Egyptian Literature Part 2

IF THIS CHAPTER BE RECITED REGULARLY AND ALWAYS BY A MAN WHO HATH PURIFIED HIMSELF IN WATER OF NATRON, HE SHALL COME FORTH BY DAY AFTER HE HATH COME INTO PORT (I.E., IS DEAD), AND HE SHALL PERFORM ALL THE TRANSFORMATIONS WHICH HIS HEART SHALL DICTATE, AND HE SHALL COME FORTH FROM EVERY FIRE.

The Chapter Of Giving A Mouth To The Overseer

THE CHAPTER OF GIVING A MOUTH TO THE OVERSEER OF THE HOUSE, NU, TRIUMPHANT, IN THE UNDERWORLD. He saith:

"Homage to thee, O thou lord of brightness, thou who art at the head of the Great House, prince of the night and of thick darkness. I have come unto thee being a pure _khu_. Thy two hands are behind thee, and thou hast thy lot with [thy] ancestors. Oh, grant thou unto me my mouth that I may speak therewith; and guide thou to me my heart at the season when there is cloud and darkness."

The Chapter Of Giving A Mouth To Osiris Ani

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 6).]

THE CHAPTER OF GIVING A MOUTH TO OSIRIS ANI, THE SCRIBE AND TELLER OF THE HOLY OFFERINGS OF ALL THE G.o.dS, TRIUMPHANT, IN THE UNDERWORLD. He saith:

"I rise out of the egg in the hidden land. May my mouth be given unto me that I may speak therewith in the presence of the great G.o.d, the lord of the Tuat (underworld). May my hand and my arm not be forced back in the presence of the sovereign princes of any G.o.d. I am Osiris, the lord of Re-stau; may I, Osiris the scribe Ani, triumphant, have a portion with him who is on the top of the steps (_i.e._, Osiris). According to the desire of my heart, I have come from the Pool of Fire, and I have quenched the fire."

Opening The Mouth Of Osiris

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 15).]

THE CHAPTER OF OPENING THE MOUTH OF OSIRIS. The scribe Ani, triumphant, saith:

"May the good Ptah open my mouth, and may the G.o.d of my city loose the swathings, even the swathings which are over my mouth. Moreover, may Thoth, being filled and furnished with charms, come and loose the bandages, even the bandages of Set which fetter my mouth; and may the G.o.d Tem hurl them at those who would fetter [me] with them, and drive them back. May my mouth be opened, may my mouth be unclosed by Shu with his iron knife wherewith he opened the mouths of the G.o.ds. I am the G.o.ddess Sekhet, and I sit upon [my] place in the great wind(?) of heaven. I am the great G.o.ddess Sah who dwelleth among the Souls of Annu (Heliopolis). Now as concerning every charm and all the words which may be spoken against me, may the G.o.ds resist them, and may each and every one of the company of the G.o.ds withstand them."

The Chapter Of Bringing Charms To Osiris

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 15).]

THE CHAPTER OF BRINGING CHARMS UNTO OSIRIS ANI [IN THE UNDERWORLD]. He saith:

"I am Tem-Khepera, who brought himself into being upon the thigh of his divine mother. Those who are in Nu (_i.e._, the sky) are made wolves, and those who are among the sovereign princes are become hyenas. Behold, I gather together the charm [from every place where] it is, and from every man with whom it is, swifter than greyhounds and quicker than light. Hail, thou who towest along the _Makhent_ boat of Ra, the stays of thy sails and of thy rudder are taut in the wind as thou sailest up the Pool of Fire in the underworld. Behold, thou gatherest together the charm from every place where it is, and from every man with whom it is, swifter than greyhounds and quicker than light, [the charm] which created the forms of being from the ... mother, and which either createth the G.o.ds or maketh them silent, and which giveth the heat of fire unto the G.o.ds. Behold, the charm is given unto me, from wherever it is [and from him with whom it is], swifter than greyhounds and quicker than light," or (as others say) "quicker than a shadow."

The Chapter Of Memory

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No, 10,477, sheet 5).]

THE CHAPTER OF MAKING A MAN TO POSSESS MEMORY IN THE UNDERWORLD. The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, the overseer of the palace, the son of the chief chancellor Amen-hetep, saith:

"May my name be given to me in the Great House, and may I remember my name in the House of Fire on the night of counting the years and of telling the number of the months. I am with the Divine One, and I sit on the eastern side of heaven. If any G.o.d whatsoever should advance unto me, let me be able to proclaim his name forthwith."

The Chapter Of Giving A Heart To Osiris

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 15).]

THE CHAPTER OF GIVING A HEART TO OSIRIS ANI IN THE UNDERWORLD. He saith:

"May my heart (_ab_)(20) be with me in the House of Hearts! May my heart (_hat_) be with me in the House of Hearts! May my heart be with me, and may it rest there, [or] I shall not eat of the cakes of Osiris on the eastern side of the Lake of Flowers, neither shall I have a boat wherein to go down the Nile, nor another wherein to go up, nor shall I be able to sail down the Nile with thee. May my mouth [be given] to me that I may speak therewith, and my two legs to walk therewith, and my two hands and arms to overthrow my foe. May the doors of heaven be opened unto me; may Seb, the Prince(21) of the G.o.ds, open wide his two jaws unto me; may he open my two eyes which are blindfolded; may he cause me to stretch apart my two legs which are bound together; and may Anpu (Anubis) make my thighs firm so that I may stand upon them. May the G.o.ddess Sekhet make me to rise so that I may ascend unto heaven, and may that be done which I command in the House of the _foreign_ (double) of Ptah (_i.e._, Memphis). I understand with my heart. I have gained the mastery over my heart, I have gained the mastery over my two hands, I have gained the mastery over my legs, I have gained the power to do whatsoever my _ka_ (double) pleaseth.

My soul shall not be fettered to my body at the gates of the underworld; but I shall enter in peace and I shall come forth in peace."

The Chapter Of Preserving The Heart

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheets 15 and 16).]

THE CHAPTER OF NOT LETTING THE HEART (HATI) OF A MAN BE TAKEN FROM HIM IN THE UNDERWORLD.(22) Saith Osiris Ani:

"Hail, ye who carry away hearts! [Hail,] ye who steal [hearts, and who make the heart of a man to go through its transformations according to his deeds, let not what he hath done harm him before you].(23) Homage to you, O ye lords of eternity, ye possessors of everlastingness, take ye not this heart of Osiris Ani into your grasp, this heart of Osiris, and cause ye not words of evil to spring up against it; because this is the heart of Osiris Ani, triumphant, and it belongeth unto him of many names (_i.e._, Thoth), the mighty one whose words are his limbs, and who sendeth forth his heart to dwell in his body. The heart of Osiris Ani is triumphant, it is made new before the G.o.ds, he hath gained power over it, he hath not been spoken to [according to] what he hath done. He hath gotten power over his own members. His heart obeyeth him, he is the lord thereof, it is in his body, and it shall never fall away therefrom. I, Osiris, the scribe Ani, victorious in peace, and triumphant in the beautiful Amenta and on the mountain of eternity, bid thee to be obedient unto me in the underworld."

The Chapter Of Preserving The Heart

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 5).]

THE CHAPTER OF NOT LETTING THE HEART OF THE OVERSEER OF THE PALACE, THE CHANCELLOR-IN-CHIEF, NU, TRIUMPHANT, BE CARRIED AWAY FROM HIM IN THE UNDERWORLD. He saith:

"Hail, thou Lion-G.o.d! I am the Flower Bush (_Unb_). That which is an abomination unto me is the divine block. Let not this my heart (_hati_) be carried away from me by the fighting G.o.ds in Annu. Hail, thou who dost wind bandages round Osiris and who hast seen Set! Hail, thou who returnest after smiting and destroying him before the mighty ones! This my heart (_ab_) [sitteth] and weepeth for itself before Osiris; it hath made supplication for me. I have given unto him and I have decreed unto him the thoughts of the heart in the House of the G.o.d Usekh-hra,(24) and I have brought to him sand (_sic_) at the entry to Khemennu (Hermopolis Magna).

Let not this my heart (_hati_) be carried away from me! I make thee to dwell(?) upon this throne, O thou who joinest together hearts (_hatu_) [in Sekhet-hetep (with) years] of strength against all things that are an abomination unto thee, and to carry off food from among the things which belong unto thee, and are in thy grasp by reason of thy twofold strength.

And this my heart (_hati_) is devoted to the decrees of the G.o.d Tem who leadeth me into the dens of Suti, but let not this my heart which hath done its desire before the sovereign princes who are in the underworld be given unto him. When they find the leg and the swathings they bury them."