Mar. 6] PROCEEDINGS. [1894.
not (?). An ox was slaughtered with ( = in addition to) my provi
sions. When(?) I arose (lit. raised feet)to go forth, I was praised
at court and beloved in the palace. I had offices assignedto me at
court,namely(thoseof) Overseer of the prophets and Chief dmi'xnt-
priest in Abydos. Eachof my posts was distinguished beyond
(thoseof) my fathers that were before. His majesty allowedme to
slaughteroxenin the temple of Osiris x"**'' amntiu, in Abydos of the
Thinitenome; and I went forthoverthe hides there,owingto the
greatness (of the favour) withwhich his majesty favoured me,
beyondeverynoble thathad been theresinceits origin (i.e., the
temple's); (my) statueshavingbeen placedin the temple, in the
serviceof the "Great God";(his majesty?) establishingfor them
meat-offerings(?) and endowing theirbread-offeringsin writing."
We may infer, therefore,thatthe skins usedin this Abydos rite
werethoseof the oxen previouslysacrificed.
M. Lefébure writes; " La question seraitde savoir si, d'apres le
contexte,la stele parled'unsacrificefait pendant la vie ou apres la
mortdu personnage. Si c'est de son vivant, il a 6t6 son propre
k „ , ou approchant* Cetteceremoniese compliquait certaine-ment d'un sacrifice humain, reel ou fictif. Dans le tombeau de
Mentuherkhepeshf,les deux etrangersa immoler sontenveloppéset
couchesa terre, ce a quoi fait sans doute allusion une statuedu
Louvre(A. 6S,) ^.^t^S^'Dtfkfffltf ..-..-dispos<-
wwwwww \ I c^ti- I J>
l'enveloppede l'impie (mis)sousles pieds." A Philae, Osirisn'est
pas decapite" dansTanen; ~" w It 1 1 ^zz^, -^z^,*~
Q 1 A.A. (Benddite,Phila.I, 41,) tandis que Sineh a des ^© 3\ *$ a l'entrde de sa tombe (Pap.de Berlin I, I. 195)."
It certainly wouldappearthat the sacrifice had taken place,with
the rest of the incidents related,duringthe speaker's life. Yet the
statements of such inscriptionsmight easilymislead us, at first
sight,uponthese points. Theotherstele,for example, which the
samepersondedicatedand which is now in Leyden,t employsmany
expressionsthatwould be held to refer to one already dead,—
- M. Letebure refersto the description of these ritesin Mhns. de la Mission
V, 439 ft* (Tomb ot Mittufyr x. if.)
t V.
133