Theme
11:22pm December 3, 2010

How splendid you ferry the skyways,
Horus of Twin Horizons,
The needs of each new day
firm in your timeless pattern,
Who fashion the years,
weave months into order —
Days, nights, and the very hours
Move to the gait of your striding

Refreshed by your diurnal shining, you quicken,
bright above yesterday,
Making the zone of night sparkle
although you belong to the light,
Sole one awake there
— sleep is for mortals,
Who go to rest grateful:
your eyes oversee.
And theirs by the millions you open
when your face new-rises, beautiful;
Not a bypath escapes your affection
during your season on earth.

— from “The Leiden Hymns”, ancient Egypt, circa 1227 BCE. Translated by John L. Foster, from Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology

Now I’m getting into some of the religious writing, and I particularly love how this part of one of the hymns conveys a sense of awe and wonder.