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ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, 20, HANOVER SQUARE, W.,

AND

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER AND CO.

1893. M

LONDON:

PRINTED BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE,

PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY.

EGYPTIAN PAPYRUS LITERATURE AS

ILLUSTRATED BY RECENT DIS

COVERIES:

III. THE FICTION AND FABLES OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE AND THEIR SURVIVALS IN OTHER PRIMITIVE FOLK-LORE.

BY JOSEPH OFFORD, JUNIOR,
Member of the Society of Biblical Archæology.

[Read November 27, 1889.]

THE year 1852 is an epoch of importance in the study of Papyri as marking the date when the discovery was made that they contained remnants of a lighter literature, representing the favourite fictions and folk-lore of the Egyptians. The story, of which a résumé was then published by M. de Rougé from a manuscript known as the D'Orbiney Papyrus,1 was the now familiar Tale of Two Brothers, so remarkable for the close analogy of one portion. of the narrative with the account of Joseph's temptation in Potiphar's house. It has been repeatedly edited2 and translated, and can be found in Records of the Past, vol. ii.

This document is extremely old, and describes itself as having belonged to Seti II when Prince Seti Menephtah. It was written by a scribe named

1 Select Papyri in the British Museum, vol. ii, plates 9–19.

2 Maspero, Le Conte de deux Frères. [Rev. Arch., March, 1878.]

VOL. XV.

B

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