and the reptile destroyed the dweller among the cedars. And the mighty
god opened his mouth, and the cry of His Majesty (life, strength,
health!) reached unto the heavens, and the company of the gods said,
"What is it?" and his gods said, "What is the matter?" And the god
found [no words] wherewith to answer concerning himself. His jaws
shook, his lips trembled, and the poison took possession of all his
flesh just as Hapi (i.e., the Nile) taketh possession of the land
through which he floweth. Then the great god made firm his heart
(i.e., took courage) and he cried out to those who were in his
following:--"Come ye unto me, O ye who have come into being from my
members,[FN#67] ye gods who have proceeded from me, for I would make
you to know what hath happened. I have been smitten by some deadly
thing, of which my heart hath no knowledge, and which I have neither
seen with my eyes nor made with my hand; and I have no knowledge at all
who hath done this to me. I have never before felt any pain like unto
it, and no pain can be worse than this [is]. I am a Prince, the son of
a Prince, and the divine emanation which was produced from a god. I am
a Great One, the son of a Great One, and my father hath determined for
me my name. I have multitudes of names, and I have multitudes of
forms, and my being existeth in every god. I have been invoked (or,
proclaimed?) by Temu and Heru-Hekennu. My father and my mother uttered
my name, and [they] hid it in my body at my birth so that none of those
who would use against me words of power might succeed in making their
enchantments have dominion over me.[FN#68] I had come forth from my
tabernacle to look upon that which I had made, and was making my way
through the two lands which I had made, when a blow was aimed at me,
but I know not of what kind. Behold, is it fire? Behold, is it water?
My heart is full of burning fire, my limbs are shivering, and my
members have darting pains in them. Let there be brought unto me my
children the gods, who possess words of magic, whose mouths are cunning