"Utterances 571-574" English Translation of Pyramid Texts by Samuel A.B. Mercer

Text summary

From: Book · Samuel Alfred Browne Mercer · 1952

"Utterances 571-574" is a 1952 English translation of Utterances 571-574 in the Egyptian Pyramid Texts by Samuel A.B. Mercer. Lines 1466a-1491c seem to detail a creation myth unique to the city of Hermopolis.
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Text: Full Translation, Collation (full)

Archaic Egyptian  ⟶  English a

Translation
p. 233
Utterance 571
1466aTo say: The mother of N., dweller in the lower sky, became pregnant with him;
1466bN. was given birth by his father Atum,
1466cbefore the sky came into being, before the earth came into being,
1466dbefore men came into being, before the gods were born, before death came into being.
1467aN. escapes the day of death, as Set escaped his day of death.
1467bN. belongs to your company (?), O gods of the lower sky,
1468awho cannot perish for their enemies.
1468bN. perishes not for his enemies.
1468cO ye who die not for a king--N. does not die for a king.
1468dO ye who die not for any death--N. does not die for any death.
1469aN. is an imperishable star, the great ---- of heaven in the house of Śerḳset.
1469bRē‘ has taken N. to heaven, that N. may live,
1469cas he lives who enters into the west of the sky and goes forth at the east of the sky.
1470aHe who is within his ḥn.ti (two limits) has commended N. to him who is in his carrying-litter;
1470bthey acclaim N., for N. is a star,
p. 234
1470cThe protection of Rē‘ is upon N. Rē‘ will not abandon the protection of N.
1471aHorus has set N. on his shoulders;
1471bhe has assigned N. to Shu (who says): "My arms are exalted under Nut."
1471cRē‘, give thine arm to N.; Great God, give thy staff to N.,
1471dthat he may live for ever.
Utterance 572
1472aTo say: "How beautiful indeed is the sight, how pleasant indeed is the view," says Isis,
1472b"that this god ascends to heaven, his renown over him,
1472chis terror on both sides of him, his magic before him!"
1473aIt was done for him, for N., by Atum, like that which one did for him (Atum).
1473bHe brought to N. the gods belonging to heaven;
1473che assembled to him the gods belonging to the earth.
1474aThey put their arms under him.
1474bThey made a ladder for N., that he might ascend to heaven on it.
1474cThe double doors of heaven are open for N.; the double doors of śḥd.w are open for him.
1475aAtum united the nomes for N.;
1475bGeb gave him the cities, that is to say (lit. in speaking of it),
1475cthe regions, the regions of Horus; the regions of Set,
1475dthe Marsh of Reeds.
1476aN. is ’Iȝḥś, chief of the land of Upper Egypt;
1476bN. is Ddwn, chief of the land of Nubia;
1476cN. is Sopdu, (who lives) under his kśb.t-trees.
1477aHave you acted against him? Have you said that he would die?
1477bHe will not die. N. will live a life for ever.
1477cN. is become in spite of them as the surviving bull of the wild-bulls;
1477dN. is at their head; he will live and last for ever.
Utterance 573
1478aTo say: Awake in peace, Ḥsmnw, in peace.
1478bAwake in peace, Eastern Horus, in peace.
1478cAwake in peace, Eastern Soul, in peace.
p. 235
1478dAwake in peace, Harachte, in peace.
1479aThou sleepest in the evening boat; thou wakest in the morning boat,
1479bfor thou art as he who oversees the gods; no god oversees thee.
1479cFather of N., Rē‘, take N. with thee, for life, to thy mother, Nut.
1480aThe double doors of heaven shall be open for N.; the double doors of ḳbḥ.w shall be open for N.
1480bWhen N. comes to thee, that thou mayest make him live,
1480ccommand N. to sit by thy side,
1480dnear the dwȝ-canal on the horizon.
1481aFather of N., Rē‘, commend N. to Mśḫȝȝ.t, she who is at thy side,
1481bto cause to designate a place for N. near the Rd-wr-lake under ḳbḥ.w.
1482aCommend N. to Ni-'nh, son of Sothis, to speak for N.,
1482bto establish a throne for N. in heaven.
1482cCommend N. to Wr-špś.f, the beloved Ptah, the son of Ptah,
1482dto speak for N.,
1482eto cause food to grow for his dining pavillion on earth,
1483afor N. is one of those four gods,
1483b’Imś.ti, Ḥȝpi, Dwȝ-mw.t.f, Ḳbḥ-śn.w.f,
1483cwho live on truth, who lean upon their d'm-sceptres,
1483dwho guard the land of Upper Egypt.
1484aHe flies, he flies from you, O men, as birds;
1484bhe takes his flight from you (lit., he takes his arms from you) like a falcon;
1484che takes his body from you like a kite;
1484dhe is delivered from that which shackles his feet on earth,
1484ehe is freed from that which ties his hands.
Utterance 574
1485aTo say: Greetings to thee, Sycamore, who protects the god, under which the gods of the underworld stand,
1485bwhose tips are seared, whose inside is burned, (whose) suffering is real.
1486aAssemble those who dwell in Nun; collect those who are among the bows.
p. 236
1486bThy forehead is upon thine arm (in mourning) for Osiris, O Great Mooring-post,
1486cwho art like her who is chief of the offering (to), and of the worship (?) of the lord of the East.
1487aThou art standing, Osiris; thy shadow is over thee, Osiris;
1487bthy diadem repels Set,
1487cthe generous damsel who acted for this spirit of Gḥś.ti is
1487dthy shadow, Osiris.
1488aThy dread is among those in heaven; thy fear among those on earth.
1488bThou hast hurled thy terror into the heart of the wings of Lower Egypt, dwelling in Buto.
1489aN. is come [to thee], Horus, heir of Geb, of whom Atum speaks;
1489b"all belongs to thee," say the Two Enneads; "all belongs to thee," thou sayest.
1490aIt is even N. among them-the gods who are in heaven.
1490bCollect those who are among the bows; assemble those who are among the imperishable stars.
1491aN. rejoices; N. rejoices, O, O.
1491bDay is day; night is night; Rē‘ is Rē‘;
1491c--------------- he is for ever.
Source(s) a Mercer, Pyramid Texts I, 233-236 launch .

Original source data

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Sourceomnika.conscious.aiRetrieval date06/27/2020
Sourceomnika.conscious.aiRetrieval date06/27/2020
Sourceomnika.conscious.aiRetrieval date06/27/2020
Sourceomnika.conscious.aiRetrieval date06/27/2020
Source record No.p. 233MediumPrintImage date1952Source notesMercer, PT 1, 233.
Source record No.p. 234MediumPrintImage date1952Source notesMercer, PT 1, 234.
Source record No.p. 235MediumPrintImage date1952Source notesMercer, PT 1, 235.
Source record No.p. 236MediumPrintImage date1952Source notesMercer, PT 1, 236.
Source a Mercer, Pyramid Texts I, 233-236 launch .

Background

The Samuel A. B. Mercer translation of the Egyptian Hermopolis creation myth comes from The Pyramid Texts, a 1952 book published by the author. Mercer was the first person to publish a complete English translation of the funerary carvings in ancient Egyptian pyramids in Saqqara. The creation myth of Hermopolis leans on Utterances 571-574 of the Pyramid Texts, a fairly canonical source of Egyptian theology. Samuel Mercer was a well-known Egyptologist who spent most of his career studying the ancient civilization of Egypt.

Cite this page

MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""Utterances 571-574": English Translation of Pyramid Texts by Samuel A.B. Mercer." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 14 Apr. 2019, omnika.org/stable/61. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)

OMNIKA (2019, April 14). "Utterances 571-574": English Translation of Pyramid Texts by Samuel A.B. Mercer. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/61

CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""Utterances 571-574": English Translation of Pyramid Texts by Samuel A.B. Mercer." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created April 14, 2019. Accessed November 13, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/61.

Bibliography

Mercer, Samuel A. B. The Pyramid Texts: In Translation and Commentary, Vol. I. Vol 1. London, UK: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1952.
Pepi II. Pyramid Texts: Pepi II Funerary Inscriptions, ca. 2246–2152 BCE. Inscription carvings. Necropolis of Pepi II, Pyramid of Pepi II, Saqqara Necropolis, Saqarah, Egypt.
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About

Egyptian Hermopolis Creation myth Myth icon
Egyptian Belief system
Atum Main deity

Before the world began, eight deities called the Ogdoad (sometimes the 'Ennead') were separated into four men and four women. They lived in primedal water and rose out of the water to create what we know as land, the sun, and everything else we inhabit on Earth.