Legends of the Gods
The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations
by E. A. Wallis Budge
1912
Fully Illustrated - 328 pages
Preface
The welcome which has been accorded to the volumes
of this Series, and the fact that some of them have passed into second
and third editions, suggest that these little books have been found
useful by beginners in Egyptology and others. Hitherto the object of
them has been to supply information about the Religion, Magic,
Language, and History of the ancient Egyptians, and to provide editions
of the original texts from which such information was derived. There
are, however, many branches of Egyptology which need treatment in a
similar manner in this Series, and it has been suggested in many
quarters that the time has now arrived when the publication of a series
of groups of texts illustrating Egyptian Literature in general might
well be begun. Seeing that nothing is known about the authors of
Egyptian works, not even their names, it is impossible to write a
History of Egyptian Literature in the ordinary sense of the word. The
only thing to be done is to print the actual works in the best and most
complete form possible, with translations, and then to put them in the
hands of the reader and leave them to his judgment.
With this object in view, it has been decided to
publish in the Series several volumes which shall be devoted to the
reproduction in hieroglyphic type of the best and most typical examples
of the various kinds of Egyptian Literature, with English translations,
on a much larger scale than was possible in my "First Steps in
Egyptian" or in my "Egyptian Reading Book." These volumes are intended
to serve a double purpose, i.e., to supply the beginner in Egyptian
with new material and a series of reading books, and to provide the
general reader with translations of Egyptian works in a handy form.
The Egyptian texts, whether the originals be written
in hieroglyphic or hieratic characters, are here printed in
hieroglyphic type, and are arranged with English translations, page for
page. They are printed as they are written in the original documents,
i.e., the words are not divided. The beginner will find the practice of
dividing the words for himself most useful in acquiring facility of
reading and understanding the language. The translations are as literal
as can reasonably be expected, and, as a whole, I believe that they
mean what the original writers intended to say. In the case of passages
where the text is corrupt, and readings are mixed, or where very rare
words occur, or where words are omitted, the renderings given claim to
be nothing more than suggestions as to their meanings. It must be
remembered that the exact meanings of many Egyptian words have still to
be ascertained, and that the ancient Egyptian scribes were as much
puzzled as we are by some of the texts which they copied, and that
owing to carelessness, ignorance, or weariness, or all three, they made
blunders which the modern student is unable to correct. In the
Introduction will be found brief descriptions of the contents of the
Egyptian texts, in which their general bearing and importance are
indicated, and references given to authoritative editions of texts and
translations.
E. A. Wallis Budge.
British Museum,
November 17,1911.
This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 30 September, 2008.
