Egyptian religious poetry

HYMNS TO THE SUN 59

Fling wide the gates of the East and the West ! Wide are the gates of the South and the North !

For the Boat of the Sunset has passed to its rest, And the Boat of the Sunrise hastes to come forth !

5

O Aten, Lord of rays, rising from the horizon every day ; thou shinest in my face. I worship thee at the sunrise, I adore thee in the evening. May my soul go forth with thee to heaven, may I cross in the Boat of the Morning and moor in the Boat of the Evening; may I make a path among the Unwearied stars in heaven, and may I worship my Lord, the Lord Eternal... . Those who are in the Nether World come forth, bowing down, in order to see thy fair form. I have come to thee to be with thee in order to see thy orb every day ... Renewed am I altogether by seeing thy beauties, like all thy favoured ones, because I am one of those who glorified thee upon earth. I have arrived at the land of eternity, I have joined the land of Everlasting, for this thou hast ordered for me, my Lord. [B.B.D., ch. xv]

6

I sHALL go forth to heaven when Ré crosses the vault of the sky and shall fraternize with the stars . . . I shall see the Yntfish in her forms in the eddy of turquoise, and I shall see the Abd-fish in his moment. The Evil One shall be overthrown where he lies in wait ; I shall hew gashes and he shall be cut to pieces. There shall be a fair wind for Ré as the Boat of the Evening advances. The Serpent, Lady-of-Life, is glad when