As the sunlight brightens the Nile, Peseshet checks her supplies.

當陽光照亮了尼羅河，古埃及的女醫檢查她的物資。

Honey.

蜂蜜。

Garlic.

大蒜。

Cumin.

小茴香子。

Acacia leaves.

洋槐葉。

Cedar oil.

香柏油。

She's well stocked with the essentials she needs to treat her patients.

她要治療病人的材料已準備充分。

Peseshet is a swnw, or a doctor.

Pesseshet 是個行醫的祭師或是醫生

In order to become one, she had to train as a scribe and study the medical papyri stored at the Per Ankh, the House of Life.

為了成為一名 Pesseshet，她需要先作為記錄官接受訓練，學習生命之屋在 Per Ankh 中紙莎草紙上記錄的醫學知識。

Now, she teaches her own students there.

現在，她在那裡教授自己的學生。

Before teaching, Peseshet has a patient to see.

但在開課以前，女醫得去看位病人。

One of the workers at the temple construction site has injured his arm.

神廟建築工地的一個工人弄傷了自己的手臂。

When Peseshet arrives, the laborer's arm is clearly broken.

當女醫到達時，工人的手臂明顯是骨折了。

And worse, the fracture is a sed, with multiple bone fragments.

更糟的是，裡面的骨頭遂成數個骨頭碎片。

Peseshet binds and immobilizes the injury.

女醫綑綁了傷口並固定住它。

Her next stop is the House of Life.

她下一步將前往生命之屋。

On her way, a woman intercepts Peseshet in the street.

途中，一名婦人在街上叫住了女醫。

The woman's son has been stung by a scorpion.

她的兒子被蠍子螫到了。

Peseshet has seen many similar stings and knows exactly what to do.

女醫見過了無數個類似的螫傷，而她清楚的知道該如何處理。

She must say an incantation to cast the poison out.

她必須念一道咒語去把毒液排出。

She begins to recite the spell, invoking Serqet, patron of physicians and goddess of venomous creatures.

她開始念誦咒語，召喚醫生庇佑者、毒物之神的塞爾凱特。

Peseshet recites the spell as if she is Serqet.

女醫念誦著咒語，宛如自己就是賽爾凱特。

This commanding approach has the greatest chance at success.

這充滿威嚴的方法有極大的成功率。

After she utters the last line, she tries to cut the poison out with a knife for good measure.

在她唸完最後一行咒語，她試著用刀劃開傷口讓毒液流出。

Peseshet packs up to leave, but the woman has another question.

女醫整裝離開，但是婦人還有另一個問題。

She wants to find out if she is pregnant.

她想知道自己是否懷孕了。

Peseshet explains her fail-safe pregnancy test.

女醫告訴她一種安全的驗孕方法。

Plant two seeds: one barley, one emmer.

種下兩種種子：一顆大麥，一個小麥。

Then, urinate on the seeds every day.

接著，每天用尿液澆在上面。

If the plants grow, she's pregnant.

如果種子發芽了，那麼她就懷孕了。

A barley seedling predicts a baby boy, while emmer foretells a girl.

大麥預言著一個男嬰，而小麥諭示著女嬰。

Peseshet also recommends a prayer to Hathor, goddess of fertility.

女醫也建議向富饒之神哈索爾祈求。

When Peseshet finally arrives at the House of Life, she runs into the doctor-priest Isesi.

當女醫終於抵達生命之屋時，她碰到了祭司醫生伊塞西。

She greets Isesi politely, but she thinks priests are very full of themselves.

她禮貌地向伊塞西打招呼，但是她認為祭師們都太自我中心了。

She doesn't envy Isesi's role as neru pehut, which directly translates to herdsman of the anus to the royal family, or, guardian of the royal anus.

她不會忌妒伊塞西 neru pehut 的職位，這職位直接翻譯為皇家腸胃的牧人，或是皇家腸胃的守護者。

Inside, the House of Life is bustling as usual with scribes, priests, doctors, and students.

生命之屋裡一如往長的熙攘想往，包括記錄官、祭師、醫生、以及學生。

Papyri containing all kinds of records, not just medical information, are stored here.

莎草紙包含其他各類記錄， 並非只是關於醫學的知識儲存在這。

Peseshet's son Akhethetep is hard at work copying documents as part of his training to become a scribe.

女醫的兒子 Akhethetep 還正在努力抄寫文件，這是要成為記錄官所要接受的培訓之一。

He's a particularly promising student, but he was admitted to study because Peseshet is a scribe, as was her father before her.

他是個前途有望的學生，但是他被允許學習是因為母親帕瑟珊是一名記錄官，而她的父親也曾任該職。

Without family in the profession, it's very difficult for boys, and impossible for girls, to pursue this education.

若沒有家人擔任高官，接受教育對於男性來說是非常困難的，對於女性更是不可能。

Peseshet oversees all the female swnws and swnws-in-training in Memphis.

Peseshet 管理著孟斐斯所有女醫和正接受培訓的女學生。

The men have their own overseer, as the male doctors won't answer to a woman.

男性醫師則有其他監理人員，因為他們不會回答女性提出的問題。

Today, Peseshet teaches anatomy.

今天，女醫教的是解剖學。

She quizzes her students on the metu, the body's vessels that transport blood, air, urine, and even bad spirits.

她對學生進行提問，問題是關於身體中運輸血液、空氣、尿液，和不良精神的通道。

Peseshet is preparing to leave when a pale, thin woman accosts her at the door and begs to be examined.

女醫正準備離開時，一名蒼白瘦弱的婦人上前乞求看診。

The woman has a huge, sore lump under her arm.

這名婦人的手臂上長了一個大大的腫塊。

Peseshet probes the growth and finds it cool to the touch and hard like an unripe hemat fruit.

女醫進行了檢查，發現腫塊摸起來是涼的，堅硬地像一個尚未熟透的血腫果實。

She has read about ailments like this, but never seen one.

他曾讀過這類徵狀，但卻從未親眼見過一個。

For this tumor there is no treatment, medicine or spell.

沒有任何藥物或咒語可以治癒這個腫瘤。

All the texts give the same advice: do nothing.

所有的文字記載都給出同樣的建議：什麼都別做。

After delivering the bad news, Peseshet goes outside.

在告知他這個壞消息後，女醫便走出大門。

She lingers on the steps of the House of Life, admiring the city at dusk.

他在生命之屋的台階上逗留，欣賞著黃昏時分的城市。

In spite of all her hard work, there will always be patients she can't help, like the woman with the tumor.

雖然他努力工作著，但是，總會有他無能為力的病人，就像這個有腫瘤的婦女。

They linger with her, but Peseshet has no time to dwell.

這些人在他腦中揮之不去，但女醫沒有時間逗留。

In a few short weeks, the Nile's annual flooding will begin, bringing life to the soil for the next year's harvest and a whole new crop of patients.

因為再過幾週，尼羅河每年的氾濫就會開始，為土壤帶來生命並孕育來年的豐收，同時也會帶來大批的病患。