Berkley, E.: The pharaohs and their people: scenes of old Egyptian life and history (New York, [1883])

HYMN TO AMEN-RA. 223

food to the mice in their holes, and to the flying
creatures on the trees.

' Hail to thee ! say all creatures, from the height of
heaven to the breadth of the earth, and to the deep
places of the sea—Adoration unto thee who hast
created us!

' The spirits thou hast made bow down before thee ;
the gods adore thy majesty. We, the creatures of
thy hand, praise thee for our being, we give thanks
to thee for thy mercy towards us,—whose name is
hidden from his creatures—in his Name which is

Amen.'1

The hymn to the Nile, which is ascribed to
the preceding dynasty, is very remarkable from
the twofold aspect it presents us. At first we
seem to behold only the river or some local
deity impersonated in the river :—

' Hail to thee, O Nile !
Coming in peace, giving life to Khemi,
Watering the land unceasingly,
He maketh the fields ready for the plough;
Every creature receiveth food.'

After the song has proceeded for some time
in this strain, all on a sudden the Nile dis-
appears from view, and the worshipper is in
the presence of the divine and unutterable,
though with no apparent change of person :—

1 The Hidden or Unseen.