Utterances 273–274 — The Cannibal Hymn

1The sky pours water; the stars darken; the celestial expanses stagger; the bones of the earth-god tremble. Those who minister are stilled when they see the King rising as a power — a god who lives on his fathers, who feeds on his mothers.

2The King is the lord of cunning. His own mother does not know his name. His glory is in the sky. His power is in the horizon. He stands like Atum, the father who begot him; and though he begot him, he is mightier than him.

3The kas of the King are about him. His guardian-spirits are under his feet. His gods are over him. His uraei are upon his brow.

4Behold — the King takes his place at the head. Behold — the King rules over those who are made firm. Behold — the King rises in his might.

5The King is one who eats men, who lives on the gods. He is one who has messengers to send. He is one who has commissioners to dispatch.

6It is Khonsu — slaughterer of lords — who slits their throats for the King and tears out for him what is in their bodies. It is Shesemu who carves them up for the King and cooks for him a portion of them in his evening kettles.

7The King eats their magic; he swallows their souls. Their great ones are for his morning meal; their middle-sized ones are for his evening meal; their little ones are for his night meal; and their old men and old women are fuel for his fire.

8The great ones in the northern sky kindle for him the fire to the kettles that contain them. The thighs of their elders are for him. The chiefs of the sky throw to him things which serve as fuel.

9Their magic is in his belly. Their dignities do not depart from him. He has swallowed the intelligence of every god. The King has eaten the Red One; he has swallowed the Green One.

10His lifetime is eternity. His limit is everlastingness. Behold — what they have done to others is what is done to them. The King takes their hearts of hearts. The King is the great strong one.