The Egyptian Book of the dead
I have made for thee bread at Pu with red grain.
I have made for thee drink at Tepu with white grain.
I have ploughed for thee wheat and barley in the Field of Aarru.
I have mowed them there for thee.
I have glorified thee.
I have given thee thy soul.
I have given thee thy power.
I have given thee....
I have given thee....
I have given thee the dread which thou inspirest.
I have given thee thy bravery.
I have given thee thy two eyes, the two plumes which are on thy head.
I have given thee Isis and Nephthys, they are placed on thee.
I have anointed thee with the offering of holy oil.
I have brought thee the offering by which thy face is destroyed.(2.)
NOTES.
This Chapter is taken also from London 9900. The vignette at the end
represents Osiris sitting in a naos. Before him are the offerings of
fowl and cattle which Horus presents to his father. At the beginning the
deceased is seen, with raised arms; he is supposed to be Horus, and
above him are written the following words:—“Adoration to Osiris, Khenta
Amenta, the great god, the lord of Abydos, king for ever, prince of
eternity, the venerable god in Restau, pronounced by _N._, I give thee
grain, lord of the gods, the one god who liveth on justice. I am thy son
Horus. I have come to thee. I avenge thee, I bring to thee Maat, to the
place where is the circle of thy gods. Grant me to be among thy
followers, and to smite thy enemies. I have established for thee thy
food offerings on the earth for ever.”
This Chapter was first published and translated in the _Zeitschrift_,
Vol. XIII, p. 83.
1. These words are repeated before every one of the following sentences.
2. This sentence is abridged. It is given in full by the Ritual at
Abydos: “I have anointed thy head with the oil of the brow of Horus; if
it is destroyed there (on his brow) he is destroyed as god; _i.e._, his
divinity is destroyed.”
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PLATE LX.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
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CHAPTER CLXXIV.
_Chapter of causing the Chu to come out of the great door in the sky._
It is read(1.) to thee by thy son (Horus).
The great ones tremble when they see the sword which is in thy hand,
when thou goest out of the Tuat.
Hail to thee, the wise one, created by Seb, born of Nut. The cycles of
the gods are at rest. Horus rests in his dwelling(2.), Tum rests in his
abode (?). All the gods of East and West rest in the great goddess(3.)
of the birth, between the arms of her who gave birth to the god.
When I am born I see, I recognize where I am, I have been raised on my
place. The order has been accomplished of her who hates sleep and
depression, and who stands in Utenet.
My bread comes from Pu, and I receive my form in Heliopolis. Horus, in
accordance with the command he had received from his father the lord of
clouds, Astes, raised him, and I have been raised by Tmu.
I am the great one. I come forth between the legs of the cycle of the
gods. I have been conceived by Sechet, and Shestet(4.) gave me birth to
be her star, Sothis, the first one, the great walker who brings Rā
through the sky every day.
I have come to my abode. I have united the two diadems. I shine like a
star. O ye flowers, the name of which is “the precious bunch,” I am the
lotus which cometh out of the holy earth; when I am plucked, I settle
myself at the nostrils of the Great Figure.
I have come out of the lake of flame, I have received justice instead of
evil. I am near the white cloth(5.), and I keep watch over the Uræi in
the night of the great flood of tears.(6.)
I shine like Nefertmu the lotus which is at the nostril of Rā when he
comes forth on the horizon every day, and the gods are purified by his
sight.
_N._ is triumphant among the _ka_, smiting the hearts through his great
wisdom. He is near the god, he is the Sau(7.) (the knowing one) at the
western (right) side of Rā.
I have come to my abode among the _ka_, uniting the hearts through my
great wisdom. I am Sau near the god, at the western side of Rā; my
sceptre (?) is in my hand. I am called the great favourite, as I am clad
in red garments. I am Sau, on the western side of Rā, with a stout heart
in the cave of Nu.
NOTES.
This Chapter is already found in the pyramid of Unas (l. 379-399). Prof.
Erman (_Zeitschr._, XXXIII, p. 2) has made a special study of it, and
has pointed out that the title of this Chapter originates from a
misunderstanding of the word ⁂⁂⁂ which should be a star and not
a gate or a door. Were it not for the vignette, which represents the
deceased, the woman Muthotepet coming out of a door, we should
translate: “Chapter of the coming forth of the _Chu_ as a great star in
the sky”; in accordance with these words found in the course of the
chapter: “Shestet gave me birth to be her star, Sothis,” etc.
Two papyri only contain this Chapter, one in London and one in Paris.
The London text has a vignette with these words: “the coming out of the
door in the sky by....”
1. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ M. Maspero translates: ton fils t’a fait (le
sacrifice). The word ⁂ is employed here as in the rubric of Chapter
141, “to say, to speak.” This speech is a ceremonial act, one of the
⁂⁂⁂ done for the deceased.
2. We noticed before (Chapter 160, note 2) that ⁂ is a variant for
⁂ when applying to Tmu. Here it applies to Horus. The unknown word
⁂⁂⁂ being parallel, I give it conjecturally a similar sense.
3. ⁂ “the great one, the great goddess,” and its variants
⁂⁂⁂⁂ etc., occur frequently in the Book of the Dead, and
seem to be a name of the sky.
4. ⁂⁂ which is found in the papyrus, is clearly a mistake for the
name of the goddess _Shestet_, which we read in the text of Unas.
5. Perhaps a tent in which he will shelter the Uræi.
6. See note 1, Chapter 4, and _Life Work_, Vol. III, p. 46. I suppose it
means here a heavy rain.
7. In the pictures in the royal tombs the sun-god stands in his boat
between ⁂ and ⁂⁂. Here it is said that Sau is at the West of
Rā, meaning on his right side. Rā is spoken of here as if he were a
human being, turning towards the South as all Egyptians did. His west is
his right-hand side. Even now the Egyptian fellaheen in their language
do not often say right and left, they generally make use of the points
of the compass: west of thee, etc.
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CHAPTER CLXXV.
_Chapter of not dying a second death in the Netherworld._
O Thoth(1.)! What has become of the children of Nut? they have stirred
up hostilities, they have raised storms, they have committed iniquit,
they have raised rebellion, they have perpetrated murder, they have done
oppression, and thus have acted, the strong against the weak, in all
that they have done to me.
Grant, O Thoth, what Tmu hath decreed. Thou seest not the iniquities,
thou art not pained at their attacks upon the years, and their invasions
upon the months, because they have done their mischiefs in secret.
I am thy pallet, O Thoth, and I bring to thee thine inkstand; I am not
one of those who do mischief in secret. Let not mischief be done unto
me.
O Tmu! what is this place to which I have journeyed? for it is without
water and without air! It is all abyss, utter darkness, sheer
perplexity. One liveth here in peace of heart. There is no pleasure of
love here. Let there be granted to me glory instead of water, air and
pleasures of love; and peace of heart instead of bread and beer.
[Decree this, Tmu, that if I see thy face I shall not be pained by thy
sufferings(2.).... Tmu decrees; behold the great gods have given him
this mission, he will reign on his throne and he will inherit his throne
in the Isle of fire: and for thee I decree that the god may see him as
his second self, and that my face may see thy face.
My lord Tmu, what is the duration of my life? Thou art for eternities of
eternities, the duration of endless years; and behold I am going to
deface all I have done: this earth will become water, an inundation as
it was in the beginning. I will remain with Osiris, and I will make my
form like another serpent, whom no man will know, and no god will see.
It is good what I have done to Osiris, who is exalted above all the
gods. I have given him the power in the region of the Netherworld, and
his son Horus will inherit his throne in the Isle of flame. I will make
his throne in the boat of millions of (years).
Horus is well established on his seat in order that he may take
possession of his place of rest; also I send a soul to Sut in the West,
who is exalted above all gods; and I have caused his soul to be guarded
in the boat, so that he may feel reverential fear of the divine body
(Osiris).]
O my father Osiris! I have done for thee what thy father Rā did for
thee. Let me have increase upon earth, let me keep my dwelling place,
let my heir be vigorous, let my sepulchre flourish and my dependents
upon earth. Let all my adversaries be crushed to pieces with Selk’et
(the scorpion goddess) over their ruin. I am thy son, O my father Rā!
thou hast been the cause of this Life, Health and Strength. Horus is
established upon his throne. Grant that my duration of Life may be that
of one who attains beatitude.(3.)
NOTES.
The translation and notes of this Chapter, except what is in brackets,
are Renouf’s work. They are taken from the introduction he published to
his edition of the papyrus of Ani (p. 16).
The vignette represents the deceased and his wife worshipping Thoth.
This Chapter is found in the papyrus of Ani, and at greater length in a
papyrus of the Museum of Leyden, from which it has been copied by
Naville into his edition.
The Leyden text is unfortunately very incomplete, both in the upper and
lower parts of the columns. The two texts differ very materially in some
of their readings, and will require considerable study before a
satisfactory translation can be given.
1. The deceased is evidently supposed to be just arrived in a place of
utter darkness and desolation, and expresses his feelings of distress to
Thoth in the opening address.
2. [The text of Leyden is much more complete. Owing probably to want of
space, the scribe of Ani has shortened his text. There the omissions are
so considerable that it is impossible to find a sense. I have often
adopted the reading of the Leyden papyrus in the translation of this
part of the chapter.
3. The remaining columns in the Leyden manuscript, although incomplete,
enable us to see that the deceased is assimilated throughout to Osiris,
as born again in his son Horus. There is a cry of adoration to him in
Sutenhenen, and exultation in En-aaref, the whole cycle of the gods is
filled with satisfaction at seeing him inherit his throne and rule over
the earth. Sut is filled with terror when he sees the change which has
taken place; the different generations of mankind, the past, the
present, and the future, are in obeisance. Mention is made of the
“Hoeing” and of the blood which flowed in Sutenhenen [an allusion to the
myth of the destruction of mankind] and of other particulars in
connection with Osiris. And the chapter is said to be recited over an