The Tale of Sinuhe

The Tale of Sinuhe

As told by Adolf Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt. London: Macmillan, 1894. The tale reflects the royal court of Egypt of the 20th century B.C.E. and is one of the gems of Egyptian literature.

. . . the other story has less the character of a romance, -- it describes the fate of an exile amongst the Syrian Beduins. The tale is simple and homely, there is nothing remarkable in the contents, and the fame that the book enjoyed for centuries must have been due to the charm of its half poetic style. Sinuhe, a distinguished courtier of King Amenemhe't I., accompanied the heir and co-regent of this king in an expedition against the Libyans; in the meantime the old king died; the news of his death reached the camp, and Sinuhe, whose life--we know not why--was endangered by this circumstance, immediately took to flight. He escaped safely to the eastern frontier of Egypt, but it was dangerous to pass this frontier, because it was fortified by defences -- "the princely wall erected for defence against the Beduins." " I then crouched down in the bushes," so he relates, " for fear that the watchmen on the roof of the tower should see me. I went on by night, and by daybreak I reached the country of Peten. When I approached the lake Qem-uer (evidently one of the Bitter Lakes) thirst seized me -- and my throat burned. Then I said: ' This is the taste of death.' (All at once) my heart revived, I roused myself: I heard the lowing of a herd. I caught sight of an Asiatic. . . . He gave me water, and I boiled myself some milk. Then I went with him to his people ... and one tribe passed rne on to the next.... I left Beht (?) and came to Qedem, and spent a year and a half there. Then 'Amu-'en-sh'e, the prince of the upper land of Tenu, took me to him and said to me: ' Remain with me, then shalt thou hear something of Egypt.' He said that because he knew who I was; he had heard of my velour, and the Egyptians who were with him testified of the same. Then he said further to me: 'Why hast thou come hither ? What has happened ? Something must have happened at the court of King Amenemhe't, who has gone to heaven, without its being known moreover what had happened.' I answered: 'That is false."' Then Sinuhe launches forth in long eulogies of the late and of the reigning king, and of their great power against all countries and hints (if I rightly understand) to the barbarians, that it would be well for them to secure him as a mediator for future occasions, for King Usertsen would probably carry his arms into this part of the country again. This seemed good to the Beduin, and he kept Sinuhe to live with him. " He placed me," relates our hero, " at the head of his children, and married me to his eldest daughter. He let me choose from amongst his lands, from amongst his choicest possessions on the frontier of another country This was the beautiful country of 'Eaa; figs and vines grew there, there were many sorts of wine and it was rich in honey, its olive trees were plentiful, and all kinds of fruits grew on its trees. There was corn there, and barley, and herds without number. And there was yet more that happened to me from love to me (?), for he made me prince of a tribe of his country. Then I had as much bread as I wanted, and wine for every day, boiled meat and roast goose, irrespective of the game of the country that I caught and carried off as spoil, and irrespective of what my greyhounds brought me. . . . Thus I spent many years, and my children became heroes, each the protector of his adopted tribe. The messenger who came from the court or went thither stayed with me, I gave hospitality to every one, and I gave water to the thirsty." . . . Opportunities for warlike deeds were also not lacking in the country of Tenu, -- "I subdued each people against whom I marched, I drove them from their pastures and from their wells. I captured their cattle, and carried off their children; I robbed them of their food; I killed their people with my sword, with my bow, with my marches with my wise designs.... A hero of Tenu came and challenged (?) me in my tent. He was a daring man (?) he had no equal, he had subdued everybody. He said: 'Let him fight with me'; he thought (?) he would slay me, he imagined he would carry off my cattle...." After much speaking, in which e.g. the warriors are compared to bulls who are fighting for their cows, it comes at last really to a hand-to-hand fight: " I shot at him, and my weapon stuck in his neck; he cried out, he fell on his nose." The victory was decisive, and "all the Beduins cried out. Then I took away his possessions, I carried off his cattle; what he thought to have done to me, that did I to him."
   Life amongst the Beduins however did not content this distinguished Egyptian for ever; as he grew old and felt his end approaching, he could bear it no longer, and wrote a piteous letter to the king, praying for the favour of the monarch and of his consort. The second half of the book relates to us how graciously the king answered, and the graceful reply of Sinuhe to this royal command; next, how a messenger was sent to fetch him, how he bequeathed his property to his children, how at the court he besought the king for favour, and how the royal children interceded for him. All this account gives the author ample opportunity to show himself a master of fine language. We will leave these high-flown and rather obscure sentences, and consider the conclusion: " His Majesty said . 'Let him not be afraid . . . he shall be a friend amongst the princes, and he shall be received amongst the courtiers. Go to the chamber of adoration in order to show him his rank.' When they now came out of the chamber the royal children gave him their hands, and they then went to the great double outer hall. He was received into a house in which an honourable son of the king dwelt." . . . There servants attended to his toilet, and " they caused the age of his body to pass away." His hair was brought into order, and fine robes were put upon him: he " forsook the vermin of the desert and the (rough) clothes of the Beduins." He was anointed with the finest oil, and laid to rest on a beautiful couch. A new house was erected for him, and " three times and four times in the day food was brought to him, irrespective of that which the royal children gave him unceasingly." Then the royal artisans and architects built him a tomb, " a pyramid of stone amongst the pyramids," which was furnished with all that was necessary. Sinuhe closes his story as follows: " Thus my life is crowned with the rewards of the king, till the day shall come for me to go hence."
   It stands to reason that for the educated Egyptian the charm of the above story lay rather in the elegance of its language than in its contents merely; the long letters and speeches, which continually interrupt the narrative, and in which one thought is wearisomely played upon and spun out, were evidently considered the chief value of the book. (369-72)