CHAPTER XXIXB.

Another Chapter of the Heart; upon Carnelian.

I am the Heron, the Soul of Râ, who conduct the Glorious ones to the Tuat.

It is granted to their Souls to come forth upon the Earth to do whatsoever their Genius willeth.

It is granted to the soul of the OsirisNto come forth upon the Earth to do whatsoever his Genius willeth.

Note.

Certain chapters having reference to the Heart were written upon gems[45]and served as amulets, the 26th upon Lapis-lazuli, the 27th upon green Felspar, the 30th upon Serpentine, and the foregoing chapter upon Carnelian.

M. Naville has called this chapter 29B, as marking its natural place in the Book of the Dead. It is not often found in the Papyri. M. Naville found one copy in the Berlin Papyrus of Nechtuamen, and another traced by Lepsius in Rome from a papyrus now lost. A third copy will be found in the papyrus of Ani[46]in the British Museum. It differs from the two others in “conducting thegodsto the Tuat,” and by omitting some words for which there was no room in the space provided.

45. See a charming article by Professor Ebers in theZeitschriftof 1880, entitled“Einige inedita.”

46. Pl. 33.

CHAPTER XXXA.

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

Heart mine which is that of my Mother,

Whole Heart mine which was that of my coming upon Earth,

Let there be no estoppel against me through evidence; let not hindrance be made to me by the Divine Circle;(1) let there not be a fall of the scale(2) against me in presence of the great god, Lord of Amenta.

Hail to thee, Heart mine; Hail to thee, Whole Heart mine, Hail to thee, Liver(3) mine!

Hail to you, ye gods who are on the side lock, conspicuous by your sceptres,(4) announce my glory to Râ and convey it toNehebkauNehebkau.

[And lo, though he be buried in the deep deep Grave, and bowed down to the region of annihilation, he is glorified there(5).]

CHAPTER XXXB.

Heart mine which is that of my Mother,

Whole Heart mine which is that of my birth,

Let there be no estoppel against me through evidence, let no hindrance be made to me by the divine Circle; fall thou not against me in presence of him who is at the Balance.

Thou art my Genius, who art by me, the Artist(6) who givest soundness to my limbs.

Come forth(7) to the bliss[47]towards which we are bound;

Let not those Ministrants(8) who deal with a man according to the course of his life(9) give a bad odour to my name.

Pleasant for us, pleasant for the listener, is the joy of the Weighing of the Words.

Let not lies be uttered in presence of the great god, Lord of the Amenta.

Lo! how great art thou [as the Triumphant one.(10)

Notes.

This chapter is found not only on papyri but upon innumerable scarabs. The differences of text are very great, but the principal ones may be considered as represented by M. Naville’s 30Aand 30B. They branch off from each other after the mention of the Balance.

The oldest copy known on a scarab is that of King Sebak-em-saf of the XIIIth dynasty. It is in the British Museum (No. 7876) and has been described by Dr. Birch in his study[48]of the “Formulas relating to the heart.” “This amulet,” he says, “is of unusual shape; the body of the insect is made of a remarkably fine green jasper carved in shape of the body and head of the insect. This is inserted into a base of gold in shape of a tablet.... The legs of the insect are ... of gold and carved in relief.... The hieroglyphs are incised in outline, are coarse, and not very legible.”

1.The Divine Circle,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. This word on the scarab of Sebak-em-saf is written⁂⁂⁂, which shows that⁂(a wallof enclosure) is ideographic of the whole word. And this sign in hieratic, when placed upright⁂, has given rise to the⁂, which takes its place in the later texts.

2.Fall of the scale,⁂⁂⁂= the Coptic ⲣⲓⲕⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲙⲁϣⲓ or the Greek ῥοπὴ τοῦ ζυγοῦ.

3.Liver; This seems to be the real meaning of⁂⁂⁂.

4.These gods are mentioned in the Pyramid Texts in a passage closely resembling this one of the Book of the Dead. “They bring to Unas (line 479) the four Glorious ones who are on the side lock of Horus; who stand upon the Eastern side of Heaven, and who are conspicuous through their sceptres⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. They announce to Râ the glorious name of Unas, and proclaim(⁂⁂⁂,cf.ⲟⲩⲱ, ⲉⲣⲟⲩⲱ) Unas to Neheb-kau.” The text of Teta is very imperfect in this place.

The word⁂⁂appears to have the sense ofinsignire,designare. This sense is a key to every passage in which the word occurs.

5.The few early copies of this paragraph are too fragmentary and too contradictory to furnish a restoration of the text, which must have meant something like what is expressed in this translation.

6.The Artist,⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is here a common noun rather than a proper name.

7.The deceased addresses his heart, and thereupon speaks in the first person plural,we; that isyou and I.

8.The Ministrants.The⁂⁂⁂⁂were high officials in the Egyptian court, but here they minister to Osiris in the Netherworld. They are apparently the same gods who are addressed in the 27th Chapter as fashioning the heart of a person according to his deeds when living.

9.The determinative⁂shows that⁂is here to be taken in the sense of the duration of human life, and the pronominalsuffixes⁂or⁂show whose life is spoken of. The latter suffix has reference to⁂⁂⁂⁂, which is accordingly to be translated in the singular. The plural sign merely indicates a common or collective noun.

10.As the Triumphant one.SoAa, the papyrus of Nebseni. Another authority (B.M. 7865) quoted by Dr. Birch has⁂⁂⁂⁂like Râ, the Triumphant One.

The formula “How great art thou!” occurs in other primitive texts;cf.Aelteste Texte, Pl. 5, lines 7 and 8. In line 8 it occurs twice.

47.⁂⁂⁂⁂.

48.Zeitschr., 1870. p. 32.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are repulsed who come to carry off the Words of Power from a person in the Netherworld.

Back, in retreat! Back, Crocodile Sui! Come not against me, who live by the Words of Power.(1)

I utter(2) that Name of the great god, who granteth that two of his Messengers[49]should come; the name of one is Batta(3), and the name of the other isThine Aspect is Fixed Law.(4)

Heaven determineth(5) its hour; my Word of Power determineth all that which concerneth it; and my mouth determineth my Word of Power. I eat, and my teeth are like flint, and my grinders are like the Cliff of Tuf.(6)

O thou who art sitting(7) with a watchful eye against this my Word of Power; do not thou carry it off, O Crocodile who livest by thine own Word of Power.

Notes.

This chapter is but rarely found in the more ancient collections. It was on the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep, but M. Naville gives the readings of only two early papyri. The later recensions add a text which we shall find later on in chapter 69, and which has no connection whatever with the present chapter.

1.The Words of Power are supplied to the deceased by Thoth in chapter 23.

2.The Turin text and those which agree with it read “Do not thou utter,” as if the Crocodile were about to use the Word of Power. I read⁂⁂⁂⁂. The⁂was first corrupted into⁂, and⁂⁂was farther improved into⁂⁂⁂, which in its turn necessitated the addition of a suffix of the second person.

3.This name was changed in the later texts to the more familiar one of the divine Ape⁂⁂Benit.

4.Fixed Law,⁂or⁂⁂. The central idea of theology in the Book of the Dead is that ofRegularity, whether in permanence or change. Those things alone are divine which abide unceasingly or which recur in accordance with undeviatingrule.

5.Determineth.The word⁂⁂here, as in other places, has the sense of circumscribing, as in a circuit⁂⁂, prescribing the limits, fixing and determining.

6.The Cliff of Tuf⁂⁂, literally ‘his cliff,’ namely of Anubis, in allusion to his frequent title⁂⁂.

7.Sitting.Here I followPcand the papyri generally in reading⁂⁂. The scribe ofCaseems to have been thinking of⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂of a well-known magic text (Unas, 320).

49. See chapter 21,1.

CHAPTER XXXII.

Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are repulsed who come to carry off the Words of Power from the glorified in the Netherworld.

Osiris standeth up upon his feet;(1) his company of gods raise him up.

O Son who conversest with thy father, do thou protect this Great one from these four(2) crocodiles here who devour the dead and live by the Words of Power.

I know them by their names and their way of living, and it is I who protect his own father from them.

Back, thou Crocodile of the West, who livest on the Setting Stars.(3) What thou execratest is upon me. Thou hast devoured the head of Osiris, but I am Rā.(4)

Back, thou Crocodile of the East, who livest upon those who devour their own foulness. What thou execratest is upon me. I have come, and I am Osiris.

Back, thou Crocodile of the South, who livest upon impurities. What thou execratest is upon me. Let not the red flame be upon thee. For I am Septu.(5)

Back, thou Crocodile of the North, who livest upon that which lieth between the hours(6). What thou execratest is upon me. Let not thy fiery water be inflicted upon me. [For I am Tmu.(7)]

All things which exist are in my grasp, and those depend upon me which are not yet.

I am arrayed and equipped with thy Words of Power, O Rā; with that which is above and with that which is below me.

I have received increase of length and depth, and fulness of breathing within the domain of my father, the Great one.

He hath given to me that beautiful Amenta in which the living are destroyed. But strong is its possessor though he faint in it daily.

My face is unveiled, and my heart is in its place.

The Uræus is upon me daily.

I am Rā, who protecteth himself, and no evil things can overthrow me.

Notes.

This chapter is in even worse condition than the one which precedes it. There are a few scraps of it on a coffin at St. Petersburg which M. Golenischeff assigns to the earliest period. The only early MS. which is of any use,Ba, the Berlin papyrus of Nechtuamon, is here in a very mutilated condition, as may be seen on referring to M. Naville’s edition.

1.Osiris standeth up upon his feet.SoBa; but the coffin at St. Petersburg lends its support to the text of Bekenrenef (of the]26th Dynasty), which opens the chapter with the name of a crocodile⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. “Let the Great one fall upon his belly”!

2.The ancient text had only four crocodiles, and only four are mentioned in the text of Bekenrenef. The Turin text speaks of eight; two for each of the cardinal points. But the Saitic text already has two invocations instead of one for each crocodile.

3.The sense of this myth is obvious. Every star whichsetsis supposed to be swallowed by the Crocodile of the West. It was stated innote 3to chapter 15 that the⁂⁂⁂arestars.[50]Besides the⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂thestars which setand the⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂thecircumpolar stars, whose navigation⁂⁂⁂ⲥⲱⲕ is continuous, there are the⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂whose name is very significant.⁂⁂⁂and⁂⁂have the sense ofturning back,[51]and the only stars whose apparent motion is ever retrograde are theplanets.

All these stars are supposed as divinities to aid in the navigation of the Bark of Rā. The Egyptians could not have had a correct planetary theory (which only became possible through Kepler), but they understood at least that the motions of the planets wereregular, and that they depended upon the Sun. Eudoxus is reported to have derived the data for his theory from his Egyptian instructors.

4.Instead of Rā the name of Sut is found in the later texts. Bekenrenef has⁂⁂.

5.Septu,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂,⁂⁂, the ‘armed,’ one of the Solar appellations, already found in the Pyramid texts (Unas, 281). He appears in chapter130, 7, in connection with the block of execution.

6.The text is here hopelessly corrupt. M. Pierret has ‘offrande,’ which he most probably derives from⁂⁂⁂or⁂⁂⁂, a reading found in some papyri. ButBa, our oldest authority, has⁂⁂, and Bekenrenef has⁂⁂⁂⁂. The Turin copy has⁂; and the context does not help us. Of these four readings (and there are probably others which I do not know) that of Bekenrenef seems to me the best; but⁂has so many possible applications that I will not venture to suggest one.

7.[I am Tmu.] These words are not inBa, but they occur in all other copies, and the omission of the divine name which stops the crocodile is an evident fault.

The chapter ends here, and what follows is an addition for which our earliest authority is that of Bekenrenef. But even this text is already corrupt, and requires to be corrected by more recent ones.

50.⁂⁂⁂⁂as a feminine noun and proper name occurs in the Pyramid Texts (Unas, 644).

51. Brugsch has produced excellent evidence for the supposition that⁂⁂⁂⁂or⁂⁂⁂signifiesthe two turningsof the Sun, that is at the solstices,⁂⁂being the southern solstice and⁂⁂the northern.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Chapter whereby all Serpents are kept back.

Oh serpent Rerek, advance not! Here are the gods Seb and Shu!

Stop! or thou shalt eat the rat which Rā execrateth, and gnaw the bones of a putrid she-cat.

Note.

This chapter is often found in coffins. There is a chapter much resembling it in the tomb of Horhotep (line 364), at least as regards the opening words. It addresses Rerek and tells him that Shu and another deity are coming, and that the speaker is Horus. No allusion, however, is made to the dead rat and cat. These typify the impurities and abominations to which the damned are liable in the world to come.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Chapter whereby a person is not devoured by the dweller in the shrine.(1)

O Uræus! I am the Flame which shineth, and which openeth out eternity,(2) the column of Tenpua(3) [otherwise said—the column on which are blossoming plants.]

Away from me! I am the Lynx goddess.(4)

Notes.

1.It is not possible to say what is here actually meant by⁂⁂⁂ḥat.Every word almost in this tiny chapter was a puzzle to the Egyptian scribes, who altered the text in a hundred ways. The Turin text provides against the persons beingbitten by the Eater of the head,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, instead of⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂as even Bekenrenef has it.

2.Open out Eternity⁂⁂⁂⁂. This is the oldest and most approved reading even in later times. But inPethe flame ‘shineth on the brow of the Glorified ones.’

3.A quite unknown deity and most probably a mere blunder. The MS. which contains it,Ca, suggests another readingTenpuawith⁂, the determinative ofplants. This not proving satisfactory,⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂renpitwas substituted. But all this was mere conjectural emendation.

4.The Lynx goddess,⁂⁂⁂⁂Maftit. The name of this deity is generally translated Lynx, and it is certainly applied to an animal of the feline species closely resembling the cat. But the notion expressed by the name is that ofswift speed⁂⁂⁂⁂. (See Dümichen,Rec.IV, 100, where this verb is in parallel with others of the same sense.)

This deity is again mentioned in the 39th chapter as taking part in the conflict with the dragon of darkness, and it is named in the strange magic formulæ already found in the Pyramid texts. She iscalled⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂(Teta 310), and she apparently defends the deceased (ib., l. 303) against two serpent divinities, one of whom at least,⁂⁂⁂T’eser-ṭepu(praeclaro capite), is known to us as one of the forty-two assessors of Osiris (Todtenbuch, 125-33).

CHAPTER XXXV.

Chapter whereby the person is not devoured by a Serpent in the Netherworld.

Oh Shu, here is Tattu,and conversely, under the wig(1) of Hathor. They scent(2) Osiris.

Here is the one who is to devour me. They wait apart.(3) The serpent Seksek passeth over me.

Here are wormwood bruised(4) and reeds.

Osiris is he who prayeth that he may be buried.

The eyes of the Great One are bent down, and he doth for thee the work of cleansing;(5) marking out what is conformable to law and balancing the issues.(6)

Notes.

The translator of this chapter cannot pretend to do more than give an accurate meaning to each word. The true sense of the chapter must have been lost when the earliest copies known to us were written.

1.Wig,⁂⁂. The head-dress of the gods is one of the mythical forms of representing the light cloud at sunrise or sunset, in which the deity ispileatus.

2.Scent,⁂⁂⁂⁂. The Egyptian word is also used fornursing,putting to sleep, probably through influencing thebreathing.breathing.Thenoseas a determinative is used in the different senses of the word.

3.They wait apart.The early MSS. do not agree here in a single word, and they defy translation. The later MSS. are scarcely less discordant.⁂⁂isto alight,rest, and this must also be the meaning of⁂⁂.⁂⁂⁂is connected with⁂. ⲛⲉϩ in the sense ofdispersing,separating.

4.Bruised, ortrodden. There being no rational context it is impossible to fix the sense of a word like⁂⁂⁂, which may mean eitherguardorbruisebybeatingortreading down.

5.Cleansing⁂⁂or⁂⁂. The result of the process is certainlycleansing, but the operation itself is generally supposed to bewashing. This agrees with the Coptic ⲣⲁϩⲧa fuller, of which the old Egyptian form is⁂⁂. But ⲣⲁϩⲧ has also the sense ofbeating, and the operation is in many countries thought to be one of the most important duties of washerwomen. With this sense of the word I would connect the namesRechitgiven to Isis and Nephthys, as signifying ‘mourners.’ Compare the Greek τύπτεσθαί τινα, κόπτεσθαί τινα,to mourn a person, and the Latinplangere.

6.Balancing the issues⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂. The first of these words is unambiguous.⁂⁂⁂signifies literally ‘standing,’ likestatus, or στάσις, and like those words also signifies position, situation, condition, circumstances, and also the point at issue, the question to be decided.

A well known passage in Cicero’sTopics(93, c. 35) may be quoted here:“Refutatio accusationis, in quae est depositio criminis, Graece στάσις dicitur, Latinestatusappelletur: in quo insistit, quasi ad repugnandum congressa defensio.”

Perhaps the passage in chapter 30 B, in which “the divine ministrants are said to deal with a man” according to his⁂⁂may have reference to the circumstances of his life.

Chapters like this, however worthless in themselves, contain small fragments highly illustrative of the ideas of the Egyptians at an extremely remote period.

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