Hymn to the Nile

Read
below -- an ancient Egyptian hymn to the Nile.   There is a little more information here.

The longest surviving hymn to the Nile flood is a literary composition in Middle Egyptian, of uncertain date. All surviving copies were written in the New Kingdom (about 1550-1069 BC), and some scholars have argued that it was composed in the New Kingdom. However the style of language and echoes of other literary compositions, such as laments of the order overturned, suggest that it may date to the Middle Kingdom (about 2025-1700 BC). No author is named on the surviving sources.

Hymn to the Nile

Adoration to the Nile!
Hail to thee, O Nile!

Who manifestest thyself over this land,

Who cometh to give life to Egypt!
Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness,
On this day whereon it is celebrated!

Watering the orchards created by Ra

To cause all the cattle to live
Thou givest the earth to drink, O inexhaustible one!

Loving the fruits of Seb

And the first fruits of Nepera
Thou causest the workshops of Ptah  to prosper.

Lord of the fish, during the inundation,

No bird alights on the crops !
Thou createst corn, thou bringest forth the barley,
Assuring perpetuity to the temples.
If thou ceasest thy toil and thy work,
Then all that exists is in anguish.
If the gods suffer in heaven,
Then the faces of men waste away. . . .

If the Nile smiles the earth is joyous,
Every stomach is full of rejoicing,
Every spine is happy,
Every jawbone crushes its food. . . .


A festal song is raised for thee on the harp,

With the accompaniment of the hand.

The young men and thy children acclaim thee

And prepare their long exercises.

Thou art the august ornament of the earth,
Letting thy bark advance before men,
Lifting up the heart of women in labor,
And loving the multitude of the flocks.

When thou shinest in the royal city,
The rich man is sated with good things,
The poor man even disdains the lotus,
All that is produced is of the choicest,
All the plants exist for thy children.
If thou hast refused to grant nourishment,
The dwelling is silent, devoid of all that is good,
The country falls exhausted.

O inundation of the Nile,
Offerings are made unto thee,
Oxen are immolated to thee,
Great festivals are instituted for thee,
Birds are sacrificed to thee,
Gazelles are taken for thee in the mountain,

Pure flames are prepared for thee. . . .

O Nile, come and prosper!
O thou who makest men to live through his flocks,
Likewise his flocks through his orchards,

Come and prosper, come,

O Nile, come and prosper!