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Title: The Egyptian Book of the dead

Translator: P. Le Page Renouf
Edouard Naville

Release date: December 17, 2022 [eBook #69566]
Most recently updated: October 19, 2024

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: Society of Biblical
Archaeology, 1904

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EGYPTIAN
BOOK OF THE DEAD ***

Transcriber’s Note
Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see
the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the
handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.
The illustrative plates were occasionally spread over facing pages, and
sometimes appear out of order, depending on the exigencies of pagination.
All plates are moved to the end of the text and linked for ease of reference.
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the
public domain.
Any corrections are indicated as hyperlinks, which will navigate the
reader to the corresponding entry in the corrections table in the note at the
end of the text.

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 Coming forth by pages Plates I, II.
Day, of the Words which bring about 1, 2
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 Living after 11, 12
death.
III. Another Chapter like it. 12
IV. Another Chapter, for travelling on the road which 13
is above the earth.
V. Chapter whereby work may not be imposed [upon 13
a person] in the Netherworld.
VI. Chapter whereby the funereal Statuettes may be 15, 16
made to do work for a person in the
Netherworld.
VII. Chapter of passing through the chine of Apepi 16
which is void. No Vignettes.
VIII. Chapter of opening the Tuat by day. 17
IX. Chapter for opening the Tuat. 18
X. Chapter for coming forth victoriously. 19
XI. Chapter for coming out against the adversary in 19
the Netherworld.
XII. Chapter for entering and for coming forth out of 20
the Netherworld.
XIII. Chapter for entering after coming out from 20
Amenta.
XIV. Chapter for removing displeasure from the heart of 21
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 in the Land 25, 26
of Life.
Hymn II.—A Hymn to Râ at his setting. 26, 27
Hymn III.—A Hymn to Tmu at his setting. 27, 28
XVI. . . . . . . . . . . 34 IV, V.
XVII. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day out of 35 40 VI, VII.
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 Triumph. 59
XXI. Chapter whereby the Mouth of a person is given to 60 No Vignettes.
him in the Netherworld.
XXII. Another Chapter whereby the Mouth of a person is 61 X, XI.
given to him in the Netherworld.

XXIII. Chapter whereby the Mouth of a person is opened 62 X, XI.
for him in the Netherworld.
XXIV. Chapter whereby the Words of Power are brought 63, 64 X.
to a person in the Netherworld.
XXV. Chapter whereby a person remembereth his name 66 No Vignettes.
in the Netherworld.
XXVI. Chapter whereby the Heart is given to a person in 66 XII.
the Netherworld.
XXVII. Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not taken 69 XI.
from him in the Netherworld.
XXVIII. Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not taken 70, 71 XII.
from him in the Netherworld.
XXIX. Chapter whereby the Heart of a person may not be 72 XII.
taken from him in the Netherworld.
XXIXB. Another Chapter of the Heart; upon Carnelian. 73 No Vignettes.
XXXA. Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not kept 74 XII.
back from him in the Netherworld.
XXXB. 75 No Vignettes.
XXXI. Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are repulsed who 77 XII.
come to carry off the Words of Power from a
person in the Netherworld.
XXXII. Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are repulsed who 78, 79 No Vignettes.
come to carry off the Words of Power from the
glorified in the Netherworld.
XXXIII. Chapter whereby all Serpents are kept back. 81 XII.
XXXIV. Chapter whereby a person is not devoured by the 82
dweller in the shrine.
No Vignettes.
XXXV. Chapter whereby the person is not devoured by a 83
Serpent in the Netherworld.
XXXVI. Chapter whereby the Āpshait is kept back. 85 XII, XIII.
XXXVII. Chapter whereby the Merta Goddesses are kept 85 XIII.
back.
XXXVIII. Chapter whereby one liveth by the breath of air in 86 XIII
the Netherworld, and keepeth back Merta.
XXXIX. Chapter whereby the Serpent Rekrek is repulsed in 87-89 XIII, XIV.
the Netherworld.
XL. Chapter whereby the Eater of the Ass is kept back. 91, 92 XIV.
XLI. Chapter whereby one avoideth the Slaughter which 94 XV.
is carried out in the Netherworld.
XLII. Chapter whereby one hindereth the Slaughter 95–98 XVI.
which is wrought at Sutenhenen.
XLIII. Chapter whereby the head of a person is not 101 No Vignettes.
severed from him in the Netherworld.
XLIV. Chapter whereby one dieth not a second time. 101
XLV. Chapter whereby one escapeth corruption in the 102
Netherworld.

XLVI. Chapter whereby he that is living is not destroyed 102
in the Netherworld.
XLVII. Chapter whereby the seat of a person is not taken 102, XV, XVII.
from him in the Netherworld. 103
XLVIII (same as X).
XLIX (same as XI).
L. Chapter whereby one cometh not to the divine 103 XVII.
Block of Execution.
LI. Chapter whereby one goeth not headlong in the 104
Netherworld.
LII. Chapter whereby one eateth not dirt in the 105
Netherworld.
LIIIA. Chapter whereby one is not made to eat dirt, or to 107
drink lye. No Vignettes.
LIIIB. Whereby one eateth not dirt. 107,
108
LIV. Chapter whereby air is given in the Netherworld. 108
LV. Another Chapter whereby air is given. 109
LVI. Another Chapter of breathing. 110
LVII. Chapter for breathing air, and command of water, 110, XVII.
in the Netherworld. 111
LVIII. Chapter for breathing air and command of water. 112 XVII.
LIX. Chapter for breathing air and command of water. 113
LX. Another Chapter. 113, No Vignettes.
114
LXI. Another Chapter. 114 XVII.
LXII. Chapter whereby water is drunk in the 114,
Netherworld. 115
LXIIIA. Chapter whereby one is not burnt with fire, but 115, No Vignettes.
drinketh water, in the Netherworld. 116
LXIIIB. Chapter whereby one is not boiled in water. 116
LXIV. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day from the 117– XVII.
Netherworld. 121
LXV. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day and 127 XIX.
prevaileth over the adversaries.
LXVI. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day. 128
LXVII. Chapter whereby the doors of the Tuat are opened 128 No Vignettes.
and one cometh forth by day.
LXVIII. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day. 129, XVIII, XIX.
130
LXIX. Otherwise said. 130,
131
No Vignettes.
LXX. Another Chapter. 131,
132
LXXI. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day. 132– XIX.
134

LXXII. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day and 136, XIX, XX.
passes through the Ammehit. 137
LXXIII (same as IX). XIX, XX.
LXXIV. Chapter whereby the legs are set in motion upon 138 XIX, XX.
earth.
LXXV. Chapter whereby one cometh to Heliopolis and 139, XXI, numbered
receiveth a seat there. 140 LXXVIII in error.
LXXVI. Chapter whereby all forms are assumed which one 140 XX. same as
pleaseth. LXXIII.
LXXVII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 141 XXI.
Golden Hawk.
LXXVIII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 142– XXI.
Sacred Hawk. 146
LXXIX. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 147, XXI.
Chief god of the Divine Cycle. 148
LXXX. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the god 149 No Vignettes.
who giveth Light to the Darkness.
LXXXI. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 150 XXI, XXII.
Lotus.
LXXXII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of Ptah, 150, XXII.
eateth bread, drinketh beer, and sitteth in the 151
midst of the great gods.
LXXXIII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 151, XXII.
Bennu bird. 152
LXXXIV. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 152, XXII.
Hernshaw. 153
LXXXV. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of a Soul, 153, XXII.
that one may not come to the dungeon. 154
Imperishable is he who knoweth it.
LXXXVI. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 155 XXII.
Swallow.
LXXXVII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of Se-ta. 157 XXII, XXIII.
LXXXVIII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the form of the 157 XXIII.
Crocodile god [Sebak].
LXXXIX. Chapter whereby the Soul is united to the dead 157, XXIII.
Body. 158
XC. Chapter whereby Memory is restored to a person. 159 XXIII.
XCI. Chapter whereby the Soul is secured from 160 No Vignettes.
imprisonment in the Netherworld.
XCII. Chapter whereby the Tomb is opened to the Soul 160, XXIII, XXIV.
and to the Shade of the person, that he may 161
come forth by day and may have mastery of his
feet.
XCIII. Chapter whereby one avoideth being conveyed to 162 XXIV.
the East in the Netherworld.
XCIV. Chapter whereby one prayeth for a Palette and an 163 XXIV.
Inkstand.

XCV. Chapter whereby is opened the place wherein 163, XXIV.
Thoth resteth. 164
XCVI. Chapter whereby is opened [the place] where 164 No Vignettes.
Thoth [resteth].
XCVII. 165 XXV.
XCVIII. Chapter whereby one saileth a ship in the 165, XXV.
Netherworld. 166
XCIX. Chapter whereby one saileth a ship in the 167– XXV, XXVI.
Netherworld. 169
C. The Book whereby the glorified one is made strong, 171 XXVII.
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 Bark of Rā. 172, No Vignettes.
173
CII. Chapter whereby one entereth into the Bark of Rā. 173 XXVII.
CIII. Chapter whereby one openeth the place where 174 XXV.
Hathor abideth.
CIV. Chapter whereby one sitteth in the midst of the 174 XXV.
great gods.
CV. Chapter whereby one propitiateth the Ka. 175 XXV.
CVI. Chapter whereby a largess is presented at Hat-ka- 176,
Ptah. 177 No Vignettes.
CVII. 178
CVIII. Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of the 178, XXV, XXVII.
West. 179

CIX. Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of the 181, XXVII.
East. 182
CX. The Beginning of the Chapters of the Garden of 193– XXVIII, XXIX.
Hotepit, and of the Chapters of coming forth by 195
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 Powers of Pu. 184, XXIX, XXX.
185
CXIII. Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of 186, XXX.
Nechen. 187
CXIV. Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of 188, XXXI.
Hermopolis. 189
CXV. Chapter whereby one cometh forth into Heaven, 190, No Vignettes.
and openeth the Ammehit: and whereby the 191
Powers of Heliopolis are known.

CXVI. Chapter whereby one knoweth the Power of 192 XXXI.
Hermopolis.
CXVII. Chapter whereby one taketh the blissful path at 203 XXXI (one
Restau. Vignette is
numbered CVII in
error).
CXVIII. Chapter whereby one arriveth at Restau. 206 No Vignettes.
CXIX. Chapter whereby one entereth or goeth forth from 206 XXXI.
Restau.
CXX (same as XII).
CXXI (same as XIII).
CXXII (same as LVIII).
CXXIII. Chapter whereby one entereth into the Great 208 XXXI.
House.
CXXIV. Chapter whereby one cometh to the Divine Circle 210, XXXII.
of Osiris. 211
CXXV. Part I.—Said on arriving at the Hall of 212– XXXII,
Righteousness, that N may be loosed from all the 214 XXXIII,
sins which he hath committed and that he may XXXIV,
look upon the divine countenances. XXXV,
Part II.—The Negative Confession. 214– XXXVI,
216 XXXVIII,
Part III.—Said upon approaching to the gods who 216– XXXVIII,
are in the Tuat. 220 XXXIX.
CXXVI. .......... 244, XL.
245
CXXVII. The Book for invoking the gods of the Bounds, 249
which the person reciteth when he approacheth
them, that he may enter and see the Strong one
in the Great Abode of the Tuat. No Vignettes.
CXXVIII. Invocation of Osiris 251,
252
CXXIX (same as C). XL.
CXXX. A Book whereby the Soul is made to live for ever, 256– XL.
on the day of entering into the Bark of Rā, and 259
to pass the Sheniu of the Tuat. Made on the
Birthday of Osiris.
CXXXI. Chapter whereby one proceedeth into Heaven by 261 XLI.
the side of Rā.
CXXXII. Chapter whereby a person is enabled to go round, 263 XLI.
to visit his dwelling in the Netherworld.
CXXXIII. Book whereby the deceased acquireth might in the 264, XLI, XLII.
Netherworld, in presence of the great cycle of 265
the gods.
CXXXIV. Chapter whereby the deceased acquireth might. 267, XLI.
268
CXXXV. Another chapter recited when the Moon renews 269, No Vignettes.
itself on the first day of the month. 270

CXXXVIA. Chapter whereby one is conveyed in the Bark of 270 XLII.
Rā.
CXXXVIB. Chapter whereby one is conveyed in the Great 271,
Bark of Rā to pass through the orbit of flame. 272 No Vignettes.
CXXXVIIA. Chapter whereby a Light is kindled for a person. 275
CXXXVIIB. Chapter whereby a Light is kindled for a person. 275 XLII.
CXXXVIII. Chapter whereby one is enabled to enter into 277 XLIII.
Abydos.

CXXXIX (same as CXXIII).

CXL. The book read on the last day of Mechir, when the 280, XLIII, XLIV.
Eye is full on the last day of Mechir. 281

CXLI. to The Book said by a man or his father or his son in 282– XLIV, XLV, XLVI.
CXLIII. the festival of the Amenta, and wherewith he 285
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– XLVI, XLVII,
289 XLIX, L.
CXLV and The knowing of the pylons of the house of Osiris, in 292– XLIV, XLVIII,
CXLVI. the Garden of Aarru. 294 LIII.
CXLVII. 296– XLIX, L.
298
CXLVIII. Giving sustenance to the deceased in the 300– XLVI, XLVII, LI.
Netherworld, and delivering him from all evil 301
things.
CXLIX. 302– LII.
307
CL. 309 LIII.
CLI. 309 LIV, LVI.
CLIA. bis 313 No Vignettes.
CLIA. ter Chapter of the mysterious head. LIV.
CLII. Chapter of building a house on earth. 314 LIV.
CLIIIA. Chapter of coming out of the net. 315, LV.
316
CLIIIB. Chapter of escaping from the catchers of fish. 320, LVI.
321
CLIV. Chapter of not letting the body decay in the 322, LVI.
Netherworld. 323
CLV. Chapter of the Tat of gold. 325 LVI, LVII.
CLVI. Chapter of the buckle of carnelian, which is put on 326 LVI, LVII.
the neck of the deceased.
CLVII. Chapter of the vulture of gold, put on the neck of 326, LVII.
the deceased. 327

CLVIII. Chapter of the collar of gold, put on the neck of the 327 LVII.
deceased.
CLIX. Chapter of the column of green Felspar, put on the 327, LVII.
neck of the deceased. 328
CLX. Giving the column of green Felspar. 328 LVII.
CLXI. Chapter of unfastening the opening in the sky. 329, LV.
Thoth does it so that it may be finished when he 330
opens (the sky) with Aten.
CLXII. Chapter of causing a flame to arise under the head 330, LVIII.
of the deceased. 321
CLXIII. Chapters brought from another book, in addition to 333, LVIII.
the “coming forth by day.” Chapter of not 334
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 obscured, so that 338, LVIII.
the body may prosper in drinking water. 339
CLXVI. Chapter of the Pillow. 340 LVIII.
CLXVII. Chapter of bringing an Eye. 341 LVIII.
CLXVIII. 341
CLXIX. Chapter of raising the funereal Bed. 342–
344
CLXX. Chapter of arranging the funereal Bed. 345–
347 No Vignettes.
CLXXI. Chapter of wrapping up (the deceased) in a pure 347
garment.
CLXXII. Beginning of the Chapter of reciting the 348–
ceremonies made in the Netherworld. 351
CLXXIII. The addresses of Horus to his father when he goes 352, LIX.
in to see his father, and when he comes out of his 353
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 out of the 354, LX.
great door in the sky. 355
CLXXV. Chapter of not dying a second death in the 356, LX.
Netherworld. 357
CLXXVI. Chapter of not dying a second time in the 358 No Vignettes.
Netherworld.

CLXXVII. Chapter of raising the Chu, of vivifying his soul in 359
the Netherworld.
CLXXVIII. Chapter of raising the body, of giving it eyes, of 360–
making it possess ears, of fixing its head, of 363
putting it on its base.
CLXXIX. Chapter of coming forth when going out of 363,
yesterday and coming in the (present) day, being 364
equipped by one’s own hands.
CLXXX. Chapter of coming forth by day, of giving praise to 365– LX.
Rā in the Amenta, of paying homage to the 367
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 Divine circle of 368, LXI.
Osiris and before the gods, the guides in the 369
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 air to him whose 370– LXI.
heart is motionless, through the action of Thoth, 372
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 praise, bowing 372– LX.
down before Unneferu, falling on one’s face 374
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 the earth before 375 LX.
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 West, falling 376 LX, LXII.
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.

1. See Introductory Note to Chapter CXL.

2. The Hibbert Lectures, 1879, p. 172.

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.”

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.

PLATE 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 ‫ַמ ֶפ ֶל ח‬. (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
[5]
(in the wretched orthography 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 ‫ֵה ו‬. 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 ‫ַע ָֹו ה‬, 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
[7]
sem, and the ura ḫerp ḥem; 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’ (= ‫ )עליון‬is, 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.
[8]
The word is ideographically written or , 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.

VIGNETTE TO CHAPTER IX.

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.

6. See Denkm. II, 71 b, 72 a, b, 101 b; cf. 98 h, 116 c, and III, 260 c.

7. The evidence produced by W. Max Müller in behalf of this reading of the priestly name is
quite convincing.

8. The human head (with a beard) sometimes given to the bird, merely indicates the aivine
nature of the soul.

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
‫חׁשמים‬.
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.

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. 271d
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
[19]
importance had his , 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 XVe 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.

11. One of the names of the Uræus on the royal crown.

12. ‘The Glorious ones’; see Note 1 on Chapter I.

13. See note 11.

14. An abode of bliss (like the Elysian fields) frequently mentioned and described in the Book of
the Dead.

15. The dragon Âpepi.

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.

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.

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.

19. The four children of Horus are called (Tempelins., I, 41, 1) .

PLATE IV

PLATE V

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.
[20]
Herald 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.
[21]
The god whose eyebrows are as the arms of the Balance is “he who lifteth up his arm.”
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.
[22]
This god whose face is that of a hound and whose skin 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.
[23]
The junction of the Two Earths is the head of the coffin of Osiris whose father is Râ 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

PLATE VII

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
[27]
Opener is a god. 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
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,
[29]
which is Nu”; that is Heaven. 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 EyesF 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.

20. , , praeconium, praeco.

21. The god who lifteth up his arm is Amsu.

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.

23. An interpolation in the text of Horhotep.

24. Mission archéologique Française au Caire, II.

25. Ovid, Fast, I, 129, 130.

26. Apocalypse i, 8.

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.”

28. in the historical inscriptions is just like the Greek γυῖα

λέλυντο, λύτο γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἡτορ.

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.

PLATE IX.

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 lay.

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.’

30. . The later recensions read . The first Coffin of Mentuhotep

(Aelteste Texte, 4, 61) has the phonetic .

31. Literally, “when the things are shut up.”

32. .

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 see Plate 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.

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.

34. Mission Archéologique Française, II, p. 216 and 223. The text is unfortunately incomplete
on both coffins.

PLATE X.

PLATE XI.

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.

35. .

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
[39]
position described. 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.

37. Nu.

38. .

39. See also in Plate XI the Vignette from chapter 17 in the Turin and all the later papyri.

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
[43]
ḥatu. 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 ‫ִא ם־ֹלא‬, ‫ܷܐܴܠ‬, ‫إاَّل‬

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.

41. ȧb, ‘heart.’

42. ḥatu, ‘whole heart.’

43. This variant already occurs on the coffin of Amamu.

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 ‫ ַמ ְל ָא ְך‬an 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.

45. See a charming article by Professor Ebers in the Zeitschrift of 1880, entitled “Einige
inedita.”

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.

47. .

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).

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
[50]
chapter 15 that the are stars. Besides the

the stars which set and the

the circumpolar stars, whose navigation ⲥⲱⲕ is

continuous, there are the whose name is very

[51]
significant. and have the sense of turning back, 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.

50. as a feminine noun and proper name occurs in the Pyramid Texts

(Unas, 644).

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.

PLATE XIII.

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, Karnakc pl.

[54]
16, line 47), 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.

52. .

53. The men of the present generation, the Reḫit.

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.

55. between, in the midst of, surrounded by.

56. Iliad, 20, 258.

PLATE XIV.

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.
[59]
But the Sun-god is also called in his Litany
[60]
. And a picture of the god 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.

57. There is a lacuna here in the only MS. containing the text. The dialogue continues through
the next line of the original.

58. Naville, La Litanie du Soleil, p. 49 and 55, with the plates corresponding.

59. In the 64th invocation.

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.

PLATE XVI.

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, ‫ حبل‬has 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.

61. Another reading is Unneferu.

62. See note 1 on chapter 28.

63. “‫ حبل‬non 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.

64. The Day-Spring.

PLATE XVII.

PLATE XVIII.

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.

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
[67]
have elsewhere 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ‫ֶּד ֶׁש א‬, 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.

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.

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.

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
[77]
Pyramid Texts 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.

73. The text is too corrupt here for any plausible translation.

74. Not is omitted in many copies.

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.

76. Etudes Egyptologiques; sixième livraison.

77. Here as in the name of Tmu, the long sign is written first though read last.

78. Cf. the expressions as, Teta, 258, 262, and

. is not a mere gate, but a hold, or keep.

79. There is no certainty about the text of the next few words.

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.

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.

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.

83. Namely, “of the great god.” This ellipse is very frequent.

84. In the Prisse Papyrus this word is to be understood of a scholar or sage, whose word is of
authority.

85. They have human heads on the Louvre Sarcophagus D. 7.

PLATE XIX.

PLATE XX.

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 ‫ ַח ָּל ה‬in
Leviticus viii, 26 has the same meaning and, like ‫ ַח ִל יל‬a pipe, is connected
with ‫ָח ָל ל‬, 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.

PLATE XXII.

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
[87]
and Sit-Bastit there is a chapter 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

PLATE XXIV.

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.’

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.

PLATE_XXVI.

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
[92]
the deceased says, in chapter 17, “I arrive at my own city, .”
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.

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.

PLATE XXVIII.

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.”

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.