The Egyptian Book of the dead
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “I died yesterday, but I
come to-day.” ⁂⁂ yesterday is the past, is death; whereas
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ this day, the present day, is life. Leaving what
has been, and coming to what is, is only a figure meaning resurrection
after death.
2. I have kept Renouf’s translation, although I consider it is
erroneous. The word ⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂ means _reconstitute_,
_restore_, and not avenge. The common expression, Horus the avenger of
his father, should be translated: “Horus who reconstitutes the body of
his father” torn to pieces by Sut.
3. These words are taken from the text of Nu.
4. In both papyri there are words omitted here.
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CHAPTER CLXXX.
_Chapter of coming forth by day, of giving praise to Rā in the Amenta,
of paying homage to the inhabitants of the Tuat, of opening the way to
the mighty soul in the Netherworld, of letting him walk, lengthen his
strides, and go in and out in the Netherworld; and take the form of a
living soul._
Rā sets as Osiris with all the splendour of the Glorified and of the
gods of the Amenta; for he is the one, the marvellous in the Tuat, the
exalted soul in the Netherworld, Unneferu who exists for ever and
eternally.
Hail to thee in the Tuat, thy son Horus rests in thee, thou speakest thy
words to him; grant him that he may be resplendent before the
inhabitants of the Tuat, that he may be the great star; that he may
bring what is his to the Tuat and may travel in it, he, the son of Rā
proceeding from Tmu.
Hail to thee in the Tuat, god seated upon his throne, who holdest thy
sceptre _hik_, king of the Tuat and lord of Acherta, great prince
wearing the double diadem, great god who hides his dwelling, lord of
wisdom, chief of his circle of gods.
Hail to thee in the Tuat, praises also to what is in thee;(1.) hail to
thee in the Tuat, the weeping gods cut their hair in thy honour, they
clap their hands, they implore thee, they pray thee, they weep before
thee. Thy soul rejoices and thy body is glorious.
It is exalted, the soul of Rā in the Amenta, his body is blessed there;
the powers praise him in the bounds of the Tuat, Teb Temt(2.) who rests
in his covering.
Hail, Osiris, I am the servant of thy temple, the inhabitant of thy
divine dwelling, thou speakest to me thy words; give me to shine before
the inhabitants of the Tuat like the great star who brings what is his
to the Tuat, who journeys in it, he the son of Rā, proceeding from Tmu.
I rest in the Tuat, I am the master of the dusk, I enter in there and I
come out. The arms of Tatunen receive me, the blessed lift me up.
Stretch your arms towards me, for I know your gates, (?) guide me.
Praise me, ye blessed ones, praise me, rejoice in me as in Rā, praise me
like Osiris, for I have placed before you your offerings and you take
possession of your victuals, according to the orders Rā gave me.
I am his favourite, I am his heir upon the earth. I have arrived.
Ye blessed ones grant that I may enter the Tuat, open me the entrance to
the good Amenta. I have presented the sceptre to _sahu_, and the
_nemmes_(3.) to him whose name is hidden.
Look at me, ye blessed ones, divine guides in the Tuat; grant that I may
receive thy glory, that I may shine like the god of mysteries; deliver
me from the gods of the pillory, who fasten to their posts; do not bind
me to your posts, do never send me to the place of destruction. I am the
heir of Osiris, I receive the _nemmes_ in the Tuat.
Look at me, I shine like one who proceeds from you, I become like him
who (praises) his father, and who extols him.
Look at me, rejoice in me, grant that I may be exalted, that I may
become like him who destroys his forms; open the way to my soul, set me
on your pedestals; grant that I may rest in the good Amenta, show me my
dwelling in the midst of you, open for me your ways, unfasten the bolts.
O Rā, who guides this earth, for thou art guiding the powers and
following the course of the gods; I am the guardian of his door who tows
the navigating gods.
I am the only one, the guardian of his door, he who puts the gods in
their abodes.
I am on my pedestal in the Tuat. I am the possessor among possessors; I
am at the far end of the Tuat.
I am the blessed one in the Acherta, and I make my resting place in the
Amenta, among the powers and among the gods.
I am the favourite of Rā; I am the mysterious Bennu who enters in peace
in the Tuat and goes out of Nut in peace.
I am the lord of the thrones(4.) above, traversing the horizon in the
train of Rā; the offerings for me are in the sky in the field of Rā, and
my portion on earth in the garden of Aarru; I journey in the Tuat like
Rā; I weigh the words like Thoth, I march as I will, I hasten in my
course like Sahu the mysterious one, and I am born as the two gods.
I am the chief of the bearers of offerings to the gods of the Tuat, who
gives offerings to the Glorified. I am the brave one who strikes his
enemies.
O ye gods, O ye Glorified who precede Rā, and who escort his soul, tow
me as you tow him, in the same way as you conduct Rā and tow those in
the sky. I am the lofty power in the Amenta.
NOTES.
The papyri give us four versions of this Chapter. Two of them are in
London 9900 _Aa_, but as they are both copied from the wrong side, they
are of little use. Each of them had its own title; one was, “the
worshipping of Rā in the good Amenta, the praising of the inhabitants of
the Tuat,” and the other, “chapter of towing (the gods)”; the two other
copies are, one in a papyrus in Paris and the other at Leyden.
This Chapter does not properly belong to the Book of the Dead. It is
part of a book engraved at the entrance of nearly all the tombs of the
kings, the so-called “Litany of the Sun.” This chapter is taken from the
end of the book. The various paragraphs are not always in the same order
as in the monumental text. There are abridgments and many omissions,
which in the translation have been filled up from the text in the tombs.
The papyrus of Leyden (_La_) has a vignette representing the deceased
worshipping two gods.
1. Words taken from the text in the tombs of the kings.
2. The texts in the tomb mention here the god ⁂⁂⁂ _Temt_, who
occurs there frequently, and who is quite unknown in the Book of the
Dead. This god is often spoken of as being in a ⁂⁂⁂, a kind of
oval case. The text here reads ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, which has
no meaning.
3. The head-dress ⁂ worn by the sphinxes.
4. The tombs read here ⁂⁂.
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PLATE LXI.
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
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CHAPTER CLXXXI.
_Chapter of arriving before the Divine circle of Osiris and before the
gods, the guides in the Tuat, before the guards of their halls,(1.)
the heralds of their gates and the doorkeepers of their pylons in the
Amenta, and of taking the form of a living soul and praising Osiris
the lord of his circle of gods._
Hail to thee, Chenta Amenta, Unneferu, lord of Tatsert; thou art shining
like Rā. He himself comes to see thee and he rejoices in seeing thy
beauties. His disk is thy disk, his rays are thy rays, his diadem is thy
diadem, his height is thy height, his splendour is thy splendour, his
beauties are thy beauties, his might is thy might, his odour is thy
odour. His width is thy width, his abode is thy abode, his throne is thy
throne, his descendence is thy descendence, his judgment is thy
judgment, his Ament is thy Ament; his wealth is thy wealth, his duration
is thy duration, his creations are thy creations; such as he is such art
thou,(2.) such as thou art such is he.
He shall not die, thou wilt not die; if he will not triumph over his
enemies, thou wilt not triumph over his enemies; no evil things will
happen to him, no evil things will happen to thee for ever and ever.
Hail, Osiris, son of Nut, lord of horns, wearing the high _atef_ crown,
to whom the _urer_ diadem and the _hik_ sceptre has been given in the
presence of the cycle of the gods. Tum has raised the fear of his might
in the hearts of mankind, of the gods, the Glorified and the dead; the
royal power has been given him in Heliopolis; he is the great forms in
Tattu, the lord of fear in his two abodes, the very brave one in Restau,
he whose memory is pleasant in the palace, the very brilliant in Abydos.
It has been given him to triumph before the whole cycle of the gods; he
is mighty more than the great powers; the fear of him is over the whole
earth.
The(3.) great ones stand on their shrines before him, the prince of the
gods of the Tuat, the great power of the sky, the lord of the living,
and the king of those who are therein. Thousands glorify him in Cherāba,
the future ones rejoice in him. He receives the choicest meat offerings
in the upper abodes; haunches are presented to him in Memphis, the
festival of the Eve’s provender is celebrated to him in Sechem, he is
the great, the mighty one.
Thy son Horus avenges thee, he destroys all that is wrong in thee; he
has fastened to thee thy flesh, he has set thy limbs and joined thy
bones; he has brought thee....(4.) Arise, Osiris, thy hands have been
given thee, stand up living for ever.
Seb made a mark(5.) on thy mouth; the great cycle of the gods protect
thee.... They come with thee towards the entrance of the hall of the
Tuat. Thy mother Nut stretches her hand behind thee, she protects thee,
she doubles her care for thee(4) ... of the children. The two sisters
Isis and Nephthys come to thee; they fill thee with life health and
strength, and all the joy which they possess.
... in thee, because of thee. They gather for thee all kind of good
things within thy arms. The gods, the lords of the _ka_, come near thee;
as they praise thee for ever.
Happy art thou, Osiris, thou shinest brilliantly, thou art powerful;
thou art glorified. Thy attributes have been fixed to thee; thou art
like Anubis. Rā rejoiceth in thee, he is bound to thy beauty.
Thou sittest on thy holy seat. Seb procures for thee what thou desirest
to receive, it is on thy hands in the Amenta.
Thou navigatest through the sky every day, thou leadest him (Rā) to his
mother Nut, where he sits living in the Amenta, in the boat of Rā, every
day. Thou art with Horus in order that the protection of Rā may be
behind thee; and the glorious power of Thoth may cling to thee and the
health of Isis be within thy limbs.
I have come to thee, lord of Ta-tsert, Osiris Chenta Amenta, Unneferu,
who lasts eternally and for ever; my heart is right; my hands are pure;
I have brought good things to my lord and offerings to him who made
them. I have come from afar to your abodes. I have done a good thing on
earth, I have struck for thee thy enemies like bulls, and I have
slaughtered them like victims, I have made them to fall down on their
faces before thee.
I am pure, thou art pure. I have purified thyself for thee, in thy
festival, I have dressed geese for thee on thy altar, for thy soul, for
thy Form and for the gods and goddesses who follow thee.
_Whoever knows this book, no evil thing can have mastery over him; he is
not driven away from the doors of the Tuat; when he goes in and out, he
receives bread and beer and all good things before the inhabitants of
the Tuat._
NOTES.
This Chapter is found in two papyri: one at Leyden, and one at Naples.
Its title begins like that of Chapter 124. The first paragraphs are