Above the god is inscribed:—
“Ra, the great god, master of the city of On, who giveth eternal life.”
Above and below the king, the inscription runs thus:—
“The king, sun creator of the world (Ra-men-kheper), lord of Upper and Lower Egypt, the son of the sun, Thothmes, offers libations of wine to him who gives eternal life.”
Next follows the standard of the king, and below that, the columns of hieroglyphs; in this instance the middle column representing the address of Thothmes, on the three sides of the obelisk exposed to view:—
1. “He is Horus (Apollo), the powerful bull, friend of truth, the king, sun creator of the world (Ra-men-kheper, prenomen), who hath made monuments for his father, the sun of the two zones, and who hath erected two great obelisks with pyramidions of gold, which shine with brilliancy at the panegyries....
2. “He is Horus, the powerful bull, son of truth, the king, sun creator of the world, who hath been established on the throne of Seb by his father, the god Toum, who hath given him the dignity of Thoré, in magnifying his name among the inhabitants of On and of the whole world, the son of the sun, Thothmes, giving life like the sun for ever.
3. “He is Horus, the powerful bull, friend of truth, the king, sun creator of the world, the protector of the temples of the gods, who hath given at every epoch gifts to the divinities of the city of On, and to their servants (the priests), that they may live as saints; moreover, like his grandfather, he hath established numerous festivals; the son of the sun, Thothmes, beloved of the god Toum, sun of the two zones, giving life like the sun for ever.”
Of the texts of Rameses II., occupying the side columns, the translations of five are given:—
1. “He is Horus, the powerful bull, friend of truth, the king, sun, guardian of justice, preferred of Ra (Ra-ouser-ma-sotep-en-Ra, prenomen), the lord of Upper and Lower Egypt; he who governeth Egypt and chastiseth foreign countries, the son of the sun, Rameses Maïamon, the ruler and benefactor of the temple of his father, than whom none has done so much as he in this temple, the lord of the two worlds, sun, guardian of justice, the preferred of Ra, the son of the sun, Rameses Maïamon, who giveth life like the sun for ever.