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228

THE ROSETTA STONE.

TRANSLATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC TEXT OF THE
DECREE OF THE PRIESTS OF MEMPHIS, AS FOUND
ON THE ROSETTA STONE1 AND ON THE STELE OF
DAMANHÛR. THE DECREE WAS PROMULGATED

IN THE 9TH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF PTOLEMY V.
EPIPHANES.

1. On the twenty-fourth day of the month GORPIAIOS
which correspondeth to the twenty-fourth day of the
fourth month of the season PERTS of the inhabitants
of TA-MERT (EGYPT), in the twenty-third year of
the reign of HORUS-RA the CHILD, who hath risen as
King upon the throne of his father, the lord of the
shrines of NEKHEBET and UATCHET, the mighty
one of two-fold strength, the stablisher of the Two
Lands, the beautifier of

2. Egypt, whose heart is perfect (or benevolent) towards the gods, the HORUS of Gold, who maketh perfect the life of the hamemet beings, the lord of the thirtyyear festivals like PTAḤ, the sovereign prince like RA, the King of the South and North, Neterui

merui-ȧtui-ȧua-setep-en-Ptaḥ-usr-ka-Ra-ankh-sekhem

Amen6, the Son of the Sun (Ptolemy, the ever

1 The words in brackets are added either from the Stele of Damanhur or for the purpose of making sense.

2 A part of March and April.

3 Part of our Spring.

4 The shrine of the vulture goddess Nekhebet was in Upper Egypt. More fully, Per-Uatchet; the shrine of the snake goddess was in

the Delta.

6 A name meaning "The two Father-loving Gods, the heir, chosen of Ptaḥ, strength of the double of Ra, living power of Amen."

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Father-loving gods; when PTOLEMY, the son of
PYRRHIDES, was priest of ALEXANDER, and of the
Saviour-Gods, and of the Brother-loving Gods, and
of the Beneficent Gods,

4. and of the Father-loving Gods, and of the God who maketh himself manifest; when DEMETRIA, the daughter of Telemachus, was bearer of the

5. prize of victory of BERENICE, the Beneficent Goddess; and when ARSINOË, the daughter of CADMUS, was the Basket Bearer of ARSINOË, the Brother-loving Goddess;

6. when IRENE, the daughter of PTOLEMY, was the Priestess of ARSINOË, the Father-loving Goddess; on this day the superintendents of the temples, and the servants of the god, and those who are over the secret things of the god, and the libationers [who] go into the most holy place to array the gods in their apparel,

7. and the scribes of the holy writings, and the sages of the Double House of Life, and the other libationers [who] had come from the sanctuaries of the South and the North to MEMPHIS, on the day of the festival, whereon

8. His Majesty, the King of the South and North

PTOLEMY, the ever-living, the beloved of Ptaḥ, the god who maketh himself manifest, the lord of beauties, received the sovereignty from his father,

9.

10.

II.

12.

entered into the SEHETCH-CHAMBER, wherein they were wont to assemble, in MAKHA-TAUI', and behold they declared thus:

:

Inasmuch as the King who is beloved by the gods, "the King of the South and North Neterui-merui

"ȧtui ȧua-en-Ptah-setep-en-usr-ka Rā ānkh-sekhem

« Àmen),

the Son of the Sun Ptolemy, the ever

living, beloved of Ptaḥ the God who maketh "himself manifest, the lord of beauties, hath given

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things of all kinds in very large quantities unto the "lands of Horus and unto all

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"those who dwell in them, and unto each and every one who holdeth any dignity whatsoever in them, — now behold, he is like unto a God, being the son "of a God [and] he was given by a Goddess, for "he is the counterpart of Horus, the son of Isis [and] the son of Osiris, the avenger of his father "Osiris-and behold, His Majesty.

possessed a divine heart which was beneficent "towards the gods; and he hath given gold in "large quantities, and grain in large quantities to the temples and he hath given very many lavish gifts "in order to make Ta-Mert [Egypt] prosperous, and

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to make stable [her] advancement;

"and he hath given unto the soldiers who are in his august service.

1 Makha-taui

according to their rank;

i.e., "the balance of

the two lands," was the name of the place where Lower Egypt ended, and Upper Egypt began, when travelling to the South.

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