write a short essay assessing the advantages and disadvantages of ancient Egyptian agriculture under the pharaohs. In other words, was farming along the Nile necessarily a good thing? Or do you detect any signs of problems with Egypt's dependence on river valley farming?
Transcribed Image Text: gods, then a million men perish among mortals, covetousness is practiced,
the entire land is in a fury, and great and small are on the execution-block.
But) people are different when he approaches. Khnum constructed
him. When he rises, then the land is in jubilation, then every belly is in
Foy, every backbone takes on laughter, and every tooth is exposed.
The bringer of food, rich in provisions, creator of all good, lord of maj-
esty, sweet of fragrance. What is in him is satisfaction. He who brings grass
into being for the cattle and (thus) gives... sacrifice to every god, whether
be be in the underworld, heaven, or earth, him who is under his authority.
He who takes in possession the Two Lands [Upper and Lower Egypt], fills
the magazines," makes the granaries wide, and gives things (to) the poor.
He who makes every beloved tree to grow, without lack of them. He
who brings a ship into being by his strength, without hewing in stone. The
enduring image with be White Crown." He cannot be seen; (he has)
no taxes; he has no levies; no one can read of the mystery, no one knows
the place where he is; he cannot be found by the power of writing. (He
has) no shrines; he has no portion. He has no service of (his) desire. (But)
generations of thy children jubilate for thee, and men give thee greeting
as a king, stable of laws, coming forth (at) his season and filling Upper and
Lower Egypt... (Whenever) water is drunk, every eye is in him, who
gives an excess of his good.
He who was sorrowful is come forth gay. ... Vomiting forth and mak-
ing the field to drink. Anointing the whole land. Making one man rich
and laying another, (but) there is no coming to trial with him, who makes
satisfaction without being thwarted, for whom no boundaries are made.
A maker of light when issuing from darkness, a Eat for his cattle. His
limits are all that is created. There is no district which can live without
him. Men are clothed...with flax from his meadows, for (he) made
Hedjhotep (Coddess of weaving for his service. (He) made anointing with
his unguents, being the associate of Ptah in his nature, bringing into being
all service in him, all writings and divine words, his responsibility in Lower
Egypt
Entering into the underworld and coming forth above, loving to come
forth as a mystery. If thou art (too) heavy (to rise), the people are few, and
one begs for the water of the year. (Then) the rich man looks like him who
is worried, and every man is seen (to be) carrying his weapons. This is no
companion backing up a companion. There are no garments for clothing,
there are no omaments for the children of nobles. There is no listening
at nignt, that one may answer with coolness. There is no anointing for
anybody.
He who establishes truth in the heart of men, for it is said: "Deceit
comes after poverty." If one compares thee with the great green sea, which
does not...control the Grain-God, whom all the gods praise, there are no
birds coming down from his desert. His hand does not beat with gold, with
making ingots of silver. No one can eat genuine lapis lazuli. (But) barley
is foremost and lasting.
Men began to sing to thee with the harp, and men sing to thee with the
hand. The generations of thy children jubilate for thee. Men cquip mes-
sengers for thec, who come (back) bearing treasures (to) ormament this land.
He who makes a ship to prosper before mankind, he who sustains hearts in
pregnant women; he who loves a multitude of all (kinds of) his cattle.
When thou risest in the city of the ruler, then men are satisfied with
the goodly produce of the meadows....Oh for the little lotus-blossoms,
everything that pours forth upon earth, all (kinds of) herbs in the hands of
children! They have (even) forgotten how to eat Good things are strewn
about the houses. The land comes down frolicking.
When the Nile floods, offering is made to thee, oxen are sacrificed to
thee, great oblations are made to thee, birds are fattened for thee, lions
are hunted for thee in the desert, fire is provided for thee. And offering
is made to every (other) god, as is done for the Nile, with prime incense,
oxen, cattle, birds, and flame. The Nile has made his cavern in Thebes,
and his name is no (longer) known in the underworld. Not a god will
come forth in his form, if the plan is ignored.
O all men who uphold the Ennead,. .fear ye the majesty which
his son, the All-Lord, has made, (by) making verdant the two banks. So it
is "Verdant art thou!" So it is "Verdant art thou!" So it is "O Nile, verdant
art thou, who makest man and cattle to live!"
It has come to a good and successful end.
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READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways did ancient Egyptians worship and describe the Nile?
2. What does the Nile provide for Egypt? What harm can the Nile cause?