Passages similar to: The Epic of Gilgamesh — Tablet I
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Mesopotamian
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Tablet I (13)
I will challenge him... Let me shout out in Uruk: I am the mighty one! Lead me in and I will change the order of things; he whose strength is mightiest is the one born in the wilderness! [Shamhat to Enkidu:] "Come, let us go, so he may see your face. I will lead you to Gilgamesh--I know where he will be. Look about, Enkidu, inside Uruk-Haven, where the people show off in skirted finery, where every day is a day for some festival, where the lyre(?) and drum play continually, where harlots stand about prettily, exuding voluptuousness, full of laughter and on the couch of night the sheets are spread (!). Enkidu, you who do not know, how to live, I will show you Gilgamesh, a man of extreme feelings (!). Look at him, gaze at his face-- he is a handsome youth, with freshness(!), his entire body exudes voluptuousness He has mightier strength than you, without sleeping day or night! Enkidu, it is your wrong thoughts you must change! It is Gilgamesh whom Shamhat loves, and Anu, Enlil, and La have enlarged his mind. Even before you came from the mountain Gilgamesh in Uruk had dreams about you.""
The living charm is behind him, behind this god, whose ka is glorious, the king of the Tuat, the prince of the Amenta, who takes hold of the sky,...
(9) The living charm is behind him, behind this god, whose ka is glorious, the king of the Tuat, the prince of the Amenta, who takes hold of the sky, triumphantly, on whom the atef crown is established, who shines with the white diadem, who has seized the hook and the flail; mighty is his soul, the great one of the urer crown; who has united all the gods, the love of him penetrates their bodies, Unneferu who lasts for ever and eternally
Abandon your timidity, your self-conceit and your unbelief, for he who makes light of his own life is delivered from himself; he is delivered from goo...
(4) 'I know well my King, but alone I cannot set out to find him. Abandon your timidity, your self-conceit and your unbelief, for he who makes light of his own life is delivered from himself; he is delivered from good and evil in the way of his beloved. Be generous with your life. Set your feet upon the earth and step out joyfully for the court of the king. We have a true king, he lives behind the mountains called Kaf. His name is Simurgh and he is the king of birds. He is close to us, but we are far from him. The place where he dwells is inaccessible, and no tongue is able to utter his name. Before him hang a hundred thousand veils of light and darkness, and in the two worlds no one has power to dispute his kingdom. He is the sovran lord and is bathed in the perfection of his majesty. He does not manifest himself completely even in the place of his dwelling, and to this no knowledge or intelligence can attain. The way is unknown, and no one has the steadfastness to seek it, though thousands of creatures spend their lives in longing. Even the purest soul cannot describe him, neither can the reason comprehend: these two eyes are blind. The wise cannot discover his perfection nor can the man of understanding perceive his beauty. All creatures have wished to attain to this perfection and beauty by imagination. But how can you tread that path with thought? How measure the moon from the fish? So, thousands of heads go here and there, like the ball in polo, and only lamentations and sighs of longing are heard. Many lands and seas are on the way. Do not imagine that the journey is short; and one must have the heart of a lion to follow this unusual road, for it is very long and the sea is deep. One plods along in a state of amazement, sometimes smiling sometimes weeping. As for me, I shall be happy to discover even a trace of him. That would indeed be something, but to live without him would be a reproach. A man must not keep his soul from the beloved but must be in a fitting state to lead his soul to the court of the King. Wash your hands of this life if you would be called a man of action. For your beloved, renounce this dear life of yours, as worthy men. If you submit with grace, the beloved will give his life for you.'
Search round thy neck, and thou wilt find the belt Which keeps it fastened, O bewildered soul, And see it, where it bars thy mighty breast." Then...
(4) Search round thy neck, and thou wilt find the belt Which keeps it fastened, O bewildered soul, And see it, where it bars thy mighty breast." Then said to me: "He doth himself accuse; This one is Nimrod, by whose evil thought One language in the world is not still used. Here let us leave him and not speak in vain; For even such to him is every language As his to others, which to none is known." Therefore a longer journey did we make, Turned to the left, and a crossbow-shot oft We found another far more fierce and large. In binding him, who might the master be I cannot say; but he had pinioned close Behind the right arm, and in front the other, With chains, that held him so begirt about From the neck down, that on the part uncovered It wound itself as far as the fifth gyre. "This proud one wished to make experiment Of his own power against the Supreme Jove," My Leader said, "whence he has such a guerdon. Ephialtes is his name; he showed great prowess. What time the giants terrified the gods; The arms he wielded never more he moves."
It must be so. And there are times when the democratical principle gives way to the oligarchical, and some of his desires die, and others are banished...
(560) advising or rebuking him, then there arises in his soul a faction and an opposite faction, and he goes to war with himself. It must be so. And there are times when the democratical principle gives way to the oligarchical, and some of his desires die, and others are banished; a spirit of reverence enters into the young man’s soul and order is restored. Yes, he said, that sometimes happens. And then, again, after the old desires have been driven out, fresh ones spring up, which are akin to them, and because he their father does not know how to educate them, wax fierce and numerous. Yes, he said, that is apt to be the way. They draw him to his old associates, and holding secret intercourse with them, breed and multiply in him. Very true. At length they seize upon the citadel of the young man’s soul, which they perceive to be void of all accomplishments and fair pursuits and true words, which make their abode in the minds of men who are dear to the gods, and are their best guardians and sentinels. None better. False and boastful conceits and phrases mount upwards and take their place. They are certain to do so. And so the young man returns into the country of the lotus-eaters, and takes up his dwelling there in the face of all men; and if any help be sent by his friends to the oligarchical part of him, the aforesaid vain conceits shut the gate of the king’s fastness; and they will neither allow the embassy itself to enter, nor if private advisers offer the fatherly counsel of the aged will they listen to them or receive them.
I set aside the long-haired gods and passed on through those who had charge of their dens in my sight: I made my way and passed on and reached those...
(34) I set aside the long-haired gods and passed on through those who had charge of their dens in my sight: I made my way and passed on and reached those who presided over their caverns, and those who had charge of the House of Osiris; and I speak to them, and make them recognize the god of Mighty Terrors, who is armed with horns against Sutu. I make them recognize who it is that hath seized for himself the divine provisions and hath equipped himself with the powers of Tmu
How Adam was created out of a handful of earth brought by an Angel (1-10)
Do not, like fools, crave mercy from the spear, Wherefore do you cry to spear and sword, Seeing they are captives in the hand of that Noble One? He...
(1) Do not, like fools, crave mercy from the spear, Wherefore do you cry to spear and sword, Seeing they are captives in the hand of that Noble One? He is as Azar, maker of idols; I am only the idol; Whatever instrument He makes me, that I am. If He makes of me a cup, a cup am I; If He makes of me a dagger, a dagger am I. If He makes me a fountain, I pour forth water; If He makes me fire, I give forth heat. If He makes me rain, I produce rich crops;
A Series Of Old Heliopolitan Texts Partly Osirianized, Utterances 213-222 (222)
199 To say: Stand thou upon it, this earth, which comes forth from Atum, the saliva which comes forth from prr; 199 be thou above it; he thou high...
(222) 199 To say: Stand thou upon it, this earth, which comes forth from Atum, the saliva which comes forth from prr; 199 be thou above it; he thou high above it, 199 that thou mayest see thy father; that thou mayest see R`. 200 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, R`. 200 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, Ndi. 200 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, Pndn. 200 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, Dndn. 201 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, m-wr. 201 He has, come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, Sn-wr. 201 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, Sopdu. 201 He has come to thee, his father; he has come to thee, Sharp of Teeth. 202 Cause thou that N. seize b.w, that he take the horizon; 202 cause thou that N. govern the Nine Bows, that he equip the Ennead; 202 cause thou that the shepherd's crook be in the hand of N., so that Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt may bow (before him). 203 He accepts ("takes on") his opponent and stands up, the great chief, in his great kingdom; 203 Nephthys praised him when he seized his opponent: 204 "Thou hast equipped thyself as the Great-in-magic, Set, who is in Ombos, lord of the land of the South; 204 nothing is lacking in thee; nothing ceases with thee, 204 for behold thou art more glorious, more powerful than the gods of Upper Egypt and their spirits. 205 Thou whom the pregnant brought forth, as thou didst cleave the night, 205 thou art equipped like Set, who mightily broke forth". Fortunate is he whom Isis has praised: 206 "Thou hast equipped thyself like Horus, the youthful, 206 nor is there anything lacking in thee, nor anything ceases with thee, 206 for behold thou art more glorious, more powerful than the northern gods and their spirits. 207 Thou puttest away thine uncleanness for Atum in Heliopolis, thou ascendest with him; 207 thou judgest distress in the underworld,. thou standest above the places of the abyss; 207 thou art (king) with thy father Atum, thou art high with thy father Atum; 207 thou appearest with thy father Atum, distress disappears. 207 The midwife of Heliopolis (holds) thy head. 208 Thou ascendest, thou openest thy way through the bones of Shu; 208 thou envelopest thyself in the embrace of thy mother Nut; 208 thou purifiest thyself in the horizon, thou puttest away thine impurity in the lakes of Shu. 209 Thou risest, thou settest, thou settest with R`, in obscurity with Ndi; 209 thou risest, thou settest, thou risest with R`, 209 thou appearest with Sn-wr; 210 thou risest, thou settest, thou settest with Nephthys, in obscurity with the mkt.t-boat; 210 thou risest, thou settest, thou risest with Isis; 210 thou appearest with the m`nd.t-boat. 211 Thou art master of thyself; there is no one in thy way. 211 Thou art born because of (like) Horus; thou art conceived because of (like) Set; 211 Thou didst purify thyself in the Falcon-nome; thou didst receive thy purification in the Nome of the Integral Ruler, from thy father, from Atum. 212 Thou hast come into being, thou hast become high, thou hast become content; 212 thou hast become well in the embrace of thy father, in the embrace of Atum. 213 Atum, let N. ascend to thee, enfold him in thine embrace, 213 for he is thy bodily son for ever". 5. THE DECEASED KING RECEIVES OFFERINGS AND IS RE-ESTABLISHED IN HIS FUNCTIONS AND POSSESSIONS,
Khorassan was in a state of prosperity because of the wise rule of Prince Amid. He was attended by a hundred Turkish slaves whose countenances shone...
(2) Khorassan was in a state of prosperity because of the wise rule of Prince Amid. He was attended by a hundred Turkish slaves whose countenances shone like the full moon, their bodies were slender cypresses, their legs as silver, and their breath was musk. They wore ear-rings of pearl whose reflection lighted up the night and made it seem as day; their turbans were of the finest brocade, and round their necks were collars of gold; their breasts were covered with silver cloth, and their belts enriched with precious stones. All were mounted on white horses. Whoever looked at one of them lost his heart at once. By chance, a Sufi, clothed in rags and baiefoot, saw this body of young men in the distance, and asked: 'What is this cavalcade of houris?' He was told, 'These young men are the pages of Amid, the prince of this city.' WTen the idiot of God heard this, the vapour of folly went to his head and he cried: 'O God, the possessor of the glorious canopy, teach Amid to take care of his servants.'
If you are like this idiot, have also his boldness; lift yourself up like a slender tree; but if you have no leaves do not be daring and do not jest. The daring of the fools of God is a good thing. They cannot tell if the way is good or bad, they only know how to act.
Means Whereby The Deceased King Reaches Heaven, Utterances 263-271 (268)
370 To say: N. washes himself, R` appears, the Great Ennead sparkles; 370 the Ombite is high as chief of the 'itr.t-palace; 371 N. puts humanity off...
(268) 370 To say: N. washes himself, R` appears, the Great Ennead sparkles; 370 the Ombite is high as chief of the 'itr.t-palace; 371 N. puts humanity off from him as a limb; 371 N. seizes the wrr.t-crown from the hand of the Ennead. 371 Isis nurses him, Nephthys suckles him, 372 Horus takes him by his fingers (to his side), 372 he purifies N. in the lake of the jackal, 372 he makes, the ka of N. clean in the lake of the D.t. 372 He rubs down the flesh of the ka of N. and his own 372 with that which is near R` in the horizon, that which he (R`) took, 373 when the two lands beamed and when he bared the face of the gods. 373 He brings the ka of N. and himself to the great palace, 373 after offices (?) were made for him and the mtt was knotted for him. 374 N. leads the imperishable stars, 374 he ferries over to the Marshes of Reeds, 374 the inhabitants of the horizon row him, the inhabitants of b.w navigate him. 375 N. is very capable (mighty), his arms will not desert him; 375 N. is very excellent (foremost), his ka comes to him (to his aid).
A Series Of Old Heliopolitan Texts Partly Osirianized, Utterances 213-222 (220)
I 94 He has come to thee, N.t (Crown of Lower Egypt); he has come to thee, Nsr.t (Uraeus); 194 he has, come to thee, Great One; he has come to thee, G...
(220) 194 The two doors of the horizon are open; its bolts slide. I 94 He has come to thee, N.t (Crown of Lower Egypt); he has come to thee, Nsr.t (Uraeus); 194 he has, come to thee, Great One; he has come to thee, Great-inmagic (Crown of Lower Egypt). 194 He is pure for thee; he is in awe of thee. 195 Mayest thou be satisfied with him; mayest thou be satisfied with his purity; 195 mayest thou be satisfied with his word, which he speaks to thee: 195 "How beautiful is thy face, when it is peaceful, new, young, for a god, father of the gods, has begotten thee!" 195 He has come to thee, Great-in-magic (Crown of Lower Egypt). 195 It is Horus, who has fought in protection of his eye, Great-inmagic.
Next came the golden Peacock, with feathers of a hundred - what shall I say? - a hundred thousand colours! He displayed himself, turning this way and...
(1) Next came the golden Peacock, with feathers of a hundred - what shall I say? - a hundred thousand colours! He displayed himself, turning this way and that, like a bride. 'The painter of the world,' he said, 'to fashion me took in his hand the brush of the Jinn. But although I am Gabriel among birds my lot is not to be envied. I was friendly with the serpent in the earthly paradise, and for this was ignominiously driven out. They deprived me of a position of trust, they, who trusted me, and my feet were my prison. But I
am always hoping that some benevolent guide will lead me out of this dark abode and take me to the everlasting mansions. I do not expect to reach the king you speak of, it will suffice me to reach his gate. How can you expect me to strive to reach the Simurgh since I have lived in the earthly paradise? I have no wish except to dwell there again. Nothing else has any meaning for me.'
The Hoopoe replied: 'You are straying from the true Way. The palace of this King is far better than your paradise. You cannot do better than to strive to reach it. It is the habitation of the soul, it is eternity, it is the object of our real desires, the dwelling of the heart, the seat of truth. The Most High is a vast ocean; the paradise of earthly bliss is only a little drop; all that is not this ocean is distraction. When you can have the ocean why will you seek a drop of evening dew? Shall he who shares the secrets of the sun idle with a speck of dust? Is he who has all, concerned with the part? Is the soul concerned with members of the body? If you would be perfect seek the whole, choose the whole, be whole.'
Chapter 16: Of the Seventh Species, Kind, Form, or Manner of Sin's Beginning in Lucifer and his Angels. (96)
Here thou must know, that without, distinct from himself, he had no impulse at all to his pride, but his beauty and brightness deceived him. When he...
(96) Here thou must know, that without, distinct from himself, he had no impulse at all to his pride, but his beauty and brightness deceived him. When he saw that he was the fairest and most beautiful prince in heaven, then he despised the friendly qualifying, mixing, operating and generating of the Deity, and thought with himself that he would rule with his princely power in the whole Deity; all must stoop and bow to him.
I thought within myself, perchance he strikes From habit only here, and from elsewhere Disdains to bear up any in his feet. Then wheeling somewhat...
(2) I thought within myself, perchance he strikes From habit only here, and from elsewhere Disdains to bear up any in his feet. Then wheeling somewhat more, it seemed to me, Terrible as the lightning he descended, And snatched me upward even to the fire. Therein it seemed that he and I were burning, And the imagined fire did scorch me so, That of necessity my sleep was broken. Not otherwise Achilles started up, Around him turning his awakened eyes, And knowing not the place in which he was, What time from Chiron stealthily his mother Carried him sleeping in her arms to Scyros, Wherefrom the Greeks withdrew him afterwards, Than I upstarted, when from off my face Sleep fled away; and pallid I became, As doth the man who freezes with affright. Only my Comforter was at my side, And now the sun was more than two hours high, And turned towards the sea-shore was my face. "Be not intimidated," said my Lord, "Be reassured, for all is well with us; Do not restrain, but put forth all thy strength.
Through the mystic passageways and chambers of the Great Pyramid passed the illumined of antiquity. They entered its portals as men; they came forth...
(42) Through the mystic passageways and chambers of the Great Pyramid passed the illumined of antiquity. They entered its portals as men; they came forth as gods. It was the place of the "second birth," the "womb of the Mysteries," and wisdom dwelt in it as God dwells in the hearts of men. Somewhere in the depths of its recesses there resided an unknown being who was called "The Initiator," or "The Illustrious One," robed in blue and gold and bearing in his hand the sevenfold key of Eternity. This was the lion-faced hierophant, the Holy One, the Master of Masters, who never left the House of Wisdom and whom no man ever saw save he who had passed through the gates of preparation and purification. It was in these chambers that Plato--he of the broad brow---came face to face with the wisdom of the ages personified in the Master of the Hidden House.
That will be very right. Then we will once more entreat Homer and the other poets not to depict Achilles 8 , who is the son of a goddess, first lying ...
(388) even to women who are good for anything), or to men of a baser sort, that those who are being educated by us to be the defenders of their country may scorn to do the like. That will be very right. Then we will once more entreat Homer and the other poets not to depict Achilles 8 , who is the son of a goddess, first lying on his side, then on his back, and then on his face; then starting up and sailing in a frenzy along the shores of the barren sea; now taking the sooty ashes in both his hands 9 and pouring them over his head, or weeping and wailing in the various modes which Homer has delineated. Nor should he describe Priam the kinsman of the gods as praying and beseeching, ‘Rolling in the dirt, calling each man loudly by his name 10 .’ Still more earnestly will we beg of him at all events not to introduce the gods lamenting and saying, ‘Alas! my misery! Alas! that I bore the bravest to my sorrow 11 .’ But if he must introduce the gods, at any rate let him not dare so completely to misrepresent the greatest of the gods, as to make him say— ‘O heavens! with my eyes verily I behold a dear friend of mine chased round and round the city, and my heart is sorrowful 12 .’ Or again:— ‘Woe is me that I am fated to have Sarpedon, dearest of
N. is welcome among the gods; he sees the great god, he is led on the good roads, he is presented with funerary offerings, his enemies are beaten...
(4) N. is welcome among the gods; he sees the great god, he is led on the good roads, he is presented with funerary offerings, his enemies are beaten down under him in the house of the Prince of Heliopolis
O blind cupidity, O wrath insane, That spurs us onward so in our short life, And in the eternal then so badly steeps us! I saw an ample moat bent...
(3) O blind cupidity, O wrath insane, That spurs us onward so in our short life, And in the eternal then so badly steeps us! I saw an ample moat bent like a bow, As one which all the plain encompasses, Conformable to what my Guide had said. And between this and the embankment's foot Centaurs in file were running, armed with arrows, As in the world they used the chase to follow. Beholding us descend, each one stood still, And from the squadron three detached themselves, With bows and arrows in advance selected; And from afar one cried: "Unto what torment Come ye, who down the hillside are descending? Tell us from there; if not, I draw the bow." My Master said: "Our answer will we make To Chiron, near you there; in evil hour, That will of thine was evermore so hasty." Then touched he me, and said: "This one is Nessus, Who perished for the lovely Dejanira, And for himself, himself did vengeance take. And he in the midst, who at his breast is gazing, Is the great Chiron, who brought up Achilles; That other Pholus is, who was so wrathful.
Let me convey the divine Heron to the East, Osiris to Tattu. Let me open the caverns of Hāpu, clear the path of the Solar Orb and tow along Sekaru...
(1) Let me convey the divine Heron to the East, Osiris to Tattu. Let me open the caverns of Hāpu, clear the path of the Solar Orb and tow along Sekaru upon his sledge. Let the Great one give me strength at her fixed hour
Already on all sides the air was quiet; And said he to me: "That was the hard curb That ought to hold a man within his bounds; But you take in the bai...
(7) "I am Aglaurus, who became a stone!" And then, to press myself close to the Poet, I backward, and not forward, took a step. Already on all sides the air was quiet; And said he to me: "That was the hard curb That ought to hold a man within his bounds; But you take in the bait so that the hook Of the old Adversary draws you to him, And hence availeth little curb or call. The heavens are calling you, and wheel around you, Displaying to you their eternal beauties, And still your eye is looking on the ground; Whence He, who all discerns, chastises you."
O Tmu, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Sut, Nephthys, Horus of the two Horizons, Hathor in the great dwelling, Chepera, Mentu lord of Thebes,...
(1) O Tmu, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Sut, Nephthys, Horus of the two Horizons, Hathor in the great dwelling, Chepera, Mentu lord of Thebes, Amon lord of Nestaui, ye the great cycle of the gods, ye the small cycle of the gods, ye gods and goddesses issued from Nu, Sebek of Shet, Sebek in all his manifold names, in all the abodes where his ka likes to be; ye gods of the South and of the North, ye gods in heaven and on earth, grant a pure garment to the mighty Chu N. ; give him to be glorious by it and destroy all that was wrong in him