From the "Harper's Song"

The song which is in the tomb-chapel of King-Intef, justified, in front of the singer with the harp:
He is Happy this good prince:
Death is a kindly fate.
A Generation passes,
Another stays,
Since the time of the ancestors.
The gods who were before rest in their tombs,
Blessed nobles too are buried in their tombs.
(Yet) those who built tombs,
Their places are gone,
What has become of them?
I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hardedef,
Whose sayings are recited in whole.
What of their places?
Their walls have crumbled,
Their places are gone,
As though they had never been!
None comes from there,
To tell of their needs,
To calm our hearts,
Until we go where they have gone!

Hence rejoice in your heart!
Forgetfulness profits you,
Follow your heart as long as you live!
Put myrrh on your head,
Dress in fine linen,
Anoint yourself with oils fit for a god,
Heap up your joys,
Let your heart not sink!
Follow your heart and your happiness,
Do your things on earth as your heart commands!
When there comes to you that day of mourning,
the Weary-hearted (Osiris) hears not their mourning,
Wailing saves no man from the pit!

Make holiday,
Do not weary of it!
Lo, none is allowed to take his goods with him,
Lo, none who departs comes back again! (Khurt 172)

I find the above passage odd for two reasons. Firstly, the mentioning of Imhotep's tomb being destroyed and being as though it never existed. Secondly, and I find this most odd, is the author's insistence that you can't take anything with you to the afterlife. As all of you know, this is quite contradictory to Egyptian practices and other literature on the subject.

Comments?

Khurt, Amelie. The Ancient Near East, Vol 1. London: Routledge, 2003.