Although he had other children ( see AET_4.52 ), the death of his eldest son obviously made a deep impression on Petosiris, and the inscription that he put in the entrance to his tomb is one of the most eloquent laments for premature death that has survived from ancient Egypt.
The translation is taken from M. Lichtheim, "Ancient Egyptian Literature", vol. 3, pp.52-54.
Speech of the Osiris, the Great one of the Five, the master of the holy seats, Thothrekh, justified, son of the Great one of the Five, the master of the holy seats, the priest Petosiris, the revered, born of the lady Nefer-renpet:
O you who are alive on earth,
Who shall come here to this desert,
All who come to offer in this graveyard:
Pronounce my name with abundant libation,
Thoth will favour you for it!
It is rewarding to act for him who cannot act,
Thoth will requite the deed of him who acts for me!
[He who praises my ka], his ka will be praised,
He who harms me, [harm] will be done [to him],
I am a man whose name should be pronounced!
Who hears my speech, his heart will grieve for it,
For I am a small child snatched by force,
Abridged in years as an innocent one,
Snatched quickly as a little one,
Like a man carried off by sleep.
I was a youngster of . . . years,
When taken to the city of eternity,
To the abode of the perfect souls;
I therefore reached the Lord of Gods,
Without having had my share.
I was rich in friends,
All the men of my town,
Not one of them could protect me!
5 All the town's people, men and women,
Lamented very greatly,
Because they saw what happened to me,
For they esteemed me much.
All my friends mourned for me,
Father and Mother implored Death;
My brothers, they were head-on-knee;
Since I reached this land of deprivation.
When people were reckoned before the Lord of Gods,
No fault of mine was found;
I received bread in the Hall of the Two Truths,
Water from the sycamore as one of the perfect souls.
You shall last in life, you shall follow Sokar,
You shall see the face of [Rê] in the morning,
10 On the New Year's feast when he rises
In the great house of the temple of Khmun;
You shall follow Thoth,
On that beautiful day of the start of Inundation,
You shall hear the jubilation in the temple of Khmun,
When the Golden One appears to show her love,
If you say whenever you come to this desert:
"May your ka have all good things,
Little child whose time passed so quickly,
He could not follow his heart on earth!"
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