters 23, 30B, 43, 59, 77, 105, 109 120
Chapter 125 124
PART FOUR: Instructions
The Instruction of Any 135
The Instruction of Amenemope 146
PART FIVE: Be a Scribe 167
Papyrus Lansing: A Schoolbook 168
The Immortality of Writers 175
PART SIX: Love Poems 181
From Papyrus Chester Beatty I 182
From Papyrus Harris 500 189
From the Cairo Vase 1266 + 25218 193
PART SEVEN: Tales
The Destruction of Mankind 197
The Doomed Prince 200
The Two Brothers 203
Truth and Falsehood 21I
Horus and Seth 214
The Report of Wenamun 224
Ablrreviationsand Symbols
BriefChronology ofthe New Kingdom
Dynasties 18-20, ca. 1550-1080 B.C.
AEO A. H. Gardiner. Ancient Egyptian Onomastica. 3 vols,
Eighteenth Dynasty ca. 1550-1305 Oxford, 1947.
Nebpehtire Ahmose AJSL AmericanJournal of Semitic Languages and Literatures.
Djeserkare Amenhotep I ANET AncientNear Eastern Texts RelatingtotheOld Testament,
Aakheperkare Thutmose I (1506-1494) ed. J. B. Pritchard. Princeton, 1950; 2d ed., 1955;
Aakheperenre Thutmose II 3d ed., 1969.
Makare Hatshepsut ASAE Annalesdu Service desAntiquitis de l'Egypte.
BAR J.
Menkheperre Thutmose III (1468-1438) H. Breasted. Ancient Records ofEgypt. 5 vols. Chi
Aakheprure Amenhotep II cago, 1906-1907. Reprint New York, 1962.
Menkheprure Thutmose 1V Bibliotheque Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale du Caire.
Nebmare Amenhotep III d'etude Bibliotheque d'etude,
Neferkheprure Arnenhotep IV Akhenaten (1365-1349) BIFAO Bulletin de l'InstitutFrancais d'Archiolagie Orientde.
Bonnet, H. Bonnet. Reallexikon deragyptischen Religionsgeschich
Nebkhcprure Tutankhamun
RARG teo Berlin, 1952.
Kheperkheprure Ay
Brunner E. Brunner-Traut. Altagyptische Marchen. Dusseldorf
Djeserkheprure Haremhab
Traut, and Cologne, 1963. 2d ed., 1965.
Nineteenth Dynasty Mdrchen
Menmare Seti I Caminos, R. A. Caminos. Late-Egyptian Miscellanies. Brown
Usermare-sotpenre Ramses II LEM Egyptalogical Studies, I. London, 1954.
Banere-meramun Merneptah CdE Chronique d'Egypte.
CRAlBL Comptes rendus de l'Academie des Inscriptions ct Belies
Twentieth Dynasty ca. 1195-1080
letlres.
Usermare-meramun Ramses III
Davies, N. de G. Davies. The Rock Tombs o{EIAmaraa. 6 parts.
Userrnare-sekheperenre Ramses V
Amarna Egypt Exploration Society, Archaeological Survey,
Neferkare-sotpenre Ramses IX
13-18. London, 1903-1908.
Menmare-sotpenptah Rarnses XI (II10-1080)
Edel, E. Edel. Zu den Inschriften au] den [ahreszeitenreliefs
Note: Only kings named in thetexts Of notes ofthis vol Inschnften der "Weltkammer" aus dem Sonnenheiligtum des Niuserre.
Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in
ume are listed here, and only a fewregnal dates are given
Gottingen. Phil.-hist. Kl., 1961 no. 8 and 1963 nos.
to serve as guideposts.
4-5. Gottingen. 1961-1964.
Erman, A. Erman. The LiteratureoftheAncientEgyptians, trans.
Literature into English by A. M. Blackman. London, 1927,
Reprint New York, 1966 as The Ancient Egyptians;
A Sourcebook ofTheir Writings.
xi
x
xii ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xiii
Erman, A. Erman, Denksteme aus der thebanischen Grdberstadi. Melanges Orient Ancun. Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orien
Denksteine Sitzungsberichte der Berliner Akademie der Wissen Maspero 1 tale du Caire. Mernoires, 66. Cairo, 1934-1938.
schaften. Phil.-hist. KI., 1911, No. 49, pp. 1086-1110 Moller, G. Moller. Hieratische Lesestucke[iir den akademischen
and pl. 16. Berlin, 1911. Lesestiicke Gebrauch. 3 fascicles. Berlin, 1927. Reprint, 1961.
Fecht, G. Fecht,LiterarischeZeugnisse zur "PersonlichenFromm Muller, W. M. Muller. DieLiebespoesiederallen Agypter. Leipzig,
Zeugnisse igkeit" in Agypten. Abhandlungen der Heidelberger Liebespoesie 1899.
Akademie der Wissenschaften. Phil.-bist. KI., 1965 OLZ OrientalistischeLiteraturzeitung.
no. I. Heidelberg, 1965. Pierret, P. Pierret, Recueil d'inscriotionsineditesdu Musee Fgyp
Galling Archiiologie und Altes Testament: Festschrift filr Kurt Recueil tun du Louvre. 2 vols. Paris, 1874-1878.
Festschrift Galling zum 8. Januar 1970, ed. A. Kuschke and PM Topographical Bibliographs of Ancient Egyptian Hiero
E. Kutsch. Tubingen, 1970. glyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, by B. Porter and
Galling, Textbuch zur Geschichte Israels, ed. K. Galling. 2d ed., R. L. B. Moss. 7 vols. Oxford, 1927-1951. 2d ed.,
Textbuck Tubingen, 1968. 1960-.
Gardiner, A. H. Gardiner. The Lilrrary of A. Chester Beatty Posener, G. Poscner. Catalogue des ostraca hienuiques liueraires
Chester The ChesterBeattyPapyri, No. I. London, 1931. Ostr. hier. de Deir el Medmeh; 2 vols. Institut Francais d'Arche
Beatty I ologieOrientaleduCaire.Documentsdefouilles, 1and
Gardiner, A. H. Gardiner. Egypt ofthe Pharaohs. Oxford, 1961. 18. Cairo, ]935-1972.
Egypt PSBA Proceedings ofthe Society ofBiblical Archaeology.
Gardiner, A. H. Gardiner. Egyptian Grammar. Oxford, 1927; RdE Revue d'Egyptologie.
a a
Grammar 3d ed., 1957. RT Recueil de trauaux relatifs laphilologie et l'archeologie
Gardiner, A. H. Gardiner. Hieratic PafrYri in the British Museum, egyptiennes et assyriennes.
Hieratic Third Series: Chester Beatty Gift. 2 vols. London, 1935. Sagesses Les Sagesses du proche-orient ancien. Colloque de Stras
PafrYri bourg 17-19 mai 1962. Paris, 1963.
Gardiner, A. H. Gardiner. Late-EgyptianMiscellanies. Bibliotheca Sandman, M. Sandman. Textsfrom the Time ofAkhenaten. Biblio
LEM Aegyptiaca, 7. Brussels, 1937. Akhenaten theca Aegyptiaca, 8. Brussels, 1938.
Gardiner, A. H. Gardiner. Late-Egyptian Stories. Bibliotheca Schott Festschriftfilr Siegfried Schott zu seinem 70. Geburtstag,
LES Aegyptiaca, I. Brussels, 1932. Festschrift ed. W. Schenkel. Wiesbaden, 1968.
Gilbert, P. Gilbert. La Poesie egyptienne. 2d ed., Brussels, 1949. Schott, S. Schott. Altiigyptisehe Liebeslieder, mit Miirchen und
Poesie Liebeslieder Liebesgeschiduen: Zurich, 1950.
Heick, W. Heick. Urkunden der 18. Dynastie: Ubersetzungen Simpson, The Literature ofAncient Egypt: An Anthology ofStories,
Ubersetzung zu den Heften 17-22. Berlin, 1961. Literature instructions, andPoetry, ed. W. K. Simpson, with trans
Hieroglyphic British Museum. Hieroglyphic Textsfrom Egyptian Stelae lations by R. O. Faulkner, E. F. Wente,Jr., and W. K.
Texts etc. 2d ed., London, 1961--. Simpson. New Haven, 1972. 2d ed., 1973.
JARCE Journal ofthe American Research Center in Egypt. Unter Untersuchungen zur Geschichte und Altertumskun
JEA Journal ofEgyptianArchaeology. suchungen de Agyptens.
JNES Journal ofNear Eastern Studies. Urk. IV Urkunden des iigyptischen Altertums, Abteilung IV: Ur
Kitchen, K. A. Kitchen. Ramesside Inscriptions, Historical and kunden der 18. Dynastie, ed. K. Sethe and W. Heick.
Inscnptums Biographical. Oxford, 1969--. Fascicles 1-22. Leipzig and Berlin, 1906-1958.
11) R. Lepsius. Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien. Urk. deutsch Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, 1, bearbeitet und ubersetzt
12 vols. Berlin, 1849-1856. von K. Sethe. Leipzig, 1914.
Lefebvre, G. Lefebvre. Romans et conies igyptiens de I'epooue Wb. Worterlmch der iigyptischen Sprache. ed. A. Erman and
Romans phanumique. Paris, 1949. H. Grapow. 7 vols. Leipzig, 1926-1963.
MDIK Mitteilungen des deutschen archaologischen Instituts, Ah Wilson Studies .n Honor ofJohn A. Wilson. Studies in Ancient
teilung Kairo. Festschrift Oriental Civilization, 35. Chicago, 1969.
xiv ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
ZA Zeitschriitfur Assyriologie und uorderasiatische Archiiolo
{!;leo
ZAS Zeitschriftfur iig),ptische Spracheund Altertumskunde.
ZDPV Zeitschrift desdeutschen Paldstina-Vereins.
Half brackets r are used instead of question marks to signify
1
doubt.
Square brackets [] enclose restorations.
Angle brackets <>enclose words omitted by the scribe.
Parentheses () enclose additions in the English translations.
A row ofthree dots ... indicates the omission in the English trans-
lationofoneor two words. A row ofsix dots indicates alonger
omission.
A row of three dashes --- indicates a shan lacuna in the text.
A row ofsix dashes ------ indicates a lengthy lacuna.
Introduction
Continuity and Change
The military campaigns of King Ahmose drove the Hyksos from
the soil ofEgypt, reunited the nation under a strongdynasty, and set
in motion an expansionist policyofforeign conquests.
With the Hyksos expelled and Lower Nubia reconquered, King
Amenhotep I devoted himselfto the buildingofthenew capitalcity,
Thebes, and to its westbank where a vast necropolis of splendidly
decorated rock-tombs began to rise. His successor, Thutmose I,
embarked on far-flung conquests. In the south he passed beyond the
strongly fortified border of the second cataract and campaigned in
Upper Nubia. In the easthe traversed Palestineand Syria and set his
stelae on the shore of the Euphrates, thus claiming all of Syria for
Egypt. His son, Thutmose II, campaignedin Nubiaand Palestine, but
his early death put a temporary stop to military activity.
ThewidowofThutmose II, Queen Hatshepsut, after first rulingas
regent for her young nephew, the future Thutmose III, took the
crown in her own name; and for two decades this energetic woman,
who legitimized her rule by claiming the god Amun as her father,
reigned peacefully and splendidly. The architecture and art of her
time are unexcelled in their elegance and good taste.
At her death, Thutmose III, so long held back from the throne,
took his revenge bydefacingandoverturninghermonumentsand by
usurping the twenty-one years of her reign in the dating of his
records. When he came to the throne, Egypt's Asiatic possessions
werethreatenedby analliancebetween therisingkingdomofMitanni
and the princesofPalestinian and Syriancity-statesled by the prince
ofKadesh. Thus, in thevery first yearofhisrule, he mountedarapid
campaign in Palestine which resulted in the defeat of the hostile
coalition and the captureofthe fortified cityofMegiddo. Thereafter,
over the next twenty years, Thutmose HI conducted sixteen Syrian
campaigns in which he twice sacked the city of Kadesh and even
crossed the Euphrates, thus reaching into the heartland of Mitanni.
In thesouth he extended Egypt'sbordertothetownofNapataonthe
fourth cataract. The conquests were secured byan effective adminis
tration. Foreign princes were brought to Egypt for their education.
Asiatic rulers who proved loyal were allowed to retain their terri-
3
4 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN UTERATURE INTRODUCTION 5
rories. Egyptian garrisons held the strategically important towns, and and the ambitions of local rulers. Seti I and Ramses II campaigned
Egyptian clerks turned the wheels of government abroad. Building vigorously and preserved the empire; and eventually the Hittite
activities at Thebes and elsewhere reached an unprecedented scale. enemybecamean ally. In his sixty-six yearsofreign, Ramses IIbroke
Nubian gold, and goods imported from the empire, combined with all records in the quantity and size of his monuments. The taste for
the sheer inexhaustible output of Egypt's workshops, created a the colossal, already manifest under Amenhotep III, reached its
golden age ofwealth and luxury. climax. In literature too the Ramesside age was enormously prolific.
The splendid reign ofthe greatempirebuilder was followed by the In the reign ofMerneptah, the Indo-European "sea peoples"swept
strong rule of his son, Amenhotep II, who effectively defended the into the Near East and, allied with the Libyans, made a vigorous
empire his father had created. In the reign ofhis son, Thutmose IV, attempt to invade the Nile valley. Theywere beaten back, reappeared
the long struggleagainst Mitanniwas resolved by peace, alliance, and several decades later, and wereagain prevented from enteringEgypt,
the entrance ofa Mitannian princess into the harem ofthe pharaoh. this time by Pharaoh Ramses III, the last great king of the New
thealliance beingdesigned to stem the forward march ofthe Hittites. Kingdom. But though they failed to gain Egypt, theirsweep through
Luxurious livinginasettingofpeacereached itsclimax inthe reign the Near Eastbrokethe strengthofthe Hittites and contributedtothe
of Amenhotep III. This king never set foot in his Asiatic empire. riseofnew powers. Thus, afterthe death ofRamses Ill, Egypt lost its
Instead he acquired Mitannian, Babylonian, and other Asiatic prin foreign possessions and was, moreover, weakened by internal con
cesses for his harem and lavished gold on his allies. Furthermore, he Aicts and maladministration.
strove to surpass his predecessors in the number, size, and splendor In the second half of the Twentieth Dynasty an economic decline
ofhis buildings. became manifest. Workmen whohad notobtained their rationswent
The age of empire meant more than power, wealth, and refined on strike. Royal tombswere looted and theirvaluablessold for bread.
luxury. Itfostered abroadeningofthe intellectualhorizon. Thesense A succession ofkings appeared unable to rule effectively. In the end,
ofsuperiorityover foreigners, while notabandoned,was mitigated by Ramses XI, the last of the Ramesside line, had to share the rule of
curiosity and tolerance. The scribes who ran the administration Upper Egyptwith Herihor, thehigh priestofAmun,and in the Delta
prided themselves on their knowledge offoreign places and peoples; with the regent Smendes. When the Theban official Wenamun
and foreigners who had settledin Egyptcould riseto high office. The undertook hisjourneyto Byblos tobuy timberon behalfofhis master
royal archive found in the ruins of EI Amarna revealed that Kings Herihor, the prince of Bvblos, no longer a vassal of Egypt, received
Amenhotep IIIand IVcorrespondedin Akkadian with Asiaticrulers. him with scorn. The age of empire was over.
Hence manyEgyptian scribes had to be bilingual; and it was fashion The texts included in this volume illustrate the principal themes of
able to show offone's knowledge offoreign languages. Thus, in due the age. The AutobiographyofAhmoseSon ofAbanacontinues theancient
course, numerous Semitic loanwords entered the Egyptian vocabu genre autobiography and is also the most important survivingsource
lary. for the waragainst the Hyksos. Itdepicts thewell-lived life, thelife of
Religious thinkingwasespeciallyaffected by the new international service and material rewards. The Prayers of Paheri, on the other
ism. The great gods ofEgypt became gods for all mankind. And this hand, sum upthe expectationsfor ablessed afterlife.Thetextknown
universalism allied itselfto the growing tendency ofviewing all gods as theInstallationoftheViziliTsetsouttheobligationsand honorsofthe
as manifestations of the sun-god. highest official in the land.
Amenhotep IV thought the consequencesofreligious universalism The royalmonumental inscriptions enlarge upon such early proto
through to their ultimate conclusion: the sun-god who ruled the types as the building inscription and the annalistic historical account.
universe and all mankind was notonlysupreme; he was the sole god. Annalistic historiography reaches its full Aowering in the Annals of
There were no other gods beside him. This revolutionary conclusion Thutmose III. The hymn ofvictory on the Poetical Stela ofThutmose III
threw the nation into turmoil; and as soon as the king had died, the proclaims imperial dominion in a poem of beautiful craftsmanship.
offensivedoctrinewas sweptaway. Butthough monotheism hadbeen The Sphinx Stela of Amenhotep II manifests the king's pride in his
defeated the universalist tendency remained alive. physical prowess. TheBuildingInscriptions ofAmenhotepIII reAectthat
The second half of the New Kingdom, the age of the Ramesside king's love ofarchitectural magnificence. In his Boundary Stelae at El
kings, brought a renewed struggle for the control of Palestine and Amarna Amenhotep IV consecrates his new city to theworshipofthe
Syria, where Egypt's hegemony was threatened by Hittite expansion sole god, while the Dedication Inscriptions ofSeti I breathe traditional
6 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE INTRODUCTION 7
piety and the spirit of restoration. Thus the basic types of royal Kingdom. The same piety informs the short hymns and prayers,
inscriptions appear enlarged and diversified, and the themes are written on papyrus, which were transmitted as models to be used in
characteristic ofthe imperial age. schools. Individualism, inwardness, and humility characterize this
The Kadesh Battle Inscriptions of Ramses II break new ground in piety which had evolved from the more social and cultic religiosityof
literary form; for the long section of the inscriptions known as The the earlier periods.
Poem is a narrative poem, an epic, and the first of its kind in Egypt. The same inwardness underlies the Instruction ofAmenemope. Here
Heretofore poetry had served to celebrateand to instruct; it had not too the old values have undergone subtle changes. Life is still
aimed atnarration. ThePoeticalStein ofMerneptah isasecondexample governed byMoot, the divine order; and as ever success depends on
ofthis new form of poetry. livingin accord withMoat. Butsuccess isno longerdescribedin terms
Thehymm tothegods are anothergenre in which the New Kingdom ofmaterial rewards. The ideal man now ismodestin status) and he is
builton foundations ofthe Middle Kingdom and went beyond them. humble toward gods and men.
The hymns are found in great quantity both in the monumental Continuity and change also characterize the Mortuary Literature of
contextand onpapyrus, and theymirrorthetrendsofNew Kingdom the New Kingdom. TheBook oftheDeadisareworkingandexpansion
religiosity, in particular the evolution from an immanent view ofthe of the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts. Instead of being inscribed on
godstoa transcendentone. Transcendenceand universalismgo hand coffins, the spells are now written on papyrus scrolls, grouped into
inhand:thetranscendentgodistrulythegodofall.Andthoughremote, chapters, and accompanied by vignettes. In addition, the scribes of
he isaccessibleto the pious individual. Thustheelaborate hymnsthat the New Kingdom composed new works that were designed as
come from the culticcontextstand side by side with the shorthymns "guides to the beyond." These works are only marginally"literature"
and prayers ofhumble individuals. and, moreover, they do not lend themselves to presentation in
Itseems that the deathofOsiris atthe handsofSeth wasviewedasa excerpts. Hence only the Bookofthe Deadisincluded here inasmall
mysterytooawesomeand sacredto be narrated in detail. Itcouldonly sampling. Its most famous part, chapter 125, the judgment of the
be alluded to; and the most elaborate allusions to the fate of Osiris dead, mixes ancient and honorable moral values with the sorcerer's
occur in the GreatHymn toOsiris, recorded on the stela ofthe official magic. Morality and magic, seemingly incompatible, were often
Amenmose. linked in Egyptian thought and are here closelyjoined.
The largest number ofhymns are addressed to the sun-god in his In the New Kingdom the education and training of scribes was
several manifestations. The two long Hymm to the Sun-God of the much expanded and systematized, and the genre known as School
brothers Suti and HOT show the widened universalist conception of Texts has no counterpartin theearlier periods. Sincealargevarietyof
sun worship and also the inclusion ofthe sun disk, the Aten, among compositions were used as models for instruction, the term "school
themanifestationsofthesun-god.Thiswasthe pointthattheworship texts" embraces a miscellany of works, including documents taken
ofthe Aten as a distinct deity had reached in the timeofAmenhotep from archives. Within this variety, certain compositions are school
III. texts in the specificsenseofcomingfrom themilieuoftheschools and
TheGreatHymn tothe Aten recorded in the tombofthe courtier Ay reflecting the student-teacher relationship. When such texts were
presents in pure form the doctrine of the sole god worked out by strung together to make a book, we have a regular "school book," of
Amenhotep IV Akhenaten. The king had taught it to his followers, which PapyrusLansingisan example. More commonly, a papyrus roll
and it is only through their hymnsand prayers, carved in theirtombs contains avarietyofcompositionsthat are independentofeach other.
at El Amarna, that his monotheistic teaching has reached us. The In one such medley, Papyrus Chester Beatty IV, there appears a short
Great Hymn and the shorter hymns and prayers in the Amarna text in whicha scribe lists some famous authors ofthe past and draws
tombs show how completely the doctrine of the one god had been the astonishingly skepticalconclusion thattheonlyimmortalityaman
enforced at Amarna, In recording their hopes for a blessed afterlife, can expect is the immortality ofthe written word.
the courtiers could no longer turn to Osiris and related comforting Lyric poetry was welldeveloped in the Middle Kingdom; butLove
beliefs. Only the king, the son ofthe Aten, remained asguarantor of Lyricsseem to be a creation of the New Kingdom. At least, no love
their survival. poems older than the New Kingdom have come to light. The love
From the workmen's village ofDeir el-Medina come the Penitential poems are misunderstood ifthey are thought to be naive and artless.
Hymns, which express the personal piety so characteristic ofthe New For they are rich in elaborate wordplays, metaphors, and rare words
8 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
and thereby indicate that they are crafted with deliberation and
literate skill. The actual situations oflife from which the poems may
have arisen are concealed from our view. We do not know enough
about the position ofwomen, especiallyofyoung unmarried girls, to
know how to interpret the free relations of the lovers that are
depicted in so many ofthe poems.
The genre Tales was of course well developed in the Middle
Kingdom. The New Kingdom adds new motifs, greater length and
complexity, and broader horizons. The Report ofWenamun, though
included among the tales, stands apart, since it is probably based on
an actual report. Even ifit isa work offiction, the incidents areall in
the realm ofthe possible, and the historical background is real.
We have seen continuity with the earlier periods in terms of the
principal literary categories: private autobiographies, royal historical
inscriptions. hymns and prayers, instructions, mortuary spells, and
tales. The New Kingdom broadened the genres and added new
themes, attitudes, and motifs. It also created two new genres: school
PART ONE
texts and love lyrics.
As before. my translations are based on the conviction that the
Monumental Inscriptions
Egyptian authors worked in three styles: prose, poetry, and an
intermediate style which I have termed symmetrically structured
speech, or, orational style.The New Kingdomadds anew variety: the
narrative poem. Thus, Egyptian poetry as a whole might be subdi
vided into hymnic, lyric, didactic, and narrative. It goes without
saying that all our literary categorization is tentative. For after a
century and a halfofstudy, the contemporary scholar's understand
ingofthelanguageandliteratureofancientEgypt remainsimperfect,
incomplete, and subject to diverging views.
"Le temps conserve de preference ce qui est un peu sec." This
remark by Jacques Chardorme, quoted in the preface of Iris Origo's
anthology The Vagahrmd Path, seems eminently applicable to the
literature ofancient Egypt. Having been physically preserved by the
dry sands ofthe desert, these ancient works endure byvirtue oftheir
sober strength. Even at their most lyrical, as in the love poems, the
writings are never cloying or sentimental. Up to the end ofthe New
Kingdom, the literature mirrors a society whose members lived in
harmony with themselves and with nature. Thecares oflife could be
met with confidence, for the gods ruled the world firmly and justly.
Life was both hard and good.