The Egyptian Book of the dead
_Everybody who has these figures on his coffin, the four openings of the
sky are open to him; one in the North, it is the wind of Osiris; one in
the South, it is the wind of Aah (the moon); one in the West, it is the
wind of Isis; one in the East, it is the wind of Nephthys. Every one of
these winds, which are at his entrance when he wants it, breathes into
his nostrils._
_Let no one outside know it, it is a mystery which is not known to the
common people. Do not reveal it to any one, may he be thy father or thy
son, except thyself. It is a real mystery, and every one of these things
is unknown to all men._
NOTES.
This Chapter is so short in the old recension (Paris, III, 93) that it
could hardly be understood without the rubric of the Turin text. The
four Thoths, each of whom opens a door, are the four winds, coming from
the four cardinal points (_Zeitschr. für Aeg. Sprache_, 1877, p. 28).
We have already learned from Chapter 59 that it is one of the privileges
of the deceased to have the command of the four winds.]
1. The title is obscure. I suppose that the scribe, who had a very short
space at his disposal, left out a word or two.
2. Magic formula, which enables Thoth to open the door.
3. See Chapter 83, note 1. Brugsch calls the tortoise the evil
principle.
4. The words in brackets, as well as the rubric, are taken from the
Turin Todtenbuch.
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PLATE LVIII.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
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CHAPTER CLXII.
_Chapter of causing a flame(1.) to arise under the head of the
deceased._
Hail to thee, thou lion,(2.) thou mighty one, with high plumes, the lord
of the double crown, who wavest the flail, thou art the lord of the
phallus,(3.) thou art vigorous when ariseth the morning light, to the
rays of which there is no limit.
Thou art the lord of forms, with numerous colours, who conceals himself
within his eye to his children.
Thou art the mighty enchanter among the cycle of the gods, thou swift
runner, with quick strides. Thou art the mighty god who cometh to him
who calleth for him, who delivereth the oppressed from his tortures.
Come to my voice. I am the cow. Thy name is in my mouth. I am going to
utter it. Hakahaka(4.) is thy name. Furaa is thy name. Aakarsa is thy
name. Ankrobata is thy name. Khermauserau is thy name. Kharosata is thy
name.
I adore thy name. I am the cow. Listen to my voice, on the day when thou
puttest a flame under the head of Rā. Behold he is in the Tuat, and he
is mighty in Heliopolis.(5.) Grant that he may be like one who is on
earth. He is thy son, who loves thee. Do not ignore his name. Come to
Osiris _N._ Grant that a flame may arise under his head, for he is the
soul of the great body which rests in Heliopolis; the shining one, the
form of the firstborn is his name. Barokatat’aua is his name.
Come, grant him to be like one of thy followers, for he is even as thou
art.
_Said on the image of a cow, made of pure gold, to be put on the neck of
the deceased. Also if it is painted on new papyrus, and put under his
head, there will be a quantity of flames all around him like those that
are on earth. This is a very great protection, which the cow granted to
her son Rā, after he had gone to rest. His abode is surrounded by
warriors of blazing fire._(6.)
_If thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the Ring who is on earth,
he is like fire in pursuing his enemies, his horses cannot stop._
_If thou puttest it on the neck of a man after his death, he is mighty
in the Netherworld. Nobody will drive him away from the gates of the
Tuat undeviatingly._
_And thou shalt say when thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the
deceased: O Amon of Amons, thou who art in the sky, turn thy face
towards the body of thy son, make him sound in the Netherworld._
_This book is most secret. Do not let it be seen by any man, for it is
forbidden to know it. Let it be hidden. It is called the book of the
mistress of the hidden abode. This is the end._
NOTES.
Chapters 162-165 are of a very date date. They are of a different
character from the other chapters of the Book of the Dead. They belong
rather to the magic books of the old Egyptians. When they were written
there was a decay in the religion, which drifted more and more into
magic, for which the Egyptians were famous under the Roman Empire. We
find there a great number of barbarous words unintelligible to us, and
probably also to the old scribes, since they differ widely according to
the papyri. They remind us of those which are found in the magical texts
(Chabas, _Pap. Magique Harris_, p. 151)
It is probable that Chapter 162 is older than the following; several
papyri end with it, and it has the rubric ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _this is
the end_, which is found in the older texts after Chapter 149.
The late Dr. Pleyte, of Leyden, made a special study of these chapters,
and of several others of late date (_Chapitres supplémentaires du Livre
des Morts, Texte, Traduction et Commentaire_, Leide). The collation
which he published of various documents is the text on which this
translation has been made.
The vignette generally consists of a cow, having between her horns a
solar disk, with two plumes. Occasionally behind her there is a goddess
with a cow’s head having the same attribute. This cow I consider to be
the goddess Nut, the mother of Rā. An image of the cow, made of pure
gold, is to be put on the neck of the deceased; or, what would be much
easier and cheaper, it is to be painted on a hypocephalus of new
papyrus, and put under the deceased’s head. Part of this chapter is the
usual text found on the hypocephali.
The result of the gift of one of these amulets will be that in the
Netherworld the deceased will be surrounded by flames. This is the
effect of the presence of the amulets here described. It does not take
place in this world, but in the other, where Rā himself enjoys a similar
protection, being surrounded by “warriors of blazing fire.” This image
seems to point to the magnificent sunsets often seen in Egypt.
1. All the translators have interpreted ⁂⁂⁂ by “heat,” the
vital heat of the body. But this is not the true sense of the word,
which means “flame,” ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “flame of fire.” The root
⁂⁂ implies the idea of darting, springing forth like a flame or a
spark, and not of latent heat. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ cannot mean
anything except a great quantity of flames. These flames will be the
protection of the deceased.
2. The lion addressed by the cow, a god of light and fire, is probably
Rā himself.
3. For the connection between generation and light, see Kuhn,
“Herabkunft des Feuers,” p. 70 and ff.
4. These barbarous names, as well as those of the following chapters,
have not yet been explained. Their interpretation is to be looked for in
the African languages, for Chapter 164 connects them with the speech of
the negroes, and the Anti of Nubia.
5. I have kept for ⁂⁂ Renouf’s translation: Heliopolis. But it
must not be understood as referring to the well-known city at the head
of the Delta. ⁂⁂ is here a city in the other world. It is a name
belonging to the mythological and not to the terrestrial geography.
6. I consider the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of the Turin
text, or according to other papyri,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ as connected with
⁂⁂ _fire_, _burning_.
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CHAPTER CLXIII.
_Chapters brought from another book, in addition to the “coming forth by
day.” Chapter of not letting the body of a man decay in the Netherworld,
of rescuing him from the devourers of souls who imprison men in the
Tuat, and of not raising his sins on earth against him, but of saving
his flesh and his bones from the worms and from every evil-doing god in
the Netherworld, so that he may go in and out as he likes, and do
everything he desires without restraint._
—I am the soul of the great body which rests in Arohabu. I am protecting
the body of Hanirta, the lord of motion, who rests in the marshes of
Senhakarokana.
—O thou soul of souls, who art not unwilling to rise when thou restest
in thy body which dwelleth in Senhakarokana! Come to Osiris _N._,
deliver him from the Powers of the god whose face is terrible, who takes
possession of the heart, and takes hold of the limbs; a flame rushes out
of their mouths, so that they consume the souls.
—O he who goes to rest in his body, and then rises a burning heat,
blazing even within the sea, and the sea goes up because of this burning
vapour, at the time of the morning; come, bring thy fire; pour thy
burning vapour on him who will raise his hand against Osiris _N._ for
ever and ever.
—Hail, Osiris _N._, thy duration is that of the sky; thy duration is the
duration of the ultimate circles,(1.) The sky holds thy soul; this earth
holds thy figure.
—Deliver Osiris _N._ Do not let him be carried away by his enemies, to
him who devours the soul, who raises evil accusations. Restore his soul
to his body and his body to his soul.
—It is he who is hidden in the pupil, in the Eye of Sharosharo.
Shapuarika is his name. He resides on the north-west front of Apt, in
the land of Nubia, and he will never navigate towards the East.
—O Amon the bull, the scarab, the lord of the two eyes whose name is: he
with the terrible pupil. Osiris _N._ is the image of thy two eyes,
Sharosharo is the name of one, Shapuarika is the name of the other one.
He is Shaka Amon, Shaka Nasarohaut; Tmu who illuminates the two earths
is his true name. Come to Osiris _N._, he belongs to the land of Truth,
do not leave him alone. He is of the land which is not seen again.
—Thy name is with the mighty Glorified.(2.) He is the soul of the great
body which is in Sais of Neith.
_Said on a serpent having two legs, and bearing a two-horned disk. Two
eyes are before him, having two legs and two wings._
_In the pupil of one is the image of one raising his arm, with the face
of Bes, wearing his plumes, and having the back of a hawk._
_It is painted with anti and shethu, mixed with green colour of the
South, and with water from the Western Lake of Egypt; on a bandage of
new linen, in which all the limbs of a man will be wrapped._
_Thus he will not be driven away from all the gates of the Tuat; he will
eat, drink, ease his body as if he were on earth; no outcry will be
raised against him; his enemies will be powerless (?) against him._
_If this book is read on earth,(3.) he is not carried away by the
messengers, the wicked ones who do evil on all the earth; and he will
not be wounded, he will not die from the blow of the king. He will not
be taken to prison; for he will go in to his attendants and go out
victorious, he will be free from the fear of evil doers who are on the
whole earth._
NOTES.
This Chapter begins with a general title applying to 163-5, and probably
to other ones not included in the papyrus of Turin: “Chapters brought
from another book, an addition to the coming forth by day.” This means
that these chapters were not considered as belonging to the
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “the coming forth by day,” the original Book
of the Dead, which in old times ended with Chapter 149, and later on
with Chapter 162.