CHAPTER XXIV.

Notes.

1.Osiris. On the sense of⁂⁂⁂, literally ‘the god of the domain,’ see the articles of M. Naville and Professor Piehl,Zeitschr., 1880, 146; 1881, 24 and 64. I hold with Dr. Piehl that the domain meant in this formula is Abydos, and that the god is Osiris.

2.The word here translated ‘steel’ is⁂⁂⁂, upon which see M. Devéria’s dissertation,“Le Fer et l’Aimant”in theMélanges d’Archéologie Egyptienne et Assyrienne, tome I, p. 2.

A description of the Ceremonies of the Opening of the Mouth as performed at the tomb will be found in the Introduction to this translation.

3.The name of this goddess is phonetically written⁂⁂Sḫtin the Pyramid texts of Unas (l. 390), where the Murray Papyrus and other texts have the ordinary⁂⁂. The reading Sechemet is indefensible. Cf.Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., XII, p. 365.

35.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.

36. Tmu, Shu and Tefnut.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Chapter whereby the Words of Power are brought to a Person in the Netherworld.

I am Chepera, the self-produced, on his Mother’s thigh.(1)

The speed of bloodhounds is given to those who are in Heaven,[37]and the mettle of hyaenas(2) to those who belong to the Divine Circle.

Lo, I bring this my Word of Power, and I collect this Word of Power from every quarter in which it is, more persistently(3) than hounds of chase and more swiftly than the Light.

O thou who guidest the Bark of Rā, sound is thy rigging and free from disaster as thou passest on to the Tank of Flame.

Lo, I collect[38]this my Word of Power from every quarter in which it is, in behalf of every person whom it concerneth, morepersistently than hounds of chase and more swiftly than Light; the same(4) who create the gods out of Silence, or reduce them to inactivity; the same who impart warmth to the gods.

Lo, I collect this my Word of Power from every quarter in which it is, in behalf of every person whom it concerneth, more persistently than hounds of chase and more swiftly than the Light.

Notes.

This is another of those chapters of which the antiquity is proved by the coffins of Horhotep and Queen Mentuhotep. And even in the early times to which these coffins belong it must have been extremely difficult to understand. In the translation here given I have adhered as closely as possible to the oldest texts, but these, as the variants show, are not entirely trustworthy.

1.Thigh.This is the usual translation, which accords with the frequent pictures of the goddess Nut, as the Sky, with the divine Scarab in the position described.[39]But⁂⁂⁂signifies that whichruns, from⁂⁂⁂uār, run,fugere; and the noun (the runner) is often applied torunning water. It is the geographical name of a river or canal. M. Naville has already pointed out that in the Book of the Dead it has for variants⁂⁂⁂and⁂⁂⁂, of whichbathis a fair translation.

2.The names of these two animals (especially of the second) vary greatly in the texts. But if we wish rightly to understand the sense of the chapter, we must bear in mind that it is not the animals themselves that are meant, but the characteristics implied by the names of the animals. And as the Sanskritvṛkas, the Greek λύκος, the old Slavonicvluku, the Gothicvulfs, and our ownwolf, signify therobber, so does the Egyptian⁂⁂⁂⁂, whether signifyingwolf,wolfhound, orbloodhound, indicatespeed.

The names of the second animal in the earlier texts, whether they stand for hyænas⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, or for other animals of the chase(⁂⁂⁂⁂), imply eitherspeedorferocity. And what mustwe understand under the latter term? We must look to the context. It is of a god speaking of himself and of his attributes. He is proud of them, and certainly does not wish them to be taken in a bad sense. Nor is it necessary that we should do so. We have only to remember what we learnt at school.

Cicero (de Sen., 10, 33) contrasts the‘ferocitas juvenum,’the highpluckof the young, with the‘infirmitas puerorum,’and the‘gravitas’and‘maturitas’of later periods of life.

Livy uses the termferox, in the same sense as Cicero.

What we have to understand of the Egyptian expression is, ‘mettlesome, of high, unbridled spirit.’

In the later texts theBennubird has been substituted for the beasts of the chase.

3.The later texts read⁂⁂, but all the earlier ones give another word⁂⁂or⁂⁂. This is often used in a bad sense, when spoken of the enemy; but it merely implies tenacity, pertinacity, obstinacy, which are, of course, very bad things in opposition, but in themselves virtues of a high order.[40]

The word is used as a name for the divine Cynocephali⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂who appear at sunrise over theTank of Flame.

4.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,the same who bringeth into being the gods out of Silence, or reduceth them to inactivity.

In addition to this interesting utterance of Egyptian theology, we have to note the idea ofSilence⁂⁂⁂as the origin of the gods, or powers of nature. The notion was also current in the Greek world. The writer of thePhilosophumena(VI, 22) speaks of ἡ ὑμνουμένη ἐκείνη παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι Ζιγή. It was from this source that the early Gnostic Valentinus borrowed this item of his system. St. Irenaeus (Haeres, II, 14) charges him with having taken it from the theogony of the comic poet Antiphanes.

37.⁂⁂Nu.

38.⁂.

39. See also inPlate XIthe Vignette from chapter 17 in the Turin and all the later papyri.

40. Columella speaks of the“contumacia pervicax boum.”

CHAPTER XXV.

Chapter whereby a person remembereth his name in the Netherworld.

Let my name be given to me in the Great House. Let me remember my name in the House of Flame(1) on the Night wherein the Years are counted and the Months are reckoned, one by one.

I am He who dwelleth in Heaven, and who sitteth on the Eastern side of Heaven: and if there be any god who cometh not in my train, I utter his name at once.

Notes.

1.Every Egyptian Temple being symbolical of Heaven, had its Great House⁂⁂⁂and its House of Flame⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, as most sacred adyta at the extremity opposite to the entrance. The former occupied the central position, like the Ladye Chapel in our cathedrals, and the latter stood by the side of it.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Chapter whereby the Heart(1) is given to a person in the Netherworld.

He saith: Heart[41]mine to me, in the place of Hearts! Whole Heart[42]mine to me, in the place of Whole Hearts!

Let me have my Heart that it may rest within me; but(2) I shall feed upon the food of Osiris, on the eastern side of the mead of amaranthine flowers.(3)

Be mine a bark for descending the stream and another for ascending.

I go down into the bark wherein thou art.

Be there given to me my mouth wherewith to speak, and my feet for walking; and let me have my arms wherewith to overthrow my adversaries.

Let two hands from the Earth open my mouth: Let Seb, the Erpā of the gods, part my two jaws;(4) let him open my two eyes which are closed, and give motion to my two hands which are powerless: and let Anubis give vigour to my legs, that I may raise myself up upon them.

And may Sechit the divine one lift me up, so that I may arise in Heaven and issue my behest in Memphis.

I am in possession of my Heart, I am possession of my Whole Heart, I am possession of my arms and I have possession of my legs.(5)

[I do whatsoever my Genius willeth, and my Soul is not bound to my body at the gates of Amenta.]

Notes.

1.The Egyptian texts have two names for the Heart,⁂phonetically written⁂⁂⁂ȧb, and⁂⁂also written⁂⁂⁂and⁂⁂⁂⁂ḥatu.[43]The two words are commonly used synonymously, but they are sometimes pointedly distinguished one from the other. Etymologically⁂⁂⁂ȧbis connected with the sense of lively motion⁂⁂⁂ȧb, like the Greek καρδία, κραδίη, (δία τὸ ἀπαύστως σαλεύεσθαι) with κραδάω and κραδαίνω. Other Indo-European names, our ownheart, the Latincor(cord-is), the Sanskrithṛd, and the corresponding Slavonic and Lithuanian names have the same origin.

From the orthography of⁂⁂it seems to have been connected in popular opinion with its position in the anterior part of the body. And from various uses of the word it appears to denote not merely the heart, but the heart with all that is attached to it, especially thelungswhich embrace it. It is for instance to the⁂⁂thatairis conducted according to the medical Papyri. And it is not improbable that⁂⁂⁂and⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, organs of respiration, are closely connected words.

But perhaps the best argument may be found in the Vignettes of chapter 28, where the two lungs are actually drawn as in the hieratic papyrus (Pl. 2) published by Sir Charles Nicholson. In others (as Leyden, T. 16) even the larynx is visible. (SeePlate X.)

The Italian wordcoratais immortalised through its occurrence in a memorable passage in Dante (Inf., XXVIII), but for want of a better English term than the butcher’s technical wordpluck[44]I use the expressionwhole heart.

2.But,⁂⁂⁂. This is the most frequent reading both in the earliest and in the latest papyri. But some texts have simply⁂, which is certainly a mistake, and others omit the conjunction before the verb. The sense is not much affected by this omission.⁂⁂⁂signifiesif not,unless,until,but,but surely.Cf.the Semiticאִם־לֹא,ܐܷܠܴܐܷܠܴ,إلَّا

3.The mead of amaranthine flowers.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ḳaiuis the name of a plant which frequently occurs in the medical prescriptions. It is also mentioned among the aromatic plants(⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂)required in the sacred laboratory of Dendera. One of the kinds is namedḳaiuof the Oasis⁂⁂⁂. It is identified with the Copticⲕⲓⲟⲱⲩ,amaranthus. In several copies of this chapter the name of the plant is followed by the geographical determinative⁂, which is really implied in the context. Was this mythological ‘mead of amaranth’ suggested by the Oasis and its vegetation?

4.This sentence is a repetition (in other words) of the preceding one. On the titleErpā, seeTrans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., XII, 359. My chief difficulty about understanding it as compounded of⁂and⁂, and signifyingkeeper of the Pāt, that isof the deceased(human beings), is that Seb is essentially theErpā of the gods.Erpāis one of those titles which cannot be translated without perverting the sense of the original.

5.This passage is a very frequent formula not only in the Book of the Dead, as the papyri give it, but in other texts of the same nature; see,e.g.,Aelteste Texte, 34, 14. The next passage included in [] is an addition to the original text. It occurs however in some excellent MSS.

41.⁂ȧb, ‘heart.’

42.⁂ḥatu, ‘whole heart.’

43. This variant already occurs on the coffin of Amamu.

44. In late Latincorallum, whence the Romanic formscorajhe,corata,coratella,corée,couraille. InGarin le Loherenswe find“la coraille del cuers.”

CHAPTER XXVII.

Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not taken from him in the Netherworld.

O ye gods who seize upon Hearts, and who pluck out the Whole Heart; and whose hands fashion anew the Heart of a person according to what he hath done; lo now, let that be forgiven to him by you.(1)

Hail to you, O ye Lords of Everlasting Time and Eternity!

Let not my Heart be torn from me by your fingers.

Let not my Heart be fashioned anew according to all the evil things said against me.

For this Heart of mine is the Heart of the god of mighty names(2), of the great god whose words are in his members, and who giveth free course to his Heart which is within him.

And most keen of insight(3) is his Heart among the gods. Ho to me! Heart of mine; I am in possession of thee, I am thy master, and thou art by me; fall not away from me; I am the dictator to whom thou shalt obey in the Netherworld.

Notes.

1.There is a great difference here as in so many other places between the MSS. of different periods. I long ago translated the⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂of theTodtenbuchbynon ignoretur a vobis, M. de Rougé, after me, bynon renuatur a vobis.But M. Naville pointed out the fact that in some of the oldest MSS. the particle⁂did not occur. It now appears that the particle is not found in any of the older MSS., and I have also found it omitted in hieratic papyri. The passage therefore must be translated differently, and this is possible through a slight change in theinterpretation of⁂fromignoraretoignoscere;ignoscatur illi a vobis. The pronoun⁂⁂which in the older texts follows⁂⁂,⁂refers to ‘what he hath done’ of the last clause.

2.The god of mighty namesis Thoth, and the later texts read “For this is the Heart of the great god who is in Hermopolis.”

3.⁂⁂⁂,⁂⁂. According to another reading⁂⁂⁂⁂new,fresh,young,vigorous.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Chapter whereby the Heart of a person is not taken from him in the Netherworld.

O Lion-god!

I am Unbu(1), and what I abominate is the block of execution.

Let not this Whole Heart of mine be torn from me by the divine Champions(2) in Heliopolis!

O thou who clothest(3) Osiris and hast seen Sutu:

O thou who turnest back after having smitten him, and hast accomplished the overthrow:

This Whole Heart of mine remaineth weeping over itself in presence of Osiris.

Its strength proceedeth from him, it hath obtained it by prayer from him.

I have had granted to it and awarded to it the glow of heart at the hour of the god of the Broad Face, and have offered the sacrificial cakes in Hermopolis.

Let not this Whole Heart of mine be torn from me.(4) It is I who entrust to you its place, and vehemently stir your Whole Hearts towards it in Sechit-hotepit and the years of triumph over all that it abhors and taking all provisions at thine appointed time from thine hand after thee.

And this Whole Heart of mine is laid upon the tablets(5) of Tmu, who guideth me to the caverns of Sutu and who giveth me back my Whole Heart which hath accomplished its desire in presence of the divine Circle which is in the Netherworld.

The sacrificial joint and the funereal raiment, let those who find them bury them.(6)

Notes.

1.Unbu,⁂⁂⁂⁂is one of the names of the solar god, the offspring (Todt., 42, 19) of Nu and Nut. As a common noun the wordunbumeans the Hawthorn or some other kind of flowering bush. This god is called⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂‘the golden Unbu’ in the Pyramid Texts (Teta 39). We have no means of determining the exact sense of this word, which as an appellative expresses an attribute possessed both by the Sun and by the fruit, foliage, or other parts of the tree.

2.Divine Champions.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂in the earlier papyri,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂in the later; and sometimes both readings occur in the same MS. Such determinatives as⁂certainly do not denote very pugnacious qualities in the divine Champions.

3.Clothest.⁂⁂is a word of many meanings, and the context generally determines which is the right one. In the present instance we have no such help. Some of the more recent MSS. give⁂, the determinative ofclothing.

4.M. Pierret here breaks off his translation of the chapter, with the note:“La fin de ce chapitre est absolument inintelligible; les variantes des manuscrits hiératiques ne l’éclaircissent pas.”

Like many other portions of the book this chapter is hopelessly corrupt, and the scribes did not understand it better than we do. They have probably mixed up different recensions without regard to grammatical sense. The deceased addresses gods in the plural⁂, but immediately afterwards we have the singular suffix⁂.

5.Tabletsorrecords.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂SeeZeitschr., 1867, 50. The word already occurs in the Pyramid Texts, Pepi I, 364, in the sense ofmemory,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ‘his memory for man and his love for the gods.’

But there is another word,⁂⁂⁂⁂(Denkm., III, 65a), which signifies astandupon which objects are placed.

6.The last words of the chapter were extremely puzzling to the scribes of the later periods, who altered them in ever so many ways. The older MSS. read⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. And this is borrowed from an ancient text, which may be found on the sarcophagus of Horhotep, line 338. The variants⁂⁂,⁂⁂, of the papyri, and⁂⁂of the sarcophagus show that it is the sacrificial joint which is meant, and not a verb as the scribes of a later period thought. For this verb they had to discover an object and accordingly we find⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂‘I trodtheir caverns.’⁂⁂⁂⁂was in like manner converted into a verb. See the introductory note to chapter 29.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Chapter whereby the Heart of a person may not be taken from him in the Netherworld.

Back thou Messenger(1) of thy god! Art thou come to carry off by violence(2) this Whole Heart of mine, of theLivingLivingXYZZY(3) But I shall not surrender to thee this Heart of the Living. The gods have regards to my offerings and fall upon their faces, all together, upon their own earth.

Notes.

The two most ancient copies of this chapter are found upon the coffins of Amamu, PlateXXX, and of Horhotep,Mission Arch.Française au Caire, t. 1, p. 157, lines 335-337. The papyrus of Ani is the only one of the early period in which it occurs. None of these texts is perfect. A part of the text of Amamu has been destroyed, but there remains enough to show that Horhotep has omissions. And in the text of Ani the word⁂⁂⁂has slipped in from the 28th chapter, and is entirely out of place where it now stands.

The scribes of a later period had to exercise their ingenuity on the subject. They changed⁂⁂⁂ḫenṭuinto⁂⁂⁂⁂ḫenȧ, and this being itself a disagreeable word, they prefixed to it a negative⁂or⁂⁂⁂.

1.Messenger,⁂⁂⁂⁂, a word used here and elsewhere in religious texts in the same sense asמַלְאָךְan angel, ambassador of God. The later texts have⁂⁂⁂‘every god,’ by the change of⁂into⁂.

2.By violence,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.Cf.⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, Harris Papyrus, 500,verso.

3.The Living⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂and saved, in opposition to the Dead and damned. This plural form is a mere sign of a common noun.

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