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First I shall praise the Two Lands themselves, the cradle of the gods, the birthplace of justice and fine laws, rich in cities and temples and monuments to the blessed dead. Yea, all stand in wonder of her, for in all the world there is no land more pious than Egypt! And she rewards her people’s piety with thick fields of golden corn and orchards of grapes and figs and every fruit that delights a man’s mouth. The just man in Egypt will never go hungry: she will provide him with bread for his belly and meat to feed his children, and there will be so much abundance from her that he can sell the extra yield of his crops to gain great wealth. Truly have wise men spoken of Egypt as both Mother and Nurse! But Egypt would be barren were it not for Neilos, who of old was called Hapi, most kind and blessed of all the gods. Some say that his skin is green, like the leaves of the trees that he nourishes, and others that it is black like the rich silt he carries deep within him, bringing it as an offering to fertilize Egypt’s banks. There is always a smile upon his lips and his breasts are heavy with the source of life. He is holy, three times holy, so that anything that touches him becomes holy itself. Nothing may contain great Neilos; he bursts his chains and rushes forth, cutting a swath through rock ledges and burrowing deep beneath the earth, only to rise up in triumph and swallow all who would impede him. His course is set; he travels wide over the earth, and under it, and through the very heavens themselves, that the gods may sail along him in their shining barques. No man knows his source, for he is the source from which all things come, the primal waters of eternity, the begetter of all the gods and goddesses who ever were. |
