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The Egyptian Book of the Dead

By E. A. Wallis Budge

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Plate XXVII

life. O, I have made them to know the plans of the gods which Horus hath devised (55) at the bidding of his father Osiris. Hail, lord, thou most terrible

and mighty soul! Let me come, even me, (56) let me lift myself up! I have opened and passed through the underworld. I have opened the paths of the warders (57) of heaven and of the warders of the earth. I have not been driven back by them; and I have lifted up thy face, O lord of eternity."

Appendix: The following is the end of the LXXVIIIth chapter according to the Paris papyrus quoted by Naville (Todtenbuch, Bd. I., Bl. 89, ll. 43-48):--

"Thou art exalted upon thy throne, O Osiris. Thou hearest joyful things, O Osiris. Thy, strength is vigorous, O Osiris. Thy head is bound to thy body, O Osiris. Thy brow is made firm, O Osiris. Thy heart is joyful. O be thou pleased to establish gladness for thy servants. Thou art stablished as a bull of Amenta. Thy son Horus is crowned king upon thy throne; all life is with him. Unto thy son are given millions of years, and the fear of him shall endure for untold ages. The company of the gods shall fear him. Unto thy son is given . . . . . . . . . of the company of the gods; he changeth not his word. Horus is the food and the altar. I go to unite myself unto [my] father; and deliverance cometh from [my] father, from [my] brother, and from the friend of Horus. Horus is in the following of his father. He dwelleth amid decay. He ruleth Khem. To thy son have the gods given the crown of millions of years, and for millions of years it maketh him to live in the eye [of Horus], the single eye of the god [which is called] Nebt-er-tcher, the queen of the gods."

Vignette: The deceased kneeling, with both hands raised in adoration, before three gods.

Text [CHAPTER LXXIX.]: (I) THE CHAPTER OF BEING AMONG THE COMPANY OF THE GODS AND OF BEING CHANGED INTO THE (2) PRINCE OF THE GODLIKE RULERS. [The deceased] saith: "Homage to thee, O Tmu, (3) lord of heaven, thou creator of things which are and which come forth from the earth; who makest to come into being that which is sown, the lord of things which shall be, the begetter of the gods, the great god (4) who made himself, the lord of life who maketh mankind to flourish. Homage to you, O ye lords of creation, ye pure being whose abodes (5) are hidden. Homage to you, O ye lords of eternity, whose forms are hidden, and whose dwelling-places are unknown. (6) Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in the abode (?) of the flooded lands. Homage to you, O ye gods who live in the underworld. Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in heaven. (7) Grant ye that I may come [unto you], for I know you. I am pure, I am holy, I am mighty, I have a soul, (8) 1 have become powerful, I am glorious; I have brought unto you perfume and incense, and natron. Blot out from your hearts (9) whatsoever ye have in them against me. I have come, having done away all the evil which dwelleth in your hearts against me, I have made an end of all the sin which I committed (10) against you; I have brought unto you that which is good, I have made to come unto you that which is right and true. I, even I, know (11) you, I know your names, I know your forms which are not known, which come into being (12) with you. I have come unto you.

I have risen among men like unto the god, living among the (13) gods. I am strong before you like unto the god who is exalted upon his resting-place; when he cometh the gods rejoice, and goddesses and mortal women (14) are glad when they behold him. I have come unto you. I have risen (15) upon the throne of Ra, I sit upon my seat in the horizon. I receive offerings upon my altar, (16) 1 drink drink-offerings at eventide as one made noble by the lord of mortals. I am exalted (17) even as the holy god, the lord of the great House. The gods rejoice when they see him in his (18) beautiful manifestation on the body of Nut, who giveth birth unto him daily."

Vignette: The serpent Seta, with human legs.

Text [CHAPTER LXXXVI L]: (1) THE CHAPTER OF CHANGING INTO SETA. Osiris Ani, triumphant, saith: "I am the serpent Seta, whose years are many. I lie down and I am born day by day. I am (3) the serpent Seta, which dwelleth in the limits of the earth. I lie down, I am born, (4) I renew myself, I grow young day by day."

Vignette: A crocodile upon a pylon or doorway.

Text [CHAPTER LXXXVIII.]: (1) THE CHAPTER OF CHANGING INTO A CROCODILE. Saith Osiris Ani, triumphant: (2) "I am the crocodile which dwelleth in terror, I am the sacred crocodile and I cause destruction. (3) I am the great fish in Kamui. I am the lord to whom homage (4) is paid in Sekhem; and Osiris Ani is the lord to whom homage is paid in Sekhem."

Vignette: The god Ptah in a shrine, before which is a table of offerings.

Text [CHAPTER LXXXII.]: (1) THE CHAPTER OF CHANGING INTO PTAH. Saith Osiris Ani, triumphant: "I eat bread, (2) I drink ale, I put on apparel, (3) I fly like a hawk, I cackle like a goose, and I alight upon the path (4) hard by the hill of the dead on the festival of the great Being. That which is abominable, that which is abominable, have I not eaten; and that which (5) is foul have I not swallowed. That which my ka doth abominate hath not entered into my body. I have lived according to the (6) knowledge of the glorious gods. I live and I get strength from their bread, I get strength when I eat it beneath the (7) shade of the tree of Hathor, my lady. I make an offering, and I make bread in Tattu, and oblations in (8) Annu. I array myself in the robe of the goddess Matait, and I rise up and I sit me down wheresoever my heart desireth (9). My head is like unto the head of Ra; when my limbs are gathered

together, I am like unto Tmu. The four regions of Ra are the limits of the earth. I come forth; my tongue (10) is like unto the tongue of Ptah, my throat is even as that of Hathor, and I tell forth the words of my father Tmu with my lips. He it is who constrained (11) the handmaid, the wife of Seb; and unto him are bowed [all] heads, and there is fear of him. Hymns of praise are sung in honour of my mighty deeds (12), and I am accounted the heir of Seb, the lord of the earth, the protector. The god Seb giveth cool water, he maketh his dawnings to be mine. They who dwell in (13) Annu bow down their heads before me, for I am their bull. I grow strong from moment to moment; my loins are made strong for millions of years."

Vignette: A Ram.

Text [CHAPTER LXXXV.]: (1) THE CHAPTER OF CHANGING INTO THE SOUL OF Tmu. Saith Osiris Ani, triumphant: (2) "I have not entered into the house of destruction; I have not been brought to naught, I have not known decay. I am (3) Ra who come forth from Nu, the divine Soul, the creator of his own limbs. Sin is an abomination unto me, (4) and I look not thereon; I cry not out against right and truth, but I have my being (5) therein. I am the god Hu, and I never die (6) in my name of 'Soul.' I have brought myself into being together with Nu in my name of (7) 'Khepera.' In their forms have I come into being in the likeness of Ra. I am the lord of light."

Appendix: In other ancient papyri the LXXXVth Chapter of the Book of the Dead ends as follows (Naville, Todtenbuch, Bd. I., Bl. 97):--

"What I hate shall be buried (5). Let me not enter into the secret place of the god Tuaa. I ascribe glory unto Osiris, and I pacify the heart of those who dwell in the god of creation, who love me, who spread (6) abroad fear of me, and who strike terror of me into those who dwell in their own places. Behold me, for I am exalted upon my resting-place, Nu, (7) upon the place which is adjudged unto me. I am Nu, and those who work evil shall not overthrow me. I am the eldest and the first-born son of matter; my (8) soul is the gods, who are the eternal souls. I am the creator of darkness who maketh his dwelling-place in the limits of the regions of heaven. I come, and my soul advanceth (9) over the way of the Ancient Ones. I cause darkness in the limits of the sky, and at my will I come unto the boundaries thereof I walk upon my feet, I am strong (10) to pass over the sky, and I fetter with bonds the darkness and the worm that hideth therein. I make my steps to advance unto the lord of the two hands (?) My soul (11) and the soul of my body are the uræi, and I live for

ever, the lord of years, and the prince of eternity. I am exalted as lord of the earth, I am exalted (?). I grow young in (12) the cities, I grow youthful in my homestead, my name is 'My name decayeth not.' I am the Soul, the creator of Nu, who maketh his dwelling-place in (13) Neter-khert. My nest is not seen, my egg is not broken. I am the lord of millions of years. I make my nest in the limits of heaven. I descend unto the earth of Seb (14). I do away with my faults. I behold my father, the lord of Mash; and his body breatheth in Annu. I am provided with what I need 05) by Khnemu and Khui in the place of burial in Amenta . . . . . . . .

Vignette: A bennu bird

Text [CHAPTER LXXXIII.]: (1) THE CHAPTER OF CHANGING INTO A bennu.

Saith Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant in peace: "I came into being from unformed matter, (2) I created myself in the image of the god Khepera, and I grew in the form of plants. I am hidden in the likeness of the Tortoise. I am formed out of the atoms of all the gods. (3) I am the yesterday of the four [quarters of the world], and I am the seven uræi which came into existence in the East, the mighty one who illumineth the nations (4) by his body. He is god in the likeness of Set; and Thoth dwelleth in the midst of them by (5) judgment of the dweller in Sekhem and of the spirits of Annu. I sail (6) among them, and I come; I am crowned, I am become a shining one, (7) I am mighty, I am become holy among the gods. I am the god Khonsu who driveth back all that opposeth him."

Appendix: The following rubric to this chapter is found in a papyrus at Paris; see Naville, Todtenbuch, Bd. II., Bl. 185:--

If this chapter be known, the purified one shall come forth by day after his burial, and he shall change his forms at his heart's desire. He shall dwell among the servants of Un-nefer, and he shall be satisfied with the food of Osiris, and with the meals of the tomb. He shall behold the disk of the Sun, and shall travel over the earth with Ra. He shall be triumphant before Osiris, and there shall no evil thing get dominion over him for ever and for all eternity and for ever.