The times., 1901-06-23
A FAIRY TALE FROM EGYPT.
Legends Written on Papyrus Before
the Christian Era.

In the year 1895 the trustees of the Brit
ish Museum purchased a fine papyrus roll,
written on both sides, the diverse bearing
| series of revenue returns dated in the
II year of the Emperor Claudius, B. c.
46-41 and the reverse a series of magic
tales written in Demotic The latter, with
fine facsimile, have been published by
the Clarendon Press" oxford, accom-
panied with a translation and commen-
tary from the pen of f. l.. Griffith, the
Psychologist
The stories are part Of n series which
centre in a hero named Khamuas, High
Priest of Memphis, the historical original
being the Prince Regent Kha-m-uas. the
son of Rameses II. The writer of these
stories has collected a great quantity Of
folk legends which were current in Egypt
at the time when this manuscript was
written, about A. d. 7O-S0, and the papy-
rus may certainly be described as one of
the richest collections of first century
tales ever discovered.
The stories relate to Khamuas under
the name of Setme. derived from his title
of Sem, priest of Memphis and his son ST.
Osiris. The story of the birth of this
youth is given. He is the miraculous
child of his mother, and his name is re-
vealed to his father in dream-"His
name shall be Si-Osiris (son of Osiris,
for he shall do many fnarvels in Egypt"
we are told that '.he grew big, he grew
strong and went to schooIH and that he
rivaled the scribe who taught him." and
he began to talk with the scribes in the
House of Life (the library of Memphis), in
the Temple of Ptah, and tall the land
wondered at him.
The resemblance between this extract
and the story OF the birth of Christ is
most astonishing, and is still more so
when we read again: Behold the boy ST.
Osiris reached twelve years of age, and
there was no scribe in Memphis that
could equal him in reading or writing or
magic" II in these passages we have
an adaptation of the story of the birth of
Christ. told by the disciples. 1t is GER
tainly, the earliest record known. being
less than twenty years after the intro
duction of Christianity into Egypt by st.
Mark GA. ID. 81. = - zt
The wonder-working youth takes his IA
ther to the regions Of Arnenti or Hades,
and the cycles of the land of death are de-
scribed. Here we have mass of valuable
legendary matter derived from Egyptian
Christian, and Jewish sources The 1uGg-
ment scene differs much from that de-
scribed in the 125th chapter of the Book
of the Dead, and there is woven into
this portion a curious story very like
and Lazarus" The doctrine of future
punishment, not found In the Egyptian
rituals. Is clearly stated in the words:
He that is good upon earth, they are
good TO him in Amenti-he that is evil
upon earth, they are evil TO him"
The latter part of the papyrus contains
the account of the magical contest be-
tween Si-Osiris and the magicianS of
Ethiopia-resembling the traditional con-
test between Moses and James and jam
bres. Here we have two errio1s echoes
of the plaques of Egypt. The magicians
said TO his mother, the Negress, as a
sign: when thou shalt eat and drink thy
water shall be the color of blood. and the
floods shall turn to the color of blood. and
the heaven shall be the color of blood
Here we have certainly the echo OF the
first plague Exodus, VII. 49,. So, also, in
another passage is the plague of dark
ness preserved. One of the magicians,
who is in prison, says: u would cast my
spell upon Egypt. and I will cause the
people of Egypt to pass three days and
three nights without seeing light" words
which certainly resemble those of the
plague of darkness Exodus. X, ~.
The treasures of this curious document
are not exhausted, for here we have also
the story of Moses and the bullrushes, for
one mai agiciGn rebukes the other with the
words: Arr thou not Hor, the son of the
Negress. wnom / saved in rrIe reeds of
Raj" The manuscript contains many
more valuable gleanings from the tradi-
tions current in Egypt in the first centu-
ry of our era, a period when Alexandra
was the emporium of the literary wares
Of all the known world. This valuable
papyrus is but an earnest of what we
Fayoum and Lower Egypt are explored
r1