[FN#187] i.e., the Island of Elephantine.

"[Here is] a list of the names of the gods who dwell in the Divine
House of Khnemu. The goddess of the star Sept (Sothis), the goddess
Anqet, Hap (the Nile-god), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and
Nephthys.

"[Here are] "the names of the stones which lie in the heart of the mountains, some on the east side, some on the west side, and some in [the midst of] the stream of Abu. They exist in the heart of Abu, they exist in the country on the east bank, and in the country on the west bank, and in the midst of the stream, namely, "Bekhen-stone, Meri (or Meli)-stone, Atbekhab (?)-stone, Rakes-stone, and white Utshi-stone; these are found on the east bank. Per-tchani-stone is found on the west bank, and the Teshi-stone in the river.

"[Here are] the names of the hard (or, hidden) precious stones, which are found in the upper side, among them being the . . . . . stone, the name[FN#188] of which hath spread abroad through

[FN#188] i.e., the stone was very famous.

[FN#189] The "fore part," or "front," of the land means the country lying to the south of Nubia, and probably some part of the modern Egyptian Sudan.

Now my heart was very happy when I heard these things, and I entered into [the temple of Khnemu]. The overseers unrolled the documents which were fastened up, the water of purification was sprinkled [upon me], a progress was made [through] the secret places, and a great offering [consisting] of bread-cakes, beer, geese, oxen (or, bulls), and beautiful things of all kinds were offered to the gods and goddesses who dwell in Abu, whose names are proclaimed at the place [which is called], "Couch of the heart in life and power."

And I found the God standing in front of me, and I made him to be at peace with me by means of the thank-offering which I offered unto him, and I made prayer and supplication before him. Then he opened his eyes, and his heart was inclined [to hear] me, and his words were strong [when he said], "I am Khnemu,[FN#190] who fashioned thee. My two hands were about thee and knitted together thy body, and "made healthy thy members; and it is I who gave thee thy heart. Yet the minerals (or, precious stones) [lie] under each other, [and they have done so] from olden time, and no man hath worked them in order to build the houses of the god, or to restore those which have fallen into ruin, or to hew out shrines for the gods of the South and of the North, or to do what he ought to do for his lord, notwithstanding that I am the Lord and the Creator.

[FN#190] He was the "builder of men, maker of the gods, the Father who was from the beginning, the maker of things which are, the creator of things which shall be, the source of things which exist, Father of fathers, Mother of mothers, Father of the fathers of the gods and goddesses, lord of created things, maker of heaven, earth, Tuat, water and mountains" (Lanzone, Dizionario, p. 957).

"I am [he] who created himself, Nu, the Great [God], who came into being at the beginning, [and] Hapi, who riseth according to his will, in order to give health to him that laboureth for me. I am the Director and Guide of all men at their seasons, the Most Great, the Father of the Gods, Shu, the Great One, the Chief of the Earth. The two halves of the sky (i.e., the East and the West) are as a habitation below me. A lake of water hath been poured out for me, [namely,] Hap (i.e., the Nile), which embraceth the field-land, and his embrace provideth the [means of] life for "21 every nose (i.e., every one), according to the extent of his embrace of the field-land. With old age [cometh] the condition of weakness. I will make Hap (i.e., the Nile) rise for thee, and [in] no year shall [he] fail, and he shall spread himself out in rest upon every land. Green plants and herbs and trees shall bow beneath [the weight of] their produce. The goddess Renenet[FN#191] shall be at the head of everything, and every product shall increase by hundreds of thousands, according to the cubit of the year. The people shall be filled, verily to their hearts' desire, "and everyone. Misery shall pass away, and the emptiness of their store-houses of grain shall come to an end. The land of Ta-Mert (i.e., Egypt) shall come to be a region of cultivated land, the districts [thereof] shall be yellow with grain crops, and the grain [thereof] shall be goodly. And fertility shall come according to the desire [of the people], more than there hath ever been before."