fulfil thy desire with thy good things

12 (whilst thou art) upon earth,
according to the dictation of thy heart.
The day will come to thee,
when one hears not the voice
when the one who is at rest hears not

13 their voices.(515)
Lamentations deliver not him who is in the tomb.(516)

14 Feast in tranquillity
seeing that there is no one who carries away his goods with him.
Yea, behold, none who goes thither comes back again.

Hymns To Amen

Translated by C. W. Goodwin, M.A.

These beautiful poems are contained in the "Anastasi Papyri" in the
collection at the British Museum. They have been mostly translated in
French by M. F. Chabas, from whose interpretation I have occasionally
found reason to differ.

The papyrus itself is considerably mutilated, and bears no date, but from
the character of the script there can be little doubt that it is of the
period of the nineteenth dynasty.

These hymns have been published by myself with exegetical notes in the
"Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology," vol. II, part 2,
1873, p. 353; and, as before mentioned, in French by M. Chabas in the
"_Melanges Egyptologiques_," 1870, p. 117.

HYMN TO AMEN(517)

1 "O Amen, lend thine ear to him
2 who is alone before the tribunal,
3 he is poor (he is not) rich.
4 The court oppresses him;
5 silver and gold for the clerks of the book,
6 garments for the servants. There is no other Amen, acting as a
judge,
7 to deliver (one) from his misery;
8 when the poor man is before the tribunal,
9 (making) the poor to go forth rich."

HYMN TO AMEN(518)

1 "I cry, the beginning of wisdom is the way of Amen,(519)
2 the rudder of (truth).
3 Thou art he that giveth bread to him who has none,
4 that sustaineth the servant of his house.
5 Let no prince be my defender in all my troubles.
6 Let not my memorial be placed under the power
7 of any man who is in the house ... My Lord is (my) defender;
8 I know his power, to wit, (he is) a strong defender,
9 there is none mighty except him alone.
10 Strong is Amen, knowing how to answer,
11 fulfilling the desire of him who cries to him;
12 the Sun the true King of gods,
13 the Strong Bull, the mighty lover (of power)."

HYMN TO AMEN(520)

1 "Come to me, O thou Sun;
2 Horus of the horizon