Egyptian religious poetry

GODS AND GODDESSES 97

above the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings was an object of worship, in itself a goddess.]

The giving of praise to the peak of the west.

I GrvE praise, hear ye my call. Mark! I will say to great and little That are among the workmen, Beware of the Peak ! For there is a lion within the Peak ; She smites with the smiting of a fierce lion, She pursues him that sins against her. I called upon her, my Mistress, And she came to me with sweet airs. She was merciful to me. ‘After she had made me behold her hand She turned to me in mercy. She caused me to forget the sickness that came upon me. Lo, the Peak of the West is merciful if you call upon her. Let every ear hearken that lives upon the earth, Beware of the Peak of the West. [J-E.A., iii (1916), p. 86]

4 HYMN TO THE NILE

Praise to thee, O Nile, coming forth from the earth, that Egypt may be fed: of hidden nature, a darkness in the daytime. He inundates the meadows: and gives moisture to barren places which are far from water. G