CHAPTER LXV.

Notes.

This is one of the most important as it is one of the most ancient chapters. The text of it was already doubtful at the time of the XIth dynasty. It had been handed down in two recensions, both of which were inscribed on the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep, the discovery of one of these being attributed to the time of King Septa of the 1st dynasty, and that of the second to the time of Menkaurâ, the king of the third pyramid. These two recensions are also found in the papyrus of Nebseni. The MSS. present innumerable various readings, few of which are of the slightest value. These have been collected, as far as they could be discovered, in the French and some other Museums in 1876, in a very admirable work upon the chapter, by M. Paul Guieysse,[76]who has translated and commented upon it and and all the variations of it known to him at the time. Since then the papyrus of Nebseni has been published, and M. Naville has given all the variants found in the few existing papyri of the best period. I have notes of the readings of the papyri in the British Museum, and also those of a cast (now in the British Museum) taken from a block in serpentine, belonging to the Museum of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

With such light as could be derived from these extremely divergent authorities I have done my best (taking as the basis of my translation the texts in the papyrus of Nebseni and the rubric in which the discovery is ascribed to the time of king Septa) towards exhibiting the chapter in as intelligible a form as seems to me possible. Some passages as yet defy translation in consequence of the corruption of the text.

Some years before his untimely death M. de Rougé read his translation of this chapter before the Académie des Sciences. It is much to be lamented that this has never been published. I have, in addition to the versions of other scholars, a copy of one byMr. Goodwin, with whom I read this and other chapters nearly thirty years ago. But this kind of literature is not one of those in which his marvellous sagacity showed to advantage.

In reading this and almost every other chapter of theBook of the Dead, it is absolutely necessary to bear in mind that different divine names do not necessarily imply different personalities. A name expresses butoneattribute of a person or thing, and one person having several attributes may have several names. It is not implied in this chapter that the Sun is the Nile or the Inundation, but that the same invisible force which is manifested in the solar phenomena is that which produces the inundation; He is the Inundator. But he has many other names and titles. In this chapter, as in others before it, the speaker at one time talks in terms identifying him with some divinity, and at another as a simple mortal petitioning some favour.

1.⁂⁂,⁂⁂⁂⁂or, at a later period⁂⁂, signifiesone whose force is concealed or unseen. It is a theological term, frequent at all periods of the Egyptian religion, and implies that the deity is not to be confounded with its external manifestation. The Sun that we seehidesas truly as it reveals the Sun-god; who, as this chapter shows, has other manifestations.

2.Those in the Tuat⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂called in the Pyramid Texts⁂⁂⁂⁂, Pepi I, 185. The more recent texts read⁂⁂⁂⁂“the gods of the West.”

3.Cf.Pepi I, 174.

4.Two divine Hawks upon your gables.They are mentioned in the Pyramid Texts[77]as⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Teta, 183. They represent the two divisions, North and South, of the kingdom of Horus.Cf.Rochemonteix,Edfu, p. 55 and many other such passages as that found there.

5.The Shrine which standeth in the centre of the Earth.This Shrine is also mentioned in the ‘Book of Hades.’Cf.Bonomi, Sarc. 4c.

6.He is I, and I am He.Cf.the Pyramid Text—“Oh Râ.... Teta is thou, and thou art Teta...., thou risest as Teta, and Teta riseth in thee, etc.,” Teta, 337.

7.Ptah floateth over his firmament.The meaning of the verb is shown in early texts by the determinative, as in the parallel passage of the 17th chapter.

8.Oh gracious Power,⁂⁂⁂. The adjective is also written⁂⁂⁂. The usual determinative⁂has its origin in the hieratic form of⁂, see Prisse Papyrus.

9.Kam-urȧ⁂⁂⁂⁂,“The“Thegreat Extender,” a name applied to Osiris, as the Nile. “Thy two sisters, Isis and Nephthys, come to thee, and they convey to theeKamit urit[the great Extent] in thy name ofKam-urȧ[the great Extender].” Teta, 274.

10.I bring to its fulness, etc.The yearly inundation is the mature result of the innate force belonging to the god; the ἐνέργημα of his ἐνεργεία. This translation remains the same whether the reading be⁂or⁂.

11.Shoreless,⁂⁂⁂,⁂or⁂, implies an enclosed space, a basin or channel with fixed limits. The inundation has no determinate banks. Its course is from south to north, hence the reference to the deities of the South.

12.ShoulderandHaunch. The usual sacrificial joints. This passage was at an early date added to the paragraph which opens the chapter.

13.The two goddesses of the West,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. It is said of Râ at Edfu⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. “He setteth in the West.” The deities in question are Isis and Nephthys, who are also the deities of the East or Sunrise under the name of⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂; Unas, 461.

In the passage of the Pyramid Texts just referred to it is stated that these “divinities inUnunaitopen their arms to the god as he stands up erect on the eastern side of the firmament.”

Ununaitis the place ofrising,springing up.

14.The Tenait in Abydos.This feast has already been mentionedin Chapter I. It was one of those commemorative and representative of the death of Osiris, of his mutilation, mummification and burial. Prescriptions for carrying it out are found in the great text at Denderah, published by Dümichen and Mariette, and translated by Brugsch, and Loret, and (in part) by Dümichen.

Tenaitis also the name of certain days of the month, and (Teta, 229) of the fifth hour of the day.

15.The bolts made fast on the gateways.The Pyramid Texts on behalf of the deceased invoke the⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘the bolt which closes the gateway of Heaven,’ with a prayer that it may open to him (Teta, 235, compare line 200).

16.He who lulleth me,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The word is here in the dual, as corresponding to the double lion.Cf.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Teta 261. The important variant⁂⁂⁂is found at Edfu (Rochemonteix, p. 78).

17.I sever the horns.Cf.Psalm lxxv, 11.

18.Thelands. The Egyptian word varies in the texts. The most authorized reading⁂⁂is used in different senses: one of which (and perhaps the original one) isput,put on;ponere,locare,induere,figere,addere. Here it would seem from the context to mean locality, post, spot of earth. And I am inclined to identify⁂⁂in this place with the well-known⁂, or⁂⁂⁂, as an equivalent if not as a phonetic variant.

19.Blessed are they who see⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂written⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂in the Pyramid Texts (Unas, 584, Teta, 42, Pepi I, 181 and 199), where it is in parallelism with⁂⁂⁂⁂.

20.The Bourne,⁂⁂⁂. On the goddess⁂⁂⁂⁂,Menait,cf.Teta 288, Pepi I, 70, 154, 163.

21.The Sycomoreof Dawn repeatedly mentioned in the Book of the Dead. The Pyramid Texts also (Pepi I, 174) speak of the tallSycomore of Sut in the Eastern Sky on which the gods congregate and sit, in expectation of the arrival of the Glorified one.

22.To hold the Eye,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Later texts, like the Turin copy, have⁂⁂⁂⁂. The two verbs here (like⁂⁂⁂⁂which is also found as a variant) are synonymous in the sense ofembracing,holding,[78]enclosing,fastening,staying,propping.

According to the ancient myth Sut deprived Horus of his Eye, which was recovered by Thoth, and by him restored to its owner. The following passage from an inscription at Edfu (Rochemonteix, p. 25) is in strict accordance with the oldest mythological texts.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂“Asten, who restored the Eye of Horus to its Lord, who preserved the Eye (ut’ at) from suffering harm, who made fast the Eye (nutrit) in its place, and who pacified Horus with his Eye.” The different synonyms designating the Eye are important as showing that the word⁂⁂⁂⁂is here used in the sense of thedailylight of the sun.

The other part of the same text as Edfu gives additional variants.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂and⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. Here the Eye is called⁂⁂,⁂⁂, and⁂⁂. But in other places theUt’ atstands for a less frequent moment of the solar progress. In the Pyramid Texts for instance⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂“holder of theSouthernEye of Horus” might perhaps designate the Summer Solstice. And a later text connects the Eye with the opening of the year.

The priestly title⁂⁂⁂, ‘holder of the Eye,’ is like all such titles, that of the divinity whom the priest personates. The godhimself is hieroglyphically represented by the sign⁂⁂of an ape holding the Eye.

23.The tunnels,⁂⁂⁂,⁂⁂⁂, Teta, 291;⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Horhotep, 213. See my noteProc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., 1873, p. 385. The Coptic ⲁⲕⲟⲣⲓ, which is generally supposed to be a serpent, is more probably anearth-worm, like⁂⁂.

The Pyramid Texts have another word which I understand of the tunnels through which the Sun, Moon, and Stars pass from West to East,⁂⁂⁂, as opposed to⁂⁂⁂, the paths of the upper world. Anubis is called⁂⁂⁂⁂(Pepi I, 80), and these passages are⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂(ib., 73), “between the two divine forms” (a lion at each end).Cf.Teta, 319, where it is said of the Stars⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, that at their triumphant course through the tunnels the bones of the Akeru gods quake.

24.The god of the Hennu Bark,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, he who resides in the⁂⁂⁂⁂ship referred to in chapter I. The god of this ship is commonly named Sekaru in the texts, but Hennu is also one of the names of Horus. On the connection between the two names see Teta, line 270.

25.King Septa⁂of the 1st dynasty, who has been identified with the Usaphais of Manetho.

The other account of the discovery of the chapter is thus described in the rubric of the second recension.

This chapter was discovered at Hermopolis upon a slab of alabaster, inscribed in blue, under the feet of this god[Osiris],at the time of King Menkarā, the victorious, by the royal prince Hortâtâf, when he was journeying for the purpose of inspecting the temples...[79]and hecarried off the slab in the royal chariot, when he saw what was on it.

The rubric farther prescribes that a scarab of hard stone encircled and purified with gold[80]should be placed upon the place of the heart of the deceased, and that the ‘words of power’ contained in the 30th chapter, “Heart mine of my mother,” etc., should be repeated. The gold leaf or plate has been found on some scarabs, but has disappeared from nearly all.

The ‘Ritual of Parma,’ which speaks of two metals,⁂⁂⁂smu, and silver (the latter for the rim), directs that the scarab should be put at the throat of the deceased. According to this authority it was the 30th chapter, not the 64th, which was discovered by Prince Hortâtâf in his inspectorial tour.

73. The text is too corrupt here for any plausible translation.

74.Notis omitted in many copies.

75. The copies of this paragraph are as discordant as they are unintelligible. It is idle to guess at the meaning until a better text can be discovered.

76.Etudes Egyptologiques; sixième livraison.

77. Here as in the name of⁂Tmu, thelongsign is written first though read last.

78.Cf.the expressions⁂⁂⁂⁂as, Teta, 258, 262, and⁂⁂⁂⁂.⁂⁂⁂⁂is not a meregate, but ahold, orkeep.

79. There is no certainty about the text of the next few words.

80. I understand by this that the gold is intended to krep the scarab free from defilement.

CHAPTER LXV.

Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day and prevaileth over the adversaries.

Oh thou who shinest forth from the Moon, thou who givest light from the Moon, let me come forth at large amid thy train, let me be revealed as one of those in glory. Let the Tuat be opened for me. Here am I: let me come forth upon this day, and be glorified. Let the glorified ones grant to me that I live and that mine adversaries be brought to me in bonds before the divine Circle; may the Genius of my mother be propitiated thereby, as I rise up upon my feet with a sceptre of gold in my hand, and lop off the limbs. May I rise up, a Babe [from between] the knees of Sothis, when they closetogethertogether.(1)

Notes.

The first part of this chapter is nearly identical with Chapter 2. No copy of it is found in the papyri of the older period. In place of it M. Naville has published a chapter bearing the same title, and which is found in five ancient papyri. These texts however are extremely discordant and corrupt, and in the more difficult, and to us more interesting, passages must have been quite unintelligible tothe copyists. The second word, for instance, of line 8 isriinCa, the corresponding word is ..ḥtuinTa,ṭāiinPb,rāuinIaandḥtiinAa. A discrepancy not less violent is encountered after the next three words. The oldest extant form of the chapter is that ofAa, the papyrus of Nebseni; it is also the shortest, and the other forms appear to me to exhibit signs of interpolation. But M. Naville was quite right in taking the text ofCaas his basis for the collation of the texts.

1.This whole passage, as it stands, in the MSS. is extremely obscure, and I can only make sense of it by conjecturing that a preposition has been omitted by the copyists.

The knees of a goddess are frequently mentioned in connection with the birth of a divinity. Here the Babe is mentioned (cf.opening of Chapter 42), and the closing of the knees. The wordānḫ, ‘live,’ has for its primitive meaning ‘rise up,’ and it is in this sense that I translate it here.

CHAPTER LXVI.

Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day.

I know that I have been conceived by Sechit and that I am born of Neith.

I am Horus, who proceedeth from the Eye of Horus; I am Uat’it, and I come forth like the Hawk which soareth aloft and resteth upon the brow of Rā at the prow of his Bark in Heaven.

CHAPTER LXVII.

Chapter whereby the doors of the Tuat are opened and one cometh forth by day.

Let the doors be opened of the caverns of Nu, and let the feet be loosened of those who are in glory.

Let the caverns of Shu be opened, that he may come forth at large, and that I may issue from my funereal pit to my seat which is at the prow of the Bark of Rā; let me issue without disaster to my seat which is at the prow of the Bark of Rā, the all-radiant one, as he riseth up from his lair.

CHAPTER LXVIII.

Chapter whereby one cometh forth by day.

Let the two doors of Heaven be opened to me: let the two doors of Earth be opened to me: let the bolts of Seb open to me, and let the First Mansion be opened to me, that he may behold me who hath kept guard over me: and let him unloose me who hath wound his arms around me and hath fastened his arms upon me into the earth.

Let the Re-hunit(1) be opened to me, let me pass into the Re-hunit; let the Re-hunit be given to me, that I may come forth by day whithersoever my heart desireth.

Let me have possession of my heart, let me have possession of my Whole heart; let me have possession of my mouth, let me have possession of my legs, let me have possession of my arms, let me have possession of my limbs absolutely; let me have possession of my funereal meals, let me have possession of air, let me have possession of water, let me have possession of the stream, let me have possession of the river, let me have possession of the banks.

Let me have possession of all things soever which were ritually offered for me in the Netherworld. Let me have possession of the table which was made for me upon earth—the solicitations(2) which were uttered for me “that he may feed upon the bread of Seb.”

That which I execrate, I eat it not. Let me feed upon the bread of the red corn of the Nile in a pure place, let me sip beer of the red corn of the Nile in a pure place; let me sit under the branches of the palm trees [in Heliopolis] in the train of Hathor, when the solar orb broadeneth(3), as she proceedeth to Heliopolis with the writings of the divine words of the Book of Thoth.

Let me have possession of my heart, let me have possession of my Whole heart; let me have possession of my arms, let me have possession of my legs, let me have possession of my funereal meals, let me have possession of air, let me have possession of water, let me have possession of the stream, let me have possession of the river, let me have possession of the barks.

Let me have possession of all things soever which were ritually offered for me in the Netherworld. Let me have possession of the table which was made for me upon earth.

Let me be raised up on the left and on the right; let me be raised up on the right and on the left.

Let me sit down and let me stand up, and strain for the breeze [with] my tongue and mouth like a skilled pilot.(4)

If this scripture is known, he will come forth by day and he will travel over the earth in the midst of the living, uninjured for ever.

Notes.

Copies of this chapter are found on the coffins of Mentuhotep and Sebak-āa at Berlin, and have been published by Lepsius in hisAelteste Texte, pl. 8, 21, 22, and 34. They are unfortunately in very mutilated condition, and my translation follows the text of the Theban papyri.

1.TheRe-ḥunitin this place is clearly not an Egyptian locality, but a passage between the Netherworld and heaven or earth.

2.Solicitations,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ambire,ambitio, and in a bad senseambages.

3.This passage explains what is meant in Chapter 28 by thegod of the Broad Face. One of the papyri (Ia) adds the well known epithet of the setting sun⁂⁂‘old.’

It is Hathor who proceeds to Heliopolis, as the feminine suffix which is used in the oldest texts, proves.

4.M. Lefébure (Papyrus de Soutimès, p. 3, note 8) understands the passage as meaning “I seekthe direction ofthe windin order to avoid it.” But I am inclined to recognize a superstition still current among sailors, the “whistling for a breeze.”

The oldest copies and the more recent ones have different readings, and though the wordsuḫa ḫemuoccur repeatedly in the Pyramid Texts, the second word is not written⁂⁂⁂⁂, as in the Theban papyri, but⁂⁂⁂⁂.

CHAPTER LXIX.

Otherwise said:

I am a Flaming One, and brother to a Flaming One.

I am Osiris, brother to Isis. He who avengeth me is my son Horus, in company with his mother, upon mine adversaries; adversaries who have done to me all wicked and evil things.

Chains have been put upon their arms and hands and feet in consequence of the evil things which they have done to me.

I am Osiris, the eldest of the great cycle of the gods(1) and heir of his father Seb.

I am Osiris, the Lord of the heads of life; powerful before and behind; his phallus extendeth to the limits of the human race.[81]

I am Sahu, who assigneth the bounds as he saileth round the starry throng of Heaven, the body of my mother Nut, who conceived me at her will and brought me forth at her desire.

I am Anubis on the day of the Rending asunder.

I am the Bull in the Field; I, even I, Osiris, who shut up his father and his mother on the day when the great slaughter took place. My father is Seb and my mother is Nut.

I am Horus, the eldest of Rā as he riseth.

I am Anubis on the day of Rending asunder: I am Osiris.

O great One, who enterest and speakest to him who presenteth the tablets and guardeth the door of Osiris,(2) grant that I may come in and be glorified, let me be appraised, and let me be made vigorous, that I may come and avenge myself.

Let me sit at the cradle(3) of Osiris, and put an end to my suffering and pain; let me be made strong and vigorous at the cradle of Osiris, so that I may be born with him and renewed.Said twice.

Let me seize that Thigh(4) which is under the place of Osiris, with which I may open the mouth of the gods and sit by him, like Thoth the Scribe, sound of heart,(5) with thousands of loaves, beer, beef, and fowl upon the table of my father, and the flesh of oxen and birds of various kinds,(6) which I offer to Horus, which I present to Thoth, and which I sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven.

Back to Index Next