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Title: Egyptian Book of the dead
Author: Naville, E., Renouf, P. le Page
Language: English
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THE EGYPTIAN
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY,
BY THE LATE
SIR P. LE PAGE RENOUF, KNT.
CONTINUED AND COMPLETED BY
PROF. E. NAVILLE, _D.C.L., &c., &c.,_
_Professor of Egyptology at the University of Geneva._
_WITH VIGNETTES AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS._
PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR
THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHÆOLOGY,
37, GREAT RUSSELL STREET, BLOOMSBURY,
LONDON, 1904.
LONDON:
HARRISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY,
ST. MARTIN’S LANE.
TO
LADY RENOUF
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EXPRESSED WISH OF
HER LATE HUSBAND
SIR PETER LE PAGE RENOUF.
INDEX
TO THE
CHAPTERS
AND REFERENCES
TO THE
VIGNETTES.
CHAPTERS. │ VIGNETTES.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────
I. _The Beginning of the Chapters of pages│ Plates I, II.
Coming forth by Day, of the Words 1, 2│
which bring about Resurrection and │
Glory, and of Coming out of and │
entering into Amenta. Said upon the │
Day of Burial of_ N, _the │
Victorious, who entereth after │
coming forth. Here is_ N _the │
victorious. He saith_— │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
II. _Chapter for Coming forth by day and 11, 12│ No Vignettes.
Living after death._ │
III. _Another Chapter like it._ 12│ ”
IV. _Another Chapter, for travelling on 13│ ”
the road which is above the earth._ │
V. _Chapter whereby work may not be 13│ ”
imposed [upon a person] in the │
Netherworld._ │
VI. _Chapter whereby the funereal 15, 16│ ”
Statuettes may be made to do work │
for a person in the Netherworld._ │
VII. _Chapter of passing through the chine 16│ ”
of Apepi which is void._ │
VIII. _Chapter of opening the Tuat by day._ 17│ ”
IX. _Chapter for opening the Tuat._ 18│ ”
X. _Chapter for coming forth 19│ ”
victoriously._ │
XI. _Chapter for coming out against the 19│ ”
adversary in the Netherworld._ │
XII. _Chapter for entering and for coming 20│ ”
forth out of the Netherworld._ │
XIII. _Chapter for entering after coming 20│ ”
out from Amenta._ │
XIV. _Chapter for removing displeasure 21│ ”
from the heart of the god against │
the deceased person._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XV. HYMN I.—_A Hymn to Râ at his rising._ 22–25│ III, X, XV.
[LITANY].—_Adored be Râ as he setteth 25, 26│
in the Land of Life._ │
HYMN II.—_A Hymn to Râ at his 26, 27│
setting._ │
HYMN III.—_A Hymn to Tmu at his 27, 28│
setting._ │
XVI. . . . . . . . . . . 34│ IV, V.
XVII. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 35 40│ VI, VII.
day out of the Netherworld. Let the │
words be said_: │
XVIII. _A Litany to Thoth._ 50–53│ VIII, IX.
XIX. _Chapter of the Crown of Triumph._ 57, 58│ IX.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XX. _Another Chapter of the Crown of 59│ No Vignettes.
Triumph._ │
XXI. _Chapter whereby the Mouth of a 60│ ”
person is given to him in the │
Netherworld._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XXII. _Another Chapter whereby the Mouth of 61│ X, XI.
a person is given to him in the │
Netherworld._ │
XXIII. _Chapter whereby the Mouth of a 62│ X, XI.
person is opened for him in the │
Netherworld._ │
XXIV. _Chapter whereby the Words of Power 63, 64│ X.
are brought to a person in the │
Netherworld._ │
XXV. _Chapter whereby a person remembereth 66│_No Vignettes._
his name in the Netherworld._ │
XXVI. _Chapter whereby the Heart is given 66│ XII.
to a person in the Netherworld._ │
XXVII. _Chapter whereby the Heart of a 69│ XI.
person is not taken from him in the │
Netherworld._ │
XXVIII. _Chapter whereby the Heart of a 70, 71│ XII.
person is not taken from him in the │
Netherworld._ │
XXIX. _Chapter whereby the Heart of a 72│ XII.
person may not be taken from him in │
the Netherworld._ │
XXIXB. _Another Chapter of the Heart; upon 73│_No Vignettes._
Carnelian._ │
XXXA. _Chapter whereby the Heart of a 74│ XII.
person is not kept back from him in │
the Netherworld._ │
XXXB. 75│_No Vignettes._
XXXI. _Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are 77│ XII.
repulsed who come to carry off the │
Words of Power from a person in the │
Netherworld._ │
XXXII. _Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are 78, 79│_No Vignettes._
repulsed who come to carry off the │
Words of Power from the glorified │
in the Netherworld._ │
XXXIII. _Chapter whereby all Serpents are 81│ XII.
kept back._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XXXIV. _Chapter whereby a person is not 82│ No Vignettes.
devoured by the dweller in the │
shrine._ │
XXXV. _Chapter whereby the person is not 83│ ”
devoured by a Serpent in the │
Netherworld._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XXXVI. _Chapter whereby the Āpshait is kept 85│ XII, XIII.
back._ │
XXXVII. _Chapter whereby the Merta Goddesses 85│ XIII.
are kept back._ │
XXXVIII. _Chapter whereby one liveth by the 86│ XIII
breath of air in the Netherworld, │
and keepeth back Merta._ │
XXXIX. _Chapter whereby the Serpent Rekrek 87-89│ XIII, XIV.
is repulsed in the Netherworld._ │
XL. _Chapter whereby the Eater of the Ass 91, 92│ XIV.
is kept back._ │
XLI. _Chapter whereby one avoideth the 94│ XV.
Slaughter which is carried out in │
the Netherworld._ │
XLII. _Chapter whereby one hindereth the 95–98│ XVI.
Slaughter which is wrought at │
Sutenhenen._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XLIII. _Chapter whereby the head of a person 101│ No Vignettes.
is not severed from him in the │
Netherworld._ │
XLIV. _Chapter whereby one dieth not a 101│ ”
second time._ │
XLV. _Chapter whereby one escapeth 102│ ”
corruption in the Netherworld._ │
XLVI. _Chapter whereby he that is living is 102│ ”
not destroyed in the Netherworld._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
XLVII. _Chapter whereby the seat of a person 102,│ XV, XVII.
is not taken from him in the 103│
Netherworld._ │
XLVIII (same as X). │
XLIX (same as XI). │
L. _Chapter whereby one cometh not to 103│ XVII.
the divine Block of Execution._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LI. _Chapter whereby one goeth not 104│ No Vignettes.
headlong in the Netherworld._ │
LII. _Chapter whereby one eateth not dirt 105│ ”
in the Netherworld._ │
LIIIA. _Chapter whereby one is not made to 107│ ”
eat dirt, or to drink lye._ │
LIIIB. _Whereby one eateth not dirt._ 107,│ ”
108│
LIV. _Chapter whereby air is given in the 108│ ”
Netherworld._ │
LV. _Another Chapter whereby air is 109│ ”
given._ │
LVI. _Another Chapter of breathing._ 110│ ”
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LVII. _Chapter for breathing air, and 110,│ XVII.
command of water, in the 111│
Netherworld._ │
LVIII. _Chapter for breathing air and 112│ XVII.
command of water._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LIX. _Chapter for breathing air and 113│ No Vignettes.
command of water._ │
LX. _Another Chapter._ 113,│ ”
114│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXI. _Another Chapter._ 114│ XVII.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXII. _Chapter whereby water is drunk in 114,│ No Vignettes.
the Netherworld._ 115│
LXIIIA. _Chapter whereby one is not burnt 115,│ ”
with fire, but drinketh water, in 116│
the Netherworld._ │
LXIIIB. _Chapter whereby one is not boiled in 116│ ”
water._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXIV. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 117–121│ XVII.
day from the Netherworld._ │
LXV. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 127│ XIX.
day and prevaileth over the │
adversaries._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXVI. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 128│ No Vignettes.
day._ │
LXVII. _Chapter whereby the doors of the 128│ ”
Tuat are opened and one cometh │
forth by day._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXVIII. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 129,│ XVIII, XIX.
day._ 130│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXIX. _Otherwise said._ 130,│ No Vignettes.
131│
LXX. _Another Chapter._ 131,│ ”
132│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
LXXI. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 132–134│ XIX.
day._ │
LXXII. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 136,│ XIX, XX.
day and passes through the 137│
Ammehit._ │
LXXIII (same as IX). │ XIX, XX.
LXXIV. _Chapter whereby the legs are set in 138│ XIX, XX.
motion upon earth._ │
LXXV. _Chapter whereby one cometh to 139,│ XXI, numbered
Heliopolis and receiveth a seat 140│ LXXVIII in
there._ │ error.
LXXVI. _Chapter whereby all forms are 140│ XX. same as
assumed which one pleaseth._ │ LXXIII.
LXXVII. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 141│ XXI.
form of the Golden Hawk._ │
LXXVIII. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 142–146│ XXI.
form of the Sacred Hawk._ │
LXXIX. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 147,│ XXI.
form of the Chief god of the Divine 148│
Cycle._ │
LXXX. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 149│_No Vignettes._
form of the god who giveth Light to │
the Darkness._ │
LXXXI. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 150│ XXI, XXII.
form of the Lotus._ │
LXXXII. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 150,│ XXII.
form of Ptah, eateth bread, 151│
drinketh beer, and sitteth in the │
midst of the great gods._ │
LXXXIII. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 151,│ XXII.
form of the Bennu bird._ 152│
LXXXIV. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 152,│ XXII.
form of the Hernshaw._ 153│
LXXXV. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 153,│ XXII.
form of a Soul, that one may not 154│
come to the dungeon. Imperishable │
is he who knoweth it._ │
LXXXVI. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 155│ XXII.
form of the Swallow._ │
LXXXVII. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 157│ XXII, XXIII.
form of Se-ta._ │
LXXXVIII. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 157│ XXIII.
form of the Crocodile god [Sebak]._ │
LXXXIX. _Chapter whereby the Soul is united 157,│ XXIII.
to the dead Body._ 158│
XC. _Chapter whereby Memory is restored 159│ XXIII.
to a person._ │
XCI. _Chapter whereby the Soul is secured 160│_No Vignettes._
from imprisonment in the │
Netherworld._ │
XCII. _Chapter whereby the Tomb is opened 160,│ XXIII, XXIV.
to the Soul and to the Shade of the 161│
person, that he may come forth by │
day and may have mastery of his │
feet._ │
XCIII. _Chapter whereby one avoideth being 162│ XXIV.
conveyed to the East in the │
Netherworld._ │
XCIV. _Chapter whereby one prayeth for a 163│ XXIV.
Palette and an Inkstand._ │
XCV. _Chapter whereby is opened the place 163,│ XXIV.
wherein Thoth resteth._ 164│
XCVI. _Chapter whereby is opened [the 164│_No Vignettes._
place] where Thoth [resteth]._ │
XCVII. 165│ XXV.
XCVIII. _Chapter whereby one saileth a ship 165,│ XXV.
in the Netherworld._ 166│
XCIX. _Chapter whereby one saileth a ship 167–169│ XXV, XXVI.
in the Netherworld._ │
C. _The Book whereby the glorified one 171│ XXVII.
is made strong, and is made to │
embark in the boat of Rā, together │
with those who are with the god._ │
CI. _Chapter of the safeguards of the 172,│_No Vignettes._
Bark of Rā_. 173│
CII. _Chapter whereby one entereth into 173│ XXVII.
the Bark of Rā._ │
CIII. _Chapter whereby one openeth the 174│ XXV.
place where Hathor abideth._ │
CIV. _Chapter whereby one sitteth in the 174│ XXV.
midst of the great gods._ │
CV. _Chapter whereby one propitiateth the 175│ XXV.
Ka._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CVI. _Chapter whereby a largess is 176,│ No Vignettes.
presented at Hat-ka-Ptah._ 177│
CVII. 178│ ”
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CVIII. _Chapter whereby one knoweth the 178,│ XXV, XXVII.
Powers of the West._ 179│
│
CIX. _Chapter whereby one knoweth the 181,│ XXVII.
Powers of the East._ 182│
CX. _The Beginning of the Chapters of the 193–195│ XXVIII, XXIX.
Garden of Hotepit, and of the │
Chapters of coming forth by day; │
and of entering and coming forth in │
the Netherworld, and of arriving at │
the Garden of Aarru, at the Rise in │
Hotepit and at the Grand Domain, │
blest with the breezes: that I may │
take possession there and be in │
Glory there: that there I may │
plough and mow: that there I may │
eat and drink and love: doing │
whatsoever things are done upon │
earth._ │
CXI (same as CVIII). │
CXII. _Chapter whereby one knoweth the 184,│ XXIX, XXX.
Powers of Pu._ 185│
CXIII. _Chapter whereby one knoweth the 186,│ XXX.
Powers of Nechen._ 187│
CXIV. _Chapter whereby one knoweth the 188,│ XXXI.
Powers of Hermopolis._ 189│
CXV. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth 190,│_No Vignettes._
into Heaven, and openeth the 191│
Ammehit: and whereby the Powers of │
Heliopolis are known._ │
CXVI. _Chapter whereby one knoweth the 192│ XXXI.
Power of Hermopolis._ │
CXVII. _Chapter whereby one taketh the 203│ XXXI (one
blissful path at Restau._ │ Vignette is
│ numbered CVII
│ in error).
CXVIII. _Chapter whereby one arriveth at 206│_No Vignettes._
Restau._ │
CXIX. _Chapter whereby one entereth or 206│ XXXI.
goeth forth from Restau._ │
CXX (same as XII). │
CXXI (same as XIII). │
CXXII (same as LVIII). │
CXXIII. _Chapter whereby one entereth into 208│ XXXI.
the Great House._ │
CXXIV. _Chapter whereby one cometh to the 210,│ XXXII.
Divine Circle of Osiris._ 211│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CXXV. PART I.—_Said on arriving at the Hall 212–214│ XXXII,
of Righteousness, that N may be │ XXXIII,
loosed from all the sins which he │ XXXIV,
hath committed and that he may look │ XXXV,
upon the divine countenances._ │ XXXVI,
│ XXXVIII,
│ XXXVIII,
│ XXXIX.
PART II.—_The Negative Confession._ 214–216│ ”
PART III.—_Said upon approaching to 216–220│ ”
the gods who are in the Tuat._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CXXVI. . . . . . . . . . . 244,│ XL.
245│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CXXVII. _The Book for invoking the gods of 249│ No Vignettes.
the Bounds, which the person │
reciteth when he approacheth them, │
that he may enter and see the │
Strong one in the Great Abode of │
the Tuat._ │
CXXVIII. _Invocation of Osiris_ 251,│ ”
252│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CXXIX (same as C). │ XL.
CXXX. _A Book whereby the Soul is made to 256–259│ XL.
live for ever, on the day of │
entering into the Bark of Rā, and │
to pass the Sheniu of the Tuat. │
Made on the Birthday of Osiris._ │
CXXXI. _Chapter whereby one proceedeth into 261│ XLI.
Heaven by the side of Rā._ │
CXXXII. _Chapter whereby a person is enabled 263│ XLI.
to go round, to visit his dwelling │
in the Netherworld._ │
CXXXIII. _Book whereby the deceased acquireth 264,│ XLI, XLII.
might in the Netherworld, in 265│
presence of the great cycle of the │
gods._ │
CXXXIV. _Chapter whereby the deceased 267,│ XLI.
acquireth might._ 268│
CXXXV. _Another chapter recited when the 269,│_No Vignettes._
Moon renews itself on the first day 270│
of the month._ │
CXXXVIA. _Chapter whereby one is conveyed in 270│ XLII.
the Bark of Rā._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CXXXVIB. _Chapter whereby one is conveyed in 271,│ No Vignettes.
the Great Bark of Rā to pass 272│
through the orbit of flame._ │
CXXXVIIA. _Chapter whereby a Light is kindled 275│ ”
for a person._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CXXXVIIB. _Chapter whereby a Light is kindled 275│ XLII.
for a person._ │
CXXXVIII. _Chapter whereby one is enabled to 277│ XLIII.
enter into Abydos._ │
│
CXXXIX (same as CXXIII). │
│
CXL. _The book read on the last day of 280,│ XLIII, XLIV.
Mechir, when the Eye is full on the 281│
last day of Mechir._ │
│
CXLI. to _The Book said by a man or his father 282–285│ XLIV, XLV,
CXLIII. or his son in the festival of the │ XLVI.
Amenta, and wherewith he acquires │
might with Rā, and with the gods │
when he is with them. Said on the │
day of the new Moon, when offerings │
are made of bread, beer, oxen, │
geese, and burnt incense to—_ │
CXLIV. _The Chapter of the Arrival._ 287–289│ XLVI, XLVII,
│ XLIX, L.
CXLV and _The knowing of the pylons of the 292–294│ XLIV, XLVIII,
CXLVI. house of Osiris, in the Garden of │ LIII.
Aarru._ │
CXLVII. 296–298│ XLIX, L.
CXLVIII. _Giving sustenance to the deceased in 300–301│ XLVI, XLVII,
the Netherworld, and delivering him │ LI.
from all evil things._ │
CXLIX. 302–307│ LII.
CL. 309│ LIII.
CLI. 309│ LIV, LVI.
CLIA. 313│_No Vignettes._
_bis_ │
CLIA. _Chapter of the mysterious head._ │ LIV.
_ter_ │
CLII. _Chapter of building a house on 314│ LIV.
earth._ │
CLIIIA. _Chapter of coming out of the net._ 315,│ LV.
316│
CLIIIB. _Chapter of escaping from the 320,│ LVI.
catchers of fish._ 321│
CLIV. _Chapter of not letting the body 322,│ LVI.
decay in the Netherworld._ 323│
CLV. _Chapter of the Tat of gold._ 325│ LVI, LVII.
CLVI. _Chapter of the buckle of carnelian, 326│ LVI, LVII.
which is put on the neck of the │
deceased._ │
CLVII. _Chapter of the vulture of gold, put 326,│ LVII.
on the neck of the deceased._ 327│
CLVIII. _Chapter of the collar of gold, put 327│ LVII.
on the neck of the deceased._ │
CLIX. _Chapter of the column of green 327,│ LVII.
Felspar, put on the neck of the 328│
deceased._ │
CLX. _Giving the column of green Felspar._ 328│ LVII.
CLXI. _Chapter of unfastening the opening 329,│ LV.
in the sky. Thoth does it so that 330│
it may be finished when he opens │
(the sky) with Aten._ │
CLXII. _Chapter of causing a flame to arise 330,│ LVIII.
under the head of the deceased._ 321│
CLXIII. _Chapters brought from another book, 333,│ LVIII.
in addition to the “coming forth by 334│
day.” Chapter of not letting the │
body of a man decay in the │
Netherworld, of rescuing him from │
the devourers of souls who imprison │
men in the Tuat, and of not raising │
his sins on earth against him, but │
of saving his flesh and his bones │
from the worms and from every │
evil-doing god in the Netherworld, │
so that he may go in and out as he │
likes, and do everything he desires │
without restraint._ │
CLXIV. _Another Chapter._ 336,│ LVIII.
337│
CLXV. _Chapter of landing and not being 338,│ LVIII.
obscured, so that the body may 339│
prosper in drinking water._ │
CLXVI. _Chapter of the Pillow._ 340│ LVIII.
CLXVII. _Chapter of bringing an Eye._ 341│ LVIII.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CLXVIII. 341│ No Vignettes.
CLXIX. _Chapter of raising the funereal 342–344│ ”
Bed._ │
CLXX. _Chapter of arranging the funereal 345–347│ ”
Bed._ │
CLXXI. _Chapter of wrapping up (the 347│ ”
deceased) in a pure garment._ │
CLXXII. _Beginning of the Chapter of reciting 348–351│ ”
the ceremonies made in the │
Netherworld._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CLXXIII. _The addresses of Horus to his father 352,│ LIX.
when he goes in to see his father, 353│
and when he comes out of his great │
sanctuary to see him Rā Unneferu, │
the master of Ta-tser, and then │
they embrace one another; therefore │
he is glorious in the Netherworld._ │
CLXXIV. _Chapter of causing the Chu to come 354,│ LX.
out of the great door in the sky._ 355│
CLXXV. _Chapter of not dying a second death 356,│ LX.
in the Netherworld._ 357│
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CLXXVI. _Chapter of not dying a second time 358│ No Vignettes.
in the Netherworld._ │
CLXXVII. _Chapter of raising the Chu, of 359│ ”
vivifying his soul in the │
Netherworld._ │
CLXXVIII. _Chapter of raising the body, of 360–363│ ”
giving it eyes, of making it │
possess ears, of fixing its head, │
of putting it on its base._ │
CLXXIX. _Chapter of coming forth when going 363,│ ”
out of yesterday and coming in the 364│
(present) day, being equipped by │
one’s own hands._ │
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────
CLXXX. _Chapter of coming forth by day, of 365–367│ LX.
giving praise to Rā in the Amenta, │
of paying homage to the inhabitants │
of the Tuat, of opening the way to │
the mighty soul in the Netherworld, │
of letting him walk, lengthen his │
strides, and go in and out in the │
Netherworld; and take the form of a │
living soul._ │
CLXXXI. _Chapter of arriving before the 368,│ LXI.
Divine circle of Osiris and before 369│
the gods, the guides in the Tuat, │
before the guards of their halls, │
the heralds of their gates and the │
doorkeepers of their pylons in the │
Amenta, and of taking the form of a │
living soul and praising Osiris the │
lord of his circle of gods._ │
CLXXXII. _Book of vivifying Osiris, of giving 370–372│ LXI.
air to him whose heart is │
motionless, through the action of │
Thoth, who repels the enemies of │
Osiris who comes there in his │
form ... as protector, saviour, │
defender in the Netherworld._ │
_It is said by Thoth himself, so that │
the morning light may shine on him │
(Osiris) every day._ │
CLXXXIII. _Adoration to Osiris, giving him 372–374│ LX.
praise, bowing down before │
Unneferu, falling on one’s face │
before the lord of Ta-tsert, and │
exalting him who is on his sand._ │
CLXXXIV. _Chapter of being near Osiris._ 375│ LX.
CLXXXV. _Giving praise to Osiris, falling on 375│ LX.
the earth before the lord of │
eternity; propitiating the god with │
what he loves, speaking the truth, │
the lord of which is not known._ │
CLXXXVI. _Adoration to Hathor, the lady of the 376│ LX, LXII.
West, falling down before Mehurit._ │
INTRODUCTION.
When, in the year 1892, Sir Peter Le Page Renouf began the publication
of his translation of the Book of the Dead, his intention was that the
work, once completed, should be preceded by an elaborate Introduction,
giving, besides all the information concerning the form and the history
of the book, his views as to its sense and its religious value.
As with the unfinished part of the translation,[1] so here, we are left
without any notes or any clue whatever as to the form which this
introduction was to have taken, and we are obliged to resort to the
fifth of the Hibbert lectures, given by Renouf in 1879, in order to know
his views about the book.[2]
Before speaking of its contents, we have to state briefly under what
form the book has come down to us. It is hardly necessary to repeat that
it is no book at all in the ordinary sense of the word. It is neither a
unity nor a whole, it is a collection which has grown by degrees, at
various epochs. Undoubtedly part of it goes back as far as the Old
Empire; the texts of the Middle Empire show already that there were
various editions, and we are forced to admit that its origin is not much
later than the beginning of Egyptian civilization, as we see that some
of the rubrics attribute certain chapters to a king of the 1st dynasty.
In the course of centuries the original text was modified and enlarged,
new chapters were added, revisions were made, without casting these
detached fragments into a whole. The various parts of the book were
always independent, like the Hebrew Psalms; the acceptance of a chapter
does not necessarily imply the acceptance of the next chapter, and it
seems as if the relatives of the deceased chose in the collection which
was at their disposal what they liked best, and the number of chapters
which corresponded to the price they wished to pay for a papyrus.
This description applies chiefly to the texts of the Book of the Dead of
the period prior to the XXVIth dynasty. Under the Saïte kings it seems
that a complete revision of the text was made; a definite order was
adopted, which was not rigidly binding on the writers, but to which they
generally adhered; various chapters were added, especially the last
ones, 162-165, which are never found in the older copies. It seems also
that something like what we should call an authorized version was
adopted; and this was done by men to whom the book was hardly
intelligible. A great many glosses were introduced, which were copied
afterwards in all the hieroglyphic and hieratic texts. Although we do
not find the strict accuracy of Hebrew manuscripts, the number of
variants in the Saïte, Ptolemaïc or Roman texts is considerably smaller
than in the manuscripts of the Theban period, and a collation of the
hundreds of papyri of late epoch which fill our museums would lead to no
great result.
However, it is from a text generally considered as Saïtic, but which I
believe to be of the Ptolemaïc epoch, that the Book of the Dead has been
first made known in all its extent. In 1842 Lepsius published the long
papyrus in the Turin Museum, a document which he called “the largest
piece of Egyptian literature which has been preserved.”
Before him Champollion had seen it, and had noticed that a great number
of repetitions of the same text existed in various museums. He made use
of it in his grammar, quoted here and there a sentence taken from it,
but he did not make a special study of the document. Lepsius understood
at once the importance of the book, which was the _vade-mecum_ of the
deceased, and seeing how much more extensive the Turin Papyrus was than
the short copies which had been published before, he traced the whole
document and published it two years afterwards.
Lepsius gave to this work the name of _Todtenbuch_, “Book of the Dead,”
in opposition to the name of “Ritual” adopted by Champollion, which is
certainly incorrect. It is no Ritual; a few chapters with a ritualistic
character have been introduced into it; for instance, the chapter
connected with the ceremony of “opening the mouth of the deceased,”
which is occasionally met with, or Chapter 171, “chapter of wrapping up
(the deceased) in a pure garment;” but these are rare exceptions. On the
whole the Book of the Dead differs widely from a Ritual. It is not the
priest who speaks, there are no minute prescriptions as to how a
ceremony is to be performed; all the prayers and hymns are put in the
deceased’s mouth, it is he whose speech is supposed to be heard in the
other world.
_Todtenbuch_, Book of the Dead, is not a translation of the Egyptian
title, which is: book of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _pert m hru_. As Renouf
says, “Three simple words, perfectly unambiguous when taken singly, but
by no means easy of explanation when taken together without a context;”
and in fact at the present day no final translation has been given of
these three words. Renouf translates, “coming forth by day,” as will be
seen in the numerous examples which occur in this volume; but several
objections may be raised against this interpretation, to which we should
prefer, “coming out of the day,” the day being the period of a man’s
life, having its morning and its evening.
The book is divided into fragments called ⁂, to each of which Lepsius
has given a number, following the order of the great Turin Papyrus, and
which he calls chapters. Although his numbering is not quite correct, it
has been adhered to in all the subsequent editions.
In his lecture[3] on the Book of the Dead, Renouf insists on the
difficulty of translating it: “Nothing can exceed the simplicity and the
brevity of the sentences; and yet the difficulties which a translator
has to overcome are very great. In the first place, the text is
extremely corrupt. The unsatisfactory condition of the text is owing to
different causes. The reasons which writers on Hebrew, Greek or Latin
palæography have enumerated for the purpose of accounting for mistakes
in manuscripts, apply with much greater force to the funereal
manuscripts of the Egyptians; for as these were not intended to be seen
by any mortal eye, but to remain for ever undisturbed in the tomb, the
unconscientious scribe had no such check upon his carelessness as if his
work were liable to be subjected to the constant inspection of the
living. But the most conscientious scribe might easily commit numerous
errors. Many of them are to be traced to a confusion between signs which
resemble each other in the cursive, or as it is called, the hieratic
character, but not in hieroglyphic writing.
“Besides the errors of copyists, there are different readings, the
origin of which is to be traced to the period during which the chapters
were handed down by word of mouth only. There are copies which bear
evidence that a critical choice has been made between the different
readings of a passage, but the common practice was to admit the
inconsistent readings into the text itself....
“Some of the variants have unquestionably arisen from the difficulty of
understanding the ancient texts. I have no doubt whatever that some of
the chapters of the Book of the Dead were as obscure to Egyptians living
under the eleventh dynasty as they are to ourselves.... The most
accurate knowledge of the Egyptian vocabulary and grammar will however
not suffice to pierce the obscurity arising from what M. de Rougé called
symbols or allegories, which are in fact simple mythological allusions.
The difficulty is not in literally translating the text, but in
understanding the meaning which lies concealed beneath familiar words.”
These words of Renouf have still a very great force, although in the
last twenty years some progress has been made towards a better
understanding of the text. When Renouf gave the above description of the
difficulties of the translation, the main source from which he could
derive his information was what he called “the corrupt Turin text.”
Since then a critical edition has been made.[4] It is based on texts of
the XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties, written at a time when the intelligence
of the book was not lost to the same extent as under the Saïtes or the
Ptolemies, as may be ascertained from the considerable number of glosses
introduced into the Turin text which are absent from the older versions.
This edition has been compiled from various papyri, as the older ones
are much shorter than the later ones; it is not a single document like
Lepsius’s _Todtenbuch_; most of the chapters have been found in their
old form; a few are missing, but a good number have been added to the
list which have fallen out of the late versions. Generally it is from
this critical text that Renouf made his translation. Occasionally he may
choose an older version from a tomb, or perhaps a papyrus of the British
Museum, but he hardly ever reverts to the Turin _Todtenbuch_ unless he
has no other resource at his disposal.
Nevertheless the difficulties which Renouf enumerates are only partly
removed. We are still very far from being able to give a final
translation of the Book of the Dead, and I have no doubt that Renouf
would repeat about his own work what he says of Dr. Birch’s translation,
“Many parts of it, where most faithful to the original, must in
consequence of that very fidelity be utterly unintelligible to an
English reader.”
No doubt Renouf’s translation is a great step towards making the book
more intelligible; still the reader may often stumble over sentences out
of which it is hardly possible to make a reasonable sense, in spite of
their grammatical correctness, and which at first sight will seem
childish, not to say, with Renouf, “outrageous nonsense.” But we may say
with certainty that they were not so to the old Egyptians. Under this
extraordinary or even ridiculous garment may be hidden some very simple,
or even elementary truths. Let us remember that we have not yet
unravelled all the intricacies of the Egyptian mythology, which plays
such an important part in the book. Moreover, we only begin now to
understand how the Egyptians expressed abstract ideas. When we speak of
passion, shame, remorse, hope, we have so thoroughly lost sight of the
concrete element in these words, that we are apt to forget that
originally they must have been metaphors, and that they must have
expressed something striking the senses, and connected with the material
world. An instance will illustrate the difficulty in this translation.
Chapter 112 relates how, owing to an imprudent request, Horus was the
victim of Sutu, who inflicted a wound on his eye, which caused him great
suffering, and the text adds: ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _lo! he
ate his heart_. Renouf translates, “and wrath devoured his heart.” I
should prefer, “he regretted sorely (his foolish request).” I believe to
eat one’s heart to mean, “to feel regret, repentance, or remorse.” There
the abstract meaning is not difficult to find out; but in other cases,
as long as we have not discovered the key to the metaphor, we may go far
astray, or if we do not go beyond the literal explanation, we miss the
abstract sense, which is the true one.
However, because the work will not bear the character of finality,
because some obscurities will not be removed, and some difficulties
remain unsolved, there is no reason why a scholar like Renouf should
have shrunk from attempting the translation of the Book of the Dead, a
work which he had before his eyes for years, and which he considered as
the crown of his Egyptological labours.
The lecture quoted above gives us Renouf’s ideas as to the purpose and
the sense of the book: it is the beatification of the dead considered in
three aspects:
The renewed existence “as upon earth.” The deceased enjoys an existence
similar to that which he has led upon earth; he has the use of his
limbs, he eats and drinks and satisfies every one of his physical wants
exactly as in his former life. The gods themselves minister to him
occasionally, and contribute to his welfare and to his pleasures. The
bliss of the future state consists chiefly in the pleasures of
agricultural life.
Transformation. The deceased has the range of the entire universe in
every shape and form he desires. He can assume any appearance he likes.
But these transformations are not forced upon him; he has no definite
series to go through; they depend simply on his pleasure.
Identification with Osiris and other gods. The identification with
Osiris, which is already mentioned in the earliest parts of the book, is
taken for granted later on, since the name of the deceased is always
preceded by “Osiris.” He may be assimilated to other gods; for instance,
in the 42nd chapter every limb is assimilated to a different deity. This
Osirian nature gives the deceased the power to triumph over the numerous
enemies whom he has to face.
To these three benefits which the book confers on the deceased we should
add a fourth: viz., complete preservation from dismemberment and decay.
There is evidently in some of the prayers a remembrance of a time when
the deceased were dismembered at their burial; and this way of treating
the corpse is for the deceased an object of horror. The frequent mention
of reconstituting the body, the promises that no part of it shall be
taken away, all this shows of what supreme importance it was for him
that his body should remain intact. Without a well preserved body there
could be no life in the other world; its destruction implies the
destruction of the whole individual. This belief is the origin of
mummification, for decay is the strongest agent of dismemberment and the
certain ruin of the body.
These are the outlines of the principal tenets of the Book of the Dead.
If we inquire where they originated, there is no doubt that the bulk of
the book came from Heliopolis. It is the doctrine of that ancient city
and of its priests. Some of the chapters may be attributed to the
priests at Abydos, as M. Maspero suggests; but it seems certain that,
except for a small part, the birthplace of the Book of the Dead is the
city of Ra Tmu, the place connected with the oldest religious traditions
of the country, and which may rightly be called the religious capital of
Egypt.
_January, 1904._
EDOUARD NAVILLE.
-----
Footnote 1:
See _Introductory Note to Chapter CXL_.
Footnote 2:
The Hibbert Lectures, 1879, p. 172.
Footnote 3:
See also _Life Work_, t. III, p. 51, “The title of the Book of the
Dead,” and p. 59, “The Egyptian Book of the Dead.”
Footnote 4:
_Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch der XVIII bis XX Dynastie_,
zusammengestellt und herausgegeben von Edouard Naville, Berlin, 1886.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER I.
(1.)_The Beginning of the Chapters of Coming forth by Day, of the_
(2.)_Words which bring about Resurrection and Glory, and of Coming out
of and entering into Amenta. Said upon the Day of Burial of_ N, _the
Victorious,_(3.) _who entereth after coming forth_.(4.) _Here is_ N
_the Victorious. He saith_—
O (5.)Bull of Amenta, It is Thoth, the everlasting King, who is here.
I am the great god in the Bark, who have fought for thee.
I am one of those gods, the (6.)Powers who effect the triumph of Osiris
over his adversaries on the day of the Weighing of the Words: I am thy
kinsman, Osiris.
I am one of those gods to whom Nut hath given birth, who slay the
adversaries of Osiris and imprison the (7.)Sebau, on his behalf: I am
thy kinsman, Horus.
I have fought for thee, and have prevailed for thy name.
I am Thoth who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries on that
day of Weighing of the Words in the (8.)House of the Prince, which is in
Heliopolis.
I am (9.)Tatti, the son of Tatti, conceived in Tattu and born in Tattu;
and Tattu is my name.
I am with the mourners and weepers who wail over Osiris in (10.)Rechit,
and who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries.
Rā issued the mandate to Thoth, that he should effect the triumph of
Osiris against his adversaries, and the mandate is what Thoth hath
executed.
I am with Horus on the day of covering (11.)Teshtesh and of opening the
fountains for the refreshment of (12.)the god whose heart is motionless,
and closing the entrance to the hidden things in (13.)Restau.
I am with Horus, as the avenger of that left arm of Osiris which is in
(14.)Sechem.
I enter in, and I come forth from the (15.)Tank of Flame on the day when
the adversaries are annihilated at Sechem.
I am with Horus on the day when the festivals of Osiris are celebrated,
and when offerings are made [to Rā], on the Feast of the Sixth day of
the Month, and on the Feast of Tenait(16.) in Heliopolis.
I am the Priest(17.) in Tattu and exalt him who is on the Height.(18.)
I am the Prophet in Abydos on the day when the earth is raised.
I am he who seeth what is shut up at Restau.(19.)
I am he who reciteth the liturgies of the (20.)Soul who is Lord of
Tattu.
I am the Sem-priest in all that pertaineth to his office.
I am the Arch-Craftsman, on the day in which the Ship of Sokaru is laid
upon its stocks.(21.)
I am he who seizeth the mattock, on the day of the Feast of Hoeing in
Suten-henen.(22.)
O ye who bring beneficent souls into the house of Osiris, do ye bring
the soul of _N_ together with you into the house of Osiris; let him see
as you see, let him hear as you hear, let him stand as you stand, and
sit as you sit [in the house of Osiris].
O ye who give bread and beer to beneficent souls in the house of Osiris,
do you give bread and beer at the two periods to the soul of _N_ who is
with you.
O ye who unclose the ways and open the roads to beneficent souls in the
house of Osiris, unclose then the ways and open the roads to the soul of
_N_ who is with you, let him enter boldly and come forth in peace at the
house of Osiris, without hindrance and without repulse. Let him enter at
his pleasure and go forth at his will, triumphantly with you; and let
that be executed which he shall order in the house of Osiris.
No lightness of his in the scale has been found and the Balance is
(23.)relieved of his case.
PLATE I.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER I.
Papyrus in the British Museum.
No. 9901.
_See_ NAVILLE, “Book of the Dead,” I, Pl. I and II.
]
NOTES.
The text taken for the basis of the translation of Chapter I is that of
the papyrus of Huneferu; _Ag_ of M. Naville’s edition.
1. The title here translated is that usual in all the papyri
representing the third period of the text. It occurs however in the
papyrus _Ag_ of Huneferu, who lived in the days of Seti I, at the
beginning of the XIXth dynasty. It is also found in the papyrus of Ani.
The most common title of Chapter I in the older manuscripts is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “Chapter of coming to the
divine Powers attached to Osiris.” These divine Powers are Amsta, Hapi,
Tuamautef and Qebehsenuf, the children of Horus, who stand upon the
lotus which springs from the water beneath the throne of Osiris, in
pictures of the Psychostasia. Chapter 124 bears the same title in the
older manuscripts, which sometimes begin with it.
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. These are two very difficult words,
and very different meanings have been assigned to them. But when the
entire evidence is examined the result is plain enough. Each of the
words has for determinative the sign, ⁂, expressive of some kind of
utterance. It is a λόγος of some kind has for its first letter the
causative ⁂. The question therefore is, what are the meanings of the
simpler forms ⁂⁂, _tes_, and ⁂⁂⁂, _ḫu_?
The most common, indeed the only true, meaning of ⁂⁂ is
‘rising,’ and even ‘raising.’ This is too well-known to require proof.
⁂⁂ is ‘causing to rise.’ The Pyramid text of Teta says (l. 270),
“Horus hath given his children that they may raise thee up
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.” In the same religious text, l. 248,
⁂⁂ is the _rising from the funereal couch_ after the ⁂⁂,
the recitations made over the dead.
The ‘raising up’ or ‘resurrection’ here spoken of is said not only of
the soul but of the body of the deceased person. The papyrus of Nebseni
has preserved two chapters, to which M. Naville has assigned the numbers
177 and 178.
177. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
_Chapter of raising up the Chu, and giving life to the Soul in the
Netherworld._
178.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
_Chapter of raising up the body, of giving it eyes and the possession of
ears, and establishing the head, made firm on its props._
⁂, _ḫat_, is not simply the body; it is the _dead body_, that which
has _fallen_, like the Latin _cadaver_, the Greek πτῶμα, the Hebrew
מַפֶלֶח. (See _Transactions Soc. Bib. Arch._, Vol. VIII, p. 221, note 2.)
The true meaning of ⁂⁂⁂ _ḫu_ is not ‘luminous’ but
‘clear, distinct, glittering, ‘_coruscans_,’ and hence ‘bright,
splendid, illustrious, glorious,’ and the like. Like the Greek
λαμπρός, the Latin _clarus_, the Hebrew עהל, or the French
_éclat_, it is applied to sound as well as to light. It is said of
Thoth (in the wretched orthography[5] of a tablet of the XIXth
dynasty) ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “he glorified
them with the clear utterances of his mouth.” ⁂⁂⁂
corresponds to the Greek λαμπροφωνία. As a verb ⁂⁂ is
_clareo_, and is ⁂⁂⁂ _clarifico_, _glorifico_.
There are, it is true, variants in the title of Chapter 17, giving the
form ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. In spite of the excellent authority of
these variants, they must be considered as giving an erroneous reading.
The words ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘remember,’ and ⁂⁂⁂ are
different in origin and meaning. The latter signifies ‘confer glory,’
and the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ are religious formularies recited by
priests, identifying the deceased person with Osiris and other
divinities. There are numerous pictures in the tombs representing
priests performing this office.[6]
3. M. Déveria has produced excellent evidence showing that ⁂
_maāt-ḫeru_ has the sense of ‘victorious, triumphant.’ But the sense of
_véridique_ is untenable. ⁂⁂⁂ _ḫeru_ is ‘voice’ not ‘speech.’
In _Proceedings S.B.A._, Vol. VI, p. 192, note, I have quoted a passage
from a chapter (now numbered 181 in M. Naville’s edition) in which
⁂⁂⁂⁂ signifies ‘want of success, failure.’
⁂⁂⁂⁂ _maāt ḫeru_ really signifies “one whose voice is Law.”
It is essentially a _divine_ title (see “Altar at Turin,”
_Transactions_, III, pl. II, _line_ 10, appended to Mr. Bonomi’s
article), and in _no_ Egyptian text is it used of mortals supposed to be
living. The translation “juste de voix,” limits the conception of _maāt_
to _one_ of its secondary acceptations.
⁂⁂⁂⁂ _semaāt ḫeru_ is also, and necessarily so, a divine
act, that of Thoth; and it is done through his utterances.
4. ⁂ _ȧn_ in this place as in very many others is not a preposition,
_still less is it a verb_. It is a demonstrative particle, like the
Latin _en_, _ecce_, or the Hebrew הֵו. Nothing is more common than this
particle followed only by a proper name, _e.g._, on the funereal
figures. There is not the slightest reason for supposing that there is
an ellipse of the verb ‘saith.’ The particle is used like the
corresponding Latin one under the Scottish picture of Edward I--
‘En rex Edwardus debacchans ut leopardus.’
When I translate ⁂⁂⁂ ⁂⁂⁂, “It is Thoth--who is here,”
I do not wish to imply that ⁂⁂ is the verb _to be_, any more than
I should in the frequent expression ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “It is his
son who revives his name.” ⁂ is a demonstrative particle and nothing
else.
Instead of looking out for moods and tenses and paradigms, Egyptologists
ought to wake to the consciousness that the Egyptians never rose to the
conception of what we mean by a _verb_.
5. The Bull of Amenta is Osiris. Bull, like Lion or Hawk, was one of the
figurative names of gods or kings, and Osiris is sometimes represented
with a Bull’s head.
6. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _T’at’at_. This word is often wrongly translated
‘judges.’ The divine judges are called _t’at’at_, but the proposition is
not simply convertible. There were the ⁂⁂⁂⁂ not only of
Osiris, but (_Todt._, 22, 2) also of every god and every goddess. And
all the ancient towns of Egypt had their divine ⁂⁂⁂⁂. It is
a term used (_cf._ p. 55) as exactly synonymous with ⁂⁂. In a
mythological system like the Egyptian no god stood alone; every god
involved others in close connection with himself, and every act of his
necessitated corresponding acts on their part.
7. The _sebȧu_ are the enemies of the _Sun_, either as Rā or Osiris. I
believe that under this mythological name the dark clouds are
personified.
8. _Het Saru_, ‘House of the Prince,’ is the name of the great Sanctuary
at Heliopolis. It must be remembered however that many of the
geographical localities named in the Book of the Dead have their
counterparts in the Egyptian heaven.
9. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂, the ‘firm, stable, unalterable,
abiding, eternal one,’ whose origin and progress are in eternity. The
city ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂ has a name like the
Palestinian עַוָֹה, Gazah, the ‘strong’ city, and many other Hebrew names
connected with the root עזז.
10. _Rechit_, a locality in the north of Egypt. The mourners and weepers
alluded to are chiefly Isis and Nephthys.
11. _Teshtesh_ is one of the names of Osiris; perhaps, as might be
inferred from a text at Dendera, of his molten image.
12. The god “whose heart is motionless” is Osiris.
13. ⁂⁂ _Re-stau_, one of the gates of the Netherworld. Its
situation is specified in Chapter 17, line 19.
14. _Sechem._ Letopolis, where the arm of Osiris had been deposited,
when the other limbs of the god were dispersed throughout the cities of
Egypt.
15. The _Tank of Flame_, as may be inferred from the vignettes of the
papyri, is where the sun rises or sets. _Cf._, Unas, 393, 506.
16. _Tenait._ Feast of the seventh day of the month.
17. The speaker now assumes the persons of various priests in
succession, the ⁂⁂ _āb_, the ⁂⁂⁂ _ḥen nutȧr_ (prophet),
the ⁂⁂⁂ _sem_, and the ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ura ḫerp ḥem_;[7] and
he describes himself as performing certain religious ceremonies. It must
never be forgotten when reading these texts that the Egyptian priests
had _divine titles_, and that their ceremonies were dramatic, and
symbolical of the acts performed by the gods.
18. The text here is hopelessly corrupt. The translation given follows
_Ag_.
Instead of ⁂⁂⁂ _exalt_, several MSS. have
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which has been rendered _anoint with oil_. One
might translate the Turin text, “I lustrate with water in Tattu and with
oil in Abydos, exalting him who is in the heights (_in excelsis_),” for
this text combines different readings. But ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, as it
is written, may have another meaning. ⁂⁂⁂ _beq_, signifies
‘clear, bright, shining,’ and the olive tree derives its name from this.
The determinative ⁂ and the causative ⁂ furnish the sense, ‘I make
bright, illustrious, glorious,’ ‘I celebrate or glorify.’ ‘He is who on
the height’ (= עליון) is, according to Chapter 17, the Sun.
19. This is perhaps supposed to be said by the priest called ⁂⁂,
the ‘Arch-seer,’ at Heliopolis.
20. One of the designations of Osiris. Perhaps the word _Ba_ should be
translated Ram, for in the Mendesian Nome Osiris was worshipped under
this form, and was called ⁂⁂⁂ _ḣeru šefit_, ‘god of the strong
face.’ The fact is that whether applied to the _soul_ or to a _ram_, the
word _ba_ is expressive of ‘power, force.’ The same word under the form
⁂⁂⁂⁂ is used in Chapter 120, 2 (= 12, 2) in the sense of
‘splitting up.’ And this is clearly the Egyptian concept of the
soul--‘the internal force, that which works within us,’ τὸ ἐνεργοῦν.
The word is ideographically written ⁂ or ⁂,[8] both the Ram and
the cranelike bird being called _ba_. Some have cleverly inferred that
the Egyptians thought that the soul was of a birdlike form, and others
have not hesitated to consider _ba_ as expressive of the cry of the
_ram_. The odd thing is that only the ram has this name, not the _sheep_
or the _lamb_, who nevertheless indulge in the same cry. The truth is
that in spite of appearances the word _ba_ is not onomatopoeic here.
Whether applied to the ram or to the heron, the word is expressive of
human action and signifies ‘digging through, cleaving, piercing,
splitting.’ The hieroglyphic variants are very expressive: ⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂
(the last is already found in _Denkm._ II, 51).
The Ram is called in Egyptian _ba_ on account of the digs which he makes
with his head, and a force which has occasioned the name of ‘ram’ to be
given to powerful engines.
The Heron is also called _ba_ because with its bill it _cleaves_ the
fishes which it attacks.
And the word which _we_ translate Soul or Spirit is called _ba_, because
it is conceived as something which ‘pierces, penetrates and divides.’
It is right to point out (to those who may wonder at this Egyptian
etymology) that the Latin _scio_ ‘I know’ is etymologically akin to
_seco_ ‘cut,’ _securis_ ‘an axe,’ and the Greek κείω, κεάζω ‘split,
cleave.’
21. The ⁂⁂⁂ _sem_, and the ⁂⁂⁂ _urȧ ḫerp ḥem_, were
priests in the service of Ptah. The latter, who held perhaps the highest
sacerdotal office in Egypt, as high priest of Ptah at Memphis, is
repeatedly found combining with his own special office that of the
_sem_. The ceremony which is here referred to consisted in a grand
procession round the walls of the great sanctuary of Ptah, conveying
upon a sledge the bark ⁂ in which the coffin of the god was supposed
to rest. Sokaru signifies ‘the coffined,’ and Ptah Sokaru is only a form
of Osiris. Abundant details of the ceremony will be found in the plates
of M. Mariette’s _Abydos_, I, pl. 36 and following. The king Seti I is
represented as a Sem priest presiding at the festival.
22. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Suten-ḥenen_ was called by the Greeks
Heracleopolis.
23. Or ‘rid of his business.’ The word ⁂ _sep_, ‘turn,’ has the
different significations of the Latin ‘vices.’
In the later recensions this chapter is lengthened out by other
petitions. The deceased asks, among other things, to appear “before
thee, O Lord of the gods, to attain the region of _Maāt_, may I rise up
a living god, let me shine like the divine host which is in heaven, let
me be as one of you. Let my steps be lifted up in Cher-ābaut. Let me see
the ship[9] of the holy Sahu [Orion], traversing the sky; let me not be
prevented from seeing the lords of the Tuat [the Netherworld], smelling
the fragrance of the sacrificial offerings made to the divine host, and
sitting with them. Let the Cher-heb [the priestly ministrant] make
invocation over my coffin. Let me hear the prayers of propitiation. Let
the divine ship Neshemet advance for me, let not my soul and its
possessor suffer repulse.”
An invocation to Osiris follows.
“Hail to thee, Prince of Amenta, Osiris, lord of Nifura; grant that I
may advance in peace towards Amenta, and that the Lords of Tasert may
receive me and say to me, ‘Salutation! Salutation! in Peace!’ let them
make for me a seat by the Prince of the divine Powers, let the two
Chenemta goddesses [Isis and Nephthys] receive me, in presence of
Unneferu, the Victorious. Let me be a follower of Horus in Re-stau, and
of Osiris in Tattu. Let me assume all forms for the satisfaction of my
heart in every place that my Genius [_Ka_] wisheth.”
The following rubric is found as early as the XIXth dynasty in
connection with this chapter, but it seems to have originally been
attached to Chapter 72.
“If this discourse is learnt upon earth, or is written upon the coffin,
he (the deceased) may come forth upon every day that he pleaseth and
again enter his house without impediment. And there shall be given to
him bread and beer and flesh meat upon the table of Râ: he shall receive
allotment in the Fields of Aarru [the Elysian fields of Egyptian
mythology], and there shall be given to him there wheat and barley, for
he shall be flourishing as when he was upon earth.”
Chapter 1 is followed in M. Naville’s edition by another, which the
learned editor calls 1 B. This chapter is found in so very few copies
that the text cannot as yet be restored. The two texts published by M.
Naville differ widely from each other. It was known however down to the
Roman period, though not inserted into copies of the Book of the Dead.
It is called _Chapter of introducing the Mummy into the Tuat on the day
of burial_. The 124th chapter bears a similar title. The word here
translated mummy is probably not to be understood of the visible mummy,
but of the living personality which it enclosed. The chapter opens with
an invocation, “Hail to thee, who art in the sacred region of Amenta,
the Osiris, [the deceased] knows thee and thy name, defend him from
those Worms which are in Restau, who live upon the flesh of men and
swallow their blood.” The names of the Worms were given, but in
consequence of the gaps in the text they cannot now be recovered. The
chapter finished with prayers in which the deceased identifies himself
with Horus, who has taken possession of the throne which his father has
given him; he has taken possession of heaven, and inherited the earth,
and neither heaven nor earth shall be taken from him, for he is Râ, the
eldest of the gods. His mother suckles him and offers him her breast,
which is on the horizon at Dawn.
[Illustration: VIGNETTE TO CHAPTER IX.]
-----
Footnote 5:
Sharpe, _E.I._, pl. 97.
The papyrus _Da_ which is of the same period reads
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the title of Chapter 17,
instead of ⁂⁂ ‘glory,’ ‘éclat.’ The ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
correspond by their name very closely with the _devas_ of Indian
mythology, and the dead are called ⁂⁂⁂⁂ on the pious
hypothesis of their having obtained ‘glory.’ The word has nothing to
do with ‘intelligence.’ It is particularly applicable to the heavenly
bodies, the sun, moon and stars--‘the glittering ones,’ and the
horizon at sunrise ⁂ _ḫut_, and ⁂⁂⁂ ‘fire’ derive their
names from their _éclat_.
Footnote 6:
See _Denkm._ II, 71 _b_, 72 _a_, _b_, 101 _b_; _cf._ 98 _h_, 116 _c_,
and III, 260 _c_.
Footnote 7:
The evidence produced by W. Max Müller in behalf of this reading of
the priestly name is quite convincing.
Footnote 8:
The human head (with a beard) sometimes given to the bird, merely
indicates the _aivine_ nature of the soul.
Footnote 9:
This is one of the meanings of ⁂⁂⁂, but in this place it may
simply mean ‘going round in a ship.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER II.
_Chapter for Coming forth by day and Living after death._
Oh thou Only One,(1.) who shinest from the Moon, let me come forth amid
that train(2.) of thine, at large,(3.) and let me be revealed(4.) as one
of those in glory.(5.)
And when the Tuat is opened to the gods, let _N_ come forth to do his
pleasure upon earth amid the Living.
NOTES.
This chapter occurs in only two of the ancient MSS. collated by Naville:
_Ae_ and _Pf_. It is also found in the papyrus of Ani.
1. ⁂ ‘unicus,’ the Sole and Only One, is one of the many appellatives
of the Sun. He is here represented as shining _in_ or _from_ the Moon.
_Cf._ note on Chapter 132.
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘multitude, throng, train,’ here put for the
‘heavenly host,’ the ἄκριτος ἄστρων ὄχλος (Euripid., _Fr._ 596), or the
Hebrew עבא.
Osiris is ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘the leader of the host,’ Sharpe, I,
105.
3. ⁂⁂⁂⁂,⁂⁂⁂⁂ אל־מהוץ, foras, ‘forth, out of
doors, at large,’ in opposition to enclosure in the tomb.
4. ⁂⁂, explicare, ‘disclose, unfold, reveal, make clear.’
5. Or ‘among the Glorious ones,’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER III.
_Another chapter like it._
Oh Tmu, who proceedest from Ur-henhenu,(1.) who art resplendent as the
Lion-faced,(2.) and who strewest thy words to those who are before thee;
Here cometh the faithful _N_, from the band of those who do the bidding
of thy words.
O ye seamen of Râ at the gloaming of the day, let _N_ live after death,
like Râ daily.
_Here the helmsman_: As Râ is born from Yesterday, so he too is born
from Yesterday, and as every god exulteth in life, so shall _N_ exult
even as they exult in life.
I am Thoth as he goeth forth from the House of the Prince in
Heliopolis.(3.)
NOTES.
The only ancient copy of this chapter is in the papyrus of Amen-neb
(_Ae_), and here it is imperfect.
1. A personification of the Nile, ⁂⁂⁂. The later texts read
⁂⁂⁂ ‘the great goddess in the Water.’
2. The later texts have ⁂⁂⁂⁂, implying the two lions Shu and
Tefnut. But the older texts have ⁂⁂⁂⁂, a single god, with a
lion’s face or form. The two notions, however, are found in combination
in the Pyramid texts of Unas (l. 558) and Teta (l. 332).
3. See note 8 on Chapter 1.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER IV.
_Another Chapter, for travelling on the road which is above the earth._
It is I who travel on the Stream(1.) which divideth the divine Pair,(2.)
I am come, let there be given to me the lands of Osiris.
NOTES.
This fourth chapter has not as yet been found in any of the papyri of
the best period.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂, literally ‘weeping,’ ‘flood of tears,’ hence
‘overflow, inundation, stream or canal.’ It is one of the names of the
Nile on earth and in heaven and of his personification as a god. See
Chapter 61, and _P.S.B.A._, XIII, p. 8 and 9.]
2. ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ are two divinities in opposition
or contrast, like Set and Horus (Chapter 17, 25) or the sister goddesses
named ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Mertȧ_ (37, 1). Thoth is the umpire between Set
and Horus (Darkness and Light) and mediates between them, but he and Râ
(the Moon and Sun) are (Teta, l. 69) spoken of as the two Rehu gods
travelling over the sky.]
------------------------------------
CHAPTER V.
_Chapter whereby work may not be imposed [upon a person(1.)] in the
Netherworld._
Here is _N_. He saith, I am he who raiseth the hand which is motionless,
and I come forth at the hour.(2.) I am the living Soul,(3.) and there go
before me the longings(4.) of those who bring salutation.(5.)
NOTES.
This chapter is found in several of the best MSS., but the text is
extremely corrupt, and must have become absolutely unintelligible. The
Turin text differs greatly from that of the older copies, and the
transposition of words clearly shows how little the transcribers
understood what they were writing. I follow chiefly the text of _Aa_,
the papyrus of Nebseni.
1. These words only occur in the later copies.
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the older reading, but ⁂⁂⁂ seems to be
the more correct.
3. The oldest text must have had simply the ideographic ⁂, _Ae_ gives
⁂⁂⁂ _Ba_, but _Pd_ has ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Ḫnemu_. The ‘living
Soul’ is that of the Sun, whether he is called Râ or Osiris.
4. ‘Desires, wishes, loves,’ literally, ‘hearts.’
5. ⁂⁂⁂ signifies ‘salute,’ as in Chapter 12, 1, and 14, 1, and
⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂ (with various other forms) the ‘saluter,’ is the
name of the Ape who is seen in the vignettes of the papyri saluting the
rising of the sun. See M. Naville’s _Todtenbuch_, I, plates 21 and 22;
the Papyrus of Ani, plate 2; the _Todtenbuch_ of Lepsius, Chapters 16
and 126.
I do not know how far it is correct to illustrate this undoubted origin
of the Egyptian name for the Ape, as ‘the saluting one,’ by the
following extract of a letter to Cuvier from M. Duvaucelle, about the
Siamang apes in the neighbourhood of Bencoolen in Sumatra. “They
assemble in numerous troops ... and thus united, they salute the rising
and the setting sun with the most terrific cries, which may be heard at
the distance of many miles; and which, when near, stun, when they do not
frighten. This is the morning call of the mountain Malays, but to the
inhabitants of the town, who are unaccustomed to it, it is a most
insupportable annoyance.”
In this place of the Book of the Dead the sign ⁂ is a mere
determinative of the sound _aān_ with the notion of _salutation_, just
as the sign ⁂ is a determinative of the sound _ȧb_ with the notion of
_thirst_.
The ‘saluters’ of the rising sun are neither real apes nor men but the
“Spirits of the East” who, as we are told in an inscription of the tomb
of Rameses VI, “effect the rising of Râ by opening the door at each of
the four portals of the eastern horizon of heaven. They it is who light
him on both sides, and go forth in advance of him.... And when he arises
they turn into six cynocephali.”[10]
The Egyptian words in the later texts are ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ the alternative reading being
itself a proof that the difficulty of the text was already felt by some
Egyptian scribe.
But if the scribe had consulted the oldest texts accessible in his day,
he would probably have seen another way out. Our oldest MS., that of
Nebseni, reads, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
_bes-kuȧ ȧbu ȧāā(n)u_, which signify literally, “antecedunt me corda
salutantium.” The word ⁂⁂⁂ _bes_ is a very common one in
pictures representing the introduction of a king or a god into a temple.
It is the technical term used in the Tablet of Canopus for the
inducting, by the king, of priests into their offices. The subject of
this verb is ⁂⁂⁂ _hearts_; an independent word, instead of
being the mere determinative of ⁂⁂⁂. The object of the verb is
the speaker—⁂⁂⁂—_kuȧ_, ‘me,’ as the papyrus _Pa_ reads, like
_Aa_. And it is easy to see how the later text, which is already found
in _Ax_, has been corrupted out of the older.
-----
Footnote 10:
Champollion, _Notices_, tom. II, p. 640.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER VI.
_Chapter whereby the funereal Statuettes may be made to do work for a
person in the Netherworld._
O Statuette(1.) there! Should I be called and appointed to do any of the
labours that are done in the Netherworld by a person according to his
abilities, lo! all obstacles have been beaten down for thee; be thou
counted for me at every moment, for planting the fields, for watering
the soil, for conveying the sands of east and west.
Here am I, whithersoever thou callest me.
NOTE.
1. This chapter is inscribed on the funereal statuettes, of which
enormous quantities are found; sometimes by hundreds in the
neighbourhood of a single mummy. Much information on the subject, both
archæological and philological, will be found in Mariette’s _Catalogue
Général des Monuments d’Abydos_, p. 25 and following, and in M. Loret’s
articles “Les Statuettes funéraires du Musée de Boulaq,” published in
the _Recueil de Travaux_, tomes IV and V.
In the earlier texts ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂; in the later
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The latter word being read _ušebti_, has very
naturally been considered as derived from ⁂⁂⁂⁂, in Coptic
ⲟⲩⲱϣⲃ, ‘to answer.’ For the statuette is addressed at the beginning of
the chapter, and it replies at the end. But there is no reason for
supposing that the earlier form had the same meaning.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER VII.
_Chapter of passing through the chine of Apepi which is void._
Oh, One of Wax,(1.) who takest captive and seizest with violence, and
livest upon those who are motionless! Let me not become motionless
before thee, let me not be paralysed before thee, let not thy venoms
enter into my limbs, for my limbs are the limbs of Tmu.
And if thou wouldst not be paralysed, let me not be paralysed.
Let not thy languors enter these limbs of mine.
I am the One who presideth over the pole of Heaven, and the powers of
all the gods are my powers.
I am he, whose names are hidden, and whose abodes are mysterious for all
eternity.
It is I who proceed from Tmu, and I am safe and sound.(2.)
NOTES.
Apepi is the personification of the storm-cloud and, as such, is the
enemy of Râ, by whom he is vanquished. As representing a natural
phenomenon of irregular occurrence, he is not deified like Sutu, the
Darkness of Night.
On comparing this chapter with the 99th, it would appear that the
occasion for reciting it is on the journey of the heavenly boat through
ridges of cloud, which are pictured as the coils of a great serpent, and
described as ⁂⁂ inanes, empty, void. In the papyrus of Nebket
(_Pe_) the vignette shows the deceased person transfixing the dragon.
The chapter itself was said over a wax figure of the demon.
1. These wax figures of gods and other personages were used not
only for ritual but for unlawful magical purposes. The Rollin
papyrus reports about a criminal condemned to death for magical
arts. He was charged with making ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘gods of
wax,’ and some men “for the purpose of paralysing the limbs of men
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.” See Chabas, _Papyrus
Magique_, p. 170, and Devéria, _Pap. judiciaire de Turin_, p. 131.
2. The more recent texts omit this ending and substitute, “I know, I
know.” Some MSS. have both readings.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER VIII.
_Chapter of opening the Tuat by day._
The Hour(1.) discloseth what the head of Thoth keepeth close, who giveth
might to the Eye of Horus.(2.)
And I call upon the Eye of Horus which gleams as an ornament upon the
brow of Râ, the father of the gods.
I am that Osiris, the Lord of Amenta, and Osiris knoweth his day, and
that it is in his lot that he should end his being, and be no more.(3.)
I am Sutu, the father of the gods, the imperishable one.
Stay, Horus, for he is counted among the gods.
NOTES.
1. Time.
2. See note on Chapter 17, 27. It must be sufficient here to say that
Thoth is a personification of the moon, and that the relations of solar
and lunar phenomena are the sources of a great deal of Egyptian
mythology.
3. This is one of the most difficult passages in the Book of the Dead,
but I do not see how it can be grammatically understood otherwise. It is
understood from the passage from Light to Darkness and the converse.
‘In his lot,’ literally ‘in him.’
‘End his being’: more strictly, ‘bring to an end his activity’;
⁂⁂⁂. ‘_Being_’ (though inevitable in a modern language) is much
too abstract a word for these ancient texts. ⁂ implies ‘motion,
activity,’ and ⁂ is not a simple negation, but implies ‘completion,
end’ (τελέω, τέλος), though not ‘cessation.’
Our _modern_ acceptation of the word ‘perfect’ is often wrongly applied
to ⁂. We should think rather of such phrases as ‘annum perficere,’
‘sole perfecto.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER IX.
_Chapter for opening the Tuat._
O Soul most mighty,(1.) here am I: I am come to thee that I may see
thee.
I open the Tuat that I may see my father Osiris and may drive away the
darkness.
I am he whom he loveth. I have come to see my father Osiris, to pierce
the heart of Sutu, and to perform all duties to my father Osiris.
I open all the paths in heaven and upon earth.
I am the son who loveth his father, and I am come as a mummied one,
glorious and well equipt.
Oh, all ye gods and goddesses, the path is made for me.
NOTE.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘Soul most mighty,’ is one of the principal
names of Osiris. The whole chapter is spoken in the person of Horus, the
son of Osiris.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER X.
_Chapter for coming forth victoriously._
I come forth victoriously against the adversaries.
I cleave the heaven, I open the horizon and I travel over the earth on
foot. There come forward to me the Glorious and the Great ones, for I am
furnished with numberless Words of Might.
I eat with my mouth, and I chew with my jaw; for, lo, I worship the god
who is Lord of the Tuat, and that is given to me which endureth amid
overthrow.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XI.
_Chapter for coming out against the adversary in the Netherworld._
Here is the Osiris _N_.
O Eater of his arm: away from his path!
I am Râ coming forth from the horizon against his adversary, who shall
not be delivered from me.
I have stretched out my hand, as the Lord of the Crown, and lifted my
feet.
I shall not be given up; my adversary shall fall before me; he hath been
given up to me and shall not be delivered from me.
I rise up like Horus, I sit down as Ptah, I am victorious as Thoth, and
powerful as Tmu: I walk upon my feet, I speak with my mouth, searching
for him who hath been given up to me; he shall not be delivered from me.
NOTE.
There is unfortunately no early text of this chapter, which we have in a
very corrupt form, and can only restore conjecturally. The Eater of his
arm is evidently Darkness, which is destroyed by the Sun.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XII.
_Chapter for entering and for coming forth out of the Netherworld._
Salutation to thee, O Râ, who guardest the secrets of the gates(1.) over
this domain of Seb, and this Balance with which Râ raiseth up Maât (2.)
daily:
Here am I, who cleave open(3.) the earth, grant that I may come and
acquire advance in age.(4.)
NOTES.
This chapter, like the next, occurs only in _Pa_ among the older MSS. It
comes twice in the Turin copy, being repeated as Chapter 120.
1. So _Pa_; the Turin copy has ‘the Tuat.’
2. In many places it is important to treat _Maât_ as a proper name.
3. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂ , a word not confined to
agricultural operations. See note 20, p. 8.
4. As the sun, who is represented as an infant at dawn and as an aged
man at sunset.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIII.
_Chapter for entering after coming out from Amenta._
I enter as a Hawk and come forth as a Bennu(1.) at Dawn.
Let the way be made for me that I may adore Râ at the fair Amenta, and
the locks(2.) of Osiris. I urge on the hounds of Horus.
Let the way be made for me that I may adore Osiris, the Lord of Life.
NOTES.
This chapter, in the MSS. of which the Turin copy is the type, is
repeated as Chapter 121, with the following rubric:--
“Said over an ear-ring of the flower Ânch-amu, put upon the right ear of
the deceased person, with another ear-ring, put in fine linen, upon
which is written the name of _N_, on the day of burial.”
1. The Bennu is a bird of the Heron kind. He is very commonly but, I
think, erroneously identified with the Phoenix. The bird described by
Herodotus, II, 73, was in outline and size “very like an eagle,” which
no one could say of the Bennu. He appeared only once in five hundred
years, whereas the Bennu appeared every day. The fable as told by the
Greeks is utterly unsupported by any Egyptian authority known to us.
2. This passage is, unfortunately, both in the ancient and the recent
forms, corrupt.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIV.
_Chapter for removing displeasure from the heart of the god against the
deceased person._
Hail to thee, oh god who sendest forth(1.) the Moment, who presidest
over all the Secret things(2.), and protectest the utterance of my
words.
Here(3.) is a god displeased against me; let wrong be overwhelmed and
let it fall upon the hands of the Lord of Law. Remove(4.) the
impediments which are in me and the evil and the darkness(5.), oh Lord
of Law, and let that god be reconciled to me, removing that which
detaineth me from thee.
Oh, lord of offerings in Kenu(6.), let me offer to thee the propitiary
offering by which thou livest, and let me live by it and be reconciled.
Let all the displeasure which is in thy heart against me be removed.
NOTES.
There is a very great difference between the earlier and the later texts
of this chapter. Former translators, having chiefly the Turin text
before them, have understood the title of the chapter as intended “to
remove the impurities from the heart of the deceased person.” The Turin
text of the chapter is really unintelligible, and even in the earlier
texts certain passages are so corrupt as to defy translation.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ like the Latin ‘mittere’ has the sense of “let go,
give free course, set at liberty.”
2. ⁂⁂⁂, the _secrets_, here as elsewhere in the funereal texts,
are those of the tomb and of the world beyond the grave.
3. The older texts have ⁂⁂, the later, ⁂.
4. The Lord of Law is in the singular, but the imperative ‘remove’ is in
the plural.
5. The word ⁂⁂ was a puzzle to the oldest transcribers.
It is susceptible of different meanings. The Turin text
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘the god is joined with Law,’ which is
supported by some of the older papyri, is intelligible in itself, but
not in this context. I have understood ⁂⁂⁂⁂, coming as it
does after ⁂⁂⁂, in the sense of ⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘deep
darkness.’
6. The MSS. differ hopelessly on this proper name.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XV.
HYMN I(1.).
_Adored be Râ, when he riseth up from the eastern horizon of
Heaven; they who accompany him extol him._
Here is the Osiris _N_, the Victorious, and he saith:--
O thou radiant Orb, who arisest each day from the Horizon, shine thou
upon the face of the Osiris _N_ who adoreth thee at dawn, and
propitiateth thee at the gloaming.
Let the soul of _N_ come forth with thee into heaven, let him journey in
the Mââtit boat and finish his course in the Sektit boat(2.) till he
reach in heaven unto the Stars which set(3.).
He saith, as he invoketh his Lord, the Eternal one:--
Hail to thee, Horus of the Two Horizons(4.), who art Chepera
Self-originating(5.); Beautiful is thy rising up from the horizon,
enlightening the two Earths with thy rays. All the gods are in
exultation when they see thee the King of Heaven, with the Nebt
Unnut[11] established upon thy head (and the diadem of the South and the
diadem of the North upon thy brow) which maketh her abode in front of
thee.
Thoth abideth at the prow of thy bark that he may destroy all thine
adversaries.
They who dwell in the Tuat are coming forth to meet thy Majesty, and to
gaze upon that beautiful semblance of thine.
And I too come to thee that I may be with thee to see thine Orb each
day; let me not be detained, let me not be repulsed.
Let my limbs be renewed by the contemplation of thy glories, like all
thy servants, for I am one of those who honoured thee upon earth.
Let me reach the Land of Ages, let me gain the Land of Eternity; for
thou, my Lord, hast destined them for me.
The Osiris _N_; he saith:--
Hail to thee who risest up from the Horizon as Râ in union with Maāt;
thou dost traverse heaven in peace and all men see thee as thou goest
forward. And after being concealed from them thou presentest thyself at
the dawn of each day.
Brisk is the bark under thy Majesty.
Thy rays are upon men’s faces; the golden glories they cannot be told:
not to be described are thy beams.
The Lands of the gods, the colours of Punit(6.) are seen in them; that
men may form an estimate of that which is hidden from their faces.
Alone art thou when thy form riseth up upon the Sky; let me advance as
thou advancest, like thy Majesty, without a pause, O Râ, whom none can
outstrip.
A mighty march is thine; Leagues by millions, and hundreds of thousands,
in a small moment thou hast travelled them, and thou goest to rest.
Thou completest the hours of the Night, according as thou hast measured
them out. And when thou hast completed them according to thy rule, day
dawneth.
Thou presentest thyself at thy place as Râ, as thou risest from the
Horizon.
The Osiris _N_, he saith, as he adoreth thee when thou shinest; He saith
to thee when thou risest up at dawn, as he exalteth thine appearance;
Thou comest forth, most glorious one, fashioning and forming thy limbs,
giving birth to them without any labour, as Râ rising in heaven.
Grant that I may attain to the Heaven of eternity and the abode of thy
servants; let me be united with the venerable and mighty Chu[12] of the
Netherworld; let me come forth with them to see thy glories, as thou
shinest at the gloaming, when thy mother Nut(7.) enfoldeth thee.
And when thou turnest thy face to the West, mine hands are in adoration
to thy setting as one who liveth;[13] for it is thou who hast created
Eternity.
I have set thee in my heart unceasingly, who art more mighty than all
the gods.
The Osiris _N_, he saith:--
Adoration to thee, who arisest out of the Golden, and givest light to
the earth on the day of thy birth. Thy mother bringeth thee forth upon
her hands, that thou mayest give light to the whole circumference which
the Solar Orb enlighteneth.
Mighty Enlightener, who risest up in the Sky and raisest up the tribes
of men by thy Stream, and givest holiday to all districts, towns and
temples; and raising food, nourishment and dainties.
Most Mighty one, master of masters, who defendest every abode of thine
against wrong, Most Glorious one in thine Evening Bark, Most Illustrious
in thy Morning Bark.
Glorify thou the Osiris _N_ in the Netherworld, grant that he may come
into Amenta without defect and free from wrong, and set him among the
faithful and venerable ones.
Let him be united with the souls in the Netherworld, let him sail about
in the country of Aarru[14] after a joyful journey.
Here is the Osiris _N_.
Come forth into Heaven, sail across the firmament and enter into
brotherhood with the Stars, let salutation be made to thee in the Bark,
let invocation be made to thee in the Morning Bark. Contemplate Râ
within his Ark and do thou propitiate his Orb daily. See the Ant fish in
its birth from the emerald stream, and see the Abtu fish and its
rotations.(8.)
And let the offender[15] fall prostrate, when he meditates destruction
for me, by blows upon his back-bone.
Râ springs forth with a fair wind; the Evening Bark speeds on and
reaches the Haven; the crew of Râ are in exultation when they look upon
him; the Mistress of Life, her heart is delighted at the overthrow of
the adversary of her Lord.
See thou Horus at the Look-out of the ship,(9.) and at his sides Thoth
and Maāt. All the gods are in exultation when they behold Râ coming in
peace to give new life to the hearts of the Chu, and here is the Osiris
_N_ along with them.
[LITANY.](10.)
_Adored be Râ, as he setteth in the Land of Life._(11.)
Hail to thee, who hast come as Tmu, and hast been the creator of the
cycle of the gods,(12.)
Hail to thee, who hast come as the Soul of Souls, August one in Amenta,
Hail to thee, who art above the gods and who lightenest up the Tuat with
thy glories,
Hail to thee, who comest in splendour, and goest round in thine Orb,
Hail to thee, who art mightier than the gods, who art crowned in Heaven
and King in the Tuat,
Hail to thee, who openest the Tuat and disposest of all its doors,
Hail to thee, supreme among the gods, and Weigher of Words in the
Netherworld.
Hail to thee, who art in thy Nest, and stirrest the Tuat with thy glory,
Hail to thee, the Great, the Mighty, whose enemies are laid prostrate at
their blocks,
Hail to thee, who slaughterest the Sebau and annihilatest Âpepi,
[Each invocation of this Litany is followed by]
Give thou delicious breezes of the north wind to the Osiris _N_.
Horus openeth; the Great, the Mighty, who divideth the earths, the great
one who resteth in the Mountain of the West, and lighteneth up the Tuat
with his glories and the Souls in their hidden abode, by shining into
their sepulchres.
By hurling harm against the foe thou hast utterly destroyed all the
adversaries of the Osiris _N_.
HYMN II.(13.)
The Osiris _N_; he saith when he adoreth Râ, the Horus of the Two
Horizons, when setting in the Land of Life.
Adoration to thee, O Râ; Adoration to thee, O Tmu, at thy coming in thy
beauty, in thy manifestation, in thy mastery.
Thou sailest over the Heaven, thou travellest over earth and in
splendour thou reachest the zenith; the two divisions of Heaven are in
obeisance to thee, and yield adoration to thee.
All the gods of Amenta are in exultation at thy glory. They whose abodes
are hidden adore thee, and the Great Ones make offerings to thee, who
for thee have created the soil of earth.(14.)
They who are on the Horizon convey thee, and they who are in the Evening
Bark transport thee, and they say--Adoration at the approach of thy
Majesty, Come, Come, approach in peace, Oh to thee, Welcome, Lord of
Heaven, King of Akerta.
Thy mother Isis(15.) embraceth thee, seeing in thee her son, as the Lord
of Terror, the All-Powerful, as he setteth in the Land of Life at night.
Thy father Tatunen(16.) carrieth thee, and his arms are stretched out
behind thee, and that which hath taken place is made last upon earth.
Wake up from thy rest, thine abode is in Manu.
Let me be entrusted to the fidelity which is yielded to Osiris.
Come, O Râ, Tmu, be thou adored. Do thy will daily. Grant success in
presence of the cycle of the mighty gods.
Beautiful art thou, O Râ, in thine Horizon of the West; O Lord of Law,
in the midst of the Horizon.
Very terrible art thou, rich art thou in attributes, and great is thy
love to those who dwell in the Tuat.
_To be said, when Râ sets in the Land of Life; with hands bent
downward._(17.)
HYMN III.(18.)
_Adoration to Tmu as he setteth in the Land of Life._
The Osiris _N_; he saith:--
Adoration to Tmu as he setteth in the Land of Life.
The Osiris _N_; he saith, adoring Tmu, when setting in the Land of Life
and shedding his rays on the Tuat;
Hail to thee setting in the Land of Life, O Father of the gods, thou art
united to thy mother in Manu. Her two hands receive thee daily. Thy
Majesty hath part in the house of Sokaru. Exult thou because the doors
are opened of the Horizon, at thy setting in the Mountain of the West.
Thy rays, they run over the earth to enlighten the dwellers in Amenta.
Those who are in the Tuat worship thee with loud acclaim, and cherish
hope when they see thee daily.
Thou grantest to the gods to sit upon the earth; to those, namely, who
follow thee and come in thy train.
O august Soul, who begettest the gods, and dost invest them with thine
attributes; the Unknowable, the Ancient One, the Mighty in thy mystery.
Be thy fair face propitious to the Osiris _N_, oh Chepera, Father of the
gods(19.).
Freedom for ever from perdition is derived through this Book, and upon
it I take my firm stand.
He hath written it who spake it, and his heart resteth on the reward.
Let there be given me armfuls of bread and drink, and let me be
accompanied by this Book after my life.
NOTES.
The fifteenth chapter as it stands in the later recension (represented
by the Turin _Todtenbuch_) is of very recent origin. It is in fact a
collection of texts originally independent of each other; (1) a hymn to
Râ at his rising, (2) a litany, (3) a hymn to Râ at his setting, (4) a
hymn to Tmu at his setting, followed by a statement respecting the
spiritual importance of the document.
Of the last hymn there are no copies of ancient date, but the other
three compositions are found more or less perfect as far back as the
XIXth dynasty. The discrepancies, however, between the ancient texts
furnish so much evidence of free composition on the part of the scribes,
that it is impossible to suppose that they had before them documents
recognised as sacred and canonical. M. Naville has found it necessary to
publish four different forms of the hymn to the rising, and three of the
hymn to the setting sun. The ideas and expressions throughout these
hymns are current in the religious texts of the XVIIIth and XIXth
dynasties.
In the translation here given I have followed the _form_ adopted by the
later recension, correcting the text when necessary by the copies
written in the better periods.
1. The text of the Papyrus of Ani has been taken as the basis of the
translation of HYMN I. It is the only ancient text which gives the hymn
in the form subsequently acknowledged as canonical.
2. The sun was represented from the earliest period, as we may see in
the pyramid texts, as performing his celestial journey in a boat, which
during the morning was called the _Māāṭit_ ⁂⁂⁂ and in the
evening the _Sektit_ ⁂⁂.
3. The stars which _set_ were called the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧḫmiu ureṭu_. The stars which
never set, but are always above the horizon were called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧḫmiu seku_. The word _ȧḫmiu_ has
often been taken for a mere negative, but it occurs by itself with the
sign of _stars_ as a determinative ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂.
And the whole term is written ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_Denkm._ III.
271_d_ _twice_).
As one of the meanings of ⁂ _ḫem_ is _minuere_, and as the ordinary
meaning of the Demotic ⁂⁂⁂ is “small,” like the Coptic
ϣⲟⲙ = λεπτὸς, it is not improbable that the stars received this
appellation on account of their tiny size as compared with the Sun and
Moon. They were what Horace called the “ignes _minores_.”
The Sun and Moon, as we all know, are called in Gen. i, 16, the “Two
Great Lights.”
4. Both the Eastern and the Western horizon are mentioned in this
chapter, but “Horus of the Two Horizons,” has no reference to this
distinction. Whatever the Sun passes through or over is always conceived
as double. The _Two Earths_ imply simply the Earth as divided by the
passage of the Sun above it. It is to M. Grébaut that we are indebted
for the discovery of this important key to many Egyptian expressions.
5. ⁂ _ḫeper_, like the German _Werden_, has primarily the sense of
_turning_, hence of _becoming_. It never has the sense of _creating_.
⁂⁂ _ḫeper t’esef_ is the equivalent of the Greek αὐτογενής, like
that word is sometimes used for spontaneous productions of the mineral
kingdom, as salt or natron as contrasted with artificial products of the
same nature. It cannot be used for plants, as they have an origin in
something external to themselves.
6. _The Land of the Gods_ and _Punit_ are the countries lying east of
Egypt. When it is said that gods ‘come from Punit,’ it is not meant by
this that they are of Arabian origin, but simply that Sun, Moon, and
Stars, and Daylight rise in the East. “Ex oriente Lux.”
7. In many places the divine name Nut has for determinative the sign
⁂. Is this an oversight on the part of the scribe, or is it one more
proof that the Egyptians certainly believed in a sky below the horizon?
If so, I have never seen it misplaced.
8. The Ant and the Abṭu are sometimes represented by the side of the
solar bark. From the egg of the Abṭu there rises the great Cat, the Sun.
It is, as M. Loret has proved, the _Tortoise_ of the Nile. As
⁂⁂⁂ _ȧbṭu_, ‘the _month_,’ is phonetically homonymous with
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧbṭu_, the Tortoise, and that the latter is
characterised by ⁂, ⁂, ‘its rotation, revolving or turning,’ the
word _ȧbṭu_, whether applied to ‘month’ or ‘tortoise’ clearly signifies
‘the revolving one.’ Our modern words Tortoise, Tortue, Tortuga, rather
express the turning or twisting of the creature’s feet. In some texts,
_e.g._, the inscriptions of Amenhotep, the son of Hapu, Mariette,
_Karnak_, pl. 36, line 22, and at the beginning of the Ani Papyrus, the
word is written ⁂⁂⁂ _abtu_. In the later part of the Ani
Papyrus it is written with the initial ⁂⁂.
9. The Look-out of the ship, in Egyptian ⁂⁂⁂, or more fully
⁂⁂⁂⁂ _nefrit_, is written ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the
Papyrus of Ani. This interesting variant is of extreme value. It not
only explains a word, the very existence of which has been called in
question, but tells us the Egyptian name for that seat of Horus at the
prow of the Solar Bark about which I wrote a note in _Proc. Soc. Bib.
Arch._ of Nov. 3, 1891. See the plates attached to the note, and the
corresponding vignettes in _Todtenbuch_, Pl. VI and IX.
10. The Litany here translated is that of the Turin _Todtenbuch_. It is
found, but in a very mutilated condition, in the Papyrus of Nechtuamon
at Berlin (_Ba_), a manuscript of the XIXth dynasty.
Another Litany, preceding HYMN I, is found in the Papyrus of Ani. It is
addressed to “Osiris, the everlasting Lord, Unneferu, Horus of the Two
Horizons, of many forms and mighty of attributes. Ptah Sakru, Tmu in
Heliopolis, Lord of the Unseen World, who hath built up Memphis and its
gods.”
“Hail to thee, Chabasu[16] in Heliopolis, Hammemit in Cher-âbau, and
Unta[17] more potent than the unseen gods in Heliopolis.
Hail to thee, An in An ... Horus in the Two Horizons, who extendeth
his steps and traverseth the Heaven; he is Horchuta;
Hail to thee, eternal Soul, Soul which is in Tattu, Unneferu, Son of
Nut; he is Lord of Acherta;
Hail to thee, as thou reignest in Tattu, the royal crown is fixed upon
thy brow. Thou art the Only One, the author of his own attributes,
thou restest in Tattu;
Hail to thee, Lord of Heracleopolis, for whom the Bark of Sokru is
placed upon its sledge; who repellest the Sebau, the doers of wrong;
and who puttest the _Ut’at_ into its place;
Hail to thee, Potent One, at thine appointed moment, Most Mighty One,
Prince of An-arr-ef, Eternal Lord, author of eternity, Thou art the
Lord of Suten-henen;
Hail to thee, who restest upon Maāt; Thou art the Lord of Abydos, thy
limbs reach to Ta-tsert; Thou art he who abominatest wrong;
Hail to thee, in the midst of thy Bark, who bringest the Nile from his
fountain; upon whose dead body the light shineth; he is the One who is
in Nechen;
Hail to thee, author of the gods, King of North and South, Osiris, the
triumphant one, possessing the entire universe in his beneficent
alternations; He is the Lord of the Universe;
Grant me passage in peace. I am righteous, I speak not falsehood
knowingly, I am not guilty of duplicity.”
11. ⁂⁂⁂ ‘the Land of Life,’ one of the names given to the realm
of Osiris after death, is not, as far as I can discover, mentioned
anywhere in the earlier MSS. of the Book of the Dead.
Instead of “resting in the Land of Life,” the older texts have
⁂⁂⁂ ‘in Amenta’ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘in life in
Amenta,’ or as ‘one living, in Amenta.’
12. ⁂⁂. The word ⁂⁂ _pat_ implies going _round_ like a wheel
or in a circle; ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘going round on high with
the Sun.’ Hence the use of it as synonymous with ⁂, in the
expressions ⁂⁂ =⁂ ‘never’ and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ = ⁂⁂
‘the first time, the beginning of time, _prima vice_.’ A sacrificial
cake is called ⁂⁂⁂ (_Denkm._, II, 28) on account of its shape,
like the Latin _rotundula_, also written ⁂⁂⁂.
And, like the Greek κύκλος, the word comes to signify a circle of
persons. This circle is not necessarily of gods. The Bremner Papyrus in
the British Museum (14, line 8), says an _apage_ not only to Âpepi, who
was no god, and to his soul and body, and ghost and shadow and children,
and to his kith and kin, but, also to his ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, that is
all associated with him, “ceux de son _entourage_.”
That ⁂⁂ should express the ‘feast of the New Moon’ is only
natural, though Lepsius has pointed out serious difficulties on the
subject.
But ⁂ also expresses the number nine. Whence in this relation arises
the Egyptian conception of the number nine? Is it the _round_ (we should
say the ‘square’) number, three times three? It certainly is merely a
round number in many instances, but what is still more certain is that
the same expression meaning ‘circle of gods’ and ‘nine gods,’ the circle
was supposed to consist of nine gods, and was enlarged to companies of
eighteen or twenty-seven. It is, I am sure, perfectly idle work to look
for more profound reasons for the theory of the ‘Ennead.’[18] _Every_
god of importance had his ⁂⁂⁂,[19] and the best theory that has
ever been given is that given at the beginning of Chapter 17.
13. The Turin text seems better adapted for the basis of a translation
of HYMN II than the older papyri. These have been used for checking the
later text whenever possible.
14. A difficult passage, but the readings are unanimous. What is ⁂?
Brugsch translates it “the Talisman of the Earth,” and Pierret “le salut
de la terre.” No objection can be raised against the truth of either of
these meanings taken by itself. But we have to look at the entire
context. The expression literally signifies “the back of the earth.” In
Latin we say _sinus_, _gremium_ and _viscera terrae_. The Egyptians
themselves talk of the back of Seb, ⁂⁂⁂, out of which the
plants grow, and in a place quoted by Duemichen (_Zeitschrift_, 1871, p.
92, note) ⁂⁂ _ta_ the _Earth_, is substituted for Seb. I believe
then that ⁂ is best translated by _Soil of the Earth_.
15. Thy mother Isis. So _Ba_. The Turin text has Nut, which is
inconsistent with what follows.
16. _La_ gives Tatunen; _Af_, Tunen; the Turin recension Tanen, names
belonging to the god also called Ptah, Sokru and Osiris. See the
inscriptions in Mariette’s _Abydos_, I, pl. 16, 6, on the Tat figures.
Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, seems to be here addressed.
17. This rubric does not occur in the older MSS.
18. This hymn has not yet been found in the older MSS. A text carefully
corrected from the papyri of the Louvre will be found in M. Lefébure’s
_Traduction comparée des Hymnes au Soleil composant le XV^e chapitre du
Ritual Funéraire Egyptien_. Paris, 1868.
19. ‘Chepera, father of the gods.’ Expressions like this are liable to
be misunderstood by superficial readers. They are not meant to imply
that ‘father of the gods’ was the special attribute of Chepera. ‘Father
of the gods’ is predicated in Chapter 8 of Sutu, and it is predicated
elsewhere of many other divinities. As in mathematics _any_ point in
space may be conceived as the origin of a given line or surface, so in
Egyptian mythology any god may be rightly called the father of the gods.
And for the same reason. The Day precedes the Night, but not more truly
than Night precedes, or in mythological language _gives birth to_ Day.
But we may begin at Daybreak, or at Noon, or at Sunset, or with the Sun
or the Moon, or with the rising of the Nile or any other natural
phenomenon which obeys an evidently permanent fixed Law.
-----
Footnote 11:
One of the names of the Uræus on the royal crown.
Footnote 12:
‘The Glorious ones’; see Note 1 on Chapter I.
Footnote 13:
See note 11.
Footnote 14:
An abode of bliss (like the Elysian fields) frequently mentioned and
described in the Book of the Dead.
Footnote 15:
The dragon Âpepi.
Footnote 16:
Both _Chabasu_ and _Hammemit_ have the sign of the plural, which may
arise from the omission of _who art above_ before the first of these
words. Unfortunately we have no other copy to check the readings. But
it is certain that the sign of plurality is often affixed to words
which though in plural form (like the Latin _moenia_, _literae_,
_tenebrae_) have a singular meaning. _Chabasu_ means a _lamp_, and the
stars, especially the decans, were called by this appellation.
_Hammemit_ is the name given to those yet unborn.
Footnote 17:
⁂⁂⁂_Un-tȧ_, signifies the god who assumes the face or form of
a _Hare_ ⁂, just as _Mau-tȧ_ signifies the god with the face or
form of a Cat, _Tehuta_, the god with the head or form of an Ibis.
Footnote 18:
I am deeply grieved that in my conversation and correspondence with
Goodwin (see my _Miscellaneous Notes on Egyptian Philology_, p. 15), I
hit upon ‘Ennead’ as a translation of ⁂. Goodwin took it up, and
it has since been productive of much mischief. The word in itself
(like Triad), is perfectly innocent and correct, yet every word has
its ‘cycle’ of associations, and some of them lead the unwary astray.
I had just been lecturing on Plotinus when Goodwin asked me for the
word.
Footnote 19:
The _four_ children of Horus are called (_Tempelins._, I, 41, 1)
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
PLATE IV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XVI.
[Illustration:
=A.=--THE RISING SUN.
Papyrus, Leyden Museum, II.
]
--------------
_See_ NAVILLE’s “Book of the Dead,” I, Pl. 21.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE V.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XVI.
[Illustration:
=B.=--THE SETTING SUN.
Papyrus, Leyden Museum.
]
--------------
_See_ NAVILLE's “Book of the Dead,” I, Pl. 22.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVI.
NOTE.
When Lepsius divided the _Todtenbuch_ into 165 chapters, that portion of
it which was numbered as Chapter 16, was in fact merely the Vignette of
Chapter 15.
It has been thought well to publish with this translation the Vignettes
from the great Papyrus _La_ of Leyden, representing _a_, the Rising; and
_b_, the Setting Sun. (_See plates._)
In _a_ the Sun is represented as rising into Heaven, saluted by the six
Cynocephalous Apes. He is also saluted by two goddesses kneeling. In the
Papyrus of Hunefer these goddesses say, “I am thy sister Isis,” “I am
thy sister Nephthys.” The _Tat_ ⁂ which is between them is a symbol
_both_ of Osiris and of the East, and in _Ba_ is replaced by the sign
⁂. In the later periods the Dawn was represented by the sign ⁂
consisting of the Sun rising out of the East, between Isis and Nephthys.
The sign of Life ⁂ _ānḫ_ (which primarily means _rise up_) rises out
of the _Tat_, and with hands proceeding from it raises up the Sun.
In _b_ the central object is the Sun setting in the West ⁂. He is
saluted by three hawk-headed and by three jackal-headed divinities, the
Spirits of Pu and of Nechen. Below this scene the Sun of Yesterday and
the Sun of To-day in lion forms are saluted by Isis and Nephthys.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVII.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day out of the Netherworld. Let the
words be said_:
=I am he who closeth and he who openeth, and I am but One.=(1.)
I am Râ at his first appearance.
I am the great god, self-produced;
His Names together compose the cycle of the gods;
Resistless is he among the gods.(2.)
I, who am Osiris, am Yesterday and the kinsman of the Morrow.(3.)
A scene of strife arose among the gods when I gave the command.(4.)
=Amenta is the scene of strife among the gods.=
I know the name of the great god who is here.
=Herald[20] of Râ is his name.=
I am the great Heron who is in Heliopolis, who presideth over the
account of whatsoever is and of that which cometh into being.(5.)
=Who is that? It is Osiris who presideth over the account of all that is
and all that cometh into being, that is Endless Time and Eternity.
Endless Time is Day and Eternity is Night.=
I am Amsu in his manifestations; there have been given to me the Two
Feathers upon my head.(6.)
=Who is that, and what are his Feathers? It is Horus, the avenger of his
father, and the Two Feathers are the Uræi upon the forehead of his
father Tmu.=(7.)
I have alighted upon my Land, and I come from my own Place.
=What is that? It is the Horizon of my father Tmu.=
All defects are done away, all deficiencies are removed, and all that
was wrong in me is cast forth.
I am purified at the two great and mighty Lakes at Sutenhunen, which
purify the offerings which living men present to the great god who is
there(8.).
=Who is that? It is Râ himself.=
=Which are the two great and mighty Lakes? The Lake of Natron and the
Lake of Māāt=(9.).
=I advance over the roads, which I know, and my face is on the Land of
Māāt.=
=What is that? The road upon which father Tmu advanceth, when he goeth
to the Field of Aarru, approaching to the land of Spirits in Heaven.=
I come forth through the T’eser gate.
=What is that? This gate of the gods is Haukar. It is the gate and the
two doors and openings, through which father Tmu issueth to the Eastern
Horizon of Heaven.=(10.)
O ye who have gone before! Let me grasp your hands, me who become one of
you.
=Who are they? Those who have gone before are Hu and Sau. May I be with
their father Tmu, throughout the course of each day.=(11.)
I make full the Eye when it waxeth dim on the day of battle between the
two Opponents.(12.)
=What is that? The battle of the two Opponents is the day upon which
Horus fighteth with Sut, when he flingeth his filth upon the face of
Horus, and when Horus seizeth upon the genitals of Sut, for it is Horus
who doeth this with his own fingers.=
I lift up the hairy net from the Eye at the period of its distress.(13.)
=What is that? The right Eye of Râ in the period of its distress when he
giveth it free course, and it is Thoth who lifteth up the net from it.=
I see Râ, when he is born from Yesterday, at the dugs of the Mehurit
cows?(14.) His course is my course, and conversely mine is his.
=What is that? Râ and his births from Yesterday at the dugs of the
Mehurit cows? It is the figure of the Eye of Râ, at his daily birth. And
Mehurit is the Eye.=
I am one of those who are in the train of Horus.
=What is that--‘one of those in the train of Horus’? Said with reference
to whom his Lord loveth.=
Hail, ye possessors of Māāt, divine Powers attached to Osiris, who deal
destruction to falsehood, ye who are in the train of Hotepeschaus, grant
me that I may come to you. Do ye away the wrong which is me, as ye have
done to the Seven Glorious ones, who follow after the Coffined one, and
whose places Anubis hath fixed on that day of ‘Come thou hither’!
=Hotepeschaus is the divine Flame which is assigned to Osiris for
burning the souls of his adversaries. I know the names of the Seven
Glorious ones who follow the Coffined one, and whose places Anubis hath
fixed on the day of ‘Come thou hither.’ The leader of this divine
company,=
‘An-ar-ef, the Great’ is his name; 2, Kat-kat; 3, the Burning Bull, who
liveth in his fire; 4, the Red-eyed one in the House of Gauze; 5,
Fieryface which turneth backwards; 6, Dark Face in its hour; 7, Seer in
the Night.(15.)
I am he whose Soul resideth in a pair of gods.
=It is Osiris, as he cometh to Tattu, and there findeth the soul of Râ;
each embraceth the other, and becometh Two Souls.=
=The pair of gods are Horus, the Avenger of his Father, and Horus, the
Prince of the City of Blindness.=
I am the great Cat, who frequenteth the Persea tree in Heliopolis, on
that night of battle wherein is effected the defeat of the Sebau, and
that day upon which the adversaries of the Inviolate god(16.) are
exterminated.
=Who is that great Cat? It is Râ himself. For Sau said, He is the
likeness (Maȧu) of that which he hath created, and his name became that
of Cat (Maȧu).=(17.)
=The night of conflict is the defeat of the children of Failure at
Elephantine. There was conflict in the entire universe, in heaven and
upon the earth.=
=He who frequenteth the Persea tree is he who regulateth the children of
Failure, and that which they do.=
O Râ, in thine Egg, who risest up in thine orb, and shinest from thine
Horizon, and swimmest over the firmament without a peer, and sailest
over the sky; whose mouth sendeth forth breezes of flame, lightening up
the Two Earths with thy glories, do thou deliver _N_ from that god whose
attributes are hidden, whose eyebrows are as the arms of the Balance
upon that day when outrage is brought to account, and each wrong is tied
up to its separate block of settlement.
=The god whose eyebrows are as the arms of the Balance is “he who
lifteth up his arm.”=[21]
Deliver me from those Wardens of the Passages with hurtful fingers,
attendant upon Osiris.
=The Wardens of Osiris are the Powers who keep off the forces of the
adversaries of Râ.=
May your knives not get hold of me; may I not fall into your shambles,
for I know your names; my course upon earth is with Râ and my fair goal
is with Osiris. Let not your offerings be in my disfavour, oh ye gods
upon your altars! I am one of those who follow the Master, a keeper of
the writ of Chepera.
I fly like a Hawk, I cackle like the _Smen_-Goose, I move eternally like
Nehebkau.(18.)
Oh Tmu who art in the Great Dwelling, Sovereign of all the gods, deliver
me from that god who liveth upon the damned; whose face is that of a
hound, but whose skin is that of a man; at that angle of the pool of
fire; devouring shades, digesting human hearts and voiding ordure. One
seeth him not.
=This god whose face is that of a hound and whose skin[22] is that of a
man: Eternal Devourer is his name.=(19.)
Oh Fearful one, who art over the Two Earths, Red god who orderest the
block of execution; to whom is given the Double Crown and Enjoyment as
Prince of Sutenhunen.
=It is Osiris to whom was ordained the Leadership among the gods, upon
that day when the Two Earths were united before the Inviolate god.=
=The junction of the Two Earths is the head of the coffin of Osiris
whose father is Râ=[23] =the beneficent Soul in Sutenhunen, the giver of
food and the destroyer of wrong, who hath determined the paths of
eternity.=
=It is Râ himself.=
Deliver me from that god who seizeth upon souls, who consumeth all filth
and corruption in the darkness or in the light: all those who fear him
are in powerless condition.
=This god is Sut.=
Oh Chepera, who are in the midst of thy bark and whose body is the cycle
of the gods for ever; deliver me from those inquisitorial Wardens to
whom the Inviolate god, of Glorious Attributes, hath given guard over
his adversaries, and the infliction of slaughter in the place of
annihilation, from whose guard there is no escape. May I not fall under
your knives, may I not sit within your dungeons, may I not come to your
places of extermination, may I not fall into your pits; may there be
done to me none of those things which the gods abominate; for I have
passed through the place of purification in the middle of the Meskat,
for which are given the Mesit and the Tehenit cakes in Tanenit.
=The Meskat is the place of scourging in Sutenhunen, the Tehenit is the
Eye of Horus.... Tanenit is the resting place of Osiris.=(20.)
Tmu buildeth thy dwelling, the Lion-faced god layeth the foundation of
thy house, as he goeth his round. Horus offereth purification and Sut
giveth might, and conversely.
I have come upon this earth and with my two feet taken possession. I am
Tmu and I come from my own Place.
Back, oh Lion with dazzling mouth, and with head bent forwards,
retreating before me and my might.
I am Isis and thou findest me as I drop upon my face the hair which
falleth loosely on my brow.
I was conceived by Isis and begotten by Nephthys. Isis destroyeth what
in me is wrong, and Nephthys loppeth off that which is rebellious.
Dread cometh in my train and Might is in my hands. Numberless are the
hands who cling fast to me. The dead ones and the living come to me. I
defeat the clients of mine adversaries, and spoil those whose hands are
darkened.
I have made an agreeable alliance. I have created the inhabitants of
Cher-âbat and those of Heliopolis.(21.) And every god is in fear before
the Terrible, the Almighty one.
I avenge every god against his oppressor, at whom I shoot my arrows when
he appeareth.
I live according to my will.
I am Uat’it, the Fiery one.(22.)
And woe to them who mount up against me!
What is this? “Of unknown attributes, which Hemen(23.) hath given” is
the name of the Funereal Chest. “The Witness of that which is lifted” is
the name of the Shrine.
The Lion with dazzling mouth and with head bent forwards is the Phallus
of Osiris [_otherwise_ of Râ].
And I who drop the hair which hath loosely fallen upon my brow--I am
Isis, when she concealeth herself; she hath let fall her hair over
herself.
Uat’it the Fiery is the Eye of Râ.
They who mount up against me, woe to them, they are the associates of
Sut as they approach.(24.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE VI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD. CHAPTER XVII.
PAPYRUS, TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, IV.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE VII.
[Illustration]
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XVII.
---------------------
_a._ Berlin Museum. No. 1470.
_b._ British Museum. No. 9901.
---------------------
_See_ NAVILLE, “Book of the Dead,” I, Plate.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES.
The seventeenth chapter is one of the most remarkable in the whole
collection, and it has been preserved from times previous to the XIIth
dynasty. The very earliest monuments which have preserved it have handed
it down accompanied with scholia and other commentaries interpolated
into the text. Some of the monuments enable us to some extent to divide
the original text from the additions, in consequence of the latter being
written in red. But there is really only one text where the additions
are suppressed, and which therefore offers the most ancient form, as far
as we know it, of the chapter. This is the copy on the wall of the tomb
of Horhotep. The sarcophagus itself of Horhotep contains a copy of the
text along with the additions. The chapter must already at the time have
been of the most venerable antiquity. Besides these two copies of the
chapter we have those from the sarcophagi of Hora and Sit-Bastit
(published, like those of Horhotep, by M. Maspero[24]), two from the
sarcophagi of Mentuhotep, and one from that of Sebek-āa (the three
latter published by Lepsius in his _Aelteste Texte_). The British Museum
has Sir Gardner Wilkinson’s copy of the texts inscribed on the coffin of
Queen Mentuhotep of the XIth dynasty, and also a fragment (6636 a) of
the coffin of a prince named Hornefru. Here then we have an abundance of
witnesses of the best period. They unfortunately do not agree. The
progress of corruption had no doubt begun long before, and the variants
are not simply differences of orthography but positively different
readings. The differences however are chiefly in the scholia. Even when
the explanations of the text are identical, the form differs. The latest
recensions have retained the form ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂; the
ancient added the feminine ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. _What is that?_
But some of the ancient texts give the equivalent words
⁂⁂⁂⁂, and Horhotep does without them altogether. These words
were evidently additions not merely to the text but to the scholia.
The text of the chapter grew more and more obscure to readers, and the
explanations hitherto given were so unsatisfactory as to call for
others. The texts of the manuscripts of the new empire furnish a good
deal of fresh matter, much of which is extremely ancient, though the
proof of this is unfortunately lost through the disastrous condition of
literature in the period preceding the XVIIIth dynasty. The XVIIIth
dynasty and its immediate successors inherited but did not invent the
new form of the Book of the Dead, with its succession of vignettes,
which however differing in detail bear the stamp of a common traditional
teaching. The manuscripts of a later period bear witness, with reference
to this as well as to other chapters, to a recension of an authoritative
kind. The text becomes more certain though perhaps not either more true
or more intelligible, and the notes and explanations have here reached
their fullest extent.
It would take an entire volume to give the translations of all the forms
the chapter has assumed. It must be sufficient here to give the earliest
forms known to us of the text and of the first commentaries. These are
printed in characters which show the difference between text and later
additions; all of which, it must be remembered, are of extreme
antiquity--some _two thousand years_ before any probable date of Moses.
Explanations or other interesting matter occurring in the manuscripts of
the later Empire will be referred to in the notes.
The title in the early copies is the simple one here heading the
chapter. In those which begin at the XVIIIth dynasty the title is very
like that given for the first chapter. The chief additions are that the
deceased person “_takes every form that he pleases, plays draughts, and
sits in a bower, comes forth as a soul living after death, and that what
is done upon earth is glorified_.”
1. It would be difficult for us to imagine that the very remarkable
opening of the chapter is an addition. Yet it is unknown to the
primitive recension on the walls of Horhotep’s tomb, though found
everywhere else. The texts however which contain it do not agree. “I am
He who closeth, and He who openeth, and I am but One.” ‘He who closeth’
is ⁂⁂ _Tmu_, ‘He who openeth’ ⁂ _Unen_. As the god who closes
and who opens is one and the same, ‘I am but One,’ is a very natural
ending of the sentence, and for its sense the whole may appeal to
classical, and higher than classical, authority.
“Modo namque Patulcius idem
Et modo sacrifico Clusius ore vocor.”[25]
“I am Alpha and O, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord.”[26]
The meaning of the Egyptian is quite plain, but the readings most
probably through the absence of determinatives in the oldest style are
somewhat different. Horhotep and other texts have ⁂⁂⁂⁂,
apparently as one word (compounded of _tmu_ and _unen_), which may
signify the ‘closer and opener,’ but Sebek-āa and later texts have
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The papyrus of Nebseni has ⁂⁂, in the
third person, which does not alter the meaning, but this is quite an
isolated reading. The later recension, as represented by the Turin
_Todtenbuch_ and the Cadet papyrus, has ⁂⁂, which only prominently
brings forward, what is implied in all the other texts, that the Opener
is a god.[27] The absence of the determinative ⁂ after ⁂ is no
objection to the sense ‘opener,’ especially after ⁂⁂. It is
absolutely necessary when dealing with mythology to look to physical
rather than to metaphysical meanings. I have sufficiently discussed the
meanings of the word ⁂ in my essay on the Myth of Osiris Unnefer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE III.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XV.
[Illustration: Horus at the Look-out of the Ship.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The later recensions add an interpolation (not without very different
readings) to the effect that the Sun made his first appearance when Shu
raised the Sky from the height of Chemennu, where he destroyed the
‘Children of Failure’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The raising of the Sky by Shu is very frequently represented in
pictures. Seb (the Earth) and Nut (the Sky) have been sleeping in each
other’s arms during the night; Shu (Daylight at sunrise) parts them, and
the sky is seen to be raised high above the earth.
⁂⁂⁂, Shu, who is of course the son of Râ, is in consequence of
this act called ⁂⁂ _Ȧn-ḥeru_, ‘The Lifter up of the Heaven.’
_Chemennu_ is the geographical name of the town called by the Greeks
Hermopolis. The mystical Chemennu, however, is alone referred to in this
place. The word itself means Eight, and Lepsius sees here a reference to
eight elementary deities. (We must remember that the passage itself is
an interpolation, of which there is no trace in the older texts.)
The ‘children of _Failure_’ (⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂ _deficere_,
_dissolvi_, _deliquium_[28]) are the elements of darkness which melt
away and vanish at the appearance of Day. This mythological expression
here found in an interpolated passage is met later on in a genuine
portion of the older text.
2. It would be impossible to find a more emphatic assertion of the
doctrine of _Nomina Numina_; and that more than 3000 years before
Christ.
The _Names_ of Râ, the Sun-god, are said, when taken together, to
compose ‘the cycle of the gods.’ ⁂⁂. Or the names which he has
created, to which he has given rise, that is the names of all the solar
phenomena, recurring as they do, day after day, to the eyes of all
beholders, compose “the cycle of the gods,” who are also called the
limbs or members of Râ.
The scholia contained in the papyri of the XVIIIth and later dynasties
explain the text as follows:--
“It is Râ as he creates the _names_ of his _limbs_ ⁂ which _become_
the gods who accompany him.”
And the present chapter later on says of Chepera, the rising Sun, that
the “cycle of the gods is his body.”
The god who has hitherto been spoken of is Râ. In glaring contradiction
to the whole text, a later note states that the resistless god is “the
Water, which is _Nu_”; that is Heaven.[29] ⁂⁂⁂ _Nu_ is not
alluded to at all in the primitive text, but the papyrus of Nebseni
already exhibits the corruption of the fine passage, “I am he who
closeth and he who openeth, and I am but One.” This is itself an
addition, the true meaning of which was afterwards destroyed by the
interpolation of the words ⁂⁂⁂⁂. These are ambiguous. They
might mean that the god was alone ‘in heaven,’ or that he was alone
‘_as_ Heaven.’ The papyrus of Ani has ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “I was
born from Nu.” These attempted improvements do not give a favourable
impression of the exegetical acumen of Egyptian theologians.
But the mention of ‘Water’ in the scholion has nothing whatever to do
with the doctrine of Thales, and to suppose that it has implies a
confusion between two very different realms of human thought.
3. ‘The kinsman of the Morrow,’ literally ‘I know the Morrow.’ The word
⁂ signifies _can_, _ken_, and _kin_.
The papyrus of Nebseni and all the subsequent texts give the explanation
that Yesterday means Osiris, and the Morrow means Râ. And the vignette
in the papyrus of Ani gives the name of Yesterday to one of the Lions
and of Morrow to the other.
4. The earliest texts have either ⁂ ‘speak,’ or ⁂⁂ ‘command.’
The meaning is the same in both readings. Strife arose among the gods at
the bidding of Râ: that is every force in nature began its appropriate
career of activity, necessarily coming into contact and conflict with
the other forces. And of all this collision the first cause, the origin
of all activity and motion, is the Sun.
This mythological cosmology reminds one of the saying of Heraclitos that
“Strife is the father and the king of all things,” and the doctrine that
all becoming must be conceived as the product of warring
opposites--παν´ντα κατ’ ἔριν γίνεσθαι.
5. The Heron is the bird called ⁂⁂⁂ _bennu_, the numerous
pictures of which enable us to identify it with the Common Heron or
Heronshaw. The reason for connecting this bird with the Sun-god has to
be sought in the etymology of its name. ⁂⁂ _ben_ is a verb of
motion, and particularly of ‘going round.’ ⁂⁂ _benenu_ is a ring,
also a ‘round pill.’ The Sun therefore is very naturally called _bennu_,
an appellative like κυκλοέλικτος in the Orphic hymns.
⁂⁂, ‘of that which is, and of that which cometh into being.’ Here,
as in many other places, ⁂, which is a verb of motion, and really
signifies ‘rise up, spring forth,’ is pointedly distinguished from ⁂,
that which (is). So far from signifying ‘being, that which is,’ it very
much more nearly corresponds to ⁂ in the frequent expression
⁂⁂, ‘that which is and that which is not yet.’ The sense of ‘good
being’ so commonly given to the divine name Unnefer is utterly
erroneous.
6. The reading of the name ⁂ is proved by the numerous variants of
this passage to be _Ȧmsu_. In M. Naville’s edition, II, pl. 41, the
name, as written in _Ce_, would seem to be ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧm._ But I
already in _Zeitschr._, 1877 (p. 98) pointed out, that in this
manuscript the last sign ⁂ is at the top of a column, and that at the
foot of the preceding column there is a space where the signs ⁂,
following ⁂⁂ (_as they still do in the next passage_), have been
obliterated. No one from merely looking at M. Naville’s copy would guess
that there was any interval between ⁂ and ⁂.
The god’s name is written ⁂⁂⁂ on a tablet, Denkm. III, 114 i.
And the name is also written ⁂ or ⁂, which are ligatures of ⁂
and ⁂.
7. Note that in this scholion Horus, ‘the avenger of his father,’ calls
his father not Osiris but Tmu. In the more recent texts there are many
interpretations of the two Feathers. One is “his two _Eyes_ are the
Feathers.” But the favourite one is “Isis and Nephthys, who have risen
up as two kites” ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
8. The ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _reḫit_, by whom the oblation is made, the
_present_ generation as contrasted with the ⁂⁂⁂ _pāit_, the
_past_, and ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _hammemit_, the _coming_ generations.
9. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Māāāait_ is supposed to be nitre or salt, or some
other substance used in the process of embalming.
The more recent recensions thus answer the question about the lakes.
“_Eternity_ is the name of one, and the _Great green one_ that of the
other, the lake of Natron and the lake of Māāt.”
10. See the picture of this gate on the Vignette, which shows the
Sun-god passing through. One of the later explanations is that from this
gate Shu raised up Heaven. Another is that it was the gate of the Tuat.
_Haukar_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, means “behind the Shrine.”
11. _Hu_ and _Sau_, sons of Tmu, and his companions in the Solar bark,
are, like so many other gods, Solar appellatives. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Hu_
is the Nourisher, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Sau_, ‘the Knowing One.’ The god is
also called ‘the Seer’ ⁂, ‘He who heareth’ ⁂⁂. These names are
not personifications of the senses but, as in all cases, appellatives
expressing attributes.
12. See Note 2 on Chapter 4.
13. The Eye (⁂⁂⁂⁂) being the Sun or Moon, the period of
distress (⁂⁂) is that of obscuration or eclipse, and the hairy net
(⁂⁂) which is removed is the shadow which passes for a time over
the heavenly body.
The explanation which M. Maspero has recently given (P.S.B.A. XIV, 314)
of the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂, as connected with ⁂⁂⁂⁂
‘health,’ receives confirmation from the scholia in the papyri,
according to which Thoth not only delivered the Eye from the
veil of darkness which oppressed it, but carried it off
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘in life, health and strength,
without any damage.’
14. Mehurit is explained in the ancient scholion as ‘the Eye,’ but it is
really the Sky, from which the Sun is born daily. The sign of plurality
after Mehurit (if it means anything) only indicates the daily succession
of the skies whence Râ is born.
15. The ‘coffined One’ ⁂⁂⁂ is of course Osiris, as it is
plainly stated in the later scholia, which further add that the ‘Seven
glorious ones’ who follow the coffin, or, as they read it, “their Lord,”
are to be sought in the constellation of ‘the Thigh in the northern
sky,’ that is in the seven stars of the Great Bear.
These stars never set, but are perpetually revolving round the Pole. It
is therefore evidently with the Polar Star that we must identify the
coffin of Osiris. The names of the Seven Glorious ones vary according to
the different authorities. And these Stars themselves receive other
mythical forms; that of the Seven Cows and their Bull is recorded in the
148th chapter. Names like ‘the Red-eyed’ ⁂⁂⁂ or the
‘Red-haired’ cow ⁂⁂ seem to imply _double_ stars. The ‘Red-eyed’
is said to abide in ⁂⁂⁂ ‘house of gauze’ (perhaps a cobweb).
The papyri add the important note that the “day of Come thou hither”!
represents the moment “when Osiris says to Râ, Come thou hither”! or, as
some read, “Come thou to me.” The speaker adds that he sees the meeting
of the two gods in Amenta.
16. ⁂⁂⁂ possessor of completeness, integrity, hence
‘inviolate.’ This name is given to Osiris when restored to his first
condition after having been dismembered and cut into pieces. The god is
called _Râ-Tmu-Nebert’er_ in the great Harris papyrus, 15, 3.
17. It is most probable that the Cat became the representative of the
Sun because of the homonymy between the Egyptian name ⁂⁂⁂⁂
_mȧȧu_ of the animal and the attributive ⁂⁂⁂ _mau_, ‘shining’
said of the Sun. But the Egyptian scribe gives a different etymological
explanation. Sau said of Râ “he is ⁂⁂ _maȧu_ of what he hath
made.” ⁂⁂ may, like the Latin _exemplar_, be either the type or
the prototype, the copy or the original. The creatures of Râ were made
after his likeness. Sanskrit literature, from the Çatapatha Brahmana
down to the Vishnu Purâna, is full of similar etymologies. The Egyptians
from the very first delighted in this play upon words.
18. Neḥebu-kau, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂> is
the son of Seb and Renenut. The etymology of the name is indicated in
the Pyramid texts. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _neḥbu_ is to ‘carry, sustain,
support’ (whence ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _neḥbet_ a neck, and ⁂⁂⁂⁂
_neḥb_ a yoke), and the rest of the word is the plural of _ka_, which is
susceptible of more than one meaning. It might signify the divine or
human _ka_, but the word is sometimes (_e.g._, Todt., 125, 32) written
⁂ ‘victuals.’ The god is one of the forty-two judges of the dead, and
in some copies of the Book of the Dead he is described as coming forth
from his ⁂⁂⁂, a word most frequently used for the source of the
Nile. The serpent ⁂ which is a most frequent determinative of the
name, is an additional reason for identifying this god with the Nile: a
conclusion which seems fully justified by the Pyramid texts, which speak
of him as Water ⁂, and describe him as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “of
many windings.” (See Pepi I, 341 and 487.)
19. This Devourer has the same functions as the strange animal called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Âmemit_ in the pictures of the Psychostasia. The
later scholia add that the Devourer comes from the ‘basin of Punit,’ the
Red sea. They add other names, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Mâtes_ ‘Flint,’
“stationed at the gate of Amenta,” and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂
_Baba_, who, in ch. 63, 2, is described as the first born of Osiris. He
is a terrible god from whom the deceased prays in ch. 125, 36, to be
delivered. His name implies ‘one who searches or probes thoroughly,’ as
a digger or miner. And such are his functions at the judgment of the
dead.
Instead of ⁂⁂ _tesem_, a ‘hound,’ _La_ reads ⁂⁂⁂⁂
_sȧu_, a sheep.
20. The ⁂⁂⁂ _Mesqȧt_ is a ⁂⁂⁂ ‘a place of scourging.’
The word ⁂⁂⁂ is known as signifying violent treatment by
beating, and has been illustrated by Chabas and Goodwin. See
_Zeitschr._, 1874, p. 62. In the 72nd chapter the deceased prays that he
may not perish at the _Mesqȧt_. A kindred word ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Mesqa_
signifies ‘a hide.’ We can understand the connection between δέρω ‘flay,
cudgel, thrash’ and δέρμα ‘a hide.’ And we ourselves have the familiar
phrase of ‘giving a _hiding_.’ But purification as well as punishment
was found at the heavenly _mesqȧt_. It is mentioned in the Harris
Magical papyrus[6, 3] simply as a heavenly thing. In the more recent
scholia the purifier is said to be Anubis, who is behind the chest
containing the remains of Osiris.
After the scholion which has just been translated the early texts pass
on to the 18th chapter.
For the rest of the chapter we are compelled to follow the texts of the
papyri. The character of this portion differs considerably from the
former part, and is clearly an addition. The speakers rapidly succeed
each other. “I am Tmu,” “I am Isis,” “I was conceived by Isis,” “Isis
destroyeth what in me is wrong,” and finally “I am Uat’it.”
21. Cher-âbat and Heliopolis like all the localities here mentioned are
in heaven not upon earth.
22. Uat’it is literally ‘the pale one,’ a name of the Dawn. But here the
fiery dawn is spoken of, ἠώς φλογερά, πυρίβρομος.
23. Hemen ⁂⁂⁂ is a divinity seldom, if ever, mentioned after
the “Middle Empire.” In the Pyramid texts he has a Snake (the River) in
his hand.
24. The last line of the chapter has suffered in all the best papyri.
See M. Naville’s collation. In the papyrus of Ani the chapter is
unfinished. The later papyri end the chapter by saying that “it has been
granted to the speaker by those who are in Tattu to destroy by fire the
souls of his adversaries.” This consummation is already found in _La_.
[Illustration]
-----
Footnote 20:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _praeconium_,
_praeco_.
Footnote 21:
The god who lifteth up his arm is ⁂ Amsu.
Footnote 22:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧnem_ ‘skin,’ according to Horhotep and
the first coffin of Mentuhotep at Berlin. But the second coffin of
Mentuhotep has already ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧnḥu_ ‘eyebrows,’
which afterwards becomes the received reading. It is that of Queen
Mentuhotep.
Footnote 23:
An interpolation in the text of Horhotep.
Footnote 24:
_Mission archéologique Française au Caire_, II.
Footnote 25:
Ovid, _Fast_, I, 129, 130.
Footnote 26:
Apocalypse i, 8.
Footnote 27:
The _last_ form of the chapter (as found in the hieratic papyrus T. 16
of Leyden, and others in the British Museum) changes the opening as
follows--“I am Atmu, who made the Sky and created all that hath come
into being.”
Footnote 28:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the historical inscriptions is just like
the Greek γυῖα λέλυντο, λύτο γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἡτορ.
Footnote 29:
It is certain that from the earliest times Heaven as
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘the Great Weeper,’ was considered as the
source of life to gods and men. But myths must not be mixed. One must
not be considered as the explanation of another.
PLATE VIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
Papyrus of Ani.
INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XVIII.
]
[Illustration:
Leyden Papyrus.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XVIII. =Papyrus Busca.=
NAVILLE, “Book of the Dead.”
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE IX
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER XVIII. BRUGSCH, “Thesaurus,” Vol. V, p. 1190.]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XIX. =Papyrus du Louvre, 440.=
E. DE ROUGÉ, “Études sur le Rituel Funéraire,” p. 14.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XIX. =Papyrus du Louvre, 3079.=
E. DE ROUGÉ, “Études sur le Rituel Funéraire,” p. 13
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVIII.
[_Introductory._]
_The An-māut(1.) saith_:--
I come to you, ye Great Circles of gods(2.) in Heaven, upon Earth and in
the World below! I bring to you _N_ void of offence towards any of the
gods, grant that he may be with you daily.
Glory to Osiris, Lord of Restau, and to the great gods who are in the
World below. Here is _N_ who saith:--Hail to thee, Prince of Amenta,
Unneferu who presidest in Abydos, I come to thee with Righteousness;
without sin upon me. I am not knowingly a speaker of wrong; I am not
given to duplicity; grant me Bread, the right of appearance at the
tables of the Lords of Maāt, entering in and going out of the
Netherworld, and that my soul may not suffer repulse in its devotion to
the orb of the Sun and the vision of the Moon-god for ever.
_The Se-meri-f saith_:--
I come to you, O Circle of gods in Restau, and I bring to you _N_. Grant
to him Bread, Water, Air and an allotment in the Sechit-hotepu like
Horus.
Glory to Osiris, the Lord of Eternity and to the Circle of gods in
Restau. Here is _N_ and he saith:--I come to thee, I know thy will, and
I am furnished with thine attributes of the Tuat. Grant me an abiding
place in the Netherworld by the Lords of Maāt, my permanent allotment in
the Sechit-hotepu, and the receiving of cakes before thee.
[LITANY.]
1. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Circle of gods about Rā and
about Osiris and the Great Circle of gods in Heliopolis, on that Night
of the _Eve’s Provender_(3.) and the Night of Battle when there befel
the Defeat of the Sebau, and the Day of the extinction of the
adversaries of the Inviolate god.
The Great Circle of gods in Heliopolis is of Tmu, Shu and Tefnut, and
the Sebau who were defeated and extinguished were the associates of Sut
on the renewal of his assault.
2. Oh Thoth who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries before the Great Circle of gods in
Tattu, on the Night wherein the Tat is set up in Tattu.(4.)
The Great Circle of gods in Tattu is of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Horus
the Avenger of his Father; and they who set up the Tat are the two arms
of Horus, Prince of Sechem. They are behind Osiris as bindings of his
raiment.
3. Oh Thoth who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods in
Sechem on that Night of the _Eve’s Provender_ in Sechem.
The Great Circle of gods in Sechem is of Horus in the Dark,(5.) and
Thoth, who is of the Great Circle of An-arer-ef.
The _Eve’s Provender_ is the dawn upon the Coffin of Osiris.
4. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods in Pu
and Tepu,(6.) on that Night of erecting the flag-staffs of Horus, and of
establishing him as heir of his Father’s property.
The Great Circle of gods in Pu and Tepu is of Horus, Isis, Emsta, Hapi;
and the pillars of Horus are erected when Horus saith to those who
follow him “let the flag-staffs be erected there.”
5. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods of the
Two Regions[30] of Rechit, on that Night when Isis lay watching in tears
over her brother Osiris.
The Great Circle of gods on the Two Regions of Rechit is of Isis,
Nephthys, Emsta and Hapi.
6. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods in
Abydos on the night of Hakra,(7.) when the evil dead are parted off,
when the glorious ones are rightly judged, and joy goeth its round in
Thinis.
The Great Circle of gods in Abydos is of Osiris, Isis and Apuat.
7. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods on the
Highway of the Damned,(8.) upon the Night when judgment is passed upon
those who are no more.
The Great Circle of gods on the Highway of the Damned are Thoth, Osiris,
Anubis and Astes. And judgment is passed on the Highway of the Damned
when the suit is closed[31] against the souls of the Children of
Failure.
8. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods at the
Great Hoeing in Tattu, on the Night of Hoeing in their blood and
effecting the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries.
The Great Circle of gods at the Great Hoeing in Tattu(9.) when the
associates of Sut arrive, and take the forms of goats, slay them before
the gods there, while their blood runneth down; and this is done
according to the judgment of those gods who are in Tattu.
9. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries, before the Great Circle of gods in
An-arer-ef on the Night of Hiding him who is Supreme in Attributes.[32]
The Great Circle of gods in An-arer-ef is of Shu, Babai, Rā and Osiris,
and the Night of Hiding him who is Supreme of Attributes is when there
are at the Coffin, the Thigh, the Head, the Heel and the Leg of
Unneferu.
10. Oh Thoth, who makest Osiris triumphant over his adversaries, let _N_
be made triumphant over his adversaries, even as thou makest Osiris
triumphant over his adversaries before the Great Circle of gods in
Restau on the Night when Anubis lieth(10.) with his hands upon the
objects behind Osiris, when Osiris is made to triumph over his
adversaries.
The Great Circle of gods in Restau is of Osiris, Horus, and Isis. The
heart of Horus rejoiceth, the heart of Osiris is glad and the two
Parts[33] of Heaven are satisfied when Thoth effecteth the triumph of
_N_ before these ten Great Circles about Rā and about Osiris and the
Circles of gods attached to every god and every goddess before the
Inviolate god. All his adversaries are destroyed and all that was wrong
in him is also destroyed.
_Let the person say this chapter, he will be purified and come forth by
day, after his death, and take all forms for the satisfaction of his
will, and if this chapter be recited over him, he will be prosperous
upon earth, he will come forth safe from every fire, and no evil thing
will approach him: with undeviating regularity for times infinite._(11.)
NOTES.
The eighteenth chapter is one of those found in the earliest copies of
the Book of the Dead, on the wooden coffins of the ‘Old’ and ‘Middle’
Empires; the most complete ancient copy being on the coffin of Queen
Mentuhotep of the eleventh dynasty.
It consists of a Litany addressed to Thoth, who is invoked for securing
the triumph of the departed against his adversaries in presence of the
gods of certain localities. Each petition has reference to some
mythological event, and is supplemented by the enumeration of the gods
constituting the divine company presiding at the locality named, and
sometimes by a short comment on the myth referred to.
The order of petitions is somewhat different in the later recensions,
and the text has suffered other alterations.
Copies of this chapter are extremely numerous, particularly in the later
periods.
The chapter really begins with the petitions to Thoth. The preceding
portion is, as far as I know, found only in the Papyrus of Ani. But as
the vignette which belongs to this portion has a place in the great
Leyden Papyrus of Kenna, the text cannot have been confined to a single
manuscript. It is particularly valuable as illustrative of the ritual
use of portions of the Book of the Dead.
1. The deceased person is supposed to be presented to the gods by two
priests in succession, one called _An-maut-ef_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, and
the other ⁂⁂ _Se-meri-f_. Both names are titles of Horus, and it
is the usual thing for Egyptian priests to bear divine titles; their
ritual observances being dramatic and symbolical representations of the
actions of the gods. _An-maut-ef_ literally signifies ‘column (support)
of his mother.’ Horus is called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘the
_An-maut-ef_ of the Great Company of the gods’ (Mariette, _Abydos_, I,
p. 34), and in _Denkmäler_, III, 206 _e_, he is called the _An-maut-ef_
of Osiris (_cf._ _Abyd._ II, 54).
_Se-meri-f_ signifies ‘the Beloved Son,’ and the priest of this name in
the funereal rites personified Horus in his dutiful offices to his
father Osiris. I do not know why ⁂⁂ is _always_ translated ‘the
son who loves him,’ instead of ‘the son he loves,’ which is the right
meaning. ⁂⁂⁂ is ‘the place which he loves’ not ‘the place which
loves him.’ And similarly ⁂⁂ is ‘the wife whom he loves,’ not ‘who
loves him.’
2. There is a short note (6) on chapter 1, upon the word
⁂⁂⁂⁂, but the present seems to be the suitable place for a
more extended notice of this feminine word, which is a collective noun,
and never found in any other sense.
The ancient form ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ renders it more than probable that
⁂ is not phonetic in the later form, but that as in ⁂⁂ _kai_,
originally ⁂⁂ (whence the Coptic ⲕⲟⲧ, ⲕⲱⲧⲉ, a circle, a round
vessel, to go round), it is ideographic of _roundness_. This concept is
certainly to be found in the word ⁂⁂⁂, the Coptic ϫⲱϫ, a head
(or rather top of the head), as in the Latin _vertex_, akin to _vortex_,
from the same root as _vertere_. The sign ⁂, which in later texts
often appears as the determinative, has its origin in the cursive form
of ⁂ carelessly written. Instead of ⁂ we also find ⁂, which is
certainly not phonetic but ideographic of _enclosure_, as in the word
⁂⁂⁂⁂ a wall, _paries_, ἕρκος. This word occurs already in
the Pyramid Texts under the form ⁂⁂⁂. See Pepi I, 571, which M.
Maspero renders ‘la Grande _Enceinte_ d’On.’ The evident etymological
relationship to the Coptic ϫⲱϫ has led some scholars to translate the
Egyptian word as signifying _chiefs_, _princes_. But though the lexicons
give _dux_ and _princeps_ as meanings of the Coptic word, these are but
secondary applications of _head_. We have to enquire why ϫⲱϫ means
_head_, or _top of the head_. And the reason is its roundness, as
indicated by the ideographic signs ⁂ or ⁂.
The old Egyptian word ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ invariably implies an
association of persons, and this is why in consequence of its etymology
I translate it as ‘Circle of gods.’ It is synonymous (_cf._ chapter 41,
note 8) with ⁂⁂⁂.
3. _The Eve’s Provender._ Later authorities read
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the ‘Provender of the altars,’ but this is a
corruption of the ancient ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which had probably
ceased to be intelligible. According to this pantheistic system the
deceased through his identification with the Sun absorbed and consumed
all that came in his way. And this is expressed in somewhat brutal
style. Men and gods disappear before Unas, he makes his breakfast at
dawn ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, upon great gods, his dinner upon gods of
middling quality ⁂⁂, and ‘his supper at even’
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ upon the minor deities, ⁂⁂. ⁂⁂ is
the ancient dialectic variant of ⁂, which however is really the older
form. This word which means ‘things’ has, like the Latin _res_, a wide
application. It frequently means _property_, _estate_, and sometimes
_suit_.
4. On the last day of the month of Choiak the great solemnity of setting
up the Tat ⁂ as the symbol of Osiris was observed down to the latest
periods. The tablets of Pasherenptah, high priest of Ptah at Memphis,
speak of this great dignitary as the king’s second or deputy in ‘Raising
the Tat.’ But Brugsch has published a picture (_Thesaurus_, V, 1190),
copied by Dr. Erman from a tomb of the XVIIIth dynasty, in which
Amenophis III himself helps to raise the Tat, and the queen Ti and the
royal princesses take part in the ceremony. The procession is described
as marching four times round the sanctuary of Ptah-Seker-Osiris. See
Plate IX.
5. On Horus in the Dark, or Blindness, or Invisibility ⁂, see note,
_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, June, 1886.
6. Pu and Tepu are named together in the earliest texts as one locality,
which is recognised by Brugsch as the metropolis of the northern nome
called by the Greeks Φθενότης.
7. The feast of ⁂⁂ derives its name, as Goodwin supposes with
great probability, from the words ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ha-k-er-ȧ_,
‘Come thou to me,’ said of a legendary incident like that mentioned at
the end of note 15 on chapter 17. The early papyri read ⁂⁂⁂⁂
but this is no objection, the sign ⁂ being here the determinative of
the entire group which gives its name to the feast.
8. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ literally the _dead_, that is those who have
died ‘the second death.’
9. The vignette is given by M. Naville from the tracing taken by Lepsius
of the now lost Papyrus Busca. It represents ‘the Great Hoeing in
Tattu.’ The long text at Dendera (Mariette, tom. IV, pl. 39) contains
directions to be observed the festival commemorative of the ancient
myth. Two black cows are put under a yoke of ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧm_ wood, the
plough is of tamarisk wood and the share of black bronze. The plougher
goes behind, with a cow led by a halter. A little child with the lock
⁂ attached to its head is to scatter the seed in the field of Osiris,
a piece of land of which the dimensions were given in the text (now
imperfect). Barley is sown at one end, spelt at the other, and flax
between the two. And the Cher-heb in chief recites the Office for the
Sowing of the Field.
10. The older texts have ⁂⁂ _lie_, the later ones
11. In the formula ⁂ ⁂⁂, ⁂ _šes_ is “the measuring
line used by builders,” and _em šes_ signifies ‘ad amussim,’ ‘nach der
Schnur,’ ‘au cordeau,’ ‘according to the line,’ hence ‘with the
strictest accuracy.’ _Hibbert Lectures_, 1879, p. 121. ‘According to the
line of Maāt’ means ‘with undeviating regularity.’
-----
Footnote 30:
⁂⁂⁂⁂. The later recensions read ⁂⁂⁂. The
first Coffin of Mentuhotep (_Aelteste Texte_, 4, 61) has the phonetic
⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 31:
Literally, “when the things ⁂ are shut up.”
Footnote 32:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 33:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, North and South.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIX.
_Chapter of the Crown of Triumph._
Thy Father Tmu hath prepared for thee this beautiful Crown of Triumph,
the living diadem which the gods love, that thou mayest live for ever.
Osiris, Prince of Amenta, maketh thee to triumph over thine adversaries.
Thy Father Seb hath decreed that thou should be his heir, and be
heralded as Triumphant, Horus son of Isis and son of Osiris, upon the
throne of thy Father Rā, through the defeat of thine adversaries. He
hath decreed for thee the Two Earths, absolutely and without
condition(1.). And so hath Atmu decreed, and the Cycle of the gods hath
repeated the glorious act of the triumph of Horus the son of Isis and
the son of Osiris for ever and ever.
Osiris, the Prince of Amenta, the Two Parts of Heaven united, all gods
and all goddesses who are in heaven and upon earth join in effecting the
Triumph of Horus the son of Isis and son of Osiris over his adversaries
before the Great Circle of gods in Heliopolis, on the _Night_, etc.
Horus repeateth the proclamation four times. All the adversaries fall
and are overthrown and slaughtered.
_N_ repeateth the proclamation four times, and all his adversaries fall
and are overthrown and slaughtered.
Horus son of Isis and son of Horus repeateth an infinite number of
festivals, and all his adversaries fall down, are overthrown and
slaughtered. Their abode is transferred to the slaughtering block of the
East, their heads are cut away, their necks are crushed, their thighs
are lopped off, they are given to the great Annihilator who resideth in
the Valley(2.) that they may not ever escape from under the custody of
Seb.(3.)
_This chapter is said over a consecrated crown placed upon the face of
the person, and thou shalt put incense upon the flame, for N (the
deceased), effecting his triumph over all his adversaries, whether Dead
or Living, that he may become one of the followers of Osiris. And there
shall be given to him drink and food in presence of this god. Thou shall
say it at dawn twice; A great protection is it: with undeviating
regularity for times infinite._
NOTES.
The nineteenth chapter is a very recent recension of the eighteenth. The
MSS. containing it, as far as we know, are not older than the Greek
period. It derives its origin from the practice of placing garlands or
floral crowns upon the mummies. The mummy of Aahmes I, the first king of
the eighteenth dynasty, when found “portait au cou,” M. Maspero writes,
“une guirlande de jolies fleurs roses de _Delphinium orientale_.”
Remains of such crowns are to be found in our Museums. For farther
details I must refer to an excellent paper entitled _La Couronne de la
Justification_, by Dr. Pleyte of Leyden, in the second volume of the
Transactions of the Oriental Congress held at Leyden in 1884; and
seevPlate VIII.
1. ⁂⁂⁂. This adverbial expression is apparently connected with
⁂⁂, and I therefore understand it in the sense of ἀποτόμως,
_praecisè_, _absolutely_, _without condition_.
2. ⁂⁂⁂ the Valley of Darkness (_Todt._, 130, 6) and Death,
“whose secrets are absolutely unknown” ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (148, 2).
3. That is they shall remain interred for ever.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XX.
The twentieth chapter is entitled _Another Chapter of Crown of Triumph_,
but it is simply a tabulated form of chapter 18, with the Rubric. _Let
the person say this Chapter, and purify himself with water of natron, he
will come forth by day after death, and take all forms according to his
wish, and escape from the fire. With undeviating regularity for times
infinite._ The earliest example of this tabulated form of the chapter is
found on the Berlin Sarcophagus of Mentuhotep.
[Illustration: DÜMICHEN; TEMPELINSCHRIFTEN, LXXV.]
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXI.
_Chapter whereby the mouth of a person is given to him in the
Netherworld._
Hail to thee, Lord of Light, who art Prince of the House which is
encircled by Darkness and Obscurity. I am come to thee glorified and
purified.
My hands are behind thee; thy portion is that of those who have gone
before thee.(1.)
Give me my mouth that I may speak with it; and guide(2.) my heart at its
hour of Darkness and Night.
NOTES.
The oldest papyrus containing this chapter is that of Ani, and the
translation is based upon it. But the text differs both from those
written on the very ancient coffins of Heru and Set-Bastit, copied by M.
Maspero,[34] and from the later texts.
The second paragraph seems to be spoken by the god, the first and third
being from the deceased.
“My hands are behind thee” is a formula implying protection.
On the coffins the invocation is addressed not to “Osiris, Lord of
Light” or “Radiant One” ⁂⁂, but to the ⁂⁂⁂, “one whose
head is clothed with radiant white, of the House of Darkness and
Obscurity.”
Instead of ⁂⁂⁂⁂ “obscurity” the coffin has ⁂⁂ without
a determinative, but ⁂⁂⁂⁂ shows what the word means.
This ancient text continues--“Come thou to me, glorified and purified;
let thy hands [_here the text is obliterated_], shine thou with thine
head (⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂). Give me my mouth that I may speak with it,
and guide me on the glorious roads which are in heaven.”
The Turin text is very corrupt, and parts of it are incapable of
translation.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
2. “Let me guide,” according to the Ani Papyrus. But the later
(hieratic) texts have the second person ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is
more correct.
-----
Footnote 34:
_Mission Archéologique Française_, II, p. 216 and 223. The text is
unfortunately incomplete on both coffins.
PLATE X.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER XV. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXVIII.
=Papyrus, Leyden, T. 16.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXII. =Tomb of Bekenrenef.=
LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl. 267.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXIII. =Tomb of Bekenrenef.=
LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl. 260.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXVIII.
NICHOLSON, “Egyptiaca.”
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER XXII. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
CHAPTER XXIII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus, British Museum, 9900.=]
CHAPTER XXIV.
[Illustration: =Papyrus of Ani.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XXII.
[Illustration: =Sarcophagus of Seti I.=]
CHAPTER XXIII.
[Illustration: LEPSIUS, “Todtenbuch,” 17, Vignette.]
CHAPTER XXVII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, III, 89.=]
CHAPTER XXVII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, III, 36.=]
CHAPTER XXVII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus of Ani.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXII.
_Another Chapter whereby the Mouth of a person is given to him in the
Netherworld._
I shine forth out of the Egg which is in the unseen world.(1.) Let there
be given my mouth that I may speak with it in presence of the great god,
Lord of the Tuat. Let not my hand be repulsed by the Divine Circle of
the great god.
I am Osiris, the Lord of Restau, the same who is at the head of the
Staircase.(2.)
I am come to do the will of my heart, out of the Tank of Flame, which I
extinguish when I come forth.(3.)
NOTES.
This is one of the chapters of which the text certainly belongs to the
earliest epoch. It is one of those copied by Wilkinson from the
coffin(2) of Queen Mentuhotep. In the Papyrus of Ani it is followed by
chapter 21 as its conclusion, and both chapters are appended to chapter
1, before the rubric belonging to that chapter.
1. The Egg in the unseen world is the globe of the Sun while yet below
the horizon. It is only through a mistranslation of chapter 54, 2 that
the Indian notion of a ‘Mundane Egg’ has been ascribed to the Egyptians.
The 17th chapter addresses “Rā in thine Egg, who risest up in thine orb,
and shinest from thine Horizon.”
2. See the picture of Osiris at the head of the Staircase, which is here
given (see Plate XI) from the alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I in the
Soane Museum. Similar pictures are given on other sarcophagi. The gods
on the stairs are called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘the Divine
Circle about Osiris.’
The ‘Staircase of the great god’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂ at Abydos, is
frequently mentioned on the funeral stelae.
3. The _Tank of Flame_. See chapter 1, note 15. The red glow of the Sky
disappears after the Sun has risen, he is therefore said to “extinguish
the Flame” after he has come forth. The same notion is expressed in the
myth according to which Horus strikes off the head of his mother.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXIII.
_Chapter whereby the Mouth of a person is opened for him in the
Netherworld._
_He saith_: Let my mouth be opened by Ptah, and let the muzzles which
are upon my mouth be loosed by the god of my domain.(1.)
Then let Thoth come, full and equipped with Words of Power,[35] and let
him loose the muzzles of Sutu which are upon my mouth, and let Tmu lend
a hand to fling them at the assailants.
Let my mouth be given to me. Let my mouth be opened by Ptah with that
instrument of steel(2.) wherewith he openeth the mouths of the gods.
I am Sechit(3.) Uat’it who sitteth on the right side of Heaven: I am
Sahit encircled by the Spirits of Heliopolis.[36]
And all the Words of Power, and all the accusations which are uttered
against me--the gods stand firm against them: the cycles of the gods
unitedly.
NOTES.
1. Osiris. On the sense of ⁂⁂⁂, literally ‘the god of the
domain,’ see the articles of M. Naville and Professor Piehl,
_Zeitschr._, 1880, 146; 1881, 24 and 64. I hold with Dr. Piehl that the
domain meant in this formula is Abydos, and that the god is Osiris.
2. The word here translated ‘steel’ is ⁂⁂⁂, upon which see M.
Devéria’s dissertation, “Le Fer et l’Aimant” in the _Mélanges
d’Archéologie Egyptienne et Assyrienne_, tome I, p. 2.
A description of the Ceremonies of the Opening of the Mouth as performed
at the tomb will be found in the Introduction to this translation.
3. The name of this goddess is phonetically written ⁂⁂ _Sḫt_ in
the Pyramid texts of Unas (l. 390), where the Murray Papyrus and other
texts have the ordinary ⁂⁂. The reading Sechemet is indefensible.
Cf. _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, XII, p. 365.
-----
Footnote 35:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 36:
Tmu, Shu and Tefnut.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXIV.
_Chapter whereby the Words of Power are brought to a Person in the
Netherworld._
I am Chepera, the self-produced, on his Mother’s thigh.(1.)
The speed of bloodhounds is given to those who are in Heaven,[37] and
the mettle of hyaenas(2.) to those who belong to the Divine Circle.
Lo, I bring this my Word of Power, and I collect this Word of Power from
every quarter in which it is, more persistently(3.) than hounds of chase
and more swiftly than the Light.
O thou who guidest the Bark of Rā, sound is thy rigging and free from
disaster as thou passest on to the Tank of Flame.
Lo, I collect[38] this my Word of Power from every quarter in which it
is, in behalf of every person whom it concerneth, more persistently than
hounds of chase and more swiftly than Light; the same(4.) who create the
gods out of Silence, or reduce them to inactivity; the same who impart
warmth to the gods.
Lo, I collect this my Word of Power from every quarter in which it is,
in behalf of every person whom it concerneth, more persistently than
hounds of chase and more swiftly than the Light.
NOTES.
This is another of those chapters of which the antiquity is proved by
the coffins of Horhotep and Queen Mentuhotep. And even in the early
times to which these coffins belong it must have been extremely
difficult to understand. In the translation here given I have adhered as
closely as possible to the oldest texts, but these, as the variants
show, are not entirely trustworthy.
1. _Thigh._ This is the usual translation, which accords with the
frequent pictures of the goddess Nut, as the Sky, with the divine Scarab
in the position described.[39] But ⁂⁂⁂ signifies that which
_runs_, from ⁂⁂⁂ _uār_, run, _fugere_; and the noun (_the
runner_) is often applied to _running water_. It is the geographical
name of a river or canal. M. Naville has already pointed out that in the
Book of the Dead it has for variants ⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂, of
which _bath_ is a fair translation.
2. The names of these two animals (especially of the second) vary
greatly in the texts. But if we wish rightly to understand the sense of
the chapter, we must bear in mind that it is not the animals themselves
that are meant, but the characteristics implied by the names of the
animals. And as the Sanskrit _vṛkas_, the Greek λύκος, the old Slavonic
_vluku_, the Gothic _vulfs_, and our own _wolf_, signify the _robber_,
so does the Egyptian ⁂⁂⁂⁂, whether signifying _wolf_,
_wolfhound_, or _bloodhound_, indicate _speed_.
The names of the second animal in the earlier texts, whether they stand
for hyænas ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, or for other animals of the chase
(⁂⁂⁂⁂), imply either _speed_ or _ferocity_. And what must we
understand under the latter term? We must look to the context. It is of
a god speaking of himself and of his attributes. He is proud of them,
and certainly does not wish them to be taken in a bad sense. Nor is it
necessary that we should do so. We have only to remember what we learnt
at school.
Cicero (_de Sen._, 10, 33) contrasts the ‘ferocitas juvenum,’ the high
_pluck_ of the young, with the ‘infirmitas puerorum,’ and the ‘gravitas’
and ‘maturitas’ of later periods of life.
Livy uses the term _ferox_, in the same sense as Cicero.
What we have to understand of the Egyptian expression is, ‘mettlesome,
of high, unbridled spirit.’
In the later texts the _Bennu_ bird has been substituted for the beasts
of the chase.
3. The later texts read ⁂⁂, but all the earlier ones give another
word ⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂. This is often used in a bad sense, when
spoken of the enemy; but it merely implies tenacity, pertinacity,
obstinacy, which are, of course, very bad things in opposition, but in
themselves virtues of a high order.[40]
The word is used as a name for the divine Cynocephali
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ who appear at sunrise over the _Tank of
Flame_.
4.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
_the same who bringeth into being the gods out of Silence, or reduceth
them to inactivity_.
In addition to this interesting utterance of Egyptian theology, we have
to note the idea of _Silence_ ⁂⁂⁂ as the origin of the gods, or
powers of nature. The notion was also current in the Greek world. The
writer of the _Philosophumena_ (VI, 22) speaks of ἡ ὑμνουμένη ἐκείνη
παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι Ζιγή. It was from this source that the early Gnostic
Valentinus borrowed this item of his system. St. Irenaeus (_Haeres_, II,
14) charges him with having taken it from the theogony of the comic poet
Antiphanes.
-----
Footnote 37:
⁂⁂ _Nu_.
Footnote 38:
⁂.
Footnote 39:
See also in Plate XI the Vignette from chapter 17 in the Turin and all
the later papyri.
Footnote 40:
Columella speaks of the “contumacia pervicax boum.”
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXV.
_Chapter whereby a person remembereth his name in the Netherworld._
Let my name be given to me in the Great House. Let me remember my name
in the House of Flame(1.) on the Night wherein the Years are counted and
the Months are reckoned, one by one.
I am He who dwelleth in Heaven, and who sitteth on the Eastern side of
Heaven: and if there be any god who cometh not in my train, I utter his
name at once.
NOTES.
1. Every Egyptian Temple being symbolical of Heaven, had its Great House
⁂⁂⁂ and its House of Flame ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, as most sacred
adyta at the extremity opposite to the entrance. The former occupied the
central position, like the Ladye Chapel in our cathedrals, and the
latter stood by the side of it.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXVI.
_Chapter whereby the Heart(1.) is given to a person in the Netherworld._
He saith: Heart[41] mine to me, in the place of Hearts! Whole Heart[42]
mine to me, in the place of Whole Hearts!
Let me have my Heart that it may rest within me; but(2.) I shall feed
upon the food of Osiris, on the eastern side of the mead of amaranthine
flowers.(3.)
Be mine a bark for descending the stream and another for ascending.
I go down into the bark wherein thou art.
Be there given to me my mouth wherewith to speak, and my feet for
walking; and let me have my arms wherewith to overthrow my adversaries.
Let two hands from the Earth open my mouth: Let Seb, the Erpā of the
gods, part my two jaws;(4.) let him open my two eyes which are closed,
and give motion to my two hands which are powerless: and let Anubis give
vigour to my legs, that I may raise myself up upon them.
And may Sechit the divine one lift me up, so that I may arise in Heaven
and issue my behest in Memphis.
I am in possession of my Heart, I am possession of my Whole Heart, I am
possession of my arms and I have possession of my legs.(5.)
[I do whatsoever my Genius willeth, and my Soul is not bound to my body
at the gates of Amenta.]
NOTES.
1. The Egyptian texts have two names for the Heart, ⁂ phonetically
written ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧb_, and ⁂⁂ also written ⁂⁂⁂ and
⁂⁂⁂ _ḥatu_.[43] The two words are commonly used synonymously,
but they are sometimes pointedly distinguished one from the other.
Etymologically ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧb_ is connected with the sense of lively
motion ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧb_, like the Greek καρδία, κραδίη, (δία τὸ
ἀπαύστως σαλεύεσθαι) with κραδάω and κραδαίνω. Other Indo-European
names, our own _heart_, the Latin _cor_ (_cord-is_), the Sanskrit _hṛd_,
and the corresponding Slavonic and Lithuanian names have the same
origin.
From the orthography of ⁂⁂ it seems to have been connected in
popular opinion with its position in the anterior part of the body. And
from various uses of the word it appears to denote not merely the heart,
but the heart with all that is attached to it, especially the _lungs_
which embrace it. It is for instance to the ⁂⁂ that _air_ is
conducted according to the medical Papyri. And it is not improbable that
⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, organs of respiration, are
closely connected words.
But perhaps the best argument may be found in the Vignettes of chapter
28, where the two lungs are actually drawn as in the hieratic papyrus
(Pl. 2) published by Sir Charles Nicholson. In others (as Leyden, T. 16)
even the larynx is visible. (See Plate X.)
The Italian word _corata_ is immortalised through its occurrence in a
memorable passage in Dante (_Inf._, XXVIII), but for want of a better
English term than the butcher’s technical word _pluck_[44] I use the
expression _whole heart_.
2. _But_, ⁂⁂⁂. This is the most frequent reading both in the
earliest and in the latest papyri. But some texts have simply ⁂,
which is certainly a mistake, and others omit the conjunction before the
verb. The sense is not much affected by this omission. ⁂⁂⁂
signifies _if not_, _unless_, _until_, _but_, _but surely_. _Cf._ the
Semitic אִם־לֹא, ܐܷܠܴ, إلَّا
3. _The mead of amaranthine flowers._ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ḳaiu_ is the
name of a plant which frequently occurs in the medical prescriptions. It
is also mentioned among the aromatic plants (⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂)
required in the sacred laboratory of Dendera. One of the kinds is named
_ḳaiu_ of the Oasis ⁂⁂⁂. It is identified with the Coptic
ⲕⲓⲟⲱⲩ, _amaranthus_. In several copies of this chapter the name of the
plant is followed by the geographical determinative ⁂, which is
really implied in the context. Was this mythological ‘mead of amaranth’
suggested by the Oasis and its vegetation?
4. This sentence is a repetition (in other words) of the preceding one.
On the title _Erpā_, see _Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, XII, 359. My chief
difficulty about understanding it as compounded of ⁂ and ⁂, and
signifying _keeper of the Pāt_, that is _of the deceased_ (human
beings), is that Seb is essentially the _Erpā of the gods_. _Erpā_ is
one of those titles which cannot be translated without perverting the
sense of the original.
5. This passage is a very frequent formula not only in the Book of the
Dead, as the papyri give it, but in other texts of the same nature; see,
_e.g._, _Aelteste Texte_, 34, 14. The next passage included in [] is an
addition to the original text. It occurs however in some excellent MSS.
-----
Footnote 41:
⁂ _ȧb_, ‘heart.’
Footnote 42:
⁂ _ḥatu_, ‘whole heart.’
Footnote 43:
This variant already occurs on the coffin of Amamu.
Footnote 44:
In late Latin _corallum_, whence the Romanic forms _corajhe_,
_corata_, _coratella_, _corée_, _couraille_. In _Garin le Loherens_ we
find “la coraille del cuers.”
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXVII.
_Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not taken from him in the
Netherworld._
O ye gods who seize upon Hearts, and who pluck out the Whole Heart; and
whose hands fashion anew the Heart of a person according to what he hath
done; lo now, let that be forgiven to him by you.(1.)
Hail to you, O ye Lords of Everlasting Time and Eternity!
Let not my Heart be torn from me by your fingers.
Let not my Heart be fashioned anew according to all the evil things said
against me.
For this Heart of mine is the Heart of the god of mighty names(2.), of
the great god whose words are in his members, and who giveth free course
to his Heart which is within him.
And most keen of insight(3.) is his Heart among the gods. Ho to me!
Heart of mine; I am in possession of thee, I am thy master, and thou art
by me; fall not away from me; I am the dictator to whom thou shalt obey
in the Netherworld.
NOTES.
1. There is a great difference here as in so many other places between
the MSS. of different periods. I long ago translated the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of the _Todtenbuch_ by _non ignoretur a vobis_,
M. de Rougé, after me, by _non renuatur a vobis._ But M. Naville pointed
out the fact that in some of the oldest MSS. the particle ⁂ did not
occur. It now appears that the particle is not found in any of the older
MSS., and I have also found it omitted in hieratic papyri. The passage
therefore must be translated differently, and this is possible through a
slight change in the interpretation of ⁂ from _ignorare_ to
_ignoscere_; _ignoscatur illi a vobis_. The pronoun ⁂⁂ which in
the older texts follows ⁂⁂, ⁂ refers to ‘what he hath done’ of
the last clause.
2. _The god of mighty names_ is Thoth, and the later texts read “For
this is the Heart of the great god who is in Hermopolis.”
3. ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂. According to another reading ⁂⁂⁂⁂
_new_, _fresh_, _young_, _vigorous_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXVIII.
_Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not taken from him in the
Netherworld._
O Lion-god!
I am Unbu(1.), and what I abominate is the block of execution.
Let not this Whole Heart of mine be torn from me by the divine
Champions(2.) in Heliopolis!
O thou who clothest(3.) Osiris and hast seen Sutu:
O thou who turnest back after having smitten him, and hast accomplished
the overthrow:
This Whole Heart of mine remaineth weeping over itself in presence of
Osiris.
Its strength proceedeth from him, it hath obtained it by prayer from
him.
I have had granted to it and awarded to it the glow of heart at the hour
of the god of the Broad Face, and have offered the sacrificial cakes in
Hermopolis.
Let not this Whole Heart of mine be torn from me.(4.) It is I who
entrust to you its place, and vehemently stir your Whole Hearts towards
it in Sechit-hotepit and the years of triumph over all that it abhors
and taking all provisions at thine appointed time from thine hand after
thee.
And this Whole Heart of mine is laid upon the tablets(5.) of Tmu, who
guideth me to the caverns of Sutu and who giveth me back my Whole Heart
which hath accomplished its desire in presence of the divine Circle
which is in the Netherworld.
The sacrificial joint and the funereal raiment, let those who find them
bury them.(6.)
NOTES.
1. _Unbu_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is one of the names of the solar god, the
offspring (_Todt._, 42, 19) of Nu and Nut. As a common noun the word
_unbu_ means the Hawthorn or some other kind of flowering bush. This god
is called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘the golden Unbu’ in the Pyramid Texts
(Teta 39). We have no means of determining the exact sense of this word,
which as an appellative expresses an attribute possessed both by the Sun
and by the fruit, foliage, or other parts of the tree.
2. _Divine Champions._ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the earlier papyri,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the later; and sometimes both readings occur in
the same MS. Such determinatives as ⁂ certainly do not denote very
pugnacious qualities in the divine Champions.
3. _Clothest._ ⁂⁂ is a word of many meanings, and the context
generally determines which is the right one. In the present instance we
have no such help. Some of the more recent MSS. give ⁂, the
determinative of _clothing_.
4. M. Pierret here breaks off his translation of the chapter, with the
note: “La fin de ce chapitre est absolument inintelligible; les
variantes des manuscrits hiératiques ne l’éclaircissent pas.”
Like many other portions of the book this chapter is hopelessly corrupt,
and the scribes did not understand it better than we do. They have
probably mixed up different recensions without regard to grammatical
sense. The deceased addresses gods in the plural ⁂, but immediately
afterwards we have the singular suffix ⁂.
5. _Tablets_ or _records_. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ See _Zeitschr._,
1867, 50. The word already occurs in the Pyramid Texts, Pepi I, 364, in
the sense of _memory_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘his
memory for man and his love for the gods.’
But there is another word, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_Denkm._, III, 65 _a_),
which signifies a _stand_ upon which objects are placed.
6. The last words of the chapter were extremely puzzling to the scribes
of the later periods, who altered them in ever so many ways. The older
MSS. read ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
And this is borrowed from an ancient text, which may be found on the
sarcophagus of Horhotep, line 338. The variants ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂, of
the papyri, and ⁂⁂ of the sarcophagus show that it is the
sacrificial joint which is meant, and not a verb as the scribes of a
later period thought. For this verb they had to discover an object and
accordingly we find ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘I trod _their
caverns_.’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂ was in like manner converted into a verb.
See the introductory note to chapter 29.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXIX.
_Chapter whereby the Heart of a person may not be taken from him in the
Netherworld._
Back thou Messenger(1.) of thy god! Art thou come to carry off by
violence(2.) this Whole Heart of mine, of the Living XYZZY(3.) But I
shall not surrender to thee this Heart of the Living. The gods have
regards to my offerings and fall upon their faces, all together, upon
their own earth.
NOTES.
The two most ancient copies of this chapter are found upon the coffins
of Amamu, Plate XXX, and of Horhotep, _Mission Arch. Française au
Caire_, t. 1, p. 157, lines 335-337. The papyrus of Ani is the only one
of the early period in which it occurs. None of these texts is perfect.
A part of the text of Amamu has been destroyed, but there remains enough
to show that Horhotep has omissions. And in the text of Ani the word
⁂⁂⁂ has slipped in from the 28th chapter, and is entirely out
of place where it now stands.
The scribes of a later period had to exercise their ingenuity on the
subject. They changed ⁂⁂⁂ _ḫenṭu_ into ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ḫenȧ_,
and this being itself a disagreeable word, they prefixed to it a
negative ⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂.
1. _Messenger_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, a word used here and elsewhere in
religious texts in the same sense as מַלְאָךְ an angel, ambassador of
God. The later texts have ⁂⁂⁂ ‘every god,’ by the change of
⁂ into ⁂.
2. _By violence_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. _Cf._
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Harris Papyrus, 500, _verso_.
3. _The Living_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ and saved, in opposition to
the Dead and damned. This plural form is a mere sign of a common noun.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXIXB.
_Another Chapter of the Heart; upon Carnelian._
I am the Heron, the Soul of Râ, who conduct the Glorious ones to the
Tuat.
It is granted to their Souls to come forth upon the Earth to do
whatsoever their Genius willeth.
It is granted to the soul of the Osiris _N_ to come forth upon the Earth
to do whatsoever his Genius willeth.
NOTE.
Certain chapters having reference to the Heart were written upon
gems[45] and served as amulets, the 26th upon Lapis-lazuli, the 27th
upon green Felspar, the 30th upon Serpentine, and the foregoing chapter
upon Carnelian.
M. Naville has called this chapter 29B, as marking its natural place in
the Book of the Dead. It is not often found in the Papyri. M. Naville
found one copy in the Berlin Papyrus of Nechtuamen, and another traced
by Lepsius in Rome from a papyrus now lost. A third copy will be found
in the papyrus of Ani[46] in the British Museum. It differs from the two
others in “conducting the _gods_ to the Tuat,” and by omitting some
words for which there was no room in the space provided.
-----
Footnote 45:
See a charming article by Professor Ebers in the _Zeitschrift_ of
1880, entitled “Einige inedita.”
Footnote 46:
Pl. 33.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXA.
_Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not kept back from him in the
Netherworld._
Heart mine which is that of my Mother,
Whole Heart mine which was that of my coming upon Earth,
Let there be no estoppel against me through evidence; let not hindrance
be made to me by the Divine Circle;(1.) let there not be a fall of the
scale(2.) against me in presence of the great god, Lord of Amenta.
Hail to thee, Heart mine; Hail to thee, Whole Heart mine, Hail to thee,
Liver(3.) mine!
Hail to you, ye gods who are on the side lock, conspicuous by your
sceptres,(4.) announce my glory to Râ and convey it to Nehebkau.
[And lo, though he be buried in the deep deep Grave, and bowed down to
the region of annihilation, he is glorified there(5.).]
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXB.
Heart mine which is that of my Mother,
Whole Heart mine which is that of my birth,
Let there be no estoppel against me through evidence, let no hindrance
be made to me by the divine Circle; fall thou not against me in presence
of him who is at the Balance.
Thou art my Genius, who art by me, the Artist(6.) who givest soundness
to my limbs.
Come forth(7.) to the bliss[47] towards which we are bound;
Let not those Ministrants(8.) who deal with a man according to the
course of his life(9.) give a bad odour to my name.
Pleasant for us, pleasant for the listener, is the joy of the Weighing
of the Words.
Let not lies be uttered in presence of the great god, Lord of the
Amenta.
Lo! how great art thou [as the Triumphant one.(10.)
NOTES.
This chapter is found not only on papyri but upon innumerable scarabs.
The differences of text are very great, but the principal ones may be
considered as represented by M. Naville’s 30A and 30B. They branch off
from each other after the mention of the Balance.
The oldest copy known on a scarab is that of King Sebak-em-saf of the
XIIIth dynasty. It is in the British Museum (No. 7876) and has been
described by Dr. Birch in his study[48] of the “Formulas relating to the
heart.” “This amulet,” he says, “is of unusual shape; the body of the
insect is made of a remarkably fine green jasper carved in shape of the
body and head of the insect. This is inserted into a base of gold in
shape of a tablet.... The legs of the insect are ... of gold and carved
in relief.... The hieroglyphs are incised in outline, are coarse, and
not very legible.”
1. _The Divine Circle_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. This word on the scarab of
Sebak-em-saf is written ⁂⁂⁂, which shows that ⁂ (a wall of
enclosure) is ideographic of the whole word. And this sign in hieratic,
when placed upright ⁂, has given rise to the ⁂, which takes its
place in the later texts.
2. _Fall of the scale_, ⁂⁂⁂ = the Coptic ⲣⲓⲕⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲙⲁϣⲓ or the
Greek ῥοπὴ τοῦ ζυγοῦ.
3. _Liver_; This seems to be the real meaning of ⁂⁂⁂.
4. These gods are mentioned in the Pyramid Texts in a passage closely
resembling this one of the Book of the Dead. “They bring to Unas (line
479) the four Glorious ones who are on the side lock of Horus; who stand
upon the Eastern side of Heaven, and who are conspicuous through their
sceptres ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. They announce to Râ the glorious name of
Unas, and proclaim (⁂⁂⁂, _cf._ ⲟⲩⲱ, ⲉⲣⲟⲩⲱ) Unas to Neheb-kau.”
The text of Teta is very imperfect in this place.
The word ⁂⁂ appears to have the sense of _insignire_, _designare_.
This sense is a key to every passage in which the word occurs.
5. The few early copies of this paragraph are too fragmentary and too
contradictory to furnish a restoration of the text, which must have
meant something like what is expressed in this translation.
6. _The Artist_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is here a common noun rather
than a proper name.
7. The deceased addresses his heart, and thereupon speaks in the first
person plural, _we_; that is _you and I_.
8. _The Ministrants._ The ⁂⁂⁂⁂ were high officials in the
Egyptian court, but here they minister to Osiris in the Netherworld.
They are apparently the same gods who are addressed in the 27th Chapter
as fashioning the heart of a person according to his deeds when living.
9. The determinative ⁂ shows that ⁂ is here to be taken in the
sense of the duration of human life, and the pronominal suffixes ⁂ or
⁂ show whose life is spoken of. The latter suffix has reference to
⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is accordingly to be translated in the singular.
The plural sign merely indicates a common or collective noun.
10. _As the Triumphant one._ So _Aa_, the papyrus of Nebseni. Another
authority (B.M. 7865) quoted by Dr. Birch has ⁂⁂⁂⁂ like Râ,
the Triumphant One.
The formula “How great art thou!” occurs in other primitive texts; _cf._
_Aelteste Texte_, Pl. 5, lines 7 and 8. In line 8 it occurs twice.
-----
Footnote 47:
⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 48:
_Zeitschr._, 1870. p. 32.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXI.
_Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are repulsed who come to carry off the
Words of Power from a person in the Netherworld._
Back, in retreat! Back, Crocodile Sui! Come not against me, who live by
the Words of Power.(1.)
I utter(2.) that Name of the great god, who granteth that two of his
Messengers[49] should come; the name of one is Batta(3.), and the name
of the other is _Thine Aspect is Fixed Law_.(4.)
Heaven determineth(5.) its hour; my Word of Power determineth all that
which concerneth it; and my mouth determineth my Word of Power. I eat,
and my teeth are like flint, and my grinders are like the Cliff of
Tuf.(6.)
O thou who art sitting(7.) with a watchful eye against this my Word of
Power; do not thou carry it off, O Crocodile who livest by thine own
Word of Power.
NOTES.
This chapter is but rarely found in the more ancient collections. It was
on the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep, but M. Naville gives the readings of
only two early papyri. The later recensions add a text which we shall
find later on in chapter 69, and which has no connection whatever with
the present chapter.
1. The Words of Power are supplied to the deceased by Thoth in chapter
23.
2. The Turin text and those which agree with it read “Do not thou
utter,” as if the Crocodile were about to use the Word of Power. I read
⁂⁂⁂⁂. The ⁂ was first corrupted into ⁂, and ⁂⁂
was farther improved into ⁂⁂⁂, which in its turn necessitated
the addition of a suffix of the second person.
3. This name was changed in the later texts to the more familiar one of
the divine Ape ⁂⁂ _Benit_.
4. _Fixed Law_, ⁂ or ⁂⁂. The central idea of theology in the
Book of the Dead is that of _Regularity_, whether in permanence or
change. Those things alone are divine which abide unceasingly or which
recur in accordance with undeviating _rule_.
5. _Determineth._ The word ⁂⁂ here, as in other places, has the
sense of circumscribing, as in a circuit ⁂⁂, prescribing the
limits, fixing and determining.
6. _The Cliff of Tuf_ ⁂⁂, literally ‘his cliff,’ namely of Anubis,
in allusion to his frequent title ⁂⁂.
7. _Sitting._ Here I follow _Pc_ and the papyri generally in reading
⁂⁂. The scribe of _Ca_ seems to have been thinking of
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of a well-known magic text
(Unas, 320).
-----
Footnote 49:
See chapter 21, 1.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXII.
_Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are repulsed who come to carry off the
Words of Power from the glorified in the Netherworld._
Osiris standeth up upon his feet;(1.) his company of gods raise him up.
O Son who conversest with thy father, do thou protect this Great one
from these four(2.) crocodiles here who devour the dead and live by the
Words of Power.
I know them by their names and their way of living, and it is I who
protect his own father from them.
Back, thou Crocodile of the West, who livest on the Setting Stars.(3.)
What thou execratest is upon me. Thou hast devoured the head of Osiris,
but I am Rā.(4.)
Back, thou Crocodile of the East, who livest upon those who devour their
own foulness. What thou execratest is upon me. I have come, and I am
Osiris.
Back, thou Crocodile of the South, who livest upon impurities. What thou
execratest is upon me. Let not the red flame be upon thee. For I am
Septu.(5.)
Back, thou Crocodile of the North, who livest upon that which lieth
between the hours(6.). What thou execratest is upon me. Let not thy
fiery water be inflicted upon me. [For I am Tmu.(7.)]
All things which exist are in my grasp, and those depend upon me which
are not yet.
I am arrayed and equipped with thy Words of Power, O Rā; with that which
is above and with that which is below me.
I have received increase of length and depth, and fulness of breathing
within the domain of my father, the Great one.
He hath given to me that beautiful Amenta in which the living are
destroyed. But strong is its possessor though he faint in it daily.
My face is unveiled, and my heart is in its place.
The Uræus is upon me daily.
I am Rā, who protecteth himself, and no evil things can overthrow me.
NOTES.
This chapter is in even worse condition than the one which precedes it.
There are a few scraps of it on a coffin at St. Petersburg which M.
Golenischeff assigns to the earliest period. The only early MS. which is
of any use, _Ba_, the Berlin papyrus of Nechtuamon, is here in a very
mutilated condition, as may be seen on referring to M. Naville’s
edition.
1. _Osiris standeth up upon his feet._ So _Ba_; but the coffin at St.
Petersburg lends its support to the text of Bekenrenef (of the] 26th
Dynasty), which opens the chapter with the name of a crocodile
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. “Let the Great one fall upon his belly”!
2. The ancient text had only four crocodiles, and only four are
mentioned in the text of Bekenrenef. The Turin text speaks of eight; two
for each of the cardinal points. But the Saitic text already has two
invocations instead of one for each crocodile.
3. The sense of this myth is obvious. Every star which _sets_ is
supposed to be swallowed by the Crocodile of the West. It was stated
in note 3 to chapter 15 that the ⁂⁂⁂ are _stars_.[50]
Besides the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ the _stars which set_
and the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ the _circumpolar stars_, whose
navigation ⁂⁂⁂ ⲥⲱⲕ is continuous, there are the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ whose name is very significant.
⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂ have the sense of _turning back_,[51] and
the only stars whose apparent motion is ever retrograde are the
_planets_.
All these stars are supposed as divinities to aid in the navigation of
the Bark of Rā. The Egyptians could not have had a correct planetary
theory (which only became possible through Kepler), but they understood
at least that the motions of the planets were _regular_, and that they
depended upon the Sun. Eudoxus is reported to have derived the data for
his theory from his Egyptian instructors.
4. Instead of Rā the name of Sut is found in the later texts. Bekenrenef
has ⁂⁂.
5. _Septu_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂, the ‘armed,’ one of the
Solar appellations, already found in the Pyramid texts (_Unas_, 281). He
appears in chapter 130, 7, in connection with the block of execution.
6. The text is here hopelessly corrupt. M. Pierret has ‘offrande,’ which
he most probably derives from ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂, a reading
found in some papyri. But _Ba_, our oldest authority, has ⁂⁂, and
Bekenrenef has ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The Turin copy has ⁂; and the
context does not help us. Of these four readings (and there are probably
others which I do not know) that of Bekenrenef seems to me the best; but
⁂ has so many possible applications that I will not venture to
suggest one.
7. [I am Tmu.] These words are not in _Ba_, but they occur in all other
copies, and the omission of the divine name which stops the crocodile is
an evident fault.
The chapter ends here, and what follows is an addition for which our
earliest authority is that of Bekenrenef. But even this text is already
corrupt, and requires to be corrected by more recent ones.
-----
Footnote 50:
⁂⁂⁂⁂ as a feminine noun and proper name occurs in the
Pyramid Texts (Unas, 644).
Footnote 51:
Brugsch has produced excellent evidence for the supposition that
⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂ signifies _the two turnings_
of the Sun, that is at the solstices, ⁂⁂ being the southern
solstice and ⁂⁂ the northern.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXIII.
_Chapter whereby all Serpents are kept back._
Oh serpent Rerek, advance not! Here are the gods Seb and Shu!
Stop! or thou shalt eat the rat which Rā execrateth, and gnaw the bones
of a putrid she-cat.
NOTE.
This chapter is often found in coffins. There is a chapter much
resembling it in the tomb of Horhotep (line 364), at least as regards
the opening words. It addresses Rerek and tells him that Shu and another
deity are coming, and that the speaker is Horus. No allusion, however,
is made to the dead rat and cat. These typify the impurities and
abominations to which the damned are liable in the world to come.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXIV.
_Chapter whereby a person is not devoured by the dweller in the
shrine._(1.)
O Uræus! I am the Flame which shineth, and which openeth out
eternity,(2.) the column of Tenpua(3.) [_otherwise said_--the column on
which are blossoming plants.]
Away from me! I am the Lynx goddess.(4.)
NOTES.
1. It is not possible to say what is here actually meant by ⁂⁂⁂
_ḥat._ Every word almost in this tiny chapter was a puzzle to the
Egyptian scribes, who altered the text in a hundred ways. The Turin text
provides against the persons being _bitten by the Eater of the head_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, instead of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ as even Bekenrenef
has it.
2. _Open out Eternity_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. This is the oldest and most
approved reading even in later times. But in _Pe_ the flame ‘shineth on
the brow of the Glorified ones.’
3. A quite unknown deity and most probably a mere blunder. The MS. which
contains it, _Ca_, suggests another reading _Tenpua_ with ⁂, the
determinative of _plants_. This not proving satisfactory,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _renpit_ was substituted. But all this was mere
conjectural emendation.
4. _The Lynx goddess_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ Maftit. The name of this deity
is generally translated Lynx, and it is certainly applied to an animal
of the feline species closely resembling the cat. But the notion
expressed by the name is that of _swift speed_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. (See
Dümichen, _Rec._ IV, 100, where this verb is in parallel with others of
the same sense.)
This deity is again mentioned in the 39th chapter as taking part in the
conflict with the dragon of darkness, and it is named in the strange
magic formulæ already found in the Pyramid texts. She is called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Teta 310), and she apparently defends the
deceased (_ib._, l. 303) against two serpent divinities, one of whom at
least, ⁂⁂⁂ _T’eser-ṭepu_ (_praeclaro capite_), is known to us
as one of the forty-two assessors of Osiris (_Todtenbuch_, 125-33).
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXV.
_Chapter whereby the person is not devoured by a Serpent in the
Netherworld._
Oh Shu, here is Tattu, _and conversely_, under the wig(1.) of Hathor.
They scent(2.) Osiris.
Here is the one who is to devour me. They wait apart.(3.) The serpent
Seksek passeth over me.
Here are wormwood bruised(4.) and reeds.
Osiris is he who prayeth that he may be buried.
The eyes of the Great One are bent down, and he doth for thee the work
of cleansing;(5.) marking out what is conformable to law and balancing
the issues.(6.)
NOTES.
The translator of this chapter cannot pretend to do more than give an
accurate meaning to each word. The true sense of the chapter must have
been lost when the earliest copies known to us were written.
1. _Wig_, ⁂⁂. The head-dress of the gods is one of the mythical
forms of representing the light cloud at sunrise or sunset, in which the
deity is _pileatus_.
2. _Scent_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The Egyptian word is also used for
_nursing_, _putting to sleep_, probably through influencing the
breathing. The _nose_ as a determinative is used in the different senses
of the word.
3. _They wait apart._ The early MSS. do not agree here in a single word,
and they defy translation. The later MSS. are scarcely less discordant.
⁂⁂ is _to alight_, _rest_, and this must also be the meaning of
⁂⁂. ⁂⁂⁂ is connected with ⁂. ⲛⲉϩ in the sense of
_dispersing_, _separating_.
4. _Bruised_, or _trodden_. There being no rational context it is
impossible to fix the sense of a word like ⁂⁂⁂, which may mean
either _guard_ or _bruise_ by _beating_ or _treading down_.
5. _Cleansing_ ⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂. The result of the process is
certainly _cleansing_, but the operation itself is generally supposed to
be _washing_. This agrees with the Coptic ⲣⲁϩⲧ _a fuller_, of which the
old Egyptian form is ⁂⁂. But ⲣⲁϩⲧ has also the sense of
_beating_, and the operation is in many countries thought to be one of
the most important duties of washerwomen. With this sense of the word I
would connect the names _Rechit_ given to Isis and Nephthys, as
signifying ‘mourners.’ Compare the Greek τύπτεσθαί τινα, κόπτεσθαί τινα,
_to mourn a person_, and the Latin _plangere_.
6. _Balancing the issues_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The first of these
words is unambiguous. ⁂⁂⁂ signifies literally ‘standing,’ like
_status_, or στάσις, and like those words also signifies position,
situation, condition, circumstances, and also the point at issue, the
question to be decided.
A well known passage in Cicero’s _Topics_ (93, c. 35) may be quoted
here: “Refutatio accusationis, in quae est depositio criminis, Graece
στάσις dicitur, Latine _status_ appelletur: in quo insistit, quasi ad
repugnandum congressa defensio.”
Perhaps the passage in chapter 30 B, in which “the divine ministrants
are said to deal with a man” according to his ⁂⁂ may have
reference to the circumstances of his life.
Chapters like this, however worthless in themselves, contain small
fragments highly illustrative of the ideas of the Egyptians at an
extremely remote period.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXVIII.
=Papyrus, Brocklehurst, II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXVIII.
=Papyrus, Musée du
Louvre, III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTERS XXVI-XXIX.
=Papyrus, Berlin Museum, 22.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXX.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXI.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXIII.
=Papyrus, Leyden Museum, IV.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXVI.
=Papyrus, Leyden Museum, IV.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXVI.
=Papyrus, Berlin Museum, 2.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXVII.
=Papyrus, Cairo, Bulaq, 21.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre,
Cat. des Médailles.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
=Papyrus, Leyden Museum, V.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXIX. =Saqâra, Grab 24.=
LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl 266.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXVI.
_Chapter whereby the Āpshait is kept back._
Away from me, thou with parted lips! I am Chnemu, the Lord of Shennu,
who am bringing the words of the gods to Rā. And I announce the news to
Nebes.
NOTE.
The insect called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _āpšai_ or ⁂⁂⁂ _āpsȧit_
is difficult of identification. It is certainly not a tortoise as was
formerly thought, but looks rather like the voracious _Blatta
orientalis_. The form in _Le_ is peculiar, but I have met it in a later
papyrus. The last word of the chapter is doubtful. The most recent
papyri have ⁂⁂ ‘their Lord,’ which gives a very good sense, but
even the Turin copy has ⁂ ‘her Lord’ which agrees with the oldest
papyrus. Bekenrenef has ⁂⁂ _Nebes_, a lion-headed goddess.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXVII.
_Chapter whereby the Merta goddesses are kept back._
Hail ye Pair of goddesses Merta, Sister Pair, Merta!(1.) I inform you of
my Words of Power.
It is I who rise up from the Sektit boat. I am Horus the son of Isis,
and I am come to see my father, Osiris.
NOTE.
1. The _Pair of goddesses_ consists of Isis and Nephthys
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Rehetȧ_, as the word is written at Denderah.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Mertȧ_ signifies _two eyes._
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
_Chapter whereby one liveth by the breath of air in the Netherworld, and
keepeth back Merta._
I am the god in Lion form; the heir of Râ and Tmu in Chemmis,(1.) the
Master in their halls.
Those who are in their cells(2.) accompany me as guides. I have made my
way and gone round the heavenly Ocean on the path of the Bark of Râ, and
standing on the girders[52] of the Bark of Râ.
I utter his words to the men of the present generation[53] and I repeat
his words to him who is deprived of breath.(3.)
I spy out for my father Râ at sunset, compressing my mouth,(4.) and
feeding upon life.
I live in Tattu, and I repeat my life after death like the Sun daily.
NOTES.
There are two recensions of this chapter, and both are found in the
papyrus _Lb_. They are called by M. Naville, 38A and 38B. The latter is
that adopted as canonical by all the manuscripts of a later date, and is
the one here translated. The other recension is longer, and contains
passages which are also found in other chapters, to which it accordingly
furnishes important variants. It may possibly be older than those
chapters.
1. _In Chemmis._ The name of the place where Isis gave birth to Horus is
in the Pyramid texts written ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Pepi I, 428), and
⁂⁂⁂ (Merenra I, 683), _aḫ-ḫebit_ or _ḫebit-aḫ_; but simply
_ḫebit_ in the texts of the eighteenth dynasty, as in the annals of
Thothmes III (Mariette, _Karnak_c pl. 16, line 47),[54] or in the divine
and proper names ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, and ⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. It is certain therefore that the
sign ⁂ is here only an ideogram of ⁂⁂⁂, not of the ancient
⁂⁂⁂. From the eighteenth dynasty at least, and for a time
belonging to a period of unknown length between the sixth and the
eighteenth dynasties, and for ever afterwards, the name of the place was
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Ḫebit_, where, as the _Tablet of the Dream_ says,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Mariette, _Mon. div._, pl. 7).
2. _In their cells_: ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Here 38A has:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _in their shrines_, followed in
some papyri by ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “I fraternize with Horus and
Sut.”
3. _Deprived of breath_, ‘the dead.’ In 38A, the privation of breath is
mentioned but in a different connection. But the text of the passage is
uncertain. Here as in chapter 41, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
‘the Breathless one’ is Osiris.
4. _Compressing my mouth_: ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the ancient reading, not
⁂⁂⁂⁂, as in the more recent texts. The same observation
applies to the name of the god in chapter 125, 15.
-----
Footnote 52:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 53:
_The men of the present generation, the Reḫit._
Footnote 54:
Here the king is compared to the god called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ and in the next line ⁂⁂⁂. And
Thothmes IV (_Denkm._, III, 63) is compared
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXIX.
_Chapter whereby the Serpent Rekrek is repulsed in the Netherworld._
Back! down with thee, stabber(1.) from Apepi! Drown in the lake of
Heaven, in the spot wherein thy father ordered that thy murder should be
carried out. Away from this birth-place of Râ, the god encompassed
by[55] his terrors.
I am Râ, encompassed by his terrors.
Back! the dark demon and the sword which he maketh to flash!
Râ flingeth down thy words; thy face is twisted round by the gods; thy
whole heart is torn out by the Lynx goddess; chains are flung upon thee
by the Scorpion goddess; and slaughter is dealt upon thee by Maāt.
The gods who are on the roads overthrow thee.
Apep falleth down, the enemy of Râ.
O thou who removest the bolt from the East of Heaven at the stormy voice
of bellowings, and openest the gates of the Horizon before Râ: he cometh
forth fainting from the wounds.
I am a doer of thy will, I am a doer of thy will, O Râ.
I have done well, I have done well; I have done to the satisfaction of
Râ.
And I raise shouts of acclamation at thy success at fettering, O Râ.
Apep is fallen and is in bonds.
The gods of the South, the North, the West and the East bind him; their
bonds are upon him. Aker(2.) overthroweth him, and the lord of the ruddy
sky doth bind him.
Râ is satisfied; Râ is satisfied; Râ maketh his progress peacefully.
Apep falleth; Apep goeth down; the enemy of Râ. And more grave for thee
is the proof(3.) than that sweet proof through the Scorpion goddess,
which she practised for thee, in the pain which she suffered...(4.).
Be thou emasculate, O Apep, enemy of Râ; be thou repulsed whom Râ
hateth; look behind thee: a chopper is over thy head to divide it into
two parts, and those who are above thy head assail it. Thy bones are
broken, thy limbs are severed under the direction of Aker, O Apep, enemy
of Râ.
Thy boatmen [O Râ], succeed in measuring out thy path, and a journey,
with which thou art satisfied; a progress, a progress towards home; and
the progress which thou hast made towards home is a fair progress.
Let no evil hindrances come forth against me from thy mouth in what thou
doest towards me.
I am Sutu, who causeth the storms and tempests, and who goeth round in
the Horizon of Heaven, like to one whose heart is veiled.
Tmu saith: Let your countenances be raised up, ye soldiers of Râ, and
drive back Nebtu in presence of the Divine Circle.
Seb saith: establish those who are upon their thrones in the middle of
the Bark of Chepera; seize your shields and spears, and hold them in
your hands.
Hathor saith: Seize your daggers.
Nut saith: Come and drive back Nebtu, who cometh against him who
dwelleth in his shrine, and maketh his voyage in solitary guise: the
Inviolate god, the resistless one.
O ye gods in your Divine cycles, who travel round the lake of Emerald,
come and defend the Great one who is in the shrine from which all the
Divine cycle proceedeth. Let glory be ascribed to him, and let honour be
given to him. Oh then, proclaim him with me.
Nut saith, the mother of the gods: He cometh forth and findeth his path,
and maketh captures of the gods; he hath the first place in the two
houses of Nut.
Seb standeth still, the great cycle of the gods is in terror, Hathor is
under terror, and Râ is triumphant over Apep.
NOTES.
The extreme uncertainty of the text is such that no translation at
present can be other than conjectural.
1. _Back, down with thee, Stabber._ The first word is clear enough; not
so the two next.
Are we to read ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂? for each
of M. Naville’s authorities gives a different word. The last of these
readings has some support in a subsequent passage, but almost all copies
have ⁂⁂⁂. There has evidently been a confusion between ⁂⁂
and ⁂⁂, and the determinative ⁂ of the latter word has been
transferred to the first. I believe that the true word is ⁂⁂⁂
which is used in the ancient forms of conjuration (see the texts of
Unas, 304, 311, 542, 545, 554, _etc._). It is always used in expressions
of _lying down_ or _falling down_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, and it is also found in parallelism with
⁂⁂⁂.
⁂⁂ without a determinative is susceptible of different meanings,
and the very recent texts have it written with the determinative of
motion ⁂ or ⁂, as significant of retreat. But the oldest
determinative in this place is ⁂, and this inclines me to identify
the word with ⁂⁂⁂, and translate it ‘stabber.’ But this is mere
conjecture. See note 5 on chapter 40.
2. _Akar._ The older MSS. differ hopelessly from each other as to the
name of the god.
In order to understand the nature of the god ⁂⁂⁂ _Akar_, we
have to imagine a _tunnel_ starting from the spot where the sun sets,
and _extending through the earth_ as far as where the sun rises. Each
end of the tunnel has a sphinx-like form. A human-headed lion stands at
the entrance and also at the terminus. It is through the paws of this
double sphinx that the galley of the Sungod enters on the Western
horizon and comes out on the Eastern.
In the picture Plate XV, taken from the tomb of Rameses IV, ⁂⁂,
_Fair Entrance_, is written at one end of the tunnel; ⁂⁂, _Fair
Exit_, at the other. As the solar bark could not be represented inside
the dark tunnel, it is placed above.
3. _The proof._ Lit. _the taste_, ⁂⁂ _ṭepit_, with the tongue as a
determinative, in the sense of a _probe_. The hand of an Egyptian hero
is said to _taste_ his enemy. In the Bremner Papyrus the god _tastes_
Apep four times. The same conception is found in the Homeric poems,
ἀλλ’ ἄγε, θᾶσσον
γευσόμεθ’ ἀλλήλων χαλκήρσεσιν ἐγχείησιν.[56]
though in Greek the _taste_ comes generally to the _patient_ rather than
to the agent.
4. This passage, which would be most interesting if we could only get it
accurately, is wretchedly corrupt. It is impossible from the variants to
obtain a text grammatically intelligible. The Scorpion goddess is Isis.
-----
Footnote 55:
⁂⁂⁂ _between_, _in the midst of_, _surrounded by_.
Footnote 56:
_Iliad_, 20, 258.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XIV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXIX. =Sâqara. Grab 24.=
LEPSIUS, _Denkmäler_, Abth. III, Bl. 265.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XXXIX.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, 93.=
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER XL. =Papyrus, Leyden Museum, No. IV.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XL.
_Chapter whereby the Eater of the Ass is kept back._
Back, serpent Haiu,(1.) whom Osiris execrateth. May Thoth cut off thy
head, and may there accrue to me whatsoever property proceedeth from
thee [according to] what was decreed against thee by the Company of the
gods for the accomplishment of thy slaughter.
Back, thou whom Osiris execrateth, from the Neshemet galley, which
saileth towards the south with favourable breeze.
Pure are ye, all ye gods who overthrow the enemy of Osiris.
The gods upon the larboard utter loud acclamation.
Back, thou Eater of the Ass, whom the god Chas,(2.) who is in the Tuat,
execrateth.
Know me! (_Repeated_ four times).
“Who art thou?”
I am....[57]
Down upon thy face!(3.) thou who art eating at my sanctuary.
I am the Season, which cometh at its own will.
“Come not against me; thou who comest without being called, and who art
unknown.”
I am the master of thine utterance, and the check upon thy pride.(4.)
O Ha-as, whose horns(5.) Horus doth cut: by my children, the cycle of
gods in Pu and Tepit, thou art severed from thy fold and thy fold is
severed from thee.
And he who cutteth thee off cometh forth as the Eye of Horus; thou art
kept back and assailed, and stopped(6.) by the breath of my speech.
O thou god who devourest all wrong, and carriest off with violence;(7.)
there is no wrong in me, my tablets(8.) are free from wrong. Let me not
suffer violence before the Divine Circle; let not disaster be hurled
upon me.
I am he who giveth or taketh according to thy behest.
Let not _N_ be seized, let him not be devoured.(9.)
He is Possessor of Life, and Sovereign Lord(10.) on the Horizon.
NOTES.
The translation of this chapter is based upon the important papyrus T 5
of Leyden, known as _Lb_. This is the only MS. which contains the whole
chapter. All other copies begin after the sixth line. The usual chapter
begins in _Lb_ with a ⁂⁂, which is the ordinary way of indicating
a various reading. But the difference of reading applies rather to a
mere paragraph than to the whole chapter. In this case we should expect
⁂ or something equivalent.
The Eater of the Ass is a Serpent, but who is the Ass?
Here, as in each case of mythological name, the animal is not meant, but
something which is connoted by it. The name of the ass is given to it in
consequence of one of its characteristics. It is ⁂⁂⁂. But this
is one of the seventy-five names of the Sun-god in the Solar Litany.[58]
And he derives this appellation from his fructifying power.
But if the Ass is the Sun, who is the _Eater_ of the Ass? This must be
Darkness or Eclipse of some kind.
1. _Haiu_, the serpent who devours the sun, is undoubtedly the same as
⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Haiu_, the serpent who in the Pyramid texts is ordered
to lie down (Unas, 545, &c.), and cease from his attacks.
2. _The god Chas_, ⁂⁂.
3. The usual chapter begins here. The text of _Lb_ has generally been
followed, but in some places later authorities have been preferred.
4. _Pride_ or _boastings_, ⁂⁂⁂ _ānta_, “glory,” _cf._
_glorior_. The speaker addresses his adversary as being a _miles
gloriosus_.
5. _Horns_ or _barbed hooks_, ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂⁂. The horns here spoken of, as possessed by a viper, are
those of the deadly Cerastes, which are spines projecting from the
arched eye-brows of the creature. See picture in Long’s _Egyptian
Antiquities of British Museum_, II, p. 316, copied from the great French
work.
But the Sun-god is also called in his Litany[59]
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. And a picture of the god[60] under
the name ⁂⁂⁂ exhibits him as characterized by a pair of hooked
weapons, suggested apparently by the mandibles of a beetle.
6. _Stopped._ There are three important variants here ⁂, ⁂, and
⁂. And the last of these is possibly a corrupt reading from ⁂⁂.
The first two are synonymous. ⁂ may in certain contexts mean
_destroy_, but it only signifies ‘bring to a limit, to an end, stop,’
like the τερ in τερ-μα, _ter-min-o_. It is used in many cases, such as
the staunching of blood, where no destruction is intended.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is _stop in thy place_.
7. There is a picture in _Denkm._, III, 279, of the god who carrieth off
with violence ⁂⁂⁂⁂. But it is a mummied form holding the
_T’ām_ sceptre.
8. _Tablets_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. These are the tablets on which Thoth
has written down the evidence taken at the _Weighing of the Words_, the
examination at the Psychostasia. They are mentioned again at the end of
Chapter 41.
9. Here I follow the general authority of the later texts.
10. _Sovereign Lord_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. This word is closely connected,
and was so from the first, with ⁂ ‘seize.’ The best commentary upon
it may be derived from the legal terms _usucapio_, _saisine_, _seisin_.
The Sovereign Lord of Egypt is in our current legal phrase “_seized_ of
the Two Earths,” that is of the whole Universe, North and South.
-----
Footnote 57:
There is a lacuna here in the only MS. containing the text. The
dialogue continues through the next line of the original.
Footnote 58:
Naville, _La Litanie du Soleil_, p. 49 and 55, with the plates
corresponding.
Footnote 59:
In the 64th invocation.
Footnote 60:
Lefébure Tombeau de Seti I, pl. XVII.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLI.
_Chapter whereby one avoideth the Slaughter which is carried out in the
Netherworld._
O Tmu, let me be glorified in presence of the god in Lion form, the
great god; that he may open to me the gate of Seb.
I prostrate myself to earth to the great god who is in the Netherworld.
Let me be introduced into the presence of the company of gods who
preside over those who are in Amenta.
O thou who art at the gate of Tebat; god with the Red Crown,(1.) who art
in Amenta; let me feed, let me live by the breath of air and accompany
the great Cleaver,(2.) and the Bark of Chepera.
Let me speak to the divine Boatman at the gloaming, let me enter in and
let me go out; that I may see who is there; that I may raise him up and
speak my words to him.
O Breathless one:(3.) Let me live and be saved after death.
O thou Bearer of peace offerings, who openest thy mouth for the
presentation of the tablets,(4.) for the acceptation(5.) of the
offerings and for the establishment of Maāt upon her throne; let the
tablets be brought forward, and let the goddess be firmly established.
I am Osiris, the great god, the eternal king, who numbereth his seasons
and who lifted up his right arm, who judgeth the great ones and giveth
mission to the gods of the great Circle(6.) which is in the Netherworld.
NOTES.
The most noteworthy difference between the older recension of this
chapter and that of the Saitic and later periods is that in the latter
the god addressed at the opening is Osiris Unneferu, who is identified
with Tmu. In the older recensions the identification may be seen in
another way. Tmu is the god invoked, and in answer he says that he is
Osiris, the great god.
1. _God with the Red Crown_ ⁂⁂ is ⁂⁂⁂, one of titles of
Osiris with the ⁂ crown. See Plate XV from Lefébure, _Tombeau de Seti
I_, part IV, pl. 34. This title, derived from the crown ⁂⁂, is
_Net-tȧ_ or _Nait-tȧ_. It was borne by the high priest at Coptos
(Brugsch, _Dict. Geogr._, pp. 1374, 1377), and the King of Egypt derived
his title ⁂ from the Crown ⁂ of the North which he wore as
representing Osiris, or rather the _heir_ of Osiris, Horus.
2. _The great Cleaver_, ⁂⁂⁂, the name of the god who cleaves
his path through the sky.
3. _Breathless one_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ Osiris.
4. Thoth is the person here addressed, and the speaker is Osiris. The
tablets are those containing the evidence at the trial at the Balance.
5. _Acceptation_ ⁂⁂⁂ _peḳa_, besides the physical sense of
_comprehendere_, ‘to lay hold of’ with the hands, has that of ‘taking
in, embracing with the mind,’ and perhaps ‘setting forth in words.’
6. On the Sarcophagus of Seti (Bonomi, pl. 3. D), and the
other copies of the same text, there is a picture of these
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Such is the title written over
them. But the text speaks of them as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
=Tomb of Rameses IV.= (Musée Guimet, Vol. XV, Plate 27.)
CHAPTER XV. Notes 3 and 9.
]
[Illustration: =Tomb of Rameses IV.= (Musée Guimet, Vol. XV, Plate 40.)]
[Illustration: =Tomb of Rameses IX.= (Musée Guimet, Vol. XVI, Plate 6.)]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XLI. Note 1.
=Tombeau de Seti I.=
(Musée Guimet, Vol. IX, Plate 34.)
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XLVII.
=Leyden Papyrus, No. 16.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XVI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD. CHAPTER XLII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus du Boulaq, 21.= (Mariette Papyrus, Bd. III.)]
[Illustration: =Papyrus of Ani.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLII.
_Chapter whereby one hindereth the slaughter which is wrought at
Sutenhenen._(1.)
Land of the Rod, of the White Crown of the Image, and the Pedestal of
the gods.
I am the Babe.(2.) (_Said Four Times._)
O Serpent Abur!(3.) Thou sayest this day, “The Block of Execution is
furnished with what thou knowest,” and thou art come to soil(4.) the
Mighty One.
But I am he whose honours are abiding.
I am the Link,(5.) the god within the Tamarisk,(6.) who connecteth(7.)
the Solar orb with Yesterday. (_Four Times._)
I am Râ, whose honours are abiding.
I am the Link, the god within the Tamarisk.
My course is the course of Râ, and the course of Râ is my course.
My hair is that of Nu,(8.)
My two eyes are those of Hathor,
My two ears those of Apuat,
My nose that of Chenti-chas,
My two lips those of Anubis,
My teeth those of Selkit,
My neck that of Isis, the Mighty,
My two hands those of the Soul most Mighty, Lord of Tattu,
My shoulders those of Neith, Mistress of Sais,
My back is that of Sut,
My phallus that of Osiris,
My liver is that of the Lords of Cher-ābat,
My knees those of the most Mighty one,
My belly and my back are those of Sechit,
My hinder parts are those of the Eye of Horus,
My legs and thighs those of Nut,
My feet those of Ptah,
My nails and bones those of the Living Uræi.
There is not a limb in me which is without a god. And Thoth is a
protection to my flesh.
I shall not be grasped by my arms or seized by my hands.
Not men or gods, or the glorified ones or the damned; not generations
past, present, or future, shall inflict any injury upon me.
I am he who cometh forth and proceedeth, and whose name is unknown to
man.
I am Yesterday, “Witness of Eternity” is my Name: the persistent
traveller upon the heavenly highways which I survey. I am the
Everlasting one.
I am felt and thought of as Chepera. I am the Crowned one.
I am the Dweller in the Eye and in the Egg.
It is an attribute of mine that I live within them.
I am the Dweller in the Eye, even in its closing.
I am that by which it is supported.
I come forth and I rise up: I enter and I have life.
I am the Dweller in the Eye; my seat is upon my throne, and I sit
conspicuously upon it.
I am Horus, who steppeth onwards through Eternity.
I have instituted the throne of which I am the master.
As regards my mouth: whether in speech or in silence, I am right and
fair.
As regards my attributes: I hasten headlong, I the god Unen,[61] with
all that pertaineth to me, hour proceeding from hour, the One proceeding
from the One, in my course.
I am the Dweller in the Eye; no evil or calamitous things befall me.
It is I who open the gates of Heaven; it is I who am master of the
throne, and who open the series of births upon this day.
I am the Babe, who treadeth his path of Yesterday.
I am “This Day” to generation of men after generation.
I am he who giveth you stableness for eternity, whether ye be in heaven
or upon earth; in the South or in the North, in the West or in the
East--and the fear of me is upon you.
I am he who fashioneth with his eye, and who dieth not a second time.
A moment of mine belongeth to you, but my attributes belong to my own
domain.
I am the Unknown one, but the gods of Ruddy Countenance belong to me.
I am the Gladsome one, and no time hath been found, but served to create
for me the Heaven and the increase of Earth, and the increase of their
offspring.
They sever and join not--they sever my name from all evil things,
according to the words which I say unto you.
It is I who rise up and shine forth; strength proceeding from
strength(9.), the One proceeding from the One.
There is not a day devoid of that which belongeth to it; for ever and
for ever(10.).
I am Unbu,[62] who proceedeth from Nu, and my mother is Nut.
O thou who hast set me in motion(11.)! for I was motionless, a mighty
link within the close of Yesterday; my present activity is a link within
the close of my hand.
I am not known, but I am one who knoweth thee.
I am not to be grasped, but I am one who graspeth thee.
[Oh Dweller in the Egg! Oh Dweller in the Egg!]
I am Horus, Prince of Eternity, a fire before your faces, which
inflameth your hearts towards me.
I am master of my throne and I pass onwards. The present time is the
path which I have opened, and I have set myself free from all things
evil.
I am the golden Cynocephalus, three palms in height, without legs or
arms in the Temple of Ptah(12.); and my course is the course of the
golden Cynocephalus, three palms in height, without legs or arms in the
Temple of Ptah.
_Let these words be said--Âbabak ṭer-ek_(13.).
NOTES.
This chapter is in itself most interesting, and it is one of the most
important as illustrative of Egyptian mythology. It is impossible at
present to explain every detail, but the general drift of the chapter is
not to be mistaken. And the same drift is to be recognised in the whole
course of Egyptian religious literature from the beginning.
The speaker throughout identifies himself with the divinity whose
manifestation is the Sun; he is not the Sun of this or that moment but
of Yesterday, To-day and of all eternity, the “One proceeding from the
One.”
1. _Sutenḥenen._ The later texts say the “Netherworld.”
2. The _Babe_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, an appellative applied to the rising
Sun. _See_ Brugsch, _Rev._ II, pl. 71, 3, where this babe is
compared to the Lotus coming forth from the great stream
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The word signifies that which is “lifted up,” “un élève,” ⁂⁂⁂.
3. _Serpent Ab-ur_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The two important MSS. _Ca_
and _Pb_ seem to imply a female personage, but as the verb in connection
with the name is masculine the final ⁂ cannot be meant for a feminine
ending, and it is peculiar to those two MSS. _Ȧb-ur_ “the very thirsty,”
as the appellative of a viper, recalls that of the διψάς, whose bite
caused intense thirst. But it may have originated in the fact that these
reptiles are in the habit of lying in wait by the water side for the
sake of the animals who come there to drink.
4. _To soil_: ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the type of the word in the earlier
texts. The late ones have the well known ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
5. _The Link_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. Another appellative of the Sun god,
applied to Tmu and Horus in the oldest texts. The notion of ⁂ is
that of _concatenation_, _connecting_, _combining_, _fastening_,
_binding_, _setting in order together_, σύνταγμα, σύνταξις, as in
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _nectere coronam_. Hence its occurrence in words
signifying ‘the vertebral column,’ ‘a row of teeth,’ ‘a chain of
hills,’ ‘a body of troops’ (σύνταγμα ἱππέων or πέζων), or their
‘captains,’ literary ‘composition’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
(Pap. Prisse V, 6), and the seven divine ⁂⁂⁂⁂ οἱ
συντάσσοντες, the first authors of artistic composition. See note to
chapter 71.
6. _The god within the Tamarisk._ The rising sun under his various names
is frequently represented as being in a tree or bush, which partly
conceals him. This is a mythological way of treating the light cloud or
mist which so commonly accompanies the sun’s first appearance.
_Tamarisk_ is only a provisional translation of ⁂⁂⁂. The god
Apuat, who is identical with Osiris, is said in the Pyramid Texts
(_Unas_ 107, _Teta_ 66) to come forth from the ⁂⁂⁂.
7. _Who connecteth._ This I believe to be the sense of ⁂⁂⁂ if
the next word is ⁂⁂. But the text is quite uncertain.
⁂⁂⁂ is a _rope_ or _cable_ (Bonomi, Sarc. II, c, 34), and like
the Latin _copula_ or the Semitic חבל, حبل has the sense of _tie_,
_bond_, _connection_.[63]
When the prince of Tennu (_Berlin Pap._ 1, line 31) proposed a family
alliance to Senehat, he said to him ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _lie-toi
avec moi!_ And he gave him his daughter to wife.
In the expression ⁂⁂⁂⁂, _nefrit_ signifies _continuously_,
_connectedly_, and the sense of _until_ is only completed by the
addition of the preposition ⁂.
Instead of ⁂⁂ ‘the Solar orb,’ some MSS. read ⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, or ⁂⁂⁂ and in each of these
cases ⁂⁂ must be understood as an adjective raised to the
comparative degree by the preposition ⁂: “More beautiful [my]
splendour (colour, hair or veil) than Yesterday.” None of these readings
seem very attractive.
8. Here follows the identification of the limbs of the deceased person
with those of various gods. There are many similar texts belonging to
all the periods of the Egyptian religion. For the Pyramid Texts, _see
e.g. Unas_, line 218 &c., _ib._ line 570, &c., _Pepi I_, line 565, &c.
Compare the _Coffin of Amamu_, pl. XXIV, line 11, &c., Naville, _Litanie
de Râ_, p. 96, and Golenischeff, _Metternichstele_, lines 9-35.
9. _Strength_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, literally a _wall_ or _tower_, like the
מגדל־עז of Ps. XI, 4.
10. ⁂⁂⁂ ‘continuously, continuously.’
11. The interjection ⁂⁂ seems to imply that a second person is
addressed. The passage would otherwise be translated, “I have set myself
in motion,” which would be more consistent with the doctrine contained
in this chapter.
12. All the more recent copies have ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the Sanctuary
of Ptah at Memphis.
13. _Âbaba-k ṭer-ek._ This is only one of the readings of a formula
which had soon become utterly unintelligible to the copyists. Hieratic
copies like _Louvre_ 3079, published by M. de Rougé, B.M. 10,257
(Rollin) and Leyden, T. 16, record several conjectural emendations, to
which modern scholars might add others, were they so disposed.
-----
Footnote 61:
Another reading is Unneferu.
Footnote 62:
See note 1 on chapter 28.
Footnote 63:
“حبل non modo _funem_, sed et in Alcorano saepe _foedus_ significat.”
Gesenius, _Thesaur in voc._ חבל.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLIII.
_Chapter whereby the head of a person is not severed from him in the
Netherworld._
I am a Prince, the son of a Prince; a Flame, the Son of a Flame, whose
head is restored to him after it hath been cut off.
The head of Osiris is not taken from him, and my head shall not be taken
from me.
I raise myself up, I renew myself, and I grow young again.
I am Osiris.
NOTE.
An early recension of this chapter is found in the tomb of Horhotep
(_Miss. Arch. II_, p. 159), and an apparent reference on the _Coffin of
Amamu_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLIV.
_Chapter whereby one dieth not a second time._
Let the Cavern of Putrata(1.) be opened for me, where the dead fall into
the darkness, but the Eye of Horus supporteth me, and Apuat reareth me
up. I hide myself among you, O ye Stars that set not. My front is that
of Râ, my face is revealed, according to the words of Thoth; my heart is
in its place, my speech is intelligent.
I am Râ himself, I am not to be ignored, I am not to be molested.
Thy father liveth for thee, O Son of Nut! I am thy son Horus, I see thy
mysteries, and am crowned as King of the gods. I die not a second time
in the Netherworld.
NOTE.
1. _Putrata_ ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. This name has
disappeared in nearly all the MSS. It is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts
(_Pepi I_, 332, Merirā 635) as a lake traversed by the glorified
personage.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLV.
_Chapter whereby one escapeth corruption in the Netherworld._
Here is the Osiris _N._, motionless, motionless like Osiris; motionless
his limbs like Osiris--let them not remain motionless, let them not
corrupt. They move not, they stir not: be it done for me as for Osiris.
I am Osiris.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLVI.
_Chapter whereby he that is living is not destroyed in the Netherworld._
Oh ye recent offspring of Shu, who dawn after dawn is possessor of his
diadem at sunrise; ye future generations of men, my springing forth[64]
is the springing forth of Osiris.
NOTE.
This chapter is addressed to the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _hammemit_,
who are known from other quarters to be _human beings_, as the
younglings of the god Shu. But the reference is not to men who have yet
lived upon the earth. They are spoken of as _men of a future
generation_. Queen Hatshepsu on her obelisk when speaking of them
connects them with the period of 120 years, that is as if we said “men
of the next century.” Before their appearance upon the earth they circle
round the Sun, and the glorified dead hold converse with them (chapter
124, 6).
The Egyptians, like many other ancient nations, held the doctrine of the
preexistence of souls. They held it not like philosophers or poets, but
as an article of their popular and traditional creed.
-----
Footnote 64:
The _Day-Spring_.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XVII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER XLVII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus of Ani.=]
CHAPTER L.
[Illustration:
=Nicholson Papyrus.=
(Ægyptiaca, Plate 5.)
]
CHAPTER L.
[Illustration: =Papyrus of Ani.=]
CHAPTER LVII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9949.=]
CHAPTER LVIII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus of Ani.=]
CHAPTER LXI.
[Illustration: =Papyrus du Louvre, III, 93.=]
CHAPTER LXIV.
[Illustration: =Papyrus du Louvre, III, 93.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XVIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD. CHAPTER LXVIII.
[Illustration: =Papyrus du Louvre, III, 93.=]
[Illustration: LANZONE (Diz. Egiz.).]
[Illustration: =Saquara.= LEPSIUS (Denkm., Abth. III, Bl. 264).]
[Illustration]
LANZONE (Diz. Egiz.).
[Illustration: =Leyden Sarcophagus.=]
[Illustration: WILKINSON (Mat. Hierog., Plate 23.)]
[Illustration: LEPSIUS (Todt., Plate 21).]
[Illustration: LEPSIUS (Todt., Plate 23).]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLVII.
_Chapter whereby the Seat of a person is not taken from him in the
Netherworld._
Chair and Throne of mine, which are coming to me and circling round to
me; divine ones!
I am a noble Sāhu(1.), grant that I may become one of those who follow
the great god.
I am the Son of Maāt, and wrong is what I execrate.
I am the Victorious one.
NOTE.
1. _Sāḥu_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is not a mummy, as it is sometimes
rendered, but a living personality in mummied form.
------------------------------------
CHAPTERS XLVIII and XLIX
are identical with X and XI respectively.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER L.
_Chapter whereby one cometh not to the divine Block of Execution._
The four(1.) fastenings of the hinder part of my head are fastened.
He who is in heaven it was who made firm the fastening for him who was
fainting upon his two haunches on that day when the fleece was shorn.
The fastenings of the hinder part of my head were fastened by Sutu and
the company of gods in his first triumph. Let there be no disaster.
Preserve me safe from him who slew my father.
I am seized of the ‘Two Earths.’
The fastenings of the hinder part of my head were fastened by Nu, on the
first time of my beholding the Law in virtue of which the gods and their
symbols(2.) come into existence.
I am the Heedful one, and become the executioner for you, ye great
gods(3.).
NOTES.
The antiquity of the chapter is proved by its occurrence on the second
coffin of Mentuhotep; but its condition there is such that no one can
read it who is not already familiar with it from other sources. It
begins, _Aelteste Texte_, p. 22, line 34, and goes on till the red
letters at line 50. The text, in spite of its importance, is very
inaccurate.
1. _The four fastenings._ The number _four_ is only found in the oldest
copies. The later copies have a different text. It is impossible to say
_what_ kind of fastening is meant. ⁂ might be a ligament or a
vertebra--though more probably the latter. But it might be a combination
of several pieces. ⁂⁂⁂ is the occiput, and this suggests the
hypothesis of cervical vertebrae. But the number of these is not four
but seven. Of these _three_ are peculiar; the Atlas which supports the
head, the Axis upon which the head turns, and the Vertebra prominens
with its long spinal process. But see the Vignette of chapter 42 from
_Pd_ where four vertebrae are figured.
2. _Symbols_, or symbolical representations, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂⁂.
3. _The Heedful one_ ⁂⁂, perhaps ⁂⁂⁂, Unas 584, Pepi I,
199 and 667.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LI.
_Chapter whereby one goeth not headlong in the Netherworld._
I execrate, I execrate, I do not eat it.
That which I execrate is dirt. I eat it not, that I may appease my
Genius.
Let me not fall into it; let me not approach it with my hands, let me
not tread upon it with my sandals.
NOTE.
The Chapters numbered 51 and 52 are not found in the most ancient
papyri, but the substance of them and their formulas are met with on the
ancient coffins[65] and in the Pyramid texts. See, for instance, Unas
189, Teta 68, with M. Maspero’s note on the latter text. I do not,
however, believe, as M. Maspero does, that these texts convey the idea
“so frequent[!] among half-civilised peoples, of another life in which
the deceased will have nothing to eat and drink but excremental matter.”
That the ⁂⁂⁂ which I translate ‘dirt’ and ⁂⁂ ‘lye’ are of
this nature is quite certain, but they are objects of abhorrence to the
Sun-god, like the dead rat and the putrid cat in chapter 33, because he
is a consuming fire, and “whatsoever he findeth upon his path he
devoureth it,” ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ Unas 515. It is only
natural then that the deceased who is identified with the Sun-god in
these texts should express his execration of such offensive matter. He
is not afraid of being limited to this food, his fear springs from the
opposite extreme.
-----
Footnote 65:
There is a chapter in Lepsius, _Älteste Texte_, p. 34, with the same
title as chapter 51, but the contents are different.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LII.
_Chapter whereby one eateth not dirt in the Netherworld._
I execrate, I execrate, I do not eat it.
That which I execrate is dirt. I eat it not, that I may appease my
Genius(1.).
Let it not fall upon me; let me not approach it with my hands, let me
not tread upon it with my sandals.
Henceforth let me live upon corn(2.) in your presence, ye gods, and let
there come one who bringeth to me that I may feed from those seven
loaves which he hath brought for Horus and upon the loaves for Thoth.
“What willst thou eat?” say the gods to him.
Let me eat under the Sycamore of Hathor the Sovereign, and let my turn
be given to me among those who rest there.
And let me manage the fields in Tattu and prosper in Heliopolis.
And let me feed upon the bread of the white corn and upon the beer of
the red barley.
And let the forms(3.) of my father and of my mother be granted to me;
the gate-keepers of the stream.
Let room be thrown open for me, let the path be made, and let me sit in
any place that I desire.
NOTES.
1. Here, as in the corresponding passage in the preceding chapter and in
several other places, the later texts often read ⁂, which is a
serious error.
2. The unintelligible ⁂⁂⁂ of the later texts should be
corrected to ⁂⁂ (_Älteste Texte_ 42, lines 50, 54 and 67). The
error may be traced to a form of the word with the prothetic ⁂. There
are several words varying in their applications which may be traced to
the same origin.
⁂⁂ _šeser_ ‘spica’ a point, hence an ear of corn, and ⁂⁂,
⁂⁂, ‘spiculum,’ an arrow, a javelin, are very clearly connected,
and the notion in both is, as in the Hebrew אביב, that of ‘shooting
forth,’ _proferre_, _protendere_.
⁂⁂, a term applied to horned animals, has surely nothing to do
with the Coptic ϣⲣⲱ of Leviticus XV, 19. It refers to the _pointed_
weapons presented by the beasts.
⁂⁂ is ‘put forward’ in the way of speech, and may be command or
prayer, or simple statement.
⁂⁂ the builder’s line is something ‘stretched out’ _prolatum_,
_protensum_.
And with reference to walls, buildings, and the like, ⁂⁂ may
always be translated by _proferre, protendere_.
3. _The forms_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ not ⁂⁂⁂⁂, as the Turin
Todtenbuch. There is a most interesting text but unfortunately imperfect
on the Leyden Coffin M. 3 (M. Pl. 13). The deceased is told that on
arriving at the mysterious gate he will find his father and his mother,
⁂⁂⁂⁂. This is followed by ⁂ and then apparently by ⁂
but the middle sign is almost entirely effaced. This would mean ‘at the
resurrection of thy body.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LIIIA.
_Chapter whereby one is not made to eat dirt or to drink lye._
I am the sharp-horned Bull, who regulateth the sky, the Lord of the
risings in heaven; the great Giver of Light, who issueth from Flame; the
Bond of Time, richly supplied with years; the god in Lion form, to whom
is given a march of Glory.
I execrate, I execrate, I do not eat that which my Genius execrateth.
Let it not enter into my stomach, let it not approach to my hands, let
me not tread upon it with my sandals.
Let me not drink lye, let me not advance headlong in the Netherworld.
I am the possessor of bread in Heliopolis, who hath bread in Heaven with
Râ, and bread upon earth with Seb.
It is the Sektit boat which hath brought it from the house of the great
god in Heliopolis.
I am gladdened in my very entrails, and am associated with the divine
mariners, who circle round to the East of Heaven. I eat as they eat, and
I feed upon what they feed. I eat bread from the house of the Lord of
offerings.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LIIIB.
_Whereby one eateth not dirt._
I execrate, I execrate! I do not eat it.
Dirt is what I execrate; I do not eat it.
I execrate lye, I do not drink it.
Let me not approach it with my fingers, let me not tread upon it with my
sandals.
Seb, the father of Osiris, hath ordained that I should not eat dirt or
drink lye, but my father hath four times said that I should eat of the
red corn.
There are seven loaves in Heaven at Heliopolis with Râ, and there are
seven loaves upon earth with Seb, and there are seven loaves with
Osiris.
It is the god of the Sektit galley, and of the Mââtit galley, who hath
brought them to me at Heliopolis.
I shout with joy, and my Genius shouteth with joy, because I am in
Heliopolis, and I live in excellent condition before Râ, on the day when
bread is presented in Heliopolis.
NOTE.
Chapter 53A is taken from the papyri of the older period, 53B is a still
older text from the Coffin of Horhotep.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LIV.
_Chapter whereby air is given in the Netherworld._
I am the god in Lion-form(1.), the Egg in the Great Cackler, and I watch
over that great Egg which Seb hath parted from the earth(2.); my Life is
the Life thereof, and the same is true of my advance in life and of my
breathing of the air.
I am the god who keepeth opposition in equipoise(3.) as his Egg circleth
round. For me dawneth(4.) the moment of the most mighty one, Sut.
O ye gods who are pleasant through the alternate successions of the
Earth, who preside over sustenance and who live in the Blue(5.), do ye
keep watch over him who abideth in his Nest; the Infant god who cometh
forth towards you.
NOTES.
The text here followed is that of _Pa_ which is much preferable to that
of Ani. There is a far older text, that of Horhotep, line 344 and
_sqq._, but it is too inaccurate to serve as the basis of a translation.
It is however very valuable for other purposes.
1. _The god in Lion form._ These words are not in Horhotep, the chapter
beginning as in later texts “Oh Tmu let there come to me the air which
is in thy nostrils.” The word for air is written ⁂⁂⁂ (lines 344
and 346) as in other places.
2. It is a mistake to speak of a _mundane_ egg, of which there is no
trace in Egyptian mythology. Seb, the great cackling goose, lays the
golden egg, which is the Sun; but ⁂⁂ does not mean ‘lay upon the
earth,’ but ‘_divide_, _separate_ from the earth.’ The egg springs from
the back of Seb.
3. _Who keepeth opposition in equipoise._ This sense may be inferred
from _Pa_, but is made very clear by the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of
Horhotep. The equilibrium of forces is maintained by the revolution of
the Sun.
4. _Dawneth_, ⁂⁂⁂, Horhotep; whose text breaks off without a
word on Sutu.
5. _The Blue_, ⁂⁂⁂ ‘lapis lazuli.’ The French _l’azur_ exactly
corresponds to the Egyptian, for the word _azure_ is derived from
_lazulum_.
Ancients and modern differ greatly, as is well known, from each other as
to the impressions derived from colour. It seems strange to read in the
tale of the _Destruction of Mankind_ that the ‘hair of Râ was of real
_chesbet_,’ that is ‘dark blue.’ But we have an exact parallel to this
in Greek. Κύανος is _lapis lazuli_ in Theophrastus, who even mentions
the artificial lapis made in Egypt. But in the Homeric poems the hair of
Hector (_Il._, 22, 401), and the hair and beard of Odysseus (_Od._, 16,
176), as well as the eyebrows of Zeus (_Il._,1, 528; 17, 209) are
described as κυάνεαι.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LV.
_Another chapter whereby air is given._
I am the Jackal of jackals, I am Shu, who convey breezes, in presence of
the Glorious one(1.), to the ends of the sky, to the ends of the earth,
to the ends of the filaments of Cloud(2.).
I give air to those Younglings as I open my mouth and gaze with my two
eyes.
NOTES.
1. _The Glorious one._ This is the most usual reading. _Pa_ has Râ.
2. _Filaments of Cloud._ _Cloud_ is the sense, not the translation of
⁂⁂⁂, or, as it is also written, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is the
name of some tree or shrub which has not been identified. The
_filaments_ ⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂, which are among its characteristics,
point in this context to the long fibrous forms presented by the cirrus
cloud.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LVI.
_Another chapter of breathing._
Oh Tmu! give me that delicious air which is in thine own nostrils.
It is I who hold that great station which is in the heart of
Heracleopolis.
I watch over that egg of the Great Cackler, my strength is the strength
thereof, my life is the life thereof, and my breath is the breath
thereof.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LVII.
_Chapter for breathing air and command of water in the Nether world._
Let the Great One(1.) be opened to Osiris; let the two folding doors of
Kabhu(2.) be thrown wide to Râ.
O thou great Coverer(3.) of Heaven, in thy name of Stretcher(4.) [of
Heaven], grant that I may have the command of water, even as Sut hath
command of force(5.) on the night of the Great Disaster: grant that I
may prevail over those who preside at the Inundation, even as that
venerable god prevaileth over them, whose name they know not. May I
prevail over them.
---------------------
My nostril is opened in Tattu, and I go to rest in Heliopolis, my
dwelling, which the goddess Seshait(6.) built, and which Chnum raised on
its foundation.
If the Sky is at the North I sit at the South; if the Sky is at the
South I sit at the North; if the Sky is at the West I sit at the East;
and if the Sky is at the East I sit at the West.
And drawing up my eyebrows(7.) I pierce through into every place that I
desire.
NOTES.
This chapter and the following are recensions and combinations of
extremely ancient texts.
The first portion of the present chapter follows the ancient text of
Horhotep. Even at that early period two recensions were in existence,
and are copied one after the other. The translation here given is the
nearest possible approach to the original text.
The second portion (beginning with _My nostril_) dates from the papyri
of the Theban period, though we must depend upon later authorities for
the entire Section.
1. _The Great One_ ⁂⁂ _urit_--Heaven.
2. _Kabhu_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, literally the _Cool_ (water) is
another name for the Sky,[66] and is here in parallelism with the Great
One.
3. _Coverer_ ⁂⁂⁂, a name applied both to the Nile, as covering
the land during the inundation, and to the Sky as the covering above us.
_Cf._ my paper on _Nile Mythology_, P.S.B.A., November, 1890.
4. _Stretcher_ ⁂⁂⁂, which I consider as a nasalised (perhaps
the original) form of ⁂⁂ _stretch_. The papyri read ⁂⁂⁂
_āt pet_ ‘Cleaver of the Sky,’ but the word _āt_, without the
determinative ⁂, may also mean _stretch_, as in the expression
⁂⁂⁂.
5. _Force_ ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, like the Latin _vis_, may, but
need not, be of a criminal nature. The name of the goddess ⁂⁂⁂
in this place is a manifest blunder of the more recent scribes.
6. The goddess _Seshait_ ⁂⁂ commonly but erroneously called
_Safch_, through an error against which Lepsius (_Aelt. Texte_, p. 3)
and Brugsch (_Zeitschr._, 1872, p. 9) have both spoken. The real name of
the goddess, as I have elsewhere[67] shown by actual variants, is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Seshait_ (Teta, l. 268) or ⁂⁂⁂ (Louvre,
A. 97). She is so called from the root ⁂, ⁂⁂, _writing_, that
being one of her occupations.
7. _Drawing up my eyebrows_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, in
scornful pride, superciliously, like the Greek τὰς ὀφρῦς ἀνασπᾶν.
-----
Footnote 66:
The name occurs repeatedly in the Pyramid Texts, and even the very
expression ⁂⁂⁂ _e.g._ Unas, 375, and the Litany at Pepi I,
631.
Footnote 67:
_On some Religious Texts of the Early Egyptian Period_ in _Trans. Soc.
Bibl. Arch._, Vol. IX, p. 303.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LVIII.
_Chapter for breathing air and command of water._
Let the door be opened to me!
Who art thou? What is thy name?
I am One of You!
Who is with thee?
It is the Merta.
Turn away then(1.) front to front, on entering the Meskat.(2.)
He grants that I may sail to the Abode of those who have found their
faces.
_Collector of Souls_ is the name of my Bark, _Bristler of Hair_ is the
name of the Oars, _Point_[68] is the name of its Hatch, _Right and
Straight_ the name of the Rudder.
The picture of it is the representation of my glorious journey upon the
Canal.
Give me jars of milk and cakes and flesh meat at the House of Anubis.
_If this chapter is known he entereth after having gone out._
NOTES.
The 58th and 122nd chapters are reproductions of the same text, the
earliest copy known being that of Ani.
1. _Turn away then._ Merta as we have seen is the name given to the
goddess pair Isis and Nephthys. It is therefore not possible to account
for the masculine pronoun ⁂ as having reference to Merta. ⁂ must
be taken in the sense of _ideo_, _idcirco_, _then_, _therefore_.
2. _Meskat_, or according to another reading _Meschenit_.
-----
Footnote 68:
All this part is corrupt.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LIX.
_Chapter for breathing air and command of water._
Oh thou Sycomore of Nut, give me of the water and of the wind which are
within thee.
It is I who hold that abode which is in Heracleopolis, I watch over that
Egg of the Great Cackler. My strength is the strength thereof, my life
the life thereof, and my breath the breath thereof.
NOTES.
On the mythological tree in heaven which produces both wind and water,
that is the rain-cloud, see my _Egyptian Mythology, particularly with
reference to Mist and Cloud_, in _Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, Vol. VIII.
The same kind of imagery is still current in Europe. German authorities
tell us about the ‘Wetterbaum,’ which in some places is called
‘Abraham’s Tree,’ in others, ‘Adam’s Tree.’ The Yggdrasill myth is
supposed to have the same origin. The Rainbow is the heavenly Mountain
Ash of a well known Swedish and Esthonian riddle. The water from heaven
was supposed in Egypt to be especially refreshing for the dead.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LX.
_Another Chapter._
Let the doors of Heaven be open to me, let the doors of Kabhu be thrown
wide to me; by Thoth and by Hapi, the great Coverer of Heaven, at
daybreak.
Grant ye that I may have the command of water even as the mighty Sut had
the command of his enemies on the Day of Disaster to the Earth. May I
prevail over the Long-armed ones in their corners,[69] even as that
glorious and ready god prevaileth over them, whose name they know not.
May I prevail over the Long-armed ones.
-----
Footnote 69:
The four cardinal points; the Eastern and the Western ⁂⁂, and
the Southern and the Northern ⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXI.
_Another Chapter._
I, even I, am he who proceedeth from the Weeper(1.), and whose attribute
is Overflowing.(2.) I(3.) have the command of it as Hâpu.
NOTES.
1. The great Weeper is primarily Heaven, and it is so in this place. The
Nile god who proceeds from it also bears the same name.
2. _Overflowing_: ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
3. _I._ The original is in the third person; in reference to “he who
proceedeth,” &c.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXII.
_Chapter whereby water is drank in the Netherworld._
Let the Great One be opened to Osiris; let the Kabhu be thrown wide to
Thoth, the Coverer, Lord of the Horizon in his name of the Divider of
the Earth.
May I have command of the water even as the might of Sutu had over his
enemies.
It is I who traverse the Heaven:
I am Râ:
I am the god in Lion form:
I am the Steer;(1.)
I eat the haunch, and pierce through the joint.[70]
I go round the Sechit-Aarru.
There hath been assigned to me Eternity, without end.
And lo! I am the Heir of Endless Time, and my attribute is Eternity.
NOTE.
1. _The Steer_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _smau_, a solar title frequent in the
Pyramid texts. His mother, Heaven, is called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ or
(as the name is written Teta 359) ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. She is called
the Spouse on the Mountain ⁂⁂⁂, and by a play upon words
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ Unas, 493.
The usual meaning of ⁂⁂⁂, like that of the Greek χλόη or the
Hebrew דֶּשֶׁא, is the light green shoot of plants in spring, and this is
the key to the sense of the proper name. The goddess Demeter had a
temple at Athens under the name of _Chloe_, and it is in allusion to
this that Sophocles calls her εὔχλοος (_Oed. Col._ 1600).
This Egyptian goddess was ⁂⁂⁂⁂, a principal deity at
Enchebit, she had the White Crown and the wig with two plumes. She is
described as having drooping dugs, and as suckling her son. _Cf._ with
this information from Unas the whole chapter beginning with line 283 of
Pepi I.
-----
Footnote 70:
The sacrificial offerings ⁂ and ⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXIIIA.
_Chapter whereby one is not burnt with fire, but drinketh water in the
Netherworld._
O Bull of Amenta! let me be borne to thee!
I am that Rudder of Râ, wherewith he conveyeth the Ancient(1.) ones.
I am not burnt, I am not consumed.
I am Babai, the eldest son of Osiris, who striketh the eye of every
god(2.) in Heliopolis.
I am the Heir, the primary power of motion and of rest(3.).
I have made firm my name, and have preserved it that I may have life
through it.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXIIIB.
_Chapter whereby one is not boiled in water._
I am that ready Rudder wherewith Râ conveyeth the Ancient ones, and I
raise the effluxes(4.) of Osiris to the Tank from flames impassable; a
wrecked one,(5.) but not to be consumed.
I lie helpless as a dead person,(6.) and I arrive at the lair of the
Lion who defieth slaughter, ...(7.) following the road by which I set
out.
NOTES.
The Chapters 63A and 63B are united into one in the later MSS. without
any other division than ⁂, indicative of a different reading. None
of the early papyri contains both chapters. The text of 63B is extremely
corrupt, and without rational interpretation.
1. _I am that Rudder of Râ, wherewith he conveyeth the Ancient ones._
This passage is twice found in Horhotep (311 and 329), the word for
Rudder being written ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
2. _Who striketh the eye_, ⁂⁂⁂. The peaceful determinative may
perhaps be intended to diminish the force of the very expressive ⁂ in
the verb of striking. But I believe that this passage may fairly be
illustrated by the words of Lucretius IV, 324 and following:--
Splendida porro oculi fugitant vitantque tueri,
Sol etiam caecat, contra si tendere pergas.
Praeterea splendor quicumque est acer adurit
Saepe oculos ideo quod semina possidet ignis
Multa, dolorem oculis quae gignunt insinuando.
3. _The primary power of motion and of rest._ These words have a
modern sound, but they express the sense of the original,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
4. _Effluxes_, ⁂⁂⁂, the ἰχώρ, the vital _sap_, as it were, of
the body of Osiris, which is the source of life both to men and to
gods,[71] and in default of which his own heart (Unas 12) would cease to
beat. It is celebrated in all the mythological texts extant from the
time of the Pyramids down to the latest inscriptions of Denderah and
Edfu, and even in Demotic documents.[72] All moisture was supposed to
proceed from it, and the Nile was naturally identified with it.
In the Pyramid texts (Pepi 66) ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is put
in parallelism with ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
5. _A wrecked one._ So I understand ⁂ from Chapter 125, 38, but the
whole context here is so doubtful that no translator who respects
himself would warrant the sense.
6. _I lie helpless like a dead person._ ⁂⁂⁂, _ḥefṭ_ is the
condition of an infant on the knees of its nurse. And I understand
⁂⁂⁂ in its well known euphemistic application to the dead.
7. ⁂⁂⁂ is the most probable reading here, but it is a
_hapax legomenon_ with nothing in the context to explain it.
-----
Footnote 71:
In one of the ancient chapters preserved in the tomb of Horhotep, the
deceased, speaking in the person of Horus, talks (319) of quenching
his thirst with the ⁂⁂⁂ of his father Osiris.
Footnote 72:
See a very interesting passage in _Pap. Rhind_ 4, 4, with Brugsch’s
translation.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXIV.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day from the Netherworld._
I am Yesterday, To-day, and To-morrow, for I am born again and again;
mine is the unseen Force,(1.) which createth the gods and giveth food to
those in the Tuat(2.) at the West of Heaven; I am the Eastern
Rudder,(3.) the Lord of Two Faces, who seeth by his own light; the Lord
of Resurrections, who cometh forth from the dusk and whose birth is from
the House of Death.
Ye two divine Hawks(4.) upon your gables, who are giving attentive heed
to the matter; ye who accompany the bier to the tomb, and who conduct
the ship of Râ, advancing onwards from the highest place of the Ark in
heaven--the Lord of the Shrine(5.) which standeth in the centre of the
Earth;
He is I, and I am He.(6.)
Mine is the radiance in which Ptah floateth over his firmament.(7.)
Oh Râ, who smileth cheerfully, and whose heart is delighted with the
perfect order of this day as thou enterest into Heaven and comest forth
in the East: the Ancients and those who are gone before acclaim thee.
Let thy paths be made pleasant for me; let thy ways be made wide for me
to traverse the earth and the expanse of Heaven.
Shine thou upon me, oh gracious Power;(8.) as I draw nigh to the divine
words which my ears shall hear in the Tuat; let no pollution of my
mother be upon me; deliver me, protect me from him who closeth his eyes
at twilight and bringeth to an end in darkness.
I am the Overflower, and Kam-ura(9.) is my name: I bring to its
fulness(10.) the Force which is hidden within me.
Oh thou Great One, who art Shoreless,(11.) and callest upon the Powers
of the South, at the moment when the god is carried forth, saying:--
“Behold the Lord of his Flood; see, the Shoulder is fastened(12.) upon
his neck and the Haunch upon the head of the West” offerings which the
two goddesses of the West(13.) present to me when the weeping bursteth
forth from me at what I witness, as I am borne round on the Tenait in
Abydos,(14.) and the bolts made fast on the gateways(15.) above your
images are in the reach of thine hand and from within thee.
Thy face is as that of a hound whose nostril sniffeth at the covert to
which my feet convey me.
Anubis is my bearer, for he who lulleth me to rest(16.) is the god in
Lion form.
Do thou save me!
I am He who cometh forth as one who breaketh through the door; and
everlasting is the Daylight which his will hath created.
“I know the deep waters” is my name.
I satisfy the desires of the Glorified, who are by millions and hundreds
of thousands....[73] I am the guardian of their interests, actively
working at the hours of the day and adjusting the arms of Sahu; twelve
in circling round, uniting hands, each of them with another. But the
sixth of them in the Tuat is the ‘Hour of the overthrow of the Sebau,’
which cometh here in triumph; the same which maketh way into the Tuat;
the same which is yoked with Shu.
I shine forth as the Lord of Life and the glorious order of this day:
the blood which purifieth and the vigorous sword-strokes by which the
Earth is made one.
I sever the horns(17.) from those who unite in resistance to me; the
hidden ones who rise up in opposition against me; those who go upon
their bellies.
I come as the ambassador of the Lord of lords to avenge the cause of
Osiris in this place. Let not[74] the Eye consume its tears.
I am the Guide of the house of Him who dwelleth in his treasures.
I am come from Sechem to Heliopolis to inform the Bennu of the matters
of the Tuat.
Oh goddess Aucherit, who concealest that is within thee, but raisest up
forms, like Chepera, grant that I may come forth and see the orb of the
sun, and walk forth in the presence of the great god, who is Shu and
abideth for eternity.
I travel on high, I tread upon the firmament, I raise a flame with the
daylight which mine eye hath made, and I fly forward towards the
splendours of the Glorified in presence of Râ daily, giving life to
every man who treadeth on the lands(18.) which are upon the earth.
Oh thou who leapest forth, conductor of the Shades and Glorified ones
from the Earth, let the fair path to the Tuat be granted to me, which is
made in behalf of those who are in faint condition and for the
restoration of those who are in pain.
Who art thou, who devourest in Amenta?
I am He who presideth in Restau. “He who entereth in his own name, and
cometh forth in quest; the Lord of the Eternity of the Earth” is my
name.
She who hath conceived hath set down her burden; _which turneth round
before descending; the door is shut at the wall which is
reversed_....[75]
His Eye hath been given to Horus and his face brighteneth at the dawning
of the day.
I am not exhausted: I become the Lion god and the palm flowers of Shu
are upon me.
I am not one who drowneth.
Blessed are they who see(19.) the Bourne:(20.) beautiful is the god of
the motionless heart who causeth the stay of the Overflowing.
Behold! there cometh forth the Lord of Life, Osiris thy support, who
abideth day after day.
I embrace the Sycomore,(21.) I am united to the Sycomore.
I part the two deities of morning that I may come to hold the Eye,(22.)
and cause it to rest in its place.
I am come to see Râ at his setting, and I unite with the breeze at his
coming forth: my two hands are pure for adoring him.
May I be restored! May I be restored!
I fly up to heaven and I alight upon the earth; and mine eye turneth
back there towards the traces of my footsteps.
I am the offspring of Yesterday; the tunnels(23.) of the earth have
given me birth, and I am revealed at my appointed time.
May I be under shelter from the warlike handed god who cometh behind me,
may my flesh be sound and may my glories be a protection to the limbs of
one who waiteth for the purpose of taking counsel. May the Cycle of the
gods listen to what I say.
_To be said on coming forth by day; that one may not be kept back on the
path of the Tuat, whether on entering or on coming forth; for taking all
the forms which one desireth; and that the soul of the person die not a
second time._
_If then this chapter be known the person is made triumphant upon earth
[and in the Netherworld] and he performeth all things which are done by
the living._
_This chapter was discovered on a plinth of the god of the Hennu Bark_
(24.) _by a master builder of the wall in the time of King Septa, the
Victorious._(25.)
_This composition is a secret; not to be seen or looked at._
_Recite the chapter when sanctified and pure; not approaching women, not
eating goat’s flesh or fish._
NOTES.
This is one of the most important as it is one of the most ancient
chapters. The text of it was already doubtful at the time of the XIth
dynasty. It had been handed down in two recensions, both of which were
inscribed on the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep, the discovery of one of
these being attributed to the time of King Septa of the 1st dynasty, and
that of the second to the time of Menkaurâ, the king of the third
pyramid. These two recensions are also found in the papyrus of Nebseni.
The MSS. present innumerable various readings, few of which are of the
slightest value. These have been collected, as far as they could be
discovered, in the French and some other Museums in 1876, in a very
admirable work upon the chapter, by M. Paul Guieysse,[76] who has
translated and commented upon it and and all the variations of it known
to him at the time. Since then the papyrus of Nebseni has been
published, and M. Naville has given all the variants found in the few
existing papyri of the best period. I have notes of the readings of the
papyri in the British Museum, and also those of a cast (now in the
British Museum) taken from a block in serpentine, belonging to the
Museum of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
With such light as could be derived from these extremely divergent
authorities I have done my best (taking as the basis of my translation
the texts in the papyrus of Nebseni and the rubric in which the
discovery is ascribed to the time of king Septa) towards exhibiting the
chapter in as intelligible a form as seems to me possible. Some passages
as yet defy translation in consequence of the corruption of the text.
Some years before his untimely death M. de Rougé read his translation of
this chapter before the Académie des Sciences. It is much to be lamented
that this has never been published. I have, in addition to the versions
of other scholars, a copy of one by Mr. Goodwin, with whom I read this
and other chapters nearly thirty years ago. But this kind of literature
is not one of those in which his marvellous sagacity showed to
advantage.
In reading this and almost every other chapter of the _Book of the
Dead_, it is absolutely necessary to bear in mind that different divine
names do not necessarily imply different personalities. A name expresses
but _one_ attribute of a person or thing, and one person having several
attributes may have several names. It is not implied in this chapter
that the Sun is the Nile or the Inundation, but that the same invisible
force which is manifested in the solar phenomena is that which produces
the inundation; He is the Inundator. But he has many other names and
titles. In this chapter, as in others before it, the speaker at one time
talks in terms identifying him with some divinity, and at another as a
simple mortal petitioning some favour.
1. ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or, at a later period ⁂⁂, signifies
_one whose force is concealed or unseen_. It is a theological term,
frequent at all periods of the Egyptian religion, and implies that the
deity is not to be confounded with its external manifestation. The Sun
that we see _hides_ as truly as it reveals the Sun-god; who, as this
chapter shows, has other manifestations.
2. _Those in the Tuat_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ called in the Pyramid Texts
⁂⁂⁂⁂, Pepi I, 185. The more recent texts read
⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the gods of the West.”
3. _Cf._ Pepi I, 174.
4. _Two divine Hawks upon your gables._ They are mentioned in the
Pyramid Texts[77] as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Teta, 183. They represent
the two divisions, North and South, of the kingdom of Horus. _Cf._
Rochemonteix, _Edfu_, p. 55 and many other such passages as that found
there.
5. _The Shrine which standeth in the centre of the Earth._ This Shrine
is also mentioned in the ‘Book of Hades.’ _Cf._ Bonomi, Sarc. 4c.
6. _He is I, and I am He._ _Cf._ the Pyramid Text--“Oh Râ.... Teta is
thou, and thou art Teta...., thou risest as Teta, and Teta riseth in
thee, etc.,” Teta, 337.
7. _Ptah floateth over his firmament._ The meaning of the verb is shown
in early texts by the determinative, as in the parallel passage of the
17th chapter.
8. _Oh gracious Power_, ⁂⁂⁂. The adjective is also written
⁂⁂⁂. The usual determinative ⁂ has its origin in the
hieratic form of ⁂, see Prisse Papyrus.
9. _Kam-urȧ_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, “The great Extender,” a name applied to
Osiris, as the Nile. “Thy two sisters, Isis and Nephthys, come to thee,
and they convey to thee _Kamit urit_ [the great Extent] in thy name of
_Kam-urȧ_ [the great Extender].” Teta, 274.
10. _I bring to its fulness, etc._ The yearly inundation is the mature
result of the innate force belonging to the god; the ἐνέργημα of his
ἐνεργεία. This translation remains the same whether the reading be ⁂
or ⁂.
11. _Shoreless_, ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂ or ⁂, implies an enclosed space,
a basin or channel with fixed limits. The inundation has no determinate
banks. Its course is from south to north, hence the reference to the
deities of the South.
12. _Shoulder_ and _Haunch_. The usual sacrificial joints. This passage
was at an early date added to the paragraph which opens the chapter.
13. _The two goddesses of the West_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
It is said of Râ at Edfu ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. “He setteth in the West.”
The deities in question are Isis and Nephthys, who are also the deities
of the East or Sunrise under the name of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂;
Unas, 461.
In the passage of the Pyramid Texts just referred to it is stated that
these “divinities in _Ununait_ open their arms to the god as he stands
up erect on the eastern side of the firmament.”
_Ununait_ is the place of _rising_, _springing up_.
14. _The Tenait in Abydos._ This feast has already been mentioned in
Chapter I. It was one of those commemorative and representative of the
death of Osiris, of his mutilation, mummification and burial.
Prescriptions for carrying it out are found in the great text at
Denderah, published by Dümichen and Mariette, and translated by Brugsch,
and Loret, and (in part) by Dümichen.
_Tenait_ is also the name of certain days of the month, and (Teta, 229)
of the fifth hour of the day.
15. _The bolts made fast on the gateways._ The Pyramid Texts
on behalf of the deceased invoke the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘the bolt
which closes the gateway of Heaven,’ with a prayer that it may open to
him (Teta, 235, compare line 200).
16. _He who lulleth me_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The word is here
in the dual, as corresponding to the double lion. _Cf._
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Teta 261. The
important variant ⁂⁂⁂ is found at Edfu (Rochemonteix, p. 78).
17. _I sever the horns._ _Cf._ Psalm lxxv, 11.
18. The _lands_. The Egyptian word varies in the texts. The most
authorized reading ⁂⁂ is used in different senses: one of which
(and perhaps the original one) is _put_, _put on_; _ponere_, _locare_,
_induere_, _figere_, _addere_. Here it would seem from the context to
mean locality, post, spot of earth. And I am inclined to identify
⁂⁂ in this place with the well-known ⁂, or ⁂⁂⁂, as an
equivalent if not as a phonetic variant.
19. _Blessed are they who see_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ written
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the Pyramid Texts (Unas, 584, Teta, 42,
Pepi I, 181 and 199), where it is in parallelism with ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
20. _The Bourne_, ⁂⁂⁂. On the goddess ⁂⁂⁂⁂,
_Menait_, _cf._ Teta 288, Pepi I, 70, 154, 163.
21. _The Sycomore_ of Dawn repeatedly mentioned in the Book of the Dead.
The Pyramid Texts also (Pepi I, 174) speak of the tall Sycomore of Sut
in the Eastern Sky on which the gods congregate and sit, in expectation
of the arrival of the Glorified one.
22. _To hold the Eye_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Later texts, like
the Turin copy, have ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The two verbs here (like
⁂⁂⁂⁂ which is also found as a variant) are synonymous in the
sense of _embracing_, _holding_,[78] _enclosing_, _fastening_,
_staying_, _propping_.
According to the ancient myth Sut deprived Horus of his Eye, which was
recovered by Thoth, and by him restored to its owner. The following
passage from an inscription at Edfu (Rochemonteix, p. 25) is in strict
accordance with the oldest mythological texts.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
“Asten, who restored the Eye of Horus to its Lord, who preserved the Eye
(_ut’ at_) from suffering harm, who made fast the Eye (_nutrit_) in its
place, and who pacified Horus with his Eye.” The different synonyms
designating the Eye are important as showing that the word
⁂⁂⁂⁂ is here used in the sense of the _daily_ light of the
sun.
The other part of the same text as Edfu gives additional variants.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Here the Eye is called ⁂⁂,
⁂⁂, and ⁂⁂. But in other places the _Ut’ at_ stands for a
less frequent moment of the solar progress. In the Pyramid Texts for
instance ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “holder of the _Southern_ Eye
of Horus” might perhaps designate the Summer Solstice. And a later text
connects the Eye with the opening of the year.
The priestly title ⁂⁂⁂, ‘holder of the Eye,’ is like all such
titles, that of the divinity whom the priest personates. The god himself
is hieroglyphically represented by the sign ⁂⁂ of an ape holding
the Eye.
23. _The tunnels_, ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, Teta, 291;
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Horhotep, 213. See my note _Proc. Soc.
Bibl. Arch._, 1873, p. 385. The Coptic ⲁⲕⲟⲣⲓ, which is generally
supposed to be a serpent, is more probably an _earth-worm_, like
⁂⁂.
The Pyramid Texts have another word which I understand of the
tunnels through which the Sun, Moon, and Stars pass from West to
East, ⁂⁂⁂, as opposed to ⁂⁂⁂, the paths of the
upper world. Anubis is called ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Pepi I, 80), and
these passages are ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
(_ib._, 73), “between the two divine forms” (a lion at each end).
_Cf._ Teta, 319, where it is said of the Stars
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
that at their triumphant course through the tunnels the bones of
the Akeru gods quake.
24. _The god of the Hennu Bark_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, he who
resides in the ⁂⁂⁂⁂ ship referred to in chapter I. The god
of this ship is commonly named Sekaru in the texts, but Hennu is also
one of the names of Horus. On the connection between the two names see
Teta, line 270.
25. King Septa ⁂ of the 1st dynasty, who has been identified with the
Usaphais of Manetho.
The other account of the discovery of the chapter is thus described in
the rubric of the second recension.
_This chapter was discovered at Hermopolis upon a slab of alabaster,
inscribed in blue, under the feet of this god_ [Osiris], _at the time of
King Menkarā, the victorious, by the royal prince Hortâtâf, when he was
journeying for the purpose of inspecting the temples_ ...[79] _and he
carried off the slab in the royal chariot, when he saw what was on it._
The rubric farther prescribes that a scarab of hard stone encircled and
purified with gold[80] should be placed upon the place of the heart of
the deceased, and that the ‘words of power’ contained in the 30th
chapter, “Heart mine of my mother,” etc., should be repeated. The gold
leaf or plate has been found on some scarabs, but has disappeared from
nearly all.
The ‘Ritual of Parma,’ which speaks of two metals, ⁂⁂⁂ _smu_,
and silver (the latter for the rim), directs that the scarab should be
put at the throat of the deceased. According to this authority it was
the 30th chapter, not the 64th, which was discovered by Prince Hortâtâf
in his inspectorial tour.
-----
Footnote 73:
The text is too corrupt here for any plausible translation.
Footnote 74:
_Not_ is omitted in many copies.
Footnote 75:
The copies of this paragraph are as discordant as they are
unintelligible. It is idle to guess at the meaning until a better text
can be discovered.
Footnote 76:
Etudes Egyptologiques; sixième livraison.
Footnote 77:
Here as in the name of ⁂ Tmu, the _long_ sign is written first
though read last.
Footnote 78:
_Cf._ the expressions ⁂⁂⁂⁂ as, Teta, 258, 262, and
⁂⁂⁂⁂. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is not a mere _gate_, but
a _hold_, or _keep_.
Footnote 79:
There is no certainty about the text of the next few words.
Footnote 80:
I understand by this that the gold is intended to krep the scarab free
from defilement.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXV.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day and prevaileth over the
adversaries._
Oh thou who shinest forth from the Moon, thou who givest light from the
Moon, let me come forth at large amid thy train, let me be revealed as
one of those in glory. Let the Tuat be opened for me. Here am I: let me
come forth upon this day, and be glorified. Let the glorified ones grant
to me that I live and that mine adversaries be brought to me in bonds
before the divine Circle; may the Genius of my mother be propitiated
thereby, as I rise up upon my feet with a sceptre of gold in my hand,
and lop off the limbs. May I rise up, a Babe [from between] the knees of
Sothis, when they close together.(1.)
NOTES.
The first part of this chapter is nearly identical with Chapter 2. No
copy of it is found in the papyri of the older period. In place of it M.
Naville has published a chapter bearing the same title, and which is
found in five ancient papyri. These texts however are extremely
discordant and corrupt, and in the more difficult, and to us more
interesting, passages must have been quite unintelligible to the
copyists. The second word, for instance, of line 8 is _ri_ in _Ca_, the
corresponding word is .. _ḥtu_ in _Ta_, _ṭāi_ in _Pb_, _rāu_ in _Ia_ and
_ḥti_ in _Aa_. A discrepancy not less violent is encountered after the
next three words. The oldest extant form of the chapter is that of _Aa_,
the papyrus of Nebseni; it is also the shortest, and the other forms
appear to me to exhibit signs of interpolation. But M. Naville was quite
right in taking the text of _Ca_ as his basis for the collation of the
texts.
1. This whole passage, as it stands, in the MSS. is extremely obscure,
and I can only make sense of it by conjecturing that a preposition has
been omitted by the copyists.
The knees of a goddess are frequently mentioned in connection with the
birth of a divinity. Here the Babe is mentioned (_cf._ opening of
Chapter 42), and the closing of the knees. The word _ānḫ_, ‘live,’ has
for its primitive meaning ‘rise up,’ and it is in this sense that I
translate it here.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXVI.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day._
I know that I have been conceived by Sechit and that I am born of Neith.
I am Horus, who proceedeth from the Eye of Horus; I am Uat’it, and I
come forth like the Hawk which soareth aloft and resteth upon the brow
of Rā at the prow of his Bark in Heaven.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXVII.
_Chapter whereby the doors of the Tuat are opened and one cometh forth
by day._
Let the doors be opened of the caverns of Nu, and let the feet be
loosened of those who are in glory.
Let the caverns of Shu be opened, that he may come forth at large, and
that I may issue from my funereal pit to my seat which is at the prow of
the Bark of Rā; let me issue without disaster to my seat which is at the
prow of the Bark of Rā, the all-radiant one, as he riseth up from his
lair.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXVIII.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day._
Let the two doors of Heaven be opened to me: let the two doors of Earth
be opened to me: let the bolts of Seb open to me, and let the First
Mansion be opened to me, that he may behold me who hath kept guard over
me: and let him unloose me who hath wound his arms around me and hath
fastened his arms upon me into the earth.
Let the Re-hunit(1.) be opened to me, let me pass into the Re-hunit; let
the Re-hunit be given to me, that I may come forth by day whithersoever
my heart desireth.
Let me have possession of my heart, let me have possession of my Whole
heart; let me have possession of my mouth, let me have possession of my
legs, let me have possession of my arms, let me have possession of my
limbs absolutely; let me have possession of my funereal meals, let me
have possession of air, let me have possession of water, let me have
possession of the stream, let me have possession of the river, let me
have possession of the banks.
Let me have possession of all things soever which were ritually offered
for me in the Netherworld. Let me have possession of the table which was
made for me upon earth--the solicitations(2.) which were uttered for me
“that he may feed upon the bread of Seb.”
That which I execrate, I eat it not. Let me feed upon the bread of the
red corn of the Nile in a pure place, let me sip beer of the red corn of
the Nile in a pure place; let me sit under the branches of the palm
trees [in Heliopolis] in the train of Hathor, when the solar orb
broadeneth(3.), as she proceedeth to Heliopolis with the writings of the
divine words of the Book of Thoth.
Let me have possession of my heart, let me have possession of my Whole
heart; let me have possession of my arms, let me have possession of my
legs, let me have possession of my funereal meals, let me have
possession of air, let me have possession of water, let me have
possession of the stream, let me have possession of the river, let me
have possession of the barks.
Let me have possession of all things soever which were ritually offered
for me in the Netherworld. Let me have possession of the table which was
made for me upon earth.
Let me be raised up on the left and on the right; let me be raised up on
the right and on the left.
Let me sit down and let me stand up, and strain for the breeze [with] my
tongue and mouth like a skilled pilot.(4.)
_If this scripture is known, he will come forth by day and he will
travel over the earth in the midst of the living, uninjured for ever._
NOTES.
Copies of this chapter are found on the coffins of Mentuhotep and
Sebak-āa at Berlin, and have been published by Lepsius in his _Aelteste
Texte_, pl. 8, 21, 22, and 34. They are unfortunately in very mutilated
condition, and my translation follows the text of the Theban papyri.
1. The _Re-ḥunit_ in this place is clearly not an Egyptian locality, but
a passage between the Netherworld and heaven or earth.
2. _Solicitations_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ambire_, _ambitio_, and in a
bad sense _ambages_.
3. This passage explains what is meant in Chapter 28 by the _god of the
Broad Face_. One of the papyri (_Ia_) adds the well known epithet of the
setting sun ⁂⁂ ‘old.’
It is Hathor who proceeds to Heliopolis, as the feminine suffix which is
used in the oldest texts, proves.
4. M. Lefébure (Papyrus de Soutimès, p. 3, note 8) understands the
passage as meaning “_I seek_ the direction of _the wind_ in order to
avoid it.” But I am inclined to recognize a superstition still current
among sailors, the “whistling for a breeze.”
The oldest copies and the more recent ones have different readings, and
though the words _uḫa ḫemu_ occur repeatedly in the Pyramid Texts, the
second word is not written ⁂⁂⁂⁂, as in the Theban papyri,
but ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXIX.
_Otherwise said_:
I am a Flaming One, and brother to a Flaming One.
I am Osiris, brother to Isis. He who avengeth me is my son Horus, in
company with his mother, upon mine adversaries; adversaries who have
done to me all wicked and evil things.
Chains have been put upon their arms and hands and feet in consequence
of the evil things which they have done to me.
I am Osiris, the eldest of the great cycle of the gods(1.) and heir of
his father Seb.
I am Osiris, the Lord of the heads of life; powerful before and behind;
his phallus extendeth to the limits of the human race.[81]
I am Sahu, who assigneth the bounds as he saileth round the starry
throng of Heaven, the body of my mother Nut, who conceived me at her
will and brought me forth at her desire.
I am Anubis on the day of the Rending asunder.
I am the Bull in the Field; I, even I, Osiris, who shut up his father
and his mother on the day when the great slaughter took place. My father
is Seb and my mother is Nut.
I am Horus, the eldest of Rā as he riseth.
I am Anubis on the day of Rending asunder: I am Osiris.
O great One, who enterest and speakest to him who presenteth the tablets
and guardeth the door of Osiris,(2.) grant that I may come in and be
glorified, let me be appraised, and let me be made vigorous, that I may
come and avenge myself.
Let me sit at the cradle(3.) of Osiris, and put an end to my suffering
and pain; let me be made strong and vigorous at the cradle of Osiris, so
that I may be born with him and renewed. _Said twice._
Let me seize that Thigh(4.) which is under the place of Osiris, with
which I may open the mouth of the gods and sit by him, like Thoth the
Scribe, sound of heart,(5.) with thousands of loaves, beer, beef, and
fowl upon the table of my father, and the flesh of oxen and birds of
various kinds,(6.) which I offer to Horus, which I present to Thoth, and
which I sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven.
-----
Footnote 81:
_Cf._ note on the _Ass_ of Chapter 40.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXX.
_Another Chapter._
I have come to an end(7.) for the Lord of Heaven. I am written down as
sound of heart, and I rest at the table of my father Osiris, King of
Tattu, and my heart is stirred by his country. I breathe the eastern
breeze by its hair(8.); I grasp the north wind by its side lock; I grasp
the south wind by the skin as I make the circuit of heaven on its four
sides; I seize the east wind by the skin, and I give the breezes to the
faithful dead amid those who eat bread.
_If this scripture is known upon earth he will come forth by day, he
will walk upon earth amid the living: his name will be uninjured for
ever._
ce NOTES TO CHAPTERS LXIX AND LXX.
These last two chapters are always found together, and always appended
to the ancient Chapter 68. This is the case not only in the papyri, but
in tombs like that of Bakenrenef.
1. The later texts say “the eldest of the five gods.”
2. _Who presenteth the tablets and guardeth the door of Osiris._ See
picture of Thoth in the Psychostasia.
3. Where Osiris renews his birth.
4. _The Thigh._ The iron instrument so called used in the ceremony of
‘Opening the mouth’ of the deceased.
5. _Sound of heart_ implies that the conscience of the deceased has been
recognized as blameless.
6. _Oxen and birds of various kinds._ These kinds are named in the text,
but we have no corresponding European names.
7. _I have come to an end._ The first two words of this chapter are
evidently copied from the end of the last, but instead of _menḥu_,
‘sacrificial slaughter,’ the notion of _menȧ_ or _meni_ ‘coming to an
end,’ has been substituted. Later texts read “I do _not_ come to an
end.”
8. _Its hair._ All this paragraph sounds very strangely, and translators
are tempted to understand that the _hair_, _side-lock_, and _skin_ of
the deceased are acted upon by the winds.[82] But the feminine suffix
shows that the converse is the case. The speaker catches the air and
distributes it, as we are afterwards told, to the faithful departed.
-----
Footnote 82:
But we “catch Time by the forelock,” and so did the Greeks.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXI.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day._(1.)
O Divine Hawk, who comest forth in Heaven, Lord of Mehurit.(2.)
Make thou me sound,(3.) even as thou hast made thyself sound, who
revealest thyself,(4.) who disrobest thyself, and presentest thyself to
the Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the Lord of the One
Face(5.).
I am the Hawk in the Tabernacle and I pierce through [that which is
upon] the Vail.(6.)
Here is Horus, the Son of Isis: Horus the Son of Isis.
Make thou me sound, even as thou hast made thyself sound, who revealest
thyself, who disrobest thyself, and presentest thyself to the Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the One Face.
I am the Hawk in the Southern Heaven, and Thoth in the Northern Heaven,
who appease the Flame when raging and who convey Law to the god who
loveth it.
Here is Thoth: Thoth.
Make thou me sound, even as thou hast made thyself sound, who revealest
thyself, who disrobest thyself, and presentest thyself to the Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the One Face.
I am Unbu of En-areref, the Flower of the Abode of Occultation.
Here is Osiris: Osiris.
Make thou me sound, even as thou hast made thyself sound, who revealest
thyself, who disrobest thyself, and presentest thyself to the Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the One Face.
O thou who art upon thy two legs [_or_ who art terrible upon thy two
legs], at thine own hour, owner of the Two Twin Souls, and who livest in
Two Twin Souls.
Make thou me sound, even as thou hast made thyself sound, who revealest
thyself, who disrobest thyself, and presentest thyself to the Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the One Face.
O thou who circlest round, within thine Egg, Lord of Mehurit.
Make thou me sound, even as thou hast made thyself sound, who revealest
thyself, who disrobest thyself, and presentest thyself to the Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the One Face.
Sebak standeth erect, surrounded by his high places, and Neith standeth
erect in the midst of her alluvial grounds, in order to reveal
themselves, to disrobe themselves and to present themselves to the
Earth.
May his will towards me be done by the Lord of the One Face.
Oh ye Seven Divine Masters,(7.) who are the arms of the Balance on the
Night wherein the Eye is fixed; ye who strike off the heads and cleave
the necks, who seize the hearts and drag forth the whole hearts, and
accomplish the slaughter in the Tank of Flame: ye whom I know and whose
names I know, know you me as I know your names.
I advance to you, advance ye to me: live in me and let me live in you.
Convey to me the Symbol of Life which is in your hands, and the Sceptre
which ye grasp.(8.)
Award to me the life of yearly speech through countless years of life in
addition to my years of life; countless months in addition to the months
of my life; countless days in addition to the days of my life; and
countless nights in addition to the nights of my life, that I may come
forth and beam upon my own images, with breath for my nostrils, and eyes
which see, amid those who are at the Horizon, on that day when brute
Force(9.) is brought to a reckoning.
_If this Chapter is known there is well-being on earth with Rā and a
fair abode with Osiris, and the person is glorified in the Netherworld.
There are granted to him the sacred cakes and the coming forth into the
presence,[83] in the course of each day, undeviatingly, for times
infinite._
NOTES.
1. The title as here translated is taken from the oldest known MS., that
of Nebseni. But the Papyrus _Pc_, which is of the same period, has
“_Chapter for entering after going forth by day, and for making
transformations in all forms_,” and this title or a very similar one is
found on other papyri. The most recent form is that in the Turin
copy--_Chapter for coming forth by day and repelling brute Force, so
that the person may not be seized in the Netherworld, but that his soul
may be made sound in the Ta-t’ eserit._
2. _Lord of Mehurit_ = Lord of Heaven, that is the Sun-god. The
invocation is repeated a little farther on, “O thou who circlest within
thine Egg, Lord of Mehurit.” The god is also said to be the owner of
“the Two Twin Souls,” namely Rā and Osiris.
3. The verb is here in the second person, not in the first. This is
shown by those texts which give the name of the person, instead of the
pronominal suffix, as the object of the verb.
4. _Thyself_ = Here, in all but the later copies, the pronoun of the
third person is used, in accordance with a well known Egyptian idiom.
5. _Lord of the One Face_ = μονοπρόσωπος in opposition to πολυπρόσωπος
which is an epithet of the Sky, on account of its many changes of
aspect. The Moon too has a variety of phases, whereas the Sun is
eminently the “Lord of One Face.” From another point of view the god, at
the beginning of chapter 64, is called the “Lord of Two Faces,” the
bright and the dark. The Pyramid Texts have the parallel conception of
the Two Eyes of Horus, one white and one black, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
(Unas 37).
6. This passage receives illustration from the great inscription of
Piānchi, who at Heliopolis paid a visit to the great Tabernacle
(⁂⁂⁂) of the Sun-god, the doors of which he opened and
afterwards sealed up with the royal seal. Before going up the steps to
it he had to lift the _Vail_ (⁂⁂⁂⁂) or Curtains which
concealed it, and perform sprinklings and offer incense and flowers. Two
important words (of which the first has the interesting variant ⁂ and
the second is written ⁂⁂⁂ in the oldest texts) are thus made
clear.
The god is said, according to the different readings, to pierce
“through, the Vail” or “through _what is upon_ the Vail.”
It will be remembered that the Hebrew Holy of Holies was separated from
the Sanctuary by a curtain upon which the figures of Cherubim were
woven, that before the curtain of the Holy of Holies stood the altar
upon which incense was offered each morn and evening, and that in
sin-offerings the priest sprinkled blood seven times before the Vail of
the Sanctuary.
7. _The Seven Divine Masters_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,[84] were the offspring of Mehurit, and
assumed the form of Hawks.[85] They were the inventors and patrons of
all the arts and sciences, and they assisted Thoth in composition and in
the measurement of the earth. See references in Brugsch’s article,
_Zeits._, 1872, p. 6.
They are, I believe, to be identified, like the Seven Rishis of the
later Sanskrit literature, with the seven stars of the Great Bear. In
this conception the Polar star is represented by Thoth.
8. _The Symbol of Life and the Sceptre_, the ⁂ and ⁂.
9. _Brute Force_ ⁂⁂⁂, see chapter 57, note 5.
-----
Footnote 83:
Namely, “of the great god.” This ellipse is very frequent.
Footnote 84:
In the Prisse Papyrus this word is to be understood of a scholar or
sage, whose word is of authority.
Footnote 85:
They have human heads on the Louvre Sarcophagus D. 7.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XIX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXV.
=Papyrus du Louve, III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXVIII.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXVIII.
LEPSIUS, “Todt.,” Plate XXV.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXI.
=LEPSIUS, “Todt.,” Plate XXVI=.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXI.
=Papyrus of Nebseni, British Museum, 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXII.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXII.
=Papyrus, Berlin Museum, II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXIII.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXIV.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXII.
LEPSIUS, “Todt.,” Plate XXVII.
]
[Illustration:
CHAP. LXXIV. CHAP. LXXIII.
LEPSIUS, “Todt.,” Plate XXVII.
]
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
CHAPTERS OF THE TRANSFORMATIONS OR CHANGES.
=Cedar Coffin, in the Gizeh Museum.=
Published by BRUGSCH-PASHA, “Zeitschr. für Aeg. Spr.,” 1867.]
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXII.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day and passeth through the
Ammchit._(1.)
Hail to you, ye Lords of Rule,(2.) devoid of Wrong, who are living for
ever, and whose secular period is Eternity.(3.) I make my way towards
you. Let me be glorified through my attributes; let me prevail through
my Words of Power, and let me be rated according to my merit.
Deliver me from the Crocodile(4.) of this Land of Rule.
Let me have a mouth wherewith I may speak, and let my oblations be
placed before you; because I know you, and I know your names: and I know
the name of that great god to whose nostrils ye present delicacies:
Tekmu is his name. And whether he maketh his way from the Eastern
Horizon of Heaven, or alighteth at the Western Horizon of Heaven, let
his departure be my departure, and his progress be my progress.
Let me not be stopped at the Meskat; let not the Sebau have mastery over
me; let me not be repulsed at your gates, let not your doors be closed
against me; for I have bread(5.) in Pu and beer in Tepu. And let me join
my two hands together(6) in the divine dwelling which my father Tmu hath
given me, who hath established for me an abode above the earth wherein
is wheat and barley of untold quantity, which the son of my own body
offereth to me there as oblations upon my festivals.
Grant me the funereal gifts, beef, fowl, bindings, incense, oil, and all
things good and pure upon which a deity subsists, regularly and
eternally, in all the forms I please.
Let me come down or go up to Sechit-aarru and arrive in Sechit-hotep.
I am the god in Lion form.
_If this book is learnt upon earth, or executed in writing upon the
coffin, he will come forth by day in all the forms he pleaseth, with
entrance into his house without repulse. And there shall be given to him
bread and beer and flesh-meat upon the table of Osiris. He will come
forth to Sechit-aarru, and there shall be given to him wheat and barley
there, for he will flourish as though he were upon earth, and he will do
all that pleaseth him, like those gods who are there: undeviatingly, for
times infinite._
NOTES.
This chapter is often found not only in papyri but upon coffins, in
accordance with the rubric at the end. The earliest copy is on the
coffin of Queen Mentuhotep. A very fine copy is on the alabaster
sarcophagus of Seti I, and our museums are rich in funereal monuments
inscribed with this ancient text. A very similar text is found at the
end of chapter 99.
1. _Ammehit_ is the name given in chapter 149 to the sixth abode in
Amenta, but here and in other places it is simply one of the names of
the Netherworld. In the inscriptions, for instance, of the tomb of Queen
Tita,[86] “passing through the two folding doors of the Ammehit” is in
parallelism with “going in and out of the divine Netherworld.”
2. _Lords of Rule._ This is the reading in most documents, but there are
others which have an equal claim to authority. The invocation is
sometimes made to the ⁂⁂ “those who are possessed of a _ka_,” that
is the “spirits made perfect,” those who have already passed through the
requisite trials, besides the gods who have never passed through the
stage of mortality, all of whom are possessed of a _ka_.
The invocation, according to another reading, which is that of chapter
99, is addressed to the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “those who are beautiful or
perfect of _ka_.” Here the papyri add _lords of rule_, and the
invocation, whatever the reading may be, is always addressed to those
who have in their power the laws which regulate the universe.
3. _Whose secular period is Eternity._ ⁂⁂⁂ _ḥentȧ_ is the
period of 120 years (see _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, XIV, 264) which was
their αἰών, _aevum_, corresponding in idea, not in actual time, to our
century. The secular period of the gods is eternity.
4. _The Crocodile._ Are we to understand this of the crocodile-headed
monster pictured in the representations of the Psychostasia? These
pictures are not known to us from as early a date as the chapter itself,
but they may have existed. Perhaps, however, this passage may have
suggested them.
5. _Bread._ The Egyptian word ⁂ _ta_, like its homonym ⁂, implies
something _pierced_ or _perforated_. The sacrificial cake חַלָּה in
Leviticus viii, 26 has the same meaning and, like חַלִיל _a pipe_, is
connected with חָלָל, _perforavit_, _confodit_, _aperuit_, _profanavit_.
See _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, 1893, p. 386.
⁂ _ta_, a door or gate, and some other homonyms evidently come under
the same conception; cf. _porta_ and πείρω.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXVII.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
LEPSIUS, “Todt.”
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
=Leiden Papyrus,
T. 16.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
LEPSIUS, “Todt.”
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXIX.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXIX.
=Papyrus of Sutimes, Bibl. Nat.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXI.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
=Papyrus of Ani,
British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
=Papyrus of Ani,
British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXIA.
=Papyrus of Nebseni, British Museum, No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXV.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXII.
=Papyrus of Ani, British
Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
=Papyrus, Berlin Museum,
No. 2.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
=Papyrus, Leyden
Museum, II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
=Papyrus of Ani, British
Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
=Papyrus, Berlin
Museum, No. 1.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXIII.
is identical with Chapter IX.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXIV.
_Chapter whereby the legs are set in motion upon earth._
Do what thou hast to do, O Sekaru (_twice_); as The god who is in his
own house, and as The god who standeth on his legs in the Netherworld.
I shine above the Leg(1.) as I come forth in Heaven, but I lie helpless
with corpselike face.
Oh I faint, I faint, as I advance; I faint, I faint before the teeth of
those whose mouth raveneth in the Netherworld.
NOTE.
1. _The Leg._ In this place, as in chapter 98 and other texts, a
constellation in the northern sky is meant, which many years ago I
identified with Cassiopeia.
This constellation, according to chapter 98, is in the Northern sky and
in the _Great Stream_ ⁂⁂⁂, by which I understand the “Milky
Way.” This position is also in accordance with the ancient text on the
Coffin of Amamu, pl. XXVI, line 22. The _Leg_ is as close to the Pole as
the Great Bear (called the _Thigh_ in Egyptian Astronomy) but in the
opposite direction, and in consequence of this position it never sets
below the horizon. Hence in the Pyramid Texts (Pepi I, 411 and Merenrā
589) it is called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. And here,
according to these texts, as in the Book of the Dead (see chapter 86),
purification was obtained.
The god ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (also named among the 42 judges) whose face
looks backwards, and who is said to be gate keeper of Osiris, must be a
star (_e.g._ γ Cepheus) in the immediate neighbourhood of the Polar Star
which represented Osiris. On the ancient coffins of Amamu and Sit-Bastit
there is a chapter[87] for assuming the form of a Vulture ⁂⁂⁂,
in which the speaker says “I am the Vulture god who is on the
⁂⁂⁂⁂.”
I suspect that in the formula
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ said of Osiris on the
stelæ of the twelfth dynasty, the constellation in heaven and not a
place at Abydos was meant.
-----
Footnote 86:
Brugsch, _Rec._, II, pl. 63. The whole tomb has now been published by
M. Bénédite in the _Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique au Caire_,
tome 5.
Footnote 87:
It was afterwards incorporated with chapter 149.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXV.
_Chapter whereby one cometh to Heliopolis and receiveth a seat there._
I have come out of the Tuat: I am come from the ends of the Earth,
lighting up the Tank, whither the desires of them who bring salutation
guide me. I pass through the noble dwellings of those who are coffined.
I open the dwelling of Remrem, I reach the house of Achsesef.(1.) I am
led on to the noble mysteries, and I enter into the house of Kemkem.
[The Tet amulet(2.) layeth its two hands upon me and assigneth me to its
sister, and the custody of its mother, Kehkehit, who setteth me upon the
Eastern path of Heaven upon which Rā ariseth and mounteth on high each
day.
May I too arise, and be led on, and assume the mummied form as a god,
and let them set me upon that noble path] whereon Thoth travelleth when
he appeaseth the two Combatants(3.) as he goeth to Pu and advanceth to
Tepu.
NOTES.
1. These gods are not often mentioned. But we are told in the
inscriptions of Rech-ma-rā (_Mission Arch. du Caire_, V, 127) that
Achsesef is master of the (⁂⁂) great hall of the Prince of those
in Amenta. _Cf._ _Todt._, 142, 13 and 21.
2. _The Tet amulet_, ⁂, has a chapter of its own, chapter 156.
Divinity was supposed to reside in this and the other religious symbols,
which are often represented in pictures with hands and feet. The annexed
Vignette is from the Louvre papyrus III, 93, at ch. 93.
[Illustration]
The part of this chapter which is within brackets is ancient, but is
omitted in late copies.
3. _The two Combatants._ Sut and Horus.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXVI.
_Chapter whereby all forms are assumed which one pleaseth._
I have made my way into the Royal Palace, and it was the Bird-Fly(1.)
who brought me hither.
Hail to thee, who fliest up to Heaven, to give light to the stars and
protect the White Crown which falleth to me.
Stable art thou, O mighty god, for ever. Make thou for me a path upon
which I may pursue my course.
NOTE.,
1. _The Bird-Fly_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. On this god, see _Proc.
Soc. Bibl. Arch._, 1892, p. 396 and following, and also 1893, p. 135 and
following. In the papyrus of Nebseni the name has for determinative an
insect, which M. Lefébure has identified with the _mantis_. This deity,
according to ancient texts, was the _Tiller of the Rudder_ of the
Neshemit ship of Osiris.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXVII.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Golden Hawk._(1.)
I set myself to view: I set myself to view as the Golden Hawk, which
cometh out from its Egg; and I fly and I hover as a Hawk of four cubits
across the back. My two wings are of the green gem of the South.(2.)
I come forth from the cabin of the Sektit Bark and I raise myself up
from the Eastern Hill.
I stoop upon the Âtit Bark, that I may come and raise to me those who
are in their circles, and who bow down before me.
I display myself and gather myself together as the beautiful Golden Hawk
with the head of a Heron, to listen to whose utterances Râ cometh every
day, and I sit down in the midst of all the great gods of Heaven.
The fields lie before me; the produce is before me; I eat of it, I wax
radiant upon it, I am saturated with it to the satisfaction of my heart.
Nepra hath given to me my throat, and I am in possession of all that
pertaineth to my person.(3.)
NOTES.
1. This is the first of a series of chapters relative to the
“Transformations,” the subject of which is treated in the Introduction.
It is sufficient here to repeat that the Egyptian ‘Transformations’ have
nothing in common with Metempsychosis, as understood in the Greek or
Indian religions. The change of form in the Egyptian idea depended upon
the will of the person; it was not a penance for sin, but a means of
glorification. And all the forms assumed in the Book of the Dead by the
deceased are well known forms of the Sun-god.
2. _Green gem of the South_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. This has generally been
understood as representing the green feldspar of which many objects in
our museums are made. But Dümichen (_Zeitschr._, 1872) has shown that
the ⁂⁂ ‘of the _East_’ is a synonym of _Māfkait_, emerald, and M.
Naville has referred to Pliny, who (_Hist. Nat._, XXXVII, 17) speaks of
the Egyptian emeralds ‘qui eruuntur circa Copton oppidum Thebaidis in
collibus, ex cautibus.’ The same author quotes Juba in reference to
Ethiopic gems as being ‘alacriter virides, sed non facile puri aut
concolores.’
3. Nepra is one of the names of Osiris, considered as giver of corn, ὀ
Πυροφόρος. By _Throat_ is here meant the organ or power of swallowing,
deglutition.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Sacred Hawk._(1.)
Oh Horus! come thou to Tattu, make clear to me the paths, and help me to
make the round of my dwelling places.
Look thou upon me and exalt me, impart to me Terror, and rouse in me
Might, so that the gods of the Tuat may fear me, that their battlements
war in my behalf there; and that _he_ may not assail and slay me in the
house of darkness, who enwrappeth the dead; the god who hideth his name;
or that the like be done by them.
Oh ye gods who give ear to the words; ye foremost ones, ye who are in
the train of Osiris; hush ye up, gods, that which a god speaketh with a
god who is giving ear to a case of Divine Law!
And that which I have said to him say thou, Osiris.
Grant to me that change of existence which hath issued from thy mouth on
my behalf, that I may see thine own attributes and survey thy
Powers.(2.)
Grant that I may come forth and have the mastery of my two feet, and
that I may be there like the Inviolate One on high; that the gods of the
Tuat may fear me and their battlements war on my behalf.
Grant that I may run together with thy Runners, but remain firm upon my
pedestal like the Lord of Life; let me be united with Isis the Mighty;
may they protect me against slaughter, from him who looked upon death.
Let me advance to the goal(3.) of Heaven. I claim words from Seb, and I
pray for sustenance from the Inviolate one on high, so that the gods of
the Tuat may fear me, and that their battlements may war on my behalf,
when they see thy supplies for me.
I am one of those Bright ones in Glory: may my attributes be fashioned
like the attributes of him who cometh forth to Tattu; may I be
invested(4.) with the Soul of him who telleth thee what concerneth me.
Oh impart to me Terror and rouse in me Might that the gods of the Tuat
may fear me and their battlements war on my behalf.
I am the Bright one in Glory, whom Tmu himself hath called into being,
and my origin is from the apple of his eye,(5.) who hath made and
glorified and honoured those who are to be with him. For he is the
Unique in Heaven, whom they extol as he cometh forth from the Horizon,
and the gods and glorified ones who are with him fear him.
I am one of the worms which the eye of the Lord of Oneness hath brought
into being.
Verily, before Isis was, who gave birth to Horus, I grew up and waxed
old, and was honoured beyond those in Glory, who were with me.
And I arose as the Sacred Hawk, whom Horus had invested with his own
Soul for the seisin of his inheritance from Osiris at the Tuat.
And the god in Lion form, who presideth over those who are at the House
of the Nemmes(6.) which is in its caverns, said to me:--
“Go back to the confines of Heaven, for thou art invested with the
attributes of Horus: for thee the Nemmes is not, but free utterance is
thine, even to the confines of Heaven.”
And I took possession of the inheritance of Horus from Osiris at the
Tuat, and Horus repeated to me that which his father Osiris had said to
him in the early time, on the Burial Day of Osiris.
“The Nemmes hath been given to me by the god in Lion form, that thou
mayest advance and go upon the path of Heaven, so that those who are on
the confines of the Horizon may see thee and that the gods of the Tuat
may fear thee, and that their battlements may war on thy behalf.”
[Aahat.(7.)]
At the divine words all they who are at the funereal shrine of the Lord
of Oneness bend low.
Oh thou who art raised above thy coffin and bereft of the Nemmes, the
god in Lion form hath reached the Nemmes to me, and wings are given to
me.
He hath given me strength through his back, through his back, and
through his most powerful might, that I fall not upon Shu.(8.)
I propitiate my fair brother, the Master of the two Uræi.
I, even I, am he who knoweth the paths of Heaven; its breezes are upon
me, the raging Bull stoppeth me not as I advance whithersoever there
lieth a wreck in the Field of Eternity, and I pilot myself towards the
darkness and the suffering of the deceased ones of Osiris.
I come daily through the house of the god in Lion form, and I pass forth
from it to the house of Isis the Mighty, that I may see glorious,
mysterious and hidden matters, even as she hath caused me to see the
divine offspring of the Great One.
I am invested with the soul of Horus, so that I see what is in it, and
when I speak hard by the Doors of Shu they respond to the moment.(9.)
It is I who have charge of the seisin of the inheritance of Horus from
Osiris at the Tuat.
It is I, even I, who am Horus in Glory. I am master of his diadem, I am
master of his Light, and I advance to the Goal of Heaven. Horus is on
his seat, Horus is upon his throne.
My face is that of the Sacred Hawk, my back that of the Sacred Hawk: I
am equipped as his master.
I come forth to Tattu, that I may see Osiris.
I incline myself before him, I incline myself to Nut: they behold me,
and the gods behold me; the Eye of Horus and the Flame which is in the
Two Eyes. They stretch out their arms to me. And I stand erect and
prevail in opposition to evil.
They open to me the bright paths; they open to me the bright paths; they
see my attributes, they listen to my words.
Hail to you, ye gods of the Tuat, ye of repellent face and aggressive
front, who tow along the Stars which set, and make the bright paths of
the Hematit(10.) for the Lord of the Soul Most Mighty: Horus hath
ordained that ye should lift up your faces and look upon me.
And I display myself as the Sacred Hawk whom Horus hath invested with
his soul for taking the possession of his inheritance from Osiris at the
Tuat.
I set aside the long-haired gods and passed on through those who had
charge of their dens in my sight: I made my way and passed on and
reached those who presided over their caverns, and those who had charge
of the House of Osiris; and I speak to them, and make them recognize the
god of Mighty Terrors, who is armed with horns against Sutu. I make them
recognize who it is that hath seized for himself the divine provisions
and hath equipped himself with the powers of Tmu.
A gracious pass grant they to me, the gods of the Tuat, as many as there
are who preside over their caverns and have charge of the House of
Osiris.
Behold me, I am come to you and have carried off and put together my
forms....(11.)
I make bright the paths which are in the Horizon and the Hematit in
Heaven. I make firm the battlements on behalf of Osiris, and I make the
paths bright in his behalf.
I have done according to the command that I should come forth to Tattu
to see Osiris, and tell him of the fortunes of that great Son of his
whom he loveth, and who hath pierced the heart of Sutu. I have seen the
death.
Yea, I tell them the divine plans which Horus carried out in the absence
of his father Osiris.
O Lord of the Soul Most Mighty, behold me; I come, raise thou me up that
I may see the Tuat.
May all the paths which are in Heaven and upon earth be open to me, and
let there be no repulse for me.
Thou art exalted upon thy throne, Osiris; thine hearing is good, Osiris;
thy back is strong, Osiris; thy head, Osiris, is firmly fastened, thy
throat is made fast, thine heart is glad, thou art confident in the
strength and courage of those around thee. Thou art established in
strength as the Bull of Amenta.
Thy son Horus is seated upon thy throne, and all that liveth is subject
to him. Endless generations are at his service, endless generations are
in fear of him; the cycle of the gods is in fear of him, the cycle of
the gods is at his service. So saith Tmu, the Sole Force of the gods;
not to be altered is that which he hath spoken.
Horus is the offering and the altar of offering; twofold of aspect; it
is Horus who hath reconstituted his father and restored him. Horus is
the father, Horus is the mother, Horus is the brother, Horus is the
kinsman. Horus proceedeth from the essence of his father and the
corruption which befell him.
He ruleth over Egypt, and the gods are in his service. He hath carried
off endless generations, and given life to endless generations with his
Eye; the sole one of its Lord, the Inviolate one.
NOTES.
This chapter is seldom found in the complete shape which it has in the
Turin _Todtenbuch_. The shortest copy of it is that in the tomb of
Horhotep (_Miss. Arch. Fr._, p. 158); it has but a few lines; but they
are very important, as giving the earliest form of the formula
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is an invocation to
the battlements. The common reading, which adds the pronominal suffix
⁂ both to the verb and to its subject, is ungrammatical. The papyri
_Au_, _Pg_, and _Ij_, rightly omit the suffix after the verb, in the
early part of the chapter.
The coffin of Amamu has a chapter of the same title, but with quite a
different text.
1. _Sacred Hawk._ Between this and the _Golden Hawk_ of the last chapter
the vignettes make no distinction but that of colour, which is
indicative of age rather than of kind. The typical Egyptian Hawk may be
identified with the Falco Lanarius, or with the Peregrinus, but
naturalists tell us that “the Lanier of Buffon is the perfect state of
the male Peregrinus,” and that “the Lanner of Pennant is a young female
Peregrine.”
2. _Thy powers_, ⁂ _baiu_.
3. _The goal_ ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂, a word we have already met
in chapter 72 (_see_ Note 3), and which occurs later on in the present
chapter. It is apparently connected with the verb of motion,
⁂⁂⁂, and seems here to correspond to the Greek βαλβῖδες, or the
Latin _carceres_, the two posts which were at once the starting point
and the goal.
“signum unde reverti.
Scirent, et longos ubi circumflectere cursus.”[88]
4. _Invested_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is connected with ⁂⁂⁂.
The determinative ⁂ is the symbol of investiture, which is also
expressed by the sign ⁂. A mummied person is called _Sāhu_, in virtue
of his investiture.
5. _Apple of the eye_, literally _point_, _thorn_; ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
6. The _Nemmes_ ⁂⁂ is the royal head-dress in the form of a wig.
This chapter is the only one in the Book of the Dead in which it is
referred to, but other religious texts mention it. It is one of the
objects provided for the deceased in the pictures of ancient coffins.
(See _Aelteste Texte_, p. 35.)
7. [Aahat.] In this place different MSS. introduce one or more words
followed by the sign ⁂, determinative of divinity. But the whole text
which follows is extremely unsatisfactory. The prudent scribe who copied
_Pg_ has the words “I am the great god,” and with them ends the chapter.
8. _Fall upon Shu_, or _before_ Shu, who represents Daylight.
9. The passage is obscure through the absence of the right determinative
⁂ after ⁂⁂. The portals of Shu, the gates of Morning, answer
the summons of the god who comes as Horus. ⁂ has the sense of _obviam
ire_, _occurrere_.
10. _Hematit_ ⁂⁂⁂, a place near the Horizon, not mentioned in
the Book of the Dead except in this chapter. It has disappeared in the
later recensions.
11. Here follow one or two divine names unknown to the copyists, and by
them written at random.
-----
Footnote 88:
_Aeneid_, V, 130.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXIX.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Chief god of the Divine
Cycle._
Hail to thee, Tmu, Lord of Heaven, who givest motion to all things which
come into being; thou who comest forth from the Earth and createst
whatsoever is begotten: Lord of the things which are; who givest birth
to the gods; great god, self-produced; Lord of Life, who givest vigour
to the men now living:
Hail to you, ye Lords of pure things, ye whose abodes are hidden:
Hail to you, ye Lords of Eternity, ye whose attributes are concealed,
and the place where ye reside is unknown.
Hail to you, ye gods who are in the divine circuit and the Kabhu; ye
gods who are in Amenta and ye, O Divine Cycle which is in Heaven:
Let me come to you, let me be purified and strengthened, let me be
enriched and gifted with power, let me have possession and glory.
I bring in offering to you perfume, incense and natron. Stop ye the
outpourings of your hearts against me. I am come to put a stop to all
the wrong things which are in your hearts, and to do away with the false
charges which have been made to you.
But I bring in offering to you well-being.[89] I lift up in offering to
you Maāt.
I know you and I know your names, and I know your attributes, though it
be not known what by you may be brought to pass.
I come before you and make my appearance as that god in the form of a
man who liveth like a god, and I stand out before you in the form of
that god who is raised high upon his pedestal, to whom the gods come
with acclamation, and the female deities with jubilation, when they see
him.
I come before you and make my appearance on the seat of Rā, and I sit
upon my seat which is on the Horizon, and receive the offerings upon
their altars. I drink the sacred liquor each evening, in the form of the
Lord of all creatures, and I am exalted like that venerable god the Lord
of the Great House, whom the gods rejoice at seeing at his beautiful
comings forth from the womb of Nut, to whom Nut each day giveth birth.
-----
Footnote 89:
Perhaps rather _glory_, _splendour_,⁂⁂⁂⁂, which
implies something to be _seen_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXX.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the god who giveth Light to
the Darkness._
It is I who complete the vesture of Nu, the Light which shineth before
him, lighting up the darkness. I unite with the two brother-gods who are
upon me through the mighty Words of Power of my mouth. I raise up the
fallen one who cometh after me. I fall along with him in the vale of
Abydos when I go to rest.
I have seized upon Hu from the place in which I found him. And I have
lifted off the darkness through my power. I have rescued the Eye from
its eclipse against the coming of the Fifteenth day, and balanced Sutu
in the mansions above, against the Great one who is with him.
I have equipped Thoth [with light] in the house of the Moon.
I seize upon the Crown. Maāt is upon me, and the Emerald and the Crystal
of her months.
This field of mine is of Azure in the festival thereof.
I lighten up the darkness and overthrow the devouring monsters.(1.)
Those who are in their own darkness worship me, and they rise up to me,
covering their faces, who mourn and are prostrate: look ye therefore
upon me.
I am the Craftsman(2.) of Nu, but I come not up in order that you should
hear of this.
I am the Craftsman of Nu, who lighteneth the darkness, and I have come
to dissipate the darkness, and that light should be.
NOTES.
1. _Devouring monsters_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
2. The later recensions have ⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂ _wife_. The older
papyri omit the feminine ending, which is inconsistent with the rest of
the chapter. I understand ⁂ or ⁂⁂, in the sense of artist,
craftsman.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXI.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Lotus._
I am the pure Lotus which cometh forth from the glory which is at the
nostril of Rā, and I make my journey and pursue it for Horus, the great
god beloved.
I am the pure Lotus which cometh forth in the field.
NOTE.
This little chapter is not without its special difficulty. Are we to
read ⁂⁂⁂ as a word implying motion, with ⁂ as its
determinative, or as implying invocation, with ⁂ as its
determinative? The copyists differed and some of them changed the word
into ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ so that there should be no ambiguity. But this
does not clear up the words which immediately follow; hence _Ba_ has
suppressed them, whilst other copyists have given themselves no trouble
as to the sense of what they wrote.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXII.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of Ptah, eateth bread, drinketh
beer, and sitteth in the midst of the great gods._
I fly like the Hawk, I cackle like the Smen-goose, I alight on the right
side of the Aat, on the feast of the Great One.
I execrate, I execrate: I eat it not. Dirt is what I execrate: I eat it
not. That which my Genius execrateth let it not enter into me.
Let me therefore live upon that which is put before them; the gods and
the glorified ones. Let me live and enjoy the bread and....[90] Let me
then eat them in the presence of the gods and glorified ones. Let me
enjoy and eat them under the foliage of the date trees of Hathor, my
sovereign. Let the oblations be made, of bread and beer in Tattu, and
bendings of the head in Annu. Let my vesture be girt upon me by Tait.
Let me sit wherever it pleaseth me.
My head is that of Rā and I am summed up as Tmu: Four times the arm’s
length of Rā: four times the width of the world.(1.)
I have come forth with the tongue of Ptah and the throat of Hathor that
I may record the words of my father Tmu with my mouth, which draweth to
itself the Spouse of Seb, and the proclamation of whose lips inspireth
fear.
I repeat the acclamations at my success on being declared the heir of
the Lord of Earth, Seb, from whom I issue.
Seb purifieth me, and giveth me his Theophanies.(2.) The dwellers in
Annu bow their heads to me. I am their Master. I am their Bull. More
powerful am I than the Lord of Time; I am the author and the master of
endless years.
NOTES.
1. Not in length but in periphery. The ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ implies a
quadrangular figure, and so do ⁂⁂. Of this quadrangle, North,
South, East, and West, are not cardinal points or angles, but _sides_.
2. _Theophanies_, ⁂⁂⁂. This is the true meaning of the word,
whether in reference to the Sun rising in the sky or to the king upon
his throne.
-----
Footnote 90:
The word seems to have been unintelligible to the copyists, who differ
widely from each other as to its orthography.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Bennu bird._
Let me wheel round in whirls, let me turn like the Turning One, let me
flourish like a flower and keep myself hidden like the Hider.(1.)
I am the Barley corn of every god.
I am the four Yesterdays of those seven Uræus deities who are born in
Amenta; Horus who giveth light by means of his own body; the god who is
against Sutu when Thoth is between them, as in that dispute of the
Prince of Sechem with the Spirits of Annu where the river is between
them.(2.)
I come forth by day and disclose myself at the head of the gods.
I am the god who chaseth all boastfulness.(3.)
NOTES.
1. There is here a play on the words _pa_, _ḫeper_, _ruṭ_ and _šet_. The
_Turning One_ is the god Chepera. The _Tortoise_ ⁂⁂⁂ derives
its name (the _hider_), from the habit of drawing its body within its
shell. On the flight of the Bennu see the first note of next chapter.
2. The Nile lies between the opposite shores of the Nomes of Letopolis
(Sechem) and Heliopolis (Annu).
3. The later recensions have “I am Chonsu who _putteth a stop_ to all
boastfulness.” But in the early copies _Chonsu_ is taken in its
primitive sense _the chaser_ and does not require the verb ⁂ to
govern ‘boastfulness.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Hernshaw._(1.)
Thou who holdest the bound victims; ye knives over their heads and locks
and fleeces;(2.) ye aged and bright ones who are armed with the fated
moment.
I come to heaven but I strike upon the earth; and conversely.
It is my power which produceth victory and raiseth the height of heaven,
and I make the lustrations which yield the extent of earth to my feet
against the sinful cities as I advance and cut in pieces(3.) those who
are involved in rebellion.(4.)
I leave the gods upon their paths but I strike the Wakers who are in
their coffins.
I know not Nu, I know not Tatunen, I know not the Red ones when they
bring opposition to me.
I know not a Word of Power to whose utterance I listen.
I am the Red Calf upon the tablets.
This is what the gods say when they raise their voice.
Let your countenances be without restraint towards him who cometh to me.
The morning dawns are independent of you, ye have not the charge of
them; but my alternations are in my own hands. I say not the wrong
instead of the right.
Day after day unswervingly turneth back upon my eye-brow.
And Evening is the beginning of my voyage to celebrate the solemnity of
the Reclining and the Embrace of the Aged one who hath charge of the
Earth.
NOTES.
1. Both the _Bennu_ and the _Shenshen_ (which I here translate
‘Hernshaw’) are Herons. They fly to a great height in spiral whirls.
2. The true reading here seems to be ⁂⁂ from ⁂⁂ ‘shear.’
3. _Cut in pieces._ The papyrus of Ani gives the valuable reading ⁂.
4. _Rebellion._ So I understand ⁂⁂, a wrongful and violent
_rising_, ἐπανάστασις.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXV.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of a Soul,_(1.) _that one may not
come to the dungeon. Imperishable is he who knoweth it._
I am a Soul. I am Rā who proceedeth from Nu, and my soul is divine. I am
he who produceth food, but I execrate what is wrong and look not upon
it.
I am possessor of Maāt and subsist by means of it.
I am the Food which perisheth not; in my name of the Self-originating
Force, together with Nu, in the name of Chepera, from whom I am born
daily.
I am the Lord of Daylight and I execrate Death, let me not enter into
the dungeons of the gods of the Tuat.
It is I who give glory to Osiris and propitiate the hearts of those who
are with him, my own friends.
They inspire the fear of me, and put forward my might to those within
their domains.
And behold me, how I am raised upon my pedestal and upon my throne.
I am Nu. They shall not overthrow me who do wrong.
I am he whose orbits are of old; my soul is divine, it is the Eternal
Force.
It is I who create the Darkness which maketh its seat at the confines of
Heaven.
My Soul hath come, far advanced in age, and I create the Darkness at the
confines of Heaven at my pleasure.
I reach the limits, and I advance upon my feet.
I take the lead and I traverse the steel firmament which maketh a
curtain.(2.) I put a stop to the Darkness and the worms; I whose name is
hidden.
I drive away aggression from before the Lord of the two hands, who is my
own Soul. The Uræus divinities are my body. My image is Eternal, the
Lord of years, the King of Everlasting.
I am exalted as Lord of the land of Rebu: ‘the Youth in Town, the Lad in
the Country’ is my name; and my name is imperishable.
I am the Force which createth Heaven and maketh its abode in the
Netherworld.
Not to be seen is my nest; not to be broken is my Egg.
I am the Lord on High. I have made my nest on the confines of Heaven,
and I descend to the earth of Seb and put a stop to evil. I see my
father, the Lord of the Gloaming, and I breathe.(3.)
NOTES.
1. Soul. The Egyptian word which in our modern languages we translate as
_Soul_ has already been explained as meaning _Force_. It is so
translated in this chapter in several passages where this sense is
emphatically required.
2. _A curtain_, ⁂ _šet_, literally a _skin_. _Cf._ Ps. civ, 2, “Who
stretchest out the heavens like a curtain,” where the LXX render
‘curtain’ by δέῤῥιν and the Vulgate by _pellem_.
3. Here the chapter ends in _Pc_. The few words which follow in other
MSS. were unintelligible to the copyists and are written very variously.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Swallow._(1.)
I am the Swallow; I am the Swallow.
I am the Scorpion-bird, daughter of Rā.
O ye gods, whose perfume is delicious: Flame which proceedest from the
Horizon: O thou who art in the place whence I have brought the keeper of
his fold--let me have thine arm that I may make my observation at the
Tank of Flame, that I may advance as an envoy and come with the report
of it.
Be it opened to me, in order that I may tell what I have seen.
Horus is in command of his bark. There hath been given to him the throne
of his father, and Sutu that son of Nut is under the grappling hooks
which he made for him.
I have ascertained what is in Sechem. I have touched with my two hands
the Heart of Osiris.(2.)
And that which I went in order to ascertain I am come to tell. Come let
me enter and report my mission.
And I, entering and ascertaining who cometh forth through that gate of
the Inviolate one, I purify myself at that great stream where my ills
are made to cease, and that which is wrong in me is pardoned and the
spots which were on my body upon earth are effaced.
O Keeper of the Portal, let the path be made for me, for I am as one of
you. Let me come forth by day, and walk upon my own legs. Let me have
the feet of the Glorified.
I know the mysterious paths and the gates of Aarru from whence I come.
Here am I, and I come that I may overthrow mine adversaries upon earth,
though my dead body be buried.
_If this chapter be known he will re-enter after coming forth by day._
NOTES.
1. The Swallow ⁂⁂. The objection to this meaning is that the bird
in question was eaten; and that doves or pigeons would be less meagre
food than the Swallow, and therefore more probably intended in the
Egyptian texts. But Swallows are still eaten at Rome, where like Clive
Newcome we may be regaled not only with “wild swans and ducks” but with
“robins, owls, and οἰωνοῖσι τε πᾶσι for dinner.” And Willughby, the
naturalist, found a large quantity of swallows being sold for food at
Valencia in Spain.
The flat head, the short legs, and the tail of the bird are
characteristic not of the pigeon but of the swallow, and on many
pictures (_e.g._, pl. xxi, vignette from Leyden papyrus) we are reminded
of the song--
Ἦλθ’ ἦλθε χελιδὼν ...
ἐπὶ γαστέρα λευκὰ
ἐπὶ νῶτα μέλαινα.
It is not quite plain why the name of Scorpion should be given to the
bird, but the name ⁂⁂⁂ of the insect in itself implies
nothing more than the characteristic _whiteness_ of colour.
2. _Touched with my two hands the Heart of Osiris._
⁂⁂⁂ is the origin of the Coptic ϭⲟϩ ‘touch.’ The word Heart
has dropped out of the later texts (_e.g._, the Turin copy), but in the
older papyri it is found in the form of ⁂⁂ or ⁂.
ADDITIONAL NOTE.
In Chapter 86 ⁂⁂⁂ has unquestionably the sense of
_ascertaining by inspection._ The Abbot Papyrus in its account of the
enquiry respecting the spoliation of the royal coffins gives ample
evidence of this meaning. And the word there used for _reporting_ the
result of the inspection is, as is Ch. 86, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _semȧu_,
in Coptic ⲧⲁⲙⲉ.
But it is well to remember that ⁂⁂⁂ has another use; which
perhaps implies the existence of two homonymous roots. In a passage
quoted in Note 21 to Ch. 64, it certainly signifies _restore_. And this
may possibly be its meaning in the rubric of Ch. 64. The journey of
Prince Hortâtâf may have had reference to the _restoration_, not simply
_inspection_, of the temples. In this sense it is often written
⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _sȧpu_. The Coptic word for
ἀποκαθιστάναι in Hosea xi, 11 and Acts i, 6 is ⲧⲫⲟ.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of Se-ta._
I am Seta--full of years.
I lay myself down [in death], and I am born daily.
I am Seta at the confines of the earth. I lay myself down [in death], I
restore myself and I renew myself daily.
NOTE.
_Se-ta_ ⁂⁂, literally _Filius terrae_, is a common noun
signifying an earth-worm. It is applied to the Sun as rising out of the
earth. There are several pictures at Denderah representing the Sun-god
Hor-sam-ta in the form of the worm rising out of the Lotus of Dawn.
_See_ pl. xxiii, from Mariette, _Dend_. I, 47 and 48.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
_Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Crocodile god [Sebak(1.)._
For I am the Crocodile god in all his terrors.
I am the Crocodile god in the form of man.(2.) I am he who carrieth off
with violence. I am the almighty Fish in Kamurit.
I am the Lord to whom one bendeth down(3.) in Sechem.
NOTES.
1. Sebak is not always named in the papyri. The ideogram of the
crocodile was in some copies read _emsuḥ_ and in others _sebak_.
2. _In the form of man_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. Of the very different
readings this is the most intelligible.
3. _To whom one bendeth down_, literally ‘master of bendings.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER LXXXIX.
_Chapter whereby the Soul is united to the dead Body._
Oh thou who Bringest; Oh thou Runner, who dwellest in thy Keep,(1.) thou
great god; grant that my Soul may come to me from whatsoever place
wherein it abideth.
But if there be a delay in the bringing of my soul to me, thou shalt
find the Eye of Horus standing firm against thee, like those undrowsy
Watchers who lie in Annu, the land wherein are thousands of reunions.
Let my Soul be caught, and the Chu which is with it, wheresoever it
abideth.
Track out(2.) among the things in heaven and upon earth that soul of
mine, wherever it abideth.
But if there be a delay in thy causing me to see my Soul and my Shade,
thou shalt find the Eye of Horus standing firm against thee.
---------------------
Oh ye gods who draw along the Bark of the Eternal one: ye who lift up
above the Tuat, and who raise up the Sky: ye who enable the Souls to
enter into the mummied forms; ye whose hands grasp the cordage, hold
firm with your ropes and stop the adversaries that the Bark may rejoice
and the god proceed in peace.
And now grant that my Soul may come forth in your train from the Eastern
horizon of Heaven for ever and ever.
NOTES.
The oldest papyri present a much shorter form than the later ones. That
portion which is here separated by a line from what goes before it first
appears on the sarcophagus of Seti I and in the papyrus of Ani. The
vignette is a very favourite decoration of mummies.
1. _Keep_ ⁂⁂ of which the regular variant in this chapter is not
_saḥ_ but ⁂⁂ _seḫen_.
2. _Track out_, ⁂⁂⁂ is _investigare_, ἐξιχινεύειν, to follow
the traces like a dog. _See_ _ Denk._ II, 3, where the word occurs in
the title of “master of the trackers,” determined by a man holding a
hound in leash. It is from this notion that the sense of _sight_ or
_looking_ appears in ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⲛⲁⲩ.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XC.
_Chapter whereby Memory is restored(1.) to a person._
Oh thou who choppest off heads and cuttest throats, but restorest memory
in the mouth of the dead through the Words of Power which they possess:
thou seest me not with thine eyes, thou perceivest not with thy
feet;(2.) thou turnest back thy face, thou seest not the executioners of
Shu, who are coming behind thee to chop off thine own head and to cut
thy throat. Let not my mouth be closed, through the Words of Power which
I possess; even as thou hast done to the dead, through the Words of
Power which they possess.
Away with the two sentences uttered by Isis when thou camest to fling
remembrance at the mouth of Osiris(3.) and the heart of Sutu, his enemy,
saying:--
NOTES.
Of this chapter we have unfortunately but one copy in _Fa_, of the Musée
Borély. This is defective both at the beginning and at the end, and the
text is inaccurate. The later copies are so inaccurate that it is
impossible to reconstitute the text. It is precisely on those points
where grammatical accuracy is required for fixing a definite sense that
the manuscripts are hopelessly defective. The preceding translation is
_verbally_ correct, I trust, but I do not pretend that it is
intelligible. It stops where the papyrus _Fa_ stops.
1. _Restored._ The reduplication in ⁂ here gives the verb this
sense.
2. It is not only in Egyptian that verbs of sight are applied to other
perceptions. Aeschylus says κτύπον δέδορκα in _Sept. c. Th._ 104, and
the Hebrew writers furnish similar examples.
3. _At the mouth of Osiris and the heart of Sutu._ To justify this
translation the same preposition ought to govern _mouth_ and _heart_.
But I do not know any copy in which this occurs. The Turin reading is
simply absurd.
CHAPTER XCI.
_Chapter whereby the Soul is secured from imprisonment in the
Netherworld._
Oh thou who art exalted and worshipped, all powerful, almighty one, who
grantest thy terrors to the gods, who displayest thyself upon thy throne
of grandeur,(1.) let the way be made for my Soul, my Chu and my Shade.
Let me be thoroughly equipped.
I am a powerful Soul; let the way be made for me to the place where Rā
is and Hathor.
_If this Chapter is known, he taketh the form of a fully equipped Chu in
the Netherworld, and does not suffer imprisonment at any door in the
Amenta, either in coming in or going out._
NOTE.
1. There is no safe text here, ‘grandeur’ is only meant to indicate the
existence of ⁂ in the original. But there certainly ought to be
something different from what any of the MSS. supply.
------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
=Papyrus, Leyden,
No. II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
=Papyrus of Nebseni, British
Museum, No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
MARIETTE, “DENDERAH.”
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXVII. CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER LXXXIX.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XC.
=Papyrus, Musée Borély, Marseilles.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XC.
=LEPSIUS, TODTENBUCH.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCII.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 89.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXIV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCII.
=Papyrus, British Museum, 9949.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCII.
=Papyrus, Boulaq, 21.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCII.
=Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIII.
=Papyrus, Louvre III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIV.
=Papyrus, Louvre III, 9.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCV.
=Papyrus, British Museum, 10,009.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCII.
_Chapter whereby the Tomb is opened to the Soul and to the Shade of the
person, that he may come forth by day and may have mastery of his
feet._
That standeth open which thou openest, and that is closed which thou
closest, oh thou who art at rest;(1.) thou openest and thou closest to
my Soul, at the bidding of the Eye of Horus: who delivereth me, who
establisheth the glory upon the brow of Rā: [the god] of stretched out
steps and rapid paces, who maketh for me a wide path and vigorous limbs.
I am Horus, the avenger of his father, who lifteth up his father and who
lifteth up his mother with his staff.
Let the path be opened to him who hath mastery of his feet, that he may
look upon the great god within the Bark of Rā on the day of the Soul’s
Reckoning; and my Soul is then at the front during the Reckoning of the
Years.
May the Eye of Horus deliver for me my Soul, and establish my splendour
upon the brow of Rā, and may my radiance be upon your faces who are
attached to the person of Osiris: imprison not my Soul, put not in
custody my Shade.
Let the path be open to my Soul and to my Shade that it may see the
great god within his sanctuary, on the day of the Soul’s Reckoning, and
may repeat the words of Osiris whose place is unseen, and of those who
are attached to the person of Osiris and have the custody of Souls and
Spirits, and who shut up the Shades of the Dead who would do an injury
to me.(2.)
Let the path be thrown open(3.) to thy Genius[91] and to thy Soul,
Glorified one, who art provided with those who conduct thee; sit thou at
the head of the Great ones in thy place; thou shalt not be imprisoned by
those who are attached to the person of Osiris and who have the custody
of Souls and Spirits and who shut up the Shades of the Dead. It is
Heaven that shall hold thee.
NOTES.
1. I cannot agree with those who have hitherto translated this chapter.
The only grammatical interpretation which seems possible for the first
sentence depends upon the sense given to the suffix ⁂⁂ _tȧ_. I
take this as representing the second person singular. ⁂⁂, the
person _at rest_ (Osiris) is the one invoked, and is here translated by
the vocative.
2. The words which follow are evidently the words of Osiris and those
attached to him, which are addressed to the deceased and are repeated by
him. The text here, as indeed everywhere, is very corrupt.
3. _Thrown open_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. I have explained the sense of the
verb ⁂ _mes_ (_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, 1882, p. 70) as _stretching
out_, of which notion ⁂ is the determinative. ⁂⁂⁂ is =
⁂⁂ × ⁂. _Mesi uat_ is ‘pandatur via.’
-----
Footnote 91:
The Egyptian _ka_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCIII.
_Chapter whereby one avoideth being conveyed to the East in the
Netherworld._
Oh thou Phallus of Rā, who fliest from the storm, disablement ariseth
from Baba who useth against me might beyond the mighty and power beyond
the powerful.
If I am conveyed away, if I am carried off to the East; if all evil and
injurious things of a feast day of fiends are perpetrated upon me
through the waving of the Two Horns, then shall be devoured the Phallus
of Rā and the Head of Osiris.
And should I be led to the fields wherein the gods destroy him who
answereth them, then shall the horns of Chepera be twisted back, then
shall blindness(1.) arise in the eyes of Tmu and destruction,(2.)
through the seizure of me, and through my being carried off to the East,
through there being made over me a feast day of the fiends, through all
the murderous work perpetrated upon me.(3.)
NOTES.
This chapter contains one of those threats (of which there are other
instances) made to the gods. The speaker is in fact so identified with
divinity that any evil which happens to him must be conceived as
involving the same calamity to the gods and to the universe.
There is a very considerable difference between the earlier and the
later texts. There is very great confusion in the text of the Turin
_Todtenbuch_ as compared with that of the Cadet papyrus.
1. _Blindness_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the earlier and ⁂⁂ in the
later texts. The latter form, which has for determinative pearls or
globules of some kind, reminds one of the disease formerly called _gutta
serena_.
2. _Destruction_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. But this word is written in
different ways in the papyri. With ⁂ as a suffix it would mean ‘my
destroyer.’ _Ca_ gives ⁂ as a determinative, and thus creates a god
_Hetmu_, or at least a name punning upon that of Tmu, to which it is
united.
3. The more recent texts, like those of the Turin _Todtenbuch_, insert a
negative particle before the mention of each disaster. They pray that
the Phallus of Rā may _not_ be devoured, that the blindness may _not_
come upon Tmu, and so on.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCIV.
_Chapter whereby one prayeth for a Palette and an Inkstand._
Oh mighty one, who seest thy father, and who hast charge of the Book of
Thoth.
Here am I, I come and am glorified and filled with Soul and Power and
provided with the writings of Thoth, which I bring in order to purify
the tunnel which is in Sutu.(1.) I bring the Palette and I bring the
Inkstand as the instruments of Thoth, the secrets of which are divine.
Here am I, as the Scribe; I bring the remains of Osiris;(2.) and the
writing which I have made upon them is decreed by the great god to be
good, daily, among the good. Thou hast decreed, Horus of the Two
Horizons, that I shall be the author of Maāt and tend(3.) it daily to
Rā.
NOTES.
1. _In Sutu_; that is, in Darkness. _See_ chapter 96.
2. The _remains_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. This word, though commonly applied
to corruption and impurity of dead matter, is taken in an inoffensive
sense when applied to the gods. Compare, _e.g._, _Pepi I_, line 477 and
following.
3. _Tend_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _mesi_ (not _sebi_) stretch out, _pandere_,
_protendere_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCV.
_Chapter whereby is opened the place wherein Thoth resteth._
I am the Dread one(1.) in Storm, who guard the Great one(2.) against
assault.
I smite like the Flint-god: I sprinkle like the Sprinkling-god.(3.)
I am the protection(4.) of the Great one against assault and I give
vigour to the sword which is in the hand of Thoth(5.) in the storm.
NOTES.
The papyrus _Ad_ gives this chapter the title of “assuming the form of
the Smen-goose,” and Dr. Birch published the text of this papyrus in the
_Zeitschrift_ of 1869 (p. 25) as one of those additional chapters which
“do not occur in the Ritual of Turin.” This is of course an error of
oversight. This chapter is in the Turin _Todtenbuch_, and the papyrus
_Ad_ merely gives it under an erroneous title, which was evidently meant
for another text.
1. _The Dread one_, ⁂⁂⁂. Instead of this _Ad_ has
⁂⁂⁂, which I cannot regard otherwise than as a simple blunder
of the scribe. ⁂ is a well known anaglyph in certain scenes, but
there is no evidence of its being a variant of the name of Chnemu.
2. Two of the ancient papyri _Ca_ and _Ad_ read _Horus_, the others have
the _Great goddess_, and so has _Ad_ in the next line. The more recent
texts have (not _urit_, ‘the great one,’ but) _urerit_, ‘the crown.’
3. _The Sprinkling god_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Aashu_. This god is
mentioned but once in the Book of the Dead, and his name is here
interpreted conjecturally in consequence of the function assigned to him
and of the not unlike word ⁂⁂ _ȧš_ ‘spit.’
4. _Protection._ I read ⁂ instead of ⁂ in the early papyri.
5. _Thoth._ The recent texts have _Chepera_, an evident error. The
allusion is to the storm or distress from which Thoth rescues the Eye of
Horus.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCVI.
_Chapter whereby is opened [the place] where Thoth [resteth]._
I am he who dwelleth in the middle of his own Eye. I have come that I
may deliver Maāt to Rā, and may propitiate Sutu with the libations for
Akar and the red victims of the Faithful of Seb.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCVII.
_Said at the Bark_: Staff of Anubis, may I propitiate those four
Glorified ones who follow after the Master of [all] things.
I am the Master of the champaign at their behest, and I am the Father of
the inundation, when he who hath charge of the canals is athirst.
Look therefore upon me, oh ye great and mighty gods, who are foremost
among the Spirits of Annu; let me be exalted in your presence. I am a
well-doer towards you. Lo I come, that I may purify this Soul of mine in
the most high degree; let not that impediment proceeding from your mouth
be issued against me which giveth one over to ruin: let me be purified
in the lake of propitiation and of equipoise: let me plunge into the
divine pool beneath the two divine sycomores of Heaven and Earth.
Now let my Fold be fitted for me as one victorious against all
adversaries who would not that right should be done to me.
I am the Only one; just and true upon the Earth. It is I who say it.
* * * * *
NOTES.
Chapters 96 and 97 are really but one chapter, which M. Naville has
found in only two MSS. of the early period. The end of what Lepsius
calls chapter 97 is hopelessly corrupt. On comparing the three copies
given by M. Naville (two of them being from the papyrus of Nebseni) it
will be seen how impossible it is to restore a grammatical text out of
such discordant materials. The difficulty is not removed by having
recourse to the papyri of a later period.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCVII.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9,900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CIII.
=Papyrus,
British Museum,
No. 9,900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCVIII.
=LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CIV.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9,900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIX.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9,900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CV.
=Papyrus of Sutimes,
Bibl. Nat.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CV.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9,900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CVIII.
=Papyrus,
British Museum, No. 9,900.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXVI
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER XCIX. =Papyrus Busca.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIX.
=Papyrus, Berlin Museum, No. 2.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIX.
=Papyrus, Brit. Mus., No. 9905.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIX.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, No. III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER XCIX.
=Papyrus Brocklehurst, II.=
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER XCIX. =Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9900.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCVIII.
_Chapter whereby one saileth a ship in the Netherworld._
Oh thou Leg in the Northern Sky,(1.) and in that most conspicuous but
inaccessible Stream; I rise up and come to light as a god, I am
conspicuous but inaccessible.
I rise up and live, and bring myself to light as a god.
I cackle even as the Smen-goose, but I stoop(2.) like the Hawk at the
nets of the Great Fowler.
I sail across the Sky, and Shu standeth erect and the Achmiu Stars(3.)
are instantly active in raising the ladder which lifts the Setting Stars
away from destruction.(4.)
And I bear that which repelleth mischief as I make my voyage over the
Leg of Ptah.
I come from the Lake of Flame, from the Lake of Fire, and from the Field
of Flame, and I live....
I stand erect in the Bark which the god is piloting ... at the head of
Aarru,(5.) and the Achmiu Stars open to me ... and my fellow
citizens(6.) present to me the sacred cakes with flesh.
NOTES.
There is but one papyrus of the older period which contains any portion
of this chapter, and it does so very imperfectly.
On referring to M. Naville’s edition it will be seen that not only the
title but the greater part of the chapter is destroyed. The later copies
have texts so different from the original form, that it is unsafe to
attempt a restoration except within very strict limits.
It is absurd to attempt a translation from a mixture of divergent and,
at the same time, incorrect texts.
1. See note to chapter 74. The _Stream_ which is so conspicuous but
cannot be reached is the Milky Way, and the _Leg_ is the constellation
Cassiopeia in the Northern Sky.
2. _Stoop_, ⁂⁂⁂. This comparison occurs repeatedly in the
Pyramid Texts, and others of the early periods.
3. _Achmiu Stars_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ so _Ab_, giving another
proof that the word is to be taken as a _noun_, and not as a _negative_.
4. See chapter 30A, on “The Crocodile of the West who lives on the
Setting Stars.”
5. So _Ab_, but perhaps wrongly. I dare not fill up the lacunæ of this
text.
6. _Fellow-citizens._ The translation here is necessarily conjectural.
But I understand by _fellow-citizens_ (συμπολῖται) the dwellers of that
_city_ of which the deceased says, in chapter 17, “I arrive at my own
city, ⁂⁂.”[92] And this _city_ is explained by the ancient
scholion as being “the Horizon ⁂ [or, as Lepsius more accurately
translates it, ‘der Sonnenberg’] of my father Tmu.” It is no earthly
city that is thought of, but an eternal one.
-----
Footnote 92:
I take this opportunity of correcting my former translation, where the
preposition ⁂, which twice occurs in the passage, is both times
rendered by the same word, _from_. But the sense of a preposition
really depends upon the verb which it follows. The same English word
will not suit the French _de_ in ‘s’approcher _de_’ and ‘s’éloigner
_de_.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER XCIX.
_Chapter whereby one Saileth a Ship in the Netherworld._
Oh thou who sailest the ship of Nu over that chine which is void,(1.)
let me sail the ship; let me fasten my tackle(2.) in peace; in peace!
Come, come; Fleet one, Fleet one! Let me come to see my father Osiris.
Oh thou who art veiled, let me enjoy happiness.
Oh thou who art clouded, but manful, and who sailest round over that
chine of Âpepi; thou of firm head and steadfast breast when coming forth
from the fiery blows: Oh thou who art at the ship, let me sail the ship,
let me fasten my tackle and come forth.
This place is empty, into which the starry ones fall down headlong upon
their faces,(3.) and find not aught whereby they can raise themselves
up.
Narrow is the path as the tongue of Rā.(4.)
[_The Patrol who goeth round, and who piloteth the Double Earth_; Seb
abideth stably by means of their rudders: _the divine Form which
revealeth the Solar Orb_: and _He who presideth over the Red ones_.(5.)]
Let me be brought in as a distressed mariner, and let my Soul come to
me, which is my brother, and go to that place which thou knowest.
_“Let me be told my name,” say_,
1. _The Mooring post._ “Lord of the Double-Earth in the Shrine” is thy
name.
2. _The Blade of the Rudder._ “Leg of Apis ” is thy name.
3. _The Hawser._ “The Side-Lock which Anubis fastens on to the swathing
work” is thy name.
4. _The Stern or Stem Posts._ “The two columns of the Netherworld” is
thy name.
5. _The Hold._ “Akar” is thy name.
6. _The Mast._ “Bearer of the Great one whilst she passeth” is thy name.
7. _The Keel._ “Backbone of Apuat” is thy name.
8. _The Mast-head._ “Throat of Emsta” is thy name.
9. _The Sail._ “Nut” is thy name.
10. _The Leathers._(6.) “Made of the hide of Mnevis, which Sutu hath
scorched,” is thy name.
11. _The Oars._ “Fingers of the elder” is your name.
12. _The Bracement._ “Hand of Isis, stanching the blood of the Eye of
Horus,” is thy name.
13. _The Ribs._ “Emsta, Hapi, Tuamautef, Kebehsenuf, He who taketh
captive, He who taketh by force, He who seeth his Father, and He who
maketh himself,” are your names.
14. _The Look-out_:(7.) “Master of the Grounds”(8.) is thy name.
15. _The Tiller_:(9.) “Merit”(10.) is thy name.
16. _The Rudder_: “The Umpire, beaming forth from the water,” is thy
name.
17. _The Hull_: “The Leg of Hathor, which Rā wounded, on his lifting her
into the Sektit Boat,” is thy name.
18. _The Boatman_: “Off” is thy name.
19. _The Breeze_, since thou art conveyed by me: “The Northern Breeze
proceeding from Tmu to the Nose of Chent-Amenta” is thy name.
20. _The Stream_, since thou sailest upon me: “Their Mirror” is thy
name.
21. _The Shallow_:(11.) “Destroyer of the large-handed at the place of
purification” is thy name.
22. _The Land_, since thou walkest upon me: “The Tip of Heaven, the
Coming forth from the swathings in the Garden of Aarru, and the Coming
forth in Exultation,” is thy name.
_To be said before them._
Hail to you, Fair in Form, Lord of issues, who are springing up for
ever, and whose double goal is eternity: turn to me your hands, give to
me food and offerings for my mouth; let me eat the _Bat_-bread, the
_Shensu_-cake and the _Kefen_-cake: let my place be in the great hall in
presence of the mighty god.
I know that mighty god to whose nostrils ye present delicacies. Tekmu is
his name: and whether he, whose name is Tekmu, turneth from the East or
advanceth to the West, let his course be my course.
Let me not be stopped at the Meskat; let not the Sebau have mastery over
my limbs.
I have bread in Pu and beer in Tepu. Let your largesses of this day be
granted to me; offerings of wheat and barley, offerings of _ānta_ and of
vestments, offerings of oxen, and ducks, which are offerings for life,
health and strength, and also offerings for coming forth by day, in all
the forms in which it pleaseth me to come forth in the Garden of Aarru.
_If this chapter be known he will come forth at the Garden of Aarru;
there will be given to him the_ Shensu-_cake, the measure of drink and
the_ persen-_cake, and fields of wheat and barley of seven cubits (It is
the followers of Horus who reap them), for he eateth of that wheat and
barley, and he is made whole in his limbs through that wheat and barley,
and his limbs spring up even as with those gods. And he cometh forth in
the Garden of Aarru in all the forms in which it pleaseth him to come
forth._
NOTES.
One of the Paris papyri (_Pb_) contains a composition bearing the same
title as chapter 99, and M. Naville has published it as an introduction
to the usual chapter. It is no doubt of very great interest, but it is
the imperfect copy of a quite independent composition, which really has
no claim to be considered a part of our Book of the Dead.
1. See chapter 7, title and notes. _Cf._ the αἰθὴρ ἐρημος of Pindar and
the Latin expressions ‘vacuum per inane,’ ‘per inania.’
2. _Fasten my tackle_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. _Cf._ Unas, 508 and 639. In
the latter place the ropes are said to be made of ⁂⁂⁂, _palm
leaf_ (?).
3. Comp. chapter 44 on the cavern where the dead fall into the darkness,
‘but the Eye of Horus supporteth me, and Apuat reareth me up.’ There may
be an allusion here, as there is elsewhere, to _shooting stars_. It is
worth noticing that--a group which ought, I think, to be read
⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_Ca_ and _Ac_) has in most papyri the wrong
determinative ⁂ instead of ⁂, which was misunderstood, and that
_Ab_ has even ⁂⁂⁂.
4. A corrupt passage, like the next.
5. The corruption of the whole passage between [ ] will be best
understood on comparing it with the names of “the Rudders of Heaven” as
given in chapter 148; the earliest text of these names being (I think)
the fine tablet in _Denkm._ III, 25 bis _a_. _Three_ out of four of
these names are represented by the phrases here printed in italics. The
rest is incoherent and was certainly not understood by the copyists. I
have followed _Aa_ in my translation.
6. ‘_The Leathers_,’ ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂, leathern
thongs, or straps, like the Greek τροποί for fastening the oars,
Ἠρτύναντο δ’ ἐρετμὰ τροποῖς ἐν δερματίνοισι: _Odyss._ 4, 782.
See note of Scholiast and _cf._ Aesch. _Pers._, 376.
7. _Look out_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, _see_ chapter 15, note 9.
8. _Grounds._ ⁂⁂⁂ is, technically, the superficial land
measure corresponding to the _quarter_ of the Egyptian _arura_. The more
general sense of the word (⁂⁂⁂⁂) is land enclosed and
parted out for cultivation.
The very ancient magical text (Unas 302) speaks characterically of
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the Hippopotamus who maketh
his appearance at the garden (vineyard, field, &c. _Cf._ Psalm lxxx,
13).
In the great inscription published in Mariette’s _Denderah_, IV, 35,
⁂⁂⁂ is used, in a sense like that of the Ἀδώνιδος κῆποι, for
a stone vessel in which seeds were sown for ritual purposes.
9. _Tiller._ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _bait_, or (as it is also written)
_ȧbait_; see chapter 76, note 1.
10. _Merit._ ⁂⁂ (sometimes written with ⁂ and other
determinatives; Bekenranef adds ⁂) is the name of each of the two
divine sisters, Isis and Nephthys, _see_ chapter 37, note; who are
called ⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂. But, at Edfu, Denderah and Philae,
_Merit_ is a synonym of the _Ut’at_, and one of the names of Hathor.
11. _Shallow_; a conjectural meaning for ⁂⁂⁂, which has not
only the determinative of _land_, but those of water, ⁂ and ⁂.
And in some texts it would seem to mean _marsh_, _fen_, _swamp_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER C.
_The Book whereby the glorified one is made strong, and is made to
embark in the boat of Rā, together with those who are with the god._
Let me convey the divine Heron to the East, Osiris to Tattu. Let me open
the caverns of Hāpu,(1.) clear the path of the Solar Orb and tow along
Sekaru upon his sledge. Let the Great one give me strength at her fixed
hour.
I hail and give worship to the Orb, and associate myself with those in
adoration, I am one of them.
Let me be a second to Isis; and let her glorified ones give me strength.
Let me fasten my tackle, let me stop the adversary, and force him to
turn back his steps.
Let Rā lend me his two hands, let not his divine Boatmen prevent me. Let
my strength be that of the divine Eye, and conversely.
[As to the sundering of me in the Bark of Rā, let the sundering be as
that of the Egg and the Tortoise.(2.)]
_Said over the Figure in the Text, which is written upon clean paper,
with artist’s ink, fresh and mixed with essence of Ānta; let the dead
person have it put upon his body without inserting it into his limbs; he
will enter into the Bark of Rā at the round of each day, Thoth will
appreciate him, on his coming forth or entering, undeviatingly for times
infinite._
NOTES.
This chapter appears a second time in the Turin _Todtenbuch_ as chapter
129. But in the papyrus of Nebseni it is found no less than three times.
1. _Caverns_ of Hāpu. Two of the copies of this chapter in the papyrus
of Nebseni give the interesting variant ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. ⁂ is
the well known equivalent of ⁂⁂, and the fountains of the Nile
are also indicated by the group ⁂.
2. This passage does not occur in chapter 129, and is apparently an
interpolation, which however is already found in ancient copies.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CI.
_Chapter of the Safeguards of the Bark of Rā._
O thou who art devoid of moisture in coming forth from the stream; and
who restest upon the deck of thy Bark: as thou proceedest in the
direction of Yesterday, and restest upon the deck of thy Bark, let me
join thy boatmen.
I am a powerful Chu.
O Rā, in that thy name of Rā, since thou passest through an Eye of seven
cubits, whose pupil is of three: do thou then make me sound, I am a
powerful Chu, let thy soundness be my soundness.
O Rā, in that thy name of Rā, since thou passest through those who are
perishing headlong: do thou then keep me standing on my feet. I am a
powerful Chu, let thy soundness be my soundness.
O Rā, in that thy name of Rā, since thou openest the secrets of the
Ammehit, which gladdeneth the hearts of the Divine Circle: do thou then
give me my heart. I am a powerful Chu, let thy soundness be my
soundness, and the soundness of thy limbs be the soundness of my limbs.
_Secured by reason of the writing with gum mixed with colours upon a
strip of royal papyrus, put at the throat of the deceased on the day of
burial. If these phylacteries are put at his throat, he will rise up as
one of the Divine Circle, and be united to the followers of Horus,
whilst his Lamp is made firm by Isis in heaven beside Sothis. He
followeth Horus who resideth in Sothis.(1.) His Shade becometh divine as
well as human. Vegetation is made to grow out of his body through the
goddess Menkit.(2.) He becometh a god for ever, and his limbs are made
vigorous in the Netherworld through Thoth, who hath done the like to
Osiris, in causing the light to rise out of his dead body; undeviatingly
and for times infinite._
NOTES.
This chapter does not occur in the earlier collections known to us.
1. _Horus who resideth in Sothis_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂; _cf._
Teta, 277.
2. _Menkit_ is one of the names of Hathor, but the place is corrupt and
the true reading uncertain.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CII.
_Chapter whereby one entereth into the Bark of Rā._
O Great One in thy Bark, let me be lifted into thy Bark. Let me make
head for thy staircase. Let me have charge of those who convey thee, who
are attached to thee, who are of the Stars which never set.
That which I abominate, I eat not: and that which I abominate is Dirt,
let me not eat of it, but of peace offerings and of _Ka_-offerings, by
which I shall not be upset.
Let me not approach it with my hands, let me not tread upon it with my
sandals, because my bread is of the white corn and my beer of the red
corn of the Nile.
It is the Sektit boat and the Āātit which have brought me to the food
and raiment which are upon the altar of the Spirits of Annu.
Salutation to thee, Ur-ar-set, in that voyage of heaven and the disaster
in Tennu, when those dogs were gathered together, not without giving
voice.
I have come myself and delivered the god from that pain and suffering,
that was in trunk, in shoulder and in leg.
I have come and healed(1.) the trunk, and fastened the shoulder and made
firm the leg.
And I embark for the voyage of Rā.
NOTE.
1. _Healed._ Such is the meaning of ⁂⁂⁂, as in chapter 147,
17, and Unas 214, no less than in a passage which does not occur in the
most ancient texts of chapter 17, but which is found in the papyri and
is derived from the early traditions. Thoth healed the face of Horus.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CIII.
_Chapter whereby one openeth the place where Hathor abideth._
I am a pure follower. O Ahi; O Ahi;(1.) let me become one of the
followers of Hathor.
NOTE.
1. _Ahi_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the _Striker_ is one of the names
of Horus, who in the inscriptions of Benihassan is called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “Horus who striketh down men.” The
notion of striking was in later days confined to the beating of
the sistrum. Priestly persons bore the title of _Ahi_ as
representatives of the youthful Horus, son of Hathor. See _Proc.
Soc. Bibl. Arch._, XII, p. 460, on “The Sun-stroke in Egyptian.”
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CIV.
_Chapter whereby one sitteth in the midst of the great gods._
Let me sit in the midst of the great gods. Let me pass through the place
of the Sektit boat. It is the Bird-fly deity(1.) that shall convey me to
see the great gods who are in the Netherworld, and I shall be triumphant
in their presence.
NOTE.
1. _The Bird-fly deity_, Abait; _see_ chapter 76, note.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CV.
_Chapter whereby one propitiateth_(1.) _the Ka._
Hail to thee, my Ka, my coeval.(2.)
May I come to thee and be glorified and made manifest and ensouled, let
me have strength and soundness.
Let me bring to thee grains of incense wherewith I may purify myself and
may also purify thine own overflow.
The wrong assertions that I have uttered, and the wrong resistance which
I have offered: let them not be imputed to me.
For I am the green gem, fresh at the throat of Rā, given by those who
are at the Horizon: their freshness is my freshness [_said twice_], the
freshness of my Ka is like theirs, and the dainties of my Ka are like
theirs.
Thou who liftest the hand at the Balance, and raisest Law to the nose of
Rā in this day [of my Ka]: do not thou put my head away from me. For I
am the Eye which seeth and the Ear which heareth; and am I not the Bull
of the sacrificial herd, are not the mortuary gifts(3.) upon me and the
supernal powers [_otherwise said_: the powers above Nut].
Grant that I may pass by thee, and may purify myself and cause the
triumph of Osiris over his adversaries.(4.)
NOTES.
1. _Propitiate_, ⁂. The simple root ⁂ _ḥetep_ signifies, what is
implied by the ideographic sign ⁂, the _taking hold_, _embracing_,
and kindred notions (_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, Vol. X, p. 578). The
notion of appeasing an angry personage is no more necessarily involved
in the Egyptian word than in the Latin _propitiare_. M. Léfebure’s
translation, _réunir_, in the title of this chapter is perfectly correct
as far as it goes.
See in _Denkm._, III, pl. 34, b, the picture of Thothmes III being
greeted by his _ka_. Rameses II and other kings are often represented in
the act of supplicating their own _ka_.
2. _My coeval_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or, as some might prefer, my _duration
of life_.
The pictures in the temple of Luxor (_Denkm._, III, 74 and 75) are well
known which represent the birth of Amenophis III. The infant prince in
each of these pictures is accompanied by his _ka_, his exact image. The
_ka_ is nursed and suckled by the same goddesses.
But perhaps the best commentary on our text is to be found in the
picture recently published by the French Mission Archéologique (_Temple
de Luxor_, fig. 203), in which both the royal infant and his _ka_ are
being fashioned by the hand of Chnum, upon his potter’s wheel.
3. _Mortuary gifts_ ⁂⁂⁂, meals offered to the
departed. The meaning of the compound group is plain enough
from the determinatives, and such frequent forms as
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “consisting of bread and
beer,” but the origin of it is not so clear. The usual meaning of
⁂⁂ like that of the Coptic ϧⲣⲱⲟⲩ is _voice_, but in the present
group it stands for ⁂⁂⁂ corresponding to ϧⲣⲉ, plur. ϧⲣⲏⲟⲩⲓ,
τροφὴ, βρώματα, ἐδέσματα,, and ⁂ is to be understood as in the very
common formula ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The reading ⁂⁂⁂⁂ which is sometimes found in late texts
is faulty and leads to an erroneous interpretation. ⁂ is a mistake
either for ⁂ or for ⁂, the phonetic of ⁂.
In such passages of the Pyramid texts as
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Unas 36)
⁂ is a demonstrative not a negative particle, “Here is the mortuary
meal presented for thee, and _here_ are the two Eyes, the White and the
Black, of Horus.”
4. All the early MSS. except _Pd_ omit this last passage.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CVI.
_Chapter whereby a largess is presented at Hat-ka-Ptah._(1.)
Oh thou god of nutriment, oh great one who presidest over the mansions
on high; [to whom bread cometh from Annu] ye who give bread to Ptah
[from Annu], give me bread and beer: let me be made pure by the
sacrificial joint, together with the white bread.(2.)
Oh thou ship of the Garden of Aarru, let me be conveyed to that bread of
thy canal; as my father, the Great one, who advanceth in the Divine ship
[because I know thee].
NOTES.
This is one of the chapters found on the sarcophagus of Horhotep. It is
also inscribed on a statue, now in the Berlin Museum, belonging to the
early part of the XVIIIth dynasty (_Denkm._, III, 25 h and k). These
authorities do not give the title found in the papyri. The allusions to
Annu are confined to the earliest text, which somewhat differs from the
later authorities, and finishes sooner than they do. _Cf._ also _Teta_,
l. 331.
1. _Hat-ka-Ptah_ is the name of Memphis, but as in so many other places
it is not the earthly city which is meant. M. Naville has pointed out
that the words “in the Netherworld” are added in the papyrus of Nebseni.
2. Bread and beer are not mentioned in the earliest text, which has
other important variants. The latest texts have the verb ⁂⁂,
_wash_, _make clean_, _purify_, of which ⁂⁂⁂ on the Berlin
statue and the Theban papyri may fairly be considered an older form. But
Horhotep has ⁂⁂⁂, a different word and occurring in a
grammatical construction differing from that of the other texts.
The words ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ occur as a familiar formula in
the Pyramid texts (Unas, 185, 205; Teta, 91); but Horhotep interpolates
⁂⁂ after ⁂⁂⁂. The determinatives of the group
⁂⁂⁂ (sometimes ⁂ or ⁂), show that the copyist
understood the word as meant for the sacrificial joint.
It is not uninteresting to note, with reference to the correctness of
the title of this chapter, that the Pyramid ritual (Unas, 205) expressly
says of the deceased that “the sacrificial joint with the white bread”
are the “largess” (⁂⁂) which he receives.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXVII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER C.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre,
No. III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER C.
=Papyrus, Boulaq Museum, No. 21.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER C.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre,
No. III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CII.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre,
No. III, 36.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CIX.
ROSELLINI, “Mon. del Culto.,” pl. XXIII.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CII.
=Papyrus Brocklehurst, II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CVIII.
=Papyrus, Berlin Museum, No. II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CIX.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9900.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXVIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CX. =Papyrus, Leyden Museum.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CVII.
[The chapter so called consists, in fact, of the first two lines of
chapter 109. The vignette over it really belongs to chapter 108. It has
no separate existence in any of the papyri of the best periods.]
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CVIII.
_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of the West._
In respect of the Hill of Bachau(1.) upon which heaven resteth, it
presenteth itself(2.) three hundred cubits in length(3.) and two hundred
cubits in breadth.
Sebak, the Lord of Bachau, is at the east of the Hill, and his temple is
upon it.
There is a serpent on the brow of that hill, five hundred cubits in
length, three cubits of his forepart are pierced with swords.
I know the name of this serpent on his hill: “He who dwelleth in his own
flame” is his name.(4.)
Now, at the close of day(5.) he turneth down his eyes to Rā; for there
cometh a standing still in the Bark and a deep slumber within the ship.
And now he swalloweth three cubits of the Great Water.
Then Sutu is made to flee with a chain upon him of steel(6.) and he is
forced to vomit all that he hath swallowed. Then Sutu is put into his
prison.
_And then he saith with Words of Power_:--
Away with thee! Steel, which art made fast upon my hand. I remain in thy
prison, the Bark sails on and thou seest the path; but thine eyes close,
[thine eye is delivered to me], thy head is veiled,(7.) and I go on and
stay thy steps.
I am the Manful one, who veileth thy head and who cooleth the hollow of
thy hand: thy strength is my strength.
I am the Master of the Words of Power.
Who is this who hath been delivered to me?
This Bright One, who cometh on his belly, on his hind parts and on the
joints of his back.
Lo! then, I come, and thy might is in my hand. It is I who carry away
thy might, that I may come and seize upon the Tunnels of Rā who is
united to me at sunset as he goeth round heaven.(8.)
But thou art pierced with hooks, as was decreed against thee of old.
I know the powers of the West, they are Tmu, Sebak the Lord of Bachau,
and Hathor, Mistress of Sunset.
NOTES.
The chapters 108, 109, 112, 113, and 114 being so analogous to each
other, in form, matter, style, and composition, and each being concerned
with the divine _Powers_ ⁂ of some locality, it is interesting to
know that one at least of these chapters is found on a monument of the
Middle Empire. The others are probably not less ancient, and the text
published by Dr. Golenischef (_Zeitschr. f. Aegypt. Spr._, 1874, p. 84)
from the Sarcophagus at St. Petersburg already bears manifest signs of
antiquity.
Another sign of antiquity as regards the present chapter may be seen in
the numerous forms in which it has come down to us. These are so
different, and sometimes so irreconcileable, that it seems evident that
tradition has handed down very corrupt texts, and that the original
meaning of this chapter had been entirely lost at a very early date and
cannot be discovered now. The oldest text is the shortest of all, but it
is both imperfect and incorrect. The earliest papyri differ greatly from
the later ones. But both the earlier and the later papyri have the 149th
chapter which contains another recension of the 108th, and chapter 111
in the Turin and later papyri is another form of it.
1. The Hill of _Bachau_. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ has for
determinative the sign ⁂ which connects the word with the Coptic
ⲃⲟⲩϩⲓ ‘eyelids.’ In the later texts the word has for determinative
either a _woman_ or a _cow_ in the act of parturition, as if it were
connected with ⁂⁂⁂ and its variants, with which
⁂⁂⁂⁂ another name of the Dawn is identified.
2. _Presenteth itself_, ⁂⁂. This Egyptian verb is always
expressive of activity, and perhaps ought never to be translated
_being_. ⁂ are ‘things which are,’ but ⁂⁂ are ‘things which
spring forth’ ‘come to light.’
3. The oldest text (which is here the best authority) does not give the
dimensions of the hill, but only of the serpent. The earliest papyri
give the dimensions of both, but make the hill so absurdly small that
the serpent could not rest upon it. Later papyri beginning with _Pf_
have corrected the texts so as to give the hill a length of 300 cubits,
or ⁂ (each of which is 100 cubits long). They omit the statement
that the cubit in question is of 7½ palms (the Royal cubit being of 7
palms), and also the interesting mention of the ⁂⁂⁂ “balance
(or measurement) of the earth.” The relation of this ‘balance’ to the
rest of the sentence is not clear, because the MSS. differ as to the
preposition which precedes.
The Papyrus of Nebseni gives the hill 300 cubits in breadth. The
_Todtenbuch_ of Turin reads 370 ⁂ in length, and 140 cubits in
breadth.
4. The serpent’s name is not mentioned in chapter 111, nor is it in the
earliest text. But in chapter 149 the usual name is ⁂⁂⁂, more
fully written ⁂⁂ in the Papyrus of Nebseni. The determinative
⁂ commonly attached to the name of Âpepi, expresses the meaning
‘sword smitten,’ ‘shot with swords,’ ξιφόκτονος. We might otherwise have
understood the term in the sense of ξιφοκτόνος, ‘slayer with swords.’
The Papyrus of Sutimes _Pd_ calls the serpent ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
‘knife-wounded.’
The proper name ⁂⁂⁂⁂, also written ⁂⁂⁂,
_Māṭes_, an epithet of Âpepi, or of Sutu, also means “pierced with
swords.” But the expression itself seems sometimes to be found in the
active sense, “piercing like a sword.”
5. _Close of Day_, when daylight has come to ‘a _stand_’ ⁂⁂⁂.
This is the reading of the papyri. The oldest reading is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘at the time of sunset.’
6. The earliest text says nothing of this, though it mentions the
“prison of Sutech,” in a passage corresponding to what the papyri
include in the ‘Words of Power’ which follow. The Turin _Todtenbuch_
says that, “Sutu is put into his prison, and that a chain of steel is
put upon his neck.” Pictures of the serpent with the chain upon him will
be found in Bonomi, _Sarcoph._, plates 10 and 11.[93] There is an
evident fusion in this chapter, in its later form at least, as in
chapter 39, of the personages of Sutu and Âpepi.
7. _Thy head is veiled._ The ‘veiling of the head,’ and ‘closing of the
eyes’ of the sun are of course mythological terms for night time. But
the mythological event was celebrated on the festival called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
8. Chapter 111 stops at the word “Sunset.” And after this, the text in
chapter 149 changes the third to the first person, and reads: “But I go
round the heaven whilst thou art pierced with hooks,” as if Rā were
replying to the words of Sutu. This, I confess, appears to me to offer a
better sense than that of chapter 108. And I should now alter the word
“stabber” in the first line of chapter 39 to “pierced with hooks.”
-----
Footnote 93:
On this picture (plate 11) may also be seen an interesting
illustration of chapter 39; the scorpion goddess putting the chain
upon Âpepi, in front of whom are the divinities to execute, with
swords and hooks, the decree passed against him. The children of Horus
are also seen occupied in the execution.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CIX.
_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of the East._
I know that Eastern Gate of Heaven (the South of it is by the lake of
Cha-ru, and the north of it by the stream of Reu), from whence Rā
saileth with favouring gales.(1.)
I am the Teller(2.) in the divine ship: I am the unresting navigator in
the Bark of Rā.
I know those two Sycomores of Emerald between which Rā cometh forth, as
he advanceth over what Shu hath lifted up,[94] to every gate(3.) through
which he proceedeth.
I know the Garden of Aarru: the wall of it is of steel. The wheat of it
is of 7 cubits, the ears of it of 2 cubits, the stalk of it of 4 cubits.
The barley of it is of 7 cubits, and the ears are of 4 cubits, and the
stalk of 3 cubits.
It is the glorified ones, each of whom is 9 cubits in height, who reap
them, in presence of the Powers of the East.
I know the Powers of the East: Horus of the Solar Mount, the Calf in
presence of the God,(4.) and the Star of Dawn.
A divine Domain(5.) hath been constructed for me; I know the name of it;
the name of it is the garden of Aarru.
NOTES.
Another recension of this chapter has been incorporated into chapter
149. The differences lie chiefly in the order assigned to each of the
component sentences.
1. _Favouring gales_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “_sailing breezes_,”
correspond to phrases like ἴκμενος οὖρος, venti secundi, trade winds,
tail wind, stern wind. There is not the faintest authority from the
older papyri (which are very numerous, and remarkably unanimous on this
point) in favour of the determinative ⁂, of the Turin _Todtenbuch_,
which gives the sense of violent or tempestuous winds.
2. _Teller_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
3. _Every gate._ “Rā at his rising is adored by the Powers of the East.
They it is who effect the rising of Rā, by opening the door at each of
the four portals of the Eastern horizon of heaven.” (Inscr. in tomb of
Rameses VI, Champollion, _Notices_, Tom. II, p. 640.)
4. _The Calf in presence of the god._ The _Calf_ is seen in the
vignettes of this chapter and also of chapter 1. Brugsch (_Rev.
Egypt_, I, p. 38) quotes texts showing that the Milch-cow
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Hor-sechauit_, is the mother of the
Sun-god, and that the infant god is the calf to whom she gives birth.
The words “in presence of the god” are probably corrupt, but the
variants are apparently worse. The Morning Star was equally identified
with Horus.
5. _The divine Domain._ See M. Maspero’s important article “Sur le sens
des mots Nouit et Hait,” in _P.S.B.A._, XII, p. 235-257. “⁂ NOUIT
sert à désigner un domaine rural d’étendue plus ou moins considérable,
portant ou ne portant pas de village ou de maison d’habitation.... Il
était une personne réelle, formant un corps complet en soi, et c’est
pour cela qu’on le représente sous la forme d’un homme ou d’une femme
apportant des produits agricoles et des offrandes.”
ADDITIONAL NOTE.
The later copies of the Book of the Dead add a few lines to the chapter,
of which they certainly formed no part when first written. The most
interesting portion of them is as follows:--
“There are writings in thy possession for the grant of fields of
corn-land in which there sprouteth corn from the effluxes of the god
Ut’eb. The height of the corn is seven cubits, the ears of two cubits;
and thou shall reap it with the Glorified ones, in presence of the
Powers of the East. Thou shalt enter boldly at the mysterious portals
and be purified by those who are there.”
The name of the god hieroglyphically written ⁂⁂ was shown by me
(_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, Vol. VI, p. 187) to be _Uteb_ or _Ut’eb_.
Brugsch, apparently without having seen my note, came to the same
result, though he identified the god with Seb. The god is really Osiris,
and the text just quoted is illustrated by a picture of which various
copies are found. That here given is taken from the temple of Philae.
These pictures were known from the Ramesside period, but the
conception of Osiris which they convey ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
(_Todt._, 142, 7) is of primitive antiquity. There is a chapter among
the texts preserved by the Coffin of Amamu (pl. xxvii, 6) about
“assuming the form of corn,” ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, and which
speaks of “the vegetation of life proceeding from Osiris, growing out
of the ribs of Osiris, and giving life to this generation of men,”
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The same idea gave rise to the name ⁂⁂⁂⁂ which is given to
Osiris in the Book of the Dead, in the sacred texts of the Royal Tombs,
and in the Hymn to the Nile. But the god is also twice called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in Amamu, pl. xxvii, 8. This latter form
proves that in ⁂⁂⁂⁂ we have a compound term.
The deity (in very late times) appears in the feminine gender
⁂⁂⁂ (_Denkm._, iv, 57).
------------------------------------
CX. The Chapter which in the printed copy of the Turin _Todtenbuch_ is
numbered 110 interrupts the series of chapters on the Powers of certain
localities. The translation of it is reserved till that of these
chapters is completed. It will be found at page 193.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXI.
is only a repetition of Chapter CVIII.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXIX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CX. =Bas Relief, Leyden Museum.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXII.
=MARIETTE,
“Abydos,” I, p. 83.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXII.
=MARIETTE,
“Abydos,” I, pl. 39.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXII.
=MARIETTE,
“Abydos,” I, p. 82.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXII.
MARIETTE, “Abydos,” I, pl. 10.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXIII.
MARIETTE, “Abydos,” I, pl. 29.
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXII.
=Papyrus, British Museum,
No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXIII.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9964.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTERS CXII AND CXIII.
MARIETTE, “Abydos,” I, pl. 31.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXII.
_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of Pu._[(1.)]
Oh thou of corpselike form who art in Chait and Ânpit;(2.) thou goddess
of the Net,(3.) who art in Pu; ye who preside over the untilled lands,
ye stars and constellations(4.).... Know ye wherefore Pu hath been given
to Horus?
I know it if ye know it not.
It was Râ who gave it to him in amends of the blindness in his eye, in
consequence of what Râ said to Horus: “Let me look at what is happening
in thine eye to-day,” and he looked at it.
Râ said to Horus, “Look, pray, at that black swine.”
He looked, and a grievous mishap afflicted his eye.
Horus said to Râ, “Lo, my eye is as though the eye of Sutu had made a
wound in my own eye.” And wrath devoured his heart.
And Râ said to the gods, “Let him be laid upon his bed, that he may
recover.”
It was Sutu who had taken the form of a black swine, and he wrought the
wound which was in the eye of Horus.
And Râ said to the gods, “The swine is an abomination to Horus; may he
get well.” And the swine became an abomination to Horus.(5.)
And the circle of gods said, who were with him when Horus came to light
in his own children:(6.) “Let the sacrificial victims(7.) for him be of
his oxen, of his goats, and of his swine.”
As for Emsta, Hapi, Tuamautef, Kebhsenuf, Horus is their father and Isis
their mother.
And Horus said to Râ, “Give me then two(8.) brothers in Pu and two
brothers in Nechen, of this my own body; and that they may be with me as
an everlasting renewal, through which the earth flourisheth and storms
are quenched.”
And his name became that of Horus upon his Column.
I know the Powers of Pu: they are Horus, Emsta and Hapi.
NOTES.
1. On the situation of _Pu_, see chapter 18, note 6. The Pyramid Texts
(Pepi I, 684) speak of the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “those of the
Red Crown who are in Pu.”
2. _Thou of corpselike form in Chait and Ânpit._ The sign of the plural,
here as elsewhere, is quite consistent with its application to a single
person. ⁂⁂ _Chait_ is the name[95] of the 16th, or Mendesian,
Nome of Northern Egypt, and Ânpit was its metropolis. The nome is
mentioned in the inscription of Amten in the third dynasty. The god is
Osiris. He is invoked in the “Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys,” and
asked to come to Tattu, Ânpit and Chait, which are but different names
of one Sanctuary, _Cf._ Brugsch, _Zeitschr._, 1871, p. 81, and his
translation of the Mendesian Tablet, _Zeitschr._, 1875.
3. _Thou goddess of the Net_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. This name
corresponds to the Greek Diktynna. The reason why a goddess representing
Heaven should be so called may be understood by the Homeric epithet
πολυωπόν applied to a net.
If, however, the deity was _male_, according to the other reading, the
reference is τὸν τῆς Ἴσιδος τρόφιμον Δίκτυν, who was drowned in the
river. Plut., _de Iside and Os._, 8.
4. _Ye who preside_, etc. Brugsch (_Zeitschr._, 1876, p. 3) identifies
the Egyptian ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ with the ψιλοτόπος of the
Demotic and Greek contracts. The remainder of this invocation is so
corrupt that the sense cannot be safely guessed at.
5. See Herodotus, II, 47, without attaching too much importance to
details. The pig was certainly not considered impure (μιαρός) in the
days of the third or fourth dynasty, when Amten, who had risen to the
highest dignities, enumerates swine among the domestic animals it is
natural to possess. And impure animals were not offered in sacrifice.
But long before the days of Herodotus a change had taken place in the
Egyptian religion as to the nature of Sutu.
Plutarch and Aelian are to be read with the like caution. Some of their
information is correct, but it is mixed up with much error.
6. The variants ⁂⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ are
noteworthy.
7. _Sacrificial victims_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The substitution in Egypt
of animal for human sacrifice is (I believe) _entirely_ without
foundation. And the supposed evidence of human sacrifices drawn from
certain pictures has (I believe) been misinterpreted..
8. The four _children_ of Horus were also his _brothers_. He asks for
_two_ of them to be with him in each of his two cities, Pu and Nechen.
The true sense of the passage is entirely lost in the later recensions
and in translations made from them.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXIII.
_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of Nechen._(1.)
I know the Mystery of Nechen: Horus, and that which his mother did(2.)
for him, when she herself uttered the cry: “Let Sebak, the Lord of the
Marshes, be brought to us.”
He cast the net for them and he found them, and his mother made them
fast in their places.
Sebak, the Lord of the Marshes, said: “I sought and I found the traces
of them under my fingers on the strand. I netted them in a powerful net,
as the net proved to be.”
And Râ said: “Verily, those are fishes in the hands of Sebak. and he
hath found the two arms of Horus for him, which had become fishes.”(3.)
And Râ said: “A mystery, a mystery, in the Net.”
And the hands of Horus were brought to him, and displayed before his
face, on the feast of the fifteenth day of the month; when the fishes
were produced.
Then Râ said: “I grant Nechen to Horus, in the place of his two arms;
that his two hands be displayed before his face in Nechen; and I grant
to him whatsoever is therein comprised on the feast of the fifteenth day
of the month.”
And Horus said: “Be it granted to me that Tuamāutef and Kebhsenuf be
taken with me, and that they be guards of my body in dutiful
service.(4.) Let them be this under the god of Nechen.”
And Râ said: Be that granted to thee, there and in Sati, and let that be
done for them which is done for those who are in Nechen; yea, they are
asking to be with thee.
And Horus said: Be they with thee, so that they be with me to listen to
Sutu invoking the Powers of Nechen: “Be it granted to me that I may make
my entry among the Powers of Nechen.”
I know the Powers of Nechen: they are Horus, Tuamāutef, and Kebhsenuf.
NOTES.
1. _Nechen_, the chief hieroglyphic variants of which are ⁂, ⁂,
⁂ and ⁂⁂, was situated in the third nome (⁂ _Ten_) of
Upper Egypt, and was called by the Greeks Hieracōnpolis, ‘city of the
Hawks,’ from the hawk-headed divinities mentioned in this chapter as
Powers of Nechen, and of which numberless pictures are found on the
monuments.
2. Between these words and those which the three old papyri[96] _Aa_,
_Ae_, and _Ib_, which unfortunately do not agree together on all points,
have a few passages here which do not appear in the later papyri. They
read, “Horus and what his mother did, tossing in distressful agitation
(⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⲕⲓⲙ, σαλεύεσθαι) over the water.” The mother then
addresses persons who are not named, in words of which the sense is not
clear; and Rā speaks words of which the only certain ones are “the son
of Isis.” Then follows the usual text.
3. This legend of Nechen is connected with that of the dismemberment of
Horus (τὸ περὶ τὸν Ὥρου διαμελισμὸν), of which we have but very scanty
information.[97] It must have been like a repetition of what had
happened to his father Osiris. The limbs of Horus had been thrown into
the water, and when Sebak threw his net, at the prayer of Isis, he
brought up two fishes, into which the arms of Horus had been turned.
Reminiscences of this story are preserved in the names of several
localities. ⁂, “Two Fish,” is the name of the _Mer_ of the second
Northern Nome, and of the _pehu_ of the seventeenth Southern Nome; just
as ⁂, “Two Eyes,” is the name of the _pehu_ of the eleventh Northern
Nome. The latter name may perhaps have reference to Osiris, but the same
stories were probably told of both divinities.
4. _On dutiful service_ ⁂⁂⁂, a word omitted in the Turin and
other texts. Brugsch (_Rev. Egypt_, I, 22) has discussed the sense of
this word, and quoted numerous passages in illustration of it.
It is of course ridiculous to identify the word with the Hebrew אדן the
meaning of which is radically different.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXIV.
=Papyrus, British
Museum, No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXIX.
=Papyrus, Leyden Museum, No. V.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXVI. =Papyrus,
Musée du Louvre, No. III, 36.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CVII. =Papyrus,
British Museum, No. 9933.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXIII. =Papyrus,
British Museum, No. 9903.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXVII. =Papyrus,
British Museum, No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXIX.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre.
Cab. des Médailles.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXIV.
_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of Hermopolis._
Maāt is borne(1.) over the Arm,(2.) and Neith dawneth at Ment’ait,(3.)
and the Eye is illumined(4.) by the one who adjusteth its level.
I am led in by her, and I know what she bringeth from Kasu.(5.) I tell
it not to men; I repeat it not to gods.
I am come as a messenger of Rā, to make fast Maāt upon the Arm, for the
dawning of Neith at Ment’ait, and for restoring the Eye to him who
taketh the reckoning thereof.
I am come as omnipotent through the knowledge of the Powers of
Hermopolis, who love the Powers which you love.
I am one acquainted with Maāt made firm and permanent and reckoned out,
and I take delight in reckoning out that which is reckoned.
Hail ye Powers of Hermopolis, small at the beginning of the month and
great upon the Fifteenth Day; Rā teacheth the mysteries of Night, and be
it known to you that he who teacheth me is Thoth.
Hail ye Powers of Hermopolis as I know you.
NOTES.
There are two chapters (114 and 116) of “the Powers of Hermopolis,” and
they have been preserved separately both in the older and in the more
recent papyri. They are very similar in thought but differently worded,
and each throws a certain light upon the other, without however
dispelling the obscurity of this very ancient religious composition.
Some farther help, however insufficient, is afforded by the pictures of
the Book which records the passage of the Sun-god through the twelve
hours of the night.
1. _Maāt is borne._ ⁂⁂ is the same word as ⁂⁂⁂, the
reduplicated form of ⁂⁂ _to gush_, _spring forth_. But in certain
cases it acquires the sense of _being borne_, or _conveyed_, and is
written ⁂⁂⁂ in Ptolemaic inscriptions. The corresponding word
in chapter 116 is ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which has the same meanings. One
of the pictures above alluded to (Lefébure, _Hypogées, Tombeau de Seti_,
part IV, pl. 31) represents a boat carrying the Moon-disk, raised upon a
stand.
A personage kneeling behind is supporting the feather of Maāt. The words
⁂⁂⁂, which are written by way of explanation, might give
rise to some misunderstanding were it not for considerations mentioned
in the following note.
2. _The Arm_ ⁂ in chapter 114 has for corresponding word
⁂⁂⁂⁂ in chapter 116 implying that _Arm_ is to be taken in
a geographical sense, as when we speak of an ‘arm of the sea’. Now the
pictures which have been spoken of have the words ⁂⁂⁂, ‘arm of
the Urnes,’ inscribed ever the stream down which the Sun-god takes his
nightly journey.
These pictures have only the value of a commentary on a very ancient
text, but they are at least as old as the earliest papyrus which
contains the text.
3. _Ment’ait_ ⁂⁂⁂, is the ancient reading in chapter 114, but
the later texts have ⁂⁂, _T’ar_. Chapter 116 has
⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Mat’ait_.
4. _Illumined._ The texts are discordant as to the reading. I follow
that of the two old papyri which have ⁂; though this orthography,
however defensible, is somewhat suspicious.
5. _Kasu._ ⁂⁂⁂, the ‘Burial Place,’ was the metropolis
of the 14th Nome of Southern Egypt. Dendera is called
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ and in more ordinary characters
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Like very many other
geographical names, it has the feminine form in ⁂, as well as
the masculine in ⁂.
-----
Footnote 94:
_I.e._, the Sky.
Footnote 95:
Not _Ḥāmeḥit_, which is the name both of the _Uu_ of the nome and of
the goddess worshipped in it, whose emblem is the fish ⁂.
Footnote 96:
There is a copy of the chapter in the tomb of Chā-em-hait, which is
our oldest authority. But it is unfortunately mutilated, and all that
can be said is, that if the additional words were once there, they
have been destroyed.
Footnote 97:
The Apis tablets (_Zeitschr._, 1882, p. 22) give the name of a place
_Pa-ḳerḳ-en Ḥor_, which seems to refer to this catastrophe; the Coptic
ⲕⲟⲣϫ, ⲕⲱⲣϫ corresponding to the Greek ἐκκόπτειν, ἐκκλὰν, κατασπᾶσθαι.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXV.
_Chapter whereby one cometh forth into Heaven, and openeth the Ammehit:
and whereby the Powers of Heliopolis are known._
I have grown from yesterday, a Great one among the Great. I have raised
myself above all things that come into being.
The Face is revealed to the Eye of the Only One, and the round of
darkness is broken through. I am one of you.
I know the Powers of Heliopolis. Doth not the All-powerful One(1.) issue
from it like one who extendeth a hand to us?
It is with reference to me that the gods say: Lo, the afflicted one is
heir of Heliopolis!
I know on what occasion the Lock of the Male child(2.) was made.
Rā was speaking with Amhauf,(3.) and a blindness came upon him.
Rā said to Amhauf: Take the spear, oh offspring of Men.(4.) And Amhauf
said: The spear is taken.
Two brethren came into being: they were Heb-rā and Sotemanes, whose arm
resteth not; and he assumed the form of a female with a lock, which
became the Lock in Heliopolis.
Active and powerful is the heir of the temple; the Active one of
Heliopolis. The flesh of his flesh(5.) is the All-seer, for he hath the
might divine as the Son whom the Father hath begotten. And his will is
that of the Mighty one of Heliopolis.
I know the Powers of Heliopolis; they are Rā, Shu and Tefnut.
NOTES.
The ancient text of this chapter has most unfortunately been lost. A few
words only remain in the fragments of Papyrus _Pm_. M. Naville has also
published what is found on an ostracon of the time of the XVIIIth
dynasty. There is no doubt that the form of the text which has been
handed down in the later papyri has suffered great alterations. And a
comparison between the Turin and Cadet papyri shows in how untrustworthy
a way this later form of the text has been transmitted.
Special attention has been given to this chapter by Mr. Goodwin
(_Zeitschr._, 1873, p. 104), and by M. Lefébure (_Mélanges D’Arch._,
1874, p. 155), whose work is very much more valuable than that of his
English colleague. But the most important study bearing on the relations
between the older and the more recent recension is that of M. Naville,
‘Un ostrakon égyptien,’ in the first volume of the _Annales du Musée
Guimet_.
1. _All powerful One_, ⁂⁂. M. Naville observes that this is
substituted for ⁂⁂, which is found on the ostrakon. Both terms are
divine names; the latter corresponding to the Greek πολυδερκής or
πανδερκής, was the title of the high priest of Heliopolis, who, like his
priestly colleagues all over Egypt, bore the titles of the god whom they
represented.
2. _The Lock of the Male child_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, is not a
‘curly wigged woman,’ as generally interpreted, but the side lock borne
by Horus, and princes and princesses, as well as by other priests and
priestesses, in honour of Horus.
3. _Amhauf._ See emendation proposed _infra_ at chapter 125, note 33.
4. _O offspring._ I follow the Papyrus Luyne in omitting the preposition
⁂.
5. _The flesh of his flesh_, or the _heir of his heir_. This may perhaps
be an assertion as to the hereditary succession of the high priest of
Heliopolis.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXVI.
_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Power of Hermopolis._
Neith dawneth forth in Mat’at, and Maāt is conveyed upon the Arm of the
Eater of the Eye by him who reckoneth it out.
I know it, and I am therefore led in through the Sem priest.
I tell it not to men, I repeat it not to the gods (and conversely).
I enter as one who knoweth not, and seeth not.
Hail, ye gods who are in Hermopolis. Know ye me as I know Neith, that
the Eye may be made firm and permanent. I take delight in reckoning out
that which is reckoned.
I know the Powers of Hermopolis who are great at the beginning of the
month, and diminished at the fifteenth day.
They are Thoth the Unseen, Sau and Tmu.
_If this chapter be known, filth is avoided, and lye is not drunken._
NOTE.
This is the last of the chapters concerning the Powers of certain
places. Of their positive antiquity there can be no doubt, whatever
alterations they may have undergone. But they are relatively modern with
respect to other chapters, _e.g_, the 17th. Mr. Goodwin used to compare
them with Christian legends of the mediæval period. These are ancient
enough as far as we ourselves are concerned, but no one would think of
judging by them of primitive Christianity.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CX.
_The Beginning of the Chapters of the Garden of Hotepit, and of the
Chapters of coming forth by day; and of entering and coming forth in
the Netherworld, and of arriving at the Garden of Aarru, at the
Rise(1.) in Hotepit and at the Grand Domain, blest with the breezes:
that I may take possession there and be in Glory there: that there I
may plough and mow: that there I may eat and drink and love: doing
whatsoever things are done upon earth._
Horus is seized by Sutu: who looketh as one turning(2.) towards the
Garden of Hotepit.
But for me Sutu releaseth Horus: and the double path which is nigh to
Heaven is thrown open by Sutu. And Sutu taketh his portion of the breeze
through the Power of his own day,(3.) and he delivereth the bowels of
Horus from the gods below.
Lo, I sail the great Bark on the Stream of the god Hotep. I took it at
the mansion of Shu.
The mansion of his stars is again and again renewed.(4.) I sail upon its
streams that I may come to the domains thereof.
For I am in unison with his successive changes and his rules, and his
papyrus,(5.) and his attendant gods, and his chieftains. He reconcileth
the two Warrior gods with those who have the charge of food and the
beautiful creation which he raiseth up; and he reconcileth the two
Warrior gods with each other.(6.)
He severeth the mourners from those who quarrel with them: he putteth a
stop to them whose hand is violent against those weaker than themselves:
he keepeth within bounds the contentions of the Powers.
May I have possession there.
I know it, and I sail upon its streams that I may come to the domains
thereof.
My mouth is potent and secured against the Glorified that they may not
have the mastery of me.
May I have the investiture of thy Garden, O Hotep. What thou willest, do
thou it.
Let me be glorified there, and eat and drink there, and plough there,
and reap there, and grind(7.) there, and have my fill of love there.
May my mouth be potent there, let me there utter my Words of Power and
not be slighted.
* * * * * * *
I am in possession of that Word of Power of mine which is the most
potent one within this body of mine here: and by means of it I make
myself either known or unknown.
I make my progress and I plough.
I take my rest in the divine Domain.
I know the names of the domains, the districts and the streams within
the Garden of Hotep.
I am there, I am master there, I am in glory there, I eat there; I plant
and I reap there; I plough there, and I take my fill of love. I am
united there with the god Hotep.
I cast my seed there, and I sail upon its stream that I may come to the
domains thereof, O Hotep.
Lo, my mouth is armed with sharp points. There is given to me the
abundance which belongeth to the Ka and to the Glorified.
I give the reckoning of Shu to him who understandeth it.
I sail upon its stream, and I range within the Garden of Hotep, for Rā
is in the sky, and Hotep is putting together the oblations.
I hasten to the land, and I fasten my stole upon me, that I may come
forth, and that that may be given to me which hath to be given; that I
may have joy and take possession of the wealth which Hotep assigneth to
me.
=Rise in Hotep=, I arrive in thee, my soul is with me, and my provision
is before the Mistress of the Two Earths, who maketh fast my Words of
Power, which recall to mind that which I have forgotten. Let me live
free from strife; and be there granted to me enlargement of heart.
Let my arteries be made fast, and let me have the enjoyment of the
Breeze.(8.)
Rise in Hotep, blest with the Breeze, I arrive in thee, my head is
uncovered: Rā sleepeth, but there waketh for me, and there shineth upon
me Hesit [the Cow-goddess](9.) who lieth at the confines of Heaven by
night.
He standeth in my way who heapeth against me his own dross.
But I am in my own domain.
=Great Domain=, I arrive in thee and I reckon up the abundance as I pass
on to Uach.(10.)
I am the Bull, raised on high in the Blue; the lord of the Bull’s field;
which Sothis describeth to me at her successive hours.
=Uach=, I arrive in thee, and I eat my cakes, and take possession of my
joints of flesh and meat and fowl.
The winged things of Shu are given to me, and my Kau follow me.(11.)
=T’efait=,(12.) I arrive in thee, I put on the stole and fasten upon me
the girdle of Rā, whilst he is in heaven,(13.) and the gods who are in
heaven are following Rā.
=Rise in Hotep, Lord of the Two Earths=, I arrive in thee: I salute the
stream of _T’eserit_.(14.) Lo, here am I, and all impurity is far from
me. The great one flourisheth ... I net the ducks, and I eat dainties.
=Kankanit=,(15.) I arrive in thee; that I may see my father and
attentively view my mother.
I take care to net the reptiles; and that which protecteth me is that I
know the name of that god who is next to T’eserit (goddess with flowing
locks and armed with horns), and who reapeth.
I myself plough and reap.
=Hesit=, I arrive in thee, and I encounter the Blue.
I follow the Breezes, and the company of the gods.
It is the Great goddess who hath given me my head, and he who fasteneth
my head upon me is the Great god, the Blue-eyed, who doeth according to
his own will.
=Userit=,(16.) I arrive in thee, in face of the mansion where food is
produced for me.
=Smait=,(17.) I arrive in thee. My heart is awake: my head is provided
with the White crown and I am conveyed over the heavens: and I make
those things to prosper which are below me: a joy to the Bull of the
gods above, the divine company.
I am the Bull, the Lord of the gods; and I make my way through the midst
of the Emerald ones.(18.)
=Isle of Corn and Barley=, divine district, I arrive in thee. I
encounter and I bear off that which proceedeth from the head of Rā: the
pair of horns which have the force of purification.(19.)
I make myself fast to the Block of Moorage on the heavenly stream, and I
utter my praise to the gods who are in the Garden of Hotepit.
NOTES.
The text of this chapter handed down by the Turin papyrus and those
which agree with it contains nothing very difficult for a translator,
but on being compared with the older copies it is found to consist of a
collection of small fragments of the older text put together without any
regard to their original order or context. And about three-quarters of
the old chapter are suppressed in the new recension.
The editors of the fine papyrus of Sutimes in their notes upon this
chapter remark, that in the Turin text the sentences are in quite a
different order from that of their papyrus, “On peut y voir,” they say,
“l’effet de lectures et de transcriptions en rebours du sens, par des
scribes ayant mal compris les éditions en colonnes rétrogrades.”
This is, curiously enough, the very fault of the papyrus of Sutimes
itself, which is here wrong from beginning to end,[98] though probably
derived from an excellent original. It begins with the “Isle of Corn and
Barley,” and jumbles together quite incoherent sentences.
The oldest copy of the chapter yet discovered is that of the Tomb of
Chā-em-hait, at Thebes, and by a strange fatality it has been published
in such a form that in order to read it correctly, we must begin with
what is printed as line 11 and finish with line 1. We have it also in a
very incomplete condition. We miss the first eighteen lines contained in
the papyrus of Nebseni and the last words of every line.
The papyrus of Nebseni is the only complete text we have, and here as
well as elsewhere it is extremely incorrect. Some parts are so corrupt
that a translation must necessarily be dependent upon conjectural
emendations which can have no genuine claim upon the reader’s
confidence. We must be content with waiting till better authorities are
discovered.
The Gardens of Hotepit and Aarru are the Paradise, Elysian Fields and
Islands of the Blessed of the Egyptian imagination.[99] They were
supposed to be situated in the neighbourhood of the rising Sun, but
certain features were apparently suggested by the islets of the Delta.
The usual meaning of the word _Ḥotepit_, ⁂⁂,[100] when written
according to the orthography of the Pyramid Texts, is _oblations_,
_offerings_. This, however, is only a derived meaning. The word really
only expresses a _predicate_ of the things offered, as _putting
together_, _uniting_, _reconciling_; ⁂ _Ḥotep_ might signify _Rest_,
or _Peace_; very appropriate names for such a garden. ⁂⁂ is the
name of a god who dwells here.[101] There is also a goddess here called
_Ḥotepit_ ⁂⁂⁂, mentioned in the Pyramid inscription of Pepi I
(line 423), as mother of the great Scarab: and the same name is given to
Hathor in the temple of Dendera. The name of Ḥotep (with different
determinatives[102]) belongs to one of the islands of this blissful
place.
The Pyramid Texts furnish some interesting information not contained in
the Book of the Dead. We are told that the approach to the Garden is
over the Lake of Putrata (see chapter 40, note 1), that there is a great
lake (? that of Konsit) in the middle of the Garden of Ḥotepit, upon
which the great gods alight, and that the _Achmiu Sekiu_, the starry
deities who never set, there feed the departed from the _wood of life_
(⁂⁂⁂⁂ _lignum vitæ_) “upon which they themselves live, in
order that he too may live.” Shu and Tefnut are mentioned as divinities
of this place. But perhaps the most remarkable fact is that Horus had
enemies even here, who, however, were annihilated by the divine weapons
at the disposal of the departed worthy, who was led there in order that
“he might sit among the stars in heaven.”
And here it was that the beatified personage sat upon his throne of
steel, which was decorated in front with faces of the lion-god
⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Maaḥes_, the feet of it being the hoofs of the great
Bull _Sma-urà_, and extended his hand to the coming generation of men
(the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂), whilst the gods approached him in
submissive attitude, and made offerings to him. It was, perhaps, from
these offerings that the Garden derived its name.
The Garden of Aarru, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is often mentioned
in connection with that of Ḥotepit, and may perhaps be considered as the
most notable part of it. It is through its Gate that the Sun-god rises
up into Heaven.
It takes its name from a plant ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧarru_ (later,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, B.M. 551; ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Ag_,
Chapter 17; ⁂⁂⁂⁂,[103] _Ba_, Chapter 110, by phonetic
dissimilation of _rr_ into _nr_). The usual form in later times is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, but we find even shorter forms in ⁂⁂,
B.M. 32, and ⁂⁂⁂. The determinative ⁂ of a reptile,
indicates a _creeping_, _climbing_, _twining_ plant, such as the
convolvulus, hop, or vine.[104]
The term ‘Garden’ implies in this connection nothing more than a
cultivated enclosure.
The names of different localities which are invoked by the deceased and
appear on the vignette of the chapter, have here been made prominent by
means of heavy type.
1. _Rise in Hotepit_, or (later on) _Hotep_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the
name of one of the localities. The word ⁂ as I have often said, has
the sense of _rising up_, _coming to light_, _making an appearance_, and
like the Greek φαίνομαι is especially applicable to the appearance of
daybreak, or the rise of the heavenly bodies.
2. _Turning_, ⁂. The group has the apparent sense of _building_, but
the primitive sense is _turning_, as in the making of pottery. The
preposition ⁂ which follows it in this place seems to show that
building is not meant.
3. This, of course, sounds like nonsense, but so does the original as it
has come down to us. The papyrus of Ani, which reads ⁂⁂⁂,
forces the sense of _day_ upon the sign ⁂, which in the sense of
_turn_ would have been far more intelligible. There was the ‘Portion of
Sutu,’ and the ‘Portion of Horus,’ each being half the world,
topographically, or half the twenty-four hours as regards time.
I suspect that ‘day’ is a faulty interpretation of the ambiguous ⁂,
and that the true sense of the passage is that Sutu is satisfied with
the share which comes to his turn, and thereupon delivers Horus from
imprisonment in the lower world. The perplexity, or ignorance of the
copyists is seen in the very next words. One has ‘he who is in Merit,’
others ‘he who is in my mouth,’ and two ‘he who is in the egg,’ if this
be the sense of the very questionable group ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which
looks like a mistake for ⁂⁂⁂, a well known title of Anubis.
4. _Again and again renewed_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
5. _His papyrus._ So the word ⁂ _meḥit_, which occurs in the rubric
of Chapter 134, has hitherto been translated. But the vases ⁂ or
⁂, as determinatives, rather imply ‘inkstand’ or ‘palette for
holding colour.’ In this place it is the writing itself and not the
material, paper, ink or inkstand, which is meant. And from the entire
context Thoth is the god who is spoken of.
6. _He reconcileth the two Warrior gods with each other_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The final
words _en ȧru-sen_ show the origin of the Coptic form ⲛ̀ ... ⲉⲣⲏⲟⲩ
_invicem_.
7. _Grind_ ⁂⁂⁂, the Coptic from of which is ⲥⲓⲕⲓ. From the
notion of ‘reducing to powder,’ that of the frequent word ⁂⁂⁂
‘wearing away,’ ‘decay,’ is derived.
8. _Let my arteries be made fast, and let me have the enjoyment of the
Breeze_, or _that I may have enjoyment_. The oldest meaning of the word
_artery_, ἀρτηρία, in Hippocrates, Aristotle and the earlier Latin
writers is _wind-pipe_, and, in the plural, _air-ducts_. But, even when
the word was also applied to what we call arteries, these were supposed
to convey _air_ whilst the veins conveyed _blood_. “Sanguis per venas in
omne corpus diffunditur et spiritus per arterias” is the classic
doctrine in Cicero (_de Natura Deorum_, 2, 55). Pliny says (_Nat.
Hist._, XI, 89), “arteriae carent sensu: nam et sanguine.” This error is
corrected by Galen, who has a treatise on the question “Whether Blood is
_naturally_ (κὰτα φύσιν) contained in the arteries?” The error of the
ancients arose from the arteries always being found empty after death.
The blood flowing from a wound inflicted upon them was inferred to have
been intruded into them by the rupture of the veins. The Egyptian
doctrine of the ‘arteries’ ⁂⁂⁂ (Coptic ϩⲁⲛⲙⲟⲩⲧ) in the head,
by means of which air is conveyed to all parts of the person, was first
found by M. Chabas in the _Berlin Medical papyrus_. The passage of the
Book of the Dead on which this note is written is no doubt the earliest
allusion to the doctrine.
9. _Hesit_ [_the Cow-goddess_] ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂ is one of the many names of Isis or
Hathor. She is represented as suckling her son Horus (see picture in
Lanzone, p. 844), and it is this which characterizes her and from which
she derives her name. She is asked on the Louvre tablet (c. 14) for “the
white liquor which the glorified ones love.” This is distinctly called
‘milk’ on the Florentine tablet 2567, and vases of her milk are
mentioned (Dümichen, _Resultate_, 27, 6) in the inscriptions of Dendera.
A picture of her given in Dümichen’s _Historische Inschriften_ (II, 32)
identifies her with Hathor, and calls her “divine mother, mistress of
heaven and sovereign of the gods,” while others call her “the divine
mother and fair nurse.”
There can be no doubt about the right reading of the name which is
_Ḥesit_; the ⁂ is written in so many texts (see _Pepi_, I, 306,
_Amamu_, 21, 1, Lepsius, _Auswahl_, IX, and the form ⁂⁂⁂ at
Philae), that there is no reason for confounding the name with that of
_ḥetemit_. We must therefore attach no importance to this latter name
when applied in the vignette of the Turin _Todtenbuch_ to one of the
divine abodes which bears the name of the goddess, and is written
exactly like it.
10. _Uach_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _blooming_, _flowering_.
11. _The winged things of Shu are given to me, and my Kau follow me._
⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, is a word of very rare occurrence. Birch
and Naville understood it of the _netting_, and Brugsch, of the
_pluming_ of birds. Both meanings may be disputed, but whatever Shu did,
was done to birds, and these are said to be given to the deceased.
The prayer that a person may travel over the blissful parts, followed by
his _kau_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, is repeatedly found on the
early monuments. Several papyri say that the deceased is followed by
‘the gods and the _kau_.’
12. _T’efait_ ⁂⁂, an abode abounding in ⁂⁂⁂⁂
_delicacies_.
13. _He is in heaven_ ⁂⁂⁂. The reading ⁂ to which
Brugsch at one time attached much importance, has turned out to be
one of the many blunders of the text of Sutimes. But the true
reading is not without its difficulties. If ⁂⁂ is taken as
equivalent to ⁂⁂ we have a strange anticipation of a change
in language of which the “enigmatical” texts of the royal
tombs[105] give the first intimation, but which first becomes
conspicuous in the demotic period. In a previous passage we have
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, where Nebseni has
⁂⁂⁂. But the important preposition ⁂ had already
dropped out of the earlier text of Chāemhait. The demonstrative
particle ⁂⁂ which occurs in both places may be rendered
‘there [he is],’ ‘le voilà.’
14. _I salute the stream of T’eserit_: a corrupt passage like so many
others in this chapter. The first word ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘salute’
is rare but correct and well attested. The proper name is but one of the
contradictory readings. It has, however, the advantage of being a real
name and suitable to the passage, being that of a goddess mentioned in
connection with the next abode. ⁂⁂⁂ _T’eserit_ is a name
corresponding to the classical Ἀγλαιαv or Clara.[106] In the texts of
the Royal Tombs she is named as goddess in ⁂⁂ _Cher-āba_. And
here[107] she is depicted as the goddess with long or flowing locks
(εὐπλόκαμος) and armed with horns. She is one of the forms of Isis or
Hathor.
15. _Kankanit_ is etymologically akin to the verb of _beating_ (_see_
Chapter 17, note 20), but there is no reason from the notice here to
suppose that this was a place of punishment.
16. _Userit_ ⁂⁂⁂ is one of the commonest appellatives of Isis,
especially in the later texts. The names of all these abodes, situated
in that region of the sky where the sun rises, are derived from the
notion of daybreak.
17. _Smait_, another of these appellatives, _see_ Chapter 62, note 1.
18. _The Emerald ones_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, those who are in the emerald
light of the dawn. The sun rises (Chapter 109) through two sycomores of
emerald.
19. _Which have the force of purification_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The
syllable _āb_ expresses the word signifying _horn_ as well as that
signifying _purification_.
The vignettes of the chapter which are here given from different
authorities are explained in their proper place.
-----
Footnote 98:
See M. Naville’s remarks, _Einleitung_, p. 156.
Footnote 99:
_Mission Arch._, I, p. 125.
Footnote 100:
Also written = ⁂⁂ (_Unas_, 422 and elsewhere).
Footnote 101:
The garden is also called ⁂⁂⁂. Another form is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_Pepi_ I, 309).
Footnote 102:
⁂⁂ _Nebseni_, ⁂⁂ _Sutimes_, ⁂⁂ in all the
later papyri.
Footnote 103:
Compared with ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the papyrus of
Nesichonsu, published by M. Maspero, _Miss. Arch._, I, p. 612.
Footnote 104:
The Pyramid Texts have the invocations (_Unas_, 597), “Hail to thee,
Horus, in the domains of Horus; Hail to thee, Sutu, in the domains of
Sutu; Hail to thee, Lion (⁂⁂⁂ _Ȧar_), in the Garden of
Aarru.”
Another derivation is suggested in the “Destruction of Mankind,” line
39, ⁂⁂⁂ (as I read it) an augmented form of ⁂⁂,
_ar_, which does not mean _pluck_, as in Brugsch’s translation, but
_bind_, _fasten_, _twine_, _nectere_, _constringere_, _convolvere_.
This sense would explain the ancient determinatives ⁂, ⁂,
and lead to still more interesting results. For the ancient word
⁂⁂⁂⁂, _ȧarerit_, ‘a vine,’ has thus clearly the same
etymological sense as our European word _vine_. “_Vî-num_ ... attaches
itself to _vî-tis_, _vî-men_, _vî-tex_, and--exactly like the Greek
ϝοῖ-νος--to the Indo-Greek root _vei_, ‘to twine.’ So that _vî-no_
means first ‘creeper,’ then ‘fruit of the creeper,’ finally ‘drink
made from the fruit of the creeper’” (O. Schrader, _Prehistoric
Antiquities_, 324).
Philological speculation might make a further advance.
As ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧar_, is to ⁂⁂ _ār_, so perhaps is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧarru_ to ⁂⁂ _āru_. The first two
groups are not phonetically identical, but they are certainly allied
and have very much the same meaning; the last has, with some
probability, been identified with the _Vine-branch_, and that, in
conjunction with the text ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (see
_Zeitschr._, 1878, p. 107, and the plate corresponding). “The
Vine-plant is Osiris.” The Greeks, or some of them at least,
identified Osiris with Dionysos (Plutarch, _de Iside et Osiride_, 34,
35). The god is sometimes (as in the papyrus of Nebseni) sitting in a
naos under a vine, from which bunches of grapes are hanging.
Footnote 105:
Here we already have ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. See
my article in the _Zeitschr._, 1874, p. 102.
Footnote 106:
It is also the name of a liquid substance ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂,
a produce of the cow, such as cream or clarified butter. It occurs in
all the lists of offerings.
Footnote 107:
A reference to M. Naville’s collation of this chapter (line 40), will
show the corruption and uncertainty of the text which precedes the
name of the goddess. If we look beyond the authorities given by M.
Naville, the difficulties are multiplied. The papyrus of Queen
Net’emit in the Louvre, for instance, instead of ⁂⁂⁂⁂
_etc._, reads, ⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXVII.
_Chapter whereby one taketh the blissful path at Restau._(1.)
O paths which are high above me at Restau: I am the Girdled(2.) and the
Mighty one, coming forth triumphantly.(3.)
I am come: I am come that I may firmly secure my suit in Abydos,(4.) and
that the path may be open to me at Restau.
Let my suit be made pleasant for me by Osiris.
I am he who produceth the water which balanceth his throne, and who
maketh his way from the Great Valley.(5.)
Let the path be made for me; for behold I am _N_ the triumphant.(6.)
[Osiris is made triumphant over his adversaries, and the Osiris _N_ is
made triumphant over his adversaries, and is as one of you, his
patron(7.) is the Lord of Eternity: he walketh even as ye walk, he
standeth as ye stand, he speaketh as ye speak, before the great god, the
Lord of Amenta.]
NOTES.
1. This chapter and the following have reference to Restau, one of the
Gates between the Netherworld and Heaven.
It is not mentioned in the most ancient recension of chapter 17 (from
which my translation was taken), but in all the papyri of the eighteenth
and later dynasties it is stated that Restau was a gate south of
An-aaref and north of the “Domain (⁂⁂⁂) of Osiris.”
The papyrus of Ani has this picture of it,
[Illustration]
but the most interesting representations of it are in the Dublin papyrus
(_D. a_), where the Sun god is seen passing between the folding doors,
and in the papyrus of Hunefer (_A. g_), where the doors are also open
and the god is sitting between them. (_See_ Plates VI, 11 and VIIb.)
The name _Restau_ ⁂⁂⁂ (the feminine form ⁂⁂⁂ is
more frequent in later texts) signifies _Gate of the passages_. These
are the passages guarded by the faithful attendants of Osiris, but armed
with “hurtful fingers” against the adversaries of Rā, against whose
onslaught the deceased prays Rā for protection in chapter 17.
A mystical interpretation will be found in chapter 119 and note.
2. _Girdled_, or _stoled_, ⁂⁂. On the importance attached to
this ritual investiture, the following references may (among many
others) be useful: _Unas_ 66, _Teta_ 149, _Pepi_ I, 395, _Merenrā_ 190,
_Todt._ 125 (rubric), 145, 25. The deceased prays (Chapter 82, 4) that
he may be girt by the goddess Tait. A passage in _Todt._ 78, 26 (Turin
text) would be of greater interest were it not an emendation of those
who no longer understood the ancient text.
3. _Coming forth triumphantly._ This is the reading of the oldest
authority (Nebseni), but the reading which has prevailed, not only here,
but in Chapter 147, is “coming forth from the Crown,” ⁂⁂⁂.
4. _That I may firmly secure my suit at Abydos._ The scholion on Chapter
17, referred to in note 1, states that the “place of Maāt is at Abydos.”
It is, of course, the mystical, not the geographical, Abydos which is
meant, and the _suit_ ⁂⁂ (_res_) which has to be settled is the
final judgment of the deceased.
5. The throne of Osiris in pictures of the Psychostasia (_see_ Vignettes
to Chapter 125) rests upon water, out of which there springs a lotus
flower; and upon this flower stand the four children of Horus. In a
passage of chapter 147, which is an adaptation of the present chapter,
the deceased says ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _La_, “I am he
whose stream is secret.” And a Pyramid Text (_Merenrā_, 188, 193) after
mention of the Great Valley ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ and of the investiture
(⁂) proceeds, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “thy
water, thy fresh current, is a great inundation proceeding from thee.”
Here the deceased is identified with the Nile and its inundation, as in
Chapter 64 of the Book of the Dead.
6. The chapter ends here. The passage which follows in the translation
is taken from the Paris papyrus _Pe_.
7. _Patron_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, a word supposed by some scholars to
signify uncle. It occurs on funereal monuments among the designations of
persons connected with the deceased, such as brother, sister, nurse. A
man may have several bearing the designation, and they are not
necessarily children of the same parents (_see e.g._, Mariette, _Cat.
d’Abydos_, p. 110, where a man has five _chenemesu_, who cannot all be
brothers either of his father or his mother). The word occurs repeatedly
in the Prisse papyrus. I am inclined to think it means the legal
guardian of a minor.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXVIII.
_Chapter whereby one arriveth at Restau._
I am he who is born in Restau.
Glory is given to me by those who are in their mummied forms in Pu, at
the sanctuary of Osiris, whom the guards(1.) receive at Restau when they
conduct Osiris through the demesnes of Osiris.
NOTE.
1. _Guards_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧaku_, the same personages as
those mentioned in Chapter 28, note 2, and they seem to me to be
identical with the “wardens of the passages,” Chapter 17, “attendant
upon Osiris.” There is an imperfect tablet of the 12th dynasty at
Hamamāt (_Denkm._, II, 138, c) in which thirty ⁂⁂⁂ are
mentioned along with the soldiers and other persons belonging to the
expedition. The Pyramid Texts have the word ⁂⁂ but apparently with
a determinative of salutation, ⁂. (_Pepi_ I, 160, _cf._ line 82.)
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXIX.
_Chapter whereby one entereth or goeth forth from Restau._
I am the Mighty one, who createth his own light.
I come to thee, Osiris, and I worship thee.
Pure are thine effluxes,(1.) which flow from thee,(2.) and which make
thy name in Restau, when it hath passed there.
Hail to thee, Osiris, in thy power and thy might, who hast possession of
Restau.
Osiris raiseth thee up in thy power and in thy might. Osiris raiseth
thee up in thy power in Restau, and in thy might in Abydos, that thou
mayest go round heaven with Rā, and survey the human race.[108]
One art thou and triumphant.
NOTES.
1. _Pure are thine effluxes._ The true reading is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, a phrase which recurs in these texts. The
suffix ⁂ of the first person, which is sometimes added to the first
word, would give the sense “thine effluxes are my purification.” On the
meaning of ⁂⁂⁂, _see_ 65 B, note 4. At the end of Chapter 149
the deceased prays, “let me be joined, let me be united with the sap
which proceedeth from Osiris; let me not be parted from him.”
2. _Which flow from thee._ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, _sta_, which has here the
same meaning as when the Nile is said (_Denkm._, III, 13) _to flow into
the Great Sea_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The name of Restau
is here derived from the effluxes _flowing_ (_stau_) from Osiris.
The various meanings of ⁂⁂⁂⁂, and of the Coptic ⲥⲉⲧ, are
all traceable to the notion of _sending forth_, _throwing_, and are
easily illustrated from the Greek. Thus ἐκβάλλειν is used for the
discharge of a river into the sea; ἐκβολαὶ are ‘passes, passages.’ Doors
are secured by pushing the bolts, μοχλοὺς ἐπιβάλλειν; they are opened by
_shooting back the bolt_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Mariette, _Abydos_, p.
58). ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is exactly the reverse of ἐπιβάλλειν σφραγῖδα.
⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, ⲥⲟⲧ, _stercus_ is an ἐκβολή,
_dejectio_. And ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂, ⲥⲀϯ, ⲥⲟⲧⲉ, βέλος, βολὶς,
⁂⁂⁂, ⲥⲁⲧ, _seminare_, and ever so many others are all
determinations of one and the same concept.
In such passages as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
and the like, _sta_ has the sense not of _towing_, but of πομπή, ‘solemn
_procession_.’ It occurs even where towing is out of question, _e.g._,
in the march of military men ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Tombs of Amenemheb
and Pehsukher, _Miss. Arch. Française_, V, pp. 229 and 289).
And ⁂⁂ _string_, _rope_ is connected with the notion of
‘throwing’ like our own _warp_ with _werfen_ (Goth. _vairp-an_) and
ῥίπ-τω.
-----
Footnote 108:
The ⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Rechit_, mankind actually, living, as
distinguished from the dead or yet unborn.
Chapter CXX is a repetition of Chapter XII.
Chapter CXXI is a repetition of Chapter XIII.
Chapter CXXII is a repetition of Chapter LVIII.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXIII.
_Chapter_(1.) _whereby one entereth into the Great House._
Hail to thee, O Tmu, I am Thoth.
I have equally balanced the Divine Pair, I have put a stop to their
strife, I have ended their complaints.
I have rescued the Âtu from his backward course.
I have done what thou hast prescribed for him.
And I rest since then within my own Eye.
I am free from obstruction; and I come that thou mayest see me in the
house where I repeat the ancient ordinances and words, as a guidance
wherewith thou shalt guide posterity.(2.)
NOTES.
1. This chapter (which is repeated in Chapter 139) is like the
repetition of an important passage in Chapter 110. But the differences
are very considerable, and it is for criticism to decide the question of
priority between the two recensions.
Whichever be the earlier recension, the present one is of very great
interest and importance. It is found on two of the most carefully
written papyri of the eighteenth dynasty. But the most interesting
feature is the mythological allusion at this date (_at latest_) to an
astronomical phenomenon, with reference to which later researches may
furnish fresh evidence.
The speaker in this chapter is said (not merely implied, as in Chapter
110, _see_ note 5) to be Thoth, who is the measurer of all things in
heaven and earth, and the author and regulator of all science. He is
here said to have established the _equilibrium_ ⁂⁂⁂ between
the Divine Pair, Horus and Sutu; that is Day and Night. Such an
equilibrium, strictly speaking, never exists except at the _Equinoxes_.
But the most important passage is, “I have rescued the _Âtu_ from his
backward course.” The ⁂⁂⁂ _Âtu_ is a mythological _fish_, who
is represented as following the course of the Bark of Rā. The meaning of
the name is, _the Cleaver_, _Divider_, _Cutter in two_ ⁂⁂. It is
one of the appellatives of the Sun-god, with reference to his path
through the sky. But what is that solar phenomenon specially deserving
to be characterised by its _motion backwards_ ⁂⁂⁂?
I do not think any astronomer would hesitate to answer, that
_Precession_ is meant. The cause of Precession could only be known to
really scientific philosophers (which is out of question in this case),
but the _phenomena_ would necessarily be noted by those who had
important interests in keeping their calendar correct.[109] Even the
Chinese, by dint of records and without any mathematics, came to infer
the precession of the equinoxes; so did the Egyptians apparently at a
very much earlier period; and Hipparchus, who has the credit of the
discovery, may have learnt it from them.
Although ⁂⁂ is commonly represented as a _fish_, the same name
is given to a _Crustacean_ ⁂, ⁂ whose organs of locomotion are
specially adapted for backward motion.
“_Rescuing_ the Âtu from its backward course” can mean nothing less than
being able to _correct_ or (in technical language) to _equate_ the
phenomena.
It might perhaps be suggested that the backward course here spoken of
has reference to the year of 360 days, corrected at an early period by
the addition of the five supplementary days. This would certainly have
been a very probable explanation of the clause, but for the direct
connection which this has with what precedes, concerning the equilibrium
between Day and Night; that is, the Equinox.
2. _Posterity_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ literally, _minores_. The
word in the present context seems to have a different meaning from what
it has in Chapter 110, where it is put in contrast with
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ violent ones, against whom Thoth interposes his
protection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, III, 36.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus, Musée?] du Louvre, III, 89.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, III, 93.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 9.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus, Ani.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus du Louvre, III, 9.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXIV.
=Papyrus, Musée du
Louvre, Cab. des Médaille=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Papyrus, Paris, Sketch by Mr. Renouf=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXXV. =Papyrus Brit. Mus., No. 9,901, and Papyrus
Leyden, No. 11.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXIV.
_Chapter whereby one cometh to the Divine Circle of Osiris._
My soul buildeth for me a Hall(1.) in Tattu and I flourish in Pu.
My fields are ploughed by those who belong to me: therefore is my palm
tree like Amsu.
Abominations, abominations, I eat them not. I abominate filth, I eat it
not.
[Peace offerings are my food, by which I am not upset.]
I approach it not with my hands; I tread not upon it with my sandals;
for my bread is of the white corn and my beer of the red corn of the
Nile.
It is the Sektit boat, or it is the Atit boat, which bringeth them to
me, and I feed upon them under the foliage of the Tamarisk.(2.)
I know how beautiful are the arms which announce Glory for me(3.) and
the white crown which is lifted up by the divine Uræi.
O thou Gate-keeper of him who pacifieth the world, let that be brought
to me of which oblations are made, and grant that the floors may be a
support for me, and that the glorious god may open to me his arms, and
that the company of gods be silent whilst the Hammemit(4.) converse with
me.
O thou who guidest the hearts of the gods, protect me and let me have
power in heaven among the starry ones.
And every divinity who presenteth himself to me, be he reckoned to the
forerunners of Rā: be he reckoned to the forerunners of Light and to the
Bright ones who deck the sky amid the Mighty ones.
Let me have my will there of the Bread and Beer with the gods; that I
enter through the Sun-disk and come forth through the Divine Pair, that
the gods who follow may speak to me, and that Darkness and Night may be
terrified before me in Mehit-urit, by the side of him “Who is in his
Sanctuary.”
And lo I am here with Osiris. My measure is his measure(5.) among the
mighty ones. I speak to him the words of men and I repeat to him the
words of gods.
There cometh a glorified one, equipped, who bringeth Maāt to those who
love her.
I am the Glorified one and the Equipped. And better equipped am I than
any of the Glorified.
NOTES.
1. _Hall_ ⁂,⁂[,⁂⁂⁂, or ⁂⁂ _ḫent_, the πρόναος,
πρόδομος, ‘Vorsaal,’ first room of a temple or palace. The sense of
_harîm_ which has been ascribed to it in certain texts is entirely
erroneous. The temple inscriptions (see Brugsch, _Zeitschr._, 1875, p.
118, and fol., and Mariette, _Denderah_, I, 6) leave no doubt on the
subject. If there were “ladies of the royal antechamber,” it by no means
follows that they were wives or concubines of the king, and hall or
antechamber convey a very different idea from that of the most reserved
portion of the house.[110]
Pictures and inscriptions on mummy cases identify the term
mythologically with that portion of the sky whence the first rays of the
rising sun are visible.
The mention of the word in the Pyramid Texts (_Pepi_, I, 672) is in
connection with the notion of food, ⁂⁂.
2. We have here a repetition of passages to the same effect as in
Chapters 53 (A and B) and others. The Pyramid Texts (_Teta_, 344) have a
section nearly identical.
3. _The arms which announce Glory for me._ The clue to the meaning of
this passage is to be found in ⁂, which is a _relative_ form
implying an antecedent, which can only be “the arms.”
The _arms which announce Glory for me_ are to be explained by the usages
of the ancient ritual, which prescribed certain postures or attitudes in
the ceremony of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, as in other forms wherein the
arms played a great part. These religious ceremonies it must always be
remembered, were considered as dramatic representations of what was done
in the invisible world.
4. _The Hammemit_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, or
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the
generations of human beings yet unborn.
5. _My measure is his measure_. The meaning of ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ can only be inferred from the form
⁂⁂⁂⁂ which occurs repeatedly in the great Harris Papyrus
and some other documents.
The scribe of the Turin _Todtenbuch_ carelessly omitted the second part
of the phrase, and therefore altered the grammatical construction. This
is how M. Pierret came to conjecture the sense ‘proclaim,’ which is not
suggested by any of the ancient authorities, or even by the later ones.
The reading of the Leyden Papyrus T, 16 is identical with that of the
oldest papyrus.
-----
Footnote 109:
“The amount of this motion by which the equinox travels backward, or
retrogrades (as it is called), is _per annum_ an extremely minute
quantity, but which, by its continual accumulation from year to year,
at last makes itself very palpable, and that in a way highly
inconvenient to practical astronomers, by destroying, in the lapse of
a moderate number of years, the arrangement of their catalogues of
stars, and making it necessary to reconstruct them.” Herschel,
_Astronomy_, chapter 4.
Footnote 110:
The ⁂⁂⁂⁂ mentioned in the tablet of Pa-shere-en-Ptah
are not concubines, as Brugsch and others have thought, but female
children, as Birch rightly asserted. Cf. my _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 79,
note. It is the feminine form of ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
There is also another word, ⁂⁂, applied on the walls of tombs
to persons (_male_ as well as female) executing certain gymnastic
movements.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXIV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
Fig. 11. CHAPTER CXXV.
=Sarcophagus of Sebek-āa, Berlin Museum.=
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 12. CHAPTER CXXV. LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl. 232.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 13. CHAPTER CXXV.
LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl. 232.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
Fig. 14.
CHAPTER CXXV. =Papyrus, Leyden Museum, No. 1.=
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 15.
CHAPTER CXXV. LEPSIUS, “Denkmaler” Abth. III, Pl. 78.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 16.
CHAPTER CXXV. =Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXVI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER CXXV (Notes).
[Illustration:
Fig. 17. LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl. 39.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 19. MARIETTE, “Deir el Bahari,”
Pl. VIII.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 20. ROSELLINI, “M.C.,” Pl. LI.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: Fig. 18. LEPSIUS, “Denkmäler,” Abth. III, Bl. 39.]
[Illustration:
Fig. 21. ROSELLINI,
“M.C.,” Pl. LII.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 22. ROSELLINI, “M.C.,” Pl. LII.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXV.
PART I.
Said on arriving at the Hall of Righteousness, that _N_ may be loosed
from all the sins which he hath committed and that he may look upon the
divine countenances.
_He saith_: Hail to thee, mighty god, lord of Righteousness!
I am come to thee, oh my Lord: I have brought myself that I may look
upon thy glory. I know thee, and I know the name of the Forty-two gods
who make their appearance with thee in the Hall of Righteousness;
devouring those who harbour mischief, and swallowing their blood, upon
the Day of the searching examination(1.) in presence of Unneferu.
Verily, ‘Thou of the Pair of Eyes,(2.) Lord of Righteousness’ is thy
name.
Here am I; I am come to thee; I bring to thee Right and have put a stop
to Wrong.
I am not a doer of wrong to men.
I am not one who slayeth his kindred.(3.)
I am not one who telleth lies instead of truth.(4.)
I am not conscious of treason.
I am not a doer of mischief.
I do not exact as the firstfruits of each day more work than should be
done for me.(5.)
My name cometh not to the Bark of the god who is at the Helm.
I am not a transgressor against the god.
I am not a tale-bearer.
I am not a detractor.
I am not a doer of that which the gods abhor.
I hurt no servant with his master.
I cause no famine.
I cause not weeping.
I am not a murderer.
I give not orders for murder.
I cause not suffering to men.
I reduce not the offerings in the temples.
I lessen not the cakes of the gods.
I rob not the dead of their funereal food.
I am not an adulterer.
I am undefiled in the Sanctuary of the god of my domain.
I neither increase nor diminish the measures of grain.
I am not one who shorteneth the palm’s length.(6.)
I am not one who cutteth short the field’s measure.(7.)
I put not pressure upon the beam(8.) of the balance.
I tamper not with the tongue of the balance.
I snatch not the milk from the mouth of infants.
I drive not the cattle from their pastures.
I net not the birds of the manors of the gods.(9.)
I catch not the fish of their ponds.(10.)
I stop not the water at its appointed time.
I divide not an arm of the water in its course.
I extinguish not the lamp during its appointed time.
I do not defraud the Divine Circle of their sacrificial joints.
I drive not away the cattle of the sacred estate.
I stop not a god when he cometh forth.
I am pure, I am pure, I am pure, I am pure.
My purity is that of the Great Bennu in Sutenhunen, for I am the Nose of
the Lord of Air, who giveth life to all mortals; on the day when the Eye
is full in Annu, on the last day of Mechir; in presence of the Lord of
this land.
And I am one who see the fulness of the Eye in Annu, let no harm come to
me in this land, in the Hall of Righteousness; because I know the names
of those gods who make their appearance in it.
PART II.
1. Oh thou of long strides, who makest thine appearance in Annu; I am
not a doer of wrong.
2. Oh thou who holdest the fire, and makest thine appearance in
Cher-āba; I am not a man of violence.
3. Oh thou of the Nose,(11.) who makest thine appearance at Chemunnu; I
am not evil minded.
4. Oh Eater of the Shadow,(12.) who makest thine appearance at
Elephantine; I am not rapacious.
5. Oh thou Facing-backward god, who makest thine appearance at Re-Stau;
I am not a slayer of men.
6. Oh thou of Lion form,(13.) who makest thine appearance in Heaven; I
am not fraudulent in measures of grain.
7. Oh thou whose eyes [pierce] like swords, who makest thine appearance
in Sechem; I commit no fraud.
8. Oh thou of fiery face, whose motion is backwards; I am not a robber
of sacred property.
9. Oh Breaker of bones, who makest thine appearance in Sutenhunen, I am
not a teller of lies.
10. Oh thou who orderest the flame, who makest thine appearance in
Memphis; I am not a robber of food.
11. Oh thou of the Two Caverns, who makest thine appearance in Amenta; I
am not sluggish.(14.)
12. Oh thou of the Bright Teeth,(15.) who makest thine appearance in the
Unseen Land; I am not a transgressor.
13. Oh Eater of Blood, who makest thine appearance at the Block; I have
not slaughtered the sacred animals.
14. Oh Eater of Livers, who makest thine appearance at Mâbit; I deal not
fraudulently.
15. Oh Lord of Righteousness, who makest thine appearance in the place
of Righteousness; I am not a land-grabber.
16. Oh thou who turnest backwards, who makest thine appearance in
Bubastis; I am not an eaves-dropper.
17. Oh Âati,(16.) who makest thine appearance at Annu; I am not one of
prating tongue.
18. Oh Tutu,(17.) who makest thine appearance in Ati; I trouble
myself(18.) only with my own affairs.
19. Oh Uammetu, who makest thine appearance at the Block; I commit not
adultery with another’s wife.
20. Oh Maa-antu-f, who makest thine appearance in Pa-Amsu, I am not
unchaste with any one.
21. Oh thou who art above Princes, and who makest thine appearance in
Amu;(19.) I do not cause terrors.
22. Oh Chemiu,(20.) who makest thine appearance in Kauu; I am not a
transgressor.
23. Oh thou who raisest thy voice,(21.) and makest thine appearance in
Urit; I am not hot of speech.
24. Oh divine Babe, who makest thy appearance in Annu; I lend not a deaf
ear to the words of Righteousness.
25. Oh high-voiced one, who makest thy appearance in Unsit; I am not
boisterous in behaviour.
26. Oh Basit, who makest thine appearance at the Shetait; I am not the
cause of weeping to any.
27. Oh thou whose face is behind thee, and who makest thine appearance
at thy cavern; I am not given to unnatural lust.
28. Oh thou, hot of foot,(22.) who makest thy appearance at even; I
indulge not in anger.
29. Oh Kenemtu, who makest thine appearance in Kenemit; I am not given
to cursing.
30. Oh thou who carriest thine own offering, and makest thine appearance
in Syut; I am not of aggressive hand.
31. Oh thou who hast different faces, and makest thine appearance in
Net’efit; I am not one of inconstant mind.(23.)
32. Oh Busy one, who makest thine appearance at Utenit; I do not steal
the skins of the sacred animals.(24.)
33. Oh thou Horned one, who makest thine appearance at Sais I am not
noisy(25.) in my speech.
34. Oh Nefertmu, who makest thine appearance in Memphis; I am neither a
liar nor a doer of mischief.
35. Oh Tem-sepu, who makest thine appearance in Tattu; I am not one who
curseth the king.
36. Oh thou who doest according to thine own will, and makest thine
appearance in Tebuu; I put no check upon the water in its flow.
37. Oh Striker,(26.) who makest thine appearance in Heaven; I am not one
of loud voice.
38. Oh thou who makest mortals to flourish, and who makest thine
appearance at Sais; I curse not a god.
39. Oh thou of beautiful shoulder, who makest thine appearance at
...(27.); I am not swollen with pride.
40. Oh Neheb-kau, who makest thy appearance at thy cavern; I have no
unjust preferences.(28.)
41. Oh thou of raised head,(29.) who makest thine appearance at thy
cavern; I have no strong desire except for my own property.
42. Oh thou who liftest an arm,(30.) and who makest thine appearance in
the Netherworld, I do not that which offendeth the god of my domain.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXVII#.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXV.
=Tombeau de Seti I^{er}= (Ann. du Musée Guimet, Vol. IX).
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART III.
[Said upon approaching to the gods who are in the Tuat.(31.)]
Hail ye gods, I know you and I know your names; let me not be stricken
down by your blows: report not the evil which is in me to the god whom
ye follow. Let not reverse(32.) of mine come to pass through you.
Let not evil things be said against me in presence of the Inviolate One;
because I have done the right in Tamerit.
I revile not the god: let not reverse of mine come to pass through the
King who resideth within His own Day.(33.)
Hail ye gods who are in the Hall of Righteousness, who have nothing
wrong about you; who subsist upon Righteousness in Annu, and who sate
themselves with cares,(34.) in presence of the god who resideth within
his own Orb: deliver me from Babai who feedeth upon the livers of
princes on the Day of the Great Reckoning.
Behold me: I am come to you, void of wrong, without fraud, a harmless
one: let me not be declared guilty; let not the issue be against me.
I subsist upon Righteousness: I sate myself with uprightness of heart: I
have done that which man prescribeth and that which pleaseth the gods.
I have propitiated the god with that which he loveth. I have given bread
to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, a boat to the
shipwrecked. I have made oblations to the gods and funeral offerings to
the departed: deliver me therefore: protect me therefore: and report not
against me in presence of the great god.
I am one whose mouth is pure, and whose hands are pure, to whom there is
said “Come, come in peace,” by those who look upon him.
For I have listened to the words which were spoken by the Ass and the
Cat in the house of Hept-ro.(35.)
And I have undergone the inspection of the god Whose face is behind him,
who awardeth my verdict(36.), so that I may behold what the Persea tree
covereth(37.) in Restau.
I am one who glorifieth the gods and who knoweth the things which
concern them.
I am come and am awaiting that inquisition be made of Rightfulness and
that the Balance be set upon its stand within the bower of
amaranth.(38.)
O thou who art exalted upon thy pedestal and who callest thy name, Lord
of Air: deliver me from those messengers of thine who inflict
disasters(39.) and bring about mishaps. No covering have they upon their
faces.
For I have done the Righteousness of a Lord of Righteousness.
I have made myself pure: my front parts are washed, my back parts are
pure, and my inwards steeped in the Tank of Righteousness. There is not
a limb in me which is void of Righteousness.
I purify me in the Southern Tank, and I rest me at the northern lake, in
the Garden of Grasshoppers.(40.)
The Boatmen of Rā purify them there at this hour of the night or
day(41.) and the hearts of the gods are appeased(42.) when I pass
through it by night or by day.
Let him come(43.): that is what they say to me.
Who, pray, art thou? that is what they say to me.
What, pray, is thy name? that is what they say to me.
“He who groweth under the Grass(44.) and who dwelleth in the Olive tree”
is my name.
Pass on, then: that is what they say to me.
I pass on to a place north of the Olive.
What, prithee, didst thou see there?
A thigh(45.) and a leg.
And what, prithee, said they to thee?
That I shall see(46.) the greetings in the lands there of the Fenchu.
What, prithee, did they give to thee?
A flame of fire and a pillar of crystal.
And what, prithee, didst thou to them?
I buried them on the bank of the Lake of Māāit as Provision of the
Evening.
What, prithee, didst thou find there on the bank of the Lake of Māāit?
A sceptre of flint: ‘Giver of Breath’ is its name.
And what didst thou to the flame of fire and to the pillar of crystal
after thou hadst buried them?
I cried out after them and drew them forth: and I extinguished the fire,
and I broke the pillar, and I made a Tank.
Thou mayest now enter through the door of the hall of Righteousness, for
thou knowest us.
I allow thee not to pass by me, saith the Leaf(47.) of the Door, unless
thou tell my name:
“The Pointer of Truth”(48.) is thy name.
I allow thee not to pass by me, saith the right side of the Door, unless
thou tell my name.
“The Scale-pan(49.) of one who lifteth up Right” is thy name.
I allow thee not to pass by me, saith the left side post of the Door,
unless thou tell my name:
“The Scale-pan of Wine” is thy name.
I allow thee not to pass over me, saith the Threshold of the Door,
unless thou tell my name:
“Ox of Seb” is thy name.
I open not to thee, saith the Lock of the Door, unless thou tell my
name:
Bone of An-maut-ef is thy name.
I open not to thee, saith the Latch, unless thou tell my name:
“The Eye of Sebak, Lord of Bachau,” is thy name.
I open not to thee, and I allow thee not to pass by me, saith the Keeper
of the Door, unless thou tell my name:
“The Knee of Shu, which he hath lent for the support of Osiris,” is thy
name.
We allow thee not to pass by us, say the Lintels of the Door, unless
thou tell our names:
“The dragon brood(50.) of Renenut” is your name.
Thou knowest us: pass therefore by us.
I allow thee not to pass over me, saith the Floor of the Hall, for the
reason that I am noiseless and clean, and because we know not the names
of thy two feet, wherewith thou wouldst walk upon us. Tell me, then,
their names.
“He who goeth before Amsu” is the name of my right foot: and “The
Truncheon of Hathor”(51.) is the name of my left foot.
Thou mayest walk over us: for thou knowest us.
I do not announce thee, saith the Doorkeeper, unless thou tell my name:
“He who knoweth the heart and exploreth the person”(52.) is thy name.
Then I will announce thee.
But who is that god who abideth in his own hour? Name him.
He who provideth for(53.) the Two Worlds.
Who, pray, is it? It is Thoth.
Come hither, saith Thoth, wherefore hast thou come?
I am come, and wait to be announced.
And what manner of man, prithee, art thou?
I have cleansed myself from all the sins and faults of those who abide
in their own day; for I am no longer among them.
Then I shall announce thee.
But who is he whose roof is of fire, and whose walls are living Uræi,
and the floor of whose house is of running water? Who is it?
It is Osiris.
Proceed then: for behold, thou art announced.
Thy bread is from the Eye, thy beer is from the Eye, and the funeral
meals offered upon earth will come forth to thee from the Eye(54.). So
is it decreed for me.
_This chapter is said by the person, when purified and clad in raiment;
shod with white sandals; anointed from vases of ānta; and presenting
oblations of beeves, birds, incense, bread, beer and vegetables._
_And thou shalt make a picture, drawn upon a clean brick of clay,
extracted from a field in which no swine hath trod._
_And if this chapter be written upon it--the man will prosper and his
children will prosper: he will rise in the affection of the king and his
court: there will be given to him the shesit cake, the measure of drink,
the persen cake and the meat offering upon the altar table of the great
god; and he shall not be cut off at any gate of Amenta, but he shall be
conveyed along with the Kings of North and South, and make his
appearance as a follower of Osiris: undeviatingly and for times
infinite._
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXVIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
CHAPTER CXXV. (Note 2.)
[Illustration: Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9900.]
[Illustration: Mummy Case, Leyden Museum.]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XXXIX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: Papyrus, Leyden Museum.]
[Illustration: LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.]
[Illustration: Papyrus, British Museum, 9964.]
[Illustration: Mummy Case, Leyden Museum.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXV.
NOTES.
For the significance of this most important chapter with reference to
the religion and ethics of ancient Egypt I must refer to the
Introduction. The notes in this place must be confined to the text and
its elucidation.
No copy of the chapter is known of more ancient date than the eighteenth
dynasty, but the oldest papyri contain the three parts of which the
chapter consists. That the chapter is of much earlier date than the
eighteenth dynasty is quite certain from the nature of the corruptions
which had already made their appearance in the earliest copies which
have come down to us. But the three parts are not necessarily of the
same antiquity. The second part seems to have grown out of the first and
to have been suggested by the mention of the “Forty-two” gods and the
“negative confession,” as it is called, of certain sins. It is a
tabulated form in which the gods are named and a sin is mentioned in
connection with each god. The number of sins in this form is therefore
forty-two; a higher number than in Part I.
The two catalogues agree to a certain extent, but they also disagree,
and the second is evidently the result of a different process of thought
than that which gave birth to the first. The author of Part I is not the
author of Part II, unless perhaps at a different and later period. Nor
is there any indication in Part I of the extraordinary examination to
which the deceased person is subjected in Part III. This in itself would
not be a serious objection, but the matter becomes more complicated if
we remember that the picture of the Psychostasia has the right to be
considered as a part of the chapter. The texts which are written upon it
differ, indeed, according to the taste of the artist, and can therefore
claim no canonical authority. But the question as to the order of
succession in the trials, or the precise moment at which the deceased
person is finally freed from all anxiety as to his fate, cannot be
satisfactorily solved on the supposition that all these documents form
parts of a consistent whole. It seems much more natural to consider them
as really independent compositions brought together in consequence of
their subject matter. The artists of the Ramseside period (in the papyri
of Hunefer and Ani) add another scene[111] in which the deceased is
judged not by the forty-two assessors of Osiris but by a smaller company
of gods (twelve or fourteen), sitting on thrones and bearing the names
of well known divinities.
The essential notion was that of a trial before Osiris, in which the
man’s conduct or conscience was weighed in the Balance. This trial is
referred to in various chapters of the Book of the Dead and in other
texts which prove that, with reference to the details, free scope was
allowed to the imagination of the scribes or artists.
The number of the Forty-two assessors might be thought connected with
that of the Nomes of Egypt. But this number is only certain for the
later periods of Egyptian history, and is not true for earlier times.
Moreover the localities in which the gods are said to make their
appearances do not correspond to the nomes, or places within them. Some
of the localities occur more than once, and some of them, if not all,
are localities not upon earth. Heaven occurs twice, the eleventh god
makes his appearance at Amenta and the forty-second in the Netherworld.
But the names which have a more earthly sound may have a mystical
meaning. The first god makes his appearance in Annu, so does the
seventeenth and so does the twenty-fourth. But does this mean Heliopolis
of Egypt? On referring to an important text in Mariette’s _Monuments
Divers_, pl. 46, it will be seen that Annu is the Eastern _Solar
Mountain_ ⁂⁂⁂, where the sun rises, and where he is saluted by
the Powers of the East. There cannot be a more striking illustration of
“the Divine Babe who maketh his appearance in Annu” (the twenty-fourth
Assessor), than the _picture_ I refer to.[112]
And Chemunnu, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, is surely not the Hermopolis of
Egypt, but the place _of the Eight gods_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
four to the Left and four to the Right of the rising sun, who hail
his coming and help him to rise; where Shu, according to the MSS. of
the 17th Chapter, raises up the Sky, and where “the children of
Failure,” (that is, shades of darkness) are exterminated. It is not
simply of Hermopolis nor yet of Lake Moeris that one may say
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
‘it is the place of the Eight deities where Rā riseth’ (_Zeitschr._,
1872, p. 8).
The same considerations apply to such names as those of Sutenhunen and
Tattu.
The presence of the divine “Babe,” of the god “of long strides” (Rā), of
the god “of Lion form,” of the goddess Bast, of Nefer-tmu, of the
“Striker” (_Ahi_, a name of Horus), and of Nehebkau, not to mention
others, among the Assessors, would of itself be sufficient to convince
us that, in spite of the strange and terrific names of some of these
personages, they are not to be looked upon as fiends, like Malacoda,
Scarmiglione, and the rest of the demon crew in the Inferno of Dante.
They are not evil spirits, but gods, all of them, “subsisting on
righteousness;” there is “nothing _wrong_ about them.”[113] They are the
gods who accompany Osiris, and, according to Egyptian theology, are his
Names, his Limbs, his Body. If the names of some of them appear harsh or
cruel, it is because strict Justice is inexorable, and Mercy is a
quality never thought of in Egyptian theology.
The exact notion of Maāt in Egyptian texts is discussed in another part
of the present work. In this chapter I have translated it
_Righteousness_, because the question here is about _moral conduct_: and
conformity to the strict Rule of Right towards one’s fellow men, one’s
own self and the heavenly powers is what is meant by Righteousness. And
here it is opposed to moral transgression or sin, not to physical evil,
which itself is a very frequent result from the operation of the
inexorable Maāt.
But in the expression, “Hall of Righteousness,” the word in Egyptian is
used in the dual number: hence the erroneous or inadequate translations,
“the Two Truths,” or “Double Justice,” and the guesses which have been
made as to their meaning.
A very important determinative of the Egyptian word is found not only in
the papyri but in the very earliest mention yet known of the Hall. The
great inscription of the tomb of Peher at El Kab, calls it the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The repetition of the sign ⁂ indicates a
locality in which the Sun-god is _present_, as in the cases of ⁂,
⁂, ⁂⁂ and many others. Space is divided into two parts; one
on the Southern and one on the Northern side of the god as he proceeds
on his course. And when we have for determinatives two Uræi ⁂⁂, or
two ostrich Feathers ⁂⁂, we have to understand two goddesses Maāt,
one to the Left and one to the Right side of Osiris.
These goddesses are Isis and Nephthys, who play very conspicuous parts
in a symbolism discussed in note 2 of the present chapter.
It would be well if evidence could be brought with equal facility to
bear upon all the difficulties with which the chapter abounds. But
though a very lively interest was attracted to it ever since Champollion
quoted extracts from it in his Grammar, the difficulties with which he
did not attempt to cope have only increased with our knowledge of the
language and its scientific treatment. The text is extremely doubtful in
many important parts, the forty-two sins are not the same in all the
manuscripts, and they are not assigned to the jurisdiction of the same
gods. So important a papyrus as that of Sutimes omits some sins of which
an Egyptian would certainly be expected to give an account. The same
word is made to appear with different meanings in the same passage of
the papyri when they are compared together. And there are not a few
important words of which the meaning was first only guessed at by the
first translators, but has been retained without sufficient warrant by
their successors. The present translation is presented under the full
consciousness of all its imperfections, and of the difficulties which
have yet to be overcome before a version can be called satisfactory.
A very admirable contribution towards our acquaintance with the first
part of the chapter was made as far back as 1866 by Dr. Pleyte in his
_Etudes Egyptologiques_. Since then other versions have appeared by MM.
Devéria, Lefébure and Pierret.
The Demotic text of the chapter, first published by Brugsch, and now
more recently, with a complete translation, by M. Revillout, is in
itself most interesting, but written, as it is, in the days of imperial
Rome, cannot always be appealed to as to an authoritative exposition of
the ancient text.
1. _The Day of searching examination_ or reckoning. The word
⁂⁂⁂ has to be compared with the Coptic ⲕⲱϯ in the sense of
_search_, _enquiry_, ζητεῖν, ζήτησις. This sense is derived from
⁂⁂ _a circle_ (⁂⁂⁂ _sail round_) and the notion of
going completely round a thing and approaching it from all sides.
2. _Thou_ [literally _he_] of _the Pair of Eyes_
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.[114] This title of
Osiris is made clear by the 37th chapter, which begins with
an invocation to the _Sister Pair of Goddesses, Merta_
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Merta_ signifying _Two
Eyes_, and the divine Sister pair being Isis and Nephthys.
In vignettes of the chapter (see, _e.g._, Pl. XXXIII and XXXIV, figs. 14
and 16 for instances) the two goddesses appear in human form with their
brother Osiris within the naos where the judgment is delivered. It is
not so easy to recognise them under the form ⁂⁂ which they have
in the vignette of _Pb._ (see Pl. XXXI), or in the picture which is
found in many papyri (_e.g._, those of Nebseni, Hunefer, Ani and the
Turin _Todtenbuch_), wherein the cornice or top row of the decoration
surmounting the forty-two judges has for central figure a man (Osiris)
either supporting the Two Eyes or extending his hands above them (see
Pl. XXXIV, fig. 14).
We have here a symbolism of such extreme importance as to justify a
short excursus on the subject.
The Two Eyes ⁂⁂ are a most frequent symbol on all funereal
monuments; on the most ancient coffins, such as those of Apaānchu,
Antuf, Taka (_Denkm._, II, 98, 146, 147), Mentuhotep (_Aelteste Texte_,
pl. 9 and 25), Sebak-āa (Gio. d’Athanasi, pl. 3) and Amamu, as on mummy
cases generally, and on funereal tablets. Between the Eyes on many
tablets we frequently find the sign ⁂, and this is often followed by
the sign of Water ⁂ or the Vase ⁂, and very frequently by both.
Very often we have two signs ⁂, one by each Eye, and not less
frequently a pair of jackals, ⁂ or ⁂ facing each other. No two
tablets are exactly alike, but the meaning is always the same.
Nor is the meaning changed when the tablet is headed by the Winged Disk
⁂ or ⁂ even though the Eyes are not seen. Their place is
supplied by two Uræi, sometimes crowned with the ⁂ and the ⁂,
insignia of Southern and Northern sovereignty.
On a fine tablet of the twelfth dynasty (_Denkm._, II, 136_b_), the sign
⁂ is attached to each Uræus, and this device is repeated on
innumerable monuments.
According to another device the Two Eyes are represented within the
Winged Disk (see _e.g._, Leemans, _Mon._, III, _M._, Pl. XVI).
“He of the Pair of Eyes” is always Osiris. But Osiris is a god “of many
names,” as the Pyramid Texts show no less than the Book of the Dead,
where in the seventeenth chapter he is identified with Tmu, Rā, the
Bennu, Amsu and Horus, not to mention others, and where in the Scholia
the Two Feathers, the Two Uræi, the Two Eyes and the Two Kites[115] are
identified with the Sister pair Isis and Nephthys. And wherever these
symbols occur in _pairs_ Isis and Nephthys are meant, one for the right
or northern side and the other for the left or southern. The same idea
is conveyed under such forms as ⁂, ⁂, or ⁂, and many others.
Dr. Birch long ago (_Zeitschr._, 1877, p. 33) mentioned ⁂⁂⁂
as representing Osiris between his two sisters. Osiris is often
represented as a living ⁂, with eyes.
The royal crowns and their decorations, such as ⁂, ⁂, ⁂,
⁂, and ⁂, abound in this symbolism.
The ancient coffin of Sebakāa at Berlin (_Aelteste Texte_, pl. 29), in
the phrase ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, recognizes Isis as one of
the Two Eyes. Down to the latest periods the Sisters were known as
⁂⁂⁂, _Eye of the Southern_ or Left _side_ (Isis), and
⁂⁂⁂, _Eye of the Northern_ or Right _side_ (Nephthys). On
countless coffins and sarcophagi these goddesses are represented on
opposite sides, in kneeling attitude, holding the ⁂ in their hands,
like the equivalent Vultures of the North and South, with their claws,
and the Uræi on their bodies.
The meaning of the sign ⁂ is well known. It is a _ring_, and is
applied to the circuit of the heavens made by the sun and other heavenly
bodies. It is also applied to the yearly recurring flow of the Nile. It
has numerically the signification of 10,000,000 or an indefinitely large
number. As attached, ⁂, to the sign of years ⁂,⁂ it means
_Eternity_.
It is therefore an appropriate emblem of Osiris, the Lord of Years,
⁂⁂⁂⁂, _annosus_, ⁂⁂⁂ the _King of Eternity_.
The sign of _Water_ ⁂, and the _Vase_ ⁂, are also emblems of
Osiris, one of whose names is _Water of Renewal_. A chapter of the
Pyramid Texts, Teta, 176, Pepi I, 518, which begins by saying that Seb
has given to the departed (identified with Osiris) the Two Eyes of _that
Great One_,[116] and has done that through Horus who recognizes his
father, proceeds after this to say: “He renews thee in thy name of
⁂⁂⁂⁂, Water of Renewal.”
I cannot say if the _Vase_ ⁂ is a mere appendage to the _Water_, but
if it is not it most probably was meant to contain the ⁂, the divine
and life-giving _Sap_ flowing from Osiris, which is mentioned in another
Pyramid Text (Pepi I, 33), also speaking of the _Water of Renewal_, as a
name of Osiris.
The goddesses Isis and Nephthys as mythological figures represent not
merely the Light at Dawn and Sunset, but the Light thrown out right and
left by the Sun in his entire course, whether in the heavens or in the
Netherworld. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “he lightens up
the earth with his two eyes,” an expression most frequent in the texts,
is not confined to special moments, though it is said of these
emphatically.
In all that has been said thus far, the Two Eyes have been considered as
acting conjointly and discharging one and the same function. When they
are distinguished one from the other as acting in different ways the
symbolism is altered.
The ancient scholion on the 17th Chapter speaks of the Right Eye of Rā,
and the more recent scholion of the papyri speaks of the Eye as being in
pain and weeping for its sister ⁂⁂⁂. The Egyptian name for
the Eye is here ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ut’ait_. The frequent expression
⁂⁂ means _full moon_, and is constantly identified with the
fifteenth day of the month ⁂. The moon is in these texts called the
_Left Eye_ ⁂⁂, and Osiris is said to unite with her (or with her
sister) in order to renew her revolution ⁂⁂⁂⁂. And of the
Eye it is said that ‘she renews her revolution on the fifteenth day’
⁂⁂⁂⁂, and the god (Osiris) makes her full of her _glory_
or _splendour_ (⁂⁂⁂⁂) or what she requires, ⁂⁂ =
⁂⁂⁂⁂. This explains the symbol ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ which
is seen on certain tablets.
But what is the meaning of the passage at the end of Part I of this
chapter--“when the Eye is full in Annu, on the last day of Mechir”
⁂⁂⁂⁂, an expression which is repeated in the title of
Chapter 140? The moon, which is always represented as full on the
fifteenth of the month, cannot be full on the thirtieth. It must be the
other Eye, the Sun. Now we know what is meant by the Full Moon, the
Plenilunium, but what is the Full Sun?
M. de Rougé, in his commentary on the 17th Chapter, gave the key to
this, by pointing out that the 30th Mechir was the last day of the sixth
month of the year; that is the 180th day after the first of Thoth, which
is supposed to coincide with the Summer Solstice. It is therefore at the
time of the _Winter_ Solstice that the Eye is said to be full. The
inaccuracy, of course, arises from the length of the Egyptian year. But
there can be no doubt that the time of the Winter Solstice is meant.
In the year 1470 B.C. the Egyptian year began on July 20, and the 30th
Mechir coincided with January 15 of the Julian calendar.
If the Eye (considered as the Sun) is said to be _full_ at the Winter
Solstice, it was most probably spoken of in the same way not only at the
Summer Solstice, but also at the two Equinoxes. And this is the most
probable reason why in the pictures representing the Four Rudders of
Heaven (North, South, East and West) an Eye ⁂ is attached to each
rudder. (See Vignettes of Chapter 148.)
The Two Eyes, considered as Sun and Moon, are attributed not only to Rā
and Osiris, but to gods identified with these. Of the two passages which
have been most frequently quoted, “Thy Right Eye is the Sun
⁂⁂⁂ and thy left is the Moon ⁂⁂,” “His Right Eye is the
Sun and his left is the Moon,” the first is addressed to Ptah (in the
Pap. Berlin, VII, l. 42), and the second, which occurs on the Neapolitan
Stele, is really addressed to Osiris as god of Suten-hunen, under the
form of the Ram-headed deity Her-śefit. Reference is made towards the
end of the inscription to the “divine Eyes which are in Suten-hunen.”
Horus according to the Pyramid Texts has two eyes, a Light one and a
Dark one. But the “Eye of Horus” is most frequently spoken of in the
singular number. It is certainly meant for the Sun, and the name of it
is given to cakes and ale, wine, corn, oil, honey, and all the good
things which come to maturity through the beneficent god: who has in
himself all the attributes of ‘Ceres and Bacchus.’
I must bring this long note to an end with one or two observations.
Many goddesses will be found bearing the title of Eye of Rā. There is
not one of these who is not identified with Isis or Nephthys, who are in
fact one, and personify the Light of the Sun.
Shu and Tefnut, who are brother and sister, play the same parts as the
two goddesses.
There is a picture, which appears in the vignette of Chapter 17 in most
of the papyri of the second and later periods, of two _male_ deities
bearing the Eyes over their heads (see Pl. XXXV). If the beards upon
their chins are not a mistake,[117] copied from one papyrus upon
another, they must represent not Isis and Nephthys but the two Rehu
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ Rā and Thoth, Sun and Moon, instead of the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
It is important to note that if Sun and Moon are Eyes of Osiris or Rā or
Ptah, the deity is not to be confounded with them: they are but
manifestations of himself.
3. _Kindred_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The sign of plurality does not
here, any more than in Chapter 1, necessarily imply more than one
person. The crime in question is one to which men are easily tempted in
certain stages of society. Abimelech, in the book of Judges (ix, 5),
“slew his brethren, the sons of Jerubbaal.” Jephthah had to “flee from
the face of his brethren.” Absalom had his brother Amnon assassinated,
and all the king’s sons fled in fear of sharing the same fate. Solomon
put to death his elder brother Adonijah. Athaliah, the queen mother,
“destroyed all the seed royal” of Judah. The annals of eastern[118] and
even western[119] nations are full of such occurrences. But, in
positions less exalted than that of claimants to royalty, ambition or
covetousness are motives to crimes like that of the wicked uncle of ‘the
Babes in the Wood.’[120] The reading ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which has for
determinative the sign ⁂ of _smallness_, seems to indicate that the
victims of the crime are _minors_, perhaps _wards_.
Some of the papyri (even that of Nebseni) have a _calf_, ⁂, as
determinative of the word, and as the ‘slaying of calves’ is not
necessarily a crime, other scribes have added ⁂⁂, ‘sacred,’ and
thus made the sin one of sacrilege.
The same word, like the Greek μόσχος and the Latin _pullus_, might be
applied to the young of all kinds of animals; but the Egyptian scribes
have in such cases a propensity to use a determinative which forces a
wrong sense upon the word.
4. _Instead of truth_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. There are two
ways according to which this expression may be translated, but only one
of them can be the right one. ⁂⁂⁂ is a compound preposition,
_instead of_, _in loco_, _anstatt_, _au lieu de_, بمنزلة. And this is
evidently the right construction. If ⁂ be taken as the simple
preposition governing ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the meaning will be that
the deceased did not “tell lies _in the cemetery_.” The Pyramid Texts
(Unas, 394) have the expression ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂(_sic_),
“Right instead of Wrong.”
5. This is only an approximate version of a passage, the true text of
which was lost at an early period. M. Maspero (_Origines_, p. 189)
understands it as follows: “Je n’ai jamais imposé du travail à l’homme
libre quelconque, en plus de celui qu’il faisait pour luimême!” The last
words are the translation of ⁂⁂⁂, according to _Td._ (tomb
of Ramses IV) all the other ancient texts having ⁂, ‘_for me_.’ But
the chief difficulties occur at the beginning of the sentence.
6. _Shorten the palm’s length_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Many papyri
read ⁂, which is a superficial measure, more in place under the next
precept.
7. _The fields’ measure_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
8. _The beam of the balance_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
_The tongue_ [rather _plummet_] _of the balance_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The balance is so frequently represented in false perspective by
Egyptian artists, that Sir J. G. Wilkinson has given an account of it,
which is quite unintelligible to those who have ever so moderate a
knowledge of statics. Mr. Petrie’s description is the true one. “The
beam was suspended by a loop or ring from a bracket projecting from the
stand.... Then below the beam, a long tongue was attached, not above the
beam as with us. To test the level of the beam, a plummet hung down the
tongue, and it was this plummet which was observed to see if the tongue
was vertical and the beam horizontal.”--_A Season in Egypt_, p. 42.
In Pl. XXXVI, a few pictures will be found which give a more correct
notion of the Egyptian balance than some of the absurd representations
which defy a scientific explanation.
It is evident that if the tongue is fastened at a wrong angle, the beam
will not really be horizontal when the tongue is shown by the plummet
line to be vertical. This seems to be the fraud alluded to in the text.
The word ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂, the name given to the plummet,
apparently signifies a cup _full_ of liquid. It is etymologically
identical with ⁂⁂⁂⁂, _a toper_ (ⲑⲁϧⲓ, ϯϩⲉ, _ebrius_,
_ebrietas_), ⁂⁂⁂, ⲧⲓϧⲓ, _a crane_, and ⁂⁂⁂ the
crane-god, Thoth.
The apparatus of which the plummet forms so important a part, whether
for the balance or for building purposes, is called ⁂⁂⁂
(_Denkm._, III, 26), ⁂⁂.
9. _The manors of the gods_, ⁂⁂⁂. I understand ⁂⁂ as
property acquired by royal grant. Aâhmes at El Kab says that he has
_acquired_ (⁂⁂⁂⁂) much land through the royal bounty. The
deceased in the later copies of the Book of the Dead (Ch. 1, 24),
acquires the allotment of land, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, in the
Garden of Aarru, and Ani (Pl. III) acquires “a permanent allotment
(⁂⁂⁂) in the Garden of Hotepit like the followers of Horus.”
10. _Ponds._ The right reading is ⁂⁂⁂, as Birch already noted
in his _Dictionary_, from the excellent papyrus _Ao_ of the XVIIIth
dynasty.
Hieratic papyri also give the determinative ⁂.
The determinative ⁂ which some of the papyri give to the word, and
which is a self-evident blunder, is probably copied either from ⁂,
or from ⁂. The sign ⁂, and a man striking with an instrument,
which also occur, are mere symbols of the operation by which either
_quarries_, or _ponds_, are _cut_.
11. _Thou of the Nose_, or rather _Beak_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, in
allusion to one of the chief characteristic features of the Ibis god
(πρόσωπον ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἐπίγρυπον; _Herodotus_, II, 76, in his
description of the bird). Thoth, the god of Chemunnu, is meant by this
appellative.
He is so called, ⁂⁂⁂, on the statue of the King Horus in the
Museum of Turin (l. 8), and ⁂⁂⁂ on the very much more ancient
altar, of the VIth dynasty, belonging to the same museum. The same
appellative[121] is found in the list of gods upon each of the Memphite
cubits described by Lepsius.[122]
12. _Eater of the Shadow._ The Demotic version interprets this of “his
own shadow.” I am rather inclined to interpret it by “the gnomons which
were without shadows at noon,” and the “well of Syene” (Strabo, 817) at
the Summer Solstice; when the Sun was vertical.
13. _Thou of Lion form_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The Demotic has “Shu and
Tefnut.” But as there are only forty-two gods in all, we must here think
of a single god with a lion’s head, as in such pictures as _Wilkinson_,
III, Pl. XLIX; _Denkm._, III, 276, and many sarcophagi (_e.g._, Leemans,
_Mon._, III, L, Pl. III).
Even some of the Theban papyri have two divinities by way of
determinatives to the group.
14. _Sluggish_, ⁂⁂⁂; ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂,
_sluggishness_. Coptic ϭⲛⲁⲩ. See my note (_Proc. Soc. Bib. Arch._, XI,
p. 76) on the Inscription of Kum el Ahmar.
There are however other readings; none of them apparently of any value.
15. _Thou of the Bright Teeth_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The
Demotic equivalent is, “who openeth his teeth,” and so exhibits their
brightness.
16. _Âati_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, a name about which the copyists have
bungled. It is one of the names of Râ in the Solar Litany, where it
appears (l. 23) as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, or ⁂⁂. Whether
applied to the Sun, to the Fish of the name, or to a Ship, the name
means _Cutter_, ‘that which cleaves’ its way.
17. _Ṭuṭu_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, with many variants, showing that the
scribes did not understand the sense of the syllable ⁂⁂, some of
them adding the bird of evil ⁂, others the ⁂ determinative of
_mountain_. The name on the Sarcophagus of Seti (Bon. II, A. 30) has a
snake for determinative, and some papyri call him _Ṭuṭu_. The god may be
recognised in later texts. In the Calendar of Esneh there is a feast on
the 14th day of Thoth, in honour of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Tutu, ‘the
son of Neith,’ and the text gives the important determinative ⁂, of a
_serpent_, _worm_, or _slug_. I feel sure, therefore, that we should in
the text read the name Tutu, and consider ⁂ as a determinative.[123]
The symbolism would then be identical with that in Pl. XXIII,
illustrative of Chapter 87. The Sun-god there rises up like a worm out
of the Lotus of Dawn, whereas in another picture a slug (⁂) is seen
moving upon the flower.
⁂⁂, _Ati_, where the god makes his appearance, is the name of the
ninth Nome of Lower Egypt.
18. _I trouble myself only with my own affairs._ I understand this of
the virtue spoken of by Cicero (_de Officiis_, I, 34), “nihil praeter
suum negotium agere, nihil de alieno anquirere, minimeque esse in aliena
republica curiosum.” It is the same to which Plato refers in the
_Timaeus_, 72 A; εὖ καὶ πάλαι λέγεται τὸ πράττειν καὶ γνῶναι τὰ τε
ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἑαυτὸν σώφρονι μόνῳ προσήκειν, not in the sense of a selfish
indifference to a neighbour’s welfare or the public good, but in
opposition to the ways of the busybodies, who tattle and “speak things
which they ought not” (1 Tim., v, 13).
The Egyptian ⁂⁂⁂ is a rare word. Brugsch’s etymology of it is
an impossible one, and his identification of it with ϣⲱⲥⲙ is not less
unfortunate.
19. _Amu_, or _Amit_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂.
This seems to be the favourite reading. It means the _town of Palm_.
But, as the name was written ideographically, it appears in some copies
as the town of other trees, such as _Nehait_, or _Nārit_.
Amu was a place in the north of Egypt, which Brugsch thinks he has
identified with a town called Apis (the site of which is itself
doubtful).
The most interesting thing known about Amu (Dümichen, _Rec. de M._, IV,
Pl. XV, 90 _a_), is that in the rites performed on the 16 Choiak, Horus
is represented as raising up the body of Osiris out of the water in the
form of a crocodile; and that Osiris was known under the name of
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _The Crocodile, Lord of Amu_.
The 142nd chapter of the Book of the Dead, which gives a list of the
names of Osiris, has (l. 17) that of ⁂⁂, ‘Osiris of Crocodile
form,’ or ‘with Crocodile head.’[124] The variants of this group,
however, show the reading ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘king,’ or
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘of kingly form.’ There is but little doubt that
(as M. Naville says, _Zeitschr._, 1882, p. 190) ⁂⁂⁂⁂ on the
Turin tablet published by Professor Piehl, means ‘King of the gods,’ and
that Ptahhotep in the Prisse papyrus (IV, 1) addresses not Osiris, but
King Assa as ‘my Lord the King,’ Goodwin had already asserted this
meaning in his “_Story of Saneha_,” and in the _Zeitschr._, 1874, p. 38.
The orthography of the crocodile name here played upon is remarkably
vague, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, and ⁂⁂⁂ (_rapax_,
Louvre, C, 26). It is this last form which enables us to see the
paranomasia in ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _rapax sicut Raptor_
(_crocodilus_) of the Prisse papyrus (VII, 6), and brings the word into
connection with _ȧta_, or _ȧti_, ‘he who is seized’ of the Sovereignty
(see _supra_, Ch. 40, note 10).
20. _Chemiu_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘one who overthrows.’ His
appearance is made at _Kauu_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, the Canobic entrance
to the Nile, which the Libyan invaders had taken possession of in the
time of Rameses III (Great _Harris Pap._, 77, 2).
The _transgression_ here disavowed is understood by some of the scribes
as a violation of ritual precepts, such as those regarding sacred
seasons.
21. _Who raisest thy voice_ ... _words of Righteousness_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂ is an attribute assigned to Isis in the Hymn to Osiris
(line 14) on the Stele of Amenemhait in the Bibliothèque Nationale; and
it is there further defined through the addition of the words
⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘with _clearness_ of utterance’ (_cf._ Ch. 1, note
2). One of the chief names of Isis is ⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘Mighty in
Words of Power.’ She is also described in the Hymn as ‘Most potent of
tongue (⁂⁂⁂⁂) and unfailing of speech.’[125]
Her name _Urit ḥekait_ may have suggested the name _Urit_ as the place
of her manifestation. But we do not know if _Urit_ is to be taken as the
name of a town or if some papyri are correct in reading ⁂⁂⁂,
which may mean _tribunal_.
There were in ancient Egypt _six_ great courts of justice,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
A High Priest of Ptah of Memphis, named Ptahmes, in the early part
of the eighteenth dynasty, who was President of these six
Courts,[126] has left a very remarkable attestation relative to
the 24th Precept, on a beautiful scribe’s palette in basalt
(Louvre, _Inv._, 3026). The inscription, after saying that the
whole country was subject to the jurisdiction of Ptahmes, proceeds
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. “He
turned not a deaf ear to the truth, through the terrors of his
Eye;” that is, “the terrors of his Eye” were not used for the
perversion of Justice. But what is meant by his “Eye”? M. Pierret
(in his _Inscr. inédites du Louvre_, pt. 1, p. 96) suggested the
‘Eye of Horus.’ I think it has reference to the position of
Ptahmes as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. He was ‘the King’s Eye,’
ὁ βασιλέως ὀφθαλμός,[127] and had in consequence, an unlimited
power of defeating justice had he been so inclined.
It is only by a blunder[128] that the papyrus of Ani makes
⁂⁂⁂⁂ (the nineteenth Nome of Upper Egypt) the scene of
the divine Babe’s manifestation, which is unquestionably Heliopolis.
The name of the Nome has numerous variants, but they always consist of
two signs, _a crooked staff_ (⁂, ⁂, ⁂, ⁂) either double
or with _a twisted cord_ (⁂, ⁂, ⁂, ⁂), and the final
sound of the name (when expressed) is in ⁂, ⁂. The key to the
phonetic reading of the name of the Heliopolitan Nome is to be found
in the inscription at Edfu (J. de Rougé, _Edfou_, pl. 46);
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Here
the _crook_ of the name is identified with the _crook_ and _flail_
⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ams_, ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧms_, ⁂⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂ _emsit_ of Osiris, who is called in the Book of the
Dead (_Todt._, 142, 9) ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _the August
Dismembered[129] one of the Powers of Annu_. And this is how, in the
important papyrus _Pc_, we find ⁂⁂⁂ in Ch. 17 as the
equivalent of ⁂⁂⁂⁂, a few words after, in the same
papyrus. Both groups are to be read _ȧmsu_; which means _furnished
with the crook_ (_or sceptre_) _and flail_, ⁂⁂ or ⁂.[130]
22. _Hot of foot_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The Coptic ⲟⲩⲉⲙϩⲏⲧ, _poenitentiam agere_, would be the natural
representative of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, but the meanings of the terms
cannot be the same. The latter is expressive of a passion, the
indulgence in which may be laudable in the gods and yet blameworthy in
men. For the divine wrath is necessarily just; whereas human anger, even
when it seems to listen to reason, listens, as the philosopher says, but
imperfectly.[131]
The 29th god, _Kenemta_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, has also for
determinative the sign ⁂ of a cynocephalus. This is explained by his
identity with the constellation which occupies the whole month of Thoth
in the list of the Decans. But though the name means ‘_in Ape form_,’
the word ⁂⁂⁂ in the Pyramid Texts (Pepi i, 408, and Merira
579) is used in the sense of ‘vested,’ ‘clad,’ perhaps simply ‘covered.’
Brugsch has identified the locality _Kenemit_ with the Great Oasis at
Khargeh. It may be asked if the Oasis bore this name at the time when
this chapter was composed. The determinative ⁂ proves nothing
beyond the actual sense of the word, but it suggests that the _Dark_ may
be a sufficient translation. From the etymology I should like to
assimilate it to the ποικιλείμων νὺξ of the Prometheus Vinctus, or to
the ‘furvo circumdata peplo’ of the Latin poet.
23. _Of inconstant mind_, ⁂⁂⁂.
24. Another intelligible reading of the precept is, “I rob not the dead
of their wrappings”; but the text is so corrupt that none of the
readings are of any value.
The god is called ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, both of
which words I understand in the sense of _busy-minded_, _planning_,
_devising_, _crafty_, _wise_.
The appellative _Horned one_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, of the next
precept, is the exact equivalent of the Hebrew בַּעַל קַרְנַיִס, and is
the attribute of Osiris (_Todt._, 144, 4), especially in the character
of ⁂⁂⁂; under which name he was worshipped at Sutenhunen.
25. _Noisy in speech_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
26. _Striker_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂. A name of Horus, on which see ch. 103,
note.
27. There is no locality about which there is any agreement between the
older papyri, and many of them omit the mention of a locality; later
authorities, like the Turin text, read ⁂⁂ _Annu_.
28. _No unjust preferences_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. There is no virtue more
frequently extolled on the funereal monuments than the absence of
favouritism. Great personages in their epitaphs are strong in their
declarations that they made no distinction between great and small, rich
or poor, wise or simple. The declaration of Ameni (_Denkm._, ii, 122),
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, is a type of many
others.
29. Of _raised head_, ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, or (B.M. 9971)
⁂⁂⁂. This, like the last two, is a name of the Nile god, who
is one of the manifestations of Osiris.
30. _Who liftest an arm_, ⁂⁂, not ‘_amener_ son bras.’ ⁂, like
the Greek φέρειν, means _bear_ in the sense of _holding up_,
_supporting_. When it signifies _bring_ the collateral notion of
_motion_ is imported from the context. The god Shu, who is called
⁂⁂, _holds up_, _supports_, _the sky_, but does not _bring_ it.
The god _who holds up his arm_, is of course the ithyphallic Amon[132]
⁂, who in Ch. 17 is identified not only with Horus but with Osiris.
31. This introduction to Part III of this chapter occurs only in the
Papyrus of Nebkat (_Pe_). Another ancient manuscript (_Pb_) has the
words “Said upon approaching triumphantly to the Hall of Righteousness.”
But the texts generally begin with the invocation, “Hail ye gods, I know
you and I know your names.”
32. _Reverse of mine_, ⁂⁂, a turn of the wheel, which the
context implies to be unfortunate. A very absurd reading is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, as if the defendant were master of the
fates of his divine judges.
33. _The King who resideth within His own Day._ A very doubtful passage
at present. The words do not occur in the oldest text of the chapter
(that of Nebseni), and they are omitted here in the later recensions.
_Ad_ is, as far as I know, the only authority for ⁂⁂⁂⁂;
other papyri having merely ⁂, which might possibly correspond to
the ⁂⁂ immediately preceding. The Royal tombs have
⁂⁂⁂⁂, and one of the papyri has ⁂⁂⁂ instead of
⁂⁂⁂. All this reminds one of an obscure passage in Chapter
115, where Rā is speaking with ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
according to the Text of the Turin _Todtenbuch_. Goodwin conjectured
that King Amhauf belonged ‘to the race of mythical kings who preceded
Menes,’ and that his history is ‘a legend somewhat analogous to that of
Deucalion and Pyrrha.’ There is a much more probable solution of the
matter.
⁂⁂⁂ is meant for ⁂⁂⁂ _Sut_, and it was with this god
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂[133] ‘in his
_course_’ that Rā was speaking when the disaster happened to the latter
divinity, who for his talk had chosen a wrong _moment_, which really
belonged to his adversary. _Cf. supra_ note 3 on Chapter 110.
And here too I would instead of ⁂⁂ read ⁂⁂, and the
sense of the passage would be “let not reverse of mine come to pass
through Sutu, when his time cometh.”
34. _Cares_, ⁂⁂ in the later texts. The older texts differ
greatly from each other: ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the most frequent
reading.
35. _The Ass and the Cat in the house of Hept-ro._ The two personages
who take part in this dialogue are known from other portions of the Book
of the Dead. The Cat is Rā in the 17th chapter. And the Ass appears in
the 40th chapter, as the victim of the devouring Serpent. The Sun-god
overcome by darkness is Osiris; and he is so called by name in the
Demotic version of this chapter.
_Hepṭ-ro_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘god of the gaping mouth.’ The word
⁂⁂⁂ is not found elsewhere, but the meaning of it seems to be
indicated by the determinative. It is very probably akin to the more
common ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂, which does not mean ‘squat’ or ‘sit,’
but ‘stretch out,’ _distendi_. _Cf._ Note 6, Chapter 63B.
The ‘house of the god of the gaping mouth,’ seems to be the _Earth_,
considered as the universal tomb (ἀλλ’ αὐτοῦ γαῖα μέλαινα πᾶσι χάνοι,
Il. 14, 417). And here Osiris and Rā (the Ass and the Cat) meet daily,
‘Yesterday’ speaketh to ‘To-day.’
יוס ליוס יביע אמר
36. _Verdict_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
A note of M. Guyesse in the _Recueil_, X, p. 64, contains references to
the chief passages in which this word occurs. I will add a very
important one, the picture of a god (Lefébure, _Tombeau de Seti_, p.
III, pl. 33) with sword in hand, whose name is this word. The
ideographic signs which express it imply (1) ‘a _cutting_ in two,
parting, division,’ (2) that the act is one of speech or intellect, such
as ‘judgment, decision, verdict.’ The phonetic equivalence of the signs
⁂ and ⁂ or ⁂ show that the value is that of _Seb_.
37. _Covereth._ The right Egyptian word here, as in a similar passage in
Chapter 17, is uncertain, but the meaning is plain enough. There are
many pictures showing a divinity (the sun or moon-god) hidden within or
behind a tree.
38. _That the Balance may be set upon its stand within the bower of
amaranth._
_Cf._ the passage (Rochemonteix, _Edfou_, p. 191) where mention is made
of the divine powers which animate the Princes who are in the train of
Osiris and who lift the Balance upon the stand before them
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
_Amaranth_ (see Note 3 of Chapter 26) is only one of the readings of
this doubtful text.
39. _Disasters_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ bad luck, misfortune.
See my note on this word, _T.S.B.A._, II, p. 313.
40. _Grasshoppers_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The similar word סלעם, which
only occurs in Lev. xi, 22, does not appear to be Semitic. It is a
sufficiently familiar word in Egyptian to serve as a term in comparison,
‘as plentiful as grasshoppers.’
41. The text here is quite uncertain. The Turin _Todtenbuch_ has “the
fourth hour of the Night and the eighth hour of the Day,” which does not
agree with any early reading. _Cd._ has “the fourth hour of the Night
and of the Day.” Several papyri have the “second hour of the Night and
the third ⁂⁂⁂ of the Day.” It was in this passage, as written
in B.M. 9904, that, in the year 1860, I found the phonetic value of the
Egyptian number 3: a discovery first ascribed by Brugsch[134] to
Goodwin, and afterwards by others to Brugsch himself.
42. _The hearts of the gods are appeased_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
_Cf._ ⲛⲁⲓ, ἱλάσκεσθαι, and ⲛⲁⲏⲧ, ἐλεήμων, οἰκτίρμων. This explains Pap.
Prisse XVII, 6 ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
43. _Let him come._ ⁂⁂⁂ is a tolerably certain reading, but it
is not possible to say what should be the word preceding this. The
scribes have written ‘there he cometh,’ ‘we grant that he come,’ ‘I
grant,’ ‘let him be brought in,’ and the like.
44. _He who groweth under the Grass_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
45. _A thigh_, ⁂⁂⁂, also written ⁂⁂.
46. _See the greetings_: φωνῇ γαρ ὁρῶ, τὸ φατιζόμενον, _Oedip. Col._
138.
47. _The Leaf_, ⁂⁂⁂.
48. _Pointer_ [or _Plummet_] _of Truth_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
49. _The Scale Pan_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂.
50. _The Dragon Brood_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
51. _The Truncheon of Hathor_, ⁂⁂⁂ does not appear to be a very
familiar word to the scribes, who write it in the most diverse ways
possible; one of them even understanding it as the ‘opening of heaven’
⁂. All that we can say is that the word is shown by its
determinative to be of _wood_, and by its etymology (_cf._ ⁂⁂,
⁂) to serve for _striking_, _blinding_, or _slaying_. Some of the
texts name Hathor, and others Nephthys. The sign ⁂ occurs in both
names, and the scribes have read the rest of the name as best they
could.
52. _He who knoweth the heart and exploreth the person_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. This is so exactly the
equivalent of “Searching the heart and trying the reins” of Jeremiah
(xvii, 10), that we might have expected to find something like it in the
Coptic version of the Bible. But there we have nothing but a close
adherence to the sense of the Septuagint, and even to such a word as
δοκιμάζειν.
53. _Who provideth for._ ⁂⁂⁂ is the equivalent of the Greek
φρονεῖν in the inscription of Tanis, and of μέριμνα in the Demotic text
of the verses of Moschion. The Coptic form is ⲙⲉⲩⲓ, ⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ, which stands
for φρονεῖν in Phil. iv, 10, “Your _care_ of me, wherein ye also were
_careful_.”
Thoth is thus represented as the divine Providence, which takes care of
the universe. The same view is found in a text at Edfu.
54. _The Eye_ of Horus; see latter part of Note 2, of this chapter.
-----
Footnote 111:
Apparently suggested by the scene in the tomb of Hor-em-heb (see
_Denkm._, III, 78), in the time of Amenophis III. (Plate XXXII, fig.
15.)
Footnote 112:
The picture of the Babe lifted up into the upper world by two
divinities speaks for itself. Of the birth of the Sun as the Winged
Scarab at the beginning of the first hour of the day, M. Maspero, in
his description of the text, says: “Il est salué à ton apparition par
les huit ... ‘les esprits d’Orient, dieux du ciel, des terres, des
pays étrangers, de la montagne d’horizon orientale qui est On.’”
Footnote 113:
This is the principle by which to judge the cases of the
_Facing-backward_ god ⁂⁂⁂⁂ serpentine, or crocodile
⁂⁂⁂, and of Uammeta ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, against
both of whom a passage of the ‘Book of Hades’ (Bonomi, _Sarc._, pl. II
A) has been quoted. The book, of course, is of inferior authority to
the ‘Book of the Dead,’ but in any case it must be remembered that
these names, as appellatives, are _common_ nouns (_Uammeta_ is in the
_plural_ number in the passage in question), and may simply mean
_Serpents_. Sutu is called by the first of these names at Edfu
(_Zeitschr._, 1871, p. 108). But even at Dendera (Lanzone, _Diz._, pl.
173, 1) this ‘god of serpent face’ is ‘disastrous to the Sebau,’ the
enemies of Osiris and Rā, and is therefore not one of them. His soul
is invoked like those of all the great gods in the royal tombs.
Footnote 114:
The ⁂ is not to be read _fi_ or _fy_. The sign ⁂ is merely
the ideogram of the number 2, like the letter ⲃ in Coptic. The belief
in an Egyptian dual with ⁂ as a final syllable is an illusion,
though a very pardonable one, of our grammarians.
Footnote 115:
Or _Vultures_. _See_ M. Gayet’s _Temple de Luxor_, Pl. xliii, fig.
127, where the Bird at each end of the picture holds ⁂ in its
claw. And note the tabernacles (a very frequent picture) where a
winged goddess bearing the ⁂ kneels on either side of the solar
scarab.
Footnote 116:
Or as it is said in other words (Teta, 172; Pepi I, 130; Pepi II, 107,
and Merenra, 152), “Seb hath brought to thy side thy two sisters, Isis
and Nephthys.”
Footnote 117:
A very conceivable, because a very frequent, one.
Footnote 118:
“His sons were kept in prison, till they grew
Of years to fill a bowstring or a throne.”
Footnote 119:
To quote only well known cases, we have ‘the massacre of the princes,’
involving the two uncles and seven cousins of the Emperor Constantius,
and those of our own King John and Richard III.
Footnote 120:
The legislation of Solon is said by Diogenes Laertius (who is however
contradicted by notorious evidence) to have excluded from the position
of guardian anyone who had the right of succession to the ward’s
estate. And this was also the law of England with reference to
guardians in socage. In France the next in succession had the charge
of the estate, but was excluded from the custody of the person of the
ward.
Footnote 121:
The true sense of the name has been missed by Birch, who reads it
Teti, and by Brugsch, who reads it “Chonti, der Anfängliche.” At
Beb-el-moluk it is written ⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 122:
_D. Aegyptische Elle_, Taf. 1 and 2.
Footnote 123:
_Cf._ the forms ⁂`⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂ and
⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Naville, _Litanies_, pp. 55, 83, and the
corresponding texts) of one of the Solar names.
Footnote 124:
On the other hand in the standard ⁂ of Dendera, the Crocodile is
Sut, and the Feather upon his head is Osiris.
Footnote 125:
Her son Horus inherited these gifts. He is invoked (_Metternich
Stele_, line 106),
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Footnote 126:
Rechmarā filled this office shortly before this, in the time of
Thothmes III, and the inscriptions of his tomb give interesting
information of the duties discharged. His clerks are praised for the
virtue of discretion (18th Precept). Each heard the reports read by
others, but without troubling himself with what did not concern him.
See next note.
Footnote 127:
This office is often referred to by Greek writers as existing in the
Persian hierarchy. Pseudartabas, the ‘King’s Eye,’ is one of the
Dramatis Personæ in the _Acharnians_ of Aristophanes. Herodotus (1,
114) tells how Cyrus being chosen king by his playfellows, selected
his principal officers, and one among the boys to be the ‘King’s Eye.’
Aeschylus does not forget in his _Persae_ (line 976) to make the
Chorus bewail the loss of the King’s faithful Eye.
The most ancient personage who is known to me as the ‘King’s Eye’ in
Egypt is Antuf, whose tablet (of the 12th dynasty) is in the Louvre
(C. 26). His duties are detailed on this magnificent tablet, and they
are very similar to those of Rechmarā. He is described not only as the
King’s Eyes which see, but ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
the “Tongue which speaks, of the lord of the Palace.”
Footnote 128:
⁂⁂ in cursive writing might be mistaken for ⁂⁂ or for
⁂⁂, and the scribe, to show his learning, might interpolate
the ⁂, but even this might be an error for ⁂.
Footnote 129:
The determinatives in ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂, express the sense of
_division_, διαμελισμός, and the insect (a scolopendron) in ⁂⁂
exhibits the very notion which has given rise to the Latin _insecta_
and the Greek ἔντομον
Footnote 130:
For more particular details, see P.S.B.A., viii, p. 245, and
following.
Footnote 131:
Ἀκούειν τι τοῦ λόγου, παρακούειν δε: _Ethic. Nich._, viii. 7.
Footnote 132:
There is no such god as _Min_ or _Minu_, except as an abbreviated (or
perhaps primitive) _orthographic_ form of _Amon_. ⁂⁂⁂ and
⁂⁂ bear to ⁂⁂⁂ exactly the same relationship
that ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, have to
⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Neither _Amen_ nor the shorter form can be the phonetic equivalent of
⁂. The image of Horus with the Flail at Edfu is described (J. de
Rougé, pl. C. III) as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _Horus as
Amsu-Amen_, and I have elsewhere quoted from _Tempel insch._, I, 32,
the ⁂⁂⁂ _Amsu- Men_ [or _Amen_] as well as ⁂⁂
_Amsu Horus_.
Footnote 133:
The Luynes papyrus reads ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which affords
good reason for thinking that in Chapter 115, as elsewhere, ⁂
was originally written without its phonetic value.
Footnote 134:
_Zeitschr._, No. 3.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XL.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXXVI. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXVI.
=Papyrus, British Museum. No. 9913.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXIX.
=Musée du Louvre, Papyrus III, 36.=
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXXX. =Papyrus, Leyden, VI.=]
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PLATE XLI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXI.
=Papyrus, Musée du Louvre, No. 3079.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXII.
=Brit. Mus. Papyrus, No. 9964.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXII.
=Papyrus, Brocklehurst, II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXIII.
=Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXXXIV. =Papyrus of Ani, British Museum.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXXXIV. =Papyrus, British Museum, No. 9900.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXVI.
=Papyrus, Brit. Mus., No. 9913.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXVI.
=Papyrus, Brit. Mus., No. 9900.=
]
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CHAPTER CXXVI.
Oh ye four Harbingers(1.) who sit at the prow of the Bark of Rā, and
convey the fixed ordinances(2.) of the Inviolate One, ye who are judges
of my distress(3.) and of my good fortune, and propitiate the gods with
the flames from your mouths: ye who present to the gods their oblations
and the sacrificial meals to the Glorified: ye who live through Maāt and
are sated with Maāt: who have nothing wrong in you and execrate that
which is disordered,(4.) do ye put an end to my ills and remove that
which is disorderly in me through my being smitten to the earth.(5.)
Grant that I may penetrate into the Ammehit and enter into Restau; and
that I may pass through the mysterious portals of Amenta.
Be there given to me the Shensu cakes and the Persen cakes [and all
things] even as to the Glorified, who make their appearance on entering
into Restau or on coming forth.(6.)
Enter thou, Osiris _N_: We put an end to thine ills, and we remove that
which is disorderly in thee through thy being smitten to the earth. We
put away from thee all the ills which thou hast. Enter thou into Restau
and pass through the mysterious portals of Amenta. Enter thou in and
come forth at thy pleasure, like the Glorified ones; and be thou invoked
each day in the Mount of Glory.(7.)
NOTES.
In the older papyri the vignette of this chapter is unaccompanied by any
text. The only exception as yet known is that of the papyrus _Ab_, of
the XVIIIth dynasty. The text is also found in the tomb of Rameses VI,
with the important addition of the answer made by the four _Harbingers_
to the prayer of the deceased. This addition is retained in all the
later recensions. Other discrepancies between the two texts lead to the
conclusion that even the older one has suffered from interpolation.
1. _Harbingers_ or _Saluters_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. See Chapter 5,
Note 5, for an explanation of the name of those Apes who salute[135] the
Daybreak. Here _four_ only are spoken of, and this was probably the
original number, corresponding to the four portals of the Mount of
Glory. The number _eight_ (the Chemunnu) is more easy to explain than
_six_, which is the number stated in the text quoted from the tomb of
Rameses VI.
2. _Fixed ordinances_, ⁂⁂; θέμιστες in the different acceptations
of that word.
3. _Distress_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. “Te semper anteit saeva
_necessitas_,” Horace says to Fortuna. The determinative ⁂ and the
Coptic ⲙⲣ̄ evidently point to the notion of _constraint_, but the few
texts in which the word is found imply _want_, _need_ (_angustiæ_,
ἀνάγκη),[136] rather than captivity. Amenemhat at Benihassan (tomb 2)
boasts that in his days and under his government no one was seen “in
distress (⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂), or starving.” And Horus at Edfu
(Naville, _Mythe d’Horus_, pl. XXII) is said to protect the _needy_ or
_distressed_ (⁂⁂⁂) against the powerful. This is an honour
already claimed by Antuf on his tablet (Louvre, C. 26 line 17), who
mentions the _maȧru_ as being an object of interest to him, like the
orphan and the widow.
4. _Disordered_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, is the absence of ⁂⁂,
strict _order_, and always spoken of as in opposition to it. One is
κόσμος and the other is οὐ κατὰ κόσμον, and may be predicated of
whatever is contrary to rule, faulty, defective, out of line, deformed,
or disfigured, not only in a moral but in a purely physical sense.
⁂⁂, _ill_, does not mean _wickedness_ or _sin_, but simply
physical evil, mischief, pain or sorrow. There are many texts to prove
this, but perhaps the most interesting is the great text at Dendera
(Mariette, _Denderah_, IV, pl. 73, or Dümichen, _Rec._, III, pl. 96),
where Osiris is invoked at Apu (Panopolis) as the fiery Bull, hiding (or
scarcely seen) on the day of the New Moon ..., but at length rising into
full strength,[137] and seeing the Golden Horus fixed upon the throne of
the universe. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (continues the text),
“Joy cometh round after[138] pain,” or sorrow; most certainly, not after
_sin_.
The meaning of ⁂, which governs the noun, has been explained
(Chapter 40, Note 6) as _stopping_, _bringing to an end_; not
_destroying_, and still less _forgiving_.
5. _Through my being_ [or _because I am_] _smitten to the earth_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
⁂⁂ in this position, without a suffix or nominal subject, is not
an auxiliary verb, but a particle of correlation, used when a cause,
motive, or circumstance is asserted or implied in connection with a
preceding statement.
Like all such particles, of which the function was originally only
deictic, it is susceptible of very many shades of meaning, and it would
be impossible in this place to do justice to a word so frequently
occurring, especially in the hieratic papyri of a secular character. The
following examples are only intended to illustrate its _grammatical_ use
in our text.
The particle occurs three times before as many propositions at the
beginning of Chapter 123; ‘I have balanced the divine Pair,’ ‘I have put
a stop, _etc._,’ ‘I have ended their complaints;’ ⁂⁂ connects each
of these statements with the preceding one, ‘I am Thoth.’ It is as if
the speaker said, ‘_It is in consequence of_ my being Thoth, that I have
balanced,’ _etc._
In Chapter 36, ‘I am the bearer of the divine words’ is followed by
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘and _so it comes that_ I make the
report.’
In Chapter 15, line 7, ‘I am one of those who honoured thee upon earth’
is followed by ⁂⁂⁂⁂ ... “let me _therefore_ attain to the
Land of eternity.”
Aahmes, the son of Abana, says in his inscription (line 5) that he was
young and unwedded, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “_and so_ I continued to
wear” a certain dress.
Amenemheb was, he tells us (_Zeitschr._, 1873, p. 3), high in the favour
of the King, “_and so it comes that_ I followed my Lord
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.”
Una was sent by his sovereign on a certain mission, and the negro
chieftains of certain districts furnished the wood for his purpose,
“_and so it came to pass that_ he spent ⁂⁂⁂ a year in this
wise.“
After _verba dicendi_ ⁂⁂ corresponds to our as _how_, _comme
quoi_, or the _quod_ or _quia_ of late Latinity. It often needs no more
translation than the Greek ὅτι in such a relation.
In the inscription of Pianchi (line 2) one came to tell his Majesty
“_that_ (_comme quoi_) a prince [or magnate] had started up
⁂⁂⁂⁂” and seized upon a part of the kingdom.
⁂⁂⁂ most certainly does not mean ‘est, est,’ any more than it
means ‘Dominus meus mortuus est.’
Nebuaiu (_Zeitschr._, 1876, p. 5) in the time of Thothmes III
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “says, _as how_ ‘I have presided over
many constructions.’”
The Naophoros of the Vatican in like manner ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “says
_that_ ‘I made a petition’” to Cambyses.
Long before this Chnumhotep of Benihassan begins his biography (line 14)
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “his mouth, it says _as how_ ‘his Majesty
appointed me’ to the dignity of _Erpā ḥā_.”
The absence of Verbal character becomes especially apparent in such
combinations ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂.
6. The older texts finish here. What follows in the translation is taken
from the later recensions. It is the reply made by the four Harbingers
to the prayer addressed to them.
7. _Mount of Glory_ ⁂. This is the real meaning of the word, and
there is no reason why we should continue to use the misleading term
_horizon_.
-----
Footnote 135:
The Gothic _Hana_ (the Cock), German _Hahn_ and our _Hen_ signify the
_Singer_, and are words cognate to the Latin _can-ere_. The Latin
_Gallus_ is probably related to our _call_.
Footnote 136:
The Greek language would furnish an interesting parallel to the
Egyptian if it could be shown that δέω, _bind_, and δέω, _want_,
_need_, had the same root. But the latter was originally δέϝω.
Footnote 137:
Such is the real meaning of ⁂⁂⁂⁂, not only in
this place, but in the extremely ancient text found on many
sarcophagi and already in the Pyramid Texts (see Pepi I, 33),
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,
“Thy mother Nut bringeth it to pass that thou risest into full
strength, without an adversary, in thy name of _the Strong one_.”
In this translation it is assumed that the second ⁂ is the
negative ⁂, as it was always understood in later times (see for
an instance _Zeitschr._, 1869, p. 51, and the beautiful text of
Bakenrenf, _Denkm._, III, 263).
The true meaning of ⁂⁂ is not simply ‘this god’ but ‘the
Strong one,’ ὁ Ισχύων. ⁂⁂ is the ‘Strong and Beautiful;’
⁂⁂ is אל שׁדי, ὁ Παντοκράτωρ.
Footnote 138:
That is, ‘succeedeth.’
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXVII.
_The Book_(1.) _for invoking the gods of the Bounds,_(2.) _which the
person reciteth when he approacheth them, that he may enter and see
the Strong one_(3.) _in the Great Abode of the Tuat._
Hail, ye gods of the Bounds, who are in Amenta.
Hail, ye Doorkeepers of the Tuat, who guard this Strong one, and who
bring the reports before Osiris; ye who protect them who worship you,
and who annihilate the adversaries of Rā: who give light and put away
your darkness: ye who see and extol your Great one, who live even as he
liveth, and invoke him who is in his Solar disk.
Guide me, and let the gates of Heaven, Earth, and the Tuat be opened to
me.
I am the Soul of Osiris and rest in him.
Let me pass through the Gateways, and let them raise acclamation when
they see me.
Let me enter as I will, and come forth at my pleasure, and make my way
without there being found any defect or any evil attaching to me.
NOTES.
The text which has been followed in the translation of this chapter is
that of the Royal Tombs of Rameses IV and Rameses VI, called by M.
Naville Chapter 127 A. The lost Busca papyrus, of which Lepsius had a
tracing, furnishes a different text, (127 B), and the text of the Turin
_Todtenbuch_ has been enlarged by means of numerous interpolations. M.
Naville has called attention to the close relationship between this
chapter and the second part of the “Solar Litany.”
1. _Book_ ⁂⁂, properly a _Roll_; a title given to several of the
chapters (125, 127, 129, 130, 140, 141, 142 and 148 in the Turin
_Todtenbuch_), instead of the usual ⁂. Too much importance should not
be attached to the difference of terms. This chapter is called ⁂ by
the Busca papyrus; and Chapter 125, which is called ⁂ in the earliest
texts containing it whenever a title is given, is called ⁂⁂ ever
since the time of Rameses IV.
2. _Bounds_, ⁂⁂⁂, in the dual form, though ⁂⁂⁂
is not unfrequent, here and in other places. The English word is not a
translation of the Egyptian one, which has to be explained before any
equivalent for it can be proposed. And the explanation of it has to be
sought in the ‘Solar Litany,’ first completely published by M. Naville.
There we find the Sun-god Rā invoked as a Power _pouring itself forth_
or _overflowing_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂[139] in 75 _forms_ and the
_forms_ in 75 ⁂⁂⁂. Each of these divine _forms_ (⁂⁂⁂)
has its own ⁂⁂⁂ as a dwelling-place, to which however it is
not confined.
The seventy-five Forms in question (each of which is a god) are, as the
text itself shows, simply so many names of the Solar god or solar
phenomena. Each of them is addressed as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘Rā,
supreme of power,’ after which some attribute of the deity is mentioned,
and the name of the deity is connected with this attribute.
In Greece, Apollo was called ἑκηβόλος, καταιβάσιος, ἀποτροπαῖος,
νεομήνιος, and by ever so many other names expressive of the attributes
with which he was credited. These names correspond to what Egyptian
mythology called the ⁂⁂⁂ of a god, and each of the names has
but a limited application. The god is not always thought of as
‘Far-darting’; under the conception of ‘Neomenios,’ he _dwells_ in what
Egyptian mythology called another ⁂⁂, which is the local
habitation, or, as mathematicians would say, the _locus_ of the concept.
M. de Rougé, without giving any reason, but probably guided by what
Champollion had written, translates the word _zone_. M. Naville, who has
carefully studied the word, prefers _sphere_. And no better word could
be thought of, if we used it as we do in speaking of ‘moving in a
certain sphere,’ ‘each in his own sphere,’ or, ‘the sphere of action;’
without applying a strict geometrical sense to the word. For the
Egyptian ⁂⁂ was a hollow cylinder like a round tower, a chimney,
or a deep well rather than a sphere.
With the explanation I have just given, I prefer _Bounds_ as a more
expressive translation. The word appears in the dual form on account of
the presence of the god.
The name ⁂⁂⁂ was given to the fabulous Source of the
Nile, supposed to be in the neighbourhood of Elephantine. The
inscription of Seti I at Redesieh (_Denkm._, III, 140B) compares the
abundance of water at the King’s cistern to that of the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the cavern of the
double Well of Elephantine.”
In the later orthography the word is written ⁂ or ⁂⁂. It has
been supposed that the Coptic ⲕⲟⲣⲓ _cataracts_ might be connected with
the old Egyptian name. But the history of the Coptic word is not
sufficiently known to justify any inferences.
3. _The Strong one_, ⁂⁂, the name of Osiris. See footnote to
Chapter 126, Note 4.
-----
Footnote 139:
M. Naville leaves this word untranslated, though he rightly
conjectures it to be the origin of ϫⲱϣ _effundere_, _effusio_,
_infundere_, _immergere_.
⁂⁂⁂ at chapter 64, 23, is undoubtedly the _overflowing_,
or _outpouring_. There are the reduplicated Coptic forms ϭⲉϣϭϣ and
ϭⲉϣϭⲱϣ; and ϭⲉϣⲉ, a name of the _goose_, has its origin in
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, and has the same sense etymologically as
the Latin _mergus_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXVIII.
_Invocation of Osiris._
Hail to thee, Osiris Unneferu, son of Nut and eldest son of Seb: the
Great One who proceedeth from Nut; the king in Taa-urit;(1.) the Prince
in Amenta; the Lord of Abydos; the Lord of Forces; the most Mighty; the
Lord of the Atef crown in Suten-hunen, the Lord of Power in
Taa-urit,(2.) the Lord of the Mansion: most Powerful in Tattu: Lord of
Administration,(3.) and of many festivals in Tattu.
Horus exalteth his father Osiris in every place; associating Isis the
Great with her sister Nephthys.
Thoth speaketh to [Horus] with the potent utterances(4.) which have in
himself their origin and proceed from his mouth, and which strengthen
the heart of Horus beyond all gods.
=Rise up Horus, son of Isis, and restore thy father Osiris!=
Ha, Osiris! I am come to thee; I am Horus and I restore thee unto life
upon this day, with the funereal offerings and all good things for
Osiris.
Rise up, then, Osiris: I have stricken down for thee thine enemies, I
have delivered thee from them.
I am Horus on this fair day, at the beautiful coming forth(5.) of thy
Powers: who lifteth thee up with himself on this fair day as thine
associate god.(6.)
Ha, Osiris! thou hast come and with thee thy _Ka_, which uniteth with
thee in thy name of Ka-hotep.(7.)
He glorifieth thee in thy name of the Glorified: he invoketh thee in thy
name of Hekau: he openeth for thee the paths in thy name of Ap-uat.(8.)
Ha, Osiris! I am come to thee that I may set thine adversaries beneath
thee in every place, and that thou mayest be triumphant in presence of
all the gods who are around thee.
Ha, Osiris! thou hast received thy sceptre, thy pedestal and the flight
of stairs beneath thee.(9.)
Regulate thou the festivals of the gods, and do thou regulate the
oblations to those who reside in their mansions.
Grant thou thy greatness to the gods whom thou hast made, great god, and
make thine appearance with them as their Ensign.(10.)
Take thou precedence(11.) over all the gods and listen to the Voice of
Maāt on this day.
_Said over the oblations made to the Strong One on the Festival of
Uaka._(12.)
NOTES.
The ancient papyri do not contain this chapter. The translation follows
the text of the Turin _Todtenbuch_, occasionally corrected by other
papyri of the later period. There is nothing specially interesting in
the chapter: the first portion of it is an invocation to Osiris under
certain names, as in many other hymns[140] to the god from the time of
the XIIth dynasty down to the latest times: the latter portion consists
of evocations addressed by Horus to his father. Their prototype is to be
found in formulas frequent in the Pyramid Texts. These were much admired
and imitated in the Saïtic and the later periods.
1. _King in Tau-urit_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Osiris is also
called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ at Philæ. And in the second line
of this chapter he is called ⁂⁂⁂ _in Tau-urit_ which, if not
identical with Abydos, must have been a part of that town or in its
immediate neighbourhood.
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is equivalent to ⁂⁂⁂,
the title of Osiris in _Pepi I_, line 8. And the Power is defined as
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “thy Power which is upon the
Glorified.”
3. _Administration_ ⁂; literally _things_. See note 3 on Chapter 18.
4. _Utterances_ ⁂⁂. See note 2 on Chapter 1, and compare
_Merenrā_, 103, and _Pepi II_, 13.
5. _Coming forth_ ⁂. _Cf._ ϣⲁⲓ, ἀνατέλλειν, ἀνατολὴ, and the
meanings ἐξοδεία and ἑορτή, which, on the tablet of Canopus, correspond
to the Egyptian ⁂. The first hour after sunrise was called
⁂⁂⁂⁂; so that “the beautiful Coming forth of thy Powers”
may be a mere technical periphrasis for daybreak.
Besides the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of Rā in Chapter 17, it is well to
remember such proper names as ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂,
⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂, with several others.
6. _Thine associate god_, or _one of those about thee_,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
See Note 2 on Chapter 18. M. Chabas in his commentary upon the fine hymn
translated by him in the _Rev. Arch._, 1857, considers it “une
circonstance bizarre” that Osiris is several times included among his
‘_Djadjou_.’ The _bizarrerie_ is easily explained by parallel
expressions known to every Greek scholar, οἱ ἀμφὶ Πεισίστρατον in
Herodotus means _Pisistratus with his troops_, and in Thucydides, οἱ
περι Θρασυβουλον means _Thrasybulus with his soldiers_. In the Iliad (3,
146) οἱ ἀμφὶ Πρίαμον is explained by the Scholiast as meaning _Priam
himself_: τοῦτ ἐστιν, ὁ Πρίαμος.
7. This passage as it stands is the alteration of one of the Pyramid
Texts (Teta, 284; Pepi I, 54): “Horus hath brought to pass that _his Ka_
[? image] which is in thee should unite with thee in thy name of
Ka-hotep.”
8. This whole passage is also taken from the Pyramid Texts. Its chief
value in this place is in evidence of a truth not yet generally
acknowledged by Egyptologists, that _Ap-uat_ (or as written in the
Pyramid Texts, _Up-uat_) is really Osiris. The proofs are numerous and
overwhelming.
I produced evidence of this identity in the P.S.B.A. of June 1, 1886,
from an obelisk of the XIIth dynasty now at Alnwick Castle, and in 1891
Brugsch published in his _Thesaurus_ (p. 1420) a tablet, now in the
Louvre, of the same period as the obelisk, which also treats Ap-uat as
one of the names of Osiris. But the earliest as well as the most
instructive evidence is that of the Pyramid Texts. The later form of it
is thus given on the coffin of _Nes-Shu-Tefnut_ at Vienna (see Bergman,
_Recueil_, VI, p. 165): “Horus openeth for thee thy Two Eyes that thou
mayest see with them in thy name of Ap-uat.”
But the Pyramids of Teta (l. 281) and Pepi (l. 131) say, “Horus openeth
for thee thine Eye that thou mayest see with _it_ in _its_ name
_Ap-uat_.” Each of the Eyes of Osiris is Ap-uat, one of them is the
Southern and the other is the Northern Jackal. These two facing each
other form part of the symbolism explained in Note 2 upon Chapter 125.
The figure of the Jackal is wholly insufficient as an argument that
Ap-uat is identical with Anubis. Much better evidence is found in the
fact that the name of Anubis is sometimes written over the figure.[141]
But the true explanation of this is, what might have seemed incredible
to some of our older scholars, that Anubis is itself only one of the
names of Osiris.
The Pyramids of Pepi I (line 474 and following) and Pepi II (l. 1262 and
following) give imaginary etymologies of certain names of Osiris which
are repeated in the inscriptions of the tomb of Horhotep, published by
M. Maspero (_Miss. Arch._, I, 260). One of these names is ⁂⁂,
which is said to be derived from ⁂, “pass thou over to me.” The next
is ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Anpu_, which is derived from ⁂⁂! The true
meaning of ⁂⁂⁂ is not _jackal_, but _whelp_; the fierce young
of an animal; not only of jackals or lions but of men, kings or gods,
⁂⁂⁂. Thus Orestes speaks (Eur., _Orest._, 1) of σκύμνον
ἀνοσίου πατρός, and the Chorus of another play talks of the reception of
τὸν Ἀχίλλειον σκύμνον (_Andr._, 1170). And Shakespeare speaks of “the
young whelp of Talbot’s raging brood.”
9. _Pedestal_, ⁂⁂⁂; the _stand_ upon which the images or
emblems of the god were carried in procession. The ⁂ is very
frequently supported by it; ⁂.
_Flight of stairs_, ⁂⁂. See Note 2 on Chapter 22.
10. _Ensign_, _i.e._, _insignis_, one who bears the distinguishing mark
or sign of investiture ⁂⁂⁂⁂.[142] See Note 4 on Chapter 78.
Osiris is here presented as the Sāhu of the gods whom he has called into
existence. The Hymn of the Bibliothèque Nationale (line 7) calls him
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Chnumhotep at Benihassan says of the king,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “he distinguished me
above all his _nobles_,” that is the order of men bearing the sign of
investiture.
11. _Take precedence_, ⁂⁂⁂. I take the word in the same sense
as where it occurs (without the determinative of sound) in _Denkm._,
III, 29a; in parallelism with ⁂⁂.
12. _Uaḳa_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂; in the older texts ⁂⁂⁂ (as in
Pepi I, 98); one of the oldest festivals of the Egyptian calendar, kept
on the 17th and 18th of the month Thoth.
The Pyramid Text says “Behold, he cometh to thee as Orion
(⁂⁂⁂[143]); behold Osiris cometh as Orion the _Lord of Wine_
(⁂⁂⁂, _vinosus_, full of wine), who cometh on the fair
festival of _Uaḳa_.”
_Uaḳa_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is also one of the names
given to the Nile.
-----
Footnote 140:
_Cf._ the Hymn to Osiris in the Bibl. Nationale, the Hymn of Tunrei
(Mariette, _Mon. div._, pl. 57), and an inscription copied by Mariette
from the temple of Ptah at Memphis (_Mon. div._, pl. 28 _e_). There
are plenty others of the same kind.
Footnote 141:
See Mariette, _Mon. div._, pl. 61, where each of the jackals is
surmounted with the Eye and bears the name _Ȧnpu_.
Footnote 142:
The importance of this sign is manifest in the Pyramid Text
(_Merenrā_, 634), “_N_ maketh his appearance as King, he hath
possession of his ⁂⁂⁂ and of his throne.” [Since the
above was in print M. Naville has published an inscription of Queen
Hatshepsit, in which the remarkable expression ⁂⁂⁂⁂
occurs three times.
The word written ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, but also
⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (and also without any
vowel, though ⁂ is understood), has determinatives in _Pepi_ I,
635, and _Merenrā_, 509, which imply the sense of _girdle_, _zone_.
Hence the sense of _neighbourhood_, “the men or places round about
one.”
Footnote 143:
Does ⁂ represent what we call the _Belt_ of Orion with its three
bright stars?
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXIX
is a repetition of Chapter C.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXX.
_A Book whereby the Soul is made to live for ever, on the day of
entering into the Bark of Rā, and to pass the Sheniu of the Tuat. Made
on the Birthday of Osiris._(1.)
Opened be the gates of Heaven; opened be the gates of Earth; opened be
the gates of the East; opened be the gates of the West; opened be the
gates of the Southern and of the Northern sanctuaries.
Opened be the gates and thrown wide the portals as Rā riseth up from the
Mount of Glory; opened to him be the doors of the Sektit boat, thrown
open to him be the portals of the Māātit, as he scenteth Shu and setteth
in motion Tefnut, and those follow who are in the train of the Osiris
_N_, who followeth Rā and taketh possession of his arms of steel.(2.)
I am coffined in an ark like Horus, to whom his cradle(3.) is brought:
and secret is the place, hard by his own shrine, which the god openeth
to whom he willeth.
And so it cometh that I lift up Right to the Lord of Right, and that I
make fast the cord which windeth about the shrine.
The Osiris _N_ avoideth the raging storm: the Osiris _N_ is not to be
kept away from Rā, not to be repulsed is he.
Let not the Osiris _N_ advance into the Valley of Darkness: let not the
Osiris _N_ enter into the dungeon of the captives: let him not leap into
the grip of Fate, let him not fall among those who imprison souls or
come forth among those who would drag him behind the slaughtering block
of the Armed god.(4.)
Salutations to you, ye sejant gods.(5.)
The divine Sword(6.) is concealed in the hands of Seb, at daybreak, for
he delighteth in drawing to himself both old and young at his own
season.
And now behold Thoth in the secret of his mysteries. He maketh
purifications and endless reckonings; piercing the steel firmament and
dissipating the storms around him.
And so it cometh that the Osiris _N_ hath reached every station of his.
He hath fashioned his staff, and received the oblations of Rā, the swift
of speed and beautiful in his rising and almighty through what he hath
done.
He putteth an end to his pain and suffering, and the Osiris _N_ putteth
an end to his own pain; yea, he gladdeneth the countenance of Thoth by
the worship of Rā and Osiris.
The Osiris _N_ entereth the Mount of Glory of Rā, who hath made his Bark
and saileth prosperously, lightening up the face of Thoth, that he may
listen to Rā and beat down the obstacles in his way, and put an end to
his adversaries.
Let not the Osiris _N_ be shipwrecked on the great voyage by him whose
face is in his own lap:(7.) for the name of Rā is upon the Osiris, and
his token of honour is on his mouth, which speaketh to him who listeneth
to the words of the Osiris _N_.
Glory to thee, O Rā, Lord of the Mount of Glory. Hail to thee, who
purifiest the generations yet unborn and to whom this great quarter of
heaven offered homage.
The steering keepeth clear from misadventure.
Lo, here is Osiris who proclaimeth Right, because of the marvel in the
West, for he hath put an end to the rage of Apepi, for he is himself the
god in Lion form among the associate gods and protecteth Rā against
Apepi daily, that he may not approach him, and he keepeth watch upon
him. Osiris seizeth the scrolls and receiveth the offerings.
And Thoth supplieth the Osiris _N_ with that which he shall perform for
him. It is granted that the Osiris shall carry Maāt at the head of the
great Bark, and hold up Maāt among the associate gods, and that Osiris
gain endless triumphs.
The Sheniu marshal the Osiris _N_, and they procure for the Osiris a
voyage amid acclamations.
The Satellites of Rā make their round, in the train of the exaltation of
Maāt, who followeth her Lord. And glory is given to the Inviolate one.
The Osiris receiveth the Amsu-staff(8.) wherewith he goeth round Heaven.
The unborn generations of men give him glory, as to one who standeth
without ever resting. Rā exalteth him by this, that he alloweth the
Osiris to disperse the cloud and behold his glories. He maketh firm his
rudders that the Bark may go round in Heaven and that he may make his
appearance in Antu. Thoth is in the centre of his eye, sejant in the
great Bark of Chepera. The Osiris becometh one whose words come to pass.
He it is who passeth over Heaven unto the West, and the Chabasu gods of
Light rise up to him with acclamation. They receive the cable of Rā from
his rowers, and Rā goeth on his round and seeth the Osiris who issueth
his decrees;(9.) the Osiris _N_, the Victorious; in peace! in peace!
Not to be repelled is he; not to be caught by the fire of thy fate. Let
not the tempest of thy mouth come forth against him.
Let not the Osiris _N_ advance upon the paths of misfortune: let him
avoid disasters, let them not attain him.
The Osiris _N_ enters into the Bark of Rā, he succeedeth to thy throne;
he receiveth thine insignia.
The Osiris _N_ inaugurateth the paths of Rā and prayeth that he may
drive off the Lock which cometh out of the flame against thy Bark out of
the great Stream.
But the Osiris _N_ knoweth it, and it attaineth not thy Bark. For the
Osiris _N_ is within it; the Osiris _N_ who maketh the divine offerings.
_Said over a Bark of Rā, coloured in pure green.(10.) And thou shalt
place a picture of the deceased at the prow thereof. And make a Sektit
boat on the right side of it and an Atit boat on the left side of
it._(11.)
NOTES.
1. This title is given to the Chapter in the later recensions, and
nearly resembles that given in the Berlin papyrus of Nechtu-amen (of the
XIXth dynasty). That given in another papyrus of the older period is
quite different,--“_Chapter whereby the Chu is fortified_.” Instead of
the _Sheniu of the Tuat, Ba_ (the papyrus of Nechtuamen) has the _Sheniu
of Fire_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, a reading suggested by the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _the circuit of fire_, which occurs in the
title of another chapter. The _Sheniu_ of this chapter are living
personages who attend upon the Osiris and greet him with their
acclamations. The word is often translated ‘princes,’ ‘officers,’ but it
signifies _those who are in the circle_ of a king or god, hence
‘ministrants,’ ‘courtiers,’ as in the rubric of Chapter CXXV.
The words _made on the Birth-day of Osiris_ are only found in the later
texts, but the old papyrus _Lc_, which has another title, has the words
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The important word ⁂⁂⁂ which is
here carelessly omitted is supplied by the rubric. For the Birth-day of
Osiris, was the first of the five supplementary days, added to the year
of 360 days. On this day the chapter was to be recited and the usual
oblations offered (see Note 11). So we must understand ⁂, ‘which is
to be made or done.’
2. _Arms of steel_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
3. _Cradle_ or _Nest_, ⁂⁂; the ‘Nest of Reeds’ ⁂⁂ so often
represented in pictures of the later periods.
4. _The Armed god_, ⁂⁂ _Septu_, called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
(_Unas_ 282) and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _septu ābu_, ‘armed with horns,’
that is, rays of light. In pictures he is represented as a hawk armed
with bow and arrows, and there is one picture in which he is in the form
of Bes, destroyer of the _Menti_.
5. _Sejant gods_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. I am compelled for want of a
better word to use the heraldic term which most nearly expresses the
posture of gods sitting on the ground with their knees raised up against
their breasts. The posture is a very common one in Egyptian pictures.
The second Sallier Papyrus represents an unfortunate artisan as sitting,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “with his two
knees at the pit of his stomach.” The ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the limb
between the knee and the pelvis.
6. _This divine Sword_ ⁂⁂⁂. Unseen fate brings down the old
and the young alike to the Grave ever ready to receive them. Seb, the
φυσίζοος αἶα, is here, as elsewhere, spoken of in reference to his
κατοχή of the dead in the Tuat, as in _Unas_ 210.
7. _Whose face is in his own lap_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. _Cf._
Note 5.
8. _The Amsu staff._ The name of it is phonetically written
⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the later texts. It is the emblem both of Osiris
and of Horus, and is constantly represented along with bows, arrows, and
other weapons, in the oldest coffins, as belonging to the celestial
armoury of the deceased person.
9. _Who issueth his decrees. See_ Maspero, _Bibl. Egyptol._ II., p. 3
(note) and 39.
10. _Green._ The Egyptian ⁂⁂ is probably nearer in meaning to
the Greek χλωρός, ‘pale green, yellowish-green.’
11. The Rubric ends here in _Pb_. _Lc._ adds, _“They shall offer bread,
beer, and all good things_ on the Birth-day of Osiris. _And if these
rites are performed for him, his soul will rise up and live for ever; he
will not ever die a second time in the divine Nether world._”
The later texts add the information that the text was discovered in the
great hall of the palace in the time of king Septa, and that it was
found in a pit or chamber in the rock, ⁂⁂⁂. It was made by
Horus for his father Osiris Unneferu. Septa is the fifth royal name on
the great tablet of Abydos.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXI.
_Chapter whereby one proceedeth into Heaven by the side of Rā._(1.)
Oh Rā(2.) who art shining this night: if there be any one among thy
followers, let him present himself living as a follower of Thoth, who
causeth Horus to come forth this night.
The heart of the Osiris is glad, because he is one at the head of them.
His adversaries are brought to a stop by the warriors(3.) of the Osiris
_N_, who is a follower of Rā, and hath taken his arms of steel.
He cometh to thee, his father Rā, he followeth Shu and calleth for the
Crown. He putteth on Hu(4.) and is arrayed with the Lock which is on the
path of Rā and is his glory.
And he arriveth at the Aged one, at the confines of the Mount of Glory,
and the crown awaiteth him.
The Osiris _N_ raiseth it up.
Thy Soul is with thee, and strong is thy Soul through the terror and the
might which belong to thee, Oh Osiris _N_, who utterest the decrees
which Rā hath spoken in Heaven.
Hail to thee, great god in the East of Heaven, who enterest into the
Bark of Rā in the form of the Divine Hawk and executest the decrees
which have been uttered; thou who strikest with thy sceptre from thy
Bark.
The Osiris _N_ entereth into thy Bark and saileth peacefully to the Fair
West; and Tmu saith to him: Art thou coming in?
Mehenit is millions upon millions in length from Amur to Ta-ur(5.) an
endless river wherein the gods move.
(6.) ... whose path is in the fire; and they travel in the fire who come
behind him.
NOTES.
1. None of the oldest papyri yet known contain this chapter. This of
itself is not an argument against its antiquity, and there is really no
reason for supposing it to be less ancient than the chapter which
precedes it. The latter portion of the text is, however, very corrupt
and we have unfortunately no means as yet of correcting it.
2. _O Rā._ The name of the god is sometimes omitted in MSS. The context,
however, requires its presence. It may nevertheless be asked: how can
the Sun-god be said to be shining in the night?
The question might as pertinently be asked: how can Horus (in the very
same line) be said to come forth in the night? The answer to both these
questions is that the Sun, whether as Rā or as Horus or Osiris, shines
in the night through the agency of Thoth, the Moon. For further
information see Notes to next chapter.
3. _Warriors_ ⁂⁂⁂. I take this group as = ⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂. But a papyrus gives the variant ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
4. _He putteth on Hu._ This, is certainly obscure; but it is not the
less in conformity with the doctrine of the Pyramid texts. The
deceased (_Pepi_ I. 432, _Merira_ 618) is borne to a region where he
is fed from night till daybreak, and then seizes upon the god Hu,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. And according to other texts (_Unas_,
446, _Teta_, 250) the deceased seizes (⁂) upon Hu, and after Sau
has been fastened to his feet enters the bark and seizes upon
(⁂) the Mount of Glory.
5. _Mehenit_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, or in the masculine form ⁂⁂, is
the name of the mythological serpent which personifies the subterranean
path from West to East of the Sun’s nightly course. In the _Book of
Hades_ (_e.g._ on the Sarcophagus of Seti, _passim_) it is represented
as extending over the back, top and front of the shrine in which the
Sun-god is borne in his Bark. The many folds of the serpent are
symbolical of the turnings and windings of the river or canal (⁂)
over which the god is conveyed. This river is here described as infinite
in length. This is one of the instances from which it is clear
⁂⁂⁂, like the corresponding Coptic ⲟⲩⲉⲓ, has the meaning of
_length_. See _P.S.B.A._, XVII, 190.
The length ‘from West to East’ is described as ‘from _Amur_ to _Taur_’
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. _Amur_ is known from many texts to
signify the West (see _supra_, Chapter 64, note 13). The East is known
as _Ta-ur_ or _Ta-urit_. The royal Ritual at Abydos (Mariette, I. 37)
says ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. And as one
of the values of the sign ⁂ is _ta_ as in ⁂⁂ (Louvre, B. 14),
I feel sure that we should read _Ta-ur_ (or in the feminine _Ta-urit_)
rather than _Nif-ur_ or _Nif-urit_, even in such passages as those
quoted _supra_ in Chapter 128, notes 1 and 2, which have no necessary
references to earthly geography.
6. There is a corrupt passage here, which I have at present no means of
correcting by manuscript authority. M. Pierret thus renders it: “Le dieu
qui partage les paroles y fait son chemin de millions d’années, seigneur
sans égal, dont le chemin est dans le feu.”
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXII.
_Chapter whereby a person is enabled to go round, to visit his dwelling
in the Netherworld._
I am the Lion-god who issueth from the Bow,(1.) and therefore have I
shot forth.(2.)
I am the Eye of Horus; and the Eye of Horus is opened at the instant
that I reach the strand, coming with happy issue.
I advance and, lo! there is no defect found in me, and the Balance is
relieved of my case.(3.)
NOTES.
1. _The Bow_, ⁂, often written with the determinative ⁂, of
_stretching_, which is the conception implied in this name of the
instrument. This mythological _Bow_, as I explained, _Proc. Soc. Bibl.
Arch._, VI, 131, is the moon’s _crescent_, which during its course
through the sky is always turned towards the sun; so that a line at
right angles to the chord of the arc passes through the sun’s centre.
From this “very delicate observation,” as Arago calls it, the
Alexandrian astronomer Geminus infers that the moon derives its light
from the sun. The observation evidently had been made in Egypt some
thousands of years before Geminus, and explains why in several chapters
the sun is spoken of as shining in or from the moon.
See also _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, XVII, 37, on another form of the
myth.
2. I follow the Turin text in omitting a word about which the earlier
texts are not agreed, but which seems to have originated in an alternate
reading for ⁂.
3. See end of Chapter 1 and note. These words are omitted in Turin text.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXIII.
_Book whereby the Deceased acquireth Might(1.) in the Netherworld in
presence of the great Cycle of the gods._ [_Said on the first day of
the Month_].(2.)
Rā maketh his appearance at the Mount of Glory, with the Cycle of gods
about him: the Strong one issueth from his hidden abode.
The Twinklers(3.) fall away from the Mount of Glory at the East of
Heaven, at the voice of Nut as she buildeth up the paths of Rā, before
the Ancient one who goeth round.
Be thou lift up, O Rā who art in thine shrine; breathe thou the breezes,
inhale the north wind ... (4.)on the day when thou discernest the Land
of Maāt.
Thou dividest them that follow; the Bark advanceth and the Ancient ones
step onwards at thy voice.
Reckon thou thy bones, and set thy limbs, and turn thy face towards the
beautiful Amenta.
For thou art the golden Form,(5.) with a couch of the heavenly orbs,
with the Twinklers amongst whom thou goest round, and art renewed daily.
Acclamation cometh from the Mount of Glory, and greeting from the lines
of measurement.(6.)
The gods who are in heaven, they see the Osiris _N_, they present to him
their adorations as to Rā.
He is the Great one, who seeketh the Crown and reckoneth up that which
is needful.
He is the One, who cometh forth this day from the primeval womb of them
who were before Rā, and his coming forth taketh place upon earth and in
the Netherworld. His coming forth is like Rā daily.
Without haste, but unresting, is the Osiris _N_ on this Land of
Eternity.
Twice blessed is he that seeth with his eyes and heareth with his ears.
Right, right is the Osiris _N_: and his future, his future,(7.) is in
Annu.
His oars are lifted as in the service of Nu.
The Osiris _N_ hath not told what he hath seen; he hath not repeated
what he hath heard in the house of the god who hideth his face.
There are hailing and cries of welcome to the Osiris _N_, the divine
body of Rā, on traversing the Nu, and whilst the _ka_ of the god is
being propitiated, according to his pleasure.
The Osiris _N_ is the Hawk, rich in variety of Forms.
The Deceased acquireth might with Rā, and is enabled to possess power
among the gods, for the gods are made to regard him as one of
themselves, and when the Dead ones see him they fall upon their faces.
He is seen in the Netherworld even as the beams of Rā.
_Said over a Boat of four cubits in length, painted green. And let a
starry sky be made, clean and purified with natron and incense. And see
thou make an image of Rā upon a tablet of light green colour at the prow
of the Boat. And see thou make an image of the Deceased whom thou
lovest, that he may be made strong in this boat, and that his voyage be
made in the Bark of Rā, and that Rā himself may look upon him. Do not do
this for any one except for thine own self, thy father and thy son. And
let them be exceedingly cautious for themselves. The Deceased acquireth
might with Rā, and made to possess power among the gods, who regard him
as one of themselves, and when men or the Dead see him they fall upon
their faces. He is seen in the Netherworld as the image of Rā._(8.)
NOTES.
The earliest known text of this chapter is that of the Tomb of
Amenemhait at Thebes (_Ta_), of the time of Thothmes III. It is almost
as inaccurate as that of Nebseni (_Aa_), or the Brockelhurst _Ax_. Nor
is the text of Ani of any use towards clearing up any of the
difficulties.
1. _Acquireth Might._ ⁂⁂ does not signify _wise_, nor has it
anything to do with _instruction_ or _perfection_, as supposed by other
translators. As an adjective it is used to qualify not only animate but
inanimate things, such as an _egg_, _beer_, and _incense_. The
well-known expressions ⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂ exactly
correspond to the Hebrew עד מאד and מאד מאד. The notion implied, as in
the Hebrew אוד, is that of _strength_.
⁂⁂⁂, in the Prisse Papyrus, is not a _wise_ man, but a
_powerful_ one, _a man of rank or influence_, δυνάμενος, δυνατός.
This is the meaning of the word in such passages as
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Rougé, _Inscr. hier._, 80)
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_Inscr. of Una_ repeatedly)
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_Pap. Prisse_ 17,
1). These expressions are the exact equivalents of the Greek δυνάμενος
παρά τῷ βασιλῆι, Herodot. 7, 5.
The might acquired by the deceased is stated in the final rubric and in
all the titles of the chapter in the later recensions to be
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, with reference to Rā.
2. _Said on the first day of the Month._ These words first appear on the
Papyrus of Ani.
3. _The Twinklers._ The oldest texts in this place have
⁂⁂⁂⁂, though the equivalent and corresponding word a
little further on is ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is the usual reading
here in the later recensions. The same meaning may be made out of both
groups. The stars are manifestly alluded to, as being made to disappear
when the Sun makes his appearance. ⁂, or in reduplicated form
⁂⁂⁂, is the pupil of the eye; ⁂⁂ is to _ogle, far
l’occhiata_. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ on the other hand signifies the
_little tremblers_, “tremulo fulgore micantes.” The glance of the eye is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.[144] The stars are here considered as so many
eyes, characterised by their tremulous motion.
4. The true text is here quite lost. Some sense might be restored, if we
might read ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ instead of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The
latter word is absolute nonsense in this place, whatever determinative
it may have, but the former is the well known name of a tree held sacred
at various places in Egypt. The whole passage then might mean “Enjoy the
north wind, and may the Kabasu trees of thine abode refresh thee.”
5. _The golden Form._ The whole of this passage will become clear after
reading the final rubric and examining the Vignettes of the chapter.
6. _Line of measurement_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. An explanation of this
will be found in the pictures and text of the _Book of Hades_. In
Bonomi’s _Sarcoph._, Plates VII in the act of acclamation, and twelve
others carry the line ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The use
intended for the line is stated in the text. “The bearers
of the line are those who settle the fields of the Chu,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.” They are called upon to take
their line and to fix the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⲥⲉⲑⲓⲟϩⲓ, ἄρουρα, the
_arable land_ of each allotment. Rā expresses his satisfaction at the
measurement, and tells the gods and the Chu that their domains are
theirs, and that he provides their food.
7. _His future_ ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂.
8. The rubric is taken from _Ax_.
-----
Footnote 144:
The Egyptian word signifying _tremble_ is written either with ⁂
or with ⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXIV.
_Chapter whereby the Deceased acquireth might._
Hail to thee who art in the midst of thine Ark, Oh rising Sun who
risest, and declining(1.) one who declinest: at whose will millions
spring forth, as he turneth his face to the unborn generations of men:
Chepera in the middle of his Bark, who overthroweth Apepi.
Here are the children of Seb who overthrow the adversaries of Osiris and
destroy them from the Bark of Rā.
Horus cutteth off their heads in heaven when in the forms of winged
fowl, their hinder parts on earth when in the forms of quadrupeds or [in
the water] as fishes.
All fiends, male or female, the Osiris _N_ destroyeth them, whether
descending from heaven or coming forth upon the earth, or issuing out of
the water or travelling along with the Stars.
Thoth slaughtereth them, the Son of the Rock, proceeding from the place
of the Two Rocks.(2.)
The Osiris _N_ is dumb and deaf(3.) for the Strong one is Rā, the
puissant of stroke, the Almighty one, who washeth in their blood and
walloweth in their gore.
The Osiris _N_ destroyeth them from the Bark of his father Rā.
The Osiris _N_ is Horus: his mother Isis bringeth him forth, and
Nephthys nurseth him, as they did to Horus, who repelleth the dark ones
of Sutu: who, when they see the Crown fixed upon his brow, fall upon
their faces.
Osiris Unneferu is triumphant over his adversaries in heaven and on
earth, and in the cycle of each god and goddess.
_Said over a Hawk in a Boat, with the White Crown upon its head, and the
figure of Tmu, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Sutu,(4.) Nephthys,
painted yellowish green on a fresh papyrus placed in this Boat, together
with the figure of the Deceased, anointed with the Heknu oil. Let there
be offered to them incense burning and roast fowl. It is the adoration
of Rā, and his voyage, for it is granted to him to make his appearance
each day with Rā, whithersoever he journeyeth; and it is the Slaughter
of the adversaries of Rā; positively and undeviatingly for times
infinite._
NOTES.
1. _Declining_ ⁂⁂. This word frequently occurs in contrast with
⁂⁂⁂. I understand the latter in all such cases to signify the
shining of the sun on his rising, and the former to signify the shining
of the sun in his afternoon course.
2. _The son of the Rock, proceeding from the place of the Two Rocks._
The only explanation I can think of is derived from the identification
(in chapter 62) of Thoth with the Nile, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. From this
point of view the god is both the son of the Rock and issues from the
place of the Double Rock, ⁂⁂⁂, or of the two Rocks, called in
the time of Herodotus Krophi and Mophi.
3. _Dumb and deaf_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂. It is strange that this meaning
of the passage has so long been misunderstood. The sense of the first
word has long been recognised, and ‘deaf’ is the meaning rightly
assigned to ⁂⁂ in Birch’s Dictionary. One instance like the
following (from _Unas_, 608) is sufficient to settle the
question--⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “He is
not so deaf that he should not hear thy voice.”
That the subject of these attributes is the Osiris is seen by reference
to _At_, where instead of ‘the Osiris’ the deceased speaks in the first
person, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “I am dumb, I am deaf.”
4. _Sutu._ This divine name occurs in the text of Amenhait in the reign
of Thothmes III. And I have noted another instance where the name is
written ⁂⁂⁂. Dr. Birch called the papyrus Miss
Brockelhurst’s. It cannot however be the _Ax_ of M. Naville, which does
not contain the chapter.
The disappearance of the god’s name from all other documents is a fatal
argument against their claims to high antiquity.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXV.
_Another chapter recited when the Moon renews itself on the first day of
the month._
Osiris is enveloped in storm and rain: he is enveloped: but the fair
Horus lendeth succour daily, the Lord of high attributes . . . (1.) he
driveth off the storm from the face of the Osiris _N_.
Behold him coming: he is Rā on his journey: he is the four gods who are
over the upper region.
The Osiris _N_ arriveth at his own time: and by means of his lines is
brought to the light of day.
_If this chapter be known he becometh a Chu of Might in the Netherworld;
he dieth not a second time, in the Netherworld; but he eateth by the
side of Osiris._
_If it be known upon earth he will become like Thoth, so as to be
worshipped by the living: he will not fall a victim to a king’s
wrath(2.) or to the fierce heat of Basit, but will be made to advance to
a most blissful old age._
NOTES.
This chapter is not found in the papyri of the older period.
1. The words ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Offerings of_ (or _to_) _the
Moment_ have the appearance of an interpolated rubrical direction. _See_
next note.
2. _A king’s wrath_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. ⁂⁂ in the cases of
gods and men is an impulse which cannot be stopped, but carries
everything before it.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXVIA.
_Chapter whereby one is conveyed in the Bark of Rā._
Lo the Light(1.) which riseth up in Cher-āba.(2.)
He is born, he of the strong cord,(3.) his cable(4.) is at an end, and
his rudder(5.) hath been taken in hand.
I poise the divine machinery(6.) by which I raise up the Bark to the
cord above head, by means of which I come forth into Heaven, and am
conveyed to Nut.
I am conveyed by it along with Rā. I am conveyed by it like the Kaf.(7.)
I stop the path at the Uārit of Nut, at the staircase where Seb and Nut
bewail their hearts.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXVIB.
_Chapter whereby one is conveyed in the Great Bark of Rā to pass through
the orbit of flame._
O bright flame which art behind Rā, and dividest his Crown!
The Bark of Rā feareth the storm.
Ye[145] are bright and ye are exalted.
I come daily with Sek-hra(8.) from his exalted station, so that I may
witness the process of the Maāt(9.) and the lion-forms(10.) which belong
to them ... so that I may see them there.
We are rejoicing: their great ones are in jubilation, and their smaller
ones in bliss.
I make my way at the prow of the Bark of Rā, which lifteth me up like
his disk.
I shine like the Glorious ones, whom he hath enriched with his wealth,
holding fast like a Lord of Maāt.
Here is the Cycle of the gods, and the Kite of Osiris.
Grant ye that his father, the Lord of them, may judge in his behalf.
And so I poise for him the Balance, which is Maāt, and I raise it to
Tefnut that he may live.
Come, come, for the father is uttering the judgment of Maāt.
Oh thou who callest out at thine evening hours, grant that I may come
and bring to him the two jaws of Restau, and that I may bring to him the
books which are in the Annu and add up for him his hosts.
And so I have repulsed Apepi and healed the wounds he made.
Let me make my way through the midst of you.
I am the Great one among the gods, coming in the two Barks of the Lord
of Sau, the Figure of the great saluter, who hath made the Flame.
Let the fathers and their Apes make way for me, that I may enter the
Mount of Glory, and pass through where the Great ones are.
I see who is there in his Bark, and I pass through the orbit of Flame
which is behind the Lord of the Side-lock, over the serpents.
Let me pass: I am the powerful one, the Lord of the powerful.
I am the Sāhu, the Lord of Maāt, the creator of every Dawn,(11.)
Place me among the followers of Rā: place me as one who goeth round in
the Garden of Peace of Rā.
I am a god greater than thou art.
Let me be numbered in presence of the Divine Cycle when the offerings
are presented to me.
NOTES.
The two chapters which are numbered by M. Naville as 136A and 136B are
represented in the later recensions by a single chapter, which has been
made out of them. There is very much obscurity in the ancient texts,
though the MSS. containing them are numerous, and the more recent
versions are quite as difficult to understand. We must be satisfied for
the present by a strict literal and grammatical translation, wherever
this amount of success is attainable. The royal sarcophagus 32 of the
British Museum gives the latest form of 136A.
1. _Light_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. A common noun signifying _lamp_, but
the determinative here shows that a heavenly body is meant. The sun is
here spoken of exactly in the same poetical way as when Antigone (879)
speaks of τόδε λαμπάδος ἱερὸν ὄμμα, or Virgil of the _Phœboea lampas_.
2. The later recension speaks of “the Lamp in Annu and the Hammemit in
Cherāba.” This reading is already found in a few of the Theban texts.
The royal sarcophagus 32 of the British Museum gives the important
variant ⁂⁂⁂ = ⁂⁂⁂⁂, whence it follows that ⁂
is phonetically = ⁂. The latter sign has only two known values
⁂⁂⁂ _āḥā_, and ⁂⁂⁂ _āba_. That the latter is the true
equivalent of ⁂ is certain, in consequence of the complementary
vowels ⁂, which commonly accompany that sign, whether in the word
signifying _battle_, or in the name of a place. It is _impossible_ that
⁂⁂⁂ a should be the right reading, and no one has a right to
convert ⁂ into a simple ⁂.
The well known word ⁂⁂, “strike,” takes the prothetic ⁂, and is
found under the form ⁂⁂⁂, in the name of one of the hours of
the night.[146] No fresh information is derived from the discovery by M.
Daressy of the same word under the form ⁂⁂⁂, that is
⁂⁂⁂, as it should be corrected if cited. To _strike_ and to
_fight_ are different words, though they may often be used synonymously,
and admit of being substituted one for the other.[147]
3. _He of the strong cord_, ⁂⁂. This is grammatically the subject
of the verb _is born_, and I consider it as a compound expression in
which the adjective precedes the substantive, as in longimanus. I
understand ⁂ as = ⁂⁂⁂ (see _Zeitsch._, 1868, p. 70, and
1870, p. 154, 155). In the later recessions (_e.g._, Todt. 136, and B.M.
32) it is omitted in this place, but not in the passage which follows.
4. _His cable_, ⁂⁂. See Bonomi, _Sarc._ 8 D. and _cf._ a passage
in the Pyramid Texts (_Pepi_ I, 413, _Merenrā_ 590) which refers to this
or a similar voyage. M. Maspero thus translates it:--“Fais amener à Pepi
ta barque sur laquelle naviguent tes purs et quand tu auras reçu ta
libation d’eau fraîche sur cette CUISSE DES INDESTRUCTIBLES (the Uārit
⁂⁂⁂ of the Circumpolar Stars), fais naviguer Pepi dans cette
barque avec ce cable d’étoffe verte et blanche par lequel l’Œil d’Hor
est remorqué,” &c. The Uārit, or _Leg_ (on which see Ch. 74, Note 1) of
Nut is mentioned at the end of this chapter.
5. _Rudder_ ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂.
6. _Machinery_ ⁂⁂⁂. The word has disappeared from the later
texts and been replaced by various conjectural emendations of the
scribes.
7. _The Kaf_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, one of the divinities in form of apes.
Etymologically the word signifies “the _hot_ one.”
8. _Seḳ-ḥra_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the more common reading, but
⁂⁂⁂ also occurs and so does ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. I
cannot remember where I found ⁂⁂⁂⁂ (_P.S.B.A._ VI, 191)
which would identify this divinity with Thoth.
9. _The Maāt_, the series of phenomena occurring in strict conformity
with Law, that is with the laws of Nature.
10. _Lion forms_, ⁂ phonetically ⁂⁂, in most of the papyri.
Some of the words which follow are evidently in very corrupt condition.
11. _Every Dawn_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
-----
Footnote 145:
_Sic._
Footnote 146:
To press the identity of ⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂ in the name of this
hour is to forget that its variants would equally prove that
⁂⁂ = ⁂⁂ = ⁂⁂.
Footnote 147:
See _P.S.B.A._ IX, p. 313, and two previous articles of mine there
referred to. The corrections I have to make are the following:--I
wrongly assumed that the _fish_ which in hieratic papyri crosses the
foot of the sign ⁂ in the variants of ⁂ was the same fish as
we find in the group ⁂⁂ = ⁂⁂⁂ = ⁂. The
fishes are different. On referring to M. Naville’s _Festival Hall of
Osorkon II_, pl. 18, pictures will be found of the ⁂⁂ and the
⁂⁂. The first of these is clearly the fish in ⁂⁂,
_ḥem-reu_, and the corresponding sign in the variant is to be read
⁂, _ḥem_, in harmony with the other evidence produced by W. Max
Müller (_Recueil_, vol. IX). The picture of it does not enable one to
determine its species. The pictures at Bubastis of the ⁂⁂
seem to indicate the _Synodontis_, but a picture found by Petrie
(_Medum_, pl. 12) shows an immense fish which has been identified with
the _Latus_ or _Perca_ _Nilotica_. This being of the Acanthopterygian
family is of course a very formidable _warrior_, like our own small
perch, which, as Mr. Ward says, “does not yield its life without
endangering the person of its captor, for the formidable rows of
spinous rays belonging to the first dorsal fin have wounded the hands
of many an incautious angler.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXVIIB.
=Papyrus, Brit. Mus., No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXIIIAX.
=Papyrus, Brocklehurst II.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXVIIB.
=Papyrus, Brit. Mus., No. 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXVIA. =Papyrus, Leyden II.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXL. =Mus. du Louvre. No. III, 52.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXXXVIII. =Papyrus, Busca.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXVIIA.
_Chapter whereby a Light is kindled_(1.) _for a person._
Oh Light! let the Light be kindled for thy Ka, O Osiris Chentamenta. Let
the Light be kindled for the Night which followeth the Day: the Eye of
Horus which riseth at thy temple(2.): which riseth up(3.) over thee and
which gathereth upon thy brow; which granteth thee its protection and
overthroweth thine enemies.
Undefiledly (bis) and successfully (bis):
The light is kindled for Osiris Unnefer: with fresh vases and raiment
like the Dawn.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXVIIB.
_Chapter whereby a Light is kindled for a person._
The Eye of Horus cometh, the Light one: the Eye of Horus cometh, the
Glorious one.
Come thou, propitiously, shining like Rā from the Mount of Glory, and
putting an end to the opposition(4.) of Sutu.
The prescription(5.) of her(6.) who hath raised him up, and seized upon
the Light for him, and who putteth an end to the troubles against thee,
like the Mount of Glory.
NOTES.
The two most ancient authorities for this chapter, as it is found in the
Turin _Todtenbuch_ and the late recension, are one of the four tablets
of the Museum of Marseilles, published by M. Naville (_Les quatre stèles
orientées du Musée de Marseille_), and the Berlin papyrus of Nechtuamon.
The chapter which M. Naville has published as 137A, in the first volume
of his own _Todtenbuch_, and which is taken from the papyrus of Nebseni,
is manifestly, I think, not the original text, but another edition very
considerably revised and enlarged. And, in imitation of the rubric of
ch. 64, it concludes with a veracious statement, that it was discovered
by Prince Hortatef in a secret chest in the temple of Unnut, and was
brought away by the royal carriages.
These texts are found among the texts preserved in the tomb of
Petamenemapt (see _Zeitschr._, 1883, Taf. 1), but with various
additions, and have been appropriated by the Ritual of Ammon, published
by Dr. O. von Lemm.
The solemn ceremony of Kindling the Light for the dead is repeatedly
mentioned in the Siut inscriptions of Hapit’efae.
1. _Kindle_ ⁂⁂⁂ conveys the same notion as
⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the title of 137B. The Ammon Ritual has
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _strike a Light_. Dr. von Lemm thinks
that by a play of words it is implied not only that a light but Sut is
struck.
2. _At thy temple_ ⁂⁂⁂ _Ba_ and _Marseilles_:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _in Abydos, Aa_ and _Petamenemapt_.
3. _Riseth up_ ⁂, _Ba_, ⁂⁂ _Marseilles_;
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Aa_, ⁂⁂ _Petamenemapt_.
4. _Opposition_ ⁂⁂⁂, where ⁂ is = ⁂ as in the Sallier
Calendar. The sense is made clear in the parallel passages
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. ⁂, if not an error of recent
transcribers, is a wrong reading for ⁂, which is very distinctly
written in the Nebseni papyrus.
5. _Prescription_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
6. _Her._ The Vignette in the Nebseni papyrus exhibits the goddess Apit,
in hippopotamus form, lighting the light. Over her are the words
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “Apit, mistress of divine protections.”
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXVIII.
_Chapter whereby one is enabled to enter into Abydos._
Oh all ye gods who are in Abydos, [each one and his](1.) divine circle
likewise in its entirety, who are coming with acclamation to meet me:
let me see my father Osiris: let me be held as one who cometh forth as
of his house(2.).
I am Horus, the Lord of Kamit, and the heir of Tesherit,(3.) which I
have also seized. I, the invincible one, whose eye is potent against his
adversaries: who avengeth his father, and is fierce at the drowning of
his mother;(4.) who smiteth his adversaries and putteth an end to
violence on their part....(5.).
Oh thou of the potent Lock, king of hosts, who art seized of the Two
Worlds; whose father’s house is seized(6.) [by him] in virtue of the
writs(7.); my balance is perfectly even, my voice is law, and I prevail
over all mine adversaries.(8.)
NOTES.
1. [_Each one and his._] These words are necessary for the purpose
of bringing out the meaning of the text. Every god, it has already
been said, has his circle of associates. The feminine suffix ⁂
after ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ shows the concordance with
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which, like other collective nouns, is of the
feminine gender.
2. The exact text here is doubtful, and the sense of ⁂⁂ depends
upon it. ⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂ is the well known title of a priestly
official, whose presence was required in the ritual of the dead. He is
sometimes in attendance upon royal personages. Here according to its
etymological sense the word might simply mean a relative.
3. _Kamit_ ⁂⁂⁂, the “Black Land” is Egypt; _Tesherit_
⁂⁂, the “Red Land,” is whatever lies beyond the limits of Egypt.
4. _The drowning of his mother_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
_Drowning_ maybe too strong a word, but immersion at least is meant. We
are at present without any other reference to this incident in the
career of the goddess Isis.
5. Here occurs a word, ⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂ of doubtful
meaning. As the next word to it begins a sentence, it must be considered
as connected with the words preceding it. I am not satisfied that
“silently” or “causing silence” would be a grammatical solution of the
question.
6. Seized (throughout this chapter) in the juridical sense of _seisin_
or feudal possession.
7. _Writs_ ⁂⁂⁂, a reading of three early papyri, which has
disappeared in the later ones. The Turin _Todtenbuch_ has ⁂⁂⁂,
“with his two hands.”
8. Here the chapter ends in _Pi_, and even sooner in the later texts.
The three older papyri differ as to the words which immediately follow,
and are certainly corrupt and unintelligible.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXXXIX.
Identical with CHAPTER CXXIII.
_This completes Sir P. Le Page Renouf’s translation of the Book of the
Dead, so far as he had prepared it for publication at the time of his
death._
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
BY EDOUARD NAVILLE, _D.C.L._, _&c., &c._
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
During the last days of his life, the lamented Sir Peter Le Page Renouf,
foreseeing that he would not be able to reach the goal he had been
striving to attain, the completion of his translation of the Book of the
Dead, expressed the wish that the writer of these lines should continue
and complete his work. I did not feel at liberty to go against the
desire of the eminent master, who had done me the honour to choose me as
his successor, and to leave unfinished a work which he had kept in view
all his life long, and which he considered to be the choicest fruit of
his Egyptological researches.
But I had hardly set myself to the task, when I realised the
difficulties which were in my way. It is never easy, even for a
translator, to put himself into the place of another, to enter fully
into his views, to reconstitute the conception he had formed of the book
he had to interpret. To these difficulties must be added, that I had
hardly any help with regard to that part of the book which Renouf has
not published himself. Renouf, like many eminent scholars, had his
learning chiefly in his head; his notes are very scanty, mere scraps
without any methodical order. There is not a line of written translation
left, beyond what he printed himself. Thus, for the translation of the
following chapters, I was entirely dependent on the part already
published, and I had constantly to refer to those chapters, in order to
know the sense which Renouf would have given to words and sentences I
came across in the course of my work.
I endeavoured as much as I could, to translate as Renouf would have
done. Whenever it was possible, I used his words or his readings, though
I did not always agree with them. I followed his choice of texts. He
generally took the oldest one he had, which he frequently found in my
edition. On the whole I tried to continue the work on the lines which
Renouf himself adopted. Thus it cannot be said absolutely that this
translation is my work; Egyptological scholars will soon recognize what
is mine, and the interpretations for which I am not responsible. I beg
the reader to look at my work in this light, and to remember that at
present any translation of the Book of the Dead is tentative and
provisional, and liable, with the progress in our knowledge of Egyptian,
to undergo considerable changes. Nevertheless, I hope that this joint
work will not compare too unfavourably with the part done by my
illustrious predecessor.
EDOUARD NAVILLE.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXL.
_The book read on the last day of Mechir, when the Eye is full on the
last day of Mechir._
There rises a form which shines on the horizon. Atmu rises pouring out
his dew, and the bright one who shines in the sky. The abode of the
obelisk is in joy because of them, because they are complete. There are
shouts of joy in the sanctuary and loud cheering fills the Tuat. They
fall down before Atmu Harmachis. For His Majesty gave orders to the
cycle of his followers. His Majesty ordered to give praise to the Eye,
and behold, my flesh he gave it strength, and all my limbs are renewed,
as soon as the order came out of the mouth of Rā.
His glorious Eye rests on its place on His Majesty in this hour of the
night. When the fourth hour is accomplished, the world is joyous in the
last day of Mechir, for the Majesty of the Eye is in the presence of the
cycle of the gods, and His Majesty rises as from the beginning, with the
Eye on his head as Rā Atmu.
The(1.) eyes of Shu, Seb, Osiris, Suti, Horus, Menthu, Ptah, Raneheh,
Thoth, Chati, Nai, Eternity, Necht, Mert, the land, he who is born by
himself. After the computation of the eye has been made in the presence
of this god, and when it is full and completed, all these gods are
joyous on that day, they who were silent;(2.) and behold there is a
festival made to every god; and they say: hail to thee, praise from Rā,
the boatmen tow his boat, Apepi is struck down. Hail to thee, praise
from Rā who causes the form of Chepera to exist; hail to thee, praise
from Rā, there is joy in him, his enemies are conquered; hail to thee,
praise from Rā, who has repelled the chiefs of the sons of the
rebellion. Acclamation to thee and praise to Osiris _N_.
Said on an eye of pure lapis-lazuli or _mak_ stone, ornamented with
gold; an offering is made before it of all things good and holy, when Rā
puts it on (on his head) on the last day of Mechir; another one is made
of jasper, which a man will put on any of his limbs he likes. When this
chapter is read by one who is in the boat of Rā, he is towed like the
gods, he is like one of them, and he prescribes what is done to him in
the Netherworld.
When this chapter has been read to its end, this is the copy of the
order of offerings made when the Eye is full: four burning altars for
Rā, four for the Eye, and four for these gods; what there is on each of
them is: five good pointed white loaves; five pointed fruit cakes, five
baskets of pastry, one measure of incense, one of fruit and one of roast
meat.
NOTES.
The ancient papyri do not contain this chapter. The translation is made
from the Turin _Todtenbuch_, supplemented and corrected from hieratic
papyri in Paris. Its real meaning is difficult to understand. It seems
that under symbolical expressions it refers to an astronomical
phenomenon, the renewal of the sun after the winter solstice. According
to the principle which I have adopted, to maintain my predecessor’s
interpretations, I translated ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the Eye is full”
(_cf._ Notes on ch. 125, p. 214). But as it seems evident that here the
two eyes of the sun are the two periods of his apparent course, the
decrease and the growth, I should translate “the period is
accomplished,” this period being that of the decrease after which the
sun enters its ascending course, or according to Egyptian ideas begins
again to grow. It is natural that the completing of the period should be
hailed with joy by Rā, since it is the final victory over his enemies,
which sets him free and allows him to rise again as at the beginning.
The sign of his triumph is that he puts the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ on his
head, as we see in the vignette.
1. Why this list of gods comes here, it is difficult to understand. It
seems quite out of place. Their number varies according to the papyri.
In some of them, they are put after the text in vertical columns. I
presume they are the divinities often alluded to as _these gods_. They
are the witnesses of the scene of Rā rising with the Eye on his head.
2. I have adopted the reading of the Paris papyrus, III, 58,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The vignettes consist, in the Turin papyrus, of the deceased worshipping
a black Anubis lying down on a naos, and having on his back the sign
⁂. This god is the ⁂⁂ first mentioned. Behind him are the
⁂⁂⁂⁂, a human form with the Eye on its head, and Harmachis.
Several papyri have only the Eye and Harmachis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLIV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTERS CXLI AND CXLII. =Berlin Mus., 2.=
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXLVI.
=Leyden, No. II.=
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXL. LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXLVI.
=Berlin Mus., No. 2.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXLVI.
=Louvre, III, 1.=
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVI. =Leyden, No. VI.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: CHAPTERS CXLI AND CXLII. =Leyden Museum, No. VII.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLVI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXLIII.
LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVIII. =Louvre, III, 89.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVIII. =Leyden Mus., No. 11.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLIV. =Brit. Mus., 9913.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CXLIV.
=Brit. Mus. Pap. Brocklehurst II.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLVII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVIII. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVIII. =British Museum. Papyrus 9900.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVIII. =Louvre, III, 93.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLIV. =Louvre, III, 89.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTERS CXLI TO CXLIII.
_The book(1.) said by a man or his father or his son in the festival of
the Amenta, and wherewith he acquires might(2.) with Rā, and with the
gods when he is with them. Said on the day of the new moon, when
offerings are made of bread, beer, oxen, geese, and burnt incense to_
Osiris Chentamenta,
Nu,
Māāt,
The boat of Rā,
Tmu,
The Cycle of the great gods,
The Cycle of the small gods,
Horus the lord of the double diadem,
Shu,
Tefnut,
Seb,
Nut,
Isis,
Nephthys,
The house of the _ka_ of the inviolate god,(3.)
The storm of the sky which raises the god,
The hidden one in her dwelling,
Chebt the mummified form of the god,
The greatly beloved, with red hair,
The abundant in life, the veiled one,
Her whose name is powerful in her works,
The bull of the cows,
The divine force, the good one, the good rudder of the Northern sky,
Him who goes round and piloteth the double earth, the good rudder of
the Western sky,
The shining one, who dwelleth in the house of the devouring monster,
the good rudder of the Eastern sky,
The inner one in the house of the red ones, the good rudder of the
Southern sky,
Emsta,
Hapi,
Tuamautef,
Kebehsenuf,
The Southern part of heaven,
The Northern part of heaven,
The Sektit boat,
The Atit boat,
Thoth,
The gods of the South,
The gods of the North,
The gods of the West,
The gods of the East,
The sejant gods,(4.)
The resting gods,
The great house,
The house of flame,
The gods of the abodes,
The gods of the horizon,
The gods of the field,
The gods of the houses,(5.)
The gods of the thrones,
The ways of the South,
The ways of the North,
The ways of the West,
The ways of the East,
The halls of the Tuat,
The holds of the Tuat,
The mysterious doors,
The doorkeepers of the halls of the Tuat,
Those with hidden faces, the guards of the roads,
The guardians of those who are lamenting,
The guardians of those whose faces are joyous,(6.)
The burning ones who put the flame on the altar,
The door openers who extinguish the flames in the Amenta,
Osiris Unneferu,(7.)
Osiris the living,
Osiris the lord of life,
Osiris the inviolate god,
Osiris in Kau,
Osiris Orion,
Osiris Sep,
Osiris in Tanenit,
Osiris in the South,
Osiris in the North,
Osiris creator of millions of men,
Osiris the spirit in the crouching figure (?),
Osiris Ptah lord of life,
Osiris in Restau,
Osiris inside the mountain,
Osiris in the water of Heliopolis,
Osiris in Hesert,
Osiris in Siut,
Osiris in Net’eft,
Osiris in the South,
Osiris in Pu,
Osiris in Neteru,
Osiris in Lower Saïs,
Osiris in Bak,
Osiris in Sun (Syene),
Osiris in Rohenen,
Osiris in Aper,
Osiris in Keftennu,
Osiris Sokaris in Petshe,
Osiris in his city,
Osiris in Pesekro,
Osiris in his abodes in the land of the North,
Osiris in heaven,
Osiris in his abodes in Restau,
Osiris in Nest,
Osiris in Atefur,
Osiris Sokaris,
Osiris the lord of eternity,
Osiris the begetter,
Osiris the lord of Heliopolis,
Osiris in the monstrance,
Osiris the lord of eternity,
Osiris the prince,
Osiris of the gate of judgment,
Osiris in Restau,
Osiris on his sand,
Osiris in the hall of the cows,
Osiris in Tanenit,
Osiris in Netit,
Osiris in Sati,
Osiris in Beteshu,
Osiris in Upper Saïs,
Osiris in Tepu,
Osiris in Shennu,
Osiris in Henket,
Osiris in the land of Sokaris,
Osiris in Shau,
Osiris in Faur,
Osiris in Maāti,
Osiris in Hena,
Osiris the great god the everlasting.
NOTES.
The old texts which we follow here, join in one chapter, 141, what in
the Turin _Todtenbuch_ is divided into two, 141, 142; 143 being merely
the vignettes which accompany them. This chapter is the first of a
series in which the deceased has to show his knowledge. His being
well-informed as to the names of the gods and of their sanctuaries, and
also of the doors through which he passes, the halls which he enters,
confers upon him certain privileges. Here the deceased has to recite the
names of the gods while offerings are made to them; the second part of
the chapter refers only to Osiris in all his forms, and in his numerous
sanctuaries, which have not all been identified. The old versions differ
only slightly in length, from one or two of the gods being omitted. The
translation follows mainly the Cairo papyrus, _Cc_, with a few variants
taken from other papyri, one of the best of which is the papyrus _Nu_ of
the British Museum (ed. Budge).
1. The title of the later texts is much longer: _the book wherewith the
Chuu acquire might, knowing the names of the gods of the Southern sky,
and of the Northern sky, of the gods of the Bounds, of the gods who are
the guides in the Tuat. If it is said by a man, to his father or to his
mother, in the festival of the Amenta, he acquires might with Rā, and
with the gods when he is with them. Spoken on the day of the new moon by
Osiris N when offerings are made to him of ... etc., and offerings are
made to Osiris under all his names by Osiris N._
2. See note 1 to ch. 133. I cannot quite agree with Renouf as to the
meaning of the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂. It seems to me that its sense is
not so much that of “making someone mighty,” as of “distinguishing him,
making him eminent” in the opinion of his god or his master, so that he
may become his lord’s favourite. I consider the meaning of
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ as similar to that of ⁂⁂.
3. The following names are those of the seven celestial cows which are
represented with the bull in chapter 148, together with the rudders of
the four cardinal points.
4. See ch. 130, note 5.
5. ⁂⁂⁂ _pertiu_, adjective form of the noun ⁂, “a house,”
the gods of the houses, contrasted with those of the fields. This word
shows that in the complete spelling of the word ⁂ the ⁂ has not
fallen off, as it probably was the case in the pronunciation, and in
composite names such as: ⁂⁂, פִּתֹם; ⁂⁂⁂, פִּי־בֶּסֶת.
6. I read here according to _Ld._
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Instead of
⁂⁂⁂ _Lc._ writes ⁂⁂, and _Nu_ ⁂⁂, which does
not give any sense. ⁂⁂ might here be translated _companions_.
7. In the Turin _Todtenbuch_, ch. 142 begins here with this title:
_Chapter whereby the deceased acquireth might, whereby is given him to
go and to widen his steps, coming forth by day in all the forms he
likes, knowing the names of Osiris in all the places he likes to be._
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXLIV.
_The Chapter of the Arrival_(1.)
The first gate. He whose face is overturned, who has many attributes, is
the name of the occupant of the first gate. The adjuster, is the name of
the warden thereof, and he with the loud voice the name of the herald.
The second gate. He who raises his face, is the name of the occupant of
the second gate; he with the revolving face(2.) is the name of the
warden thereof; the consuming one is the name of the herald.
The third gate. He who eats his own filth, is the name of the occupant.
The watchful, is the name of the warden thereof, the curser is the name
of the herald.
The fourth gate. He who opposes garrulity, is the name of the occupant
of the fourth gate; the attentive one is the name of the warden thereof,
the great one who drives back the crocodile is the name of the herald.
The fifth gate. He who lives on worms, is the name of its occupant, the
consuming flame, is the name of the warden thereof, the horn which
strikes the furious, is the name of the herald.
The sixth gate. He who makes the loaves, with a thundering voice, is the
name of its occupant; he who shows his face, is the name of the warden
thereof, the stoneknife which belongs to the sky, is the name of the
herald.
The seventh gate. He who takes possession(3.) of their knives, is the
name of the occupant of the seventh gate; the high voice is the name of
the warden thereof, he who drives back the enemies is the name of the
herald.
O ye, these gates, who are the gates to Osiris, ye who guard their
gates, ye who herald the things of the world to Osiris every day. Osiris
_N._ knows you--he knows your names; for he is born in Restau, where all
the glory of the horizon was given him. _N._ receives the investiture in
Pu, like the purification of Osiris. _N._ receives the saying(4.) in
Restau, when he leads the gods on the horizon with the ministrant, the
protectors of Osiris. I am one of them in their leading. _N._ is the
glorious one, the lord of the glorious, a glorious one who performs the
rites. _N._ celebrates the festival of the first day of the month; he is
the herald in the fifteenth day of the month. O thou who revolvest. _N._
carries the sacred flame to the hand of Thoth in the night when he sails
through the sky as victor. _N._ passes on in peace, he navigates in the
boat of Rā. The attributes(5.) of _N._ are the attributes of the boat of
Rā. _N._ has a name greater than yours, mightier than you who are on the
roads of Maāt. _N._ hates what is corrupt. The attributes of _N._ are
the attributes of Horus, the firstborn of Rā, who accomplishes his will.
_N._ is not fettered, he is not driven away from the gates of Osiris.
_N._ is perfect, the lion god, the pure one who follows Osiris Khent
Amenta every day. His domains are in Sechet hotepu among those who know
the sacred rites, among those who perform the sacred rites to Osiris.
_N._ is on the side of Thoth, among those who bring offerings. Anubis
ordered to the bearers of offerings, that there should be offerings to
_N._ of his own, and that they should not be taken from him by those who
are in captivity. _N._ has come like Horus, when he adorns the horizon
of heaven _N._ directs the march of Rā towards the gates of the horizon;
therefore the gods rejoice in the presence of _N._ The divine scent(6.)
is upon Osiris, the god with the lock(7.) will not reach him; the
keepers of the gates will not be hostile to him. _N._ is the one whose
face is hidden inside the palace, in the sanctuary of the god, the lord
of Tuat. _N._ has reached it after Hathor. _N._ gathers his hosts; he
brings Maāt to Rā, he drives away the Mighty One, Apepi. _N._ pierces
the steel firmament(8.), and repels the raging storm; he gives life to
the seamen of Rā. _N._ carries offerings to the place where it (the
boat) is. _N._ causes that the boat gives him a successful voyage. _N._
marches, and when he reaches it, the face of _N._ is like the Great One,
and his back like the lofty one. _N._ is the lord of the mighty. _N._ is
well pleased on the horizon. _N._ is valiant; he strikes you down; you
wakers; he makes his way to your lord, Osiris.
This is on the copy which is in the books(9.). It is written in yellow
ink, on the sacred circle of gods in the boat of Rā(10.), where
offerings are made of victuals, geese, incense, in their presence, in
order to revive the deceased, to make him powerful among the gods, and
that he may not be repulsed nor driven back from the pylons of the Tuat.
If thou readest it to the statue of this deceased in their presence, it
causes him to have access to every hall of those which are in the books.
This is said at the entrance of every gate, of those which are in the
books, and to each of them an offering is made of the haunch, the head,
the heart, and the hoof of a red bull, and four vases of blood which
does not come from the heart, and scent vases, and sixteen pointed white
loaves, and eight round loaves, and eight _chenfu_ loaves, and eight
_hebennu_ loaves, eight casks of beer, eight vases of dry corn, four
tanks of earthenware filled with the milk of a white cow, fresh herbs,
fresh olive oil, green eye paint, antimony, odoriferous oils, and
burning incense. Said while putting on a clay seal twice.
After this copy has been read, if the fourth hour is going round in the
day, beware of what is threatening in the sky; but if thou hast read
this book without any human being seeing it, it will widen the steps of
the deceased in heaven or earth, and in the Tuat; because this book
exalts the deceased more than any ceremony performed to him, henceforth,
from this day undeviatingly for times infinite.
NOTES.
This chapter is the first of a series of four (144-147), in which the
old versions differ considerably from the Turin text. 144 and 147 refer
to the ⁂⁂⁂, 145 and 146 to the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The word ⁂⁂⁂ has been translated in various ways. Brugsch
calls them “watch-towers, pylons,” Pierret “stations.” Maspero considers
them as the old “ergastules,” a kind of vaulted hall. Jéquier speaks of
them as “magazines,” but generally translates the word by “pylons.”
Renouf, in his introduction to the Papyrus of Ani, calls the
⁂⁂⁂ “gates,” and the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “pylons.” In
another place he says the ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is not a mere gate, but a
_hold_ or _keep_.
If we refer to the old texts where this chapter is mixed together with
chapter 146, we see that the ⁂⁂⁂ is a door, a gate, which has
to be passed in order to reach the ⁂⁂⁂⁂. Behind each
⁂⁂⁂ a ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is represented as a shrine close to
which is its god. And also in the book called ⁂⁂⁂, _the book
of what is in the Tuat_, we see that Rā has to go through the
⁂⁂⁂ and make a long navigation before he reaches the gods of
the Tuat.
144 and 147 are two different versions of the same chapter, and no old
papyrus has them both. It is the same with chapters 145 and 146.
Evidently before the Saitic period, for these chapters, as for the 15th,
there was no received text, and the writers had the choice between
various versions which the compilers of the Turin text collected
together. There are seven ⁂⁂⁂, and the deceased who
approaches them has to know three names; first, the ⁂⁂⁂⁂
⁂⁂⁂ whom Renouf calls _the porter_, evidently from his being
styled in chapter 147 ⁂⁂⁂⁂. But if we consider that in
some of the old papyri the name of the man is that of the gate itself,
⁂⁂⁂⁂ has to be translated _he who belongs to_, the
occupant, the inhabitant, a sense which does not disagree with the word
⁂⁂⁂⁂ since, according to Oriental customs, the master of
a house is generally met with at the door, at the entrance.
The _doorkeeper_, the _watcher_ (Budge), or the _warder_ (Renouf), is
the second person, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _he who guards the
gate_. The third person ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, as the text says
reports to Osiris every day the things of the world, and I suppose also,
who is coming towards the gate. Renouf calls this person _the teller_. I
shall use the word _herald_, which I adopted previously.
In the six old texts which I collated, we find only the reciting of the
three names. The Papyrus of Nu in the British Museum alone contains the
allocution to the gates of the Turin text. It is therefore from the
Papyrus of Nu that this chapter has been translated. (Budge, _The Book
of the Dead_.)
1. The title is taken from Papyrus _Ax_. The Turin text calls this
chapter “_the chapter of knowing the occupants of the seven gates_.”
2. A flame, judging from the determinative ⁂.
3. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ as we read in chapter 147.
4. ⁂⁂⁂_N._⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ lit. “receives the
saying.” I suppose it means receives the right or the privilege to say
the words which follow: “I am one of them.”
5. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ a word which has various meanings. Renouf
translates: “protection, safeguard, powers, attributes.” I believe in
many cases it corresponds to what we call “the nature,” and that it is
used as a periphrase instead of an abstract adjective, which does not
exist in Egyptian. The real sense of such an expression
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
seems to be ‘such as he is, such am I, and such is Rā.’
6. I read with the Turin text ⁂⁂⁂⁂. The papyrus _Pb_,
which reproduces this sentence in an addition to 136A writes
⁂⁂⁂.
7. ⁂⁂⁂. ‘The god of the lock, or the curling god,’ another
name for ⁂⁂⁂ Apepi, an evil power which must be driven away.
Chapter 130, line 39, I should translate: ‘Osiris follows the path of Rā
in the morning, and drives away the curling god.’
8. ‘The steel firmament,’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂, generally mentioned in
connection with storms and bad weather, so that possibly we have to
consider here the colour of the metal, and translate ‘the dark sky, the
black sky.’
9. The books of Thoth, the divine writer.
10. Probably the name of the book or of the page which contains also the
catalogue of the offerings.
The vignettes of chapter 144 represent the gates, the warder, and the
herald; the occupant is not seen, as he is in the vignettes of chapter
147. There seems to be no definite order or rule in these figures, just
as in the names, which are not always attributed to the same member
(_cf._ Introd. to the _Todtenbuch_, p. 172).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLVIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTERS CXLV AND CXLVI. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLV. =Tomb of Menephtah Siphtah.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVI. =Louvre, III, 93.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE XLIX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTERS CXLIV AND CXLVII. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTERS CXLIV AND CXLVII. =Papyrus, Gizeh Museum, No.
21.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTERS CXLV AND CXLVI.
_The knowing of the pylons of the house of Osiris, in the Garden of
Aarru._
The first pylon(1.) (is named): the lady of trembling whose walls are
high, the lady of destruction, who directs the words which drive away
the storm, she who forces back the violent(2.) coming towards her. The
name of the doorkeeper is: the brave.
The second pylon (is named): the lady of heaven, mistress of the world,
the consuming one, the lady of mankind, who counts the human beings. The
name of the doorkeeper is: Meshept.
The third pylon: the lady of altars, rich in offerings, with whom all
the gods are gathered, on the day when they sail to Abydos. The name of
the doorkeeper is: the anointer.
The fourth pylon: she who holds the knives, the mistress of the world,
who destroys the enemies of the god whose heart is motionless, who gives
advice, who is free from impurity. The name of the doorkeeper is: the
bull.
The fifth pylon: the flame, the lady of the words of power(3.), who
gives joy to him who addresses his supplications to her, to whom no one
who is on earth(4.) will come near. The name of the doorkeeper is: he
who coerces the rebels.
The sixth pylon: the lady of light, who roars loud; whose length and
breadth are not known, and the like of whom never was found from the
beginning. There are serpents on her, the number of which is not known;
they were born before the god whose heart is motionless. The name of the
doorkeeper is, the consort.
The seventh pylon: the shroud which enwrappeth the dead; the monster who
seeks to hide the body. The name of the doorkeeper is: _Akesti_.
The eighth pylon: the burning flame whose fire is never quenched; she
who is provided with burning heat, who sends forth her hand, and
slaughters without mercy. Nobody goes near her for fear of being hurt.
The name of the doorkeeper is: he who protects his body.
The ninth pylon: the foremost, the Mighty One, the joyous who gives
birth to her lord; whose circumference is 350 measures(5.); she who
shines like southern emerald, who raises Besu, and encourages the dead,
she who provides her lord with offerings every day.
The tenth pylon: she with a loud voice; who shouts curses to those who
make supplications to her; the very brave, the dreadful, who does not
destroy what is within her. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who
embraces the great god.
The eleventh pylon: she who renews her knives, who consumes her enemies,
the mistress of all pylons, to whom acclamations are given in the
daytime and in the twilight. She will prepare the enwrapping of the
dead.
The twelfth pylon: she who addresses her world and destroys those who
come through the morning heat, the lady of brightness, who listens to
the words of her lord every day. She will prepare the enwrapping of the
dead.
The thirteenth pylon: Isis extends her two hands upon her; she lightens
the Nile in its hidden abode. She will prepare the enwrapping of the
dead.
The fourteenth pylon: the lady of fear, who dances on the impure, to
whom the _Haker_ festival is celebrated on the day of the hearing of
yells. She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The fifteenth pylon: the evil one, with red hair and eyes, who comes out
at night, who binds her enemy all round, who puts her hands over the god
whose heart is motionless, in his hour (of danger), who goes and comes.
She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The sixteenth pylon: the terrible, the lady of the morning dew, who
throws out(6.) her burning heat, and sprinkles her sparks of fire over
her enemies when she appears. She who creates (reveals?) the mysteries
of the earth. She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The seventeenth pylon: she who revels in blood; Aahit, the lady of the
_uauai_ plants. She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The eighteenth pylon: she who likes fire, who washes her knives, who
loves cutting heads, the welcome one, the lady of the palace, who slays
her enemies in the evening. She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The nineteenth pylon: she who directs the morning light in her time, and
observes the midday heat, the lady of the books written by Thoth
himself. She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The twentieth pylon: she who is within the cavern of her lord, who
covers her name, and hides what she creates, who takes possession of
hearts, which she swallows. She will prepare the enwrapping of the dead.
The twenty-first pylon: she who cuts the stone by her word, and
sacrifices him on whom fall her flames. She follows the hidden counsels.
NOTES.
Chapters 145 and 146 are two versions of the same text. They are the
chapter of the arrival of the deceased to the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of
the house of Osiris. It is difficult to know what these
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ really are. Renouf translates the word by
_pylon_. At the same time he says they are not mere gates, but keeps
or holds. I shall use his word pylon; but the word which seems to me
to convey most exactly the meaning is a _cell_, since each of the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ has an inhabitant. There are various versions of
these chapters. The oldest, No. 146, is found in several papyri, and
has been translated from _Lc._ (Leyden), the only one which has the
chapter complete. It consists of 21 paragraphs, each of which begins
with a sentence giving the names of the pylon. It is followed by that
of the ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which I translate, with Renouf, the
_porter_ or _doorkeeper_ though I should prefer, he who is within the
door, since the vignettes show that the so-called porter or doorkeeper
is the god who occupies the cell. There are 21 pylons, out of which
the papyri give us a certain number. Brugsch finds in their names
those of some of the hours of night or day; but the fact of their
being 21, absolutely precludes the idea of these pylons being the
hours.
The papyrus of _Nu_ in the British Museum gives a slightly different
version of this chapter 146. Each pylon is introduced by these words,
“said by Nu when he arrives at the first pylon: I have arrived, I know
thee, I know the name of the god who guardeth thee; the lady of
trembling, &c., is thy name, the name of the doorkeeper is the brave.”
The other version which constitutes chapter 145 shows that the god who
guardeth the pylon and the doorkeeper are the same person.
Chapter 145 is the same text which has been spun out a little more. We
have no older copy of it than the fragments in the tomb of Meneptah
Siphtah and queen Tauser, which give us only eleven pylons, with a very
incorrect text. As for the Turin text, it is so hopelessly corrupt,
especially in the most important part, the names, that I did not attempt
to translate it. Then chapter 145 is the text of Nu for 146 still more
developed. In the version of the royal tomb, each paragraph is called:
“The salutation of Osiris, the king, to the pylon: I know thee, I know
thy name, I know the name of the god who guardeth thee.” Then follow the
name of the pylon, and that of the god, and after having said them, the
deceased describes the purifications he goes through, the oils with
which he has been anointed, and the text ends with these words: pass on,
thou art pure.
It is curious that both in 145 and 146 there is a change at the pylon
No. 11. In our text, _Lc_, the name of the doorkeeper disappears, and
each time, after the name of the pylon, we find these words:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
In 145 the name of the doorkeeper is still mentioned, but this sentence
takes the place of the description of the purifications and ointments
which occurred in the previous paragraphs. I should translate these
words: _she will direct or prepare the enwrapping or clothing of the
dead_. I think that the dead is supposed to wear a different garment at
each pylon, which is provided to him by the pylon itself.
A still more detailed version of 145 is found in the Paris papyrus _Pg_,
of which we have only a very short fragment. At each pylon there is a
dialogue between the deceased and doorkeeper, who asks whether the
deceased has been purified, in what water, with what oil he has been
anointed, which garment he wears, which stick he holds in his hand.
Chapters 145 and 146 are among the most incorrect texts of the Book of
the Dead, and until we have new copies of the old versions, there will
always be a large measure of conjecture in any attempt to translate
them.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂. Being feminine, the name is that of a woman or a
goddess.
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. One of the names of Hathor, the
consort of Thoth at Hermopolis (Mariette, _Dendérah_, II, pl. 27, 15).
3. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Renouf translates, “words of power.” I
should prefer “magic power.”
4. I read with the Turin text ⁂⁂⁂.
5. ⁂. According to Lepsius, the σχοινιον, 40 cubits.
6. I read with the text of chapter 145 in the royal tomb
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
The vignettes vary considerably, according to the papyri. In _Lc_ all
the pylons are alike, with a god sitting inside; evidently the artist
was free to draw them according to his fancy. The vignettes of the
papyrus of Ani, and, still more, _Pc_, are remarkable for their fine
colours.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE L.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVII. =Papyrus, Leyden, No. VI.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVII. =Louvre, III, 8-9.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTERS CXLIV AND CXLVII. =British Museum. Papyrus No.
9900.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLVIII. =Papyrus, Berlin Museum, No. 2.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXLVII.
The first gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he whose face is
overturned, who has many attributes. The name of its warder is: the
adjuster. The name of the herald is: he with a loud voice.
Said by _N_ when he approaches the first gate.
I am the mighty one, who createth his own light.(1.)
I come to thee, Osiris, and I worship thee.
Pure are thine effluxes, which flow from thee, and which make thy name
in Restau(2.) when it hath passed there.
Hail to thee, Osiris.
Arise, thou art mighty, Osiris, in Abydos.
Thou goest round the sky, thou sailest with Rā, thou surveyest mankind,
thou art alone going round with Rā, for thou art called Osiris.
I am the divine mummy. What I say takes place.
I shall not be driven back from it (the gate); its walls of burning
coals show the way in Restau. I have soothed the pain of Osiris, when he
supports him who balances his pedestal, when he arrives from the great
valley. I have made my way to the light of Osiris.(3.)
The second gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who shows his face.
The name of its warder is: he with a revolving face. The name of the
herald is: the consumer.
Said by _N_ when he approaches the second gate. He sitteth and acts in
accordance with the desire of his heart, weighing the words as the
second of Thoth. The attributes of _N_ are those of Thoth. When faint
the Maāt gods, the hidden ones who live on truth, whose years are those
of Osiris, (still) I am mighty in offerings at the appointed time. I
have made my way out of the fire. I march, I have made my way. Grant
that I may pass on freely, that I may see Rā among those who give
offerings.
The third gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who eateth his own
filth. The name of its warder is: the watchful. The name of the herald
is: the great one.
Said by _N_ when he approaches the third gate.
I am he whose stream is secret, who judgeth the Rehui. I have come to
remove all evil from Osiris.
I am the girdled(4.) at his appointed time, coming forth with the double
crown.
I secured firmly my suit in Abydos, and I opened my path in Restau. I
have soothed the pain of Osiris who balances his pedestal. I have made
my way when he shines at Restau.
The fourth gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who opposes
garrulity. The name of its warder is: the attentive one. The name of the
herald is: he who drives back the crocodile.
Said by _N_ when he approaches the fourth gate.
I am the bull,(5.) the son of the Kite of Osiris. Behold, his father the
Fiery One sat in judgment. I poised the balance for him. Life has been
brought to me. I live for ever. I have made my way. I am the son of
Osiris, I live for ever.
The fifth gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who lives on worms.
The name of the warder is: the consuming flame. The name of the herald
is: the bow which strikes the furious (?).
Said by _N_ when he approaches the fifth gate.
I have brought the two jaws of Restau.(6.) I have brought to thee the
books (?) which are in the Annu, and I add up for him his hosts. I have
repulsed Apepi and healed the wounds he made. I made my way through the
midst of you. I am the great one among the gods. I purified Osiris. I
restored him as victor. I joined his bones, and put together his limbs.
The sixth gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who makes the loaves,
with a thundering voice. The name of its warder is: he who shows his
face. The name of the herald is: the stolen knife which belongs to the
sky.
Said by _N_ when he approaches the sixth gate.
I come every day, I go. I who was created by Anubis, I am the lord of
the diadem. I ignore the magic words (however). I avenge Maāt, I avenge
his eye. I gave his eye to Osiris himself. I have made my way. _N_ goes
along with you.
The seventh gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who takes possession
of their knives. The name of its warder is: he with a high voice. The
name of the herald: he who drives back the enemies.
Said by _N_ when he approaches the seventh gate.
I have come to thee, Osiris,(7.) pure are thine effluxes. Thou goest
round and thou seest the sky with Rā. Thou seest mankind, thou the only
one. Thou addressest Rā in the Sektit boat of the sky, when he goes
round the horizon. I say what I wish, my mummy is mighty. What I say
takes place like what he says. I shall not be driven back from thee. I
have made my way.
Said near the seven gates.(8.) When the deceased arrives at the pylons,
he is not driven back, nor repulsed from Osiris. It is given him to be
among the glorious ones, the most excellent of them, so that he may have
dominion over the first followers of Osiris.
Every deceased to whom this chapter is read is like the lord of
eternity, he is of one substance with Osiris, and in no place has he to
encounter a great fight.
NOTES.
Chapter 147 is very like 144, in fact, it is the same more developed. It
refers also to the seven gates; and whenever the deceased approaches one
of the gates, he has to say the name of the doorkeeper, which, as we saw
before, is that of the gate itself; and also the name of the warder and
that of the herald. Besides the deceased has to address the gate,
probably in order to open it so that he may pass through. The words he
utters are found in chapters 117, 119 and 136B. The two first have
nearly the same title, _the arrival at Restau_, near Abydos. If, as is
most probable, the various parts of the Book of the Dead did not
originate in the same place, we may safely assert that these chapters,
as well as those of the gates and the pylons, come from Abydos.
On the whole the Papyrus of Ani is more complete for chapter 147 than
the Leyden text _Lc_ which is published in my edition. Therefore this
chapter has been translated from Ani, using _Lc_ whenever Ani is too
corrupt.
1. Chapter 119, _vide_ p. 206, “Chapter whereby one entereth and goeth
forth from Restau.”
2. I should translate: _which give to Restau its name_. This is an
instance of those wonderful etymologies often met with in religious
texts. From the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _to flow_, is derived the name
⁂⁂⁂.
3. The Osiris of the first gate whom the deceased addresses seems to be
the moon. The word ⁂⁂ is often used in speaking of the pale and
silvery light of the moon (Naville, _Litanie du soleil_, p. 54).
The last sentences are found in chapter 117, line 3.
4. Chapter 117.
5. Chapter 136B, line 14.
6. Chapter 136B, line 18. I repeat Renouf’s translation, though I differ
from him in various points. For instance, I should translate: _I have
closed the doors in Restau_ (_cf._ Inscr. of Piankhi, line 104).
7. An abridged version of chapter 119.
8. The rubric is taken from the Paris papyrus _Pc_.
There also the vignettes vary considerably according to the fancy of the
artist. In _Lc_ the gates and the gods are all alike. In _Pc_ the god is
always represented in human form with a ram’s head. In the Papyrus of
Ani, where there are three figures for each gate, these figures are all
different.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXLVIII.
_Giving sustenance_(1.) _to the deceased in the Netherworld, and
delivering him from all evil things._(2.)
Hail to thee who shinest as living soul, and who appearest on the
horizon, _N._ who is in the boat knows thee; he knows thy name, he knows
the names of the seven cows and of their bull; they give bread and drink
to the glorified soul. You who give sustenance to the inhabitants of the
West, give bread and drink to the soul of _N._, grant that he may be
your follower, and be between your thighs(3.).
(Then follow the names of the seven cows.)
The house of the ka, of the inviolate god,
The storm of the sky, which raises the gods,
The hidden one in her dwelling,
Chebt the mummified form of the god,
The greatly beloved, with red hair,
The abundant in life, the veiled one,
She who is powerful in her works, or on her pedestal,
The bull ... of the Netherworld.
(Then the deceased calls on the four rudders of the sky, the four
cardinal points.)
Hail! divine form, the good one, the good rudder of the Northern sky.
Hail! thou who goest round and pilotest the double earth, the good
rudder of the Western sky.
Hail! the shining one, who dwellest in the house of the devouring
monsters, the good rudder of the Eastern sky.
Hail! the inner one who dwelleth in the house of the red ones, the good
rudder of the Southern sky.
Give bread and drink, oxen, geese, all things good and pure to _N._ Give
him sustenance, give him joy, may he rest on the earth, and may he be
victorious on the horizon of Annu, in the Tuat, in the sky, and on the
earth, eternally.
Ye fathers and mothers, gods of the sky, and of the Netherworld, deliver
_N._ from all things pernicious and evil, from all harm and evil, from
the cruel huntsman and his swords, and from all evil things; and order
what is to be done to him by the men, the glorious ones, and the dead,
in this day, in this night, in this month, and in this year.
Said(4.) by a man, when Rā is put before these gods, painted in green,
and standing on a wooden board, and when they give him the offerings,
and the sustenance which is before them, bread and drink, geese, and
frankincense, and when they present mortuary gifts to the deceased
before Rā.
(The book called) giving sustenance to a deceased in the Netherworld,
delivers a man from all evil things. Thou shalt not read to any other
man than thyself the book of Unnefer. He to whom this has been read, Rā
is his steersman and his protecting power, he will not be attacked by
his enemies in the Netherworld, in the sky, on the earth, and in every
place he goes, for (the book) giving sustenance to the deceased has its
effect regularly.
NOTES.
This chapter in the Turin text begins with a long title which is found
by itself in the papyrus of _Nu_. Dr. Budge considers it as a special
chapter, to which he has given No. 190. But the proof that it is not a
chapter, is that the whole of it is written in red, which means that it
is a title; besides this title is that of one of the hymns which
constitute chapter 15, the hymn to the setting sun (15 B, 3). The
chapter itself begins with the last word in line 7 of the Turin text. We
have a nearly complete version of it in the tomb of Senmut, the
architect of queen Hatshepsu. The text from which I translate is
compiled from several Theban papyri.
1. Renouf translates the word in various ways: “sustenance, nutriment,
dainties, delicacies.”
2. Note the connection between these two ideas which occurs throughout
the chapter: the giving nourishment to the deceased delivers him from
all evil.
3. To be suckled by the divine cows, like Hatshepsu at Der el Bahari, by
Hathor.
4. Several papyri have here the rubric of 30B, with the name of
Mycerinus. The rubric which is here translated is taken from the papyrus
of _Nu_. Lepsius calls 148C the vignettes belonging to this chapter. In
a columned hall stands Osiris, and behind him the cows, the rudders, and
the four gods of the cardinal points. Osiris is sometimes left out. In
the papyrus of Ani the god has his hair painted green, and he stands on
a green basement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CXLIX. =British Museum. Papyrus 9900.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTERS CXLV AND CXLVI. =British Museum. Papyrus 9900.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CL. =British Museum, 9900.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CXLIX.
The first domain. O this domain of the Amenta, where they live upon
bread of the plant _tep seru_. Take off your head dress in my presence,
for I am the great one among you, he who joins his bones and establishes
firmly his limbs. Ahi, the lord of hearts, came to me, he joined my
bones, and as he fixed the diadem of Tmu, he fastened on me the head of
Nehebkau, and established my balance. I am lord among the gods, I am
Amsi the builder.
The second domain.(1.) I am the great proprietor in the garden of Aarru.
O this garden of Aarru, the walls of which are of steel; the height of
its wheat is seven cubits, the ears are two cubits, and the stalks five
cubits. The glorified ones, each of whom is seven cubits in height, reap
them in presence of Harmachis.
I know the inner gate of the garden of Aarru, out of which cometh Rā, in
the East of the sky; the South of it is by the lake of Cha-ru, and the
North of it by the stream of Reu; thence Rā saileth with favouring
gales.
I am the Teller in the divine ship; I am the unresting navigator in the
Bark of Rā.
I know those two sycamores of emerald, between which Rā cometh forth, as
he advanceth over what Tmu hath lifted up (the firmament) to the Eastern
gates of the sky, through which he proceedeth.
I know this garden of Aarru of Rā, the height of its wheat is seven
cubits, the ears are two cubits, the stalks five cubits; the barley is
seven cubits. It is the glorified ones, each of whom is nine cubits in
height, who reap them in presence of the powers of the East.
The third domain.(2.) O this domain of the glorious ones through which
nobody can sail, which contains glorious ones, and the flame of which is
a consuming fire. O this domain of the glorious ones, your faces are
looking down; make straight your ways, and purify your abodes as it was
ordered to you by Osiris the eternal one.
I am the lord of the red crown which is on the head of the shining
one,(3.) he who gives life to mankind from the heat of his mouth, and
who delivers Rā from Apepi.
The fourth domain. O this great and lofty mountain of the Netherworld,
on the highest point of which ends the sky. It is three hundred measures
in length, and ten in width. There is a snake on it, he with sharp
knives is his name, he is seventy cubits in his windings, he lives by
slaughtering the glorious ones and the damned in the Netherworld.
I stand on thy wall,(4.) directing my navigation. I see the way towards
thee. I gather myself together. I am the man who puts a veil on thy
head, and I am uninjured. I am the great magician; thy eyes have been
given me, and I am glorified through them. Who is he who goeth on his
belly? Thy strength is on thy mountain; behold, I march towards it, and
thy strength is in my hand. I am he who lifts the strength. I have come
and I have taken away the serpents(5.) of Rā, when he rests with me at
eventide.
I go round the sky, thou art in thy valley, as was ordered to thee
before.
The fifth domain. O this domain of the glorious ones, which is open to
no one. The glorious ones who are in it have thighs of seven cubits, and
they live on the shades of the motionless.
Open to me the ways, that I may appear before you, that I may reach the
good Amenta, as was ordered me by Osiris, the glorious one, the lord of
all the glorified.
I live of your glory, I observe the first day of the month, and the
half-month on the fifteenth day.
I have gone round with the eye of Horus in my power, following Thoth.
Any god, or damned, who opens his devouring mouth against me on this
day, is struck down on the block.
The sixth domain. O thou Amemhet who art sacred more than the hidden
gods and the glorious ones, and who art dreadful to the gods. The god in
it is called Sechez-at.(6.)
Hail to thee, Amemhet. I have come to see the gods within thee.
Show your faces, and take away your head-dresses in my presence, I have
come to make your bread.
Sechez-at will not be stronger than I; the slaughterers will not come
behind me, the impure ones will not come behind me.
I live upon your offerings.
The seventh domain. O this Ases, too remote to be seen; the heat of
which is that of blazing fire. There is a serpent in it whose name is
Rerek. His backbone is seven cubits, he lives on glorious ones,
destroying their glory.
Get thee behind me, Rerek, who is in Ases, who bites with his mouth; and
who paralyses with his eyes.
Thy teeth are torn away, thy venom is powerless.
Thou shalt not come towards me, thy venom will not penetrate into me.
Thy poison is fallen and thrown down, and thy lips are in a hole.
The white serpent has struck his _ka_, and his _ka_ has struck the white
serpent.(7.)
I shall be protected. His head was cut off by the lynx.(8.)
The eighth domain. O this Hahotep, the very great, the stream of which
nobody takes the water for fear of its roaring.
The god whose name is the lofty one, keeps watch over it, in order that
nobody may come near it.
I(9.) am the vulture which is on the stream without end. I brought the
things of the world to Tmu, at the time when the sailors (of Rā) are
abundantly provided.
I have given my strength to the lords of the shrines, and the awe I
inspire to the lord of all things.
I shall not be taken to the block. The pleasure they take in me will not
be destroyed. I am the guide on the northern horizon.
The ninth domain.(10.) O this Akset which art hidden to the gods, the
name of which the glorious ones are afraid to know. No one goes out who
goes into it, except this venerable god, who inspires fear to the gods
and terror to the glorious ones. Its opening is of fire, its wind
destroys the nostrils. He made it such(11.) for his followers in order
that they may not breathe its wind, except this venerable god who comes
out of his egg.
He made it such, being in it, in order that nobody may come near it,
except Rā who is supreme in his attributes.
Hail to thee, venerable god, who comes out of his egg. I have come to
thee to be in thy following. I go out of, and I come into Akset. Open to
me the doors, that I may inhale its wind, and that I may take the
offerings within it.
The tenth domain.(12.) O this city of the Kahu gods who take hold of the
glorious ones, and who gain mastery over the shades(13.).... Who they
see with their eyes; who have no connection with the earth.
O ye who are in your domain, throw yourselves on your bellies, that I
may pass near you. My glorious nature will not be taken from me. No one
will give mastery over my shade, for I am the divine hawk who has been
rubbed with _anti_ and anointed with incense; libations have been
offered to me; Isis is before me; Nephthys is behind me.
The way has been pointed to me by Nau, the bull of Nut and Nehebkau. I
have come to you, ye gods; deliver me and glorify me of an eternal
glory.
The eleventh domain. O this city in the Netherworld, this cavity which
masters the glorious ones.
No one goes out, of those who went into it, from the dread of the
appearance of him who is in it.
He who sees the god who is in it, face to face, he who sees him dies
there from his blows, except the gods who are there, and who are hidden
to the glorious ones.
O this Atu, in the Netherworld. Grant that I may reach them; I am the
great magician, with his knife; I am issued of Set, (I stand on) my feet
for ever.
I rise, and I am mighty through this eye of Horus; my heart is raised,
after it has fallen low.
I am glorious in heaven, and I am mighty on earth.
I fly like Horus, I cackle like the divine goose.
It was given me to alight near the stream of the lake; I stand near it,
I sit near it, I eat of the food in Sechit Hotepit, I go down to the
islands of the wandering stars.
The doors of the Maāti are open to me; and the gates of the upper waters
are unbolted to me.
I raise my ladder up to the sky to see the gods.
I am one of them, I speak like the divine goose, and I listen to the
gods.
I talk aloud, I repeat the words of Sothis.
The twelfth domain. O this domain of Unt, within Restau, the heat of
which is that of fire. No god goes down into it, and the glorious ones
do not gather into it, for the four snakes would destroy their
names.(14.)
O this domain of Unt! I am the great among the glorious ones within. I
am among the wandering stars. I am not destroyed; my name is not
destroyed.
Come, thou divine scent, say the gods who are in the domain of Unt.
I am with you, I live with you, ye gods who are within the domain of
Unt.
You love me more than your gods. I am with you for ever, in the presence
of the followers of the great god.
The thirteenth domain. O this domain of the water, which none of the
glorious ones can possess, for its water is of fire, its stream is
burning, and its heat is of blazing flame, so that they may not drink
its water in order to quench the thirst which is within them, for their
mighty fear, and their great terror.
The gods and the glorious ones look at its water from afar, they do not
quench their thirst, and their heart is not set at rest, because they
may not go near it.
When the river is full and green like the flowing sap which comes out of
Osiris, I take its water, I draw from its flood like the great god who
is in the domain of the water, and who keeps watch over it for fear that
the gods may drink from its water, and who inspires dread to the
glorious ones.
Hail to thee, thou great god, who art in the domain of the water. I have
come to thee. Grant me to take of thy water, to take of thy stream, as
thou doest to this great god.
When the Nile will come, when he will give birth to the plants, and
cause the herbs to grow; as it is given to the gods, when he appears in
peace, grant that the Nile may come to me, and that I may take his
plants; for I am thy own son for ever.
The fourteenth domain. O this domain of Cher-āba(15.), which drives the
Nile towards Tattu, and which causes the Nile to go and spend its corn
in his course from _Rokekmu_(16.); thou which presentest offerings to
the dead, and mortuary gifts to the glorious ones.
There is a serpent belonging to it, who comes from the two wells at
Elephantine, at the gate of the water. He goes with the water, and stops
at the stream of Cher-āba, near the powers of the high flood; he sees
his hour of the silent evening.
Ye gods who live in the water of Cher-āba, ye powers of the high flood,
open to me your ponds, open to me your lakes, that I may take of your
water, and that I may rest in your stream, that I may eat of your corn,
that I may be satisfied with your food.
I have risen, my heart is high, for I am the great god in Cher-āba.
Make me offerings. I have been filled with the vital sap coming out of
Osiris. I shall not be despoiled of it. The end.
NOTES.
This is one of the interesting chapters of the Book of the Dead. It is
more frequently met with than the other ones, and it generally
constitutes the end of the Theban papyri. It is the chapter of the
various domains which the deceased has to reach, and in which he enjoys
special privileges.
The vignettes generally give the plan of the domain, and very often the
colour with which it is painted; they are either green ⁂⁂⁂ or
light yellow ⁂⁂⁂. In most of the papyri there are only four
yellow--3, 9, 10, and 14.
Renouf translates ⁂⁂⁂ “domain” (p. 208). Dr. Budge keeps the
word _aat_, and considers them as the divisions of the Elysian fields.
Pierret translates _demeure_, Brugsch _siège_, _demeure_, _habitation_.
I shall adopt Renouf’s word, though _residence_ or _habitation_ seems to
me preferable. An ⁂⁂⁂ is an enclosed space which has
inhabitants described or mentioned in the text. The deceased calls first
on the domain, and often in the same breath goes over to the inhabitants
without any transition.
1. The second domain is the horizon. The text of the vignette says: the
god who is in it is Harmachis. The text to this domain being a
repetition of chapter 109, I adopt Renouf’s translation (p. 181.)
2. The third domain is called “that of the glorious ones.”
3. The moon. _Ab_ reads: ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
“on the face of the sun, and on the face of the moon.”
4. The deceased speaks of himself as a magician who can cover the head
of the serpent without being hurt. The eyes of the serpent, which have
the power of paralyzing, of making impotent (see seventh domain), are
given him; the result is, that when he goes to the mountain on which the
serpent shows his strength, this strength collapses, as the deceased
says: thy strength is in my hand; I am he who lifts, who takes away the
strength.
5. Renouf generally translates ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ tunnels. See p. 126,
and Proc., 1893, p. 385; but here we must adopt the other sense, serpent
or worms. Copt. ⲁⲕⲟⲣⲓ.]
6. Or _Secher-remu_, he who knocks down the worm, or he who knocks down
the fishes.1
7. _Ka_ and serpent have killed each other.
8. The lynx (see note, p. 82, on chapter 34). It seems to be the cat who
is represented in the vignettes of chapter 17, cutting off the head of
the serpent.
9. This is a chapter found on the sarcophagus of Amam in the British
Museum; it has the title ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “taking the
form of a vulture” (see p. 139): I should rather say a goose.
10. The ninth domain, Akset or Aksi, has the form of a vase, which a
crocodile called Maatetf touches with his snout.
11. The words are obscure. I believe them to mean: Akset was made such
as it is, in order that, &c.
12. The tenth domain is called that which is at the mouth of the stream.
13. I cannot translate the following words.
14. The destruction of the name means absolute destruction of the
person.
15. I have kept the reading Cher-āba, which Renouf advocates, in
opposition to Cher-aha, adopted by most egyptologists.
16. I believe this name, which is spelt differently in each papyrus, to
be the origin of the Κρῶφι and Μῶφι, these two rocks mentioned by
Herodotus (II, 28), out of which issues the Niles.
There are hardly any variants in the vignettes which accompany the text
of the chapter of the domains.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LIV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER 151. =Papyrus, British Museum, 10010.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 152. =Papyrus, Busca.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER 151A _ter._
=Papyrus, B.M., 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER 152.
=Papyrus, Louvre, III, 93.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Chapter CL.
NOTES.
This is not a separate chapter: it stands to 149 as 16 to 15. It
consists of the vignettes accompanying Chapter 149, and it is the end of
many papyri. Curiously, there are fifteen domains instead of fourteen,
one of them, the fifth, seems to have been divided into two.
At the corner of the picture are four serpents, which I consider as the
four cardinal points.
Taking the domains in the same order as in the preceding text, we find
them named in the following way in the papyrus _Aa_:--
1. The good Amenta, the gods within which live on _shens_ and _tu_
loaves.
2. The garden of Aarru; the god in it is Rā.
3. The domain of the glorious ones.
4. The high and lofty mountain.
5. The basin, the fire of which is a blazing flame; the front of the
fire, the god in it is the bearer of altars.
6. Amemhet, the god in it is he who knocks down the fishes.
7. Asset.
8. Hasert, the god in it is the bearer of heaven.
9. Akset, the god in it is Maatetf.
10. The face of the Kahu gods.
11. Aat, the god in it is Sothis.
12. The domain of Unt, the god in it is the destroyer of souls.
13. The surface of the water, the god in it is the mighty power.
14. The domain of Cher-āba, the god in it is the Nile.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLI.
(_a_) Words of Anubis.
Thy right eye is in the Sektit boat, thy left eye is in the Âtit boat.
Thy eyebrows are with(1.) Anubis, thy fingers are with Thoth, thy locks
are with Ptah Sokaris; they prepare for thee a good way, they smite for
thee the associates of Sut.
(_b_) Said by Isis. I have come as thy protector, _N._, with the breath
coming forth from Tmu. I shall strengthen for thee thy throat. I give
thee to be like a god. I will put all thy enemies under thy feet.
(_c_) Said by Nephthys. I go round my brother Osiris _N._ I have come as
thy protector. I am myself behind thee for ever, hearing when thou art
addressed by Rā, and when thou art justified by the gods. Arise, thou
art justified through all that has been done for thee. Ptah has smitten
thy enemies; thou art Horus the son of Hathor. It has been ordered what
should be done for thee. Thy head will not be taken away from thee for
ever.
(_d_) Words of the figure of the Northern wall.
He who cometh to enchain, I shall not let him enchain thee. He who
cometh to throw bonds, I shall not let him throw bonds on thee. I am
here to throw bonds on thee. I am here to enchain thee; but I am thy
protector.(2.)
(_e_) Words of the Tat of the Western wall.
Come in haste, and turn away the steps of _Kep-her_. Bring light into
his hidden abode. I am behind Tat, I am verily behind Tat, on the day
when the slaughter is repelled. I am the protector of _N._(3.)
(_f_) Words of the flame of the Southern wall.
I have spread sand around the hidden abode, repelling the aggressor that
I might throw light on the mountain. I have illuminated the mountain. I
have turned the direction of the sword. I am the protector of _N._(4.)
(_g_) Said by Anubis in his divine hall, the lord of Ta-Tsert. I keep
watch over thy head. Awake, thou on the mountain. Thy wrath is averted.
I have averted thy furious wrath. I am thy protector.(5.)
(_h_) The two figures of the soul, with raised hands.
The living soul, the powerful Chu of _N._ worships the sun when he
ariseth on the Eastern horizon of the sky.
The living soul of _N._ adoreth Rā, when he setteth in the land of the
living, on the Western horizon of the sky.
(_i_) Words of the two statuettes.(6.)
O statuette there! Should I be called and appointed to do any of the
labours that are done in the Netherworld, by a person according to his
abilities, to plant fields, to water the soil, to convey the sand from
East to West; here am I, whithersoever thou callest me.
Words of the genii of the four cardinal points.
(_k_) I am Kebehsenuf. I have come to be thy protector. I have joined
thy bones. I have strengthened thy limbs. I have brought thee thy heart
and put it in its place, into thy body. I will cause thy house to
prosper after thee.
(_l_) I am Hapi thy protector. I have revived thy head and thy limbs. I
have smitten thy enemies under thee. I give thee thy head for ever.
(_m_) I am Tuamautef. I am thy son Horus, I have come, and I rescue my
father from the evil doer, whom I put under thy feet.
(_n_) I am Emsta. I have come, I am thy protector. I cause thy house to
prosper permanently, according to the command of Ptah, according to the
command of Rā himself.
NOTES.
With Chapter 151 begins a series of texts written either on the walls of
the funeral chamber or on the mummy cloth, or on various amulets. This
series goes as far as 160, with the exception of 152 and 153, which have
been inserted there without any apparent reason.
Chapter 151 is not so much a text as a picture. It represents the
funeral chamber. The four walls, which should be vertical, are drawn
lying flat on the ground. In the middle of the chamber, under a canopy,
is the mummy, on which Anubis lays his hands; under the bed is a bird
with a human head, the symbol of the soul of the deceased. We must
suppose that the god Anubis is a priest, or a member of the family, who
has put on a jackal’s head, and who pronounces the words said to be
those of the god. At the foot of the bed are the two goddesses Isis and
Nephthys.
Each of the four walls had a small niche of the exact size of an amulet,
which was lodged in it. We know it from the four oriented steles of
Marseilles (Naville, _Les quatre stèles orientées du Musée de
Marseille_), where we find the text belonging to each wall, and also the
niche cut in the stone for each amulet. On the North was a human figure,
on the South a flame, on the East a jackal, on the West a Tat.
In the chamber were four so-called canopic vases, with the gods of the
four cardinal points, each of whom has his words to say. Besides these
were statuettes called _shabti_ or _ushabti_, the helpers of the
deceased in his work in the Elysian fields. In the papyrus London, 10010
(_Af._), from which this chapter is translated, one of them has the
usual appearance, the other the head of Anubis.
The soul of the deceased is supposed to be in the chamber, and to
worship the rising and the setting sun.
Very few papyri have this chapter as complete as _Af._, which is taken
here as standard for text and vignettes, but there are fragments of it
here and there. The Turin version is much shorter than the old one. The
papyrus of _Nu_ (ed. Budge) contains the texts of the four walls with
rubrics very similar to those of the steles in Marseilles. They form a
special chapter joined to 137A, with the title: _What is done secretly
in the Tuat, the mysteries of the Tuat, the introduction into the
mysteries of the Netherworld._
In order to facilitate the understanding of the chapter, I have lettered
the words spoken by the various figures.
1. Renouf would have translated (see Chapter 42), thy eyebrows are
_those of_ Anubis; but the following chapter shows that we have to
translate _with_ Anubis, which should mean here, under the protection of
Anubis.
2. The rubrics say the figure is made of palm wood, and is seven fingers
high.
3. The rubric of this Tat is the following: _said on a Tat of crystal,
the branches of which are of gold. It is folded up in fine linen._
There is another chapter of the Tat put on the neck of the deceased
(Chapter 155), the words of which are totally different.
4. According to the rubric, the flame is a torch made of reeds
⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Loret).
5. The Anubis was made of clay.
6. Words engraved on the funerary statuettes called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
or ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, an abridged form of Chapter 6, for which I take
Renouf’s translation.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLIA _bis_.
Said by Anubis Amut, in his divine hall, when he puts his hands over the
body of _N._, and provides him with all that belongs to him.
Hail to thee, beautiful face, lord of sight, sacred eye lifted up by
Ptah Sokaris, raised by Anubis, and to which Shu has given its stand.
Beautiful face, which art among the gods, thy right eye is in the Sektit
boat, thy left eye is in the Âtit boat; thy eyebrows are a pleasant
sight among the gods. Thy front is in the protection of Anubis, thy back
is pleasant to the venerable hawk. Thy fingers(1.) are well preserved in
writing before the lord of Hermopolis, Thoth, the giver of written
words. Thy locks are beautified before Ptah Sokaris.
_N._ is welcome among the gods; he sees the great god, he is led on the
good roads, he is presented with funerary offerings, his enemies are
beaten down under him in the house of the Prince of Heliopolis(2.).
NOTES.
The words spoken by Anubis in Chapter 151 have been taken out and made
into a special chapter, which in papyrus London, 9900 (_Aa_) occurs in
two different forms. I called them CLIA _bis_ and CLIA _ter_, the second
one being only an abridgement of the first. Vignettes and titles are not
the same for these two chapters. That translated, CLIA _bis_, is the
longest of the two. The title of the other one is: the _Chapter of the
Mysterious Head_, and the vignette thereof consists of a mummy’s head.
In comparing this chapter with the words of Anubis we had before, we
find the explanation of expressions like this: thy eyebrows are with
Anubis.
1. ⁂. This word has always been translated _fingers_, a sense which
is evidently wrong in this place, where parts of the head only are
mentioned, and when one would expect the hair or the beard.
I suppose that this obscure sentence means that since everything in him
is divine the design or colour of his fingers (?) was taken from the
books of Thoth.
2. See note 8 on Chapter 1.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLII.
_The Chapter of building a house_(1.) _on earth._
O rejoice, Seb, _N._ has been set in motion with his vital power ... he
has given to men and gods their creative strength.
There is cheering, when it is seen that Seshait(2.) has come towards
Seb; when Anubis has commanded to _N._: build a house on earth, the
foundations of which be like On, and the circuit like Cher-ābā; let the
god of the sanctuary be in the sanctuary. I also decree that it should
contain the sacrificial victim, brought by slaves, and held up by
ministrants.
Said by Osiris to the gods in his following: come hastily, and see the
house which has been built for the glorified, the well equipt, who
cometh every day. Look at him, hold him in awe, and give him praise,
which is well pleasing to him.
(3.)You see what I have done myself, I the great god who cometh every
day. Look ye, Osiris brings me cattle, the south wind brings me grain,
the north wind brings me barley as far as the end of the earth.
I have been exalted by the mouth of Osiris(4.), applause surrounds
him(5.) on his left and on his right.
Look ye, men, gods, and Chus, they applaud him, they applaud him, and I
am well pleased.
NOTES.
The text here translated is that of the Papyrus of _Nu_, with a few
variants taken from contemporary texts.
1. The ⁂⁂ here mentioned is the abode of the ⁂, where it is
worshipped and receives offerings. In the vignette of Pap. Busca (Ik),
the plan of this abode is like the funerary constructions discovered at
Nagadah and Abydos.
2. The goddess ⁂ is often connected with building (Chapter 52).
3. Here the deceased begins to speak himself.
4. I translate ⁂⁂ the beating in measure as the musicians do, the
regular applause so often heard in the East.
5. The person changes, as is often the case in such texts. The deceased
speaks of himself in the third person.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LV.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER 153A. =Louvre, III, 93.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 153A. =Louvre, 3084.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 153A. =B.M., 9900.=]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER 161.
=Louvre, III, 93.=
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLIIIA.
_The Chapter of coming out of the net._(1.)
O he who turns backwards, mighty of heart, who spreads his net before
him, who entereth the earth! O you the fishermen sons of their
fathers(2.), who go round in the midst of the stream, you will not catch
me in your net, in which you catch the disabled, and you will not carry
me away in your canvas, in which you take away the evil ones in the
earth; the frame of which reaches the sky, and the weights of which are
on the earth.
For I will come out of its meshes and shine like Hunnu (Sokaris). I will
come out of its bars(3.) and shine like Sebak. I shall fly against you
like a fisher whose fingers(4.) are hidden.
I know the fork(5.) which belongs to it. It is the great finger of Hunnu
(Sokaris). I know the stake(6.); it is the leg of Nemu(7.). I know its
pointed head, it is the hand of Isis. I know the name of its blade; it
is the knife of Isis with which she cut the meat for Horus.
I know the name of the frame and of the weights. They are the feet and
the legs of the Sphinx(8.).
I know the name of the ropes with which fishing is done; they are the
bonds of Tmu.
I know the names of the fishermen who are fishing. They are the
worms(9.), the ancestors of the blood drinkers(10.), who pour their flow
on my hands, when the great god the lord listens to the words in
Heliopolis, in the night of the 15th of the month(11.), in the temple of
the moon.
I know the marked space(12.) in which they are enclosed. It is the soil
of iron on which the gods stand.
I know the name of the divine supervisor who takes hold of the fishes,
and marks them on the tail. He is the supervisor of the divine property.
I know the name of the table on which he lays them (the fishes); it is
the table of Horus.
He sits alone in the night; nobody sees him; the future ones(13.) see
him, and the present ones give him their acclamations.
I shine like Horus; I govern the land, and I go down to the land in the
two great boats. Horus introduces me into the house of the Prince(14.).
I have come as a fisher; the fork has been given into my hand; my blade
is in my hand, my knife is in my hand. I come forth; I go round about,
and I entangle in my net.
I know the name of the fork which closes the mouths vomiting (fire?). It
is the great finger of Osiris.
The fingers (prongs) which hold fast, they are the fingers of the
ancestors of Rā, the claw of the ancestor of Hathor.
I know the strings which are on this fork, they are the bonds of the
lord of mankind.
I know the name of the stake; the thigh of Nemu. Its point is the hand
of Isis, its coil, the cord of the first-born god, its cordage the rope
of Rā.
I know the name of the fishermen who are fishing; they are the worms,
the ancestors of Rā, the creatures(15.), the ancestors of Seb.
When what thou eatest is brought to thee, what I eat is brought to me.
Thou eatest what is eaten by Seb and Osiris.
O(16.) thou who turnest backwards, mighty of heart, who fishes and
entangles him who enters the earth; O you fishers, sons of their
fathers, and ye fowlers who are in Nefer-sent; you will not catch me in
your nets, and you will not entangle me in your meshes, wherein you
catch the disabled, and where you catch those who are in the earth; for
I know it (the net), its frame above, and its weights below. Behold, I
come, my stake is in my hand; the point is in my hand, the blade is in
my hand.
I come, I arrive to my ... (?) I have come myself; I have come to bind
it, to put it in its place. My knife is sharpened. I put it in its
place.
The stake which is in my hand is the thigh of Nemu; the fork which is in
my hand is the fingers of Sokaris; this point which is in my hand is the
claws of Isis; the blade which is in my hand is the knife of Nemu.
Behold I have come, I sit in the boat of Rā, I sail on the lake of
Cha(17.) and on the lake of the Northern sky.
I hear the words of the gods. I do what they are doing, I give praises
to their persons, I live as they live.
_N._ appears on the ladder which was made for him by his father Rā, when
Horus and Sut take hold of him.
NOTES.
In the Theban version the Chapter of the Net is divided into two, 153A
and 153B, which have different titles and different vignettes. 153A is
called the “_Chapter of coming out_,” or, as might be translated, “_of
escaping from the net_.” The vignettes represent a clap-net, used for
waterfowl. The second Chapter is called “_the Chapter of escaping from
those who catch_ ⁂⁂⁂⁂,” which, from the etymology, might
be translated _foul_ or _fetid fish_. There the vignette represents a
drag-net containing fishes, and drawn by apes.
It is probable, one may suppose, that originally one Chapter referred to
the fowlers, the ⁂⁂⁂⁂, who use the clap-net, and the
other to the fishermen, the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, who use the
drag-net. But in the form in which these Chapters appear in the three
best texts where they have been preserved, London, 9900 (_Aa_), Paris,
III, 93 (_Pb._), and the papyrus of _Nu_, fowlers and fishermen are
mixed together.
The text of 153A is very corrupt, and seems to differ greatly from the
original. The variants between the chief documents are considerable, and
show that the understanding of it was nearly lost. It probably had two
different versions, which have been cast into one, since after the first
two-thirds it begins over again and nearly repeats itself.
The Turin text contains only 153A, and that even much shorter, but it is
followed by a rubric, which is absent from the Theban version.
The translation is made from the three above-named documents.
The vignette of 153A, in the papyrus III, 93, of the Louvre (_Pb_),
shows a clap-net drawn by four men. Behind it comes the deceased,
holding in his hand two instruments mentioned in the text: the ⁂ and
the ⁂, called ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂ each of them
consists of different parts having a distinct name.
In the papyrus of _Nu_ the deceased is seen drawing the rope of the net.
In the vignette of London, 9900 (_Aa_), he is supposed to do the same.
1. Among the dangers to which the deceased is exposed is that of being
caught in a net by hidden genii, who will treat him as is done to
water-fowl or fishes. But he escapes from this peril, because he knows
the names of the fowlers and fishermen who intend to attack him, and
also of the net itself, and of the various parts of which it consists.
All these names are mystical; they are connected with some divinity, and
this gives them a magical power, owing to which the deceased can make
his escape.
2. I suppose this means fishermen, sons of fishermen.
3. Litt. the hands: the bars, the sides of the frame of the net.
4. The fingers are often mentioned when we should say the hand. The act
or the wound is attributed to the fingers. “Whose fingers are hidden,”
means he who hides the hand with which he will strike.
5. ⁂. The instrument in the hand of the deceased. Though the
determinative is ⁂, it does not necessarily mean that it is made of
wood; it may be the determinative of weapons in general. It has prongs,
which are compared to nails or claws, so that it probably is a weapon
like the bident for spearing fishes, the tines of which are held
together by a string (Wilkinson, _Manners and Customs_, 2nd edition,
Vol. II, p. 107). Otherwise it is not unlike a netting needle
(Wilkinson, _loc. cit._, p. 175). If it is a weapon, one does not very
well understand why it is said to belong to the net.
6. The ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is evidently the stake or peg to which the end
of the clap-net is fastened. But it must be noticed that in the vignette
of London, 9900, this peg is a dagger. Therefore one may speak of its
pointed head ⁂ (Brugsch, _Dict. Suppl._, p. 85), and of its
⁂⁂⁂, blade.
7. Nemu is perhaps a local name of Horus (Brugsch, _Dict. geog._, p.
71).
8. ⁂⁂⁂. “The god in Lion form” (Renouf) is the name of the
Sphinx (_Sphinx_, Vol. V, p. 193).
9. See Chapter 149, note 5.
10. We know from an inscription at Dendereh that the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the drinkers, feast on blood,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Brugsch, _Dict. Suppl._, p. 18).
11. The late recension of Chapter 153 ends here, and does not contain
153B. It is followed by this rubric:
_Said on a figure of the deceased which is placed in a boat. Thou shalt
put the Sektit boat on his right, and the Âtit boat on his left.
Offerings will be made to him of cakes, beer, and all good things, on
the day of the birth of Osiris. He to whom these things have been done
will be a living soul for ever, and will not die a second time._
12. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. I consider this word as derived from
⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂, which means to mark an object with a
cut or with fire, for a religious purpose, or simply as an
indication of property. A little further it is spoken of fishes
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “marked on the tail.”
13. We have here the opposition between ⁂⁂ “those who are,” and
⁂⁂ “those who are not,” that is, those who are not yet,
the future ones. The negative, which often expresses the
idea of anteriority, is one of the usual ways of rendering
the future; that which has not yet taken place, which is
to come. An official of the XIIth dynasty says: “the king
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ made me his
commissioner of works, having charge of present and future work”
(_Zeitschr._, 1882, p. 8, note). It is said of Isis that “she issues her
directions for what is and what will be” ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
(Stèle Metternich, Brugsch, _Dict. Suppl._, p. 355).
14. See Chapter 1, note 8.
15. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. As they are sometimes mentioned before
the gods, I believe the word might be translated, the first beings, the
first creatures: “die Urwesen.”
16. Here begins the second version of the chapter which has been added
to the other one.
17. ⁂⁂⁂⁂. This lake is often mentioned in the texts of the
pyramids. It is one of the celestial lakes not very distant from the
Elysian fields.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LVI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER 153B. =Louvre, III, 93.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 154. LEPSIUS, “Todt.”]
[Illustration: CHAPTERS 151, 155, 156. =Louvre, III, 89.=]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLIIIB.
_The Chapter of escaping from the catchers of fish._
O ye snarers (?), O ye fowlers, O ye fishers, sons of their fathers,
know ye(1.) what I do know, the name of this very great net: the
embracer is its name.
Know ye what I do know, the name of its cordage: the bonds of Isis.
Know ye what I do know, the name of its stake: the thigh of Tmu.
Know ye what I do know, the name of the fork: the finger of Nemu.
Know ye what I do know, the name of its point: the nail of Ptah.
Know ye what I do know, the name of its blade: the knife of Isis.
Know ye what I do know, the name of its weight: the iron which is in the
sky.
Know ye what I do know, the name of its flowers(2.): the feathers of the
hawk.
Know ye what I do know, the name of the fisherman: the cynocephalus.
Know ye what I do know, the name of the ground(3.), where are its
limits: the house of the moon.
Know ye what I do know, the name of him who fishes there: the great
prince who sits on the east of the sky...(4.).
I am Rā,(5.) who proceedeth from Nu, and my soul is divine. I am he who
produceth food, but I execrate what is wrong.
I am Osiris, the possessor of Maāt, and I subsist by means of it every
day.
I am the eternal one, like the bull.(6.) I am feared by the cycle of the
gods in my name of the eternal one.
I am self-originating, together with Nu, in my name of Chepera, from
whom I am born daily.
I am the lord of Daylight, and I shine like Rā; he gives me life in
these his risings in the East.
I come to heaven, I take hold of my place in the East.
The children of the great god nourish him to whom they have given birth,
with sacred offerings.
I eat like Shu. I ease myself like Shu. The king of Egypt (Osiris) is
present. Khonsu and Thoth(7.) their laws are within me. They impart
warmth(8.) to the heavenly host.
NOTES.
This Chapter is found only in two papyri: Paris, III, 93, and the
Papyrus of _Nu._ Both of them are, in some parts, very incorrect. The
Paris document here and there omits a line; I had to use them both for
the translation.
The first part of the Chapter is only a nomenclature of the various
parts of the net, very similar to 153A.
The vignette represents a drag-net drawn by three dog-headed apes.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. I believe there is a slight difference
of meaning between this old participial form, and the usual
⁂⁂⁂⁂. I consider that the first form means: do you know
well? are you certain to know? or do you pretend to know?
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ I suppose this word means the papyrus flowers
which are sometimes tied to the net. (Bergmann, _H.I._, p. 53.)
3. ⁂⁂ where we had in 153A. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
4. Here the discrepancies between the two texts are so great, that I do
not venture to give a translation.
5. The following lines are an abridged recension of Chapter 85, where I
repeat Renouf’s translation.
6. The bull of Amenta, Osiris, as he is called in the first Chapter (see
note 5, Chapter 1).
7. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ Thoth, the god of ⁂⁂⁂ ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Hermopolis.
(Brugsch, _Dict. Suppl._, p. 927, _Dict. Geog._, p. 749.)
8. ⁂⁂, litt. warmth, means probably a moral quality. In the
Canopus inscription ⁂⁂⁂ corresponds to the Greek κηδεμονικῶς.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LVII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAP. 155. CHAP. 156.
=B. M., 9900.=
]
[Illustration:
CHAP. 158. CHAP. 157.
LEPSIUS, “Todt.”
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 159. =Leyden Papyrus.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 160. =Leyden Papyrus.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 159. LEPSIUS, “Todt.”]
[Illustration: CHAPTER 160. =B.M., 9900.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLIV.
_The Chapter of not letting the body decay(1.) in the Netherworld._
Hail to thee, my father Osiris. I have come to embalm thee. Do thou
embalm this flesh of mine, for I am perfect like my father Chepera, who
is my image, he who does not know corruption.
Come, take hold of my breath of life, lord of the breath, lofty above
his equals; vivify(2.) me, build me up, thou lord of the funeral chest.
Grant me to go down into the land of eternity, as thou doest when thou
art with thy father Tmu, he whose body never decays, he who does not
know destruction.
I have not done what thou hatest, the command (which I obey) is that
which thy _ka_ loveth,(3.) I have not transgressed it.
I have been delivered, being thy follower, O Tmu, from the rottenness
which thou allowest to come over every god, every goddess, every animal,
every creeping thing which is corruptible.
After his soul has departed he dies,(4.) and when it has gone down he
decays; he is all corruption; all his bones are rottenness,
putrefaction(5.) seizes his limbs and makes his bones break down, his
flesh becomes a fetid liquid, his breath is stink, he becomes a
multitude of worms.
(As for me) there are no worms(6.). He is impotent whoever has lost the
eye of Shu(7.) among all gods and goddesses, all birds and fishes, all
snakes and worms, all animals altogether, for I cause them to crawl
before me, they recognise me and the fear of me prevails over them, and
behold every being is alike dead among all animals, all birds, all
fishes, all snakes, all worms, their life is like death.
Let there be no food for the worms all of them. Let them not come to me
when they are born, I shall not be handed over to the destroyer in his
cover, who destroys the limbs, the hidden one who causes corruption, who
cuts to pieces(8.) many dead bodies, who lives from destroying.
He lives who performs his commands, but I have not been delivered into
his fingers, he has not prevailed upon me, for I am under thy command,
lord of the gods.
Hail to thee, my father Osiris! thy limbs are lasting, thou dost not
know corruption; there are no worms with thee, thou art not repugnant,
thou dost not stink, thou dost not putrefy, thou wilt not become worms.
I am Chepera, my limbs are lasting for ever. I do not know corruption. I
do not rot, I do not putrefy, I do not become worms. I do not lose the
eye of Shu.
I am, I am, I live, I live, I grow, I grow, and when I shall awake in
peace, I shall not be in corruption, I shall not be destroyed in my
bandages. I shall be free of pestilence, my eye will not be corrupted,
my skin (?) will not disappear. My ear will not be deaf, my head will
not be taken away from my neck, my tongue will not be torn away, my hair
will not be cut off, my eyebrows shall not be shaven off. No grievous
harm shall come upon me, my body is firm, it shall not be destroyed. It
shall not perish in this earth for ever.
NOTES.
This Chapter is not frequently met with in the papyri; it was written on
the wrappings and the bandages of the dead; for instance, on the funeral
cloth of King Thothmes III, where it is not complete. This Chapter is
interesting, as it shows how repulsive to the Egyptians was the idea of
corruption, of the decay of the body, which is described here in most
realistic terms. This is one of the reasons why they gave such
importance to mummification.
Parts of this Chapter are very obscure. The translation has been made
from the text on the mummy cloth of Thothmes III, supplemented by the
Papyrus of _Nu_.
The only vignette we have is that of the Turin Papyrus, showing a mummy
lying on the bed, and illumined by the rays of the sun.
1. ⁂⁂⁂, “to pass away, to disappear through corruption or
decay.” Sometimes it seems to have an active sense: to let something
pass away, to lose it.
2. ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂ is generally translated “firm, stable, abiding”
(Chapter 1, note 9), but I believe in most cases it has another
sense: “to vivify, to impart the breath of life,” as one may
judge from the title of Chapter 182, which mentions two
acts, one of which is the consequence of the other,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂:
“the book of vivifying Osiris, giving breath to him whose heart is
motionless.”
In the mythological or celestial geography ⁂⁂⁂ is the East (Pl.
IV). There life originates; there also the deceased inhales the breath
of life (Chapter 57, p. 110; Naville, _Todt._, Einl., p. 28).
3. See _Sphinx_, V, p. 199.
4. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. I consider ⁂⁂ as being here
the adverb _afterwards_. His soul goes out, and _afterwards_ he dies, it
goes down and _afterwards_ he decays.
5. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, litt. the destroyers; the word occurs
again further on: the destroyer who is in his bush(?) or cover, the
hidden one. It is evidently a metaphor, for the sense is obvious; it is
putrefaction. The word in the Turin papyrus ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, litt.
locks, might apply to the vegetation or the excrescences which are often
the sign of putrefaction.
6. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The passage is very obscure. I
believe the drift of the idea is this: after having described very
thoroughly what corruption is, the deceased says: as for me I am
protected against those evils. Even should every being fall into
corruption, having lost the eye of Shu, it is nothing to me, because I
am feared by all.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “worms do not exist.” ⁂⁂ is explained by
two passages. At Abydos the priest says to the god (Mar., _Abydos_, I,
p. 34) ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. “I have
come to perform the ceremonies, for I have not come to do nothing, I
have not come in vain.” In the poem of Pentaur, when Rameses II,
addressing Amen, recalls all he has done to honour the god, he says:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂:
“is it nothing, this thy terrace which I built for thee?”
7. The eye of Shu is either an amulet or a magic power residing in some
part of the body, which prevents it from becoming worms. It is the
defence against corruption. Further the deceased says: “I do not become
worms; I do not lose the eye of Shu.”
8. Litt. ploughs into dead bodies.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLV.
_Chapter of the Tat of gold._(1.)
Here is thy backbone,(2.) thou still-heart! here is thy spine, thou
still-heart! Put it close to thee. I have given thee the water thou
wantest.(3.) Here it is. I have brought to thee the Tat, in which thy
heart rejoiceth.
_Said on a Tat of gold inlaid into the substance of sycamore-wood, and
dipped into juice of ankhamu. If it is put on the neck of this Chu, he
arrives at the doors of the Tuat, and he comes forth by day, even though
he be silent. The Tat is put in its place on the first day of the year,
as is done to the followers of Osiris._
NOTES.
After the interruption due to Chapters 153 and 154, we revert to the
series inaugurated by 151, the description of the chamber in which the
mummy is deposited, and of the funeral equipment of the deceased, his
amulets and ornaments. The papyrus III, 93 (Pb), of the Louvre, throws
several of these Chapters into one, with the title: _the description of
the hidden things of the Tuat_, and the vignette (Pl. LV) represents
three figures of Chapter 151: the statuette, the torch or flame, and the
Anubis; besides two _Tat_ of different substances, one of them for the
wall, and one to be put on the neck of the deceased, and a buckle.
The vignette of Chapter 155 represents a Tat of gold. The various
versions of the Chapter differ mostly in the rubric. I followed the
papyrus of Nebseni (Aa), filling up the gaps from other texts.
1. The rubric seems to explain that the text refers to a Tat of gold,
which is inlaid into the wood of a mummy-shaped coffin, on the neck, and
which holds fast by means of the sap or gum of a tree or fruit called
_ankhamu_.
2. This shows that the Tat is originally a conventional representation
of a backbone.
3. The juice or gum just mentioned, in which the Tat is dipped.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLVI.
_Chapter of the buckle of carnelian, which is put on the neck of the
deceased._
The blood of Isis, the virtue of Isis; the magic power of Isis, the
magic power of the Eye are protecting this the Great one; they prevent
any wrong being done to him.
_This Chapter is said on a buckle of carnelian dipped into the juice of
ankhamu, inlaid into the substance of the sycamore-wood, and put on the
neck of the deceased._
_Whoever has this Chapter read to him, the virtue of Isis protects him;
Horus the son of Isis rejoices in seeing him, and no way is barred to
him, unfailingly._
NOTES.
M. Maspero, who made a special study of this Chapter (_Le chapitre de la
boucle, Comptes Rendus de l’Acad. des Inscr. et Bell. Lettres_, 1871),
has shown that there are several recensions. This, which is probably the
oldest, is taken from the papyrus of Nebseni, with a few additions from
texts of the same date.
The protective power of the buckle is shown in the vignette of Chapter
93, where a buckle with human hands grasps the deceased by the left arm,
and prevents him from going towards the East.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLVII.
_Chapter of the vulture of gold, put on the neck of the deceased._
Isis has arrived; she hovers over the dwellings, and she searches all
the hidden abodes of Horus when he comes out of the Northern marshes,
knocking down him whose face is evil.
She causes him to join the Bark, and grants him the sovereignty over the
worlds.
When he has fought a big fight, he decrees what must be done in his
honour; he causes fear of him to arise, and he creates terror.
His mother, the Great one, uses her protective power, which she has
handed over to Horus.
_Said on a vulture of gold. If this Chapter is written on it, it
protects the deceased, the powerful one, on the day of the funeral,
undeviatingly for times infinite._
NOTES.
This and the two following Chapters have not been found in the old
recension. They are taken from the Turin text.
The vignette represents a vulture with outspread wings, which is often
found made of cartonnage on the mummies. The same bird is often painted
on the ceilings of tombs or temples.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLVIII.
_The Chapter of the collar of gold, put on the neck of the deceased._
O my father! my brother! my mother Isis! I am unveiled and I am seen. I
am one of the unveiled ones, who see Seb.
_Said on a collar of gold, on which this Chapter has been written, and
which is put on the neck of the deceased, the day of his burial._
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLIX.
_The Chapter of the column of green Felspar,_(1.) _put on the neck of
the deceased._
O thou who comest out every day, in the divine house, she who has a big
voice, who goeth round.... She takes hold of the potent formulæ of her
father, the mummy which is on the bull.(2.) She is Renent....
_Said on a column of green Felspar, on which this Chapter has been
written, and which is put on the neck of the deceased._
NOTES.
The vignette of this Chapter and the next, show distinctly that the
⁂ is a miniature column or tent-pole, with the papyrus capital, and
papyrus leaves at the base.
This Chapter is taken from the Turin text; parts of it are quite
unintelligible.
1. ⁂⁂⁂, a mineral which has not yet been determined. Brugsch
calls it “Opal.” Lepsius thought its colour was blue. Dr. Budge
translates “mother-of-emerald.” Renouf’s translation is “green Felspar”
(see Chapter 29B, note).
2. The mummy carried off by the Apis bull, a representation often seen
on the coffins after the XXIInd dynasty.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLX.
_Giving the column of green Felspar._
I am the column of green Felspar, which cannot be crushed,(1.) and which
is raised by the hand of Thoth.
Injury is an abomination for it. If it is safe, I am safe; if it is not
injured, I am not injured; if it receives no cut, I receive no cut.
Said by Thoth: arise, come in peace, lord of Heliopolis, lord who
resides at Pu.
When Shu has arrived, he found the stone at Shenemu, as its name is
_neshem_. He (the deceased) makes his abode in the enclosure of the
great god; whilst Tmu resides in his dwelling;(2.) his limbs will never
be crushed.
NOTES.
For Chapter 160, we have a text from London, 9900 (_Aa_); it is not
complete, but the gaps can very easily be filled up from the Papyrus
Busca.
The vignette of _Aa_ represents Thoth bringing the column, enclosed in a
box or a casket.
1. I suppose the symbolical expressions of this Chapter mean that the
_neshem_, of which the column is made, is a very hard stone, which is
proof against any injury.
⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂, which I translated “crush,” means probably “grind
to powder,” and ⁂⁂, “to receive a cut,” means to be scratched or
incised by a sculptor’s tool. The power of the amulet consists in making
the body of the deceased as hard as _neshem_.
2. ⁂, a variant of ⁂ when it refers to Tmu (Nav., _Todt._, ch.
XVII, l. 12).
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXI.
_The Chapter of unfastening the opening in the sky. Thoth does it so
that it may be finished when he opens (the sky) with Aten._(1.)
Rā(2.) is living, the tortoise(3.) is dead. The body has been offered in
the earth; the bones have been offered of _N._ [The West wind of
Isis].(4.)
Rā is living, the tortoise is dead. It is safe that is in the funeral
chest of _N._ [The East wind of Nephthys.]
Rā is living, the tortoise is dead, the limbs are well wrapped up.
Kebehsenef is to keep watch over them for _N._ [The North wind of
Osiris.]
Rā is living, the tortoise is dead. His wrappings have been opened; they
reveal his figure. [The South wind of Rā.]
_Everybody who has these figures on his coffin, the four openings of the
sky are open to him; one in the North, it is the wind of Osiris; one in
the South, it is the wind of Aah (the moon); one in the West, it is the
wind of Isis; one in the East, it is the wind of Nephthys. Every one of
these winds, which are at his entrance when he wants it, breathes into
his nostrils._
_Let no one outside know it, it is a mystery which is not known to the
common people. Do not reveal it to any one, may he be thy father or thy
son, except thyself. It is a real mystery, and every one of these things
is unknown to all men._
NOTES.
This Chapter is so short in the old recension (Paris, III, 93) that it
could hardly be understood without the rubric of the Turin text. The
four Thoths, each of whom opens a door, are the four winds, coming from
the four cardinal points (_Zeitschr. für Aeg. Sprache_, 1877, p. 28).
We have already learned from Chapter 59 that it is one of the privileges
of the deceased to have the command of the four winds.]
1. The title is obscure. I suppose that the scribe, who had a very short
space at his disposal, left out a word or two.
2. Magic formula, which enables Thoth to open the door.
3. See Chapter 83, note 1. Brugsch calls the tortoise the evil
principle.
4. The words in brackets, as well as the rubric, are taken from the
Turin Todtenbuch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LVIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CLXII.
LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXIV. LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXIII. LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXV. LEPSIUS, Todtenbuch.]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXVI, _A. a._]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXVII, _A. a._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXII.
_Chapter of causing a flame(1.) to arise under the head of the
deceased._
Hail to thee, thou lion,(2.) thou mighty one, with high plumes, the lord
of the double crown, who wavest the flail, thou art the lord of the
phallus,(3.) thou art vigorous when ariseth the morning light, to the
rays of which there is no limit.
Thou art the lord of forms, with numerous colours, who conceals himself
within his eye to his children.
Thou art the mighty enchanter among the cycle of the gods, thou swift
runner, with quick strides. Thou art the mighty god who cometh to him
who calleth for him, who delivereth the oppressed from his tortures.
Come to my voice. I am the cow. Thy name is in my mouth. I am going to
utter it. Hakahaka(4.) is thy name. Furaa is thy name. Aakarsa is thy
name. Ankrobata is thy name. Khermauserau is thy name. Kharosata is thy
name.
I adore thy name. I am the cow. Listen to my voice, on the day when thou
puttest a flame under the head of Rā. Behold he is in the Tuat, and he
is mighty in Heliopolis.(5.) Grant that he may be like one who is on
earth. He is thy son, who loves thee. Do not ignore his name. Come to
Osiris _N._ Grant that a flame may arise under his head, for he is the
soul of the great body which rests in Heliopolis; the shining one, the
form of the firstborn is his name. Barokatat’aua is his name.
Come, grant him to be like one of thy followers, for he is even as thou
art.
_Said on the image of a cow, made of pure gold, to be put on the neck of
the deceased. Also if it is painted on new papyrus, and put under his
head, there will be a quantity of flames all around him like those that
are on earth. This is a very great protection, which the cow granted to
her son Rā, after he had gone to rest. His abode is surrounded by
warriors of blazing fire._(6.)
_If thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the Ring who is on earth,
he is like fire in pursuing his enemies, his horses cannot stop._
_If thou puttest it on the neck of a man after his death, he is mighty
in the Netherworld. Nobody will drive him away from the gates of the
Tuat undeviatingly._
_And thou shalt say when thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the
deceased: O Amon of Amons, thou who art in the sky, turn thy face
towards the body of thy son, make him sound in the Netherworld._
_This book is most secret. Do not let it be seen by any man, for it is
forbidden to know it. Let it be hidden. It is called the book of the
mistress of the hidden abode. This is the end._
NOTES.
Chapters 162-165 are of a very date date. They are of a different
character from the other chapters of the Book of the Dead. They belong
rather to the magic books of the old Egyptians. When they were written
there was a decay in the religion, which drifted more and more into
magic, for which the Egyptians were famous under the Roman Empire. We
find there a great number of barbarous words unintelligible to us, and
probably also to the old scribes, since they differ widely according to
the papyri. They remind us of those which are found in the magical texts
(Chabas, _Pap. Magique Harris_, p. 151)
It is probable that Chapter 162 is older than the following; several
papyri end with it, and it has the rubric ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _this is
the end_, which is found in the older texts after Chapter 149.
The late Dr. Pleyte, of Leyden, made a special study of these chapters,
and of several others of late date (_Chapitres supplémentaires du Livre
des Morts, Texte, Traduction et Commentaire_, Leide). The collation
which he published of various documents is the text on which this
translation has been made.
The vignette generally consists of a cow, having between her horns a
solar disk, with two plumes. Occasionally behind her there is a goddess
with a cow’s head having the same attribute. This cow I consider to be
the goddess Nut, the mother of Rā. An image of the cow, made of pure
gold, is to be put on the neck of the deceased; or, what would be much
easier and cheaper, it is to be painted on a hypocephalus of new
papyrus, and put under the deceased’s head. Part of this chapter is the
usual text found on the hypocephali.
The result of the gift of one of these amulets will be that in the
Netherworld the deceased will be surrounded by flames. This is the
effect of the presence of the amulets here described. It does not take
place in this world, but in the other, where Rā himself enjoys a similar
protection, being surrounded by “warriors of blazing fire.” This image
seems to point to the magnificent sunsets often seen in Egypt.
1. All the translators have interpreted ⁂⁂⁂ by “heat,” the
vital heat of the body. But this is not the true sense of the word,
which means “flame,” ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “flame of fire.” The root
⁂⁂ implies the idea of darting, springing forth like a flame or a
spark, and not of latent heat. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ cannot mean
anything except a great quantity of flames. These flames will be the
protection of the deceased.
2. The lion addressed by the cow, a god of light and fire, is probably
Rā himself.
3. For the connection between generation and light, see Kuhn,
“Herabkunft des Feuers,” p. 70 and ff.
4. These barbarous names, as well as those of the following chapters,
have not yet been explained. Their interpretation is to be looked for in
the African languages, for Chapter 164 connects them with the speech of
the negroes, and the Anti of Nubia.
5. I have kept for ⁂⁂ Renouf’s translation: Heliopolis. But it
must not be understood as referring to the well-known city at the head
of the Delta. ⁂⁂ is here a city in the other world. It is a name
belonging to the mythological and not to the terrestrial geography.
6. I consider the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of the Turin
text, or according to other papyri,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ as connected with
⁂⁂ _fire_, _burning_.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXIII.
_Chapters brought from another book, in addition to the “coming forth by
day.” Chapter of not letting the body of a man decay in the Netherworld,
of rescuing him from the devourers of souls who imprison men in the
Tuat, and of not raising his sins on earth against him, but of saving
his flesh and his bones from the worms and from every evil-doing god in
the Netherworld, so that he may go in and out as he likes, and do
everything he desires without restraint._
--I am the soul of the great body which rests in Arohabu. I am
protecting the body of Hanirta, the lord of motion, who rests in the
marshes of Senhakarokana.
--O thou soul of souls, who art not unwilling to rise when thou restest
in thy body which dwelleth in Senhakarokana! Come to Osiris _N._,
deliver him from the Powers of the god whose face is terrible, who takes
possession of the heart, and takes hold of the limbs; a flame rushes out
of their mouths, so that they consume the souls.
--O he who goes to rest in his body, and then rises a burning heat,
blazing even within the sea, and the sea goes up because of this burning
vapour, at the time of the morning; come, bring thy fire; pour thy
burning vapour on him who will raise his hand against Osiris _N._ for
ever and ever.
--Hail, Osiris _N._, thy duration is that of the sky; thy duration is
the duration of the ultimate circles,(1.) The sky holds thy soul; this
earth holds thy figure.
--Deliver Osiris _N._ Do not let him be carried away by his enemies, to
him who devours the soul, who raises evil accusations. Restore his soul
to his body and his body to his soul.
--It is he who is hidden in the pupil, in the Eye of Sharosharo.
Shapuarika is his name. He resides on the north-west front of Apt, in
the land of Nubia, and he will never navigate towards the East.
--O Amon the bull, the scarab, the lord of the two eyes whose name is:
he with the terrible pupil. Osiris _N._ is the image of thy two eyes,
Sharosharo is the name of one, Shapuarika is the name of the other one.
He is Shaka Amon, Shaka Nasarohaut; Tmu who illuminates the two earths
is his true name. Come to Osiris _N._, he belongs to the land of Truth,
do not leave him alone. He is of the land which is not seen again.
--Thy name is with the mighty Glorified.(2.) He is the soul of the great
body which is in Sais of Neith.
_Said on a serpent having two legs, and bearing a two-horned disk. Two
eyes are before him, having two legs and two wings._
_In the pupil of one is the image of one raising his arm, with the face
of Bes, wearing his plumes, and having the back of a hawk._
_It is painted with anti and shethu, mixed with green colour of the
South, and with water from the Western Lake of Egypt; on a bandage of
new linen, in which all the limbs of a man will be wrapped._
_Thus he will not be driven away from all the gates of the Tuat; he will
eat, drink, ease his body as if he were on earth; no outcry will be
raised against him; his enemies will be powerless (?) against him._
_If this book is read on earth,(3.) he is not carried away by the
messengers, the wicked ones who do evil on all the earth; and he will
not be wounded, he will not die from the blow of the king. He will not
be taken to prison; for he will go in to his attendants and go out
victorious, he will be free from the fear of evil doers who are on the
whole earth._
NOTES.
This Chapter begins with a general title applying to 163-5, and probably
to other ones not included in the papyrus of Turin: “Chapters brought
from another book, an addition to the coming forth by day.” This means
that these chapters were not considered as belonging to the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the coming forth by day,” the original Book
of the Dead, which in old times ended with Chapter 149, and later on
with Chapter 162.
The vignettes represent the figures described in the rubric for which
the chapter was written.
Dr. Pleyte first discovered that this Chapter is a kind of dialogue,
consisting of words spoken by the god, and a prayer addressed to him in
favour of the deceased. The strange names which occur in the text lead
us here also to Africa, since it is said of the deceased that he resides
in Apt of Nubia, Napata.
1. A papyrus, in Turin of a woman, reads here
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
etc., “thy duration is the duration of the ultimate circles.”
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Chuu_. Renouf either keeps the Egyptian word, or
translates: “the Glorious ones, the Glorified.” See note 1, ch. 1, ch.
15, etc.
3. The amulet has also an influence on earth, it protects a man against
hidden dangers, which arise not from men but from some invisible causes,
and agents like those evil messengers, probably spirits, who might be
called “angels.” I believe that ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “the blow
of the king,” must mean some sudden illness like ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
Dr. Pleyte also considers this part of the rubric as applying to a man’s
life on earth; there is only this expression ⁂⁂⁂⁂ which
does not agree with this explanation, and would rather lead us to think
that what is described in this part of the rubric takes place in the
other world.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXIV.
_Another Chapter._
Hail, Sekhet, Bast, daughter of Rā, lady of the gods, who holdeth her
fan of plumes, the lady of the scarlet garment, the mistress of the
white and red crown, the only one who stands above her father, when
there are no gods to stand above her; the great magician in the boat of
millions of years, lofty when she rises in the abode of silence, the
mother of the Shakas, the royal wife of the lion Haka.
These are the forms of the princess, the mistress of the funereal
chamber, the mother on the horizon of the sky, the joyful, the beloved,
who destroyeth the rebels collected in her fist.
She stands at the prow of the boat of her father, in order to strike
down the evildoer, in order to place Maāt at the prow of the boat of Rā.
Neith, the burning one, after whom nothing remains; she who follows
Kaharo, who follows Saromkaharomat is thy name, thou art the mighty
burning wind behind Kanas,(1.) at the prow of the boat of her father
Haropukaka Scharoshaba, in the language of the negroes and of the Anti
of the land of Nubia(2.).
Acclamations to thee, mightier than the gods; thou art praised by the
gods of Hermopolis, the living spirits who are in their tabernacles.
They give praise to the valour of Mut (?),(3.) and they begin to bring
offerings to the mysterious gates. Their bones are sound, they are
delivered from dangers; they become powerful in the eternal abode; they
are delivered from the society of the wicked one, the spirit with a
terrible face, which is among the assembly of the gods.
The child(4.) who is born of him with the terrible face, will hide his
body to the cursed serpent whose breath is burning; because he has found
the names; the mysterious lion is one, the soul of the dwarf (is the
other). As for the eye of the great one, the princess of the gods, her
name is she who partakes of the name of Mut.
His soul is powerful, his body is sound; they are safe from the abode of
the enemies who are in the society of the wicked one. They will not be
imprisoned.
These words which were spoken by the mouth of the goddess herself have
become the words of the goddesses, and the male gods, and of every soul
to whom a burial is given.
_Said on a Mut having three faces: one is the face of the Pekha-vulture
having two plumes; the other is the face of a man, wearing the red and
the white crown. The other is a face of a Ner-vulture, having two
plumes, with a phallus and wings and the claws of a lion._
_It is painted with anti with resin (?) mixed with green colour, on a
scarlet bandage. There is a dwarf in front and behind her; he looks at
her and wears two plumes. He has one arm raised, and he has two faces,
one of a hawk and the other of a man._
_He whose body is wrapped up in these bandages, he is mighty among the
gods in the Netherworld. He is never repulsed; his flesh and his bones
are like one who never died; he drinks at the source of the river, he
receives fields in the garden of Aarru; a star in the sky is given to
him._
_He is delivered from the fiend-serpent with a burning mouth. His soul
will not be imprisoned like a bird; he will be lord of those around him,
and he will not be eaten by worms._
NOTES.
The translation of these magical Chapters is still more uncertain than
that of the rest of the book, and the text is often very corrupt.
The vignette consists of the three figures described in the rubric. That
which is given here is taken from the Turin papyrus. It differs slightly
from the description and from the vignettes of the other texts. The
middle figure should have a man’s body with a lion’s claws.
1. A papyrus at Leyden reads here ⁂⁂⁂⁂ the enemies.
2. There it is said distinctly that these barbarous words belong to
African languages. They are probably not all proper names; some of them
seem to have a sense which we have not yet discovered, for instance, the
word _Shakas_ in this expression: the mother of the Shakas.
3. Very uncertain text.
4. These words seem to apply to the deceased.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXV.
_Chapter of landing and not being obscured, so that the body may prosper
in drinking water._(1.)
O the very high one, the great one,
Amen, Amen, the lion Kasapa,
The first-born of the gods on the East of the sky.
Amon of the Takruti,
Amon who hides his colours, whose forms are mysterious, and who is
master of the horns of Horus,
The great one of Nut.
Kaarki is thy name,
Kasaka is thy name,
The Sphinx is thy name,
Kasabaka is thy name.
Amon of the Ankak Takashar, Amon the sphinx is thy name. O Amon! I
implore thee. Behold, I know thy name; thy forms are in my mouth,(2.)
and thy colours in my eyes.
Come towards thy offspring, thy form, Osiris _N._ Bring him towards the
gate of eternity, grant him to rest in the Tuat; that his flesh may be
entire in the Netherworld; that his soul may be powerful, that his body
may be complete,(3.) that he may be free from the society of the wicked
one, that he may never be fettered.
I implore thy name, and thou art a shield for me; for thou believest
that I know thee.
O great one, great one,
Amon (the hidden one) is thy name,
Rukashaka is thy name,
Thou art for me a shield.
Baarkai is thy name,
Markata is thy name,
The Sphinx is thy name,
Nasakabuba is thy name,
Tanasasa is thy name,
Sharshatakata is thy name.
Amon, Amon, O God, O God, Amon.
I implore thy name, and as I have given thee to understand (that I know
thee), grant me to rest in the Tuat, and that all my limbs be reunited.
Said by the Spirit which is in Nut: I am doing, I am doing all thou hast
said.
_Said on the figure with raised arm. There are plumes on its head; its
legs are apart; its torso is a scarab. It is painted in blue with liquid
gum._
_Said also on a figure the middle part of which is that of a man; his
arms are hanging down. The head of a ram is on his right shoulder, and
another on his left shoulder. Thou wilt paint on one bandage the two
figures of the god with raised arm, and put it across the chest of the
deceased, so that the two painted figures may be on his breast._
_He to whom this has been done, the impure ones in the Tuat can do
nothing to him. He drinks the running water of the stream, he shines
like a star in the sky._(4.)
NOTES.
The vignettes consist of the amulets described in the rubrics.
1. The explanation to this extraordinary title seems to be given in the
last sentence of the rubric, where it is said of the deceased: “he
drinks the running water of the stream, he shines like a star in the
sky.” The amulet for which this text was written will prevent the
deceased, who is to be as bright as a star, from having his light taken
from him, from being obscured. The other blessing conferred upon him is
that of drinking water of the stream. It is difficult to say why these
two blessings alone are mentioned.
2. I am ready to utter the names of thy different forms, and I see thy
various colours.
3. That his body may be reconstituted. It is curious to find in so late
texts a vague remembrance of what seems to have been the prevalent
custom in prehistoric times, and perhaps also during the Thinite period:
the dismemberment of the body of the deceased. This custom was so
entirely superseded by the opposite process, the mummification and the
careful preservation of the body, that the old tradition is always
mentioned with horror and disgust. The Book of the Dead is full of
objurgations against the dismemberment of the body.
4. The Turin _Todtenbuch_ ends here.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXVI.
_Chapter of the Pillow._
Awake! thy sufferings are allayed, _N._ Thou art awaked when thy head is
above the horizon. Stand up, thou art triumphant by means of what has
been done to thee.
Ptah has struck down thine enemies. It has been ordered what should be
done to thee. Thou(1.) art Horus, the son of Hathor, the flame born of a
flame(2.), to whom his head has been restored after it had been cut off.
Thy head will never be taken from thee henceforth.
Thy head will never be carried away.
NOTES.
With Chapter 166 begins a series of chapters which are not in the
Todtenbuch, and which have been collected from various papyri. For most
of them there is only one text, therefore the translation is often very
uncertain.
This Chapter, which is taken from London 9900 (_Aa_), seems to be only a
variant, with a few additional sentences, of Chapter 43, “Chapter
whereby the head of a person is not severed from him in the
Netherworld.” It alludes to the reconstitution of the body of the
deceased, and to providing him with all his sepulchral equipment.
Head-rests like that which is represented in the vignette are often
found in the tombs with the coffins already at the time of the XIth
dynasty.
Chapter 166 was first discovered and translated by Dr. Birch
(_Zeitschr._, 1868, p. 82).
1. Here begin the words of Chapter 43.
2. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The second word should
be taken as a patronymic, “flame-born.” Chapter 43 has
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXVII.
_Chapter of bringing an Eye._
When Thoth had brought the Eye, he appeased the Eye, After Rā had
wounded(1.) her, she was raging furiously and then Thoth calmed her
after she had gone away raging. As I am sound, she is sound and _N._ is
sound.
NOTES.
This Chapter taken also from London 9900, is a mere abridgment of lines
30-34 in Chapter 17. It refers probably to an eclipse. The Eye, the moon
is pierced or wounded by Rā, which causes the goddess to be furious.
Then, according to Chapter 17, “Thoth calms her troubled state
(Brugsch), and brings her whole and sound without any defect.” This is
called to appease the goddess.
1. The correct reading according to Chapter 17, is: ⁂⁂⁂⁂ or
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ Brugsch (_Dict. Suppl._, p. 751) translates the
word: to pierce.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXVIII.
Chapter 168 should not have been placed among those of the Book of the
Dead, it belongs to another book similar to the ⁂⁂, the book
engraved on the walls of the royal tombs. It describes gods and genii of
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _the bounds(1.) in the Tuat_ who confer certain
blessings on the deceased; such as this: “those who lift up their faces
towards the sky at the prow of the boat of Rā, grant that Osiris _N._
may see Rā when he rises.” A vignette gives the appearance of the god or
genius spoken of. Every one of them is followed by this sentence: “for
the libation of a vase has been made on earth by Osiris _N._ who is
(now) the lord of abundance, and goes round the garden of Hotepit.”
The three versions which have been preserved of this text are very
fragmentary. The most complete, papyrus 10478 of the British Museum,
contains only the ⁂⁂⁂ 7 to 12. As the interest of this text,
the character of which is chiefly pictorial, lies in the vignettes, it
has been thought unnecessary to give a translation of it.
1. See note 2, Chapter 127.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXIX.
_Chapter of raising the funereal Bed._
Thou art a lion, thou art a sphinx, thou art Horus who avengeth his
father; thou art these four gods, those glorious ones who are shouting
for joy, who are making incantations, and who bring out water by the
power of the tramp of their feet. Thou risest on the right, thou risest
on the left. Seb has opened thy blind eyes,(1.) he has loosened thy legs
which were fettered. Thou hast received thy heart of thy mother, thy
whole heart of thy own body; thy soul is in the sky, thy body is under
the ground. There is bread for thy body, water for thy throat, sweet
breeze for thy nostrils.
Thou restest in their funereal chambers, which those who are in their
coffins have opened for thee and for thy ... when thou journeyest; thou
art firm on thy pedestal, of thy existence, thou appearest in heaven,
and thou fastenest the tackle(2.) by the side of Rā.
Thou fishest with the net on the river, the water of which thou
drinkest; thou walkest on thy feet, and thou dost not walk headlong.
Thou appearest on the surface of the earth, and thou doest not come
forth from under solid ground, the strength(3.) which is in thee will
not be shaken through the action of the god of thy domain.
Thou art pure, thou art pure, thy forepart is purified, thy hindpart is
cleansed with _bet_ and natron, and cooled with incense.
Thou art purified with the milk (given to) Apis, and with beer of the
goddess Tenemit, with natron which removes all what is wrong in thee,
and which was provided by the daughter of Rā when she gave it to her
father Rā; and when she raised for thee the mountain where is buried her
father Osiris.(4.)
I have taken a bite of these sweet things which are on the hands (?) of
Osiris _N._ the loaves (?) from above, which belong to Rā, made of grain
of Abu, and four loaves from below which belong to Seb, made of grain
from the South. The god(5.) of thy domain brings thee the Field of
Hotepit, his hands are before thee.
Thou goest out like Rā, thou art powerful like Rā, thou art in
possession of thy feet. Osiris _N._ is in possession of his feet at all
times and at all hours; thou wilt not be judged, thou wilt not be
imprisoned, thou wilt not be guarded, thou wilt not be put in bonds,
thou wilt not be placed in the house where are the enemies. Cakes are
piled up before thee, and offerings are well guarded for thee.
There is no one to oppose thee and to prevent thee from going out.
Thou receivest thy clothing, thy sandals, thy stick, thy linen, thy
weapons, with which thou wilt cut off heads, thou wilt twist round the
necks of thy foes; these enemies who would bring death to thee, they
will not approach thee.
The great god speaks to thee: Let him be brought here for all that will
happen. The hawk rejoices in thee, the cackler cackles to thee, Rā opens
to thee the doors of the sky. Seb opens for thee the earth.
Thou art great, a mighty(6.) Chu, whose name is not known, the soul
which opens the Amenta. It is mighty this soul of _N._, for he(7.) is
beloved of Rā and well pleasing to his circle, he joins (?) the ways, he
guards the men, and guides the lion to the place where his _ka_ is
propitiated. _N._ ... the lord of mankind causes thee to live and that
thy soul be sound, that thy body may be enduring and great, that thou
mayest see the light(8.) and breathe the wind, that thy face may be
revealed in the house of right, that thou mayest be stationed in the
meadow, and not see any storm, that thou mayest follow the lord of the
two earths, that thou mayest refresh thyself under the _merit_ tree by
the side of the goddess, the great magician.(9.)
Seshait is sitting in front of thee. Sau is protecting thy limbs: the
bull milks for thee his cows which are in the train of Horsechait.(10.)
Thou washest thy face at the mouth of the stream of Cherāba, thou art
welcome to the great gods of Pu and Tepu;(11.) thou seest Thoth
conversing with Rā in the sky. Thou goest out and goest in into Anit,
thou conversest with the Rehiu.
Thy _ka_ is with thee, that thou mayest rejoice; and the heart of thy
birth; thou wakest thy ... are happy; the cycle of the gods give
pleasure to thy heart. Thou goest out (and thou seest) four loaves for
thee from Sechem, and four loaves from Hermopolis; thou goest out and
there are four (loaves) from Heliopolis on the table of the lord of the
two earths.
Thou wakest in the night, and thou art welcome to the lords of
Heliopolis. Hu(12.) is in thy mouth, thy feet do not turn back, there is
life in thy limbs.
Thou seizest the _sma_(13.) at Abydos and thou conductest victuals to
the great gods and vases of drink to those who are above the clouds in
the festival of Osiris, on the morning of the Uak festival; the
_hersheta_ priest decks thee with gold; thy garment is well arranged
with byssus; the Nile rises over thy body; thou art glorious(14.) ...
thou drinkest on the shore of the lake; thou art welcome to the gods who
are in it; thou comest forth in the sky with the gods who bring Maat to
Rā, thou art brought before the cycle of the gods, thou art like one of
them. Thou art the gander among the geese which are offered to Ptah
Anebefres.
NOTES.
This Chapter and the following are found in one papyrus only, Paris,
III, 93, a document more remarkable for the beauty of its vignettes than
for the correctness of the text.
Both Chapters refer to ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ the funereal bed or
couch on which the deceased will lie like Osiris. None of them has a
vignette. As in the course of these chapters there is no mention of the
bed itself, we must suppose that they were read while the bed was raised
or arranged. The translation of this text is particularly difficult, and
often conjectural, owing to our papyrus having no other document to
compare it with.
1. All this bears a great resemblance to Chapter 26.
2. In landing, see Chapter 99.
3. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. I have kept Renouf’s translation,
“strength,” but I believe the sense is the same as before:
“solid ground, dry land, continent (Feste, Brugsch),” as we
find in this sentence from the Stele at Abusimbel:
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the
mountains, the water, and the continents are shaken by thy name.”
4. For the mountain where the burial of Osiris takes place, see vignette
to Chapter 186.
5. I translate as if there was ⁂⁂.
6. “Mighty,” Renouf’s translation. I should prefer “distinguished,
eminent,” see note 2, Chapters 141-3.
7. ⁂⁂⁂ I read here ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.
8. The light kindled for his _ka_ (see Chapter 132, A and B), and which
gives life to the _ka_. The lighting of a lamp is a symbol of the birth
(Lep., _Denkm._, III, 74 c.) and accompanies it.
9. For this word I have not followed Renouf’s translation, which would
have been: the master of the words of power (see Chapter. 108).
10. A name of Isis, represented as a cow, and worshipped as such,
chiefly in the town of Apis, the capital of the Libyan nome, near Lake
Mareotis. The bull there was Osiris, and the calf Horus (see note 4 on
Chapter 109).
11. See note 5 on Chapter 18.
12. The god of abundance.
13. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ an unknown object: however, the sense is clear.
This means: thou becomest the ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, the
look-out of the ship which is transporting victuals (see Chapters 109
and 149_b_).
14. The text seems to be very incomplete here.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXX.
_Chapter of arranging the funereal Bed._
Thy limbs have been given thee, thou takest hold of thy bones, I have
set for thee thy limbs; the earth is bent upon protecting thy flesh.
Thou art Horus who was within the egg; when thou art raised, thou seest
the divine body (of Rā), thou marchest towards the horizon, to the place
where thou likest to be; and when thou art there, there are hailings and
cries of welcome, with all (good things) which appear on the altar.
Horus has raised thee when he rose himself, as he did for him who is in
the sacred abode.
Hail, Osiris, thou art born twice. Ua has raised thee, Anubis on his
mountain has caused thy bandages to grow upon thee. O, _N._ Ptah Sokaris
grants thee to put thy hand on the ornaments of the divine house.
O, _N._, Thoth himself comes to thee with the writing of divine words;
he grants thee to direct thyself towards the horizon of the sky to the
place where thy _ka_ likes to be; he has done it to Osiris on the night
when he came forth living.
Thy white diadem is established on thy brow. The god Nemu is with thee;
he grants thee to be at the head of the...?
Hail, _N._, arise on thy bed, and come forth. Thou are raised by Rā on
the horizon of the Maati in his boat.
Hail, _N._, thou art raised by Tmu, who grants thee to endure for ever.
Hail, _N._, thou art raised by Amsu of Koptos; thou art adored by the
gods of the shrine.
Hail, _N._, blessed be thy coming in peace to thy house of eternity and
to thy everlasting monument.
Salutations to thee in Pu Tepu, in the shrine which thy _ka_ loveth,
within thy dwelling.
Mighty is thy soul, thou hast been raised from thy resting couch (?),
thou art greater than the victim (?) which has been embraced by the
gods.
Thou art like the god who begets the beings. It is admirable what thou
createst more than that of the gods.
Thy splendour is greater than that of the Glorified, thy spirits are
mightier than those who are in (?).
Hail, _N._, thou art raised by Ptah Anebefres, who puts thy dwelling in
front of that of the gods.
Hail, _N._, thou art Horus, the son of Osiris, begotten by Ptah, created
by Nut. Thou shinest like Rā on the horizon when he lighteth the two
earths by his rays.
The gods say to thee: Come, come forth, see what belongs to thee in thy
house of eternity.
Thou hast been raised by Rennut, the great one, who conceived Tmu in the
presence of the circle of the gods of Nut.
I am the second outcome of the sky, and the third of him who makes his
light. I have come out of the womb; I have been an infant like my
father; there are no perverse actions of mine in the various events of
my lot.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXI
_Chapter of wrapping up (the deceased) in a pure garment._
O Tmu, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Sut, Nephthys, Horus of the
two Horizons, Hathor in the great dwelling, Chepera, Mentu lord of
Thebes, Amon lord of Nestaui, ye the great cycle of the gods, ye the
small cycle of the gods, ye gods and goddesses issued from Nu, Sebek of
Shet, Sebek in all his manifold names, in all the abodes where his _ka_
likes to be; ye gods of the South and of the North, ye gods in heaven
and on earth, grant a pure garment to the mighty Chu _N._; give him to
be glorious by it and destroy all that was wrong in him.
This pure garment of _N._ has been allotted to him for ever, for
eternity, for you destroy all that is wrong in him.
NOTES.
This Chapter, which has no vignette, is found in one papyrus only,
written for a deceased of the name of Amenophis. Its Theban origin is
clearly indicated by the mention of Mentu and Amon, the two great gods
of Thebes.
Its character is different from the Book of the Dead in general. It
seems to be part of a ritual such as the Ritual of Amon and Mut, with
which it has a great likeness (see Moret, _Rituel du culte divin_, ch.
6). (1) The clothing in a pure or perhaps a clean garment, will be the
sign that all that was wrong in the deceased has been destroyed by the
gods. Therefore the deceased calls on them, asking them to complete this
destruction in order that he may shine or be glorious, wearing the pure
garment.
It is alluded to in the next Chapter (fifth verse), “thou puttest on the
pure garment, and thou divestest the apron, when thou stretchest thyself
on the funereal bed.”
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXII.
_Beginning of the Chapter of reciting the ceremonies made in the
Netherworld._
(1.) ... with _bet_ incense, I inhale the smell of natron and incense
... I have been purified ... through the sacred utterances coming out of
my mouth. I am pure verily ... of the fishes in the river, towards the
statue in the house of purification; they are pure the words of _N._
Blessed be thou, _N._, thou art well pleasing to Ptah, well pleasing to
Anebefres, well pleasing to all gods, well pleasing to all goddesses.
Thy beauties are like a quiet stream, like the choicest water; thy
beauties are like a festival hall in which everyone exalts his god; thy
beauties are like the pillars of Ptah, like the shoots of the _maut_(2.)
plant of Rā. _N._ is the pillar of Ptah and the ewer of Anebefres.
O(3.) thou who art called aloud, thou who art called aloud, thou the
lamented, thou art glorified, thou art exalted, thou art glorious, thou
art strong.
O thou who art raised up, thou art raised up, _N._ has been raised up by
means of all the manifold ceremonies done to him; thy enemies are struck
down; Ptah has struck down thine enemies, thou art victorious and thou
hast dominion over them. Thy words are listened to, what thou hast
ordered is done, thou art raised, thou art triumphant before(4.) the
Circles of gods attached to every god and every goddess.
O thou who art called aloud (_bis_), second verse. Thy head is ... woven
by a woman from Asia; thy face shines brighter than the moon; the top of
thy head is lapis blue; thy hair is darker than the doors of the Tuat,
thy hair is black like the night; thy forehead is adorned of blue; the
rays of Horus are on thy face. Thy garments are of gold; Horus has
decked them with blue; thy eyebrows, the two sisters joined together;
Horus has adorned them with blue; thy nose inhales the perfume of ...
and thy nostrils are like the winds in the sky.
Thy eyes are the seers of the hill of Bachau, thy upper eyelids are
enduring for ever; their lashes are of real lapis; thy pupils are
pleasant gifts, and thy lower eyelids are painted with antimony.
Thy lips utter for thee words of truth, they repeat the words of truth
of Rā which are well pleasing to the gods. Thy teeth are the two heads
of the serpent by which the two gods are seized, thy tongue is voluble;
thy voice is more shrill than that of the bird in the marshes; thy ears
(?) are well established at their place, they go (with thee) to the land
of Amenta.
O thou who art called aloud (_bis_), third verse. Thy neck is adorned
with gold, it is girt with electron;(5.) thy throat and thy lungs are
like Anubis;(6.) thy backbone is like the Uat’ goddesses; thy back is
lined with gold and girt with electron; thy loins(7.) are like Nephthys
...(8.) is a Nile which is flowing. Thy buttocks are two eggs of
crystal, thy legs are well fastened for walking, thou art sitting in thy
place ... thou hast received from the gods thy two eyes.
O thou who art called aloud (_bis_), fourth verse.
Thy throat is like Anubis, thy limbs are necklaces made of gold; thy
breasts are two eggs of crystal which Horus has painted blue, thy
forearms are adorned with topaz, thy shoulders are well established on
their base; thy heart is happy every day, thy whole heart is the work of
the two divine Powers, thy body worships the stars of the gods above and
below; for thy belly is like a calm sky, and thy bowels are the Tuat
which nobody can fathom, and which sends out light in the dark night;
its offerings are eatable plants.
He (_N._) praiseth the Majesty of Thoth, saying: the desires of his
beautiful person take place in my tomb; as my god commanded me. Every
pure thing he loves is there.
O thou who art called aloud (_bis_), fifth verse.
Thy thighs are a pond in a time of abundant inundation; a pond which is
lined by the children of the god of water; thy legs which go to and fro
are of gold; thy knees are lentisks in the marshes; thy feet are firm
every day; thy shin-bones lead thee on the right path.
Thy arms are pillars on their bases; thy fingers are ... of gold; their
nails are like knives of flint in what they do for thee.
O thou who art called aloud (_bis_) ...
Thou puttest on the pure garment and thou divestest thy apron when thou
stretchest thyself on the funereal bed; haunches are cut for thy _ka_,
and a heart is offered unto thy mummy. Thou receivest a bandage of the
finest linen from the hands of the attendant(9.) of Rā; thou eatest on
thy resting couch bread which has been baked by the fire goddess
herself; thou eatest the haunch, thou seizest the meat which has been
prepared by Rā in his holy place; thou washest thy feet in silver basins
made by the skilful artist Sokaris; thou eatest bread placed on the
altar, and prepared by the holy fathers, thou livest upon baked cakes
and hot drinks from the store-house; thou inhalest the smell of flowers;
thy heart is not reluctant at the sight of offerings; thy ministrants
make for thee the loaves and the cakes of the Powers of Heliopolis; and
they themselves bring thee the sacred things; thy offerings have been
chosen for thee; and thy ordinances are in the gates of the Great
Dwelling; thou risest like Sahu and thou arrivest like the morning star;
Nut stretches forth her arms towards thee; Sahu, the son of Rā, and Nut,
the mother of the gods, the two great gods of the sky, they speak one to
another saying: Take him in thy arms; I have brought in my arms the form
of _N._ in the happy day when he is glorified, when his memory is
recorded, when he is in the mouth of all generations.
Thou, raised one, thou hearest how thou art glorified throughout all thy
house.
O thou who ... seventh verse.
Anubis has given him his shroud; he has done all that pleased him; the
high-priest has prepared his ribbon; for he is the provider (?) of the
great god; thou goest and washest thyself in the lake of Perfection,
thou makest offerings in the house of the gods of the sky, and thou
propitiatest the lord of Heliopolis; thou receivest the water of Rā in
ewers, and milk in large vases.
O thou raised one, thou makest offerings on the altar, and thou washest
thy feet upon the stone of ..., the banks of the divine lake; thou
comest forth and thou seest Rā upon the four pillars which are the arms
of the sky; on the head of Anmutef, and on the arms of Apuat who opens
for thee the path; thou seest the horizon where are all the sacred
things which thou desirest.
O thou who are called aloud (_bis_), eighth verse.
All the good things have been spread out for thee, before Rā. Thou hast
a beginning and thou hast an end as Horus and Thoth have ordered for
thee. They call upon _N._, they see how he is glorious, they give him to
come forth like a god to meet the Powers of Heliopolis. Thou journeyest
on the great path as thy mummy has received the sacred things from thy
father; thy hands are wrapped in linen every day; the beginning of the
journey of the god is at the gate of the Great Dwelling,
O thou who art called aloud (_bis_), ninth verse.
_N._ Breatheth the air for his nose and for his nostrils, he receiveth a
thousand geese and sixty baskets of all things good and pure; thy
enemies have been struck down; they are no more.
NOTES.
This Chapter is taken from papyrus London 9900 _Aa_. It has no vignette,
the translation here given is that which I published in 1873
(_Zeitschrift_, 1873, pp. 25 and 81), with a few changes.
1. Lacunæ.
2. Perhaps the ⁂⁂ which M. Loret has identified as being the
celery (_Recueil_, Vol. XVI, p. 4).
3. Here begins a hymn, the first words of which are
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “O thou who art called aloud,”
repeated twice. These words have become the name of the hymn, as we say
the _Magnificat_ or the _Te Deum_. The hymn is divided into nine
fragments or verses, ⁂⁂ (Renouf, _Life Work_, Vol. II, p. 390).
4. Renouf’s translation. See Chapter 18, § 10. Rather than _before_, I
should translate, _through the action of_.
5. “Electron” is Lepsius’s translation. Renouf, who translates “copper,”
has discussed the point in a letter to Lepsius (_Life Work_, Vol. II, p.
2).
6. I believe this means made of black metal, probably silver, blackened
by some chemical process.
7. Papyrus Ebers ⁂⁂ “foramen ani, rectum.”
8. The text has here ⁂ an evident blunder. We should read here the
phallus.
9. Brugsch, _Dict. Suppl._, p. 1021, translates ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
_aati_, “Bettenmacher.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LIX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXIII, _A. a._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXIII.
_The addresses of Horus to his father when he goes in to see his father,
and when he comes out of his great sanctuary to see him Rā Unneferu,
the master of Ta-tser, and then they embrace one another; therefore he
is glorious in the Netherworld._
Hail, Osiris; I am thy son Horus; I have come,(1.)
I have avenged (thee).
I have struck down thy enemies.
I have destroyed all that was wrong in thee.
I have killed him who assailed thee.
I stretched forth my hand for thee against thy adversaries.
I have brought thee the companions of Sut with chains upon them.
I have brought thee the land of the South, I have added to thee the land
of the North.
I have settled for thee the divine offerings from the North and the
South.
I have ploughed for thee the fields.
I have irrigated for thee thy land.
I have hoed for thee the ground.
I have built for thee ponds of water.
I have turned up the soil of thy possessions.
I have made there for thee sacrifices of thy adversaries.
I have made sacrifices for thee of thy cattle and thy victims.
I have supplied there in abundance....
I have brought thee....
I have sacrificed for thee....
I have shot for thee antelopes and bulls.
I have plucked for thee geese and waterfowl.
I have bound thy enemies in their chains.
I have fettered thy enemies with their ropes.
I have brought thee from Elephantine the fresh water which refreshes thy
heart.
I have brought thee all the plants.
I have settled for thee on the earth all thy subsistence as to Rā.
I have made for thee bread at Pu with red grain.
I have made for thee drink at Tepu with white grain.
I have ploughed for thee wheat and barley in the Field of Aarru.
I have mowed them there for thee.
I have glorified thee.
I have given thee thy soul.
I have given thee thy power.
I have given thee....
I have given thee....
I have given thee the dread which thou inspirest.
I have given thee thy bravery.
I have given thee thy two eyes, the two plumes which are on thy head.
I have given thee Isis and Nephthys, they are placed on thee.
I have anointed thee with the offering of holy oil.
I have brought thee the offering by which thy face is destroyed.(2.)
NOTES.
This Chapter is taken also from London 9900. The vignette at the end
represents Osiris sitting in a naos. Before him are the offerings of
fowl and cattle which Horus presents to his father. At the beginning the
deceased is seen, with raised arms; he is supposed to be Horus, and
above him are written the following words:--“Adoration to Osiris, Khenta
Amenta, the great god, the lord of Abydos, king for ever, prince of
eternity, the venerable god in Restau, pronounced by _N._, I give thee
grain, lord of the gods, the one god who liveth on justice. I am thy son
Horus. I have come to thee. I avenge thee, I bring to thee Maat, to the
place where is the circle of thy gods. Grant me to be among thy
followers, and to smite thy enemies. I have established for thee thy
food offerings on the earth for ever.”
This Chapter was first published and translated in the _Zeitschrift_,
Vol. XIII, p. 83.
1. These words are repeated before every one of the following sentences.
2. This sentence is abridged. It is given in full by the Ritual at
Abydos: “I have anointed thy head with the oil of the brow of Horus; if
it is destroyed there (on his brow) he is destroyed as god; _i.e._, his
divinity is destroyed.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration:
CHAPTER
CLXXXIII, _A. g._
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER
CLXXXIV, _P. p._
]
[Illustration:
CHAPTER CLXXXV, _L. a._
]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXV. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXIV, _A. f._]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXX, _L. a._]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXXVI, _D. a._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXIV.
_Chapter of causing the Chu to come out of the great door in the sky._
It is read(1.) to thee by thy son (Horus).
The great ones tremble when they see the sword which is in thy hand,
when thou goest out of the Tuat.
Hail to thee, the wise one, created by Seb, born of Nut. The cycles of
the gods are at rest. Horus rests in his dwelling(2.), Tum rests in his
abode (?). All the gods of East and West rest in the great goddess(3.)
of the birth, between the arms of her who gave birth to the god.
When I am born I see, I recognize where I am, I have been raised on my
place. The order has been accomplished of her who hates sleep and
depression, and who stands in Utenet.
My bread comes from Pu, and I receive my form in Heliopolis. Horus, in
accordance with the command he had received from his father the lord of
clouds, Astes, raised him, and I have been raised by Tmu.
I am the great one. I come forth between the legs of the cycle of the
gods. I have been conceived by Sechet, and Shestet(4.) gave me birth to
be her star, Sothis, the first one, the great walker who brings Rā
through the sky every day.
I have come to my abode. I have united the two diadems. I shine like a
star. O ye flowers, the name of which is “the precious bunch,” I am the
lotus which cometh out of the holy earth; when I am plucked, I settle
myself at the nostrils of the Great Figure.
I have come out of the lake of flame, I have received justice instead of
evil. I am near the white cloth(5.), and I keep watch over the Uræi in
the night of the great flood of tears.(6.)
I shine like Nefertmu the lotus which is at the nostril of Rā when he
comes forth on the horizon every day, and the gods are purified by his
sight.
_N._ is triumphant among the _ka_, smiting the hearts through his great
wisdom. He is near the god, he is the Sau(7.) (the knowing one) at the
western (right) side of Rā.
I have come to my abode among the _ka_, uniting the hearts through my
great wisdom. I am Sau near the god, at the western side of Rā; my
sceptre (?) is in my hand. I am called the great favourite, as I am clad
in red garments. I am Sau, on the western side of Rā, with a stout heart
in the cave of Nu.
NOTES.
This Chapter is already found in the pyramid of Unas (l. 379-399). Prof.
Erman (_Zeitschr._, XXXIII, p. 2) has made a special study of it, and
has pointed out that the title of this Chapter originates from a
misunderstanding of the word ⁂⁂⁂ which should be a star and not
a gate or a door. Were it not for the vignette, which represents the
deceased, the woman Muthotepet coming out of a door, we should
translate: “Chapter of the coming forth of the _Chu_ as a great star in
the sky”; in accordance with these words found in the course of the
chapter: “Shestet gave me birth to be her star, Sothis,” etc.
Two papyri only contain this Chapter, one in London and one in Paris.
The London text has a vignette with these words: “the coming out of the
door in the sky by....”
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ M. Maspero translates: ton fils t’a fait (le
sacrifice). The word ⁂ is employed here as in the rubric of Chapter
141, “to say, to speak.” This speech is a ceremonial act, one of the
⁂⁂⁂ done for the deceased.
2. We noticed before (Chapter 160, note 2) that ⁂ is a variant for
⁂ when applying to Tmu. Here it applies to Horus. The unknown word
⁂⁂⁂ being parallel, I give it conjecturally a similar sense.
3. ⁂ “the great one, the great goddess,” and its variants
⁂⁂⁂⁂ etc., occur frequently in the Book of the Dead, and
seem to be a name of the sky.
4. ⁂⁂ which is found in the papyrus, is clearly a mistake for the
name of the goddess _Shestet_, which we read in the text of Unas.
5. Perhaps a tent in which he will shelter the Uræi.
6. See note 1, Chapter 4, and _Life Work_, Vol. III, p. 46. I suppose it
means here a heavy rain.
7. In the pictures in the royal tombs the sun-god stands in his boat
between ⁂ and ⁂⁂. Here it is said that Sau is at the West of
Rā, meaning on his right side. Rā is spoken of here as if he were a
human being, turning towards the South as all Egyptians did. His west is
his right-hand side. Even now the Egyptian fellaheen in their language
do not often say right and left, they generally make use of the points
of the compass: west of thee, etc.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXV.
_Chapter of not dying a second death in the Netherworld._
O Thoth(1.)! What has become of the children of Nut? they have stirred
up hostilities, they have raised storms, they have committed iniquit,
they have raised rebellion, they have perpetrated murder, they have done
oppression, and thus have acted, the strong against the weak, in all
that they have done to me.
Grant, O Thoth, what Tmu hath decreed. Thou seest not the iniquities,
thou art not pained at their attacks upon the years, and their invasions
upon the months, because they have done their mischiefs in secret.
I am thy pallet, O Thoth, and I bring to thee thine inkstand; I am not
one of those who do mischief in secret. Let not mischief be done unto
me.
O Tmu! what is this place to which I have journeyed? for it is without
water and without air! It is all abyss, utter darkness, sheer
perplexity. One liveth here in peace of heart. There is no pleasure of
love here. Let there be granted to me glory instead of water, air and
pleasures of love; and peace of heart instead of bread and beer.
[Decree this, Tmu, that if I see thy face I shall not be pained by thy
sufferings(2.).... Tmu decrees; behold the great gods have given him
this mission, he will reign on his throne and he will inherit his throne
in the Isle of fire: and for thee I decree that the god may see him as
his second self, and that my face may see thy face.
My lord Tmu, what is the duration of my life? Thou art for eternities of
eternities, the duration of endless years; and behold I am going to
deface all I have done: this earth will become water, an inundation as
it was in the beginning. I will remain with Osiris, and I will make my
form like another serpent, whom no man will know, and no god will see.
It is good what I have done to Osiris, who is exalted above all the
gods. I have given him the power in the region of the Netherworld, and
his son Horus will inherit his throne in the Isle of flame. I will make
his throne in the boat of millions of (years).
Horus is well established on his seat in order that he may take
possession of his place of rest; also I send a soul to Sut in the West,
who is exalted above all gods; and I have caused his soul to be guarded
in the boat, so that he may feel reverential fear of the divine body
(Osiris).]
O my father Osiris! I have done for thee what thy father Rā did for
thee. Let me have increase upon earth, let me keep my dwelling place,
let my heir be vigorous, let my sepulchre flourish and my dependents
upon earth. Let all my adversaries be crushed to pieces with Selk’et
(the scorpion goddess) over their ruin. I am thy son, O my father Rā!
thou hast been the cause of this Life, Health and Strength. Horus is
established upon his throne. Grant that my duration of Life may be that
of one who attains beatitude.(3.)
NOTES.
The translation and notes of this Chapter, except what is in brackets,
are Renouf’s work. They are taken from the introduction he published to
his edition of the papyrus of Ani (p. 16).
The vignette represents the deceased and his wife worshipping Thoth.
This Chapter is found in the papyrus of Ani, and at greater length in a
papyrus of the Museum of Leyden, from which it has been copied by
Naville into his edition.
The Leyden text is unfortunately very incomplete, both in the upper and
lower parts of the columns. The two texts differ very materially in some
of their readings, and will require considerable study before a
satisfactory translation can be given.
1. The deceased is evidently supposed to be just arrived in a place of
utter darkness and desolation, and expresses his feelings of distress to
Thoth in the opening address.
2. [The text of Leyden is much more complete. Owing probably to want of
space, the scribe of Ani has shortened his text. There the omissions are
so considerable that it is impossible to find a sense. I have often
adopted the reading of the Leyden papyrus in the translation of this
part of the chapter.
3. The remaining columns in the Leyden manuscript, although incomplete,
enable us to see that the deceased is assimilated throughout to Osiris,
as born again in his son Horus. There is a cry of adoration to him in
Sutenhenen, and exultation in En-aaref, the whole cycle of the gods is
filled with satisfaction at seeing him inherit his throne and rule over
the earth. Sut is filled with terror when he sees the change which has
taken place; the different generations of mankind, the past, the
present, and the future, are in obeisance. Mention is made of the
“Hoeing” and of the blood which flowed in Sutenhenen [an allusion to the
myth of the destruction of mankind] and of other particulars in
connection with Osiris. And the chapter is said to be recited over an
image of Horus made of lapis lazuli (or blue material) and placed at the
throat of the deceased. It is also to be recited in the Netherworld.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXVI.
_Chapter of not dying a second time in the Netherworld._
I execrate the land of the East. I do not go to the dungeon, for I have
not done those things which are forbidden by the gods.
For I have passed through the place of purification in the middle of the
Meskat;(1.) the inviolate god has given me his glorious attributes on
the day when the two Earths were united in the presence of the Master of
(all) things.
_He who knows this chapter is a mighty Chu in the Netherworld._
NOTES.
A short Chapter found in one papyrus only, and consisting of a few
sentences taken from various chapters.
1. See Note 19, Chapter 17.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXVII.
_Chapter of raising the Chu, of vivifying his soul in the Netherworld._
O Nut, Nut, who created the father out of his earth(1.) and Horus after
him, who bound his wings as to a hawk and his feathers like Kemhesu,(2.)
who brought him his soul, and who perfected his words, who showed him
his abode in the presence of the stars, the occupiers of the sky, for he
is the great star of Nut.
Thou seest _N._ uttering words to the Glorified, for he is the great
form who will not rule (?) over them if thou art not among them. Thou
seest the head of _N._ as a _ba_(3.) (ram); his horns are like those of
a sacrificed victim, those of a black ram, born of the ewe who bare him,
and suckled by four sheep.
There came to thee Horus with blue eyes, do thou guard Horus with red
eyes in his sickness and in his wrath; let his soul not be opposed, let
his messengers come to him, and his quick runners(4.) hasten to him; let
them come on the west side, and one by one (?) march towards thee.
The god has said this: thy words are those of the father of the
gods,(5.) thy name will be triumphant before the gods; they exalt thee
and the cycle of the gods give thee their hands.
Said by the god to the father of the gods: take possession of the door
of the _ka_ on the horizon, let them throw open their gates; thou art
welcome to them, do thou prevail over them, let them advance towards the
god(6.) ... when they come out they raise their faces, they see him
before the great god Amsu[6] ... thy head, I have raised for thee thy
head, take possession of it ... his head has perished behind thee, thy
head will not perish and what thou hast done before men and gods will
not be destroyed.
NOTES.
This Chapter is found in the pyramid of Unas (ll. 361-376), where the
text is not much better than in the Papyrus London 9900.
1. I believe this obscure expression means Osiris.
2. A form of Horus represented as a crouching hawk, with two feathers on
his head (Renouf, _Life Work_, Vol. III, p. 236).
3. Though ⁂ is written by a bird with a human head, it applies to
the soul represented by a ram. See vignettes to Chapter 85.
4. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ evidently the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of
the inscription of the “Destruction of mankind,” where it refers to
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ the messengers.
5. ⁂⁂⁂ means properly a hunter, a man of the field, which
would have no sense here. Unas reads ⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the divine
fathers.” Adopting the reading of Unas in the singular, I read the
father of the gods, probably Seb, who is mentioned a little further in
the text of the pyramid.
6. Lacunæ.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXVIII.
_Chapter of raising the body, of giving it eyes, of making it possess
ears, of fixing its head, of putting it on its base._
Thou hast received the eye of Horus;(1.) thy table is a table of
offerings.
Hail, Hunnu, lift up thy heart to purify thy body; they have eaten the
eye of Horus, the olive of Heliopolis,(2.) they destroy (what is wrong)
in the body of Osiris.
(3.)The mouth of _N._ had been thirsty; but he will never hunger (any
more); _N._ will never thirst; for Chas delivers him and does away with
hunger.
O you who fill the vases, you chiefs who distribute bread and cakes, and
who have charge of the waterflood; there was ordered for _N._ bread and
beer, Rā himself ordered them; he ordered them to those who fill the
year with plenty; they seize them (the gifts) and they give him his
wheat, his barley, his loaves, for he is the great bull.
Grant to _N._ the charge of the five loaves in the funerary chapel;
there are three in heaven for Rā, there are two on earth for the cycle
of the gods, and Nu sees them.
O, Rā, be gracious to _N._ in this happy day when _N._ joined Shu and
Isis, and when he was united to (Nekhebit);(4.) they give bread and beer
to _N._, and they do all the things good and pure in this happy day, the
things of Tum, bringing him the things of the eye of Horus ... whenever
he arrives to see the god.
Thou takest possession of water, and thou marchest towards the altar of
Sashert: four measures of water, as was commanded by Osiris to _N._ Shu
has handed over his wealth to _N._; they are thy bread and thy beer.
Awake, lofty judge; awake, thou sleeper; awake from thy ... thy
offerings are brought before Thoth and Horus, who comes out from the
Nile, and Apuat who comes out of Asert.
It is pure, the mouth of _N._; the cycle of the gods offers incense to
the mouth of _N._ His mouth is pure verily, and his tongue in his mouth,
for _N._ hates filth, he is washed from impurity as Sut is washed in the
city of the Rehui when he goes with Thoth to heaven.
Feed _N._ with you; let him eat what you eat, drink as you drink, sit as
you sit, be mighty as you are mighty, navigate as you navigate. The tent
of _N._ is woven in the field of Aarru, his running water is in the
Garden of Hotepit. Offerings are made to him among the gods; the drink
of _N._ is the wine of Rā.
He goes round the sky like Rā, he travels over the sky like Thoth. _N._
execrates hunger, he does not eat (feel) it, he execrates thirst. _N._
has received bread from the lord of eternity.
He ordered that _N._ should be conceived in the night and born in the
morning, close to the follower of Rā, before the morning star.
_N._ was conceived of _N._ and born of _N._, he brings you the loaves
which he found in the pupil of the eye of Horus, on the bough of the
_tennu_ tree.
When he came, Khenta Amenta brought him the victuals and the offerings
of Horus in his abodes where he lives of them. _N._ lives of them; as
Horus drinks, _N._ drinks; his food is on the altar of Sashert. _N._ is
welcome to Anubis on his mountain.
Hail, _N._, thy figure is that which thou hadst on earth, thou art
living and renewed every day. Thy face is unveiled, and thou seest the
lord of the horizon; he gives bread to _N._ at his hour of the day and
at his appointed time in the night. Horus has avenged thee, he has
smashed the jawbones of thy enemies, he has smitten the violent one at
the door of his fortress.
Hail, _N._, thine enemies are no more, in the great hall the scales are
right concerning thee, thou makest long strides like Osiris(5.) the lord
of the arrivals in the Amenta. He arrives when he likes, he sees the
great god in his creations, life is given to his nostrils, he is
triumphant over his enemies.
Hail, _N._ Thou hatest falsehood, thou propitiatest the lord of (all)
things in the night of “stopping the tears,” thou receivest sweet life
from the mouth of the cycle of the gods, and Thoth is satisfied in
giving thee victory over thine enemies.
Nut spreads her wings over thee in her name of the veil of the sky, she
giveth thee to be in the following of the great god, thine enemies are
no more. She delivers thee of all evil things in her name of
Chnumeturit, for she is the great one among her children.
O chief of the hours, in front of Rā, make way for _N._ that he may
arrive into the circle of Osiris, the living lord of the two earths, who
lives eternally.
_N._ is in the following of Nefertmu, he is the lotus at the nostrils of
Rā ... he is pure, in the presence of the gods; he sees Rā eternally.
NOTES.
This Chapter, taken from London 9900, is found complete in the pyramid
of Unas (l. 166 ff.). Four other pyramids, those of Teta, Pepi I,
Merenrā and Pepi II contain the greatest part of it; as also does a
stele of the XIIth Dynasty found in Abydos, and belonging to a man
called Nehi. Hatshepsu had it copied on both sides of the chamber of
offering specially dedicated to her (_Deir el Bahari_, Vol. IV, pl.
CIX-XIII and p. 8). In the pyramids as well as at the temple this text
is connected with offerings. The representation in the temple may be
considered as the vignette to this chapter. We see there the queen
sitting before an altar of offerings called ⁂⁂.
1. ⁂⁂ The eye of Horus, a generic term applied to a great number
of offerings.
2. There is much confusion in the first lines of this chapter.
3. Text evidently incorrect.
4. Taken from Unas.
5. I read ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ (Lepsius, _Todt._, 148, 3, title to
Chapter 180), to make long strides, means to go about freely.
6. Formula inscribed on the coffin of King Mycerinus, in the British
Museum, and on many coffins of the New Empire, especially under the
Saites.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXIX.
_Chapter of coming forth when going out of yesterday (1.) and coming in
the (present) day, being equipped by one’s own hands._
I am raised from yesterday, I come to-day, I come out of my own
creations.
I am the sap coming out of its tree, I am the flow coming out of its
form; for I stand before the lord of the white crown, I am gracious; my
words are well established before the lord of the red crown, he who
avenges(2.) his eye.
I died yesterday, but I come to-day;(3.) I made my way towards the
doorkeeper of the great god; I come forth by day against my enemy; I
triumph over him for ever. He is given me, and he will not be rescued
from my hand; he will dwindle away in my possession, before the great
circle of gods in the Netherworld.
I have been given the diadem of the great goddess which is on the head
of the shadow, and on the figure of the living gods. I have made my way
... my enemy is brought to me; he is given me and he will not be rescued
from my hand; he will dwindle away in my possession, before the circle
of gods of Osiris in his festival, when the inhabitants of the Amenta
...(4.) in his name of....
I am the lord of the red ones in the day of the births, I am the master
of the sword, it will not be taken away from me.
I am in my bower, I have the sweet juice from my palm trees; they bring
me what is agreeable to my heart.
I come forth in the day against this my enemy; when he is brought to me
I triumph over him, he will not be rescued from my hand, he will dwindle
away in my possession in the presence of the great circle of gods in
Ta-tsert, and the queen of the souls, the most mighty.
I rest in the garden of Hotepit, according to the commands of the lords
of Cherāba, my figure is high in the presence of the most mighty; I am
strong, I rest in the isles of the garden of Aarru.
NOTES.
This Chapter is found in two papyri only: London 9900 _Aa_, and the
papyrus of _Nu_. This last text differs considerably from the first at
the end of the chapter. The translation is made from _Aa_, with
occasional references to _Nu_.
1. The explanation of this curious expression
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ is given by the words of Nu
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “I died yesterday, but I
come to-day.” ⁂⁂ yesterday is the past, is death; whereas
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ this day, the present day, is life. Leaving what
has been, and coming to what is, is only a figure meaning resurrection
after death.
2. I have kept Renouf’s translation, although I consider it is
erroneous. The word ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂ means _reconstitute_,
_restore_, and not avenge. The common expression, Horus the avenger of
his father, should be translated: “Horus who reconstitutes the body of
his father” torn to pieces by Sut.
3. These words are taken from the text of Nu.
4. In both papyri there are words omitted here.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXX.
_Chapter of coming forth by day, of giving praise to Rā in the Amenta,
of paying homage to the inhabitants of the Tuat, of opening the way to
the mighty soul in the Netherworld, of letting him walk, lengthen his
strides, and go in and out in the Netherworld; and take the form of a
living soul._
Rā sets as Osiris with all the splendour of the Glorified and of the
gods of the Amenta; for he is the one, the marvellous in the Tuat, the
exalted soul in the Netherworld, Unneferu who exists for ever and
eternally.
Hail to thee in the Tuat, thy son Horus rests in thee, thou speakest thy
words to him; grant him that he may be resplendent before the
inhabitants of the Tuat, that he may be the great star; that he may
bring what is his to the Tuat and may travel in it, he, the son of Rā
proceeding from Tmu.
Hail to thee in the Tuat, god seated upon his throne, who holdest thy
sceptre _hik_, king of the Tuat and lord of Acherta, great prince
wearing the double diadem, great god who hides his dwelling, lord of
wisdom, chief of his circle of gods.
Hail to thee in the Tuat, praises also to what is in thee;(1.) hail to
thee in the Tuat, the weeping gods cut their hair in thy honour, they
clap their hands, they implore thee, they pray thee, they weep before
thee. Thy soul rejoices and thy body is glorious.
It is exalted, the soul of Rā in the Amenta, his body is blessed there;
the powers praise him in the bounds of the Tuat, Teb Temt(2.) who rests
in his covering.
Hail, Osiris, I am the servant of thy temple, the inhabitant of thy
divine dwelling, thou speakest to me thy words; give me to shine before
the inhabitants of the Tuat like the great star who brings what is his
to the Tuat, who journeys in it, he the son of Rā, proceeding from Tmu.
I rest in the Tuat, I am the master of the dusk, I enter in there and I
come out. The arms of Tatunen receive me, the blessed lift me up.
Stretch your arms towards me, for I know your gates, (?) guide me.
Praise me, ye blessed ones, praise me, rejoice in me as in Rā, praise me
like Osiris, for I have placed before you your offerings and you take
possession of your victuals, according to the orders Rā gave me.
I am his favourite, I am his heir upon the earth. I have arrived.
Ye blessed ones grant that I may enter the Tuat, open me the entrance to
the good Amenta. I have presented the sceptre to _sahu_, and the
_nemmes_(3.) to him whose name is hidden.
Look at me, ye blessed ones, divine guides in the Tuat; grant that I may
receive thy glory, that I may shine like the god of mysteries; deliver
me from the gods of the pillory, who fasten to their posts; do not bind
me to your posts, do never send me to the place of destruction. I am the
heir of Osiris, I receive the _nemmes_ in the Tuat.
Look at me, I shine like one who proceeds from you, I become like him
who (praises) his father, and who extols him.
Look at me, rejoice in me, grant that I may be exalted, that I may
become like him who destroys his forms; open the way to my soul, set me
on your pedestals; grant that I may rest in the good Amenta, show me my
dwelling in the midst of you, open for me your ways, unfasten the bolts.
O Rā, who guides this earth, for thou art guiding the powers and
following the course of the gods; I am the guardian of his door who tows
the navigating gods.
I am the only one, the guardian of his door, he who puts the gods in
their abodes.
I am on my pedestal in the Tuat. I am the possessor among possessors; I
am at the far end of the Tuat.
I am the blessed one in the Acherta, and I make my resting place in the
Amenta, among the powers and among the gods.
I am the favourite of Rā; I am the mysterious Bennu who enters in peace
in the Tuat and goes out of Nut in peace.
I am the lord of the thrones(4.) above, traversing the horizon in the
train of Rā; the offerings for me are in the sky in the field of Rā, and
my portion on earth in the garden of Aarru; I journey in the Tuat like
Rā; I weigh the words like Thoth, I march as I will, I hasten in my
course like Sahu the mysterious one, and I am born as the two gods.
I am the chief of the bearers of offerings to the gods of the Tuat, who
gives offerings to the Glorified. I am the brave one who strikes his
enemies.
O ye gods, O ye Glorified who precede Rā, and who escort his soul, tow
me as you tow him, in the same way as you conduct Rā and tow those in
the sky. I am the lofty power in the Amenta.
NOTES.
The papyri give us four versions of this Chapter. Two of them are in
London 9900 _Aa_, but as they are both copied from the wrong side, they
are of little use. Each of them had its own title; one was, “the
worshipping of Rā in the good Amenta, the praising of the inhabitants of
the Tuat,” and the other, “chapter of towing (the gods)”; the two other
copies are, one in a papyrus in Paris and the other at Leyden.
This Chapter does not properly belong to the Book of the Dead. It is
part of a book engraved at the entrance of nearly all the tombs of the
kings, the so-called “Litany of the Sun.” This chapter is taken from the
end of the book. The various paragraphs are not always in the same order
as in the monumental text. There are abridgments and many omissions,
which in the translation have been filled up from the text in the tombs.
The papyrus of Leyden (_La_) has a vignette representing the deceased
worshipping two gods.
1. Words taken from the text in the tombs of the kings.
2. The texts in the tomb mention here the god ⁂⁂⁂ _Temt_, who
occurs there frequently, and who is quite unknown in the Book of the
Dead. This god is often spoken of as being in a ⁂⁂⁂, a kind of
oval case. The text here reads ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which has
no meaning.
3. The head-dress ⁂ worn by the sphinxes.
4. The tombs read here ⁂⁂.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LXI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXXI, _L. a._]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXXII, _A. t._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXXI.
_Chapter of arriving before the Divine circle of Osiris and before the
gods, the guides in the Tuat, before the guards of their halls,(1.)
the heralds of their gates and the doorkeepers of their pylons in the
Amenta, and of taking the form of a living soul and praising Osiris
the lord of his circle of gods._
Hail to thee, Chenta Amenta, Unneferu, lord of Tatsert; thou art shining
like Rā. He himself comes to see thee and he rejoices in seeing thy
beauties. His disk is thy disk, his rays are thy rays, his diadem is thy
diadem, his height is thy height, his splendour is thy splendour, his
beauties are thy beauties, his might is thy might, his odour is thy
odour. His width is thy width, his abode is thy abode, his throne is thy
throne, his descendence is thy descendence, his judgment is thy
judgment, his Ament is thy Ament; his wealth is thy wealth, his duration
is thy duration, his creations are thy creations; such as he is such art
thou,(2.) such as thou art such is he.
He shall not die, thou wilt not die; if he will not triumph over his
enemies, thou wilt not triumph over his enemies; no evil things will
happen to him, no evil things will happen to thee for ever and ever.
Hail, Osiris, son of Nut, lord of horns, wearing the high _atef_ crown,
to whom the _urer_ diadem and the _hik_ sceptre has been given in the
presence of the cycle of the gods. Tum has raised the fear of his might
in the hearts of mankind, of the gods, the Glorified and the dead; the
royal power has been given him in Heliopolis; he is the great forms in
Tattu, the lord of fear in his two abodes, the very brave one in Restau,
he whose memory is pleasant in the palace, the very brilliant in Abydos.
It has been given him to triumph before the whole cycle of the gods; he
is mighty more than the great powers; the fear of him is over the whole
earth.
The(3.) great ones stand on their shrines before him, the prince of the
gods of the Tuat, the great power of the sky, the lord of the living,
and the king of those who are therein. Thousands glorify him in Cherāba,
the future ones rejoice in him. He receives the choicest meat offerings
in the upper abodes; haunches are presented to him in Memphis, the
festival of the Eve’s provender is celebrated to him in Sechem, he is
the great, the mighty one.
Thy son Horus avenges thee, he destroys all that is wrong in thee; he
has fastened to thee thy flesh, he has set thy limbs and joined thy
bones; he has brought thee....(4.) Arise, Osiris, thy hands have been
given thee, stand up living for ever.
Seb made a mark(5.) on thy mouth; the great cycle of the gods protect
thee.... They come with thee towards the entrance of the hall of the
Tuat. Thy mother Nut stretches her hand behind thee, she protects thee,
she doubles her care for thee(4) ... of the children. The two sisters
Isis and Nephthys come to thee; they fill thee with life health and
strength, and all the joy which they possess.
... in thee, because of thee. They gather for thee all kind of good
things within thy arms. The gods, the lords of the _ka_, come near thee;
as they praise thee for ever.
Happy art thou, Osiris, thou shinest brilliantly, thou art powerful;
thou art glorified. Thy attributes have been fixed to thee; thou art
like Anubis. Rā rejoiceth in thee, he is bound to thy beauty.
Thou sittest on thy holy seat. Seb procures for thee what thou desirest
to receive, it is on thy hands in the Amenta.
Thou navigatest through the sky every day, thou leadest him (Rā) to his
mother Nut, where he sits living in the Amenta, in the boat of Rā, every
day. Thou art with Horus in order that the protection of Rā may be
behind thee; and the glorious power of Thoth may cling to thee and the
health of Isis be within thy limbs.
I have come to thee, lord of Ta-tsert, Osiris Chenta Amenta, Unneferu,
who lasts eternally and for ever; my heart is right; my hands are pure;
I have brought good things to my lord and offerings to him who made
them. I have come from afar to your abodes. I have done a good thing on
earth, I have struck for thee thy enemies like bulls, and I have
slaughtered them like victims, I have made them to fall down on their
faces before thee.
I am pure, thou art pure. I have purified thyself for thee, in thy
festival, I have dressed geese for thee on thy altar, for thy soul, for
thy Form and for the gods and goddesses who follow thee.
_Whoever knows this book, no evil thing can have mastery over him; he is
not driven away from the doors of the Tuat; when he goes in and out, he
receives bread and beer and all good things before the inhabitants of
the Tuat._
NOTES.
This Chapter is found in two papyri: one at Leyden, and one at Naples.
Its title begins like that of Chapter 124. The first paragraphs are
translated from the papyrus at Leyden, which stops suddenly, because the
space allotted to the text, below the vignette, came to an end. From
there the scribe passes over to the rubric.
1. _See_ note to Chapter 144.
2. _See_ note 5, Chapter 144.
3. The following is taken from the papyrus at Naples.
4. Lacunæ.
5. This is part of the funereal ceremonies. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is to
touch the mouth or make a mark on it with the instrument called
⁂⁂⁂ (Schiaparelli, _Libro dei Funerali_, Vol. I, p. 139).
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXXII.
_Book of vivifying(1.) Osiris, of giving air to him whose heart is
motionless, through the action of Thoth, who repels the enemies of
Osiris who come there in his form(2.) ... as protector, saviour,
defender in the Netherworld._
_It is said by Thoth himself, so that the morning light may shine on him
(Osiris) every day._
I am Thoth, the perfect scribe, whose hands are pure, who opposes every
evil deed, who writes justice and who execrates every wrong, he who is
the writing reed of the Inviolate god, the lord of laws, whose words are
written and whose words have dominion over the two earths.
I am the lord of justice, the witness of right before the gods; I direct
the words so as to make the wronged victorious. I have dispelled
darkness, and driven away the storm. I have given the sweet breaths of
the North to Osiris when he comes out of the womb which bare him. I give
Rā to be setting as Osiris and Osiris to be setting as Rā. I give him to
enter the mysterious cave in order to revive the heart of him whose
heart is motionless, the exalted soul which is in the Amenta.
Hail, acclamations to thee, god whose heart is motionless, Unneferu, the
son of Nut. I am Thoth, the favourite of Rā, the very brave, who is
beneficent to his father; the great magician in the boat of millions (of
years); the lord of laws, who pacifies the two earths by the power of
his wisdom ... who drives away enmity and dispels quarrels, who does
what is pleasing to Rā in his shrine.
I am Thoth, who giveth Osiris victory over his enemies; I am Thoth, who
prepares to-morrow and who foresees what will come afterwards; his
action is not vain when he settles what is in the sky, the earth and the
Tuat, and when he gives life to the future ones.
I give breath to the hidden ones by the virtue of my speech. Osiris is
triumphant against his enemies.
I have come to the lord of Ta-tsert, Osiris the bull of the Amenta, who
lasts forever. I give an eternal protection to thy limbs; I have come
bearing the amulet in my hand; my protection is active every day.
The living charm is behind him, behind this god, whose _ka_ is glorious,
the king of the Tuat, the prince of the Amenta, who takes hold of the
sky, triumphantly, on whom the _atef_ crown is established, who shines
with the white diadem, who has seized the hook and the flail; mighty is
his soul, the great one of the _urer_ crown; who has united all the
gods, the love of him penetrates their bodies, Unneferu who lasts for
ever and eternally.
Hail to thee, Chenta Amenta, who giveth birth to all human beings a
second time, who is renewed in an instant, who is better than those who
were before. Thy son Horus establishes thee on the pedestal of Tmu; thy
face is perfect, Unneferu.
Arise, bull of the Amenta, thou art established, well established in the
womb of Nut; she replenishes thee (with life and health) when thou
comest out of her. Thy heart is well established on its stands and thy
whole heart as at the beginning. Thy nose is vivified with the breath of
life; thou art living, renewed, made young like Rā every day, thou art
great and triumphant, Osiris, who has been revived.
I am Thoth, I have calmed Horus, I have pacified the Rehiu in their
moment of storm. I have come, I have washed away the Red ones; I have
calmed down the riotous, and I have struck him with (?) all kinds of
evil things.
I am Thoth, I have celebrated the festival of Eve’s provender in Sechem.
I am Thoth, I come every day from Pu Tepu, I have directed the
offerings, I have given cakes to the glorious ones who stretched forth
their hands. I have avenged the arm of Osiris, I have embalmed it. I
have made sweet its fragrance like good perfumes.
I am Thoth, I come every day to Cherāba; I fastened the tackle; I let
the boat go: I brought it from East to West. I am higher on my pedestal
than any god, for my name is he who is high on his pedestal. I opened
the good roads in my name of Apuatu, I give thee acclamations, and I
throw myself down on the earth before Osiris Unneferu the eternal, the
everlasting.
NOTES.
Chapters 182 and 183 are hymns to Osiris very like each other, supposed
to be pronounced by Thoth himself. Occasionally it is difficult to
distinguish whether the words are spoken by the god or the deceased.
Chapter 182 is taken from Papyrus 10010 in London.
The vignette represents the mummy on the funeral bed, surrounded by
several gods and genii.
1. See note 2, Chapter 154.
2. A word is omitted there.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXXIII.
_Adoration to Osiris, giving him praise, bowing down before Unneferu,
falling on one’s face before the lord of Ta-tsert, and exalting him
who is on his sand._
I have come to thee, son of Nut, Osiris, prince everlasting. I am in the
train of Thoth, I rejoice in all that he has done.
He brings thee sweet breezes to thy nose, the breath of life to thy
beautiful face, the wind coming out of Tmu to thy nostrils, lord of
Ta-tsert.
He grants that the morning light shine on thy body, he illuminateth thy
path with his rays, he removeth all that is wrong in thy body by the
virtue of his speech. He appeases the two gods, the two brothers, he
drives away anger and quarrel, and he made the two Rehti, the two
sisters, gracious unto thee, so that the two earths may be at peace
before thee; he removes the displeasure out of their hearts, so that one
embraces the other.
Thy son Horus is triumphant before the whole cycle of gods; he has
received the royal power on the earth, and his dominion over the whole
earth; the throne of Seb has been imparted to him; the high dignity of
Tmu is kept in record as his possession, engraved on a brick of iron, as
was ordered by thy father Tatunen in his sanctuary.
(This god) giveth thee to join him on the firmament, when he raiseth
water on the mountains in order to make growth come forth on the
mountains, and all growth spring out of the earth; he brings forth all
products on water and on land.
Thou hast handed over to thy son Horus all the gods of Heaven and the
gods of earth, they are his servants at his gates, and all that he has
commanded is before them; they fulfil it at once; thy heart is
satisfied, thy heart, lord of the gods, is overjoyed because of it.
Egypt and the desert are at peace; they are the vassals of thy royal
diadem; the temples and the cities are well ordered in their places; the
cities and the provinces are his possession according to their names,
they bring to thee tributes of offerings, and they make libations to thy
name for ever. Thou art called upon, and thy name is praised, thy _ka_
is gratified by funereal meals.
The Glorified who are in thy following sprinkle water on thy food by the
side of the dead souls in this land. All thy thoughts are excellent like
those of him who was at the beginning.
Be crowned, son of Nut, as the Inviolate god is crowned; thou art
living, thou art revived, thou art renewed, thou art perfect. Thy father
Rā giveth health to all thy limbs, thy divine circle giveth thee praise.
Isis is with thee, she will never leave thee before all thy enemies are
struck down.
All the lands praise thy beauties like Rā when he rises every morning;
thou art crowned like him who is high on his pedestal, thy beauties are
exalted, thy strides are lengthened; thou hast received the royal power
of Seb, thy father who creates thy beauties; thy mother gave existence
to thy limbs, Nut who bare the gods bare thee to be the chief of the
five gods. The white crown of the South is placed on thy head; thou
seizest the hook and the flail. When thou wast still in the womb, before
thou didst appear on earth, thou wast crowned to be lord of the two
earths, the _atef_ crown of Rā was on thy head.
The gods come to thee, bowing down, the fear of thee possesses them;
they see thee with the might of Rā, and the valour of thy majesty fills
their hearts.
Life is with thee, abundance is attached to thee. I offer Maat before
thee; grant that I may be in the train of thy majesty like one who is on
the earth. May thy name be called upon, may it be found among the just
ones.
I have come to the city of this god, to the city of god, to the region
of old time; my soul, my _ka_, my Chu are in this land. The god of it is
the lord of justice, the lord of abundance, the great and the venerable
one, who is towed through the whole earth; he journeys to the South in
his boat, and to the North driven by the winds, and his oars, to be
entertained with gifts according to the command of the god, the lord of
peace therein, who left me free of care. The god therein rejoices in him
who practices justice; he grants an old age to him who has done so; he
is beloved, and the end of it is a good burial and a sepulture in
Ta-tsert.
I have come to thee; my hands bring Maāt, my heart does not contain any
falsehood, I offer thee Maāt before thy face, I know her; I swear by
her; I have done no evil thing on earth; I have never wronged a man of
his property. I am Thoth, the perfect and pure writer; my hands are
pure. I have put away all evil things; I write justice and I hate evil;
for I am the writing-reed of the Inviolate god, who utters his words,
and whose words are written in the two earths.
I am Thoth, the lord of justice, who giveth victory to him who is
injured and who taketh the defense of the oppressed, of him who is
wronged in his property. I have dispelled darkness; I have driven away
the storm; I have given air to Unneferu, and the sweet breezes of the
North when he comes out of the womb of his mother. I have given him to
enter into the mysterious cave where is revived the heart of the god
whose heart is motionless, Unneferu, the son of Nut, the victorious.
NOTE.
This hymn is taken from the papyrus of Unneferu, in London. See note 1
in Chapter 1.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLATE LXII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXXV, _P. d._]
[Illustration: CHAPTER CLXXXVI. =Papyrus of Ani.=]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXXIV.
_Chapter of being near Osiris._
There is not much more than the vignette left. Only two or three words
remain. They are taken from a papyrus in Paris.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXXV.
_Giving praise to Osiris, falling on the earth before the lord of
eternity; propitiating the god with what he loves, speaking the truth,
the lord of which is not known._
Hail to thee, venerable god, great and beneficent prince of eternity, in
his abode in the Sektit boat. Acclamations are given him in the sky and
on earth; he is exalted by the past and present. Great is the fear he
inspires in the hearts of men, of the Glorified and of the dead. His
soul was given him in Tattu, his might in Heracleopolis, his image in
Heliopolis, and his power over forms(1.) in the double sanctuary.
I have come to thee; my heart holds right, my heart contains no
falsehood. Give me to be among the living, to navigate up and down in
thy train.
NOTES.
I have given No. 185 to a hymn to Osiris, with which many papyri begin,
but which occasionally comes just before the representation of the cow
in the West. There seems to have been no canonical text for that hymn,
in which the writer was left to follow his imagination.
The hymn here given is one of the most complete. It is taken from the
papyrus of Sutimes in Paris.
The vignette represents always Osiris in a shrine, with worshippers
before him.
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂, litt., “his greatness of forms.” I suppose it means
his power of taking all the forms he likes.
------------------------------------
CHAPTER CLXXXVI.
_Adoration to Hathor, the lady of the West, falling down before
Mehurit._
I have come to thee, to see thy beauties, give me to be at the head of
thy followers and among thy divine attendants.
NOTES.
A great many papyri end with a picture representing Hathor of the West,
in company of the goddess Thueris coming out of the mountain where the
burial is to take place. The text, which is generally very corrupt, as
if the writer had neglected the words for the picture, is an adoration
to Hathor, which varies in its form.
The text here translated is taken from a papyrus at Leyden.
The vignette is taken from the papyrus of Ani.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Note
There are sixty two plates, some spanning facing pages. They were not
bound in strict sequential order. They were not considered in the
pagination. Since they are not available in this medium, the captions
have been shifted to avoid falling with paragraphs.
Please note that Chapter CX, appearing at pp 193-195 in the orginal, is
out of sequence with Chapters CXI-CXVI.
At 63.14, the Western Syriac word ⁂ is rendered as ܐܷܠܴ.
The text of each chapter is glossed with chapter endnotes. The scheme
was not cleanly followed. Fortunately, each note repeats a phrase in the
text, so the references can usually be traced.
The reference to Chapter 41, note 8 is wrong, and there is no other
obvious note.
The identifier for Note 5 on p. 81 was missing, and has been restored.
The reference to “Lord of the One Face” (Note 5 on p. 133) has been
restored to the appropriate place.
In the summary note to Chapter 22 on p. 61, there is an apparent
reference ‘(2)’, for which there is no obvious referent. It is
retained, but mentioned below.
In the Notes for Chapter 46 on p. 102, there is a reference to note 6
of Chapter 124, which does not exist.
The numbering of notes in Chapter 64 was confused. The reference to
note 15 was missing, and has been added. There were two note 21’s and a
repeated reference to note 23. These have been resequenced.
There is a reference to note 6 in Chapter 72 for which there is no
corresponding note.
The reference to note 5 in Chapter 112 was missing and, based on the
subject of the note, has been placed after the final word on p. 184.
At 218.21, a spurious reference to a note 49 has been added, causing
the numbering of the final 6 references to be off by one. The reference
is removed, and the numbering resequenced.
The reference to note 4 in Chapter 144 was missing and has been placed
after the phrase “receives the saying” at line 288.9.
The reference to note 2 in Chapter 176 was missing and has been placed
after the phrase “flame born” at line 340.8.
Note 6 of Chapter 176 has no reference in the text.
The singular and plural names ‘Uræus’ and ‘Uræi’ usually appear with the
‘æ’ ligature, but twice each as ‘Uraeus’ or ‘Uraei’. The ligature
version has been adopted, for the sake of text searches, as noted below.
The proper name ‘Maāt’ which appears more than fifty times, is spelled a
handful of times without the macron on the second ‘a’ later in the text
(pp. 336, 344, 353, 374x4). These have been amended
Those errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected,
and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the
original.
2.23 let him hear as you[r] hear Removed.
47.20 according to the different authorit[i]es Inserted.
55.31 It is synonymous (_cf._ chapter 41, note 8) _sic_
57.17 “the measuring line used by builders,[”] Added.
61.23 from the coffin[(2)] of Queen Mentuhotep _sic_
72.24 of the Living[./?] Replaced.
74.27 and convey it to Neh[a/e]bkau. Replaced.
83.27 influencing the breathing[.] Added.
92.60 those of the Living Ur[ae/æ]i Replaced.
97.11 I am [t]he Babe Restored.
102.22 (chapter [124, 6]) _sic_
123.10 [‘/“]The great Extender,” Replaced.
127.26 when they close togethe[r] Restored.
136.7 The Symb[e/o]l of Life Replaced.
136.22 join my two hands together[(6)] _sic_
138.8 the represen[s/t]ations of the Psychostasia? Replaced.
140.28 for ever[,/.] Make thou Replaced.
143.25 for the sei[z/s]in of his inheritance Replaced.
151.1 Let me sit wher[e]ever it pleaseth me. Removed.
151.29 of those seven Ur[ae/æ]us deities Replaced.
154.15 The Ur[ae/æ]us divinities are my body. Replaced.
157.9 a common noun signi[f]ying an earth-worm Inserted.
167.3 “the Horizon[”] Removed.
168.7 [“]Bearer of the Great one whilst she passeth” Added.
168.12 [“]Made of the hide of Mnevis Added.
180.2 things which [‘]spring forth’ ‘come to light.’ Removed.
198.32 [-/‘]drink made from the fruit of the creeper’ Replaced.
205.11 the mystical, not the geograp[/h]ical>, Abydos Inserted.
208.10 in the lands there of the Fenchu[:/.] Replaced.
214.8 the Master of the two Ur[ae/æ] Replaced.
218.28 saith the right side[(49)] Removed.
219.26 the Two Worlds[)]. Removed.
222.19 where Rā riseth[’] Added.
224.2 and one to[ to] the Right side Removed.
227.35 Isis and Nephthys.[”] Added.
230.7 Absalom had his brother Amnon assas[s]inated Added.
230.34 contradicted by no[t]orious evidence Restored.
246.31 but ‘the Strong one,[’] Added.
247.30.1 he tell[s] us Removed.
247.30.2 (_Zeit[s]chr._, 1873, p. 3) Inserted.
249.32 the difference of terms[.] Added.
255.25 his throne.[’/”] Replaced.
259.20 translated ‘princes,’ ‘officers,[’] Added.
260.28 [“]They shall offer Added.
267.13 Bonomi’s _Sarc[o]ph._ Inserted.
272.24 and the Hammemit in Cherāba.[”] Added.
273.8 be used synon[o/y]mously Replaced.
276.25 written in the Nebseni pap[ry/yr]us Transposed.
277.12 [o/O]h thou of the potent Lock Replaced.
277.21 is of the femin[i]ne gender. Inserted.
278.19 certainly corrupt and un[in]telligible. Inserted.
286.8 of which is the papyrus[ is] _Nu_ Removed.
290.1 in his introduct[i]on to the Papyrus of Ani Inserted.
292.1 ‘the dark sky[,] the black sky.’ Added.
292.27 The name of the doorkeeper is[;/:] the bull. Replaced.
318.26 Therefor[e] one may speak Added.
349.34 th[e]y feet are firm every day Removed.
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