{"product_id":"2940015064773","title":"LEGENDS OF THE GODS","description":"PREFACE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe welcome which has been accorded to the volumes of this Series, and\u003cbr\u003ethe fact that some of them have passed into second and third editions,\u003cbr\u003esuggest that these little books have been found useful by beginners in\u003cbr\u003eEgyptology and others.  Hitherto the object of them has been to supply\u003cbr\u003einformation about the Religion, Magic, Language, and History of the\u003cbr\u003eancient Egyptians, and to provide editions of the original texts from\u003cbr\u003ewhich such information was derived.  There are, however, many branches\u003cbr\u003eof Egyptology which need treatment in a similar manner in this Series,\u003cbr\u003eand it has been suggested in many quarters that the time has now\u003cbr\u003earrived when the publication of a series of groups of texts\u003cbr\u003eillustrating Egyptian Literature in general might well be begun.\u003cbr\u003eSeeing that nothing is known about the authors of Egyptian works, not\u003cbr\u003eeven their names, it is impossible to write a History of Egyptian\u003cbr\u003eLiterature in the ordinary sense of the word.  The only thing to be\u003cbr\u003edone is to print the actual works in the best and most complete form\u003cbr\u003epossible, with translations, and then to put them in the hands of the\u003cbr\u003ereader and leave them to his judgment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith this object in view, it has been decided to publish in the Series\u003cbr\u003eseveral volumes which shall be devoted to the reproduction in\u003cbr\u003ehieroglyphic type of the best and most typical examples of the various\u003cbr\u003ekinds of Egyptian Literature, with English translations, on a much\u003cbr\u003elarger scale than was possible in my \"First Steps in Egyptian\" or in my\u003cbr\u003e\"Egyptian Reading Book.\"  These volumes are intended to serve a double\u003cbr\u003epurpose, i.e., to supply the beginner in Egyptian with new material and\u003cbr\u003ea series of reading books, and to provide the general reader with\u003cbr\u003etranslations of Egyptian works in a handy form.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Egyptian texts, whether the originals be written in hieroglyphic or\u003cbr\u003ehieratic characters, are here printed in hieroglyphic type, and are\u003cbr\u003earranged with English translations, page for page.  They are printed as\u003cbr\u003ethey are written in the original documents, i.e., the words are not\u003cbr\u003edivided.  The beginner will find the practice of dividing the words for\u003cbr\u003ehimself most useful in acquiring facility of reading and understanding\u003cbr\u003ethe language.  The translations are as literal as can reasonably be\u003cbr\u003eexpected, and, as a whole, I believe that they mean what the original\u003cbr\u003ewriters intended to say.  In the case of passages where the text is\u003cbr\u003ecorrupt, and readings are mixed, or where very rare words occur, or\u003cbr\u003ewhere words are omitted, the renderings given claim to be nothing more\u003cbr\u003ethan suggestions as to their meanings.  It must be remembered that the\u003cbr\u003eexact meanings of many Egyptian words have still to be ascertained, and\u003cbr\u003ethat the ancient Egyptian scribes were as much puzzled as we are by\u003cbr\u003esome of the texts which they copied, and that owing to carelessness,\u003cbr\u003eignorance, or weariness, or all three, they made blunders which the\u003cbr\u003emodern student is unable to correct.  In the Introduction will be found\u003cbr\u003ebrief descriptions of the contents of the Egyptian texts, in which\u003cbr\u003etheir general bearing and importance are indicated, and references\u003cbr\u003egiven to authoritative editions of texts and translations.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47074226438384,"sku":"2940015064773","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015064773","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}